Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2012, 03:08:03 pm
Life Begins At Death!
An Undead RTD Adventure.
The world is carrying on as it always has. The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. The servi remain in the chains of inescapable servitude. The noblemen spend their days having lavish parties and bloody battles, sometimes all on the same day or even hour. Magic is in the air, and finds its way into the hands of more people every day. However, the order of the world remains the same – the select few exercise their power, sometimes in concert, sometimes in opposition, and the world moves with them. Life can’t be said to be good for most of the lower classes, but it’s the only life they can possibly have in this cruel, unforgiving world.
Some say that living is difficult, and dying is the easy way out. Obviously they haven’t died before. You, on the other hand, have. You don’t recall much of what happened on the other side, really, just that it seemed vaguely unfair and unfairly vague. Of course, you hardly have any time to worry about that right now.
Because, you see, it’s about time you were getting up.
Some say that living is difficult, and dying is the easy way out. Obviously they haven’t died before. You, on the other hand, have. You don’t recall much of what happened on the other side, really, just that it seemed vaguely unfair and unfairly vague. Of course, you hardly have any time to worry about that right now.
Because, you see, it’s about time you were getting up.
Cross the Veil of Mortality and return to this world, wayward soul, because it’s time to get back from the dead!
Spoiler: What? What is this? (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Archetypes (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: The RTD System (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Signing up, character sheets (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Players (click to show/hide)
Now, post your sheets. That is, if you want to. And have time. And don't have anything more pressing to attend to.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2012, 03:09:30 pm
Spoiler: Darren Derrious, Spectral Parlor Magician (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Scott Yaleson, Unhinged Pyromaniac Ghost (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Kevin Cooker, Unlucky Non-Jester in a Woman's Body (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Carter Morton, Demonic Desk (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Sigmund GrimDrake, Innovator in Extreme Dismemberment, Chronic Victim (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Mark MeatWagon, Former Mercenary Skeleton, Now A "Doctor" (click to show/hide)
Dead Once More, Remembered Forever
Spoiler: Philip Zander, Guardsman Ghost, Anti-Bernie Conspirator (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Bruce Thomson, Vampire Doctor, Smooth Talker, Anti-Bernie Conspirator (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Leon, Zombie Vampire Killer, Metal Guardian (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Montgomery Caid, Mind-Controlling Parasite (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: James Lanthorn, Vampiric Survivor of Untold Horrors (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Mike Schuler, Disembodied Soul (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Luke Arnold, Dispersed Pink Mist, Experienced Chair Fetishist (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Tom, Loot and Murder Enthusiast, Pyromaniac Supreme (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Niklas, Displaced Northerner No Longer in the Body of a Dark Dwarf-Thing (click to show/hide)
In Cold Storage:
Spoiler: Alaric Delthin, Ghost Mage, Liar Extraordinaire (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Vincent, Freakish Skeleton and Deliverer of Stabbety Stabs (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Timothy Amscray, Circus Freakrobat Ghost (click to show/hide)
The Long-Awaited Waitlist
1. kahn1234 - Anastasia Bellblood
2. Greenstarfanatic - Alec and Alice McMasterson
3. Onyxjew944 - Chanticleer
4. GUNINANRUNIN - Daniel the Sharp
5. BFEL - Irma Pratley
6. Coolrune206 - Rune the Skeleton
7. darkpaladin109 - He Who Punches Otters
8. Lyeos - Eduardo Flurberson
9. blazing glory - Starn Gundar
10. Salsacookies - Ronald Bones
11. Dark One - Jack Jackson
12. ATHATH - Jeremy the Ghost
Post by: OREOSOME on October 23, 2012, 03:13:37 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Ghost
Biography: A former Mage, He joined his undead foes after a failed Raid into the Northern Tomb-wastes(rampant in Evil energy, Crypts Catacombs and Burial Mounds, and Necromancers as a result OF said Evil Energy.
Post by: Scelly9 on October 23, 2012, 03:16:10 pm
Gender: M
Archetype: Vampire
Biography: A stable hand, Daniel died when a horse kicked him in the head, then his blood was sucked by a vampire while he was unconscious. It was an exceedingly boring death.
Post by: anailater on October 23, 2012, 03:17:34 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Vampire
Biography: Brown hair, above average height, died from the bite of a vampire (duh) while working as a doctor, dislikes people 'cause they tend to be be douches, Was born into an abusive family, his mother died giving birth to him and his father always blamed him, so Bruce promised to himself that he would always seek to improve himself and live life to the fullest.
Post by: TopHat on October 23, 2012, 03:19:19 pm
Gender: male
Archetype: vampire
Bio: A pig farmer who died. Badly. Let's just say that pigs don't like it of you take their piglets... Especially if the aforementioned pigs are cursed...
Post by: Caerwyn on October 23, 2012, 03:20:04 pm
Name: Samuel
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: Samuel was just a simple coal miner. One day, he accidentally fell somewhere too hot...He was just an average man in life; - Brown hair, brown eyes, a bit below average height, roughly 5'10". After his...Accident...He became something without very much flesh. This body of bones suits him though; - He wasn't ever much of a conversationalist in life, and now in death he has a legitimate excuse. Pre-death Samuel was a nice man; he never liked to hurt anybody. He's sort of swayed from that point of view post-accident, but he still can't bring himself to harm innocent women or children.
Post by: mesor on October 23, 2012, 03:20:12 pm
Gender : Male.
Archetype : Zombie.
Biography : Was a sentry in a small town and always took the night shift figuring that the bad guys would find it harder to spot him in the dark, Unfortunately that did not prevent a vampire from climbing the wall and dragging him kicking and screaming into the dark to feed on him but not before he was able to slash the vampires face open with a dagger. Sadly the vampire took too much blood and left Leon dead. Not so sadly he did not remain dead and returning as a zombie he then slaughtered the vampire who had killed him the horrendous scar on his face making him easy to identify.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2012, 03:23:27 pm
Feel free to expand on those backstories, though, if you wish. Remember, the game begins on Friday. Oh, and I'll handpick the five (Maybe six? We'll see.) sheets I like best, those will be the first players.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 23, 2012, 03:59:59 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: ZMOBIE
Biography: An amateur scientist, Jordan was never concerned with anyone's safety, let alone his own. He lived as a recluse, having his own little mansion at the top of Abbey Hill, and not showing his face in town unless he desperately needed some test subjects. Soon, he was up all night, working on his metalworks, and almost finished a completely animatronic copy of himself. All he needed was electricity...
Wanting to make a name for himself after what he believed to be a life of secrecy, Jordan tried to conduct electricity through a few metal bars, some string, and an umbrella. His neck ended up getting tangled in the string, as the umbrella lifted him up into the air. The experiment was a smashing success! Although, all it really did was prove that Jordan was a very good conductor. The blast left most of his clothes burnt, and his hair a bit of a spiky afro.
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 23, 2012, 04:07:26 pm
Name: Philip Zander
Gender: Male
Archetype: Ghost
Biography: Philip was employed as one of his lord's guards. He was loyal, honor-bound, and trained in physical combat. He also hated magic. It's a shame he ended up with an archetype completely contrary to his character. I'd assume his primary motivation in this game would be passing on, as opposed to becoming the world's coolest, most powerful undead thing.
((Why aren't there more ghosts? Ghosts are awesome.))
Edit:
(( The host is selecting the first team it's not first come first serve. ))
*Rereads first post*
Character sheets for players are handpicked from what I think would make the most interesting party. Variety is appreciated!
((Oops.))
Post by: mesor on October 23, 2012, 04:21:55 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on October 23, 2012, 07:35:50 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: Vincent was a very strange man in life as he would laugh constantly as though the whole world was a joke; which it kinda was to him, as he was repeatedly insulted and caste out of society due to his prehensile tail. He died after accidentally wandering into a village where he was burned at the stake.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 05:45:06 am
The Dead Rise At Suppertime, Part 1
It’s winter in the area around the quiet, unassuming hamlet of Geldholm. It’s hardly past 5 in the evening, but it’s already getting quite dark. Most of the residents have scattered to their respective dwellings for the evening, be they homes, ditches or pubs, and the only street in the hamlet is almost devoid of life.
The same, however, cannot be said of the nearby Great Hope Graveyard, about a stone’s throw to the north from the village, which, despite claiming to provide the final resting places of many hundreds, is positively teeming with activity at the present moment.
At the center of it all are two figures, one carefully enunciating words from an ancient-looking leather-bound tome, the other watching out for the slowly rising creatures all around them. Both are dressed in sack cloth robes that obscure virtually all of their features.
As the reader proceeds with the words, quickly forming elaborate incantations with undoubtedly dark purposes, two more figures approach the graveyard, one from the east, one from the west. Both are relatively new at this, both are confused, both have exactly the same question on their minds: just what in the hell is going on here?
One is James Lanthorn, former pig farmer, the other is Bruce Thomson, former physician. The only thing they have in common is the curse of vampirism, contracted from gods-know-who not very long ago. Needless to say, things have been quite confusing for the two of them lately, and they are to become more convoluted yet.
As the vampires draw close to the two individuals, the lookout spots them, gasps and starts poking the reader. The reader briefly glances away from the book. He obviously didn’t expect the two arrivals, as he suddenly stops his recital. The book suddenly begins to emit a purple glow.
The reader stares at the vampires for a second, completely at a loss for words. This is taken care of when the book he’s holding suddenly explodes into flames, at which point he becomes verbose indeed!
“Sweet mother of magic, that burns! You sons of bitches, why’d you have to explode my book like that! What did I ever do to you, you bastard creatures of the night? Why? WHY?”
He drops the book on the ground and begins stomping on it, shouting at the flames for good measure. It takes him a good minute or so, but the flames are eventually extinguished, leaving a charred and brutalized mess of an occult tome. The vampires just glance at one another and shrug during all this, while the other robed person just panics and runs.
The necromancer picks up the remains of the book and looks through them.
“Let’s see, what’s left… no undead legions for me, crap… no death screams… damn, there’s only one spell I’ve got that would be of any help… guess I’ll just use that, then.”
“Okay, listen up, you bastard vampires! You ruined my spell, now you’re coming with me!”
He screams five mysterious words, and both James and Bruce feel something strange descend on their minds. Oh crap, they’ve been magically enslaved, haven’t they? And by this twerp, no less. How embarrassing.
The necromancer then points to four other creatures in the field – a zombie with what appears to be a spiky, though burnt spherical haircut, a spectral figure in perforated guard armor and two skeletons, one with an unusually long spine and a sign hanging from his neck with an inscription: "Filthy freak of nature, deserved what he got!", the other holding a wreath that has “We will always love you, Samuel.” written on it.
“Come here, you lazy corpses!” the necromancer yells, and the chosen undead obey. “You too, sis!” he addresses the other figure.
“Alright, bro. Sorry for running away back there,” the sister says, coming back from a nearby tomb she had sought shelter in.
“I guess we’ll just leave the rest of these walking corpses be. Maybe we’ll need them later,” the necromancer says, mostly to himself. He then gestures in the air.
There is a flash of light, then darkness.
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 12:02:33 pm
The Dead Rise At Suppertime, Part 2
All six of the undead are somewhat surprised when they awaken at a cottage of some sort. It is sparsely decorated, not to mention a bit of a mess. Bits of half-eaten food are strewn across a dining table in the room, an unmade bunk bed stands in the corner. Hand-drawn sketches of human beings adorn the wooden walls, some of them clearly impossible to draw without extensive expertise in human anatomy. On the floor there is an ancient moth-eaten carpet, perhaps bought at some flea market in one of the nearby cities.
Your observations on this collection of crap that somehow collided to make a single home are interrupted by the high-pitched whine of the necromancer’s voice.
“We’ll go to the lab. Follow me, stooges!”
“So, another night at the tomb, bro? Can I come with you?” the sister asks, having taken off the hood of her robe, revealing a plain, wide face with large brown eyes. Her stare is glassy, and her mouth is contorted in an odd grin.
“No, sis, now shut up. Let’s go, minions!” says the necromancer, also removing his hood. He sure has an awful complexion, somewhat yellowish in places. He looks pretty hateful, to tell the truth. Large brown eyes just like his sister’s, almost no chin and a large, hooked nose. He couldn’t be more than 20 years old, you wager.
You follow the necromancer outside. Around you is a thickly forested area with only one trail leading away from the cottage. The only other landmark aside from the cottage is a large mausoleum with an engraved plaque above the entrance that reads “BRADFORD”. You follow the necromancer inside the mausoleum, descending a few flights of stairs until you reach a large hall with sarcophagi lining the walls. All of them have obviously been unsealed, and many have had their lids forcibly broken with what you presume is a hammer. There are several sturdy oaken tables in the middle of the room, some of them have books stored on them, while others feature various bottles of different fluids, while still others bear jars of preserved human organs and body parts. Each table has sharp knives, quills, inkwells, candles and various other instruments on it in great quantities.
“Alright, now that we’re here, let’s get to business,” the necromancer says, glancing at the six minions.
“Firstly, let me tell you that you have been bound to me. You are obligated to follow my orders, and not doing so will cause you to experience terrible agony and eventually cease to exist. So no funny business from you piles of flesh. Secondly, don’t think that killing yourself will somehow let you get back to the afterlife. You will just disperse your soul and it will take a few centuries for it to reform. You’ll just become a ghost if you weren’t one before. Thirdly, you work for me now. Do as I tell you and I will get my sister to stitch your damned hides back together after you’re done doing my bidding.”
He walks up to a nearby table and picks up a scroll, then unfurls it in front of you. The picture shows a crude drawing of a man. His tongue is outstretched, his eyes are bulging and his ears are larger than his face. The only somewhat realistically rendered detail is his long blond beard and shoulder-length hair. There are disjointed words scrawled on the side of the drawing including “stupid bastard”, “thinks he’s so funny” and “what does she see in him”. Somebody obviously has issues.
“See this drawing? That’s Skip Rogers, and he’s a totally despicable asshole. I want you to bring me his head. Yeah, we’ll see who’s laughing then, asshole. Tonight he’ll be at the Errant Spark Inn in Richardsburgh, an hour’s walk to the west from here, partying with his friends. Of special note is a girl he’ll have with him.”
The necromancer pulls out another scroll. This one has the image of a beautiful dark-haired young woman on it, drawn in painstaking detail for maximum realism. No writing on it, though.
“You are NOT to harm this girl under any circumstances. I will personally erase you from existence if you do. Feel free to kill any of the rest of those douches with Skip, though. In fact, kill as many of them as you can. Gotta level the playing field, you know.”
The necromancer seems very impressed with himself for thinking of this idea.
“Any questions?”
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
EDIT: Here are the character sheets with inventories:
Spoiler: Bruce Thomson, Vampire Doctor (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: James Lanthorn, Vampire Pig Farmer (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Samuel, Former Coal Miner Skeleton (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Jordan, Mad Scientist Zombie (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Philip Zander, Guardsman Ghost (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Vincent, Freakish Skeleton (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on October 26, 2012, 12:17:52 pm
Woo-hoo! Skeleton time!
Post by: TopHat on October 26, 2012, 12:38:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 12:57:56 pm
Samuel will give a skeletal bow to his master, and point to his empty hand, grasping and opening it, signaling that he'd appreciate a simple weapon. Whether one is given or not, he'll head to the inn, and observe from the shadows, for who goes in or out.
Woo-hoo! Skeleton time!
James will ask if there are any, *ahem* 'refreshments' and why must we not harm the girl?
"Okay, if I need to spell it out to you, I do not want you to harm the girl BECAUSE I WANT TO GET UNDER HER SKIRT. Is that so wrong?"
He then looks at the begging skeleton in front of him. The necromancer seemingly gets the gist of what Samuel is trying to convey, but the finer details still elude him.
"What do you want? A handout? Go out and get your own stuff, why don't you! And you," he says, pointing at James, "get your own damn refreshments! Find somebody on the road and bleed them or something, just don't bring them here!"
((I've added an inventory and character list to the second post and the second part of the prologue.))
Post by: anailater on October 26, 2012, 01:00:09 pm
Try to beter understand this spell.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 26, 2012, 01:04:07 pm
Take the man's advice and exit to the nearest empty road, searching for someone to attack and rob.
Post by: TopHat on October 26, 2012, 01:06:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 01:15:03 pm
"Should we go for a stealthy approach or a more combat orientated one, also are you planning to ever un-bind us, i was planning to have some free will for the better part of the century."
Try to beter understand this spell.
[Intelligence: 2+1=3]
Being a man of science, you are not an expert on occult rituals for binding the undead. It does seem to work pretty well, though!
"Now why would I want to unbind you? Seriously, guys, this setup is perfect for me. I give an instruction, you work your talents, I benefit at no cost whatsoever! Really, I can see no flaw here. By the way, don't kill yourself, guys. Consider that an order."
All six of the minions feel a slight wave of magic resound in their minds.
"Thank you, good sir. If you will excuse me, I shall be off to find something more effective than these dreadful claws."
Take the man's advice and exit to the nearest empty road, searching for someone to attack and rob.
The necromancer briefly takes a look at Jordan.
"Finally, some manners. See, you should take cues from Spiky Head here. He knows what the deal is!"
Post by: anailater on October 26, 2012, 01:24:27 pm
Head out.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 01:27:46 pm
"Also what time is it, you know how it is with vampism bit of a pain."
Head out.
"It just got dark. No need to worry about getting a tan any time soon, sunshine. Now go on, get!"
((Remember, people: talking is a free action. Thus, if you wish to get an answer to a question, you just ask it in addition to an action. The turns will only be posted when everyone comes up with an action (not just a question). Questions can and will be answered outside of the turn structure. The same could potentially go for simple thinking actions (not, say, coming up with an entire plan, but, for instance, just trying to figure out a single problem, like figuring out where you put the keys).))
Post by: Caerwyn on October 26, 2012, 01:37:39 pm
Or communicate with their necromancer-master through telepathy or something.
Oh well. There goes my dreams of being a badass skeleton butler...
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 01:39:55 pm
WOULD BE NICE IF SKELETONS COULD TALK
Or communicate with their necromancer-master through telepathy or something.
Oh well. There goes my dreams of being a badass skeleton butler...
((If there's anything tabletop gaming can teach us, it's that with enough character progression, anything is possible!))
Post by: TopHat on October 26, 2012, 01:40:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 01:48:55 pm
Try to understand and translate Skellies' sign language for the necromancer
You figure that skeletons, being all quiet and mysterious, must have some kind of secret they're holding back. Perhaps some kind of... secret language?
[Intelligence: ?+1=?]
You observe the sociable one and the freakish one for a short while. You believe you see some kind of pattern emerging... yes, that's it! You have it! The skeleton language is within the grasp of your impressive vampire intellect! You believe you could translate Skeleton to Humanspeak pretty accurately right now.
You run up to the necromancer and explain your findings. He listens attentively, then strokes his chin thoughtfully for a second.
"I may have been a bit rough on you before, but damn, you sure have a head on your shoulders! I guess vampires are good for something after all. Now we can all communicate easily! Hell, you can have this neat blood sample I extracted from my sister a short while ago!"
He hands you a vial of his sister's blood. Five Gods know what he was going to use it for.
Post by: TopHat on October 26, 2012, 01:54:14 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 26, 2012, 01:58:14 pm
Do we have a limited amount of time to kill this man?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 02:00:54 pm
Try to translate Humanspeak to Skeleton. Ask the sociable one if I can translate anything for him
Having a comprehensive grasp of both languages, you can easily translate words, terms and sentences both ways. You walk up to the sociable skeleton and ask him in Skeleton how awesome that is. He replies that it is totally awesome, and radical, to boot.
H-uh-er...Am I the sociable one? Of course I'd accept, and gladly. Not much that Samuel has to say right now though, asides from
Do we have a limited amount of time to kill this man?
James runs back and translates what Samuel is trying to say to the necromancer.
"What? No, what gave you that idea? Don't be silly."
He relays this information back to Samuel.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 26, 2012, 02:05:44 pm
Post by: anailater on October 26, 2012, 02:06:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 02:12:49 pm
"Why in the limited amount of hells do you have a vial of your sisters blood ?!?."
"Hey, don't judge me, you filthy parasite. You have NO IDEA how many necromantic rituals require blood sacrifices. I swear, that stuff is like ambrosia for Velusius. You know, the death god. Second of the Five? Anyway, blood sacrifices are a necromancer's bread and butter. It's great that I have a regular source nearby, you know. On that topic, touch her and you die, my oversized mosquito friend. I have to keep a monopoly going, you realize."
Post by: anailater on October 26, 2012, 02:58:55 pm
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 26, 2012, 03:14:48 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 26, 2012, 03:21:07 pm
"I have a question - why aren't you doing this yourself? A simple murder shouldn't be a problem for a mage. Is it that you're a coward, or are you just looking for the least honorable way to settle your squabble?"
You're going to die!
Er...Uh...
Klaklak clacka clickity click
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2012, 03:28:00 pm
"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't risk the death or infection of your sister and just kidnapped some hobos, then you get undead minions and blood."
"Vagrants aren't known to possess the blood of virgins, if you know what I'm saying here. Besides, capturing people is far more difficult than it may seem, particularly to one of my own physical abilities. Which brings me to my next point..."
"I have a question - why aren't you doing this yourself? A simple murder shouldn't be a problem for a mage. Is it that you're a coward, or are you just looking for the least honorable way to settle your squabble?"
"Why would I do this myself? I have you to take care of that for me, with no additional effort required on my part, allowing me to get rid of such... nuisances as Skip, for that is what he is, no more, without worry. Besides, murder is such a crude task, unsuitable for men of skill like myself. Better to leave such trifles to tools such as yourselves. After all," he says, pointing to the holes in your abdomen, "bravery is your forte."
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 26, 2012, 03:58:33 pm
((Murder is a crude task, but bloodletting your sister isn't?))
Post by: anailater on October 26, 2012, 04:39:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 01:36:45 am
"It is obviously not below you to murder, or else you would have used a less lethal spell to bind us. Or is killing a tool not murder?" Philip sighed. "But I probably shouldn't argue with you. Whatever the case, it seems like I have little choice but to do your dirty work. If we're going after this guy, shouldn't we know a bit more about his abilities? Is he a 'great' mage such as yourself?"
((Murder is a crude task, but bloodletting your sister isn't?))
"Of course killing a tool is not murder, since a tool does not truly live. Next you'll be saying that servi need to be treated like our equals. Completely ridiculous."
"But, back on point, Skip obviously is nowhere near as good as yours truly, but you should watch out for certain spells of his. He knows how to mess with your mind. Plus, there'll be, like, ten other people with him at least, the place being an inn."
((Hey, bloodletting is a task that requires skill, finesse and a license, too. After all, it is supposed to be a method of medical treatment.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 04:43:15 am
Post by: anailater on October 27, 2012, 05:10:10 am
Post by: Caerwyn on October 27, 2012, 09:54:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 10:53:42 am
I don't really like not having a set schedule, but if it makes things easier for you, go for it.
Actually, it might let me keep a schedule better, letting me reply even if a fewer number of players have posted actions. Plus, it'll simplify turn formatting and generally keep things moving.
Post by: Firelordsky on October 27, 2012, 11:34:02 am
Try to laugh.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 12:42:14 pm
Who's Laughing Now?
Having received all the information they need, James, Bruce, Jordan and Samuel proceed out of the tomb and onto the road, leaving both Philip and Vincent behind.
All four of them proceed on the trail away from the cottage. They venture through the foreboding woods for about a quarter of an hour until they reach the cobbled road to Richardsburgh. From here, you can go to the east and to the west.
[Bruce willpower: 1]
[James willpower: 6]
Suddenly, Bruce starts screaming!
"There's no way out! It's a labyrinth, I tell you! A labyrinth! We're all going to DIE!"
He is about to collapse in hysteria when James, visibly irritated by his panicking, punches him in the liver, where the melancholic and choleric fluids are said to reside!
[James strength: 4+1=5]
Bruce is too preoccupied with thoughts of imminent death to try and dodge the blow, and it connects! There is a flash of clarity in his eyes! The fear inside him reels! He straightens out and clears his throat.
"Right then. Where were we?"
James has KO'd Bruce's fear! Who knew physical violence was a viable method of psychiatric treatment? Science has triumphed once more!
Jordan, meanwhile, decides that he's had enough of walking around unarmed and proceeds east, away from the rest, looking for some people to waylay and rob.
[Jordan search roll: 1]
Jordan proceeds, moaning about the walk like any true zombie would. There don't seem to be any people around here. There is a little bear, though. He attempts to rob it, but it doesn't seem to have anything worth stealing. He starts to ponder how best to execute it for this horrible insult when a far larger, angrier bear shows up, murder on its mind. Specifically, Jordan's murder.
At the same time, Samuel chooses to go west. In less than an hour, he has reached the small village of Richardsburgh. Richardsburgh is composed of fifteen small houses spaced in a circle around the major landmark of the area, the Errant Spark Inn. The inn is famous throughout the north for its service quality, friendly staff and well-trained servi. It is also the prime hangout for students of the nearby Erland University of Divine Mysteries, also known as the University of Magic. As such, it gets vast amounts of traffic throughout the year.
Samuel walks through the peaceful village and settles down in the shadows near the front entrance of the inn, waiting for some drunk, hapless victims to come out.
[Drunk, hapless victim roll: 3]
The door opens, and Samuel hears the sound of a jolly folk tune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7hHx7gdN68) played on a lute and accompanied by many singing voices. A mildly inebriated gentleman of about 30 or so years dressed in peasant clothes comes out of the inn. He is carrying a splendid oaken walking stick. He is slowly walking towards the edge of the village, admiring the object in his hands.
"Man, I should cheat at cards more often! Wait till my wife and kids see this! They'll be so happy to hear that they don't need to do any slave-work this week!"
Samuel decides that this victim is about as good as any.
[Samuel vs. Cheater: 6 vs. 5-2 (surprised and mildly inebriated)]
Samuel leaps from the shadows with skeletal alacrity and grabs the Cheater! Using the power of pent-up frustration and greed, he locks his bony arms around his neck in an iron grip and tries to snap it! He doesn't really manage the neck snap, being somewhat of a novice at killing people, but he does crush his trachea nicely after about five minutes of effort! The Cheater suffocates, having never seen this coming until it was too late.
Time to loot! Samuel grabs the splendid oaken walking stick and carefully undresses and searches the farmer. He finds fifteen copper coins and some loaded dice! He takes them and grabs his clothes, too. Having looted everything, he returns to the shadows.
Meanwhile, back at the mausoleum, Vincent attempts his signature laugh. Having no vocal chords, he has to settle for chattering his teeth like some infernal contraption of amusement.
Post by: TopHat on October 27, 2012, 12:46:53 pm
Post by: anailater on October 27, 2012, 12:57:08 pm
To th inn, find the inn keeper find out the room, team vampire go!
Post by: Caerwyn on October 27, 2012, 01:59:27 pm
Woo-hoo, skeleton arms.
Post by: Firelordsky on October 27, 2012, 02:39:00 pm
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 27, 2012, 03:27:54 pm
((Wait, do we know the necromancer's name yet? Is it Bradford?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 04:02:09 pm
"Alright, I think I understand my situation. But before I go, shouldn't I know your name? Or would you prefer that I just called you 'Master'?"
The necromancer seems delighted at that last word.
"My name is none of your business. You may call me 'Master', yes. That would be ideal."
He chuckles. It's certainly a chuckle you'd rather never have to hear again.
"Anyway, shouldn't you be getting to work, minion? Even the freak has gotten a clue already," he says, pointing at the departing Vincent.
James and Bruce decide to go to the inn. They are trailed closely by Vincent, who is about to call out for them to wait up, but then remembers once more that he can't speak. He chatters with amusement at this reminder of his new, slightly more cursed existence. It doesn't take them too long to reach the inn, where they come upon the naked, strangled corpse of a man. They can see a scarecrow-like figure skulking in the darkness, seemingly the culprit in this gruesome murder-robbery.
Unbeknownst to them, the figure is none other than Samuel, having put on the farmer's clothes as well as he can. At least you can't immediately tell that he's an animated human skeleton running around performing mischief. It would be one of the top five guesses, but still. And now he has proper pockets to keep his cheatin' dice in! Unlife is currently looking good for Samuel in more ways than one!
Figuratively flush with his terrible triumph, the false scarecrow decides to look for a back entrance to the inn.
[Samuel searching roll: 1]
Not very shockingly, there is an entrance on the other side of the inn, right next to the village's cesspool! As in, right over it. On a sort-of balcony one story above ground-level. There appears to be a rolled-up rope ladder on the top of the balcony. A servus entrance, perhaps? Looking at the state of the cesspool and the splashed... uh... matter on the wall, they use the balcony for emptying chamberpots. Convenient, you suppose.
As the figure disappears into the night, the three new arrivals decide not to follow it just yet. Bruce uses the uncomfortable silence to explain his plan of misleading Skip about there being whores in his room, then taking advantage of his disappointment to drain his sweet, sweet vitae. Not waiting for a reply, he storms into the inn, leaving Vincent and James standing over the corpse.
Bruce enters the inn and finds a scene of glorious merriment awaiting him. There are no less than thirty people drinking, laughing, making jokes and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere in the main room of the inn. Judging from their garb, at least five of them are magic-users. Students, it seems. In the middle of it all is a handsome man with long blond hair and beard. He doesn't quite match the necromancer's picture, but you'd wager that is Skip Rogers. He appears to be telling a riveting story of some kind to six other people with him. One of them is the beautiful dark-haired woman the necromancer spoke of. She is sitting in Skip's lap with his arm around her shoulder.
Having confirmed the target's location, Bruce walks up to the most innkeeper-like person he can see around here - the barkeep.
[Bruce-barkeep-schmooze-go: 1 (GM's Note: I would advise taking back what you said about random.org's mother)]
"So, I'd like to find out where this Skip Rogers person is staying. You see, I have an urgent shipment of whores to deliver to his room, and Monsieur Rogers does not like to be waiting. So, keys. In my hand. Now. Chop-chop."
The barkeep says nothing.
"Did you not hear me, sir? Whores. Need. Delivering. Right now."
He appears to be staring at your fangs. Uh oh.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: anailater on October 27, 2012, 04:09:02 pm
Lie like a compulsive liar when he is lying.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 04:12:35 pm
"Ah yes the fangs, ha ha, if i had a nickle for every time, i work for sleazy vampire whores, and due to having an idiotic boss we have to wear these fangs on job or we get fired, so yeah room key?"
Lie like a compulsive liar when he is lying.
((Mind giving me a color for your character? You don't have to use it in your posts, I'll just use it to paint your speech and character name.))
Post by: Caerwyn on October 27, 2012, 04:15:21 pm
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 27, 2012, 04:18:15 pm
Post by: TopHat on October 27, 2012, 04:19:02 pm
Since red, green and purple are taken, I'll go for grey
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2012, 04:20:11 pm
Head inside and bail Bruce out.
Since red is taken, I'll go for green.
((Jordan's got green. Pick another one, please.))
Post by: anailater on October 27, 2012, 04:39:08 pm
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 27, 2012, 04:47:06 pm
Head inside and bail Bruce out.
Since red is taken, I'll go for purple.
((A certain necromancer's sister already claimed that.))
Post by: Firelordsky on October 27, 2012, 05:20:23 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 27, 2012, 07:06:08 pm
Try to gouge out the creature's eyes, and keep searching for anyone with a dangerous weapon that can be easily pilfered.
Post by: TopHat on October 28, 2012, 02:05:10 am
DAMMINIT!Head inside and bail Bruce out.
Since red is taken, I'll go for purple.
((A certain necromancer's sister already claimed that.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 03:21:58 am
Inside the inn, however, there are the makings of a great commotion developing! Bruce, especially, seems to be in great trouble, being on the verge of having his vampirism revealed! How will he get out of this one?
[Protect the Masquerade roll: 5]
"Oh, it's the fangs putting you off. I'm sorry, good chap, I got a bit ahead of myself. You see, the fangs are part of my job. Vampires are becoming highly fashionable in noble circles, you see, and the market for sleazy vampire whores is absolutely booming. So, my fine employer, Almiria bless his soul, had the idea of starting a bit of a, shall we say, 'vampire escort' business. Unfortunately, that means I and many beautiful women had to glue false fangs to their teeth and avoid the sunlight for three summers. Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. So, you can see that my life isn't simple, so could you please stop overcomplicating it and allow me to do my job? Please?"
"Sleazy vampire whores, huh? What is this world coming to? But I feel your pain, man. We had to severely shorten the legs and arms of many servi some five years back when there was this great dwarf craze across the nation. Everybody had to have 'authentic mountain dwarves' serving their drinks and whatnot, it was awful. We couldn't use those servi anymore after the craze had passed, and we had to get rid of them. Lost many good men and women that way, I tell you."
"Yes, yes, yes, right. Now, how about that room key?"
"Oh, Skip Rogers doesn't have a room here. They just use the portal conduit to get back to the university when they're done with the revelry. Guess you've been misinformed on the whole sleazy vampire whore thing. Hey, mind if I could get some of those whores? I'll pay, of course."
[Vincent reaction roll: 5]
The barkeep pauses briefly to hand a nearby prehensile-tailed skeleton the drink he's been waiting for, clearly far too distracted by the prospect of sleazy vampire whores to really pay attention. Vincent sits down in the corner, beer in hand, and gets ready to drink.
James, pleased that a bar fight has not started yet, just mingles with the clientele and enjoys the music.
Outside, Samuel continues to skulk about. You know, there's an astounding lack of commotion inside the inn, considering that a mostly naked animated human skeleton just walked in. He reassures himself that mass combat isn't far away now, and continues circling the inn.
However, Jordan is in the opposite predicament, being totally unarmed and in a standoff with an enraged bear.
"I say, wouldn't it be great if I had claws rather than these stubby, useless fingers? Oh well."
He resolves to punch the bear in the eye!
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 5 vs. 5+1]
He swings with savage ferocity, but the bear has seen this coming, leaping into the air and landing behind him!
[BEAR vs. Jordan: 2+1 vs. 5-1]
The bear launches itself at Jordan, but he steps aside with the speed of a zombie martial artist! The bear is still on all fours and ready for action! How is the intrepid zombie going to escape this assuredly fatal obstacle?
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on October 28, 2012, 04:25:01 am
Post by: Gamerlord on October 28, 2012, 06:05:12 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 28, 2012, 06:59:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 07:16:40 am
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 07:54:26 am
"Ah thanks, can't always get the info right, I'll just beheading off now."
Head off towards the university try to find the sleeping quarters are.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 08:00:12 am
((How the hell did that work........))
"Ah thanks, can't always get the info right, I'll just beheading off now."
Head off towards the university try to find the sleeping quarters are.
The university is a day's walk from here, you know that. However, which direction that might be in and what you would encounter on the way, you aren't sure. Must be why they have a portal conduit.
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 08:02:19 am
Is it strange to wear masks in this universe to keep your identity secret?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 08:03:44 am
O.k. .......
Is it strange to wear masks in this universe to keep your identity secret?
It would look strange, yes. Where's a good plague when you need one?
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 08:11:49 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 28, 2012, 08:16:53 am
Spoiler: Char (click to show/hide)
((oh, and would you mind sending me a PM when it's my turn?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 08:25:44 am
Spoiler: Char (click to show/hide)
((oh, and would you mind sending me a PM when it's my turn?))
Of course. I intend to do that with all waitlisters.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 28, 2012, 09:28:46 am
Keep trying to gouge! If I can, grab a stick to help!
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 28, 2012, 10:06:50 am
((Can zombies infect others? Cause a zombie bear minion would be cool.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 11:37:15 am
[Jordan's search roll: 5]
He backs up from the bear and suddenly sees something lodged in a nearby tree stump - an axe! He pulls it out effortlessly!
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
Jordan becomes a one-zombie axe whirlwind of death, quickly closing the distance between himself and the bear! The bear is caught off-guard by his unexpected mode of attack, rising on its hind legs and rolling backwards! It is unharmed aside from getting slightly dizzy!
[BEAR vs. Jordan: 4 vs. 4-1]
Once Jordan stops relentlessly swinging his axe at the air, the bear utilizes this window of opportunity to charge at him! Jordan has no time to dodge the pounce, and they both become tangled up, rolling off into the wilderness! The zombie-bear entanglement comes to a stop when it collides with a large oak tree, separating the two participants! Both of them are dizzy, but apparently unharmed!
Meanwhile, at the much more peaceful inn, James decides that, having no plan to kill Skip and nowhere to rush, he should use the opportunity to get filthy stinking rich from gambling with the drunken degenerate fools all around the inn.
[James gambling roll: 1]
The people around the inn turn out to not be drunken degenerates at all, but savvy gamblers with a keen insight into human (and, by extension, vampire) psychology! Oh no! James soon spirals into a gambling binge, at the end of which he is left with almost nothing, having lost his two copper coins, his prized pitchfork and even the clothes on his back! He still has his vial of blood, though, which was just too creepy to lose. He is left naked and helpless and, being a non-paying patron, gets hurled right out of the inn!
As James meets his horrid fate at the hands of those lousy card sharks. Bruce joins the non-gambling crowd, being a good observational learner. He attempts to get closer to the inner circle of the party people.
[Schmooze-a-go-go: 5]
Bruce, through suave body language, animal magnetism, pretending to be drinking and laconic, though sharp wit, moves throughout the party, gaining the widespread admiration of the guests, and soon finds himself right next to Skip Rogers himself, who currently seems to be attempting to gain his attention by recounting a roaring tale from one of the wilder parties he's been to.
"... so, next morning I woke up, I found myself in bed with a comely dwarf, a beautiful lady and a servus dressed entirely in steel plate armor. Now, this wouldn't be unusual in itself, but they were all talking about how I had rescued them from a giant magical dragon or something. But where it really gets strange is..."
[Dramatic entrance roll: 3]
Skip cannot finish his tale, unfortunately, because his attention is diverted to a spectral armored figure right next to him telekinetically pulling on his shirt sleeve!
[Explanation roll: 5]
"Skip Rogers! I come bearing pertinent information! Listen well, for it may decide your fate!"
"Okay, there's a ghost talking to me. You're all seeing this, right?"
The other people around him, including Bruce, who doesn't want to seem contrarian, confirm that Philip is indeed there. Skip nods, then snaps his fingers. A tiny glow emanates from his body. It dissipates in a second, leaving Skip completely sober. The room goes quiet.
"I have been bound by a necromancer most foul to end your life! I am giving you a choice: assist me with obtaining my freedom from the terrible mage or we shall have to duel to the death!"
"A necromancer, you say? Awful fellow, looks like death, with an ugly nose, has a creepy sister?"
"Yes, that is indeed him!"
"Freaking Bernie, man. I knew we shouldn't have invited him to the party. Guy just can't take a practical joke. I thought making him strip naked and dance at the Mystery Fair would loosen him up, guy's a total stiff, you know. But no, he just swears blood vengeance on you. Must have gotten a great focus somewhere if he can go around raising undead like you."
"Bernie is his name?"
"Yeah, Bernard von Glautzenheiser. We call him Bernie. Total asshole, but we try to live with him. Doesn't seem like he appreciates it one bit, judging from you being here."
"In any case, you were given a choice. Free me, or we shall fight to the death."
"Okay, man. You were straight with me, so I'll be straight with you - I can't free you. That's not how binding spells work, particularly Bernie's. Even if you kill Bernie, you aren't going to go free. You're just going to disperse, probably painfully if I know Bernie like I think I do. The only way to free yourself from his spell is if he releases you himself."
He pauses for a moment, his expression somewhat melancholic.
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. So, what are you going to do?"
Spoiler: GM's Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 11:43:58 am
Plead!
Post by: TopHat on October 28, 2012, 11:46:10 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 28, 2012, 12:10:35 pm
I have my axe, that's what I came for.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 01:00:44 pm
"By the way, as long as we're making confessions here, I'd like to add that I'm here for the same reason as the ghost. And, speaking of which, couldn't you mind control Bernie to free us, or at least point us to somebody who could?"
Skip looks a bit surprised. "You're here to kill me too? How many of you are there? Anyway, it's a bit complicated, you see. Mind control is pretty easy, especially on a guy like Bernie. I've done it myself several times, in fact. However, simple mind control won't suffice. Binding is soul magic, and souls are pretty much impossible to control for us ordinary schmucks. To unbind somebody, you need the soul's cooperation, and forcing that is beyond the reach of mere mortals. You'd have to get a demon or something, and the Five Gods only know where you'd find one these days."
Outside the inn, James seeks out the scarecrow-skeleton Samuel, and asks him in Skeleton to lend him something helpful (that is to say, something to help him cheat at gambling) in the politest way possible. Samuel replies that he'd rather die than help the likes of James. My word, how impudent and rude!
Back in the forest...
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 1 vs. 2]
Jordan attempts to bring his axe down on the bear, but the instrument of death slips from his grasp mid-swing and flies off in an arc!
[Flight of the axe: 4]
Fortunately, the axe doesn't fly off very far, lodging itself in a tree right behind Jordan. The bear seems somewhat confused by this turn of events.
[BEAR vs. Jordan: 5 vs. 6-1]
Not one to question an advantage, the bear charges at Jordan once more! However, before it can topple the walking corpse, Jordan answers with a push of his own!
[Jordan strength: 6+1]
Channeling his fury at losing his only piece of worthwhile loot, Jordan pushes very hard indeed! Hard enough to send the bear flying backward into a tree, nearly shattering the trunk!
[Bear's endurance: 5+2]
The bear is merely shaken up by this horrific impact! Indeed, it appears to have become madder in the process! Why won't this bastard die?
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 01:24:50 pm
Demons i must know something about demons.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 28, 2012, 01:29:49 pm
Samuel will continue with the plan to kill Skip. But for now, he'll enter the bar, and talk to one of Skip's men. Try and enter a few games of dice with him, bet whatever coins are required. If all goes well, bet the remaining coins, wagered against information on Skip.
Post by: TopHat on October 28, 2012, 01:52:02 pm
"You're already dead. Idiot."Charge in, accuse the card sharps of cheating. Bar fight!
((sorry. Gotta get that pitchfork back))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 28, 2012, 02:04:55 pm
Grab the axe and keep swinging!
Post by: Firelordsky on October 28, 2012, 02:09:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 03:28:28 pm
"I say, would you be so kind as to GODDAMMIT DIE ALREADY!"
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 4+1 vs. 4]
He swings! He swings again! And again! And again! The bear's nose is slightly grazed by the axe blade, making it recoil in pain! However, the bear flips right back into action!
[BEAR vs. Jordan: 6+1 vs. 5-1]
The bear roars and leaps at Jordan, sinking its teeth into Jordan's belly!
[Bear saving throw vs. awful taste: 5]
It doesn't seem bothered by the taste of what is essentially carrion! It tears a chunk of belly-flesh out of Jordan, surprising the zombie, but not causing any pain to speak of. Being dead sure has its advantages!
Back at the inn, Bruce appears to desire yet more information from Skip.
"So, you say a demon could free us. Could you tell me more about these demons?"
"Demons? Well, there is what I know from books - to make a long story short, they used to inhabit this world, but the Five Gods drove them out. You'd have to find an expert on the subject to find out more."
"Expert on the subject, got it. Anyway, you've been nothing but helpful this entire time, knowing full well that we came here to kill you. I figure you're, well, not a prick, and I don't really want to kill you."
"Thank you, I suppose."
"Perhaps you could fake your death somehow? Then we wouldn't have to kill you."
"Faking my death could work, I guess. Did he ask for any specific proof of my death?"
"Your head."
"I could whip up an illusion of it, I guess. How close it'll be to the real thing is another question. Guess there's no way out but to try it."
[Skip's illusion roll: 2]
He makes an arcane gesture and mumbles a little bit, and an image of his own severed, bloody head appears in his hand! Seeing his own possible death up close is too much for Skip, however, and the illusion quickly dissipates.
"Oh man. Sorry. I don't think I could pull that off again, unfortunately. Took a lot out of me."
Meanwhile, Samuel chooses to leave the dejected James behind and just stroll into the inn. He finds one of the mages in Skip's group and tugs on his robe.
[Mage reaction roll: 6]
"Holy crap, look, Skip, it's another one of those undead guys!"
"Doesn't seem very hostile. What does it want?"
[Non-verbal skeletal communication roll: 6]
Samuel grabs the mage by the collar and drags him slightly away from the rest of the group. He is eyed with suspicion by the rest.
However, that suspicion quickly dissipates when Samuel produces a set of dice from his pocket and holds them out to the mage.
"You want... to play dice?"
The skeleton nods.
"Uh... okay?"
[Samuel gambling roll: 6+2]
Samuel wins the first round! And the second! And the third! And seven more!
"The dice are loaded, aren't they?" the mage finally asks.
Samuel nods contently.
"I don't suppose I could get my money back?"
Samuel holds up his oaken walking stick menacingly.
"Alright then. I'll be... going now?"
The mage proceeds back to the group. Not bad, all in all - Samuel has cheated the mage out of 55 copper coins! No information, though. Just as well - Samuel probably couldn't have articulated a complex concept like that, anyway.
James, on the other hand, decides to take a far less devious approach to dealing with gamblers. He runs into the inn, stark naked and everything, and accuses the three card sharks of cheating!
[Card shark reaction roll: 1]
The three card sharks quietly approach James.
"You say we cheated? Are you sure of what you said?"
"Most assuredly!"
"Do you have proof?"
"Proof?"
"Yes, proof. Something to back up your claim that we actually cheated, rather than used our skill at cards and your lack thereof to honorably part you from your belongings."
[James resistance roll: 3]
"Well, no, not as such, no."
"So, for all you know, your accusations are simply slander of the foulest, most unfounded sort."
"Uh..."
"So it is, then. I'm afraid we have to demand some sort of compensation."
"But you have everything I owned! All I have is this measly bottle of virgin's blood!"
"It will have to do. I hear virgin's blood is in high demand among mages. I'm sure we'll find a buyer."
"But..."
They pry the bottle from your hands.
"Now, gentlemen, it appears that we have had our fun this evening. Shall we depart?"
One of the silent ones makes some complicated hand gestures. All three of them disappear in a puff of smoke along with all of your belongings.
In the meantime, Vincent, still managing to stay completely unnoticed, scans the room for any solitary marks for undoubtedly dark purposes.
[Vincent search roll: 2]
Unfortunately, all the marks seem to have gathered in the center of the room. Vincent takes a disappointed sip from his tankard of beer, then watches it drip on his seat with even greater disappointment.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 28, 2012, 03:30:18 pm
Go for the belly! And the neck!
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 28, 2012, 03:32:49 pm
((Edit: Dang it, just missed the update. That's what I get for proofreading.))
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 04:16:48 pm
((I HAVE A PLAN!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2012, 05:11:23 pm
((Edit: Dang it, just missed the update. That's what I get for proofreading.))
((Never fear! The GM is always here! Well, except for about 9 hours from this point onward.))
Philip, having thought carefully about Skip's words, finally speaks up.
"I don't think a demon would be any steps up from a necromancer. It would probably be easier to get Bernard to free us than trick an unholy spawn into helping us without collecting our souls afterward."
"Heh, you obviously don't know Bernie very well. But seriously, though, demons aren't all that bad, from what I hear. According to the myths, the Five Gods themselves were demons or something, and even so, they weren't the only ones that weren't half bad."
There is a brief pause. Philip seems to realize something.
"Wait, you could mind control him? Why in the gods names haven't you made him less evil? Maybe helped him get over his crush so he could move on with his life?
"Well, if I just went around pacifying what I believed to be totally harmless assholes, I wouldn't be a very good person myself, now would I? And this is the first time I've heard of any crush he's had on anyone, to tell you the truth. Didn't think old Bernie had it in him to like anyone, let alone have a crush."
"Yes, and it would probably be soul control to remove a crush, anyway."
"Not entirely, crushes usually involve momentary impulses of very little importance and as such are really easy to control. It's when you try to change the essence of a man when you're veering into soul control."
"Well, couldn't you pacify him? Make him catatonic or something? That wouldn't be soul control."
Skip thinks for a moment.
"You know, you might be on to something there."
He strokes his beard thoughtfully.
"That would totally work! That is, if you distracted him and brought him out into the open. Then I and my friends could probably make him calm as a summer breeze in Naranja. Couldn't hurt a fly then. It wouldn't last forever, obviously, but perhaps you could find a way to free yourself of his power while you're not under immediate duress."
"If you could truly pacify Bernard, I would be forever grateful. I also wouldn't have to try to kill you, which would probably fail anyway, considering how new I am to the whole ghost thing. Oh, where are my manners? I am Philip Zander, former guard of... I can't exactly remember whose castle I guarded, just that I died in the line of duty. I'm hoping that's normal for a ghost. Anyway, I'd shake your hand if I could, but I do seem to have a bit of an intangibility problem."
Skip takes a bow. "Pleased to meet you, Philip. I am Skip Rogers, soon to be a graduate of the College of Illusion in the University of Magic. And this is my significant other and all-around great woman, Tammy Rutkowski," he says, pointing to the unusually attractive dark-haired woman.
"Hi! I'm very pleased to meet you." Tammy smiles charmingly.
"You're the one Bernie has a crush on," Bruce points out.
"Really? I guess I should feel flattered or something. Bernie's pretty silly. For a complete psychopath, you know."
"Seems like we have a plan here. Anything else you'd like to ask?"
"Is soul binding illegal?"
"Very. It's powerful magic. Nigh-unbreakable as well. You'd need some kind of powerful artifact to cast it these days, I think."
"So, what would happen to us if we die?"
"Not sure. I don't think you'd proceed to any afterlife if you did, being soulbound to Bernie. Where he goes, you go. And between you and me? He sounds like prime angry ghost material."
Back at the forest...
Jordan is getting really tired of this bear keeping him from moving on with his wretched unlife! He decides to swing for the bear's neck!
"I SAY, GIVE ME BACK MY FLESH!"
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 6+1 vs. 5-1(rage and distracting pain from grazed nose)]
The axe sweeps across the bear's neck, cleaving through its flesh, making it stagger backwards and bleed profusely! However, it is not out just yet!
[BEAR vs. Jordan: 6(injured) vs. 4-1]
It makes a desperate lunge for Jordan's abdomen, tearing out his heart with its teeth! If Jordan actually needed his circulatory system, he would be in great trouble indeed!
[Bear saving throw versus awful taste: 1]
Although Jordan is briefly saddened at the loss of his heart, he gets it back almost immediately! For the bear vomits the putrid organ and the zombified chunk of flesh along with a whole lot of other things straight out at him, the sudden flood of intestinal juice having been triggered by a two-pronged attack of belly-flesh aftertaste and rotten heart flavor! The bear unsteadily stands for a second, then vomits again! And again! And again!
"Was it really that bad?" Jordan can't help but ask.
Post by: anailater on October 28, 2012, 05:16:45 pm
Remember all orders given to us by the necromancer/Bernie.
Post by: Firelordsky on October 28, 2012, 06:11:25 pm
((Never know when you have to tri-wield. :P)
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 28, 2012, 06:37:33 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 28, 2012, 06:39:19 pm
Post by: peglegpengeuin on October 28, 2012, 06:43:28 pm
Samuel will head back to the Necromancer's lair immediately.
((Why am I worried?))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 28, 2012, 09:19:55 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on October 29, 2012, 03:48:06 am
Name: Montogomery Caid
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Bio: Montgomery Caid was born with no legs, and was so forced to learn to move around and live with only his arms to move him. Will post longer bio later, but I just loved this idea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 04:21:31 am
Faced with a ceaselessly vomiting, mostly defenseless, though certainly tenacious foe, Jordan goes for the killing blow!
[Jordan vs. BEAR: 4+1 vs. 2-2]
He brings the axe down upon the bear's skull with awe-inspiring force! The bear's head explodes in a shower of gore!
"Ding, dong, the bear is dead! AHAHAHAHA!"
Jordan does a zombie victory dance in the gore and vomit all around him to celebrate his accomplishment! He is the Mad Scientist Zombie no more, he is the BEARSLAYER, and today he stands triumphant!
Back at the inn...
"How about we get his sister and use her to draw him out?" asks Bruce, realizing that the only direct orders he's been given are to bring back Skip's head and to not kill himself.
"I'm not so sure he cares about his sister enough to surrender for her. Even so, kidnapping is wrong, especially kidnapping defenseless girls. Tammy, on the other hand, would make exceptional bait, that is, if she's willing to risk her life for a bunch of undead strangers. We could return to Bernard with her and pretend that she was under some powerful spell that Skip cast and that killing him made her realize how awesome Bernard is. We could then use Tammy to lure Bernard somewhere he'll be easy to pacify."
"Well, Tammy, what do you think?"
"I could do that, I think. I'd probably be the best candidate, considering that Bernard wants to jump my bones and I could definitely fry his ass if things go too far south," Tammy says, summoning a small spark in her hand.
"Okay then, but what do we do with the sister? She might be a problem, especially if she can undo whatever spell you're planning on using. I'm not sure how to handle her, or if we even need to."
"I don't know her very well, either. Bernie did seem to speak more of her like a lab assistant rather than a family member whenever I brought her up. Maybe the feeling is mutual? I don't know. Ask her, maybe. I'm pretty sure she isn't a mage, though, at least not university-trained."
Samuel decides he's heard enough from the conspirators and slips out of the inn, proceeding back to the necromancer's lair immediately!
[Samuel speedy travel roll: 5]
He reaches it after about twenty minutes of fast jogging! Damn it feels good to be a tireless automaton.
In the meantime, Vincent decides to test out his prehensile tail.
[Vincent tail dexterity: 2]
He slides the tankard onto his tail, but it immediately slips off, hitting the ground with a loud *CLANG* and spilling beer everywhere!
[Inn reaction roll: 6]
Nobody notices. In fact, everybody else seems to become only more engrossed in what they were doing! Vincent has become near-invisible to them!
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on October 29, 2012, 08:54:47 am
Insult random.org's mother. Step outside and mug the next stupid drunk walking out.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 29, 2012, 09:54:43 am
Post by: TopHat on October 29, 2012, 09:58:45 am
Samuel will report everything back to the Necromancer, including who's betraying who, and that Skip knows of his plan. He will also prepare for any punishment that he might...Receive.Remember I had no part in this I was busy getting ripped off by a bunch of cardsharps who stole my beloved pitchfork.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 29, 2012, 10:10:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 11:15:36 am
Samuel, having returned to Bernie the Necromancer's lair, chooses to spill the beans on the entire conspiracy against him, leaving no detail unexplained!
After a glorious ten-minute pantomime of skeletal gesturing, Bernie is dumbstruck. He is shocked, shocked at the news his skeletal minion has brought him!
Oh wait, no, he isn't. He claps his hands together in excitement!
"Wonderful! Everything is proceeding exactly as I planned! Don't worry, Tammy, I will be more than happy to... comfort you when Skip meets his end, heh heh!"
Suddenly, Jordan walks into the room, heartless, bloody and covered in bear vomit!
"You look absolutely terrible, my minion! How goes the task?"
"Absolutely marvelously, my good man! I killed a bear with an axe I found in the woods!"
"And what about Skip?"
"Who?"
"Skip Rogers, the target!"
"Target of what?"
"You were supposed to bring me his head!"
"I was supposed to do what now?"
"Kill Skip Rogers!"
"Who's he?"
The necromancer snaps his fingers! Jordan feels an electric shock course through his body and falls to the ground in convulsions!
Back at the inn...
James, tired of having a 24-carat run of bad luck, decides to make himself feel better by blaspheming Almiria, the Mother Goddess of Order, chief of the Five Gods!
[Blasphemy roll: 3]
After a splendid bit of disrespecting an extremely powerful deity and not getting immediately struck down, he tries to remedy his naked and penniless state with the tried-and-true method of mugging drunks! He sets up at the entrance and waits!
[Drunk, hapless victim roll: 1-1]
It doesn't take long until somebody appears! From behind James!
[? vs. James: 4+2 vs. 2-1(surprised)]
James hears a maniacal cackle, followed by a heavy truncheon to his skull! His eyes go dark! Before he blacks out, he hears a voice that had only dwelt in his nightmares before...
"My, what bee-YOO-tiful teeth you have!"
After a short period of dreamless unconsciousness, James wakes up. He checks his belongings and finds that he still doesn't have any. So far, so good. He does a quick inventory of all his body parts. Oh my, his teeth seem to be gone! All of them!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 29, 2012, 11:43:19 am
Head into town, after getting up from the shock. Ask to next person I see if they know anything about Skip Rogers. Then, kill him. And take his stuff.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 29, 2012, 11:43:35 am
Post by: TopHat on October 29, 2012, 12:33:47 pm
Pray to a god (not the one I blasphemed) that I get my teeth back. Look around for the bastard who stole them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 02:04:36 pm
Satisfied at having served his master well, Samuel waits for further instruction, making the best dignified servant face a skeleton can, which is to say none at all. When no orders are rudely barked at him, he decides to brush up on his cane-fighting technique!
[Samuel training roll: 4]
He strolls to a nearby sarcophagus, pulls out a corpse, props it against a nearby wall and proceeds to whack it with his cane in various ways for ten minutes! At the end of this assault the corpse is left horrifically mangled, and Samuel feels far more confident at whacking people with a stick. He has become an amateur cane fighter!
Around this time, Jordan finally stops convulsing terribly and gets up!
"M'lord! I am hurt! Wounded, even!" he says, pointing at his missing chunks of flesh.
"Such is the price anyone pays for being a fool!"
"But I am no fool, m'lord! You see, in my crusade against the local wildlife, I have acquired a truly magnificent weapon!"
Jordan proudly points at his axe.
"And?"
"And I am sure it will be enough to deal with that incorrigible, impudent, impossible, immature and probably incontinent scoundrel, this, this... uh..."
"Skip Rogers?"
"Yes, the damnable, reprehensible Skip Rogers! This axe will be more than enough to deal with his thrice-cursed head! In fact, I'll be right back with it!"
"Yeah, you have fun with that," Bernie says. He then picks up and begins to peruse an absolutely enchanting (aren't they all?) collector's edition of a tome of occult lore.
Jordan begins to shamble away from the cottage!
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 2-1]
However, he takes a wrong turn at the road and goes east instead! Soon enough he comes upon the massacred bear's remains.
"I say, jolly good times those were, oh yes! Wait, what was I going to do just now?"
Back outside the inn...
James drops to his knees, realizing that when you've been cheated out of your money, clothes and prized pitchfork and mugged for all of your teeth, you have truly hit rock bottom. He decides to pray to a god he hasn't insulted for salvation!
[James praying roll: 1 (oh god what is wrong with your rolls I don't even)]
He drops to his knees and yells to the heavens!
"Oh, Pacitarius, God of Nature, Protector of Lambs, Gentle Child of the Five! I beseech you, grant me some teeth so that I may drain the blood of many more defenseless, innocent people! Allow me to drink dry many women and children in their sleep! Grant me that which your cheating whore of a mother took from me in her infinite arrogance and pigheadedness! If you do not, I shall know you to be the horse's ass I have always thought you were!"
He feels a fluctuation in the air, as though an invisible wave had descended over the world. A sudden burning sensation on his forehead assails him!
[Suffering Pacitarius' wrath: 6]
James' first instinct is to apply his patented Rapid Kinetic Impulse Therapy to his own forehead! He punches himself once, twice, three times! The sensation lessens on the surface, slowly progressing inside him! It travels to the center of his skull, then goes downward! It settles inside his stomach!
James scratches his head at this new development. Could this revolutionary therapy really have worked against divine retribution?
It becomes clear very soon that the answer is a definite "maybe"! His stomach now glows with the power of the gods! James chuckles at poor lil' Pacitarius' expense. He was always the joke of the Five, the little twerp.
Having satisfactorily dealt with divine retribution, he decides to search for the bastard that stole his teeth despite being unsure if finding him would really end all that well for him.
[James searching roll: 6]
He finds a set of tracks leading away from the village into the wilderness! He follows the trail like a hunting dog that has sworn a blood oath and quickly disappears into the forest! Eventually, he finds a small log cabin that is lavishly decorated with human scalps! Finally looking up from the trail, he realizes that something has changed about the forest. There is a new feeling to it, a hostility that wasn't there before.
He is not welcome here.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 29, 2012, 02:12:45 pm
Turn around and go back to town.
Post by: anailater on October 29, 2012, 02:48:29 pm
To the necro lair!
((By the way Harry, did you expect things to go this way or did you expect us to just kill him?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 02:58:11 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 29, 2012, 03:02:32 pm
Post by: TopHat on October 29, 2012, 03:29:22 pm
((Oh, and I am not faffing about. Just because I'm doing nothing to help the team...))
Scout out the area. Try to find something to use as a weapon and then the cause of this disturbance if possible.
((I have no idea if this will end badly or not. It probably will, but ah well.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 29, 2012, 03:30:09 pm
Hmm... A 1 and 2 6s. Is this good or bad?((I think he means me.))
((Oh, and I am not faffing about. Just because I'm doing nothing to help the team...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 04:12:53 pm
Jordan's reflection on his past glories is interrupted by a stark realization! He isn't supposed to be here at all! He was going to the inn! He immediately turns around and goes on his merry way, enjoying a leisurely, uneventful hour-long journey.
At the inn...
Bruce, seeing no way to learn more about the situation at his present location, decides to leave for the necromancer's lair!
"I will head back now, hopefully we can find a way out of this."
"Good luck!"
He leaves, slowly but surely making his way to the mausoleum. Before the hour is out, he has reached his destination.
At the lair of the superlatively terrifying Bernard, Binder of Souls...
Samuel has a wonderful idea! If Bernie can cast magic, Skip can cast magic and Skip's friends can cast magic, why not Samuel himself? He resolves to ask Bernie for help!
But first, he needs something to write on! Fortunately, finding a writing implement and paper is simple, the mausoleum being absolutely infested with stationery!
[Literary eloquence roll: 3]
Samuel decides that keeping it simple would be best and writes "Teach me magic." on a sheet of paper. He shows it to Bernie!
[Bernie's benevolence roll: 1-1]
"Teach you magic? You want ME to teach YOU magic? I spent years, YEARS studying magic at the university to gain even the tiniest spark of actual power, and I had talent, mind you, and YOU, some anonymous asshole that rose from the grave not three hours ago, you want ME to just impart real, actual magic to you as a matter of course? Get out of my sight, damn you, or, I swear to Velusius, I will PERSONALLY give you a fatal object lesson in the practical nature of magic, got it?"
Samuel slowly backs away from Bernie. He seems to be getting very red.
"Go faster, asshole. Your wretched unlife depends on it."
Samuel runs as fast as possible from Bernie, not stopping for anything. As he runs, he hears an extremely loud yell echo through the halls!
"YOU COME BACK WITHOUT HIS HEAD, YOU ARE GOING TO BECOME A PILE OF FINE DUST, YOU HEAR ME? DUST!"
[Samuel attention roll: 1]
Samuel slams into Bruce as he bolts out of the mausoleum, the impact sending both of them flying into different directions!
[Samuel agility: 3+1]
[Bruce agility: 1+1]
Samuel rolls and lands safely! Bruce flops and lands on his face! This obviously hurts quite a bit for Bruce, whose face has sustained some bruising, but both are unharmed in any permanent way.
Meanwhile in the woods of madness...
James, feeling somewhat silly at having come all this way in unfamiliar territory that hates his guts (possibly literally) without any clothing or weapons of even the most basic sort, decides to scout out the area, always keeping an eye out for a weapon.
[James' scouting roll: 5-1]
James treks around the cabin and finds out that it has a back and front entrance. The cabin itself has only one story and appears ordinary aside from all the human scalps. Oh gods, the human scalps. There is a small stream gently flowing behind the cabin. Probably where the resident gets his water. Otherwise, the area is a homogenous, featureless wilderness, tall trees and thick bushes as far as the eye can see. If a hypothetical somebody hypothetically caught you and hypothetically brutally murdered you, nobody would hypothetically ever find your body.
[James' searching roll: 6-1]
While performing his scouting, James finds himself the lucky recipient of astonishing providence! He finds a weapon - a halberd! It is clutched in the hands of what appears to be a guard, fully bedecked in fine chainmail aside from a missing helmet. His remains are mostly decomposed and picked apart by animals, but you can tell why his helmet is missing - his throat has been stabbed multiple times and he has obviously been scalped. Uh oh.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on October 29, 2012, 04:33:27 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 29, 2012, 04:58:57 pm
Post by: TopHat on October 29, 2012, 05:48:58 pm
Equip the weapon and armour, and carry on scouting.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2012, 06:11:08 pm
((where is the -1 modifier coming from?))
Equip the weapon and armour, and carry on scouting.
((You are afflicted with the Wrath of Pacitarius, making you Hated By Nature and giving you a -1 to rolls made in the wilderness due to it resisting your advances. If you roll a 1, you'll be attacked by a wild animal! What fun!))
Post by: Firelordsky on October 29, 2012, 06:16:55 pm
Post by: anailater on October 30, 2012, 02:48:39 am
Back to the town, to the guard station, report Bernie for illegal soul binding.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 04:44:52 am
Bruce resolves to make Samuel's life even more miserable by heaping more verbal abuse at him!
"You idiot! What have you done? I'll have you reported, just you wait!"
He runs off!
[Bruce speedy traveling roll: 4]
He gets back to the inn in half an hour and proceeds to look for a guard station!
[Bruce search roll: 6]
There is no station, but a unit of twelve soldiers appears to have ridden into town for a drink! Bruce approaches them!
[Snitch, snitch, snitch on the evil necromancer: 6]
"Guards, you must help me!"
"What is the matter, stranger?"
Bruce stands still for a second. He realizes he doesn't actually know the skeleton's name. He decides to report Bernie instead!
"A necromancer most foul has taken residence in the Bradford family mausoleum! He is raising the dead, consorting with hellspawn, plundering treasures, kidnapping maidens and BINDING SOULS!"
"Oh, the humanity! Something must be done at once!"
"Yes, at once!"
"Let's ride! The necromancer must be apprehended!"
Bruce takes a seat behind one of the guards on horseback and they ride swiftly back to the mausoleum!
Samuel, meanwhile, feels a great sadness descend upon him as his skeletal butler dreams grow ever more distant and improbable. He decides to attempt to make his own fortune in the world by blundering into the woods like some kind of skeletal adventurer!
[Samuel adventuring roll: 2]
And boy, does he blunder or what. He blunders to the left, he blunders to the right, he blunders all around in many, many circles! Unsurprisingly, he doesn't find any ancient ruins or abandoned magic equipment! In fact, he doesn't find anything at all! Not even a wild animal to fight out of boredom and frustration! How utterly droll. He re-emerges from the woods an hour later, the disappointment on him almost palpable. There appear to be a lot of heavily-armed goons at the mausoleum. Huh.
In crazy country...
James, delighted at the new turns his life is taking, produces a toothless grin and loots the corpse of the unfortunate guard! It takes a while, but he gets all of the chainmail off and puts it on himself! Also, he pries the halberd from the guard's fingers, making this the second completely naked corpse (aside from himself) he's seen today! Flush with triumph, James decides to scout some more!
[James scouting roll: 1-1]
However, his plans are immediately ruined when he is set upon by...
[Deadly creature roll: 2]
... a wild hare!
[Hare vs. James: 4+1 vs. 1+2-1(surprised)]
The hare leaps into the air, as hares are wont to do, and goes for James' unprotected face, savaging it greatly! It keeps hanging on, biting, scratching and generally being unpleasant and diseased!
James is ugly now! He is also in dire peril!
Back at the inn...
Vincent, feeling left out by virtue of not having any meaningful amounts of money and awesome swag, decides to get in on all that sweet criminal action!
[Vincent pickpocketing roll: 4+1(contextual skeleton censor in place)]
He, exploiting the fact that he is currently subjected to an odd visual censor, walks around the entire inn, stealing from people to his heart's content. After making his rounds, he checks the loot:
23 gold coins, 57 copper coins, many keys, various notes, a box of snuff and what's this? Skip's spellbook, containing many complex spells of illusion! Score!
He sits down in his corner, beaming with joy at the tremendous loads of loot in his lap! Just in time, in fact, to see Jordan enter, axe in hand and questions in mind.
[Jordan searching roll: 5]
He approaches Skip Rogers!
"Hello, my good man. I say, do you happen to know anything about a man named Skip Rogers?"
Skip slightly recoils at the sight and smell of Jordan, but is too polite to say anything.
"Oh, you're one of those undead guys, right? You're in luck - I'm Skip Rogers, pleased to meet you."
"Jolly good! Tell me about yourself, will you?"
"Well, where should I start, I'm a magic user, and a good one at that, I've studied in the University of Magic for several years and am about to graduate. I'm in love with my girlfriend Tammy here, she's great."
"In love, you say? How marvelous! Are you engaged yet?"
"Well... uh..."
"Skip? What's the matter?"
"Well, there is something I need to say."
Skip faces Tammy, drops to one knee, takes out a box from his pocket and opens it! Inside is a beautiful ring!
"The real reason I've brought you all here tonight is this: Tammy, I love you with all of my heart and soul. You are the only woman in my life that has ever mattered. No other woman in any land compares to you in beauty, kindness or wisdom! This is the most important night of my life, and I'll be damned if I let Bernard von Glautzenheiser ruin it! Tammy Rutkowski, will you marry me?"
Tammy takes the ring and places it on her finger!
"Oh yes, Skip, as sure as you and I live, I will marry you!"
"Good show, chaps!"
[Jordan vs. Skip: 5+1 vs. 5-2 (surprised, oblivious with love)]
Jordan brings the axe down with a mighty swing! Skip's head is messily separated from his shoulders! It rolls in Tammy's direction!
[Inn reaction roll: 3]
Tammy collapses crying in front of Skip's headless corpse! The room goes silent! Jordan picks up the head by its golden locks and begins to stroll out of the inn, whistling on the way! However, Philip and some of the mages aren't done with him!
[Philip telekinesis roll: 2]
[Mage 1 fireball roll: 3 (inebriated)]
[Mage 2 lightning bolt roll: 1 (inebriated)]
Philip attempts to crush Jordan, but his inexperience with ghostdom clearly shows as he struggles to even nudge him a tiny bit! A mage launches a massive fireball, but it goes wide and hits a wall next to the entrance, setting it on magical fire! A third attacker makes lightning arc from his fingers in Jordan's direction!
[Jordan reaction to lightning bolt: 6]
Jordan turns around and raises his one true friend and companion: his axe! The lightning strikes it, but something must have gone wrong in the casting of the spell, as it does not fry him instantly, but makes the axe glow and spark!
Jordan points the axe at the three assailants! An arc of lightning comes out from the tip! It strikes Philip!
[Philip's resistance to lightning: 2-1(surprised)]
Philip is caught completely unprepared by the massive amounts of magical current! It courses through his incorporeal form, delivering massive punishment to his unlife-essence! Philip's ghostly presence blinks for a few moments, then disappears!
Philip is dispersed!
[Mages' morale roll: 1]
The mages, still drunk and faced with a crazy zombie that shoots lightning, rapidly wave their arms and disappear in a puff of smoke!
Jordan calmly walks out of the inn.
[Fire roll: 2]
As he does so, the fire spreads along the inn! Well, that's not Jordan's problem anymore, he supposes.
"I say, that was easy!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on October 30, 2012, 05:00:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 05:25:22 am
Post by: Firelordsky on October 30, 2012, 07:11:53 am
Post by: anailater on October 30, 2012, 08:38:18 am
Follow whatever plan the guards come up with
((Damn it, that was depressing.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 30, 2012, 10:33:03 am
Take the head back to Bernie, zapping anyone who dares to interrupt me. Politely, of course.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 30, 2012, 10:57:18 am
Samuel will head back to the Necromancer as well, and team up with the awesome undead-guys-on-bernies-side, and slaughter anything that gets in his way.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 30, 2012, 11:02:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 12:27:07 pm
As the inn merrily burns away, Vincent decides to flee the scene of the tragedy before anyone has noticed him! Valuables in hand, he runs outside and joins Jordan, showing him the amazing loot he's gathered. Jordan politely voices his approval! Oh, joyous day!
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 6-1]
[Vincent speedy traveling roll: 3]
The way things are going, Jordan can't help but break into a quick zombie trot, allowing him to reach the mausoleum in no time at all, but unfortunately leaving Vincent behind! However, there are uncouth louts, eleven halberdiers and one officer with a sword by the looks of them, in his way when he gets there, oh my!
At the besieged lair of Bernard von Glautzenheiser, Lord of the Undead...
Yes, that most certainly will not do! Jordan, unwilling to just up and fight a whole lot of goons at once, decides to attempt the lightning trick again!
[Jordan's lightning trick roll: 3]
He huffs, he puffs, he concentrates, but alas, no lightning comes out of his axe. It does begin to glow slightly, though. Oh well, guess they'll just have to slaughtered the old-fashioned way. He does feel a bit exposed, being all alone against twelve people.
However, this feeling is replaced by the warm glow of true kinship when Samuel approaches him from behind and puts his hand on Jordan's shoulder! He manages to impart an understanding only shared by two brutal murderers, showing that they indeed are brothers, though their mothers and fathers differ. Bolstered by their mutual bond, they proceed to the group, ready to cleave their way through it.
"So, what is the plan, guys?" Bruce asks the soldiers, who are currently milling about indecisively.
[Planning roll: 2]
The officer seems struck by a realization.
"A plan. Right. We really should have one, shouldn't we?"
He begins to think.
[Jordan vs. Officer: 1+2 vs. 6]
An axe whizzes past his head! The officer leaps away!
[Landing roll: 4]
He lands on his feet, a mite unsteady but no less ready to kill undead!
[Officer vs. Jordan: 4 vs. 6-1]
He stabs at Jordan with his sword! It goes into Jordan's flesh! He attempts to pull it out, but can't!
[Jordan vs. Officer: 3+2 vs. 3-1]
Jordan swings his axe along the officer's head, slicing off his ear, then his arm!
[Officer will roll: 2]
The officer rolls backward, letting go of his sword and clutching his arm that is currently spurting blood!
"Gah, you cut my bloody arm off, you bastard!"
"Why, so I did! Perhaps we should go for symmetry, what do you think?"
As the soldiers look on in momentary puzzlement, Samuel springs into action!
[Samuel vs. Halberdier 1: 2+1 vs. 1]
He whacks a halberdier on the head! The halberdier sprawls out on the ground, dizzy but still conscious!
[Halberdier competence roll: 5]
The halberdiers immediately spring into action like cogs in a well-oiled machine, with five of them choosing to concentrate on Jordan, the other five trying to take down Samuel! Two of each group charge at their respective adversaries while the others position themselves for optimum stabbing and chopping potential!
[Halberdier 2 vs. Samuel: 3+1 vs. 5+1]
Another halberdier charges at Samuel, but the skeleton dodges like the devil himself, swinging his cane in a counterattack!
[Samuel vs. Halberdier 2: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
However, he has slightly miscalculated the distance and simply swings at empty air!
[Halberdier 3 vs. Samuel: 4+1 vs. 2+1]
Another halberdier tries to skewer him, but, considering that skeletons are difficult to pierce adequately, merely chips the bone a bit! Samuel is slightly distraught at his bodywork damage.
[Halberdier 4 vs. Jordan: 1 vs. 5-1]
Jordan is also set upon by a halberdier! This one, however, obviously a fresh recruit, simply trips on an inconveniently placed tree root and falls to the ground!
[Jordan vs. Halberdier 4: 1+2 vs. 3-1]
Jordan chops at the halberdier awkwardly, being a bit too far to do any real damage. He does, however, make a small chop in the recruit's calf!
[Halberdier 5 vs. Jordan: 3+1 vs. 5-1]
Jordan parries the attacker's halberd with his axe! The halberdier takes a careful step back!
[Halberdier positioning roll: 5]
The other six halberdiers position themselves perfectly for a three-pronged sneak attack on both undead warriors!
Bruce, currently indecisive about what he should do, is joined by Vincent, though he doesn't really notice him.
Post by: anailater on October 30, 2012, 12:30:25 pm
Bruce will grab any weapons that may have been dropped/ any lost limbs and join the attack on these spineless fools (the other undead)
Post by: Caerwyn on October 30, 2012, 12:37:52 pm
Post by: miauw62 on October 30, 2012, 12:46:31 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on October 30, 2012, 12:48:52 pm
((Looks like my turn will be coming up sooner than expected. *insert evil laugh here*))(( I concur. Mine also steadily approach.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 12:58:08 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 30, 2012, 01:02:06 pm
((In an RTD, anything is possible. The halberdiers might all roll 1s and stab one another instead of the players. You never know. After all, Jordan did just walk into an inn, slaughter Skip Rogers in full view of everyone and walk out unharmed.))
((AWWW YEEAH.))
Go for Bruce! The Backstabbing bastard must be punished for his wrongdoings! Politely!
Post by: TopHat on October 30, 2012, 01:13:25 pm
Murderise the hare, then take back what I said about random.org's mother.
EDIT - stupid spell checker
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 02:24:01 pm
Bruce, intending to betray his undead compatriots, decides to look for a weapon! He spots one in Jordan's belly! He goes for it!
[Jordan vs. Bruce: 6+2 vs. 5-1 (distracted by shiny!)]
Just as Bruce reaches for the sword with his right arm, Jordan lops it off! Stolen blood spurts from the stump!
"I say, keep your dirty claws off my sword! I got it from the officer over there in fair combat!"
"Aagh! Gaah! The pain!"
"That's what they all say! Ignorance does not make you innocent!"
"Aagh! You bastard! YOU BASTARD!"
"Don't you start too! I swear, it's always the same with you louts!"
Samuel, feeling his comrade's pain, decides to end the annoying yelling of that silly officer!
[Samuel vs. Officer: 4+1 vs. 3-2 (horrifically dismembered and bleeding badly)]
Samuel unleashes a beating of unholy proportions on the officer, caving in his skull and splashing his brains on the surrounding halberdiers!
[Halberdier morale roll: 1]
The six halberdiers that were preparing their sneak attack forget what they were doing! The halberdier on the ground sobs quietly! The recruit chooses to desert rather than face anything like what he just witnessed! All are shaken! They all take a few steps back!
Samuel chooses to use this window of opportunity to finish off the downed halberdier!
[Samuel vs. Halberdier 1: 1 vs. 6-2(beaten and shaken)]
However, the downed halberdier leaps up to his feet before he can reach him and lunges at Samuel with a desperate scream, tears flowing down his cheeks!
[Halberdier 1 vs. Samuel: 5-1(shaken, not using halberd due to hysteria) vs. 6+1]
The halberdier makes a valiant leap, but Samuel is far too quick to be caught by that trick!
[Counter attack! Samuel vs. Halberdier 1: 6+1 vs. 2]
Instead, he pounds the halberdier into the ground with his cane, leaving a barely recognizable pile of bloody viscera!
[Halberdier morale roll: 1-1(from previous experience)]
The halberdiers all stare at the remains of their most recently dead compatriot, having unwillingly witnessed the terrifying spectacle in its entirety! They all turn tail and run!
Jordan and Samuel, riding high on a wave of grotesque atrocities, decide to pursue and eliminate as many as possible!
[Jordan vs. Fleeing Halberdiers: 4+2 vs. 1-1 (shaken)]
[Samuel vs. Fleeing Halberdiers: 2+1 vs. 1-1(shaken)]
Samuel catches up to one halberdier and trips him up, then whacks him with the cane until he stops moving! Jordan, however, may have a disadvantage in mobility, but he makes up for it with sheer style and flair! He spins and leaps behind the halberdiers, slashing at their legs, knees and spines! Four of them topple to the ground like felled trees, whereupon they are quickly beheaded by the Zombie Guillotine himself. Finally, he hurls his axe into the back of a final halberdier, splitting his poor heart in two! He quickly reclaims the axe and yells after the panicking escapees:
"Do come again, I'm sure we'll have jolly good time once more! Cheerio!"
In the forest of madness...
James, at a complete loss on how to deal with the wild hare on his face, decides to just nursery-rhyme it into submission!
[Who wants to sing: 3-2]
"Twinkle, twinkle, little AARGH OH GODS WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS oh wait, I remember."
[Forgive me, oh gentle gods: 2-1]
"Almiria, I invoke the ancient and sacred right of TAKE-BACKSIES! Nyah nyah nyah, can't go around that!"
You get the feeling that if the gods could directly spit on you, they definitely would.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on October 30, 2012, 02:26:16 pm
Post by: TopHat on October 30, 2012, 02:31:08 pm
Beat the har
EDIT- SEE! SEE! HARE DOES NOT CORRECT INTO HARD!
AND PLEASE USE A REAL DIE NEXT TIME!
Post by: Caerwyn on October 30, 2012, 02:41:47 pm
Glorious rolls! Samuel and Jordan make a great team.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 02:55:12 pm
AAH CURSE YOU STUPID AUTO CORRECT I WANTED TO SAY MURDERISE! DAMMINIT!
Beat the harDe into a bloody pulp, and pray to one of the gods I haven't pissed off yet.
EDIT- SEE! SEE! HARE DOES NOT CORRECT INTO HARD!
AND PLEASE USE A REAL DIE NEXT TIME!
((Are you sure you want to pray to one of the three gods you haven't pissed off yet? Because that might end badly for you (see last abbreviation of previous turn). Also, I ain't usin' no real die, those are fo' suckas that got space to throw 'em properly.))
Post by: anailater on October 30, 2012, 03:14:54 pm
FIGHT! FIGHT TO THE BITTER END!
Post by: TopHat on October 30, 2012, 03:15:41 pm
YES AT SOME POINT IT WILL WORK.AAH CURSE YOU STUPID AUTO CORRECT I WANTED TO SAY MURDERISE! DAMMINIT!
Beat the harDe into a bloody pulp, and pray to one of the gods I haven't pissed off yet.
EDIT- SEE! SEE! HARE DOES NOT CORRECT INTO HARD!
AND PLEASE USE A REAL DIE NEXT TIME!
((Are you sure you want to pray to one of the three gods you haven't pissed off yet? Because that might end badly for you (see last abbreviation of previous turn). Also, I ain't usin' no real die, those are fo' suckas that got space to throw 'em properly.))
*sighs* just use random.org then :(
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 03:18:03 pm
YES AT SOME POINT IT WILL WORK.AAH CURSE YOU STUPID AUTO CORRECT I WANTED TO SAY MURDERISE! DAMMINIT!
Beat the harDe into a bloody pulp, and pray to one of the gods I haven't pissed off yet.
EDIT- SEE! SEE! HARE DOES NOT CORRECT INTO HARD!
AND PLEASE USE A REAL DIE NEXT TIME!
((Are you sure you want to pray to one of the three gods you haven't pissed off yet? Because that might end badly for you (see last abbreviation of previous turn). Also, I ain't usin' no real die, those are fo' suckas that got space to throw 'em properly.))
*sighs* just use random.org then :(
((Actually, no. No, it will not. You are Disliked By The Five. Sure, only Pacitarius really, really hates you, but they all are very unwilling to help you.))
Post by: TopHat on October 30, 2012, 03:41:33 pm
What modifier will I get for the roll?YES AT SOME POINT IT WILL WORK.AAH CURSE YOU STUPID AUTO CORRECT I WANTED TO SAY MURDERISE! DAMMINIT!
Beat the harDe into a bloody pulp, and pray to one of the gods I haven't pissed off yet.
EDIT- SEE! SEE! HARE DOES NOT CORRECT INTO HARD!
AND PLEASE USE A REAL DIE NEXT TIME!
((Are you sure you want to pray to one of the three gods you haven't pissed off yet? Because that might end badly for you (see last abbreviation of previous turn). Also, I ain't usin' no real die, those are fo' suckas that got space to throw 'em properly.))
*sighs* just use random.org then :(
((Actually, no. No, it will not. You are Disliked By The Five. Sure, only Pacitarius really, really hates you, but they all are very unwilling to help you.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2012, 03:42:41 pm
Post by: TopHat on October 30, 2012, 03:43:11 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on October 30, 2012, 03:44:38 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 30, 2012, 03:47:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 03:19:55 am
James decides that he's had enough of the hare on his face! Time to remove all of it with his halberd!
[James vs. Hare: 2 vs. 3+1]
The hare remains steadfast and refuses to let go! It really likes James' face and would love to stay there for as long as possible! James swats at it impotently while just keeps on savaging! Soon he might not even have a face anymore!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1-1]
Wait a minute, why would the gods accept take-backsies? That's something a child would think of! James is embarrassed at his own foolishness! Also, he is beginning to consider the hare as more of a nuisance that has forcefully attached itself to what remains of his face. He almost thinks of it as not an enemy at all, more like an overly clingy acquaintance!
[Hare savaging roll: 3]
The hare half-heartedly holds on to James' face, biting out a small hole in his cheek!
Meanwhile at the bloody battlefield in front of the lair of the notorious Bernie...
Bruce is not defeated yet! He may have lost his arm, but the war is not over yet! Despite his two comrades having handily beaten a squad of soldiers!
[Bruce will roll: 6]
Bruce jumps to his feet and launches himself at Jordan, screaming like a banshee!
[Bruce vs. Jordan: 4 (no arm) vs. 4-2]
He sends Jordan flying to the ground and punches him repeatedly with his single arm! It doesn't work very well! Jordan looks more bemused than anything!
[Jordan vs. Bruce: 5+2 vs. 6]
However, the brief bemusement doesn't last, as Jordan whacks Bruce with his axe's handle, making the bleeding vampire roll off him! He gets up and resumes gazing at his handiwork in pride! That is, until he remembers that he really has more important places to be!
Like at Bernie's! He proceeds inside! However, he notices the glow on his axe dissipate!
Meanwhile, Samuel is picking up the adventuring slack by looting all the slaughtered people!
[Looting roll: 5]
Fortunately, as the soldiers were going on a nightly outing, they packed lots of money! Samuel finds 257 copper coins, 35 gold coins, plus the officer was wearing a jeweled amulet worth who knows how much! Also, he grabs the bloody levy leather armor off the downed halberdier's corpse, it being the one of the only sets of armor without any missing bits! It does have a bit of viscera clinging to it, however! The skeleton puts the bloody armor on, wearing it almost like a badge of pride!
Vincent, despite getting what he believes to be a bit of a dirty look from Samuel for not fighting (though that might just be his own bit of guilt), joins in on the looting! He takes the officer's dark blue cloak and fetches a halberd!
Both skeletons then go inside the mausoleum and find the necromancer. They find Jordan there, holding up the head of Skip Rogers!
"I say, this was the chap you were looking for, right?"
"Yes! Ahahaha! Hot damn, you did it, guys! Who's laughing now, you son of a bitch? Nobody humiliates Bernard von Glautzenheiser and lives, you hear me! Nobody! So, how'd you get him?"
"Well, the chap was in the inn, like you said. I went in, asked the fellow politely if he knew anything about Skip Rogers. He said yes indeed, he is Skip Rogers! I said jolly good, could you tell me more about yourself? He said yes, then started going on about how this lady was quite spiffy and grand, then dropped to his knee and popped the question! I said good show, chaps! Then I chopped his bloody head off with my fine axe here!"
"Wait, he popped the question?"
"Yes, ring and all! And then I chopped his bloody head off. Pay attention, dear chap."
"What did she say?"
"Something to the tune of 'Yes, Skip, as long as a zombie gentleman doesn't chop your bloody head off, I will marry you!' And then I chopped his bloody head off. Guess the engagement's off then, eh?"
"Indeed! Now that Tammy is in an impressionable, Skip Rogers-less state, I can certainly press my agenda toward her better! Among, heh heh, other things. You have served me well, minion! You may ask a boon of me and I will do my best to grant it! Don't ask for freedom, though. I hate it when minions do that."
"Let me think for a second, m'lord, and I will get back to you on that."
The necromancer turns away smiling, whereupon he is accosted by Samuel! The smile on his face disappears.
[Bernie benevolence roll: 3-1+1+1]
Samuel shows him the note! It's the same one from earlier, but with a period crossed out and a word with a question mark added!
"Teach me magic now?"
He looks at the note.
"Didn't we talk about this already?"
Samuel hands him the treasures of the massacred soldiers!
"Ah, now you're speaking my language! Some common courtesy, that's what I wanted to get from you all along! You know, for that I'll give you a piece of advice: magic is an innate attribute, the ability to use one's life-force to alter reality itself. A human being can learn minor magic, but to truly master it, you need a focus. Foci allow people to perform most magic you see today. Without a focus, you're not a real magic-user. If you can get a focus and attune it to yourself, you might be able to gain some magical abilities. Now scram."
Samuel goes off into the corner of the room and stands there with Vincent while Jordan quietly deliberates.
"So, is that all of you, then? What happened to the rest?"
"Well, I chopped the lousy sword-stealing vampire chap's arm off, he's presumably still outside. Oh, and I electrocuted the ghost chap to death. He seemed to be peeved at me for some reason."
"There was another vampire. Where is he?"
All three undead shrug.
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 03:49:10 am
Post by: Yoink on October 31, 2012, 03:56:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 04:01:47 am
((Oh my goodness. That update was... Exhilirating in its hilarity. :)) Waitlist me, pretty please?))
((I will. And thank you. Character sheet, please!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 04:21:38 am
In a most foreboding area of the woods...
James wants that hare dead. He needs it dead! It has spited him for long enough!
[James vs. Hare: 2 vs. 4+1]
He manages to irritate the hare somewhat! Perhaps that wasn't the best idea!
[Hare savaging roll: 3+1]
The hare starts to mutilate James' face with newfound intensity, completely obliterating James' nose with its horrible, horrible herbivore teeth!
"AAGH, MY NOSE! YOU BASTARD MINION OF PACITARIUS, I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"
[Commotion roll: 3]
There is a sound from the cabin. It appears that if a vampire is alone in the woods and gets his face continuously mutilated by a wild creature, he will indeed produce a sound of great intensity!
Post by: miauw62 on October 31, 2012, 04:27:29 am
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 04:40:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 05:42:45 am
James is quickly running out of ways to express his hatred for the hare on his face! He settles for the gesture of attempting to halberd it to death!
[James vs. Hare: 5 vs. 4+1]
James manages to pry the stubborn creature off his face at last, making it fall to the ground!
[Hare morale roll: 4]
The hare decides that James, who still has a tiny bit of unmutilated face left, has clearly not had enough punishment for today and resumes its attack!
[Hare vs. James: 6+1 vs. 5]
The hare leaps at James' chest!
[Unguided wild hare missile: 3]
James is knocked to the ground by the hellishly proficient hare! However, the hare sustains major brain damage in the process!
[Hare brain damage roll: 6]
The hare goes berserk and begins to think it is a vampire itself, going for James' neck with the intent to commit diablerie and increase his own power, which is 14th generation at best!
[Hare vs. James: 1+1 vs. 1+1-1-1]
The hare nibbles on James' neck, drawing a considerable amount of blood in the process!
[Diablerie roll: 6]
Whether diablerie really works or the hare is just that insane, James cannot say! A hellish fire appears in the hare's eyes and it appears to crack a grin made of pure nightmares! As per vampire custom, it must now dispose of James as a witness to its heinous crime.
[Hare vs. James: 1+2 vs. 3+1+1-1-1-1]
The hare nibbles on James some more! He can't seem to summon up enough enthusiasm to kill his sire!
[Sire/Childe relationship roll: 3]
The hare realizes that James must die, but still feels guilty for what he is about to do!
James, meanwhile, attempts to make peace with his gods before he dies. For all his prayers, he only feels vague annoyance from the heavens in return!
[Hare vs. James: 1+1 vs. 5-1]
The hare hesitates in front of his sire! James uses the opportunity to get up!
[Commotion roll: 5]
The stirring in the cabin stops. Whoever might be inside is unsuspecting once more!
Post by: anailater on October 31, 2012, 06:07:44 am
Post by: Firelordsky on October 31, 2012, 06:11:28 am
((All the fighting happens when I'm not here. :'())
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 07:00:57 am
[Bruce will roll: 3]
Bruce is beginning to feel very light-headed from all his blood loss and armlessness! But he will not let that stop him! He proceeds down the stairs after grabbing a halberd and tries to stab Jordan!
However, he is interrupted by a fast approaching object!
[Flying cloak attack: 6]
Bruce is blinded by a sheet of delightfully soft fabric hitting him right in the face! He gets tangled up in the cloak and drops to the ground like a stone, if stones could bleed increasingly rapidly!
[Vincent vs. Bruce: 4+1 vs. 6+1-1-1-1-1-1]
Vincent stabs through the cloak, piercing Bruce through the torso several times!
[Bruce will roll: 5-1]
Bruce, however, is still fully mobile and trying to get out of the tangled mess he's in!
[Vincent vs. Bruce: 2+1 vs. 3-4]
Vincent stabs the poor vampire some more! Soon enough the contents of the cloak become nice and squishy from the relentless stabbety-stabbing!
[Bruce will roll: 6-2]
What is up with this guy? Oh well, commence stabbity-stab.
[Vincent vs. Bruce: 4+1 vs. 6-4-1]
Ah, the pleasant sound of stabbety-stabbing. Vincent could do this all day. In a short while, the cloak has become more of a bag. A bag of undead organs separated through massive amounts of halberd-stabbing!
[Bruce will roll: 4-3]
The pile moves a little bit. Vincent kicks it for good measure, then it goes still.
Bruce has been turned into a thick red paste!
The cloak is sadly ruined, both by the relentless stabbing and what used to resemble Bruce a little bit. No amount of washing will get that much gore out. Oh well, easy come, easy go. He decides to showcase his loot to Bernard! He approaches, brandishing Skip's spellbook!
"What's this? A spellbook?"
He looks inside.
"Property of Skip Rogers?"
"I dare say he nicked it, m'lord!"
"Amazing! You don't know how much more pleasant you've made my life. Without this focus, none will make me dance naked ever again! Ha!"
He does a little victory dance!
"You deserve a reward, my minion!"
He looks at you expectantly.
"Oh, right. You can't speak. Silly me. Perhaps you could write your wish?"
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 07:03:08 am
Oh, and try to stop the bleeding (rapid kinetic impulse therapy?)
Post by: miauw62 on October 31, 2012, 07:04:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 07:30:17 am
James, realizing that he and the hare now share a bond of blood, tries to convert it to the vampire cause!
[James' vampire speech roll: 2-1+1-1-1]
James presses the hanging remains of his face together with his hands, making a horrible grimace, yet not improving his eloquence at all!
"Haeah! Zhoinh mah fah thoo ah ah shy-aye!"
[Hare morale roll: 6]
The hare realizes that James would probably prefer being dead after what's already been done to him. He decides to put him out of his misery! All his guilt is gone!
[Hare vs. James: 6+2 vs. 5+1+1-1-1]
Despite James' expert defense, the hare chews through his armor in several places! James is bleeding quite badly! He decides to perform Rapid Kinetic Impulse Therapy on himself!
[RKIT roll: 4-1]
James begins punching himself a lot! It hurts like hell and doesn't help at all!
[Hare confusion resistance roll: 3]
The hare, despite being insane itself, is beginning to doubt James' state of mind! Must be something in that old blood of his! The hair is unsure of what to do now!
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 07:43:12 am
Persuade the hare that it's my slave!
((this is getting really desperate. A hare as well...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 08:09:59 am
James has a desperate idea! How about convincing the hare that it is his slave?
[James bluffing roll: 4-3]
James attempts to mumble something about ghouls, but his lack of a face and teeth prevents him from doing so!
[Hare vs. James: 5+2 vs. 5]
The hare keeps biting and scratching James with vampiric alacrity! James is in pretty bad shape now!
[James will roll: 3-1]
James feels confused and questions reality!
[Commotion roll: 6]
A voice rings out from the house:
"Retreat, creatures of DARKNESS! CEASE your lurking ar-AH-und my house! If you do not LEAVE, you shall taste the MIGHT of my PYOO-rifying DENTISTRY!"
[Hare morale roll: 5-3]
The hare shivers in fear at the voice! It begins to retreat! It is shaken!
[James morale roll: 2-1-1]
James, feeling like the world is out to get him, similarly chooses to run like hell!
[James escape roll: 2-1]
He trips on a tree root that he swears wasn't there before! Damn you, Pacitarius, why must you be such an asshole at the worst times!
[James will roll: 2-1]
James passes out!
[? roll: 3]
He wakes up some time later! He is currently being dragged by someone!
"LOUSY creatures of the NIGHT, leaving cryptic MESSAGES on MY doorstep!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 08:14:26 am
Oh, and thanks for saving me from that vampiric hare. That was totally awesome.'
((inform him of my ignorance, and flatter him))
Post by: miauw62 on October 31, 2012, 08:26:01 am
Post by: anailater on October 31, 2012, 08:27:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 08:46:47 am
James is currently being dragged by something very frightening...
[James' speech roll: 1-3]
He gurgles! He burbles! He attempts to make coherent conversation! He succeeds at the first two!
[? reaction roll: 4+1+1+1-1]
[Wild animal attack: 1]
The strange person is about to say something about it, but is interrupted by a descending bird! He catches it and eats it, feathers and all!
"Oh my, you're ALIVE! How STRANGE! You don't SEEM to be BREA-thing, do you know THAT?"
James makes incoherent sounds!
"MY, my, you APPEAR to have no TEETH! WAIT, I re-MEM-ber! I TOOK them, didn't I?"
James nods furiously!
I KNEW IT! And you WISH to get them back!
James tries to approve however he can!
"I am SORRY, but your TEETH are far too be-YOO-tiful to release from DENTAL CUSTODY! AHAHAHAH! I WILL, however, give you SOMETHING BETTER!"
James wishes to ask something about this "something better", but a heavy truncheon hits him in the skull!
[Something better roll: 3]
Several hours later he wakes up outside the now-extinguished, but mostly abandoned inn! He checks all his belongings and finds he doesn't have any anymore! Apart from a note nailed to his stomach, that is.
The note says: CONFISCATED VALUABLE EVIDENCE AGAINST FORCES OF DARKNESS IN RETURN FOR MEDICAL SERVICES!!!
His halberd and chainmail are gone! However, he does appear to have gotten something back: teeth! And a face! Neither originally belonged to him, though. The teeth are horribly mismatched and have obviously come from many different human and animal sources! His new face is obviously stolen and poorly stitched on top of where the old one used to be! Oh well, you take what you can get.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 09:13:16 am
Practise speaking, before looting the abandoned inn.
EDIT - ACTION CHANGED
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 31, 2012, 10:09:36 am
(Wow... that was brutal... well at least I died being a hero.)
Ha! Hero! PHBBT!
Ask if a reward for the head could be for Bernie to enchant my Axe permanently!
Post by: Caerwyn on October 31, 2012, 10:47:42 am
Samuel will try and practice that "Foci". He'll stare at his cane with a withering skeleton stare, and try to turn it into an object of Focus, so as to help him cast Magic!
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 01:38:05 pm
Grr. Where do you live, on the opposite side of the world from me? You ALWAYS MASS-UPDATE when I'm sleeping. Grr!
((Eastern Europe, actually. So yes, presumably! But it was mostly James-centric stuff, so as to not keep the rest of you guys waiting later on and to capitalize on the fact that TopHat is up and about. Well, that and Bruce got stabbed to death, but it's funnier to think that nobody noticed except Vincent. That's what I like about the turnless system: timezones are less of a bother. For the GM, that is.))
At the inn, now extinguished and not very on fire at all...
James, emboldened by his new face, decides to practice his public speaking!
[James speech roll: 6]
James launches into a magnificent tirade of extremely persuasive oratory! He denounces the authority of the Five Gods and provides many valid reasons for him doing so! Despite nobody being around, a crowd gathers around him very soon! They cheer at appropriate moments, nod in approval at certain times and soon are completely enthralled by the naked vampire with the stolen face, creepy teeth and glowing stomach!
"... so that, my friends and fellow citizens, is why you do not trust the Five Gods! They can say that they love you all, but that very second they will afflict you with all sorts of maladies! Look at me, my friends! Look! Am I not hideous?"
"Very hideous!"
"Quite repulsive indeed!"
"He made my young 'uns cry! All of them! Even the soldier!"
"Yes, I am as hideous as the day is short this time of year! How would you react if I told you that this is the work of none other than Pacitarius, the so-called 'Gentle Child of the Five'?"
Everybody gasps (including James, for dramatic effect)!
"The proof is incontrovertible! Pacitarius is not gentle at all! He is a vile god, and by following him you are damning yourself to a life of serving pure evil!"
"But... no! This cannot be!"
"Oh, but it is! If I am speaking but a single lie, may the Five strike me down!"
[Divine retribution roll: 3+1]
Nothing happens! The wrath of Pacitarius seems to be curiously absent!
"He speaks the truth!"
"Yes! Damn that Pacitarius! Damn the Five!"
[Divine retribution roll: 4]
Still nothing happens!
"The gods have no power over us! We are free men!"
"And women!"
"Yes, we are free women as well!"
"Left is right! Up is down! The world is ending!"
"The world is ending?"
"The world is ending! Every man for himself!"
"And woman!"
[Civil disorder roll: 4]
The villagers start heartily looting and robbing the surrounding area! Somebody finds a torch! Mass burning starts! Soon enough Richardsburgh is entirely on fire!
"Men of freedom!"
"And women!"
"If we are free from gods, why not lords as well?"
"Aye, why not?"
"Are you going to kill them?"
"We're going to kill the lords! Hooray! Lead us, oh fearless leader! Enlighten us, oh mighty prophet!"
[James speech roll: 6]
"Right! Make haste, my flock! The lord of the land must be slain by dawn! Storm his castle, kill the court! Enlighten any villages on the way! Make them see that the world has no true, worthy gods and that we, the people, have no true, worthy masters! Let each be his own god and master, for only thus we can achieve heaven on earth! Let none stop you, for your reward shall be paradise!"
They all shout in unison!
"FOR THE PROPHET!"
James excluded, they all storm off! James feels like he has become a confident heretic!
With that done, he goes off to loot the inn. Sadly, the inn is already looted. And burned down. Then looted again. Oh well.
At the lair of the uncommonly generous Bernie von Glautzenheiser...
"I say, m'lord, I think I've got it!"
"What?"
"The boon, fair chap!"
"What about the boon?"
"I wish to have my axe enchanted!"
"Sure, why not. After all, it is the reason I have good ol' Skip's brainpan here. In fact, I think I have a particular enchantment in mind to fit the occasion!"
He grabs both Skip's head and spellbook from their respective carriers!
[Attunement roll: 3+1]
He gestures at the spellbook with one hand, keeping his other hand on Skip's head! The spellbook glows and sparks for a second, then floats into Bernie's hand!
"It worked, great! Heh, now I suppose I can exact revenge on certain other elements of my life. But first, your reward!"
[Enchantment roll: 3+1]
Magical energies course through the axe! However, there are no immediately apparent changes!
"I say, that was a pretty show of fireworks. How about the axe itself?"
"Pick it up. Swing it."
Jordan picks up the axe and swings at the air! As he does so, he seems to relocate slightly to the right! Or at least his image does!
Jordan now has a Displacement Axe!
"Jolly good! But does it work against those ghost things?"
"It doesn't really matter what sort of magic a weapon possesses, just that it has any to it - that immediately allows it to reach ethereal entities."
"Good show, m'lord, good show indeed!"
Samuel, not willing to lose an arms race, decides to attempt to create a focus out of his cane!
[Samuel magical crafting roll: 6-2]
He concentrates as hard as an animated skeletal corpse can, which is to say very hard indeed! There must be residual magical energies aplenty in the room, because the cane begins to glow after a few minutes of intense staring! It seems to become an extension of Samuel's psyche - murderous, servile, curious and adventurous at the same time! After expending so much will, Samuel is unwilling to let it go!
[Resist the urge to brag: 1-1]
Samuel dances over to Bernie, cane in hand!
"What are you on about?"
He shows his cane!
"That's a focus! Where'd you get that?"
Samuel proudly raises his head and points at himself!
"You... killed someone to get it? Well, that's not terribly surprising. On your way, then."
Samuel is about to argue with Bernie, but fortunately cannot speak! Well, at least he himself knows he conjured an artifact of power out of what is essentially thin air!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on October 31, 2012, 01:49:00 pm
Samuel will practice with his stick, and is going to seriously try and reduce the number of -2's to, hopefully, a 0 or, at the very least, -1 when doing magical things. Seriously, how often will he get sixes?
If Sam is a skeletal butler, he NEEDS to be able to conjure up food and drink, without fail. He NEEDS to be able to defend his master in any time of need. He NEEDS to have POWER.
Also, Skeleton mages are cool as hell, and if you say it's not possible, go play Diablo 2 or Torchlight or something, then report back to me. Think about it: A skeletal necromancer!
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 01:53:16 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
((After about 11 pages of getting mauled by cardsharps, the gods, some weird dentist and THAT GODDAM HARE, I end up starting a revolution. This could be interesting))
Take advantage of the anarchy sown by my minions to loot the local guardhouse.
((I'm also thinking of doing something that is probably so outrageous as to get me railroaded. Details will be sent to Harry in a PM))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 01:55:18 pm
Also, Skeleton mages are cool as hell, and if you say it's not possible, go play Diablo 2 or Torchlight or something, then report back to me. Think about it: A skeletal necromancer!
((Even in DnD necromancers tend to try and become liches! That's how cool skeletal mages are!))
Post by: Caerwyn on October 31, 2012, 01:57:33 pm
Also, Skeleton mages are cool as hell, and if you say it's not possible, go play Diablo 2 or Torchlight or something, then report back to me. Think about it: A skeletal necromancer!
((Even in DnD necromancers tend to try and become liches! That's how cool skeletal mages are!))
Then stop inhibiting poor Sam, and let his natural talent at evisceration and conjuration be complete!
But, dang, those -2's really hurt. Is there a way to potentially "Train", to lower the costs for magic? What's the penalty difference for, say, ripping the skeleton out of someone, compared to mentally tossing a sharp stick at them? So many questions!
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 02:02:55 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 31, 2012, 02:05:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 02:17:47 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on October 31, 2012, 02:18:40 pm
((Cane magic! After all, your focus is a cane and not, say, a spellbook. It might behave unpredictably.))
Cane...Magic. Huh.
Well, for better or for worse, it's time to become a spell-weaver!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 31, 2012, 02:23:28 pm
Ask about the next assignment.
Post by: Firelordsky on October 31, 2012, 03:50:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2012, 04:22:18 pm
James, capitalizing on the anarchy he has sown through clever rhetoric, decides to find and loot a guardhouse! He is most disappointed to find that there isn't one! Just as well, if there really was one, it probably would have been burned down anyway.
At the lair of the magnificent Bernie the Necromancer...
Samuel, feeling very good about himself after achieving what is essentially a miracle, decides to attempt to weave magic with his cane focus!
[Samuel magic roll: 6-1]
He points the cane at the corpse he propped up against the wall earlier!
[Magic effect roll: 1]
A single floating cane appears from thin air and begins to beat the stuffing out of the corpse! It does so for about thirty seconds before disappearing once more!
Samuel has learned to summon a cane storm!
Vincent, being in a very original mood, picks up the sheet of paper Samuel wrote his wish on and shows it to Bernie!
[Bernie benevolence roll: 5+1-1-1]
"Oh, gods, not you too! Magic can't just be taught to someone! You need a focus! Rob a mage or something like the other skeleton did and steal his. Bam. Magic. It's that simple. Any more than that I can't help with, since magic is a highly personalized and unique thing. That's why you need to attune a focus to yourself - it was made for someone else first. If that was the reward you were going to ask for, then pick something else. I certainly can't teach you magic."
Jordan feels that there has been enough dilly-dallying, and it is time for a new assignment!
"I say, that axe is amazing! A true breakthrough in weaponry! But enough gushing over magical trinkets! To the task at hand, I say!"
"The task at hand?"
"Yes, the task at hand! Surely you have many opportunities for enterprising gentlemen such as myself!"
"Well, I wasn't sure that you'd kill Skip, to be honest. I am glad, however, that things worked out to our advantage! Your performance has been more than adequate. Relax for now. Take a rest. Soon I might have a task for you."
"Will it be suitably bloody, dear chap?"
"Oh, you bet. In the meantime, why don't you ask if my sister has any tasks for you?"
End of Chapter 1!
Congratulations! You have survived the first chapter of Life Begins At Death! For this amazing accomplishment, you are granted character progression! Each of you can choose an ability from a list of three that ties in with what you did during the chapter!
The choices are:
Jordan: Gentleman Slayer, Skilled Axeman, Anti-Magic Axemanship.
Samuel: Tactical Atrocity, Skilled Cane Fighter, Knack for Magic.
Vincent: Blends In Surprisingly Well, Aspiring Thief, Trick The Enemy.
James: Rapid Kinetic Impulse Therapy, Willfully Ignored By The Five, Rebound From Misfortune.
These abilities, among others, will be obtainable at the end of the next chapter as well. So don't be sorry for being unable to get one of the ones listed here, they won't be gone forever.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on October 31, 2012, 04:26:36 pm
Go talk to Bernie's Sister.
Post by: TopHat on October 31, 2012, 04:42:38 pm
I'll go for Rebound from misfortune!
Look for something that hasn't been burnt down, and loot it!
Post by: Firelordsky on October 31, 2012, 05:06:35 pm
EDIT: I choose Blends In Surprisingly Well
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 03:27:43 am
James, having obtained new confidence in life, refuses to give up on the ancient custom of 'loot what you destroy'! He looks for something that isn't burnt down!
[James searching roll: 2]
Those villagers sure were thorough! They've burnt down everything! Even the basements (how do you even do that?)! They've also taken apart any stone walls stone by stone! Whatever place they were heading for next is surely in great danger. Heresy is a powerful force, it seems!
In the lair of the currently unoccupied Bernie von Glautzenheiser...
Vincent suddenly knows what he must have! A tail! A better one! One that's longer and can grab things better! He writes out his wish on a piece of paper and shows it to Bernie!
[Literary eloquence roll: 6]
Most Honored and Dear Master,
Recently you, in your neverending generosity and kindness, decided to allow me, a pathetic worm that hardly deserves even a smidgen of your attention, to ask for a boon of sorts from you. After establishing that I am truly unworthy of the secrets of magic and that you would not (your Excellence maintained that your Excellence could not, but I know your Excellence was merely trying to spare the wretched author's feelings, for is there anything your Excellence cannot do?) teach me to use cosmically powerful forces, I was struck with a flash of inspiration! A tail! My own wretched, mundane tail is of no use to me in its current state, so I deign to ask of his Excellence but a small favor - could your Excellence provide this worm of a servant with a longer, more grabby tail to better serve his Master?
Sincerely,
Vincent, Your Excellency's most humble servant
Vincent presents the note to Bernie!
[Attention roll: 4+1]
Bernie immediately takes and reads the note with great attention! When he's done, he stuffs it in his pocket!
"Fine groveling, my minion! Perhaps the finest I've seen! Vincent, your name was? I'll make sure to remember that!"
He writes out a note:
Sister, this is my minion Vincent. His good performance and fine manners have made him greatly favored in my eyes! Improve his tail until it is at least as useful as an arm! I will make sure to inspect your work.
Signed, your brother.
He gives the note to Vincent and sends him to his sister! Jordan, feeling spiffy as ever, follows him!
Vincent and Jordan enter the cottage! Bernie's sister is still there with her twitching grin and odd posture, reading a book on corpse preserving.
[Attention roll: 3+1]
Sis looks at Jordan, then at Vincent! Vincent provides his note!
"Greatly favored, are we? Interesting. So, you wish for a better tail? How is it you have a tail to begin with?"
Vincent shrugs!
"Ah. Must be from birth. This will be fun!"
She takes Vincent by the hand and leads him back into the mausoleum!
"I say, I had a question for you, young lady!"
She takes no notice of him! Jordan decides to follow behind her.
She goes into the mausoleum, but takes a slightly different route than Bernie. Eventually she and the two minions reach a slightly smaller hall than Bernie's. This one, however, is better furnished, with many shelves containing strange liquids, preserved body parts, what look like modified carpenter's tools, tongs, surgical equipment and other sorts of unusual objects. There is a slab that appears to have recently been used for surgery in the middle of the room.
"Welcome to my playground. Cozy, innit?"
She motions to the slab.
"Lie down, Vincent."
Vincent does so! Meanwhile, Bernie's sister puts on a leather apron and fetches some tools along with what appears to be a skeletal arm.
[Surgery roll: 4+1]
She begins to put her tools to work, laying Vincent face-down.
"It sure is a fun little tail you have there, Vincent. Did you know that all people have tails? It's just that they're tiny little stubs that don't even protrude from the skin. Yours, on the other hand, is a completely different matter."
"I say, milady, would you care to..."
"Don't interrupt a lady while she does her work, please."
"Right, then. I should probably fetch my fine friend, too."
"Feel free."
Jordan walks off while the sister works her magic. When he returns with Samuel, who is still playing around with his magic cane, Vincent is up from the table! His tail is now less of a tail and more like a third arm, but longer and quite powerful-looking!
"I think Bernie wouldn't have any objections to this bit of modification, don't you?"
"So, milady, your brother asked us to perform a task for you, and..."
"Is that all of you, then? Weren't there six?"
"Well, yes, there were six, milady, but I seem to have violently disposed of at least one while two more remain lost."
"Three left, huh? Oh well, we can fix that."
She pokes her head out of the room.
"BERNIE! DON'T YOU THINK YOU NEED MORE MINIONS? HALF OF THEM ARE GONE!"
""DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, WOMAN! THAT IS NOT THE NATURE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP!"
There is a moment of silence.
"YOU DO HAVE A VALID POINT, THOUGH! I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"
There is a faint *schwing* sound.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on November 01, 2012, 03:37:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 03:42:53 am
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 03:49:19 am
((quick question about the Char. Progression abilities - are they passive, or activated? And if activated, what is the cooldown?))
Post by: Gamerlord on November 01, 2012, 03:50:08 am
((What is?))
The entire thing!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 03:55:30 am
Head back to Bernie's lair, and be a great friend and loot Blake's corpse.
((quick question about the Char. Progression abilities - are they passive, or activated? And if activated, what is the cooldown?))
((Depends. Most are passive, but some, like the magical abilities ghosts could develop if any had survived, would be active. All of the ones already picked are passive - Blends In Surprisingly Well is active at all times, while Gentleman Slayer and Rebound From Misfortune activate when conditions are met (respectively, entering combat and having 6 consecutive bad rolls).))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 04:05:21 am
Greatly saddened at the lack of anything to pillage, James, after a period of short deliberation, decides to return to his master's lair! Judging by the state of the inn, it's more than likely somebody of Skip Rogers' description at the very least got horribly injured in the mayhem. Good enough, James thinks.
[James speedy traveling roll: 3-1]
He gets there without rushing at all, taking about an hour to do so. While doing this, he struts exactly like a confident, naked and, most importantly, unpunished heretic would.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 01, 2012, 04:11:31 am
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 04:20:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 04:22:20 am
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 04:35:47 am
((Do you still want to loot the corpse?))Yes *changes action*
Post by: miauw62 on November 01, 2012, 04:39:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 04:45:57 am
Post by: Gamerlord on November 01, 2012, 05:52:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 05:54:46 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 01, 2012, 06:44:27 am
Post by: Gamerlord on November 01, 2012, 07:30:11 am
((Montgomery Caid, the legless skeleton.))
((Great!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 12:47:37 pm
Books, Baubles and Boyfriends!
The minions all wait a bit until there is yet another *schwing* sound. Two sets of footsteps and a faint ethereal moan echo throughout the mausoleum. A minute later, Bernie arrives, a zombie and a ghost following him! The ghost is dressed in a fancy robe while the zombie is covered in blood and vomit much like Jordan himself!
"Here they are, sis! Fresh from the graveyard, this bunch."
"Oh my, what's happened to the walking corpse?"
"My name is Leon. And I merely took my revenge on a vampire, thank you very much!"
"Yes, he's had a whole adventure while I wasn't there. Crafty bastard."
"Well, I suppose that's not important right now. What about the ghost?"
"I am Alaric Delthin! Mage extraordinaire! Felled by a necromancer most foul in the Northern Tomb-wastes!"
"I'm not sure what his problem is. Seems to think he's a mage."
"Did you not hear me? I've been to the Northern Tomb-wastes, where I met a most horrible fate at the hands of the defilers of the dead!"
"What are the Northern Tomb-wastes?"
"No idea. He must be a pretty ancient ghost, though, judging by his name. Works for me."
"The Northern Tomb-wastes are..."
"No need to explain. I'm sure it's not important."
"But..."
"Shush, damn you! Everyone, I order you to follow my sister's orders like you would my own!"
The binding spell kicks in like a whiplash across the undead minds in the room!
"Now, I really have urgent business that needs taking care of!"
"You're just going to sit around re-examining your yearbook, aren't you?"
"Shut it!"
He stands in silence for a moment while his sister stares at him.
"They really didn't capture my good side in that picture!"
"Of course they didn't. It's terribly unfair."
"That's what I keep saying, but you don't believe me!"
"Sure I do."
"No, you don't! You think I'm a fool, going on about it like I am!"
"No, what gave you that idea?"
"Well, you always smirk when you..."
He realizes there are 5 other people in the room with him. He goes silent and storms off! The sister turns back to the minions.
"Okay, so, now that everyone's here and my brother is gone, let's talk about what I want from you. You see, my brother is kind of protective of me. Very protective. Some, including myself, would say it's getting quite stifling and inhibiting toward my personal growth. Especially how he won't let me go anywhere. Seriously, I don't understand what his problem is sometimes!"
She shakes her head and strokes her chin.
"How best to put this... ah, you see, a woman my age has... needs, let's say. Not just what you might think, either."
She points to the shelves.
"All the books in those shelves, I've read them. All of them. Many times over. Same goes with the ones in Bernie's hall. And the cottage. What I'm trying to say is, I'm bored to tears living here, and Bernie won't let me leave. So, I'm going to have you act as a proxy of sorts. You see, Bernie has been studying at the University of Magic for quite a while now. From what he's told me, it sounds very, very fun! Exciting, even! They have a great library, a fine campus area and many other marvelous places! But I can't go, sadly."
She lowers her head for a second, then raises it right up!
"That's why you're going to bring it to me!"
"Milady, I'm afraid moving an entire university might be more than I can do with my two hands and an axe, however magical it may be. I could still try, if it pleases you."
"No, silly! I don't want the whole thing! Just the bits that I like! I've drafted up a wishlist!"
She fetches a piece of paper from one of the tables.
"Here it is!"
She looks at the list and begins to list off her needs.
"First, I want the entire library's collection of human anatomy books! Mine have gotten so dreadfully boring. Bernie says that theirs have all sorts of amusing pictures in them, so they're leaps and bounds ahead of mine. My volumes on people can't even get blood circulation right. They say it all comes from the liver or some such rot. It's almost as if they've never done an autopsy before. Silly writers."
"Second, I want you to bring me one object in particular. It's called a scrying amulet! But not just any scrying amulet! I want the Head Diviner's scrying amulet, and will accept no substitutes! I want that one in particular because not only can it show locations, it can produce images from a distance of more than a hundred miles! If I had that, I could just spy on a theater or a carnival on one of those nights I've got nothing to do. Or spy on people, I suppose. I hear they're pretty funny, too!"
"Finally, I want you to bring me a friend! I've heard from Bernie that there is a certain fellow working in the Metamorphosis Department that's worked on making himself the most beautiful man in all the land! He sounds quite dreamy, if you don't mind me saying."
"You want us to bring back a man, milady? Alive?"
"Oh, no. No no no no no. I'm not ready for a relationship like that, I think. I want you to bring me his corpse, silly! I could prop him up around here somewhere and look at him all the time! And I could talk to him when I'm feeling lonely! He wouldn't talk back, either, unlike Bernie! I hate it SO MUCH when he does that!"
She clenches her fists and is obviously trying to restrain herself from picking up one of the innumerable sharp objects lying around. Instead, she picks up two bottles from one of the shelves! She hands them to Jordan!
"Here, pour one of these on him when you've made a corpse out of him! A single bottle all over his body will preserve him forever and ever. The second one is in case you lose the first! It happens, you know. Make sure not to leave too many marks on him, though. I want him preserved in all his beauty! So, any questions?"
"Yes, what seems to be going on here?"
"Gods, man, you're naked!
"No, I'm not! I have this cloak!"
He ties a tattered dark blue rag around his hips!
"And who did that patch job on your face, it's simply atrocious! Your teeth don't even match! My brother could do better than that, and he's deathly afraid of sharp objects!"
"He is?"
"Oh yes! He's periodically dulls all the scalpels in his hall! That's how afraid he is! So, what happened to you, you poor, poor man?"
"Divine retribution, crazy wild animals and insane dentists. The woods are thick with all three in various proportions. Can't stand them."
"Oh. Well, I wouldn't want to interfere with some divine plan. I hear the gods can be nasty."
"You don't know the half of it."
"Your stomach seems to be glowing. It's not going to explode, is it?"
"I sure hope not! Wouldn't exactly surprise me, though."
"You're making me feel very nervous."
"You wouldn't be the first to feel that way."
"Please leave."
"If you insist!"
James heads out while cradling a jar of leeches and a bloodletting kit in his arms! Vincent follows closely behind!
Once out, Vincent attempts a rare and dangerous maneuver - triple-wielding halberds!
[Three-hand coordination roll: 3-2]
He picks each halberd up awkwardly and attempts to swing them all in unison! Two halberds slip out of his grasp!
[Halberd flight roll: 2]
[Other halberd flight roll: 5]
One halberd lands right at Vincent's feet while the other flies at James!
[Runaway Halberd vs. James: 3 vs. 5-1]
James leaps out of the way of the escaping weapon with unbelievable skill, considering that he was warned in absolutely no way! Perhaps it was because he always expects the worst to happen at any given time? He shakes his fist at the sky!
"Nice try, Pacitarius, but I'm not going down that easy!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 12:59:38 pm
Also wonder if the rebels have burnt down the university whilst I'm away.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 01, 2012, 01:15:36 pm
Post by: mesor on November 01, 2012, 01:16:50 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 01, 2012, 01:36:43 pm
Samuel will take "Knack for Magic".
Sam will head to the closest town, and if he still have those gold coins and what-not, will try and find a store that sells magical reagents/accessories/etc, and browse their wares. If he's asked why he's a skeleton, he'll just respond, "Oh, I accidentally slept with a witches sister, and she tossed some potion at me. I'm human, but I guess it polymorphed me. It's pretty neat though.
Post by: anailater on November 01, 2012, 01:46:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 02:02:06 pm
Post by: anailater on November 01, 2012, 02:11:06 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: And at a tender 25, was blonde, and died from alcohol poisoning, he generally wasted his life, he didn't have a job and he mooched of his girl friend who had severe confidence issues.
How 'bout this?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 03:05:22 pm
James realizes that Bernie's sister is right! Nudity is not an acceptable state of being for someone like him! He needs clothing! To this end, he steals some bloody levy leather armor and puts it on! He isn't naked anymore! However, he is still unarmed! To mitigate this, he takes the halberd he narrowly dodged a few seconds earlier. Hey, when gods chuck halberds at you, you take them and stab the bastards right back!
Having done that, he ponders what the rebels might be up to.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
They probably didn't get very far. They are filthy peasants, after all. Motivated by heresy, yes, but the peasantry are never to overestimated!
He asks Vincent what the plan is! Vincent calls him an idiot and tells him that he should do everyone a favor and die! Say, that's not a very nice thing to tell your friends!
Meanwhile, Leon decides to search for weapons and armor!
[Leon search roll: 2]
His search in the mausoleum proves uneducational and totally fruitless. It doesn't occur to him to loot the corpses just outside! Hooray for obliviousness!
Samuel and Jordan decide to head to the nearest town they know of, Richardsburgh!
[Samuel speedy travel roll: 5]
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 5-1]
They decide to race each other as a way of speeding their progress along! Surprisingly, Jordan keeps up with Samuel quite nicely, but the skeleton manages to beat him there by about five minutes anyway. Having reached his destination, he raises his arms in victory! Then lowers them once more as he notices that Richardsburgh is completely burned down! Jordan arrives soon afterward!
"I say, the inn fire must have gotten out of hand! So out of hand that the entire village went up in flames! Bloody fire didn't even spare the basements! Or the stone walls! My word, those mages should be careful with those fireballs. They could seriously hurt someone!"
Samuel shrugs uncertainly!
"I say, are there any other towns nearby?"
[Samuel local knowledge roll: 4]
[Jordan local knowledge roll: 4]
They both look at each other in complete agreement: they'll follow the road! It's bound to lead somewhere!
[Samuel speedy travel roll: 3]
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 3-1]
They proceed along the road, Samuel slightly leading ahead, but they seem to be a bit too demoralized to race again! Guess seeing the charred remains of a place you were at a few hours ago does that to you!
[Samuel convincing excuse roll: 6]
While traveling, Samuel thinks of a convincing excuse on why he is a skeleton that he'll be able to provide to any distrustful magical merchants! He was polymorphed! Or metamorphosized or deskinned or whatever it is they call it these days. He'll say it was because he slept with a witch's sister! The witch was very angry because she was in love with Samuel! But that's because his twin brother seduced the witch while claiming to be him! Because they have a long-standing rivalry that bases itself around the fact that Samuel and his identical twin brother, Dirk, were separated at birth, the result of which was that Samuel was brought up in relative prosperity while Dirk was forced to eke out a living on the rough streets of the city of Fiverock! Dirk had grown up despising his brother while Samuel was totally ignorant of Dirk's existence! When they finally met, they agreed to trade places for a day to see what the other was living like! Dirk used the opportunity to cause trouble while Samuel fixed all of Dirk's problems!
It is truly a story to move men to tears! It also provides a convenient excuse for Samuel to use when somebody tries to bring him to justice! A true achievement in lying. Samuel practices the story several times in his head, making sure to keep all the made-up facts straight! He also works on his body language, trying to remove all compulsive signs of lying!
That is, until he remembers that he cannot speak and the story is too long to just write out in a store. Oh well.
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 03:10:20 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on November 01, 2012, 03:16:59 pm
Head onwards to the university, to scout it out!Pretty much what I want to do.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 03:34:46 pm
James, secure in the knowledge that the university is definitely where it should be, decides to scout it out!
[James local knowledge roll: 2]
Sadly, he has absolutely no idea where the university should be! Damn his pig farmer upbringing! He could have been a real contender, but no, his father was all like "Son, you must take over the family business when I'm done!" Look where that got him! Undead, subject to no less than two different curses, with a face and teeth that are stolen from who knows where and with a stomach that glows with divine light!
Alaric, not one to waste time, decides to leave the mausoleum and search for the university as well!
[Alaric local knowledge roll: 4-1]
Having no notion as to where his destination might be, Alaric decides to take to the skies and see! He floats upward, upward and ever more upward until he is sufficiently high up! What he sees is highly unusual!
Despite it being somewhat late in the evening, there are lights everywhere!
[Alaric intelligence roll: ?]
There also seems to be a great deal of smoke coming from certain places where the light is brightest. It seems that something is on fire there. A great amount of small fires seems to be heading toward a large group of massive buildings far to the west - Alaric presumes this is the university. He heads there right away, wishing to scout the area!
[Alaric speedy traveling roll: 2]
He floats toward the university at a leisurely pace, reaching it in a day of traveling.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 01, 2012, 03:37:21 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 03:43:22 pm
Post by: mesor on November 01, 2012, 03:52:34 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 01, 2012, 03:58:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2012, 04:28:59 pm
James, being at a complete loss as to where he might find the University of Magic, decides to find and ask Bernie! He finds him in his hall, carefully examining a yearbook and pointing out images to the severed head of Skip Rogers!
"Seriously, couldn't they try to get a better image than that? I look like crap!"
"Hey, do you know where the university is?"
"Of course I do! A day's walk to the west! Follow the road!"
James decides to take this sage advice and head over that way!
Meanwhile, Vincent begins looking for a cloak! Sadly, only the officer had one, and that one met a stabbity end indeed! He picks up two more halberds and leaves for the university!
[Vincent local knowledge roll: 2]
Or he would, if he had the slightest clue where it is!
Leon soon joins him in the looting of corpses! He obtains seven halberds, nine sets of horribly dismembered bloody levy leather armor, 1 set of horribly dismembered and brutalized officer's levy leather armor!
[Leon strength roll: 6+1]
He lifts all the goods in the air as high as he can, yelling "Who is mighty? I AM MIGHTY!"
[Leon balance roll: 4]
He manages to stay upright despite wobbling slightly!
On the road that leads westward...
Jordan and Samuel continue their merry trek!
[Jordan speedy traveling roll: 5-1]
[Samuel speedy traveling roll: 6]
Jordan proceeds at a quick pace! Samuel, not willing to be left in the dust by a zombie, decides to break into a nearly leaping sprint! Passing through the burnt-out and demolished remains of several villages, Samuel reaches the university in six hours!
[Samuel will roll: 5]
Samuel resists the temptation to lie down on one of the piles of debris and human corpses while waiting for Jordan! Instead, he takes a look around! There seem to be a lot of angry people around, shouting about there being no gods and no masters! There seem to be hundreds of them, demanding that the mages of the university release all of their precious magical items to support the popular uprising! The mages, being somewhat protective of their magical items and unwilling to go against their noble patrons, have chosen to barricade the faculty buildings and use showy magic as a deterrent against the masses. This only seems to make them angrier.
After four hours of observing the people, Samuel is joined by Jordan. It's almost 10 AM now, and it is broad daylight outside.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 01, 2012, 04:32:38 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 01, 2012, 04:46:30 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 01, 2012, 04:47:53 pm
Swing my axe of Displacement, teleporting myself past the barricade!
Post by: mesor on November 01, 2012, 04:56:21 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 01, 2012, 05:00:52 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 01, 2012, 08:23:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 01:52:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 03:59:38 am
Jordan has an idea in that decomposing brain of his! He says so!
"I say, chap, I have a brilliant idea of how to get past this here barricade!"
He will use his Displacement Axe's capabilities to teleport himself past the barricade going into one of the buildings! He stands next to a barricade and swings!
His image does indeed transport itself past the barricade for a short period of time! However, it soon disappears, leaving the real Jordan on the wrong side of the barricade the entire time!
[Mob reaction roll: 1]
"Look over there! It's a walking corpse! And he's got a magical axe of some kind!"
"Should we get 'im?"
"You heard the man! Get 'im!"
The mob descends upon Jordan! While it does so, Samuel searches for an alternate way inside one of the faculty buildings!
[Faculty building choice roll: 5]
[Search roll: 1]
He walks to what he believes is the Divination Department and kicks at the barricade a bit! It doesn't yield!
[Samuel will roll: 2]
Samuel is very angered at this development! He proceeds to begin whacking the barricade with his cane relentlessly to no effect! He hears a voice from up top!
[? roll: ?]
"I have foreseen your coming, skeleton! Come in, and we shall negotiate!"
[? magic roll: 5+1]
Samuel feels himself being lifted into the air! He rises three stories, then gets pulled in through a window! He finds himself in the company of five elderly wizards, all of them dressed in the standard grey robes of the Divination Department! One of the wizards is wearing an interesting-looking amulet!
[Handy exposition roll: 6]
"The visions told me you would come while I was sitting on the toilet yesterday morning, reading my morning book (it was a paper on visceromancy, fascinating stuff, really, I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in divination), but I know not your name and intentions! I am the Head Diviner of this university, and I have the scrying amulet to prove it!" he says, holding up his amulet!
"State your business here or I shall smite you!"
Near the lair of Bernie, the great and magical...
Leon, weighed down by a whole lot of equipment, decides that unloading it somewhere would be the best idea!
[Leon local knowledge roll: 4]
There is a town that's about a three hour walk to the east. And it supposedly has an armorer, unlike Richardsburgh! But first, the best garment has to be put on! He drops everything to the ground and puts the officer's bloody levy leather armor on!
Well, he doesn't smell so bad anymore. Sure, he smells like a victim of a bloody beating and evisceration, but at least he doesn't quite smell like a rank corpse! That's a start.
That being done, he picks up everything again!
[Leon strength roll: 3+1]
Leon struggles a bit, but manages to hold everything on his back! He decides to go for the other town, Kerwood!
[Leon speedy traveling roll: 2-2]
He forgets to turn when he reaches the road and keeps going straight on through the wilderness! He walks for an hour until he realizes that there's no road! And that he's totally lost in the woods!
Vincent, having no idea where the university is, decides to follow the road until he sees a person to ask for directions! In an hour, he has reached Richardsburgh! There used to be many buildings here! There's a person, too. He's naked and dead!
On the road westward...
The approaching dawn does little to give James confidence in his abilities! He decides to look for a sun shade while he's strolling along!
[James search roll: 4-1]
He finds a small narrow-brimmed hat hanging from a tree branch on his way! He grabs it and puts it on!
[Resistance roll: 1-1]
A swarm of insects pours out over his head! It scratches, bites and infests his previously immaculate skin! James is now a breeding ground for insectoid forces of pestilence!
Oh well. At least he has a hat. Just as he thinks so, the hat disintegrates, having lost the insects that held it together!
He keeps going. Dawn breaks on the wilderness. He is about halfway to the university.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 02, 2012, 05:57:07 am
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 06:05:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 06:25:52 am
Leon realizes that this would be the time for some clever navigation! He attempts to retrace his steps!
[Leon navigation roll: 1]
He decides that he obviously must have gone south! Easy mistake to make! He heads northward, eager to correct his mistake!
[Leon wilderness traveling roll: 2-2]
He proceeds at a brisk pace, navigating all the obstacles in front of him! However, he neglects to take notice of obstacles under himself! He suddenly loses his footing on some unsteady ground and falls into a deep hole in the ground, plummeting downward for what seems like forever! He loses his grip on his halberds and garments, making them fly everywhere!
[Leon fall damage roll: 1]
He hits a stone floor with a loud crunching impact! His legs are broken! Not a second passes before he is stabbed through the torso by no less than four falling halberds and buried in a rain of bloody garments! What a fantastic way to start a day!
[Commotion roll: 4]
At least nothing else seems to want to kill him. Yet.
At the still smoking ruins of Richardsburgh...
Vincent, surprised at the lack of any sentient life to pester in the ruined town, decides to go back and pester Bernie instead!
[Vincent speedy traveling roll: 5]
He sprints back in no more than 10 minutes and runs up to Bernie! He attempts to ask him where the university is!
[Skeletal communication roll: ?-2]
"Oh, that's easy. Go south a ways until you reach the road, then head east. In about three hours of walking you will be there. Wonder what my sister wants from there, though."
Vincent is delighted at hearing that the university is not far at all and heads there immediately!
[Vincent speedy traveling roll: 2]
It takes him a while to trudge through the forest and reach the road, but he's definitely getting there!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 06:29:02 am
Put my leg bones back in place and will them to heal, then collect my equipment and head to the town again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 06:54:02 am
Deep underneath the woods...
Leon feels that he is in terrible danger! This is no time to have both of his legs broken! Having no reasonable alternative, he wills his legs to fix themselves!
[Leon will magic roll: 1-2]
His legs do not fix themselves! They do not fix themselves at all! Well, if they're determined to be that way, let's see how they like this! He bursts from the garment pile while roaring, tearing a halberd from his chest and chopping both of his legs off! There! Now they won't disturb him any longer! He stands up on both his arms, three halberds still sticking out from his belly!
[Commotion roll: 2]
His roar rings out and echoes through wherever he is in, and the sound of rapid footsteps is heard approaching him! Leon cannot see a single thing in the pitch black darkness all around him! He can, however, feel that something is around him.
[Reaction roll: 4]
He feels odd, many-taloned hands search around his body and feel its shape and consistency! There is a slight squeak and a scurrying sound, and Leon feels himself get carried away, unable to resist! After about twenty minutes of rapid motion, he feels cold stone on his back once more. Feeling around with his arms, Leon can tell that he is on a slab of some kind. For what purpose, though, he cannot say. There is an odd reverberating hum in the air, though.
[? roll: 3]
Suddenly a great beast made of what seems to be metal descends on him! It slices, dices and... replaces? What's going on? Whatever it is, it seems that Leon can thank his lucky stars that he's a zombie and thus largely immune to pain, otherwise this would hurt like hell.
Eventually, it rises up from Leon, having done what whatever it was trying to do. Leon feels an unusual absence of halberds in his chest.
((Whoops. Sorry about rushing like that, what with you having edited your action. The result would have been much the same, though. Magic has to be backed with some kind of knowledge unless you roll a 6.))
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 06:58:02 am
(( You could of warned me I'd get a negative roll from it lol in most games it would not have had any effect or I'd have carried less. ))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 02, 2012, 07:08:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 07:15:06 am
Somewhere deep down under...
Leon assesses the state of his body! The lack of halberds in his chest is nice, he has to admit. There is, however a notable surplus of one halberd on each of his limbs!
His missing legs have been replaced with halberds! So have his not-missing arms! The rest seems to be mostly untouched, aside from the holes in his chest, which seem to have been covered up with tiny metal patches!
There is a whirring and clicking, then a sliding sound. Something grabs Leon by the arms and legs and begins to drag him out!
Somewhere less dark and frightening...
Vincent begins to follow the road to the east! After three hours of walking he has reached a walled-in compound of some sort. He hears the pleasant voices of singing maidens coming from beyond the walls!
There is a large oaken gate blocking the way in as well as a raised drawbridge, and there appears to be a deep water-filled moat all around the compound. What is up with this place?
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 07:20:02 am
(( Dam I'm boned lol what am I gonna do with halberds for arms and legs? ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 07:21:35 am
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 07:29:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 08:20:42 am
Post by: Yoink on November 02, 2012, 08:22:01 am
Gender: Male
Archetype: Ghost
Spoiler: Biography- Warning, long! (click to show/hide)
((I'm sorry, it's late and I ramble when I am sleepy. :-\))
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2012, 08:26:35 am
Post by: Yoink on November 02, 2012, 08:35:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2012, 08:37:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 08:50:19 am
Name: Timothy Amscray
Gender: Male
Archetype: GhostSpoiler: Biography- Warning, long! (click to show/hide)
((I'm sorry, it's late and I ramble when I am sleepy. :-\))
((Interesting bio you have there. You are now officially the third on the waitlist, right after miauw and Gamerlord. Should the rate of player turnover remain high (and I suspect it might), you might even get to play soon. But, back to Leon's big adventure.))
Where everybody can hear you scream, but nobody will help you anyway...
Leon is being dragged through the darkness, taloned claws clutching his limbs! He considers it wise not to resist.
[Acclimatization roll: 3]
He is starting to get a better feel for the total darkness he is in. It sounds like they've left the beast's room from the sound of the footsteps and the occasional drops of water hitting the stone floor. Occasionally his carriers step on something damp, perhaps moss or something. Listening in, he also begins to hear a sort of low whistle, barely perceptible to his senses. He is stopped from further deliberation when he is unceremoniously dumped on the stone floor. As he hits the ground, he hears loud tuneless whistling from all around him! The dissonance produced is nerve-shaking indeed.
Suddenly, the area goes totally silent. Moments later, he hears a bit of a swinging sound as though something heavy just moved, followed by six loud clacks. Then thirteen short clicks. Then a high-pitched whistle once more. He is picked up by seven of the claws again and lifted face-forwards. A whistle, then three clicks and a clack. Judging from it all, something is inspecting him.
[Inspection roll: ?]
There are fifteen quick clicks, seven clacks and a low whistle followed by a ringing tone. Leon is picked up once again and moved rapidly, then dumped on the ground, his new limbs making a loud clang.
[Perception roll: 4]
Something is in here with him. Something different from his carriers. Judging by the sounds it makes, it seems to have no fewer than seven legs. Also, it keeps making a chittering sound that can't be good. This suspicion is confirmed when the thing charges at him!
[Thing vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 4]
Leon deflects several attacks from one of the thing's sharp limbs, but a final stab pierces him in the chest! The thing lifts him up into the air!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 09:47:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 09:54:33 am
Samuel, faced with the Head Diviner's line of questioning, decides that he'll try his best to lie like a son of a gun!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
He points at his throat and clacks while thinking about something! If only they could hear his thoughts, but sadly it wasn't meant to be!
"You want... a drink? You're a bloody skeleton, what do you need a drink for? You're trying my patience! Spill the beans on why you're here already! Honestly, this foolishness is getting me worked up to deliver a good smiting or two!"
Post by: anailater on November 02, 2012, 10:02:27 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 10:14:37 am
Try to get past the barricade by swinging my axe at them!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 10:16:27 am
((Did you forget to put me on the waitlist?))
((No, you asked to be put on the waitlist after Yoink did. So you are after him, I believe.))
((Really? So many updates!! Uh...))
Try to get past the barricade by swinging my axe at them!
((I'm not really keeping conventional time here. And, considering that pretty much everybody is alone with no way to reach one another, I can do a single update per character. The updates will slow down after this week, though. Speaking of which.))
On the grounds of the University of Magic...
Jordan is being advanced upon by a huge mob of people! Luckily, this is exactly the kind of problem Jordan is used to solving!
"I say, chaps, would you happen to know where I could find a haberdashery?"
"A what?"
"Let me explain."
[Jordan vs. Mob: 3+1 vs. 3+4-2-1]
Jordan decapitates a single one of the unsuspecting mob members, utilizing the element of surprise garnered from his magic axe!
[Mob vs. Jordan: 4+4-2 vs. 5-1]
The mob presses him up against the wall of a faculty building, punching, kicking and stabbing with their pitchforks! Neither of those really work on Jordan, however.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 10:48:07 am
P-P-please don't slow the updates?
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 11:23:07 am
Chop through the wall, hacking at the people as well!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 11:41:29 am
Samuel is greatly annoyed at the Head Diviner because the Head Diviner appears to be a total idiot! But even total idiots can wield powerful magic, so he tries once more to achieve a coherent dialogue!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He gesticulates wildly, pointing at his nonexistent lungs and glaring at the Head Diviner! The Head Diviner remains puzzled.
"You want something else then? Soup, perhaps? You couldn't eat that very well either, I'm afraid. It's mostly liquid, you know. Although I don't know how you'd eat anything solid either."
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
Samuel breaks into a grand routine of charades! He starts with simple concepts, like "bird", "wizard" and "sky"! Then he follows up with an explanation of how sound works! It takes a while to explain the ear's structure, but the wizards seem to get it eventually. Samuel then goes into detail on how exactly a human being can produce sound, using a wizard in the room as an example. Soon enough the wizards understand how a human's vocal folds work.
"I think I've got it now, skeletal friend! Most educational! But what was the point of it all?"
Samuel points at the Diviner's throat, then back at his own.
"Oh, you can't speak because you're a bloody skeleton, is that it?"
Samuel nods.
"And what bearing does that have on today's matters?"
Samuel slaps his skeletal palm on his equally skeletal lack of a face, then waves his hands like a wizard and points toward his own throat again.
"You want me to give you a throat? I'm afraid you're in the wrong place for that. The Metamorphosis Department is what you want."
Samuel opens and closes his jaw several times, then points at his head, then the Head Diviner's!
"You want to eat my brains to make up for your lack thereof? Egads, how uncivilized!"
"Perhaps he wants to learn how to speak telepathically?"
"Speak telepathically? What a marvelous idea, Jenners! With quick thinking like that, we could have solved this entire problem half an hour ago! Hold on a second, I'll open a channel."
He waves his hands. Bridges of light appear between his, his compatriots' and Samuel's head, then disappear!
~Right, now we can communicate through the power of our minds!~
[Samuel mental communication roll: 2-1]
~Before stating my purpose here, I would like to express my great displeasure at what could only be described as the purest thick-skulled idiocy on your part that caused me to waste a whole half hour of my unlife that I will likely never get back. You are a complete idiot, Head Diviner, and I want you to know that these words of pure annoyance come from the very bottom of the heart I lost in the mining accident the day I died.~
[Rebound roll: 5]
~But I am truly glad that we can finally start our discussion, because I am here for a very good reason. I am of the opinion that magic is a force that I could potentially command as part of my arsenal. I already have a focus and am ready to cast spells, but I need to be able to exercise better control over them to be able to use magic reliably.~
~A focus, you say? Where did you get it?~
~Why, I made it myself through force of will alone. Is that unusual?~
There is a mental gasp throughout the room!
~Most unusual! You must have a great talent for magic! Or you are somehow connected to forces of a demonic nature! Either way, you must be studied and trained!~
~How long will this training take?~
~Not long, I think. Four years, maybe five if you're a slow learner. But something tells me we won't have a problem with that, now will we?~
Outside, in the midst of a swirling sea of angry people...
"I say, you people have dreadful manners! Impose on a gentleman's zone of private space, will you?"
Jordan, realizing that he needs to get some distance from the crowd, begins hacking through the wall!
[Homewrecking roll: 2]
The wall is slightly scratched by Jordan's axe blade! Oh well, guess he'll just have to kill all of these louts, then.
"What wonderful weather we're having, eh?"
"You're telling me! Almost makes me want to-"
[Jordan vs. Mob: 5+1 vs. 1+4-1-1]
Jordan begins hacking like a madman! Heads, legs, pitchforks, arms and bucketloads of blood fly everywhere! It's a veritable massacre! At least forty-three people are killed in Jordan's whirling death frenzy, with about thirty-seven more horribly injured!
[Crowd morale roll: 5]
The crowd collectively roars and charges at Jordan!
"If we die, we die as free men!"
"And women!"
[Crowd vs. Jordan: 2+3-2+1 vs. 5-1]
Jordan keeps on chopping, fatally repelling ten more people and maiming several more! The failed charge of the crowd makes it run out of revolutionary steam somewhat!
"I say, those dead people don't look like very free men at all!"
"Or women, either!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 11:49:19 am
Also, good GODS Jordan, could you be ANY more psychotic?
I wonder if Sam could learn a magic that could...Boost your...Er, murdering skills somewhat.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 11:55:43 am
Keep trying to break through the wall. and Killing.
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2012, 12:10:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 12:33:14 pm
Samuel, not looking forward to spending four years in the company of the Head Diviner, chooses to grill the doddering old codger for some more information!
[Interrogation roll: 4]
~I may consider your proposal, for I do indeed have time. My friend, on the other hand, doesn't.~
~What friend?~
~A completely real and totally not made-up friend at all, I assure you. His name is Dirk, and a terrible witch insists on haranguing him at every opportunity! It is very much his own fault that has caused this, but he is my brother and I have to protect him! Now, do you have any faster alternatives than four years of study? I fear Dirk's livelihood may depend on your answer.~
~Oh, there was this absolutely fascinating paper I read on communication with demons. Demons! How utterly bizarre! It had all sorts of information on where demons could be found, how to contact them and how they choose to manifest! I'm afraid it was composed mostly of hearsay and wasn't very academically sound, but the hearsay it had was most exhilarating! Demons are occasionally known to use their power to grant preternatural skills to mortals very much like the Five Gods used to, I hear. Other than demons, however, I can't rightly think of anything that would give you instant, possibly permanent magical ability.~
~Not even highly dangerous and possibly illegal magical experiments?~
[Head Diviner will roll: 5]
The Head Diviner maintains a completely serious face.
~I am the Head Diviner. Does it seem like I would be the type to practice highly illegal magical experiments? Get serious, skeletal friend. You'd be better off speaking to one of those apes at the Metamorphosis Department on that.~
~Mages?~
~Yes! Turned themselves into apes for some reason. Said it was proof of concept for some greater experiment. If they can return to being human, they say they'll be able to improve people by the same process. Or some such rot. Called it 'accelerated evolution' or something. They haven't the foggiest what that actually means! Idiots.~
~So I won't get any help from them?~
~Oh no, I've foreseen that they'll succeed. Quite dramatically, in fact. Dramatically enough to cause a major regional crisis. I'd rather not speak more on it, though. Wouldn't want to spoil too much of the results.~
Outside amidst a rapidly thinning crowd of peeved heretics...
Jordan's crowd pacification method seems to have real potential! Perhaps more testing is in order?
"I say, would you care for a spot of tea, my good man?"
"Do you have some? I heard only nobleme-"
[Jordan vs. Mob: 4+1 vs. 4+3-1-1]
Those filthy peasants seem to have foreseen Jordan's tactic by some devilish providence! They immediately retreat when he starts to swing his axe! Once he's done swinging, they charge at him once more!
[Mob vs. Jordan: 3+3-2 vs. 3-1]
They push Jordan backward by a great distance, but keeping out of his swinging range makes sure that they cannot make too much progress! Jordan decides to try deconstruction again!
[Homewrecking roll: 1]
His axe embeds itself into the wall! Jordan tries to pull it out!
[Jordan strength roll: 3+1]
It takes him a short while, but the axe comes out nicely! At least it cut in nicely this time!
The crowd, taking advantage of Jordan's distraction, advances on him!
[Mob vs. Jordan: 5+3-2 vs. 3-1]
They lift Jordan up from his feet and start slamming him into the wall! If they keep this up, Jordan might get seriously hurt for once!
[Wall structural integrity roll: 2]
Whether Jordan weakened it before or his body is just that destructive, the wall cracks somewhat! Jordan is a bit dizzy from all the thwacking he's been put through!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 12:36:22 pm
KEEP CHOPPING! Try to get out of their grasp and get at a distance from them!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 12:50:50 pm
Jordan is a bit light-headed and his head is absolutely pounding! Literally!
"Oh dear, all that stone seems to have gone to my head! I say, you know what I always do in these situations?"
"What?"
[Jordan vs. Mob: 4+1-1 vs. 3+3-1]
Jordan chops a bit at the hands of the fellows carrying him, sending them reeling back! However, they just pass him on to other people in the crowd!
[Mob vs. Jordan: 5+3-2 vs. 5-1]
The mob slams the persistently swinging Jordan against the wall a bit! He keeps swinging, but his dizziness persists!
[Wall structural integrity roll: 6]
A burst of magical energy surrounds the cracking wall! The mages inside must have magically reinforced it! The pretty lights distract the crowd somewhat! Just enough for Jordan to make an escape attempt!
[Jordan escape roll: 4-1]
Jordan rolls out of the grasp of his carriers, falling on the ground! The people in the crowd look around for Jordan in confusion!
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2012, 12:52:42 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 12:56:33 pm
RUN. SWING. HIDE. URGH.
Post by: TopHat on November 02, 2012, 01:25:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 01:31:30 pm
Jordan may be down and dizzy, but he is far from out! A nearby agitator notices him!
"There you are!"
"Indeed I am! Do you know what gentlemanly conduct demands that I do?"
"What?"
[Jordan vs. Mob: 3+1-1 vs. 2+3-1-1]
Jordan swipes his axe across the chest of the fellow that saw him! The fellow loses far more blood than a human being should!
Jordan attempts to leave his merry circle of friends!
[Jordan escape roll: 6-1]
He leaps upwards and begins whirling around with his axe! A few peasants get chopped to bits and the rest wise up! They retreat from the area around Jordan, which he uses to skip away like some kind of infernal ballet dancer! He quickly puts some distance between himself and the thinning crowd, disappearing around the corner of one of the buildings on the other side of the campus!
[Crowd morale roll: 6]
"We have him on the run! We've won the battle! Let's finish him off!"
They charge thoughtlessly after the escaping Jordan, rounding the corner around five at a time!
"I say, chaps, that was very kind of you!"
"What do you mean, that-"
[Jordan vs. Mob: 4+1 vs. 5+2-1-1]
The mob, however, decides to retreat back a bit after the seven front attackers get themselves horribly maimed!
[Mob morale roll: 1]
Quite a bit, in fact. They decide to retreat back all the way to the other side of the campus area!
"Wait, why are we doing this? Haven't we won the war?"
"Who said that?"
"I don't know! Bill, I guess?"
"And where is Bill now? More importantly, where is his head?"
"Uh..."
"Around that corner and NOT ON HIS SHOULDERS, you lout, because Bill WAS A BLOODY IDIOT! Personally, I ain't endangerin' all the free women-"
"And men!"
"... and men by going after some bloody lunatic for NO GOOD REASON. Let's just take down the mages, then we can worry about gentlemanly walking corpses with axes!"
The crowd settles down and returns to banging on the walls of the campus buildings, beckoning the mages to come out and give up all the sweet loot they are undoubtedly hoarding!
On the way to the university...
James feels an urge to hurry! Perhaps if he does not make his move soon, all the sweet loot will be stolen by his more ambitious and non-cursed comrades! That he cannot allow!
[James speedy travel roll: 1-1]
[Wild animal roll: 5]
His thoughts are interrupted by a somehow speeding giant snail slamming into him from the side! Seriously, Pacitarius is starting to get ridiculous with this stuff.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 01:35:35 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 01:37:22 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 02, 2012, 01:37:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 02:11:10 pm
James is somewhat relieved that his enemy is not a horrible monstrosity of some sort for once. Well, it's still a monstrosity, but hardly horrible. Smiling at his unusual fortune, James tries to eliminate the filthy mollusc with his superior weaponry!
[James vs. Giant Snail: 2+1-1 vs. 5-1]
He wants to put the ridiculous thing out of its misery, but it is just too hilarious to look at to kill immediately! It's kind of cute, to be honest.
[Giant Snail vs. James: 1-1 vs. 5+1]
The snail menacingly inches toward James! James stops laughing for a second to make a devastating counterattack!
[Counter attack: James vs. Giant Snail: 1 vs. 5-1]
He's about to do it, but the look on the snail's face is just too clueless for him to go through with it! James can't hurt something as absolutely hilarious as that! It would ruin the moment!
[Counter counter attack: Giant Snail vs. James: 3-1 vs. 2+1]
The snail is really enraged now! It actually seems to be going forward now! Given a few hours, it might actually reach James! Hah!
Meanwhile, back at the university...
Jordan, having had his fun with the peasants, decides to look for a way into the university itself!
[Building choice roll: 3]
[Search roll: 5]
He finds the Illusion Department! The front door is barricaded shut! The window right next to it, though, is not. Makes sense. Wouldn't want the place to get stuffy, you know. Illusionists have style, unlike some of those other people.
In the lair of the abominably old Head Diviner of the University of Magic...
Samuel lets out a mental sigh!
[Expressive sigh roll: 3]
Being composed of his thoughts, though, it isn't very raspy and sounds halfhearted at best.
~What now?~
~Oh, just bemoaning my luck. Nothing to be worried about. Say, would you happen to have any magical goods you'd like to part with for coin?~
[Head Diviner reaction roll: 6]
~Nothing I'd like to sell, I think. Plenty of junk I'd happily unload on you, however! Here's the key to the attic - take anything you want. You'd be doing me a favor, to be honest.~
He presses a key into Samuel's hand!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 02:17:36 pm
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 02:24:27 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 02, 2012, 02:28:40 pm
On second thoughts ((that snail is too cute))
Try to take the snail as a pet.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 02:37:06 pm
Jordan feels that different objectives should never get in the way of some burglary on the side! He opens the window and slips inside the building!
Oh my, there appear to be many places he can go. There are signs that say "To Lecture Halls", "To Practice Rooms", "To Students' Quarters" and "To Residents' Quarters". Many places to rob! Probably many people to kill, too.
[Illusionist awareness roll: 5]
Suddenly, Jordan is accosted by three illusionists dressed in colorful robes appearing out of nowhere! Guess they were guarding the place after all.
"Who are you? You're not one of the peasants!"
Meanwhile, in the forgotten depths...
Leon is not about to die to some creature he can't even see! He will chop that bastard to shreds!
[Leon vs. Thing: 2+1 vs. 6+1]
He can't quite reach the blasted thing, whatever it may be! He flails impotently like an animated shishkebab!
[Thing vs. Leon: 4+1 vs. 6]
Fortunately, the thing can't really do anything more to him either, as all attempts to pierce the halberd-enriched Leon merely reward the thing with nasty gashes across its limbs!
[Acclimatization roll: 1]
The constant chittering sounds made by the thing make it really hard to discover anything else about the room you're in or your captors!
At the location of a grand battle...
James can't bring himself to eliminate the snail, so he decides to do the next best thing: enslave it!
[Snail abduction roll: 5-1+1]
James picks the snail up by its shell, the whole thing not being very heavy, and runs off toward the university! The snail provides a nice bit of shade from the rising sun! Double win!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 02:56:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 03:13:25 pm
Samuel, never too snobbish to accept FREE STUFF, takes the key and immediately runs to the attic after taking a quick bow! He slides the key into the attic door's keyhole!
He twists the key once, then again. The door is unlocked! He opens the door!
[? roll: 3]
A small cloud of dust erupts from the door. It doesn't really bother Samuel at all. He goes in and gets to searching!
[Search roll: 1]
Damn it all, there's only useless crap here! Anything that may have even been vaguely magical has lost its properties long ago! Samuel kicks a nearby statue of a mage in frustration!
[Unpredictable magical effects roll: 1]
The statue comes to life and begins chanting menacing-sounding words in a voice that logically resembles grinding stone!
[Statue magic roll: 4+1]
Samuel feels himself being lifted off his feet and chucked out of the attic door with astounding speed! While currently unhurt, he hears the statue coming out of the attic!
[Stair structural integrity roll: 6]
The stairs to the attic hold up surprisingly well, considering their age! The statue keeps coming down without stopping!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 03:15:40 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 03:17:05 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 02, 2012, 03:44:40 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 02, 2012, 03:45:40 pm
Anyways, here's my character:
Name: Clip-Clop
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: He used to be a great knight. Well, he only really retreated, but he was good at it damnit. His horse was his best friend, and had gotten him out of many scrapes. Unfortunately, he took a wrong turn while running away. He and his horse fell down a pit, and died. They were found much later, and both of their bones were dumped in a grave. That hasn't affected Clip-Clop much, aside from replacing his hands and feet with hooves. The only sound he can really make is a "clip-clop" of his hand-hooves.
That good?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 04:05:00 pm
Jordan is faced with a terrible dilemma: kill the mages now or kill them later?
[Fast talking roll: 4-2]
"I say, fine chaps, I'm here selling these fine books," he says, producing his copy of "Mad Science Throughout The Ages".
"Books? What in the bloody hell are you talking about? We're in the middle of a siege here and you're... by the gods, what is that awful stench?"
"There's a good reason for it, you see!"
"What?"
[Jordan vs. Lead Illusionist: 5+1 vs. 6-2-1]
Jordan lops the illusionist's arm off with his axe, then kicks him away! The illusionist lands on the ground, bleeding and screaming!
[Illusionist morale roll: 6-1]
One illusionist bolts while yelling for everyone to mobilize while the other one begins casting a magical spell of some kind!
[Illusionist magic roll: 1]
He makes Jordan totally invisible! Oh crap.
[Illusionist mobilization roll: 4]
Four more illusionists, including the one who ran away earlier, burst into the entrance hall!
"Where is the intruder?"
"Uh... it's a bit of a funny story, you see..."
Meanwhile, at the top of the Divination Department...
Samuel is up the river of excrement with no method of altering his course, so to speak. There is only one thing left to do: RUN!
[Samuel common sense roll: 2]
Realizing there's no time to waste, he runs back to the Head Diviner's room!
~Back already? Did you take anything?~
~Well, no, to put it politely.~
He leaps through the window he entered from feet-first!
[Falling roll: 4+1]
He lands perfectly, rolling and bending the knees in exactly the right ways! Damn it feels good to weigh but a fraction of an ordinary human being!
~I say, what's this? A statue? Come to life? I thought that you'd died being all stoned like that, Marcus!~
[Magical duel: Marcus vs. Head Diviner: 6+1 vs. 1+1]
Samuel hears rapid chanting of extremely powerful words come from the third floor! He can feel the discharge of magic even at this distance! The next thing he notices is the Head Diviner sailing through the air. Not coming through the window, mind you, but the wall right next to it. A not inconsiderable amount of debris falls from the third floor, followed by the Head Diviner himself.
[Head Diviner fall damage: 2-1-1]
The Head Diviner lands on his head, which splatters on the cobblestone. Not a pretty sight.
[Diviner morale roll: 1]
You also hear four *poof* sounds right afterward.
Far away from all this violence and mayhem...
Vincent deems the strange singing maiden place worthy of investigation! He looks for an alternate route of entrance!
[Vincent search roll: 5]
Aha! There is a pipe in the moat that you could use to enter the compound completely undetected! It probably hasn't been taken care of because it's full of water and thus somewhat protected from human invaders!
He walks down into the moat and crawls through the submerged pipe to get to the other side! He emerges in a well! The bucket is lowered, so it is a simple matter for Vincent to get right out. He now appears to be in a basement of some kind.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 02, 2012, 04:09:01 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 02, 2012, 04:14:03 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 02, 2012, 04:25:05 pm
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 04:46:01 pm
"Come on your bastard come shake my hands!!!! I dare you!!!!!!
Post by: TopHat on November 02, 2012, 05:04:52 pm
Rally the peasants and break in to the university.
If not, get there first.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 05:15:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2012, 05:52:58 pm
Vincent is feeling the effects of looting withdrawal! Time to get his fix!
[Search roll: 6]
He wanders all around the basement, ignoring barrels marked "Sacred Wine" that seem to be absolutely everywhere and looking for some more easily portable loot! Eventually, he comes upon a wall! Not exciting in and of itself, but a quick search turns up an oddly loose brick! Vincent pulls it out! However, no doorway opens. He pulls out another! Still nothing. He tries again! And again! And again! An hour or so later, the wall is dismantled! Behind it is an ancient altar of some kind with a golden goblet on top! Satisfied at getting something for his efforts, Vincent takes it! It feels oddly light and appears to possess an eerie glow.
Far away beneath the earth...
Leon's fighting spirit does not allow him to give up! He may have been mutilated by unknown creatures of the depths, but he'll be damned before he'll surrender to some ornery critter he hasn't even made eye contact with!
[Leon vs. Thing: 5+1 vs. 3+1]
He uses his armberds to slide forward on the creature's limb, slicing it up with his leg blades! The creature's chittering is replaced with a horrid shriek as some of what seem to be its internal organs get pierced! A bubbling, oozing sound is coming from its center!
"Come on, you bastard! Shake my hand! I dare you! SHAKE IT!"
[Thing vs. Leon: 5+1-1 vs. 4-1]
The thing strikes with another of its limbs, almost slicing off Leon's arm, the sharp claw only stopped by the steel shaft of the halberd within it!
On the road to the university...
James, menacingly holding a giant snail over his head, finally arrives at the university! The sun really isn't too bad when you've got a friend protecting you! He approaches the confused agitators!
[Heretic rally roll: 2+1]
"How are you today, my flock?"
"Horrible, mighty prophet! A lunatic walking corpse killed off a quarter of us while we tried to capture him!"
"Oh my! Most awful! Wait, did you say 'a walking corpse'?"
"Yes, mighty prophet! Wielding an ensorcelled axe that makes him shift in location! We did our best, but the corpse fled, making polite remarks and decimating our numbers as it did so!"
"Oh my. Well, can't help you with him, I'm afraid."
"How so, mighty prophet?"
"He is not a pawn of the gods or the noblemen! He is a wild card, a force of nature! You cannot hope to chain him! Steer clear of this being and you shall be safe!"
"So there is no other way to deal with him?"
"No, he is like the storm - when he comes, you cannot turn him away. You can merely get shelter."
"Well, that's depressing! What am I supposed to tell the women?"
"And men! We're mighty scared, too!"
"Fear not, I shall give them a service when I've figured out the right words to inspire them!"
For inspiration, James surveys the area! Hm, it seems to be quite boring around here. And bloody, too. It definitely is the axe-zombie's work. He also spots Samuel!
Samuel is about to take the amulet and leave, but is interrupted!
[Marcus magic roll: 6+1]
The interruption in question being a stone statue slamming into the ground at a great speed not ten feet away from him!
[Marcus endurance: 2+6]
The statue hardly wavers as it makes a deep crater in the ground!
Samuel, very much like the revolutionaries, feels that there is not much he can do to defeat such power! Time to grovel!
[Nonverbal groveling roll: 5]
He bows down before the statue, kissing its boots as gently as a skeleton is able (not very, for your information) and generally looking pathetic and not worth killing!
The statue speaks! Its voice is like two sides of a canyon colliding!
"I LOVE IT WHEN FOOLS CHOOSE TO HUMILIATE THEMSELVES RATHER THAN FACE DEATH. IF MY FACE WERE NOT MADE OF STONE, I WOULD LAUGH HEARTILY. YOU HAVE DESERVED YOUR PATHETIC EXISTENCE FOR NOW, WHELP. LIVE IN SHAME. I WILL GO OVER THERE AND SEE IF THOSE FILTHY PEASANTS FEEL THE SAME WAY. I DO SO LOVE THE SOUND OF BONES CRACKING AND THE BLOOD SPLASHING. IT SOOTHES MY STONE HEART."
The statue slowly proceeds to the mob of revolutionary peasants!
Post by: mesor on November 02, 2012, 06:08:11 pm
"You bastard I said shake it not attack it, now do as I said!! Or I'm going to cut you into little pieces and eat you!!."
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 02, 2012, 07:00:16 pm
"Gentlemen?"
Start lopping off heads, while invisible!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 02, 2012, 07:05:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 02:53:26 am
Samuel, having escaped death through the power of quietly begging for his life, decides to go back and loot the Divination Department!
[Search roll: 3]
They seem to have blocked all the first floor windows and barricaded the door! Samuel laments the unfortunate foresight of the Divination Department when it comes to looters! The third floor window's still open, though. Maybe he could climb up the wall like some kind of half-skeleton half-arachnid.
While thinking on what to do, Samuel loots the nifty amulet from the Head Diviner's corpse. The Head Diviner doesn't appear to have whole lot on him. Cheap bastard!
Inside the Illusion Department...
Jordan cannot be seen anymore! How fortuitous!
"Spit it out! Where did he go?"
"Well, I may have... uh..."
"You may have what?"
"I may have turned him invisible."
The arrivals go quiet and wide-eyed!
"Gentlemen?"
[Jordan vs. Illusionists: 4+1 vs. 1-2-1-1]
One little, two little, three little illusionists!
Four little, five little, six little illusionists!
Sev- oh wait, they're all dead already. Youth these days. Can't fight half as good as their seniors. They do scream quite nicely, though. While the advantage of invisibility cannot be doubted, Jordan can't help but think that it spoils the fun somewhat. He arranges the severed heads and limbs in a neat row as a warning to the rest!
"I say, that will teach them to hinder a revered gentleman on a quest!"
Far away from human civilization...
"I SAID SHAKE, NOT DISMEMBER! WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS! I'M AFRAID I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SLICE YOU UP AND EAT YOU NOW!"
[Leon vs. Thing: 4+1 vs. 6]
Leon is about to make good on his promise when the thing hurls him away, clearly having had enough of halberds piercing its soft thing-flesh! Leon lands a few dozen feet away, followed by the fiercely (at least as far as Leon can hear) leaping creature!
[Thing vs. Leon: 3 vs. 2]
It lands on top of him, making several cuts in the flesh covering his halberd-limbs!
[Acclimatization roll: 4]
Leon is beginning to get a feel for the place he's in. It seems like he is in a cave of some kind. The creature in front of him isn't terribly large, just really fierce. It doesn't seem like any tactics outside of injuring it into submission are necessary.
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 03:35:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 04:08:06 am
James tries to think of a better rallying speech!
[Intelligence roll: 3-1+1]
Dang, these people are kind of screwed right now. Oh well, guess it's time for the good ol' "sacrifice yourselves for the greater good" bit.
[Heretic rallying roll: 6+1]
"My friends! Do not be afraid, for the mighty prophet has words of wisdom to share! Do not blindly stand here and allow yourselves to be slaughtered, for that is the way of the god-slaves! Take initiative! Act individually! In your foolish concept of the world, you have allowed yourselves to be led astray! Do not follow any master, even among yourselves! Have you forgotten the most basic precept of my teachings? Let each man and woman be their own god and master, and let none impugn upon this freedom! And abandon this foolish attempt to kill all the mages and the lords! They are better armed and can deliver far too much horrible stabby and burning death for it to ever be worth it!"
"You say we mustn't kill people? But how are we to change anything?"
"Disobey them secretly! Sabotage their designs! Subvert their goals without revealing yourself! Stop visiting temples and giving them money! In doing so, you will inch closer to freedom!"
"But we could just kill our oppressors and take over immediately!"
"You could try, but who is to say you won't run into that axe-corpse again? Can you guarantee it? Are you prepared to die should you meet him?"
"Uh..."
"Exactly! So, if you are to gain any freedom at all, you are to work for it slowly and subversively! None of this burning and killing nonsense!"
"But we already burned our farms as they were the tools of our enslavement!"
"Think of it as an opportunity to build secret passages, clubhouses and torture rooms without arousing suspicion!"
"Torture rooms?"
"Well, you never know is what I always say."
The leader turns back to the crowd.
"Let's go home, everyone! Live to fight oppression from the shadows!"
The crowd quietly leaves, trying to look as humble and penitent as possible to fool the oppressors! Well, maybe not all of them will be put to death. Perhaps some of them will merely be whipped into submission!
James looks at his great work with a smile when suddenly a statue strolls up to him! It speaks with a voice that resembles a meteorite striking a fortuitously placed giant gong!
"YOU. WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A GIANT SNAIL? AND WHERE DID THE FILTHY PEASANTS RUN OFF TO? I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO SMASHING THEM QUITE A LOT. ANSWER CAREFULLY. YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE ME DISAPPOINTED."
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 04:45:07 am
And they went thataway.
ca
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 05:37:48 am
James gets the feeling that being evasive or annoying in this case wouldn't go very well for him!
[James explanation roll: 6-1-1]
"Well, you see, I am carrying a giant snail because it attacked me and was simply too amusing to kill! Also, it provides an nice bit of shade!"
He scratches one of the many insect hives on his skin!
"I KNOW THE FEELING. NOTHING IS MORE AMUSING THAN THE ATTEMPTS OF PUNY CREATURES TO DESTROY ONE'S MAGNIFICENCE! SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHERE DID THAT CROWD OF PEASANTS GO? MY BODYCOUNT IS WOEFULLY LOW AT THE MOMENT!"
"Oh, they went home. If you hurry, you might catch them! They went east, I believe."
"WONDERFUL! GLAD WE HAD THIS TALK!"
[Marcus magic roll: 5+1]
He lifts himself off the ground telekinetically and flies eastward!
[Marcus magic roll: 2+1]
No screams of pain and death, though. Well, maybe one or two, but that's hardly what you'd expect from a flying statue of telekinetic destruction facing off against a bunch of peasants!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 05:45:18 am
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 05:46:42 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 03, 2012, 05:54:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 06:23:49 am
In the deep, dark caves untouched by the light of the sun...
Leon, on the ground and faced with a whole lot of monster to kill before the day is done, goes stabbity-stab at it!
[Leon vs. Thing: 5+1 vs. 2]
And a mighty stabbity-stabbing it is indeed, with some additional chopping and dicing included! The thing reels! It oozes! Its limbs get hacked off one by one! The thing drops to the ground, emitting a final chitter-shriek before it goes motionless and silent!
[Acclimatization roll: 2]
Leon is so busy basking in the joy of victory that he doesn't notice himself getting carried off again! Honestly, he's starting to get used to it! He gets dumped inside the room with the slab again!
[? roll: 1]
The great beast descends on him once more and strips off the flesh from his bones! All of it! Once he gets skeletonized, he is immediately picked up and taken to the other side of the room! Here he gets restrained and placed into some kind of loosely form-fitting bed of stone. Hm, wonder why they-
A stream of molten metal pours over Leon!
[Will roll: 5]
He holds on to his dear unlife with almost supernatural conviction, letting the metal flow over his restrained body and harden! After a short while, the metal rapidly cools for some reason! Then it heats up once more and something begins to hammer it!
[Craftsmanship roll: 3]
After a long period of time, Leon feels air rush inside his head! Two eye holes seem to have been made on his face! Also, he can move his halberd arms and legs now, which have been similarly exposed and resharpened! His leg joints are even stiffer than before, however.
Leon is now a Metal Guardian!
Before he can get used to his limbs, however, he is taken back to the room with the sounds by ten sets of claws! After some more clacking, clicking and whistling, the things load him onto a wheelbarrow of some kind and rapidly transport him somewhere!
After about ten minutes of high-speed movement, he gets deposited on the ground in total darkness! He hears a *KER-CLACK* as something is slapped around his neck!
Meanwhile on university grounds...
James is glad that he is not a piece of crushed infested vampire flesh right now! So glad, in fact, that he decides to get back to what he is here for in the first place! He looks for weak points in any faculty buildings!
[Building choice roll: 2]
[Search roll: 2]
He walks to the Magical Botany Department and takes a look around! Pretty secure, it seems. No obvious glaring weaknesses. Damn those botanists and their slow, careful approach to science!
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 06:47:51 am
Smash through the barricade with it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 08:27:48 am
James is absolutely shocked that someone would barricade an establishment this thoroughly! Such dedication to security must be rewarded with equal insanity! He needs a battering ram!
[On-the-spot siege engineering roll: 1]
Eh, what's the point, anyway, when you have a perfectly good undead body to use right here!
[James ramming roll: 6]
James and his pet snail get a nice running start and leap into the door at a high speed! Well, he kind of misses the door. He does slam into the wall very nicely, though!
[Building structural integrity roll: 2]
The wall has a new feature now - a hole shaped very much like a leaping vampire carrying a giant snail! Let's see them figure out that one later! If nothing more, it might teach them to use more durable wall materials!
James inspects himself! He is really scuffed and banged up! Using yourself as a wrecking ball does that to you, he supposes.
[Marcus magic roll: 4+1]
Even though he is indoors and presumably out of earshot, James can hear the splattering and screaming of peasants as well as the pointless clinking of pitchforks against stone ring out from not too far away!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 03, 2012, 09:40:37 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 09:45:42 am
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 09:50:01 am
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 10:11:19 am
Look around me and start slashing at any nearby beings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 10:27:19 am
Samuel knows what he must do, and that is to call upon his hopefully figurative inner wall-crawling insect and climb to assured treasure! He grabs onto a window frame and begins climbing!
[Samuel cat burglary roll: 5+1]
He scales the wall with incredible ease! Thank the gods for wildly extravagant, ornamented architecture! He gets up to the hole in the third floor and gets in. Time to steal as much as possible!
[Looting roll: 5]
Free of pesky interruptions, Samuel walks around the entire third floor, looting to his heart's content! He finds many objects of divination, most of them not very useful to himself. Also, several important-looking containers are magically locked, probably keyed to the Head Diviner himself. However, he comes upon a Black Sphere of Infinite Truth! He also finds a magic map and included locator amulet, a set of Super-Cheating Telepathic Dice and an amazing wizard's hat! Finally, he also finds three books penned by the Head Diviner himself: beginner's, student's and expert's guides on divination!
Inside the Illusion Department...
Jordan, still invisible to the naked eye, begins to search for loot!
[Looting roll: 1]
He finds a horde of pissed-off illusionists!
[Reaction roll: 5+2-2]
"Hey, guys, do you smell that?"
"Yeah, it's..."
"Oh yes, definitely!"
"Hells yeah, soup! Damn, I was really getting hungry!"
Half of the illusionists run to get some soup! About four are left in the area!
"I swear, those guys have the attention spans of children."
Inside the Magical Botany Department...
James feels a scent in the air! It's the unmistakably unpleasant scent of people looting other buildings! He really hates it when that happens! He'll show them!
[James looting roll: 6]
James finds an unlocked storeroom! He opens it!
"It's... beautiful!"
If his tears had not dried up when he died, he would cry now!
In front of him there is enough magical fertilizer to fertilize an entire county's worth of crops for several years! Amazing!
In what might be Hell, except darker...
Leon is tired of not knowing where he is or what's happening! He attempts to gain more information on where he is!
[Perception roll: 4]
Well, there appears to be a steel collar around his neck. It, and Leon with it, appears to be chained to a rock. Nobody seems to be around, though. The situation he's in reminds Leon of how you'd chain a guard dog to a post so it doesn't escape, but can still maim and spot any intruders. He is still in pitch blackness, but his undead eyes are so starved for light that he can almost see a single ray of it far off in the distance!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 10:31:31 am
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 10:33:10 am
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 10:48:21 am
Slash the chain with my armberds.
Post by: miauw62 on November 03, 2012, 10:49:48 am
"No chain can hold me!!!!"
Slash the chain with my armberds.
((I bet that you'll roll a 1 and break them))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 10:54:40 am
Samuel puts on his absolutely obscenely pimp bling. But wait, something's missing! Oh yes! He puts on the wizard's hat! Man, just watch the skeletal babes come running. In preparation for this assuredly not distant event, he stores the dice in his pockets and begins to read the Beginner's Guide on Divination!
[Samuel intelligence roll: 1]
He starts reading it... what's this? Ley lines? What the hell is this? The unfathomable energies of being that decide our fates? Reading auras? Who believes this crap?
Let's see...
"Many people may describe divination as mere parlor tricks."
Heh, they're damn right!
"These people are ignorant bufoons that deserve no attention, for they are congenitally defective and to speak more on it would border on distasteful behavior simply on the basis that they are distasteful and horrible people."
Okay, that's it! Samuel hurls the book out of the window!
[Book landing roll: 2]
It lands next to the Head Diviner's headless corpse, soaking up a bit of blood and viscera from the ground! It might be slightly less legible now. Having gotten rid of the annoying piece of literature, Samuel decides to take the shorter path to power! He brandishes the Black Sphere of Infinite Truth!
[Sphere power roll: 3]
It appears to be unable to process nonverbal commands. Damnation!
Meanwhile, inside the Magical Botany Department...
James is astounded at the amazing stockpile he's discovered! Maybe those peasants were on to something, coming to the university like they did. Oh well. He memorizes the location of the stockpile and moves on to loot something else!
[Looting roll: 6]
He finds an office that's unlocked! Opening it, he finds it full of filing cabinets! Each cabinet contains exhaustive, cataloged information on flora in the entire continent, as well as special University species information! The treasures of this place are simply breathtaking! First the fertilizer, now this? What more could a man want?
Beneath the areas known to mankind...
Leon tries to free himself from indentured servitude! The chains must go! Free the metal guardians!
[Halberd vs. Chain: 5 vs. 1]
The chain is pretty shoddy, though, as a single swipe of the halberd arm completely cuts right through it! Leon is free! Now to only do something about this whole "trapped in total darkness and surrounded by undoubtedly horrid monstrosities" business.
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 10:58:59 am
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 11:03:58 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 03, 2012, 11:06:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 11:26:33 am
James, considering himself more of an intellectual than a barbaric mercenary, decides to take advantage of the intellectual bounty provided to him! He reads the archived information, beginning with the special university species!
[James intelligence roll: 3]
Well, there's stuff here about several works in progress. Skimming over the information, since reading it would be bloody boring and would take forever, James is somewhat disturbed at certain word combinations, such as 'exploding plums', 'predatory roses' and 'martial oaks'. Perhaps encountering those wouldn't be the best idea!
[Snail awareness roll: 3]
The snail seems to be getting slightly anxious about something, waving its eyestalks in the air.
Within the halls of the Illusion Department...
Since Jordan is still invisible, he figures he might take advantage of it!
"I say, chaps, don't you want any soup?"
"I wouldn't touch that stuff with a ten foot pole. Shit is disgusting."
"Oh my, how rude! You know, a dedicated cook should be respected!"
"Oh, you haven't tasted his soup, it's absolutely-"
[Jordan vs. Illusionists: 4+1 vs. 3-2-1-1]
He can't finish the sentence before his head is separated from his shoulders! The other three look at him in disbelief! This allows Jordan to decapitate all three in quick succession, with the rest of the people being none the wiser!
Below the reach of man...
[Acclimatization roll: 4]
Leon, still riding on a high of freedom, decides to try and get used to walking!
[Limb mastery roll: 1]
One of his halberd legs gets caught on the other and he tumbles backward, hitting the ground with an excruciatingly loud CLANK!
[Commotion roll: 1]
He hears massive amounts of footsteps approaching, clicking and clacking and whistling all the way! In but a few seconds, his captors have surrounded him! There is a loud clicking and clacking coming from several creatures near him!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 03, 2012, 11:27:51 am
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 11:32:51 am
Spin round as fast as I can and keep my limbs extended to cut down everyone around me.
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 11:42:27 am
((what happened to +1 INT? I'm not in sunlight.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 11:49:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 12:17:03 pm
Jordan decides that some gentlemanly trophy claiming is in order! All this killing cannot go unrewarded!
[Corpse looting roll: 1]
Jordan mills about indecisively a little bit before going for a bit of looting! As he lifts up the corpse to search its pockets, he hears somebody approach.
"Dammit, guys, soup's not ready yet! Must have been something else that smelled like-"
He notices the corpse of one of his friends floating around!
[Illusionist intelligence roll: 3]
"Oh bloody hell, there's some kind of supernatural force at work here! Hey guys, get over here! Look at this!"
Three other illusionists approach!
"Damn, that really is something!"
"Oh yes, it certainly is!"
"Get the Head Illusionist over here!"
One of them runs off!
Inside the archives of the Magical Botany Department...
James is most distressed to find that his snail is anxious about something! He tries to gauge what the problem might be!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1-1]
It appears to sense a mate and wishes to find it, its hermaphrodite snail brain having gotten the idea that getting its genitals bitten off is somehow a good idea! Silly snail.
Within the now apparently vacant Divination Department...
Samuel is not one to waste his time reading books, especially not ones written by that miserable bastard of a Head Diviner! Better to just begin stealing everything in sight.
[Looting roll: 4]
He heads downstairs and begins a sweep of the second floor! He finds a robe of sufficient pimpness to suit his hat and a cool-looking small skull made of silver that would fit neatly on his cane! The rest is either junk or BOOKS. Samuel wants nothing to do with those, thank you very much!
Deep down and far away...
Leon is down! But he will not compromise on the noble ideal of freedom! He attempts to spin around!
[Agility roll: 3-2]
He tries to propel himself from his prone position, but his limbs move too slowly to achieve an effective speed, so he just feebly rotates on his back! He hears a whistling come from all around him! He is once more seized by no fewer than ten sets of claws and carried back to the room he was last in! Then he is set down on the ground on his back. The room is completely silent.
[Perception roll: 3]
They seem to want something of him, but Leon isn't sure what exactly!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 12:19:06 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 03, 2012, 12:20:26 pm
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 12:21:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 12:23:12 pm
Well, Samuel now has a pimp cane, a pimp hat and a robe of sufficient pimpness.
((Indeed. If he puts the robe on, he'll be hustlin' in style.))
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 12:30:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 01:05:02 pm
Samuel, in an action that will definitely work out in his favor, sticks the small silver skull on his cane!
[Skull effects: 6]
Wow. Not only does the skull look pretty cool, it actually improves the cane's magical focusing ability as well as its ability to bash in skulls! Feeling pretty good about himself, Samuel knows what he must do: wage war on the written word!
These books. They must die. Die screaming.
[Samuel magic roll: 1-1+1]
He raises his cane and calls upon magical flames to set these bastardly books on fire! Magical flaming canes appear! They set the books on fire! They set the floor on fire! They set the floor below this one on fire! They also set the two books that Samuel is carrying around on fire! Finally, they set everything around except for Samuel and his belongings on fire. Including the ceiling. Samuel is forced to bolt through the window to avoid losing his robe of sufficient pimpness and hat!
[Samuel agility roll: 3+1]
He does a valiant leap out of the window and lands nicely, stopping to extinguish a tiny flame on his hat!
[Fire roll: 6-1]
As soon as Samuel has dived out of the window, the fire suddenly stops, almost as though his presence was required to sustain it. The inside of the building is still largely obliterated, but at least the building itself still stands securely!
Within the Magical Botany Department...
James considers the snail to be his friend despite their initial differences, and decides to help his pet pick up some beautiful snail... some beautiful other snails.
[Snail mate hunt roll: 6]
He picks up the snail and runs into the garden area! There's bound to be snails there. And there are! Many giant snails on a giant willow tree, chowing down on giant leaves like there was no tomorrow!
He puts the snail on another snail and tells them to get down to business!
[Snail business roll: 4]
They're a bit shy at first, but they warm up to one another soon enough and get down and dirty with each other!
An hour later, James can consider himself educated on matters of mollusc copulation! Well, you learn something new every day. Although James feels he might have done without this particular bit of information just fine!
His snail companion looks a bit sad, though. Well, he knew the risks.
Below the surface of the earth, where darkness rules...
Leon, mystified at what his purpose here might be, decides to take the time to get used to his limbs some more!
[Limb mastery roll: 5]
He flexes! He stretches! He moves his legs in all manner of directions! He manages to even flex his body a bit! He's starting to get used to this metal surrogate of a body he's in!
[? roll: ?]
He hears lots of whistling! There is one especially low whistle coming from one end of the room.
[Perception roll: 2]
He has no idea what any of this might mean. Perhaps they mean to kill him now? He decides to keep swinging with all of his limbs just in case! The whistling intensifies!
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 01:09:08 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 01:17:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 01:35:56 pm
Leon pays no heed to the whistling masses all around! He keeps attempting to master his limbs!
[Limb mastery roll: 4]
Yeah, he's getting there! However, there's only so much he can learn while being on the ground! He gets up and tries walking while wildly swinging his limbs! Well, he's got walking down, sort of. No falling down in the middle of an afternoon stroll for Leon anymore, no sirree!
[? roll: ?]
The whistling reaches a deafening crescendo!
[Perception roll: 1]
They must be trying to kill him through sonic discharge! Quick, better kill them before they shatter his metal shell when they find the right frequency!
[Leon vs. Captors: 3+1 vs. 3+4+1]
Leon plunges into a crowd of the blasted things, but they evade him handily and lift him up on a great many claws! They carry him, whistling in shrill tones as they do so! They don't seem to be attempting to harm him though. Not yet, anyway.
Within the experimental gardens of the Magical Botany Department...
James, ever the cautious and reasonable one, tries to abduct yet another snail for his merry band!
[Snail abduction roll: 5]
He snags the second snail without a hitch and proceeds to the filing room! Setting down both of the former lovebirds, he resumes the checking of plant information!
[Intelligence roll: 2]
He wants to focus on his task, but vivid images of snail copulation assault his brain continuously! He just can't concentrate!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 01:37:12 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 01:37:43 pm
Clear my mind before reading the books.
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 01:42:51 pm
"I'm the king of the...the...... yea I'm the king!!!!!!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 02:10:03 pm
((again no bonus. Why?))
((You are in indirect sunlight. That's the same as being in the shade. Sunlight still comes in through windows and doors, plus it reflects everywhere. If you were, say, where Leon is, then you would get the full bonus.))
Outside the ravaged Divination Department...
Samuel has witnessed the demise of a great many books today. Delighted at a job well done, he makes sure he has donned all the symbols of a wizard's hip lifestyle! Hat, check. Robe, check. Awesome cane, check. Bling, check. With that done he looks at the magic map he stole!
[Magic map completeness roll: 2]
Must be new. Doesn't have a whole lot on it apart from the university grounds. Blast!
Samuel pats his cane, secure in the knowledge that this friend will never fail him. Unlike some non-living companions he could mention! Samuel considers heading off somewhere!
[Local knowledge roll: 5]
There is a pretty large city nearby, Fiverock (home of the completely imaginary Dirk), but it would take about five days of walking to get to. That's a bit of a long way to go.
Meanwhile, within the oddly snail-filled archives...
James needs this information! He cannot allow mentally scarring images to take him off his chosen path!
[James focus roll: 4]
He manages to mostly forget what he saw. Mostly. He tries to get back to his reading material!
[Intelligence roll: 6]
Over a period of approximately two hours, James crams like the devil! He memorizes every bit of plant information contained in the archives, be it the physical, chemical or magical properties of plants, their occurrence in the wild, how best to destroy them... he knows all of it!
James is now a Plant Expert!
Past the exit to Parts Unknown...
Leon is enjoying the attention of the crowd! It feels so great to be loved!
He attempts to speak, but can't, being skeletonized and covered in metal!
Disappointed by this turn of events, he chooses to remain on guard!
After about an hour of getting carried through pitch-blackness, he gets dumped on the ground somewhere new! Somewhere different!
[Perception roll: 6]
They're obviously expecting him to do something, but what? And what does that infernal whistling mean? It's becoming slightly maddening!
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 02:13:00 pm
(( Hey gimme back my mouth lol. ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 02:17:27 pm
Stand up and start stretching and running on the spot, continue adjusting to my new body, stay ready to fight.
(( Hey gimme back my mouth lol. ))
((Well, the lack of a mouth isn't the real problem. You still have one. Now, the fact that the beast stripped off your throat is a different matter.))
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 02:20:59 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 03, 2012, 02:22:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 02:24:17 pm
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 02:25:12 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 03, 2012, 02:27:00 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 03:21:24 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on November 03, 2012, 03:22:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2012, 04:17:51 pm
Jordan puts down the corpse he's holding and waits for some more victims to arrive! And they do! The running fellow, a man in extremely extravagant robes that appear to change color all the time and three other illusionists with an air of experience about them!
"What's going on here? Who killed these people?"
"Something nasty, Head Illusionist! A ghost, maybe!"
"A ghost? What?"
"Dear chaps, I assure you that whatever happened here, it most certainly was not a ghost!"
"Who said tha-"
[Jordan vs. Head Illusionist: 3+1 vs. 6-2-1-1+1]
The Head Illusionist is grazed by an axe blade edging perilously close to his neck! Whew, he was almost a goner back there!
"Idiots! It's some invisible creature!"
[Head Illusionist magic roll: 1+1]
The Head Illusionist waves his hands, but nothing happens!
"Damn it all!"
[Jordan vs. Head Illusionist: 5+1 vs. 4-1-1-1]
"Let me help you with those hands, old chap!"
Both of the Head Illusionist's hands are severed at the wrist! Massive amounts of blood spurt out! However, that is nothing compared to the spurt of blood created when the Head Illusionist loses his claim to the first part of his title! He becomes an impromptu fountain of arterial blood and falls to the ground!
[Illusionist morale roll: 5]
"Holy crap, guys! He killed the Head Illusionist! Let's get 'im!"
"But we can't see 'im!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of that!"
[Illusionist 1 magic roll: 2]
"Now, how did this go again?"
"Let me jog your memory, dear fellow!"
[Jordan vs. Illusionist 1: 4+1 vs. 6-2-1-1]
Jordan swings his axe once more, this time going for the knee to maintain originality! He manages to slice off both the illusionist's legs, sending him to the ground while gushing blood!
[Illusionist morale roll: 3-1]
The less experienced and uninjured illusionists run off, leaving only the more experienced ones still near Jordan!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 2+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 2 magic roll: 3+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 4+1]
Through collective straining, the three illusionists manage to make Jordan visible again!
"Good show, chaps! It was getting quite boring, beheading each and every one of you without even giving you a chance to fight back!"
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 3: 1+1 vs. 6-2-1]
Jordan waits while the three illusionists get ready for gentlemanly combat!
Above the university...
Alaric descends upon the university from up above and begins looking for the fellow in the Metamorphosis Department!
[Searching roll: 5]
He finds the place immediately and goes in! There he is - a strikingly beautiful man that appears to bend the very boundaries of reality with his incomparable beauty!
[Reaction roll: 2]
The man turns to Alaric!
"What the fuck do you want, asshole?"
Inside the Magical Botany Department...
James believes he has gotten everything he needs from the Magical Botany Department! Time to head to greener pastures!
[Building choice roll: 1]
Having exhausted the botanical sciences, he heads over to the Magical Zoology Department!
Deep underground...
Leon is in an odd situation. Oh well, might as well do something.
[Limb mastery roll: 6]
He launches into a fantastic dance routine, his halberd feet clanging against the stone floor of the room! His legs and arms move surprisingly dextrously for a being made of metal! It is indeed an amazing physical feat, and it has an obvious effect on his observers as well!
[? roll: ?+1]
The room once more fills with whistling sounds as the creatures seem to be observing Leon!
[Intelligence roll: 6]
His movements must have some kind of magical influence on the creatures around here! Doubtlessly they know no cave-thing who can move like dat!
He feels a very heavy, lumbering creature rise from somewhere! A spectral, echoing sound, then a blinding flash of white light shines into Leon's eyes! When he comes to, he is not underground at all! Sunlight hits his eyes like a piercing lance to the skull!
He is in a decently furnished room. There are three odd-looking men there with him.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: OREOSOME on November 03, 2012, 04:19:36 pm
Post by: mesor on November 03, 2012, 04:22:32 pm
"Hey mind telling me where I am? You would not believe the day I've had."
Post by: TopHat on November 03, 2012, 05:00:48 pm
Break in to the zoology building.
((considering Pascitarus, this is very good))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 03, 2012, 06:01:11 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 03, 2012, 08:58:57 pm
Spoiler: Done (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 03, 2012, 09:12:47 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 03, 2012, 09:53:56 pm
Well... that's quite an interesting character...Spoiler: I'm headed into the waitlist (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 04:10:36 am
Jordan considers 5 seconds more than enough time to get ready for receiving vast amounts of axe-related injuries!
"I say, should we start our duel now?"
"Duel? What are you-"
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 1: 5+1 vs. 6-1-1]
Jordan swings the axe, slicing across the illusionist's abdomen! There is a lot of blood, but the illusionist is not really impeded by the wound!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 4+1]
The illusionist turns himself invisible! Oh my! The other two illusionists also begin to wave their hands in arcane gestures!
[Exp. Illusionist 2 magic roll: 1+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 2+1]
But their gesturing proves fruitless as Jordan strikes first!
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 2: 4+1 vs. 2-1-1]
He manages to axe the illusionist in the shoulder, putting sufficient strength in the axe to cleave through all that pesky bone, and thus manages to reach his heart! The illusionist falls down bleeding! Well, he won't be getting up from that one!
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 6+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 4+1]
The only visible illusionist turns himself invisible! And everybody else in the room as well, corpses included! Also, a strange circle of light appears around Jordan!
[Jordan will roll: 4]
It doesn't seem to do anything, though! Well, aside from a teensy tingling sensation in Jordan's skull. Odd.
Outside the Magical Zoology Department...
James, sticking to a method that proved effective the first time, tries to build a battering ram!
[Siege engineering roll: 2]
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot around to make use of to build a battering ram! And using himself as a wrecking ball really, really hurt the first time! Having exhausted those two methods, James is totally stumped on how to proceed! Perhaps a more traditional break-in is in order?
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there is an open window. An attic window. It's pretty small.
Outside the scorched and ruined Divination Department...
Samuel has made a decision! He will go to Fiverock! Hopefully Dirk is as imaginary as he believes, though. Otherwise there could be trouble.
[Samuel will roll: 4]
Nah, how could he be real? That's impossible, considering that Samuel made him up not six hours ago. Hopefully.
He goes down the road to Fiverock, looking for nature to blast on the way!
[Blastable nature roll: 3]
There's a few squirrels in the trees! They must DIE!
[Samuel magic roll: 6]
Twenty flaming canes shoot out of Samuel's magic focus! They beat the squirrels to death! They beat the trees to death! They attempt to beat the ground to death! Everything is on fire!
[Fire roll: 4-1]
Well, the fire doesn't appear to be burning very fiercely, despite being magical. That's good. Must be the fact that it's winter. Oh well, time to raise him some undead minions of his own!
[Samuel magic roll: 4+1-1-2]
The squirrels steadfastly remain dead! Damn it all!
Inside the Metamorphosis Department...
Alaric has a perfect strategy to get the beautiful man over to Bernie's sister! He'll lie like nobody's lied before!
[Lying roll: 6]
"Greetings, my beautiful friend! I am here to bring you great news! Your great beauty has made you beloved by Narcillicus, Beloved Son of the Five, god of beauty and industry!"
"Well, fuck me! I guess all that work has finally paid off!"
"Fuck you indeed! You must follow me to the Temple of Beauty immediately! There you will be inducted into the ranks of the Chosen!"
"Fuck yeah! Let's roll!"
"We have no time to waste! Let us rush like there was no tomorrow!"
They get to the barricade!
[Beautiful man magic roll: 1]
The beautiful man waves his hands, turning the barricade into an elephant! It looks slightly angry.
Somewhere unknown...
Leon checks his body! Well, everything is still in place. That's good. He attempts to communicate with the men!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1-1]
He attempts to gesture with his halberd arms and finds out he has a very limited communication range, being unable to speak and having no fingers! To hell with it, then, everyone must die!
[Leon vs. Man 1: 4+1 vs. 1+1-1]
He stabs the man through the skull! The man, predictably, falls to the ground and dies.
[Men morale roll: 2]
The other two begin clicking and clacking and leap through a nearby window!
[Man? 2 agility roll: 1+1]
[Man? 3 agility roll: 3+1]
Leon hears a loud THWACK come from outside, along with a dragging sound! Well, goes to show that improvisation doesn't always work.
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 04:12:07 am
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 05:16:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 05:48:08 am
James must know what is inside the department! He begins climbing up to the attic window!
[Agility roll: 2-1]
He climbs upwards a floor, but then slips and falls! Luckily, there is a snail to break his-OH NO!
[Snail endurance roll: 2]
The snails are pretty badly hurt! James' wall-smashing bulk has cracked their shells and done a real number on their soft bodies!
[James will roll: 1]
James breaks down crying! Wow, seems like he does have some tears left to shed. They're all blood, though.
"I am so sorry, my friends! I never think about my actions, and now my closest friends have to suffer for it! Oh, the tragedy of a vampiric superpowered existence! OH, WOE!"
[Zoology Department awareness roll: 6]
James can hear a loud sniffing sound come from within the department! It quiets down soon, however, and he hears the sound of three pairs of paws running off somewhere!
Somewhere different...
Leon is not done with those scum! Death is the only thing they deserve in life! For whatever they did!
[Luck roll: ?]
[Common sense roll: 4]
[Movement roll: 1-1]
Leon chooses to take the stairs downward rather than use the window! However, he trips on the stairs and flies forward, smashing into a wall!
[Building structural integrity roll: 2]
The wall crumbles and Leon falls through it, landing on the cobbled ground! He looks around!
[Intelligence roll: 2]
He has no idea what this place might be. But that's not important right now! What is important is murder! Lots of it!
[Perception roll: 2]
Oh dear, the men (?) seem to have gone off somewhere! Leon has no idea where they might be!
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 06:03:15 am
(( Damned -1 penalty go away!!!!. ))
Post by: miauw62 on November 04, 2012, 06:03:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 06:06:46 am
((Jordan is a superpowered death god. How the fuck is he ever going to die.)))
((Bad luck.))
Stand up and look around, go back to flexing my arms and legs to get used to them.
(( Damned -1 penalty go away!!!!. ))
((Still a zombie, you know. And you are as used to your limbs as you possibly could be.))
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 06:54:25 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 09:14:10 am
Leon stands up! He looks around!
[Perception/deduction roll: 3]
Hm, there appear to be more than a few large buildings around here. The architecture is pretty neat-looking. Also, the cobblestones beneath him are quite unpleasant to fall on. Otherwise, the place looks pretty deserted right now. Pretty boring, too.
[Limb mastery roll: 5]
He flexes like a professional gymnast! He figures out how to bend his new body quite nicely! He now has Metal Shell Mastery!
Outside the Magical Zoology Department...
James' melancholy is overpowering! But how overpowering, exactly? Overpowering enough to destroy a barricade?
[Grief refocus roll: 3]
Sadness and self-loathing, unlike hatred, are too self-targeted to easily weaponize! James will just have to settle for whacking into the door while feeling bad, then.
[James ramming roll: 4-1]
He gets up to a decent speed, but slows down at the end, just sort of bumping into the barricade! It moves somewhat, but only by the tiniest bit.
[Commotion roll: 1]
However, the tiniest bit was sufficient to unbalance a cabinet full of fragile glass lab equipment and send it to the floor with an incredibly loud shattering sound! James hears barking, roaring, hooting and meowing coming from inside the department! Whatever is in there, it's very angry!
[Random animal roll: 5]
A three-headed, five-tailed snail flies out of a window and lands on James! Aw, that's cute! And slightly disturbing!
Post by: OREOSOME on November 04, 2012, 09:17:05 am
Continue escorting him.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 09:28:51 am
Alaric sees no reason to stop escorting his soon-to-be-victim. After all, what's a giant raging elephant going to do?
[Discreet exit roll: 6]
He shushes the beautiful man and quietly leads him through the elephant's legs, getting safely out of the Metamorphosis Department! They walk a ways from the the university, leaving all the blood and gore and rampaging elephants for somebody else to deal with!
"Holy fuck, that was nice back there! Can all heralds of the gods do that?"
"Not all! Only the good ones!"
They walk off triumphant until they come face-to-face with a strange monument in the middle of a field of horribly killed people. They're about to proceed quietly away when the statue stands up and speaks!
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? AND WHO IS THIS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING YOUNG MAN?"
[First impression roll: 3+1]
"I am a herald of the gods! I act upon the authority of the Five Gods themselves!"
"FIVE GODS, EH? TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T KILL BOTH OF YOU IN HILARIOUSLY GRUESOME WAYS. THE PROSPECT LOOKS VERY APPEALING TO ME RIGHT NOW, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH!"
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 10:08:23 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 04, 2012, 10:43:37 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 04, 2012, 10:52:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 11:26:31 am
Jordan decides to ignore the delicate tendrils of undoubtedly harmful magic touching his brain in bad ways and do what he does best - violent dismemberment! But first, he has to find the bastards!
[Perception roll: 3]
He has a very vague idea where one of the illusionists might be!
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 3: 3+1-2 vs. 6-1-1]
He just swings at the air a bit!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 perception roll: 5]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 perception roll: 1]
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 1+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 5+1]
Jordan hears the swinging of hands in one part of the room! In another, a horrible monster of some unfathomable kind emerges! It runs toward the swinging hand place with a knowing look!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 will roll: 6]
Jordan hears laughter and some more hand waving as the monster quickly disappears!
"Hah! That illusion was pathetic! No wonder your girlfriend dumped you!"
[Jordan perception roll: 3+1]
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 1: 1+1 vs. 6-1-1]
Jordan is about to swing his axe when he hears the laughter from a different part of the room! Suddenly he isn't so sure about the location of his quarry!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 perception roll: 2]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 perception roll: 6]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 3+1]
A bright green projectile flies into Jordan's face, hitting his cheek!
[Jordan will roll: 2+1]
Jordan now finds it quite difficult to hear!
On the road to Fiverock...
Samuel, realizing that he has a five-day trip ahead of him and that his attention span might not be able to handle that, wishes for something fun to happen!
[Random event roll: 3]
He realizes he has miscounted the coins in his possession! He actually has one more! How utterly amazing!
Somewhere...
Leon, with no potential victims in sight, decides to look for something fun in the nearest building to him! However, there appears to be a rampaging elephant in the way. How unfortunate!
[Articulation roll: 5]
He manages to successfully devise a way to effectively and understandably express human gestures with halberds instead of hands and managing even to simulate human expressions with said limbs! It's really quite ingenious. Maybe he should write this down?
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 04, 2012, 11:31:21 am
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 11:38:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 12:00:50 pm
Jordan can hardly hear, he is surrounded by invisible magicians and they seem to be terribly rude people! Time to break out the big guns! AXE WHIRLWIND!
[Axe Whirlwind roll: 4-1]
He spins in place with his axe in hand! Huh, nobody's dead. He must be doing something wrong!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 perception roll: 5]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 perception roll: 2]
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 5+1]
Yet more arcane gesturing comes from somewhere in the room! Jordan is hit in the chest with a purple-tinted projectile!
[Jordan will roll: 2]
Time seems to really speed up for Jordan! It's quite odd!
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 1+1]
Nothing else seems to happen, though, as time progressively slows down to its proper running speed!
Outside the Metamorphosis Department...
Leon, if questioned, would firmly put rampaging elephants on his "to avoid" list! He decides to attempt a daring escape to someplace else!
[Elephant awareness roll: 2]
The elephant keeps obliviously rampaging in front of the Metamorphosis Department, allowing Leon to escape nicely!
[Building choice roll: 1]
He arrives at the Energy Manipulation Department!
[Search roll: 6]
It doesn't seem to be locked or barricaded in any way! Wonder why that is? Leon goes right in and gets to exploring!
[Search roll: 1]
He is immediately accosted by a single magic user! She looks like she might have been crying a lot lately! She stands at a distance, readying what appears to be lightning!
[Reaction roll: 4]
"What are you? What are you doing here?"
Post by: miauw62 on November 04, 2012, 12:02:14 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 04, 2012, 12:07:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 12:51:49 pm
Samuel thinks that this long trip thing is a bit overrated! Time to shorten it!
[Samuel magic roll: 3-2]
Samuel summons giant feathers everywhere! They all thirst for his metaphorical blood!
[Swarm of Giant Feathers vs. Samuel: 2+3 vs. 2+2]
Samuel swats at the massive advancing swarm of feathers with his cane! The feathers seem offended at their summoner's beating and start to scrape at his bones! Oh my, that doesn't feel very good!
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 01:01:03 pm
Yay, another pet! Abduct it! Then call and ask if I can come inside! Provide valid reasons for letting me in!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 04, 2012, 01:55:38 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 04, 2012, 02:00:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 02:52:13 pm
James cannot believe his luck! A suitable replacement snail, just falling from the sky like that! Why, it's almost unfathomable! Abduction time!
[Snail abduction roll: 4]
The snail is somewhat laboriously grabbed and deposited on James' back! It doesn't seem capable of a whole lot of resistance! Now James has an undamaged snail companion once more!
After having performed yet another flawless snailnapping, James feels that he has gained a lot of experience in handling them! He is a Professional-Grade Snailnapper! With that done, he tries something that he's never done before - reason with a barricade!
[James' persuasion roll: 1-2]
James launches into an exhausting oratory session, beautifully punctuated by him adjusting his own misshapen face and scratching his infested body! He feels like he has made his point after an hour of ceaseless speech making!
[Zoology Department awareness roll: 1]
His beautiful speech is answered with...
[Animal attack roll: 6]
...a giant six-winged butterfly flying out of the same window that the snail came out of! It flies at James!
[Butterfly vs. James: 1 vs. 5+1]
James manages to stop the butterfly from doing this with a kind word and a very sharp halberd!
[Butterfly morale roll: 2]
The butterfly is intimidated by James' honeyed words and superior weaponry! It immediately flees, taking to the skies!
Within the halls of illusion...
Blast! Jordan has exhausted all of his tactics - chopping, swinging AND whirling! The time is ripe for originality!
[Search roll: 2]
Drat, foiled again! There's no paint around! That kills that idea! Let's take it from the top, shall we?
[Jordan perception roll: 3-1]
Oh dear. He has no idea where these bastardly illusionists might be hiding! Why must they move around so much?
[Exp. Illusionist 1 perception roll: 1]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 perception roll: 5]
[Exp. Illusionist 1 magic roll: 1+1]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 2+1]
Both of the illusionists do their very best to somehow immobilize Jordan, but none of them really get anywhere! The tiny spark produced by one does give away his position!
[Jordan perception roll: 2-1+1]
Jordan checks the air around him for illusionists! There definitely aren't any! There'd be more screaming if there were!
Somewhere far away...
Vincent, not entirely satisfied with the loot he's got, goes looking for more!
[Search roll: 4]
On the first floor there seems to be a lot of red and yellow robes. And bread. And a nice-looking warhammer! It's set into an altar of some kind!
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 02:57:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 03:22:00 pm
After his failure at reasoning with the door, James decides to reason with any zoologists that might be nearby!
[Persuasion roll: 4-2]
"Would any zoologists in there be so kind as to open the bloody door? It's not fun standing out here all the time!"
"You're STILL not gone? Hell's bells, have some more friends, then!"
[Animal attack roll: 6]
A friendly-looking giant caterpillar falls out of the window!
[Caterpillar vs. James: 3 vs. 3+1]
James steps aside as it flops to the ground!
[Caterpillar fall damage: 3]
It looks confused at being here, at hitting the ground at a not inconsiderable speed and probably at being handled by some crazy zoologist!
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 03:25:57 pm
Work out how to get into the building
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 03:32:23 pm
James can't help it! He loves invertebrates! He attempts to make friends with the caterpillar!
[Making friends roll: 3-2]
The caterpillar doesn't seem thrilled at the sight of James! Not very thrilled at all! It leaps at him as well as a caterpillar can!
[Caterpillar vs. James: 5 vs. 2+1]
The caterpillar pins James to the ground with its bulk and attempts to mutilate his chest!
[Insect reaction roll: 1]
The insects begin to panic and start horribly mutilating James as well! The pain is quite spectacular, if James may say so himself.
[Intelligence roll: 2-1]
Maybe he could AAGH, THE PAIN! THE HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PAIN!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 04, 2012, 03:49:41 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 04, 2012, 03:49:55 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 03:56:53 pm
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 04:33:59 pm
Charge!!!!!!!!!!!!! incapacitate her without killing her.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2012, 05:05:22 pm
Jordan is getting annoyed at the constant missing that's been happening around here! All this invisibility nonsense must be stopped!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a mostly empty invisible bottle of water on the ground! That could work!
[Lucky water splash roll: 6]
He manages to hit an illusionist in the eye with it! It turns out that it wasn't water at all! It was lemon juice! One illusionist begins screaming bloody murder and possibly rubbing his eyes!
[Jordan vs. Exp. Illusionist 1: 4+1 vs. 1-1-1]
"I say, let me apply my very own special treatment to this awful malady!"
He swings the axe! The illusionist stops screaming bloody murder! Mostly because he's been bloody murdered! You can't see it, but his hands and head hit the ground with an audible thud, rolling slightly before coming to a stop!
[Exp. Illusionist 3 perception roll: 6]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 morale roll: 4]
The last illusionist understands all too well what has happened! The axe murderer must pay!
[Exp. Illusionist 3 magic roll: 6+1]
Bright blue light shoots throughout the area! Everything is visible once more!
[Jordan will roll: 5]
[Exp. Illusionist 3 will roll: 1]
The last illusionist freezes in place, his face a mask of abject horror, his eyes blank with pupils dilated! His mouth hangs open, and a small trickle of blood is coming from it! Jordan is about to poke him to see if he needs any more killing, but he is too slow!
For the illusionist's head explodes magnificently, showering everything with a fine layer of brain matter and skull shrapnel! The last illusionist collapses!
"Good show, old chap, good show! Those were the finest fireworks I've seen all day! Bloody boring lead-up, though!"
On the road to Fiverock...
Samuel is not some street-trash skeletal hobo to take this kind of treatment from a bunch of feathers! He is a mage! They must submit to his power! He must bring the hammer down!
[Magic roll: 1-2]
Sadly, his cane focus does not allow for such use! He feels himself get lifted off his feet and chucked into the air! Instead, a cane of truly monstrous proportions, about 60 feet in length and 6 feet in thickness, topped off with a skull the size of a house, appears nearby! It strikes the ground!
[Seismic activity roll: 5]
The ground splits and shakes, with a small platform of rock rising up from beneath Samuel! It rises for a while until he can hardly see the feathers anymore! Possibly because the earth has swallowed them up! Eventually, the rising stops. Everything is still. Samuel looks down. Yeesh, he's at least fifty feet in the air! The ground beneath him is covered in perilous pits and holes to what might be the center of the earth! Oh my!
Outside the Magical Zoology Department...
"If you are not with me, you are AGAINST ME! DIE!"
James slashes at the caterpillar with his halberd!
[James vs. Caterpillar: 1 vs. 5]
Or he would have, if the caterpillar hadn't swallowed his halberd whole first! It attempts to mutilate him some more!
[Caterpillar vs. James: 4 vs. 5]
James pushes the caterpillar off himself and gets some distance between himself and it!
Inside the Energy Manipulation Department...
Leon, not really feeling up to practicing his sign language, charges at the woman!
[Energy mage reaction roll: 5]
She immediately reaches for a book in her pocket, quickly opens it on a bookmarked page and reads some words!
[Energy mage magic roll: 6+1]
The heat seems to drain from the room in front of the woman! All of the heat! Leon is completely frozen in place and subjective time!
[Energy mage reaction roll: 1]
The mage sustains severe frost burns just being near the hallway! She clutches at herself in pain and falls backwards!
[Awareness roll: 1]
A lot of energy mages storm into the hallway at the woman's side!
[Other energy mages reaction roll: 2]
Several of them jump backward at the hallway of frost-death, surprised at what's happened!
[Frost-burned woman endurance roll: 5]
The woman who brought Leon into his current state crawls out of the hallway, clearly struggling and suffering, but persevering nonetheless! If Leon were not totally frozen, he would hear rejoiced calls from within, people inquiring as to the state of her health and somebody asking to take her off guard duty!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 04, 2012, 05:10:02 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 04, 2012, 05:16:07 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 04, 2012, 05:21:50 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 04, 2012, 05:26:28 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 04, 2012, 06:20:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 01:18:21 am
Jordan chooses to use the knightly and gentlemanly privilege of looting his enemy!
[Looting roll: 1]
Blast! All of the coinage they were carrying was magically falsified! So were their clothes and artifacts! Even the amazing robe of the Head Illusionist wasn't actually there! The only things left of the bastards are a set of books! Not having any use for such silly things, Jordan chucks them into a nearby fireplace! They burn with many-colored flames. Pretty!
Inside the Energy Manipulation Department...
Leon is frozen! But he refuses to die just yet!
[Will roll: 1]
His unlife force begins to weaken considerably! The immobility of his body reduces its suitability as an anchor, and his spirit is quickly seeping out of it, going who knows where!
Outside the Magical Zoology Department...
The hits just keep coming for James! First he nearly kills most of his friends, then his sole remaining companion is devoured by some fiendish caterpillar! This will not stand!
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a halberd just like the one he lost among the remains of the mob! Probably because it also has been stolen from a dead guardsman! He makes a triumphant charge at the caterpillar!
[James vs. Caterpillar: 3+1 vs. 1]
He impales the caterpillar through the mouth! The caterpillar twitches a bit!
[Caterpillar endurance roll: 2]
The caterpillar goes still!
"Such will be the fate of all my enemies!"
On the road to Fiverock...
Samuel, not particularly impressed at the destruction he has wrought, tries to climb down from the pillar!
[Agility roll: 6+1]
He does a triple backflip through the air and lands on a patch of rocks, rolling and bending his knees like one of those acrobats he once saw at a fair!
[Ground stability roll: 5]
Well, nothing seems to be crumbling beneath him. That's a good sign. He tries to leave the area and proceed to Fiverock!
[Luck roll: 4]
The road is really banged up, but still there! No impediments in sight, no sirree!
...
Damn it all, now Samuel's bored again! Why can't something fun happen?
[Random event roll: 6]
He sees a knight in gleaming steel plate armor battling a giant skeletal bird on a cliff slightly off the road! Oh my!
Inside a monastery of some sort...
Vincent is a firm believer in the adage "you take what you can get"! He tries to take the warhammer!
[Warhammer security roll: 2]
Dang, it's wedged in tight. You'd need a lot of tools and several hours' worth of work to get it out. Oh well. Vincent examines his latest piece of loot.
[Examination roll: 1]
He holds it above his head and upends it to get a better look inside!
[Liquid roll: 2]
Vast amounts of blood spill out! Oh, most unsanitary!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Who'd put that much blood inside a single goblet? Clearly he is dealing with madmen! Or madwomen. MADWOMEN!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 05, 2012, 06:18:28 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 05, 2012, 07:23:47 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 09:28:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 09:54:01 am
Leon, his unlife-force leaving him with every passing second, attempts to hold on with all his might!
[Leon will roll: 2]
Oh dear. He has but a tiny spark of unlife left in that metal shell of his! His memories, his thoughts, his emotions are all slipping away into oblivion. All of his adventures, the vampire that killed him, his sister... it all becomes an unfamiliar blur as Leon slowly approaches his second death.
[Leon will roll: 5-1]
No, it can't be! Was all that for nothing? Did he suffer the horrible things underground for nothing? He got molten metal poured on him and survived, and THIS is what's going to kill him? No, never!
[Magic resistance roll: 1]
Leon attempts to break free, but, sadly, being in near-absolute-zero temperatures is not a state you can just break out of! He has to bide his time!
[Reaction roll: 5]
It isn't long, though, until a mage wrapped in a shield of heat appears in the hallway. He casts a spell!
[Magic roll: 3]
Leon feels himself heat up by about a hundred kelvins. Too bad there's still around two hundred to go!
[Leon will roll: 5-1]
However, he is still mostly in control of his unlife-force, diminished though it may be. He can halt the flow relatively nicely, though he is weakened somewhat.
[Magic roll: 5]
If Leon had any lungs, he would sigh with relief as the room is returned to its proper temperature! Leon is free from his frosty entanglement!
[Leon endurance roll: 3-1]
Being subject to such an experience has taken a great toll, however, as Leon drops to the ground, sounding not unlike a falling anvil. For the unlife of him, he cannot move.
[Reaction roll: 3]
[Magic roll: 4]
He is telekinetically pulled from where he fell and dragged through the corridor, occasionally bumping into a wall! He is then deposited in a magically reinforced container! A woman dressed in a golden robe comes in front of the cage, keeping out of Leon's reach.
"Why did you attack my student?"
[Nonverbal explanation roll: 4]
Leon gestures that he meant no permanent harm, that he wished to nonlethally subdue the woman who froze him due to her looking awfully unstable and very much like a danger to herself and society, a belief that was proved entirely correct, judging by her extreme, uncontrolled response to his advance!
"I see."
She looks Leon over and sighs.
"I will expel you from university grounds. Do not come back here or I will melt your metal shell into a pile of slag. Is that understood?"
Inside the Illusion Department...
Jordan, despite killing a whole lot of what were obviously illusionists, still thinks this might be the Divination Department! He looks for a scrying amulet!
[Search roll: 1]
After an hour or so of combing the entire building, Jordan finds no traces of anything even resembling a scrying amulet! Cheap illusionist bastards! They'll get theirs! Jordan pulls out one of the still-smoking charred books from the fireplace and puts it near an unfortunately located curtain!
[Fire roll: 4]
The curtains also start smoking a little bit! Perhaps with time and a bit of oxygen, this tiny kiddy-flame could grow into a mighty inferno!
Inside a monastery of some kind...
Vincent, covered in blood and still clueless, inspects his goblet for any telltale signs of its purpose!
[Vincent examination roll: 1]
Yep, definitely blood in there. He upends the goblet on the ground to check! Yes, there definitely is a lot more where that came from. About an infinite number of gallons more.
[Commotion roll: 1]
The blood keeps flowing across the floor, spilling outside! There is a woman's yell and a sound of scurrying! Five muscular women in their twenties to forties, clad in red and yellow robes, burst in through the door!
[Vincent quick thinking roll: 5]
Vincent quickly leaves the scene before anyone can question why a blood-covered skeleton is inside the monastery and why is it carrying a goblet of infinite blood! He stands in the next room and listens!
[Women intelligence roll: 5]
"No bodies. The blood is too fresh to have come from a corpse that is nowhere in sight. Either somebody is carrying a bucket of blood, which I doubt would have gone unnoticed, or magic is involved. In either case, we have an intruder. Sound the alarm and mobilize, sisters."
"Immediately, Abbess."
There is a great commotion around as Vincent hears the sound of steel clanking everywhere! In less than five minutes, the sounds quiet down! He looks outside the room.
Huh. There appear to be knights in full plate armor walking around the monastery, looking for intruders. They're all carrying warhammers and shields.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 05, 2012, 10:31:50 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 10:51:34 am
Leave, sighing. Remember that the Amulet is somewhere in a 'Divination Department'. Search for that.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 11:42:05 am
Samuel, in an uncharacteristic stroke of generosity, decides to help the knight! He will summon energy waves!
[Samuel magic roll: 3-2]
The cane of enormous proportions returns, except it appears to be on fire this time! It smashes down on the melee!
[Knight dodge roll: 6]
[Bird dodge roll: 2+1]
Both combatants attempt to leap out of the way, the knight jumping off the cliff and the bird flying diagonally upwards! The bird gets grazed by the cane and gets set on fire despite being a skeleton! Magical fire works quite well against everything, it seems. The knight merely has to contend with falling off a cliff!
[Bird fire extinguishing roll: 3]
[Knight fall damage roll: 2]
The bird manages to somewhat lessen his current state of combustion! The knight merely hits the ground with a loud metallic noise! Oh dear, he doesn't appear to be moving.
[Knight endurance roll: 1+1]
The knight seems to be ranting about internal bleeding in his immobile state. He seems rather hysterical, to be honest.
[Forest fire roll: 1-1]
The forest, unusually dry for this time of year, bursts into flames like a cartload of Greek fire! Samuel has to either run or risk being incinerated!
[Samuel escape roll: 5]
Samuel runs away with the great speed of a thousand cowards! Really, this whole magic thing doesn't appear to be working out for him right now! The forest burns down with the heat of a blast furnace behind him as he escapes totally unharmed! Hooray! Samuel unlives to cause horrible mass destruction another day!
Inside the Illusion Department...
Jordan, peeved about the lack of any scrying amulets inside the Illusion Department, suddenly remembers that there weren't supposed to be any here in the first place! Wow, he feels silly now. He heads outside and proceeds to the Divination Department.
[Fire roll: 3]
The smoking from the Illusion Department intensifies as Jordan leaves. Gods bless your spirit, brave little fire!
Speaking of fire, the Divination Department appears to be totally burnt-out. The headless corpse of some poor chap is lying in a pool of its own blood in front of it. Jordan gets the feeling that he may have been here already for a second, but quickly dismisses it as silly, as surely he'd remember doing something like this.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 11:56:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 12:24:25 pm
Jordan, wrestling with a sense of deja vu, decides to search for the amulet around the building!
[Search roll: 4]
The corpse of what he presumes is the Head Diviner has no amulet! Maybe it's inside?
[Jordan's anti-barricade roll: 3+1]
After a short bit of hacking and whacking, Jordan has pierced through the barricade once more! He goes through everywhere and, aside from a few vaults, nothing seems to have remained from the destructive fire! Jordan briefly glances through the window at the Illusion Department.
[Fire roll: 6]
There doesn't seem to be a large fire yet. In fact, the smoking has gotten less intense if anything! Damn those oddly non-flammable curtains!
[Intelligence roll: 6]
Piecing together the information gathered, Jordan can only come to one conclusion: James is at fault here! Seems like his work. Maybe he used that infernal glowing stomach of his to set some kind of magical fire! To hide evidence! Of something! But what? Jordan believes there might be a conspiracy unfolding!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 12:29:32 pm
Exit the building and wander around campus, maybe killing a few people as I go and search for ANYTHING that could be used as an effective weapon.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 12:54:06 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 05, 2012, 01:01:18 pm
If refused, attempt to destroy barricade
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 02:08:30 pm
Jordan is satisfied at the quality of his investigative work and decides to search no further! At least not for the scrying amulet! Despite having a wonderful axe, he really thinks he could use a backup weapon! With his mind set on obtaining fine killing tools, he searches!
[Search roll: 1]
He finds a rampaging elephant! Eh, close enough.
"I say, would you care to donate some ivory? It's for a good cause, dear chap!"
[Jordan vs. Elephant: 6+1 vs. 1-2-1+4]
The elephant has a curious look on its face for a second! That is, until Jordan severs its trunk and tusks with a single well-aimed axe swing! Then it just gets replaced with the closest thing an elephant can feel to utter horror! Jordan is like a mouse to the mighty creature! An extremely well-armed mouse that can easily dismember it! The elephant loses a lot of blood as well as two of its mightiest weapons!
[Elephant morale roll: 3]
The elephant begins to back up in fear! Unfortunately, it does not know that Jordan enjoys the smell and taste of fear quite a bit!
"Where are you going, sir? The evening has only begun!"
[Jordan vs. Elephant: 5+1 vs. 5-2-1+3]
Jordan goes for another swing, drawing blood on the elephant's front left leg! It appears to hurt the elephant quite a bit!
[Elephant morale roll: 3]
It still can't decide whether attacking Jordan would be a good idea, though!
Outside the Zoology Department...
James has defeated quite a bit of the forces arrayed against him! However, he isn't getting anywhere. Negotiation time!
[Persuasion roll: 1-2+1]
"Open up, I have valuable data about molluscs I would like to shove down your throat just to watch you die a horrible, suffocating death!"
"That so, eh? Take this, snail-lover!"
[Random animal roll: 3]
A six-armed chimpanzee is dropped from one of the upper floors! It falls rather awkwardly!
[Chimp fall damage roll: 3]
It bounces from the ground and starts howling and yelling!
[Chimp idea roll: 5]
The chimpanzee feels a certain kinship with James, both being horrible freaks of nature that are infested with various parasites! It'll help him! Seeing a lack of aggression from the ape, James puts it to work on dismantling the barricade!
[Chimp anti-barricade roll: 1+1]
The chimp, however, is simply too preoccupied with picking bugs out of James' skin! Well, at least it's making itself somewhat useful. Guess James has to do all the work himself. AGAIN.
[James anti-barricade roll: 4]
James kicks the door and pulls on the handle. That didn't work. He screws off the hinges with his halberd! The doors come off! After that, it's only a matter of pulling on choice pieces of barricade and he's through! He takes his menagerie of snails and his unusually helpful chimp companion with him! James has finally entered the Magical Zoology Department!
Post by: TopHat on November 05, 2012, 02:40:28 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 03:33:55 pm
Post by: Thecard on November 05, 2012, 03:52:32 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 05, 2012, 04:02:36 pm
The guy who's cursed by Pacitarius is now the beastmaster?Long story.
Post by: Thecard on November 05, 2012, 04:04:22 pm
No, I've read the story. I just find it hard to believe. Maybe he should tell the zoologists the story, so they can sympathize with him!The guy who's cursed by Pacitarius is now the beastmaster?Long story.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 05, 2012, 04:12:03 pm
James is inside the place he most wants to be, the place that might make his conquests over the very nature that hates him complete! He explores, looking around for any animals seeking trouble!
[Search roll: 1]
[Perception roll: 4]
He hears something coming at him quite quickly! It's a hare! The very hare he met in the forest, actually! How'd it get here?
[Hare vs. James: 1+1 vs. 4+1]
James easily sidesteps the awful bugger and counterattacks!
[Counterattack: James vs. Hare: 2 vs. 1+1]
However, the hare deflects James' counterattack with its pointy and probably unpleasant teeth!
[Chimp idea roll: 4]
The chimpanzee does not like the hare! It seems to be trying to eliminate the chimp's pack-mate! That will not do!
[Chimp vs. Hare: 3+2 vs. 4+1-1]
The chimp kicks the hare! It rolls away, hissing and making bat noises!
Outside the Metamorphosis Department...
Jordan is struck with inspiration! He'll use the standard tactic of going for the neck!
[Jordan vs. Elephant: 2+1 vs. 1-1-1+3]
He shaves off a bit of skin from the elephant's neck with the tip of his axe blade! The elephant would start hollering, but it has no trunk!
[Elephant morale roll: 4]
The elephant decides not to stand for such abuse! He will trample the offending zombie!
[Elephant vs. Jordan: 5+3 vs. 6-1]
Jordan swings wildly as the elephant tramples all over him!
[Jordan endurance roll: 1]
Oh my. All of his limbs are broken! Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all! Then again, there's still the matter of the two tusks and the trunk. Those could be useful!
[Elephant intelligence roll: 2]
Well, Jordan looks pretty dead or at least neutralized to the elephant. Shows what it knows! That felt good, it thinks. Maybe there's something else it could destroy!
[Building choice roll: 4]
It heads to the Library and begins to perform random acts of destruction there!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Thecard on November 05, 2012, 04:13:23 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 05, 2012, 04:29:22 pm
Post by: mesor on November 05, 2012, 04:43:58 pm
"I entered the building and came across a woman using magic and aiming at me, I did not know if she was hostile so I sought to defend myself, it's been a long and very strange day as you can probably tell from my rather strange body, I am sorry for my rash action but my nerves are rather on end at the present."
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 05, 2012, 04:59:35 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 05, 2012, 05:00:34 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 05, 2012, 10:54:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 12:10:11 am
Jordan, despite having all of his limbs totally broken, shows an admirable dedication to his task! He attempts to crawl to the Library!
[Movement roll: 5-2-1]
He flops around on the ground a bit and slowly inches toward the Library!
Inside the Energy Manipulation Department...
Leon attempts to express just how terrible a day he's been having!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He attempts to describe the underground people! After a short period of deliberation, he realizes that making a whole lot of awfully rude gestures is the perfect description!
"I see."
[Head Manipulator magic roll: 6+1]
Leon sees a hole open in his cell. That's odd. He also feels himself straighten out like an arrow. He isn't left time to consider this as he is launched through the hole at a terrifying speed! The university becomes a rapidly shrinking point in the distance as Leon flies over the smoking remains of villages and hamlets!
[Landing roll: 6]
[Fall damage roll: 1]
He lands in the middle of a pile of soft corpses! How lucky is that? His limbs still get somewhat bent, however. It's entirely possible that most of his bones are broken as well. Not that it matters much.
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James is faced with his ancient enemy once more - the possibly vampiric hare! Time to give it a last-minute opportunity to join him! After all, why wouldn't you trust a hare that diablerized you and attempted to dispose of you as a result?
[Speech roll: 6-2]
"Join me, my childe! Together we can shake the vampire world's foundations! We can defeat the conspiracy, but you have to trust me! Otherwise, you shall always be in the dark! And not the good kind, either!"
The hare looks quite confused! It appears to consider this prospect!
[Chimp idea roll: 1]
Nobody informed the chimpanzee that any diplomacy was going on, though! The ape uses the hare's distraction to strike!
[Chimp vs. Hare: 1+1 vs. 2+1-1]
It approaches the hare! The hare, however, is wise to the tricks of apes, vampires and ape vampires! It goes in for the kill, a sad look of betrayal in its eyes!
[Hare vs. James: 4+1 vs. 3]
It chomps on James' shoulder! James loses a moderate bit of blood! James appears to be running low on that, by the way.
On the road to Fiverock...
Samuel, with what is assuredly the best idea he has had today in mind, goes looking for a bunny!
[Search roll: 1]
He finds a bear! That works too, he supposes. Bunnies are awfully difficult to catch, anyway.
[Samuel magic roll: 3-2]
He attempts to magically mutate the bear into a suitable pet! There is a charging of magical energy, it goes to the bear...
The bear becomes an ordinary cane! Not even a particularly splendid one! Damnation! Samuel examines the cane. It appears to hate him quite a bit.
Inside the monastery...
Vincent, not really feeling like leaving just yet, decides to set some traps!
[Trap setting roll: 1]
He opens a door a tiny bit and balances the goblet on the gap! Tee-hee-hee-hee! Soon enough, a knight passes through the doorway and blood spills all over her! Hilarious! The knight looks around attentively!
[Knight attention roll: 6]
Something is definitely wrong here! There's a prankster on the loose! She picks up the goblet and runs off! Aw, now Vincent will have to find some other way to amuse himself!
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 12:21:15 am
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 03:16:20 am
Then suck dry the corpse
((how am I running out of blood I'm dead))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 10:03:09 am
Leon, glad at having survived a fall like that, does what he always does in a situation like this: gymnastics! Well, he has to check for limb damage!
[Limb mastery roll: 2-1]
Turns out there's quite a lot of it, his legs having bent at nearly right angles and his arms nearly twisted into knots! Leon attempts to roll to his halberd-feet, but rolls neatly into a nearby ditch instead! Crap, why does everything always have to become worse like this!
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
The time for words is over! They have availed James nothing! Time for vampire/ape to hare combat!
[James vs. Hare: 4 vs. 3+1]
The hare, still possessing natural agility on top of its possibly undead powers, barely dodges James' competently executed halberd thrust!
[Chimp idea roll: 6]
[Chimp search roll: 5]
The chimpanzee quickly runs into a corridor and disappears! Meanwhile, the hare, feeling that this might be the most important moment of its perhaps-unlife, tries to finish off his maybe-vampire-dad once more!
[Hare vs. James: 1+1 vs. 2]
James stands still as the hare slips on some of his blood, barely keeping on its feet! The hare can hardly afford to wait around! Especially considering that a six-armed chimpanzee with wielding a total of six scalpels is charging right at it!
[Heavily Armed Chimp vs. Hare: 4+3 vs. 3+1-1]
The chimpanzee slices, stabs and dices! The hare does anything in its limited power to stop from dying horribly! The hare is cut in a great many places and is currently losing what would best be described as a humanload of blood! Despite being a hare!
[Hare bleeding roll: 3]
The hare looks very lightheaded and weak right now! Time to finish the job!
[Heavily Armed Chimp vs. Hare: 4+3 vs. 6-1]
While the hare is bleeding heavily, it does not wish to part with its questionable immortality just yet! It tries to dodge six arms of death as well as it can, which is to say not too well, and gets stabbed only a few times!
[Hare will roll: 3-1]
The hare's eyes go glassy, its life weakening! The will to fight appears to slowly leave it along with its blood!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 10:16:38 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 06, 2012, 10:44:12 am
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 10:49:22 am
Post by: OREOSOME on November 06, 2012, 10:52:03 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 10:58:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 11:48:21 am
The statue would definitely kill both Alaric and his companion if given half the chance! Alaric, utilizing a time-honored strategy, attempts to bluff his way out!
[Bluff roll: 6]
"It is the will of Narcillicus himself that we pass on to the Temple of Beauty to induct this mortal into a higher echelon of being! The high priest of the temple will perform the procedure himself!"
"Ascension, fuck yeah!"
The statue appears to consider these statements.
"SO, YOU ARE A SERVANT OF THE GODS?"
"Indeed I am! You would do well to listen to what I've said!"
"THAT'S WONDERFUL."
He lifts off the ground!
"I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KILL A GOD. I SUPPOSE I WILL HAVE TO SETTLE FOR A MINION. FOR NOW."
"Kick his fuckin' ass, god-spirit!"
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James stands around practicing his smugness while the chimp keeps brutalizing the hare!
[Chimp idea roll: 4]
It goes in for the kill!
[Heavily Armed Chimp vs. Hare: 4+3 vs. 1-2]
The chimp, despite the whole thing being splitting hares by this point, turns the hare into a neatly sliced pile of organs! The hare turns into ash! Still not conclusive proof on whether diablerie works, though. James applauds the chimp's great work!
[Chimp idea roll: 1]
The chimp takes this for a challenge for pack superiority and pounces on James!
[Heavily Armed Chimp vs. James: 5+3 vs. 2]
Maybe it wasn't the best idea to let an ape with barely-restrained instincts keep no fewer than six sharp instruments in its hands! The ape, bolstered by its previous knife-fighting experience, slices at James until the poor fellow's abdominal cavity is entirely hollow! That done, the ape kicks James into a corner! That'll teach him to challenge it!
[James will roll: 6]
James, however, hardly notices the lack of a chest and keeps behaving completely normally! Mostly because he's too busy punching the horrible thoughts of death right out of himself! Admittedly, it works perfectly! James' face is slightly beaten up, though.
James resolves to put this incident behind him and not try to kill the ape, for that might end very badly for him. He looks for some zoologists!
[Search roll: 1]
He manages to trip and fall through a particularly precarious patch in the wooden floor, landing on a soft bale of hay. That pokes at his insides. Ouch.
Outside the Metamorphosis Department...
Jordan has no recourse but a most ungentlemanly action: asking for help!
[Attention attraction roll: 6]
"I SAY, WOULD ANYONE CARE TO HELP A VICTIM OF AN ELEPHANT TRAMPLING WITH FOUR WIVES AND A KID?"
[Attracted people roll: 1]
"I say, what a fascinating individual! There's a sword in his belly, all of his limbs are broken, he has no heart, and yet he lives! Perhaps he will make for a fine test subject!"
He is claimed by a strange-looking man coming out of the Metamorphosis Department! He is carried through some halls, shown to various people and bragged about, then placed on a table!
"Let's see what we can do with you, good chap!"
[Magic roll: 6-1]
Jordan's limbs become unbroken once more! Hooray!
"Oh, how droll. I was expecting something more interesting. Let's try again, shall we?"
[Magic roll: 2-1]
Jordan's left arm reshapes itself into a giant flesh-pretzel of some kind! It is entirely possible that it is salted!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
Jordan's right leg turns into a barking dog, attached to the hip where its two hindlegs should be!
"Hee hee, beautiful! It is not very often that I get willing test subjects! They wouldn't give me any! Said I was senile or something! What foolishness!"
[Magic roll: 4-1]
Jordan's left leg leg turns into a wooden club!
[Magic roll: 6-1]
Jordan's right arm becomes better than ever, covering itself with flexible metal plates!
"There you go, dearie! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did!"
[Reaction roll: 4]
The mage puts Jordan in a cart and wheels him out of the building, dumping him on the cobblestones! Before Jordan can say anything, the mage disappears!
In a ditch somewhere...
Leon attempts to straighten out his bent limbs!
[Strength roll: 3+1]
He makes his legs roughly straight once more and bends his arms out of their knotted positions, getting them about halfway there until being unable progress any further! His arms are now only somewhat oddly bent and his legs are mostly straight!
Inside an oddly battle-ready monastery...
Vincent tries to follow the knight out of the room!
[Search roll: 5]
He quickly catches up to her and attempts to filch the goblet!
[Pickpocketing roll: 1]
As soon as he reaches for the goblet, the woman swings at him with a warhammer!
[Knight Sister vs. Vincent: 3+2 vs. 5+1]
Vincent easily dodges the swing, though, and retreats away, the woman following him!
[Escape roll: 1]
However, Vincent takes a wrong turn and is cornered by the knight in a storeroom!
[Alarm roll: 6]
Nobody else seems to be around, though! That's good!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 06, 2012, 11:49:32 am
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 11:51:06 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 11:57:32 am
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 12:14:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 12:27:10 pm
Despite all the looting, burning, pillaging and miscellaneous destruction, Samuel still doesn't feel like a proper hero! However, he has a remedy for that in mind: a dungeon! Yeah, a dungeon! Someplace that will have tons of loot to obtain and monsters to genocide! He searches for one immediately!
[Search roll: 2]
Well, there's a slightly suspicious looking village a ways off the road. Maybe there's a dungeon under that.
In a ditch somewhere...
Leon, not in a particular rush to go anywhere, stands up and attempts to straighten his limbs some more!
[Straightening roll: 4+1]
There we go! Good as new! Leon is ready for adventure once more!
Outside the Metamorphosis Department...
Jordan lies on the cobbled ground, contemplating his predicament. Perhaps he should get up? Yes, that would be the wise thing to do right now!
[Dog idea roll: 4]
The dog on his leg is clearly tired of standing around as well, as it helps Jordan stand up and walk around, making up for the loss of mobility in his club-leg! Well, this isn't so bad!
In the basement of the Magical Zoology Department...
James feels that the bale of hay unfairly attacked him! He screams for help!
[Screaming roll: 6]
He hollers like a bull that has chosen to mate with a beehive as he tries to get those mean, mean zoologists to pay attention to him!
[Attention attraction roll: 6]
He sees no fewer than 10 heads poke in from the hole up above!
"Hey, it's that bloke that deflected all of my snails and butterflies!"
"By Pacitarius, it is! Look at him! He doesn't have a bloody chest anymore! How is he screaming like that? Woke up all the seventeen-legged giraffes, I tell you!"
[James storytelling roll: 1-2]
"Have pity on a poor fellow that's landed on a bale of hay!"
"Why should we? Maybe we like the fact that your insides are poked at with sharp hay needles!"
"Inconsiderate bastards! When I get out of here, I'll kill you! I'll kill you, your children and your children's children! I will spit on your graves and dance on the corpses of your entire family when I get out, you mark my words!"
"Sure you will. Now go ahead and die already!"
[Chimp idea roll: 5]
[Chimp search roll: 3]
The heads proceed to disappear one by one!
James' chimp friend/enemy appears not five minutes later, brandishing a rope made of handkerchiefs! It doesn't look too strong, but perhaps it might work?
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 12:32:07 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 12:39:33 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 06, 2012, 01:09:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 01:17:49 pm
Satisfied at his dog-leg's performance, Jordan thinks it would be great to give it a reward of some kind! He looks for some food!
[Search roll: 1]
To put it plainly, there isn't any! Not about to give up, Jordan gives it a bite of his flesh-pretzel arm!
[Dog reaction roll: 4]
The dog takes a few bites out of it and doesn't even vomit profusely! Success!
[Dog training roll: 5]
It seems to have learned that helping its master walk is something it'll have to do if it is to have any chance of getting more of that delicious pretzel!
In a ditch somewhere...
Leon chooses a random direction to walk in!
[Choice roll: ?]
He proceeds at a leisurely, relaxed pace! After all, what person in his predicament wouldn't? He looks for any sign of where he is!
[Perception roll: 5]
Hm, there appear to be lots of corpses around here! Most of them have died from arrow or stab wounds it seems. Also, Leon spies some smoke in the sky! It appears to be coming from several fires at a moderate distance! As to where he is in relation to the university... well, he didn't fly too far. About three miles or so, he supposes.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 01:19:03 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 01:21:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 01:41:43 pm
Jordan hobbles away on his dog-and-club legs and tries to find the Library!
[Search roll: 1]
After wandering all around campus, he has finally found the Library! Oh wait. It's the Metamorphosis Department. Damn it all!
Within the Department of Magical Zoology...
James graciously accepts the offer of handkerchief-rope from the chimp! He tries to scale it!
[Structural integrity roll: 2]
He pulls on the rope and it disintegrates! Guess it wasn't calibrated for his weight!
[Chimp idea roll: 5]
[Search roll: 5]
The chimp quickly runs away and returns with a chain that obviously has come from the shackles of some large animal! Having failed at his first attempt, James tries to scale it once more!
[James strength roll: 2]
He pulls on the chain, but can't muster the strength to get up from the bale of hay!
[Chimp morale roll: 6]
The chimp glares with the force of a thousand angry physical educators! James is stricken with fear and begins climbing again!
[James strength roll: 3]
He weakly scales about three feet of the chain!
[James strength roll: 4]
He climbs steadily upwards!
[James strength roll: 5]
He gets out of the basement and high-fives his helpful chimp companion! Who scooped out his chest cavity! Oh well, all is forgiven! Now to find a file room!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a file room! It's empty!
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 01:42:52 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 01:51:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 02:04:36 pm
Leon searches the corpses for anything interesting!
[Search roll: 2]
He comes to the conclusion that the corpses are peasants! And thoroughly looted, to boot!
[Intelligence roll: 4]
Well, it couldn't have been any of his companions. They're all somewhere else. Well, maybe not. Difficult to say. It was probably someone else, though. But enough messing around! Time to investigate for real! Leon heads for the fires!
[Awareness roll: 3]
He hears a bit of stirring as he nears the fires! It appears to be a small camp of people! Oh my, they're carrying large swords! And seem slightly alarmed about something!
Outside the Metamorphosis Department...
"Blast! How is a proper gentleman supposed to make his way in this infernal place? Whose bloody head do I need to chop off before they begin improving this layout?"
Jordan decides that he'll keep on searching!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds the Library in ten seconds! It was right next to the Metamorphosis Department all this time! Well, this is embarrassing.
After an awkward silence that lasts a minute, he begins looking for a way in!
[Search roll: 3]
It's barricaded nicely! There is an open window on the second floor, but good luck reaching that with a pretzel for an arm!
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 02:05:38 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 02:08:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 03:12:15 pm
Jordan is flabbergasted at the impediment in front of him! A barricade! Such a novel idea! Perhaps there is some merit to it, for he surely cannot proceed! If only he had some kind of thing that could chop wood or something!
Wait a minute, what about his people axe? That could chop wood, Jordan thinks! Well, no way to find out except try!
[Anti-barricade roll: 4+1]
By alternately chopping with his metal arm and and bashing with his pretzel arm, the dog-leg providing moral support as he does so, Jordan hacks through the door and the barrier behind it with surprising ease! Amazing!
He goes right in, the dog-leg barking enthusiastically!
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James has no time to lose! He must get to cramming! Those files must be found!
[Search roll: 2]
Dammit, they're not here! How is James supposed to have an advantage against his enemy if the zoologist fools can't even keep an orderly catalog properly!
[Chimp idea roll: 2]
The chimp knows what this room needs! Ape feces! It gladly provides some!
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 03:16:34 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 03:25:31 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on November 06, 2012, 03:27:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 03:59:43 pm
Alaric, dissatisfied at the results of his persuasion, decides to attempt to make the statue punch itself out of spite!
[Magic duel: Alaric vs. Marcus: 2 vs. 5+1]
He strains to nudge the statue's arm a tiny bit.
"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT. LET ME SHOW YOU."
[Magic counterattack: Marcus vs. Alaric: 1+1 vs. 1]
The statue makes Alaric slap himself! Ow, that stings!
"NOW. DOWN TO BUSINESS."
[Magic duel: Marcus vs. Alaric: 1+1 vs. 1]
He makes Alaric slap himself again!
"COULDN'T HELP MYSELF. YOU LOOK AMUSING WHEN I DO THAT, ALL INDIGNANT AND ANNOYED."
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James is starting to feel that his unlife has devolved into a cycle of negotiate-fight-loot-repeat! Doubtlessly he is not the only one who thinks so in the world! Oh well, back to negotiation!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds no zoologists! Damn rat bastards. Some of them probably literal ones.
Near a fire...
Leon chooses to take advantage of what would be a photo opportunity if cameras had been invented! The Strange Human in its natural habitat, how unique!
[Inconspicuousness roll: 1-1]
Leon does his very best to stay hidden! The people in the camp notice and applaud! Then they attack!
[Man 1 vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 1]
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 6]
[Woman 1 vs. Leon: 3+1 vs. 2]
Leon avoids an axe swung by one man and gets slightly scratched with an arrow! However, the final attacker knocks him straight down, leaving a great axe-cut in his chest plate!
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 04:03:38 pm
(( No endurance bonus for being made of metal? Damn :). ))
Post by: TopHat on November 06, 2012, 04:07:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2012, 04:10:01 pm
Counter attack!!!! Kill them all!!!.
(( No endurance bonus for being made of metal? Damn :). ))
((Well, at least know that it wouldn't have made a difference. The only way these dudes can harm Leon (Leon being immune to slashing, piercing and blunt weaponry, meaning pretty much any weapon) is if they roll fives, which two of them did. Besides, even if you got an endurance bonus it would be counteracted by your dodge penalty. Today's retcon being yes, that's totally what happened. I didn't make that up just now.))
Post by: mesor on November 06, 2012, 04:12:36 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on November 06, 2012, 04:13:50 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 06, 2012, 04:54:37 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 06, 2012, 04:59:18 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 06, 2012, 05:48:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2012, 01:05:56 am
Samuel is not about to let some pesky village get in the way of his adventuring experience! The dungeons, they must be found!
[Search roll: 2]
Damnation! There isn't one! There appears to be a severe lack of dungeons in this area in general. Samuel mutely curses while confused villagers look on!
[Reaction roll: 4]
It appears they are too confused to say or do anything with Samuel! One raises his hand, but then immediately lowers it!
Inside the Library...
There was a task given, and Jordan aims to complete it to the best of his abilities!
[Search roll: 1]
He runs into a motley band of peevish librarians while examining the tasteful decor around the place!
In the vicinity of death and horror...
Alaric feels slightly less good about his odds! Time to bluff his way out of this!
[Bluff roll: 6]
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 5]
He throws his voice and makes it boom from a nearby forest!
"CEASE PICKING ON MY MINIONS! IF YOU ARE SO TOUGH, COME ON OVER HERE AND FACE ME!"
The statue looks thoughtfully at the forest.
"I WILL GO AND LOOK OVER THERE FOR A BIT. I EXPECT YOU TO STILL BE HERE WHEN I GET BACK. KILL YOU LATER."
[Marcus magic roll: 4+1]
The statue speedily flies off to the woods!
"Why didn't you kick that fucker's ass, spirit?"
Inside a monastery full of knights...
Vincent sees no alternative but fighting in this situation! He attempts to disarm the knight!
[Disarming: Vincent vs. Knight Sister: 1+1 vs. 1+1]
He attempt to pull the warhammer out of the knight's hands, but she just pulls it back slightly when he reaches for it! She starts swinging the warhammer!
[Knight Sister vs. Vincent: 6+2 vs. 4+1]
She attempts to strike at Vincent's arm and succeeds quite amazingly! Vincent's forearm is pulverized by the attack!
Near a camp of some kind...
As the two men attempt to swing at him once more, Leon tries to counterattack with all four of his limbs at once!
[Leon vs. Man 1: 4+1 vs. 6+1]
[Leon vs. Man 2: 5+1 vs. 4+1]
One of his halberd feet pierces a man in the foot! There's a bit of bleeding! The other man, however, dodges like a ballet dancer on magical stimulants!
[Man 1 vs. Leon: 6+1 vs 5-1]
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 2+1 vs. 1-1]
Both men hit Leon, but their overly enthusiastic swings either clink off Leon's shell or are too weak to do any real damage!
[Woman vs. Leon: 1+1 vs. 3]
An arrow flies past the group, narrowly missing one of the man!
"Be careful with that, will you?"
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James must find those files! They are more important than life itself!
[Search roll: 1]
He finds the file room! It's full of hybrid beaver-goats that have eaten all of the papers! And the file cabinets as well! Well, maybe there are zoologists around?
[Search roll: 5]
Yes, there are! A whopping three zoologists inside the Head Zoologist's office!
[James speech roll: 1-2]
James opens the door and runs inside screaming!
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
"Oh, dammit. It's him again. Guess we'll have to kill him!"
[Animal summoning roll: 3]
A beaver-goat answers the man's call and attacks James!
[Beavergoat vs. James: 4+1 vs. 1-1]
James is taken completely by surprise and gets his left arm chewed off by the awful thing!
Post by: Thecard on November 07, 2012, 01:19:31 am
Post by: TopHat on November 07, 2012, 03:18:31 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 07, 2012, 06:59:20 am
Post by: mesor on November 07, 2012, 07:11:17 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 07, 2012, 09:30:15 am
Aaand you're back to being killed by animals. Seriously, Random.org must hate you guys.((Look at it from the good side, somehow, they managed to all survive so far. By this point in chapter one half of them were in a far worse situation then now))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 07, 2012, 10:26:12 am
Hope they answer nicely. Kill them if they don't.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2012, 10:53:19 am
James is completely and utterly foiled! There are no papers to be had! Those zoologist bastards, leading him on like they did with their threats and animal flinging! Well, he'll stand for it no more! No papers, no James!
[James escape roll: 2]
Oh my. There doesn't appear to be any exit from the room aside from the one the beavergoat is blocking!
[Beavergoat vs. James: 6+1 vs. 4+1]
James gets bitten in several places, but keeps his other arm!
[Chimp idea roll: 3]
The chimp gives James moral support by making endearing semaphore signals with its six arms!
On the ground near some unusually peeved people...
Leon can't take it anymore! He tries to stab the two nearest people to him!
[Leon vs. Man 1: 3 vs. 6+1]
[Leon vs. Man 2: 2 vs. 4+1]
He misses both through some unfortunate twist of fate (perhaps the fact that they seem to be able to easily get out of his reach)!
The men strike back!
[Man 1 vs. Leon: 3+1 vs. 2]
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 3+1 vs. 1]
Both men bring their axes down simultaneously, but it does absolutely nothing to Leon's shell!
[Morale roll: 6]
They resolve to chop harder next time!
[Woman vs. Leon: 6+1 vs. 1]
Suddenly, an arrow hits Leon in the chest at a horrifying speed! It explodes into shrapnel!
[Shrapnel roll: 2]
The men around Leon are vaguely irritated!
"Will you stop that already? You'll kill us!"
"But I want to help too! You killed most of the peasants, when am I going to get a turn?"
"Just stop it already! You get first crack at the next twenty peasants, okay?"
"Okay!"
Inside a monastery...
Vincent is determined to loot something! Even a warhammer, if need be! He goes for another disarm!
[Disarming: Vincent vs. Knight Sister: 3+1 vs. 4+1]
He leaps at her with the intent of getting past swinging range! He attempts some grappling moves, but the knight seems less than impressed! She kicks Vincent back into the corner and swings for a kill!
[Knight Sister vs. Vincent: 5+2 vs. 3+2]
Vincent deflects some of the force in the knight's blow, but it still is enough to crack several of Vincent's ribs!
Inside the Library...
Jordan, noticing that they, however peevish, are still librarians, decides to ask them nicely to point him to the Anatomy Wing!
[Social interaction roll: 6-2]
"I say, could you fellows point me to the Anatomy Wing?"
One of the librarians points down a corridor with a long, bony finger!
"It's not a wing. It's a shelf. And you shouldn't capitalize the words. It's unseemly."
"Thank you kindly, chaps! I'll bear it in mind!"
[Dog idea roll: 1]
The dog snarls at the librarians and attempts to get to them and eat them!
[Jordan strength roll: 2+1]
Jordan holds on as hard as he can to not allow the dog to eat these kind gentlemen! He grabs on to the floor, but the dog is slowly proceeding forward.
"Your dog. Is it rabid?"
"If I'm not, it probably isn't either!"
"Are you rabid?"
"I'm not entirely sure, good chap!"
The librarians quickly back away. The dog calms down!
Post by: mesor on November 07, 2012, 10:56:19 am
Post by: TopHat on November 07, 2012, 10:58:04 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 07, 2012, 10:58:52 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 07, 2012, 11:09:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2012, 01:29:47 pm
Jordan feels a sense of urgency all of a sudden! He needs those books! It is his duty to obtain them! He heads to the anatomy shelf, following the directions given, and attempts to steal the entire shelf of books!
[Inventory management roll: 3]
He sticks the books into each and every fold of his mad scientist outfit! They're holding in there, but anything hits you and they're falling right out. Well, that and you have to carry about five in your single hand, disallowing chopping of any sort while you do so!
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James is going to try something that's never worked before! He's going to negotiate with an animal!
[James persuasion roll: 4-2]
James exalts himself in a short speech and provides valid reasons for joining him against the zoologists! The beavergoat bleats at this! Damn, James can't counter that! Physical violence time!
[James vs. Beavergoat: 4+1 vs. 2+1]
James slices the beavergoat sufficiently for it to retreat to a safe distance!
[Chimp idea roll: 5]
The chimp, tired of all the cheerleading, joins the fray!
[Chimp vs. Beavergoat: 4+3 vs. 4+1-1]
The beavergoat gets sliced in the back six times, bleating and advancing towards James once more!
[Beavergoat vs. James: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
James, however, fends it off with his halberd and counterattacks!
[Counter attack: James vs. Beavergoat: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
The beavergoat catches James' halberd in its teeth, but lets go soon after!
In a village of some kind...
Samuel doesn't want the villagers to get the wrong idea about him! He attempts to convey his need for written communication!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
The villagers immediately understand and provide him with a piece of parchment and a quill! They seem curious about what he might write! It's not every day that a skeleton wizard comes to your village, after all!
Next to some awfully violent individuals...
Leon attempts to roll to a better place to attack from!
[Rolling roll: 4]
He succeeds at positioning himself so that the woman couldn't hit him without shooting through her friends first! He tries to stab his enemies once more!
[Leon vs. Man 1: 4+1 vs. 2+1]
[Leon vs. Man 2: 4+1 vs. 5+1]
He manages to stab the so far uninjured man in the arm! The other one, however, just smacks Leon's foot to the ground with his axe!
[Man 1 vs. Leon: 1 vs. 5]
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 6+1 vs. 4]
The distraction of having a halberd go through his arm makes one man drop his axe! He clutches his arm in pain! The other one keeps trying to harm Leon, but his axe proves insufficient!
[Counter attack: Leon vs. Man 1: 6+1 vs. 2+1]
Leon stabs the disarmed man through the chest with his feet, using his arms to propel himself in the air in a sort of halberd-dropkick!
[Man 1 endurance roll: 3]
The man seems to have mostly lost his ability to fight! He's not dead yet, though!
Post by: TopHat on November 07, 2012, 01:39:10 pm
Get out and head to library.
Post by: mesor on November 07, 2012, 01:43:21 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 07, 2012, 02:49:37 pm
"Thank you, good citizens. My name is Samueli Archmanius. I was once a noble wizard, but was turned into an undead abomination by a skeletal Drake. I've been searching these lands for the Drake's resting tomb for centuries, hoping to gain a shred of mortality back. Do you, any of you, know of some sort of dungeon, evil cave or interesting spot in the area? I would greatly appreciate being shown to it, and will gladly accept any volunteers who wish to explore it; - It may be fraught with dangers, but there will be plenty of gold, gems, enchanted artifacts and powerful magic for the taking. All of which will be evenly split, between any, and all, who adventure in there with me.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 07, 2012, 03:14:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2012, 03:50:14 pm
James, slightly delirious from all that blood loss, decides to do unto others as has been done upon him!
[Beavergoating: James vs. Beavergoat: 4+1 vs. 3+1-1-1]
He beavergoats the beavergoat! He beavergoats it mightily indeed! He beavergoats it for about ten minutes until the beavergoat dies from extreme pain and blood loss!
[Chimp morale roll: 2]
The chimp, unable to stand the sight of all this... this beavergoating, chooses to run away before the visage shatters whatever apes have that fills in for sanity!
[Zoologist morale roll: 3]
The zoologists merely look on in horror as James completes his dark task! Satisfied at his evil works, James proceeds outside and is accosted by no one, possibly due to fear of further beavergoating of any sort happening!
[Search roll: 6]
James, misshapen teeth bared in a smile most fearsome, finds the library with ease and heads inside!
In a village somewhere...
Samuel attempts to write out what he wishes in an elaborate document mostly consisting of filthy lies and fabrications!
[Literary eloquence roll: 3]
I am a wizard. You must follow me. I am looking for an undead dragon (possibly alive). Do you know of any undead dragons in the area? Do you know of any monster-infested caves or unlooted tombs nearby? If so, point them out to me. I will carefully search them and confiscate things that are too expensive. If you follow me, it is entirely possible and perhaps even likely that you will die extremely horribly. However, you might get a coin or two out of it.
[Villager reaction roll: 5-1]
The villagers seem to love the idea of a coin or two in return for possibly dying horribly! Five somewhat able-looking ones agree to follow Samuel!
[Villager local lore roll: 4]
A wizened old man steps out from the crowd and speaks with a voice that reminds Samuel of dusty furniture!
"There be the tomb of the ancient king, whoever that bastard was. I heard there was some kinda hellmouth in there or somethin'. Nobody's bothered to check in 50-odd years, I reckon. It's to the east, see, and there be nothin' but trouble down there."
In the middle of a battle...
Leon, happy about halberd-dropkicking someone into submission, tries to stab the other one as well!
[Leon vs. Man 2: 2+1 vs. 2+1]
He halfheartedly kicks at the man, but nothing much comes of it as the man blocks equally halfheartedly with his axe!
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 3]
He finally manages to get a good hit in and make a pretty deep gash in Leon's torso!
"Uh, guys? Need help?"
She receives no answer!
[Woman quick thinking roll: 2]
Ah, what's the worst that could happen? She fires an arrow into the melee!
[50/50 - Leon/Man 2: Man 2]
[Woman vs. Man 2: 3+1 vs. 4+1-1-1]
The man's forehead is grazed by the speeding arrow!
[Man will roll: 6]
He furiously charges toward Leon!
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 2]
He nearly lops off Leon's halberd-arm at the shoulder with a fierce axe chop! What's this shell made of, lead?
Inside the Library...
Jordan attempts to leave the Library!
[Interruption roll: 1]
He steps out whistling when a trunkless, tuskless elephant tries to charge him in a most ungentlemanly manner!
[Jordan agility roll: 1-1]
He hardly notices as the elephant approaches!
[Elephant vs. Jordan: 2+3 vs. 4-1]
The elephant doesn't trample over him, but merely clips him with its foot! It sends Jordan flying to the side, books spilling out from every pocket!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 07, 2012, 03:56:58 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 07, 2012, 03:58:45 pm
Post by: mesor on November 07, 2012, 03:59:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2012, 04:12:34 pm
James passes by the rampaging elephant and attempts to plunder the book-place of its mind-vittles!
[Search roll: 5]
He finds various tomes on theater, on magic and on linguistics! Also, he finds an informative text on magical healing and necromancy!
[Intelligence roll: 2+1]
He begins reading the books, but can't seem to make a whole lot of progress. Must be all that blood that's missing from his body.
Meanwhile, the suddenly bookless Jordan tries a tactic totally alien to himself - a peace offering! It's just crazy and unexpected enough to work!
[Peace talks roll: 3-2]
"I say, would you-"
The elephant charges!
[Elephant vs. Jordan: 4+3 vs. 4-1]
The elephant uses its foot to kick Jordan away!
[Jordan flight roll: 2]
Jordan flies straight up and lands on the roof of the Library!
[Library roof integrity roll: 5]
The roof, however, does not collapse! How surprising!
Near a very angry axe murderer...
Leon tries to go for an original plan of attack!
[Leon vs. Man 2: 4+1 vs. 3+1]
He grazes the man once more! The man attempts to retaliate!
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 2+1 vs. 2]
He hits Leon, but all those grazes must be slowly taking their toll, as he can hardly be bothered to put a halfway decent amount of force in the swing!
Post by: mesor on November 07, 2012, 04:22:48 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 07, 2012, 04:23:46 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 07, 2012, 04:25:55 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 07, 2012, 04:39:15 pm
Post by: Tiruin on November 07, 2012, 11:52:27 pm
"Your dog. Is it rabid?"((OOC Thread got me here.))
"If I'm not, it probably isn't either!"
"Are you rabid?"
"I'm not entirely sure, good chap!"
(("Stop using my colors!"
"It's cornflowerblue."
"Good point. Carry on."
Also, liking how this is going. Keep it up Harry! First time GM? :D))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 08, 2012, 12:19:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 12:34:55 am
"Your dog. Is it rabid?"((OOC Thread got me here.))
"If I'm not, it probably isn't either!"
"Are you rabid?"
"I'm not entirely sure, good chap!"
(("Stop using my colors!"
"It's cornflowerblue."
"Good point. Carry on."
Also, liking how this is going. Keep it up Harry! First time GM? :D))
((Yep. Trying to improvise as well as I can.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 01:00:22 am
Leon has a flash of inspiration! Perhaps he should hack AND slash! Yeah, that'll work!
[Leon vs. Man 2: 1+1 vs. 1+1]
Both combatants stand around awkwardly while Leon contemplates the exact logistics of how this would be done!
[Man 2 vs. Leon: 6+1 vs. 5]
The awkwardness doesn't dissipate when Leon is struck by the axeman! He stands tall despite the power of the strike and scratches his metal chin at this development!
[Leon/Man 2: Leon]
[Woman vs. Leon: 2+1 vs. 2]
An arrow weakly plinks off Leon's shell as he contemplates!
On the roof of the library...
Jordan, dissatisfied at his failure to make peace, decides to strike at the elephant! He attempts to get down from the roof!
[Agility roll: 3-1]
It's really high up, though. Three stories high. Uh, maybe he should wait this out a bit. Not that he's scared or anything. Shut up.
Inside the Library...
James attempts to forget the fact that he has no blood and focuses on his reading instead!
[Intelligence roll: 6+1]
He reads all five books from cover to cover, perfectly memorizing their contents! Sadly, 500 or so years of theater history, various difficult-to-pronounce words and magical terminology (such as what the difference is between wizards and warlocks, and what a sorcerer is) make up the majority of this knowledge, as both the healing and necromancy books only contain things you already know. Well, at least they do seem to point to the Life Studies Department in the university as a place where you could find out more.
Inside the monastery...
Knowing a losing battle when repeatedly beaten with a warhammer, Vincent tries to escape before losing any other limbs!
[Vincent escape roll: 4+1-1]
Brandishing his third arm as a distraction, Vincent creeps out the knight sufficiently to pass her by without getting hit! He then tries to get back to the basement!
[Vincent escape roll: 2+1]
He gets turned around several times, but eventually he manages to find the basement! There appear to be knights around!
[Vincent stealth roll: 3]
Vincent tries to calmly walk through the basement and act natural! It sort of works, as a knight does notice him and tries to take him down!
[Vincent escape roll: 5+1]
Vincent dives headfirst into the well before she can reach him, though, and crawls through the water until he has gotten outside!
In a village of some kind...
Samuel, delighted at the suicidal tendencies of the peasants, heads toward the tomb, idiots in tow! After about an hour of walking east, the tomb is reached! Looks pretty harmless, to be honest. He goes in!
The first room is a long corridor! He and his band of merry men go down it!
[Trap roll: 4]
Samuel stands on a plate and the plate descends! The obvious flamethrower trap it activated, however, ran out of fuel a long time ago!
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 03:16:32 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 08, 2012, 07:31:40 am
Post by: mesor on November 08, 2012, 08:12:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 09:43:37 am
James, wishing to get ahead in the magical arms race, tries to find a book of focus making!
[Search roll: 1]
Ooh, this book looks like it has the information he needs! He pulls it out and opens it!
[Book vs. James: 1+2 vs. 6+1]
It attempts to go for his face with its many sharp teeth, but you'd have to get up pretty late in the afternoon to get James like this! James throws the book to the ground, the book thwacking as it strikes the floor, its near-immaculate condition tarnished!
[Counter attack: James vs. Book: 4+1 vs. 4+2]
James is about to give the book what it really deserves, but the blasted thing scurries away with the speed of a particularly flat mouse!
[Book escape roll: 6]
It jumps out of a window and disappears in the distance, possibly to return after consuming sufficient amounts of human flesh!
Outside the monastery...
Vincent attempts to make his way back to Bernie's sister!
[Speedy traveling roll: 1]
He is about to run back, but realizes he has completely forgotten the direction he came from! Oh well, best go with a random choice! He'll probably remember which way it was eventually!
[Random direction roll: 2]
He goes east! Surprisingly, he finds nothing resembling the path he took here!
[Monastery reaction roll: 3]
A single knight on a horse rides out of the monastery, trailing after Vincent!
In a battle that appears to be taking far too long...
Leon's mind goes blank, an all-pervading thought erasing his other cranial impulses!
~MUST STAB~
[Leon vs. Man 2: 5+1 vs. 2+1]
And he stabs the man quite nicely, piercing the liver straight through and coming out the other side!
[Man endurance roll: 1]
The man looks at Leon for a second, then realizes he has some urgent bleeding that needs to be done right now! He politely slides off his blade, falls to the ground and gets right to it!
[Woman vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 1]
The woman, free of any obstructions to her fire, shoots an arrow at Leon! It strikes him straight through the chest and pins him to a nearby tree! It is followed by two more that pierce him just as nicely!
[Leon will roll: 4]
Leon, shocked by suddenly getting pierced through the heart, remembers that he doesn't actually have one anymore, so there's nothing to really worry about!
Post by: mesor on November 08, 2012, 09:45:10 am
(( I love this game so many different ways I should be dead if I wasn't you know..... already dead. ))
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 09:57:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 10:36:41 am
James is not entirely surprised at a book attempting to bite him! Hey, join the club! Everyone else is already in. He looks for a focus book!
[Search roll: 5]
It turns out that the Focus Crafting Book shelf's right opposite the Man-Eating Book shelf! A simple mistake, really, considering that most man-eating books try to pretend to be somewhat more useful. He picks up a Beginner's Guide to Focus Crafting and reads it!
[Intelligence roll: 6+1]
Well, it turns out that anything can be a focus and the key to creating one properly is a sacrifice of some kind - blood, souls or body parts, given willingly by a human being! Say, that's useful! What else does it say here?
The power of the focus shall be directly tied with its physical nature, and for this reason most foci today are books or scrolls, since they are easily programmable to make spells work, though they aren't quite as powerful as foci made from other objects due to having a more tenuous link with their magic. Most mages, however, view the predictability and reliability of a focus book as superior to the often random, powerful outbursts of other foci. That's good, yes.
To make an especially powerful focus, you can also employ special chants, the simplest of which is the Empty Mind Chant. Hm...
It's only seven syllables! Oh, what the hell, let's see it.
"Ahm-ahm-ahm-poh-ahm-poh-schwa!"
[Emptiness roll: 1]
James finds himself in a blank mindspace! Okay, fun's fun, let's get out.
...
Okay, James is stuck here. It's quite cold, to be honest. And uncomfortable.
Not too far, but far enough...
Hah! Leon cannot be held by human weapons! Just watch!
[Self-liberation roll: 3]
He slightly nudges himself forward, but the arrows seem to have him pinned good, as it takes him a lot of effort!
[Woman vs. Leon: 5+1 vs. 2-1]
Just as he's about to pull again, three more arrows find their way into his chest, piercing right through! Damn, he is as stuck as a metal zombie possibly can be! No getting free now, it seems.
[Leon will roll: 1]
The six large arrow wounds in his chest and his helplessness make Leon's sight slowly grow dark! Oh crap, not again! His unlife, which wasn't very strong to begin with, is seeping away once more!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 11:01:49 am
If it doesn't, try to figure out how to get out anyway.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 11:02:50 am
Post by: mesor on November 08, 2012, 11:07:18 am
(( I'm getting a huge number of high rolls from enemies lol ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 11:36:09 am
James attempts to glean some information on the mindspace from the book in his hands!
Uh oh. He doesn't have it anymore! Oh well, better use that old brainpan of his!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Well, obviously this is a mindspace of his creation. There must be some kind of obstacle here to overcome so he can get right out, right? Enriching spiritual journey mumbo-jumbo or something like that.
[Obstacle roll: 1]
He spies a giant citadel of swirling winds and flames in the distance! It's the only thing in sight right now, the rest being a complete blank! Gulp.
On the roof of the Library...
This is no time to develop sudden onset zombie gentleman acrophobia! Jordan has books to deliver!
[Anti-acrophobia roll: 4]
Yes, it's completely silly! There's an elephant right there to break his fall!
[Jordan vs. Elephant: 2+1 vs. 4+3-2-1-1]
Jordan lands face-first on the elephant's back!
[Holding on roll: 3+1]
Jordan grabs a fold of elephant skin with his metal arm to prevent himself from falling off! It works nicely!
[Elephant alarm roll: 1]
The elephant was born free! Well, actually it was born a tree and turned into a fairly nice chair, but it was ensorcelled to become an elephant and it'll be damned if it won't enjoy it to its fullest! It rolls over!
[Jordan endurance roll: 6]
Jordan not only holds on, he also uses his teeth for additional support! He bites into the elephant's back with all of his might!
[Elephant will roll: 4]
The elephant stays in control and doesn't run amok! It hurts like hell, though!
In a battle that is becoming increasingly dangerous...
Leon, in desperate need of getting free, tries to break the arrows with his arms!
[Leon strength roll: 4+1-1]
He breaks them off and slides off, strolling toward the woman in his weakened state!
[Woman vs. Leon: 1+1 vs. 1-1]
Another of the woman's arrows plinks against Leon's shell at an angle, not achieving any penetration!
[Woman morale roll: 3]
She decides to move to a much safer distance! Preferably about three hundred feet away from Leon!
[Woman escape roll: 4]
She runs, looking back occasionally to see if Leon is still on her tail!
[Leon will roll: 1-1]
To her surprise, he isn't! He has collapsed in a pile and seems to be immobile!
What she doesn't know is that Leon's unlife-force has nearly gone right out of him, and only a small vestige of it remains! Leon's soul fights relentlessly for its anchor!
[Leon will roll: 2-2]
But to no avail! The metal guardian remains motionless, the last bit of unlife having left him just a few moments ago. The woman pokes at the perforated shell with her foot curiously.
"What was this thing?"
She walks over to her two compatriots. There is nothing she can do for them, as they really have more blood outside their bodies now than in right now.
"The next ten peasants are for you, Joe!"
She puts their hands across their chests and shuts their eyes. Having done that, she leaves, never to find out what the metal guardian was or how it got here.
Leon has died once more!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: mesor on November 08, 2012, 11:38:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 11:44:24 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 11:52:00 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 08, 2012, 12:25:46 pm
Post by: OREOSOME on November 08, 2012, 12:27:07 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 12:29:10 pm
Heh.
If it is the obstacle, approach cautiously.
Post by: miauw62 on November 08, 2012, 12:30:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 01:00:06 pm
Jordan, holding on by his teeth and metal hand, tries to tame the elephant!
[Elephant taming roll: 2]
The elephant isn't receptive to domination by a corpse that chopped off most of its face and bit into its back! It attempts to shake Jordan off!
[Grip roll: 2+1]
Jordan loses grip with his arm! Oh dear! Now he's just holding on by his teeth!
[Elephant morale roll: 3]
However, the elephant is getting somewhat tired from all this shaking and rolling! It just trots along and shakes unenthusiastically!
[Grip roll: 6]
Jordan grabs the elephant's hide with his arm once more, pinching it in a literal steel grip! He tears out a chunk of the elephant's flesh with his teeth and bites in once more!
[Bite roll: 5]
He manages to chomp a hole large enough to fit his pretzel arm into! He puts the arm in, further securing his hold!
[Dog idea roll: 5]
The dog begins squeaking as convincingly as possible!
[Elephant morale roll: 1]
The elephant is now convinced that there are mice nearby! It stomps the ground, completely oblivious of its riders!
[Dismount roll: 6-1]
Jordan quickly steps off the elephant and goes to obtain the books!
[Inventory management roll: 3]
Once more stuffing every book in the folds of his clothes and his hands, Jordan is ready to go!
In a field of corpses...
Alaric honestly didn't expect that to work! Better get while the getting's good, eh?
"The fiend has gone! Let's run!"
They do! They attempt to flee back to Bernie's as quickly as possible!
[Alaric speedy travel roll: 3]
They quickly proceed on the road for a short period of time, but then slow down, convinced that the statue probably isn't following them.
[Awareness roll: 1]
[Marcus magic roll: 4+1]
This conviction proves to be entirely unfounded as they soon see a large grey figure flying toward them from the distance!
Inside a not-blank-enough mindspace...
James cannot believe that such a thing could be his obstacle!
[Disbelief roll: 6]
It's completely wrong, it is! It should be BIGGER and SCARIER to be worthy of James!
And so it is! The citadel is actually taller than James thought, and the fires seem to burn hotter!
Within a dungeon, yaay...
Samuel, brave hero that he is, takes point and goes forward! The villagers follow!
Wait a minute, he's an undead wizard! Why not get some familiars?
[Search roll: 4]
There's plenty of rats around! Awesome!
[Magic roll: 3-2]
He waves his cane at them! The rats become obedient! Obedient canes! Obedient canes that aren't actually alive anymore! Oh well, onward!
He enters the main burial chamber! There is a large throne, a long-dead king's mummy and yep, that's a hellmouth of some kind. Looks evil as hell. Possibly more evil.
[Hellmouth roll: 4]
The hellmouth discharges an angry-looking devilish hand!
[Hand vs. Samuel: 3 vs. 2+1]
It goes for Samuel's throat, but Samuel, despite having no actual vitals, swats it away with his cane!
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 01:16:21 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 01:17:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 01:22:56 pm
Jordan tries to make his way back to Bernie's as quickly as possible!
[Jordan speedy traveling roll: 4-1]
All those books are quite hindering, though, and he proceeds at a slightly quicker pace than you'd expect a zombie, but not by much.
[? roll: 2]
While he walks, he feels like he is being watched by something! Something nasty!
Inside a mindscape...
James tries to disbelieve what he is seeing and return to reality!
[Disbelief roll: 4]
He feels the mindspace slightly waver, but it appears he needs something more than just his willpower to totally defeat it! Something inside the citadel, perhaps?
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 01:27:05 pm
Hmm... Try to Get back to reality. It's all in the mind...
What happened to my action?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 01:28:46 pm
Hmm... Try to Get back to reality. It's all in the mind...
What happened to my action?
((Posting accident. There now.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 01:31:23 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 01:32:15 pm
Use the distortion in mindspace to teleport straight to the goal in the citadel.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 01:55:23 pm
Jordan, realizing that he's going a bit too slow to avoid possibly getting murdered by horrible creatures, resolves to go faster!
[GO FASTER: 6-1]
He breaks into a aprint, running like the wind from whatever nameless horror pursues him!
[Pursuit roll: 2]
Whatever is following him can't be very fast, as it seems to be unable to keep up with Jordan's terrified sprint! Whew. Jordan is glad he never found out what THAT was. Oh hey, it's only been five hours or so, but he's already halfway back to Richardsburgh! It's true what they say - fear is a powerful motivator!
Inside a curious mindscape...
James tries to abuse the laws of physics that clearly have no power here and teleport himself to his destination!
[Psychology roll: 5]
He clicks his heels together!
"There is no place like the Death Citadel, there is no place like the Death Citadel, there is no place like the Death Citadel!"
He appears at the citadel's gates! He doesn't seem to be able to teleport any further. Maybe the fact that this bit is clearly defined in the mindspace explains that?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 08, 2012, 02:30:33 pm
I like to think of Sam as Chaotic Good. Or something.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 02:40:35 pm
Samuel attempts to smash a disembodied devilish hand in the head with his cane!
[Samuel vs. Hand: 2+1 vs. 2]
He smashes at the fingers of the thing! The hand is hardly hurt, but it seems to be riled up now!
[Hand vs. Samuel: 6 vs. 5+1]
The hand makes a fist and leaps at Samuel's skull! Samuel, wise to such tactics, moves his skull quickly enough for the hand to pass right by!
[Villager initiative roll: 2]
The villagers discuss log-chopping techniques among each other!
[Hellmouth roll: 5]
The hellmouth doesn't seem to be producing any hellspawn right now. Good.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 08, 2012, 02:43:19 pm
E.G: Sam won't sacrifice an innocent to, say, gain power. But he would let innocents die, to save his own skin. He'd try and hold off an Orcish siege to let the nuns escape, but if things got bad, screw the nuns, he's going to hide somewhere.
Sam is done joking around. Unleash a flurry of Cane! CANE THE BASTARD! Also, help, villagers. Seriously.
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 02:45:19 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 02:51:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2012, 03:27:29 pm
Jordan, still sprinting like some kind of ancient heathen sports enthusiast, decides to slow down ever so mildly! It is quite unbecoming of a gentleman to run in public, after all!
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 3-1]
He slows down to a truly dignified and respectable walk! If anybody were to see him, they would inevitably ask "Who is this dignified gentleman? Why is he walking like he has one foot in the grave? Why does he smell like there's a lot more of him that should be in the grave?"
If his calculations are correct, Jordan will arrive at Bernie's in 12 hours, tops!
Outside an imaginary citadel of death...
James refuses to acknowledge the existence of the citadel! He turns his back and pouts! After all, can't have his own brain telling him what to do!
...
Dammit, it's still there! And it's cold and boring out in the wastes! What a dilemma! Certain death within or certain boredom outside!
Near an awful mouth from hell...
Samuel has had enough of these disembodied limbs in this gosh darn tomb! They must die!
[Samuel vs. Cane: 1+1 vs. 4]
The hand scurries away as Samuel swings at it! Damn it all, it's laughing at him!
[Hand vs. Samuel: 1 vs. 5+1]
The hand is about to strike at him, but Samuel isn't messing around anymore!
[Counter attack: Samuel vs. Hand: 2+1 vs. 4]
Samuel is about to finish the stupid thing once and for all when suddenly the hellmouth does something!
[Hellmouth roll: 1]
A whole lot of something, actually! It spits flames and lightning for a bit, then leaks some acid! A creature made entirely of hands steps out, taking up almost the entire room!
"RIGHT, LADS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? THIS IS MY PROPERTY, YOU KNOW. HEEL, HANDY!"
The hand returns to its side!
[Villager initiative roll: 3]
One villager breaks away from the scintillating conversation he's having to look at the giant hand monster. Huh.
He gets back to talking as though nothing had happened.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 08, 2012, 04:28:07 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 08, 2012, 04:55:43 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 08, 2012, 04:55:59 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 08, 2012, 05:05:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 12:50:32 am
Samuel, faced with an unholy abomination that stepped out of a hellmouth not ten seconds ago, decides to parley!
He thinks real hard for a second!
"WELL? WHAT DO YOU WANT? SAY SOMETHING ALREADY."
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Samuel indicates that he, in fact, can't speak! He also makes various poses that serve as shorthand for adventuring!
"AH. AN ADVENTURER. AN UNDEAD ADVENTURER. YOU WANT LOOT, YES? WELL, DREADFULLY SORRY, BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY. IT'S ALL MINE. SO, WILL THAT BE ALL?"
[Villager initiative roll: 6]
The villagers perk their ears up at the mention of no loot! They're looking awfully worried now! Well, at least they're paying attention!
Outside the monastery...
Vincent hears the telltale clippity-clop of mortal danger! Time to make himself scarce!
[Hiding roll: 4]
Having plenty of cover around him, these being the woods, he jumps into the bushes and goes still!
[Rider attention roll: 3]
The rider just storms past, probably thinking that Vincent must be pretty fast to get this far!
Inside a mindspace...
James refuses to go inside the citadel! That would be a surrender to the imaginary forces that make up this mindscape! He even decides to not look at it!
[Citadel roll: 5]
The citadel remains still and unchanged despite James paying no attention to it! How strange!
On the road to Bernie's place...
Jordan decides that gentlemanly dignity is overrated and attempts to speed it up!
[GO FASTER roll: 5-1]
And he does! He gets into a gentlemanly jog, merrily trotting along! He gets about two-thirds of the way to Richardsburgh!
Post by: Nicholas1024 on November 09, 2012, 12:56:51 am
Yeah, he's probably doomed. :P))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 01:28:48 am
Samuel will prepare for battle! He'll launch a furious Cane-ing against the beast! Let's hope the villagers help!
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 04:37:19 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 09, 2012, 07:16:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 08:12:51 am
Vincent stays hidden and tries to think of original ways of using his third arm!
[Intelligence roll: 4]
Maybe he could use it to kill things and steal stuff? Yeah, that sounds good! Maybe for parlor tricks as well. And cheating! Let's not forget cheating at everything! It could also help when climbing walls! It's so useful! It's almost like he has a third fully functional arm on his back!
Inside an infuriating mental construct...
James just keeps on ignoring the citadel. What fun.
[Will roll: 5]
James starts whistling a merry tune and tapping his foot against the nothing to pass the time!
[Citadel roll: 5]
The citadel doesn't seem to mind much, really. It just stands there.
Near an unspeakable creature of unknown origin...
Samuel remembers that he is an adventurer! Adventurers don't parley with demons! It just doesn't happen! He tries to beat the undoubtedly evil creature with his cane!
[Samuel vs. Creature: 4+1 vs. 2+4]
Samuel whacks he creature for a while, but it doesn't even seem to feel it!
[Creature reaction roll: 4]
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE? STOP TOUCHING ME, WILL YOU?"
[Creature magic roll: 3+3]
Samuel feels himself grabbed by many hands from behind and rudely thrown to the ground!
"ARE YOU DRUNK, SIR? WHAT DO YOU WANT? I'M NOT SURE I HAVE TIME FOR THIS."
[Villager initiative roll: 6]
The villagers, seeing the abomination in front of them, sit down and go through potential plans of attack!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 09, 2012, 08:23:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 08:38:32 am
Vincent looks around to see if the coast is clear!
[Perception roll: 3]
Eh, well, there's probably no one around. Probably. Vincent attempts to find the way back to Bernie's!
[Navigation roll: 3]
Vincent takes a road that looks familiar! After three hours of being totally lost, two hours of trying to remember where he came from and another three hours of walking he returns to Bernie's sister!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
Vincent points to his pulverized stump with both of his remaining hands, sticking the absence of a limb right in her face!
"Alright, alright, I get it already! Lie down!"
Vincent does so!
[Repair roll: 5]
She picks out a good enough skeleton arm from her collection and secures it to Vincent's shoulder with screws, straps and an imitation joint!
"There we go! Good as new!"
Vincent gets up from the slab and moves his arm! It works perfectly!
"So, what about the task I gave you?"
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 09:22:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 09:56:26 am
James, dissatisfied at the continuous existence of the citadel, tries to ignore it even harder!
[Will roll: 1]
Oh, damn it all, he has nothing out here! Nothing! It's going to be an endless existence of perpetual boredom if he stays here! He'll go mad from the sheer dullness and eat his own fingers or something! Nobody wants that! James decides that sprinting to the entrance would be the best idea!
[Citadel roll: 5]
Nothing stops him, interestingly enough! He enters the flame-shrouded tower-like building and finds himself in a tastefully decorated salon! There is a beautiful carafe of fresh blood on a rather exquisite coffee table waiting for him inside! Also, there seem to be pamphlets right next to it! And the couch! That couch looks really comfortable!
Post by: miauw62 on November 09, 2012, 10:05:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 10:18:37 am
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 10:22:25 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 10:44:36 am
James suddenly realizes what he's doing and stops! He can't be here! It's not real!
[Will roll: 6-1]
He punches himself in the face to stop himself from mentally salivating at the thought of fresh blood going in his vampire belly! It's probably a trap! The blood must be full of horrible insects that will bite him quite mercilessly! Of course! He isn't falling for that trick!
[Citadel roll: 2]
A man with a pig's head comes down from the stairs to the next floor! He approaches James!
"Hello, James."
"NO! YOU ARE NOT REAL!"
"Everything's real here, James. It is your mind, after all."
"NO! GO AWAY, FIGMENT!"
"Alright then. What about this fresh blood, then? Going to have some?"
"I'M NOT LISTENING! LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-GO-GET-YOURSELF-KILLED-ON-THE-OBVIOUS-TRAP-LA-LA-LA-LA!"
The pigman sits down on the couch, letting out a sigh of pure satisfaction. He takes the carafe and drinks all of it! Odd. He doesn't look very dead yet. Well, give it time, James supposes.
Ten minutes later, he's still not dead. He's just relaxing contentedly, wallowing in his joy! Damn it!
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 10:46:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 11:05:01 am
James is not about to stop ignoring things just because some pigheaded fellow is having so much fun with them! He must resist!
[Will roll: 4]
But it looks so wonderf- No! These thoughts must not be allowed to enter his brain! Bad brain! No pleasurable activity for you!
James closes his eyes to avoid temptation!
[Citadel roll: 3]
"So, James, are you here to stay? It's quite wonderful, I must say. You should go up a floor. There's plenty of blood there. The next floor's mine, in case you couldn't tell. I'm not the most trustworthy source, I suppose, being the creator, but it is my absolute favorite floor. You'd like it there."
[Will roll: 1]
"Oh, just shut up already! I'll go to your blasted floor if you just stop talking to me already!"
"But don't you want to sit down first? You've gone quite a ways..."
"NO! I AM NOT LISTENING TO YOU! I'M GOING TO THE SECOND FLOOR AND THAT'S FINAL!"
"But-"
"NO! SHUT UP!"
James storms up to the second floor as the pigman just sighs!
Wow, this place is messed up. There's pig-themed frescoes everywhere. Even the ceiling is painted with pigs! And there's pigman statues everywhere that look exactly like the pigman on the bottom floor! Each pigman statue appears to be surrounded by all manner of young people! They look lightheaded and distracted!
[Will roll: 4]
No! Must not give in to temptation! James writhes on the ground in barely-contained resistance to the undeniably blood-filled people!
"Such a nice place, isn't it?"
Holy crap! The pigman is right behind him!
"HOW DID YOU GET HERE, YOU HORRIBLE THING?"
"I take offense at that remark. I just woke up from an absolutely wonderful nap downstairs and came up for a bit of a snack. Do you mind?"
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 11:34:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 11:58:36 am
James knows that you must never show fear in this kind of situation! If you show fear, the pigs know exactly where to bite to get your heart!
[Will roll: 6]
He punches himself in the face several times to get the fear out! It seems to work! Now the whole thing seems fairly ridiculous instead of ridiculously terrifying! That's a start. James resists the temptation to get a drink and keeps lying on the ground in a fetal position, eyes shut tight and ears kept plugged with fingers!
Hey, wait, James has both of his arms! How come? Must be the whole journey to the center of the mind thing. He unplugs his ears and opens his eyes to get a better look at his new arm! It looks kind of like the old one, to be honest.
[Citadel roll: 6]
He hears footsteps coming from above! They're coming closer! Suddenly, a familiar feminine voice speaks!
"He's here! Wonderful! Aw, but the poor dear looks like he's suffering! This place is too much for him, Piggy!"
"I tried to get him to have fun, but he seems dead set on remaining square as an Almirian priest!"
"I'll take him to my floor! It's so much nicer than this place, I think. Won't be as stressful for the little guy."
"But I tried to make it as nice for him as possible! I swear, sometimes I have no idea what this guy is about."
"Maybe he'll like my floor better!"
"Optimism. I like that. Especially in victims."
They both laugh heartily! James feels himself get lifted up by strong hands and carried upwards!
When he looks around, he sees that this floor is very different! All the walls are painted in bright, cheery colors and have flower patterns! Oh my! And there's his host! It's...
It's James! Just a woman!
[Will roll: 6]
James punches himself so hard he goes unconscious for a bit! When he wakes up, he sees that the woman-James is standing over him!
"Hi, James! Feeling better?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 12:34:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 12:54:38 pm
Samuel, disappointed at the creature's apparent immunity to dying, tries to find a weak point in its defenses!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Doesn't look like it has any. It's made of hands, for the love of Narcillicus! You can only hit it in the hands!
Samuel does so!
[Samuel vs. Creature: 3+1 vs. 1+4]
The creature, despite having no obvious eyes, seems to stare at Samuel earnestly while he pounds the thing!
[Creature reaction roll: 4]
"HONESTLY, WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT? IT'S GETTING ANNOYING. I AM QUITE BUSY, YOU KNOW. BEING THE PERSONIFICATION OF GREED IS HARD WORK."
[Magic roll: 2+3]
Samuel is gently pushed backwards by some magically summoned hands!
[Villager initiative roll: 4]
The villagers, having agreed on a plan, decide to act!
[Villager looting roll: 5]
While Samuel provides a distraction, the villagers steal as much gold, jewels and magical items from the tomb as possible!
[Villager loyalty roll: 1]
Having done all this fine looting, they all decide to run away as quickly as possible before the thing notices!
[Creature attention roll: 5]
The creature turns its gaze from Samuel for a second!
"SNEAKY LITTLE BUGGERS. GUESS I'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM."
[Creature magic roll: 1+3]
Two of the villagers get torn to shreds by disembodied claws!
"ONLY TWO? MUST BE OFF MY GAME."
[Villager escape roll: 1]
Seeing two of their compatriots get torn apart makes the other three villagers stop and gawk at their horribly mutilated remains!
"AH, THANKS FOR STANDING STILL. SPARES ME SOME EMBARRASSMENT."
[Creature magic roll: 6+3]
The creature briefly glows with clearly godlike supernatural power, large fiendish hands appearing and pulling the other three villagers away from the exit and toward the hellmouth! They get pulled right through! Gee, whatever's in there must be pretty terrifying, as the screaming goes on for quite a while until finally stopping.
"WELL, THAT'S THREE SOULS FOR ME TODAY. NOT A BAD CATCH, EH?"
[Creature intelligence roll: 2]
"SO, WHERE WERE WE. YOU SEEM TO WANT SOMETHING ELSE, YES?"
Post by: miauw62 on November 09, 2012, 12:54:46 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 12:58:02 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 01:02:34 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 01:08:55 pm
Not the VILLAGERS!!...
Nooo...
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 01:25:12 pm
James tries to ignore the strange womanly form of... himself? She-James cannot be real!
[Will roll: 1]
"YOU DON'T EXIST! NEVER HAVE! YOU HAVE NO BEARING ON MY LIFE!"
"Don't I?"
"YOU DON'T! I DON'T EVEN HAVE A FEMININE SIDE!"
"Never did?"
"NO! NEVER!"
"Not even when you wore your sister's wedding dress?"
"That was-"
"Every Sunday for a year?"
"Only for-"
"The entire afternoon?"
James screams in anguish! She-James cradles him in her gentle arms!
"It's okay, James. I know."
[Will roll: 2]
James whimpers and sobs softly!
[Citadel roll: 3]
"Better now?"
[Coping roll: 3]
James just keeps sobbing! However, there is the sound of stirring from the floor above!
"Best not to bawl too much, James. You will awaken the Incarnation of Hatred if you keep on acting like you do. He's not very nice."
Inside the slightly depopulated Tomb of the Ancient King...
Samuel realizes that fighting Big Handy is a bit of an absurd prospect. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join em!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
He points to his cane and makes a bit of cane-shaped energy blast from it! The creature looks on with interest! Samuel then points to the creature, then himself, making various expressive gestures at every turn!
[Creature reaction roll: 4]
"YOU WISH TO... LEARN? LEARN MAGIC? WELL, I CAN'T REALLY TEACH YOU MUCH, BUT I COULD GIVE YOU A SMALL SHRED OF MY POWER. IN RETURN, I WOULD NEED A FAVOR. AND YOUR SOUL."
The creature examines Samuel carefully!
"AH. SOULBOUND, ARE WE? WELL, NO WORRIES, I CAN MANAGE A SMOOTH TRANSFER OF SOUL OWNERSHIP AFTER BOTH YOU AND YOUR BINDER DIE. AND THAT'S QUITE FAR OFF, IS IT NOT?"
Samuel looks at the creature quizzically!
"WORRY NOT ABOUT THAT. THE FAVOR IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT. I HAVE MADE MY OFFER. WILL YOU TAKE IT? I ASSURE YOU, ETERNAL DAMNATION WILL NOT AWAIT YOU. YOU WILL MERELY BECOME A DENIZEN OF MY REALM AFTER YOU DIE. MOST OF MY DENIZENS LIKE IT JUST FINE."
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 01:34:37 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 09, 2012, 01:37:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 01:50:17 pm
Wait, why is James crying? None of this ever happened! She-James isn't even real! What does she know!
[Will roll: 1]
James tries to smile for a bit, but the awful truth hits him in the face like a brick wrapped in flower-scented fabrics - it's true! It's all true! Oh, why couldn't repression work JUST THIS ONCE!
The sheer disappointment makes James resume bawling with new intensity!
"There, there. It's okay. Don't be ashamed of it. It happened. There's nothing you can do about it but move on. Live with yourself."
[Coping roll: 3]
James, however, is unable to deal with the horrid truth just by hearing reassuring words! The issue is deeper than that! Admittedly, She-James does have quite a soothing voice.
[Citadel roll: 2]
The sound of stirring intensifies! There is a sound of footsteps and horrid burning! Another James appears on the staircase, leaving black footprints of ash! Well, at least he seems to be another James. He's a bit too on fire to say for sure.
"What's the ruckus about? Oh, the idiot has arrived. Look at him, crying like an infant. He disgusts me. I think I'll kill him to put him out of his misery."
"Don't do it, Inky. Wait your turn."
[Inky restraint roll: 6]
"Oh, all right. I'll just go up and prepare my floor. He'll be in for it then, I tell you. It's high time he paid. For everything!"
The Incarnation of Hatred rants as he ascends the staircase! James hears sounds of flames, screaming and presumably a lot of death to go with it!
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 01:58:29 pm
Pull self together. This is not real, it's just trickery! Find someone to blame to keep self motivated!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 02:11:06 pm
Bring rebound from misfortune into play! (6s are bad... Right?)
((You have five consecutive bad rolls (three will, two coping). Environment or NPC rolls don't count.))
In the vicinity of She-James...
James chooses to blame someone else for his crossdressing habits, thus taking the heat off himself!
[Blame direction roll: 3]
He blames She-James! Wait, She-James is part of himself! He's still blaming himself! Damn it all! James is about to resume crying, but he has one more trick up his sleeve - accuse his own mind of lying!
[Accusation roll: REBOUND FROM MISFORTUNE: 5]
"You are a liar, evil woman! You're trying to get me to lose sight of my goal! Snake-woman! Shrew! I will be leaving now!"
"If you say so, James. Eventually you'll accept the truth."
"AHAHAHA! CAN'T HEAR YOU! YOU'RE TOO NONEXISTENT FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO PERCEIVE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!"
Having successfully muted out parts of his psyche, James does a victory dance!
[Citadel roll: 3]
A burning head pokes out of the stairwell!
"He coming? I'm getting quite impatient!"
"In a minute, I think."
"He'd better! If I have to ask one more time, I'm coming down to get him myself!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 02:18:32 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 02:20:52 pm
He doesn't exist! How can he come and get me? Hahaha stupid figment of my imagination.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 02:43:10 pm
James thinks that the best idea right now would be to mock himself, except on fire!
[Will roll: 2]
He decides to abstain, however, as that fire Inky has looks pretty hot. And not in a good way.
"Go on up. You have to face all seven of us before you leave."
Well. That's not good. Seven, eh?
[Inky patience roll: 6-1]
Inky doesn't seem to feel like coming down just yet. Okay, then. Stupid figment of James' imagination.
Inside the lair of the Personification of Greed...
Samuel considers the offer for a split second and agrees! After all, you can't go wrong with MORE POWER. He nods to the creature!
"EXCELLENT! SO IT SHALL BE!"
A screaming echo sounds throughout the tomb! Samuel gets the feeling he might regret this later.
"I LOVE IT WHEN A DEAL WORKS OUT IN MY FAVOR. SPEAKING OF FAVORS, YOU WILL NEED TO DO ME ONE BEFORE I GIVE YOU ANY OF MY POWER."
Samuel looks questioningly!
"I WILL GIVE YOU AN AMULET. I NEED YOU TO PUT IT ON THE KING'S NECK. SIMPLE, ISN'T IT?"
Samuel checks the pockets of his robe. Wow, the amulet's there already!
[Exposition roll: 3]
"MAKE SURE NOT TO PUT IT ON ANYBODY ELSE'S NECK. IF YOU DO, OUR DEAL WILL BE VOID. THE POWER BIT, THAT IS. YOUR SOUL WILL STILL BE MINE."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 02:51:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 03:06:14 pm
Samuel decides to hunt down the king!
[Knowledge roll: 2]
Wait, who is the king? Where is he? What does he look like? Does he have a lot of bodyguards? These are all questions Samuel has no idea how to answer!
[Creature reaction roll: 6]
"OH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE KING IS, RIGHT? HOW SILLY OF ME. I'LL TRANSPORT YOU TO A NEARBY LOCATION!"
[Creature magic roll: 5+3]
Samuel is about to attempt to gesture when he is pulled into the hellmouth by hands of great magical power!
[Will roll: 4]
Samuel is smart enough to keep his eyes shut and occupy his mind with repetitive phrases while screaming through the hell-dimension! Eventually he reaches another hellmouth and emerges!
Oh my. There sure appear to be a lot of cultists around him! The hellmouth around him seems fairly fresh, too.
The hellmouth quickly closes. Crap. Guess he'll have to walk back.
"Look, brothers! An undead demonic servitor!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 03:08:28 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 03:29:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 03:37:16 pm
Samuel tries to pray to his new master!
He kneels and attempts to begin demonically chanting, but then remembers that he can't speak! And doesn't know the demon's name. Bugger. Time for murder!
[Magic roll: 4]
He summons up 3 canes! They proceed to attack the six cultists!
[Canes vs. Cultists: 6+3 vs. 6-1-1]
"Wait, we-"
Whatever he was going to say doesn't matter, as he is reduced to a bloody pulp by the three canes within ten seconds! They move on to the next one, dispatching him similarly!
[Cultist morale roll: 3]
The remainder of the cultists choose to run outside!
[Cultist intelligence roll: 6]
They quickly decide that barricading the basement is a sound plan!
[Barricading roll: 5]
Samuel can hardly react before a large rock is rolled in front of the basement door! Guess they planned for something like this! Damn them!
Inside the darkest recesses of James' mind...
James hasn't gotten as far as he has in life by listening to the voices in his head! Why start now?
[Inky patience roll: 2-1]
[Inky hatred roll: 2+2]
A spear of flame appears and pokes James in the direction of the stairwell!
[Will roll: 4]
James steadfastly refuses to go where it's poking him! No! No more of this!
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 04:14:26 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 09, 2012, 04:21:21 pm
((Sorry, I was away for a bit, and will ne for a bit.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 04:25:41 pm
James is absolutely set in his desire to disobey! It's his only way of exerting control!
[Inky hatred roll: 3+2]
A flaming whip appears and lashes him like some kind of pack animal!
[Will roll: 5]
Ha! It will take more than that to get James moving! He's been mutilated by various things pretty much all the time ever since he became a vampire!
[Inky hatred roll: 4+2]
He bursts into flames! OH GODS OH GODS OH GODS!
[Stop, drop and roll: 5]
James quickly extinguishes himself! Ha! He wins again!
On the road to Bernie's...
After a long trip, Jordan finally arrives in Richardsburgh! Yep, it's still just as he remembers: burnt and devastated! Well, moving along!
[Jordan speedy travel roll: 2-1]
Jordan, satisfied at his progress, stops for a bit to catch his breath! Then he remembers that he doesn't actually need to breathe! Funny, that.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 09, 2012, 04:27:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2012, 04:40:33 pm
Jordan decides to end his gentlemanly break and head for Bernie's place!
In about an hour of walking, he's there! He tries to find Bernie's sister!
[Search roll: 1]
He finds Bernie in his bed, sleeping peacefully!
"I say, good chap, do you know where your absolutely charming sister might be?"
[Bernie benevolence roll: 4-2]
"Piss off, will you? I'm trying to sleep here."
"Alright then, I'll find her on my own!"
"You do that. Now piss off already."
"I will! It is my duty as a gentleman!"
[Search roll: 6]
He finds Bernie's sister in her bed! It just so happens to be right above Bernie's!
"I say, miss, wake up, will you?"
[Sister sleep roll: 3+1]
The sister still sleeps soundly, stirring slightly at the sound of Jordan's voice, but remaining unconscious!
Post by: TopHat on November 09, 2012, 04:46:10 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 09, 2012, 04:57:38 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 09, 2012, 06:59:48 pm
CANES. I feel like some kind of jolly old skeleton claus.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 02:28:15 am
Vincent tries to inform Bernie's sister of his findings!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He gestures awkwardly, trying to express the potential lethality of the knight-monk-nuns!
"What? You found... women, I guess? And they tried to kill you?"
He also tries to inform her of the chalice of infinite blood!
"And there was a chalice that had liquid in it. So? Did you even go to the university?"
Vincent shakes his head!
"You do know where it is, right?"
Vincent points to the southeast!
"It's to the west, actually."
Vincent strikes his skeletal face with his palm!
In a dank basement...
Samuel, trapped in a basement with no hope of ever leaving, tries to morph a wall!
[Samuel magic roll: 6-2]
Hooray! The wall becomes sentient and grabby!
"I SAY, WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE? WHY CAN'T I MOVE?"
Samuel tries to convey to the wall-creature that there are some cultists that need mashing!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
"AH, I SEE. THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION."
[Wall vs. Samuel: 6+2 vs. 5+2]
Samuel gets clipped by the wall's stone fist, which sends him flying into a corner!
Inside the Mind Citadel of James...
James, not feeling very threatened, begins to mockingly sing and dance!
[Mockery roll: 2]
"Hah! You can't hurt me, Incarnation of Hatred! That's because you're an idiot, and a poopyhead at that! Nyah-nyah-nyah!"
[Inky hatred roll: 2+3]
James feels his arm uncomfortably heat up from the inside!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 05:21:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 06:05:12 am
James weakly punches himself in the arm! Doesn't work. Guess he needs inspiration for that! Oh well. More ignoring, then!
[Will roll: 1]
Wait, but what if the Incarnation has something useful for him? Like gold or something? That would be cool! Maybe there's candy as well! And a new face too! James gets so excited he can't help but move upwards on the staircase, beside himself with anticipation!
He gets to the fourth floor! Oh dear. There's spikes and fire and ash and really unpleasant looking torture instruments around! And in the center of it all, Inky is perched on a throne, burning brighter than ever! He turns to James!
"Took you long enough, asshole! Now you PAY!"
[Inky hatred roll: 2+3]
James' arm, already unpleasantly hot, begins bubbling and leaking as the flesh of it begins to melt! It's highly uncomfortable!
[James will roll: 1]
James begins to scream and flail around, bits of melted flesh flying everywhere!
"That looks extremely painful! I'm quite glad, you know. After all, if this is your reaction to the beginning, I wonder what you'll say about the main course!"
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 06:17:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 06:44:13 am
James realizes that he shouldn't have an arm, anyway! So how could it be melting? He distinctly remembers a beavergoat chewing it off, then falling victim to a retaliatory beavergoating! Ha! He has it!
[Argumentation roll: 5]
"You couldn't have melted my arm! I didn't have that arm because a beavergoat chewed it off! Silly Incarnation of Hatred, you can't even get my anatomy right!"
"You know, that is a good point. Guess I should stick to body parts you actually have, huh? How silly of me."
The flame of the incarnation dims noticeably!
"Anyway, back to business."
[Inky hatred roll: 2+2]
James gets poked in the belly with a white-hot poker!
[Will roll: 6]
He punches himself in the face with his single fist to cancel out the burning! It works!
"This is getting somewhat disappointing. I was expecting more of a reaction, you know. It's almost enough to make a mind-fragment feel inadequate!"
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 07:28:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 07:49:21 am
James knows how to prevent melty death at the hands of the Incarnation of Hatred - ignore the bastard! Make him feel nonexistent!
[Ignoring roll: 4]
James turns his back to the foolish Inky!
[Inky hatred roll: 6+1]
Suddenly, James' sole arm explodes!
[James will roll: 6]
James knees himself in the forehead and falls over, but does not make a single sound! His eyes are closed and he looks completely peaceful!
[Inky reaction roll: 5]
"Oh, so that's the way you're going to be, eh? Rob me of the single bit of fun I could ever have in this blasted mindscape, will you? Fine, then!"
The Incarnation of Hatred turns around and goes to sit in the corner, darkly brooding the entire way! He isn't on fire anymore, just slightly aglow with something that really seems more sad than anything!
[Citadel roll: 2]
However, the peaceful tranquility of the room is soon broken by a voice from the floor above!
"Well, INKY, are you QUITE DONE with our HON-ored GUEST? I have SO MANY things to TELL him of the DARK-ness!"
Damn. Him again.
"I'm quite done, yes! He has insulted me and I don't feel like visiting any more torments on him! Even the Incarnation of Hatred has feelings, you know!"
Inky mumbles for a while! James hears strange footsteps!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 07:57:04 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 10, 2012, 08:23:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 08:42:58 am
James attempts to disbelieve his lack of arms!
[Will roll: 6]
He punches himself in the face to dissuade himself of this foolish notion of armlessness! Hey, it worked! He can punch himself in the face very nicely! He tries it again! And again! And once more for clarity!
[Endurance roll: 3]
His face does get sore and bruised, though! Well, not like it was his, anyway.
[Citadel roll: 1]
Suddenly, he is grabbed by horrible, horrible hands! At least he thinks they're hands! They're awfully slimy and gooey, to tell the truth. Maybe they're tentacles?
He is placed on a table! It feels like a nice table. James could really appreciate it if he wasn't so dead set on keeping his eyes closed!
"OH-pen your EYES, silly JAMES, o-PEN your MOUTH! I wish to SEE those be-YOO-tiful teeth of yours!"
[James will roll: 1]
James, remembering his experience in the woods, decides not to resist! It's so much cleaner that way!
"MY, my, I LO-ve when a patient is co-OPERA-tive!"
[Horror roll: 2]
Some sort of small creature is deposited in his mouth! It's... hairy? And highly mobile!
[James endurance roll: 2]
Damn, that burns! And itches! And feels like organs rupturing! The creature goes down his digestive tract, burrowing in deep!
[James will roll: 6]
James punches himself in the belly, shaking up the contents of his stomach!
[Parasite endurance roll: 2]
He feels something gasp within his belly! There is a sound of cracking and fizzling! Whatever is inside him, it seems somewhat neutralized now!
"First step: SUCCAY-USS!"
The... thing seems to move away from the table for a bit! It returns shortly afterwards!
[Horror roll: 4]
It tickles him with many feathers!
[James will roll: 5]
James remains steadfast, though, and doesn't even smile slightly!
"Second step: FUN! And SOME-what disap-POINT-ing! MORE TESTING!"
It once again leaves, then comes back!
[Horror roll: 6]
Another hairy thing, this one more fuzzy and cuddly and long-eared, is placed on James' belly! It sits there, not doing much! Oh gods, it's a hare!
[James will roll: 5]
James, however, has gotten past his fear of wild animals! Not even the proximity of his mortal enemy can shake him up now!
"IT! IS! CONCLUSIVE! This MAN is be-YOND my HELP! ON-ly SOMEONE better VER-sed in MAT-ters of the BRAIN can help this MAN! A REFERRAL is in or-DER!"
[Referral roll: 3]
"PAY-ging DOCTOR ILLOGIC!"
"What? What do you want? I'm kind of busy here! Oh, it's the guest! Fancy seeing him here!"
"IT is CLEAR that this MAN is in DIRE NEED of your HELP! If you do not HURRY, he may remain the WAY HE IS FOREVER!"
"Oh, it's that serious? I'll take him to my floor right now!"
James is lifted up by his arms and legs and carried to the sixth floor! He is placed in a nice chair!
[Will roll: 5]
He immediately stands up, unwilling to allow the horrid tendrils of comfort reach inside his brain!
"Listen, now, sit down! And open your eyes, will you? I decorated this place just for you!"
James ignores the unseen creature! He won't start looking at things until he absolutely has to! It can only end badly!
Fresh from an operation inside the mausoleum...
Vincent decides to write down his adventure! If bards can do it, why can't he?
[Literary eloquence roll: 1]
He chooses an adequate mode and tone of expression:
Thayr wurre deez bad beaches in dis monk-place N dey wurre meen and beet mi liek beeches al weiz doo dair wuz a gobulit uz will N eet hud latsablad een it!!!1! SOOOOOO MEEN!!?
She reads the note.
"That's... uh... nice?"
Vincent shakes his head vigorously!
"Not... nice?"
Vincent nods!
"Very, very not nice, then! Now go. WEST. You'll remember that, right?"
Vincent nods with enthusiasm!
...
"Well?"
Vincent, remembering what he just forgot, heads west! 24-hour journey, here he comes!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 09:21:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 10:32:55 am
James is not about to acknowledge the existence of something called Illogic! It may be inside his mind, but he'll do his damnedest to repress it as far as possible!
[Will roll: 1]
But maybe there is some insight to be gleaned from the recesses from his mind? Really, what harm could a look do? Just a peek - to see what the floor's like! Then he'll close his eyes again and it will be all right!
James opens his eyes!
[Will roll: 4]
Oh dear. The walls look salty, everything smells burnt sienna and tastes like the sky! James closes his eyes and attempts to shut out the sensations, but he can't help it! He can taste everything in the room!
"There now, isn't that better? Now you can taste the difference! Hee-hee! I have entered your mind, and I'm not coming out! I am everywhere, and nowhere. Let the session begin."
"Question one: when were you born?"
[Will roll: 2]
"Uh... sometime?"
"Good answer! Now, when did you become a vampire?"
[Will roll: 4]
"When a cursed pig bit me and killed me, thus dooming me to a life of undeath!"
"Now, that just won't do. You need to rid yourself of these illusions! Resist! Question three: what did you eat for supper?"
[Will roll: 5]
"Nothing! I am a vampire and do not eat! You are not real! You cannot harm me!"
"I'm not here to harm, you, James! I'm here to heal! Can you not smell my intentions? Question four: why are you here?"
[Will roll: 2]
"I'm not really sure..."
"Excellent! Doubt! That is good. We'll have you in perfect shape in no time! Question five: who are you?"
[Will roll: 5]
"I am James Lanthorn, and you are not! I am real, you are not!"
"And just when I thought you were beginning to see the light. Oh well. Question five: banana."
[Will roll: 1]
"Three! The answer is three! Wait, what am I saying?"
"Remarkable clarity for one of your state! Question six: you will go with the nice man or you will die screaming."
[Will roll: 5]
"No. I am not going anywhere with any nice men! There are no men! This is just the result of the Empty Mind Chant, a deranged fever dream!"
"Stop resisting, James. It'll be simpler that way. Question seven: no."
[Will roll: 4]
"THAT IS NOT A QUESTION! YOU ARE NOT HERE!"
"Why must you insist on such delusions? Question eight: the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
[Will roll: 4]
"YOU CANNOT CONTROL ME! I AM FREE! YOUR QUESTIONS WILL NOT STOP ME!"
"You seem very broken up about this diagnostic test. Question nine: what do you expect to find on the next floor?"
[Will roll: 2]
"I don't know! You don't know, either!"
"Exactly! Now, for the final question: are you enlightened?"
[Will roll: 4]
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE, WRETCHED FIGMENT!"
"It seems that you shall be a difficult case to crack. Even with your altered perceptions, you still cling to a reality that, for all you know, might not be there. You also seem to have the persistent delusion that things make sense. It appears that yet another referral is in order."
[Referral roll: 3]
"PAGING DOCTOR FUN!"
"Yes? I'm here."
"No, you're actually a floor above me. Simple mistake to make, I suppose. It is MY FLOOR, after all. Now, will you take over for this one? I do have a lot of business to take care of."
"No, you don't!"
"You are correct, of course. It is not business. It is pleasure. I have to have some tea with my friend downstairs."
"Will you go fishing as well?"
"Yes, I will! It will be a great time for everyone!"
"No, it won't!"
"You are correct, of course. It shall be awful for all parties involved."
"I'll just collect the patient, okay?"
"Don't do it."
"Okay!"
A thing that tastes like an overgrown child and looks like cinnamon collects James and speeds to the floor above! This floor tastes like a playground, with mazes, jungle gyms and various other implements for having a good time scattered all around! Clearly this is some kind of insidious trap!
"Right, I'm going to teach you to loosen up, James! I am your inner child, after all."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 10:36:49 am
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 10:46:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 11:02:49 am
Samuel is dissatisfied at the wall's inability to comprehend simple instructions! He tries to convey his point once more!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He cavorts like some kind of deranged puppet pumped full of magical stimulants, explaining feverishly that it's the cultists the wall is supposed to kill, not its skeletal creator! The wall attempts to shrug!
[Building structural integrity roll: 5]
The building elevates, then falls without any sort of problem! Built tough, these homes.
"I HAVE A QUESTION."
Samuel listens intently.
"HOW IN THE BLOODY HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO CHASE DOWN SOME CULTISTS? I'M A BLOODY WALL!"
Samuel shakes his head and proceeds to easily solve this problem!
[Magic roll: 4]
A pair of shiny new canes appears in front of the wall!
"AND HOW DOES THAT BLOODY HELP, YOU TWIT?"
Samuel shrugs!
On the seventh floor of the citadel...
James, whatever might happen to him, knows one thing: he did not and will not have any fun today, no matter what!
[Will roll: 6]
He punches himself in the groin! Yep! That's not fun! But that's the only thing he'll be getting today!
"What's wrong? Don't you want to make with the happy-happy?"
A low groan escapes from James' mouth!
"You don't like me, do you?"
James groans with approval!
"I knew it! Nobody likes me! Everyone hates me! Well, you know what? I hate you too! I wish you would die!"
[Inner Child hatred roll: 3]
However, the inner child's rage is far too petulant and immature to serve as an effective power source! James smells himself get lifted off the ground, but quickly drops back down!
[Inner Child reaction roll: 3]
"But... what am I doing? You must have fun! I must make you have fun!"
[Inner Child good intentions roll: 1]
A jungle gym animates behind the Inner Child and attacks him!
[Jungle Gym vs. Inner Child: 6+2 vs. 6+1-1]
The child almost dodges the metal construct's attack, but still gets hit in the shoulder! The child rolls away from the impact!
"Help me, James! I need you to save me!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 11:07:38 am
CANE MAGIC: Infinite Uses.
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 11:20:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 11:35:22 am
Samuel, feeling that his plan needs some more clarification, attempts to create cane-legs for the wall!
[Samuel magic roll: 1]
A giant magical cane appears and stabs through the wall-creatures face!
"GAH, YOU BASTARDLY TWIT, LOOK WHAT YOU DID! I'M COMING OVER!"
The wall begins rising once more!
[Building structural integrity roll: 3]
The ceiling cracks, the structure becomes unstable!
[Wall-creature strength roll: 5]
With a mighty push, the wall creature stands up! It lifts the entire structure off its foundations!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6]
The basement still remains mostly intact, though! Quite improbable, that!
On the eighth floor of the Citadel of Mental Death...
James tries to ignore the child's cries for help!
[Will roll: 2]
Oh, what the hell, the child clearly needs his help! James to the rescue!
[James vs. Jungle Gym: 5+1 vs. 4+2]
Just as more astute people might guess, the jungle gym proves resistant to stabbing, being full of holes and made of metal!
[Jungle Gym vs. James: 1+2 vs. 6+2]
The jungle gym ponderously turns, but it is too slow to strike James, for he is already making another attack!
[James vs. Jungle Gym: 3+1 vs. 2+2]
Yep. Stabbing don't work.
[Inner Child vs. Jungle Gym: 3+1 vs. 1+2]
Scratching and biting on the child's part, however, seems to work nicely!
"Thanks! I guess you're not so bad after all!"
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 11:40:19 am
Kill jungle gym.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 11:54:46 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2012, 11:59:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 12:02:47 pm
James reluctantly continues the battle against the fiendish Jungle Gym!
[James vs. Jungle Gym: 5+1 vs. 1+2]
James' halberd sticks through the hole in the gym and pokes at something! Something important, it seems! The gym recoils, shrieking in a metallic tone!
[Jungle Gym endurance: 6]
It, however, is only momentarily distracted, as it immediately leaps right back at James!
[Jungle Gym vs. James: 1+2 vs. 6+2]
Well, about as fast as it can, which isn't very fast. James strikes back!
[Counterattack: James vs. Jungle Gym: 6+1 vs. 4+2]
James hacks through one of the gym's bars! It is structurally weakened, if only a little bit!
[Inner Child vs. Jungle Gym: 3+1 vs. 2+2]
The Inner Child kicks at the Gym! It isn't very effective!
Inside an elevated basement...
Samuel attempts to apologize for his actions!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He is about to beg for forgiveness, but then realizes - screw wall creatures! He flips the dang thing off!
[Wall rage roll: 4]
The wall doesn't appear to notice this faux pas! Perhaps because it has a cane stuck in its face! Speaking of which, MAGIC TIME!
[Magic roll: 2-2]
The wall-creature's eyes flash curiously for a second! It sighs contentedly, becoming a single oversized cane! It falls to the ground! So does the house! It impacts the ground at a respectable (read: unsettling) speed!
[Destruction roll: 3]
Most of the ceiling crumbles, as do the walls, but the house itself mostly holds together! The same cannot be said, however, of the house that this one landed on! All that wood must have cushioned the fall! Samuel is still unscathed, miraculously!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 12:15:09 pm
Kill jungle gym.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 12:28:40 pm
Goddamn I hate this -2. How do I get rid of it?
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 12:35:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 12:42:08 pm
James tries to kill the Jungle Gym some more!
[James vs. Jungle Gym: 3+1 vs. 6+2]
James is about to hack at it, but the Jungle Gym strikes back!
[Counterattack: Jungle Gym vs. James: 6+2 vs. 6+2]
The jungle gym tries to smash James to smithereens, but James stands proud! He holds the halberd in front of himself! There is a loud clang and sparks fly as the two bits of metal meet, neither willing to back down!
[Jungle Gym vs. James: 1+2 vs. 1+2]
After a bit of struggling, both roll backwards!
[Inner Child vs. Jungle Gym: 4+1 vs. 3+2]
The Jungle Gym proves resilient as ever, and the child cannot do anything to it!
[Child reaction roll: 4]
The child, dissatisfied at his continuous failure, attempts to channel his disappointment into a coherent energy beam!
[Child energy beam roll: 6]
The disappointment is powerful indeed, forming a purple column of death that sweeps across the jungle gym, cutting off half of it!
[Jungle Gym endurance roll: 6-1]
The jungle gym, however, is hardly slowed!
In the ruins of what was once a cultist-infested area...
Samuel tries to get his bearings! He wanders out of the house!
[Navigation roll: 1]
He finds himself in a city of some kind, noise and people and horrible horses and rude noblemen everywhere! He desperately searches for some indication of his location and wanders in the path of a speeding carriage!
[Agility roll: 1+1]
He is run over by the carriage, the bones in his legs completely snapped by the wooden wheels! The carriage speeds off into the distance!
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 12:43:38 pm
And yeah, I know, but having only one area of expertise kinda sucks. Eh.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 12:45:07 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 01:01:19 pm
A year of training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber should do it!
...Hyperbolic is a word?
Post by: Thecard on November 10, 2012, 01:03:49 pm
Hm...Well, it was my call, and I made it. I can train my magic anytime; - I am sorta pseudo-immortal right now.From Hyperbole. So yes. What made you think it wasn't?
A year of training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber should do it!
...Hyperbolic is a word?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 01:04:21 pm
Samuel attempts to fix his legs! Through CANE MAGIC, the most powerful force in the universe!
[Magic roll: 6]
His old legs explode in a cloud of bone shrapnel!
[Shrapnel roll: 2]
Several gawkers get pierced by the bone shards and fall down bleeding! However, Samuel is too busy looking at his brand new OAKEN CANE-LEGS! He gets up and runs after the carriage!
[Pursuit roll: 6+1]
He runs right up to the carriage and grabs on with his hands and teeth! He climbs to the top of the carriage and attacks the cabby!
[Samuel vs. Cabby: 1+1 vs. 2-1]
He lightly bonks the unsuspecting cabby on the head! The cabby turns!
"Eh, what's this?"
[Cabby distraction roll: 5]
The cabby turns back to negotiate a tricky turn with perfect precision, then repeats his question!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 01:08:25 pm
CANES/
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 01:17:48 pm
Samuel attempts to convey that he needs to get inside the carriage!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He puts on an amazing display that manages to perfectly explain exactly why he's here and what he's about to do! The cabby watches intently!
[Cabby reaction roll: 5]
"You're outta luck, good sir! The king wouldn't even step near a carriage as filthy as this one! This carriage enjoys the exclusive patronage of Count Johnson, broke gambler extraordinaire!"
"Shut it, you lout!"
"Or what, m'lord? You're too broke to arrange for my execution and you hire me because I'm the cheapest cabby in town!"
[Cabby distraction roll: 4-1]
The carriage goes off the center of the road, running over about 8 innocent civilians!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 01:26:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 01:35:36 pm
James tries to take out the Jungle Gym once more!
[James vs. Jungle Gym: 3+1 vs. 4+1]
The Jungle Gym somehow dodges expertly! Seriously, what the hell, mind?
[Jungle Gym vs. James: 1+1 vs. 1+2]
Even though James is standing around dumbfounded at his inability to hit a large steel cage, the Jungle Gym also chooses to procrastinate for now, beaming with satisfaction over its sweet moves!
[Inner Child vs. Jungle Gym: 6+1 vs. 5+1]
The Inner Child unleashes a furious assault of kicking and screaming at the Jungle Gym, slightly deforming its structure!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 01:42:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 01:47:53 pm
James, not entirely sure how to beat this thing, tries to persuade it of its nonexistence!
[Persuasion roll: 6-2]
The jungle gym appears to see James' point! It promptly dies of losing half its body mass, leaving behind an inanimate hunk of horribly mutilated metal bars!
"Thanks, James. You know, for your help, I'll just let you go to the top floor now. I don't like being a dick to people who've helped me out, despite what Perfection says. He's kind of a poopyhead, you know."
The door to the top floor opens up! James gets the feeling that something important might be up there!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 01:57:42 pm
Head to top floor.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 02:03:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 02:22:25 pm
James, flush with success, decides to ascend to the top floor! He goes up the staircase and finds himself in a completely blank, blindingly white room! There is a desk with a chair here! A man sits at it. He looks like James, but somehow... immaculate. Perfect, even.
"You are finally here. Please, sit."
He motions to the only other chair in the room. Well, not really a chair. More of a stool, to be honest, and a rickety one at that.
On the speeding carriage of Baron Johnson...
Samuel tries to persuade the cabbie to take him to the king!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Samuel mimics a crown on his head and gestures questioningly!
"You want... the king?"
Samuel nods!
[Cabbie knowledge roll: 2]
"Well, I'm not sure where you would find him. Nobody ever talks about the king's residence. Even when the king's visiting. I think there was some kind of ruckus a short while ago about it... or was that last year? I don't know."
[Cabbie distraction roll: 2-1]
"Wait, I think I've got-"
He can't really finish the sentence as the carriage misses a turn and flips over, slamming into a nearby townhouse!
[Samuel landing roll: 6+1]
[Cabbie landing roll: 2]
[Baron Johnson landing roll: 1]
Samuel leaps off the carriage and through a nearby window, smashing through a set of wooden shutters! He hears the sound of the carriage getting smashed to pieces! He looks outside!
Oh my. The Baron appears to have been trapped inside the carriage and crushed quite gorily. The cabbie seems to have smashed against the cobbled street and is bleeding quite nastily!
[Cabbie endurance roll: 6]
The cabbie gets up, still bleeding, and staggers over to the carriage! He quickly loots the deceased baron and unsteadily proceeds to a nearby pub!
"WHEEE! GUESS WHO'S HAVING FUN TONIGHT!"
[Homeowner roll: 6]
An ancient individual comes up from behind Samuel!
"Hey there, youngster! Why are you dropping in on my house like that? It's dreadfully impolite, you know."
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 02:29:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 02:52:51 pm
James chooses to refuse the other James' offer! He remains standing!
[Perfect James reaction roll: 5]
"That's... impolite. I have killed for less. Well, no matter. I'm sure you'd like to know what this is all about, right?"
"Right."
"Well, you see, this was all a test. A test to see how you would react to the various sides of your diseased mind taking you on in various ways. We had your inner vampire, your feminine side, your inner hatred, your fear, your borderline insanity, your inner child and, of course, me."
"Who are you?"
"I am your need for perfection. I am what drives you to gain knowledge, to survive. To claim victory in the great game of undeath."
"And how am I supposed to get past you?"
"You need to surpass perfection itself. You need to best me in a game of your choice."
James considers this for a while!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 02:54:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 03:19:11 pm
James, after considering things he could beat the embodiment of perfection at, comes to a staggering idea!
"Mr. Perfect?"
"Yes?"
"I challenge you to a contest of imperfection!"
[Reaction roll: 5]
"A contest of imperfection? Okay."
"I'll start - Exhibit A: my face is stolen and horribly stitched together by a woodland maniac."
"Well, my face is..."
"Perfect, is it not?"
"I do believe it is, yes. Oh dear."
"I'll start - Exhibit B: I am hated by one of the gods and wanted by his minions for blasphemy. What about you?"
"Well, I know better than to mess with gods."
"Because you're perfect, yes."
"Indeed I am."
"Exhibit C: I obtained the curse of vampirism from a pig that bit me because I attempted to steal its piglets. What about you?"
"I knew better than to buy pigs from shady magical traveling merchants. Alright, you've made your point. I suppose you can go."
"Yippee! Reality, sweet reality!"
The triumph of victory is almost enough for James to forget any feelings of inadequacy! A glowing gate in the wall opens! James thinks he could step right through it!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 03:34:37 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 03:38:40 pm
Why does nobody comment that Sam's a skeleton with canes for legs?
Samuel will try and show the man that there's a demon invasion coming, and that only Sam can warn the king!...He'll show the man through DANCE.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 03:54:59 pm
James is about to exit through the portal to reality! Hey, wait a minute!
"Hey, does this portal lead to reality?"
"I dunno. Probably?"
"Good enough for me!"
He steps through the portal! A flash of light blinds him and he closes his eyes! When he opens them, he is in the library once more!
He is suddenly aware that he has gained something from this journey!
[Lesson learned roll: 4]
He is now a better prepared for various temptations and distractions! He has developed a Honed Mental Resistance! Sweet! It almost seems like seeing She-James was worth it for something like that!
Inside the home of an elderly fellow...
Samuel attempts to warn the old-timer of the COMING DEMON INVASION! Through interpretive dance!
[Interpretive dance roll: 6]
Samuel dances like he really means it! He sells the invasion, the demons, the raping and pillaging that's bound to happen when they arrive! At the climax of his performance, his elaborate movements convey that only one person, the old-timer, can save the world now! It is his destiny as a hero!
"That's nice, dear."
The old-timer goes to take his afternoon nap!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 03:58:26 pm
Also check status of health.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 04:10:57 pm
James is about to start reading again, but then a thought strikes him: what's his status?
Legs: there!
Arms: one missing!
Stomach: there!
Chest: hollowed-out with scalpels!
Head: attached!
Well, everything seems A-OK to him! Back to literature!
[Intelligence roll: 1+1]
Ah, screw this. James throws the book away!
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 04:23:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2012, 04:42:12 pm
James is not about to give up on his quest for knowledge! He attempts to force himself to pick up the book and read it!
[Will roll: 1+1]
Nah, you know what? Screw that book. Screw it, and screw this library. He ain't pickin' up a book if he can help it, damn the consequences!
James storms out of the library, triumphant over the insidious enemy known as literature! Not the first one tonight to do so, if the narrator may add.
Post by: TopHat on November 10, 2012, 04:53:46 pm
Find librarian, ask where the life studies department is, head there.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 10, 2012, 05:13:18 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 10, 2012, 08:06:26 pm
I'm finally back!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 10, 2012, 09:21:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 02:33:35 am
James, struck by inspiration, goes to see the librarian!
[Search roll: 2]
Hm, they're nowhere in sight. Must be hiding. Or preparing for their next heist. That is what librarians do, right?
Some hours previous...
Vincent decides to head west unwaveringly! Bernie's sister commands it!
[Speedy travel roll: 3]
He goes in that direction for about a day before he finds the university! Judging by the multitude of corpses and abundance of destruction on the way, his companions may have already been here! Oh no! What is Vincent going to loot?
Present time, home of Bernie...
Jordan decides that some waking up is in order!
[Wake-up roll: 2]
He is about to pull Bernie's sister out of the bed, but then realizes that it wouldn't be a very gentlemanly thing to do! What a horrid dilemma he has been presented! Either get things done and dishonor himself or wait and nearly die of boredom!
Inside the home of an ancient and oblivious individual...
Samuel decides that looting is in order! All those who refuse help for the wizard deserve confiscation of their hard-earned property, after all!
[Looting roll: 5]
He finds 5 copper coins, a set of false teeth and a bottle of cheap wine! Score!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 11, 2012, 03:07:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 03:13:15 am
Vincent tries to look for some structures that do not appear looted!
[Building choice roll: 3]
He finds the Demonic Studies Department! That one doesn't look like anybody has gone in!
[Search roll: 1]
And there's obviously a reason for that: every window and door has been blocked with steel bars! You'd need a dedicated team of workmen to make any progress here!
Post by: miauw62 on November 11, 2012, 05:04:11 am
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 05:31:43 am
Look in the library for some form of map of the university.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 06:34:03 am
James attempts to locate something to make his way around the university easier! Some kind of... map, perhaps?
[Search roll: 4]
He finds one! It is labeled "Ye Uniwersitie offe Majicke - Ye Peassante's Guidde". Score! Things are coming up James! This thing has every department of the university marked on it, labeled and explained in layman's terms! Must have been back from when peasants were allowed inside. What dark times those were.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 06:56:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 07:16:36 am
James takes a closer look at the map...
There! The "Lyffe Studdees Deppartemennte"! Shouldn't be hard to find, eh?
[Search roll: 3+1]
It takes a short while, but he does find the department! Wasn't difficult at all!
[Security measures roll: 3]
Well, it's barricaded very much like all the other building around. The second floor, however, has an open window or two! A-ha! Opportunity!
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 07:23:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 08:54:05 am
James, hardly in a hurry anywhere, decides to go with asking nicely as his first avenue of entrance!
[Asking nicely roll: 1-2]
"Come out, you old bastards! I want to suck your blood! Don't make me come up there, 'cause damn, will you be sorry when I do! Vampire vengeance, baby, you do NOT want any of that happening to you!"
An old man's head pops out from up top!
"Vampire, eh? Get 'im, lads!"
All the second floor windows open and similarly elderly gentlemen pop out! They appear to have some strange weaponry! They start their attack!
[Lifemage 1 vs. James: 3+1 vs. 4+2-1]
[Lifemage 2 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 3+2-1]
[Lifemage 3 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 1+2-1]
[Lifemage 4 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 3+2-1]
James dodges a strange bolt fired from a crossbow! Whew! Nice dodge! However, that hardly prepares him for the next two bolts striking him in the right leg! Good gods almighty, that hurts! Like a white-hot bullet of horrible agony has lodged in his calf!
[Intelligence roll: 5+1]
Ah. Hawthorn. That explains it. Well, he's screwed. However, James is unprepared for the worst - a bolo tying itself around his neck and tightening uncomfortably! However, this is no ordinary bolo! This is a bolo weighted with garlic!
[Will roll: 3+1]
James retches extremely painfully, but all of his internal anatomy remains in its original place! Well, the bits that weren't missing already, that is.
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 09:00:48 am
and hope that my chimp friend comes to the rescue.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 09:22:12 am
James is unwilling to become victim to a firing squad such as this one! He attempts to pull himself together and run!
[Will roll: 2+1]
He can only manage it with great difficulty, but he starts to run anyway!
[Movement roll: 3-1]
He doesn't get very far, though, before the people in the building open fire once more!
[Lifemage 1 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
[Lifemage 2 vs. James: 1+1 vs. 6+1]
[Lifemage 3 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
[Lifemage 4 vs. James: 6+1 vs. 6+1]
James leaps to one side, then another, easily avoiding three crossbow bolts! He turns to face the fourth, catches it in his hand and hurls it back like a dart!
[James vs. Lifemage 2: 5+1 vs. 3-1]
The bolt flies through the air with perfect precision, striking the man who fired it straight in the belly! He begins to bleed heavily!
[Lifemage 2 endurance roll: 6]
The lifemage, however, will not be stopped by something as trivial as that! He still aims his crossbow straight and true even while his precious blood flows out the window!
[Chimp location roll: 6]
What James doesn't know, however, is that the six-armed chimpanzee he shares a friendly rivalry with is still nearby, on the roof of the Life Studies Department, in fact!
[Chimp idea roll: 5]
It hears something like the cries of pain and agony it so fondly remembers James making! It decides to investigate!
Oh my, those are the cries of pain and agony James makes! It better help him! It decides to enter through one of the side windows and leap on one of James' attackers!
[Chimp vs. Lifemage 1: 6+3 vs. 4-1]
The chimp performs six well-aimed stabs to the lifemage's chest from behind! The lifemage, very much like his compatriot a few moments ago, begins to bleed quite horribly!
[Lifemage 1 endurance roll: 5]
The lifemage soldiers on sufficiently to cast a spell!
[Lifemage 1 magic roll: 4+1]
The wounds on his chest immediately glow with white light, closing up in seconds!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 09:26:28 am
Pick up a couple of bolts and fling them back at the a life mags the chimp isn't fighting.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 09:47:10 am
James thinks he might have good thing going here! He picks up the four bolts that aren't in his leg and chucks one of them at a lifemage that isn't distracted!
[James vs. Lifemage 3: 2+1 vs. 4]
However, he has no such luck this time, possibly because of insufficient inspiration! The bolt/dart sticks into the side of the building!
[Lifemage 2 vs. James: 1+1-1 vs. 5+1]
[Lifemage 3 vs. James: 6+1 vs. 3+1]
[Lifemage 4 vs. James: 5+1 vs. 1+1]
James, willing to go for a streak, catches a bolt from the bleeding one and throws it back!
[James vs. Lifemage 2: 5+1 vs. 4-1]
The arrow goes through the mage's shoulder, making him scream in agony!
[Lifemage 2 endurance roll: 2]
The lifemage attempts to hold up his crossbow, but fails and collapses back into the building, presumably bleeding heavily!
James is about to celebrate, but he is interrupted by two more bolts! One catches him in the left leg, the other one goes through his neck!
[Will roll: 5+1]
It doesn't even slow James down, however!
[Chimp idea roll: 3]
The chimp looks at the now-healed lifemage in horror! Oh dear. It didn't count on this! It stands indecisively for a second!
[Lifemage 1 magic roll: 4+1]
The lifemage in front of him waves his arms! The chimpanzee begins to choke!
[Chimp endurance roll: 2]
It drops to the ground, blacking out after twenty seconds or so!
[Lifemage empathy roll: 5]
The lifemage relaxes his death grip, allowing the chimp to rest for now!
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 09:48:57 am
Find cover, fling bolt at life Mage 1
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 09:57:56 am
James tries to find cover!
[Search roll: 2]
There isn't any! Dammit! He tries to hit a lifemage that seems to have turned his back for a moment with a flung bolt!
[James vs. Lifemage 1: 6+1 vs. 2-1]
He manages to land a solid hit through the mage's throat!
[Lifemage 1 endurance roll: 6-1]
The mage turns around gurgling and points at himself!
[Lifemage 1 magic roll: 2]
He waves around impotently for a while, but nothing happens!
[Lifemage 1 endurance roll: 4-1]
The lifemage stumbles and drops to the ground!
[Lifemage 3 vs. James: 4+1 vs. 5+1]
[Lifemage 4 vs. James: 6+1 vs. 5+1]
James dodges one more bolt, though he is grazed by another!
[Will roll: 4+1]
James keeps himself under control and walking! It is pretty hard to concentrate with a GARLIC BOLO wrapped around his neck, though!
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 10:00:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 10:35:02 am
James is getting really tired of that garlic bolo, oh yes! He attempts to remove it from his neck!
[Will roll: 5+1]
[Removal roll: 5]
He untangles it in seconds and tries to hurl it at his remaining adversaries!
[James vs. Lifemage 3: 3+1 vs. 6]
He attempts to swing it, but can't get a good trajectory due to his own inexperience! It just breaks one of the third floor windows!
[Lifemage 3 vs. James: 1+1 vs. 6+1]
[Lifemage 4 vs. James: 1+1 vs. 1+1]
For his next act, James catches yet another bolt! With his teeth! While leaping through the air to position himself in its path, nearly receiving another one to the gut for his trouble! He takes the bolt out of his mouth and hurls it back!
[James vs. Lifemage 3: 6+1 vs. 2]
It catches the lifemage in the lung! He wheezes and sputters!
[Lifemage 3 endurance roll: 1]
Coughing vast amounts of blood, the lifemage lurches forward and falls out of the second floor window!
[Landing roll: 3]
He flops on the ground like a bag of sand, releasing a final spurt of blood from his mouth before dying painfully!
[Lifemage 4 morale roll: 2]
The last lifemage, upon witnessing his comrade die quite horribly, decides to retreat! Heh, James wishes he could see his face when he sees the corpses of the other two!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 10:48:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 10:54:34 am
Jordan attempts to shake off his pangs of guilt and try again!
[Wake-up roll: 3]
He gently pokes Bernie's sister with his cadaverous finger!
[Sleep roll: 4+1]
She just sleeps as soundly as ever! Dang.
Post by: OREOSOME on November 11, 2012, 11:07:40 am
Only if he gets too close.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 11:15:52 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 11:25:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 11:30:03 am
Alaric tries to run as fast as possible to escape the homicidal piece of granite!
[Escape roll: 3]
He runs and he attempts to hide, but the statue is quickly gaining on him!
"DON'T RUN. IT'LL HURT MORE."
Spurred on by the statue's words, Alaric tries to run faster!
[Escape roll: 4]
Well, the statue doesn't get any closer! That's good! Alaric tries to remember how to cast magic!
[Remembrance roll: 2]
Nope. Magic is still as elusive to him as the day he was born! Damn all that time he's spent being dead! If only he could have taken his focus with him!
[Escape roll: 2]
The statue tears forward with a magical discharge and gets into almost melee range! Oh well. Time to fight!
[Alaric vs. Marcus: 4 vs. 6+1]
The statue hovers above Alaric, meeting his telekinetic ability with his own! Oh dear! He begins to really push back now!
[Counter attack: Marcus vs. Alaric: 3+1 vs. 5]
However, Alaric proves skilled on the defensive, successfully pushing back enough to disrupt the statue for a second! However, it will take more than that to defeat it!
[Marcus vs. Alaric: 6+1 vs. 3]
Alaric is launched into a tree at an extreme speed!
[Will roll: 2]
He is so shocked at this that he completely forgets he's intangible! He smacks into the tree very much like any normal human would, feeling slightly ashamed when he realizes his mistake!
[Beautiful Man magic roll: 5]
The beautiful man spreads his fingers! His eyes glow! The statue shakes slightly! Odd. It looks weaker, somehow!
"Hahahah! Fuck you, eh!"
In a city of some kind...
Samuel decides to search for somebody more competent to tell him where the king is!
[Search roll: 6]
He walks outside and runs into a guard!
[Reaction roll: 4]
"Hello... citizen? Can I help you with anything?"
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
Samuel gestures wildly a whole lot!
"The theater? That's over on Queen Street."
Inside the home of Bernie...
Jordan must man up! This is a matter of life or death!
[Wake-up roll: 5]
He holds up his dog-leg!
"I say, speak, boy!"
That dog is a barking machine! It barks and it barks and it barks!
[Sleep roll: 6-1]
Damn, Bernie's sister sleeps like a hibernating bear. There is no waking her up!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 11:34:01 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 11:39:34 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 11:51:12 am
Hm, it appears that Bernie's sister will take special measures to awaken. Jordan asks Bernie for advice!
[Bernie benevolence roll: 3-2]
"Get the hell out of here with your freaking barking dog leg and I'll consider not killing you when I wake up."
Well.
Near an unusually helpful guard...
Samuel tries to express his need for paper!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He shows the guard that he needs ALL THE PAPER. RIGHT NOW. And a pen, too. That would be nice.
The guard slowly backs away into a booth. After a short while he returns and uneasily hands Samuel a notepad and quill.
[Literary eloquence roll: 6]
I must find the king! It is of the most dire urgency that I find His Majesty! A matter of national, perhaps even universal security! If the king is not immediately warned, he will be in extreme danger! A demon invasion threatens the land, and only I can stop it!
[Guard reaction roll: 2]
"Citizen, if you do not abandon this nonsense, I will have to arrest you. Now, can we forget this incident and go our separate ways?"
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 11:53:51 am
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 12:00:10 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 12:18:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 12:45:16 pm
James, after making a mental note to pat himself on the back later, attempts to climb inside the department!
[Agility roll: 6+1-1]
He scales the building easy-peasy, sliding inside the window like a cat covered covered in oil! He rolls inside and strikes a heroic burglar pose! Well, maybe not heroic, strictly speaking, but impressive nonetheless!
[Ambush roll: 4]
Nobody seems to be attempting to kill him! Awesome! He tries to loot the bodies!
[Looting roll: 3]
Those dead guys don't seem to have a whole lot on them! Not even a focus! They do have 18 copper coins between the three of them.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
That makes no sense! How did they cast spells if they didn't have foci? The mystery continues!
While searching the last dead lifemage, he notices the unconscious body of the chimp!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
It's motionless! Could it be? Could this have been the ignoble fate of his longtime companion? Could the Heavily Armed Chimp have died to this pathetic lifemage?
Inside the home of Bernie...
Jordan decides to try one last time to awaken Bernie's sister!
[Wake-up roll: 4]
He pokes her, slightly more assertively than last time!
[Sleep roll: 1]
She sits up in bed immediately, hitting her head on the ceiling!
"Wha- ow, damn it!"
"Watch the language!"
She rubs her head for a few seconds, then speaks!
"Oh, it's you. What do you want?"
"Milady, I brought you your anatomy books!"
"And this couldn't wait? You HAD to wake me up?"
"I felt it was a matter of great urgency, milady!"
"And where are the other things I asked for?"
Jordan shrugs!
"Leave them on the table, please. And please leave me alone now. I'd like to get back to sleep, you know."
Near a strangely unperturbed guard...
Samuel writes a brand new bit of shameless lying on a piece of paper!
[Literary eloquence roll: 1]
This cane is EXPENSIVE. I want to PAWN IT to the KING. YOU will take me THERE. YOU are an IDIOT, so you will get NO MONEY for assisting ME.
He presents it to the guard!
[Guard reaction roll: 2-1]
"You're coming with me, sir. Insulting an officer of the law is grounds for execution."
He attempt to grab Samuel!
[Samuel agility roll: 5+1]
Samuel, however, slips out and runs!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 11, 2012, 12:47:01 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 12:48:05 pm
If there isn't, see if there's anything in the medical kit that can help.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 12:56:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 01:12:28 pm
Oh no! Chimp! Not you too! James runs up to his old friend and attempts to practice medicine!
[Medicine roll: 6]
Well, it's not dead! Great! Does look a bit under the weather, though. Time for the universal treatment!
"THE GOOD DOCTOR PRESCRIBES LEECHES!"
James screams to the ceiling as he unleashes his stolen jar o' leeches on the unsuspecting chimp! The worms start sucking on the creature's blood at a rapid rate!
[Chimp waking up roll: 5]
The chimpanzee wakes up and, upon noticing the leeches on its body, starts jumping around and hollering and pulling them off!
"Don't fight the treatment, friend! The worms are there to help you!"
The chimp, however, does not really understand human speak and does not stop until every leech is removed from its body!
[Chimp idea roll: 6]
It begins eating the little bloodsucking bastards! Serves them right, it thinks! Within a few moments, the leeches are all gone and the chimpanzee sits down, chewing contentedly!
Outside the Demonic Studies Department...
Vincent knocks on the door, not allowing the savage condition of the university get in the way of old-fashioned politeness!
[Reaction roll: 3]
Nobody seems to reply. There is someone inside, though!
Inside the home of Bernie...
Jordan, satisfied at a job well done, goes outside and enters the mausoleum to practice his chopping!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a skeletal corpse and throws it in the air!
[Practice roll: 5]
He chops it in half! Then he throws one half in the air and chops that in half! Then he takes the quarter and chops it in half once more!
After two hours, Jordan has gotten down to a single intact fingerbone! He chucks it in the air and easily slices it in half! There! Not a single bone in this skeleton's body has gone unchopped!
Jordan is now a Precision Axeman!
Satisfied at his performance, he attempts to perform a bit of magic!
[Jordan magic roll: 2-2]
After about two hours of pointless gesturing and expressive axe-swinging, Jordan is exceptionally disappointed to find out that he can't cast magic! Poor show, indeed! He is now Aggressively Ignorant About Magic.
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 01:22:10 pm
Explore the department.
LOOT!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 02:00:18 pm
James, fed chimp friend in tow, decides to begin a massive campaign of looting unlike any seen before!
[Looting roll: 5]
He finds a curious golden scepter! And 27 silver coins to go with it! Also, he finds a book that has various body control spells written inside it! Including several healing spells! Awesome! He proudly shows the spellbook to his chimp!
[Chimp idea roll: 1]
The chimp isn't feeling very well! What did they say about drinking a pint of your own blood? Yeah, about that...
The chimp projectile vomits all over the spellbook!
[Spellbook damage roll: 5]
The spellbook, however, appears to have remained unharmed! A vomit-resistant spellbook! Makes sense for a healer to have, James supposes!
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 02:03:52 pm
Then carry on LOOTING!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 02:16:08 pm
James tries to look for some kind of magical bag! A bag of... holding things, one might say.
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a regular burlap sack! It has a hole in it. Well, better not keep money in it! He puts the spellbook and scepter inside, resuming his looting immediately!
[Looting roll: 3]
Hm, most of what was actually valuable, James has already taken. There's nice antique chairs, of course, but who has the patience to carry those?
[Chimp idea roll: 1]
The chimp is getting really impatient with James' lack of empathy for its suffering! It will make him listen! It topples a nearby candlestick on some unfortunately-placed curtains!
[Fire roll: 1]
The curtains explode in flames, having soaked up several years' worth of medical spirits! The fire immediately spreads throughout the second floor!
[James agility roll: 4+1]
[Chimp agility roll: 5+1]
James expertly avoids contact with any of the absurdly spreading fire! As he is about to proceed, the chimp kicks him down an entire flight of stairs, eager to proceed as fast as possible!
[Chimp escape roll: 5]
The chimp leaps right out of a first floor window and disappears in the darkness!
[Panic roll: 4]
Students and lecturers quickly proceed out of a second floor fire exit in a calm and orderly fashion!
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 02:28:56 pm
Exit the building, and see if any of the students were the cardsharps from chapter 1
((they left through the portal so.... Revenge))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 02:41:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 02:56:23 pm
James decides to look for somebody to take sweet, sweet revenge upon! He heads to the fire exit and looks at the students!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
They might be in there, James isn't totally sure! He jumps out of the window to investigate!
[Fall damage roll: 3+1]
He rolls and bends his knees, landing perfectly! He begins to pursue the mob!
On the run from the guards...
Wait, why is Samuel running away? He has MAGIC, after all! He runs into a dark alley and waits for the officer to come get him!
[Magic roll: 5]
As the officer runs into the alley, Samuel charges up his implement of magical power, his cane of reality-altering potential, and zaps the poor bastard right in the face! The guy gets turned into a cane capable of speech through some unknown magic!
"What have you done, fiend? Why?"
[Samuel BRUTAL INTERROGATION roll: 6]
Samuel merely picks up the conversation-capable cane and threatens to snap it on the cobbles!
"You think I'm afraid of death? Look what you've done to me! You've destroyed me already!"
Samuel bashes the cane against the ground!
[Cane structural integrity roll: 3]
The cane cracks and splinters!
[Reaction roll: 1]
"Why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? I curse your name, fiend! You shall get nothing from me! You are probably the collaborator of demons, anyway!"
Samuel smashes the cane against the ground a few more times!
[Cane structural integrity roll: 5]
It doesn't seem very damaged, though! It also remains completely silent! Gazing at it, Samuel knows this is intentional!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: OREOSOME on November 11, 2012, 03:00:03 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 03:10:24 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 11, 2012, 03:25:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 03:35:08 pm
Alaric, utilizing the statue's moment of weakness, launches a telekinetic sneak attack!
[Alaric vs. Marcus: 4 vs. 3]
He slightly pushes the stone creature away, distracting him!
"OH MY. YOU HAVE WEAKENED MY STONE BODY. FOR THAT, YOU MUST DIE PAINFULLY."
[Marcus vs. Beautiful Man: 2 vs. 4]
The statue attempts to tear the beautiful man in half, but his magic has been severely weakened as well! Oh my!
"Ha! How does it feel to operate on our level, motherfucker? Hell yeah!"
[Beautiful Man vs. Marcus: 2 vs. 6]
The beautiful man begins to gesture!
"I'M AFRAID THERE'S BEEN SOME KIND OF MISTAKE."
[Counterattack: Marcus vs. Beautiful Man: 4 vs. 4]
The statue attempts to do something unspeakable once more, but can't seem to overcome the resistance of the beautiful man!
"FILTHY SNEAK-ATTACKING RAT, USING YOUR METAMORPHOSIS TO TRY AND DEFEAT ME."
"Hey, fuck you too, man!"
[Alaric vs. Marcus: 1 vs. 1]
Alaric attempts to perform a telekinetic attack, but only manages to push himself backwards! Marcus turns to him!
[Marcus vs. Alaric: 1 vs. 1]
He also only manages to push himself backward! Oh dear.
"AWFUL LITTLE INSECTS."
[Morale roll: 4]
It appears to consider something.
"NO, I MUSTN'T. IT WOULD SET A PRECEDENT."
[Beautiful Man magic roll: 2]
The cycle of nothing happening has concluded as even the beautiful man can't manage to get any magic done!
[Alaric vs. Marcus: 2 vs. 5]
Alaric tries to break the cycle, but the statue acts first!
[Counterattack: Marcus vs. Alaric: 3 vs. 4]
Alaric manages to keep all his limbs attached!
[Marcus vs. Alaric: 2 vs. 1]
He does, however, get slightly dragged around by the statue's telekinesis!
[Beautiful Man magic roll: 3]
The statue glows for a bit, but then dims again! As the statue turns to inflict violent reprisal on the beautiful man, Alaric tries to somehow move it once more!
[Alaric vs. Marcus: 5 vs. 4]
This time, he manages to make the statue become somewhat unsteady!
[Marcus vs. Beautiful Man: 2 vs. 6]
Unsteady enough to completely fail to dismember the beautiful man!
[Counterattack: Beautiful Man vs. Marcus: 6 vs. 2]
The beautiful man turns one of the statue's arms into an ordinary chicken!
[Beautiful Man vs. Marcus: 1 vs. 3]
He is about to turn some more of him into a chicken, but accidentally turns a tree into a lizard! A pretty harmless lizard, though.
[Marcus morale roll: 1]
"OH, BOLLOCKS TO THIS. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN COME OF THIS BATTLE IS MORE HUMILIATION."
[Marcus magic roll: 1]
He turns out to have been right! He charges up his telekinesis and flies off directly upwards! In a helical motion! It looks rather silly, to be honest!
"Yeah, you better run, chicken-arm motherfucker!"
Alaric sits down, dissatisfied at his lack of significant contribution to the battle. Oh well.
Outside yet another burning building of the University of Magic...
James looks for some preferred victims!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
There's one! It's unmistakably one of them. That stupid face, those tasteless clothes, that scoundrel-like manner... it can be no other!
Outside the Demonic Studies Department...
Vincent tries to look for a weak point in the building's security layout!
[Search roll: 3]
Hm, one of the windows seems to have bars that are more worn. Perhaps they'd be weak to physical assault?
Post by: Firelordsky on November 11, 2012, 04:07:01 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 04:10:09 pm
I almost feel sorry for him.
Almost.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 04:15:58 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 04:40:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 04:48:34 pm
Vincent goes for a spot of that old homewreckin'! He attacks the weakened bars with his halberd!
[Homewrecking roll: 1]
His halberd breaks in two as he strikes the metal frame! Well, isn't that just dandy! Guess these bars must be tougher than Vincent thought! That, or the metallurgy on those halberds really could use some work.
In a dark alley...
Samuel tries to go good-cop on the poor damaged cane-guard!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
Samuel realizes that there's no effective way to convey information of any positive sensation to a thing that has no ability to see or hear! Well, crap. What would a cane like, anyway?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe a good polish? Not getting pummeled into a piece of trash? Oh well. Too late for that, it seems!
Outside the burning Life Studies Department...
James attempts to abduct his target from the crowd!
[Abduction roll: 5]
He effortlessly sneaks up to the fellow and drags him off to a dark corner out of sight! He proceeds to attempt to intimidate him!
[Intimidation roll: 2]
"Boo, I am a ghost from the future! You'll be dead, and stuff!"
The man looks questioningly. Crap, better skip to the beavergoating.
[Beavergoating roll: 5]
He immediately begins to beavergoat the man quite thoroughly! At the very beginning, the man is mystified by James' actions, but his face quickly becomes a mask of horror when the procedure starts!
"OH GODS WHY? WHYYY?"
After a twenty minute session, the man is left white as a sheet, hairless and completely and utterly dead. James congratulates himself on a job well done! That'll teach him to take all the possessions of an aspiring gambler!
Inside the mausoleum...
Jordan tries to loot Bernie's mausoleum!
[Looting roll: 6]
He finds an odd wall! A very odd wall. IT MUST FALL AT ONCE!
[Homewrecking roll: 4]
Using the blunt end of his axe as a sledgehammer, Jordan smashes through the wall in about an hour of work! Behind it is an untouched burial chamber of some kind, built in a completely different style from the rest of the mausoleum! Considerably older, too, by the looks of it.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 04:50:00 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 04:52:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2012, 04:59:45 pm
Jordan gets into that classic adventuring spirit and gets to looting!
[Looting roll: 1]
He tries to take the axe to a nearby sarcophagus, but, as soon as the intention enters his mind, he hears a noise from the darkness!
"Co-ome he-ere, frie-end!"
"I say, that is most unusual!"
[Intelligence roll: ?]
"I do believe it would be quite dangerous to listen to this chap, though! He sounds most unsavory!"
At the scene of a gruesome beavergoating...
James decides to loot the fellow's corpse!
[Loot roll: 3]
He doesn't appear to have much, really! Probably because he is in his nightshirt! It is a nice silk nightshirt, however! James pulls it off the unfortunate man!
[Building choice roll: 3]
The Theeollogee Deppartemennte sounds pretty crazy, with "arrtikels offe fayth" this and "cullte shrinnes" that! He looks for it immediately!
[Search roll: 1+1]
He'll be damned if he can find the blasted place, though.
Post by: TopHat on November 11, 2012, 05:00:48 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 11, 2012, 05:02:48 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 11, 2012, 05:55:47 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 11, 2012, 07:54:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 12:55:09 am
Vincent decides to knock on the door again! Maybe they didn't hear him the first time, mages being the deaf bastards Vincent knows them to be! He knocks three times!
[Reaction roll: 4]
A squeaky female voice answers!
"Yes? What do you want? I hope you're not one of those... those savages!"
Inside a strange tomb...
Jordan needs some action! And if approaching some horrible thing in the darkness inside a tomb is the only way to get it then, by the gods, some very angry approaching is about to be done! He readies his axe and steps forward!
"Ri-ight, goo-ood. You-ou are wi-ise to do as I tell you!"
[Approach roll: 3]
Jordan feels a sort of vague darkness encroaching on his very being as he gets closer!
In an alley of some kind...
Samuel tries to find a streetwise urchin to grill for information!
[Search roll: 6]
However, there is no need, for he is already surrounded by them!
"Eh, who are you? What you doin' here?"
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
Samuel writes down his need to find the Royal Palace!
[Literary eloquence roll: 5]
I require the location of the Royal Palace. If you can point me in the right direction, I will give you money. If you don't, let's just say that I am a wizard.
[Reaction roll: 5]
"Royal Palace, eh? Alright, we'll take ya there, never fear!"
Samuel is escorted through multiple alleys, streets and even buildings for the better part of an hour before the entire group stops in front of a truly magnificent stone structure that towers over the rest of the city! At least a dozen guards are posted in front of it!
"'Ere we are. Royal Palace, no questions asked."
Samuel hands the children six copper pieces!
"Thanks, man. Pleasure doin' business!"
They run off, presumably to spend their ill-gotten gains!
Somewhere on university grounds...
James decides to look for something else! Damn that Theology Department!
[Building choice roll: 2]
He chooses the Fayte Deppartemennte!
[Search roll: 3+1]
He finds it without much difficulty, since the building is far easier to spot than the Theology Department! Or at least that's what James tells himself!
[Security measures roll: 2]
This place is barricaded up to the roof! Holy hell.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 01:03:15 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 12, 2012, 01:06:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 01:25:33 am
Samuel tries to think of a reason why anybody bothers speaking to him instead of, say, screaming incoherently!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It's quite difficult to say, really. As saddening as it may be, it is most definitely not his winning personality, though.
Before he gets too depressed from contemplation, Samuel decides to practice his communication skills on some passing victims!
[Passing victim roll: 5]
An amiable-looking gentleman walks down the street! Samuel accosts him with charades!
[Practice roll: 3]
The game of charades that follows is somewhat invigorating, but the gentleman is possessed of a certain lack of imagination, Samuel guesses! And somewhat poor eyesight as well! There is only so much he can learn from this fellow!
Inside a horrible tomb with horrible things...
Jordan, tired of the incessant dark, tries to slice through it!
"I say, would you care for an invigorating game of backgammon?"
"Why-y ye-es! Backgammon is my-y fa-avorite ga-ame in the wo-orld! Ho-ow, did yo-ou gue-"
[Jordan vs. Darkness: 1+2 vs. 2+3-2-1]
Jordan clumsily swings through the darkness, aiming to hit something out of sight!
"Ou-ow! That hu-urt! Yo-ou should be ca-areful with tha-at!"
[Darkness vs. Jordan: 2+3 vs. 2-1]
Whatever it is, it devours Jordan's pretzel-arm entirely! Man, it must have been hungry!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 12, 2012, 07:02:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 10:04:36 am
Vincent, unable to provide an intelligible answer to the woman inside the department, chooses to walk about and loot something else instead!
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a building marked "Official Artifact Vault of the University of Magic". Ooh, sweet! Bet that has a load of loot inside!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 12, 2012, 10:39:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 10:55:27 am
Jordan, as much a fan of a roaring game of backgammon as the next chap, asks the most crucial question!
"I say, do you have a backgammon board? We can't play if you don't have a backgammon board, good chap!"
[Distraction roll: 2]
"Why, ye-es, yes I do-o! He-ere it-"
[Jordan vs. Darkness: 1+2 vs. 5+3-1-1]
Jordan hacks once more, but the impossibility of seeing a single dang thing plays against him majorly!
[Reaction roll: 4]
"So-o, do yo-ou fancy a ga-ame? It's been so-o lo-ong since I la-ast pla-ayed!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 10:59:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 11:29:59 am
Feeling up to some tourism before doing what he's supposed to, Samuel goes to find a mage store of some kind!
[Search roll: 5]
He does find a curious junk store not very far from the palace! He goes in!
By the gods, it sure is dusty, musty and moldy in here. Various wood and metal implements line the walls, and the store itself is attended by an individual somehow even more ancient than the one Samuel has already encountered!
"Yes? You want something?"
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 12, 2012, 11:31:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 11:52:04 am
Jordan thinks that it might not be the best idea to play backgammon with an unearthly abomination after all!
"I say, what about the dice? Do you have any dice?"
[Distraction roll: 4]
"O-oh dear... how si-illy of me-e! I do-o not see-eem to have a-any!"
Jordan hears a sound of turning! Time for a zombie sneak attack!
[Jordan vs. Darkness: 4+2 vs. 2+3-1-1]
He swings and connects! How odd! A bit of inky blackness spills on a nearby wall! It looks quite awful, actually!
[Reaction roll: 6]
"O-oh, silly co-orpse eaters! The-ey someti-imes try-y to bite me-ee. Yo-ou would have tho-ought they wo-ould le-earn after a-all this ti-ime... here a-are the di-ice..."
"But what about the checkers, my good man? Can't have a game without checkers!"
[Distraction roll: 5]
"The-the dra-aughts, ye-es... so-ometimes... sometimes ee-even I wo-onder what I am thi-inking..."
[Jordan vs. Darkness: 4+2 vs. 1+2-1-1]
Oh my! A sizable chunk of the darkness gets splattered on a wall nearby!
[Darkness endurance roll: 2]
The darkness has weakened considerably as a result!
[Reaction roll: 6]
"O-oh my-y... I see-eem to be fee-eeling under... under the wea-eather... he-ere are the dra-aughts..."
"But a doubling cube? Do we not need a doubling cube, my friend? It would speed up the game considerably!"
[Distraction roll: 1]
"A do-oubling cu-ube? She-eer madness, my frie-end... I shall he-ear no more of i-it..."
[Jordan vs. Darkness: 6+2 vs. 5-1]
Jordan makes a final mighty, desperate swing against the backgammon enthusiast! It connects and cuts a deep gash across what's left of the thing!
[Backgammon enthusiast endurance roll: 3-1]
"O-oh de-ear... loo-ooks like we wo-on't be pla-aying tha-at game... after all..."
The backgammon enthusiast fades away in the darkness, leaving behind an odd inky residue on the ground along with a backgammon board complete with checkers and dice! Victory, Jordan supposes?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 11:56:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 12:08:52 pm
Samuel attempts to inform the fellow of his need for telepathic communication!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
He gestures helplessly for a while, unable to explain this concept! He reaches for his stolen notepad!
[Literary eloquence roll: 3]
I need a think-stick that makes my think-words go into people's think-pans since I have no yap and can't turn think-words into yap-words!
The man reads the note!
[Man intelligence roll: 2]
He stares at Samuel blankly!
"What?"
Samuel takes the note back and writes an addendum!
I also can't turn think-words into pen-words very goodly.
[Man intelligence roll: 3]
"Pen-words... you want to have... better penmanship?"
Samuel shrugs! Guess he'll have to settle for that! He nods!
The man nods as well and produces a quill!
"With this pen, you'll write like one of the gods themselves. Satisfaction guaranteed. Want it?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 12:36:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 12:49:23 pm
Samuel reaches for the pen! The man draws it back!
"What are you doing?"
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
Samuel takes this for a challenge! He brandishes his magic cane and begins to do magic! Squirrel lung teleportation go!
[Magic roll: 3-2]
The man's lungs become perfectly healthy, any traces of years of smoking gone from it!
[Reaction roll: 3]
"Uh, thank you?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 12:50:40 pm
SQUIIIIRREEEEELS.
Post by: TopHat on November 12, 2012, 01:09:06 pm
See if there's an armoury on the map.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 01:19:50 pm
Samuel, defeated by an unknowing adversary, gives the man some money!
[Stinginess roll: 1]
He gives him all of his copper coins!
"Thank you VERY much!"
He hands Samuel the pen! Samuel grabs it and goes outside! Hm, maybe he should test this. He writes a simple message on a sheet of paper!
[Power roll: 1]
Even though he attempts to write normally, the pen seems to begin to move of its own accord at the end!
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog for I, the LORD, have commanded it! Bow to me or you shall feel the seventeen plagues that I bring on your own wretched hide, foul sinner!
It looks pretty crazy, to be perfectly honest. Awesome, but crazy.
Outside the Luck Manipulation Department...
James, not feeling very optimistic about getting into the Luck Manipulation Department, goes to find someplace else that would be fun to loot!
[Building choice roll: 6]
There seems to be a Maggicall Wepponreigh and Arrmore Deppartemennte around here someplace! Great!
[Search roll: 3+1]
James doesn't have a whole lot of trouble finding it, it being right next to the Magical Zoology Department! That's awful nice of them, James thinks!
[Security measures roll: 2]
This building, however, is just as tightly barricaded as the Luck Manipulation Department. Perhaps because there's lots of awesome stuff inside!
Post by: TopHat on November 12, 2012, 01:43:47 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 12, 2012, 02:43:13 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 02:58:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 03:06:55 pm
James attempts to find some easily exploitable mistake in the whole "barricade it up to heaven" setup!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He is pretty sure there isn't one! Well, except for the fact that they aren't made of metal! A-ha! Exploitable weakness, here comes James!
[Homewrecking roll: 4]
After spending about thirty minutes on what is essentially chopping lumber, James gets inside the department!
[Commotion roll: 2]
Oh dear. There appears to be a gentleman with a glowing sword waiting for him inside!
[Reaction roll: 4-2]
"Good gods, man, what happened to your face?"
[Social interaction roll: 1-2]
"Hssst!"
James attempts to decapitate his adversary!
[James vs. Swordsman: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
James slashes, but the swordsman ducks expertly and strikes back!
[Swordsman vs. James: 6+2 vs. 2+2]
James is stabbed through the shoulder in an extremely nasty way!
[Will roll: 3+1]
He manages to hold on to his weapon, though!
Inside a freshly exorcised ancient tomb...
As the marvelous slayer of the most unholy backgammon enthusiast, Jordan feels entitled to first crack at the loot!
[Looting roll: 4]
He walks up to an important looking sarcophagus and takes the lid off! Inside is some shiny ancient golden full plate armor! Suspiciously shiny, actually! Jordan tries to take it off!
[Armor use roll: 5]
Through good old gentlemanly ingenuity, he manages to get the whole set off in less than five minutes! Not bad! Not bad at all!
Outside a magic store...
Samuel rightly believes himself to be somewhat out of his depth with all this pen magic! Time to convert it into something familiar!
[Magic roll: 1]
The pen he paid all of his money for explodes into a shower of canes made of fire and lightning!
[Collateral damage roll: 5]
Fortunately, not a whole lot of the surrounding street is harmed by the storm of exploding magical canes, possibly by virtue of nobody else being around! Only telltale blackened patches on the walls around here give off any clue that anything particularly suspicious could have happened! Samuel is now penless, penniless and doesn't even have any canes to show for it! Oh, woe!
Post by: TopHat on November 12, 2012, 03:24:01 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 12, 2012, 03:45:45 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 12, 2012, 04:01:53 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 12, 2012, 05:57:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2012, 11:59:40 pm
Not really one to apologize for attempting to stab his fellow man, James attempts to kill his adversary!
[James vs. Swordsman: 1+1 vs. 2+1]
He, however, stabs a wall instead! The swordsman looks on in puzzlement for a few seconds before deciding to try to get some more stabbity action himself!
[Swordsman vs. James: 6+2 vs. 1+2]
He slices James' sole remaining arm clean off! The arm hangs off the halberd, still stuck in the wall!
[James will roll: 5+1]
James, however, is not out yet! Disarmed, yes, but still entirely capable of fleeing like a coward!
Outside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent is not entirely satisfied with his track record these last days. Perhaps his luck will turn around now?
[Search roll: 1]
The minute he pokes the door, a magical barrier erects itself around the entire building! Crap.
Inside a recently monsterless tomb...
Jordan tries to put the armor on!
[Armor use roll: 3]
He does put on about half of it successfully, though he'll need a squire to put on the rest. This thing is really elaborate, after all!
Outside a magic store...
Samuel decides to throw logic to the wind and just begin randomly destroying everything!
[Magic roll: 6]
He points his cane at the sky and calls down an army of really angry-looking flaming canes of destruction! They proceed to pummel the surrounding area!
[Collateral damage roll: 4]
They manage to demolish a building and start a fire!
[Fire roll: 1]
They fire does a better job than the canes ever could, however! It spreads to nearby wooden buildings with alarming speed, and soon the entire neighborhood is in flames! Hooray! Blowing stuff up - achieved!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 12:03:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 12:19:45 am
Samuel waits for the king to show up! He sits down on a nearby stone bench and carefully peers around!
[Fire response roll: 5]
A whole bunch of people show up with buckets of water and other firefighting equipment!
[Extinguishing roll: 6]
They start another fire after evacuating all the nearby people! Sure, it burns down an additional neighborhood, but at least the backfire stopped the original fire and prevented the entire city from going up in flames! Hooray for effective firefighting!
No king, though. Maybe he's not part of the volunteer fire department? How disingenuous of him!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 13, 2012, 07:39:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 07:45:56 am
Vincent grabs a nearby corpse and tries to chuck it into the barrier!
[Strength roll: 6]
The body smacks against the wall, sustaining some damage and then sliding down into the barrier!
[Barrier strength roll: 1]
The barrier glows red, then green, then blue! There is a loud boom from inside the vault! They probably hadn't thought this whole magical barrier thing through.
[Collateral damage: 6]
The building holds together nicely! It does appear a bit flimsy now, though! The front door falls out of its frame and shatters into many tiny pieces on the cobblestones! Success!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 13, 2012, 07:51:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 07:59:49 am
Vincent heads inside the vault with extreme caution! After all, can't have any horrible traps maiming him most terribly!
He looks around! There appear to be corridors leading to places called "Catalog", "Vault" and "Researcher Quarters".
[Search roll: 3]
Well, looks okay to him! There might be traps, sure, but there's probably nothing he can do about them anyway! Well, such is unlife!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 13, 2012, 08:21:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 08:29:33 am
Vincent decides to scoot on over to the Researcher Quarters! Maybe there are some researchers to bully and loot still there, you never know!
[Encounter roll: 5]
He sees absolutely nobody on the way there. Maybe they died in the explosion? After a bit of a stroll he reaches a set of eight doors, each bearing a name engraved on a golden plate.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 11:02:46 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 11:06:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 11:19:06 am
Jordan really needs a squire! And he has the perfect individual in mind - Bernie! He goes back to the cottage!
[Bernie sleeping roll: 5]
Bernie is already up and about! Jordan approaches him!
"I say, good chap, mind helping me put on this suit of armor?"
[Bernie benevolence roll: 3-1]
"No. Piss off."
Oh well. Maybe someone else could help him?
[Bernie intelligence roll: 4+1]
"Hey, wait a minute, where did you get that?"
In a formerly burning neighborhood...
Samuel resolves to get to the king by using his third greatest talent - lying! He looks for a loose piece of something to write on!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds a giant sheet of metal and obtains some blood from a nearby burn victim! He proceeds to make a convincing sign!
[Sign-making roll: 4]
DEMONS have starrted the fire! Git me to the king, he must be warrned!
He proudly points at this latest piece of work!
[Reaction roll: 6]
"Hey, he knows something about this!"
"Inform the local security officer!"
Somebody runs off! Soon enough, an eager-looking man appears from the shadows!
"Hello there, I hear you have information!"
Samuel nods!
"Good!"
[? roll: 1]
He is about to approach Samuel, but he trips on a loose cobble! Samuel is quite alarmed at this!
[Samuel reaction roll: 5]
He steps back a bit!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 11:20:20 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 11:22:01 am
Hand the armour to Bernie, hoping he can do something with it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 11:35:44 am
Samuel helps the odd fellow up to his feet! After all, can't have public officials wallowing in the gutter like that!
"Thank you. Now, where was I?"
[? roll: 1]
He is about to do something once more, but a passing street urchin whacks into him, sending him to the ground once more!
"Someone will pay for this."
Inside the cottage of Bernie...
Jordan, feeling that he really shouldn't hide anything from his master, decides to spill the beans on the newly discovered tomb!
"Why, I got it from the tomb back in that spiffy corpse repository in your backyard. I managed to kill this dreadful backgammon fanatic. What a waste of time, backgammon. I much prefer a tidy game of checkers. So, could you at least look into this set?"
Jordan quickly removes the bits of armor he's put on and hands them to Bernie! Bernie carefully looks the armor over!
"A tomb, you say? You will have to take me there. On the armor, judging by the weight, this certainly is gold or at least weighs enough to be gold."
He tries to bend one of the plates in his hands, but it doesn't budge even a little bit!
"It isn't soft, though. That's strange. I suppose it might be lightly strengthened by magic. For what purpose, though, I have no idea. Looks ceremonial. Where exactly did you get it?"
"Borrowed it from a dead chap in the tomb, milord. Didn't look like he needed it, to be honest!"
"Take me there."
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 11:49:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 11:55:28 am
Jordan elects to take Bernie to the tomb!
[Bernie intelligence roll: ?+1]
Bernie follows Jordan! After a short walk they arrive at the new room!
"I remember there being a wall here."
"There was one, milord, but I handily dismantled the fiendish obstacle!"
They walk inside the room!
"This isn't part of the Bradford mausoleum. This is actually a completely different place entirely! Interesting find, minion! Maybe you should dismantle walls more often!"
He is about to explore a bit further, but suddenly remembers something!
"Anything the matter, milord?"
"Find me a light source. Can't very well study anything in this blackness."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 12:45:46 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 12:55:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 12:58:33 pm
Samuel feels pity for the poor fellow in front of him! He attempts to conjure a cane for him!
[Magic roll: 1]
He conjures a cane and gives it to the man! The man takes it!
"Ah, thank you. It's not often I get gifts from the common-"
As he taps the cane against the ground, he begins twitching awfully!
[Man endurance roll: 1]
A few moments later he drops to the ground, now smoking, crackling and probably crispy. He just couldn't catch a break today, could he? The cane fades away with a faint crackle! Yep, the man is most definitely dead.
[Reaction roll: 1]
"Look! That bloke just killed a security officer! Somebody call up more of them!"
"Yeah, this ought to get bloody!"
Another fellow runs off!
Inside the tomb...
Jordan, ever the dutiful assistant, shambles off in search of a light source!
[Search roll: 3]
He walks back to the cottage and steals a small candle from a table! Well, it provides some light!
[? roll: ?]
When he gets back, though, Bernie's gone! Hm. Wonder what could have happened.
Post by: TopHat on November 13, 2012, 01:01:40 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 01:09:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 01:16:59 pm
James attempts to make his very best sheepish smile! The mouthful of mismatched teeth make this a very difficult endeavor. In fact, the swordsman seems extremely creeped out more than anything! Maybe he should give it more context. Wouldn't want a misunderstanding!
[Apology roll: 3-2]
"Forgive me for my intrusion, I just came in to say that YOUR MOTHER IS A WHORE AND YOUR WIFE IS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH THE DOG BWAHAHAHAH!"
[Escape roll: 5]
James runs like the devil after delivering that effective apology! After getting out of the building, he runs a good distance and looks back!
Nobody following him. Great!
Inside the tomb...
Jordan will not abandon his master! He decides to make an attempt to search for him!
[Search roll: 3]
He looks around the room for potential avenues of disappearance with the candle and finds a staircase! Marvelous.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Who knows what horrors await an intrepid adventurer beneath!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 01:23:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 01:41:38 pm
When faced with a foreboding area that's mostly shrouded in darkness and possibly infested with backgammon enthusiasts, Jordan has but one answer! The ultimate answer!
"I say, Leeroy Jenkins and all that!"
He charges down the staircase!
[Charging roll: 3]
He stumbles when he finally reaches the ground, but nothing too bad happens to him!
[Common sense roll: 6]
Perhaps this is all a trap? A trap set by the Nefarious Association of Backgammon Proliferation! Or Nabpies, as Jordan likes to call them! If this is so, he has every reason to stay cautious of the area around him!
[Encounter roll: 3]
He does feel something slither around here! The slithering is accompanied by the telltale sound of dice on a wooden board! The right-hand side of a wooden board, in fact!
Post by: TopHat on November 13, 2012, 02:00:06 pm
Use them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 02:06:49 pm
James attempts to fish out a spellbook from his pockets!
[Inventory manipulation roll: 4]
Through judicious use of his teeth, he manages to get it out on the ground! Now to open it!
[Book opening roll: 3]
He nudges the book cover open with his nose and then attempts to flip through the pages with his tongue!
[Book browsing roll: 5]
His tongue proves an effective implement, and he eventually finds a good spell that might help him in this situation! It's called Regeneration!
[Magic roll: 3-2]
He gestures with his tongue a whole lot and attempts to speak the words at the same time! Naturally, it doesn't end well! The three-headed five-tailed snail becomes a permanent fixture of his neck and possibly his entire undead being! There's no way to tell for sure!
Post by: TopHat on November 13, 2012, 02:11:38 pm
See if the snail has regenerative abilities.
If not, attemp the spell again. The worst it can do is remove the snail.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 02:14:17 pm
This is getting MADDENING.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 02:22:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 02:29:10 pm
James tries to determine if the snail has regenerative abilities!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
It probably does, yes. Too bad it wouldn't really help James, considering that they don't share a circulatory system or anything, really, aside from being connected with a layer of muscle tissue. Figuring nothing too bad is likely to happen, James attempts magic once more!
[Magic roll: 1-2]
The snail on his neck begins to glow slightly! So do the other two snails in his possession! The glow intensifies to the point where James can't see anything anymore, then his vision goes black! He feels himself change quite awfully, feeling himself become more and more snail-like! Eventually, he can finally see again! Although he really wishes he couldn't, to be honest!
James has become a Six-Headed Three-Tailed Two-Legged Still Armless Three-Quarter-Snail!
On a rather charred street...
Samuel is rather peeved at this recent turn of events. Well, socialization has failed. Time to KILL EVERYONE.
[Magic roll: 2]
He gestures! He shakes! He dances expressively! He pantomimes! One thing he does not do, however, is magic!
[Response roll: 1]
Another security officer shows up, clearly having gotten it in his mind to investigate these shenanigans! He approaches Samuel!
[Reaction roll: 5]
"Citizen! What is the meaning of this?"
Inside the deeper tombs...
Jordan goes forward, undeterred by the backgammon conspiracy brewing against him! What's the worst they could do, anyway?
[Encounter roll: 3]
He feels the number of his watchers increase! They, however, do not seem to dare approach, possibly due to his light source!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 13, 2012, 02:46:11 pm
Head back in and terrify that guy. If not terrified enough,
Post by: miauw62 on November 13, 2012, 02:48:17 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 02:51:48 pm
Post by: Scelly9 on November 13, 2012, 02:59:55 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 03:05:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 03:16:16 pm
James, horrified at his transformation, decides to half-slither, half-walk back to the man he blames for the entirety of his miseries!
[Movement roll: 6-1]
He moves like a regular snail train, using his legs to give himself a much-needed boost! Eventually he gets in!
The swordsman looks at James!
[Fear resistance roll: 3]
He becomes white as a sheet and begins to shiver! He looks like he is about to ask something, but then decides not to, possibly to preserve his tenuous grip on sanity!
James is not satisfied at this considerable, though somewhat lower than expected amount of fear! He goes for a vicious beaversnailgoating!
[Beaversnailgoating: James vs. Swordsman: 2 vs. 2+1-1]
Somewhat new to the beaversnailgoating business, James crawls on the man and considers his next move!
[Swordsman fear roll: 2]
The swordsman just stands with his mouth agape! Well, no time like the present!
[Beaversnailgoating roll: 1]
During his experimentation in beaversnailgoating, James comes upon new and excitingly terrifying possibilities of inflicting the method! He practices all of them! On himself! James falls off the man, shaking and terrified!
[Swordsman morale roll: 3]
The swordsman doesn't seem to be able to muster up enough courage to believe what is currently happening! He slaps himself several times!
In the ruins of a once-less-security-officer-infested neighborhood...
Samuel, not really in a mood to answer the inquiries of random schlubs approaching him on the street, feigns injury to avoid an awkward conversation!
[Injury feigning roll: 1]
He falls to the ground and begins rolling with expertly-pantomimed laughter! The officer is not amused, which honestly and truly offends Samuel! He gets up and gets ready to deliver the beating of a lifetime!
[Samuel vs. Officer: 3+1 vs. 3+2]
The officer, however, has dealt with old people before and successfully avoids each and every one of Samuel's strikes! With the identity of at least one hostile geezer ascertained, he decides to take action!
[Officer vs. Samuel: 5+2 vs. 3+2]
He stabs at Samuel's shoulder with a dagger of extremely unusual sharpness, slicing neatly through three of Samuel's ribs! Oh dear.
Inside the Nabpie Tomb...
Jordan proceeds forward, carefully stepping through the nabpie-infested area! Suddenly, he thinks of a perfectly good way to deal with all the horrors of the tomb! It's his classic plan: start swinging, make something dead, repeat ad infinitum!
[Lucky axe swing roll: 4]
He does manage to graze something with an axe swing! It's probably a nabpie, too, considering the mournful howl emitted!
"O-oh ba-alls, tha-at rea-ally hu-urt!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 03:21:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2012, 03:32:35 pm
Samuel tries to feign an injury once more!
[Feigning injury roll: 3]
He attempts to cough, but finds out that he really can't! He does, however, fall to his knees and kinda-sorta makes a begging gesture!
[Reaction roll: 2]
The officer pays no mind to Samuel and keeps on trying to eliminate him!
[Officer vs. Samuel: 4+2 vs. 3+2]
The officer slices once more, nearly slicing another rib in half! Samuel is starting to get quite annoyed!
Post by: TopHat on November 13, 2012, 03:45:55 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 13, 2012, 03:49:06 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 13, 2012, 05:34:08 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 13, 2012, 07:01:37 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 13, 2012, 07:49:55 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 13, 2012, 09:47:15 pm
What. The. FUCK.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 12:59:40 am
James tries to recover from his beaversnailgoated state!
[Will roll: 4+1]
He tells himself that soon he will be able to visit this horrible technique upon somebody else! He feels better! James now feels confident in his beaversnailgoating routine and attempts to utilize it against the man!
[Swordsman fear roll: 4]
The swordsman looks at James warily as he approaches, but takes no action!
[Beaversnailgoating: James vs. Swordsman: 2 vs. 3+1]
As James attempts to get close to the swordsman, the swordsman steps away calmly! Realizing that James definitely means him harm, he goes for a stab!
[Swordsman vs. James: 4+2 vs. 4]
He swings his blade in a an overhead arc, chopping off one of James' tails! Damn, that really hurts!
In a not-so-pitched battle elsewhere...
Samuel doesn't think ordinary skeletal (lack of) muscle will prove sufficient to battle this ghastly threat to his personal safety! It's magi-canin' time!
[Magic roll: 6]
He summons 8 canes from the nether realms which proceed to attack the poor fool that dared to compromise the sanctity of Samuel's ribcage!
[Cane 1 vs. Officer: 3+1 vs. 5+2-1]
[Cane 2 vs. Officer: 3+1 vs. 1+2-1]
[Cane 3 vs. Officer: 2+1 vs. 5+2-1]
[Cane 4 vs. Officer: 3+1 vs. 1+2-1]
[Cane 5 vs. Officer: 6+1 vs. 1+2-1]
[Cane 6 vs. Officer: 6+1 vs. 6+2-1]
[Cane 7 vs. Officer: 4+1 vs. 2+2-1]
[Cane 8 vs. Officer: 1+1 vs. 5+2-1]
The officer dodges many cane blows like a champ, taking a few hits and reeling occasionally, but nothing too bad. That is, until a certain cane whacks him straight in the back of the head!
[Officer endurance roll: 1]
His skull immediately caves in and he falls down on the ground, deader than a sackful of noblemen chucked into a dark alley!
[Cane mood roll: 4]
Having attained victory, the canes fade away!
In the midst of the Nabpie race...
Jordan strolls along and keeps swinging!
[Lucky axe swing roll: 4]
He grazes yet another Nabpie! That's some bit of luck.
[Encounter roll: 5]
He feels the Nabpies around him retreat, unwilling to be axed any more questions! Meanwhile, he also hears something from an area to the left!
[Perception roll: 2]
He can't really tell what it is, though!
Inside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent tugs on a random door!
[Security measures roll: 2]
Damn, locked. Better open it, then.
[Lockpicking roll: 1]
He attempts to pick the lock to the door, but jams the lock instead! Plan B, then?
[Strength roll: 5]
The door proves remarkably fragile as Vincent's kick essentially turns it to splinters! He walks inside!
The room itself features a bed, a wardrobe, a mirror, a bedside table, a large wooden chest and a bookcase! There is an expensive-looking carpet covering the otherwise unsightly wooden floor.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 14, 2012, 08:25:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 08:39:43 am
Vincent is wise to the ways of wizards and immediately goes to loot the bookcase!
[Looting roll: 5]
He obtains vast quantities of books! Wonderful! There's all kinds of literature here! Most of it looks kind of filthy, though!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 14, 2012, 11:12:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 11:36:05 am
Jordan decides to follow that noise! He goes left! The sounds seem to intensify!
[Perception roll: 3]
He can faintly discern certain words!
"... and that right there was a gammon..."
"... what's a..."
"... means you lost twice..."
... damn...
He soon arrives in a room illuminated with purplish light! Bernie is here, as is a filthy Nabpie! They appear to be playing a rousing game of backgammon!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 11:38:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 12:04:08 pm
Samuel decides to look for true heroes to defeat his imaginary demonic invasion! He runs out and looks for a fighters' guild!
[Search roll: 6]
After ascertaining that no fighters' guild exists in whatever city this might be, Samuel runs to the next best thing: the guild of people who weigh salt and butter (nothing else, though)!
[Nonverbal persuasion roll: 6]
He launches into an incredibly violent-looking bit of interpretive dance! The guild can't help but join in! As Samuel swings his cane in a deadly dance, so do the weighers! Samuel heads out onto the street, conga line of agitators in tow!
[People reaction roll: 6]
Gee, they look like they're having a lot of fun! Soon the guilds of oil-weighers, cobblers, foreign merchants and chamberpot-emptiers join in, each using weapons of their own sort! Over two hundred people are now following directly after Samuel, destroying and everything on the way while they do so! The power of interpretive dance is great indeed, it seems.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 12:33:46 pm
...Now I get 3 6's? Dammit.
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 12:38:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 12:45:56 pm
Samuel leads his dancing army to the very gates of the palace! The partying citizens begin to besiege it without a second thought!
[Siege roll: 4]
The palace guards seem awfully surprised at the crowd that's gathered! They send out a single group of heavily-armed guards to meet the crowd!
"What is the meaning of-"
He is interrupted by dancing marauders!
[Crowd vs. Guards: 1+3 vs. 4+2]
Though the crowd draws perilously close, the guards manage to ward them off with spiky clubs!
Meanwhile, inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James attempts to deliver a beating to the man using his two tails as improvised fists!
[James vs. Swordsman: 6 vs. 6+1]
He goes in for a furious assault, but the swordsman cleverly avoids him by taking a single step backwards!
[Swordsman vs. James: 5+2 vs. 4-1]
The swordsman slices off yet another of James' tails! Damn, soon he will have nothing to punch him with!
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 12:49:59 pm
Carry on pummeling
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 14, 2012, 12:56:14 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 01:02:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 01:36:16 pm
Even as a snail, James will not admit defeat! He tries to murder the fellow once more!
[James vs. Swordsman: 6 vs. 2+1]
He slides the entire left hand of the swordsman into one of his five snail-mouths, turning it into a fine paste with the horrible rasp of death hidden within!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 4]
The swordsman gazes at his missing hand and strikes after briefly hesitating!
[Swordsman vs. James: 5+1 vs. 3]
He slices off the snail head that ate his hand! Can't have that happening again!
Inside the lair of the insidious Nabpies...
Jordan sneaks up on the Nabpie!
"I say, why are you fooling around with this backgammon nonsense? Checkers are clearly superior!"
"Now, I'm not the biggest fan of backgammon myself, I just-"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 1+2 vs. 2+3-1]
To say that Jordan completely misses would be a great understatement! He's actually closer to hitting Bernie than the Nabpie, in fact!
[Nabpie reaction roll: 5]
"-feel that backgammon has several interesting qualities that give it a certain lasting entertainment value. I mean, play five games of checkers and you already have seen everything the game can offer, essentially. Not so with backgammon. In fact..."
The Nabpie continues to extol the merits of backgammon in comparison to checkers! Jordan is clearly beyond the point of caring, however. Bernie leans in to Jordan!
"Awfully thick sons of bitches, aren't they? Backgammon grand masters, though. All of them. Guess they've had several thousand years of practice."
At the gates of the king's palace...
Samuel attempts to improve the equipment of his fanatic army! Something more caney would be nice!
[Magic roll: 5]
Each member of the mob now has a magically empowered cane in his hand! Bolstered by this sudden bit of luck, they charge at the guards!
[Mob vs. Guards: 3+5 vs. 6+2]
The guards, however, stand firm and let none pass, whacking the occasional courageous individual backwards!
[Crowd morale roll: 1]
The spirit of the dance appears to have left the crowd and they are all standing still! Hmm. What to do, what to do.
[Morale raising roll: 4]
Samuel begins dancing again! The crowd joins in! This, however, is a less fast-paced dance! The Dance of the Patient Barbarian Horde!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 14, 2012, 01:39:39 pm
((How about you just auto me to just swing at the guy whenever I'm in combat, unless I say otherwise. It's all I really do.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 01:52:37 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 02:18:16 pm
((I miss my nice combat bonuses:())
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 02:22:53 pm
Jordan skillfully feigns interest to keep the conversation going!
"You are not a very seasoned checkers player if you dare say it is a game of no subtlety or depth! Why, it has more subtle intricacies and potential for strategy than any other game I have ever played!"
"Now, don't be daft. It is clear to anyone that-"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 4+2 vs. 2+3-1-1]
Jordan manages to hit the Nabpie hard! Lots of dark essence spills from a gash in its near-intangible body!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 2]
[Nabpie reaction roll: 6]
The Nabpie shudders visibly!
"Oh dear. There appears to be a breeze coming from somewhere! Most unusual! I had better find the window and close it!"
"Get to it, good chap!"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 4+2 vs. 4+2-1-1]
Jordan strikes once more and draws dark-blood in very much the same way!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 6]
[Nabpie reaction roll: 5]
"Wait, the breeze! It's coming from your way! I don't remember this tomb being so drafty before! Did you leave the door open?"
"Ashamed as I am to admit it, I very well might have, friend! You had better go and see!"
It shambles off to the entrance!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 2+2 vs. 2+2-1-1]
The Nabpie gets another nasty gash in its shapeless form!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 1]
The Nabpie stumbles and descends low to the ground!
"Oh dear. The breeze, it's too strong for me! Be a good sport and close that door for me, will you?"
"Absolutely, good chap!"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 2+2 vs. 1-1-1]
Jordan brings his axe down on the creature one last time, making it dissipate! Victory!
"Well, that was amusing to watch. There do appear to be tons more of these things, however. Let's get out of here while we can."
Outside the gates of the king's palace...
Samuel leads the seemingly well-choreographed procession of partying guild members straight into the gates of the castle!
[Mob vs. Guards: 3+5 vs. 3+2]
The guards get savagely beaten by the mob, then viciously trampled as the mob bypasses the gates! Samuel rides on a particularly influential chamberpot emptier into the courtyard! Here the mob is met by a much larger band of guardsmen supported by crossbowmen!
[Guards vs. Mob: 1+3 vs. 5+5]
The mob, however, advances too rapidly for the guards to do anything!
[Counterattack: Mob vs. Guards: 5+5 vs. 2+3]
The mob beats the guardsmen into a bloody pulp and dances on their mortal remains!
[Crossbowmen vs. Mob: 5+3 vs. 4+5]
The crossbowmen load their crossbows, but the mob quickly boogies out of the line of fire! They ascend to the battlements!
[Mob vs. Crossbowmen: 1+5 vs. 4+3]
A few of the mob members get a faceful of crossbow bolts while attempting to get to the entrenched crossbowmen, prompting the others to go party somewhere else for the time being!
[Samuel nonverbal peacemaking roll: 5]
Samuel signals the crossbowmen that they shall not be harmed if they leave at once! After all, the mob outnumbers them four to one and is currently impossible to hit safely, so they really should just give it up and go become mercenaries or something!
[Crossbowmen patriotism roll: 1]
The crossbowmen are intrigued by this idea! So intrigued, in fact, that they choose to start their career as mercenaries immediately! As Samuel's well-armed and beautiful assistants! The reward for their service being the ability to take whatever riches they can get their hands on (provided Samuel doesn't call dibs first)!
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James goes for the kill!
[James vs. Swordsman: 1 vs. 2+1]
The swordsman, still bleeding profusely, steps away!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 3]
He stumbles a bit! Seems like the massive blood loss is getting to him!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 14, 2012, 02:28:15 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 02:31:07 pm
HOW HAS THIS HAPPENED
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 02:47:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 03:01:23 pm
Jordan leads the way as Bernie follows behind!
[Encounter roll: 5]
Nobody seems willing to bother him with any backgammon, possibly because he looks more like a checkers person! He safely makes his way back out to the mausoleum with Bernie!
[Bernie benevolence roll: 2]
"Okay, now that we're out, you can go right back in and kill the rest of those Nabpies. Can't have them messing around here with that mind-blowingly boring and stupid game of theirs. And they'll probably try to get me again! Can't allow that. Might not have a disposable minion around to rescue me. Now get in there and kill anything that moves. Come on out if you need repairs, though."
In the courtyard of the Royal Palace...
Samuel attempts to convey that he calls dibs on the King and possibly his family, who must be taken alive, and that no other dibs shall be called by him today! All this through the power of interpretive dance!
[Samuel nonverbal communication roll: 5]
An extremely elated form of gyration begins throughout the entire crowd! They feel emboldened at the thought of the absolutely ridiculous amounts of loot they'll be getting!
A unit of Royal Guardsmen runs out of the palace! They take up defensive positions as the mob advances!
[Mob vs. Royal Guardsmen: 5+6 vs. 5+4]
Many of them get savagely caned far more than any person with a reasonable hope of survival should! The rest seem very unsettled!
[Morale roll: 4]
They hold in place, though they don't seem very sure of themselves!
[Mob vs. Royal Guardsmen: 6+6 vs. 2+3]
The remaining guardsmen soon comprehend their mistake as the mob menacingly, though fabulously struts their way! They all get horribly mutilated and murdered by a steady stream of beatings! The unit of royal guards is obliterated!
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James tries once more to kill the fellow solely responsible for his current state!
[James vs. Swordsman: 3 vs. 5+1]
[Counterattack: Swordsman vs. James: 5+1 vs. 5]
That is to say, himself! The swordsman dodges his inept flailing and strikes back, slightly notching James' shell!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 3]
The swordsman fumbles around his arm-stump, trying to slow the bleeding! He doesn't look so hot! James uses the opportunity to strike once more!
[James vs. Swordsman: 2 vs. 2+1]
The swordsman keeps backpedaling away! This time, he chooses not to counterattack immediately!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 3]
Or any time soon, really. He just keeps grasping at his arm stump impotently!
[James vs. Swordsman: 6 vs. 4+1]
James weakly rasps at the swordsman's foot! The swordsman winces in pain, but it is little more than a scratch, really!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 2]
The swordsman drops to his knees, the blood quickly draining out of his system!
[James vs. Swordsman: 4 vs. 4]
He falls backward to protect himself from James' rasp-mouths!
[Swordsman endurance roll: 2]
He gets even less and less healthy-looking! Doesn't look like he has a long time left to live! Better shorten it!
[James vs. Swordsman: 6 vs. 5-1]
James nibbles on the swordsman's face! The swordsman, however, seems to be already dead before James can get anywhere! Oh well, this goes down on his list as a victory anyway, even if by attrition!
He grabs the magical sword with his sole remaining tail!
Post by: miauw62 on November 14, 2012, 03:02:24 pm
The crossbowmen load their crossbows, but the mob quickly boogies out of the line of fire! They ascend to the battlements!
You coulds say that they did
*sunglasses*
A safety dance.
YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 03:11:06 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 03:22:07 pm
Samuel and his mob of followers and crossbowmen go inside the palace! It's a bit cramped, to be honest, but the crowd keeps dancing like some kind of unusually stylish savage tribe! They are met inside by yet another troop of royal guardsmen! They charge!
[Royal Guardsmen vs. Mob: 5+5 vs. 5+6]
Their charge proves to be a waste of resources, as they just get beaten back handily! The mob marches towards the throne room, looting, killing and destroying everything!
[Mob vs. Royal Guardsmen: 6+6 vs. 5+4]
Try as they might, the royal guardsmen are simply no match for the fighting spirit and numbers of the mob! About half of them get killed!
[Guardsmen morale roll: 1]
They proceed to run like pathetic dogs! The crossbowmen open fire!
[Crossbowmen vs. Royal Guardsmen: 3+4 vs. 2+2-1]
The hail of bolts makes short work of the remainder of the escapees, leaving them completely incapable of putting up a fight! The Party Army moves onward! They see some barred solid metal gates leading to the throne room!
[Homewrecking roll: 2+1]
They chip away at the door for a bit, getting a few solid chunks out, but are far from getting through! Hm. The king's probably in there, Samuel thinks. Looks pretty well-secured!
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 03:31:45 pm
((would a magic healing sword be too much to ask?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 03:34:06 pm
That worked last-time, right?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2012, 04:05:49 pm
James examines his latest find, the magic sword! What kinds of properties might it have?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
James is pretty sure that this sword is usually used for horrible murder! Could try to use it as a surgical implement as well. It's certainly sharp enough!
Inside the palace of the king...
Samuel tries to give the inside wall of the throne room some hands through the amazing power of magic!
[Magic roll: 6-2]
He does indeed hear the sound of grinding stone and muffled panicked screaming from the inside! It is soon replaced by the sound of steel slicing stone! The mob continues to attempt to party the door the death!
[Homewrecking roll: 2+1]
The doors visibly weaken, the bars are bent! The mob presses on!
[Homewrecking roll: 2+1]
Some of the bars are removed by the unskilled attackers!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 14, 2012, 04:34:55 pm
I like this RTD. It's fun, silly, serious at times, and the turns are very quick, AND to the point. No six paragraphs detailing every bit of the enviroment for every player; - Fast and fun action. I honestly like that!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 14, 2012, 04:45:57 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 14, 2012, 04:47:06 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 14, 2012, 05:32:27 pm
((that -2 to social interaction is annoying...
Also, I'll be away until Sunday. Not that it matters for this turn less RTD, but still thought I'd mention it.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 01:11:42 am
James attempts to practice his oratory, hoping to become one hell of a handicap success story!
[Practice roll: 1]
He gets a cramp in his jaw just from the attempt! Oh gods, that hurts! Didn't even know vampires could get those!
Inside a room in the Artifact Vault...
Vincent looks for something to keep his ill-gotten gains in!
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a pretty fancy-looking traveler's backpack in the room! That could certainly work.
Outside the lair of the Nabpies...
Jordan says nothing to Bernie, opting to simply emit a world-weary sigh! It comes out as more of a raspy wheeze, but the point is nicely conveyed anyway! He walks downstairs!
[Encounter roll: 4]
He senses a Nabpie right in front of him! He walks up to it!
"I say, would you care for a splendid game of chess?"
[Reaction roll: 3]
"Che-ess? Who plays che-ess anymo-ore these da-ays, my wo-ord-"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 1+2 vs. 4+3-1]
[Reaction roll: 4]
Jordan swings his axe, but this Nabpie is more intangible than the rest! The axe sails through it! The Nabpie gently slithers toward Jordan!
"No-ow, wha-at was tha-at just no-ow? I sa-ay. Mo-ost irre-egula-ar."
"Well, old bean, I dare say it must have been some kind of infernal fly that just flew past you. Let me get it for you!"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 3+2 vs. 6+3-1]
[Reaction roll: 5]
Jordan still can't hit the Nabpie in any meaningful way!
"I-is the fly-y still the-ere?"
"It is, the wretched little blighter!"
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 5+2 vs. 3+3-1]
Jordan finally manages to get a nice cut on the Nabpie! It bleeds pure evil and darkness!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 3]
It stumbles slightly and emits slightly less darkness!
[Reaction roll: 1]
"Oh, I see. You me-ean to ki-ill me-e?"
"Nonsense, old chap. Just swatting flies from you, being a productive member of society!."
"I a-am not fa-alling for tha-at one again."
[Nabpie vs. Jordan: 4+2 vs. 5-1]
The Nabpie moves its icy tendrils over Jordan! Jordan feels a terrible chill run over him! Better keep swinging, though!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 2+2 vs. 3+2-1]
The Nabpie is a bit too fast, though! It moves back in for an attack!
[Nabpie vs. Jordan: 2+2 vs. 2-1]
The Nabpie moves in close and drags a piece of Jordan's belly into its maw!
[Dog idea roll: 4]
The dog attempts to bite the silly thing!
[Dogleg vs. Nabpie: 5+1 vs. 6+1-1]
The Nabpie skillfully avoids its bite!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 1+2 vs. 4+2-1]
Damn, he's good! He can avoid Jordan at every turn!
[Nabpie vs. Jordan: 3+2 vs. 3-1]
The Nabpie eats a large piece of Jordan's club-leg! Jordan carefully balances on his dog-leg!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 5+2 vs. 3+2-1]
Jordan lands yet another solid hit, though! The Nabpie retreats in some mimicry of pain!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 3]
It does look weaker now as well!
[Nabpie vs. Jordan: 4+1 vs. 2-1]
The Nabpie bites into Jordan's metal arm! It doesn't appear to want to let go!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 2+2 vs. 6+1-1]
The Nabpie just keeps clinging on despite getting poked with the axe!
Inside the castle of the king...
Samuel tries to help his followers!
[Samuel homewrecking roll: 4]
He manages to successfully loosen one of the blocks around the entrance!
[Mob homewrecking roll: 3+1]
The mob follows suit and soon opens up another makeshift entrance next to the door! They all enter the throne room!
They see the king and two units of elite royal guardsmen guarding him! Nearby are a bunch of destroyed stone hands!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 15, 2012, 07:03:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 09:52:29 am
Vincent puts on the fancy backpack and stashes his collection of smut in it! He then proceeds to try and ransack the chest!
Hm. It's locked.
[Lockpicking roll: 3]
It's locked hard.
[Strength roll: 3]
And made of oak. Damn it all. Probably something valuable inside, though!
Inside the Nabpie Tomb...
Jordan is getting mighty tired of this disagreeable chap on his arm! He attempts to cleave him off!
[Nabpie chomping roll: 4]
The Nabpie chews on Jordan's shoulder, eating a large piece of it!
[Jordan vs. Nabpie: 5+2 vs. 2+1-1]
His enthusiasm and unusual killer instinct are rewarded with horrible axe-related injuries!
[Nabpie endurance roll: 2]
The Nabpie drops to the ground and fades away!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 15, 2012, 10:34:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 11:26:57 am
Jordan attempts to practice medicine on himself!
[Medicine roll: 3]
He plops the loose chunks of flesh back on to his body, but is unable to get them to stick properly! Maybe he needs qualified medical help or some such nonsense! Not quite ready to get back out again, Jordan proceeds inside the corridors, looking for any Nabpies worth slaying!
[Encounter roll: 1]
Alarmed by their comrade's death, three Nabpies surround Jordan!
[Reaction roll: 1]
"Hee iis thee eenemy! Kiill hiim!"
[Nabpie 1 vs. Jordan: 5+3 vs. 2-1]
[Nabpie 2 vs. Jordan: 5+3 vs. 1-1]
[Nabpie 3 vs. Jordan: 3+3 vs. 1-1]
The three Nabpies completely surround Jordan and eat every single one of his limbs and his entire belly! They also devour his axe! Oh dear! Jordan falls to the ground limbless!
[Nabpie intelligence roll: 3]
Two of the Nabpies leave, satisfied at their work, while one remains in the general vicinity, casting an occasional glance at Jordan's body!
[Jordan will roll: 1]
Jordan feels his unlife-force quickly seep from the pathetic remains of his body! He tries to fight it, but is too weak to halt the flow!
[Jordan will roll: 4-1]
He does, however, begin to fight it at some point, keeping some of it from escaping!
[Jordan will roll: 6-1]
Yeah, he has a good handle on it now. Won't be getting away that easy!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 15, 2012, 11:34:30 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 11:39:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 12:27:03 pm
Jordan attempts to bite the Nabpie!
[Jordan movement roll: 5-[abb=You're just an upper torso, for gods' sakes!]3[/abbr]]
He budges a few inches in its direction!
[Nabpie perception roll: 5]
The Nabpie immediately notices Jordan moving and comes on over to finish the job!
[Nabpie vs. Jordan: 5+3 vs. 5-2]
The Nabpie devours the entirety of Jordan's torso, leaving but a head behind!
"Oh, bother."
[Jordan will roll: 2-2]
Jordan's eyes go dark, the spark of unlife in them becoming extinguished! In a few moments, all that is left is a head of a mere corpse! The face of the corpse looks somewhat irritated, but nonetheless possesses a certain gentlemanly quality! The Nabpie ignores the head, choosing to get back to its mates and knock back a pint of shadow essence over a nice, friendly game of backgammon!
Jordan has been fatally dismembered!
Inside the castle of the esteemed king...
Samuel has got a strategy developing here! He attempts to convey the finer points of it to the mob!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He isn't able to instruct the dancing agitators to do anything, but at least the crossbowmen seem to understand him! They move into good firing positions!
[Crossbowmen vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 1: 6+3 vs. 3+5-2]
They open fire on one of the flanks of the elite guardsmen, mowing down nearly half of them before they scatter! The mob, meanwhile, just dances straight into melee with the other half of the guards!
[Mob vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 2: 2+6 vs. 2+5]
It's a pitched battle, but the mob gains ground by virtue of the edge they've obtained from their magical weapons! The guardsmen get decimated, by which it is meant that about a tenth are dead!
[King roll: 4]
The king is too smart to go fight a mob! He attempts to deliver a rousing speech!
[Speech roll: 3]
"I would really appreciate it if you stopped dying, men!"
[Samuel magic roll: 4]
Samuel indirectly aids the mob by summoning 2 canes to beat up the elite guardsmen!
[Cane 1 vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 2: 5+1 vs. 3+5-1]
[Cane 2 vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 2: 5+1 vs. 6+5-1]
The guardsmen are briefly distracted, though not really impeded in a meaningful way by two flying canes delivering a slight beating to a few of their number! A sufficient amount of heads is turned to give the mob an opening!
[Mob vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 2: 6+6 vs. 6+5-1]
The mob takes the opportunity to pummel a good number of the royal guards!
[Crossbowmen vs. Royal Elite Guard Unit 1: 3+3 vs. 2+3-2]
The crossbowmen take the time to eliminate most of the remaining guardsmen on the king's right!
[King roll: 4]
The king attempts to rally the people around him!
[King speech roll: 1]
"You idiots will be beheaded if you don't stop fighting like girly men RIGHT NOW! I swear, I regret the day I took advantage of first-night privileges with all of your mothers!"
[Royal Guard morale roll: 1]
Getting berated by their king for apparently failing in their duty does little to bolster the morale of the guards! In fact, most of them get downright pissed off at the king! Unwilling to fight, let alone die for this bag of excrement, they decide to flee!
[King roll: 4]
"Now, let's be reasonable here..."
He tries to run to the back door of the throne room!
[Escape roll: 3]
He makes it halfway there!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 15, 2012, 12:28:41 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 01:50:32 pm
Samuel will STOP THE KING'S ESCAPE WITH NON-LETHAL CANES! Maybe flying canes that, when they hit someone, they jolt 'em with electricity? Similar to a Tazer or Stun-gun. Also, if he has the time, tell the Royal Guard to stand down and join the mob; - Free looting! And anyone in the mob won't get their house burned down, or women ra-er...Uh...Forced to bake pies! And no coal mines for the children!
Post by: miauw62 on November 15, 2012, 01:53:25 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 01:55:39 pm
(("They say Samuel killed the king with his moves! Danced him apart!"))
What? Whor'e you? OH, OOPS, I meant "Who're" you. Ha! Silly me!
Okay, I'm going to cane you.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 02:11:18 pm
The mob is about to chase after the king, but Samuel gestures to them to stand down! He waves his cane in the air!
[Samuel magic roll: 4]
A charged cane appears in the air next to the king! It swings at him!
[Cane vs. King: 2+1 vs. 2-1]
The cane trips the king up, sending him flying to the ground!
[King endurance roll: 4]
He gets up immediately, though, and keeps running! The cane follows him!
[Cane vs. King: 5+1 vs. 4-1]
The cane makes a swift swipe at his thigh! The king drops to the ground once more, convulsing slightly!
[King endurance roll: 5]
He rolls away and keeps running!
[Escape roll: 5]
[Cane pursuit roll: 6]
[Cane vs. King: 5+1 vs. 6-1]
The cane faintly touches the king!
[King endurance roll: 4]
The king twitches slightly, but keeps running!
[King escape roll: 3]
[Cane pursuit roll: 1]
The king manages to make it to the door! The cane, overzealous in its pursuit, runs into the door as the king quickly sidesteps!
[Cane endurance roll: 6+1]
The cane looks quite angry now! It attempts to take down the currently giggling monarch!
[Cane vs. King: 3+1 vs. 6-1]
The king manages to utilize the cane's rage against it, dodging its blows much better than you'd expect from an old man!
[King escape roll: 1]
He is about to escape, but forgets to open the door, getting a faceful of heavy oaken throne room defense!
[King endurance roll: 3]
Partly from dizziness, partly from humiliation, the king chooses to stay where he is for now, cursing loudly!
Meanwhile, Samuel tries to get the royal guard to join the mob!
[Nonverbal persuasion roll: 1]
He decides to say "screw it" to all that brotherly nonsense and flips the royal guards off!
[Royal Guard rage roll: 5]
The royal guardsmen are full of fighting spirit once more! They make a desperate charge at the mob!
[Elite Royal Guard Unit 2 vs. Mob: 5+5 vs. 6+6]
The mob is not impressed with their moves! Time for a dance with the devil!
[Mob vs. Elite Royal Guard Unit: 2+6 vs. 1+4]
The mob pummels the foolish guards quite thoroughly, taking down about half of them!
[Royal Guard morale roll: 1]
The rest choose to surrender immediately, throwing down their weapons in front of the Flipper of the Mighty Bird!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 02:18:22 pm
Is that two actions in one turn? I don't want to rig this or something, sorry..
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 15, 2012, 03:14:34 pm
Jordan. Do not fear. Samuel WILL raise you from the grave, whole and non...Uh...Messed up. Trust me!
You COULD just find Bernie and send him to the tomb.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 03:23:59 pm
Samuel attempts to explain the concept of a revolution to the mob and the crossbowmen!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He shows them that they should now get back to their daily lives and forget the whole thing ever happened!
[Crowd reaction roll: 6]
They roar enthusiastically and dance out of the throne room, nabbing the occasional bit of the king's silverware on the way! And some furniture. And some particularly comely servants. And the guards, who might make good butlers or something. They then proceed to run off to various pubs to drink and dance the night away, which is really the best they could have hoped for, anyway!
With that bit of business done, Samuel walks up to the king! He takes out the amulet from a pocket in his robes and steps in front of the brutalized sovereign!
[King endurance roll: 4]
The king squirms a bit and tries to get away!
[Samuel vs. King: 6+1 vs. 3-1]
Samuel immobilizes him with a well-placed caning to the shin, breaking it in half! With the king pacified, Samuel finally gets the amulet around the monarch's neck!
The king goes through several sets of horrible grimaces and then finally settles into a green glowing sort of face, levitating up from the ground! His shin mends itself, as does his clothing!
"Ah, there we go. Now I'm in control."
He surveys the corpses and destruction around him!
"I would have preferred some more subtlety out of you, but I guess it does not matter."
He takes off the amulet and puts it in his pocket.
"Step one's done. Now on to the greater plot, I suppose."
He glances at Samuel.
"Not that it matters to you, I guess. So, it was a shred of my power you wanted, yes?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 03:39:25 pm
Greenstar: No! I shall now become a powerful Lich! I shall raise Jordan myself, as a Death Knight!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 15, 2012, 03:44:28 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 03:48:15 pm
...That's not a challenge, Harry.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 04:01:24 pm
Samuel tries to tell the Demon King how he really feels!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
He dances! He gestures! He manages to convey the soaring of his craven soul perfectly to the demonic entity! He asks for mastery of magic!
"Magical mastery, eh? I thought you were going to ask for something good. Well, no matter."
[Demonic favor roll: 6]
Samuel feels his connection to the primal power of magic strengthen many times in an instant! A sort of mind-tunnel of telepathic communication opens between him and the demon! He feels the verbal contract he signed actualize itself forcefully!
Knowledge that man was not meant to have enters Samuel's mind like a shrill song of a thousand eternally tortured sinners!
[Will roll: 1]
Samuel tries to hold on to it, but the knowledge slips past the grasp of his mind! It is there one second, lordship over all that was, is and will be, but it is a mere echo seconds later! In but a moment, the echo itself dissipates as well, leaving behind but a few amusing demonic anecdotes scrawled on the edges of Samuel's mind! Well, at least those are quite amusing.
"Now that I've upheld my end of the bargain, how about you leave me to my devices?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 04:09:50 pm
Samuel will bow, and briskly leave. He shall try and nab a map along the way, to head to the next largest city.
That is REALLY mean.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2012, 04:18:34 pm
Samuel is delighted at the fresh supply of amusing demon stories he has! He takes a bow and leaves!
"See you later, minion..."
He searches for a map of the area!
[Search roll: 2]
Stupid lazy cartographers that can't get off their posteriors and mass-produce maps! It's enough to make a bedazzled skeleton feel unwelcome in this place!
[Local knowledge roll: 4]
Samuel realizes that following a road would be a pretty sure way to find another city. This area looks well-developed. There's also a port. He could try to catch a ship off to some other city, which would be severely faster!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Firelordsky on November 15, 2012, 04:41:14 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 15, 2012, 04:52:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 12:41:04 am
Samuel decides to test his undoubtedly amazing magical powers on some wildlife! Specifically, the awesome power of imploding innocent, cute little animals!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a rabbit! It runs away! Aw, shucks. Well, trees are technically wildlife, right? Samuel decides to see if they really do scream when imploded!
[Magic roll: 1-2]
He turns a good portion of the entire forest's trees into giant canes that are somehow stuck in the ground! Samuel waits for them to do anything! They don't.
Well, that just won't do! More magic!
[Magic roll: 1-2]
He waves at the forest, willing it to implode upon itself! It doesn't. What does implode, however, is space itself. A magical space anomaly appears!
[Samuel escape roll: 2]
Samuel slowly gets pulled into it, being the originator of the warp! Magic hates an originator, you know.
[Samuel escape roll: 4-1]
He holds on to a rock! Well, isn't that just a lucky coincidence.
[Samuel grip roll: 1]
That is, it would be a lucky coincidence if the rock wasn't just a wandering toad. It slips out of Samuel's fingers, sending him tumbling into the anomaly!
[Let's do the space warp: ?]
It takes only an instant for him to pass through the warp! The entire journey is quite indescribable, but the end result is that Samuel seems to have landed on the floor somewhere! A wooden floor.
He gets up and takes a look around. Looks like a tavern. There's people getting drunk, people fighting and people singing terribly. Yep, definitely a tavern.
Inside the quarters of an artifact researcher...
Vincent puts his halberds to work in opening the chest!
[Strength roll: 4+1]
He breaks it open like a charm! Life is so much easier when you have tools made of steel!
[Loot roll: 2]
There appears to be more smut inside. This, however, is far more incriminating than the smut in the bookshelf!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 16, 2012, 07:31:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 09:05:54 am
Vincent opts to leave the smut be, unsure of where it's been! He puts everything he stole back into the bookcase in a neat alphabetical order! That done, he leaves the room, unwilling to sully himself any further!
[Encounter roll: 2]
A lady in white robes walks down the hallway and walks up to the missing door of the room Vincent just attempted to burglarize! She looks inside!
"My smut! It's been organized in an alphabetical order! I don't remember doing that!"
[Smut Woman intelligence roll: 5]
"Something evil is afoot! I must find the perpetrator of this heinous crime!"
[Perception roll: 1]
"Aha! I see the foolish peasant who did this! You will pay, you hear me!"
She dives through a window, landing on the cobbled ground outside!
[Fall damage roll: 1]
She stays there. Well, maybe she'll look before she leaps next time. That is, if she isn't dead.
[Smut Woman endurance roll: 6]
Vincent's suspicions are immediately cleared when the lady gets up and limps off into the distance!
Well. That was strange.
Post by: miauw62 on November 16, 2012, 10:36:15 am
2 turns later. Spacetime anomaly.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 11:14:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 11:20:34 am
Samuel attempts to buy a pint! He realizes he doesn't have any money!
[Common sense roll: 2]
Ah, he'll just steal a pint instead. What's the worst that could happen?
[Stealing roll: 3]
While one fellow is looking away for a second, Samuel nabs his pint of some unidentifiable liquid! He takes a sip!
Oh, dammit, now his robes are wet. They also smell like beer, not that Samuel would know that. Of all the rotten luck...
He puts the pint back before the fellow notices!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 11:25:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 11:30:27 am
Samuel attempts to make himself magically drunk! He begins waving his cane around!
[Magic roll: ?-2]
He does succeed in making himself nearly black-out drunk! Whew. Didn't think that would work. He stumbles a bit to test his drunkenness! Yep. Totally inebriated. If he could pass out from intoxication right now, he would.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 11:41:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 11:59:45 am
Samuel initiates party mode, being drunk as hell at the moment!
[Partying roll: 4-1]
He dances awkwardly! Several heads turn to him, but they quickly get back to drinking, obviously used to such shenanigans! Samuel is disappointed at the lackluster reception!
[Partying roll: 3-1]
He tries to get some people to dance awkwardly with him, but just ends up falling down! He attempts to get up!
[Agility roll: 2+1-1]
He gets to his feet, stands for a moment, but immediately falls face-forward on the ground!
[Tavern reaction roll: 5]
The people in the tavern begin to look at him! They cheer at his antics!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 12:04:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 12:15:08 pm
Samuel likes the attention! It makes him feel fulfilled! Better keep on partying!
[Partying roll: 5-1]
He does a drunken dance rather nicely, using the rattling of his bones to create an impromptu beat! People seem to like it just fine!
They don't like it enough, though! Time to bring out the big guns!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He summons a single floating cane and proceeds to close-dance with it!
[Crowd reaction roll: 5]
The crowd cheers, quite happy about the display of magic they just witnessed! Samuel feels great, if nauseous!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 12:19:58 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 12:21:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 12:41:05 pm
Samuel, having had his fun, staggers out of the tavern! He finds himself in some kind of city! Not the one he was in, though! This one's smaller! And it smells much, much worse.
Having found himself in this strange place, Samuel drops to his knees and faces the heavens in silent prayer! He requires guidance!
[Praying roll: 4-1]
Despite extreme inebriation, he manages to stumble through some words of prayer! He feels a little better. No divine guidance, though! Oh, damn it.
Somewhere...
Jordan's soul floats in oblivion within an arm's reach of some form of light! He attempts to grasp it, but there is a chain that binds him to the mortal realm. As long as the binding persists, he will dangle hopelessly in the astral realm, forever out of reach of the powers that be!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 12:42:43 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 12:50:13 pm
Demonology! Fun past-time!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 01:26:52 pm
Samuel thinks it would be a good idea to obtain a demon-like familiar! He, being very drunk, tries this immediately!
[Magic roll: 2-3]
A giant gate opens in front of him! A creature of pure darkness and deception steps out of it!
"RIGHT, NOW, WHO DID THAT? WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE CLEVER TO SUMMON THE LORD OF LIES IN THIS HOLE OF A TOWN? HAR HAR, VERY FUNNY. NOW, LET'S SEE."
[Lord of Lies perception roll: 5]
One of its many eyes of shadow rests on Samuel's drunken form!
[Reaction roll: 6]
"IT APPEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BY A DRUNKEN SKELETON WITH A MAGIC STICK."
There is a moment of awkward silence.
Samuel really wishes the silence would have been longer. Anything but what follows.
The demon bursts into hideous laughter that echoes throughout the city!
[Samuel will roll: 5]
[City damage roll: 4]
[Citizen will roll: 4]
Samuel clutches his skull and curls up in a fetal position! He can hear the demon's screaming, wailing laughter over all else! It doesn't really seem to be very harmful to him, though!
The demon stops suddenly! Samuel can hear a stone building collapse somewhere. Also, the faint sound of sobbing seems to be coming from all around him.
"OKAY, I'M ALRIGHT NOW."
[Demon self-control roll: 1]
That turns out to be a bit of a lie. The demon falls down on the ground and rolls around laughing even more disturbingly than before!
[Samuel will roll: 5]
[City damage roll: 5]
[Citizen will roll: 5]
Nothing seems to have been permanently hurt aside from a few shattered psyches! Whew. This must be a pretty well-constructed city.
The demon finally gets up and dusts itself off.
"I REALLY NEEDED THAT, YOU KNOW. IMMORTALITY AND NEAR-OMNIPOTENCE CAN BE SO BORING."
[Demon idea roll: 3]
The demon looks at Samuel! Samuel really doesn't like it!
"HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME A JESTER IN MY COURT OF ABOMINATIONS?"
In the aether of souls...
Jordan tries to bite at his chain! It is, sadly, too magical and figurative to succumb to physical assault!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 01:35:29 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 01:40:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 01:40:33 pm
Samuel will reply; "I would, but my soul is...Binded to the service of another. Regrettably, the bargain was very sour, and I lost a great deal to it. As such, I've learned not to trust...Demons. Excuse the rudeness, however. My name is Samuel. I am a...Crippled "Man", with one goal: To bring my friend, Jordan, back from...Death-death-un-death. Which hasn't been going so well as of late. Do you, perhaps, know of any way to bring him back? Alive or undead, either or. Preferably as something powerful. I don't have a soul to offer, but maybe something else?
((I haven't actually said this before, but don't metagame. You don't actually know that Jordan is dead again.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 01:42:53 pm
In fact, I don't think anyone knows. Or will know. I AM stuck, surrounded by a bunch of Backgammon-Playing demons.Samuel will reply; "I would, but my soul is...Binded to the service of another. Regrettably, the bargain was very sour, and I lost a great deal to it. As such, I've learned not to trust...Demons. Excuse the rudeness, however. My name is Samuel. I am a...Crippled "Man", with one goal: To bring my friend, Jordan, back from...Death-death-un-death. Which hasn't been going so well as of late. Do you, perhaps, know of any way to bring him back? Alive or undead, either or. Preferably as something powerful. I don't have a soul to offer, but maybe something else?
((I haven't actually said this before, but don't metagame. You don't actually know that Jordan is dead again.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 01:57:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 02:09:23 pm
Samuel attempts to explain that he has no soul of his own to give to the demon! He also attempts to negotiate for something else.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2-1]
He attempts to convey this notion through interpretive dance! He kind of loses his train of thought in the middle of it, though, and just looks pretty jolly, actually! In fact, he doesn't look very enslaved at all!
"I KNEW YOU'D AGREE! COME WITH ME, LET'S GO TO MY REALM!"
[Lord of Lies magic roll: 2+3]
The demon lifts Samuel into the air and pulls him into the giant gate, then steps through it himself! Samuel travels with the horrid creature through the screaming void!
[Samuel will roll: 1]
The horror is too much for him, and Samuel blacks out!
...
He only awakens slightly later! He's still completely drunk, though. Odd, that. He finds himself in the middle of a court of horrible shadow creatures! In the middle of it all the Lord of Lies itself stands! It commands in a screeching voice!
"DANCE, JESTER! I AM IN NEED OF ENTERTAINMENT!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 02:11:47 pm
Note Gained: Learn Drunken Boxing, and Drunken Magic. Try and hire Jackie Chun as an instructor, as well.
Oh, yeah. Sorry about that whole Meta-Gaming thing. I'd like to say that I'm a good RTD player, but a bad role-player, but I'm not exactly a professional at either. Still, we learn more from our mistakes than our successes, right?
...As poor Sam is obviously learning...
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 02:21:59 pm
Samuel does what he does best - dance!
[Dancing roll: 5-1]
Even though there's no music, Samuel dances with admirable drunkenness! He falls at amusing times and generally acts natural, which is to say completely wasted! The demon and his minions screech and cheer at his performance!
"EXCELLENT JESTERING, JESTER!"
Samuel, however, is far from being done! He attempts to summon his good old companions, the dancing magical canes!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
He summons an exact copy of himself, except made of canes (well, at least with a higher cane-to-bone ratio)! It lunges at him!
[Cane Doppelganger vs. Samuel: 1+1-1 vs. 5+2-1]
The doppelganger, however, is just as totally magically boozed-up as Samuel! It manages to hit itself in the torso! Samuel tries to help it with that last bit!
[Counterattack: Samuel vs. Cane Doppelganger: 2+1-1 vs. 3+2-1]
[Demon reaction roll: 6]
The demon is clearly enjoying the spectacle!
"I LOVE DRUNKEN COMBAT! IT'S SO CLUMSY AND AWKWARD!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 02:24:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 02:37:12 pm
Samuel attempts to tap into his insides!
[Tapping roll: 6]
He taps really hard! He makes a vomiting motion at the cane-clone! Solid green light comes from his mouth and envelops the clone!
[Clone will roll: 1]
The clone emits a loud cane-burp and passes out! It is inebriated to the point of achieving an alcoholic coma! Despite not actually being alive!
You know, Samuel might be able to try this trick again! It's like an instant party in his mouth!
Samuel now has Inebriation Breath!
[Demon reaction roll: 5]
The demon and his lackeys begin to applaud with great enthusiasm!
"NEVER SEEN THAT TRICK BEFORE! YOU HAVE AMUSED ME, JESTER, SO YOU ARE FREE TO GO FOR NOW! I WILL CALL UPON YOU WHEN I AM IN NEED OF YOUR SERVICES ONCE MORE!"
[Lord of Lies magic roll: 5+3]
Samuel is enveloped by total darkness and hurled through many dimensions!
[Samuel will roll: 4]
He manages to not completely lose his composure this time! He just puts his skeletal hands in front of his eye sockets and sings a merry drinking song to block out the horrible screaming!
[Luck roll: 4]
Suddenly, he finds himself resting on a log outside of the city he was in until recently!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 02:42:13 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 02:47:58 pm
Try to use my mind to break the chain!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 02:53:27 pm
Samuel rolls off the log he's on and tries to get up!
[Agility roll: 4+1-1]
He does so, though he is a mite unsteady! With that done, he attempts to figure out how to use his drunkenness to cast magic effectively!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
He has no idea how this would be done, though! Maybe he'll just try it and see what works!
[Practice roll: 4-1]
He waves his magic cane around a bit, but can't seem to get any progress! He'd need an epiphany or something to make progress here, it seems. Luckily, he's drunk!
[Epiphany roll: 6]
He has an amazing idea! He'll... uh... the tree! And, well, something! But it's a great idea, just wait and see!
[Magic roll: 6-1]
He summons up a cane made of booze! Heh heh. That'll help!
In the aether of souls...
Jordan tries to use his mind to break his chain!
[Jordan mind roll: 2]
Uh... well... huh. He doesn't actually appear to have a mind. It's a pretty odd feeling. Very... instinctual.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 02:57:46 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 03:02:23 pm
Post by: anailater on November 16, 2012, 03:09:15 pm
Copy that, I will have a happily ever after!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 03:10:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2012, 03:25:04 pm
Samuel keeps practicing his alcoholic magic!
[Practice roll: 1-1]
He waves his cane with such force that it flies out of his skeletal hands!
[Cane flight roll: 1]
The cane lands in a cave of some kind! There is a loud bump! Noises come from the cave!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
Ah, it's just a bird of some kind. Totally harmless. Samuel proceeds right into the cave and searches for his cane in the darkness!
[Search roll: 2-1]
He finds it! Yes! It's just as large and hairy as he remembers it!
[? vs. Samuel: 1+1 vs. 4+1]
It attempts to bite him! Now, now, gentle cane! Old uncle Samuel has just the thing to calm you!
[Counterattack: Samuel vs. ?: 1 vs. 6+1]
His cane sits on him and roars! That's odd! Samuel never thought magic worked like that!
In the path to the afterlife...
Four amorphous bits of soul, Bruce, Jordan, Leon and Philip, are all currently anchored in approximately the same place! What luck! Bruce attempts to wave to the guy who chopped his arm off, but can't, really. He doesn't have hands. Or eyes. Or a body at all, actually. The same applies to the rest, not that Bruce would know.
Chained between worlds, the four undead creatures remain on a blind, deaf and mute vigil, forever waiting for something to release them.
After a while it begins to dawn on them that soulbinding might be a tad inhumane for the bound people. Well, nothing they can do about it, it seems.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 16, 2012, 03:50:11 pm
Note to self: 1) Acquire sanity (Virgin hearts?).
Post by: anailater on November 16, 2012, 03:51:22 pm
Keep our "Spirits" up
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 16, 2012, 04:03:50 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 16, 2012, 04:38:30 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 16, 2012, 09:07:49 pm
Speaking of re-death, when do waitlisters get introduced? At the end of a chapter, I suppose? Also: That Demon Lord of Lies was a cool dude. :P))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 16, 2012, 09:41:58 pm
((And now every turn is going to be flooded with the already-re-dead characters making actions.((Hey, I'm not dead yet.))
Speaking of re-death, when do waitlisters get introduced? At the end of a chapter, I suppose? Also: That Demon Lord of Lies was a cool dude. :P))
Post by: OREOSOME on November 16, 2012, 09:45:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 01:05:30 am
Samuel tries to out-cane his cane! Can't have his own cane out-cane the master of caning!
[Battle of wills roll: 4 vs. 1]
Samuel gives his cane a long, hard stare! It gets off him and stands in a corner of the lair! There's a good cane! Now, don't ever do that again, cane! You cannot out-cane the cane master!
[Intelligence roll: 1-1]
Okay, the cane has learned its lesson! Time to get it out of this filthy place!
[Battle of wills roll: 5 vs. 3]
The cane reluctantly follows Samuel out of the cave after receiving yet another stern glare!
On the road to Bernie's...
It took a long time, but Alaric has finally reached Bernie's house! Now to find his sister!
"This is the temple you've been talking about? Looks like a fucking dump is what I say."
[Bluff roll: 4]
"Ah, but looks can be deceiving! Trust me when I say that you will receive your just reward in due time!"
"Alright, but it better be fucking worth it. That was a long fucking walk, you know!"
Inside the Artifact Vault's halls...
Vincent chooses another room to go into!
[Security measures roll: 2]
Yep, this one's locked too. Time for that old skeletal ingenuity!
[Lockpicking roll: 4]
After a short while Vincent has successfully gotten the luck open! He's getting better at this thievery thing! He goes in!
The room has pretty much the same layout as the other room (chest, bed, bookcase, mirror, bedside stand, wardrobe), but it doesn't have a cool carpet! These quarters must belong to a less important researcher, obviously!
Between afterlives...
Bruce attempts to project a mental image of himself singing to the rest of the dead people around him!
[Instant telepathy roll: 2]
Apparently, though, the afterlife doesn't work that way! Who'd have thunk it? Damn it, now he won't be able to drive everyone insane through droning song!
Jordan is still trying to break the chain! Too bad that's pretty much impossible from here. If only someone could get rid of that binding!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 17, 2012, 01:38:14 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 09:56:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 10:14:49 am
Samuel grabs his cane by the snout and pulls it out of the cave! The cane growls slightly! Samuel looks at it!
[Intelligence roll: 3-1]
Hm, something is off here, but Samuel can't put his finger on it! What could it be? Oh well. He tries to think of someplace to go!
[Local knowledge roll: 4-1]
Hm, there is the city he was just in! The one horribly unsettled by the demonic laughter! That hasn't been pillaged. Yet! He goes right in!
[Encounter roll: 6]
He sees lots of people wrapped in blankets leaving the town!
"I will never sleep again..."
"Accursed place... hope it is burned down..."
"Will never forget... the sound..."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 10:16:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 10:23:01 am
Samuel fully intends to get jolly in this city! He looks for someplace fun!
[Search roll: 4-1]
He finds a large stone building that's brightly lit up! Ooh, looks like a party of some kind is going on in there! He goes right in, stumbling on the way!
Hm, lots of robed people inside! They look pretty serious! However, they do seem to be swilling wine and having a feast! Every once in a while, they seem to bow their heads and say something!
[Samuel perception roll: 1-1]
They appear to be complimenting the party!
Samuel is unsure of this. The place looks pretty dead. Perhaps some livening up is in order?
[Cane control roll: 5-1]
His cane remains docile, surprisingly enough! Not so tough now, are you, cane?
In the awful, awful between-life...
Jordan attempts to signal Bernie!
[Instant telepathy roll: 3]
Well, he can't send any messages to him, but he can make him feel slightly nauseous! Serves the bastard right!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 10:30:35 am
You know, is it really a downside causing world-wide destruction when I fail a spell? Because I sorta like it. Okay, not too much, I actually hate failing spells. Makes me feel inept. Wait, scratch that, I hate failing ANYTHING.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 10:46:37 am
Samuel sees the party, and he deems it not wild enough! He has to improve it somehow! He sends his cane to mingle with the party guests! No, wait, he'll multiply his cane, then send it to mingle with the party guests!
Samuel waves his hands, approximately duplicating familiar arcane gestures!
Well, it looks like his cane has multiplied before his very eyes! So have the party guests! The entire room seems to have multiplied three times, actually!
[Cane mingling roll: 3-1]
The cane doesn't appear to like the party guests much, as it remains standoffish and somewhat grumpy!
[Party reaction roll: 1]
The party cheers at the new guest! The cane seems to take this well. A little too well! It gives one of the party guests a hug! And a kiss as well, it seems! The party guests scream with delight!
[Cane mingling roll: 2-1]
Having sufficiently spread the love to one person, who seems to be overcome to the point of paralysis by all the joy going around, the cane goes on to hug and kiss someone else! It's really good at this party business! The next hugged person also seems to be paralyzed with delight! Yeesh, these guys get set off by the tiniest thing!
One fellow drops to his knees and begins to say something!
[Perception roll: 1-1]
He appears to be thanking Samuel for livening up the party! How nice of him! Samuel gives him a hug! He is amazed at how magic can instantly breathe life into even the deadest place!
[Cane mingling roll: 6-1]
Three canes seem to have had enough of hugging people, and they go off to the table to get themselves a snack!
[Cane eating roll: 2]
They eat two full plates of food! Don't seem very eager on eating any more, it seems.
[Party guest reaction roll: 4]
Three of the party guests pick up three chairs and advance towards the three canes!
[Cane reaction roll: 6-1]
The canes examine a few choice pieces of cuisine on the table!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 17, 2012, 11:20:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 11:22:13 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 11:24:46 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 11:39:16 am
Samuel attempts to practice necromancy on all the people around here!
People don't seem to be jumping out of their skins! There is a lot of blood, though! It must be working!
[Cane mingling roll: 4-1]
The two canes at the table glance at the two people with two chairs advancing on them! They glare suspiciously!
[Party guest morale roll: 4]
The party guests try to drive the canes away from the table!
[Party Guests vs. Canes: 6 vs. 4+1]
The canes are synchronously poked with the chairs by the two guests! They back away slightly!
[Cane mingling roll: 1-1]
The canes proceed to spread some more love and joy!
[Canes vs. Party Guests: 5+1 vs. 4]
The canes give the guests kisses! The guests are quite delighted! They proceed to run back to their compatriots!
[Party Guest morale roll: 1]
The party guests seem to have had enough for the night, as they seem to be eager about vacating the building! They leap out of some nearby windows! Every single one of them! Samuel can hear their cries of joy in the distance!
It feels great to contribute to society!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 11:42:04 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 17, 2012, 11:43:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 11:53:05 am
Samuel attempts to skeletonize or at least zombify some people!
Well, they do look pretty dead. That's a start.
[Cane idea roll: 2]
The four canes decide to wander outside!
[Samuel intelligence roll: 6-1]
Hey, wait a second, canes aren't supposed to have free will! Why are they wandering around? And they do seem awfully large, hairy and irritable, unlike the canes Samuel has seen before! Samuel begins to suspect that he may have retrieved the wrong cane from the cave!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on November 17, 2012, 12:11:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 12:14:11 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 12:34:54 pm
I'm not quittin 'til I can make some zombies, yo.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 12:38:21 pm
Samuel tries one more time to raise some corpses to serve as minions!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
He seems to be missing something that he needs to do magic! Wonder what it could be?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 12:57:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 01:07:40 pm
Samuel is not one to be stopped by impossibility! He laughs at this foolishness! He HAS to be able to do it! He's undead, after all! He has to be able to make more!
He tries again! Nothing happens. And again! Dang. He waves his hands in odd patterns! He gyrates suggestively! He dances drunkenly!
[Persistence roll: 4]
He attempts to raise these lazy bastards with all his might! They don't rise. Lazy bastards, after all he's done for them! They must arise at his command, or he'll get really upset, and you don't want to see that happen!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
Well, something definitely is missing. Something crucial. Bah, it shouldn't matter! Rise, minions! Rise!
He makes funny movements until early in the morning, at which point he gets perilously bored! He appears to have made some progress, though! The dead guys now all seem to be decomposing! They'll become skeletons in no time!
Now to just figure out how to make them animated!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 02:03:05 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 17, 2012, 02:06:09 pm
Post by: Nicholas1024 on November 17, 2012, 02:11:55 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 02:14:28 pm
((What about your cane focus?))
What use is that? Can't raise zombies...Can't raise demons...Can't save friends...
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 02:25:05 pm
Samuel, quite bored right now, decides to attempt to find some quality entertainment! He takes out the scrying amulet and attempts to find Bernie!
[Scrying roll: 6-1]
Drunk as he is, Samuel manages to find Bernie! He appears to be almost exactly where he left him! Great!
Samuel also feels a stirring on his magic map! It's plotted a course through what appears to be somewhat treacherous wilderness right back to Bernie's house! That's sort of cool. It'll take him about three days max to get there!
Next, Samuel attempts to locate Jordan!
[Scrying roll: 6-1]
He sees his head on the ground in a dark tomb! Looks pretty dead.
[Composure roll: 2-1]
He drops to his knees and attempts to scream in anguish! Failing that, he silently curses his lack of vocal chords!
Oh well. Next fellow.
[Scrying roll: 2-1]
The amulet finds a random vampire somewhere else! He appears to currently be receiving a horrible amount of punishment from a fellow with a sword-whip. There's a pentacle sticking out of his forehead. Hm. Next guy!
[Scrying roll: 5-1]
He sees a metal body lying motionless in the woods! Wonder who that is? Hm, let's see, who's left?
[Scrying roll: 5-1]
He spies a spectral fellow escorting an absolutely enchanting man through the woods. There is murder in his eyes! Well.
[Scrying roll: 6-1]
He locates a skeleton with a tail-arm currently looking triumphant at having opened a door through skill and finesse rather than brutal violence! Samuel can't help but feel for the guy.
Well, that takes care of those five guys.
In the quarters of some other researcher schlub...
Vincent immediately goes for the chest!
[Security measures roll: 6]
It's open!
[Loot roll: 1]
Probably because it isn't actually a chest! It's some kind of dirty illusionist trick! It shoots massive amounts of colorful illusionist lights at Vincent exactly like most dirty illusionist tricks do!
[Will roll: 2]
Ooh. Pretty lights. What's that? The lights want Vincent to jump out of a window? Sure!
[Window choice roll: 1]
It seems pretty urgent, so Vincent doesn't wait for an opportune window to show up! He goes through the wall instead!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6]
The wall suddenly gets all magical and stuff and bounces Vincent away!
[Vincent agility roll: 4+1]
He lands quite nicely, managing to stay completely unhurt! What luck!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 02:56:57 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 17, 2012, 03:42:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 04:27:19 pm
Samuel finally realizes that he must have accidentally grabbed some kind of cavern-dwelling mammal instead! Easy mistake to make. He heads back to the cave!
[Navigation roll: 6-1]
Through perfectly retracing his steps drunken stumble after drunken fall, he manages to find the exact cave he was formerly in! He saunters in!
[Search roll: 5-1]
So that's where the cane was the entire time! Stuck beneath a bear's buttock! He knew he had the right idea the first time! He pulls the cane out!
[Bear sleep roll: 3]
The bear stirs slightly and rolls toward Samuel!
[Samuel agility roll: 3+1-1]
Samuel steps out of the way. Well, falls drunkenly out of the way. But the result is the same! He is away from the bear, cane in hand! Oh, sweet cane, how your daddy's missed you!
Samuel walks out of the cave and calls upon the power of the early morning to magically detox himself!
[Magic roll: 4-3]
He is no longer drunk! Oh no, it's much, much worse now!
Samuel is Magically Hungover!
Inside the quarters of a researcher of artifacts...
Vincent tries to shake the pretty lights from his head!
[Will roll: 2]
But... so pretty! He tries to jump out of a window again!
[Window choice roll: 2]
He jumps out of a window right above a pond!
[Fall damage roll: 2+1]
He lands like a sack of petrified potatoes in the putrid pond!
[Pond creature roll: 3]
A particularly large fish begins to nibble on one of his femurs!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 17, 2012, 04:40:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 04:47:12 pm
Vincent stands up from the pond and chooses to walk over to somewhere less fish-infested! He stands on the cobblestones for a short bit until an idea strikes him!
He tries to detach his head!
[Strength roll: 4]
He does so!
[Will roll: 2]
He feels incredibly weak all of a sudden! Oh my!
[Will roll: 4]
He does, however, manage to get himself together! In fact, he actually manages to separately control both parts of his body!
He puts his own head in his backpack!
...
Great, now he can't see a damn thing. Wonderful.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 04:49:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2012, 04:57:37 pm
Samuel, once more dissatisfied at this whole magic nonsense and feeling quite grumpy at the moment, decides to head over to Bernie's! He follows the map as well as he can!
[Navigation roll: 5+1-1]
He takes an optimal route to Bernie's, quite possibly shortening his journey by about half a day! Wonderful!
[Speedy travel roll: 2]
[Encounter roll: 1]
Smug about his success, Samuel takes his time on the surprisingly non-treacherous route! However, after about 26 straight hours of walking, he runs into something on the way!
Hm, they appear to be cultists. Spaced around a heptagram, it seems. Chanting darkly.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 17, 2012, 05:24:59 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 17, 2012, 08:06:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 02:06:34 am
Samuel has no time for messing around, not in the state he's in! He chooses to pass the cultists right by!
[Inconspicuousness roll: 4]
He just casually saunters past the area without incident! Let the cultists summon whatever demons they please! Good luck getting anything out of them! Schmucks.
Samuel goes on to Bernie's!
[Speedy traveling roll: 6]
He breaks into a sprint, eager to get back as fast as possible! After all, not like he can break his cane legs from stress!
[Encounter roll: 1]
After one and a half hours of tireless high-speed running, Samuel is suddenly interrupted by what appear to be brigands! How unfortunate for them!
[Brigand reaction roll: 2]
They don't really seem to be in a mood for negotiation and advance toward Samuel with daggers and longswords!
[Perception roll: ?-1]
He doesn't see anything else around that would be disturbing! Good for him!
Outside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent looks inside his backpack for his head!
[Search roll: 3+1]
He finds it and pulls it out! Oh, sweet light, how much Vincent's missed you!
He tries to put his head back on!
[Reattachment roll: 5]
He fits it on nice and tight! That thing won't be coming off easily, Vincent thinks!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 02:25:29 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 02:43:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 03:32:45 am
Samuel goes for a double-cane assault, being a reasonable person that does not succumb to such petty threats as brigands!
[Samuel vs. Brigand 1: 1 vs. 1+1]
He is, however, a bit too confused to properly execute any elaborate combat maneuvers, and flies right past a brigand, who chooses to merely point and laugh!
[Brigand 1 vs. Samuel: 5+1 vs. 5+2-1]
[Brigand 2 vs. Samuel: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
[Brigand 3 vs. Samuel: 4+1 vs. 5+1]
[Brigand 4 vs. Samuel: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
The brigand that pointed and laughed goes on a competently executed offensive, but Samuel fends him off with a combination of wild kicking and whirling around with his cane! Another one chooses to attack Samuel with his longsword! He swings like most cats wish they could swing, but sadly for him, Samuel is too quick!
One brigand chooses to stand around scratching his head! Who knows what his deal is.
A final brigand leaps at Samuel with a valiant dagger-thrust! It gets stuck in Samuel's ribcage! Samuel utilizes the brigand's foolish action to try and cave in his skull!
[Counterattack: Samuel vs. Brigand 4: 6 vs. 1+1]
Which he does with quite admirable efficiency! The brigand, his brain being a bit more squashed than he would like to admit, falls backwards and is obviously as dead as they get!
Suddenly, something comes from the woods!
Hm. Arrows.
[Archer 1 vs. Samuel: 2+1 vs. 1+1-1]
[Archer 2 vs. Samuel: 5+1 vs. 3]
[Archer 3 vs. Samuel: 5+1 vs. 1]
Samuel is hit by three speeding arrows! One lodges itself in his shoulder, one glances off his pelvis, but the last one takes his skull off his shoulders! It rolls off toward the brigands!
[Samuel will roll: 4]
Samuel isn't terribly bothered by this, though! He calmly walks to the brigands, menacing them with his canes!
[Brigand morale roll: 1]
"What in the bloody hell is up with this man? He's got no bloody head on!"
"Witchcraft, I tell you!"
"Run for your lives, mates! Damn thing will bewitch us all if we don't!"
They do so! The archers seem to back off as well!
Outside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent heads right back inside the Artifact Vault! He actually goes to the vault area this time!
[Encounter roll: 2]
There appear to be several people there standing in front of a giant steel door! They seem to be chanting!
[Security measures roll: 3]
The vault door looks... cracked, somehow. Weakened.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe that's why those people are chanting? To repair it?
Post by: miauw62 on November 18, 2012, 06:46:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 09:27:10 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 18, 2012, 09:41:59 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 10:51:35 am
Get head, rest and attempt to repair body. By repair I mean, attach the head back to me.
Post by: OREOSOME on November 18, 2012, 10:55:17 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 10:59:19 am
((So he basically nearly killed himself. I love this RTD.))((I thought it would remove the mindless need to jump out windows.))
Offer some help to these good-willed people.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 11:47:25 am
Samuel, having effectively rid himself of the brigand threat, picks up his head from the ground and puts it back on!
[Reattachment roll: 2-1]
He sticks it on! It falls off and hits the ground with a loud thud! Hm, there appears to be a slight crack in it now. Again!
[Reattachment roll: 6-1]
This time, Samuel knows what he's doing! Sort of! He picks the head up and fits it on perfectly! Oh yeah, that isn't coming off any time soon! Hurrah!
He lies down for a bit of a rest, letting the warm breeze of gentle unlife waft back into him. Okay, now he's ready for action!
Inside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent walks up to one of the people!
[Attention roll: 6+1]
One of the people immediately turns to him! It appears to be a woman in her forties! She twists around with incredible speed, thoughtlessly swinging her elbow!
[Vincent dodge roll: 1+1]
Vincent is caught completely unprepared by this accidental assault, and the elbow hits him in the ribcage, breaking three ribs and sending him reeling backwards!
[People reaction roll: 2]
"Good gods, what is that? A skeleton with a tail-arm?"
"Is it dead?"
"Impossible to tell."
"Keep a close eye on it, though. If it gets up, pulverize it. Can't have undead wander around campus. Everybody in the Illusion Department has been murdered already."
"Well, they wouldn't have gotten murdered if illusion wasn't a bloody useless form of magic!"
Vincent bides his time and tries to look inconspicuous.
Outside Bernie's cottage...
Alaric leads his compatriot inside the cottage! Bernie's sister is inside!
"Hey, you're back and..."
[Bernie's sister's reaction roll: 1]
She freezes at the sight of the beautiful man!
[Beautiful man reaction roll: 5]
The beautiful man coughs and begins to speak!
"Ah, you must be the priestess I've been told to see! I would like to say that I am very glad to be here today and..."
Bernie's sister produces a scalpel from her pocket and hurls it at the man!
[Sis vs. Beautiful Man: 2+1 vs. 2-1]
The scalpel goes right through his shoulder! The man grasps it with his remaining hand!
"Ow, fuck, what the hell!"
[Alaric bluff roll: 1]
"Uh... erm... I've got nothing. She's crazy, I guess."
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 3]
The man wavers and stumbles a bit! Oh dear, he seems to be bleeding quite a bit!
[Bernie's sister panic roll: 1]
"Oh gods oh gods what did I do you were there and I panicked and I just took what I had and I threw and then oh gods the blood!"
She breaks down crying!
[Beautiful man reaction roll: 4]
"Oh, fuck. I'm bleeding quite badly here, you know. Could really use a fuckin' bandage. Like, right now. Aw, fuck, I'm starting to feel a bit drowsy..."
[Bernie's sister reaction roll: 3]
"Oh gods, gotta find something fast!"
[Sis search roll: 1-1]
She trips on the tacky rag of a carpet that sort of ties the room together and falls!
[Sis agility roll: 1]
She falls right on her face! Oh dear, that probably really, really hurts!
[Sis endurance roll: 2]
"Oh gods, that really hurts! Why doesn't anything ever work out well for me?"
She keeps mumbling while lying face-down on the ground!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 11:56:43 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 11:58:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 12:04:08 pm
Vincent opts to wait until people stop paying attention to him!
[People attention roll: 6]
The wizards cluster around him and begin examining him in very intimate detail! Oh dear, this is getting uncomfortable!
"It does have a tail-arm! How bizarre! Wonder how it got it."
"Some things are best left unknown, I think."
In the less-brigand-infested woods...
Samuel resumes his heroic journey!
[Speedy traveling roll: 3]
[Encounter roll: 5]
He walks at a reasonable pace. After about eight more hours of walking, he is outside Bernie's cottage! Hooray!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 12:08:27 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 12:12:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 12:22:34 pm
Vincent suddenly shrugs!
[Shrugging roll: 3]
It's sort of a halfhearted shrug at best!
[Researcher reaction roll: 5]
The researchers back away slightly!
"It just moved!"
"Yeah, definitely! Do you think it'll move again?"
"No idea. Go check it out."
"You check it out, you're less important."
"Screw you, you're less important!"
"Wait a minute, let's not argue. Let Bob do it. He's less important than either of us!"
"Screw you both, I'm not going near that thing! Besides, when's the last time you had a breakthrough experiment? Huh? I'm listening!"
"Oh, so that's the way it's going to be, is it?"
They begin a heated argument over who has to touch the skeleton! Vincent, despite feeling a bit objectified, seems to once more have slipped their minds!
Outside Bernie's cottage...
Samuel goes right into the cottage! Oh my. There seems to be an oddly beautiful bleeding man on the ground, Bernie's sister (also on the ground) looks quite hurt and Alaric is floating around somewhat shiftlessly! No Bernie, though. Wonder where he could be.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 12:43:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 12:55:43 pm
Samuel, hung over and lacking patience to deal with such foolishness, decides to help the bleeding, but beautiful man with a good caning to the shoulder!
[Therapeutic caning roll: 6]
Samuel is about to administer crushing punishment to the guy's shoulder, but he has a better idea! He brings his cane down on the fellow's ankle, breaking it entirely!
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 5]
The beautiful man yells in pain! He becomes slightly more lucid from the sudden jolt of pain!
"Ow, motherfucker! You broke my fucking ankle, you son of a bitch!"
[Beautiful man reaction roll: 6]
His face suddenly becomes frozen in a mask of horror!
"Holy fuck, you're the motherfucking grim reaper himself, aren't you! Holy fuck! I'm going to fucking die now, is that it? Fuck me!"
With that last sentence, he seems to faint! He is still bleeding, it seems.
[Sis endurance roll: 1]
Bernie's sister seems perfectly content to lie where she is! She occasionally groans in pain, but otherwise doesn't really do anything. Maybe she needs help as well?
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 4]
The bleeding on the beautiful man seems to have lessened slightly. Maybe the fact that he seems to have calmed down has something to do with that?
Post by: miauw62 on November 18, 2012, 12:59:47 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 18, 2012, 01:00:02 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 18, 2012, 01:01:00 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 02:08:44 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 18, 2012, 02:11:26 pm
Uncramp jaw, practice speaking again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 02:18:57 pm
Vincent gets up and begins to loot gloriously!
[Search roll: 1]
He runs into another researcher strolling down a hall!
[Researcher attention roll: 5+1]
The researcher jumps back from Vincent with great rapidity!
[Researcher reaction roll: 5]
"Dreadfully sorry, sir, but you startled me. No need to get any more excited, I suppose. On your way."
He walks off! What a nice chap. Vincent continues searching!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a filing room in the Catalog wing! He goes right in!
Not a lot of stuff worth looting, it seems, but there is a catalog of all the stuff he could steal from the vault!
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James goes for another attempt at speaking! But first, he has to uncramp his jaw!
[Physical therapy roll: 3]
He massages his jaw with one of his snail heads and tries to make it better! However, it doesn't really help a lot. Maybe he's doing something wrong? He attempts to speak anyway.
[Practice roll: 2-1]
Oh gods, that was a bad idea. Such a bad idea. Now it hurts a lot more than before!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 02:19:39 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 02:22:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 02:42:48 pm
Samuel attempts to question the people around him where Bernie might be! He goes to Alaric first!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4-1]
He gestures wildly! Alaric shrugs! Okay then, next person! He questions the beautiful man!
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 3]
He seems to be too busy being unconscious and shivering! Well then, that just leaves Bernie's sister!
[Sis endurance roll: 3]
She sits up from her prone position and spits out a tooth!
"I'm going to burn this carpet. It and every single one of its kind."
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6-1]
Samuel forms the letters B-E-R-N-I-E with his hands!
"He's... I'm not sure, really. Mausoleum, I think."
[Sis memory roll: 6]
"Oh crap, that guy's bleeding to death! I gotta save him!"
[Search roll: 1]
She leaps to her feet quickly! Too quickly, because she immediately drops to her knees again!
"Oh gods, I think I've broken something. Hurts like hell. Hey, minion guy."
She points at Samuel!
"Help the bleeding guy with his wound, will you? Stop him from bleeding quite as much, please."
[Sis medicine roll: 1]
"I should be okay, really..."
She stands up! There is a loud crack from her leg and she drops again!
"Yep, it's definitely broken now. Good doctoring there. Nice work, me."
In a filing room inside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent skims the catalog for any artifacts of awesome power!
[Skimming roll: 2]
Let's see, Chalice of Infinite Spirits, Chalice of Infinite Wool, Chalice of Infinite Wood, Chalice of Infinite Clothing, Chalice of Infinite Swamp Water, Chalice of Infinite Ravenous Squirrels...
They sure do love their chalices, it seems.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 03:05:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 03:17:42 pm
Samuel tries to magically stop the horrid bleeding of the poor fellow with the perforated shoulder!
[Magic roll: 6-3]
The bleeding on the guy lessens considerably, though not entirely. He's definitely not gushing blood anymore, though! Samuel feels pretty good that he has done something right at least!
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 4+1]
Yep, looks like he's going to be staying alive for a while yet. The wound on his shoulder looks quite good now, actually. It might even heal rather nicely! And he's still unconscious! What luck!
Samuel feels all nice and warm inside. Finally he doesn't end up summoning a Demon of Pain or something of that sort.
[Sis endurance roll: 1]
Bernie's sister tries to move again, if only a little bit! There is yet another small crack!
"OH GOOD GODS THAT HURTS! SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT HERE!"
She once again looks at Samuel!
"Mind putting me in my bed? It's getting kind of uncomfortable on the floor!"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 03:26:23 pm
+1 Agility, don't fail me now...
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 03:38:34 pm
Samuel goes to pick up Bernie's sister!
[Strength roll: 6-1]
He gently lifts her from the floor and stumbles over to the bed! At this point, he tries to deposit her safely and painlessly on the mattress!
[Agility roll: 2]
Samuel unsteadily wavers for a second!
[Agility roll: 3]
However, he does place her in the bed, even though the method of conveyance leaves something to desire, making Bernie's sister wince in pain!
"Ow, damn it! Be careful! I'm pretty sure I've already broken the thing in two places, no need to add more injuries!"
Samuel stands silently for a bit. If he had a face, general irritation and an inexorable need to take a nap could have been read from it!
[Sis medicine roll: 1]
"Let's see, if I remember this right..."
She attempts to twist her leg into its proper position! However, she gets the direction wrong and twists it horribly painfully!
[Sis endurance roll: 4]
She yells in pain, but stays completely conscious!
"OH SH-gods, oh gods, I really shouldn't try this on my own. Help me out here, uh, buddy?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 03:48:51 pm
This isn't going to go well, is it?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 04:02:09 pm
Samuel shudders for a moment. He's hung over, irritable and currently quite imprecise - exactly the kind of doctor nobody would want. However, he must do this. Such was the command of Bernie's sister!
[Medicine roll: 4-1]
He manages to twist the leg back into a halfway manageable position!
[Sis endurance roll: 4]
Bernie's sister clenches her teeth and closes her eyes! This obviously hurts her quite a bit.
"Now... now... now set the bone in the correct place... please..."
[Medicine roll: 4-1]
Samuel manages to fit two bits of broken bone back together. It's almost enough to make him sweat!
[Sis endurance roll: 5]
Sis seems to be holding up just fine!
"Now get the other bit... careful..."
[Medicine roll: 4-1]
With shaking skeletal hands Samuel manages to set the final broken bits of bone back where they're supposed to be!
[Sis endurance roll: 3]
Sis does seem to be in quite a bit of pain, though.
"Now... be a peach and get me... gah... some kind of splint, please?"
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 04:06:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 04:09:57 pm
Vincent tries to find some kind of Chalice of Infinite Bones!
[Luck roll: 4]
There is one! Hooray! Apparently it can create an infinite amount of bones, exactly as it says in the name! What kind of bones, it does not say!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 04:11:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 04:15:19 pm
Vincent looks up the listed location of the Chalice of Infinite Bones!
[Luck roll: 4]
It seems that it isn't actually in the vault! It has been moved to one of the experimental areas! Experimental Area the First, it seems.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 04:19:19 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 04:28:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 04:32:36 pm
Samuel tries to conjure up some canes!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
It doesn't work! Dang. Again!
[Magic roll: 6-1]
Oh yeah, that's the way it's done! Samuel conjures up enough canes for all splinting needs! In fact, he might even be able to make a cane cast out of these! Now to find something to affix them with!
[Search roll: 3-1]
Samuel can't find anything in the cottage! Oh drat.
Inside the catalog room of the Artifact Vault...
Vincent tries to find the entry for a Chalice of Infinite Blood in the catalog!
[Search roll: 2]
Doesn't seem to be any mention in any of the many files in the catalog. Must be because it isn't actually in the vault employees' possesion.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 04:38:14 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 18, 2012, 04:48:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2012, 04:55:15 pm
Samuel believes that he is simply not trying hard enough! He tries to re-search the area!
[Re-search roll: 1-1]
Damn, there most definitely aren't any wires or ropes in here!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
Maybe he could just make his canes magically form a cane-splint? That might work quite nicely! And it would last for quite long, if he so wished.
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James attempts to punch the cramp right out of his jaw!
[Punch roll: 3]
He headbutts himself in the jaw! It still hurts a lot! Not really sensing a positive change here!
He attempts to practice speaking anyway!
[Practice roll: 1-1]
He opens his mouth and is about to speak, but a sudden jolt of pain makes him clench his jaw in a knee-jerk reaction, biting off his own tongue!
Oh, just wonderful. Now he has No Tongue!
Post by: TopHat on November 18, 2012, 05:03:46 pm
((ah. I sense a pattern emerging here.))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 18, 2012, 05:05:29 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 18, 2012, 05:30:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 02:08:17 am
James tries to recover his stolen medieval medicine kit from his shell!
[Search roll: 3]
He can't seem to reach it! Just as well, anyway, the only thing left inside it was a bloodletting kit.
Inside the Artifact Vault...
Vincent looks for Experimental Area the First! He wants that chalice!
[Search roll: 2]
Dang, where could it be? It's not in the researcher quarters, he knows that. It's not in the vault, that's also clear. The catalog doesn't have it. So where are the experimental areas?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Baffling. Maybe they don't really exist and this is all a plot to make him run around in circles?
Inside the home of Bernie's sister...
Samuel attempts to fashion a magical splint for Bernie's sister's leg!
[Magic roll: 5-1]
He manages to get the canes in place and tighten them with magical cane-shaped bonds! Should last her for quite a while.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't around. You deserve a reward, buddy! But we'll get to that later. So, I see that the, uh, beautiful guy has been brought here. How about the scrying amulet? The other guy already brought back the textbooks."
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 02:20:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 02:27:01 am
Vincent, sick of all the confusion, decides to loot randomly!
[Looting roll: 1]
He runs into a researcher again! His skull might leave a nasty bump on the fellow's head, considering the speed at which they both collided!
[Researcher endurance roll: 2]
The researcher seems to have fallen unconscious. What luck! Looting time!
[Loot roll: 4]
Let's see, he has 14 copper coins, a set of keys and a small book of humorous stories! That's the best bit of loot he's had all day!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 03:04:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:06:40 am
Vincent has gotten into the true adventurer spirit now! Nothing can stop him! Loot ahoy!
[Looting roll: 2]
That is, if there was any loot. Damn cheapskate researchers.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 03:14:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:20:58 am
Vincent keeps on searching for something valuable...
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a suspicious-looking section of a wall! After prodding at it for a bit, he notices and opens a cleverly hidden secret door! He enters the small room behind it!
There's a sign here that points to a downward staircase. There is something written on it.
"To Experimental Areas"
Well, how about that.
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 03:24:12 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 03:25:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:54:22 am
James tries to practice instant tongue medicine on himself!
[Medicine roll: 5-2]
Sadly, despite all of his attempts to plop his tongue back where it used to be only end in further misery. He should probably get a surgeon for himself before he loses any more body parts in the attempts to fix himself.
Inside the hidden parts of the Artifact Vault...
Vincent looks for Experimental Area the First!
[Search roll: 2]
He finds Experimental Area the Last! It appears to be first in a long hallway of rooms. How counter-intuitive!
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 04:47:32 am
Try to speak without a tounge. Then get looting!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 05:02:57 am
James tries to speak! He can't, at least not intelligibly. Well, that settles that issue. Time to loot some more!
[Search roll: 1]
He is interrupted by a loud gasp! Upon looking to see the source, James spots a man with a glowing bow!
[Reaction roll: 3]
He keeps his bow aimed at James. His face seems to be asking the question "What the hell is this thing?", also providing an addendum "I'm glad I have a bow, means I don't have to come close to kill it!".
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 09:24:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 09:48:30 am
Vincent tries to find a magical weapon in the basement!
[Search roll: 3]
And he does! In Experimental Area the Seventeenth, he finds a sword on an experiment table! It's made of solid tin! Hm.
Nearby is a file labeled "Unidentified Tin Sword".
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 10:12:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 10:21:47 am
Vincent grabs the tin sword! Uh... good? It seems kind of warm at the moment.
Not content with his current loot, he looks for more!
[Search roll: 4]
In Experimental Area the Thirteenth, somebody has left a nifty-looking helmet on a table! Cool! There is a file nearby that is labeled "See-No-Evil Helmet?".
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 10:37:45 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 10:50:51 am
Samuel will try and ask her if she knows of any way to magically remove this "Eternal hangover"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 11:07:34 am
Vincent takes the helmet and deposits it in his backpack along with the sword!
You know, the experimental areas are probably in reverse order for some reason! So that means that Experimental Area the First is at the end of this long hallway!
[Search roll: 1]
It appears that the last room in this hallway is Experimental Area the Ninth. Inside there seems to be a... rather mundane-looking claw hammer of some kind? The file next to it says "Unidentified Hammer".
Inside the cottage of Bernie's sister...
Samuel tries to ask for a way to remove his persistent magical hangover!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1-1]
"Oh my! That is quite a rude proposition, minion!"
Samuel is beginning to feel very frustrated.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 11:21:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 11:35:29 am
Vincent is not particularly afraid of unidentified magical artifacts and opts to pick this one up!
[Hammer roll: 6]
He takes it in his skeletal hand and instantly he sees a change! He appears to be blinking through dimensions at a rapid pace! Demonic horrors, universal mysteries, alien landscapes, all is seen by Vincent!
[Will roll: 4]
Vincent stays completely conscious and takes in the sights! Oh my, some of this looks quite awful, actually! He lets go of the hammer in a moment of weakness!
He finds himself in the very same experimental area he was just in! The claw hammer is on the table. Well, that was rather odd.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 11:46:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 11:53:11 am
Samuel shakes his head and goes down to the mausoleum, choosing to keep the scrying amulet to himself for now!
Once there, he tries to find Bernie!
[Search roll: 6]
After looking for him in places you'd least expect him to be for an hour, Samuel finds Bernie in his hall in the mausoleum! He appears to be waiting for something! He spots Samuel!
"Oh, it's you. I'm waiting for that walking corpse with an axe to come out from the new tombs. Guy's totally disappeared. Probably got himself killed again, the fool."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 11:58:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 12:12:43 pm
Samuel knows that he needs to provide a lot of exposition right now. His head hurts, his hands are shaking and he feels nauseous, yet completely unable to vomit! But he must communicate! He must dance!
[Interpretive dance roll: 4-1]
He dances as well as he can, which is to say not very well at all, but he thinks he gets the point across!
"You got drunk and now had a hangover. Well, it happens, you know. Don't tell me you haven't had a hangover before! Wait, how did you get drunk, anyway? You've got no digestive system, for gods' sakes!"
Samuel makes magical gestures!
"Your hangover's magical? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
Samuel feels offended, quite frankly! He points out that Bernie's sister is quite badly hurt at the moment and could have been in mortal peril if it wasn't for his help!
"Wait, Sis is hurt? Crap!"
He runs back to the cottage, not waiting for any further elaboration!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 12:14:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 12:20:47 pm
Vincent, not having had enough of dimensional travel, picks up the hammer once more!
[Hammer roll: 4]
He blinks into a realm of pure, ancient light for a few seconds! It causes a rather nasty burning sensation!
[Vincent will roll: 3]
Vincent lets go of the hammer after a short while and is once more returned to the area! Oh my, it still stings quite a bit!
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 12:21:30 pm
((I've pretty much given up on diplomacy))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 12:24:32 pm
Being hungover doesn't stop prayer!
Right?
...Uuugh///
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 12:32:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 12:45:00 pm
James tries to look as menacing as possible!
[Intimidation roll: 1]
He only manages to look ridiculous, really!
[Bowman reaction roll: 6]
The bowman begins to laugh with him! Wait, no. At him. Definitely at him. It makes James feel dreadfully insecure! Time for easy self-affirming violence!
[James vs. Bowman: 5 vs. 4]
He latches onto the bowman after giving himself a boost with his two legs and flying through the air! Beaversnailgoating time!
[Beaversnailgoating roll: 2]
He fumbles and messes up the order of actions, completely ruining the effect! The bowman shakes him off and retreats!
"Gah! Get off me, you dirty monster!"
[Bowman vs. James: 2+1 vs. 2-1]
He manages to shoot James right below the shell-line, which hurts like a right bastard, to tell the truth!
Inside Bernie's tomb...
Samuel follows Bernie out of the tomb and back to the cottage! Once there, he sees Bernie at his sister's side!
"What happened to you, sis?"
"Oh, I tripped on the carpet and broke my leg in two places, it seems. The skeletal fellow fixed my leg quite nicely, I must say."
"You broke it in two places? How?"
"Well, it wasn't so much the fall that did it. Really, I got up too fast and then it broke. And broke again. And then I accidentally twisted it around."
"Sounds suspicious. You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"
"I wish I was, since that would make me far less of an idiot."
"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself. Could happen to anyone!"
"Of course it could."
"Yeah, not a very good excuse, that. So, you fell down, then broke your leg like an idiot. Anything I can help with?"
"Not really. I've already got the leg set and put in a splint."
"Okay, I'll be going back to the tomb, then. Send this moron if you need help," he says, pointing at Samuel.
[Bernie attention roll: 1]
He goes back to the tomb without even noticing the passed out and bleeding man on the floor!
While they're engaged in dialogue, Samuel tries to think of a god of luck to pray to!
[Intelligence roll: 2]
There is no actual god of luck he can think of in the Five. Weird, but true.
Inside Experimental Area the Ninth...
After waiting a while, Vincent comes to the conclusion that third time's the charm! He grabs the hammer again!
[Hammer roll: 1]
He finds himself in an alien landscape. Nothing around him seems to make a whole lot of sense. Oh well, this place seems to be a dud. Better let go of the hammer.
He doesn't have the hammer anymore. Oh crap.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 12:53:52 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 12:56:38 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 01:03:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 01:21:01 pm
Samuel follows the oblivious Bernie and attempts to hawk his scrying amulet to the necromancer!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1-1]
He follows Bernie, but the guy doesn't seem to be keen on stopping! Very well, then.
Samuel tackles Bernie on the mausoleum stairs! Both go tumbling down the stairs!
[Samuel agility roll: 2]
[Bernie agility roll: 6]
Bernie manages to avoid any direct harm by tumbling like a deranged, magically enhanced acrobat! He expertly uses Samuel to break his fall at the end of the stairs!
[Samuel endurance roll: 3]
Samuel's ribcage is totally crushed from the impact! Well, that's pretty awkward. Bernie stands over him, hatred in his eyes!
[Bernie rage roll: 5+1]
Bernie unleashes necromantic magic on him!
[Bernie magic roll: 2+1]
Samuel feels his spirit twist and deform painfully for a few seconds, but that's really it, to tell the truth!
"Just as well, I suppose. Saves me the effort it takes to bind another hopeless minion."
He walks off, seething with hatred! Well, doesn't look like any dialogue will be formed with him in the near future!
In an alien dimension...
Vincent takes the tin sword out of his backpack! He poses heroically with it for a second!
Yes, now he will be safe! If only he knew what the damn thing does!
In the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James tries some more intimidation!
[Intimidation roll: 4]
He snarls and rasps at the fellow threateningly!
[Bowman intelligence roll: ?]
The man is confused by this! He didn't know snails could snarl! Or make sounds of any kind!
[James vs. Bowman: 5 vs. 1]
James leaps at the man's face and rasps it up into a fine paste! The man screams horribly and bleeds everywhere!
[Bowman endurance roll: 4]
He attempts to kick James away!
[Bowman vs. James: 1-1 vs. 1-1]
He misses James! James is confused!
[Beavergoating roll: 5]
However, now that the man is sufficiently harmed and terrified, James begins his dark routine!
It works very well! The man is soon left hairless, white, bloodless and covered in slime! James is starting to really feel confident in his abilities!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 01:26:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 01:37:09 pm
Samuel goes up the stairs, lamenting his now-crushed ribcage! He gets back to Bernie's sister and attempts to ask her if she knows anything about magic!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6-1]
"Magic? Why are you asking me about magic? I'm more of an anatomy specialist, really. Can't help you a whole lot with magic. I do have some knowledge on how to use magical artifacts, though that's mostly from experience."
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 01:38:01 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 01:41:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 02:08:32 pm
Samuel tries to ask Bernie's sister to help him get rid of his magical hangover!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5-1]
"So you inflicted a magical hangover upon yourself, huh? Have you tried using a magical purgative?"
Samuel looks at her questioningly!
"It's like a normal purgative, but works with magical energy instead. Should remove your curse. At least I think it should, I'm not very well-read on that whole magic nonsense. Bernie only lets me read his alchemy books. He seems to be awfully protective of his magic books. It's a guy thing, I think. Or a mage thing. Or both."
She looks at the ceiling thoughtfully for a bit.
"Anyway, magical purgative. I think I made one way back when as practice. Never tried it. Might work, I guess. It should still be in my lab."
Samuel quickly nods and produces the scrying amulet of the Head Diviner! He hands it to her!
"Oh! The scrying amulet! How nice! At least I won't be bored while lying here. My, aren't you a useful fellow!"
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James gets to looting his not-so-noble adversary!
[Looting roll: 4]
Ooh, he has 8 silver coins, an elegant handkerchief and a whole bunch of magical-looking arrows! His bow looks pretty great, too! James takes all of it!
James also thinks about practicing his beaversnailgoating, but he currently seems to lack any living human subjects. It's no fun without living human subjects!
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 02:14:08 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 02:27:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 02:42:09 pm
James goes looking for some more loot!
[Search roll: 1]
He is, however, accosted by a man in black full plate armor! He wields what appears to be a long steel rod!
[Reaction roll: 3]
He, just like the bowman, appears totally confused by the snail-like creature in front of him! At least, that's all that James can tell from his oddly expressive body language!
Inside the cottage of Bernie's sister...
Samuel nods gratefully and runs off!
"Be careful now, dear!"
He runs inside the lab of Bernie's sister and looks for something like a magical purgative!
[Search roll: 3-1]
Oh gods, so many bottles! This will take forever!
[Search roll: 4-1]
He searches through the entire lab and narrows the purgative's location down to one of six bottles, all unmarked.
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
Well, it's not the one on the far right, definitely. Too thick for drinking. So, five left.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 02:50:55 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 19, 2012, 02:53:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 02:55:35 pm
Samuel throws caution to the wind and drinks the liquid on the far left! It sizzles and smells of brimstone as it comes in contact with Samuel's spine!
[Samuel endurance roll: 1]
It burns right through his spinal cord, causing him to lose his head once more!
[Samuel will roll: 3]
He isn't quite dying yet, though his body has become very difficult to control now!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 03:05:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:20:03 pm
Samuel tries to pick up and attach his skull!
[Reattachment roll: 2-2]
His body kicks his head into a shadowy corner! Oh great, now he can't see a thing.
[Retrieval roll: 6-2]
His head is easily retrieved, however! Round two!
[Reattachment roll: 1-2]
He fumbles the head placement and it slams down on the table, breaking all of the bottles and spilling their contents everywhere!
[Spilling roll: 1]
The contents of all the bottles mix together in the most horrible way imaginable!
[Explosion roll: 1]
The explosion that results is quite horrible indeed! Samuel's head gets completely destroyed in the carnage! The lab is completely ruined! Samuel's body is blasted out of the door!
[Samuel will roll: 1-1]
Samuel's life essence is leaving him extremely rapidly! Only the most desperate effort of will can save him now!
[Samuel will roll: 5-2]
He doesn't die! Yet! He is in very bad shape though, completely headless, banged up and STILL HUNG OVER.
[Samuel will roll: 4-1]
He doesn't seem to get any worse, though! Not much better, however! He can barely move! Well, could be worse. Could be utterly dead.
[Alarm roll: 1]
A frighteningly angered Bernie runs to the lab!
[Reaction roll: 5]
"Oh, gods, you had better hope you're dead, because if I see you get up and walk again, you are taking the fast track to the afterlife!"
He storms off!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 03:26:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:38:09 pm
Samuel curses his lack of a proper body!
Wait, here's an idea! He mustn't WIELD the cane, he must BECOME the cane! He attempts to become the cane!
[Becoming the Cane roll: 5-1]
He successfully leaves his broken undead body and becomes the cane! Sweet! He appears to have lost the effects of the magical hangover! Plus, you know, legs and arms and stuff. But he believes he could float around of his own free will now, if he used the magic well enough! It's too bad he can't use the wizard robe anymore, though! That thing was pretty pimp. Oh well, it didn't work quite as well without the hat, and that was incinerated anyway.
Samuel is now Samucane!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 03:39:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 03:48:31 pm
Samucane flies over to good ol' Bernie! It attempts to mock him!
[Mockery roll: 4]
[Magic roll: 6+1]
It forms giant letters out of magical canes in the air that say:
SCREW YOU, BERNIE!
Bernie looks up!
"What in the... what's going on here?"
He doesn't get an answer to his question, as the canes immediately all fall on him, burying him in a pile of magical wooden sticks!
[Bernie endurance roll: 1]
Hm, there doesn't appear to be any response from inside the pile.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He's probably just unconscious. Samucane didn't hear any bones cracking, anyway. His face was pretty funny to look at, though.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 03:49:49 pm
This feels like my own, personal RTD. And...And I like that. It's fun!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 19, 2012, 03:56:55 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 03:59:23 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 04:00:13 pm
Death Knight? Lich? Ancient Vampire? Anything! Magical Poltergeist? It shall be done!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 04:08:57 pm
Samucane, internally laughing the entire time, decides to try flying around!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
He supercharges his caneflight abilities and tears through the mausoleum, crashing through several doors skull-first!
[Skull deformation roll: 5]
His skull doesn't really seem to deform in any way! Must be all the magic, Samucane thinks! Or all the canes. Samucane has canes on his mind. All the time. It's quite strange.
It blasts off into the skies, enjoying the soaring feeling of a clear head on the way! Gee, he can see the university from up here. Must be how the statue-guy feels every day of his life.
[Bernie waking up roll: 1]
Meanwhile, Bernie is still unconscious back at the mausoleum! Good for him!
On an alien world...
Vincent begins to comprehend the exact depths of excrement he has stepped in. Maybe he could somehow imagine his way out?
[Imagination roll: 1]
He can't think of anything. His imagination is completely overtaken by the alien imagery around!
[Will roll: 2]
He might also be going a little bit insane. Well, what can you do.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He gets the feeling that this might not be just his imagination. He might have actually been teleported to an alien world. Great.
[Perception roll: 3]
He sees some kind of large object in the distance behind all the undulating rocks and alien nonsense. It seems to be the only thing around.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 04:16:09 pm
Samucane will practice some magic. Maybe summon a few simple balls of flame to circle around him?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 04:18:40 pm
Samucane attempts to make some fireballs encircle him!
[Magic roll: 4-2]
The fireballs, they ain't comin'! Samucane feels terribly disappointed. He also appears to be falling toward the ground.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 04:21:13 pm
Samucane will try and "Boost" his magic level! Time for a TRAINING SESSION! To the Hyperbolic Time Chamber!
And in one year, Sam managed to do the impossible; - Breaking all boundaries, all limits, he has become a Supercane 2.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 04:26:38 pm
Samucane tries to figure out how to improve his magical abilities!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
But he's already good at cane magic! Why, the very idea of becoming good at something else is ridiculous. A cane casting non-cane magic! Nuts to that, that's absurd! Besides, he's hardly able to concentrate on any non-cane magic anymore. Must have something to do with the fact he's a cane.
The ground appears to be nearing him ever more quickly.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 19, 2012, 04:29:51 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 04:32:18 pm
Post by: anailater on November 19, 2012, 04:33:14 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 19, 2012, 04:35:26 pm
Sam CAN CAST NON-CANE MAGIC. HE WILL. HE MAY NOT BE A MASTER AT ONE ART, BUT HE WILL BE EFFICIENT IN ALL ARTS. HE SHALL NOW being to fly, using Air Magic.Do you really want to have a -2 instead of a +1 by calling it 'Air Magic'?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2012, 04:39:05 pm
Samucane tries to fly through manipulating the air flow magically!
[Magic roll: 3-2]
He begins speeding toward the ground even faster! He impacts the ground!
[Endurance roll: 6+1]
Fortunately, he was pointing downwards while he dropped. Now he is just gently resting against a solid layer of granite several dozen feet beneath the earth.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 19, 2012, 04:40:15 pm
MAGIC. WANT.
Post by: anailater on November 19, 2012, 04:49:10 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 19, 2012, 05:00:19 pm
((I seriously wonder what char. progression ability options I'll get once Bernie awakes.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 19, 2012, 05:00:30 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 19, 2012, 05:42:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 12:28:42 am
Samucane thinks that it might be a wonderful idea to turn the molecules of a small area of ground into canes!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
He turns five molecules into canes! Dearie me, it sure is getting cramped down here!
Inside the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department...
James looks at the man in full plate mail!
Hm.
Well.
He nods politely with his four heads!
[Man reaction roll: 4]
The man nods as well!
James flees the building!
[Movement roll: 1-1]
He reaches the entrance! However, it seems to be magically locked. Oh crap.
On an alien world...
Vincent goes for a nice, pleasant walk in the fresh alien air (or at least he assumes there's air), going towards the only object around - the thing in the distance!
[Encounter roll: 4]
He sees odd pentagonal patterns of light float around, though they don't seem very interested in harming him. That's actually a pretty rare thing these days.
Eventually he reaches the object and sees that it is a spiral jutting out from the ground! It appears to have a door some two stories above ground level.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 12:32:54 am
Mm yeah baby, stick those rings on my cane. Literally...
Post by: Firelordsky on November 20, 2012, 02:44:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 08:55:59 am
Samucane tries to get out of its underground prison!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It doesn't budge a single inch! Argh! Again!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
It rockets out of the soil and flies high into the air once more, managing to reach about the same height as before, which is to say about a mile up from the ground! It tries to propel himself towards the last known location of Bernie's sister!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It slowly begins moving in her direction!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
Ah, too slow. Samucane ramps up the power to frankly ridiculous levels, approaching the sound barrier in his flight!It slams into the roof of Bernie's cottage!
[Landing roll: 4-1]
It pierces right through the straw roof and flies into the wooden floor lower-end forwards, using magic to slightly slow its descent!
[Endurance roll: 2+1]
Well, its lower end is slightly scratched and a noticeable crack has appeared on it!
[Bernie's sister reaction roll: 2]
"Oh crap, are we under attack? We're under attack, aren't we?"
She brandishes an amulet and points it menacingly all around herself!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
Samucane forms letters from magic canes on the ground!
[Writing eloquence roll: 6]
DEAR MISTRESS, I, SAMUCANE, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, DESIRE TO SPEAK WITH YOU! I REQUIRE SOME KIND OF MAGICAL ARTIFACT THAT WOULD ALLOW ME TO COMMUNI
Samucane runs out of space on the ground!
[Sis intelligence roll: 5]
"Communicate with people, I suppose? Some sort of telepathy thing? Well, I... hm."
She begins yelling!
"I DON'T HAVE ANY TELEPATHY ARTIFACTS! GO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MAGIC AND LOOK FOR ONE THERE! NOW PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING WORTH STEALING AND I REALLY NEED TO REST!"
She waits for a response.
"I hope whoever did that heard me. Would hate to have to blast them with my amulet. Last time I did that there was blood everywhere. Took weeks to clean up."
[Beautiful man waking up roll: 3]
The beautiful man groans a bit and stirs slightly!
Near an alien spiral...
Vincent attempts to reach the door!
[Jumping roll: 1+1]
He jumps, but backwards! After a humiliating fall on his pelvis, he tries again!
[Jumping roll: 6+1]
He takes up an optimal jumping position and, using his third arm as an additional boost, leaps about a story too high! He gets caught in an odd spatial anomaly, no doubt a product of all the alien nonsense around!
[Spatial anomaly roll: 4]
It appears to be loop-like, launching him straight at the door!
[On-the-spot door bypassing roll: 5]
He manages to land at the door feet-first and grab the handle with his hands, opening the door and slipping inside without a whole lot of trouble!
Well, it seems like there is a spiral ramp on the other side of door. It leads up and down.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 11:18:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 11:52:38 am
Samucane has an amazing idea once again! It'll turn the poor beautiful fellow's shoulder into canes! Yeah, that'll work!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
The man's muscle tissue around the shoulder becomes entirely made of miniature cane-fibers! Hooray!
The man's upper arm slowly turns into cane-fibered muscle!
The man's forearm and half his chest turns into cane-tissue!
Hm, maybe this wasn't the best idea.
[Beautiful man waking up roll: 1+1]
The man, fortunately for himself, stays completely unconscious during the process!
[Cane-blight spreading roll: 3]
The cane tissue completely supplants the original flesh of one of his arms and climbs up to to his left ear as well as consuming his stomach! Well, that didn't work quite as planned.
Post by: anailater on November 20, 2012, 12:06:25 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 20, 2012, 12:12:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 12:30:13 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 12:30:31 pm
Am I the only one having troubles accessing the RTD forums? I keep getting "502" errors or something...
Post by: Yoink on November 20, 2012, 12:40:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 12:40:25 pm
Samucane attempts to halt the cane-blight in the fellow's body!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
And it does! In fact, it removes any trace of canes from the man's body! The man is left with absolutely no muscle tissue in the entire area formerly infested with canes!
[Beautiful man endurance roll: 5]
He doesn't seem to mind much. In fact, he isn't even bleeding. Well, how about that.
[Man waking up roll: 2]
The man remains unconscious! Probably for the best, Samucane thinks.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
))Post by: miauw62 on November 20, 2012, 12:46:43 pm
This is basically how i'm feeling right now. (http://youtu.be/Gjs43yQtwfI?t=59s)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 12:52:55 pm
Sam will try and pray to one of the gods that deals in necromancy and stuff like that. Ask for powers!
Necromancers can heal, right? Er, in a...Sense. Not really healing. More like unholy regeneration.
And, damn, yeah those errors are ANNOYING.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 01:12:34 pm
Samucane tries to pray to Velusius, God of Death and Magic, the Misfit of the Five!
[Praying roll: 3]
It prays for a bit, but there's no divine favors bestowed upon it! On the other hand, no bolts of lightning either!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Velusius must be ignoring it on purpose! What a jerk. Just because it doesn't offer up a whole bunch of virgin blood, it's suddenly not good enough? Screw him!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 01:16:46 pm
Wait...Bernie's sister is a...Virgin, correct?
...
Sam will try and meditate as best as a cane can, so as to reduce the HORRIBLE EFFECTS of getting those 6+1's.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 01:25:43 pm
Samucane decides that it's introspection time! How best would it be able to mitigate its UNBRIDLED OMNIPOTENCE OVER ANYTHING CANE-RELATED?
[Meditation roll: 6]
It manages to come to a stunning revelation at the end of an hour-long meditation session - maybe it shouldn't use cane magic as the solution to every problem! It's just crazy enough to work, Samucane believes!
[Beautiful man waking up roll: 2]
The man sleeps very much like Samucane imagines a skinned log might sleep!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on November 20, 2012, 01:27:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 01:32:57 pm
((Alright i'll go with red then. Also, does the afterlife in this game allow you to see what's happening on earth?))
((Perhaps you'd consider a fancy font to go with that? Can't have your text looking the same as Bernie's. Oh, and the answer to your question is that it depends on circumstances.))
Post by: miauw62 on November 20, 2012, 01:36:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 01:37:38 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 20, 2012, 01:38:42 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 01:43:18 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 01:43:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 02:19:29 pm
James knocks on the door that stands in his way!
[Door reaction roll: 4]
Nobody answers! Probably because it leads to the outside! Oh well. James searches for an alternative exit!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds a barrel that says "To Outside" on it! Having nothing better to do, he dives right in!
[Barrel roll: 6]
It does indeed transport him outside! By launching him upwards from a third story window! Stupid magical teleporters!
[Fall damage roll: 1]
James lands very hard on the cobblestone outside! His shell is smashed and the pieces have pierced his delicate snail flesh!
[Will roll: 1+1]
Oh dear. James feels terribly lightheaded all of a sudden.
[Will roll: 1]
Yep. He is most definitely dying right now.
[Will roll: 5-1]
Realizing what is happening, James pulls himself together and rolls back onto his snail-foot! He feels like crap, yes, but that's no excuse for nearly dying!
In the cottage of Bernie's sister...
Samucane chooses to disregard the advice of its inner self and solve this problem right here with a good dose of cane magic!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
Samucane adds canes where he previously removed them! The man is once more cane-enriched!
[Man waking up roll: 5]
The man instantly bolts upright! He begins to examine himself!
"Holy fuck, I'm not dead! Imagine that!"
[Reaction roll: 1]
He looks at his newly caned tissues!
"AAGH! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY BODY?"
He begins to cast magic in a complete panic!
[Beautiful man magic roll: 3-1]
His magic doesn't seem to work! The man keeps yelling various obscenities!
[Sis reaction roll: 3]
[Sis intimidation roll: 4]
"CALM DOWN, you idiot! Don't make me blast you with my amulet! It'll make a big mess, I assure you!"
[Beautiful man reaction roll: 2+1]
The man looks at her in bafflement!
"And who the fuck are you, anyway? Did you do this to me?"
[Sis reaction roll: 5]
[Sis calming roll: 4]
"Now, relax, I had nothing to do with it. I'm currently a bit immobile, as you can see. In fact, I have no idea what happened to you. Looks like long-distance magic to me."
[Beautiful man reaction roll: 1+1]
"I don't fucking believe you! You had something to do with this, I know!"
[Sis patience roll: 6]
[Sis mocking roll: 5]
"Oh, yes, of course I ensorcelled you to become a wooden man for some reason, then left you on the floor completely unrestrained and fully capable of eliminating me at any moment. Sounds very bloody likely, if you ask me!"
[Man reaction roll: 1+2]
"Well, maybe this wasn't your plan, but I bet you had something to do with this!"
[Sis patience roll: 2]
[Sis insult roll: 4]
"No, I did not, you bloody twit, are you really that dense? Honestly, I heard that you metamorphosis people were dumb as posts, but this is a whole new level I'm witnessing here!"
[Man reaction roll: 2+1]
"Okay then, tell me, if you're so fucking smart: who did this?"
[Sis bluff roll: 3]
"Not a clue. Probably somebody awful, though!"
[Man reaction roll: 3]
"Oh, fuck this. I'll be leaving now."
He goes toward the door!
[Sis bluff roll: 4]
"Look out for any highly dangerous mages that want you dead out there, will you?"
[Man reaction roll: 1+1]
"Fuck you! I'm safer out there than here with you, ya crazy bitch!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 02:20:24 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 02:52:23 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 20, 2012, 02:54:40 pm
Sam will, uh...Try to comfort the sister? Lol.((Dat mental image.))
((Also, Harry, you should submit this to the RTD library/hall of fame))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 03:40:21 pm
Samucane attempts to comfort Bernie's sister!
[Comforting roll: 3]
If only Samucane wasn't an unfeeling lump of wood and silver! It appears that basic human empathy is currently beyond its operational capabilities! It attempts to make what it thinks might make her feel better!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 3]
DON'T FRET! HE WAS A DUMB MEANIE ANYWAY!
These large, flaming letters appear on the ceiling, made entirely of flaming canes!
[Reaction roll: 3]
"Well, yes, but did you see his face? It was absolutely-wait, who's writing this?"
She carefully glances around the room!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 03:58:36 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 20, 2012, 04:01:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 04:14:44 pm
Samucane decides to go for a bit of exposition!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 5]
It creates clearly legible, if somewhat plain-looking cane letters on the ceiling!
I AM THE SKELETON WHO HEALED YOU. I WAS ONCE SAMUEL, BUT NOW I AM HIM NO LONGER. I AM NOW SAMUCANE, SKELETAL SPIRIT IN A CANE FOCUS BODY.
It looks pretty impressive, actually!
"That's... strange. From what I know, mages rarely choose to transfer themselves to a focus. It's impractical and usually turns them into a far-too-intelligent book that seeks to destroy its new masters. Or so the legends go. So, what do you want?"
On university grounds...
James crawls to the Library! Once there, he searches for the focus literature shelf!
[Search roll: 2]
He can't find the damn place! Maybe somebody took all the books?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 04:17:36 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 20, 2012, 04:28:31 pm
((gosh that was close earlier. Killed by falling... Would have been embarrassing.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2012, 04:34:59 pm
Samucane tries to create yet another cane-message!
[Samucane magic roll: 4+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 5]
It forms beautiful glowing letters in the ceiling in place of the earlier ones!
YOU ARE A CLEVER PERSON, PERHAPS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN A TRADE? A BIT OF YOUR BLOOD AND PERHAPS A TELEKINETIC ARTIFACT OF SOME SORT, AND I WILL AID YOU!
"You do realize that you are kind of obligated through soulbinding to help me and give me anything I want from you, provided I order you to? You don't exactly have the best bargaining position is what I'm trying to say. You don't look like you have anything of value and you already serve me anyway. So why would I give you any of my blood? I'm rather attached to my blood, thank you very much. It's already enough for me that my brother misappropriates it at every opportunity, I don't want another mage leeching off me, really. As for a telekinetic artifact, I don't have one. Sorry."
Samucane slumps disappointedly!
Inside the Library...
James tries to remember where he last saw the damn focus shelf!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Yep, it was definitely here. The books he wants appear to be missing. Lousy thieving librarians!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 20, 2012, 04:36:40 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 20, 2012, 04:52:41 pm
attempt to turn the healing spell book into a focus from what I remember from reading earlier (before the mind-citadel).
Post by: Firelordsky on November 20, 2012, 05:19:07 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 20, 2012, 07:05:04 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 20, 2012, 08:17:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 12:49:13 am
Samucane asks for orders as well as it can!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 4]
YOU HAVE ORDERS FOR ME, MISTRESS?
"No, not really. Not at the moment, anyway. Maybe you could ask Bernie? I think I've used you for long enough. Besides, you minions did quite a good job, bringing me all the things I wanted. Of course, I would have preferred the man to be dead, but what can you do."
Inside an alien spiral...
Vincent ascends the ramp! He comes across a room. It seems to be full of upturned five-legged chairs and tables. There is a podium in the center of the room!
Inside the Library...
James does something quite dangerous: he tries to attenuate his spellbook focus!
[Attenuation roll: 1-1]
The book explodes in white flames, blowing James backwards and setting the Library on fire!
[Fire roll: 2]
It turns out that this library was an accident waiting to happen, as the fire seems to spread quite rapidly!
[James flying roll: 5]
James, however, lands unharmed and ready to run like the craven individual he undoubtedly is!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Is that alright, or is it too unwieldy?))Post by: Firelordsky on November 21, 2012, 01:12:42 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 21, 2012, 07:31:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 08:16:32 am
Vincent takes one of the chairs and flips it around!
[? roll: ?]
He feels a vague sense of dread while doing so, but nothing else happens! He sits down! Doesn't seem like it was made for a creature like him. Not very ergonomic for one of his spinal alignment. In fact, if he was human, sitting on it would qualify as a pretty painful experience.
[? roll: ?]
The podium begins to glow with an eerie light! A glowing opening appears in the air (or whatever is in here). It seems that something is peering at him from within!
[Will roll: 6]
Vincent immediately stands up and tries to look as polite as possible! Being out of your element is no excuse for rudeness, after all.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tiruin on November 21, 2012, 09:32:44 am
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Ouch. That hurts me especially. XD
P.S. Try purple?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 09:45:44 am
Try purple?
((Taken. Sort of twice, actually. Once by Bernie's sister, plus Yoink's character is sort of purple. And on yellowgreen, hey, at least it's not cornflower blue.))
Post by: Tiruin on November 21, 2012, 10:10:00 am
((I've a feeling you're listing all the colors I frequently useTry purple?
((Taken. Sort of twice, actually. Once by Bernie's sister, plus Yoink's character is sort of purple. And on yellowgreen, hey, at least it's not cornflower blue.))
There's goldenrod, fuchsia, turquoise, gold, silver....I experiment too much...))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 21, 2012, 10:48:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 11:23:40 am
Samucane tries to get back to Bernie!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It feebly floats there, dragging its lower half on the ground! Eventually it reaches its destination!
[Bernie waking up roll: 6]
Great! It looks like Bernie's up already! Looks quite heavily bruised, though! He is currently busy making a cane bonfire!
[Bernie perception roll: 1]
He also remains totally oblivious to Samucane's presence, babbling something about rotten bastard skeletons and needing new minions! There is a hint of murderous intent in his manner!
Suddenly there is a sound of breaking glass! Samucane sees that Bernie is gone! Wonder what that's all about? Oh well.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 21, 2012, 12:04:05 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 21, 2012, 12:10:16 pm
((I really want a healing book focus so I can return to my normal form. If I use the same spell, It'll be just as powerful, and hopefully... I won't be a snail any more. I might even get my arms back!))
[/optimism]
Post by: miauw62 on November 21, 2012, 12:12:24 pm
Search around for any loot lying about, then head back to the life studies dept.((Or, you may be smited in some horrible way. Tough i find it hard to think of something worse than a snail))
((I really want a healing book focus so I can return to my normal form. If I use the same spell, It'll be just as powerful, and hopefully... I won't be a snail any more. I might even get my arms back!))
[/optimism]
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 12:55:01 pm
Samucane investigates the sound it just heard!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, none of the glass bottles around here are broken. Neither is there any other bit of glass around. Hm.
Inside the Library...
James, feeling highly dejected, looks for something worth stealing!
[Search roll: 4]
He finds a peculiar set of glasses lying around on a nearby table! They look pretty valuable, with their gold frame and high-quality lenses. Also, there is a peculiar jewel mounted on what could only be described as a forehead-plate above the frame.
He grabs the glasses and heads to the Life Studies Department!
Yep, it's still totally burned down! Awesome!
Post by: TopHat on November 21, 2012, 01:00:38 pm
((sound familier?))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 21, 2012, 01:44:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 02:30:48 pm
James tries to find a lifemage!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a mage. She's dressed in all black robes and seems to be poking a fire in the department's ruins!
"... serves the bloody bastards right... lousy lifemages..."
[Ambush roll: 5]
James manages to sneak up on her perfectly! He entangles her in his snail heads and pulls her off to a dark alleyway!
[Noise roll: 6]
The mage remains totally quiet during the entire ordeal! Eventually James deposits her on the ground behind the Metamorphosis Department!
[Beaversnailgoating roll: 3]
He tries his best to perform his beaversnailgoating routine, but the mage remains unimpressed! At the end of the ordeal, James feels somewhat inadequate!
"Was that it?"
[Mage reaction roll: 2]
She begins to wave her hands!
[Magic roll: 3]
A horrifying image flashes in James' mind for a second! Hm, wonder what it was.
"Was that it?"
On an alien world, far from home...
Vincent waves to the light!
[? roll: ?]
He feels whatever peers at him tilt one of its many whatsits quizzically!
[? roll: ?]
It appears to be attempting to invade Vincent's head!
[? roll: ?]
[Vincent will roll: 5]
Vincent holds back as well as he can, but the mental tendrils of the creature reach his metaphorical brain after what appears to be a lifetime of mental struggle!
[? roll: ?]
~why are you here~
Meanwhile, in the Great Hope Graveyard...
Near a mausoleum, two rather bored-looking undead lurk in the shadows! One seems to be telling the other about that time a guy tried to tell him that his potions must be watered down, which they, by the way, never were, and he has the documentation to prove it! The other remains stoically silent and completely legless. They've been here for quite a while, actually.
"So, then I was traveling the wilderness, and bandits ambushed me! They said that they'll take my money or my life, I said I've got potions. They said that my potions are watered down. I said screw you. They killed me. Guess they won that argument."
Suddenly, there is the sound of exploding flesh and a very angry-looking and bruised necromancer appears in front of them!
"Two undead, eh? Pah, you'll do."
"What?"
He angrily spits out five words! The two undead suddenly feel a lot less free!
"Right, let's get the hell out of here. Got no time for this stu-"
He is interrupted by ghostly screeching from the distance! A horrid three-legged specter is heading right for him, though whether it's because of some perceived slight, desire to preserve the natural order of things or sheer bloody-mindedness and boredom, not even the ghost could probably say! The ghost would, however, be able to say that haunting a carnival forever is much more dull than you'd think!
"Perfect, I needed another minion!"
He shouts the five words again! The ghost slows down for a second, but keeps approaching!
"You, stop!"
The spirit stops!
"Everybody, come with me! I believe I might have a use for your worthless hides!"
They do!
The necromancer waves his hands! There is the sound of exactly seven rocks crashing against each other at a high speed, and they are all gone!
After a brief moment of blackness, they find themselves in the middle of a dark hall in a tomb! There appears to be a bonfire burning in the middle of it!
The necromancer picks up a book and seems to be leafing through it!
"Right, now where did I put it..."
End of Chapter 2!
New abilities for the surviving four!
James: Snail Survival, Animal Empathy, Beaversnailgoating.
Vincent: Experienced Looter, Triple-Wielding, Arm Jump.
Samucane: Competent Cane Pilot, Cane Cabaret, Magical Cane Fighting.
Alaric: Liar Extraordinaire, Improved Ghostly Ventriloquism, Telekinetic Talent
You can also choose one of the abilities you didn't get at the end of the previous chapter instead!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on November 21, 2012, 02:46:42 pm
Mike will inquire about Bernie's intentions and take a look around.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 21, 2012, 02:54:54 pm
Sam will float off somewhere, and do a bit of exploring. Maybe Bernie has some cool loots!
Post by: miauw62 on November 21, 2012, 02:55:49 pm
Uh, I don't really like any of those. I'd prefer some sort of magic boost...Can I get something like that? And what do you mean by "Abilities we didn't get at the end of the previous chapter"?((You had a choice of character progression last chapter too, if you were in in the first chapter. You can pick from those too
Sam will float off somewhere, and do a bit of exploring. Maybe Bernie has some cool loots!
Here is the end of chapter 1. (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=118106.msg3747052#msg3747052)))
((E: Aaand, i have to go. See y'all tomorrow evening.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 03:07:35 pm
Uh, I don't really like any of those. I'd prefer some sort of magic boost...Can I get something like that?
((You see, the problem with giving you a magic boost is that a +1 to magic is sort of a very big deal, considering that magic is kind of a wildly powerful thing already. If you got a simple +1 to magic, you'd be absurdly powerful. Plus it wouldn't really make sense from a character sort of standpoint - Samucane is already a cane and a focus, which means that it has no real way of getting better at other magic or improving in the cane magic department.
However, I do have an idea. How about Draw Upon Inner Cane.))
Post by: TopHat on November 21, 2012, 03:47:06 pm
And yes, I did actually flip the coin there. It came up heads))
Terrify her, Then
((I didn't get the perk, but that just means I don't get a bonus, right?))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 21, 2012, 03:48:30 pm
Think, "I don't really know how I got here. All I remember is that I touched a magical hammer in a magical vault of magical artifacts that was surrounded by a magical barrier."
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2012, 04:40:20 pm
Stealing Better Minions!
Inside the lair of the disheveled, desperate Bernie...
Mike is somewhat put off by the uncomfortable silence that seems to have come over the room! Time for a question for his kind and benevolent host!
"Why did you bring me here?"
Bernie looks away from his book and stares at Mike for a second.
"I need minions. Not just any minions, though. Definitely not bottom-of-the-barrel scum like I've been working with so far. Damn fools are probably on the other side of the globe by now, if my assessment of their sheer idiocy is accurate."
He runs his hand over his own face.
"So I had an idea. You, my scum-sucking worthless heaps of spectral and skeletal remains, will get me a minion. Not just any minion, though. The Steel Maiden is what interests me."
"Steel Maiden? What's that?"
"Well, the cult of Rysinia, the goddess of war and change, is not known for its friendly sacred sites. In fact, most of their holy pilgrimages have an 80% fatality rate. This is directly due to the fact that most of their holiest places are in the middle of areas infested with pretty much every scourge known to humanity."
"Sounds awful."
"It is. One such place is Lake Victory, probably one of the most dangerous places in the North. It is so horrible, in fact, that the temple guards of the cult of Rysinia were not enough to guard it. So they made a guardian of metal, made in Rysinia's likeness and infused with incredibly potent magic. The Steel Maiden. The guardian was enough to keep the forces of darkness at bay from what I hear, and is perhaps the most effective artificial warrior in the modern world."
"And?"
"I need you to help me steal it. You will go to the Grand Temple of Rysinia in the very center of Lake Victory, monster central, and act as portal conduits."
He produces a box and hands it to Monty, who stores it in his ribcage!
"Push the button on top of it and I will home in its location and teleport there. If you make me teleport anywhere other than the Temple, rest assured that I will be most displeased. Displeased enough to eliminate the lot of you."
"And once you're there?"
"I have a plan. And an artifact as well. Time will tell if it will stand up to the power of the guardian."
He produces a magic map. It appears to have two random cities, the University of Magic, some tomb in the wilderness, a village and a clear path to Lake Victory mapped out on it!
"Use this. Get there. Summon me. And don't wander off. I will kill you if you do. You will now perform your mission in a timely and efficient manner. Consider that an order, assholes."
A whiplash of magic goes through the heads of the three undead currently present!
Meanwhile, Samucane is too busy looting to stay within earshot of Bernie!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It half-floats, half-drags its way along the tomb searching for loot!
[Search roll: 4]
It finds a small pendant in the melted, exploded ruins of Sis' lab! Wonder what it is. And how did it survive the blast?
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James goes for another try at beaversnailgoating!
[Beaversnailgoating roll: 6]
[Mage will roll: 6]
James unleashes a beaversnailgoat assault never (thankfully enough) seen in history up to this point!
The mage is completely unimpressed.
"What are you trying to do, anyway? It's all a bit confusing to me."
[Mage magic roll: 2]
She is about to do something, but then stops.
"Seriously, are you some kind of pervert or something?"
In an alien room...
Vincent tries to get his thoughts in order and answer the alien thing!
[Concentrated thought roll: 5]
He effortlessly forms mind-sentences!
~I'm not sure how I got here. All I remember is that I touched a magical hammer in a magical vault of magical artifacts that was surrounded by a magical barrier.~
[? roll: ?]
~how many times... did you touch it...?~
~Well, three times. The first two times it didn't do anything.~
~will have to report this... to the... chief community fellow...~
Vincent hears an otherworldly howl!
~RIGHT. WHO IS THIS TWIT.~
~dimensional traveler... chief community fellow... sir~
~DID HE STEAL ANYTHING YET? DIMENSIONAL TRAVELERS ALWAYS DO.~
~he... may have vandalized... my home... a little bit...~
~HOW EXACTLY?~
~upturned... a chair...~
[? roll: ?]
~I SEE. HE SHALL BE DETAINED AT ONCE.~
Vincent suddenly finds himself precariously balancing on top of what appears to be a three-mile tall needle! How did he even get here?
[Balance roll: 2]
He swings his arms and unsteadily shakes! Oh crap!
[Balance roll: 2-1]
He falls!
[? roll: ?]
~THE PRISONER IS ESCAPING! AUTHORIZING USE OF DEADLY FORCE!~
[? roll: ?]
He is instantly swept up and exposed to warm sunlight and sweet scents! Not bad, Vincent thinks!
The pleasant, peaceful interlude ends when he is suddenly back on top of the needle, only this time his feet are nailed to it!
[Balance roll: 5]
This really helps, actually. Vincent stands tall on top of the needle!
~LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU ON WHAT WE DO WITH ESCAPING PRISONERS! NOW WAIT FOR YOUR TRIAL LIKE A GOOD DIMENSIONAL TRAVELER WOULD!~
Post by: TopHat on November 21, 2012, 05:22:29 pm
Then loot corpse.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 21, 2012, 06:24:21 pm
I'll take "Knack for Magic" then, thanks.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 21, 2012, 09:38:26 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 21, 2012, 10:46:11 pm
It turned its semi-formed 'eyes' towards the other two and stared at them in a creepy manner, perhaps thinking, perhaps not. Who knows?
'Maybe I can have fun with these two. Or maybe find other people on way, have fun with them.'
It extended one incorporeal, hand-shaped appendage for a shake. "I Timothy. Timmy. Tim. Something."
>Wait for these two to get a move on, and then onwards to adventure!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 22, 2012, 12:50:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 01:00:05 am
James combats his feelings of inadequacy in the very best and healthiest way he knows - stabbing people!
[James vs. Mage: 3+1 vs. 4]
The mage just sidesteps his mighty magical sword stab!
[Mage magic roll: 3]
She waves her arms once more, but nothing happens. Well, James can faintly hear the word "pervert" whispered in his mind over and over again, but that's hardly unusual!
[James vs. Mage: 1+1 vs. 5]
He stabs his sword right into the wall of the Metamorphosis Department!
[Strength roll: 3]
He manages to budge it slightly from its place, but it is far from unstuck!
[Mage magic roll: 6]
This time, however, the mage finally does something! James' mind is assaulted by an image of a thousand little girls screeching in perfect unison! The mage stumbles for a bit after launching this particular magical attack!
[James will roll: 1+1]
Oh no! She knows his weakness! SHE KNOWS! James keels over as well as a horrid snail-creature can, which is to say not very, and just lies there for the time being!
[Mage reaction roll: 2]
She walks up to the sword in the wall!
"Ooh, nifty."
[Mage strength roll: 1]
She pulls on it for a while, but can't seem to get it out! In fact, she actually seems to push it farther in and slightly weaken the wall around it!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6]
The blade begins to spark at the edges of the guard!
[Mage reaction roll: 3]
The mage gets a bit of a shock and decides to leave without the sword!
On an alien world...
Vincent opts to wait for his trial!
[Patience roll: 6]
Yep, he'll wait for as long as it takes and possibly longer! He stands completely still, not moving an inch!
[? roll: ?]
Soon enough he feels a presence near him activate!
~GOOD JOB, INMATE! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THAT ESCAPE ATTEMPT, YOU'D ALMOST BE A MODEL PRISONER! NOW, LET'S GET ON WITH YOUR TRIAL!~
Vincent gets the faint impression that the presence is leafing through something!
[? roll: ?]
~THE VERDICT IS IGNORANT! ANY OBJECTIONS?~
Inside the tomb of Bernie...
Timothy mills about discontently and grunts for a bit! Then he extends the cold, spectral hand of death or perhaps friendship!
"I Timothy. Timmy. Tim. Something."
"I feel so enriched now that I know that. Now scram."
Monty nods. What could be going through his head right now? We may never know, as he keeps quiet and attempts to jump on Mike's back!
[Jumping roll: 2]
Sadly, jumping is a never-known art for poor old Monty, and he just can't get a sufficient jump height in his current state! Just as well, anyway, Mike's intangible, after all.
Meanwhile, Samucane keeps on stealing!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
[Search roll: 2]
Well, there's nothing else around worth stealing that he could carry around. He does find a new hole in the wall that leads to a weird-looking tomb!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on November 22, 2012, 01:03:05 am
Post by: Yoink on November 22, 2012, 06:26:42 am
>Emit tuneful, irritating buzzing sound.
>Look out for anything interesting on the way.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 09:15:00 am
Monty raises himself on two arms! Well, that works. He also attempts to flip Mike off for being so dang incorporeal!
[Balance roll: 1]
He goes for a double bird! All goes well until, well, the very beginning, which is when Monty proceeds to fall on his pelvis! It seems to have a crack in it now. Oh, great.
Timothy, having received all the information he needs, floats off in the direction indicated on the map! He also attempts to make a horribly irritating sound!
[Annoyance roll: 6]
He begins making an ungodly racket, buzzing, whistling, screeching and howling like some kind of infernal offspring of a howler monkey and a hungry locust! As he travels the road being as loud and horribly annoying as inhumanly possible, he keeps an eye out for anything interesting!
[Encounter roll: 5-1]
The animals seem horribly afraid of him for some reason! Otherwise, however, there is absolutely nothing on the way! After about three hours of floating and screeching, he ends up in front of the picturesque farming town of Dielnin!
[Town alarm roll: 3]
Several townspeople appear to be watching Timothy with great suspicion!
"Hey, it's some kind of bloody spirit that's makin' all the noise!"
"Wonder what its damn problem is?"
Timothy feels that he isn't about to make any friends here.
Post by: OREOSOME on November 22, 2012, 09:21:10 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 11:49:12 am
Samucane will explore that weird tomb!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 12:07:47 pm
Samucane goes into the tomb!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
It roars through the stale air like a wooden bolt of lightning, bouncing off the walls several times before coming to a stop in the center of the room!
[Tomb structural integrity roll: 1]
The tomb's walls begin to crumble! The ceiling of the tomb mostly collapses, leaving the entrance Samucane took to get inside completely buried in a mountain of rubble!
Trapped. Wonderful.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 12:09:39 pm
Samucane will angrily turn some of the nearby smaller rocks into floating, glowing light-canes!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 22, 2012, 12:22:21 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 22, 2012, 12:28:18 pm
Naw...With my rolls, I'd just get 1's or 2's, and gib the person. Gyeh. Can I go for something like Necromancy? Just necromancy, no +1 to all magic or anything? That'd be nice.((Psst. Take the Cane Pilot one! You keep getting 7s! It would be worth it!))
Samucane will angrily turn some of the nearby smaller rocks into floating, glowing light-canes!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 12:52:43 pm
Samucane decides to create glowing cane companions!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
It manages to form what is best described as a swarm of canes that emit blinding light! The tomb is now lit as bright as though the sun was right inside it!
On a needle in an alien world...
Vincent waits for somebody to object to his sentence!
[Objection roll: 3]
Nobody seems to do so, though.
~I LOVE IT WHEN THERE'S NO OBJECTIONS. VERY WELL, THE VERDICT STANDS. YOU SHALL BE ENLIGHTENED.~
Vincent is about to consider what that means, but his mind is suddenly assailed by a mass of knowledge!
[Vincent will roll: 3]
It's like some kind of mental enema! Vincent feels incredibly weak by the end of the ordeal, and not terribly enriched at all!
[? roll: ?]
~THERE. YOU ARE WELL.~
Vincent finds himself back at the foot of the alien spiral!
~DO NOT TRESPASS AGAIN!~
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2012, 01:08:24 pm
"Alright, i'll be on my way i guess."
Mike will start following the route on his map. And try to stay on the roads.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 01:41:57 pm
Mike looks at the map Monty has! He tries to memorize the route!
[Memorization roll: 6]
In a few minutes, he has memorized the entire map! Well, it appears Monty is no longer of any use to him! Mike leaves the handicapped skeleton behind!
Once outside, he floats along the road, trying to follow his route as well as he can! An unsettling screeching and howling seems to be coming from about two miles in front of him!
[Perception roll: 5]
It's obviously that circus freakrobat, Timothy! Better not get too close.
[Encounter roll: 3]
Though a few animals seem to glance at Mike hatefully, none seem to be particularly inclined toward attacking him mercilessly! Probably because they're afraid of the screeching terror in front of him!
After a few hours of listening to the horrible noise, Mike sees the town of Dielnin in the distance! Townspeople seem to have gathered around the gates.
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2012, 01:51:10 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 01:57:30 pm
How does sam see?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 02:11:53 pm
Mike tries to specter-teleport to a good vantage point for himself!
[Specter Teleportation roll: 2]
He teleports! He finds himself standing a few feet to the right from his previous location!
Inside a newly-lit tomb...
Samucane is about to create something truly awe-inspiring and magnificent! It will-
Wait, how is it able to see, anyway?
[Good question roll: 3]
Uh... magical intuition? The skull? Maybe both?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 02:19:52 pm
Okay, for a trait, how about I can't over-roll any cane magic? YAY FOR MORE SPECIALIZATION
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 02:27:54 pm
Samucane tries to make some cane ocular concealment devices to make itself look cool!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
And it does so rather acceptably! They are a bit large and unwieldy, plus they're shutter shades, not actually having any glass in them, but a decent amount of coolness is achieved!
Samucane now has Cane Shades!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 02:35:23 pm
Slightly resistant to light now, Samucane will explore the tomb more!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 02:42:41 pm
Stylish piece of wood that it is, Samucane goes on to explore the tomb!
[Magic roll: 5+1-1]
It flies effortlessly through the seemingly abandoned halls, surrounded by a horde of glowcanes at all times! It sees all kinds of interesting carvings on the walls, mostly detailing the rules of playing some kind of game.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Wonder what it could all mean?
[Encounter roll: 4-1]
It senses something rather nasty prowling nearby! A creature of pure darkness and boardgames, it seems!
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 22, 2012, 02:44:34 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 02:46:53 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2012, 02:53:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 02:58:49 pm
Samucane attempts to create a cane golem!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Sadly for it, the cane-forces suffused with his soul don't feel like coming out and helping him with anything! Dammit, why can't they ever cooperate the way he wants them to?
[Nabpie reaction roll: 1]
The thing lurking in the darkness has had enough of the light and pounces on the glow-canes!
[Nabpie vs. Glowcanes: 4+3 vs. 4+1]
It engulfs several of them in darkness, seemingly completely obliterating them!
Outside Dielnin...
Mike tries to teleport to a good place to ambush people once again!
[Specter Teleportation roll: 5]
Through the time-tested tactic of trying harder, he manages to teleport to the roof of an abandoned manor near the town's central square!
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2012, 03:02:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 03:20:16 pm
Mike looks around for something interesting happening!
[Perception roll: 1]
He watches the front door of a brothel for fun things that might happen!
There don't seem to be any happening, though.
Twenty minutes later, nothing is still happening in ever-increasing quantities.
Forty minutes later, Mike begins to question his existence due to soul-crushing boredom.
[Questioning roll: 1]
He manages to convince himself that he really shouldn't be exist!
[Will roll: 4]
He is, however, not stupid enough to die on the spot. Heh, dying from boredom. That would be a hell of a way to die.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 04:06:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2012, 04:17:31 pm
Samucane realizes the error of its ways! The cane golem was missing one thing: LIGHT!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
It manifests a reasonable amount of magical energy and creates some more glowcanes!
[Golem shaping roll: 5]
It manages to build a very solid and respectable-looking golem of light and canes, the whole thing measuring about seven feet in height and 4 feet in width!
[Nabpie reaction roll: 4]
The Nabpie gazes at the golem in stupefaction!
"I sa-ay, whe-ere is a-all thi-is bla-asted ma-agic comi-ing fro-om?"
Post by: Caerwyn on November 22, 2012, 05:02:51 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 22, 2012, 06:37:34 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 22, 2012, 08:23:01 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 22, 2012, 10:35:27 pm
>Cease screeching!
>Attempt to become less visible!
>Float closer to the town, hide and use my Spirit Telekinesis to make all the pet cats in the town levitate out into the main square and do a happy dance! That should make these people happier!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 01:05:22 am
Timothy, dissatisfied at his terrible reception, elects to stop screeching like a monster from the darkest pits of the demonic realms! He also tries to make himself less visible!
[Invisibility roll: 1-1]
He makes himself into a permanent light source! A rather bright one, too.
Oh, would you look at that, there appears to be a fellow on a horse speeding towards him! Better hide!
[Hiding roll: 4]
Timothy disappears into the ground and goes toward the town!
[Navigation roll: 6]
He reemerges from his subterranean journey inside a home of some kind! Looks safe enough. Time for more magic!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
Timothy realizes that he doesn't know where anything is in this town! Oh well, better telekinesis the hell out of it anyway! He strains, huffs and puffs, and achieves his goal! Random places in this town are now affected by long-range spectral haunting!
[Random place roll: 3]
He hears screaming and splattering come from several places around himself! Well, they're probably alright. What could a little bit of telekinesis do, anyway?
In the tomb of Bernie...
Monty figures that he'd best be moving on now! But first, he must dispose of his ancient enemy: his pelvis!
[Pelvis removal roll: 1]
After smashing against the ground for a while, he is left with a splintered mess of a pelvis! It's still attached to his spine, though! He'll need tools to get rid of that connection! Oh well, better go!
His pelvis making a scratching noise as it drags along the ground, Monty proceeds to follow the route on his map!
[Encounter roll: 5]
Surprisingly enough, nobody attempts to take advantage of him on the way! Awful nice animals they have in this part of the world!
He gets to Dielnin about half an hour after Mike! There is a fellow on a horse outside the gates, near him are several townspeople!
On an alien world...
Vincent, feeling rather weak at the moment, goes off to wander around the inhospitable depths of the alien world!
[Wandering roll: 6]
He manages to find a small archway leading to stairs that go underground! Well, that looks safe!
Inside a newly blocked-off tomb...
Samucane tries to perform a sharpened glowcane assault on the creature near it!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
2 sharpened glowcanes appear and speed toward the creepy bastard!
[Glowcanes vs. Nabpie: 1+2 vs. 6+3-1]
The Nabpie, however, eats both of them mid-air! Uh oh. Plan B: golem, attack!
[Golem vs. Nabpie: 4+2 vs. 5+3-1]
The creature skillfully avoids the golem's attack, then spins around to strike!
[Nabpie vs. Golem: 5+3 vs. 1+2]
It engulfs the thing in darkness and horror, and when it withdraws, nothing is left! The golem seems to be gone!
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 10:48:26 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 11:32:43 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 11:39:56 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on November 23, 2012, 11:41:07 am
Samucane will do the improbable. The unknown. The crazy. He's going to FLY THE HELL OUT OF THERE, BECAUSE SCREW FIGHTING ANYTHING WITH A NATURAL +3 TO...EVERYTHING. Maybe hide behind the sister?
((You see why I died, now?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 11:51:00 am
Samucane decides that this fight is best left screwed along with any fights like it! It attempts to escape!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It drags itself deeper into the darkness of the tomb, the other way having collapsed!
[Nabpie reaction roll: 5]
The Nabpie has had enough of the cane's shenanigans, obviously, and chooses to look for its friends instead of getting into another fight!
Samucane drags itself deeper and deeper... most of the tomb seems to be a single long corridor with side burial chambers! But where does the corridor lead?
[Encounter roll: 1]
Two more Nabpies comes out of a nearby side chamber looking for trouble!
[Nabpie 1 vs. Glowcanes: 1+3 vs. 1+1]
[Nabpie 2 vs. Glowcanes: 5+3 vs. 4+1]
They eat all but one glowcane! Dammit, what's a cane to do in this unfriendly atmosphere? Can't go down a single corridor without running into several dozen horrible ghouls!
Meanwhile on a roof in Dielnin...
Mike looks for somebody walking around with a potion!
[Victim roll: 3]
There appears to be fellow hiding something walking nervously down a street! It might be a potion he's holding!
[Spirit Telekinesis roll: 1]
Mike concentrates and strains! He manages to mangle the fellow's right leg! The poor schmuck falls on his hip and there is a sound of breaking glass! So it was a potion! Too bad it's wasted now.
[Potion roll: 2]
"My plague cure! No! Now my child will die! Why, gods, why!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 11:55:32 am
Samuel will un-cane his molecules, then re-appear by the sister! A la, re-materialize. Molecules move very fast, right?
I don't care if this goes bad! I AM UPSET.
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 12:22:48 pm
Mike will make the poor sod drink the spilled potion remains, to see if it's actually a cure disease potion, and not, say, a gibbing poison.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 12:51:10 pm
Samucane tries to perform the ancient miracle of cane-a-portation by uncaning its molecules!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Whatever uncaning its molecules even means, Samucane is sort of secretly glad it couldn't do it! Who knows what crazy things could have happened to it! Magic's weird that way, Samucane finds.
[Nabpie 1 vs. Glowcane: 6+3 vs. 4]
One of the Nabpies slashes the cane to tiny little bits! If Samucane could gulp, it would!
[Nabpie reaction roll: 6]
"Oo-ooh, thi-is wi-ill ma-ake a pe-erfect ta-able le-eg!"
One Nabpie grabs Samucane and takes it to a side chamber! A rather lopsided wooden table stands in it!
[Nabpie craftsmanship roll: 2]
"O-oh de-ear. I-it see-eems li-ike I wa-as a bi-it too qui-ick the-ere! I actually ha-ave no ide-ea about ho-ow ca-arpentry i-is do-one!"
[Nabpie idea roll: 6]
"Be-etter a-ask Bo-ob! He-e kno-ows! No-ow, yo-ou ju-ust wait he-ere, little ca-ane, I wi-ill be ba-ack in an ho-our!"
The Nabpie leaves! Thank Velusius for that.
On a roof overlooking disaster...
Mike tries to make the fellow lap up the potion from the ground!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He manages to roll him around in the broken glass for a bit! Eventually the fellow stops screaming. He also stops moving as well.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 12:58:53 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 01:21:05 pm
Mike will try to find another subject and make him drink a potion too!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 01:37:10 pm
Samucane tries to get away from this blasted tomb! Only death awaits it here! It attempts to fly out!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It remains rooted in place! Maybe it can make a cane golem to carry it out?
[Magic roll: 5+1]
He makes a bunch of really mighty-looking magical canes that are also on magical cane-fire!
[Golem shaping roll: 3]
This golem, however, is a lot more malformed than the previous one! Well, at least it still has cane-hands!
[Golem navigation roll: 5]
The golem easily picks Samucane up and proceeds to drag itself over to the rubble-covered passage with its cane-hands!
[Encounter roll: 5]
And what's more surprising, the Nabpies don't even seem to mind! They get to the rubble without incident! Samucane proceeds to order its minion to clear the rubble!
[Rubble clearing roll: 1]
It punches the rubble with tremendous force!
[Tomb structural integrity roll: 2]
The ceiling begins to crumble once again! A lot of rubble begins to fall from the ceiling!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
Samucane barely manages to magically pull itself out of the room in time!
[Golem agility roll: 6-1]
The golem propels itself out of the room as well, landing perfectly right beside Samuel! The room, however, is totally collapsed now under a mountain of dirt and rubble. Looks like Samucane will have to look for another way out!
On the roof overlooking a lot of terrible carnage...
Mike looks for other schmucks with potions!
[Search roll: 1]
He sees a guy with a great big metal jug walking around! Potions ahoy!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He manipulates the man into opening the bottle, the overdone motions twisting and breaking all of his limbs! The man screams very much like you'd expect a spontaneously mutilated fellow to scream, which is to say a lot! The bottle is open, and Mike makes the man smash it into his own face!
Uh oh. Something bad is happening.
Bright light spills out from the bottle accompanied with a horrible shriek!
[Man will roll: 4]
The man screams and bangs his head against the ground! A stream of light is turned away from his head! Instead, it streams to the next thing visible to it - Mike!
[Mike will roll: 1]
Mike suddenly finds himself even more shapeless and bodiless, just a vague presence in the air! He is shocked to see another Mike standing right where he used to be! Wait a minute, that is Mike! It's just that the real Mike is no longer the real Mike! The fake Mike is now the real Mike! The real Mike, on the other hand, is now just a tiny speck of light hanging around next to the new real Mike!
The New Real Mike turns to the Old Real Mike!
"Have fun in the bottle, chump!"
"What?"
[Bottle pull roll: 6]
The old real Mike instantly finds himself inside an endless dark expanse! Around him are many specks of light much like himself!
"New guy, eh? Welcome to the Soul Jar. At least Dick's gone now. That's good news."
[Dickmike telekinesis roll: 4]
Mike sees something close up above him! Dammit, whoever controls his body now stopped the jug with a cork! Now how is he supposed to get out?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 01:39:40 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 01:41:43 pm
Ask other (ghost?) guy about what the fuck is going on.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 01:53:43 pm
Samucane tries to create a dependable army of cane-scouts to serve its exploration-based needs!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It summons average ordinary canes. They're not sentient or, for that matter, animated. Glorious.
Inside a jug of souls...
Mike decides to open with a greeting!
"Oh, hello!"
"Hi."
"What in the hell is this place?"
"Soul Jar. Told you already. Lots of souls in it, hence the name. You're the newest member. You're also trapped forever. Cool, isn't it?"
"And who are you?"
"Ted."
"Ted who?"
"Ted is what you can call me. The rest means nothing."
"How long have you been here?"
"Ī was the first one imprisoned. Been several thousand years since then."
"Cool."
"Yes, very. This place kind of grows on you after a while."
"It does?"
"Yep. You'll see."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 01:54:19 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2012, 02:05:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 02:39:02 pm
Samucane tries to figure out what it did wrong!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It can't seem to think of anything in particular that it could do better! Maybe... concentrate some more?
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Yep, the canes ain't comin'! Damn.
Inside a jug of souls...
Mike proceeds to pester Ted with questions!
"Say, has anybody ever escaped?"
"Well, Dick just did. It's easy. Form a line in front of the cork, make sure you're in front. When somebody opens it, get out and possess somebody. They will take your place in the jug. Sure, it takes a really long while until someone opens the jug, but we're not in any particular rush, you know."
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 02:58:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 03:15:54 pm
Samucane applies logic to its methods for the second time today!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Concentrate... harder? Harder than before?
[Magic roll: 3+1-1]
Samucane makes a single scouting cane! It shall be known as the Prototype!
It is sent scouting!
[Scouting roll: 2]
It scouts around for a bit, then reports back with news that this place sucks! Who's a good scout? Not that thing, that's for sure!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 23, 2012, 03:21:43 pm
A -1 for repeated efforts? Cheap!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2012, 03:40:33 pm
Samucane tries to explore some more!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
...
Samucane isn't having the best of days, is it?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on November 23, 2012, 11:00:02 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 24, 2012, 12:38:22 am
PLEASED AT SUCCESSFULLY CHEERING UP THESE POOR, SAD FOLK, TIMOTHY SHALL CONTINUE ON HIS WAY!
...WAIT, FIRST HE SHALL ACQUIRE SOME PAINT AND TELEKINETICALLY DECORATE THE LARGEST BUILDINGS IN TOWN WITH LOVELY SMILEY FACES!
OH, AND TURN OFF THAT BLOODY LIGHT!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 02:01:13 am
Timothy is feeling very good about himself at the moment! It's not every day that you cheer this many people up at once! He is about to continue on his way when he hears something smashing against his wall! Then something smashing against the door! Some angry-looking fellow runs up the stairs in but a few seconds, brandishing a jar of some kind!
[Escape roll: 1]
Timothy waves to the fellow! The man, however, throws the jar at him! How rude!
[Man vs. Timothy: 5+1 vs. 1]
Timothy, not in a particular rush to get anywhere, stands still as the man chucks the jar at him, eager to show off his intangibility!
This idea is soon proven to be foolish as the man uses a bladed whip to smash the jar mid-air, covering Timothy from head to toe in water. Huh. Must be magic water.
This impression is proven to be correct as Timothy is set ablaze by the water in about half a second! If only he could stop, drop and roll!
[Fire roll: 2]
He's getting really badly burnt! Moreover, he's becoming even uglier than he already is!
[Fire roll: 4]
After burning off most of his skin, however, the fire calms down! Timothy feels terrible! The man has made him quite unpresentable from every angle! It also hurts like hell!
Outside Dielnin...
Monty goes out looking for a blacksmith or doctor whose fine establishments he could patronize!
[Search roll: 2]
No blacksmith's shop or doctor's office that he can see. There are, however, at least three brothels!
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 07:14:06 am
Post by: Yoink on November 24, 2012, 07:18:26 am
>Try again to disappear.
>Screech at this unfriendly fellow until his eardrums burst.
>If that doesn't work, telekinesis him back down the stairs. Then flee! Out a window and towards the objective!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 07:40:35 am
Mike, having found out all he needs to know, tries to telekinetically influence Timothy, who, by his reckoning, should be somewhere! Yes, definitely somewhere!
[Telekinesis roll: 6-2]
He shakes stuff outside of the jug for quite a while until he finds something that's oddly intangible! Yep, probably Timothy! He seems to be on fire! Mike shakes him a bit!
That probably didn't tell him much.
Having done that, Mike forms the beginning of a line at the cork!
[Spirit reaction roll: 6]
"You silly bastard, you honestly think somebody's going to open the jug right now?"
"What a maroon!"
"Hey, what if somebody opens it? I don't want to be left behind, do you?"
The spirits immediately mass together behind Mike! A line is quickly formed!
Meanwhile, in front of a disagreeable fellow...
Timothy feels himself shake a bit! Ah, probably the burns. Disappearing time!
[Disappearance roll: 4-1]
He becomes slightly less visible, more of a faint mist in the air, but still somewhat visible!
[Screeching roll: 1]
He screeches his spectral lungs out! Literally! Oh dear! Better get those back in sometime soon!
The man throws another jar at him!
[Man vs. Timothy: 2+1 vs. 3+1]
He misses with the whip, and the jar just sails through Timothy's body, landing on the other side of the room! Timothy decides not to stand for this and perform some telekinesis!
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 5]
He hurls the man down the stairs, giving himself ample time to flee!
[Man endurance roll: 3+1]
It takes a short while for the man to get up, but he is still very much alive! Fortunately, that little while was all that Timothy needed to escape out of the window!
Timothy decides that he had best head to the objective right now. He's already been set on fire by unfriendly natives and he can't see things getting any better in this town!
[Speedy floating roll: 6]
He kicks his floating ability into high gear and screams through the air like some kind of three-legged banshee! In no more than half an hour, he has reached a bridge over a ravine that does an excellent job of conveying the idea that travelers crossing the bridge had best say their prayers.
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 09:35:49 am
Mike will make one of the townspeople open the jar instead!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 10:03:04 am
Mike attempts to find some schmuck to open the jar!
[Telekinesis roll: 5-2]
He manages to propel the jug into the air! It feels really weird, to tell the truth!
[Person roll: 1]
It lands in what sounds like a pile of junk! There is a minor junkslide as massive amounts of trash slide over the jug!
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 10:56:59 am
((I have a slight feeling this chapter is going to be a really fucked up race.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 11:15:27 am
Mike tries to slide the junk off his jug!
[Telekinesis roll: 4-2]
The junk ain't very keen on removin' itself, though! It remains steadfastly on the jug!
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 11:33:24 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 11:34:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 12:22:36 pm
Samucane tries to fly away with all of its might!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It drags itself around looking for fun things, the golem following close behind!
[Exploration roll: 6]
It finds the very end of the hallway! There appears to be a giant gate decorated with skulls and bones here. It probably leads to fun places! Well, different places, at least!
Inside the Soul Jug...
Mike waits for a random passerby to rescue him!
[Random passerby roll: 6]
He feels the junk shift and move around the bottle! Suddenly, he feels that the jug is picked up!
"Ugh, ganshup-ashupifwannick... booze, huh?"
He feels the bottle lifted! The cork moves slightly!
"Jeb! Get over to the town hall! There's an emergency meeting taking place!"
"Rasshum, frasshum, better take booze, shawwun."
Mike feels Jeb carry the jug off somewhere! Eventually, they find themselves in what sounds like a roomful of people!
"So, today our fine town has been stricken with tragedy! A specter appeared from the woods and haunted us, and killed us, and foiled the mighty Carmine Broomstick's or whatever his name was attempts to subdue him! Our town faced great peril, but the specter retreated before our faith and power! Even now it speeds toward the godless heathens in Yellowglen! Serves the treehuggin' bastards right, that's what I say!"
[Jeb boredom roll: 2]
"Yeah! Lousy treehuggers! Wouldn't even sell us any booze! To the demon pits with all of them!."
The meeting quickly derails into a badmouthing session of those rotten blighters at Yellowglen. Huh.
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 12:25:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 12:32:08 pm
Mike attempts to telekinesis poor Jeb into opening the jug!
[Telekinesis roll: 2-2]
He doesn't do anything and severely weakens himself in the attempt! Oh dear, his ethereal brain is burning!
[Will roll: 2]
Oh my. He doesn't think he'll be able to do any more telekinesis any time soon. In fact, he feels more like vomiting at the moment!
[Jeb boredom roll: 4]
Jeb sits down, having run out of any insults for the treehuggers at Yellowglen. Hm. What does he have on hand that could amuse him?
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 12:35:14 pm
((a question about possesion: If i posses somebody, and he/she is killed, will i die? And can i leave the person i am possessing at will?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 12:37:06 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 12:52:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 01:07:36 pm
Samucane thinks that going through the gate is the best thing it could possibly do right now! But first, it's golem time again!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
He summons massive amounts of flaming magical canes once again! Let's shape that golem!
[Golem shaping roll: 1]
Samucane slams the massive amounts of canes together, creating a giant flaming cane boulder!
[Boulder hatred roll: 1]
It rolls in the direction of Samucane immediately! Oh crap.
[Samucane magic roll: 2+1]
Samucane attempts to feebly drag itself out of the way! It manages to get its skull part out of the way!
[Boulder vs. Samucane: 6+3-1 vs. 6+1]
The boulder manages to roll over the very tip of Samucane's tail end, smashing into the wall!
[Gate structural integrity roll: 3]
The gate cracks and bends inwards! A few pieces fall out of it! Uh... success?
In the Dielnin Town Hall...
Mike remains hopeful for Jeb! C'mon, drink, you useless lump of a person! It's all you're good for!
[Jeb boredom roll: 1]
Jeb is about to take a swig from the Soul Jug when he is interrupted by a beautiful lady offering him wine!
"Jeb! Glad to see you here! Want some wine?"
"Well, harumph, you know me, can't say no to an enchanting lady, no sir!"
He drinks the wine! Damn! Why couldn't he go for suspicious jug possibly-liquid instead?
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 01:21:35 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 02:00:43 pm
Bodyslam the Mage into the wall whilst her back is turned!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 02:06:50 pm
Mike listens in to Jeb doing his smooth routine with the woman!
[Jeb charm roll: 1]
Jeb begins to cackle and lick his lips, if Mike's hearing things correctly! He also hears the sound of someone quickly backing away! Poor guy. Maybe he should have a drink!
[Jeb misery roll: 3]
He slowly takes out the jug... moment of truth here...
[Interruption roll: 1]
Suddenly someone bumps into him! Well, slams into him. Well, beats him with a stick. It seems to be an old woman of some kind!
"What in the name of Almiria is wrong with you, ya lout! Hit on my daughter, will ya?"
The jug falls out of Jeb's hands and drops to the ground, making a conspicuous noise!
[Watchful drunkard roll: 3]
One drunkard slowly sneaks up to the jug and takes it while Jeb is too busy getting his posterior handed to him.
"Ha-ha! Mine now!"
[Drunkard enthusiasm roll: 1]
"But... it would be awful unfair to cheat Jeb out of his drink. I remember way back when he paid my tab just when the barkeep was about to extract it from my skin... those were the days! I'd better help Jeb!"
[Drunkard vs. Old Woman: 5 vs. 4]
The drunkard pushes the old woman away!
"And stay away, you old bag! Here's yer jug, Jeb! Ya dropped it!"
"Eh, thankee kindly, hrumph. Yer a stand-up guy, Paul."
[Jeb alcoholism roll: 1]
"Yeah, thankee kindly, but I'll be swearin' off the booze from now on, I guess!"
He takes the jug and flings it away!
[Jug flight roll: 6]
The jug hits the what seems to be the beautiful lady straight in the head!
[Lady endurance roll: 6]
"Who threw that? Come clean and I'll hurt you less!"
[Jeb honesty roll: 3]
The room goes quiet. Jeb doesn't seem to be willing to admit to his jug-throwing antics!
[Lady idea roll: 5]
"What is in this jug, anyway?"
She pulls out the cork! Mike rushes out of it, followed by a horde of spirits!
[Lady will roll: 5]
The lady, however, seems to be somewhat resistant to soul takeover! She throws the jug away and runs!
[Random victim roll: 6]
The soul beam rushes toward another person, a strong-looking farmer fellow!
[Farmer will roll: 4]
He leaps behind the bar, unwilling to find out what the beam might be!
[Random victim roll: 4]
The soul beam races for the next person in its vicinity: a somewhat worn-looking woman, perhaps a farmer's wife?
[Woman will roll: 6]
She brandishes a pentacle, making the soul beam go in the opposite direction!
[Random victim roll: 1]
A little girl happens to be in the path of it!
[Girl will roll: 2]
Mike lodges himself inside her brain pretty snugly! Yep, he'll be able to control her, he thinks!
[Spirit hall domination roll: 6]
The rest of the spirits end up in the bodies of the rest of the townspeople! They move around awkwardly for a bit, but quickly get used to their new bodies!
"Not a bad catch, if I may say so myself! Hey, somebody plug that jug!"
A spirit-possessed old woman picks up the jug and stops it with the cork!
"Looks like this town is ours now!"
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James tries to sneak-attack-bodyslam-supreme the woman!
[Grappling: James vs. Mage: 3 vs. 3]
James gets a grip on the mage, but is too slimy and slippery to manage anything other than an awkward grope!
"You are some kind of pervert! That's it, I'm out of here!"
[Mage escape roll: 1]
She slips on the trail left by James when he dragged her here! What luck!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 02:10:37 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2012, 02:10:43 pm
"I could ask you guys a favor. And i'm going to ask one thing most of you probably want to do. If not, you're free to go. Anybody got any village-wrecking intentions?"
Mike will stir up the other ghosts to wreck this town!
((a question about possesion: If i posses somebody, and he/she is killed, will i die? And can i leave the person i am possessing at will?))((I think you missed this.))
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 02:14:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 02:43:45 pm
Samucane attempts to flee through the crumbling skull-gate!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It half-drags itself to an opening and attempts to get through!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
Feebly lifting its other end as well, Samucane manages to reach the other side! Man, it's dark in here. At least the flaming cane boulder provides some illumination!
Looks like some kind of ruins are out here.
Inside the Dielnin Town Hall...
Girly Mike proceeds to attempt to rouse some of the spirit-rabble around!
[Rabble rousing roll: 5-1]
She starts dramatically speaking in her teeny squeaking voice!
"My fellow prisoners! What say you we take advantage of this fair town and all the fine things it offers?"
"Sure, why not."
They all begin a rampage through the town!
[Rampaging roll: 6]
They are like a scourge, destroying and looting everything in their path! Mike, pipsqueak that she is, gets no loot from this on account of being unable to reach most of the good stuff.
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James is absolutely shocked at being called a pervert! He attempts to deflect the slander!
[Argument roll: 1-4]
He begins to slobber and secrete slime at a growing rate! One of his snail heads begins to laugh in an absolutely creepy manner! How it does this, James has no idea!
"That settles it, then. Getting away, now."
[Mage agility roll: 6]
She easily frees herself from the slime and does an overblown cartwheel to escape!
[Escape roll: 3]
She manages to cartwheel a respectable distance from James!
"Let it never be said that gymnastics are useless for mages!" she yells as she comes to a stop!
James chooses to go after her!
[Movement: James vs. Mage: 2-1 vs. 3]
The mage jogs away at a leisurely pace as James can barely move forward!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 02:52:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 03:02:30 pm
Samucane attempts to do the scoutey-caney thing again!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It just wasn't meant to be, it seems. The very idea of the scouting cane appears to be fundamentally unacceptable to his caney nature!
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 03:05:46 pm
Retake my sword, then look for another life Mage. This time, hide in the shadows and shoot with the bow.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 03:29:21 pm
James tries to retrieve his sword from the wall!
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He removes it easily! Along with a great chunk of the wall!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6]
A magical field springs up around the wall! Oh well. James looks for some more victims!
[Victim roll: 6]
He sees five mages dressed in lifemage robes strolling along nearby! He attempts to shoot from cover!
[Stealth roll: 2]
He just stands in the alley and shoots!
[James vs. Lifemage 1: 6+1 vs. 4-1]
He shoots the lifemage in the chest, piercing the lung!
[Lifemage 1 endurance roll: 3]
The lifemage falls down bleeding and coughing!
[Lifemage mobilization roll: 6]
All four lifemages begin looking for James!
[Lifemage 2 perception roll: 1]
[Lifemage 3 perception roll: 4]
[Lifemage 4 perception roll: 4]
[Lifemage 5 perception roll: 2]
One lifemage runs off in the wrong direction, one looks perplexed, the other two see James with perfect clarity! They begin magicking!
[Lifemage 3 magic roll: 1]
[Lifemage 4 magic roll: 3]
One of the attackers falls down and begins to slowly suffocate while another makes James feel rather uncomfortable!
[Lifemage 1 magic roll: 3]
The wounded lifemage manages to lessen his bleeding a little bit!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 03:54:34 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 03:59:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 04:03:52 pm
Samucane tries to figure out WHY. WHY can't it make the canes? WHY are the shadow things such assholes? WHY does everything want to kill it?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
After a brief moment of reflection, Samucane has come to a stunning revelation! Oh yes, now it knows the proper way of optimally focusing its power! Scouting canes, go!
[Magic roll: 4+1-2]
It summons a single scouting cane once more! Well... not good, but better than nothing!
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James, after giggling briefly at the stupid mages, opens fire!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 6+1 vs. 6]
He manages to graze the fellow quite nicely! Nothing more serious than that, though!
[Lifemage 4 magic roll: 3]
The lifemage gives James a tiny bit of indigestion!
[Lifemage 3 magic roll: 2]
The lifemage that nearly killed himself already doesn't do anything in particular to mitigate the situation!
[Lifemage 5 perception roll: 3]
The fifth lifemage thinks he can see James, and comes a bit closer to find out for sure!
[Lifemage 1 magic roll: 1]
The poor pierced mage that James hit earlier manages to snuff his poor life out in one miscalculated gesture!
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 04:09:25 pm
Open fire! Let's see what these magic weapons can do!?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 04:11:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 04:22:26 pm
Open fire! Let's see what these magic weapons can do!?
((Sorry about that. Was about to write up the turn for it, then forgot.))
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 04:26:21 pm
As soon as at least two are dead, terrify them into submission .
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 04:43:15 pm
Samucane sends both of its scouting canes a-scouting! That's what they're for, after all.
[Cane 1 scouting roll: ?]
[Cane 2 scouting roll: ?]
Both of them go off in different directions while Samucane takes yet another path! The stalwart golem follows its master at a relatively slow pace!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
That is, it would if Samucane could move at the moment! It is forced to wait impotently for a short bit until trying again!
[Magic roll: 6+1-2]
Now that's better! Samucane floats up easily and goes exploring!
[Exploration roll: 4]
It manages to find a peculiar-looking temple made of black stone! Something is glowing inside of it! Samucane is about to go in when its cane scouts return! One claims that there is an area of interesting-looking pillars to the west, while the other claims to have found native creatures to the east! It even brought some to Samucane!
The native creatures appear to be giant stone crabs. Hm.
[Crab hostility roll: 3]
They eye Samucane's golem with what looks like great suspicion!
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James just keeps on firing! Heck, these guys are mostly just hurting themselves, anyway!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 3+1 vs. 4]
The bastard avoids his shot! Why can't he just die?
[Lifemage 4 magic roll: 5]
James is caught completely off-guard by a sudden display of competence! The lifemage violates his undead spirit, subjecting it to punishment no spirit should suffer!
[James will roll: 1+1]
Oh dear. That's painful. And deadly.
[James will roll: 3]
Ha! Not deadly enough, though! James, while weakened, can still fight!
[Lifemage 5 magic roll: 2]
The other possibly dangerous lifemage takes a minute to adjust his glasses in order to avoid any sight-related mishaps!
[Lifemage 3 endurance roll: 1]
The third living lifemage dies a horrible suffocating death. Well, that's half of them down! James tries to shock them into submission!
[Intimidation roll: 6]
James manages to look completely alien and completely deadly at the same time! Those two appearances combined make the two remaining lifemages flee as fast as they can! Well, that settles it - lifemages are pushovers.
James glances at the magical barrier and notices his reflection!
[James will roll: 3]
An icy chill runs over his now-shattered shell! Heh, scared himself for a second there.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 05:29:09 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 05:33:40 pm
((spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks money spellbooks spellbooks spellbooks))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2012, 06:04:13 pm
Samucane attempts to write a message to the crabs!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 4]
I KNOW NOT IF YOU ARE DENIZENS OF THE UNDERWORLD OR INNOCENTS LED ASTRAY, BUT PRAY TELL, MY GOOD CRABS, WHAT IS YOUR GOAL, THAT IS TO SAY, IF YOU HAVE ONE?
[Crab reaction roll: 4]
Samucane suddenly feels a bit strange! An odd voice speaks in his head!
~What say you we cease screwing about with your incomprehensible heathen scrawlings and converse like the Dwellers do? We have no patience for your primitive garbage. Why are you here and when will you leave?~
~It is important that you leave soon. We cannot stress it enough.~
Behind the Metamorphosis Department...
James attempts to shoot the escaping mages!
[Lifemage 4 escape roll: 1]
[Lifemage 5 escape roll: 5]
The lifemage with glasses makes up for his lack of combat efficiency by running like the wind! Well, guess you gotta be good at something! The other escapee gets tangled in his robe and falls! James uses the opportunity to shoot the bastard!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 3+1 vs. 5-1]
The mage, however, immediately rolls away as soon as he makes the shot, causing him to miss!
[Lifemage 4 agility roll: 6]
He begins rolling quickly away, unwilling to waste any time trying to stand up!
[Lifemage 4 escape roll: 1]
He bumps into a wall! James takes another shot!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 4+1 vs. 5-1]
The lifemage is grazed once more!
[Lifemage agility roll: 2]
The mage is caught off-guard, which confuses him sufficiently to allow James another shot!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 3+1 vs. 5-1]
Damn, he's good. Hasn't allowed James to score a solid hit yet!
[Lifemage agility roll: 3]
He slowly gets up! James fires again!
[James vs. Lifemage: 1+1 vs. 2-1]
Yet another graze! The lifemage yelps slightly!
[Lifemage escape roll: 2]
He is confused and can't seem to decide which way to go!
[James vs. Lifemage 4: 5+1 vs. 2]
James makes the decision for him - dude's going nowhere. An arrow pierces his chest!
[Lifemage endurance roll: 5]
The lifemage is not deterred and attempts to escape again!
[Lifemage escape roll: 6]
Unwilling to go left or right, he jumps up and climbs in through a window that leads to the Energy Manipulation Department! Aw, rats! Oh well. Looting time!
[Loot roll: 5]
James gets 25 silver coins, three nicely decorated pipes and three different life magic spellbooks! Score!
Post by: TopHat on November 24, 2012, 06:11:07 pm
((magic glasses?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 24, 2012, 06:32:01 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 24, 2012, 10:46:19 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 24, 2012, 11:15:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 03:07:42 am
James goes back to the library and puts his golden glasses to use, slipping them on his only face with his tail! He opens up a random book!
[Book roll: 5]
It's a book on focus attenuation! It seems to have been placed in the Focus Disposal shelf. How disorderly! He leafs through it, but sees no difference in the text! However, something is definitely happening, as the lenses on the glasses begin glowing!
After he has leafed through the entirety of the book, James notices that the glasses are still glowing! Yep, that did something, but what?
Underneath the earth...
Samucane petitions the crabs for advice!
~What is this place and how do I leave as quickly as possible?~
[Crab reaction roll: 6]
~It is our place of residence. The Old Creators placed us here for some reason, and we lived here ever since. As to how you can leave, we shall take you to the Ancient One. He will enjoy looking at you, I believe. Your arrangements of leaving shall be taken care of afterwards.~
In the streets of Dielnin...
Monty hand-walks over to a nearby brothel!
[Brothel choice roll (d4): 3]
He shambles inside a rather classy-looking establishment and petitions a respectable-looking woman for advice!
[Reaction roll: 3]
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
She looks at Monty in horror as he points at his pelvis!
"What do you want me to do about it? I'm not a surgeon, for gods' sakes!"
Monty shrugs!
On an alien world...
Vincent chooses to go down the stairs! Surely there can't be anything that dangerous down there! He finds himself in a spherical room with a pedestal in the center!
[? roll: ?]
A portal of light opens above it! Tendrils of warm light begin to quickly approach Vincent!
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 04:24:56 am
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 04:46:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 05:09:23 am
James tries to figure out the deal with these glasses! They seem to be doing something weird! Not particularly trusting of artifacts, he takes them off!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Well, he did find them in the library, so probably something book-related, James believes. Some experimentation couldn't hurt.
[Experimentation roll: 6]
James puts on the glasses and looks around for some way to tap into their power! He finds an odd knob of some kind. He pushes it. Nothing. He pulls it. Nothing. He twists it to the very limit!
A whisper in his mind grows to a piercing shriek as a massive amount of focus attenuation information assaults his poor vampire brain!
[Will roll: 4+1]
He retains all of the information! From types of foci, to methods of attenuation to exact meditation words needed to attenuate them! Along with it comes a peculiar sort of understanding, as though the information within the book had been explained to him by an experienced, competent teacher! Oh my, these glasses sure are powerful! They've made him an apprentice attenuator in seconds!
On the streets of Dielnin...
Mike tries to leave his material anchor to the world!
[Will roll: 4]
He leaves the body for a short bit! The little girl is left staring blankly!
[Will roll: 2]
Mike feels a very strong pull from somewhere!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Oh crap, it's the jug. It's calling him back! Better get back inside the girl's body!
[Girl will roll: 2-1]
Fortunately, the little girl is still confused enough to be unable to resist spiritual possession! Mike retains his residence in her body!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Mike bets he could possess other people like this if he really wanted to! However, if he fails, he might wind up back in the soul jug!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 05:51:19 am
Look for a book on advanced focus attenuation.
Read with awesome glasses.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 25, 2012, 05:52:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 06:15:05 am
James looks for a book that deals with advanced focus attenuation!
[Search roll: 4]
One such work of focus-related literature seems to be located behind a book on how to properly prepare sacrificial human flesh! Guess they thought nobody would check there! Well, they thought wrong!
James begins to leaf through it with his glasses! After five minutes, he has glanced at every page! Now to twist the dial once more!
[James will roll: 5+1]
He easily memorizes and understands the mantras and tenets of advanced attenuation! Thank magic for simplified learning tools! James does, however, think that he might have forgotten something else in the process of learning this latest course.
[Memory loss roll: 2]
How did he get here, anyway? Where did he come from?
Inside a brothel...
Monty, in no particular rush to get anywhere, decides to party!
[Partying roll: 2]
He attempts to dance and drink, but ends up on the floor covered in cheap booze. It seems like he skipped some crucial steps of partying there. Oh well. Time to look for some kind of wagon workshop!
[Search roll: 2]
Dammit, why isn't there anything useful in this town?
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 06:28:47 am
Try to make myself remember.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 25, 2012, 06:29:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 06:54:04 am
James tries to remember where he came from and what he was supposed to do!
[Remembrance roll: 2]
Nope, it's slipped his mind forever. Guess he'll have to figure it out later. He does remember his name and that Pacitarius is a filthy douchebag, though, so he can take solace in that!
On the streets of Dielnin...
Monty looks for a horse to murder!
[Search roll: 1]
He does indeed find one! It has a rider, too! Fellow with a whip! Murder time!
[Monty vs. Trusty Steed: 6 vs. 3+1-1]
He bites an enormous chunk out of its flank and punches it for good measure!
[Trusty Steed endurance roll: 1]
The trusty steed makes a horrible high-pitched and keels over in pain!
[Rider agility roll: 5+1]
The rider leaps off the horse and draws a bladed whip! Uh oh.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 25, 2012, 06:57:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 07:19:57 am
((inb4 i roll a one and put the cork in my throat and choke.))
Post by: Yoink on November 25, 2012, 07:35:31 am
Timothy decided to cheer himself up with some inarticulate screams as he floated over the ravine. Who needs bridges when you're a ghost, anyway? Seems sort of pointless.
"Garblab! Tiddlywinks!"
>Float onwards, screeching loudly as I go!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 07:41:23 am
Use my newfound knowledge to attenuate one of the spellbooks
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 08:38:46 am
Monty gets into a defensive position and gets ready for his next trick: catching a whip of swords!
[Man intelligence roll: ?]
The man goes for a whip attack!
[Man vs. Monty: 6+2 vs. 5+1+1]
Monty does his best to catch the whip, but he only succeeds in getting his finger whipped off! That rather hurt! Plus it cost him 1/10th of his mobility!
Meanwhile down the street, Mike thinks about whether plugging the jug would do any good!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It probably would, yes. She searches for the jug!
[Search roll: 5]
She finds it in the hands of one of the mob members! It's already plugged! Well. Seems like she was wrong on that front.
Near a deadly-looking ravine...
Timothy flies right over the ravine while screaming inarticulately to pass the time!
[Ravine creature roll: 2]
It seems that something is stirring inside the ravine! Oh dear.
[Pursuit roll: 4]
A giant leather-winged bird begins to follow Timothy! Obviously not a fan of his work, that one.
[Timothy escape roll: 2]
The bird easily catches up with the hapless Timothy and begins to peck at him! Luckily, this thing isn't very magical, and just ends up pecking at air! Timothy just shrugs and keeps flying! Eventually he and his companion reach an odd place! It's a clearing in the middle of a grove of trees with large circular tents in it!
Within the Library...
James attempts to attenuate one of his spellbooks! He can almost taste the magic!
[Focus attenuation roll: 5]
Surprisingly, it works perfectly! The focus now responds to James' commands! Let's take a look at these spells...
Hm, Skeletal Restoration, Regeneration, Suffocation, Physiological Normalcy, Life-Quench. Exactly the things James desires!
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 08:44:16 am
((WHO YO GONNA CAWL? GHAWST BUSTAZ!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 08:48:26 am
Mike takes the jug from the mob member, promising to take good care of it! She looks for a graveyard!
[Search roll: 1]
She finds the pyre people commonly use to cremate any corpses! No ghosts here. Probably because no one's attempted to raise the dead.
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 09:16:09 am
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 09:23:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 09:26:33 am
Mike looks for some victims to condemn to a fate worse than death!
[Victim roll: 1]
She finds absolutely nobody! Well, apart from a guy with a whip fighting Monty. He looks alive! Mike runs up and attempts to trap his soul in the jug somehow!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It'll probably all work out to her advantage, anyway!
[Jug roll: 2]
She opens the jug! Nothing seems to come out, though. Probably because everyone except Ted is already out.
Inside the Library...
James attempts to attenuate yet another spellbook to himself!
[Focus attenuation roll: 4]
It works on the second one, too! Could James actually be... competent? Better check again.
[Focus attenuation roll: 3]
He manages to get a limited attenuation with the final spellbook, becoming able to cast half the spells in it!
Post by: Yoink on November 25, 2012, 09:38:21 am
>Befriend the bird! Via magic if necessary!
>Head down to investigate these tents. Try and remember what I was looking for in the first place.
"I think I gonna call you... Hansel. That's you name, birdy!"
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 09:47:16 am
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 09:56:00 am
Do so if possible, then look at the list of spells I could cast.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 10:13:10 am
Timothy decides to try and befriend the bird!
[Befriending roll: 6-1]
The bird, seeing no possibility of ever killing Timothy, decides to go along with this! Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
"I think I gonna call you... Hansel! That's your name, birdy!"
Seeing no less-embarrassing alternative, the bird accepts this name graciously! It is now Timothy's loyal follower! Hansel in tow, Timothy flies down to investigate the tents!
[People roll: 2]
There's nobody around! How strange! Having satisfied his curiosity, Timothy tries to remember what he was supposed to do!
[Remembrance roll: 6]
Find Steel Maiden thing! Summon necromancer! Do it now or bad things happen!
Well, now that that's established, Timothy realizes he really should be getting to the task at hand! TIMOTHY AND HANSEL AWAY!
The merry pair of misfits flies off north in what is sure to be the buddy adventure of the year. They soon reach a peculiar-looking castle made of black stone! Somebody appears to live there!
In the streets of Dielnin...
Mike panics and throws the unplugged jug at the whip guy!
[Mike vs. Whip Guy: 6-1 vs. 3+1-1]
It loudly bonks against his head and falls to the ground!
[Whip guy endurance roll: 6+1]
Oh dear. He looks pissed now. Mike chooses to try to run like a little girl and hide!
[Hiding roll: 1]
She remains still, totally paralyzed with fear!
Inside the Library...
James thinks about whether a limited attenuation could be upgraded.
[Knowledge roll: 2+1]
It seemed to be quite a difficult process, actually.
James looks over his spellbook and checks out his spells!
Let's see, there's physiological restoration spells, lifeforce guarding spells, skeletal realignment spells, regeneration spells, lifeforce quenching spells, skeletal weakening spells, wound closing spells and many more! In short, all kinds of healing and murdering spells! Sounds fun!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 10:16:27 am
Use my knowledge to see if limited attenuation can be upgraded to a full one.??
Do so if possible, then look at the list of spells I could cast.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 10:19:11 am
Use my knowledge to see if limited attenuation can be upgraded to a full one.??
Do so if possible, then look at the list of spells I could cast.
((Keep forgetting you. It's a condition, I'm afraid.))
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 10:49:37 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 25, 2012, 10:51:46 am
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 10:59:05 am
Also see if the spell I tried to cast that got me into this snail body is in there.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 11:44:01 am
James looks for a spell to heal his poor missing tongue! Oh, here's one - Regeneration! Time to cast it!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
Well, his tongue sort of heals. It's a bit bony and raspy now, but it works!
Down under...
Samucane opts to follow the crabs! Maybe the leader will like it!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It can't move under its own power, however. Oh well. There's a golem to carry it around anyway!
The crabs lead the party of cane-beings into the large stone temple nearby! There they present them to a crowd of spectating stone crabs, of which one is substantially larger and angrier-looking!
[Ancient One reaction roll: 4]
~WHAT'S THIS? A BUNCH OF CANES? HOW ODD!~
~We found it wandering about. They seem to have arrived through the Crypt of Darkness.~
~WELL! THAT'S INCONSIDERATE OF THEM! WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THEM?~
~We thought you would know best, Ancient One.~
~SEND THEM ON THEIR WAY, THEN. LET THEM MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE KINGDOM OF THE SLIMES.~
~Very well, then. You heard him, right? Kingdom of the Slimes. West. Go there. There's a big gate with a figure of a slime on it. Can't miss it.~
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 11:51:25 am
Look for the spell I cast earlier.
((you know, the one that accidentally turned me into a snail?))
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 11:57:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 12:05:34 pm
James practices his speech with his new tongue! It works fine, but his mouth quickly gets sore from the raspy surface of the tongue rubbing against it! With that done, James quickly ascertains that he did, indeed, cast the Regeneration spell when he became a snail!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He gets the feeling that casting it again might not be the very best idea, but when has he ever been right?
On the streets of Dielnin...
Mike doesn't feel very safe in the company of the whipping fellow. She'll just run away, thank you very much! The whip man seems to be too busy teaching Monty a lesson, anyway!
[Will roll: 1]
She can't seem to move a muscle! Oh dear.
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 12:15:46 pm
((here's hoping I roll a 6 instead of a 1))
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 12:17:27 pm
((If you roll a six you'll probably become snailzilla. Tough that's not exactly a bad thing.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 12:59:08 pm
James tries to reverse his horrid transformation by casting the same spell once again! That'll help!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Nothing happens! James has managed to avoid further ramifications at the moment! On the other hand, he's still a snail.
Near a rather deadly melee...
Mike decides to man up! Like, right now!
[Will roll: 5]
And she does! She mans up quite a bit! In fact, she becomes man enough to run away screaming like a little girl!
[Escape roll: 1]
In fact, she dedicates herself to running and screaming so much that she runs in completely the wrong direction, which is to say right at the fellow with the whip!
[Mike vs. Whip Man: 3-1 vs. 2+1]
She bumps into the guy! The guy shoves her away!
[Shoving roll: 5]
She gets shoved quite a distance! In fact, she gets shoved right through a window! She drops to the floor and scares the bejeezus out of a populous family of peasants!
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2012, 01:03:53 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 01:08:48 pm
((vampire intellegence don't fail me now))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 01:52:07 pm
Mike decides to use her girliness to recruit aid in her crusade!
[Crying roll: 6+1]
She breaks down and cries like none have cried before! She cries such convincing, heartfelt tears that the entire family, even the burly blacksmith father, joins in as well! Together they have a crying session unlike any had before! At the end of it the entire family lies on the floor exhausted along with Mike! None of them are likely to move anytime soon!
Inside the Library...
James utilizes that undead think-pan of his and attempts to think of a good reason why he failed in this latest casting!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Ah yes. Of course. He obviously didn't utilize enough of his own soul power!
[Magic roll: 6-1+2]
He begins twisting, turning and changing! His shell reforms itself, he regrows his missing heads and tails! In addition, he grows massive amounts of muscle! Soon enough the rapid growth stops, leaving James a five-headed, three-legged, one-shelled, seven-tailed ball of snail-flesh! He believes he could crush people with the sheer force of his bulk now!
James is now a Living Snail Muscle Boulder!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 01:58:16 pm
Grabbing a bunch of useful looking books and stuffing them in his backpack , James will head outside, and head back to the zoology dept.
((is there any way to cure this? Ah, well, at least I can actually beat the living daylights out of someone now. And do I get my arms back?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 25, 2012, 02:07:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 02:40:59 pm
Samucane has a thought! These idiots probably haven't traded with anyone for ages! They'll probably trade him all of their possessions for mere trinkets if he offers to!
~Care for a trade, my good crab compatriots? I have many canes, and information if you desire it!~
[Crab reaction roll: 6]
~OF COURSE WE'LL TRADE WITH YOU! TRADE IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR SOCIETY!~
~What have you got?~
[Stuff roll: 3]
~OH, WE HAVE MANY NICE-LOOKING SHELLS AROUND. THE PEOPLE ON THE SURFACE LOVE THEM, OR SO THE TRADERS THAT COME HERE SAY.~
~Anything I could carry? Anything magical?~
~OH NO, WE SOLD MOST OF THAT OFF AGES AGO. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE WHEN WE HAD THAT BIG SALE TWO CENTURIES AGO. THE ENTIRE BLACK CIRCLE OF MAGIC WAS HERE, BUYING LIKE MAD! THEY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT DIVINE POWER AT THEIR FINGERTIPS OR SOMETHING, I HAVE NO IDEA. RUSHED OFF IN A HURRY, TOO. LEFT US WITH A FORTUNE IN SURFACE ITEMS, THOUGH. TOO BAD I SOLD ALL OF THEM ABOUT FIFTY YEARS BACK. SOMETHING CALLED A RING OF MAGICAL OMNIPOTENCE, BOOKS OF NECROMANTIC LORE AND A MAGICAL CANE ENHANCER, PLUS MANY OTHER THINGS! TRADED THEM ALL FOR SURFACE FURNITURE, WHICH WAS MUCH NICER TO LOOK AT, TO TELL THE TRUTH.~
The Ancient One points to several terraces full of beautiful antique furniture!
~WE ALSO HAVE A STEEL MAN AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE. STILL WORKS, I THINK. HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SELL THE DAMN THING YET.~
Inside the Library...
James rolls over to a shelf and steals all manner of books! He then proceeds to roll over to the Zoology Department! Wait, where was it, anyway?
[Search roll: 1]
James absentmindedly speeds along the grounds until he slams into the Metamorphosis Department!
[Magical bounce roll: 4]
There is a slight sound of bumping and he rolls away! Hey, you could make a fine safety net out of magic!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 02:47:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 02:56:24 pm
James fishes around for his map!
[Inventory management roll: 6-1]
He finds it easily and takes a look! Yep, the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department should be nearby!
[Search roll: 5+1]
He finds it easily! And smashes right into it!
[Building structural integrity roll: 2]
The building shakes and begins to crumble as James goes right through the wall! Better not destroy much more, James thinks!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 25, 2012, 03:00:05 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 03:09:15 pm
And loots.
((did that spell gieve me my arms back?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 03:39:47 pm
Samucane is intrigued by this "steel man"!
~Say, does the steel man work? Can he fight and take orders?~
~HELL IF I KNOW. BEEN 50 YEARS SINCE I DUG THE BASTARD UP. FOR ALL I KNOW IT COULD HAVE RUSTED TO PIECES. SAY, I'LL GET IT OUT RIGHT NOW. NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT, I ALWAYS SAY. BRING OUT THE STEEL MAN, DISCIPLES!~
There is a great commotion from somewhere deeper in the temple! The sounds of clanking metal and falling wood ring out through the temple! Ten minutes later, six crabs carry out a fairly rusty-looking construct! The Ancient One taps it with his claw!
~WORK, DAMMIT, WORK!~
[Steel man roll: 5]
The construct springs to life in a second!
"HOW MAY I SERVE YOU, SIR OR MADAM?"
~YEP, WORKS FINE! WANT IT?~
Inside the Magical Weapons and Armor Department...
James rolls down a corridor in search of a map! And loot!
[Search roll: 4]
No map! There is a door that says "To Weapon Showroom", though!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 03:48:23 pm
((do I have my arms back? And can I hold stuff with my tails?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 25, 2012, 03:51:08 pm
Slimes?
...Slimes...
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 04:24:24 pm
James rolls inside the showroom door, making sure to open it with his tails first! Wouldn't want to make more noise! He also brandishes his bow and sword and swaggers as well as a ball of flesh can (not very)!
[Room roll: 5]
Oh dear. Swords everywhere. Axes everywhere. Crossbows everywhere. Every weapon known to man, enchanted in at least six different ways and showed off in order of exhilarating pimpness! All manner of great treasures lie before him in this fine showroom!
[James will roll: 2+1]
A tear of joy forms in his eye and runs down his misshapen flesh!
Inside the Crab Temple...
Samucane is eager to barter for this creature!
~I do indeed want this fine construct! What can I offer you? Do note that I am a floating cane, but I can try and divulge knowledge and information, as best as I can.~
[Asking price roll: 6]
~WELL, IT IS QUITE RUSTED AND UNATTRACTIVE! SUPPLY US WITH A MORE APPEALING CONSTRUCT AND YOU HAVE A DEAL!~
The steel man just stands around and looks confused!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 04:33:50 pm
((like the chimp but on a larger scale. Preferably including two crossbows and all manner of nasty slicy smashy killy things for melee))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 04:48:02 pm
James giggles and rolls around the room looking for the best stuff!
[Shopping roll: 5]
He grabs a hammer that shoots lightning! A sword that apparently can cut diamonds! Two crossbows, one that shoots projectiles made of pure force, another that shoots fireballs! An axe that, once thrown, can split the very earth beneath one's feet! A spear that, when stabbed into someone's heart, makes them explode! All kept in unlocked display cases! Oh my, James might faint if he keeps it up!
For his next trick, he practices wielding ALL SIX WEAPONS AT ONCE!
[Practice roll: 3]
[Random destruction roll: 5]
It's a bit awkward swinging them around like this! Fortunately, nothing explodes! Yet!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 04:59:23 pm
Look for some kind of practice chamber to practise in.
If found, practice 6 weapon wielding in it.
If not, head outside and practice.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 05:39:32 pm
James, though he is loathe to leave this magnificence, decides to practice somewhere else!
[Practice space location roll: 3]
Well... no practice chamber that he can find! Guess he'll practice outside! Plenty of space there! He rolls out of the Magical Weaponry and Armor Department and begins practicing!
[Practice roll: 1]
[Weapon roll: 1]
[Severity roll: 6]
He is so bad at hextuple-wielding that he hits himself with the lightning hammer! He isn't seriously harmed, but the spasms in his hands make him lose his grip on the earthquake axe! It flies off in the distance!
[Random flight roll: 3]
It flies into the Magical Zoology Department!
[Destruction roll: 5-1]
The building shakes mightily, but remains standing! A testament to its construction!
Post by: TopHat on November 25, 2012, 05:45:25 pm
((oops. Anyway, how will this be resolved in combat, many different attacks or one big bonus
(like the chimp)?))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 25, 2012, 06:04:18 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 25, 2012, 08:14:24 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 25, 2012, 10:03:13 pm
If they don't have a doorknocker, well, >telekinesis the door open!
And finally, if that doesn't work, ask Hansel to peck at the door a few times.
"Halloooooooo!!" Timothy calls out in a horrifying, sing-song voice, doing his best to appear friendly, "We come for metal lady! Give us metal lady please thankyou!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 25, 2012, 11:49:45 pm
James goes up to the Magical Zoology Department to reclaim his axe!
Well, it seems to be stuck in the second floor wall. James decides to roll inside and get to the second floor!
[Encounter roll: 6]
Absolutely nothing interrupts him on the way there! In fact, it's almost strangely quiet in here!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Obviously, something is conspiring to kill him even as he gets to the other side of the wall the axe is embedded in! Let's see, what would be the best way to reclaim it?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Uh... maybe... well... damn. James has no idea how to get to the damn thing!
Inside the Crab Temple...
Samucane attempts to barter for the steel man with its golem!
~Now, this here is a top-notch decorative human - not very useful, but one of a kind! You truly will not find another anywhere in the world! Would that be a worthy trade? I need something that can protect me, and you need beauty and decoration, correct?~
[Crab reaction roll: 3]
~WELL, I DON'T KNOW. I SUPPOSE WE COULD TRADE FOR THAT, BUT YOU'D HAVE TO SWEETEN THE DEAL A BIT. THROW IN THOSE TWO FLYING CANES YOU HAVE, AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE STEEL MAN. THING'S NOT JUST A PIECE OF JUNK, YOU KNOW.~
On the streets of Dielnin...
Monty tries to use the dead horse as an equine shield!
[Equine shield roll: 3]
Well, he sort of hides behind it, mostly because he can't actually lift the heavy carcass! The whip man briefly scratches his head, but then attacks once more!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 2+1 vs. 3+1]
He chucks an axe at Monty, but it sticks into the horse's corpse and doesn't actually reach his target! Aha! Time for murder!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 4 vs. 4+1]
Monty leaps out from behind the corpse and tries to punch the man, but his adversary is a bit too fast, retreating a few steps, then attacking once more!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 5+1 vs. 5]
He hurls a jar of water at Monty! Monty ducks out of the way, but a bit of water splashes him nonetheless! Holy crap, that is painful! Burns like hellfire!
Outside a black castle of some sort...
Timothy and his good buddy Hansel fly up to the castle! It appears to have a drawbridge and moat! Not really an obstacle to Timothy or Hansel, but interesting nonetheless!
[People roll: 4]
Timothy hears the hustle and bustle of castle staff going about their business in the courtyard! Well, better get their attention somehow!
[Yelling roll: 3]
"Halloooooo! We come for metal lady! Give us metal lady please thankyou!"
A guard on the wall looks at him briefly, sighs, and keeps patrolling! How rude! Telekinetic knock time!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He manages to feebly pull on the drawbridge a little bit! Nobody seems to care.
Well, final plan - megabird-door-peck-go!
[Door peck roll: 1]
Hansel flies up and goes over the wall and into the courtyard, thinking this is a far more effective way to announce his presence!
[People reaction roll: 1]
People begin screaming and running through the courtyard! A few guards attempt to hit Hansel with their arrows!
[Guard 1 vs. Hansel: 6+1 vs. 6+2]
[Guard 2 vs. Hansel: 1+1 vs. 4+2]
[Guard 3 vs. Hansel: 1+1 vs. 6+2]
All three of the offending guards miss! Hansel flies up into the air and swoops down on them!
[Counterattack: Hansel vs. Guard 2: 6+2 vs. 3+1]
[Counterattack: Hansel vs. Guard 3: 5+2 vs. 3+1]
He grabs two of his attackers with his talons and carries them off the wall! One lands in the moat while the other hits the ground!
[Guard 2 endurance roll: 3]
[Guard 3 endurance roll: 1+1]
The guard that hit the ground twitches and attempts to get up while the one that landed in the moat begins to drown!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 25, 2012, 11:57:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 12:28:56 am
Monty attempts to steal the whip right off the whip man!
[Grabby-stealy roll: 2]
He tries to clutch it in his hands, but then realizes that attempting to grab a bladed whip with his hands is a terrible idea! He decides to back off a bit instead!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
Another jar of water sails past as Monty dodges expertly, mutilating an escaping townsperson with shards of glass and horrible burning liquid! The screams add a rather interesting backdrop to the battle!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 26, 2012, 12:34:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 12:52:39 am
Monty decides to make some gestures of surrender!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He sort of shrugs and puts his hands down! The man looks at him for a bit!
[Man reaction roll: 6]
He sits down on his horse's carcass and watches Monty suspiciously!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 26, 2012, 12:58:01 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 01:08:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 01:44:29 am
Monty begins to really ham it up in the fake injury department!
[Ham roll: 6]
He delivers a performance so over-the-top that the man really seems to start sympathizing with him!
He then proceeds to pull out his whip and try to eliminate Monty!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 5+2 vs. 6+1]
Monty jumps back! Oh my! How uncivilized!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 2 vs. 2+1]
Monty's terribly incompetent punch is met with a barely executed dodge! Foiled again!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
For his efforts, he gets four ribs sliced right through! Oh my!
Inside the Crab Temple...
Samucane accepts the deal! What does he need cane constructs for, anyway. He can always make more!
~Deal accepted, my good crab! Now, how do I command it?~
~SIMPLE!~
The Ancient One clicks his claw in a very particular way, and Samucane feels a telepathic link develop between himself and the construct!
~Congratulations on your wonderful purchase of the Steel Guardian the Third! You may now command this unit through mental commands! If you have any questions, please consult the Owner's Manual!~
~Owner's Manual?~
~LOST THAT AEONS AGO. I'M CONFIDENT YOU'LL FIGURE IT OUT. NOW SCRAM!~
Samucane transfers control of the golems to the Ancient One! The Ancient One bows gracefully and sends Samucane and his new steel man on its way!
Eventually, he reaches the gate! Yep, it's decorated with slime patterns. And slime seems to be seeping out from under it!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 26, 2012, 01:55:35 am
Post by: Yoink on November 26, 2012, 03:48:30 am
Instead, he decided to engage in a friendly guard-tossing contest with Hansel, telekinetically grabbing the last of those nasty guards and launching it at the one who landed on solid ground!
>Once that's dealt with, he and Hansel shall find some less-mean person to ask about the metal lady.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 26, 2012, 07:36:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 09:40:51 am
Monty has a change of heart! Subtlety obviously doesn't work, so let's try brute force!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 6 vs. 1+1]
He punts the guy in the nuts, utilizing his lower position to its maximum advantage!
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
The lasher, however, is not hindered in the slightest! He laughs and attacks again!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
He cracks his whip in a mighty arc and brings it across Monty's body! Monty is sliced perfectly in two by this attack! Both halves fall to different sides and the contents of his ribcage spill out on the cobblestones!
[Monty will roll: 3]
Monty barely holds on to his life! His limbs twitch with pain and horror as the independent halves try to escape!
[Left Monty escape roll: 4]
[Right Monty escape roll: 1]
The left side of Monty makes a valiant escape while his right-hand side provides a distraction!
[Whip Man vs. Right Monty: 1+2 vs. 5+1]
The whip man swings again, but misses terribly, probably due to the perplexing predicament he is in! The right Monty goes for a valiant counterattack!
[Conterattack: Right Monty vs. Whip Man: 5-1 vs. 5+1]
Though the right-hand Monty can't do a whole lot of damage to the whip-fellow, he provides the left side with enough time to get to safety!
Inside an alien installation...
Vincent chooses to wait and see what happens! Eventually the tendrils of light reach him! Ooh, warm. Very warm. Actually, one might even call it hot. Man, is Vincent on fire or what?
[Will roll: 5]
The fire burns for quite a while, but Vincent just stands and takes it like a man! In fact, he begins to absorb some of the fire and store it in his eyes! Now he looks even cooler!
[? roll: ?]
The tendrils, obviously dissatisfied at getting their old flame taken away, withdraw back into the portal!
Outside some castle or another...
Timothy is outraged to see his friend so mistreated! He decides to begin a guard tossing contest!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Man, he must have spent all his power on that town or something. Maybe he could kill them some other way?
[Hansel vs. Guard 1: 6+2 vs. 6+1]
Hansel swoops past the first guard once more and manages to make a small gash on his chest! The guard winces, but is not slowed down by any means!
[Guard 1 vs. Hansel: 2+1 vs. 5+2]
He is, however, distracted enough to completely mess up his shot and allow Hansel to get close to him!
[Counterattack: Hansel vs. Guard 1: 1+2 vs. 6+1]
Before Hansel can get to him, though, the guard dives into the moat! Having expected the fall, he lands without injury right next to where his now-drowned compatriot floats!
[Guard 2 endurance roll: 1]
The guard on the ground passes out from the pain of hitting the road at an unhealthy speed!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 11:05:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 12:00:46 pm
Samucane orders the steel individual in its possession to go and squish some slime!
[Stomping roll: 1]
It stomps on the slime and slips, landing on the ground with a loud clang!
~OW! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? Damn, that hurts! Haven't you ever heard of knocking first? I mean, here I was, seeping out from under the door when WHAM, some idiot slips and falls on me! Ridiculous!~
Oh my. The slime has begun ranting. That didn't go as planned.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 12:06:05 pm
If this is one of those "Faction-A-Hates-Faction-B-Which-Hates-Faction-A" scenarios, I will kill them all.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 12:30:59 pm
Samucane attempts to apologize to the slime, claiming ignorance due to frankly racist stereotypes!
[Slime reaction roll: 2]
~So you stomped on me because of racial prejudice, not any kind of personal grudge? That's even worse, you know! It means you're one of THEM!~"
~One of who? The crabs?~
~Oh no, those chaps are quite charming, if a bit territorial. They always buy things at our Big Decade Blowout despite not being able to use anything we sell! Gods bless their chitinous hides! The people I'm talking about are those filthy adventurer types, always barging in and refusing to kindly piss off right up to the point when we're forced to melt the flesh off their bones. Awful blighters, those adventurers. Thankfully, not a lot of 'em around now. Must have gotten eaten already. You're obviously some kind of adventurer. I can smell it! Well, I'll be damned if I'm letting you through this gate!~
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 12:36:42 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 26, 2012, 12:39:12 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 26, 2012, 12:45:22 pm
Mike will wait until the others get up, and then ask them to do something about the mean man outside!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 01:00:47 pm
Samucane attempts to shift blame on the crabs! They sold it a racist golem, that's how it was, and it'll swear to it! Plus he used to be a skeleton, and you know how skeletons are, always disparaging one minority or another!
[Slime reaction roll: 6]
~Racist golem, eh? Happens, I guess. Well, you can come in, but any funny business from you or your golem, and stuff gets melted, you hear me?~
Inside the Magical Zoology Department...
James attempts to pull the axe out of the exterior wall while located on the inside!
[Subtlety roll: 2]
Hm, smashing through the wall sounds like quite a good idea at the moment! Well, it's better than any other he's had so far!
Inside a tear-drenched home...
Mike waits for the family to get up!
[Family getting up roll: 5]
They do so in about ten seconds, having had enough of this crying foolishness! With that done, Mike tattles on the whipping fellow outside!
[Tattling roll: 2]
Something stops her, though! The one rule she has never broken in her life! The ultimate rule! The Law of the Playground: snitches and rats don't live very long, see? So it stands to reason that if ya keep yer lip zipped, yer life expectancy will grow!
Emboldened by these words, Mike decides that snitching is morally reprehensible and wrong! She won't do it, no way, no how!
Post by: miauw62 on November 26, 2012, 01:05:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 01:20:34 pm
Mike, satisfied at resisting the great temptation to snitch like a dirty stool pigeon, chooses to abscond inconspicuously! She leaves through the back door and runs to the north!
[Encounter roll: 6]
She is busy running north when suddenly a wolf jumps out at her! Oh crap.
It nuzzles her warmly! Well, that's good!
It picks her up with its teeth and carries her off to a cave! There's several wolf pups in here. Wonder if she'll have to fight for survival now?
[Pup ferocity roll: 2]
The answer appears to be a resounding yes as the wolf pups begin snarling at her!
Post by: TopHat on November 26, 2012, 01:21:55 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 26, 2012, 01:32:55 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 01:37:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 01:53:54 pm
James tries to smash through the axe-enriched wall!
[Smashing roll: 2]
He bumps against it several times, but nothing happens!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Maybe he should try getting more speed first?
[Smashing roll: 5]
After getting up to a decent velocity in the corridor, James finds the wall to be less than sturdy! He blasts right through it, freeing the axe! It embeds itself into the ground!
[Earthquake roll: 3]
The area shakes a bit, but it's nothing too impressive!
[Building structural integrity roll: 5]
The Magical Zoology Department stands much like it always has, minus one wall, of course. Good engineering, that's what's up here! James decides to practice with his weapons some more!
[Practice roll: 5]
He manages to get somewhat good at swinging his weapons complementary to each other, rather than as individual superweapons! He believes that this bit of wisdom has made him a better fighter already!
[Random destruction roll: 2]
He manages to send an errant fireball off into one of the buildings! Looks like... the Demonology Department!
[Fire roll: 2]
The building begins to burn rather intensely! Whoops.
Almost inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane takes the lead, ordering its golem to follow behind and NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
Humble mage that it is, Samucane chooses to drag itself through the slimy roads of the Kingdom of Slime!
There seem to be slime cottages, slime farms, slime towers, slime animals and slime people in here! Well, this place sure deserves its name.
Inside a wolf den...
Mike attempts to howl spookiliciously!
[Spooky Howling roll: 5]
She manages to emit an inhuman screech of pure terror!
[Pup will roll: 6]
The pups howl with her! It becomes an enchanting choir of pure soul-shattering scariness!
Soon enough the wolf mother returns!
[Mama Wolf will roll: 3]
The wolf begins to yelp and shiver uncontrollably!
Post by: TopHat on November 26, 2012, 01:56:06 pm
Head back to Bernie's, using my botanical knowledge to pick any useful plants on the way.
(( just looked at James's inventory and attributes list. Gosh they are large.))
Post by: miauw62 on November 26, 2012, 02:29:14 pm
Mike will command the wolf pups to attack and eat their mother! Then she will head back to town and give the whip man a beating with her wolf pack.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 02:52:13 pm
James believes he has spent enough time mucking about! Hopefully the others will have gotten their buttocks into gear and taken care of all that questing business Bernie had them do! Hopefully. Otherwise he'll look quite silly indeed!
He rolls back towards the Bradford Mausoleum, keeping ten eyes out for various suspicious plants!
[Botany roll: 2+1]
No deadly poison plants or miraculous healing plants around! There are some pretty flowers, though! James picks them up and rolls onward!
[Speedy traveling roll: 2]
James rolls lazily on the road for about a full day until he reaches Bernie's mausoleum!
Inside a wolf den...
Mike commands her loyal horde of wolf puppies to eat their mother!
[Pup obedience roll: 5]
They see no problem with that suggestion! Puppy warfare go!
[Puppies vs. Mama Wolf: 4+2 vs. 2+1-1-1]
They eat the confused wolf mother entirely! Not even bones are left behind! Ha-hah! It worked! Now Mike is a little girl with a puppy strike force! World domination can't be far off now! To Dielnin!
[Travel roll: 4]
She and her puppies charge back to Dielnin!
Post by: TopHat on November 26, 2012, 02:59:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2012, 04:31:32 pm
James rolls into the mausoleum and looks for Bernie!
[Search roll: 3]
It takes him a short while to realize this, but Bernie is in the same place he always is - his dank hall full of corpses! He looks pretty frazzled! James scoots up to him!
[Bernie reaction roll: 1]
Bernie is going about his business all quiet-and-peaceful-like when suddenly he gets the sudden idea to look behind him! Years later he will remember this day as the turning point in his life when he realized that his intuition is kind of an asshole!
He screams and falls backwards onto a table at the sight of James!
[Dangerous implements roll: 1]
The contents of an unlabeled jar spill all over him! Well, you could clean that up, James thinks.
Unfortunately, a candle lands on his robe right after being propelled into the air! Bernie is on fire now! Damn, whatever was in that jar sure burns like a charm!
[Stop, drop and roll: 4]
Fortunately, Bernie has been well-trained in the art of fire prevention! He manages to put out the flames after a short while, though he is still very noticeably singed! He appears to be muttering something very bad under his breath!
Post by: TopHat on November 26, 2012, 04:41:27 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 26, 2012, 04:42:18 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 26, 2012, 08:47:55 pm
Post by: Nega on November 27, 2012, 12:10:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 12:26:17 am
The misshapen ball of flesh known as James attempts to explain his horrid predicament to Bernie!
[Verbal communication roll: 1-2]
He stares silently and menacingly at Bernie, being a firm believer in the communicative power of a death glare!
[Bernie intelligence roll: ?]
""What in the hell are... wait a minute. I order you to punch yourself, monstrous abomination!"
[James punch roll: 3]
James punches himself lightly with one of his tails!
"Ah. You must be one of my minions. Would explain your freakish appearance. Are you the vampire killing guy?"
James shakes his many heads!
"The... tailed skeleton?"
James facetails!
"Oh, I know! You're the idiot! The one with the glowing stomach!"
James is quite offended! Why would he think of the glowing stomach first?
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane proceeds through the slime-paved streets and looks for someone competent-looking!
[Search roll: 4]
It finds a slime that might be grey because of its age and wisdom!
[Politeness roll: 1]
~Tell me where the exit is, old geezer, or I'll have my buddy smash you!~
[Slime reaction roll: 1]
~The gall on you, calling me old! I'll have you know I'm hardly two centuries old! Get 'im, boys!~
Three other slimes slip out from unlikely corners! They seem to be advancing menacingly towards Samucane!
On the streets of Dielnin...
Monty's halves decide to act in a coordinated fashion for once! Right Monty attacks the whip man while his other half tries to sneak up on the whip man!
[Right Monty vs. Whip Man: 3-1 vs. 3+1]
His inept attacks are easily avoided by the whip man!
[Creeping up roll: 4]
Left Monty manages to successfully launch a sneak attack on his adversary!
[Sneak attack: Left Monty vs. Whip Man: 4-1 vs. 4+1-1]
Left Monty manages to lightly tap the fellow on the shoulder! The man is now aware of him!
[Whip Man vs. Right Monty: 6+2 vs. 5]
His whip manages to sever several of Right Monty's ribs!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 12:47:01 am
Bedtime!
Post by: Yoink on November 27, 2012, 12:58:47 am
>Flee inside the castle with Hansel!
>Find someone to ask (nicely) about the metal lady! Look for her, she's gotta be around here somewhere.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 27, 2012, 01:20:07 am
((Come on miauw62, little help here?))
Post by: Firelordsky on November 27, 2012, 07:23:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 10:46:15 am
Samucane doesn't want to be melted! It attempts to summon a cane wall of implausible proportions!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
It manages to create a glowing, near-solid wall about five feet in height! The slimes never saw it coming, it bets!
[Slime reaction roll: 6]
~A mage. Bloody fantastic. Thing probably has good stuff, though!~
~Do we really want to go messing with mages?~
[Slime intelligence roll: ?]
~Well, there are four of us and one of it.~
~Two, actually. A cane and a steel man.~
~Oh, right. Maybe we can sneak up on it later and nab its stuff?~
~I suppose so, let's just wait for it to- wait, did you close this channel to the mage?~
~Uh... whoops?~
~Ah, screw it, let's bail.~
Samucane hears the sound of slinking outside the fence! They seem to be leaving!
Outside the Castle of Something...
Timothy beckons Hansel to come with him as he flies through the drawbridge!
[Hansel intelligence roll: 1]
Hansel does indeed follow him! Straight into the drawbridge!
[Hansel endurance roll: 6+1]
However, it is too thick-skulled to be defeated by a mere piece of wood! It tries again!
[Ramming roll: 6]
It flies off into the distance, then comes speeding extremely rapidly into the drawbridge!
[Drawbridge structural integrity roll: 4-1]
The drawbridge now has a very large dent in it with several cracks running along its surface!
[Hansel endurance roll: 2+1]
Hansel jumps off the drawbridge and just sits breathing for a while! That looks like it really hurt!
[Hansel intelligence roll: 3]
Maybe ramming into the door was not the best idea? But there doesn't seem to be any alternative! What's a bird to do?
Meanwhile Timothy tries to find somebody to interview!
[Search roll: 3]
He does see several people, but they all run away for some reason as soon as they spot him! Mystifying.
On the streets of Dielnin...
The newly-separated twin Monties attempt yet another simultaneous attack!
[Right Monty vs. Whip Man: 6-1 vs. 1+1]
[Left Monty vs. Whip Man: 2-1 vs. 3+1]
The left Monty attempts a flying leap attack at the man! It's not very effective, what with him having only one limb! However, it catches the whip man's attention long enough for Monty to bite a large chunk out of his kidney area!
[Whip Man endurance roll: 5+1]
Even though he's bleeding terribly, the whip man begins to spin around and attempt to kill anything within whipping distance!
[Counter attack: Whip Man vs. Left Monty: 6+2 vs. 4]
[Whip Man vs. Right Monty: 6+2 vs. 2]
His whip slash goes in a perfect circle of death! The left Monty gets his arm lopped off, leaving him a twitching half-torso! Right Monty is even less lucky: in a single mighty stroke, the whip flies diagonally and separates both his half-head and his arm from his shoulder!
[Left Monty will roll: 3]
[Right Monty will roll: 4]
Both halves remain mostly alive and conscious, however! They are greatly hindered by their limblessness, however!
Monty can hear something approaching in the distance!
In an alien room of light...
Vincent decides to leave while he's mostly intact and explore elsewhere! He ascends the staircase and goes elsewhere!
[Exploration roll: 5]
He finds an interesting-looking building while traversing the wastes! What's interesting is that it doesn't appear at all like any of the other buildings he's seen so far on this world: it looks human-built, actually!
On it is a legible inscription:
CELESTIAL SOJOURNER ORIENTATION OFFICE
How strange! Why would something like that even be here? Do they get a lot of visitors?
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 11:33:37 am
Sam will now give the cane-wall legs! And somehow order it to walk in tandem with him and his golem. Let's get out of here!
Post by: miauw62 on November 27, 2012, 12:07:37 pm
((Oh, and being a little girl is far worse then it seems. I'd prefer being a ghost. But hey, atleast i'll probably be able to ride one of the pups. And Monty too. And i still have my ghostly powers.))
Mike will make her wolf pack devour the whipman!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 12:23:24 pm
Samucane ponders the possible upsides of sexual realignment as he tries to summon up some legs for his cane-wall!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
Legs do indeed appear on the wall! They raise the wall by a fraction of an inch and speed away at a manageable speed for both Samucane and its golem!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
Said speed being quite considerable, as Samucane floats quickly and the golem keeps up with it very nicely!
[Navigation roll: 1]
However, it might not have been entirely wise for Samucane to surround itself with a wooden wall, as he can't see a damn thing outside of it! It hears a loud crash and sees that they are currently moving underneath a slimy ceiling!
[Crashing roll: 2]
They ram into something rather soft and squishy!
[? roll: ?]
It begins to emit a low-pitched hum that gradually fades away!
[? roll: ?]
Nothing else seems to happen! Well, maybe they had better stop now. Perhaps they could give the authorities a call and explain the situation. They'd probably understand.
Overlooking a scene of terrible violence...
Mike rapidly approaches the whip man and sends her army of puppies at him!
[Pup obedience roll: 1]
They don't seem very enthusiastic about this! In fact, they snap out of whatever spell Mike had put on them and look about confusedly!
[Pup idea roll: 1]
Ooh, bones! The puppies run over to the scattered body parts of Monty and try to get their share!
[Puppy scavenging roll: 4]
They take all of Monty's ribs and his dismembered arms, leaving but a spinal cord and two halves of his skull behind, then escape to whatever nooks they can find!
[Left Monty will roll: 6]
[Right Monty will roll: 1]
The left side of Monty's skull coils up its spinal cord like a spring and flies at the whip man! The other one just lies around looking dead!
[Left Monty vs. Whip Man: 6-1 vs. 5+1]
Though incredibly impressive, the leap doesn't really help him much, as the whip man just steps aside, letting the skull fall to the ground! With that done, he throws some of his water on it for good measure!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 1+1 vs. 3-1]
The disembodied head of Monty rolls away speedily as the water hits the ground! It begins to smoke and melt the cobblestones!
Post by: miauw62 on November 27, 2012, 12:26:49 pm
Mike will reorganize her pups and make them attack the whip man!
((CMON DONT DIE DONT DIE DONT DIE.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 01:00:03 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 27, 2012, 01:34:31 pm
Nod and ask him what his bidding is.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 01:57:45 pm
Okay, it may have failed again and again, but Samucane will create its scouting canes! It has to work eventually!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
It summons a veritable army of scouting canes, all directly linked up in an all-seeing overmind that just so happens to be Samucane itself! Soon enough the canes have spread throughout the Kingdom of Slime!
[Will roll: 5]
Despite the incredible stress, Samucane manages to retain complete control of all the canes! It now can see everything that happens in the Kingdom of Slime! It also now knows that the gate that leads to a tunnel close to the surface lies to the north!
[Alarm roll: 1]
The slimes are understandably shaken up by the vast amounts of canes popping up everywhere! They mobilize and form a single attack force to go and destroy the only thing that could have caused all this - Samucane! Oh boy, Samucane seems to be an enemy of the state now!
On the streets of Dielnin...
Mike briefly considers her chances against the whip-man.
The whip-man gives her a very suspicious look! It appears he has a theory of some sort! And now he's going to test it! Oh well. Mike goes off to find her puppies!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 2+1]
Flying pentacles pierce her shoulder, stomach and thigh as she turns away! Oh my, that looks quite bad! The sharp flying objects soon spin around in mid-air and return to thrower, who catches them and mentally high-fives himself for horribly injuring a little girl!
[Mike endurance roll: 5]
Mike soldiers on, however, and tries to locate her puppies!
[Search roll: 4]
She finds most of them in a doghouse near a burned home!
[Reorganization roll: 5]
She manages to scream the little buggers into submission once more and sends them to attack the whip man! The whip man looks quite surprised, though somewhat satisfied at the little girl's return!
[Puppies! vs. Whip Man: 2+2 vs. 1+1]
They bite, scratch and mutilate the man a bit, forcing him to retreat slightly!
[Man endurance roll: 4+1]
He doesn't give them any more ground, though, and stands tall against any potential attackers!
Inside the lair of Bernie...
James attempts to ask what his master's bidding is!
[Verbal communication roll: 5-1-1]
"What is your... uh... bidding, uh... master?"
Bernie looks at him for a second, then speaks!
"Go north, find Lake Victory. There will be a temple to Rysinia there. Find the Steel Maiden and summon me when you do. Make sure you do absolutely nothing to the Steel Maiden first! Summon me with this, will you?"
He hands James a box!
"Don't lose it. I only had two!"
Post by: TopHat on November 27, 2012, 02:05:31 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 27, 2012, 02:09:42 pm
((>Samucane spends 5 turns trying to create scouting canes, creates 2
>Wants to create two scouting canes to easily see, creates 500. I love this RTD.))
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 02:48:39 pm
I know, right? For the love of all that is unholy, how did I manage to survive this RTD with such TERRIBLY good and bad rolls?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 03:07:48 pm
Mike orders her puppies to take the fellow down by any means necessary! There is no mercy in war!
[Puppies! vs. Whip Man: 1+2 vs. 3+1]
The puppies, however, are a bit too unsettled by the bladed whip he man seems to be handling with surprising ease! It reminds them of the horrible creatures their mother warned them of should they not compete adequately between themselves!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 2+2 vs. 2+1]
The whip man tears a single puppy in half with his whip! The rest push forward to attack!
[Puppies! vs. Whip Man: 5+2 vs. 5+1]
They bite him softly on the leg! The man hardly notices!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies!: 3+2 vs. 5+1]
The puppies manage to retreat a bit before the man can whip them again, then charge!
[Puppies! vs. Whip Man: 4+2 vs. 5+1]
The man deflects the charge by looking menacing and cracking his whip like some kind of puppy slavemaster!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 1+2 vs. 6+1]
The whip man is about to whip them again, but the puppies are too fast! They ferociously leap at him!
[Counter attack: Puppies vs. Whip Man: 4+2 vs. 4+1]
They scratch him slightly with their paws! A slight victory, but still!
[Puppies vs Whip Man: 4+2 vs. 2+1]
One of them rips out a large chunk of his leg!
[Whip Man endurance roll: 4+1]
That guy is pretty persistent, Mike has to admit! He doesn't even slow down!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 2+2 vs. 3+1]
The puppies manage to avoid his strikes, though!
[Puppies vs. Whip Man: 2+2 vs. 3+1]
They can't find a good opening in the man's defenses, though!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 5+2 vs. 5+1]
The whip man uses the disorder to rip apart another pup with his whip! Only seven left!
[Puppies vs. Whip Man: 4+2 vs. 5+1]
That guy fights like a demon! Not even a horde of puppies can bring him down!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 6+2 vs. 2+1]
Suddenly, the whip man roars and leaps forward, slicing one puppy in half and decapitating another with a well-aimed whip slash! Another one gets stomped into the ground by his mighty boot and a final one gets kicked away into the distance, splattering on the ground some thirty feet away!
[Puppy morale roll: 5]
The puppies, however, remain steadfast and undeterred in their assault!
[Puppies vs. Whip Man: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
They leap forward, but are met with yet another whip-slash!
[Counter attack: Whip Man vs. Puppies: 1+2 vs. 6]
The three puppies, however, expected such an attack, and dodge skillfully in order to perform an awe-inspiring coordinated assault!
[Counter attack: Puppies vs. Whip Man: 2+1 vs. 1+1]
Their efforts do not prove rewarding, though, as they only manage to scratch the man rather uncomfortably!
[Whip Man vs. Puppies: 4+2 vs. 1]
The puppies really look quite hopeless now! The whip man slices one in half from mouth to tail and completely dice the next one! Finally, he grabs the final one and proceeds to eat it whole, somewhat disturbing Mike!
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
He screams incoherently and charges at Mike, totally covered in blood and missing noticeable chunks of flesh!
[Mike escape roll: 1]
Mike just stands there in horror as the whip man descends upon her!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 4+2 vs. 3+1]
He spins around and swings the whipsword, slicing across Mike's chest!
[Mike endurance roll: 6]
Mike begins to screech horribly!
[Spooky Howling roll: 1]
She screeches for a full minute before passing out in front of the man and slowly bleeding! The man looks on in confusion!
Inside Bernie's lair...
James tries to fix up his tongue, perhaps even make it better somehow!
[Magic roll: 6-1]
He casts Physiological Normalcy followed by Regeneration! Soon enough his tongue grows and becomes a very flexible, humanlike and supremely usable organ! He can now talk nicely! Better than the average person, even!
He asks for a map!
"Say, would you have a map?"
"No. Gave my only one to the three schmucks I already sent that way."
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane, lord of a thousand cane-eyes, calls out to its minions! They shall fuse with the steel golem and form the One True Being! Samucane commands it!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
The canes congregate in the general vicinity of the golem, blocking out everything in a wide radius! Let the fusing commence!
[Creature creation roll: 1]
The canes come together and fuse into a truly mighty cane-tentacled creature of supreme might and terror, endowed with a thousand all-seeing eyes! As an unfortunate side-effect, though, it seems to have gone totally insane!
[Golem idea roll: 5]
It walks over to the massive amount of slime pooling on one side of the small kingdom! It speaks in a voice like ten thousand canes beating a single homeless man!
"HELLO! CARE FOR A DEMONSTRATION OF THE SUPREME KILLING ABILITY OF THE CANE GUARDIAN THE BEGINNING AND END OF EVERYTHING?"
[Cane Guardian vs. The Entire Bloody Kingdom of Slime: 3+5 vs. 6+5]
It attempts to smash everything! It does, but narrowly misses the slime!
[Kingdom of Slime vs. Cane Guardian: 3+5 vs. 5+3]
The Cane Guardian proves resilient to melting! Uh oh.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 03:15:20 pm
Bugger all...
Post by: TopHat on November 27, 2012, 03:22:27 pm
Then memorise some of the more useful spells (close wounds and a couple of offensive ones) by heart. Then set off either to the nearest town to look for a map if I haven't got one already, or towards my goal if I have one. Make sure to pass through woodland on the way, just to annoy Pascitarius.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2012, 05:07:08 pm
Samucane decides to obtain some goodwill from the giant insane golem of magic instead of, say, escaping while the slimes are distracted. They'd probably find it anyway, with how its day's been going.
[Magic roll: 5+1]
Samucane creates a stream of pure cane essence and channels it into the mighty guardian! It firmly takes root in its essence! Cane-shaped light begins to continually stream from the construct and its voice becomes like a hundred thousand canes united in song!
"THE CANE GODS SMILE UPON ME, PUNY CREATURES! BOW DOWN BEFORE YOUR MASTER!"
[Cane Guardian vs. Kingdom of Slime: 3+7 vs. 3+5]
The construct begins to slowly, but efficiently eradicate the slimes through judicious use of its magical power! The slimes retreat before the mighty cane magic of the golem!
[Kingdom of Slime vs. Cane Guardian: 4+4 vs. 2+7]
The slimes continue to attempt to eliminate the Cane Guardian! They don't really get any progress there, to tell the truth.
[Slime idea roll: 4]
The slimes seem to be retreating before the guardian! Samucane, watching through the guardian's eyes, notices a whole bunch of slimes forming up into a giant blob!
[Slime magic roll: 5]
[Slime shaping roll: 4]
The giant blob of slime bubbles and boils! It begins to glow like the sun itself! A totally alien-sounding, though perfectly understandable whisper nearly deafens Samucane!
~...beware, fool, for you face the might of the slime god...~
[Slime God vs. Cane Guardian: 4+6 vs. 1+7]
It slams a rapidly-formed fist of slime into the bulk of the Cane Guardian! The guardian stumbles backward, a hundred canes flying off its bulk!
[Cane Guardian idea roll: 2]
"YOU SEEM PRETTY GREAT, IF I MAY SAY SO MYSELF! I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH YOU! TRUCE?"
~...sure... why not... not really in a fighting mood anyway...~
The guardian shakes the Slime God's hand!
~...i'm glad we could reach a civilized agreement here... i detest violence, for it is most unslimelike...~
[Slime God idea roll: 4]
~...would you like to follow me to a nice pub in the demonic dimensions? it is so rare i get to spend time with an equal...~
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK ME TWICE!"
[Pair of godlike beings exit roll: 5]
The Slime God pulls open a portal to somewhere horrible! Both beings exit it in a quiet and gentlemanly manner, closing it after passing through.
An odd silence falls on the Kingdom of Slime this unique day. Both Samucane and the slimes seem to be utterly stupefied!
In the lair of the necromantically-inclined Bernie...
James consults his collection of books!
[Book roll: 2]
He appears to have grabbed the entire contents of the Man-Construct Romance shelf from the library. How saucy! Could be useful later, sure, but not really what he needs right now. What he needs is MAGIC! To this end, he sticks the books in his mass of flesh and pulls out his magic books from his shell!
[Memorization roll: 3+1]
He manages to memorize the words for the Wound Closing, Suffocation, Life-Quench and Raise Blood Pressure To Frankly Ridiculous Levels! He then leaves the lair in an orderly fashion!
Now, where could the nearest town be?
[Local knowledge roll: 1]
No idea. Random direction time!
[Random direction roll: 5]
It just so happens that he chooses to go eastward, which is exactly where he would find the nearest town! Within the hour, he has reached a town! It says "Faulk" on the town sign. James looks for a place likely to have a map!
[James will roll: 1+1]
Unfortunately, the town is so full of crossing paths that James feels terribly apprehensive just thinking about it! He can't bear to go in! Well, northward he goes, then!
[James travel roll: 4-1]
He feels the wild's intense hatred coming from all around him on the way, but it does not stop him. Neither does he speed up, though, and rolls at a pace that could only be described as totally lazy!
Post by: Yoink on November 27, 2012, 05:38:04 pm
Distracted from his search for a moment by Hansel's plight, Timothy shall locate the nearest person and telekinetically launch them through the drawbridge to make an entrance for the bird.
>Then find someone else to ask about the metal lady!
Post by: TopHat on November 27, 2012, 05:55:22 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 27, 2012, 07:20:48 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 27, 2012, 08:21:16 pm
RUNRUNRUN
Post by: Caerwyn on November 27, 2012, 08:22:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 01:04:52 am
Timothy chuckles briefly at his birdfriend's silly antics, then looks for another villager!
[Search roll: 3]
He spots one off in the distance! Okay, this will take a bit of finesse...
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
He can't pick the bastard up! What are they feeding these guys, lead? They weigh a ton!
There don't seem to be any other people around. Oh well, better ask him something anyway!
[Reaction roll: 2-1]
The villager spots Timothy immediately and runs away! Really, does nobody here have any manners?
[Hansel intelligence roll: 3]
He hears thoughtful bird noises come from the other sound of the drawbridge, but it doesn't seem like flying over the wall has occurred to Hansel just yet!
On the road to Dielnin...
James just keeps on rolling northward, creeping out the occasional animal on the way!
[Travel roll: 4-1]
He speeds up a little bit! Well, this is exciting!
On an alien world...
Vincent heads inside the Celestial Sojourner Orientation Office! There he is met by a friendly-looking, though somewhat haggard woman!
"Hello, great traveler, and welcome to the Celestial Sojourner Orientation Office! We offer training courses, maps, equipment and more! What would be your pleasure today?"
On the streets of Dielnin...
Monty isn't feeling very good about his odds of survival! Time for the good ol' "rely on your unconscious friend to provide a sufficient diversion for yourself to escape" ploy!
[Escape roll: 4]
Monty begins to roll away quickly, and soon he has put quite a bit of distance between himself and the whip-man! Yep, he'll be difficult to catch now!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane decides to follow the Cane Guardian's example and attempt forming a truce with the slimes!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
[Writing eloquence roll: 4]
It creates giant flaming cane-letters on the ceiling of the cave:
LET THERE BE PEACE BETWEEN US, SLIME-PEOPLE! LOVE, SAMUCANE.
[Acceptance roll: ?]
The slimes seem to be moving quickly towards him, almost like a tidal wave!
Post by: Firelordsky on November 28, 2012, 07:41:38 am
Post by: Gamerlord on November 28, 2012, 07:50:35 am
Burrow into the horse while he's concentrating on Mike! Try and merge self with the horse's skeleton and control it to attack the man!
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2012, 10:16:46 am
Mike will use his telekinetic powers to break the man's whip-arm!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 10:46:28 am
Mike tries to telekinetically break the man's arm! But she has to wake up first!
[Waking up roll: 5]
She rolls out of the way of an incoming throwing axe! Well, that was close. Telekinesis time!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
She goes into a brief trance! The world around her slows down, the whip man standing before her with extremely sharp pentacles and heavy throwing axes in both hands! She sees the man's right arm, and notices that it is unbroken! Well, this must be immediately mitigated! She twists and breaks it to the point of uselessness in a fraction of a second! Time returns to its proper flow once more!
[Man endurance roll: 5+1]
The whip man looks at his arm for a few seconds, completely silent.
He then begins laughing like mad and chucking axes with his left arm!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 6+1]
Mike dodges every single one, though! She points and laughs at the man's failed attempts at the end of the assault!
Meanwhile, Monty busies himself with crawling to the dead horse! He then makes like a parasitic worm and tries to burrow inside!
[Burrowing roll: 4]
He successfully chews his way inside the horse and nests himself on its spinal cord! Okay, now for mind control!
[Horse control roll: 3]
He makes the horse twitch a bit and roll over, though that's mostly because of his own persistent squirming!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Hey, wait a minute, maybe he should attempt to link his unlife force with the horse's skeleton? Yeah, that could work!
[Horse control roll: 5+1]
Monty becomes the horse! He has legs now! And a tongue! And teeth! And muscles! Oh dear, the feeling is absolutely intoxicating! He must take it out on something!
[Random victim roll: 6]
He instantly launches himself at the whip man!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 5+1 vs. 6+1]
The whip man jumps aside as Monty leaps at him! He seems to cast a look of betrayal at Monty!
Inside the CSOO...
Vincent tries to charade out a request!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
"Ah, you'd like the Deluxe Traveler's Package, I suppose? Hm, let me think..."
[Reaction roll: 1]
"I'm sorry, but the Deluxe Package requires you to have a special form, which I'm afraid we do not have yet. We don't have any forms, actually. It's been a distressing five-hundred-year delay, but I'm sure they'll get shipped by tomorrow, no later."
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
"Three weapons and a map, eh?"
[Reaction roll: 1]
She scratches her chin thoughtfully and casts an annoyed glance at Vincent!
"Do you have anything you could ask for that doesn't require a ton of forms to sign? Seriously, you could ask to use the bathro-wait, that requires a form as well. We don't have any forms. If you want anything, you need a signed form. Now go away, please!"
[CSOO Operator magic roll: 5+2]
Vincent finds himself somewhere else!
[Random location roll: 6]
He seems to be standing at the top of an incredibly tall spiral tower now! He can see the alien landscape all around him!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
The land seems to be... moving? What the hell?
Post by: Yoink on November 28, 2012, 10:49:13 am
Timothy shall, in a fit of inspiration, trap one of these silly people by telekinetically placing a chamber pot upon their head! Then he can ask them where they keep the metal lady. They sure aren't very welcoming.
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 11:03:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 11:05:09 am
Sam will open the wall, and create some slime-shaped canes!
((Which wall?))
EDIT: ((Nevermind, got it.))
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2012, 11:15:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 11:25:46 am
Timothy sighs with the weariness of a discontented specter and looks for a chamber pot!
[Search roll: 2]
It appears that none are around! Damn it! How is he supposed to stay classy if he can't even find a possibly full chamberpot to stick on people's heads?
[People roll: 4]
A clueless-looking fellow seems to be wandering around the blacksmith's shop! Timothy approaches him without issue and asks some questions!
[Politeness roll: 5]
"Me say, would you know where metal lady be? Most sporting of you would be to tell true!"
[Answer roll: 1]
The man looks at him briefly, then looks around for a possible avenue of escape!
[Escape roll: 2]
No horses or anything like that around, though! Guess he'll have to answer the question, then escape!
[Answer roll: 4]
"Uh, there's a metal lady in the castle. Don't know if it's the one you're looking for, though. Can I run away now?"
In the streets of Dielnin...
Mike tries to break the fellow's other arm with telekinesis!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
Woo, baby, is Mike on a roll or what? She manages to snap the guy's other arm as easy as one-two-CRACK!
[Man endurance roll: 5+1]
The man just keeps laughing! He spins and tries to throw his pentacles at both of his assailants!
[Technique roll: 3]
He focuses on Mike, as she appears more dangerous!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 4 vs. 4+1]
Mike manages to avoid the whip man's thrown pentacle, ducking under his attack like a natural!
In the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane tries to open its wall of safety!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
It manages to make a hole large enough for itself to fly through! When that's done, it tries to craft cane slimes!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
It works! A working, slinking, nasty cane slime appears in front of it! Well, it doesn't really stick to anything or melt anything, which is 5/6ths the point of being a slime, but it's an amorphous blob of canes nonetheless!
[Slime approach roll: 5]
The tidal wave stops as it reaches Samucane's enclosure! A single slime slinks forth from the mass! It speaks to Samucane!
~You. We will let you live for now, but you must come with us to the King's Palace.~
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 11:31:28 am
Post by: Yoink on November 28, 2012, 11:37:28 am
"That real helpfuls. Maybe you come with me? I's have lots of good adventures. It'll be fun! We can find metal lady, get big friendly neck-romance, fly around with Hansel..." The ugly ghost frowned suddenly, trailing off.
"Wait... Hansel!" He'd forgotten about him!
>Go get Hansel, make sure he hasn't smacked himself into unconsciousness!
>Bring this helpful chap with me, too! Maybe he can help open the drawbridge...
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2012, 11:51:14 am
((Inb4 he rolls a 6 for endurance and keeps on going. Seriously, what the fuck is up with this guy?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 12:16:20 pm
Mike attempts to go for broke and break the whip man's neck!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
She twists and mutilates it every possible way, nearly taking the guy's head off!
[Man endurance roll: 5-1]
The man, however, manages to retain control of his limbs and tries to practice impromptu medicine on himself!
[Impromptu medicine roll: 2]
Sadly, he has no materials to aid himself with! Oh well, at least he'll go out fighting!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 5 vs. 4+1]
He hurls a jar and whips it, but the water misses Mike entirely as she drops low to the ground, allowing the splash of water to go right by!
Inside the castle courtyard...
Timothy tries to talk the fellow into following him![
"Thank you! That real helpfuls. Maybe you come with me? I's have lots of good adventures. It'll be fun! We can find metal lady, get big friendly neck-romance, fly around with Hansel..."
[Man fear roll: 5]
Even the threat of neck-romance is not enough to keep the man away!
"Okay, just don't kill me!"
The man follows Timothy back to the drawbridge! Timothy asks him to open it! The man goes inside the guardhouse and spins the wheel that does this! The drawbridge opens! A very confused and possibly concussed Hansel sits on the other side!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane follows the slime!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
It floats gently after it until they reach a large gate of solidified slime! It opens and Samucane is led through many slimy, crusty halls until it is brought before a bright purple slime!
~YOU ARE THE CANE THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE HORROR OF THE CANE GOD? EXPLAIN YOURSELF.~
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2012, 12:22:08 pm
((SERIOUSLY. HOW MANY PARTS OF THIS GUY DO I HAVE TO BREAK BEFORE HE DIES??))
Post by: TopHat on November 28, 2012, 12:28:19 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 12:32:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 01:33:50 pm
Mike is getting quite tired of this! The man, he must break eventually!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
She breaks one of the man's legs in a swift motion of her hand!
[Man endurance roll: 3]
The man stumbles slightly, but still tries to kill his enemy!
[Whip Man vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 4+1]
This is starting to get ridiculous, really, as the man spins around on his single unbroken leg and tries to whip Mike! He misses, sure, but you have to admire his spirit!
[Man escape roll: 5-1]
Before Mike can do anything else, though, the whip man hops off with surprising speed, using a passing cart commandeered by an escaping villager as rapid transport!
On the road to Dielnin...
James keeps rolling onward and hopes for something exciting to happen!
[Excitement roll: 2-1]
Despite not actually using his legs, he trips and falls on his face!
[Grip roll: 3]
He nearly loses his absurdly sharp sword, too! Wow, was that a lucky catch!
[Travel roll: 6-1]
Before anything bad happens, though, James decides to quicken his rolling speed to speeding carriage levels! As day breaks over Dielnin, James rolls up to the town gate!
In the throne room of the Slime King...
Samucane tries to explain the sheer unpredictability of his magic!
~My magic is unpredictable, you see. It works most of the time, you see, but sometimes it just goes completely wild and destroys everything. I've come to accept it, really, though the civilian death toll is often high. In fact, my primary goal at the moment is to master this wild and terrible force of cane-themed destruction and mayhem. Well, that and mastering all known magic. Yeah, both of those are pretty important.~
[Slime King reaction roll: 2]
~I SEE. WELL, WE'LL HAVE TO GIVE YOU A TRIAL FOR KILLING MANY OF MY SUBJECTS. THOUGH YOUR CRIMES ARE BORNE OF IRRESPONSIBILITY, NOT MALICE, THAT DOES NOT EXCUSE YOU, LIKE, AT ALL.~
~Do I have a say in the matter?~
~NO, NOT REALLY. LET THE TRIAL COMMENCE!~
Slimes start slinking around the room and taking positions for the upcoming shenanigans!
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2012, 01:36:00 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 01:39:31 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 28, 2012, 02:02:49 pm
Persuade shopkeeper to give me map for free.
If that fails, terrorise him into giving it to me for free.
If that fails, Suffocate them unconscious, then take map and other loot from shop.
(( I mean the spell suffocate.
And whip-guy got away. I sense a reccuring villain.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 03:19:26 pm
Mike picks up his trusty Jug of Souls and goes off to find some loot!
[Search roll: 5]
She finds a relatively well-furnished home! Probably a trader's house! It's locked, sure, but the windows on the second floor don't have shutters! Mike climbs up!
[Climbing roll: 1]
She climbs up to the second floor, but slips and falls just as she is about to go through the window!
[Fall damage roll: 6]
She falls to the ground and rolls gracefully, landing face-first in a soft pile of filth!
Meanwhile, James looks for treasure of a different sort! He rolls around town looking for a cartographer's house!
[Search roll: 3]
He does indeed find a house with the word "MAPPES" written on it in large bold letters!
It's locked. Hm.
In the throne room of the Slime Kingdom...
Samucane stands trial in an uncharacteristically honorable manner!
The slimes look at each other for a while. Well, at least that's what it looks like to Samucane!
[? roll: ?]
The king slime looks pretty angry, though not unreasonable.
[? roll: ?]
The other slimes seem to be arguing with it, judging by their slime-body language!
[? roll: ?]
The king, however, seems to grow larger!
[? roll: ?]
It grows up to a very considerable size! The rest of the slimes shrink in comparison!
~WE HAVE REACHED A VERDICT! YOU SHALL BE EXECUTED AT ONCE!~
Several slimes begin to approach Samucane!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 03:32:43 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 28, 2012, 03:52:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 04:59:56 pm
Samucane has only one comment on the verdict:
~No.~
It decides that everything should be caned around here! And it does mean everything!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Dammit, why doesn't anything ever work according to dramatic convenience? It really irks Samucane sometimes!
[Slime reaction roll: 4]
[Luck roll: 1]
The slimes look at it confusedly! Samucane decides to try again!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
[Magic roll: 3+1]
It summons a whole lot of canes after ascertaining that it really shouldn't be focusing magic through its bottom half! They begin to beat on stuff all around the room!
[Canes vs. Slimes: 3+2 vs. 1+3-1]
The canes beat the slimes present quite mercilessly, and several of them die what looks like a painful death by bludgeoning! Well, works for Samucane!
[Building structural integrity roll: 2]
The canes also beat down the structure of the throne room quite a bit! The slime ceiling begins to crumble and fall to the ground! The building can't take much more of this!
Outside Dielnin's Shoppe of Mappes...
James thinks breaking into private property is a great idea right now! He rolls at the door!
[Ramming roll: 6]
He smashes the door into tiny pieces and makes the wooden building shake!
[Building structural integrity roll: 5]
The building remains standing, though! That's good! Wouldn't want all those sweet, sweet maps to be buried in rubble!
[Looting roll: 2]
That is, if there were any in this blasted place! Looks like the owner left in a hurry and took all of their maps with them! James, seemingly destined to be forever mapless, heads outside!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 05:02:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2012, 05:10:35 pm
Samucane attempts to perform more flashy acts of cane-themed destruction!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It summons a single cane that proceeds to whack a support beam repeatedly!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6-1]
Predictably, it doesn't do much!
[Canes vs. Slimes: 4+2 vs. 3+2]
The other canes just keep beating up any slimes they see! It sort of works, that much is true!
[Slimes vs. Canes: 5+2 vs. 3+2]
The slimes, however, are able to mobilize sufficiently to begin successfully fending the Cane Forces off! Several rampaging canes are melted straight-up!
Post by: TopHat on November 28, 2012, 05:13:15 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 28, 2012, 05:17:34 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 28, 2012, 05:33:42 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 28, 2012, 09:54:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 01:37:30 am
James rolls out of the cartographer's house and goes out looking for passersby!
[Passerby roll: 5]
A rather calm-looking gentleman walks by him! James rolls up and asks for a map!
"Hello! Might I borrow a map from you?"
[Reaction roll: 3-2]
He looks at you, screams and tries to run! He's yelling something about the demons having arrived.
[Town alarm roll: 4]
Nobody seems to be keen on investigating the disturbance, though. Probably a healthy stance on the situation, all things considered.
Meanwhile, not very far away, Monty tries to chase after the cart that carried away his enemy!
[Pursuit roll: 5]
He manages to stay quite close to it, remaining unnoticed as the cart pulls into a farm quite a ways from the town! He waits and watches for the whip man to exit the cart!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Four farmers unload the cart, but the whip man is nowhere in sight! How strange!
On an alien world...
Using his great vantage point from atop the tower, Vincent looks around for some kind of exit from this world!
[Perception roll: 1]
Wait, is that? It might be! Better take a closer look! Vincent takes a step forward!
He tumbles off the extremely high tower!
[Falling roll: 1]
He goes through a space anomaly that accelerates his fall beyond reasonable levels!
[Fall damage roll: 2+1-1]
He falls on his feet, shattering his legs! Well, that wasn't very pleasant!
Inside the throne room of the Slime King...
Samucane cackles telepathically and carries on summoning canes!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
The number of canes in the room doubles! They attempt to destroy EVERYTHING!
[Canes vs. Slimes: 6+4 vs. 4+2]
Many slimes perish as they are thinned by repeated cane strikes! Only a few are left now!
[Slime morale roll: 1]
The slimes try to get away!
[Slime escape roll: 4]
Most of them manage to escape the building! The king, however, remains behind!
~BY THE SEVEN OOZING CRATERS OF THE DARK ABYSS, I CALL UPON THE POWER OF THE SLIME GOD!~
[Request roll: 6]
Yep, something definitely seems to start happening!
[Transformation roll: 4]
The king grows to an astonishing size! He barely fits into the room anymore!
[Building structural integrity roll: 3-1]
The building becomes critically weakened! The slightest bit of damage could send it all crashing down on Samucane and the king!
The king roars telepathically!
[Samucane will roll: 4]
Well, that's unpleasant!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 29, 2012, 01:40:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 01:58:51 am
Monty goes out searching for large animals around him!
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there's cows, more horses and turkeys. You'd have to go out in the forest to find anything bigger than that!
[Perception roll: 5]
He sees something leaving the stable and walking off into the woods!
Post by: Yoink on November 29, 2012, 04:11:00 am
Timothy clapped his incorporeal hands happily, then turned back towards the castle. "Come on, Hansel, we got work..."
>With our new friend giving us directions, go find the metal lady!
>Wave happily at the people we pass on the way, too. Make sure they know we're not here to hurt them.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 29, 2012, 06:48:39 am
Post by: Firelordsky on November 29, 2012, 07:47:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on November 29, 2012, 08:03:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 08:12:27 am
Timothy asks the man to guide them to the metal lady!
The man fearfully accepts and leads on!
[Passerby roll: 6]
Lots of people seem to have come out on the street! Some of them are crying right now while others have fainted! Timothy waves to them!
"No worry, people! All be good!"
[People reaction roll: 2]
The people look at the ghastly thing in front of them in horror! None dare to attempt to rescue the hostage, though!
Eventually, Timothy is led inside the castle and shown the metal lady!
It's a fountain with a statue of a beautiful woman adorning it! It looks pretty great, Timothy has to admit.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It's definitely the thing he's been looking for. It could be none other!
In the woods...
Monty follows the figure he saw leaving the stables!
[Following roll: 5]
You stalk the figure warily for a while until you are able to ascertain its identity - the whip man! He's walking pretty stiffly, it looks like!
On the ground on an alien world...
Vincent attempts to fix his legs!
[Medicine roll: 3]
He really has no good way to fix them apart from using his halberds and third arm to support himself!
Post by: Yoink on November 29, 2012, 08:21:51 am
He decided to give it his best shot, with his new friends helping him! They'd work it out in the end!
>Timmy will summon the necromancer, with a little help from his friends!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 29, 2012, 08:22:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 11:05:25 am
Timothy tries to figure out the exact method of summoning a necromancer!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, there was a box with a button. Push the button and the necromancer appears, if he remembers correctly. Yes, that's it! Too bad he doesn't have it! He asks the man what he would do in this situation!
[Man answer roll: 4]
"Uh... I don't know, maybe send a signal of some kind? don'tkillmedon'tkillmedon'tkillme..."
Duly noted. What about Hansel? Does he have anything to add?
[Hansel answer roll: 4]
Hansel whistles in a shrill, high-pitched tone, but doesn't really do anything else! Maybe it's hinting at something?
In the woods...
Monty tries to kill his arch-enemy once and for all!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 3+1 vs. 2+1-1]
He kicks the man in the lower back!
[Man endurance roll: 4+1]
The man turns around and pulls out the whip! Oh my, he seems to be entirely splinted up!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 3+2 vs. 4+1]
He narrowly avoids a whip slash! Time to kick that guy into oblivion!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 2+1 vs. 2+1]
However, the man is prepared! He dodges Monty's kick and tries to whip him right back!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
He brings the whip around in a wide arc, slashing across Monty's flank! It's good that Monty can't feel pain or bleed, because that could have gone quite badly! Bolstered by his durability, Monty charges at the man!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
Monty seems to be sadly inept at horsing around, however, since the man easily dodges him and spins around, his whip making deep gashes in several trees!
[Counter attack: Whip Man vs. Monty: 3+2 vs. 2+1]
Monty gets another gash, this time around the top of his left foreleg!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 4+2 vs. 6+1]
Before the man can strike him again, though, Monty leaps at him!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 3+1 vs. 5+1]
The whip man seems surprisingly agile! Monty is getting nowhere fast!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
The whip man rapidly moves to Monty's side and brings the whip down! It slices through undead horseflesh and bone alike, severing the front half of the horse from the back as well as severing five inches of Monty's spinal cord!
[Monty will roll: 2]
Good gods, why can't Monty succeed at something for once? He and his horse host fall forward, the horse's head burying itself in the undergrowth! Monty himself feels strangely lightheaded!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 29, 2012, 11:29:31 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 29, 2012, 12:22:21 pm
Mike will try again! There must be some sweet loot in there!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 12:53:07 pm
Samucane tries to match the power of the slime god-king by calling upon its Cane Guardian!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
There is a slight disturbance in the air, as though somebody in a demon pub dropped his mug of demon booze because his summoner disturbed him! It quickly dissipates, however!
The slime god-king proceeds to get into a fight with Samucane's canes!
[Slime God-King vs. Canes: 2+5 vs. 5+4]
The canes quickly spread out to avoid its slime-tentacles and swoop back in to attack!
[Canes vs. Slime God-King: 5+4 vs. 2+5]
They come at it like a crashing wave, delivering a very palpable accessory-beating! The god-king reels back!
[God-King reeling roll: 1]
It crashes into the wall!
[Building structural integrity roll: 1-3]
The entire mass of slime, thirteen stories tall in total, comes crashing down on the room!
[Samucane magic roll: 6+1-2]
[Cane Armada escape roll: 6]
Samucane and its loyal army fly out before it has the chance to destroy them, however! Samucane is the first to come out, flying out of the window. The canes crash through the wall, even further completing the collapse! The slime god-king is far too large and unwieldy to escape, however, and gets buried in rubble!
Samucane surveys the ruins!
[Slime God-King endurance roll: 5]
Purple slime begins spilling from the rubble in large quantities! Oh crap.
On the streets of Dielnin...
Mike gets up from her pile of filth and tries to climb up the house again!
[Climbing roll: 4]
This time she gets up to the window and climbs in, with only the smell of unidentified filth reminding her of her previous failure! She begins searching for loot!
[Search roll: 5]
Inside a chest hidden in a closet Mike finds a pair of chain gauntlets with spiked bucklers attached! They look pretty great!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 29, 2012, 01:04:10 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 29, 2012, 01:06:08 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 29, 2012, 01:16:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 01:47:43 pm
Mike puts on the gauntlets, feeling unusually safe now! She then resumes looting like crazy!
[Looting roll: 4]
She finds a robe several sizes too large for her! It seems to be made of fabrics infused with steel through some magical process!
Meanwhile, the foreboding ball of flesh known as James rolls around looking for map-rich victims!
[Victim roll: 3]
There's plenty of people he could roll over, but none of them look like the type to carry maps!
Outside of the Slime God-King castle's ruins...
Samucane issues a shouted ultimatum to the injured king!
~WE CAN HAVE A TRUCE, OR WE CAN DO THIS... THE CANE WAY! THE TERMS ARE SIMPLE: I SHALL SPARE YOUR KINGDOM IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR LOYALTY, FRIENDSHIP, KNOWLEDGE AND FREE ROAM OF YOUR CITY!~
[King reaction roll: 5]
~I WILL AGREE TO YOUR PROPOSAL, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I WISH TO SPARE MY KINGDOM THE HARM FIGHTING YOU MAY BRING. ALSO, YOU SHOUTED YOUR REQUEST LIKE ANY RESPECTABLE SLIME NOBLEMAN IS EXPECTED TO. YOU HAVE FREE ROAM OF MY KINGDOM, AND I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. DO NOT EXPECT LOYALTY FROM THE STATE, HOWEVER, FOR WE OWE YOU NONE.~
Post by: miauw62 on November 29, 2012, 01:52:06 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 29, 2012, 02:05:50 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 29, 2012, 02:14:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 02:31:32 pm
Mike looks for a rope to bind the robe with!
[Search roll: 5]
She finds leather straps and ropes and bindings of all kinds! She could probably resize this robe with the stuff!
[Robe resizing roll: 3+1]
It's a bit loose, sure, but it's good enough! Mike now has a steel-infused robe sized specifically for her! She keeps on looting!
[Loot roll: 4]
She finds a rather impressive-looking helmet! It doesn't really fit her, but it could potentially carry a nice price at a store.
On the streets of Dielnin...
James rolls in search of another cartographer's house!
[Search roll: 2]
Even finding one cartographer's house was lucky, two are just highly improbable, James is forced to conclude. Oh well.
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane begins interwieving the God-King of the Slimes!
~So, where in blazes am I?~
~THE KINGDOM OF THE SLIMES, LORDS AND PROTECTORS OF THE STONE CRAB TRIBE, DUCHY OF THE FACELESS AND THE WORDS THAT WALK, ALSO WE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF THE SURFACE PATH, SLAYERS OF INFIDELS AND INVADERS. WE PROTECT THE LAND FROM INTRUDERS AND OTHER THREATS TO THE UNDERGROUND WAY OF LIFE.~
~How do I get to the surface?~
~THE SURFACE PATH. WE CAN TAKE YOU THERE WHEN YOU WISH IT.~
~Do you know any magic?~
~YES. THE MAGIC OF THE SLIMES, CLOSED TO ALL OTHER MORTALS.~
~Aw, okay. Final question, do slimes really capture nubile young females and keep them as pets?~
~NO. WE DO EAT ANY THAT WANDER IN HERE FROM THE SURFACE PATH, THOUGH THAT REALLY APPLIES TO ALL SURFACE INVADER SCUM.~
Post by: TopHat on November 29, 2012, 02:52:49 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 29, 2012, 02:59:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2012, 03:40:46 pm
Mike leaves the house through the window, climbs down and begins howling!
[Spooky Howling roll: 3]
The howl spreads to the nearby houses, creeping out certain people a bit!
Meanwhile, James looks for an inn!
[Search roll: 6]
Well, there does seem to be an inn in town. It's a pretty humble place, all in all. There are four brothels as well, which seem like far more seedy and dangerous places. Two of the brothels are open, legal places while two others are shady backroom joints! This town seems to have a pretty rich nightlife!
Post by: TopHat on November 29, 2012, 05:14:44 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 29, 2012, 05:26:41 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 29, 2012, 06:19:39 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on November 29, 2012, 09:22:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 12:58:51 am
James briefly considers which brothel to grace with his patronage!
[Brothel choice roll (d4): 3]
Well, for his purposes the shady backroom joint would definitely be a better place to go to. He rolls up to one of the entrances inside a conveniently empty butcher shop!
[Brothel security roll: 6]
He is immediately met by a smiling woman that takes him inside, assuring that this is indeed the place he's looking for! He rolls after her and finds himself in a... temple? What the hell?
"Prepare yourself to find true enlightenment, honored... uh... thing!"
In the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane has one more request of the slime god-king!
~I wish a tour of the city!~
~UH. OKAY. DO YOU WANT SOUVENIRS AS WELL? WE HAVE A GOOD SHOP FOR THAT IN THE OOZE DISTRICT. WELL, ANYWAY, I WILL GIVE YOU AN ESCORT, MORE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE COMMON SLIME THAN YOURS.~
Ten slimes appear around Samucane, seemingly growing out of the shadows themselves!
Samucane is then given a tour of the capital of the Kingdom of Slime! It will always remember how all the buildings looked the same (due to slimes seeing colors slightly differently than humans and caneoids can), the history narrated by the ten slime operatives was really quite boring and meant nothing to him and the art museum was mostly scent-based. Finally, Samucane is taken to the Ooze District Souvenir Shop, where there are a great many slime-related souvenirs - slime pendants, slime flags, slime spoons, slime posters, slime clothing obviously not meant for humans and other gewgaws and knickknacks.
On an alien world...
Vincent tries to figure out a better way of fixing his legs!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, maybe he could remove one of the legs and use it to repair the other? He can just use his third arm as a leg until he can find more parts!
[Medicine roll: 2+1]
Too bad both legs are shattered all over. Hm, he'd have to replace them with something else, then.
In the woods...
Monty tries to integrate the horse's spine into his own!
[Skeletal integration roll: 4]
Surprisingly, this works! He makes the horse's spine loop around his own, making an auxiliary spring-like spine! Hooray for skeletal recombination! With that done, he decides to wait this one out for now! That is, until he hears the whip man muttering something about giving his horse a proper funeral and hears something shatter!
[Burning roll: 3]
Oh crap, he feels his horse hide slowly melting and burning away! It's the water, isn't it. Damn.
Post by: Gamerlord on November 30, 2012, 01:05:06 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 01:34:04 am
Post by: Yoink on November 30, 2012, 01:47:16 am
"This no good. Guess we needs wait for dem others, maybe leaves a note. Hmm."
He looked over to his reluctant assistant, quickly turning his frown upside down. "Don't worries! You been big help, is not you fault. Maybe me an' Hansel helps you out for nows, have neck-romances later!"
>Post out notices around town asking for a magical, necromancer-summoning box with a button on it.
>Then Timothy and Hansel shall return this friendly, terrified fellow's favour, and help out with his domestic chores!
It's only fair, after all.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 30, 2012, 07:41:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 09:07:20 am
Monty tries to chew out of his horse-carcass shell!
[Chewing roll: 5]
He tears right out of the carcass, obtaining momentum for his escape!
[Escape roll: 4]
He bounces away, using the horse-spine as a leg to support himself! The whip man hurls an axe after the escaping Monty!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 1+1 vs. 6]
Monty catches the axe in his teeth and keeps spine-running! He is putting a respectable distance between himself and the whip man!
Meanwhile in the Slime Kingdom...
Samucane looks for some good deals in the souvenir store! It can't return to the surface without something to bring its friends!
[Shopping roll: 1]
Samucane spots a rather fine-looking sculpture of a slime in a corner! Ooh, looks really valuable!
~I say, that thing in the corner! It looks neat. I will give you one miniature cane for it!~
~Those are the enshrined remains of my wife! She's been dead for two centuries, she was the love of my life! I still can't help but weep whenever I think of the good times we had...~
The slime shopkeeper does seem to be dripping something right now!
~Two miniature canes, then!~
~Get out. Now.~
Inside Castle Mmgfrhm...
Timothy, greatly saddened at his current failure, enlists the aid of his companions in posting notices asking for a magic button-box of summoning necromancers!
[Posting roll: 4]
[Notice making roll: 6]
The notices, which have been posted all over the castle courtyard, read:
YOU COULD BE NEXT! The menace of necromancer-summoning button-boxes threatens to strike our town even today! The boxes, which are known to multiply and destroy everything if not immediately destroyed by a qualified specialist, could be on your doorstep even now, or your neighbor's, or your neighbor's neighbor's! Do the right thing and report any magical button-boxes of necromancer summoning to your local artifact destruction specialist, the honorable Timothy Amscray, Esquire, found in the company of Bob Bernhard.
Underneath the text there is a vague picture of a box with a button on it! Timothy drew it himself with telekinesis!
With that done, Timothy tells Bob that he would like to help him with household chores!
[Man reaction roll: 2]
"Uh, no. I know what happened with the guards. So no."
[Town panic roll: 1]
Both of Timothy's companions are suddenly trampled by a mob of people pestering Timothy with chests, wallets, bags and wooden logs! They seem to be yelling at him to destroy them immediately before everyone is eaten by monsters or something!
On an alien world...
Vincent tries to turn his halberd shafts into working peglegs!
[Weapon crafting roll: 6]
Vincent figures "why bother?" and just chops his destroyed legs off with the halberd, then sticks both halberds in place instead of them! He stands up!
Ooh, so this is what high heels feel like!
Post by: Gamerlord on November 30, 2012, 09:16:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 10:21:16 am
((Monty dropped that box right? He was reduced to half a skull and a spinal cord!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 11:35:52 am
Monty attempts to pull a fast one on the whip man and get past him to return to the farm!
[Evasion roll: 3]
He sort of tries to skip past the man, trying to get by on confidence alone!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 1+1 vs. 6]
He opens his mouth and catches a flung wooden pentacle as he passes the whip man! The whip man looks stupefied!
Monty uses this to skip right past him! However, it is not long before the man resumes his pursuit!
Monty gets back to the farm and looks for a new body!
[Search roll: 3]
Well, it seems like the farmer has taken all the cows and bulls out to pasture, the horses seem to be missing as well. There's only chickens around!
Meanwhile in Dielnin...
Mike, outfitted in the finest sweet loot she could find, gets back to the scene of Monty's brutal dismemberment and picks up the box! She then thinks about how best to call wolves to her!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Wait a minute, her spooky howl isn't actually an ability that attracts things! It either scares them away or paralyzes them with fear! She wouldn't be able to call up any wolves with that!
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 11:40:35 am
Mike will just continue her journey.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 11:49:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 11:53:07 am
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 12:10:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 12:26:37 pm
Mike chooses to continue her journey northward! She heads out of Dielnin and wanders through the deep, dark woods!
[Encounter roll: 4]
Nothing seems to be out to get her! So far, so good! Eventually, she reaches a deep and deadly-looking ravine! There's a rather unsafe-looking wooden bridge leading over it!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane is carried out of the store in a not entirely dignified fashion! Well, next store, it guesses!
~Where is the next store?~
The slimes tell him that there are no other stores in the city! None that serve foreigners, anyway. It's all in tradition.
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 12:42:09 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 12:45:01 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 30, 2012, 01:27:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 01:50:18 pm
Mike unplugs the Jug O' Souls! Predictably, Ted doesn't want to leave. She then tries to go across the bridge!
[Bridge creature roll: 6]
As she walks across the bridge, nothing stirs underneath the bridge! She keeps walking until she reaches the opposite side of the ravine. Whew. That was easy.
[Perception roll: 3]
She goes north, briefly glancing behind her to check for sure!
Well, nothing's there. Not really anything to worry about. She continues walking!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane tries to create a cane-slime in an attempt to fool the system!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
And it works! It makes a very convincing simulacrum of a slime made of canes!
~Cane-slime, go into a magic store and buy stuff for me!~
[Cane-slime reaction roll: 4]
~Okay, what will you give me for doing that?~
Hm. Maybe it's too convincing!
Inside a... brothel? Temple? Whatever...
James informs the woman that he only needs a map!
[Verbal communication roll: 3]
"I know this sounds awkward and silly, but I really, REALLY need a map, if you know what I mean."
[Woman reaction roll: 2]
She looks at you suspiciously!
"A... map?"
[Woman intelligence roll: ?]
She then chuckles and gets friendly again!
"Oh, a map! Yes, we can indeed provide you with a map! What kind of map would you like? Local, or are you interested in more... exotic fare?"
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 02:08:24 pm
Mike will look around to check if anything is here. He heard quite a few stories on his journeys to sell potions where potions were needed.
Post by: TopHat on November 30, 2012, 02:10:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 02:22:02 pm
Mike checks around to see if something is following her!
Nope, nothing is following her. Well, that's a relief.
Inside a temple of some sort...
James asks for two maps - a world map and a map of the surrounding area!
"Two maps, one worldly, one of a local persuasion? My, aren't we extravagant. That'll be... let me think..."
[Trading roll: 4]
"Five silver coins for two maps to suit your unique tastes!"
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2012, 02:37:01 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 30, 2012, 02:50:11 pm
((haggle. If unsuccessful, buy the maps anyway, then leave.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 03:20:49 pm
Mike continues on her merry way!
[Encounter roll: 1]
After a short trek, she meets a group of six bandits on the road!
[Bandit Leader reaction roll: 4]
The female leader, a bowman, it seems, steps forward!
"What's this? A little girl wandering the woods? What are you doing here?"
Inside a temple of some kind...
James feels like haggling today!
"Four silver pieces!"
[Reaction roll: 5]
"Well, okay. But only for a special customer like yourself!"
She takes James' 4 silver pieces and leads him to a room! It's full of geography-related objects, oddly enough. There's two women sitting around a table making friendly conversation!
Post by: TopHat on November 30, 2012, 03:22:44 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 04:13:22 pm
My mind is in the gutter.
Samucane will offer it floating cane scouts, and if needed will work as an ambassador, to bring this new Slime to the greatest of heights! To become a literal Slime God![/n]
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 04:41:14 pm
James looks for any maps in the room! There don't seem to be any that aren't behind a glass display or something.
One of the women, a rather ordinary-looking one, turns to him!
"So, I hear you have an educated interest in geography!"
The other, a woman with an odd, slightly bluish tinge to her skin, also begins to speak!
"We will teach you everything you need to know, good sir!"
[Teaching roll: 2]
They try hard to teach James all about the unknown lands to the north, south, west and east, but their message gets lost in the other... distractions they offer. James does have good fun, though! He is led out of the room three hours later!
"I hope you learned a lot! Come again!"
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane tries to tempt the slime creature into serving it! It tempts with godhood, it tempts with glory! Most of all, it tempts with POWER!
[Cane Slime reaction roll: 5]
~Godhood, eh? Well, that works for me! Where do we start?~
~Bring me stuff from a store!~
~Well, that's boring! Don't you have anything better for me to do, something worthy of a future god?~
~These menial tasks are but a stepping stone to greatness, young one!~
~OH, I GET IT NOW. Thanks for explaining. I'll be getting to it, then!~
[Cane Slime shopping roll: 1-1]
There is a faint magical hum, then a horrible explosion!
[Collateral damage roll: 4]
Fortunately, it's just the only magic store in town that blows up in magical flames, incinerating all the precious magical treasures within!
Wait, crap. That's like the exact opposite of "fortunately"!
[Cane Slime survival roll: 3+1]
Out of the ruins a cane slime oozes out, slightly singed but just as alive as ever! Granted, that's not a large frame of experience, but still!
~How was I supposed to know that by "DON'T TOUCH THE SPHERE OF DESTRUCTION" they meant me in particular? I thought that was for the staff!~
Post by: Firelordsky on November 30, 2012, 04:42:53 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 04:48:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 05:03:39 pm
Vincent decides that treasure and monsters, in that order, should be his priority! He goes forth in search of high adventure!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds a truly enormous spiral in the wastes, with an entrance several dozen feet above ground level! At the top of the spiral there is a peculiar light of some kind! Probably good stuff in there!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane looks at the cane-slime! Doesn't look very injured to it. Well, then. Onward!
Samucane sadly looks at the total absence of any golems or canes following it! If only that Cane Guardian had not been summoned, if only Samucane had realized the potential drastic consequences of its actions! Oh well. Time for Samucane to make itself feel better through the wonders of Kleptomania Therapy!
[Samucane magic roll: 4+1]
Samucane floats over to the ruins and examines them!
[Search roll: 3]
There's a lot of formerly magical slag here, but that's all, really.
Post by: Firelordsky on November 30, 2012, 05:22:04 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 05:31:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2012, 05:36:23 pm
Vincent tries to get up to the door!
[Climbing roll: 6]
You use your halberd legs to chop into the side of the building, quickly scaling it with the aid of your three arms!
[Door bypassing roll: 6]
You smash through the surprisingly fragile door!
[? roll: ?]
Everything seems clear as you get inside the spiral! Just like before, there is a spiral staircase leading up and down!
Inside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane sighs telepathically, and its entourage of slime escorts sigh as well! Even the cane slime sighs, though it seems like it only does so to fit in!
They go to the gate to the surface! Samucane is led through the giant riveted steel gate that leads outside and finds itself in a cave! It seems to be long, wide tunnel of some kind!
Post by: Caerwyn on November 30, 2012, 05:37:12 pm
Post by: TopHat on November 30, 2012, 05:58:55 pm
If not, head inside, get them. I paid good money!
Post by: Yoink on November 30, 2012, 07:55:53 pm
Timothy thought fast.
"Calm down! Calm downs! Being scared is makes the bad magic worse, so no do that!"
He thought fast some more.
"Quickly, puts alla thems magicky things in the Containment Zone! They be safe there, I can disposes of 'em. I a expert Disposin'-of-Bad-Magicky-Things-Person, you know!"
>Rescue my companions with quick-talking!
>Then direct the townsfolk to leave there to-be-disposed of junk in the guardhouse/"Containment Zone"!
>Then check on Hansel and Bob. Hopefully they aren't too trampeled...
Post by: Gamerlord on November 30, 2012, 10:37:11 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on November 30, 2012, 10:53:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 03:46:17 am
Samucane asks its slime escorts if there's anything... dangerous on the way to the surface!
~Nothing as dangerous as the surface itself, we assure you.~
Well, that's informative.
Outside a Brothel-Temple...
James, realizing he is still mapless, goes back in to satisfy his compulsive need to know where he's going! He heads up to the woman that sold him the maps!
"Hello! Back already?"
"I need my maps, woman!"
"You already had a session, didn't you? Do you want another one?"
[James intelligence roll: ?]
"I want maps!"
[Woman intelligence roll: ?]
"What do you mean? You already got some maps! Were you dissatisfied with the service?"
In the courtyard of some castle or another...
Timothy tries to calm down the vicious crowd with some wise words!
"Calm down! Calm downs! Being scared is makes the bad magic worse, so no do that!"
[Crowd reaction roll: 2]
"What did he say?"
"Something about things getting worse!"
"Oh no!"
They keep on showering Timothy with decidedly non-magical boxes! Timothy has a great idea!
"Quickly, puts alla thems magicky things in the Containment Zone! They be safe there, I can disposes of 'em. I a expert Disposin'-of-Bad-Magicky-Things-Person, you know!"
He points at the guardhouse!
[Crowd reaction roll: 4]
"At once, milord!"
The crowd runs over to a nearby guardhouse and drop all of their boxes inside, then run off to a safe distance! Meanwhile, Timothy checks the lifesigns of Hansel and Bob!
[Hansel endurance roll: 1]
Ouch, poor Hansel! He seems to be broken! Completely broken! He lies motionless on the ground!
[Bob endurance roll: 4]
Bob, however, seems to have rolled away from most of the stomping feet of the ground, and has only suffered very minor bruising as a result!
On a farm in the woods...
Monty tries to perform amateur chicken grafting, a favorite activity of completely insane farmers everywhere!
[Chicken merging roll: 5-2]
He pushes one chicken into another! Well, they seem to have merged a little bit, but then they just separate again and go about their business!
Meanwhile, the whip man has closed the requisite distance between himself and Monty!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 3+1 vs. 5]
He chucks a jar of water at him, but Monty just catches it with his twin spines and rolls it safely down on the dirt floor!
On an alien world...
Vincent ascends the spiral staircase!
[? roll: ?]
Eventually, Vincent gets up to a room that seems to be full of fractal-themed furniture of nonsensical design. There's fractal... uh... chairs? Fractal tables? Fractal lamps? In the middle of the room Vincent sees a fractal glass case with a fractal knife inside of it!
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 03:51:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 03:58:03 am
Monty tries to pick up the water!
[Water handling roll: 4-1]
He picks it up and awkwardly throws it!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 2-1 vs. 1+1]
It hits the ceiling, burning a hole in it!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 4+2 vs. 4]
The whip man swings his whip, slicing off several inches of Monty's left spine!
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 04:38:55 am
((p.S. I meant to burrow into the chicken and then merge in another like I mered the horse spine into me))
Post by: TopHat on December 01, 2012, 05:13:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 05:28:24 am
James is insistent upon receiving his maps!
"I paid four silver pieces for two maps! Where are they?"
"Resting, I believe. Teaching you was quite exhausting for them. We don't usually get requests like that, but when we do, it usually works out great for the customers!"
"But I asked for a map! I still haven't gotten one!"
[Woman intelligence roll: ?]
"But you did! You paid up, you got your room and your two maps, you had your fun, then left! It's what you wanted, right?"
In a chicken coop...
Monty tries to burrow inside the whip man!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 6 vs. 6+1]
He leaps forward like a rabid leech on hellish stimulants, but is kicked away equally ferociously by the man!
[Whip Man vs. Monty: 4+2 vs. 6]
However, the whip man still can't score a solid hit on the strange creature! How unfortunate!
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 05:32:11 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 05:44:41 am
((Also, wtf gamerlord? Are you STILL fighting that whipman? He's nearly godly! I BROKE HIS EVERYTHING AND HE SURVIVED.))
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 05:46:51 am
Post by: TopHat on December 01, 2012, 05:55:18 am
You know, the pieces of paper with the area on them?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 06:32:36 am
Monty, not one to be put off by getting himself kicked across the room, tries to burrow into the man again!
[Monty vs. Whip Man: 6 vs. 2+1]
He manages to get to his belly and begins chewing!
[Chewing roll: 5]
He burrows inside the man's belly and goes for the spine!
[Man endurance roll: 5+1]
The man grabs him by the spine and attempts to pull him out!
[Man strength roll: 4+1]
He rips Monty right out, holding his twin spines in the hand! He tries to smash him against something!
[Smashing roll: 6]
He starts whacking the jumping parasite against the wall, breaking the wall, the building and Monty! Monty's skull cracks and begins to shatter!
[Monty will roll: 2]
Oh gods, no mind-controlling parasite was ever meant to withstand such punishment! Monty feels himself weaken quite noticeably!
[Building structural integrity roll: 5]
Even though Monty's half-skull has demolished the wall, the chicken coop remains standing!
[Smashing roll: 4]
Lacking a wall, the man begins to whack the doorframe with his skeletal parasite-club!
[Doorframe structural integrity roll: 6]
The doorframe proves extremely resilient, and Monty gets whacked against it for quite a while!
[Monty will roll: 3-1]
This is definitely not good for his continued health, Monty thinks.
[Smashing roll: 5]
Satisfied at the doorframe's resiliency, the man just keeps on whacking Monty against it! Most of Monty's half-skull gets turned into a fine powder in the process, leaving just a fragment of the lower jaw hanging off the sordid remains of what might once have been a perfectly good brain-pan!
[Monty will roll: 1-2]
You know what, screw this. Screw that whip man, screw the necromancer, screw the quest, screw everyone, especially Mike, that unhelpful two-legged son of a bitch. This is Montgomery Caid's soul, signing out with this final message: you can all go and get yourselves horribly violated by demons for all he cares!
Monty has been dismembered and brutalized in various ways to the point of death!
[Doorframe structural integrity roll: 6]
The doorframe remains standing perfectly still. There are vaguely skull-shaped dents all over it. The final testament of Montgomery Caid, it seems. Not that the whip man knew who he was.
The whip man briefly smiles about a job well done and leaves the coop, trying to figure out how best to address the problem of the gaping hole in his belly.
In the company of bandits...
Mike does what little girls are said to do best: cry!
[Crying roll: 2]
She can't quite manage to think of anything sad enough to warrant crying! After all, she's got Monty's stuff, awesome gauntlets, a physical body and a steel robe! Seriously, everything's going her way. Well, better just lie anyway!
[Bluff roll: 2]
"I'm... uh... well... there's a good reason why I'm here, definitely!"
"That so? What is it? There's something odd about you, I think."
[Bandit perception roll: 5]
"For one, why are you wearing spiked gauntlets? And an armored robe? No, I don't think you're an ordinary little girl. Not at all."
[Bandit reaction roll: 1]
"In fact, you could be anything. A wizard, a monster, some kind of advanced illusion. Only way to find out is kill you."
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 5+1 vs. 5+2]
She fires an arrow at Mike from a distance! Mike deflects it easily with her spiked buckler!
The rest of the bandits, all using axes and swords, charge at Mike!
[Bandit 1 vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 1+3]
[Bandit 2 vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 5+3]
[Bandit 3 vs. Mike: 2+1 vs. 2+3]
[Bandit 4 vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 4+3]
[Bandit 5 vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 6+3]
The first bandit leaps past her, grazing her on the shoulder! Another flies right over her as she ducks and deflects the third's axe swing with her gauntlet! She barely weaves away from the fourth bandit's slash as she stands to meet the charge of a fifth!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit 5: 2 vs. 3+1]
She merely stands aside as the bandit runs past!
Inside a Temple-Brothel...
James tries to explain what he means by "map"!
"You know these pieces of paper that have an area's topography and nomenclature on them? They show where places are in relation to one another and so on? Yeah, that's the kind of map I was looking for!"
[Woman reaction roll: 2]
"Oh. Well then, you've come to the wrong place. We don't sell maps here, not the kind you're looking for. Sorry."
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 06:34:41 am
"Well. I see you realize that i am not an ordinary girl. Have fun."
Mike will telekinetically smash one bandit into another one!
Post by: TopHat on December 01, 2012, 06:50:43 am
Then head to the inn.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 07:32:18 am
Mike tries to smash one bandit against another!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
She manages to telekinetically accelerate one bandit to a speed no bandit has ever been observed traveling at! Some three hundred miles per hour, she guesses!
[Bandit accuracy roll: 3]
The bandit clips another brigand on its trajectory towards the woods!
[Bandit 1 endurance roll: 5]
The bandit is forced to the ground, but doesn't appear to have hurt himself in any way! The flying bandit flies into a tree and is turned into a bloody smear on its trunk!
[Bandit morale roll: 3]
The bandits look on in horror! Half of them are sufficiently smart to realize that the girl should be killed quickly!
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 3+2]
[Bandit 3 vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 5+3]
[Bandit 4 vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 3+3]
Mike, however, is quick enough to avoid the leader's arrow, then deflect both a sword and axe swing with her bucklers!
Inside a Temple-Brothel...
James asks for a refund!
"I didn't get what I asked for! Refund, please!"
[Reaction roll: 5-1]
"Tell you what, I'll give you half your money back. You did use the services provided, you know."
She hands James two silver coins! James heads out and goes to the inn!
[Inn people roll: 6]
The inn appears to be very lively today. Everyone in town must be there!
[People reaction roll: 3-2]
As James rolls into the room, every head in the inn turns his way!
"What in the hell is that thing?"
The inn quiets down and the townspeople approach him menacingly!
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 07:34:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 08:23:39 am
Mike tries to break the neck of the bandit leader!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
She only succeeds in breaking her own arm!
[Bandit mobilization roll: 1]
The bandits are confused by this sudden turn of events and stand still!
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 08:27:11 am
*Sigh*
Put me back on the waitlist.))
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 08:29:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 08:59:53 am
Mike charges and tries to punch the bandit leader with her good arm and its spiked buckler gauntlet!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 3 vs. 3+1]
The bandit leader narrowly dodges her probably deadly punch!
The bandits all attack Mike together!
[Bandit 1 vs. Mike: 1+1 vs. 6+3]
[Bandit 3 vs. Mike: 2+1 vs. 3+3]
[Bandit 4 vs. Mike: 1+1 vs. 3+3]
[Bandit 5 vs. Mike: 5+1 vs. 2+3]
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 6+2]
Three of the bandits charge at Mike, waving their axes and swords randomly! Mike kicks one in the jewels, trips another and punches the last one in the belly! All three of them fall on the ground!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit 1: 4 vs. 3+1-1]
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit 3: 4 vs. 6+1-1]
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit 4: 2 vs. 3+1-1]
She doesn't manage to mutilate them any further due to another bandit's axe slicing slightly into her back! It hurts a bit, but really not something to worry about too much. What she should worry about, however, is the bandit leader's arrow speeding toward her! She slaps it away and proceeds to attempt to beat up the bandit leader once more!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 6 vs. 5+1]
She almost gets the leader right in the face, but the leader steps away in the nick of time, saving herself a lot of scarring!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 09:45:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 09:50:18 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 09:50:19 am
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 09:51:42 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 09:53:05 am
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 09:55:25 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 09:56:33 am
E:
((Infact, you were a perfectly fine horse, and still you decided to chase the godly whip guy. I told you it was a bad idea.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 10:02:45 am
Mike tries telekinesis again!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Well, that didn't work, to say the least. Punching time!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 5 vs. 3+1]
She manages to punch the leader in the shoulder! The leader stumbles backward!
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 3 vs. 5+2]
She attempts to kick Mike away, but Mike catches her foot and pushes it aside, then follows it up with another punch!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 2 vs. 3+1]
The bandit leader just backpedals away, leaving Mike swinging at thin air!
[Bandit 1 vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 3+3]
[Bandit 3 vs. Mike: 1+1 vs. 1+3]
[Bandit 4 vs. Mike: 5+1 vs. 5+3]
[Bandit 5 vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 4+3]
As the four bandits try to slash and chop at her from behind, Mike jumps away, then tries to smash one!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Bandit 5: 3 vs. 3+1]
The bandit narrowly dodges her attack!
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 10:09:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 10:57:55 am
Mike tries a spooky howl to scare them bandits away!
[Spooky Howling roll: 3]
She makes an eerie "ooh" sound!
[Bandit disturbance roll: 2]
"What's that sound?"
The bandits look around distractedly! Mike uses the opportunity to try and punch the leader!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 5 vs. 4+1-1]
She slaps the bandit leader on the belly, making her fall backward and land on her back! She is now on the ground!
[Bandit 1 vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 4+3]
One bandit swipes at Mike, but she catches the sword in her gauntlet-hand!
[Disarming roll: 6]
She rips the sword out of his hands and chucks it at another bandit!
[Mike vs. Bandit 3: 6 vs. 5+1]
Her target jumps suddenly, narrowly avoiding horrible pain and death! He runs up to Mike and tries to decapitate her with his axe!
[Bandit 3 vs. Mike: 5+1 vs. 6+3]
Mike, however, decides to answer with an attack of her own!
[Mike vs. Bandit 3: 6 vs. 2+1]
She strikes him in the kidney with her knee, sending him to the ground!
[Bandit 3 endurance roll: 3]
He coughs, moans and rolls on his belly, but does not attempt to stand up yet!
[Bandit 4 vs. Mike: 2+1 vs. 4+3]
A third bandit tries his luck and goes for an overhead slash! Mike merely steps aside and pulls him by the arm!
[Arm pulling roll: 6]
She manages to pop it right out of the shoulder, leaving the bandit yelling about being in horrible pain on the ground! The final bandit hesitantly approaches and tries to eliminate Mike!
[Bandit 5 vs. Mike: 5+1 vs. 5+3]
Just as Mike dodges his axe swing, the bandit steps back, unwilling to receive any further punishment!
[Bandit Leader getting up roll: 6]
The bandit leader gets to her feet and pulls out a dagger, leaping at Mike from behind!
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 1+1 vs. 6+2]
Mike turns around and uses a well-timed punch to pin the leader to the ground, then proceeds to try and smash her face in!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 2 vs. 2+1-1]
The bandit leader moves her head aside and tries to get free!
[Mike strength roll: 2-1]
She kicks Mike away, sending her rolling along the ground!
[Bandit morale roll: 3]
Despite this latest success, the bandits don't seem very thrilled about the way this fight is going!
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 11:07:33 am
Mike will teleport on top of the bandit leader and rip his head off!
Post by: killerhellhound on December 01, 2012, 12:02:58 pm
Gender: male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography What once was a small merc group who had Mark as second in command ended with a room of death (slime roof, floor, walls and fruit ) three idiots falling for bait, double face palm, a minotaur and a pineapple.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 01, 2012, 12:10:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 12:56:20 pm
Mike tries to teleport! She could do that as a ghost, right?
[Specter Teleportation roll: 5]
She teleports right behind the bandit leader and tries to catch her by the neck!
[Mike vs. Bandit Leader: 4 vs. 4+1-1-1]
Mike wraps her one good arm around her neck and tries to pull!
[Strength roll: 1-1-1]
She impotently tries to pull, push and hang off the bandit leader! The leader laughs and sticks her dagger in Mike's side!
[Mike endurance roll: 4]
Mike doesn't let go, however!
[Bandit 1 morale roll: 4]
The weaponless bandit tries to pull Mike off the leader!
[Bandit 1 vs. Mike: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
He tries to step towards her, but both she and the leader seem to be flailing about too much. Pah, women.
[Bandit 3 endurance roll: 2]
The bandit that was kneed in the kidney prefers to stay down for now, what with his lungs threatening to jump out of his throat.
[Bandit 4 endurance roll: 4]
The bandit with the pulled-out arm, however, chooses to not be a baby about it and gets up! He picks up an axe and considers how best to kill Mike at the moment.
[Bandit 5 morale roll: 2]
The final bandit takes a few steps away from the entire fight! He appears to be struggling with a classic dilemma of some kind!
Right outside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane says a tearful telepathic goodbye to its slime friends!
[Reaction roll: 6]
They seem incredibly thrilled at it leaving and wave slimily at it as it floats away!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
As it leaves with a dignified float and moves toward the surface, cane-slime incompetent sidekick in tow, it feels like it might actually miss this place when it returns to its proper altitude!
[Encounter roll: 1]
Hm, there appears to be a giant writhing mass of insects blocking the way to the surface.
But these are no ordinary insects! They appear to have natural-made air conditioning and fungus farms, plus elaborately built tower hives!
Oh crap. Termites!
[Termite activity roll: 1]
The termites begin swarming at Samucane!
[Samucane magic roll: 6+1-2]
Samucane, not really feeling like becoming termite food, floats both itself and its caneslime companion up, easily avoiding a crashing wave of wood-destroying agony!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 01:11:19 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 01, 2012, 01:18:44 pm
I want a cute pet jelly girl...
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 02:36:27 pm
Mike knows how to solve all her problems - pull harder!
[Strength roll: 6-2]
She pulls as hard as she can! She feels the bandit leader run out of breath quickly!
[Bandit Leader endurance roll: 5]
She pulls out the dagger from Mike's side and tries to stab her again!
[Bandit Leader vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 1+1]
She stabs her right in the left eye! Vast amounts of blood come pouring out of Mike's eye socket as the blade reaches her brain!
[Mike endurance roll: 3-2
Mike's little girl host drops to the ground, the spirit of Mike leaving her body!
[Mike will roll: 3]
Mike can resist getting sucked into the jar for long enough to try and possess the nearest available host: the bandit leader!
[Bandit Leader will roll: 2]
Mike enters the bandit leader's body through her ear, spreading his influence all over her brain! Well, this seems to have worked out to his advantage!
Mike is now a bandit leader!
The bandits all congregate around her!
"Yay. We killed a little girl. Well, at least she has stuff."
"What do you mean, 'we' killed the girl? You spent the last bit of the fight on the ground moaning about how you got kneed in the kidneys. Damn girl nearly pulled my bloody arm off, I'm telling you, and I didn't complain a bit!"
"Should you really brag about how a 10-year-old managed to dislocate your arm with incredible ease?"
"It was magic, I tell you! MAGIC! You saw what she did to Jerry!"
"She sure wasn't sayin' any magic words or wavin' her arms around! You're just that much of a noodle-armed sissy, I believe."
The two keep arguing! The two others walk up to Mike!
"Let's take the little demon's stuff and leave."
"Uh, shouldn't we say a few, you know, words of parting or something to Jerry? Poor guy."
"True, I guess. Wanna do the honors, chief?"
Inside a termite-infested tunnel...
Samucane knows that it must pass this termite menace to earn its passage to the surface! It attempts to evade it!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
It slowly tries to fly over it along with its sidekick!
[Evasion roll: 1]
It accidentally touches a termite tower on the way out! Termites swarm all over it and begin chewing!
[Termites vs. Samucane: 5 vs. 5]
Samucane begins to furiously shake, not able to lose the termites but also not yet on the receiving end of horrible chomping death!
[Caneslime evasion roll: 3-1]
The caneslime accidentally brushes up against Samucane on its way out! Some of the termites pass along to it!
[Termites vs. Caneslime: 6 vs. 2]
Caneslime, not blessed with mobility like Samucane's, immediately begins to scream telepathically about getting eaten alive!
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2012, 02:38:30 pm
Mike will pick up his stuff from the girls body and continue his journey with his newfound companions!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 01, 2012, 03:08:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 03:36:58 pm
Mike picks up the loot from her former body, including the Jug O' Souls. She makes a suggestion to her new minions!
"I think we should... ahem, I think we should go north, I hear there's a temple with all kinds of sweet loot there."
[Minion reaction roll: 2]
"What temple, boss?"
"Uh, Lake Victory?"
"With all due respect, screw you, boss. Lake Victory's a freaking deathtrap. They've got this whatchamacallit, this Metal Broad or whatever up there. She kills everyone who don't say the magic word or something. Plus there's, like, nineteen hells worth of monsters between here and there. So I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we'll follow you anywhere, boss, but not Lake Victory. Place is demon-pits on earth."
He looks like he sincerely believes that anywhere is preferable to Lake Victory. Wow, that place sure has a reputation.
In a fractal room...
Vincent basks in the mathematical, metaphorical glow of all the fractals as he tries to steal the fractal knife from the fractal display case!
[Display case bypassing roll: 1]
He touches the display case and feels the power of the fractals assaulting him!
[Will roll: 6]
He takes the power in his mental hands and begins mentally strangling it! That will teach it to corrupt minds such as Vincent's! He mentally strangles the power until it gives in! The display case shatters! Hooray!
Vincent takes the knife! Ooh, fractalicious! Sharp, too. But mostly fractalicious!
He keeps looking around!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds himself! Not himself-himself, another himself! This himself seems to be repeating itself in nonsensical patterns of alphabetical, numerical and fractalicious sorts!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 01, 2012, 04:00:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 04:31:39 pm
Samucane tries to empower its caneslime companion!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
The magic, it does nothing! Damn it!
[Termites vs. Caneslime: 2 vs. 3]
"Wait a minute, I'm a slime! What have I got to worry about?"
It begins to absorb the termites, squashing them with its cane-substance!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 01, 2012, 04:56:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2012, 05:35:36 pm
Samucane tries to empower the caneslime once again!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Oh, silly Samucane. It forgot that it should amplify CANE power, not GENERAL power. Simple mistake to make.
[Magic roll: 2+1]
The caneslime perks up a bit! Not a lot, mind you, just a bit.
[Caneslime vs. Termites: 3 vs. 1]
It continues to absorb and crush the termites at a steady rate! There are but a few left on it!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 01, 2012, 05:40:21 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 01, 2012, 06:45:53 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on December 01, 2012, 10:57:43 pm
Name: Yorinnsud Molocksson
Archetype: Zombie (Bog)
Bio: Born over one thousand years ago Yorinnsud was a great warrior of his tribe. Striking down all that opposed him with his greatsword he rose to power over many clans of heathen savages until he was struck down by the knife of an assassin during a ceremony at his people's shrine in the bogs. Falling into the water, Yorinnsud was preserved in almost perfect condition for an age.
Is this alright?))
Post by: Tiruin on December 02, 2012, 01:04:04 am
Also, nice sheet!))
Post by: Yoink on December 02, 2012, 01:45:19 am
"Mister Bob! Look, look, Hansel's hurt. We gotsta fix him! What we do?! Where's da fixy-person here? We gotsa get him there 'fore he goes mushy!"
>Quickly ask Bob for help, to get Hansel to a doctor/healer/veterinarian!
>Try and get Bob to carry poor Hansel in his corporeal arms, but if he refuses I'll have to
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 04:14:00 am
Vincent casually walks up to his nonsensical dimensional counterpart and tries to steal the legs right off his body!
[Stealing roll: 5]
Hah! Moron never suspected a thing. You take one of his legs, leaving the now one-legged simulacrum balancing on only one leg, still totally engrossed in being an idiot, or at least that's what it looks like to you.
In a tunnel that leads outside the Kingdom of Slime...
Samucane wishes to reward its stalwart minion, and it knows that canes make the very best gifts! Especially focus-canes!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
It summons a mighty cane of fire, then proceeds to attempt to grant it sentience!
[Focus creation roll: 1-2+1
Samucane endows the thing with magical focusing ability! And sentience! And vast amounts of evil! It isn't sure why it gave it those last two, but there was probably a reason.
[Evil Twin magic roll: 4+1]
It quickly flies out of the cave, presumably to besmirch Samucane's good name in the world!
Considering that Samucane doesn't have a good name to besmirch, it metaphorically breathes a sigh of relief.
[Caneslime vs. Termites: 4 vs. 4-1]
The last few termites put up a good fight! It takes a while until the caneslime is finally termite-free!
In the courtyard of Castle Whatchamacallit...
Timothy looks at his dear bird companion in horror! Why, for the love of the gods, why?
"Hansel! Noooooo! Mister Bob! Look, look, Hansel's hurt. We gotsta fix him! What we do?! Where's da fixy-person here? We gotsa get him there 'fore he goes mushy!"
[Bob intelligence roll: ?]
"Uh... the lord of the land has a personal doctor. We could try going to him..."
[Bob helpfulness roll: 4]
Bob goes up to Hansel and picks him up!
[Bob strength roll: 2]
That is, he would pick him up if the bird had spent more time migrating and less time snacking on unwary travelers! He needs help here! Timothy looks for help!
[Search roll: 3]
There is indeed a single person in sight! Timothy approaches her!
[Timothy speech roll: 5]
"Help, help! Friend in need! Only you can save! Hurry now!"
[Person helpfulness roll: 1]
The person runs away! Well, that's really an awful thing to do! Time for Timothy to do what he does best and telekinesisisisate!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He picks Hansel up telekineticicamacally and pulls him behind himself as he follows Bob to the court doctor's quarters! After passing several confused-looking servants they finally reach the place! Both men and the bird approach the court doctor!
"We need you to help this bird!"
[Court doctor helpfulness roll: 6]
"Ooh, cool bird! Looks pretty banged up, though. I guess I'll take a look!"
[Court doctor medicine roll: 5+1-1]
"Man, this bird's broken all over! Still breathing, though, so that's good! Let's fix it!"
The doctor sets Hansel's bones in their proper places and binds up Hansel's limbs to prevent any further breaking! He puts Hansel on one of the beds, then turns back to Bob!
"Ah, it'll be alright. Give it a month or two of rest, though."
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 05:34:01 am
Mike will put on the steel-infused robe and the spiked gauntlets and convince his minions to go to lake victory. If they agree, march on to lake victory!
Post by: Yoink on December 02, 2012, 05:42:10 am
"Thanks much! Maybe I's can do stuff for you, help, yes? 'Cause you's help Hansel already, so I help you with some thing."
>Leave Hansel to his bed rest, offer assistance to the doctor as payment! I always wanted to be a nurse-- well, not really, but it should be fun, right?! Bob can help, too!
>Oh, and keep an eye out for any replies to that notice, 'course.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 08:52:25 am
Mike tries to rally the rabble serving her!
"Ugh, you sissies. Did I ever get anything done with you guys? See, I have a plan. See this box? This will summon somebody. It takes powerful magic to make. Thus we can assume that it will summon a wizard. We go to Lake Victory, press the button, throw the box and the wizard takes care of the steel guardian. Sound good?"
[Reaction roll: 3]
"Yeah, that might work, but you forget that there are four other islands we have to pass to even get to the Temple. And they're full of critters that'll kill you without a second thought, probably without a first thought as well."
"Uh, yeah, there's, like, stuff that'll explode your head if you even get near."
Mike, feeling rather disappointed, puts on the steel-infused robe and spiked gauntlets! After removing the various adaptations from the robe, it fits her nicely!
Inside the court doctor's quarters...
Timothy, feels very grateful to the doctor!
"Oh, that's good, good! Thanks much! Maybe I's can do stuff for you, help, yes? 'Cause you's help Hansel already, so I help you with some thing."
[Doctor reaction roll: 3]
"Uh... do you have any skills? Aside from three legs and poor sense of grammar, no offense?"
Timothy thinks for a bit. Does he? Does he really?
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 08:54:38 am
"Where else are you gonna go? Everybody in the entire land knows our faces! If we can pull this raid off, we can anonymously retire in extreme comfort!"
Mike will keep convincing them!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 09:02:34 am
Mike tries to get the four minions to go with her! After all, can't have too many meatshields!
"Where else are you gonna go? Everybody in the entire land knows our faces! If we can pull this raid off, we can anonymously retire in extreme comfort!"
[Bandit reaction roll: 4]
"Well, yes, we are getting a bit too infamous for our own good, but would getting ourselves killed really help us? I mean, we've got nothing to protect us from whatever lives there near the lake. It's like Dan here said, there's stuff that'll explode your head, after all."
Post by: Yoink on December 02, 2012, 09:06:23 am
Then a slow smile crept across his deformed, spectral face.
"I can do lots an' lots a' tricks, just you waits!"
>Telekinetically juggle various bits and pieces of the doctor's equipment!
>Phase through some furniture!
>Turn invisible!
>Generally demonstrate my usefulness! I dunno, maybe I could phase into patients to have a look or something, or perform delicate surgeries telekinetically? All sorts of possibilities!
Apply for the job!
"I'd be real help, yeh? I gets the job?? Maybe Bob helps out, too! An' Hansel when he better!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 09:21:19 am
Mike will make sure they follow him!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 10:42:06 am
Mike tries reverse psychology!
"Fine, if you want to be killed by angry mobs of villagers, I'll just get on my way then!"
[Bandit reaction roll: 5]
"Okay, fine, if you say so, leader. We'll follow you there. I trust you, and so do the rest. We hope you will not let us down."
Inside the court doctor's quarters...
Timothy, eager to demonstrate his usefulness, tries to telekinetically juggle dangerous pieces of surgical equipment!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Perhaps fortunately for those present, he can't manage to muster enough power to do so! Well then, how about phasing through furniture? Timothy can do that! He phases through all the walls and floats around generally being intangible!
[Doctor reaction roll: 1]
"And how in the bloody hell is that useful to me?"
Timothy tries to turn invisible!
[Turning invisible roll: 3]
He becomes slightly more transparent!
"Seriously, what use do I have for that?"
[Timothy medicine roll: 1]
Timothy phases inside the doctor!
"Yep, you have stone liver!"
"Get out of here!"
Post by: Caerwyn on December 02, 2012, 11:19:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 11:26:54 am
Samucane, proud of its slime companion, gives it what it has never given a servant: a choice! Will it follow Samucane to the surface and meet what is almost certain death at the hands of various menaces or stay in the relative safety of the Slime Kingdom!
[Caneslime loyalty roll: 4]
"Eh, I'll follow you! Got nothing better to do!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 11:54:11 am
Post by: Caerwyn on December 02, 2012, 12:03:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 01:07:55 pm
Mike leads the bandits to the foreboding northern lands!
[Encounter roll: 2]
They enter some unusually dark-looking woods!
"Aw, crap. We're getting ambushed, aren't we?"
Interestingly enough, they aren't!
[Perception roll: 2]
Mike looks behind herself!
Nothing's following her. She looks into the woods!
She sees nothing. Oh well, better carry on.
Inside a tunnel to the surface...
Samucane and the caneslime try to go to the surface! Hopefully no termites interrupt them again!
[Samucane magic roll: 6+1-2]
Samucane speedily moves ahead while the caneslime follows behind!
~Uhm, dude.~
~What is it, minion?~
~You see, I don't have a name. It's beginning to really bother me. Like I don't have any sense of identity or something. Almost enough to make you feel existentially threatened, really. Mind giving me one? Preferably something not stupid?~
Samucane thinks for a bit!
[Encounter roll: 2]
A cave bear right in front of it waits politely until it begins to pay attention!
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 01:12:35 pm
Mike will ignore the feeling that something is watching them and continue to the next village/city/location of importance!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 01:25:37 pm
Mike turns to her group!
"Ssh. Look around, do you see anything? I see nothing."
[Bandit perception roll: 5]
"Definitely something. Look over there!"
He points to a bush! There appears to be a man hiding in it!
[Man reaction roll: 6]
The man begins to scream!
"YOU CAN'T SEE ME! LOOK AWAY, DAMN YOU, OR I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!"
Mike is puzzled by this man! It seems like he might not be entirely sane!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 02, 2012, 01:35:30 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2012, 01:43:37 pm
Mike will ask what the man is doing here.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 02:00:14 pm
Samucane, after considering all the alternatives, names the slime the only good name it can think of!
~Your name shall be Welt Verschlinger from this moment on!~
[Caneslime reaction roll: 6]
~Welt Verschlinger, Welt Verschlinger... I like it! It fits me very nicely, I think! I look like sort of like a welt. Not so sure about the Verschlinger part, though. It's not some kind of obscure joke, is it? 'Cause if you gave me a pun name, I will never, EVER forgive you!~
~I would never do anything like that, dear Welt! Why, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind!~
Samucane turns back to the road. Oh dear. There's a cave bear in front of it.
[Cave bear reaction roll: 3]
It sniffs Samucane curiously!
In the darkest woods of the land...
Mike tries to calm the man down!
"Whoa, whoa, easy. Nobody's going to kill you if you tell us what you are doing here."
[Man reaction roll: 4]
"I am WAITING for YOU to GO past this BUSH. IT IS PART OF MY PLAN, GET IT? Don't ask me about the plan. I'll have to KILL YOU IF YOU DO!"
"Holy crap, he's totally cracked."
"Yep. Totally bat guano, that guy."
Post by: Caerwyn on December 02, 2012, 04:04:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 04:38:34 pm
Samucane tries to inform the bear that it is grateful for not getting slashed and will in return not kill it!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
It forms giant glowing cane-symbols in the air!
[Symbolic communication roll: 1]
There is only one symbol, though - an eye-catchingly realistic depiction of a bear getting stabbed by canes rendered in glowing miniature canes!
[Bear reaction roll: 1-1]
The bear grabs Samucane in its teeth and begins chewing!
[Chewing roll: 1]
It breaks several of its teeth on Samucane's oaken body! It roars in pain and spits Samucane out!
Welt tries to kill the bear!
[Welt Verschlinger vs. Cave Bear: 4+1 vs. 1+2]
Welt pounces on the bear, covering its entire head with its caneslime body! The bear's head gets horribly bruised!
[Bear endurance roll: 6+2]
The bear roars and leaps up in the air, hitting the ceiling of the cave!
[Cave structural integrity roll: 5]
Aside from the bear bruising its pride, nothing happens!
Post by: TopHat on December 02, 2012, 04:56:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2012, 05:04:17 pm
James attempts to convince the villagers that he isn't real!
[Convincing roll: 6]
He points out his various anatomical impossibilities and just how many various things are wrong with him, and uses all these as proof that only a very drunk or insane mind could have come up with something like him! It sounds so convincing that even James himself believes it!
[Will roll: 3+1]
It's a minor existential crisis for him, but he gets over it easily!
"Well. That is a good point. Carry on, then."
Post by: TopHat on December 02, 2012, 05:07:40 pm
Listen for gossip on the missing cartographer, like where he's gone.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 02, 2012, 05:13:15 pm
Name: Tom
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: Aged thirty-five when he died; he was sitting on a wooden rocking chair when he suffered a brain aneurysm. Boring death, only sign he wasn't asleep was the six pints of blood that were cascading out of his nose.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on December 02, 2012, 05:26:35 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 02, 2012, 05:34:56 pm
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, HAIRY BALD MAN. IT'S LEGIT.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 02, 2012, 08:07:13 pm
Post by: Yoink on December 02, 2012, 09:58:54 pm
With a very sad look on his face, he turns and leaves.
"Nobody's likes me, Mista Bob. Whenevers I helps dem I does it wrong an' things. You sure is not have anything I can helps with? Maybe King has a job for us? I not find that magic box yet, either."
>Pull sad face. Mope around.
>Ask Bob if he has anything I can help with. Or any ideas how I could complete my quest.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 01:22:06 am
James, having firmly convinced people of his nonexistence, rolls around and eavesdrops on conversations!
[Eavesdropping roll: 4]
[Juicy gossip roll: 1]
"... geez, I can't believe I could imagine something like the thing that just rolled in through the door..."
"... horrible thing from the pits of darkness, that's what it looked like..."
"... oh gods, I might not ever sleep again..."
Damn it, why must James be such an attention grabber? It makes listening to gossip impossible!
Inside a cave bear's bear cave...
Samucane tries to perform cane psychology!
[Cane psychology roll: 3]
The answer to the bear's pent-up rage issues is canes! It's always canes, isn't it? There wouldn't be any problems in the world if only everyone had enough canes! Samucane believes that it may have the perfect remedy to the bear's problem right in its metaphorical hand!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
It summons a veritable mountain of canes that buries the bear!
[Bear endurance roll: 1+2]
The pile moves a bit, but the bear seems to have been rendered relatively harmless! Score one for cane therapy!
Inside a positively fractalicious fractal room...
Vincent, emboldened by success, decides to get greedy! Another leg, please!
[Theft roll: 3]
He pulls the leg right off! The other him falls to the ground with a loud noise and looks back at him!
[Other Vincent reaction roll: 5]
It nods at him, realizing the importance of his quest, and sends him on his way! After all, it's what any reasonable skeleton would do!
Vincent, glad that a compromise could be arrived at, takes the legs and tries to attach them to his knees!
He doesn't have any, so he attaches them to his pelvis!
[Limb attachment roll: 4]
Unsurprisingly, they fit perfectly! They do seem a bit too fractalicious to meet Vincent's full approval, though. However, he wisely decides not to look a gift leg in the mouth. In fact, he's unsure if it even has one!
Inside the court doctor's quarters...
Timothy leaves the doctor's vicinity and begins to mope around!
[Sadness roll: 6]
He laments on the tragedy of the freakrobat's unlife, the need to make people happy and the simultaneous inability to do so because of reasons of insufficient tangibility! The result is a truly soul-shattering tirade of sorrow that makes some people cry from even looking at Timothy!
[Bob will roll: 4]
Bob, though it looks like he might be choking up, manages to hold his tears inside him!
[Bystander will roll: 2]
Most of the people Timothy passes, however, are not so composed! Their faces become twisted with sadness and tears begin flowing down their cheeks!
Oh great. Now Timothy's made the castle cry. He asks Bob if he could help him in any way!
[Bob reaction roll: 5]
"Oh, why the hell not. At least you'll have some way of being useful!"
He leads Timothy to his house! There appear to be lots of cherry trees in the backyard!
"See these cherry trees? Scare away any birds that come to them."
Post by: Yoink on December 03, 2012, 02:31:13 am
>Happily prepare to scare birds away from the cherry trees! Should be pretty simple-- if they aren't scared of me alone, shout at them or telepathically remove their feathers or something! Always happy to help a friend!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 09:39:54 am
Timothy is just about brought to the point of dancing happily at the prospect of being useful for something, rather than being the usual engine of murder and chaos he undoubtedly is. He waits for birds to appear!
[Flock of Birds roll: 5]
None fly over for the first three hours. They must have something against Timothy.
[Flock of Birds roll: 3]
A couple of small songbirds arrive after one more hour!
[Timothy intimidation roll: 1]
Timothy gurgles and pretends to flail on the ground, but none of the birds are courteous enough to come over and offer medical help! Well then, let's see how they respond to shouting!
[Shouting roll: 5]
He hollers like an ape on fire!
[Bird reaction roll: 6]
The birds speed away from the area, neglecting to account for the castle wall and thus smashing right into it! Heh, stupid birds. Timothy waits for more takers!
[Flock of Birds roll: 2]
A large murder of crows flies over, seemingly interested in the cherry trees!
[Timothy intimidation roll: 4]
Timothy glares at them menacingly!
[Crow reaction roll: 5-1+1]
The crows immediately fly away, unwilling to mess with one of the many things on heaven and earth that their philosophy can't account for! Timothy beams proudly! Over half his shift is done, and the birds have successfully been kept at bay!
[Flock of Birds roll: 5]
So successfully, in fact, that no others show up for the next three hours!
[Flock of Birds roll: 4]
Well, one bird shows up on the 14th hour, but it is quickly scared away!
[Flock of Birds roll: 6]
Actually, now that Timothy notices it, birds seem to be deliberately avoiding the orchard. How strange!
Eventually, Bob comes over to him!
"Nice work there, friend! Couldn't have done it better myself. Hey, mind going off to Yellowglen and getting me a magical scarecrow? As good as you are at this, I think this job is slightly beneath your abilities. Get me that scarecrow, and I'll think of something else for you to do in the meantime."
Post by: miauw62 on December 03, 2012, 12:05:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 12:29:36 pm
Mike gestures to her companions to pin the crazy person down! They should probably shake him down for everything he's got!
[Crazy Man perception roll: 6]
"AH-HA! YOU ARE PLOTTING AGAINST ME! DIE!"
[Crazy Man magic roll: 3+1]
A bolt of fire flies from his fingertips and goes toward Mike!
[Mike dodge roll: 6+1]
She pulls her second-in-command in front of her to shield herself!
[Second-in-command endurance roll: 5]
The bolt of fire hits him straight on, but he just quickly puts out the flames!
"Thanks for looking out for me, boss, I'm so glad you're concerned for my well-being!"
The bandits charge the crazy wizard!
[Bandits vs. Crazy Wizard: 1+2 vs. 3+1
The wizard gets off another shot before the bandits get to him!
[Crazy Wizard magic roll: 5+1]
His hand becomes a flamethrower, and he sets the oncoming bandits on fire! Painful, painful fire!
[Arguing Bandit 1 fire roll: 6]
[Arguing Bandit 2 fire roll: 5]
[Fearful Bandit fire roll: 6]
Two of them dive into a nearby ditch full of water while the other chooses to extinguish himself by simply rolling on the ground! It works perfectly!
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 12:43:07 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 03, 2012, 12:48:29 pm
Mike and his companions will charge at the crazy wizard man!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 01:17:50 pm
James tries to roll over to the barkeep and grill him for information!
[Collateral damage roll: 2]
He rolls over the foot of one of the patrons. The patron screams!
[Inn alarm roll: 2]
Everybody gets really nervous all of a sudden!
"That boulder-thing just rolled over your foot, right? We all saw it."
"Uh, yeah."
"Call me crazy, but I think it might not be an occurrence of alcoholic delirium! Not one bit! Explain yourself, boulder-thing!"
In the dark woods of foreboding danger...
Mike charges at the crazy wizard along with her two companions not currently submerged in a watery ditch!
[Arguing Bandit 1 agility roll: 5]
[Fearful Bandit agility roll: 6]
One of the arguing bandits quickly crawls out of the ditch! He is immediately followed by the fearful bandit, who leaps out of the ditch, then gets to the wizard in three long bounds!
[Mike and the Bandits vs. Crazy Wizard: 3+3 vs. 5+1]
The wizard, however, jumps up into a nearby tree! Crap.
[Crazy Wizard magic roll: 5+1]
The wizard sets fire to everything under him! Mike, the bandits, even the tree he's currently sitting in!
[Second-in-command fire roll: 5]
[Arguing Bandit 1 fire roll: 2]
[Arguing Bandit 2 fire roll: 2]
[Fearful Bandit fire roll: 1]
[Mike fire roll: 4]
[Tree fire roll: 2]
The second-in-command and Mike immediately try to put themselves out! The second-in-command puts himself out, then helps alleviate Mike's fire problems! The other bandits, however, run around screaming and on fire!
[Fearful Bandit endurance roll: 5-1]
[Arguing Bandit 1 endurance roll: 6]
[Arguing Bandit 2 endurance roll: 5]
Though all three become somewhat nastily burnt, none of them seem to mind a whole lot! One of the arguing bandits even chucks an axe against the wizard!
[Arguing Bandit vs. Crazy Wizard: 5+1 vs. 5+1]
The crazy wizard scoots away as the axe speeds toward him, letting the axe fall to the ground as it finds no purchase in his soft wizard-flesh!
[Crazy Wizard perception roll: 5]
The wizard notices that his tree's on fire! He attempts to jump to another tree!
[Crazy Wizard monkey business roll: 4]
The wizard jumps like a monkey's nephew, easily getting to the very next tree!
"HA-HA! YOU CAN'T GET ME, LOUSY SERVANTS! GO BACK TO THE KING AND TELL HIM TO GO SCREW HIMSELF, I AIN'T MOVIN'!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 03, 2012, 01:21:25 pm
Mike will discretely use his telekenisis to shake the wizard out of the tree while The Bandits run towards him!
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 01:35:57 pm
While they get back to their drinks, discreetly ask the barkeep about the cartographer
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 02:16:08 pm
James, great expert at hallucinations that he is, decides to bluff the everloving crap out of these guys.
[Convincing roll: 1]
"Heh, you totally fell for it the first time. What a maroon. I mean, seriously, who's ever heard of a group hallucination? Those only appear in mass hysteria situations, you know."
"Get that thing!"
[Mob vs. James: 4+2 vs. 6]
James rolls out of the way of their inept attacks with ease! He rolls up to the barkeep!
[Asking a question roll: 1]
"Have you-"
The barkeep tries to smack him with a stool!
[Barkeep vs. James: 6+1 vs. 6]
He whacks James across the boulder flesh, which doesn't do much to hinder him!
In the crazy-wizard infested forest...
Mike tries to discreetly nudge the wizard out of the tree!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
She manages to propel herself in the air up to the wizard's level, then fall down to the ground!
[Mike agility roll: 2+1]
Dang, that really hurt! Nothing too bad in terms of damage, though!
[Bandit reaction roll: 1]
"What in the hell happened, chief? You suddenly flew up in the air!"
[Crazy Wizard magic roll: 6+1]
The wizard, utilizing the momentary distraction of Mike messing up her telekinesis, fires a giant ball of magical ignited napalm at the group down below! It explodes and splashes everywhere!
[Arguing Bandit 1 fire roll: 3-1]
[Arguing Bandit 2 fire roll: 2-1]
[Second-in-command fire roll: 3-1]
[Fearful Bandit fire roll: 5-1]
[Mike fire roll: 2-1]
[Forest fire roll: 2-1]
[Crazy Wizard fire roll: 4-1]
Everything in the nearest vicinity begins to burn horribly, forest and wizard included! Only the fearful bandit manages to avoid any sizable amount of napalm getting on him! The wizard, however, gets slightly less napalm on him than the rest of the bandits!
[Arguing Bandit 1 endurance roll: 2]
[Arguing Bandit 2 endurance roll: 4-1]
[Second-in-command endurance roll: 4]
One of the arguing bandits falls down to the ground and smokes faintly while the other vainly attempts to extinguish himself, getting several horrible burns for his trouble! The second-in-command manages to extinguish himself after a bit of a struggle, though he is also heavily scarred!
[Mike endurance roll: 2-1]
Mike's steel-infused robe turns out to be highly flammable as she goes up in explosive flames! After the fire is done with the body, it is burned to a crisp!
[Wizard endurance roll: 6+1]
The wizard is so put off by his robe being on fire that he falls right out of the tree while trying to extinguish it!
[Wizard landing roll: 6]
He lands on his feet perfectly!
[Wizard endurance roll: 3]
He seems to have sprained his ankle in the process, though!
The forest, meanwhile, explodes into bright flames, turning it hot and extremely dangerous!
[Mike will roll: 3]
Mike tries to get into the body of the closest potential victim - the second-in-command!
[Second-in-command will roll: 4]
He manages to successfully resist the influence of Mike! He goes for the wizard!
[Crazy Wizard will roll: 1]
~My, what's this? Something invading my mind? You're welcome to stay, good sir! I insist!~
Mike takes advantage of the insane person's hospitality and takes over his brain! Mike is now dominating a crazy wizard of fire!
Post by: miauw62 on December 03, 2012, 02:22:31 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 02:23:09 pm
Smash them to a pulp with my magical arsenal of weapons. Grab the last survivor/slowest runner (if they flee) and demand to know about the cartographer.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 02:54:33 pm
James that it's time to give his weapons their first taste of real combat!
[James vs. Mob: 3+6-3 vs. 4+2]
The inn people scatter as James swings the earthquake axe, then the hammer of lightning!
[Collateral damage roll: 5]
The inn shakes and sparks for a bit, but nothing outstandingly horrible happens! A shame, that!
[Mob vs. James: 6+2 vs. 6]
The mob begins to kick and punch James relentlessly! Ow, that really hurts!
[James vs. Mob: 4+3 vs. 4+2]
He shoots three of the people inside the inn with the force crossbow!
[Collateral damage roll: 1]
The bolts pass right through them, causing extreme bleeding! They also explode on support beams right behind the villagers! The inn's roof caves in!
[Mob escape roll: 5]
[James escape roll: 5]
Both involved parties manage to get out safely, however!
In a burning forest...
Mike decides that fire is his new best friend! He decides to burn the remaining bandits!
[Fire magic roll: 4+1]
All the bandits are set on fire! Again!
[Second-in-command fire roll: 2]
[Arguing Bandit 2 fire roll: 5]
[Fearful Bandit fire roll: 4]
The second in command is the only one who seems to be on fire by any reasonable measure, though! The arguing bandit is simply too burnt up to burn any more while the fearful bandit chooses to skedaddle from the scene of the crime!
[Second in command endurance roll: 4]
The second in command quickly puts himself out, however, and charges at Mike!
[Second in command vs. Mike: 2+1 vs. 1+1]
He manages to scratch Mike along the chin with the tip of his sword!
[Fearful Bandit morale roll: 2]
The fearful bandit runs away without hesitating much!
[Fearful Bandit fire avoidance roll: 6]
He leaps over many burning bushes and swings along many a burning tree, singing himself terribly, but managing to get out of the forest fire nicely!
[Arguing Bandit 2 endurance roll: 3]
The arguing bandit keeps struggling for his life, still not on fire but in bad shape nonetheless!
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 03:05:19 pm
Carry on killing them. Remember to leave one alive.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 03:36:10 pm
James tries to kill the rest of the mob members!
[James vs. Mob: 5+3-1 vs. 5+2]
He slices with his earthquake axe, but misses all of the mob members!
[Collateral damage roll: 4]
The ground shakes ominously!
[Mob vs. James: 5+2 vs. 3]
The mob surrounds James and begins to beat the stuffing out of him very effectively!
[James endurance roll: 3]
James isn't feeling very well anymore! He still attacks, however!
[James vs. Mob: 1+3-1 vs. 3+2]
He misses all of them through a bizarre twist of fate when swinging the lightning hammer!
[Collateral damage roll: 4]
Lightning dissipates harmlessly into the ground!
[Mob vs. James: 1+2 vs. 2-1]
The mob continues to beat James mercilessly! That really hurts, you know!
[James endurance roll: 1]
One of the mob members punches James in the face! James rolls backwards!
[James will roll: 5+1]
He comes back with a vengeance, however, getting quite riled up!
[James vs. Mob: 3+2+1 vs. 1+2]
He begins to bash the mob left and right with the hammer, slicing them to bits with his sword and shooting them with fireballs!
[Collateral damage roll: 5]
No buildings suffer horrible destruction in the altercation!
[Mob morale roll: 2]
The mob begins to flee! James tries to kill all but one!
[James vs. Mob: 4+3 vs. 6+1-1]
He manages to kill exactly one of them with a well aimed force crossbow shot! He follows them!
[Mob escape roll: 2]
[James pursuit roll: 4]
James easily catches up to the mob and proceeds to try and run them through!
[James vs. Mob: 6+3 vs. 2]
He manages to mutilate and destroy all but one of the mob members, putting his people-exploding spear to great (and fun) use! At last, he is faced with a final mob member!
[James memory roll: 5]
Oh, right, he was supposed to leave one alive! Well, there we go.
[Collateral damage roll: 4]
After James' rampage, the street is pretty torn up. Otherwise nothing seems amiss.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 03:56:01 pm
A bit of suffocation may help if he proves stubborn.
((hey, James is doing this in BROAD DAYLIGHT? Hah!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2012, 04:31:47 pm
James tries to heal himself!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He looks better now, admittedly. Less bruised, that's for sure! The sole remaining villager looks on curiously!
James tries to grill him for information!
[Interrogation roll: 1]
He tries to look menacing, but just starts laughing instead!
"Alright, you're going to tell me what I need to do RIGHT NOW, or I'll... pfft, bwahahahah!"
He laughs for a good minute or so, chuckles for about forty seconds more, then finishes the spree with exactly 17.7 seconds of giggling. He then pats the man on the back and releases him! The man runs off somewhere! Good luck finding him now.
Post by: TopHat on December 03, 2012, 04:47:16 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 03, 2012, 04:57:20 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 03, 2012, 09:37:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 12:14:31 am
James randomly chooses a nearby house!
[Random choice roll: 5]
He shoots at one of the houses with the fire crossbow!
[Fire roll: 1]
The house explodes for some reason. People do come out, but they are in too many pieces to be useful to James!
Well, just goes to show you that a good household should not have volatile chemicals lying around it! Somebody might shoot a magical ball of fire through your window, you know.
Meanwhile, inside a cave bear's bear cave...
Samucane considers the bear silly and decides to move past it!
[Samucane magic roll: 5+1-1]
[Welt escape roll: 5]
They both move past the bear with the greatest of ease, leaving it behind to stew in its own hatred and misery!
~So, Welt, what would you like for lunch? Nubile young virgins, I bet!~
~What? No! What would I want with nubile young virgins? I'd like a barrel of sauerkraut, yeah, that's what I'd like!~
[Bear pursuit roll: 4]
The bear follows behind them at a respectable distance!
Inside a room of pure fractaliciousness...
Vincent decides to test out his new legs and head to the staircase! He goes upwards some more!
[Exploration roll: 1]
After going up for the better part of an hour, he finds himself back at the entrance to the spiral!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 04, 2012, 08:58:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 09:05:25 am
Vincent tries to defeat the nefarious alien spiral by going down instead of up! Hah! That'll show it!
[Exploration roll: 1]
After going down for the better part of an hour, Vincent finds himself back at the entrance of the spiral!
Well, isn't that just something.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 04, 2012, 09:10:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 09:18:15 am
Vincent stands perfectly still!
[Travel roll: 4]
He suddenly finds that he is standing in the fractalicious room! His twin gives him a fractalicious thumbs-up!
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 09:23:54 am
Timothy looked earnestly at Bob, his mind racing. Such responsibility! Unknown dangers! Adventure! Excitement! Scarecrows!
Yes, he would do this thing for his dear friend. If nothing else, it would help pass the time until he could complete his first task... and who knows, maybe he'd find that magic box!
"Oh, uhm, one thingy... Where is dis place, 'zactly?"
>Ask directions to Yellowglen and then accept this task and set off, leaving Bob with a request that he look after both Hansel and the metal lady! On the way, keep an eye out for any sign of my old companions... Or anyone else who might need help!
>Practice my singing as I go!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 09:50:04 am
Timothy agrees to Bob's proposal and considers the ramifications of someone trusting him enough to run an errand! They're definitely quite earthshaking, at least for Timothy!
"Uh... Okies, then! You gotsta keep an eye on Hansel for me, though, rights? An' the metal lady, make sure she not goes anywheres?"
"Oh, sure. Definitely. Both of them are still going to be here when you get back. Probably."
"Oh, uhm, one thingy... Where is dis place, 'zactly?"
"You go south along the road until you reach an encampment full of tents on the left side of the road. That's Yellowglen. Shouldn't be difficult to find."
Having had his questions answered, Timothy sets off into the air!
[Travel roll: 5]
He flies at a considerable speed, practicing his singing on the way!
[Practice roll: 5]
He delivers a fantastic, opera-worthy performance as he sails on through the great blue sky! He passes over some wanderers (not his companions, though) who applaud cheerfully! Ah, it feels so great to be loved!
In but an hour or so, Timothy has reached Yellowglen!
[Yellowglen people roll: 2]
Nobody seems to be around here. The tents are all empty, looks like.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 04, 2012, 09:54:06 am
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 10:26:02 am
"Hellooooooooooo~?!?"
>Call out a greeting in my lovely, melodic sing-song voice, and see if I can't raise someone!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 10:31:15 am
Vincent gives his double a thumbs-up as well! He then proceeds to ask for advice!
[Vincent nonverbal communication roll: 2]
He gestures to Vincent confusedly, and Vincent gestures back!
[Vincent nonverbal communication roll: 3]
Vincent seems to be telling Vincent that Vincent can't understand what Vincent means!
In Yellowglen...
Timothy tries to harmonically and loudly ask for someone to help him!
[Melodic call roll: 6]
He produces an enchanting hello that stretches out through the forest, drawing the attention of anything in a two mile radius!
[Attracted attention roll: 5]
A man pokes his head out of a bush nearby! Several other men nearby also appear from the undergrowth!
"What do you want?"
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 10:48:51 am
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 10:50:12 am
"One magickal scary-crow, please!"
>Pleasantly request magical scarecrow! Smile big~!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 11:02:17 am
Samucane and Welt keep on moving onward!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
Samucane does slow down slightly, though!
[Welt movement roll: 4]
Welt slows down with him!
[Bear pursuit roll: 1]
The bear decides that following these two is not the best idea it's ever had, and goes back into its lair to take a nap instead. With how its day's been going, best to just go into hibernation.
Samucane makes a decision on Welt's menu in the meantime!
~Nubile young virgins it is, then! Righty-ho, you won't mind the peasant kind, will you?~
[Welt reaction roll: 4]
"Ugh, OKAY."
They try to find the nearest village!
[Navigation roll: 2]
They have no idea where one might be, though. Narcillicus knows where they are now.
In Yellowglen...
Timothy asks the men if they have what he seeks!
"Oh, hello! One magickal scary-crow, please!"
[Men reaction roll: 3]
"A what now? A scary-crow? What's a scary-crow?"
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 11:08:14 am
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 11:11:03 am
>Attempt to remember what a scarecrow is! Then explain it to them!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 11:21:52 am
Samucane thinks for a moment, realizes that making a map would be useless due to it not knowing where anything is. Then it decides to use scouting canes again!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
It summons a hundred scouting canes and sends them out in every direction!
[Cane scouting roll: 3+1]
Looking through their caney non-eyes, Samucane sees a village to the west! It's pretty small, but nonetheless within flying distance. There seems to be a reasonable amount of people there.
In Yellowglen...
Timothy attempts to remember what a scarecrow is!
[Intelligence roll: 3]
"Uhm, wells, you put thems in fields or fruit-places or some other places, and then no birds. Plus magic."
[Men reaction roll: 2]
"Ah, get out of here. Got no time for you."
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 11:46:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 11:52:19 am
Samucane tells the canes they're free and can do whatever they want!
[Cane reaction roll: 6]
They immediately begin to enjoy their newfound freedom by destroying all humans they can see! Uh oh.
Samucane and Welt speed off to the village!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
[Welt movement roll: 2]
Samucane has to stop occasionally to let Welt catch up, but they make it to the village without any notable problems!
[Village destruction roll: 2]
The village appears to be on fire. People are running around screaming as canes pursue them through the streets!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 12:06:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 12:12:25 pm
Samucane and its good buddy Welt look for cute girls to capture!
[Search roll: 5]
What luck! Several run right at the group, seeking to escape the chaos of the village!
[Samucane magic roll: 1+1]
Samucane concentrates on the women for a while as they run past it and Welt!
[Women escape roll: 1]
They are, however, cut off from any escape by an advancing squadron of berserk canes!
[Samucane magic roll: 6+1]
Nothing gets between Samucane and its women! Samucane summons a mile-high wall of canes that glows with magical power around the women to keep them nice and captured!
[Women intelligence roll: ?]
They seem to have realized that standing still presents them with the best odds of survival! Smart girls, Samucane thinks.
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 12:14:54 pm
He frowned nervously... Surely these good people understood the gravity of the situation? He needed that scary-crow!
"Maybe I's helps you out wif things, if you gives me the scary-crow? It be a fair trade and stuff!"
>Plead with these people!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 12:37:49 pm
This RTD is rated CT for Caerwyn Teens. All scenes are carefully moderated and censored. Thank you for your participation in a Hairy Baldman production.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 12:49:55 pm
Timothy pleads with the horrible mean people!
[Pleading roll: 3]
"Uh, please give me scary-crow? It be real importants. Mista Bob need it."
[Men reaction roll: 1]
"Get out of here or we start shooting you! And we've got magical arrows, so you watch yourself!"
Outside a village of some kind...
Samucane tries to make an opening in the wall for Welt to go in!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It's a tiny opening, sure, but probably enough for Welt!
~Now, Welt, I want you to go in there and unleash your desires on the women!~
~Oh, okay.~
He goes up to the wall, looks inside! He seems to stare at them for a bit!
Welt scoots on back to Samucane.
~It's no fun if they don't run! Set them free, and then I'll work my magic!~
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 01:14:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 01:42:46 pm
James spins around like a crazy weather vane as he tries to randomly choose another house!
[Random house choice roll: 5]
He picks another one and fires at it!
[House fire roll: 2]
Well, it doesn't explode! That's good! But will anyone come out?
[People escape roll: 3]
A single man escapes from the house, trying to shield his ears from the screams of his wife and children!
[Man morality roll: 4]
He stops for a second, then runs right back in!
[Man rescue roll: 3]
He carries out a single young boy! Both of them seem to be crying!
"Don't worry, son, your mommy and sis are in a better place now... don't cry..."
Post by: miauw62 on December 04, 2012, 01:49:53 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 01:56:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 02:09:08 pm
Mike tries to burn that pesky second-in-command!
[Mike magic roll: 1+1]
He produces a miniscule spark with his hand! Crap.
[Second-in-command vs. Mike: 6+1 vs. 6+1]
He does the limbo with the skill of a much younger man, letting the second-in-command's sword sail over him!
In Dielnin...
James, feeling particularly evil today, rolls up to the two people on the street! He picks up the child with his tail and lifts him into the air!
[Threatening roll: 2]
He looks with what he believes is a menacing stare at the man! In fact, he's just staring blankly!
[Man reaction roll: 6]
The man looks at James wide-eyed!
[Man fear roll: 4]
He remains standing still in front of him, however!
"Give me back my son, please. I've already lost enough today."
[Threatening roll: 1]
James hands him back the child!
"Say, do you know what happened to the cartographer? Where is he?"
[Man reaction roll: 4]
"Dead. Killed by looters. They his maps, all his livelihood, out into the street and burned it. Now, leave me to my own tragedies. Please."
Post by: miauw62 on December 04, 2012, 02:28:33 pm
Mike will concentrate on the fire and unleash it all onto the second-in-command!
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 02:29:25 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 02:44:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 02:58:56 pm
Mike tries to unleash all the flames he's got!
[Mike magic roll: 1+1]
It doesn't look like the flames are coming.
[Second-in-command vs. Mike: 4+1 vs. 4+1]
Mike whirls away from the second-in-command as the skilled bandit goes for another swing! He should really be more careful with that.
In Dielnin...
James asks the man where the looters went!
[Man reaction roll: 4]
"Jumped into a pit of demons, I hope. Wretched sons of whores."
"Do you know where I could find a map?"
"No. Not really. Please, leave."
Near a village full of people...
Samucane tries to tear down the wall of canes!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It doesn't work! Crap. Maybe an opening?
[Magic roll: 2+1]
It makes the opening slightly larger!
[Women crawling roll: 5]
The women leave through the opening one by one, using their slim figures to their advantage. However, instead of running in terror, they charge at Samucane!
[Samucane reaction roll: 5]
Samucane immediately tries to fly up to a better vantage point!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
It flies up to where the women can't easily reach, then tells Welt to take them down however he pleases!
Welt proceeds to look scary and drive the women away, following them until they've disappeared into the woods! He then returns!
"Well, did I do well enough?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 04, 2012, 03:00:13 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 03:01:30 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 03:03:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 03:19:37 pm
Mike tries to fall back on telekinesis again!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
Time seems to slow down, coming nearly to a stop as Mike concentrates as hard as he can and tears the second-in-command's head clean off! The second-in-command falls down dead! Well, that takes care of that. He tries to undress him and take his axe!
[Undressing roll: 5]
Mike finds it relatively easy to remove the bandit's scorched padded armor! He finds it equally easy to take his axe! Well, that takes care of that!
Suddenly, he notices something happening! Large amounts of souls seem to be returning to the jug! Holy crap, that's a lot of souls. Somebody must be killing his compatriots en masse.
In Dielnin...
James asks if the man knows anyone at all who could provide him with a map!
[Man reaction roll: 6]
"Look, man, I've tried to be polite to you, I tried to tactfully tell you to go away. Let me put it this way. I JUST LOST MY FAMILY. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET A MAP. NOW FUCK OFF ALREADY!"
He hangs his head low and drops to his knees, then sighs.
In a village somewhere...
Samucane expresses poorly-hidden disappointment to Welt! It is about to set off west, but Welt suddenly pipes up!
~I sense something in the village! Something powerful! An artifact, maybe?~
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 03:32:30 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 03:39:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2012, 04:11:27 pm
James tries to pick up and dropkick the kid into the distance!
[James grabbing roll: 2-1]
As he reaches for the kid, the man pulls out a dagger and tries to stick it into James' human face!
[Man vs. James: 1+1 vs. 3]
He misses rather badly, losing hold on the dagger! James tries to grab onto the kid again!
[James grabbing roll: 6-1]
He gets a good hold on the kid and chucks him into the air!
[Dropkick roll: 2-1]
He uses all of his muscle to fly forward at the kid! However, he miscalculates somewhat. Somewhat terribly, actually. He flies right past the falling kid and straight into the flaming ruins of the house!
[James fire roll: 2]
Oh good gods he's blasphemed against, that really, really burns! James rolls out of the ruins, really on fire now!
[James endurance roll: 5]
It takes him a short while, but he puts the fire out eventually!
[Man and Boy escape roll: 3]
The man and his child seem to be running away right now. Well. Maybe there's an explorer or adventurer he could waylay around here?
[Search roll: 2]
As James searches the town, he finds out that half of it is burned down. The other half seems to be totally deserted. A town destroyed before he even got here. How odd!
Outside a village...
Samucane allows Welt to lead him into the town! They wander through its burning streets for a while, Welt occasionally stopping to re-check all the magical fluctuations or whatever, then finally arrive at a basement door!
~There it is! Right in there! I'm sure of it!~
Welt slides over to the basement door and opens it, with Samucane following close behind!
They come inside a dank basement room. The walls are moldy and musty, the floor is made of dirt. In the middle of the room there is a wooden pedestal with a strange wooden stick placed on top. It looks fairly strange.
~That's the one, I think! Do you want to take a look or should I?~
Post by: TopHat on December 04, 2012, 04:16:14 pm
Also, fire-bolt a few of the remaining houses. My burninatiness will not be outmatched!
((I have a feeling Samucane is behind this destruction.))
Post by: Firelordsky on December 04, 2012, 06:57:31 pm
Post by: Yoink on December 04, 2012, 08:50:28 pm
"Oh, okays," He sighed, hanging his head and looking defeated. "If you not gonna give da scary-crow, maybe you's at least give me directings? Where's places nearby? I's go away, I just a bit lost..."
>Look very heartbroken and defeated at not getting a scarecrow!
>Ask for directions to nearby places!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 04, 2012, 08:55:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 01:08:10 am
James vents his increasing disappointment by feeding his demolition addiction! He uses the fireball crossbow to fire at some of the houses still standing!
[Random destruction roll: 5]
He shoots three fireballs each into about five of the remaining houses, making sure not to firebolt two directly adjacent houses to allow the fire to spread more freely.
[Fire roll: 5]
The fire doesn't seem to spread very well, though. In fact, it doesn't spread at all! Must be some newfangled building material or something.
After that's done, he considers what the cause of the previous destruction might be.
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
It's kind of obvious, really. Who else but James could have a taste for utterly pointless obliteration of everything in their respective paths? Why, his companions, of course! James is somewhat glad to know they're doing all right, although he can't help but be disappointed a little bit - they left half the town unburned! Who does that?
Inside a room of impressive fractaliciousness...
Vincent tries to explain to Vincent that Vincent is trying to escape from this world, and that Vincent and Vincent, and Vincent, and, of course, Vincent should help him do this!
[Vincent nonverbal communication roll: 3]
All the Vincents seem to have added to the confusion a little bit. However, it seems that Vincent sort of gets the message. Vincent is overjoyed at being understood by Vincent!
[Vinceclone appearance roll: 5]
Several more Vincents grow out of fractalicious Vincent's left foot! There's quite a few Vincents in the room now. Vincent invites Vincent, Vincent, Vincent, Vincent and his favorite, Vincent, along!
In Yellowglen...
In a move totally uncharacteristic of most adventurers, Timothy chooses to accept defeat and leave! He does try to look as pathetic as possible while doing so, however!
[Pathetic look roll: 1]
He looks absolutely proud and beaming as he floats off, huffing and puffing haughtily at the men! However, he remembers what he forgot just now!
"If you not gonna give da scary-crow, maybe you's at least give me directings? Where's places nearby? I's go away, I just a bit lost..."
[Men reaction roll: 5]
"Castle Ferris is to the north! After that, Lichville. After that, Lake Victory. To the south is Dielnin. These are all the places you can get to on the road. Off the road, there are supposed to be other places, but you don't hear much about them on account of them being in the middle of the bloody wilderness! Now git!"
Timothy gits as only a git can, and soon is at a safe distance from Yellowglen!
Inside a basement...
Samucane approaches the pedestal with Welt!
[Samucane magic roll: 3+1]
It floats gently toward the stick, finding it to be quite ordinary-looking, if a bit twisted. However, something else provokes its attention in a moment, as five men charge in from the shadows!
[Samucane reaction roll: 2]
Samucane is blindsided by the attack!
[Men vs. Samucane: 4+2 vs. 3+1]
They grab Samucane by its body and whack it against the ground!
Welt springs into action! Against Samucane!
[Welt vs. Samucane: 2+2 vs. 1+1]
It manages to somewhat crack its surface through judicious use of its caneslime body!
~Et tu, Welt? After all I've done for you?~
~Sorry, boss, but the women offered me all-you-can-eat sauerkraut, which is quite a lot, you know. That's a far better offer than nubile young virgins or whatever!~
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 01:16:48 am
Post by: Yoink on December 05, 2012, 01:31:39 am
"A'ways makes me sad, when people's not be smarts..."
>Search the nearby forest for any signs of life! Signs of life deadly to humans, preferably! With a great hatred of mortals would be a plus, too! C'mon, forests are full of nasty stuff, right?!
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 06:34:12 am
Mike will pick up his own stuff, put it on and plug the jar
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 09:47:32 am
Samucane feels that there is a force that these poor bastards need to be introduced to, and that force is nuclear fission!
[Magic roll: 6-2]
After intense concentration, Samucane manages to achieve nuclear fission. Of course, it's hardly in a lot (relatively to how many there are in the vicinity, of course) of molecules, as the process takes precision and skill that Samucane simply does not have in abundance, but there is quite a bit of heat released.
[Man 1 avoidance roll: 6]
[Man 2 avoidance roll: 4]
[Man 3 avoidance roll: 5]
[Man 4 avoidance roll: 4]
[Man 5 avoidance roll: 2]
All but one of the men leap to relatively safe corners of the room! Well, good for them. The last one remains and gets horribly burned, the flesh beginning to melt from his bones!
[Man 5 endurance roll: 6]
He screams and keeps his hold on Samucane, pulling him into the heat!
[Samucane avoidance roll: 5-1]
Samucane manages to provide adequate magically-powered resistance to his pull, however!
[Welt avoidance roll: 4]
Welt has also peacefully shuffled to a good corner of the basement where the heat hardly reaches him. Well, Samucane can't wait to see the look on his nonexistent mug when he finds out what radiation does to slimes! It's probably quite gruesome.
All five of the men attack Samucane again, with Welt providing backup!
[Men vs. Samucane: 1+2 vs. 4+1]
They lose their grip on it, allowing Samucane to roam free once more!
[Welt vs. Samucane: 2+2 vs. 3+1]
Samucane barely dodges as Welt flies past it!
In the woods near Yellowglen...
Timothy laments his misfortune as he proceeds into the deep, dark, scary woods and looks for any signs of life!
[Search roll: 2]
Despite appearances of scariness, the forest is completely devoid of any animal life!
[Forest fire roll: 5]
Wonder why?
In the location of the reason why...
Mike looks over his former host's stuff! Well, most of it is quite horribly destroyed.
[Gauntlet endurance roll: 1]
Even the metal gauntlets have melted into a pile of slag. Damn you, explosive steel-infused robes! He looks for the jug of souls!
[Jug endurance roll: 4+1]
The jug looks to be perfectly fine, though! The fire hasn't touched it at all! Wow, that's lucky. Mike picks it up and plugs it!
Souls still keep returning to it, though.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
The plug, it does nothing! It's useless! Just a piece of metal that acts as a mental, rather than a physical block for the souls inside. Add to that the fact that Ted's in there, telling everyone that they can't leave... oh gods, it all makes sense now!
Ted must be a demon of some kind!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 11:22:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 11:40:38 am
Samucane tries to rearrange some molecules of a man's face into a more pleasing, cane-like shape!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
One fleshy face-cane is its reward! It drops to the ground with a wet, squelching sound! One man is now missing a face!
[Man endurance roll: 3]
He falls backward and screams! Not dead, though. Aw.
[Men vs. Samucane: 4+2 vs. 6+1]
Samucane avoids the attacking men by flying up to the ceiling of the basement!
[Welt vs. Samucane: 6+2 vs. 6+1]
Welt manages to put one of its cane-pseudopodia on Samucane! It slightly mutilates Samucane's fine finish!
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 11:56:32 am
"Thank you for your hospitability friend, what is your name? And do you have something intresting to share with me?"
((What about the teleport box?))
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 11:59:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 12:10:45 pm
Mike takes a look at the teleportation box he once had!
[Teleport box endurance roll: 3+1]
It's slightly scorched, but looks functional. It appears that magicality sometimes equals non-flammability! Great! He digs through his own pockets!
Well, he seems to have a sphere of magical fire! Looks like a focus, definitely! Well, that and a few copper coins. This guy sure was poor.
~Hey, man, where's all your cash? You seem to have a severe lack of it.~
There's no answer. The wizard's soul has been displaced from his body, obviously, presumably to go to the jug.
In a basement full of traitors...
Samucane tries to rain magical exploding canes down on everyone under it while hugging the ceiling!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Why doesn't anything that awesome ever work?
[Men vs. Samucane: 2+2 vs. 5+1]
The men try to reach Samucane! They fail, mostly due to being too unimaginative to give each other a boost! Samucane mentally laughs at them!
[Welt vs. Samucane: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
Welt manages to bash it over the body with one of its pseudopodia! Samucane falls out of the air!
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 12:13:23 pm
Mike will put the surviving stuff in his pockets and travel to the next town on his way to Lake Victory.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 12:17:57 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 12:25:21 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 12:36:15 pm
Look for a sign to the nearest town.
Follow it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 12:40:45 pm
Mike stashes all his stuff in his pockets! Then he tries to go through the forest fire!
[Fire bypassing roll: 3]
He quickly runs through the blaze, and when he's on the other side, he notices that his robe's on fire!
[Robe non-flammability roll: 6]
Holy crap, this thing is actually fire-resistant! Ordinary fire stands no chance against it. Magical napalm is another thing entirely, yes, but at least this is a small victory for Mike!
He travels onward, and eventually reaches Yellowglen!
[Yellowglen people roll: 6]
There sure are a lot of people around. In fact, some of them seem to be pointing deadly-looking crossbows at innocent-looking
Well.
Inside a basement...
Samucane tries to blast off!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
It remains on the ground completely motionless! The four standing men cast a knowing glance at Welt, who seems to also remain mostly unmoving. They nod and attack!
[Men vs. Samucane: 5+2 vs. 3+1]
They begin to stomp on Samucane! Oh dear, that'll leave a crack.
[Welt vs. Samucane: 5+2 vs. 2+1]
Welt comes down on Samucane like a hammer, almost snapping it in half!
[Samucane endurance roll: 5+1]
Samucane, despite nearly being snapped in half, remains steadfast in its existence!
In Dielnin...
James looks for a handy signpost to show him the way to the next town!
[Search roll: 1]
He wanders through town for an hour or more before totally ascertaining that there are, in fact, no signposts around.
Well, that's just totally... dandy.
[Will roll: 3+1]
He barely restrains himself from going on a murderous rampage. Uh, another murderous rampage.
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 12:42:23 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 12:54:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 01:27:27 pm
James chooses a random direction to go in!
[Random direction choice roll: 5]
He decides that going north like Bernie told him to would be a sound plan! He rolls that way for a while!
[Encounter roll: 2]
That is, until he is stopped by a strange-looking individual on the road!
The individual suddenly asks him something!
"Say, would you like to test out my new crossbow?"
Outside Yellowglen...
Mike tries to hide!
[Hiding roll: 2]
He decides that hiding in plain sight will work best! After all, who would expect him to be on the road? Nobody, that's who!
[Situation roll: 5]
"Hand over the booze, or we start shooting!"
"I'm afraid we don't have any."
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
"Do you have anything else of value?"
"Well, we have a vast supply of magical scarecrows."
"What?"
"Scarecrows. You know."
The treehugger explains to the brigand what a scarecrow is while the brigand just stares dully! He obviously doesn't have any idea what a crow even is, let alone how to scare it.
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 01:32:21 pm
((And yes, i consider Samucane to be the most powerfull.))
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 01:40:24 pm
((ditto. As soon as he stops getting literally curb-stomped by an angry mob and his creation.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 02:04:13 pm
James politely refuses the offer to wield the crossbow!
[Reaction roll: 4]
"No, you have misunderstood me. I don't want to test you as a wielder. I want to test you as a target!"
James thinks about this for a second.
"Hey, do you have a map I could borrow?"
[Man reaction roll: 3]
"Maybe I do. I will have to shoot you before I can trust you with any maps, though. Them's the rules."
In Yellowglen...
Mike decides to ignore the volatile scarecrow situation and go on to loot the village while nobody's looking!
[Escaping notice roll: 6]
Completely entranced by scarecrow-related banter, the people around don't notice him at all! Weird, that. Oh well. Looting time!
[Looting roll: 4]
Mike finds vast quantities of booze (so the treehuggers outside were lying!) and magical scarecrows! These guys don't seem big on personal security. Damned treehuggers.
Hey, look, there's a stick lying around here! Doesn't look very magical or anything, though. Damned treehuggers.
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2012, 02:05:34 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 02:14:34 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 02:17:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 02:36:33 pm
James considers the idea of getting shot for prizes! In theory, it's a genius idea - get rewarded for something that happens to you a lot anyway!
"Hey, wait a minute, what's the reward?"
"Uh... a map?"
"And where exactly will you shoot me?"
"Uh, probably in the... uh... whatever it is you have that isn't the face. Yeah, there."
Inside a basement of terror...
Samucane tries to fashion itself a cane spacewarp! Hopefully this will work!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
Samucane manages to relocate several feet from its previous position!
[Men vs. Samucane: 5+2 vs. 1+1]
The men break Samucane in half! Oh no!
[Samucane endurance roll: 4]
Samucane holds on, however!
[Welt vs. Samucane: 5+2 vs. 5+1]
Welt contributes by putting in a dent!
~Hey, play dead. And unsummon those scouting canes. Trust me on this.~
Inside the fabled liquor tent of Yellowglen...
Mike for some ungodly reason decides to set fire to the booze supply of the camp!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
And he does! A respectable-sized fireball hits the vast quantities of booze dead-on!
[Booze explosion roll: 4]
The result is a mighty smokeless blast and roar that only booze could produce! It obliterates the liquor tent and sets the remaining rags on fire!
[People reaction roll: 5]
The people, rather than investigate just who was responsible for this, decide to run away! They run off to various places in the forest! Good luck finding them now.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 02:59:36 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 03:03:57 pm
Can I examine the crossbow?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2012, 03:47:21 pm
Samucane desperately tries to figure out a way to make a temporal rift!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe... ram a cane through spacetime?
[Magic roll: 2+1]
Samucane succeeds in summoning a cane that rams into spacetime! It transports him two seconds into the future!
[Men vs. Samucane: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
The men break off every bit of Samucane except the skull! Oh crap.
[Samucane will roll: 5]
Samucane manages to cope with its new caneless existence just fine! It feels out of tune with the cane forces of magic, but a new power has taken their place - skull magic!
Samucane is now Silver Samskull!
[Welt vs. Samskull: 5+2 vs. 1]
Welt squashes Samskull flat!
[Samskull will roll: 3]
Samskull feels somewhat under the weather, yes, but is still very much alive!
[Samskull luck roll: 4]
Suddenly, everything around Samskull twists and reshapes itself! Samskull finds himself in a familiar place!
It's the realm of the Demon Lord of Lies!
"JESTER! WHERE IS MY JESTER, DAMN IT ALL? I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A DEPRESSIVE STREAK, AND IF HE CAN'T CHEER ME UP, I WILL BE VERY DISAPPOINTED!"
[Lord of Lies perception roll: 4]
"WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT'S THAT ON THE GROUND? IT LOOKS LIKE THE SKULL OF MY JESTER'S CANE! A BIT FLAT, I HAVE TO SAY. MINIONS, FIX IT!"
[Minion fixing roll: 2]
The minions look at it curiously for a bit, then shrug.
[Lord of Lies reaction roll: 1]
"TOTALLY BUGGERED, EH? WELL, THROW IT IN THE VAULT."
Minions begin to advance on Samskull!
On the road to Yellowglen...
James asks if he can take a look at the crossbow!
[Man reaction roll: 4]
"Sure. Take a look."
It looks like a perfectly ordinary crossbow. Except it's painted jet black with flames on the sides.
"Painted them myself, you know. Amazing, eh? So when do I get to shoot you? Got a map that's burning a hole in my secret hiding place only I know about."
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 04:05:55 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 05, 2012, 04:29:53 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 05, 2012, 04:41:40 pm
Post by: Yoink on December 05, 2012, 06:00:05 pm
>Turn invisible! Or at least hard to see!
>Once I'm at least partially invisible, sneak back into Yellowglen and initiate operation: Scary-crow Liberation.
Spectral warpaint optional.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 05, 2012, 08:49:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 12:59:49 am
James tries to grab the crossbow from the man!
[Agility roll: 5-1]
He succeeds in doing so! He proceeds to shoot at any wildlife or passersby he sees!
[Passerby roll: 2]
[Wildlife roll: 3]
Well, there's a single squirrel in a tree. That could work.
[James vs. Squirrel: 4 vs. 3+2]
The squirrel scampers away just as the bolt is about to hit it! How unfortunate for James.
[Man agility roll: 2]
The man just stands around, waiting for James to give the crossbow back!
"Had your fun? Now give it back. I need to shoot you with it."
In the realm of the Lord of Lies...
Samskull considers that perhaps slapstick would be the best form of entertainment for the good ol' Lord of Lies. It takes life too seriously, Samskull thinks.
[Magic roll: 4+1]
Giggling, cackling skulls on fire appear everywhere! They fly around and bite the minions! They are not seriously hurt, but it sure does look amusing when they yelp! Silly demons!
[Lord of Lies reaction roll: 2]
The Lord of Lies sits on the throne and sighs.
"I COME BACK FROM A FIGHT WITH THE DEMON OF TRUTH AND THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO AMUSE ME? SERIOUSLY, NOW, BRING ME MY JESTER."
In the woods outside Yellowglen...
Timothy tries to turn invisible to befuddle and confuse his enemies!
[Invisibility roll: 4]
He becomes very, very difficult to see! Not perfectly invisible, no, but the next best thing, definitely.
Armed with this new ability, he tries to sneak back inside Yellowglen!
[Bandit perception roll: 2-2]
The men assembled there don't notice him at all. Unsurprising, what with Timothy being invisible and intangible. He looks for magical scary-crows!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds an ominous-looking trap door! Phasing through it and going underground, he finds a tunnel! After following it for twenty or so minutes, he enters a large cave and finds an amazing sight - fully animated straw people practicing unarmed combat, repeating various phrases and standing in perfect rows as another straw person yells motivational words at them!
Looks like a respectable bunch of magical scary-crows, yes.
Inside a fractalicious room...
Vincent and Vincent, Vincent, Vincent, Vincent and Vincent move out to explore the spiral for an exit to the world that Bernie inhabits!
[Exploration roll: 5]
The six Vincents (the legless one needing to be carried) move upwards until they find themselves on what Vincent saw from the outside - the open floor with the glowing thingy!
[? roll: ?]
Absolutely nothing is here except what Vincent presumes is a magical, swirling, glowing gate. It glows with tendrils of blinding light!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 11:23:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 11:29:50 am
Samskull tries to make the skulls into mini-gladiators! That are made of skulls! And armed with skulls!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
He manages to make his skulls begin to bump into each other awkwardly! They're still unarmed skulls that giggle a lot, though!
[Lord of Lies reaction roll: 3]
"WELL, AT LEAST THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO KILL MY MINIONS. HEH, ONE OF THEM BUMPED INTO THE OTHER'S EYE."
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 11:58:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 12:11:39 pm
Samskull tries to make the what he terms the Skull Games much more strategic and exciting!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
He summons small skull armies for the larger skulls to lead! They meet each other on the field of honorable battle!
[Battle roll: 5]
A dramatic conflict ensues on the field of battle! Decisive victories, humiliating retreats, amazing feats of tactics and all manner of personal tragedies as skull-brother kills skull-brother ensue!
The skulls seem to be able to battle like this indefinitely!
[Lord of Lies reaction roll: 6]
"LOOK AT THE CUTE LITTLE THINGS WAGING ETERNAL WAR ON ONE ANOTHER. IT'S ALMOST ENOUGH TO MAKE ME SQUEAL WITH JOY. LET'S EXPERIMENT, THEN. MINIONS, FIGHT EACH OTHER FOR MY AMUSEMENT!"
[Minion battling roll: 1]
The minions kill each other in seconds, showing great efficiency and exceedingly poor sense of drama.
"YOU'RE AWFUL AT THIS, MINIONS! WHY CAN'T YOU HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF SHOWMANSHIP? HONESTLY, WHAT DO I PAY YOU FOR?"
The minions shrug!
"YES, OF COURSE I KNOW THAT I DON'T PAY YOU. IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH."
The demon resumes watching the Skull Games!
"HONESTLY, THESE THINGS SHOULD BE TOURING THE WORLD. I HAVE MANY FRIENDS THAT WOULD JUST LOVE TO SEE THE LITTLE GUYS."
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 12:21:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 12:41:57 pm
Samskull tries to communicate with the Lord of Lies!
[Communication roll: 2]
He fails miserably! It appears that the Lord of Lies isn't big on telepathy. Probably because it's harder to lie that way.
[Lord of Lies perception roll: 3]
The Lord of Lies looks over at the squashed shape of Samskull!
[Lord of Lies putting two and two together roll: ?]
It waves its giant horrible-looking hand and keeps watching the skulls fighting!
[Lord of Lies entertainment roll: 3]
It appears to be getting a bit bored.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 12:43:51 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 06, 2012, 12:59:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 01:05:44 pm
Samskull tries to rip out one of the minions' skulls with magic! Deskullinization, he calls it!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
He manages to rip out a great many skulls from a single minion! More than the minion was supposed to have, in fact! The skulls fly around the room, splashing demon blood everywhere!
[Lord of Lies reaction roll: 1]
"ALRIGHT, WHO DID THAT? GIVE YOURSELF UP AND I'LL KILL YOU SLIGHTLY LESS. NOBODY KILLS MY MINIONS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"
[Lord of Lies investigation roll: 5]
"COULD IT BE THE ONLY THING THAT ARRIVED OF THE JESTER'S BODY? THIS SQUASHED SILVER TRINKET? I THINK IT JUST MIGHT, MY MINIONS! LET THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL WHO UNJUSTLY MOLEST YOU!"
The Lord of Lies picks Samskull up and hurls it into the interdimensional void!
[Samskull void flight roll: 2]
Samskull soars through the void for what seems like half an eternity! Eventually, it comes to a sudden stop, bumping up against something!
Oh dear. It's the edge of the dimensions, literally as far away from anything as is possible.
Seriously, that kind of sucks, to tell the truth.
In Yellowglen...
Mike tries to go into Yellowglen, but finds that he is already there! In fact, the liquor tent is still as on fire as he remembers from a second ago.
Mike successfully stays hidden as well! Mostly due to nobody being around.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 01:09:41 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 06, 2012, 01:14:30 pm
Mike silently walk around town and see what facilities this town has.
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 01:36:11 pm
Demand a map.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 01:51:38 pm
Samskull ponders what this whole "stranded in space" thing could mean!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
After a short period of deliberation he comes to the conclusion that he is very far away from everything. In fact, he figures out how far!
[Samskull will roll: 2]
His mind goes totally blank for a bit. What was he thinking about again?
[Memory loss roll: 4]
Oh yes, being at the edge of the universe. Slipped his mind there for a second. Time to get himself some companionship!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
He summons several talking skulls that repeat all the jokes he knows to him, and some others that he's forgotten! Amusement achieved!
In Yellowglen, one day before the Time of Timothy...
Mike walks around the encampment and examines the facilities!
[Facilities roll: 4]
It appears to have a working latrine, several booze stills, a large orchard and vegetable garden, plus something called an Allocation Office! That's good. There's probably tons of stuff that needs allocating around here.
In the woods...
James decides that the time for messing around has come to an end. He points a crossbow at the man and demands a reward in maps!
[Man reaction roll: 6]
"What nice crossbows you have, good sir! They look familiar. My work, in fact! Let me test that idea!"
[Man magic roll: 4+1]
James feels his crossbows suddenly change direction! They are now pointing at him! Uh...
[Man clemency roll: 5]
"Yep, they're mine, all right. I've got only three words for ya: use 'em well! They were pretty good stuff for an amateur crossbow maker like myself. I've since moved on to greater projects, of course."
He looks off into the distance with a nostalgic stare, then seems to snap out of his reverie.
"But here I go, rambling on again. Time for me to go and find somebody else to obliterate."
Another crossbow appears in his hands! He fires it off into the distance!
"Why did you-"
The man disappears from sight! There is a tiny flash of light from the direction of where the crossbow bolt flew. Soon after, James hears the sound of horrifyingly powerful magical discharges come from that same direction!
Post by: miauw62 on December 06, 2012, 01:55:52 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 02:09:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 02:24:50 pm
Mike wanders over to the booze stills and looks for stuff to burn.
[Flammability roll: 3]
Well, the booze stills are emptied of any booze they might have had in them. The tents themselves look somewhat flammable, though.
In the woods...
James tries to get the crossbows to point elsewhere!
[James crossbow control roll: 5-1]
They do so without issue! Well, that was easy.
He tries to put the crossbow he took from the man back into his bag, but it doesn't seem to be in his tails anymore. It's like it just disappeared or something!
James rolls onward in the direction of Yellowglen!
[Encounter roll: 6-1]
Nothing really seems to care about his presence, it seems. It's not too long until James reaches a ravine with a bridge over it! The ravine looks really deadly somehow. James isn't sure why, though. The bridge looks like it's recently been trashed.
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 02:33:56 pm
Quote
Yellowglen((I'm catching up!))
cross bridge, Enter the town, look for a cartographers.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 02:47:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 02:55:53 pm
James tries to merrily cross the bridge!
[Bridge creature roll: 6-1]
Curiously enough, nothing at all tries to kill him! He crosses right over without incident! Onward!
[Encounter roll: 3-1]
He sees a moves on for a bit until he encounters yet another fellow on the road! The fellow smiles and waves at him!
"Hello, good sir, would you like a map? They're free, you know."
[James will roll: 6+1-1]
James is about to reach for a map, but punches himself first! Should he really be taking maps from strangers? It might fulfill his lifelong ambition, sure, but he doesn't know where it's been!
"Why are you punching yourself, sir? Do you want a map or not?"
In the endless void...
Samskull tries to introduce some logic to his magic! Skulls are made of bone, right?
Wait, no, Samskull's made of silver. It's kind of a gray area.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Except it isn't, really. Samskull can shape skulls. The material hardly matters, it's the shape. Now that that's cleared up, Samskull does what he does best - summon more skulls!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
He summons a massive silver skull army! Cool. Time to collide it.
[Skull army collision roll: 1]
The skull army collides in the absolute worst way one could imagine, forming an object of great mass that has heated up to a very nasty degree. Samskull finds himself getting pulled towards it! Damn you, gravity!
[Samskull magic roll: 5+1-1]
He does manage to resist the pull of the new asteroid. Whew, that was a close one.
Post by: miauw62 on December 06, 2012, 03:02:31 pm
Mike will check out the orchard, mayby eat some fruit.
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 03:05:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 03:42:34 pm
Mike goes to the orchard!
[Fruit roll: 1]
There's no fruit. This issue might be related to the giant fruit-eating bat that seems to be residing here!
[Bat vs. Mike: 3+2 vs. 2]
The bat picks Mike up and carries him up into the air! Mike enjoys the sweet air he's getting right up to the point where the bat lets him go!
[Mike fall damage roll: 1]
The incredible height he is dropped from and Mike's own lack of control over his new body results in him landing head-first on the ground! His head is split open by the impact!
[Mike will roll: 6]
Mike's soul comes screaming out of the wizard's body and charges toward the bat like a lightning bolt!
[Bat will roll: 6]
Sadly, the bat bastard is simply too batty to allow Mike into its brain! It seems to mentally punch him away, in fact, sending him right back into the Jug O' Souls!
Well, that was a trip!
"Back already?"
Hey, it's Ted the Demon! Fancy meeting him here! Well, not really, he's always here. But still, fancy meeting him at all!
In the woods...
James can't help but cautiously question the strange man!
"Who are you? And how do you know I hate maps?"
The man looks incredulous!
"Hate... maps? How can you hate maps? Maps are the foundation of our travel! Without maps, you can't go anywhere!"
[Man reaction roll: 6]
"You must simply be ignorant of their true beauty! You must be enlightened!"
He hands you a rolled-up scroll!
"This, my friend, this is a truly beautiful map! Its level of detail and all-around quality cannot be matched! Take a look, and then tell me you hate maps! Go on, I dare you!"
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 03:47:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 03:48:39 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 03:53:04 pm
((I dearly hope they have a filter in case this turns out to be a trick.))
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 03:59:09 pm
MAKE A BONE GOLEM ANYWAYS, FUCK LOGIC.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 04:09:04 pm
James decides to put on his reading glasses and take a look at the map! He maintains a healthy and proper veneer of suspicion while doing this, of course!
It really is beautiful. The surrounding area on the map is rendered in a painstakingly detailed and incredibly beautiful fashion! Oh dear, James might be falling in love!
[James will roll: 5+1-1]
He manages to turn back to the man before losing himself in the beauty, though. Holy crap, that's a great map!
"See? What did I tell you! A beautiful map, is it not? It's yours if you want it."
In the starless, timeless void...
Samskull tries to make a bone golem due to reasons of fornicating with the concept of logic.
[Magic roll: 2-2]
He manages to add massive amounts of lead to the silver sphere and compress it severely! The sphere begins to pull him toward itself much more strongly!
[Samskull magic roll: 4+1]
Not strongly enough to keep him from magicking himself away, though. Samskull is still as safe as a flattened silver skull floating in a void possibly could be!
Post by: TopHat on December 06, 2012, 04:11:28 pm
Really? Do you have any cartographer's equipment as well? And could you teach me the ways of the cartographer?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2012, 04:14:39 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 06, 2012, 05:02:42 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 06, 2012, 07:26:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 12:52:09 am
James asks the man if he has any cartographer's equipment!
[Man reaction roll: 4]
"Why, no. I didn't make these maps. Got them from an agreeable foreign fellow. He made them, I believe."
He scratches his chin.
"Not that it would matter, of course. I believe he is out of our collective reach anyway."
In the eternal void...
Samskull attempts to create a mighty skull golem for some nebulous reason!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
He summons a great mass of magical skulls!
[Golem shaping roll: 6]
Then he puts together a supremely beautiful creation - a huge golem that looks entirely like a normal human being when viewed from a distance! It's a magnificent work of sculptural impressionism!
[Gravitational pull roll: 4]
The golem is slowly attracted to the silver-lead sphere! It looks at you with what appears to be sadness!
On alien roof...
Vincent and the Doppel Gang run through the portal! There is a huge flash of light followed by a horrible stream of disturbing imagery!
[Vincent will roll: 4]
[Doppel Gang will roll: 1]
While Vincent manages to stay completely conscious, his compatriots do not! The portal magic runs wild on them!
[Portal wild effect roll: 2]
While Vincent maintains a straight path onward, the Doppel Gang all fly off to the side one by one, flying into different gates! Where they've gone, the demons only know.
[Portal destination roll: ?]
He seems to have landed in a forest of some kind! Looks like his own world at first glance. And second glance. And third glance. And first stare.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 01:16:30 am
I shall create a new world.
I am Samuskull...
The Last Cane Master.
Post by: Yoink on December 07, 2012, 03:05:04 am
Timothy smiled disarmingly as he walked towards them, hands raised with palms outwards.
"Maybe you is wants a real fun job, one of you? Real excitin', not boring like sits aroun' here all day. Does them nasty peoples in da town make you stays in here? That not sound real fun to me."
>Approach the scarecrows in a friendly manner!
>Offer them an exciting new job opportunity, far away from this dreary little place!
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 06:43:18 am
Post by: Firelordsky on December 07, 2012, 08:19:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 10:27:32 am
Samskull tries to save his golem from the horrible pull of creation!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He tries to summon an anchor for the golem!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
He summons a large skull for the golem to hold on to! The golem grabs it!
Now the golem is slowly moving toward a molten lead-silver asteroid while hugging a large skull. Wonderful.
In the Lair of the Scarecrows...
Timothy approaches the magical scary-crows and says a warm hello!
"Hello! Youse is da scary-crows, right?"
[Scary-crow reaction roll: 3]
One of the scary-crows turns around and begins to yell at Timothy!
"WE ARE THE MAGNIFICENT STATE OF THE STRAW PEOPLE, NOT SCARY-CROWS! YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS CITIZEN LOUIS!"
Timothy doesn't pay attention to this, trying to smile disarmingly!
[Smiling roll: 6]
He smiles very disarmingly indeed! His grin is as wide as a canyon, his teeth resembling enlarged kernels of corn in both shape and color! Citizen Lou takes a step back, looking rather disarmed.
"Maybe you is wants a real fun job, one of you? Real excitin', not boring like sits aroun' here all day. Does them nasty peoples in da town make you stays in here? That not sound real fun to me."
[Scary-crow reaction roll: 3]
"NON-CITIZEN! MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN BEFORE I ANSWER YOU! THE MAGNIFICENT STATE OF THE STRAW PEOPLE WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE IT IF YOU STOPPED SCARING THE NEWLY-BUILT!"
Same town, different time...
Mike waits for someone to pick up the jug!
[Bat greed roll: 5]
Somebody does! The bat! It picks up the jug and carries it away, perhaps sensing its power!
[Bat lair roll: 4]
After a few hours of flying, the bat lands somewhere! It's warm and nice here, it seems. Mike hears a voice! A female voice with a certain softness to it!
"Ah! Batty! What have you brought for me today? Oh my, a jug!"
[Woman identification roll: 4]
She picks it up and shakes it a bit!
"Well! Sounds like souls in there, all right. You've done well, Batty! I'll make sure that the master gives you a double portion of happy-happy today!"
She grabs the jug and begins carrying it off somewhere at a great speed!
In a forest that seems normal enough...
Vincent begins to explore the forest!
[Exploration roll: 2]
There is literally nothing interesting here for many miles around! Well, crap. What's a stranded skeleton to do?
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 10:34:38 am
Mike will trip the woman!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 11:25:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 12:19:49 pm
Mike tries to trip the woman carrying him before she puts him at the mercy of some horrible slavemaster!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
He concentrates, but the woman moves too fast and shakes too much for him to be able to find and pull on her leg! He is carried off into a room that sounds pretty big!
"Master, master! I have something for you!"
"What?"
"A jug!"
"And?"
"It has souls in it!"
"Oh."
"Think of the possible applications!"
"Indeed."
"Batty brought it. He should have extra happy-happy today!"
"Yes."
[Woman idea roll: 4]
"Should I open it?"
[Master intelligence roll: ?]
"No."
"Oh, of course. Soul Box."
"Yes."
In the darkest depths of the forgotten void...
Samskull tries to improve his anchor a bit by increasing its weight through skull addition!
[Magic roll: 2+1]
Now it's two skulls glued together with magic! That still doesn't help much with gravity.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Perhaps increased weight and density won't help? After all, it's getting pulled toward the silver-lead sphere without anything to hang on to.
[Distance roll: 5]
The skull golem's speed and distance are still manageable enough for Samskull to have plenty of time to think of something.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 12:28:38 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 12:44:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 01:12:28 pm
Samskull attempts to focus his energy and make the anchor better somehow!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, maybe adding more skulls would help? It always has before.
[Magic roll: 4+1]
Well, now it's an even bigger amalgamation of skulls getting pulled toward an object. In fact, they're nearing each other even faster due to the extra mass added!
[Distance roll: 2]
Oh crap. Collision imminent.
[Collision roll: 6]
The sphere of skulls is entirely submerged in the molten sphere of silver and lead! The sphere begins to spin from the impact! As it does so, the skull golem dives out from the molten surface!
[Sphere cooling roll: 2]
Doesn't look like it will cool off any time soon. The golem looks pretty content, if a bit covered in molten lead and silver.
[Golem endurance roll: 1+1]
That is, until it sinks beneath the surface of the sphere again. Uh oh. Doesn't look like it's about to come up any time soon. Well, it's pretty lucky that it doesn't need to breathe. Well, at least Samskull thinks it doesn't.
Someplace nasty...
Mike tries to break the Jug O' Souls and get free with telekinesis!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He pulls the jug out of the woman's hands and smashes it against the ground!
[Jug endurance roll: 2+1]
Well, there's a dent on the metal surface now. That's not half bad.
"Ooh, look! It moved!"
"Yes."
"No change in the plan?"
"Yes."
"Okay, master!"
She carries the jug off to one side of the room and sticks it inside a box!
[Box roll: 1]
The jug is encircled by energy and immediately shattered! Mike and the rest of the souls find themselves in a transparent glass box! A woman in her sixties is eying them curiously! Behind her there is a throne. A dog is sitting in it. Odd. The woman speaks!
"I was right! There were souls in it!"
The dog on the throne replies shortly!
"Yes."
"What do we do with them?"
"What?"
[Master intelligence roll: ?]
"Do we sell them to demons or what?"
"Demons."
"Brilliant idea, master!"
The woman walks over to a drawn-on door in the wall and begins chanting!
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 01:15:52 pm
Mike will wait.
Post by: TopHat on December 07, 2012, 01:32:16 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 01:33:05 pm
Also, Miauw, I did sorta meet the Lord of Lies, who teleported me to hell, surrounded by his minions, so...?
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 01:34:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 01:55:50 pm
Mike taps a nonexistent foot and whistles as he waits for something to happen!
[Woman demon summoning roll: 4]
After a while, the drawn-on door begins to glow quite interestingly! With a piercing shriek it opens, and a figure steps out! It looks like a whirlwind of metallic spheres!
"YOU HAVE CALLED ME. DO YOU WISH TO TRADE FOR SOMETHING?"
"Yes."
"SOULS AGAIN?"
"Yes."
"IN THE BOX OVER THERE, I PRESUME?"
"Yes."
"GOOD."
"Yes."
"HAVE A TREAT."
One of the spheres escapes the whirlwind and flies into the dog's open mouth! Its eyes glow for a few seconds!
"Jolly good."
"I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT."
"Me too."
The whirlwind approaches the box!
"I COUNT FIFTY-SEVEN SOULS INSIDE THIS BOX. THAT IS QUITE A LOT. ONE OF THEM IS ANCIENT, TWO ARE ALREADY OWNED."
"How unfortunate."
"STILL, FIFTY-FIVE SOULS ARE NOTHING TO SCOFF AT. YOU WILL BE RICHLY REWARDED."
"Marvelous, that."
"RIGHT, LET'S GET TO BUSINESS."
The demon pulls out all of the souls inside the box and concentrates them into a single golden sphere that sticks out among the rest. Mike and Ted are both left behind in the box!
The whirlwind goes back to the portal and emits a high-pitched whistle!
Several metallic crates come out of the portal and set themselves down next to the door!
"NOW, I BELIEVE WE ARE DONE WITH OUR TRANSACTION. I BID YOU GOOD DAY."
The whirlwind disappears through the door, taking the fifty-five compatriots of Mike with it! The door itself disappears shortly afterward.
"I'm glad that worked out to our advantage!"
"Yes, quite."
The woman pulls out a crowbar and tries to open a crate!
On the road to Yellowglen...
James thanks the man for his assistance and tries to memorize the map!
As he studies it, the glasses begin to charge up.
[Will roll: 1]
He gets totally mesmerized by the map's beauty while he looks at it! Oh my.
At the edge of the universe...
Samskull tries to summon some floating, laughing skulls other than himself!
[Magic roll: 5+1]
He summons a whole lot of them! After gravity starts pulling on them, they go off to live on the silver-lead planetoid!
[Society building roll: 1]
Somehow, they begin to wage violent war on one another! After one side sends their agents to sabotage the planetoid's core, they manage to blow the planetoid in half! Both sides are now rapidly moving away from one another, but seem likely to slow down soon.
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 02:01:03 pm
Mike will tap the energy barrier and form the words "What about us?".
Post by: TopHat on December 07, 2012, 02:09:06 pm
RapidKineticImpulseTherapy myself to snap myself back into action.
Then try again.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 02:22:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2012, 02:30:15 pm
((maybe you've got it wrong. She probably took the ancient one, and that means Ted is also owned))((Yeah, but Ted said that he's been in there the first, that means he must be the ancient one.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 02:38:33 pm
Mike tries to form words by trying to tap the magical glass wall of the box!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He manages to make some chains rattle somewhere!
[Woman reaction roll: 1]
"AAGH! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
[Master intelligence roll: ?]
"Shut it."
"Okay. It's probably nothing, I guess."
"Definitely nothing."
She resumes prying off the lid of the box!
[Box treats roll: ?]
She pulls out an odd-looking contraption from the box! It has a crank and a large pipe coming from it!
[Woman caution roll: 2]
She begins to turn the crank, pointing it at the wall! The box begins to crackle with tamed lightning! Soon enough, it charges up quite a lot!
[Discharge roll: 4]
It discharges into a metallic pillar, passing into the ground harmlessly!
Mike is suddenly distracted by Ted!
"So, you managed to get the jug destroyed. Good job, man. Good job. We're all mortal now. Well, not the ones the demon carried away. The two of us are now mortal, I mean. Next body we possess, we had better make it last."
"Well, it was a stupid plan anyway. I mean, seriously, possessing people instead of dying properly gets really old after the first thousand years. Four thousand years I've procrastinated. I really should have moved on by now."
"Honestly, the things I've done to avoid honoring a bargain."
He hears a sigh emanate from Ted!
In the woods...
James tries to summon enough power to punch himself! In the face!
[Will roll: 4]
He successfully manages to punch himself and tear himself away from the map!
[Opportunism roll: 6]
A guy, a new guy, seems to be standing next to him!
"You okay, man?"
James ignores him and switches the glasses on!
[Will roll: 3]
He now has the map partially memorized!
[Mesmerizification roll: 4]
He drools a bit, but remains entirely conscious and unstupefied!
In the void...
Samskull tries to create a Skull Door!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
He manages to make a magnificent door of skulls! It has no doorknob. It does have a doggy door, though! He floats through it!
[Door roll: 3]
He finds himself exit another door that's formed on one of the silver-lead half-planets!
Post by: TopHat on December 07, 2012, 03:03:05 pm
((key word is Tim said.))
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 03:12:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 03:35:28 pm
James shushes the man! He then proceeds to look at the map again!
[Will roll: 4]
He carefully studies it, making sure not to focus on any detail. After all, he's got the glasses to do that for him. With that done and the glasses charged up again, he turns the dial again!
[Will roll: 1]
He finds himself standing around in the middle of the woods. How did he get here? Who is he, anyway? All he can remember is maps. Lots of maps. They must have been really important to him to have stayed as his only memory.
[Opportunism roll: 5]
He sure has a lot of stuff on him. Must be rich. How did he become rich, he wonders?
[Intelligence roll: 4-1-1]
Hell if he has any idea. Where is he supposed to go, anyway?
In the dark void...
Samskull attempts to create truly sentient skulls!
[Magic roll: 6+1]
He focuses all of his magical might and skull power, focusing it into a single point! It coalesces into a huge skull of pure skull-themed energy and magicality! It looks at Samskull, its creator!
[Skull sentience roll: 1]
It floats up to Samskull and tries to eat it!
[Giant Skull vs. Samskull: 4+2 vs. 4+1]
It manages to chew off a single chunk of Samskull's skull face! Damn, those magical teeth sure hurt!
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 03:38:13 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 07, 2012, 03:39:03 pm
((+1 will don't fail me now.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 04:12:05 pm
Samskull tries to dominate his rebellious creation!
[Magic roll: 4+1]
The skull calms down. Now it just stares at Samskull like an idiot. Well, that sure helps!
In the woods near... what was it?
? tries to remember stuff!
[Remembering roll: 1]
It's all coming back to him now! He is John "Maps" Johnson, and he is on a quest to find the Holy Map of Pacitarius! He knows this for certain, and cannot be dissuaded in any way! He even has the divinely blessed holy stomach of Pacitarius to prove it! And the divinely granted snail abomination body of Pacitarius to confirm it!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2012, 04:25:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2012, 04:44:12 pm
Samskull tries to get the skull to eat some spacetime!
[Skull obedience roll: 1]
Samskull is, like, made of spacetime, right? He sure looks tasty.
[Megaskull vs. Samskull: 5+2 vs. 3+1]
It bites off a sizable chunk of Samskull's silver skull! Samskull begins floating off into the distance!
[Samskull will roll: 2]
Oh gods, that's awful. Samskull feels its unlife force seep out!
[Samskull will roll: 1-1]
It leaves the frisbee-like skull in ever-increasing quantities!
[Samskull will roll: 3-2]
Oh, hell's bells. Undone by its own ridiculously stupid creation, Samskull begins floating off into the distance, half-eaten and totally alone in its final moments! Stranded at the edge of the universe after being abused, destroyed and mutilated in countless ways, Samskull feels that he really could have been a real contender.
[Megaskull hunger roll: 1]
That is, until he gets chewed up even further by the giant skull! Wonder when it will realize that it can't actually eat?
Samskull silently curses the awful vagaries of skull magic as he quietly (mostly due to nobody being there to hear him scream) passes away! His soul leaves the sordid remnants of his body and seems to travel an infinite distance in but a millisecond! It finds itself in a room!
Hey, this place looks familiar.
"Glad to see you could make it. We are in great need of your aid."
Samskull has perished horribly at the edge of the universe!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 07, 2012, 04:55:24 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 07, 2012, 05:04:01 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 07, 2012, 05:10:20 pm
Hey, wait Pascitarius is a twat, I half-remember insulting his mother...
And he sent the stomach to smite me, because he's a twat like that...
And so's that idiot Bernie.
(REMEMBER. PLEASE!)
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 02:57:59 am
Vincent searches around for any signs of civilization! There have to be some, right?
[Search roll: 1]
He finds a cave! Caves are the highest form of civilization, Vincent thinks. Why else would they be humanity's first choice when it comes to dwellings?
He goes right into the cave, expecting a warm welcome! He is met instead by a strange-looking creature! It is made of metal and chained to a wall!
As Vincent approaches, it begins to holler crazily!
[? roll: ?]
He hears furious clicking come from the darkness, then sees a rock hit the creature! The creature goes silent, though it still seems to be watching Vincent suspiciously!
On the road to... uh...
Maps tries to remember more about himself!
[Memory roll: 5]
Well, he had to go to Lake Victory, he knows that much. And it was because this asshole necromancer told him to. And he can't say no because his soul is bound to him. Must be a crazy story behind that, Maps believes.
Perhaps there is some holy relic of Pacitarius there that the necromancer wants? There's lots of temples there, apparently.
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 04:02:26 am
Mike will wait for somethimg to happen
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 04:31:06 am
Mike watches as the woman puts down the lightning machine and opens another box!
[Box contents roll: 5]
She pulls out some kind of staff!
"Ooh! What's this?"
"Try it."
[Experimentation roll: 6]
She points the staff at the glass box of souls!
"ACTIVATE!"
Nothing happens.
"OBLITERATE!"
Still nothing.
"WORK, DAMMIT!"
A giant bolt of magical power comes out of the staff and strikes the box!
[Box structural integrity roll: 5]
It doesn't even put a scratch on the thing!
"Well, this looks pretty useless. Can't even break glass."
"Yes, quite."
[Experimentation roll: 1]
She throws it into the corner!
"USELESS PIECE OF CRAP!"
The staff begins to glow terribly and magically!
"Uh oh."
[Master intelligence roll: ?]
"Maybe we..."
[Woman intelligence roll: ?]
"SHOULD RUN LIKE HELL!"
[Woman escape roll: 5]
[Master escape roll: 4+1]
Both of the weirdos run out of the room, watching the action from the door!
The staff begins to glow blindingly, then explodes in a particularly violent and deadly fashion, engulfing most of the room in magical flames!
[Box structural integrity roll: 6]
The box provides a counterforce to the explosive blast! It cracks in the process, though!
[Crack roll: 6]
It looks large enough for Mike and Ted to slip out! In fact, it's large enough to suck them right out! Both souls are pulled toward the nearest soul possessors - the Master and the woman!
[Woman will roll: 3]
Mike manages to infiltrate himself inside the woman's brain while Ted goes for the dog!
[Master will roll: 6]
The master emits a bark of such power that it blows Ted away!
[Ted will roll: 3]
Ted tries to get inside the mind of a rat skulking nearby!
[Rat will roll: 4]
The rat shows remarkable mental fortitude, however, resisting the power of Ted!
Ted's soul, lacking a suitable host, slowly fades away!
~Well, to the Demon of Light I go...~
Mike, meanwhile, remains as an unseen force in the woman's brain! He believes he could influence her actions to some degree if he tried hard enough!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 05:33:41 am
(use map if needed.)
((ah, well, seeing Bernie should either trigger a partial recall or get Bernie to help.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 06:29:25 am
Mr. Maps takes a look at the map to see where Lake Victory is!
[Will roll: 4]
It's to the north! By Pacitarius, that's a beautiful map! Definitely one of the top three most beautiful he's seen so far. It might not be holy, but it's the next best thing! Why, the delightfully drawn golden border is enough to-
Ahem. Lake Victory is to the north. Better go there. Now.
Maps goes forth!
After a while, he reaches an odd sight! A bit of the forest and road in front of him is just... gone, buried in some gray and sticky substance! However, that's not the strangest part. The strangest part is that there is an island covered in trees floating right above it!
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 06:58:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 08:19:55 am
Maps strolls along, choosing to circle the vile sticky part of the woods. Can't be anything good there, he thinks.
[Island perception roll: 1]
The island begins to take off slowly, floating away from the area! Good riddance, Maps thinks! He continues on through the woods!
[Encounter roll: 1-1]
As he's slowly, but surely moving along, he is suddenly interrupted by something descending from the heavens! It looks like a golden elephant! On fire!
[Elephant landing roll: 3]
It lands some thirty feet away from Maps, blasting him off into the woods!
[Maps flight roll: 1-1]
He lands in a pile of leaves! Spot of good luck, that.
That is, that's what Maps would have thought had the ground not immediately crumbled beneath him! He falls!
[Maps fall roll: 3-1]
He falls for a while, soon losing sight of the sunlight and landing on some soft, warm granite!
[Maps fall damage roll: 4]
His vast quantities of snail tissue shield him from the worst of the punishment one would normally receive after such a fall! He only breaks a leg! Not like he was particularly using those, anyway.
He seems to be down under now. Deep down under. Luckily, he has a divine glowing stomach to help him see his way around! Thanks, Pacitarius!
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 08:20:54 am
((So, i guess Ted was owned too. The Demon of Light... Probably my next destination. Mayby he can unbind my soul and give me a new jar.))
Mike will search the woman's mind for any info about this Demon of Light.
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 08:31:03 am
Remember how to cast life magic, heal leg!
Then figure out a way to get out.
((at least 'Maps' gets his +1 for not being in sunlight now...))
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 08:32:20 am
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 08:34:26 am
(although he's probably forgotten what it does.)))
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 08:35:28 am
Post by: Yoink on December 08, 2012, 08:54:35 am
Timothy coughed, genuinely upset as he assumed a less frightful expression. "I not mean to scares you! Wants make friends! I is Timothy, I got real good job for youse if you wants! Dis not look real fun, sittin' down here all the times. Come wif me an' we has excitement, adventures, good food an' stuff, lotsa new friends and yeah! You all looks like real good scary-crows, be easy for youse!"
He raised his hands and grinned happily. "Who's wif me? It be opportunity of a lifetime!"
The irony of that last sentence coming from a ghost was completely lost on Timothy.
>Convince at least one scarecrow to accompany me back to Bob for an exciting new career and seachange!
>Oh, and introduce myself!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 09:49:07 am
Mike scans the woman's mind for any knowledge of the Demon of Light!
[Woman knowledge roll: 5]
~The Demon of Light is a powerful creature that dwells in its own dimension, surrounded by minions of pure light. The Demon of Light can be summoned when a certain text, which I happen to have memorized, is spoken to a properly prepared door, provided that a proper offering (a piece of lead glass) is offered. The Demon of Light is frequently sought after by those that seek to build phylacteries for themselves, as it has developed many soul magic techniques to this end.~
How informative! This Demon of Light fellow seems pretty great!
Deep down underground...
Maps tries to remember how to use that spellboook he seems to have!
[Memory roll: 6]
Yeah, it's all coming back to him now! Healing magic away!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He manages to make his leg not hurt anymore! You know, he might actually be able to survive this! Time to look around for a way out!
[Exploration roll: 1]
He is just about to roll out when he feels the ground beneath his body shake and move! Uh oh. The floor beneath him gives way and the poor schmuck plummets even lower!
[Plummeting roll: 1]
He falls for what seems like forever, and lands inside a crack in some ancient stone! He is at least two miles beneath the earth now!
[Fall damage roll: 2+1-1]
He shatters both his legs to the point of uselessness and manages to obliterate a large chunk of his muscle mass!
[Will roll: 6+1]
He remains conscious! Very conscious. In horrible pain, and painfully conscious of it.
In the lair of the Scary-crows...
Timothy remembers his manners!
"Oh, sorries! I not mean to scares you! Wants make friends! I is Timothy, I got real good job for youse if you wants!
[Citizen Lou reaction roll: 6]
"MAY I BE THE FIRST TO WELCOME YOU TO THE MAGNIFICENT STATE OF THE STRAW PEOPLE, NON-CITIZEN TIMOTHY! I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY HERE! IN FACT, I WILL GIVE YOU AUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE BURIED INN AS A CONGRATULATORY GESTURE!"
Ooh, a congratulatory gesture! Better counter that with a job offer! These straw people do look awfully impressionable!
Dis not look real fun, sittin' down here all the times. Come wif me an' we has excitement, adventures, good food an' stuff, lotsa new friends and yeah! You all looks like real good scary-crows, be easy for youse! Who's wif me? It be opportunity of a lifetime!"
[Citizen Lou reaction roll: 1]
[Scary-crow cadet reaction roll: 3]
Citizen Lou's expression immediately changes! It appears that Timothy has committed a bit of a faux pas! However, the other scary-crows around here seem to be not entirely uninterested!
"YOU ARE HERE TO ENSLAVE US, SURFACE IMPERIALIST, I CAN SENSE IT IN YOUR JOB OFFER! YOU SAY THAT WE WILL HAVE EXCITEMENT, BUT YOU MEAN FOR US TO BE ENSLAVED TO WATCH AN ORCHARD! I JUST KNOW IT! YOU SURFACE SLAVEMASTERS ARE ALL ALIKE!"
[Scary-crow cadet interest roll: 5]
"WE SHALL SEIZE HIM AND DELIVER HIM TO THE EXECUTION CHAMBER AT ONCE, CITIZEN LOUIS!"
"DO IT, CADET FRED! DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME!"
Three cadets lead Timothy away from the angered Lou! They whisper in his ear!
"Take us out of here, please! That old bastard is absolutely unbearable!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 10:28:12 am
((I AINT GOIN DOWN ANYTIME SOON.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 10:51:38 am
Mike tries to memorize the proper demon-summoning text as well!
[Memorization roll: 3]
It's a bit long, sure, but he can remember it - it mostly sounds like gibberish, but the words supposedly have deep, layered meanings to them that mere mortals cannot comprehend. He also tries to learn the proper protocol for preparing a door for a demon's entrance!
[Learning roll: 1]
He manages to fall asleep from the lecture! Despite not really being able to sleep! Oh dear. Seems like the woman's mind has taken offense. Mike doesn't think it will be as forthcoming with information anymore!
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 11:48:37 am
Post by: Caerwyn on December 08, 2012, 11:48:46 am
Sam will try and give someone stomach cramps and/or bad dreams with negative thoughts!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 12:59:04 pm
Mike tries to take control of the woman's mind!
[Mike will roll: 3]
He gains control of her right hand! Hooray for Mike!
"Oh my. Something's happening to me."
[Woman perception roll: 1]
"Eh. Probably nothing."
She goes back to one of the crates which seems to have survived the destruction of the room and opens it!
[Crate contents roll: 3]
It has an odd-looking object in it! A large sphere with five nails sticking out of it!
In the King's court...
Samuel, bored with his new position as Demonic Keeper of the Servants' Quarters, decides to give someone stomach cramps or bad dreams!
[Prank roll: 3]
He gives the servants extra rations today! Maybe they'll overeat and experience both of those if he's lucky!
A voice comes from the throne room!
"Stop goofing off, minion! I can see you back there! Do that again and you'll be demoted!"
Samuel sighs. It's going to be a long eternity here at the castle.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 01:02:33 pm
Mike will use this new insight to push back her subconcious, so he can freely search her memories and knowledge.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 08, 2012, 01:11:43 pm
Darn. I'm going to miss this RTD.
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 01:19:09 pm
And hey, an after-realm is better than what we get. I'll probably sell my soul too. That is, if Bernie won't smite me for that.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 08, 2012, 01:21:40 pm
Sorta defeats the purpose, y'know...I am tempted, but maybe in the future.
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 01:22:04 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 08, 2012, 02:02:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 02:08:47 pm
Mike tries to make yet another power-grab!
[Mike will roll: 2]
He can't seem to do anything other than make her right hand's fingers wiggle in a not entirely threatening fashion. Well, crap. MAybe some kind of subconscious-wrestling maneuver?
[Mike vs. Woman's Subconscious: 4 vs. 3]
He manages to make the woman's subconscious accept his presence for now! Phew. That could have gone worse.
In a cave of dankest darkness...
Vincent tries to hide!
[Hiding roll: 5+1]
He manages to make himself completely invisible to everyone by pretending to be a skeletal corpse! Unsurprisingly, he's very good at it!
[Cave dweller appearance roll: 1]
He feels something approach him! After taking a short look he ascertains that it is indeed a giant chitinous insect creature!
[Creature vs. Vincent: 6+1 vs. 6+2]
He rolls away just in time to avoid a serrated claw to the sternum! My, how impolite of these people! Sending vile creatures to attack him! Have manners really disappeared since he went to the alien world?
Post by: miauw62 on December 08, 2012, 02:10:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 02:53:48 pm
Mike tries to perform an underhanded maneuver to take control of his intended victim!
[Ruse roll: 1]
He attempts to subconsciously stroll up to the woman's subconscious form!
~Would you like a potion, ma'am?~
~Why, yes! Yes, I would! Say, they wouldn't happen to be poison, would they?~
~Of course not! In fact, I'll drink one myself!~
Mike pulls out the one potion he knows he didn't subconsciously poison and drinks it!
Oh, wait, it was the one potion he definitely did poison! What a silly mistake for a potion salesman to make, really!
[Mike endurance roll: 2]
Mike passes out from the poison! Well, this was an ill-advised course of action!
[Relocation roll: 3]
When Mike wakes up, he realizes that he can no longer control the woman's right hand! Dammit, why doesn't the potion trick ever work?
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 03:06:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 03:32:51 pm
Maps tries to heal his poor, poor legs!
[Magic roll: 2-1]
He makes them hurt more. A lot more. The common map adventurer was not meant to endure such pain!
[Intelligence roll: 5+1]
Luckily, he is no common adventurer! In fact, he has the perfect spell to heal himself up! He wrote it himself on the pages of the spellbook in his own snail-vampire blood! It's called "HEAL ME NOW, DAMN YOU"!
[Magic roll: 1+1]
Curiously enough, it doesn't work at all! Well, screw you too, life magic! Well, at least he has blood and a finger to write with. That's a plus.
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 03:43:15 pm
Cast it.
Then write in a spell called 'Levitation'
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 04:05:27 pm
Maps believes that verbal abuse written in blood is definitely the best form of magic he's ever heard of! He writes a new spell into one of the blank pages of the book!
[Spell taking roll: 1]
The book doesn't seem to like the idea of insulted mothers and devoured kittens, as the blood all collects into a single clump that heats to boiling point and launches itself at Maps' face!
[Maps dodge roll: 4+1-1]
He manages to move his head aside before his beautiful face is totally burned by scalding blood! It still lands on his body, but what are you going to do? Honestly, Maps is in so much pain right now he's losing any sensation of it! A little more barely fazes him.
With that attempted, if not strictly done, he tries to write in another spell called Levitation!
[Spell taking roll: 2]
The blood merely rolls off the pages of the book, making a mess on the ground! Well, at least it didn't try to burn off his face this time!
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 04:28:41 pm
Cast it.
Then write in a spell called 'Now lower gravity and let me jump out.'/b]
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2012, 04:50:54 pm
Maps tries to figure out what went wrong with "HEAL ME NOW, DAMN YOU!"
It's something obvious, isn't it?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Difficult to say what, exactly! Better try anyway, though!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Once again, nothing seems to happen! Well, that's awfully boring. Seriously, there's something he's missing.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Of course! It's obvious!
Maps wipes off the words "DAMN YOU!" and writes "PLEASE?" instead! There, that should work!
[Magic roll: 3+1]
There we go! Maps begins to regenerate at a nice pace. He is also, you know, not in horribly debilitating pain. For once. It's kind of difficult for him to remember a time when he wasn't in pain, really. It's all a blur to him. This... painless existence seems like something entirely new for him!
Well, with that behind him, Maps tries to write another spell into the book! It's called Gravity Weakening!
[Spell taking roll: 2]
Seriously, what's up with these stainless pages? They must secrete gasoline or something.
Post by: TopHat on December 08, 2012, 05:03:28 pm
Then write a speed-climbing spell.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 08, 2012, 07:31:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 02:24:55 am
Maps writes a polite "thank you very much" in the book!
[Book reaction roll: 3]
He feels his regeneration quicken somewhat! Oh, joyous day! See where a bit of common human niceness can lead you?
Next spell, now! Speed-climbing! He takes the bits of blood he still has and tries to write in the book!
[Spell taking roll: 6]
Surprisingly, it works! The book must like him now! Speed Climbing spell obtained!
In a cave full of evil...
Vincent opts to tactically retreat now! After all, that thing seems like it's cave adapted. If it's taken outside, it might be distracted enough to be easily killed!
[Escape roll: 1+1]
Unfortunately, after Vincent begins to retreat, the creature chooses to pounce!
[Pouncing roll: 6]
It hits Vincent straight on, making both of them roll out of the cave and into daylight!
[Creature daylight survival roll: 1]
The creature begins to smoke and bubble beneath the surface of its chitinous body! The fluids inside don't seem to have time enough to escape the exoskeleton!
[Explosion roll: 4]
There is a loud bang as one of the creature's plates shatters, flying off along with most of its internal anatomy in a high-pressure stream! Well, this thing certainly shouldn't be allowed outside a cave! Somebody could get hurt that way!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 05:02:03 am
Climb out of pit.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 05:30:21 am
Maps tries to cast his brand-new speed-climbing spell!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
He chants it once! Nothing. He chants it again! Nothing. He chants it again and again and again! Nothing.
Useless magic! Why do you not work? Ah, forget it, better just climb out on his own!
As soon as Maps puts one of his tails on the rocks, he rockets upward! That would be all well and good, but he flies far too fast, reaching the surface in a matter of seconds, then flying about half a mile into the air, then flying all 2.5 miles back down again!
[Fall damage roll: 1+1-2]
He lands as poorly as an individual possibly could, crushing his legs, tail and most of his snail-flesh into a bloody pulp! Oh dear.
[Maps will roll: 6]
He still manages to survive very nicely, though! Lucky him, stuck as a mangled piece of meat at the bottom of a pit!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 05:41:53 am
Then cast speed climbing and try again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 06:32:57 am
Maps kindly casts his self-authored healing spell!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Dammit, nothing! What is going wrong here?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Maybe the "please" needs to be more emphatic?
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Well, it's not that! What could it be?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
What indeed! Again!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He's not bleeding anymore! He still doesn't have any lower body, though!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Again! Again!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Nothing happens. Crap. What's the problem?
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Maybe a different spell? How about Regeneration?
[Magic roll: 4]
That's more like it! Maps' lower torso begins to slowly reshape itself! After a while, his snail-boulder lower half has regenerated! Now for some speed-climbing!
[Magic roll: 5-1]
He gains the ability to rapidly and easily climb walls! He tries to climb the wall!
[Climbing roll: 4+2]
He rapidly scales the side of the rock! He manages to get up to some kind of tunnel! There appears to be light coming from the end of it!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 07:03:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 09, 2012, 08:06:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 08:57:36 am
Maps proceeds through the tunnel, following the light! It looks vaguely... pinkish? No matter, it's unusual, therefore its mysteries must be delved into! It's only the duty of a true adventurer!
As Maps reaches the end of the tunnel, he finds an astonishing sight! Fields everywhere, covered in curious plant life! Organic-looking farmhouses are all around, and people seem to be going about their daily business in a manner not unlike the habits of surface dwellers! In the distance Maps sees a city, a magnificent one from the looks of it.
[Perception roll: 1]
Well, nothing suspicious here. In fact, he's probably on the surface right now. Wouldn't make any sense otherwise.
In the subconscious of a mostly unsuspecting woman...
Mike, dissatisfied with his previous performance, but not dissuaded from his intentions, decides to try shenanigans again! He takes his always-implied, seldom-used potion catalog and tries to bludgeon the woman's subconscious to death with it!
[Mike vs. Woman's Subconscious: 1+1 vs. 2]
Despite being armed, Mike doesn't manage to hit the woman single time. The woman doesn't even try to dodge or even make any indication that she knows Mike is there!
Mike might soon develop hurt feelings if this keeps up!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 09, 2012, 09:02:45 am
[Perception roll: 1]
Well, nothing suspicious here. In fact, he's probably on the surface right now. Wouldn't make any sense otherwise.
((I think I remember you saying you hid Intelligence rolls because knowing you had a one would spoil the false knowledge you earned. Doesn't the same argument apply to perception checks? Wouldn't rolling a one then saying "Nothing suspicious" imply the area is completely suspicious?
</random thought rambling>))
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 09:04:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 09:21:01 am
Maps tries to draw on the botanical knowledge he can't remember!
[Memory roll: ?]
Well, these plants don't look all that unusual. He's definitely seen their like in lots of places. There's something off about them, but Maps can't quite put his finger on it! The flowers are blooming vibrantly, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining... it's a good day to be alive. Really, why is he dwelling on botany when there are so many more interesting things he could be doing?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 10:27:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 09, 2012, 11:07:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 01:13:07 pm
Maps goes up to one of the fields and grabs a plant sample!
[People alarm roll: 4]
Nobody seems to mind. Time for examination!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Well, it's just as pink as any plant around the world. Pink leaves, pink fruit, pink everything. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary there.
Inside a woman's subconscious...
Mike tries to practice his smooth moves on the woman's subconscious!
[Mike seduction roll: 5]
After a bit of smalltalk and flirtation followed by lots of schoolgirl-like giggling, Mike finds that he has enslaved the woman's subconscious mind entirely through sheer smoothness!
He's a lover, not a fighter, it seems!
Now that the woman's subconscious is enslaved, Mike can easily take control of the woman's mind should he wish to!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 01:22:42 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 09, 2012, 01:27:18 pm
With that sorted out, Mike will let her tell him how to properly a door and the text that has to be said.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 02:47:48 pm
Maps looks for any signs of unusual fauna around the place!
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, there's birds. They're pink. There's dogs. Those are pink as well. Pink horses, pink cats, pink giant earthworms, pink people, pink everything. Now that he thinks about it, there sure is a lot of pink around here. It's quite odd, he must say!
[People attention roll: 3]
A single pink person strolls up to Maps and vocalizes in a pink-sounding voice:
"<###$$$&&&>! <%%##@@&&>?"
It sounds vaguely like the sound of a pink bird flying above a pink cloud!
In the mind of a lady...
Mike, having totally enthralled the woman, decides to interrogate her seductively and smoothly!
[Woman informativeness roll: 2]
The woman, however, seems to be too distracted by Mike's animal magnetism to provide any help on demon summoning! There is a look of barely repressed desperation on her face!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 03:04:47 pm
((like the thing with Skellie-speak at the start of Chapter 1 ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 03:49:59 pm
Maps tries to understand the pink fellow! Just because the language is totally alien doesn't mean he couldn't translate it!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Yeah, it's easy-peasy, actually. Maps instantly works out a principle of communicating with these people!
"<@@@^^^///iiiiii>!" /("Surrender your soul, thought-cube, or I shall devour your flesh and defile your family where you stand!")
"<###$$$@@@***&*()> <%%%@@@!!!///&&&$$$###> <{{{%%%@@!!^^^^^^>, <$$$^%%%@@@> <&&&%%%$$$###>?" /("No.")
[Reaction roll: ?]
"<###$$$&*>!" /("I say, would you know where the bathroom might be? It's been so long since I've gone number two and I'm currently experiencing a sharp pain in my abdomen. The doctors say it's perfectly natural, but I think my wife is correct in the belief that it is actually a divine curse of some kind!")
Well, that's a bummer for the pink dude. Maps hopes he gets better!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 03:52:37 pm
If not, re-think language.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2012, 04:12:49 pm
Maps tries to use sign language against the foul pink fellow!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He can't think of any way to kinetically show the words "making sense"! As a result, he is just stuck making a vaguely questioning gesture!
[Pink Man intelligence roll: ?]
The pink man just shrugs equally confusedly!
<##$$//////ii$$$$$>. /("You're making perfect sense to me, thought-cube. Do you want to come with me? I'll show you the city!")
Well, that's a relief!
Post by: TopHat on December 09, 2012, 04:18:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 01:22:41 am
Maps thanks the fellow and expresses his condolences for his gruesome condition!
[Pink Man reaction roll: ?]
"<///##$$^^^>, <$$$&&&&&&***> <%%%###$$$$$$###>!" /("Follow me, I have treasure to give you!")
Well, that's nice!
Post by: Yoink on December 10, 2012, 06:51:32 am
Timothy was shocked. That Louis person seemed like such a nice fellow, if a bit overly loud and suspicious of strangers. Like a real father-figure to these mischevious young strawchildren.
"Oh, come on, now!" Timothy said as the three led him along, "He only doing that so he protects you! Is not realise he being mean, I not think, jus' keepin' alla youse safe. You know what, I's think you all is need to be sitting down an' have a chat, a big talk over alla them differences. Den youse all understand things!"
>Quickly organize a reconcilatory meal and chat to patch things up between the young scarecrows and their father-figure, Louis!
>Ensure biscuits and whatever beverage strawpeople prefer are provided in copious amounts, and help mediate the discussion.
>Once the young ones have explained how they feel about Louis's bossiness, how a scarecrow needs to go out into the world to find themselves, to learn who they are and how to deal with the world, then extend an invitation for whoever wishes to join me to come along on a pleasant, exciting working holiday, where they will see new places, make new friends, learn new skills and maneouvres and generally have an excellent time!
>Explain it would also make for an excellent bonding experience for them!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 09:31:54 am
Timothy cannot abide such disregard of parental authority! After all, look where that got him! He has to persuade these youths that Citizen Lou is not the abominable tyrant he seems to be at first sight! He cares about these scary-crows! Well, possibly, anyway!
"Oh, come on, now! He only doing that so he protects you! Is not realise he being mean, I not think, jus' keepin' alla youse safe. You know what, I's think you all is need to be sitting down an' have a chat, a big talk over alla them differences. Den youse all understand things!"
[Cadet reaction roll: 2]
"You're taking his side? Unbelievable! That hideous old piece of kindling earned his one-way trip to the fire a long time ago! No way are we going to talk to him about this! Only way we're having a talk is if I get a sharp axe and a torch to go with it! Yeah, then we'll have a real good talk."
The two other scary-crows with him nod approvingly! Geez, they must really hate this guy!
"So, are we getting out of here or what?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2012, 10:27:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 11:38:45 am
Mike and his subconscious love-slave try to find a bed of some kind!
[Woman subconscious roll: 6]
They find the most comfortable bed in the universe, all made up for two people! They lie down on it!
[Mike will roll: 2]
[Woman will roll: 5]
The woman prods Mike as he is totally distracted from whatever he might have thought of doing by the sheer comfort of being in this bed!
[Woman reaction roll: 6]
The woman shrugs after a while and just enjoys the softness of the bed, allowing herself to drift off in sheer satisfaction at this supreme-quality bedding!
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2012, 12:07:13 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 10, 2012, 12:10:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 12:51:50 pm
Mike tries to snap out of his comfort-induced stupor!
[Will roll: 3]
Eh... maybe he really does have to get up... he really should get around to it... any minute now...
Mike slowly gets up and yawns in a few minutes, stretching out his arms! He looks at the mostly-absent woman! Time for some *yawn* persuasion!
[Persuasion roll: 6-1]
He manages to sweet-talk the sleeping woman into revealing the text and the door preparation rite to Mike! Hopefully he can remember all this!
[Memorization roll: ?]
Yeah, he should have no problem with remembering that.
So, now he has what he wanted and he didn't even have to put out to get it. That's a first! Score!
In a world of pink...
Maps follows the pink individual, making sure to look out for anything dangerous!
[? roll: ?]
He is led into a pink building and taken through several pink corridors! How wonderful!
[Perception roll: ?]
Everybody seems to be looking at him. Everybody. Their eyes show murderous intent, and their hands rest on various implements of murder such as pink quills, pink inkwells with hot pink ink in them and pink paper knives for cutting even pinker paper! Maps feels very threatened by this atmosphere! The pink walls are pinkishly closing in on his not-pink existence, both in a physical and mental sense!
They're plotting something against him. He knows it. Nobody can be this pink and simultaneously not up to something.
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2012, 12:56:00 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 10, 2012, 01:05:18 pm
Cast speed climbing and get back to the real surface.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 01:56:13 pm
Mike tries to look at the world through the eyes of a woman!
[Mike will roll: 6+2]
He manages to take complete control of the woman's mental and physical faculties! For all intents and purposes, Mike has become the woman now! He is in control!
Well, he is still in the room. The Master is sitting on the ruined throne and moping about his dismal fate, it seems! The door's still there as well. One more unopened crate lies on the ground.
In a pink building with pink people, like, everywhere...
Maps tries to roll out of the lair of the pink office drones by making the clever excuse that his cat sounds like it's boiling, so it should really be taken to a doctor!
[? roll: ?]
The pink people look strange now. Something in their eyes. The pink light that's been enveloping the area slowly becomes more intense, drowning everything in pink!
[Escape roll: 6]
Well, Maps is not about to stick around and find out what's happening! Time to make himself scarce! He gets into a high-speed roll and tries to get out of the building in the shortest and most efficient way - through several walls!
[Maps' wallbreaking roll: 5]
He effortlessly smashes through the pink cloud-fluff that seems to make up the walls and gets outside!
[? roll: ?]
So far, so good! Maps rolls rapidly over the fields, squishing lots of vegetation as he passes!
[Perception roll: ?]
He looks around and, upon noticing that nothing's following him, slows down a bit. It takes him a short while to reach the tunnel!
[? roll: ?]
[Perception roll: ?]
He senses something near him. Something bad. He looks around and sees a pink shadow dart between two pink trees! Uh oh.
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2012, 02:03:32 pm
((I needed that, right?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 02:37:59 pm
Mike looks around the lair for a piece of lead glass!
[Search roll: 2]
After searching around the lair for an hour, she finds nothing of the sort!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Hm, wonder why it's not here? Pretty strange, all in all. Well, maybe there's some door-preparation stuff around here!
[Search roll: 5]
Why, yes! Yes, there is! She picks up some chalk, several candles, a tinderbox and a vial of virgin's blood, all of them handy things for a demon summoner to have! If only lead glass wasn't so gosh dang rare!
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2012, 02:49:27 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 10, 2012, 03:13:12 pm
If uncussesful, open fire on it with the crossbows I somehow have.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2012, 04:06:29 pm
Mike tries to remember something she's never known!
[Intelligence roll: ?-2]
Well, presumably lead is involved somehow. And glass, too. Wait, she's got it!
[Search roll: 5]
She finds a lead plate and a glass bottle, then smashes one against the other with incredible force! The glass breaks!
[Glass shrapnel roll: 1]
Lots of shrapnel hits her face, and a solitary piece of glass catches her in the eye! Wow, that is so awful there's hardly any need to describe it!
[Endurance roll: 5]
She remains perfectly conscious, if half-blind! She successfully resists the urge to rub the eye!
Near the border of Pinkland...
Maps tries to magically suffocate whatever is running around back there!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He hears a bit of coughing and sees a tiny bit of pink dust come from somewhere! Well, that's all he needed!
[Maps vs. Shadow: 4+4-2+1 vs. 5+1-1]
He manages to hit the tree the shadow is hiding behind, setting it on pink fire, then shattering the trunk with a force-bolt! Behind the tree is a coughing pink man in pink robes!
[Pink man endurance roll: 1]
He drops to his knees and begins to hyperventilate! Oh my, somebody should offer him some help!
Post by: TopHat on December 10, 2012, 04:08:42 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 10, 2012, 05:33:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2012, 12:14:48 am
Maps decides to offer help to the poor pink person in the only way he knows how - murder, and lots of it! He rolls up to the man and stomps on his face!
[Stomping roll: 6]
After a short while, he has turned the man's head into a smear on the ground! He stomps for some ten more minutes after this point, making sure the smear is spread as thinly as it possibly can be! After all, you can't murder someone sloppily. That would be dishonest, dishonorable and just plain rude!
After doing that, he searches the man's pockets for something good!
[Loot roll: 4]
He finds 20 pink coins, a pink gemstone, pink lint and a pink book! He takes all of them! Now to get out of here!
[? roll: ?]
[Perception roll: ?]
As Maps gets back to the hole he got out of, he becomes suddenly aware that something is not quite right! Better get out of here right quick!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He magically improves his climbing speed somewhat and tries to ascend the cliff wall!
[Climbing roll: 2+1]
He manages to climb upwards a bit, but doesn't get very far, unfortunately, before needing to rest a bit! Phew, this is hard work!
Outside a cave...
Vincent examines the beast's armored plating!
[Examination roll: 1]
He takes off several of the larger plates and, upon ascertaining that they are indeed made of bubblegum, tosses them into the dark forest!
[Imagination roll: ?]
He could sell all these plates to people who collect such things and make somewhat less than a single day's worth of lunch money! Yeah!
Post by: miauw62 on December 11, 2012, 11:47:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2012, 12:46:43 pm
Mike, choosing to ignore the piece of glass in her eye, chooses to keep thinking on how to do something she doesn't know how to do!
[Glassmaking knowledge roll: 4-2]
She thinks hard about it, but realizes that she really doesn't know the first thing about glassmaking! Oh, woe is her! If only she hadn't chosen the trade of potion-selling in life!
Post by: miauw62 on December 11, 2012, 01:32:29 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 11, 2012, 01:33:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2012, 02:44:18 pm
Mike tries to find an eyepatch!
[Search roll: 6]
She finds a glass eye instead! Even better! She finds a nearby scalpel, slices her pierced eye right out of the socket and sticks the glass eye in it! There, good as new!
[Endurance roll: 1]
Yeah... good... as... new...
Mike faints from blood loss and severe shock!
Inside a pit of pinkness...
Maps tries to re-cast his decidedly underwhelming speed-climbing spell!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He can still climb at the same rate! Awesome!
[Climbing roll: 2+1]
He decides to celebrate by climbing fifteen feet upwards! Then he takes the adventurer's privilege of a union break!
Post by: miauw62 on December 11, 2012, 02:59:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2012, 03:15:42 pm
Mike tries to snap out of her horrible passed-out state! After all, a soul-displacing creature such as she can't just pass out from cutting her bloody eye out! That would be anticlimactic!
[Waking up roll: 6]
She wakes up RIGHT THE FUCK NOW and storms right out of the building, having mentally psyched herself up to be the very best lead glass thief she can!
[Knowledge roll: ?]
She runs off in a direction a town might be in! Hey, it's her best shot at surviving this horrible existence!
[Travel roll: 3]
She runs and runs, but gets tired pretty soon. Damn lazy old bones, keepin' her down! She slows down to an excited trot!
[Encounter roll: 5]
Nothing even so much as attempts to bother her as she makes her way across the undoubtedly monster-infested wilderness! They can sense that she is a woman with a PURPOSE!
Eventually (in about five hours of walking) she reaches a town! It looks fairly small, to tell the truth. There's a blacksmith's, several houses, an inn and a few ditches for less affluent people to sleep in.
[Search roll: 2]
After looking in through every window and glancing through every door, after digging up the human refuse in every ditch and sticking her head into every chimney, she is forced to conclude that there is no lead glass in this town!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Obviously it is a very rare commodity! These bastards must be hiding it from her!
Post by: TopHat on December 11, 2012, 03:21:27 pm
Repeat until top is reached.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2012, 04:00:11 pm
Maps keeps trying to climb in an upward direction! But first, let's cast a spell again!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Well, it doesn't work. Better keep climbing!
[Climbing roll: 4]
The lack of the spell seems to actually motivate him a little bit better! He ascends about fifty feet until he gets tired!
Hooray! Only ten thousand feet left!
[Magic roll: 2-1]
Instead of making himself speed-climb, Maps manages to remove any sort of friction from his limbs! Oh dear.
[Fall roll: 6]
As he falls his leg gets caught in a spiky, rocky outcropping of the wall he was climbing, impaling and breaking it horribly, but preventing him from losing any more than, say, twenty feet of height! Hurts like hell, though!
Post by: TopHat on December 11, 2012, 04:39:21 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 11, 2012, 05:01:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 12, 2012, 12:27:15 am
Maps tries to make his leg regenerate!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He makes it hurt less! His leg is still crushed and bent at right angles in several places! Well, he isn't getting anywhere with frictionless limbs, so it's magic time again!
[Magic roll: 4-1]
He manages to regain his old climbing ability! How fortunate! He attempts to free himself from the outcropping!
[Freeing roll: 6]
He draws his absurdly sharp sword and chops the absurdly broken leg right off! Not like he needed it, you know. After that, he proceeds to immediately jam it into the cliff wall and use it as a handhold to keep himself from falling!
[Sword sharpness roll: 3]
He begins to slowly slip downwards due to the sword slicing through the stone! Better get climbing fast!
[Climbing roll: 4+1]
He begins to climb rather rapidly, taking the sword with him! It's not very long until he's a stupendous 200 feet higher than before! He seems to have reached a ledge of some sort!
Next to the exploded remains of a bug...
Vincent goes inside the cave and looks for anything fun!
[Metal thing alarm roll: 3]
The metal creature looks at Vincent with visible disdain! Doesn't look like it's about to let him pass in peace!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 12, 2012, 07:49:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 12, 2012, 10:05:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 12, 2012, 11:38:34 am
Vincent gestures apologetically about killing the creature outside!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He manages to work in a surprising amount of pathos in his nonverbal apology! Not surprising in a positive way, just surprising, almost bewildering!
[Metal Guardian reaction roll: 5]
The metal guardian gives him a compassionate hug, patting him on the back to make the sadness go away! Looks like it wants to be Vincent's friend!
The creature points at its chain in a vaguely conspiratorial manner!
In a town in the backwoods...
Mike tries to remember which way she came from!
[Memory roll: ?]
Yeah, probably west. Has to be. She heads inside the blacksmith's shop and asks the blacksmith if he can make some lead glass!
"Do I honestly look like a glassmaker to you?"
[Blacksmith knowledge roll: 2]
"And what's this 'lead glass' you're talking about? There's no such thing, you know!"
Post by: TopHat on December 12, 2012, 12:12:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 12, 2012, 01:57:12 pm
Maps climbs on the ledge, feeling mighty secure up here! What could possibly harm him here? Nothing, that's what! Time to regenerate!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
He sees both his legs disintegrate as their component cells commit mass suicide! His legs shrink, then fall off, probably never to return! Well, that sucks! How is he going to climb now?
The answer is - he isn't! He's going to bounce like none have bounced before! Provided the book accepts the spell he wants, of course!
[Spell taking roll: 3]
Much of his leftover blood sticks to the page, but it's a bit smudged in places!
Post by: miauw62 on December 12, 2012, 02:14:38 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 12, 2012, 02:40:40 pm
Cast it.
Then write in the bounce spell.
Post by: miauw62 on December 12, 2012, 02:41:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 12, 2012, 03:31:03 pm
Mike tries to think of any towns nearby that might have glassworkers!
[Local knowledge roll: ?]
There's one to the north, she thinks! In fact, it's rather famous for its mastery at glassblowing! She's not entirely clear on whether that means they'll know how lead glass is made, but it's worth a shot!
[Travel roll: 4]
She chooses the quickest route she knows of to get there!
[Encounter roll: 6]
Nothing follows her. After about three more hours of brisk walking, she has reached the glassblowing town, Bluetree! It even has a sign that says: "BLUETREE, Home Of The Finest Glass In The Realm".
Looks promising so far!
In a distant place underground...
Maps attempts to write in a leg addition spell into the book!
[Spell taking roll: 2]
Those pages could be laminated for all the good it does him! Damn slippery non-adhesive vampire snail blood! Perhaps a more receptive page should be edited?
Oh, of course! The bouncing spell! Maps tries to write in all the stuff he missed the first time around!
[Spell taking roll: 5]
Why, it's absolutely perfect now! The calligraphy on the finger-smeared blood letters in particular makes Maps feel as proud as a wizard that just killed and usurped his master!
Post by: TopHat on December 12, 2012, 04:25:32 pm
Cast it.
Write 'thank you' into book if successful.
Then cast bouncing spell and bounce to the surface.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 12, 2012, 04:52:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2012, 12:43:01 am
Maps tries to add his spell to the book, except asking more nicely this time!
[Spell taking roll: 2]
The blood just rolls off! Seriously, this book is totally plotting against him! Well, better cast the bouncing spell anyway.
[Magic roll: 5-1]
As he chants the words, Maps feels a curious... charge build up within him! He feels ready for action!
Let's bounce.
[Bouncing roll: 2]
Too bad there's nothing here to really get a good bounce off of. Just stone in one direction and air in the other.
In the metal guardian's humble abode...
Vincent tries to break the chain with his halberd!
[Vincent vs. Chain: 2+1 vs. 5]
It appears to be built pretty tough! Ordinary weapons don't even put a scratch on it! He may need to get clever here.
The metal guardian eyes him expectantly!
Post by: Yoink on December 13, 2012, 04:01:31 am
Timothy sighed and relented. "But," he said, raising one purple-tinged, spectral finger, "We can't be leavin' mista Louis here, 'cos den he tell authorities what we doin' an' the come after us to bring youse back here! So we gotsta get a wagon from someplace, ties Mista Lou up and put in there an' bring him wif us. Dat way no gets caught."
He nodded sagely.
>Appear to relent on the subject of reconciliation right now, but explain that if we leave here without Lou's permission he will warn the authorities of their escape!
>Have my new friends grab a wagon from someplace, under cover of darkness if necessary, then we will tie Citizen Lou up, load him in there, and take him with us back to Bob's house.
>Once we're underway, though, they shall be trapped in the wagon with myself and Lou and I will lead them in a mediation session!
Tea and biscuits or no tea and biscuits!!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 13, 2012, 07:43:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2012, 09:44:26 am
Timothy is rather put off by the youngster's harsh words and proclivity toward violence!
"Uh, wells, okay, if youse is really feel dat badly about Mista Louis..."
There is clearly only one solution here: he must instigate a kidnapping plot to further his own family values agenda!
Timothy sighed and relented. "But we can't be leavin' mista Louis here, 'cos den he tell authorities what we doin' an' the come after us to bring youse back here! So we gotsta get a wagon from someplace, ties Mista Lou up and put in there an' bring him wif us. Dat way no gets caught."
He nods in a manner that seems pretty sage-like to himself!
[Reaction roll: 6]
"Yeah. Yeah... yeah, we should! We'll capture him, all right. We'll capture him, and then he'll get his. Let's take the bastard down! Follow me."
The conspirators walk back to Citizen Louis!
"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, CITIZEN FRED? WHY HAS THIS MISCREANT NOT BEEN EXECUTED YET? MUST I DO EVERYTHING PERSONALLY?"
[Kidnapping roll: 3]
"Nah, you're not gonna do anything. You're gonna come with us."
"AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?"
[Fred intimidation roll: 4]
"Otherwise you and my tinderbox will have a roaring game of tag, if you know what I mean."
"YOU ARE... YOU'RE... YOU'RE THREATENING ME?"
"Yes. I am. And you're just going to take it because, dry as you are, you'd go up in flames the second a spark hit you."
[Citizen Lou cooperation roll: 2+1]
Citizen Louis glares hatefully at all four of his kidnappers, glaring an especially nasty death glare at Timothy!
"I'LL... GO WITH YOU, YES."
Citizen Lou moves very slowly as you try to take him out of the cave! He seems to be stalling for time.
[Cave alarm roll: 3]
A few people look at Louis as he moves past, some even stare for a bit. They get back to what they were doing, however.
[Fred patience roll: 1]
"They're getting suspicious. Have to do something, NOW."
[Fred judgement roll: ?]
Fred runs off in a second, telling the others to keep moving. After a while he comes back. smiling oddly.
The sound of crackling fire and scary-crow screaming comes from deeper within the cave!
"Always wanted to do that."
People all around them begin to scramble and run wherever, allowing the three scary-crows to lift Lou up in the air and run for the exit unimpeded!
"UNHAND ME, YOUNG FOOLS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR SUCH TREATMENT!"
The young fools don't listen, predictably. They and Timothy run out into Yellowglen, breathing a sigh of relief!
"Right, we're out. Now we need to find a nice secluded spot."
In a metal-guarded cave...
Vincent carefully examines the chain!
[Chain examination roll: 3]
Well, it is stuck to a stone wall. That's the only structural weakness he can see here.
Post by: miauw62 on December 13, 2012, 11:24:09 am
Post by: TopHat on December 13, 2012, 01:30:07 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 13, 2012, 04:41:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2012, 05:40:52 pm
Mike checks her stuff for anything useful!
[Useful stuff roll: 5]
She finds about 40 silver coins, a cool-looking ring and a book of some kind! All of these look pretty useful, to tell the truth. She begins to look for lead glass!
[Search roll: 5]
She searches all over town until she finally enters one of the more prestigious glass stores in town! It has a large display case in it that has a piece of real, authentic lead glass in it! It gleams marvelously!
At the bottom of the case is a plaque with the words "Real Demon Glass, Harvested from the Darkest Pits of the Demons! Only 100 silver coins!"
100 silver coins, huh?
On a ledge far below ground...
Maps tries to use the sides of the pit as adequate bouncing aids!
[Bouncing roll: 3]
He bounces off it all right, but it doesn't really help him much, as he is bounced back to the same ledge he was on before!
In a cave no longer guarded by a metal creature...
Vincent checks the wall for any sign of fakeness! Maybe this thing was gypsum all along, you never know!
[Wall fakeness roll: 3]
Well, it's not granite. That's good. It's still stone, however, which is less good.
Post by: TopHat on December 13, 2012, 05:46:26 pm
Then BOUNCE TO THE SURFACE!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 01:00:53 am
Maps tries to improve his bounciness through magic once again!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
He manages to increase his mass to horribly unreasonable levels!
[Endurance roll: 1]
He begins to collapse upon himself from his sheer weight! Good gods, that hurts! That hurts very badly, in fact! He seems to be approaching a state of becoming bloody pulp!
[Will roll: 3+1]
Fortunately for him, Maps is only mildly inconvenienced by this. You'd think that lacking most of his body would impede him slightly, but you clearly don't know Maps like Maps knows Maps!
[Further crushing roll: 3]
Maps still feels like his own mass is crushing him, but it's hardly anything like the previous bit.
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 08:26:22 am
Then write in a spell called super high jump.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 08:40:42 am
Maps tries to cast a spell he actually has in his book!
[Magic roll: 5-1]
He casts Physiological Normalcy! He continues to bleed like any normal human being would in his situation. Well, at least he removed any possible diseases he may have accumulated over time!
With that done, he uses the massive amounts of blood pouring out of him to make a new spell, the Super High Jump.
[Spell taking roll: 5]
Not only does it stick to the page just fine, it is so articulately written and made that it seems to have tapped right into the inner energies of the book! Score one for Maps! Granted, the world still has a lead of about 500 points, but that can be corrected, Maps hopes!
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 08:44:49 am
Then jump to the surface.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 08:56:06 am
Maps tries to unleash his magic in a jamboree of spells!
[Magic roll: 2-1]
For his first act, he casts Open Massive Wounds!
He begins to bleed even more horribly!
[Will roll: 2+1]
However, this does not entirely stop him from attempting his next act!
[Magic roll: 5-1]
He begins to regenerate a bit! Sure, he's lost most of his blood, but he has confidence in his recovery!
After five or so second, the disjointed pile of flesh tries to cast one last spell: Super High Jump!
[Magic roll: 2]
Nothing happens. Dammit.
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 10:11:49 am
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 10:25:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 10:37:09 am
Mike takes a look at the ring and the book!
[Ring roll: ?]
The ring turns out to be wooden and merely painted to look like silver. Set in it is a worthless piece of colored glass! Maybe the book is better?
[Book roll: ?]
It's "Granny Eunice's Stories For Sad Children"! A good read to be sure! Commonly available, though!
On a ledge in a pit...
Maps tries to figure out what went wrong in his previous casting of Open Massive Wounds!
[Intelligence roll: 2+1]
He realizes that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to cast Open Massive Wounds in his situation! He'll try something different!
[Magic roll: 3-1]
He can't find anything useful, though! He sees no point in casting Regeneration again, either! After all, why mess with a good thing? Look, his lower torso is growing back nicely! The Super High Jump, however...
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Well, the book probably didn't hear him. Time to try again!
[Magic roll: 1-1]
He does a Super Horizontal Jump right into the opposite cliff wall!
[Squishing roll: 4]
He remains mostly unsquished, however! He does fall down, though!
[Fall damage roll: 2]
He falls right back to the bottom of the pit, landing rather nastily!
[Will roll: 1+1]
He feels awfully woozy! Perhaps it's the massive blood and limb loss?
[Will roll: 4]
It passes quickly, though! Eh, probably nothing important!
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 10:49:12 am
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 11:19:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 11:56:43 am
Mike looks for some sad children to delight with Granny Eunice's beautiful prose! Shouldn't be too hard to find, considering the world she's in!
[Search roll: 2]
They prove surprisingly absent! What little children there are seem to be generally delighted with life, full of life, vigor and the gentle joy of youth, which are known to be kind of non-conducive to the whole sadness thing! Perhaps she can MAKE some children sad, then? Then she could make them happy again and profit somehow!
At the bottom of a pit...
Maps, locked in a vicious cycle of horrible injury and general dismemberment, tries to heal himself, hoping for better luck this time!
[Magic roll: 6-1]
And on the umpteenth try, Maps has prevailed! The spell provides him with instantaneous healing, restoring his lower torso and tails! He feels like a million silvers! Time to write in a new spell!
[Spell taking roll: 2]
It doesn't work, to say the least. Yep, everything's back to normal already.
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 11:59:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 12:11:07 pm
Mike tries to approach some children and threaten them stellar homicide should they not provide her with money!
"Hey, you, kids! Give me money!"
"Or what?"
"Or I'll KILL THE SUN! Yeah, you heard me!"
[Children reaction roll: 5]
"Holy shit, you can do that?"
"Totally!"
"Awesome! Here's a copper piece for your trouble! It's all I've got!"
"Here, take my two copper pieces!"
"Yeah, you don't fuck with an old hag that can fuckin' kill the fuckin' sun. Here's a piece from me as well!"
Mike takes the money and strolls off in satisfaction! Like taking money from an octogenarian!
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 12:23:52 pm
Jump out of pit.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 12:33:56 pm
Maps tries to cast Super High Jump again!
[Magic roll: 2-1]
He does so and jumps! After flying upwards for 200 feet, he begins to fall in a straight trajectory downward!
[Fall damage roll: 4+1]
He manages to use his regenerated bulk to bounce harmlessly for a bit before coming to a stop!
Maps notices a curious pink head looking at him from up above!
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 12:34:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 01:22:40 pm
Mike has a truly grandiose plan in mind! She is too good for begging on a street corner, you see. It is far too humiliating, dehumanizing and generally unpleasant. What she has in mind is something much, much greater!
You see, Mike shall attempt... TO BEG FROM THE GODS THEMSELVES!
[Celestial supplication roll: 2]
She bows, prays, hollers and gyrates suggestively, but there is no answer from the gods! They do not seem to be particularly inclined towards giving her money! After half an hour of sustained praying, Mike becomes sufficiently bored to stop!
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 01:22:59 pm
Cast super high jump again. The jump for the surface.
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 01:24:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 01:44:27 pm
Maps tries to shoot the curious head for peeping! It's a capital crime to peep, you know!
[Maps vs. Peeper: 2+2 vs. 2+1]
A bolt from the force crossbow flies by the peeper's head, rupturing his eardrum! That really hurts!
[Peeper reaction roll: 4]
The peeper withdraws! Good, now Maps can perform nefarious misdeeds in peace!
[Magic roll: 5-1]
Maps casts the Super High Jump spell and jumps upward, flying about a thousand feet in the air!
[Handy features roll: 1]
It appears that the walls around here are totally slick and covered in horrible slime! Maps allows himself to fall a hundred feet or so!
[Handy features roll: 2]
Now it's just featureless rock. Great.
[Handy features roll: 5]
There is a handy outcropping of rock covered in odd fungi! Perfect! Maps shoots the force crossbow to launch himself to it and land safely! Maps is now 800 feet above the pit!
In Bluetree, home of children with money...
Mike, in a witchy mood, looks for more children to scare!
[Search roll: 2]
Crap. All of them are gone from the streets. Must be able to smell a predator.
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 01:46:31 pm
Take some if it is useful.
Then explore outcrop.
Post by: miauw62 on December 14, 2012, 02:10:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2012, 02:31:03 pm
Maps takes a look at the fungi and attempts to identify them using his botanical knowledge!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He realizes that fungi aren't plants and as such are outside his area of expertise! Oh well. Better get to explorin'!
There isn't much to explore, really - there's the fungi and the wall, that's pretty much it.
[Perception roll: ?]
He notices a crack in the wall! It's pretty small, about the width of a human finger, but there is unmistakably light coming from it! A knock on the wall also reveals that the layer of rock is pretty thin here! A determined person with the proper tools might be able to break through!
In Bluetree...
Mike tries to find somebody who obviously needs smoothness lessons!
[Search roll: 1]
She finds a man who looks socially awkward and generally terrible with girls! She strolls up to him!
"Hi, handsome. You seem rather awkward. Need some help?"
The man turns to her with an odd look and speaks in an almost angelic voice!
"No, ma'am, I believe I have it covered, though it would be an honor to learn from a charming woman such as yourself."
[Mike will roll: 4]
The consciousness of the woman tries to surface for a bit, but Mike successfully keeps it down! That voice is nearly enough to make him melt, he doesn't need the woman interfering!
Post by: TopHat on December 14, 2012, 03:51:14 pm
Cast it.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 14, 2012, 05:28:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 04:40:54 am
Maps tries to write in a brand new spell called Maps' Rock-Tool Transformation!
[Spellmaking roll: 5]
After making sure he's got everything in order with the composition of the spell, Maps writes it into the book! It seems to take perfectly! However, Maps does notice that there is only one more page left in the book he could possibly write upon. Better make that one count!
[Magic roll: 4]
He manages to transmute a portion of the cracked wall into a perfectly serviceable pickaxe, sledgehammer and combined hatchet-hammer! There is now a hole in the wall where some rock used to be! Maps can now see inside the area beyond - it seems to be well-lit, surprisingly! The stonework within looks ancient! Clearly these are ruins of some kind!
The hole, however, is still too small for Maps to comfortably fit through!
In an altogether different cave...
Vincent tries to ask the metal man to punch the wall!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
The metal creature understands immediately and tries to punch the wall right where the chain is connected!
[Punch roll: 5+2]
The punch explodes a chunk of the wall with its sheer force! The end of the chain falls out of the wall! The metal guardian is free! Free!
Post by: TopHat on December 15, 2012, 05:14:20 am
Check other spell books for blank pages.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 06:01:28 am
Maps tries to mine out a larger hole in the wall!
[Mining roll: 4]
He manages to get through without issue! Yep, definitely ruins. Lots of stuff made of bones around here - chairs, tables, receptacles. Looks like a dining room.
Maps checks his other two spellbooks for more blank pages!
[Spellbook page roll: 2]
They're all filled completely! How unfortunate!
Post by: TopHat on December 15, 2012, 06:10:12 am
Then explore ruins.
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 06:14:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 07:06:29 am
Maps chooses to embrace his inner adventurer and go looting!
[Looting roll: 1]
He finds a cool-looking dagger! Awesome!
Upon picking it up, he realizes the trouble he's in - the dagger bites and stabs all on its own!
[Dagger vs. Maps: 4+1 vs. 6]
Maps hurls the dagger into a wall before it can bite him a whole lot!
[Dagger sticking roll: 1]
The dagger, however, flies right out of the wall and heads for Maps again!
In Bluetree...
Mike tries to perform some street juggling to earn money!
[Object choice roll: 6]
She chooses a priceless sculptural ensemble in the center of town - the Knights of Glass, and tries to juggle those!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
It's rather difficult, but she manages to juggle the statues quite nicely! Soon enough a crowd of townspeople has gathered around her!
[Townspeople reaction roll: 6]
They begin chanting at her to drop the statues! It looks like they don't really like these statues much! However, they do have an appetite for pointless destruction that Mike can appreciate!
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 07:10:30 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 08:02:21 am
Mike tries to drop the statues in a perfect rhythm!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
She does so, making sure to take extra care to hurt Mr. Noone, the owner of the store with the lead glass piece! Noone is hit with several shards of glass as the people applaud!
[Noone endurance roll: 2]
He falls down bleeding and screaming!
[People reaction roll: 6]
The people applaud some more! It appears nobody liked Mr. Noone.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 08:09:50 am
Mike will go over to him and see if he has any lead glass. Check if the crowds are okay if i take it. If they are, take it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 08:41:13 am
Mike heads over to Mr. Noone and searches the screaming man's pockets! He doesn't seem to have any glass, but he does have a key to the lead glass display case hanging around his neck! Mike grabs it and runs to the display case, unlocking it and taking the piece of lead glass!
[Crowd reaction roll: 4]
The crowd doesn't really object to that latest bit of home invasion and begins to quietly disperse, having received their dose of bread and circuses for the day.
Mike stops to appreciate the piece of lead glass! It is a minor treasure, after all.
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 09:39:32 am
((Good-roll-streak, don't fail me now.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 09:48:25 am
Mike tries to prepare a door for some demon-summoning! She finds a relatively bare wall and begins drawing!
[Door preparation roll: 6+1]
She covers the wall in arcane symbols detailing magical connections of all kinds, providing a written author's commentary on every tiniest detail! Looks like this will work! Time to summon the Demon of Light!
[Ritual roll: 2+1]
She chants for a while, and the door begins to glow! In a few hours, the glow intensifies! However, she runs out of memorized text before it can fully open! Uh...
[Intelligence roll: ?]
She has no idea what to do, so she just opts to wait!
[Demon appearance roll: 1]
The portal immediately changes color from blinding white to strange purple! A hand appears from it and tries to grab Mike!
[Mike evasion roll: 3]
She struggles for a while, but the hand slowly drags her to the portal! It is about to pull her through!
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 10:02:38 am
Post by: Firelordsky on December 15, 2012, 10:35:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 10:50:34 am
Mike tries to whack the impudent hand with her book!
[Mike vs. Hand: 1 vs. 6]
The hand merely squeezes tighter as a response!
[Mike endurance roll: 1]
Mike feels something important crack and begin to bleed! Uh oh. She passes out as she is dragged through the portal!
[Mike waking up roll: 6]
She wakes up after a short while, hurting all over, and tries to stand up!
She finds that she seems to be slowly sinking into the ground! A horrible voice comes from the darkness!
"I SEE YOU'RE UP. GOOD. WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO MISS THE DROWNING THAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN. WHO ARE YOU, BY THE WAY, AND WHY DID YOU SUMMON ME?"
In a cave somewhere...
Vincent thinks about where should he go to look for civilization!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Probably right in the deep darkness of the cave. Yep, that seems like the best place to start looking! Vincent and his buddy forge ahead in the hopes of finding friendly people!
[Exploration roll: 3]
They go into the darkness a bit and find that not being able to see impedes their progress quite a bit!
[? roll: ?]
He hears an odd clicking sound come from the darkness!
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 10:57:31 am
Mike will try to convince the demon to NOT drown her!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 11:24:08 am
Mike tries to explain why she's here before she sinks beneath the ground!
"Oh, great Demon of Light, I have summoned thou to regain my ghostly immortality, as you see, some demon hunters destroyed one of the holy artifacts I was bound to!"
[Reaction roll: ?]
She hears an awful cackling sound come from everywhere at once!
"YOU WISH TO BE IMMORTAL? HOW AMUSING. HAVEN'T GRANTED A REQUEST LIKE THAT IN AN ETERNITY!"
There is a brief silence with an air of deliberation!
"VERY WELL, I, THE DEMON OF P-UH, LIGHT! YES, THE DEMON OF LIGHT SHALL GRANT YOUR REQUEST! ARE YOU PREPARED TO PLEDGE YOUR SOUL TO ME, THEN?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 11:36:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 12:24:03 pm
Mike pledges her soul to a demon with all the enthusiasm she can muster!
"Sure, why not."
There is a sound like lightning striking a bowl of soup as she says this!
"EXCELLENT! ENJOY YOUR IMMORTALITY! SEE YOU SOON!"
[Boon roll: 6]
"REMEMBER, SHOULD YOU BE UNABLE TO FIND A BODY TO POSSESS, YOU WILL RETURN TO ME! PERMANENTLY!"
Suddenly Mike finds herself in the store again! Her entire lower torso is horribly mangled, as are her legs! Well, she'll probably never walk again. How nice.
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 12:33:37 pm
((Wait, so nothing changed, except that i lost my lower body?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 12:40:16 pm
Mike looks for some crutches!
[Search roll: 4-1]
She drags herself this way, she drags herself that way, but no crutches are around! She does spot a chair she could sit on, though! It looks rather comfy!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 12:44:24 pm
Mike will resist the chair, and try to find some long weapons, like spears or halberds, to walk with!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 01:08:33 pm
Mike searches for some long weaponry to support herself with! Wouldn't want to go against longstanding traditions, after all.
[Search roll: 6-1]
She does, in fact, find a set of obsidian-tipped spears! They look ridiculously sharp! It will be difficult to walk with them, but probably possible!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 01:23:22 pm
Mike will practice spear-walking!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 01:29:34 pm
Mike tries to walk with the two spears!
[Spearwalking practice roll: 6]
She lifts herself up on the two spears and practices running with them! It works perfectly right up to the point where she needs to stop, whereupon she lands flat on her face!
[Endurance roll: 4]
It doesn't really hurt that much, however!
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2012, 01:34:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2012, 02:25:27 pm
Mike tries to practice some more!
[Practice roll: 5]
She gets up and walks for a bit, getting a feel for spear-walking! After a while she can say she's a fairly competent spearwalker! It's a lost art to be sure!
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 05:54:16 am
Then carry on looting.
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 06:23:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 07:21:13 am
Maps tries the time-honored trick of blasting a dagger in mid-air with a bolt of pure force!
[Maps vs. Dagger: 6+2 vs. 5+1]
The dagger's blade is noticeably bent as the bolt hits it! The dagger's power seems to weaken, but it still tries to stab Maps in all the most tender places!
[Dagger vs. Maps: 2 vs. 4]
Maps successfully dodges the inept, aerodynamically unsound thrust of the dagger and tries to shoot it once again!
[Maps vs. Dagger: 5+2 vs. 5]
The dagger is struck once again and falls to the ground! It seems like the power within dissipates, the blade of the weapon mangled beyond repair!
Maps dusts himself off and carries on looting!
[Looting roll: 5]
After rolling through the ruins and admiring beautiful frescoes describing an incredibly violent apocalypse, Maps stumbles upon a rectangular steel plate! That wouldn't be entirely unusual, but it seems to be floating in the air of its own volition!
There appears to be a man clad in bright yellow robes appreciating the plate!
In a glassmaker's shop...
Mike tries to practice her spearwalk-fighting! It is the logical next step, is it not?
[Practice roll: 6]
She balances on one spear and stabs at a conveniently located chair, and lo, it is stabbed most severely! She tries to balance on the other spear and stab at the chair! Yea, if that spear were a man, 'twould be deader than a doornail!
Now for the double-stab! Mike uses the spears to propel herself in the air and land on the chair, piercing and definitely killing the innocent chair! Mike believes that she has got the hang of this!
However, both of the spears now seem to be stuck in the chair's wooden frame. Spears that she also used for movement.
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 07:34:29 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 07:46:44 am
Mike will yell for somebody to help her pull out the spears!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 09:00:24 am
Maps rolls up next to the man and tries to achieve a similar level of appreciation for the floating plate!
[Appreciation roll: 2]
Honestly, the plate looks a bit boring. It's all featureless and stuff! Somebody really should take the time to properly decorate it, Maps thinks. How can you call the plate something special if there isn't even anything written on it? So it floats, big deal. It's not awesome in any way, Maps thinks.
[Man reaction roll: 5]
The man doesn't turn to Maps or move his lips, but he can hear his voice regardless!
~A beauty, isn't it? Truly a miracle of magic and science. It stays afloat no matter what you place on it, and only through a concentrated effort of will can you move it. Absolutely glorious.~
Maps considers this information for a bit!
Stuck in a perforated chair...
Mike, crippled and stuck in a most unfortunate way, decides to yell for help!
[Yelling roll: 3]
She emits a feeble whine, hoping someone will hear it and come over!
[Response roll: 2]
Nobody comes. Filthy peasants. See if she helps them later!
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 09:53:51 am
Ask the man how such a thing could be useful.
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 10:03:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 10:15:30 am
Maps concentrates on the boring-looking plate, willing it to move!
[Will roll: 4+1]
It flies up to him, coming to a gentle stop right next to him! The plate itself is about three feet wide and three feet long, plus about an inch thick.
"What possible use could this have?"
Maps can see the man smirk for a second.
~Four words. High. Speed. Aerial. Vehicle.~
In Mr. Noone's Glass Emporium...
Mike, dissatisfied at the lack of immediate aid provided, tries yelling louder! That always works!
[Yelling roll: 2]
She tries to yell louder, but finds herself unable to! A low whine is all her poor vocal cords can manage at the moment, unfortunately!
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 10:16:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 10:23:51 am
Mike lowers herself on the ground and tries to swing her chair around!
[Swinging roll: 6]
She swings it so hard that the chair flies off the spears! Well, that solves that problem!
[Chair flight roll: 3]
The chair lands in a cabinet full of glass, making an awful racket!
[Villager reaction roll: 6]
A villager pokes his head into the store, chuckles, then leaves! Asshole.
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 10:30:20 am
Mike will go outside and ask a villager the way back to Yellowgen.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 10:39:10 am
Mike looks for a villager to question on where Yellowglen might be found!
[Search roll: 2]
None are in sight, however! They seem to have all gone somewhere!
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 10:40:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 10:54:12 am
Mike tries to find a religious institution of some kind in town!
[Search roll: 3]
There is a small shrine to Narcillicus in the center of town, but that's pretty much it. Seriously, it's like the people just up and disappeared.
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 11:06:34 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 11:25:07 am
Mike decides to travel back to the previous town, whatever its name was!
[Travel roll: 5]
She gets there with surprising rapidity, reaching it in only two hours! That's actually faster than the time she had legs to help her!
She tries to find somebody to ask about the location of Yellowglen!
[Search roll: 4]
There's a knowledgeable-looking sort right outside the town gates! She asks the fellow for directions!
[Man reaction roll: 3]
"Yellowglen? What? You want me to point you to Yellowglen? I don't even know where that is! Ask somebody else, will you? Try the blacksmith."
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 11:34:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 11:40:24 am
Mike heads over to the blacksmith to ask him about Yellowglen! The blacksmith, a rather short fellow with a shaved head, answers promptly:
[Reaction roll: 2]
"Piss off, will you?"
Post by: Firelordsky on December 16, 2012, 11:41:53 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 11:47:29 am
Mike will convince the inhabitant of Uh to give him directions to Yellowgen.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 01:03:48 pm
Vincent and his nice new buddy go on to investigate the clicking sound! It can only be treasure, Vincent thinks!
[? roll: ?]
The clicking suddenly stops! Whether that's a good or bad thing is yet to be seen!
[Perception roll: ?]
There is a complete silence in the darkness as far as Vincent can hear!
[Metal Guardian perception roll: ?]
His metal buddy seems completely peaceful and vaguely bored!
In a blacksmith's shop...
Mike has an idea - she will present an ultimatum using her best weapon: annoyance!
"You can either tell me where it is, or have me around here all day. Your choice."
[Blacksmith reaction roll: 6]
The blacksmith puts down his tools, sighs and begins to speak rapidly!
"East along the road, take the right fork. Follow the path and climb the stairs. Once up, check the wind. If it blows east, go west. If it blows any other way, go northwest. Eventually you'll get to a platform. Stand on it and say "Zxcytjkprk" three times fast. You'll find yourself in a plain surrounded by naked women. Do not speak to them or they'll eat you. Go south until you reach a hungry plant. Offer it a head of cabbage and ask it to send you to Yellowglen. It'll send you there. If not, call upon Almiria and say "Mpokzitran didn't pay for lunch!" Everything should be okay then. If it isn't, you are in grave danger."
"Is that the only path?"
"The only one that any have survived."
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2012, 01:11:40 pm
"You're not kidding? Ah well, i have survived worse things..."
Mike will find a cabbage head and make sure he properly memorized all the directions.
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 01:49:18 pm
If yes, FLY out of the pit to the surface!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 16, 2012, 02:00:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 02:11:22 pm
Mike briefly stares at the blacksmith with an open mouth, then closes it!
"You're not kidding? Ah well, I have survived worse things..."
With that ominous remark, she leaves on her quest for cabbage!
[Search roll: 6]
A head of cabbage falls out of a passing cart! It's a bit banged up!
Mike blows on it and then places it in her pack! Should be okay. She repeats the directions in her head!
[Memorization roll: ?]
She feels that she has memorized the directions perfectly! She is ready for action!
In the Floating Plate Chamber...
Maps asks if the man would particularly mind handing over the plate!
[Man giving mood roll: 3]
~You'll have to give me something in return! Something pretty to look at as well. May I look in your pack?~
In a dark cave...
Vincent, not about to go adventuring in total darkness, decides to get out of the cave before an ancient monster abducts him or something! He has the metal creature watch his back as he leaves!
[? roll: ?]
He hears the odd clicking return as he steps out of the darkness! There is definitely something in there. However, that something will have to wait for another time! Vincent and his metal companion go to explore the woods!
[? roll: ?]
[Exploration roll: 1]
They manage to find a sign of civilization - a tribe of hostile-looking elephant people!
[Elephant people reaction roll: 4]
They eye him with suspicion, but don't seem to feel like attacking him just yet!
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 02:44:58 pm
If he says no, give him all three cool pipes.
If he still says no, kill him to death.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 03:09:00 pm
Maps makes an offer to the man!
"Would you give me the plate if I gave you... THIS COOL PIPE?"
He brandishes the pipe in what he hopes is an enticing manner!
[Man reaction roll: 5]
~Sold! Haven't had a good smoke since my old pipe broke 200 years ago!~
He takes the pipe and makes an offering gesture at the hovering plate!
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 03:16:54 pm
Will the plate to follow me and carry on exploring the ruins.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 16, 2012, 03:22:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 16, 2012, 03:45:39 pm
Maps wills the hoverplate to follow him!
[Will roll: 6+1]
It slides under him, lifts him into the air and then rockets off into the depths of the ruins!
[Exploration roll: 4]
There's nothing overly threatening about these ruins, it seems. There are people in yellow robes wandering around, it seems. Eventually Maps reaches a room full of books! There is a counter here! A man in yellow robes is standing behind it!
~You're back. Is there anything else you wanted?~
In a village of the Elephant People...
Vincent tries to make the most peace-loving, non-threatening gestures he can!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He tries to shank one of the elephant people with double halberds! How else are they supposed to know that he is not to be trifled with?
[Vincent vs. Elephant Person: 5+2 vs. 4+1-1]
Behold, he is shanked! He is shanked most painfully!
[Elephant Person endurance roll: 5]
He doesn't mind a whole lot, though! He just attacks!
[Elephant Person vs. Vincent: 1+1 vs. 1+2]
His recent shanking does seem to have rattled him somewhat, however, as he just charges past Vincent, hitting only thin air!
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant Person: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
Vincent's metal friend kicks the elephant person to the ground easily!
[Village reaction roll: 2]
It looks like elephant people are gathering! Not in a very harmless or friendly manner, either!
Post by: TopHat on December 16, 2012, 03:52:58 pm
And... What other books do you have?
Post by: Firelordsky on December 16, 2012, 06:36:26 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on December 16, 2012, 08:06:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 01:45:04 am
Maps asks for permission to browse the selection in this fine store!
~Go ahead, sir. Peruse it however long you please.~
Maps takes the opportunity to do so, being an appreciator of literature!
[Search roll: 2]
It appears that this store is full of entertaining fiction novels! Common subjects include hoverplate gangs, the implications of horrid transformation on romance and various other things Maps had not ever even considered!
In a village of elephant people...
Vincent, feeling confident about his odds, chooses to go ahead and kill these elephant people! He and his metal buddy charge the gathering natives!
[Vincent vs. Elephant People: 4+2 vs. 2+3]
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant People: 1+2 vs. 5+3]
Vincent manages to stab one right in the chest! The elephant person falls down bleeding! The other 11 elephant people look quite pissed! In fact, when Vincent's metallic friend charges them, it just gets lifted into the air by the mob!
[Counterattack: Elephant People vs. Metal Guardian: 5+3 vs. 6+2]
However, the metal guardian's relentless kicking ensures that they don't get very far with their sordid plans, dropping the metal guardian soon after!
[Elephant People vs. Metal Guardian: 6+3 vs. 6+2]
They kick and punch it for a while, but it doesn't really do a whole lot, what with the metal guardian being, you know, metal.
[Vincent vs. Elephant People: 5+2 vs. 3+3]
Vincent uses the elephants' distraction to stab another one in the gut most severely, making him fall to the ground!
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant People: 2+2 vs. 5+3]
The metal guardian remains on the ground and takes its beating like a very lazy man!
[Counterattack: Elephant People vs. Metal Guardian: 6+3 vs. 2+2]
The elephant people jump up and down on the metal guardian and try to smash it in any number of ways, but only succeed in making its limbs slightly bent!
[Elephant People intelligence roll: ?]
The announce that this problem is best solved later and choose to focus on beating up Vincent!
[Elephant People vs. Vincent: 2+3 vs. 2+2]
One of them pushes Vincent backwards, putting him slightly off-balance!
[Vincent vs. Elephant People: 2+2 vs. 3+3]
He keeps on stepping back as the elephant people advance!
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant People: 1+2 vs. 1+3]
The Metal Guardian remains on the ground as the people try to run Vincent through!
[Elephant People vs. Vincent: 4+3 vs. 4+2]
A rock hits Vincent on the head, making a nasty crack!
[Vincent vs. Elephant People: 1+2 vs. 4+3]
Vincent charges at the elephant people, unwilling to take any more of this! As he finds himself in the middle of a pack of angry elephant humanoids, he wonders if this was perhaps not the best idea!
[Counterattack: Elephant People vs. Vincent: 1+3 vs. 1+2]
He is given a kick to the ribcage! It kind of stings!
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant People: 1+2 vs. 3+3]
The metal guardian remains on the ground, looking at the melee happening right in front of him!
[Counterattack: Elephant People vs. Metal Guardian: 3+3 vs. 1+2]
A rock is thrown at it from the crowd! The metal guardian looks sad now!
[Elephant People vs. Vincent: 1+3 vs. 1+2]
Vincent is punched on the shoulder by one elephant person, but the others dare not approach, fearing his halberds!
[Vincent vs. Elephant People: 1+2 vs. 2+3]
Vincent swings his halberds around a bit, but the elephant people just retreat, then move in to strike between his swings!
[Metal Guardian vs. Elephant People: 6+2 vs. 2+3]
The metal guardian, insulted by the rock thrown at it, suddenly leaps to its feet and grabs two elephant people, smashing their heads together and caving in their skulls! With that done, it grabs another one and headbutts it most unpleasantly, relocating its brains to the ground! There are seven elephant people left!
[Elephant People morale roll: 2]
The elephant people, blindsided by the metal guardian's vicious assault, run away to the other side of the village!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 03:56:44 am
Post by: Yoink on December 17, 2012, 05:19:48 am
"Nah, nah," He began to improvise an excuse, "We gotsta get goings! We no gots time for findin' no secludey-spots! Dey could catch us an' stuff! Let's go!"
>Have whoever's driving the wagon make haste to Bob's house! Give directions if needed!
>Implore everyone to keep calm and quiet so our inevitable pursuers don't catch us!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 08:38:43 am
Maps kindly asks the man if he has any other books that deal with stuff that has some practical use!
[Man reaction roll: 4]
~Ah, a discerning customer. I might have something for you out back. Let me bring it out.~
The man seems to float through a curtain, returning not half a second later!
[Book roll: ?]
It's a book with a silvery cover! On it are written golden letters, spelling out "The Penultimate Book of Magic". Penultimate, eh? Sounds pretty good.
~Provide me with something of value and you can have it, good sir.~
In Yellowglen...
Timothy tries to stop the scary-crows from doing anything rash!
"Nah, nah, we gotsta get goings! We no gots time for findin' no secludey-spots! Dey could catch us an' stuff! Let's go!"
[Fred reaction roll: 3]
"And how would they catch us, exactly? Their homes are on fire, their children are on fire, their village is on fire. They'll be busy there for a few hours, definitely. They can't stop us. I can't see any reason why we shouldn't just set this waste of space on fire and dump him on the side of the road. Would solve all of our problems."
[Timothy quick thinking roll: 6]
"But theyse might have seen youse an' stuff! Maybe dey send a followin' party! That not be fun party at all!"
"Bah, fine. Let's get a wagon and get out of here, then we kill the geezer."
The group goes out to find a wagon to steal!
[Wagon roll: 3]
There aren't any wagons, but there is a wheelbarrow! That should help transport Louis!
"Jim, you push the wheelbarrow. The rest of us follow. You may lead us, ghost."
Timothy leads the scary-crows out of the town, making sure to avoid the unfriendly crossbowmen! They make their way to the castle as fast as possible!
[Encounter roll: 2]
They have almost gotten to the surrounding ramparts of the castle when they notice something following them!
"Hey, it's one of our classmates! Honor student, that one! We always hated him."
"HE'S A RESPONSIBLE YOUNG STRAWPERSON AND YOU ARE MERELY JEALOUS OF HIS SUCCESS!"
"We're mostly disgusted by him, really. Look at him, coming to rescue you of all people. What a leech. And a stool pigeon, too. Better kill him as well."
Fred turns around and tells Jim to stop pushing Lou! The honor student runs up!
"End of the line, assholes! You think you can get away with this? Think again!"
"Who's gonna stop us? You? Brown-noser of the year's gonna stop us?"
[Standoff roll: 2]
"CITIZEN ERNEST, TOP OF THE MILITARY CLASS OF THE YEAR, THAT'S WHO'S GOING TO STOP YOU!"
"GIVE 'EM HELL, CITIZEN ERNEST!"
"Come and get me, punk!"
Citizen Ernest runs up to Citizen Fred and tries to spin-kick him in the face!
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 2+1 vs. 4+1]
Citizen Fred just steps aside, letting Citizen Ernest flop to the ground!
"That the best you got?"
Post by: Yoink on December 17, 2012, 09:19:10 am
> Quickly have the strawfolk tie up the foolish honour student! Keep an eye out for more pursuers meanwhile!
>If we lack enough rope, I'll just telekinetically launch him upwards and away so we can get going.
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 09:32:06 am
If he doesn't buy it, give him another pipe
Post by: miauw62 on December 17, 2012, 11:16:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 11:48:29 am
Timothy is faced with a situation of increasing ridiculosity, and he fears that might not even be a real word! He looks around for rope!
It appears nobody brought any. Oh well. Telekinesis time!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
Citizen Ernest is lifted up into the air slightly!
"What's this? Magic?"
"Magic of me kicking your ass, that's what it is!"
[Citizen Fred vs. Citizen Ernest: 2+1 vs. 3+1]
Citizen Ernest twists around and avoids a kick from Citizen Fred! He tries to kick the son of a gun right back!
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 2+1 vs. 2+1]
However, he finds that he is too far from Fred for the kick to reach!
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 3]
Timothy raises Citizen Ernest slightly higher up in the air! Citizen Ernest is now out of the reach of Citizen Fred!
[Citizen Lou escape roll: 3]
Citizen Lou seems to be trying to sneak away right now!
[Jim vigilance roll: 3]
Jim looks at Citizen Lou! Citizen Lou keeps trying to get out, not minding him!
[Jim intimidation roll: 2]
He stares at Citizen Lou as the latter gets out of the wheelbarrow!
[Citizen Fred vigilance roll: 5]
Citizen Fred manages to turn around just in time to see Lou try to escape!
[Citizen Fred intimidation roll: 3]
"You come back here, or I'll find you and cover you in pitch, then burn you! Not that I won't burn you anyway, I'll just make it extra painful if you try to run!"
[Citizen Lou reaction roll: 4]
Citizen Lou decides it would be wiser to stop, what with everyone having spotted him! He gets back into the wheelbarrow!
In a bookstore...
Maps tries to weasel out of the price for the book by claiming that the pipe was payment enough!
~Sorry, that was a different transaction. You'll have to offer something else.~
"How about another, EVEN COOLER PIPE?"
He offers the pipe!
[Man reaction roll: 5]
~Sold! You can never have enough pipes, I find.~
He hands James the book! It feels powerful, very powerful!
In the township of Uh...
Mike looks for filthy vagrants to recruit for her cause!
[Search roll: 4]
There is a seemingly lice and flea-infested, but mercenary-looking and, most importantly, very large transient hanging around a nearby inn! He looks like prime recruiting material.
Mike walks up to the man and asks if he wants to join her on a perilous journey!
[Man reaction roll: 3]
"That depends entirely on what you'll pay me, really. I'm not some common adventurer out for fame and fortune. I am a consummate professional seeking employment, you know."
Post by: miauw62 on December 17, 2012, 11:53:56 am
"I left some stuff in Yellowgen, a magical focus and some flame-resistant robes. I don't really need them, i mainly need one other item that i left there too, so if we make it there, you can have them."
Mike will convince the mercenary to join him, and ask his name.
Post by: Yoink on December 17, 2012, 12:07:47 pm
>Try again to propel Mister Derpface McErnest away telekinetically, preferably into a large, damaging object, like a cliff or a forest fire!
If I cannot, just have my strawfriends beat him into the strawperson equivalent of unconsciousness!
>Then ensure Citizen Lou is still secured in the wheelbarrow and flee with the others back to Bob's house!
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 12:26:37 pm
Then cautiously look through it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 01:13:26 pm
Mike tries to entice the mercenary with vague promises of potential wealth that she just so happened to leave where she happens to be going!
"I left some stuff in Yellowgen, a magical focus and some flame-resistant robes. I don't really need them, I mainly need one other item that I left there too, so if we make it there, you can have them."
[Man reaction roll: 1]
"Those wouldn't happen to be someone else's possessions, would they?"
"Well, no, they're on a headless corpse that dropped out of the sky!"
"A headless corpse that fell out of the sky and somehow remained completely untouched by the surrounding elements both criminal and natural?"
"It was in a camp full of bandits! Who could have had the gall to steal from a corpse in a bandit encampment?"
"I see. Well, I'm afraid I'll have to bid you farewell, Miss Crazy Scam Artist. It's been a pleasant chat. Cheerio!"
The large man quickly leaves, leaving Mike alone and feeling somewhat inadequate!
On the road again...
Timothy, lamenting the unfortunate lack of rope in the area, tries one last time to rocket Citizen Ernest off into the distance!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
The scary-crow is lifted even higher into the air before Timothy just gives up, letting the scary-crow fall to the ground!
[Ernest fall damage roll: 5]
He lands in a roll, not sustaining even the slightest injury! This doesn't, however, stop Citizen Fred and his buddy Citizen Tom from kicking him into submission!
[Fred vs. Ernest: 4+1 vs. 4+1]
Citizen Ernest blocks Fred's kick with his own foot in a maneuver that is entirely too cool to normally be practiced among scary-crows!
[Tom vs. Ernest: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
Citizen Tom chooses to applaud at this display! Citizen Ernest, however, has a different plan in mind for him!
[Counterattack: Ernest vs. Tom: 6+1 vs. 5+1]
Ernest tackles Tom right into a nearby bush!
[Tom bush entrapment roll: 1]
Tom screams and flails helplessly in the bush, getting more and more tangled up as he struggles!
"Okay, playtime's over. Now it's time this shit got real."
"I was about to say the same thing!"
[Citizen Fred vs. Citizen Ernest: 2+1 vs. 2+1]
Citizen Fred makes various amusing combat stances as Citizen Ernest adopts equally embarrassing defensive stances in the meantime! Timothy believes that shit has really gotten real right now!
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
Citizen Ernest goes for a dropkick, which results in him not only totally missing, but also landing face-first on the ground! Citizen Fred laughs as he gets up!
"Let me show you how it's done. Flying Scarecrow Kick, go!"
[Citizen Fred vs. Citizen Ernest: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
Citizen Fred leaps past Citizen Ernest and tumbles into the undergrowth!
"I see. So that's how it's done. Thanks, Fred, for showing me the true way of pratfalling!"
"Laugh it up, asshole, we'll see who pratfalls last!"
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
Citizen Ernest tries to get into some kind of martial stance again, but the only results of this are that A: he looks like an idiot, and B: he slips in the dirt, falling on his face. Again.
Really, this is getting rather embarrassing to watch.
[Citizen Fred vs. Citizen Ernest: 1+1 vs. 6+1]
Citizen Fred runs up to the currently prone Citizen Ernest and tries to stomp him as hard as possible! He bends forward and draws his leg back rapidly! At the same time! He knees himself in the forehead and drops to the ground, clutching his straw-filled head, swearing and moaning in pain! Despite nearly dying from laughter, Citizen Ernest manages to get up and try to strike back!
[Counterattack: Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 5+1 vs. 4]
Citizen Ernest kicks poor Citizen Fred in the side, causing him to roll over and swear some more!
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 1+1 vs. 3]
Citizen Ernest is about to finish Fred off, but opts to burst into laughter instead, pointing at Fred! Citizen Fred gets up in the meantime, trying to kick the smug bastard where no gentlestrawman kicks another gentlestrawman!
[Citizen Fred vs. Citizen Ernest: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
As Citizen Fred kicks at the annoying prick, Citizen Ernest, still busy laughing, catches his foot and counters with a punch of his own!
[Counterattack: Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 5+1 vs. 5+1]
Citizen Ernest throws a mean punch for once, but Citizen Fred is ready, catching it in his hand!
[Citizen Ernest vs. Citizen Fred: 5+1 vs. 1+1]
Citizen Ernest delivers a kick that looks absolutely bone-shattering straight into the magical strawnuts of Citizen Fred!
[Citizen Fred endurance roll: 3-1]
Citizen Fred's strawman face seems to crumple as the scary-crow falls backward, clutching his possibly-used family fortune! He mutters various colorful phrases that should never be uttered in polite society as Citizen Ernest, victor of this epic duel, walks past his prone form! He is heading for Jim, who is keeping a close eye on Citizen Lou!
Citizen Tom, meanwhile, seems to have run out of air for screaming, so he is now biding his time and quietly hyperventilating in the bush despite not actually needing to breathe!
In a bookstore...
Maps tries to find out more about the book from the man!
[Man knowledge roll: ?]
~I opened it once. It was the most amazing thing ever, I tell you. I can't remember what happened exactly, but you can bet your five faces that it was the most amazing thing ever.~
Good enough for Maps! He opens up the book!
[Book reaction roll: ?]
It seems like a perfectly ordinary spellbook, full of telekinesis spells, metamagical spells, fire spells, acid spells, all sorts of stuff. It's really thick, too.
"Doesn't seem so amazing to me."
~Give it time.~
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 01:17:44 pm
If nothing happens, attenuate the book!
Post by: miauw62 on December 17, 2012, 01:22:53 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 02:04:07 pm
Mike searches for some more schmucks to lure to an early death!
[Search roll: 2]
There aren't any! None that look gullible enough to fool into following her, anyway!
In a bookstore of some kind...
Maps tries to attenuate the Book of Penultimate Magic to himself!
[Attenuation roll: 5]
He achieves a perfect union with the book, feeling it as an extension of his mind!
[Book reaction roll: ?]
Something begins to happen! A connection forms between Maps' attenuated brain and something terrible, something awful! Something alien, too, by the looks of it!
[Maps will roll: 2+1]
Even though he does not let it take over, the... thing still takes up residence in his body! It feels very odd!
~THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS FINE BODY. I WILL COMMANDEER IT ON OCCASION. I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND. WOULDN'T WANT OUR RELATIONSHIP TO TURN SOUR, NOW WOULD WE?~
Post by: miauw62 on December 17, 2012, 02:07:44 pm
Mike will try to befriend a nearby animal.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 02:55:42 pm
Mike seeks out animals to befriend and potentially use for her own benefit!
[Search roll: 6]
She sees a bear wander into town! Perfect! Time for some befriendination!
[Befriendination roll: 4]
She and the bear reach an understanding after she nabs a jar of honey from a nearby vacant store and presents it to it! The bear seems to be willing to follow her!
Post by: miauw62 on December 17, 2012, 02:58:50 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 03:03:07 pm
Also ask man for details on what happened when he read it last time.
((as long as I stay away from forests Maps should be able to mentally fend it off.
I hope.
And you rolled a 6 for the book roll, disn't you.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2012, 03:45:10 pm
Mike, armed with a bear and not afraid to use it, marches off to Yellowglen, taking the east road! She comes upon a fork in the road. Remembering the blacksmith's advice, she takes the right path and goes up some stairs until she reaches a crossroads! She checks the wind!
It's blowing west. She must go east, then! She does so! Eventually she comes upon an odd platform! All going exactly as planned now! She says "Ygsxcpotluck" five times, making sure to carefully and slowly enunciate each sound!
She is instantly transported to a plain full of close-dancing bears! Most unusual! Quite unplanned, too. Silly lying blacksmith, why did he mislead her? Is it some kind of plot on his part?
In a bookstore...
For lack of a better option, Maps tries talking to himself!
~Who are you, weird alien consciousness-thing?~
~I AM THE POET.~
~Can I evict you from my brain?~
~NOPE. HERE TO STAY, PRETTY MUCH. WOULD YOU MIND IF I THREW A PARTY?~
Maps chooses to ignore the thing in his head for now and ask the man for any details on what happened when he read the book!
~Not a clue. It was pretty cool, though. Or so I think. I might be confusing "cool" with "soul-shatteringly terrifying". Happens sometimes. Comes with perspective.~
Post by: TopHat on December 17, 2012, 04:21:02 pm
Cast steal life force on THE POET!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 17, 2012, 05:05:26 pm
Post by: Yoink on December 17, 2012, 06:42:37 pm
Timothy muttered to himself, shook his head and strode over to stand somewhere between the violent Ernest and the loyal, brave Jim. He turned to face the attacker, putting on a stern, intimidating expression.
Now was not the time for his usual, happy-go-lucky playfulness. Now was not the time for the friendly ghost, who tried only to help the people he came across regardless of how little they thought of him. Right now, this daft Ernest was being very unreasonable.
Timothy had had enough.
It was time for the performance of a lifetime. Well. Deathtime. I don't know, you get the idea.
"Do you know who I am, worm?!" He bellowed.
"I am Krobash Bone-Scruncher the Seventh, known and feared across the seven seas and the nine deserts! Slayer of Lord Jeremy Pondhandle, who I's tore apart before his armies and used to knock down alla the the very walls of his castle! It was I who razed and burnt the forest of the Frau'Geulling people after one of them looked at me funny! My ancestors have slain kings and deities across every continent of the world, and it is my quest, my duty, my destiny to complete dis mission, lest the entire world fall apart and stop working! Does you wish to stand in my way, mortal?!"
>Stride fearlessly over to stand somewhere between Jim and Ernest, facing the latter, fold my arms and give the above speech.
>Just incase he isn't cowed into retreat, ensure that my back is to a decent-sized tree. So that if he charges at me, not knowing I am a ghost, he shall run straight through and smack into it, hopefully causing critical damage to himself.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 12:23:15 am
Maps considers the best method of stealing life force from the Poet!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He realizes it probably wouldn't work very well, considering that the Poet has taken residence up in his body and thus probably shares his unlife force. Evil possession is such an awful thing!
~IT'S NOT SO BAD, YOU KNOW. YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SUCK OUT MY LIFE FORCE OR IN FACT GAIN ANY OTHER BENEFIT FROM MY PRESENCE, BUT HEY, AT LEAST I BENEFIT FROM YOU! THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT?~
In the village of the elephant people...
Vincent and the metal guardian combine forces and try to run down the elephants in a single Genocide Charge!
[Elephant People escape roll: 5]
They scatter in many directions immediately as Vincent and his buddy approach! It'll be pretty difficult to kill them all now!
On the road to Castle Wossname...
Timothy, altogether surprised at the proficiency of Citizen Ernest, tries to intimidate him with a carefully-prepared speech!
"Do you know who I am, worm?! I am Krobash Bone-Scruncher the Seventh, known and feared across the seven seas and the nine deserts! Slayer of Lord Jeremy Pondhandle, who I's tore apart before his armies and used to knock down alla the the very walls of his castle! It was I who razed and burnt the forest of the Frau'Geulling people after one of them looked at me funny! My ancestors have slain kings and deities across every continent of the world, and it is my quest, my duty, my destiny to complete dis mission, lest the entire world fall apart and stop working! Does you wish to stand in my way, mortal?!"
[Citizen Ernest reaction roll: 3]
"Not to undermine your point there, but you seem to be dead, good sir. Plus I'm sure there's no such thing as a fraugelling. I aced both Geography and Ethnography back in school, you know."
"IT'S TRUE! HE DID!"
"Also, nobody has ever killed a god. So why don't you tell me what your real agenda is."
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 04:54:17 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 07:09:55 am
Post by: Firelordsky on December 18, 2012, 08:30:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 09:30:10 am
Maps tries to cast a spell to protect his unlife-force! That'll help, right?
[Magic roll: 3-1]
Nothing happens, though!
~JUST AS WELL. WOULDN'T HAVE DONE YOU ANY GOOD, ANYWAY. YOUR LIFE FORCE IS NOW MINE AS MUCH AS IT IS YOURS. THAT'S THE BEST PART OF SOUL PARASITISM, I THINK.~
In a field of dancing bears...
Mike, performing a wise bit of extrapolation, decides that not speaking to the bears is probably the best idea! They might be female bears, you know.
[Bear reaction roll: 4]
The bears just keep dancing with each other, paying Mike no mind!
In a village of recently attacked elephant people...
Vincent searches the corpses of the variously murdered elephant people!
[Loot roll: 3]
They mostly have nothing on them. Well, they have some stylish-looking clams, a bunch of interesting-looking animal teeth and a few herbs. That's it, really. Well, there's their own tusks, of course, but those will be difficult to remove.
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 09:34:56 am
A) Bernie already owns it and
B) there are lots of vulnerable old men out there who will be a lot easier to take over.
If unsuccessful, look at spells in book.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 10:46:16 am
Maps continues his internal dialogue with the Poet!
~What's the point of occupying my soul? Bernie von Glautzenheiser already owns it, plus there's so many more vulnerable old men around!~
~OH, I DON'T WANT YOUR SOUL. IT'S ABSOLUTELY FILTHY. WHO KNOWS WHERE IT'S BEEN. I DON'T REALLY NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU. I'M JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN.~
Maps, not very satisfied with the answer, looks at the spells in the book!
~BY THE WAY, DREADFULLY SORRY ABOUT THE BOOK. IT WAS A FAKE, YOU SEE. A CONDUIT TO GET ME HERE. THE SPELLS THEMSELVES DON'T ACTUALLY WORK, TO TELL THE TRUTH. I JUST THOUGHT THEY SOUNDED REALLY MAGICAL AND STUFF. WHEN YOU ATTUNED YOURSELF TO THE BOOK, YOU MERELY ATTUNED YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL TO RECEIVE ME. IT'S REALLY THE ONLY REASON I COULD BECOME SUCH A CORE PART OF YOUR MIND.~
The Poet mentally laughs inside Maps' head!
~I LOVE IT WHEN MAGES ACT PREDICTABLY. IT'S SO FUNNY. NOT THAT YOU'RE A MAGE IN THE STRICTEST SENSE OF THE WORD.~
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 10:52:34 am
Mentally punch the poet if it works.
If it doesn't work work out how to make them work.
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 11:07:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 12:20:08 pm
Maps tries to cast one of the spells from the spellbook! The spellbook being fake, this does not succeed. He feels insufficiently confident to punch himself in the mind as a result.
~IT'S GOOD THAT YOU REALIZE THAT I SPEAK THE TRUTH. WE COULD HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP SOON ENOUGH!~
Maps tries to figure out how to make the spells in the spellbook work!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
It's difficult to say, really. Probably impossible. The Poet said so, right?
~THAT I DID.~
In a plain of dancing bears...
Mike tries to mount her bear companion!
[Bear cooperation roll: 6]
As she sits down on the bear's back, the bear proceeds to run forward at a breakneck pace! It doesn't take very long before they reach a hungry goat!
"Give me a bit of food and you shall be transported!"
Mike hands over the head of cabbage!
"Odd. Why would you want to go there? Ah, no matter."
There is an odd flash of light before Mike feels herself hurtle through darkness, the bear falling right after it! She lands on some solid glass!
[Glass endurance roll: 2]
It cracks very badly, leaving Mike on very unstable ground! She looks around herself!
Everything seems to be a dull grey, with a single pane of glass under her running infinitely in every direction!
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 12:37:08 pm
the poet could be lying!
If uncussesful, write in a spell (in the new spellbook, or in the old one if no space) to make the book into a proper spellbook!
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 12:44:01 pm
Mike will look for her bear! If she finds him, she will call him Ekim!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 12:51:56 pm
Maps considers the possibility that the Poet could be a lying liar-pants, and thus is not to be trusted!
~I CAN BE TRUSTED! WHY WOULD I LIE, ANYWAY? I MOSTLY WROTE IN STUFF LIKE "MAGIC MISSILE" AND OTHER STUPID CRAP IN THERE, ANYWAY.~
Maps doesn't listen, though, and tries to write in a spell in the Penultimate Book of Magic! After biting his tail sufficiently for it to bleed a whole lot of blood, he begins writing!
[Spell writing roll: 4]
[Focus-making knowledge roll: ?]
He writes a perfectly serviceable spell to aid in focus-making! The usefulness of it is doubtful, though, considering that he doesn't really know much about focus making other than the fact that you really shouldn't chant the Empty Mind Chant! Not to mention that the bloody thing won't work anyway since the Penultimate Book of Magic isn't actually magical in any way!
He tries to write the same spell into the old spellbook, using up the last page in the process!
[Spell taking roll: 6]
It binds itself to the page instantly and perfectly! The words seem to have changed slightly, however! For instance, nowhere in the spell does it say "spellbook" anymore! How strange!
On an infinite pane of glass...
Mike looks for her bear!
[Bear location roll: 4]
It seems to be right next to her! In fact, it's the major source of the cracks in the glass! Who would have guessed an 800-pound bear isn't the best thing to drop on a fragile pane of glass?
She dubs the bear Ekim, following a subtle and ingenious naming convention passed down from her ancestors! If only they could see her now, all gender-flipped and naming things!
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 12:54:00 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 12:54:27 pm
'I'll do this yet, or my name's not John 'Maps' Johnson!'
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 01:20:05 pm
Mike tries to look around to see if there's anything around here!
Apart from the pane of glass and Ekim, she sees nothing. Vast amounts of nothing everywhere. Nothing above and nothing below.
She tries to carefully move away from Ekim!
[Careful movement roll: 1]
She gets up on her spears and tries to stand! The spears, however, cannot stand in place on this surface, making her slip and fall to the ground!
[Glass endurance roll: 5-1]
The glass cracks really badly, but does not break! Yet.
In a bookstore...
Maps tries to cast the spellbook spell from his spellbook!
"I'll do this yet, or my name's not John 'Maps' Johnson!"
~INDEED.~
[Magic roll: 2-1]
He manages to lessen the focusing properties of the book he cast the spell from! Damn!
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 01:23:38 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 01:30:40 pm
Chant the EMPTY MINDSPACE CHANT!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 02:24:54 pm
Mike tries to carefully crawl away from the increasingly dangerous Ekim!
[Careful movement roll: 4]
She slowly but surely makes her way to a less cracked area of the pane! Whew, safe at last!
[Ekim careful movement roll: 3]
Ekim rolls on his paws and tries to follow her! There is a cracking sound from beneath him!
[Glass endurance roll: 6-1]
The glass beneath him fails to break, so he just moves along, reaching Mike after a short stroll!
They seem safe for now! How unusual!
In a bookstore...
Maps tries the Empty Mind Chant!
[Chant roll: 5]
He feels oddly focused and able to concentrate on anything after chanting for a while! Cool!
~YES, QUITE!~
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 02:28:52 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 02:30:27 pm
((Time to pull a James.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 02:41:25 pm
Maps tries to figure out a way to focusify a nonmagical spellbook!
[Intelligence roll: ?+2]
He is certain that he needs to know the actual methods of making a focus, otherwise he is just operating in the business of making shit up!
~COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!~
On an endless pane of glass...
Mike tries her damnedest to disbelieve her current location and circumstances!
[Disbelief roll: 4]
She comes to the conclusion that none of this is real after a long internal debate with her subconscious love-slave! She waits to snap out of this illusion!
She's gonna snap out, she knows it!
Any minute now.
It's happening! It's happening! Oh, wait, no, it isn't.
She guesses that not everything she believes comes true! What a horrible world she must live in!
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 02:56:10 pm
Then ask man.
Then ask man if he knows anyone who does/might know.
((by that, I gather you mean gamble away all your possession, be beaten up by a mad dentist, almost get killed by a hare (twice) insult and become hated by half of the gods, get cursed repeatedly by the aforementioned, get attacked by a chimp, accidentally become locked in your mindspace, discover that the books you were reading have been looted while you were getting out of the mindspace, have half your limbs cut off by some guy with a magic sword, accidentally transmute yourself into a mutant mollusc-thing, finally decide to stop mucking about and do the quest, run around looking for a map, find one, only to somehow end up in a forest, forget who you are, fall down a pit, break then heal your legs repeatedly and then obliterate them, finally find an awesome spellbook, and then get your mind ridden shotgun by some... Thing, and then find out that the spellbook was a lie?))
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2012, 02:56:39 pm
((Actually, more the disbelief thing, but that works too))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2012, 03:34:59 pm
Maps asks the Poet if he knows anything about making foci!
~YES. YES, I DO.~
Well, that's good. He asks the man if he knows anything about making foci!
[Man knowledge roll: ?]
~Yes.~
"Do you know anybody who knows anything about making foci?"
[Man connections roll: 5]
~Yes.~
Excellent!
On an endless glass pane...
Mike explores the glass pane for an exit! There has to be one, right? Right?
[Exploration roll: 4]
She walks for what seems like an eternity until she spots a large red area right above her! It looks odd, not metallic or luminous, but made of some interesting tube-like material!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Wool! It's wool! Amazing!
Post by: TopHat on December 18, 2012, 03:42:04 pm
Then make spellbook a focus.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 18, 2012, 05:00:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 02:05:47 am
Maps asks the man to teach him!
"Teach me your secrets, great focus-maker!"
[Man pedagogical willingness roll: 5]
~I will teach you, Snailball! For free, no less!~
Maps claps his tails together in excitement!
~Okay, so first you have to go to the Room of Endless Mirrors. There you have to spend a week in meditation on the Empty Mind Chant. After that, you will come back here and our four-year training course can begin!~
Maps' only human face sags with disappointment!
"Is there no faster way? Like a crash course or something?"
~Those usually end in fire, death and misery for you. You can't half-ass focus making. Just doesn't work.~
"What about your contacts?"
~Well, they'll tell you the same thing. Except for the Inspector, of course.~
"Inspector?"
~Yeah, but good luck finding him. He only appears in people's heads when he feels like it from what I hear.~
~GLAD TO SEE MY REPUTATION PRECEDES ME.~
In a village of the Elephant People...
Vincent, disappointed at the lack of loot here, goes off to explore the forest with his best buddy!
[Exploration roll: 5]
Eventually he comes upon a town! It's not a very large town, but it has all the adventuring bases covered - blacksmith, trading post, inn, temple, there's even a castle Vincent can see off in the distance!
[Perception roll: ?]
He sees lots of friendly people stroll down the street! They look pretty happy with life in general. There's a street urchin hanging around the entrance to the inn! He seems to be running into people on purpose a lot. How clumsy of him!
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 04:29:49 am
Could you teach me focus making?
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 07:09:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 08:19:18 am
Maps is rather intrigued by the many names of the Poet!
~I DO HAVE MANY NAMES, YES. I PREFER TO BE CALLED THE POET, HOWEVER. THAT ONE'S THE NAME I CHOSE FOR MYSELF, AFTER ALL.~
~So, could you teach me focus making?~
~WHY, YES. ALL I NEED YOU TO DO IS RELINQUISH CONTROL OF YOUR OWN MIND FOR A SHORT BIT. IT'S DIFFICULT TO GRANT ANY KNOWLEDGE TO A TENSE MIND, YOU SEE. RELAX YOUR HOLD. I WILL THEN IMPART MY KNOWLEDGE TO YOU, EASY AS ONE-TWO-THREE.~
On a pane of glass...
Mike tries to fly!
[Attempt roll: 6]
She pushes herself off the ground! She rises! She ascends! She flies!
Gravity chooses the next moment to reassert itself and makes her smack into the pane of glass!
[Glass endurance roll: 1]
She crashes right through the pane of glass and begins to fall! It's pretty odd - as she falls, she sees what is unmistakably wood several miles off in the distance in front of her! Below her seems to be absolutely nothing! Well, nothing she can see, anyway!
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 08:47:53 am
use my willpower to mentally beat the poet up and steal his focus-making knowledge.
Post by: Yoink on December 19, 2012, 08:48:01 am
Timothy smiled his most enigmatic smile.
"You wants to know my agenda?"
>Pause for effect!
"My agenda is..."
>Another dramatic pause! Then telekinetically sucker-punch him through a nearby tree!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 09:16:57 am
Maps has a plan! He will chant the Empty Mind Chant again!
[Chant roll: 4]
He feels focused now! Now to figure out a way to mentally punch someone!
[Intelligence roll: ?+2]
Okay, so focus himself this way, then make sure he's thinking of nothing else, then consider the Poet's possible weaknesses...
~I BELIEVE MY GREATEST WEAKNESS IS MY BEWITCHING GOOD LOOKS AND UNMATCHED MANNERS.~
Then that is what Maps will strike at! He goes for a mighty mental punch!
[Mental punch roll: 1]
He manages to mentally punch his own mind out! He feels... oddly detached now. Almost as though somebody pulled him into the backseat of a carriage from the driver's position!
He is moving. He doesn't want to move, but he is moving!
~I LOVE BEING IN CONTROL. SAVES ME FROM HAVING TO ASK NICE EVERY TIME I WANT SOME SCHMUCK TO DO SOMETHING.~
In the woods...
Timothy looks at the expectant Citizen Ernest!
"My agenda?"
"Yes."
Timothy smiles his most enigmatic smile!
[Enigmaticness roll: 4]
It's really quite enigmatic, to his credit, and not in the "what in gods' names is wrong with this guy" way, either!
"You wants to know my agenda?"
"Yes, yes, I do."
"My agenda is..."
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
Citizen Ernest is rocketed off into the sky by Timothy!
"I HAD TO AAAAAAAAAAAAAASK!" he yells as he streaks across the heavens!
"OH, DAMN IT ALL. HE WAS DOING SO WELL, TOO."
[Citizen Lou bravery roll: 6]
"I GUESS I'LL JUST LEAVE ANYWAY!"
[Citizen Lou vs. Citizen Jim: 2+1 vs. 1+1-1]
Citizen Lou awkwardly kicks Citizen Jim away and tries to make a run for it!
[Lou escape roll: 3]
He runs past Timothy, trying to make his escape along the road!
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 09:20:35 am
Post by: Firelordsky on December 19, 2012, 09:59:40 am
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 11:06:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 11:28:42 am
Mike tries to float through the use of her telekinesis!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
She instantly stops, which shakes up her internal organs and breaks some of her bones!
[Mike endurance roll: 1]
One of those bones is the spine, unfortunately! Mike has become quadriplegic!
In a town of some kind...
Vincent, the metal guardian following closely behind, decides to run into the street urchin!
[Collision roll: 2]
He trips right over the poor little thing and drops to the ground!
[Endurance roll: 4]
He isn't all that hurt by this, however, and gets up immediately!
[Urchin endurance roll: 1]
This is mostly because he landed on the urchin, though. With his halberds out. The mess is quite spectacular, if he may say so himself.
In a passive state within his own body...
Maps tries to take his own body back in what is assuredly going to be an epic battle of wills!
[Battle of wills: Maps vs. The Poet: 2+1 vs. 4+2]
The Poet proves extremely resilient in a mental sense, and seems to be forcing Maps back even further!
~DO NOT BE SO HASTY! I WILL USE THIS BODY FOR A WHILE, THEN I WILL LEAVE YOU! DON'T WORRY. EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT! WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?~
[Battle of wills: The Poet vs. Maps: 2+2 vs. 2+1]
Maps feels himself slowly lose ground within his own mind! The songs of the Poet are ringing through his aural nerves!
[Battle of wills: Maps vs. The Poet: 5+1 vs. 6+2]
He gets pushed further and further!
[Battle of wills: The Poet vs. Maps: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
The Poet proves strong enough to relocate Maps to a distant corner of his own mind! How awful!
~STOP FIGHTING, WILL YOU? I DON'T WANT TO TOTALLY ERASE YOU, YOU KNOW. WOULD LEAVE A TERRIBLE MESS WHEN I VACATE YOUR BODY.~
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 11:40:13 am
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 11:40:22 am
Build up large amounts of hatred towards the poet
Come back with a vengeance.
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 11:46:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 12:01:56 pm
Mike tries to telekinetically hold her spine together!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
She manages to move the broken ends of the spinal column back together, but she doubts this will be particularly useful! Spinal injuries are somewhat notorious for their silly unwillingness to heal, after all!
She notices the hairy form of Ekim approaching!
[Ekim fortuitous falling roll: 2]
Ekim falls down and clips Mike slightly, sending her spinning around!
In a decreasingly self-owned mind...
Maps tries to beat that fiendish Poet through judicious use of the Empty Mind Chant!
[Chant roll: 6]
He chants, chants and chants, then chants some more! He chants so much, in fact, that he forgets what he was doing!
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 12:07:55 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 12:13:03 pm
((no. I'm just trying to get rid of the poet-thing.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 12:51:04 pm
Mike tries to possess the body of the falling Ekim! She tries to leave her body!
[Will roll: 2]
Hm, it seems that leaving her body voluntarily does not come as easily to her as she might have supposed! Ekim quickly plummets out of sight as Mike strains to concentrate on her current task!
Inside the mind of John "Maps" Johnson...
Maps tries to remember what it was he was doing!
[Memory roll: ?]
Was he just going for one of those introspective trips? Those are quite popular these days. It would explain how he feels oddly bodiless at the moment! Yeah, that's probably it.
Boy, Maps is glad he solved that problem. That's what introspective journeys are for, right? Solving problems?
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 01:00:58 pm
Inform the poet how stupid he is - challenge him to FIND THE EXACT VALUE OF PI!
Proceed to mercilessly taunt him about his ignorance when he fails
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 02:09:37 pm
Maps tries to remember who this poet fellow he's so peeved about might be!
[Memory roll: ?]
Doesn't ring a bell, to tell the truth.
~HAVING FUN?~
~Who are you?~
~OH, I'M THE PRESTIDIGITATOR. YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ME, EVEN THOUGH YOU CURRENTLY OCCUPY A DISTINCT PORTION OF MY MIND. I WAS THINKING OF GIVING YOU MY BODY WHEN I'M DONE WITH IT.~
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 03:13:39 pm
((pretty please can there be stuff saying he's James in there...))
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 03:18:54 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 19, 2012, 03:38:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2012, 04:08:48 pm
Maps searches through a few of the recesses of his memory! Maybe there's something cool in here!
[Search roll: 6]
He finds a room filled with filing cabinets! Compared to the rest of his memories, which only date back a day, these seem to date back to, well, the day of his birth! Awesome!
Too bad all of it's blocked off by a giant steel door marked "ENTRY PROHIBITED BY DECREE OF JOHN "MAPS" JOHNSON ON THE GROUNDS OF CONTAINING IRRELEVANT AND INCORRECT DATA". The door is locked, and there is no keyhole in sight! In fact, you could just as well call this door a wall, considering that there doesn't seem to be a way of opening it!
In a grey void...
Mike chooses to continue falling, relaxing her telekinetic grip on herself!
She falls and falls, remembering to aim her head up! After about an hour of falling, she lands on something!
[Fall damage roll: 4-1]
It's Ekim! He's dead from an overdose of ceramic to the body. Makes for a nice landing pillow, though! Mike doesn't feel a thing! Her pelvis might be totally shattered, but she feels totally okay!
Well, except for the fact that she is now on an endless ceramic surface and covered in bear gore. Those are definitely not okay!
In a town of some kind...
Vincent discreetly leaves the scene of the grisly bit of manslaughter and heads for the blacksmith!
He enters along with his metal companion and finds a tall, very thin and pale, though still soot-covered individual! Judging by his clothes and the tools in his hands, he must be the blacksmith! He definitely doesn't look the part physically, though!
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2012, 04:10:37 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 19, 2012, 04:20:13 pm
Vincent discreetly leaves the scene of the grisly bit of manslaughter and heads for the blacksmith!
I see what you did there.
Had to acknowledge pun. I'll return to lurking now.
Post by: TopHat on December 19, 2012, 04:52:25 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 19, 2012, 05:55:06 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 20, 2012, 02:18:02 am
Mike, despite being unable to move anything but her head, tries to scope out the plain around!
[Perception roll: ?]
She sees odd canyon-like depressions off in the distance, stretching off into the distance! That's certainly interesting!
Next to a seemingly insurmountable mental block...
Maps realizes that he didn't get as far as he has in life to be stopped by a petty door! He rolls back a bit, then tries to ram into the steel door!
[Ramming roll: 4]
He gets up to a decent speed and smacks into the steel door!
[Maps vs. Steel Door: 4 vs. 1+2]
The door loosens from the frame visibly, displaced by Maps' mighty charge! Again, again!
[Ramming roll: 3]
Feeling more confident in his weight than before, Maps doesn't try quite so hard this time! He still rams into the steel door, but it lacks a certain... barbaric force that the previous charge had!
[Maps vs. Steel Door: 4-1 vs. 5+1]
As such, it fails to displace the door in any way! In fact, it kind of hurts! Again!
[Ramming roll: 3]
He rams in the exact same manner once again, not one to learn from his mistakes!
[Maps vs. Steel Door: 3-1 vs. 2+1]
Predictably, it doesn't work. Maybe Maps should change his strategy?
[Ramming roll: 4]
He tries to ram harder this time!
[Maps vs. Steel Door: 6 vs. 3+1]
And it works! The door slides backwards a bit, with one corner popping out of the frame!
[Ramming roll: 2]
Maps pauses to compliment himself on a job well done!
In the Town of Eviscerated Urchins...
Vincent tries to ask the blacksmith if they have any rapiers!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Through a lot of pantomimed swashbuckling, he manages to express that a rapier is indeed what he wants!
[Blacksmith attention roll: 4+1]
The blacksmith watches intently for a bit, then nods!
[Blacksmith exotic sword roll: 5]
He produces three masterfully-crafted, deadly-looking rapiers from a cabinet nearby!
[Blacksmith nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He then makes various gestures detailing impolite and awful things he's done with Vincent's mother lately!
Post by: TopHat on December 20, 2012, 03:35:57 am
Then look through memories.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 20, 2012, 04:06:03 am
Maps, realizing that sheer muscle might not be the best way to take down a steel door, tries to use his force crossbow the finish the door off!
[Maps vs. Door: 4+1 vs. 2]
The door is heavily dented enough to fall right out of the frame! It now looks like an unusually thick soup bowl on the ground! Maps passes through the now-open doorway and goes on to search his memories for something funny and/or useful!
[Memory search roll: 4]
Okay, so, according to the files here, his name used to be James Lanthorn, he served a certain Bernie von Glautzenheiser, he was gifted with incredible misfortune and he seems to have encountered a female version of himself at some point in his adventures. Plus a rampaging dentist stole his teeth. And he managed to rally a peasant revolution through practicing his speaking. And he was sliced into bits by a six-armed scalpel-wielding chimp.
[Belief roll: 2]
Yeah, right. That totally happened and is not just the invention of a diseased mind. Yeah.
Post by: TopHat on December 20, 2012, 04:15:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 20, 2012, 05:09:33 am
Mike will telikinetically levitate towards the canyons.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 20, 2012, 06:24:41 am
Maps tries to logically evaluate the veracity of the information present in the memory files!
[Logic roll: 1]
You know, on second thought, it all seems totally believable and plausible to him! Guess he really is James Lanthorn after all! It says so right on the paper, doesn't it?
Through a complete failure in conventional logic of any kind, John "Maps" Johnson has realized that he is in fact James Lanthorn, no matter how painful and humiliating this realization may be!
On a seemingly endless ceramic surface...
Mike tries to telekinetically levitate toward the canyon!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
After floating for an interminable period of time, she manages to reach the canyon! It's somewhat wide, plus it's much darker than the ceramic around, which is white. Interesting!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 20, 2012, 12:29:18 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 20, 2012, 12:46:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 20, 2012, 01:06:22 pm
Vincent tries to express kindly that he honestly does not believe the blacksmith could have done any of the horrible things he describes!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He sort of shrugs vaguely and gives his best disbelieving look, which does not work very well due to him lacking eyes!
[Blacksmith reaction roll: 1]
The blacksmith makes the universally agreed upon "I am going to make you my bitch right here, right now" gesture, grabs all three of the rapiers, holding one in his teeth, then jumps over the shop counter and makes the universally agreed upon "en garde, plus your mother's still a whore" gesture!
[Blacksmith vs. Vincent: 2 vs. 1+2]
[Blacksmith vs. Vincent: 5 vs. 3+2]
[Blacksmith vs. Vincent: 6-1 vs. 5+2]
The blacksmith is a surprisingly adept triple-wielder, nearly hitting Vincent several times! It appears he really does mean business!
On a ceramic plain...
Mike floats to the ground and tries to figure out where Ekim is, exactly!
[Spatial intelligence roll: ?]
She figures out the distance in brain-clicks and tries to pull the bear's remains to her!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
She concentrates so hard that she pulls the entire severed part of her spine out of her body!
[Endurance roll: 5-1]
Miraculously, she survives this, albeit barely!
Post by: miauw62 on December 20, 2012, 01:12:27 pm
Mike will look what happens to the spine.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 20, 2012, 01:25:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 20, 2012, 02:02:01 pm
Mike looks around for her spine!
[Perception roll: ?]
She can see it in the distance! It seems to be... moving?
In an unusually aggressive blacksmith's shop...
Vincent mentally declares that only one shall survive to receive the Prize, whatever that means, and goes on the offensive!
[Vincent vs. Blacksmith: 5+2 vs. 2+1]
He stabs him right through the chest with both halberds at once!
[Blacksmith endurance roll: 3]
The blacksmith bleeds profusely, but says absolutely nothing! He also does absolutely nothing, so it's a net win for Vincent! Better chop his head off. It's the only way to be sure.
[Vincent vs. Blacksmith: 2+2 vs. 1]
Vincent uses two of his arms to swing the halberds in a crosswise fashion, messily decapitating the blacksmith! He waits for some lightning and a rush of energy!
The closest thing to something like that comes to Vincent when he realizes that he is now free to loot the blacksmith's shop!
Post by: TopHat on December 20, 2012, 04:40:19 pm
((and James is back...
To running around his mind again.
*sighs*))
Post by: Gamerlord on December 20, 2012, 11:04:47 pm
((Looks like i'm becoming Monty. Must've infected me somehow.))
Mike will look what happens to the spine.
((MWAHAHAHAHA))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 01:56:38 am
James goes on to explore his own mind in a metaphorical journey!
[Exploration roll: 4]
He goes past the Funny Jokes to Remember In A Temple section, passes the Great Leaps of Illogic department, does not even think to look in the Forgettable Literature subdivision and even bypasses the Random Thoughts vortex to reach a room! There seems to be a throne in it. On it sits... well, nothing sits on it at all. That's pretty strange. Thrones are meant to be filled, you know.
~OH, HELLO. YOU HAVE MANAGED TO REACH THE THRONE ROOM! HOW NICE! GUESS I'LL HAVE TO GET A MOVE ON!~
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 04:15:13 am
Post by: Yoink on December 21, 2012, 04:17:03 am
Timothy stamped a spectral foot and shouted at the retreating Louis in exasperation. This really was getting ridiculous!
"You's captive, an' should be really acting like one! Now!"
He glanced to his useless allies, raising one ghostly eyebrow. "Youse going to does somethin', or just be stannin' around there like vegetables?!"
>Command Citizen Louis to cease this unseemly business and return to his role as captive!
>If he refuses, get the others to grab him!
>Whether or not they succeed, load everyone back into the wagon, check the status of my friends, and then get back on the road again.
Post by: TopHat on December 21, 2012, 06:32:11 am
Ask him to make a poem to prove it.
Taunt him mercilessly if he fails,
say it's rubbish and taunt him mercilessly if he succeeds
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 06:39:12 am
Mike tries to befriend her spine by waving her head around and yelling in a friendly manner!
[Spine perception roll: ?]
The spine seems to look in her direction, but then lifts off the ground and begins to fly in circles!
At the site of a scary-crow battle...
Timothy tries to yell after silly old Citizen Lou!
"No! No no no! You comes back here dis instant!"
He impotently stamps his foot in empty air!
"You's captive, an' should be really acting like one! Now!"
[Citizen Lou reaction roll: 3-1]
"GO TO THE BURNING PITS, SLAVEMASTER! GO THERE AND DIE!"
[Escape roll: 3]
He keeps running, still following the road! Fortunately, he's not out of sight yet!
Timothy looks at his frankly miserably terrible allies!
"Youse going to does somethin', or just be stannin' around there like vegetables?!"
[Fred recovery roll: 3]
Fred rolls over to his other side and moans in pain!
"Oh, gods, what did I ever do to deserve something like that! Apart from all the violence and hatred, you know."
He begins to slowly get up!
[Tom recovery roll: 1]
Tom, meanwhile, has completely disappeared in the tangled bushes! In fact, it seems that he might have just plain disappeared entirely!
Jim, meanwhile, stands around and looks somewhat stupidly at Timothy!
[Jim idea roll: 2]
There is a dim look of realization in his eyes as he suddenly looks around, then goes to hide behind a tree!
Fred finally gets to his feet and turns to Timothy! He speaks in a very pained voice!
"So, what's going on?"
"Mista Lou's escaping!"
"Oh."
Fred begins to run after Citizen Lou!
[Fred pursuit roll: 1]
He takes a step, then drops to the ground once again, clutching his straw crotch!
"GOOD GODS, THE PAIN! You know, I think I might need medical attention for this. Like, right now."
[Citizen Lou escape roll: 3]
As Fred complains, Citizen Lou disappears around a bend! He's probably still following the road, but good luck catching up to him now!
So now Timothy is left with two scary-crows, what with one having disappeared mysteriously and another having escaped not-so-mysteriously.
Inside the mind of a maniac...
James tries to challenge the Poet!
"If you're a poet, then how come I've never heard you compose a single poem?"
~POEMS ARE SUCH AN ARCHAIC FORM OF EXPRESSION. MY POETRY IS ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT.~
"Poets have to write poems. It's the law."
[Poet reaction roll: 6]
~HM. PERHAPS YOU ARE CORRECT, THEN. FROM THIS DAY ON, I SHALL BE THE POET NO MORE! NOW I SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE ARTISTE! THAT'S A VAGUE WORD THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY MEAN ANYTHING, RIGHT?~
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 06:44:31 am
Post by: TopHat on December 21, 2012, 06:59:21 am
Then taunt him mercilessly.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 07:39:06 am
Mike tries to attract the attention of the flying spine once again!
[Shouting roll: 6]
She makes a horrible yell of utter terribleness!
[Spooky Howling roll: 1]
She yells until she can yell no more, mostly due to her vocal folds disintegrating! She also has a very, very sore throat!
[Spine reaction roll: 2]
The spine just keeps flying around and around! Ungrateful thing, after all Mike's done to attract it!
In the mental Throne Room...
James tries to find out more about the Artiste!
"So, what kind of art do you do?"
~NEFARIOUS IMPROVISATIONAL OPEN-AIR PUPPETRY WOULD BE THE BEST DESCRIPTION.~
[Mockery roll: 2]
"Yeah, well, that's just... uh... something!"
~OH, IT CERTAINLY IS.~
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 07:42:41 am
Post by: TopHat on December 21, 2012, 07:48:40 am
Taunt him a second time!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 08:06:20 am
Mike chooses to remain completely motionless and wait until the spine sees her!
[Spine perception roll: ?]
It stares in her direction for a bit!
[Spine intelligence roll: ?]
It resumes flying in circles immediately afterward! Apparently it has no interest in her! Like, at all.
In a lunatic's mind...
James tries to taunt the Artiste for a second time!
[Mockery roll: 3]
"Nefarious improvisational open-air puppetry is totally not an art!"
~HOW SO? IT'S FUN, CREATIVE AND IT TAKES SKILL TO DO PROPERLY. SEEMS LIKE A PERFECTLY GOOD ART TO ME.~
"Nuh uh! It's totally not! Not an art, not an art, not an art, nyah nyah nyah!"
~WELL, YOU DEFINITELY SHOW ENOUGH MATURITY FOR AN ART CRITIC. YOUR OPINION HAS BEEN NOTED, GOOD SIR. NOW, IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GET BACK TO WORK.~
Post by: TopHat on December 21, 2012, 08:22:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 08:31:14 am
Mike will... just levitate to it and grab it between her teeth.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 08:46:09 am
James tries to piss off the Artiste! All part of the master plan, you see.
"What work? You're obviously too stupid for work!"
[Artiste reaction roll: 3]
~IMPORTANT WORK. VERY IMPORTANT WORK, ACTUALLY. QUITE POSSIBLY THE SECOND-GREATEST BIT OF WORK IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. I REALLY SHOULD BE GETTING TO IT. DON'T BE A STRANGER!~
On a plain of pure ceramic...
Mike goes ahead and tries to levitate to the spine!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
She manages to pull her head right off and make it fly toward the spine!
Hey, would you look at that. It's not actually her spine at all! It's a giant insect of some kind! That's actually quite fortunate for Mike, who is about to expire!
[Handy expiring roll: 6]
Mike's spirit leaves her body right before it hits the fly, making it highly agitated! Left with no other choice, Mike tries to possess the fly!
[Fly will roll: 1]
Shockingly enough, the fly doesn't seem to have a whole lot of mental fortitude! Who would have guessed?
Mike is now a Housefly!
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 09:06:02 am
Mike will fly around, trying to find an exit.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 12:56:18 pm
Mike tries to fly around, cursing her short-range fly vision as she does so!
[Exploration roll: 3]
She doesn't find a whole lot, actually - just a large wooden surface of some kind! It looks like there's milk spilled on it!
[Will roll: 6]
Mike slaps herself in the compound eye with her tongue to resist the siren song of spilled milk! It hurts like hell and makes it harder to see, which she likes just fine!
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 12:58:16 pm
((I'm not going to end up as Samuel, dieing alone in the abyss.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 01:35:28 pm
Mike tries to fly where no fly has ever dared to fly before!
[Fly fly fly roll: 3]
She flies off and lands on yet another wooden surface! How exhilarating!
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 01:40:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 02:02:51 pm
Mike goes looking for some nutrients to lick from unclean surfaces!
[Search roll: 2]
Damn her nearsightedness! She can't find the puddle of spilled milk anymore! Neither can she find any other source of food!
[Exploration roll: 6]
She flies and she flies, but only after about an hour of doing so does she finally luck out: a passing surface of wool smacks into her mid-flight!
[Grip roll: 3]
She rolls down until she reaches a comfortable area of burlap! She finds that much easier to hold onto and stays in the air!
The air gets noticeably colder in just a second! She seems to have been taken outside!
Oh crap. She's cold-blooded.
[Hypothermia roll: 6]
Fortunately, the cold isn't so bad due to the massive amounts of heat coming from the burlap surface!
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2012, 02:04:55 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 21, 2012, 03:19:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 03:35:17 pm
Mike tries to investigate the thing that's carrying her!
[Investigation roll: ?]
Call her crazy, but something warm, covered in burlap and moving smells of the living to her! And if it lives, she can take over it!
Inside a blacksmith's shop...
Vincent, highly satisfied at the manslaughter spree he might be on to here, enters loot-mode!
[Looting roll: 1]
He looks around the entire store and deems the stock to be unworthy of his masterful skeletal hands! He sets fire to it to cement this point!
[Fire roll: 6]
It immediately dies down, but something seems to have activated in the process! Something nasty!
[Repercussions roll: 3]
A loud blaring that could only originate from a magical fire alarm rings through the store, possibly through the village as well!
[Fire response roll: 3]
Nobody's arrived yet, so Vincent has time to make a leisurely escape! How fortunate! He looks for a wheeled vehicle of some kind!
[Search roll: 2]
There are exactly zero wagons and zero carriages in the village! Damn it all!
Post by: TopHat on December 21, 2012, 04:45:48 pm
What he considers to be important is probably useless.
Taunt him!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2012, 05:13:19 pm
James tries to ask what sort of work the Artiste is doing!
He gets no answer. That Artiste sure can be a prick sometimes!
[Mockery roll: 5]
"I'd like you to know that you are an awful prick with terrible taste and no artistic talent! Also, what you're doing is probably useless! And the Demon of Darkness knows more about style than you, anyway!"
[Artiste reaction roll: 4]
~YOU KNOW, THAT LAST REMARK WAS REALLY MEAN AND HURTFUL. I RATHER LIKE IT. STEALING THAT, BY THE WAY.~
Post by: Yoink on December 21, 2012, 10:18:35 pm
Alright, alrights," He said in a far kinder, more sympathetic voice, "Youse be gettin' into da wagon, we's gets you doctor. No needs to worry abouts them nasty peoples."
>Instruct Jim and Fred to enter the wagon and make themselves as comfortable as possible.
Aid them telepathically only if they really cannot do it under their own power.
"Uh, any ideas where Tom is got to...?"
>If Tom is still nowhere to be seen after a quick glance around, have Jim and Fred cover their ears as I shout his name!
He can't have gotten far.
>Shout for six minutes tops, if he still hasn't shown up, we'll have to leave and come back for him later.
>Whether I have two injured scarycrows or three, I shall (pushing the wagon with my mind if needs be) head in the direction of Bob's place with all speed, but keep an eye out for any towns or farms or other places which might have a doctor/scarecrow repairperson! Check on the others every so often, make sure they're alright.
Did I pack tea and biscuits? If so, share them around.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 04:53:26 am
Timothy sighs and floats over to Fred, who is definitely in very bad shape!
[Fred recovery roll: 2]
"Damn it, it just keeps hurting more! I couldn't get up if I tried!"
"Alright, alrights. Youse be gettin' into da wagon, we's gets you doctor. No needs to worry abouts them nasty peoples."
Timothy motions for Jim to come over and help with Fred!
[Jim fear roll: 6]
Jim rushes over and grabs Fred! He tries to throw him into the wheelbarrow, feeling that there's no time to waste!
[Throwing roll: 6]
His throw is dead-on, and Fred lands right in the wooden wheelbarrow!
[Wheelbarrow structural integrity roll: 6]
It holds fast, being made out of sturdy and extremely hard wood!
[Fred endurance roll: 3]
Judging by Fred's current face, that was not an entirely pleasant experience! Okay, now for Tom!
"Uh, any ideas where Tom is got to...?"
Jim shrugs and Fred is clearly too insensible to provide a meaningful answer! Timothy instructs them to cover their ear-holes, and they immediately do so!
[Shouting roll: 6]
Timothy emits a supernatural howl of skull-exploding proportions!
"TOOOOOMM! WHEERE BEEEE YOUUUSE?"
[Spooky Howling roll: 3]
Timothy feels a vague shiver come from the forest, as though all the animals in it felt rather uneasy!
[Response roll: 1]
He feels a horrible screech come from the forest as a reply! It is accompanied by equally horrible screaming and the sound of tearing cloth and flying straw! Uh oh.
Better find the tea and biscuits. Fast.
[Search roll: 2]
Timothy is pretty confident that he doesn't have any in his pockets and that the wheelbarrow was empty when they stole it.
They are in great danger indeed!
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 05:30:29 am
Mike will try to find an opening in the burlap so he can see what this living creature is!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 06:13:05 am
Mike searches for an opening of some kind in the vast burlap wastes of the creature!
[Search roll: 6]
And she does indeed find one! It leads to an all-encompassing layer of woolen cloth! Damn this creature, how dare it wear two layers of cloth in winter!
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 06:18:54 am
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 07:21:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 09:05:00 am
Mike searches the lifeform for some other opening she could look through!
[Search roll: 4]
She flies around and looks until she finds a patch of uncovered flesh! It looks rather tan and slightly hairy!
[? roll: 1]
Suddenly, a shadow appears over Mike! Looks like it's getting bigger!
[Mike dodge roll: 4]
Mike manages to barely fly out of the way as a large wool-covered slab hits the area that she used to be on! That could have ended badly!
[Pursuit roll: 6]
There is a brief silence!
[Mike perception roll: ?]
Something is coming for Mike! She doesn't know how, she doesn't know from which direction, but she knows it's something!
[Mike dodge roll: 5]
She enters a circular movement pattern full of various evasive maneuvers as the slabs of wool pass her again and again! She can't keep this up for long, she thinks!
Inside the mind of James Lanthorn...
James searches for the Artiste!
[Search roll: 4]
After wandering through the several departments that house his pent-up frustration, he comes upon the Motor Control Center! Everything here seems to be moving!
[Perception roll: ?]
No Artiste in sight, however. That's weird.
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 09:14:15 am
((Let's hope that telekinesis does not scale with size))
Post by: Firelordsky on December 22, 2012, 09:43:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 10:00:11 am
Mike tries to use telekinesis to break the object swinging at him!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
It seems that telekinesis does indeed scale with size! Oh, woe is Mike!
[Mike dodge roll: 2]
Mike is sufficiently distracted to get smacked by the hand!
[Mike endurance roll: 4]
She is merely thrown a very short distance by this, however! Nothing to worry about yet!
In a village of some sort...
Vincent looks for some kind of vehicle!
[Search roll: 1]
He finds a wheelbarrow and tries to steal it! However, said wheelbarrow belongs to a very large man who, if Vincent may say so himself, is looking especially murderous today!
[Man vs. Vincent: 3+1 vs. 5+2]
The man tries to grab Vincent, but the skeleton is too quick and counters with its sharp steel weapons!
[Counterattack: Vincent vs. Man: 4+2 vs. 2+1]
He is stabbed right through the stomach!
[Man endurance roll: 2+2]
He is not terribly bothered by this, however!
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 10:12:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 10:25:18 am
Mike goes ahead and tries to latch on to the Hand That Smashes!
[Latching on roll: 5]
She carefully avoids the next swing and latches on to the back of the hand! A totally foolproof plan, this!
[? perception roll: ?]
[Mike perception roll: ?]
Mike notices everything darken! Uh oh.
[Mike dodge roll: 1]
Mike is struck by the realization that most people have two hands. This is her last realization before she is squashed beyond recognition by an open palm!
Mike's spirit leaves the housefly and attempts to possess the person that smashed him!
[Person will roll: 5]
The person, a man in his forties, proves to be a tough nut to crack! Mike tries to take over his body, but his previous ease of controlling the housefly must have softened him somewhat, as the person hardly even notices his intrusion, but still subconsciously manages to eject him from his mind!
[Nearby creature roll: 3]
Fortunately for Mike, there is also a single crow nearby! Mike tries to possess that!
[Crow will roll: 2]
They may be smart, those crows, but shiny things can still confound them! And Mike is nothing if not a very shiny thing! He takes over the crow's mind!
Alright, so now he can see nicely. He appears to have come from a farmhouse deep inside the woods. The person who just squashed him is apparently its owner. All around him are deep, dark, near-primeval woods.
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 10:50:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 11:38:00 am
Mike tries to figure out where Yellowglen might be from here!
[Knowledge roll: ?]
Aha! These trees only grow in the south parts of the continent, so all he has to do is fly north to find civilization, and Yellowglen with it! Easy as pie!
Mike takes off and flies northward! He flies for several hours, the weather getting colder and the wind getting stronger with every passing second!
[Perception roll: ?]
The flora has changed noticeably - the forest seems to have thinned out, and only an icy tundra stretches out beneath him!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He doesn't remember conditions like these in Yellowglen. Maybe it's a climate anomaly of some kind?
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 11:46:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 12:13:03 pm
Mike continues his flight, searching for some kind of civilization! He flies ceaselessly and observes the landscape!
[Civilization roll: 5]
He spies a town in the distance! It has a wall around it and buildings in it, plus there's a castle nearby! How fortunate!
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 12:57:08 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 01:15:28 pm
Find him
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 01:50:31 pm
Mike flies forth and looks for some unsuspecting citizens to terrorize with his ventriloquist antics!
[Search roll: 6]
There's a whole lot of people in the town square! They seem to be spaced around a large stone statue of a man! Perfect!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 1]
Very, very loud sounds come from the statue!
"CAW CAW CAW! CAW CAW! CAW CAW CAW?"
"Holy crap, people! Run like hell!"
[Panic roll: 3]
Most of the people run off in fright, leaving a few others looking confused in the square!
"What the hell is going on?"
In the mind of a lunatic...
James tries to find the Artiste once again!
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, he's definitely not visible in this area.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He must be... IN-VISIBLE! Obviously! This does make finding him much more difficult, however.
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 01:59:13 pm
"Hello good sirs, do you happen to know the location of Yellowgen?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 02:20:20 pm
Mike tries to terrorize the people some more! Ventiloquism time!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 6]
Crazy shouting starts to come from a little girl!
"WHERE IS YELLOWGLEN, MORTAL FOOLS? TELL ME NOW OR FACE ETERNAL DARKNESS AND SUFFERING!"
[People reaction roll: 2]
"AAAGH! DEMON-SPAWN!"
The rest of the people run away! The little girl holds her hands over her mouth in shock!
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 02:32:05 pm
Bet he can't become visable.
Laugh at the stupid fool if he says he can't
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2012, 02:41:40 pm
Mike will extract this information from the little girl.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 02:51:16 pm
James tries once more to somehow reach the Artiste!
"Hey, Artiste! You here?"
There is no answer.
"Bet you can't become visible!"
Still just silence.
"Hah! I knew it! Silly fool!"
James mentally pats himself on the back as he tries his best to endure the silent treatment!
In a mostly empty town square...
Mike tries to extract information from the little girl!
"AND YOU, LITTLE GIRL, DO YOU KNOW THE LOCATION OF YELLOWGLEN!"
[Girl reaction roll: 3]
"Uh... Yellowglen?"
"YES, YELLOWGLEN!"
"Uh... no?"
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 02:52:53 pm
And his family!
And his heritage!
And his little dog too!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 03:31:49 pm
James tries to insult the artist's mother!
[Insult roll: 1]
"Your mother is so... so... so... nice. I wish I had a mother like that. My mother was an unholy terror, you know. Now, your other family, however, are..."
[Insult roll: 6]
"... the worst bunch of scum-sucking, demon-raping, lactose intolerant, socially conscious and egalitarian swine to ever be seen on earth! Like, ever!"
[Insult roll: 4]
"I bet your entire genealogy is filled with substandard individuals, probably a dog or two as well! If you're lucky!"
[Insult roll: 2]
"And your dog, your dog is... you don't have a dog, do you? No, didn't think so. Well now..."
James rolls in place for a bit, having run out of things to say! There is an eerie quiet in the room! James always feared he might be empty-headed, and now he knows the sad truth!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 22, 2012, 04:03:43 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 04:32:38 pm
And sit on the throne! Take control!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2012, 05:43:29 pm
Vincent goes for yet another stab at the man!
[Vincent vs. Man: 5+2 vs. 2+1]
He stabs his two halberds forward with perfect precision, puncturing both of the man's lungs! It doesn't look like the man enjoyed that! At all!
[Man endurance roll: 4+1]
The man, even though he seems to be coughing blood and having breathing difficulties, tries to swing at Vincent!
[Man vs. Vincent: 2+1 vs. 1+3]
Vincent just takes a single step back, easily avoiding the man's swing!
[Metal Guardian vs. Man: 5+2 vs. 5+1]
The metal guardian tries to punch the man, but the man rolls away from the blow, which results in him getting rather brutally tapped on the shoulder with a metal fist! This hurts, yes, but it's hardly that much of an impediment to the man!
[Vincent vs. Man: 6+2 vs. 6+1]
Vincent, feeling confident, makes a valiant stab at the man! The man almost dodges, much to Vincent's surprise, resulting in a shallow gash on his chest!
[Man vs. Vincent: 6+1 vs. 4+3]
The man pushes Vincent backwards!
[Metal Guardian vs. Man: 1+2 vs. 6+1]
The metal guardian tries to do a flying spin-kick to the man's head! Being made of metal, it merely tumbles to the ground!
[Counterattack: Man vs. Metal Guardian: 1+1 vs. 6+2]
The man is about to kick the metal guardian, but chooses to rather use this opportunity to allow some blood to leave his lungs! Can't have it congesting them, you know.
[Vincent vs. Man: 6+2 vs. 4+1]
Vincent stabs the man in the liver and kidney, utilizing his distraction to its utmost extent!
[Man endurance roll: 5+1]
And yet the man keeps swinging!
[Man vs. Vincent: 6+1 vs. 4+3]
He chooses to push Vincent away again, preferring to stave off death rather than spread it further!
[Metal Guardian vs. Man: 5+2 vs. 5+1]
Fortunately for Vincent, the distance between him and the man doesn't change, as his metal-covered friend pushes the man right at him!
[Vincent vs. Man: 4+2 vs. 3+1]
Vincent hold out one of his halberds and lets the man run into it and get a gutful of halberd once again!
[Man endurance roll: 6+1]
The man pushes himself forward, pushing the halberd's axe blade right through his gut in what is assuredly one of the more stupid ideas Vincent has seen enacted!
[Man vs. Vincent: 6+1 vs. 1+3]
He is so stupefied, in fact, that the man manages to clock him right in the skeletal face! Vincent feels something crack and falls to the ground, leaving one of his halberds in the man's belly!
[Metal Guardian vs. Man: 2+2 vs. 5+1]
The metal guardian consistently fails to do any harm to the man!
In the mind of a crazy person...
James runs over to the Throne Room and takes a seat!
[? roll: 3]
He feels rather good about himself! Little else happens, however. Apart from a faint tingling sensation, that is.
Post by: TopHat on December 22, 2012, 06:08:19 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 22, 2012, 11:32:46 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 03:35:38 am
James tries to figure out what this faint tingling sensation might be!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Uh... probably something. Yeah, probably something.
[? roll: ?]
The tingling sensation goes away! Huh.
On the streets of Mumblemumble...
Vincent tries to decapitate the man!
[Vincent vs. Man: 1+1 vs. 4+1]
The man easily dodges the swing and tries to deliver a spectacular beating to Vincent!
[Counterattack: Man vs. Vincent: 4+1 vs. 3+2]
[Man vs. Vincent: 3+1 vs. 5+2]
Vincent successfully dodges the man's first swing, and on the second swing he takes advantage of a small window of opportunity to resume his decapitation plans!
[Counterattack: Vincent vs. Man: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
However, the man rolls backwards immediately as Vincent goes in for the kill! This ends with Vincent swinging at empty air, silently cursing the man!
[Metal Guardian vs. Man: 3+1 vs. 5+1]
Neither is the metal guardian successful in killing the man!
[Man bleeding roll: 1]
The man is about to take another swing! However, what mere weapons couldn't do, massive blood loss does instead! His arm seems to go limp, and the man himself collapses on the ground, having exhausted his supply of precious vitae! Sucks to be him, Vincent theorizes!
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 06:12:54 am
Claim mind back from this position of power.
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 06:47:31 am
"WELL THEN, DO YOU KNOW OF A LOCATION WHERE MAPS ARE TO BE SOLD?"
Mike will ask the girl if this town has a map store.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 06:58:46 am
James tries to chant the Empty Mind Chant once more!
[Chant roll: 6]
He chants so hard that after ten minutes he is left staring vacantly into the recesses of his mind! He once again has forgotten what it was he wanted to do!
[? roll: ?]
Nothing horrible has happened yet, however, so it all seems alright!
Near an empty town square...
Mike keeps trying to interrogate the little girl!
"WELL THEN, DO YOU KNOW OF A LOCATION WHERE MAPS ARE SOLD?"
[Girl knowledge roll: ?]
"Yes! There's one on the west side of town, called the Lucky Map! I bet there's maps in there! All the maps you'd ever want! Now please leave me alone, you evil demon, you!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 07:17:16 am
Mike will try to recruit the girl! Regardless of the outcome, he will go to the Lucky Map!
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 07:25:47 am
Do so!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 07:48:54 am
Mike tries to persuade the girl to serve him!
"SO, IF I LEAVE YOU ALONE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU? I DON'T THINK THESE VILLAGERS WOULD LIKE YOU VERY MUCH, EH?"
[Girl reaction roll: 1]
"No! Go away! I just want to go home, to my parents, to my dog, to my housework! Leave me be, demon!"
She makes a run for it, disappearing into a nearby alleyway! Mike chooses to not bother with her any longer and tries to find the Lucky Map.
[Search roll: 6]
He finds three places on the west side of town called the Lucky Map! Must be a popular name around here.
On a mental throne of some kind...
James tries to remember what it was he was doing, exactly!
[Memory roll: ?]
Something about his mind, he remembers that much. But what?
[? roll: ?]
He is prevented from further consideration by a sudden rush of air pulling him out of the throne and hurling him across the throne room!
[Landing roll: 4]
Fortunately, he is still made of snail flesh, so the drop is nothing too bad for him!
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 07:58:02 am
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 08:38:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 08:50:16 am
Mike checks the signs on the stores!
Predictably, all of them feature maps to some degree.
[Sign information roll: ?]
One of the signs says "Inn", another says "Pub" and a final one says "Luckiest Tables in Freezebottom!"
None of those help him in any way! Damn these unimaginative venue owners!
Inside a mental throne room...
James goes forth and tries to sit on the throne once more!
[? roll: ?]
Nothing happens in great quantities!
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 09:02:42 am
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 09:08:32 am
Claim mind.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 09:48:05 am
Mike flies up to the window of the inn and tries to use his Ghostly Ventriloquism again!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 1]
[Soundproofing roll: 6]
Mike can't hear a thing from inside! Somehow they've made the entire thing soundproof!
[Commotion roll: 1]
[Mike dodge roll: 5]
Mike sees a dark shape rapidly approach the window! He flies out of the way, and it is fortunate indeed that he does, for the window shatters when a barrel-chested bald man flies through it and lands on the ground, lacerated all over and bleeding!
[Man endurance roll: 6]
The man immediately gets up and leaps in through another intact window right next to the previous one! Why he did this, Mike isn't sure. It probably has something to do with either stubbornness, brain damage, inbreeding or an awful combination of all three.
However, the plus side of all this is that Mike can now perfectly see and hear what's going on in the inn! It's a fight! Lots of people fighting, it looks like! There is bloodlust in their eyes, chairs and shattered bottles in their hands!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Idiot townspeople and their stupid fighting. What kind of person doesn't answer an honest question like the one that Mike just undeniably asked?
On a throne of some kind...
James tries to chant the Empty Mind Chant one more time, since it hasn't steered him wrong yet as far as he can remember!
[Chant roll: 3]
He chants and chants and chants! Eventually he gets bored enough to just try to claim his mind back!
Nothing happens. There is nothing he can reach, nothing he can claim. How strange!
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Maybe it's the fact that he's in a place that doesn't seem to do anything important?
[? roll: ?]
The tingling sensation returns! Hm, wonder what could it mean?
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 09:55:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 10:19:00 am
James looks for someplace more important!
[Search roll: ?]
He finds a place with towering copper columns, lightning running through them. The floor has a distinctive chessboard pattern, plus the walls are decorated with patterns of flowing lines. It all looks very fancy.
Post by: TopHat on December 23, 2012, 10:46:34 am
Challenge artiste to a game o mind-chess
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 11:00:29 am
James chants the Empty Mind Chant once more!
[Chant roll: 3]
He gets really bored. Well, that's good! 'Cause you'd have to be really bored to do what he is about to do!
"Hey, Artiste! Play a game of mind-chess with me!"
There is no response.
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 12:28:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 01:08:45 pm
Mike realizes that there's no point in ventriloquizing a bar fight. That shit's too civilized for these philistines. He flies off to the pub and repeats the question!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 2]
He tries again and again, but just can't bring himself to ask the question without breaking down laughing mid-way through. He's not sure why. He just has the giggles, it seems.
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2012, 02:01:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2012, 02:44:46 pm
Mike tries to get a hold of himself!
[Will roll: 2]
Oh dear. He can't stop! He can't stop at all! He just keeps giggling!
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 04:39:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 05:51:01 am
Mike flies away to a secluded spot and waits for the giggles to pass! He didn't even know crows could giggle!
[Will roll: 6]
He becomes deathly serious for a moment. Then he bursts into full-on laughter again! Seriously, this must be temporary insanity or something.
[Will roll: 6]
Okay, okay. Now he's alright. He'll stop.
"I have to stop. Right now. This is important."
For some reason the sound of a crow imitating human speech is the funniest thing ever for him right now! He keeps on cackling!
[Will roll: 6]
He zig-zags between grimness and total hilarity a few more times! If there was another living thing in his vicinity, it would have smacked him three times already!
[Will roll: 5]
Finally he calms down, takes several deep breaths and settles into a nice, calm state of mind. Now he is ready to do something once again!
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 05:53:11 am
Mike, finally being serious again, will go to a window of the pub and use his Ghostly Ventroquilsm to find out where Yellowgen is!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 06:21:06 am
Mike flies back to the window of the Lucky Map Pub and tries to ventriloquize its occupants!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 2]
He looks at the jolly faces of the people within and just can't bring himself to commit acts of supernatural terror on them! His heart may have grown three sizes in the last few seconds!
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 07:32:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 08:08:06 am
Mike searches for an indication of some kind where Yellowglen might be!
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a huge signpost in one of the town's squares! It has a great many signs on it, one of which just so happens to say Yellowglen on it!
It points to the southeast and says "YELLOWGLEN - 532 MILES".
Well, isn't that just perfect.
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 08:09:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 08:45:27 am
Mike ponders if he has enough food to last a 532 mile flight!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Considering that crows aren't really known for migrating long distances a lot, plus the fact that he hasn't eaten the past day or so, he believes that the answer to that question is a no. Plus, it wouldn't really do him much good to eat a whole lot right now. That would make it harder to fly, you know. Besides, forming food reserves isn't something you can do in ten minutes. That stuff takes a while.
However, this does give him the idea that he really should get something to eat. After all, couldn't hurt.
[Search roll: 5]
He finds an open window to a house! After flying in, he discovers that the owners of the house are indeed careless - they've left the pantry door open! Mike flies in and begins the chowdown! After twenty minutes of sampling, then devouring choice bits of rather high-quality food, Mike flies out of the pantry and exits through the window, glowing with culinary satisfaction about as much as a crow possibly can!
Post by: TopHat on December 24, 2012, 09:14:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 09:54:46 am
James tells reassuring lies to himself!
[Belief roll: 6]
Yes! He is in control of his own mind! It's as clear as day!
James pats himself on the back for having cleared up that misunderstanding and resumes doing nothing important.
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 10:23:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 11:09:41 am
Mike travels forth in the direction of Yellowglen, unafraid of the many perils that await him!
[Travel roll: 4]
He travels for about 50 miles before realizing that he really needs a rest!
[Area friendliness roll: 1]
Too bad he is now over the sea! A very hostile-looking sea!
[Knowledge roll: ?]
He doesn't really know much about these parts, but he has heard an off-hand swear about sending someone to the "Sea of Death". He presumes that this might be that same sea.
Post by: TopHat on December 24, 2012, 11:25:10 am
Post by: Firelordsky on December 24, 2012, 11:41:12 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 11:46:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 12:03:15 pm
James briefly considers the idea of looking for a place to take over his mind from, but realizes that this is completely unnecessary - he is already in complete control of his mind!
In the blood-soaked streets of somewhere...
Vincent goes on and tries to loot the man!
[Loot roll: 3]
He has a few copper coins, an empty flask of some kind. His tusks are really nice as well.
Above the Sea of Death...
Mike searches for a boat to take refuge on!
[Search roll: 5]
He sees a boat in the distance! Well, not a boat, actually. A ship, in fact! It looks rather large and imposing! It seems to be heading south!
Post by: TopHat on December 24, 2012, 01:57:59 pm
Take spellbook with me just in case.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 02:06:07 pm
James looks around for a bit.
He's still in the room with the pillars and the chessboard floor. No old man in sight. He still has the plate, however. And the Penultimate Book of Magic.
Well, at least he's in control of his mind. Otherwise it might seem like he's made no progress at all, and we can't have that!
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 03:10:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 03:22:32 pm
Mike will go aboard the ship if it goes in the direction of Yellowgen.
((It goes south. Yellowglen is southeast. What do you want to do, then?))
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 03:25:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 03:38:53 pm
Mike flies over to the ship and rests in the crow's nest. It's what it's there for, right?
[Resting roll: 2]
Unfortunately, the awful wind and the constantly yelling lookout prove non-conducive to an optimal resting experience.
[Sea of Death activity roll: 2]
"Cap'n! There be beasties ahead!"
[Captain roll: 6]
"FIRE THE BALLISTAE!"
[Ship's Ballistae vs. Sea Beasties: 2 vs. 2]
Mike hears projectiles hitting the water.
"We missed, Cap'n!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 04:01:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 04:42:51 pm
Mike tries to find a more quiet place to rest in!
[Search roll: 6]
He flies right into a barrel of sauerkraut just as someone is about to put a lid on it! The sailor doesn't notice a thing and just closes up the barrel.
Mike finds the barrel to be rather slimy, plus it smells like the most awful thing ever, but it does have several advantages - it's very warm, it's dark and it is rather soundproof. Just goes to show you - when given the choice where to sleep, always choose the barrel of sauerkraut.
[Resting roll: 5+1]
Mike slips into a nice, long nap. Nothing could wake him up now!
[Ballistae vs. Beasties: 6 vs. 6]
[Beasties vs. Ship: 6 vs. 6]
[Ballistae vs. Beasties: 5 vs. 3]
[Beastie persistence roll: 6]
[Beasties vs. Ship: 5 vs. 6]
[Ballistae vs. Beasties: 3 vs. 2]
[Beastie persistence roll: 1]
Yep. Everything's going great for Mike. The warmth of the sauerkraut is greatly comforting, plus the stench kind of grows on you after a while. Perhaps literally.
He wakes up sometime later! He feels extremely well-rested, but he seems to have also run into a certain problem - the barrel's still closed.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 24, 2012, 04:43:57 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 04:46:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 05:00:28 pm
Vincent tries to steal the tusks right off the man!
[Halberd use roll: 1]
Hey, this isn't real ivory at all! This guy's tusks seem to be made of steel! What a faker! Not only does Vincent fail to saw off the man's tusks, he also somewhat dulls his halberd! Now it won't be quite as good as a chopping weapon!
Disappointed, he sets off to find more places to loot!
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there's a food market. That's pretty much the only place that actually has anything to rob. Anything at all, not even something valuable.
On a ship voyaging along the Sea of Death...
Mike tries to telekinetically open the barrel he's in!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
Oh gods, the sauerkraut is closing in! It begins to suffocate Mike, and is clenching ever tighter!
[Mike endurance roll: 3]
Oh dear. Mike seems to be struggling for air, though he does still have time left!
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2012, 05:06:48 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 24, 2012, 05:34:46 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2012, 05:56:12 pm
Mike tries to figure out what went wrong with the previous telekinesis attempt!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Oh, right. Push outwards, not pull inwards! What an easy mistake to make.
[Telekinesis roll: 6+1]
Mike creates a massive telekinetic explosion around him! Superheated sauerkraut flies through the room, covering the nearby sailors and setting them on fire!
[Sailor fire safety roll: 4]
They quickly extinguish themselves before the sauerkraut leaves any permanent marks! They also make sure to extinguish any nearby sauerkraut fires!
"See, I told you this would happen one day, but did you listen? No, you didn't!"
"Well, excuse me if spontaneously exploding sauerkraut didn't sound like the most plausible idea at the time!"
"Man, when you've seen what I've seen, spontaneous sauerkraut barrel explosions will seem like basic arithmetic. On the Ocean of Dreams stuff like that happens every day."
"Every day?"
"Every. Single. Day."
[Sailor perception roll: 4]
The two sailors suddenly look at the sauerkraut-stained crow in the middle of where the explosion was!
"Hey, Tom, what do you make of a crow in the exploding sauerkraut barrel?"
[Reaction roll: 2]
"Same thing I make of any other crow, George. The most delicious damn stew on the Five Oceans!"
"Shall we get it, then, Tom?"
"Sure, George. Won't even have to marinade it this time, what with the thing already soaked in sauerkraut."
"Ooh, I can almost taste it already!"
The men begin to advance toward Mike, obviously trying to look inconspicuous!
In the mind of a madman...
James has a niggling thought in the back of his mind. Something about taking over his real body. Hm.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
You know, he really begins to suspect that he might not be in control of his real body after all, and this is but a mentally constructed avatar for mental navigation. He tests this theory!
[Will roll: 3+1]
He grows two legs and his tails become arms. Well, that proves that. He most definitely is a mental avatar. Therefore, he should probably go on and take over his body. But how?
Post by: Firelordsky on December 24, 2012, 08:30:06 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 25, 2012, 04:43:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2012, 06:15:14 am
Vincent considers briefly the possibility of finding Barry.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Who's Barry, anyway?
Near two hungry sailors...
Mike tries to utilize the mighty powers of ghostly ventriloquism to scare off his adversaries!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 4]
He manages to make his voice sound like it's coming from everywhere at once!
[Intimidation roll: 1]
"YOU GUYS CAN EAT ME!"
"Well, not right away. We have to kill you, pluck you and cook you first. We're not barbarians."
"Indeed, Tom. Why would the crow even consider the possibility of us eating it alive?"
"I find it's best not to question such occurrences, George."
[George vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 3+1]
[Tom vs. Mike: 2+1 vs. 6+1]
George almost grabs Mike, but Mike manages to get away in the nick of time! Tom attempts to catch Mike as well, but only succeeds in grabbing George!
"Why, Tom, I never knew you felt this way."
"Mere slip of the hands, dear George. I'll let go now."
He does so right in time to see Mike counterattacking!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Tom: 6+1 vs. 4+1]
Mike manages to sufficiently irritate Tom with his beak and wings, not to mention the talons, to send him reeling into a barrel!
[Barrel structural integrity roll: 6]
He seems to really bruise his pelvis on the horrible wooden construction! The barrel is totally unharmed!
[Tom endurance roll: 6]
He immediately gets up, though there is a pained look on his face.
Post by: miauw62 on December 25, 2012, 10:18:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2012, 11:00:20 am
Mike tries to escape as well as he can!
[Escape roll: 4]
He flies for the stairs leading to the deck!
[Tom pursuit roll: 4]
[George pursuit roll: 6]
Tom and George are no slouches, however, and run after Mike! George manages to hurl a sharp piece of sauerkraut-covered wood at the escaping crow!
[Mike dodge roll: 5]
Mike, however, easily dodges the projectile and escapes to the deck!
[Mike escape roll: 1]
Mike tries to take off from the deck, but manages to only run into the mast and fall to the ground!
[Mike endurance roll: 6]
When the two sailors run up to him, Mike does his very best to go as noisily and troublesomely as possible!
[Sailor crownapping roll: 6]
"I do believe we have the bird in hand, so to speak."
"Easily worth two in the bush, I say."
George presses Mike to the mast with both hands while Tom draws a large, sharp knife! He tries to chop Mike's head off!
[Mike dodge roll: 5]
Mike moves his neck just right to avoid getting decapitated!
"You missed, Tom. Why did you miss?"
"Sun was in my eyes, George."
[Mike escape roll: 2]
Mike can't get out from George's grasp before Tom swings again!
[Mike dodge roll: 4]
The top of his head gets grazed. but that's pretty much it!
"Honestly, Tom, that was pathetic."
"Sea beasts, George. They keep hollering and throwin' my aim off."
"Hollerin'? I don't hear 'em."
"You have to listen in to hear it, but when you do, that sound ain't comin' out of your head."
[Mike escape roll: 5]
Mike uses the momentary distraction to try to spread his wings and dig his talons into the soft flesh of George! It works like a charm, with George starting to yell and drawing his hands back, allowing Mike to fly away!
[Tom pursuit roll: 2]
[George pursuit roll: 5]
"Well, George, that bird's certainly earned its freedom."
"Freedom, nothin'! Feathery bastard just made this personal!"
George turns to the solemn captain standing next to the navigator.
"Hey, cap'n, there's a bird in the air!"
The captain suddenly looks very alarmed and shouts!
"FIRE THE BALLISTAE!"
[Ballistae vs. Mike: 3+1 vs. 3+1]
Mike narrowly dodges as several ballista bolts fly past him in the air!
Post by: miauw62 on December 25, 2012, 11:34:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2012, 12:02:42 pm
Amidst a rain of ballista bolts, Mike bravely beats a retreat!
[Escape roll: 4]
He gets out of range of the ballistae before another volley van reach him!
Phew, safe and sound now. Well, he's still on the Sea of Death and all, but still!
Post by: miauw62 on December 25, 2012, 12:53:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2012, 12:57:34 pm
Mike resumes his attempts to fly to Yellowglen!
[Travel roll: 2]
Uh... which way is southeast?
Post by: Firelordsky on December 25, 2012, 05:07:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2012, 05:10:41 pm
Vincent abandons his quest for Barry and chooses to try to find Bruce instead!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, there may be a bit of Bruce left on one of his halberds. That is, if he didn't lose that one. He doesn't really remember.
Could this have been the insidious Bruce's plan all along? To make Vincent forget which exact halberd he stabbed him with?
Post by: anailater on December 25, 2012, 07:34:04 pm
Post by: Yoink on December 26, 2012, 12:28:26 am
Also, good grief. Animated kung-fu scarecrows. Embarrassing telekinetic incompetence. Unseen death in the trees.
The things Timothy does for love!))
"Aw, great. Dis just be gettin' worse!"
Timothy muttered to himself, then looked to the others. "Let's us all just have a moments a' silence for poor old Tom, a real friend an' stuff an' what is always bein' remembere--"
He shook himself suddenly and stopped. What was he saying?! He couldn't just abandon poor Tom to his fate! He did get him into this mess, after all.
He abruptly girded his ghostly loins, set his jaw and looked sternly at the others.
"Take da wagon. Go, find Bob. Tells him I's sent you." Timothy desperately wished he had a cigar to pull out for dramatic effect.
"Leave no strawman behind."
>Send Jim and Fred onwards to meet Bob, regardless of my fate!
>Turn back towards the trees and the horrible rending noise, sigh, shake my head resignedly and go in there and get Tom.
"Da fings I do for loooooove!"
Post by: Firelordsky on December 26, 2012, 01:36:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 04:11:05 am
Timothy considers his options for a bit, then comes to a solution!
"Let's us all just have a moments a' silence for poor old Tom, a real friend an' stuff an' what is always bein' remembere--"
However, he suddenly remembers that he, no matter how hideously dysfunctional, dysfunctionally hideous or undead he may be, he is still is a human being! Sort of. He abruptly girds his ghostly loins, sets his jaw and looks sternly at the others.
"Take da wagon. Go, find Bob. Tells him I's sent you."
Timothy wishes he had a spectral cigar for a moment, but settles for a dramatic pause to set the mood instead!
"Leave no strawman behind."
[Fred reaction roll: 4]
"You won't hear any complaints from me-ow, ow, ow! Take us there, Jim!"
Jim speeds off with the Fred-bearing wheelbarrow. Well, hopefully they'll be alright. It's not like they're highly incompetent or anything!
Timothy turns back towards the trees and the horrible rending noise, sighs, shakes his head resignedly and floats in with a piercing howl!
"Da fings I do for loooooove!"
[Heroic charge roll: 5]
He flies forward with great speed, screeching all the way! In but a few seconds he has reached the source of the noise!
[Tom condition roll: 2]
Oh dear. Tom doesn't look so good. He seems to have his lower torso torn off. Next to him is a most terrifying creature indeed!
[Creature roll: 5]
It looks like a mouse of some kind! How strange! Could this have been Tom's assailant? Timothy would ask Tom, but the fellow is clearly quite insensible by this point!
[Mouse ability roll: 1]
The mouse seems to melt into strange goo upon seeing Timothy! How bizarre!
In a village of some kind...
Vincent comes to conclusion that searching for either Bruce and Barry is a futile endeavor, so he'll search for something that has actually proven useful - weapons! Or perhaps even civilization!
[Exploration roll: 6]
After traveling for a long time, he finally comes upon something interesting - a city! The ruins of a city, to be precise. He wanders down a street and appreciates the fine-looking skeletons everywhere.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
They're dead, sure, but at least they're tuskless, normal people. Not these large-eared, trunked, tusked people he's been encountering.
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 07:25:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 09:53:02 am
Mike tries to figure out directions by simply observing the sun!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Okay, so he has absolutely zero clue what time it is. First he has to figure that out.
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, the sea doesn't look very morning-like to him, so it's probably the second half of the day, which means that the sun is somewhere in the west or southwest. But which way is north, then?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Mike has a fantastic idea! Everyone knows that if you throw a sailor in the water, his head always points north. Well, eventually. It's a known side effect of magical compasses. Having decided upon a method, Mike searches for a victim!
Mike flies back to the ship and looks for somebody who doesn't look like a good swimmer!
[Victim roll: 2]
Well, there aren't any sailors who aren't standing in a group. Well, apart from the guy in the crow's nest, but he seems to be securely fastened to the mast to prevent dislocation by the notorious winds on the Sea of Death.
How is somebody supposed to commit inconspicuous telekinetic murder if there are no lonesome schmucks to spirit away?
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 10:02:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 10:50:11 am
Mike considers likely places to find a compass!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He has very little idea. He does recall something about them being inaccessible to most people and that only the captain and the navigator actually have one. There was something else, but he can't quite remember what it was.
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 10:55:09 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 26, 2012, 11:38:34 am
Hint-hint....))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 11:41:04 am
Mike tries to ventriloquize a stray piece of bread next to the fellow in the crow's nest!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 5]
"I say, good sir, which way is southeast?"
[Man reaction roll: 6]
"Talking bread? I must be close to a breakdown once again."
"Perhaps. But which way is southeast?"
"Is this some sort of trick question my subconscious is asking me? Difficult to say. It sounds straightforward enough."
"It is totally straightforward! Which way is southeast? Tell me now!"
"What are you, my mother? You can't order me around! I'll send you down to the captain, I will, and then you'll be sorry, you insolent figment of my imagination!"
"Would he know which way is southeast?"
"Oh, you bet! Old bastard's totally cracked, though. Good luck getting anything out of him."
"What about the navigator?"
"Oh, he dived overboard a long time ago. Couldn't handle the stress. Started screaming and beating people up."
"Well, nice talking to you."
"Oh, same here, same here. You may be imaginary, but at least you're someone to talk to. Gotta eat you now, though. No hard feelings, eh?"
"Ah, sure, I don't mind."
The lookout takes the piece of bread and eats it!
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 11:48:37 am
Mike will remember that the ship went south, and look at wich way the sun moves to figure out wich way is southeast!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 12:08:39 pm
Mike considers the possibility that the ship might be going southeast!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Sounds legit to him. He looks at the way the sun is moving!
[Perception roll: ?]
He notices a very odd thing over a two-hour observational period - the sun moves one way, then the other. What the hell? That's not normal.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe that's why they're still keeping the captain around? He's the man with the compass, and it seems like even the path of the sun can't be trusted here.
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 12:40:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 12:47:28 pm
Mike looks around for the captain!
[Search roll: 2]
However, he is nowhere to be seen on the deck! Maybe he retired to his quarters?
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 01:26:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 02:02:08 pm
Mike looks for a way inside the captain's quarters!
[Search roll: 3]
Surprisingly enough, it doesn't look like sailors are in the habit of leaving open windows while sailing on a sea best described as evil. Who would've thought?
Mike does, however, see a rather tiny space between the boards above the quarters. It would take either force or great skill, but perhaps he could widen that?
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 02:03:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 02:16:51 pm
Mike tries to open up a hole in the deck!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He does so using nothing but his beak and talons!
[Opening making roll: 5-1]
After a valiant effort, Mike manages to sufficiently mutilate one of the boards to squeeze through the opening! He is now in the captain's quarters!
[Captain roll: 1]
He isn't here. Neither is anything else, really. There's only a hammock, some empty shelves and a broken desk. And by broken it is meant that it's really broken in two and variously mutilated. How odd!
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 02:19:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 02:29:19 pm
Mike looks around for a compass, sifting through the remnants of the broken desk. Well, there's obviously no compass here. In fact, it's quite astounding how little there is in this room. No maps, no private things, nothing. It really clashes with the mental image of the classic captain's quarters, all bedecked with things much too extravagant for mere sailors and rich in various navigational tools and personal effects.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Mike has no idea where the captain or the compass might be. Not even the foggiest.
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2012, 02:34:07 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 26, 2012, 03:02:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 03:21:13 pm
Mike squeezes out of the captain's quarters and tries to prank one of the sailors!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 6]
He impersonates a barrel while a man is passing by it!
"YOU THERE! WHICH WAY IS SOUTHEAST? TELL ME BEFORE I EAT YOUR SOUL!"
[Sailor 1 reaction roll: 4]
The sailor turns to the barrel, still picking his nose.
"No clue. Sorry."
He strolls off on his daily business. Another sailor soon passes by!
"FOOLISH MORTAL! TELL ME WHICH WAY IS SOUTHEAST OR HUMANITY AS YOU KNOW IT GETS IT!"
[Sailor 2 reaction roll: 2]
"Aw, hell, not again!"
The sailor runs away! Hm. Maybe he should tone it down a little?
Nah, probably not.
Soon enough, yet another sailor, a portly individual with a mustache this time, passes by the barrel!
"POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION BETWEEN SOUTH AND EAST OR I SHALL FLAY YOU ALIVE AND MAKE FASHIONABLE BREECHES FROM YOUR CRAVEN HIDE!"
[Sailor 3 reaction roll: 4]
"Sorry, evil chap, but I'm not privy to such information! Only the cap'n knows."
He is about to leave, but then turns around.
"And I'd really prefer if you made trousers out of me if you really have to. Breeches irritate me so."
In a deranged mind...
James tries to set off on a mental reclamation quest of epic proportions!
[Questing roll: 5]
And verily, he does indeed quest with great gusto! He quests right out of the room he's in and into another one, this one completely blank except for a single white marble pedestal! It has a skull on it, interestingly enough. What could it mean?
Post by: TopHat on December 26, 2012, 03:54:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 04:51:48 pm
James opts to take a closer look at the skull! As he does so, he feels an odd sensation. As though this skull were incredibly important somehow. Its eyes are precious jewels for some reason, and there is a peculiar sheen to it.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
He'll be damned if he knows why it seems important, though.
[Passage of time roll: 6]
He suddenly hears a voice in his head!
~HEY, THIS IS THE ARTISTE, IN CASE YOU FORGOT. WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN LATELY, SO I THOUGHT I'D DROP IN AND GIVE YOU A BIT OF A PROGRESS REPORT. YOU SEE, I'VE NEARLY DONE WHAT I WANTED TO DO, SO I THINK I'LL BE LEAVING SOON. JUST A HEADS-UP. ANY QUESTIONS? NO? THAT'S GREAT, SEE YOU LATER.~
And just like that, the voice of the Artiste disappears again.
Post by: TopHat on December 26, 2012, 05:36:06 pm
Then carry on questing.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 06:11:37 pm
James tries to insult the Artiste as best as he can!
[Insult roll: 3]
"Hey, you're not a very nice mind-stealing demon, Mr. Artiste! Not very nice at all!"
There is no answer once again. Lousy bastard. James resumes his questing!
[Questing roll: 1]
He quests right out of the room and into the Infinite Library of Toilet Humor. He spends what seems like a short time there, chuckling at his best material. Suddenly, the Artiste pipes up again!
~RIGHT, SO I'M DONE NOW. PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU, REALLY. MOST PEOPLE TRY TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BEAT ME WHILE I'M IN CONTROL, AND I AM PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE IN OUR PARTNERSHIP. I HOPE TO WORK WITH SOMEONE AS COOPERATIVE AS YOU AGAIN, MR. LANTHORN. OH, YES INDEED.~
James has a sinking feeling for a few seconds, then a sensation of being pureed, then sucked through a straw. This is followed by an odd song playing in his head for ten minutes until he passes out from bewilderment. When he opens his eyes, he is in control! Real, total control of his body!
He seems to be on a cliff overlooking a vast stretch of countryside.
[Perception roll: ?]
Oh dear. There's seven villages that he can see. Each one is on fire and seems to have a giant tower of bones constructed in the middle of it. Each tower pulses with malevolent power for some reason.
The Artiste has been proactive with his body, it looks like.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 26, 2012, 06:29:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2012, 07:49:02 pm
Vincent searches around for some interesting objects, perhaps even an artifact of some kind!
[Search roll: 2]
Strangely enough, it doesn't seem like ordinary citizens are in the habit of keeping magical weapons and artifacts in their homes. These people make no sense to Vincent. After all, where else would you keep magical weapons and artifacts if not in the safety of your own home?
Post by: TopHat on December 27, 2012, 06:54:02 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 06:56:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 07:44:35 am
James, seeing the destruction probably wrought with his own varying number of tails, chooses to flee rather than try to hero the place up. Just as well. He's probably not very liked around those parts.
[Perception roll: ?]
As he turns around and rolls away, he hears a hideous shriek, many vast explosions and the sound of massive chunks of granite being displaced. These are sounds that are virtually unanimously agreed upon by all to be Not Very Good, so James chooses to not look. Someone or something there might take offense.
He then tries to figure out where he is.
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
Uh... not a clue. He does get the feeling that he is rather far from where he was before, though.
On a ship on the Sea of Death...
Since it's worked perfectly so far, Mike continues to ventriloquize the poor barrel!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 6]
He waits for yet another sailor to pass by! One eventually does.
"POINT ME TO YOUR CAPTAIN AND I SHALL NOT MAKE DEMONIC SANDWICHES FROM YOUR ENTRAILS!"
[Sailor 1 reaction roll: 3]
"Holy mother of Narcillicus, looks like the captain's fears were well-founded! Screw this, I'm outta here!"
The sailor runs away! However, another one eventually approaches.
"YOU PIECE OF HUMAN FILTH, SUBMIT TO YOUR BETTERS! TELL ME WHERE THE CAPTAIN IS!"
[Sailor 2 reaction roll: 3]
"Uh, no. Sorry. No. Can't say."
The sailor leaves with an awfully fidgety look to him. Before long, another is passing by.
"TELL ME WHERE THE CAPTAIN IS OR FACE ETERNAL DAMNATION AND HUMILIATION IN THE HORRIBLE PITS OF DARKNESS!"
[Sailor 3 reaction roll: 6]
"Ooh, a demon barrel! How interesting! How is it that you can speak?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 08:27:43 am
"MY MASTER HAS GRANTED ME THIS POWER SO I CAN FULFILL MY MISSION. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY POWER HE HAS GRANTED ME, AND I DON'T THINK YOU WANT TO SEE THE OTHERS, SO TELL ME WHERE THE CAPTAIN IS!
Mike will try to gain the captain's location from this sailor!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 08:43:57 am
Mike, not one to be confused by skeptical questions, comes forward with a reply!
"MY MASTER HAS GRANTED ME THIS POWER SO I CAN FULFILL MY MISSION. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY POWER HE HAS GRANTED ME, AND I DON'T THINK YOU WANT TO SEE THE OTHERS, SO TELL ME WHERE THE CAPTAIN IS!
[Sailor 3 reaction roll: 1]
"Ah. I see."
He screams and jumps overboard! Dammit, why can't anyone help him? This ship is full of lunatics, it seems!
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 09:13:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 09:50:43 am
Mike approaches the edge of the ship with all the excitement of a small child opening a gift from his obscenely rich benefactor! He looks at the sailor!
[Sailor swimming roll: 5]
However, much to his chagrin, the sailor seems to be a very good swimmer! Probably why he dove overboard in the first place. He must feel at home in the water. This also makes him useless to Mike in his current state! Sailors only point north if they are free-floating, you know.
[Beastie roll: 5]
Amusingly enough, the Sea of Death proves to also be a remarkably lenient mistress to this fellow. No abominations from the darkest depths try to eat him as he swims away from the ship.
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 09:55:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 10:19:08 am
Mike considers if the captain might be at the ship's wheel!
Considering that he's been there and checked it already, all signs point to "no".
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 10:35:03 am
Mike will find a safe place to rest and wait until the ship reaches it's destination.
Post by: TopHat on December 27, 2012, 11:14:04 am
Then head towards my goal
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 11:36:08 am
Lacking any other sensible options, Mike chooses to go with the flow and ride the ship to wherever it may go! But first he must find a safe spot!
[Shelter roll: 6]
Hey, it worked the first time, so why not again? Mike hides inside another barrel of sauerkraut! Oh, how he missed this. He drifts off into a peaceful sauerkraut-covered sleep once again.
[Ship destination roll: ?]
He feels the air and sauerkraut shiver around him and there is a distinct sensation of getting pulled somewhere!
[Handy exposition roll: 4]
He hears two sailors come down the stairs. Judging by their voices, it's Tom and George!
"So, yeah, like I said, we're on the Ocean of Dreams right now and..."
"Ocean of Dreams? But that's not even on our world!"
"One-way magical gates. Only way to get to the Ocean of Dreams. Totally worth it, though."
"How?"
"Oh, you'll see once we reach one of the towns. Better get used to the nonsense happening here, though. We'll be here for two months. Maybe three, all depends on the dream-waters."
Damn it all! Now Mike's left the frickin' planet! Stupid high-risk, high-profit merchant ventures!
Near a scene of indescribable horror...
James takes a look at his pretty map!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1-1]
Oh, he's not very far from Lake Victory at all! He should just travel 50 miles to the west and he'll be golden! He heads that way immediately!
[Will roll: 2+1-1]
Pretty... map... can't... speak... normally... can't... go... anywhere... either.... must... look...
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 11:43:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 12:11:25 pm
Mike nibbles on some sauerkraut and relaxes while he waits for the ship to dock.
[Ship travel roll: 5]
The ship seems to be moving rather quickly. It seems they caught a favorable wind. Or the extraterrestrial equivalent of wind, he has no idea.
[Dream-strangeness roll: 2]
He hears an odd sound come from somewhere, however. It seems to alternate between hoarse grunting and high-pitched hooting.
[? roll: ?]
It stops abruptly, though. Huh.
Post by: miauw62 on December 27, 2012, 01:29:30 pm
Mike will wait.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2012, 02:57:05 pm
Mike decides not to investigate the eerie silence! After all, if he can't hear it, it can't harm him, right?
Yep. Not getting out of this barrel. That thing can give him the silent treatment all it wants.
Well, it hasn't killed him yet. So it's probably harmless.
[Paranoia roll: 1]
But what if that's what it was planning all along? What if it's waiting for Mike to drop his guard, then strike? It wants his sauerkraut, he knows it! Everyone does! Well, Mike isn't about to just take this like some kind of... of... normal person! Normal people are always surprised when stuff is out to get them! Not Mike, though!
He'll be watching, you know. No sleep for him. Just watching.
[Ship travel roll: 6]
He continues to consider the idea of things conspiring against them when a strange feeling overtakes him. It's something he's felt before.
Weightlessness. The ship is in freefall.
Post by: TopHat on December 27, 2012, 03:27:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 03:54:35 am
James tries to snap out of his mesmerized state!
[Will roll: 2+1-1]
Nope. No dice. Some time passes before he is ready to try again!
[Will roll: 2+1-1]
He remains mesmerized for several more hours, staring slack-jawed at the map's beauty! It's beginning to get dark.
[Will roll: 1+1-1]
So there he is, staring at the map with a silly look in his eyes when suddenly something pounces at him!
[Random creature roll: 1]
It looks a bit like a three-headed tiger, except it breathes fire and is covered in chitin plates. What are the odds of running into that in the wilderness?
[Thing ability roll: 1]
It tries to breathe fire at James, but does not consider the fact that it's currently standing in some very dry grass! It manages to set itself and a good patch of the surrounding area on fire!
[Thing endurance roll: 4]
It is a bit singed, but manages to avoid any serious damage!
[Fire roll: 6]
The fire dies down rather quickly, though. Must be the rather damp surroundings.
[James will roll: 3]
James looks away from the map for a second and stares at the thing that just tries to kill him.
He then resumes his perusal of the map.
[Thing vs. James: 1+2 vs. 2-2]
The tiger-thing chews off one of James' tails!
[James will roll: 4+1]
Alright, that's it! James turns around and tries to show the bastardly thing who's boss!
[James vs. Thing: 3+3 vs. 5+2]
The tiger-thing dodges away from James' swings, rolling away to a safe distance!
Post by: TopHat on December 28, 2012, 05:06:18 am
Cast suffocate on tiger.
Also will flying plate to fly at it.
Also attack it.
Then make something out of it's hide.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 05:30:04 am
James, not one to hold a grudge, tries to persuade the tiger to join him!
[Persuasion roll: 2-1]
He briefly considers what to say. Before he can figure anything out, the thing tries to breathe fire at him again!
[Thing ability roll: 1]
It sets itself on fire again! Really, it's starting to get sort of endearing how it keeps trying.
[Thing endurance roll: 3]
It begins to holler and leap around in panic! Only after it burns for a bit does it try to stop, drop and roll! It looks like it's in quite a bit of pain now! James capitalizes on this opportunity to try magic!
[Magic roll: 2-1-1]
He manages to crush his own throat so much that his vampire head falls off, disintegrating into ash! He only has snail heads now!
James is now Human-Headless!
[Will roll: 3]
Well, at least having redundant heads helps in some way! He does feel awfully... snaily now.
[Tigerthing vs. James: 1+2-1 vs. 1]
The tigermonster paws at James' severed head, then kicks it away into the forest!
[Will roll: 5]
This doesn't stop James from willing the hoverplate to fly at the creature at a breakneck speed!
[Tigerthing dodge roll: 4-1]
The tigerthing cannot dodge the suddenly-violent hoverplate entirely! It smashes into its legs, knocking it down!
[James vs. Tigerthing: 3+3 vs. 5+2-1-1]
James smashes his lightning hammer... in a spot right next to the tiger. Not quite what he had in mind, but it burns the tigerthing a little bit anyway.
[Tigerthing recovery roll: 4]
The tigerthing rolls away once more and retreats slightly!
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 05:32:06 am
((Ninjad by the GM :())
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 06:02:32 am
Mike decides to try and get out of the barrel before he meets a very nasty end in more ways than one!
[Escape roll: 6]
He begins to wade through the masses of sauerkraut, but then decides to just explode the barrel instead. It's more fun.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
There is no telekinetic explosion, although he does sufficiently part the sauerkraut to aid his escape a little bit anyway!
In but a minute, he is out of the barrel and floating in the air! Wonder when this ship will land.
[Ship landing roll: 3]
Most of the ship lands softly, but the bow hits something else! It seems like stone, from the sound of it!
[Handy exposition roll: 3]
He hears yelling from up top!
"Quick, somebody untie me! Come on!"
Post by: TopHat on December 28, 2012, 07:18:05 am
Shoot tiger with force bolt.
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 08:07:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 09:06:04 am
James uses his crossbow to shoot the beast!
[James vs. Tigerthing: 3+3 vs. 4+2-1]
The bolt hits the tigerthing in one of the chitin plates, shattering it but doing little else!
[Tigerthing vs. James: 5+1 vs. 2]
The tigerthing charges at James and eats a whole lot of snail flesh in one go! James has lost a lot of muscle mass!
[Will roll: 1]
He feels himself weaken very noticeably! His unlife-force rapidly slips away!
[Will roll: 2-1]
Holy heck. He is most definitely dying.
[Will roll: 3-2]
Yep. He's dead. He's as dead as a doornail. Deader than dead. Undead-dead. He's so dead, rocks look alive in comparison to him. His unlife-force flows away into the darkness of the winter night, leaving behind a sumptuous feast for the three-headed tiger-insect monstrosity.
James Lanthorn is really dead, you guys.
On a ship that just had a hard landing...
Mike flies out of the ship's hold and gets to the source of the yelling! Once he reaches the outside, he is greeted by a strange sight!
The sky is a mix of purples and greens, the water around the ship seems to be made of oddly luminescent multicolored flows! Truly, Mike has left the world he knew. There's no way this could exist on earth.
The ship appears to be sinking into the water. Panicking sailors are leaving it in droves, looks like. The only two people who are not running away are the captain, who is frantically jumping around on the rear part of the ship and yelling "FIRE THE BALLISTAE!" The other person is the one whose call he followed.
It's the crow's nest guy! He's still tied to the mast, it looks like. Mike flies up to him!
"Save me, bird! You're my only hope!"
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on December 28, 2012, 09:26:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 09:56:23 am
anailater - Luke Arnold
Thecard - Clip-Clop
Spinal_Taper - Darren Derrious
Gamerlord - Yorinnsud Molocksson
killerhellhound - Mark MeatWagon
Onyxjew944 - Tom
If another player dies, you'll be in the next chapter.))
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 12:15:10 pm
Post by: Thecard on December 28, 2012, 01:14:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 01:15:14 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 01:21:05 pm
Mike will telekinetically break the ropes so the guy can escape!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 01:42:16 pm
Mike attempts his soon-to-be-patented Telekinetic Rope Destruction Trick!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
It turns out rope is pretty hard to destroy with just pushing and pulling! Who knew, right?
"Can you understand me, mayhap? USE YOUR BEAK, BIRD! USE YOUR BEAK!"
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 01:49:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 02:01:15 pm
Mike tries to peck through the ropes!
[Pecking roll: 1]
It turns out that his beak isn't very good for this! Those are very sturdy ropes, it looks like!
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 02:06:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 02:16:28 pm
Mike, dissatisfied with the beak damage he has sustained, tries telekinesis again!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He pulls the rope in various ways using his telekinetic powers, but it does not come off! It does seem looser now, though!
[Lookout escape roll: 5]
"Ah, you obviously can't help me. Guess I'll have to get out myself!"
Through deft movement and exceptional command of his own body, the lookout escapes from the ropes easily! Probably because you loosened them, but this still makes you feel inadequate!
"Thanks for trying, though. Appreciate it. Bye, crow!"
He waves as he runs away, rapidly descending along the mast! As soon as he is down, he runs for the bow and leaps off onto the ground. He as well as other sailors well ahead of him all seem to be heading off to what looks like a city, except far more bizarre. It looks like it's made of shimmering clouds, multicolored apples and odd jungles of twisted metal. Curved rays of light seem to be emanating from it, swaying to and fro and filling the nearby area with an odd radiance!
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2012, 02:22:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 02:32:15 pm
Mike flies off to the city! As he approaches, he sees ever more of the city - strange, warped caricatures of human beings are visible in some places. Some of them barely even look human, having lost most things that would identify them as such. For instance, there appears to be a dining chair with eyes walking along one of the walkways connecting a giant apple with a much smaller cloud.
There appear to be entrances to each of the buildings. Yep, this is definitely a city.
[Perception roll: ?]
He isn't sure how one is supposed to tell the difference between buildings. There aren't any indications of what each building is.
Post by: TopHat on December 28, 2012, 03:06:08 pm
Also nooooooo))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 03:14:33 pm
((hey wait when did it mention woodland?
Also nooooooo))
((It's not woodland specifically. It's the wilderness. So you were in equal danger in a meadow as you were in a forest or a swamp. However, you would have lost both the penalty and the tigermonster if you just used the hoverplate to fly up in the air and shoot it with your crossbows of fireballs and force bolts. But you know what they say: hindsight's 20/20.))
Post by: TopHat on December 28, 2012, 03:21:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 03:26:11 pm
Post by: TopHat on December 28, 2012, 04:01:11 pm
((the very last action of James Lanthorn. It will do absolutely nothing but it might make me feel a little better.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 04:30:38 pm
The soul of one James Lanthorn makes its way along the vast stretches of luminous aether swirling in rather interesting and intricate patterns. Only one thing is on his fleeting mind - who is to blame for all this? Bernie? Bernie's sister? The tigermonster? Himself? The Demon of the Quaking Earth (that bastard)?
No, not them. It may be partially their own fault, but they didn't mean to harm him specifically. Well, except the tigermonster. The tigermonster was a jackass. Hope it chokes on all that parasite-infested snail flesh. Hope it chokes and dies. But still, he can name one being that was most directly responsible for his demise - the Artiste! Now that was a bastard of the foulest sort. He should beat him up! Yeah!
He's nowhere to be seen as James is pulled along by a spiritual chain.
[Intelligence roll: ?+1]
Probably because he's not dead. In fact, James isn't entirely sure he can die. He seemed pretty demonic to him. Sure did a number on those villages. Heh, silly peasants. Serves 'em right.
Suddenly, James stops. His eyesight, which had been growing dimmer, disappears completely, as does his hearing. He feels nothing and tastes nothing. It's sensory deprivation at its best.
It seems like James is left alone with his thoughts.
He realizes that he could not be in worse company.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on December 28, 2012, 04:51:38 pm
The waitlist looks like this at the moment:
anailater - Luke Arnold
Thecard - Clip-Clop
Spinal_Taper - Darren Derrious
Gamerlord - Yorinnsud Molocksson
killerhellhound - Mark MeatWagon
If another player dies, you'll be in the next chapter.
As much as I hate to break my lurker status, I believe something is out of order.
In a land, roughly forty pages earlier...
Post to watch, I'm still reading this. But for posterities sake, have a waitlister.
Name: Tom
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: Aged thirty-five when he died; he was sitting on a wooden rocking chair when he suffered a brain aneurysm. Boring death, only sign he wasn't asleep was the six pints of blood that were cascading out of his nose.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2012, 05:03:39 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on December 28, 2012, 05:50:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 03:06:49 am
Vincent keeps walking through the ruined city, keeping a lack of an eye out for something of interest. There has to be something, right?
[Exploration roll: 5]
As he heads down a wide street he finds a building! A very high building. In fact, maybe it would be best to call it a tower. It looks rather magical, to tell the truth.
The door, which is large and adorned with various scenes of battle, seems to be slightly ajar.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 04:50:22 am
Mike will look for a friendly-looking villager and try to communicate.
Post by: TopHat on December 29, 2012, 04:59:46 am
And the thing I find most sad about James's death?
He was one roll away from rebound from misfortune. One roll.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 05:17:07 am
Mike searches for a friendly-looking citizen among this carnival of horrid monstrosities!
[Search roll: 4]
He approaches a large, savage-looking ape in expensive-looking finery!
"Greetings, Mr. Bird. Can I help you in any way?"
[Communication roll: 4]
Mike opens up his beak and decides to attempt a trick!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 5]
A pleasant-sounding voice rings out from the beak! It's like Mike's original voice, except better-tuned and with a sing-song quality to it.
"Tes-ting, tes-ting, can you hear me, Mr. Ape?"
"Yes, I can, dear Mr. Bird. And please, call me Mr. Jones. What would your name be?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 05:27:51 am
Mike will ask Jones if he knows of a way to return to "normal" earth!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 06:00:22 am
Mike, satisfied at his success, decides to carry on conversing.
"Why hello, Mr. Jones, I am Michael Schuler, but everybody calls me Mike. I'm technically human, but demonic shenanigans trapped me in this body! But that is not why I have come here, I seek a way to return to my homeland!"
"Ah, so you're new here! How absolutely delightful. Well, Mike, may I be the first to welcome you to the fabulous City of Dreams. You'll grow to like it, I'm sure. It's a place where dreams come true, after all."
"Yes, I'm sure it's delightful, but are there any ways to leave this place?"
"No conventional ones, I'm afraid. The portals that lead here are one-way, so there is no point in trying to leave via the Ocean of Dreams. It's infinite as far as I know."
Mike looks as disappointed as a bird can at the answer he's received.
"But there is one way, however. The Lord of Dreams could probably send you wherever you wish, but only if you provide him with something he truly values. But getting to him is an ordeal in itself, as you need to bribe all five of his guardians before they'll let you in, and I hear they have very extravagant desires."
"So, bribe five guardians, then give the Lord of Dreams something he values and you can leave?"
"Well, that's one of the things you can do. He is a trader of sorts - you give him something he values and he grants you a wish. Nothing too powerful, I'm afraid. Usually the traders that come here and manage to get in ask for artifacts, impossibly exquisite goods and transportation out of here, in that order. For each wish, they have brought a good to trade."
"How many manage to get in?"
"A precious few. The rest have not done enough research and end up stuck here. Not that that's a bad thing. I find that people who are stranded here enjoy it quite a bit more than their own world."
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 06:07:05 am
"Do you know what others have used to bribe the guardians?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 06:42:48 am
Mike is intrigued by Jones' information and tries to find out more.
"Do you know what others have used to bribe the guardians?"
[Mr. Jones knowledge roll: ?]
"Oh, it really depends on what their mood is. Sometimes they'll ask for a hundred gold coins, sometimes they'll ask for a black pearl, sometimes they'll ask for lint or a nice sandwich. You can never know, as they are a notoriously fickle lot. Then again, it makes sense, considering who they guard and where they are."
"Ah. I see."
[Mr. Jones helpfulness roll: 2]
"Now, was that all? I really should be getting back to my afternoon walk."
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 07:16:46 am
Mike will ask this last question and head off in the direction of wherever these guardians are!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 07:46:38 am
Mike asks one final question of the amiable Mr. Jones.
"One more thing, could you point me in the direction of these guardians?"
[Mr. Jones knowledge roll: ?]
"Unfortunately, no. The city shifts and changes every day and I haven't come across the Dream Palace today. It's actually my main reason for these walks, to find out if anything's changed location. It's quite the bother sometimes."
"I see. Well, thanks anyway. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jones."
"Likewise, Mr. Schuler, likewise. Now I really must go, otherwise my house might shift location again and I'll have to spend the whole night finding it again."
"Don't let me keep you, then. Goodbye, Mr. Jones."
"Goodbye, Mike. I do hope you decide to stay. You seem like a nice enough chap. Dreamlord knows we could use more of those."
Mr. Jones tips his hat to Mike and strolls away along the walkway, whistling a delightful little tune.
[Mr. Jones last minute advice roll: 5]
He then seems to remember something and turns around!
"Oh yes, you're new here, so here's another tip - dreams come true, Mr. Schuler. Dreams do indeed come true!"
He grins widely and proceeds away.
Post by: Gamerlord on December 29, 2012, 07:51:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 08:10:25 am
Mike will dream of becoming an eagle!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 08:25:50 am
Mike dreams of being an eagle, like he imagines some crows probably do!
[Imagination roll: 6-1]
He begins to change, growing larger and larger! The color of his feathers and the shape of his body changes rapidly, causing him quite a bit of discomfort at first, but becoming oddly... pleasant in a short while! Mike closes his eyes and enjoys the sweet ride as he takes on the form of an eagle, rather large and predatory-looking, if he may say so himself!
He spreads his wings and enjoys the feeling of sheer might he now feels! There is also another feeling present, as though his world's reality had less of a hold on him now.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He has no idea what this might mean, though.
You know, he might grow to love this place.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 08:36:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 08:51:47 am
Mike decides that flying around looking for palaces is a sound plan!
[Exploration roll: 5+1]
He takes off into the luminescent sky, taking his sweet time flying around and enjoying the great taste of freedom! Nothing like it, no sir!
After about half an hour of flying, swooping and generally being all birdy, Mike remembers that he was looking for a palace. Right. He looks around from his vantage point!
[Perception roll: ?+1]
He spots a very large structure that towers over the surrounding cityscape. Well, if that's not the palace, he isn't sure what is! He flies right over, reaching it in another half hour!
The palace seems unusually solid compared to the other buildings, made of what looks like contrasting white and black marble that forms delicate lines and images along its facade. The images, like everything else in the area, continuously shift and change, reforming themselves into strange glimpses of imagination reflecting both fantasies and nightmares. There is a huge archway leading inside the palace, though it seems to have a strange shimmering curtain in front of it.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 09:02:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 09:23:38 am
Mike swoops down to the shimmering curtain and tries to get through somehow!
The curtain seems to part as he puts one of his wings through. After trying that several times, he sticks his head in!
He is greeted by the sight of a large room with walls of bright white marble and a black marble floor. In the center of the room there is a fountain with two spouts, one spraying lavender-tinted water, the other leaking an inky black substance. Both liquids seem to be going into a single pool, though they don't seem to mix.
There is a large crowd of creatures in the room sitting, chatting or pacing around.
[Perception roll: ?]
None of them look familiar. Mike also can't seem to spot any of the guardians.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 09:40:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 10:12:06 am
Mike waits for something interesting to happen!
[Interesting happenings roll: 2]
They just keep chatting. Looks like they're having fun. Mike flies over and investigates the meaning of this!
[Ghostly Ventriloquism roll: 2]
He just can't seem to get into a ventriloquizin' mood for some reason. Probably because he's too elated about becoming a noble-looking eagle to indulge in something so looked down upon in society!
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 10:45:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 11:11:19 am
Mike looks for an entrance to another room around the great hall!
[Perception roll: ?+1]
He's pretty sure there isn't one. He does, however, notice that there is an interesting stone slab on the fountain with the numbers 1 through 5 written on it. Otherwise he can't really see a whole lot of intriguing things in the room.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 11:12:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 11:27:39 am
Mike makes sure to inspect the fountain for any trickery, treachery or stunning beauty.
He comes to the conclusion that the swirling patterns the black inky stuff makes in the lavender water are pretty cool-looking.
[Perception roll: ?+1]
[Imagination roll: 5-1]
As he stares into the fountain, he feels his avian brain tingle and process information from it. He sees dreams, nightmares, all manner of things in the fountain. He can see an indescribable being slumbering far above him, a being of mud slinking along the lower levels, a woman made of razors dancing in a ballroom made of deformed scrap, a child with hands stretching out from his brain. It's all rather trippy, Mike thinks. Just as he is about to turn away, he sees something else - a man with five heads and ten open arms, looking at him with five pairs of eyes.
[Mood rolls: 1, 1, 5, 4, 5]
Of the five heads, one looks at Mike with curiosity, one seems genuinely happy to see him, one has a look of love in his eyes, one regards Mike with open hostility and another sneers at him.
[Perception roll: ?+1]
Together they all seem to be asking what it is he wants, exactly.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 11:40:20 am
Mike will answer him!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 12:11:23 pm
Mike informs the creature that it seeks to return to his own realm, and the creature's five heads all nod, though the two less-pleasant ones seem to be rather less than pleased by this turn of events.
[Perception roll: ?+1]
Mike can't quite understand what they're trying to tell him now. It's quite difficult to decipher their body language.
[Guardian explanation roll: 3]
The guardian looks at Mike and shakes its heads. The two nasty heads roll their eyes.
[Perception roll: ?+1]
This time Mike pays more attention to their subtle movements, and is able to decipher some of their demands!
[Demand roll: 4-1, 1-1, 6+1, 1+1, 6+1]
The hostile head seems to be demanding an expensive porcelain doll. Well, that can't be all that hard. The next two, however, are much more difficult. The happy head asks him to provide a handshake, while the curious head asks for a smile. The loving head asks for proof of love - a pink diamond, and the mocking head ponders his choice for a while, then asks for one thing and one thing only - the words of an infinite circle.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 12:14:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 12:41:01 pm
Mike is about to smile and give the Guardian a handshake, but then realizes that there are two problems with this plan.
Firstly, he has a beak. Beaks are not known for their ability to form expressions. Secondly, he has no hands, so he can't perform a proper handshake.
[Perception roll: ?+1]
The happy and curious heads smile at him with sly expressions. Smartasses.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 29, 2012, 01:02:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2012, 01:44:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 02:06:10 pm
Vincent heads inside the door and tries to explore it! Once he is inside, he notices that the inside of the building seems to be entirely devoted to exhibits of all sorts - ancient objects, modern weaponry and some things he doesn't have any clue about.
[Exploration roll: 6]
After passing through several halls filled with various ancient, but useless swords, Vincent comes upon a rather interesting exhibit - a large wooden staff with a large torus mounted at its tip.
Next to the Fountain of Visions...
Mike focuses on the room and tries to telekinetically gather all of the dust within!
[Dust presence roll: 3]
There's not a whole lot of dust to work with, but Mike is determined to make the best of it!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He succeeds in throwing the dust in his own eyes and dropping like the very confused bird he is. He screeches horribly for a bit, then gets up and looks at the fountain.
He can't see the Guardian anymore, just the mixed ink-water. Well, there goes that idea.
Post by: Firelordsky on December 29, 2012, 03:18:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2012, 05:12:53 pm
Vincent elects to smash the display case and commence the looting! He loots the staff most thoroughly. He then proceeds to hold it in his third arm since it doesn't fit in any of his sacks, then goes on exploring.
[Exploration roll: 5]
He finds a corpse! This one's different than the others, however. Looks relatively fresh, hardly decomposed at all, though he does look dreadfully emaciated. He seems to be clutching a book, a horrified look on his face!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 29, 2012, 10:37:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 05:47:57 am
Vincent wrenches the book out of the dead body's hands and begins to read!
[Book roll: 5]
It looks like a journal of some kind. It's marked as belonging to one "Lemuel J. Hardy", and it seems to be quite lengthy. It details the travels of the author along something he calls "The Ancient Lands", an area filled with ancient ruins of times long forgotten. The journal seems to describe all manner of places he's found and any interesting things to be found in them, though it's mostly written from a scholarly point of view, not an adventurer's, so mentions of amazing treasure or good loot are few and far between.
There seem to be several places that Hardy has marked out as being of special interest - the Temple of Demons, which is a place focusing on the worship of five powerful demons for some nefarious heathen purpose, the Tower of Steel, which is a place protected by a powerful magical field that prohibits any entry and has thus probably remained untouched for many hundreds of years, the Flying Island, once seen by Hardy as it traversed the skies over a forest, and the Tuskless Capital, which seems to be the city Vincent is in right now.
In fact, the last entries are particularly interesting, as they describe the venture of Hardy and his companions into the Tuskless Capital. They seem to have been followed at every turn by what he calls "actual, honest-to-goodness tuskless primitives, totally unlike the people we've encountered on the continent so far". He describes them as "curious ape-like creatures, fascinating in their own degenerate way". Soon enough, however, the entries take on a more fearful tone, as he seems to have noticed the apes following him at every turn. When his companions begin to disappear in the night, Lemuel seems to have panicked, judging by his shaky handwriting.
After that, the remaining pages of the book seem to be filled with strange symbols drawn in charcoal.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Difficult to say what they are, but they definitely aren't Hardy's work. He didn't seem to be the doodling type from his journal.
Well, that was an enlightening skimming session. Maybe later Vincent can study certain passages of the journal or the symbols in-depth.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 05:53:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 06:29:45 am
Mike tries to imagine himself a human face and hands!
[Imagination roll: 1-1]
He tries to think of a face. Well, what better face to use than his own? He concentrates on the image of his own face!
Only there is no image. What did he look like? Is it so easy to forget one's own looks? Can a man forget his own image in but a few days?
Mike begins to panic. If he does not know himself, what is to become of him? It's quite a philosophical quandary. Will he eventually forget his own name? His own personality? All that he has done?
The fear he feels has a very noticeable outward effect - Mike's chest splits open vertically all the way up to his head and continuing on to his back. The edges distance themselves from each other, showcasing the many rows of bony spines and hooks that seem to have appeared inside!
Mike notices an interesting thing - he now seems to be able to open up vertically, forming a snapping maw of teeth! However, that's not all. His wings also twist into new forms, becoming... eyestalks? The eyestalks, which are now the only eyes he has, seem to large and rather beastly-looking. He seems to have also lost every feather on his body, and of his old form only scaly, taloned feet remain, though they have multiplied in number quite a bit, forming branching, knotted legs that make no sense whatsoever!
One of the people around the room, a six-legged giant cat, to be precise, looks at him nonchalantly.
"Ooh, bad transformation. I've been there myself. Tough luck, kid. Hope next time goes better."
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 06:33:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 06:43:25 am
Mike looks for someone in the room with a face!
[Perception roll: ?]
He sees a man with a face! Okay, imagining now...
Wait, his face changed. It's now completely different! This isn't helping!
Alright, he looks stable. No, wait, he changed gender. What is wrong with this guy? Er, gal.
[Concentration roll: 1]
Mike goes into even more of a panic and tries to make something up on the fly!
[Imagination roll: 1-1-1]
He imagines the face of the little girl he possessed! It now floats near him, crying tears of blood, yet laughing somehow!
"You're a failure, Mike! You killed me, and you destroyed my town! You murdered my family, you murdered everyone! Why did you kill everyone, Mike? Why?"
She keeps floating around Mike, repeating the word "why" incessantly, adding a new layer of reproach each time!
"Whoa, man, looks like you've got problems. I've lived here for years and I ain't seen that happen yet."
Driven to curiosity by the little girl's voice, people are starting to stare at Mike.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 06:54:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 07:13:22 am
Mike needs to focus! He must not let the girl get to him, no matter how much she cries blood!
[Concentration roll: 1]
Damn it all, how does she manage to put that much reproach into a single word? Even Mike's heart, which is reputedly made of steel and mischief with a dash of pure evil, can't help but feel slightly guilty! He reluctantly tries to smash the face against the wall!
[Telekinesis roll: 1-2]
He stops midway in his attempt and thinks - why is he trying to smash the girl's head into the wall? She's right, you know! Mike is a monster! He deserves to be punished! He lifts himself up, feeling all righteous, then smashes himself into the ground full-force!
[Endurance roll: 4]
He feels a lot of pain, but does not seem to have horribly injured himself! That's the best kind of penance, Mike finds.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 07:25:52 am
((It's funny how you can start to panic yourself when your character panics.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 07:34:13 am
Mike realizes that the best idea right now would be to pass out from his not-inconsiderable pain, or have a pain-nap, as he likes to call it.
[Pain-nap roll: 3]
He closes his eyes and relaxes a bit, although the constant "WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY" sound makes it somewhat difficult to rest at all! He keeps turning and snapping at the noise, but it does not stop. That little girl sure is a pain.
[Resting roll: 2-1]
He twists and turns constantly, then gets up. Well, he's not getting any pain-napping done while that face is still there.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 09:20:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 09:46:10 am
Mike, not one to forgive a rude awakening, attempts to kindly inform the head that shutting the fuck up is in its best interest.
[Speaking roll: 3]
He finds that a spine does not make a good replacement for a tongue.
"GHAKH! SHUTTAKUTAP!"
[Face reaction roll: 5]
It looks at Mike for a few seconds, then begins to laugh! The girl is honestly, truly laughing! As it stops crying, it begins to slowly dissipate until it is but a vague echo in Mike's memory. How fortunate for him!
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 11:01:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 11:17:07 am
Mike decides to get some sleep, what with the traumatic experiences he just had.
[Resting roll: 6]
He falls into a very, very deep sleep. Only a moment seems to pass as he lies on the ground, closes his eyes, then opens them again.
Looks like he's in Yellowglen. How strange!
[Perception roll: ?]
He does notice another peculiarity: nobody seems to be around! Nobody at all!
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 11:18:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 11:27:30 am
Mike shrugs and goes to the orchard to pick up the stuff that he left on one of his previous corpses.
He gets to the orchard. It looks to be doing very poorly. Most of the trees seem to have been cut down, as Mike counts less than half of what he saw when he was previously here. He proceeds to the corpse.
Well, the corpse looks just about how he left it. In more ways than one, actually. The head is still split wide open and the robes look quite tattered and weathered. He pokes the corpse with his spine and flips it over, then tries to check its pockets.
It still has the globe and the box, plus some silver coins Mike could have sworn weren't there before. And a magic map as well, just like the one Monty was carrying. How fortunate!
Post by: Firelordsky on December 30, 2012, 11:34:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 11:37:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 11:47:16 am
Vincent, perhaps fearing a sordid fate, chooses to leave the museum and head out! He tries to figure out which way Bernie might be.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He considers what he knows of the area and chooses to go south on the straightest path possible.
[Encounter roll: 2]
He sees several people in the distance. It's difficult to see them from here.
[Perception roll: ?]
They seem to be human, they are carrying spears and bows. They also look unreasonably aggressive.
In Yellowglen...
Mike tries to growl as spookily as he can!
[Spooky Howling roll: 6]
A demonic howl of incredible proportions escapes the mouth that should not be, and Mike feels the entire area shiver with piercing horror! Too bad there doesn't seem to be anything alive around to hear it.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 12:38:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 01:14:17 pm
Mike tries to question the reality of things around him!
[Questioning roll: 4]
Yeah, it does seem really iffy and nonsensical, to be honest. It's pretty obvious that this isn't real. Like, get real.
Just as he thinks it, the sky of Yellowglen disappears around him. So does the ground and trees. And the globe and the box, and the map, and the coins. Mike begins to fall.
[Location roll: 6]
Fortunately, his dreamscape seems to have existed not very far from the ground, as he only falls a few feet. Unfortunately, though, he seems to have been right above the fountain, as he immediately plunges into the water!
[Fountain effect roll: 5]
Shockingly enough, nothing horrible happens! He even manages to not get any inky liquid in his eyes! This must be his lucky day.
He does get out immediately, just to be on the safe side.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 01:24:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 01:57:56 pm
Mike keeps trying to make himself the face of Bernie! And some hands, too, yeah, that'd be nice!
[Imagination roll: 1-1]
He thinks of Bernie, summoning all his disdain and lack of respect into a single point right next to him! He closes his eyes and sings a song that directly insults Bernie in every way possible! Not because he needs to, mind you, just because he hates Bernie.
He opens his eyes and sees Bernie right next to him! A simulacrum of Bernie, to be precise. It looks pretty close to the real thing!
"You do realize I just heard that song, right?"
[Bernie magic roll: 1]
He gestures at Mike, then proceeds to drop on the ground and begin convulsing in pain. Yep, that's definitely the level competence you'd expect from the guy.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2012, 02:19:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2012, 03:28:01 pm
Mike, undeterred by all the horrifying failures he's experienced so far, decides to try once more to create the face of Bernie with some hands to go with it for himself!
[Imagination roll: 5-1]
This time, however, he has Bernie right in front of him, so copying his face for himself is a simple matter! He imagines it at the tip of his spine-tongue, making sure he can hide it should the need arise. It's even somewhat articulate! Who would've thought?
[Bernie simulacrum recovery roll: 3]
The fake Bernie lies on the ground and coughs for a bit, then begins to get up!
[Imagination roll: 1-1]
Mike is about to think of a good sort of hand to give himself, but is then distracted by the far more interesting prospect of floating violent fists that beat people up! He imagines 5 floating fists of flame in front of himself! They proceed to fly at him at great speed!
[Fist 1 vs. Mike: 6 vs. 1]
[Fist 2 vs. Mike: 2 vs. 5]
[Fist 3 vs. Mike: 2 vs. 5]
[Fist 4 vs. Mike: 2 vs. 3]
[Fist 5 vs. Mike: 1 vs. 5]
The very first fist hits him so hard, he flies right out of the room through the shimmering curtain, having lost many of his bony teeth as well as some of his face's teeth! He can also feel that his face has a broken nose!
[Flight roll: 6]
Mike's flight right off a walkway is fortunately prevented by a passing fungus! However, while Mike is stopped in his tracks, the fungus is sent sailing off the walkway. It looks rather sad as it falls down. Looks like it has a long way to fall.
Meanwhile, the four other floating fists of flame decide that they're not going to top the first one's work and choose not to try. They all dissipate harmlessly.
[Bernie recovery roll: ?]
Mike has no idea what Bernie's up to in there.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 04:47:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 06:33:29 am
Mike attempts to imagine himself a whole lot of pink diamonds!
[Imagination roll: 5-1]
He actually does manage to summon a whole bunch of diamonds in various shades of pink! They look quite real, too, though he's not entirely positive on how pink they should be. Hopefully he didn't overdo it. Okay, time to make a hand out of 'em!
[Imagination roll: 2-1]
He tries to assemble a hand of pink diamonds, but it doesn't work at all! Instead, he finds himself thinking of feet for gods only know what reason! The end result is a foot of pink diamonds.
"KHAAKH! DAMMIT!"
The foot responds to the aggression by trying to calm Mike down. Trying to calm him down with a foot to the torso!
[Pink Diamond Foot vs. Mike: 2 vs. 5]
It goes for a mighty kick, but Mike is too angry to allow the creature to do this!
[Counterattack: Mike vs. Pink Diamond Foot: 5 vs. 6]
Mike tries to grab the foot between his jaws, but it is far too busy being made of diamond to be harmed by this. In fact, this really hurts Mike, so he spits the thing out!
[Foot flight roll: 3]
It lands next to the edge of the walkway and precariously dangles over the edge!
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 06:59:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 07:04:46 am
Mike tries to telekinetically pull the foot back to him!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He pushes it off the edge and chuckles hellishly as it disappears from sight! That'll teach it to kick him! Stupid pink diamond foot!
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 07:06:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 07:40:31 am
Mike attempts to imagine some pink diamonds again! Worked the first time, right?
[Imagination roll: 3-1]
He doesn't feel very inspired, however. He thinks he might be running out of imaginative juice, so to speak.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 07:44:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 08:00:22 am
Mike looks for someone to help him!
[Sucker roll: 2]
As a radially symmetrical fellow walks past, Mike addresses him!
"AGKH! PINK DIAMONDS HGKHH!"
"No."
He then leaves.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 08:39:29 am
((Don't i have a face to talk with? Why am i making these weird noises then?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 08:57:41 am
Mike waits for somebody else to pass him by!
[Sucker roll: 5]
A creature looking much like a starfish sliced into seven pieces, then stuck back together ill-fittingly passes by!
Mike tries to use his Bernie face to speak with!
[Speaking roll: 1]
"Hey, you there, you can go and piss right off! We don't appreciate assholes like you in this place!"
"Oh, I shall do so with pleasure, good sir!"
The strange person leaves just as quickly as it came.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 09:04:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 09:50:37 am
Mike waits outside the palace, expecting more people to show up!
[Sucker roll: 6]
He waits and waits for quite a while. Suddenly, a very elongated individual appears from what seems like nowhere!
"You seem to want something. Can I help?"
"PINK DIAMOND HAND, GWAAGH!"
[Elongated Individual reaction roll: 5]
"Oh. Okay."
[Elongated Individual imagination roll: 2]
"Wait, what's a pink diamond, anyway?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 10:11:26 am
Mike will tell him how he needs to make a pink diamond hand!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 10:16:22 am
Mike tries to explain what a pink diamond is!
"IT IS A DIAMOND WITH THAT CARRIES THE COLOR NAMED PINK. WHGHAGH"
[Elongated Individual reaction roll: 2]
"Interesting. What is this color named... pink?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 10:45:55 am
Tell him what pink is and have him make me a pink diamond hand.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 11:05:30 am
Mike attempts to explain what pink is!
"IT IZZZ A KOLLOR OFTEN AZZOSIATED WIT ZMALL GIRLZ!"
[Elongated Man comprehension roll: 4]
"Wait, pink is blue? Why would you call it pink, then?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 11:06:59 am
NOW, ARE YOU GOING TO IMAGINE ME THIS PINK DIAMOND HAND?"
Have him make it for me now he understands it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 11:12:54 am
Mike tries to explain the location of pink in relation to other colors!
"IT LIES BETWEEN BLUUUEEE AND REEEDD, AND VERRY LIIIGHTT."
"Well, 'between blue and red' is awfully vague. How much red and how much blue?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 11:31:12 am
MAKE THEM NOW, PLEASE?"
Just get the guy to make that goddamn hand.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 11:44:12 am
Mike gives further explanation to the elongated fellow!
"ABOUT 75% RED AND 25% BLUE. MAKE THEM NOW, PLEASE?"
"Okay, one part blue, three parts red, four parts white. Hm."
[Elongated Individual imagination roll: 5]
A whole lot of pink diamonds appear in front of Mike!
"Those good?"
"YEZSHH! NOW MAKE A HAND OUT OF IIIT!"
"Yeesh, some people and their demands."
[Elongated Individual imagination roll: 2]
"What are hands, by the way?"
You look at his arms. By some horrible twist of fate, he only has lobster claws!
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 11:46:17 am
Imagine them into hands myself. If succesfull, go to the fountain and stick it in.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 12:05:18 pm
Mike decides that using his own imagination would be safer for his sanity right now.
[Imagination roll: 6-1]
He forms a perfectly good hand out of the pink diamonds!
"See, I knew you could do it! Good show!"
The elongated individual then proceeds to disappear in a cloud of ochre smoke. Mike shrugs, picks up the hand and goes inside!
[Trap roll: 2]
A large boulder lands right next to him. Wonder what that's all about?
"Damn it! Guess I'll have to kill you the old-fashioned way!"
[Fake Bernie magic roll: 2]
He gestures a bit, but nothing happens. Mike goes past him and sticks the hand in the fountain!
The love-head looks thrilled as the happy head shakes the hand! The love-head then takes it and keeps it for itself.
Two words appear on the slab: "Love" and "Happiness", corresponding to the numbers 3 and 4.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2012, 12:14:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2012, 01:31:41 pm
Mike, facing a violent problem, chooses to go with his Problem-Solving Plan A, which is to perform telekinetic violence on the offending problem until it is solved.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He manages to make the boulder roll menacingly towards fake Bernie for a few feet! Fake Bernie doesn't look impressed. In fact, he looks rather amused.
[Fake Bernie magic roll: 4]
Mike suddenly feels like his soul is getting pulled in five different directions! The pain is rather awful, if he may say so himself! Bernie laughs for a bit, then goes quiet and thoughtful for a few seconds.
"Now let me think, to kill or not to kill?"
[Bernie mood roll: 2]
He scratches his head for a bit, allowing Mike to recover! Mike does believe that he won't be able to take much more of this, however!
"Eh, I suppose I'll finish the job."
He is about to gesture at Mike again!
Post by: Yoink on January 02, 2013, 03:27:46 am
Timothy grimaced as he rushed over to the fallen Tom's side, wracking his brains for what meagre knowledge of medicine he possessed and then wracking them to figure out how it might apply to a person made of straw.
"Mediiiiiiiic!" He cried out, abruptly.
"Stretcher bearers!"
He frowned at himself and shut up, clearing his throat sheepishly. Seemed like some of that earlier, rather anachronistic heroism was still in his system... Oh well, now was not the time to worry about that.
>Telekinetically piece poor Tom back together!
>Use bits of leaves and twigs and grass as necessary. Leaves and twigs and grass are basically what straw is, right?
...Right?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 04:01:23 am
Upon seeing the mouse melt, Timothy decides that there is no point dwelling on that and instead opts to try and help Tom!
"Aw hells Tom, aw noes, why ya gotsta be fallin' aparts just now?! 'Snot a real good time for it..."
Now, let's see, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
"Mediiiiiiiic! Stretcher bearers!"
Okay, not that. Timothy considers how much he knows of medicine.
[Medicine roll: 6]
The lower torso definitely should go back on the scary-crow, he decides. Yes. That is a sound plan.
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Damnation! The torso seems to almost fall apart as he picks it up! What's a scary-crow to do?
That was a rhetorical question, by the way. Clearly, the answer is improvize!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He manages to pull various bits of plant and animal life out of the forest and drop them all on Tom! The result is... not pretty. After the animals are done, very little is left of Tom.
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 06:06:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 06:13:11 am
Mike tries to behead that pesky fake Bernie before he causes further trouble!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
It turns out pulling off someone's head with magic is harder than it looks!
[Bernie magic roll: 5]
Bernie gestures at Mike again, striking at his very soul! Mike twitches, turns and convulses like mad!
[Mike will roll: 1]
He begins to feel very awful!
[Mike will roll: 3-1]
Although soul magic is really painful, as Mike finds, it is not immediately fatal! It is only fatal in the short term, whatever comfort that brings.
"Come on and die already. I'm getting sick of this."
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 06:14:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 07:03:19 am
Mike tries to de-imagine fake Bernie!
[Imagination roll: 2-1]
But how would he do this? How would it work? Does he imagine a lack of Bernie, ignore him, what? He wracks his brain thinking about this!
[Will roll: 5-2]
Fortunately, it distracts him sufficiently to prevent him from dying just yet!
"Alright, now you die. For real this time!"
[Bernie magic roll: 4]
Mike feels a horrible twisting at his very core! Oh, the humanity!
[Will roll: 2-2]
This final twist is sufficient to extinguish all life left in him! Mike is left a horrible, twisted, lifeless wreck of what was formerly a crow! Fake Bernie kicks at him just to be sure.
"Well, looks pretty dead to me, whatever that thing was."
After glancing around to make sure nobody he knows can see him, he does a little dance atop Mike's remains. As he does so, he opens Mike's jaw and sees his own face within!
"Good gods," he says, looking shocked.
"Was I always that ugly?"
Mike has been thoroughly killed by a figment of his own imagination!
He does, however, awaken shortly after in the realm of the Demon of Light!
"RISE AND SHINE, MINION, IT'S A BRAND NEW DAY! WELL, IN A RELATIVE SENSE. IT'S NEVER DAY IN THE REALM OF ETERNAL DARKNESS! HOWEVER, NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOUR NEW LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF ME, THE DEMON OF DROWNING!"
"Wait, so you WEREN'T the Demon of Light?"
"GODS, NO. DID YOU HONESTLY THINK I WAS?"
"Uh... no?"
"GOOD! NOW LET'S GET TO WORK."
"What am I going to have to do?"
"THINGS I CAN'T BE ARSED TO DO MYSELF, MOSTLY. LIKE FISH CORPSES OUT OF THE NEVERENDING PITS OF DROWNING."
"Oh."
Mike and his new master fly off into the lack of a sunset (or any light, actually). Mike sighs sadly, realizing that it's going to be a long eternity. Well, hopefully the Neverending Pits of Drowning aren't as bad as they sound.
"I KNOW YOU MUST HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS ON YOUR MIND NOW, BUT THE FOREMOST OF THOSE ARE PROBABLY THESE: ARE THE NEVERENDING PITS OF DROWNING AS BAD AS THEY SOUND AND CAN I KEEP ANY VALUABLES I FIND ON CORPSES? WELL, THE ANSWER TO BOTH OF THOSE QUESTIONS IS YES."
Well.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 07:22:13 am
((Goddamnit this chapter was deadly. I'm kinda sad that I don't get to see the perks.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 07:40:40 am
Mike tries one last time to avoid fishing corpses out of the Neverending Pits of Drowning!
"Is there any way I could do something else?"
"NO. WELL, NOT UNTIL YOU WORK IN THE PITS FOR A FEW HUNDRED YEARS. THEN YOU MIGHT GET PROMOTED. BUT YOU PROBABLY WON'T. I HEAR THE SHIFT SUPERVISOR THERE IS A REAL JERK."
"Wait, you get to work in shifts?"
"NO. SO I HAVE NO DEA WHAT HE'S DOING THERE TO BEGIN WITH. SEEMS COMFORTABLE, THOUGH."
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 07:51:00 am
"Sure you don't need someone to make, like, potions? Else I guess I'll head there."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 07:52:30 am
((Either way, it's been a great first RTD for me, I guess i may return later.))
((Wasn't your first RTD Roll to Defend Reality? Didn't last long, sure, but still.))
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 08:38:04 am
((Yup, I didn't count that due to it only lasting 13 turns. Either way, you still haven't submitted this into the RTD library. You should really do that.))((Either way, it's been a great first RTD for me, I guess i may return later.))
((Wasn't your first RTD Roll to Defend Reality? Didn't last long, sure, but still.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 09:03:29 am
((Yup, I didn't count that due to it only lasting 13 turns. Either way, you still haven't submitted this into the RTD library. You should really do that.))
((I did. The library just hasn't been updated yet.))
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2013, 09:18:16 am
((Oh, alright. I guess i'll stop derailing this thread now. 'Twas nice.))((Yup, I didn't count that due to it only lasting 13 turns. Either way, you still haven't submitted this into the RTD library. You should really do that.))
((I did. The library just hasn't been updated yet.))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 02, 2013, 10:19:42 am
Post by: Firelordsky on January 02, 2013, 04:42:16 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2013, 05:00:05 pm
Vincent, not particularly bothered by all the armed and probably violent people, chooses to take his time studying the symbols in the journal.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, they obviously mean something. It is entirely possible they are magical symbols of some kind. For instance, there appears to be a pentacle drawn on one of the pages, with a star, spear, tree, flower and hammer drawn at each end. It is entirely likely that these symbols are instruments of tribal magic of some kind.
However, Vincent will be buggered if he knows how to harness this magic.
[Tribesmen reaction roll: 1]
The tribesmen charge at Vincent and his metal companion!
[Tribesmen vs. Vincent: 1+2+1 vs. 4+3]
[Counterattack: Vincent vs. Tribesmen: 1+3 vs. 5+2]
The tribesmen run at Vincent, thrusting their spears at him! They seem quite confused when they end up stabbing at the empty air between Vincent's bones! Vincent, however, pays them no mind and just keeps reading.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 02, 2013, 08:38:34 pm
Knock them all on the head with my staff and continue studying the symbols.
Post by: Yoink on January 03, 2013, 02:35:37 am
Timothy didn't sound all that convincing, not even to himself, but nevertheless he was going to try.
>Telekinetically pick up what's left of Tom! At least his head.
>Then, cradling him in my intangible arms, fly at full speed towards the nearest settlement, preferably in the direction of Bob, but really wherever I can get to quickly! Then track down a skilled basket weaver-type-person and have them fix poor Tom.
((Heeeey, I'm totally going to complete the mission! Er, once I finish 'helping' everyone else in the land, that is...))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 03, 2013, 06:02:22 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Been reading this for the last two days, and may have three cracked ribs from laughing so hard.
Thank you so very much for creating it! =]
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2013, 07:14:45 am
Vincent sighs mentally and swings his staff with that third arm of his.
[Vincent vs. Tribesmen: 1+2 vs. 6+2]
He swings the staff at the tribesmen, but they have already retreated some distance away from him!
[Staff ability roll: 5]
That proves to not be much of a problem, as the torus on the staff quickly detaches and flies toward the people!
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
It sails through the air and splits into three flying chakrams, each embedding itself in a tribesman, then flying back to Vincent's staff! Vincent briefly glances from his book with interest, then turns right back as the torus reforms at the staff's tip.
[Tribesman 1 endurance roll: 3]
[Tribesman 2 endurance roll: 6]
[Tribesman 3 endurance roll: 4]
Though three of the tribesmen were wounded, only one seems to slump slightly and take a break. Another seems to be taking it better. However, the third one just loses it and runs at Vincent in a berserk fury!
[Tribesman 2 vs. Vincent: 6+1 vs. 4+3]
Vincent looks upon him with the utmost disinterest and steps aside.
[Metal Guardian vs. Tribesman 2: 2+2 vs. 4-1]
The metal guardian gives the foolish tribesman a good, firm slap to the face! This seems to knock some of the craziness out of him, strangely enough.
[Tribesman 2 intelligence roll: ?]
He decides that perhaps picking a fight with a heavily-armed skeleton and a metal man was perhaps not the best idea and decides to run back to his comrades. Despite the gravity of the situation, some of his compatriots can't help but laugh at the turn of events just then.
[Tribesmen morale roll: 6]
The tribesmen then decide to charge at Vincent once again, since it worked so well the first time!
[Tribesmen vs. Vincent: 5+1+1 vs. 3+3]
They charge at Vincent and stab at him while Vincent does his very best to look totally nonchalant. One of them stabs him in the eyesocket, which is rather unpleasant. Not too bothersome, though.
[Vincent vs. Tribesmen: 2+2 vs. 6+1]
He swings the staff once again, letting the Torus of Murder fly!
[Torus of Murder roll: 1]
The close distance means it doesn't have time to split apart, so it merely hits one of the tribesmen in its blunt form. The tribesman grabs it and holds it with a fearful expression!
[Counterattack: Tribesmen vs. Vincent: 1+1 vs. 1+3]
[Tribesmen vs. Vincent: 5+1 vs. 6+3]
The two groups look at each other perplexedly for a moment, then resume battle. As the tribesmen advance once more, Vincent decides that he might have to kill them the old fashioned way.
[Counterattack: Vincent vs. Tribesmen: 4+2 vs. 5+1]
The bastards get out of the way before he can, though. Well, at least they retreated a bit.
[Metal Guardian vs. Tribesmen: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
The metal guardian decides it's had enough of this. It nonchalantly walks up to the group of tribesmen, who look at it suspiciously and try to step back. However, just as they are about to do this, the guardian breaks into a rapid sprint, getting to the group in a split second!
It then proceed to pick up a tribesman and pull him apart like a poorly-made ragdoll, punch another's head clean off his shoulders, headbutt the ribcage of one more into a bloody pulp, stabs a fifth in the heart with his own forcibly removed jawbone and rips off the head of a sixth. It then chucks the head at an escaping seventh, catching him in the back of the head. It then walks up to the unconscious tribesman, removes his arm with its steel hands and proceeds to slowly beat him to death with it.
Vincent might even have been shocked by this unusual violence on the part of his metal friend if he wasn't too busy studying his charcoal symbol-book at the time.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He believes he might be able to cast magic from these symbols! All he needs is the blood of an innocent! But where to get some?
In the Lethal Woods...
Timothy unconvincingly promises the increasingly-mutilated remains of Tom a safe delivery to where he was supposed to go!
"Whooops. Dun' worries, I's getcha outta this, Tom."
He then attempts to pick up the remains with telekinesis!
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He picks them up hard. Hard enough to make them fly through the air and off into the direction of the castle Bob lives in! Well, hopefully they flew past the moat. Otherwise he might be in trouble.
[Flight roll: 6]
Timothy chooses to follow the remains, and, not one to be outdone even by himself, flies at an incredible speed, screeching like the howling spirit he undoubtedly is!
[Spooky Howling roll: 4]
His screech echoes throughout the area, sending chills through the bones of farmers and animals alike! In less than ten minutes, he has reached the castle! He looks around for the remains of Tom!
[Tom's remains flight roll: 5]
They seem to have landed on the roof of Bob's house! Is that the luckiest shot of Timothy's life or what?
[Fred and Jim competence roll: 1]
Fred and Jim are nowhere to be seen, however. Could they really have screwed up going down a straight road?
Spoiler: GM Notes (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on January 03, 2013, 07:30:11 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2013, 07:32:55 am
((which means you have to go via James's corpse, and most probably that tiger as well...))((And if you miss that somehow, the only other location for the Telebox is the Yellowgen orchard.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2013, 07:40:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 03, 2013, 09:28:08 am
Been reading this for the last two days, and may have three cracked ribs from laughing so hard.I have been reading this for a while and 'm unsure if any of my ribs are intact from all the insanity here
Thank you so very much for creating it! =]
also have there been any deaths caused by the things you were ment to be doing instead of all the fluffing around and side quests
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2013, 09:32:29 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2013, 12:27:41 pm
Well, in this game the main quest only provides a general framework to start your adventure from. Most of the time everyone just runs off and does their own thing (possibly due to rolling a 1).Like me and Vincent. If the Jar wouldn't have opened, vastly diffent things would have happened.
For example, I would have been alot more boring and mundane.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 03, 2013, 09:11:48 pm
If I hadn't gotten curious and touched a certain ax multiple times, I would actually know what world I'm in.Well, in this game the main quest only provides a general framework to start your adventure from. Most of the time everyone just runs off and does their own thing (possibly due to rolling a 1).Like me and Vincent. If the Jar wouldn't have opened, vastly diffent things would have happened.
For example, I would have been alot more boring and mundane.
EDIT:Retrieve the Torus of Murder from the tribesman and see if the tribesmen had any artifacts or blood from an innocent.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 04, 2013, 12:34:32 am
If I hadn't gotten curious and touched a certain ax multiple times, I would actually know what world I'm in.sigged
Retrieve the Torus of Murder from the tribesman and see if the tribesmen had any artifacts or blood from an innocent.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2013, 03:28:13 am
Vincent looks up from his enchanting piece of literature and notices that his metal friend has done a bang-up job killing the tribesmen! He would high-five his friend if he was not entirely covered in sticky, icky blood, so he opts to instead silently congratulate him from a distance instead. The metal guardian just shrugs.
Okay, back to business. And by 'business' Vincent means 'looting'. Firstly he picks up the Torus of Murder and sticks it on top of his torus staff. Then he looks at the dead people and rifles through their belongings.
[Loot roll: 6]
Although the tribesmen mostly have various pointless odds and ends on them, one particular item stands out - the oldest-looking of the tribesmen seems to be carrying some kind of odd fetish, a feather-covered piece of wood with an actual bird's beak sticking out of it. There is something... unusual about it, Vincent thinks. Like it has some sort of power within it. Hm.
He also examines each of the tribesmen for signs of innocence.
[Tribesmen roll: 1]
All of them look to be men in their thirties, forties or fifties. No young, innocent types among them. Pity. Well, their blood has kind of mixed together anyway, so there was probably not much use to be had from them either way.
Post by: miauw62 on January 04, 2013, 05:32:04 am
Spoiler: Kevin Cooker (click to show/hide)
Post by: Firelordsky on January 04, 2013, 07:44:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2013, 03:43:12 am
Vincent goes off on yet more adventure while researching the wicked-looking fetish in his hands! How industrious!
[Identification roll: ?]
He is positive that it is indeed difficult to say what it does. Could be anything, really, what with those feathers and all that nonsense. Standard tribal artifact, as far as he is concerned. Oh well. Vincent finally starts to look where he's going and proceeds to explore, metal friend in tow!
[Exploration roll: 6]
He finds what looks like an encampment! It's full of tribesmen and tribeswomen as well as tribeschildren! One of the fellows in the village looks to be decorated with a lot more feathers, plus he seems to have a spear with an elephant tusk at its tip! He is also covered in lots of tacky tribal jewelry, but Vincent assumes that that's normal.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 05, 2013, 02:12:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2013, 04:04:45 pm
Vincent waves to the friendly-looking people in the nice village!
[People attention roll: 1+1]
They don't seem to be paying any attention to him. Oh well. Better approach anyway. What harm could it do, you know? He briskly and optimistically trots up to his soon-to-be-friends!
He gets closer and closer, now only about forty feet away from the people. He keeps waving and generally seeming like a skeletal chap you'd genuinely like if you only got to know him!
[People attention roll: 6+1]
Suddenly, one of the people looks at him and is visibly shaken by the sight! A friendly skeleton, here of all places? He can't help but yell at this truly horrifying realization! All heads in the village turn to him, then to Vincent!
[People reaction roll: 3]
As Vincent gets perilously close to the village, the villagers mobilize! They pick up spears, bows and hatchets and point them at him and his metal friend who, it should be added, is still covered in far too much tribesman blood to be easily identified! They look quite confused, but not outright hostile. It seems that pulling out their weapons is a knee-jerk reaction to these people. How uncivilized of them.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 05, 2013, 04:28:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 06, 2013, 04:48:12 am
Vincent, after carefully thinking about his further course of action, decides to try and lie about his intentions!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
Problem is, he's not really sure how to express "we come in peace" in gestures! Peace is such a complex concept, involving so many intricacies and peculiarities. In the end, Vincent just throws his hands up and shrugs.
[Village reaction roll: 3]
The villagers are equally confused. They don't really seem to understand that diplomacy is a two-way process.
Post by: Xantalos on January 06, 2013, 05:32:40 am
Read this in one day, and HOLY CRAP IS FUNNY. Anyhow, character sheet.
Name: NIKLAS
Gender: MASCULINE MALE
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: Niklas was a Viking Chef! He traveled all around the world, showing all other nationalities of chef that Viking was best nationality to become CHEF. Unfortunately, Ninja Chef got jealous and killed him via backstabbination. Now Niklas has risen from the grave, his one mission: to become BEST CHEF. Also kill that ninja guy.
Oh, and shouldn't the waitlist be on the first post so people don't have to bug you about who's where on it?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 06, 2013, 07:11:24 am
*pant*
Read this in one day, and HOLY CRAP IS FUNNY. Anyhow, character sheet.
Name: NIKLAS
Gender: MASCULINE MALE
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: Niklas was a Viking Chef! He traveled all around the world, showing all other nationalities of chef that Viking was best nationality to become CHEF. Unfortunately, Ninja Chef got jealous and killed him via backstabbination. Now Niklas has risen from the grave, his one mission: to become BEST CHEF. Also kill that ninja guy.
Oh, and shouldn't the waitlist be on the first post so people don't have to bug you about who's where on it?
It should. But it isn't yet. But it will be. Next chapter. Yes.
Post by: Xantalos on January 06, 2013, 07:18:08 am
Another master of the art of speaking in fragments, I see! Fortunately for you, I respect you too much to challenge you to a duel of short sentences.*pant*
Read this in one day, and HOLY CRAP IS FUNNY. Anyhow, character sheet.
Name: NIKLAS
Gender: MASCULINE MALE
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: Niklas was a Viking Chef! He traveled all around the world, showing all other nationalities of chef that Viking was best nationality to become CHEF. Unfortunately, Ninja Chef got jealous and killed him via backstabbination. Now Niklas has risen from the grave, his one mission: to become BEST CHEF. Also kill that ninja guy.
Oh, and shouldn't the waitlist be on the first post so people don't have to bug you about who's where on it?
It should. But it isn't yet. But it will be. Next chapter. Yes.
Huzzah!
Post by: Firelordsky on January 06, 2013, 05:24:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 07, 2013, 08:24:14 am
Vincent decides that there's no need to lie about his intentions anymore and just opts to kill all the natives! He swings his staff in a wide arc in the general direction of the village!
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
The villagers can hardly react as 5 sharp rings of steel tear through the village, each severely wounding a person, then returning to Vincent's staff!
[Villager 1 endurance roll: 1]
[Villager 2 endurance roll: 4]
[Villager 3 endurance roll: 1]
[Villager 4 endurance roll: 6]
[Villager 5 endurance roll: 2]
Two of them are instantly decapitated, another has his spine severed below the chest! One more gets superficially sliced along the leg, resulting in some light bleeding. Another villager is sliced right through the abdomen, but she remains standing! In fact, she chooses to yell and charge at Vincent!
[Villager morale roll: 1]
She is the only one to do so, however. The rest merely elect to run very much like a mage would run from the Horrible Magic (And Sometimes Flesh) Devourer of the Nightmare Realm.
[Metal Guardian vs. Berserk Villager: 4+2 vs. 6-1]
The metal guardian slaps the foolish villager away as Vincent goes for another murderous torus volley at the escaping villagers.
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
The torus flies off and splits in half, hitting an entire two villagers!
[Villager 1 endurance roll: 4-1]
[Villager 2 endurance roll: 5-1]
One of the villagers stumbles and bleeds profusely while the other just keeps running, albeit at a slower rate. Hm.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 07, 2013, 05:01:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2013, 11:06:21 am
Vincent tries to create another volley of pure murder to slay the villagers!
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
The torus splits in mid-air once again, this time into four razor-sharp blades that tear into four different villagers!
[Villager 1 endurance roll: 2]
[Villager 2 endurance roll: 1]
[Villager 3 endurance roll: 4]
[Villager 4 endurance roll: 3]
This time, only one of the four villagers hit by the torus manages to keep running. The rest are either hideously maimed or disemboweled by the hit! There seem to be about ten of them left running, including the chief. This is not acceptable to Vincent, as he really, really needs some blood, man.
[Villager escape roll: 5]
[Vincent pursuit roll: 4]
Damn, they're pretty fast. It's almost like they're running for their dear lives or something. They put a sizable distance between themselves and Vincent, though he could probably still catch up to them if he hurries!
[Villager escape roll: 5]
[Vincent pursuit roll: 3]
Not really feeling up to a sprint, Vincent decides to just let them be for now. They might come back later, you never know. No need to overexert his tireless, durable undead bones. Yep. No need at all. He then goes back to the campsite and searches for items of interest.
[Loot roll: 6]
He finds a really cool-looking totem. It's got lots of scary faces on it. Bones, too. Lots of bones. And even bony little wings! How wonderful! No confirmed innocent blood around here, though. It is entirely possible all the women that died were floozies, you know.
[Metal Guardian vs. Berserk Woman: 2+2 vs. 5-1]
Vincent's metal buddy is about to finish off the crazy lady that wants Vincent dead, but the woman tumbles away from it, utilizing this opportunity to charge and strike at the metal man!
[Berserk Woman vs. Metal Guardian: 5+1 vs. 2+2]
She manages to charge into the metal man, toppling it like a drunk priest of Narcillicus over an Altar of Beauty!
[Metal Guardian recovery roll: 1]
It seems the metal fellow can't get up again! How awful! It'll need some assistance before it can go anywhere, and the woman's not about to give it any!
[Berserk Woman vs. Metal Guardian: 2+1 vs. 3+2]
She kicks the metal man, hurting her foot rather badly, it seems.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 08, 2013, 04:46:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2013, 09:49:17 am
Vincent, satisfied at all the testing of his Torus Staff of Murder, decides to go back to the time-honored method of stabbity-stabbing to dispatch the berserking woman that toppled his metal buddy!
[Vincent vs. Berserk Woman: 5+2 vs. 2-1]
And with a decisive stab of two halberds in the vitals the woman goes down and bleeds all over Vincent's buddy! Not that it seems to mind, but still. Vincent decides to help the fellow up.
[Strength roll: 1]
Vincent pulls on his buddy's arm! He doesn't budge. He tries again. Nothing. He goes for the mightiest pull he has ever attempted! His two original arms remain in a death grip around his friend's arm as the rest of him falls backwards! Looks like he'll need either help or lots of cleverness to move his friend.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 09, 2013, 09:02:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2013, 12:53:07 am
Vincent figures he might try to pile up some bodies beneath his buddy and get him up that way!
He gets halfway through lugging the crazy lady's stabbified body to his location when he realizes that he doesn't actually have access to the area under the metal man. Oh.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 10, 2013, 07:57:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2013, 11:39:32 am
Vincent, being at a bit of a loss on what to do now, takes the totem in his only arm and tries to see what it can do!
[Identification roll: ?]
Well, it definitely does some kind of magic. Something bone-related, death-related or some combination of both, he bets. He looks for a means of activation.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He prays, focuses and plays with the thing, but nothing happens. Probably something more complicated.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 10, 2013, 05:03:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2013, 05:29:28 pm
Vincent takes a careful look at that feathery piece of crap he also stole from a corpse.
[Identification roll: ?]
Well, it obviously relates to the totem in some way. I mean, they obviously come from the same tribe. Perhaps they are magically connected somehow? Vincent tests this theory by touching the two figurines together.
[Magical shenanigans roll: 5]
Both of the objects glow suddenly! Ooh, what comes next'll probably be really cool!
And it is! Vincent feels the spots where his two original arms used to be tingle! However, this lasts only for a very short bit, as it is soon replaced with a sharp stabbing pain! New bones seem to form out of the very air and create new appendages where the old ones used to be! After a few seconds the horrible pain stops, and Vincent takes a look!
Holy crap, he has massive bony wings now. They have an odd film stretching between the bony bits, so Vincent believes he might actually be able to fly with them. Well, unless flying is a lot harder than it looks. But hey, birds can do it, and birds are well known to be dumb as a box of Servus Cakes, so it couldn't be that hard.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 10, 2013, 08:11:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2013, 01:00:02 am
Vincent decides to look for those filthy villagers and avenge the tipping of his friend! He heads out in the direction he last saw them.
[Search roll: 4]
After a short bit of searching, Vincent locates a trail of their footprints! Fresh by the looks of it. Well then, time to go and kill him some savages! He runs after the footprints and soon comes upon a group of the people sitting in a clearing. The chief is among them, as are the already-wounded. Murder time!
[Torus of Murder roll: 1]
Vincent lets loose with the torus, which results in it clonking one of the villagers on the shoulder and raising an alarm among the people!
[People morale roll: 1]
They decide to run away immediately. How... wise of them. Vincent runs after them and grabs the torus from the ground, then tries to hit them again!
[Torus of Murder roll: 1]
The torus flies into a tree and gets stuck in the branches in a disturbing parallel to Vincent's own childhood, such as it was.
Post by: Xantalos on January 11, 2013, 01:02:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2013, 01:08:31 am
((So ... when is the next chapter going to commence? Just curious.))
In less than 24 hours. Took a while to get a reply to my PMs.
Post by: Xantalos on January 11, 2013, 01:09:39 am
Awaiting the !!FUN!!((So ... when is the next chapter going to commence? Just curious.))
In less than 24 hours. Took a while to get a reply to my PMs.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 11, 2013, 01:30:13 am
Post by: anailater on January 11, 2013, 03:13:48 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 11, 2013, 08:48:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2013, 10:38:07 am
The mausoleum seems especially damp this year, Bernie thinks as he sits in one of the chairs in his lab. He's had a lot of good times in this festering tomb, as has his sister. All those long nights spent looking at corpses, slicing corpses, moving corpses, putting corpses in funny positions for laughs, throwing parties for his favorite corpses and their corpse-friends. He gets a bit teary-eyed just thinking about what he's about to do next.
He sighs disappointedly. He had felt four of his minions escape his soul binding the past few days. Sending those idiots to Lake Victory was a terrible idea from the very start, he realizes. Besides, there was no real guarantee that his ritual would have worked, anyway. Oh well. Time for plan B.
He snaps his fingers and finds himself in the familiar locale of Great Hope Graveyard. Hopefully there'll be more unfortunate schmucks around here to exploit and abuse for his own ends. Seems like that's all his minions are good for anymore. Too bad that fellow with the axe went missing. He was the only competent one of the lot besides maybe the freak. Hopefully this batch will turn out better.
End of Chapter 3!
Congratulations! Two minions, Timothy and Vincent have successfully survived Chapter 3 and, as such, get to choose between three marvelous perks each!
Vincent: Proper Adventurer, True Survivor, Artifact Expert.
Timothy: Flight of the Banshee, Heroic Soul, Power Familiarity.
Chapter 4
In With The Right Crowd
As Bernie wanders through the rows of graves and mass-graves in the Great Hope Graveyard, he observes that there seem to be absolutely zero undead around.Blasted things seem to have wandered off somewhere. It's really getting irritating now.
Having very little other choice, Bernie takes out a dangerous-looking whistle from his pocket. After glancing around a few times, he blows the thing, and the sound that comes out is nothing short of utterly terrifying, seemingly spreading for miles before finally dissipating. If anybody was still around, they probably heard it.
Luckily for Bernie, there are indeed people still around! One such person is Luke Arnold, layabout extraordinaire. It disrupts his carefully plotted, though utterly pointless routine of listless wandering around an empty clearing of the woods, which Luke finds to be quite a worrisome disturbance. He perks up as much as he is able, which isn't a whole lot, considering that he's a zombie, and begins to shamble over to the source of the hellish tonal atrocity that he just heard!
However, poor old Luke is not the only one who heard the horrid call echo through the nearby woods. A certain fellow going by the name of Darren Derrious also heard the fateful sound, and he is no less intrigued. Maybe that guy who picks people up is back. That would be great. They're mostly stuck here killing adventurers that try to eliminate the undead infestation, anyway, so it's not like they have anything better to do. He floats over in the direction of the sound to take a quick look.
Equally sick of all the adventurers is the unfortunate Tom, though he has very little to say about his predicament that has not already been phrased better by less-skeletonized people. All he knows is that hellish sounds might be, contrary to all conventional intuition, a good sign, considering that he seems to be part of the forces of darkness now whether he likes it or not. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Forces of darkness and hellish sounds it is. Tom quickens his pace and tries to avoid making too much of a commotion, lest a rampaging undead-slayer spot him.
Strangest of all, however, are the happenings in a nearby bog. It happens occasionally that people underestimate the power of mass-raising spells. You see, while they do indeed expect the dead to rise from their graves, they sometimes have a very narrow definition of what a grave might truly be. In Yorinnsud Molocksson's case, a grave can be anywhere, really. Even a bog. Especially a bog, in fact. You see, where most bodies rot away, lose their bones and eventually turn to dust, Yorinnsud has managed to keep his stunning good looks and has obtained a dark brown tan to boot, and it's all thanks to a fine fellow that chose to stab him in the back and let him fall right into a veritable soup of ingredients that turned out to be just right to preserve him in a sleep of a thousand years! In fact, there are only two downsides to this. Firstly, he's been dead for over a thousand years. Secondly, he didn't so much rise from the grave more than a week ago as he just began furiously rolling around.
What he found out was that peat was much more resilient that he had ever given it credit for. It has taken him the better part of a week to actually loosen the layer of earth above him sufficiently to get out, and he has been questioning his sanity for the most of it, but he is confident that in only a few hours he'll-DEAR GODS, WHAT IS THAT SOUND?
Yorinnsud bursts from the ground with a mighty push that could only have come from an incredibly startled mummified zombie! His emaciated form bursts from the ground, rusted piece of crap greatsword in hand! He stands around for a moment and considers his surroundings. Upon finding them to be totally unfamiliar, he leaves to find the source of that helpful noise that helped guide him to freedom!
Meanwhile, a former and formerly dead mercenary by the name of Mark MeatWagon of the Yelmondshire MeatWagons is wandering and pondering his questionable lifestyle choices. Like the pineapple thing. Especially the pineapple thing. What was he thinking, really? Difficult to say. However, it is definitely one of the things he'd rather forget, though images like that tend to prove persistent even in death. He would know, after all.
Fortunately, his vile thoughts are interrupted by the sound of what is probably the whistle of the Demon of Pain himself, and if it isn't, it probably should be. Thankful to his lucky stars, he seeks out the source of the noise, having little else to do with his unlife right now! As he reaches the center of the graveyard, he spots the necromancer standing around with four other undead around him. How strange! He should probably investigate. No way this could be dangerous, right?
As he approaches, the necromancer turns and looks at him!
"Hm, another one. Well, I suppose you'll do. Need all the help I can get and all."
"Uh, help for what?"
"You'll see."
He looks at each of the undead intently, then at Mark! He then says a few words, which feel like a red-hot steel cage closing around his mind! Something tells Mark this probably isn't a good sign.
"Okay, you're now soulbound, so you're obligated to serve me and protect me. If anybody has a problem with that, raise your hands and I'll do my very best to address your complaint."
He smiles warmly at his new minions, which doesn't really work too well due to his natural levels of facial creepiness and unpleasant complexion. His teeth also seem somewhat poorly cared for, being rather yellowish and crooked.
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2013, 10:44:02 am
((Oh, I nearly forgot.
First.))
((SAAAANNNSSSS))
((Oh, and I love the Prequel reference. It was a prequel reference.))
((So much to say, so much time ;_;))
((How does the waitlist look?))
Post by: anailater on January 11, 2013, 10:57:57 am
Listen to nerdy necromancers!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2013, 11:18:40 am
((Earlier (i think it was chapter 2, towards the end.) you explicitely said that Bernie can't feel when his minions die. I don't forget.))
Clearly I did. Well, how about this explanation: it's a very faint sensation, so you'd have to be looking for it to actually feel it. And maybe he set up certain safeguards to warn him of his minions' death, considering how ridiculously dangerous Lake Victory is. And maybe I didn't just make that up to explain a plot contrivance. But it does make a bit of sense, no?
((How does the waitlist look?))
It's in the second post. Take a look and tell me if you see anyone that should be on there missing.
((Oh, and I love the Prequel reference. It was a prequel reference.))
You'll have to explain that one to me, though.
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2013, 11:23:25 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 11, 2013, 05:27:37 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on January 11, 2013, 05:44:46 pm
Fly up and get the Torus and chase after those villagers.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 11, 2013, 08:41:55 pm
"Shucks. Well, can you tell us what we're going to be doing at least?"
Post by: Gamerlord on January 11, 2013, 09:50:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 05:54:36 am
After hands fail to go up at the mention of enslavement at the hands of a creepy guy in a graveyard, Bernie looks somewhat satisfied. That is, until Yorinnsud decides to try and engage him in pleasant conversation.
[Communication roll: 5]
"A-kherza zethapa-ka? Fazkala-khe zep-thom?"
Bernie is totally surprised at this development!
"Holy crap, is that...? I think it is!"
Bernie clears his throat, then speaks to Yorinnsud.
"Uh... damn, I'm rusty at this, let's see... zu-khaza-latris. Ze-khaza-itris. Gaz-khizli-zurit, phaza-latris-ze. Zu-gozo-ze, za-gozo-Blacklands. Zu-pozok, zu-yaza."
Demons of entropy, it's near-impossible to tell what he's saying! That accent is absolutely horrible!
The rest of the undead look at the exchange curiously. Well, except Tom, who is merely feigning interest and attentiveness.
[Tom fakery roll: 5]
Fortunately, years of practice have made him rather good at this sort of thing. Despite the fellow having no eyes, he looks totally engrossed in Bernie's clumsy rendition of the Ancient Tongue, almost hanging on his every word with utter subservience! As Yorinnsud is trying to make sense of what the terrible fellow just said, Bernie turns back to the others.
"Right, let's go. You have a very important task ahead of you."
Darren looks rather sour about the whole business, to tell the truth.
"Shucks. Well, can you tell us what we're going to be doing at least?"
"You will serve as my minions, obviously."
Luke gazes at Bernie disappointedly! That sounds like work!
"Goddammit... what you needin', then?"
"All sorts of things, murder and theft primarily among them. Well, that and courier work. Now that you're informed, let's get down to business."
He snaps his fingers and there is a sound of exactly seventeen candles being extinguished in a waterfall. After a blinding flash of light, all five of the minions suddenly find themselves in... a town? There seems to be no one around. Considering that the town seems rather well-developed, this is strange.
"We're here ahead of time. Excellent! Absolutely brilliant. I suppose we get to call dibs on the best digs, then. Let's see..."
He takes a look around.
[Bernie choice roll: 2]
"That luxury inn looks great to me, how about you? Just a rhetorical question, mind you, I couldn't give any less of a crap about your personal opinions. Let's go. I will explain slightly later."
The undead, not really having much of a say in the matter, follow him into the inn. It is indeed quite a wonderful-looking place, with lots of luxurious stained-glass windows, huge double doors and, of course, great furnishings all around. Seems like a very nice place to spend the night, probably cost a lot to build this. Wonder why it's abandoned.
"You might wonder why this place is abandoned, as well as the entire town. Well, there's a very good reason. You see, in less than a day, the entire region will be overrun with bloodthirsty wizards out to kill one another."
"That doesn't sound good. Why would that happen?"
"Ah, that is precisely the reason we are here. You see, we are in Emlocke, one of the villages in the Blacklands, the area that belongs to the ancient order of mages known as the Black Circle of Magic. Considering that each and every one of the villagers was a servus, it was a simple matter to send them all out in preparation for the coming event, the event in question being the Great Selection."
"And that would be...?"
"You see, the Black Circle of Magic is a group of twenty people. mostly hideously old farts, possessing vast quantities of magical artifacts, tomes and other odds and ends from a time when you could find vastly powerful magical artifacts on sale in an underground empire of crabs or some such nonsense. As such, access to their stores of knowledge and artifacts is prized indeed. However, all of them are powerful mages, and they don't feel like opening up their magical fortress for just about anyone to wander in and grab a handful of reality-busting knick-knacks. So the only way for anyone to get in is to become a member of the Circle, which is only possible under certain circumstances. This is why we're here."
"Not two weeks ago, a member of the Circle died in his sleep, as hideously old farts are wont to do. This left an opening in the Black Circle, which, by ancient custom, is to be filled in a process known as the Great Selection. It sounds really mysterious and all, but rest assured, it's mostly a free-for-all among mages of all kinds, from ruthless to saintly, from young to old, from intelligent to rock-stupid. In about a day, the entire area about 20 miles around the Tower of the Black Circle will be walled off, and anyone inside will remain here until only one willing candidate is left. Sure, this can be achieved peacefully through the others surrendering, but usually it is resolved with grisly violence that destroys most of the nearby landscape, and I bet this time will be no different."
"So, you have about a day to steal what you need and fortify this place. Then the party gets started. Our objective is to kill or otherwise neutralize any mage inside the region who's trying to win this. I want to get into the Black Circle of Magic, and you're going to make sure I do. Is that clear? Consider that an order."
The undead feel the order take effect in their minds. It is a most unpleasant sensation. Bernie turns to Yorinnsud, who has been staring vacantly at him this entire time.
"Zu-gozo. Zu-kazok. Zu-gozo-er-itris. Zu-lus-pozok. Zu-deze-kara-lus-yaza."
Yorinnsud looks at him with a perplexed expression. Bernie sighs and points outside.
Meanwhile, next to a tree with a dangerous artifact lodged in it...
Vincent, feeling rather lively, decides to use his wings to fly up!
[Flying roll: 4]
He soars up and swoops along the tree, looking for his torus!
[Search roll: 4]
It takes him a short while, but he finds it eventually and snatches it out of the tree, sticking it on the staff while holding it with his legs! In but a very short while, he has a complete murdering setup ready once more! He then proceeds to look for more people to murder!
[Search roll: 4]
Fortunately, being able to fly confers a sufficient advantage to Vincent that he has very little problem finding a horde of panicked villagers fleeing and yelling about something! Yeah, they're not getting away any time soon. He leisurely flies above the bastards, enjoying the view and delicious taste of their fear.
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 09:45:38 am
Go look for wood and then look for nails.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 10:06:50 am
Luke has an uncharacteristically bright idea and decides to present it to Bernie!
"Couldn't someone theoretically win by taking a good food stock and waiting for the others to starve?"
"You could, if you had a hiding spot impervious to divination and more food than you could get from hunting the surrounding countryside's animals, of which there are quite a few. Hiding is a tactic that's frequently used in conjunction with ambushes. Some try to win by opportunistically killing strong foes after they fight each other, and I'm sure at least one of the mages of the Circle got their position this way."
"Uh, okay. Anyway, I'll go look for wood for boarding up the windows."
"Go for it."
Encouraged by Bernie's words, Luke goes out looking for wood!
[Search roll: 2]
After twenty minutes of searching, he is forced to conclude there isn't any around! Well, maybe somebody left nails around here. You never know.
[Search roll: 5]
It turns out nails are far easier to find around here, as there is an entire crate of them near the blacksmith's shop! There's all sorts of nails in there, big and small. All the nails a man could possibly need in times of crisis! Too bad there aren't any boards or just miscellaneous lumber lying around.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 10:45:35 am
Go to the aforementioned smithy and find a weapon. Preferably a bastard sword, and preferably a magical one. If that fails, make a non-magical one myself.
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 11:03:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 11:13:22 am
Tom is about to voice his opinion on the grim proceedings that are about to happen, but then remembers that he has no vocal folds. Bummer, that. He does suppose that a minion who doesn't talk back might be more desirable in some circles. He heads out and looks for a weapon.
[Search roll: 5]
He goes inside the smithy and finds that there is a fresh bastard sword lying there for the taking! He grabs and admires it, then swings it around with both hands, then tries it with one. It's well-made and rather sturdy, a utilitarian weapon if there ever was one. You could kill a lot of people with this sword, is the idea here.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke, in his quest for wood, decides that survival should take precedence over preserving architectural values and decides to strip wood from a random building!
[Building choice roll: 3]
Well, one of the buildings around here has a second floor made entirely of wood. Luke proceeds inside after smashing a window and goes upstairs, then tries to knock some wood out!
[Strength roll: 1+1]
It turns out that walls aren't made to be destroyed with mere punches! Luke fails to impact it in any meaningful way and is forced to leave, feeling dejected and weak. If only there was a better source of wood around!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 11:18:10 am
((All this time obsessed over the medieval period seems to pay off almost constantly in RTD's. Glory be to whoever decided the norm of time standards is fifteen hundred's Europe.))
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 11:19:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 11:43:56 am
Tom looks at poor old Luke as the latter shambles gloomily through town. Feeling pity for the poor unfortunate layabout, he looks around for some wood in the smithy.
[Search roll: 1]
There isn't any wood next to the forge. No coal, either. Perhaps the forge is magical in nature? There appears to be a switch on it, after all. Tom decides to find out by pulling the switch!
He proves to be correct, actually. A fire instantly appears in the forge, burning at a considerable temperature. There seems to be a knob on the furnace as well, probably for adjusting temperature. Stupid mages and their proclivity toward using magic for everything!
As Tom curses this unfortunate set of circumstances, Luke comes into the forge, deciding to look for a hammer for his DIY project. Tom feels a wave of depression wash over him.
[Search roll: 3]
Luke finds a small hammer, good for hammering nails but little else. Good enough, he supposes. He is about to leave when Tom pokes him suddenly and points at the forge!
Oh dear. Something seems to be crawling out of it.
[Arrival roll: 6]
A woman who seems to be on fire tumbles out of the furnace!
[Woman fire magic roll: 6]
She instantly extinguishes itself! Her teeth begin to chatter and she shivers for a few moments before regaining her composure.
"Right, now what? There's gotta be a good place to hide around here."
[Woman perception roll: ?]
She hardly notices the two other people in the room as she thinks on this idea.
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 11:48:33 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 11:49:59 am
Decapitate or mortally wound the woefully boring fire mage with the bastard sword. Low slash, there isn't enough room for an over-handed chop. Both hands on the hilt, I have a bastard sword for a reason.
((I do know Bernie's name, I'm just calling him Josh. For all of time. I rolled a five on ignoring everything he said, so I'm going to make use of my ignorance.))
Post by: miauw62 on January 12, 2013, 11:50:30 am
Post by: Firelordsky on January 12, 2013, 12:01:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 12:21:37 pm
Tom wordlessly curses the unoriginality in mages these days and attempts to execute a treacherous, underhanded sneak attack on the fire lady!
[Tom vs. Fire Lady: 1+2 vs. 4-1]
The blade flies past her head, making a cool, but somehow unsatisfying *schwing* sound! Probably because no blood was spilt. Swords love that, you know.
Luke tries to simultaneously clonk her on the head with his hammer! Have to test it, after all. He aims at the back of her head and swings!
[Luke vs. Fire Lady: 1 vs. 4-1]
He misses so woefully that his hammer flies out of his hands and into a window! A loud noise is made, attracting the fire lady's attention!
[Fire Lady's reaction roll: 5]
"Oh, hi guys. What's going on with you? Why is one of you a skeleton? And what's that horrible smell?"
Far, far away from Emlocke...
Vincent continues his acts of vengeance despite the fact that he already killed the one who tipped his friend! He's just a perfectionist that way, seems like.
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
The torus swoops down and splits in half, hitting two of the villagers!
[Villager 1 endurance roll: 4-1]
[Villager 2 endurance roll: 2-1]
One is given a great big hole where his heart used to be, the other gets a kidney sliced out, it looks like. Both aren't very likely to survive. In fact, one of them expires on the spot, leaving a lot of blood and viscera on the other villagers to remember him by! Vincent sends another volley at the remaining 8 as he struggles to keep his altitude!
[Torus of Murder roll: 6]
This time, there is something unusual about the torus' flight, as it doesn't split apart at all! Instead, it just hits a escaping savage in the chest! The savage stumbles for a moment and Vincent thinks that something might have gone wrong.
He is proven to be wrong when the villager explodes suddenly, a storm of toroidal blades exploding into every direction! Vincent is disappointed to find that the blades only hit one villager, since that still leaves 6 to kill.
[Villager 1 endurance roll: 6]
Scratch that, 7. The one that was hit just tosses the blade back at Vincent, whereupon the blade proceeds to securely lock back onto his staff and reform the torus, at which point Vincent unleashes another attack!
[Torus of Murder roll: 2]
That is, he would unleash an attack if the torus hadn't locked on a bit too securely. He spends a few moments loosening it.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 12:27:51 pm
Clack my teeth at the mage and point to my sad lack of a throat. If she doesn't understand, then try to slash her in half once more, idiotic mages aren't really that good of mages, after all.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 12, 2013, 12:52:41 pm
He continued to look on the bright side, as hey had through most of his life. Go and look for anything left alive. Bear would be cool. Squirrel probrably though.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 12, 2013, 12:57:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 01:19:05 pm
Tom tries to point out the fact that he cannot speak by clacking his teeth and pointing at where a human being's throat should be.
[Fire Lady intelligence roll: ?]
"You can't speak, eh? Maybe you can point me in the direction of a good place to hide in? Just in a general way?"
Tom considers this idea for a few moments. On one hand, he's kind of supposed to kill her. On the other hand, she might be useful in some way. Hm.
In the luxury inn of Bernie...
Darren seems unfazed by the fact that he's about to participate in a no-holds-barred magical battle of epic proportions.
"Huh. Well, this won't be boring at least."
"Now that's an attitude I can support in my minions! Go get them. All of them."
Darren goes out to get all of them! Whoever they might be. Animals, probably.
[Surrounding wildlife roll: 3]
He finds a fierce and grizzled-looking cat nibbling on some discarded food in one of the alleys. That looks pretty alive to him.
In hot pursuit...
Vincent, getting tired of this foolishness, keeps trying to murderify and homicidalize the fleeing people!
[Torus of Murder roll: 2]
Damn thing's stuck. You just don't get the quality you used to on these artifacts anymore. Lacking any other option, Vincent opts for the simpler murder method of high-speed beaning with a staff!
[Swooping roll: 3]
He slowly flies down to the villagers and starts to beat them with the staff!
[Vincent vs. Villagers: 1+1 vs. 4+1-1]
They prove too fast for him, however, running away before he can properly bean them across the head! Lousy little buggers.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 12, 2013, 01:36:10 pm
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 01:44:42 pm
Nefarious sabotage!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 02:07:23 pm
Darren stares at the cat for a short bit and tries to possess it! After all, being intangible is known to be, according to most experts, "a lame thing for losers". He concentrates on the cat!
Nothing happens, though. Aw, damn it all. Guess he needs something special to actually possess people. Or animals. He can sort of pretend to possess inanimate objects through telekinesis and ventriloquism, if that makes him feel any better.
The cat is currently giving him a dirty look with its one eye.
In a blacksmith's shop...
Hardly missing a beat, Luke immediately begins to plot against good ol' Bernie with the lady!
"We''ll help you on two conditions, you ask our master for an alliance and one way or another get him killed, if you do that and survive I'll be happy to be your assistant when this is over."
[Fire Lady reaction roll: 2]
"Uh, I'm going to have to pass on that. No offense, but I'd prefer not to associate with someone immediately ready to betray their allies for a random stranger who just crawled out of a furnace. Doesn't seem wise, you know. You are probably either lying to me or you are a chronic backstabber and I'm better off without your help. Nothing personal, I just prefer not to associate with scum."
[Fire Lady idea roll: ?]
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving."
She starts to walk away from the two undead fellows.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 12, 2013, 02:08:27 pm
Throw a can at it, then fly off.
Post by: miauw62 on January 12, 2013, 02:20:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 02:34:34 pm
((Possesion is an ability that comes with some disadvantages. The fact that you can't be a ghost anymore, for example. And the only way it has been caused so far is by an artifact known as the Jug O' Souls, created by the Demon of Light, altough the Demon of Darkness has also been observed to give a previously possesive spirit this power back. [/LBADtrivia]))
Essentially this means you need an anchor to keep your soul from drifting away after it leaves your body. This allows you to A) possess new bodies and B) be immortal as long as the anchor exists. This anchor can be anything, from an object to a person, but you usually need a demon's level of command over souls to perform this procedure.
Also, you can still be a ghost. You just need to possess one. Like Dick, the guy who Mike replaced in the jug did. In fact, Dickmike is still at large, considering that nobody's killed him yet.
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 02:40:13 pm
Anti Burnie conspirator two: The conspiring.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 03:52:08 pm
Use the opportunity my less-than-trustworthy friend is giving me and kill the fire mage.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 04:16:12 pm
Darren questions the cat's intellectual abilities, then attempts to telekinetically launch a piece of junk at it.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
A small metal object of uncertain origin is launched at the cat and hits it right in its impertinent hindquarters. The cat, thus punished, yelps and opts to make an exit before further humiliation is visited upon its humble form. Darren draws great delight from its escape, then leaves. Where exactly, not even he knows.
[Destination roll: 5]
He spots something interesting in the distance, slightly outside the town. It looks like a temple. Judging by all the skulls, bones and black marble, it is probably dedicated to Velusius, God of Death and Magic, the Odd One of the Five. It looks rather striking, to tell the truth.
Inside the blacksmith's shop...
Luke, not very good at taking rejection from a lady, tries to conspire some more!
"He's not my ally, he soul-bounded me or something, please, you're my only hope, I can tell you where he's hidden!"
[Fire Lady reaction roll: 3]
"Ugh, will you give it a rest? I'm not killing him! Well, not yet, anyway. I suppose I-"
[Tom vs. Fire Lady: 6+2 vs. 5-1]
She doesn't get to finish her sentence due to a blade suddenly slicing across her neck, nearly chopping her head off and killing her instantly! As her corpse falls to the ground, Tom lifts up a skeletal hand for a high five to celebrate his and Luke's teamwork. Luke briefly contemplates whether to leave him hanging.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 04:27:35 pm
Proceed to wait for high-fivery. Regardless of whether that succeeds, commence gentlemen-ly looting!
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 06:30:35 pm
Hi- five, take body to Burnie, look for hammer again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2013, 06:48:57 pm
As Tom holds his skeletal hand up, flush with the joy of sudden murder, Luke decides that what the hell, he'll reciprocate. He gives his skeletal buddy a high-five. The two adventurers then proceed to divide the duties fairly between themselves - Tom does the looting, Luke does the corpse-lugging.
[Tom looting roll: 2]
The dead lady, sadly, has nothing too valuable on her aside from a book with boring fire magic spells in it. Tom is clearly above such boring methods of killing and picks the book up, then disdainfully throws it out a different window than the hammer.
[Luke strength roll: 4+1]
Luke, meanwhile, picks up the lady's corpse and solemnly carries it back to Bernie, then presents it.
"Mages are here already? Well, shit. I suppose you'll have to be more careful, then."
Luke looks at Bernie expectantly.
"What, do you want a medal? Kill 20 more and then we can talk. There's going to be, like, hundreds of these assholes around."
Luke sighs, then goes back to find a hammer. If only he had a hammer.
[Search roll: 3]
He finds his trusty hammer back where he left it, which is to say on a bed of glass shards outside the smithy. Better be careful where he throws that. Somebody could have gotten hurt, you know.
Post by: anailater on January 12, 2013, 06:52:24 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 12, 2013, 07:22:13 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on January 12, 2013, 07:43:18 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 12, 2013, 07:49:16 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 12, 2013, 07:57:17 pm
"Oh, just as well. I would most likely have killed her with or without a vaguely implied order to do so. She was a very uncouth and boring person. Can't too many of have them around."
Post by: Gamerlord on January 12, 2013, 10:49:53 pm
Hefting his rusted sword Yorinnsud went searching for a forge to repair his blade. The madman said something about tribute so he was going to need his weapon ready...
((Sorry, had a long night of drinking and making an idiot of myself. I'm back now though! Also, Yorinnsud's religion is basically like Celts so including tributeinto that barbaric rendition of his tongue may not have been the best idea.))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 13, 2013, 03:36:54 am
Meh, I realise my intial premise wasn't that overly detailed, so I assumed I'd go straight to the bottom. ::)
I was initially going to go the whole 40k plaguebearer route. (NEERRRRRRRRRRRRRD) :o
But I've been feeling off about it since I applied and may have pulled out anyway. :-\
I enjoy spectating more than anything anyway. So I'll continue watching. :)
Post by: Xantalos on January 13, 2013, 03:37:58 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 13, 2013, 03:44:00 am
Like I said, I lost interest even after posting it. I applied on a whim after all,with no real thought or effort.
I tend to be very awkward like that. I prefer watching.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 04:53:19 am
Luke, now possessing both a hammer and some nails, realizes that he really needs to get some wood! It is, after all, absolutely integral to his plans. He proceeds to look again, but harder this time!
[Search roll: 6]
He sees something off in the distance! It looks to be made of wood, and it is shaped very much like a tower! It also seems to be moving toward the village. Looks like he won't even need to go out to get it! What luck!
Inside the luxury inn inhabited by Bernie...
Not ones to be left behind by their compatriots, Mark and the enigmatic Yorinnsud go out as well, united in their purpose to loot the smithy! They follow the trail of Luke and get there in no time, then proceed to patronize the establishment in a most adventurer-like manner. That is to say, they immediately engage in the twin joys of pillage and disrespect for personal property.
[Mark search roll: 3]
Mark's nonexistent eye is caught by the sight of a few nice-looking daggers lying around the area. There's also a steel shaft, probably part of an incomplete weapon, lying near the forge.
Yorinnsud, meanwhile, tries to repair his blade in the forge!
[Smithing skill roll: 3]
He tries heating it up, then hammering on it a bit, but it doesn't work particularly well. His sword does look slightly shinier now, though its chopping abilities remain rather questionable.
As the new wave of adventurers arrives at the forge, Tom shakes his head and leaves to find a tannery of some kind! After all, you can't be a proper warrior without some leather to go with the whole "I have a large sword and I'm itching to use it to achieve personal gain" look.
[Search roll: 5]
It turns out the tannery is quite close by, and it still seems to have various leather things lying around in it. The servi were probably removed in a hurry, considering the sheer amount of things lying around. Well, their loss, Tom supposes.
Outside a Temple of Velusius...
Not particularly bothered by the rather strange temple before him, Darren goes right in to look for cool stuff!
[Search roll: 6]
After entering, he hears a heavy door close somewhere within the temple! Somebody else around, maybe? Time to investigate! He heads over to where he heard the sound and, right as rain, finds an elaborately decorated steel door covered in skull and bone reliefs. He briefly considers how best to open this door, but then remembers that he can just phase through things, what with being a ghost and all. He takes a look inside.
Where to start. Well, firstly, the door is about two feet thick. Secondly, the walls around it are thicker. Thirdly, inside there is more treasure than Darren has ever seen in his life - vast amounts of gold, jewelry, elaborate weaponry, armor and many other things are lying around in the area beyond the door, obviously a treasure chamber. Lastly, it seems that another guy knows this as well, being inside the room and currently helping himself to generous handfuls of interesting things.
[Perception roll: ?]
Judging from the fact that he's wearing a robe, Darren wagers that the plunderer wields some kind of magic, though he isn't entirely certain what kind exactly.
In the screaming villager-infested woods...
Vincent, not entirely discouraged by his previous failure, tries to fly up and go for another swoop!
[Swoop roll: 5]
He takes off, soars high above the woods, then performs a very impressive-looking aerial charge down from the sky like a bony angel of perhaps not-so-righteous vengeance and terror. An angel of Velusius, then.
[Vincent vs. Villagers: 4+1+1] vs. 2+1-1]
Swinging his staff in a wide arc and enjoying the additional force from his charge, Vincent hits the chief, not so much bashing his skull in as making it forcefully explode and endanger three other villagers with bloody, bony shrapnel.
[Villager 1 dodge roll: 5]
[Villager 2 dodge roll: 5]
[Villager 3 dodge roll: 3]
Only one of the villagers is hurt to a significant degree, getting hit with several pieces of bone in the chest while the rest only get mildly grazed! The hit villager falls down, but immediately tries to get back up!
[Villager morale roll: 3]
One of the villagers stops in her tracks and runs over to mourn over the corpse of the chief while the remaining five resume running!
[Vincent swoop roll: 1]
He goes for another swoop, rising far above the woods, then flying down in a graceful arc! Well, except for the whole "graceful arc" part. He just flies down. Straight down.
[Vincent fall damage roll: 4+1]
Fortunately, he remembers that he does have wings and uses them to slow his fall to a very manageable velocity, landing remarkably softly! Guess he should be more careful with that kind of thing.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 13, 2013, 04:55:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 05:12:02 am
Yorinnsud, not entirely satisfied with the quality of his sword, looks for a whetstone to sharpen it!
[Search roll: 4]
This being a smithy, it's not very hard to find one. He takes it and tries to sharpen the blade!
[Workmanship roll: 1]
Obviously, something in the forge must have destabilized the delicate structure of rust that forms the overwhelming majority of his blade, as when he tries to sharpen it the blade begins to quickly disintegrate in his hands. Yeah, this sword is pretty much beyond salvage now. Guess spending a thousand years in acidic conditions within a swamp isn't good for a metal object. Who knew, eh?
Yorinnsud, disappointed with these recent developments, decides to look around the village for something that's not entirely useless to him.
[Search roll: 5]
Traversing the streets of Emlocke, he comes upon an interesting sight in one of the alleyways - it is a mage! More precisely, the upper body of one. He seems to be completely dead, but he is wearing a set of metallic gauntlets that seem to be in good condition. Wonder where his pelvis and legs went. Looks like a pretty clean cut on that body of his.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
That body does seem awfully close to the wall, though. Something's weird here.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 13, 2013, 05:14:42 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 13, 2013, 05:22:41 am
Once that is done wear ONE of the gauntlets. If nothing happens, enter the building that the mage as close to.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 06:25:41 am
Mark leaves the set of daggers be and just takes the pole. He then proceeds to look for something to stick on top of it.
[Search roll: 4]
Closer inspection of the smithy reveals an axe head and a spear head lying around in one of the cupboards, so Mark takes them and tries to stick both on the pole to create a makeshift halberd. With the help of a nearby bar of iron, he manages to do this. Seems like a perfectly serviceable weapon to him.
Next to an odd mage's corpse...
Yorinnsud regards the corpse with confusion, then decides to try and drag it away from the building. The corpse proves rather easy to drag and is handily moved away from the building. As he does so, Yorinnsud notices an odd red stain at about hip level on the wall. Hm.
However, he mustn't get distracted by all this. He is here for one reason and one reason only: loot. And loot he will have! He unfastens one of the metal gauntlets on the mage's hand, removes it, then puts it on his own hand. After a few moments, he begins to enjoy the feeling of knowing that he could probably slap someone to death with this thing. Otherwise, nothing terribly unusual or unusually terrible happens, surprisingly enough. Being on a roll, he decides to look inside the building.
[Building security roll: 6]
The door is unlocked, as are all the windows, curiously enough. He goes right in and is immediately greeted by the sight of the dead mage's lower body lying on the floor in one of the side rooms. On the other side of the wall, in fact, and an identical red stain at hip level is visible on this side as well. The lower body appears to have a two-foot sword on its belt as well as several pouches full of who-knows-what.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 13, 2013, 07:28:01 am
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 08:15:29 am
Tell Burnie about large moving wooden tower, then look for non moving wood.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 08:43:30 am
...
I am very happy I am physically incapable of having said that out loud.'
Loot the tannery for leather armor.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 09:14:40 am
Yorinnsud grabs the sword and the pouches from the mage's probably better half, then goes outside and puts on the other gauntlet, feeling mighty proud of his catch as he does so. Speaking of, the loot warrants further investigation. He examines the sword first.
[Identification roll: ?]
Looks pretty magical to him. Deadly, too. He guesses he'll have to stab someone to check. Onward to the pouches.
[Pouch contents roll: 1]
They have nothing but hideously poisonous spiders and unusually ferocious worms in them. Why this is so, Yorinnsud dares not venture to guess. Probably insanity on the mage's part. Some of them manage to escape in the act of opening the pouches and run off on what are presumably adventures of their own.
In the streets of Emlocke...
A large wooden tower moving towards the town is something Luke considers good reporting material, so he heads back to Bernie to report these news!
"Uh, there's a wooden tower coming towards the town."
"Really? Well, maybe you should take care of that. It's kind of what you're here for. After all, if I get badly hurt, you will slowly die as well. Funny how that works, huh?"
Luke shrugs and looks for less mobile wood.
[Search roll: 2]
He comes to the conclusion that all the wood in the surrounding area is used for very sturdy and difficult-to-demolish structures. So mobile wood is his only chance if he wants to get any at all.
Outside a tannery...
Tom accidentally admits to his natural proclivities, demonstrating a most unfortunate habit for a true adventurer. Luckily, his absence of a throat works in his favor this time, and he manages to prevent the horrible truth from getting out. Satisfied at this turn of events, he looks for some leather armor within the tannery.
[Search roll: 1]
He goes inside the tannery, but finds it to be empty of anything useful. Considering that the door is open, the window is broken and there seem to be two people making a daring escape into an alleyway, Tom gets the distinct feeling he's late for a party. An adventuring party. Exactly the kind of party he was hoping to throw for himself.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 13, 2013, 09:18:00 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 09:34:17 am
'Oh, bother. I was going to steal that. Can't be having slightly quicker thieves be taking what is rightfully someone else's but I decided should become mine. Time to kill them and loot corpses instead of shops.'
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 10:05:16 am
Yorinnsud decides that the pouch is best left in the vicinity of where he found it and stashes it on the looted fellow's corpse. He then does the typical barbarian activity of searching for places and people to get tribute from. It's what the priest guy told him to do, right?
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there's a whole lot of houses around. They might have something in them. With tribute-gathering, you have to start small, after all.
Outside a looted tannery...
Tom, rather peeved at the daring burglars who have taken the loot that was by no means rightfully his, but which he had called dibs on to himself ages ago, goes into pursuit of the two escaping hoodlums. Can't have them getting away with what they've done, you know.
[Escaping people escape roll: 4]
[Tom pursuit roll: 3]
He runs after the two escaping people, but they are still getting away! An increasing distance is put between them and Tom!
[Escaping people escape roll: 3]
[Tom pursuit roll: 3]
Tom doesn't lose them quite yet, though. He keeps a steady pace and doesn't waver in his path, which proves remarkably conducive to his chase!
[Escaping people escape roll: 5]
[Tom pursuit roll: 6]
The people run along through twisting alleys and houses, but Tom manages to find shortcuts that successfully bring him closer to the escapees! They aren't far now!
[Escaping people escape roll: 1]
[Tom pursuit roll: 3]
As Tom pursues them, he finds them stopping at one of the walls of what he presumes is the town court! They look very impatient.
"Come on, open up! OPEN UP!"
One of the escaping thieves, a young woman, starts to bang on the wall.
"Dammit, Jeff, if you screw us over, I'll-"
[Tom vs. Escaping Thief 1: 2+2 vs. 6-1]
She is interrupted by Tom's bastard sword narrowly missing her neck due to a minor mistake in distance calculation. A mistake, mind you, that Tom does not intend to repeat. It appears that the thieves get the message.
[Thief reaction roll: 6]
Both thieves tumble away from Tom in different directions, then let loose some magical mayhem!
[Thief 1 magic roll: 5]
[Thief 2 magic roll: 3]
The lady-thief lifts Tom up in the air to put herself beyond his reach! The other one, a man in his thirties, produces a cool breeze, but does little else.
"Really? That's the best you could do?"
"Hey, I was nervous! And I'm out of practice with that spell!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 10:30:12 am
Attempt to break out of the holding, whether it be through flailing in a very ungentlemanly way, or through conquering the actually proficient mage's mind. Then get back to cutting random strangers. Namely, them.
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 10:50:25 am
Question Burnie! look for sharp object for cutting, cut the wood off buildings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 11:22:15 am
Since the lady seems to be out of his reach, Tom tries to conquer the not-too-incompetent mage's mind somehow!
[Tom intelligence roll: ?]
He tries telepathy, but it doesn't work. It doesn't work at all!
[Developing argument roll: 2]
"So, you're out of practice? What are you even doing here, then?"
"Give it a rest, Jenny. We've got a skeletal minion to kill and he doesn't seem to be getting any deader with us arguing. Observe."
[Thief 2 magic roll: 5]
Tom is entirely frozen in the air, his lifesigns slowing down to a fraction of what they once were!
[Tom will roll: 1]
Dang it, he seems to be losing his unliving integrity at a very rapid rate! This is absolutely terrible!
[Tom will roll: 4-1]
Fortunately, he's not quite dead yet! If he finds a way to warm up, he'll survive yet!
"You see, Jenny? I've still got it. So don't go questioning me at every turn."
"Right, sure. Yep. You've still got it. I suppose I'll get rid of it, then. Yeesh."
[Jenny magic roll: 1]
Jenny begins to concentrate and Tom feels himself build up great energy for a moment, almost as though he had been loaded into a one-skeleton slingshot! Suddenly, the other guy makes a startling exclamation while pointing behind Jenny!
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"
Jenny immediately twists around, being snapped out of an intense mental state!
"Wha-"
She doesn't actually get to say much before the spell misfires, launching her high up in the air! As the other guy watches her sail through the air, he chuckles softly.
"Can't believe she fell for that, heh. Moron."
He then proceeds to disappear around the town hall corner.
[Jenny fall roll: ?]
Tom is too busy being frozen to see or hear where or how exactly Jenny lands, but he imagines that it must have been an unpleasant squelching sound if anything. After she meets a presumably grisly end, the unspent energy given to him finally manifests as heat, warming him up enough to break him out of the sub-zero bad news zone. He is in slightly less danger now, fortunately. He still feels... weakened, however. Plus that other guy, despite technically saving him through sheer pettiness, probably needs to die.
On the streets of Emlocke...
After mentally placing himself and the wooden tower on the great scales of badassery and finding himself come up short, Luke decides to petition his kindly overlord for some fire-related magics!
"Do you have fire magic, the tower's made of wood and I can't shoot rays of fire out of my palms, you know?"
"Now, you might not know this from your own experience, but there's this thing they call a tinderbox. You can use it to make fire. Ingenious, I know, but that's just the kind of guy I am. If you were to get such a prized artifact, you could make fire anywhere you want! Amazing, eh?"
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 11:32:02 am
finish conversation, look for saw or axe or sword, cut wooden houses wood off.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 12:03:14 pm
Try to find the corpse of the competent mage, or possibly still alive-ish competent mage. If she is not horribly wounded when/if I find her, leave. If she's dead or wounded heavily, loot/finish her.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 12:35:54 pm
Luke gets the distinct impression he is being patronized right now. He's used to it, sure, but still! He knows what'll fix this, though - sarcasm!
"And pray tell, wise leader, do you have one of these mythical "tinder boxes" to give to me?"
"Oh no, they're quite prized, you know. Not everyone can get them. You'd have to be in an inn and check the counter right behind you to actually find one. Not everyone can be bothered, you see. Some people, you know."
Luke looks at the counter behind him. There is indeed a tinderbox on the counter behind him. He decides to pay it no mind and look for some carpenter's or woodcutter's tools.
[Search roll: 4]
There is a perfectly good saw lying around just outside what looks like a completely normal house. There seems to be a bit of blood on it. Well, a lot of blood, but it looks quite sharp! He picks it up and takes it over to the house with the wooden second floor and gets to sawing!
[Carpentry roll: 6]
Armed with his new saw, Luke begins to saw like none have sawed before! He saws to the left! He saws to the right! He saws all around and he saws with a primal joy he has never felt in his life!
Then the roof collapses on him.
In an alleyway next to the town hall...
Tom spends a few moments questioning the wisdom of anybody leaving him alive, if only by virtue of incredible pettiness, then goes out to find Jenny, who is probably dead by now. So, he's pretty sure that her flight took her that-a-way, so her corpse should be...
[Search roll: 6]
... right in that pile of straw in-between those two buildings. In fact, there she goes now! Look at her run toward the town hall, the clear intention of murdering someone burning in her eyes! Such passion! Such hatred! Tom could cry at this display if his tear ducts had not been the first thing to rot away in his coffin right after his black, black heart.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 13, 2013, 12:37:48 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 01:09:43 pm
Bugger off. Try to find another tannery. Preferably unlooted.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 13, 2013, 02:18:37 pm
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 02:49:08 pm
Get out, grab wood, complete my noble quest for wood nail hammering.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 03:48:19 pm
Darren, feeling awfully mischievous at the moment, tries to do an amazing practical joke he just thought of!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He telekinetically grabs one of the swords and makes it fly past the plunderer's head, shearing off a small bit of his hair with a powerful swipe! He then proceeds to phase down into some treasure and sort-of duck, resisting the urge to giggle.
[Plunderer fear management roll: 5]
The guy carefully examines the lock of hair he just lost, then the sword that just clanked against the wall.
[Plunderer intelligence roll: ?]
He carefully examines the room, then equally carefully backs out, opening the massive door and slowly closing it back up. Darren then hears rapid footsteps outside. Can't blame him, really. After all, it is generally considered not a good idea to stay in rooms where sharp objects have the unfortunate tendency of flying at your head.
Near the town hall...
Tom decides that this business is not worth getting mixed up in, at least not with his equipment loadout, so he tries again to find a tannery of some kind.
[Search roll: 1]
Though finding another tannery was quite the longshot, Tom is very pleased that there indeed is one! Now he only has to head inside and-
A large creature, about ten feet tall in total and seemingly made of random pieces of various leather products, suddenly kicks out the door of the tannery and ducks out of the now-empty doorway! There appears to be a short bearded man dressed in a brown robe riding on its shoulders, yelling triumphantly!
"IT LIVES! IT LIVES! NOW, LEATHERFIST! CARRY ME TO VICTORY!"
He seems pretty out of it. You'd have to be to make something like that, Tom believes.
On a collapsed second floor...
Luke, ever the stoic, lets out but a single "Ow" as he is buried under a massive mountain of wood. It is, after all, kind of what he wanted. Still, he probably should be getting out right about now. It's getting uncomfortable.
[Strength roll: 6+1]
Drawing from his vast experience of listening to drunk people's stories of heroic exploits of manly manliness performed while drunk, he does what only the manliest of all could possibly do - he decides to punch his way out of the collapsed roof.
After that doesn't work, he decides to settle for just tearing through the wreckage and roaring extremely loudly to prove his point. After that bit of business, he calmly picks up a few pieces of wood. Well now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?
Near a group of terrorized villagers...
Vincent, his thirst for justice not yet slaked, tries some more murder on the villagers.
[Villager escape roll: 2]
[Vincent pursuit roll: 4]
He easily catches up with the confused group, then uses their time together to work his staff swing.
[Vincent vs. Villagers: 2+1 vs. 2-1]
He sort-of halfheartedly smashes one villager's head in, then half-decapitates another with the torus at the top of his staff. Three left, he supposes?
[Villager escape roll: 2]
[Vincent pursuit roll: 1]
Dear gods, this is so boring. They hardly even try to fight back. Rather than humiliate himself doing this any longer, Vincent just lets the remaining three go. They'll probably die perfectly well on their own. He then goes on to loot his new kills.
[Loot roll: 3]
Let's see, clamshells, feathers, primitive "weapons". How quaint. Particularly that chief fellow. His outfit is absolutely covered with worthless junk, plus it looks completely tacky.
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 03:53:17 pm
To the inn, board up the Windows!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 03:58:10 pm
Give the skeletal equivalent of a sigh and walk away from Leatherfist and his batshit insane rider/creator and venture forth back to the inn.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2013, 04:30:52 pm
After grabbing a whole lot of nails from the blacksmith's crate, hauling some wood over to the inn and making sure he has both his hammer and saw, Luke attempts to board up the giant stained glass windows in front of Bernie's hideout!
[Workmanship roll: 2]
He nails up a single board horizontally along one of the windows, then proudly inspects his work.
Yep, that'll do, he thinks and drops the hammer, then goes on his probably legally-mandated Minion Break.
Next to a true visionary of our age...
Tom, upon realizing the predicament he's in, mimics a sigh and leaves quietly.
[Leather Mage perception roll: ?]
Fortunately, the crazy, short and bearded bastard is far too crazy, short and bearded to notice him leaving. Instead, he runs off in the opposite direction, yelling about showing everyone why leather magic truly is the best form of magic there will ever be. Tom hears none of his undoubtedly persuasive arguments, instead choosing to return to the inn with his sanity and dignity unmolested. He mimics breathing a sigh of relief as the familiar sight of the inn appears once more.
Post by: anailater on January 13, 2013, 04:32:31 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 13, 2013, 04:36:55 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on January 13, 2013, 05:36:07 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 13, 2013, 07:12:23 pm
((Just for clarification, tribute is basically !BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2013, 01:36:34 am
Satisfied with his great works, Luke feels an uncharacteristic craving coming on! He checks for coffee in the near vicinity of himself. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any idea what coffee even is and what it's used for. And yet he finds that his life is not complete without it! Clearly he is trapped in an existential nightmare of some kind.
Maybe he should go on strike. Too bad he's technically a slave and has no rights. Oh well, better get back to work.
[Workmanship roll: 1]
But he can't, sadly, as his persistent craving refuses to give in! It creeps into his mind and seems to take over! Luke finds himself become very angry at the sky all of a sudden. It's so irritating, all that bright blue with white clouds, and don't even get him started on the stupid sun.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
Having had enough of that blue bastard's impertinence, he hurls the hammer off into the distance, watching it disappear with visible glee. Hope the sky chokes on it. Well, now that that's done, he supposes he'll get back to work.
Wait. Crap.
As Luke contemplates the dilemma he's in, Tom passes the fellow right by and heads inside the inn. He doesn't see that Josh fellow around, but he supposes he can't be too far away. He searches for something useful around the inn.
[Search roll: 6]
There is indeed a holdout weapon under the bar! Well, not a weapon per se, but perhaps something even better! It's a stick with a golden sphere at the end. It looks rather fancy, to tell the truth.
[Identification roll: ?]
Too bad he has no idea what it might be, though he guesses it might be trouble.
In a residential area...
Yorinnsud decides to start his tribute-taking with this very neighborhood! He goes nuts on the surrounding houses, beginning a campaign of pillage all around!
[Pillaging roll: 1]
As soon as he smashes the first window, however, he hears a horrid screech emanate from inside a house. Uh oh. Evil spirits. That's never a good sign in prospective pillage sites.
In the Woods of Justice...
Vincent looks for a suitably innocent-looking villager among the lot.
[Villager innocence roll: 6]
Well, there's the somewhat young villager he horribly wounded with a fragment of the chief's skull. He's not very mobile, but he is bleeding a lot! Vincent takes some of the fellow's blood and draws a pentacle in the book.
[Blood effects roll: 1]
The journal bursts into flame for some reason!
[Fire extinguishing roll: 2]
Vincent drops it on the ground and considers his next move.
Post by: anailater on January 14, 2013, 02:06:45 am
Intimidate the sky until it gives me back my hammer, if that doesn't work, find a blunt object to use.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 14, 2013, 07:06:35 am
((Damnit Harry, I can't be online as much as everyone else nd the situation is not being helped by you stopping me for something so trivial as strange noises! >:( sorry))
Post by: Firelordsky on January 14, 2013, 07:27:06 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 14, 2013, 07:42:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2013, 09:15:55 am
Luke attempts to intimidate the sky into handing him his hammer back!
[Sanity roll: 3]
The sky remains standoffish and rather quiet. Luke decides that this is due to either of two reasons: perhaps the sky isn't a humanoid entity and can't answer his questions, or it's just hiding something and being a terrible liar about it. For the unlife of him, Luke can't figure out which one it is! However, there is a more urgent matter to attend to. He needs a blunt object of some kind to hammer him some nails!
[Search roll: 5]
After wandering back to the blacksmith's shop, he fetches yet another hammer (this one actually has a claw!) tucked in between some deceptively useless junk and goes right back to the inn. He shudders when he considers the sheer magnitude of the task ahead.
On the bad side of town...
Yorinnsud shakes off his apprehensive feelings about unearthly, demonic screeches coming from the houses on his to-pillage list and gets back to work.
[Pillaging roll: 1]
As he begins to climb in through the now-broken window, he is greeted by an unusual sight. It looks kind of like a man, only stunted, hairy, savage and with demonic fire burning in its eyes. It begins to wiggle its barbed, hairy tail! Aw, it's happy to see him!
[D-Monkey vs. Yorinnsud: 5+1 vs. 3-1+1]
It leaps on top of him and gives him a friendly licking! Wait, no. The words are "savage chewing" and "slashing with a very nasty-looking tail". So easy to confuse those. And all this time, it keeps screeching like, well, exactly like you would imagine a thing like it screech, which is to say most terribly. It is not the very best of feelings, Yorinnsud finds. In fact, the thing has chewed off a sizable portion of his left arm!
Inside the blacksmith's shop...
Not really in a particular rush, Mark takes the bunch of daggers lying around in the blacksmith's shop and then tries to locate a bit of paper and a quill. And some ink.
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a piece of charcoal and a suitably pale piece of wood to draw on. Eh, good enough. He then tries to do an inventory of the buildings in town.
[Inventory taking roll: 1]
Let's see, there's the inn. And the smithy. But there's probably other stuff as well. He isn't sure. Yeah, there definitely should be other stuff! Like a magic emporium! And a mage's tower! And a gladiatorial arena, that would be amazing. And a place that sells magical armor of every sort! And an eatery for those other fellows, you know, the ones with digestive systems. And you can't forget about the children, either.
After a short while he has drafted up a long list of all the awesome things that should be in Emlocke for it to be the best town in the Blacklands! He pins it up at the inn, beaming with the warm glow of accomplishment!
Next to a burning book...
Intrigued by spontaneous biblio-combustion, Vincent takes some more blood and draws a pentacle on the ground!
[Blood effects roll: 3]
It begins to glow oddly! Ooh, nice. Maybe he should get more of this stuff. Luckily, there's a handy source right next to him!
Post by: Gamerlord on January 14, 2013, 09:19:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2013, 11:48:51 am
Yorinnsud tries to stab at the beast asserting its dominance over him after making a great push upward!
[Strength roll: 4+1]
He lifts the beast off him with one hand, and hurls it to a respectable distance!
[Yorinnsud vs. D-Monkey: 6+1 vs. 1+1]
He then proceeds to give the creature several more ventilation holes to let the brain air out, what with it being the responsible thing to do when dealing with evil spirits. The beast doesn't take this well. In fact, it drops dead almost immediately.
Maybe Yorinnsud should stick to being a warrior. He's no good at this holy man nonsense.
Post by: anailater on January 14, 2013, 12:01:32 pm
Building montage time!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2013, 01:09:40 pm
Luke examines the inn he is about to board up and realizes that this is quite a lot of work to be doing on his own. Plus, you know, it's mind-numbingly boring. And he can't quite reach the top parts of the window from here. Regardless, he will try his best! And by "try his best" he means "block out higher mental functions during the more boring parts so he doesn't have to subjectively experience them, thus making the whole experience much shorter".
He decides to test this method immediately.
[Workmanship roll: 5]
He doesn't know how long he worked or how exactly he reach the top bits of the window to board them up, having had only very brief (but very self-affirming) glimpses in the process, but he has done it! All of the windows are firmly boarded up in a very meticulous manner all around the building! And he didn't learn a thing or get bored even for a second. Truly, this mental block may be the very best thing a slacker like him could ask for. He only hopes he can pull this off again for something else that's boring and repetitive.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 14, 2013, 02:10:50 pm
'What could possibly go wrong?'
((Yes, I am aware of exactly what I just invited the GM to do.))
Post by: anailater on January 14, 2013, 02:46:04 pm
Report to Burnie, ask if anything else needs to be done.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2013, 03:11:32 pm
Tom, figuring that there's probably no real danger to picking up random objects of unknown purpose in a bar, goes on to do just that. He takes the stick and briefly thinks of the nature of power and its possession.
Nothing seems to be happening. Well, not yet, anyway. As he is left slightly disappointed at the lack of immediate magical mayhem, Luke enters the inn, beaming proudly about something. He seems to be looking for Bernie.
[Luke search roll: 3]
After making sure he isn't in the lobby, Luke heads upstairs to look for his abominable master. After he's gone, a door to the basement opens and Bernie walks out.
"You there!" he says, pointing at Tom. "Anything interesting happen while I was away?"
Tom shakes his head sadly.
"The basement seems pretty defensible, so I'll be hanging out down there from now on. Understood?"
Tom nods and Bernie heads back inside the basement, closing a well-concealed door behind him as he does so. Shortly afterwards Luke comes back down, having thoroughly searched the top floors.
"Hey, have you seen the magic guy?"
Tom, paying as much attention as usual, shakes his head sadly at Luke.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 14, 2013, 03:16:08 pm
((Double entendre intended.))
Post by: anailater on January 14, 2013, 04:36:24 pm
Look for food in the inn, make a hearty meal.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 14, 2013, 04:49:40 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 14, 2013, 08:54:58 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 15, 2013, 04:53:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2013, 11:33:43 am
Luke decides that dinner is what he really needs right now and gets right to fixing something up from whatever things he can find.
[Search roll: 5]
Hey, would you look at that! There's a fully-stocked pantry of fresh food he could use to make a dinner fit for a king! How wonderful. Luke proceeds to make some dinner.
[Cooking roll: 6]
He creates a massive feast made up of exquisite foods of all sorts, drawing on his cooking experience obtained from at least a decade of unemployment. The feast he creates is massive indeed, and he can't wait to get to eating it! All of it!
He then realizes he has no functioning digestive system. Hell, he can't even properly swallow anymore. It all gets stuck in his esophagus or worse, his stomach. Then it would proceed to fester, presumably until the smell gets bad enough to warrant surgical intervention.
Fortunately, Bernie appears, steals half of the food without a word, then goes into the basement. Not even a thank-you-kindly from the guy. How rude!
Meanwhile, Tom decides to gleefully experiment with powers beyond his immediate comprehension and shakes his rod at the bar.
[Wand effect roll: 6]
There is a faint sound, like that of a bell tolling, but little else happens. The bar seems to be less than impressed at Tom's goods. About twenty seconds later, there is another tolling sound.
Outside the former residence of a horrid beast...
Yorinnsud tries to butcher and sacrifice the corpse of his enemy, as was custom in his village.
[Sacrifice roll: 2]
Uh... he doesn't have any fire-making tools. Or fuel. Or a donkey for the last bit. So that won't work. Ah well. He leaves the monkey be and heads out looking for more tribute.
[Pillaging roll: 2]
There doesn't seem to be anyone around to demand tribute from. And there is a distinct lack of various golden items, great artifacts and excellent booze to get, so stealing tribute doesn't seem like a viable idea, either.
Outside Bernie's inn...
Mark, after realizing that his plan for the perfect village doesn't really help his quest for murder in any way, looks for a good vantage point to survey the town from.
[Vantage point locating roll: 2]
Sadly, the town is located on a flat plain stretching for many miles around. No real vantage points anywhere, really, as most of the buildings are not taller than three stories. It appears that there are no quick ways to find anything in this town. No doubt a deliberate move on the guide industry's part.
Next to a very innocent and bleeding person...
Vincent goes on a pentacle-drawing frenzy, drawing the figure about eight times all around him!
[Pentacle proximity reaction roll: 4]
The pentacles begin to pulse slightly, reminding Vincent of the heart he's pretty sure he used to have. It is but a brief moment of recollection, but sweet nonetheless.
Post by: anailater on January 15, 2013, 12:15:45 pm
Time to find myself a weapon, hopefully a big hammer, but anything will do.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 15, 2013, 12:32:09 pm
Wander around the inn looking for interesting things.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2013, 01:57:11 pm
Luke takes a moment to applaud his own proficiency at pointless busywork, then heads out to look for a weapon, keeping a particular eye out for any large hammers to crush his puny, puny enemies with.
[Search roll: 4]
He finds a pretty nice-looking hammer lying around near a recently-demolished house. Looks like it's meant for destroying walls, but he's sure it could smash a head or ribcage in just as well.
Meanwhile, Tom takes a short bit of time to curse his terrible luck and look for something better to steal in the inn itself.
[Search roll: 5]
Well, there is a large ragdoll of a fellow dressed in a nice suit of mail propped up against one of the walls. There appears to be a dagger stuck through its neck, revealing a whole lot of straw that seems to have fallen out of the hole. Despite the thing obviously being a ragdoll, Tom can't help but shake the feeling that there is more to this doll than one might think. Oh well. Free suit of sweet, sweet mail!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 15, 2013, 02:20:35 pm
Cut off the straw man's head via bastard sword, then strip him of his armor and wear it. Collect the dagger as well, deposit in a pocket in my clothing or in my empty pelvic bone should I not have any pockets.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2013, 02:43:40 pm
Tom, knowing from personal experience that straw men are not to be trusted in any capacity, decides to decapitate the things with his sword.
It works quite well, considering that the guy's head is already kind of hanging by a few ragged threads. Still, the fellow is safely decapitated, so Tom undresses him and puts on the suit of mail! It fits somewhat well, hanging off him in but a few places. However, he gets the feeling that he can't really avoid that with a figure like he's got.
Afterwards, he pockets the dagger formerly occupying a cozy location in the strawman's throat. After all, if you loot, you loot completely. It's only fair.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 15, 2013, 03:16:18 pm
Proceed to dice it into several progressively smaller pieces. Then go loot something else in this amazingly well-furnished inn.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2013, 03:59:45 pm
Tom, still holding on to a strange prejudice against obviously inanimate objects, goes on to slice and dice the the ragdoll until it is just a pile of straw. Simultaneously satisfied and somewhat disappointed in the lack of any ensuing soul-eating, he goes on to find something else to loot.
[Search roll: 6]
As he searches the top levels of the inn, he finds nothing of interest, really. Some priceless vases, some nice-looking statues, but nothing immediately useful to him.
[Perception roll: ?]
He does get a feeling of something being not quite right. For one, there was a fully armored scarecrow impaled through the throat in one of the rooms. Secondly, he's pretty sure he just saw a shadow move. And something went bump somewhere nearby. There is also a curious chirping of various birds.
Something is amiss.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 15, 2013, 04:04:18 pm
Continue searching while I break everything in sight, namely those vases.
((I seriously can't tell if you are playing with how paranoid I've made my character, or if I actually got a decent perception roll. I just realized how screwed I'm going to be on those from now on. I can't trust "nothing bad happened" and I really can't trust "EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE AND SH*T!"))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2013, 04:17:21 pm
Tom, unsettled by the general suspicious feel of the area, chooses to relieve his mental pressure by obsessively searching everything and breaking priceless treasures.
[Search roll: 4]
After making sure a few particularly vile pieces of pottery get theirs, Tom finds a peculiar thing in one of them - a slightly jagged piece of metal. It seems like it might have come from a larger object, but he's not quite sure. He picks it up. Who knows, might be a lucky charm of some kind.
[Perception roll: ?]
He thinks he heard a very faint shuffling somewhere in the hall. The chirping of birds continues unabated as well.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Firelordsky on January 15, 2013, 04:33:12 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 15, 2013, 04:33:53 pm
Walk into some of the guest rooms on the upper floors; loot them. If I keep hearing that shuffling noise, throw the dagger at it.
((I was the one who said that, wasn't I? Shiiiiiiiiiiiit.))
Post by: anailater on January 15, 2013, 05:12:13 pm
Take the hammer, find a building that isn't the Inn, Vandalise.
Post by: Yoink on January 15, 2013, 07:45:38 pm
Timothy groaned uneasily at the lack of any sign of his intact scary-crow companions, and then went to carry Tom down from the roof into Bob's home.
"C'mon Tom, is alright, we's here, nuffin' ta worries about now."
>Carry Tom inside for Bob to hopefully rescue, making a hurried explanation as I do so.
>Then go look for the others.
Timothy learnt: Heroic Soul!
((Apologies for my long absence. I'm trying to catch up on all the games I am behind in, but it's sort of hard as I still don't have as much internet time as usual.))
Post by: Gamerlord on January 15, 2013, 08:30:19 pm
Go explore the entire town and murder every living thing I encounter.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 16, 2013, 01:02:56 am
Lets make a anti living riot
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2013, 11:43:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2013, 12:10:39 pm
Vincent stands and pats his ribcage thoughtfully as he ponders the logistics of joining eight pentacles in a single megapentacle. Fortunately, there is still enough blood to make even that possible!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He decides that it probably wouldn't hurt to just join them up however he can, even if he can only draw a sort of randomly curved line going through all of them. He proceeds to do exactly that, relying on the possibly present gods to sort any potential mishaps out.
[Blood effects roll: 1-1]
After drawing his wacky connector line and having a disproportionate amount of fun doing it, Vincent watches as the blood begins to glow rather blindingly, clapping his hands excitedly at what is sure to be an impressive spectacle. The light grows ever more intense, and a buzzing sound seems to be coming from the drawing. Suddenly, it goes quiet.
Then the screaming and clawing begins.
[Vincent dodge roll: 1+1]
What seems to be a vine crawls at Vincent. Hello, cute little vine! What would you like from your old pal Vincent today?
It seems to really want his ankle, as it immediately grabs it and begins to pull Vincent into the light. Vincent gets the feeling that this might not be good. Plus, that might not actually be a vine.
On the upper floors of Bernie's inn...
Tom decides to loot some more guest rooms. He needs his loot, after all. It's part of the image. He heads over to one room fitting a vaguely guest room-like description and takes a look around for delicious lootables.
[Loot roll: 6]
There's a chest that has something inside, but Tom can't say any more than that on account of the damn thing being locked. It jingles a bit, so it can't be completely worthless, he guesses. Speaking of wild guessing, he remembers that something was most definitely wrong hear at last reckoning. He listens in and prepares for some dagger-throwing.
[Perception roll: ?]
He doesn't really hear anything too suspicious anymore. Perhaps that in itself is suspicious? Maybe someone noticed he was listening and is now staying quiet to surprise him later? Maybe there was nobody around all along? Maybe the dozens of assassin apes that lurk in the shadows just got bored and left? It's difficult to say.
In the vicinity of a mostly-demolished building...
Luke, happy about his crushing, deadly new acquisition, tries to test it on one of the buildings around.
[Building choice roll: 5]
He walks up to a concrete tower about three stories in height, then proceeds to try and demolish it in as little time as possible!
[Homewrecking roll: 4+1]
He hammers the building thoroughly, smashing through a great many walls and eventually reducing it to a pathetic pile of rubble. Yeah, he'd say that the hammer works pretty well.
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy, unsettled by the incredible incompetence displayed by Fred and Jim, decides to at least save Tom first. A mutilated scary-crow in the hand is worth two unmutilated ones somewhere in an undisclosed location, no?
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He pulls the sorry remains of Tom from the roof and carries them to Bob, who is downstairs and rather frightened by an impact on his roof, though Tom's ravaged scary-crow body seems to have lost enough straw to not weigh all that much. After receiving a quick explanation on Tom's appearance and somewhat poor condition, Bob sighs.
"Well, I suppose I could try to get him fixed up and use him as a normal scarecrow. Give him here."
Timothy does so, then flies away on the wings of newfound heroism, scanning the area for any sign of Fred or Jim.
[Search roll: 6]
He doesn't have to look too far. In fact, they're right outside the castle! The bad news, however, is that they seem to have already been pressed into servitude. As combat dummies for the guards, of which there seem to be about seven currently practicing.
"Aaaaagh!" yells Fred as a sword stabs through his belly. Jim silently concurs, obtaining a new arrow through the shoulder.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud realizes the flaw in his plan so far. You see, it's rather funny - he's been walking around and looking for tribute and receiving none. In fact, he's even had a beast sent to dispose of him. Obviously these people don't fear him nearly enough. Time to correct that.
He is surprised when he is joined by Mark, who seems to be in an equally riotous mood. Both of them go out looking for trouble!
[Search roll: 1]
Three steps in, they are rudely interrupted by a floating globule of yellow goo. Not one to question such things, Yorinnsud stabs it immediately as Mark gives moral support.
[Globule reaction roll: 3]
It leaves a residue best described as horribly icky on Yorinnsud's blade after a few stabs. Triple ew, man!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 16, 2013, 01:38:58 pm
If I realize I have no idea how to pick locks, then just chop it open.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2013, 02:12:49 pm
Tom closes the door he entered to get inside the guest room, then attempts to lock it!
[Lock mechanism roll: 2]
There doesn't seem to be a lock on the door. At least, none that he can see. Maybe this is a suite rather than just a series of rooms? No matter. Time to open him some chests!
[Lockpicking roll: 1]
He tries to pick the lock for quite a bit before giving up. The lock on this thing is absolutely diabolical! Luckily, he has just the tool for the job! He draws his broadsword and tries to chop the chest open!
[Chest reaction roll: 5]
He chops and chops, but it doesn't seem to do anything! Whatever gashes he makes in the wood quickly heal. That's... uh... pretty odd.
[Perception roll: ?]
He still has an uneasy feeling about his surroundings. Nothing exact, just a general restlessness in the air.
Post by: anailater on January 16, 2013, 02:50:53 pm
Go to where Burnis is hiding, knock politely, then ask him about
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 16, 2013, 03:22:02 pm
Continue trying to pick the lock, disregard ape assassins.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2013, 03:50:22 pm
After taking out his frustrations on an innocent tower, Luke goes back to the inn and goes into the basement. He then approaches Bernie!
"Hey, man, do you know anything about succubuses?"
"Succubi? Well, the minions of the Demon of Love are known as succubi sometimes. They're pretty hot, apparently. Still demon-spawn, though, so they'll always try to get your soul in return for 50 to 70 guaranteed years of love, caring and possibly a family to leave behind. And they do it, too. They're big on marriage, you see. See it as conducive to other binding agreements. You apparently get turned into a succubus after the expiration of the contract, but that's mostly hearsay."
"Do you think they could be important in the grand scheme of things?"
"Uh, probably not. You have to marry 'em before you get 'em, which some do, but most people are scared off by the prospect. They also don't do one-night-stands. Ever."
"How do you know all this?"
"Same reason you're asking me right now, I believe - popular misconceptions and perverse sexual lust toward immortal creatures. It's a phase most go through."
In a room with a chest...
Tom, in a possibly unwise move, chooses to disregard the diminutive frog men in the shadows that long to chew on his softer bones and instead tries to open the chest some more.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Sadly, he still has exactly zero clues how lockpicking is done. So he just tries screwing around some more.
[Lockpicking roll: 5-1]
He gets a lot further with the lock this time, messing around with it until he hears a satisfying click! The chest is unlocked! Tom does a small victory dance for all the frog people watching him.
[Perception roll: ?]
There's the faint shuffle again! Crap, they are making a move! Was he really that bad?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 16, 2013, 03:56:24 pm
Post by: anailater on January 16, 2013, 03:57:22 pm
Questioning!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2013, 04:18:35 pm
Tom, upon unlocking the chest, is about to leave, but then realizes that he really should be looting the thing. Can't get sloppy, after all. He opens the chest!
[Loot roll: 2]
It's full of silver coins and semi-precious stones, interestingly enough. Nothing practically usable in his particular situation, however.
[Perception roll: ?]
Tom hears a noise rather close by, a less-faint shuffling with a hint of scratching. It seems pretty conclusive to him! Time for the good ol' dagger throw!
[Dagger throw roll: 3]
It hits a nearby wall with a satisfying whoosh! Gods, that felt good. Doesn't look like anything was hurt by it, however. Hm.
In the basement of Bernie's inn...
Luke continues his line of questioning!
"Would they count as unread?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nevermind. Anyway, is eternal damnation as bad is it sounds?"
"It's apparently slavery to a being of unfathomable power and motives. Probably endless busywork. For the Demon of Love, you apparently become one of its agents. A succubus, if you will."
"Alright then, how can you tell the difference between a succubus and a woman?"
"Well, a succubus, unlike most women, will always tell you exactly what it is before any relations can begin. And they apparently are rather creepy-looking before you allow them to mold themselves into your preferred image. Before you can actually marry one, they make sure you know exactly what you're going to get for it. After they marry you, though, they apparently become completely indistinguishable from a normal woman or man, whichever you choose for yourself."
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 16, 2013, 04:26:52 pm
Post by: anailater on January 16, 2013, 07:13:01 pm
Post by: Firelordsky on January 16, 2013, 07:54:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 16, 2013, 07:55:58 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 16, 2013, 10:01:08 pm
HUNT THROUGH THE TOWN, KILLING EVERYTHING. EVERY. THING.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 16, 2013, 10:15:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 17, 2013, 09:19:19 am
Tom tries to pull his dagger from the wall!
[Dagger mobility roll: 2]
It seems that the dagger isn't quite going to move that easily. It's stuck in the wall pretty tightly! He tries to pull with all his strength.
[Strength roll: 5]
Hah! It is no match for the full power of his spindly skeletal arms. Tom triumphantly goes looking for more stuff to loot.
[Loot roll: 1]
Well, there was this room around that had another full-looking chest. Tom goes over to find it. When he gets to the room he remembers housing the chest, it's empty! Huh. That's weird.
[Perception roll: ?]
He doesn't hear anything unusual around. Could the polar bear gang have left already?
In the basement of Bernie's inn...
Luke makes his opinion on arranged demon marriages well-known.
"Doesn't sound like a bad way to go with me, sir, sixty years of love and children, followed by an eternity of sex, better than most endings."
"Oh no, you misunderstand. The minions of the Demon of Love are not very sexually active. They're love-oriented, with screwing taking a very far second or third priority. Their minds are apparently reshaped at every transformation to fit their lover best, to create an ideal husband or wife. So, it's been theorized that they are essentially just vessels for their powerful demon master, with no real will of their own. They exist to bring it more souls and have very few real emotions aside from love. They love whoever their master tells them to love, and they do it with all of their demon-infused souls. When you become a demonic minion, any demonic minion, you become an essentially mindless tool to be used and abused however your master wishes over a short period of time. And you cannot escape your servitude. Ever."
"Hm. Oh, and I forgot to mention, all doors and windows are boarded up, there's a stockpile of food up here, and I knocked a random building down with my hammer, any other jobs need doin'?
"Yes, actually. Find me a virgin. Bring him or her here. Alive. Shouldn't be difficult, this is a mage competition, after all."
Meanwhile, in the strange woods of somewhere distant...
Vincent decides there's no point in fighting the vine and lets himself get pulled into the horrible, horrible light, hoping it's a portal of some kind.
It is, unsurprisingly enough. However, it seems to be a one-way portal, as a sufficient amount of heat is pouring out of it to turn pretty much anything into a melted, amorphous mass of nothing in seconds. It's rather painful, Vincent finds as he begins to really, really burn. His bones become blackened and covered in ash that may or may not be the remains of the top layer of his skeleton.
[Vincent will roll: 4+1]
Fortunately, he keeps unalive and conscious for long enough to try and prevent his horrid doom! Lucky him, he supposes.
Inside a treasure vault...
Darren tries to lurk to the best of his ability!
[Lurking roll: 6]
He hides in a treasure chest and gazes at the room through the keyhole! Surely nobody would think of looking for a ghost in there!
[People appearance roll: 6]
Soon enough, the guy from before and two other people burst in through the door and begin pocketing all the valuables, obviously in a bit of a rush to get in and get out. It appears that a sword past the head does wonders for managing the lazy!
In the middle of a riot of two...
Yorinnsud and Mark just keep on strutting through the streets with maximum attitude, having nonverbally agreed to never speak of the yellow thing again. They look for killable things in the town.
[Search roll: 5]
They see a young fellow in white robes standing around in the middle of a street. Looks pretty clueless.
"Hello, my friends! Have you-"
[Yorinnsud vs. Clueless Man: 6+1 vs. 5-1]
[Mark vs. Clueless Man: 5+1 vs. 1-1]
He doesn't get to finish the sentence before Yorinnsud stabs him through the belly, which is followed up with a spearhead through the eye and brain courtesy of Mark. The mage falls over, a look of surprise on his face. The two rioters go right past him and continue their exploration.
[Exploration roll: 5]
Another guy in white robes in the middle of another street. Huh.
"Have you seen my brother? He's-"
[Yorinnsud vs. Clueless Man 2: 4+1 vs. 2-1]
[Mark vs. Clueless Man 2: 2+1 vs. 6-1]
Mark tries to slash at the fellow with his axe blade, but the dang eejit jumps aside before that can be made a reality!
"Why are you so-"
A stab in the throat by Yorinnsud cuts him off. In a very literal sense. The two fellow murderers wander off, quietly tallying a score between them. 1-1.
[Exploration roll: 4]
They find three people, two women and a man, all three in white robes. Also clueless.
"Hello, good sirs! Have you seen our classmates? There was a bit of a teleporting mishap, I'm afraid, and-"
[Yorinnsud vs. Clueless Man 3: 6+1 vs. 4-1]
[Mark vs. Clueless Woman 1: 6+1 vs. 3-1]
The two amigos perform a two-pronged assault - one through the clueless dude's lungs, the other through the clueless lady's heart. Both of them are highly unlikely to survive the next few minutes if by some stroke of luck Mark and Yorinnsud disappear in a puff of smoke and don't visit any more ultra-violence on them.
[Clueless Woman 2 reaction roll: 1]
The last clueless woman looks at the two killer undead in front of her wide-eyed. This all seems new to her, it looks like. However, she still tries to pull some magical shenanigans in the time she is given by the relative proximity of two other, better stab victims.
[Clueless Woman 2 magic roll: 4]
She blows at Yorinnsud, making the ancient warrior struggle to keep his balance!
[Yorinnsud balance roll: 6]
He does regain it, though. He regains it by taking a step forward and stabbing.
[Yorinnsud vs. Clueless Woman 2: 6+1 vs. 1]
[Mark vs. Clueless Woman 2: 4+1 vs. 6]
Yorinnsud's stab meets great success, impaling her heart in the most painfully horrible and messy way imaginable, then continuing on to sever her spine. The clueless woman goes into shock and meets a very quick end. Yorinnsud looks over at Mark, who was a bit slow on the draw and smirks. 3-2. Your move. Mark nods with understanding and they continue on along the streets.
[Exploration roll: 4]
After going in down a particularly long street, they end up at one of the better inns in town. There's two women, both dressed in white and gold robes, standing out front and looking frightened.
"I'm telling you, Bea, it was a terrible idea to bring them here! They don't know about the dangers of this place! What if they run into a bloodthirsty wizard who thinks they're actually participating!"
"I know, I know. Hey, you two over there! The skeletal chap and the... uh... other one! Have you seen any of our students? They're dressed in white robes, like us, but without the gold bits, and they're really confused and-"
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 4+1 vs. 5-1]
[Mark vs. Other Lady: 5+1 vs. 1-1]
Yorinnsud only manages a scratch on Bea, who recoils in pain and horror, while Mark chops the other lady's head clean off! Bea stares at the corpse of her colleague as both undead advance upon her!
[Bea recovery roll: 6]
As she notices the approaching killers, she lets loose a magical spell of some kind!
[Bea magic roll: 5]
Both the undead find themselves blown backwards by a gust of wind as Bea gets her bearings!
[Yorinnsud recovery roll: 5-1]
[Mark recovery roll: 1+1]
Mark decides to let his good buddy whatshisname take care of this as he just chills on the ground. It's not like they're competing or anything, and he'll defend this claim to the death when somebody tells him he lost! Yorinnsud, meanwhile, charges at the slightly less clueless woman.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 3+1 vs. 6]
He misses quite badly with his stab, giving Bea yet another good opening!
[Bea magic roll: 1]
Thinking quickly, Bea decides to launch herself away from these horrible people! She summons up a miniature whirlwind to take her away!
However, it turns out whirlwinds really aren't the best mode of transportation, as Bea is almost immediately flung off and into a nearby wall, falling to the ground in pain.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 4+1 vs. 6-1]
She rolls away as Yorinnsud tries to stab her and gets up, trying to put some distance between herself and the zombie.
[Mark recovery roll: 5+1]
Mark, meanwhile, decides to go and help his poor buddy. He gets up and strolls on over to Bea.
[Mark vs. Bea: 2+1 vs. 3]
His swipe with the halberd is barely dodged by the slightly elderly woman! Well, that's gotta hurt the ol' pride a little bit.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 1+1 vs. 3]
Yorinnsud's pride is similarly injured by a slightly more embarrassing miss.
[Bea magic roll: 3]
Bea summons a nice breeze to cool off the combat. How nice of her.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 4+1 vs. 6]
[Mark vs. Bea: 4+1 vs. 5]
Damn, the old bird is really good at dodging. Perhaps they need to rethink their plans.
[Bea magic roll: 3]
The breeze picks up a bit in strength as Bea struggles to concentrate. Mark and Yorinnsud go for a short thinking session to figure out their next move. Should they stab or should they slash?
Post by: anailater on January 17, 2013, 09:33:02 am
Find wizard, hit it in the legs with the hammer, beat it un-concious, take to master wizard
Post by: Gamerlord on January 17, 2013, 11:10:42 am
Cut her up!
Post by: miauw62 on January 17, 2013, 12:04:10 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 17, 2013, 12:54:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 17, 2013, 02:25:36 pm
Luke argues the practical merits of being a love-slave to Bernie.
"But still, love is the best emotion, if that's all you feel, it's better than eternal pain.
"From that viewpoint, sure. But remember that you don't get to pick and choose. You just love on demand. And most people who go for this kind of thing? Not good people. Not nice people. I should know, having briefly considered the prospect. Found it too creepy for me, but still."
"OK, I'll go find those virgins for you."
"Do so."
He does so! He heads out and looks for a wizard!
[Search roll: 3]
There does seem to be wizard standing in an alley! He is busy making out with his possible girlfriend, so he doesn't notice Luke sneak up and initiate a treacherous sneak attack!
[Luke vs. Make-Out Wizard: 3+1 vs. 1-1]
He smashes the guy in one of the knees with his sledgehammer! Yeah, he looks pretty subdued now. His girlfriend looks substantially less so.
[Girlfriend magic roll: 5]
Luke waits for something to happen, but it doesn't, boringly enough. Alright, a swing and a hi-wait, why isn't his hammer moving? Seriously, the thing is just hanging in the air right now. Totally immobile. Well, that's weird. The girlfriend begins to yell at him.
"You think you're some tough guy, eh, smashing an unsuspecting man in the kneecap while he's busy?"
The man emits a pained sigh and speaks.
"Now, dear, don't get carried away, you know how-"
"No! I am killing this motherfucker! Asshole interrupted our special time together!"
She motions menacingly at Luke!
Next to a surprisingly spry old lady...
Yorinnsud decides in favor of slashing, and lets loose a mighty flurry of said attacks!
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 6+1 vs. 4]
He manages to deliver a very deep cut in her arm. Bea now seems to be bleeding heavily! She spouts gibberish at him in some language you couldn't expect anyone to understand!
[Bea endurance roll: 2]
She appears to be losing a lot of blood. She stumbles backwards and slumps against a wall.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bea: 2+1 vs. 4-1]
Yorinnsud still manages to miss her as she falls sideways just as he is about to slash at her!
[Bea endurance roll: 2-1]
She can't even seem to muster up the energy to try and crawl away. Before Yorinnsud can make another swipe, she is gone.
4-3.
On the top floor of Bernie's inn...
Tom goes around looking for more loot. Strangely enough, there isn't any. The vases are gone, any chests are open, nothing at all left.
[Perception roll: ?]
He hears a shuffling come from the direction of the stairs! It's the badger women!
Post by: anailater on January 17, 2013, 02:57:15 pm
Kill Burnie 3: This time their isn't a funny name
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 17, 2013, 03:08:50 pm
Forget the rooms and the various animal assassins waiting for me and go outside to the alleyway with the zombie, the mage that took a
((Assuming the inn has windows, I should have heard a guy having his kneecap obliterated. I think it is more than painful enough to elicit a scream or two. Right?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 17, 2013, 03:44:49 pm
Luke decides to try a different angle here.
"Sorry, sir. Madam. But soul binding is soul binding, I have to take someone I assumeto be a virgin to my master, of course if I were followed to my master and he was taken care of, well that's the kick."
[Girlfriend reaction roll: 6]
"That guy, a virgin? Hah! We've had more fun than most, I think. A lot more. A virgin. You really are a bright one, aren't you? And loyal."
"So, about my..."
"Well, you still smashed my boyfriend's kneecap with that silly hammer of yours. That's an offense I kill for. But I like your moxy, so I'll give you a delayed death sentence instead."
[Magic roll: 5]
She lifts her hand and makes a single gesture. Luke feels awfully light all of a sudden. Light and... mobile? Well, that's strange.
What's even stranger is that he suddenly smashes into a wall! Oh dear. He gets up.
He is now standing sideways on the wall, facing what used to be the ground face-forward. Standing upright, mind you. It's a very odd feeling, to tell the truth.
"Have fun!"
She picks up her boyfriend and slings the spindly fellow over her shoulder, then walks away whistling.
[Tom timely arrival roll: 4]
Suddenly, Tom arrives on the scene, attracted by the screaming and the smashing and whatnot. He gives the sideways-oriented Luke a strange look, then glances at the leaving girlfriend. Well, this sure looks complicated.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 17, 2013, 03:51:05 pm
Walk up behind the mage and execute justice. Kill the one on her shoulder as well.
((I think I'm falling into a pattern: sneakily slitting the throats of every female magi that guy tries, and fails, to conspire with. Considering this means loot, I like this pattern.))
Post by: Firelordsky on January 17, 2013, 04:42:59 pm
Post by: anailater on January 17, 2013, 05:19:08 pm
Initiate plan: Life debt
Post by: Gamerlord on January 17, 2013, 06:16:35 pm
((Come on enchanting stuff!))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2013, 12:05:31 am
Friends who loot together stay together.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 01:41:12 am
Tom, quickly getting a good idea about what's going on, walks up to the female mage and attempts to execute the justice of the proletariat on her! However, good ol' Luke has his own ideas about that.
"Look out behind you!"
The girlfriend looks back and notices Tom!
"Hey, thanks!"
Tom begins to rush at the girlfriend!
[Speed: Tom vs. Girlfriend: 4+1 vs. 3]
He gets to her before she can get a spell off, making a mighty two-handed swing as he does so.
[Tom vs. Girlfriend: 6+2 vs. 5]
He manages to slash her in the arm in a very painful and horrible manner!
[Girlfriend endurance roll: 1]
Oh dear, it looks like he may have struck quite the vessel there. Blood spurts from the woman's arm as she clutches it, unsuccessfully trying to stop the bleeding. She stumbles back, dropping her boyfriend and keels over, clearly helpless. She proves easy to finish off via decapitation on Tom's part, who then attempts to finish off the boyfriend.
[Boyfriend magic roll: 5-1]
The boyfriend waves his arms! Nothing seems to happen. How strange. Okay, he'll just go and finish him off, then-
Oh dear. He's moving way too fast! He smashes into the wall in a manner that is analogous, if not entirely identical, to Luke.
[Collision damage roll: 6+1]
He bounces back and does a backflipping slash at the crippled boyfriend!
[Tom vs. Crippled Boyfriend: 2+2 vs. 1-1]
Yeah, he's rather well-diced by this maneuver. Perhaps he should look into this more.
[Perception roll: ?]
There's the shuffling again! Blasted squirrel terrorists! They're everywhere! Tom gives Luke, who, while undeniably a treacherous rat bastard, is probably not smart enough to be involved, a mean gaze to determine his guilt.
Yep, he looks pretty clueless.
Next to a portal of fiery burning...
Vincent attempts to free himself from the flaming vine and draws just the tool for the job - the tin sword!
[Tin sword effects roll: 4]
As soon as he draws it, it liquefies in his hands! However, it still somehow retains a blade-like shape! Well, slashing time!
[Vincent vs. Vine: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
He slashes the vine clean off, causing it to rapidly retreat back to where it came from! The portal, oddly enough, seems to weaken! His sword glows ever more intensely, however, having already become a barely-coherent cloud of particles! Still doesn't burn, though.
Vincent decides that this might be a good time to get the hell out of here.
[Vincent escape roll: 6+1]
Using his somewhat burned wings as help, he rapidly leaves the burning explosion of horrible death. Somehow, it manages to look deadlier from this distance. And it seems to be spreading.
Next to several corpses...
Yorinnsud and Mark finally get to the best part of their adventure (aside from the points) - the looting! They loot Bea and the headless lady most thoroughly!
[Loot roll: 1]
Aside from their rather nonmagical, though nonetheless rather stylish robes, they have only a box of some kind! Yorinnsud opens it!
Green slime begins pouring out in massive quantities, and a lot escapes before Yorinnsud can close the box! It then proceeds to form a giant sphere of some kind that floats a small distance above ground level.
[Slime reaction roll: 3]
It doesn't seem overtly hostile, though. That's kind of good.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2013, 02:06:28 am
Its all fun and games till the alien slime rapes you.
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 02:45:33 am
Shout for some mages.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 18, 2013, 02:57:41 am
Go with Mark and try to uncover the powers of those metal gauntlets.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2013, 07:27:14 am
((Huh. Weird.))When he starts mucking with the gauntlets move away from him
Go with Mark and try to uncover the powers of those metal gauntlets.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 18, 2013, 07:30:44 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 08:00:18 am
Slash at my treacherous companion. Slashity-slashity-slash.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 08:06:06 am
Mark, not really trusting a ball of slime ten times his size, grabs his buddy Yorinnsud and makes a tactical retreat.
[Slime reaction roll: 1]
Suddenly, the front of the ball of slime begins to shift and change! It reshapes itself into a... face? Why would it do that? It does look majorly pissed for some reason. Probably because it's so big. It begins to menacingly approach the two undead! Its false eyes glow with hideous radiance, which is the universal sign of meaning business in the magical world.
[Sphere magic roll: 5]
The glow suddenly becomes a full on eyebeam that proceeds to devastate the area around Yorinnsud and Mark!
[Yorinnsud dodge roll: 6-1]
[Mark dodge roll: 1+1]
Yorinnsud, being a naturally suspicious type, saw this coming immediately and dodges out of the way as fast as a zombie can, which isn't terribly fast. Mark only looks at Yorinnsud perplexedly as he does this, not really seeing the big deal. Well, joke's on him, 'cause now he's been blasted away by a concussive beam of slimy power, his legs splintered by the beam and the rest of his body landing in a pile some distance away! He doesn't seem to be in any danger of dying from this, though it certainly is quite inconvenient.
Next to an expanding portal of doom...
Vincent decides that taking flight might be the very best idea at the moment and goes looking for help!
[Flight roll: 5]
He soars above the woods once more, leaving the horrible persistent heat anomaly behind. Damn it feels good to be a flying skeleton. Time to look for help!
[Search roll: 4]
As he flies about, he notices a large temple off in the distance! It doesn't look ruined, so it probably has something in it. Perhaps even someone!
Sideways in an alleyway...
Luke, not really seeing a good way to get out of this alley without falling down a street, decides to scream for help after finding Tom to be oddly unreceptive to his orders.
[Shouting roll: 6]
He screams like a little girl that's been stabbed and is also on fire in the Pit of Hideous Acid and Lightning. Surely this will attract a lot of attention!
[Attracted attention roll: 1+2]
A person looks into the alley for a few seconds, then, upon confirming that it is indeed none of his business what goes on in there, leaves quietly, but completely. Well, that didn't help! Also, Tom doesn't look pleased. He doesn't look pleased at all.
[Tom self-control roll: 4]
He manages to stand still on the ground (for he is, unlike poor old Luke, not actually attached to the wall, just recently smashed into it) and charge extremely quickly at Luke!
[Tom vs. Luke: 4+2+1 vs. 4-1]
He chops off both of Luke's arms before the latter has any chance to react, what with Tom moving nearly faster than any eye (including his own lack of one) can see!
[Perception roll: ?]
Also, the sloth guerillas seem to have gone away at last! Amazing!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 08:14:48 am
((
Edit: On second thought, I should probably just leave. Brutally crippling him and leaving him for dead is a tad overkill. Normally crippling him and leaving him for dead is fine, on the other skeletal hand.))
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 09:01:52 am
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 09:03:52 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 18, 2013, 09:12:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 10:19:14 am
Tom stares at the disarmed Luke for a few seconds. He then takes a look at the two corpses he just made.
They seem to be totally naked. He's pretty sure they weren't that way a minute ago. Pretty sure. Well, better drag 'em away.
[Tom self-control roll: 4]
He speeds over to the corpses and starts to drag!
[Strength roll: 1]
He only manages to rip out large chunks of their flesh, moving at the breakneck pace that he is. Meanwhile, Luke attempts to bite his face off!
[Luke vs. Tom: 6 vs. 1+1+2+1]
He manages to latch on to his adversary's skull, though it's pretty difficult to bite anything off. The helmet gets in the way, you know. After Luke bites at him for a bit, making a slight dent in the steel, Tom shakes the zombie off him. He is about to remark on the impoliteness of biting other people, but then realizes he, in fact, cannot speak.
Near an angry slime head...
Yorinnsud decides that it would be a good idea to pick up Mark and leave this rather horrible place. He heads over to the fellow and picks him up!
[Yorinnsud strength roll: 2+1]
Well, Mark turns out to be a bit too heavy. However, Yorinnsud has an idea! He'll drag him away!
[Slime Head magic roll: 5]
The slime head lets loose another good eyebeaming!
[Yorinnsud dodge roll: 4-1]
[Mark dodge roll: 2+1]
It misses both Mark and Yorinnsud, though they are blown aside by the explosion that comes from where the beam actually hit! It sends them flying a few dozen feet!
[Yorinnsud landing roll: 6-1]
[Mark landing roll: 4+1]
Both of them land perfectly, despite being of very varied bodily structure and physical abilities, and they high-five one another as the slime head begins to move closer once again.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 10:26:12 am
Try again, and 'silence'* the zombie if it tries to bite me again. Not like it has a chance of doing anything, but why not.
((I think my modifiers have reached pretty epic levels. A +4 to dodging and attacking, but I have to make a roll for doing literally anything. I think I like this.))
*: Meaning the detonguifying and the devocal-chordifying. ((I love those words now.))
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 11:25:43 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 18, 2013, 11:43:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 11:53:57 am
Tom keeps trying to drag the corpses!
[Self-control roll: 4]
He picks them up by a less-torn off bit and pulls!
[Strength roll: 5]
He manages to keep a hold on them and drag them back to the inn! For what reason, it is not entirely clear, however. They're still naked and penniless (which is still pretty suspicious, what with them having been pretty well-dressed and rich-looking a few minutes ago), plus they're sort of messing up the nice carpet.
[Perception roll: ?]
He hears something like a faint giggle. It's the bird mob! Look out!
Meanwhile, back at the alleyway, Luke tries to hit the spot Tom was at a second ago with his hammer. However, the thing remains steadfastly immovable no matter how strongly he clings on to the handle with his teeth!
Next to the slimiest head of all...
Yorinnsud tries to get both himself and Mark out of the immediate vicinity of the giant slime with death ray eyes. Probably a wise move.
[Strength roll: 5]
He lifts the fellow up and makes a run for it!
[Yorinnsud escape roll: 2-1]
He runs in the wrong direction, however, accidentally running for the giant slime instead of, say, some place that isn't completely terrible. The slime head cracks a grin and tries to give them a welcoming eyebeaming!
[Slime Head magic roll: 1]
Something goes wrong, however. Maybe it's the energy expenditure, maybe it's something else, but the slime shakes and shifts once more. The face disappears, and it begins to bubble! Well, at least it isn't killing anyone. Yet.
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 12:02:56 pm
Call for mages.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 12:24:06 pm
Chop the heads off of the corpses if I didn't already do so, then head upstairs and get back to looting.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 12:48:08 pm
Luke decides to do some more shouting!
[Shouting roll: 5]
He shouts at a not very impolite or offensive, but still very effective intensity!
[Mage attention roll: 3]
The exact same mage from previously peeks into the alley, then leaves. What could his angle be, Luke wonders!
On the bottom floor of Bernie's inn...
Tom attempts to behead the corpses before they cause any more trouble!
[Self-control roll: 2]
As he turns, he spins wildly and gets dizzy, then falls over! As he attempts to get up, he feels glad that he has no digestive system. Movements that seemed natural before are now sped-up, exaggerated, and now that he has begun to think how he does it, he can't perform even the simplest of tasks anymore!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 12:50:24 pm
Look for Josh and pantomime that I need to have any enchantments except the one keeping me alive taken off.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 18, 2013, 01:41:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 01:52:10 pm
Tom tries to find his good buddy Josh!
[Self-control roll: 1]
He gets up, he breaks into a run, he... smashes into a wall. Oh dear. That hurt quite a bit.
Next to a bubbling slime head...
Yorinnsud suddenly gets the impression that perhaps standing in front of a bubbling ball of slime might not be a good idea. He decides to run past it!
[Yorinnsud escape roll: 5-1]
He ducks under the ball and crawls to the other side, then, Mark in hand, runs like hell!
[Slime Head chemical reaction roll: 6]
As he runs and looks back, he sees the slime suddenly expand, then implode upon itself! What's left behind is a large puddle of bubbling, boiling, non-death-ray-imbued slime!
[Slime effects roll: 6]
It quickly cools off and hardens, becoming rather rocky!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 01:59:44 pm
Keep trying.
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 02:26:01 pm
Talk.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 03:38:41 pm
Tom tries to retain control of himself and get to Josh!
[Self-control roll: 3]
He keeps smacking into furniture by accident! Dammit, uncontrollable super-speed is a terrible power! Still, Tom attempts to get down into the basement. First, the opening of the door!
[Door opening roll: 6]
After failing multiple times to get a good handle on the doorknob, he opts to just kick the door in.
[Strength roll: 4]
The door breaks rather nicely! Right, now the basement stairs!
[Stair scaling roll: 3]
He gets about halfway down, then makes a slight misstep and tumbles down!
[Fall damage roll: 2+1]
He gets a small crack in his skull for his trouble! Well, that's not so bad. Tom tries to get up and approach Josh!
[Approach roll: 5]
He manages to arrive in just the right way - close enough to be noticed and far enough to avoid smacking into the guy and ruining any chance at negotiation!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6-1]
Though Tom's high-speed gesturing is all but incomprehensible, it gets the point across better than anything else ever could!
"You seem to be a bit sped-up. Let me guess, somebody cursed you?"
Tom nods in an almost imperceptibly fast manner.
[Bernie helpfulness roll: 4]
"Luckily, I've got something that might help. Hold still."
Tom does his best to do this as Josh takes out a bottle from his pocket. He opens it. He takes a swig, then deposits it back in his pocket. Then he takes out a strange bottle of some other kind! Tom is about to ask him what it is, but there are two problems with this: he can't speak, and all of the liquid within is immediately sprayed over his restless body!
[Liquid side-effects roll: 4]
Tom feels a bit queasy after the spraying. However, he also feels like he's moving at a normal speed! Oh, joyous day!
"Right, that worked. Now, you do something useful for me. Find and bring me a virgin. Alive."
Sideways in an alleyway...
Luke, desperate for help, decides to call out to the mage that just left!
"Hey, you, please help, I'll surrender from the tournament if you get me off this wall!"
[Mage reaction roll: 1]
The head of the strange magician pokes into the alleyway once again. It briefly evaluates the sideways shape of Luke.
The mage then begins to laugh heartily, mostly to himself, though he does point at Luke a few times as he laughs. And rolls around on the ground. After laughing for a while, he gets up and composes himself. Then he gestures at Luke.
[Laughing Dude magic roll: 6]
Luke suddenly grows six extra legs from the lower part of the body! They don't seem to be under his control, that's for sure. And they seem to have a strange idea - let's walk to the other end of this alley! Wonder what they want to do there? The mage obviously considers it funny, since he's giggling to himself as Luke grows ever more distant.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 03:45:46 pm
Bow and leave, try to find another mage. Sneak up behind the mage and strike it in the head with the pommel of my sword.Drag the body to Josh.
((Luke, you might want to hasten that little transaction. You know exactly what is about to happen if you are still conspiring with the mage when I get out there.
Assassination, (of the mage)
Retribution, (of you trying to find another mage to kill me, or just to help yourself)
Maiming, (of you, by me)
Looting. (of the corpses, probably yours included)
Three continuous semi-profitable rounds of ARML, if this plays out.))
Post by: Firelordsky on January 18, 2013, 04:41:00 pm
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 05:22:02 pm
You know the deal now.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2013, 06:21:35 pm
Tom comes to terms with the harsh truth that murder is not always the best solution to the problem. He doesn't accept it, mind you, just comes to terms with it. Very unfriendly terms. Nevertheless, he heads on out to look for somebody to clonk over the head and abduct.
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there seems to be a fine fellow laughing in an alleyway not very far outside the inn. What luck! While the fellow's laughing, Tom tries to sneak up behind him!
[Stealth roll: 4-1]
He jingles slightly as he tries to sneakily approach the mage! Well, that's one reason not to wear chainmail, he supposes. Probably the only one.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mage, Luke tries to explain the unquestionable merits of keeping him alive!
"I'm not joking, you know, I can tell you the location of a powerful necromancer if you let me down, and give me control of these legs."
[Mage reaction roll: 6]
The mage looks at Luke with interest! He is about to gesture something when he is rudely interrupted by a loud jangling! He twists around in time to see Tom trying to take him down!
[Tom vs. Mage: 5+2-1 vs. 6]
He steps aside as Tom tries to knock him out, then counters with what looks like magic!
[Mage magic roll: 2]
He is apparently a bit startled, because his spell fizzles right as Tom prepares to swing again!
Meanwhile, Luke contemplates where he went wrong in unlife (probably all the treachery) as he approaches the corner of the building.
[Leg progress roll: 4]
The legs are making good time, too, as he is approaching the edge really quickly, all things considered.
Outside a temple of some sort...
Vincent lands in front of the temple and runs in, looking for somebody who could help!
[Temple occupant roll: 2]
Too bad the temple, a rather impressive structure of gray stone with a very striking pentacle motif, seems to be totally empty at first glance. Or at least the main hall does. There are three other wings and a spiral staircase leading downwards, though.
Post by: anailater on January 18, 2013, 06:28:19 pm
If God, try to force myself back toward TOM and the Mage, if I fall of the wall hold on tight.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 18, 2013, 07:04:26 pm
Finish knocking out the oddly-silent, mirthful fellow. Take off all of his clothing and heap it beside my other corpses for later looting. Move his naked, living, virgin organ-sack to Josh.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 18, 2013, 08:16:38 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 18, 2013, 10:14:12 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2013, 01:34:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 05:20:24 am
Luke, upon noticing the fact that he seems to be approaching a terrible fate, decides to yell dramatically!
"TOM ,YOU BASTARD!"
Tom doesn't seem to mind a whole lot. Plan B, then.
[Self-stopping roll: 4]
By forcing his feet to the wall and clamping onto a window frame with his teeth, Luke manages to not fall over the edge yet! He also can't move a whole lot, since that would give the suicidal legs an opening to keep pulling him. The alleyway behind him continues about a dozen feet, and there are still two window frames on the way.
[Window roll: 3]
All of them are shuttered, however. Dang.
As Luke considers the gravity of his situation, Tom continues his attempts to subdue the kinda-creepy laughing guy.
[Tom vs. Laughing Dude: 4+1 vs. 6]
The laughing guy keeps weaving expertly and dodging each and every one of Tom's strikes! Also, he's still laughing. Tom is beginning to suspect that the guy is not entirely sane. As he ponders this, the man makes several gestures!
[Laughing Dude magic roll: 4]
A disembodied humanoid leg appears in his hands! It looks to be made of steel. Well, that's an... interesting weapon. The expression on the fellow's face becomes a wild grin, as though something was definitely on now.
In a temple of some kind...
Vincent decides to keep looking for someone helpful! He then chooses a random direction to go in.
[Direction choice roll (d4): 1]
Not going for any of that side area nonsense, he realizes that there's only one direction for him - straight down. He paces determinedly down the spiral staircase, noting the nice frescoes of large processions on the wall as he does so. At least there's some entertainment.
Eventually he reaches a rather dark place that looks a little bit like a tomb. He isn't sure, though. It's nearly pitch black down here, after all.
On the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud tries to find something to tie his good buddy Mark to his back with!
[Search roll: 2]
Well, there's nothing around that looks like a rope or anything. Luckily, Mark is there to save the day! He hands his daggers to Yorinnsud, who then uses them as impromptu tacks to attach the skeletal fellow to his back. Well, now that that's taken care of, time to find new legs!
[Search roll: 2]
Wow, it turns out you can't just find legs lying around on the street! Well, not at this particular point in the competition, anyway.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2013, 06:10:36 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 07:15:12 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2013, 07:22:48 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 07:35:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 08:01:18 am
Yorinnsud and Mark continue their nice walk along the streets of Emlocke, looking for more magical people to murder most foully.
[Search roll: 1]
The bad news is that they don't find any people. The good news is that they've found an eye! A floating eye. It seems to be on fire. How interesting!
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 08:02:19 am
Hide from it and try to figure out what these gauntlets can do.
Post by: anailater on January 19, 2013, 08:25:03 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2013, 09:09:29 am
((Fuck.))I agree with this plan and the one word reaction
Hide from it and try to figure out what these gauntlets can do.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 09:32:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 10:14:08 am
Yorinnsud stares at the flaming eye for a moment as Mark keeps hanging off his back. It stares back. Yeah, better just hide.
[Escape roll: 2-1]
The eye locks its gaze on Yorinnsud before he can escape! It looks offended!
[Eye reaction roll: 4]
It studies him briefly, then flies away, leaving a faint trail of superheated air in its wake. Phew, dodged a bullet there. Well, at least Yorinnsud thinks so. He takes a look at his gauntlets in celebration!
[Identification roll: ?]
Well, there's nothing obviously magical about them. But perhaps... perhaps there is more than meets the eye to them. Something that might awaken a greater power, yes.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 10:36:43 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 19, 2013, 10:57:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 12:02:19 pm
Yorinnsud, realizing that the eye obviously fears him, attempts to find it and run it down.
[Search roll: 2]
After looking around for a bit, he sees no sign of it anywhere! It's like it disappeared or something.
In an alleyway...
Tom tries to knock the mage out once more, only better this time!
[Tom vs. Laughing Dude: 4+1 vs. 2+1]
The mage keeps grinning and raises his steel leg to block the overhead strike Tom looks like he's about to perform! What he doesn't expect is a steel-covered skeletal foot meeting his belly and knocking the wind out of him. The man drops his steel leg and coughs for a bit, then turns to Tom, still grinning!
[Laughing Dude magic roll: 6]
A giant ball of kicking feet emerges from the shadows and flies toward Tom!
[Tom dodge roll: 6+1]
Tom, however, has a great shield for this exact situation - it is soft, warm and laughs a lot! He grabs his shield and positions it between himself and the kicking ball.
[Laughing Dude endurance roll: 6]
The laughing mage just continues to laugh even as he is kicked to the point of near-unrecognizability! When the kicking ball dissipates after a short while, the mage is left battered and beaten, but still cackling like a madman.
[Tom vs. Laughing Dude: 3+1 vs. 2]
He does simmer down when Tom clonks him on the head with the pommel of his sword. He looks ready for transport, Tom would say.
Meanwhile, Luke just faintly sobs at his sordid lot in life and tries not to fall out of the alleyway.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 19, 2013, 12:03:48 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 19, 2013, 12:11:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 01:02:56 pm
Not a big fan of the dark, Vincent heads back up the staircase and looks for something interesting in the side wings!
[Wing choice roll (d3): 3]
He chooses the east wing as his second, hopefully more fruitful destination and goes in there immediately, passing an open wooden door with a carving of a tree on it. He finds himself in a large garden, of some kind. It features all kinds of fruit-bearing trees and flowers of many interesting shapes and colors that seem to be thriving despite the fact that they're in a stone structure with only a tiny bit of sunlight coming in from a skylight up above and the windows along the sides. The garden seems to continue for quite a distance before giving way to another stone wall some two hundred feet away from the entrance.
[Occupant roll: 4]
There appears to be a man standing over by a particularly beautiful patch of flowers, bent over while carefully tending the soil. He looks totally absorbed in his activities, whatever those may be.
In an alleyway of Emlocke...
Tom grabs the now-unconscious giggler and begins dragging!
[Strength roll: 2]
Dear gods, he's heavy! Tom slowly drags the guy through the street and toward the inn, but it takes him about half an hour to finally get back to the inn! He then tries to loot the guy to the best of his ability.
[Loot roll: 6]
It soon becomes apparent why it took him this long to drag him back here. The guy's dark green robe is entirely inlaid with thick metal plates connected by well-oiled miniature hinges, and he is also carrying a large talisman in the shape of a foot. Plus he has inordinate amounts of silver coins in his pockets. And a metallic sphere that seems about a hundred times heavier than it has any real right to be.
[Perception roll: ?]
Tom can hear a gasp come from somewhere in the room as he rolls the sphere out of the guy's metallic pocket! The goldfish death squad is still around, it seems, and it does not like what it sees!
Post by: Firelordsky on January 19, 2013, 01:23:56 pm
Post by: anailater on January 19, 2013, 03:19:12 pm
Wait for mages, pray to gods for assistance
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 03:40:52 pm
Vincent approaches the man tending the garden and examines him closely. He notices something rather unusual - most of the man's skin as well as a great amount of his flesh is missing, with bones clearly showing through in places.
[Rotting roll: 2]
As Vincent takes a closer look, he notices that the fellow's face is also entirely missing, as is his entire lower jaw. He also seems to have no eyes. Looks like the poor guy is groping blindly among the weeds, though he does show remarkable good judgement in knowing which are weeds and which are flowers. Probably had centuries of practice. It seems pretty unlikely he'll be any help, though Vincent could go for a poke and find out.
In THAT alleyway...
Luke, seeing no way out of this predicament he's in, decides to wait for somebody to show up and pray.
[Prayer roll: 2]
He prays and he prays, first to Almiria, then Velusius, then Rysinia, then Narcillicus and finally Pacitarius. Well, that's the Five Gods covered. None of them see fit to provide divine intervention on his behalf. Assholes.
[Passerby roll: 5]
Luke realizes he may have spoken too soon, as only twenty minutes later a stranger appears! He doesn't get a good look at the person, but it looks like a woman, and she seems to be wearing a black robe.
"Hm, what's this? A bug on the wall? Fascinating."
Post by: Firelordsky on January 19, 2013, 03:48:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 04:16:34 pm
Vincent decides to poke the gardener and find out if he could be of any help!
[Gardener reaction roll: 4]
It takes a few seconds, but the gardener seems to have some sort of instinct left in that half-rotted brain of his, as his hand is soon raised and pointed at the other side of the garden, right at a darker spot along the far wall - a doorway.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 19, 2013, 04:23:40 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 19, 2013, 04:26:23 pm
Smiling wildly at my luck. Change out my mail for the robe, and move the sphere and talisman into the unbreakable chest upstairs. Lock the chest. Then drag my hopefully-still-unconscious friend to Josh. If he woke up, beat him over the head again.
Post by: anailater on January 19, 2013, 04:41:35 pm
Try to psychicly communicate with her, when that obviously doesn't work use more prayer to give her a sign.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2013, 05:27:53 pm
Vincent goes to the other end of the hall and opens the door leading further east, preparing for the indubitably exciting mysteries it might reveal.
His lack of eyes is met by the sight of a... lounge? It seems to be a room full of horribly decrepit furniture - chairs, tables, bookcases and several other things of very little interest. There are doors leading south, east and north aside from the entrance.
[Room occupant roll: 2]
One of the chairs has a skeleton in it. An immobile, rather dead-looking skeleton, not the living kind.
On the bottom floor of Bernie's inn...
Tom smiles as widely as he can (which, what with him being a skeleton, is very wide indeed), then takes off his chainmail and puts on the robe. He finds that, while it is a lot less noisy, it is a lot more cumbersome than the suit of mail, mostly due to the fact that it has about twice as much metal on it. How did that guy carry it so well? Well, no matter. He tries to pick up the sphere along with the leg talisman!
[Strength roll: 5]
Mustering untapped reserves of strength no skeleton should reasonably have, he picks up both objects and carries them up several flights of stairs, then finds the chest he unlocked! He puts the sphere and talisman in and closes the chest, then tries to lock it.
[Locking roll: 2]
He finds that, while his lockbreaking skills are not so bad, his actual locking ability leaves much to be desired. He closes the lid of the chest and hopes nobody will notice, then heads downstairs and picks up the unconscious mage, dragging him down another flight of stairs with difficulty. He presents the fellow to Josh.
He regards the unconscious fellow with suspicion.
"Hm, I suppose he'll have to do. Tie him into these restraints. Upside-down."
Josh points to four straps hanging off a wall above a mechanism of some kind.
[Perception roll: ?]
As he contemplates the best way to do what he's been ordered to, he is pretty sure he hears some hurried steps on the floor above. Very soft, but unmistakably there. Almost like... paws! The rabbit coven of insidious witches has arrived!
In an alleyway of doom...
Luke, rather than, you know, be polite and actually speak to the kind lady, tries psychic communication!
[Communication roll: 1]
He goes completely still and silent, concentrating deeply.
"Hm. Looks pretty dead to me. Certainly smells like it."
Oh crap. Prayer time! Answer, gods! Answer, damn you!
[Prayer roll: 4]
He prays to Narcillicus, God of Being Smooth With The Ladies, and receives a divine revelation! How about... talking!
"Help! I have six legs too many and they're trying to throw me off this wall and if they do this I'll fall down the street and I dunno, hit some trees and get horribly impaled and stuff and OH GODS, PLEASE HELP!"
"Oh. Oh. Why didn't you say anything? Looks like you're being pulled the wrong way. I suppose I could help with that."
[Black-Robed Lady magic roll: 2]
She gestures a bit and makes a few spooky-sounding noises, but nothing changes. Well, crap.
"You seem to be heavily enchanted. This'll be harder than I thought."
Post by: Firelordsky on January 19, 2013, 05:32:29 pm
Post by: anailater on January 19, 2013, 05:37:02 pm
Yessssss!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 19, 2013, 05:38:29 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2013, 08:12:51 pm
I want some replacement legs
Post by: Gamerlord on January 19, 2013, 11:40:40 pm
Go find more things to kill.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 20, 2013, 01:05:33 am
((For crying out loud.))We had a good streak of murdering clueless students maybe we sould look for one of there bodys
Go find more things to kill.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 20, 2013, 01:30:52 am
Trip them up by shifting the coins beneath their feet.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2013, 04:31:35 am
Vincent, not feeling like intruding on some undead creature's inner sanctum, decides to politely wait to be met by some sort of kind host or, failing that, a hideous monster of some kind. He sits down in a chair and waits.
[Host appearance roll: 2]
An hour passes. Nobody arrives. How rude of them, whoever "they" may be. Here he is, waiting like a polite fellow and not a true adventurer at all, and nobody comes out to help him or even give a greeting of some kind. He should file a complaint about the service here!
Still in that alleyway...
Luke sticks to what he knows best: foul treachery!
"Please, I'll help you defeat all but one of the other mages here, he has me soul binded to help him, I can show you where he is and help you fight others, but he must be fought alone. It should be easy, seeing as he's a weakling."
[Black-Robed Lady reaction roll: 6]
"So, you'll betray your master and help me kill anyone I want you to kill if I only free you? Enslavement for freedom. I like it. That soulbound bit doesn't really make me feel confident, but I suppose I can kill your master last."
[Black-Robed Lady magic roll: 6]
She pulls out a strange object in the shape of an eye and points it at Luke. All becomes dark for the intrepid traitor for a second, which is followed up by what feels like a bolt of lightning running through his body and highly painful acid covering all the worst places. Additionally, it feels like several spears just pierced every square inch of his body at once.
[Luke endurance roll: 5]
Luke twitches, flips and drops to the ground. The actual ground, not the wall! He kisses the ground in gratitude for a few seconds, then gets up once again, his flesh slightly blackened and singed by the magical shenanigans of the previous minute. He seems pretty okay, all things considered. The six extra legs he had also seem to have disappeared. However, his arms are still missing.
"Have to say, didn't expect that to work. Magical overloads usually go far worse before they undergo discontinuity. I'm actually impressed that I achieved a proper discontinuity. I'm improving, I'd say. And now I have a minion. Follow me, minion."
She turns around and heads out of the alley.
In the basement of Bernie's inn...
Tom attempts to pick up and tie the formerly laughing mage into the restraints kindly provided by Josh.
[Strength roll: 2]
He strains and he strains, but, carrying the ton of metal that he is, it's simply too difficult for him! Josh looks at his attempts and rolls his eyes.
[Bernie helpfulness roll: 2]
"Stop screwing around and get it done, minion!"
[Tom intelligence roll: ?]
Tom, upon hearing Josh's words, has an idea! He quickly takes off the robe and tries again!
[Strength roll: 6+1]
He then proceeds to easily lift the guy by one foot and secure him in restraints one limb at a time. Having done that, he puts the robe back on and leaves the basement, heading back up to the chest o' loot he neglected to lock.
It seems the sphere is missing, as is the talisman. Somebody's made off with his loot!
[Perception roll: ?]
It must have been the turkey conglomerate. In fact, he believes he heard a faint huff in the hall! It's clearly some kind of conspiracy!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud, with Mark still on his back and keeping a lookout, searches around for more people to kill!
[Search roll: 1]
Hey, there's the flaming eye! It's coming back! Yorinnsud and Mark knew it cared! The eye flies up to them, stops, then flies into a different direction, although at a far slower pace.
In a treasure chamber of Velusius...
Darren, after getting a brief sensation of being late, decides that it's probably no big deal and tries more magical shenanigans.
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He shifts the coins for a short while, though this fails to trip anyone up. Actually, he does seem to have accidentally shifted them into an interesting ornament. An ornament in the shape of an arrow. An arrow pointing at the chest he's hiding in.
[Looter 1 perception roll: ?]
[Looter 2 perception roll: ?]
[Looter 3 perception roll: ?]
Nobody seems to notice it, however. In fact, two of the looters just pick up the coins on the ground as if they were any other set of coins. Looks like he's safe for now.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 20, 2013, 04:36:03 am
Post by: anailater on January 20, 2013, 06:38:02 am
" Thank you so much umm, have you told me your name yet? Mines Luke."
Follow like the reprimanded backstabbing servant I am.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 20, 2013, 07:50:57 am
( I LIVED!)Are you going to stab her in the back at the end to take the winner Podium and the loot.
" Thank you so much umm, have you told me your name yet? Mines Luke."
Follow like the reprimanded backstabbing servant I am.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 20, 2013, 07:52:34 am
Go outside and continue my looting adventures.
Post by: anailater on January 20, 2013, 08:52:00 am
Nah, if she can kill Burnie and some how keep me and herself alive, I'll gladly follow her, especially if she gives me my arms back.( I LIVED!)Are you going to stab her in the back at the end to take the winner Podium and the loot.
" Thank you so much umm, have you told me your name yet? Mines Luke."
Follow like the reprimanded backstabbing servant I am.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2013, 10:05:21 am
Yorinnsud, hearing no protest from Mark, heads after the flaming eye. Eventually they reach a particular alleyway, which the flaming eye goes inside of.
[Perception roll: ?]
Yorinnsud thinks he sees the shape of a human being on the edge of one of the roofs in the alleyway, though it's hard to tell from this distance. Either way, there's probably something interesting and perhaps even something dangerous in there, and both things are something Yorinnsud needs in his unlife.
In an altogether different alleyway...
Luke decides to keep his word and follow the black-robed lady. He asks a question of her.
"Thank you so much, umm, have you told me your name yet? Mine's Luke."
"You are indeed correct. I have not told you my name, "Luke". I suppose I can introduce myself now. I am Evelyn Greene, and you're about to meet some... associates of mine."
She leads Luke into the basement of a relatively ordinary-looking house located in a row of very similar dwellings. There seem to be three other people down there already - one man and two other women, all dressed in different-colored robes. As she enters, two of them look at Evelyn, then at Luke. The third, a woman entirely wrapped in multicolored rags, seems to be really concentrating on something.
"I found this minion out in an alleyway. We have a dearth of such things right now, so I brought it along. Calls itself 'Luke'."
The two other people currently paying attention evaluate Luke with critical eyes. One of them, a long-haired woman in a red robe, speaks up.
"Fascinating. And what are we to use it for? It seems useless to me."
"That's because it is. But we can change that. In fact, you can change that."
"But what guarantee do we have that it will not be a wasted effort?"
"None yet. That will be your job, Art."
The man, a very tall young man wearing a golden robe, gives her a knowing nod.
"Soulbinding?"
"No. Physical link."
"Oh. Well, um, I suppose that'll work as well. You sure, E?"
"I'm sure. It is necessary. Perform it now."
"Uh, gimme a sec. Need to brush up on physical linking."
Art takes a beat-up book from his pocket and begins to thumb through it, stopping at a certain page. Looks like they're not planning to involve Luke in any of this discussion.
On the top floor of Bernie's inn...
Tom reflects on the impermanency of his obtained loot. It's really beginning to irk him, you see. And you do not want to see Tom irked. He paces down the stairs and goes outside the inn to clear his head. And obtain revenge on someone. Hardly matters who exactly it is. Just someone.
[Search roll: 1]
He notices an orange, glowing sphere of slime flying through the street. Wonder what that's about. It seems to be coming toward him, though.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 20, 2013, 10:23:41 am
Post by: anailater on January 20, 2013, 10:29:53 am
Wait like a good little minion.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 20, 2013, 11:37:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2013, 12:38:58 pm
Yorinnsud readies his short sword and trusty Mark for any possible combat, then cautiously enters the alley.
[Perception roll: ?]
As he does so, he hears the telltale sound of waving hands and the buzz of something magical in the air. Yep, those guys on the roof are definitely trouble.
[Assailant 1 magic roll: 5]
[Assailant 2 magic roll: 2]
[Assailant 3 magic roll: 3]
A large fiery mass of molten rock appears in the middle of the alleyway. Well, crap. Fortunately, it hits the ground immediately and only shifts forward slightly afterwards! Well, that could have been impressive. If it worked, you know. As it is, that thing just set fire to the alleyway.
"You guys suck! I summon up a perfectly good mass of magma and you mess the thing up!"
"There was too much of the stuff, you moron! You messed it up!"
"Both of you are screwups! Damn, guys, could you be any worse at what you do?"
In the company of rather serious people...
Luke decides not to be any trouble and allows things to go as they will.
"You know how I want this done, Art."
"Yep, sure do. Bound to all of us."
"Yes."
"Bound to all of us? An excellent idea. Will save a lot of trouble for all of us."
"Indeed. Do it, Art."
Art makes a few motions with his hands and speaks a few words.
[Art binding roll: 4]
What happens next is a new sensation to Luke - it's a strange feeling of oneness. Oneness with Evelyn, oneness with Art. It lasts for a few seconds, passing slowly. Evelyn faces him and speaks slowly.
"Right, 'Luke', you must realize that this physical binding means that if any one of the people in this room aside from you is harmed, you will be harmed just as much. This does not work the opposite way. Know this and serve."
She briefly pauses, then turns to the red-robed woman.
"Fix him, Erin."
"Right. Let's get to it. Time's a-wastin'."
She goes over to an upturned chair in the corner.
[Erin strength roll: 1]
She tries to pull it apart, but fails rather embarrassingly, falling backwards when she accidentally loses her grip on the chair. She looks frustrated.
"Could somebody help me here?"
"I'll do it."
Art helps Erin up and gives the chair his very own try as Erin brushes herself off.
[Art strength roll: 1]
He gives the chair a mighty pull. It doesn't budge. What does budge, however, is something within his arm - there is a visible deformation in his arm and he drops to his knees with a startled screech.
"Aw, shit, I think I sprained something!"
"Maybe Evelyn should give it a try."
"Why?"
"I don't know, maybe it's waiting for its true master like some kind of legendary artifact. Can't find out unless you give it a try."
"Fine."
Evelyn strides up to the chair and gives it a pull.
[Evelyn strength roll: 2]
It's really just a halfhearted attempt. She pulls for a short bit, then steps aside.
"Satisfied? That chair is obviously unbreakable. Let us move on."
[Erin idea roll: ?]
"Now I'm curious, actually."
She walks up to the chair and picks it up, swings it a few times and nods in satisfaction. She then ties it in a nearby rope and hangs it around Luke's neck.
"Right, hold still."
[Erin magic roll: 4]
Her eyes glow bright yellow and her hands perform several delicate motions, and Luke feels his body become not unlike liquid, the chair submerging itself within it and spreading. New arms form from the stumps. Luke finds the existence of arms to be a good thing. Also, his flesh takes on a slight... wood-like quality. He thinks it's not entirely unpleasant. Then again, he also now feels a peculiar kinship to furniture, so what does he know.
Luke is now One With The Chair!
"Well, that worked. Although I can't help but wonder what would have happened if that went wrong. Would he have become a sentient chair?"
"Do not get carried away, Erin. Do not let this be a repeat of the incident in Zauberholm."
"You love bringing that up, don't you?"
"An important lesson was learned that day. Let us never forget it."
In a temple of some kind...
Vincent, dissatisfied at the terrible waiting times in this temple, goes back and attempts to kill the gardener! He pulls out the tin sword!
Well, that thing's gone cold and bendy. No use to be had out of that. He takes his staff and tries whacking the zombie!
[Vincent vs. Gardener: 2+1 vs. 3-1]
The zombie doesn't dodge at all, getting hit straight-on. This doesn't seem to bother it, however. Okay then, it's torus time!
[Torus of Murder roll: 2]
Well, it would be if the damn thing wasn't stuck! Argh!
Post by: Gamerlord on January 20, 2013, 12:54:15 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 20, 2013, 12:59:37 pm
Post by: anailater on January 20, 2013, 01:09:03 pm
I have arms again! I have a group! I have wood!..en body
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2013, 03:18:18 pm
Yorinnsud quickly ducks out of the alley and yells a declaration of peace!
"Ara-zu-kheeza-tamari-zulan! KHEEZA-TAMARI-ZULAN!"
[Alleyway Assailant intelligence roll: ?]
"You hear that, guys? He means us no harm!"
[Alleyway Assailant reaction roll: 5]
"Well, that's great! We don't really want to kill him either! In fact, ZU-ZERAK-GHATRIMIS! ZULAN-ANATZTIZ-ZU!"
Finally they're speaking Yorinnsud's language. If only the rest were even half as sensible.
Inside a treasure vault...
Darren waits for the people in the group to turn their backs on one another so that he may engage in telekinetic physical comedy, also known as the best part of being a ghost. They do this soon enough, being sufficiently busy pocketing valuables to neglect to keep an eye on one another.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He manages to wedge the robes of one of the people in a very uncomfortable place. The man yelps and turns around!
[Man intelligence roll: 2]
He taps the other guy and asks him if he was the one who did that. The other guy replies that he was not. The first guy asks him if he is lying. He replies that no, he is not. The first guy nods with a suspicious eye, then looks at the third guy. He then sorts out his robe problems and gets back to work.
Inside the lair of four mages...
Enjoying his chairness, Luke decides to engage in an appropriate activity - being a stool pigeon!
"Thank you for your help, my masters, I can tell you the location of a powerful necromancer who has soul binded me, he has a safe guarded position filled with food and presumably several undead guarding him."
"Be silent, we do not care about your old master. Right now something else interests us."
"What's that?"
"The other mages. They must die. But one in particular stands out. The master of demonology from the University of Magic."
She turns to the multicolored woman in the corner.
"Justine. How goes the search?"
Justine slowly turns to her and speaks in an almost ethereal voice.
"Quite well. I have his location down to about a three house radius."
"That is good. Let us know when you have the house."
"I will."
She turns to Luke again, then reverts to slow, clear speech.
"So, 'Luke', it is your task now to find a weapon. Do this and come back immediately. Is that understood?"
Post by: anailater on January 20, 2013, 03:30:46 pm
Head back to the alley, look for the hammer, come back.
(( Demonology eh, Looks like I may meet a succubus yet. ))
Post by: Firelordsky on January 20, 2013, 03:35:47 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 20, 2013, 05:15:58 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 20, 2013, 08:08:54 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 12:22:00 am
"I am very sorry for appearing threatening! This has been a very strange and disturbing day for me. Is there anywhere we can talk?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2013, 01:45:58 am
Luke decides to look for his hammer once again. He alludes to this among the mages, but they don't seem to particularly care. He heads back to the alley and finds the hammer without issue. It is, however, still completely immobile for all intents and purposes.
You know, he liked that sledgehammer. It was a fine implement of destruction. Why'd that lady have to immobilize it? Well, yeah, he used it to smash her boyfriends kneecaps with, but still!
In the Temple Garden...
Vincent attempts to unstick the Torus of Murder and kill the gardener!
[Torus of Murder roll: 5]
With a little effort, his attempts prove fruitful! He unsticks the thing and lets it loose on the gardener! It splits into 6 different fragments, all of which slice into the gardener!
[Gardener endurance roll: 6]
The gardener looks at the several blades in his back, then takes them out. He kneels down and plants them into the dirt, nods and moves on. That looked to, once again, be an entirely instinctual and reflexive action. Weird.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom critically evaluates the slime before him. It looks like a vagrant. Is it a vagrant?
[Examination roll: 4]
It looks like something you wouldn't want to touch. With anything. That's all Tom needs to know.
[Slime behavior roll: 3]
The slime just hangs there in the air, not doing anything in particular. Not that Tom would know how a slime would go about actually doing something. Tom cautiously moves away.
The slime is following him at a respectable distance. Crap.
Inside a treasure vault...
Darren tries to pull the exact same wedgie trick on the very same guy. It's just too funny not to.
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He gives the man the greatest wedgie he has ever given and possibly will ever give! The man suddenly twists, screams and drops to the ground. Heh, what a maroon.
Blood begins to pool on the ground. Uh... that's not quite as funny.
[Looter 2 perception roll: ?]
[Looter 3 perception roll: ?]
One of the looters obliviously keeps rooting through the treasure while the other immediately rushes to his buddy, noticing that he seems to have passed out from the pain. Darren shrugs and contemplates the possibility of becoming invisible.
[Darren intelligence roll: ?]
It's definitely not a power he's familiar with to any meaningful degree, but it's just a matter of manipulating light. He could probably do that, if he were willing. It'd be quite dangerous, though. He isn't sure telekinesis was ever meant to be used that way.
Inside an alleyway...
Yorinnsud keeps engaging in the noble art of misdirection and misinformation! He diplomatically explains that he's not here to cause any trouble and that he wishes to talk!
[People reaction roll: 4]
"ZIDIKHA!"
Yorinnsud giggles at this turn of events in a very quiet and dignified fashion.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 01:47:59 am
Go talk to them. Try and find out why they're here.
Post by: anailater on January 21, 2013, 03:08:09 am
Say a few parting words to my hammer, search for a hammer of better or equal strength
Post by: killerhellhound on January 21, 2013, 03:27:08 am
((Things are finally going my way! :D))after you are done makeing friends we could go to the inn to see if Bernie can fix my legs so we can continue our game of murder I belive the score is me 4- you 3
Go talk to them. Try and find out why they're here.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 07:50:27 am
((I think Bernie is going down, and I have plan to prevent his death so that we can continue existing. I believe that these guys can act as... translators between me and you so that Yorinnsud can understand the situation. As is it Yorinnsud cannot understand a single thing that Bernie orders and therefore cannot be bound to it. I will be free to trap Bernie into a eternal state of inactivity and torpor. Just trust me.))((Things are finally going my way! :D))after you are done makeing friends we could go to the inn to see if Bernie can fix my legs so we can continue our game of murder I belive the score is me 4- you 3
Go talk to them. Try and find out why they're here.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 21, 2013, 08:26:17 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 08:35:40 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 21, 2013, 08:47:00 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 08:48:04 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 21, 2013, 09:28:03 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 09:28:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2013, 09:58:17 am
Yorinnsud goes into the alley, holding both his sword and his Mark up in the air to signify his lack of hostility!
"Zakhepuz-zulan! Phazakh-zuzim-mizart!"
He hangs Mark back on his dagger perch and lowers his sword.
"Abiz-zulan! Zaritis-khozarimt! Khatadiz-piz!"
"Nice work there, Ed."
"Thanks, man."
"I sometimes wonder what we would ever do without a cunning linguist such as yourself."
"Screw you."
All three guys eventually get out of the alleyway that now seems to be burning with an intensity only ten tons of magma could create. When they finally get to Yorinnsud's position, they are quite surprised at his appearance!
"Zu... zu-mizart?"
"Ah. Zetul-atizi-zurikim-dezkul?"
[Ed explanation roll: 4]
"Hm, how best to put this, oh, I know. Zulan-atizi-itris. Zulan-ne-yaza-sezi-itris. Zulan-dezkul-nezikul-vazra. Ne-yaza-kul-itris, nezikul-kul-vazra. Kul-itris-azaza-vazra."
Suddenly things make a bit more sense to Yorinnsud. So the point of the game is power and you have to kill the other priests to get it. Was that what the first priest was trying to say?
In an alleyway...
Luke, despite the disheartening revelation of the last few seconds in relation to his most treasured possession, decides to soldier on and find a suitable replacement in the near vicinity.
[Search roll: 5]
After thinking for a few seconds, he has a realization - if there was one hammer in that half-demolished building, why not another one? A brief investigation reveals that there indeed is another one! This one's a bit shinier and newer-looking, actually. Clearly it's been better cared-for.
What's more, there seems to be a steel chair lying around as well. Ooh, chairs...
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 21, 2013, 10:40:05 am
Post by: anailater on January 21, 2013, 11:59:07 am
"Why hello there miss, do you want to go to dinner some time?"
Try to (figureitivley) pick up the chair, ni matter what happens head back to the group of mages with my sledgehammer.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2013, 12:48:13 pm
Tom decides to kill this floating slime, as it has decidedly seen too much. And it has looked at all of it wrong.
[Tom vs. Slime: 1+2 vs. 1+1]
He pokes it slightly with his sword.
[Slime reaction roll: 5]
It doesn't seem to mind. Or do anything, really. Tom briefly ponders whether to chop again. It looks pretty harmless, after all. Aside from being a bit of a creepy stalker, that is.
Near a somewhat demolished house...
Luke decides to indulge his freshly developed furniture fetish and hit on the steel chair!
"Why hello there, miss, do you want to go to dinner sometime?"
[Luke insanity roll: 4]
"Why, yes, sir, I would like that quite a bit! I'm free today, is that too soon?"
"Meeting you can never happen too soon, beautiful. It's a date."
"Oh, you're such a charmer! See you tonight, then!"
Luke takes the sledgehammer and skips away, his undead heart all aflutter! This takes him back to the glory days. Of course, his first sweetheart wasn't nearly as cute as this little number. He frolics back to the mages' basement, pondering what to wear for tonight. These rags he's wearing are awfully filthy.
"You're back. And you have a hammer. Good. Erin?"
"Ready. Now, 'Luke', hold still. I'm going to try something."
Luke looks at her in a mix of surprise and puzzlement, but she's already started gesturing!
[Erin magic roll: 6]
The hammer, very much like Luke himself not too long ago, also seems to become liquid in shape! Wait... is that a mouth? With several rows of sharp teeth? Made of steel? Holy crap, that's terrifying.
The hammer then develops a pair of opaque steel eyes that somehow manage to intimidatingly peer at Luke! A razor-sharp fin appears at the top of the hammer and the shape of the head is now far more aerodynamic!
As the jaws of the hammer snap menacingly, Evelyn and Art quietly applaud. Erin bows deeply and speaks in a ceremonial tone.
"My creation, I dub thee Sharkhammer! Help this hapless minion bring us victory!"
Luke isn't really an expert, but he's pretty sure that this hammer might be dangerous if used improperly.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 21, 2013, 12:56:30 pm
Continue my
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2013, 02:17:49 pm
Having tested the pure evil of the ball of slime and found it sufficient, Tom silently approves of it and dubs it worthy of a name. And this name shall be... Squishy. It is a venerable name, one any slime should be proud of bearing. This gesture is not lost on the slime, as it seems to quiver with what may very well be gratefulness. Tom nods with grace and leaves on his journey, the slime following close behind and providing a warm, distracting glow in the wandering skeleton's wake.
[Tom search roll: 6]
Tom and his one true friend, his sword, go forth and look for any brave champions of magic seeking the ways of the Black Circle in order to murder them most hideously. And it appears that he is in luck today, as there appears to be a man in a light green robe dragging a chest of something along the street. His skin looks metallic and he has no hair, so he clearly is somewhat of an unusual sight. This may also complicate his murder to a certain degree.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 21, 2013, 02:23:59 pm
In the highly likely event that he has yet to see me, decapitate him.
((Here's to hoping the metal in my sword is of a higher Moh's hardness than the metal in his skin. If not, than I shall kill him some other way and reforge my blade using an alloy of whatever the sword is made of and magically enhanced skin. It will be glorious.))
Post by: anailater on January 21, 2013, 02:35:19 pm
Be a love struck suck up
Post by: Firelordsky on January 21, 2013, 03:36:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2013, 04:35:26 pm
Tom walks up to the metallic man nonchalantly and then performs the oft-cited social faux pas of spontaneous attempted decapitation with a bastard sword.
[Tom vs. Metallic Minion: 5+2-1 vs. 3+1-1-1]
Surprisingly, his neck turns out to be one of his weak points! Tom slices his head clean off, causing a rather messy spurt of... silvery blood?
[Metal minion endurance roll: 5]
The head of the metallic fellow on the ground begins to speak!
"That's not a very nice thing to do to a complete stranger. Especially a complete stranger who is currently busy unloading a vast quantity of extremely dangerous magical, well, let's say magical thingies and be done with that. Regardless of your true intentions, I can't very well let you get away with that, can I? Have at thee, foul barbarian!"
The headless body of the metallic man puts up two metallic fists and approaches Tom in a gentlemanly manner!
[Metallic Minion vs. Tom: 2+1 vs. 5+1+3-2]
Despite Tom carrying what amounts to a metric ton of metal, the fellow misses him entirely and stumbles. Tom uses the opening to slash at the metallic gentleman!
[Counterattack: Tom vs. Metallic Minion: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
However, his sword just clinks against the surface of his skin!
"Just wondering, how do you plan to kill me? You already chopped my head off. Where can you go after that?"
In a basement full of mages...
Luke decides to share the details of his latest romantic escapades with his masters!
"By the way, I think you gave me the power to talk with chairs earlier, so I have a date tonight."
Evelyn gives Luke a bewildered look. It's actually the first expression other than blank acceptance he's seen out of her today.
"With a chair?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
She scratches her head and looks at Erin, soundlessly mouthing a few words. Erin shakes her head. Evelyn then produces a questioning expression. Erin just shrugs. Evelyn then stares at Luke for a few seconds before returning to her normal composure.
"Have fun," she says with a resigned look.
"Thank you for being so understanding. Also, I thank thee for the power of the Sharkhammer, may it bring death to your enemies."
"Yes. Of course."
Suddenly, the ethereal voice of Justine pipes up.
"I have the house. It's on the west side of town, three houses down the street from the Temple."
"I see. Minion. Go there. Get the Tome of Demons from the demonologist. Bring it here. Kill the demonologist as well. Go now."
Well, that was concise. Hopefully he can make it in there and out before he has to go on his date!
In a temple garden...
Vincent decides to go back to the time-tested method of bashing in skulls to take down his enemies.
[Vincent vs. Gardener: 6+1 vs. 4-1]
He bashes the zombie's skull in thoroughly!
[Gardener reaction roll: 2]
The gardener, though hardly impeded by the skull that just imploded on him, decides to get down on his knees. What's it doing?
[Gardener prayer roll: 3]
He doesn't seem to be very good at praying, having no capacity to speak or even a brain that hasn't turned to a rotting pile of mush inside his skull. Despite this, Vincent can almost see a certain... glow emanate from his body.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 21, 2013, 05:13:42 pm
Pick up the decapitated head and throw it into the slime. Try to cut off the headless minion's arms.
((You said:
Quote
It looks like something you wouldn't want to touch. With anything.So I think it's a safe bet it can dissolve this guy's head right? Probably not going to do much in the way of killing him, but it is a way to feed Squishy.))
Post by: anailater on January 21, 2013, 06:11:14 pm
Remenise about that lovely lady, travel to the house using as many empty alley ways as possible.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 21, 2013, 07:07:57 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 21, 2013, 07:11:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2013, 10:33:09 am
Tom decides that it might be a good idea to change his tactics somewhat. He goes for the metal head on the ground!
[Tom movement roll: 1+1-1]
He is about to run toward it when the rest of the body stands right in his way!
"Going somewhere?"
[Metallic Minion vs. Tom: 6+1 vs. 3+2]
It gives him a firm punch to the chest, sprawling him across the ground! Nothing's broken yet, though!
In one of the many town's basements that's full of mages...
Luke, upon hearing the order, gives a quick affirmation! He then stands around looking rather dreamy-eyed (as dreamy-eyed as a rotting corpse can be, anyway) for about twenty seconds.
"Well?"
Luke suddenly remembers where he is and goes on his way, trying to find the Temple of Velusius.
[Search roll: 2]
He knows it's supposed to be this large landmark and stuff, but he is simply not seeing it! Where could the damn place be?
Next to three master debaters...
Yorinnsud continues his line of questioning tinged with exposition. He does his best to explain the sensation of getting whipped across the soul and chained to an unyielding rock somewhere totally intangible. He then asks what it could mean.
[Mage knowledge roll: 5]
The three mages nod and briefly converse among each other.
"Zu-zerelatrin. Iluz-latris. Apifatriz-itris, dezkul-sazirik. Itris-na-yaza, zu-na-yaza, ziph-korez. Azekeze. Izivikuz. Apazis-zu-zakhilt."
That's not a very nice thing for a priest to do! Enslaving souls, how awful. Well, on the receiving end, at least.
At the site of a particularly gruesome wedgie...
Darren tries to somehow heal the fellow on the ground!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, first he had better pull out the wedged-in robe. That can't be good for him.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He softly pulls out the robe! He can hear the man emit a sigh of relief! However, he still seems to be bleeding quite badly.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe... close the wound somehow?
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He concentrates on the man's terribly wounded crack and attempts to close any bleeding wounds in it! After several minutes, he believes he may have marginally succeeded! The pool of blood doesn't seem to be spreading much anymore! Now that that crisis has been averted, however, it is time for more practical japes!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
He surreptitiously picks up a sword and smashes it into a nearby pile of coins with incredible force! The people in the room immediately look at the sword!
[Looter reaction roll: 5]
One of the looters asks if the others just saw that. They reply that they really did. The three looters, including the one on the ground, stare around the room with visible fright, looking for any signs of an evil (or perhaps just lawful) presence!
Post by: Gamerlord on January 22, 2013, 11:23:20 am
Inquire as to constraints of soul-binding and how it can be broken.
Post by: anailater on January 22, 2013, 11:55:10 am
Continue looking, I will make my date on time
(( My goal is to turn this game into chair porn))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2013, 12:23:04 pm
Yorinnsud continues his line of inquiry in his quest to become the best-informed undead creature around! He asks how one would go about breaking this soul-enslavement thing.
[Magical Dudes knowledge roll: ?]
"Akhar-kharimzitan. Zur-amazpalitis. Zur-redizan. Zur-shilikhan." ("Hell-creatures. They not bad. They help. They break.")
Yorinnsud's pretty sure that might be heresy. But who is he to judge?
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke, determined to not miss his date, realizes he must look harder and faster!
[Search roll: 2]
Sadly, his oblivious nature complicates this somewhat. Is that tower, this tower, the tower over there or no tower at all? Bloody hell, he's spent an hour on this!
Post by: anailater on January 22, 2013, 01:35:55 pm
Wuick prayer to gods, then continue searching.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2013, 02:25:27 pm
Luke vows not to give up, motivated by the promise of some sweet chair booty he'll be getting a piece of tonight! He tries a quick prayer to get the creative forces of navigation flowing in his brain!
[Prayer roll: 1]
"Oh, Almiria, show me the way to your son's temple so that I may find and kill this one guy and get back to my wizard masters in time to engage in unholy courtship with a talking piece of furniture!"
For some reason he seems to be getting a hint of disapproval from the heavens.
[Divine retribution roll: 2]
[Perception roll: ?]
Nothing seems to be happening, though. Well, looks like he got off easy-
[Dodge roll: 4-1-1]
A tree falls right on him! This is pretty odd, since he's pretty sure he hadn't seen any trees when he was searching around!
[Endurance roll: 6]
He sort of wiggles out from under the tree, his wooden skin slightly cracked, then gets up and gets back to searching.
[Search roll: 4]
He eventually locates the temple of Velusius! Turns out that yeah, the tower with the skulls was the right one. Now, where did his masters say the demonologist was hiding...
Post by: anailater on January 22, 2013, 02:44:48 pm
Do the only logical thing, enter the temple and say hi to anyone who's around, including the pews.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 22, 2013, 03:30:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2013, 04:27:38 pm
Luke, not really in the attention-paying business, decides to go into the temple and say hi to people! After opening a giant door, he comes into a large hall decorated with lots of bones and stuff. All the furniture looks to be fashioned in the shape of bones.
[Furniture whispering roll: 5]
"So, how's it going, pews? Having fun?"
"No, not really. Nobody's around anymore. We're kind of lonely."
"How terrible for you."
"Indeed."
Next to a chest of possible treasure...
Tom once again tries to dismember the metallic fellow.
[Tom vs. Metallic Minion: 5+2 vs. 2+1]
With a mighty swipe he slices off one of the metallic man's arms! More silvery fluid pours out of the stump!
"I really should invest in better armor for them."
[Metallic Minion vs. Tom: 5+1-1 vs. 2+2]
The metallic minion pushes Tom away once more!
[Metallic Minion morale roll: 3]
"Eh, better cut my losses."
The metallic body attempts to escape in the commotion!
[Metallic Minion escape roll: 6]
It grabs the head and storms away at a half-running, half-leaping pace! Surprisingly spry for a metal man.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 22, 2013, 04:30:24 pm
Feed the metal arm that the minion left behind and feed it to Squishy. Whether or not Squishy likes metal arm, check the crate of magical goodies.
Post by: anailater on January 22, 2013, 04:43:07 pm
Chatting with Pews.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 22, 2013, 04:53:06 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 22, 2013, 07:37:58 pm
Yorinnsud has an idea! Maybe his people's goddess can aid him!
Ask about the goddess (insert name here) and if she could possibly aid me.
((Don't worry Mark. Almost done here. Soon we'll go get you those new legs.))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2013, 10:51:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2013, 08:14:58 am
Tom tries to feed Squishy with the metal-like arm the chest dude left behind.
[Squishy digestive system roll: 3]
It doesn't seem to want it, expelling the limb after letting it spend a few moments inside its slimy body. Picky eater, Tom supposes. No matter. After all, there does seem to be a full chest of what might not be worthless junk just lying there unattended! Tom rushes up to it and tries to open it!
[Chest security roll: 3]
It seems to be locked. Not a particularly complex lock, but complex enough.
Inside a temple of Velusius...
Luke tries to question the pews some more!
"How's it feel to be made of bones, I'm a wood man myself."
"I'm made of wood, you know. They just made it look like bones. It makes me feel inadequate, to tell the truth. Like I'm second best."
"Anyways, you seen some mate with a demon summoning book around here anywhere?"
"Uh, no. Not lately. Maybe he's around. I don't know. I'm a pew, you know."
Next to a surprisingly resilient gardener...
Vincent tries to smash the gardener once and for all!
[Vincent vs. Gardener: 5+1 vs. 4-1]
He smashes the gardener in his more vulnerable spots, breaking his joints into tiny pieces and destroying his legs entirely! However, as he does so, the glow around him transfers to Vincent's staff!
[Glow effects roll: 4]
The staff briefly trembles, but nothing else happens. Uh... good?
[Gardener endurance roll: 2]
Yeah, the gardener seems to be beaten into the ground. It's difficult to say whether he's really dead, but he sure seems like it.
Next to three totally magical dudes...
Yorinnsud considers his situation, then brings up the name of his goddess!
[Relevant god roll: 2]
Yeah, Zarakhiyis, the Maiden of Many Hands! What's up with her these days?
"Gerze-zu-ezkil? Gerze-Zarakhiyis?" ("What you say? What Zarakhiyis?")
Post by: Gamerlord on January 23, 2013, 08:27:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2013, 10:47:07 am
Yorinnsud, despite getting a distinct vibe of ignorance and heresy from this lot, opts not to kill them violently for some reason. Instead, more questions. He explains that Zarakhiyis is the most holy goddess of his people, the queen of their pantheon. He then inquires about any temples to her in the vicinity.
[Magical Committee of Dudes intelligence roll: ?]
"Wait, many hands? Is that... hm... zu-ezkil, Zarakhiyis-khorzi-kazok? Khorzi-zu-pozok? Khorzi-akhizpo-lazit?" ("You say, Zarakhiyis likes take tribute? Likes you give tribute? Likes dishonorable tricks?")
Yorinnsud replies that there is no such thing as a dishonorable trick. The linguist then speaks to his comrades, his face lit up with excitement. Looks like he recognized something.
"Afarekhzim-Zarakhiyis. Izivikuz. Akhaitris-poleztikh." ("No temples Zarakhiyis. Apology. No worshippers anywhere.")
Post by: Gamerlord on January 23, 2013, 10:59:39 am
Post by: anailater on January 23, 2013, 12:08:30 pm
Travel deeper into the chapel.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2013, 01:18:32 pm
Yorinnsud, shocked by the magical dude's remark, responds with a simple "Geruz." ("What." with a subtle nuance of disappointment and possibly shock, depending on the context and speaker.)
The dudes look worried.
"Zu-pazartekh! Apazartekh! Zarakhiyis-par-ayaza, Zarakhiyis-wezkhar-aketzakh. Zarakhiyis-kharamzitan." ("You worry! No worry! Zarakhiyis not made dead, Zarakhiyis merely not god. Zarakhiyis hell-creature.")
Yep, definitely heresy here.
In a temple of Velusius...
Luke flatters the pews and moves on further on inside the temple.
[Exploration roll: 3]
The first floor seems to feature the main prayer hall, the priest quarters and a few rooms of uncertain purpose. None look particularly full of either valuables or people.
Post by: anailater on January 23, 2013, 01:23:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2013, 03:21:31 pm
Luke, suddenly aware of the complex, choice-saturated world he lives in, decides to exercise his frequently suspended right to make his own decisions and look for a basement of some kind. It is, after all, the likeliest place for a mage to hide in.
[Search roll: 4]
After noticing a faint depression on one of the walls of the first floor, he gets the bright idea to go on and push it. Unsurprisingly enough, it turns out to be some kind of secret switch to open a nearby wall. Before him now lies a dark tunnel below, and he feels that this may be a pivotal moment of some kind. After all, he can:
- Explore the basement like the true adventurer he is.
- Ignore the now-open secret door and explore somewhere less dark and horrible.
- Don't explore at all and just find somebody to kill. That always makes him feel better.
- Run like a coward.
- Run like a coward and set fire to the temple on the way out.
- Go back and hit on a female table, then run like a coward.
Post by: anailater on January 23, 2013, 04:10:15 pm
"Fire seems good right now, but I must protect the pew."
Find a wall trick or a lit candle stick, travel to the underground area.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 23, 2013, 05:01:45 pm
Unlock the chest.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 23, 2013, 08:07:57 pm
Attack and brutally murder them, then sacrifice them in the name of Zarakhiyis, the Maiden of Many Hands.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2013, 01:23:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 24, 2013, 01:33:42 am
Luke, feeling sure that he probably can't see in the dark, tries to find a handy light source!
[Search roll: 5]
As luck would have it, there seems to be a cupboard nearby containing a glowing skull of some kind. Aside from all the normal skull features, it seems to have some kind of knob on the back. Anyway, it's glowing, so it's good enough for him. He then goes down the dangerous-looking tunnel to parts unknown.
Going down the stairs, he finds a room with six different passages leading away in different directions.
Next to a chest of wonder...
Tom psyches himself up for some lockpicking! It is, after all, one of the many things aside from horrible murder he does well. He sits down next to the chest and gets to work with those deft, bony fingers of his.
[Lockpicking roll: 1]
After failing to get it open on the first try, Tom loses his patience and kicks the chest in misdirected rage! How dare it not bow to his superior skill and expertise! This lock is stupid! If he had eyes, the sun would have been in them.
The result of the kick is that two loud clicks come from inside the chest.
[Perception roll: ?]
Tom gets the sneaking suspicion that the chest might explode. Like, about ten seconds from now. Crap.
Next to the Mighty Magical Committee...
Yorinnsud feels a familiar sensation from the old days - these people are heretics. Heretics must die. Ergo, these people, helpful though they might have been, must also die.
[Yorinnsud vs. Magical Linguist: 1+1 vs. 5-1]
He lunges right past the magical linguist and right at a nearby wall! Well, that sure is embarrassing.
[Magical Dudes reaction roll: 6]
"Guys, I think he just tried to kill us!"
"You sure? I think he might be trying to kill the wall instead."
"How about we kill him just to be sure?"
"Sounds good to me, I suppose. Let's do it."
[Magical Magma-ist magic roll: 2]
[Magical Linguist magic roll: 3]
[Magical Kineticist magic roll: 5]
Yorinnsud feels himself get picked up and gets the faint urge to curl up in a ball!
[Yorinnsud will roll: 2]
He figures he'll do it, sure. What's the worst that could happen?
He gets his answer when he is suddenly launched into the heavens!
[Flight roll: 3+1]
He flies fast and he flies far, landing on the opposite side of town!
[Landing roll: 4-1]
He uncurls at the last moment, landing on his legs and breaking them! He looks over at Mark! Are they legless buddies or what now?
Post by: Gamerlord on January 24, 2013, 01:44:07 am
Splint legs with whatever is at hand.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2013, 02:28:41 am
Post by: anailater on January 24, 2013, 03:52:28 am
Go down path two for now, run if shit goes down.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 24, 2013, 07:39:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 24, 2013, 10:33:05 am
Yorinnsud looks around for something to splint his legs with while the good Doctor Mark tries to get into a splinting mood!
[Search roll: 5]
Would you look at that! He appears to have landed right next to an open fletcher's shop! As a consequence, there are enough sticks and bits of string to fashion as many splints as Yorinnsud could possibly ever need. He grabs several bows and commences to attempt to repurpose them with the aid of Mark!
[Yorinnsud crafting roll: 1]
[Mark crafting roll: 1]
The two undead proceed to merrily chew on the various bows in the shop, destroying several hundred silver coins' worth of ranged weaponry! After about half an hour of relentless chewing, pretty much every bow within easy reaching distance has been gnawed to the point of uselessness for any purpose.
Good job, guys. Good job.
In the basement of a Velusian temple...
Luke decides to go down path number two, whichever that one is.
[Path choice roll: 2]
Probably the second one from the left. Yeah. He heads down that one and proceeds along the hallway that he finds that way.
[Trap roll: 2]
[Trap avoidance roll: 6-1]
He narrowly avoids a whole lot of spiky, deadly thingies that are launched out of a wall he passes! Well, that's something. Wonder what else they have here?
In a gardener-deprived garden...
Now that great justice has been done once more, Vincent decides to look for some more magical, more helpful place.
[Search roll: 1]
The door out of the garden seems to be locked. Magically locked. Vincent's pretty sure that this is a recent development. He glances back to the gardener's corpse. Yep, still dead. So what the hell's going on?
[Perception roll: ?]
He has no idea what's going on here. Seriously, what's up with this place? There's nobody around except a decrepit gardener and the doors arbitrarily lock down on him.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 24, 2013, 11:09:04 am
...
...
Pray to my goddess and offer Mark as a sacrifice for the boon of restoring my legs. Sorry Mark.
((Look at it this way; the way my rolls are going there's anon-zero probability that I will be takenas sacrifice and you'll get your legs restored.))
Post by: anailater on January 24, 2013, 11:59:49 am
Continue onwards!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 24, 2013, 02:30:29 pm
Yorinnsud decides he's had enough of Mark always ruining everything! He drops to his knees and begs Zarakhiyis to restore his legs in return for a perfectly good legless skeleton!
[Prayer roll: 1]
There is a bright flash of light and an incredible boom as the fletcher's shop seems to disintegrate around Yorinnsud! He looks around fearfully, doing his best to avoid the gaze of Mark, then turns his attention to the only thing of interest in the ruins aside from himself - a very angular-looking humanoid that looks at him with a very judgmental stare. Its eyes seem to be made of the brightest fire Yorinnsud has ever seen. It speaks with a voice like rolling thunder. Somehow, Yorinnsud understands it perfectly despite the language being very... alien-sounding to his ears.
"You have violated the Golden Rule. How do you plead?"
In a trapped tunnel...
Luke elects to head further down the tunnel. They probably trapped it for a reason, you know.
As he heads down the tunnel, he eventually comes to a room filled with skeletons. Dead skeletons, not the unliving kind. They seem to have belonged to owners of varying social standing and wealth. Also, there seem to be many halls here, and they have hundreds of skeletons in them. Each.
Post by: anailater on January 24, 2013, 03:50:21 pm
Give in to the loot side.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 24, 2013, 04:59:15 pm
Walk away from the newly-armed box of potentially lethal kinetic force and fire while contemplating explosions.
Search for saltpetre and pottery.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2013, 08:47:23 pm
(Gamerlord your pridiction came true)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 24, 2013, 08:53:52 pm
"Not guilty. By whom am I charged?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2013, 09:10:30 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 24, 2013, 09:28:40 pm
"How ya doin?"
Post by: Firelordsky on January 24, 2013, 09:41:27 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 24, 2013, 10:16:20 pm
The roll was more for her reaction then your prayer
If the thing that I'm currently talking to was her, then I would not consider the language she is talking to be alien.
Post by: Yoink on January 25, 2013, 04:28:45 am
"Oi! Youse leave my friends alone!"
Timothy was furious. His innocent straw-filled friends were being brutalized by those mean guards! Was this where the taxpayer's money went?!
>Screech with righteous anger and telekinetically propel the guards away from poor Fred and Jim.
((Has anything happened in my absence that has affected Timothy somehow? I really haven't been able to keep up lately. Things'll be back to normal in February, I'll post more then.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 09:52:54 am
Luke, not in a particular rush to get anywhere, decides to stop and loot for a while. Loot makes the man, don't you know?
[Search roll: 2]
These skeletons seem to have left all their useful stuff in their other sets of clothing, as Luke only manages to come up with a few copper coins and some pretty tattered rags after twenty minutes of consummate looting. Lousy cheapskate dead people.
Next to a chest that clicked twice...
Tom calmly walks away from the soon-to-explode chest and thinks of soothing explosions to calm his nerves. Ah, explosions. He then heads off to look for some saltpeter.
[Search roll: 3]
Turns out that's not exactly something you find lying around in this day and age. Imagine that. There is plenty of pottery around he could steal, though.
[Perception roll: ?]
Tom doesn't really hear anything unusual around. Nothing unusual at all. He just keeps on looking at choice pieces of pottery, evaluating them for durability, aerodynamics, practicality, versatility and, of course, prettiness. He could get used to this, he thinks.
Next to a very angular and angry-looking thing...
Yorinnsud considers his options for a moment, then comes to the conclusion that he should probably plead 'not guilty'. He does so, then asks who exactly is charging him with this possibly heinous crime.
[Messenger reaction roll: 4]
"You do not understand. Your guilt is already ascertained by the Office of Order. You prayed and you were heard. Now you will be punished. Do you plead 'death', 'exile' or 'atonement'?"
Well, that sure seems like a tough choice. Made all the tougher by Mark, who attempts to drag away Yorinnsud! He is, however, dissuaded from pursuing this idea too far by the rather murderous stare of the angular angry thing. Looks like they're not done yet.
Inside the treasure room of the temple of Velusius...
Darren tries to find a suitably scary-looking suit of armor to animate!
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there's a set of rather sweet-looking clothes here in addition to some really awesome-looking though totally impractical ceremonial swords. Darren supposes he'll animate those.
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He telekinetically lifts and stretches out the set of clothes, then creates a storm of whirling ceremonial swords around it! He whistles to the looters, who look at the construct with visible fear!
"How ya doin'?" he asks.
[Looter reaction roll: 4]
They reply that they've been better, they admit. One of them just had his robes ride extremely painfully up the nethers, though that seems to have gotten slightly better now. Otherwise, they've been pretty good. What about him? How does he feel? What does he want? And what is up with this crazy haunting thing he's got going?
In the garden of an altogether different temple...
Vincent decides to go back to the lounge. Beats standing in this garden. He heads through the door and sits down on a chair once again.
[Occupant roll: 2]
Doesn't look like anybody's willing to come and service him in any way. Lazy bastards.
Outside the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy, upon seeing the guards practice on his... uh... friends, he supposes, sees only one course of action worth taking!
"Oi! Youse leave my friends alone!"
He begins to screech horribly!
[Spooky Howling roll: 5]
The seven guards turn around and look fearfully at the three-legged specter in the air! They blanch completely, their eyes wide in horror!
[Guard morale roll: 6]
They decide to practice on Timothy instead! They launch several volleys of arrows through his body! However, this fails to affect Timothy in any way.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He sort of nudges one of the guards away from Fred and Jim while the others continue their firing, not particularly fast on the uptake, if Timothy may say so himself.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 25, 2013, 09:59:25 am
"I DID NOT PRAY TO YOU DEMON! MY PRAYERS ONLY GO TO ZARAKHIYIS HERSELF! I WILL ASK YOU ONLY ONE MORE TIME, WHO CHARGES ME!"
Post by: anailater on January 25, 2013, 10:11:39 am
Well look for more stuff now
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 10:53:57 am
Yorinnsud refuses to show weakness before this demonic creature! He defiantly asks who has charged him again!
[Messenger informativeness roll: 4]
"The Office of Order charges you by the authority of the Five Gods Almiria, Rysinia, Narcillicus, Pacitarius and Velusius, the only gods that are ever to rule this world. Your actions violated the Golden Rule. You must be punished. Now. How do you plead? If you do not plead, death is the default option."
In a dinghy skeleton-filled basement...
Luke, incredulous at the lack of worthwhile loot, chalks this up to lack of trying and resolves to loot harder! Now, where hasn't he looked?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Ooh, there's a door over there he hadn't noticed before! Maybe there's loot behind that!
[Search roll: 3]
News flash: there isn't. There's just a whole lot of barrels full of mysterious liquids.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 25, 2013, 11:01:12 am
((Come on, Zarakhiyis. What is probably your only living (kinda) worshipper is in trouble here!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 11:19:22 am
Whatever this divine being is selling, Yorinnsud would like it to know that he sure as hell ain't buyin' it! He gets all agitated and starts yelling about how back in the old days you could worship any old god and not get mercilessly hounded by horrible things from the heavens! He also says some... choice words on what he thinks of the Five Gods and their mandate. As well as any of their possible pets. Gods still have pets, right? Zarakhiyis had a pet. Sure, it wasn't a very original pet, considering who she was, but still.
[Messenger patience roll: 1]
"Very well. You have refused to choose a verdict. You will be given death as the default punishment."
A four-foot greatsword of pure light appears in the creature's hands. It looks pretty sharp. And, you know, holy and stuff.
"You would be surprised how often I get to use this."
[Messenger vs. Yorinnsud: 4+3 vs. 1-1+1]
Before Yorinnsud can say or do a single thing, the creature twists and brings the greatsword down right along the symmetrical axis of his body, separating the ancient zombie into two roughly equal halves! The halves fall apart after a short period of remaining in their sitting-upright position.
[Yorinnsud will roll: 5]
Despite losing half his body, he isn't dead yet! Whether this is a good thing remains to be seen. The messenger seems to be waiting for something to happen, though.
"Lousy undead. Can never tell if they are dead or not."
Post by: Gamerlord on January 25, 2013, 11:22:13 am
((Okay, last gambit.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 11:37:06 am
Yorinnsud decides to go for a somewhat more subtle approach. The one half of his body he has control over asks if the messenger is bound to the law!
[Messenger informativeness roll: 6]
The messenger seems to be somewhat pleased with Yorinnsud's question. Probably because it's a confirmation that he's still alive.
"I am the epitome of the law of the gods and exist to carry it out. I am but one of many such servants. Together we bring about the order of Almiria and the rest of the Five Gods. I have to admit, you are an unusual case. Very few have used the name you used in the past thousand years. However, all of them met the fate you will. Speaking of."
[Messenger vs. Yorinnsud: 5+3 vs. 1-1
The messenger slices Yorinnsud into five roughly equal shares with its horribly gaudy sword. Yorinnsud can't help but feel that this is a slight case of overkill.
[Yorinnsud will roll: 6]
He clings to life! He is reduced to essentially half a head with a v-shaped neckline, but he clings to life! Long enough to talk some more, anyway.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 25, 2013, 11:41:58 am
((Come on, long shot!))
Post by: anailater on January 25, 2013, 12:08:06 pm
Chug Chug Chug!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 12:26:15 pm
Yorinnsud tries to bamboozle the divine messenger with the old 'you violated my human rights' routine.
[Messenger informativeness roll: 6]
The messenger gives Yorinnsud an exceedingly peevish look.
"We have already been over this. You cannot plead 'not guilty'. You have already been seen, judged and given the verdict from a far higher court than any earthly authority. You are only given a choice on how to handle the punishment - death, exile or atonement. I even told you that by not choosing one of those three, you default to death. I have been more than accommodating, I believe. Especially when we consider your less-than positive attitude. You worshipped a demon and violated the Golden Rule - that the only gods that can be worshipped are the Five Gods Almiria, Rysinia, Narcillicus, Pacitarius and Velusius, now and forever. Deal with it."
Yorinnsud points out that this is quite an unusual case, right? So is the messenger truly qualified to handle this?
[Messenger reaction roll: 6]
The messenger has already raised his sword, but does not swing yet. Instead, it lowers it and sighs, then irritatedly responds.
"So you want to be plopped down in front of a celestial court, is that it? You actually want that? Because I can do it if you want to. I'll grab your head, pull it over to the Office of Order and put it on a pedestal in front of the Lower Judge in order for her to tell you the exact same thing. Are you up for it, because I am, if it will SHUT YOU UP!"
At those last three words, a nearby building suddenly bursts into flame.
Inside a room full of mysterious liquids...
Before so much as even looking at the liquids more closely, Luke gets right to chugging!
[Liquid roll: 4]
It turns out to be some strange kind of water. It slightly stings Luke's undead throat as he drinks. Well, that sure seems boring.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 25, 2013, 12:37:58 pm
((As to how this is IC, well... Yorinnsud broke a lot of rules in his youth! Also, an absurdly over-develped legal system for an iron-age society. :P))
Post by: anailater on January 25, 2013, 01:30:52 pm
Look for a water carrying device, then go back for another path.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 01:51:37 pm
Yorinnsud tries to appeal to some sort of strange, backwards legal system to get away with committing a crime in the eyes of the gods. For one, he tries to argue with the "do you plead like a man or like a dog" part of the legal system, arguing that it should be "guilty or not guilty" instead!
[Messenger informativeness roll: 3]
"Your ideas, much like your legal system, are foolish and mortal-like. They are beneath the level of gods. Now, do you want to go to a higher court or not?"
Yorinnsud is adamant that this must happen, and it must happen right now! He also demands immediate body repair from the messenger.
[Messenger charity roll: 4]
"I will loan you a form, but I will immediately reclaim it after you meet the Lower Judge. It will save me from dragging your carcass across the dimensions."
[Messenger magic roll: 4]
A faintly glowing stick figure-like body appears from under Yorinnsud's head. Well, that works.
"Now we go."
Suddenly, the world around Yorinnsud shatters into tiny fragments! The fletcher's shop with its chewed-up bows, his severed limbs and his eminently sacrificial buddy Mark all immediately lose coherency as Yorinnsud is transported into a brand new place!
It looks pretty neat. A giant square tower made of what looks like gold and steel surrounded by lightning-filled dark green skies. The atmosphere seems rather acrid here. Definitely not a good place for a human being or, for that matter, an undead creature to be. He is led through the gates of the tower, passing by several other angular humanoids suspiciously similar to his guide on the way. Eventually they are led into a vast chamber with a tall podium surrounded by a circle of columns stretching up for literally the gods only know how high.
At the podium stands a more feminine, but also far more angular humanoid than his former judge/jury/executioner. It looks at Yorinnsud with a piercing gaze, then asks with a voice like shattering glass:
"You have brought the guilty before me. Why?"
"He is a fool and believes there is hope for him. He insists he is not guilty."
[Lower Judge interest roll: 6]
"Not guilty? That is a strange concept. Why does it believe this?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
The guide turns to Yorinnsud and asks earnestly "Why do you think you are not guilty, fool? Answer the Judge."
In the water room of the Temple of Velusius...
Luke decides to steal some of this stinging water. He looks for a water container!
[Search roll: 6]
As he searches the dead bodies around the hall for waterskins and such, he notices a strange-looking object! It's like a flask, but in the shape of a barrel-chested man with a wide-open mouth. There appears to be large cork stuck in it. Well, good enough for him, Luke guesses. He takes the manflask and tries to fill it up with the water.
He is somewhat surprised when the flask, which fits in his hand, manages to prove spacious enough to hold all the water. All thirteen barrels of it. Well now. He heads out of the area and tries another path!
[Path choice roll: 5]
He goes down the second path from the right, proceeding along it for quite a while.
After a while of going that way, he finds another room. This one has a few skeletons in it as well, though not nearly as many as the other one. They all seem to be clustered into a pile in the center of a pentacle painted on the floor. Near the pentacle is a podium with a book on it.
Post by: miauw62 on January 25, 2013, 01:58:12 pm
((For fucks sake Harry, you just made me roll to do something Yorinnsud learnt to do as a child. It's like making someone roll to take a dump.))
((Making someone roll to take a dump could have some hilarious results tough. Especially if you start slapping modifiers on it.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 25, 2013, 02:06:41 pm
Post by: anailater on January 25, 2013, 02:23:00 pm
Sneak in, grab it, DO NOT READ IT, go find the demon summoning mage
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2013, 03:43:00 pm
Darren starts to explain his existence to the looters. After his three-sentence explanation is done, the looters breathe a sigh of relief. They explain that they thought they were the victims of divine retribution or something and that it's a bit of a relief to find out that it's just a mage screwing with them. Actually, it's a great relief, what with them currently looting a treasure chamber devoted to the god of magic and death while being, you know, mages.
Darren says he's glad to help.
The mages say they're glad to be helped.
[Mage reaction roll: ?]
They then proceed to start whispering to one another ominously.
In a ritual chamber of some kind...
Luke nabs the book lying around the room without taking a closer look and starts to actually look for the demonologist guy.
[Search roll: 4]
He can say with reasonable certainty that he probably isn't in the basement, considering that the secret door was closed when he entered and he doesn't recall seeing a switch to close it from the inside.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He gets the sneaking suspicion that he might not be anywhere inside the temple either. Just a hunch, mind you.
Post by: anailater on January 25, 2013, 04:46:03 pm
Look for loot 3: The search for loot.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 25, 2013, 04:47:56 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 25, 2013, 05:03:49 pm
Sink back into the coins. If they don't leave, go ghostly ventriloquist on one and convince the others to leave.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 25, 2013, 10:23:26 pm
(I am assuming that I could understand the bitch angel but not my buddy)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 12:53:11 am
"Because not only did I not know of said rule, my birth AND my death both predate it's creation thus it cannot possibly apply to me. Also, the definition of a plea in the legal sense is saying that you are guilty or not guilty. A sentence is completely different, a fact this buffoon does not seem to understand. In any case, this being assualted me when I followed his instructions and destroyed my body. I expect compensation. Now, as to the 'verdict' he wrongly inflicted upon me, I am already dead. Sentencing me to death is redundant and he stated the options as death, atonement or exile. None of those specifies destruction of the body. Thus, when the law is followed to the letter I cannot be punished for breaking it. In fact, I am fairly certain that this law has NO provisions for the undead or those in other unusual situations. This is why I am not guilty and why I demand to either be restored to a repaired body or taken to someone who can facilitate this."
Post by: Xantalos on January 26, 2013, 12:54:34 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 12:56:25 am
Yorrismund, Ancient Barbarian Attorney.
I am getting out of this either the same or better than when I entered it. Even if I have to sue the gods themselves. :P
Post by: Xantalos on January 26, 2013, 12:58:30 am
I would sincerely like to see you somehow prove that your goddess is real despite the gods themselves telling you no.Yorrismund, Ancient Barbarian Attorney.
I am getting out of this either the same or better than when I entered it. Even if I have to sue the gods themselves. :P
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 01:08:31 am
BUT she IS real. They are just saying she is a demon.I would sincerely like to see you somehow prove that your goddess is real despite the gods themselves telling you no.Yorrismund, Ancient Barbarian Attorney.
I am getting out of this either the same or better than when I entered it. Even if I have to sue the gods themselves. :P
Post by: Xantalos on January 26, 2013, 01:10:27 am
You show them that's false! Or if it turns out to be true, convince them to make her a goddess.BUT she IS real. They are just saying she is a demon.I would sincerely like to see you somehow prove that your goddess is real despite the gods themselves telling you no.Yorrismund, Ancient Barbarian Attorney.
I am getting out of this either the same or better than when I entered it. Even if I have to sue the gods themselves. :P
Anyhow, I'll stop clogging up the thread.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 02:05:17 am
Luke attempts to resist the temptation of loot!
Unsurprisingly, he fails, keeping to the principle of "loot now, questing later" that has served him well so far.
[Search roll: 6]
He goes out of the ritual room and down the third path from the left. There's got to be something down one of these paths, right? He walks down the path for quite a while, marveling at the strange lack of traps! Eventually he reaches a very heavy-looking door. Heavy-looking doors usually mean one of two things - horrible things or loot.
[Perception roll: ?]
There seem to be voices coming from the other side. One of them sounds kind of familiar, actually.
In a treasure room...
Darren points out that the looters really should leave now. And stuff.
[Looter roll: 1]
They reply that they don't think they will. Darren doesn't really respond and remains in the chest he's been hiding in the whole time, though he keeps the set of clothes and swords flying about regardless.
[Looter 1 magic roll: 3]
[Looter 2 magic roll: 6]
[Looter 3 magic roll: 1]
The first one manages to make a tiny spitball-sized ball of glowing... er... something. The second guy does much better, summoning another ball of glowing something the size of about a bowling ball. However, they are all outdone by the third guy, who summons up a third ball of glowing something about three feet in diameter! The three of them gesture in sync, in what is pretty clearly some kind of launching gesture. The first two balls fly well enough, striking the set of clothing and leaving two differently-sized holes in it. Not the third one, though. The third one just explodes, releasing vast quantities of energy right next to the three fellows.
[Looter 1 dodge roll: 6]
[Looter 2 dodge roll: 2]
[Looter 3 dodge roll: 4]
Two of the looters seem used to this kind of thing and dive away immediately! The one who summoned the bowling-ball sized energized globe, however, does not. His reward is far more heat than the human body should reasonably take. He is set on fire and covered in burns!
[Looter 2 endurance roll: 1]
He falls to the ground, screaming for a good minute before going still and silent. The other two mages look at his charred carcass for a bit.
[Looter morale roll: 1]
They agree that they should probably run after this incident. They run over to the door and hurriedly push it open, only to come face to face with what looks like a zombie made of wood. Well, that sure is strange.
In an empty, dusty lounge...
Vincent, not content to wait any longer, looks for a good escape route from this awful place!
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there's the skylight back in the garden. He could fly through that.
[Flying roll: 2]
He has a bit of difficulty gaining altitude in this place, however. The air seems... heavy, somehow. Hm.
In the ruins of a fletcher's shop...
As Mark contemplates what exactly the fuck just happened here, he comes to the conclusion that it's his buddy's problem now, not his. He decides to resume his quest for a pair of legs.
[Search roll: 5]
Wait, down the street over there! Is that... it is! It most certainly is! It's a collection of free-standing skeletons, in an exhibit titled "Glory to Velusius, Our Great Provider"! Most of them look to be entirely real and made of honest-to-goodness real bones! Oh, joyous coincidence! Thank Velusius!
In the court of Almiria...
Yorinnsud launches into a speech about how he should be exempt from the Golden Rule due to technically predating it. And ignorance as well. He also tries to explain the alien notion of pleading guilty or not guilty to the Lower Judge. Furthermore, he points out that he can't be killed due to reasons of being already dead, and demands full recompense of all his bodily assets due to being a victim of a most horrid miscarriage of justice. It's the law and everything.
[Lower Judge interest roll: 2]
The judge rolls her celestial eyes and sighs.
"We always get undead trying to sneak past us with silly technicalities like 'I'm not actually alive' and so forth. It's getting quite boring, actually. They actually believe that we wouldn't have provisions for something that happens virtually every year. Why, the very notion is silly. We've been at this for several thousands of years, after all. And the concept of anyone pleading their guilt or lack thereof in a situation where we likely know exactly what you did, how you did it and even why you did it is equally ridiculous. In fact, if it were up to me, I would get rid of the choice of punishment altogether. Would save a lot of trouble."
"I hear that."
"Finally, you seem to misunderstand the entire creed of the Office of Order. We are not here to uphold the laws of the mortal world. We are here to keep order. Know the difference between those two. Now, unless you wish to plead some more, we should really get on with your execution."
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2013, 02:09:56 am
When you win argue that your body was much better then it was to get a better replacementYorrismund, Ancient Barbarian Attorney.
I am getting out of this either the same or better than when I entered it. Even if I have to sue the gods themselves. :P
I hope you wind up sueing the gods just for the awesome factor
Damn ninja GM
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 02:16:19 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 26, 2013, 02:20:04 am
Armor the body, put a big scary sword in it's hand too. Await our next guest.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2013, 06:20:34 am
"Yes. And your agent here violated that purpose by allowing chaotic emotions to overcome him. He destroyed several homes when I defied him, a strong display of rage that harmed those who had done no wrong. Anyway, you have not followed the way of order by subverting the meanings of words and working through technicalities. In this situation I am a greater force of order than you, for I am trying to upold the letter of the law. There is a case for undead to be to liable under this law, but it does not apply to me because I predate said law and was never informed of it. And there is no way for you to know why I do things."I suggest that you ask at the end by the way what is the golden rule? to find out what it is
Mark gets some legs and finally replaces the acid eroded stumps of his legs
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 08:47:40 am
Yorinnsud is determined to fight this horribly unjust verdict he has been given by any verbal means necessary! He snitches on his kind guide, then attempts to argue that he is a greater force of order than this court and that they're completely out of order in this case!
[Lower Judge reaction roll: 5-1]
"We do not care if you believe that you are a greater force of order or not, that's your own business. What we are interested in is keeping mortals in line. And you are clearly not in line, talking back like you are. So it is our job to relentlessly crush you until you are either dead or normalized, or exile you if you wish. I'm afraid that I can't- wait a minute, did you say your guide set fire to a house?"
Yorinnsud nods affirmatively. He adds that the guide set fire to several houses, actually! Who knows how many men, women, children and puppies could have been hurt!
"You lying snitch! It wasn't several houses! One, at best!"
The Lower Judge taps her fingers irritatedly at the podium.
"Well, crap. Do you realize what you've done, herald? You've gone and confessed to a conduct violation. Now I have to take you to the Higher Court to be processed immediately and this fine fellow here will have to wait here in this dinghy room for us to come back and kill him dead."
"You think I might lose my sword?" the herald says, glancing hatefully at Yorinnsud.
"You very well might. But more on that later. Right now, we have to figure out what to do with this mortal."
She stares at Yorinnsud for a few moments. It's definitely not a very friendly stare.
"Don't go anywhere. We'll be back to execute you in due time," she says calmly after her deliberation. Both her and the herald's images then shatter in front of Yorinnsud's eyes, their owners presumably reappearing in the Higher Court, though what that might be like Yorinnsud can only begin to imagine.
Inside a Velusian treasure room...
Having nothing better to do, Darren decides to mess around with the charred corpse of the dead looter. He attempts to find something to armor him with!
[Search roll: 1]
It turns out that Velusians don't believe in armor, Darren guesses, because there are exactly zero pieces of it in this little treasure vault. And the only piece of clothing is the suit that has a hole the size of a bowling ball burnt in it. There is plenty of silver and gold around, though. For all the good that'll do him. And it looks like the two looters, currently busy staring at a zombie outside, have made off with most of the scary-looking swords.
Next to a skeletal exhibit...
Mark walks on his hands until he reaches the exhibit and proceeds to attempt to pilfer some legs!
[Leg pilfering roll: 5]
He pulls off the legs of a very nice and strong-looking skeleton and attempts to attach them to where his old legs were!
[Attachment roll: 3]
He sort of attaches them, but he lacks any sort of binding material to make sure they stay there. They also hardly move for him. How unfortunate.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 08:52:08 am
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 09:19:25 am
Shark hammer, meet door.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 09:20:13 am
Time to try out my hammer I presume...
Shark hammer, meet door.
It's open already. And there are two looters in the way.
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 09:29:50 am
Shark hammer meet looter legs
Post by: TopHat on January 26, 2013, 10:00:19 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 10:02:17 am
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 10:21:12 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 10:40:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 10:50:05 am
Yorinnsud looks around the room. There appear to be four exits including the one he entered through and none of them look particularly foreboding or anything, just a tad bureaucratic and stifling. Not a bad set of choices if he wants to make a run for it. While pondering his options, he practices his movements and gets a feel for his new form.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Oh dear gods, this body is great! Far superior to the old one. It feels so light and stick-like, Yorinnsud can't help but love it. He feels like he could take on the world with this body, and he's probably not wrong in thinking so!
Next to a Velusian treasure vault...
It only takes a moment for Luke to realize that he really should kill these foolish looters for their delicious loot. It's the rules. When a looter meets another looter, they must immediately engage in mortal combat for each other's sweet loot.
[Luke vs. Looter 1: 2+2 vs. 2]
He swings his hammer, the shark head of it biting a chunk out of the looter's thigh! The looter is less than thrilled by this.
[Looter 1 endurance roll: 5]
He remains standing (and cursing)! Both looters begin to magically gesture at him!
[Looter 1 magic roll: 4]
[Looter 3 magic roll: 3]
Two spheres of light and heat, one spitball-sized and the other golf ball-sized, are launched at him point-blank!
[Dodge roll: 2-1]
They pierce his wooden body in several rather painful places, the golf ball of energy piercing his head and destroying one of his eyes! Good gods almighty, that hurts! It's time for these guys to die painfully, he believes.
[Luke vs. Looter 1: 5+2 vs. 4]
He gives the impudent energy launcher a bash across the knee, the shark-head tearing out one of his knee joints and chomping on it in a highly disgusting manner!
[Looter 1 endurance roll: 5]
The looter drops to the ground, but does not give up yet!
[Looter 1 magic roll: 3]
[Looter 3 magic roll: 2]
Luke feels a hot pin of energy sail through his chest. This doesn't really bother him as he continues his assault on these people's limbs.
[Luke vs. Looter 1: 2+2 vs. 2-1]
And there goes the other knee joint. The looter is now essentially legless!
[Looter 1 endurance roll: 3]
The looter, having held on bravely so far, seems to be on the verge of fainting from pain and blood loss and definitely in no shape to do magic anymore.
[Looter 3 magic roll: 5]
A baseball-sized energy projectile launches itself toward Luke from the last looter's hands!
[Luke dodge roll: 6-1]
Luke manages to dodge it nicely, though! The projectile flies into the wall, burning a very deep hole.
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 10:50:08 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 10:55:00 am
Beat self over head for forsaking old body so readily. Yell out "The five are wankers!" at top of lungs. See what happens.
Post by: TopHat on January 26, 2013, 10:56:43 am
((Perhaps.))I have a strange sense of deja vû...
Beat self over head for forsaking old body so readily. Yell out "The five are wankers!" at top of lungs. See what happens.
Post by: miauw62 on January 26, 2013, 11:01:33 am
(( I've been getting incredibly close to my re demise, including but not limited to, fucked up gravity, pissed off mages, body chair modification and divine retribution. I am the both the luckiest and unluckiest zombie in history, we don't know what I am until it happens, I am the Schrödinger's zombie! ))No, you're not the unluckiest and luckiest zombie in history. That title is reserved for James and James only.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 11:17:55 am
Yorinnsud decides that physical punishment should be meted out to mitigate the blasphemy he just committed by forsaking his old, mummified, peat-smelling, petrified body without a second thought. He slaps himself upside the head with a stick arm.
Well, now that that's done, Yorinnsud supposes he'll perform a bit of blasphemy to mitigate all the right-thinking he did just now. He yells out that the Five Gods commit depraved sexual acts on themselves while sitting in their celestial thrones of glory!
[Divine retribution roll: 4-1]
He feels kind of weak all of a sudden. The room begins to spin before his single eye. However, it soon settles back into a relatively still position. Relatively still.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 11:41:31 am
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 12:36:38 pm
Shark hammer! The hammer of the gods! Use your divine wrath on theses foolish mortals!
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2013, 01:14:46 pm
Gamerlord you sould ask what the golden rule is and get out of there. I want you to live we are still competing and the murder trail was fun
score me 4 you 3
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 01:39:23 pm
Yorinnsud realizes that he cannot stand for these horrible conditions the authorities of the Office of Order have put him in. He needs to find an appropriate authority figure. He needs to find the Five Gods!
[Search roll: 4]
He heads down a randomly chosen path, passing along several offices before reaching a very large and solid golden door. It seems to have a peculiar pentacle motif to it. Yorinnsud isn't sure why, but he believes that this door may lead somewhere important. Probably all the gold and pentacles.
In the company of looters...
Luke attempts to finish off this awful bunch of ball-tossers with his trusty Sharkhammer! Go, Sharkhammer, go!
[Luke vs. Looter 3: 5+2 vs. 4]
Since it worked so well thus far, he goes for the kneecap again! The Sharkhammer eats it most thoroughly!
[Looter 3 endurance roll: 3]
The looter falls over bleeding and screaming! Well, he looks somewhat neutralized for now, if a bit noisy.
[Looter 1 endurance roll: 4]
The other looter, however, has somewhat recovered already and lets loose another attack in a desperate maneuver to defeat his adversary!
[Looter 1 magic roll: 4-1]
Yet another spitball-sized projectile pierces Luke's torso. Really, man, stop that.
[Luke vs. Looter 1: 1+2 vs. 6-2]
Luke laughs at the foolish mage and slings the hammer over his shoulder! Do your worst mage, and Luke shall weather it, for he is strong and the looter is weak!
The Sharkhammer has a different opinion on the subject, however. Not very good at subtlety, patience, or differentiating between flesh that needs eating and flesh that doesn't, it bites down on Luke's side!
[Luke defense roll: 2+1]
Luke is pretty sure he has one less dead kidney now. And no spleen, either. Oh dear. He looks at his Sharkhammer with a shocked expression! The Sharkhammer, smug bastard that it is, just looks back and grins with its two rows of teeth that have bits of spleen and kidney stuck in them! Not cool, Sharkhammer!
Next to a plundered skeletal exhibit...
Mark tries to hop back to the inn on his two legs, holding them up with his hands!
[Movement roll: 2+1-1]
He finds himself to be totally incapable of hopping anywhere like this. Just can't manage the movements! With that being a resounding failure, he looks for something to help him attach his new legs to his body with!
[Search roll: 2]
There don't appear to be any tools in the area. How sad.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 26, 2013, 01:42:14 pm
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 02:57:50 pm
FINISH THEM!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 03:25:10 pm
Tom keeps trying to find some saltpeter for a nebulous (as well as probably nefarious) purpose. But where hasn't he looked?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe it's not actually called saltpeter around here? Maybe it's called niter or something? This deserves investigation.
[Search roll: 3]
Nope, no containers of that around, either. No free piles of saltpeter anywhere, either. What kind of backwards town is this? All the lidded jars one could ever ask for, but no saltpeter.
One might almost think it's not a terribly widely used material in this day and age! Weird, huh?
Next to a Velusian treasure room...
Luke tries to reprimand Sharkhammer, but his bloodthirsty companion is far too busy being an animated metal shark on a stick to listen to the complaints of whiners with a silly sentimental attachment to their internal anatomy. Oh well.
[Luke vs. Looter 1: 2+2 vs. 2-2]
He sort of moves Sharkhammer next to the nearly-dead looter and allows it to do the rest. And it does the rest quite thoroughly indeed, eating most of the looter's chest and thoroughly killing him in the process! Good Sharkhammer! Now eat the other one!
[Looter 3 endurance roll: 1]
Well, there doesn't seem to be much of a need to do this, since Luke's pretty sure the last looter's gone into shock and died on him while he was busy, but he lets Sharkhammer have a nice snack regardless. No harm in that, right?
After a good meal, Luke is surprised to find that Sharkhammer still seems pretty hungry. That thing's insatiable. Even after he lets it eat the other corpse, it still keeps chomping at the air expectantly. Dammit, Sharkhammer, how's a guy supposed to work with you when you won't compromise?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 26, 2013, 03:37:41 pm
'I will have explosives by the end of this.'
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 04:21:35 pm
Investigate in the room, look for what they wee looting, take it if i can, then look for demon summoner again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2013, 05:08:55 pm
Tom refuses to give up on his quest for big explosions at his fingertips. He looks for volatile and explosive chemicals to use for mass-destruction!
[Search roll: 2]
Apparently alchemy isn't a very popular science around these here parts. Who would have thought, huh? There seem to be none of those things around despite Tom hoping there might be some! Really, are commonly-available explosives too much to ask for in a town mostly made of wood and good intentions?
Outside a Velusian treasure vault...
Luke, intrigued by the sight of shinies, goes to investigate the vault!
There seems to be a lot of useless gold and silver, plus a whole lot of rather stupid-looking ceremonial weaponry around. Oh, and there is a suit of clothing flying under its own power with a whole bunch of swords whirling around it. Is that unusual? Luke's not sure with this place.
Post by: anailater on January 26, 2013, 05:22:31 pm
Take the clothes that is definitely not a ghost with me if they want, continue my search for
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 26, 2013, 05:40:35 pm
Head to the Inn, gather the tinderbox.
Post by: TopHat on January 26, 2013, 06:07:08 pm
Actually, James was a vampire.(( I've been getting incredibly close to my re demise, including but not limited to, fucked up gravity, pissed off mages, body chair modification and divine retribution. I am the both the luckiest and unluckiest zombie in history, we don't know what I am until it happens, I am the Schrödinger's zombie! ))No, you're not the unluckiest and luckiest zombie in history. That title is reserved for James and James only.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 26, 2013, 09:16:06 pm
"Give me back what you took, and it may spare your life!"
Post by: Gamerlord on January 26, 2013, 09:48:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 04:32:29 am
Luke politely asks the suspicious suit of clothing whether it would like to join him on many fun adventures!
[Darren telekinesis roll: 4]
He is immediately lifted from the ground, stretched out by some infernal magic and floated over to the puddles of blood with some bony and fleshy bits in them left over from Sharkhammer's eating frenzy! He is then bobbed menacingly at the unmoving bits of fine gore.
"Give me back what you took and it may spare your life!" a voice from the treasure vault yells out! The puddles seem less than impressed, however. Luke, on the other hand, is struck by a realization!
[Sharkhammer self-control roll: 3]
He looks over to the remains of two backpacks full of bent, punctured and mangled bits of metal. That was loot? Well, slap him upside the head and call him a silly monkey. That Sharkhammer really needs obedience training, though what individual would be brave enough to perform such an Almirian task remains to be ascertained.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Disappointed at the less than explosive tendencies of the absent villagers, Tom heads back to the inn and looks for a tinderbox.
[Search roll: 1]
Oh, there's one right on the counter, how wonderful! Tom heads on over to pick it up!
[Tinderbox reaction roll: 5]
It shimmers for a second when he takes it, but otherwise seems like a generally okay tinderbox.
In the halls of the Office of Order...
Yorinnsud tries to get through the massive important-looking door.
[Strength roll: 3]
He manages to push it open by the tiniest of impassable margins! Damn you, spindly stick-arms! There is enough of a crack in the door, however, to see that there seems to be a lot of blinding light on the other side. Hm.
Post by: miauw62 on January 27, 2013, 05:19:50 am
Oh. Was kinda hard towards the end, with the being a ball of snail flesh.Actually, James was a vampire.(( I've been getting incredibly close to my re demise, including but not limited to, fucked up gravity, pissed off mages, body chair modification and divine retribution. I am the both the luckiest and unluckiest zombie in history, we don't know what I am until it happens, I am the Schrödinger's zombie! ))No, you're not the unluckiest and luckiest zombie in history. That title is reserved for James and James only.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 27, 2013, 06:04:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 07:11:59 am
Yorinnsud tries to push the door open wide enough to stick his half-head through!
[Strength roll: 4]
Straining and pushing as hard as he can, he eventually manages to get his half-head inside! Now for the rest of his body.
[Agility roll: 4]
After a particularly difficult bending and twisting session, he does manage to squeeze through the now-larger crack in the door. Once inside, he realizes that he is obviously ill-equipped to handle this room, if that is indeed what it is. It's a bit difficult to see on account of all the blinding burning its way through his single eye. In fact, it's somewhat painful.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 27, 2013, 07:42:50 am
Squint and try to find the source of the light.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 08:20:05 am
Yorinnsud is quite dissatisfied with these lighting conditions, and tries to find the source of the light in order to make it stop as soon as possible!
[Perception roll: ?]
It doesn't seem like it comes from only one source. Rather it seems like an inherent property of this place. What an annoying place it must be to live in. He yells out for somebody who might be around!
[Response roll: 2]
Doesn't look like anyone heard him. Or they're just being assholes. With this place you can never know.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 27, 2013, 08:22:56 am
Look around for anything that looks like, feels like, smells like or tastes like a god.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 09:07:44 am
Yorinnsud begins to semi-blindly search around for something vaguely god-like!
[Search roll: 2]
There doesn't seem to be anything of the sort anywhere in the vicinity. Show yourselves, gods, or Yorinnsud will be forced to nibble on you to confirm your identity!
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 09:38:11 am
Try to get out of there with shark hammer.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 09:57:43 am
Light a match and drop it. Walk out of the inn. Start following the road to another town.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 10:08:09 am
Luke makes a hurried apology while trying to make a Sharkhammer-assisted escape!
[Escape roll: 3]
He puts Sharkhammer close to the ground, allowing it to bite down on the stone floor. By leveraging the Sharkhammer, he manages to move himself a few inches further from the treasure vault! Progress, hooray!
Inside Bernie's inn...
Tom realizes that he does not particularly care for the decor in this inn. Or the decor in this town. Or this town in any shape or form! He tries to light the inn on fire with his tinderbox!
[Tinderbox reaction roll: 6]
The tinderbox seems to have gotten awfully gooey. And as we all know, it's awfully difficult to start a fire when your tools have gotten all gooey. Well, when they're the non-flammable kind of gooey. Tom considers what this could mean.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 27, 2013, 10:56:00 am
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 10:56:38 am
Just keep pulling.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 11:14:43 am
Vincent thinks about a likely place to explore around here. Let's see, he's explored the garden, sort of, and and he's spent more time in the lounge than he's comfortable to admit. What he hasn't done, however, is explore the three doors leading away from the lounge! He chooses a door at random.
[Door choice roll: 3]
He takes the door leading south. He goes right in!
[Place contents roll: 2]
It looks to be an empty storehouse. Next door!
[Door choice roll: 1]
North door, don't fail him now!
[Place contents roll: 2]
Also an empty storehouse. These temple builders sure love their empty storehouses, the stingy bastards. Final door.
Well, this one seems to be a shrine. There's lots of green on the walls, plus an altar made of wood and decorated with leaves. The whole place is full of leaves and flowers and stuff.
[Place occupant roll: 3]
There appears to be a glowing skeleton kneeling before it. It is surrounded by a bunch of skeletal animals, also glowing and, strangely enough, kneeling as well.
Outside a Velusian treasure room...
Luke tries to pull himself out of his telekinetic imprisonment!
[Luke's strength vs. Darren's telekinesis: 3+1 vs. 5]
He can't seem to pull himself out of the hold this infernal magic has on him, and he is held fast. Whoever that random floating pile of clothes is, it's good at this. Comes with practice, Luke guesses.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 11:46:41 am
((Some men, just want to watch the plot burn.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 11:52:24 am
Tom tries to light the inn on fire with the gooey implement he found on the counter!
It seems to be a bit too slimy to manage this. You know how slime is.
[Tinderbox reaction roll: 5]
It shimmers slightly once again, though its gooey state remains as it is.
[Perception roll: ?]
Tom can't quite put his finger on it, but he gets the feeling that all this is somebody else's fault. That may, however, be only wishful thinking on his part.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 11:53:45 am
Find another tinderbox. Light the inn on fire. Walk to new town.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 11:59:06 am
Tom decides to look for another tinderbox, as this one is clearly too gooey to be of any use.
[Search roll: 2]
However, it looks like there are no other ones around. Just this one. Weird.
[Tinderbox reaction roll: 4]
The tinderbox shimmers once again.
[Perception roll: ?]
Stupid magical tinderboxes and their stupid shimmering.
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 12:03:46 pm
Back to the clothes, introduce them to SHARKHAMMER!tm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 12:28:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 12:43:01 pm
Luke tries to break out of his spell and get that impudent set of clothing!
[Luke's strength vs. Darren's telekinesis: 4+1 vs. 4]
He moves slightly! He's progressing! He's not there yet, however!
In a still not-burned-down inn...
Tom decides to leave before he manages to fail even worse at setting the inn on fire. Too bad, though. It would have looked quite awesome to leave a burning four-story building behind as he leaves.
[Tinderbox reaction roll: 5]
The tinderbox shimmers once again. What is up with that thing?
[Perception roll: ?]
It doesn't seem particularly malicious, to tell the truth. Strange. Ah, that's best sorted out later. For now, to the next town he goes! There's bound to be better loot there. There seem to be four roads leading out of town, though. One seems to lead to a hilled area, another continues into a forest, the third seems to lead to a large black castle some distance away while the last looks to lead to a friendly-looking plain. So many choices!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 27, 2013, 12:50:35 pm
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 12:52:19 pm
Keep going no need for witty action.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 27, 2013, 01:02:50 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 01:18:08 pm
[d4:2]
Dark Forest of Death, Pain, and Killable Things it is! The tinderbox is probably going to explode into flames in a few minutes anyway. Magic has a tendency to that.'
Onward! Drop the tinderbox on the doorstep.
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 01:28:53 pm
"Uhh, no. They were mages, and also kind of good at killing their allies, so I doubt they went and had some swords for breakfast."" Are you saying loot eating mythical humanoid monsters can't be mages, I knew you were racist!"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 27, 2013, 02:02:27 pm
Release him, but don't let him hurt anything from the vault."Uhh, no. They were mages, and also kind of good at killing their allies, so I doubt they went and had some swords for breakfast."" Are you saying loot eating mythical humanoid monsters can't be mages, I knew you were racist!"
"... You aren't the brightest, are you? Look. They were human, and I scared them off, but they took some loot as they left. I thought you were them, but I was mistaken. Now, did you see them? They took my swords, and I'd like them back."
Go into the walls and approach him. Look about for loot.
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 02:23:49 pm
"Shark Hammer ate anyone in here, now I've got to find a demon summoner for my new masters."Release him, but don't let him hurt anything from the vault."Uhh, no. They were mages, and also kind of good at killing their allies, so I doubt they went and had some swords for breakfast."" Are you saying loot eating mythical humanoid monsters can't be mages, I knew you were racist!"
"... You aren't the brightest, are you? Look. They were human, and I scared them off, but they took some loot as they left. I thought you were them, but I was mistaken. Now, did you see them? They took my swords, and I'd like them back."
Were of to find the demon summoning mage, the wonderful demon summoning mage of Oz
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 02:35:09 pm
After a spot of argument and very, very bad lying, Darren decides to release the shady guy with the shark-shaped hammer from his telekinetic imprisonment! He feels a warm surge of satisfaction as the fellow, whom he's sure he's seen somewhere before, hits the ground with a sound like collapsing lumber. So he is made of wood. Fancy that.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the exchange, Luke is left to ponder his next move. Will he go after the suit of clothes that embarrassed him so, or will he go do something useful for once?
Wait, what's that? The fellow seems to be asking for some swords back. Uhm... about that...
Luke decides to just shuffle off and look for the demonologist rather than stick around. So, he probably isn't in the temple. In fact, he's pretty sure his masters told him where exactly to find him. But where?
[Memory roll: ?]
It was in a house, he's sure. But which house?
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom picks a random direction and decides to go in it. Before that, however, he drops the tinderbox on Bernie's doorstep. It ceases to shimmer when he does so, however. Silly tinderbox.
So, now he's leaving for... uh... the woods. Yes, the woods! It's surely a woodsman's life that awaits Tom in that merry, dark place. He heads out of the town and into the dark, dark forest that undoubtedly has many horrible things to kill in it.
[Exploration roll: 6]
After following the road for an hour or so, he comes upon a fork in the road. One path leads left, the other leads right. In the middle of the junction stands a man. He seems to be playing with a tuning fork and singing a song about how much he likes forks. Looking at the man, Tom notices a fork tattoo on his face. Also, when his mouth is open, a forked tongue clearly shows through his teeth.
"Forks, forks, forks.
I love forks,
you love forks,
we all love forks,
because they're forks.
Don't be a dork,
Get a fork
Today.
Yes, today."
Clearly a well-adjusted individual, this one.
[Forkman perception roll: ?]
He seems quite absorbed in whatever he's doing, though he seems to throw a glance at Tom when he arrives.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 02:40:37 pm
Walk up to him and pantomime: "Where do these paths lead?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 27, 2013, 02:48:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2013, 02:56:54 pm
Tom walks up to the fork man and tries to express curiosity about the possible directions these paths lead.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
He manages to look vaguely curious and bewildered, but expresses little else.
"We are at a fork, dear sir.
And what a fork it is.
The Fork of Forks,
The Fork to End All Forks.
I feel a great forking of energy here, don't you?
Don't you?"
The man looks at Tom with a piercing stare, as if the very essence of forks was contained in his gaze.
[Forkman perception roll: ?]
"It looks like you do not feel the fork.
You see the fork, but you do not feel the fork.
I could make you feel the fork.
Do you wish to feel the fork?
I have the fork for it right here.
It will take but a moment to attune you with my fork.
But do you wish to feel the fork?
To feel the fork is to know the fork.
Not all are ready to know the fork.
But those who do, they find the forks.
All the forks.
Every fork.
Even the little ones.
Especially the little ones."
It's true. He does have a fork right there. It's shiny. And very fork-like.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 27, 2013, 03:10:54 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 27, 2013, 04:33:22 pm
'Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant, he didn't even offer me dinner first. How dreadfully ill-mannered.'
Decline, then walk down the left fork. If he continues to badger me, stab him. Stab him verily.
((Rereading this, I think this single post is the absolute definition of what my character is. I couldn't be prouder.))
Post by: anailater on January 27, 2013, 04:46:21 pm
Find a thunderbird or some sort of flame creating device, burn all houses except the inn, my chair lovers house and my three masters house, then visit my chair lover.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 01:15:52 am
Darren, having released the extremely unconvincing lying zombie, goes to see if his story checks out. As he goes outside, he sees that yes, there do seem to be quite a few chewed up and mutilated swords out here. They may have formerly been scary-looking, but now they are just junk, regrettably enough. He takes a look back at his own flying swords back in the vault.
Don't worry, swords. Daddy won't let anything like that happen to you. He promises.
At the Fork of Forks...
Tom realizes that it is probably in his best interest to have as little to do with the fork man as possible. He seems quite shady, you know. And obsessed.
The skeleton shakes his head in a declining manner at the crazy fellow, then begins to leave.
[Forkman reaction roll: 3]
"You do not wish to feel the fork?
Understandable, not all are of the fork.
But for those who are not of the fork,
The ones who are merely dorks,
I will give of the fork
To let the fork take root
Within your soul."
As Tom walks away, the fork man brings out a different tuning fork from one of his many pockets and begins to hum a tune. While he hums, the fork starts to resonate oddly.
[Fork effects roll: 3]
The air seems to become thick in the area, and a faint charge propagates through it. The smell of ozone starts to permeate the vicinity.
"Hm, wrong fork.
A sign of forks,
Forks to come.
Leave, forkless.
Leave now."
Tom does so, not really in a staying mood. He heads down the left fork, hoping there will be few forks in his life from now on.
[Exploration roll: 4]
As he goes down the road, it starts to get dark. However, this kind of works to Tom's advantage, as he can now see something on the horizon! Lights! Lots of lights. Obviously somebody lives on the road ahead.
Outside the Temple of Velusius...
Luke decides to locate the demonologist by process of elimination. Fiery elimination. But first he needs something to start a fire with.
[Search roll: 5]
Fortunately, there appears to be a burning building in town rich in firestarting resources! He grabs several pieces of burning debris and goes out with the full intent of beginning a rampage!
[Rampaging roll: 1]
He is now on fire.
What was he doing again?
Post by: killerhellhound on January 28, 2013, 01:27:15 am
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 02:58:36 am
Stop drop and roll if that doesn't work, run into a building, if it does work grab some fiery wood for rampaging.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 28, 2013, 03:30:29 am
Search with ALL senses for anything unusual.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 09:46:25 am
Mark gets back to the inn after a long session of metaphorical huffing, puffing and straining and looks for someone helpful.
[Search roll: 6]
Okay, so this necromancer guy is a wizard. And it's a well-known fact that wizards inhabit dungeons or, failing that, towers. So he should check the basement first, then the top floors! Now, let's see, where's the basement... a-ha! A tapestry! Everyone knows tapestries hide secret doors, like, always! Mark, not seeing a better way, rips it off with his teeth and reduces it to tiny shreds. And surprise, surprise, there's a door behind it. Mark opens it and drags himself through!
[Stair navigation roll: 2+1]
He half-rolls, half walks down the stairs and finds a peculiar sight! It looks like a chuckling fellow secured to a wall and bleeding into a barrel of some kind. Huh. The necromancer seems to be next to him, rubbing his palms in anticipation and grinning widely. Mark drags himself up to the guy and tries to express his limb needs.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He rips off his poorly-secured legs and holds them up in the air while holding his jaw open and banging on the floor with his halberd. The result is an unholy racket. The necromancer turns to Mark and stares confusedly. He gets what's going on soon enough, though.
[Bernie helpfulness roll: 5]
"Need legs? Let's see, this should probably work, hm."
He pulls out a set of leather straps and screws from one of the packs he's brought here. He sets down Mark on a table and does his best to secure the legs as well as he can!
[Bernie help roll: 3]
He sort-of attaches the legs, though Mark doesn't really see much of an improvement over his previous state. He tries to protest!
"Relax, not done yet! Watch and be amazed, foolish minion, at what the blood of a virgin can accomplish!"
[Bernie magic roll: 4+1]
Mark feels his soul kind-of intertwine with whatever remnants of life-force were within the skeletal legs, and seems to become stronger as a result! He leaps off the table and does a few squats and leaps to test his legs.
Needless to say, he finds them to be good enough. Better than his old ones, even.
"Right, now you'll have to find me a new virgin to bleed. We need more blood if I am to have a chance of winning this, and Chuckles here is running dangerously low. Isn't that right, Chuckles?"
Chuckles just laughs weakly.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke decides that, rather than use himself as some sort of flaming projectile, he'll just extinguish himself and try again.
[Fire extinguishing roll: 1]
He rolls around in some black, viscous substance spilled on the ground! Water is black and viscous, right?
Turns out it isn't. Now Luke is covered in tar and on fire. He is officially the Zombie Torch. Okay, so plan B: flaming zombie spear! He runs at a nearby building and tries to dive inside!
[Building security roll: 1]
It looks like the door is locked and the windows are barred. But did they secure... the WALLS?
[Flaming Zombie Spear roll: 3]
Luke runs right into a wall and bounces back, flopping to the ground like a flaming fish! This fire is starting to get uncomfortable for him, to tell the truth.
Inside a blindingly white hallway...
Yorinnsud decides to focus and search for something happening around here, only better this time!
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, the floor tastes like gold, the place smells very artificial and vaguely fruity and the air feels somewhat electrified. Yorinnsud is also pretty sure he can hear a rhythmical clanging come from at least three different directions. Finally, waving his arms in a full circle doesn't really help a whole lot.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on January 28, 2013, 10:36:53 am
pray to the goddess again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 11:46:53 am
Yorinnsud, at a loss on where he is and what's happening, tries to pray again to good old Zarakhiyis!
[Prayer roll: 4]
Oddly enough, nothing at all happens. No angels of death, no flaming letters anywhere, nothing. Nothing at all. It's like who he is attempting to reach is simply... not there or something.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 28, 2013, 12:34:51 pm
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 01:00:39 pm
((Ouch double 1's))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 01:13:17 pm
Darren decides to continue his holing-up, so he tries to telekinetically drag the loot back inside, horribly mutilated though it is.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He slowly drags it through the tiny piles of gore remaining from the looters, basking in a sense of accomplishment that only pulling worthless junk back inside the worthless junk vault can bring. He is, however, saddened at the lack of any kind of horrible corpse left to perform horrible interior decorating with.
Outside a building of some kind...
Luke tries to dive through the wall once again!
[Flaming Zombie Spear roll: 1]
He tackles the wall head-first, as most zombie spears usually do. This proves to be somewhat of a bad idea, as he breaks his neck upon impact. Not that this really stops him in any way. Makes it a bit difficult to turn his head, however.
Anyway, fun's fun. Time to stop the fire.
[Fire extinguishing roll: 2]
It turns out a tar fire is a bit hard to extinguish by just stopping, dropping and rolling. Probably due to tar being highly flammable and stuff. Also, judging by the smell and sensations Luke is experiencing, his skin might be beginning to turn into charcoal.
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 01:19:47 pm
Operation Zombie spear has been retired, look for water then continue rolling if i cant find it.
Post by: miauw62 on January 28, 2013, 01:19:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 01:54:30 pm
Luke, having lost faith in the powers of flaming zombie spears, gets up, his head hanging limply down his chest, then looks for water.
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a cup of water! He splashes it over himself. Well, that didn't help. Better keep rolling!
[Fire extinguishing roll: 4]
He rolls and he rolls, but it doesn't stop the fire completely. It slows it down, yes, but does not stop it.
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 01:56:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 02:28:27 pm
Luke tries to roll some more! After all, it seems to be working!
[Fire extinguishing roll: 5]
He rolls as furiously as he can, eventually achieving total firelessness! Score! He gets up and looks at himself.
Yep, his skin is pretty much charcoal and burnt tar now. The good news are, however, that he looks pretty mean now. And he smells like burnt tar rather than rotting corpses, which is also a plus.
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 02:44:16 pm
Look for a lake, clean myself up, look for demon summoner.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2013, 04:11:24 pm
Luke tries to clean himself up for his big date! He looks for some sort of body of water!
[Search roll: 3]
He finds another cup of water and splashes it on himself! Eh, good enough. Time to find that demonologist guy. He's eluded his grasp for far too long.
[Memory roll: ?]
So, yeah. He was supposed to be in a house. And the temple of Velusius was somehow involved. But where exactly is he?
[Search roll: 1]
Maybe he's hiding in that box over there? It looks kind of suspicious to Luke. Like it's... breathing, or something.
Post by: anailater on January 28, 2013, 04:46:43 pm
If the Mage comes out give him 5 seconds to surrender from the competition, if he doesn't' surrender kill him, if he doesn't come out destroy the box and kill him, if there's no one in there go look around the temple for houses.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 28, 2013, 04:51:04 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 28, 2013, 06:19:42 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 28, 2013, 06:22:36 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 28, 2013, 07:22:22 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 29, 2013, 01:21:20 am
Try and find an exit to this irritating dimension!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2013, 06:50:12 am
Luke shouts a reasonable warning at the box, expecting it to surrender its secrets to him!
[Box reaction roll: 5]
The box opens up immediately, spilling out a few strange-looking bones as well as what look like metallic personal effects. It doesn't look like there is anyone inside.
"Looks like you're clean, box. Stay out of trouble and we won't meet again."
The box opens and closes its lid affirmatively and sucks its things back inside itself. It warms Luke's dead heart to see such law-abiding boxes living in the area. This neighborhood seems to be looking on the up and up. He nods to himself and goes back to the temple to start his search over.
[Search roll: 1]
He looks inside the window of a house right next to the temple. Dammit, there aren't any demonologists in there! The masters lied to him, the bastards!
Inside an altar room...
Since the other skeletal guy looks busy, Vincent thinks it best not to bother him. He really should focus on getting out of here.
[Search roll: 5]
There looks to be a pretty big stained glass window with nature-themed mosaics on it right above the altar. It seems to lead outside. That could certainly work.
Inside a Velusian treasure room...
Darren takes it easy and waits for the mages to come to him!
[Looter appearance roll: 4]
After about an hour, a young long-haired guy disinterestedly pokes his head inside the vault. He notices the flying swords and suit of clothes. As well as a charred corpse.
[Looter reaction roll: 1]
The head disappears from the doorframe. Darren hears the sound of footsteps, the owner of which seems to be attempting to rapidly leave the area. Maybe he should have cleaned the place up beforehand.
On the road to somewhere...
Tom tries to make out something of the lit-up place in the distance.
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, it seems to be some sort of small village. It looks pretty well-inhabited right now, what with all the lights in the windows and smoke coming up from chimneys. There also seems to be lumber mill around, though it looks somewhat unused at the moment. In addition, Tom thinks he might be able to see three people smoking pipes on a certain doorstep. All of them look like they're wearing robes, so it's a pretty safe bet they aren't your average ordinary peasants.
In the basement of Bernie's inn...
Mark follows the instructions of his master and runs out of the inn, looking for virgins anywhere in the vicinity.
[Search roll: 5]
There looks to be a young woman in white robes crying over some corpses near the other inn in town. She looks rather... inexperienced, if you know what I mean. There seems to be an equally inexperienced young man standing next to her and trying to hold back his tears (and not entirely succeeding).
In the Dimension of Utterly Pointless Irritation...
Yorinnsud attempts to find something resembling an exit to this nightmarish place!
[Search roll: 5]
He is about to head further inside the blinding white area, but realizes that sight is kind of an important thing to have while searching for stuff and elects to get out of this horrible room first, then search. After squeezing through the doorframe, he is overjoyed to find that he is not permanently blinded by the experience. That's always good.
So, he guesses he could go down one of these corridors and find out how to get back to where he was. He gets the feeling, however, that this place doesn't have an actual exit. You probably have to use some sort of magic trickery to leave.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 29, 2013, 07:31:22 am
Logic my way out.
Post by: Firelordsky on January 29, 2013, 08:18:50 am
Post by: anailater on January 29, 2013, 08:26:14 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2013, 10:54:30 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2013, 11:22:47 am
Yorinnsud argues that he must be in hell, judging by all the inhumanity and heresy inherent in the place. But he can't be in hell, since he has been entirely loyal to Zarakhiyis and followed her tenets through his entire life, most of which involved compulsive looting. So he can't be here at all. So he must be somewhere else!
[Logic roll: ?]
However, this premise has a great many flaws. For one, he is here exactly for worshipping and remaining loyal Zarakhiyis, which you apparently are strictly disallowed from doing due to something called the Golden Rule, which seems to be a very important principle here. Plus, there actually is no such thing as a hell of any sort. There are merely the realms of the gods, some more painful and unpleasant than others. And even if he had actually concluded by some dreadful miscarriage of logic that he couldn't in fact be here, it is most unlikely that anyone or anything would give a rat's ass, since he is actually here and is pretty sure that this place doesn't just exist in his own mind.
Though that would be an interesting possibility.
Inside an altar room...
Vincent gets a good running start and attempts to fly into the window!
[Flight roll: 6]
He flies high up above the ground and does an amazing spiraling swoop right into all the pretty mosaics!
[Window structural integrity roll: 2-1]
He smashes straight through the window, shattering it entirely and finding himself on the sweet, sweet outside once again! Seriously, screw that temple. It's been nothing but a pain in his skeletal pelvic region.
[Perception roll: ?]
Huh. He can actually see the expanding heat portal in the woods from here. It's smaller than one would expect it to be by now. It seems to have started a mighty forest fire, though.
Outside a house next to a temple of Velusius...
Luke, stewing with frustration, decides to take out his sorrows on the innocent building. Break-in time!
[Building security measures roll: 1]
Sadly, it seems to be entirely locked up and barred from the inside. Even the door is barred. What the hell? There doesn't seem to be a lock on it anywhere, either.
Inside a Velusian treasure room...
Darren, feeling quite comfortable by now, waits for more schmucks to arrive.
[Schmuck arrival roll: 4]
Twenty minutes later, a woman peeks inside the room. She seems just as disinterested as the guy before her.
[Female Looter reaction roll: 2]
The head then also disappears back into the doorway.
[Darren perception roll: ?]
He can vaguely hear whispers in the hallway as two sets of feet seem to be leaving the area.
"... it's full of junk, let's get out of here..."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2013, 11:29:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2013, 12:09:31 pm
Darren tries to improve the decoration of the room a bit by shifting the charred corpse, whirling swords and chewed-up metal under some of the gold!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
He can't manage to move any of these things, however! He must be getting winded from all this flagrant abuse of ghost powers. Having failed at this particular task, he waits for more people to appear.
[Schmuck arrival roll: 2]
He waits for a good hour, but nobody seems particularly inclined to come over. Possibly because he is in the deepest reaches of what is the very definition of an evil-looking basement. Oh well.
Post by: miauw62 on January 29, 2013, 12:18:51 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2013, 12:25:40 pm
Post by: anailater on January 29, 2013, 01:07:51 pm
Shark Hammer eat the door!
Post by: TopHat on January 29, 2013, 01:10:17 pm
((Are people still trying to logic their way out of magical places? I tought people would have stopped after James spent 5 turns denying a cathedral.))((He did successfully logic his memory back by rolling a '1' though...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2013, 01:31:45 pm
Darren tries to focus his magical ghostly abilities, concentrate on them.
[Concentration roll: 6]
Alright, he's ready for action. First thing that pisses him off is getting a faceful of high-powered telekinetic vengeance, that's for sure! Secure in this knowledge, Darren searches for a better spot to hide away in.
[Search roll: 2]
You know, there's a whole lot of places he could hide in. But most of them are filthy, lice-infested, full of garbage, lacking in style or some combination of the four. And that's just not good enough for the intrepid ghostly fellow, so he realizes that perhaps he shouldn't hide at all. After all, he has a lot of pent-up telekinetic power he could use.
Outside a barred house...
Luke tries to open the door the only way that he recognizes as truly legitimate - through working it over with the Sharkhammer!
[Sharkhammer digestion roll: 1]
It looks like Sharkhammer has had quite enough of chewing steel, thank you very much. Same goes for stone. From this day on, it's a flesh-only diet for our dear friend!
Post by: anailater on January 29, 2013, 01:44:30 pm
Hold Shark Hammer at arms length, command it to eat the door, if he wont just hit the door over and over with Shark Hammer.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2013, 02:59:37 pm
Luke tries to order Sharkhammer to eat the door!
[Sharkhammer compliance roll: 3]
Doesn't look like it wants to, though. Time to bash, then.
[Bashing roll: 1]
As Luke tries to bash the bars, Sharkhammer twists around in his hands and slips out of his grasp! As it falls to the ground it tries to bite a chunk out of Luke's flesh!
[Luke defense roll: 1+1]
It just so happens that the chunk in question is a large portion of his face, formerly safely nestled on the limply-hanging head of the zombie! Luke now finds himself lacking any respectable vestige of a face. Oh well. Not like it was doing him much good anyway, charcoal-ified as it was.
Post by: anailater on January 29, 2013, 03:46:25 pm
Fuck you shark hammer you will eat this door right NOW!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2013, 05:10:38 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 29, 2013, 07:45:57 pm
Dammit! Smash down the walls until I find a way out!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 29, 2013, 08:48:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2013, 08:48:14 am
Luke tries to persuade the impudent Sharkhammer to eat the door, seeing how bashing didn't work. At all.
[Persuasion roll: 1]
It looks like Sharkhammer has gotten quite the taste for well-done zombie! It attempts to bite Luke once again!
[Luke defense roll: 5+1]
Luke throws the predatory, bastardly hammer away, not keen on getting another precious chunk of his face taken off! It clanks to the ground, then begins to... drag itself toward Luke? Uh oh.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, feeling a bit out of the loop on this exploring business after that spell in the vault, gets right down to it and searches the town!
[Exploration roll: 4]
Ooh, there's a large spooky-looking mansion on the west side of town. A perfect place for a ghost, really. It looks very old, and there is a certain intimidating quality to its antiquated architecture.
In a hallway in the Office of Order...
Since his logic has failed him in its rigor and flawlessness, Yorinnsud tries to bash the walls right out like any right-thinking barbarian would.
[Strength roll: 4]
After banging on the wall for five minutes with his spindly arms, three things happen: the wall now has a tiny scratch on it, being several feet thick and made from a steel-like material, Yorinnsud gets bored, and a whole lot of noise is made. Nobody seems to mind, however.
In a village some distance away from Emlocke...
Tom tries to find something highly explosive in the village. There has to be something, right? There couldn't be no explosives in two populated places in a row?
[Search roll: 1]
As he walks into the center of the village, he is afraid he doesn't see any alchemist labs around. So the answer to that last question is pretty much "yes, there could, in fact, be no explosives in two populated places in a row", no matter how counter-intuitive and downright barbaric it may seem to Tom.
[Perception roll: ?]
As he is busy shaking his fist at the heavens for this injustice, he hears something. The village is alive with the sound of magic, it seems. Magic aimed at him. Two people right behind him seem to have started gesturing already, and it looks like more are on the way.
Post by: anailater on January 30, 2013, 01:01:01 pm
CHAIR ZOMBIE KICK!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2013, 01:23:39 pm
Wiping burnt gore from his face, Luke knows that it is time to show the foolish glutton with pretensions to hammerdom true chair-zombie justice. And true chair-zombie justice is always dispensed at the end of a chair-zombie kick. Many chair-zombie kicks, if necessary.
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 5 vs. 2]
He kicks the hammer once, sending it rolling across the ground. It is far from out, however. Time to change that.
He runs up to the Sharkhammer, then starts kicking it right in its annoying metal shark face! After about a minute of steady kicking, Sharkhammer looks pretty dizzy, actually.
[Sharkhammer endurance roll: 5]
However, it does not relent! It goes for a bite!
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 2 vs. 6]
It is, however, still a hammer and possesses no limbs. This hardly works to its advantage as it slowly drags itself toward the much quicker Luke.
[Counterattack: Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 2 vs. 3]
Luke is about to stomp the everloving hell out of it, but he reconsiders as the hammer starts chomping like some kind of... uh... metal-land-shark-thing.
Post by: anailater on January 30, 2013, 01:46:33 pm
Grab the hammer side of shark hammer, hit shark hammer against the ground repeatedly, cry while doing so.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2013, 02:22:07 pm
Luke realizes what he must now do. Sharkhammer, buddy... it's for your own good. He walks up to it and grabs it by the handle, then starts to smash it against the ground.
[Bashing roll: 1]
As soon as he tries to pick it up, however, the handle... coils up? What? It becomes spiral-shaped, then stands upright. Luke considers what this might mean for a second.
Then he realizes.
[Luke dodge roll: 6-1]
He drops to the ground just in time to see Sharkhammer fly past him, its jaws opening up and clamping together alternately!
A metal spring-shark. That's trouble.
Post by: anailater on January 30, 2013, 03:07:11 pm
Movie reference, then if that fails grab him as he springs past and slam him into the ground.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2013, 04:03:40 pm
Luke tries to persuade the shark to join him!
The fact that he has no face complicates this somewhat. In fact, he can't really speak at all right now. Alright then, preparing to counter!
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 2 vs. 2+1]
As the rogue hammer flies past him, he tries to grab it! He manages to knock it sideways, but it is moving far too fast to grab without breaking one's hands. How sad.
Post by: anailater on January 30, 2013, 04:15:03 pm
Again, i dont care if it means my arms get dislocated i am grabbing him in the air.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 30, 2013, 07:04:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 30, 2013, 07:05:14 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on January 30, 2013, 07:06:11 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 30, 2013, 07:15:56 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 30, 2013, 08:23:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 07:27:37 am
Luke comes to the wise conclusion that looking cool is better than having functional arms. With that in mind, he prepares to counter the insidious Sharkhammer once more!
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 5 vs. 4+1]
As he tries to grab the nasty thing, it nearly bites his hands off! Not terribly surprising, but it still brings up more than a few unpleasant issues with this plan. Like the fact that he's attempting to catch a metal shark. With his bare hands.
Outside a spooky mansion...
Standing outside the mansion, Darren begins the process of waiting for meddling kids to arrive so that proper tormenting can begin. That's what ghosts do, right?
[Visitor roll: 3]
A lone fellow with a big, bushy beard walks past after about thirty minutes of waiting on Darren's part. He seems to be going out of his way to avoid the mansion, though who can say what the reason for that is. Probably something crazy, judging by the look of the guy.
In the halls of the Office of Order...
Yorinnsud, rather than search for somebody helpful, tries to just wait for someone to turn up.
[Turning up roll: 5]
He sits down on the ground and hopes that an angel will provide aid. He waits for a good ten minutes, but eventually a creature draws near! Yet another one of the minions of Almiria, it looks like - an angular humanoid with a wide face and a ridiculously large beak-like nose. It almost passes right by Yorinnsud, only turning to him as it is halfway to the glowing door! It speaks with a voice like an exploding harp.
"You there! What are you doing here? Are you lost? Do you need guidance?"
In a mage-infested village...
Tom, upon noticing the large number of people out for his blood, decides to tactically advance directly away from this place.
[Tom escape roll: 2]
[Mage pursuit roll: 2]
He runs and stumbles through several streets before finding a road leading out of the town! He hears magic going off behind him!
[? magic roll: 6]
[? magic roll: 5]
[? magic roll: 6]
What comes next is a massive cloud of razor-sharp metal objects flying at him at an unhealthy velocity. A most unhealthy velocity. The blades seem to be aimed to blanket the entire area Tom is in with a deadly metal projectile rain!
[Tom dodge roll: 4]
Tom, not seeing any way this could end well for him if he stayed outside, dives behind a stone wall! He is very surprised, though mostly unharmed, however, when many of the blades manage to pierce it in their downward trajectory. Left sitting behind a pile of rubble, he tries to run once again!
[Tom escape roll: 1]
[Mage pursuit roll: 1]
He is about to try and escape, but he hears the sound of high-fiving back in the village! Clearly, they believe they got him. Better not dispel such notions.
After waiting for about ten minutes, most of the talking subsides and there is the sound of opening and closing doors. Thinking the coast is clear, Tom proceeds away from the area.
[? perception roll: ?]
As soon as he tries, though, there comes a yell from the village and there is at once the sound of mobilization! Better run now!
[Tom escape roll: 3]
[Mage pursuit roll: 1]
By the time the mages can actually get together to attempt anything against Tom, the skeleton is long gone. He runs along the road and tries to seek out a brand-new town that better have explosives in it, dammit!
[Search roll: 4]
After wandering for an hour, he notices that the forest seems to be thinning. Eventually it turns into an open plain, at which point he notices the lights of what seems like a town in the distance. A much friendlier-looking town than that village, to tell the truth.
Next to a bunch of crying people...
Mark inconspicuously approaches the two crying people.
[Man perception roll: ?]
The man turns immediately at the skeletal arrival and looks at him suspiciously. Aw, don't be like that, see, Uncle Mark is going to make things all better!
[Mark vs. Man: 6+1-1 vs. 4]
Mark then clonks the man on the head most suddenly with the hilts of his daggers!
[Man endurance roll: 3]
The man looks pretty dazed by this, stumbling and falling backwards. What a weak guy he turned out to be.
[Woman perception roll: ?]
The woman glances at the prone form of her buddy! She seems to be quite surprised.
[Mark vs. Woman: 3 vs. 6]
Just as Uncle Mark leans in to make things all better again she twists around and quickly gestures at him!
[Woman magic roll: 6]
Mark suddenly feels somewhat unsteady on his feet! This turns out to be an entirely justified feeling, as he is immediately swept away by a very strong gust of wind! He is carried into the heavens by the airflow, then just stops and is left hanging in the air.
Isn't that just wonderful?
Post by: Gamerlord on January 31, 2013, 07:37:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 07:44:34 am
Yorinnsud explains his current predicament to the humanoid, conveniently leaving out the parts about violating the Golden Rule and not cooperating with the authorities. He also complains about his lack of a body to call his own.
[Order-Thing reaction roll: 5]
"So you need to be sent home, hm? I suppose I could do that. Can't have anyone loafing around these halls at their leisure. As for the body, you would need to find an Artist of Narcillicus to get a better one, and I have no idea where to find one presently. So you're on your own on that front. Anyway, ready to be sent home?"
Post by: Gamerlord on January 31, 2013, 07:49:31 am
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 08:25:23 am
Again, do it again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 09:08:26 am
Yorinnsud asks the creature whether his body will stay as it is, considering that it is magically summoned.
"I don't see why not. Summoned things stay until they are destroyed as a general rule."
Yorinnsud nods and affirms his readiness to leave, and thanks the creature for its helpfulness.
"No trouble at all. Have to keep this place clean, after all."
The surrounding area and the creature all suddenly explode around Yorinnsud! He finds himself lying right next to his old body back in the quaint town of Emlocke! Mark is nowhere to be seen, though he has been kind enough not to loot all of his belongings. Good enough for Yorinnsud.
Next to a barred building...
Despite common sense screaming in his ear to stop, Luke continues his strategy of shark-catching!
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 6 vs. 4+1]
He catches it, but this carries the unfortunate side effect of Sharkhammer biting two of his less important fingers off! Then it twists out of his grasp and bounces away, the bastard!
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 09:49:37 am
Again, even if I lose my arm I will do it again, only one of us will survive this day!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 31, 2013, 11:02:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 11:27:57 am
Since losing fingers is not nearly terrifying enough to dissuade Luke from a course of action he perceives to be correct, he tries once more to catch this horrible metal spring-shark.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 6 vs. 2+1]
Sharkhammer coils up, poises itself to strike, then launches itself at Luke! Luke is about to laugh at its foolishness, but he remembers that he lacks a face. Nevertheless, he sticks his arm forward to receive the foul metal thing!
The result is that Sharkhammer gets a large portion of well-done zombie flesh to sate its appetite and that Luke now has one fewer arm. Dammit, that's the third arm he's lost today!
Outside a spooky mansion...
Darren approaches the man who is in all probability some lunatic with nothing to lose in life and greets him!
[Lunatic reaction roll: 3]
The guy breaks into a run and tries to get away as soon as he spots Darren. What a silly guy.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 11:34:16 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 31, 2013, 11:46:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 12:21:58 pm
Luke just keeps on trying this plan of his, hoping that it will work at least once before his possible demise.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 6 vs. 4+1]
And that's another two fingers down the drain. Joy.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 3 vs. 4+1]
After trying for so long, Luke finally catches that silly Sharkhammer and tries to smash it into the ground!
[Counterattack: Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 4 vs. 3]
He drops it to the ground with a loud clank. Doesn't look like Sharkhammer particularly liked that, though it doesn't look particularly hurt it, either.
Outside a spooky mansion...
Not really in a lunatic-chasing mood, Darren goes back up to the mansion. Yep, it's still spooky. Its doors are still closed. And the front yard is still as lacking in life as it was a moment ago. What fun this is, surely.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 12:34:18 pm
Stamp on it, kill it dead, keep legs away from mouth.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 02:20:47 pm
Luke tries to stomp the life right out of his metallic adversary in what is sure to be the best idea he's had yet! Just have to make sure not to stomp right into its mouth!
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 2 vs. 4]
Luke stomps on the handle for a bit. It doesn't have any effect aside from slightly ticking the metal implement of death off a little bit more.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 02:21:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 02:26:20 pm
Luke tries stomping again. How exciting.
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 4 vs. 5]
Yep. Metal handles really are difficult to break just with your feet. Now Luke knows.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 5 vs. 6]
He steps back at the last second as Sharkhammer tries to bite his foot off! How disappointingly unoriginal of it.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 02:32:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 03:03:43 pm
Luke stomps. Again.
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 6 vs. 5]
As he stomps at the handle, it gets bent by an eighth of an inch. Hooray.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 2 vs. 5]
Sharkhammer, meanwhile, lunges at Luke's foot. Luke, however, steps out of the way and stomps again.
[Counterattack: Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 3 vs. 4]
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 4 vs. 4]
And, how surprising, stomping fails to affect the hammer to any meaningful degree yet again.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 1 vs. 3]
Sharkhammer chomps away at the empty air in front of Luke's other foot while he tries to stomp it.
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 1 vs. 1]
And Luke misses his next stomp while Sharkhammer hardly bothers to dodge. Truly a battle for the ages.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 4 vs. 1]
Finally, something happens. The gluttonous hammer, quite intent on harming Luke particularly gruesomely by now, goes for the classic maneuver of eating a kneecap. It works wonders on Luke, as the zombie is now reduced to one arm, one functional leg and a limply hanging parody of a limb that used to be his other leg. Sharkhammer snorts happily at this development.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 03:21:43 pm
Strangle It!
((This i how it ends.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2013, 03:38:52 pm
Luke attempts to strangle that Sharkhammer!
[Strength roll: 5+1-1]
He picks the hammer up by the handle and presses it as hard as he can! He feels it bend ever so slightly. A moment later he also realizes that Sharkhammer, very much like Luke himself, doesn't actually need to breathe. Hm.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 5 vs. 2]
Sharkhammer then uses this exquisite opportunity to chew on Luke's arm most thoroughly, leaving nothing below the elbow uneaten.
Number of arms lost today: 4.
Post by: anailater on January 31, 2013, 04:13:13 pm
Translation: If I die her today, I die with GLORY!
Kick, Bite, anything, I will die in a blaze of GLORY!
Post by: Firelordsky on January 31, 2013, 04:40:33 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on January 31, 2013, 08:17:39 pm
((I'm starting to think some gloves, a masquerade mask, and some padded shoes would be much appreciated. Adding them to the list of things I want:
- Explosive Material
- Two pounds of nails
- Chlorine gas
- Mask
- Padded Shoes
- Light Black Leather Gloves
- Kite Shield
I wonder what the blast resistance is on masonry...))
Post by: Gamerlord on January 31, 2013, 08:20:12 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 31, 2013, 09:21:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 01:42:36 am
Luke, not one to ever consider even the most basic self-preservation strategies, tries to bite down on Sharkhammer!
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 3-1 vs. 6]
He then finds out its an incredibly terrible idea to attempt to engage a metal shark in a biting contest.
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 5 vs. 3-1]
Sharkhammer locks its jaws around Luke's neck and starts to clamp down hard! Luke gets the feeling he might be short one head soon. And this would be kind of a bad thing.
In the woods...
Vincent keeps on flying and searching for a better place to plunder for help and stuff.
[Flight roll: 5]
He flies up and gets a good view of the surroundings, then takes a look around.
[Search roll: 2+1]
Well, he can see the city from here. And the portal. And the temple. And the village he slaughtered. Otherwise, nothing aside from some nice scenery.
Outside some other town...
Tom sort-of disinterestedly wanders into the town and evaluates it for two things: its Loot Index and the inherent hostility that usually comes with a high Loot Index.
[Search roll: 1]
There appears to be a giant pile of golden coins in one of the streets. How utterly useless and infuriating. There also appears to be a guy with furry wings for arms and a strange beak-like face guarding it for some reason. Doesn't look too hostile. You know, aside from being an abomination against the laws of man and gods.
In the ruins of a fletcher's shop...
Yorinnsud reclaims his things and heads back to that priest-guy that apparently enslaved him in a most ungentlemanly way. He gets back to the inn in good time and, seeing how the door is open, goes down into the basement.
The priest looks to be currently bleeding an upside-down laughing dude into a barrel. Looks legit.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark attempts to throw his first dagger at the woman on the ground!
[Mark vs. Woman: 3+1-1 vs. 2]
As he watches his daggers hurtle a good 100 feet down, one of them grazes the woman!
[Woman concentration roll: 5]
She seems to be startled momentarily, but she keeps her hold on Mark.
[Woman course of action roll: 6]
The woman seems to be trying some kind of magic once again!
[Woman magic roll: 4]
Mark feels himself slowly rise higher in the air! He throws his next dagger at the woman!
[Mark vs. Woman: 6 vs. 1]
The object hits the woman straight-on. There is a scream and quite a spurt of blood down there. Uh... good enough?
[Woman endurance roll: 1]
The woman seems to drop to the ground, blood pooling around her body. Mark feels a sudden sensation of heaviness. He seems to be falling again.
Damn, he's falling again.
[Fall damage roll: 6+1]
Mark tries to direct his fall and succeeds in doing so! He falls right on the man's body.
[Man endurance roll: 3]
Blood spurts from the man's mouth and he seems to totally pass out from the pain and massive damage incurred. Looks to not be dead yet, though, unlike the woman. She seems to have had her heart pierced straight through by that last throw. Mark, however, is totally unharmed, interestingly enough.
Uh... that puts the score at 4.5-4, he guesses.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 01, 2013, 02:05:59 am
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 02:29:45 am
Time to die fighting, Bite anything on the inside of its mouth, uvula, shark organs, ANYTHING.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 01, 2013, 08:22:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 09:00:28 am
Yorinnsud tries to get the priest, who seems to be busy sorting through a chest of some kind, to pay attention to him.
[Attention getting roll: 1]
He yells that he's here and he's ready for action and whatnot! The priest jumps up instantly!
[Bernie reaction roll: 4]
He manages to keep a hold on whatever he was sorting through as well as the probably immense temptation to use it. He glares at Yorinnsud for a moment, then slowly starts to speak again.
"Zu-amaniz! Zu-latris. Zu-gozo, zu-lus-pozok-aliziris-trazikiz! Zu-pazlikut." ("You no do that! You slave. You prognosticate, you make give tribute virgins elsewhere. You bring on over.")
He seems to be trying to say something about making people give virgins tribute. Or is it giving virgins as tribute? And something about bringing them here. Yorinnsud is, quite frankly, insulted. Not even a "how are you" or "where have you been" from the guy.
In the maw of a metal shark...
Luke tries to bite Sharkhammer on the internal organs from his disadvantageous position!
[Luke vs. Sharkhammer: 6-1 vs. 2]
He shuffles around a bit in Sharkhammer's mouth to force the construct to try and bite him again. Interestingly, this works.
But Luke does not use the opportunity to get out of the shark's mouth. Instead, he dives deeper in and bites right through a layer of softer metal to reach what looks like a glowing heart! He elects to bite down on it. After all, what could he possibly lose this way? He clamps down on it with his teeth and starts chewing!
[Sharkhammer endurance roll: 5]
The heart proves quite resilient, and Sharkhammer tries to bite Luke once again!
[Sharkhammer vs. Luke: 3 vs. 2-1]
It clamps down again, but this time below Luke's neck and more around his chest area, leaving very deep marks indeed. Luke just keeps on chewing on the heart!
[Sharkhammer endurance roll: 1]
He bites it from every conceivable direction until he finally finds a weakness of some kind around one of the vessels protruding from it! He rips the vessel right off, spilling a silvery liquid through the innards of Sharkhammer! The hammer twists and convulses, then locks its jaws around Luke in some strange reflex!
Well, that's odd. It seems to be dead. It also seems to be unwilling to let go of Luke.
Next to a scene of gruesome violence...
Mark attempts to practice medicine on the unconscious man!
[Medicine roll: 3]
He looks to be in pretty bad shape. Hm. Better drag him back to the guy before all of his blood gets out. Mark tries this to the best of his ability.
[Strength roll: 3]
This fellow seems to be pretty heavy. It takes Mark about twenty minutes to drag him back to the basement. Oh hey, his brother-in-arms and accomplice in stabbing violence is here! He's looking awfully good for someone who was chopped into tiny bits. Oh well.
[Man endurance roll: 5]
The guy seems to be holding up okay, though. He actually looks a bit better than previously. This is good. Better that bleeding subjects have some life left in them. The blood lasts longer that way, apparently, from what Mark knows. He presents the man to the necromancer.
Bernie turns away from Yorinnsud and takes a look at the guy on the ground.
"He'll do, I guess. Affix him to the straps next to Chuckles, will you?"
Post by: Gamerlord on February 01, 2013, 09:02:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 10:09:06 am
Yorinnsud, his gentlebarbarianly honor insulted, tries to slap that priest guy.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bernie: 3 vs. 2-1]
He slaps him just right - hard enough to sting but not hard enough to leave a mark! The priest-guy looks pretty surprised by this.
[Bernie reaction roll: 1]
And by "pretty surprised by this" I mean "consumed by homicidal rage". Guess it stung a bit more than Yorinnsud thought.
[Bernie magic roll: 6+1]
His entire form begins to burn with a strange spectral fire as he rapidly half-hisses, half-spits seven words. There is a small flash of light, then Yorinnsud feels what could only be described as two whole worlds of horrible pain. His magically-maintained body begins to disintegrate, though that is but a secondary consideration, because yet another thing is beginning to disintegrate: his very soul.
[Yorinnsud will roll: 6]
Yorinnsud screams as loudly as he can, groping in the blinding light for something to get his hands on in order to distract him from the feeling of getting torn apart in the most gruesome imaginable way. He, sadly, does not succeed. So he drops to the ground and curls up in a ball instead.
After about ten minutes of horrible suffering, only half a head and neck is left on the ground, gibbering madly.
"Still alive? Such a pity. I guess I could keep the thing around as an ornament."
Post by: miauw62 on February 01, 2013, 11:07:38 am
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 12:46:45 pm
Translation= I lived?
Hum a victory tune in my head, attempt to eat my way out.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 01:17:48 pm
Luke tries to eat his way out of Sharkhammer's spacious mouth as he hums a merry victory tune! Well, he sort of splutters a victory tune with his ruined face, but it doesn't really matter. After all, he is the champion now. And he'll keep on fighting until the end.
[Chewing roll: 2]
It looks like chewing through metal is quite a difficult thing to accomplish, since, while Sharkhammer's innards seem to be soft enough, the same can hardly be said of the outer layers. Looks like Luke is stuck wearing a shark-hat.
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 01:23:28 pm
Try to use my teeth to drag my way back towards he three mages. Try a bit of prayer as well for help.
Post by: TopHat on February 01, 2013, 02:14:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 02:29:52 pm
Luke, being completely blind, mostly incapable of hearing anything or smelling anything from within the bowels of a metallic shark, turns to his one possible savior - the gods themselves!
[Prayer roll: 2]
Regrettably enough, they go totally unanswered. They must be busy purging heretics or something. Time to find his four masters!
[Search roll: 1-2]
He feels himself bump into something as he rolls along the streets of Emlocke. Something large.
[Reaction roll: 1]
Suddenly, a voice loud enough to obliterate small kittens rings out through his metallic shark hat!
"LOOK OUT, LEATHERFIST! IT'S TRYING TO KILL YOU! KILL IT FIRST! KILL IT FIRST!"
[Leatherfist vs. Luke: 3+3 vs. 3-2]
Just as Luke is about to offer a word of protest, he is soundly pounded into the ground by two mighty, leathery fists! He is then picked up and chucked through the air!
[Luke will roll: 2]
That really did not feel very good. It felt very not-good, to tell the truth.
[Luke flight roll: 2]
Judging by his internal sense of timekeeping, he did not fly very long.
[Landing roll: 3-1]
He does learn that metallic shark bones are not very good for one's internal anatomy as he drops, several metallic shark teeth and bones embedding themselves in very nasty places. Overall, a painful experience.
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 02:33:22 pm
Translation= sob.
Try to escape, when I inevitably die try to possess the guy trying to kill me.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 02:55:25 pm
Luke tries to escape to the best of his ability, which isn't particularly good, to tell the truth.
[Escape roll: 5]
He rolls onto the spring side of Sharkhammer and tries to bounce away! To his surprise, this seems to work quite well! Luke hears the extremely loud voice slowly fade away into the distance.
"SEE HOW IT RUNS, LEATHERFIST? IT FEARS YOU! IT FEAAARS YOOOUUU!"
Leatherfist doesn't seem to be following him. Well, at least there's no sound of leathery feet pounding against the ground. He eventually lands in a pile of rubble in what might be an alley.
[Luke will roll: 1-1]
Oh... he is expiring fast. Very fast. He isn't even sure if he has a lower body anymore. He is truly more Sharkhammer than man now.
[Luke will roll: 6-2]
Is it time yet? It sure feels like it is. He is almost gone. He has almost no body, he is trapped in a metal shark that used to actually be kind of a friend to him before its betrayal, he has run afoul of many awful things, horrible destruction and even the terrifying Leatherfist. He has lost four arms in total today as well as his entire body below the waist. His skin is entirely charcoal. He has suffered more today than most others will in twenty years.
"Oh, you came! I was beginning to worry, you know!"
And now, it is time for his date.
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 03:20:40 pm
My Dear, my life is fading fast, I'm sorry it had to happen today, just tell me are their any other chairs here? My will shall leave soon and i need a vessel.
Try to not die and talk with my mind, try prayer again if i die try to enter a chair that's not my love.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2013, 03:52:41 pm
Luke, enjoying the soothing sound of the chair's voice, lounges in the alley and thinks of better places.
"My dear, my life is fading fast, I'm sorry it had to happen today, just tell me-"
"Shh, no words. Let's enjoy the moment."
And they do.
It doesn't hurt anymore. Luke utters a prayer to the gods, though he feels oddly... content already.
[Prayer roll: 3]
Though there is no answer, no angels dramatically descending from heaven and no horns from the godly dimensions splitting the sky with their sound, Luke does not feel they are entirely necessary. He feels warmed already. Warm... and loved.
Post by: anailater on February 01, 2013, 04:40:00 pm
Enjoy the moment.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 01, 2013, 07:19:16 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 01, 2013, 09:32:37 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 01, 2013, 11:50:20 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 04:06:05 am
Mark ties up the man then grabs gamer lords head legs it out the in then finds the woman he killed and fix his buddy's head on herYOU ARE NOT GIVING ME A WOMAN'S BODY! At the least find a warrior or something!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 04:30:23 am
Luke listens to his chair-friend and just lies there. It's not a bad feeling, having nowhere to rush and no one to run from. He lies there contently for quite a while.
[Visitor roll: 6]
He is brought out of his calm state by something kicking at him.
"Hm, looks kind of dead. Perfect!"
[? strength roll: 1]
Luke hears a sort-of cricking sound.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Gods, man, that thing is quite heavy!"
There is a pause.
"Well, I don't really need to move this thing. I guess I can do things with it right here."
Uh... things?
In Bernie's basement...
Mark goes about the task of tying up the broken guy up next to Chuckles.
[Strength roll: 2]
Damn, that guy is a bit too heavy to lift. Mark isn't sure he can do this all by himself. He'll need assistance. And he knows just where to get some!
He throws as mischievous a glance at the gibbering head of Yorinnsud on the ground as a skeleton is capable of. Needless to say, it's a bit difficult to read. He goes over to the head and picks it up.
"Oh, you're already on that. I was thinking of asking you to put it somewhere embarrassing."
Oh, don't worry. He will. He runs out of the inn and finds the still-warm body of the dead woman. He can barely contain the mad scientist excitement as he gets ready to practice medicine! He sets his buddy's head on the ground and thinks.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Right, so he'll need a needle and thread. But where to find some?
[Search roll: 4]
Fortunately, there appears to be a tailor's shop just nearby. It has a bit of thread and even a needle around. Score! Now for the actual medicine.
[Medicine roll: 6]
Oh, look, his buddy's saying something about this. Probably thanking him. And a galah-balah to you too, buddy! Mark neatly slices off half the woman's head off with his dagger, then places Yorinnsud's head, which he neatly separates the neck from, in like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Fits perfectly! As in, hardly fits at all. He adds some bits of the leftover half of the woman's head in to improve the general look of the head. Good news is, the Yorinnsud half of the head now has long golden hair as well. And an eyebrow. Felt necessary, you know. He secures everything, double-checks the design for stylistic elegance, then nods contently and stands up.
Damn, Yorinnsud's looking mighty fine now. Most women would kill for curves like that. Luckily, Mark already took care of that part for him.
Yorinnsud, meanwhile, is paralyzed with horror. Not literally paralyzed, though. The body seems to work perfectly and react nicely to his control. If only it wouldn't feel so weird!
In a town of some kind...
Tom searches for eminently useful things. Such as explosives.
[Search roll: 2]
Well, there's no alchemist labs that he can see. Or stores for thieves, though that might mostly be because that's sort of a paradox. He finds an errant nail or two, but that's hardly the two pounds he was looking for. Finally, there is a kite flying around in the sky. Tom's pretty sure that's not a shield, though.
In the front yard of a spooky mansion...
Darren tries to get himself into the mood for some ghostly blues.
[Spooky Howling roll: 3]
Sadly, unlife is just too good to him. He can't get depressed enough to do this properly. He settles for whistling merrily instead.
[Visitor roll: 5]
He whistles all the cheeriest tunes he can think of for about twenty minutes before he notices a group of dudes standing around and dancing. They appear to be enjoying his talents immensely.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 04:48:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 05:32:54 am
Yorinnsud suddenly bolts upright and stand up! Mark applauds the confirmation of his own unmistakable genius and expertise.
Then Yorinnsud tries to strangle him.
[Yorinnsud vs. Mark: 2 vs. 6+1]
She furiously locks her hands around Mark's lack of any breathing apparatus and tries to lock off his air supply. Mark just looks at her perplexedly. This isn't really his idea of a hug, but what can you do. It starts to get a bit creepy after a few moments, so Mark just sort of politely pushes her away.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 07:00:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 07:03:23 am
(I fully intend to be a medic and when the people call for me they will end up saying god why are they are being made into a chainsaw rabbit shark)
Edit: gamerlord if you asked me to do some thing like put you on a warrior body I would have. anyway that mage has magic so it is a better body for you
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 07:14:57 am
Yorinnsud tries to dismember the foul and terrible Mark!
[Yorinnsud vs. Mark: 6 vs. 4+1]
She starts to pull on one of Mark's arms! It starts to come a bit loose, though it will probably take some work before it comes off entirely. Mark, meanwhile, tries to take the crazy now-lady to Bernie's basement.
[Mark strength roll: 6]
He lifts Yorinnsud high up above himself and rushes back to the inn, dropping her at the foot of the stairs and pointing at the unconscious guy he wants lifted. Bernie flips around at the noise.
He takes a look at Yorinnsud. He begins to laugh.
"Oh gods, that's way better than anything I could have come up with! Seriously, that's hilarious. Points to you, skeleton guy."
Yorinnsud feels... odd. The words of the priest sound... familiar, understandable, almost. She actually sort of knows what the priest is saying! Something about points and skeletons and hilarity. It's a strange feeling, to tell the truth.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 07:18:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 07:39:45 am
Yorinnsud steadfastly continues to try to harm Mark!
[Yorinnsud vs. Mark: 2 vs. 4+1]
She lunges at Mark in a very hostile manner, but Mark just steps out of the way and goes over to the unconscious dude, probably to ponder the best way to lift the big lug up to the straps. Bernie just watches with amusement.
[Bernie idea roll: ?]
"I suppose I should tell you to stop or something, but I find that this is far too funny."
[Yorinnsud vs. Mark: 2 vs. 5+1]
Yorinnsud tries to tackle the would-be mad scientist into the wall, but the skeleton ducks down to inspect the heavy fellow, causing Yorinnsud to trip over him and smash into the wall.
[Bernie idea roll: ?]
"Alright, that's enough. No smashing into the walls. I order you to stop attacking that delightful skeletal genius at once and never do so again!"
Yorinnsud understands these words only too well. She suddenly finds herself unable to enact righteous retribution on the foul creature! Damn it all!
"Wait, you understood that? Fascinating. Further experimentation may be needed."
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 07:49:29 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 02, 2013, 07:49:43 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 07:51:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 08:11:13 am
Yorinnsud, lacking a better target to exercise her frustrations against, tries to punch that asshole that prevented her just warrior right of exacting retribution.
[Yorinnsud vs. Bernie: 2 vs. 6]
She swings a mighty punch at Bernie, but the little worm dodges easily, cackling all the way. He twists away from Yorinnsud, with what is quite possibly the widest shit-eating grin she has seen making his face more despicable-looking than ever.
"Heh, not falling for that one again! And since you can understand me, let me make some things clear. I order you to never, ever harm me in any way!"
Motherfucker.
"I also order you to never even consider harming yourself in any way!"
Double motherfucker.
"Finally, for that little stunt, I order you to always swing your hips in a vaguely suggestive manner while walking to complete your abject humiliation!"
And that just makes her day complete.
"Gods, it feels great to not have to speak that stupid ancient dialect anymore! It lets me express myself so much more clearly!"
He seems to be having a power rush of some kind, the vile bastard, because this is honestly the happiest she has seen him be.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 08:24:00 am
Hang the man on the draining wall
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 08:25:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 08:35:14 am
While those two quarrel, Mark tries to figure out how best to hang this dude on the wall. It is a most pressing matter, after all.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He really has no idea how to save any strength on picking this guy up. And he isn't any stronger than previously. In short, no dice on that front.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 08:38:53 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 08:40:05 am
When Gamerlord kills the man help him with !!medicine!!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 08:41:15 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 08:44:43 am
To bed with me
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 08:50:55 am
Feeling desperate to spite this asshole in some way, Yorinnsud charges at the chuckling fellow that seems to be used for some kind of vile experiment with full intent of killing him!
[Yorinnsud quickness vs. Bernie reaction time: 1 vs. 5]
Unfortunately, the vile creature that is her master seems to spot her murderous intent before it even has a chance to form properly! He shouts yet more orders!
"I order you to never harm any of my blood sources!"
She stops. Crap.
"Furthermore, I order you to never harm or take without my permission any of my things in this basement or, for that matter, harm this basement in general!"
Well, that kills that plan.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on February 02, 2013, 09:00:32 am
Leave and go look for something to kill. Maybe I can move my face to someone else.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 09:03:43 am
Do not resist.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 09:25:17 am
Yorinnsud gives the basement up as a lost cause and goes out looking for someone or something to kill, stepping over the old her's equipment on the way.
[Search roll: 4]
Oh, look, there's another of those white robed people. She recognizes this one as Linda. Not the brightest one of the bunch by any means, but decent enough at magic. Shouldn't be that hard to kill.
In an alleyway of some kind...
Luke just lets the guy do his thing, but not before offering some parting words to his chair-friend.
"I must leave now, my love, someone is trying to do things with me, but know this, I have never been happier than I am right now."
"Neither have I, my love."
[Dude magic roll: 4]
Luke feels himself get pulled into the body of his old friend through the mouth, becoming an integral part of it! He now seems to have control over this shark body! And not only that, he feels his hands and feet slowly reappear again, taking the place of the fins and tail! They do not form entirely and are a bit stubby, but hey, you have to take what you can get.
Luke is now Shark-Luke!
"Excellent, it worked! Hooray for me!"
Luke looks at the man with his new shark eyes. He seems to be a tall bald fellow with a very jovial face. He is wearing yellow robes.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 09:31:47 am
Attempt to talk to Mr Robes.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 09:37:52 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 11:04:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 12:34:30 pm
Luke tries to strike up a conversation with the guy.
"Khhhello?"
[Robe Dude reaction roll: 4]
"You can talk? Wonderful! I bet you can understand what I'm saying as well, right? What is your name, critter? Do you have a name?"
Inside Bernie's basement...
Following Yorinnsud's departure, Mark feels a bit uneasy. Like he should have a buddy of some kind to compete in murder with. So he decides to leave the unconscious guy on the ground and head after his lady-friend.
It doesn't take long for him to find her. She seems to be evaluating a potential victim. Good ol' Yorinnsud. She never changes.
In an entirely different town...
Tom decides to look for some affordable housing. By which he means abandoned dwellings.
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there are quite a few. The town, very much like Emlocke, is entirely abandoned by its regular residents. There's big houses, small houses, opulent houses, hovels and many other places people somewhere would be proud to call their lairs.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 12:38:29 pm
Have delightful conversation, tell him my name, my zombiage, my chairness, and request the ability to speak normally..
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 01:54:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 02:50:28 pm
Luke tries to keep the conversation going.
[Speaking roll: 4]
"Khhluke, khhzombie... ahem. My name is Luke. I am a zombie. And also a chair man. As you can see, I am speaking entirely normally."
"Indeed you are! How cute."
[Robe Dude reaction roll: 4]
"So, nice weather we're having, eh?"
In an entirely different town...
Tom decides to break into a random house and search it for valuables.
[Break-in roll: 6]
He breaks in. Oh gods, does he break in. He goes to a random house, dropkicks a door straight out of its hinges and charges inside, then begins to look for stuff he needs!
[Search roll: 4]
He finds a mask on one of the tables of the house. It's a sort of black eye-covering mask with a strap on the back to prevent accidental unmasking. There are also some padded and oiled boots lying around. Finally, there seems to be something called a "Diary of John E. Capstone, Master Thief" lying on one of the bedside tables. Aside from these three items, there is very little of interest.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 02:58:57 pm
Wear the mask and the boots. Begin reading the diary. Check for where his loot is stashed.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 03:44:28 pm
Tom puts on the boots. These turn out to be way more silent than walking around barefoot. Cool. He then puts on the mask and instantly feels totally unrecognizable, as any skeleton in a highly conspicuous mask reminiscent of gentleman outlaws normally would. Now he only needs to flay a mustache off somebody and he'll be set. He then sits down and starts to read the diary, paying attention only to particularly interesting entries.
Spoiler: The Diary of John E. Capstone, Master Thief (click to show/hide)
The tale is an interesting one indeed, providing lots of insight in the mind of a true master of his craft. And it even points to loot. How kind of it.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 03:49:19 pm
Talking!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 03:58:43 pm
Luke keeps on running his mouth like some kind of magical locomotion device.
"Yes, it is, it is quite pleasant weather. Unfortunately, you should know if you want me as a minion or pet, I'm already working for one group and double-crossing another, so I'm not the best team mate. On that note, have you seen any mages with demon summoning books hanging around the church lately?"
The robed fellow thinks for a moment.
[Robed Dude knowledge roll: ?]
"Oh, I couldn't tell you myself. You should ask the nice man in the third house down from the temple. He seems like a knowledgeable fellow. I had tea with him not two hours ago, actually. He would know if there was anyone in the church, methinks."
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 04:16:34 pm
Check for loot under said mattress.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 04:24:38 pm
Tom checks under the mattress for some nice loot.
There isn't any. There's just lots of fruit. All of it is squished. Most of it is very, very far past its prime.
Clearly this man was a criminal genius of some kind.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 04:45:35 pm
Head to he man he was talking abut, if its the demon summoner try to bite his head off, if its not ask him where the demon summoner is.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 04:47:03 pm
Strain the rotten fruit juice into one of the jars. Start removing nails from the walls and collecting them. Check the house for a backpack or other carrying container.
((Fermented fruit juice? Alcohol.
I don't need to mention which of alcohol's many properties I plan to exploit.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 05:14:51 pm
Luke thanks the man profusely, then leaves. He heads over to the temple and locates the house the man pointed out. He knocks on the door.
[Door answerer roll: 3]
A very mean-looking guy in leather armor opens the door. Luke asks him a perfectly legitimate question.
"Excuse me, but would you know where I could find a qualified demon summoner?"
[Guy reaction roll: 2]
The guy closes the door.
At the scene of a horrible crime against humanity...
Tom goes ahead and squeezes all the juice he can get from the fruit into his lidded jars.
[Juice roll: 6]
There is a lot of fruit, plus the mattress doesn't seem very water-absorbent, so he manages to get several liters of the stuff. Mmm, rotten fruit juice. The very stuff of life, that. He then looks for nails in the walls to pry out.
[Nail availability roll: 5]
Fortunately, this house, shoddily-constructed as it is, provides a whole lot of nails for Tom to use. After a long session of prying them out with his bastard sword, he obtains about half a pound in total. Removing any more just wouldn't be safe, he thinks. Now to find a pack of some kind.
[Search roll: 1]
There are exactly zero backpacks around. Well, actually there is one. But he can only see it in a mirror. It is in his hands, and it seems to give its owner, Mirror-Tom, quite a bit of satisfaction. Look at that guy, lording his backpacked status over his mirror counterpart. What an asshole.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 05:18:02 pm
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 05:18:37 pm
Knock again. Ask for the demon summoners location.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 05:23:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 05:40:07 pm
Tom puts about ten nails in each of the filled lidded jars (of which there are 8), then looks for a new house to burglarize. He is vaguely aware of his backpacked reflection flipping him off as he does this. He goes to another house and tries to break in.
[Break-in roll: 6]
Dropkicking the doors out really is the only way to break into houses. The rest just seem so... unsatisfying in comparison. After getting up and dusting himself off, Tom heads in.
Well, this house looks just as quaint as the last one, though the exact layout's a bit different. How wonderful.
Outside a house near the temple in Emlocke...
Luke knocks on the door once again.
The door opens by an inch, a peering eye visible through the crack in the door. After a second, the door is closed again.
Next to a potential victim...
Mark, eager to be helpful, goes up to that lady Yorinnsud is staring at.
[Linda perception roll: ?]
Just as he is about to swing his halberd, the lady looks at him. Uh... he can explain. Yes, he can indeed explain. He can explain why your head is about to roll down the street!
[Mark vs. Linda: 6+1 vs. 5]
He fails to behead the lady due to a timely dodge on her part. He does, however, nick her something fierce.
[Linda magic roll: 6]
Mark then once more experiences the familiar feeling of being catapulted through the heavens by a gust of wind. Oh, to be in familiar territory.
[Mark flight roll: 5]
He flies at a perfect 45 degree angle, achieving maximum distance from his point of launching, which just so happens to land him right outside the town!
[Mark fall damage roll: 3+1]
Fortunately, he lands right in a tree. This breaks his fall somewhat, particularly when he manages to get fortuitously impaled through a space in his ribs by a branch, which stops him from even reaching the ground at the cost of one broken rib. The cost was worth it, he thinks.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 05:54:17 pm
Walk back into John's house. Acquire the mirror. If too large, downsize it. With a bastard sword.
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 06:58:36 pm
Give him 5 seconds to open the door, if he doesn't eat the door down.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 07:10:36 pm
Tom suddenly realizes that mirrors aren't actually supposed to flip you off when you walk past. Strange, he knows, but there may be more to this than meets the eye, so to speak. He hoofs it back to John E. Capstone's house and tries to steal the mirror!
Fortunately, it is relatively easy to steal, being only about the size of Tom's ribcage.
[Mirror handling roll: 5]
He carefully tucks it inside one of the inner compartments of his robe. Should be safe there, he thinks.
Outside a house of some kind...
Luke gives a friendly warning.
"Sir, I must warn you, I'm half-shark, and if you don't open this door and listen to me, I will eat it."
There is no response. Luke decides to chomp on the door.
[Chewing roll: 2]
Damn, this is harder than you'd think. Must be a quality door he's dealing with here. Plus it's kind of difficult to bite a piece out of a flat surface.
Aaaaand now he looks like some kind of lightweight. Thank you, metal teeth, you have made Luke look like a moron.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2013, 07:11:33 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 02, 2013, 07:17:38 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 02, 2013, 08:06:49 pm
Post by: anailater on February 02, 2013, 08:16:47 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 03, 2013, 01:01:34 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 02:44:55 am
Kill Linda and attach her body parts to myself, making myself a horrid abomination.help gamerlord with this
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 05:06:07 am
Beaming with accomplishment after stealing the mirror, Tom heads back to the house he just broke into. He looks for useful loot around the place.
[Search roll: 6]
Ooh, there's a large black fur cloak laying on one of the beds. That looks like a pretty nice piece of loot.
Outside a house full of rude people...
Luke tries to figure out a better way to eat this damn door.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe he'll just kick it first, then eat?
[Kicking roll: 6]
He rears up and kicks the door straight out of his hinges, which is not so surprising, considering that he's made of metal and infused with more shark than any zombie has any right to be. This, naturally, makes a lot of noise. He then goes inside and starts chewing on the remains of the door.
[People reaction roll: 3]
[? magic roll: 4]
A strange wall of force appears near Luke, blocking off entry to the inner parts of the house.
[Perception roll: ?]
He hears rather nervous whispering from inside. Something about being freaked out by sharks kicking in their doors and this neighborhood not being as safe as it's cracked up to be.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud walks up to Linda like she don't give a damn.
[Linda reaction roll: 2]
Linda doesn't exactly look happy to see her. More horrified than anything, to tell the truth. Yorinnsud gives her a nice hug. With her hands. Around Linda's throat.
[Yorinnsud vs. Linda: 4 vs. 6]
Unfortunately, they are not operating on the level of one-sided trust Yorinnsud may have assumed, as Linda immediately counters with a knee to the stomach, sending Yorinnsud to the ground.
[Linda heartlessness roll: 5]
She seems to catch on quick enough. Being in this town probably does that to you.
[Linda magic roll: 6]
Yorinnsud feels herself lifted off the ground very much like Mark before her. And, just like Mark, she is sent off on a nice trip through the skies.
[Flight roll: 1]
Unlike Mark, however, her flight is best characterized as entirely vertical. She sails up, then comes right down.
[Fall damage roll: 1]
And manages to land on her head as well, splattering it across the street. Some of it gets on Linda as well, about which she doesn't seem entirely pleased.
[Yorinnsud will roll: 4]
Interestingly enough, Yorinnsud is still alive. Even better, Linda doesn't suspect this. The bad news, however, are that Yorinnsud is completely blind, deaf and unable to smell or taste anything now. And all of Mark's hard work on his face is undone.
Impaled on a tree outside Emlocke...
Mark tries to remove himself from the tree he's impaled on!
[Self-removal roll: 2+1]
He manages to kind of kick himself forward a bit, getting about a quarter of the way off the branch, and keep himself there. Guess he'll have to keep trying.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 05:12:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 05:20:10 am
Show that Mage that sent me into the tree some thanks by inpaling her then start helping gamerlord with !!medicine!!
I will auto you to attempt to kill Linda and help Yorinnsud every time Gamerlord posts, I think. After all, your individual timeframes are directly linked now.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 03, 2013, 05:27:29 am
Use the magic I undoubtedly absorbed from the dead mages body to give myself sight, hearing and the other senses!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 05:40:45 am
Yorinnsud tries to figure out how to use wind magic!
[Memory amalgamation roll: 1]
Sadly, the knowledge of how to do this disappeared entirely with the head of the woman that just got splattered all over cobblestones around here. Eh, what can you do?
Luckily, Mark knows the answer to that question! He keeps trying to get off the tree!
[Self-removal roll: 6+1]
He kicks himself straight off the tree and breaks into a mad sprint!
[Movement roll: 6+1]
He runs like he has never run before, faster even than the wind that carried him here! He half-leaps through the streets of Emlocke, reaching the street good ol' Linda happens to be in, culminating his triumphant gallop with a leaping charge at the foul woman!
[Mark vs. Linda: 3+1+1 vs. 2]
He runs straight into her before Linda even has the chance to attempt a defense, running her through the stomach with the spear end of his makeshift halberd and bringing her down to the ground with a massive bleeding wound in her belly.
[Linda endurance roll: 6]
Linda, however, doesn't seem to be willing to give up that easily. From her prone position, she attempts to cast another magic trick at Mark!
[Linda magic roll: 4]
Mark is suddenly knocked flat by a sharp gale of wind that seems to have come out of nowhere. Damn mages and their damn wind magic. Linda uses the opportunity to get up and retreat to a respectable distance, attempting to attend to her wound.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 05:49:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 05:51:04 am
Thanks for the auto Harry and when the bloody Mage dies transfer gamerlord between body's his is damaged enough
Actually, he has exactly zero original body parts now. His original head kind of got completely torn to pieces by tiny little shards of his own skull when he hit the ground. So really he's all wind magic lady now.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 07:03:16 am
But I can just get Him a new one
Also Harry how will we get the chapter to end or will it only end with all PC deaths
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 07:12:15 am
Also Harry how will we get the chapter to end or will it only end with all PC deaths
Eventually the mages will thin out sufficiently for there to be only 6-8 left. That's when the endgame starts.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 03, 2013, 07:21:33 am
Wait for Mark to do his thing.
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 07:32:20 am
Demanding voice!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 07:35:51 am
Also I will throw daggers at the Mage this time
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 07:40:31 am
((I swear... if that six means I just found a cloaker (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Cloaker)...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 08:09:39 am
Mark tries to get up as quickly as possible to finish that wind magickin' Linda. Yorinnsud, on the other hand, does not.
[Mark recovery roll: 1+1]
As Mark gets up, Linda lets loose another magical assault.
[Linda magic roll: 3]
This time it is but a minor gale, hardly anything to be worried about. Mark once more tries to kill Linda and kill her as hard as possible!
[Mark vs. Linda: 2+1 vs. 6]
Linda trips Mark up as he stabs forward, letting the homicidal skeleton fall to the ground right on his skeletal face! Linda then tries to magic something up again!
[Linda magic roll: 2]
However, close combat seems to be a bit too stressful for her, as she seems to be unable to quite concentrate. The blood loss doesn't help either.
[Mark recovery roll: 4+1]
By the time she is in any position to try again, Mark is once again upon her with his halberd!
[Mark vs. Linda: 3+1 vs. 6]
Damn, she's just too fast for him! What's a skeleton to do?
[Linda magic roll: 6]
Linda suddenly lifts off from the ground, inhales dramatically and creates a sudden, massive gust of stormy wind! Mark is blasted off his feet and hurled right into a nearby house at a most unhealthy velocity!
[Mark endurance roll: 6]
Mark braces himself for impact and, though he is blasted straight through a house, the only mark on his body is a series of very small fractures! He charges straight back out and tries to stab Linda once more!
[Mark vs. Linda: 4+1 vs. 3]
He leaps through the air and tries to behead Linda, but only manages to create a large, painful gash across her kidney area before landing once more!
[Linda endurance roll: 5]
Linda is less than impressed, however. Powering through massive blood loss, she goes for more magic!
[Linda magic roll: 3]
The breeze around the area strengthens a bit and Linda starts to slowly ascend higher up.
[Mark vs. Linda: 6+1 vs. 2]
However, what is a bother is that Linda's still alive. Mark takes it upon himself to fix this immediately. He takes careful aim and hurls his halberd like a javelin, aiming straight for the witch's heart. The projectile flies rapidly, rapidly enough for the floating mage to be unable to dodge it in any reasonable fashion, and she is struck right through the chest, bisecting her heart and severing the spine before stopping. Linda clutches the halberd and violently falls to the ground, massive amounts of blood spilling across the street. Looks pretty dead to Mark.
All in all, a job well done. Mark reclaims the halberd and gets to the important task of practicing his surgical skills. And helping Yorinnsud, he guesses.
[Medicine roll: 6]
He decides that it is probably time to get artistic. After all, any sawbones can bolt body parts back on, but only the true performance surgeon can create true works of art. He starts his grisly work, slicing up Linda's corpse with what can only be described as a profoundly inspired glee.
Since this is only his second time trying this, he decides to go a simpler route. Since Linda's spine is already severed at that particular point, he chooses to just sever the entire body at that point. He then severs Yorinnsud's neck with all it's mangled vertebrae and simply adds the top part of Linda's torso on top. It takes a lot of work, but eventually he gets a nearly seamless transition worked out. He even fixes up the robes so that they look like one continuous robe rather than two fragments.
Yorinnsud now actually looks pretty weird, like a seven-foot-tall elongated four-armed woman. And it looks like she has solid command of all her limbs! Success!
Wait, no. Something's still missing. Mark purposefully strides up to the remains of Linda and dips his finger in her blood, which is still relatively fresh. He goes back to Yorinnsud and draws a rough approximation of a smiling face on her chest.
There. Now she's done.
In a house near the temple...
Not seeing any point in going on a maximum shark rampage just yet, Luke tries to interview the rude people living in this house.
"ALL I WANT IS INFORMATION, WHERE IS THE DEMON SUMMONER?"
[People reaction roll: 4]
"Whaddaya want from 'im?"
In a house of some kind...
Tom takes the cloak and puts it on. Aw yeah, lookin' like a treacherous nobleman already. This, however, further exacerbates the need for an evil mustache. But where would he get one? Maybe the kitchen?
[Kitchen stuff roll: 3]
Well, the kitchen doesn't have any food or vessels in it. It's all either stolen or was taken by the owners when they left. And the pantry seems to be empty. Really, the only things around here are a bit of firewood and an oven. Though depending on one's needs that may also suffice.
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 08:12:42 am
Talking! Again!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 08:15:31 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 08:23:58 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 03, 2013, 08:36:49 am
Find a weapon and start murdering, taking breaks to have Mark affix them to my body.
((I'm going to bed now, and I won't be able to post for the next 13 hours. Just let khh take the lead if he is online.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 09:08:33 am
Luke explains his purpose in the building loudly and clearly.
"THE BOOK AND FOR HIM TO SURRENDER OR DIE, SORRY, IT'S JUST BUSINESS!"
[People reaction roll: 3]
"Oh, you want that, do ya? Well, let's see how ya like this."
[? magic roll: 2]
Absolutely nothing happens.
"Uh... mind waiting there a bit? We'll bring the demon summoner and his book right out."
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud decides to look for a weapon. After all, she has four arms and full intent to use them.
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there's the dagger in her old heart. That's one weapon. Secondly, there's the sharp short sword she left in Bernie's basement. And some steel gauntlets as well. She runs along and picks all of them up. That's two weapons already, plus a piece of armor. She puts on the gauntlets and menacingly brandishes the sword and dagger. With Mark in tow, she heads out to find someone to murder.
[Search roll: 2]
Dang. Nobody around. And just when she was ready to kill a whole lot of people.
In some odd town...
Tom continues his looting. Can never have enough loot. He walks over to a random house and tries to break in.
[Break-in roll: 3]
He knocks on the door.
[Answer roll: 4]
The door is opened by a glowing, semi-transparent old guy.
"Yes? What do you want?"
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 09:12:43 am
Smile. Stab. Stab a lot.
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 09:37:27 am
Whistle a little tune while waiting for the man, try to dodge any spells they try to use on me.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 09:58:12 am
Tom grins very much like he usually does and stabs at the old guy with his broadsword.
It doesn't work. At all.
[Old Guy reaction roll: 2]
"That's not a very nice thing to do, you know. Good day."
He shuts the door. Tom can hear it get bolted behind the guy.
Inside the home of some rude people...
Luke loudly thanks his kind hosts and starts to whistle.
[Whistling roll: 3]
It's kind of more of a faint hiss with a hint of a cough than a whistle, though.
[? magic roll: 6]
He suddenly feels a bit... cramped. Like some sort of force was enclosing him in six perfectly identical walls from every direction and growing closer and more deadly by the second.
How nice.
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 10:03:09 am
Talk, try to hold the box open with my STEEL SHARK BODY STRENGTH!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 11:13:02 am
Luke, ever the conversationalist, tries to chat while keeping the death-box from shrinking.
[Strength roll: 3+1]
He manages to slow its contraction to quite a manageable degree. Sufficiently manageable to make conversation, that is.
"You know, that's not very nice."
"Yup."
"Sorry about the shouting, by the way. It felt more dramatic."
"That it did."
"So, can you stop trying to kill me? I'm not even in this competition."
[Guy reaction roll: 6]
"You're a funny little shark-monster."
"So, you won't kill me?"
"Oh, we'll still kill ya. I was just statin' the facts."
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 11:15:05 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 11:33:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 12:10:41 pm
Luke tries to keep the conversation going. He hates awkward silences, you know.
"So are you the demon summoner? Just so you know, I really don't want to kill you."
"That's nice. And I'm not the demon summoner. I only summon walls."
[Strength roll: 6+1]
With a mighty push, Luke actually manages to pierce the walls of force with his limbs. They then proceed to undergo discontinuity. Luke falls on the ground, happy to be out of there.
Outside a ghostly individual's house...
Tom is about to head down to another house, but he remembers that he was going to take a look in the mirror. He does so.
Well, the reflection looks like him. Except it seems to have a backpack, some explosives and a luxurious mustache. It's quite disconcerting. Tom puts the mirror back inside his pockets and goes off to find another house.
[Search roll: 3]
These houses don't look like they'd hold much of interest, from what Tom can see through the windows. At best he could steal some cutlery or something. Definitely nothing too fancy.
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 12:14:05 pm
Ask him where the guy is nicely, if he doesn't tell me SHARK STEEL PUNCH!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 12:27:42 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 01:53:36 pm
when I wake up gamerlord will be a monster then we can attach him to a dragon and call it a day
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2013, 02:59:16 pm
Luke just keeps on conversin'.
"That's nice, will you tell me where he is?"
"No."
Oh well. Time for shark steel punches for everyone. First, this wall that stands in his way.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He manages to punch right through it! This, once again, causes a sort of discontinuation. Now to find that vile fellow and punch him. Punch him like only a steel shark possibly could.
[Rude Guy perception roll: ?]
[Rude Guy magic roll: 6]
Luke is, however, stopped by what he can only describe as a barricade of interwoven force walls. It looks pretty trippy.
"You shouldn't try to sneak up on people like that. It's not nice. Actually, you're not nice. You're not nice at all. Now I have to eliminate you."
Ooh, Luke is so scared now.
In a different town altogether...
Tom looks for the very largest building in town.
[Building roll: 1]
There appears to be a large black tower of some kind in the center of town. Judging by the way it seems to have completely obliterated a building, it must be a recent and highly violent addition to this town. Oddly enough, it seems to actually be at its narrowest at the bottom, where it looks to be about forty feet in circumference. It is also about thirteen stories tall, ending in a large black sphere at the top.
What a strange construction. Wonder what it's purpose is?
"MY PURPOSE IS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING. NOW I SHALL ATTEND TO THIS TASK WITH THE UTMOST DILIGENCE."
Well, thanks for that information.
The tower begins to move and... split? That's interesting.
Back in Emlocke...
Mark and Yorinnsud, disappointed at the lack of any murderables in the area, try to find more. Awfully enough, the streets seem empty. So there is only one option left - houses!
[Search roll: 4]
The two of them spy an interesting-looking house on the east side of the city. It is interesting mostly because it is floating about twelve feet off the ground. Now, if that doesn't have mages in it, nothing does. But it does carry the minor problem of being twelve feet off the ground. How best to reach it, one has to wonder.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 03:40:23 pm
Post by: anailater on February 03, 2013, 04:04:52 pm
Hurt his self esteem, STEEL SHARK PUNCH... AGAIN!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 03, 2013, 06:50:21 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2013, 10:49:48 pm
Mark: bonus to!!MEDICEINE!!, or Toughness he did just fly through a building then walked out and harpooned the
Luke: crazy determined, or backstabbing fetish or So Crazy It may just work (bonus to impossible or mad actions).
Yorinnsud: Caveman attorney (can fast talk people with !!LOGIC!!) or Experiment (Bonus to body horror use) or maybe bodysurfer (???)
What are your ideas?
Post by: Gamerlord on February 03, 2013, 11:56:25 pm
-having my body replaced by a stick figure of light
-having said stick figure destroyed and replaced with a womans body
-that body being annihilated.
-being amalgamated into one horrific body
Get Mark onto my shoulders and help him reach the huse. Then he drags me up behind him. Then MURDER.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 01:17:48 am
Mark and Yorinnsud ponder the strange house for a few moments, then settle on a plan of attack. Yorinnsud lifts Mark up with her four arms, being seven feet tall and everything, then Mark attempts to pull himself up!
[Mark climbing roll: 5+1]
He climbs up the halberd with the greatest of ease, standing triumphantly atop the platform the house seems to be placed on. He then tries to pull up the monstrous Yorinnsud as well.
[Mark strength roll: 5]
Summoning up previously unseen reserves of strength, he pulls her up no problem! Right, now they have some time to kill. Yorinnsud, satisfied at these developments, heads inside to look for someone to murder.
[Search roll: 3]
The house, a fairly ordinary affair, to tell the truth, seems to be quite empty. There seems to be a note on one of the tables that says "GONE LOOTING. BACK IN FIVE."
So someone definitely lives here, they just aren't in right now. Good to know.
In the home of some rude people...
Luke attempts to mock the rude fellow that is so fond of walls.
[Rude Guy reaction roll: 4]
His only response is an awkward silence.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 2]
A whole lot of nothing happens in as well. Not even nothing, just nothing. Oh well. Time to punch some walls.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He punches the wall and punches it hard! His fist goes right through, though the wall's multi-layered, interwoven nature prevents the entire wall from undergoing discontinuity.
In a town of some kind...
Tom decides to act on instinct and run like hell. After all, there's really no way he could possibly hurt this thing.
[Destroyer reaction roll: 2]
"ESCAPEE SPOTTED. PROCEEDING TO PURSUE AND ANNIHILATE."
The tower, which seems to have reshaped itself into a sort-of stick figure (if stick figures were huge and bent on destroying everything), starts to follow Tom!
[Tom escape roll: 6+1]
[Destroyer pursuit roll: 6+1]
Tom is somewhat unsettled to find that the giant engine of murder and destruction is following him. He is a bit nervous when he realizes that it is keeping up with him very nicely, despite the fact that Tom is essentially running as fast as he can.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 04, 2013, 01:39:49 am
Post by: anailater on February 04, 2013, 03:54:14 am
"HA! Your walls have no chance to defeat me!"
More STEEL SHARK PUNCHING. it hasn't failed me yet!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 04, 2013, 05:08:47 am
Hell no. I'm getting Indestructible. I've survived:not really indestructible as much as really really hard to finish off
-having my body replaced by a stick figure of light
-having said stick figure destroyed and replaced with a womans body
-that body being annihilated.
-being amalgamated into one horrific body
Get Mark onto my shoulders and help him reach the huse. Then he drags me up behind him. Then MURDER.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 09:55:42 am
Upon realizing that no one's in, only one thought courses through Yorinnsud and Mark's heads. And that thought is the vast, undoubtedly phat lewts they will be scoring.
[Yorinnsud search roll: 1]
[Mark search roll: 3]
As Mark prods at every bit of furniture he can find (and locating exactly zero things useful to trap people, with the possible exception of a cushion), Yorinnsud immediately goes for the one place she knows loot is always at. And that place is the vault behind the painting! She finds a sufficiently significant-looking painting and pulls it off the wall! Hm, nothing behind it. How strange.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
She turns around. Oh dear. It looks like a painting of a tiny person with a big sword is speaking to her. How... unprecedented.
"You do realize what you're doing, right?"
Yorinnsud shrugs with all four of her shoulders.
"Of course you do. Right, then. ALARM! ALARM!"
Nothing happens. What a strange little man.
In a house with some rude people...
After making sure to taunt the wall guy again, Luke resumes punching.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He punches yet another hole in the wall! Now there's two shark-fist-sized holes in the wall. Yippee.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 5]
A wall appears between Luke's shoulder and elbow. Uhh...
[Luke endurance roll: 2]
The wall flashes suddenly and Luke's arm is neatly and bloodlessly severed by the sudden self-assertion of the force wall. This was a steel arm, mind you.
Sigh. Arms lost today: 5.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 04, 2013, 10:33:47 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 04, 2013, 11:05:54 am
Run. Run faster.
Post by: miauw62 on February 04, 2013, 12:51:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 01:32:49 pm
Yorinnsud decides to look for more loot! But where hasn't she checked?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
She has no idea. She has obviously exhausted any reasonable avenue of possible looting.
In a town of some sort...
Tom realizes the true error of his ways. Not his greedy obsession with all things loot-related or penchant to murder everyone for their sweet, delicious loot (these are, after all, true adventurer qualities). You see, he simply isn't running fast enough. He must correct this.
[Tom escape roll: 2+1-1]
[Destroyer pursuit roll: 1+1]
He neither manages to get away nor get stomped to death. This, while not immediately terrible, is also hardly the best thing for him.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: anailater on February 04, 2013, 01:36:47 pm
Other Fist, try for quicker weaker blows instead of one slow huge blow.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 01:48:03 pm
Luke tries to punch the wall some more, only trying a bit of a different tactic - instead of punching the wall hard, he'll punch it weakly, but a lot more than previously.
[Punching roll: 5]
He punches the wall in the same spot many, many times. It seems to weaken the wall quite a bit, though it seems to be quickly regaining its structural stability.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 3]
The air near Luke's other arm begins to glow a bit. Hm.
Post by: anailater on February 04, 2013, 02:06:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 03:37:32 pm
Luke pulls his arm out of the area right before a wall begins to form there. It doesn't seem to flash like the previous ones, strangely enough. Oh well. More punching.
[Strength roll: 4+1]
He punches the weakened portion of the wall, creating a sizable hole in it. If he tried very hard, he might be able to squeeze through it.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 5]
Luke is rather distraught to see his punching undone in a few seconds as the wall repairs itself. Damn it all.
"Give up. You aren't getting in. Not while I'm around."
Post by: anailater on February 04, 2013, 03:40:12 pm
PUNCH POWERS ACTIVATE, CALL UPON THE POWERS OF THE GODS WITH PRAYER!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2013, 03:51:31 pm
Luke, feeling his ordinary powers fail him, decides to pray for support!
[Prayer roll: 6]
He feels a strange power course through him all of a sudden! His arm begins to glow white hot. It also seems to have gone completely out of control! It twists like a liquid tentacle, smashing into the wall full force!
The wall disappears entirely! Yippee! Also, his only arm melts off. Less yippee.
Arms lost today: 6.
[Wall Guy magic roll: 5]
A hastily-erected wall springs in place, having none of the complexity and durability of the previous one!
"Whoa, nearly got me there."
[Wall Guy intelligence roll: ?]
"But I'll make sure ya won't get to do that again. Personally."
Post by: anailater on February 04, 2013, 03:54:55 pm
SHARK HEADBUTT! Eat him when get out.
Post by: Yoink on February 04, 2013, 05:11:57 pm
"Rrrraaaaahhrr! Gnneeeeegh! Ursh umf graaable! ...Right, let's gets you two outs of here."
>Fly closer to the guards, screeching at them in a manner most horrifying!
>While they are (hopefully) distracted, snatch up Fred and Jim and fly off with them towards Bob's place. If I am pursued or discovered by more guards, hurriedly hide my friends in a convenient nearby trash receptacle and prepare to do battle!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 04, 2013, 05:25:25 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 04, 2013, 07:05:03 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 04, 2013, 08:08:08 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 05, 2013, 05:25:57 am
Lie in wait for the return of the resident.Mate there is a guy yelling at you
Also I had a new idea for lukes perks Arm Maniac (gets a bonus to using arms attached or not but can lose them faster or get a bonus for having less arms.)
Post by: Gamerlord on February 05, 2013, 06:20:03 am
Lie in wait for the return of the resident.Mate there is a guy yelling at you
Also I had a new idea for lukes perks Arm Maniac (gets a bonus to using arms attached or not but can lose them faster or get a bonus for having less arms.)
What man? I've checked the last few updates and there's nothing.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice the painting.
Threaten painted man with destruction if he is not silent and immediatly forthcoming with loot.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 05, 2013, 08:07:06 am
Changing action to stab the painting alot
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 10:33:50 am
Luke, after finding himself in an armless state once more, tries to shark-headbutt the wall.
[Headbutt roll: 5]
He retreats a few steps, then charges, blasting through the weak, hasty wall with ease! He then seeks out the rude wall man!
[Search roll: 3]
He narrows his possible location down to about three different rooms.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 1]
After looking inside two of them, he finds what he assumes to be the rude guy in the third! It looks like he is totally walled-in now. It also looks like he is running out of air very quickly.
Outside Castle Wossname...
Timothy swoops down from his lofty position above the guards and makes unintelligible, hopefully intimidating noises!
[Spooky Howling roll: 6]
It looks like the guards are not particularly enjoying his screeching. In fact, most of them seem to have fallen over and begun to clutch at their ears, which seem to be gushing blood in great quantities! Some of them clutch at their bleeding eyes as well. And some just don't move a lot anymore. Well, that technically worked out just fine! Now for the more impressive part.
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
He lifts both Fred and Jim easily along with the poles they've been fastened to, then carries them over to Bob's house! He then sticks them in the ground, ready to perform whatever duties Bob has for them. It doesn't look like any guards are following him. Probably because they're too busy hemorrhaging.
Timothy doesn't see Bob around, though.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Wonder what he's up to.
Inside a floating house...
Yorinnsud and Mark decide to deal with the whistleblowing painting in the only way they know how - by engaging in an invigorating session of Bad Cop, Worse Cop!
[Yorinnsud intimidation roll: 5]
"Now, painting-thing. You don't like us, but we don't like you even more. You started an alarm. We hate it when people do that. Now my buddy is going to have to stab you. Many times. And I also have to set you on fire afterwards. I hear paintings burn real good, little man. Wonder if there's any truth to that rumor?"
"No, don't do that! I know where the guy who lives here keeps his loot! It's behind the biggest bookcase on the second floor!"
"That's nice. You won't get set on fire for telling us that."
"Oh, thank you!"
"You will be stabbed, however. A lot."
Mark begins to stab at the painting most furiously with his dagger, turning it into shreds after a few minutes. Well, that was fun to watch.
In some weird town...
Tom keeps trying to outrun the giant horrible giant of terrible destruction following him!
[Tom escape roll: 1]
[Destroyer pursuit roll: 3+1]
Suddenly, the sound of giant, lumbering steps behind him stops! He looks back to see what's going on!
Huh. Nobody there. Wait, what's that sound?
[Tom dodge roll: 2]
After guessing for a few seconds, Tom gets the idea to look up. He sees a giant black stick figure descending down on him feet-first from the heavens. Well. That could probably have gone better. He puts his arms up in a futile defensive gesture as the giant smashes down on him!
[Tom endurance roll: 2]
Hey, guess what! Several hundred tons of black steel aren't very good for your skeletal structure! In fact, bones rapidly undergo a process known as "breaking like there's no tomorrow" should they be subjected to such pressures! And Tom's bones are no exception. Though his skull and upper torso seem to have escaped from destruction simply by not being underneath the foot when it came down, the rest of him is reduced to a steel and cloth pancake with a fine layer of bone dust in the middle.
[Tom will roll: 1]
The trauma of losing his fine boots is too much for Tom, and he begins to rapidly lose any connection to this world!
[Tom will roll: 5-1]
However, he manages to rein in his endless grief before it kills him! After all, not like he can wear boots anymore, anyway.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 05, 2013, 10:41:44 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 05, 2013, 11:01:28 am
Go get that loot!
Post by: miauw62 on February 05, 2013, 12:06:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 12:10:24 pm
((While I don't mind Tom dieing, this way of death is not very satisfying.))
Well, he is quite far from dead right now. He may yet survive this, Mr. Negative.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 02:35:20 pm
Darren greets the fine people tapping along to his funky tunes. They seem amiable enough, after all.
"Hello, dear gentlemen. May I inquire as to your purpose here?"
[People intent roll: 5]
One of the five people, a man with long blonde hair and a beard, suddenly looks excited about something.
"Oh, we're a traveling band of musicians. We were walkin' along the street, mindin' our business and all when we heard you whistlin' and stuff! We were diggin' your musical abilities, so we thought we'd stick around and, you know, hang with you and stuff."
"Ask him!"
"Yeah, and we were also thinkin', maybe you'd like to, uh, play with us? You're good with those spooky lips of yours, so how about you come along with us? We were already thinkin' that five is too little for a proper band, you know. So maybe you could come along, play a few gigs and see if you like it, then you can, like, make a decision on whether you'd like to play with us for, you know, real and stuff."
"I can see it now! Spooky Dude and the Magic Tones!"
"Spooky Dude?"
"Or maybe his name or something. I dunno. It sounds like a cool concept, eh?"
In a floating house...
Yorinnsud, upon hearing news of loot, runs right over to the biggest bookcase on the second floor! She tries to pull it away from the wall!
[Strength roll: 6+1]
She picks it up and chucks it away, fighting to keep her excitement in check when she sees a door behind the now disposed-of bookcase! She opens it, eager to get first crack at the loot!
[Loot roll: 2]
It's full of gold. And nothing else. How wonderful.
[? will roll: 6+1]
Suddenly the house starts to violently hurtle upwards, as though given an order of some kind! Yorinnsud is sent to the ground by the sudden acceleration, as is Mark! Upon looking out the window, she sees that they seem to be rapidly approaching the clouds!
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 02:44:27 pm
Flash my teeth menacingly as I say the last part, wait for him to collapse and then wait or another 2 minutes, then smash through and eat him, if he exits eat him.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 03:00:13 pm
Luke mocks the man currently suffocating to death!
"Oh, are you dying, HA! Don't worry, I'll just watch you suffocate before I loot you, or you could come out and I can eat you, take your time."
The guy looks at Luke with an expression of hatred.
[Rude Guy magic roll: 6]
Suddenly, walls seem to erratically pop up at various angles all around Luke's body! They immediately flash with power only possible through the frustration of a man who graduated the University of Magic with lofty dreams of becoming someone important in life and actually doing something important, fulfilling and satisfying for a living, but was eventually forced into working as a common doorman for some demonologist prick who must be, like, 90 years old with one foot in the grave already.
[Luke endurance roll: 6]
Luke decides that he can take this crap, easy as pie. He takes a deep breath and tenses up!
The result is a bright flash of light and some sort of explosion! The blast sends Luke right out of a window, no more dismembered than before, though a bit banged up!
[Rude Guy endurance roll: 1]
The wall mage smirks at the flying bastard shark as he loses consciousness inside his airtight bubble of death.
Luke, meanwhile, wonders what the hell just happened. Walls should not do that.
[House alarm roll: 4]
He doesn't hear any further movement from inside the house. Hm.
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 03:08:43 pm
"Douche"
Back in now, look for his body, eat the body, look for demonologist.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 03:32:45 pm
Luke decides not to devote too much time thinking about what just happened and goes back inside the house through the window.
The rude guy still seems to be enclosed by some walls. Hm. Well, he'll have to take care of that.
[Headbutt roll: 1]
Damn, that actually hurt! Luke's shark nose is slightly bent upwards when it impacts the wall! It now looks a bit silly. Hm, something about this wall seems... different. It's not an ordinary wall. Much thicker, more solid. Looks like he'll need something better to destroy it with. Oh well. Can always eat the guy later.
[Search roll: 6]
After finding nobody to murder and eat in the house, Luke heads down into the basement. There's got to be someone down there, right?
And there is! In the unusually expansive, some would even say cavernous basement an old guy, presumably the demonologist, judging by the rather swanky robes, is reading aloud from a book in the middle of a circle of some sort while two other mages, both of them rather shifty-looking types, fidgeting around some kind of ornament on the wall.
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 03:36:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 03:40:33 pm
((Are they looking at me?))
Not yet.
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 03:49:10 pm
Flying Shark Bite On The Demonologist!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 03:58:22 pm
Luke attempts to perform an amazing single leap at the unsuspecting demonologist from the entrance of the basement!
[Flying Shark Bite roll: 3]
He lands right next to the demonologist with an extremely loud clang, alerting the people in the room to his presence!
[Demonologist reaction roll: 4]
The demonologist starts to back away from him, in immediate contrast to the other two people!
[Guy 1 magic roll: 1+1]
[Guy 2 magic roll: 1+1]
They seem a bit surprised at Luke's sudden appearance! Surprised enough to not be able to immediately stop him from taking a bite from the old fart with the book!
[Luke vs. Demonologist: 3+1 vs. 4]
He leaps forward, but the surprisingly spry old bastard jumps back! Guess you develop some reflexes when dealing with demons. Hm.
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 04:01:05 pm
Tell him that, if he doesn't surrender or give me the book Eat him!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 04:11:58 pm
Luke politely states his terms to the demonologist.
"GIVE ME YOUR LIVER! Or your book. Also, surrender or die."
The demonologist smiles at these words and snaps his fingers.
"No on all four counts."
[Guy 1 magic roll: 2+1]
A vague shape forms behind him. The demonologist looks dissatisfied. Luke, on the other hand, was hoping for such an answer.
[Luke vs. Demonologist: 4+1 vs. 1]
He sets upon the demonologist, ripping out a large chunk of his chest!
[Demonologist endurance roll: 1]
Oh dear. He definitely didn't expect Luke to try and obtain his demands in order. His wizened face flashes in a glimpse of painful recognition of the true importance of having a liver (and lungs, and a portion of his heart) before he twists around and falls on his face, rapidly losing all of his blood and going into shock. Well, that'll teach him.
[Guy 1 magic roll: 3+1]
[Guy 2 magic roll: 1+1]
Nothing very impressive comes out of the other guys' efforts. At least nothing that Luke can see.
Post by: anailater on February 05, 2013, 04:13:24 pm
Tell them that, if they don't attack Guy 1.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2013, 04:24:45 pm
Luke feels he should give those two fools over there a fair warning. He suggests that they should run.
They don't seem impressed. Luke decides to charge at them, then.
[Guy 1 magic roll: 3+1]
Luke's charge is stopped by an open door appearing in the way!
[Luke dodge roll: 5]
He runs around it, however!
[Guy 2 magic roll: 1+1]
The other guy starts to laugh at the first guy.
[Luke vs. Guy 1: 4+1 vs. 1]
Luke then proceeds to eat a whole lot of the first guy's chest cavity.
[Guy 1 endurance roll: 2]
Needless to say, he doesn't take this too well.
[Guy 2 magic roll: 4+1]
The other guy takes a single step. He is now at the demonologist's corpse. He picks up the book, chuckles annoyingly, then takes another step. He is now on the other side of the room, about thirty feet away from Luke. Oddly enough, there seems to be a door there now. He waves to Luke.
"Thanks, man!"
He opens the door and steps through.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 05, 2013, 06:27:48 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 05, 2013, 08:34:47 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 05, 2013, 08:58:49 pm
Roll away, ROLL AWAY!
Post by: Yoink on February 06, 2013, 02:28:05 am
"Uh, is youse two alrights? You's not dying or nuffing, I hopes?"
>Inspect Fred and Jim, attempting to gauge their conditions!
>If they seem to be badly hurt, turn invisible and fly (stealthily) off in search of the local scary crow-doctor/basket weaver!
>Convince said helpful person to come and fix them up!
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2013, 07:01:31 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 08:58:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2013, 09:18:32 am
Mark, perhaps guessing at what's to come, decides to pin himself to the ground!
[Securing roll: 1]
He sticks a single dagger through his ribs and out the other side, hilt sideways. That's going to work, right? He then throws the daggers to Yorinnsud.
But Yorinnsud is not some philistine, content with pinning herself to the floor. You see, she'll attempt to pin herself to the ceiling! She tries to get up and do this!
[Strength roll: 4+1]
She manages to push herself up from the ground and climb up a handy support beam! She then attempt to somehow secure herself! She's pretty lucky she has four arms in this respect!
[Securing roll: 2]
After fidgeting around for a bit, she decides that her time would be better spent on crazy inventions or something. She gets down from the support beam and looks for some cloth!
[Search roll: 3]
The only curtains that are around seem to be moth-eaten and full of holes. Drat. Also, the house still seems to be rapidly ascending. In fact, they just passed the cloud layer. How wonderful.
Next to a really tall destructive thing...
Tom tries to roll away from the giant bastard before it gets the idea to stomp again.
[Rolling roll: 6]
He rips himself out of his mostly-flattened metal-plated robe and rolls right into a nearby cave, out of immediate sight of the dang-blasted thing!
Suddenly, he hears the voice of the giant bastard again!
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF. ARE YOU THE MASTER?"
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy takes a closer look at his two
[Fred endurance roll: 3]
[Jim endurance roll: 2]
Neither of them are very responsive. And Jim's head seems to hanging limply down his chest. And Fred seems to have straw poking out of his mouth. And both of them are covered in gashes and full of arrows. Overall, a sad state of affairs. Timothy decides that some invisibility is in order.
[Invisibility roll: 6]
He becomes entirely imperceptible! Not even a vague chill to let the people know he's passing through! Perfect! He flies off to find someone helpful!
[Search roll: 4]
A-hah! A tailor! He can help! Timothy flies over to him and does his very best to attract his attention!
It doesn't work, what with Timothy being imperceptible and all.
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2013, 09:25:52 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 06, 2013, 09:31:38 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 10:06:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2013, 10:16:38 am
Yorinnsud looks for an enclosed space to hide in! Mark, meanwhile, attempts to follow her!
[Mark strength roll: 2]
Unfortunately, unlike Yorinnsud, he has insufficient strength and/or number of arms to achieve this, and is left lying down in his prone position, a knife in his ribs!
[Yorinnsud search roll: 4]
Oh, would you look at that, a cupboard! Awesome! Yorinnsud tries to wedge herself within!
[Wedging roll: 3]
Sadly, it was not something that was meant to be. Sure, she can sort of wedge in her bottom half, but her four arms and great height make any further wedging a bit of a bit of a tall order.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 10:43:36 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 06, 2013, 11:49:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2013, 12:02:07 pm
Mark, not one to just allow himself to remain unfastened to the ground, tries to fasten himself to the floor once more!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Nah, he's probably good. The dagger seems to hold nicely enough.
Yorinnsud, meanwhile, tries to curl up in a ball!
[Curling up roll: 1]
She twists, turns and bends in all manner of ways, seeking to better fit herself inside! After trying many different positions, she believes she's found the right one! Now, place her left leg here, her upper left arm here, and voila! She is still halfway out of the cupboard, but with the added bonus of being totally stuck as well!
[House stopping roll: 5]
The house seems to be gradually slowing down. It loses half its speed in a steady fashion, causing absolutely no discomfort or danger of any kind to its current occupants.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 12:16:30 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 06, 2013, 12:19:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2013, 02:24:12 pm
Mark, utilizing the sweet deceleration of the house, bounces over to Yorinnsud! He finds her over at a cupboard, trying to free herself from horrible furniture-based imprisonment!
[Mark helpfulness roll: 3]
Mark sort of pulls on her arm as she tries to get out! It doesn't look like this is entirely appreciated by Yorinnsud, though.
[Yorinnsud self-extrication roll: 4]
She slowly manages to return to her original position and get out of the fiendish cupboard-trap. She then goes off to find an immobile flat surface to brace herself against.
[Choice roll: 1]
She braces herself against a table! The table falls apart instantly, causing her to flop to the ground embarrassingly. She then elects to brace against the floor. Meanwhile, Mark looks for a mattress.
[Mark search roll: 6]
He finds an incredibly soft mattress in one of the bedrooms! He lies down on it, sinking pretty deep into it. Man, this is quite the mattress indeed!
It then snaps shut on him and rolls up of its own volition. He has to admit, it's still really comfortable.
Post by: anailater on February 06, 2013, 05:20:25 pm
Dive through the teleport door.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 07:10:39 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 06, 2013, 07:51:31 pm
Wait for it to leave. Search the cave.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 06, 2013, 07:57:04 pm
If the mattress starts hurting me cut my way out while screaming for Yori if not I relax and wait for the fall in my safe spot
((Do not call me that.))
Dig into the floor with my four arms and hold on tight.
Post by: Yoink on February 06, 2013, 08:21:37 pm
"You's a good person."
He paused a moment, then continued, letting his voice become progressively louder as he planted thoughts in the man's mind.
"Yes. You's a good person. Always doing what's right.
You likes to help people.
You's a good, helpful person, you always knew it. You's just waiting for a chance to prove it.
Out, outside there, in this town, there's people what needs help.
You should help them. You's a good person, after all. You know it.
Youse can't very well call yourself a good person if you not helping people, right?
Go to them. Help them."
>Manipulate the tailor with some creepy whispering, and compel him over to help Fred and Jim.
>Attempt some actual telepathic whispering if my normal whispering doesn't work/isn't heard.
You likes to help people.
You's a good, helpful person, you always knew it. You's just waiting for a chance to prove it.
Out, outside there, in this town, there's people what needs help.
You should help them. You's a good person, after all. You know it.
Youse can't very well call yourself a good person if you not helping people, right?
Go to them. Help them."
>Manipulate the tailor with some creepy whispering, and compel him over to help Fred and Jim.
>Attempt some actual telepathic whispering if my normal whispering doesn't work/isn't heard.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2013, 11:28:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2013, 10:42:46 am
Luke decides to follow that horrible, horrible person that has dared to make off with his loot! He charges at the door and heads into the darkness beyond!
His next sensation is a feeling of rushing wind. And falling. Yes, he is indeed falling. From a great height, too! At least a mile above ground, he'd say.
He sees the shifty distance-stepper falling about fifty feet beneath him. Well, if he could only fall faster, he might catch him.
Inside a flying abode...
Mark momentarily becomes afraid for the integrity of his bones! Though they don't seem to be breaking from the sweet, fluffy embrace of whatever this thing is filled with, this may be but a temporary state, no? Wary of the mattress' true intentions, he lies in an uneasy impasse with the sheltering bedding.
Yorinnsud, meanwhile, digs into the floor and holds on tight as the house comes to a stop, prepared for the worst!
However, nothing happens. No, wait, something happens. The house stops. But nothing other than that. It now seems to be hanging in mid-air. That's odd.
In a cave of some sort...
Tom, not up to the task of fighting a thirteen-story killer giant bastard of some kind, decides to look for something inside.
[Search roll: 6]
Oh, would you look at that! Well, not exactly look, the cave being pitch-black and all, but Tom does feel something interesting in this cave! A skeleton! A bear skeleton! It looks fairly fresh, to tell the truth.
Tom is interrupted in his admiration of the ursine remains by the booming voice of the giant bastard outside.
"VERY GOOD. I HAVE AWAITED YOU. WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS, MASTER? STILL THE TOTAL AND UTTER DESTRUCTION OF EVERYTHING?"
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy tries to whisper in the tailor's ear to get him to cooperate!
[Perceptibility roll: 2]
Nope, he's still imperceptible. That's a bummer. He had a whole mysterious voice routine worked out and everything. Well, there's still telepathy, he supposes.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Yeah, he totally knows how to do that! It's pretty awesome, you'll see!
[Telepathy roll: 4-2]
Okay, so you can't actually telekinetically shove ideas into people's heads. Good to know.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 07, 2013, 11:09:35 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 07, 2013, 06:29:21 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 07, 2013, 07:26:43 pm
>Sigh with mild annoyance, then telepathically carry the tailor to Fred and Jim! He'll know what to do!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 07, 2013, 08:08:18 pm
"That would be the gist of it, yes. You wouldn't happen to know where to find some explosives, by any chance?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 08, 2013, 08:22:44 am
Yorinnsud and Mark are not entirely convinced that they are not in mortal danger, perhaps rightly so. Yorinnsud feverishly clamps into the floor while Mark relaxes in his comfy entrapment.
And yet nothing happens. They're still hanging up in the air, immobile as ever.
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy sighs, frustrated at the vagaries of imperceptibility. He then decides to play the hand of the gods themselves.
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
The tailor is rocketed straight across the courtyard in the approximate direction of the two miserable scarecrows!
[Tailor fall damage roll: 6]
Fortunately, the body of Jim provides a soft cushion for him to land on!
[Jim endurance roll: 6]
Jim's head suddenly bolts up and yells at the sudden impact! He does this for a few seconds before the tailor realizes that he should really get off the guy.
The tailor looks at the two scary-crows.
[Tailor helpfulness roll: 2]
"Boy, am I lucky these things were here or what? I could have been killed! I think I'll go and tell my wife and kids I love them right now!"
He runs off, unhelpful as ever.
Inside a cave of some kind...
Tom follows in the footsteps of the old masters and attempts to assimilate with the bear skeleton, becoming something more than either man or bear alone!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Okay, so he'll need to stick himself on there. Probably attach his spine somewhere. That's how these things always work, right?
[Assimilation roll: 2]
Well. Apparently they don't. Apparently you can't just plop your spine down on a skeleton without any tools and expect some kind of miracle to happen. How unfortunate.
He hears the giant bastard outside say something. Because, really, with a voice like that, how couldn't you.
"QUESTS? I COULD AID YOU IN YOUR QUESTS, IF YOU SO DESIRE. I CAN PLACE YOU ON MY SHOULDER, IF YOU ARE SUFFICIENTLY CAREFUL. SHOULD YOU FALL, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH YOU WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY HURTING YOU."
There is a brief pause.
"OKAY THEN. ON WE GO TO DESTROY ALL."
Another pause and the unmistakable sound of the giant bastard moving around.
"WHERE TO?"
Post by: Gamerlord on February 08, 2013, 09:24:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 08, 2013, 10:19:27 am
Wait until something happens.follow gamerlords lead
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 08, 2013, 10:56:40 am
Yorinnsud and Mark both simultaneously decide that they will definitely wait for the horrible sky-mole-people come to them rather than try to get to them first. When dealing with horrible sky-mole-people, you should never rush headlong into things.
And so they wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Did I mention that they wait?
Well, they wait some more afterwards.
Yep, they're absolute waiting machines. Nothing can stop them.
Nothing else happens, however.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 08, 2013, 12:03:10 pm
Go search the house for anything useful.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 08, 2013, 12:43:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 08, 2013, 02:10:20 pm
Yorinnsud, realizing that waiting is bringing nothing useful, gets up and looks for something good!
[Search roll: 6]
After kicking and punching open several closets, Yorinnsud does find something! An odd metal plate of some kind. It doesn't look obviously magical, but it also looks far from ordinary. There are many grooves etched into its surface, with two strange depressions of unknown purpose on its surface.
Meanwhile, Mark tries to perform a much more external investigation, by which it is meant that he tries to look out of the window.
[Strength roll: 6]
He forces open the mattress and goes on to take a look. Looking straight down, it is difficult to tell how far exactly they are above the ground on account of a whole lot of damn clouds in the way. He also can't see anyone on the ground for very much the same reasons.
[Perception roll: ?]
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he ducks back into the house. Well, that was quite unproductive.
Post by: anailater on February 08, 2013, 06:09:45 pm
Try to stream line my body, stick my legs out as straight as possible, and try to latch onto the back of the Mage with my teeth.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 08, 2013, 06:33:02 pm
mark sees if gamerlord has found anything useful and helps his action
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 08, 2013, 07:51:01 pm
"YES!"
Pursue dreams of star hood.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 08, 2013, 09:48:15 pm
Again!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 08, 2013, 09:54:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 04:35:21 am
Luke tries to streamline himself and become a shark-like projectile aimed at the quick-stepper!
[Streamlining roll: 2]
Wow, that's actually a bit harder than it might look! Luke flops around in the air, but doesn't manage to become any faster. He and the jerkwad below him are still falling at the same rate!
[Jerkwad perception roll: ?]
The guy seems to be looking around for something, but is unable to find it! He looks a bit impatient.
[Jerkwad magic roll: 5+1]
Suddenly, he outstretches his arms, becomes oddly elongated and twisted for a few seconds, moving upwards as though sucked through a straw! He seems to be back at the door's height, about 50 feet above Luke. He is still falling, however.
Inside a flying house of some sort...
Mark, upon judging the sky to be too boring to keep examining, goes out to find Yorinnsud. He finds her examining and manipulating some sort of odd device.
[Yorinnsud experimentation roll: 1]
After not seeing any sort of buttons to press or other things to do, Yorinnsud decides to place two of her hands into the depressions.
Suddenly, several bands of metal erupt from the plate, constricting themselves uncomfortably around Yorinnsud's hands and arms! It doesn't look like these were meant for hands, strictly speaking.
In the yard of a spooky mansion...
Darren, upon realizing the offer given him, graciously and emphatically accepts!
"YES!"
"Awesome, dude! Our first gig's on top of the town hall. There's nasty dudes in the way, so we're gonna have to get bad in a good way, if you know what I mean."
"Those were the guys from the College of Magical Studies, right?"
"Guys and gals, yep. Shouldn't be too hard to take 'em down, ya know. Not with the power of friendship and teamwork!"
Darren, in the spirit of friendship and teamwork, two things that go together as well as magic and megalomania, floats over to the town hall with the others. From the outside, it looks harmless enough.
"Alright, dudes. Let's begin. Give it your best shot! Whistle for us, Spooky Dude! Whistle like you've never whistled before!"
All the other band members except one produce their respective instruments - drums, a lute, some sort of strange key-based instrument and an oversized, incredibly complex-looking metal horn. The fifth just begins to gesture oddly.
Inside a cave with a bear skeleton...
Tom tries once more to assimilate into the bear skeleton! But how would he be able to do this best?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He has no idea. Zero clues. Connecting spines didn't work, what else could he try?
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 04:54:30 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 09, 2013, 05:24:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 07:02:28 am
Yorinnsud goes ahead and tries to get Mark to help her remove the metal plate from her arms!
[Mark helpfulness roll: 4]
Mark walks up to Yorinnsud and starts to examine the plate in great detail, feeling around for various grooves.
[Plate removal roll: 1+1]
After several minutes of fruitless manipulation, Yorinnsud is just about ready to smash the thing against the wall, but Mark stops her! After all, if this is some kind of infernal, hellish device, breaking it is unlikely to help things any.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 09, 2013, 07:18:13 am
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 08:10:21 am
Un-streamline, open my mouth, get slow.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 08:46:00 am
Luke, in a bid to give the jerkwad his just desserts, tries to slow down as much as possible!
[Luke slowing down roll: 2]
He opens his mouth and gets a mouthful of high-speed air! This is highly unpleasant and disorienting to the poor metal shark man, and he randomly flops in the air in confusion!
[Jerkwad perception roll: ?]
The jerkwad seems to regard the door expectantly as he falls.
[Luke slowing down roll: 5]
Luke, meanwhile, spreads his arms and legs and tries to slow down as much as possible! He succeeds, and now the jerkwad is rapidly approaching him!
[Jerkwad perception roll: ?]
Just as Luke is perilously close to biting into the jerkwad's back, however, the guy gets the bright idea to look around! He notices a metal shark rapidly approaching him!
"Ah, there you are!"
[Jerkwad magic roll: 1+1]
He starts to gesture, but Luke snapping in his general direction does nothing to help matters, so he remains falling as he is.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 08:47:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 08:53:40 am
Mark regards the odd plate with suspicion. Since brain power has failed him, it is obviously time for the Halberd Solution. He takes the halberd and tries to loosen the bands.
[Loosening roll: 1]
He chips the halberd's blade on the bands! That's it! Dismemberment time! He starts to furiously chop at Yorinnsud's arms, not resting until only two bloody stumps are left of the entrapped limbs. Since she still has two more arms left, Mark figures that this is an okay solution.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 08:56:33 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 09, 2013, 08:58:00 am
Edit Gamerlord I am the one with a halberd and 20 or so daggers sticking out of me if you want to keep your last two arms dont try
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 09:00:39 am
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 09:01:32 am
Bite the back, get a latch on it, aim him underneath me.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 09:13:12 am
Fine. Any ideas for building a glider?
So, do you want to rip one of his arms off or not? And if not, what do you want to do instead?
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 09:18:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 09:42:50 am
Luke replies affirmatively to the falling guy, then tries to grab a bite.
[Luke vs. Jerkwad: 6+1 vs. 5]
He grabs the guy's leg, latching on hard!
"Aw, damn, now why'd you have to do that?"
[Jerkwad magic roll: 6+1]
He makes yet another odd gesture, and Luke is at a bit of a loss on how to describe what happens next. He feels as though he's been sucked through a straw, then subjected to a hanging, drawing and quartering. A very unpleasant sensation, to tell the truth. The fact that the world currently seems to be upside down doesn't help either. He feels himself get rapidly pulled away from the jerkwad!
[Holding on roll: 1+1]
He loses his grip and spirals away sideways from the jerkwad, a piece of flesh and robes the only reward for his persistence! He sees the lightly bleeding jerkwad fly upwards once more, ascending to an incredible height. He looks a bit confused at this turn of events before performing another gesture.
[Jerkwad magic roll: 5+1]
Luke can only watch as, once again, the man twists in the air perplexingly before flying rapidly into the open door still hanging in the air! Damnation. Luke is now falling to the ground all by his lonesome.
Inside a floating house...
The now-two-armed Yorinnsud gives Mark a dirty look before both of them go about their own respective bits of business. Mark goes up to the window once again and looks for likely water sources.
Once again, there are clouds (which are kind of a water source) in the way. And it is hard to tell whether they are moving sideways due to the simple fact that clouds have a tendency to move as well.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He guesses that the house is probably moving sideways, yes.
Meanwhile, Yorinnsud looks for cloth, wood and some rope!
[Search roll: 5]
Well, there's plenty of sheets around here, which could sort of work. And there's plenty of furniture made of relatively light wood to destroy. Finally, there's a closet that has a bit of rope in it as well! All in all, a good house for scavengers!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 09:50:15 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 09, 2013, 09:53:14 am
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 10:08:27 am
Examine ground, pray for assistance, try to slowdown and catch him again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 10:24:30 am
Yorinnsud, satisfied about her great finds, decides to enlist Mark's aid in creating a magnificent glider!
[Design roll: ?]
[Mark helpfulness roll: 1]
[Construction roll: 5-1]
Despite Mark's best efforts, Yorinnsud eventually manages to build a glider she thinks might fly. That is, if all those classes she slept through weren't wrong, which they very well may have been.
Inside a former bear's cave...
Tom, unwilling to admit defeat that easily, rolls right into the bear's ribcage and tries to assume control!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Dammit, why won't it work! It's the bear's fault, he knows it!
In the air...
With the jerkwad having slipped out the door, Luke turns his attention to the ground.
It doesn't look very welcoming. There's a river, and a whole lot of buildings around it. Now would probably be a good time to say one's prayers.
[Prayer roll: 6]
A stiff wind starts to direct him into a building! Hm.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 09, 2013, 11:10:11 am
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 11:30:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 12:57:59 pm
Yorinnsud, not entirely certain about her engineering ability, interviews Mark on his thoughts about the design.
[Mark intelligence roll: ?]
Mark just shrugs. It appears he is even more in the dark about this sort of thing. Bother.
Above the town of Emlocke...
Luke tries to direct his flight into a window of some kind!
[Aiming roll: 6]
Fortunately, there is an open skylight he can safely hit on the building! He flies right through it and into the flooring of the second floor!
[Fall damage roll: 3]
He lands straight on his feet, mangling them something fierce and smashing through the second floor before hitting the ground! Well, that sure was unpleasant!
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 01:14:10 pm
b] Get outside, look in the sky for
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 09, 2013, 01:48:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 02:56:02 pm
Luke sort-of crawls out of the house, more like a worm than a shark, rolls on his back and looks up!
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, he can see birds. And what looks like the door he fell out of and that he clearly saw the mage disappear back through. Other than that, nothin'.
Inside a former bear's cave...
Tom rolls around inside the skeleton, trying to find a port of some kind with human-bear-compatibility!
There doesn't seem to be one.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, he's rapidly running out of ideas here. If only this bear skeleton wasn't so uncooperative! And outdated!
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 03:10:34 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 09, 2013, 04:30:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2013, 06:18:28 pm
Luke tries to find a dummy to steal some legs from!
[Search roll: 2]
It looks like they're not terribly common in this part of town, and Luke is a bit too lacking in functional limbs to check elsewhere. Well, that settles that!
Inside an ex-bear-cave...
Tom has a revolutionary idea! He will attach himself at the bottom of the bear's spinal cord!
[Attachment roll: 3]
He is rather disappointed when this fails to do anything, mostly on account of him lacking any proper tool to attach himself with. Such as, you know, an adhesive.
Post by: anailater on February 09, 2013, 06:22:06 pm
((I just realised, were in a literal magic arena and no one's been turned into any sort of animal maliciously, I was turned into a half shark thing to save my life but no one's turned into a toad or cat or anything.))
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 09, 2013, 06:25:58 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 09, 2013, 09:09:57 pm
Mark helps gamerlord by taking another look around the house before we hang glide out
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 04:19:37 am
Double-check the house then glide out with mark.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 05:04:09 am
Luke looks for some more dummies with legs to violently remove with his teeth.
[Search roll: 3]
He believes he sees a group of five people and a... ghost? They're a bit far off and a lot more numerous than he would like, but they have legs, at least!
Inside a bear's cave...
Tom, finally realizing the true potential of the treasure trove he is in, looks for natural adhesives in the cave!
[Search roll: 2]
Hm, no bat guano around that he can see. That's another plan that's gone to the "inapplicable" pile.
Inside a floating house...
Yorinnsud and Mark, rather than probably hurtle downward to their second deaths immediately, choose to check up on the house one more time.
[Search roll: 2]
Yep, nothing new here. Time to glide away!
Except the damn thing doesn't fit through the door. Or a window. Which is good, because it probably would be worrying if it didn't.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 05:51:52 am
Post by: anailater on February 10, 2013, 06:52:53 am
Bounce over, ask if they now where there are any spare legs, thank them if they don't try to kill me.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 07:59:09 am
Yorinnsud comes to the conclusion that, since this house isn't hers, she's perfectly within her rights to dismantle a wall or two. She gets right to it.
[Home improvement roll: 6]
This, you see, this is what she was made for! Through relentless bashing, aptitude for engineering and lots of experience obtained through plundering and destroying everything she sees, Yorinnsud handily destroys the exterior wall of the house!
[Building structural integrity roll: 6]
Fortunately, the wall was completely nonessential to the continued stability of the house. Satisfied, she proceeds to grab Mark and set out on her improvised glider!
[Flight roll: 2]
It doesn't look like the glider is awfully good at... well... gliding. It sort of flops around in the air as Yorinnsud attempts to get into a proper flying position, being hardly cooperative in this respect.
Oh well. At least she has Mark to land on.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke bounces over to the six people that currently look to be setting up their respective musical instruments. He then asks the people if they have any spare legs.
One of the musicians turns around and stares at Luke for a moment, as if considering the exact proportion of his own imagination in the strange visage of the limbless, bouncing, metallic shark-thing right in front of him. He seems to come to his senses shortly, however.
"Uh... legs, you're sayin'? Naw, don't have any spares. Kinda attached to ours."
[Guy informativeness roll: 4]
He scratches his chin thoughtfully.
"I dunno, maybe check that skeleton exhibit in town? There's plenty o' limbs there, I think."
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 08:21:28 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 10, 2013, 09:42:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 10:11:48 am
Yorinnsud, rather than immediately give up, elects to keep going! The glider should at least slow her fall somewhat, right?
[Slowing down roll: 6]
She flops around in the air relentlessly, and her efforts eventually bear fruit! The glider, unwieldy piece of wood and cloth that it is, might not make for a good flying tool, but it most definitely can make a relatively okay parachute!
Actually, it makes more than an okay parachute. Combined with a stiff wind that seems to be coming from some unexplained source, the non-aerodynamic properties of the glider finally show themselves, causing Yorinnsud and her passenger to actually begin to ascend somewhat. Not really the best scenario, to tell the truth, but it sure beats flying straight down!
Inside a bear's cave...
Tom, in his relentless quest for skeletal improvement, tries to bite off the bear's miniscule tail!
[Biting roll: 2]
It proves far too resilient for mere human teeth, however! Stupid bears and their stupid tails.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 10:14:16 am
fold the glider slighty so we descend slowly.
Post by: miauw62 on February 10, 2013, 10:16:21 am
((Goddamnit.))((This can only end terribly. Have fun dieing.))
fold the glider slighty so we descend slowly.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 10, 2013, 10:21:00 am
((Damn you bear! Why are you so complicated!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 11:05:23 am
Yorinnsud tries to slightly adjust the glider to actually keep falling!
[Adjustment roll: 3]
Okay, so now it should fall slowly when a stiff wind isn't blowing on it. Which it is right now. Yorinnsud likes to think of this as being successful in spirit, if not actuality.
Inside a bear's cave...
Since bear tails have proven surprisingly resilient, Tom tries to bite off a toe instead!
[Biting roll: 3]
He manages to slightly impact it with his teeth, though he believes that teeth alone may sadly prove insufficient for piercing bear skeletons. It is a regrettable fact of life, you know.
Post by: anailater on February 10, 2013, 11:12:15 am
Ask for directions, follow them if I get them, if I don't look for signs or something.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 11:13:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 02:24:32 pm
Luke asks for directions from the band member!
"Directions? Um, well, go down that street over there, hang a left, go past the execution areas and voila, you're there. It's not too far from the temple, and you can see the tower of the place from there."
Luke heeds these directions and goes to the skeleton exhibit, and finds that there are indeed lots of skeletons there, for all the good that does him.
In the air...
Yorinnsud attempts to move her passenger Mark up to the top of the glider so he can be helpful for once!
[Mark moving roll: 4]
Through the gratuitous application of relentless kicking and fierce climbing, Mark is successfully moved to the top of the glider!
[Mark helpfulness roll: 5]
He then proceeds to adjust the glider with skill and expertise, making it descend at a manageable pace! How... uncharacteristic of him.
Post by: anailater on February 10, 2013, 02:30:08 pm
Severe off some legs and arms with my teeth, then try to attach them.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 10, 2013, 03:30:10 pm
Hunt outside for something killed in the Giant Attack Robot's rampage. Attach and assume control.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 04:08:55 pm
Luke goes ahead and attempts to neatly sever the arms and legs off some skeletons!
[Biting roll: 5]
He manages to sever them perfectly, no issues whatsoever with these new limbs! Too bad he really has nothing to attach them to - his steel stumps seem to be, well, steel. And smooth. And his legs are horribly bent and twisted, but still very much there.
Means he'll have to get either incredibly clever or incredibly stubborn to get new limbs. Luckily, he is definitely one of those!
Inside a former bear's cave...
Tom looks around for something already dead and susceptible to nefarious skeletal manipulation!
[Search roll: 2]
Surprisingly, it seems that the giant killer construct really cares for the environment, because this place is as lacking in corpses as a Pascitarian christening.
Post by: anailater on February 10, 2013, 04:37:54 pm
Push them in!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 10, 2013, 04:46:28 pm
Look for my own body.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2013, 05:09:11 pm
Luke tries to push the bones in with brute force!
[Strength roll: 6]
Despite the fact that he is using only his mouth and a spring, he actually manages to find a softer spot in the metal! After about twenty minutes of trying, he has jammed a skeletal leg in his arm stump!
Hey, wait a minute...
In the woods...
Tom looks for his own lower body and finds it easily! It looks to be entirely pulverized and sandwiched between layers of metal and cloth! How exciting!
Post by: anailater on February 10, 2013, 05:51:06 pm
Stick legs in all my stumps.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 10, 2013, 08:35:36 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 10, 2013, 09:26:17 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 10, 2013, 10:54:07 pm
"Dat does it. Looks like I's goin' to hafta do dis by all myself. You two waits here."
>(Gently) Ransack the town in search of a manual on scarecrow construction/maintenance!
Failing that, a book on pillow-making, sewing, mannequin design or basket weaving would probably do the trick, too.
>Attempt to repair the two injured scary crows myself! Also keep an eye out for Bob. Where on earth did he get to?
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 01:40:46 am
Continue.do the same
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 02:14:52 am
Luke figures he'll just jam legs in his arm stumps and his leg stumps. What's he got to lose, right?
[Strength roll: 4]
It proves much more difficult to jam a leg in one of his other stumps, however. And it doesn't function quite as well as the other one. As in, Luke can hardly bend it at the knee. Oh well. Time to get more legs!
[Biting roll: 4]
He bites the legs off another skeleton and gets to work once again!
[Strength roll: 6]
And another leg jammed in tight, nice one!
[Strength roll: 3]
However, the last leg proves a bit too fragile to subject to the same treatment. Hm.
In the woods...
Tom, generally dissatisfied at the lack of death and destruction, still doesn't lose faith in the murderous abilities of the giant destructive construct! He knows there have to be corpses around here somewhere!
[Search roll: 6]
It looks like an awfully pale individual is wandering through the woods. He looks pretty depressed, all in all. He's basically dead, Tom thinks. At least in spirit, you know.
In the sky...
Yorinnsud and Mark just keep on slowly descending and enjoying the nice view of the surrounding area. They keep on descending, occasionally getting a perplexed look from passing birds.
[Yorinnsud perception roll: ?]
[Mark perception roll: ?]
The trip downward is mostly uneventful, though Yorinnsud does feel an odd, sudden shifting of the air at one point. Eh, probably nothing. They eventually reach the ground safely and soundly, which is pretty odd, all in all.
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Since help from the townspeople is highly unlikely at this point, Timothy goes the DIY route and looks for something useful in his present situation. Like a manual or something.
[Search roll: 3]
He finds a book on embroidering! Close enough, he guesses. Time for medicine!
[Telekinetic repair roll: 3]
Just as he is about to embroider like a true champion, he realizes he has no materials to perform this task with! And with the state these two are in, he will definitely need some.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 06:20:54 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 06:58:04 am
look around for a church or temple
And victims. I need more limbs.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 07:28:45 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 07:34:57 am
((No I have not learnt anything from my run-in with the celestial law. :P))
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 07:50:42 am
Try to get in again, then try to bend the skeleton knee so is useable.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 07:54:01 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 07:54:59 am
I was going to pray for divine wepons but I expect we will turn to my god is better then yours when not in fights or avoiding death traps
Yep. Hey, want to go declare war on heaven?
Post by: miauw62 on February 11, 2013, 08:02:59 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 08:04:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 08:40:00 am
Yorinnsud and Mark continue their stupendous wanderings in the horrid Blacklands, both of them looking for loot, religious buildings and potential victims among the already well-explored areas.
[Search roll: 3]
Well, the temple of Velusius is easy enough to find, what with looking all scary and skeleton-covered. It looks to be quite deserted, to tell the truth. And somewhat looted as well.
At a skeleton exhibit...
Luke tries once more to jam the skeleton leg in his final stump!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Sadly, he finds no softer spots in his metal flesh to stick it into. How unfortunate. He also finds that bending his skeletal knee isn't the problem as such, it is moving them at will. That particular knee is just sort of limp and impossible to move.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 08:44:33 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 08:52:40 am
bay12 declaring war on heaven because why the hell notI was going to pray for divine wepons but I expect we will turn to my god is better then yours when not in fights or avoiding death traps
Yep. Hey, want to go declare war on heaven?
Not gonna happen. I have a plan for grafting divine body parts onto myself. With the aid of Doctor Mark, my attending physician, of course.I as a doctor endorse this plan
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 09:27:05 am
"Oh great gods and goddesses, give me the power to connect and control these limbs, and I will be your willing servant, demons may not apply."
Pray, try to connect, really hope that the gods Don't turn me into a pig or something for a laugh.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 09:31:03 am
Go inside the temple and lay gamerlord on a table. Remove the middle armless chest then attach the upper chest and legs together so gamerlord can pass as human(alive)For future reference your title is Doktor and you have a German/Austrian accent.bay12 declaring war on heaven because why the hell notI was going to pray for divine wepons but I expect we will turn to my god is better then yours when not in fights or avoiding death traps
Yep. Hey, want to go declare war on heaven?Not gonna happen. I have a plan for grafting divine body parts onto myself. With the aid of Doctor Mark, my attending physician, of course.I as a doctor endorse this plan
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 11:04:37 am
Yorinnsud is about to go looking for more victims, but Mark is having none of that! He pulls the abomination into the temple and sets her down on an altar, then gets to work!
[Mark medicine roll: 4]
He removes that pesky armless middle part of Yorinnsud and mostly uneventfully shortens the woman to a more manageable length! She does seem a tad lopsided by the time he's done, but he supposes she can just say it's scoliosis or something.
At a skeleton exhibit...
Luke once again prays for the heavens to aid him! They seem to have liked him well enough thus far, after all.
[Prayer roll: 1]
As he howls and bows pitifully before his betters, the racket he produces manages to attract a pack of ravenous dogs! They proceed to set upon Luke and try to steal his limbs!
[Pack of Dogs bone-stealing roll: 6]
They proceed to rip out all of Luke's bones in several extremely powerful bites, then go on to ransack the skeleton exhibit! Aw, damn it all! Stupid dogs! Get over here!
They do not listen. Instead, they run off with all those sweet bones hanging out of their mouths. Luke surveys the destruction.
Yep, most of the bones from the exhibit are now gone. Stupid gods!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 11, 2013, 11:34:19 am
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 11:53:33 am
"Oh great Gods And Goddesses Here my cries, help me now in my time of need, right now I don't even care if you turn me into a barnyard animal, i need working limbs!"
Prayer, We need prayer, if its not answered, bounce after those dogs, and eat them, then use their bones.
Post by: TopHat on February 11, 2013, 11:54:50 am
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 11:58:13 am
((and it turns out that we still haven't learned the lesson that praying to the gods is even more dangerous than insulting them))((Not if they decide your worthy and makes you one of their followers, I will start preaching for whatever God/dess that saves me.))
Post by: miauw62 on February 11, 2013, 12:44:03 pm
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 12:57:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 01:27:22 pm
Yorinnsud leaves her good doctor behind and goes out to look for a crypt of some sort. There has to be one, right?
[Search roll: 4]
And there is! In the basement, past a freshly triggered trap, there does seem to be an entire room full of skeletons of all sorts! Amazing!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke decides that one swarm of ravenous predatory dogs was not quite enough and thus tries once more to summon divine aid!
[Prayer roll: 3]
While praying, Luke notices a lonely femur left behind by the dog swarm! Thank you, divine powers! THANK YOU!
Post by: Xantalos on February 11, 2013, 01:29:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 01:30:28 pm
And as is tradition in Life Begins After Death, we all ponder the eternal question: what happened to Bernie?
Oh, he's still in the basement, busy bleeding people with blunt scalpels.
Post by: miauw62 on February 11, 2013, 01:30:57 pm
And as is tradition in Life Begins After Death, we all ponder the eternal question: what happened to Bernie?Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 01:33:29 pm
Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
The other reason he can't die is because if he dies, all the undead start dying as well.
Post by: Xantalos on February 11, 2013, 01:35:54 pm
Therefore if he becomes undead all the undead come back to (first) life?Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
The other reason he can't die is because if he dies, all the undead start dying as well.
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 03:18:20 pm
((My god.... This is how we must win.))Therefore if he becomes undead all the undead come back to (first) life?Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
The other reason he can't die is because if he dies, all the undead start dying as well.
"THANK YOU GREAT GODS! PLEASE SHOW ME HOW TO ATTACH HIS BONE TO MY STUMPS, AND TOO FIND THREE OTHERS!"
Try to attach the bone with divine help, then try to find more bones to attach again with divine help.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2013, 03:37:39 pm
Luke thanks the magnificent divines for their marvelous gift, but decides that he probably needs more from the kind all-seeing beings.
[Prayer roll: 3]
He is hit in the face by a piece of paper! He examines it.
It says: DON'T BE A MORON! FIGURE THINGS OUT BY YOURSELF! Signed, the Information Center of the Blacklands.
How enlightening! Luke ponders this for a second, but he is suddenly brained on the back of his head by a wooden sign torn off its rightful place by the wind!
It says: BUGGER OFF ALREADY! Signed, George Jenkins.
Hm, this means something, Luke is sure of it! He is then smacked in the face by a recklessly spiraling metal plaque.
It says: NO SOLICITORS.
Post by: anailater on February 11, 2013, 03:43:36 pm
Ask them taht, try to attach the bone, look for the dogs.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 11, 2013, 06:33:24 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 11, 2013, 06:58:32 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 07:18:49 pm
we could just put him in a room with everything he needs to live but no exitsMy god.... This is how we must win.Therefore if he becomes undead all the undead come back to (first) life?Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
The other reason he can't die is because if he dies, all the undead start dying as well.
Post by: Xantalos on February 11, 2013, 07:22:22 pm
Bury him.
Done!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2013, 08:04:20 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 12, 2013, 12:28:27 am
Mark follows Yorinnsud and upon seeing the room of bones he checks for traps before dragging bones to the medical table and Searching for some medical equipment.we could just put him in a room with everything he needs to live but no exitsMy god.... This is how we must win.Therefore if he becomes undead all the undead come back to (first) life?Bernie is the only consistent plot element. Ergo, he can't die.
Unless half of the players decide that he must die.
The other reason he can't die is because if he dies, all the undead start dying as well.
((THAT WAS MY IDEA))
Gather up bones for grafting to Mike.
Post by: Yoink on February 12, 2013, 03:59:35 am
Surely there was someone helpful in this place... Someone with some embroidery materials to spare.
>Remaining imperceptible, fly up to the nearest person (other than either of my scarecrow friends, Bob, Hansel or that doctor person) and 'borrow' their hair for use as emergency embroidery materials.
>If their hair is not long enough to be decently useful, telekinetically remove their intestines through their butt and use those instead.
"Hey, I's gives dem back later!"
>Once equipped with embroidery materials of some form or other, go operate on Jim and Fred.
Post by: TopHat on February 12, 2013, 04:04:44 am
vamps dont need blood to live it stops there thirst so LETS DO ITThat reminds me! Neither of the two vamps actually drank blood at any point during the adventure!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 12, 2013, 07:41:06 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2013, 08:25:20 am
they were alive (undead) for a day or two at most so not a problem*coughjamescough*
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2013, 10:06:14 am
Luke, having sort of gotten the message, asks if the gods would care for an altar built for them!
The only response he gets is George Jenkins' sign, which had landed on the ground, shifting toward him due to the wind. Oh well. He attempts to attach the femur somewhere on his body.
[Attachment roll: 3]
Hm, it doesn't really fit inside any of the existing holes in his stumps. Or in the knotted-up remains of his legs.
Outside the town hall...
This is it. This is the one they'll remember Darren for. It's time to play.
He begins to whistle as the instrument-less man waves his arms.
[Band Guy 5 magic roll: 1]
Suddenly, everything becomes entirely silent! No sound at all anywhere. One of the band members tries to blow his horn, but only silence is produced. Everybody looks at the guy in frustration.
The guy shrugs confusedly and tries again.
[Band Guy 5 magic roll: 5-1]
After a few gestures, sound returns once more to the area!
"Right, let's take that from the top, shall we?"
[Band Guy 5 magic roll: 6]
This time, it seems to work! All the sounds of the area seem to become... amplified, somehow. More pure.
The band leader starts to speak, and his voice seems incredibly melodious all of a sudden.
"Let's make some magic, people!"
Finally, they start playing! These guys are pretty good, to tell the truth.
[Darren Spooky Howling roll: 5+1]
[Band music roll: 1+1]
They begin a song. A rather ordinary song, but he supposes this is just a warm up. Well, he's determined to do his best!
As soon as the time is right, Darren breaks out into a whistle solo like very few in this town have seen before, alternating pitches and even managing some fairly complex riffs with nothing but his ghostly lips! As he completely steals the show, he hears glass breaking throughout the area, as well as horrible screaming from inside the town hall!
They love him! They really, really love him!
"Great work, man!"
[Town Hall People endurance roll: 3]
There is the unmistakable sound of something splattering within the town hall as Darren reaches a particular high note in his performance! The screaming from before continues well into the bridge of the song, though it eventually quiets down somewhat. At the end of the song, Darren bows politely. The rest of the band applauds for him.
"Absolutely brilliant work there, friend! You are as hired as a band member possibly can be!"
Will the great news never cease?
In the woods...
Tom, intrigued by pale strangers wandering alone in the woods in any circumstances, chooses to further investigate this person!
As he half-handwalks, half-rolls to the fellow, he becomes acutely aware of tuneless singing emanating from him.
"Nobody knooooows how dryyyyy I aaaam!
Nobody caaaaares how dryyyyy I aaaamm!
Hooow dryyyyy I aaaammm!"
What an oddball. Who wanders through the forest and sings like that? It is simply not natural!
[Fellow perception roll: ?]
Suddenly, the stranger stops and turns toward Tom!
"You there! What 'chu want? You lookin' for trouble?"
[Fellow idea roll: 1]
He stares at Tom, then his foggy, distant gaze suddenly becomes lucid, though this lasts for but a few seconds.
"HEY, you're a skeleton! Yup, you are! You ain't got any blood!"
He rips off a large branch off a nearby tree.
"You ain't no good to me! Nope, not in any way!"
The man then rapidly starts to stumble toward Tom!
In a chamber of bones...
Yorinnsud fetches Mark so that they both can begin some really fun work! Yorinnsud looks for some bones while Mark searches for traps!
[Mark trap-check roll: ?]
He finds absolutely no traps, but he gets the sneaking suspicion that they are around here somewhere. Right in the places he didn't bother looking in. Oh well. Not really his loss. Time to look for medical equipment!
[Search roll: 3]
There isn't any that he can see in this room. And there are no medical tables either. This temple doesn't seem like it would be the place to find this sort of thing. Sacrificial implements, yes, healing tools, no.
In the courtyard of Castle Wossname...
Timothy looks for a schmuck to randomly abuse for fun and profit!
[Search roll: 3]
Unfortunately, there aren't any around! Even the tailor's disappeared somewhere. How awful. Looks like he won't be able to randomly abuse a bystander just off the street, sadly.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 12, 2013, 10:27:39 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2013, 12:08:49 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 12, 2013, 12:10:30 pm
Post by: TopHat on February 12, 2013, 12:23:59 pm
((Plus Luke should not be messing with the gods. Vindictive arseholes.))((yeah. James annoying Pascitarius way back in chapter one actually directly caused his death.))
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2013, 12:27:07 pm
((And indirectly caused his tranformation into a three-headed snail.))((Plus Luke should not be messing with the gods. Vindictive arseholes.))((yeah. James annoying Pascitarius way back in chapter one actually directly caused his death.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 12, 2013, 12:44:31 pm
"Really? Hells yeah!"
Onward with the band!
Post by: anailater on February 12, 2013, 12:48:47 pm
FIND THOSE FUCKING DOGS, Kill them and take their bones,Including the ones inside there body, also look for, in order of preference, dead dinosaur bones, human bones, living mages willing to turn me into some sort of cat or frog with limbs.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2013, 02:17:59 pm
Yorinnsud, seeing how Mark isn't making a whole lot of progress on his own, decides to look for tools of surgery as well!
[Search roll: 3]
Hm, nothing of the sort in this room as far as she can see. Though there is a room full of barrels and stuff. They are quite unlikely to contain saws, though if you consider who is worshipped here, it is not entirely impossible. Nails, though, those are more likely to be found.
Outside the town hall...
Darren, beaming with pride and joy, tries to follow the band somewhere. They don't seem awfully mobile right now, however.
"We ain't going anywhere yet, buddy! We have to bring the house down, you see!"
They start an instrumental number!
[Band music roll: 6+1]
And by "start an instrumental number" it is meant that they go absolutely nuts on their instruments! Hands move with absurd speeds, producing sounds so phat, they completely destroy any competitors. And their buildings. The town hall starts to bob, shake and almost... dance. This involves it tearing itself apart, which in turn creates a massive storm of debris moving in an absolutely insane rhythmical pattern. Darren watches in confusion as the remnants of the town hall spin and twist in the hippest of fashions, eventually settling into an odd structure as the song ends.
"Right, then. We've wrapped this up, dudes! Time for relaxation! To the luxury inn!"
They start to move toward Bernie's inn.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Luke searches for that bunch of dickish dogs!
[Search roll: 4]
After bouncing around for a good half hour, he comes upon the pack! There seem to be 17 of them in total! Also, they are not carrying any bones at the moment. Thirdly, he has exactly zero functional limbs.
Post by: Yoink on February 12, 2013, 02:27:22 pm
>He'll go see the Doctor and ask if he knows anything about scarecrows and how to doctor them. Becoming perceptible again first, naturally. Oh, and he'll volunteer to look after Hansel in the meantime if the bird needs constant care... although of course a trained nurse might be better for the job.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2013, 03:41:03 pm
Timothy heads in the direction of the castle in order to find Hansel and his attending physician in the castle infirmary! They are found easily enough, since Timothy already knows the way. Hansel looks a bit better than the last time Timothy saw him, though he is still a rather broken little monsterbird. All in all, good. Good enough to warrant perceptibility!
[Perceptibility roll: 1]
He becomes but a faint presence on the material plane, and starts to feel somewhat... disconnected. Oddly so. Hm.
Post by: Yoink on February 12, 2013, 03:54:35 pm
Timothy's imperceptible eyes widened with worry.
"Aw noes, I's not likes where dis be going..."
If this kept up, he might just fade away forever! And then who would help his friends?! That's right, nobody. Er, well. Timothy was already well on his way to becoming a literal nobody. He wasn't about to let that happen!
"Yaagh! Gets back here, self! We is havin' works ta do!"
>Anchor self back to the material plane and re-materialize! Fight the fading! Think of all the people relying on me for various semi-urgent nonsense! Pull yourself together, Timothy! Remember the Circus! Remember happier times! Remember... Yes, remember Dorothy! And of course remember Hansel, Bob, Fred, Jim and everyone else!
You can't just leave them and go floating off into non-existence! What sort of reckless, self-centered ghost would do such a thing?!
Timothy let loose a fearsome, if possibly imperceptible, screech of fury as he strained with all might to claw his way back to unlife!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2013, 04:22:53 pm
Timothy attempts to fight this horrible, horrible sensation of disconnectedness and the all-too-real possibility of dropping off this plane of existence altogether! It cannot happen to him while he has important stuff to do! Perhaps later, at lunch would be a better time!
[Anchoring roll: 1]
He anchors himself successfully! Not to this plane, unfortunately enough, but somewhere quite close to it! As to keeping his proverbial shit on the material plane, this clearly isn't going to happen anymore. This is a bad thing, Timothy guesses as he slips out of conventional existence and into something altogether different.
Okay, he's definitely not on the material plane. He can safely say this due to the contingent of waltzing hyenas gallivanting through a room of spiraling lightning bolts that is somehow located inside a dodecahedron being swallowed by a skeletal hippo. The skeletal hippo hums with delight at the treat, then turns to Timothy.
"Hi! How are you feeling today? I'm feeling wonderful. Are you feeling wonderful? Because I am."
Well, he's been to worse places, to tell the truth.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 12, 2013, 06:21:06 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 12, 2013, 07:09:59 pm
Bite his ankles until he dies of either blood loss or shame.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 12, 2013, 08:25:12 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 12, 2013, 08:58:03 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 12, 2013, 09:21:19 pm
Help mark.If it works (or not) we need to find another body and I will make you into a dragon
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2013, 02:26:19 am
Despite his severe lack of tools, Mark starts his very next Yorinnsud Improvement Project, or YIP.
[YIP roll: 4]
He takes a bunch of arm bones and makes a pair of makeshift wings for Yorinnsud, attaching them to the shoulder blades. They look pretty, but do little else, unfortunately. He supposes Yorinnsud could use them to sort-of stab people. Although these particular bones are not particularly sharp. Ho hum and all that.
Sometimes he just feels so uninspired.
In the woods...
Faced with a charging and possibly inebriated stranger, Tom tries to bite the bugger's ankles with extreme ankle-prejudice.
[Tom vs. Stranger: 5 vs. 2-1]
He chews one of the stranger's ankles clean off! Oh dear!
[Stranger balance roll: 1]
This is obviously not a very good thing for one as inebriated as this guy, as he immediately falls backwards, braining himself on the head with his impromptu club, then losing grip on the branch as it rolls into a nearby ditch.
"Augh, dammit! Why does this always happen to me!"
[Tom vs. Totally Trashed Stranger: 1 vs. 2-1-1]
Tom watches in amazement as the stranger tries to roll away, but only manages to get himself tangled in a thorn bush. He'd nibble on the helpless fellow, but he seems to be in extreme pain already, and it seems quite inappropriate to bite someone who is already screaming hideously.
[TTS entanglement management roll: 4]
The stranger manages to free himself from the bush and chooses to use Tom's general confusion to kick at him!
[TTS vs. Tom: 2+1-1 vs. 2+1]
He misses utterly and completely. Oh well. Time to rob him even of the minor joy of kicking.
[Tom vs. TTS: 6 vs. 6-1-1]
He grabs the stranger's other ankle and chews with all his might! He gets about a third of the way through before the man tries to kick himself free!
[TTS vs. Tom: 4 vs. 1+1]
This time, oddly enough, he is kicked away a good distance! Looks like it's hard to miss a skeleton that is chewing on your foot. Tom considers his next move as he dusts himself off from about ten feet away.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 13, 2013, 05:26:55 am
((In case khh isn't on, do more arms.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 13, 2013, 08:31:40 am
also after this we need to find something big and take its skin and muscles so we can make you flight capable.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2013, 10:17:31 am
Mark looks at his handiwork. Yorinnsud looks rather pretty now, but she could be better! But how?
Ooh, he's got it! Arms! Arms are like friends, you see. The more, the merrier.
[Medicine roll: 5]
He grabs a set of four skeletal arms and goes on to skillfully attach them to Yorinnsud's body, shaking with delight when the limbs start to twitch and move as Yorinnsud's essence begins to permeate them! She looks pretty mean now, with six arms, four of which are skeletal, two skeleton wings that look pretty badass despite being essentially useless and a very, very bad attitude that has made all this possible.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 13, 2013, 11:08:01 am
Post by: anailater on February 13, 2013, 03:02:04 pm
Attack them, aim for head bites, eat the flesh from their bodies and use dog bones in my body.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2013, 04:09:35 pm
Yorinnsud instructs Mark on what exactly she wants in the next step of her dastardly and absolutely fiendish makeover. You see, she wants to become the prettiest chimera in all the land, and nothing is going to stop her! Mark then goes on to try to perform her request to the best of his not inconsiderable ability!
[Mark medicine roll: 3]
He takes two skeletal fingers that are readily available and sticks them on Yorinnsud's head. He then judges her to be just perfect as she is, as a scorpion tail is something best left to disgusting showoffs with no sense of moderation and class, not undead men and women of taste and distinction like him and his delightful test subject.
Some distance from a pack of horrid dogs...
Luke, spying his worst enemy in the distance, needs but a second of thought before bouncing to meet them in totally not absolutely ridiculous combat to the death.
As he creakily bounces to the canine fiends, they look upon him with interest. When he begins to snap at them, they get the picture quickly enough.
[Luke vs. Dog: 5 vs. 4+1]
As he pounces, the dog he targeted jumps back, now alert and, quite frankly, rather pissed. It and its companions then charge at Luke!
[17 Dogs vs. Luke: 4+3 vs. 1+1-2]
The dogs overwhelm the metallic shark, flipping it over and toying with it for quite a while before judging it to be quite inedible. Not seeing any other thing to be done, they bugger off immediately afterwards, leaving Luke flipped over and humiliated in the middle of the street.
Stupid dogs.
Post by: anailater on February 13, 2013, 04:14:40 pm
HEY ASSORTED CHAOTIC MAGES AND WIZARDS, I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TURN ME INTO SOME SORT OF ANIMAL, BARNYARD OR OTHERWISE!"
Call out for mages.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 13, 2013, 06:59:59 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 13, 2013, 11:01:43 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 13, 2013, 11:15:31 pm
reinforce myself with bones from the pile then follow gamerlord
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2013, 06:56:28 am
Luke, feeling rather lazy right now, yells out for mages the town over!
[Response roll: 1]
A man walks out of a house nearby and gives Luke an odd look.
"Well? Are you gonna do it?"
The man nods.
[Man magic roll: 4]
Luke feels himself shrink! He shrinks and shrinks until he is nearly the size of a fly! While he is still a metal shark, and a limbless one at that, his teeth are rather microscopic now and not terribly impressive at all.
He now sees the cobbled road in an entirely new light, as it seems more like a series of stone islands than a single surface. Islands with deep crevices separating them that one could easily fall into. And not get out. Hm.
He then hears a sound like rolling thunder come from above!
In the woods...
Tom attempts to find the foot he chewed off, and he finds it easily! He then tries to assume control of it.
[Control assumption roll: 4]
Well, he now has a single unusually fleshy foot stuck to the bottom of his spine. How incredible. Time to utilize this foot for good!
[TTS agility roll: 2+1-1]
The stranger has moved absolutely nowhere, fortunately enough.
[Tom vs. TTS: 2 vs. 4-1-1]
He is, however, kicking a bit too fiercely to allow Tom to bite at him. Most unfortunate. Tom thinks about what to do next, tapping his foot impatiently.
In a Velusian basement...
As Yorinnsud heads out to find more victims, Mark tries a bit of self-improvement. After all, it's only fair after what he's been doing so far.
[Attachment roll: 3]
He places a skull on each of his shoulders! This will surely confuse any attackers, despite the skulls being totally immobile at this juncture. Oh well. Moving on!
Mark runs after his partner in crime and aids her in the search for eminently murderable fools.
[Search roll: 2]
After an hour-long search, they can say with some certainty that there are exactly zero living things inside the temple. It does, however, seem like there may have been someone here recently, judging by the disturbed dust.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 14, 2013, 07:10:56 am
Search outside.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2013, 07:26:47 am
Yorinnsud decides to investigate this dark, mysterious place known as the Outside! Mark follows her with some reservations.
[Search roll: 6]
Is that a flying octopus?
It is a flying octopus!
It's a flying giant octopus.
Imagine that, a flying giant octopus. It has spiky tentacles and webbed tentacles and evil eyes and all sorts of other really wild things! It also looks like it may be taking an interest in Yorinnsud and Mark as well, as it starts to circle their position!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 14, 2013, 07:46:12 am
ATTACK!
(Can you update my description in the OP? Kinda hard to keep track of what I am.)
Post by: killerhellhound on February 14, 2013, 08:23:34 am
Post by: anailater on February 14, 2013, 02:53:58 pm
Try to bounce up his body and into his ear!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2013, 06:58:48 pm
Yorinnsud sees two things in the flying giant octopus - opportunity to sate her bloodlust and a fantastic possible limb donor! She and Mark proceed to try and attack the thing with whatever weaponry they have!
However, most of their weaponry is quite melee-focused. Except for the daggers, that is. They throw the daggers!
[Yorinnsud vs. Octopus: 3+1 vs. 2+1+1]
[Mark vs. Octopus: 1+1 vs. 5+2]
They both do not quite manage to hit the high-flying mollusc, but Mark is especially disappointed to see his dagger get slapped away by the octopus' tentacle onto a nearby roof!
He doesn't get to enjoy the feeling for too long, as the octopus immediately swoops down at him!
[Counterattack: Octopus vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 5+1]
Fortunately, he manages to leap out of the way before he is subjected to horrible hook-based horror! However, the octopus is far from done yet, as it tries a much lower swoop immediately afterward!
[Octopus vs. Mark: 4+1 vs. 4+1]
Mark, despite being a little off-balance, jumps out of the way rather deftly once again. No octopus, flying or not, can hope to match the sheer technical proficiency that made the MeatWagon clan famous during the great Dances of the West!
Right, so now there's him, Yorinnsud and the octopus. There's only one dagger to share between himself and his companion. What to do, what to do...
On a much smaller level altogether...
Luke, being the size of a fly, tries proper fly tactics and tries to reach the now-huge man and crawl up his robe!
The main problem with this idea is that he still has no limbs to speak of. The second problem is that the spring only lets him bounce directly away from a surface, and shifting his weight is unlikely to help him during a vertical ascent. Hm.
Suddenly, there seems to be an odd shadow around him. Two large, pinkish, menacing-looking things seem to be approaching him.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 14, 2013, 07:13:27 pm
Chew off the other foot.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 14, 2013, 08:12:33 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 15, 2013, 12:33:01 am
Go for the eye!
Post by: anailater on February 15, 2013, 03:50:49 am
Bounce to the side, wait for the feel to come down, jump on to the nearest piece of his clothes, climb up with my teeth.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 04:29:44 am
Tom, not discouraged by the sight of a single-footed drunkard thrashing like a lunatic, hops toward the fellow once again!
[TTS agility roll: 4]
Unfortunately for him, it appears that the stranger has mustered enough coordination to get up already! Then again, maybe he'll get to see him fall to the ground again.
[Tom vs. TTS: 6 vs. 1-1]
Tom, not really satisfied at getting just a foot, goes the extra mile and starts rapidly chewing at the guy's thigh! It only takes about twenty seconds until the screaming stranger is made footless and one-legged, dropping to the ground with a loud thud!
"And now I'll have to find new legs! Damn you, skeletal-whatsit!"
In mortal combat with a flying giant octopus...
Yorinnsud takes the dagger offered by her buddy Mark and takes careful aim!
[Yorinnsud vs. Octopus: 4+1 vs. 4+2]
She narrowly misses the octopus! It now seems to have turned its attention to her!
[Octopus vs. Yorinnsud: 6+2 vs. 1+1]
It comes down to the ground lightning-fast, a hooked tentacle flashing past before Yorinnsud can react! She can only observe the results, which are that she is nearly cut diagonally in half from shoulder to hip, her top half lurching backwards as Yorinnsud loses her balance and falls over!
[Mark vs. Octopus: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
Mark is about to leap on the octopus, but the horrid creature twists around and swipes with its tentacle!
[Counterattack: Octopus vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 3+2]
However, Mark has anticipated this! He leaps upwards and tries to stab straight down at the octopus like some kind of professional mollusc hunter!
[Octopus dodge roll: 6]
Instead of dodging, however, it flies straight up at Mark, slapping the halberd's blade out of the way and charging right into him!
[Mark hanging on roll: 3]
Mark is flung upwards, though he manages to get a tenuous grip on one of the octopus' tentacle hooks! The octopus spins at a great speed, trying to shake him off!
[Mark strength roll: 2]
Mark just flies away, landing on the ground with a crashing sound! Though it seems to have hurt quite a bit, Mark is mostly unharmed. The same can't be said for Yorinnsud, who seems to be having trouble getting up without accidentally losing her top half in the process.
On a cobblestone...
Luke, realizing the gravity of the situation he is in, tries to dodge away from the pink objects!
[Dodge roll: 1-1]
He fails most spectacularly as he manages to move but a few inches before he is squashed between the two oddly-ridged plates! He feels himself ascend to a great height in a very short period of time!
[Treatment roll: 6]
He is then gently placed into a large empty space for some reason! There is quite a bit of space in here, if he may say so himself. The incredibly thick glass walls, however, are a bit off-putting.
He sees a large gray object get placed far above, about sixty feet over his head! Then, oddly enough, the object seems to get perforated by something metallic. Then everything goes dark.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 15, 2013, 04:33:23 am
Post by: anailater on February 15, 2013, 06:01:21 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 15, 2013, 07:30:27 am
((This isn't weird. Not at all. Just slowly Frankenstein-ing my way to a human body mid-battle.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 15, 2013, 08:54:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 10:08:51 am
Yorinnsud, not one to submit to a filthy flying cephalopod on any day of the week, tries to pin her halves together with a dagger!
[Pinning roll: 2]
She pulls the dagger from her heart and tries to stick it in her wound in a binding way, but the shape of the dagger is a bit too straight for it to be of much use this way. She remains split as she was, unfortunately.
Meanwhile, Mark prostrates himself before the divines and requests aid in this horrid predicament!
[Prayer roll: 5]
After a quick prayer to Rysinia, Mark stands up with newfound confidence. The octopus notices this, and does not like this one little bit! It goes for one more swoop! As it descends, Mark isn't worried. He isn't worried at all. He knows what is to be done. He takes a stand and readies his halberd.
[Octopus vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 5+2+2]
As the octopus draws ever closer, Mark makes no effort to move until the last second, at which point he stabs his halberd forward with great force!
[Mark vs. Octopus: 6+1+2 vs. 3+1]
The stab is simple, but effective, penetrating between the eyes of the octopus and going out the other side, essentially slicing through the majority of its internal organs in one fell swoop. The octopus twitches and twists on the blade of the halberd for a short while, then goes perfectly still. Mark shakes the blade a bit, but it seems to have made its last twitch. He lets the great slimy mass of tentacles and hooks slip to the ground, where it remains.
Looks pretty dead to him. Thanks, Rysinia. You're all right.
Inside a large glass prison...
Luke tries to wake up! He is extremely successful due to reasons of not having fallen asleep in the first place. How nice.
It is still, to put it mildly, darker than the chamberpot of the Demon of Drowning in here.
In the woods...
Tom, despite lacking a pelvis, goes ahead and tries to attach his newest acquisition anyway.
[Attachment roll: 1]
He realizes that he really has nowhere reasonable to put it on. Time to start removing things!
[Strength roll: 5]
He pulls one of his arms straight off! Now, let's take this from the top.
[Attachment roll: 3]
He now has a leg awkwardly stuck on his collarbone. Eh, good enough. Time for more chewing!
[TTS agility roll: 4-1]
[Tom vs. TTS: 5 vs. 5-2]
He latches on tight onto the stranger's hand and starts to chew!
"DAMMIT, WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY? AUUGH!"
[TTS vs. Tom: 1+1-1 vs. 1+1]
Tom just keeps on chewing like he just don't care as the stranger's hand weakly slaps against the leg hanging on his collarbone. Now that's quite a knee-slapper, eh?
[Tom chewing roll: 5]
Before long, he has chewed through the hand entirely and removed it relatively neatly. Now for the other hand.
[Tom vs. TTS: 4 vs. 6-1-1]
The stranger is unusually stubborn, however, rolling on top of his only hand to keep it safe from Tom's unusually vicious teeth!
"No! You are not having that one!"
[TTS vs. Tom: 2+1-1 vs. 1+1]
Tom lets him get a little bit of privacy. It is his last limb, after all.
Post by: miauw62 on February 15, 2013, 10:18:14 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 15, 2013, 10:19:54 am
((Mark: the only guy to actually get any help from the gods.))
Let Mark do his thing and improve me! Hint: I think the bottom half being replaced by an octopus body would be very useful...
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 10:28:16 am
"Goddamn living people. Can't distinguish the Pits of Drowning from a candy shop."
((Oh wait. The chamberpot of the Demon of Drowning. Why does the Demon of Darkness have a Pit of Drowning if there is a Demon of Drowning? Is the Demon of Drowning outsourcing his maintenance?))
The Demon of Drowning lives in a realm of eternal darkness. This does not make it a demon of darkness automatically, you see. Mike is currently in service of the Demon of Drowning, who also happens to enjoy a bit of dark itself, not just in the context of drowning, either. It is a complex creature that theoretically has a personality as well, and I bet it would resent you for mistaking it for the Demon of Darkness in any case.
Post by: miauw62 on February 15, 2013, 10:32:02 am
((Post editted. Not that you have to include it in your turns or anything.))"Goddamn living people. Can't distinguish the Pits of Drowning from a candy shop."
((Oh wait. The chamberpot of the Demon of Drowning. Why does the Demon of Darkness have a Pit of Drowning if there is a Demon of Drowning? Is the Demon of Drowning outsourcing his maintenance?))
The Demon of Drowning lives in a realm of eternal darkness. This does not make it a demon of darkness automatically, you see. Mike is currently in service of the Demon of Drowning, who also happens to enjoy a bit of dark itself, not just in the context of drowning, either. It is a complex creature that theoretically has a personality as well, and I bet it would resent you for mistaking it for the Demon of Darkness in any case.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 01:12:07 pm
Yorinnsud, noticing that Mark seems to have taken care of the octopus problem, beckons him to help her out with her body separation problem!
[Mark medicine roll: 1]
Mark walks up to Yorinnsud and takes a careful look. He then uses his halberd to make an incision perfectly symmetrical to the extreme gash Yorinnsud already has along her torso. The result is a great big bloody X across her body that makes Yorinnsud totally unable to get up without falling apart entirely. She is about to question the artistic vision of the genius that is Mark, but he starts examining and playing with the halberd's blade, so she elects to hold back her complaints right now.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 15, 2013, 01:45:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 02:27:50 pm
Yorinnsud kindly suggests to Mark that he could... uh... maybe repair some of the damage? And not cause more? Because that would be kind of nice and enjoyable, and it would be a good experience for both of them, and at the end of the day, is that not what truly matters?
[Mark medicine roll: 5]
Mark looks questioningly at Yorinnsud. He's never looked at it quite like that, you see. But it is a good point, all in all. He will help Yorinnsud, if only to explore the concept of having a good time in more detail. He takes the octopus' corpse and examines it in greater detail. Hm, it seems to be a bit too fleshy and soft to make for good body part material. However, that is not to be construed as a discounting of the noble cephalopod's abilities altogether. In fact, with his halberd and some thread he may be able to make something here.
He steps over to Yorinnsud and takes careful measurements of her body, then walks back to the octopus and does the same. He nods knowingly, then drags the carcass over to Yorinnsud and gets to slicing and dicing. Then comes the sewing and attaching. At the end of it, Yorinnsud doesn't have to worry about her body being split open or the wardrobe malfunction this would inevitably cause.
For you see, Mark has made her an Integrated Octopus Dress! Though the fashion implications of grafting a dress made of octopus flesh to your body are most dire, it seems that all of the deadly hooked, webbed tentacles that make up the skirt of it still work perfectly! Heck, she might even be able to float with this thing, provided the conditions are right.
Mark evaluates the cut and workmanship of the integrated dress, then gives it two thumbs up!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 15, 2013, 02:32:47 pm
Ah well, lets go murdering. Also, experiment with dress.
Post by: miauw62 on February 15, 2013, 02:35:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2013, 03:09:27 pm
Yorinnsud, with Mark tagging along close by, tries to test the dress' true capabilities!
[Floating roll: 2]
She twirls and spins, but it appears that she is a bit too heavy to be just lifted off the ground like the octopus. She would need a bit of a favorable wind to actually manage to ascend upwards, she thinks. However, it would probably work rather well as an impromptu parachute or glider.
Though those are questions to be resolved at a later time. Now, it is time to continue her murderquest.
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there seem to be a very dark brown, leathery and naked individual walking down a certain street. That's quite unusual. It's difficult to say how easy or difficult that one would be to murder, but it is nonetheless a fact that this individual is undeniably there. There is something very odd about him, however.
Post by: anailater on February 15, 2013, 03:41:00 pm
SHARK HEADBUTT, Destroy the glass.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 15, 2013, 05:18:40 pm
((I can't tell if this is violently sadistic or oddly adorable. Either way, I think I should stop before he becomes a literal blood fountain. I think this experience is sufficiently scarring already. Probably better to kill him now than leave him a super-cripple.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 15, 2013, 06:33:53 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 05:49:27 am
Luke uses his head for what is its most useful application - as a bashing weapon!
[Headbutting roll: 2]
However, even a tiny steel head brought forward with miniscule force cannot help him against the utter indestructibility of a quarter of an inch of glass!
All of a sudden, everything becomes slightly less dark! Illuminated, almost. The lid of the jar is taken off. Could this be a good sign?
Hey, what a surprise, it isn't. The jar is upended and Luke falls out and right onto some hard surface, which turns out to be a wooden floor upon closer inspection.
He seems to be in a living room. There are chairs around, as well as a bookcase. There are also a bunch of doors leading out of the room.
He hears something close above him. Looking up, he sees that it is the roof that's now actually there. Shortly afterwards, there is a metallic sliding sound and a click.
In the woods...
Tom considers how best to kill this fellow.
Oh, he knows! He'll chew his head off!
[Tom vs. TTS: 2 vs. 1-2]
He starts to chew on the stranger's neck and gets about a third of the way through!
[TTS vs. Tom: 2+1-1-1 vs. 6+1]
As he throws a punch at Tom, the skeleton catches his fist in an iron grip, then keeps chewing!
[Tom chewing roll: 3]
He lazily continues to chew, getting to the spine.
[TTS strength roll: 4+1-1]
The stranger manages to pull his hand out of Tom's and punches again!
[TTS vs. Tom: 1-1 vs. 3+1]
Tom, having learned his lessons well, pins his hand under his ribcage and goes for one more chew!
[Tom chewing roll: 5]
He successfully chews through the spine and separates the stranger's head from his shoulders!
[TTS will roll: 5]
The head keeps talking, interestingly enough.
"Dammit, that's the second time today! You asshole! I just got that affixed back on!"
Tom disregards this talk and tries to attach himself to the body.
[Tom strength roll: 4]
[Tom attachment roll: 4]
Tom pulls his head off and, before he can get too woozy, puts it on the mostly limbless body of the stranger!
Well, it seems to work okay. Tom starts to feel a bit dizzy, however.
"Oh, now that's just low! Stealing my body like that! I would like you to know that you are a terrible person!"
The head starts to mournfully roll away, sobbing as it does so.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Something occurs to Mark. He should be more thankful to Rysinia. After all, she did save him from an octopus-related death and allowed him to show off in front of Yorinnsud. He goes to the nearest house and attempts to craft a shrine.
[House lack of security roll: 6]
The house is entirely open! Amazing! It is also empty of any furniture. Makes sense, all in all.
[Shrinemaking roll: 5]
Mark immediately starts on scavenging various materials and making an elaborate shrine to the Daughter of Almiria, Patron of War and Intelligence, writing various prayers on the walls of the largest room, creating a makeshift altar after dismantling one of the walls and even creating a rather impressive rendition of the goddess' image on the wall behind it. Considering the availability of materials, a very good job.
Mark feels kind of appreciated right now. Divinely appreciated, in fact. Also, he has the sudden urge to stay here for a while.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 05:54:25 am
((Got no ideas of how to continue.))
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 07:02:40 am
((Can I talk now? Oh, right. Head is still a skull.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 07:28:59 am
Since Mark has gone away and she doesn't feel like murdering a leathery man all on her own, Yorinnsud follows the skeletal surgeon/blessed individual to the house he's been working in.
It looks like Mark is currently staring intently at an altar. An altar constructed out of a wall Yorinnsud entered through. There also seems to be a rather beautiful rendition of some woman in plate armor on a wall, drawn entirely in charcoal. Furthermore, the walls are covered in phrases and words, all of which seem to be focused on thanking and praising someone named Rysinia.
Oh dear. Looks like Mark is fixated on a crush of some kind. Fixated to the point of shrine-making.
In the woods...
Tom, rejoicing at his newly-obtained drunkard's body, goes about the task of affixing limbs to the bits they properly belong.
[Limb reattachment roll: 1]
Hey, it turns out it is way more difficult to reattach a severed fleshy limb without any tools than it is to jam bones into flesh or flesh onto bones! Who knew, huh? Tom definitely didn't, and now he's broken one of the skeletal arms he had before in the attempt. Hm.
There is a short scream Tom identifies as the drunkard's from deeper in the woods and the sound of jaws snapping accompanying it. Sucks to be him, Tom supposes.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 07:39:59 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 07:44:00 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 08:40:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 09:01:03 am
Yorinnsud observes the praying Mark for a minute or so before waving one of her many hands in front of his face. He looks pretty transfixed in what he's doing, all in all. Hm.
[Mark prayer roll: 5+1]
Suddenly, Mark gets up and goes out. Not having anything better to do, Yorinnsud follows him. Mark walks on back to the leathery individual and nonchalantly stabs at him.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 1+1+1 vs. 2+2]
The leather man steps aside as the halberd's blade rushes past him! He then tries to kick Mark away!
[Leather Man vs. Mark: 3+2 vs. 2+2+1]
However, Mark quickly ducks under it and takes a step back.
In the woods...
Tom tries to somehow hobble back into town despite having only one leg and no feet at all. He has time, you know?
[Movement roll: 6-1]
He starts to roll quickly, making sure to avoid any brambles on the way as well as any nasty pieces of terrain. He reaches the town he just came from!
It seems to be completely destroyed and on fire. Imagine that. The giant stickman seems to be standing over the ruins in a very contemplative way.
Well, isn't that just the best thing ever.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 09:10:53 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 09:13:52 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 09:17:39 am
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 09:18:54 am
murder the leather man (we need his leather skin for wings!!).((Now work on getting the rest of them to do so. Then you can sneak me into heaven and we can murder them and graft their parts to me...))
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 09:43:43 am
Tom attempts to roll to some other place. After all, as long as he can roll, he can do anything!
[Movement roll: 6-1]
He starts to roll away and rolls along the road hopefully leading to some other town. He rolls and he rolls, and in about two hours he has reached his destination!
This town is also destroyed. Crap.
Well, not entirely destroyed, actually - there is a gray stone tower looming above the ruins. It looks pretty menacing and suspicious, considering the situation.
Near a man made of leather...
Yorinnsud realizes that, though the leather man is faster and probably stronger than either Mark or her, he doesn't have one thing - teamwork! She sneaks up to the man and tries to pin him down!
[Grappling: Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 6+2 vs. 3+2-1]
She runs up to the leather man and lifts him off the ground, two arms gripping each limb as Mark lets loose a stabbing and slashing assault!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 2+2 vs. 3+2-2]
The leather man, surprisingly enough, manages to twist and move enough for Mark only to manage a glancing slash!
[Grappling: Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 2+1 vs. 4+2]
He doesn't manage to pull himself out of Yorinnsud's grip! If anything, Yorinnsud only gets a better grip on him!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 1+2-2]
Yorinnsud stretches the leather man out and lets him have it! Mark starts to slice and slice, reducing the leather man into a large set of leather scraps in a matter of minutes! How's that for teamwork?
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 09:46:01 am
how can you come up with this meny crazy idiot ideas that I love and agree withmurder the leather man (we need his leather skin for wings!!).((Now work on getting the rest of them to do so. Then you can sneak me into heaven and we can murder them and graft their parts to me...))
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
add the skin to Gamerlords wings
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 09:46:58 am
I can't believe that trying to pin him worked. Right, time for those wings.how can you come up with this meny crazy idiot ideas that I love and agree withmurder the leather man (we need his leather skin for wings!!).((Now work on getting the rest of them to do so. Then you can sneak me into heaven and we can murder them and graft their parts to me...))
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
time to make some wings for gamerlord
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 09:48:43 am
teamwork for the win *brofist*I can't believe that trying to pin him worked. Right, time for those wings.how can you come up with this meny crazy idiot ideas that I love and agree withmurder the leather man (we need his leather skin for wings!!).((Now work on getting the rest of them to do so. Then you can sneak me into heaven and we can murder them and graft their parts to me...))
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
time to make some wings for gamerlord
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 09:52:05 am
"Three questions, one where am I, Two what the hell have you done to me and why and three WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?"
Shouting to the room, stay where I am.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 09:52:59 am
*brofist*teamwork for the win *brofist*I can't believe that trying to pin him worked. Right, time for those wings.how can you come up with this meny crazy idiot ideas that I love and agree withmurder the leather man (we need his leather skin for wings!!).((Now work on getting the rest of them to do so. Then you can sneak me into heaven and we can murder them and graft their parts to me...))
(and I believe I have just got a god to like me :D :D )
time to make some wings for gamerlord
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 10:03:25 am
Having defeated the man of leather, Yorinnsud lets Mark try to work on her wings a bit!
[Mark crafting roll: 1]
Mark lifts a piece of leather and carefully studies it. Something's not right with it. It keeps trying to wrap around his fingers and pull at them.
[Mark judgment roll: ?]
Eh, it's probably good enough for some wings. He sews a whole lot of it together and attaches it to Yorinnsud's skeletal wing frames, then takes a look at the result.
The result being a pair of wildly flapping wings that seem to be trying to fly on their own.
[Wing flight roll: 2]
They don't manage any liftoff, but they seem to be trying very hard to get somewhere.
In a room of some kind...
Luke shouts with all his might to the roof!
There is absolutely no answer. Hm.
There is, however, a knock on the window.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 10:08:36 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 10:22:30 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 10:27:23 am
Help Mark restrain and possibly remove the wings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 10:47:14 am
Luke bounces over to the window and looks at it.
It looks ordinary enough. Also, there seems to be no one outside.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud, not very amused by body part rebellion, tries to pin the leathery wings to the ground with the aid of Mark!
[Grappling: Yorinnsud vs. Wings: 2+2 vs. 5+1]
Just as she is about to grab them, the wings twist around and wrap around her neck, starting to squeeze hard!
[Grappling: Mark vs. Wings: 6+1 vs. 6+1-1]
He grabs the wings and tries to pull them back from Yorinnsud's neck, loosening their hold by the tiniest of margins!
[Grappling: Wings vs. Yorinnsud: 1+1 vs. 6+2]
However, this is sufficient for Yorinnsud to be able to pull them away from herself and pin them to the ground with her elbows! The wings attempt to resist this, but the only result is that the stitches binding the leather bits to the wings come loose, and the leather is ripped off. These pieces of leather land on the ground. Oddly enough, they are still moving, and all in the same direction. Most unusual.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 11:28:37 am
Take a snooze.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 11:35:54 am
Luke shouts to the heavens once again, hoping to attract the attention of the man who put him here!
Nobody answers. Fantastic. Time to snooze.
He lies down and sleeps. As he does so, he hears something whisper next to him! He twists around and looks for this fiendish whisperer, but finds nobody. Okay, time to lay down to sleep again.
Something screams into his ear! The voice is very strange, alien, almost.
WAKE UP
The tone is rather flat and lacking in intonation of any kind. But it sure is loud!
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 11:38:01 am
Wake up and look for clues, also check if I've been moved somehow.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 11:51:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 12:51:09 pm
Luke, possibly in a wise move, acquiesces to the voice's demand and gets up. Then he tries to make sense of the situation around him.
[Investigation roll: 5]
The first step in this investigation is that he looks out of the window. He notices that he seems to be in a brightly illuminated cul-de-sac made up of several houses with a pedestal in the central bit. On that pedestal lies a small pink pyramid. There is absolutely no one around.
Whatever is happening, it is unlikely to be good.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Seeing how it has given them so much trouble, Yorinnsud elects to follow the foul pieces of leather to their destination! Perhaps whoever they lead her to can answer for this dastardly behavior of common materials!
[Leather destination roll: 2]
The pieces lead her and Mark to a totally unremarkable spot in one of the streets. There they stop, though they seem to stir occasionally, twisting and turning.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 02:07:12 pm
Pray to gods, tell about cultists, then smash the window.
((Elementary dear Watson!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 02:30:17 pm
Luke tattles to his gods about strange cult-like activity in the area!
This fails to produce lightning bolts to strike people down in any way. Oh well. Time to make a timely and reasonable exit. Luke smashes the window!
And lo, it is smashed! It is smashed most thoroughly!
PINK PYRAMID PINK PYRAMID PINK PYRAMID PINK PYRAMID
The voice just keeps on repeating this incessantly.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 03:14:06 pm
Touch the cube, face my fate.
((Bye universe You try to destroy me I release a cosmic horror suck it!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 03:33:46 pm
Luke climbs out of the smashed window and heads toward the pyramid.
TOUCH IT TOUCH IT TOUCH IT TOUCH IT
Alright already. Luke'll touch it if it makes you damn voices happy. As he steps forward, a new voice appears, screaming over the other one.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
A few steps forward, a third, far more dissonant voice appears in his head.
<!!@@##iiii!!> <^^@@%%%%@@$$$$> <**ii####!!!!>
Boy, his head sure is getting crowded. And what is that third voice even saying?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 03:45:27 pm
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 04:15:39 pm
Find a chair or other blunt object, murder, if I can't find any try to find some cloth and wrap my head in it before head butting it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 04:28:52 pm
Tom rolls up to the tower and attempts to get in despite the doorknob outside being a bit high.
[Tower lack of security roll: 6]
The door is, interestingly enough, totally open! Tom opens the door and rolls in.
He is met by the sight of a dog, a somewhat pudgy and poorly-groomed rottweiler, eying it curiously. What makes this strange is that it immediately speaks in a low voice.
"Hello there."
[Dog magic roll: 5+1]
The dog barks with great intensity, blasting Tom straight out of the door! He flies several dozen feet and lands into some rubble, his body somewhat shaken up and possibly fractured as well.
[Landing roll: 3]
It is very, very abrasive rubble, too. Tom's body is now covered in terribly uncomfortable scratches and gashes.
[Tom perception roll: ?]
He hears the sound of a door shutting and getting bolted come from his point of origin. How nice.
In a miniature cul-de-sac...
Luke finds all this many voices nonsense troubling. He believes that there is a simple solution to this problem. And this solution is one of his favorites, to tell the truth - blunt objects of murder!
[Search roll: 6]
Oh, there's a pink stick lying right over there! Luke grabs it in his teeth and tries to smash the pyramid!
[Smashing roll: 2]
The pink stick is immediately repulsed by the pink pyramid. Huh.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 04:33:42 pm
LUKE SMASH!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 04:38:24 pm
Luke tries once again to smash the dastardly pyramid!
[Luke intelligence roll: ?]
He tries again and again, but the stick gets repulsed the exact same way every time. Hm.
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 04:48:35 pm
Any suggestions voices?"
Consult the voices in my head.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 04:59:53 pm
Holding the pink stick in his teeth, Luke consults the voices in his head for what is most definitely sound advice.
DON'T TOUCH THE PYRAMID
TOUCH THE PYRAMID
DON'T TOUCH THE PYRAMID
<**&&&iiiiii!!!!!> <$$##&&??>
TAKE THE FOURTH OPTION
TAKE THE FIFTH OPTION
OPTION SIX TAKE OPTION SIX
TOUCH THE PYRAMID
TOUCH THE PYRAMID
DON'T TOUCH THE PYRAMID
DON'T TOUCH THE PYRAMID
PYRAMID TOUCH THE
Gee, they sure are talkative.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 05:11:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2013, 05:22:20 pm
Tom, a jolly roller if there ever was one, continues on his jolly nice way.
[Rolling roll: 4-1]
He rolls down the road.
And rolls.
And rolls.
And rolls.
And rolls.
Then he rolls some more.
Then he bumps into something that gives him a vague burning sensation. Odd. He doesn't see anything obvious that could have caused this.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 16, 2013, 05:51:08 pm
-sunglasses mystically appear-
roll.
((YEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!))
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 06:37:23 pm
Just go to the door and leave, I will not have any amazing adventures of magic today!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 07:31:34 pm
"OK so touch it is winning, so I'm going to do the only sensible thing and WALK AWAY YOU FUCKING IDIOTS MWAHAHA"that is a very sensible thing...
Just go to the door and leave, I will not have any amazing adventures of magic today!
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ANAILATER?
Post by: anailater on February 16, 2013, 07:34:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 08:11:01 pm
((I am sensible, Luke is not, but Luke enjoys screwing with the laws of Drama, in any movie he would be re-dead 15 times over, but he's not, in any movie he would be faced with a conflicting choice with a lot of zoom is and dramatic movie, but he says fuck that and goes for a coffee.))so he just likes to screw with people, gods, mages, physics, sanity, and if there is time left elves...
like a true dwarf
Post by: Gamerlord on February 16, 2013, 10:01:27 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2013, 10:17:48 pm
Eh, whatever. Head off to find more victims.follow
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 03:33:40 am
Tom just keeps on rolling like nobody's business.
Unfortunately, he is kept back by some kind of invisible wall that burns when you touch it. Worse every time, one might add. It appears that he won't be able to go down this road just like that.
In a cul-de-sac of some kind...
Luke, spurred on by the voices, decides to just bounce away from the horrible scenario.
As he does so, he notices the source of the metallic click.
It looks like a huge (well, to him, anyway) metallic dome enclosing the entire cul-de-sac. There are nine houses all around it, all of them identical from the outside. Each has a number on it. Luke seems to have come from house #9.
Each house has a door, and none of the houses look particularly inhabited.
NUMBER ONE
NUMBER THREE
NUMBER ONE
NUMBER THREE
In the streets of Emlocke...
Since their trailing of rogue leather has led to no appreciable results, Yorinnsud and Mark both head on out to search for yet more victims.
[Search roll: 3]
It is not long before they find yet another leather man wandering around the street. What is up with those things?
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 03:43:04 am
Just leave, ignore the voices, demons, cultists and various other things you could expect to find in a humorous version of a paranoia filled horror movie.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 03:44:16 am
Post by: Yoink on February 17, 2013, 04:34:28 am
All he had ever done, after escaping his terrible birth home, was try to enjoy life, help people when possible and generally be a nice guy, and did he ever get a word of thanks? Did anyone ever really appreciate him? No!
Well, at least Hansel did. Hansel understood him. He hoped Hansel was okay.
To everyone else, though, he was just some freakish three-legged mutant ghost with a nasty voice and a helpful demeanour that made him vaguely useful to them. And now to top it all off they had even kicked him off their plane of existence. Timothy was fed up.
He wasn't going to take this nonsense anymore.
>Take all of my rage, frustration, hardship and humiliation (as well as a deep-rooted desire to help people, still) and manifest it all into a pair of shoulder-mounted rocket launchers and use them to blast the skeletal hippo's kneecaps off.
>Then take aim at its head.
"Right, I's done asksing nicely. You's go to tell me how I is gettin' outsa here, or next time I blowin' off you head."
>Demand the above. If the hippo fails to tell me an escape route, blast it again with my manifested shoulder launchers.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 05:04:22 am
Luke tries to just leave. He goes up to the wall of the metal dome and takes a look at it.
Well, it is metal, but not steel. It looks kind of odd, actually. A vague shimmering quality about it. Anyway, it is difficult to judge its exact qualities from just a look, but it looks pretty magical to Luke.
[Perception roll: ?]
There is, however, a sizable hatch up above, in the exact center of the ceiling of the dome. It doesn't look very prone to opening from this side, however.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud and Mark head over to the leather man and proceed with the usual ceremonies.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 5+1+1 vs. 1+2]
Yorinnsud just picks up the leather man by the arms and proceeds to slice his leg off. She then drops him and lets Mark take care of the rest.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 4+2 vs. 4+1]
Mark stabs at the man, but he just jumps back on one leg, then tries to punch Yorinnsud!
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 3+1 vs. 4]
Yorinnsud dodges in the nick of time and attempts to finish this thing off.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 6+2 vs. 6+1]
She stabs the thing in where the heart would be on a human being! This doesn't have any effect, interestingly enough.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 2+2 vs. 6+1]
Mark then goes on and misses terribly with a halberd swipe, spinning past the leather man.
[Counterattack: Leather Man vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 6+3]
Mark, however, is ready for this, handily stabbing through the leather man's hand with his weapon of choice. The leather man doesn't seem overly bothered, once again.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 4+1 vs. 6]
It then completely misses a punch at Yorinnsud in his own right.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 6+2 vs. 4+1]
Yorinnsud then removes one of the leather man's arms. with another short sword slash.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 6+2 vs. 5+1]
Mark then loosens the man's other arm as well by nearly severing it at the shoulder.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 4 vs. 5+1]
It's quite adorable how it keeps trying to punch Yorinnsud, really.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 6+1]
And it is even more adorable how it hops away on that single foot of his as Yorinnsud tries to end this already.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 2+1]
Mark brings his halberd down low, severing the last leg of the man and watching him tumble down with some satisfaction.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 5-1 vs. 6]
Yorinnsud steps back as the thing tries to smash its last fist down on her foot.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 3+2 vs. 5-1]
Where to stab him? The head?
Well, that didn't really work. What now?
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 1+2 vs. 5-1]
Mark is similarly engrossed in thought about the best way to finish this guy.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 1-1 vs. 4]
Ooh, there's an idea!
[Counterattack: Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 4+2 vs. 5-1]
She completes the severing of the last arm, leaving the man limbless. He still seems to be moving, though. The experiment continues!
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 4+2 vs. 1-1]
She starts to cut bits off the man until he is in no shape to move much of anywhere. The leather goes on its merry way and Yorinnsud elects not to follow it. Instead, she and Mark look for more leather men to exterminate.
[Search roll: 3]
Yep, a few blocks away there's another one. Killing time.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 3+2]
Yorinnsud chops into its side and leaves a great big gash, though this doesn't really impede the leather man.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 1+2 vs. 5+2]
Mark is about to slash at the man as well, but he is immediately rebuked!
[Counterattack: Leather Man vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 5+3]
Thankfully, he is quick enough to both avoid the leather man's kick and to stick the halberd straight through the incoming foot, trapping it nicely! The leather man tries to get free!
[Leather Man vs. Mark: 4+2 vs. 1+3]
He kicks Mark away with ease and the skeleton tumbles away!
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 3+2 vs. 1+2]
Yorinnsud chops once again, slicing into the same gash and deepening it considerably! She is two thirds through the leather man's waist, now to only keep at it!
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 6+2 vs. 2]
However, Yorinnsud is surprised by a dropkick that comes straight out of nowhere, blasting her back and snapping her spine in half! She drops to the ground limply, unable to move her legs anymore.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 3+2 vs. 2+2]
Mark stabs at the leather man as well, though this, once again, has little effect.
Somewhere strange...
That's it. No more mister nice freakrobat. Timothy attempts to manifest outlandish devices of mass destruction on his shoulders!
[Manifesting roll: 5-1]
He is not entirely surprised to find that he now has two spectral fireworks platforms on his shoulders! Hm. Time to try and fire them, then!
[Timothy vs. Skeletal Hippo: 4 vs. 6-1]
As he fires two flaming rockets, the hippo merely swims away, twirling in the chaotic maelstrom of absolutely everything around Timothy. They explode in all sorts of pretty colors.
"Ooh, pretty fireworks. I feel wonderful."
Timothy takes aim at the hippo's head.
"Right, I's done asksing nicely. You's go to tell me how I is gettin' outsa here, or next time I blowin' off you head."
[Hippo informativeness roll: 2]
"Fireworks! Yay!"
He fires!
[Timothy vs. Skeletal Hippo: 4 vs. 6-1]
The hippo, however, is far too fast to be hit by the rockets. The lights are still pretty, however!
"I do enjoy fireworks. Do you enjoy fireworks?"
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 05:11:56 am
Shout and rage for a bit, just ask the gods if I'm at all right and then look for others.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 05:19:52 am
Unable to get beyond Thunderdome, Luke follows his entirely reasonable train of thought and gets all shouty and irritable. He then bounces around and looks for his potential murderers.
[Search roll: 6]
Well, aside from the voices-
NUMBER ONE
NUMBER THREE
FOUR IS LIFE FIVE IS DEATH
FIVE IS SALVATION FOUR IS DAMNATION
TAKE A SIXTH OPTION TAKE A SIXTH OPTION
<iii&&&iii> <iii&&&iii> <iii&&&iii>
-there is nobody outside. And there are no suspicious sounds around, either. And the gravel tastes okay as well. All in all, strange.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2013, 06:17:14 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 06:18:50 am
Use the dress as legs to move towards the leather man and attack.
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 06:25:11 am
TO BUILDING 6!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 07:34:54 am
Yorinnsud, despite the fact that her spine is rather clearly snapped, gets up on her tentacles and proceeds toward the leather man once again!
Meanwhile, Mark attempts to decapitate the man!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 4+2 vs. 1+2]
Surprisingly enough, it works rather well! The leather man's head is split from his shoulders! He still seems to be moving, but what can you do.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 5+2-1]
Yorinnsud stabs the man in the back several times! This fails to achieve any measurable result.
[Leather Man vs. Mark: 1+2-1 vs. 1+3]
The leather man flops to the ground in front of Mark as the latter watches rather with amusement. And rage.
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 2+2 vs. 1+1]
He slices further into the gash made in the leather man's torso and finishes the separation! The leather man is cut in half!
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 3+2 vs. 5]
Just as Yorinnsud is about to finish the creature, the upper torso and the legs move in separate directions! Well, this is confusing.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 4 vs. 1]
The pair of legs sweeps the tentacles from under her, sending Yorinnsud to the ground! It is about to commence some glorious smashing when Mark interrupts!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 2+2 vs. 4]
He interrupts by charging past the leather man. The leather man's upper torso just shrugs.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 2+2 vs. 2]
The upper torso then gets one of its arms nearly severed by Yorinnsud's short sword. Ooh, nasty.
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 1 vs. 3]
This seems to sufficiently confuse the mostly blind creature for Mark to come charging back!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 5+2 vs. 6]
Mark once again stabs right through it! When will he learn?
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 3+2 vs. 3]
Yorinnsud, meanwhile, finishes the job on the leather man's arm and severs it completely!
[Leather Man vs. Yorinnsud: 5 vs. 5]
She even avoids the next few furious kicks of the pair of legs!
[Mark vs. Leather Man: 1+2 vs. 2]
Mark just keeps on stabbing. And it keeps on not really working, though the upper torso of the leather man is pretty messed up and torn already.
[Yorinnsud vs. Leather Man: 4+2 vs. 1]
Yorinnsud, who has had quite enough of this, stops messing around with that stupid short sword of hers. Instead, she makes use of her hooked tentacles to pull the two halves of the construct close to her and tears them to shreds with the unusually sharp hooks on them. With that done, she awkwardly stands up again.
The bits of leather start to shuffle off once more.
In a miniature cul-de-sac...
Luke, lacking better things to do, goes to Building Six. The door is open, so he goes right in.
Suddenly, a voice, though calmer and more... human than before rings out in his head.
Congratulations, you have taken the Sixth Option! How nice of you to do that. Would you care for some tea? Biscuits, perhaps? Or shall we get straight to business?
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 07:36:41 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 17, 2013, 08:23:41 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2013, 08:30:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 08:39:14 am
Yorinnsud motions for Mark to come over and help her get her spine back together. Mark slowly comes over and takes a look.
[Mark medicine roll: 6]
He nods and rolls Yorinnsud on her belly, then cuts open her back. He sets the spine back in place, but finds that he has nothing to properly secure it with. This leaves him with only one option, obviously - making something up. He runs off, leaving Yorinnsud all by her lonesome.
[Mark search roll: 1]
He comes back a short while later with another woman, a rather shiny and metallic-looking woman at that, and points to Yorinnsud.
The woman shakes her head.
Mark responds with a stab.
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 2+2 vs. 6+2]
The halberd clangs against the woman's silvery skin, and she immediately counters with a one-two punch!
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 2+3 vs. 5+3]
[Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 4+3 vs. 4+3]
Mark dodges without much issue, though the second time it is a bit too close for his liking. Yorinnsud, meanwhile, ponders where she went wrong in unlife.
On the road to somewhere...
Tom, facing frustrating invisible walls, washes his hands of the barrier and rolls the other way.
[Rolling roll: 6-1]
Taking a different path than he took to get here, Tom manages to reach a town after a long period of rolling!
It seems to be the exact town he started from, Emlocke. Well, at least it isn't destroyed.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 17, 2013, 08:46:24 am
Go to the Inn.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 09:11:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 09:57:18 am
Tom, having no better recourse, rolls over to Bernie's inn!
[Will roll: 1+1]
He does, however, manage to get completely confused on where it might be when he reaches the first two intersecting streets. Where is he supposed to go? Where did he come from? Uh... well now. Hm.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Yorinnsud decides to help her useful companion and attempts to subdue the metal woman!
[Yorinnsud vs. Metallic Woman: 2+2 vs. 6+3]
It turns out her short sword doesn't have the ability to stab through metal either. What an interesting set of circumstances!
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Yorinnsud: 3+2 vs. 3]
She gets a swift kick to the chest as her reward for this experiment. It is rather painful.
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 1+2 vs. 6+3]
Mark is equally hopeless in his chopping and stabbing attempts, and the woman is less than impressed.
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 6+2 vs. 5+3]
[Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 5+2 vs. 3+3]
After one missed punch, she actually manages to clip him slightly with her knee! Mark is somewhat displeased at the slight fracture this makes on one of his bones.
[Yorinnsud vs. Metallic Woman: 1+2 vs. 5+3]
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Yorinnsud: 3+2 vs. 4]
Yorinnsud tries to grab the woman, but she is just too slippery for this to be done! Yorinnsud is rather firmly kicked away once more.
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 5+2 vs. 4+3]
Mark, having wised up a bit, goes for the metallic woman's throat! She blocks it at the last minute with her arm!
[Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 5+2 vs. 6+3]
She attempts to kick him for good measure, but Mark avoids her once more!
[Yorinnsud vs. Metallic Woman: 2+2 vs. 4+3]
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Yorinnsud: 6+2 vs. 1]
Having had enough of Yorinnsud's unsavory advances on her, the metallic woman smashes her head into a chunky paste with a single, mighty stomp!
[Yorinnsud will roll: 5]
Yorinnsud, though highly confused at the moment, doesn't seem to be in any danger of dying yet. Guess she's used to losing her head.
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 3+2 vs. 1+3]
Mar manages to score a hit on the woman in the ensuing chaos! A tiny bit of silvery blood is drawn in the process.
[Metallic Woman vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 2+3]
She seems a bit confused about this. Oh well. You won't hear Mark complain.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 10:27:42 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2013, 10:38:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 11:01:39 am
Yorinnsud attempts to distract the metal woman as Mark tries to pray to his goddess again!
[Yorinnsud vs. Metallic Woman: 5+2-1 vs. 1+3-1]
Yorinnsud constricts her tentacles around the woman's arm, then pulls mightily, sawing the arm off in a very painful and terrible process! The metallic woman emits a fittingly metallic high-pitched scream as her arm is separated from her torso, spraying silvery blood along the ground!
[Metallic Woman endurance roll: 1]
She falls to the ground, clutching her arm in absolute terror and confusion!
[Mark prayer roll: 6]
Mark, meanwhile, has finished up with his prayers and gets up, ready to deliver some justice!
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 2+2+1 vs. 5+3-2]
Mark tries one mighty piercing attack to finish the woman off, and it successfully connects with her chest!
The result is that the woman is completely unharmed, though Mark's halberd shaft is slightly bent in the attempt. Huh.
[Metallic woman recovery roll: 4]
The sudden shock of the strike makes the metallic woman's eyes flash oddly! She stands up, though her stance is a bit unsteady.
[Yorinnsud vs. Metallic Woman: 2+1 vs. 6+1]
As Yorinnsud is about to rip her other arm off, the woman turns to face her. Uh...
[Counterattack: Metallic Woman vs. Yorinnsud: 5+1 vs. 6-1]
Yorinnsud almost dodges the roundhouse kick that follows, getting clipped only slightly, though this is enough to cause her quite a bit of physical discomfort.
[Mark vs. Metallic Woman: 6+3 vs. 4+1]
Mark, intent on getting his act together at last, slashes his halberd sideways, a peculiar determination driving his actions! He puts as much force as he can manage in the next swipe, which has the delightful effect of separating the woman's head from her shoulders messily. The head clangs as it hits the ground, and the body soon follows it.
Whew. Mark feels pretty tired after doing that. He didn't know skeletons could feel tired.
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2013, 11:09:48 am
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 11:28:20 am
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 11:28:32 am
Have a nice civil conversation.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2013, 11:52:49 am
((Now? Let's go pratice !!MEDICINE!! !))the best plan
study the metal woman and see if I can remake the effects then fix gamerlord
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 12:00:19 pm
Yorinnsud, being rather sick of all this "being headless" business, makes the standard fix-me-up gesture in a direction she thinks Mark might be in! Mark, actually several feet to the left, is all too happy to oblige.
[Mark medicine roll: 2]
He picks up the severed metal head of the woman and puts it on Yorinnsud's neck.
It fails to produce any appreciable results.
[Mark intelligence roll: ?]
He is probably just not trying hard enough!
[Mark medicine roll: 3-1]
It doesn't seem very receptive to jamming in general. Huh.
[Mark intelligence roll: ?]
Well, that's all the ideas he's got right now. Well, maybe he could study the metal woman's corpse, maybe that'll give him some new ideas?
[Investigation roll: ?]
The whole metallic thing she has going seems to be an inherently natural property of her body, as far as Mark can tell. She has an entire set of organs a normal human would have, except they are all metal, curiously enough. Even her blood is thick and has a metallic sheen.
Well, if this truly is a human being, some very devilish and very permanent magic was used to make her this way. Magic that Mark probably can't reproduce in these conditions. However, since the woman is obviously magical, there is probably some interesting property of her body that Mark could exploit for grafting.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He'll be damned if he knows what it might be, though.
In Building Six...
Luke, always the amiable sort, accepts the offer of tea.
"Tea would be lovely, thank you."
Excellent. Be a peach and fix some up for me as well, will you?
"Wait, first, were any of my ideas right?"
Probably not. I wasn't really listening, what with everyone yelling all the time. Figured I had to yell too, you know, otherwise I wouldn't be a contributing member.
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 12:18:25 pm
Will some Tea and biscuits into existence.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 17, 2013, 12:29:32 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 17, 2013, 01:09:58 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 17, 2013, 02:12:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2013, 03:55:17 pm
Luke asks the voice what might be the meaning of all this.
I dunno, beats me. Something pink, I know that much. Something very pink. You could ask the others, but I believe most of them are as much in the dark as I am. Unfortunate, that.
Luke nods and attempts to will some tea and biscuits into existence.
It doesn't work, unfortunately. Damn, it would sure be nice to have some sort of magic powers right about now.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud has a bright idea! Fusing spinal cords! It is bound to work! She tries to explain this to the area she suspects Mark to be in!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Having eight articulate arms and even more articulate tentacles helps, you see, and Yorinnsud explains this to where Mark should be in great detail, all without a single word spoken! She hopes he understood it.
[Mark medicine roll: 5]
It appears he did! He rolls Yorinnsud back onto her belly and leaves for a few minutes, during which there is the sound of furious slashing and slicing. Eventually, Mark shuffles over and starts working on her spine, sewing and slicing and... smearing something? Huh?
After a while, Mark picks her up and makes her stand on her two feet. Interestingly enough, it works rather nicely!
Yorinnsud, however, experiences a sudden shock as the head of the metal woman is mounted on her neck and mounted on her now-metallic spine! It seems to fit nicely enough. Probably because it's the exact spinal cord the head was sliced from. After a bit of sewing and smearing something, Yorinnsud feels herself get control of the head, and with that, vision! It's monochrome, but at least it works.
She looks rather odd, a metallic and bald woman's head on a fleshy body with a bit of metallic binding on the back.
Yorinnsud now has a Reinforced Spine and a Metallic Head.
She traces one of her fingers along the edge of the binding and looks at it.
It seems to be covered in a silvery, highly viscous liquid that has a metallic sheen to it.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom, feeling awfully lost all of a sudden, tries to set a building on fire to create a landmark!
[Will roll: 2+1]
He blunders confusedly off the intersection and stops, his mental fortitude spent for the moment! He gets a bit of rest instead of indulging in pyromania for now.
Still in Emlocke...
Darren follows his buddies to the inn, and when they get there, they start to party! Darren does his best to further the mood despite being unable to enjoy either sex or drugs!
[Partying roll: 2]
He tries very hard, but he just looks kinda sad in the process. Pitiably sad, in fact.
"Aw, what's the matter, spooky dude? Sad 'cause you can't party exactly like us?"
[Band ideas roll: 6]
"That ain't fair to him!"
"Yeah, when we party, we ALL party!"
"Let's give him a little pick-me-up, eh?"
[Band music roll: 5]
They all start to play an odd song. It reverberates in Darren's head until he is, well, feeling unusually jolly. And poorly coordinated. And a bit flushed.
Oh dear. He is quite drunk now. And maybe even a bit high.
[Bernie perception roll: ?]
There is a bit of a stir from downstairs, but it quickly quiets down.
Post by: anailater on February 17, 2013, 03:59:29 pm
SUMMON THE TEA FROM THE ETHER CONCENTRATE!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2013, 06:06:40 pm
search for some virgins
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 17, 2013, 07:03:53 pm
Continue the search for Inn and commission of randomized arson!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2013, 01:40:43 am
Luke tries desperately to manifest some kind of butler-themed superpower in order to be helpful for once!
[Manifestation roll: 5-2]
He concentrates intently, managing to make the air shimmer a little bit, though tea, unfortunately, does not seem to have appeared! Feeling slightly disappointed, he asks the voice if it wishes to be his sidekick.
Certainly not. That would be silly. I can't even leave the house, you know.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark finally remembers that the necromancer guy asked him for virgins and stuff. He should get around to getting some, he believes.
[Search roll: 3]
No virgins in sight. Just leather men strolling about looking mostly harmless.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom keeps looking for the inn, having regained enough willpower to try this again!
[Will roll: 5+1]
He rolls like he just don't care, blasting past the intersections of the city right up until the point he reaches a river!
[Will roll: 2+1]
Oh boy, that's one scary-looking river. Tom isn't sure he has it in him to cross it. Maybe he could just set fire to something. That'll make him feel better.
[Arson roll: 5]
He rolls up to a nearby house and sets it on fire at several very carefully chosen points. The building starts to burn very nicely! It probably won't be long until it is but a pile of cinders.
[Fire control roll: 1]
Oh, look, more houses are joining the party! They also seem to be burning rapidly. There is a little bit of screaming as well. You know how it is. Can't have arson without casualties!
Post by: anailater on February 18, 2013, 03:07:22 am
Talk.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 18, 2013, 04:46:49 am
go back to the headquaters/inn bring Gamerlord
Post by: Gamerlord on February 18, 2013, 06:58:17 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 18, 2013, 07:46:32 am
(party anyone :P)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 18, 2013, 10:52:43 am
'Yay!'
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2013, 11:49:29 am
Luke continues his nice chat with the voice.
"Oh, that's quite a shame, do you know why I was forced to choose a house by any chance, any strange clues or riddles for me?"
"Wait, who forced you to choose a house? You're not locked in here. Feel free to leave when you want, actually."
Well now.
"I don't have any riddles, to tell the truth. Can't stand the bloody things. I can tell you that something is very likely to happen if you touch the pyramid. Don't know what, though."
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark decides that these leather men are far too numerous to easily murder. He takes Yorinnsud with him and heads back to the inn.
Ooh, looks like there's a party going on in there. Lots of people, including that ghost guy he knows, seem to be having fun in the main room.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom claps one of his hands against his stump and tries to roll over the bridge again!
[Will roll: 3+1]
He manages to drag himself over the dang thing eventually and takes a look at the fire's progress.
[Fire control roll: 4]
The fire seems to be calming down quite a bit after burning down a full block of houses. How boring.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 18, 2013, 11:51:22 am
Post by: anailater on February 18, 2013, 11:52:52 am
Try to summon some cookies from the ether, I will get magic somehow!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2013, 12:47:37 pm
Yorinnsud and Mark go into the inn and walk past the party going on.
[Party perception roll: ?]
Suddenly the music stops. It appears Yorinnsud has not gone unnoticed.
"Well, that's probably the weirdest thing I've seen today."
"Not me, I think."
"Why, what did you see?"
"Don't ask."
[Party idea roll: 6]
One of the men throws up his arms and starts yelling!
"Hey, lady! Come dance with us! It'll be fun! We've got booze and stuff!"
Inside Building Six...
Luke asks yet more from the voice about the pink pyramid!
"Everyone had an opinion on touching it, do you?"
Not really. I have no idea what might happen, but you could do it for laughs, I suppose.
With that information, Luke knows what to do: spontaneously create cookies!
[Will roll: 2-2]
He tries and tries until his mind goes numb from the intense concentration! He is still totally lacking in cookie-based products and he feels rather tired now.
Post by: anailater on February 18, 2013, 01:00:41 pm
Listen to what 6 says, if he/she tells me not to sleep go touch the pyramid (Gods help me) if s/he tells me it's Ok or s/he doe't know, look for a bed in the house to sleep in.
Post by: miauw62 on February 18, 2013, 01:44:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2013, 02:04:12 pm
Luke, one shark inquiry machine that he is, keeps on inquiring!
"Last question, will I be killed, possessed or kidnapped if I take a nap, because I was advised against it earlier by voice one?"
Not as far as I know. That thing was probably just trying to get you off your lazy ass and make you do its bidding or something. Luckily for you, I have no bidding to do, so feel free to rest.
"Okay, I may have lied about that 'last question' thing. Are you man or a woman voice?"
Not a clue. Doesn't matter, since I am disembodied as far as I know. Time and disembodiment isn't good for one's sense of gender identity, you see.
With that done, Luke finds a nearby bed and lies down to have a nice nap.
Post by: anailater on February 18, 2013, 03:06:24 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 18, 2013, 05:16:34 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 18, 2013, 08:15:14 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 19, 2013, 04:32:05 am
!!SKY UPPERCUT!! to his face!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2013, 11:14:43 am
Luke allows himself to drift off into a peaceful sleep!
[Dreaming roll: ?]
He dreams of the pedestal of the pink pyramid! He bounces up to it, a hand materializing on his arm stump, and grabs it!
At that very instant, the heavens split open, legions of golden warriors spilling from them. They land in front of Luke and bow graciously, then load him into a palanquin and take him on a trip through the skies, destroying whatever he points at and bringing him especially comely chairs that are captured in the carnage! It is a moment of sublime happiness for Luke, and he is a bit disappointed when he wakes up.
In Bernie's inn...
Yorinnsud looks incredulously at the drunken individual that seems to be attempting to hit it off with a cobbled-together abomination whose clothing is mostly still-moving octopus flesh. She walks up to him and lets him know exactly what she thinks of such a proposition.
[Yorinnsud vs. Band Member: 5+2 vs. 5-1]
She nails him upside the jaw, making the drunk fellow lose his balance and fall down. His jaw is not in the best of shapes after this.
[Band reaction roll: 2]
"Hey now! We don't appreciate polite invitations being met with violence! Woman or abomination in the face of the laws of the gods and man, it doesn't matter. A lesson has gotta be taught! You don't mess with Spooky Dude and the Magic Tones!"
[Band music roll: 5]
They start to play music! Wonder what it means... oh wait, what's this?
Every last one of Yorinnsud's limbs twists around her body, which limits her mobility quite a bit. She flops to the ground, a mess of bones, tentacles, metal and fleshy bits. The dudes play for a bit longer, then stop on a high note. The leader speaks once more, shaking his finger at the feminine creature.
"Okay, I want you to lie there for a while and think about why exactly you should respond with a simple "no" rather than a punch when you don't want to dance. Meanwhile, we'll be leaving. Come on, Spooky Dude!"
Spooky Dude and the Magic Tones make their exit, the punched guy holding his jaw with a pained expression. Yorinnsud is left on the ground, quite paralyzed right now.
Meanwhile, Mark has already gone to the basement in order to find that necromancer guy. He finds him to indeed still be there and in rather good condition, currently inspecting a barrel of what Mark presumes to be virgin blood. Lots of virgin blood. Bernie turns to Mark.
"I don't see any virgins in your hands. I need those virgins, minion! It is vitally important to my strategy!"
He looks dreadfully impatient and not very chill at all. How unfortunate.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom just rests himself on the horribly mutilated thing he calls a body and enjoys the sweet flames.
[Fire control roll: 1+1]
Ooh, it seems to be picking up in power again! And a new block of buildings seems to be catching fire. Talk about a sudden twist!
[Fire control roll: 2]
And it keeps on burning and burning. Yep. That block is definitely on fire as well. Maybe somebody should create a fire department here.
[Fire control roll: 4]
After a while, the fire once again calms down. Probably due to the lack of wind.
[Fire control roll: 6+1]
It proceeds to go out entirely after a short while as it runs out of extremely flammable wooden houses to burn. Damn you, stone architecture!
Post by: anailater on February 19, 2013, 05:05:12 pm
Dramatic walk scene, touch the pyramid.
((If i die here, I died with my heart full of hope.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 19, 2013, 06:22:34 pm
Mark leaving the necromancer finds Gamerlord broken and sets to !!!MEDICNE!!!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 19, 2013, 06:59:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 20, 2013, 09:06:57 am
Luke, willing to follow his dreams, attempts to dramatically walk out of the building and over to the pedestal!
He realizes he doesn't have any legs as soon as he rolls out of the bed and hits the ground. He settles for a non-dramatic bounce instead.
"Hey, voice, want to go see what the pyramid does?"
Can't leave the house. You can go ahead, though. I'll watch from here.
Luke slowly bounces out of the house and advances toward the pyramid. As he does this, he is assailed by all the other voices screaming into his head!
TOUCH THE PYRAMID
BUILDING THREE BUILDING THREE BUILDING THREE
<!!!$$$%%%>
Why, Luke thinks that he will, in fact, touch the pyramid! When he reaches the pedestal, he makes a mighty bounce and touches the pyramid with his head! At that moment, most of the voices yell incoherently in unison!
[Will roll: 2]
He is horrified to see the pink pyramid begin to expand rapidly, engulfing his head immediately! His body is similarly engulfed momentarily! He experiences a twisting, spinning sensation combined with a vague impression of flattening and reshaping of his bodily surfaces! And the pink! Oh gods, the pink! Pink, pink everywhere!
After being trapped in what feels like a miasma of pink for an eternity, Luke suddenly finds himself on the ground next to the pedestal, the pink pyramid still resting on it securely. Something has changed, though. Something important.
Luke eventually becomes aware of what it is: he is now a Pink Tetrahedron!
In Bernie's inn...
Mark gets out of the basement only to find good ol' Yorinnsud quite incapacitated! Most unfortunate, that. Better fix her.
[Mark medicine roll: 3]
Well, she isn't actually broken in any way. In fact, her limbs are in remarkably good condition, all things considered. It is just that they seem to have gotten it into them to just seize up and wrap around her in a most peculiar manner. Mark surmises that magic is probably involved.
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom takes careful inventory of the houses destroyed by the fire!
Hm, it appears that only ten to fifteen fires like that, and the town will be entirely leveled. Although there might be complications with that.
After thinking on this for a while, Tom realizes that he still needs explosives! He also remembers that he left this town exactly due to lack of such things in ready availability.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He can't think of a good place he might have missed the first time around, either.
Post by: anailater on February 20, 2013, 10:11:15 am
Try to get back to house 6, try to communicate with the friendly voice.
((Pink is the manly colour.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 20, 2013, 10:45:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 20, 2013, 01:45:04 pm
Luke can't be said to be exactly satisfied with his new form, though he is hardly in a good position to comment on it. Instead, he rolls to Building Six with some difficulty. Now he knows what dice feel like, and it is far from pleasant. He attempts to communicate with the voice.
~Hey, voice! Can you hear me?~
<!!!@@@%%%^^ii> <$$##@@!!!!!!> <ii&**&ii>. <&&&&####$$$$iiii> <*((**llll!!!!>?
It appears that it can, and that it is intent on speaking to Luke in absolute gibberish. Thanks a lot, voice!
In Bernie's inn...
Mark, not really feeling like the expert on Yorinnsud's kind of problem, chooses to refer her to the closest thing he knows to a specialist - that necromancer guy! He runs downstairs and attempts to attract his attention.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He takes the necromancer by the shoulders and shakes him vigorously!
"What in gods' names are you doing?"
Mark then puts him down and beseeches him to follow!
[Bernie helpfulness roll: 3]
Bernie follows him up. When Mark points out Yorinnsud, Bernie claps his hands together and grins.
"Oh, nice work on her there. Like the dress, especially. Fits her nicely, I'd say!"
Mark kicks at Yorinnsud, hoping to illustrate her paralyzed state better.
"Can't move, eh? Well, not exactly my sphere of magic, you know. Can't help her in any way."
He scratches his chin.
"If you ask me, she'll probably be up and moving soon anyway. I mean, unless she has issues overpowering mental commands, heh. It'll probably sort itself out eventually."
He then turns around and goes back into the basement.
Post by: anailater on February 20, 2013, 02:21:56 pm
Try to find my friend, also try to use tea and biscuits magic again.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 20, 2013, 05:47:57 pm
Start another fire. Go to the Inn if it hasn't already burned down.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 20, 2013, 07:21:09 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 20, 2013, 08:19:39 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on February 20, 2013, 11:54:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2013, 09:26:55 am
Luke, not really keen on making conversation with somebody who spouts gibberish all the time, goes off to look for somebody who is not a total blithering idiot. Perhaps even his friend, whoever that might be.
[Search roll: 2]
Well, nobody like that in Building Six, that's for sure, and Luke doesn't even know where to begin looking outside. Those guys all seem pretty stupid as well. All in all, it is a circus of idiots around here, and he gets to be the dancing monkey.
In Emlocke...
Tom figures that more fires probably couldn't hurt. Well, not him, at least. He attempts to start fires with his one and only arm.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 4]
It seems to work okay. A house is now on fire, even if isn't a very exciting fire. Satisfied with a job well done, he rolls off to the inn.
[Fire control roll: 2]
Meanwhile, the fire spreads behind him. All is well. Eventually Tom manages to get to the inn that the necromancer was hiding in. He is passed by a skeleton he can't help but find familiar. It's that guy! Yeah!
Mark pays no mind to the rolling body on the ground, looking for meatier fare this time.
[Yorinnsud will roll: 2]
Since Yorinnsud is in no condition to follow him, he decides to tackle this quest of his alone.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He wanders around town, finding wandering and mostly harmless leather men, whose limbs are, unfortunately, totally useless to him.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, nice and drunk at the moment, looks for ghostly women to possibly flirt with. After all, what is being a musician worth if you cannot get any groupies?
[Search roll: 1]
Seeing none in the vicinity, he decides to flirt with a particularly interesting piece of masonry near the town hall!
[Flirting roll: 1]
He decides to skip the small talk and get right to the making out. And he does this quite successfully!
"Dude, that's a wall."
Darren pays the leader of the Magic Tones no mind.
Post by: anailater on February 21, 2013, 09:36:52 am
Again look, check other houses, also be the dancing monkey.
Post by: miauw62 on February 21, 2013, 11:39:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2013, 11:44:57 am
Luke looks for a friend once more, deciding to search outside and within the other houses this time!
[Search roll: 5]
After being assaulted by different gibberish each time he tries to approach buildings 5 and 4, he tries his luck in number three! As he approaches, something rings out in his head!
Wise choice, Supplicant.
The door to the third house suddenly turns pink and opens. How odd. Well, since Luke is determined to be a dancing monkey, he should probably get in there.
Post by: anailater on February 21, 2013, 11:47:53 am
Enter building, ask questions, summon the goddamn cookies and become the cookiemancer!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2013, 12:33:37 pm
Luke figures that the thing talking to him probably has as good of an idea as anyone about what exactly is his purpose here and all sorts of other intriguing questions with probably intriguing answers! He rolls inside Building 3.
Greetings, Supplicant.
~Hello, friend. I have a feeling you know more than what you said before.~
What is this you speak of, Supplicant? Did you understand me when I first spoke to you?
There is a pinkishly quizzical air about the house. Luke exploits the voice's confusion to do cookie magic once again!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
[Cookie magic roll: 4-2-1]
No cookies arrive, and Luke feels one of his four sides get a mini-migraine from the attempt!
Post by: anailater on February 21, 2013, 04:10:01 pm
"Wait I'm confused can you explain."
I'm confused, be explained to.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 21, 2013, 04:28:20 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 21, 2013, 05:17:54 pm
Look around.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 21, 2013, 08:49:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2013, 06:04:23 am
Luke is confused. He asks if he can get an explanation.
~Wait, I'm confused. Can you explain?~
The voice notes his confusion and need for explanation.
You are indeed confused. Let me explain.
It clears a nonexistent throat and begins to explain to the confused Luke.
You are a Pink Supplicant, the second most common form of creature that forms after touching the Artifact of Tendency.
~What's the most common form?~
That would be 'completely exploded and dead'. Now, as a Pink Supplicant, you are on the first rung of what we call True Understanding. Through True Understanding, you become more than what you are, Supplicant. You gain knowledge of the Pink and how it applies to you. You may seem like a humble creature now, but with True Understanding, you will develop. You will also become increasingly more, shall we say, otherworldly. But the Pink provides and delivers. You can use the Pink to your advantage in many situations, though its help may be... difficult to understand in your currently unaligned state. To make a long and Pink story short and understandable to minds without True Understanding, you are the lowest of the low. But you can improve under my supervision.
At Bernie's inn...
Tom realizes that this inn is really cheesing him off all of a sudden! And things that cheese him off can only have one fate and one alone - fiery burning!
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 6]
He starts to roll around and set fires like mad, making sure to get every corner and not skip a bit! He gets a roaring fire going soon enough!
[Mark movement roll: 6+1]
In but a few seconds of the fire's beginning, Mark just so happens to return from his virgin-gathering excursion. Upon noticing the inn burning down rapidly, he, rather than try to save anyone just yet, opts to look for a culprit!
[Search roll: 2]
He can't see any inn-burners around, though. Nobody particularly suspicious, either. Drat!
[Yorinnsud will roll: 4]
Meanwhile, inside the inn Yorinnsud is spurred on by the sudden appearance of deadly, all-consuming flames inside the inn! The rather well-founded fear of burning horribly to long-overdue second death does wonders for her stiff limbs, and she is soon up and about again! Okay, so the inn is on fire and Mark isn't visible.
[Bernie perception roll: ?]
The necromancer seems to have gotten wise to the place being on fire pretty soon, since he busts out the door immediately, carrying several vials of his precious virgin blood.
"Gods damn it all! I liked this place!"
He runs past Yorinnsud and tries to dive through the fire into safety!
[Bernie fire avoidance roll: 1]
He has obviously forgotten where the entrance was, as he leaps into the flaming wall several feet to the left of it, smacking into the paneling and falling backwards, most of his vials smashed and his robe on fire!
[Bernie fire extinguishing roll: 6]
Fortunately, he is prepared for exactly such an occurrence, as he rips off his flaming robe, revealing a rather flabby physique beneath, and tosses it to Yorinnsud!
"Here, take care of this!"
[Yorinnsud dodge roll: 6]
She catches it with two skeletal arms and hurls it away into the flames, unwilling to touch anything of Bernie's for longer than it takes for a fist to properly meet a face. The mostly-naked Bernie now goes for another heroic dive!
[Bernie fire avoidance roll: 3]
He does manage to dive through the proper exit this time, though his pants catch on fire!
[Bernie fire extinguishing roll: 5]
He rolls until they are extinguished, then stands up and composes himself once more.
[Yorinnsud escape roll: 2]
Yorinnsud is about to jump out after him, but the fire roars with new strength, making escape through the proper entrance a bit more difficult and potentially lethal than she would like.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, upon realizing that making out with a wall in public is probably a faux pas of some kind somewhere, makes some excuses and gives the surrounding area a careful look.
[Perception roll: ?]
Well, there are obviously several place on fire some distance from here. Including the inn, it looks like. Hm. And there are no hot ghost ladies around, either. That about wraps it up for his findings, he guesses.
Post by: anailater on February 22, 2013, 06:23:35 am
Exposition!
Post by: Gamerlord on February 22, 2013, 06:27:58 am
Get moving.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2013, 08:11:21 am
Luke handily absorbs all the exposition hurled at him and keeps coming back for more because that's just the kind of pink tetrahedron creature he truly is!
~Interesting, two questions. Does full understanding-~
True Understanding.
~... does True Understanding take me to another plane of existence or some such?~
Depends on how you approach it, to tell the truth, and there are a great many ways. Going to a different plane of existence certainly helps, obviously. Enriches and appropriately breaks the mind.
~And what things will I do as a supplicant?~
Right now your task is to grow closer to not being a Supplicant, but rather an Initiate. This is achieved through Partial Understanding, a subset of True Understanding that brings limited mastery, unlike the ultimate mastery granted by True Understanding. And to do this, you must do exactly as I say.
~Lastly, why was I chosen? The last thing I remember before coming here was being captured by some sort of mage.~
Your captor is one who seeks False Understanding. He has placed us here to attempt to gain False Understanding of the Artifact of Tendency and through it, the Pink. An unpleasant chap, all in all. I suppose there's no particular reason why you were chosen. Probably because you were available, Supplicant. The rest were also chosen by the same criterion, with the sole exception of myself who was chosen due to my people's affinities.
Inside a burning inn...
Yorinnsud, to fight off worry about dying, chooses to operate on the possibly mistaken assumption that she has been dead the entire time. Time for this corpse to make herself scarce!
[Escape roll: 1]
She leaps right into a fire, since Bernie seems to have closed the door behind him! Aw, geez, that sure hurts like hell! It hurts about as much as it would if she were alive, actually! This casts doubt on her hypothesis, to tell the truth!
[Yorinnsud fire extinguishing roll: 6]
Yorinnsud dives into a table and rolls around on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire! This is successful, though there are fewer places that aren't on fire anymore as a result.
[Fire intensification roll: 6]
And it just keeps getting hotter and more prone to boiling unattended corpses by the second. Really, Yorinnsud should probably make her escape quick.
Post by: anailater on February 22, 2013, 08:21:07 am
Final question, accept the offer of learning.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 22, 2013, 08:32:51 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 22, 2013, 09:27:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2013, 02:49:23 pm
Luke continues his inquisitive spree with more piercing and important questions!
"I think I understand now, but will I ever have a humanoid body again? It's hard to get around as a pink pyramid."
It all depends on how you handle Partial Understanding. Results may vary, to put it mildly. But you will have Partial Understanding, so you probably won't care a whole lot. Very few do at that point.
"Very well then, I accept your offer."
Your first task is a simple one. Remember the Artifact of Tendency? Well, you must topple it from its pedestal. Right now.
Well. That sounds deceptively simple if anything ever has.
At a burning inn...
Mark, ever the heroic type, tries to hack open the door that he heard a whack from just now!
[Hacking roll: 6]
He embeds the halberd in it on the first strike! As he tries to pull it out, the entire door comes with it, burning pieces of it flying about as smashes into the ground when Mark falls on that skeletal behind of his!
[Bernie dodge roll: 2]
Bernie gets a nasty gash when a sizable piece of burning wood catches him in the arm. Well, at least the burning probably means it was demonic infectious agent-free.
"Shit, that really hurt!"
Meanwhile, Yorinnsud sees the opening in the door and tries to leap out once again!
[Leaping roll: 4]
She leaps out of the door and lands straight on Mark, her hero! She rolls off him and stands up, watching as the fire reaches the alcohol stores of the inn and promptly takes on more of an exploding character. Yep, there'll hardly be a piece of coal stacked on another one by the end of that.
Post by: anailater on February 22, 2013, 02:56:49 pm
Try to knock the pedestal over...WITH MY MIND!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2013, 04:07:25 pm
Luke asks for revealing clarification on his task.
"Now as in now or now as in the next 5 minutes?"
Time is such a relative concept. But I'd advise doing it right now. This instant, in fact. As soon as possible.
Luke gets right to it! He rolls outside and tries to move the pyramid pedestal with his mind!
Predictably, it does not work. The pyramid remains mockingly immobile on its high perch, lording its height and greater volume over Luke!
Post by: anailater on February 22, 2013, 04:51:57 pm
Pyramid charge the pedestal, if magnetism, physics or magic tell me no then punch them in the face and do it anyway, i will reach enlightenment for some reason!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 22, 2013, 05:55:53 pm
Cheerily leave the scene of the crime and search the blacksmith's for another replacement weapon.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 22, 2013, 06:00:29 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 22, 2013, 06:33:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 04:15:16 am
Luke attempts to charge full-speed at the pedestal housing the pyramid!
[Charging roll: 1-1]
He leisurely rolls up to the pedestal and bumps into it! Absolutely nothing happens as a result. This pedestal seems a bit too solid and magical to be knocked over just like that. And it is terribly unlikely that stubbornness will help him, either.
At the burning luxury inn...
Tom, feeling cheerful and amused at the sight of a nicely burning building, goes off to find a blacksmith's shop.
[Tom escape roll: 2-1
[Mark search roll: 5]
He is about to roll away, but then he sees his friends over there in front of the inn! He rolls up to them, points at the fire and gives a jolly single-thumb-up, then starts to slowly roll toward the blacksmith's shop.
Mark gets the feeling that this mostly limbless body with soot-covered fingers and a very welcoming attitude to fire may have had something to do with the whole burning affair. Well, he sure was easy to find.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren reflects on his current state of being, then poses a good question.
"So... We headin' out soon?"
The band leader looks excited.
"Yeah, actually! We've got a totally great idea, you see. How would you feel about a rooftop concert? 'Cause I just had an idea how to resolve this whole affair without a whole lotta problems."
A rooftop concert, eh? Hm.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 23, 2013, 04:59:10 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 07:18:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 08:29:43 am
Mark, being a big fan of using people as weaponry, tries to catch and grab the silly guy who nearly killed both his master and his best buddy!
[Mark pursuit roll: 3+1]
[Tom escape roll: 6-1]
Tom, upon noticing that the skeleton is running after him, starts to roll at great speed, giving Mark a run for his money! He actually seems to be on the verge of getting away when he reaches an intersection!
[Tom will roll: 5+1]
The urgency of his task lets him power right through it, surprisingly enough!
[Mark pursuit roll: 3+1]
[Tom escape roll: 3-1]
Uh oh. It looks like Mark isn't in the mood to screw around. He starts to run faster, gaining on Tom faster than the latter would like.
[Mark pursuit roll: 4+1]
[Tom escape roll: 6-1]
He rolls faster, but Mark is nearly on him! However, the blacksmith's shop can't be too far away!
[Mark pursuit roll: 6+1]
[Tom escape roll: 6-1]
Despite Tom's best efforts, Mark catches him in an astounding leap, the two undead rolling about in a heap and eventually coming to a rest next to the blacksmith's shop!
[Mark strength roll: 4]
[Tom resistance roll: 1-1+1]
Mark lifts Tom up above his head and looks around for something to hurl him into!
[Search roll: 1]
While he holds the guy up, he stares at his surroundings for a few minutes, eager to find something living in the vicinity.
Ooh, he could hurl him there! That could work! Yeah! Now he'll just take a step and-
-and his single leg can't take the weight of the two of them combined, snapping in half and making both undead drop down!
Tom opts to just shrug and roll inside the shop.
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 08:38:13 am
Roll up the pedestal! Knock the magic thing down!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 09:49:21 am
Luke tries to roll up the pedestal, flip off physics and sail off into a hopeful explosion-filled sunset.
Sadly, physics do not take kindly to being flipped off. They steadfastly refuse to bow to Luke, keeping him ground-bound and still largely incapable of moving the pedestal in any way.
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 10:00:42 am
Jump up and down and try to make it fall off with vibrations and stuff, all the while trying to summon some sort of elemental magi.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 12:16:39 pm
Luke takes a few seconds to damn the name and heritage of the harshest of mistresses, Lady Physics, and then tries to jump around! Oh yeah! Jump around!
Unfortunately, it seems like he has nothing to jump with. At all. He can only roll like the four-sided pink die-like creature he is. So he tries the next best thing.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He concentrates on summoning some kind of elemental force, some hidden power! And he can only think of one thing fitting that description!
[Pink magic roll: 6-2+1]
Suddenly, a great glob of inexplicable pink appears! It twists oddly in the air for a bit, then settles into regular twitching. That is certainly a thing that just happened.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 12:17:36 pm
Search blacksmith's shop for any other weapons.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 12:24:41 pm
Tom looks around for something weapon-like and useful to his purposes!
[Search roll: 2]
He must regretfully conclude that this place has been pretty much picked clean by now. Oh well.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 12:41:10 pm
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 12:58:04 pm
"YESSSSSSSSSSSS!"
Pink hammer of manliness, hit the pedestal with your might.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 01:19:08 pm
Tom looks around for anything metallic, anything at all.
[Search roll: 2]
Nope, still nothing. Time for another fiery purge, he guesses! He attempts to spill some coals out of the forge. He is disappointed to find that there are none, the forge being magically operated. This just isn't his day, is it? He heads outside and considers his next move.
Inside a mysteriously magical cul-de-sac...
Luke attempts to control his great glob of pink power and make it strike things! Most notably the pedestal!
[Pink magic roll: 4-1]
The pink cloud-like thing bumps into the pedestal, not managing to move it by even an inch. Dang!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 23, 2013, 01:23:49 pm
Go for it!
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 01:48:46 pm
Hit it harder!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 02:31:02 pm
Darren has to admit that the idea sounds appealing to him. But there is one concern. A mysterious concern, to be sure, but a concern nonetheless.
"Sounds awesome, as long as Bill Murray doesn't show up, whoever he is."
The band members look at each other questioningly, then all shrug as one.
"We don't know who that guy is. Is he a wizard?"
"I've had the peculiar feeling that he has something to do with time travel, but I'm not sure."
"Well, time travel is pretty rare. Odds are, he's already done everything he ever wanted done, anyway. Time travel's strange that way. And rare. So odds are against you two ever meeting if it hasn't happened already."
Darren sort of shrugs with acceptance and they move out toward a two-story house near the main square of the town.
[House lack of security roll: 1]
It looks to have steel shutters locked from the inside as well as reinforced walls. Whatever this house is all about, it is obviously well-protected.
"Spooky dude, do your magical thing! Find who lives there and make 'em leave. Preferably through the door," the band leader says.
Inside a miniature magical cul-de-sac...
Luke realizes that all he needs for this scheme of his to work is the classic solution - more power!
[Pink magic roll: 3-1]
The pink cloud refuses to move any more now, however. It does not seem to like Luke commanding it. It views Luke as a bit inferior, to be honest.
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 02:37:13 pm
This is incredibly demeaning.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 03:04:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 03:57:31 pm
Luke, lacking good alternatives, pleads with the cloud to help him!
[Pink magic roll: 6-1]
~Sorry, pink cloud, can you do it, pleeease? Please be so kind, Mr. Cloud! If you don't, I'll... I'll... I'll cry! Yeah, I'll cry!~
Tiny droplets of pink liquid start to condense on Luke's surface. The cloud quivers at the sight of them!
~Oh, all right, I'll do it. I'll knock this pedestal over. Please, don't cry. I will help!~
The cloud knocks the pedestal over with the greatest of ease, making the Artifact of Tendency land on the ground! Luke is not entirely surprised when a pink puddle starts to form under it. He is even less surprised when the puddle starts to spread and reveals itself to not be a puddle at all. Rather, it is the ground itself that is turning pink. And it is doing so at a rapid rate.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Rolling past the confused Mark, Tom goes up to a nearby building.
[Building lack of security roll: 3]
The door is unfortunately locked. Hm. That is rather distressing.
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 04:03:44 pm
To the voice, tell them about magic, knocking the pedestal down and possible doom.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 04:27:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2013, 05:29:05 pm
Alarmed by what he believes to be an apocalypse, Luke quickly rolls back to Building Three and speaks to the voice!
~I did pink magic! And there was this cloud, and I made it knock over the pyramid, and then the pyramid hit the ground, and then this pink apocalypse scenario began!~
It did? Fantastic! That's just what I wanted you to do. And you seem to have done some pink manipulation and not died. All in all, a bang-up job.
~We might all die!~
Well, I won't die. I don't have a physical form.
~But what about me?~
Eh, I dunno. I suppose something will happen to you. Beyond the scope of my control or my basic Pink empathy, I'm afraid. We've had some good times, you and I. But I'm afraid we'll have to part ways soon.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom realizes that this door is an obstacle. And obstacles are most efficiently removed in two ways - brute force or excessive use of fire. And since he needs loot, he will have to settle for brute force.
[Demolition roll: 2+1-1]
He knocks on the door. Nobody answers. Oh well. Guess he had better leave, then.
Post by: anailater on February 23, 2013, 05:31:12 pm
Pink magic time, Give myself a humanoid body, give pink voice a form, and try to stop the pink apocalypse, Pink magic will save or destroy the day!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 23, 2013, 07:42:16 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 23, 2013, 08:16:06 pm
mark seeing the pyro rolling around set his leg then hack off any limbs that the pyro hadDespite this being another murder attempt, this is all I can think of when you call me that.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Set nearby random murderous undead aflame.
Post by: Gamerlord on February 23, 2013, 09:24:42 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 23, 2013, 10:30:26 pm
"Usually I enjoys da fireworks, but not right now. Right now I not enjoys nuffin'. In fact I dun' even feels particularly Wonderful. Mebbe youse can help me? Tell me how I's gettin' outta here, back to da real world, an' den maybe I be feelin' Wonderful."
>Appeal to the skeletal hippo's goodwill to help me return to the land of the... well. I was going to say living, but you know.
How about we just call it the material plane. Yes. Ask the hippo to help me get back there!
>If he/she/it refuses to comply, try again to blast its legs off.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 03:16:15 am
Luke decides that now would be a good point to start rage-magicking everything up! Step One: humanoid body!
[Pink magic roll: 1-1]
He explodes into a pink mist! A pink mist that begins to rapidly disperse!
[Luke will roll: 3]
Hm. That's definitely not a good feeling, there. Oh well. Step Two: screw the voice over!
[Pink magic roll: 3-1]
Absolutely nothing happens! How amazing!
You shouldn't do that. If I actually get a body, I still won't be able to help you in any way.
[Luke will roll: 1]
Not that it's likely to matter with the way you're dispersing.
[Luke will roll: 2-1]
Oh dear. It seems like your use of the Pink is really catching up to you. Reminds me of myself when I finally bit the dust.
[Luke will roll: 5-2]
You see, I mentioned most people ending up completely exploded and dead not because it's what immediately happens. In fact, it mostly happens in the next hours following the transformation. It's what happened to me eventually and it's what happened to the rest of the people here much sooner. It's just that pyramid people are quicker to realize exactly how bad they are with their abilities. Funny, that.
The pink seems to have reached the house now, and is intensifying as they speak.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark tries to quickly fix his leg before Tom can manage to get away!
[Mark medicine roll: 1]
He just rips the leg right off, breaking the limb in several pieces for the crime of showing such weakness, and hops over to Tom! Tom, meanwhile, tries to get into a fire making mood!
[Mark vs. Tom: 5+2 vs. 5-1]
Mark handily chops the only arm Tom possesses right off, which kind of hurts the guy's attempts to set him on fire. They kind of stare awkwardly at one another afterwards.
Suddenly, Yorinnsud rushes over! She is disappointed to find that things look to be under control for now.
Somewhere beyond...
Timothy, upon realizing that violence, for once, is getting him nowhere, tries the talky thing instead.
"Usually I enjoys da fireworks, but not right now. Right now I not enjoys nuffin'. In fact I dun' even feels particularly Wonderful. Mebbe youse can help me? Tell me how I's gettin' outta here, back to da real world, an' den maybe I be feelin' Wonderful."
[Hippo informativeness roll: 5]
"Ah! Confused, are we? It's perfectly natural. You are in Undefined Space, after all. The place that never got sorted out by the countless creators, managers and divinities of the universe, to make a long story short. It's a wonderful place."
Timothy looks at the hippo impatiently.
"Now, if you want to get out, the good news are that you can at any moment, it's all a matter of focus! Amazing, no? The bad news are that you might end up anywhere, depending on how lucky you are. Anywhere at all. Also amazing, but not for you. You could chance it anyway, yes, but you could also stay here a while. Learn about this place. Study its workings. It's why I came here at first, you see - to learn to control this place, utilize it to my advantage. To go anywhere in the blink of an eye. But eventually I figured that this place beat the defined world by a significant margin, so I stayed. You might, too. Or you might just leave. The choice is yours, I suppose. But you could also take a third option - pretty fireworks! Yay! I like pretty fireworks, you know."
Post by: anailater on February 24, 2013, 06:29:47 am
Heroic sacrifice, fly into the pink epicentre!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 07:44:58 am
Luke, in what he intends to be his final act on this land, expressively mind-flips the voice off and heads off to heroically sacrifice himself!
[Pink magic roll: 3-1]
He doesn't manage to sufficiently collect himself to achieve any movement, however!
No need to rush. It should all be good.
[Luke will roll: 5-2]
Luke manages to stay alive for long enough to try again!
[Pink magic roll: 2-1]
Regrettably, this still does not work one bit. If anything, it only gets worse for his continual existence!
[Luke will roll: 3-2]
And with that, Luke has lost all of his previous composition, the mist making up his body having dispersed to a point where it very well may never have existed at all. Luke's pinkish soul floats away from the increasingly pinker area, speeding off into the ether at a velocity only extremely overdue souls can achieve!
That is, until the metaphysical concept representing his life smashes into the wall of the dome and bounces back. Huh.
Post by: anailater on February 24, 2013, 07:54:32 am
Hahahahaha, do some gloating! [/]
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 24, 2013, 07:57:39 am
Roll away after attaching my arm back on.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 08:11:38 am
Luke hangs in the air for a bit, enjoying his deathless position while he can! Oh yeah! He doesn't have a body, cannot physically influence the world in any conventional way and the only avenue of magic available to him is dangerously unreliable! Oh yeah, suck on that, voices in the exact same position!
As he gloats, he witnesses the very air get permeated by pink as the dome restricts its horizontal spread. The air gets less transparent and closer to hot pink with every passing second.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom isn't fazed in the slightest by the loss of his arm, and immediately tries to bounce right back from this trauma.
[Tom medicine roll: 2]
Sadly, he lacks the necessary needle and thread to attach his arm back on, not to mention any more sophisticated tools. He shakes his head, grabs his arm in his teeth and rolls off.
[Will roll: 6+1]
The intersections, fortunately, do not confuse him this time. How fortunate.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 24, 2013, 09:19:46 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 24, 2013, 09:44:06 am
((I really need to find some replacement limbs.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 24, 2013, 01:02:38 pm
Post by: anailater on February 24, 2013, 02:27:57 pm
Become the pink apocalypse!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 03:01:21 pm
As Tom rolls away into the darkness, Mark gives chase, immediately followed by Yorinnsud!
[Tom rolling escape roll: 1-1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 5+1-1]
[Yorinnsud pursuit roll: 1]
Mark, moving at a brisk run, quickly catches up to Tom and grabs him! Yorinnsud, meanwhile, strolls in Tom's general direction, stopping to look at particularly interesting walls at inopportune intervals.
[Mark strength roll: 4]
Mark carefully lifts Tom, though the weight of the body is clearly giving his remaining leg a fair bit of trouble! As he hops back carefully, Yorinnsud eventually catches up in her sightseeing trip and offers help!
[Yorinnsud strength roll: 4+1]
She picks up Tom in her many arms and the three undead start to walk back toward the necromancer that started this whole mess.
Next to a highly secure house...
Darren, once more in a position of helpfulness, goes inside the house, marveling at the fact that the walls, oddly enough, are also steel! And at least a foot thick, too! He looks inside the house and finds it to look pretty normal, other than the reinforced furniture, locked steel cabinets and utilitarian magical lighting around. So, not very normal at all. He looks around for a possible owner, all the while attempting to remain utterly stealthy.
[Search roll: 1]
[Stealth roll: 6]
He gets into a steel-covered living room chair and shuffles forth with his telekinesis, looking for any occupants! He eventually finds an odd sort of room - a room filled with odd devices of all kinds. One in particular catches his eye - it looks like a backpack, but a metallic one! And there is an odd thing, like a crossbow but without the bow part and made of pipes and metal, attached to it.
For some reason, this artifact makes him feel nervous somehow. And this is no small part due to the incredibly loud metallic screeching sounds made by the chair as it was dragged along the floor, which has probably alerted the people in the building that something might be up.
In the middle of something resembling a very pink version of the apocalypse...
Luke attempts to possess the pink, hoping to become a world-shattering apocalyptic event!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
He has no idea how to do this, mind you, but by the gods he is going to try his damnedest!
[Possession roll: 6-2]
Letting instinct take care of all the hard, actually challenging parts of possessing things, he lets his soul move on toward the ensuing pink, becoming one with it in a slow, deliberate process! No longer a mere pink tetrahedron, Luke is now a pink cloud of immense proportions!
That is, until what he perceives to be critical pink build-up in a limited space occurs. At that point, Luke feels like he has been torn into a billion little pieces, scattered to the winds and reassembled in a violent event that reenacts the creation of the stars themselves, only about a trillion times faster and infinitely more painful!
[Luke will roll: 4]
He manages to keep hold of himself through the event, albeit barely! He feels the wall of the dome implode suddenly, flying into him and seemingly disappear.
It's pretty odd being a miniature Pink Vortex!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 24, 2013, 03:06:26 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 24, 2013, 03:22:52 pm
Be carried along. Hopefully finding something rigid on the way.
Post by: anailater on February 24, 2013, 03:50:53 pm
I am the spectrum, increase my movement speed, all shall know the glory of the spectrum.
((Time to destroy the world, advanced sorry if i destroy the game.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 04:39:43 pm
Darren tries to howl as spookily as he can at the sight of all these odd things in here.
[Spooky Howling roll: 3]
He sort of spookily oohs and aahs a bit, though it is hardly a bone-chilling, soul-shattering scream one might hope for. He hides in the wall anyway, hoping to avoid retribution for his lackluster performance.
[Hiding roll: 6]
He speeds over to the wall in under a sixth of a second, hiding himself from sight very nicely! This comes at the horrible price of not being able to see a damn thing, since he is entirely phased into a wall. Also, it tingles uncomfortably to be inside a steel plate.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom lets himself be carried off through the streets, whisked away by a many-armed angel of successful limb transplantation! He looks about for eminently rigid things to take on the way!
[Perception roll: ?]
He notices sticks, metallic poles, abandoned staves, hooks, stands, all sorts of things! And he is in a position that guarantees he will pick up exactly zero of them. How infuriating.
In a house of some kind...
Luke figures that he shouldn't be Luke anymore. He should be something cooler. Like the Spectrum! Yeah, that'll work. And to up the intimidation factor, he tries to become faster!
[Pink magic roll: 2-1]
He intuitively feels himself slow down to a top speed of an inch per 20 seconds. He doesn't feel very much like the Spectrum. In fact, this is a bit more reminiscent of good ol' Luke instead.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 24, 2013, 04:45:52 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 24, 2013, 04:49:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2013, 04:51:15 pm
What is happening I don't even.
What exactly would you be referring to? The pink magic or something else?
Post by: Xantalos on February 24, 2013, 04:52:28 pm
EVERYTHING.What is happening I don't even.
What exactly would you be referring to? The pink magic or something else?
Post by: anailater on February 24, 2013, 05:12:34 pm
What he said.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 24, 2013, 05:31:33 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 24, 2013, 06:16:08 pm
keep going to the necroman protecting Gamerlord as she carrys Tom
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2013, 02:07:34 am
Darren tries to puzzle out what exactly is going on here and determine who might live in the house. He opts to do this outside the wall.
[Investigation roll: ?]
Well, the presence of these artifacts is indicative of a mage of some kind. And... wait, is that a tan robe? You don't see many of those in mage circles. Darren takes careful inventory of the artifacts and moves out of the room, pondering their significance.
A particularly striking thing he saw was an odd emblem. A prominent element of it was a red circle with a diagonal line through it. Wonder what it could mean?
[Perception roll: ?]
Wait, are those footsteps? It sounds like they are coming from upstairs!
In a house of some kind...
Luke tries to get faster once again! It can't be that hard, you know.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Hm, maybe he could utilize the flow of pink within him to propel him to great speeds and... and... yeah! That's actually a good idea!
[Pink magic roll: 4-1+1]
He has now achieved the blinding speed of an inch per six seconds! He had better be careful or he might crash into something!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom, dissatisfied at the completely unsatisfactory direction he is being taken, attempts to bite off one of Yorinnsud's fingers!
[Tom vs. Yorinnsud: 4+1-2 vs. 2]
He latches on to Yorinnsud's finger and pulls, detaching it from her skeletal arm! Mark, noticing this, moves to restrain Tom's head!
[Mark vs. Tom: 6 vs. 5-2]
He grabs Tom's head in his arms and secures it tightly, not letting Tom have even the tiniest bit of freedom as they get back to the inn.
[Encounter roll: 4]
Surprisingly, there is very little of note in the area for them to chuck torsos at as they return to their point of origin. How disappointing.
Post by: anailater on February 25, 2013, 02:14:34 am
Faster, more pulling things in, share the pink!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2013, 04:31:53 am
"Man I will make some new limbs for you if you pay for them by working for me nod your head for yes shake for no"
show it to Tom
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2013, 09:01:50 am
Luke, in a shocking twist, tries to do the same thing he already did, only better!
[Pink magic roll: 2-1]
After a brief moment of being a real speed demon at a maximum velocity of an inch per three seconds, Luke realizes he cannot handle the speed! He once again slows down to about a top speed of an inch per twelve seconds! Thank goodness for that, he could have hurt someone, you know!
He tries sucking. More specifically, sucking something into himself!
Things don't seem very eager to get pulled into him. He doesn't seem to be creating all that much pull. It is only after about three minutes of top-speed breakneck flight that he reaches an object two and a half feet away in order to absorb it into his collapsing being!
He feels heavier, but not bigger. That's odd.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark presents Tom the pyromaniac to the necromancer!
He looks less than impressed.
"You have caught and dismembered one of your own number. Great job, guys, great job."
With that, Mark quickly drafts up a note using charcoal and the paper he never picked up. After all, he only picked up a pale bit of wood, which he then pinned up at the inn that just burned down. That's a bit disappointing, but what can you do.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2013, 09:25:16 am
Post by: anailater on February 25, 2013, 11:23:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2013, 04:08:08 pm
Mark, lacking anything to write on, attempts to manifest some kind of paper out of thin air!
Predictably, it does not work one bit. If only he didn't live in a world that had such strict rules on what you can and cannot do as an ordinary science-oriented skeleton. Being a skeleton of science, he cannot rely on the sheer power of idiocy to provide him with all he needs. He probably needs to approach this differently.
In a house of some sort...
Luke, dissatisfied with his results so far, decides to suck harder!
[Sucking roll: 1-1]
He succeeds! He sucks in a very abominable fashion, achieving such suckage that he, paradoxically enough, doesn't suck anymore! Rather, he blows, and he blows most profusely! He blows so much that he cancels out any effect of his previous suckage, becoming just a pretty swirl of pink in the air that doesn't do very much at all.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 25, 2013, 05:37:46 pm
Post by: anailater on February 25, 2013, 05:51:33 pm
Blow harder, blow so hard the very planet is blown off orbit!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2013, 08:05:40 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 25, 2013, 08:24:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 26, 2013, 10:29:05 am
Tom rolls away from the area that his inadequate carriers currently occupy and attempts to attach the finger he successfully stole moments ago.
[Attachment roll: 5-1]
Amazingly enough, this works nicely as he stabs the bony finger into his wrist stump! It then proceeds to work adequately at his every command. Will wonders never cease?
Meanwhile, Mark looks for some paper around this cheap joint they dare call a town.
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there are plenty of walls around. No paper, though.
In a house of some kind...
Luke, despite blowing a good deal already, opts to blow more and blow harder!
[Pink magic roll: 5-1]
And he does! Now he actually produces a slight breeze from his center. He could get a career with skills like these, he thinks.
In a disproportionately secured house in the center of Emlocke...
Darren, upon hearing footsteps, immediately rises through the ceiling and begins to search the second floor! His target has to be here, he knows it!
[Search roll: 6]
And yet nobody's up here! Nobody at all, and he's checked everywhere. There is only one possible explanation for this, he thinks.
Ghosts.
[Perception roll: ?]
The sound of ghostly footsteps taunts him the entire way through, echoing from rooms he just left on the second floor! Damn ghosts. What's their problem?
Post by: anailater on February 26, 2013, 10:36:39 am
You heard the pink, more blowing, rip the ground from the earth!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 26, 2013, 10:42:06 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 26, 2013, 05:06:37 pm
'Pacitarus, Other Gods, don't let this become a dick joke.'
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 26, 2013, 05:37:50 pm
Luke tries desperately to achieve more power!
[Pink magic roll: 2-1]
He blows until he can blow no more, at which point he returns to feeble sucking once again. He seems to be trapped in a sucking/blowing cycle of his own making. While the existential implications of this are grave indeed, the real implications are merely incredibly frustrating.
Inside a highly secure house...
Darren tries to speak to the spectral presences undoubtedly surrounding him even as he carefully considers his approach to this situation. He settles on "warm and informal" as his weapon of choice.
"Hey! What's up, my fellow phantasmic friends?"
There is a bit of a stir in the house and the sound of rustling cloth from somewhere, but nothing else. How unfriendly of these ghosts.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Sincerely hoping to avoid uncalled-for innuendo, Tom looks for a hard rod to use for undoubtedly nefarious purposes.
[Search roll: 5]
He does find one, actually! It is a long steel pole that is, interestingly enough, broken up into segments. These segments can be adjusted to straighten the pole out or to give it a certain desired shape. It is almost a dream come true, actually!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 26, 2013, 06:07:58 pm
((We can rebuild him, we have the technology.))
Post by: anailater on February 26, 2013, 06:58:01 pm
Increase my sucking power!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 26, 2013, 07:44:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2013, 01:02:22 am
Tom tries to break up this metal rod into handy pieces to reconstruct himself out of!
[Metal Rod dismantling roll: 6-1]
He breaks it up into short segments that might adequately substitute for fingers and two longer sections that would make good legs!
[Attachment roll: 6-1]
He, surprisingly enough, manages to space the four metallic finger-like segments around his stump for the thing to actually resemble a functional human hand! And he manages to successfully attach the two leg bits, and they even seem to kinda work! Now he has supremely tentacular metal legs as well as one functioning sort-of-hand made of metal. Utilizing his new abilities, Tom does a victory dance!
Meanwhile, Mark tries to remove a board from a nearby building!
[Board removal roll: 1]
He runs up to a building that looks to have served far longer than buildings really should in a perfect roll and gives the facade of it a good, firm tug.
The building responds by collapsing on him.
[Mark endurance roll: 6]
Mark is left standing in a pile of tiny wood chunks, having weathered the fall of a building that seems to have become mostly dust by this point. He tries to pick up a piece of wood.
It falls apart just as he tries to write on it. Dammit.
In a house of some kind...
Luke tries to suck harder!
[Pink magic roll: 6-1]
He now has obtained the sucking power of one of those magical sucking-cleaning implements, if it were slightly more powerful than usual. He can now suck in things from a distance of several feet! Oh, joy!
Post by: anailater on February 27, 2013, 02:54:05 am
Suck in some buildings!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2013, 09:20:56 am
Luke tries to suck in a building of some kind! After all, that's what apocalyptic vortexes do, right?
He sucks intently for a bit, but buildings fail to be warped and hurtle into his center. It'll probably take a lot more than what he has now to actually do anything with his sucking ability, formidable though it may be.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 27, 2013, 10:14:51 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 27, 2013, 12:40:12 pm
Look around for friends. Recall why we're in here, if not more friends.
Post by: anailater on February 27, 2013, 01:04:23 pm
A bit of blasphemy, a bit of pink magic to try and make itself bigger and stronger, the usual.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2013, 01:37:01 pm
Mark shrugs at the building that just attempted to assassinate him, albeit poorly, and goes back to the burning inn to pull a board out of the ruins.
[Board roll: 1]
It seems that pretty much all of the boards are either mostly ash right now or quite blackened, which means they are about as black as Mark's charcoal. Well, that's kind of a pickle, to tell the truth. Why does doing anything always have to be an epic battle ranging across the many dimensions? It's getting quite irritating.
In a highly secure house...
Darren searches around for any ghostfriends to obtain and hug and enjoy the company of for ever and ever.
[Darren perception roll: ?]
Wait a minute, though. Something just occurred to him. If these are ghosts, why are there footsteps? Ghosts don't actually step anywhere! It's probably just some asshole around here. An asshole that seems to be on the first floor, no less. And scaring an asshole out of his digs is exactly what he is here to do! The band's fate depends on it!
Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic, but the point remains.
In a house of some sort...
Luke, feeling comfy and secure in his pink form, goes for a bit of blasphemy to spend the time.
"THE GODS PLAN AGAINST ME, BUT THEY HAVE NOT YET REALIZED I AM THE TRUE GOD! NOW PROVE ME WRONG, OH MIGHTY SMITERS!"
[Divine retribution roll: 4]
There is no response! Hah! This must mean that Luke really is the true god here! Those silly fools will taste his power yet!
[Pink magic roll: 2-1]
He becomes much, much smaller and weaker all of a sudden. And he seems to be getting flatter, somehow. Now he is about the size of a cartwheel, and he is continuing to shrink! Bummer!
Post by: anailater on February 27, 2013, 03:40:01 pm
Transcend the die, transcend my earthly chains, whip some god butt.
((I've got 2:1 odds I die horribly in the next 4 turns, anyone wanna guess?))
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 27, 2013, 04:25:53 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 27, 2013, 06:15:40 pm
Mark just goes gets Gamerlord and Tom and takes them to the temple that has a octopus outside and fixes Toms limbs
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 27, 2013, 06:31:45 pm
"SO YOU GODS THINK YOU CAN PLAY DICE GAMES WITH MY FATE NO LONGER AM I BOUND BY YOUR RULES!"I'm willing to bet with you on that one. Dealing with the gods doesn't end well when they actually respond.
Transcend the die, transcend my earthly chains, whip some god butt.
((I've got 2:1 odds I die horribly in the next 4 turns, anyone wanna guess?))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 27, 2013, 06:39:48 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 27, 2013, 08:03:38 pm
Out of the 5 or so people to try I am the only one to get help from the gods and I got help twice 8)"SO YOU GODS THINK YOU CAN PLAY DICE GAMES WITH MY FATE NO LONGER AM I BOUND BY YOUR RULES!"I'm willing to bet with you on that one. Dealing with the gods doesn't end well when they actually respond.
Transcend the die, transcend my earthly chains, whip some god butt.
((I've got 2:1 odds I die horribly in the next 4 turns, anyone wanna guess?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2013, 09:12:49 am
Luke keeps the happy blasphemy ball rolling with yet more inflammatory proclamations directed at the gods.
~SO YOU GODS THINK YOU CAN PLAY DICE GAMES WITH MY FATE? NO LONGER AM I BOUND BY YOUR RULES!~
He attempts to transcend something. It's what nascent gods are supposed to do or something, right?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Shouldn't be too difficult. It's probably all a question of MORE POWER, as usual.
[Pink magic roll: 6-1]
He devotes all the power he has to stop the shrinking process, then gives it a little more! Hah! He is no longer shrinking! He has transcended momentary destruction!
Well, that's great, he supposes. Not being entirely dead feels kinda good and all. However, Luke does not quite feel up to beating up a god or anything just yet. He isn't even sure gods even have proper asses to kick, really. Or what good would it do to kick them, either. But in case he wants to, anyway, he is pretty sure he heard something about transcendence in one of the deeper corners of his mind. It's certainly an option, he believes.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom, now in the possession of a functional hand and sort-of functional legs, attempts to find a butcher shop in the area!
[Search roll: 3]
No such thing that he can see, unfortunately. However, there is a taxidermist's around here, judging by all the stuffed animals visible from the window.
Unfortunately, his musings on the contents of the shop are quite rudely interrupted by that ridiculous one-legged skeleton grabbing him and attempting to drag him back to the place where the octopus was so hideously murdered!
[Mark strength roll: 1]
Mark grabs and pulls Tom from behind in an attempt to take him by surprise! Tom, still somewhat unsteady on his improvised legs, responds by falling right onto the skeletal medicine enthusiast, then getting up and shaking his skull disapprovingly. Tom then goes about his business as Mark lies around in a generally humiliating fashion.
Inside a well-secured house...
Darren, suddenly conscious of his mission, starts to look harder for that silly guy he's supposed to scare off.
[Search roll: 3]
Okay, so he's most decidedly not on the second floor. And Darren's latest venture has proven that nobody's in the attic, either. So he has to be on the first floor. He floats downstairs and looks around. Nobody in immediate sight.
[Darren perception roll: ?]
And nobody around that he can hear. How mysterious.
Post by: anailater on February 28, 2013, 09:20:27 am
Search my mind young Spectrum, I know it to be true.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2013, 09:39:30 am
The pink vortex formerly known as Luke, but now referred to only by himself as Spectrum decides to listen to idle voices in his head suggesting transcendence after breaking the impenetrable veil of what he believes to be his own personal narrative.
[Listening roll: 2]
Dang, it's all quiet now. How is the pink vortex formerly known as Luke supposed to get anywhere like this? Silly voices of insanity! Speak up!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 28, 2013, 10:33:41 am
Post by: anailater on February 28, 2013, 12:32:46 pm
Tell the voices to come back and then listen, mumble some hopefully magic words like Treguna. Macoides. Trecorum. Satis. Dee.
((I will give real home baked cookies to anyone who gets this reference))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 28, 2013, 12:42:21 pm
Post by: anailater on February 28, 2013, 12:53:20 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 28, 2013, 04:06:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2013, 04:12:41 pm
Mark, not dissuaded from his helpful ways in the slightest, realizes that the kid gloves need to come off. Right now. He will help the guy who burned down the inn, and he will do it right-godsdamn-now!
[Mark intelligence roll: ?]
He suddenly realizes that Tom has the limb situation pretty much handled already, actually. Well, except for that arm in his teeth. But he doesn't even need to go to the temple and endanger himself to fix that, not at all. He gently removes Tom's arm from his teeth.
[Mark medicine roll: 4]
He then carefully attaches it to Tom's arm stump! There now, all fixed up. And not a bone was stolen in the process! Tom sort of nods at the regained arm and goes inside the taxidermist's. And it is full of creepy-looking stuffed animals. How wonderful.
[Search roll: 5]
There looks to be a pale individual lying around in front of an open door within the shop. His hair is shock-white and his face is frozen in a mask of horror and pain. No signs of obvious violence, though. And the door seems to lead into a closet of some kind. A closet that seems to have a particularly avant-garde piece of taxidermy propped up inside it, by the looks of it. Lots of furry tentacles, jagged teeth and glassy eyes, by the looks of it. And the looks of it are certainly quite unsettling, though hardly something one would fall over and die for.
They just don't make taxidermists like they used to, Tom thinks to himself.
In a house of some kind...
The pink vortex formerly known as Luke attempts to coerce the voices in his head to come back through the use of barbaric intimidation techniques.
[Barbaric intimidation roll: 3]
The pink vortex formerly known as Luke's metaphorical head is as vacant in terms of eldritch voices as a nice slice of apple pie cooling off on a windowsill in a friendly neighborhood might be. That is to say, something is clearly there, but the pink vortex formerly known as Luke can hardly guess what that might be.
Post by: anailater on February 28, 2013, 04:19:28 pm
Meta-Spectum climbs in the Meta-window.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 28, 2013, 05:29:16 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on February 28, 2013, 06:10:00 pm
"Not like he's going to be using it.'
((What exactly will I need to take from this corpse to be able to speak?))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 28, 2013, 08:09:58 pm
transfer the parts to tom to let him speak from the dead man
you also get there memories I believe
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 05:23:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 08:16:41 am
The Pink Vortex Formerly Known As Luke tries to climb through something he calls a meta-window, whatever that might mean.
[Pink magic roll: 5-1]
And, lo and behold, there seems to be a freestanding pink meta-window right in front of him! He slowly heads through it, at which point the window dissipates. The Pink Vortex Formerly Known As Luke feels like he has truly achieved something there.
In a well-secured house in Emlocke...
Darren, satisfied that there is nobody around for now, floats up to the front door and tries to unlock the innumerable multitudes of locks, bolts and other things of similar purpose that bar access to any but the most determined or intangible burglar.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He manages to unlock all of the bolts and he has made good progress on the locks as well. Not bad, not bad at all!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
Luckily, he knows enough of parlor magic to be rather proficient in lock analysis! Why, he wagers there is no one more knowledgeable in the breaking of locks in the entirety of Emlocke than he! To prove this, for his next trick he will undo all of these locks in under a minute!
Several clicks, clacks and twists later, every lock on the door is undone entirely and the door is ready to be swung open at the slightest provocation. The temptation to throw it open is almost overpowering!
[Darren perception roll: ?]
Looks like he's in the clear now, eh. Guess he'll just move to the other side and... uh... what's that sound?
Darren is suddenly hit with what feels like a lightning bolt, albeit more continuous and otherworldly! He dares say it hurts most awfully!
"Not so fast! You're not going to escape me that easily!"
Though the voice seems amiable enough at first, it has a certain sinister quality to it, very much like the house itself.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom takes a look at himself and finds that all his limbs are accounted for, strangely enough. Well, three fourths of them are simplified metal stand-ins, but what are you going to do. He starts to examine the horrid monstrous sculpture in the closet.
It is horrid and monstrous, as one might expect. Very much so, in fact. And it is most definitely not a commonly found animal, and if it is, Tom believes he might be better off not meeting it, what with all the slavering fangs, furry tentacles and giant eyes on the thing. It looks to have several humanlike faces stitched into its surface, and the sculpture looks to be cobbled together from various animal bits, actually. Nothing too unique about the bits themselves, though their combination is certainly impressive. A plaque at the bottom reads "One Of The Infamous Terrigorns of Quentin's Deep".
Well, now Tom knows what place to avoid in the near future. He isn't sure he could handle more sculptures as awful-looking as this one.
Meanwhile, Mark, industrious fellow that he is, begins another one of his revolutionary procedures!
[Mark medicine roll: 6]
Mark briefly considers what he might need to do to let this fellow speak properly. After some deliberation, he's got it! He carefully removes the dead man's head and de-bones it, removing the skull and making several on the flesh for easy removal. Now having a vaguely head-shaped sack of flesh, he proceeds to stick it on Tom's head, finding it to be a good fit, for a certain definition of good. Good enough, anyway, if a bit sagging. The combination of Tom's general bemusement, the dead man's shocked expression and the strange patch-job performed by Mark result in a face that is somehow more horrid than the inspired piece of sculpture that presumably gave the kind face donor a fatal heart attack. If Tom wished so, he could probably explode the head of his own mother with a face like that. Oh, and the new voice of Tom is appropriately dry and strange-sounding as well, fitting the face like hand-in-glove.
All in all, another amazing job by Mark!
Post by: Gamerlord on March 01, 2013, 08:29:22 am
Off to find donors to my body.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 08:44:46 am
((Dammit Mark, you left me behind!))
Off to find donors to my body.
Well, you're still technically with him, it's just that you aren't doing anything of note. Therefore, you are not noted.
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 09:27:21 am
Now that Meta-Spectrum is through the Meta-window it looks for the Meta-pie metaphorically representing the knowledge he is looking for.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 10:43:42 am
Yorinnsud, who has finally stopped appreciating the flaming ruins of the inn, is about to leave for greener, more limb and body-saturated pastures. Unfortunately, she is interrupted before she can even begin her search. Even more unfortunately, it is by that half-naked necromancer guy, who seems to have shaken off some primal instinct to stare at the fire not unlike Yorinnsud's momentary weakness.
"Okay, that's enough appreciation, I guess. Time to find me a new hangout. Minion! You shall aid me in this task! I order it!"
Yorinnsud hates that mental whiplash. She really, really does.
"Now, you will find me a better hideout than a highly conspicuous inn in the middle of town, and you will do it now!"
Yep. Nothing worse that she can think of.
Currently undergoing a meta-journey...
The Pink Vortex Formerly Known As Luke goes on to perform the next phase of the meta-journey toward true enlightenment!
[Meta-Journey roll: 1]
He finds a pink glazed donut! How fascinating! Perhaps it represents the knowledge he seeks? Well, only one way to find out, the Pink Vortex Formerly Known As Luke guesses. He sucks the donut into himself, feeling mighty proud for a moment. Most excellent, yes indeed!
What was he doing again? Where is he, anyway? And why does he get the distinct feeling that calling yourself the Spectrum is silly when you only represent a single color that is technically not even on the color spectrum? What was in that donut, anyway? Why does nothing make sense anymore?
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 12:11:02 pm
Guh wah, try to remember stuff.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 01:53:26 pm
The donut must have had some sort of deep psychological effect on Luke, because it lets him take a step back and evaluate what exactly is happening around here!
[Memory roll: ?]
He comes to three conclusions: firstly, he has no idea, secondly, it hardly matters, considering how much sense things make around here, thirdly, oh gods where did his body go he doesn't even...
Okay, so that's a firm "no clue" on the category "generally everything around here, including himself". Last thing he remembers is landing heavily on some cobblestones. What happened afterwards, he is pretty sure nobody knows.
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 02:19:54 pm
Sob Bitterly and see if he can get any urgent soul selling messages to the pits of hell.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 02:25:43 pm
Luke establishes what he knows about himself. What this tells him is that he is, quite frankly, probably the most miserable bastard in this town, if not the entire region. And by the looks of it, things have only gotten worse since his memory cut-off point. He sobs surprisingly expressively for a faceless pink vortex, or so he believes.
However, absolutely nothing answers back. How terrible of the otherworldly powers to neglect him so! They were so forthcoming before!
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 02:39:54 pm
Stop being a vortex that's dumb, if I can't stop being a vortex at least turn into a blue vortex.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 02:46:28 pm
Luke, after considering the meaning of all this, reaches true wisdom.
~You know what, fuck this, I only have the words of my senses to back up my claims of being a Vortex. I no longer will blindly follow facts, I will follow my dreams!~
And with that proclamation, he makes an effort of will!
[Pink magic roll: 3-1]
And it does absolutely nothing. He is, unfortunately enough, still a pink vortex that sucks quite intensely. Looks like his senses were in the right for once!
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 02:53:12 pm
The essence of stupidity has taken over.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 02:59:50 pm
Luke tries to anti-logic his way out of this latest predicament!
~Ah! But I only have the words of the gods to create my senses and the senses of the gods to create what I'm sensing, so therefore if a god was wrong in what they sensed so would I, therefore I'm still Shark Luke, with all my limbs and not in a weird dome!~
After a few minutes of silence, Luke starts to get the idea the universe might not have understood his point.
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 03:02:53 pm
"If the gods rely n senses and their senses were wrong, then reality would be wrong, and therefore wouldn't be true, and something else would be."
Explain stuff to the universe.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2013, 04:43:10 pm
Luke sighs and tries to explain his complete nonsense to the universe, slower and clearer this time.
"If the gods rely on senses and their senses were wrong, then reality would be wrong, and therefore wouldn't be true, and something else would be."
The universe remains eerily silent, strangely enough. For some reason, it does not seem like it feels particularly keen on changing itself just because somebody pesters it enough. What a silly universe it is, indeed.
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 05:03:12 pm
Be blasphemous, taunt gods, attempt to get them to give me a form in a taunting fashion.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 01, 2013, 08:05:03 pm
Find Bernie and grin at him.
((By 'grin at him', I mean bedroom eyes. Include a cheap pick-up line (http://www.thejokeyard.com/pick_up_lines/pathetic_pick_up_lines.html).
This terrible idea was supplied to me by a friend I have reading this over my shoulder. Oddly enough, I really want to see Bernie's reaction.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 01, 2013, 08:07:05 pm
Post by: anailater on March 01, 2013, 09:05:41 pm
"Well, that's definitely new. Thanks, no idea anyone here could sew."Also when being Blasphemous act like i don't want this to happen, but because of my reverse psychology they will make it happen!
Find Bernie and grin at him.
((By 'grin at him', I mean bedroom eyes. Include a cheap pick-up line (http://www.thejokeyard.com/pick_up_lines/pathetic_pick_up_lines.html).
This terrible idea was supplied to me by a friend I have reading this over my shoulder. Oddly enough, I really want to see Bernie's reaction.))
Post by: Yoink on March 01, 2013, 11:22:28 pm
On the one hand, it was tempting to just throw himself into a desperate effort to return 'home', but then he could become even more horribly lost, and without a semi-helpful guide nearby... He shook himself, looked the hippo in the... eye sockets, and spoke.
"How abouts dis? If I gives you alla da fireworks displayed you wants, you's be teachin' me them magic-trick-things what you learns here? All dat eye-blinkin' going places an' stuff. Mebbe dat can helps me get home an' what-nots. Yes?"
>Offer to give the hippo the most amazing fireworks display ever in exchange for them teaching me what they have learnt in their time here.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 03:23:35 am
Luke, intent on manipulating forces far greater than himself into doing his bidding, tries to blaspheme for fun and profit!
"FUCK! HEY, GODS, OVER HERE, I'M BEING BLASPHEMOUS! I HOPE YOU DON'T TURN ME INTO AN ANIMAL OR SOMETHING!"
Absolutely nothing at all happens once again. It appears the gods care not for his fancy reverse psychology. Well, either that or they figure being a pink vortex is punishment enough.
In a taxidermist's shop...
Tom, after thanking his kind surgeon, decides to try and find his master once again, considering how he's the only actual person he's seen and hasn't murdered or dismembered recently. He walks up to Bernie and taps the half-naked fellow on the shoulder, preparing the best (worst) approximation of a flirtatious visage he can manage.
Bernie turns around.
"Baby, let me just tell you one thing: I can play the hairy banjo in ways you cannot hope to imagine!"
[Bernie will roll: 6]
Bernie emits a shrill high-pitched scream and throws a desperate punch!
[Bernie vs. Tom: 2 vs. 6]
However, the poorly considered, instinctive attack goes wide and Bernie lands right into Tom's arms, at which point they share a moment of staring deeply into each other's eyes!
[Bernie will roll: 2]
This continues for a good minute as Bernie looks to be utterly paralyzed by the proceedings! Yorinnsud, meanwhile, stands by and looks amused.
Meanwhile, back at the shop, Mark is attempting to turn himself into a skeletal hedgehog! So, nothing unusual there.
[Mark medicine roll: 2]
Sadly, he can't really find any appropriate spikes in the area. There's a few antlers, sure, but they are hardly the menacing spikes one would hope to put on their backs.
Well, at least there's some screaming from outside to cheer him up. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that.
In undefined space...
Timothy carefully evaluates his position at the moment and the perks of all of the options presented. After exercising his spectral intellect, he decides in favor of two options: guidance... and fireworks!
"How abouts dis? If I gives you alla da fireworks displayed you wants, you's be teachin' me them magic-trick-things what you learns here? All dat eye-blinkin' going places an' stuff. Mebbe dat can helps me get home an' what-nots. Yes?"
[Hippo helpfulness roll: 5]
"Oh, you know how to tug at an old traveler's heartstrings. Of course I will help you. It's been so long since I've had any company, you know. It is so wonderful to have somebody else with me. I will teach you to the best of my ability. The only question is, are you ready?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on March 02, 2013, 03:32:15 am
Post by: Xantalos on March 02, 2013, 03:35:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 02, 2013, 03:38:39 am
help dig the hole and move the love birds
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2013, 04:42:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 06:14:29 am
Though the sight of Tom and Bernie standing there transfixed at each other is quite entertaining, Yorinnsud figures she should do something about the situation and resolve Bernie's hideout problem at the same time. She is joined by Mark, who feels a bit guilty about abandoning her earlier, in the completion of this endeavor. They start to dig a hole in the ground!
[Digging roll: 3]
Unfortunately, they are severely lacking in proper tools, which seriously hampers their ability to get through the cobblestones covering the streets. Mark's halberd, though good for most other purposes, does not really make a good prying tool, to tell the truth. And neither does Yorinnsud's sword.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on March 02, 2013, 06:16:29 am
Build a small shanty with some debris. Then put the two inside. Then skedaddle before more orders can be issued.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 06:26:23 am
Since digging a hole obviously is not going to work, Yorinnsud sets about constructing a nice love nest for her master. It is the considerate thing to do, after all.
[Love Nest construction roll: 5]
She quickly fetches a whole lot of debris and starts building, fashioning a comfortable little shanty around the two people in a short while. It is the perfect love shack, really, considering that it is made of blackened wood, has no windows or doors, no means of escape and rather good sound insulation. All those things provide maximum intimacy, Yorinnsud explains to Mark. Wouldn't want them to be disturbed by anyone or, for that matter, disturb anyone else with what they do in there. And the thing is remarkably sturdy if you consider what it's made of. Finally, it is cleverly disguised as a pile of burnt garbage, so nobody will even think of looking for them there! All in all, excellent work.
However, it is perhaps best to shuffle off before anyone breaks out or, gods forbid, issues more orders. Yorinnsud makes herself scarce as she runs down the street out of earshot, her orders technically complete and freedom momentarily obtained.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 02, 2013, 06:35:26 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 02, 2013, 07:56:21 am
Escape before
Post by: Gamerlord on March 02, 2013, 08:47:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 09:24:51 am
Tom figures it would be best to make a timely exit now. He tries to escape his love-tomb before Josh comes to his senses!
[Escape roll: 2]
Oh dear, these walls are quite sturdy, from the looks of it. That abomination lady obviously didn't want anybody to leave anytime soon. The sound construction of the love-tomb leaves little room for escape, sadly.
[Bernie will roll: 4]
Also, Josh seems to be slowly snapping out of his stupor.
"Holy mother of Almiria, that was the most horrible... wait, where am I? Why is it dark? And where is that... ugh... that thing?"
Well now. Tom gets the feeling that his motivations are going to be a barrel of laughs to explain.
Outside the love-tomb, meanwhile, the great architect Yorinnsud and her trusty comrade-in-arms-and-medicine Mark go forth in search of eminently murderable people!
[Search roll: 2]
Nobody in sight, unfortunately. Even the leather men seem to have gone somewhere while she was distracted.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 02, 2013, 09:47:05 am
Continue trying to dig out, meanwhile...
"You were amazing; almost makes me reconsider biophilia." ((Continue as needed, but I'm more concerned with escaping alive rather than mindraping him. Though doing both is a definitely bonus.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 02, 2013, 09:58:50 am
continue with Gamerlord on a merry adventure
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 02, 2013, 10:05:12 am
I wonder If I could make some additions to you Onyx to make people go insane from seeing youTempting, very tempting.
Call of Cthulhu, Fallout ghouls, and Dark Eldar, with our powers combined, I am... pause for dramatic effect (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU00LLZoeFU)... Mindrape! I wonder what my end-of-chapter perk would be...
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 12:00:44 pm
Not having expected such resistance from a hastily-constructed love-tomb, Tom tries to bluff his way out of retribution!
[Bluff roll: 2]
"You were amazing, almost makes me reconsider biophilia... oh, the things we did..."
"I was paralyzed with horror, asshole, not unconscious."
"Oh."
[Bernie perception roll: ?]
"Thanks for telling me where you are, though!"
[Bernie magic roll: 1]
"Well, I am pretty close by, actually. Close enough to feel your breath. Close enough to know your warmth. Close enough to-"
"WILL YOU SHUT THE F-AAAUGH!"
It sounds like Josh is screaming like a banshee and writhing on the ground. How awful for him. Well, no time like the present to split!
[Tom intelligence roll: ?]
However, it does not seem like punching the walls is likely to work. Considering the construction of this thing, digging is unlikely to help, either.
[Bernie endurance roll: 5]
And Josh seems to have recovered from soul-tearing awfully quickly, judging by the lack of screaming and the presence of rather enraged-sounding breathing. Guess he's had many accidents like that already.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark and Yorinnsud keep on truckin' through the streets, searching for somebody to brutally kill and recycle.
[Search roll: 3]
Once again, only a few leather men can be seen on the streets. Stupid leather men, scaring away all the easy-to-kill mages.
Post by: anailater on March 02, 2013, 12:09:34 pm
I swear to god, someone else can fix this instead of me, it was past me's fault not present me,
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 12:20:23 pm
Luke keeps a-talkin' and a-beggin' for the gods to change him back!
"Okay, gods, I'm sorry I insulted you, but you know how it is, being incorporeal is boring, please, change me back."
There is naught but silence and inactivity from the heavens in response. Maybe there's some kind of communication issue? What could it be?
Post by: anailater on March 02, 2013, 12:58:14 pm
I AM HUMAN I WILL MAKE IT SO!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 02, 2013, 01:53:05 pm
Go all floor-y diver! By that, I mean make it so the resident can neither see my stripes or know if I'm clean. If you see what I mean.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2013, 02:39:01 pm
Luke figures that if the gods won't help him, he will attain human form all on his own! Let it be so!
[Pink magic roll: 3-1]
Sadly, it does not look to be something he can simply achieve by thinking about it. It looks like he possesses very little power if you consider the fact that he is kind of a dimensional phenomenon and all.
Inside a far better-secured house in Emlocke...
Not really a big fan of lightning bolts running down his body, Darren tries to distract the man!
"Hey, we just want to pull off a concert, okay? I was going to let the band in, but to be honest, you might want to get out before we play. We can be pretty loud!"
[Tan-Robed Man reaction roll: 6]
The lightning-bolting suddenly stops!
"Oh, you want to play here? Say no more! I have always liked music, actually. Sorry about zapping you, it's just that you're kind of a ghost, and I'm a ghost specialist, and you don't really get to see a lot of ghosts, and then you get overexcited when you actually see one, and then... well, you know."
Well, that's not quite the reaction he expected. Saves him a floor dive, at any rate.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 02, 2013, 04:13:12 pm
"Well, as fun as mind-raping you, and watching you fail miserably at torturing me thereby causing yourself a mini-stroke was, I'm gonna have to bail before the second date."
((Seriously hoping he doesn't remember he can just order me to stand still/kill myself/disband me.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 02, 2013, 06:23:37 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 02, 2013, 06:30:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2013, 03:54:50 am
Tom figures he really needs to leave before Josh does anything that has any chance of working.
"Well, as fun as mind-raping you, and watching you fail miserably at torturing me thereby causing yourself a mini-stroke was, I'm gonna have to bail before the second date."
[Bernie intelligence roll: ?]
"Gods damn it, you're going to suffer for that remark!"
[Tom quick search roll: 4]
As Tom scrambles to find a door, he is disappointed to find there isn't one! And there aren't any skylights he can see, either! There is, however, a somewhat looser bit in the wall... right there!
[Bernie magic roll: 5]
However, before he can do anything with this knowledge, his world becomes blinding, twisting pain and misery. He falls to the ground with a thud and starts to twitch and writhe around!
[Tom will roll: 3]
Tom finds this needlessly painful and inhumane, though it is unlikely that anybody cares. He can hardly move at all, the pain is so intense!
In a well-secured house of some kind...
Darren, not one to hold a grudge against somebody lightning-bolting him in the back, explains what he needs from this man in a calm and rational manner.
"No prob, everyone has moments like that. So, we were thinking about holding a concert on your roof, that's why they sent me in. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, I'll just go into the basement. I'm already up, anyway. So don't mind me. I'll go downstairs and be quiet while you do your thing. Just lock the door behind you and don't. Steal. Anything."
That sounds... oddly agreeable of him.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark and Yorinnsud continue to try to stave off boredom by looking for fleshy avenues of medical adventure!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Since there don't seem to be any people around here on the streets, that just leaves the houses as potential treasure troves. Time to start the storming!
[Search roll: 5]
Knowing the habits of mages, the two adventurers head off to an area of the town characterized by relatively harmless-looking houses with spacious basements. And at one particular house, there seem to be voices emanating from said spacious basement. Nervous voices.
[Mark perception roll: ?]
[Yorinnsud perception roll: ?]
Mark manages to make out some of their conversation!
"That guy's not coming back, is he?"
"I do not think he is. Probably dead already."
"So what do we do?"
"Find somebody better."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2013, 05:07:20 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 03, 2013, 07:35:57 am
'Slowly becoming a worse idea.'
Get up and pry at the loose stone.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2013, 08:51:42 am
Endrich maker: +1 to medicine, making insanity causing monsters and will save
Doctor Cutter: +1 to medicine and cutting things
God loved: +1 to praying, godly intervention and not being punched in the face with a lighting fist if they are in a bad mood
for Tom
Oh god why: +1 to braking minds and stealing innocence
? ? ?
? ? ?
for Gamerlord
Experienced in death: +1 to surviving death and faking being dead
Caveman Lawyer: +1 to making people give info and talking them to death
? ? ?
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2013, 11:32:13 am
Mark, eager to see the occupants of the basement, takes a look inside, opening the trap door leading down there!
[Mark stealth roll: 3]
[People perception roll: 5]
As he opens the door, it emits a slight creak! The voices immediately stop!
"We have been discovered."
"Aw, crap! What do we do?"
"Wait, maybe it's that chair-thing!"
"Doubtful. This one is attempting to sneak in."
There is a pause, then one of the voices - a cold, female one - speaks in Mark's general direction!
"Whoever you are, know that you cannot come inside and live. State your identity and intentions."
Inside a love-tomb...
Tom tries to overcome the horrible, soul-quenching agony he is experiencing and escape before Josh does anything worse to him!
[Will roll: 3]
However, just when he thinks the pain is subsiding, it comes back with new force, twisting and contorting his very being in ways one was probably not meant to experience in a single life. He starts to crawl back toward the loose piece of wood he found, and he pulls on it!
[Strength roll: 6+1-1]
He manages to tug on it, summoning superhuman strength in a second, pulling the bit of debris out of the wall with amazing, pain-fueled force!
The love-tomb, sturdy though it may have been, begins to collapse!
[Bernie debris avoidance roll: 4]
[Tom debris avoidance roll: 1]
Josh seems to understand what is going on immediately, gasping and going for one of the crumbling walls, smashing through and landing safely outside, though he loses his painful hold on Tom's soul in the process! Tom, however, is not quite as quick, what with the whole horrible agony bit, and is buried in what seems like a veritable ton of charred garbage! It seems to be slowly crushing him under its weight!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 03, 2013, 12:01:52 pm
Escape.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2013, 01:27:06 pm
Post by: anailater on March 03, 2013, 01:33:51 pm
Be human again, be anything as long as it can move and has arms!
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2013, 02:00:54 pm
Tom attempt to dig himself out of the oppressive debris that is currently crushing him!
[Digging out roll: 4+1]
However, once he puts his metal fingers and equally metal legs to work, the debris proves surprisingly movable! Probably because it's not a cohesive wall anymore! But still, Tom eventually gets out of the pile of debris and stands tall, ready to take on the world!
[Bernie perception roll: 5]
"Ah, there you are!"
[Bernie intelligence roll: ?]
"Time for round two, I think!"
[Bernie magic roll: 5]
[Tom will roll: 6]
Tom emits an ungodly scream as he gets the distinct feeling of being shattered into millions of pieces, then smashed back together with extremely spiky hammers! This time, his flight response kicks in as well, and he runs like hell in the meantime!
[Tom escape roll: 6]
[Bernie pursuit roll: 3]
As Tom legs it away from the scene, he hears Josh laugh like mad!
"Hoo-wee, look at him run! Hahahah!"
He doesn't seem to be running after him, though, so Tom quickly loses sight of the necromancer, dropping flat into a conveniently deserted alley to get his bearings.
Outside a populated basement...
Mark points at Yorinnsud, indicating his desire for her to stay hidden. She seems to understand well enough, so Mark slowly and non-threateningly walks down the stairs into the basement.
[People reaction roll: 6]
As he makes his way down, he notices four people in the room - three women and a man. Three of them - a black-robed and red-robed woman as well as a single golden-robed man - stare at him oddly. The fourth, a woman in multicolored robes, pays no mind to him.
"An undead automaton. He may prove a good minion. Unlike the previous one, he is armed. Missing a leg, however."
"That's true. Maybe I could do something with him!"
"Maybe he's not soulbound and I can enslave him!"
"Dear gods, the sky's the limit!"
"And he cannot talk. Not a bad quality for a minion to have."
They look excited! Well, not the black-robed woman. She just looks somewhat critically at Mark. But they don't seem outright hostile at least.
Inside a house of some kind...
Luke, currently undergoing some transformation anxiety, desperately tries to turn himself into a humanoid whatever!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Maybe he could OH GODS, HE HAS NO CLUE WHAT TO DO! PANIC!
[Pink magic roll: 5-2]
Channeling the raw power of extreme fear, he makes extremely tiny feet appear at the bottom of his vortex form! They don't touch the ground, but there is a certain comfort in being able to wiggle them. Ah, to be limbless no more!
Post by: anailater on March 03, 2013, 02:05:06 pm
More More limbs and bodies!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 03, 2013, 02:19:06 pm
Let it begin.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2013, 02:54:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2013, 03:45:43 pm
Luke feels an endorphin rush coming on! Time to go all out!
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It worked the first time, why not just bullshit something again?
[Pink magic roll: 1-1-1]
As he bullshits as intently as possible, he feels the very strands of time begin to unravel for himself! He wields ultimate power! Yes! He is a GOD! Hahahahah! Now he'll just reverse time and everything will be all fine again and he will...
Wait, now he's not a god anymore. He's a pink vortex. He feels his feet disappear, his speed, size and flux altering several times over the course of a second! He then proceeds to uncollapse and reform into a giant clump of pink mist! What is happening, he doesn't even know! What the heck is going on! When he once again begins to shrink to a small size, he cannot take it anymore!
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"
And he stops! Time, noticing what the hell is going on here, immediately rights itself, intent on never letting anything like this happen again! Luke proceeds to become a pink explosion of mist, spreading out along the area!
[Will roll: 5-2]
As he envelops the town, spreading out to an uncomfortable degree, he stops just before he is totally insensible! He has a vague idea of when he may be, but not the where, why or the what exactly. It is incredibly hard to think or concentrate with all these sensations around him. The houses, the ground, the sky - it all results in sensory overload. Luke is barely conscious, a faint whisper hanging in the air, an odd tinge of pink to the area around.
Luke is now a Town-Sized Pink Mist.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Noting an odd faint pink shade about the air, Tom realizes how terribly unsafe this place must be. He opts to search for a weapon to protect himself from harm.
[Will roll: 1+1]
Wait, which way was right? Or left, for that matter? Not to mention north and south? Dear gods, all the streets look the same to him! He is frozen in place at an intersection, unable to see a way out of his predicament!
In a populated basement...
Mark, not a big fan of being experimented upon by mages, brandishes his halberd!
[Mage reaction roll: 3]
"Oh dear. He looks aggressive."
"He seems to feel comforted by his weapon."
"Indeed!"
[Erin magic roll: 6]
Mark's halberd turns into a metallic serpent as the woman in the red robe makes a deft movement with her hands!
[Grappling: Serpent vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 3+1-1]
The serpent wraps around Mark and brings him to the ground as it sweeps his legs out from under him with its tail, keeping his skeletal body in a tight hold!
"Right then! Let's make him ours!"
"Okay, let me look at my book."
The golden-robed man produces a book from his robe and starts to leaf through it.
"Not a bad showing, Erin. Impressive, even."
"I know, right? Didn't think that would work!"
Meanwhile, Yorinnsud stands outside, minding her own business.
[Yorinnsud perception roll: ?]
It sounds like Mark has things all taken care of down there. That thud was surely the sound of his enemies' heads hitting the ground. And the hiss was probably the death scream of a killer cyclops or something that Mark effortlessly killed. No reason to get involved, at any rate. She's having an enjoyable break, after all.
Post by: anailater on March 03, 2013, 03:51:47 pm
Try to solidify into one central mass.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 03, 2013, 04:00:13 pm
"Hey guys, we've got the A-OK, as long as we refrain from breaking and stealing things."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2013, 04:20:55 pm
Luke tries to collect himself into a single mass! But first, he must collect his thoughts!
[Concentration roll: 1-1]
Sky. Clouds. Ground. Everywhere. Nowhere.
Something? Nothing.
Oneness? No. An illusion.
Spreading. Solution.
His mass spreads, his consciousness disperses.
[Will roll: 3]
He feels like he might let go soon. Let the dreaming begin.
Inside a well-secured house...
Darren, having received appropriate permission, goes outside and lets the band know everything's good to go!
"Hey guys, we've got the A-OK, as long as we refrain from breaking and stealing things."
There is a collective sigh of disappointment from the band.
"Don't worry, guys - what I thought of is even better! Let's get up to the roof!"
And they do! The band starts to set up their equipment, the most noteworthy of which are two devices - one is a strange sphere, the other is an even stranger box. Mounted on strange stands, both of them seem to serve some strange function, though Darren dares not guess what! The leader, satisfied at the band's work, turns to Darren.
"Okay, Spooky Dude, make sure everything's locked up tight. The groupies will be a lot more relentless this time, I think."
Post by: anailater on March 03, 2013, 04:23:02 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2013, 05:40:56 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 03, 2013, 05:59:42 pm
Keep trying
Post by: killerhellhound on March 04, 2013, 06:56:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 04, 2013, 09:15:22 am
Luke tries to not lose himself in this horrible existence and concentrate!
[Concentration roll: 5-1]
Okay, so he is now a mist. This must be fixed! He must reposition his consciousness somehow!
[Intelligence roll: ?-1]
But how? That remains the eternal question, unfortunately!
[Will roll: 3]
Luckily, the mental distraction does him good! It prevents him from losing hold on himself just yet, giving him more time.
In a populated basement...
Mark, having no better recourse, pesters the gods once again!
[Prayer roll: 6]
He prays to his patron, Rysinia, to give him amazing strength to defeat this vile serpent and escape its grasp! As he clears his head and earnestly begs of the goddess to show him kindness once more, he somehow can tell that he has been heard! And this confidence gives him strength!
[Mark strength roll: 3+1]
He manages to loosen the serpent's hold to get his top half free, and he uses this advantage momentarily as the golden-robed man begins to speak his words!
[Mark interruption roll: 3]
He throws one of his skull shoulder plates at him rather weakly!
[Art dodge roll: 5]
The man, however, dodges easily, not missing a beat!
[Art binding roll: 2]
However, nothing seems to happen as he speaks his words!
[Art intelligence roll: ?]
"Uh, what? Oh, it says 'with conviction'! Silly me. I said it with contradiction."
He seems to be gearing up for round two.
"I'd better stop him from throwing things any more, wouldn't want him to distract ya!"
[Erin magic roll: 3]
Mark's other shoulder-skull twitches oddly, but does little else. Silly mage-woman!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom tries to find his way in the horrible one-intersection labyrinth he seems to be trapped in!
[Will roll: 5+1]
He decides to stop being silly and just pick a way to go. And he does this while keeping in mind his need for a weapon!
[Search roll: 3]
Well... there's plenty of loose boards and the like, considering the general level of destruction going on.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 04, 2013, 10:09:57 am
hope for the godly intervention to get here soon
Post by: anailater on March 04, 2013, 11:29:43 am
Just focus one one of the places i can sense, the pub and try to focus my senses there.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 04, 2013, 01:17:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 04, 2013, 03:48:40 pm
Mark attempts to free himself from the serpent entirely and grab one of the fiendish mages!
[Grapple: Serpent vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 1+2]
Mark can't quite get free, but at least he does not lose freedom of his limbs! The snake keeps him grounded, and he is just too slow in this state to reach a mage in time for the man's next spell!
[Art magic roll: 4]
Mark feels an odd sensation, almost like he's been doubly chained at this very moment! He feels a strange kinship to both the cold woman in the black robe and the golden-robed man. A kinship backed by death, no less.
"Welcome to the family, minion! When harm comes to us, harm will come to you. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"Yeah, better do what we say. Might end messily if you don't."
Damn it all. Mark's binding quota was all filled up for today already!
Looming over Emlocke...
Luke does his best to try and focus on one of the places he can sense!
[Concentration roll: 1-1]
He senses nothing, however. He is nothing. Nothing is he.
He is pink. And he is not. He is negating himself.
[Will roll: 2-1]
And as this journey has proven, his death has been in the cards the entire time. Them's the breaks.
[Will roll: 2-2]
He has but one last thought as his soul, stretched as it is, begins to dissipate. That thought... is pink. Eternal, unending pink. Pink in the mind, pink in the soul. Pink is the ultimate fate of all that utilize it. A pink life or unlife necessitates a pink death. It may not be the natural order of things, but it is definitely the pink flipside of such an order.
Luke feels his soul collect itself into one place again as he speeds away from Emlocke, away from all the violence, magic and magical violence surrounding the place. Just as well. Nothing but trouble, that place. The necromancer, Evelyn, Art, all of them nothing but trouble. Where he's going, there is bound to be peace. Pink peace.
A pink door to a pink realm opens before him, imperceptible to all but the initiated. A jagged pink tendril of the portal tenderly caresses his bruised and battered soul, welcoming it to a new existence. The Great Pink Beyond.
It is more beautiful than anything he may have ever imagined.
Luke has suffered the gruesome fate of total dispersal! At least he's in a better place now.
In a well-secured house...
Darren is excited about the coming festivities! He poses a question to the band leader!
"Alright then! When are we starting?"
"Well, if it goes to plan, after you lock up and make sure there are no open entrances. Maybe put up some barricades. We'd help, but we're busy with the technical aspects, you know."
Ah.
Post by: anailater on March 04, 2013, 03:53:00 pm
Post by: TopHat on March 04, 2013, 03:54:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 04, 2013, 04:02:08 pm
((aaannnd we have the first death of the chapter. Poor Luke))
At least Luke had a... well... unusual adventure to go with his death. Losing six arms in one day and transforming no less than five times in the same period of time is nothing to scoff at, I believe.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 04, 2013, 06:52:05 pm
"If I start to sparkle... someone will bleed."
Pick up a board, stab a nail into it.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 04, 2013, 07:19:01 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 04, 2013, 08:39:34 pm
"Excuse me, is there anything we can block off some of your doors with? Sometimes the crowds we draw can get a bit rowdy."
Post by: Xantalos on March 05, 2013, 01:47:31 am
Post by: Gamerlord on March 05, 2013, 05:44:09 am
Post by: Yoink on March 05, 2013, 05:55:10 am
((I swear, if this takes another helpfulness roll...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 05, 2013, 07:50:40 am
Tom pulls one of the boards from a wall and then attempts to drive a nail through it. Oh, if only he had more than just steel fingers!
[Strength roll: 1+1]
Hey, turns out it's a lot harder to just plain stab a nail through a board than it might look! How unfortunate. Well, maybe he could dual-wield the board and nail in glorious combat instead!
In a populated basement...
As Mark lies on the ground, he realizes that perhaps it is not strictly necessary for him to be grappled by a snake. He tries to get free again!
[Grapple: Mark vs. Snake: 6+2 vs. 3+1]
He slips out of the snake's grasp, then grabs it and straightens it out in his hands, making sure to keep a firm grip on its head. The snake, knowing its better, decides to not resist. Mark stands up straight and pays the utmost attention to the mages.
"He doesn't look like much, to be honest."
"He does not have a weapon, either."
"Let's fix that, eh?"
She begins to cast another spell. Aw, hell no!
[Mark interruption roll: 1]
Mark attempts to grab his other skull shoulder plate, but it chooses to bite off half of his fingers rather than cooperate! The traitorous bit of unworthy bones seems mighty pleased with itself, sitting smugly on his shoulder and grinning widely. Though that might just be because it's a skull.
[Erin magic roll: 1]
Mark's other leg suddenly turns into a runaway cat unconnected to his skeleton, causing the skeleton to tumble to the ground legless. Damn it all, stupid mages!
"Heh heh, whoops."
"Be careful, Erin. He is running out of limbs."
[Erin intelligence roll: ?]
"Ooh, I know! I'll try turning him into liquid first, then make something useful out of him!"
She seems to be getting ready for a new spell. Uh...
In a well-secured house...
Darren ghosts on down to the basement and finds the owner contemplating an odd series of glass containers with swirling colors in them. Pretty!
"Excuse me, is there anything we can block off some of your doors with? Sometimes the crowds we draw can get a bit rowdy."
The owner, startled by Darren's appearance, quickly turns to him with a slightly fearful look. In a second, his look changes to one of calm acceptance.
"You can use some of the wardrobes, I guess. Oh, and I'll lock the door. After all, you seemed to have unlocked it."
He gets up and starts to walk upstairs.
"You'll have to move the wardrobes yourself, though. And don't scratch the floor, I had it recently polished!"
In undefined space...
Timothy, realizing the need for action, not words, chooses to just nod to signify his readiness! The hippo nods in return.
"Right, then. There are five steps that are needed to perform reasonably transitions through undefined space. All of them are incredibly important, so make sure you listen and listen well. Incidentally, that's also the first step - listen. Clear your thoughts and listen to the space around you. Hear its needs, listen to its whims. Undefined space is undisciplined unlike its defined counterpart, it has its whims, phases and fancies that you need to hear and cater to before they obey. Now, the next step is to repeat your request and listen again. Make note of any changes. Step three is a repeat of step two. I cannot stress enough how important it is to listen three times. Undefined space is strange that way. Step four - whatever unclear whims you have ascertained from the whispers of the area, you perform them with the utmost diligence and commitment. After you have done that and satisfied the majority of the voices, you state your own request, at which point the voices should help you if you've correctly interpreted what they said. A good way to know if you've incorrectly heard what they've said is if you hear something an average human being would say. They would probably never say that. And... well, that's pretty much most of the core principles of undefined space travel."
The hippo sort of shrugs. It seems to have said its piece.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 05, 2013, 09:32:53 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 05, 2013, 04:35:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 05, 2013, 05:00:41 pm
Mark flips off Erin for her gross incompetence!
"Say, that's not very nice! Don't worry, I'll fix ya!"
[Mark movement roll: 4+1-1]
Mark gets to the stairwell in good time and starts to ascend, getting about halfway up!
[Erin magic roll: 3-1]
Erin waves her hands, but nothing seems to happen!
"Hm. Maybe I should turn him into liquid later. Maybe... hey, wait, come back here! You come back here this instant! Bring him back, snake-thing!"
[Snake movement roll: 2+1]
The snake begins to give chase to Mark as he leaves the basement, reaching the stairs as he gets out!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom tries to light this board of his on fire!
[Fire making roll: 4]
How he does it, even he himself isn't sure! But lo and behold, there's fire on the board now! He hurls it into a house nearby.
[Fire control roll: 1]
And the house instantly bursts into glorious flames. Such joy, oh yes indeed! However, he must not let explosive flames distract him. He must search for weapons! Yes!
[Will roll: 1+1]
Now if only he could decide where to go! So many choices! Uncountable numbers, even!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 05, 2013, 05:28:35 pm
Try to move and search for weapons again.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 05, 2013, 05:59:05 pm
Also hasn’t the snake accepted me as its master, you said so last turn.
Post by: Dirg on March 05, 2013, 11:15:35 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 05, 2013, 11:48:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2013, 07:33:15 am
Tom tries to get over his indecision and go somewhere once again!
[Will roll: 4+1]
Once again, picking a direction seemed to help immensely! Yay! Time to find some armaments!
[Search roll: 4]
Ooh, there seems to be a whole lot of farming equipment lying around in front of one particular store. There are several pitchforks, two scythes, several more sickles, a whole lot of rakes and shovels, even a flail! Not bad, considering his earlier luck at this sort of thing.
Outside a basement...
Mark tries to escape as quickly as possible to escape the area, as he is rather partial to his body and not entirely willing to be turned into liquid!
[Mark escape roll: 2]
[Snake pursuit roll: 4+1]
The snake, however, eager to pay him back for the previous humiliation he has visited upon it, quickly slithers after him, nearly reaching him! It seems to be only a few steps behind him!
[Mark escape roll: 4]
[Snake pursuit roll: 3+1]
The chase becomes tense as Mark is unable to gain any distance from the snake, stuck on two arms as he is, but the snake is equally unable to catch Mark in turn, as the skeleton seems to have quickened its pace, the fear of magical shenanigans driving him to great physical accomplishments!
[Mark escape roll: 4]
[Snake pursuit roll: 3+1]
The chase goes on through the streets, the temple drawing ever closer!
[Mark escape roll: 2]
[Snake pursuit roll: 4+1]
The snake suddenly coils up, launching itself forward and wrapping around Mark's body!
[Grapple: Snake vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 1+1]
It somehow manages to wrap around Mark several times, snapping and crushing his arms with its metallic body! It grabs the skeletal limbs in its mouth, wraps its tail around Mark's neck, then proceeds to begin dragging him back to the house!
[Snake movement roll: 3+1-1]
Its progress is quite slow, having to drag Mark like it does. Mark gets time to consider his situation and the horrid circumstances that have led to it!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on March 06, 2013, 07:49:38 am
If my arms aren't broken get out of the hold and get a hold of the snake he will be my next experiment
If I pass another player I will try to get them to help me
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 06, 2013, 10:45:28 am
((I can see that. I actually thought the person I beheaded was just a random zombie. but him being a vampire does make sense. I wonder if I should start tearing my body off and replacing it? Nah, not worth it. Just avoid intersections))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2013, 11:01:48 am
Mark, realizing that, since the damn snake snapped his arms like twigs, the only help he's likely to get is of the divine sort! He prays for salvation!
[Prayer roll: 3]
Not a whole lot seems to happen! The gods don't seem to be too inclined to help him right now. They're probably curious where this'll lead him.
[Snake movement roll: 2]
The snake, strangely enough, seems to be moving slower than before. It'll probably take a while before it takes him back to the basement. How best to spend the time, Mark wonders?
Elsewhere in Emlocke...
Tom picks up a flail and a sickle, then heads out for open country!
[Will roll: 6+1]
He runs past intersections, chanting his "don't get confused" song as he does so. Ignoring any other things in town, he gets out soon enough without a whole lot of problems. Now there's only open country ahead! And the road. That's around as well. Though admittedly those are less of a problem.
Anyway, there's a lot of trees here. And rocks. A lot of those as well. And grass. Can't forget grass. All in all, a most riveting place, this "open country".
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 06, 2013, 05:35:51 pm
Veer off the path looking for something to repeatedly stab.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 06, 2013, 06:11:57 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 06, 2013, 09:15:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2013, 08:19:58 am
Tom, after pondering how best to emulate a sexy shoeless god of war and apply his wisdom to this situation, chooses to veer off the path most severely. Hopefully there will be things to stab for fun and profit on the way.
[Search roll: 6]
Hey, look, there's the fork man again. He seems to be messing about in a clearing. How about that!
"The fork is the truth.
The fork is law.
The fork is life.
The fork is death.
The fork is mystery.
The fork is everything."
And he's chanting, too. How nice! Although looking at him makes Tom feel a bit uneasy.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark, seeing how he is in quite a bit of a pickle, waits until he gets dragged back to the house. It takes quite a while, actually. However, they do eventually get back there, at which point Mark tries to signal Yorinnsud for help!
[Yorinnsud helpfulness roll: 3]
She takes a careful look at the snake and pokes at it. The snake hisses back. Yorinnsud decides that maybe she shouldn't poke the snake. And considering how metallic it is, she probably doesn't have a whole lot of things in her arsenal that would help her against a metal being. What to do, what to do?
[Snake movement roll: 5]
The snake, meanwhile, quickens its pace and noisily drags Mark downstairs. It seems like the mages have gotten quite impatient already, as Erin immediately starts waving her arms around!
"Right then! Transformation go!"
[Erin magic roll: 4]
Some of the floor seems to turn liquid, reshaping itself into a pair of nice stone legs for Mark!
"Hm, not bad. Could be better, I think! How'd you like to be made entirely of stone, minion? Or would you prefer metal? Knock on your head once for stone, twice for metal."
In a well-secured house...
Darren flies back to the door. He does not, however, require to relock it, since the owner seems to have that handled. So he just tries to move the wardrobe.
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
He effortlessly lifts it and carries it to the door, where he proceeds to block the newly locked door with it. The owner gets out of the way and heads back to the basement.
"Make sure to put it back after you're done, okay?"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 07, 2013, 08:48:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2013, 09:03:51 am
Mark, not in the mood for resistance, knocks on his own head twice. What's the worst that could happen, after all?
"Metal it is, then!"
Erin takes a deep breath, then makes several new gestures!
[Erin magic roll: 2]
Things fail to happen in any way.
"Bugger. What went wrong?"
[Erin intelligence roll: ?]
She considers the conundrum for a while, eventually coming to a solution.
"Oh, oh, I know!"
[Erin magic roll: 2+1]
Mark feels his body tingle for a bit, but nothing else!
[Erin intelligence roll: ?]
"Stop being so stubborn, damn you! Work already!"
She starts to furiously wave her arms around without any regard for the safety of the general public!
[Erin magic roll: 5-1]
Strangely enough, this works! Mark feels his stone legs slowly become metallic, the unnecessary chemical components of stone seeping back down onto the floor! His legs are now metal, as is his spine and ribcage! His arms also seem to have turned into metal and reshaped themselves on his body! His skull, however, is still made of bone. That's a bit weird.
"That's... okay, I think. But it could be better! Bring me something you want to be like, and I will try to fuse it to ya. No guarantees, but it might be quite amazing."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 07, 2013, 09:33:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2013, 11:19:05 am
Mark, experienced in disobeying masters, decides to blow this joint before the squares give him any instructions! He takes a bow and starts to leave!
[Evelyn intelligence roll: ?]
The black-robed woman begins to speak just as Mark turns around.
"Bear in mind that you are strictly disallowed from leaving farther than three hundred feet from our vicinity, on pain of second death. Return with something you may wish to be fused with, then you will receive further instruction."
Damn it all.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 07, 2013, 04:29:56 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 07, 2013, 04:52:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2013, 08:34:15 am
Tom figures you should probably kill people you meet more than once. It's only good sense, after all. He tries to stab the fork man. With a sickle.
Predictably, it does not work very well, with the sickle being incredibly awkward to stab with. Tom only manages to poke him slightly.
[Forkman reaction roll: 6]
The forkman gets up immediately, stopping his chanting. Well, not really stopping as such, merely changing the subject.
"The unforked one is back.
It wishes the fork.
It pokes me to fork it.
I shall oblige with the fork."
[Forkman magic roll: 5+1]
He draws a tuning fork and flicks it in a most interesting manner, sending vibrations throughout the area! Tom feels something begin to happen to him! Something he might not entirely like, judging by the way the trees seem to be... stretching, it seems.
Okay, since stabbing did not work, let's try crushing. Tom tries to beat some sense into the guy with his flail!
[Tom vs. Forkman: 6+1 vs. 4]
He whacks the guy over the head, and it looks pretty painful! The forkman falls to the ground and... disappears?
[Tom perception roll: ?]
Tom spins around, sensing the man nearby! And he is! Behind him, in fact.
"The power of forks is mysterious.
Very few know the power of forks.
Very few truly want to know the power of forks.
Even fewer are ready."
Hm.
[Forkman magic roll: 5+1]
He flicks the tuning fork again, and the vibrations surrounding the area intensify! Oh dear. Tom's legs seem to be splitting. And his arms. And his weapons.
In a basement of magic...
Mark, having received orders against his wishes, goes out to look for equipment.
[Search roll: 2]
Unfortunately, there are most certainly no blacksmith's shops in a three hundred foot radius of the basement. At least, not that Mark can see.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 08, 2013, 08:44:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2013, 08:57:21 am
Mark decides to half-ass his task as much as possible, so he picks up a random piece of wood!
[Random piece of wood roll: 5]
It seems to be a high-quality piece of ironwood, actually. That's, uh, pretty lucky. Nevertheless, Mark picks the thing up, runs back to the basement and chucks it inside, then tries to flee.
"Are you just gonna chuck crap in here or are you going to come down so Erin can fuse you with something already? Time's a-wastin'!"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 08, 2013, 12:38:41 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 08, 2013, 12:48:25 pm
"Hey, guys, how much should we be blocking the doors?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2013, 02:01:17 pm
Mark, teeth clenched and every bone in his body prepared for the worst, goes down to the basement. The red-robed woman looks at him expectantly.
"So, ready to have some fun?"
Mark nods, shivering a bit at the thought.
"Okay then! Let's go!"
[Erin magic roll: 3]
Mark feels himself get a bit... wood-like, but nothing too specifically magical happens. He decides to flip Erin off for her incompetence again!
"You're not really helping, you know!"
[Erin intelligence roll: ?]
"Although that does give me an idea."
"The gesture gave you an idea?"
"Sorta. Here, hold this."
She puts the piece of wood in Mark's hands and a small stone in the other! She then waves her hands again!
[Erin magic roll: 5+1]
Mark's head suddenly begins to shake! The block of wood shakes as well, then rockets itself straight into Mark's forehead, beginning to grow after glowing slightly! Roots burst through his skull, the shards that form getting absorbed into the expanding wood! Soon enough there isn't really a skull to speak of - just a strangely pulsing, faintly glowing trunk of what seems to be a downsized version of a mighty ironwood tree. The roots wrap around his spine in a spiraling fashion and envelop his ribcage and shoulder area, eventually stopping at the pelvis. The tree itself seems to stretch about two feet in height from his chest, ending in a leafy crown stretching in a one foot radius in all directions. Curiously enough, the leaves actually form a crude shape of a face, somehow articulate despite not actually having a nervous system! This does not allow him to speak, but it sure looks cool to make tree-faces at people.
Mark now has a Tree For A Head!
"Whoa. Nice! Treeface! Yeah! I'll call you Treeface! It fits ya, you know."
In a well-secured house...
Darren floats back to the band and poses a good question.
"Hey, guys, how much should we be blocking the doors?"
"Well, as long as something is in front of 'em, it should be fine! We're almost ready here, how about you?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 08, 2013, 02:03:08 pm
Darren warms up.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2013, 02:30:04 pm
Darren indicates that he is ready, beginning a warmup for that sweet ghost voice of his!
[Warmup roll: 6]
He warms up as much as he possibly could, getting his whistle on as he practices his moves for all the ladies that might be in the audience!
The band looks on as he gets a bit... well... carried away. After a particularly suggestive maneuver far ahead of its time, the band leader intervenes after loosening his collar.
"Uh... ahem. Let's get to work, everyone."
And they do! The instrument-less guy starts to cast some magic stuff!
[Magic Tone 5 magic roll: 3]
The air takes on a slightly reverberating quality, but little else follows.
"Huh. Must be out of practice."
[Magic Tone 5 intelligence roll: ?]
"I can fix it, though!"
[Magic Tone 5 magic roll: 2-1]
The area goes completely silent. The guy moves his mouth, but nothing happens. Darren turns around to look at the guy who interrupted his warmup with a disapproving eye.
[Magic Tone intelligence roll: ?]
The sound-man starts to frantically move his arms!
[Magic Tone 5 magic roll: 6-1]
Sound returns as suddenly as it went, the silence lifting as the band sighs with relief.
"You gotta be careful, dude!"
"Well, it worked, ya know! Watch me now!"
[Magic Tone 5 magic roll: 5]
The air shimmers greatly with magical discharge, seemingly becoming thick over a wide area! The sound-man speaks, his voice amplified by the air and echoing all around!
"Oh yeah! Still got it or what?"
"Yeah. You still got it, Mel. Now, let's play. Spooky Dude, be alluring! Be charming! Be the kinda guy the ladies wanna be swept off their feet by, not the kind they wanna take home! Let's do this, people!"
They get ready to start playing.
"Followin' your lead, Spooky Dude!"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 08, 2013, 02:40:43 pm
"Alright. One two three, one two three, let's jam!"
"She's got a smile it seems to me..." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7OgIMMRc4)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2013, 04:32:41 pm
Darren, warmed up and ready to go, begins what will probably be the most talked-about jam in the county for decades to come!
"Alright. One-two-three, one-two-three, let's jam!"
[Darren vocal artistry roll: 1+1+1]
"~She's got a mhmnhm, now it sings to me..."
Crap. He doesn't actually know the lyrics to that particular number. Now, how to deal with this?
"You alright there, dude?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 08, 2013, 05:13:34 pm
"Reminds me of... unlife's centuries... Where everything was flesh, from feet to the eyes..."
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 08, 2013, 05:31:33 pm
With my convincing argument in play, cut off the hand holding the tuning fork using the sickle. Bash him in the head once more.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 08, 2013, 11:28:16 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2013, 12:36:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2013, 01:48:24 am
Darren pours his spectral heart and well-hidden soul into the song, filling in details as necessary!
[Vocal artistry roll: 2+1+1]
"Reminds me of... unlife's centuries... where everything was flesh, from feet to the eyes...
Now and then when I... hear that voice, it tells me to go to a place...
And if I didn't do it for too long, I'd probably fall apart and die!"
It is somewhat apparent that he is making this up as he goes, though some would probably find it a bit charming nonetheless. The band tries to improvise as well!
[Band music roll: 4+1]
They provide a shockingly appropriate melody to the song despite probably never having heard it before. The music spreads for quite a long distance. And from here, it seems like people are coming this way. Lots of people.
"Ooh, it's working! The cube is working! Quick, the lights! Keep jammin', people!"
Mel the Sound Expert reaches back toward the sphere and pushes a button, causing bright lights to erupt into the sky! They spell out the words "Spooky Dude and the Magic Tones" in elaborate flaming letters. Sweet!
In a totally forked place...
Tom presents what he believes to be a perfectly reasonable argument to the fork man!
"I'm only trying to kill you! Stop remixing the order of the universe to suit an obsession with duality and prongs!"
"I do not remix the order.
I merely reveal the order.
The order of the universe.
The chaos of the multiverse."
[Tom vs. Forkman: 2+1 vs. 3]
The man seems to split into three different individuals dodging Tom's patented hand-slice maneuver, one pulling away his hand, another leaping back, a third escaping between Tom's legs. Two of them then proceed to have a nice fork-related conversation in pseudo-verse while the third pulls out a different tuning fork.
[Forkman magic roll: 2+1]
The air seems to become unusually abrasive as he flicks the fork. Hm. Tom goes for his standard "flail-to-the-head" solution for this problem.
[Tom vs. Forkman: 2+1 vs. 4]
Once again, the man dodges in four directions at once, forming four separate fork masters, all dodging and one in particular shaking his head as he rolls away. Good gods, there are seven of them now.
[Forkman fork magic roll: 6+1]
Suddenly, Tom's strange fission process finishes, leaving three Toms standing around. Tom looks at Tom. Gods, he's ugly as sin.
"Hm, what would Belkar do?"
[Tom idea roll: 4]
Tom looks at one of the forkmen and runs over to him.
[Tom idea roll: 2]
Tom just stands around and looks confused.
In a populated basement...
Yorinnsud figures it's high time she found out what happened to Mark. She looks inside the basement.
There seems to be a metal skeleton with a tree for a head bowing to a bunch of mages.
[Yorinnsud intelligence roll: ?]
Mark is probably around there somewhere, and she bets those mages know where! The tree-faced individual seems to be turning around and leaving.
"Stop right there."
The tree-head stops.
"Your next orders are to go to a place three houses down the street from the Temple of Velusius, kill any occupants and retrieve a book known as the Tome of Demons. This must be done within three hours or you will die immediately via bodily detonation. You may leave the sphere of our vicinity, but only to perform this task, at which point you will return immediately."
A-hah! So the tree-head is their minion. And it's coming this way.
Oh dear. It just waved to her. And now it looks like it is longingly looking at the dark night sky despite theoretically not being capable of exhibiting such emotions. Hm.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 09, 2013, 01:57:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2013, 02:15:06 am
Yorinnsud, feeling like she's in over her head, what with frightening creatures with vegetation for heads running around with full intent to commit dark deeds, succumbs to her natural flight instinct and skedaddles.
[Skedaddling roll: 5]
She gets out of sight remarkably quickly, disappearing behind a nearby house. She then thinks on where she might find Mark.
Well, he clearly went into the basement. So he might still be there someplace, somewhere among the many mages down there. The many undoubtedly dangerous mages that could probably visit horrible mutilation and enslavement on her should even just one of them get a good spell in while she tries to reach them. Furthermore, Mark might not be in there anymore, anyway. All things considered, any number of things may have happened down there.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2013, 02:28:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2013, 05:13:30 am
Mark tries to get to Yorinnsud and inform her of his new state of being! But he'll have to find where she went first!
[Search roll: 3]
Well, he can't see her around here, anyway. She probably ran off and hid somewhere, so she'll be difficult to find. And he seems to have only 2 hours and 55 minutes left to perform his task before he explodes violently, so he isn't sure he really has the time to perform an in-depth search for her. Who knows what he'll find in the demonologist guy's house.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2013, 06:45:41 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 09, 2013, 07:24:17 am
Rally the troops, and continue trying to kill the fork man.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2013, 10:36:28 am
Mark decides to abandon the search for his comrade and go off to find the demonologist. After all, he does have a tree for a head. What could there possibly be in that house that he alone cannot handle?
As he proceeds along the streets, he hears the sound of music coming from somewhere. Huh. That's pretty weird.
[Will roll: 3]
He stops in his tracks. Somehow, this music is filling him with a distinct urge. The urge... to party. He does his best not to follow the instinct, but he cannot seem to break it entirely! All he can do is stand in place, continually reminding himself of the two hours and forty five minutes he has left! The demonologist's house is only ten minutes away, but it could might as well be a year's worth of walking for all the good that does him.
In the woods...
Tom tries to rally Tom and Tom, his newfound unusually hideous compatriots!
[Tom cooperation roll: 1]
[Tom cooperation roll: 2]
Tom shakes his head at Tom's suggestion.
"Nah, it's pointless to stab this guy."
"Yep. I propose we eliminate Tom instead. Once he is dead again, we can assert a perfectly reasonable claim over all that he has! We could have three flails and sickles between the two of us if he is dead!"
[Tom cooperation roll: 5]
"Say, that's an amazing idea! More loot is always good, I believe!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth!"
Tom and Tom begin to advance on Tom, waving their implements of death and destruction with the utmost menace and vile intent. Exactly what one would expect from a Tom, but still.
[Tom vs. Tom: 5+1 vs. 4]
[Tom vs. Tom: 4+1 vs. 1]
As Tom distracts Tom with a flurry of bone-breaking and generally uncomfortable flail swipes, Tom, in a very Tom-like maneuver, sneaks up on Tom from behind and rips out Tom's metal leg and beats Tom over the head with it! Tom's skull is very badly fractured by this, sending the amalgamate adventurer to the ground.
"Now I have an even better weapon! Fantastic!"
"Ooh, that is a good weapon. Hang on, I'll take the other one!"
This really isn't going according to Tom's plan. The fork man and his duplicates just stand around looking thoughtfully at the ensuing carnage.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2013, 10:46:33 am
( The Adventurers Path: Is slang for killing anything that moves, looting everything not nailed to the floor and burning everything nailed to the floor.)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 09, 2013, 11:00:59 am
"Wait! You realize there are seven magical items right over there on undefended weak old men? What kind of looting adventurers are you? Why loot my prosthetic limbs when you could be having highly valuable magical weapons! You're a disgrace to the proud Tom lineage."
Proceed to take my leg back and reattach.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2013, 12:08:27 pm
Mark tries to summon up all of his willpower and think of adventurer-like things!
[Will roll: 1]
Yeah, there's, like, loot and stuff... but... but... partying! It is its own goal and reward! Mark feels himself begin to boogie over to the source of the music, reaching it in about ten minutes of walking! Oh yeah, they've got the party of the century going on here! All the cool mages in town are here, and they are partying like crazy!
In mortal peril...
Tom presents Tom and Tom with a persuasive counterargument before they can rip off his other leg!
"Wait! You realize there are seven magical items right over there on undefended weak old men? What kind of looting adventurers are you? Why loot my prosthetic limbs when you could be having highly valuable magical weapons! You're a disgrace to the proud Tom lineage."
[Tom counterargument roll: 5]
"First of all, that man isn't old. Secondly, he isn't undefended. In fact, there's at least seven of him, and hitting him seems to produce more. So beating him up and looting him is hardly a practical solution, undeniably appealing as it may be, particularly when you consider the fact that he seems to be able to produce more of us as well, which doesn't bode very well for our individual looting prospects, does it? After all, being a Tom has never been about sharing! Thirdly, it is far easier and more practical to just rip off your limbs and use them as weaponry that's better than the lousy farming equipment you've fished out from who-knows-where. Fourthly, there is no actual Tom lineage, and I should know. You are Tom. I am Tom. And Tom over there is Tom as well. And two out of three Toms have agreed that eliminating and looting you is a far better plan for our long-term prospects than what you propose in your vain attempt to keep your limbs. Right, Tom?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Tom!"
"Let's get to work, then, Tom!"
[Tom vs. Tom: 5+1+1] vs. 2]
Tom's eyes widen in the all-too clear knowledge of what will come next! Tom uses Tom's leg to bash Tom's chest into a somewhat pulp-like mass, which allows Tom to snatch up the other leg with total impunity! Exploitation of magical quantum phenomena has never been this profitable!
[Tom will roll: 6]
Tom just lies on the ground, cursing his terrible alternate selves' pragmatic judgment of the situation on hand!
"Now, Tom, what say you we vacate the area before that lunatic makes traitorous alternate versions of us as well?"
[Tom opposition roll: 6]
"No, Tom! Think about it! We could have it all! Forks! Power! Fame! Forks! All we need to do is charge as one, eliminate the forked lunatic before he can do a damn thing! It is the very essence of Tom, my plan! Tom was right! We must go to war and get all of the forks, then we can obtain all the loot of the world should we wish it!"
[Tom reaction roll: 2]
"Don't be silly, Tom! He could very well kill us both, and I will have none of it! If that is what it means to be Tom, I shall be called Jeffrey instead! Yes! Jeffrey! I will now depart, and if you try to stop me, you will come to know my true power!"
[Tom aggression roll: 3]
"Very well! Flee, Jeffrey! Flee like the non-adventurer you are!"
And Jeffrey does indeed do this, not allowing anything to stand in his way! He disappears in the woods practically immediately as Tom sits down and ponders an attack plan.
"Hm. Perhaps I will need help."
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 09, 2013, 06:49:03 pm
Roll back to Town. You know the drill.
If I am the newly-armed Tom...
Pick up the original Tom and drop the sickle.
((Also, am I the only one who thinks I just accidentally created a personal recurring villain? Damn you Evil Twin!))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2013, 06:53:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 10, 2013, 03:42:13 am
Tom, lacking in limbs and time for this crap, tries to leave as quickly as possible!
[Tom escape roll: 2-1]
[Tom pursuit roll: 2]
Hm. It looks like Tom is walking toward him. How strange.
[Tom escape roll: 1-1]
[Tom pursuit roll: 1]
He looks about for a few seconds, leaving Tom somewhat mystified, then continues his path toward his disfigured double.
[Tom escape roll: 6-1]
[Tom pursuit roll: 3]
However, Tom realizes something important - this is Tom we're talking about here. Whatever he intends, it cannot be good! Tom starts to roll away as quickly as possible, gaining distance on Tom!
[Tom escape roll: 3-1]
[Tom pursuit roll: 5]
However, Tom also stops messing around and makes a beeline for Tom, grabbing him by the arms in but a scant few seconds!
[Tom strength roll: 3+1]
Tom then proceeds to pick Tom up, dropping the useless piece of crap some would call a sickle in order to do this. Now he has a Tom to utilize for his dark purposes! Watch out, world!
In a magnificent party...
Mark, currently in the middle of executing some sick moves, thinks about what else he would like to do.
[Will roll: 6]
Oh, right. Murder! That's what he'd like to do! Better get to it, then.
[Mark vs. Random Mage: 4+1 vs. 2-1]
He grabs a nearby partygoer and punches him in the throat, watching them fall down and slowly expire. Well, that was fun. So, where was he? Oh, right. The demonologist. After all, by his reckoning, he should have about 2 hours and 30 minutes left, give or take a few.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 10, 2013, 04:08:05 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 10, 2013, 08:20:17 am
"Don't worry about it, I've heard Cthulites have very rewarding lives."
Struggle
"I always thought getting an Evil Twin would make them the opposite of you, apparently copies of evil stay evil. Considering you're Tom, and I'm Tom, and we're heading back to town... are you taking me there to fix my limbs, as kindling for more arson, or as an offering to Josh for some reason only you, we, can understand?"
"Actually, Tom, I wouldn't go within a mile of Josh unless I was trying to kill him, because having your soul molested by a tubby, insensate lardstrudel is not an enjoyable experience. The arson is rather likely, on the other hand. While fixing you... well, that depends highly on your definition of fixed."
Continue idle banter until arrival at Taxidermist's Shop. Start affixing Broken Tom to the abomination using the taxidermist's equipment.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 10, 2013, 01:09:13 pm
Keep on making up words to sing.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 10, 2013, 03:17:48 pm
Mark goes on to loot the random person still asphyxiating on the ground!
[Loot roll: 3]
Well, he has a few coins and a rather raggedy-looking book with most of its pages missing. Probably not a prestigious mage or anything. Mark would take his head as well, but alas, he finds himself without the tools. He should really fix that situation. And soon. Anyway, he runs onward to the demonologist's house, reaching it after about twenty minutes of walking.
About two hours and ten minutes left, he'd bet. He is weaponless, has a tree for a head and pretty much nothing else other than a needle and some thread left over. The house looks ordinary enough from the outside, with a fairly pedestrian front door and somewhat traditional architecture for maximum blandness.
Near Emlocke...
Tom, currently being carried by his equally-evil double Tom to who-knows-where.
"Don't worry about it, I've heard Cthulites have very rewarding lives."
Oh dear. Tom struggles in Tom's grasp, but to no avail.
"I always thought getting an Evil Twin would make them the opposite of you, apparently copies of evil stay evil. Considering you're Tom, and I'm Tom, and we're heading back to town... are you taking me there to fix my limbs, as kindling for more arson, or as an offering to Josh for some reason only you, we, can understand?"
"Actually, Tom, I wouldn't go within a mile of Josh unless I was trying to kill him, because having your soul molested by a tubby, insensate lardstrudel is not an enjoyable experience. The arson is rather likely, on the other hand. While fixing you... well, that depends highly on your definition of fixed."
They reach Emlocke quickly enough, with Tom heading immediately for the taxidermist's shop.
[Tom will roll: 3+1]
[Tom will roll: 6+1]
Tom seems to hesitate at one of the intersections, so Tom slaps him upside the head to get him going. They reach the taxidermist's shop, but what's this? Music?
[Tom will roll: 5]
[Tom will roll: 2]
Tom shrugs at the music, pronouncing it to not really be his kind of thing while Tom tries to wiggle himself free of his grasp! He must investigate this! The party beckons!
[Tom vs. Tom: 1+1 vs. 1+1]
He stops his attempt after Tom gives him a bored look, however. At least, he thinks Tom gave him a bored look. Maybe he was just looking generally bored. Nevertheless, they go inside the taxidermist's shop, at which point it falls to Tom to practice medicine!
[Tom medicine roll: 5]
Picking up a bunch of taxidermy implements, Tom quickly removes the superfluous and rather pulped torso from Tom's head and attaches it between the horrid sculpture's eye stalks, delighted when it seems to actually work! For good measure, he attaches the two arms as well.
Tom is now Mostly Terrigorn.
In the middle of a concert...
Darren just keeps on singin' and wingin' it!
[Darren vocal artistry roll: 2+2]
It sounds pretty okay, all in all. The band are no slouches, either.
[Band music roll: 6+1]
In fact, they seem to be pouring a bit too much heart and soul in the performance, bordering on pointless indulgence! It might be time to move on to a new song. The crowd seem to have had their fill of this one already.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 10, 2013, 04:26:00 pm
Begin burning down Emlocke. Again.
Clone Tom
Help
Post by: killerhellhound on March 10, 2013, 07:41:49 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on March 10, 2013, 09:12:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 11, 2013, 09:25:27 am
Tom and his buddy Tom head out of the taxidermist's shop, the same thought running through their, to be frank, highly violent and antisocial heads. And this thought is fire.
[Tom fire roll: 1]
Tom tries to set fire to one of the nearby houses. He succeeds in setting himself on fire, the stuffing of his furry body instantly bursting into a mighty flame!
[Tom helpfulness roll: 5]
Tom attempts to help Tom with his combustion problem!
[Tom fire extinguishing roll: 1+1]
Together they utterly fail in extinguishing the flames! Uh...
[Tom endurance roll: 1]
Very soon Tom's body is entirely covered in flames, the pyromaniac screaming in utter agony as his less-crippled double tries his best to help him!
[Tom will roll: 1]
Oh dear. Things do not look very good for Terrigorn Tom as he collapses in a flaming heap in the middle of the street.
[Tom will roll: 1-1]
Not good at all.
[Tom will roll: 4-2]
Tom looks on as Tom is reduced to a bunch of motionless cinders in no more than two minutes. Whatever was in that bit of sculpture, it most certainly was quite flammable! Almost a low explosive, if Tom may say so himself.
And the lesson learned here today: do not play with fire if you happen to be made of highly flammable materials. The more you know! Well, at least Tom is okay, if a bit overtly reminded of his mortality.
Outside a demonologist's house...
Mark, facing the house in all its inoffensive blandness, tries to go inside!
[House lack of security roll: 4]
And the door's open! Fancy that. He goes right in.
[Search roll: 5]
Seems to be a perfectly ordinary house. Well, apart from a dead guy enclosed in a cylindrical wall of force with a closed-off top. Nothing overly threatening around here, although there is a set of rather sharp and wicked-looking bloodstained knives in what appears to be a kitchen of sorts (the 'of sorts' is because Mark is pretty sure, but don't quote him on this, that a kitchen normally shouldn't have that much blood in it). There does seem to be both a second floor and a basement as well.
Two hours and five minutes left. Plenty of time for a determined seeker.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Yorinnsud, now without a proper companion, still steadfastly looks for someone that may prove open to donating some of their precious, precious body parts to her.
[Search roll: 5]
Oh dear, there sure are a lot of people grouped around that metallic house over there. And they're all dancing! And the music...
[Will roll: 5]
Well, she's heard better. Way better. Too indulgent and focused on rockin' lute solos for her liking. And the singer doesn't seem to know the lyrics in addition to being a ghost. However, the rest look like they would make decent body part donors. Most of them seem to be mages or minions. Some leather men are dancing as well. And some people are running while screaming and slowly melting. That last bit seems particularly suspicious, actually, since nobody else seems to notice.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 11, 2013, 10:07:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 11, 2013, 12:10:14 pm
Mark sets about searching the top floor!
[Search roll: 3]
There are beds and pillows up there. And wardrobes with some plain clothing in them. How riveting. Mark can barely contain his excitement.
1 hour and 55 minutes left.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 11, 2013, 04:59:38 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 11, 2013, 05:52:31 pm
Begin searching for a weapon.
"Well, bad luck that. WWTTD?"
Post by: Gamerlord on March 12, 2013, 06:29:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 12, 2013, 08:50:24 am
Mark, discovering the top floor to be utterly boring, heads downstairs into the basement to find some people!
The basement looks pretty spacious, actually. It is full of strange symbols drawn in what appears to be blood, two bloodless corpses sitting in the corner, one an old man, the other a fairly young fellow, and a dark-haired individual standing about and looking at a book in his hands. All the makings of a fiendish ritual, Mark thinks!
[Dude perception roll: ?]
He seems totally oblivious to Mark's presence, which is rather good, to tell the truth. He also looks to have started a chant of some kind.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom looks at the sordid remains of Tom for a few seconds, then heads out in search of superior armaments.
[Will roll: 6+1]
He makes sure to stop and demonstratively laugh at some intersections once in a while.
[Search roll: 3]
Well, there aren't any weapons just lying around. At least, none better than a metal rod that used to serve as an improvised leg. That thing is pretty strong, you know.
In a partying crowd...
Yorinnsud begins her jolly hunting for something. She looks at prospective donors in the crowd. Oh, there's a healthy and strong-looking one... wait, he's melting. And that lady over there... no, also melting. What about him- no, he's started to melt as well.
Damn it, it's hard to hunt for limb donors when they're all burning and melting. And all the screaming really hurts her concentration! These people sure are inconsiderate.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 12, 2013, 09:15:01 am
If he spots me run at him trying to get the book away from him.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 12, 2013, 09:43:38 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 12, 2013, 09:53:08 am
Why, what's this kind of thinking! Surely this isn't what Mark taught her? If they have melted, that just makes the blob that remains perfect for bulking up! And even if that doesn't work, the bones would only be charred, not melted. NOW GET TO WORK!!!starts crying MANLY tears "so proud"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 12, 2013, 10:05:48 am
Mark tries to sneak up to the man standing about reading!
[Mark's Stealth vs. Dude's Perception: 6-1 vs. 5]
Though the man is quite undoubtedly engaged in his task, the sound of metal feet touching the ground and leaves faintly brushing up against the ceiling is a bit of a giveaway! He looks at Mark just as the latter tries to snap the man's neck!
[Grapple: Mark vs. Dude: 1+1 vs. 4]
He easily slips out of Mark's grasp, rolling backwards and attempting some magic!
[Dude magic roll: 5+1]
Nothing happens! Ha-hah! Silly magic-user! Let Mark take that book off your hands!
[Mark agility roll: 1+1]
Mark's attempt is rudely interrupted by a staircase. The staircase he just descended from, actually! He proceeds to tumble down it in a generally noisy and unpleasant fashion, getting some of his branches caught in the steps at the end of his descent. The guy in the room seems quite amused by this.
1 hour and 50 minutes left.
In a partying crowd...
Yorinnsud, not one to be dissuaded by burning, melting and screaming, decides to loot some flesh anyway.
[Perception roll: ?]
As she reaches out one of her skeletal arms to grab a handful of goop, it looks like it starts to burn as well. That's pretty weird. And the air seems a bit... acrid here.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 12, 2013, 03:08:26 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 12, 2013, 06:05:56 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on March 12, 2013, 09:24:24 pm
SKEDADDLE AND FIND A BETTER PLACE TO LOOK FOR PEOPLE TO KILL!
Post by: Xanmyral on March 13, 2013, 08:20:25 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2013, 09:02:52 am
If you don't mind accepting new characters for the final chapter, I would really enjoy to be in this game.))
Character sheet:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2013, 09:31:34 am
Tom is about to pick up the leg he is currently holding.
Well, that was easy. Suspiciously easy. He hardly had to do anything at all, actually. Now to find something dense.
[Will roll: 4+1]
You intersections can still go screw yourselves, by the way.
[Search roll: 3]
Anyhow, there are rocks around here. They're in walls and stuff. And the walls might be a bit dense as well as a result. The cobblestones look dense, too. They'd have to be. They're cobblestones, after all. And you might say that Tom himself is pretty dense. In relation to the air, of course. Not in any other obvious way.
In a literally bloody basement...
Mark's cave-tree instincts activate, causing him to look for a rock!
[Rock roll: 1]
Zero rocks around! Not a very rocky place, this basement. In fact, there is nothing at all except for the corpses, and they're a bit icky, so Mark will just hold off on chucking them for now. Since his cave-tree instincts have failed him, he goes for the next best thing - his fighting instinct. And that old thing is currently telling him to charge. So he does!
[Mark agility roll: 4+1]
This time, he does not tumble down the stairs! He remains standing at the top! Aha! Your evil plan has been foiled, mage!
[Dude magic roll: 2+1]
Nothing seems to happen that Mark can see. Then again, that's what he thought the first time as well. Hm.
In a square full of melting people...
Yorinnsud realizes that pH negative forces are at work here, and those just happen to be the exact sort of forces she does not want to deal with today! It is time to make a tactical advance directly away from the area!
She seems to be rather successful. At least, it doesn't look like anything is following her.
[Perception roll: ?]
Although it still burns a bit.
Actually, it burns quite a lot! It is definitely a very unpleasant sensation, oh yes!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on March 13, 2013, 09:46:25 am
stop the burning!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 13, 2013, 09:49:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2013, 10:34:42 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 13, 2013, 10:41:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2013, 10:46:23 am
Yorinnsud tries to somehow stop the burning! Oh gods, the burning!
[Chemical burn handling roll: 5]
Wait just a minute there! She's not burning! She isn't even all that irritated by the air. In fact, the air seems pretty clean around here. Cleaner than what you'd expect in a town, even. That's weird. She could have sworn she was burning back there. Huh. Guess it was just her imagination.
Inside a basement...
Mark has an absolutely brilliant idea. He will sneak out of the basement, then sneak back in! Back around the bend, quick!
He is now midway between the foot of the stairs and the guy currently examining the book. The guy looks at him.
[Dude magic roll: 1+1]
He is about to do something, but thinks better of it, going back to studying his book.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 13, 2013, 10:52:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2013, 04:03:48 pm
Yorinnsud declares the square to be... well... too square for a hip abomination like herself, so she heads off to find less melty and screaming people to make use of in the most hideous and inhuman of ways.
[Search roll: 1]
The town is pretty much empty of life as far as she can see. Only the square seems to hold any life of interest, and all of that is screaming and melty. Well, aside from an individual in a blue robe currently getting busy slicing unmelted people into bits with a metal instrument of some kind.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 13, 2013, 04:07:41 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 13, 2013, 04:47:36 pm
"Uh... Purple Sprays, coming from that mage"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 13, 2013, 05:30:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 14, 2013, 08:59:44 am
Tom tries to obtain the most powerful and spammable object of the holy trinity, the noble rock!
[Rock obtaining roll: 1]
He jams the metal leg in a conspicuous hole in a certain stone wall, attempting to dislocate it from its base! Unfortunately, this is a bit harder than he might think. This particular building seems to have been built to last. Okay, so new plan.
Wait. The leg won't come out. Why won't it come out? It went in nicely enough. Damn it all, why does the universe have to play hard-to-get all the time!
On a rooftop in the middle of town...
Darren decides to do a different song now. And he doesn't know the lyrics to that one, either!
[Vocal artistry roll: 3+2]
Fortunately, nobody seems to notice! Probably because they're busy being eviscerated by some maniac down there.
[Band music roll: 1+1]
The band stop playing all of a sudden, putting down their instruments.
"Whoa, is that guy there crazy or what? Well, at least he's doin' our work for us. Good, I guess, but still. Woo, look at him go!"
In a bloody basement...
Mark tries to charge at the guy once again!
[Agility roll: 2+1]
And he finds himself rolling downstairs again just as he is about to reach the guy! At least this time his crown doesn't get as ruffled.
[Guy summoning roll: 1]
The guy begins to chant some words, his voice rising in tone until it reaches a frenzied scream! The symbols in the room begin to glow, then smoke as the very reality of the room seems to become compromised! There is a slight shimmer, then a light plonk. The dude collapses in place! Huh. He must have done something wrong there. Well, no bark off Mark's face.
Post by: kahn1234 on March 14, 2013, 11:38:29 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on March 14, 2013, 12:05:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 14, 2013, 12:41:17 pm
If this game is still alive, i would like to join. And maybe even add in the games first ever female character?:Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Oh dear. Bernie will love this one most immensely. Well, if he stays alive, that is. It could still go either way. And I suppose you could have a rapier. Not a good-quality one, though.
Well, at least this one will be a good change from all the skeletons.
Post by: Xantalos on March 14, 2013, 01:38:07 pm
Classy vampire and Viking zombie. Awesome.If this game is still alive, i would like to join. And maybe even add in the games first ever female character?:Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Oh dear. Bernie will love this one most immensely. Well, if he stays alive, that is. It could still go either way. And I suppose you could have a rapier. Not a good-quality one, though.
Well, at least this one will be a good change from all the skeletons.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 14, 2013, 02:11:32 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 14, 2013, 02:22:58 pm
You got another zombie on the wait list too, although there isn't much special about him. Besides the probable smell of char and ash, and horrible burns.Well yeah, but the other one is a Viking equivalent.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 14, 2013, 04:17:30 pm
"You know, I may have brutally abused and disregarded you all these times, but now would be a great time to help out. Please, physics?"
Try to pry my leg out, and a rock with it.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 14, 2013, 07:13:15 pm
Post by: kahn1234 on March 15, 2013, 03:32:09 am
Hah, I KNEW that the first female vampire would be like that
stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.
If this game is still alive, i would like to join. And maybe even add in the games first ever female character?:Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Oh dear. Bernie will love this one most immensely. Well, if he stays alive, that is. It could still go either way. And I suppose you could have a rapier. Not a good-quality one, though.
Well, at least this one will be a good change from all the skeletons.
Bernie seems like the type of person who would not touch an undead woman, even is she was hellishly attractive.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 08:21:11 am
Tom, feeling the harsh gaze of physics upon him, tries to pry his only weapon out of the unforgiving stone wall!
[Prying roll: 3+1]
He pulls on it once! He pulls on it twice! He pulls a third time, with feeling this time!
The leg pops out of the wall and Tom falls triumphantly on his pelvis, lifting the leg up in the air as proof of his victory.
In a bloody demonological basement...
Mark ruffles his leaves in silent guffawing as he approaches the fellow on the ground.
[Mark agility roll: 3+1]
He almost falls down the stairs. Again. Truly this is his finest moment.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: kahn1234 on March 15, 2013, 09:00:05 am
(PS: no dresses. She will probably be wearing tight fitting (but leather, and reinforced) riding leggings, have knee length boots and maybe leather armour for the torso and upper arms with elbow length gloves. She isnt a wallflower or a weakling.)
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 15, 2013, 09:34:38 am
Find a road and mug travellers
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 09:58:35 am
With his leg problem resolved, Tom decides to once again leave the area before something somehow even worse happens to him.
[Will roll: 1+1]
The intersections, they are taking their revenge! They're everywhere, damn it! Freaking everywhere, man! What does it all mean? What does it all mean?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 15, 2013, 10:03:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 10:08:15 am
Tom tries to focus! Intersections! Mugging! Intersections! Mugging!
[Will roll: 5+1]
Mugging! Mugging! A thousand times mugging, then a thousand more! All travelers must be mugged, and they must be mugged right now! Tom runs out of town screaming, only stopping when his shriveled lungs give out, sitting down in the middle of the road and awaiting travelers.
It doesn't look like anyone's coming any time soon. Also, it seems to be getting darker, despite it already being night.
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2013, 10:24:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 11:05:28 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2013, 11:33:58 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 15, 2013, 03:52:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 04:17:55 pm
Tom attempts to discern the source of this strange darkening of the area.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, it appears to be the sun. Or rather the lack of it. A lack that seems like it will soon be remedied as it usually is. After all, you know what they say about when it's darkest.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 15, 2013, 05:04:44 pm
Search for a cave of some kind.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2013, 05:39:59 pm
Tom, faced with the possibility that something might not be quite right here, attempts to find a hidey-hole to crawl into!
[Search roll: 6]
Ooh, there's a nice cave right over there! It looks all nice and wonderful. Exactly the sort of place a person should hide in. Tom heads right in.
Hm, it seems to be full of crystals. Glowy crystals. Wonder what those are, actually. Crystals really shouldn't be all glowy like that. Perhaps those tunnels leading deeper inside hold the answer!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 15, 2013, 06:31:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 03:51:54 am
Mark has a brilliant idea. Where charging has failed, the bunny hop might just prevail! He begins to hop straight toward the man!
[Mark agility roll: 2+1]
It turns out it's much more difficult to regain once balance mid-jump than mid-step, which Mark finds out as he rolls down the stairs leading to the basement again! Why does he keep reappearing there, dammit?
Meanwhile, the summoner seems to have gotten up, dusting himself off.
"A bit sooner of a return than I may have expected, but perhaps not quite as bad as it seems."
He turns to Mark. There is something... off in his eyes.
"My, aren't you an odd creature. Say, do you know you have a tree for a head?"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 05:52:02 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 16, 2013, 06:24:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 06:44:25 am
Mark patiently nods to the man that yes, of course he is aware of the tree on his head, so could the fellow please just hand the rectangular paper object in his hands to him and be done with this sordid business?
[Nonverbal communication roll: 3]
The man looks at the book right next to him on the ground.
"Oh, a book. Fancy that. Wonder what it's about."
He picks it up and begins to read it.
"Oh dear. Can't have that."
He rips out a page, examines it, then rips it up into tiny pieces, which he then eats.
"Yum."
[Man helpfulness roll: 5]
He leafs through the book.
"Yep. The rest of this is completely harmless. You want it?"
Mark nods.
"Here you go!"
[Man magic roll: 3+1]
He flicks the book sideways, at which point it arrives on the ground right next to Mark. Huh.
"By the way, from your look I would guess you are... soulbound. Ooh, and physically bound as well. Body and soul. By a single person and two others, it seems. Since you do not look awfully chatty yourself, mind leading me to them? I might see about undoing your binding if you do."
In a crystalline cave...
Tom, seeing this marvelous miracle of nature before, makes like an adventurer and tries to break off a piece.
[Strength roll: 1+1]
Dang. That stuff's tough. And it pulses with a pale light that might not exactly be the safest-looking Tom has ever seen when subjected to mechanical stress.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 16, 2013, 06:46:08 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 06:52:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 07:45:37 am
Tom continues down the cave, and there are indeed more crystals on the way. A lot more, actually. They form peculiar structures, vibrate, oddly glow - all sorts of things. And the caves themselves are fairly complex, with many side passages leading off to who knows where.
[Will roll: 3+1]
Tom uneasily passes these many crossroads, attempting to navigate the area.
[Navigation roll: 1]
Not paying any mind to all these crossroads takes its toll: Tom has successfully forgotten which way is out! And there are little to no landmarks around to help find his way. Dang.
Inside a bloody basement...
Mark, hearing the words "undoing your binding", immediately begins to nod enthusiastically! He motions for the man to follow him.
"Wonderful! Will be right with you. I see there's a bit of a warp here."
[Man magic roll: 4+1]
There is a faint shimmer, and the man steps forth, following Mark up the stairs and out of the building without any embarrassing falling down the stairs in the process. Together, they make their way through Emlocke, the man making some idle chit-chat on the way.
"Such a quaint town. I haven't seen one as large as it recently. I have seen several villages, though. All very fine and good, you understand. And this music in the air. Most outlandish."
Yes. Of course. Eventually they reach the house and head downstairs into the basement. The mages look... surprised at this development.
"Uh... who's that?"
"I do not know. But our minion can rest assured that it will be punished for this."
"Now, now, let's not be hasty."
The man takes the book from Mark's hands.
"You wanted this book, right? Well, you can have it."
He throws the book to the mages. The red-robed woman catches it, stumbling back from the throw.
"And I can help you in quite a great capacity."
The woman in the corner dressed in multicolored robes finally begins to pay attention to the surroundings. Her mouth is wide open, her eyes like dinner plates. She's gone awfully pale. The others just stare at the man in confusion.
"Why would you, uh, help us?"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"Moreover, what do you gain from helping us?"
The man laughs.
"Oh, I didn't quite mean an altruistic form of help. And not really help at all, actually. More like help you help me, if you understand what I mean. And to achieve that, we're in for a bit of reorganization."
The man's eyes begin to glow with a pale red light, and as he throws his hands up they flash incredibly brightly! The people in the room twitch and fall over, with Mark being no exception.
"Alright then, you are all bound to me now with your souls. Simple, wasn't it? Well, except for the tree fellow - what is his name, by the way? It's been bothering me."
"Urgh... Treeface?"
"Oh. Right then. Treeface is bound to my body physically. I also took the liberty of eliminating any bindings that exist between you, so that we do not have any inter-minion exploitation happening. It is so inconvenient when that happens. To this end, my first directive to all five of you is that you are not allowed to harm me or each other in any way."
The people in the room feel the order lash across their minds. Somehow, Mark feels that this order is even stronger than the necromancer's. Wonder why.
"Now that that's taken care of, let's get to business."
Suddenly, the woman in the corner pipes up, shrilly yelling.
"No! I will not follow your directives!"
"Oh, if only you had a choice, dear. Sit down and be quiet. The other three of you remain here. I and Treeface will return shortly."
As the three other mages begin to whisper between one another, the man turns to Mark, still glowing faintly.
"Lead me to your other master, Treeface. I require-"
Suddenly, the voice of the black-robed woman interrupts him.
"Who are you?"
The man directs his attention to the asker, thinking for a second.
"Me? Well... let's just stick with the latest one, I guess. Call me the Artiste."
Post by: miauw62 on March 16, 2013, 07:51:24 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 08:09:41 am
Post by: TopHat on March 16, 2013, 08:25:31 am
Unless you don't really feel like dying yet))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 08:31:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 08:51:32 am
Treepalming at his latest misadventure, Mark chooses to lead the Artiste to where the necromancer was last seen.
[Search roll: 5]
On the way, he goes into a scribe's shop, looting a whole lot of parchment, ink and quills. He could write a book with all these supplies, he thinks. And there's even a satchel to help him carry it all. How amazing.
"Well done, minion. Now we can communicate as civilized manlings do rather than all this beastly gesturing and foolishness."
Mark nods at him, grabs the satchel, fills it and heads on his way, the Artiste following closely behind. They reach the inn after a bit of walking. The necro-dude's nowhere in sight, and his companion's love tomb seems to have collapsed. Wonder where he could be?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 16, 2013, 08:51:40 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 08:56:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 09:28:11 am
Tom decides to just blunder on in the caves until something useful is found.
[Blundering roll: 3]
A half-hour of blundering results in Tom finding more tunnels. A lot more tunnels. Tunnels, tunnels everywhere! And there's an underground river flowing somewhere around, it seems, as the sound of flowing water is clearly audible from where he is standing.
Right next to the ruins of an inn...
Mark, after a brief look around, pulls out some of his parchment and writes a short message on it.
This is where I trapped him with a guy with a sanity breaking face (I made) so I have no idea where he went after getting out.
"Well. We should probably find him, then. Can't have gone too far. Mages are not natural migrants."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 09:33:25 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 16, 2013, 12:10:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 12:46:23 pm
Mark decides to look for his other master along with his new master. It's so very difficult, this master nonsense.
[Search roll: 5]
Say, isn't that the guy over there? Flabby, shirtless fellow peering curiously from the window of the house opposite the inn?
Why, it very well might be! How fortunate! Mark tugs on the fellow's robe and points his master out.
"Ah. Here we are."
Once again, an odd red flash comes from his eyes, and the fellow in the window seems to fall over. Once he gets up, the Artiste points at him.
"I want you to come over here!"
The necromancer rubs his scalp and comes out of the house, standing right next to the Artiste.
"Who in gods' names are you?"
"I'm the Artiste. Pleased to meet you."
"What kind of name is that?"
"I used to be called the Poet. Then I realized I did not actually write poetry. Boy, was that embarrassing. Anyway, you are now my soulbound minion, as I'm sure you've noticed. Also, the fellow over there is no longer bound to you," the Artiste says, pointing at Mark.
"Wait, you can do that?"
"Yep."
"So you just did high-level soul manipulation on me."
"Yep."
"And I now have to serve you."
"Uh-huh."
"Gods damn it all."
"It's okay. I understand. Regardless, we should be leaving now. The other minions might get restless if we delay. Oh, and you are strictly disallowed from harming any of my minions or my body and incorporeal presence. Must always make that disclaimer."
The necromancer nods and turns to Mark.
"Nice work there, genius."
He doesn't seem pleased. Then again, enslavement will do that to ya.
In a crystalline cave complex...
Tom decides to look for this mighty underground stream, wherever it may be!
[Search roll: 1]
He quickly comes to the conclusion that it is probably imaginary, a fiendish construct of his own mind to mock him! Well, he won't be playing your game, mind! Not by a long shot!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 01:36:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 02:13:33 pm
Mark, not one to leave sarcasm unanswered, writes out a reply and shows it to his former master.
Carnt be much worse then you or the other guys who enslaved me.
The necromancer sighs.
"You mean, apart from the fact that he is obviously a demon, therefore immortal, probably impossible to immobilize or trick and, judging by the fact that he did not ask me to sign a contract, probably the equivalent of a fugitive or something?"
"Wait, they make you sign contracts these days?"
"Yeah. And we can't worship demons or bad things happen. Very bad things."
"Things sure have changed."
"I guess so. Wait, what was it like in your time?"
"Oh, different, shall we say. Perhaps we will discuss this later. Right now, we must go! Onward!"
The three strange people begin to leave for the basement.
"By the way, why are you half-naked?"
"Robe caught on fire."
"Oh, I see. A shame when that happens."
They quietly walk back to the basement, where the other mages, true to their orders, have remained.
"Hello again, everybody. I've brought back a present - this fellow! Isn't he charming?"
The mages do not look impressed.
"Anyway, I figure that since not all of us are familiar with each other, we should all introduce ourselves. Firstly, your names. Secondly, your specialties. Thirdly, what your favorite color is. Fourthly, what is the thing you would most like to have in the whole wide world. I will start: I am the Artiste, I can perform major soul alterations and warp space in this body, though my true strength is my knowledge. I enjoy the color blue most of all. And I would most like to destabilize the order of this corner of the universe and institute my own with a little help from my former friends. Next?"
Everybody stares at him.
"Okay then, no volunteers. How about you, Treeface? You have some parchment. Enlighten us."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 02:27:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 03:21:42 pm
Mark, having been singled out, decides he should just lay it all out for the people around. He takes out some parchment and writes out in large, legible letters these words:
I'm Mark my skills are combat and !!MEDICNE!!. My favorite color is green and I wish to have a fun afterlife without dying.
He proudly displays his work to the others.
"Ah. That's very good... Mark. Yes, most excellent. Next, you," he says, pointing at the necromancer.
[Bernie bluff roll: 3]
"My name is... uh..."
"Don't be shy, now!"
"Alright, my name is Bernard von Glautzenheiser. I am a necromancer, though I've done a lot of artifact research on the side. So you could say I'm a specialist in both. My favorite color is... well, brown. And my greatest ambition is to be admitted inside the Black Circle of Magic and get my hands on their impressive treasures."
"Very well. Next will be... you," he points at the woman in the corner. The woman shivers from his gaze.
"I am Justine Robertson, a diviner by education and by trade. My favorite color is white, and my greatest ambition is to never see you again, creature."
"Well, at least you're honest. How about you, sir?"
"Oh, me? I'm Arthur Lindenberg, necromancer. People who know me call me Art. I'm partial to gold," he says, pointing at his robe, "and I would most like to... hm. That's a tough one. I suppose I would most like to have a land to control. Be a lord and all that. That would be great."
"A lord of the land, eh? Interesting. And you, ma'am?"
"Evelyn Greene, metamagician. My favorite color is orange. My greatest wish is to rule the Black Circle of Magic."
"Aiming for the skies, are we? Fantastic. I do enjoy ambitious people. Not that a lack of ambition isn't interesting either."
"That just leaves me. I'm Erin Yinter. I do all the metamorphosis magicks around here and whatnot. Actually, I'm the reason Treef- uh, Mark is like he is right now. My favorite color is red, and my life's dream is to own the moon."
"Own the moon, you say?"
"Yeah, own the moon. I could make a house for myself, then make the moon like this place, only scaled down about fifteen times, so I could be the people's god!"
The rest look at her strangely.
"Don't look at me like that! It's a perfectly legitimate ambition for a person to have."
"Of course. We never doubted it for a second. So, now that that's done, we seem to be at an awkward situation here. You see, both Art and Bernie are necromancers. That's at least one necromancer too many, and I don't think we particularly need even one. That leaves us at a bit of an inefficient setup. Hm, how should we resolve this situation? What do you think, Mark?"
"Why are you asking him?"
"He has minion seniority. Who else would I ask?"
Post by: TopHat on March 16, 2013, 03:35:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2013, 03:37:44 pm
((his favourite colour is blue and he sounds yellow. Hmmm...))
Actually, he sounds red. It's the spacewarp guy who sounded yellow - yellow and purple, to be exact.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 16, 2013, 03:41:57 pm
Group meet up
Post by: Nicholas1024 on March 16, 2013, 07:50:24 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 16, 2013, 07:53:19 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 16, 2013, 09:15:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 02:11:19 am
Mark, after thinking on the matter of necromancer overproduction for a good few seconds, writes out his opinion on the matter.
two of something isnt all bad but if you dont agree keep bernard he already has a few other undead somewhere
"Ah. Keep Bernard, you say?"
"All right! Yeah!"
"What? No!"
"I was hoping you would suggest they resolve the matter through fisticuffs, but your suggestion, though admittedly less entertaining, is a bit more sensible. After all, Bernie here does have more skills than Art. And he's got more minions, eh? I can't very well get rid of him now, can I?"
"Wait! I do have a minion as well!"
"Yes. He bound one to him earlier tonight, in fact."
"Oh dear. That changes things a little bit."
The Artiste scratches his chin.
"I suppose we could keep both of you, then."
A look of relief washes over Art's face. Bernie, meanwhile, still looks a bit smug.
"So, do any of you have leads on where these minions may be?"
Art suddenly gets shifty-eyed.
In a crystalline cave complex...
Tom, rather than search for some kind of river that exists only in his imagination, searches for treasure instead.
[Search roll: 4]
He does eventually come up to an unusually large cavern that looks to be full of the crystals that dot the caves. And some of them seem to be rather unconnected to the main mass, curiously enough.
On a rooftop overlooking some carnage...
As Darren sees the maniac in the audience completely flip out and slaughter any remaining mages in the area, a question forms in his head.
"Doing our work for us? Whaddya mean?"
"Well, ya see, our plan was to lure all the mages here with our music, then suddenly stop playin', at which point they'd start killin' each other. They're mages, after all. That's what we took Mel along for, ya know."
"Damn straight. I'm the only mage in a 500 mile radius specializing in sound amplification!"
"Yeah, so, now that most of the mages are taken care of, all that remains is for us to flush the rest out and we can win this thing, man! We can win this!"
Post by: TopHat on March 17, 2013, 06:06:47 am
((looks yellow-red to me. What space warp guy?))((his favourite colour is blue and he sounds yellow. Hmmm...))
Actually, he sounds red. It's the spacewarp guy who sounded yellow - yellow and purple, to be exact.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 06:16:28 am
((looks yellow-red to me. What space warp guy?))
The spacewarp guy the Artiste was summoned into. Dude who made Luke fall from a great height through the use of a magic door summoned by his dead buddy?
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2013, 07:00:50 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 08:03:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 08:07:15 am
Mark, on a roll like he is, decides to offer a clue to his master!
the others are likely all spread around killing mages and carnt you guys track them using the soul links or something
The Artiste looks at the note with scrutiny.
"Well, I suppose I could track them - if they were bound to me, rather than our fine friends here. But - killing mages, you say? Hm, if only... wait a minute. Justine?"
"What?"
"You're a diviner, I understand. Divine the locations of Bernie's minions."
Justine hears the master's words and replies, but, curiously enough, does not look at the Artiste at all.
"I suppose I have to, do I not?"
"Yes, you do."
She sighs.
"Very well."
Justine walks up to Bernie and violently pulls out a bit of hair from his head.
"Ow, damn it! You could have warned me, you know!"
"I could have, yes."
She then sits down in the corner and begins to concentrate, mumbling strange words under her breath.
[Justine divination roll: 1]
After several minutes of mumbling and swaying to and fro, all natural parts of divination, you see, Justine suddenly keels over and curls up in a fetal position.
"Hm. I do believe that may not have gone too well."
"Is she okay?"
"We shall see. I have seen this happen before."
Evelyn walks up to Justine and prods her with a foot. No response. She kneels down and shakes the incapacitated diviner, then firmly slaps her over the face a few times.
[Justine endurance roll: 6]
Suddenly, Justine opens her eyes and begins to scream like a banshee on fire. Evelyn slowly gets up.
"It will pass eventually."
"WHAT?"
"It does not matter."
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
As the unfortunate woman on the ground screams her lungs out, the Artiste joyfully looks on.
"I do enjoy that sound. Don't you, Mark?"
He smiles as Justine just keeps on reaching new heights of dissonant wailing, the rest of the mages having plugged their ears in considerable discomfort.
"COULD SOMEONE SHUT HER UP?"
"It will pass."
And it does, though it takes a few minutes for the diviner to lose her voice, at which point the screaming is replaced by loud coughing. Eventually that subsides as well.
"Amusing as that distraction was, is she going to do anything now?"
Justine slowly gets up.
"The minions you seek are... elsewhere. Beyond the scope of my vision."
"All of them?"
"The most powerful ones. The others I did not have the opportunity to find."
"How terrible! So, how about those less powerful ones?"
"My mind is taxed. Ask again later, if you wish."
"Very well, then. Mark, go out and find one of these lesser minions. The rest of us will hold down the fort and fortify the area."
In a crystalline cave...
Tom picks up the less connected crystals and immediately pockets them.
[Perception roll: ?]
He doesn't hear anybody around. So he guesses nobody minded him doing that.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2013, 08:43:53 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 08:58:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 09:07:55 am
Mark, having received sufficient instruction, goes out to search for the other minions of Bernie.
[Search roll: 6]
Well, since this town is obviously mostly empty, they must have left! Ergo, they are somewhere in the wilderness. Ergo, he must find them there! Mark runs right out of town, the sun slowly beginning to rise over the massive murder scene that Emlocke has become in the last 12 hours. So, Tom and Yorinnsud should be around. But where could they be?
Mark keeps an eye out for the thing he knows either of the horrid monstrosities he had a hand in creating love - loot!
[Perception roll: ?]
Ooh, there's a nice cave over there. It seems to be glowing faintly.
In a crystalline cave complex...
Tom, having obtained marvelous treasure, tries to find the way out.
[Navigation roll: 4]
He manages to find his way out, though it takes him quite a while. When he finally does, he notices that the sun's risen!
That's odd. He never noticed the sun being this... annoying. Weakeningly annoying, actually.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 11:36:44 am
Set the crystals firmly in my shoulders as a mobile light source, ‼Medicine‼. Wait for some travellers.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 17, 2013, 11:38:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 11:50:48 am
Tom attempts to affix the crystals to his shoulders!
[Medicine roll: 3]
He pokes himself in the shoulder with the crystals. They suddenly begin to glow, then slowly get dimmer until they return to normal. Eh. Maybe he could try again later. Right now, it's time to wait for some travelers.
They fail to appear. And the sun is quite awful, really. It feels like a giant burning divine eye looking at him, watching his every move, ready to open the sky and laugh at any embarrassing blunders. It's enough to make Tom feel terribly self-conscious!
On a rooftop...
Darren, not the sort of guy to go for death as the ultimate solution to every problem, raises a conscientious and considerate protest to this plan the Magic Tones have worked out.
"Oh. Well, you think we can do this without, like, killing them? Because being dead kind of sucks, if I'm honest about it."
"Well, I guess, strictly speaking, we don't have to kill them. We could just make 'em dance their minds out and then wander the area forever, mad and mindless with no hope of a cure. Would that be better?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 17, 2013, 11:52:58 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 12:39:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 01:13:24 pm
Darren, mulling over the problem a bit, comes to a solution.
"What if we just... What if we were just really bad? Could we scare them off?"
"Well, ya see, the problem is that nobody can enter or leave the area until the big shindig's over. So we either gotta kill 'em or make 'em submit. And though our tunes may be magic, they ain't miraculous. So that just leaves murder or mindlessness as a winning alternative."
In the woods...
Tom tries to find some shade in the vicinity!
Considering that he is currently in a forest, that proves rather easy. However, he can still feel the light... reflecting at him from the ground and the trees! It's not quite as bad, but it's still not entirely pleasant.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 17, 2013, 01:39:35 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 01:45:36 pm
Walk through the forest casually leaving a trail of flame in my wake.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2013, 03:34:26 pm
Darren continues his discussion with his bandmate, trying to figure out a way to avoid all the murder their previous plans entailed.
"And there's no way to cure the mindlessness? None at all? Could we infuse our jam with white magic?"
"I dunno. But then again, I dunno anything. I only think! And right now, I think that white magic is an idea worth looking into! Now, if only there was anybody to hit up with that!"
In a forest of some kind...
Tom gets into a casual mood. He has assumed maximum casualties! Or at least that's how he thinks kids say it these days.
[Maximum Casualties roll: 3]
He walks casually through the woods, starting a few tiny fires here and there. Nothing too dramatic. Keep it cool. Keep it casual.
[Wandering roll: 6]
There appears to be another cave, though this one is closer to town than the previous one. It, too, seems to contain the same kind of crystals. How odd. And there's a tent right outside it, too. Nobody around, however. At least, not as far as Tom can see.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 17, 2013, 06:14:28 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2013, 06:23:23 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 17, 2013, 07:27:27 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on March 17, 2013, 08:25:25 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2013, 09:27:49 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on March 17, 2013, 09:31:48 pm
Go hunting for bodyparts. Also try and find Bernie.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2013, 09:55:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 01:36:46 am
Darren takes initiative and proposes yet another plan.
"Well, why don't you comb the crowd. Maybe stop that killer, go and see who's healing, try and recruit them. I can go ask the guy who lives here."
"I kinda doubt combing the crowd will help, considerin' they're all dead now."
He points at the square, which is mostly covered in the blood and gore of filleted mages caught unaware. The killer is the only one standing. Well, him and a very strange-looking lady with 8 arms and wings. A lady he seems to be advancing menacingly towards.
Right where the guy is pointing...
Yorinnsud, having watched the terrifying murder of more than sixty people in the crowd, finally snaps out of her murder appreciation. She should be going hunting for bodyparts, right? She should get right to it!
[Perception roll: ?]
Wait, that guy over there seems to be advancing on her. He looks pretty chill, considering he is entirely coated in blood and gore. Wonder what he wants.
Outside a cave...
Mark decides that the cave over there could only be of a crystalline nature! Therefore, it is his duty to go in and find some crystals for honor and justice. Or just science, he guesses. He runs right in and examines the glow!
It seems to be emanating from many rows of sharp stalagmites lining the bottom of the cave entrance. How strange. There also seems to be a tunnel leading deeper inside the cave. It is warm and there is a faint humming sound coming from it.
Outside a crystal cave entrance...
Tom is intrigued by these seemingly abandoned living quarters! He sneaks up to them, carefully lifts the tent flap and gets right to adventuring. The inside of the tent looks pretty filthy and poorly-furnished. Then again, looks can be deceiving.
[Search roll: 3]
Turns out they aren't. It really is quite filthy and poorly-furnished. There's just a bedroll, a large rucksack that presumably held the tent and a small, completely empty box labeled "Seeding Samples". Other than that, looks like the place is empty.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 02:40:07 am
Post by: kahn1234 on March 18, 2013, 05:03:06 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 18, 2013, 06:23:57 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 07:39:58 am
can someone please describe to me what the hell is going on?this is what happens when a fully randomly generated world is given to bay12
but if you do want to know what is happening look at my posts on this page and look at the player discriptions on the OP to get a good idea
Post by: kahn1234 on March 18, 2013, 07:56:32 am
can someone please describe to me what the hell is going on?this is what happens when a fully randomly generated world is given to bay12
but if you do want to know what is happening look at my posts on this page and look at the player discriptions on the OP to get a good idea
i mean what is the current quest, and what are each of the characters doing?
I got mixed up and turned around. this thread is confusing.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 08:36:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 08:46:59 am
Mark tries to pull out one of the crystals in the ground, giving it a mighty tug!
[Mark strength roll: 1]
He tries his very hardest, pulling as intently as a skeleton with a tree for a head possibly could, which is quite intently indeed! However, the crystal remains steadfastly secured to the ground. Guess he'll have to leave now, defeated, his tree-head hung low. His spirit crushed, he is now destined to wander the world, reflecting on his failure.
Or he could try to break the crystal off! Yeah! That's a great idea! He kneels down and pushes on the crystal with his metal shoulder, hoping to break off at least the top!
He is, however, interrupted by the cave ceiling, lined with stalactites mirroring the ones on the ground, falling on him suddenly! Then the ceiling rises. Then it falls again.
[Mark endurance roll: 2+1]
This does quite a number on his body, as you may imagine, the stalactites and stalagmites deforming his metallic skeleton to a significant degree! After a few more times of that, he is seized by an armlike object and hurled deeper into the cave, where he is compressed in a very tight space that seems to be moving him along!
Outside a cave entrance...
Tom attempts to burn down the tent!
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 4]
The tent being made of canvas, this works nicely. It is soon burnt down without much issue. Now, where could the owner have gone?
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Probably inside the cave, Tom guesses. After all, why else would he or she build the tent here, right next to the entrance, then make off with any other valuable possessions that were no doubt here once upon a time?
Post by: kahn1234 on March 18, 2013, 08:55:03 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 10:25:55 am
I look around and try to get away from what ever is dragging me
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 10:31:36 am
Mark looks around himself!
He seems to be enclosed in a tight tube of some kind, and is getting forced downward by the movement of the walls! He isn't getting dragged per se - the armlike thing let go when it threw him down the strange enclosure he currently finds himself in.
Hm. Quite the predicament he's found himself in.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 10:51:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 11:12:54 am
Mark tries to choke this horrible monster eating him!
Considering that he is pretty clearly not lodged in the breathing tube, it is rather plain that that's not going to work.
As he is moved down the tract, it seems to be getting darker. And hotter. A lot hotter.
Post by: TopHat on March 18, 2013, 12:27:49 pm
can someone please describe to me what the hell is going on?Bernie wants minions to kill other mages so he can join magic circle. Unfortunately, THE ARTISTE *shakes fist at sky* has enslaved him, a few other mages, and the minion Mark. Mark is now looking for the other minions so THE ARTISTE *shakes fist at sky* can enslave them, because that's what THE ARTISTE *shakes fist at sky* told him to do. The other minions are doing stuff that isn't too weird by the standard of this game.
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2013, 12:56:23 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 18, 2013, 03:47:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 03:54:08 pm
Tom eyes the cave critically, judging its qualities as well as he can.
He comes to the conclusion that it is indeed a cave and not, say, some kind of horrible monster looking to eat him. Then again, that would be a pretty silly and unlikely thing to find in the woods, so he's not entirely sure why he thought of this. It looks pretty similar to the one he already went inside of is the idea here. So he sees no harm in going inside again.
[Will roll: 3+1]
The crossing tunnels make him uneasy, but it passes soon enough. He must search! Search like some sort of four-legged domesticated sniff-creature!
[Search roll: 1]
And he finds out that it is remarkably easy to get lost in tunnels that all look alike once again!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 18, 2013, 04:07:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2013, 04:21:44 pm
Not knowing one's way out of a place is not really an issue, Tom finds, when there are really more pressing issues at hand. Such as finding somebody to make sense of all this silliness, then brutally and wantonly murder.
[Search roll: 3]
Okay, he seems to be heading in a direction, if not the direction he might want. Then again, he doesn't have the slightest clue which way he might want to go, so there's that.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 18, 2013, 04:35:00 pm
Keep going.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 04:56:32 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 18, 2013, 05:57:25 pm
((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 18, 2013, 06:15:12 pm
Teleport by the killer, then ghostly ventriloquism him over to the door.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 18, 2013, 06:28:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2013, 08:43:08 pm
((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
((Sorry, but I don't catch the reference, if it is a reference))
Post by: Xantalos on March 18, 2013, 08:43:39 pm
Gamerlord, care to educate him?((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
((Sorry, but I don't catch the reference, if it is a reference))
Post by: Gamerlord on March 18, 2013, 09:14:59 pm
That motherfucker who killed off my first character. After reducing him to just a spine and half a skull. Also known as: That Bastard, Lord Rollin' Sixes and The Man With The Acid Water Shit. Man, that burning water stuff was nasty.Gamerlord, care to educate him?((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
((Sorry, but I don't catch the reference, if it is a reference))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2013, 10:17:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 02:46:27 am
Tom just keeps on blundering through the caves, hoping to find something murderable.
[Blundering roll: 5]
And he does! At a certain point, there looks to be an elderly, somewhat plump woman walking down one of the tunnels. She appears to be whispering something, and the crystals seem to be expanding as she does so. Curious.
[Perception roll: ?]
He's a bit too far to hear the particulars of it, however. Wonder why she's doing this, though.
Inside the digestive tract of some creature...
Mark, not willing to go to a stomach in this lifetime, attempts to rip up this damnable digestive tract right up!
[Mark vs. Digestive Tract: 1 vs. 1]
Though the digestive tract is soft enough to be possible to hideously traumatize, the cramped conditions and constant movement also make sure that he cannot really exert enough force on the wall at any moment to actually cause a significant amount of damage.
As he tries to get into a more comfortable position, he is suddenly free and plummeting down, landing on a rough rock-like surface. Dang, it sure is dark in here.
On a metallic rooftop...
Darren attempts to teleport by the killer and distract him!
[Spectral Teleportation roll: 3]
He teleports a short distance, finding himself right on the doorstep of the house. Too far for ventriloquism to be truly effective, but close enough to see what happens next.
In a blood-coated square...
Yorinnsud, seeing the man approach, goes forth and tries to kill him!
As she runs forth, the man suddenly puts away his main weapon and draws something else - a wooden pentacle! That's... a strange thing to throw. Ah, he'll be killed nonetheless!
[Man vs. Yorinnsud: 6+1 vs. 1]
As Yorinnsud charges, the man, spinning around three times in place, hurls the pentacle with astonishing force. In but a split second it reaches Yorinnsud's throat, slicing through the flesh like warm butter! Yorinnsud's eyes widen in shock as the pentacle passes through effortlessly, flying off into the distance. She feels the world slowly become dark.
[Will roll: 1]
Okay, she can keep control, she can do this! She can survive! She's survived decapitation before, this is nothing!
Suddenly, the pentacle returns, following the gods only know what twisted form of physics! It slices straight through her chest, and Yorinssud gets a pretty good look at the heart she stole from Linda as bits of it join the sea of gore already littering the square. Yorinnsud collapses, her head slipping off her neck and making a splashing noise as it hits the bloody cobblestones.
[Will roll: 2-1]
Her body drops to its knees and falls chest forward to the ground. Yorinnsud gets a good look at her assailant, a man in a dark blue armored robe with a golden insignia in the shape of a dog's head emblazoned on it (though the gore, admittedly, makes all those things difficult to see), as he competently catches the escaping pentacle and places it back inside his robe.
[Will roll: 1-2]
As her vision goes out and the world slows down to a crawl, she sees the man slowly draw his signature weapon, the one he killed half the square's people with.
It is a metallic weapon, somewhat resembling a sword. However, the way it bends in his hands is unmistakable. It could only be one thing.
A bladed whip.
Yorinnsud has met a violent second death!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on March 19, 2013, 02:50:27 am
Post by: Gamerlord on March 19, 2013, 03:22:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 03:29:50 am
As to how he got here, that is a different story altogether, one that I shall not reveal at this point. But there most certainly is an adventure at the root of that.
Post by: Gamerlord on March 19, 2013, 03:34:09 am
Post by: kahn1234 on March 19, 2013, 03:36:43 am
Why had Whip Man evn come there???
Because Whip Man is all powerful?
HE IS GOD!
Or he is a mage/supernatural being killer and his job is to rid the world of all evil beings and mages.
And that wasn't a fight, that was a massacre.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 03:38:26 am
Why had Whip Man even come there???
Oh, there's a reason. A rather peculiar reason, but a reason nevertheless.
EDIT: Also, the deathlist has reached 10! Yay! Or boo, if you are on it once or twice.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2013, 04:24:52 am
also seurch the area I landed in then use anything sharp or heavy to break or cut the walls
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 04:53:01 am
Mark tries to get a better idea of the area around him. Sadly, there is only one way he can do this: by groping the area blindly and hoping for the best.
[Search roll: 5]
Well, it is a pretty large area, definitely a stomach if we're taking notes from the human digestive system. The walls are rather tough, much tougher than the tube he came in from. Then again, now he can easily take out and wield his knives!
[Mark vs. Walls: 5 vs. 5]
Oh dear. These walls are actually rather rich in minerals, it seems. The knife can't seem to pierce them. Hm.
And now the air, already hot enough to boil water, seems to be getting even hotter. And more acrid as well.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2013, 05:34:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 06:43:10 am
Mark, seemingly stuck in a dark and inescapable stomach, tries to pray for aid!
[Prayer roll: 5]
He prays for a while, but doesn't seem to receive an answer. However, there does seem to be a peculiar shifting of a beast, a twitching of some kind. Hm.
The air is getting more and more acidic, and liquid begins to condense on Mark's skeleton and tree-head. It doesn't really do anything, but it certainly doesn't seem like a very hygienic thing to have on yourself.
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2013, 06:52:09 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 19, 2013, 06:53:30 am
Yeah, whip man is insanely good. He murdered a pack of wolf pups just like that.That motherfucker who killed off my first character. After reducing him to just a spine and half a skull. Also known as: That Bastard, Lord Rollin' Sixes and The Man With The Acid Water Shit. Man, that burning water stuff was nasty.Gamerlord, care to educate him?((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
((Sorry, but I don't catch the reference, if it is a reference))
Post by: kahn1234 on March 19, 2013, 07:07:42 am
Yeah, whip man is insanely good. He murdered a pack of wolf pups just like that.That motherfucker who killed off my first character. After reducing him to just a spine and half a skull. Also known as: That Bastard, Lord Rollin' Sixes and The Man With The Acid Water Shit. Man, that burning water stuff was nasty.Gamerlord, care to educate him?((Everybody knows that you are screwed when the artist appears. On the other hand, he could be the perfect final boss of this game))Fool! Whip Man is the only final boss!
((Sorry, but I don't catch the reference, if it is a reference))
Not to mention massacring anyone who got in his way, crowds of people, cutting skeletons in two and fighting BOTH PARTS at the same time, taking a fully broken neck like a boss, surviving and CONTINUING TO FIGHT with 4 broken limbs, laughing off having half his face mutilated etc etc.
This guy si a combination of Indiana Jones, Van Helsing and Wolverine.
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2013, 07:38:13 am
Post by: kahn1234 on March 19, 2013, 07:38:47 am
((Anyway, he needs a better name))
Indiana Van Wolverine?
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2013, 07:41:43 am
((Anyway, he needs a better name))
Indiana Van Wolverine?
Let's put it in the hands of Harry, but I wouldn't bother if it is a pun anyway
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 08:05:42 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2013, 08:16:01 am
He already has a name, actually. It's just that nobody's ever asked him what it is.
I found it! Altough I'm dissapointed by the lack of awesomeness of the name.
The Whip Man is called Carmine Broomstick. BEHOLD THE POWER OF BROOMSTICK
Post by: kahn1234 on March 19, 2013, 08:37:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 08:40:12 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2013, 08:44:52 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2013, 08:48:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2013, 09:39:11 am
Mark goes on and tries to climb the walls!
[Climbing roll: 2+1]
He can get up at about ten feet above the floor, but beyond that the wall curves inwards, making escape difficult, to say the least.
The stomach acid seems to be pooling at the bottom of the stomach, and the acid levels are rising rapidly. There is another twitch, the stomach heaving suddenly!
Post by: TopHat on March 19, 2013, 02:57:32 pm
Whoever's going to turn up next? That mad Dentist guy?))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2013, 06:05:32 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on March 19, 2013, 06:17:26 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 19, 2013, 07:20:14 pm
"Hullo there, are you lost? Kind of an unfriendly neighborhood around here."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2013, 02:42:34 am
Mark grits his... um... bark and keeps on climbing, using his knives as climbing tools!
[Climbing roll: 6+1]
He climbs up into the tube that leads into the stomach with quite a lot of effort! He then stabs his knives straight into the softer tissues above.
A great stream of odd liquid covers him, nearly knocking him back into the stomach! He keeps on climbing to the best of his ability, which isn't very fast.
After another powerful twitch of the beast's body, the stomach acid that has welled up below rockets upwards! Mark is swept up in a wave of acid, almost flying through the relaxed esophagus and out of the open mouth of the creature, landing right outside its body!
Well, that was definitely an experience he wouldn't care to repeat.
In a crystalline cave complex...
Tom walks up all chill-like to the woman and poses a good question.
"Hullo there, are you lost? Kind of an unfriendly neighborhood around here."
[Woman reaction roll: 5]
She turns around and looks at Tom for a good few seconds.
[Will roll: 3]
She looks pretty creeped out.
"Um... no, dearie, I am just... making a crystal garden. A pretty... uh... garden. For all the... people up above. When the glow activates... the fun begins."
The lady appears to be very uneasy around him. She keeps looking at the crystals.
"I really should be... getting back to work. I think. Unless that is... a problem."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 20, 2013, 09:43:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2013, 10:18:53 am
Mark, wishing to distance himself from the woods as far as possible now that he knows what he may find there, runs on back to the town and searches for an unlooted purveyor of metal goods!
[Search roll: 2]
Well, the blacksmith's shop is entirely emptied, the tanneries are either destroyed or looted and Mark can't really think of any other places that might be able to help him there.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 20, 2013, 11:42:34 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2013, 12:35:36 pm
Mark, realizing that he no longer has amazing background music to perform daring feats of wonder and glory to, goes over to the square to take a look at what's up.
He finds it covered in blood and gore. Anybody that may have been alive here has been reduced to bloody remains, and seemingly not even that in places. Boy, is he glad he can't smell anything, because the stench of this place could probably fell a hundred men.
[Perception roll: ?]
Oh, would you look at that. Yorinnsud's right over there. She's missing a head, it looks like. And there's a large hole in her chest.
Ah, she's probably fine. After all, worse things have happened to her today. Mark walks over to her and prods her. No response.
Uh, buddy? Right now would be a good time to stop playing dead. Whoever did that to you is probably gone by now.
Buddy?
Post by: miauw62 on March 20, 2013, 01:04:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2013, 01:09:04 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 20, 2013, 04:11:14 pm
Examine her for possible valuables.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 20, 2013, 10:50:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2013, 02:36:01 am
Tom, after allowing the lady to go back to her crystal growing, carefully examines her for valuables.
[Examination roll: ?]
It's a bit difficult to see, but he believes the woman is wearing a baggy green robe. And why would she wear one, really, if not to keep valuables inside?
"Have to finish up tunnel, then execute the plan. Not long now, no..."
She mumbles to herself and heads down the tunnel, bending down and doing that crystal-whispering thing she does. The crystals grow quickly in response.
In a blood-covered square...
Mark realizes that Yorinnsud is either totally committed to playing dead or completely and utterly dead. Either way, it is probably time to commence the burial rites. First, a moment of silence.
[? vs. Mark: 6+1 vs. 2+1-1]
His respectful and mournful moment is suddenly interrupted by something hitting him straight in the metal ribcage and shattering into tiny bits, knocking him over in the process! Looks like it was made of wood. Who'd throw junk at him now of all times? Mark looks around for the culprit.
[Perception roll: ?]
Yeah, it's probably the smug fellow over there with the jar in his hands. What's he doing?
[Whip Man water use roll: 2+1]
He chucks the jar at him at a high speed, though he seems to look vaguely dissatisfied at something after he's thrown it. The jar sails through the air and gets stuck in Mark's branches without breaking!
Well, this is strange. What's his problem?
Post by: killerhellhound on March 21, 2013, 03:33:09 am
Post by: kahn1234 on March 21, 2013, 05:53:43 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 21, 2013, 07:54:51 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 21, 2013, 08:04:04 am
Hey I'm the guy that has maneged to get the gods to help me a few times and I just got back from being eaten
((Yeah, you are also a metallic skeleton with a tree for a head who had his ribcage smashed by some guy, who then proceeded to hurl a water bottle to you and you just shrugged. Shouldn't you, at least, throw the bottle back?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2013, 08:08:52 am
Mark, not really in the mood for any kind of fight at the moment, gets up and gives the fellow a careful look.
The fellow waves to him. Hm. Oh well. Mark shrugs and walks off, occasionally throwing a glance back to see if any deadly weaponry is forthcoming.
Fortunately, the fellow also seems to not be particularly feeling this fight, so he looks like he's about to bugger off as well. Mark leaves quietly and looks for a shovel.
[Search roll: 4]
There is one in some sort of stable toward the edge of town. Nice! Mark picks it up, testing its capabilities by digging a small hole. Doesn't seem like it'll disintegrate in his hands, so it'll have to do.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 21, 2013, 09:02:14 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 21, 2013, 10:20:34 am
Hey I'm the guy that has maneged to get the gods to help me a few times and I just got back from being eaten((So? I was the little ghost girl that made a bunch of wolf pups devour their mother, after wich I broke every bone in his body. Did that stop him? No. It did not. It didn't stop me from doing what any smart person would do in such a situation: abscond like you've never absconded before.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2013, 12:13:33 pm
Mark, having secured himself a shovel, is about to leave.
Unfortunately, the fellow who threw junk at him suddenly bursts in. Persistent chap, Mark has to admit.
[Whip Man vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 1+1]
The man whips him across the skeleton! However, since Mark's skeleton is made of metal, this fails to achieve much of anything. Mark shrugs and walks right by, leaving the man behind. Whatever his problems are, perhaps it is best to leave him alone with them.
Post by: TopHat on March 21, 2013, 03:30:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2013, 03:44:32 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 21, 2013, 03:46:36 pm
I've found that Life Begins at Death has not so much been about epic adventure and treasure as it has been about miserable failure and dealing with it. And treasure. And miserable failure is anti-climactic more often than not by its very nature.FTFY
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 21, 2013, 04:30:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 02:08:05 am
Tom, feeling the rush of seeing unclaimed (as in, its owner not yet brutally murdered and looted) treasure just gallivanting around without a care in the world, decides to fix this situation and fix it most verily.
[Tom vs. Crystal Lady: 6+2 vs. 1-1]
Oh, old people. How frail their flesh, how fragile their bones. The lady's skull is completely obliterated by a single swing of Tom's metal leg, and her explosively decapitated body drops to the ground after the cave walls are painted with the contents of her head.
Man, Tom should rob old people more often. They go down so easily.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 04:18:55 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 04:44:29 am
Mark is about to head back to dig a grave for his dead buddy, but that guy with the whip doesn't seem to get the idea that some privacy is needed. Oh well.
[Mark vs. Whip Man: 1+1 vs. 4+2]
As Mark tries to smack the guy upside the head, the whip man grabs his arm and tries to execute an elaborate maneuver of attack!
[Counterattack: Whip Man vs. Mark: 3+1 vs. 5+1]
Mark, however, is quick enough on the dodge that he does not get his safety compromised in any way. Seriously, is it too much to ask for some peace?
[Whip Man water use roll: 1+1]
The whip man throws a jar of water! It sails past Mark and falls into a gutter, where it will presumably make some C.H.U.D.'s life a living hell. Mark, not really impressed, leaves quietly and heads toward the square.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 05:08:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 09:11:54 am
Mark, annoyed by the fellow's quite frankly impolite persistence, writes out a note.
[Writing roll: 5]
Dear Whip-Wielding Person,
Your persistent hounding of my person is growing to be quite impolite and unbecoming of gentlemen like we both undoubtedly are. I am currently attempting to pay my respects to my best friend, who seems to have been brutally murdered over at the square, and it definitely does not help that you are disturbing me in this task. Your barbaric bearing in this situation is, to be frank, perfectly awful and unlikely to achieve anything at all, since I am not even a mage that participates in the tournament and therefore entirely pointless to attempt to kill anyway. So I would appreciate it if you would stop what you are doing right now and leave me to my devices, which are, I assure you, completely harmless and unrelated to this magical slaughter going on today.
Sincerely,
Mark MeatWagon
Mark MeatWagon
He writes out this note and passes it to the whip man, who reads it carefully. He seems a bit ashamed of himself, handing it back, the parchment stained with the blood on his hands. He then turns around and walks away.
Ah, civilized discourse. What can't you achieve, really?
Mark heads over to the square and starts digging a grave.
[Digging roll: 4]
Though it's a bit difficult at first, Mark does manage to dislodge the cobblestones and dig out a sizable hole in the ground, definitely one that's large enough for Yorinnsud's body.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 09:27:18 am
(also WOOOOOOOOO I survived the whip man by talking and I walk away with a bottle of holy fire and some damage to my chest paint work)
Post by: Tomcost on March 22, 2013, 09:48:09 am
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT Yorinnsud's body then lower her into the grave so I can pay my respects
(also WOOOOOOOOO I survived the whip man by talking and I walk away with a bottle of holy fire and some damage to my chest paint work)
((I think that you are the luckiest player of this game. You got an awesome transformation , practiced ¡¡Medicine!! without negative effects, survived Whip Man and even got help form the gods. That means that the RNG has planed a shameful and silly death for you))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 09:51:50 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 22, 2013, 09:58:10 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 10:02:58 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 22, 2013, 10:52:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 11:20:33 am
Mark takes all of Yorinnsud's stuff - some coins, two strange crystals, a sharp short sword and two metal gauntlets, then lowers her into the grave.
He is suddenly tapped on the shoulder.
It's the whip man again. He looks a bit somber.
"So sorry, sir. My deepest apologies for you, and your friend. I hope you have a pleasant day."
Not waiting for a response, he walks off into the distance.
Strange guy, that whip man.
Post by: Tomcost on March 22, 2013, 11:43:44 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 11:52:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 11:57:34 am
Mark feels that he should take the time to pursue a dialogue with this strange fellow. He writes out another note.
I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.
After writing the note, he gets ready to hand it to the whip man.
However, he seems to have left already. He's pretty fast, looks like.
[Perception roll: ?]
He's obviously left the square, but which way did he go? Hm.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 12:21:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 12:57:03 pm
Mark decides to search for the gentleman, not giving up so easily on his communication needs.
[Search roll: 5]
Oh, there he is, running off toward the town limits. Better try to catch him!
[Whip Man running roll: 4+1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 1+1]
Damn, he really is fast. Must be in a bit of a rush. Mark sees him disappear around a street corner, then, when he himself reaches said street corner, his quarry is nowhere in sight. He can't even hear the guy's footsteps anymore. It's like he just disappeared or something. Or maybe just took some kind of weird shortcut. Either way, seems unlikely he'll catch him now. Better get back to the burial.
[Burial roll: 1]
He crafts an elaborate pit trap over Yorinnsud's grave, just so that any unwary pilgrim crossing this area will find out the easiest imaginable way who exactly is buried here and what she looked like. Of course, it's a single-use pit trap, but he finds the humorous value of imagining the moment when somebody falls in to be worth it. Besides, it's less boring than simply covering his old buddy with a ton of dirt.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 01:02:55 pm
(wow buriring someone is hard)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 01:07:30 pm
Mark has a sudden change of his nonexistent heart, dismantling the pit trap he constructed from scratch in a remarkable display of ingenuity, them just shovels dirt right onto Yorinnsud's corpse. It takes about ten minutes for the tireless metallic automaton to accomplish this task, at which point he relaxes after a job competently done.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 22, 2013, 02:59:57 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on March 22, 2013, 03:15:35 pm
((The dice were greatly in my favor too. But then I died to double or triple 1s. And there is no such thing as a second samucane. Also, you escaped him. I escaped the guy too by strategically moving backwards. It's not that hard if the RNG doesn't absolutely hate you.))((or even if the RNG does absolutely hate you.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2013, 03:17:30 pm
Tom goes on to enact step two of his plan. It just so happens that it is his favorite step - the Grabbing of the Loot. He carefully searches the old woman's corpse.
She has a single note. There is absolutely nothing else in her vast number of pockets. Damn.
[Note legibility roll: 3]
The note is a mass of scrawlings and scratchings on a sheet of parchment. This probably meant something to the old woman, but it sure as heck doesn't to Tom.
Now he's all disappointed and stuff. Wonderful.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 22, 2013, 03:52:10 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on March 22, 2013, 06:35:58 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 07:58:12 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 22, 2013, 07:59:08 pm
((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((SHould you not sign up again, chap? I would think we could use another Jordan.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2013, 08:11:18 pm
+1((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((SHould you not sign up again, chap? I would think we could use another Jordan.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 01:50:28 am
Tom, having nothing better to do, attempts to leave the cave.
[Will roll: 1+1]
Not only is he lost, though, he also can't handle all the intersecting tunnels! Damn it all. Guess he's left with only one alternative - poking the crystals.
[Poking roll: 3]
As he pokes one of the crystals nearby with great firmness, the crystal glows brightly, the glow only subsiding after a minute or so. Hm.
In a bloody square...
Mark, his burial duties done, looks around for some undead.
[Search roll: 1]
There are exactly zero undead around that he can see. In fact, there's nobody else around that he can see, either. At least, not in this town.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 02:33:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 03:48:32 am
Mark, reasoning that if the area is lacking in any kind of people to stop him, this means he is free to loot any stores! So he'll do it, then! Yeah!
[Search roll: 2]
Unfortunately, there seem to be no stores around worth looting. Any fruit stands are empty, the blacksmith's shop has been combed through, the tanneries have either exploded or been looted, the taxidermist's shop is somewhat lacking in any supplies (as well as that avant-garde sculpture - wonder where it went?), and he can't seem to locate any other stores worth stealing everything from.
Quite a woeful situation, all in all.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 23, 2013, 06:04:30 am
Post by: TopHat on March 23, 2013, 06:04:39 am
((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((third last. Forth if you count Vincent, who is still alive.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 09:05:28 am
Tom looks for something to murder in this vast labyrinth of caves!
[Will roll: 5+1]
The thought of such murder fills him with great resolve, so he runs along and looks for anything fitting such a description!
[Search roll: 6]
After wandering the caves for who knows how long, he comes up to a vast dark pit leading down into unspeakable depths! There seem to be evil whispers emanating from it. All in all, a very positive and nice sort of place for one of Tom's particular proclivities. There appears to be a naturally-formed catwalk over it, as Tom finds from shining his crystal over the area. And at the end of this catwalk, on a sort of rocky outcropping hanging over the pit, sits a bear. The bear looks to be peering into the pit.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 09:08:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 09:22:26 am
Mark runs along back to the Artiste to report of any recent happenings that have... happened. Yeah. He gets back to the house.
Well, at least he thinks it's the same house. Hard to tell, what with it now being some kind of spacewarped ivory-colored tower that menaces the surrounding area with the sheer improbability of its construction and location. The address is the correct one, at least. But there's no entrance in immediate sight. How is Mark supposed to get in?
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 09:31:38 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 23, 2013, 09:38:28 am
Approach the bear. If it can't talk, kill it.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 09:40:45 am
"Hullo, there. Are you sentient?"The only way we do adventurers do things:talk at them then kill them
Approach the bear. If it can't talk, kill it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 10:53:10 am
Mark walks up to the tower and knocks politely.
[Response roll: 2]
Nobody seems particularly eager to respond to him. Probably because he's so low to the ground, while the Artiste is probably at the top. That is, unless he is a non-traditionalist. In that case, perhaps the top of the tower is simply trapped. Well, better write up a note, then.
[Writing roll: 3]
Found one minion. Dead. Don't know where the rest are.
Simple, but effective, he thinks.
Over a pit of death and darkness...
Tom walks up to the bear and asks a perfectly reasonable question.
"Hullo, there. Are you sentient?"
The bear turns to him, black fluid seeping from its jet black eyes and open mouth, strange black tendrils reaching toward Tom from its stomach. It replies immediately in quite a pleasant voice.
"Why, yes. Yes, I am. Did you have a question? Or is it something else you wanted? Don't be shy, I'm all ears."
Some of the tendrils reshape themselves into open horns to accentuate the bear's point.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 23, 2013, 11:16:34 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on March 23, 2013, 11:54:23 am
Oh, why not?+1((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((SHould you not sign up again, chap? I would think we could use another Jordan.))
Name: Alec and Alice McMasterson
Gender: Male AND Female
Archetype: Zombie?
Biography: Alec and Alice were a pair of delightful young twins, born to a lovely pair of parents, Adrian and Beth McMasterson. They lived in a glorious Victorian-Era mansion, as one of those picturesque families you see in Coffee-Table books. However, they weren't as cute and innocent as they might have seemed. They were constantly pulling pranks around the house. The parents thought it was cute, and let them keep doing it. That is, until they managed to kill the dog. The parents, being the naïve pair that they were, considered it an unfortunate accident. They got another one, and went on with their business. However, at this point, the twins had turned their sights on their own parents. They felt...constricted. They wanted freedom from curfews, and vegetables, and grounding. So they decided to do something about it. It started out with a few unsuccessful attempts, such as kicking a chair out from under their father while he was changing a lightbulb, and littering the stairs with toys while their mother was collecting the fine china from her room. They finally found their method of madness in the basement while getting food for their dog. A box of Rat Poison. Alice went out to distract the dog and make it bark, so Alec could pour the poison into the nightly Soup while their mother was busy attending to the dog. They felt the plan was foolproof. But they forgot one tiny detail...
They had to eat dinner too.
You know what they say, 'The family that Dines together, DIES together.'
The parents were buried by the local undertaker next to the house, in separate graves. The children were buried at the cemetery, by the parents' will.
((This good enough? 1 Billion Interweb points if you get the reference.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 12:00:13 pm
Yay now I just need to survive to the next guys get made but are you playing as both of the twins joined together or what because unless you had me operate on them the zombies would be separateOh, why not?+1((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((SHould you not sign up again, chap? I would think we could use another Jordan.))
Name: Alec and Alice McMasterson
Gender: Male AND Female
Archetype: (Hm...I'm not sure if I should go Zombie or Ghost. Can any of you chaps help me out on this one? Or maybe I could work with Harry to create a fitting archetype...)
Biography: Alec and Alice were a pair of delightful young twins, born to a lovely pair of parents, Adrian and Beth McMasterson. They lived in a glorious Victorian-Era mansion, as one of those picturesque families you see in Coffee-Table books. However, they weren't as cute and innocent as they might have seemed. They were constantly pulling pranks around the house. The parents thought it was cute, and let them keep doing it. That is, until they managed to kill the dog. The parents, being the naïve pair that they were, considered it an unfortunate accident. They got another one, and went on with their business. However, at this point, the twins had turned their sights on their own parents. They felt...constricted. They wanted freedom from curfews, and vegetables, and grounding. So they decided to do something about it. It started out with a few unsuccessful attempts, such as kicking a chair out from under their father while he was changing a lightbulb, and littering the stairs with toys while their mother was collecting the fine china from her room. They finally found their method of madness in the basement while getting food for their dog. A box of Rat Poison. Alice went out to distract the dog and make it bark, so Alec could pour the poison into the nightly Soup while their mother was busy attending to the dog. They felt the plan was foolproof. But they forgot one tiny detail...
They had to eat dinner too.
You know what they say, 'The family that Dines together, DIES together.'
The parents were buried by the local undertaker next to the house, in separate graves. The children were buried at the cemetery, by the parents' will.
((This good enough? 1 Billion Interweb points if you get the reference.))
whack the side of the tower with the shovel also add to the note "got eaten as well"
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2013, 12:04:14 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 12:07:14 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on March 23, 2013, 12:30:14 pm
((I would be playing as them together. They'd be separate people, mind you, but, being twins, they know each other well enough to act as a unit.))Yay now I just need to survive to the next guys get made but are you playing as both of the twins joined together or what because unless you had me operate on them the zombies would be separateOh, why not?+1((I think I'm proud to say that I have been faithfully watching this game since my character died! And to think, Jordan was the second last of the original characters to finally die. He was only outlived by the glory that is Samuel/Samucane/Samuskull.((SHould you not sign up again, chap? I would think we could use another Jordan.))
Name: Alec and Alice McMasterson
Gender: Male AND Female
Archetype: (Hm...I'm not sure if I should go Zombie or Ghost. Can any of you chaps help me out on this one? Or maybe I could work with Harry to create a fitting archetype...)
Biography: Alec and Alice were a pair of delightful young twins, born to a lovely pair of parents, Adrian and Beth McMasterson. They lived in a glorious Victorian-Era mansion, as one of those picturesque families you see in Coffee-Table books. However, they weren't as cute and innocent as they might have seemed. They were constantly pulling pranks around the house. The parents thought it was cute, and let them keep doing it. That is, until they managed to kill the dog. The parents, being the naïve pair that they were, considered it an unfortunate accident. They got another one, and went on with their business. However, at this point, the twins had turned their sights on their own parents. They felt...constricted. They wanted freedom from curfews, and vegetables, and grounding. So they decided to do something about it. It started out with a few unsuccessful attempts, such as kicking a chair out from under their father while he was changing a lightbulb, and littering the stairs with toys while their mother was collecting the fine china from her room. They finally found their method of madness in the basement while getting food for their dog. A box of Rat Poison. Alice went out to distract the dog and make it bark, so Alec could pour the poison into the nightly Soup while their mother was busy attending to the dog. They felt the plan was foolproof. But they forgot one tiny detail...
They had to eat dinner too.
You know what they say, 'The family that Dines together, DIES together.'
The parents were buried by the local undertaker next to the house, in separate graves. The children were buried at the cemetery, by the parents' will.
((This good enough? 1 Billion Interweb points if you get the reference.))
whack the side of the tower with the shovel also add to the note "got eaten as well"
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2013, 12:53:13 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on March 23, 2013, 12:55:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 01:16:49 pm
Mark, not one to take a cold shoulder lying down, begins to whack the side of the tower with his shovel!
[Tower damage roll: 5]
It is not even scratched by the shovel. Whatever the tower's made of, it's hard. Really hard.
[Response roll: 1]
[Mark dodge roll: 4+1]
Mark narrowly dodges a sign falling down from up top! It appears to be made of metal and possesses sharpened edges! As it falls down, it embeds itself in the ground. The lettering on it is a bit hard to read, but the intent is clear - "NO SOLICITORS".
Hm, that's a bit weird. How is he supposed to... wait. Mark has forgotten something! Something crucial!
He takes out his explanation note and adds the essential missing detail.
PS: got eaten as well.
Perfect! Now, where was he?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 02:15:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 02:32:32 pm
Mark whacks the tower once again, though he looks up this time!
There is no response. Not even a bladed, deadly response. How disappointing.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 02:38:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 02:44:12 pm
Mark, realizing that his efforts are completely futile, searches for some armor instead.
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there are some loose pieces of stone and wood lying about, on account of the general destruction of the day. But no suits of plate armor or, for that matter, any other conventional suit of armor. You can't really expect a suit of armor to be lying around unattended with the state of this town, you know.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 23, 2013, 03:33:18 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 03:43:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2013, 04:04:45 pm
Since this is hardly the strangest thing he's seen today, Tom keeps up his friendly demeanor and questions the aberrant bear.
"Why, yes I do, actually. Do you know how many mages are left around here? I've been searching, and it seems rather deserted, to tell the truth. Makes one feel rather lonely, as it were."
The bear nods sympathetically.
"Oh, let me think... the participating mages are probably about... ten or so. The rest are enslaved or otherwise subservient to them. I am quite sure they are all in hiding or moving on their own right now, so it is hardly a surprise you can't find any. One came over to investigate this pit some hours earlier, I think."
The creature chuckles softly.
"I do believe he found what he was looking for, though he was found in turn."
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark realizes that if life gives you stones and wood, you must utilize them for some purpose. Namely, the creation of the object of your hopes and dreams (or an acceptable substitute).
[Crafting roll: 3]
He makes a nice pile of stones and wood. Then he realizes he has nothing to reasonably bind them with. Not to mention that he's made of metal and wood anyway, so adding stone and wood on top of that is unlikely to be very helpful. Though it would look pretty cool if he could pull it off.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 23, 2013, 07:47:34 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2013, 08:45:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 24, 2013, 03:18:21 am
Intrigued by this information, Tom asks the bear more about the facts of the day.
"How interesting, that might be useful later, thank you. If you don't mind my asking, what did that certain mage you mentioned find at the bottom of this pit? And, out of curiosity, what are you doing down here?"
"Oh, he found this and that. Which just so happens to be my purpose here, you see. This and that. I am not really supposed to help you, you know. That would be favoritism, and we can't have that in a gentlemanly or gentlewomanly competition."
The bear shakes its head.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark, his armor efforts as futile as his attempts to contact the Artiste, defaults to looking for mages to murder. It's kind of his purpose here, after all.
[Search roll: 1]
He walks around for quite some time, alone with his thoughts. After a particularly prolonged pondering of the peculiar properties of paranormal people, he manages to find himself in a vast desert of some kind. Nothing to be seen for miles around.
Well, he's certainly wandered off the beaten path.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 24, 2013, 04:07:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 24, 2013, 06:37:19 am
Mark tries to retrace his steps and find Emlocke again!
[Navigation roll: 1]
He turns all around several times to get a better idea of his surroundings! Yep, desert everywhere. Also, now he has no idea which direction he came from. Perfect.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 24, 2013, 08:16:05 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 24, 2013, 11:07:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 24, 2013, 11:48:27 am
Mark, lacking any sort of external stimulus to act upon, chooses to indulge in his better nature and find things to loot and possibly kill.
[Search roll: 2]
There's certainly nothing around here that he can see. Nothing, pure nothing for miles around.
It's rather dull, to tell the truth.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 24, 2013, 11:50:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 24, 2013, 12:08:57 pm
Darren, snapping out of a bit of glassy-eyed immobility, tries to float up to a ceiling of some kind!
This being an open air square, he is unsuccessful. He does, however, manage to observe Sir Murderer kill an eight-armed chick, fail to murder a metal skeleton with a tree for a head and then take part in said eight-armed chick's funeral. The fellow then runs off, not to be seen again. The tree-faced guy also runs off, first in the direction of Sir Murderer, then someplace else. All in all, a spectacle for the ages.
Now what?
Post by: Dirg on March 24, 2013, 04:35:40 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 24, 2013, 05:56:14 pm
((Killer, you could try looking at the sand to see if you left footprints to get an idea of where you came from.))Im ashamed I didnt think of that Do itthen follow the footprints
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 24, 2013, 06:47:33 pm
Walk away.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 01:29:30 am
Mark, having been hit by divine inspiration, looks at the footprints he left coming here! Ha-hah! You are no match for his wits, desert!
He follows the set of footprints until he is back in Emlocke, safe and sound. He feels a warm sense of accomplishment at this maneuver.
Over a pit of darkness and evil...
Tom, rebuked by some sort of abomination from the nether realms, takes it all in stride.
"Well, I suppose that is your business. Oh, and if you're interested, there is a necromancer in a nearby town, the town is called Emlocke."
"Several, actually. There's Bernard von Glautzenheiser, Arthur Lindenberg and Paul Cunningham still alive in Emlocke, if I have not missed my mark."
Hm. Okay then. Time to leave, he supposes. Time to go back into the crystalline cave complex he has no idea how to get out of.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 04:27:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 04:49:07 am
Mark looks for cool stuff he could kill and loot. What else is he gonna do, ya know?
[Search roll: 5]
He finds a squad of small greenish humanoids running about and being a nuisance! They seem to be wearing plate armor, though they do not appear to have any weapons. They look like pretty easy marks, to tell the truth.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 05:30:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 06:36:59 am
Mark runs over to the tiny little freakish humanoids and proceeds to murder them!
[Mark vs. Little Green Dude: 4+1 vs. 2+2-1]
He sneaks up to one and stabs it right through one of its lungs! The humanoid falls over and begins to choke on its own blood!
[Little Green Dudes reaction roll: 6]
"Look, brothers! It is he! Our Gof has arrived! And he stabbed Larry to death!"
"My goodness! It can only be him! Thank you, Gof, for stabbing Larry to death!"
"It was a long time coming, but our prayers have finally been answered! The abominably boring Larry has been stabbed to death by the hand of Gof! Thank you, oh wise and kind demiurge! Thank you!"
They start to kneel and genuflect in front of Mark, their plate armor clanging as they kiss the ground at his feet!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 06:51:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 08:57:59 am
Mark motions for one of the creatures to come closer, and it does!
"Right away, my Lord!"
It comes up to Mark, at which point Mark pats it on the head.
"I beam with the brilliance of your approval, my Lord!"
It speaks the truth, Mark has to say. He then motions for another to come closer.
"What is it, my Lord?"
[Mark vs. Little Green Dude: 4+1 vs. 5+2-1]
He swings his short sword at the little bugger's neck, whereupon it clangs against the armor on its neck. Okay, other side, then.
The same thing happens. Damn it.
"I have been knighted by Gof! I am the First Knight of Gof! Hooray for me!"
The small green fellow then starts to ecstatically and frantically run around, waving its arms in the air and singing Mark's, or rather Gof's praises.
Post by: Tomcost on March 25, 2013, 08:59:56 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 25, 2013, 09:12:43 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 09:13:37 am
give the knight a dagger as part of his becoming a knight then go looking for that ghost
edit ninja says let them live
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 09:33:35 am
Mark gives the First Knight of Gof one of his wicked knives as a token of its honored position.
[First Knight of Gof graciousness roll: 4]
The First Knight of Gof accepts the gift and genuflects before Mark once more.
"You do me a great honor, my Lord! I shall strive to be the very best Knight of Gof that I can be!"
Mark then goes on to look for that ghost with the four little green people following close behind.
[Search roll: 6]
Well, he's in the square, looking sharp!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 12:00:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 12:05:06 pm
Mark goes over to the ghost and attempts to persuade the apparition to follow him back to the tower!
[Nonverbal persuasion roll: 6]
The ghost immediately abandons what he's doing, which at the moment is nothing at all, and goes with Mark and the Gofites back to the tower! The tower is still foreboding and looms over the horizon, and is still seemingly inaccessible.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 01:46:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2013, 02:05:30 pm
Mark tries to pick up the ghost and chuck him toward the tower!
[Chucking roll: 4]
He takes the ghost in his hands and throws him up into the tower! Soon afterwards the ghost comes out, informing Mark that he's been successfully soulbound and is now tasked with following him and his orders to the letter!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 05:02:20 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 25, 2013, 05:04:27 pm
Check how much of it is currently burned down.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 25, 2013, 05:36:32 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2013, 07:04:46 pm
edit
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2013, 01:39:21 am
Mark rallies his allies and looks for that pyromaniac weirdo that might be his ally.
[Search roll: 2]
He is nowhere in sight, unfortunately. Perhaps this is for the best. He is, after all, a pyromaniac weirdo.
In a crystalline cave complex...
Tom looks for a way out of this terrible, terrible maze of tunnels!
[Will roll: 2+1]
All the horrible, horrible intersections confuse him terribly, however!
[Navigation roll: 6-1]
Despite this, he soldiers on! He mustn't let his afflicted mind stop him from anything, as that is not the Tom way! Eventually he manages to get out of the awful tunnels. Interestingly enough, this exit is fairly close to Emlocke. Once Tom gets out of the cave, however, he remembers that it's daylight outside. And he doesn't really like daylight. Nope, not one bit. Despite feeling awfully weak, he goes on to reach Emlocke and judge its degree of combustion.
After a quick look, he sees that Emlocke is clearly not burnt down enough. More than three quarters of the buildings are still standing!
In a bloody square...
Darren, currently busy standing about in a square, attempts to check the effective range of telekinesis.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
It probably doesn't work beyond a distance of about forty feet. Darren isn't entirely sure why, but it certainly is a very plausible-sounding ballpark estimate. He then tries to determine if that guy is using magic.
However, seeing no guy around, he fails. Well, aside from the Magic Tones on the roof. They're still there and he can say with reasonable certainty that magic of some sort is involved in the tunes they produce.
"What're ya doin' down there, Spooky Dude? Come on up! The band has to stick together, ya know!"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 26, 2013, 04:45:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2013, 08:21:56 am
Mark, abandoning the search for the pyromaniac weirdo, goes to knock on the tower again.
[Response roll: 4]
The head of the Artiste pokes out from above! Success!
[Artiste magic roll: 5+1]
Mark feels himself get whisked upwards in a rather quick, though incredibly strange fashion! He finds himself in a room that looks exactly like the basement that used to be here. In fact, it may even be the same basement. And all the people seem to still be here in almost the same positions.
"Yes, Mark? Do you have something to report? Good work on that minion, by the way. Smashing success, that."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 26, 2013, 08:37:10 am
"I also have some goblins worsipeing me and would like a good weapon "
before giving it to him
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2013, 08:49:08 am
Mark adds some information to his reporting note!
PPS: I also have some goblins worsipeing me and would like a good weapon.
He then hands the note to the Artiste. His master reads it carefully.
"I see."
[Weapon roll: 4]
He reaches into a nearby chest and takes out some sort of weapon, a long curved sword that looks pretty deadly, though hardly a magical weapon by any measure.
"Here you go! Anything else?"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 26, 2013, 06:28:59 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 26, 2013, 07:08:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 27, 2013, 01:18:57 am
Mark writes up another question for the Artiste, hoping for a pleasing answer.
How do I get in and out of the building without getting someone else to drag me in?
[Exit roll: 6]
He points at a solid stone wall nearby.
"Why, just dive into that wall over there. Remember where you land."
Hm. Not quite what he had in mind, but it's an exit nonetheless. Presumably.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom endures the oppressive glare of the winter sun and attempts to perform the long-awaited encore of his award-winning show, Emlocke on Fire!
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 6]
He runs about several blocks, making sure to set them on fire in a manner that all but ensures their destruction. A marvelous start, to be sure!
[Fire control roll: 5]
The blocks burn down nicely, but the fire does not spread an inch beyond them! Damn it, his technique is too impeccably accurate and precise!
Percentage of Emlocke burnt down already - 22 percent!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 27, 2013, 01:27:50 am
then notice the smoke and find the new recuit
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 27, 2013, 05:15:24 am
Mark takes the Artiste's word and runs right into the wall he pointed out!
Moments later, he finds himself on the cobblestones outside. He appears to have emerged out of a wall of one of the surrounding buildings. Mark looks around to get his bearings.
[Perception roll: ?]
Ooh, there's a plume of smoke! And plumes of smoke can only mean one thing - new recruits! He runs right over there!
[Recruit roll: 5]
It's the pyromaniac weirdo! Still a pyromaniac and weird, it looks like. Good for him!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 27, 2013, 09:02:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 27, 2013, 09:17:07 am
Seeing how the pyromaniac weirdo may come in handy later, Mark tries to make him join the group. But to do this, he must first write a note!
Once he's done with writing it, he hands it to the awful fire-obsessed creature, who then reads it.
awesome gear and free repairs follow me
[Pyromaniac Weirdo reaction roll: 1]
"No, I must burn things. Burning, burning, burning. Burning is what I do. Yes."
[Pyromaniac Weirdo burning roll: 3]
He tries to set fire to Mark, but it doesn't work, see, because Mark is mostly metal and the wood of the tree forming his head is too moist and alive to be easily flammable! The pyromaniac weirdo does manage to singe a few leaves on his crown, though.
Post by: Tomcost on March 27, 2013, 10:01:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 27, 2013, 10:04:06 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 27, 2013, 05:39:45 pm
"High percentage of mages here, see? Must burn. Burn is safe. Burn is good. Warm."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 27, 2013, 06:22:39 pm
"stuff to help you burn things follow me"
give to him then lead him to the tower
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 27, 2013, 06:43:00 pm
Meet up with the band.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 02:34:50 am
Tom, after briefly considering a good justification for why he's so determined to burn Emlocke, continues his quest, still completely alone as far as he knows.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 2]
You know, it's not really satisfying if you can't hear the screams of fiery mutilation. Just feels like something's missing, ya know? Tom sits down and contemplates his loneliness for a long moment.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark, not ready to give up on the pyromaniac weirdo, writes out another note!
stuff to help you burn things follow me
[Pyromaniac Weirdo reaction roll: 5]
"Oh, there's something that will help me burn stuff? Score! Lead the way, tree-person!"
He follows Mark back to the tower along with the ghost and the Gofites. It's a rather strange procession, all in all.
In the main square of Emlocke...
Darren flies back to the band, whereupon they stand around on the roof for a bit. After a few minutes, the band leader gets a clue.
"Yeah, I guess we should be, I dunno, leaving? Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
They then descend the staircase and reach the first floor. Together they move the wardrobe out of the way, making sure not to scratch the floor or make a particular ruckus. It is at this point that they notice that the door's still locked.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 28, 2013, 05:45:56 am
(I am now a leader of randoms)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 05:59:35 am
Mark motions for all his followers to get into the tower right after him, and they do, diving through the wall right after him. They all gather in the elevated basement room and stand before the Artiste!
"Ah, you've brought more. Excellent work!"
The Artiste then proceeds to bind the pyromaniac weirdo and the Gofites.
"Keep up the good work there. Get more minions, kill more people. Simple."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 28, 2013, 07:10:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 08:00:18 am
Mark has one more request of the Artiste, and to make it, he has to write another note!
Is this the whole tower and if not can I have a section for planing and creating
[Section availability roll: 4]
"Why, of course you can have a section for planning and creating! In fact, we prepared one for you in advance, knowing how much you like science and medicine!"
He points to a door that says "Mark's Room" in one of the corner's of the basement. That's awfully kind of him, actually.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 28, 2013, 08:28:58 am
then take my followers outside and gather bodys and other useful stuff
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 28, 2013, 09:07:08 am
Derive whether or not the tower I am in is flammable.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 09:23:32 am
Mark writes a kind thank-you note to the Artiste, who beams joyfully at him upon receiving it. Mark then gathers his followers, dives through the wall and heads out to look for bodies! And other stuff, he supposes.
[Search roll: 6]
He goes back to the square and finds that the bodies there are not in nearly as bad of a shape as it may seem! Some of them still have stuff on them, even!
[Loot roll: 1]
And the only loot they have are metal-eating snakes that are about five feet in length each! Nine of them, in fact! Oh no!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom, still sitting around and moping about the lack of victims, suddenly gets the idea that he might actually be in a tower! With people and stuff to burn and loot!
Sadly, he is not. He isn't sure where he got the idea, actually. He is still in a woefully unburnt part of town, the light of the sun making him dreadfully uncomfortable. He is also completely and utterly alone, a fact that causes no end of boredom on his part.
Seriously, it would be real cool if there was, like, a tower around that's full of people he could burn. Totally.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 28, 2013, 09:53:28 am
Assure spell-check that pyromaniacal is, in fact, a word.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 10:14:09 am
Tom, reaching philosophical clarity in thought once more, resumes his pyromaniacal and orthographically correct ways once again!
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 4]
He sets fire to yet another house. It still doesn't feel very fun, you know.
[Fire control roll: 2]
At least this fire seems to be slowly spreading, though.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 28, 2013, 02:36:33 pm
"Get a job, they said... Do something productive, they said... Oh God it burns, they said..."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 02:46:55 pm
Tom, finding this side of Emlocke to be unrewarding in terms of flammability and screaming, tries to go to the other side.
[Will roll: 1+1]
But he cannot, regrettably, as there are crossroads in the way. And he just doesn't feel like getting lost at this particular moment.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 28, 2013, 03:23:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2013, 04:24:58 pm
Tom decides he doesn't want to go anywhere at all. Instead, he'll sit down and watch the fire with a childlike happiness only arson can bring to a dead man's soul.
[Fire control roll: 3]
The fire spreads, though at a slower rate than before. About four blocks are on fire right now.
[Fire control roll: 3]
Five blocks now. Could be worse, he supposes.
[Fire control roll: 3]
Six blocks. Well, Tom guesses that slow and steady wins the race.
[Fire control roll: 1]
Oh dear. Whatever was in that house... isn't anymore. It seems to have been highly explosive, too. Such a shame. Well, at least there are nine whole blocks on fire right now! Some of them have partly exploded, too. And good times were had by all.
[Fire control roll: 4]
The fire seems to have reached a bit of an obstacle - it is now surrounded by wide roads from all sides. None of that silly tiny little alley nonsense anymore, no sir. Well, Tom has faith in the fire's skills! It can do it!
[Fire control roll: 5+1]
And yet it doesn't. How disappointing. How terrible! How absolutely awful. Verily.
Percentage of Emlocke burnt down - around 28%.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 28, 2013, 08:55:59 pm
"Heh. There was a person in that house. Hey! Hey you! Want some ice for that burn? HAH!"
((Auto-pilot until fifty percent destruction. Then looting fun times.))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on March 28, 2013, 09:11:34 pm
Continue my glorious conquest of all things wooden or highly reactive.((Why Fifty? GO FOR FULL-BLOWN DESTRUCTION.))
"Heh. There was a person in that house. Hey! Hey you! Want some ice for that burn? HAH!"
((Auto-pilot until fifty percent destruction. Then looting fun times.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 04:13:53 am
Tom continues his unstoppable (well, at least nobody's likely to stop him) rampage through Emlocke at a leisurely walk.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 5]
He sets fire to multiple homes, watching several blocks go up in delightfully crackling flames. Will that ever get old, he wonders?
[Fire control roll: 3]
The fire, though spreading, is unfortunately rather lazy today. It hardly seems like it wants to destroy everything, and that is what we in the business call a bad thing. It probably needs encouragement.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 4]
And another block is on fire. If this is routine, he'd sure love to have more of it in his unlife.
[Fire control roll: 5]
The problem is, however, the houses in this particular neighborhood are a bit too far apart to pose a serious fire hazard. Damn it.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 4]
Guess he'll just have to keep truckin', then.
[Fire control roll: 2]
There we go. Was that so difficult?
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 3]
Hm. There's a problem. Wood buildings are only widespread in the poorer quarters of the town. The rest seem to be made with high-quality stone or out of bricks. Those will be much, much harder to burn down, Tom thinks. In fact, it might hardly be possible at all.
[Fire control roll: 3]
Though the poorer quarters do seem to be burning nicely. Silly beggars, when will they learn to make non-combustible houses?
[Fire control roll: 1]
A particularly fetid fleapit goes up in a vast and roaring fire that consumes all that lies nearby. These little surprises always brighten one's day.
[Fire control roll: 1]
Yep, the poorer quarters will be done pretty soon. Tom is pleased to do his part for the noble cause of raising property values. And who knows, maybe they can even use the remains as fertilizer. Slash and burn agriculture taken to a new level. And they said he was good for nothing!
[Fire control roll: 2]
Tom proudly looks on as more of Emlocke is utterly devastated by the holy flames of unprovoked arson. Serves it right, says he. Why did it have to stand there if it didn't want to get burnt down, hm?
[Fire control roll: 4]
However, the fire soon runs out of good fuel after ravaging the transition zones between the poor and middle class, and stops completely once it runs out of highly flammable squalor to remove. As it dies down, Tom gives it a good round of applause for its impressive run. Seriously, fire, you've earned it.
Percentage of Emlocke burnt down: 46 percent, and it'll probably require far more effort to burn down the rest. Man, urban development is hard work.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 29, 2013, 08:16:48 am
"Jolly good show, that. Time for a -snicker- radiant finale"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 08:26:34 am
Tom attempts to loot the wreckage of the poor quarters for some fun stuff to utilize as an explosive!
[Search roll: 5]
He is about to search a cellar that stinks of burnt cabbage, but realizes that all that it is likely to have in it is burnt cabbage. And burnt cabbage is something he is not eager to wade through, possible explosives on the other side be damned.
The problem here is that all the cellars smell of burnt cabbage. Must be a popular food among the poor. And it is, to put it mildly, highly unlikely that there is any accelerant in the basements of the area, considering that even if there was, it probably contributed a great deal to the burning of cabbage down there. Lousy flammable basements. If only there was-
Hey, what's this? The crystals he's carrying seem to be glowing.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Wonder why they'd do that.
Post by: miauw62 on March 29, 2013, 10:12:40 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 29, 2013, 11:25:18 am
Ghost to the other side and unlock it. If there isn't a lever or something of the like, try and use telekinesis to manipulate the tumblers.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 11:53:42 am
Darren, not even missing a beat, gets to unlocking the door right away with telekinesis! And he does all this from the outside of the house!
[Telekinetic lockpicking roll: 4]
It takes him a few minutes and a lot of intense concentration, but the door is completely and utterly unlocked in due time!
"Um, not that that wasn't impressive, but maybe you could've just gone downstairs and asked the guy to unlock it?"
Well, yeah, he could have, but it's just way cooler this way.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 29, 2013, 12:07:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 12:41:46 pm
Tom spends a moment pondering the crystals he carries with him and their particular brand of glowiness.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, considering that it started to glow when he was attempting to break off a piece back in the caves and right now when it was near a whole lot of heat being given off by an entire district of the town going up in flames, he would have to say it probably reacts to energy directed at it or into it. Since the glow gets brighter and brighter from more energy and slowly subsides afterwards, it is entirely plausible that it would have some point where it could store no more.
One might ask, what happens then? Well, Tom is of the opinion that there is only one way to find out - try it. Though there is also other urgent business to attend to. Such as burning.
Upon looking at the brick houses in one neighborhood, Tom realizes that he can't really burn them down - sure, he can try to set fire to their interiors, and he'd probably ruin some carpets and furniture this way as well as any stray books and other flammable things, but this is hardly practical for one of such sheer mass-destructive ambitions as Tom. For one, he'd have to set fire to each individual house, of which there are assuredly many, and that would take freaking forever. Secondly, there still aren't any people around to scream in terrible pain for the effort to be worth it. All in all, for a pyromaniac, the situation is indeed grim.
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2013, 01:24:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 01:54:47 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 29, 2013, 02:49:07 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 29, 2013, 05:44:41 pm
Search around the upper-class houses for interesting goodies. Interesting being defined as 'able to in some way cause destruction or inordinate amounts of ridiculous awesome.'
Post by: Xantalos on March 29, 2013, 05:46:29 pm
((Hmm, so how does one go about accessing these energy reserves...))((They're grenades when exposed to enough energy.))
Search around the upper-class houses for interesting goodies. Interesting being defined as 'able to in some way cause destruction or inordinate amounts of ridiculous awesome.'
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 29, 2013, 05:48:25 pm
I should go into that crystal cave...
Start a huge bonfire...
Let the crystals near the entrance absorb radical amounts of energy...
And start a chain reaction destroying the underground cave system and possibly killing everyone in the area through the seismic backlash!
Let's do this.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2013, 08:09:04 pm
Tom takes a walk around the neighborhood and searches for fun things. Explosive, flammable, inexplicable or otherwise amazing fun things!
[Search roll: 4]
Well, he does see one particularly opulent house. It looks fairly mystical, therefore likely to contain strange artifacts that may be of use to an engine of destruction cleverly disguised as a mockery of a human being!
[House lack of security roll: 4]
And it's got an open window on the ground floor. Almost too good to be true, really.
And it really is - most of the house has been ransacked almost entirely. Blasted mages and their sticky fingers. Leave something for the people who can't alter reality on a whim, will ya? His search does eventually turn up something - a glass flask in the shape of a human skull filled with a silvery liquid hidden in a particularly fiendish cupboard. Not much, but it's something, at least.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 29, 2013, 08:23:01 pm
Onwards
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 01:24:19 am
so I carnt get other players to follow me damm
anyway send everyone else forward first and prepare to defend my self
Post by: miauw62 on March 30, 2013, 04:22:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 04:24:02 am
Since snakes are hardly his specialty, Mark withdraws from immediate combat and sends his buddies forward first!
[Ghost Dude telekinesis roll: 4]
The ghost dude lifts up a snake with the power of his mind and chucks it away into the distance, making it land on a nearby roof!
[Snake 1 recovery roll: 2]
The snake looks to be too scared of heights to come down. Heh.
Meanwhile, the four Gofites engage another snake in honorable melee combat!
[Gofites vs. Snake 2: 4+3 vs. 3+1]
They grab it by the head and tail, then start beating it up with their armored gauntlets! This, naturally, makes the snake quite disoriented. As they do so, the pyromaniac weirdo strikes up a conversation with a particular snake!
"So, you come here often?"
[Snake 3 will roll: 1]
The metal snake is completely paralyzed by his advances! Oh my!
[Snake 4 vs. Gofites: 6+1 vs. 4+3]
Another snake tries to strangle a Gofite, but finds it awfully impractical, considering how armored the Gofites are!
[Snake 5 vs. Pyromaniac Weirdo: 6+1 vs. 3]
A different snake, however, is highly successful in removing the pyromaniac weirdo's legs rather violently!
The four other snakes attempt a bravely coordinated attack on Mark!
[Snakes 6-9 vs. Mark: 6+3 vs. 6+2+1]
They try to surprise him, but Mark's too fast! He successfully fends off the four snakes, managing to prevent them from causing any damage!
In a metallic house...
Darren, upon thinking over the implications of going down to the basement, replies concisely.
"Well, what if he was dead? Or what if the murderer was down there?"
"Damn, good point, dude! Better skedaddle!"
And they do, walking past the empty square full of blood and gore. Hm, where to go now.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 05:52:19 am
.
.
.
Hey it worked for the pyro
Hit on the snakes then when they are distracted kill
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 06:22:21 am
Mark, taking a page out of his pyromaniac buddy's playbook, compiles a quick note to the snakes!
[Writing roll: 4]
Ladies, ladies! There's no point in doing anything rash, you know. I know there's very little of me to go around, but you should sort that out amongst yourselves. After all, if you tear apart the Mark, there's less of the Mark to go around, you know what I mean?
[Snake 6 will roll: 3]
[Snake 7 will roll: 4]
[Snake 8 will roll: 6]
[Snake 9 will roll: 3]
Two of the snakes seem confused by the note! The other two, meanwhile, continue their assault!
[Snakes 7 and 8 vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 3+2]
Mark, however, skillfully evades their advances and tries to eliminate them in the meantime!
[Mark vs. Snake 7: 2+2 vs. 1+1]
He cuts nicely into one of the snakes' sides, releasing a small amount of silvery blood from it!
[Ghost Dude telekinesis roll: 1]
The ghost tries to help him, but merely ends up catapulting Mark up in the air! As Mark flies upwards, he witnesses the pyromaniac weirdo make another attempt at reptilian seduction!
"Oh, baby, play rough with me! I love it when they play rough!"
[Snake 5 will roll: 3]
The snake he's currently combating appears to be quite creeped out, retreating from him and going after the Gofites instead!
[Gofites vs. Snakes 2 and 4: 3+3 vs. 6+2]
The Gofites, meanwhile, seem to be trying to beat the snakes down with sheer numbers, but it doesn't seem to be working too well for them!
[Snakes 2, 4 and 5 vs. Gofites: 4+3 vs. 1+3]
They wrap around two of the less important Gofites and commence some coordinated strangulation!
[Gofite 3 endurance roll: 4]
[Gofite 4 endurance roll: 3]
Though they put up a valiant effort, they clearly won't be able to keep this up for long.
[Mark landing roll: 5+1]
Mark, meanwhile, lands nearby without any apparent damage, but with plenty of apparent style!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 06:36:10 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 06:39:47 am
Help the gofites using the awesome from the landing as my weapons
Revision of my action wanted the gm to catch it
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 06:48:56 am
((I think I'm going to start compiling a list of my current delusions. Probably going to name is Adventurer's Syndrome.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 07:20:11 am
Mark tries to harness the pure style from his landing as a deadly weapon!
[Harnessing roll: 3]
He does a cool pose, then goes on his way!
[Mark vs. Snake 2: 6+2 vs. 2+1]
He slices one of the snakes strangling a Gofite into tiny little pieces! Hooray!
[Ghost Dude telekinesis roll: 6]
The ghost rips the two snakes off the other Gofite and flattens them in the air through sheer force of will! He then hurls the two resulting metal plates at some of the other snakes!
[Snake 6 dodge roll: 5+1]
[Snake 9 dodge roll: 4+1]
However, the two confused snakes lying about where Mark used to be are too quick, expertly evading their flattened brethren! They and the two other remaining snakes regroup and consider their next move!
That is, they would if they weren't interrupted by the pyromaniac weirdo crawling toward them!
"Come to me, snakes! We could have such magical adventures together!"
[Snake morale roll: 5]
They decide to gang up on the weirdo!
[Snakes 6-9 vs. Pyromaniac Weirdo: 3+3 vs. 2-1]
The pyromaniac weirdo is soon covered in snakes wrapping around him, crushing every little bone in his body!
[Pyromaniac Weirdo will roll: 1]
[Pyromaniac Weirdo will roll: 1-1]
[Pyromaniac Weirdo will roll: 4-2]
After a short period of crushing, the pyromaniac weirdo stops resisting the snakes! In fact, he doesn't move very much at all. Um...
In the streets of Emlocke...
Tom keeps on looking for fun stuff in other homes as well!
[Search roll: 4]
Well, there's some sort of opulent mansion on the outskirts of town. Looks pretty haunted, so it shouldn't be too poor in terms of treasure.
[Mansion lack of security roll: 5]
It is completely open and unlocked, all the windows are open and there are no guard dogs or constructs in sight. Neato. He goes right in.
Hm, this is a pretty big place. Lots of rooms to explore, it looks like - dining room, study, bedrooms, library, basement, kitchen and many, many more. Though this house, very much like the previous one, looks pretty thoroughly ransacked. There still might be something around, though.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 09:01:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 09:25:31 am
Mark, seeing his buddy become an unfortunate casualty of rampaging snakes, counters with a triumphant charge at the treacherous serpents!
[Ghost Dude telekinesis roll: 5]
The ghost lifts up each one of the snakes and stretches them out in the air, which opens them up for Mark and the Gofites to bash, slice and mutilate them into slightly less alive versions of their former selves. It takes but a short while for the now-paralyzed snakes to be dispatched, their agile bodies immobilized for optimum execution potential.
After the elimination of the snakes, Mark ceremoniously stomps on each of their heads as a gesture of anger and dissatisfaction.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 10:47:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 11:16:08 am
Tom checks the study for anything useful.
Yeah, it seems to have a few bookcases, but the general mess of books on the floor - virtually all of them relating to gardening or exotic animals in some manner - seem to indicate that anything particularly obvious was probably taken by whoever got here first. Though the books do seem like they would be rather valuable. There is a particular one lying a small distance away from the rest, as though it had been picked up. Tom checks it out.
It looks like a book on subterranean exploration and lifeforms, and it is a rather informative manuscript containing detailed information of what you may find in the abyssal depths of elaborate cavern systems. There are even a whole bunch of blank pages at the end for the owner to make notes of their own, which the owner seems to have used extensively to detail the fauna, flora and other features of Emlocke's vast and improbably elaborate cave system. Interestingly enough, one of the pages at the very end looks to have been torn out.
Since the rest of the books hardly look like anything special, Tom just keeps this one and checks the basement.
It is full of empty barrels, some of which smell of wine, some of which carry the telltale odor of various pickled foods. There are also some dirty sacks around, though they are hardly a cause for excitement. Tom heads upstairs and goes into the kitchen.
What he sees before him is a real mess on the floor - it looks like somebody has been hard at work opening a massive steel closet, with their only reward being a vast array of sharp knives of various sizes, spoons, pots, pans and all kinds of other things that the owner probably locked up to avoid vagrants coming in and stealing everything. Since mages, though they are undoubtedly vagrants, are probably slightly beyond the utilization of cooking implements in their schemes, these have been left alone upon their discovery.
However, they, in their disappointment, seem to have missed a true treasure - a set of 5 tiny glass flasks filled with a sand-colored powdery substance with the label "Wonder Spice" in large red letters proudly showing on their plain white labels. Under it, in small black letters, there are the words "Satisfaction Guaranteed", so you know it's good!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 11:36:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 12:01:40 pm
Tom, after gathering up the five flasks of Wonder Spice, looks in his cave book for any references to crystals.
After leafing through both the book and the notes after it discussing Emlocke in particular, Tom can't find a single reference to crystals like the ones he saw. Any cave crystals mentioned in the book are described minimally as features of interest and pretty things to look at, but little else. Tom also notes that none of the crystals actually noted in the book are reported to glow - there is glowing fungus, glowing plants and even glowing jellyfish-like beasts from the darkest pits of desolation, but no glowing crystals.
Hm. This probably means something.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 30, 2013, 01:21:18 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 30, 2013, 02:55:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 03:18:50 pm
As Darren floats alongside the band, he can't help but ask yet another good question.
"So, what's the plan after we get out of here?
A genuinely confused look passes over the band leader's face.
"Uh... right. We should do something. But I ain't got a plan. I figured we'd win if we got all the people out into the square and made them dance til' they died or something. But since we haven't been, like, contacted by some kind of herald, I guess that means there's still mages left to... uh... eliminate somehow. So I guess we should be doing that, but I ain't got any idea how to do this. We ain't diviners, you know."
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 04:41:16 pm
((Eh, science seems to be a bit more difficult than usual. Time for magic. This decision coincidentally has a very negative effect on my life expectancy...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 05:06:09 pm
Tom goes up to the library and checks it out for any magic-related stuff.
Once he gets up there, he does notice that there is an entire section of books that supposedly serve to facilitate the learning of magic and creation of foci. None of these seem to have been disturbed in any way, probably due to the fact that no mage would really be interested in magical textbooks. There's stuff on divination, necromancy, metamorphosis and a whole lot of other spheres of magic. There's even something called "The Book of Simple Chants". In addition, there's lots of other books here as well, though they mostly seem to be fiction, and there's particularly a lot of romance, horror and horrible romance works both in prose and in poetry. The exceptions are a natural science book here and there, though they seem to be introductory works aimed at amateurs rather than professionals.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 05:28:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2013, 05:50:29 pm
Tom stretches out his metal mitts and picks out several books for now - a book on necromancy, in this case the Beginner's Guide to the Necromantic Arts, a book on pyromancy, which kind of falls under the purview of the Simplified Compendium of Energy Manipulation, then a tome about focus creation, the Boy's Own Magical Focus Making Book of Fun and Gainful Learning and the Magical Focus Creation for Young Women: the Delightful Intricacies of Unlimited Magical Power.
That sure was easy. Good to have a nice base of resources to draw from.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2013, 06:29:47 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 30, 2013, 08:31:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 07:27:54 am
Mark and his buddies carry off all the bodies in the square to the tower and go into Mark's room!
It is arranged like a surgical theater mixed together with a morgue - there are large drawers in the walls with labels on them, a large surgical table in the middle of the room complete with a vast array of tools for every surgeon's need. He places each body in a drawer, making sure to label them "Snakes", "Flattened Snakes" and "Pyromaniac Weirdo" as necessary. With that done, he goes to the Artiste and inquires about the wind crystals he has.
"Oh, those? You can use them to cast wind magic, but you'll need to attune them to yourself first."
In a library of an open mansion...
Tom sits down and begins to read the focus construction books he has.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Okay, so the Boy's Own guide requires you possess something called a "starter's kit", and then works from that point. Lacking a starter's kit, Tom feels a bit too divorced from the material to be able to absorb any of it. Maybe the Young Women's guide will be more helpful.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
And it is! Unlike the Boy's Own Magical Focus Making Book of Fun and Gainful Learning and its strict adherence to the need for a starter's kit, this text informs Tom that to successfully create a focus, you don't actually need any knowledge, you just need to focus your will into an object and make it an extension of yourself, though to do so without any prior knowledge requires incredible luck or extreme willpower. You can also attempt to attune another's focus to yourself, though this comes at the cost of it not performing as well as one you created by yourself and for yourself. Any object can be a focus, though the magic it is best at will invariably be tied in with its nature.
Now, there are two main ways of making foci - technique and intuition. Technique allows for the creation of very elaborate, predictable foci such as spellbooks, while intuition lends itself to more force-of-nature style foci. Intuition is more understandable to the layman - you make things up as you go, though the results can vary extremely. Technique involves lots of learning - an understanding of magic is required, as well as the ability to successfully tame it. The way of taming most espoused by the book is weaving - you can think of magic as wool and the spellbook as a tapestry. There are many steps in between and the process can be complicated depending on what exactly you want from the focus, but the basics remain the same no matter what you need.
Furthermore, when you choose a focus for yourself, its symbolic value - what you associate it with in your own mind - can be just as important as its actual nature when you give it power.
It also mentions that many makers of foci use what are popularly known as chants. These are special linguistic patterns that align your mind for a particular task, and they are useful in focus making as well as many other spheres of life, such as preparing for an exam. Chants can help suppress one's emotions, create a calm demeanor, slow down the metabolism and do a whole lot of other things as well. As such, they are useful for any scholar, mage or even a warrior. However, some chants, particularly ones meant to evoke introspection, can be dangerous.
After reading this book and finding it useful, Tom notes that there are several other guides in the For Young Women series mentioned at the end of this book that he might find useful, including Life Magic for Young Women: The Power of Life and Advanced Necromancy for Young Women: The Endless Well of Souls.
Speaking of necromancy, it's time to dig into the Beginner's Guide to the Necromantic Arts.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Okay, the foreword of the book says "If you are hoping to be able to raise the dead upon reading this book, you will be sorely disappointed. Not only is raising the dead a highly complicated and involved necromantic procedure requiring elaborate rites and dedicated foci in most cases (and it is exactly for this reason that it is the mark of the highly skilled necromancer), it is also not the aim of this book to teach you these things. This is an introductory text serving to illustrate the actual nature and-"
Tom gets this far before getting bored. What's the point of reading this if he can't raise the dead afterwards? Sheesh, some people.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2013, 08:06:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 09:11:51 am
Mark asks for some advice in attuning the crystals for himself.
"Attunement? Oh, that's easy. You just have to want it."
Sage advice there. Here goes!
[Attunement roll: 5]
He now has a fully functioning crystal that controls the wind. He is magical and powerful! He cannot be stopped! The sheer glory is unimaginable, that's how good it is!
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2013, 09:47:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 10:01:48 am
Mark, magic in hand, goes out to try out his wind powers!
[Wind magic roll: 5]
He manages to summon a gale that pulls a stone house from its foundations and blows it away into the distance. Sweet. He looks for somebody to pull toward himself.
[Search roll: 6]
Hey, look, it's that zombie guy that was with him back when Bernie recruited him! Come 'ere!
[Wind magic roll: 5]
He is lifted off his feet and carried on a soft breeze right back to Mark!
"Agh! What do you want from me? What do you want?"
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2013, 10:15:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 10:35:58 am
Mark, utilizing sophisticated wind magic, attempts to chuck the zombie into the tower!
[Wind magic roll: 2]
He just falls to the ground as his wind magic fails him for the very first time. Well, hopefully his future failures will be equally uneventful!
[Wind magic roll: 2]
He then fails to lift any houses or blow them down. This is likely because he does not have the necessary lung capacity very much like a common wolf.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 11:02:32 am
Search through the library for the light source.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2013, 11:03:45 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 31, 2013, 11:33:25 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 31, 2013, 11:52:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 12:47:57 pm
Tom takes a look at the Simplified Compendium of Energy Manipulation. It is, after all, simplified.
Okay, so energy manipulation is essentially concerned with two things - energy transfer and energy transformation. Energy transfer focuses on just that, transferring energy from one place to another. It can be from anywhere - you can use magic to transfer heat from one room to the next, or use it to transfer heat energy to the next room from the Realm of the Demon of the Sun, very rich in such heat as one might suppose, though this is quite a bit more difficult. You can also transfer other forms of energy, though this is a bit less studied, as heat is simpler to do. In addition, though some know very well how to make lightning and have mastered the processes required, they are few in number and find that such things are less useful than one might imagine. Also, energy manipulation allows one to increase to transfer kinetic energy from one source to another, which can help slow down objects or speed them up, though it is impossible to change their direction without telekinesis.
Energy transformation is a bit easier to explain - it transforms a certain type of energy into another. For instance, a silly meddling knight may be charging at you on his horse at great speed, and he would, as a result of great mass and great velocity, have a good deal of kinetic energy. An energy manipulator could transform this energy into heat energy, both stopping the knight and boiling something important in his body, solving the problem in a very efficient and highly painful fashion, which makes it doubly appealing. Or jump out of the way and transform all his and his horse's heat energy into kinetic energy, then watch the high speed frozen projectile rocket toward its formerly intended destination. All in all, great fun, but many choose standard solutions as creating fire or lightning for their problems. It is the author's opinion that these people are far too concerned with appearances over functionality.
Now, the main problem in energy manipulation is that the foci used for it are invariably difficult to make. Spellbooks are the norm because energy manipulation is difficult to express in a real or symbolic context that isn't like a diagram or something. Certain stones are rather useful for it, but they are quite rare and usually specifically fabricated for a certain purpose, like a heat crystal or a portal stone. These are, naturally, quite expensive for this very reason. Well, that and the fact that they may create portals between dimensions as part of their standard operating procedure in the case of portal stones. So energy manipulation is usually done with a spellbook containing very specific problems such as "transform all of a subject's kinetic energy into heat" or "transfer certain amount of heat from point A to point B".
All in all, energy manipulation is a useful discipline of magic, though it may be a bit difficult to get into at first due to the frequent hardships of obtaining and maintaining a good focus.
After that bit of info, Tom looks around the library for a light source. There seem to be some unused candles arranged in candlesticks around here, though the primary source of light appears to be the sun, considering how it's still the day and all.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark takes his old acquaintance with him to the tower back to his room, at which point he begins one of his fun procedures.
[Medicine roll: 4]
Using state-of-the-art methods and tools, Mark adds some snakes to the zombie's back. They seem to function as okay tentacles, so he adds Pyromaniac Weirdo to the mix as well!
What he gets in the end is kind of a centaur-like thing with 6 metallic tentacles sprouting from his side, with Pyromaniac Weirdo's corpse being on the bottom and his head serving as an unthinking, horrible tail.
[Zombie Guy reaction roll: 3]
"Oh dear gods why did you do this, also are you some kind of mage?"
In a bloody square...
Darren, quite familiar with Standard Mage Protocol, proposes an orthodox plan.
"Let's just hole up somewhere then."
"Well, I suppose that's not a bad idea. But where?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 12:48:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 12:49:31 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 31, 2013, 01:03:17 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 01:48:24 pm
The crystal in question was found among many others, the crystals have responded to two things. Tragic death of a single old lady─good times... good times─and the horrific accident resulting in near-half of Emlocke to be a burnt crisp. This means the crystal responded to either the death toll, or the heat and energy. Considering the crystal reacted more violently and brightly to the fire, I can safely assume it was the energy."
Turn the 'energy crystal' into an energy transformation focus with the above notes in mind.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 01:58:54 pm
Tom, seeing how the crystal he's got seems to be somehow related to energy, figures it should be a good enough choice for an energy manipulation focus! Keeping the young women's guide for magical focus creation on hand, he tries to create his very first magical focus!
[Focus creation roll: 3]
He tries his very best to make a magical focus out of the crystal, internalize it as an instrument of his will, and it seems like something happens, though it somehow feels... incomplete. It doesn't seem like the crystal will work yet or anything - something else definitely has to done. Maybe it's a lack of mental focus on his part, maybe inexperience. All he knows, in an intuitive turn of events, is that he needs something.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 02:04:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 02:19:48 pm
Tom looks in the guide, but with more effort this time.
[Intelligence roll: ?]
Well, he seems to have done everything the book told him to. Then again, he did this intuitively, which kind of requires that he figure things out by himself. And the other guide just rambles on about the starter's kit and how you should totally buy it and how it's only five silver coins and how it's the best investment you'll ever make.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 02:53:59 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 31, 2013, 03:55:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 03:59:05 pm
Tom chooses to petition his inner self for some answers that have been long overdue. What those answers are, he dares not say!
[Introspection roll: ?]
He realizes that the crystal does not want him to disrespect its inalienable crystalline rights, that it needs to be loved, respected and honored like a member of a less dysfunctional family than Tom is probably familiar with. Crystals have feelings, too, you know.
Look, it's glowing affirmatively! It does only want love!
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 04:03:27 pm
or six.))
Love the crystal. Love it into a focus for energy manipulation.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 04:09:42 pm
Tom tries to love the crystal into submission!
[Crystal Lovin' roll: 1]
It doesn't seem very keen on reciprocating his affection. And Tom does not appreciate a tease.
No, not at all. Corrective measures must be taken! And by "corrective measures" it is meant that it must be chucked at a wall!
The crystal impacts the wall and glows brightly after falling to the ground, brighter than ever before. Hm. Now what?
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 04:37:18 pm
Punch the crystal. Focus-making round two!
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 08:22:23 pm
Tom walks up to the crystal and gives it a good punch! The crystal flashes extremely brightly for a split second, the entirety of Tom's vision filled with bright white for an instant. The next instant of his life is filled with an uncommon amount of pain as his entire right arm is reduced to tiny, mistlike arm bits as the result of a surprisingly mighty explosion!
[Crystal stability roll: 1]
The rest of the crystals he is carrying follow suit, exploding his legs, the majority of his possessions and most of his torso into very, very tiny bits as well. This, naturally, hurts a whole damn lot as well.
[Tom will roll: 1]
[Tom will roll: 4-1]
Oh dear. That was, quite frankly, the worst possible thing that could have ever happened. And oddly reminiscent of his earlier, highly similar experience at the foot of a giant destructive robot in the shape of a stick figure.
To this he can only say: bollocks.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 08:28:37 pm
"Oh come on! I spend all this time looking for explosives and I finally find I'm carrying highly potent ones only to blow my new body to bits. FINANGLE'S LAW!"
Post by: Xantalos on March 31, 2013, 08:29:18 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on March 31, 2013, 08:31:01 pm
((I told you!))((-reading... reading...-
... Well. Isn't that just wonderful. Time to build that focus and enact my master plan. Which, coincidentally, was in that same discussion earlier. Small world.))
Post by: Tomcost on March 31, 2013, 08:35:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2013, 08:41:11 pm
Tom decides to take inventory of the damage to himself.
He has to say, it does not look good. He is now pretty much his left arm loosely linked to what remains of the upper quarters of his torso. Oh, and a head. Other than that, nothing's left. None of his loot, no crystals and none of the books he had on him.
On the bright side, he seems to have shielded most of the other books in the library by virtue of having chucked the crystal at the far wall and then walked up and punched it. Some of them have a little bit of his bits on them, but those are just the covers. You can wipe those and it's very little trouble, you see.
[Will roll: 3-1]
This explosives situation has gotten him quite depressed, though. Depressed and apathetic to the world at large. Seriously, he's been carrying explosives this entire time. What the hell?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on March 31, 2013, 08:47:24 pm
I've been thinking that I shouldn't display any of the hidden rolls. That way, they're super hidden. Like, for instance, I rolled a 3 for the crystal's stability when Tom chucked it at the wall, so it just became extremely volatile. And he rolled a whole lot of fives while searching the mansion. Helps with the look of the turns as well, I find.
((I agree with hiding that kind of rolls. It adds even more surprise to the game))
Post by: Yoink on March 31, 2013, 11:34:34 pm
"Well, uh. Right. At's it, den? I was 'spectering somethin' more powerfuls an' stuff, but oh wells. "
>Follow the hippo's instructions. Transport myself back to the material plane... Or well, whatever the place I was from before was actually called. You know, with Bernie, Hansel, Bob, the scarycrows... That place. Yes.
>As it begins to (hopefully) work, magically drag the hippo along with me. If I can't take his entire physical(?) form, just tear his mind/soul from his skeletal hippo body and stash it away in my own. We can get him a new body later, once we're back home.
If he complains, explain to him that it's for his own good- he's been stuck out here alone for far too long!
>Whatever happens, will my magical firework-launchers to remain manifested as I cross back into the "real" world.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 12:12:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 03:28:32 am
Timothy, having received ultimate knowledge at last, immediately sets about utilizing it to his advantage. Okay, so what was the first part?
Oh, right. Listen to the crazy non-space and what it wants from you. Well, worth a shot, anyway. He perks up his ears and tries to discern some sort of request from the area.
At first, he hears nothing, but after a while he does hear something resembling a voice coalesce from the background cacophony. Sounds like it wants him to make a... what? It's either a crown or a clown, he's sure of that. He notes down the request, then listens once more.
This time he's pretty sure of what he heard - this voice wants him to kill a man and spill his blood over a specifically prepared altar. A reasonable enough request, he believes. Timothy makes a mental note of the order and listens again.
Now the voices seem terribly silent and standoffish, and he can't hear a single thing they're saying. Wonderful.
In the Tower of the Artiste...
Mark heads outside and tries to find someone.
[Search roll: 3]
Nobody he can see around, unfortunately. It looks like they have wised up a bit!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 04:45:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 04:53:29 am
Mark decides to look for Tom, whoever that is.
[Search roll: 6]
He does find him loafing around the streets, doing very Tom things. From the look of him, Mark would say he is indeed in dire need of an upgrade. Look at him, all fleshy and stuff. That ain't right. There's gotta be something he can do.
Post by: TopHat on April 01, 2013, 04:55:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 04:58:42 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 01, 2013, 05:00:48 am
Actually, I will from now on. This instance was done more out of habit.Hell, if you're going to do that, why not hide every roll outside of combat?
Actually nah. How about hiding every roll to do with observation? Any kind of observation. Seeing whether there's traps, whether the bomb you made works, stuff like that.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 05:14:20 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 05:33:42 am
"upgrades to your body and magic items follow me"
lead him back to the castle
if I get him to the castle "now any specific upgrades you want?" do the upgrades he asks for
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 06:21:22 am
Mark gives a note to Tom describing his potential offerings.
[Tom reaction roll: 6]
"Cool. I'll gladly follow you, weird tree-man! I have always wanted death ray eyes!"
He follows Mark back to the tower and into his room, at which point Mark writes a query related to his wishes.
"Well, I want death ray eyes! Woo! And giant metal claws!"
Well, the customer is always right.
[Mark medicine roll: 4]
He doesn't seem to have any metal claws around that he could use, but there is a jar with two death ray eyes lying around in the lab. Mark carefully removes Tom's old eyes and puts the death ray ones in. When Tom gets up, he tests his newfound abilities on the nearby wall. They work great, blowing out a significant chunk of the wall in a split second.
"Well, I'm kinda sad about the lack of claws, but I guess I'll manage. Thanks for the death ray eyes, dude!"
Tom then proceeds to leave quickly, getting out of the room and diving through the wall he came in through.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 06:27:38 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 01, 2013, 07:41:03 am
If not, and I'm presuming not, crawl to the dining room.
"Come on... Just a little farther... I can become anything I want to be... Just need a little bit of dead flesh..."
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 08:17:52 am
Mark is about to run after Tom, seeking to provide more services unto him! However, as he attempts to pursue his runaway test subject, he is stopped in the basement room by the Artiste.
"Wait, Mark! I have something urgent for your attention! Come here!"
He smiles at the tree-headed skeleton, beckoning him.
In a magical library...
Tom thinks about the books. How well does he remember them, truly? Well enough to recite at will? Well enough to keep to its spirit? It's a rather good question, really. If he had to guess, he'd say it's well enough to remember the juiciest bits, and at the end of the day, is that not what truly matters?
[Will roll: 1-2]
He laughs at his own joke, his lack of lungs making it a soundless gesture. He tries to crawl forward, but a curious wave of powerlessness and apathy assails him. Why does he need to go anywhere, anyway? He's perfectly fine right here. Exploded and mostly dead, but perfectly fine all the same. Moreso, perhaps. There is a certain lack of urgency about dying that one can grow to appreciate. So Tom, rather than get bent out of shape about it, lies back and enjoys the ride, closing his eyes.
As his eyelids fall shut, the angelic sounds of flames consuming vast swathes of land and the shrill screaming of a thousand burning people fill his ears. His spirit lifts at the sound, abandoning the humble shell of a body it formerly inhabited. Carried on the wave of a mighty backdraft, Tom leaves the mortal realm with all possible haste, the cries of the dying and mutilated escorting him on his blazing trail across the aether. Floating across infinite expanses of impenetrable, shimmering mist, Tom's soul, contained in a cradle of crackling flames held together by mystical chains, eventually comes to a rest, and the tortured screaming in his mind eventually lulls him into a perpetual sweet dreaming.
Tom has suffered a death by exploding crystals. You don't see that every day!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on April 01, 2013, 10:05:31 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 10:32:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 01:25:23 pm
Mark listens to what the Artiste has to say with some curiosity. The Artiste tilts his head and smiles coyly.
"Aw, look at you. You thought we forgot, didn't you?"
Uhm... forgot what?
Suddenly, the rest of the mages, Bernie included, jump at Mark and yell "happy birthday" a bit more loudly than Mark is strictly comfortable with! Colorful streamers pour from the ceiling down on him, and the mages all give him a nice group hug.
"Happy birthday, Mark! We'd never forget your birthday. After all, we're your friends. Friends remember each other's birthdays! Look, we even got you a nice cake! It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, so I'm sure you'll love it!"
And there is indeed a very odd-looking cake standing on a nearby table that seems to have materialized out of nowhere. In addition, balloons and a giant banner commemorating this event have similarly appeared from thin air.
Post by: Tomcost on April 01, 2013, 03:53:35 pm
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 01, 2013, 04:04:30 pm
Still, death by explosion is probably how I would have gone out anyway.))
Spoiler: waitlist (click to show/hide)
((Oh, and Mark, I do believe all of those things are explosive when exposed to air or water depending on the metal. Well, except for the nitrogen. I think that is just poisonous. No, no wait. It's only a compound of many poisons. Also many explosives. Convenient.))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 05:07:34 pm
In the Tower of the Artiste...Mark writes "What is nitrogen, phosphorous,and potassium?"
Suddenly, the rest of the mages, Bernie included, jump at Mark and yell "happy birthday"
! Look, we even got you a nice cake! It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, so I'm sure you'll love it!"
((GM why are you trying to kill me I dont want to die ))
Post by: Tomcost on April 01, 2013, 05:15:38 pm
You are a metal skeleton with a tree for a head, just say that you can't eat it because you don't have a mouth.In the Tower of the Artiste...Mark writes "What is nitrogen, phosphorous,and potassium?"
Suddenly, the rest of the mages, Bernie included, jump at Mark and yell "happy birthday"
! Look, we even got you a nice cake! It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, so I'm sure you'll love it!"
((GM why are you trying to kill me I dont want to die ))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 01, 2013, 07:05:29 pm
why can I never think of great stuff like this do itYou are a metal skeleton with a tree for a head, just say that you can't eat it because you don't have a mouth.In the Tower of the Artiste...Mark writes "What is nitrogen, phosphorous,and potassium?"
Suddenly, the rest of the mages, Bernie included, jump at Mark and yell "happy birthday"
! Look, we even got you a nice cake! It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, so I'm sure you'll love it!"
((GM why are you trying to kill me I dont want to die ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 01, 2013, 11:13:51 pm
Mark raises a valid concern with a timely note - he doesn't really have a mouth and, delightful though the cake may be, he can't eat it because of this sad, inescapable fact that you can't easily correct in any manner. What is nitrogen, anyway? Or phosphorous and potassium?
"Oh, don't be silly, little buddy! You don't eat that with your mouth! You just sink your roots into it and wait for physics to do the rest. Now, eat up. After all, plants can't live without their minerals!"
Something feels wrong about this. Probably the fact Bernie seems genuinely happy about something that isn't schadenfreude.
Yeah, that's pretty disturbing.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 12:40:47 am
soul magic doesn't change personality or opinions and bernie dislikes me so he must know something is bad about the cake
(I dont care if that cake gives me super powers I dont want to risk it. also when will the next chapter start (please not with my death))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 02, 2013, 01:02:52 am
Post by: TopHat on April 02, 2013, 04:02:14 am
run through the portal(( Bernie doesn't despise you, he's just indifferent, a bit rude, and often misunderstood. The Artiste, on the other hand, is above hatred.))
soul magic doesn't change personality or opinions and bernie dislikes me so he must know something is bad about the cake
(I dont care if that cake gives me super powers I dont want to risk it. also when will the next chapter start (please not with my death))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 04:36:25 am
:P
Post by: miauw62 on April 02, 2013, 05:10:45 am
((The Artiste is just a power-mad demon fugitive. I really don't see what's wrong here. I DO however know that a substantial part of the air is made out of nitrogen and that potassium kinda explodes when mixed with water. Phosphoros isn't all that healty either, I think. But hey, you're a plant, so all that may be different.))run through the portal(( Bernie doesn't despise you, he's just indifferent, a bit rude, and often misunderstood. The Artiste, on the other hand, is above hatred.))
soul magic doesn't change personality or opinions and bernie dislikes me so he must know something is bad about the cake
(I dont care if that cake gives me super powers I dont want to risk it. also when will the next chapter start (please not with my death))
E: ((Wikipedia tells us that plants are naturally pretty rich in potassium and that it thus won't kill you. Nitrogen won't kill you either.))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 05:46:42 am
change action politle refuse the cake writing "I'll have it later after I get one of my experiments that escaped back then run into the portal.
Post by: Tomcost on April 02, 2013, 08:37:38 am
Short informative video on alkali metals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk) potassium reaction at 1:44
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 02, 2013, 08:40:27 am
((Potassium is not really dangerous. In an episode the MythBusters tried to blow open a door with it and they just couldn't, they even used loads of the next alkali metal (rubidium) and the door remained locked. Or al least I think that it was what happened))((Still, do you want that minor amount of fireworks going on inside your mouth? Especially when you are in fact made of wood?))
Short informative video on alkali metals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk) potassium reaction at 1:44
Post by: Tomcost on April 02, 2013, 08:49:31 am
((Potassium is not really dangerous. In an episode the MythBusters tried to blow open a door with it and they just couldn't, they even used loads of the next alkali metal (rubidium) and the door remained locked. Or al least I think that it was what happened))((Still, do you want that minor amount of fireworks going on inside your mouth? Especially when you are in fact made of wood?))
Short informative video on alkali metals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk) potassium reaction at 1:44
Rich in Potassium doesn't mean that it has pure Potassium in it. Only pure Potassium will explode. Stop the paranoia!
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 02, 2013, 09:33:22 am
Mark, feeling something to be a bit wrong here, decides to write out a polite refusal to the cake.
I'll have it later after I get one of my experiments that escaped back.
The Artiste smiles widely and, moreover, sincerely.
"Oh, Mark, you never change. Don't dawdle too much, though. It took us a bit of time to make this cake, you understand."
"Yeah, I slaved over it for half a day. Come back soon, okay?"
"It is not a party without the guest of honor, after all."
Mark nods to the rest and quickly leaves through the portal, looking for Tom as he runs through the town.
Yet Tom is nowhere to be seen. What he can see, however, is a huge thunder lizard bearing down on the tower! Oh boy.
In a bloody square...
Darren, allowing primal instinct to take control, hides!
[Hiding roll: 5]
He leads the band over to a stone manor next to the square, finding it to be totally unlocked. When he gets in and the band shut the door behind themselves, they feel rather safe. After all, most of the people around are dead. It's only a matter of staying out of the way of the ones that aren't.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 02, 2013, 09:38:03 am
It's a conspiracy!((Potassium is not really dangerous. In an episode the MythBusters tried to blow open a door with it and they just couldn't, they even used loads of the next alkali metal (rubidium) and the door remained locked. Or al least I think that it was what happened))((Still, do you want that minor amount of fireworks going on inside your mouth? Especially when you are in fact made of wood?))
Short informative video on alkali metals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixxJtJPVXk) potassium reaction at 1:44
Rich in Potassium doesn't mean that it has pure Potassium in it. Only pure Potassium will explode. Stop the paranoia!
But yes. It probably won't kill you... then again, why take a chance?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 09:42:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 02, 2013, 09:54:08 am
Mark writes a single word on some paper and runs back inside the tower. He brandishes the note dramatically and waves it in the faces of the people around.
"Godzilla!"
"Oh? What's that? Sounds goofy."
They don't seem to associate this word with anything. Hm.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 09:57:23 am
"giant frikking lizard outside"
Post by: Xanmyral on April 02, 2013, 12:17:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 02, 2013, 01:37:31 pm
Mark explains what he meant by that last note in short, but effective terms.
giant frikking lizard outside
"Oh! You don't say. Well, why don't you take care of that, Mark? It is your birthday, after all."
They all begin to chant "Go Mark, go Mark! It's your birthday, it's your birthday!"
Damn it, now he has to do it.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 02, 2013, 05:43:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 02, 2013, 11:57:49 pm
Mark goes outside and tries to use wind magic on the dang lizard crashing his party.
[Wind magic roll: 2]
Sadly, nothing seems to really be happening. The lizard just keeps walking towards him! And boy, does it look unfriendly or what.
You have to wonder where it came from, really. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing that could hide anywhere around here. And the climate is rather inhospitable to such a lizard, so it couldn't have chosen to come here.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 12:46:47 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 03, 2013, 12:49:56 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 02:14:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 03, 2013, 05:42:37 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 03, 2013, 08:03:39 am
((Looks like it's time for you to pull a Jordan: DISBELIEF DISBELIEF DISBELIEF DISBELIEF DISBELIEF DISBELIEF.))((Wasn't James the one that tried that (and partially succeded in defeating a moving playgrund that way)?))
Post by: miauw62 on April 03, 2013, 08:36:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2013, 09:15:14 am
Mark attempts to disbelieve the existence of the giant thunder lizard!
Unfortunately, it looks very, very real to him. And sounds like it, too.
[Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 6+2 vs. 2+2]
And stomps like it, too! Mark's legs are totally flattened by the mighty foot of the creature! Hm. Perhaps it has a weakness?
Ooh, ooh! He knows! It's probably the eye, the brain or its possible nonexistence!
[Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 6+2 vs. 2+2-1]
Yet another stomp crushes his torso, destroying a a whole lot of roots!
[Mark will roll: 4]
Eh. He's had worse. Well, not really, but it really sounds cooler this way.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 03, 2013, 09:18:12 am
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 03, 2013, 09:19:43 am
Checked by the Waitlist, would you mind adding this one in?Spoiler: waitlist (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2013, 09:47:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 10:14:43 am
get fixed up
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2013, 10:21:46 am
Mark tries to harness the power of wind to throw himself through the portal to the tower!
[Wind magic roll: 5]
It works! He is lifted and thrown right through, landing on the floor in the tower!
"Oh my, how terrible! Erin, fix him up!"
[Erin magic roll: 5]
Mark's legs immediately regain their previous shape! In fact, they look even better than before. Not bad.
"Now get back out there! You can't have any cake until you've dispatched that nasty thing."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 10:44:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2013, 10:48:39 am
Mark steps out of the portal and tries to whup that lizard's scaly behind... with magic!
[Wind magic roll: 2]
And once again, absolutely nothing happens! Better run now!
[Mark movement roll: 5+1]
He darts back into the portal, dropping down to the ground.
You know, he's starting to doubt he can actually cast magic. After all, if it's that easy to just get a focus and use it to do magic, why aren't there more mages? And why do the ones that actually are mages train for so long to get anywhere?
Post by: Xantalos on April 03, 2013, 10:50:26 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 11:37:12 am
well I didnt make my magic through shear force of will
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2013, 11:43:39 am
Mark leaps out of the tower again, seeking to remove air from the creature's brain!
[Wind magic roll: 2-1]
He manages to displace all air from his near vicinity! He starts to feel a bit strange.
[Mark movement roll: 1+1]
He stands around a bit as the thunder lizard aims a kick at him!
[Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 6+2 vs. 4+2]
Mark manages to leap out of the way and only get clipped in the leg by the kick, sending him flying out of the alley mostly unharmed!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2013, 05:54:12 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 03, 2013, 10:18:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2013, 08:04:26 am
Mark tries to create a blast of wind to sweep his reptilian adversary off its feet!
[Wind magic roll: 4-1]
The giant thunder lizard appreciates the nice, cool breeze it is hit with. All that's needed now is a nice drink to go with it. Hm, better hide while it's feeling charitable.
[Hiding roll: 5]
He jumps into a nearby hole in the ground, some kind of collapsed subterranean tunnel by the looks of it. It is cramped and smells badly. A sewer, probably.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 04, 2013, 08:33:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2013, 09:26:07 am
Mark tries to trip up that dang lizard with some wind.
[Wind magic roll: 5-1]
It wobbles unsteadily a bit, losing its balance somewhat! Maybe more wind might do the trick?
In a stone manor in Emlocke...
Darren, having nothing better to do, gets down to composing some heartrending, flesh-ripping, bone-shattering, ear-pleasing music.
[Composition roll: 6]
After a bit of deliberation, he writes a short, simple, but extremely catchy tune. So catchy, in fact, that he can't help but whistle it, at which point the band starts to hum it as they relax in their respective spots. Moreover, it seems to have wormed its way into his ears rather firmly. It'll be tough getting it out.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 04, 2013, 09:37:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2013, 10:02:03 am
Mark, in a fit of mind-boggling originality, tries more wind!
[Wind magic roll: 3-1]
And nothing happens. Glorious. The beast regains its footing and continues to destroy things on its way to the tower. Yeah, magic definitely can't be an easy thing. So it's all the more strange that he just went and got a focus for himself with zero actual knowledge whatsoever. In fact, he doesn't feel connected to the focus at all.
That's pretty weird.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 04, 2013, 11:17:56 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 04, 2013, 11:20:43 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 04, 2013, 11:21:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2013, 11:44:10 am
Darren, flushed with triumph, tries to write yet another song. Clearly, an album is in the making here.
[Composition roll: 5-1]
Powering through the infectious nature of his previous song, Darren composes a new piece - not quite as catchy, not quite as crowd-pleasing, not nearly as likely to become a hit with the pub crowd, but a rather lovely piece no less.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: TopHat on April 04, 2013, 03:31:12 pm
((Did I just see a hidden intelligence roll?))((No, that's why it was hidden in the first place))
((This is getting repetitive and boring))((repetitive?))
Post by: Tomcost on April 04, 2013, 03:39:10 pm
((Yes, the turns were: wind magic stuff (x5) song composition, wind magic stuff, song composition))((This is getting repetitive and boring))((repetitive?))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 04, 2013, 04:32:11 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 04, 2013, 07:50:02 pm
LEAP ON THE LIZARD AND CLIMB UP USING MY KNIVES THEN STABBY STABBY ITS EYES IF I FALL LAUNCH MYSELF AT THE LIZARD WITH WIND MAGIC AND FORCE OF WILL
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 02:22:12 am
Darren takes a look out of the house.
It looks quiet. Too quiet. Something's up around here.
Wait, did that shadow just move? And what was that sound?
Next to a mighty thunder lizard...
Since magic has failed him for the umpteenth time, Mark decides in favor of doing things the old-fashioned way - with knives and climbing!
[Climbing roll: 6+1]
Mark runs up to the lizard and starts to climb like only a metal skeleton with a tree for a head could, which is to say very fast and assisted by knives. He rapidly scales up the beast's leg, getting up to the middle of its back!
[Shaking: Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 6 vs. 5]
The thunder lizard begins to shake so rapidly that Mark begins to lose his grip!
[Climbing roll: 6]
He keeps on climbing, though, stabbing his knives into the beast's back and getting up on its neck!
[Shaking: Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 4 vs. 2]
The lizard smashes its head into a nearby building, causing one of Mark's hands to slip, his body flapping about in the air!
[Mark climbing roll: 6-1]
He doesn't give up, though, and recovers quickly from the trouble he finds himself in, grabbing onto the lizard fully once again. On days like this, it certainly is good to be made of metal. He climbs up the neck and gets on the back of the lizard's head, preparing to unleash stabbing death on the creature.
[Shaking: Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 6 vs. 5]
The lizard starts to swing its head rapidly, making Mark suffer through the giant lizard equivalent of a rodeo! During this, Mark tries to get at the creature's eyes!
[Mark eye attack roll: 2-1]
Mark readies his knife and leaps toward the eye, trying to execute a somersault of knifing fury!
Unfortunately for him, the lizard is a bit too quick, throwing him upwards as he lets go and knocking him away with its head! Mark flies away sideways, moving at a great speed! He tries wind magic! It doesn't work. He tries force of will!
Mark, feeling the rush of wind disappear, looks around. He seems to have stopped mid-air. No magic, nothing. He's just... stopped. Cool, he's got superpowers now!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 04:05:19 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
(Love you Harry)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 04:19:38 am
Rather than question what exactly is happening here, Mark flies on to the lizard!
[Flight roll: 4]
It's not as quick as he would have hoped, but it's certainly good enough! The lizard is certainly surprised to see him flying about!
[Mark eye attack roll: 5]
Mark plunges his sword right into the creature's eye, stabbing it right out! He then repeats this process several times until the creature is rendered blind!
[Thunder Lizard vs. Mark: 5+2-2 vs. 5+2]
As the lizard waves its jaws around and shakes, Mark positions himself at a safe distance. Now the lizard will find it much harder to harm anyone!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 04:34:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 05:10:23 am
Mark tries to fly into the creature's brain and stab it to end this silliness.
[Brain attack roll: 5]
He flies into the eye of the creature, piercing through several layers of soft flesh and totally ruining its brain with a sword. The lizard twitches, then starts to fall. Mark gets out as quickly as he can and watches as the carcass of the beast falls to the ground. Yep, that thing is surely dead.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 05:53:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 05:58:54 am
Mark flies over to the tower and goes in through a conveniently-placed window. He is back in the room with the Artiste! He performs an impressive walk.
[Impressive walk roll: 4]
It doesn't look too shabby, actually! The people in the room applaud his posture and grace.
"You're simply amazing, Mark! The very best minion a man could ever ask for. You may have your cake."
The cake, made of soil and rich in plant nutrients, beckons Mark to sink his roots into it.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 06:05:50 am
eat it (in the planty way) using my sheer Badass power to live through anything that trys to kill me
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 06:23:00 am
Mark sinks his roots into the cake. Yum. It's all soil-like and everything. Yeah. Feel those nutrients soaking into his root system. Feels good, man.
As Mark gorges on the cake, he is tapped on the shoulder by the Artiste.
"Enjoy your cake, Mark. After that, I think we'll all be hitting the sack. It's been a long day. You should rest, too."
You know, come to think of it, he is feeling kinda tired. He'd yawn if he had a mouth.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 06:26:30 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 06:27:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 06:31:29 am
Mark, realizing that he really shouldn't be able to feel tired, goes to his room and takes a seat on his luxurious bed, pretending to go to sleep. He lays on the bed for several hours.
Nothing happens.
Nothing happens a lot. Seriously, it's getting perilously boring in here.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 06:38:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 06:42:54 am
Mark decides that nobody is going to kill him. For now. So he can snooze for a while, relax. Let his guard down for a bit. Enjoy life. All that good stuff.
He has sweet dreams in his comfy bed. Dreams of adventure, of glory, of all kinds of things. Things he almost can't imagine. He wakes up some hours later. It is a bright new day, and everyone's walking around, being generally busy and doing their own things. It looks to be a good day for new adventures.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 07:02:03 am
"hey Harry what do I have to do to get some more players in
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 07:06:04 am
Mark tries to break the fourth wall.
It's made of stone, sadly. And breaking it would ultimately be counterproductive, as it would produce a draft. Besides, he has to get to adventuring!
He heads out into the main room, seeing that the Artiste is already up and about. He looks worried.
"Quick, Mark! You're our only hope! Somebody raised the giant lizard outside, it's rampaging about again! But it's undead this time!"
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 07:53:03 am
(this is for you waitlisters)
Post by: TopHat on April 05, 2013, 07:54:22 am
Suspicious...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 07:56:09 am
Mark asks if the necromancers can raise more undead.
"There's no time, there's a gods-damned undead lizard coming at us!"
"Yeah, hurry up and kill it!"
Oh, right. That.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 08:31:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 08:39:11 am
Mark turns to the Artiste.
"Bind it, mate! Or can't you do it?"
"Oh, if only I could! But even my powers have limits! It's all up to you, Mark!"
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 08:44:33 am
fly out and fly into the eye sockets again then wreak the insides of the beast
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 08:55:57 am
Mark flies out of the tower and flies right at the beast, sailing right into its ruined eye. He then begins to ruin the beast's insides.
It takes him no time at all to completely obliterate the beast from the inside, separate its body into tiny pieces and burn it on several ritual pyres, then salt the earth where it once stood. The beast is defeated! Mark sails through the sky in triumph, the flames of glory following right behind him, leaving the blazing trail of a comet. He writes out his name in the sky for all to see, complete with a suitable title.
MARK
UTTER BADASS
UTTER BADASS
Gods, this feels good. He flies back into the tower, performing a perfect badass walk as he does so. The people inside - Bernie, Erin, Art, Evelyn, the Artiste, zombie guy, pyromaniac weirdo, Tom - all applaud.
"Great work, Mark! And happy birthday! We have cake for you."
And indeed, there it is - rich, delightful cake for Mark to enjoy at his leisure.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 09:01:40 am
disbelive in the
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 05, 2013, 09:16:09 am
Alternate Suggestion: Just do the first part of the first suggestion. The other atrocities are just extra credit towards one Cthulhu Point.
Alternate Alternate Suggestion: Create a United Bureaucracy of Tribbles.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 09:25:07 am
Mark feels disbelief creep into his mind.
[Will roll: 6-2]
You know, this does actually seem a bit unlikely. Say, aren't you supposed to be dead, pyromaniac weirdo?
The pyromaniac weirdo falls apart into tiny pieces. Yeah, thought so. And you there, Yorinnsud! You're dead as well. Mark buried you. So don't even think about coming out here! And it's not his birthday, damn it, and it wasn't yesterday, either! It's actually two months from now, so there!
The birthday banners and the cake disintegrate. The streamers lying all around become dust, the festive mood of the room becomes a thing of the past. The Artiste looks vaguely bored, Bernie looks vaguely frustrated, Evelyn looks generally uncaring, Erin... well, Erin's still pretty upbeat. And Art's not too bad, either. But still, there's no birthdays going on anymore.
You know, this makes him doubt several other things. Hey, Tom, are you real?
"Sorry, no. And death ray eyes don't actually exist in transplantable form, you're pretty sure. They're more of an innate attribute of the soul, you see," he says, shaking his head and disappearing.
Okay, what about you, zombie guy?
"Um, nope, sorry, also do you know-" he begins, but is cut off by his own nonexistence.
How terrible! And you, sword?
The sword falls out of Mark's hands and disappears. Damn it, Mark thought he could trust you.
"Are any of you-"
"No, we're not actually real. Took you long enough to figure out. Oh, and you can't actually speak. Thought I'd remind you."
Oh. That's right. You're not real either, eh, ghost dude?
"Nope. You couldn't chuck a real ghost, could you?"
Well, that is a good point. Mark looks out the window. The pyres are gone, as is Emlocke. Nothing exists out there. Oh well. Mark sits down in a chair that has appeared behind him as the room crumbles to bits and everything turns black.
When the light returns, Mark is greeted by the sight of an opulent dining room. He seems to be sitting at the table alongside about fifteen other men and women, most of whom appear to be mages. Some of the mages are lurched forward, their heads resting on the tables. Others still seem to have lulled their heads back, their mouths open. None of them look awake in any form. Some of the seats around him are empty.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 09:32:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 09:50:49 am
Mark checks himself. He realizes he's been thoroughly looted. He checks the other people around. He realizes they've been thoroughly looted as well. Dang it all.
He hears something very vaguely. Like a... chuckle of some sort, but it's distant. Not too far, mind you, but somewhere.
Post by: Xantalos on April 05, 2013, 09:52:10 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 09:55:00 am
((Oh Artiste.))that evil asshole I liked being able to fly through will power
(do I still have my metal body and tree head) look around the room slapping the mages to try and wake them up as I go
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 10:35:10 am
Mark checks if he still has his tree head!
He does. Phew. That's a relief. And his metal bones are in place as well. He looks around the room.
The room is dominated by a massive, long oaken dining room table with ornate carvings of scenes of revelry decorating its surface. Though there are people seated around the table, there isn't any cutlery, though there are a few brass candlesticks with candles still in them. There are several tall windows lining the wall, showcasing a rather nice view of Emlocke from what appears to be the third floor. Actually, he can see the square from here. It is still full of blood and has Yorinnsud's grave in it. The other wall is lined with cases full of glasses, plates, cups and other such contrivances, with paintings of calming vistas decorating the places not covered up already.
Okay then, time to slap some of these mages to consciousness. He walks up to one, a lady in her twenties with a sky blue robe and slaps her with his metal palm.
She doesn't react at all. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is open, a small stream of drool trickling down her chin. She's obviously alive, but it doesn't look like she's likely to respond to him. Hm. He goes up to another mage, an old man in a blue and gold robe and picks him up from his slumped position on the table. Also not responsive. He slaps the man silly, but his only response is to begin twitching and foaming at the mouth. Huh.
Wait, there is definitely someone snickering somewhere nearby. It is an evil snicker, the kind you would make after watching a man fall into a devious trap many years in the making.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 10:43:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 10:51:48 am
Mark directs a very annoyed bird in the general direction of the voice, then grabs a comatose mage, a middle-aged lady in a black robe. Using her as a shield, Mark dives at the window!
[Window durability roll: 1]
The window shatters immediately and Mark flies right out of it, comatose mage at the ready to break his fall! He lands on the mage, safely protecting his metal form from unsightly scratches!
[Lady endurance roll: 6]
That lady is made of stern stuff. She doesn't seem to be particularly hurt aside from a broken nose. Cradling his shield close to him, Mark takes a look around.
He sees nothing. Nothing beneath him, nothing above him, nothing around him.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 05, 2013, 10:55:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 11:41:01 am
Darren goes forth to investigate these spooky events happening around here. He is, after all, supremely qualified in matters of spookiness. Putting on his metaphorical detective hat, he takes a careful look around the square.
All is well. It's still full of blood and melted corpses, but that is hardly unusual. All is still.
Well, except for a tree-headed metal skeleton crashing through a window and landing on a middle-aged comatose woman that he seems to be utilizing as a shield. The skeleton then gets up, still wielding the woman, then... nothing. He's just standing around.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 05, 2013, 12:06:30 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 05, 2013, 12:11:57 pm
Check if the skeleton has a mind through possesion. Don't d anything with the body, however.((You can't possess people. If you do, you have to have a body to survive, if not, you will banish))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 05, 2013, 12:39:45 pm
Darren takes a closer look at the skeleton standing about. It's pretty difficult to tell whether it has a mind, really. It doesn't look particularly clever, what with the tree for a head and all. How does it even see, Darren has to wonder. Oh, if only he could possess whoever he pleased! But alas, he can only pretend to do so through clever telekinesis and ventriloquism.
There does seem to be something pushing on the skeleton. Something strange. Listening in, Darren can hear the faint rustle of clothing in the thin air. How strange.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 05, 2013, 06:07:08 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 05, 2013, 07:33:47 pm
Investigate.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 01:27:44 am
Mark looks around. There's nothing. Nothing at all.
Okay, so this is probably an illusion. Ergo, it should be willed away as soon as possible. After all, this can't be real, can it?
Mark strains his mind to the limit to facilitate maximum disbelief, but nothing happens. Huh. Maybe it's not just in his mind, then. Maybe this is different. For one, he actually feels that he is moving slightly. Like something's pushing him forward.
In a bloody square...
Darren tries to investigate the thing pushing the skeleton, as that seems to be the most intriguing thing at the moment. And there is only one way he knows of to investigate such things - telekinesis!
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
Focusing his mind on the thin air, he picks a rather large portion of it up, lifts it high up above himself and begins to shake it! It does seem to be some kind of invisible creature, judging by all the screeching and such.
[Creature inventory retaining roll: 4]
A few coins fall out of it, turning visible as they do so. They look pretty strange, Darren has to say. Quite unlike any he's seen so far.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 04:07:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 04:20:03 am
Mark looks for the jar in his branches! Hey, they didn't actually get that one. That's good. Or at least he assumes it's the same jar. He can't actually see anything, you know.
He can, however, hear something. And that something is explosions coming from a distance. They seem to be getting closer.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 05:41:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 05:47:59 am
Mark looks for what was pushing him just now. There was something, he's sure of it. Sadly, it is nowhere to be found. Must have disappeared or something.
Stupid darkness. How does it work, even? He doesn't even have eyes or anything resembling them. So how can he be seeing nothing at all? 'Tis a mystery, he's afraid.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 05:52:12 am
(It worked when I was in a magic dream it will work now)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 06:07:00 am
Mark realizes that the reality of this situation is questionable at best. So he disbelieves his blindness some more.
Needless to say, this doesn't really work. It's probably because he's been cut off from his ability to see anything - somebody's been messing with his mind something fierce. Well, at least he can still hear and touch things. And right now, there seems be something explosive going on around him.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 07:01:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 07:18:55 am
Mark decides that now might be a good time to experience a total breakdown. He falls over, assumes the traditional fetal position and attempts to cry. However, being lacking in eyes, not to mention tear ducts, he fails even at that. So he assumes a respectable, solemn silence in his position.
At that point, the entire square he is in loses its structural integrity in a highly explosive manner due to a massive underground detonation!
[Mark flight roll: 2]
Mark is thrown upwards slightly, but he tumbles down upon the square right quick. Well, not exactly the square. More like the enormous pit of darkness formed by a large explosion and leading downwards.
[Mark endurance roll: 1+2]
As he falls downward, Mark becomes acutely aware of the fact that he has no left leg anymore. Or much of a right leg, for that matter. Hm. This is troubling. And he's still falling. Huh.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 09:29:33 am
disbelieve
disbelieve
disbelieve
disbelieve
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 09:48:58 am
Mark, blind and moving downwards ever quicker, sticks to his motto: don't stop disbelievin'!
[Disbelief roll: 5]
He has successfully disbelieved his current predicament. Now that he is thoroughly convinced of the unreality of his current experience, he can continue.
[Mark landing roll: 1]
You know, he's been falling for over ten minutes now. It's getting a bit weird. And despite his complete inability to see a single gods-damned thing, he can't help but feel that things are getting... darker, somehow. Must be some kind of meta-darkness. Or at least that's what he figures himself likely to have imagined. Seriously, sometimes he can be so ridiculous.
~Why so glum, chum?~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 10:09:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2013, 10:20:00 am
Mark figures he'd better play along with the imaginary voice.
~Oh crap, I've been possessed, haven't I? Alright, what do you want and how do I get you out of my head?~
~Don't be silly, you haven't been possessed. You've just been magically blinded. And then you fell into the Infinite Black Pit of Darkness after an explosion exposed it to the surface for the first time in several ages. You sure seem to be having good luck today, by the way. And if you really want me out of your head, you need but ask. I am merely speaking to you because it is good form to offer companionship to one falling alone in the Infinite Black Pit of Darkness.~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2013, 06:01:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 02:42:59 am
Mark, having nothing better to do, asks the persistent figment some more questions.
~Can you lift the darkness spell, please?~
~Ah, but there is no darkness spell to lift. You are blind and plunging into the Infinite Black Pit of Darkness with no hope of ever getting out. Speaking of getting out, I really should be going. There's a party going on nearby and I, suave fellow that I am, absolutely must crash it. Cheerio!~
The voice disappears from Mark's mind. Well, crap.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 03:13:25 am
(it worked before)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 03:23:30 am
Mark tries to pray to the gods! Maybe Rysinia will help him out, you never know.
[Prayer roll: 2]
Doesn't look like gods are likely to help him any. Not sure how they could, either. Ah well. Time to break the laws of physics the easy way. Mark strains his willpower and his suspension of disbelief to fly, fly like an eagle!
Needless to say, this doesn't work. Dang it all.
~Hiya! Whatcha doin' there, man?~
And now somebody else is accosting him. Excellent.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 03:39:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 03:57:21 am
Mark, still falling in darkness, just keeps on talking to voices in his head.
~What does it look like? No offense, but I can't see a thing.~
~You ain't missin' anything. They don't call it the Infinite Black Pit of Darkness for nothin'.~
~Oh.~
~We mostly use our own special senses here. D'you have any special senses to use?~
~Uh...~
~Di'n't think so. I could unlock one for ya. Just one, ya know. No need to go too fast an' all.~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 05:40:49 am
~by the way what kind of senses do you mind and how do you unlock them~
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 06:16:44 am
Mark shrugs both physically and mentally at the unreality of it all.
~I just broke out of a magic dream using just my own willpower, I'll be fine with anything you do.~
~Great! You'll love it. It's absolutely amazing, operatin' on fifteen senses at once.~
~By the way what kind of senses do you have in mind, and how do you unlock them?~
~Well, it's a tad hard decribin' em', since some of 'em are extratemporal or extradimensional and stuff. The one easiest to get is kinda like clairvoyance, seein' with your soul and stuff. Very helpful. Don't need eyes or even a head for it. Or even a body. It's kinda like when you're dead and you see stuff around you, except it gets activated while you're alive. Pretty simple, really, though ya need someone with knowledge of it to do that. The extradimensional and extratemporal ones require... perspective, let's say. Ya gotta know what's there to know what it's like to see it and then learn to see it, ya know?~
~What now, then?~
~Now we get to unlockin' your soul-o-vision!~
[Mark will roll: 4]
For a searing instant, Mark feels that his body has been torn into billions of pieces and scattered to the winds, then put back together the next instant! Good gods, that was unpleasant. On the bright side, though, he can now see! Sort of, you know. It's a bit weird - it's like his original sight, except he can see everything around him in a full 360 degree angle. And though there really isn't much to see, considering that this is the Infinite Black Pit of Darkness he does notice something in the infinite darkness all around - tiny glowing points like stars in the distance, moving about and seemingly having a good time.
~It worked, di'n't it? Nothin' like bein' disintegrated, killed and put back together before your soul can escape to awaken new horizons, eh?~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 06:31:22 am
~so what is being dead like and do you know any way to get out of this hole~
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 06:58:32 am
Mark can't help but agree with the voice.
~Done it myself. I'm undead, but I don't know what happened while I was fully dead.~
~Well, ya see, there's a reason for that. Really, really dyin' is a bit of an interestin' experience. If you actually pass into the beyond, it's apparently otherworldly enough for it to be totally incompatible with yer mind. So it just doesn't register properly.~
~So what is being dead like?~
~Unfairly vague and vaguely unfair, since you don't actually experience it. Instead it's like ya've been thrown into an infinite mass o' info ya can't process. And when ya do eventually gain the ability to process it, ya've moved so far beyond what made ya a livin' creature that ya really have nothin' in common with the world. To them, the world is too alien to understand anymore, so they can't be called back by any mortal or immortal.~
~Ah. Do you know any way to get out of this hole?~
~Oh, to be sure. I can explode ya and catch yer escaping soul by reformin' your body around it topside. It's a bit dangerous, since I could miss and then yer soul would go to the beyond and stuff. My help'd be free, but ya could also look fer a safer alternative, like makin' a pact with someone around. It'll cost ya, though.~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 07:05:21 am
look around for any thing that could help me
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 07:28:25 am
Mark realizes that something should really be done now.
~With my luck, I would reform as a dragon, but I think I'll look around a bit first. Never know when luck will run out.~
~Words to live by, words to live by.~
Mark is about to look for something that could help him, but he notices that he seems to have gathered quite a crowd.
~Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear you were looking for an exit.~
~Indeed, we couldn't help it.~
~So here we were thinking, if the three of us concentrated hard enough, we could get you out, no sweat.~
~Yeah. No risk on your part.~
~But you'll have to compensate us.~
~20 souls sacrificed to each of us within a month of your release and we won't pull you right back in.~
~20 souls in each of our names.~
~Detailed in the contract, all three of them and the rites to be performed.~
~You'll find it on you when you get out.~
~It's completely safe, and you'll find it to be worth the expense.~
Post by: killerhellhound on April 07, 2013, 07:37:48 am
~mmm how about 50 souls shared between you and do I get some sort of magic soul sucking device to trap kills or have to take living captives~
Post by: Tomcost on April 07, 2013, 08:58:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 07, 2013, 09:32:12 am
Mark, clearly not died yesterday, tries to argue with the three voices.
~Mmm, how about 50 souls shared between you?~
~Nope, it has to be 20 for each. It's a necessary number, and we can go no lower.~
~Yes, no lower.~
~Do I get some sort of magic soul sucking device to trap kills or have to take living captives?~
~Living captives, definitely.~
~Otherwise, no rites will be possible. If we could give you such a device, there would be no need for the rites.~
~So you have to clonk 60 people on the head and make sure they're unconscious for long enough to properly remove their souls and send them to us.~
~If they were awake, it would be far more difficult.~
Post by: kahn1234 on April 08, 2013, 06:18:57 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 08, 2013, 06:58:22 am
~so what souls do you want souls with big bodies or strong souls with small bodies~
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 08, 2013, 08:07:53 am
Mark questions the exact demands of the voices.
~So, what souls do you want - souls with big bodies or strong souls with small bodies?~
~No such thing as a strong soul.~
~All souls are equal.~
~There are, however, minds associated with them.~
~Unnecessary remnants.~
~Simple minds are preferable for our purposes.~
~Animal minds are less trouble than human ones.~
~Humans are easier to capture, subdue, deceive or prepare.~
~Plants and fungi are very easy to catch and have no minds to speak of, though rather difficult to prepare.~
~Complex and alien souls require special rituals.~
~Rituals we have not figured out yet.~
Ah.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 08, 2013, 08:41:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 08, 2013, 08:52:42 am
After much deliberation, Mark has reached a conclusion.
~Fuck it, beam me up, random voices.~
~Careful with that enthusiasm.~
~You might hurt someone.~
~Possibly yourself.~
Wait, Mark has an idea!
~Do undead souls work?~
~Sure. Preparation's the same as people and animals.~
~Unless it's an undead fungus.~
~True enough. Though they, admittedly, are nigh-impossible to kill.~
~Enough dawdling. Concentrate!~
There is a faint hum, then a flash of light! Within a split second, Mark finds himself back in Emlocke.
It's a lot more exploded than he remembers. Weird. And he does have the contract with him now. That's good, he supposes.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 08, 2013, 09:23:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 08, 2013, 09:36:42 am
Mark realizes that he probably needs a weapon of some kind. Better get to searchin'! He starts to look high and low, inside houses and outside of them. He comes to the conclusion that they have mostly exploded. And that there are no weapons in ready availability, considering that pretty much the whole town is in a variable state of exploditude.
He does, however, notice one peculiarity. In one shattered street, the road having jutted up, sunk or even just plain exploded in places, there appears to be a woman with a sizable steel hammer and a shield, not to mention a set of full plate armor. She appears to be pursuing a short, frightened man with curly blonde hair wearing tan robes. She also appears to be built like a duke's keep, about an inch away from being seven feet tall.
[Man escape roll: 1]
[Armored Lady pursuit roll: 3]
The lady, clearly somewhat tired, pursues the man at a slow rate. This would be all fine and good, but the man seems to trip on the unfavorable terrain, losing his footing and falling.
"Now I've got you, you little weasel!"
It doesn't look like she likes this man.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 08, 2013, 11:31:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 08, 2013, 11:51:33 am
Darren, noticing the coins, tries to grab them!
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He grabs the coins telekinetically, but is disappointed that he can't put them in his pocket, being incorporeal. Meanwhile, the screeching invisible thing drops to the ground!
[Invisi-Thing landing roll: 6]
Judging from the sound of it, the creature was prepared. Crazy prepared. It starts to run immediately after hitting the ground, trying to make a daring escape!
[Darren reaction roll: 1]
As Darren turns back to it, it goes quiet. Wherever it went, good luck finding it now. And then the entire square explodes and collapses into a dark abyss, taking the tree-skeleton-thing and the coins with it. Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous. At least the explosion didn't affect him, what with him being intangible and all. And the house the skeleton fell out of seems pretty intact as well. So maybe it's not actually that bad.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 08, 2013, 07:38:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 08, 2013, 11:10:31 pm
Mark tries to sneakily approach the armored woman to execute a daring plan.
[Stealth vs. Perception roll: 4 vs. 6]
Luckily, she seems to be rather distracted by the robed fellow. Mark gets right up behind her, then leaps up on her neck and tries to snap it! Mid-jump, however, she seems to sense something, turning around! The result is that Mark kind of gives her a hug.
"What are you doing, creature? You are interfering with my quest! Cease and desist!"
[Man escape roll: 5]
The frightened man, seeing his opportunity, decides to make his escape as rapidly as possible. He disappears into a ruined alley after sprinting away as quickly as a man in mortal peril could, which is to say rather fast indeed.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 09, 2013, 12:56:25 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 09, 2013, 09:39:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 09, 2013, 10:40:24 am
Mark realizes that a good idea would be to restrain the woman before she realizes what's going on.
[Grapple: Mark vs. Armored Lady: 3+1 vs. 2+1]
He manages to put his arms around her, restraining her arms somewhat. That is to say she hasn't put up much resistance yet. He doesn't actually know how well restrained she is, to tell the truth.
"I don't understand what you are trying to tell me here, creature! Are you trying to show affection? Because I really have business that needs taking care of."
Well, maybe a bit less subtlety is in order. Mark is about to choke the woman, but then comes to the conclusion that this might not be the best idea for two reasons, mostly. The first of these is that her neck seems to have an armored collar around it exactly to prevent such attacks and worse. The second is that he would have to let go of her arms to do this. He could also try to bash her head into a wall, but this would, once again, require him to let go, plus there are no walls in ready availability.
In the collapsed square of Emlocke...
Darren, somewhat disoriented from the crashing and burning of his most recent venue, takes a look around.
He comes to the conclusion that things have exploded around him most verily. Emlocke's pretty much done for, though most of the buildings around the square look to be in reasonably good condition. Including the one the band's hiding in. That's good, he guesses. Speaking of.
He flies back into the band's hideout and relays this troubling state of affairs. They look to be rather freaked out both by the invisible screeching thing and the fact that the town just exploded into bits.
"Man, we sure lucked out there. Seems like this place is screwed."
The other band members agree heartily.
Post by: miauw62 on April 09, 2013, 11:37:34 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 09, 2013, 05:27:23 pm
(she already knows Im not human because of the metal arms griping her)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 06:50:06 am
Mark lets go of the woman and looks for some charcoal.
Considering that the area around here has been burnt, then exploded, this isn't terribly difficult. Also, the fellow that just escaped seems to have dropped a book of some kind, supplying the perfect material to write on as well.
As he searches, the woman turns back to the conspicuous absence of her intended victim.
"Damnation, he escaped! Well, only one thing to do now."
She kneels down and goes quiet, putting her palms together and bowing her head. Seconds later, she gets up and starts to run in the direction the robed guy went!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 08:27:59 am
a good offering
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 09:15:44 am
Mark tries to follow the armored woman!
[Armored Lady movement roll: 3]
[Mark trailing roll: 5+1]
Mark follows her expertly, managing to keep on her trail the entire way! Eventually they reach a house of some kind. The lady runs up to the door and tugs on it, then pushes on it. Hm. Locked.
She stands for a few seconds, then goes around the side. Wonder what she's going to do?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 09:45:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 10:02:56 am
Mark goes back to the front door of the house and tries to kick it down!
[Homewrecking roll: 5+1]
He kicks the door into splinters, then marches right into the house! He looks around the house for a bit. Looks mostly harmless, just a- wait, is that the robed guy in the kitchen?
Why, it is! Fancy that. He looks at Mark with a frightened expression! That is, until he notices the book, at which point he looks quite relieved.
"Hey, hey, man! Gimme that book and we can work something out! Come on, before she-"
[Armored Lady homewrecking roll: 1+1+1]
There is a loud thump on the wall behind him accompanied by visible cracks appearing along its surface.
"Aw, shit, she's here!"
He looks at the wall in terror, backing away quickly from the thumping sound.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 12:14:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 12:42:10 pm
Ignoring the man's pleas, Mark moves out of the way of the wall, then starts to leaf through the book.
Yep, it's definitely a magical book of some kind. It's filled with physical binding spells and enchantments relating to them. So, how did it go again? "You just have to want it", he believes. Sounds like good advice to him!
[Attunement roll: 1-2]
Okay, he wants it! He wants it badly! He wants it so much he's ready to do a whole lot of things!
Nothing happens. Huh. He must need to concentrate more. Yeah, that's it! Concentrate! He concentrates and concentrates, then something happens! He feels... connected to the book now! Well, his delusions told him this was the right thing to do, so he guesses he can't be too far off his mark. Heh, mark.
[Armored Lady homewrecking roll: 2+2]
A chunk of the wall is displaced by the armored woman's hammer, followed by another. She isn't quite through yet, though. The robed guy looks quite panicked.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 01:10:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 01:34:32 pm
Mark drops the book and takes up an optimum viewing position!
[Armored Lady homewrecking roll: 1+2]
The lady hits the wall with the hammer again, dislodging another piece. Then she stops. Meanwhile, the robed man, quickly looking about, takes a look at the book Mark just dropped.
"Oh, right! Mine!"
He runs up to Mark and grabs the book, then flips to a certain page!
[Man magic roll: 6-1]
He reads out a few words and makes very expressive hand gestures, giving Mark a familiar feeling. Physical binding. The man stares wild-eyed at him.
"Strange... the book... hm... no matter. You delay her while I make my escape! Do it now! If I am hurt, you will die, do you understand me?"
Damn it all. The man, having given his order, runs off into the next room and quietly sneaks out the front door!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 01:37:16 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 10, 2013, 01:38:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 01:56:32 pm
Mark runs right after the robed man!
[Necromancer escape roll: 5]
[Mark pursuit roll: 2+1]
When he runs out, the dang bastard is pretty far away already. Mark's gonna have to rush to catch him!
[Necromancer escape roll: 5]
[Mark pursuit roll: 1+1]
He runs into yet another alley, then through some half-collapsed buildings, then somewhere else entirely! Mark, superior speed and tirelessness be damned, can't catch the rat bastard! Well, crap.
Looking back, he sees that the woman has broken into the house, only to find nobody within. She drops to her knees again, though she looks vaguely dissatisfied as she gets back up again.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2013, 06:03:49 pm
((How many times has Mark been bounded to another person? I mean, either by soulbinding or physical binding. This could be possibly a new record!))5 one for benie three for the three mages 1 for the asshole demon and 1 for this jerk
look for any undestroyed buildings and find a blacksmith
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2013, 11:25:35 pm
Mark looks for some sort of blacksmith's shop as well as any other buildings that might be of use.
After about half an hour of looking, he finds a place - it's a blacksmith's shop! This one seems to have specialized in farming equipment, though, as that's the only thing in any sort of decent supply here.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 11, 2013, 06:24:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 11, 2013, 06:36:36 am
Mark picks up every little bit of farming equipment he can find and tries to make a halberd out of it! However, he runs into the most unfortunate problem of totally lacking any sort of metallurgy expertise, not to mention the fact that the forge in the shop appears to have been blown into bits.
Bummer, that.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 11, 2013, 07:04:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 11, 2013, 07:13:48 am
Mark looks at all the farm implements on hand in the shop.
There are mostly rakes, shovels, sickles, hoes and wooden threshing flails around. None of them look like they'd be particularly effective weapons, considering that Mark has literal fists of steel at his disposal. Maybe the sickle, but even that's up for debate. All in all, not really the best bounty one could hope for.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 11, 2013, 07:35:58 am
find a necromancer
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 11, 2013, 08:04:09 am
Mark, not about to pick up that much junk, heads out and looks for a necromancer.
Well, Bernie and Art are presumably in the tower. And the robed guy should be somewhere around. Other than that, he doesn't know if there are any necromancers to be found. He does, however, feel a sense of alarm. Like something important to his safety and well-being is happening someplace around.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 11, 2013, 08:05:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 11, 2013, 08:17:31 am
Mark runs over to the tower. It looks to have fallen - the entire thing is now leaning crookedly on a nearby stone building. It looks to be in rather bad shape, all in all.
The main question right now is how he might get in. This has proven problematic in the past. On the bright side, he feels a tad bit safer now.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 11, 2013, 09:36:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 11, 2013, 09:57:03 am
Darren floats for a bit, then, true to form, asks a very good question!
"Yup. So... are we just waiting here?"
"I guess. I mean, what are we gon-"
The leader is interrupted by a sound resembling an explosion of some kind coming from outside! The sound of it crashes over the front of the manor like a tidal wave, shattering the facade into pieces and making it fall into the abyss below! The entire house sways and cracks with the force of it all, slowly crumbling away as the ground beneath it begins to slide into the abyss! It appears that their hiding place has been compromised!
Darren looks at the new lack of a facade the house has, spying two shapes through the dust near one of the entrances to the square. One is a quadrupedal creature - probably a dog of some kind. The other is a man in an armored robe, one of his arms abnormally long, stretching down to his feet.
"Shit! The ground's givin' way!"
"Oh, gods! We're gonna die!"
"Aaagh!"
The house does seem to be quickly lurching and sinking into the hole in the ground.
Post by: kahn1234 on April 12, 2013, 02:43:01 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 12, 2013, 02:44:30 am
can i just ask, where are the other players? they seem to have disappeared.Yoink's not active too often, Tom died, and firelordsky seems to have dropped off of Bay12.
Post by: kahn1234 on April 12, 2013, 02:45:42 am
at the moment it seems to be going slowly mainly due to the lack of players.
Post by: miauw62 on April 12, 2013, 03:12:21 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 12, 2013, 03:15:47 am
Harry's engaged wrap-up-mode, so hopefully it won't be too long.The end seems to be approaching, so it'll be along shortly.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 12, 2013, 06:15:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 12, 2013, 06:22:20 am
Find that Mage knock him out
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 12, 2013, 07:08:07 am
Rather than try to enter the tower, Mark seeks out the mage who bound him! He runs down the street, then begins to look in alleyways around the place.
Ten minutes later, he runs right into the guy! He looks to have been a bit too busy looking behind him to pay attention to Mark, narrowly avoiding running face-first into the tree-head of the skeletal minion!
"What in gods' names are you doing, freakshow? I nearly-"
[Non-lethal subdual: Mark vs. Necromancer: 2+1 vs. 3-1]
Mark lightly clonks the necromancer on the head!
"The fuck are you doing?"
[Non-lethal subdual: Mark vs. Necromancer: 6+1 vs. 2]
Mark decides that the man is deserving of a better demonstration, certainly. He performs a tree-headbutt on the man, making him lose consciousness immediately!
[Necromancer endurance roll: 1]
He appears to be bleeding out of his ears and completely ruined nose. Maybe that was a bit too hard of a headbutt.
[Mark will roll: 5]
Mark feels a bit lightheaded, but it passes quickly enough. Blood from the necromancer's head pools on the cobblestones.
Post by: Tomcost on April 12, 2013, 09:23:27 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 12, 2013, 09:59:39 pm
((Mark is lucky as hell. Killerhellhound, how many virgins do you sacrifice each day to the Random Number Gods?))Oh I sold my services to the RNG so if they need anything done I get thrown at it.
It helps that my mind is trained to withstand insanity causing effects and mind control that's quite rare and useful apparently.
They are quite nice and are willing to bend some rolls for me.
now take the book and look through it maybe I can sell it
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 12:30:50 am
Mark takes a look at the book. Well, it's definitely magical, considering that it seemed to do magic when the necromancer used it. Therefore, it must have some kind of value to someone! Hooray!
He is interrupted in his appreciation by the sound of metal-plated feet approaching from a nearby street.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 02:37:16 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 13, 2013, 02:38:08 am
go to the street and try to sell the book for a halberd or money(You do realize there's almost no one left alive in the town, right?)
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 02:50:30 am
Mark looks for prospective buyers if his new book, the Book of Bindings! He walks up to the approaching armored woman.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 1]
He lifts the book above his head and sprints at her to speedily inform her of the great savings on binding literature she can take advantage of right now!
[Armored Lady vs. Mark: 1+2 vs. 5+2]
She hardly seems to have expected something as weird as that to happen at this particular time of day, so she hardly even dodges as Mark runs right into her, starting to smack her over the helmet with the book to drive home his sales pitch!
[Counterattack: Mark vs. Armored Lady: 6 vs. 2+2]
This produces a sizable dent in the lady's helmet, visibly shaking her up!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 5+1]
She, however, is hardly hindered by this sudden book-based assault!
[Armored Lady vs. Mark: 5+2 vs. 4+2]
She rolls out from under the skeleton, kicking him away before he can do more serious damage!
"Alright, fiend, I have had quite enough of your tomfoolery!"
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 03:44:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 04:12:47 am
Wielding the spellbook with great gusto, Mark tries to kill the armored woman!
[Mark vs. Armored Lady: 1 vs. 5+3]
However, the lady is quite prepared for such an attack this time, ducking as Mark leaps and countering by swinging the hammer upwards!
[Counterattack: Armored Lady vs. Mark: 2+2 vs. 2+3]
However, she does not time it quite right, missing Mark by a considerable margin and watching as he flies past her.
[Armored Lady vs. Mark: 1+2 vs. 6+2]
As the lady swings the hammer again, Mark releases his hold on the book and catches the hammer, then tries to pull it right out of her hands!
[Opposed strength roll: Mark vs. Lady: 4 vs. 6+1]
The lady, unfortunately, doesn't seem very keen on letting it go, however, swinging the hammer around until Mark is forced to let go. It's book time again!
[Mark vs. Armored Lady: 3 vs. 4+3]
Unfortunately, paper, while it may beat rock handily, is hardly useful against metal.
[Counterattack: Armored Lady vs. Mark: 1+2 vs. 6+2]
Fortunately, the armored lady is still perilously slow enough for Mark to be able to catch her hammer again! Take two!
[Opposed strength roll: Mark vs. Armored Lady: 1 vs. 2+1]
He tugs at the hammer for a few moments before realizing that pulling it out of her hands probably isn't going to happen. Oh well. At least the lady doesn't seem keen on hitting him with it.
Yeah, why isn't she reacting much? She seems to be in some kind of trance at the moment.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 06:23:25 am
back off fast putting as much distence between us as I can if she starts chasing throw the book at her
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 07:15:22 am
Mark decides to back off for a bit, trying to keep his distance from the woman. This proves to be rather wise, as she soon starts to glow oddly. Then the glow goes from odd to bright. That does not look to be very good.
The woman looks at him for a long moment. She then turns away, as if looking for something. After gazing at the local devastation, she begins to head in some other direction.
Man, she got off easy. She hadn't seen anything yet!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 08:13:20 am
something tells me that was the whip mans girlfriend or rival
samething
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 11:04:18 am
Mark heads back to the ruined tower to partake of its delicious loot! He finds that it is still mostly collapsed. In addition, he notices that diviner lady, Justine!
She's not looking very well, as she is impaled on a steel fence. Looks like she fell on it in exactly the worst way - her body was positioned perfectly for the fence's spikes to pierce her heart and skull, not to mention most of the rest of her torso. Her multicolored robes seem to have gotten a whole lot redder now.
Oh well. Free loot! She appears to have a whole lot of divining accoutrements on her - a book on methods of divination, a strange-looking set of 5 many-sided dice with letters on them, a peculiar amulet around her neck. In addition, she appears to have a bit of money on her. Not bad!
The tower itself, though it has lurched sideways, still looks fairly good, in other news. This also means that it will still be pretty difficult to gain access. Then again, there's a whole mess of dead mages inside, so it's probably worth it!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 11:26:50 am
look for anything to help me climb the tower like daggers spikes then climb the tower to reach the window
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 11:49:18 am
Mark looks for something handy around here to climb walls with. He doesn't have to look far, really - the fence posts right next to Justine seem a lot less rigid than the ones she happens to be impaled on, so Mark just pulls them out of the ground and tries to utilize them as climbing tools.
He decides that the best side to climb the tower from would be the one that the tower fell towards, so he starts climbing the tall, unfavorably sloped wall.
[Climbing roll: 2+1+1-1]
He gets up a few feet, carefully stabbing the fence spikes into the wall. It's pretty slow, but he makes do.
[Climbing roll: 5+1]
After about half an hour of effort, he reaches the upper, windowed floors of the tower in the most difficult way imaginable, climbing into the window.
Well, it's not quite like he imagined it to be. For one, it looks a lot less like the basement than he expected. A lot more white stone-like walls and such, stretching upwards into odd patterns. Moreover, it's a lot more accommodating. There appear to be comfortable chairs spaced around a large table dominating this room, also pure white in color. There seem to be several adjoining rooms as well. Nobody's around, it looks like.
[Will roll: 1]
Suddenly, a great pain overtakes Mark and he slumps up against a wall. It's like a searing comet just went through his head, smashing his brain-pan into bits. He dares say the feeling is not entirely appreciated!
[Will roll: 3-1]
The pain quickly spreads through the rest of his body, making him shake terribly!
Suddenly, he hears a voice!
"What is that noise? It's bothering me! Go check it out, Bernie!"
"What? Why me?"
"I order you to do it now."
There is a short grunt from the other room. Bernie's head pops into the room from the doorway.
"It's that guy, Mark. The minion. Looks a bit under the weather."
"Oh dear, is that so? Well, better take a look, then!"
The Artiste comes out of the door and takes a look at Mark.
"Why, it is! How are you doing, Mark? Not so hot, eh?"
Post by: Tomcost on April 13, 2013, 12:06:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 13, 2013, 12:40:55 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 13, 2013, 12:56:01 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 13, 2013, 01:29:07 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 13, 2013, 07:01:49 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 14, 2013, 12:46:05 am
Try and telekinesis them to safety.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 03:23:25 am
Mark attempts to inform the Artiste that he seems to be rapidly expiring!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Through several effective gestures, he informs the Artiste in no uncertain terms that he is rapidly expiring and would appreciate any help he could offer, if it's not too much of an imposition. He seems to have been physically bound lately, so could he take a look at that as well?
"My, my. Dying, are we? And you seem to have gotten yourself bound to some schmuck as well. How unfortunate. Well, let me take care of that."
The Artiste snaps his fingers, and Mark feels like fifty tons of weight have dropped off his soul! The body of the necromancer seems to no longer have any relevance to him!
"Feeling better?"
Mark can't help but nod.
"The fellow you were bound to must have died. It happens, you know. You were pretty lucky to get here."
"And even luckier that this guy's a demon or something."
"Yes, indeed. Now get yourself together and follow me."
The Artiste turns around and heads back into the room he came out of.
In a crumbling house...
Darren, seeing no better alternative, tries to telekinetically move the band to safety!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Hey, it turns out it's a bit more difficult to move six people at once than one might think! Darren strains to move the people, but fails terribly!
[House stability roll: 4]
Fortunately, the house isn't crumbling very quickly, so the band isn't in quite as much danger as one would think! They still look quite shaken and confused!
[? vs. Band Member 2: 2+1 vs. 2]
One of the band members is grazed in the shoulder by a rapidly moving wooden object that hits the back wall and shatters into splinters!
[? magic roll: 6+1]
Suddenly, there is a massive boom that overrides all sound in the area - the panicked cries of the band, the crumbling of the house, the obtrusive whispers from the pit are all drowned out by the sudden explosion coming from the direction of the two assailants!
[Band Leader endurance roll: 5-1]
[Band Member endurance rolls: 1-1, 4-1, 4-1]
[Mel endurance roll: 5-1]
[Darren endurance roll: 6-1]
Darren looks on in horror as the wave of sound washes over the band, hitting three of the members standing closer to the edge head-on. This is not a good thing, as one of them just plain explodes all over the rest of the band, coating the entire room in gore. Two others simply fall to the ground, though whether this is because of the shock of seeing the man die or whether because they are dazed themselves remains to be ascertained. Mel and the leader seem far less affected, mostly due to standing in the back of the room, though they do clutch at their heads in pain nonetheless.
[House stability roll: 5]
The house shakes, but very little changes in its state as a result of the bark. It seems that most of the really precarious bits have fallen into the pit already.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 03:38:53 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 14, 2013, 03:47:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 03:49:37 am
Mark gets up, dusts himself off and follows the Artiste into the room. It is very much like the previous one, though it does have a large blank wall with an elaborate map drawn on it. The other three mages - Evelyn, Erin and Art - all seem to be here as well, though Art looks slightly banged up and filthy, not to mention he smells quite awful.
"Hey, look who's back!"
"Mark, was it?"
"Something like that. So, Artiste, now that he's back, what's the plan?"
"Yeah, what're we going to do? Hunt down the rest of the mages?"
They begin to discuss something. Meanwhile, Mark considers the exact time he may have been knocked out. However, he can't quite put his finger on it. It's probably something obvious, he knows, but what? And there's really no use asking these guys, as they really wouldn't know, either.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 04:04:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 04:08:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 04:14:57 am
Mark goes over to study the map. He finds out that it's definitely a map of something. There's this big, big empty space on one side of the map with a crudely drawn dragon in one bit and an X in another. The other side has squiggly lines, triangles with the bottom missing, some weird squarish things and a slightly phallic thing drawn on the far right near a circle of some kind. How illuminating. Better find some paper and write a review.
He takes out the book he got from the necromancer. That's paper, he guesses, got blank pages and everything. He takes out the charcoal, figuring he could write with that. It's good to have some tools.
"... and that's why we don't really have any business here anymore."
"I still have to say that I think it's a bit disappointing to have come this far only to forfeit."
"You must remember that I hardly came here on purpose."
"True enough, but still disappointing, you know?"
"Don't fret, Bernie, we can come back later!"
"And when we do, we can have it all, not just what they allow us to have."
"Assume total lordship, you know?"
"See? It's all good."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 04:29:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 05:06:00 am
Mark looks around for a halberd in the tower. Predictably enough, there are no weapons or even metal objects anywhere around. Guess he'll have to ask nicely for it.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
He bravely tries to express his need for polearms to the mages, but they don't seem to be paying any attention to him.
"So we have agreed. We leave now."
"How?"
"By submitting, of course."
The Artiste pokes his head out of a window.
"WE SUBMIT! YOU GUYS WIN!"
He comes back to the rest.
"Now we can leave. Evelyn, if you'd be so kind?"
[Evelyn magic roll: 3]
Evelyn waves her hands around, creating a slight shimmer in the air. Little else happens, however.
"Hm. That may be a problem. Try again, but do it better."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 05:08:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 05:30:52 am
Mark prays to not die as a result of what might happen. As a result, he feels better now. Less likely to die, at any rate.
"I believe I know what the problem is."
Evelyn closes her eyes and nods her head a few times. She then outstretches her arms.
[Evelyn magic roll: 1+1]
Nothing happens, though.
"Come on, damn it. Stop messing around and do it already."
"Be patient. I would rather not kill us all by accident."
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 05:35:34 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 05:53:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 09:15:18 am
Mark tries to offer some helpful advice to the Artiste, utilizing his lack of knowledge about the latter's capabilities.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
Unfortunately, he can't think of a way to express the term "mind magic" somewhat reasonably to the man. Hm. Meanwhile, Evelyn keeps on doing her thing.
[Evelyn magic roll: 2]
And still there is nothing at all happening. How dreadful.
"Are you always this awful at magic?"
"I do not see you helping."
"Negative reinforcement is helping! That's the way they taught me magic, anyway."
"That does explain a great many things."
Post by: TopHat on April 14, 2013, 09:18:24 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 09:35:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 09:41:40 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 09:42:57 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 09:50:43 am
wait and make my peace with the gods
Post by: TopHat on April 14, 2013, 10:16:19 am
I don't recall him getting that many rolls for that, actually. There was the illusion (two consecutive failed rolls, one successful roll), getting exploded (one successful roll), hurting the necromancer (one successful roll), the one after that (2 failed rolls, got saved by circumstance). What else? I think James had more will rolls than Mark, as have some others. Yorinnsud, for instance.((and how many of them died in a stupid and anti-climatic fashion?))
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 10:18:07 am
((:O))I don't recall him getting that many rolls for that, actually. There was the illusion (two consecutive failed rolls, one successful roll), getting exploded (one successful roll), hurting the necromancer (one successful roll), the one after that (2 failed rolls, got saved by circumstance). What else? I think James had more will rolls than Mark, as have some others. Yorinnsud, for instance.((and how many of them died in a stupid and anti-climatic fashion?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 10:28:39 am
Mark grimly awaits his terrible fate in the room, having made peace with the gods already.
"Let me think. Ah. Maybe this might work."
[Evelyn magic roll: 2+1]
All this arm-waving has once again brought exactly zero results aside from some pretty lights. Ah, the wonders of incompetence.
"Evelyn, while your efforts are quite appreciated, I really would prefer if you did this today. There's only so much time we can spend on this."
"I have to admit, it is growing quite tiresome for me as well."
"Oh, maybe you need a cheering squad?"
"Be silent already."
"It would be a pretty fun idea, ya know."
"We could figure out a dance routine and everything."
Evelyn says nothing, only waving her arms in the air, this time slightly more impatiently.
[Evelyn magic roll: 6]
Her form begins to glow with a purple light that spreads throughout the room, bathing all within it in its brilliance. The Artiste smiles.
"How sad. I was hoping to see some cheering done."
"This should be more than enough to breach the barrier."
"Yes, quite. Let's go."
The Artiste lifts his arms, as do the other mages. The room shifts from purple to a bright white, and Mark hears the sound of rapid combustion as things go dark.
Moments later, Mark regains his sight, looking around. Looks like a set of ruins in the woods - houses, seems like.
"We should be out. But it does look like our choice of conduit could have been better."
"Indeed. This place is deserted."
"What do we do now, then?"
"We make camp. Meanwhile, Mark will look for the nearest road. You can do that, right, Mark?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 10:42:09 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 11:44:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2013, 12:19:32 pm
Mark decides to ask Bernie for some new buddies to abuse!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He even plays out a little show of it all right in front of him, becoming unusually expressive in the process! At the end of it, Bernie looks less than impressed.
"Got a powerful necromantic spellbook, genius?"
Mark shows his book of bindings. Bernie looks at it and laughs.
"No, no. What you're showing me is a piece of shit. I said 'spellbook'. I understand how you have to work with what you know, but there is a time and place for that, and this isn't it. Now get."
Mark, not really in the mood to retort, just goes off to look for a road out of here. He wanders around for an hour until he finds something. And that something is indeed a road.
But not just any road. This looks more like a highway, truth be told. Great stuff, he must say.
Post by: Onyxjew944 on April 14, 2013, 12:21:38 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on April 14, 2013, 12:43:17 pm
((True dat, Harry. I died to Imagination-Bernie-Soul-Crusher.))((I died to those Dang Nabpies. Anyone up for revengence? Or at least a search party?))
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2013, 01:02:27 pm
((Against those monstrosities? No no no no.))((True dat, Harry. I died to Imagination-Bernie-Soul-Crusher.))((I died to those Dang Nabpies. Anyone up for revengence? Or at least a search party?))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2013, 06:07:50 pm
Post by: kahn1234 on April 15, 2013, 10:08:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 15, 2013, 02:43:40 pm
Mark quickly scampers back to the group and informs them of the existence of the nearby highway!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
"Ah, a highway? Well, lead the way, minion."
Mark, appropriately prompted, does as he is told and takes the people to the highway, getting there soon enough.
"Civilization! Great! So, which way do we need to go?"
The Artiste looks both ways, then looks at a nearby signpost that says "SHRIEKPOT - THAT-A-WAY" with a handy arrow pointing westward.
"Hm, Shriekpot. That's a port town, right?"
"Shriekpot? Dunno. Might have been."
"Probably some hellhole."
"Well, maybe it's near some water. And that's all we really need, isn't it?"
"Not exactly, but we cannot be very picky about the location."
"Well, let's go, then!"
The Artiste waves his arms in one direction. Nothing at all happens.
"I probably should have practiced more. Hm. Maybe it wasn't expressive enough?"
He waves his arms slightly more expressively, adding a silly grimace to seal the deal! Something happens! The air shifts and twists in the direction of Shriekpot, then the Artiste steps into it, disappearing from sight immediately. The other mages follow suit, getting right in. Mark shrugs and gets in as well.
After all, you only live twice.
End of Chapter 4!
Congratulations on weathering the persistent abuse that keeps on giving supplied by yet another chapter of Life Begins At Death! For your luck and persistent refusal to die, have a choice of three perks!
Mark: Surgery Enthusiast, Attack of Inspiration, True Disbeliever.
Darren: Animate Construct, Ethereal Warmup, The Whistling Ghost Blues.
Timothy and Vincent have been mostly or entirely absent for the chapter, so they get moved to Cold Storage, getting nothing, unfortunately.
Choose your perks wisely!
Chapter 5
The Path Of Dreams
As night falls once again at the end of another short winter day, the mighty highway that passes Shriekpot is mostly empty. Built once upon a time by the order of an enterprising noble as a means of stimulating trade in the region, the highway, though still kept in meticulously good condition, has nonetheless failed to fulfill its purpose, though one can hardly blame the honest, hardworking engineers for that. In truth, the highway is mostly deserted because it only stretches for about 100 miles, from Shriekpot to the Blacklands, and that is a bit of a problem, as the Blacklands have the unfortunate habit of getting blasted into virtual nonexistence once in about five to fifteen years as a result of the shenanigans of the Black Circle of Magic. Due to this, the highway sees little traffic, and Shriekpot is mostly isolated from any land-based trade as a direct result.
However, the highway is slightly more populated than usual today. That is to say that one person seems to be quite intent on traversing it, walking at a brisk pace directly toward the unfortunate region known as the Blacklands. He is not dissuaded by the fact that it's probably exploded. He wants to get away, preferably as far as possible. To the ends of the earth, perhaps. That might be a good place for him. Sufficiently dramatic for his type, at any rate. Why, he-
Say, what was that?
"Maybe we didn't get as close to Shriekpot as I may have liked, but a good walk's never hurt anybody. And it's less conspicuous this way."
Oh my. There's a whole entourage of mages walking toward him. That's bad news if he's seen any.
"Less conspicuous than leaving a tunnel of warped space that offers instantaneous travel in the middle of a highway?"
Wait, is that a tree walking with them?
"Oh, nobody's going to notice. This road's deserted from the looks of... say, would you look at that!"
Crap. Just turn around and-
"Ho there, traveler! How do you fare this fine day?"
The cloaked man turns to the five people and their... yeah, that's a tree. Mounted on a skeleton, no less. It is doubtless that he is dealing with a pack of weirdos.
"I-"
"That's fantastic! You look like somebody who knows a thing or two about the area."
"Well-"
The man snaps his fingers, causing the distinct sensation of several flaming lashes streaking across the man's soul.
"Your soul is now mine. Fun, no? Let's lay down the rules, now."
"Wha-"
"I order you to never harm me or any of my minions. Secondly, I order you to never kill yourself. And... well, that's it, really. I just need minions for this, nothing personal, really. What's your name, by the way?"
"S-s-s... Sigmund. Sigmund GrimDrake."
"How dramatic!"
"Probably an actor of some kind."
"Yeah, thespians always take on weird pseudonyms."
"He's certainly pale enough to work in the theater business. They must save a fortune on powder with someone like him around."
"Yeah, just imagine. I was to a play once, you wouldn't believe..."
They proceed to make inane conversation as the leader orders Sigmund to follow closely in the procession, showing absolutely no interest in who he is or why he's here.
"It's getting dark, so I suppose we should be getting to shelter. Say... Sigmund, would you happen to know any nearby houses we could visit?"
Sigmund does recall one place. It was a strange house, but a reasonable enough place to stay, he supposes. Though the smell from it certainly wasn't welcoming. He relates this information to the mage, who listens intently.
"Then to this house we will go. Lead on!"
Under Sigmund's guidance, they reach the house after about an hour. Strangely enough, it seems to smell even worse this time around. Sigmund hardly thought it possible, to be honest. The group heads over to the door, the leader knocking twice on the door. The door soon opens after the sound of rapid shuffling from inside, and the visage of a heavily burned, visibly festering man dressed in strange finery appears in front of the door.
"Hello. Is there something you wish from Mr. Yaleson?"
"Yes, we require shelter for the night, and your house, vile-smelling though it may be, seems to be the only candidate."
"Oh. I'm sorry for the smell, we ran out of perfume some weeks ago and Mr. Yaleson has been in no condition to allow us to leave the house. Do come in."
The burned zombie leads the party into the house, a rather decrepit two-story affair with a spiral staircase. The stench within is almost unbearable. Looking around, Sigmund can see several things. Firstly, a skeleton garbed in colorful tattered rags seems to be practicing some sort of routine in an adjoining room all on his own. However, this is hardly as disturbing as the sight in the kitchen, which features a large table with a slain boar lying on top of it. Right next to it is a man in a mild state of decomposition wearing a somewhat scary-looking steel helmet that covers his entire head and face (as far as Sigmund can see, the man is completely naked otherwise) currently busying himself with the furious sharpening of a wicked meat cleaver and a guttural rendition of some kind of foreign war song.
"Wait here, I will go and see the master."
Meanwhile, on the top floor, a man by the name of Scott Yaleson stands next to the bed of his longtime husband, Gary. His husband's skin seems to be covered in knotted bumps and pustules, of which some pop on occasion, spilling a considerable amount of pus and who knows what else on the bed he lays in, now mostly composed of filth, Scott would say. Oh, Gary. Why did it have to come to this? Why couldn't you let go?
Gary looks at his husband lovingly, though his gaze looks to be quite foggy by now. Judging by the way he shivers, he must be quite feverish by now. Gary tries to outstretch his arm toward the love of his life, but can't seem to muster the strength anymore. Scott shudders to think what will happen when he draws his last breath. Will they all - he, Morton, Niklas, the jester - just die from the binding? Wonder if it will hurt.
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.
"Mr. Yaleson? Scott? We have guests."
Morton. And guests. How unusual.
Post by: TopHat on April 15, 2013, 03:38:18 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 15, 2013, 03:42:16 pm
Sigmund tried to calm down, making a futile effort to understand what had just happened. The nature of the recent events were just away from what he had seen in his long life. He did the only sensible thing he could think: to ask about everything. He spoke to the mage who made him feel the worst thing he had ever felt:
-What have you done to me? He panicked a bit, who are you and your people? and, for the five's sake, what is THAT THING? He said pointing the tree-headed shinny skeleton silently following the mages.
((Also, I know that Sigmund's surname was weird, but I just don't know many surnames that could fit the context of this game))
Post by: Innsmothe on April 15, 2013, 04:28:41 pm
I would consider it a favour if you could correct the mistakes copied from my original submission.
IC:
Turns to Morton.
"Guests? Can't you see that we are in the middle of a little crisis here?" he croaks.
A long unnaturally drawn out sigh then emanates.
"Ask if they have any medical experience, if they don't and yet are still relativity insistent invite them in and entertain their wishes. Advise that they take precautions against plague and a number of similar curses of the flesh. Please, also advise them to respect my privacy."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 15, 2013, 05:04:40 pm
Turns to Morton.:D I look around for some knives
"Guests? Can't you see that we are in the middle of a little crisis here?" he croaks.
A long unnaturally drawn out sigh then emanates.
"Ask if they have any medical experience, if they don't and yet are still relativity insistent invite them in and entertain their wishes. Advise that they take precautions against plague and a number of similar curses of the flesh. Please, also advise them to respect my privacy."
and grab Surgery Enthusiast
Post by: Xanmyral on April 15, 2013, 05:26:27 pm
[Agreed on the interpretations of the bio and characters.]
Post by: Xantalos on April 15, 2013, 06:00:05 pm
Finally, the myriad sensations cease, and an almost heavenly smell wafts through the house.
Niklas makes a roast boar. Without fire. Somehow.
Post by: Tomcost on April 15, 2013, 06:18:00 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 15, 2013, 08:31:36 pm
*EVIL LAUGH*
ahem...
after looking for knives go see if I can fix the good Yaleson
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 15, 2013, 10:16:07 pm
((Save the band, Spinal! I'm counting on you!))((MISSION ACCEPTED. Also, i hope I'm not missing anything big.))
"Get outta here! Both you guys what whomever's shooting!"
Try and make a telekinetic shield to protect the band while they escape..
Post by: Xantalos on April 15, 2013, 10:17:40 pm
((Should you not pick a trait, good sir?))((Save the band, Spinal! I'm counting on you!))((MISSION ACCEPTED. Also, i hope I'm not missing anything big.))
"Get outta here! Both you guys what whomever's shooting!"
Try and make a telekinetic shield to protect the band while they escape..
Post by: Xanmyral on April 15, 2013, 11:12:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 15, 2013, 11:38:09 pm
While waiting for the butler to return, the grim reality of his situation occurs to Sigmund. Questions need to be asked, and they need to be asked rather soon. He taps the leader mage on the shoulder and poses a query.
"What have you done to me?"
"Oh, enslaved your soul in a mostly unbreakable bond. You are now obligated to follow my orders completely and, should I die, you will die as well."
Ah. Sigmund feels a slight bit of panic descend on him.
"Who are you and your people, and for the Five's sake, what is THAT THING?"
"Oh. I forgot to introduce myself, I believe. I'm the Artiste and my good friends here are Art, Evelyn, Erin, Bernie and, of course, Mark," he says, pointing at each of his minions as he says their names. "They're good people, you know. And Mark is my away team at the moment. You may need to work closely with him."
Meanwhile, Mark engages in some enjoyable theft as he looks about the house. He looks into the kitchen, spying a whole lot of knives! While the chef's back is turned, he quickly grabs a few and makes himself scarce before the man suspects anything.
Upstairs, Morton, ever the dutiful servant (even though he is rather new at this, what with the whole "recently back from the dead" thing), listens to the words of his other master, Scott.
"Guests? Can't you see we're in the middle of a crisis?" the master croaks. A long, drawn-out sigh can then be heard emanating from the room.
"Ask if they have any medical experience, if they don't and yet are still relativity insistent invite them in and entertain their wishes. Advise that they take precautions against plague and a number of similar curses of the flesh. Please, also advise them to respect my privacy."
"Apologies Master Scott, of course sir, I shall entreat upon them at once." Morton does a short bow, his eyes closed as he gives proper respects to the master. Heading back to the the crowd of travelers, he speaks respectfully.
"I regret to inform you, but Master Yaleson is facing dire circumstances as of late. He is stricken with many diseases of the flesh, and his husband, Master Scott Yaleson, is not wishing to meet visitors as of late. If you have anyone amongst you that is skilled with the mending of body and disease, and are sufficiently girded against many contagious threat, we would like to seek your services. If not however, that is alright. You may stay as guests if you require it, as I am aware that the day grows dim, and we shall see to your needs as best we can. I do ask however that you all take actions against the contagious, for many a disease lingers here I'm afraid. Sadly this is not something I can clean myself." He gives a solemn shake of his head in sorrow. "I shall also ask that you give Master Scott his privacy, as we all fear for the health of Master Yaleson, and he wishes to be left alone during this terrible time."
The mage nods amiably, then pokes the rest of the gang, who do their best to follow suit.
"Well, we kind of realized this stay may prove detrimental to our health, but-"
Morton looks to the side at the man working in the kitchen. Oh dear, looks to be getting into the mood. He quickly shuts the door, knowing that it is most wise to do so. When he does, the tempo of the yelling and roaring from the kitchen increases. Its volume increases, and there is a faint sensation of heat coming from the door. The yelling continues to increase in volume as there is a sudden sequence of cracks and pops, bangs and bumps coming from within the kitchen. The room shakes a little. Finally, the myriad sensations cease, and an almost heavenly smell wafts through the house.
"Now, none of us are doctors, but-"
He is interrupted by Mark raising his hand and running up to Morton, brandishing his knives in what he believes to be a most doctorly manner.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren realizes that it's probably a good idea to try and shield the band from the assault. He attempts to create a telekinetic shield!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He does sort of make the area windier. Does that work? No, didn't think so. As he fools around, the rest of the band quickly work on escaping with their still-alive members.
[Band escape roll: 3]
They get deeper into the room, but dragging the bodies seems to slow them down noticeably!
[? water use roll: 4+1-1]
Suddenly, there is the sound of glass smashing as water splashes onto the room!
[Darren dodge roll: 2]
[Band dodge roll: 1]
Darren doesn't even bother to dodge, getting splashed with the water somewhat. He is rather surprised when it starts to burn like demonic fire! The band gets it slightly worse, as Mel gets some in his eye in addition to some others getting splashed!
[Mel endurance roll: 2]
He begins to scream, falling over in horrible agony as his left eye is burnt out! The other people seem only superficially splashed, avoiding serious burns.
[? magic roll: 6+1]
Once again, a wave of sound washes over the room with the force of a split atom!
[Darren endurance roll: 2-1]
[Band leader endurance roll: 2-1]
[Mel endurance roll: 5-1]
[Band endurance rolls: 1-1, 1-1]
Virtually all of the band apart from Mel proceeds to violently explode as a direct result! Including Darren, whose ectoplasmic form is dispersed!
[Darren will roll: 4]
It quickly reforms, however, as Darren doesn't intend to die quite yet! His band has been mostly killed, but this doesn't have to happen to him!
Post by: killerhellhound on April 15, 2013, 11:46:50 pm
anyway
I ascended the stairs going for the plague stricken fellow so I could get to work, doing what I could to help him
Post by: Xantalos on April 15, 2013, 11:52:53 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 15, 2013, 11:56:06 pm
Niklas then eats said boar, saving none for anyone else.your dead and carnt digest anything you eat
dont let me stop you from doing it
Post by: Xantalos on April 15, 2013, 11:56:47 pm
(Who said I eat it for nourishment? :P)Niklas then eats said boar, saving none for anyone else.your dead and carnt digest anything you eat
dont let me stop you from doing it
Post by: Nicholas1024 on April 16, 2013, 12:14:23 am
I believe the whip man has come back to claim yet another PC.
Post by: Xantalos on April 16, 2013, 12:16:25 am
Hm... holy water, really good rolls...Uh oh. You may actually be right.
I believe the whip man has come back to claim yet another PC.
I shudder to think of what will happen if the equivalent of the whip man appears in Harry's other RTD.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 16, 2013, 12:17:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 16, 2013, 12:36:59 am
"I'm a Doctor"
before continuing past him up the stairs
P.S. I so want to at one point say "I'm the doctor, just the doctor"
edit
Post by: Xanmyral on April 16, 2013, 12:44:55 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 16, 2013, 02:10:45 am
"Oh why are you so stubborn my love? Have the god's not taught us that they are capricious? That messing with the threads of their reality only brings gains in the short term, and damnation in the long."
Pray for his forgiveness, citing insanity due to the recent violent loss of a loved one.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 16, 2013, 07:49:59 am
As Mark approaches Morton, the latter can't help but feel slightly unsafe. After all, those do look like the knives from the kitchen, as they are washed in the manner only Niklas washes things. And he is unsure if trees can actually be certified doctors, so that's two points against the guy already.
"O-Oh dear, u-uh, a spot of help would be appreciated," he says as he heads Mark off, looking at the mages for help. However, they don't seem to be paying attention, as they and the pale fellow are discussing something about souls. Must be religious types.
"N-now see here sir, I can't have you barging into my Masters' room without invitation, they requested to be left as is. Certainly not with knives, certainly not with kitchen knives. I-if you would be so kind as to head back down with the others and sheath the knives, it--it would be most appreciated."
His eyes are locked on Niklas' treasured and frequently used knives as he decides to make a stand on the staircase, letting the skeleton go no further.
The skeleton looks at him, or at least Morton assumes he does, since it lacks eyes or any sort of equivalent. It then turns to the wall and starts defacing it with a knife!
[Writing roll: 6]
Morton looks on in terror as the hideous vandal ruins a perfectly decrepit bit of wainscoting with his knives by carving out large letters, stopping midway to scratch out some silly semantics.
IT'S OKAY, I'M A
Um... yeah. That's reassuring.
In the kitchen of the Yaleson house...
Niklas, having prepared a fine feast, goes ahead and chows down in imitation of the glorious days when he actually needed nourishment to prolong his existence.
[Chowdown roll: 3]
He manages to eat the good bits of the boar - the eyes, the tongue, the ears and, of course, the brain! Being undead has given him a new appreciation for organs, he must say. However, after all that, he feels the walls of his stomach have stretched a bit too much. He isn't sure that his internal musculature is working properly, to be frank, as he's pretty sure that the lunch he tried to have a month ago is still there.
How is one supposed to honor the seafaring barbarian and entrepreneur lifestyle if they cannot feast right? It's shameful is what it is.
In the master bedroom of the Yaleson house...
Feeling slightly dramatic, Scott mourns his dying love.
"Oh, why are you so stubborn, my love? Have the gods not taught us that they are capricious? That messing with the threads of their reality only brings gains in the short term, and damnation in the long?"
Having thus conversed with the man in the bed, Scott commences with the traditional prayer for such an occasion, a prayer to Pacitarius, Child of Nature. As he prays, he feels that he has been heard and that forgiveness has been granted.
Actually, Gary looks a bit better now. At least he's seeping less, Scott would say. Could there still be hope?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 16, 2013, 08:44:09 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 16, 2013, 08:45:44 am
Hearing the commotion, he then shouts through the door.
"It would be appreciated if someone would collect and boil strips of willow bark, before delivering the liquid!"
Post by: miauw62 on April 16, 2013, 10:14:19 am
Kevin stops in his routine to look at the visitors. He slowly comes out of his room to watch them, and releases a mostly inaudible, skeletal sigh at the sight of their strange appearance, and especially at what appears to be a hyper-active tree-skeleton.
Just go back to my room and sit down, unless my master calls for me to entertain our guests.
Post by: Tomcost on April 16, 2013, 10:15:36 am
-What do you want me to do now, master, I suppose?
After hearing his new master's orders, he went to see what was happening upstairs.
Post by: Xantalos on April 16, 2013, 10:17:34 am
MAT TID
It goes back in.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 16, 2013, 01:12:16 pm
Mark realizes that Morton's unlikely to let him past based on words alone. So he'll have to utilize that classic of classics, the staredown of interfering maggots that won't let a visionary do their work.
[Staredown: Mark vs. Morton: 5 vs. 2]
Mark manages to contort his crown into a face that exudes sheer confidence, seriousness, reproach and the very essence of doctoring so serious and nebulous, one would never dare question it! Morton's eyes become as dinner plates as he begins to back away from the medically inclined creature, resuming the backing up that characterized his earlier stance on the issue. He backs up all the way up the stairs, freeing up the way for Mark to do his thing. Now, let's see, where is the patient?
Meanwhile, downstairs Sigmund tries to cope with the terrible trauma of his eternal enslavement-to-be. To do this, he performs what he believes to be a typical slave action.
"What do you want me to do now, master, I suppose?"
"Your halfhearted commitment is heard and appreciated, Ziggy. That's more than I get from most minions like yourself, so count that as a compliment! As to what you could do, I don't know."
"Mingle, maybe?"
"Yeah, you can do that. Mingle with these guys. You'll be working with them soon."
"You mean, we will use these miserable excuses for undead?"
"Yes. Very much so, in fact. You have to work with what you have."
"Ain't that the truth."
Suddenly, the door to the kitchen is kicked open, a scary helmet popping into view from the kitchen.
"MAT TID."
"Despite not having the foggiest what that means, I'll assume that was consent to being eternally enslaved. Well, it doesn't really matter, but I like to think that it was."
The Artiste snaps his fingers at Niklas, who suddenly feels like a thousand bonds of unwanted civilization have entangled his wild and free soul!
"Come here, you crazy foreigner, you!"
Niklas, oddly enough, feels compelled to follow this directive.
"And you there, skeleton!"
The jester, Kevin, who thought that his mental sighs were the pinnacle of skeletal stealth, looks at the Artiste with a mixture of curiosity and uneasiness, though this nuanced expression can only be appreciated by him, since he is a skeleton and incapable of facial expressions. The Artiste snaps his fingers at him shortly.
"Since you cannot speak, you consent automatically to eternal enslavement. Sorry, that's just the way it works. Such is life, unlife, death and all that."
Kevin drops to his knees as his soul feels like it's been tied to a distant rock that's been thrown into an infinite abyss! Man, getting soulbound by that guy sure stings! Totally not like Gary!
On the second floor of the Yaleson house...
Scott, seeing his husband improve all of a sudden, starts to quickly work on actual medicine duties! He's been left to fester for too long, it's been killing him! Better wash his wounds and all that.
[Medicine roll: 4]
Luckily, he's been keeping a bowl of stagnant water and a bottle of rubbing alcohol for exactly this purpose! He fixes any wounds, erupted boils and other things Gary might have, then looks for some clean cloth. Sadly, the only thing he can find is a slightly less filthy pile of rags than the ones on the bed. Hm. Idea!
"It would be appreciated if someone would collect and boil strips of willow bark, before delivering the liquid!" he shouts at the door.
Mark, being right outside the door, considers this request, though he can't help but be put off by it. Clearly, they practice medicine very differently in this backwards part of the world.
Post by: Xantalos on April 16, 2013, 02:18:58 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 16, 2013, 02:45:04 pm
Scott examines the boils and sores.
"Better out than in, they say."
He uses a candle or an oil lamp to heat a needle or nail, which he then uses to lance the freshly disinfected wounds. He will keep the rubbing alcohol at the ready.
Edit: A grammatically corrected comma.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 16, 2013, 03:04:17 pm
Hearing Master Scott give a demand, Morton straightened up before calling beyond the door. "In a moment, Master Scott. I'm just dealing with a rather, ah, excited guest is all. He's--I think its a he--just excited to meet you two it seems even though I gave express comments that you wish for your privacy. Apologies again Master Scott, I'll get right on it soon as I can!"
Post by: killerhellhound on April 16, 2013, 06:16:00 pm
(I am doctor house with the stare of doom)
edit
look through the divitation book while taking a break
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 16, 2013, 07:33:39 pm
Flee! Give Mel a telekinetic punt out.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 16, 2013, 11:13:59 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 12:48:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 17, 2013, 06:36:34 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 17, 2013, 08:22:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 17, 2013, 09:27:03 am
Niklas, having been bound once again, just shrugs in reply to the order and heads back to the kitchen as the Artiste looks on in mild boredom.
[Niklas strength roll: 2+1]
Soon enough, the peculiar sound only ascribable to a man attempting to lift and throw a full-sized boar comes from the kitchen. The mages all look in the direction of Niklas right in time to see him lift the boar for a moment, only to give up and drop it on the floor immediately afterwards. He heads over to the door and yells in a perfect pitch.
"Köket stängt!"
He then closes the door to the kitchen and goes to his second-favorite hobby, knife sharpening!
Except he can't, since some plum-dang varmint has stolen them. All of them! A shocking crime right under his nose!
Meanwhile, upstairs medicine is both practiced and forbidden to be practiced, as Morton rebukes the dignified-looking Mark!
"N-now look here s-sir! I have to ask you to step away from my masters' door, and relinquish the knives you took from the kitchen. I don't know what kind of fou--er, kind of d-deed you may have in mind, but it assuredly isn't going to help Master Yaleson."
Having heard one of the masters give a demand, Morton straightens up before calling beyond the door. As he does so, Mark, his buzz officially killed and buried, heads downstairs.
"In a moment, Master Scott. I'm just dealing with a rather, ah, excited guest is all. He's--I think its a he--just excited to meet you two it seems even though I gave express comments that you wish for your privacy. Apologies again, Master Scott, I'll get right on it soon as I can!"
He turns to Mark, who has begun to blissfully bugger off to the downstairs vestibule. He follows the skeleton, offering words of peace and wisdom.
"T-thank you, kind sir, how about I brew you up some tea in apologies for this mess, right after I get what Master Scott wants. I'm dreadfully sorry for that, I don't like confrontations like this, I'm simply following my Masters' will."
Morton follows Mark down the stairs to the company of the Artiste, then is about to leave to deface some willows, but is stopped by Kevin, who, guided by an ulterior motive, gives him a previously agreed-upon "I'll handle it" nod, then runs out before the Artiste can say a thing. Morton, touched by the gesture, gives him a slight bow.
"Ah, thank you, kind sir. I'll get to work on that tea then, I hope Niklas is in a good mood today."
As he heads off into the kitchen, the leader of the mages gives him a slight glance, then returns to speaking with his fellows. When Morton opens the door, he comes upon a strange scene. Niklas seems to be regarding an empty space on the table with no small amount of suspicion and shock. Well, he's not actively shooing him out yet, so he goes and boils a bit of water that was lying about. But not just any water! This is special, clear spring water from the spring five miles away, reserved for guests only, unlike the stagnant, murky water commonly available here. Soon enough he's boiled a big old pot of it. Nice!
Meanwhile, Kevin looks for some willows to debark with his own bare hands. Ooh, there's one. Looks rather willowy to Kevin. He pulls off many pieces of it, delighted at his immediate great success. He is Kevin, superior herb and wood-related product gatherer!
Back in the house, Mark takes a look at the book of divination. It looks to be a fairly detailed text describing the various methods of proper divination, which can be of many sorts - using special dice or cards, utilizing crystal balls, attempting to commune with spirits, scrying or even something as easy as visceromancy. It's all there in the book, and most of it doesn't even require a focus, though it certainly helps accuracy to have one. It looks pretty interesting, and it even details the use of several divining artifacts to achieve certain results.
During all this, Scott himself continues trying to practice medicine on his husband, heating up a nearby needle for the purpose. Time to do some good work.
[Medicine roll: 2]
He pokes one of the pustules with a needle, releasing a stream of pus from it. That's how lancing works, right? Then again, it might not. Maybe he should give Gary some alcohol? He looks like he desperately needs it.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren figures that yeah, he's probably lost this particular battle. But he can still help Mel!
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He slightly nudges the fellow in the direction of the far wall of the house. Hm.
[Darren escape roll: 6]
[Mel escape roll: 6]
Fortunately, Mel takes the hint and dives right through a nearby window, running away as quickly as possible! Darren, feeling satisfied at this development, dives into the ground and moves away as rapidly as he can!
He eventually comes out five blocks away. Let's see those bastards follow him now!
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2013, 09:39:21 am
He came closer to the chef, and asked if he could be of help, trying be as friendly as a recently enslaved vampire can be. Then, proceded to look in the kitchen for something that could be used as a weapon, as it seemed that his master's intentions were not peaceful.
Post by: Xantalos on April 17, 2013, 10:06:23 am
*cue dramatic music*
Niklas tilts back his head and wails to the heavens, KNIFE THIIIIEEEEEF!
He then searches the house for the thief.
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2013, 10:20:25 am
Sigmund looked for the knives in the house, and asked Morton if he had seen somebody involved with knives recently, as he was probable the person who had been wandering in the house most.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 17, 2013, 11:18:42 am
He instead hmmm's and ahhh's over the nature of the necromantic bond.
Knowing nothing of magic he tries to brute force a half baked hypothesis. If energy is required to raise and bind a persons will to their own, would a feedback of energy allow the wizards body to direct said energy to other pursuits, such as regeneration and immun-o-boosting?
He tries to focus on the bond to his husband and direct the flow of energy back into his suffering body, hopefully directing it to the poor man's immune system
Post by: miauw62 on April 17, 2013, 11:49:45 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 17, 2013, 12:10:49 pm
Carter, seeing the pale fellow in the hood with the strange mark ask him what got Niklas riled up, grimaced with a conflicted look. "Well... Yes. Ah... The tree headed fellow, he had the knives. I, ah, asked him to relinquish them to the kitchen, hoping they would be back before Niklas noticed but... Oh dear, I don't want a fight to brew with our first guests in a while. Can you try and peacefully get the knives back, without a fight breaking out? I need to tend to the boiling of the bark, and starting on some tea soon."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 03:24:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 17, 2013, 04:27:21 pm
Sigmund, though rather apprehensive at the thought of socializing with this bunch of weirdos, chooses the least undesirable of the many alternative avenues of interpersonal activity and goes off to the kitchen to try and get in the frightening food person's good graces. He strolls up to the gastronomic barbarian in as friendly a manner as reasonably possible as he rifles through the nearest containers of comestibles for any sign of his treasured possessions and tries to ask if he can help in any way.
"Hello, may I help you in any way?"
This seems to be something of a back-breaking straw in the chef's mind, as he bolts upright, tilts his head back and emits a half-wail, half-roar.
"KNIFE THIIIIEEEEEF!" he yells, then sets about looking for perpetrators to question.
"Oh dear, seems someone riled up Niklas."
Oh dear. He looks to be rather distraught. But, then again, this may work out to his advantage. If he can find the knives first, he can be the hero and get all sorts of intangible rewards from the chef, not to mention possibly ignite a lasting friendship. Therefore, some detective work is in order. And who best to practice this on than Morton, who seems to be the most knowledgeable of the lot.
"Have you seen any knives in the area? If you have, tell me. It's rather important."
Morton grimaces at the question, then turns to the approaching Kevin, receiving a generous delivery of bark and dismissing the jester, who despondently travels back to his room to brood intensely about his skeletal life.
"Well... Yes. Ah... The tree headed fellow, he had the knives. I, ah, asked him to relinquish them to the kitchen, hoping they would be back before Niklas noticed but... Oh dear, I don't want a fight to brew with our first guests in a while. Can you try and peacefully get the knives back, without a fight breaking out? I need to tend to the boiling of the bark, and starting on some tea soon."
As he speaks, he adds the bark into the boiling water, creating a very strong-smelling, dark and viscous liquid as a result. Oh, so much strange unpleasantness today. Particularly the knife theft. That's just plain rude. Why, if Niklas finds the perpetrator, the skeleton is likely to be in a bit of trouble.
Wait, where did he go? And what was that slight clanging sound from the vestibule?
As Niklas enters the vestibule, he sees many people. And one tree-headed skeleton. One of these people is probably the perp. But which one? And where are his knives?
In the master bedroom of the Yaleson house...
Scott realizes that lancing a boil is a bit too risky for him right now. But he does know what isn't! Magic! Or at least some magic theory put into practice. He begins to theorize wildly, eventually coming up with the hypothesis that, since a bond exists between him and his husband, there should, naturally, be some way to utilize this bond for magical purposes and grant energy to someone! Yeah!
[Scott magic roll: 2-1]
Hey, it seems like soulbinding doesn't actually work that way. Of course, Scott doesn't realize that until his third attempt to do this, in which he tries rapid body-to-body contact as a means of transmission. That is to say that he punches Gary repeatedly and hopes that the anger and sadness will boost his immune system!
[Gary endurance roll: 5]
Well, at least he doesn't seem to have gotten any worse from it. Just rather confused, judging by the look in his clouded eyes.
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2013, 04:51:43 pm
If he gives me the locaion of the knives, take them to Niklas and explain that the theft was actually a misunderstanding.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 17, 2013, 04:57:03 pm
"Damn you and your kind, dear husband! <Whiny mimic voice> Oh noooooo dear, I don't think it's appropriate for me to divulge my secrets to you. It's my hobby, not yours. And you probably wouldn't make it past the chapter of minor cantrips...</Whiny mimic voice> See what your bloody hobby and your lack of faith in me has gotten you!"
Gives Gary one final jaw cracker and storms over to the nearest pile of notes and try to find something that Gary can do (or Scott by proxy) to give him some semblance of normal human vitality.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 05:49:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2013, 05:57:26 pm
Excuse me, sir, I found these things over a table, do they belong to you? I think I heard that you were looking for some missing knives.
Post by: Xantalos on April 17, 2013, 06:34:44 pm
KNIVES!
You are a good man, Niklas says, clapping Sigmund on the shoulder. Now to fix them...
Sharpen knives.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 07:30:29 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2013, 08:15:53 pm
Sigmund looks for tools that can be used as weapons.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 17, 2013, 08:34:55 pm
Try and regroup with Mel. Go all metal gear phantasmal.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 09:48:31 pm
metal gear phantasmal.[/b]What
is that?
(I never played metal gear)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 17, 2013, 10:09:40 pm
((It's just a lame little joke. Metal Gear Solid, but Darren is phantasmal, not solid.))metal gear phantasmal.[/b]What
is that?
(I never played metal gear)
Post by: Xanmyral on April 17, 2013, 10:25:34 pm
Carter then fills the cup and bowl with the willow bark water, and puts the sponge near the bowl, then carefully heads up the stairs. He sees the strange pale traveler tell him about the situation and tries to give him his best smile, which with his face is still probably pretty horrifying. "Thank you kind sir, thank you very much! That's a burden off my shoulders that you have lifted. Oh, pardon me, excuse me for being rude, I don't believe I caught your name. I'm Carter, Carter Morton, the butler of Master Scott and Gary's home." He stops for a moment to chat with the kind traveler, before then heading up to Scott and Gary's room, and speaks through the door. "Master Scott, I have the boiled willow ready for you. I'm also brewing up some tea if you would like some sir."
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2013, 11:16:41 pm
damn((It's just a lame little joke. Metal Gear Solid, but Darren is phantasmal, not solid.))metal gear phantasmal.[/b]What
is that?
(I never played metal gear)
thought that it would have some awesome powers and killing powers not be a joke
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 06:10:11 am
It's a pleasure to be able to help you, good sir. By the way, I'm Sigmund. I see that you have work to do now, so I won't make you lose more time.
He then went to look for some tool which could be used as weapons.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 18, 2013, 07:22:22 am
Sigmund springs into action, running over to Mark and interviewing him on the subject of a set of stolen knives, making his very best interrogation face as he does so.
Sadly, his hardcore approach proves unnecessary, as Mark just relaxedly points out an end table at the opposite corner of the room. Sigmund quietly thanks him and trots over to get them, then takes them to the nearby Niklas, hoping that his story will be believed and not just met with grievous bodily harm in large quantities.
"Excuse me, sir, I found these things over a table, do they belong to you? I think I heard that you were looking for some missing knives."
Niklas looks at the knives that are indeed in Sigmund's hands.
"Knives? KNIVES!"
He snatches the utensils out of Sigmund's hands. His mouth, the only actually visible part of his face, contorts into a smile. He claps Sigmund on the shoulder.
"You are a good man. Now to fix them...
He stares oddly at the knives, then shuffles off to the kitchen.
[Sharpening roll: 5]
There is the sound of metal grinding against metal for a few minutes, then the sound ridiculously sharp metal cleaving the air together with clearly audible manly giggling. As it begins to subside, Morton comes out of the room, then engages in some friendly conversation with Sigmund.
"Thank you kind sir, thank you very much! That's a burden off my shoulders that you have lifted. Oh, pardon me, excuse me for being rude, I don't believe I caught your name. I'm Carter, Carter Morton, the butler of Master Scott and Gary's home."
"It's a pleasure to be able to help you, good sir. By the way, I'm Sigmund. I see that you have work to do now, so I won't make you lose more time."
Morton nods and goes upstairs. Sigmund throws Mark a conspiratorial glance as they then commence the looting! Mark lifts a handy deck of weird cards from a trophy cabinet while Sigmund briefly and greedily regards a broom before judging it to be completely worthless compared to him, as it looks mostly rotten or at the very least moldy. And looking out the window reveals that there are zero gardens in the vicinity. This is somewhat of a setback. How is he supposed to rampage if he has no tools?
On the second floor of the Yaleson house...
Scott takes his methods of alternative medicine and runs with them, now helping himself more than his husband, really.
"Damn you and your kind, dear husband! Oh noooooo dear, I don't think it's appropriate for me to divulge my secrets to you. It's my hobby, not yours. And you probably wouldn't make it past the chapter of minor cantrips... See what your bloody hobby and your lack of faith in me has gotten you!"
He cracks the infirm necromancer on the jaw to prove his point!
[Gary endurance roll: 6]
Gary, however, is having none of that, opting for the best defense as his recovery strategy.
[Domestic Violence: Gary vs. Scott: 3 vs. 6-1]
However, he is still but a terribly ill man, so Scott catches his hand, twists it slightly to make Gary squirm, then lets go, allowing him to slip back into a pained state of infirmity and helplessness untainted by sudden flashes of rage.
Damn, is this therapeutic or what?
"Master Scott, I have the boiled willow ready for you. I'm also brewing up some tea if you would like some, sir."
Ah. Now the healing begins.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, satisfied at his success, searches around for Mel. If he can't keep the whole band alive, he can at least try to save him. And he will do this as stealthily as possible. He will be like the spirit of the earth, everywhere and nowhere at the same time!
With this in mind, he does eventually find Mel! He appears to be busy running down an alley and not looking back. Silly Mel.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 18, 2013, 07:51:07 am
Post by: Gamerlord on April 18, 2013, 07:56:27 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 18, 2013, 08:10:34 am
try the Divination out using the cards
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 08:49:19 am
He aproached the northern zombie, and said:
That clever you have looks pretty sharp, I have to say, as well as the rest of this knives you have here. You, actually, have done an excellent job with them!. Would you mind, sir, if I borrow one of them? See, as we have been recently soulbounded, our new master is probably going to use us as fodder, so a means of defending myself would be necessary for my survival. I hope that you understand.
((OOC for Gamerlord:
New chapter begun, the Artiste is the leader now, and we have all been bounded to him. We are all in the Yaleson's manor. Scott Yaleson is taking care of his still alive husband while we just hang out doing petty stuff. I'm currently finishing kind of quest to get a weapon))
Post by: Gamerlord on April 18, 2013, 09:52:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 18, 2013, 10:02:41 am
Who is Yaleson?
Innsmothe, a player. His husband's a necromancer.
Post by: Xantalos on April 18, 2013, 10:06:00 am
Grant him one knife.
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 10:09:54 am
Put the knife in my clothes and look outside of the house if there is something of interest.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 18, 2013, 10:28:20 am
Grab a spoon and administer the infusion, trusting in its pain relieving properties.
Post by: miauw62 on April 18, 2013, 10:35:56 am
((I feel that a barrage of MSPA references will be coming my way quite soon. That is, if Harry reads Homestuck :P. Not that I want to play this character that way.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 18, 2013, 11:30:07 am
Mark tries to utilize the fine cards he just stole for some marvelous divination. After all, they should be good for something of that sort, right? They certainly look weird enough. He looks through the deck. So, if he's got this right, he should... um... do... something. Ah.
[Grabbing of Cards: Kevin vs. Mark: 6+1 vs. 6+1]
He is, however, rudely interrupted by Kevin, who seems to believe he has a claim on the cards. However, Mark, aided by his soul-o-vision, manages to see him coming and put the cards away before they are stolen. He gives the indignant jester a nasty look. That is, he would if he had a face. But alas, he does not.
Meanwhile, Sigmund, stymied in his weapon-gathering attempts, goes over to Niklas and asks for a knife as politely as he can.
"That cleaver you have looks pretty sharp, I have to say, as well as the rest of this knives you have here. You, actually, have done an excellent job with them!. Would you mind, sir, if I borrow one of them? See, as we have been recently soulbound, our new master is probably going to use us as fodder, so a means of defending myself would be necessary for my survival. I hope that you understand."
Niklas gives him a skeptical look.
"...you can have one. Return it quickly."
He gives Sigmund one of the ridiculously sharp knives he has. Sigmund takes it and places it in his clothes. Oh dear, it seems to have sliced a hole in his pocket just from being placed within it! It's all Sigmund can do to hold on to it, doing a strange sort of dance to keep the knife from falling right out of his pricy outfit.
On the second floor of the house...
Scott quickly takes the infusion from Morton and sends the butler on his way, then begins to apply it with his fingers, as there is no spoon available. After all, what harm could it do, really?
[Gary endurance roll: 2]
As he smears some of the viscous dark... paste, really, as it seems a bit too thick to be really called a proper liquid, Gary's eyes widen. As the paste is applied, Scott sees Gary's flesh rapidly turn black around the area it was applied to, as if something irredeemably vile had been placed on it! The strange smell of the paste quickly mixes with the scent of rot as Gary's left kidney area starts to turn into dead flesh.
Something tells him that this might not exactly be a willow bark infusion. Just a hunch, you know.
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 11:38:39 am
((Harry, would you mind doing a sort of Artiste idea roll so he can react and give us emm, tasks?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 18, 2013, 11:45:16 am
((Harry, would you mind doing a sort of Artiste idea roll so he can react and give us emm, tasks?))
He's pretty busy chilling with the gang. However, not for very much longer. After all, he did come here to get shelter.
Post by: miauw62 on April 18, 2013, 12:29:35 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 18, 2013, 12:34:59 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 18, 2013, 12:38:54 pm
Morton bows out of the room as Master Scott takes the willow extract, then proceeds back downstairs to the kitchen to finish preparation of the tea for the guests, and the Masters.
If he sees Kevin, the jester skeleton, and the strange tree-headed traveler go at it on his way to the kitchen, he'll attempt to break it up peacefully, if not however he just continues finishing up the making of the tea.
When/If he gets to the kitchen, he will give a polite nod to Head Chief Niklas, with a "Salutations Head Chief Niklas, do tell me if I'm in your way sir. Happy to see that the knife issue was sorted and everything is as it should be. Ah guests, its been a while." Carter couldn't help but smile to himself as he hurried up in tea preparations, hoping to impress the travelers and make peace with that one strange tree-headed fellow.
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 12:52:15 pm
((Oh, it doesn't matter then. I just felt that my character lacked a purpose after being enslaved for his whole unlife))((Harry, would you mind doing a sort of Artiste idea roll so he can react and give us emm, tasks?))
He's pretty busy chilling with the gang. However, not for very much longer. After all, he did come here to get shelter.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 18, 2013, 02:18:06 pm
Sigmund quickly stashes his knife in a drawer after making sure nobody is spying on him, then looks outside. Looks like the blasted woods are nearby. Beyond that, it's difficult to see on account of all the blasted woods around. How tiresome.
Kevin, realizing that he isn't dealing with any sort of ordinary card thief, employs superior goofery to liberate his supposedly prized possession from the metal fiend's grasp.
[Kevin Hilarious Acts roll: 2+1]
He does a bit of an embarrassing dance. Mark gives him a pity clap, being taught to not make fun of fools from an early age. Kevin, his plan having fallen apart, tries to snatch the cards again!
[Card Theft: Kevin vs. Mark: 6+1 vs. 5+1]
He grabs fully one fourth of the cards out of Mark's grasp. Oh well. A small victory is still a victory! Before he can reclaim any more, he is interrupted by Morton, who takes Kevin by the arm and takes him to the Bad Behavior Corner in the kitchen. Which was, incidentally, the direction he was already going! He politely nods to Niklas, who appears to be busy cutting up the boar into bits to place on separate plates, most of which have seen better days.
"Salutations, Head Chief Niklas, do tell me if I'm in your way, sir. Happy to see that the knife issue was sorted and everything is as it should be. Ah, guests, it's been a while."
He then sets about preparing some tea for the guests. Utilizing the clear spring water, he makes the best damn tea that he can make, and that is pretty damn good, mind you! Nobody makes tea like Morton, and today is the day he proves it once and for all. And not in an ironic, kill-everyone sort of way one might expect!
Post by: Xanmyral on April 18, 2013, 02:34:11 pm
Taking a platter for the glasses and pitcher, he sets them on said platter and sets Niklas' glass of tea where he can find it, then sets out politely offering a glass to everyone in the house that he can find. Even Kevin, being in the BBC doesn't exclude him from a glass of tea. When he gives Kevin his tea, he says something to the skeletal Jester. "Now now, I will try and see if I can get your cards back. I know they're a favorite of yours, and it is truly rude of the guest to simply take them, but we mustn't be rude back to the guests, such isn't the way."
When he offers Mark his glass of tea, Morton will say, "Now, sir, can I please see those cards? I'm truly sorry for my compatriots actions, but those cards are precious to him and he's a bit jumpy when others touch them. If you like, I think I can find regular playing cards somewhere in the house to replace those." With that settled, Carter will make his way upstairs after offering everyone a glass besides the Masters upstairs. With a knock on the door, Morton speaks through the it. "Master Scott, I have the tea ready for when you wish it." Morton couldn't help but have a happy grin on his face, this will surely cheer everyone up! Nothing like a fine cup of tea to brighten one's day, that's what he always said!
Post by: miauw62 on April 18, 2013, 02:52:24 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 18, 2013, 05:58:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 18, 2013, 06:00:31 pm
Of boar.
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2013, 06:29:38 pm
EDIT: maybe we can have dinner and then some tea? Both things are already done.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 18, 2013, 07:27:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 19, 2013, 12:15:01 am
Morton, flush with the fulfillment of his duty, goes about giving tea to every person in the house at the present time, even the tree creature and Kevin, who both lack the necessary bits to enjoy it. After all, one should never be robbed of their daily tea simply because of anatomical difficulties. Speaking of Kevin, it's time to perform the classic conflict resolution that Morton is known for. When he gives the skeletal jester some tea, he follows it up with some words of constructive interpersonal conduct.
"Now now, I will try and see if I can get your cards back. I know they're a favorite of yours, and it is truly rude of the guest to simply take them, but we mustn't be rude back to the guests, such isn't the way."
Kevin nods, then, in an open show of disrespect for the BBC, follows Morton back to the vestibule, whereupon they both approach the thief. Handing the tree man some tea, he begins his mediation.
"Now, sir, can I please see those cards? I'm truly sorry for my compatriots actions, but those cards are precious to him and he's a bit jumpy when others touch them. If you like, I think I can find regular playing cards somewhere in the house to replace those."
The creature shrugs and hands the cards right back. Well, that was easy! Morton then proceeds to give tea to Sigmund, Niklas and the rest of the mages, who seem quite appreciative of it.
"This is some fine tea. Some of the best I have ever had."
"Yeah, amazing stuff. What'd you make it with?"
"Waiting around here has certainly been worth it if this is the reward!"
"Yeah, definitely."
"Hey, is there someplace we could sit down here?"
They proceed to enjoy their tea and thank Morton quite a bit. Morton can't help but beam at their kind words. There is no greater pleasure than an appreciative guest. Well, aside from that tree-fellow's kleptomania. That's slightly off-putting. But on the bright side, he seems to be leaving through the door for now. Hopefully there will be peace for now.
Meanwhile, Niklas, having received his tea, gets into a classy mood. And a classy mood requires classy food, as we all know.
[Food preparation roll: 1+1]
So he considers how best to serve less boar for now and more boar later, as that is the only bit of food available. He also cuts up the cooked boar on one plate and arranges it in a pile, then decides that that is no more aesthetically pleasing than the plate with a single cut. Oh, the hardships of being a cook!
Out in the woods...
Mark, having had enough of people interfering with his thievery, goes hunting for stuff in the woods. Mind you, he doesn't know what kind of stuff exactly, but he's sure there should be some.
He eventually comes to a clearing in the woods, having found nothing living aside from trees in the area. This clearing looks ordinary enough, except there's a large, elongated, light brown mushroom growing in the middle of it. It looks to be fairly innocuous to Mark aside from its unusual size.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 19, 2013, 02:07:02 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 19, 2013, 02:17:44 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 19, 2013, 02:18:13 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 19, 2013, 08:18:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 19, 2013, 09:29:32 am
Darren figuring that Mel probably has a good reason for running like that, ducks right into a nearby wall. Moments later, he sees a man with a giant bladed arm, a dark blue armored robe and an axe in his hand run his way! He is accompanied by a rather well-groomed rottweiler!
The two seem totally oblivious to his presence. Ah, optimum ambushing conditions! Now, what to chuck? Ooh, there's a large wooden column over there! That could work!
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Sadly, Darren can't seem to pull it out, as it seems to be wedged in tight. The man and his dog run like the wind, speeding right past Darren as he futilely tries to execute his master plan, disappearing around the corner. Moments later, there is the sound of a man hitting the ground, metal cleaving flesh, a scream that is undoubtedly Mel's, then a loud boom, then nothing.
Well, crap.
On the second floor of the Yaleson house...
Morton, radiating an aura of pride in his handiwork, slowly ascends the stairs, thinking to cheer up his fine masters with this... art. He's not sure you can call it tea anymore, really. It may have transcended its liquid roots and become something greater entirely.
Unfortunately, his mental balance is quickly disrupted by a bout of hysterical yelling from upstairs that is undeniably Master Scott. Oh dear, what's going on up there? Morton sets down the platter with the tea and goes up the stairs, throwing open the door to the master bedroom.
Oh my. Master Scott looks to be... what is it he's doing, anyway? Is he trying to chew out a piece of Master Gary?
"I-I heard yelling, is everything a-alright?" he asks, though the scene isn't one that inspires confidence in decency, humanity, or anything of that sort. Scott looks at him, a panicked look in his eyes and a dark brown paste covering his teeth. Did he drink the infusion? What's going on?
"Oh, would you look at that! Is that the man of the house?" Morton hears from behind him.
"Gotta say, that's the second worst I've ever seen a man look."
"It'd probably help his odds if a zombie wasn't currently trying to chew out his kidneys."
"Man, look at him. His left kidney is gone. Damn!"
"The future does not look too bright for him, no."
"Hey, we work miracles for a living! I bet we could help him with his problems or something. Right, Erin?"
"Oh, totally. Could fix him right up. No sweat."
Out in the woods...
Mark sets his cup of tea down and heads over to pick the battleaxe-sized mushroom. As soon as he touches it, though, the mushroom convulses, releasing a cloud of something all over the hapless skeleton. Damn, man, can't you trust anything in the woods?
He grabs the mushroom and pulls it out of the ground. It seems to have shrunk quite a bit. Man, that cloud maneuver must have taken a lot out of it. It proceeds to quickly begin to envelop his fingers, bits in it parting, then clamping over Mark's hand. That's some mushroom.
Post by: miauw62 on April 19, 2013, 09:47:44 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 19, 2013, 09:54:59 am
Sigmund tasted the tea, but it's flavor was, well, let's say that it lacked something, something that any vampire apreciates: blood. The problem would be to acquire it. He suddenly had an idea: a manor of this size might have some rats or other rodents roaming inside of it, and by taking out one of them he would be helping the owners, so, in a way, he could be showing that he aws grateful with them by doing so.
Sigmund picks the knife and goes to kill a rat so that he can spill some blood on his tea to add some flavor.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 19, 2013, 10:14:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 19, 2013, 10:21:33 am
((Harry, I've got a question: can vampires eat or drink something non-blood related without negative effects??. If yes, do the following:))
It doesn't cause negative effects, strictly speaking, but there's no point in eating or drinking, since any undead creature's digestive system has the distinction of not working. At all. This means that anything you eat and drink goes to your stomach and stays there until it rots away, evaporates or is forcibly removed. In a while, eaten food will cause severe halitosis in undead creatures. Some undead still eat things (whether because they like the taste of them or because they feel they really should), and vampires have special adaptations to absorb blood.
Post by: Xantalos on April 19, 2013, 10:26:16 am
Serve filleted boar to guests.
Post by: Tomcost on April 19, 2013, 10:59:57 am
((Anyway, don't drink the tea and forge about the rat thing))
Sigmund, feeling that the search for a weapon was unnecessary and that it was just him being paranoid, took the knife and gave it back to the chef.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 19, 2013, 12:56:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 19, 2013, 12:59:10 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 19, 2013, 02:26:50 pm
"IT ATE RIGHT THROUGH HIS FLESH! MURDERER! ASSASSIN! ROGUE! DEFILER!" Each latter word punctuated with a blow to the skull.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 19, 2013, 02:34:24 pm
Morton twists around and exclaims an involuntarily half-query as he notices the guests behind him. And not only that, everyone else seems to have gathered as well. Kevin's there, looking at the horrible scene of Scott messing around with his husband's corpse, Niklas is currently serving filleted boar to the guests, who politely decline it, citing greater concerns at the moment, even Sigmund joins the party, still uncertain on where exactly he should put his knife. However, none of that matters now! What matters is that the lady said she could fix Gary!
"Y-you can fix Master Gary? F-fix him of his ills and bring him back to health for us? And that is no zombie, the other would be Master Scott, who I'm of the utmost assurance that he is acting in accordance to, ah, what is necessary of the circumstance I have no doubt."
"He's kind of a rotting corpse walking about, that Master Scott of yours. Looks like a zombie to me."
"Oh, shut it, Bernie. Yeah, I can fix the dead guy on the bed there. Easy as pie, really. I wave my hands, think magic and magic happens. It's pretty sweet and all."
Well, that's rather good. He turns back expectantly to Master Scott, who still looks a bit confused.
"M-Master Scott, what is the matter? Has Master Gary fallen more ill? Oh dear, what happened to Master Gary's side? The benevolent guests said they might be able to fix Master Gary."
"'Fallen ill' is probably a bit of an understatement. More like 'there's nine divine plagues, and he caught them all simultaneously'. That kind of thing."
Master Scott, however, doesn't seem to be in the best of moods.
"WHAT WAS IN THAT SWILL!?" he screams, reaching for Morton's neck!
[Scott vs. Morton: 5 vs. 4-1]
He grabs him by the throat, then starts to whack the butler's head against the wall with alarming rapidity.
"IT ATE RIGHT THROUGH HIS FLESH! MURDERER! ASSASSIN! ROGUE! DEFILER!" he yells at the unsuspecting man, bashing the butler deeper into the fine wooden paneling with each word!
"I could watch this all day, really."
Out in the woods...
Mark tries to scratch that dang mushroom off his fingers, breaking off a nearby stick to do so.
[Mushroom removal roll: 3]
Oh dear. That thing is wedged on quite tight. And it seems to be well on its way to enveloping Mark's hand, extending its fungoid body over the metal with alarming speed.
Post by: Tomcost on April 19, 2013, 02:47:27 pm
It's a nice show, don't you think so? A situation as hilarious as this doesn't happen every day.
((Yeah, I'm a bastard))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 19, 2013, 03:12:01 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 19, 2013, 05:39:38 pm
Scott's verbal anger fades dramatically into quietness, a whisper, his fist poised to strike.
"Even if you were an expert in botanical and horticultural pursuits, one ought to check their ingredients before having them handed to your master."
Scott points to the voluntary surgeon.
"If this man fails in his voluntary task, I will end you. For now, I shall cripple you."
Scott meticulously forces Morton's arm joints into a lock, and breaks them. he will then use the force of his heels to sunder the incompetent butlers knees.
/Redacted, see below.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 19, 2013, 06:13:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 19, 2013, 06:47:07 pm
Find a case for my knives. Place knifes in suitcase if found.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 19, 2013, 11:20:30 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 19, 2013, 11:36:45 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 19, 2013, 11:52:50 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 01:03:57 am
"Please, explain to me how I am to take a situation where our butler, you, instead of doing his duty has decided to assassinate his master with a paste that corrupts the flesh! He then tells me "Oh, don't mind that, here is a complete and total stranger you should trust with your husbands life!"
/Redacted, see next page
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2013, 01:15:13 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 01:27:44 am
"How in the worlds would I know that boiling the willow bark would do that? I thought it was suppose to ease pain, not cause decay, I probably wouldn't even of noticed if I put it on myself! You have it on your teeth and mouth, yet there I see nothing. I used the good water, boiled it right and made sure to not over boil or under boil it, and used willow bark. How in the hells could boiled willow bark even do such a thing? Niklas was there, I did nothing else, everyone else can confirm that I indubitably went straight to you afterwards." He rattled off the steps, the indignant anger still flaring in him.
"Why don't you explain to me why I would ever want Master Gary dead? If he died, I'd die! You, sir, would die! Kevin would die, as would Niklas! What purpose would I have in a dreadful mass murder-suicide? I don't hate living, on the contrary I've been dead once and don't quite plan on being again any time soon, that's why I'm ecstatic at any chance of Master Gary living. I've been thankful every day when Master Gary brought me back from the dead, why would I want to go back? Trusting strangers is better than doing nothing at all, which we have been doing, and Master Gary has assuredly not been in glowing health as of such. We'd at least be doing something." Morton sighed at the end, running out of steam.
[I can only imagine the amusement Artiste must be getting from this.]
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2013, 01:30:44 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 02:10:58 am
"How can one decide what one doesn't even know?" Morton could only counter in exasperation.Scott pauses again. "Was it you who collected the bark? Could you identify what you put in the water as willow?"
"How in the worlds would I know that boiling the willow bark would do that? I thought it was suppose to ease pain, not cause decay, I probably wouldn't even of noticed if I put it on myself! You have it on your teeth and mouth, yet there I see nothing. I used the good water, boiled it right and made sure to not over boil or under boil it, and used willow bark. How in the hells could boiled willow bark even do such a thing? Niklas was there, I did nothing else, everyone else can confirm that I indubitably went straight to you afterwards." He rattled off the steps, the indignant anger still flaring in him.
"Why don't you explain to me why I would ever want Master Gary dead? If he died, I'd die! You, sir, would die! Kevin would die, as would Niklas! What purpose would I have in a dreadful mass murder-suicide? I don't hate living, on the contrary I've been dead once and don't quite plan on being again any time soon, that's why I'm ecstatic at any chance of Master Gary living. I've been thankful every day when Master Gary brought me back from the dead, why would I want to go back? Trusting strangers is better than doing nothing at all, which we have been doing, and Master Gary has assuredly not been in glowing health as of such. We'd at least be doing something." Morton sighed at the end, running out of steam.
[I can only imagine the amusement Artiste must be getting from this.]
Again redacted. Se below.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 02:30:07 am
[Running Bets on Cause: Mushrooms, Artiste, Fate]
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2013, 02:33:20 am
((Also, the virulent perk will probably have amusing effects on the mages ))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 02:38:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 03:30:01 am
Morton, seeing how he's being assaulted on the thinnest of pretexts, doesn't stand for this kind of treatment! As well as anyone can stand up to this kind of treatment while being bashed into a wall, that is.
"What-" *thwack* "-was handed willow-" *crash* "-boiled it-"" *thwack* "-gave it to you-" *thwack* "-no idea-" *crick* "-oh dear-" *crack* "-please, stop!"
He tries to shove Master Scott off him! After all, even the most loyal butler shouldn't take open abuse lying down!
"Please restrain yourself sir! I did nothing of the sort, why would I, and for what purpose?! These travelers just said they could fix Master Gary!"
[Morton vs. Scott: 2 vs. 4-1]
He tries and he tries, but to no avail! Scott has clamped down tight on his throat! He does seem to pause in his brutal violence for a bit. It's replaced with unsubstantiated reproach!
"YOU DIDN'T TASTE IT FIRST?! Even if you were an expert in botanical and horticultural pursuits, one ought to check their ingredients before having them handed to your master."
Scott points at Erin.
"If this man-"
There is a slight chuckling on the mages' part.
"Shut it, Bernie!"
"-fails in his voluntary task, I will end you. For now, I shall cripple you."
[Grapple: Scott vs. Morton: 3 vs. 5]
Scott tries to force Morton into an arm lock, but the movement on his part to accomplish this gives Morton the opportunity he was waiting for, allowing him to shove Scott away with both of his free arms! Scott stumbles back and slumps up against a wall, slightly off-balance. Morton, now free, makes a stuttering reply!
"Y-you're insane, s-sir! I-I-I've tried to help you, and t-this is how you repay me? I understand y-you're under stress and bereaved b-by your Husband's illness, but I won't stand for this! I've obviously m-misjudged your character, if this is how you shall treat me I'd rather t-throw my lot with the road!"
The mages cheer!
"Yeah! You tell him, butler man!"
"Should we take 'em now?"
"Nah, wait for it. I want to see what happens."
Niklas can't help but add his own two barbarian units of currency to the household feud.
"You should come with me, butler. I am going to shatter the world ... stage with my cooking!"
He, being a great multitasker, then decides that he probably needs to find that special protective suitcase he got for his knives from a passing mage. He fetches it from the closet and stashes his razor sharp utensils within. He is back in no time at all to watch the proceedings and hear Morton's reply.
"Sounds more pleasant than procrastinating around here to have my legs and arms shattered, Chief Niklas." he comments to the zombie chief, before retorting once again to the once-master, stutter replaced with the pent-up, righteous anger only a man who has served others and pushed down all those times could feel burning inside him. "I was even fine with you hitting my head against the floor! I knew you were angry with what happened, I understand that you are in a tough place and scared, but even with me telling you that your husband could be fixed from all of this you only insisted on violence instead of your husband! Do you even care about his health? He was ill with horrible sickness and you wanted to give him a-a pain reliever instead of searching for an actual doctor who could help, and now that one is on our doorstep you ignore such offers in favor of petty anger? I was coming up to give you some tea, but I see now you don't deserve it, don't deserve it at all."
There is a collective gasp from the mages! Well, except the black-robed woman. She just remains unimpressed-looking. Scott, meanwhile, recovers from his unstable state. Well, his physically unstable state. He is still plenty unstable mentally.
"Please, explain to me how I am to take a situation where our butler, you, instead of doing his duty has decided to assassinate his master with a paste that corrupts the flesh! He then tells me 'Oh, don't mind that, here is a complete and total stranger you should trust with your husbands life!'"
"How can one decide what one doesn't even know?"
"How in the worlds would I know that boiling the willow bark would do that? I thought it was suppose to ease pain, not cause decay, I probably wouldn't even of noticed if I put it on myself! You have it on your teeth and mouth, yet there I see nothing. I used the good water, boiled it right and made sure to not over boil or under boil it, and used willow bark. How in the hells could boiled willow bark even do such a thing? Niklas was there, I did nothing else, everyone else can confirm that I indubitably went straight to you afterwards."
"Why don't you explain to me why I would ever want Master Gary dead? If he died, I'd die! You, sir, would die! Kevin would die, as would Niklas! What purpose would I have in a dreadful mass murder-suicide? I don't hate living, on the contrary I've been dead once and don't quite plan on being again any time soon, that's why I'm ecstatic at any chance of Master Gary living. I've been thankful every day when Master Gary brought me back from the dead, why would I want to go back? Trusting strangers is better than doing nothing at all, which we have been doing, and Master Gary has assuredly not been in glowing health as of such. We'd at least be doing something."
Morton sighs after he's done. Some days, it just seems like this is a madhouse of some kind.
"Someone killing someone? No. I do the killing. If anyone kills anyone, I'll kill them AND their victim for getting killed!"
And Niklas isn't really helping matters, to be honest. However, Scott seems to be calming down.
"Was it you who collected the bark? Could you identify what you put in the water as willow?"
"Was it... me? No, I was boiling the water as to get ready for the bark. Kevin told me he would get it, to aid me in my endeavor to serve. I'm quite positive what I put in the water was willow. It looked like willow to me, and gave off a medicine like smell when I boiled it. But I don't see why Kevin would want to do this truly dreadful thing to Master Gary, it just raises the same issue! Why by all that is tea would he? Kevin never seemed like that type, he always wanted to make people laugh... What kind of bark even eats away at the skin like that when boiled? I know it was bark, I handled it myself, but while I wouldn't call myself an 'expert in botanical and horticultural pursuits,' I don't think there is bark that would have such horrifying effects so quickly."
He looks over at... wait, where has Kevin gone? Oh well.
"Alright, I suppose you ladies have come to an agreement or something. Let's get to it, then!"
Erin strolls up to Gary, closes her eyes and extends her hands above him.
[Erin magic roll: 2]
And nothing at all happens.
"Bad form there, Erin! It's all in the posture!"
"I just thought it'd look more impressive this way, ya know? Well, guess I'll do this the boring way, then."
She loosens up, limbers up a bit, then makes a rapid movement of her hands!
[Erin magic roll: 1+1]
Still nothing, though.
"You're embarrassing yourself, man! Get yourself together!"
"Oh, gods, will you quit that already!" she yells, impatiently waving her arms at the infirm man.
[Erin magic roll: 1]
Suddenly, there is a burst of white light that envelops Gary! When it dissipates, the infirm necromancer is gone! Disappeared into thin air!
"What did you do, Erin?"
"I most certainly did not just disintegrate him into the very tiniest component particles, no sir, and I will debate endlessly with anyone who says otherwise until the issue is sufficiently muddled and confused!"
The undead look on in surprise and slight horror. Bernie carefully looks at them.
"Wait a minute, wouldn't these guys be falling over in horrible agony if that were the case? Something isn't right here."
Out in the woods...
Mark, meanwhile, continues his fungal odyssey as he tries to persistently remove the mushroom while trying to move in the direction of the house.
[Fungus removal roll: 3]
Yeah, it's not coming off that way, that much is certain. Mark runs back to the house, only to find the jester on the first floor making a shushing motion at him. It looks like there's some sort of commotion upstairs.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 03:36:38 am
"Where.Is.My.HUSBAND!?"
"Morton! Send out a party to comb the surrounding area! He must be found!"
[Really bad rolls there...]
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2013, 04:05:18 am
Niklas, carrying his suitcase full of knives, walks out of the house and tries to remember what he can about the general area.
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2013, 04:27:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 06:31:07 am
Scott attempts to blanch, but then he realizes that his blood doesn't actually circulate. A shame. Well, he still has questions nevertheless. Like this one, for instance.
"Where. Is. My. HUSBAND!?" he asks, staring wildly at the magical woman who he quite accurately believes to be at the root of this.
"I dunno. I just do the magic, you know, I... wait a second."
She looks intently at the bed for a moment, then lifts up the sheet and stretches it out before herself.
"Okay, so I've got good news and bad news. Good news, your husband is still here!"
She flips the sheet around, revealing a terrifyingly lifelike embroidered ornament in the shape of the tortured face of Gary on it.
"Bad news, he is now a bedsheet."
Bernie and the Artiste nod and begin to clap slowly, both of them grinning widely.
"Fantastic work there, Erin! I dare say he is the perfect image of health now!"
"Or he would be if somebody washed him."
"Well, yes, but I'm sure Mr. Scott doesn't need us to do that. Do you, Mr. Scott?"
Scott looks at them dumbfounded.
"Well, I think our work here is done. Here you go, Mr. Yaleson. Your husband'll need some laundering and rest, then he should be good as new!"
She places Gary into his husband's arms, nodding at a job well done.
"And now that that bit of household drama is over with, let's get down to business."
Niklas shakes his head at the proceedings in the room.
"Bah. Mages. Didn't the demon already soulbind us to him? If he dies, we die. I don't see a demon dying easily. Now, I'm going to become the greatest chef. Goodbye."
"Lovely though your ambitions may be, you'll have to wait a bit. First you help me under incredible duress and little other options, then I consider helping you at some undefined point in the future."
He clears his throat, the shouts "EVERYONE! TO ME!"
This exclamation is loud enough for all to hear, even Kevin, regrettably enough. All four bound undead and the four bound mages gather around the Artiste, who then speaks.
"Alright then! First order of business, round out our little band of misfits. Primo..."
He snaps his fingers at Scott, who is overcome with the feeling of a coup performed by his stomach to overthrow his lungs happening inside him. He drops to his knees, clutching Gary close to himself.
"And secundo!"
He snaps at Morton, who is filled with intense regret and nausea that takes him back to the time when he tried to drink that tea made out of leaves sold by that weirdo mage that lived down the street. Boy, was that not a good idea.
"And now for your official orders! Undead squad, I order you to never harm or incapacitate each other, any of my other minions or myself! I also order you to never deliberately destroy yourselves! Thirdly, I order you all to go to Shriekpot and get us all a ship. It is integral to the master plan, so you know it's for your own good. The rest of us, the ones actually needing sleep, food and water, will remain here and have our way with this house, making it less of a filthy and diseased hellhole and more of a nice place for living people to be in. So then, any questions from you lot?"
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 07:44:49 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 20, 2013, 08:27:15 am
(I'm ;eaveing on a holiday tomorrow for 10 days just to let you know so Ill auto getting the mushroom off and helping work on the house once the mushroom is off)
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2013, 08:32:33 am
He took the initiative spoke to the rest of the undead in the room:
-As I am the undead who can pass as an ordinary human here, I will do the intel. You should acquire weapons for yourselves in case we need to take a ship by force. Now, I'm heading to the dock to see which kind of boats are there.
Also, look for a bag so that I can carry my knife. If I don't find one, just head to docks.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 09:46:12 am
Scott appears to have reached some kind of psychological event horizon, as he immediately becomes calm and collected. He asks some things of the mages.
"Will you give my husband back his human form? He is a fellow necromancer, you know, a profound one, actually."
The Artiste shakes his head.
"No can do, minion. We've already got 2 necromancers, having a third one would be just plain ridiculous. This way, we don't have to feed him, he can't talk a whole lot and we don't have to find things for him to do to stave off the ever-present pangs of uselessness."
"Not to mention that he can't see, hear, touch, smell or otherwise sense anything in that state. I'm pretty sure he can think, though. The soul is still bound to the sheet, after all. And turning him back is a bit harder than you think. When you morph something, you gotta know what it is down to details. Because of that, you can usually make inanimate objects and very, very simple pseudo-life with morphing magic. As in, creatures that only have, like, one overriding instinct and no real intelligence. So, you see, I can make a bedsheet out of a dude, but I can't make a dude out of a bedsheet. Pretty awful, that."
Ah.
"Also, will you be more polite about my house? And what type of ship do you desire, and how many crew do you think is necessary?"
"No, since it really is too terrible to lie about, something not too big, and depends on the ship you get. In that order, if you couldn't tell."
Double ah.
Meanwhile, Mark kicks open a nearby door. For what reason, it is possible that not even he knows. He tries to figure out a way to way to remove the mushroom from his hand.
[Fungus removal roll: 1]
He notices some of the tea lying around on the stairs. Maybe the fungus hates that? He pours a cup of it all over his hand.
Unfortunately, the fungus seems to have enjoyed it for some reason! It begins to grow rapidly, quickly covering his entire arm as new mushrooms sprout on it. His entire left arm is now covered in mushrooms, sadly enough. It's pretty difficult to move now.
Sigmund, having listened very attentively indeed, makes his plans very clear.
"As I am the undead who can pass as an ordinary human here, I will do the intel. You should acquire weapons for yourselves in case we need to take a ship by force. Now, I'm heading to the dock to see which kind of boats are there."
"Go get 'em, then."
And he does! Except for trying to get a bag first. He fetches a sturdy bag and deposits his knife in it, then runs along on his way, getting out onto the road and off to Shriekpot!
He reaches the town in about half an hour of running. Shriekpot actually looks rather nice, to be frank. It's a peninsular town with a very wide harbor that surrounds the town from three sides, making it quite a popular port for ships on the way to somewhere or other. After a cursory look at the ships available (made somewhat more difficult by the fact that he gets lost in the town several times on the way), Sigmund sees many ships. Small ships, medium ships, large ships, cargo ships, mail runners, a warship or two, patrol boats and many other sorts of ship. There's even one ship covered in gleaming metal that seems to hover slightly above the water. That one's a bit weird.
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2013, 09:48:33 am
((I'm pretty sure that tea was a 6 roll now. Also, that hover-ship probably goes to the Land of Dreams, or whatever the place that killed Mike was called. Altough this raises the question of how it got out of there in the first place. I recommend not taking that one.))
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 10:12:53 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 20, 2013, 10:19:06 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2013, 10:23:31 am
Sigmund considered the situation, he had to fit the four mages, three zombies, an skeleton, and that weird tree-faced thing along with himself in a ship. One with an average size should suffice, he thought. He came closer to a medium sized boat and asked a crew member where the captain was. He introduced himself to the captain:
-Good [insert time of the day here], captain, I'm an emissary of a renowned Duke, which happens to be in dire need of naval transport. Is this wonderful ship available to do so? His escort comprises a total of ten people, including myself and the Duke himself. He is willing to pay a hefty sum if needed.
((harry, would you be so kind to invent a name for he family my character feigns to represent? As you already know, I'm not good at names. Also, is there any problem if I describe the clothes my character is wearing? Beacause I want he cloack and hood to be red with black details, with the family's insignia sewn in golden thread. Or just write something you feel that fits more, it doesn't matter.))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 10:34:52 am
"I need some tea..." He could only mutter. When he sees the tree-headed fellow being accosted by what looks like a fungus, he only blinks and continues to head for the kitchen, then stops mid step and sighs. "Follow me kind sir, I can help you remove the invasive presence." Once there, he drinks his tea and sets another pot to boil, trying to get it as hot as possible. Then, once he's satisfied with that, he gets proper hand protection and sets it near the pot to see if the strange skeleton followed him.
If so, he'll say "Please place the offending arm over the drain, don't want to get this all over the floor sir. This should scald the... Whatever that is off that you seem so intent on getting off. Now, now, I don't believe it should hurt you, as I think you're made of metal, so don't fidget too much sir." Then, with proper hand protection in hand, he pours the scalding water over the fungal arm, unless the strange skeletal man doesn't wish him to however.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 20, 2013, 11:23:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 12:14:03 pm
While Kevin watches his good buddy Niklas intently, waiting for him to make a move, Scott decides to be more active. He looks for a knife that somebody hasn't taken yet.
Luckily, Gary had a sacrificial dagger that looks pretty wicked and curved lying around, complete with a sheath to go with it. It's specifically made for causing maximum bleeding and potential disembowelment, so it should be rather good for what he needs. He coats it in the near-black paste, making it look even more evil than before. Hope it works as well on other people as it did on Gary.
Mark, meanwhile, seeks the aid of the nearby mages! He shows them his arm.
"Oh, hey, look at that! It's... it's... it's on the tip of my tongue, what was it?"
"Mark?"
"No, that stuff on his arm... it was... oh, right, the Murdercap."
"Why do they call it that?"
"Mostly because it grows mostly where things have been recently killed. Loves heat, so you pour blood or anything else warm on it and it starts growing like crazy. Or at least so goes common wisdom. It tastes really good, I hear. Very nutritious. And not even poisonous. A bit hard to digest, though."
Bernie grabs a mushroom from Mark's arm and pulls off its cap. He then pockets his gains.
"Good stuff, all in all."
Morton, noticing the skeleton's plight, offers help.
"Follow me kind sir, I can help you remove the invasive presence."
He leads Mark to the kitchen, boiling some water and setting the skeleton's infested arm over a bucket, as drains are not really something commonly available 'round these parts. He then pours scalding water over the mushrooms. Interestingly enough, though they shrink and some fall off, the skeleton's metal arm is still largely covered with fungus. And more seems to be spreading along his shoulder. Drawing on his knowledge of boiling pots, Morton theorizes that this is because of the heat getting conducted over his metal skeleton. Interesting.
In the docks of Shriekpot...
Sigmund walks along the docks, looking around for a good medium-sized vessel. There seems to be one, certainly - a small (relatively speaking) cargo ship, built for maximum speed from the looks of it. It seems to be unattended at the moment, to tell the truth. That's odd. Sigmund goes up to take a look at it. Nobody in sight, truly. He tries to step on the deck, but is interrupted by a pleasant voice of rather ambiguous gender.
~Hello. May I help you in any way?~
Um... okay, if that's the way they want to play it.
~Good evening, voice, I'm an emissary of the renowned Duke Cskzipftmski.~
~How do you pronounce that?~
~Nobody is quite sure. We call him 'Honored Duke' to avoid a confrontation on the issue.~
~Ah, yes. Continue.~
~The Duke happens to be in dire need of personal transport. Is this wonderful ship available to do so? His escort comprises a total of ten people, including myself and the Duke. He is willing to pay a hefty sum if needed.~
~A reasonable sum will indeed be required. State your intended destination.~
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2013, 12:25:37 pm
After the answer:
We will consider this ship of yours, but, I am not authorized to decide by myself now. I will inform you later about the Duke's desicion.
Repeat the action of my previous post in another ship.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 20, 2013, 12:28:43 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 12:49:28 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2013, 01:16:51 pm
((Gonna auto to this for the night. Await my next action.))
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2013, 02:34:22 pm
By your 'self', demon, I suppose you mean your soul, correct?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 03:32:58 pm
Sigmund decides to play it as safely as he can.
~By this moment, I am just considering the ships available, as my lord, in fact, is very secretive about his intentions. Does your ship have enough capacity to transport ten people, including supplies for a long journey?~
~Yes, indeed I do. It is, in fact, one of my central duties to transport people to places they should desire, should the payment be adequate.~
~We will consider this ship of yours, but, I am not authorized to decide by myself now. I will inform you later about the Duke's decision.~
~Very well. I will remain here for several more days.~
Sigmund steps off the deck and looks for another ship. There is a rather okay-looking one nearby. There don't seem to be a lot of people on it. Just a few guards, it looks like. Sigmund walks up to them.
"Hello, could I speak to the captain?"
The guards, a bunch of brutish louts if Sigmund has ever seen any, turn to him, their large and unfriendly faces making him feel rather unwelcome.
"Come back in the morning, will ya? Captain's out having fun, and here you come to bother him. Uncivilized is what it is."
In the Yaleson house...
Scott decides that his corpse feet are simply too slow to be of proper use. Therefore he needs something to ride to Shriekpot, very much like a true knight would. And indeed, a mighty steed is not too far away in the woods, as Scott finds after a cursory look! It looks to be a horse with a rider on it. A rider whose throat has been pierced by an arrow. Interesting. The horse looks a tad shaken up, but otherwise good for riding. Must be his lucky day. Except for all the bad luck he's been having, that is.
Back inside, Morton, feeling awfully physician-like all of a sudden, explains Mark's options at this point.
"Well, sir, seems that didn't have the effect I was hoping. I can think of two other ways to get it off, Head Chief Niklas is an expert in all things food related, and as I can see this is fungus, he might know a way to get it off. Another way, one I don't recommend sir as per the dangers of your, ah, head, would be to burn it off. As I'm aware that those of the skeletal disposition can't speak, simply raise one finger if you wish to go see Chief Niklas, two if you wish to burn it off. Three if you have any other ideas, I think I can find you some paper and pencil if you are of possession of the ability to write and read that is."
Mark scratches his tree for a moment. He looks pretty indecisive at the moment. How unfortunate.
Meanwhile, Kevin just keeps on following Niklas. Sadly, the barbarian chef doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Instead, he makes conversation with the lead mage.
"By your 'self', demon, I suppose you mean your soul, correct?"
"Oh, would you stop calling me that. I'm no demon, and it insults me gravely that you use such a term, really. And, strictly speaking, I do not have a soul in the traditional sense, either. In addition, what in the world are you talking about, you raving lunatic?"
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2013, 03:56:45 pm
Walking down the stairs, Niklas sees the mushroom growing on Mark's arm. Huh. Well, there's got to be some farmers near here.
Niklas goes and finds a farmer of animals.
((Trust me, I think I know what do.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 20, 2013, 04:25:56 pm
Leave. Wander around a little, but try not to get noticed.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2013, 04:59:22 pm
Niklas explains his point of view to the Artiste.
"You're not bring specific enough with your bindings. By 'yourself', I can interpret that to mean your inner self. This I have full permission to harm your body. I would, but honestly I think you're too powerful right now."
"You could certainly interpret it that way, yes. But, then again, your interpretation is entirely irrelevant, as the word 'harm' means to hasten one's demise, inflict pain or otherwise impede health - you cannot actually harm the essence of being, you can merely hasten its transference. Such is the essence of harming something. But enough about that."
"What was it you wanted? A ship? I'll get that for ye."
"That's a good sport! Go right ahead."
Niklas is about to head out, but is distracted by the mushrooms on Mark's arm.
"Huh. Well, there's got to be some farmers near here."
He sets out to test this hypothesis, and is rather surprised when he is proven wrong. Only fields of rye and barley around these parts, and even those are pretty sparse. Doesn't look like animal husbandry is popular in this place.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, slumping with defeat, tries to leave quietly. His secondary objective, which is to not get noticed, fails almost immediately as the dog and the man, both returning from the brutal slaying of Mel, run right at him.
"NO WITNESSES!" the man yells, hurling jars at Darren!
[Man water use roll: 4+1]
[Darren endurance roll: 6]
He smashes the jars mid-air with his blade arm, splashing Darren with burning water! Darren, smoking a bit from the water, gives the man a stern look.
The dog, meanwhile, looks on curiously at Darren.
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2013, 05:36:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2013, 06:09:36 pm
Sigmund apologies and goes back to the Yaleson House
Post by: Xanmyral on April 20, 2013, 06:46:30 pm
Morton waits for the strange skeleton to answer his question when
If he finds a bag, he will also take some, not all, of the tea making supplies and a pot to boil water in, and if he finds a closeable container that could hold liquids he will fill it with some of the spring water. One must always be prepared for the assaults of the road, and nothing like some tea to make one chipper! The fire poker is for self defense, as while Morton likes to consider himself a peaceable sort, he knows well enough from the example of his old master that others are not as much. Alas, not everyone can be soothed with word and tea. The poker itself is to remind him of what is behind him, a metaphorical burning of his past which also reminds him of the literal burning in past.
Before he heads out, he will approach the strange mage travelers. "I'm not entirely sure what has been done to me, but I can only assume that it is to mean that you are now my current Master. I can only hope that I may serve you better than my old, and that you may treat me better than my old. Before I set out, is there anything you would like me to do? Clean up a little, or perhaps try to brew some more tea before I leave?"
Post by: Innsmothe on April 21, 2013, 02:13:12 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 21, 2013, 02:25:47 am
Kevin, seeing that Niklas isn't going anywhere useful soon, follows the second-best option: Morton.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 21, 2013, 02:49:07 am
Morton stares at Mark, waiting for some sort of answer.
"I'm dreadfully sorry sir, but those are the options I see. Now, I'm afraid I must really make haste, as I don't believe I am wanted in this domicile any longer. Oh to wander the roads, be it a curse or a blessing?"
Suddenly, Niklas bursts into the house, questions in mind for the mages!
"Well, who wants to give birth? Not me."
Mark immediately raises three fingers.
"Not it."
"Not it!"
"Not me!"
"Hell no!"
Well, that just leaves the golden-robed guy.
"Um... uh... I... can't? Sorry?"
Not a drop of enthusiasm in these people. How dreadful.
Morton, looking at the happenings, decides it to be wiser to ignore them. He sips his tea, enjoying it most profoundly, then looks for supplies for the long and winding road ahead. He remembers Master Gary having a room full of junk back from the times when he liked to go hiking and binding animals to frolic with him in the mountains. Luckily, none of it was thrown out! He goes to the room, fetching a spacious backpack and several water flasks, then going over to the fireplace that nobody's used in 3 years and fetching a fire poker, a brass poker with both a sharp spike and a hook. He also grabs his tea-making supplies and fills the flasks with the great spring water available. Thus prepared for the vagaries of the harsh world outside, he approaches his masters.
"I'm not entirely sure what has been done to me, but I can only assume that it is to mean that you are now my current Master. I can only hope that I may serve you better than my old, and that you may treat me better than my old. Before I set out, is there anything you would like me to do? Clean up a little, or perhaps try to brew some more tea before I leave?"
"Oh, we'll treat you right. Just because someone is your unconditional slave for all time doesn't mean you should always be nasty to them. Right, Bernie?"
Bernie sighs.
"Right."
"As for what we need of you other than a ship obtained, worry not. We'll take care of things on our own for now. Now go on. Amazing adventures, hopefully related to getting us a ship, await you!"
Kevin, seeing that Morton is actually going somewhere, unlike his previously chosen fearless leader, opts to follow him instead, making enthusiastic "let's-go-already" motions with his hands.
In the woods outside of the Yaleson house...
Scott quickly ties up the horse, then tries to pull the rider right off. He is, however, impeded by the fact that the man is tied to the horse rather tightly, which explains how he hasn't fallen off yet.
[Untying roll: 6]
With all the skill of a master sailor, Scott quickly unties the man from the horse and drops him on the ground, then goes through his stuff. He looks to have really been some ordinary schmuck, as he has very little on him apart from 10 copper coins or so. Nothing in terms of easy identification, though there is a note. What it says is difficult to ascertain, as it is soaked thoroughly with blood.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Sigmund apologizes to the guards of the boat, who say it's not that much of a problem, really, it's just that the night shift leaves guards rather grumpy, and heads back to the Yaleson house.
[Will roll: 4]
He even manages to find his way through the town on the first try this time. He runs through the woods again, getting into a quick sprint and reaching the Yaleson house in no time at all.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on April 21, 2013, 02:56:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 21, 2013, 03:05:56 am
Niklas keeps on asking reasonable things of the mages.
"You're mages, you DO have a pregnancy spell, right?"
"Oh, no. No, no, no."
"I've heard of a life mage that had one, but damn, he was apparently the weirdest bastard you'll ever see in your life. Supposedly solved a demographic crisis, though. That kind of stuff is his forte, apparently."
"Unfortunately for whatever your plan entails, none of us are life mages."
"I could attempt to pull a soul from the beyond and place it into a viable hunk of meat if that helps."
Everybody looks at the Artiste.
"That is how it works, right?"
Post by: Innsmothe on April 21, 2013, 03:06:34 am
Scott unties the horse and ride to Shriekport.
Post by: Xantalos on April 21, 2013, 03:08:25 am
Retrieve boar remains, place near death mushroom.Hopefully the 'birth' of the new soul will kill the mushroom.
Post by: Tomcost on April 21, 2013, 08:48:52 am
I rolled for the bluff in that instance - you got a 6. Did you want me to make up a name for the actual duke you served?((Well, yes, if possible. I wanted to use that name so if the captain actually knows him there is a possibility of him being more willing to help. Anyway, I have more plans now.))
Sigmund entered the house and saw that the tree fellow with a mushroom growing out of his arm. His sanity suffered a little more as he aproached the skeleton. He examined the mushroom, and realized that the skeleton, in fact, doesn't like it. He then said:
-Haven't your parets told you when you were a, I don't know, metal sapling? That you shouldn't play wih mushrooms? -He laughed- Well, I will try to see what I can do.
Sigmund grabs a pot and cuts a a cap from the fungal thing, the puts it in the pot and shows it to the mages, asking what it is.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 21, 2013, 01:02:27 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 21, 2013, 01:50:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 21, 2013, 03:31:56 pm
Scott, deciding not to investigate this peculiar mystery, leaves the corpse on the ground where it lies, unties the horse and rides off to Shriekpot!
[Riding roll: 5]
Fortunately, he has a wealth of experience in this sort of thing, having done rides into town on many occasions before he died. He confidently rides right into town, appreciating its delightful architecture, its fine construction and the sound of what is clearly urban magical warfare in the distance.
In the Yaleson house...
Niklas decides upon a fine plan.
"That could work, I suppose. Here, I'll get the boar."
He runs into the kitchen, lifts the boar and hurls it right in front of the Artiste!
"Ah. Well, here goes!"
The Artiste closes his eyes, moving slightly in flowing motions as if dancing to some sort of inaudible music. He then stops and opens his eyes again. Then comes the finger snap.
Nothing happens, interestingly enough.
"Well, it certainly worked. I even heard the death scream of the soul as it sailed back off into the nether realms. Hm. Maybe you shouldn't have use something that has no eyes, brain, ears or even a tongue as something that should be a viable creature for a moment."
Meanwhile, Sigmund wanders over to Mark, briefly quips at the unfortunate creature and chops off one of the mushrooms on his body, depositing it in a pot. He then shows it to the mages.
"Oh, we've seen that already. Murdercap."
"Loves heat and lots of water. Grows like crazy then. Found most often in places blood has been spilled."
Morton, meanwhile, performs the final steps of preparation for the long journey ahead. He checks to see if he has everything he needs and, upon realizing that he does, offers his last words of goodbye.
"Very well then sir, I thank you kindly for the vote of confidence, a most assuredly appreciated sort it is. I shall see what I can do to help appropriate a vessel in your name. Ah, it will feel good to be outside again."
He looks back on the house one last time, noticing that the jester, Kevin, seems to be trailing him.
"Ah, hello, grand jester, you wish to accompany me? Your presence will be greatly appreciated, I was afraid I'd have to make the trip alone. You've always been a well meaning help to me. Either way, let us be off then, yes? I'm eager to get on the road, unless you have any provisions you might need... Perhaps some paper and a writing utensil?"
Kevin nods and runs upstairs, coming back in five minutes looking dejected and empty-handed as usual. Oh, Kevin. You never change.
Post by: Xantalos on April 21, 2013, 03:38:08 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 21, 2013, 03:52:32 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 21, 2013, 04:16:21 pm
At that thought he will stroke the sheet that was his husband longingly.
He will approach it's owner about its procurement.
Post by: Tomcost on April 21, 2013, 04:48:57 pm
So, this thing grows in places where blood has been spilled, but it isn't the true origin of it's name, isn't it? I mean, a mushroom with these properties, when eaten, would grow inside it's host and devour him, while feeding in his bodily fluids, am I right?
After this he spoke to the leading mage:
In the port there are many boats that can fulfill your desires, sir. Unfortunately, as I think that nobody here know anything about sailing, we will have to rent one, instead of taking it by force. As I don't think you have any means of generating gold, I ideated a plan to acquire it. I just wanted you to know, sir. Oh, and, before I forget, you will probably get in a ship, if I manage to get one, under the name of a Duke, a Duke's son, nephew, brother or even a bastard son. I'm just telling you in case we have to depart quickly.
Then, he went to speak to the northern chef, who was a necessary part of his plan:
Chef, I'm going to need your services. Would you be able to cook a dish and season it with this mushroom? My plan is to offer a whealthy man a wonderful dinner, and steal his stuff after he chokes to death with this mushroom. He wouldn't be able to scream, and only a big mushroom would be left in his place. it will be the perfect crime!
Post by: Xantalos on April 21, 2013, 04:51:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 21, 2013, 05:03:56 pm
Then gather your spices and money if you have any. We are going to to do the shopping, unless you want to hunt your next dish.
Post by: Xantalos on April 21, 2013, 05:42:16 pm
Chop a bit of the mushroom off with one of my supersharp knives before the mages freeze it. Go along with Sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on April 21, 2013, 05:46:19 pm
EDIT: ask the Artiste where he wants to go by ship, as the price will change depending on distance.
Head with Niklas to the Market and look for someone who sells meat and spices. if Niklas wants to buy another thing, just let him.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 21, 2013, 07:56:43 pm
stand in some fire for a bit then attack with burning fists of justice
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 21, 2013, 09:06:12 pm
((Should have gone for the whistlin' ghost blues...))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 22, 2013, 12:58:19 am
Niklas keeps showering the skeptics with his dialogue.
"Heat? Cast a cold spell."
"Sorry, none of us are in that branch of magery, either."
"Quite a pity, that."
However, before the sad lack of energy manipulators can be lamented further, Sigmund interjects!
"So, this thing grows in places where blood has been spilled, but it isn't the true origin of it's name, isn't it? I mean, a mushroom with these properties, when eaten, would grow inside it's host and devour him, while feeding in his bodily fluids, am I right?"
"Actually, no. When placed in heat and humidity, they do indeed grow, but the unfriendly climate of the human stomach is rather good at limiting its growth, particularly if it's chewed up well. If eaten raw, it may cause significant discomfort for several hours, but it is not life-threatening unless you try to just eat one whole, which would probably clog up your esophagus before even reaching the stomach. Then you really would be in trouble. The main danger of the murdercap is its spores, which will cover anyone unfortunate enough to approach it when it's truly ripe and ready to release a cloud of the stuff. And from what I know, they're very difficult to get off. And if one inhales them, they are usually pretty deadly, exploding the lungs in about an hour or so."
Sigmund nods and turns to the Artiste.
"In the port there are many boats that can fulfill your desires, sir. Unfortunately, as I think that nobody here know anything about sailing, we will have to rent one, instead of taking it by force. As I don't think you have any means of generating gold, I created a plan to acquire it. I just wanted you to know, sir. Oh, and, before I forget, you will probably get in a ship, if I manage to get one, under the name of a Duke, a Duke's son, nephew, brother or even a bastard son. I'm just telling you in case we have to depart quickly."
He scratches his chin.
"And where do you want to go, anyway?"
"Oh, an island in the Sea of Death. Horizon Isle, to be exact. And renting a boat sounds like a sound plan. I wouldn't know the difference between port, starboard and a mizzenmast, if asked. I'm sure the rest applies to us all. Well, maybe except the chef."
Niklas pays them no mind, walking up to Mark and slicing a mushroom from his body. Mark seems to have taken this rather badly, as he immediately considers immolation.
[Mark fire making roll: 5]
He grabs all sorts of junk nobody will miss from some of the dusty old rooms and constructs a handy pyre in the living room where the jester used to be. He then steps into this fire!
He quickly heats up, and mushrooms begin to grow all over his body, including his tree-face, as it rises in temperature. Some of the lower ones blacken soon enough, falling off in a short while. The others don't look quite as eager to do this, and when his tree-head starts to feel rather uncomfortable, he steps out of the fire, stumbling slowly over to the dead boar and punching it several times with two heated, mushroom-covered fists of justice!
It elicits curious gazes from the mages, but little else.
Morton and Kevin, lacking in paper, yet determined not to be put down by it, have one last chat before leaving.
"Well, I suppose we're out of paper then, truly sad. I hope we can find you some in the times to come, assuredly it can't be that hard to come across. Either sir, shall we, as they say, get a move on? The road is calling, I believe. If you have anything else pressing, I shall wait for you outside, if not, however, let us get to walking then."
Since Kevin remains silent, Morton assumes he really doesn't have anything pressing at the moment. And so they're off to a grand adventure. They wander down to Shriekpot, stopping several times along the way to appreciate the scenery like true hikers, reaching it within the hour.
Ah, delightful Shriekpot. City of wharves, city of magic!
In Shriekpot...
Scott, stroking his Gary-sheet lovingly, goes about the wharves and looks for suitably luxurious ships. Sadly, it doesn't look like luxury is a high priority in this part of the docks. There are several boats in the area, most of them low-grade cargo vessels. There is, however, also a strange-looking affair with three words emblazoned on the side in golden letters - "The Festive Pelican". Looks like a cargo vessel, but something's unusual about it.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren tries to smash the water jars of the belligerent man!
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
As the slightly blushing man draws a jar, Darren smashes it into tiny bits in his hand, covering his arm in the stuff! Oddly enough, the water burns away part of his robe sleeve, revealing a strange arm seemingly made of tiny little cubes there. Huh. Well, gotta run!
[Darren quick escape roll: 4]
Darren rapidly disappears into a wall, the dog still looking on curiously.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 01:02:36 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 22, 2013, 02:03:04 am
If non are around, he will board the vessel and continue there.
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 06:42:55 am
Sigmund felt dissapointed, his plan had a slight problem, I wasn't SO deadly. On the other hand, the new spores thing could be of help, and even be less obvious that a ginat mushroom sprouting from somebodys esophagus. While thinking this, he saw the metal skeleton covered now in more of that fungi. He had another idea.
Sigmund gets a blanket and puts it over Mark's head, says: -Don't worry, this won't hurt, much- and grabs the olde broomstick in the house and pokes the caps of the mushroom under the blanket, so that they release more spores.
EDIT: typos
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 22, 2013, 07:26:45 am
Niklas hands his sliced mushroom to Sigmund, who then takes a broomstick and beats Mark over the back with it. However, not much is happening. Wonder why?
Or, more precisely, Sigmund would wonder, had he not been pulled away by Niklas and taken to Shriekpot, the barbarian lifting him high above himself as he runs screaming toward the town. After about twenty minutes of running, they are there, and Niklas deposits Sigmund on the ground. They then fail to locate a market of any sort, let alone one that would be open at this hour. They do find a giant dog in an alley, though. A real huge bastard of a dog, to tell the truth.
In the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott, intrigued by the Festive Pelican, goes right up to it. The sound of revelry seems to be coming from within, lots of people drinking and having fun. Not to mention that there's a door on the side.
After a look inside, Scott realizes that this must be one of those floating taverns he's heard about. Lots of sailors inside, not to mention a rather large and friendly-looking barkeep with a cadre of still larger and friendlier bouncers. Must be a popular nightlife spot.
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 07:51:19 am
Sigmund will say (while walking backwards):
-Oh, you are a nice dog, yes, a nice dog, wouldn't you hurt someone who thinks you are nice, right?
If he can escape with Niklas, do so, if he can't, try to prevent a fight. if both things go wrong, fight him with Niklas, trying to attack him from the side. Stabbing mode enabled!
Post by: Innsmothe on April 22, 2013, 08:13:49 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 09:39:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 09:42:31 am
((It seems that we will end up hunting our next dish))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 22, 2013, 10:04:57 am
Sigmund slowly backs away from the giant dog, muttering words of endearment and pacification! The dog turns around, noticing Niklas, who appears to be barking savagely at him in an attempt to intimidate the huge canine!
The dog turns around and begins to wag its tail, running up to Niklas and rubbing its head against the naked zombie's hand. Only one thought runs through the zombie's head. One word, actually.
Kill.
[Sigmund interference roll: 5]
Sigmund, however, catches the zombie's cleaver-holding hand, stopping him from committing unwarranted cruelty toward an animal! Niklas looks sternly at Sigmund, his chef integrity and cred momentarily compromised!
Outside a floating tavern...
Scott walks into the tavern confidently, strutting over to the bar. Despite the fact that he's a rather rank and terrible-looking corpse, nobody seems to pay him any mind. He goes and talks to the barkeep.
"Say, how much for the procurement of this-"
The barkeep looks at Scott and jumps back, yelling with surprise!
"Dog's balls, the dead are walking!"
Despite the barkeep's exclamation, nobody seems to pay any mind to Scott. Huh.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 10:08:21 am
Be friends with dog. Go wherever Sigmund's going.
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 10:10:26 am
-You shouldn't kill it if you are not going to prepare it, because food is best served warm. Let's see if we can take it alive with us for later.
Sigmund tries to be frindly with the dog and make it follow him.
EDIT: ((damn you, ninja viking chef!))
If we befriend the dog it doesn't try to attack us, wander around the city looking for mansions or places which seem to be whealthy
Post by: Innsmothe on April 22, 2013, 10:36:18 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 22, 2013, 11:03:57 am
Kevin takes Morton with him and looks around the docks for any boats that look like they could survive a long journey and aren't too expensive or well-guarded. He also keeps an eye out for some sort of weapon.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 22, 2013, 12:27:28 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 22, 2013, 12:44:44 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 22, 2013, 12:45:50 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 22, 2013, 12:50:08 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 01:03:07 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 01:34:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 22, 2013, 02:17:21 pm
Niklas decides that he probably shouldn't kill this dog. After all, how would he even cook it here? It is just plain impractical. So he will befriend it instead!
"Ah! Good dog!"
"You shouldn't kill it if you are not going to prepare it, because food is best served warm. Let's see if we can take it alive with us for later."
He praises the dog, who responds by bounding around excitedly and wagging its tail. Such a friendly giant monstrosity. Niklas, satisfied with the quality of his relationship, follows Sigmund, who seems to be on the fast track to looking for wealthy people to rob!
[Sigmund will roll: 6]
He is hardly even bothered by all the crossings as he runs along, greedy thoughts on his mind! Eventually, he and Niklas spy a great target - a giant, opulent mansion at least five stories in height, with golden window frames and stained glass mosaics immediately striking the eyes of onlookers in a most peculiar way. It seems to be built with a lot of wrought iron elements in its construction, and the exterior walls are extremely rich in ornamentation, which mostly features depictions of diminutive people in silly hats hunting, crafting things and being generally industrious.
Somebody's certainly hit the jackpot, Sigmund supposes.
In the Festive Pelican...
Scott, not particularly happy about getting interrupted, places his hand on his ritual knife. He asks again.
"How much for the procurement of this vessel?"
"It's a business enterprise, not a proper ship, ya bloody corpse. A local, highly profitable business enterprise. You'd be looking at 400 gold coins at the very least, I would say, if not more. Would have to talk with the owner about that, though."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Kevin, soliloquizing Morton in tow, heads for a walk through the dock to look for inexpensive, durable, easily stolen ships.
And wouldn't you know it, there's a rather nice-looking (though certainly not extravagant) one with nobody on board right there at the dock! Perfect! Looks like an ideal mark for the ten-fingered ship discount.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 02:31:42 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 02:43:11 pm
Who is Rubun? Anyway, this house seems to be a good target. Near midday, we will come back here and test our luck at convincing the person living here to try your wonderful dishes. A person with this fortune would probably be into philanthropy, and wouldn't hesitate to contribute with the work of a foreign chef. We will use this opportunity to steal all the contents of the house, murdering the rich person if we need to do so. That way we are going to pay for the ship our new master wants. Now, we should prepare for tomorrow, and befriend that dog, the main ingredient of your next meal. Well, at least that's the plan I came up with, I'm open to your ideas, Niklas.
EDIT: just a typo
Post by: Innsmothe on April 22, 2013, 02:49:25 pm
If he keeps trying to offend Scott he will try to scare him into running to his master, or slice him up. Depends on how obstinate he is.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 02:54:07 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 03:24:11 pm
-Because we are all experienced sailors and we want to contribute with our sailor comrades.
He then sighed and explained:
-I don't know if you have any experience in sailing, but none of us do, and I doubt that a single man could handle a ship able to transport ten people and their supplies. If you have a better plan to get a ship, or the gold necessary to rent one, just say it. Until now we are up to robbing this man, by either trickery, poisoning, or plain and violent murder.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2013, 03:29:03 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 22, 2013, 03:36:11 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2013, 03:39:10 pm
-Just get something to cook, we already have the deadly mushroom, but for it to be deadly has to be both raw and without chopping. maybe we can introduce it as a desert, or something like that, or just kill the guy. But one thing is sure, we have to gain access to the mansion, and I recomend a subtle aproach, so that we don't get killed.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 22, 2013, 06:49:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2013, 07:01:19 am
Sigmund and Niklas hold a short planning meeting.
"So what are we doing again? Rubun here distracted me."
"Who is Rubun? Anyway, this house seems to be a good target. Near midday, we will come back here and test our luck at convincing the person living here to try your wonderful dishes. A person with this fortune would probably be into philanthropy, and wouldn't hesitate to contribute with the work of a foreign chef. We will use this opportunity to steal all the contents of the house, murdering the rich person if we need to do so. That way we are going to pay for the ship our new master wants. Now, we should prepare for tomorrow, and befriend that dog, the main ingredient of your next meal. Well, at least that's the plan I came up with, I'm open to your ideas, Niklas."
Oh, dear, such bold insinuations! Cook a dog, and a loyal one at that?
"What? No, Rubun is my war hound that I just found. I shall slay many does with him! Why are we paying for the ship anyway? We work for a trickster god of some sort, why not just steal it?"
"Because we are all experienced sailors and we want to contribute with our sailor comrades. I don't know if you have any experience in sailing, but none of us do, and I doubt that a single man could handle a ship able to transport ten people and their supplies. If you have a better plan to get a ship, or the gold necessary to rent one, just say it. Until now we are up to robbing this man, by either trickery, poisoning, or plain and violent murder."
"We can kill the guy, but no using the dog."
Sigmund shrugs. Okay, no foreign cuisine.
"Just get something to cook, we already have the deadly mushroom, but for it to be deadly has to be both raw and without chopping. maybe we can introduce it as a desert, or something like that, or just kill the guy. But one thing is sure, we have to gain access to the mansion, and I recommend a subtle approach, so that we don't get killed."
They are about to keep deciding on a plan of action, but Rubun seems to be bothered by something, whining and running into a certain direction, then coming back and looking expectantly at the two undead.
In the Festive Pelican...
Scott keeps interviewing the barkeep for some more information.
"Is it at least worthy of travel by sea?"
"Not a clue. Hasn't sunk yet, I can tell ya that much. Nobody's tried to sail it for ten or so years, though."
The barkeep shrugs.
"And even if it was seaworthy, you could probably find at least twenty cheaper and safer boats in the harbor within an hour. Point is, this thing ain't even for sale from what I know."
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Morton, noticing the ship, can't help but be satisfied.
"Ah-hah, a fine ship, a fine ship indeed-y! Shall we go see if the captain is aboard? I'm sure we can come to an arrangement like reasonable gentlemen, why before we know it we'll be sailing off to see the world in no time!"
He steps on the deck of the ship and cheerfully hollers for some crew members.
"Hello, anyone here? Captain? Crew?"
Interestingly enough, nobody comes out of hiding. Only a voice of uncertain gender rings out in Morton's mind.
~Welcome. How can I help you?~
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, feeling that high ground offers many advantages, lifts off and floats up through the three floors of the building, getting up to the rooftop. He looks down.
The man's still there, alright. He appears to be looking at a smoking patch on the wall Darren escaped through. Hah, silly man, everybody knows that brick doesn't burn! At least not easily, Darren hopes.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 23, 2013, 07:16:47 am
He will then leave (without paying) and try to find something comfortable and luxurious for his new master to travel on.
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2013, 08:40:36 am
-Hey, it seems that your new pet has found something interesting.
Follow the dog along with Niklas.
Post by: miauw62 on April 23, 2013, 08:57:59 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2013, 10:17:56 am
Follow the doggy with Sigmund.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2013, 10:26:24 am
Scott lets out a mighty sigh, hoping to destroy the barkeep with the sheer power of his disillusionment. When that doesn't work, he orders some gin. A pint of it, to be exact. The barkeep smiles at his request and pours him one. Scott chugs it rapidly, then puts the mug back on the counter. Man, if only he could get drunk. Then this whole thing wouldn't be half as miserable. With that done, he attempts to leave.
The barkeep doesn't seem to have noticed the fact that he hasn't paid. How wonderful. Scott heads out and looks for a better boat for the Artiste. It isn't too long before he notices the hovering boat hanging slightly above the waves not too far away. Its sails shine with some sort of strange enchantment, and there is a faint hum emanating from its direction. A sweet ride, to be sure.
Next to an opulent mansion...
Sigmund notes Rubun's excitement.
"Hey, it seems that your new pet has found something interesting."
Seeing how a dog's intuition is a rather trustworthy thing, Sigmund follows the dog, joined by a rather enthusiastic Niklas. After a slight bit of walking, they come out in front of a house. It looks fairly ordinary, apart from a silvery bunny the size of a rather large shed leaping around the front yard, joined in this endeavor by a dog that is equally large. On the wooden deck that lines the front of the house stand 8 people, all of them rather old. 4 are men, 4 are women. They look pretty excited.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Kevin, seeing that Morton is currently standing on the deck with a bit of a dopey expression on his burned face, decides to find himself a weapon before it's too late. It does really seem like he needs it around these parts.
After checking the area and finding no weapons lying around, Kevin decides to look inside one of the crates marked "Property of the Dancing Crow", finding the name cryptic enough to sound promising. However, it seems to be nailed shut. How terrible.
Post by: miauw62 on April 23, 2013, 11:36:52 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 23, 2013, 11:42:54 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2013, 12:16:48 pm
Sigumnd tries to stay hidden and watch how the bunny and the dog play.
((Now I'll try to post actions in bold to make them easier to read))
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2013, 12:19:34 pm
Walk forward, greet the old people. Ask what they're doing.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2013, 02:05:46 pm
Kevin tries to utilize the skeleton's main weapon against the cold, hostile world - adaptable finger bones! He sets about prying the nails right out of the box.
[Prying roll: 4]
Remarkably enough, he does rather well at this, prying the lid open eventually like some kind of infernal undead claw hammer. Tossing the lid aside, he looks within.
Huh. It appears to contain a crossbow, though it is certainly more newfangled than any other one Kevin has ever laid eyes upon. For one, it actually has some sort of looking-glass style sight at the top of it. And the mechanism for launching the bolt looks rather machined and... improved, one might say. It might not be a repeating crossbow, but it is an impressive contraption, that's for sure. Kevin grabs it and a quiver of 50 bolts that is also in the crate along with it.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott walks toward the gleaming metal ship and looks for somebody with an air of authority. And there is indeed a person standing next to the steel gangplank of the ship dressed in the garb of a dignified captain and looking off at the horizon, all the while stroking his luxurious black beard. A pipe in the shape of an octopus hangs loosely from his mouth, and the man inhales from it intermittently, blowing a satisfied puff of smoke from his nostrils immediately afterwards. Scott walks up to the man.
"I find this ship to be most exquisite, and I simply must know how much you demand for it."
The captain laughs heartily, but in a generally good-natured manner.
"I'm afraid it's not for sale, good fellow. Tell you what, though, if you want to ride it, you can come along as passengers. We'll take you anywhere at 30 copper coins per head, 15 if you suggest an interesting, adventure-filled destination. How's that sound?"
Next to a strange house with old people...
Sigmund opts to stay back from the strange area. Niklas, however, sees no such need. He walks right past the dog and bunny, greeting the old people.
"Greetings."
The old people turn to him, looking rather surprised at his appearance. One of the old men looks at him with a shocked expression.
"Gods, man, you're bloody naked!"
"That he is, indeed!"
"What are you doing?"
"Not a whole lot, why do you ask?"
"We had a spot of trouble, but that seems to have resolved itself quickly enough," says an old man the size of a three-story building in a booming voice.
"We were having a party before that," an old woman adds.
Sigmund watches the happenings with a good dose of amazement. The dog and the bunny aren't playing, really. They are just standing around and looking in all kinds of directions. Sigmund also notices that Rubun appears to be agitated most severely, growling at the old people over by the house, his hackles straightening out. This sound is not ignored by the two giant creatures, who immediately charge at the dog, getting into quite the scuffle! Sigmund takes a few steps back to avoid any misunderstandings with the two giant metal things.
Niklas looks back and notices that Rubun seems to be doing okay against them, avoiding their metal teeth rather skillfully.
"Oh dear, what's that?"
"Is that thing back again? Bloody thing's rather tenacious, I must say. Not to mention stubborn."
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2013, 02:11:21 pm
On another note, would you mind if I killed that rabbit of yours to cook a meal? It looks nice and plump.
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2013, 02:14:57 pm
If it is morning, go to the ship where the captain was having fun, if not, keep watching, like the bastard
Post by: Xanmyral on April 23, 2013, 02:24:57 pm
The voice took Morton off guard. "Oh, ah, pardon me but I don't believe I can see you good sir or madam." He takes a better look at the deck of the ship, trying to see if he can spot where the voice is coming from. Giving a slight cough to compose himself, he speaks up again. "Yes, well, thank you for the greetings, a good day to you as well. I was wondering if this ship was possibly up for a voyage with a few passengers? Oh..." Carter pauses for a moment, mentally tallying up everyone. "...Ah, about, hm... Eleven or so people? Around there. I was sent by my master to seek a ship to voyage to... to... Ah by all that is tea, he didn't tell me where he wanted to go." Morton sighed. "Apologies for the interruption, but could I get a general price range if you're accepting passengers? I'm afraid I know not where we're to head, but I believe it must be a good distances if we're not simply walking, or going by horse."
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2013, 02:28:06 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2013, 02:52:36 pm
Niklas, rather than do anything rash, asks the mages some questions.
"I've just adopted him. What was he doing?"
"Near as we can tell, the thing is some kind of bloody magic werewolf."
"Came to us as a weird, hairy, mangy man and tried to bite our faces off, but we fended him off and hit him with some magic."
"Was pretty weird, though - we hit him with magic, but it just didn't seem to work right on occasion. Not like a werewolf at all."
"Used illusions against us as well - made some kind of gimped abomination out of the blue to scare us off, but it was pretty easy to see through."
"Not for all of us, though."
"Yes, not for you."
"Way to get him with magic is to not target him directly, we've found. For instance, make minions to kill him."
"Or stab and kick him, forgoing magic at all. A pretty funny weakness, that. I kicked him in the face and broke his bloody jaw. Best I've felt since retirement."
"Wait, what did he call himself? 'I'm a bloody fey', I think he said."
"But then he turned into a giant dog all of a sudden. That's a strange thing for a fey to do, I think. Don't they usually frolic in the woods or something?"
"Though that, in retrospect, might also have been an illusion."
"On another note, would you mind if I killed that rabbit of yours to cook a meal? It looks nice and plump."
"We'd really rather you didn't."
"It's made entirely of silver, after all. Would be a bit difficult to cut."
Sigmund, meanwhile, watches the dog and bunny free-for-all, since the night is still young and he's got nothing better to do. Rubun's doing pretty good - hasn't taken a scratch yet!
On the deck of a strange ship...
Morton takes a careful look around to see where the voice is coming from.
"Oh, ah, pardon me, but I don't believe I can see you, good sir or madam."
~Actually, you are not supposed to see me. I am conversing with you on a purely telepathic basis on my part.~
"Yes, well, thank you for the greetings, a good day to you as well. I was wondering if this ship was possibly up for a voyage with a few passengers? Oh..." Carter pauses for a moment, mentally tallying up everyone. "...Ah, about, hm... Eleven or so people? Around there. I was sent by my master to seek a ship to voyage to... to... Ah, by all that is tea, he didn't tell me where he wanted to go. Apologies for the interruption, but could I get a general price range if you're accepting passengers? I'm afraid I know not where we're to head, but I believe it must be a good distances if we're not simply walking, or going by horse."
~I can take passengers to a variety of destinations, and I have adequate supplies and lodgings for up to 20 passengers. I will set sail in three days' time when all of my cargo has been reappropriated, and will accept passengers until that time. The rate depends on how far you need to go, with short length coastal trips costing 1 gold coin, trips over the nearby Sea of Approaching Gloom costing 2 gold coins, trips to anywhere farther costing 3 gold coins. Trips beyond the Doom Strait and into the Sea of Death go at a special rate of 4 gold coins due to the inherent dangers of such travel and must have at least six passengers to be considered a valid destination.~
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2013, 02:59:55 pm
Sigmund felt more secure now that the animals were occupied in other matters, so he approached the mages:
-Greetings, I see that you have already met Chef Niklas. Let me introduce myself, I'm Sigmund, Sigmund GrimDrake, I served a noble family until recent events froced me to leave. May I ask what were you talking about? Also, I'm intrigued by these two shiny animals, how did you manage to get them?
Post by: Xanmyral on April 23, 2013, 03:49:26 pm
[What's the exchange rate on bronze, silver, and gold? One hundreds? If so, the flying ship guy is offering take us all for thirty silver and thirty bronze if we go with him, or fifteen silver and fifteen bronze if our place is exciting. Although... Eh, I'm leery of such an offer. Too good to be true, sounds shifty.]
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2013, 09:42:52 pm
A fey? Niklas looks taken aback, then his expression becomes even more gleeful. A FEYHOUND! Those are excellent! EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
...
Anyhow, do you have a boatship? We need it for the trickster god who's enslaved us.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 24, 2013, 01:43:06 am
He will then ride back if his demands are met.
If not...well he is a rather virulent zombie with obvious signs of a mental breakdown.
Post by: miauw62 on April 24, 2013, 05:54:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 24, 2013, 08:36:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 24, 2013, 11:52:50 am
Sigmund steps forth and walks right up to Niklas, then joins into the discussion.
"Greetings, I see that you have already met Chef Niklas. Let me introduce myself, I'm Sigmund, Sigmund GrimDrake, I served a noble family until recent events forced me to leave. May I ask what were you talking about? Also, I'm intrigued by these two shiny animals, how did you manage to get them?"
"Oh, we were just talking about the fey werewolf that keeps hounding us. Weird little cuss, that one."
"As for the animals, we magicked them up. Simple as that."
Meanwhile, Niklas begins rubbing his palms in excitement.
"A fey? A FEYHOUND! Those are excellent! EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE... Anyhow, do you have a boatship? We need it for the trickster god who's enslaved us."
"No, sorry, we don't. We tend to use magical flight rather than boats whenever possible. Much handier and faster. And no seasickness or hostility from the natives to deal with, either. I think we I have a stone of levitation or some such around. There was a 2 for 1 sale when we bought them, and I didn't need one, so I suppose I could hand it to you people. I think it might need a release of energy, anyway. Been collecting dust and unstable power for a while now."
At that exact moment, Rubun thunders past the two undead, cowering behind them from the two ferocious beasts trailing him. Said ferocious beasts then gently nudge the two undead creatures aside and set upon the feyhound! They don't seem to do well, as the bunny misaims its attack and accidentally bites the dog, who doesn't particularly mind, it seems, though it is rather badly bloodied in the process.
"Bertha, give the rabbit a pick-me-up, will you?"
"Sure thing."
[Bertha magic roll: 6]
The silver bunny roars mightily, a bright light beginning to shine from its eyes! It starts to move extremely quickly, almost faster than the eye can see! It then tries to bite Rubun, who, surprisingly enough, dodges rather easily! In fact, it's the dog that seems to score a good nibble on it. Odd.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Morton keeps up the conversation for but a little bit longer.
"Hm, thank you, kind sir or madam, I shall inform my master of such fees, he may find them fitting to his budget. I wish you clear skies and calm seas, as they say."
~I wish you very much the same. Hopefully we can come to an agreement.~
He nods and goes up to Kevin, who pauses his examination of the mighty crossbow to look at him quizzically.
"So then, onward to new vessels of the sea? I'm sure we can find one reasonably priced."
Kevin points to the ship behind them, as if demanding an explanation.
"Well, my friend, seems the kind owner of that ship speaks telepathically, in one's mind or so they said. They told me that they would charge at the least a gold piece for coastal trips, two or three for anything longer, and four if we go into the Sea of Death. Friendly chap but very business like, to the point, but I think we can perhaps find cheaper, its always good to try and get a bargain! Shall we look around at the other ships?"
Kevin manages some sort of half-shrug.
At a flying ship of some kind...
Scott keeps up the bargaining.
"The price is reasonable, we will probably like to sail either today or tomorrow, and I would like written assurance that we will be your preferred passengers and that none else shall sail."
"Very well then. A written assurance you shall have, then. But you had better be ready soon, as I really do not have more than a week of time."
He takes out a sheet of parchment from his coat pocket and quickly drafts up a message on it with a luxurious fountain pen. He is done after a few minutes.
"Here you go," he says, handing the assurance slip to Scott.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on April 24, 2013, 12:00:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 24, 2013, 12:04:24 pm
((Wait, did telepathic-captain talk in normal text? :P))
Do you see, Xanmyral, what your insistence on primitive ape sound-speech has wrought? Nothing will be the same again!
Post by: Tomcost on April 24, 2013, 12:11:51 pm
-Niklas, it seems that your pet is having some trouble here.
He then spoke to the mages:
-So, you say that you own a stone with the ability of making us fly to wherever destination we want? I have to say that I'm interested. Would you care to explain us a bit more about said stone?
Post by: Xanmyral on April 24, 2013, 12:16:20 pm
Also, seems the
"Well, that's an interesting thing there, where did you get such a fascinating thing, my good comedian? Very nice, I'd count myself lucky if I were you to find such a trinket." Morton marveled at the crossbow before looking at the other ships. "But come along Sir Kevin, we have much else to do and many to talk to, more people to meet and more sea air to taste!" He stars making his way to finding other ships that look suitable.
Post by: miauw62 on April 24, 2013, 12:21:45 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 24, 2013, 12:27:36 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 24, 2013, 12:34:16 pm
Yeah, I counted up how much we had a bit ago, just a bit more of a push and we can get it, and I agree on just calculating everything in copper, makes it easier. I'm sure we can--Wait, if mages can summon silver or gold why are we bothering with this? Just get them to summon us a slab of gold or something.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 24, 2013, 02:08:33 pm
Sigmund is intrigued by this... stone of levitation.
"So, you say that you own a stone with the ability of making us fly to wherever destination we want? I have to say that I'm interested. Would you care to explain us a bit more about said stone?"
"Well, yes. That is what I am insinuating. It doesn't navigate, of course - you have to do that for yourself. Also, it's just a stone, meant to be worn as an amulet. You could probably give something else the ability to float with it, though, provided you secure it right and get an additional control mechanism. You want one, maybe? Mine might be a bit unstable, unused as it has been. Could work, though."
Sigmund nods. He then looks at the dog, who doesn't to be enjoying itself.
"Niklas, it seems that your pet is having some trouble here."
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Morton takes a good look at Kevin's crossbow. Such an interesting contraption.
"Well, that's an interesting thing there, where did you get such a fascinating thing, my good comedian? Very nice, I'd count myself lucky if I were you to find such a trinket. But come along, Sir Kevin, we have much else to do and many to talk to, more people to meet and more sea air to taste!"
They both then look for more ships that may be suitable for their needs. There's a fairly nice-looking merchant vessel at the docks. Looks like a decent enough ship, Morton would say. Though rather small, it also looks pretty quick and easy to fully crew.
Post by: Tomcost on April 24, 2013, 02:27:14 pm
Well, if it doesn't bother you giving it to me. That stone could be a very nice alternative to affording a ship, as we are currently short of money. But, if it is not useful anymore for you, I shall take it, I'm sure that we'll find a good use for that little artifact.
Post by: Xantalos on April 24, 2013, 02:35:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 24, 2013, 02:53:04 pm
Don't pay attention to him, he likes to make jokes, but, between us, he is terrible at that.
Then he whispered to Niklas, trying to be subtle:
Hold on a little bit, they are going o give us an alternative to traveling by ship, just let them give us the stone and then do whatever you want.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 24, 2013, 03:31:09 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 24, 2013, 04:28:24 pm
Scott sets off back to the house without fear for his unlife, his horses actual life, or the physical integrity of the citizens of the port.
Post by: Xantalos on April 24, 2013, 05:54:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 25, 2013, 12:04:29 am
Sigmund decides that this stone of levitation is something he probably needs.
"Well, if it doesn't bother you giving it to me. That stone could be a very nice alternative to affording a ship, as we are currently short of money. But, if it is not useful anymore for you, I shall take it, I'm sure that we'll find a good use for that little artifact."
"Well, I could give it to you, I suppose. But you should know that you probably couldn't carry just anything with it. Would require calibration and such. Pretty sure it would work, though. Hang on a second."
The man runs inside the house. To defeat the awkward silence, Niklas makes smalltalk.
"Incidentally, would you mind if I killed your animals and fed their carcasses to the dog?"
"We would, actually. We've grown attached to the bunny in particular. And the dog's not bad, either."
She is about to go on, but Sigmund interjects.
"Don't pay attention to him, he likes to make jokes, but, between us, he is terrible at that."
He then whispers something surreptitiously to Niklas, who nods.
"My jokes are the best. Fine, though."
Meanwhile, Rubun seems to be doing okay, managing to get the bunny to ram into a wall, making it crumble.
At a small merchant ship...
Morton, ever the investigative one, goes toward the merchant ship and walks halfway up the gangplank.
"Hello? Is anyone here on this fine ship?"
A muffled voice comes from some distance away.
"Yeah!"
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott, written assurance in hand, rides out as quickly as he can, reaching the house of the Artiste in but a scant ten minutes.
Man, it sure has changed. It's now completely unrecognizable as the house Scott spent his last few years in. It now seems to be made of twisting bars of steel running through stone, and the house is now egg-shaped from the looks of it. And if Scott isn't mistaken, that might be a gangplank leading to the front door. A raised gangplank.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 25, 2013, 03:02:44 am
"Let me in, you vandalous rogues! I have a ship, but my mind quails on giving the passes to ones who would style my home so!"
Post by: Tomcost on April 25, 2013, 07:24:51 am
One of the alternatives we had when we were looking for cash was to rent Nikla's skills. He may give people a terrrible first impression, but he is one of the best cooks I've ever seen. We considered offering his services to the mansion there (Sigmunds points towars the general direction of the manor). Do you now something about who lives in there?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 25, 2013, 07:37:17 am
Scott is shocked and appalled at the treatment of his house! He shouts for some attention!
"Let me in, you vandalous rogues! I have a ship, but my mind quails on giving the passes to ones who would style my home so!"
There is no response from within. Oh, wretched, terrible bother!
At the home of the mages...
Sigmund decides to milk these geezers for all their sweet information.
"One of the alternatives we had when we were looking for cash was to rent Niklas' skills. He may give people a terrible first impression, but he is one of the best cooks I've ever seen. We considered offering his services to the mansion there (Sigmund points toward the general direction of the manor). Do you now something about who lives in there?"
"Um, no. Not particularly."
"Whoever it is, they are not terribly sociable."
"I do think that somebody comes and goes to the estate on occasion, but they're total strangers to us as well."
Sigmund throws a glance at Rubun. It seems to have made a misstep, getting caught in the jaws of the supercharged bunny and the not-too-shabby dog, who both tear large chunks of its flesh out. However, there's several strange things here. For one, their heads actually disappear inside Rubun's body, not touching his skin at all. Secondly, Sigmund believes he spies some red cloth caught on the bunny's teeth from the bite. High-quality red cloth.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 25, 2013, 07:55:53 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 25, 2013, 08:01:09 am
Your pet is not having a good time here, as a good owner, you should probably take him to another place. Why don't you take him in a hunting trip? I think that he will love it.
Sigmund turned to the old people:
Do you have pest problems in this neighbourhood? A dog as stubborn as this certainly could be of help in such a situation.
[Conditional response: if the old people say that there are indeed pests in the neighbourhood, Sigmund will tell Niklas to go hunt some with rufus]
Post by: Xanmyral on April 25, 2013, 09:19:43 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 25, 2013, 10:31:30 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 25, 2013, 11:14:00 am
Walk up and bitchslap the bunny and dog into submission. Take Rubun hunting orphans.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 25, 2013, 12:43:50 pm
Scott, now feeling quite unwelcome, dismounts from the horse and looks for some sort of glaring security flaw he could exploit in the place. He walks up to the raised gangplank.
He considers the gangplank. It seems to serve as some kind of barrier to the house, that much is true. Okay, so, a barrier here. But there should be a way through it, no? After all, they'd all have to leave at some point, and it wouldn't be clever to just leave it open. Therefore, when they come back, they should have some kind of mechanism to open the thing. Therefore, it should be possible to find and utilize in some way. However, since none are obviously in sight, the mechanism must be hidden in some manner. And the only good hiding place is the wall!
Scott immediately begins to yank on the steel bars in his immediate vicinity, then, when that turns up nothing, begins to knock on the blocks of stone, hoping to find a weakness somewhere. When that turns up nothing as well, he punches the gangplank in frustration, leaving a mighty dent and making something crack behind it. Huh.
The gangplank then falls right on him in all its heavy steel majesty.
[Endurance roll: 6]
Scott catches it with one hand, then steps out to safety. Well, the house is open now. He heads right up.
The inside of the house has completely changed as well. Now it looks more like a series of alcoves ordered in a manner spiraling upwards, with a few extra-deep alcoves at the bottom, one of which is emitting cold air rapidly. The entire interior has a slightly utilitarian and plain look, though each of the alcoves looks warm and inviting, and there are about 8 in total.
Scott notices Mark looking at him from a pit on the ground floor. It appears to be sealed at the top with very thick glass. Mark appears to be minding his own business, sitting in a comfy chair and perusing a book on divination very carefully. There is a bright, crystalline lamp placed next to him to allow optimum reading conditions.
There is the sound of people sleeping peacefully coming from the top alcoves.
At the home of some old people...
Sigmund looks on as Rubun gets mutilated by the dog and bunny.
"Your pet is not having a good time here, as a good owner, you should probably take him to another place. Why don't you take him in a hunting trip? I think that he will love it."
"Hmm. Well, what's the worst that could happen? Come, Rubun!"
Niklas goes up to the dog and tries to slap him most severely!
[Niklas vs. Dog: 6 vs. 6+2]
He slaps the dog straight across the snout. The dog gives him a dubious and bored look, then returns to killing Rubun again. Rubun, having had enough of this crap, starts to run away, getting a good head start on the dog. Wow, look at him go. And he even tricks the bunny into running into a wall when it catches up with him. Sweet! The bunny doesn't seem overly bothered by the high-speed collision, though, and neither does the wall. Must be a good building.
"Do you have pest problems in this neighborhood? A dog as stubborn as this certainly could be of help in such a situation."
"That would be true were it not for the fact that it isn't a dog. It's some kind of jerkass magical fey werewolf that can turn into a man. Not to mention that it tried to bite our faces off upon our first meeting. Not a trustworthy sort, all in all."
"Not to mention that it's far easier and more reliable to make our own pets, like the ones that have been successfully fending said jerkass magical fey werewolf off."
"And any pests we have, we can deal with ourselves, mostly. We are, after all, users of magic, and experienced ones at that. I remember that time I solved the local mole problem. Took some lithospheric reconfiguration, but it was worth it. Not to mention all the ash that the volcano produced really helped the local farmers. Miniature volcanoes used to be such fun before they were banned by the Black Circle."
"Yeah, before they laid down the law you'd get guys like Lightning McGee blasting islands out of existence because they felt like it."
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Morton looks for the source of the ornery-sounding voice, followed by an ever-vigilant Kevin.
"Hello? Where are you? Are you down below?"
"Yeah!"
"I'd like to inquire as to the availability of this ship for transportational purposes. My master is seeking a ship to take him to a location I assume to be far, and I was curious as to if this wonderful ship and its owner would comply. If you could give me an estimate of prices, I would be most appreciative."
"Wait a minute!"
There is the sound of a commotion down below. After three minutes, it shows no sign of stopping.
Post by: Tomcost on April 25, 2013, 01:05:02 pm
I see. Maybe we can take him away, this werewolf has proved to obey my friend Niklas, but it seems that your pets don't allow him to take him away. Would you mind ordering your pets to stop attacking it so that Niklas can take the werewolf away?
After Niklas leaves with the werewolf:
So, this werewolf attacked you. When we found him roaming in the city he seemed friendly, well, as friendly as a werewolf can appear to be. Is there any problem if we try to keep him as a pet? I'm not very fond of this bastard, but my friend is, and I would rather not dissapoint him, as he has been really excited about his new pet.
[If Niklas is still here say the first part (So, this werewolf attacked you. When we found him roaming in the city he seemed friendly, well, as friendly as a werewolf can appear to be. Is there any problem if we try to keep him as a pet?)]
Post by: miauw62 on April 25, 2013, 01:09:00 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 25, 2013, 01:52:02 pm
[Innsmothe, had an idea for extra cruelty that might be up your alley. Know how you're quite virulent? I bet you can get some of those nasty diseases on that blade of yours so even if you just cut someone, double dose of necrotic black paste and horrible diseases and viruses. Just poke a pustule or two out with it from your body, that should do the trick.]
Post by: miauw62 on April 25, 2013, 01:58:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 25, 2013, 02:09:38 pm
Run after Rubun. Dissuade giant beasts from following via barking.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 25, 2013, 02:42:03 pm
He will then offer up the written assurance for travel.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 25, 2013, 03:23:35 pm
Sigmund tries to imagine some conceivable scenario where Niklas might get out of here with Rubun. Ah, perhaps this will work.
"I see. Maybe we can take him away, this werewolf has proved to obey my friend Niklas, but it seems that your pets don't allow him to take him away. Would you mind ordering your pets to stop attacking it so that Niklas can take the werewolf away?"
"We really do not want to, truth be told. After all, it did try to kill us and led you here after it failed the first time. I count that as quite the mark of shiftiness and general awfulness. Really, better off eradicating the thing at this point."
"Though we could probably make them a different pet to make it up, you know. One that's less treacherous, more loyal and such."
"That we could, yes. Also, I'm afraid commanding the beasts is not as easy as one might think. They were created and given animation with their minds firmly locked onto a single objective - the killing of that werewolf thing. Morphing magic is sadly limited on bestowing intellectual gifts, I'm afraid. They wouldn't listen to our orders. In fact, they are incapable of processing most things that don't conform to the 'this we must kill' idea implanted into their general mental makeup."
As Sigmund hears this, he watches Niklas run after the escaping Rubun and the silver bunny.
"So, this werewolf attacked you. When we found him roaming in the city he seemed friendly, well, as friendly as a werewolf can appear to be. Is there any problem if we try to keep him as a pet? I'm not very fond of this bastard, but my friend is, and I would rather not disappoint him, as he has been really excited about his new pet."
"Firstly, it might not actually be a werewolf, but rather just maintaining some sort of elaborate illusion of being one. It might just be a fey or some other kind of strange being."
"Secondly, it, being man-like in many respects from what we've seen, is probably intelligent in addition to being quite savage. So there's that."
"Thirdly, it is quite possible it tricked you into coming here for some reason. Maybe it thought numbers would help it somehow."
As they discuss the magical fey werewolf illusionist thing, Niklas trails it!
[Niklas pursuit roll: 3-1]
He simply cannot move fast enough to catch up to the two beasts running ahead, so he just shuffles forth, barking menacingly at the violence ahead of him. He sees the bunny descend upon Rubun, its head seemingly phasing through the creature's fur and biting off something deeper within. Moments later, the head pulls back - or is it Rubun that moves forward? The bunny's mouth appears to be full of flesh and bones, yet Rubun looks apparently unharmed. However, it is apparent that a whole lot of blood is pooling under the dog, and it looks quite a bit weaker now, though still with some fight left in it.
On the deck of a small merchant ship...
Morton is about to say more, but Kevin stops him, taking one for the team this time and volunteering as the point man for a ship expedition. Morton offers him the fire poker, an elegant weapon from a civilized age, fit for any battling gentleman, but Kevin politely refuses, heading below decks and looking for somebody in charge.
He looks and he looks, but he cannot for the unlife of him find anyone at all down there. The ship looks to be quite inhabited, but it's like the people within have disappeared somewhere or something.
In the new home of the Artiste...
Scott looks for the Artiste in the house, thinking of a good way to phrase his complaint. He finds him on the third floor, lying on a bed in an alcove with his eyes closed.
"The decor in here is terrible, man! What have you done to my beautiful house? It's all lifeless stone now! Where's the warm, inviting wooden paneling? The moldy wallpaper giving off a cozy feel? And where did you put Gary's portrait? Where did you put my portrait? Gosh!"
The Artiste doesn't seem to be listening, really. He turns around on the bed, taking a more comfortable position. Looks like he's fast asleep.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 25, 2013, 03:39:54 pm
"Oh yay. Sir, there is a ship in the harbor that is willing to carry us. They have given a written guarantee for our privacy. They ask we leave within a week."
[Harry, you are awesome.]
Post by: Xantalos on April 25, 2013, 03:40:15 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 25, 2013, 03:56:24 pm
Niklas! Wait! There is something important about this, emm, dog of yours. It is, in fact, a mage who tricked us to come here to fight those inoffensive mages. If you pay attention, you will notice that, despite being bleeding, it doesn't show any wounds. It is because it is a human! The mages said that it attacked them previously, and that's why they made these metal constructs in first place. I'm afraid that you will have to let hem kill Rubus. But, don't worry! They said that maybe they can make you a new pet if you want, a deadly metal one! If you feel like, you can ask these good people for a new vicious pet.
Post by: Xantalos on April 25, 2013, 04:00:37 pm
A trick?! How cruel this thing must be! But did you say I can get a metal animal if I let the big ones kill Rubun? He thinks for 2 seconds. Sure. Make it a steel wolf! He jumps up and down in glee.
Post by: Tomcost on April 25, 2013, 04:13:18 pm
I knew that you were going to be happy about this, come with me to talk to the mages.
He walked to the old mages and said:
I have good news, he agrees in letting that bastard die. On the other side, he would like a new pet, a steel wolf exactly. We don't want to be rude, but he is very exited about the offer.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 25, 2013, 08:49:18 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 26, 2013, 12:01:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 26, 2013, 12:59:50 am
Scott sees that his complaints have fallen on deaf ears, and the indignation in his voice fades, replaced by a flat monotone.
"Oh yay. Sir, there is a ship in the harbor that is willing to carry us. They have given a written guarantee for our privacy. They ask we leave within a week."
The Artiste stirs a bit.
"Mhm... yes..."
He then turns his back to Scott, wrapping himself up in his blanket more tightly.
At the home of the Eight Old People...
Niklas goes on back to the eight old people.
"Those animals will die if you fellows die, correct?"
"Actually-"
However, before the mages can explain, Sigmund interjects once gain.
"Niklas! Wait! There is something important about this, emm, dog of yours. It is, in fact, a mage who tricked us to come here to fight those inoffensive mages. If you pay attention, you will notice that, despite being bleeding, it doesn't show any wounds. It is because it is a human! The mages said that it attacked them previously, and that's why they made these metal constructs in first place. I'm afraid that you will have to let hem kill Rubus. But, don't worry! They said that maybe they can make you a new pet if you want, a deadly metal one! If you feel like, you can ask these good people for a new vicious pet."
Niklas doesn't look terribly happy about the news.
"A trick?! How cruel this thing must be! But did you say I can get a metal animal if I let the big ones kill Rubun?"
He thinks for 2 seconds, his face twisting into a gleeful expression.
"Sure. Make it a steel wolf!" he happily exclaims, jumping up and down.
"I knew that you were going to be happy about this."
Sigmund turns back to the old mages and informs them of the agreement.
"I have good news, he agrees in letting that bastard die. On the other side, he would like a new pet, a steel wolf exactly. We don't want to be rude, but he is very exited about the offer."
"Sure, but you should know that it will be pretty difficult to make it like an actual wolf. It will be guided by a single instinct and all, you know, and it will be only good at a single task. Usually it's murder, but we can try for something else if you want."
Back in Emlocke...
Darren tries to hurl something in a distracting fashion. Fortunately, there's a stick of some kind.
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He picks it up, then makes it fly off into the distance very quickly, making a sonic boom as it breaks the sound barrier. The stick, interestingly enough, endures such velocities and disappears into the distance. Darren looks down to see if that distracted the man.
It did! Well, in a manner of speaking. Now he's looking up and trying to climb toward Darren! However, the smooth wall seems to be impeding him somewhat.
At a ship of some sort...
Morton, feeling a tad exposed at the moment, looks around, then tries to reaffirm the existence of the man that spoke to him.
"Hello? Anyone down there? I'd still appreciate some information, it would be most pertinent to me and my master."
Just then, a barrel jumps up and rolls away from a certain spot on the deck! Beneath it, a small, very inconspicuous hatch has opened. Out of it steps a very, very short man with a long beard.
"Phew, thought I'd never get out of there. So, whaddaya want? Information, was it?"
Post by: Xantalos on April 26, 2013, 01:04:02 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 26, 2013, 02:04:24 am
Scott will leave the note in an obvious and visable place and will go and wash Gary.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 26, 2013, 06:14:27 am
Since the mages are all gathered here, Niklas asks them if they know stuff about things some more.
"Hmm ... do you know anything about the Artiste?"
"Nope, can't say I have. What kind of artiste are you talking about?"
"Some kind of avant-garde type or something?"
In the home of the Artiste...
Scott, derisively considering the blissful sleep of the mages, leaves his promissory note on the Artiste's nightstand and looks for a good place to wash Gary.
Unfortunately, there seem to be no washbasins in ready availability. Bummer.
Post by: Tomcost on April 26, 2013, 06:55:01 am
Sigmund thought about the best order his friend's future pet will be given. He asked to the mages:
If the construct that you are going to make can only have a single instinct, can said instinct be to kill whaterver Niklas orders it to kill?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 26, 2013, 07:14:30 am
((Harry, did you forgot that there was one mage looking for that stone?))
Have you ever tried to find something in an elderly person's home?
Post by: Tomcost on April 26, 2013, 07:35:40 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 26, 2013, 07:54:53 am
Post by: Thearpox on April 26, 2013, 08:15:57 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 26, 2013, 09:26:42 am
Kevin hears commotion on the deck and runs back to the deck, only to see a man climbing out of a hatch. He just lets Morton take the word, as usual.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 26, 2013, 11:58:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 26, 2013, 03:12:43 pm
Sigmund brings up some thoughts on what one could tell a pet to do.
"If the construct that you are going to make can only have a single instinct, can said instinct be to kill whatever Niklas orders it to kill?"
"It would have to be able to process said orders first, and that's quite the tall order."
"Though we could try to use illusions to... augment its perceptions."
Just then, the door to the house bursts open. The eighth mage steps out and hands Sigmund a small chest.
"Levitation stone's in there. Be careful with it."
In the home of the Artiste...
Scott heads out of the home that is no longer his and looks for some kind of river or creek to wash Gary in. Fortunately, there is a not-unclean creek nearby. He gets to washing Gary!
[Laundering roll: 3]
Unfortunately, it looks like he's going to need soap for this. Gary's totally filthy.
On the deck of a ship of some kind...
Morton looks somewhat incredulously at the short man at first, but manages to take control of the situation quickly.
"Oh dear, if I had known that was blocking your ascent I would have helped assuredly! It must of been terrible trapped down there."
"Uh, yeah. I'm sure you sympathize."
"But yes, information would be most wonderful to me and my companion. See, we're in the employ of our Master, who wishes to charter a ship to what I would assume to be a far away location. Now, sadly, he has yet to inform me of his heading so I'm afraid I don't know to tell you, but a general price range would be most appreciated! That is, if this wonderfully quaint ship is up to taking passengers on voyages."
"It isn't as far as I know. You'd have to ask the captain. He's around somewhere, I think. Saw him last... what was it? Two weeks ago, I think?"
Meanwhile, Kevin sneaks back up, hearing the commotion, and observes the proceedings.
Post by: Tomcost on April 26, 2013, 03:19:28 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 26, 2013, 03:29:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2013, 01:37:03 am
Sigmund looks at the offering of the box, and he can't help but feel satisfied.
"Can I see it without suffering dire consequences of the fatal variety?"
"Probably, I believe it's a bit determined to escape at the moment. You'd certainly have to be careful with it. It's been stewing in its own magicality for years."
There is a faint thump from the inside of the box.
"How does it work?"
"Through an application of willpower - the stones are faintly telepathic, I think. That's why you really shouldn't keep them unused for long - allows it to collect its power and with that, its wits as well. And you do not want a sentient anti-gravity artifact around your house for long."
He looks at Sigmund gravely for a moment. Then he smiles earnestly, pressing the box in Sigmund's hands.
"But you have fun with that!"
On the deck of a ship of some sort...
Morton, seeing how the man's story raises more questions than it answers, attempts to be as the humble sleuth, divulging the tiny man's innermost secrets.
"You haven't seen your captain in two weeks? Is that usual? I'd appreciate it most greatly if you could give me your captain's name, or perhaps what he looks like so I could perhaps track them down for a price barter."
"I'd rather not speak of it at this point, to be honest. Right now, I must find the old fellow myself. Hm... this looks to be Shriekpot, I think. Oh well, cheerio!"
He is about to run, but stops midway through.
"By the way, you smell like a beggar who tried to swim the Sea of Death. You might want to fix that."
He then makes a quick run for it, slipping off the ship in no more than three seconds and escaping in the direction of the town.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 27, 2013, 02:16:34 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2013, 02:20:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2013, 09:37:54 am
Scott heads back to his horse and rides to town, searching for someplace to launder Gary!
Surprisingly enough, there does seem to be some kind of laundering facility, or at least that's what Scott guesses the point of this large pond painstakingly dug around a small channel might be. There's even a box labeled "Communal Soap - DO NOT STEAL" lying next to it. And not only are the bars of soap inside not stolen, they appear to be completely untouched! There's more soap than one could ever hope for within!
At the home of the Eight Old People...
Niklas interviews the old mages some more.
"Could you tell the wolf to just protect me?"
"It would hardly be useful, as it would be difficult to tell it what to protect you from, exactly. It doesn't gauge threats, so to speak, and it can't properly reason. So you never know what conclusions it might come to. Could be dangerous, to tell the truth. Maybe it'll grab you in its teeth and run from everything, maybe it will just bite anyone who talks to you."
Post by: Xanmyral on April 27, 2013, 10:48:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 27, 2013, 11:27:45 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 27, 2013, 11:57:13 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 27, 2013, 12:48:07 pm
[If he succeeds, he will ask if there is any way to discharge the stone withot many risks, and then, walk some feet away from the people and try to levitate a little bit]
Post by: miauw62 on April 27, 2013, 01:19:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2013, 02:02:02 pm
Morton considers his current state of hygiene and, upon finding it to be rather sordid, shrugs and consults his fine jester companion for valuable input on this whole situation.
"So then, grand Jester, where to next? Another ship, or perhaps follow that strange fellow to see if we can find his captain? Something else?"
He raises one finger for another ship, two fingers for following tiny people in their fascinating secret lives and three fingers for going somewhere else. Kevin, ever the original one, raises three fingers and points homeward.
"Ah, you want to go that way? To somewhere else? Lead the way then, my good man, I shall stay in step!"
Morton shuffles the straps of the backpack on his shoulders again, getting them comfortable before following Kevin. Though it's more of a mental comfort than anything, really.
"So, what are we to do when we get to where we're going? Part of the task, sightseeing, or something else entirely?"
Kevin, in a mysterious mood, vaguely half-shrugs and leads Morton back home. Well, he supposes it might be back home. Hard to tell, what with it looking like a stone-and-steel egg with a lowered steel gangplank.
At the home of the Eight Old People...
Sigmund figures that all this caution nonsense just isn't for him. He opens the box! At that exact moment, he hears a subdued whisper in his mind. There is a sense of calm about it, but it's the sort of calm you see in a person right after their blood runs cold and right before they violently rip your throat out.
~Are you... one of them?~
"Doesn't look like it's trying to escape! Nice!"
Sigmund remains quiet and looks into the box, seeing a stone within it. Easy pickings. He snatches it up quickly!
Just then, he his mind reels from a frenzied shriek, a panicked scream of a cornered intelligence. His hand seizes up, grasping the stone tightly and refusing to let go!
~UNHAND ME! ACK! I WILL NOT BE CAPTURED AND MISUSED! TOO MUCH IS AT STAKE!~
Post by: Tomcost on April 27, 2013, 02:16:35 pm
Why didn't you tell me that the stone was sentient? And how do I subdue it?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2013, 03:09:36 pm
Sigmund, surprised at this turn of events, asks the mages for some explanation.
"Why didn't you tell me that the stone was sentient? And how do I subdue it?"
"That's odd. I distinctly recall telling you a minute ago that they could become such. I suppose you weren't listening, were you? People never do. And then they perish horribly. Such a pity."
Damn you, short attention span! Damn you and all of your easily-forgotten kin!
"And you subdue it with willpower and nothing but. Simple as that."
Sigmund hears a certain pitch and tone alteration of the stone's voice in his head. To be exact, it seems to have transitioned to even more nonsensical noises that resemble squawking to an unhealthy degree. Moreover, the squawking seems to be breaking down Sigmund's mental resistance!
Post by: Tomcost on April 27, 2013, 03:23:06 pm
Sigmund got terribly angry with the stone and tried to subdue it by willpower and aggravate it if it fails.
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2013, 03:42:40 pm
Niklas grabs into the stone and adds his mental power to Sigmund's! He tries to bend the stone to his will!
Post by: Xanmyral on April 27, 2013, 03:53:52 pm
"Oh dear, isn't that where our home once stood? What happened to it? It looks nothing like it did before, where did this even come from?" Morton pondered in confusion. "Did our new Masters do this? How? What was wrong with the old house, it was quaint!" Morton ho'ed and hum'ed about the new house, before sighing, seeing as there was nothing he could do about it. "Well, we're here now. Shall we check up on the masters? I don't see why though, we haven't chartered a ship yet, although we did get a price for that one."
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2013, 03:59:23 pm
First step - dominate stone.))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 27, 2013, 04:03:24 pm
Good thing about it is that you can have a sapient thing that is made of metal and can fly.
Only problem is that you have a sapient thing that can fly and is made of metal.]
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2013, 04:04:56 pm
[Don't see why the mages can't do it. Just create the wolf around the stone, slave the wolf to the stone so it has control over the body. It should be able to levitate just as usual, except the stone now has a wolf body instead of a stone body.(...We could just do it with me.)
Good thing about it is that you can have a sapient thing that is made of metal and can fly.
Only problem is that you have a sapient thing that can fly and is made of metal.]
Post by: Xanmyral on April 27, 2013, 04:08:32 pm
With the stone, its more like redirecting/forwarding a call from one phone to another, while with yours it would be swapping SIN cards, which I'd wager is more difficult. Certainly possible though.]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 27, 2013, 11:18:44 pm
"Hey, I just did something super cool, so can we stop now?"
Post by: Innsmothe on April 28, 2013, 02:35:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 28, 2013, 02:40:50 am
Sigmund, putting on his game face, tries to subdue the creature before it is too late! Niklas, noticing the game face, realizes that only one thing could be happening right now. There's a party in Sigmund's head and he isn't invited! And this will not do! He grabs the stone as well and joins into the horribly irritating mental duel!
[Battle of Wills: Sigmund and Niklas vs. Stone: 2+6 vs. 4]
The stone screams into Sigmund's mind, and the vampire seems about to give up, but the stone hadn't counted on one thing - the master screamer himself is in the house now! Niklas yells in a way only Niklas can, both mentally and physically, somewhat disturbing the mages present and, of course, the insubordinate stone!
~ALRIGHT! Stop yelling! I give up! Enough already!~
At the home of the Artiste...
Morton is just made of questions by the time he sees the house.
"Oh dear, isn't that where our home once stood? What happened to it? It looks nothing like it did before, where did this even come from?"
He continues his confused ponderings, considering the implications of the house.
"Did our new Masters do this? How? What was wrong with the old house, it was quaint!"
However, his righteous indignation avails nothing, so his excitement soon subsides.
"Well, we're here now. Shall we check up on the masters? I don't see why though, we haven't chartered a ship yet, although we did get a price for that one."
He looks at Kevin, who half-shrugs shyly.
On a rooftop in Emlocke...
Darren, seeing how the man is climbing the wall, tries to grab a nearby shield-sized object, but doesn't seem able to find one, unfortunately. Guess he'll just grab some shingles, then.
[Telekinesis roll: 6]
He quickly removes every last shingle from the roof, collects it into one large hand-like construct and tries to force the man, who seems to be trying to utilize axes as climbing picks, down to the ground with it!
[Opposed Strength: Shingle Hand vs. Man: 4+2 vs. 2+1]
He is forced to the ground and trapped under the shaped shingles!
"Hey, I just did something super cool, so can we stop now?"
The dog looks at the shingled hand pushing down at the man, then at Darren. It then speaks.
"Yes, indeed. Let's stop. It's pointless. Ghost unneeded. Not competing."
Huh.
At the communal laundering pond...
Scott, delighted at the convenient pond placed right here, gets to washing Gary.
[Laundering roll: 4+1]
Soon enough, the blanket is quite clean and smells of rather pretty flowers! Now to let it dry for a while.
Post by: TopHat on April 28, 2013, 03:57:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 28, 2013, 06:14:36 am
((why the +6 to the will roll? Seems a bit much just for Niklas helping))
They both rolled and I added the results together. Sigmund rolled a 2, Niklas rolled a 6.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 28, 2013, 07:13:38 am
As for moving, Scott heads for the ship to inspect quarters for his master.
Post by: Tomcost on April 28, 2013, 09:06:37 am
Sigmund talked then to the stone:
We will stop if you tell us what is the problem with you. We come here and try to free you form this damned box and you just act as a naughty child. I guess that if our relationship will be like that it would be better to return you to that box and ask those mages to teleport it to the void, as it seems that you would love to be in a place of eternal silence and boredom. So, will you just grow up and act as a mature being or should I call Niklas back?
((Thank you for the help Xantalos))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 28, 2013, 10:35:20 am
Scott ties Gary around his neck, forming a very goofy-looking cape. Then again, the tortured human visage on the back is creepy enough for nobody to mind. Now to inspect the master's quarters! He heads back to the ship and walks up the lowered steel gangplank.
Nobody seems to mind (in fact, nobody seems to be around), so he guesses it's all good. The ship looks to be made of steel, mostly, with the deck itself covered in some other kind of material - it's oddly soft and nice, Scott finds. He heads down to find the crew quarters, finding them to be most adequate! Luxurious, even, he might say. The entire interior of the ship is highly ornate and well-crafted, looking more like a large work of art than a conventional vehicle. This ship doesn't appear to need a whole lot of people to run it, being obviously magical, so a full crew looks to be in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 people despite the fact that the vessel itself is the size of a warship.
All in all, pretty sweet, he'd say.
Next to the home of the Eight Old People...
Sigmund, seeing that the stone is subdued, speaks to it in a stern tone.
~We will stop if you tell us what is the problem with you. We come here and try to free you from this damned box and you just act as a naughty child. I guess that if our relationship will be like that it would be better to return you to that box and ask those mages to teleport it to the void, as it seems that you would love to be in a place of eternal silence and boredom. So, will you just grow up and act as a mature being or should I call Niklas back?~
~Do you understand, I repeat, do you have ANY idea what it feels like to be trapped in a magic-shielded box when you're a telepath? When you've lived your entire period of consciousness within a completely isolated space, then suddenly exposed to the MILLIONS OF THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES in the surrounding area? Why, I'm surprised I reacted as well as I did! And I'm not a mature being! I've been locked in a box for as long as I can remember! I don't know what most things and concepts you list off even are! The world and anything other than myself and the few walls I've been locked in is completely alien to me! It's shocking! It's terrifying! It's amazing! It's brilliant!~
The voice begins to list off a series of other colorful adjectives to describe the new feelings it has been exposed to.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 28, 2013, 10:39:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 28, 2013, 01:22:12 pm
I had a simmilar experience. I was also forced to stay in an enclosed space for some time. But I proved to be useful, and I was allowed to see the outer world as my master thought I deserved it. Don't worry, I will let you see the world, but you will have to control your actitude. Try to act calmly, and you will experience the world and it's marvelous things! But you have to promise me that you won't try to harm me or any of my friends, otherwise you will go back to that box.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 28, 2013, 04:25:44 pm
Possibly drag Morton along too, he needs to relearn the value of work ethic.
[Sorry that I am bouncing back and forth Harry. Trying to role-play someone somewhat mentally and emotionally unstable is rather hard.]
Post by: Xanmyral on April 28, 2013, 07:02:05 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 28, 2013, 07:05:48 pm
Niklas tries to impress upon the stone every memory he has in order to let it understand the world!
This may have the side effect of turning the stone into a copy of Niklas.
Post by: Tomcost on April 28, 2013, 07:08:54 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 28, 2013, 07:09:53 pm
((does Niklas know about Sigmund's conversation with the stone?))((I assume so since they're both holding onto the stone.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 12:33:07 am
Sigmund, taking on the role of the benevolent master, informs the stone of the terms of their relationship.
~I had a similar experience. I was also forced to stay in an enclosed space for some time. But I proved to be useful, and I was allowed to see the outer world as my master thought I deserved it. Don't worry, I will let you see the world, but you will have to control your attitude. Try to act calmly, and you will experience the world and its marvelous things! But you have to promise me that you won't try to harm me or any of my friends, otherwise you will go back to that box.~
~Oh, yes. Certainly. Most definitely. You've got it, master.~
Just then, Niklas, having listened patiently for long enough, decides to contribute!
~I shall help you then, baby stone!~
He then tries to relay his entire life and unlife experience to the stone in a single burst of intellectual transmission!
[Intellectual transmission roll: 2]
Sadly, it appears that doing this is not quite as easy as one might think. Dang. But then again, perhaps this might be a good thing.
At the Hovership...
Scott, judging the ship to be quite appropriate for the Artiste's use, goes on back to the Artiste's house, heading right in and going upstairs to the lazy bum's place of resting.
"Hey, wake up!"
"Mmmh-hmm..."
He doesn't seem particularly eager to get up. Hm, to manhandle or not to manhandle one's superior. That is indeed the eternal question.
Outside the home of the Artiste...
Morton verbally evaluates the house, pretending to have a conversation with Kevin while he's at it.
"Hm... Well, this is certainly something new. But really, I have to say I kind of like it now..."
Well, no time to talk to himself. He's wasting moonlight!
"I'm afraid that I should really get to working on the Master's orders, though. Sorry Kevin, but I must depart for now. If you need me, I shall be back at town previewing the grand selection of ships available."
He gives a bow to the jester skeleton, then heads back to town.
"Come find me once you're done!" he shouts back at the skeleton as he hums a cheery tune on his way back. "Right, to the docks then! We must always be frugal in our traveling, I've always been told!"
And eventually he does manage to get back to the docks. Yep, they're still full of ships. What to do now?
Post by: Innsmothe on April 29, 2013, 03:19:58 am
"Ships ready, 'Master'. Use that damned woo-woo you have to get your body jumping."
He told Scott not to harm him, not to be polite.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 07:42:30 am
Scott looks around for some sort of water source.
Luckily, there still seems to be some spring water lying around nearby. He takes a bucket of it and walks up to the Artiste, splashing him in the face with it.
The Artiste slowly opens his eyes.
"Ship's ready, 'Master'. Use that damned woo-woo you have to get your body jumping."
"How about 'no'? Go and jump off the stairs from the top floor toward the ground floor immediately. If you're alright, do so again. Thank you."
Scott feels the lash of the mental command, unwillingly goes over to the stairs and jumps off them, falling three floors. The Artiste, meanwhile, goes back to sleep.
[Scott landing roll: 2-1]
And he does indeed land very poorly, right on his head, in fact.
[Endurance roll: 2]
This results in his skull cracking open and a rather sizable amount brain tissue leaking out and splattering on the concrete floor. What are you gonna do, eh?
[Will roll: 5]
Scott slowly gets up, shaking off a bit of dizziness, thinks about whether he can be said to be alright. Probably not, he guesses. He believes he may now be completely incapable of something. Unfortunately, he isn't sure what that something is. It's probably nothing important, he supposes. Nothing he can remember, anyway.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2013, 07:45:18 am
He walked some feet away from everyone else, and triedd to levitate a little bit.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 08:00:12 am
Sigmund takes the stone and steps away from the others.
Okay, so... how to use this? Hm. Willpower, he supposes.
[Will roll: 5]
~You could just tell me what you want me to do, you know. I'm not some dumb and oppressed stone that doesn't comprehend words and can only be made to do anything through sheer imposition of willpower.~
~Not seeing it right now. Only sensing yammering.~
~Oh, alright.~
[Stone levitation roll: 6+1]
The stone starts rising upwards rapidly along with Sigmund, lifting off to a height of about seventy five meters above ground!
~See? It's really quite simple.~
Post by: Innsmothe on April 29, 2013, 08:11:39 am
Scott will repack his brain and go bind his head, cursing his master.
He will head back to the port [again ::)] in an effort to smooth over the earlier incident of his impatience.
He will try to find people strong and capable to press-gang into a small personal crew, he'll start at the local floating pub.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2013, 09:15:32 am
This, is, just amazing! I can't believe that you were forced to stay in a box while you could do this!. Now, make me descend slowly to the ground so I can tell those mages that you deserved a to be treated in a better manner.
Post by: Xantalos on April 29, 2013, 09:20:08 am
He might resort to intimidation to get his way if it's going badly.
Post by: miauw62 on April 29, 2013, 10:27:35 am
Kevin was surprised that Morton left him so suddenly, they had checked out some ships, after all, and had to report back to their "master". Kevin wasn't too sure on what to do now, as he could hardly report their finds alone, that, and he hadn't been paying too much attention to the negotiations. So he just figures it's best to chase after Morton and go check out some more ships.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2013, 10:53:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 11:42:30 am
Scott, feeling a tad confused, tries to gather up his splattered brains and bind his head up nicely.
Fortunately, there are rags easily found in the near vicinity. Scott tucks the wayward tissues into his skull, then wraps a brain-saving bandana around his smashed head. There, good as new. He then takes a moment to curse the Artiste and heads out back to port, as he is clearly not wanted here. Hmph.
After a short ride on the horse, he goes back to the Festive Pelican, looking for men of loose moral fiber and no willpower to join him. Well, no shortage of such people here - most of them look to be have a shortage of moral fiber and not a smidgen of willpower. Then again, this may be because they're drunk. Scott walks up to a group and gives them an offer they should not refuse or he'll get mad.
[Convincing roll: 4+1-2]
"You there! Scum! Come join me as slaves to sail the high seas! It'll be fun!"
At one of the tables, a man bolts up from his seat!
"I'll follow this man to the ends of the-"
He doesn't manage to finish his sentence, as he is interrupted by his own retching, which results in him falling over and covering the floor in yet another layer of finely spread vomit. Clearly, these are men of skill and strength.
In the air above the home of the Eight Old People...
Sigmund skips back and forth from excitement to slight discomfort at the height he's currently at. Better do something about it.
~This... is... just amazing! I can't believe that you were forced to stay in a box while you could do this! Now, make me descend slowly to the ground so I can tell those mages that you deserved to be treated in a better manner.~
~Oh, I know, dear master, I certainly do.~
[Stone levitation roll: 5+1]
Sigmund and the stone are both rapidly lowered downward, only to see Niklas negotiating with the mages.
"... and THAT is why you must give the baby stone the body of a stout dragon, a true warrior of the skies!"
"Well... I'm not really that sure. After all, dragons don't actually exist, so I'm not sure how they actually work. I suppose I could make a wyvern, though. Les?"
"Let's go, then."
[Les magic roll: 5]
One of the old men lifts up his arms and the ground shifts, a large rock sticking out from it and reshaping itself in the shape of a large wyvern! It looks positively beastly, with a massive stinger at its tail and a wingspan of about ten meters.
[Old Woman 2 magic roll: 6]
The statue soon becomes very living indeed, screeching into the night and flapping its wings as stone becomes something entirely different - some sort of black, elastic, flexible material that neither Sigmund nor Niklas can quite place. The old woman glances at her handiwork.
"I was hoping it would be less... savage, but what can you do. Should still be largely mindless."
The stone sounds excited as it speaks into Sigmund's mind.
~Ooh, ooh, throw me into its mouth!~
At the home of the Artiste...
Kevin laments Morton's woeful attention span as he follows the zombie back to town. He watches as the apostle of the tea leaf stops to appreciate the harbor and the sheer variety of ships available.
Man, that guy loves to soliloquize.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 29, 2013, 12:28:26 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 29, 2013, 12:31:43 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2013, 01:21:14 pm
He said to the stone:
-Wait, what if you end up being destroyed in the process? Let me ask the mages first.
He then turned to the mages and asked:
-Is there any dangers for the stone to enter that construct? Also, what meterial is that?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 02:02:03 pm
Morton notices that Kevin has joined him. Now he can stop soliloquizing and merely provide convenient and more plausible exposition instead!
"Ah, hello, grand jester Kevin, nice of you to meet me again! So soon even, I trust you got your business done? I was going to try and find more ships so as to give a nice range of options for our new Master. Care to join me? While the first ship we saw was nice, it was a tad pricy in my opinion, although a lovely ship and polite captain. The other ship didn't really offer us anything, sadly, just an odd man who ran off to see his captain. Didn't even know what harbor he was in, how long was he down there to not know such? Either way, let us check out some of these fine vessels to see if any captains would hopefully offer us a price for voyage."
Kevin shrugs vaguely, feeling a certain loss of control over his own life. Together, they form a searching squad that will comb the wretched depths of this filthy harbor!
After about an hour of searching, they notice an ornate, noisy ship, several totally ordinary merchant vessels and an antiquated galley.
At the home of the Eight Old People...
Sigmund listens to the stone's request, then interviews the mages.
~Wait, what if you end up being destroyed in the process? Let me ask the mages first.~
There is a faint grumbling from the stone.
"Is there any danger for the stone to enter that construct? Also, what material is that?"
"Well, it could safely assume control of the creature. That's pretty dangerous. And it's made of this thing called rubber - it's very bouncy and elastic. Fun to make things out of."
Post by: Xanmyral on April 29, 2013, 02:04:39 pm
"Hm, lets try that ship, certainly seems lively!" Morton makes his way to the ornate, noisy ship.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2013, 02:07:11 pm
-Well, I guess that you deserve the opportunity after all your suffering. Just try to stay calm when you enter the creature. Remember, there is no need to experiment everything at the same time. Be cautious.
He then throws the stone into the creature's mouth
Post by: Innsmothe on April 29, 2013, 04:57:15 pm
"My master is a necromaner, he has made me immortal. And you will too be so if you join, look at this scum, he's dead-dead Do you want to join me...or him?"
Post by: Xantalos on April 29, 2013, 07:12:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2013, 11:27:02 pm
Morton decides to check out the noisy ship! He heads over there with Kevin. He reads the name on the side, seeing that it's called... the Festive Pelican. Huh. Well, better go in.
It looks to be a tavern. A tavern with some sort of commotion happening.
And there is none other at the center of it than Scott! He appears to be trying to stab people. Or recruit them. It's a tad unclear.
[Scott vs. Random Sailor: 1+2 vs. 4-1]
He stabs at one of the sailors, who handily dodges out of the way, hearing something lumbering toward him menacingly!
"Hey, not cool, man! Don't stab me!"
Nobody seems to be paying a whole lot of attention to Scott, though. Silly people.
At the home of the Eight Old People...
Sigmund decides to humor the stone and hurls it into the rubber wyvern's mouth.
~Well, I guess that you deserve the opportunity after all your suffering. Just try to stay calm when you enter the creature. Remember, there is no need to experiment everything at the same time. Be cautious.~
The wyvern twitches slightly, shivers, then straightens out after a squeaky sound. It then hops about for a moment, flapping its wings.
~Man, this feels good.~
Meanwhile, Niklas asks the mages about things that interest him specifically.
"Oh, one last thing. Is there any way to transfer your mind into a stone like that if my body is destroyed?"
"Well, if you have the right sort of stone and a necromancer to help you with that, sure. Or a mental mage, if you're okay with your soul passing on and you actually dying while a mental copy of you travels the earth."
Post by: Xantalos on April 29, 2013, 11:31:11 pm
Hop on the wyvern's back nonchalantly; ask him to fly back to the Artiste's castle thing. Or house. Wherever we started. I forget.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2013, 01:34:51 am
~Stabbity.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 30, 2013, 02:07:04 am
I expected nothing less from you great people]
Mark gets up from the chair after a intresting book read decided to go have a swim in the harbor by the town to get the mushrooms off
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2013, 06:44:55 am
Niklas expresses satisfaction with the information given. He then mounts the wyvern and commands it to take him back to... that guy. In his house. Yeah.
~Alright, we take off now!~
[W. Stone levitation roll: 3+1]
The wyvern spreads its two wings and unmovingly ascends vertically, then straightens out and slowly flies off toward the house, not bothering to flap its wings one bit.
Meanwhile, Sigmund is left behind looking a bit sad and dejected. But who cares about him! Flying rubber wyvern!
After a leisurely ride through the skies, Niklas is taken to his house! Damn, what have they done to the place? It looks all egg-like and stony and whatnot. And is that a gangplank? Ah, no matter.
In the Festive Pelican...
Scott, despite missing with his stab, refuses to miss any beats whatsoever!
"If you don't want to be stabbed, up against the wall! You are conscripted in the name of my master!"
"Uh... let me think about it..."
"Wrong answer!"
[Scott vs. Random Sailor: 2+2 vs. 4]
The sailor ducks out of the way as Scott swings again.
"I'd really rather not!"
Scott is about to swing again, but something interrupts him!
[Grapple: Bouncer 1 vs. Scott: 3+1 vs. 6-1]
[Grapple: Bouncer 2 vs. Scott: 6+1 vs. 3-1]
One bouncer leaps past him, surprising the zombie! Must have miscalculated. Silly mortals, he'll stab them... wait, why can't he move his arm? He looks for the cause.
Ah. It seems to be a burly man with a disapproving expression. A burly man who seems to have grabbed and broken his arm and fingers in several places, then snatched the fallen dagger from the ground.
"Stabbing is forbidden! Not paying for your drinks is also strongly discouraged! And cult activity and terrible hygiene is just wrong!"
In a glass-lidded parlor underneath the entrance hall of the Artiste's house...
Mark closes his divination book, extremely rich in knowledge about the subject from his prolonged perusal. From visceromancy to reading tea leaves to astrology to using those funny word dice he has, he can perform amateur divination with a great many things! Theoretically, anyway. He hasn't been out of the room yet.
Not that he can get out, anyway. Well, as far as he knows, anyway. The Artiste seemed rather particular about sealing him down here so he didn't "get death spores in his nose while he is sleeping", in his own words. Mark does believe that this place might have an exit somewhere - after all, what kind of evil fellow you'd have to be to seal someone in here forever? Sure, the Artiste may have told him to stay at a minimum distance of ten meters from any of his human minions (unless a solid wall is between them), but this is something else entirely. It's just a matter of finding the exit, he guesses.
If only he had a clue where to start.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2013, 08:43:22 am
Stereotypical movie attack HO-oooo! NOM!!
[I would consider this a surprise attack, since biting savagely may not be anticipated. :3]
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2013, 09:35:25 am
Scott, faced with overwhelming odds.
"May plagues take your life and all you hold dear!"
He makes with the classic zombie attack heard in many folktales! And an om, and a nom, and an om-nom-nom!
[Biting: Scott vs. Bouncer 2: 1 vs. 4-1]
He oms and noms himself in the broken arm! The bouncer looks on in total confusion.
"Um... ooooo-kay."
[Manhandling: Bouncer 2 vs. Scott: 5+1 vs. 1]
He pulls Scott up by the arm, throws him upward and catches him by the legs, then starts whacking him against a nearby support beam, each whack followed by ker-crack, and each ker-crack followed by another whack! Scott is rather tenderized by this assault, and he's afraid that he has no unbroken ribs remaining. Not to mention that his spine may have snapped several times. After a few minutes of such manhandling, the bouncer lifts the confused zombie up by his feet and shakes him vigorously for half a minute, though nothing falls out of Scott's secure pockets, fortunately.
"Eh, guess we can pawn the dagger."
The guard then carries Scott outside and starts spinning about in a strange imitation of a hammer throw!
[Throw roll: 1+1]
He fumbles at the last minute, though, letting go of Scott too early and managing to only make him fly and slide down the pier, but miss the water completely. As Scott lies face-down on the hard wooden surface of the pier, he can't help but feel slightly inadequate. And mostly immobile. Well, at least the bouncer only walked up to him and gave him a slight kick before going back in. That's way better than what he could have done.
Post by: Tomcost on April 30, 2013, 10:26:15 am
Thank you very much for your kindness. I promise that we will take care of that stone. It is a nice being after all, it's a pity that he had to be restrained in that box for so long. But, now, I have to leave, as I'm afraid I have been left back by my friend. I hope life smiles you-
He then heads to the Artiste's house.
Post by: Xantalos on April 30, 2013, 10:52:11 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 30, 2013, 12:07:24 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2013, 12:08:21 pm
He will dry sob and hold Gary before (attempting too) standing up to gather himself.
And
He will attempt to summon all the virulence in his form into a foul vapour that he will breathe and spew into the ship.
Post by: miauw62 on April 30, 2013, 12:15:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2013, 12:30:04 pm
Sigmund shrugs nonchalantly and tries to walk back to the house the Artiste is presumably still in. However, he remembers something, turning to the mages.
"Thank you very much for your kindness. I promise that we will take care of that stone. It is a nice being after all, it's a pity that he had to be restrained in that box for so long. But now I have to leave, as I'm afraid I have been left back by my friend. I hope life smiles on you."
"Happy trails, comrade!"
"Have fun with whatever you're doing!"
"Be careful with the wyvern, though. You lack the means to control it in any way now. Thought you should know."
Ah. That might be good to know. Oh well. Resuming nonchalant walk!
He walks for about a hundred meters, stopping at a point where five streets cross. Or is it only two? Maybe a hundred, even. It's a bit difficult to tell, what with the world seemingly spinning before his eyes and the ground swaying to and fro.
At the home of the Artiste...
Niklas imagines a door to be in his way, roundhouse kicking the figment away and going into the house while singing rhymes of murder, drinking, feasting, commerce and more murder.
Ooh, this place has certainly changed. More floors, for one. And the decor is a lot more tomb-like than before, more solid and stone-based. And more steel bars, too. Not to mention that there are no kitchens in immediate sight. At least not HIS kitchen!
At the entrance of the Festive Pelican...
Morton, having confusedly watched the meticulous shattering of his former master's poor body, leaves the Festive Pelican along with Kevin.
"Well, that was certainly... something, wasn't it, Kevin?"
He then walks right past the crumpled, pathetic heap that remains of Master Yaleson and goes on to look at the old galley.
"This looks promising, and interesting! I wonder how old it is..." he muses to himself as he looks it over.
He steps onto the deck. However, this proves to have been rather unwise, as he immediately hears a piercing, inhuman shriek come from nearby. Man, this is giving him a headache. He loudly stomps his foot on the deck and politely asks the person to stop. Unfortunately, the person doesn't seem to be listening. Though the shrieking is getting closer.
Meanwhile, Scott takes a moment to bask in the humiliation. He finds it to be both biting and searing, and turns to Gary for solace. He always understands.
After a minute of tearless sobbing, Scott tries to get up.
[Endurance roll: 3]
However, he finds that his spine really has been snapped at least once - he couldn't stand up with all the effort in the world. He sobs some more as a result. After another minute of this, he notices somebody seems to be dragging him. He looks up.
It's Kevin! He appears to be dragging him directly away from the Festive Pelican.
Post by: miauw62 on April 30, 2013, 01:06:10 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 30, 2013, 01:07:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2013, 01:36:32 pm
"Thank you, I appear to be making lots of mistakes today."
Post by: Tomcost on April 30, 2013, 01:59:17 pm
((I knew that we weren't going to be able to control that thing, but, well, at least I think he likes us))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 30, 2013, 02:04:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2013, 02:25:29 pm
Kevin drags Scott over to a nearby building. Unfortunately, it appears to be locked down tight, with metal bars placed over the door and a very, very locked steel door. Must have had some bad experience with rampaging sailors or something. Then Kevin, with Scott's blessing and help, goes about fixing the poor fellow somehow.
[Scott medicine roll: 3]
[Kevin medicine roll: 5]
As Scott tries to place himself in a more easily medicated position, Kevin harshly sets his bones into place, roughly reassembling his spine in about twenty minutes. Sure, it's a hackjob, but what else are you going to do without tools? Now, if Scott doesn't move for a while, Kevin might be able to find something to bind him up with, and if his former master doesn't move, it might even help. Otherwise, the poor bastard is still in quite a sad state.
Under a glass ceiling...
Mark, after trying to figure a way out of here, realizes that he doesn't really need to. All he needs is divination!
He throws the five dice on the ground and looks at the result.
Okay, so it's... "YOU", "ARE", "SCREWED", "INDUBITABLY" and "SO". Oh dear, that doesn't sound good.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund tells himself to man up. It's just some crossroads. He's had worse things come his way.
Overcoming his indecision, he takes a step forward! The ground, fortunately, doesn't collapse under his feet. It's still spinning around wildly, though.
On the deck of an old galley...
Morton, not a big fan of this music the youth probably enjoy, covers his ears.
"Oh dear, whatever is that dreadful noise?"
Unfortunately, nobody around seems keen to reveal the truth! As he backs away from the ship, he makes with the polite asking again.
"Please, voice, I beseech of you to quiet down a little? Please? Maybe just a bit?"
Oddly enough, as he steps off the boat, the screeching stops entirely. There's clearly something wrong on that ship, though it's difficult to guess what exactly.
Post by: Xantalos on April 30, 2013, 02:26:42 pm
Look for kitchen. FURIOUSLY.
Post by: Tomcost on April 30, 2013, 02:30:51 pm
(Damned RNG))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 30, 2013, 02:48:57 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 01, 2013, 03:04:10 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 01, 2013, 03:10:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 01, 2013, 03:55:37 am
Niklas realizes that he can't find his kitchen! He feels rage overcome him! No house is complete without a kitchen! He will tear this place apart if he-
Hey, wait, there's a kitchen over there. Not his kitchen, certainly, but some sort of kitchen. There is a wood-burning stove, a varied set of implements for preparing food and even some kind of tall and wide box propped up against a wall. Opening it up, Niklas is hit with a wave of cold air and the scent of fresh food. This cold-box seems to be full of delicious vittles! How strange! Don't they know that food must be kept in dark, warm places so that fermentation and fungal enrichment occurs? Honestly, such barbaric culinary practices in this part of the world.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund tries to find a way out of this vile, confusing place!
He stumbles forth, closing his eyes and fighting off the unnecessary impulse to breathe deep. He walks forward for a bit, then opens his eyes. Ah, straight streets ahead. He runs on them until he reaches the outskirts of the town. After a short bit of running, he finally reaches what he thinks might be the home of the Artiste! It's certainly altered and weird-looking enough to qualify.
Nobody around here, looks like. Though there is the unmistakable sound of Niklas doing something inside. Something doubtlessly unsavory.
At a shrieking galley...
Morton, deciding to test the galley's capabilities, places his foot on the ship.
However, this time there's nothing. Morton looks around curiously.
"GOING TO BE THAT WAY... are we? WHAT IS IT YOU WANT?"
The voice does not seem satisfied. Not at all.
At a tightly locked building...
As Scott lies still like a good patient, the good skeletal doctor Kevin goes to look for some kind of pole and rope to attach to his former master to prevent more trauma.
Luckily, the steel bars used to lock down this house seem to have been recently added to it, as there are still lots of leftovers placed in a pile next to it. Kevin picks up some of the bars, then nabs some handy rope placed on the nearby dock and proceeds to try and heal his former master.
[Medicine roll: 2+1]
He sort of ties a metal pole to the zombie's spine. It's difficult to say whether it will work or not, but hey, only one way to find out.
Post by: Xantalos on May 01, 2013, 04:03:50 am
Take food out of icebox. Lift up icebox. Place food under icebox. Put icebox on top of food.
Reorganize kitchen in this fashion.
Post by: miauw62 on May 01, 2013, 04:21:35 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 01, 2013, 04:39:39 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 01, 2013, 07:49:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 01, 2013, 08:44:14 am
-Are you trapped down there? If you need help, just nod and I will see what I can do.
He then remembered that the fungus was quite dangerous, and said:
-But, before helping you, can you tell if that thing growing on you is ready to launch those spores? After all, it is like a part of your body now.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 01, 2013, 12:01:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 01, 2013, 02:51:58 pm
Niklas shakes his head at this inefficient layout. Perfectly awful, it is. He takes all of the food out and puts it on the ground. He then tries to lift the box.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He lifts it right up, then smashes it down on the food. There, perfect!
At the bottom of a glass prison...
Mark, seeing how divination has failed him, looks about for something that could potentially be used as a weapon. He finds a lamp. That's kind of a weapon. Not the sort of thing you could smash glass with, but a rather solid lighting fixture nonetheless.
He is about to consider more, but he is interrupted by somebody shouting above him. Hey, it's funny-name-guy. What was his name? Zee... no. Seph.... nah. Oh, right, Sigmund!
"Are you trapped down there? If you need help, just nod and I will see what I can do!"
The guy seems to consider something.
"But, before helping you, can you tell if that thing growing on you is ready to launch those spores? After all, it is like a part of your body now."
It's always conditional, isn't it?
At a house near the harbor of Shriekpot...
Kevin shakes Scott a bit.
[Scott endurance roll: 2]
Oh dear, something's certainly moving in a most unfortunate manner in there. Oh well, beyond the scope of his knowledge. Kevin leaves the paralyzed zombie on the ground, running off to join his other companion on the ship.
Scott tries to get up.
[Endurance roll: 3]
Midway through, he realizes that it's probably not a good idea. Bugger.
At a strange ship...
Morton figures he'd best keep the voice talking. At least that way it's not shrieking. Much.
"A-ah, oh dear, well dreadfully sorry sir or madam to be bothering you, I-I was just curious as to if this wonderfully quaint ship was up to taking some p-passengers to far away lands, c-captain willing that is."
"THE CAPTAIN... is unwilling."
Morton looks at Kevin, who appears to have joined him. Hm.
Suddenly, the shrieking resumes, though it's rather quiet this time around. Morton still finds it quite uncomfortable. Kevin, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care particularly.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 01, 2013, 03:01:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 01, 2013, 03:06:22 pm
Morton tries to make the voice reconsider!
"A-are you sure? I-I'm sure my m-master can come up with something to pay you, i-if we could perhaps work out a price maybe? No?"
The shrieking stops.
"I'M DEAD! What would I DO with MONEY? OR PHYSICAL GOODS, FOR THAT MATTER?"
Post by: Xanmyral on May 01, 2013, 04:20:53 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 01, 2013, 07:26:01 pm
Niklas tests out his kitchen by gargleblasting a frankenfurter while idly wonderig what it was that the demon guy told him to do.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 01, 2013, 07:51:01 pm
"Yes, that's good. So, you're one of the mages then?"
Post by: killerhellhound on May 01, 2013, 09:07:49 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 02, 2013, 01:55:07 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 02, 2013, 03:48:01 am
Scott will crawl around town and seek professional help.I'll be there soon
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2013, 09:17:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 02, 2013, 09:32:09 am
Morton, having found a willing ear, proceeds to make some reasonable offers and judgments.
"W-Well, what w-would you want t-then? If my n-newfound master h-has people who can turn others into b-blankets and mansions into s-stone egg shaped buildings, surely h-he can do s-something to h-help or get you w-whatever you m-might want. B-besides, what a-are you doing here i-if just s-sitting? W-why not just g-go somewhere and do t-things? I-I'm quite happy to be b-back alive and I wish to view the w-world, we're given a u-unique second chance! I d-don't intend to mope about having died, t-there's things to see, people to talk to, tea to be had!"
"HMMM.... What WOULD I want? WHAT would I want? What would I WANT?"
The subtle hum of a spirit's thought process emanates from the ship, with several ghostly oohs and ahs accompanying
"HOW ABOUT GIVING THIS SHIP A MAKEOVER? IT, as I'm sure you KNOW, DESPERATELY NEEDS ONE! THING'S BLOODY ANCIENT! OOH, AND A MAKEOVER FOR ME AS WELL! I look SO unfashionable NOW!"
In the home of the Artiste...
Niklas figures he'll give the kitchen a test. He slightly moves the icebox, grabbing a handful of mashed produce of unknown origin and proceeds to gargleblast it most intensely. Nobody is hurt in the process, surprisingly.
As he performs his unholy rite, the barbarian chef considers what his objective might have been. He comes to the conclusion that it probably involved horseflesh to some degree or another. Otherwise, why would he be the one chosen to perform this task?
Meanwhile, down below, Mark checks how explosively fertile and ready to multiply his mushrooms are.
After a brief look, he concludes that they're not quite ripe yet. That's kind of good. He gives Sigmund the all-clear.
Sigmund nods and goes to look for some blunt objects. Unfortunately, there aren't many around. At least not any that would help him break a sheet of glass a foot thick.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren smiles a rather smallish smile at the dog's peace offering.
"Yes, that's good. So, you're one of the mages then?"
[Opposed Strength: Man vs. Shingle Hand: 5+1 vs. 6+2]
Something stirs under the shingle hand, but nothing really comes out. Darren can hear something, though. It's a bit muffled by his shingle construct, but audible enough.
"Not exactly. Master here is. And Lucy. Wherever she is. But my name is Colin Burmont, Monster-Hunter Extraordinaire! Perhaps you've heard of me? It's not often that a creature such as yourself escapes my grasp."
"Yes, indeed. The Master. And you? Not competing. Cannot win. Why here?"
Back in Shriekpot...
Scott, being completely and utterly abandoned by his most trusted ex-servant, tries to help himself. There has to be some kind of doctor around!
He crawls and he crawls, finding out that this street certainly doesn't have any professional ones in ready availability. Dang!
Post by: killerhellhound on May 02, 2013, 09:56:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2013, 10:00:50 am
-Would you mind helping me with something inside? I just need you to stand and put pressure in a floor.
Post by: miauw62 on May 02, 2013, 11:24:25 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 02, 2013, 11:32:44 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 02, 2013, 11:59:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 02, 2013, 01:53:49 pm
Mark looks for any means of escape, being quite desperate at this point.
Well... the wall is made of dirt rather than stone. Or, to be precise, the wall beneath glass level is made of dirt. Above it is just stone and steel.
Meanwhile, Sigmund goes outside to find the wyvern. He looks around, then whistles for it. Nothing. Huh. Where did Niklas park that thing?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton considers the ship-ghost's offer.
"Wel-" he begins, but is interrupted by Kevin handing him his trusty (though untested) sniper crossbow. Um, okay.
[Kevin goofing roll: 1+1]
Kevin then stands grimly, his stature exuding the essence of gravity and utmost seriousness. He crosses his arms and stands standoffishly, his posture emitting a healthy dose of uncaring cool. The silence on the ship is deafening.
Post by: miauw62 on May 02, 2013, 02:06:56 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 02, 2013, 02:25:31 pm
Niklas goes horse hunting.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 02, 2013, 02:43:22 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 02, 2013, 03:18:05 pm
metal hands of diggy diggy hole http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR7EAdPUqvQ (http://diggy diggy hole http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR7EAdPUqvQ) dig to the surface
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on May 02, 2013, 03:27:25 pm
Spoiler: URLs 101 (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 02, 2013, 06:16:50 pm
Lift the shingle hand a little and get into cover atop the roof.
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2013, 07:30:32 pm
-Did you leave that wyrm outside? You shouldn't leave it without proper vigilance, as we aren't able to control it any more. Well, at least that was what the mages said.
Post by: Xantalos on May 02, 2013, 07:33:30 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2013, 07:37:09 pm
-Yes, I guess that we can do that to spend some time, but, I have to ask for the motives for such unusual task. Or did you just got an inspiration for your next dish?
Post by: Xantalos on May 02, 2013, 07:41:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2013, 07:43:24 pm
-I see. Well, lets go horse hunting then, I'll follow you.
Sigmund follows Niklas
Post by: killerhellhound on May 03, 2013, 12:08:36 am
thanksSpoiler: URLs 101 (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 03, 2013, 12:51:11 am
Kevin tries to utilize his previous grimness as the perfect intro for assured hilarity.
[Hilarity roll: 5+1]
He then launches into a silly dance out of the blue, cartwheeling around and performing strange leaps all around the deck, then demonstrating his amateur contortionist routine that he never got the chance to try out! Fortunately, no jokes about excretion are featured on this show, though it's not due to lack of trying. Kevin even grabs Morton at one point, dancing around on the deck with the undead butler in a deliberately farcical imitation of the waltz. The voice giggles a bit at that last bit.
"AS AMUSING as this may BE, DO WE HAVE A DEAL YET?"
In the home of the Artiste...
Niklas thinks that there's probably no sense in dilly-dallying anymore and gets back to his main objective - the obtaining of tasty horseflesh! He is, however, stopped by a concerned Sigmund on the way.
"Did you leave that wyrm outside? You shouldn't leave it without proper vigilance, as we aren't able to control it any more. Well, at least that was what the mages said."
"The dragon? I do not know where it went. I'm going horse-hunting, do you wish to join me?"
Sigmund would be slightly taken aback by such a question, but, then again, this is Niklas.
"Yes, I guess that we can do that to spend some time, but I have to ask for the motives for such unusual task. Or did you just get an inspiration for your next dish?"
"I need some horse flesh as a garnish."
Well, that explains that.
"I see. Well, lets go horse hunting then, I'll follow you."
And they do, heading out into the dark woods to find some horses. After about two hours of wandering, they come upon a sight. A herd of horses, snow-white in color, standing around unsuspectingly and chewing on the undergrowth.
The mother lode.
Meanwhile, the totally abandoned Mark goes about the task of getting himself out of this horrid hole.
[Digging roll: 1]
He starts digging, getting some two meters ahead, but then his hand touches something. Something soft and hairy. Something highly mobile. It rapidly skips away, and Mark hears the sound of many screeches from farther away, then the sound of collapsing dirt.
Damn it, he's got neighbors.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott realizes that there's probably no point in looking for a doctor, as he is probably beyond help from such an individual. Better find a mortician or something. Preferably a curious one.
Unfortunately, those also seem to be in short supply in this part of town. Scott blames the lateness of the hour.
In an alley in Emlocke...
Darren goes ahead with the introductions.
"Uh... I don't really know. I guess because I've got nothing better to do. My band dissolved, and I doubt I'd be welcomed back home, so I've been just sort of waiting around. Oh, and my name is Darren. Undead magician. Oh, and can we stop trying to kill me?"
"Of course. We'll stop. Pointless, anyway. Save strength. Few left. Two more. I sense."
"Excuse me, but could you lift this hand off me?"
Darren looks over at the hand.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
He lifts it a tiny bit, relaxing its hold on the man.
[Opposed Strength: Man vs. Shingle Hand: 3+1 vs. 2+1]
The man manages to lift it up a bit on his own, slowly getting out from underneath it and standing up.
Post by: Xantalos on May 03, 2013, 12:56:50 am
Put away my meat cleaver and equip myself with 2 RDS knives.
Try to sneak up on a horse at the edge of the pack.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 01:51:09 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 03, 2013, 03:11:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2013, 09:11:48 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 03, 2013, 10:37:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 03, 2013, 10:51:00 am
If Niklas was in the habit of breathing, his breath would certainly be taken at this sight. He is so moved that he can't help but put away his meat cleaver.
Of course, he draws his knives immediately afterwards, but it's the spirit of the thing. He attempts to sneak on over to the horses.
Sigmund asks the man whether he'd like to hand over some of his knives, but Niklas does not answer. He is a man with a mission.
[Niklas' Stealth vs. Horses' Perception: 5 vs. 2]
He, drawing upon the fell power usually reserved for his arch-enemy, skulks toward the horses with uncharacteristic subtlety, moving like a shadow of a ghost. He goes right up to one horse at the edge of the pack. His knives make a light swishing sound as they cleave the air.
[Niklas vs. Horse: 3+2 vs. 3-1]
Though he is regrettably unsuccessful at removing the horse's head entirely, its trachea is neatly severed, and several of its major blood vessels are sliced open. The horse bleeds immensely, twitching as Niklas' blades nearly behead it from two sides at once like some kind of infernal scissors.
[Horse endurance roll: 2]
The horse makes only a slight choking sound as its body falls to the ground, its lifeblood pooling beneath it. The rest of the horses turn their heads, see their fellow equine felled and immediately start galloping away, not having expected a naked, steel-horned predator with bladed hands to come along and murder their herd.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, getting his bearings and composing himself, answers the voice's question. Kevin, beaming proudly at his breaking of the ice, takes the sniper crossbow back and sits down on a barrel.
"Well, I don't believe that to be out of reach. Our master managed to turn a cosy and quaint mansion into a giant stone... thing, I'm not really sure what it is to be utterly concise. I'm not sure where he got the stone, nor how he did it so quickly considering I don't think we were gone for more than an hour or a few, but the ability to do such must be a marvelous one. If such is plausible, then surely our kind master can easily make this ship into whatever your heart desires it to look like, possibly yourself as well! Although I'm not sure where you are however, as I'd offer to shake your hand in confirmation of this most agreeable deal. But yes, this would be a splendidly acceptable deal, our master will be happy to do these tasks in exchange for voyage."
He glances around the deck, still quite unclear on where exactly the voice is coming from.
"VERY WELL! Give my SHIP a MAKEOVER, make me FASHIONABLE AND RESPECTABLE, and WE HAVE A DEAL!"
How wonderful!
In a slightly less wonderful part of Shriekpot...
Scott supposes he has no choice. Time to get back to the master-guy.
[Crawling roll: 4]
He gets into a fairly good tempo with his hands, crawling back to the house in no more than three hours! That must be some kind of record! He crawls inside, then looks up.
Oh, right. Stairs. This'll be fun.
[Strength roll: 5+1]
He grabs onto the railing, using only his arms to get himself up to his master's level. Unluckily for him, the fellow looks to still be asleep.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 03, 2013, 11:23:08 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 03, 2013, 11:36:11 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 11:47:42 am
[Best deal is a free deal! Although I give it a five to one chance that once we get there Artiste is just going to soul bind the poor ghost captain instead of actually fulfilling his/her demands.]
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2013, 12:03:29 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 12:06:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 03, 2013, 12:11:52 pm
- I see that you have everything under control here. I have to say that what you did was impressive. So, what now, do we take this to the kitchen so that you can cook it?
Sigmund helps Niklas to carry the dead horse back to the house (if he wants to do so)
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2013, 12:30:11 pm
[Also forgot to say, Tomfoolery confirmed for best ability.]((No problemo))
Post by: Xantalos on May 03, 2013, 01:41:59 pm
Bring horse corpse back to kitchen. Accept help.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 03, 2013, 02:22:02 pm
Mark, unwilling to disturb the mysterious tunneling creatures living around him, elects to punch the glass. A lot.
[Mark vs. Glass: 5 vs. 3]
Mark, winding up his fungus-covered metal fist, punches the glass ceiling of his prison most fiercely! It's definitely cracked rather badly by the impact, but it's not quite broken yet.
[Mark vs. Glass: 5 vs. 3-1]
The cracks deepen noticeably with the second punch, spreading along the entire ceiling of the room.
[Mark vs. Glass: 3 vs. 2-2]
The glass is punched one last time by Mark, and some large pieces of it fall out! Mark gets to climbing.
[Climbing roll: 1+1]
He grabs onto a bit of glass, but it breaks off immediately, making Mark land on his fungus-infested pelvis.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, Scott wisely decides to pester one of the other fiendish muppets rather than the one that can make him commit suicide with a word. His best candidate is probably the lady who turned Gary into a bedsheet, as sad as that sounds in Scott's head. He crawls over to her quarters.
Fortunately, she is currently up, unlike the boss. Scott pulls his shattered carcass over to her and pulls on her robe.
"Help me, help me, HELP ME! HELP ME NOW!"
She glances over at Scott.
"Damn, ya sure don't waste any time, do ya? Broken to bits within a day. Still, I'll help ya, sure."
[Erin magic roll: 5]
The woman points a finger at Scott, closes her eyes and begins to chant. Scott feels his spine realign itself, absorbing the steel bar into his body, the metal joining with his spinal column and dispersing evenly throughout his skeleton! It doesn't seem like enough to provide much of a tangible benefit, but it certainly seems to allow him to walk again! Also, there is now an odd feeling of freshness he hasn't felt in quite a long time.
"There! All done. Stay away from trouble now, ya hear?"
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton claps his hands in joy and wonderment. A free ride, oh yeah!
"Wonderful! I'll report to my master at once, and we'll be back soon to give this ship a good once over to your specifications! Thank you again, esteemed captain, I shall return swiftly, yes, I shall!"
And he does, Kevin following closely behind, not devoting a single thought to his gravely injured master who has presumably found a comfortable gutter to gruesomely expire in by this point. The two undead quickly return to the home of the Artiste, ascending the gangplank to the interior.
Ah, feels good to achieve at last!
In a formerly horse-infested clearing...
Niklas and Sigmund both stand over the corpse of the recently murdered horse.
"I see that you have everything under control here. I have to say that what you did was impressive. So, what now, do we take this to the kitchen so that you can cook it?"
"All right. Let's bring this baby back."
And they do! Utilizing the hideous undead strength both of them possess at the moment, they easily haul the horse back to the Artiste's house, depositing it in the kitchen. All in a day's work for the consummate cook.
Post by: Xantalos on May 03, 2013, 02:30:03 pm
Fillet horse using knives. Grab random bits of food, yell out name, toss in horse chest cavity. Retrieve wooden spoon, mix to make soup in chest cavity. Sprinkle with horse guts.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 02:33:40 pm
Carter moved over to the edge to try and see what is down there. Seeing the strange tree-headed, and now also fungal covered, metal skeleton on his posterior, he calls down to him. "Hello down there fellow second-chancer, would you like some assistance in your ascent?"
If the skeleton complies, he holds out his brass fire poker for the skeleton to grab onto, and attempts to heave him on the main floor.
Post by: Tomcost on May 03, 2013, 04:58:17 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 05:54:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 03, 2013, 05:55:15 pm
[I think so, funnily enough. Scott, Morton, Kevin, Mark are there. If you guys are heading back, then yeah, that's everyone but the ghost.](We are back. I'm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2013, 05:56:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 03, 2013, 06:14:31 pm
[Then everyone is indeed at the house, sans the ghost guy who's busy being a ghost and doing stuff with shingles and that other dude with the dog.](I may wander off at some point in the future, but only maybe.)
Post by: killerhellhound on May 04, 2013, 12:03:37 am
takeing the ofred poker and getting out of the pit Mark nodding in thanks to the kind helper
he then decided to explore the town maybe he would get to practice !!MEDICINE!!
Post by: Innsmothe on May 04, 2013, 02:38:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 04, 2013, 03:02:17 am
Niklas, sensing that his ultimate goal is in sight, goes on to explore new horizons in the culinary arts - making food inside an animal!
[Cooking roll: 3+1]
After cutting out some choice cuts of horse fillet, he opens up the creature's chest cavity! He then grabs random bits of food.
"Smashed greenish goo!" he yells, throwing a handful of said substance into the horse's lung.
"Possibly a tomato!" he says, dropping a reddish clump of something on top of the goo.
"I'm not entirely sure!" he screams, hurling something ineffably yellowish and hardened forcefully into the mixture.
"Cinnamon!" he bellows, finally having found and deployed something recognizable. However, the mixture is still missing a few things. He furiously shreds the horse's colon, taking a handful of colon bits into his large, powerful hands.
"HORSE COLON!" he proclaims with the power of a raging thunderstorm.
He then retrieves a wooden spoon and resolutely and furiously mixes the ingredients together, not stopping until a somewhat innocuous-looking (considering the process, anyway), rather foamy, creamy and greenish-brown mixture results. Sigmund, standing in the corner and watching Niklas work, realizes that not letting his jaw drop was probably a wise choice. Something might have flown in.
Outside the kitchen, something decidedly less morally ambiguous is happening. Morton, noticing what has happened to the interior to the house, involuntarily poses a rhetorical question.
"Oh dear, what has happened here?"
He notices the hole in the floor. Beneath it is some kind of mushroom covered metal tree person. Oh, right, that guy. Better help him or something.
"Hello down there fellow second-chancer, would you like some assistance in your ascent?"
He moves to the edge of the hole, assuming that the skeleton wouldn't want to be imprisoned regardless of any other gestures.
[Glass stability roll: 2]
[Morton quick movement roll: 4-1]
As he moves closer to the hole, a bit of the floor gives way, and Morton stumbles back, now sitting precariously on the cracked edge of the hole. Oh dear. What now?
"HORSE COLON!"
Morton can't help but agree.
Meanwhile, upstairs Scott relates the information about the magnificent ship he found!
"You see, there was this flying ship, and it hovered around, and then there was this captain, and he was kind of nice, and the inside of the ship - gosh, you should have seen it. Absolutely marvelous!"
She smiles at Scott excitedly.
"Cool! A flying ship! We should ride on that!"
"HORSE COLON!" comes a scream from downstairs. The woman looks in the direction it came from.
"That's strange. I thought I soundproofed the kitchen."
Post by: Xantalos on May 04, 2013, 03:14:45 am
Now: Post cooking test!
Retrieve a random fork or spoon or something. Dip in mixture to see if it's corrosive.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 04, 2013, 07:24:13 am
*Sigh*
*hugs Gary*
"We don't want the master choking and ordering us to our doom now do we?" He exclaims at no one in particular.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 04, 2013, 07:56:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 04, 2013, 09:55:31 am
-You should not see what is happening inside. Seriously.
He then realized that the fellow had a kind of misadventure while he was away:
-Oh, what has happened to you? You certainly don't look very well, with all those broken bones. Well, at least you can walk. Did that happen when you were looking for a ship for our new master?
Post by: Xanmyral on May 04, 2013, 10:37:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 04, 2013, 10:59:12 am
Niklas positively evaluates his piece of work, then tests its corrosive potential with a metal spoon.
Unfortunately, it is not corrosive in the least. Probably because it's made of items largely resembling food. Oh well. Maybe this isn't the silliest brew he's ever done.
Sigmund might disagree, but, then again, he's not really all that familiar with Niklas' body of work. He decides to head out of the kitchen and look for adventure.
Instead, he finds Scott cradling his sheet-husband and purposefully making his way to the kitchen. Rather than risk the corruption of yet another impressionable mind, he stops the fellow.
"You should not see what is happening inside. Seriously."
He looks over Scott. He could swear something is different about him, but he isn't sure what exactly. His limbs are perfectly fine. He looks just as insane as last time. Maybe it's the fact he doesn't smell like damp, well-heated morgue anymore?
Next to a hole in a glass prison...
As Mark tries to get out, Morton attempts to find a less precarious position himself.
[Careful movement roll: 1]
He spends a minute thinking on how best to get safely off this edge. Realizing that there is no such way, he completely flips out, his perch breaking off from the floor and sending him to Mark's prison. Mark shakes his tree in disappointment, then tries to get out by himself.
[Mark climbing roll: 4+1]
He grabs onto the side of the glass ceiling and carefully climbs up to the first floor!
[Glass stability roll: 6]
Due to his extreme care in doing this, the glass is completely unharmed in the process. Hooray! He has saved himself! Mark does a victory lap around the glass prison, the fungus on his body quivering excitedly as he does this. After this, he runs right out of the door, leaving Morton sad and alone at the bottom of the pit.
But who cares about him. Mark can now wreak havoc on a town! He runs right over to Shriekpot, taking in the sight of the port town as dawn grows ever closer.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 04, 2013, 11:09:34 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 04, 2013, 12:38:41 pm
Sigmund asked Scott:
-Any news about the master's orders? I have been looking through some ships, but I haven't found anything worthwhile, or at least that deserves the payment. How about you?
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 04, 2013, 01:45:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 04, 2013, 02:38:16 pm
Morton, upon analyzing his situation, realizes two things. Firstly, he must dust his livery.
When he is done with that, he gets to the second bit - he must get out! He must climb, climb like an ape!
[Climbing roll: 4]
He grabs onto the glass edge and climbs up, balancing precariously on the brink of the pit. Like any undead, he balances precariously on the edge of the grave, making damn sure not to fall in again!
[Glass stability roll: 2]
Oh dear. That previous fellow must have destabilized it somewhat. Quick, jump for freedom! Jump away from the grave! Stay away from the light!
[Quick movement roll: 2-1]
Morton does not manage to jump for freedom. He accidentally jumps backwards, in fact, landing on his behind in the pit very much like the pit's previous inhabitant. Bugger.
Outside the kitchen in the home of the Artiste...
While the chef gets up to who-knows-what in the kitchen, Sigmund engages Scott in some conversation.
"Any news about the master's orders? I have been looking through some ships, but I haven't found anything worthwhile, or at least that deserves the payment. How about you?"
Scott kind of shrugs and mutters something about flying hoverboats of glory.
Back in an alley in scenic, exploded Emlocke...
Darren, now totally directionless and lost in life, keeps the conversation moving along. It's all he's got now, really.
"Sorry, sorry. So, are you two going to go hunt down the rest of the mages?"
"Yes, indeed. Two left."
The man, having safely squirmed out of the shingle hand's grasp, directs his attention to Darren as well.
"Thank you, fine sir. Now, how would you like to join me? I could use another magic-user. One who isn't confined to conjuring blades."
These mages sure are recruitment-inclined. It seems like all they do is recruit, recruit, recruit.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 04, 2013, 03:02:21 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 04, 2013, 06:37:24 pm
Put soup in pot, dispense soup to everyone in the house.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 04, 2013, 07:43:44 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 04, 2013, 10:43:23 pm
so he leaps into the salt water sea to try to kill the mushrooms (the tree would be fine because its bigger and would need much more salt to kill it)
Post by: Innsmothe on May 05, 2013, 03:28:10 am
His designs are to increase the strength and lethality of the oganisms inhabiting his flesh.
If time he would like to store vials of the things in a concentrated solution, and possibly able to produce one vial of an aerosol variety.
Post by: Tomcost on May 05, 2013, 09:01:21 am
-What's happened here? Wasn't that tree-headed guy down there? Well, at least the glass is already broken, so you shouldn't find any problems to get out. Have you tried to use that chair down there to help you to climb?
Post by: miauw62 on May 05, 2013, 09:35:46 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 05, 2013, 09:42:10 am
-So you acquired a fine weapon for yourself. It seems as a rather good one, actually. Have you used it yet?
Post by: miauw62 on May 05, 2013, 09:43:37 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 05, 2013, 10:09:38 am
-Well, maybe I can find an opportunity for you to test it. I don't know if you have been looking for ships, but I have, and there is something we need: money. I found an impressive mansion in Shriekpot, which should be overflowed with valuable objects. My idea is to get in there offering Niklas services as a cook and ask a retribution for them, or maybe rob whoever lives inside. But, if things go wrong, you could provide support from affar. You would certainly be a valuable asset in such a situation.
Sigmund makes a pause to see how the jester reacts. Ther adds:
-On the other hand, considering your profession, you could just do a show. It's up to you.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 05, 2013, 10:24:26 am
Morton is in quite a bit of trouble here. He sighs.
"Bother."
He dusts himself off again and musters his optimism, the only completely renewable resource in the universe.
"Right, second time's the charm as they say."
The butler tries to climb upwards once more.
[Climbing roll: 6]
He leaps upward, then pulls himself over the edge rapidly, rolling along the glass floor as quickly as he can!
[Glass stability roll: 2]
Unsurprisingly, the glass tries to break on him again!
[Morton quick movement roll: 3-1]
[Kevin helpfulness roll: 4]
Morton is about to fall in the pit, but then along comes Kevin, grabbing his hand and pulling the fellow away! Morton is handily taken over to the
[Kevin strength roll: 5]
He pulls the butler out of what was probably sure to be a humiliating cycle of failure, both of them quickly finding themselves at the edge of the pit. This comes as displeasing news to Sigmund, who was fully intending to come to Morton's aid (that is to say, loom over the hole in the floor in a helpful fashion) with his own unquestionably helpful advice. Oh well. Better make idle conversation. He walks up to Kevin and publically admires his weapon.
"So you acquired a fine weapon for yourself. It seems as a rather good one, actually. Have you used it yet?"
Kevin shakes his head negatively, as shrugging would probably be an inappropriate answer in this situation. But it's certainly tempting! Sigmund smiles at him.
"Well, maybe I can find an opportunity for you to test it. I don't know if you have been looking for ships, but I have, and there is something we need: money. I found an impressive mansion in Shriekpot, which should be overflowed with valuable objects. My idea is to get in there offering Niklas services as a cook and ask a retribution for them, or maybe rob whoever lives inside. But, if things go wrong, you could provide support from afar. You would certainly be a valuable asset in such a situation."
Sigmund makes a pause to see how the jester reacts. Then he realizes that skeleton's aren't capable of emoting a whole lot without looking utterly daft in the process and continues.
"On the other hand, considering your profession, you could just do a show. It's up to you."
In the kitchen of the Artiste...
Niklas quickly empties the horse lung into a conveniently located pot, then runs off to dispense soup to everyone.
As he exits the kitchen and walks over to Sigmund, he realizes he has no spoons or bowls to force people to eat it with. Hm.
Meanwhile, Scott tries to make himself more virulent somehow! To this end, he enters the kitchen and tries to fix himself up some nasty pestilence. Shouldn't be too difficult. After all, Niklas does it all the time.
However, there's a bit of a problem with this idea. For one, he has no real tools. Two, he has no way of seeing if it's worked without harming people he literally cannot harm at the moment. Three, it seems that his skin is unusually clean, not to mention that it smells faintly of flowers. He might not be quite as virulent as he used to be.
But damn it all if he's not going to try anyway! He smears himself in readily available horse innards, hoping that the power of the nutrients contained within them will help cultivate a healthy bit of deadly organisms within him. After all, horses eat grass, which is known to be full of rotten little blighters you're best off avoiding. Or so Scott hopes, anyway. He even sticks some down his mouth, not one to neglect the state of his inner microflora.
Now all that's left to do is wait. Several days, probably.
Back in an alley in Emlocke...
Darren figures he'll accept. But only on one condition.
"Uhh, sure. But, as long as we don't kill, right? I mean, if there's only two left, we can just knock them unconscious, right?"
The man looks at Darren strangely for half a second, replying almost immediately afterward.
"Er... suuuure. You can knock them unconscious if you so please."
The dog throws an odd glance toward the man, then looks at Darren expectantly.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark realizes that people are unlikely to trust him with their bodies not because of his unusual appearance, but probably due to the murderous fungus on his body. So he's going to have to get rid of that. He leaps right off a handy pier into the deep sea!
Man, this water is saline like nobody's business. As Mark sinks to the bottom he contemplates the fundamental truths of life.
Like the fact that neither the fungus nor his leaves seem to be particularly keen on shriveling up and dying despite this being extremely salty water. What gives? Do your thing, osmosis!
Post by: Xanmyral on May 05, 2013, 10:41:19 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 05, 2013, 11:24:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 05, 2013, 11:50:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 05, 2013, 12:01:11 pm
-Well, it seems that Morton managed to acquire a ship without paying, so, maybe we aren't going to need to do what I planned. Anyway, good luck with your bussiness!
He then, bored, went to wander the town seeking something to do. Or people to rob.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 05, 2013, 01:19:29 pm
Morton, rescued from his state of distress, thanks his brave savior in a somewhat backhanded fashion.
"Ah, thank you, grand jester. Was afraid that the second time may not of been the charm, but the third try would of gotten me out of there assuredly... or at least enough of the glass would of fallen away that it no longer had problems of breaking on me."
Having delivered these words of kinda-thanks, he bows to Kevin, who appears to be a bit busy blowing off the vampire guy to graciously accept his well-phrased words of gratitude. No matter!
"Right, now what was I doing... what was I... oh yes! We managed to locate a ship for no monetary cost! Is the master or his living entourage awake? Hm... suppose I should check myself."
And with that, he goes upstairs to do a sleepyhead count along with his jester companion. However, he is rudely interrupted by the Artiste at the top of the stairs, wide awake and visibly joyful.
"Good morning, teamaster! I must say, I might get used to this 'sleeping' thing. Best I've felt in forever! My, but I could crush the world and everything in it with how I'm feeling right now... not literally, of course. Not that I would have any inclination to do so, naturally. So, how was your night, dear fellow?"
Morton takes a look around. It looks like only the one that turned Master Gary into a blanket is presently awake. One of the other people is stirring - the brightly-robed guy, looks like - but the last two are sound asleep. The unpleasant-looking man in particular seems to be snoring loudly.
Meanwhile, Sigmund comes to terms with rejection and puts on a pleasant look.
"Well, it seems that Morton managed to acquire a ship without paying, so, maybe we aren't going to need to do what I planned. Anyway, good luck with your business!"
He, having lost any particular reason to remain here, heads out to Shriekpot, looking for something worthy of thievery. After a bit of searching, he comes upon some sort of store, judging by the look of the building. The sign in front of it seems to have the image of a book carved into it, with the words "Brenwicke's Books Of All Matters Mundane And Spheres Supernatural". Seems like a decent enough place, if you're into that kind of thing, Sigmund supposes.
In the sea near Shriekpot...
Mark moves toward the coast. Fortunately, it is not all that difficult to reach, as this part of Shriekpot does not feature wharfs quite as extensive as you might find closer to the peninsula's tip. His head safely re-emerges from the water.
[Tree endurance roll: 5]
[Fungus endurance roll: 3-1]
Fortunately, the fungus seems to be dying off now. The mushrooms seem to be rather incapable of dealing with osmosis to such a degree.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 05, 2013, 01:43:11 pm
If none is available, He'll walk to the local apothecary.
Edit: Slice and dice Niklas and serve him as an entrée if he tries anything.
Post by: Tomcost on May 05, 2013, 03:30:42 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 05, 2013, 03:55:22 pm
Dump the soup pot on him.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 05, 2013, 07:03:00 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 05, 2013, 07:37:35 pm
(calling it now I'm going to die because my tree head died and I screw up the will save badly)
Post by: Xanmyral on May 05, 2013, 07:40:11 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 05, 2013, 08:37:57 pm
Look around for a mage.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 05, 2013, 09:11:38 pm
[I'm sure you'll be fine. Although you may want to think on finding pure water quickly to wash out the salt in the tree trunk.][there is a bar here achool will be fine]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 06, 2013, 01:15:43 am
Scott, his experiment still in progress, looks for a knife to further his own goals. He finds a kitchen knife easily enough. Not a ridiculously sharp one or anything, but a reasonably lethal kitchen knife no less. He then smears death paste all over it.
Then Niklas dumps a pot of soup all over him, washing off most of the horse innards he worked so hard to put on! Damn it all, you're going to pay for this, you weirdo!
[Scott vs. Niklas: 5+1 vs. 6]
As he swings the knife, Niklas takes a step back. How impolite! Niklas washed him and everything, not to mention prevented access to the eldritch mysteries falling under the purview of master chefs, and this is the thanks he gets?
At the storefront of Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund tries to enter the store as noiselessly as possible. However, the door is locked, as are the windows on the first floor. He isn't so sure about the upper two floors, though. Couldn't hurt to check.
Pretty well-secured bookstore, this place.
At the top floor of the Artiste's house...
Morton tries to quickly relay the information he possesses. He is not entirely successful.
"Ah, good morning master, I'm glad to hear that you slept well. Not used to sleeping though? I recall wasting many hours sleeping when I was yet still alive."
"Yes, but you've been a living human for far longer than I have."
"Ah, yes, sorry for drifting off topic there. Anyhow, the night fared me well, very well. Kevin and I managed to get into an agreement with a ship captain of a galley. They agreed to take us where we wished for no monetary cost, although they did wish us to change the look of both them self and their ship. Seeing how the cozy manor of my previous master is no longer standing here, instead this interesting structure of stone, I attributed it to no large task. I assume the captain to be undead however, ghost perhaps? They did mention being dead and how money no longer served them, but seeing as you don't mind the rest of us 'second-chancers' I didn't think this to be a problem."
"Indeed! Fine work... Morton, was it? I think it was Morton. I suppose those are agreeable enough terms. After all, we have Erin. I have confidence in her abilities!" he says, nodding at Erin. Erin smiles and waves back.
"So, no sense in fooling around."
He walks over to the sleeping woman and pokes her.
"Are you awake yet? Because you should be!"
She clearly isn't. Heavy sleeper, looks like.
"Ah. Well, then. Guess we'll wait for her to get up. No sense in having a grumpy, sleep-deprived mage running about destroying things, eh?"
In the sea next to Shriekpot...
Mark, confident that nothing can go wrong, waits in the sea for the fungus to die off completely.
[Tree endurance roll: 3]
[Fungus endurance roll: 5-2]
The mushrooms seem to be mostly gone. However, his leaves also seem to be in quite a sad state right now. They seem to be beginning to shrivel up.
In an alley in Emlocke...
Darren is content at the man's affirmative.
"Okay then, good."
He then begins to look for a mage around the area. The dog sniffs the air as it follows him, but says nothing.
After searching the neighborhood thoroughly, he comes to the conclusion that there aren't any mages here! In fact, it's possible that they never have been. He relays these troubling news to the dog.
"Yes, naturally. All dead. We eliminated. Now shush."
Sniffing the air and pointing its head in a certain direction, the dog heads that way, the man following it. Having very little better to do, Darren follows.
Soon enough, they come upon a curious scene. A woman covered from head to toe in heavy armor purposefully striding down a ruined street, shield and hammer in hand.
"That's one. Walking alone. Possibly unstable. Some knight."
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2013, 01:18:18 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 06, 2013, 01:24:37 am
Scott takes off the pot and throws it at Niklas
He then goes to find an Alchemist or apothecary in town to find the equipment to...enhance himself.
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2013, 01:26:10 am
Dodge/block pot. Evict this rabblerouser from my kitchen.
...
without injuring him.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 06, 2013, 01:46:29 am
who are you and what have you done to lovable crazy Xantalos
without injuring him.
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2013, 01:48:25 am
I would, but I'm under soulbind not to.who are you and what have you done to lovable crazy Xantalos
without injuring him.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 06, 2013, 02:30:45 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2013, 02:34:39 am
A little pot won;t hurt you. ::)It better not, or IIRC you'll get your soul oliterated or somesuch.
If I die as a result of this.
Probably not.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 06, 2013, 02:42:42 am
I forgot about thatI would, but I'm under soulbind not to.who are you and what have you done to lovable crazy Xantalos
without injuring him.
Post by: Tomcost on May 06, 2013, 08:38:40 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 06, 2013, 09:50:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 06, 2013, 03:39:24 pm
Niklas, not terribly impressed by the terribly indignated Scott's terribly inept swing, informs the fellow of certain truths he holds self-evident. As well as one particular truth he'd like to ascertain.
"Kitchen access is restricted. What you want?"
Scott just grumbles in his standard manner, taking off the pot currently on his head. He hurls it at Niklas!
[Scott vs. Niklas: 5-1 vs. 3+1]
As the pot sails toward Niklas' head, the chef swats it away with his powerful hand. Mere pots cannot harm a man of the kitchen! Mere men follow a similar principle, Niklas finds. He quickly pushes Scott out of the kitchen, who insists that he's going already, geez.
Speaking of going already, this is in fact what Scott does. He gets out, mounts his horse and rides off into the approaching dawn, reaching the town rather quickly. Now to find an apothecary or something.
After an hour of searching, he comes upon an interesting place - a gray stone temple, it seems. It's certainly not an alchemist's shop, but perhaps they have certain specialists within that could help him. There certainly don't seem to be any other places in town he could check.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund forms a quick plan. Quick plans are the best plans, as they require none of this elusive thing called 'patience'. This quick plan requires a stone.
Fortunately, there is a loose cobblestone right at his feet. Step one - complete. Now for step two. Sigmund throws the stone at the window, which proceeds to break rather easily before the mighty cobblestone's mass and velocity. Giggling wildly, Sigmund runs away.
When he figures the coast is clear, he comes back. Unfortunately, it is hardly clear - several armored people seem to be investigating the area. Bugger.
On the top floor of the Artiste's home...
Morton, having done his share of work for now, smalltalks his new master.
"Indeed sir, it is Morton. I... hm... I'm dreadfully sorry, Master, but I'm afraid I don't think I ever caught your name. Also, living human? I figured you all to be mages, am I mistaken?"
"Oh, you can call me the Artiste. I like that name. One of my best friends gave me that name. Well, more like inspired it, but still. Wonder what happened to him. Oh well. And yes, we are all mages of sorts - Erin's a transmuter-something-or-other, Evelyn modifies magic, Art and Bernie do necromancy and other odds and ends, while I can do spacewarping! It's rather neat, if I may say so myself. Got this body only yesterday, and already it's proven to be such great fun. Yay."
The Artiste raises his arms joyfully at that last word.
"But I do suppose you're wondering who I am really. It's true, I'm currently only manipulating this mortal body as part of an incredible stroke of luck on my part and a terrible bit of misfortune on the original owner's part. Took over his mind and imprisoned his very being into the Mental Department of Dirty Jokes. Mostly because it was the largest safe one. Now I'm riding in this sweet body with no internal force to really oppose me. Pretty great."
He looks over at the sleeping mages and continues at a slightly slower pace.
"As for what I am really, I don't think you really have a name for that. You know of the Five Gods, the ones that make the rules. You also probably know of demons, who follow said rules with reasonable enthusiasm, keeping everything as it should be, things coming and going as they're supposed to. I suppose you couldn't call me either of those - I haven't really had much of a hands-on approach in this setup since... well... ever. That's changing, though. This place turned out to be pretty fun, I must admit."
The robed man stares wistfully off into the distance, his speech trailing off into a bit of a mumble.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 06, 2013, 03:43:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 06, 2013, 05:20:54 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 06, 2013, 05:59:11 pm
Sigmund will try to leave the scene without being noticed. If it fails, he will resort to bluffing:
-The one you are looking for went in that direction [point away from the crime scene]. He is a short-haired tall guy. I can't recall the colout of his hair, as it was too dark, and ran when he saw me. I followed him some blocks, but I lost him when he entered an alley. Nevertheless, I feel more comfortable now that this vandalism act is being investigated by someone competent.
((I know beforehand how this will fail))
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2013, 06:12:11 pm
Soup? Food? (addressed to the Artiste/Morton, assuming they're by the kitchen.)
Post by: killerhellhound on May 06, 2013, 08:09:25 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 06, 2013, 08:43:06 pm
Howl and teleport all around her. Be super duper spooky.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 07, 2013, 07:58:44 am
Scott carefully walks into the temple, glad at not bursting into flames or something. He takes a look through the temple. Looks like a temple of Narcillicus, the Most Fetching of the Five, patron of beauty, art, elaborate crafts and all that is fragile.
Probably not really the best place for one such as him. Though there might be some artisan here to help him with something. Probably no virologists or microbiologists, though. That would be more Pacitarius' or Rysinia's domain. The temple itself looks pretty empty at present, and the main hall seems to be full of dropped food and spilled drink that nobody seems to have bothered to clean up just yet. No priests in sight at the present time.
On the top floor of the Artiste's house...
Morton nods along sagely with the Artiste's long explanation. However, a point to all this must be reached invariably.
"Well... If we don't have a name for what you are, what would be your name for what you are?"
"A visionary. Or an entrepreneur. Or a sneaky, ambitious being. Officially, though, I used to deal with a bit of logistics, strictly hands-off business. A junior logistics officer, if you will. Though I'm not one anymore. It's a bit complicated. You see..."
"Soup? Food?" comes a yell from down below.
"I could go for some food, actually. Hunger certainly is a strange urge."
The Artiste, lured by the chef's call, goes past Morton and heads over to Niklas, who seems to be offering delicious vittles.
"Ah, chef-person... what was your name again? Anyway, do you have any semi-palatable, yet somewhat quaint cuisine to dispense?"
Next to Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, noticing the searching individuals, tries to disappear before things reach werewolf levels of hairiness.
"Hey! You there! Did you see any rock-throwing vandals about?" one of the men yells to him. Shit. Well, better act fast. Sigmund quickly points away from the scene.
"The one you are looking for went in that direction [point away from the crime scene]. He is a short-haired tall guy. I can't recall the color of his hair, as it was too dark, and he ran when he saw me. I followed him some blocks, but I lost him when he entered an alley. Nevertheless, I feel more comfortable now that this vandalism act is being investigated by someone competent."
"An alley, you say? It could only have been the Alley of Muffled Screams! It was probably Wallyn the Bookseller, that back-alley trash!"
"Even mentioning his name curdles my blood, yet makes it boil at the same time!"
"Shall we go rough him up and extract payment for the window?"
"And the door as well!"
"But that's not harmed."
One of the guards kicks the door open.
"Now it is!"
"And since Brenwicke's probably going to give us a bonus for this anyway, what say you we save the old fellow any worries and extract that from Wallyn as well?"
"Excellent idea! Let's be off."
The two loud men and their silent partner run off into the direction of the center of the town, discussing their plans to spend the bonus they'll presently obtain.
At the harbor of Shriekpot...
Mark quickly gets out of the water, then looks for a pub to visit.
Well, there certainly aren't any nearby. There is, however, some sort of storefront with a beaker proudly displayed atop a sign.
[Fungus endurance roll: 1-1]
[Tree endurance roll: 5]
And the last bits of mushroom fall off Mark's body. How fortunate for him indeed.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Seeing the female knight, Darren lets go of all inhibitions, all things holding him behind. He begins to howl and teleport around.
[Spooky Howling roll: 1]
[Specter Teleportation roll: 3]
He teleports slightly closer to the female knight, clears his throat and lets out a mighty howl! This lasts all of one second, at which point he lapses into a mighty coughing fit instead. The knight looks a bit unsettled by this.
"What is this trickery, you fiend? Do you wish to make me show mercy to you? I warn you, that is quite an unlikely prospe-"
[Man water use roll: 3+1]
[Armored Lady dodge roll: 5]
She sidesteps a jar of water flying past her.
"Ah, a vile distraction, I see! Well, it shall avail you-"
[Master magic roll: 6+1]
Suddenly, the dog opens its mouth as if in the middle of a sped up yawn, and the air around its maw ripples explosively toward the woman as all sound in the area is canceled out by a boom of incredible power that sweeps the woman off her feet.
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1-1]
[Darren endurance roll: 1]
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
The man covers his ears with a bored expression on his face as the woman flies off into a nearby stone wall, dropping to the ground immediately. It's a bit stranger for Darren than for the rest - he sees the woman fly into the wall, then hit the ground, and he also sees the dog seemingly comment on the situation. However, he can't hear a thing. It feels very strange. And the ground feels somehow... unsteady. Shifting beneath him.
[Will roll: 6]
He remains floating confusedly in the air, not truly comprehending the situation.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 07, 2013, 08:43:23 am
If (Kevin does not want to do something else...)
"Good morrow mage, I hope you slept well. I figured I should make acquaintances, so introductions are in order I suppose. I am Carter Morton, most just call me Morton however. Your name would be...? Also, would you care for some tea? I'm thinking about brewing some up soon."
If (Kevin does want to do something else...)
Morton made his way to Kevin, adjusting the straps on his backpack again. "Right, were to grand jester, back to town or perhaps somewhere else? I think they'll be fine here for now, so we should have a bit of time before we need to return to show them the galley."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 07, 2013, 09:00:40 am
go find the town well and wash myself down
Post by: Tomcost on May 07, 2013, 10:00:52 am
Sigmund will enter the bookstore and see the kind of books that are there.
Post by: Xantalos on May 07, 2013, 10:05:00 am
Spoiler: Reverse Sandwich (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on May 07, 2013, 10:58:39 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 07, 2013, 11:32:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2013, 11:34:55 am
Kevin, wanting to get introduced too and figuring that this "Artiste" would probably soon return, ready for the trip, taps Morton on the shoulder then points to himself and moves his lower-jaw-bone up and down.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 07, 2013, 11:53:02 am
Morton, figuring it best not to pester a hungry master, leaves him to his own devices downstairs and goes over to the awake Erin.
"Good morrow mage, I hope you slept well. I figured I should make acquaintances, so introductions are in order I suppose. I am Carter Morton, most just call me Morton however. Your name would be...? Also, would you care for some tea? I'm thinking about brewing some up soon."
"I'm Erin. Pleased to be formally introduced to ya, Morton. And tea would be pretty great, yeah."
He knew it. None can resist a good spot of tea. He'll... wait, why is Kevin tapping him on the shoulder? And jabbering strangely.
"Ooh, looks like he wants something. He... wait, what's his name? Do you know?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark looks for some kind of well to dip his head into. After all, this is a town of some kind. There's gotta be a water source around. Fortunately, there does seem to be one! Mark gets to washing himself down.
[Washing roll: 6]
He tries to pull up the well mechanism, but then figures that it's just too slow. Time is something he simply does not have! And so he dives down the well headfirst, landing in deep water!
Good news - he's free of salt now! Bad news - he is now stuck upside-down in a well.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Momentarily free from guards by virtue of their need for brutal extortion of presumably innocent men, Sigmund goes into the bookstore and takes a look at the merchandise available.
It appears that the sign outside was no lie - there are books here on all sorts of mundane and supernatural matters - good ones, too. There's lots of variety in here - books on the region itself, books about other places, supernatural creature descriptions (there's even a few books on vampires), books on many matters of magic and more. Not bad.
In the kitchen of the Artiste...
Beckoned by the Artiste, who has little clue on what he has unleashed, Niklas gets to performing culinary magic!
[Culinary Dark Arts roll: 4+1]
He grabs the soup-encrusted lung of the horse, slices it neatly in half, then fetches a stick of butter and a reasonably well-preserved loaf of bread from the smashed multitude of food on the floor. He then weaves his metaphorical magic, making sure to bless this reverse sandwich he's making with a good dose of very nasty-sounding foreign words, and soon afterwards a reverse sandwich - a perversion of nature that includes a slice of bread covered with buttered, soupy horse lung from two sides. Placing it on a handy porcelain plate, he takes it and hands it to the Artiste.
"Ah! Strange cuisine. Very nice."
He takes the reverse sandwich and takes several bites out of it enthusiastically.
"Say, this is rather good despite being made out of raw animal parts. My compliments! This soupy sauce you have in it really adds to the taste."
Soon enough he's finished with the sandwich, looking rather satisfied at the end of it.
"Yeah. Good stuff. You should take that on the road, good fellow," he says, wiping the odd bits of bloody horse lung off his mouth.
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott, feeling that perhaps the God of Beauty isn't the god he needs right now, looks for an altar of a deity of disease and death.
Fortunately, there looks to be something of that sort in one of the side chambers - it looks to be feature bones prominently in its decor, not to mention a fair amount of blades and hammers sitting right next to it. It features a large horned skull as its centerpiece, a thing that seems to stare at one even as one stares at it.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren considers his new condition for a moment. He speaks, but it feels so strange to not hear his own voice. Like he's not speaking at all. The dog turns to Darren and says something.
[Whip Man water use roll: 6+1]
The man rushes forward toward the woman, hurling three jars up in the air and smashing them with his blade arm, covering the woman in burning water!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1-1]
It hits her head-on, covering her from head to toe, but she doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by it.
[Master magic roll: 2+1]
The dog barks, but it doesn't look like it has that much of an effect this time. Meanwhile, the lady has kneeled down, Darren can see, and has put her hands together.
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2013, 12:08:19 pm
Kevin patiently waits for Morton to introduce him.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 07, 2013, 12:18:12 pm
Morton ponders for a moment, before being clued in that Kevin wants to be introduced. "Ah, this is Kevin, grand jester extraordinaire! He makes farces as amusing as they are thought provoking, I'm assured that the great deal on the galley would not of gone as well as it had without his help. He can't quite speak, being a skeleton, but I can only promise that there is a lot going on in his head with the ideas of his expressed through his actions and skits." Morton talks up Kevin to mage. "Its a pleasure to meet you Erin, both from me and Kevin. If I might ask, how did you get wound up with this Artiste? He seems a strange, but likable fellow."
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2013, 12:20:48 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 07, 2013, 12:21:14 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 07, 2013, 12:22:50 pm
Post by: TopHat on May 07, 2013, 12:29:42 pm
((One does not simply defeat the Whip Man, Xanmyral. I broke all of his limbs and his neck and he FUCKING LIVED. After that I stormed him with a horde of wolf puppies and he FUCKING LIVED. After that I got the fuck out of there. Monty was not so smart.))((Samuel ended up imbuing his essence into a cane. HE FUCKING LIVED. The cane was then destroyed, and he was imbued into a silver skull. HE FUCKING LIVED. Then the skull was flattened and he ended up in some sort of limbo place. HE FUCKING LIVED. (sort of) Then he accidentally made a giant skull which ate him. HE FUCKING LI - oh, wait, he got eaten and died. Oops.
Moral of story - the RNG gods will kill you, sooner or later.))
Post by: Tomcost on May 07, 2013, 12:30:37 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2013, 12:34:48 pm
((Good point.))((One does not simply defeat the Whip Man, Xanmyral. I broke all of his limbs and his neck and he FUCKING LIVED. After that I stormed him with a horde of wolf puppies and he FUCKING LIVED. After that I got the fuck out of there. Monty was not so smart.))((Samuel ended up imbuing his essence into a cane. HE FUCKING LIVED. The cane was then destroyed, and he was imbued into a silver skull. HE FUCKING LIVED. Then the skull was flattened and he ended up in some sort of limbo place. HE FUCKING LIVED. (sort of) Then he accidentally made a giant skull which ate him. HE FUCKING LI - oh, wait, he got eaten and died. Oops.
Moral of story - the RNG gods will kill you, sooner or later.))
Post by: Xantalos on May 07, 2013, 02:19:44 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 07, 2013, 04:09:02 pm
Of course promising sacrifices of various sorts.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 07, 2013, 04:45:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 08, 2013, 08:08:11 am
Kevin stops his jabbering and stands in what he hopes is a dignified fashion as Morton commences with the introductions.
"Ah, this is Kevin, grand jester extraordinaire! He makes farces as amusing as they are thought provoking, I'm assured that the great deal on the galley would not've gone as well as it had without his help. He can't quite speak, being a skeleton, but I can only promise that there is a lot going on in his head with the ideas of his expressed through his actions and skits. Its a pleasure to meet you, Erin, both from me and Kevin. If I might ask, how did you get wound up with this Artiste? He seems a strange, but likable fellow."
"Oh, him? Well, ya see, there was this incident in Emlocke - you know, that bit where the Black Circle of Magic does their thing and selects new members in a bloody massacre for the ages? Well, we competed and hoped to win, and in the process bound good ol' Mark - you know, tree-face guy - to follow our commands and go to this demonologist, kill 'im and bring back his stuff. He came back with the Artiste, who immediately bound us to him at the soul level. Without performing the magic usually needed for such a situation. It was pretty weird. And from there on in I and my old compatriots - oh, and Bernie as well, I guess - have been adventuring together. It's a bit sad we couldn't win the competition, but the Artiste said it would be too... conspicuous. Considering that he's some kind of pseudo-demon, I'm inclined to agree, actually."
Oh, exposition. Is there anything like it?
At the bottom of a well...
Mark tries to right himself inside the well!
[Self-manipulation roll: 5+1]
He twists around until his head points upwards, then climbs upwards.
[Climbing roll: 2+1]
Man, this wall is slippery. And a brief test reveals that the wooden beam the rope of the well is attached to is incapable of holding Mark's weight. Dang.
In Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, located in a wonderland of books at the moment, looks for subjects that might interest him in some way. For one, a book on the Sea of Death. Surprisingly enough, there's a great many tomes on that, most of them rather thick - there's books of maps, books of descriptions, adventurer-centered books and storybooks, creature books and even a guide to reaching the City of Dreams. Okay, so there's a vast selection on that. What about vampire books?
Those are in rather short supply, actually. There's a bit of vampire-themed smut at the back of the store, and a fairy tale book with a vampire drawn on the cover. Other than that, nothing. That just leaves one more thing - the necromancy selection.
Necromancy, unlike vampire literature, is very widely represented - it even gets its own shelf, with books on certain bindings, necromantic focus selection, necromantic magic methods, scientific treatises on the nature of the soul, overviews on necromancy as a whole, abridged versions of said overviews, a few beginner's manuals on necromancy and a few other tomes. There's even a book of spellbook samples, interestingly enough.
Outside the Artiste's kitchen...
Niklas, having found a fellow appreciator of mutilated animal parts, inquires on his culinary preferences.
"Finally, an appreciator of food! Any preference for flesh? Want some human?"
The Artiste thinks for a moment.
"Well, that collection of parts you fed to me was rather good, and I haven't actually eaten anything else in all my existence. So it's been a day of new things for me. But yes, human flesh sounds quite acceptable. You have any available?"
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott confidently steps to the altar and kneels down in front of it, beseeching the god of pestilence and death to give him some help already. He'll sacrifice something, you know. So you know he's good for it! Come on! Give favors already!
He feels something unusual, like a feminine presence in his mind.
~God of pestile- what? You want a god of pestilence and death? Pick one of those. Pestilence is Pacitarius, death is Velusius. And this is an altar of Rysinia, which is something else entirely. Since you're not a repeat offender like some, you won't get struck down just yet. So scram. Next time you do something like this, you die. Understood?~
Um... that's strange.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, deaf and slightly concussed as he might be, starts to slowly float upwards. Realizing that he also should be inside a wall, he scoots off to the side, keeping his deaf head out of a stone wall. He sees the man with the blade arm take something out of his pocket. Like a star of some kind.
[Whip Man vs. Armored Lady: 2+1 vs. 3+3-1]
The star hits the lady, shattering into bits against her armor. The man looks grimly at this situation. The dog, meanwhile, seems to be ready to bark again!
[Master magic roll: 1+1]
Or not. More than anything, it looks to be curious about what the lady is doing. Fortunately for it, she reveals this immediately, starting to glow brightly and initiating a triumphant charge at the man!
[Armored Lady vs. Whip Man: 1+2+1 vs. 1+2]
A triumphant charge that misses almost entirely, the lady's glowing hammer only slightly clipping the man in the blade arm, making him spin around on his heel. Darren is rather pleased to find that he can hear the clank this produces rather clearly.
"You cannot battle the glory of the gods, filthy mage!"
Post by: Tomcost on May 08, 2013, 08:45:49 am
Sigmund will grab a book about maps of the Sea of Death, a begginer's manual on Necromancy, a book of spellbook samples and one about necromantic focus selection. Then he will return to the Artiste's home.
((Yay, magic shopping!))
Post by: Innsmothe on May 08, 2013, 08:49:49 am
"Uh...Rysinia? I happen to already be dead. Also, if I may ask, what domain do you preside over?"
Ask the god about its domain and general religious stuffs about it.
Post by: Tomcost on May 08, 2013, 08:56:12 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 08, 2013, 10:07:50 am
Go outside. Search for humans.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 08, 2013, 10:11:22 am
@Xantalos: Isn't that dead rider by the road? Although he's been there for a few hours now...]
Morton nodded along once more, listening to the glorious exposition. "I see... Oh, that does remind me. Where are we heading exactly? I never did get that information, although it doesn't matter for the deal. Also, was that what he did when I felt odd? Felt like I drank bad tea, then a compulsion to follow what he says..." Morton ponders on this, before shrugging. "Either way, so you all are mages? Interesting, I've never met one when I lived honestly, always heard strange things about them. Its nice to meet some all the same, specially nice ones, not all the things I've heard are good." Morton continues with the small talk.
Post by: Tomcost on May 08, 2013, 10:14:18 am
Take a scientific treaty about souls too.
Post by: miauw62 on May 08, 2013, 03:01:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 08, 2013, 03:34:45 pm
Sigmund quickly fetches his shopping list of books, which consists of a book with maps of the Sea of Death, a beginner's necromantic manual, a book of spellbook samples and one about necromantic focus selection, and in addition he grabs a scientific treatise on the nature of the soul. With all this quality literature obtained, he runs back to the Artiste's house.
Now he's got good books, lots of time and relative safety. A perfect recipe for fun times.
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott feels lucky and brave today. Brave and lucky enough to question an angered goddess! Brave and lucky enough to risk death and obliteration! Brave and lucky enough to even talk back!
"Uh...Rysinia? I happen to already be dead. Also, if I may ask, what domain do you preside over?"
~No, you do not. Don't be an idiot. You have a soul within your fragile shell of a body, so you are just as alive as any other thing that moves about and talks nonsense. Perhaps moreso. You can also be quite handily killed. So don't be a smartass about it. As for what we preside over, our domain is conflict, logic and industry. Now, will that be all or do you wish to tempt the wrath of a vengeful divine entity some more?~
In the kitchen of the Artiste...
Having been informed that human flesh is indeed desirable, Niklas gets ready for a meat run.
"Give me a few minutes."
He goes outside, passing Sigmund on the way, and goes looking for humans. He does find one eventually - already a corpse, admittedly. Looks to have died over a day ago from blood loss caused by arrow wounds. Somewhat decomposed, but that might also be a mark of a delicacy. You see, a true chef knows that it's all in the nomenclature. So, operating from the core assumption that humans are like cheese and wine, this guy could work.
On the top floor of the Artiste's house...
Morton, his brain-stuff filling with delicious expository information, gently prods the conversational train along, his insatiable lust for information driving his inquisitive spirit. Kevin can only watch in quiet, attentive appreciation as the words flow freely.
"I see... Oh, that does remind me. Where are we heading exactly? I never did get that information, although it doesn't matter for the deal. Also, was that what he did when I felt odd? Felt like I drank bad tea, then a compulsion to follow what he says..."
"Yeah, you've been soulbound. It can only be reversed by a demon of some kind, I hear. Otherwise it's totally unbreakable. Popular among powerful necromancers, I think. And we're heading to Horizon Isle, this place located roughly in the middle of the Sea of Death. Difficult to reach, but has amazing sunsets."
Morton ponders on this, before shrugging.
"Either way, so you all are mages? Interesting, I've never met one when I lived honestly, always heard strange things about them. Its nice to meet some all the same, 'specially nice ones, not all the things I've heard are good."
"Ya mostly wouldn't meet mages unless ya operate in a particular line of work, have some peculiar interests or are a mage yourself. So no wonder ya hear strange things about 'em. Mages themselves can be anything and anyone - guys, gals, weirdos, crazies, megalomaniacs, altruists, scientists, career climbers and any number of other things. Sometimes, though, all you see is the crazies and psychopaths. Mostly because those are the only ones who tend to wander around a whole lot, since most other mages are busy with steady jobs for lords or conducting research or doing something else pretty important to them. Or just lazing about and doing nothing in particular."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 08, 2013, 04:54:17 pm
Scott Coughs.
"Leading from that question, hypothetically, what in the way of sacrifice would you desire to allow me to be granted an internal bacterial/viritical fermentation unit hooked up to my throat so I can spray concentrated liquid or vaporised death over my possible enemies?"
[Neat huh? :p You have all my wuv Harry.]
Post by: Xanmyral on May 08, 2013, 05:50:44 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 08, 2013, 05:54:21 pm
Drag the body back to the kitchen. Remove clothes (of the body). GET COOKING!
Post by: Tomcost on May 08, 2013, 06:14:20 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 08, 2013, 06:14:36 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 08, 2013, 06:16:39 pm
[Why do I have the feeling that Artiste is going to get horrible brain parasites from this and go crazy?](Because I'm the most sanitary chef ever? I did just feed him a lung cut in half with a buttered piece of bread stuck between the two halves.)
Post by: killerhellhound on May 08, 2013, 09:07:13 pm
(I'm doing a lot of climbing recently)
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 09, 2013, 12:51:48 am
Scott decides to go with some more questions. Rysinia seems nice enough, after all.
"Conflict and industry? So if I pray, dedicate my life to you and provide you with sacrifices you would help me in the areas of war outfitting and the trans-humanistic goal of magical or mechanical augmentation of the physical form?"
He coughs with a reasonable measure of uncertainty.
"Leading from that question, hypothetically, what in the way of sacrifice would you desire to allow me to be granted an internal bacterial/viritical fermentation unit hooked up to my throat so I can spray concentrated liquid or vaporized death over my possible enemies?"
There is a mental sigh in Scott's head.
~Magic belongs to Velusius, innovation, craftsmanship and creativity belongs to Narcillicus. And service to the gods involves devotion above all to their principles. And no, you can't be granted anything material by the gods. That isn't strictly permitted. The gods inspire and nudge, sometimes make fire and such. Finally, serving gods takes time. A lot of time. And sacrifices are only needed when you want to invoke particularly great favors. Is that all?~
On the top floor of the Artiste's home...
Morton keeps up this positively enchanting communique.
"So which category do you fall under?" he asks jokingly
"Heh. Y'know how it is. Everybody's a visionary in their own heads. Especially crazies. So you be the judge!"
"Say, would you know where to find some parchment and a writing utensil? I'm sure my friend would like to get in on the conversation too, although he lacks the means to do so. With the quaint, cozy manor gone, I'm afraid I don't know much of where anything is anymore."
"Hm... hard to say, really. I'm sure I made some - look around. I bet it'll be in the last place you look."
Well, that's... helpful.
In the woods of Shriekpot...
Niklas rubs his hands together at this fine gift the day has given him, and lugs the old corpse back to the Artiste's house and deposits it in the kitchen.
[Culinary Dark Arts roll: 1+1]
He looks at it from all sides, removes the clothes and rolls it around. You know, he isn't quite sure how to approach this. A roast, maybe? Or a stew? Maybe just keep it raw for maximum extreme culinary enjoyment? Truly, with such a marvelous bounty it is quite a dilemma.
Just outside the kitchen...
Sigmund, books in hand, sits down in one of the available chairs near the Artiste and gets to reading the Neophyte's Guide to the Most Excellent and Fruitful Art of Necromancy.
From reading this manual, he understands several things. Firstly, necromancy is a bit of a misnomer. A better term would be soul magic, though most necromancers work with many other bindings as well. Secondly, to do necromancy you need a focus of some kind. Thirdly, necromancy in the most general sense covers things from binding souls, raising the dead (actually a form of intensifying the bond between the soul and the body sufficiently to create a strong enough attraction to pull souls from the afterlife) and prolonging one's life (similar to raising the dead - the body will decay, but death - the passing of the soul - will be prevented) to speaking with souls, manipulating souls in ways both beneficial and harmful to their owner and quickening death (a chapter on necromancy applicability discusses, among other things, how a necromancer can usually make for a highly competent exorcist, as in, one that can actually exorcise something rather than just make lots of noise and pretend the spirit is gone). Naturally, you shouldn't expect to do any of these things before you've gotten a focus and some reasonable practice, both of which you can get at a respectable magical teaching institution. All in all, it's been an informative experience.
In a well in Shriekpot...
Mark, realizing that he has metal fingers, looks for cracks in the well walls to utilize for climbing.
Unfortunately for him, there really aren't many. At least, not enough to facilitate climbing to a reasonable degree. This must be a recently constructed well. Good workmanship.
Post by: Xantalos on May 09, 2013, 12:58:47 am
Take a knife and cut open the skull so the brain is exposed. Mash it to a paste with a mashing implement, then get several spices and chuck them in there. Let it sit while I extract the organs and fry them, Yes, all of them. Then cube them and drop them into the brain stew. Just put a few from each organ into it to prevent overfill. WAIT UNTIL SOUP IS IN BOWL FIRST.
Add extract of moose.
Add a dollop of butter.
Take the eyes, if any, and lips, if any, from the corpse using knife.
Pour brain soup into bowl.
Add organs (see above).
Arrange eys and lips in a happy face.
Heat and serve.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 09, 2013, 01:08:05 am
Scott, silently fuming, leaves.
"Damn gods and their emphasis on the long term."
Scott will try again to find either an altar/building dedicated to Pacitarius or a apothecary or an alchemist.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 09, 2013, 01:18:09 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 07:32:46 am
Sigmund reads the book about focus selection.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 09, 2013, 08:58:53 am
[Can't think of anything else to talk about, at least for now.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 09, 2013, 10:21:03 am
Niklas goes about the process of cooking this somewhat aged corpse, electing to create some nice brain soup.
[Culinary Dark Arts roll: 4+1]
First he seats the man carefully in an available chair, then equally carefully opens the skull, getting a pleasant scent of ripe brain from within. Removing the top of the skull, he takes a spoon and mashes up the brain rather nicely. He picks up some spices from a nearby spice rack and adds them in a rather liberal fashion. After all, if your meat's not necessarily top-quality, spices are your best friend! After the brain is nicely mashed up, he scoops it out of the skull, mashed brain stem and all, and places it all in a bowl. Now to let it sit for a while. But don't think that means the chef won't be doing anything! Oh no.
He opens up the man's chest cavity. It's a bit gas-filled already, but hey, some would call that a perk. Lets the organs stew in their own vapor and stuff. He slices all of the organs, making sure not to skip over the spleen, pancreas or even the thyroid by accident, and cubes them up into tiny bits, organizing bits of each in a pile. He then pan-fries each of them, adding crispy organ bits to the pureed brain in the bowl. Now, if he's got this right, he's got bits of everything in it. Good. Now for the final touches before heating.
The distressing chef adds a generous dollop of butter to the mixture. But wait, something's missing. Something important. He fishes in the pile of food, retrieving a handy bit of powder in a miraculously intact glass vial. Ah! Extract of moose! This changes everything! Niklas dabs a bit of it across the organ mixture, then carefully removes the eyes and lips of the man, arranging them on top of the whole thing in a jolly, happy fashion. Now to heat it all!
After about ten minutes, it's done! Brain Soup a la Niklas, ready to serve! He hands the bowl to the Artiste along with a clean spoon.
"Soup! Wonderful! Oh, and look, it even has a happy face on it. How nice."
He tastes the soup, which is a bit thicker than most roasts Niklas has made. He nods approvingly.
"You are quite good at this, I must say. Why, I might start habitually eating people now."
The master quickly wolfs down most of the soup, clearly enjoying himself.
"Okay, I really should stop now. I'm about as full as I can get, I think. Great stuff, minion, great stuff. You should really write these down somewhere, I think," he tells the chef, wiping his brain-stained mouth with a robe sleeve.
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott, silently fuming at the way he has been treated by the gods, goes to look for someplace he might be appreciated more.
Fortunately for him, there is a shrine to Pacitarius right here in the temple, slightly deeper within the building, along with the shrines of the other four gods, with Narcillicus' being the largest and most elaborate in this case. It's a pretty handy element in most temples - they mostly possess shrines to every god, even if they might not be obvious at first.
Deep inside a well...
Mark, momentarily held up by a lack of cracks in the walls, tries to do a back-supported wall-walk.
[Climbing roll: 1+1]
His legs are perfectly capable of running up the wall, he finds, but the main problem here is his back - with the whole tree head and such, it's a bit hard to maneuver upwards. So he just ends up in the water again.
In the entrance hall of the Artiste's home...
Sigmund, having found the facts within the book to his liking, looks at focus selection next, opening up Foci For Every Necromantic Need And Profane Purpose and taking a look at the options.
So, to make a long story short, there's spellbooks and then there's objects. Necromantic spellbooks are far, far easier to obtain than necromantic objects, though they are usually quite limited in what they can do, as each spell must take up at least a page, and spells have rather narrow uses and abilities, but necromancy has such a wide scope. That's why there are books of bindings, books of soulflaying and soulmending, books of spirit calling and eclectic mixtures of many necromantic techniques.
Objects are much greater in power and potential, though they have the unattractive disadvantages of being either prohibitively expensive or nigh-impossible to obtain. These are pretty much entirely dispensed by either demons or Velusius to mortals, and it is almost unheard of to obtain one any other way (though other gods should also be theoretically capable of providing such a focus). These extradimensional artifacts possess very considerable power, though you mostly have to obtain them from A) a demon or Velusius, who are likely to get your soul in the bargain or B) somebody who chose Option A and is now an extremely powerful necromancer with demonic connections.
It has been theorized by Joseph "Jolly Joe" Cunningham that perhaps an object that a demon is bound to (and there are indeed legends of such things) would make the perfect focus for necromancy, since demons (and gods) are the only beings in the universe known to possess a natural ability to manipulate souls, though the dangers of such an object (most notably that of an unpredictable nigh-omnipotent being connected to it) make such a focus of dubious use. Better just ask a demon to do something for you than look for crazy ones to enslave. Also, it is possible that some heretofore undiscovered element of the universe linked with soul transition (though such an element would be difficult to discover, as no information is available about the afterlife aside from minor observations about the soul exiting the material world) would also work for this purpose, though this is mere conjecture based on the, to be perfectly frank, rather absurd notion of harnessing the afterlife directly for a magical use.
By the time Sigmund is done with the book, dawn starts to break.
On the top floor of the Artiste's home...
Morton bows to Erin.
"Thank you, Erin, it was a grand pleasure meeting you. I'll get set on finding some parchment for Kevin, then working on that tea."
"Likewise, buddy, likewise. Good luck with that."
Morton politely moves away, searching for some paper around. Unfortunately, he can't even think of a place to look - there are alcoves where the mages sleep, there's the kitchen, there's Mark's parlor, now totally ruined by all the glass, and there is also some sort of storage space in the ground floor, though that's kind of empty.
In other news, the day seems to be starting. And there is a slight commotion from upstairs - sounds like the others are getting up.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 09, 2013, 10:27:44 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 09, 2013, 10:29:58 am
He prostrates himself before the altar
Post by: Xanmyral on May 09, 2013, 11:06:21 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 11:09:22 am
-Excuse me, as you bounded the souls of every undead and mage in this house to yourself, may I ask you what kind of being are you? I'm a bit concerned about the fact that if you die, all of us will. But, in the other hand, as it seems that you are not human, I'm curious about what would mean "death" for you. Do you actually have a soul?
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 09, 2013, 12:09:03 pm
Mark tries to think of some way to get out of this mess.
Sadly, his originality is all tuckered out, and he can do nothing but slowly sink into the well despondently. Oh, woe.
In a shrine room of some kind...
Scott shuffles over to the large altar of Narcillicus and invokes the Beautiful God.
"Allow me to mold my body and the pestilence therein resides into a magical focus and you'll have anything you can desire from me and the land about!"
There is a short whistle in his head that feels as though a slight breeze went through it. It stops for a short moment, then resumes, then stops, then resumes. It continues to do this at regular, yet short intervals.
In the home of the Artiste...
Morton, realizing that Kevin isn't likely to be able to communicate with the means available, heads to the kitchen, stopping by the content-looking Artiste on the way.
"I'll be making tea soon, would you like some as well?" he asks his master.
"Oh, sure. Serve some up for everyone. Well, everyone living at least."
Ah. Well then. Morton heads inside the kitchen. He is somewhat put off by the sight of the butchered remains of both a horse and a gutted, somewhat decomposed human cadaver lying around, food strewn everywhere. My, this place is literally a bloody mess.
Meanwhile, Sigmund, putting down his fascinating literature, steps over to the Artiste.
"Excuse me, as you bounded the souls of every undead and mage in this house to yourself, may I ask you what kind of being are you? I'm a bit concerned about the fact that if you die, all of us will."
The Artiste chuckles merrily, an errant bit of brain loosening itself from his teeth.
"You should be concerned, dear fellow! It would be highly unpleasant for you should my body ever be destroyed, as I would then be removed from this realm and placed... back home, shall we say. Then again, it might not make all that much difference for you, depending on some factors. And you are quite correct in the assumption that I am not quite human. You see, I'm kind of like a god or a demon, except not, though it's largely a difference in duties and principles. Consider me a demon, except I don't answer to the gods. That's close enough, really."
"But, since you are not human, I'm curious about what would mean "death" for you. Do you actually have a soul?"
"Well, no. Not really. Only mortals have souls. It's why they're mortals. As in, they can die. I am who I am, though you could say that my form actually sort of resembles that of a soul. The resemblance, however, is superficial."
Post by: Xanmyral on May 09, 2013, 12:24:50 pm
Morton searches the kitchen for the flint and steel used to make the fires and then leaves, not considering it sanitary enough for proper tea making, and goes outside, an obviously much more sanitary place.
From there, he'll see if the woodpile survive the changing of the quaint and cozy manor, and if so sets about finding stones to make a circle for the fire, as well as a large, flat stone. Once the stone circle is laid, logs in the middle, he'll grab some dried grass and set it on the logs. Using the flint and steel, he tries to start the fire. Once its at a good roar, with the help of a few pokes from the fire poker, he'll try to carefully set the flat rock on the fire to get it good and hot, as well as hopefully die the fire down a bit. If it isn't died down enough, he'll kick some dirt into the parts of the fire that is at its largest, but trying to avoid getting any on the rock and coals.
Once that's settled, he'll set the pot from his backpack on now hopefully hot flat rock, as well as pour the good spring water in it and sets about making some wonderful tea, using the dusting rag as a preventative of getting burned by touching the pot. "Oh the pains of making good tea, it is always worth it in the end."
[Chances of setting forest on fire: 2/6; Chance of setting self on fire: 3/6. I'll take those odds.]
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 01:01:43 pm
-Does that mean tham I'm forced to serve you for my whole existence? Even after the death of any of us?
Post by: miauw62 on May 09, 2013, 01:22:25 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 09, 2013, 01:26:13 pm
He listens to the conversation about souls and such.
Speaking of which, do you know magic? I've been thinking of becoming a cleaver mage.
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 01:36:10 pm
-Tell me that not every kind of magic gets it's power from torturing souls. If so, I'm interested too. Also, I see that in this team there is currently an excess of that kind of magic. I would like to become a mage if I'm ever able to do so, but I don't know how dangerous can magic be for the caster. Is it really a big trouble?
Post by: Xantalos on May 09, 2013, 01:39:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 01:43:32 pm
-I think I could not imagine how could it be a normal day your village. And I think that I don't want to know either.
Post by: Xantalos on May 09, 2013, 01:53:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 09, 2013, 02:52:26 pm
Mark, stuck in this terrible situation, tries to think of an avenue of escape. This well can't be completely inescapable, can it?
Actually, it most certainly can't be! After all, he has metal hands and feet. And with metal hands and feet, anything is possible!
[Climbing roll: 3+1+1]
He presses one hand and foot to one side of the well, the other hand and foot to the opposite side, then climbs like a champ, getting out of the well post-haste!
One thing's for damn sure, he's never doing that again! Unless he's in a hurry, that is.
In the kitchen of the Artiste...
Morton, regarding the kitchen in silent horror and disapproval, pulls out his dusting rag. However, he puts it right back, feeling that the rag is a bit too young and innocent to meet an end like this.
"Oh dear... Such a mess. Seems Niklas has been busy."
Morton looks for some flint and steel to make fire in this place. He doesn't find any. What he does find, however, is some sort of strange device. Twisting the knob on it, he sees that it can produce sparks! How strange, he thinks. These magical technologies, how do they work? Probably best not to ask. He heads outside and looks for some handy stones.
Fortunately, all of them prove rather easy to find, even the large, flat one he requires. Fetching some wood from the nearby woodpile and some flammable grass remnants from the ground, the butler starts a nice fire with the spark-thing. Handy little contraption, that. Once the fire is ready, he sets the stone over it, calming the fire down, though some help from the side in the form of dirt is required. Soon enough the stone is brought to a nice level of heat - nice enough to make some fine tea! He pours some of the crystal-clear spring water into the pot and begins the Making of the Tea.
[Teamaking roll: 4+1]
After some arcane manipulations that only Morton himself knows how to perform, the tea is ready, and it smells rather amazing. Tastes wonderful as well. Yet another job well done.
At the entrance to the defiled kitchen of the Artiste...
Sigmund, coming to grips with the gravity of his predicament (something that seems to happen rather often as a whole), continues his dialogue.
"Does that mean that I'm forced to serve you for my whole existence? Even after the death of any of us?"
"Now you've got it! Very good. That is, unless I choose to let you go. Which I might do if I succeed at my goal."
Niklas, listening and nodding along wisely with the conversation, adds his own question to the lingual fray.
"Speaking of which, do you know magic? I've been thinking of becoming a cleaver mage."
"Tell me that not every kind of magic gets it's power from torturing souls. If so, I'm interested too. Also, I see that in this team there is currently an excess of that kind of magic. I would like to become a mage if I'm ever able to do so, but I don't know how dangerous can magic be for the caster. Is it really a big trouble?"
"To be honest, I don't know any magic and I'm not really familiar with the theory of it all. I can do spacewarping magic pretty well, but that's mostly going off the instinct of the guy whose body this is. Otherwise, I have no clue about how magic works. Something about foci if what the rest say is correct. Awfully strange and complicated is the impression I've gotten from what they told me."
"I had a shaman in a village I lived in once. He was more crazy than me. Used hair magic, so he had hair that was over 40 feet long. I asked him once why he used hair magic and he said that the hair was his 'focus' or something like that. He really liked his hair. I really like my cleaver. I think we can make this work."
"I think I could not imagine how could it be a normal day your village. And I think that I don't want to know either."
"Ah, but seeing a mammoth strangling itself with its own fur is something everyone should experience."
"Regardless, if you want to know magic, ask one of the geniuses up top. You know, the people who have actually studied magic for an appreciable length of time, and didn't just steal the mind of someone rather competent at that sort of thing. Sure, I could fish out the information you're looking for from the mind of my body, but I don't feel like wading through all the sexual fantasies on the way to magical knowledge."
Post by: Tomcost on May 09, 2013, 03:17:59 pm
-Hello, I think that we haven't been introduced in the bes way. I'm Sigmund. And you name was?
[After the response]
-So, the Artiste told me that you and the others are mages, aren't you? I guess that it would be difficult to learn that profession, am I right?
Post by: Innsmothe on May 09, 2013, 03:23:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 09, 2013, 03:26:44 pm
Morton then leaves the kitchen, without the platter or tea for now, and approaches Niklas. "Excuse me, head chief Niklas, could I perhaps see one of your well-kept knives for a moment? I'd like to cut some lemons for the tea, and I promise to return it, on my honor."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 09, 2013, 06:02:36 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 09, 2013, 07:03:05 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 09, 2013, 10:55:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 10, 2013, 12:51:51 am
Sigmund, after thanking the Artiste, goes upstairs to question the other mages, followed closely by Niklas. Sigmund goes up to the red-robed woman.
"Hello, I think that we haven't been introduced in the best way. I'm Sigmund. And you name was?"
"Erin. Pleased to meet you, Sigmund."
"So, the Artiste told me that you and the others are mages, aren't you? I guess that it would be difficult to learn that profession, am I right?"
"Well, there're exactly two tricks to it. First is making a focus - it's better to cast magic from a focus ya made yerself, ya know. Second is learning a technique - usually harder and more time consuming than making a focus. When you've got both, you're a master mage. Me, I'm still in the middle of developing a technique. More difficult than it sounds, but certainly possible."
Niklas, rather than pester Erin, walks to the golden-robed man.
"I have a question."
"Yes?"
"How does magic work?"
"Willpower and focus, mostly. Both a magical focus and mental focus. The magical focus is a translator, weaving your thoughts into reality, within reason, of course. A focus can be anything, but there's two main things to keep in mind - it should be something you have a kinship with, an important object of some sort or at least something you made yourself, and that the closer you are to it mentally and emotionally, the better it is. I know of a mage who chose his cat as his focus."
"What happened to this man?"
"He is the chief member of the Black Circle of Magic. Currently 167 years old and healthy, I believe, mostly due to life magic - that's what his cat does, by the way. Life magic. The cat's 129 years old and still a right bastard from what I hear. Can only get along with her master, much to the chagrin of the other members of the Circle. It's apparently really difficult to make something living your focus, though."
As the undead's brains swell with knowledge, Kevin plots in the shadows. This next thing he will do will be hilarious. So hilarious, you don't even know!
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott, not entirely satisfied by Narcillicus' response, tries to genuflect harder. Wonder what that breeze means.
For a moment, the repeating pattern of breezes stops. There is complete silence for a bit. Then the breezes return.
Outside the home of the Artiste...
Morton, picking up the teapot carefully with his dusting rag, checks how much spring water he has left, finding that it is about half a bucket. With that, he goes back into the kitchen and looks for a pitcher and some glasses.
Luckily, one of the cupboards is both made of solid steel and airtight, and it just so happens to contain a whole lot of glasses and even a few pitchers that have entirely escaped the existential horror of being trapped in a room with Niklas. He pours his tea into the pitcher, then into the glasses. There's still about half a pitcher of tea left in the pot, so he just puts the pot in the cupboard, relying on its safety.
After that, the apostle of the tea leaf quickly walks to Niklas and asks politely for one of his knives, receiving one in due time. Now it is time for the last touches. But for this, he will need lemons. Or limes, he supposes. He fishes around in the pile of food for a while, but finds nothing of the sort. He finds only unidentifiable goo. Ew.
It burns a little, actually. Maybe he should wash that hand.
At a well in Shriekpot...
After flipping off the well-slash-deathtrap, Mark makes his way out of the town, running back to the Artiste's home. He runs up the gangplank.
Dang, the Artiste is right there. Mark feels compelled to run back to a distance of 10 meters from the guy.
Man, magical restraining orders are a pain.
Post by: Xantalos on May 10, 2013, 01:17:12 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 10, 2013, 01:59:58 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 10, 2013, 04:11:39 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 10, 2013, 04:44:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 10, 2013, 08:28:06 am
Once everyone gathers around for tea, Kevin starts his peformance.(roll a one roll a one roll a one please)
Post by: miauw62 on May 10, 2013, 08:34:53 am
((I have a +1 to comedy rolls.))Once everyone gathers around for tea, Kevin starts his peformance.(roll a one roll a one roll a one please)
Post by: Xanmyral on May 10, 2013, 08:53:08 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 10, 2013, 10:19:25 am
-Interesting. What kind of magic do you do? It wasn't of the soul enslaving kind that necromancers do, right?
[To continue the conversation]
-So, there are different kinds of magic. I would like to become a mage, if I get the chance to do so. What kind of magic would you recomend? I want something that has many uses, something flexible. In its figurative meaning, of course.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 10, 2013, 11:49:23 am
Niklas keeps up the absolutely magical interview.
"So how would I make a focus?"
The golden-robed man shrugs.
"Willpower and mental focus, same as you do magic. It's really more like opening a connection with the object with your mind, kind of like... well, it's a bit difficult to explain. But if you just try to impose your will on an object, it's unlikely to do you much good. So most people that create foci use chants, mantras, do specific rituals - these are more... psychologically significant than anything. Chants are, like, these specific word combinations that you repeat a few times and then they wire your brain a certain way for a while. Helpful to gear yourself for mental tasks, you know. There are learning chants, focus chants, war chants, all kinds of chants. There's books full of 'em, and they've got instructions on rituals as well. Some mages don't have the patience for that, though."
"So what do they do?"
"Drugs. Great, heaping mountains of drugs. Not the relatively safe sort, either. This may be the reason why many of them are crazy. Chants only got popular about a century ago."
About 8 feet away, Sigmund is having a similar, if a bit less drug-related conversation.
"Interesting. What kind of magic do you do? It wasn't of the soul enslaving kind that necromancers do, right?"
"Oh, no. I do what the University of Magic calls metamorphosis, but less silly people call transmutation. It's essentially shaping and transmutation of matter. I can turn lead into gold, turn people into apes and vice versa, and even make happy smiling faces on bricks that feel endless happiness with the primitive sorta-brains they have. Pretty nice, all in all. And no souls are harmed in the process!"
"So, there are different kinds of magic. I would like to become a mage, if I get the chance to do so. What kind of magic would you recommend? I want something that has many uses, something flexible. In its figurative meaning, of course."
"Well, any discipline of magic is flexible - ya simply gotta know how to use it. A little imagination goes a long way. The most flexible discipline of magic is probably illusion - ya can literally make anything and do anything with it if ya have sufficient skill, but none of it's real. There's transmutation, which is pretty sweet. Energy manipulation, if you know how to use it. Life magic can help ya do all sorts of things with anything even vaguely living or fleshy. Divination can let you know anything you need, and knowledge is power. I can keep listing, but really it's about what you want to do and how imaginative you can be with it. And then there's less traditional or more specific disciplines, like wind magic, darkness magic, light magic, hammer magic. Those are less flexible, but it's easier to get object foci for 'em, which increases versatility."
As the unsuspecting mortals converse, Kevin observes. His body is like a coiled spring waiting for release. His mind is sharp and wit-filled. His entire being is like a long tube with explosives at one end, ready to explode and propel its payload over the ignorant populace.
Today, that tube is loaded with hilarity. Or maybe not. The question is, do these people feel lucky enough to guess which it is?
At the temple of Narcillicus...
Seeing that silent prostration isn't working, Scott repeats his request once more with feeling.
"Allow ME to MOLD MY BODY and the PESTILENCE THEREIN into a MAGICAL FOCUS and you'll have ANYTHING you can desire from me and the land about!"
Hopefully the emphasis will do it. After repeating this sentence for a few minutes, Scott hears the breezes stop once again. A male voice suddenly appears in Scott's head.
~Oh, hey, sorry about the wait. Busy day. So, what is it you want? Magical focus body, right? Well, sorry, can't help you with that, really. Ungodlike to go granting easy favors. Not to mention that pestilence isn't really our thing. Inspiration and beauty are the words of the day, you know. Sorry again. Anything else you'd settle for?~
Well, at least Narcillicus is a bit friendlier than Rysinia.
Outside the home of the Artiste...
Mark, hoping to rid himself of this damnable condition, momentarily becomes an offensive noisemaker, trying to attract the Artiste's attention.
However, this isn't entirely necessary, as the Artiste seems to have already noticed him a few moments ago.
"There you are, Mark! I was wondering how you'd escaped your confinement."
He looks carefully at the skeleton-tree.
"Say, something's different about you."
Post by: Tomcost on May 10, 2013, 12:05:23 pm
-Can magic go wrong?
[After that]
Maybe I should focus in a kind of magic which can't harm me, or don't make me explode if I'm not able to control it. One related to cold, that could be enough. You did mention some kind of magic related to energy, right?
EDIT: misplaced sentence.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 10, 2013, 12:09:35 pm
Morton sighs, seeing no lemons or limes. And his hands burn now, oh what bother. He contemplated on the fact that his body is dead yet he can still feel with it, and chalks that up to a good thing than a bad rather, life would be so much duller if one couldn't sense it. Moving to wash his hands with water in the kitchen, once that is finished he will go about giving everyone their tea. They've waited long enough after all, and its a terrible thing to be denied tea.
Post by: Xantalos on May 10, 2013, 01:31:24 pm
If he has to put in a chant, he shouts
Post by: Innsmothe on May 10, 2013, 01:31:25 pm
If the answer isn't favourable he will go over to Pacitarius' altar and repeat his pevious mantra with some added venom.
[Put on hold by the gods. Jesus, at least they don't have a computer answer system. And doh, been praying to the wrong god, meant Pacitarius. Will teach me for not paying attention.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 10, 2013, 03:03:02 pm
Sigmund asks a perfectly reasonable question of Erin.
"Can magic go wrong?"
Erin stares at him with a grave expression for a few moments, then breaks into laughter.
"Hahahah! Can magic go wrong, y'ask? Let me tell ya one thing - of all the things that can go wrong in the world, magic is one of the most dangerous. And also one of the most failure-prone. That's why ya usually have to study intently for several years before an instructor permits ya to use it outside of a safety chamber. And even then many mages die in said safety chambers. Magic is crazy dangerous, man, but such is the way of powerful and fun things. And once you've got the principles down and the practice done with, you're a god amongst people. That's the way of magic."
"Maybe I should focus in a kind of magic which can't harm me, or don't make me explode if I'm not able to control it. One related to cold, that could be enough. You did mention some kind of magic related to energy, right?"
"Now yer being silly. Any magic will freaking end ya if ya aren't careful with it. Power brings danger. And danger is great! But yeah, you could try energy manipulation, but that usually manipulates heat - there's no such thing as cold. There's only the absence of heat. Though I suppose that you could get some kind of cold-based focus."
As the vampire finds out all these delicious answers, Niklas is otherwise occupied. Occupied with the extreme science of focus creation! Or, more precisely, a half-assed attempt at making a magical artifact of great power out of thin air.
After grunting and making lots of noises, and even invoking some holy words in his own made-up language, Niklas is sad to announce that his cleaver remains steadfastly non-magical. If anything, magic seems to have been sucked out of it by his shouting at it. You shouldn't shout at your kitchen implements. They have feelings too.
However, this does not matter, as Morton suddenly emerges from the dark kitchen, giving everyone tea with his generous, asymmetrically damp hands! The mages all sip the delightful concoction, praising Morton for his not-inconsiderable teacrafting skills.
"Nothing like a spot of tea to get the morning moving along!"
"Agreed. This brew can only be described as optimal."
"Took the words right out of my mouth! If I was an emotionless, suspiciously metallic and construct-like human being. Tea's still great, though."
"I am not "suspiciously metallic". What could have given you that idea?"
"Let's not ruin the moment, people, just enjoy the tea."
And they do, quietly sipping at one of the closer things to ambrosia any of them have tasted. The only thing upsetting the peaceful balance of the moment is Kevin.
[Kevin comedy roll: 3+1+1]
He steps out of the darkness, then unleashes the power of his unbeatable comedy routine, which sort of resembles a mime routine, except performed around Niklas. Nobody is quite sure why, but it looks a lot funnier this way. Maybe because Niklas is incredibly naked. The routine works out fine - everybody (except Niklas, who just stares at his cleaver intently and shouts strange words, though it could be argued that this improved the whole thing) enjoys it, but it is not gut-bustingly hilarious enough to cause hot tea to come out of anyone's nose.
All in all, not bad.
In the temple of Narcillicus...
Scott, realizing that Narcillicus probably wasn't the best choice for what he currently wants, still tries to milk the divine being for a favor or two.
"Can you turn my sheet back into my husband or make me more human-ish in appearance? I would really appreciate either."
~No to the first bit, as that's more Velusius' forte, and I suppose I could dispense some wisdom on the second bit - you're already human-looking enough. Not to mention that you smell pretty normal, even if there's a hint of horse entrails about you. Put on a nice hat, get some decent clothes, take a bath and you'll be set. And make sure to bathe regularly. Maybe even use perfume if you want to. But, most of all, be confident. Inner beauty's what counts, buddy. Anyway, our time's up. See you later!~
Hm. Not quite the divine intervention Scott was hoping for. Oh well. Maybe Pacitarius will be nicer. Scott scoots over to the altar of the Child of Nature, beginning to pray venomously.
"Allow ME to MOLD MY BODY and the PESSSSSTILENCE THEREIN into a MAGICAL FOCUSSSSSS and you'll have ANYTHING you can dessssire from me and the land about!"
That's certainly venomous, he supposes. At least it's better than rubbing his virulence all over the altar, he guesses. Pacitarius might take offense to that. Then again, kid doesn't seem to be paying attention to him right now, so it's still up in the air, Scott might say.
Post by: Tomcost on May 10, 2013, 03:15:58 pm
-Well, if it manipulates heat, it could just take it away, and then there would be cold. It's probably safer for an undead to manipulate something that can't hurt your body. Being frozen to death isn't either something very nice, but it's better that being burnt to ashes. Well, the most difficult part of this is going to find a cold-related focus. Anyway, thank you very much for the infromation! Enjoy your tea!
Sigmund then heads to see what the Artiste is doing.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 10, 2013, 03:22:10 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 10, 2013, 03:50:23 pm
"I offer anything you wish, for nothing can eclipse the love of my husband, dispite my recent rationality and instability, I would gladly sacrifice my own life energy for on last happy glimpse at him."
Post by: Tomcost on May 10, 2013, 04:22:35 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 10, 2013, 06:33:54 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 10, 2013, 06:34:02 pm
Niklas turns to the helpful mage again.
Question: would a telepathic stone go crazy if it was given a rubber dragon body?
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 11, 2013, 03:51:51 am
Sigmund is disheartened by the dangers of magic, but clearly not discouraged enough to give in!
"Well, if it manipulates heat, it could just take it away, and then there would be cold. It's probably safer for an undead to manipulate something that can't hurt your body. Being frozen to death isn't either something very nice, but it's better that being burnt to ashes. Well, the most difficult part of this is going to find a cold-related focus. Anyway, thank you very much for the information! Enjoy your tea!"
"Hey, ya could think about it this way - being frozen will kill ya faster than being set on fire. Though if ya get heated up several thousand times, it's probably gonna kill ya just as quick. And I'm glad to help ya."
Sigmund nods and starts to leave, only to hear Morton strike up a conversation with Erin. Man, she sure is popular.
"Erin, you mentioned before that we're heading to Horizon Island, why exactly are we? There something there that Artiste wishes that he can't get here? I must guess so, for all the bother it seems to be to get there."
"I think he wants to get to the City o' Dreams, or at least that's the only reason I can think of why someone would wanna sail over the Sea o' Death when there's not a lotta money involved. Ya can actually see the portal to the Realm o' Dreams from the island on the horizon at sunset - that's why they call it Horizon Isle. Pretty unfriendly place, I hear, and lotsa people have tried to live there. These people are mostly dead now, presumably. At least nobody's returned from there. And diviners couldn't find any sign of 'em when they scanned the island. Pretty weird."
Sigmund, having listened intently, goes downstairs to check on the Artiste. He appears to be currently busy trying to decipher what Mark is trying to tell him. The skeleton points at his body impatiently, looking at his master with certain expectations. The Artiste appears to be considering the meaning of this.
"Hm, I get the feeling he is trying to... hm."
He scratches his head for a moment, then turns to Sigmund.
"Ah, Sigmund with the dramatic last name! What's new with you?"
Meanwhile, back upstairs, Niklas considers if anointment with blood would help matters any, then asks the helpful necromancer a question that's been bothering him.
"Question: would a telepathic stone go crazy if it was given a rubber dragon body?"
The man adopts a thoughtful expression as he sips his tea.
"I dunno. Haven't really dealt with telepathic stones in my lifetime. I mean, we've bound souls to stones, but they've never talked back, so I wouldn't know much about what they'd be thinking or if they even could think. Probably not. Probably."
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott feels very foolish all of a sudden. Maybe he should try a different god. One that does magic, for instance. He takes a few steps to the small, faintly glowing bone shrine of Velusius and kneels down modestly.
"I offer anything you wish, for nothing can eclipse the love of my husband, despite my recent rationality and instability, I would gladly sacrifice my own life energy for one last happy glimpse at him."
The prayer is obviously not ignored, as the room suddenly feels as though the walls have eyes. Hundreds of staring, judging eyes. The floor, on the other hand, feels like it's made of fingers that suddenly wrap around Scott and feel his form.
~Oh, would you look at that. Love! I enjoy love. I bet you enjoy love as well. But alas, love demands sacrifice. Not yours in this case, though. Sacrificing someone else is certainly better. More valuable. What shall we have you do... oh, I know. Bring me the blood of seven virgins mixed in this vial.~
Suddenly, one of the bones of the altar - looks a bit like a femur, but warped somehow - snaps off and rolls over to Scott. It is quite a large bone, obviously not of human origin, and it appears to have a sizable hollow in the middle of it. It is soon followed by what appears to be an enlarged bone from the middle ear. It looks like it would fit into the hollow of the larger bone.
~So, yes. The blood of seven virgins in this vial, offered on an altar constructed by yourself out of virgin bone according to my specifications. Yes, it has to be virgin bone, otherwise you won't get anything. However, do this and you shall have what you asked for. Have fun. Enjoy and remember the experience!~
The voice stops, the fingers of Velusius relaxing their stranglehold on Scott's body, the eyes on the walls closing. In but a moment, the room feels like it did before, though Scott certainly feels different. He has something new in his mind. A design for an altar. That's going to need the bones of at least three adult people. Damn.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 11, 2013, 04:08:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 11, 2013, 04:14:34 am
[Before dropping from exhaustion, I would like to make one declaration: The deity never specified humans. Hurrah for loop holes.]
Yes, because it's extremely easy to find a virgin animal that isn't a human.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 11, 2013, 10:39:05 am
"I just want my husband back."
Post by: Tomcost on May 11, 2013, 10:43:26 am
-Nothing new around here, but I'm searching information about magic in general for now.
He then notices Mark
-Wait, is that the tree-headed fellow?
Sigmund tries to figure out what is different in Mark and tell it to the Artiste
((Yeah, I want to do a roll for this))
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 11, 2013, 11:20:57 am
Freshly handled in a most suggestive manner by a divine being, Scott is quite terribly disturbed.
"I just want my husband back," he mutters. A tender, hushed whisper passes over his mind like an echo from afar.
~Love demands sacrifice, dear Scott,~ it says, making Scott shiver instinctively, ~love demands sacrifice...~
In the home of the Artiste...
Sigmund, finding the Artiste ever-sociable, engages him in dialogue.
"Nothing new around here, but I'm searching information about magic in general for now."
"Oh, good, good. Just remember, if you get magic, for the love of all that is decent, don't pick necromancy."
"Wait, is that the tree-headed fellow?"
"Why, yes. I'm not entirely sure what he's doing, but it's presumably something important."
Sigmund examines the metal miscreant with the foliage-covered head. Well, he's certainly trying to communicate something important.
"I dare say he is trying to communicate something important!"
"Indeed! But what?"
"Something is presumably different about him."
"Well, that's all fine and good, but I don't really see why he has to try and tell me about it. It's probably not even anything too exciting."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 11, 2013, 11:28:55 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 11, 2013, 12:32:11 pm
[I'm never known for my good ideas while on the verge of passing out due to sleep deprivation, but it was just something I noticed.]
Post by: Tomcost on May 11, 2013, 01:05:04 pm
-Why is he there if he wants to tell something anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to just come here?
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 11, 2013, 02:33:09 pm
Scott, more confused than usual, asks yet more of Velusius.
"What is it you want?" are the words he mouths at the altar.
Suddenly, it's like a metal bear trap has snapped shut on his soul, Scott yelps and falls over in pain.
[Will roll: 6]
Though the pain is in a whole new league compared to any Scott has experienced before, he steadfastly powers through it. Whether it's the power of love or some other form of witchcraft, it is difficult to say.
~Ah, you survived. Good. Let that be a lesson - I do not like to repeat myself. It ruins the dramatic effect.~
In the home of the Artiste...
Morton tries to recall anything he might have ever heard in relation to this Realm of Dreams. He isn't entirely successful.
"Realm of Dreams? "Well, this realm must be important if we want to get there. Does it take you to a place of wonders, hence the name, or something more literal? I guess it must be dangerous if people have died just by being near the portal."
Erin seems to consider the question for a moment.
"Ya know, I'm actually not sure what the Realm of Dreams actually is. Some say it's heaven, some say it's a land of unseen wonders, some say it's something fiendish and alien to humans. The most popular idea is that wishes come true there, and lots o' people take trips on the incredibly dangerous Sea of Death to get there based on the rumor. None that I know of have come back. Whether they actually reached it or they were merely eaten by the sea monsters the Sea of Death is famous for, it's impossible to say. The Sea of Death is the Sea of Death, after all."
Meanwhile, downstairs Sigmund is trying to figure out what sort of silly business Mark is up to.
"Why is he there if he wants to tell something anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to just come here?"
"Well, I did tell him to stay at a distance of at least ten meters from me. So there's that. Couldn't have him covering me or my minions in deadly spores and whatnot."
"He doesn't look very infectious now."
"Actually, I do suppose you're right. He looks fairly clean, actually."
The Artiste points at Mark, raising his voice.
"You can consider the restraining order lifted until such a point when you have deadly things living on you again, Mark!"
Mark does a little happy dance at this declaration, running inside quickly before his master changes his mind.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 11, 2013, 03:13:33 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 11, 2013, 04:02:58 pm
"I would very much like to see my beau in this life, not the next."
:c
Post by: Tomcost on May 11, 2013, 04:25:56 pm
-I hear Erin saying something about you planning to go to the Sea of Death because of some place there related to dreams, or something simmilar, I can't recall correctly what I heard. So, why would someone ever want to go there?
Post by: Xantalos on May 11, 2013, 04:53:12 pm
Niklas shall go out and attempt to cature:
1 human, any age
3 cats
2 birds
1 dog
He shall bring these back to the house.
(Did the diety specify what type of virgin? Virgin of battle, virgin of faith...)
Post by: Xanmyral on May 11, 2013, 04:59:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 12, 2013, 02:09:23 am
Morton's spirits sink a tad bit at the mention of ravenous beasts of the unfathomable depths out to devour hapless sailors.
"O-oh dear, sea monsters? We may have to deal with sea monsters? Er, what do you think are the chances we'll have a nice and uneventful trip to this realm? I'd rather not like dying for a second time."
Erin thinks for a moment.
"An uneventful trip, y'say? Well..."
She lifts up her hand and brings the tips of her index finger and thumb close together, leaving a tiny space between them. Closing one eye and inspecting the space, then narrowing it a little bit, she nods, then turns back to Morton.
"Yeah, the chances are 'bout that great."
Oh dear. Oh my.
As they speak, they notice that Niklas is quite absent all of a sudden. Where might he have gone?
The answer, naturally, is hunting. The chef starts up a mental list and begins searching the area. First, a human.
Ooh, there's a particularly hairy and large one over there!
[Capture roll: 6]
He confidently strides up to the man.
"You may have already won 500 gold coins! Follow me to take part in a fair competition for untold riches!"
The man grumbles, then looks at Niklas questioningly. However, when Niklas gestures excitedly, it seems to be convinced. Step one: complete!
Now to find some cats. This is remarkably easy - there must be a crazy cat-person living nearby, clearly. Now to capture these kitties!
[Capture roll: 3]
Niklas dives right at them!
[Nonlethal Subdual: Niklas vs. Cat 1: 4 vs. 2+1-1]
He falls right onto the cat and knocks it out, then goes for the next cat!
[Cat 2 escape roll: 2]
[Cat 3 escape roll: 1]
Fortunately, one of the cats runs right at him!
[Nonlethal Subdual: Niklas vs. Cat 3: 5 vs. 6+1]
However, little thing dodges him easily! Dang.
[Cat 2 escape roll: 6]
[Cat 3 escape roll: 4]
[Niklas pursuit roll: 4-1]
Unfortunately for him, one of the cats gives him the slip! The other one's a bit slower, though!
[Cat 3 escape roll: 1]
[Niklas pursuit roll: 4-1]
The silly beast runs right back again. If ever there was a case for cats lacking intelligence, this cat is certainly it.
[Nonlethal Subdual: Niklas vs. Cat 3: 1 vs. 6+1]
However, it appears that it was a bit too early to make such generalizations, as the cat jumps right on his face!
[Counterattack: Cat 3 vs. Niklas: 4+1 vs. 4]
It then scratches at his face in a nasty fashion before dismounting from the chef and resuming its escape.
[Cat 3 escape roll: 3]
[Niklas pursuit roll: 2-1]
It appears to be a bit too fast for Niklas, running away much faster than he can pursue!
[Cat 3 escape roll: 5]
[Niklas pursuit roll: 2-1]
He is quickly left in the dust by the agile, impertinent creature. Damn it. Well, at least he has one cat and a large man.
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott is both cowed and bullied by such treatment, frowning as he lies on the ground.
"I would very much like to see my beau in this life, not the next."
As he speaks, Velusius doesn't reply. Huh. What's his problem?
[Scott dodge roll: 4-1-1]
His thoughts are interrupted by the bone vial sailing through the air and embedding itself in his throat! Dude, not cool!
~Nobody likes a whiner, Scott. The gods especially. Now do what you're told!~
On the ground floor of the Artiste's home...
Sigmund always making sure to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, asks the Artiste more about certain offhand comments.
"I heard Erin saying something about you planning to go to the Sea of Death because of some place there related to dreams, or something similar, I can't recall correctly what I heard. So, why would someone ever want to go there?"
"Well, we're going to Horizon Isle first of all. It's in the middle of the Sea of Death, but with you competent lot with me, I am confident we can survive."
He smiles at Sigmund and takes another sip of tea, taking a moment to enjoy it to its fullest.
"Of course, the reason we're there is for the portal to the Realm of Dreams, but first comes the settlement of the Isle. I'm going to be staying there for a bit, after all. But more on that later."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 12, 2013, 03:18:11 am
Scott grabs the bone vial and pulls it out, he then tries to siphon the god's residual energy to control the parasitic cells in his body to close the wound...for vanities sake.
Post by: miauw62 on May 12, 2013, 04:21:10 am
[Hmmm, I honestly do not know how to act at this point in time]((THERE IS NO WAY THIS COULD GO WRONG.))
Scott grabs the bone vial and pulls it out, he then tries to siphon the god's energy to control the parasitic cells in his body to close the wound...for vanities sake.
Kevin listens to the dicussion attentively, silently cursing his lack of vocal cords, a tongue, a throat and a mouth.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 12, 2013, 04:37:40 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 12, 2013, 09:55:10 am
-I think I have means to get information about how to reach the Realm of Dreams. I found a book about that, but, as I didn't know what it was I ignored it. I'd better go to look for that.
[If the Artiste says he need more information about that, Sigmund will go back to the bookshop]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 12, 2013, 10:44:10 am
Scott, clearly having gotten the message here, says nothing. Rather, he pulls out the bone vial and quickly tries to pull Velusius' magic out of the propelled vial and use it to fix his grievous injuries!
After gesticulating wildly with the vial for a few moments, Scott comes to several conclusions. Firstly, magic, even divine magic, might not work that way. Secondly, this is Velusius' magic he is trying to mess with, and that particular form of magic isn't known for its healing nature. Thirdly, he doesn't really know what he's doing and may, in fact, be completely batshit insane. Fourthly, if you consider the first three conclusions, it is perhaps best that this did not work in any fashion.
On the top floor of the home of the Artiste...
Kevin considers his lack of speech organs of any kind as he listens to the magical discussions that fill the air.
He decides that this lack of appropriate equipment is, for lack of a better term, a bummer. A major bummer. Oh well. Better keep listening. Oh, look, Sigmund's talking to the boss.
"I think I have means to get information about how to reach the Realm of Dreams. I found a book about that, but, as I didn't know what it was I ignored it. I'd better go to look for that."
"Yes, go right ahead."
He then runs off to parts unknown.
Well, not really. He just goes to the bookshop again. It is still full of books.
Post by: Tomcost on May 12, 2013, 11:05:58 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 12, 2013, 01:46:54 pm
Upon completion, he will leave the temple, too worried about the motivations of the god he is praying too.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 12, 2013, 02:27:17 pm
Sigmund quickly runs to the section on the Sea of Death and picks up the book on the Realm of Dreams, then looks for the shopkeeper.
Oh, look, he's just coming in right now! Ah, looks like he's a bit surprised by the broken door and window.
In the temple of Narcillicus...
Scott tries to somehow heal himself!
[Medicine roll: 4-1]
Well, he can sort of push the hole in his throat until it closes. He can sort-of speak then, though it's not at all like his previous voice. Well, it's kinda like his previous voice, only set on fire, its ashes swept into a bag, then poured back where his voice used to be.
Oh well. Better leave. Narcillicus probably doesn't like loiterers. Scott walks out of the temple, thinking about Velusius and what his problem might be.
It seems pretty weird, this whole god thing. Why didn't the gods want to help him much? Only Velusius actually signed up or anything, the others just sort-of rebuked him when he tried to ask them for favors. He's heard of divine disciples and stuff, but this wasn't really what he imagined serving a god would be like.
Post by: Xantalos on May 12, 2013, 02:29:16 pm
Take them both back to the house - the kitchen specifically - and knock them both out.
If they aren't already, that is.
Post by: Tomcost on May 12, 2013, 03:07:39 pm
-Oh, here you are. I've been looking for you. How much is this book?
[If the shopkeeper asks what happened:]
-Didn't your workers told you? Some bastard came here at night and throwed a rock at the window and procedeed to break stuff in here. I was just passing along and I found him doing what I said, so I chased him, but I lost him in an alley. Then I came back here looking for someone to explain what happened and found your workers investigating, so I explained them what I have already told you. I also described how was that man and they said that it must had been another bookeper, Walley I think it was. They went there to reach a payment agreement.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 12, 2013, 05:12:24 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 12, 2013, 05:59:03 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 12, 2013, 10:20:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 13, 2013, 12:59:16 am
Niklas picks up the unconscious cat and leads the man back to the house, stopping at the kitchen. Okay, time to knock this fellow out.
[Nonlethal Subdual: Niklas vs. Man: 1 vs. 4+2-1]
Niklas clonks the man on the head! The hairy individual looks slightly confused, then roars!
[Man vs. Niklas: 3+1 vs. 2]
He swipes a mighty claw over Niklas' naked chest, leaving a rather deep gash in it!
In Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund calmly walks up to the bookseller.
"Oh, here you are. I've been looking for you. How much is this book?"
The shopkeeper looks at Sigmund incredulously.
"What are you doing here? What's happened?"
"Didn't your workers told you? Some bastard came here at night and threw a rock at the window and proceeded to break stuff in here. I was just passing along and I found him doing what I said, so I chased him, but I lost him in an alley. Then I came back here looking for someone to explain what happened and found your workers investigating, so I explained them what I have already told you. I also described how was that man and they said that it must had been another bookseller, Walley I think it was. They went there to reach a payment agreement."
"Damn it all, did they leave the store unguarded in that time? Hang on, have to check the inventory right quick. Give me the book for now."
The shopkeeper outstretches his hand, looking at Sigmund expectantly.
In a temple of Narcillicus...
Scott quickly walks back to the Artiste's house and approaches his master.
"I would like you to know that I am very sorry."
"That's nice! What for?"
There is a roar from the kitchen.
"Hm, that's odd."
On the top floor of the Artiste's home...
Morton is starting to have certain reservations about this whole mission. Better try to keep one's optimism up.
"O-oh dear. Well then, what, erm, would you say that we'll get through it fine? If I heard right, mages are powerful, yes, so surely there isn't anything to worry about, right?"
"Well, ya know, it really depends on the monsters we meet, the quality of the ship and the prevailing winds, among other things. If some sort of God of the Deep comes out and tries to eat us, our trip will be very perilous. But if it's just ravenous seasquirrels, it's less of a bother."
Hearing these rather troubling news, Morton looks and asks if anyone needs more tea. Looks Erin, the Artiste and the other woman have finished theirs, while the two guys aren't even nearly through with their glasses.
Outside the Artiste's house...
Mark, having finally been admitted to the house, shows restraint by running right out and back to the town, looking for a temple!
Fortunately, there is a prominent one right over there. Large, made of stone and covered in ornate reliefs, looks like a prestigious place, he'd say.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 13, 2013, 01:25:42 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 13, 2013, 02:17:32 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 13, 2013, 02:25:13 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 13, 2013, 06:51:24 am
((Sigmund finally is getting violent))
EDIT: don't do the previous order. Do this:
Sigmund briefly considered stabbing his problems out of existence, but he didn't want to get his hands dirty, yet. He handed back the book to the shopkeeper and when he went to check the inventories, he pretended that he had remembered that he also had separeted the other books he had stolen form the rest, with the intention to buy them too. Then he said that he was only interested in the first book he showed, as the others wouldn't provide anything useful to him. He then asked again for the price of the book on the Realm of Dreams.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 13, 2013, 02:25:10 pm
Mark goes into the temple and prays to the Five Gods at one of the available altars.
After a quick prayer, he feels somewhat reaffirmed in his unlife, and that is rather nice, if entirely without a tangible benefit.
On the ground floor of the home of the Artiste...
Scott, drawing his knife for protection, walks into the kitchen to investigate the noise, as that most certainly wasn't the sort of roar he has heard Niklas make. Opening the door, he peers inside.
Oh, it's just Niklas engaged in mortal combat with a bear while holding an unconscious cat. Nothing unusual.
On the top floor of the Artiste's house...
Morton sighs at the world's continual tendency to not make things easy.
"Well, as they say, one should always hope for the best, yes? I'm sure everything will go well on this trip, monsters or no monsters."
"I'm sure it will, too."
"But that is a bridge that will have to be crossed in the future, for now, more tea. If you would excuse me for a moment, kind mage Erin, I will return."
Morton quickly chugs down the rest of his tea, then goes off to brave the kitchen and its suspicious noises. Passing Scott on the way, he walks right past Niklas, who seems to be busy with an ursine friend of his. As a melee begins to develop over by the stove, Morton takes a pitcher and nonchalantly fills it with the remainder of the tea from the pot. As he does this, he briefly wonders whether he should be more bothered about the fact that there's a bear in the kitchen. On one hand, it looks rather filthy and smells of many travesties, not to mention constitutes a serious hygienic and general health risk by being here. On the other hand, the same applies to Niklas as well.
In Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund considers stabbing this bookseller schmuck in the throat for his refusal to immediately name a price and ask no further questions, but decides that he is better than that. For now, anyway. He hands the book back to the man who is presumably Brenwicke.
"Let's see... Realm of Dreams. That was in the... Sea of Death section, if I remember it right... hold on."
He walks through the bookstore, taking a cursory look at the stock.
"Hm, looks like there are some books missing from the Sea of Death section. Book of maps, Realm of Dreams... hm."
Sigmund, in a motion he has mentally practiced these last few minutes, brings his palm to his face in feigned embarrassment.
"Oh, silly me, I neglected to mention that I had also stol-um, separated certain other books from the rest as well. I was thinking of buying them, but I suppose I won't after all. Here you go."
Brenwicke gives the vampire a suspicious glance, but accepts the books.
"Hm, necromancy... well."
"So, how much for the Realm of Dreams book?"
The bookseller stares at Sigmund intently for a bit, then at the book, deep in thought.
"It's a rare edition, so I'd say... 60 copper coins. Almost a unique volume, you might even say."
Sigmund considers this price. It's hardly cheap, he'd say. Would take most of his money. However, the streets are beginning to fill with people. Not to mention that Sigmund can hear someone approaching the store right now.
Post by: Tomcost on May 13, 2013, 02:33:19 pm
-60 copper coins? A man offered to transport me to the Sea of Death for just a bit more that that. But, well, that book must be good anyway. I offer 50 copper coins for it.
[If he refuses to lower the price, buy it anyway.]
((Not only Sigmund is a bastard, he is a cheap bastard))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 13, 2013, 02:53:09 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 13, 2013, 03:22:00 pm
"Geddit out of my house or make it a clean job you incompetent fool!
Post by: Xantalos on May 13, 2013, 06:12:23 pm
Chop out his throat!
With my sharp knife!
Post by: killerhellhound on May 13, 2013, 07:25:15 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 13, 2013, 07:40:37 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 13, 2013, 08:55:53 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 13, 2013, 11:21:39 pm
Sigmund, faced with overwhelming prices the likes of which he has not seen before, tries to haggle!
"60 copper coins? A man offered to transport me to the Sea of Death for just a bit more that that. But, well, that book must be good anyway. I offer 50 copper coins for it."
"Sixty-five. This is not the sort of store you haggle at."
Well now. It appears the guards are back.
"Hey, boss! We just got back from Wallyn!"
"And how, pray tell, did it go?"
"Well... um."
The guard produces an urn. His quiet compatriot nods gravely.
"He kind of incinerated Godfrey, put him in this urn and told us to piss off."
"He sells spellbooks! Did you honestly think it would be easy to rob him?"
"Well, he was new in town! We thought he'd be easily intimidated and whatnot."
In the kitchen of the Artiste...
Morton sighs and sets down his pitcher of tea.
"...Again, head chief Niklas? We have guests. I believe this to be the second, or was it third, time this month you've brought a bear in here. I know you like your ingredients fresh, but there is such a thing as too fresh I'm afraid. Either way..."
Morton moves behind the bear and takes a swing at its knee from behind with his fire poker.
"...Where do you find all these bears anyway?"
[Morton vs. Man: 4+1 vs. 5+2-1]
Sadly, he narrowly misses the knee, as the bear seems a bit too eager to slash Niklas to bits. After Morton's given it a try and stepped aside, he moves out of the way of the charging Scott.
"Geddit out of my house or make it a clean job, you incompetent fool!"
[Scott charging roll: 3-1]
He shuffles up to the bear and tries to stab it.
[Scott vs. Man: 6+1 vs. 4+2]
He swings wildly, mostly missing the bear! However, he does seem to have nicked it a little bit in one of the legs!
[Bear endurance roll: 1+1]
It appears to be having quite a strong effect, too, rapidly necrotizing the tissues found there as the hair on the bear's leg begins to fall out, the flesh underneath turning black and unhealthy. The bear makes a sort of defensive, cowed roar as Mother Nature works its foul magic on its limb.
"What? This is not a bear, it is a man! A very rude man, but a man. In fact, he doesn't need his... voice box."
[Niklas vs. Rude Man: 4+2 vs. 6+2-1]
As he slashes at the man's throat, the man sort of shoves him away, making him miss. Man, he certainly is rude.
[Bear escape roll: 4-1]
The man nudges Scott out of the way with his muzzle and limps over to the exit door, trying to get away before something worse happens to him!
Post by: Xantalos on May 13, 2013, 11:27:37 pm
Use extreme bad breath from that boar I ate a while ago to knock the bear unconcious.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 14, 2013, 12:51:51 am
[On an unrelated note, I can't believe I didn't see the correlation sooner between Scott's bio saying they had three children, and there was three undead in their employ in the manor. Clever.]
Post by: Innsmothe on May 14, 2013, 02:06:18 am
"And stay out!"
And he will step in front of Niklas and prevent him from doing stuff to the poor bear-man.
Post by: Tomcost on May 14, 2013, 06:53:38 am
-I have to say that it is a bit weird for a mage to come and throw a stone at the window. And even weirder to kick open a door afterwards.
Sigmund then throws a glance at the guard, and continues:
-I just didn't know that booksellers competed in such a way.
He then sighed:
-Well, as I'm in a hurry, I will pay for it, take the coins.
Sigmund then leaves for the Artiste's house
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 14, 2013, 07:58:56 am
Niklas notices the bear trying to escape and tries to give chase, as does Morton!
"You know it's very rude to leave a man's house without trying his cooking first. Luckily I keep some samples handy."
However, before he can properly begin chasing like a true hunter, Scott steps in front of him after waving the bear goodbye!
[Impedance: Scott vs. Niklas: 3 vs. 3]
Niklas stops momentarily in front of Scott, then steps slowly around him and continues on his way!
[Bear escape roll: 1-1]
[Morton pursuit roll: 5-1]
[Niklas pursuit roll: 5-2]
Both of the enthusiastic servants reach the bear, who seems to be currently confounded by the closed door, in no time, Morton priming for another swing with his poker!
[Morton vs. Rude Man-Bear: 1+1 vs. 6+2-1-1]
The bear, cornered by the butler, opts to counterattack before anything it finds unpleasant happens!
[Counterattack: Rude Man-Bear vs. Morton: 6+1-1 vs. 6-1]
Morton is lightly scratched as he dodges back from the bear's frenzied bite! Right on time to dodge Niklas as well, for that matter, who appears to be attempting to utilize halitosis as a weapon. As in, he breathes on the bear.
[Bear will roll: 5]
It seems to have eaten worse, to be honest.
[Bear homewrecking roll: 5]
It forces the kitchen door open and tries to make a run for it, making it to the edge of the Mark-pit, which Mark himself seems to be standing right next to at the moment, presumably wondering what in gods' names is going on here.
In Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, since his haggling has backfired, brings up the suspicious occurrences of the night for no particular reason.
"I have to say that it is a bit weird for a mage to come and throw a stone at the window. And even weirder to kick open a door afterwards. I just didn't know that booksellers competed in such a way."
"The reason you don't know that is that they usually don't, and Wallyn is no exception. And yes, he could have indeed burned this place down easily instead, were he a complete maniac with no respect for human decency. You know, someone like my positively enchanting guards here."
"Hey! One of us died today!"
"Due to an ill-advised extortion plan presumably devised by himself."
"Well, that is true."
"Fortunately, as there's one fewer of you, I won't even need to dock you any of your pay to afford to replace the window."
Rather than listen to this enchanting dialogue, Sigmund tries to get out of here as quickly as possible.
"Well, as I'm in a hurry, I will pay for it, take the coins."
He hands over sixty-five copper coins and goes back to the Artiste's house. When he gets there, he notices several things.
Firstly, Mark's back.
Secondly, there is a bear currently escaping in his approximate direction.
Thirdly, the Artiste seems rather amused by this.
Post by: Tomcost on May 14, 2013, 08:33:10 am
-Do you need some help with this?
He then realized that there was not time to talk, just to act:
-Don't answer, I'll see what I can do.
Sigmund takes out his knife and jumps the bear form the side and stabs it. Preferably in a vital organ.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 14, 2013, 08:40:10 am
promised to high five the chief later
before using his fists of steel to beat the bear to death
[also why is everyone having -1 to rolls?]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 14, 2013, 09:41:22 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 14, 2013, 09:42:05 am
((I love how all of us are dogpiling a bear.))
Post by: Xantalos on May 14, 2013, 10:06:25 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 14, 2013, 12:25:49 pm
Hopefully
Post by: Xanmyral on May 14, 2013, 01:04:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 14, 2013, 01:07:31 pm
Sigmund, noticing the bear running right for him, instinctively takes out his knife and goes for the vitals, attempting to flank the beast!
[Flanking roll: 1]
Sadly, his knowledge of flanking is somewhat insufficient to properly attempt this, so he just swings the knife sideways and hopes for the best.
[Sigmund vs. Bear: 4+2 vs. 1+1]
His knife strikes true, slicing one of the bear's non-necrotic paws right off! The bear is now effectively two-legged!
[Bear endurance roll: 3+1]
Seeing an opportunity, which is to say a wounded, mostly defenseless non-combative opponent, Mark goes for the kill, as the bear doesn't seem willing to die just yet.
[Mark vs. Bear: 5+1 vs. 6]
The bear jumps back from the crazy tree-thing, unwilling to put up with any of its crap. It is at this point that Kevin, wielding a bolt in his hand, jumps from the shadows and attempts to stab the bear!
[Kevin vs. Bear: 5 vs. 6]
It is an attack as ineffective as it is silly, the bear rolling away from Kevin's stab and leaving only the metal floor where it once was. Kevin, seeing this development, shrugs in apathy. He just wanted to be one of the group, you know. He insignificantly steps aside as Niklas silently leaps past him, primed to finish this silly encounter.
[Niklas vs. Bear: 1+2 vs. 5]
The bear, however, trips him up in a devious fashion before he can execute his murder-plan! Niklas careens past the bear, bumping rather unpleasantly into a concrete wall. This creature, it is tricky beyond what its appearance would suggest. As he flies past the bear, Morton finally gets to the bear and, in an unusual maneuver, tries to throw it into the pit. The bear being on its back, it's impossible to attack it from behind in this situation.
[Grapple: Morton vs. Bear: 2+1 vs. 5]
Damn thing's too heavy, though. They don't make bears as light as they used to, obviously.
Scott, wanting no part in this horrid awfulness, tries to do something more constructive instead. Like fix the door, for instance.
[Door repair roll: 5]
He quickly sets the door in place, then, after fetching some available tools, fixes the door! He considers how best to servant-proof this door. Those buggers, while none too sharp, can usually be trusted to open a door. Usually.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, observing the combat happening near him, tries to utilize telekinesis to immobilize the armored lady.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
Sadly, he is rather inexperienced at this kind of thing. However, he does slow her down a bit! Right on time for that Colin fellow to throw another jar!
[Whip Man water use roll: 2+1]
He tosses a single jar at the woman, this time a bit too lazy to break it mid-air.
[Armored Lady dodge roll: 3-1]
It smacks into her right across the chest, the jar breaking and spilling its contents over the front of her armor!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1]
This, however, doesn't seem to bother her much, though it does look like it's slowly, but surely eating through the armor. The man takes a few steps back from the woman.
[Master magic roll: 3+1]
The dog barks at the woman, producing a sizable sonic boom.
[Armored Lady dodge roll: 2-1]
The lady fails to dodge this as well, unsurprisingly enough! It's a pretty weak bark compared to what she's withstood, but still.
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1+1]
And it doesn't seem to have even slowed her down much. She swings her hammer once again!
[Armored Lady vs. Whip Man: 4+3 vs. 6+2]
As she does this, the man steps back, dodging easily and retrieving something from his pocket as the hammer sails past him.
Post by: Xantalos on May 14, 2013, 01:12:24 pm
SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN
Intimidate the bear into settling down.
Euthanize it afterward.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 14, 2013, 01:32:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 14, 2013, 01:35:46 pm
As the other distracted the bear, Sigmund jumped and stabbed it in the spine.
((I sliced a paw from it with a single strike, these knives are really awesome))
Post by: miauw62 on May 14, 2013, 02:04:23 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 14, 2013, 02:22:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 14, 2013, 02:44:40 pm
Niklas tries to intimidate the bear with his sheer presence, loudness and superior armaments!
[Intimidation roll: 2+1]
"RRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH! SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!"
The bear doesn't seem to be getting what Niklas is trying to say. After all, it is already on its back. Morton, seeing the potential for miscommunication, chimes in!
"Best do what the chef says if you know what's goo--why am I talking to a bear."
Unfortunately, he knows all too well why. All too well.
[Sigmund vs. Bear: 6+2 vs. 3]
As the bear tries to get up and away from these lunatics, its adventures are cut short by Sigmund, who, jumping over to it in a relatively sneaky fashion, severs its spine neatly right above the heart.
[Bear endurance roll: 6+1-2]
And yet it still lives. Quadriplegic, but alive.
[Kevin vs. Bear: 1 vs. 4-2]
And Kevin, striving to imitate Sigmund's stunt, leaps right over the bear and stabs the far wall with his bolt several times, dulling it significantly. He looks over at the completely unmoving and obviously quite harmless bear.
My, how embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Niklas has had enough, and walks up to the bear and goes about euthanizing it before these schmucks defile it any further with further shenanigans.
[Niklas vs. Bear: 1+2 vs. 3-2]
After attempting to euthanize the floor next to the bear for a moment, Niklas realizes that he probably should stop screwing around and just plants his knife in the bear-thing's eye, mercifully ending its prolonged existence.
After watching the strange spectacle, Scott is rather sickened, dismayed and bored at the same time. He turns to the Artiste.
"Can we, like, go? Please?"
The Artiste coughs awkwardly.
"Ahem. Right. Let's go. Morton, Kevin, take us to the makeover ship-and-captain. The rest of you, follow them. Especially Erin and Evelyn. The rest can wait here if they want to. Or come along if they want to see amazing magic and whatnot."
Post by: Xantalos on May 14, 2013, 02:57:31 pm
Here, take this. I have to finish this.
Skin the bear, then follow them to the boat.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 14, 2013, 02:57:40 pm
Morton tried to compose himself as he straitened and dusted his suit off quickly. "Of course sir, right at once." When the others are ready, he will lead them with Kevin to the galley.
Post by: Tomcost on May 14, 2013, 04:57:32 pm
-I think I could get used to this.
Then followed the rest to wherever they were going.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 14, 2013, 06:20:36 pm
[I'm a doctor and this is sort of what I do ;D]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 15, 2013, 12:08:06 am
Niklas hands over his cat to the Artiste.
"Here, take this. I have to finish this."
"Ooh, a creature."
The Artiste starts to carefully examine the cat. As he does this, Niklas commences with the skinning of the bear.
[Skinning roll: 4]
As Mark, lacking any tools, silently cheers for Niklas, the chef removes the skin of the bear in a rather decent manner. At least there's something gained from all this.
"So then, let's go now."
"Of course sir, right at once," Morton says, straightening out and making himself decent once more. He then takes up a position at the door right next to Sigmund, who seems to be basking in the visceral joy of extreme murder.
"I think I could get used to this."
"That's good! You will presumably have to kill many more things before the day is done."
Sigmund nods and follows Morton and Kevin along with the rest of the group.
"So, I'm going to have to remake a ship?"
"Yep!"
"It should not be a problem with my help."
"Unless she cocks it up as badly as the guy in the bed."
"Well, maybe it'll go better this time. She remade the house rather nicely."
"Exactly. Now she's primed to cock something up really badly."
"I'd probably do better at this if wasn't for yer damn negativism!"
As the group leave for the ship, Mark tries to remove some of the bear's limbs. Without tools.
["Medicine" roll: 4+1-1]
He realizes that there's only two a few - one's a worthless lump of necrotic flesh, another is mutilated to the point of uselessness, leaving two. So he takes two of the bear's skinless hind legs, ripping them off with his metal hands. Sure, these will be difficult to reattach now, but what can you do. He looks over at his leaving compatriots.
The ship-group, under Morton and Kevin's guidance, reach the galley in about an hour.
"It's a rather... old-looking thing."
"Well, it is a ghost ship. Anyway, nothing I can't fix!"
"Unless you cock up badly."
"Unless I cock up badly!"
"A complex thing, this ship. Let us survey it first."
"Right! Morton, go ask the captain for a guided tour. It's needed."
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 12:17:44 am
[Random question: Is Artiste still holding the cat?]
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 01:45:32 am
Take cat.
Wear bearskin as cloak.
Accompany them on tour.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 15, 2013, 02:29:48 am
:c
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 06:43:27 am
-An enchanted one? And I thought you were hallucinating when you spoke of flying ships. We definitely should go to see that later.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 15, 2013, 07:43:56 am
"As you wish, Master Artiste," Morton says as he makes his way up the gangplank onto the shrieking ship of ghosts and whatnot. He walks a bit on the deck.
"Excuse me, captain? I'm here to make good on the deal, we can change the ship's look, and yours too I believe. They request looking the ship over though, a guided tour if you will, so that they may better know how it functions and how to change it better to suit what you wish."
"YOU ACTUALLY CAME BACK! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU HAVE FREE REIGN OVER THE SHIP, DO WHAT YOU WILL! Just, for the love of the gods, MAKE IT DIFFERENT! It's been MADDENING it's the SAME DAMNED THING, DAY IN and DAY OUT! HERE, I'll guide you MYSELF!"
Suddenly, a solid black shape with glowing yellow eyes dives out of the bottom of the ship. It appears to be a tad asymmetrical, with three arms and two legs on the left side and five arms and only one leg on the right. In addition, it seems to have three heads.
"COME ABOARD! I'll show you EVERYTHING!"
Well, now Morton knows why the captain speaks so strangely - usually it's just the central head that speaks, but on occasion the other two chime in as well, screaming at the top of their ectoplasmic lungs as the captain speaks.
The call is not unheard by the people on the pier. Particularly Scott, who takes the time to propose the idea that his ship is totally better than this dinghy thing.
"But... the ship I picked was enchanted and had its own crew. I thought the luxury would be perfect for ones such as you, master."
"An enchanted one? And I thought you were hallucinating when you spoke of flying ships. We definitely should go to see that later."
"Actually, no time like the present. Tell you what - I, Art and Bernie will go with you to this enchanted ship. Couldn't hurt to take a look, no? It's not like we need to be here, since it'll all be redone shortly. You can take care of things, right, Erin?"
"Sure, no sweat."
"I will aid her, so you need not necessarily remain."
"Great! Be back soon."
"Sweet! Haven't seen one of those flying ships in more than fifteen years."
"Me neither! Awesome!"
"Take us to this ship, minion! Anyone else want to come along?"
As Erin and Evelyn head up to the ship to join Morton, Niklas asks the Artiste for his cat back. After all, he did obtain it for his own nefarious purposes.
"Hey, could I have that cat now?"
"Aw. I was beginning to like the little furball."
The Artiste reluctantly hands the unconscious cat back to Niklas, who joins in on the guided tour after tying his warm and extremely bloody bearskin around his neck, making a very disturbing-looking cloak (at least the inside part of it). The galley group head on a guided tour. Erin is a tad startled when she notices the captain.
"My. Y'must be a pretty ancient ghost."
"TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY-THREE YEARS and counting, thank you very much."
"That is a rather advanced age for a spectral being. No wonder there have been alterations. You have been largely isolated, I take it?"
"INDEED! The CREW used to talk to me, but THEY have gotten LAZY in the past CENTURY. FIGURE A VOYAGE SHOULD WAKE THEM UP."
"Ghost crew. Sweet!"
The captain's three heads nod, implying that it is indeed pretty sweet.
"NOW, this place is A BIT OF A MESS, to put it MILDLY. LET me SHOW you."
The captain takes the group to the captain's quarters, the door to which looks like it hasn't been opened in a long time.
[Captain telekinesis roll: 4+1]
The captain gestures with his eight arms, causing the door to tear itself out of the frame, yet remain on the hinges.
"LIKE I SAID, a BIT OF A MESS."
The group follows the captain inside. The room is rather disorderly, with the sordid remains of old, moldy books, furniture and bed-things strewn about. There is a picture frame on the wall, though whatever was in it seems to have been reduced to ribbons that now lie on the bed.
"Right, so THIS is WHERE I SLEPT WHEN I STILL NEEDED to sleep. WHEN I LOST that particular NEED, I PRACTICED MOVING THINGS HERE. After TWO HUNDRED OR SO years, I dare say I've GOTTEN PRETTY DAMN good at it."
"Ya did a pretty good job with the door from what I could see."
"THANK you. I try. SO, ON THAT picture frame used to be a MAP OF THE WORLD. NOW it's on the BED! I AM TOO LAZY to put it back together, even with the RELENTLESS BOREDOM AND UNENDING TERROR OF my existence."
"I think we've got the captain's quarters covered. What else?"
"There's THE LOWER DECKS, which contain the crew quarters on the mid-deck, and THE CARGO BAY ON THE LOWER DECK. I have not been to THE CARGO BAY ON THE LOWER DECK for longer than TEN SECONDS in two HUNDRED YEARS. THINGS LIVE THERE."
"That may be problematic."
"Oh yeah. What would these things be?"
"Why, the THINGS THAT LIVE BELOW. They are RESPONSIBLE FOR MY CURRENT CONDITION. THEY KILLED ME AND MY CREW! Their sheer terror is SUCH THAT I HAVE NOT DARED TO TRY AND FIGHT THEM. So I live up here instead."
"Well, anybody want to go down there and check if anything's still there?"
"DOUBTLESSLY THEY STILL LIVE. I hear them move when they THINK I AM NOT LISTENING!"
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 08:16:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 15, 2013, 09:04:20 am
Kevin notices that Sigmund tries to sneak out, and while he wants to do the same, the smell (if he had a nose) of adventure kept him here. He decided that if the smell wouldn't keep Sigmund here to help out with the monster problem, he would. So he catches Sigmund before he can sneak away and brings him back to the deck.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 15, 2013, 09:32:56 am
((Goddamn, a hard choice. I'm totally up for a ghost ship, tough. The floating ship smells too much like dead adventurers and a slight railroad. The ghost ship has dead monsters, but probably contains loot. Also, the ghost captain is awesome.))
Kevin notices that Sigmund tries to sneak out, and while he wants to do the same, the smell (if he had a nose) of adventure kept him here. He decided that if the smell wouldn't keep Sigmund here to help out with the monster problem, he would. So he catches Sigmund before he can sneak away and brings him back to the deck.
He isn't trying to sneak out, strictly speaking. He simply didn't go on the ship with Morton, the two mages and Niklas (plus any other ship-tourers, such as Kevin).
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 09:43:54 am
Sigmund will explain Kevin that he will come back, but he has to go with the Artiste to see if he could find a better ship that this.
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 09:59:21 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 15, 2013, 10:06:06 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 15, 2013, 10:54:59 am
Kevin shakes his head and makes a movement like a monster, then a stabbing movement. ((This means that I'm still trying to grab you))
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 11:43:13 am
-I will be back, it won't take long. If you want, wait for me and Scott until we arrive. Oh, and try to make sure what are we fighting before engaging something, please.
Sigmund breaks free and goes with Scott to that flying ship
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 12:22:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 15, 2013, 02:35:27 pm
Sigmund, Scott and company begin to make their way to the purportedly enchanted ship further down the harbor. Fortunately for them, they get there without incident. It is indeed a floating ship! There appear to be people in many-colored robes on it, looking a bit bothered by something.
"It appears you weren't lying, minion. It does indeed look to be a nice ship."
"Damn, it's a fine vessel. Enchanted to the core. Look at it float above the water."
"Very impressive, I must say."
"Gotta agree. Riding on this thing is probably gonna cost a fortune, though."
"Also true, I suppose. It does seem to have plenty of crew, though - deck's full of them. Shall we say hello?"
Scott looks at the ship. The captain's still standing by the gangplank, looks like. He's also still smoking that pipe of his and looking very, very dignified.
In the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, realizing that his only hope in this situation is Sigmund, depressingly enough, checks outside for said deadly vampire.
He comes to the conclusion that the bloody bastard's buggered off someplace. There goes his genius plan of grabbing him and gesturing at him violently at the same time until he understands his demands and complies with them.
Meanwhile, the rest are less concerned with abduction and more with murder-monsters and monster-murder.
"Were the Things Below made out of any kind of meat?"
"WHY, YES! EVIL, EVIL meat, but still MEAT! IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, and I might not, their MEAT is why WE WERE SHIPPING THEM!"
"O-oh dear, things below? What's that? Er... W-what do they look like?" clutching his fire poker to his chest instinctively.
"THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF LEGS, SLAVERING JAWS and a THICK SHELL they only occasionally move out of to COMMIT GRISLY MURDER OF INNOCENT SAILORS, not to mention what I guess are GLANDS OF METAL-CORRODING POISON that allowed them to ESCAPE THEIR METAL CAGES AND MURDER US WITH IMPUNITY. You see, NOBODY WARNED US ABOUT THAT LAST BIT."
"T-they don't wander out of the cargo hold, do t-they?"
"I BELIEVE THEY DO, but my HOWLING AT NIGHT scares them RIGHT BACK IN. If I wasn't a GHOST, then I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE KEPT THEM FROM ESCAPING THIS SHIP! That would have been ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! Not for me, you realize. FOR THE WORLD, I MEAN!"
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 02:43:57 pm
You guys. Come with me and you can kill stuff and I can get exotic meat for my next dish!
((Addressing the rest of the minions.))
Attempt to wake up the cat while doing so.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 15, 2013, 02:50:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 02:53:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 02:56:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 02:58:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 03:04:25 pm
"B-but I'm not good at fighting, you saw with the bear." Morton replied, pointing at the superficial scratches on him. "A-and these things eat metal, w-what are we going to use to fight them?"We get the mages to enchant our weapons, of course! What else are they there for, beyond flooding villages with crabs?
Post by: Innsmothe on May 15, 2013, 03:23:27 pm
((You already did that, or are you pretending to be amnesiac?))((I haven't done a personal introduction to my master or have any of the actual details.
I am trying to be a good servant. ::) ))
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 03:33:04 pm
((Oh, ok))((You already did that, or are you pretending to be amnesiac?))((I haven't done a personal introduction to my master or have any of the actual details.
I am trying to be a good servant. ::) ))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 03:44:03 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 05:54:40 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 06:03:06 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 06:14:32 pm
[We're either going to die horribly, or wind up with them as our pets, mark my words.](That will add to my pet collection. Should I give the cat to the Artiste?
...
I think I will if I get one of them tamed.)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 15, 2013, 06:21:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 15, 2013, 06:28:33 pm
(I thought you only had one cat. Your call on giving it to Artiste though, he seemed to like it. At least when it was unconscious. By the way, I think I remember something to comment on. Nobody tell Artiste what a human is, I don't think he knows.][We're either going to die horribly, or wind up with them as our pets, mark my words.](That will add to my pet collection. Should I give the cat to the Artiste?
...
I think I will if I get one of them tamed.)
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 06:30:59 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 15, 2013, 07:21:03 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 15, 2013, 07:24:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 15, 2013, 07:26:28 pm
((I hope for an epic fight in the next update))((Next next update; I still need to wake up the cat.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 16, 2013, 01:28:12 am
Niklas, hearing that the creatures are indeed made of meat, if possessing a thick outer shell, is utterly undaunted, as is his prerogative.
"Well, then. You guys," he says, pointing at the minions. "Come with me and you can kill stuff and I can get exotic meat for my next dish!"
Morton, on the contrary, is quite daunted indeed.
"B-but I'm not good at fighting, you saw with the bear," Morton says, pointing at the superficial bear claw marks on his chest. "A-and these things eat metal, w-what are we going to use to fight them?"
"We get the mages to enchant our weapons, of course! What else are they there for, beyond flooding villages with crabs?"
"W-well, if you think its possible. I-I'll aid you how I can then."
"Excellent! Nothing like hunting a new type of meat to brighten up a day."
"Not to burst yer bubble, but we aren't enchanters. Though I can turn yer weapons into some other material if ya want to."
Hm. Why are mages of such dubious usefulness? Oh well. Guess Niklas needs reinforcements for this to work. With this in mind, he tries to wake up the cat.
He comes to the conclusion that it's likely to be out for quite some time. Damn it! How is he going to defeat the things below now?
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, seeing the captain, takes the initiative!
"Hello, I'm sure you remember me, right? You gave me a promissory note."
The captain smiles and nods.
"Indeed I did, good sir. These are the passengers, I take it?"
"Yes - this is my master, the Artiste."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise, friend."
"And the rest are Bernie, Art and... um..."
"Mark and-"
Suddenly, Sigmund steps forward and takes a bow.
"Sigmund GrimDrake at your service, captain."
The captain bows in return, still smiling amiably.
"Pleased to meet you all. I am Captain Roderick Fredericksen."
"So, captain, what can you tell us of this ship?"
"Oh, it's an amazing vessel to be sure. Fast beyond belief. I've got space for 12 more people on it, and spaces go fast at my rates."
"Remind me, what were the rates?"
"30 copper coins per person, 15 if the destination you suggest is sufficiently exciting."
"That's a very good price. How can you afford it?"
"Oh, I have magical food replicators on the ship. They turn water into food, pretty amazing."
"Would the Sea of Death count as an exciting destination?"
"Well, I sail it regularly. Not sure how exciting it would be, to be honest. With my ship, it's rather simple to cross the deadliest of seas. Particularly when you adjust the altitude a bit."
"Horizon Isle?"
"I've been there, to be honest. It's not as amazing as you'd think. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for the full price."
"What about the City of Dreams?"
"Eh. Underwhelming. I've crossed dimensions far more perilous with this thing. So, 30 copper coins per person?"
"There's 11 of us. I've got 6 gold coins and 7 copper coins on me. What about you guys?"
"I've got zilch."
"I've got only a few coppers, to be honest. Maybe Erin and Evelyn have got money? Somebody should go back and ask them."
"Yeah, they kinda shared treasurer duties for our little band."
As the talky people do their talky business, Mark looks for some kind of halberd around here.
Fortunately for him, there's a weapon shop right here. Sweet! It even seems to be having a sale at the moment, presumably on account of the high-shipping season beginning.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren tries to continue to provide support for the man!
[Darren telekinesis roll: 3]
The woman is still slowed a little bit! Success!
[Touch Attack: Whip Man vs. Armored Lady: 1+1 vs. 3-1]
The man runs in a circle around the lady as the dog sets itself up for another bark!
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
And barking is exactly what it does, creating a massive blast that hits the woman head-on!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 3+1-1]
[Whip Man endurance roll: 4+1]
The man shrugs off the effects of the blast while the lady becomes slightly unsteady on her feet!
[Darren telekinesis roll: 6]
It is at this moment that Darren takes the opportunity to lift her off her feet, locking her joints in place and beginning to crush her with her own half-melted armor! The man takes this opportunity to walk up to the woman and put something up to her head.
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 3+1]
Her helmet begins to change and alter itself, its structure changing until it resembles a strange mesh of tiny cubes, just like the man's arm. She yells out as something bad evidently begins to happen. The dog opts to stand and watch rather than bark at this juncture.
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1]
The cubes spread along her armor, but she seems mostly unaffected otherwise. The man draws back the cube and takes a few steps back.
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
As he does this, the dog resumes its barking, blasting the woman yet again!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 4+1-1]
Hm. She doesn't seem to have particularly been affected. Dang. Though her melted and twisted armor does look to have become rather uncomfortable to wear.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 01:41:30 am
"I will go withdraw some money, master."
Edit:redacted
Post by: Xanmyral on May 16, 2013, 01:53:41 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 16, 2013, 07:01:44 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 07:34:54 am
-I will go with him, he will surely need help.
Then, as he walked with Scott, he started to elaborate his plan:
-So, will we just rob someone, or will we steal something valuable? I know the location of an extremely wealthy mansion, I can take you there if you want.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 07:37:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 09:54:12 am
-Well, but maybe we can still steal money from somewhere. I bet that whoever lives in the mansion I mentioned should pay a lot just in taxes.
His eyes became brighter as an idea appeared in his mind:
-Why don't we pretend to be tax collectors? It's a farly clean bussiness. Well, by clean, I mean without blood. The dirty bussiness would be the alternative in case it fails.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 10:30:40 am
Follow sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 10:40:32 am
Sigmund goes to the mansion and knocks the door. When someone opens it, he will say:
-Good morning, I'm the tax collector. I'm here to take your payment.
Post by: miauw62 on May 16, 2013, 11:55:11 am
((I swear, we are going to die or be taken hostage if we use the floating ship. It's just too good of a deal, considering that telepathy-captain-ship costed more and seemed less in quality than this floating ship.))
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 12:22:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 16, 2013, 12:24:55 pm
Morton considers the magical offer.
"W-well, I can't think of anything harder than metal... Er... I suppose the hardest non-metal you know, maybe in a bit more of a conventional weapon shape if you would?"
He hands the fire poker to Erin, who looks at it carefully.
"Uh, well... lemme think... what was that back in material sciences? Some sort of crystal, I guess. Glass, maybe? Like, arranged in fibers and whatnot. Guess that'll work."
[Erin magic roll: 1]
The fire poker glows for a moment, then vanishes. Erin takes a few steps along with Evelyn.
"Whoops. Well, we better take a few steps back. When things turn into gas, it's usually not something you want to breathe in."
Morton, seeing his treasured possession vanish in such a manner, tries to cling on to whatever hope he has left.
Next to the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Scott figures that he's got this.
"I will go withdraw some money, master."
"Oooh-kay, you do that."
Sigmund follows the unhinged vagabond, figuring that he hasn't got this at all and needs help.
"I will go with him, he will surely need help."
As he walks with the fellow, he elaborates on how he thinks he's actually got this. Firstly, a question asked with sly intentions to avoid an imposition.
"So, will we just rob someone, or will we steal something valuable? I know the location of an extremely wealthy mansion, I can take you there if you want."
"Stealing valuables is tricky, you would have to find someone wealthy enough to buy the spoils."
Secondly, once the mark has taken the bait, slyly explain your plan in a seemingly non-confident fashion.
"Well, but maybe we can still steal money from somewhere. I bet that whoever lives in the mansion I mentioned should pay a lot just in taxes."
Thirdly, pretend that you just had a brilliant idea and enthusiastically explain it.
"Why don't we pretend to be tax collectors? It's a fairly clean business. Well, by clean, I mean without blood. The dirty business would be the alternative in case it fails."
"I guess so."
Minion and accomplice obtained. Success!
"All right, we will begin in that mansion. We will try to trick them first, but, if things go wrong, I will nod to you and we will just stab them. Wait for my signal."
He leads Scott to the curious mansion and knocks on the door.
The door is opened by a small, dark-skinned man. Though he looks rather immaculate in his dress (which, by the way, any noble Sigmund knows would be proud to wear), not to mention fairly handsome in his looks, there is something unusual about him. He stares silently at the two undead.
"Good morning, I'm the tax collector. I'm here to take your payment."
"D-d-d-doubtful," the man stutters out. "Arrangements have b-b-been made. P-payments are alternative. Who d-do you work for?"
Back in less unusual circumstances, Mark strolls into the weapon shop to check the prices.
They're pretty decent, he has to say - a halberd goes for about 20 copper coins, a military sword for about 15, a bow for 10, 1 coin buys ten arrows, bolts or something similar. There's also more exotic fare, but that's a bit more expensive.
He pauses in his browsing as he notices the shopkeeper, who seems to be motioning to someone.
Outside the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Considering that the guys who buggered off were saying something about an enchanted floating ship, Kevin tries to find that. Presumably his master won't be far away.
In a short while, he does indeed locate a floating ship in the harbor! It looks pretty impressive, he must say, if a bit implausible. Wonder where the Artiste is, though.
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 12:43:09 pm
-I'm currently working for the local Baron, but the truth is that it hasn't been like that until recently. I don't know if you have heard news about this, but the Baron is currently in a bad financial situation, as he owes a pretty important sum to the Duke. I'm actually one of the Duke's servants, and I was ordered to do this job mainly because most of the Baron's servants have been fired, because, as I said, he is in dire need of money.
He then feigned to have remembered something:
-But, if you have made arrangements, you still have the option to contribute with a sum of your like. If you choose to do so, he guarantees that it will be paid, with generous interests.
((By the way, I love how you wrote my turn, Harry))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 16, 2013, 01:17:00 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 02:53:13 pm
If he is somehow convinced, Scott will keep a hand on his knife and watch for signs of treachery.
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 03:47:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 16, 2013, 03:55:44 pm
Sigmund feigns surprise at the response of the doorman. Perhaps this wasn't such a flawless plan after all. Luckily, nothing a quick run of bluffing can't fix.
"I'm currently working for the local Baron, but the truth is that it hasn't been like that until recently. I don't know if you have heard news about this, but the Baron is currently in a bad financial situation, as he owes a pretty important sum to the Duke. I'm actually one of the Duke's servants, and I was ordered to do this job mainly because most of the Baron's servants have been fired, because, as I said, he is in dire need of money."
"But, if you have made arrangements, you still have the option to contribute with a sum of your like. If you choose to do so, he guarantees that it will be paid, with generous interests."
The doorman looks at Sigmund confusedly, tilting his head and making an odd grimace.
"B-b-barons and d-d-dukes? It is... unusual. I am ill-equipped to d-d-d-d-deal with this. Would you like t-to speak with someone more q-q-q-q-qualified?"
Scott looks at the scene as he considers what to do now. This state of indecisiveness is something he has failed to plan for in his ingenious strategy! It seems like this might be a good opportunity to stab a guy, but maybe Sigmund might pull through. Oh, the dilemmas of the adventuring life!
Back on the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton sighs at this unfortunate latest development.
"W-well, that h-happened. N-now I'm not so sure I can help much against those... Th-things. P-perhaps the good captain knows of a place to arm ourselves against such a horrible p-pestilence?"
"I DO NOT, SADLY! I find that HIDEOUS SCREAMING can keep THE BEASTS AT BAY! At least they HAVEN'T ESCAPED WHILE I'VE DONE THAT!"
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 04:05:19 pm
Can;t afford to have smart people question us.
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 04:07:50 pm
-Oh, I see that you are not the owner of this fine property. I apologize for this misunderstanding. Yes, take me with a person in charge of managing the funds of the manor.
Sigmund then remembered about Scott. He pointed at him saying:
-He is Scott, he is one of the inhabitants of the town. He offered to help me, as I'm a foreigner, and I don't know much about this town.
When Scott stabs the guy, Sigmund will slice the man's throat.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 16, 2013, 04:10:30 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 16, 2013, 04:14:52 pm
When Scott stabs the man, Sigmund will stab him in the spine.
((If I keep like this I will get a perk that gives a bonus for attacking spines at the end of the chapter))
Post by: Xantalos on May 16, 2013, 05:58:38 pm
Ask Erin this question.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 16, 2013, 06:20:22 pm
mark buys a halberd and a military sword for about 35 coins then heads back to the first boat
Post by: Xanmyral on May 16, 2013, 07:08:25 pm
[Oddly Specific Comment HO!]
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 17, 2013, 12:05:54 am
After a moment of silence, Scott realizes that he probably should kill this guy. He stabs his knife forth into the man's gullet!
It sails right through the area, oddly enough, the man's expression completely unchanged. Sigmund, noticing said fiasco, stabs at the man's spine!
As he takes a stab at things, his knife moves oddly - it appears to glance off something invisible after making a gash. Looking at his knife, Sigmund notices that there's now a notch on it. Huh.
In addition, Scott feels something quickly move. Something sharp.
Looking down, he notices that something seems to have slashed open a rather large hole in his guts. Oh my.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, having considered this situation, asks a good question.
"Can you make my knife resistant to acid?"
"I could coat it in an inert metal, if that helps."
Morton, deprived of a means of being useful, sighs.
"Well, I'm not sure what help I'd be now Chef Niklas. I have no weapon to aid you with, and unless I become as hard as stone or something I don't think I'll be much help in the brawl anymore without a weapon. Do you think we should wait for the others, maybe as backup? They may be able to lend a hand."
"Buck up, buddy! The best part about being a transmuter is that the world is your oyster! I could make anything into a weapon, as long as you actually got me something."
In a weapon shop...
Mark selects a rather nice halberd from the available weapons in addition to a sword. He heads over to the somewhat disturbed shopkeeper. He puts 35 copper coins on the counter.
The shopkeeper looks a bit put off by this, grabbing the coins.
"Um... will that be all? Is there anything else you'd like, perchance?"
He seems very uncomfortable looking at Mark.
Post by: Xantalos on May 17, 2013, 12:07:45 am
Could you do that for this knife?
Post by: killerhellhound on May 17, 2013, 01:44:19 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 17, 2013, 02:04:35 am
Scott will go into town and follow his original plan of 'taxing' peasants.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 17, 2013, 02:14:42 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 17, 2013, 10:27:07 am
-G...Go... ghosts! ((Arrange this as you like, I don't know how to put this))
And he runned away in a rather clumsy clumsy and riduculous fashion and hided around the corner, waiting for Scott.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 17, 2013, 10:51:09 am
Niklas takes out one of his ridiculously sharp knives and hands it to Erin.
"Could you do that for this knife?"
She carefully takes the deadly implement and examines it.
"Well, I guess I could."
[Erin magic roll: 4]
The knife glows for a second before becoming much, much shinier. Erin hands it right back to Niklas.
"Well, it's probably about as sharp as it was, but now it won't rust anymore. Covered in platinum-iridium now. Inert, but hard!"
Morton, meanwhile, looks about the room for a suitably long object of either sufficiently sharp or sufficiently blunt appearance.
Unfortunately, pretty much everything in the room is reduced to either splinters or very tiny pieces. Hm. He turns to the captain.
"Would you happen to know where I might be able to find a oar? I imagine one might be present on such a ship."
The captain nods.
"The PINNACE on board has MANY, MANY OARS THAT YOU CAN TAKE AT YOUR LEISURE!"
Morton looks outside. There is indeed a pinnace rigged up to ship. It's old and full of holes, but the oars look to be in good condition, if rather large. He grabs an oar, feeling very nautical and native all of a sudden, salt building up in both his veins and his brain!
In a weapon shop...
Mark shakes his tree at the shopkeeper and leaves, ducking under the doorway as he begins to leave.
When he's out, he goes back to the slightly haunted ship. He spies Morton stealing an oar, then going into the captain's quarters. Hm. They must be up to something.
Outside a mansion of some kind...
Scott realizes that this was probably not the best of ideas.
"Great, ghosts. Sorry to bother you sir, we shall not meet again."
The man looks oddly at Scott for a moment, then at Sigmund, who appears to be a tad frightened.
"G-g-g-ghosts!" he yells, turning tail and running off, nearly tripping over his own feet. Scott looks on in mild bemusement at this spectacle. The man speaks to him.
"Yes. You should not mess with g-g-g-ghosts. Leave now."
Well, Scott sees no problem with that. He calmly steps off and looks for peasants to tax.
Luckily, the market district being rather close by, they are found pretty easily. There is a lot of them, though. How best to approach this?
Post by: killerhellhound on May 17, 2013, 10:54:05 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 17, 2013, 11:00:40 am
Kevin walks up to Erin and shows him and arrow, then points to Niklas' knife.
Post by: Tomcost on May 17, 2013, 11:06:29 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 17, 2013, 11:27:44 am
"My master, a necromancer of some evil nature, requires 330 coins for a boat trip or he will be stuck here....with you lot. Please give generously."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 17, 2013, 11:43:57 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 17, 2013, 11:57:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 17, 2013, 01:11:38 pm
Mark thinks of the zany misadventures his wacky compatriots may have gotten into and can't help but silently crack up a little. With this in mind, he heads into the captain's quarters.
Oh, gods, what in the bloody hell is that thing? It's got three heads! And many more arms and legs! And it looks scary!
"OH, GODS, what in the BLOODY HELL IS THAT THING? IT'S GOT A TREE FOR A HEAD!"
"Oh, that's Mark. He's with us."
"This is DISTURBING NEWS!"
"Ya'd think so, but he's actually quite-"
Erin turns to Kevin, who appears to be poking her. When he's gotten her attention, he points at a bolt, then at Niklas' knife.
"Y'want me to change all your bolt heads into platinum-iridium as well? Sure!"
[Erin magic roll: 1]
Erin gestures at Kevin's bolts, which proceed to disappear in a puff of oxygen. All of them. Shit.
"Excellent! Now, who wants to hunt some exotic meat?" comes a question from Niklas, who tries to look as majestic as possible, and sort of succeeds in a raging berserker knight sort of way.
A silence falls upon the room. About twenty seconds pass before Evelyn speaks up.
"Let me help you with your troubles, Erin."
[Evelyn magic roll: 6]
Suddenly Erin begins to glow brightly, the air around her becoming electrically charged. She giggles for a moment, her very being reconfigured for optimum magicality.
"I love that feeling. So, guys, ya go take care of the menace downstairs, I'll work on the good captain. Unless ya wanna watch. I wouldn't blame ya. This is likely to get interesting."
"OOH, MAGIC!"
The captain bobs excitedly at Erin's empowerment.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Having left the ghosthome (bloody ghosts messing up all these delightful extortion plans), Scott walks up to some peasants and solicits donations for the "Necromancers Go Away" charity he just devised. After all, what better way to appeal for cash than to serve the public good? He goes out in the square and yells.
"My master, a necromancer of some evil nature, requires 330 coins for a boat trip or he will be stuck here... with you lot! Please give generously!"
"Pah, if the necromancer's so evil, the guards'll sort him out. And if he's not, he can make himself useful and get rid of the ghosts on that ship in the harbor. Thing's been floating there for a century already."
Sigmund, meanwhile, watches from the shadows. Yes, he will watch Scott fail from a distance, then see how he runs to him and goes all like "Oh, Sigmund, you dashing, devilishly handsome genius, you, I am lost without your help! Lead me out of my immeasurable idiocy and give me but a chance to bask in your radiant glory!"
And then Sigmund will be like "Of course, my good man, it would be a shame to deprive the world of a mind such as mine," because he's cool like that. Yeah.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, seeing how the lady is floating up in the air and currently being crushed, offers a magnanimous offer of surrender.
"Hey, hey, hey. You want to give up, lady? Cuz, I really don't want to kill you."
The lady appears to be fuming in her state.
"Gh... khrr... surrender, heathens!"
She appears to be trying to break out of Darren's hold.
[Armored Lady strength vs. Darren's telekinesis: 3+1-1 vs. 2]
She summons up all her strength to twist unnaturally in the air, causing Darren to drop her to the ground! However, this doesn't impede the whip man.
[Touch Attack: Whip Man vs. Armored Lady: 3+1 vs. 1-1]
He once again touches something to her, this time on the leg.
[Lady endurance roll: 3+1]
She recoils back as the armor on her leg becomes a mess of cubes, screaming incoherently as something bad seems to be happening within her metal shell.
[Master magic roll: 3+1]
The dog keeps his barking up, making a directed blast at the woman.
[Woman dodge roll: 4-1]
It only hits her partially, as she rolls out of the blast's path quickly enough for it not to matter much in matters of her health.
The woman curls up in a fetal position and begins to chant something once more! However, not much seems to happen. She starts to sob, the misshapen, crushed plates of her armor digging into her flesh and causing great pain. She doesn't seem to be trying to get up at the moment.
Post by: Tomcost on May 17, 2013, 01:31:29 pm
Sigmund walked to Scott and said to him, in a low voice:
-If you can't frighten people with words, you should do that with actions. We should begin with people walking alone, and when the levels of paranoia rise, we can just repeat what you said, and make profit out of it.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 17, 2013, 01:47:25 pm
*zombie rampage on nearest sap*
"Who's not evil enough now?!"
Post by: Xanmyral on May 17, 2013, 02:09:24 pm
Morton returns to the others, oar in hand and the feeling of hair on his clawed chest. He isn't sure if it was the oar, or just him holding it, but he feels... Confident. Like a true scallywag of the sea, if that's what they say. He'll turn to Erin and ask a question. "Erin, would you mind making this out of a bit stronger of a material? I'm not very picky, I'm sure you know better than I what to choose, or has the boat already sailed on that, so to speak?"
Post by: Tomcost on May 17, 2013, 02:23:06 pm
Sigmund quickly backed away, he liked hings to be more subtle. He waited until someone powerful enough appeared, and then he jumped into action, stabbing somewhere vital/important/that caused a lot of pain.
((I hope this ends up being a nice slaughter, with loot))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 17, 2013, 02:49:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 17, 2013, 03:37:58 pm
Scott realizes that these people might not be taking him seriously.
He can't have that.
[Scott vs. Random Sap: 6+2 vs. 4-1]
He sweeps his knife in a diagonal fashion, slicing off the arm of a certain peasant! He appears to be pretty surprised by this, clutching at his stump and curling up on the ground, trying not to bleed out.
"Who's not evil enough now?!"
"Petty and random violence does not make one evil. It merely makes them an asshole, really. How is someone supposed to take you seriously if you reply to things with misdirected, childish outbursts? Oh, boo-hoo, people don't respect you. Better slice their bloody limbs off to show that I'm not a pathetic ball of awful trying to justify my worthless existence with simple bullying."
"Dude, he just sliced the guy's arm off!"
"Exactly why we have nothing to fear from him. One as easily moved to follow impulses will wind up dead sooner rather than later. Particularly when they maim people in broad daylight where guards can easily see him."
Scott looks around. There do seem to be armed guards approaching him, to be honest. They don't look particularly happy.
Meanwhile, Sigmund looks around for powerful people.
He notices one odd-looking individual in the crowd. He's wearing a noble's clothes and wielding a positively exquisite cane. He looks pretty powerful, or rich at the very least. Better kill him, then! Sigmund jumps into the action and tries to stab him somewhere vital!
This time, he chooses to go for the heart. He guesses that's pretty important.
However, as he stabs it forcefully into the man's chest, the knife hits something metallic, breaking in two, the sharp tip of the knife separating itself from the blade! The man stares at Sigmund for a moment, his face totally expressionless.
"Ah. How terrible for you. You should be more careful with things like that. They are so fragile. Now, let us never speak of this incident to anyone ever. Is this agreeable?"
Damn it all, why is this town full of weirdos?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, in a somewhat more scallywag-ish mood, produces the oar in front of Erin.
"Erin, would you mind making this out of a bit stronger of a material? I'm not very picky, I'm sure you know better than I what to choose, or has the boat already sailed on that, so to speak?"
"Sure! Easy!" Erin's voice has a slight crackle to it as she speaks. She takes the oar, then closes her eyes.
[Erin magic roll: 1+2]
The oar darkens a bit, changing its structure a little bit. She hands it right back after bending it in her hands several times and watching in amusement as it flips right back when she lets go.
"Here ya go! It's now made of this thing they call rubber. It's really elastic and stuff. Fun to mess with. Tee-hee."
She's looking a bit bubbly, though her glow has lessened a little bit.
"So, we doing this thing or not? Cap'n?"
"OH, RIGHT! YES! I'd like to look less MONSTROUS AND HORRIFYING. A bit CLASSIER and stuff. LIKE A HANDSOME HUMAN BEING DRESSED IN TODAY'S NAUTICAL FASHION! Anyone have SUGGESTIONS? I don't GET OUT MUCH, you see."
Post by: Xanmyral on May 17, 2013, 03:45:28 pm
[This is going to end terribly, and I can't wait to watch.]
Post by: Innsmothe on May 17, 2013, 04:05:48 pm
Scott will run like a whipped child to the arms of his master.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 17, 2013, 06:26:54 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 17, 2013, 06:48:52 pm
To the area in which the horrible monsters are! Take the cat along with me and try to wake it up as we go.
Post by: Tomcost on May 17, 2013, 08:41:44 pm
Sigmund apologized and quickly went back to the Artiste, as he had no means to defend himself now.
Post by: Xantalos on May 17, 2013, 08:43:49 pm
[This is going to end terribly, and I can't wait to watch.](Yes it is. To glory or death!
Or mutilation and transformation!)
Post by: Xanmyral on May 17, 2013, 08:57:39 pm
[It will definitely lead to something. Whether that something is good or not depends on the almighty rubber oar.][This is going to end terribly, and I can't wait to watch.](Yes it is. To glory or death!
Or mutilation and transformation!)
Post by: Xantalos on May 17, 2013, 09:00:09 pm
And my collection of ridiculously sharp knifes.[It will definitely lead to something. Whether that something is good or not depends on the almighty rubber oar.][This is going to end terribly, and I can't wait to watch.](Yes it is. To glory or death!
Or mutilation and transformation!)
Post by: killerhellhound on May 17, 2013, 09:03:24 pm
and my medical rollsAnd my collection of ridiculously sharp knifes.[It will definitely lead to something. Whether that something is good or not depends on the almighty rubber oar.][This is going to end terribly, and I can't wait to watch.](Yes it is. To glory or death!
Or mutilation and transformation!)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 17, 2013, 10:31:07 pm
Try and fix her. Staunch the flow of the blood, try and make bandages from some rags or clothes. If neccesary, use her own underclothes as bandages.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 17, 2013, 10:58:51 pm
"Hey... Uh... Damn."she wanted to kill you two seconds ago and you want to fix her
Try and fix her. Staunch the flow of the blood, try and make bandages from some rags or clothes. If neccesary, use her own underclothes as bandages.
edit: if you sneak in a mind control device you will have my mad science respect
Post by: miauw62 on May 18, 2013, 02:59:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 18, 2013, 03:15:18 am
Morton swings about his giant rubber oar. It's a bit heavy, and it looks like it would hurt quite a bit to be hit with this. It's like a flat two-handed club made of an exotic material, to be exact. Not bad, all in all.
"This 'rubber' will do wonderfully I bet, thank you, Erin."
Fueled by unfounded optimism, Morton is now ready to face the world and possibly not die in the process.
"Right, so then, Head Chef Niklas, shall we head down to get those things a right going for?"
"Indeed. Let's go meathunting!" comes an affirmative call from Niklas. Even Mark joins in, handing Morton a sword. Silly bugger. Morton already has weaponry far superior to this silly metal thing.
Together, they go below, wandering through the empty crew quarters and reaching the door to the cargo hold. It appears to have been barricaded some time ago with several barrels and boxes. A rather flimsy barricade, all in all. Seeing this obstacle, Niklas once again tries to call upon his greatest ally, the slumbering hope of the nation.
[Waking up roll: 6]
Looking inside a nearby barrel, he notices that it's full of a mixture of water and strange sludge. Perfect. He dunks the slumbering cat in it, pulling it out when it is an appropriately awake and noisy clawed whirlwind of pure hatred.
Back up above, Kevin, having a bright idea, gets out and grabs an oar very much like Morton, then hands it to Erin.
"Y'want something similar, I suppose?"
[Erin magic roll: 2+2]
She closes her eyes once more, and the oar slowly turns into rubber as well. Erin hands it to Kevin.
"Y'll soon be able to start an oarsman team at this rate."
In the Market District of Shriekpot...
Scott stops to curse the quality of these peasants' education and tries to escape before the guards get here.
[Scott escape roll: 2-1]
[Guard arrival roll: 1]
He slowly begins to shuffle away from the scene as the guards are distracted by a particularly peeved merchant who seems to be asking if they are about to do anything about all these vile fruit thieves infesting the district.
[Scott escape roll: 6-1]
[Guard pursuit roll: 1]
When the guards try to get away from this concerned citizen, this merely attracts the attention of more merchants, who all then proceed to surround them and swamp them with complaints. The guards try to get out of this situation by saying that there's a violent criminal making an escape as they speak, but the merchants claim that that's what they always say, and meanwhile there's fifty fruit thieves and whatnot also making an escape. If they're going to crack down on criminals, they should crack down on all of them.
Scott, meanwhile, makes an escape and successfully avoids responsibility for his violent criminal actions, getting back to the Artiste safe and sound.
In the meantime, Sigmund makes an apology to the strange man.
"I'm sorry, I thought you were a plain old townsperson with a surplus of money, so I thought it would be easy to murder you. My mistake, huh?"
The man smiles at him amiably.
"Yes, quite a terrible mistake indeed. Tell you what, I'll reimburse you for your knife. It's only fair. You didn't know, after all. My house is just nearby, you know. I could get some money to get your knife fixed."
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, feeling a bit awkward at reducing a woman to tears, tries to fix her!
[Medicine roll: 4]
Well, there isn't a whole lot he can do for her bleeding - if there actually is any, it's probably internal and in places he can't see. Though he can help make her armor less uncomfortable. The stereometric plague, though, that he does not know how to cure.
[Telekinesis roll: 1]
He tries to shift the armor plates around some, but he makes a bit of a slip, which results in a metal plate twisting unnaturally and stabbing into her side, causing some actual external bleeding. There is a howl of pain from the woman. The whip man shakes his head at this poor treatment of the woman.
[Whip Man vs. Armored Lady: 5+2 vs. 5+2-1-1-1]
He brings his whip down on her neck with considerable force once, slicing through about half of it and causing a massive spurt of blood.
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 6+1-1]
The lady screams extremely loudly, and it appears that the whip didn't get anything that would immediately kill her. She is rapidly bleeding to death, though, an affliction that does not diminish when she gets up on her feet, picking up her shield and lifting up her hammer.
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 3+1-1]
[Whip Man endurance roll: 5+1]
Then comes yet another blast in her direction, one that forces her to her knees, a small trickle of blood seeping out from under her faceplate.
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 03:19:21 am
Minions! Dissasemble!
Post by: Xanmyral on May 18, 2013, 03:41:18 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 03:46:24 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 18, 2013, 04:37:30 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 18, 2013, 06:10:55 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 18, 2013, 06:21:48 am
"Hmmm, master are there any art's you could do that would be of significant worth in the way of coinage to these sailors?"
Post by: Tomcost on May 18, 2013, 09:21:24 am
Definitely, this town was full of weirdos, but that didn't prevent Sigmund to use this opportunity:
-Oh! Thank you sir!. I have really had a bad day, actually. I have been enslaved, then attacked by a bear, and the by ghosts. I'm glad to see that there is somebody that is still friendly in this town.
Follow him to his house
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 18, 2013, 10:10:38 am
Niklas dramatically points to the flimsy barricade in front of the door with the shrieking cat, which allows for both increased drama and keeps the vicious critter away from his delicious giblets.
"Minions! Disassemble!"
"Minion? Chef Niklas, I don't believe any of us are minions. Servants, perhaps, although to Artiste. But yes, I suppose we should remove that if we wish to go forth. Stand back, lets see what this thing can do."
As everybody takes a step back, particularly Mark, who takes great care to hide behind the heroic bulk of Niklas at a safe distance from both metal-eating fiends and furious felines. All three of the other undead, Kevin being the most recent arrival, watch as Morton tries to smash the barricade with his rubber oar.
[Morton homewrecking roll: 3]
It's a bit difficult, to be honest. The oar isn't very good for destroying wood, particularly of the grade that you make durable shipping containers out of. It is more than adequate at clearing some of the looser bits of debris, however. The barricade's still there, but there is a lot less clutter on it now. And that is what they call a success in the butler business.
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Scott asks a question of the Artiste.
"Hmmm, master, are there any arts you could do that would be of significant worth in the way of coinage to these sailors?"
The Artiste eyes Scott dubiously.
"No, not really. Spacewarping magic is hardly flashy enough to be good for entertainment, and enslavement of souls isn't something you proudly display to the general public as far as I know."
"Go see the transmuter and blondie. They've got money, apparently. We asked you idiots to do that half an hour ago. Did either of you even try that?"
In the Market District of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, touched by the magnanimity of the weirdo, accepts the offer!
"Oh! Thank you, sir! I have really had a bad day, actually. I have been enslaved, then attacked by a bear, and the by ghosts. I'm glad to see that there is somebody that is still friendly in this town."
"I am feeling your pain, good sir. Follow me."
The man leads Sigmund out of the market district, though not far. In fact, it's a bit of a retracing of steps, as he is led right to the front of the mansion he just left. The man turns to him, a kind expression decorating his features.
"Right then, we're here. Do come in, it's so rare that I get to show off my home. I'm afraid I'm not very sociable."
He chuckles in a friendly fashion at that last remark.
Post by: Tomcost on May 18, 2013, 10:33:27 am
Sigmund, shivering, explained:
- I-I-I'm afraid that this is where I got attacked by ghosts, sir. My new master needed money, and, well, I thought that a wealthy person could be tricked for some of it. Your butler, I think he was, was the one to open the door. A-a-and, as I couldn't get any money from him, my partner thought that stabbing him would be a viable option. I panicked at the sight of that and stabbed him too, only to see that the knives just went past him. Then I panicked and ran as quick as I could. And then I found you. I'm really sorry! But I didn't know what to do!
Post by: killerhellhound on May 18, 2013, 10:52:01 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 18, 2013, 11:00:35 am
"You never mentioned that the house was connected to my new masters. I knew you weren't trustworthy, why did I listen?" *siiiiiigh*
Scott goes off to find his masters blond heartthrob.
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 11:05:01 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 18, 2013, 11:12:56 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 18, 2013, 11:57:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 18, 2013, 12:07:30 pm
Sigmund, seeing that this guy owns the house that he tried to murder the butler of, begins to shiver and snivel, and is about this far from beginning to grovel.
"I-I-I'm afraid that this is where I got attacked by ghosts, sir. My new master needed money, and, well, I thought that a wealthy person could be tricked for some of it. Your butler, I think he was, was the one to open the door. A-a-and, as I couldn't get any money from him, my partner thought that stabbing him would be a viable option. I panicked at the sight of that and stabbed him too, only to see that the knives just went past him. Then I panicked and ran as quick as I could. And then I found you. I'm really sorry! But I didn't know what to do!"
The man appears to be listening intently, his face incredulous.
"Oh? Ghosts, you say? You say my butler is a ghost? What say you we go over there and resolve this matter, then have a nice bit of tea while I get you your compensation? It will have to be increased, naturally, since you have already suffered much on my account. Let it not be said that I am not a just and generous man!"
In the depths of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, throwing his fear of metal-eating creatures to the wind, goes forth and shoves Morton aside, then begins hacking the barricade to bits while Niklas poses commandingly, the cat still screeching as it tries to get out of his vise-like grip.
[Mark homewrecking roll: 3+1]
Fortunately, his halberd is useful in this respect, as it contains an axe! Soon the barricade is mostly hacked to bits, Morton and Kevin quickly swatting the remaining bits away in their bids to be useful. Now there is only a single door between the intrepid adventurers and the Things Below.
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
After sharing some choice (though their meaning certainly escapes any conventional listener) words with his sniveling imaginary friend and then glaring at it, Scott goes back to the shrieking ship. Now, where could blondie be?
Probably in the place that seems like it has magic happening in it - captain's quarters, he presumes. He goes in to take a look.
[Erin magic roll: 2+2-1]
He notices Erin wave her hands around at a large black shade, magic clearly being at work here. The shade seems to lose two heads, its arms grouping up to make two, its legs following suit.
"A good start, but not quite what I EXPECTED. For one, I STILL HAVE THE COMPULSION TO YELL THINGS!"
"Huh. Reabsorption didn't help? Must be ingrained or something."
The blond mage is right next to her, looking somewhat thoughtful, yet completely idle.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren tries to telekinetically heal the poor lady!
[Medicine roll: 4]
Well, presumably that gaping wound on her neck really needs addressing, as it seems she's losing copious amounts of blood from it.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He reaches out with his mind, mending the split artery rather nicely and closing the wound. The lady looks perplexed by this, putting her hand up to the wound.
[Whip Man water use roll: 1+1]
The whip man hurls a jar of water right past her in the meantime. Oh, whip man. You so silly.
[Master magic roll: 1+1]
In addition, the dog seems to be getting bored with this battle.
[Armored Lady vs. Whip Man: 1+2-1 vs. 4+2]
The lady charges at the whip man, who dodges aside, then tries to perform an outlandish combat maneuver!
[Touch Attack: Whip Man vs. Armored Lady: 1+1 vs. 5-1]
He brings out a jar of water, and is then rather surprised when the lady slaps it out of his hand.
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 12:09:15 pm
Perform pre-battle animation.
Post by: Tomcost on May 18, 2013, 12:21:54 pm
-Thank you sir! You are a very kind gentleman. I really haven't encountered many generous people like you in my life. I have to personally apologize myself to your butler, after all what has happened.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 18, 2013, 01:13:15 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 18, 2013, 01:37:53 pm
"Also, I do have a question, mage, if I can? Good, would you know how to attune ones self to poison magic?"
Post by: killerhellhound on May 18, 2013, 01:52:24 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 18, 2013, 03:44:42 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 18, 2013, 04:19:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 04:35:16 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 18, 2013, 04:57:31 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 05:14:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 18, 2013, 05:56:58 pm
Niklas keeps standing in his position, attempting to perform a ritualistic, expository motion of battle preparation. Like, some kind of movement that sums up his combat strategy and general personality. But what would that be?
He spends the next few minutes pondering this question, feeling a bit pressured into summing himself up in but a single choreographed motion. He is not some caricature, damn it! He is a layered, complex personality!
Meanwhile, Morton actually makes himself useful and goes to open the door.
"Right then, just this door and off we go, right, gentlemen?"
He grabs the door handle and yanks the door open, the horrors of the cargo hold opening up before them.
It's a bit dark in there, but it certainly doesn't seem like anything particularly wants to come out and murder them mercilessly. There is something oddly foreboding about the dark recesses of the ruined hold, though. It's like something is watching in there, Morton thinks.
At a luxurious mansion in Shriekpot...
Sigmund is taken aback by the man's generosity so much that he stands silently for a moment. However, he soon collects his wits.
"Thank you sir! You are a very kind gentleman. I really haven't encountered many generous people like you in my life. I have to personally apologize myself to your butler, after all what has happened."
"Well, if you feel this way, let's go see him."
The man leads Sigmund to the door and knocks. Soon enough the butler opens the door. He looks expressionlessly at the man.
"Ah, hello... Thomas."
"Master G-g-g-g-g-gimble."
"Now, it appears that you gave our guest a bit of a scare."
"It ap-pears he thought I was a g-g-g-g-ghost."
"Nothing could be farther from the truth, though. It is merely a special protective spell I devised to keep myself and my household safe, you see. The principle of it is rather interesting, to be honest. Now, friend, I believe you had something to say to good old Thomas? Why don't you say what you were going to say, and then we'll have tea and discuss our arrangement."
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott gives Evelyn the low-down on what's happened in her absence.
"Hey, good news! We can get on the luxury ship! We just need either 330 copper coins or some flashy magic!"
Well, that didn't take long.
"I have 9 gold coins and 2 silver. You, Erin?"
"Hah! 10 gold coins precisely! I got funds to burn!"
"Please, Erin, was it? FOCUS!"
"Oh, right! Sure!"
She thinks for a moment.
"Not sure what I could do now, though. New guy, any ideas?"
Scott, however, is otherwise occupied.
"Also, I do have a question, mage, if I can? Good, would you know how to attune one's self to poison magic?"
Evelyn regards Scott, and it is obvious she is rather unimpressed.
"Hard work and exceptional focus. The first you are unwilling to do, the second is beyond your capabilities. Ask no more."
"Aw, that ain't nice to the poor guy."
"Better that he realizes it now."
Post by: Xantalos on May 18, 2013, 06:02:10 pm
His agent of destruction and potential companion was ready.
He pulled his arm back and threw.
Toss the cat into the dark to see if there's anything there.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 18, 2013, 06:38:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 18, 2013, 06:42:46 pm
-I apologize for my childish and unethical behaviour, sir. Due to some recent events, I was forced to get money quickly, and that's why I resorted to trick you. But my intention was not to stab you, it was my partner's idea, and when I saw him attacking you, I just didn't know how to react, so I imitated him. I don't hope you to understand my current situation, but at least I can hope that you can forgive a desperate man.
He then remembered the ghost incident:
-Also, now that your master explained me what had happened, I feel really embarassed for making such an assumption.
((I love the cat idea))
Post by: killerhellhound on May 18, 2013, 08:00:52 pm
(I will be amased if the cat kills what ever is in there)
Post by: Xantalos on May 19, 2013, 12:27:49 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 19, 2013, 02:31:12 am
"Hmmm, I don't even know why I'm asking you actually, because it was one of you lot that managed to warp my husband into a sheet. So you can't actually be that talented."
Scott will then actually go to the bank and withdraw his family's savings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 19, 2013, 03:23:30 am
Niklas peers into the darkness, aware that something assuredly dangerous must be in there if it didn't rush out to get him. Therefore, he must deploy his not-so-secret weapon. He swings the cat and hurls it into the cargo hold. The cat flies perilously close to Morton's head as it flies through the air.
"Well, I suppose we sho-" Morton begins to speak, but pauses as the feline's trajectory nearly intersects with his cranium. "... We could do that too, yes."
The cat lands on its feet, stops shrieking and looks around uncertainly before running off into the darkness. Well, there aren't any beastly sounds from within, that much is certain. Not yet, anyway.
At a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund becomes rather sad as he makes his apology.
"I apologize for my childish and unethical behavior, sir. Due to some recent events, I was forced to get money quickly, and that's why I resorted to trick you. But my intention was not to stab you, it was my partner's idea, and when I saw him attacking you, I just didn't know how to react, so I imitated him. I don't hope you to understand my current situation, but at least I can hope that you can forgive a desperate man. Also, now that your master explained me what had happened, I feel really embarrassed for making such an assumption."
"Ap-pology accepted, good sir."
"And now that you mention it, I do believe that I could reimburse your partner as well - it's only fair after all you've been put through. Would you mind bringing him over?"
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, being so derisively treated, can't help but say some choice words in return.
"Hmmm, I don't even know why I'm asking you actually, because it was one of you lot that managed to warp my husband into a sheet. So you can't actually be that talented."
"That was pretty funny, wasn't it?"
"Certainly an appropriate way to deal with him."
"Funny thing is, I was gonna turn him into a plant at first and then put him in the garden or something. But this was even better!"
"Ahem. COULD WE GET TO WORK ALREADY?"
"In a moment, dear. Now, let's see... gesture expressively, stand on one leg, think happy thoughts..."
[Erin magic roll: 4+1-1]
Erin gestures expressively, spins on her heel and snaps at the captain, who slowly regains color and human features! In but a moment he looks like a somewhat handsome human being with a flamboyant admiral's hat! He is completely naked otherwise.
"Certainly a STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, but COULD YOU CREATE SOME CLOTHES AS WELL?"
"Hm, workin' on it."
Scott, having seen enough, takes a trip down to Gerfluski and Sons Bank, where his husband and he kept their entire savings. Good to see the old place standing. He heads right in. The bank is a fairly dinghy, dark place, its clerks rather on the elderly side, though it's nonetheless an establishment renowned for its safety, efficiency and reliability. Scott walks up to an idle-looking clerk and goes about the whole business.
"Hello, good sir. I'm Scott Yaleson, perhaps you remember me. I'd like to withdraw my savings."
The clerk looks at him strangely, then goes and retrieves a file. Leafing through it, he makes a low whistle, then looks at Scott again.
"All of your savings? I'm afraid I will require your husband's signature as well. It is a rather sizable withdrawal."
One of the other clerks seems to have heard this, as he gets up and goes into one of the back rooms.
Post by: Xantalos on May 19, 2013, 03:43:01 am
Follow the cat!
Post by: Innsmothe on May 19, 2013, 04:20:23 am
He will then take out Gary and show him in his full glory to the teller.
"And As you can see, my husband is currently in no position to manage his funds, thus I shall be taking full ownership of the account, as per rules on critical illness and impairment."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 19, 2013, 06:13:23 am
Well, as my great grandfather once said, always follow cats into suspicious dark places.follow the funny mad man using soul-o-vision (my new faviorte type of vision) to know where everything is
Follow the cat!
Post by: miauw62 on May 19, 2013, 06:21:21 am
((I love how nobody even considers getting a light.))
Post by: killerhellhound on May 19, 2013, 07:45:27 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 19, 2013, 09:30:16 am
-I'm afraid that he must be busy now, as he got a problem with the guards. Anyway, when I find him, I will tell him to come.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 19, 2013, 10:12:05 am
Niklas decides to follow the cat into the cargo hold, acting on the advice of his crazed grandfather.
He goes right in, followed by Mark and Kevin while Morton covers the exit. Stepping into the cargo hold, he realizes that it has been very long since anyone stepped in here. Who knows where amongst the chewed-up crates and smashed debris, not to mention the ruined metal fittings the cat might be. Not to mention that it is hellishly dark in there. Only Mark can actually see anything, and even that's just his compatriots and the cat.
In the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott realizes that he might have actually been loaded this entire time. And Gary never told him, always saying it was "a bit" or something similarly cryptic.
"How much do we actually have in the account?"
"The total comes to exactly 35 gold and 2 silver coins."
Whoa. Well, better show him the goods. Scott takes off his husband cape and unfurls it so that Gary's face can be easily seen by the clerk.
"As you can see, my husband is currently in no position to manage his funds, thus I shall be taking full ownership of the account, as per rules on critical illness and impairment."
"Sir, that is a sheet with your husband's face on it, not your actual husband, and as such, not conclusive as proof of your husband's incapacitation. You will have to present a proper certificate of death or alternative state of being along with a specialist's verdict on the situation for us to be able to help you."
The other clerk seems to have returned along with an important-looking individual, and they are both looking at the scene with interest.
Outside a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund, sadly, cannot help the man reach Scott presently, and says so plainly.
"I'm afraid that he must be busy now, as he got a problem with the guards. Anyway, when I find him, I will tell him to come."
"Ah. How regrettable. Well then, Mr... um, what was your name? And for that matter, what's your partner's name, in case he does not reach us and I need to find him? Also, I was wondering, are you and your partner residents or visitors in our fair town?"
Post by: Xanmyral on May 19, 2013, 10:22:22 am
Morton watched the three dash into hold with nary a light, and waited a bit to see if they'd come back to get one. Seeing no, he sighs and searches for one himself. Where would they be without him? In the dark, for one. When a light source is found, he'll venture forth into the darkness to catch up to them.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 19, 2013, 10:27:54 am
If he is refused again, he will summon up putrid bile from his body and spit it at the teller, before leaving and heading back to the Artiste.
Post by: Tomcost on May 19, 2013, 10:54:52 am
Sigmund introduced himself:
-My name is Sigmund. I'm actually an exile. I worked as a counselor, but I was forced to leave when a revolution arised in my land and the nobility blamed me for my lack of prevision. My partner is Scott, Scott Yaleson, he lives in the city. We were both enslaved to a pseudo-demon lord currently inhabiting a human host. It is actually a long story.
He then sighed, and resumem the conversation:
-I think that we will leave soon, as my new master wants to go to the Realm of Dreams. That's why I've been looking for money in the first place; to be able to pay for a ship to take us there. By any chance, do you know something about it?
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 19, 2013, 11:43:10 am
Darren tries and levitate her up out of whipmans and the masters reach, as well as taking them and himself out of her reach.
Post by: miauw62 on May 19, 2013, 12:54:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 19, 2013, 02:51:00 pm
Morton shakes his head at the poorly thought-out movement of the others and tries to find some sort of light source.
Man, it's dark in here as well, to be honest. Morton takes out his magical lighter and lights it up. Ah, that's better. He looks around for a light source.
He finds only an oily rag, and even that is found only through sheer happenstance. As in, he bends over and accidentally sets it on fire. Now it's burning rather brightly.
Slightly deeper within the cargo hold, Kevin parallels Morton's search. He is altogether more successful, as he finds a rather untouched lantern hidden beneath a smashed bookcase. Sweet! Looks like it even has oil in it. No matches, though. Not that it would be reasonable to expect any on a 200-year-old ship that has been largely undisturbed in that time.
In the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott is righteously indignant at the clerk's behavior. He gestures expressively at the sheet in his hand.
"This is indeed my husband, a coterie of magicians took lodgings at our house and he was transformed into this pathetic state! I am now in service to a strange necromancer! Now allow me access to my funds."
"I'm sorry, but, even if what you say is true, it's illegal to let you access said funds without appropriate paperwork. You can try to convince me all you want, but the truth of what you say isn't the question here or, rather, whether I believe it or not."
Okay, that's it. Time to break out the biological warfare. Scott deliberately tries to summon all of his diseased phlegm and launch it at the clerk!
[Phlegm warfare roll: 3]
He spits on the counter. The clerk looks on in vague disgust as Scott leaves and heads back to the Artiste. Once he reaches them, Bernie, currently seated on a barrel and looking fiendishly bored, greets him in his particular way.
"Did you get the gods-damned money already, you nitwit?"
Art, resting on the dock and looking at the sky in a leisurely fashion, also offers words of greeting.
"As much as I hate to impose and all, seriously, any progress?"
Finally, the Artiste, up to that point looking content as he stares at the horizon, directs his attention to Scott.
"Don't worry, people, I am sure he has something. Surely he couldn't have come back empty-handed yet again."
At a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund, asked for his identity, kindly provides the requested information.
"My name is Sigmund. I'm actually an exile. I worked as a counselor, but I was forced to leave when a revolution arose in my land and the nobility blamed me for my lack of prevision. My partner is Scott, Scott Yaleson, he lives in the city. We were both enslaved to a pseudo-demon lord currently inhabiting a human host. It is actually a long story."
The man looks very intrigued. The butler, however, maintains a front of enlightened, polite disinterest. A true credit to his profession.
"Oh my. A pseudo-demon lord, you say? How incredibly strange."
"I think that we will leave soon, as my new master wants to go to the Realm of Dreams. That's why I've been looking for money in the first place; to be able to pay for a ship to take us there. By any chance, do you know something about it?"
"The Realm of Dreams? Why, quite a lot, to tell you the truth. Could talk your ear off about it, actually, if you wish me to. And a bit of it is quite practical, I must say. In particular, I have an item of interest that may help you. Would you like to see it?"
Back in Emlocke...
Darren has had quite enough of this nonsense. Get over your violent natures, people! Give peace a chance! He'll rocket the lady into the stratosphere if he has to!
"HEY! LADY! I JUST HEALED YOU, SO STOP TRYING TO KILL US!"
The lady turns toward him.
"A-what?"
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
She is then lifted off the ground with reasonable speed, rising to an altitude of about 15 meters in the air.
"Let me go, you fiend!"
Darren is sorely tempted, to say the least. He sees the whip man stand at ease, twirling something in his fingers. The dog seems to have given up on barking at her as well, though he most certainly is not out of range for it.
"Submit already. You're losing."
"No! I'd rather perish in the service of Rysinia than live a traitor to her principles!"
Why do they have to be so difficult?
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 19, 2013, 02:52:50 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 19, 2013, 03:47:53 pm
Tries to emotively express how irritated, frustrated and incensed by everything that has happened through pounding his face into the hull of the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on May 19, 2013, 03:52:38 pm
Cat search.
Remain on guard.
Post by: Tomcost on May 19, 2013, 03:59:25 pm
- I'd love to see it. While I'm actually concerned, mostly, in not dying in my way there, but I could use any advice you could get me. Is it a dangerous place?
Post by: Xanmyral on May 19, 2013, 06:38:33 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 19, 2013, 08:16:45 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 19, 2013, 08:36:43 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 20, 2013, 02:22:08 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 20, 2013, 02:25:28 am
Scott completely truthfully expresses what has occurred to him in the last half an hour.
"The blond one told you to wait, busy messing about on that other ship. And also, thanks to blondie, I can't access my own store of bullion due to my former master being a damn sheet and unable to give permission. So unless you are willing to help me relieve said funds, we will have to wait for that damned blondie."
"How strange. Anyway, you say you have funds in a bank, eh? And you need your husband to be there to do anything about them?"
"You know, we could call out his soul in the bank. Might help and all. We are necromancers, after all."
"Soul-speech. Could work, I guess. And we've got nothing better to do, so we could just get all the money from them and then come back, as it appears our friend here is incapable of getting anything done himself."
"Let's go, then."
"Ooh, I'll come with you. I'd love to see this."
"Lead us there, buddy!"
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, unfortunately, is still in the dark in both a literal and metaphorical sense.
"So. Does anyone see the cat?"
Sadly, neither of the two skeletons can tell him anything useful. Oh well. Better save the day on his own, then. Niklas closes his eyes and meditatively walks about in the darkness, listening for cat and monster sounds. The former he can certainly hear - little beast's hiding in the corner. Of the latter there is no sign.
Outside, Morton tries to bring the fire under control. First he tries to retrieve the flaming rag before it starts a serious situation.
[Rag retrieval roll: 5]
Fortunately, this proves rather easy. Now he has a flaming oily rag at the end of a rubber oar. The fire doesn't seem to have spread in any significant way, luckily enough.
Meanwhile, Mark tries to steal Kevin's lantern!
[Thievery: Mark vs. Kevin: 2 vs. 5]
He reaches for the lantern, but Kevin seems to give him an incredibly nasty look, so he backs off. Would be impolite to steal the guy's loot, after all.
Kevin, having fended off the foliage-covered ruffian, runs back to Morton, only to notice that the situation looks almost under control. Sure, he has a flaming rag on his rubber oar, but hey, you can't have everything.
At a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund, liking the way this conversation is going, keeps on speaking to the guy.
"I'd love to see it. While I'm actually concerned, mostly, in not dying in my way there, but I could use any advice you could get me. Is it a dangerous place?"
"That is a very valid concern. After all, they don't call it the Sea of Death for nothing. The main form of advice I can give you is that you should familiarize yourself with the sea as much as possible to avoid surprises. Also, there are certain tides in the sea at particular times of the month, and if you sail out at the wrong time you'll find yourself in the middle of the tingfish's mating season or, providence forbid, the activity period of the gub-gub. But I digress. I'll be back in a moment."
The man runs inside of the house, presumably to find the object of interest.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren tries to convince the lady to stop her aggression.
"Look, lady. I don't really want to go around killin' people, alright? So why don't we all just calm down and get along for a bit?"
"No! My holy quest requires that I be the victor, and I will not float here listening to your drivel about peace! Let me go!"
The whip man calls out to Darren!
"Good job! Now drop her!"
The lady begins to twist about, trying to break Darren's hold!
[Lady's strength vs. Darren's telekinesis: 3+1-1 vs. 5]
She isn't getting away, though. Not just yet!
Post by: miauw62 on May 20, 2013, 02:30:00 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 20, 2013, 02:35:58 am
Scott will lead them to the bank, cocky and self assured.
Post by: Xantalos on May 20, 2013, 02:43:39 am
Wait for lantern to be lit, then search the area for the evil beast thingies.
Post by: Tomcost on May 20, 2013, 06:59:43 am
Sigmund, engaged the butler in idle conversation when he was waiting for the mage to come back:
-So, what is your master's profession?
Post by: killerhellhound on May 20, 2013, 08:35:24 am
Mark tracks the cat and hands it back to the mad chief
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 20, 2013, 09:31:43 am
Kevin quickly lights up his lantern on Morton's flaming oar, then goes right back into the cargo hold, illuminating the place in warm light. This allows Niklas to properly search for evil beasts.
Well, there's the melted metal cages, right as rain. As well as lots of crates that may have once contained food. However, they are all empty now, not to mention completely smashed. Hm, but where are the creatures? Surely they can't be...
Wait, are those giant clams on the ground? That's strange.
Meanwhile, Mark looks for the cat.
[Mark pursuit roll: 6+1]
[Cat escape roll: 3+2]
Silly bugger runs right out and in his direction. How strange! Well, better catch it!
[Mark pursuit roll: 5+1]
[Cat escape roll: 5+2]
Little thing's fast, though - Mark tries to run after it, only to find that it seems to be outpacing him!
[Mark pursuit roll: 4+1]
[Cat escape roll: 2+2]
However, he soon begins to gain on it most adequately! Not far now!
[Mark pursuit roll: 4+1]
[Cat escape roll: 1+2]
He leaps and grabs the cat rather handily!
[Grapple: Cat vs. Mark: 3 vs. 2+2]
Thanks to his metal hands, the cat finds it difficult to escape from that point. Mark heads back to Niklas, who seems to be looking at a giant clam, and offers the cat graciously.
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Scott is somewhat appalled at this lack of respect he's getting here.
"I'd be thankful if you didn't ridicule me based on poor circumstances, I will prove my worth yet. I am... or rather was, a person of some importance and not just some common oaf."
Bernie rolls his eyes.
"I'd be thankful if you were able to get anything done yourself, but we can hardly always get what we want, can we? You in particular seem to have great difficulty with that."
"Well, he did get us a cheap enchanted ship. So give the guy a break."
"Yeah, and then he kept us waiting to get on at the dock until past noon."
"I'm sure he'll get better."
"Yeah, 'cause he'll probably get killed walking out the door if he was even a smidgen less competent."
The rest of the walk is conducted in silence as they reach the bank. Scott, putting up a confident, self-assured look, goes to the clerk. The clerk looks at him silently. The counter looks freshly cleaned.
At a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund, while he waits, attempts to smalltalk the butler.
"So, what is your master's profession?"
The butler stares at him without any form of emotion. It's barely perceptible, but a small click comes from either him or somewhere behind him. However, before Sigmund can ask anything further, the master of the house comes back, presenting Sigmund with a box.
"Here it is, good sir!"
He opens up the box, revealing a black stone medallion within it.
"This medallion should be either worn around the neck or simply kept on your person. It wards off certain monsters you may find in the Sea of Death, and you may find it helpful on Horizon Isle in particular, which is a place next to the portal to the Realm of Dreams. Trust me on this."
Post by: Tomcost on May 20, 2013, 10:23:51 am
-That seems nice. It could surely help with the things that inhabit that sea. On the other hand, we are probably going to do the trip in a flying ship, which willl hover over the monsters in the sea, or at least I hope it does so. Anyway, it is a valuable asset in a such a dangerous travel.
He then curious, asked about him:
-So, what to do you do to earn a living? It should surely be an imporant job to be able to afford a house like this.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 20, 2013, 11:37:47 am
"One day boy, you will learn to respect your elders." He growls
Looking then to the Artiste and then to the teller.
Madam, these fine gentlemen have come to assure you that both me and my dear husband desire for me to access the account and retrieve funds. And I don't doubt that you will be forced to apologise for the emotional harm you have caused my husband based on his current condition and how you handled his inability to sign on paper, making him feel inadequate and depressed.
He will then once again pull out Gary, and then a nearby chair, so he can display the entirety of the cloth to the clerk as it is hung from its back.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 20, 2013, 12:48:12 pm
Sigmund accepts the medallion, examining it. It is jet black, and there is a distinct feeling of, how shall one put it, not belonging about it. Like it should be somewhere else, somewhere far from here.
"That seems nice. It could surely help with the things that inhabit that sea. On the other hand, we are probably going to do the trip in a flying ship, which will hover over the monsters in the sea, or at least I hope it does so. Anyway, it is a valuable asset in a such a dangerous travel."
"A hovering ship? You mean the enchanted one in the harbor?"
Sigmund nods.
"Interesting. I haven't seen it get used much in the past year."
"So, what to do you do to earn a living? It should surely be an important job to be able to afford a house like this."
The man chuckles.
"Oh, I have my sources of regular income, of which there certainly are quite a few and which I care not to count at this particular moment. You are correct, of course, that this house was rather expensive. Took a team of craftsmen a year to fully build and furnish. Quite magnificent, really."
In the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott growls at Bernie disapprovingly.
"One day, boy, you will learn to respect your elders."
"Yeah, right, and you're what, thirty-something? Some elder."
Scott thinks of replying, but figures it's better not to. He turns to the clerk.
"Madam, these fine gentlemen have come to assure you that both me and my dear husband desire for me to access the account and retrieve funds. And I don't doubt that you will be forced to apologize for the emotional harm you have caused my husband based on his current condition and how you handled his inability to sign on paper, making him feel inadequate and depressed."
He pulls up a nearby chair and drapes Gary over it. The clerk, an elderly man in his late sixties, is not particularly impressed.
"I am afraid we cannot deal yet, good sir."
Scott looks at the clerk quizzically as the man continues.
"It is company policy that one that disrespects the company, as you did at the end of your last visit, is not to be dealt with until a formal apology is issued. Sometimes a fine is applied, but the damage was minimal enough, plus you are apparently in grief, so such a payment will not be necessary this time. Are you ready to make an apology so that we can resume respectful business?"
The clerk looks at Scott expectantly.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 20, 2013, 01:11:57 pm
Morton nodded to Kevin as he came and went, lighting his lantern on the burning rag. When that was taken care of, he looks around the room to see if there is a barrel of water or some liquid that he can douse this burning rag in. Burning to death would not be fun, he should know, he's lived through it once. If no such barrel is found, he will try to make his way to the deck of the ship and toss it overboard, away from the docks, towards the water.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 20, 2013, 02:57:30 pm
Scott will then, nervously, cough.
"Now as to our business at hand?"
Post by: Tomcost on May 20, 2013, 05:25:41 pm
-It is really an excellent house.
And then added:
-Well, I'm sure that this medallion would be a more that ideal compensation, good sir. Actually, it would be quite rude to ask for more than a life-saver device as this one. But I will make sure that my partner comes here when I find him.
Then he elaborated a dismissal speech, to show off that he apreciated him for what he had done:
-You sir, have shown me that there are are still good people in this world. From my experience, the richer a person gets, the greeder it becomes. You showed the opposite. I'm glad to have met you, I hope fate brings me to opportunity to meet more people like you. I have to leave now, as I don't want to be left behind. But, before leaving, I would like to know your name, just in case I need to look for somebody generous again.
Sigmund then goes back to the flying ship to look for the Artiste. As he is not there, he will ask the captain if they know where he went
Post by: killerhellhound on May 20, 2013, 06:31:33 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 20, 2013, 06:33:07 pm
Hold the cat in one hand and attempt to pry a giant clam open with a knife.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 20, 2013, 07:33:23 pm
Thanks for the cat.(I'm taking bets on Xantalos losing his head or arm)
Hold the cat in one hand and attempt to pry a giant clam open with a knife.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 21, 2013, 07:12:54 am
Morton, happy to have helped his buddy Kevin, looks for an adequate means of extinguishing the oily rag.
Fortunately, there is a barrel of vintage sludge right next to him. Morton dunks the rag right into it, happy when it is successfully and safely extinguished in the primordial, inky darkness of the unknown substance. Pulling the oar out is a bit more difficult than placing it in the sludge, admittedly, but it's not too much of a problem. Now he has a sludge-covered oar and rag. Man, it's going to be nine kinds of disgusting to hit someone with that.
But that will have to be dealt with later. Meanwhile, within the cargo hold, Mark hands the cat to Niklas, who grabs it in his free hand, using the other to pry open the clam.
[Prying roll: 1+1]
Damn thing's stuck tight, though. Well, at least he has his cat.
[Grapple: Cat vs. Niklas: 5 vs. 4+1]
Yep. The cat's safe and sound! Loud, too.
While Niklas takes care of that, Mark investigates the cages. Judging by the fact that they seem to have been melted through by some sort of acid-like substance, it's quite likely that whatever was in them possessed such a substance or was given it in some sort of prison trade. Judging by the size of the cages and the fineness of their mesh, the thing contained within was about the size of the clams on the ground and presumably had some way of getting through meshes that are less fine. And since he can't see why not, Mark presumes that magic was involved. Somehow.
At the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott figures he could apologize. After all, to not do this would be most immature of him. Not apologizing would be something Bernie might do, and if that's not a good reason to do the opposite, Scott doesn't know what is!
"I am not such small a man to be unable to admit that I unfairly lost my temper, you have my complete and unreserved apology for that instance, good sir."
The clerk nods with satisfaction.
"Your apology is accepted, good sir. Now we may resume business on a foundation of mutual respect."
Scott turns to his companions.
"Now as to our business at hand?"
"Right. Let's call the fellow out. I'll be the anchor."
"Alright, I'll be the puller."
The two guys walk to the sheet and start gesturing and muttering.
[Bernie magic roll: 2]
[Art magic roll: 5]
Art seems to be a bit quicker at this than Bernie, pulling Gary Yaleson's disembodied soul out of the sheet! It looks like a faintly glowing aetheric cloud, though it unquestionably has Gary's face.
"Aw, shit. Too fast! Too fast!"
[Gary will roll: 6]
Gary seems to be looking fine just now, though.
"Oh... I'm... out of... that thing. What... uh..."
Well, maybe not perfectly fine, but close enough.
"So it does seem to contain Mr. Yaleson's soul. I certainly recognize his voice. Mr. Yaleson, that is you, correct?"
Gary seems to snap out of a stupor suddenly, turning to the clerk and taking on a more certain shape.
"Yes. I am Gary Yaleson. And you are... Mr. Whitman, I believe. How's your wife doing? Still working on her harpsichord skills?"
"Oh yes. Certainly still abominable at it, too."
"My condolences, then."
They both chuckle heartily.
At a luxurious mansion...
Sigmund admits that the mansion is indeed quite excellent, then offers words of gratefulness.
"Well, I'm sure that this medallion would be a more that ideal compensation, good sir. Actually, it would be quite rude to ask for more than a life-saver device as this one. But I will make sure that my partner comes here when I find him."
"Yes, you do that. I will have something similar for him as well, I believe."
"You sir, have shown me that there are are still good people in this world. From my experience, the richer a person gets, the greedier they become. You showed the opposite. I'm glad to have met you, I hope fate brings me to opportunity to meet more people like you. I have to leave now, as I don't want to be left behind. But, before leaving, I would like to know your name, just in case I need to look for somebody generous again."
"Oh, how rude of me not to properly introduce myself. My name is Irwin Gimble, and I was certainly glad to be of service. Happy trails, Sigmund. Hope you reach the Realm of Dreams."
Sigmund, now one medallion richer, heads over to the enchanted ship. He finds it severely lacking in his masters. Dang. He goes up to the captain. Man, does that guy ever stop smoking his pipe with dignity? Sigmund's heard it's not good for the lungs.
"Do you know where my companions went?"
The captain nods affirmatively.
"Ah, they went to a bank, I believe. Said something about withdrawing funds. Wouldn't be able to tell you which one, exactly, but there aren't many, to tell you the truth - only about three that actually serve people."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 21, 2013, 07:44:29 am
The later remark has no subtlety to its hard biting edge.
Post by: Tomcost on May 21, 2013, 08:40:15 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 21, 2013, 08:46:18 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 21, 2013, 09:18:22 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 21, 2013, 11:56:00 am
Experimentally stab the clam with my acid-proof knife.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 21, 2013, 01:51:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 21, 2013, 02:40:21 pm
Scott speaks to the apparition of his husband with remarkable nonchalance.
"Sweetie, any chance giving me permission to withdraw enough money for these fine people to purchase seats for a voyage. You know, me being soulbound and all that."
"Hmm... I don't know. I'm not sure I should. You've never been too good with money, Scott. You'll probably spend it on something else before you knew it. I know how you get sometimes, darling."
This might not be quite as simple as Scott may have thought.
[Bernie magic roll: 4]
Bernie waves his hands a bit, and Gary looks a bit more stable all of a sudden.
"Gotcha. No slipping into the afterlife for you just yet."
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund looks for a bank. After all, it can't be that difficult to locate a bank, be it prestigious or otherwise. After all, wretched bloodsuckers are easy to find if you're one yourself.
And it isn't difficult at all! There looks to be one right there. A rather nice building, Sigmund finds - a stone affair with rather pretty mosaic-patterned windows. Looks friendly enough. He goes right in.
Passing through large double doors with the sign "De Jong and Associates Bank" at the front, he comes to a luxurious lobby. Spacious and well-furnished, it features high-quality carpets, several rows of columns and even a large fountain in the middle of the room. The lobby is quite crowded, with several people in apparently varied states of wealth chatting to each other over glasses of fine wine.
Immediately as Sigmund walks in, the door shuts behind him without any effort on his part. Before he can do anything else, he finds himself approached by a woman. She is in her late twenties, looks like, and rather attractive. She starts up a chat with him.
"Hello, sir, and welcome to De Jong and Associates, the largest and most profitable banking enterprise of this part of the continent. I'm Olivia de Jong, how may I assist you today?"
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark is struck by a horrible realization. The clams, man! The clams! It all makes sense! Quick, everybody get away from the clams!
[Mark relocation roll: 5]
[Niklas resistance roll: 2]
[Kevin resistance roll: 5]
He successfully pushes away Niklas, who seems to have been in the middle of stabbing a clam, but he decides not to help Kevin when the latter begins to swing his rubber oar around menacingly. Clams need bait, after all. Mark gazes at the clams, expecting them to make a move any minute now. Meanwhile, Kevin tries to pry open one of the clams.
[Prying roll: 3]
He manages to open it just a tiny bit, surprisingly enough! These clams sure are tough. Time for Niklas to try his luck again. Since the clams don't seem to be taking the initiative, he steps right back to one and stabs it.
[Stabbing roll: 5+1]
Concentrating his rabid cook-energy into a single blow, he forces the platinum-iridium knife into the clam, tearing a hole in it and spreading cracks along its surface!
After a minute of experimental waiting, nothing appears to have eaten him or his knives yet. How dull.
Morton, meanwhile, comes into the room and tries to catch up on the adventure-deficient antics of the cargo hold crew.
"Well, that's over with. Sorry for the wait chaps, had a bit of a problem of a pryo nature. Now then, where are these... Things?"
Neither Mark nor Kevin give him a definite answer. And Niklas is too busy stabbing clams and watching the results very intently to mind him particularly.
Post by: Tomcost on May 21, 2013, 02:55:27 pm
-I'm looking for a friend, his name is Scott Yaleson. By any chance, is he a customer of this bank?
Post by: Xantalos on May 21, 2013, 02:59:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 21, 2013, 04:05:20 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 21, 2013, 04:06:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 21, 2013, 04:13:42 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 21, 2013, 04:29:58 pm
I'm going to cook one of these too, though.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 21, 2013, 04:45:30 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 21, 2013, 05:26:03 pm
Upon seeing Bernie's display:
"Bernie, I have just thought of something. If that is truly his soul, Is it within your ability to bind it and make him a cute little ghostie? I would happily commission the work."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 21, 2013, 06:08:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 22, 2013, 02:51:31 am
Sigmund smiles at the woman and gets to business immediately.
"I'm looking for a friend, his name is Scott Yaleson. By any chance, is he a customer of this bank?"
Olivia, hearing the name, thinks for a bit.
"I do not think the Yalesons have any dealings with us, no. They seem to be rather adamant about working only with Gerfluski and Sons in my experience. That's a bit of a smaller establishment a ways from here, down the street, turn left at the first intersection and go straight until you've reached a square with the statue of a flaming man in it. Then go down the alley between the tower and the museum, there will be a small wooden door flanked by shuttered windows on the right, that leads to Gerfluski and Sons. They're a pain to reach, in my opinion, but they believe that this keeps the 'wrong people' out."
She shrugs, glancing at the rest of the people in the room.
"Were you only looking for your friend, or is there some other way I can help you?"
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas is about to engage in science, but is interrupted by the ever-confused Morton.
"...Ah. Er, sirs, are you sure these just aren't clams? I believe the creatures are probably further in... I believe the creatures would be further in, chances are."
"Just a test."
"A... test? A test for what? Is this another thing you wish to cook?"
"I want to see if the clam is the creature. If the cat gets eaten, we're fine. I'm going to cook one of these too, though."
"I see..." Morton says, though this is but one of the many lies he has told himself and others today. "Well then, I'll be ready to move on when you are, head chef Niklas, it's best to stick together in such dark places."
Niklas takes the cat and drops it into the hole on the clam. It seems to land safely enough. It also doesn't seem to get eaten. At least, not that Niklas can hear.
Mark, meanwhile, guards the area. He guards and he guards, ready to slay any that move in an unfriendly fashion and aren't his comrades. Nothing seems to be eager to turn up just yet, though.
In the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott explains the simple facts of the moment.
"My spending habits are of no consequence, I have been ordered to provide funds to my new master."
"Oh, well, that's understandable. Give him access, Mr. Whitman."
"Certainly, sir. Your will be done."
However, Scott also has another idea.
"Bernie, I have just thought of something. If that is truly his soul, Is it within your ability to bind it and make him a cute little ghostie? I would happily commission the work."
"Oh no. No, you don't. I'm outta here!"
[Gary will roll vs. Bernie magic roll: 4 vs. 5]
Gary seems to want to be free already, but Bernie holds him fast.
"You aren't getting away just yet, moneybags."
Bernie turns to Scott.
"I can't make him a ghost, as that would require raising of the dead. What you're seeing right now is a bit more of a manifestation of the soul rather than a full-on ectoplasmic body. As in, it can't exist without something anchoring it in place. A body of ectoplasm is perfectly capable of holding a poor bastard's soul down on its own, but a soul manifestation will pass on unless it is held in a specific astral medium, which you don't find just lying around."
"Anyway, how about that money, eh?"
Post by: Innsmothe on May 22, 2013, 03:29:08 am
Scott will then glare furiously at Garry
Excuse me?! EXCUSE ME!!?? You would abandon me so willingly?! Even after it was you, YOU! Who had raised me from the dead and soul bound me because you couldn't deal with my death!?
Gesturing wildly he will point to the two necromancers.
Artiste, Bernie, would you happen to have an item that easily stores and allows access to souls? Because this bastard is going to be imprisoned for a while, whilst I personally craft a body for him to reside in so he can have his ultimate wish, to be with me FOREVER!
Post by: Tomcost on May 22, 2013, 05:35:19 am
-I just was looking for him. Thank you very much.
Then he followed the instructions and went to the bank where Scott was.
Post by: Xantalos on May 22, 2013, 10:11:09 am
Grab cat, proceed fourther into the darkness with companions.
Post by: miauw62 on May 22, 2013, 10:18:01 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 22, 2013, 11:27:17 am
Try and knock her unconscious. Maybe tap her head against the wall or something. Relatively gently, of course.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 22, 2013, 01:48:08 pm
After gesturing for the clerk to get the money, Scott lets the drama unfold. He glares at the quasi-ghost of Gary!
"Excuse me!? EXCUSE ME!!?? You would abandon me so willingly?! Even after it was you, YOU who had raised me from the dead and soulbound me because you couldn't deal with my death!?"
Gary looks awkwardly at Scott, trying to figure something out.
"Um... just because I did it to you doesn't mean it isn't an incredibly inhumane and terrible thing to do to a soul! Give me a break! I was mad with grief! Come on!"
Ah, terribly inhumane, eh?
"Artiste, Bernie, would you happen to have an item that easily stores and allows access to souls? Because this bastard is going to be imprisoned for a while, whilst I personally craft a body for him to reside in so he can have his ultimate wish, to be with me FOREVER!"
"Oh shit. I'm really beginning to regret the life choices I made in the previous months. Better run before I have to truly face them!"
[Gary will vs. Bernie magic: 2 vs. 6]
Sadly for Gary, however, running is not an option. He seems to be hitting a mental brick wall, in a way. Bernie seems to be calmly holding him in place with little effort on his part to tell the truth.
"A storage device for souls? I haven't got one."
Bernie grins widely and looks at Scott.
"However, you do. Art?"
Art, who's been quiet up until this point, opens his eyes and lets his arms fall limp. Gary immediately disappears back into the blanket.
"Man, that was great practice. Hadn't called out a spirit in ages, I tell you! Ages! Went pretty well, I'd say. Bit of trouble on your end, I suppose?"
"Eh, nothing I couldn't handle. Necromancer though he may be, without a focus he's a random shithead like any other."
"Though the same is true of us as well, don't you think?"
"Nah. I've got other toys with me just in case my book explodes again."
"It does that?"
"It did once, and that was one time too many."
As the two necromancers speak, the Artiste quietly standing with his back to a wall and smiling at the happenings in the room, the clerk returns with a small wooden case, about three largish books in size. On it is a carved emblem of the bank.
"As is custom, large withdrawals come with a complimentary lockbox. Now, sign here, Mister Yaleson. I can fill out the requisite Extraordinary Witness paperwork myself."
The clerk produces a piece of paper containing information about the amount of money withdrawn (35 gold and 2 silver coins) and the date of the withdrawal, complete with a line with the clerk's signature and an empty one that Scott should presumably sign upon.
In the de Jong and Associates Bank...
Sigmund explains that he has no other business here and turns around to leave.
He is a bit surprised to find only a blank wall behind him.
"Ah, sir, you cannot leave that way. It's a one-way door. Heavily enchanted. We installed it to more effectively direct foot traffic on the busier days. You'll have to go through one of the departments to reach the exit."
Well, that's certainly inconvenient for habitual blunderers.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas remarks upon the clam's apparent lack of ferocity, then sticks his hand into it to find the cat.
Considering that the clam's not all that big, the cat isn't difficult to locate.
[Grab: Niklas vs. Cat: 4+1 vs. 1]
It actually chooses to go quietly this time, too. Perhaps it dimly realizes the dire consequences should it fail to do so.
Cat in hand, Niklas goes into the darkness with Mark and Morton. They are now in the dark. Mark doesn't really see much out of the ordinary, the rest can't see jack. Meanwhile, Kevin, the guy who actually has the lantern, feels that his time is probably better spent going medieval on a clam with his rubber oar.
[Kevin smashing roll: 2]
Regrettably, cracked though the clam may be, a thick layer of calcium carbonate can still endure a great many crushing blows made with a floppy rubber object.
Suddenly there is an audible screech from up top. Sounds like the captain.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, being fed up with people being unreasonable, decides to stop messing around and just knock the lady out.
[Darren telekinesis roll: 2]
He's having trouble moving her much, though.
[Whip Man water use roll: 1+1]
The whip man, meanwhile, misses her with yet another jar. Brilliant.
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
"Completely unreasonable. Verdict reached. Must eliminate."
The dog opens its mouth and barks, causing the very air to split as the blast reaches the woman!
[Armored Lady endurance roll: 1+1-1]
As the blast hits the lady, there is a sound not unlike that of eggs suddenly exploding for no reason, a shriek that undoubtedly belongs to the occupant of the twisted suit of armor, then there is blood. There is a lot of blood. Great, pouring streams of blood flooding out of her armor. The warm red torrent stops after a few seconds, though the lady has gone completely still a moment previous.
Darren is pretty sure that what just happened to the lady was probably hideously painful. He shakes the lady a bit in the air. No response. The dog looks at the scene neutrally for a moment, then speaks.
"One left. Almost done. Everyone ready?"
Post by: Xantalos on May 22, 2013, 01:50:44 pm
Continue searching the darkness. Hold the cat out in front of me to use as a sensor.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 22, 2013, 01:56:49 pm
((How many jars does Whip Man have?! What are you guys even doing?))
To answer your first question, enough.
To answer your second question, Whip Man and Master Dog are busy killing every remaining mage in Emlocke to win the selection process. Darren is helping them due to having nothing better to do, or so I guess.
Post by: Tomcost on May 22, 2013, 02:24:31 pm
Sigmund asks the lady if she could guide him to the exit. If affirmative, he follows her. If negative, he asks for directions and gets out on his own.
Post by: Xantalos on May 22, 2013, 02:26:43 pm
I now plan to use Whip Man's 'enough' supply of jars to flood the caverns.((How many jars does Whip Man have?! What are you guys even doing?))To answer your first question, enough.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 22, 2013, 02:31:42 pm
He will then flash a cruel half smile to the Artiste and wear Gary-cape once again.
Master...Would you have any books on golemancy?
Post by: Tomcost on May 22, 2013, 02:33:49 pm
No, flood the surface. It could even beat Boatmurdered, as the water is both acid and tranparent, so you will be able to see how everything is melting.I now plan to use Whip Man's 'enough' supply of jars to flood the caverns.((How many jars does Whip Man have?! What are you guys even doing?))To answer your first question, enough.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 22, 2013, 02:37:38 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 22, 2013, 07:38:11 pm
(hell yes )No, flood the surface. It could even beat Boatmurdered, as the water is both acid and tranparent, so you will be able to see how everything is melting.I now plan to use Whip Man's 'enough' supply of jars to flood the caverns.((How many jars does Whip Man have?! What are you guys even doing?))To answer your first question, enough.
Mark sticks with the chef he seems to be the most fun
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 23, 2013, 02:49:54 am
Niklas holds out the cat in front of him, hoping its whiskers will detect any approaching fiends before his eyes get a chance to, and heads into the darkness, followed by Mark. After making the rounds around the dark area, he hasn't been eaten yet. Again. And the cat is woefully silent, possibly trapped in its own reverie of existential horror. All in all, quite boring. Mark is also, sadly rather lacking in any sort of genius insight on the location of the Things Below.
At the same time, Morton considers the meaning of the screech.
"Oh dear, that sounds like the captain... I can't tell if that's his usual or something else."
He takes out his magical lighter and lights it, getting a minor amount of light, enough to see comfortably about a meter or so around himself. What he sees is the same old stuff - debris and yet another giant clam.
"Well then, compatriots... should we continue on into the horrible abyss, or see how things are progressing upstairs? Although I shudder at the thought of what c-creatures might be down here, we shouldn't leave business unfinished."
Nobody seems to willing to engage him in dialogue right now. Niklas has gone off deeper into the darkness and the others don't seem to be particularly able to communicate meaningfully.
In the de Jong and Associates Bank...
Sigmund, having become yet another victim of traffic regulation, asks the lady if she can provide a guided tour straight to the exit.
"Well, I really shouldn't leave my post, but I suppose I could take you in the right direction a ways. Come with me."
She leads Sigmund to a door that has the sign "Financial Consultations" atop it. Opening the door, she beckons Sigmund to come through, which he does.
The Financial Consultations department seems to be slightly less full than the lobby. It's a wide hallway with a row of offices on either side, with several people seated on couches next to each office. Olivia points at the end of the hallway.
"The consultation department is probably the best choice if you want to just get through, the door to the exit is at the end of this hallway. Now, I don't think you need me to go down a hallway, so, if you don't mind, I'll be returning to the lobby."
The woman looks at Sigmund for a moment to see if he wants anything else.
At the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott signs the form giving him all the savings of his family. The clerk nods, takes the paper back and hands Scott both the box and the key.
"Here is your money, sir. Do come again."
Scott takes the money and goes up to the Artiste.
"Master... would you have any books on golemancy?"
"Books on what? I don't even know what that is. And I don't really have any books on me, strictly speaking. Well, aside from a demonology volume the guy I possessed was carrying."
"I think brainchild here means golem creation."
"Oh. Well, I definitely don't have anything on that."
"Erin could probably help you with that - she can make bodies of all sorts, though they're pretty uncomplicated in their construction."
Post by: Xantalos on May 23, 2013, 03:24:29 am
Maybe.
Go back and retrieve one of the clams in preparation for going back up.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 23, 2013, 04:14:03 am
Scott will go find Erin.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 23, 2013, 08:04:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 23, 2013, 08:55:10 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 23, 2013, 09:32:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 23, 2013, 09:56:41 am
Niklas, coming to terms with the grim reality that the hideous menace he's here to deal with are probably a bunch of clams or invisible beasts that he couldn't possibly see coming at him from that corner over there, goes and tries to pick up a clam with one arm.
[Strength roll: 3+1-1]
He grabs it and tries to lift it. Though it is surprisingly light, it is nonetheless too heavy to lift with one arm. As Niklas tries to raise the clam triumphantly, his faithful minion Mark stands around unhelpfully, hoping to get out of lifting the thing by looking as watchful and guard-like as possible.
Meanwhile, Kevin decides to run in the direction of Niklas and Kevin! Niklas proves easy enough to find, as he seems to be in the middle of ineffectually lifting clams, but where's Kevin, he wonders? Bloody bugger's disappeared.
However, before he can embarrass himself too much, he remembers that he's actually Kevin. He looks down at his skeletal body. Yeah, Kevin's here. All is well. He would follow Kevin, too, but he seems to be waiting for something right now. How inconsiderate of him.
At the Gerfluski and Sons Bank...
Scott explains his nefarious plan to the other guys.
"I don't need complication...just longevity. I guess I will go find her and inform her of our readiness to leave on the ship."
"Yeah, you do that. Just be back. With the money."
Scott waves his hand dismissively at Bernie and heads back to the shrieking ship. He goes back into the captain's quarters. Blondie seems to be seated on a ruined bed, holding a rag to her nose and looking quite bored. Erin, meanwhile, seems to be appreciating her handiwork.
"Man, I really do all my best work while under pressure, ya know?"
The handiwork in question seems to be a now-ruggedly handsome man clad in strange ceremonial armor, more angular in shape than what you'd usually see, and there's a certain alien quality to it. Maybe it's the silvery geometric patterns across the jet black armor plates. Maybe it's the fact that they seem to shift occasionally, though not when you're looking at them.
"RATHER NICE, I have to say. THE SCREECH CERTAINLY HELPED. I only wish the circumstances hadn't involved MY SKIN PAINFULLY MELTING INTO A SINGLE ECTOPLASMIC CLUMP!"
"Well, it's better now, no?"
"CERTAINLY! But DAMN, was that PAINFUL!"
In the Financial Consultation department of the de Jong and Associates Bank...
Sigmund thanks Olivia and lets her go about her business, then heads down the hallway. He has to get out already. The smell of bureaucracy is getting to him.
As he walks down the hall, he suddenly hears a loud voice. Then a rather large, stocky man jumps in front of him.
"Sir, I require your assistance!" he says in a deep voice. "There will be a reward if you help, don't worry! It'll be real quick."
Post by: Tomcost on May 23, 2013, 10:04:12 am
((And the bureaucratic adventure continues!)
Post by: Innsmothe on May 23, 2013, 10:29:38 am
He will then start speaking privately to Erin
Can you teach me the basics of creating golems? I would like to transfer my husband to a new body as soon as possible.
Post by: miauw62 on May 23, 2013, 11:32:53 am
Kevin sees if there are any areas left un-explored. If there are not, he tries to smash another clam.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 23, 2013, 01:27:14 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 23, 2013, 08:05:41 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 24, 2013, 02:07:36 am
Put the clam down for now and go into the darkness again, but with the lantern guy so we can see what is there.follow after giving the clam and tracking its flight with soul o vision
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 24, 2013, 10:58:17 am
Sigmund, supposing that no amount of bureaucratic adventure can be classified as "quite enough", decides to actually listen to the man.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Ah, my good fellow, I need you to follow me to the Personal Loans department."
"What for?"
"I require you to vouch for me so I can receive a loan of 20 gold."
"Oh, that's reasonable enough. Sure."
"Great! I'll give you 2 gold for your trouble! Follow me!"
The man walks to the lobby with Sigmund and walks to a door with a golden plaque above it with the engraved words "Personal Loans". This plaque is a bit nicer than the sign for Financial Consultation, not to mention clearly magical and luminous.
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, getting right to business, addresses the room. Or maybe not. It's a bit difficult to tell.
"Guy, master wants us on the ship. You'll have to follow me."
The glowing man looks at him questioningly.
"Who, ME?"
"I am afraid not, captain. He must mean me and Erin."
"Oh. Well, THANKS FOR THE MAKEOVER!"
"Any time."
"Great to have helped ya, Cap'n! Also, magic ship came through! Sweet!"
Scott, paying no mind to Evelyn, steps over to Erin and commences a private conversation with the utmost discretion.
"Can you teach me the basics of creating golems? I would like to transfer my husband to a new body as soon as possible."
Erin leans into him and whispers in his ear.
"Ya gotta make a body, then put a soul in it. Or construct a soulless mind. That's it. Ya can make it with yer own hands or magic. Magic is easier after ya've learned it, craftsmanship is easier to learn."
She then straightens out again and looks at him unaffectedly.
"Is that all?"
"More or less. Of course, how ya make a body is real important. Gotta have a brain-pan of some kind, and that's the hardest part. Without a brain-pan ya've got something like your sheet-hubbie - inert thing that can't see, feel or think properly."
Ah.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin does a quick lap around the cargo hold to get his bases covered. He comes to the conclusion that there was a bit unexplored, but most of it was boring and featured a few giant clams too many for his liking - about six in total in the cargo hold by his reckoning, and they're quite scattered. One particular clam, significantly larger than the others and featuring bright red splotches on its shell, seems to be sitting on a pile of bones. Morton, who chose to follow Kevin into the foreboding depths and extinguish his lighter, is also present to record this interesting sight.
In fact, everyone in the cargo hold is present. Niklas also chooses to come along after putting down the clam, and even Mark joins in on the fun after he tries to pick up the clam.
[Mark strength roll: 1]
He lifts the clam up with one arm, then is rather disappointed when this results in his metal arm popping out of its socket and dropping to the ground with a clang. And not only that, the clam falls on top of it. He may need help to retrieve it. But this does not matter right now! What matters is sticking together as a group! Mark runs after the rest, getting in line to look at the strange clam atop the pile of bones.
Post by: Tomcost on May 24, 2013, 11:20:59 am
-I'm sorry, sir, but, reconsidering your offer, I'm afraid I will have to decline it. I'm going on a trip to very distant lands, but if magic is involved in the contract, I would still be charged with your debt in case you don't pay. It's nothing personal, but I wouldn't risk my name for a stranger. I hope you can find somebody to help you.
Then leave this bank and go to the one where Scott is supposed to be, ignoring any kind of proposal or explanation from the man. Follow the way the lady told him.
((Damn, I thought it would have been something that didn't require a compromise))
Post by: miauw62 on May 24, 2013, 11:29:03 am
Post by: Yoink on May 24, 2013, 11:30:42 am
I'm back now. I apologize for the whole disappearing thing. :-X))
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 24, 2013, 12:04:12 pm
((So, um. How does this cold storage thingy work?
I'm back now. I apologize for the whole disappearing thing. :-X))
Cold Storage is primarily for my convenience - I put players who don't post anymore in it. When they post, they are removed and I once again count them in the number of players. This means that more people need to die horribly for new players to get in.
Welcome back.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 24, 2013, 12:35:00 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 24, 2013, 12:36:15 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 24, 2013, 01:17:20 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 24, 2013, 03:24:43 pm
Shall we bring one of them up?
Post by: Xanmyral on May 24, 2013, 03:39:55 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 24, 2013, 03:43:27 pm
Niklas turns to the cat.
Well, cat, you survived this, as notdangerous as it was. I'll not cook you. Instead I will train you in the ways of killing.
Pet cat while watching Kevin go at the big clam. Intervened if it attacks him, but otherwise just wait for him to stop.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 24, 2013, 04:06:33 pm
Sigmund, getting the feeling that vouching for someone probably has hideous magical repercussions of some kind, tries to get out of the thing he agreed to do moments ago.
"I'm sorry, sir, but, reconsidering your offer, I'm afraid I will have to decline it. I'm going on a trip to very distant lands, but if magic is involved in the contract, I would still be charged with your debt in case you don't pay. It's nothing personal, but I wouldn't risk my name for a stranger. I hope you can find somebody to help you."
"But there's no magic! You just sign on a line and give your word that I'm good for a loan!"
Sigmund, however, has none of it. He ignores the man, turns around and leaves. However, the man keeps following him.
"Come on, man! I need the loan badly! I could lose my house! Please, help me! I'm beggin' ya! I own a business in town, I'm really good for the loan! And it's not like they'll extract payment from ya if ya aren't around!"
Hm. He could lead this guy all the way to Gerfluski and Sons. But this certainly is getting annoying.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin considers asking the captain of the ship about the whereabouts of the Things Below. Then he realizes that it would be pretty awkward to ask without any vocal folds to speak of. Oh well. Better resumes the relentless whacking of clams. He sets upon the large, splotchy clam and starts to discipline it with his rubber oar.
[Smashing roll: 5]
He decides to flip the oar sideways in order to maximize the force put into the blow into one point! Surprisingly, it works rather great, as the shell is thoroughly cracked and some of the pieces fall into it.
Disappointingly, no carnage results. All is quiet on the exploratory front.
Morton, stricken with the lack of potentially productive activity, goes for a chat while observing the unusually successful clam-smashing. Sadly, he chooses Mark the Speechless Tree-Fiend as his target this time.
"Excuse me, sir, but what happened to your arm? Did you manage to find the creatures talked about?"
Mark doesn't look like he's ready to talk about it yet, though. How sad. What's even more sad is that there really don't seem to be any other creatures than the clams. Or at least that's Niklas' opinion. But he remains an optimist at heart. When life gives you corpses, you make delicious goulash.
"The clams are the creatures, then? Disappointing, though tasty. Shall we bring one of them up?"
Morton has a bit more of a positive view of things.
"Truly? That's a bit... like good luck, actually. It's nice to have things go easy for once. How about this one, chef Niklas? After Kevin's had his way with it, of course. I'm sure you can make a mean dish out of it."
Niklas pets his cat, whose acceptance is cold and absolute.
"Sure, why not. Well, cat, you survived this, as notdangerous as it was. I'll not cook you. Instead I will train you in the ways of killing."
Suddenly the group hears a voice from the entrance to the cargo hold.
"We are leaving. The magic ship apparently exists. We are riding on it. Follow quickly."
Looking over at the source, some of the group notice the head of Evelyn poking out of the open door to the hold momentarily before it disappears.
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott figures he can get this whole brain-pan thing out of the way while walking to the ship. Time's a-wastin', after all. He gestures at Erin and Evelyn, beckoning them to come with him.
"Wait, wait, wait. We can't leave our buddies down there without any directions!"
"Yes. That would be inconsiderate. I will tell them."
Evelyn heads down below decks, coming back about a minute later.
"We may go. Slowly."
And they set off, not in a particular rush.
"So, how do I construct a brain-pan?"
"Well, ya see, there's two ways. Ya can either try to duplicate an organic system, which is difficult due to needing to understand how brains work, which nobody entirely does, or try to make it all mechanical and whatnot with algorithmic decisions or some such. Mechanical is easier, but the creation can't think new thoughts or properly adapt most of the time. Organic is pretty hard, and nobody can do it perfectly, at least not transmuters, but ya get such beautiful results sometimes. Makes ya happy ya took Neural Engineering at the University and looked at mental brain-pictures a lot."
Erin looks a bit wistful as she seems to return to a different time in her mind.
Back in Emlocke...
Since the armored lady business is done with, Darren sees no reason to stick around.
"Well... I guess."
"Very good. Let's go. Not far."
The dog leads both Darren and the whip man back to the square. It points toward a rather luxurious house over a pit. Oh, hey, that's the house the tree-head fell out of. And then he fell into the pit as the ground disappeared under his feet. There are about ten straight meters of bottomless pit between the house and the gang.
"That house. Last one. Mage there. Any ideas?"
It looks at the whip man, who appears to be lost in thought, then at Darren.
Post by: Xantalos on May 24, 2013, 04:10:03 pm
Pick up large clam. Carry out of hold.
Go to magical ship.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 24, 2013, 04:58:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 24, 2013, 09:09:15 pm
-Get somebody else, this bank is full of petty rich people who wouldn't mind to help you. I'm busy, and this is consuming much of my time, so let me go.
Post by: Yoink on May 24, 2013, 11:51:15 pm
He frowned a little, then looked back to the vaguely round, empty space before him, where he imagined the unseen voices would be, were they really talking to him.
"Buuut," he said, waggling one ghostly finger in a general nowhere direction, "I dun' gots nobody to sacrifices here, does I? You's gets me backsta home an' I be sacrificin' plenty! Yep! You just gotsta meets me harfway, yes? Deals?"
>Explain to the voices that, given the lack of suitable sacrifice victims here(a hippo is not a man, and seeing as it's a skeletal one its blood can't be spilled anyway), it's only fair that they transport me back to my plane of origin that I might actually have the means to acquire them some tasty, tasty sacrifices.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 25, 2013, 02:17:19 am
Niklas, about to wrap this investigation up, goes about lugging the giant clam away. But for this, he shall require help.
"Someone help me carry this."
He grabs the splotchy clam with one of his hands and Morton helps him out, grabbing the errant mollusc. Despite only having three arms to do this with, it is easy enough to lift the clam, as it is lighter than its size would suggest, very much like the other clams in the room. The two undead carry the thing out of the hold and head to the ship. They catch up with Erin, Ex-Master Scott and Evelyn easily enough, who give them slightly weird looks.
"Um, why are ya carrying a giant clam? And why does it have red splotches on it?"
Reasons, lady. Very good reasons.
In the de Jong and Associates Bank...
Sigmund tries to get rid of this pest of a man as quickly and efficiently as possible. He turns around.
"Get somebody else, this bank is full of petty rich people who wouldn't mind to help you. I'm busy, and this is consuming much of my time, so let me go."
The man looks down at his feet sadly.
"Aw, shucks. I'm sorry. I guess I'll ask someone else. Ya really can't help?"
"No."
The man sighs, turns around and heads over to the lobby. Sigmund, meanwhile, traverses the Financial Consultation department and reaches the exit. Oddly enough, it appears to be a mirrored version of the entrance lobby, a place where lots of people are gathered and seem to be discussing the deals of the day. Sigmund promptly ignores them and gets to business, leaving the bank in short order. He then tries to make his way to Gerfluski and Sons.
[Will roll: 3]
Uhm... which way was that? Did he have to turn left or right?
Which way was left, anyway? Sigmund's head is spinning a little. He wanders in what he supposes is the right direction, or at least he hopes so. It's getting a bit difficult to concentrate.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy, lacking any obvious human sacrifices, considering that the hippo doesn't count, speaks into the void. Well, it's not the void, as it is actually a bevy of spiraling, gleaming strings of exploding birds that, when viewed appropriately, seem to form insulting messages in cryptic languages.
"Buuut," he says, waggling one ghostly finger in a general nowhere direction, "I dun' gots nobody to sacrifices here, does I? You's gets me backsta home an' I be sacrificin' plenty! Yep! You just gotsta meets me harfway, yes? Deals?"
The voices don't seem to be convinced. They seem to be grumbling about something. "Misinterpretation" is a word Timothy can clearly make out. It's a big word. He can also hear something about clowns. Whether that's related, he doesn't really know.
Post by: Xantalos on May 25, 2013, 02:20:30 am
Niklas grins, realizing something.
Do you know where the ghost captain is? I want to give him a shock.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 25, 2013, 02:29:30 am
Starts heading back to the magic ship, making sure the two of them follow.
Post by: miauw62 on May 25, 2013, 03:46:05 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 25, 2013, 03:56:29 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 25, 2013, 09:26:30 am
Sigmund will go to the bank, look for Scott, and, as he isn't going to be there, head back to the flying ship
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 25, 2013, 10:49:03 am
As Niklas follows the group, he offers an explanation for all the apparently silly things he has seen.
"Apparently these are the creatures. I'm going to see if they're good cooking. Did you say there was a magic ship?"
"Ayup. Magic ship. Really cool, apparently."
Morton joins in on the exposition, hoping to elaborate on Niklas' brief words.
"Ah, yes, as my companion said, Erin, seems these are the beasts. Nice to have something go easy for once. Giant clams were all we could find down there, I think Kevin found all of them. This one was on a pile of bones, of all things. I think the captain may of been pulling us a farce with the creatures. I'm afraid I don't much know what the red splotches are, I assumed coloration of the shell."
"Guess he was crazy or somethin'. Ya never know with ghosts."
As Niklas is allowed to think for a moment, a wicked grin clearly appears on the uncovered lower portion of his face. Danger is afoot if it wasn't already.
"Do you know where the ghost captain is? I want to give him a shock."
"Back at the captain's quarters, I'd bet. But it's probably not a good idea to shock 'im. He might react violently. Ain't that right, Evelyn?"
"Certainly. The captain is a fragile one. Cannot handle his skin being accidentally ripped off temporarily without letting loose a howl."
As Evelyn speaks, she removes the rag from her face. It seems to have a bit of blood on it.
As the group, Scott included among them, marches across town, Kevin follows closely behind, though his hands are rather lacking in clams. He blames it on the rather inconvenient weight of the things. Definitely not a thing a skeleton would be able to lift on his own. Eventually they reach the ship and see Bernie, Art and the Artiste all chilling on the dock.
"... so then I told the ghost that his mother was calling while my partner made suspicious noises from the other room. Silly thing was only about eight at the time, so he fell for it and went there. And then-"
"Hi, guys!"
"Hello, ladies and minions! We've been waiting for you for a while."
"Not too long, though."
"And moneybags didn't even get lost! A miracle, I tell you!"
Erin looks at the ship rather critically.
"So, this is our ride?"
"Sweet, eh?"
"Oh yeah. Real sweet. Don't get any sweeter than the flagship of the Black Circle of Magic."
"That is the flagship of the Black Circle of Magic?"
"Uh, yeah. The Bargain of Ages is her name, and back in school the professors of both Metamorphosis and Artifacts couldn't stop droolin' over the thing. Thing's got enchantments so complex, some people still write theses on 'em. Not to mention the freakin' materials. Don't even get me started on those."
"Don't worry, we won't."
"Still, pretty weird that they let us ride it. It's kind of meant for ranking mages to wage wars and cross dimensions, ya know, and stuff. It's certainly built for that."
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Sigmund tries to fight off his directional inadequacy and find a way out of this wretched maze of a town.
[Will roll: 5]
He decides to stop thinking about it so much. He shouldn't analyze. He should go. Follow directions. And this he does most admirably, reaching Gerfluski and Sons in due time. No Scott or the others in sight. Okay then! Back to the ship.
He moves through the town without too many problems by closing his eyes and thinking happy thoughts in the difficult bits, and soon enough he is at the harbor. Following that, he reaches the ship soon enough. The whole gang's here! Yay!
Post by: Xantalos on May 25, 2013, 11:08:16 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 25, 2013, 11:46:58 am
Scott shall place the money box at the Master's feet...or on Bernie's feet...heavily.
Post by: Tomcost on May 25, 2013, 12:02:04 pm
-I see that all of us are here, right? Good. I guess that we have the money to pay for the trip, right?
He then sees Scott and his box.
-Well, you have everything under control here.
He then spoke to the Artiste:
-Master, while I couldn't find any money to help our cause, I found something even more important.
He then shows him the gift from the generous man:
-This medallion will keep te monsters from the Sea and the Isle away from whoever is wearing it, master. I want to give it to you, as not only my soul, but those of every person in this team depend on your person.
He then remembered that there was something for Scott too:
-Scott, there is something for you too, but it is waiting for you in the hand of the owner of the mansion in which we had that ghost incident. It turned that it was all caused because of magic, and that fellow is one of the most generous persons you will ever encounter. I got that medallion as a compensation for my bad experience there, and he is willing to compensate you too. Just remember to apologize to the butler, and I'm sure he will give you something nice.
((Sorry for all the conversation for different people))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 25, 2013, 01:06:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 25, 2013, 01:11:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 25, 2013, 03:10:40 pm
Niklas, though firmly warned, decides to try to bring the clam to the captain anyway for giggles. Without giggles, nothing is worthwhile. Morton, though he has not the slightest inkling what Niklas intends, pauses in his appreciation of the flying ship to be dragged along by the chef.
"A flying ship, I never thoug--er, sorry, seems Niklas wishes to head elsewhere. We'll meet back up with you all soon!"
"Ya do that, guys. We'll take care of the rest."
The two clambearers, followed by a curious and curiously loyal Kevin. They reach the ship in due time, Niklas strolling up to the captain and showing him his glorious giant clam like it was his greatest treasure.
"OH MY! It's the OVERLORD! Judging by the FACT THAT YOU'RE NOT DEAD, it was PRESUMABLY DEAD WHEN YOU GOT THERE, NO?"
The captain floats up to the clam and sinks his new intangible head inside the shell. Moments later, he pulls it out.
"YEP. Thing's WASTED AWAY. Not a SMIDGEN of it LEFT! HOW HUMOROUS. And EMBARRASSING FOR ME."
The spectral armored figure starts to bob in the air and laugh manically. Moments later, he is also dancing ethereally.
"AHAHAHAHAAAH! You LOSE, you INFERNAL, BASTARDLY THINGS! My crew may HAVE DIED OF STARVATION, well, at least most of the ones who didn't TRY TO GO INTO THE HOLD, but at least they didn't DIE TO FEED YOU! And NOW YOU'RE DEAD! HOW DOES IT FEEL? Huh? HOW DOES IT FEEL!?"
He appears to be enjoying this quite a lot, launching into a song that consists of nothing but the words "you're dead!" chanted melodically.
Back at the ship, Scott deposits his box on the feet of Bernie from a height of about one meter.
[Bernie endurance roll: 5]
He doesn't look terribly impressed.
"You're lucky that didn't particularly hurt me, or I'd sure be laughing a lot more than you."
Before he can elaborate further, Sigmund appears from nowhere dramatically!
"I see that all of us are here, right? Good. I guess that we have the money to pay for the trip, right?"
He then sees Scott and his box, currently resting at Bernie's feet.
"Well, you have everything under control here."
Turning to the Artiste, he continues.
"Master, while I couldn't find any money to help our cause, I found something even more important."
He brandishes the black amulet and shows it to his master.
"This medallion will keep the monsters from the Sea and the Isle away from whoever is wearing it, master. I want to give it to you, as not only my soul, but those of every person in this team depend on your person."
The Artiste pats him on the head most approvingly.
"Good work, minion! Who's a productive minion? You are! You are!"
Sigmund turns to Scott at last, informing him of the generous offer of Gimble.
"Scott, there is something for you too, but it is waiting for you in the hand of the owner of the mansion in which we had that ghost incident. It turned that it was all caused because of magic, and that fellow is one of the most generous persons you will ever encounter. I got that medallion as a compensation for my bad experience there, and he is willing to compensate you too. Just remember to apologize to the butler, and I'm sure he will give you something nice."
Luckily, he is a vampire, so he's hardly out of breath by the time he's said all this.
"Say, Bernie, give me that box you've got."
Bernie wordlessly lifts the box, giving Scott a rather nasty look, then hands it to the master.
"Thank you kindly! So, should we wait for the others or pay right away? What do you people think? I'm rather unfamiliar with the etiquette of these things."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 25, 2013, 03:25:16 pm
Ghost on in.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 25, 2013, 03:51:42 pm
Scott will then hugglecrush Sigmund, after asking who the owner is and what he looks like, and will then rush up to the mansion.
Post by: Tomcost on May 25, 2013, 04:50:06 pm
-Well, he is an old person and wears fine clothing. His name is Irwin Gimble, and his butler's name was Thomas, I think. He is a really nice man once you get to know him.
Sigmund looks uncomfortable when Scott hugglecrushes him
After that incident, Sigmund spoke to Erin:
-Is your magic capable of repairing things? Because I broke my knife, and, well, after seeing what I could do with it, and don't want it to become useless...
[If she agrees, hand her the knife]
Post by: Xanmyral on May 25, 2013, 05:02:26 pm
[...I wanna recruit this captain and take him with us. He amuses me, and who knows, might help us out.]
Post by: Xantalos on May 25, 2013, 05:05:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 26, 2013, 02:44:37 am
Darren has an idea. A helpful one, too!
"Let's see. I can sort of ghost my way in, then look around."
The whip man doesn't seem to mind, being busy placing his fingers on his temples and looking intently at the dog, and the dog nods along with what Darren says.
"Reasonably appropriate. Do it."
Darren, figuring he needs no other confirmation, ghosts on in, floating over the pit and to the front door of the house. Immediately he feels something try to worm its way into his mind, something almost unbearably strange. Huh.
At the Bargain of Ages...
Scott, upon hearing of the mansion man, feels rather joyful. He turns to the Artiste.
"Master, I beg a quick leave of absence."
"Oh, sure. Go right ahead."
Scott turns to Sigmund once more.
"Who is the owner, what does he look like?"
"Well, he is an old person and wears fine clothing. His name is Irwin Gimble, and his butler's name was Thomas, I think. He is a really nice man once you get to know him."
Scott nods, then grabs Sigmund, giving him a hug so thoroughly heartfelt, it borders on brutally violent. Then he leaves without a word, rushing over to the mansion. He reaches it within 20 minutes. It's still looking snazzy, he finds.
Back at the ship, Sigmund just looks uncomfortable. As do the others. Better quickly fix that. He strikes up a conversation with Erin.
"Is your magic capable of repairing things? Because I broke my knife, and, well, after seeing what I could do with it, and don't want it to become useless..."
"Oh, sure. Not a prob, buddy."
Sigmund hands Erin his broken knife, and she quickly examines it.
"Looks pretty sharp. Fragile, though."
[Erin magic roll: 1]
The knife glows for a moment, then suddenly seems to twist about, its broken tip wiggling about. Erin looks at it curiously for a moment.
Then the knife violently stabs itself through her hand, making a motion Sigmund wouldn't have thought possible with any normal knife!
"Oh, gods-dammit! That really, really hurts!"
The knife then pulls itself out of her hand, bends itself strangely, resting the tip on the ground, then springs away on its blade, leaving a trail of blood behind it.
"Well, that certainly just happened."
"How helpful of ya to notice!"
At the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is curious about the whole starvation business, and asks appropriate questions.
"D-died of starvation? Good heavens, what happened? Did you not make it to port in time?"
"YES! The cargo hold had ALL THE FOOD. WE were in the middle of a LONG VOYAGE ALONG THE SEA WHEN THE CLAMS ESCAPED! As I have ELABORATED, WE DID NOT KNOW they could MELT METAL. OUR NAVIGATOR, brave soul that HE UNDOUBTEDLY WAS, was the FIRST TO MAKE THIS DISCOVERY. Then he was PROMPTLY KILLED."
The captain shakes his head sadly.
"CUT DOWN IN HIS PRIME. One of many VICTIMS OF THE PRICELESS DELICACY TRADE. AND the only one who REALLY KNEW HOW TO USE ALL THOSE HANDY NAVIGATIONAL TOOLS as well. WE GOT LOST. THEN WE STARVED. Well, at LEAST we didn't TRY TO EAT EACH OTHER. Then for some reason ALL OF US BECAME GHOSTS, UNRESOLVED BUSINESS OR INCREDIBLE AGONY, or both would be my guesses. Some have WANED OVER TIME, like the CABIN BOY, particularly in the time WE'VE BEEN MOORED HERE, and I AM THE STRONGEST REMNANT. It took ABOUT TEN YEARS, but WE ALSO FOUND the ACTUAL COAST."
"So what shall you do now, my good captain? The beasts are dead, your duty done, and you no longer have erroneous limbs. Adventurer out into the sea? Hang around town?"
"I suppose I'll WANDER AROUND TOWN FOR A WHILE. LOAF around here at first. ENJOY THE SIGHTS AND WHATNOT. After that, WHO KNOWS?"
"The butler is right. Why not come with us and become associates of the Best Chef?"
"IT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT LEAVING THE SHIP. I've got LOTS OF FRIENDS HERE. They'd GET LONELY. And CRAZY. I can KEEP THEM IN LINE."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 26, 2013, 03:09:26 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 26, 2013, 05:56:49 am
Post by: Yoink on May 26, 2013, 08:36:04 am
>Try and figure out just what the voices REALLY meant- ask them nicely to repeat themselves and explain!
After all, they ain't going to get sacrifices of ANY description if I don't figure this out...
Post by: killerhellhound on May 26, 2013, 09:29:50 am
Mark kicks the clam and gets his arm back before rejoining the others
Post by: Tomcost on May 26, 2013, 09:46:03 am
Sigmund, surprised to see his knife do that, told to Erin:
-Oh, dear, are you ok? I swear I didn't know it could hurt you. Can I help you with something?
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 26, 2013, 10:56:19 am
Scott, feeling sure of himself, knocks on the door. It is soon opened by the butler - Thomas, according to Sigmund.
"Ah. It is you. Wait here, the master will b-b-b-b-be here s-s-s-soon."
He goes back into the house. Scott hears a far-off click and several clacks. Ten seconds later, the man named Irwin Gimble appears in front of him, holding a box.
"Hello, Mr. Yaleson. I'm Irwin Gimble, and I've been expecting you. Truly sorry for all that ghost nonsense, I really am. Now, how would we go about smoothing this incident over, do you think?"
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, hearing the explanation of the crew's deaths, has a practical solution and a question.
"Well, why not bring them with us? We're still going to the same place, although our mode of transportation is instead a ship of the flying nature. Although I have to ask, where are they? I haven't seen anyone aboard this ship besides you, good captain."
Morton glances around the captain's quarters but alas, no crew members are forthcoming just yet.
"MOST OF THEM have become echoes. Like I said, I am the strongest REMNANT. THE OTHERS HAVE MOSTLY FADED AWAY. The FIRST MATE still LOAFS ABOUT HERE SOMEPLACE, but HE'S SNEAKY. DIFFICULT TO SEE. As for your OFFER, I'LL CONSIDER IT. Sounds FUN!"
In Undefined Space...
Timothy shoots his firework launchers into the surrounding whatever, cheering himself up a bit. However, he gets to business shortly, asking the voices as nicely as he can what they really meant.
"Voices, stops bein' so mystery-like and I helps ya!"
Spoken to plainly and without pretense of any kind, the voices seem rather surprised. They explains that he gotsta make a funny clown or near-substitute, then make him fall down some stairs or near-substitute. Then he hasta laugh for best effect. If he don't laugh, then that's no big deal anyway. But they be happiest if he laughs, too. Then they can laugh and hoot without feelin' too bad themselves. They be considerate like that.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, wishing to recover his arm, kicks the clam!
[Kicking roll: 4]
He takes a step back, then runs at the clam and kicks it about a meter away. This allows him to retrieve his arm rather easily. At this point, he runs over to the ship and takes up a position at the magical gathering there, somehow managing to successfully carry a halberd and his own severed arm in his only remaining hand.
Oh dear, looks like a commotion of some kind.
At the magical gathering at the Bargain of Ages...
Sigmund, rather unused to the vagaries of magic, says the first things that come to his mind.
"Oh, dear, are you okay? I swear, I didn't know it could hurt you. Can I help you with something?"
"Not really, magic can always hurt ya, also not really."
She lifts her hand up.
"Medic!"
Evelyn sighs and pulls out a few bandages from her satchel.
"How unfortunate."
[Evelyn medicine roll: 3]
She ties two bandages across the hand in a crosswise fashion. It seems to help the bleeding a little bit.
"That's not enough, Evelyn!"
Evelyn looks at the bloody bandages on Erin's hand critically, then speaks with a hint of boredom.
"I could certainly fix that better, yes. You could also have bled less. In that way, it is the fault of both of us."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 26, 2013, 11:10:55 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 26, 2013, 11:17:48 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 26, 2013, 03:14:38 pm
Post by: Parsely on May 26, 2013, 04:15:06 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: A circus acrobat who fell from his tightrope. Consequently, he wasn't a particularly good acrobat, to his (mis)fortune.
Post by: Xantalos on May 26, 2013, 04:44:18 pm
Niklas heads over to the magical ship to see if they have a ship kitchen! Galley?
If he doesn't know the way, he will get someone else to lead him there.
Post by: Tomcost on May 26, 2013, 04:48:55 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 26, 2013, 04:50:56 pm
((Xantalos, the clam is empty))((Handy bowl, though.))
Post by: Xanmyral on May 26, 2013, 05:05:12 pm
[Obviously we must turn this into armor.]
Post by: Xantalos on May 26, 2013, 05:08:32 pm
((Perfect.))
Post by: killerhellhound on May 26, 2013, 06:16:09 pm
(+1 to medicine yay)
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 27, 2013, 01:41:16 am
Scott thinks about how to phrase his desire for compensation. He is, after all, a humble and considerate person.
"If it's necessary, do you have any books on the fine points of making golems? Particularly organic brain cases. Or are you able to reverse botched polymorph spells? In either case I would like to apologize to your butler for attempting to murder him."
Gimble looks a bit disappointed.
"I am deeply saddened to say I cannot provide either such a book or such a service. I haven't got the right magic, and any literature I possess is rather... unfriendly to the average reader. You can still apologize to my butler, though. Thomas! Come here!"
Thomas steps out of the shadows and walks up to Scott.
"Yes, s-s-s-sir?"
"This man wants to apologize to you."
"Ap-pology ac-cepted, s-s-sir."
At the enchanted ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund figures that Erin probably needs more bandages. Therefore, he should hunt about for some. Maybe he can find something and not get lost.
Fortunately, there appears to be an apothecary's shop right on the waterfront. Not too far from here, actually. Sigmund goes right in.
Looks like a pretty decent store, he guesses. Got books, got bandages, got creepy idols and fetishes, got a wizened old lady as a clerk, got some potion-making supplies for sale. As well as a bunch of other things. He takes a gander at the bandages available and comes to the conclusion that they have more here than he'll ever need. He checks the price.
It says "Sphagnum Bandages - 10 c/m".
The lady standing at the counter seems to be eying him carefully.
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, being mostly done here, wraps all his business up.
"Very well then, thank you for all your help then good captain. I... I don't believe I caught your name, what was it? Mine would be Carter Morton, but most just call me Morton. Or Butler, in some cases. Either way, I wish you calm seas and clear skies captain, and hope to see you again soon, I think we best be getting back to the ship. The offer still stands, if you can't catch us at the ship I believe our destination is Horizon Isles. Someplace about dreams, I believe."
"PLEASED TO MEET YOU, Butler Morton. I'd INTRODUCE MYSELF, but I'm NOT SURE WHAT MY NAME IS. It was SOME COMBINATION of Beauchamp, ANNA and Derbin. POSSIBLY ROY AS WELL. Though I may have MADE THAT UP SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY. But ANYWAY, I'll try to CATCH YOU AFTER I GET USED TO MY BODY."
Morton nods in an imitation of sagacity, then notices that Niklas is trying to drag him off along with the clam. Since he is done here anyway, he follows, as does the loyal Kevin. They walk over to the magical ship and try to enter it. However, they are stopped by the captain.
"Sorry, but you can't enter the ship before you have paid for passage."
Bummer.
At the Bargain of Ages...
Mark, standing around and doing nothing in particular, tries to stick his arm back into its socket.
["Medicine" roll: 3+1]
It sort of fits back in. It's not quite as good as it was, but it's certainly usable, Mark thinks.
Slightly farther away from him, though, actual medicine appears to be happening.
"Come on, Evelyn! You got bandages, don't be stingy."
"Fine. You will have your bandages."
Evelyn pulls out a whole roll of bandages, then proceeds to fully wrap Erin's hand. Many times over.
"Will that be enough?"
"Um... yeah? I guess? I mean, ya could've-"
"I can unwrap it and start over."
"Uh, no need."
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on May 27, 2013, 01:50:47 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 27, 2013, 02:35:17 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 27, 2013, 02:46:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 27, 2013, 09:07:54 am
Sigmund realized that he hadn't got enough money and went back to ask for a gold coin to the artiste, exlaining that it was to buy some bandages.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 27, 2013, 11:33:33 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 27, 2013, 01:11:34 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 27, 2013, 01:29:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 27, 2013, 03:20:35 pm
Niklas, confronted with the subtle, almost sublime horror of the dreaded entrance fee, doesn't lose his head just yet. Or make anyone else lose theirs. After all, it's only money.
"What need we pay?"
The captain sizes him up for a moment, a bit put off by his outlandish appearance.
"I would say... 30 copper coins for passage, or 1 gold and 1 silver if you prefer, 15 copper or 3 silver coins if the destination's exciting."
A metaphorical magical flash orb goes off in Morton's head. Why, he was here an hour ago!
"I believe this is the ship that our fellows were trying to get onto, they may have worked out the price by now, shall we check, chef Niklas?"
"No need!" comes the confident voice of the Artiste from behind him. Looking back, the two undead notice several things. For one, Mark seems to be trying to walk up some imaginary stairs. Kevin seems to be exuding an air of gladness at the easily found mages. Erin's hand is completely wrapped in bandages. Sigmund appears to be hitting the Artiste up for cash, saying it's for bandages and whatnot. The Artiste quickly hands him a gold coin as per his request. Scott looks rather sad and dejected for some reason, though looking at the ship seems to make him feel happy. Finally, the Artiste himself seems to be holding up said box of money.
"We have the money, good sir," he says, withdrawing 13 gold coins and 1 silver coin from the box. "Boarding fee for 11 people, right here."
"Ah, very good. We'll be leaving soon, as we're full up now. I'll take that and go find the navigator, and warn him not to get drunk today. He's a bit of a lout, you see, but still very good. Comes with the territory, I suppose. Anyway, we'll be setting off at dusk. You can get comfortable on the ship if you like, the crew will show you around."
He takes the money and walks down the pier to the waterfront, then turns left, heading deeper inside the town at a relaxed, dignified pace, still puffing that magnificent pipe of his.
"Well, you heard the man. Let's get comfortable! We've got until dusk."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 27, 2013, 03:22:40 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 27, 2013, 03:24:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 27, 2013, 03:41:18 pm
"Oh dear, what happened to your hand Erin?" Morton asked the bandaged mage with a touch of worry in his voice. Feeling another tug on the shell though, he helps Niklas search the ship, due to still helping hold the giant clam. "Er, I'll be back after I help Chef Niklas with this."
Post by: Tomcost on May 27, 2013, 05:19:46 pm
-Maybe I should acquire a weapon for myself. I'll be back in a moment.
Then go looking for a weapons store.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 27, 2013, 07:32:55 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 27, 2013, 11:08:53 pm
"Yup. There's definatly something in there. Tried to get in my head."
Post by: Gamerlord on May 27, 2013, 11:20:04 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 27, 2013, 11:36:46 pm
Currently trying to reach Horizon Isle, to get to the Plane of Dreams, so that we can do... Whatever it is that we're suppose to do there. We may be taking a flying ship there, may in that it could be a scam, or could not.
Not much else of note.]
Post by: killerhellhound on May 28, 2013, 12:40:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 28, 2013, 06:56:24 am
The whole group (with the exception of Sigmund and Mark, who, having obtained a gold coin each, go shopping) boards the ship, Scott leading the way and Morton and Niklas following closely behind. Ascending the gangplank, they come upon the main deck of the ship, and it certainly looks rather impressive, if a bit cold and saturated with metal. There appear to be several robed people walking about. Morton, realizing that the fact that the most useful mage of the group seems to have her magic hand bandaged, expresses concern over this fact.
"Oh dear, what happened to your hand, Erin?"
"It was pretty weird, I accidentally animated a knife and it stabbed me straight through the palm! Then it got bandaged and stuff. Now it's all good," she says, waving the ball of bandages that now is her hand. Morton nods, though he feels Niklas pull on the clam rather impatiently. Duty calls, he supposes.
"Er, I'll be back after I help Chef Niklas with this."
"I wonder where the crew quarters are."
As the group converse, some of them preparing to go about their actual business, one of the robed people, a rather peevish-looking woman in a dark red robe of about thirty five years from the looks of it, walks up to them.
"May I ask what you're doing here?"
"May I remind you who is financing this trip, good woman?"
The woman looks a bit intrigued by this remark.
"You may, actually. Do so."
Some of the other undead begin to move to do what they were going to do.
"No, wait. Don't go anywhere just yet. We need to establish some things."
Outside the ship, Sigmund and Mark go on separate shopping trips. Sigmund looks for a weapon shop, but fails to find anything deeper within the town. However, he also manages to successfully avoid getting irrevocably lost! Mark, meanwhile, looks for some fishing gear, but there don't appear to be any stores offering such goods, and neither are there any lying around. With that being a resounding failure, he looks at his contract for the first time, examining the rituals needed.
Okay, so one, addressed to Jolly Vito, requires him to bleed a restrained living being and draw specific sigils with the blood. Uncomplicated, that. The second, addressed to Nicholas Tensworth, requires him to remove a rib from a being and then stab said being in the heart with it, then carve an elaborate rune around the stab wound with a knife. The third is addressed to Yuhan the Warlock, and it involves removing a being's limbs one by one, then throw them into a fire started in the center of a magic circle, ending with throwing the being itself when all the limbs are removed. In each case, the victim must be alive until the ritual's conclusion. So, to put it simply, he needs some manner of restraints, a bad attitude, some surgical implements, presumably, and possibly a bit of chalk for the third ritual. Rope shouldn't be hard to locate, and neither should chalk. Surgical implements... well... better find those, then.
Unfortunately, he can't think of a single place where he might get those. It's not like there's surgeon stores around here.
At the square of Emlocke...
Darren decides that he doesn't need this. At all. He tries to escape!
[Darren will roll: 3]
However, the worming into his skull that was attempted moments ago continues, and he feels a peculiar loss of control at the moment. He tries to move, but then decides not to for now. After all, where's the rush? It's perfectly nice here, you know. Besides, he can yell his news out to the group from here.
"Yup! There's definitely something in there! Tried to get in my head!"
The dog, who appears to be listening to something the whip man's telling it, nods at Darren's instruction, then shakes its head at the whip man.
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
It then barks loudly, catching the building (and Darren, to a lesser degree) in the blast!
[Building stability roll: 3]
[Darren endurance roll: 6]
Darren sort of giggles ticklishly while the building behind him shakes begins to crumble, the facade of it sliding bit by bit into the pit. For some reason, Darren feels better. Like something big has been distracted from his tasty mind-vittles for a bit.
"Flee quickly. Dangerous place," it says to Darren, who happily obliges, coming back to his two allies.
The whip man, upon seeing all this, can't help but try something. It involves twirling a wooden pentacle on his finger, but what it actually is, the others can't rightly say.
"Ghosts howl," the dog states matter-of-factly, looking at Darren. "Try howling. At building."
However, before any more progress can be made, the dog pricks up its ears. The whip man smells the air. Both of them look somewhat bothered by something.
"Something's coming."
Post by: Tomcost on May 28, 2013, 08:03:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 28, 2013, 08:13:29 am
Sigmund will look for a smith to fix his knife
Your knife is broken, but it also ran away. So technically you have no knife to fix.
Post by: Tomcost on May 28, 2013, 08:39:42 am
Sigmund will look for a kitchen store to look for knives.
((I'll go then for throwing knives))
Post by: killerhellhound on May 28, 2013, 08:54:38 am
Post by: Xantalos on May 28, 2013, 09:28:10 am
Drag clam into the kitchen and prepare to cook!
Post by: miauw62 on May 28, 2013, 10:43:03 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 28, 2013, 11:37:25 am
Continue to find anything of magical significance, a library or a laboratory.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 28, 2013, 01:29:36 pm
Sigmund, incapable of finding a weapon shop, looks for a kitchen store!
Fortunately, there is some form of blacksmith nearby. Looking at his offered goods, Sigmund notices a few reasonably nice kitchen knives on display, as well as several other kitchen implements for potential use. There's even some farming equipment around the place. A sign above his stand says "Gunther Gunnarson, All-Purpose Smith and Hawker".
Elsewhere, Mark attempts to interview a passerby on the location of a nearby surgeon. He finds a rather sick-looking individual and petitions him with an earnest message.
"WHERE SURGEON?" he scrawls on the ground, not wishing to waste any of the fellow's time. The passerby examines the scrawling for a moment, then answers.
"Personally, I think you might be a bit too far gone for a surgeon, buddy. But there certainly is one, just go down the street, take the first left, then head down the way until you reach this big building with a single tower that's got a tree sculpted on it - that's a hospital. There's probably a surgeon there. Happy trails!"
The man heads off, offering no further explanation.
Back on the Bargain of Ages...
Niklas, relieving Morton of the iron grip of the resolute duty thrust upon him, begins dragging the clam on his own toward the inner bits of the ship. He is followed by Kevin, who has gotten into an exploratory mood.
[Mage-Hand 1 magic roll: 2+1]
[Mage-Hand 2 magic roll: 5+1]
Two robed men who up until that point had been minding something on the deck, turn to them and, with a single, synchronous motion of their hands, cause Niklas to be slightly impeded in his progress inside and Kevin to be lifted right off his feet and several meters into the air.
"Listen to the lady! We run a tight ship here."
Scott, looking over at the troubling levitation of his favorite jester, supposes he can make with the establishing.
"What needs to be established?"
"Glad you asked! Firstly, who are you people? Secondly, what are you doing here? This is a rather sensitive piece of engineering, you see, not really the kind of thing you allow just any old stranger on. So I'm a bit curious on your business here, is all."
"It is one of the cooler ships in existence, after all. Kinda natural to be protective of it."
"Thank you. I am glad you understand. Now, judging by the state of your garb, I guess you're the retainer-mouthpiece for somebody more important. Is this correct?"
"What gave it away, the fact that he's got a sheet for a cloak?"
The woman gives Bernie a very stern glare.
"When I wish to hear your insights, I will ask for them. Now, mouthpiece, do your duty and speak. Who are you people and why are you here?"
She looks at Scott with a good dose of impatience in her eyes.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 28, 2013, 01:39:09 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 28, 2013, 01:40:24 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 28, 2013, 02:36:12 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 28, 2013, 06:19:13 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 28, 2013, 07:51:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 29, 2013, 01:45:27 am
Scott tries to explain this whole deal in satisfactory terms.
"I cannot account for...him?" he says, pointing at Bernie uncertainly. "But I am a soul-bound slave to a man named the Artiste, I have given him funds to use this vessel to get to a destination. Now, would you have a library or a laboratory? I need to either reverse a terribly botched polymorph spell," he points at the sheet, "or create a new vessel for the soul.
As the woman listens, a rather small man in a gray robe next to her whispers something in her ear. She nods.
"Rather interesting. The Artiste, you say?"
"Where is the kitchen?"
"Quiet, you!"
"I'm-"
"You as well."
The Artiste shrugs and stays quiet.
Morton, seeing his companions be as useful and informative as usual, steps up to provide the customary exposition for this situation.
"Er, excuse my compatriots, they're just hurried from the trials of the day. We've purchased room on this fine vessel for a voyage from the good captain, who was down by the gang plank. He went off to find his navigator in a hurry, so I don't believe he had time to tell his crew, terribly sorry for the confusion, my good mage, we mean no harm."
The man once again whispers something in her ear, and the woman's eyes widen.
"Hm."
She turns to Morton.
"Now, you seem like a reasonable fellow. Have you been on this ship before? To be honest, this applies to all of you - have any of you been on the Bargain of Ages before?"
All mages of the group shake their heads. The gray-robed adjutant shakes his head as well, blinking slightly. He whispers something in the woman's ear, who nods.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, feeling that he desperately needs a weapon in these awfully violent times, goes up and browses the wares of Gunther Gunnarson, looking at the knives. There certainly are quite a few around there, many of them rather robust in make. There's even a few cleavers. And a whole rack of axes. No sickles or scythes, though. But there are a few heads for hoes and rakes that even come with their own nails for securing!
"How may I help you today, sir? I have a great many goods both here and deeper within my stores, you need but ask! Unlike other purveyors, I take my 'All-Purpose' title very seriously indeed."
Elsewhere, Mark tries to find the way to the hospital and succeeds most admirably! There it is, a building with a tree on its tower. Mark heads in through the door.
There looks to be quite a large variety of sick, injured and disturbed people around here. And some doctors and nurses, though most of them look terribly busy at the moment.
Post by: Xantalos on May 29, 2013, 01:53:52 am
Niklas looks distraught.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 29, 2013, 02:29:02 am
"Something just struck me sir. I don't believe that these bunch are the original crew, they are far too questioning and that one about being 'on before' is a little odd. We should act very carefully from here on."
Post by: Xanmyral on May 29, 2013, 05:30:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 29, 2013, 06:45:23 am
Niklas is absolutely shocked by the very notion that there might not be a kitchen on the ship. What do you even do on a ship without a kitchen?
"Wait - there's no kitchen?!"
The woman on the ship has nothing to really say to him right now, being busy on other matters, but one of the mages, the one that spoke before, actually, takes the time to lay the horrid truth on him.
"No, there isn't a kitchen."
Niklas gasps at these terrible news. The mage laughs a little.
"There is a galley, though. Run by golems, it is. No people allowed inside. Top culinary secrets and whatnot. Also handy for allowing the captain to spike the crew's food without their knowledge. We're experimental that way."
"Mage-hand! Shut it this instant!"
"Alright, alright..." he says, rolling his eyes.
Scott, meanwhile, tries to be all conspiratorial just like that adjutant guy. He leans in and whispers secretively into the Artiste's ear.
"Something just struck me, sir. I don't believe that these bunch are the original crew, they are far too questioning, and that one about being 'on before' is a little odd. We should act very carefully from here on."
"Well, it's certainly possible. I suppose I will, then."
Meanwhile, Morton explains the facts of the matter to the woman.
"I'm afraid I can't say I have, while my compatriots were busy pertaining to the purchase of a voyage on this ship, I was off elsewhere chasing other possibilities of conveyance in case this one didn't pan out, but seeing as it did I came back."
After the adjutant whispers in her ear once more, the woman nods.
"Thank you for your answers. Now, you there! Mouthpiece!" the woman says, pointing at Scott. "Have you been on this ship before? Answer quickly and truthfully."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 29, 2013, 07:05:09 am
"Can I by some surgeon equipment its for a good cause"
then shows it to one of the nurses that dosen't look busy.
Post by: Tomcost on May 29, 2013, 07:47:51 am
-I'm looking for a a gift for a friend of mine. He likes cooking, but specifically butchering things rather that cooking them. Do you have something that could fit him?
Post by: Innsmothe on May 29, 2013, 07:53:43 am
Scott shall examine the people, looking for anything that could insinuate that they were foreign to the surroundings.
Post by: Xantalos on May 29, 2013, 10:01:10 am
Try to maintain a neutral expression.
Post by: miauw62 on May 29, 2013, 10:41:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 29, 2013, 01:40:48 pm
Mark goes for the direct approach and looks for some paper. Fortunately, there's one right over there! It's, like, some kind of chart, but he guesses it'll do. He takes out his charcoal and begins to write with it.
However, he is interrupted by a custodian! Said custodian attempts to snatch the chart out of his hands, but Mark's a bit too fast, dodging the grab most adequately.
"Hey! Put that back where you found it! That's a vital chart for us!"
Hm. He appears to be rather distraught about the fact Mark's holding the chart.
At the stand of Gunther Gunnarson, All-Purpose Smith and Hawker...
Sigmund asks the amiable smith about certain items of interest.
"I'm looking for a a gift for a friend of mine. He likes cooking, but specifically butchering things rather that cooking them. Do you have something that could fit him?"
"Oh, certainly! For only 12 copper coins, you can have this butcher's knife - wonderful for several uses - skinning, killing animals, preparing meat and so forth, a proper tool for a professional," Gunther says, proudly holding up what is indeed a butcher's knife - it certainly resembles a chef's knife, but the blade is quite a bit heftier, and it doesn't look to have quite the stabbing edge, having a bit of a squarish end. After holding it up for a moment, the smith puts it down in front of him on a white sheet with nothing else on it.
"Also, I have several cleavers, also of great use in butchering animals, and am willing to part with one for about, shall we say, 18 copper coins. They are rather sharp and large, after all," he continues, brandishing a rather impressive-looking meat cleaver and placing it next to the butcher's knife.
"But these are all things I bet your friend already has, if perhaps of lesser quality," the smith says, holding up one finger. "What I bet he doesn't have, however, is these," he says excitedly, pulling out two interesting-looking axes, each of which sports a rather interesting, elongated head.
"You might be asking 'what are those?', but fear not, I will explain - these are called tomahawks by certain smiths, and they are quite the utilitarian tool. In addition to all the pleasant, almost universally useful qualities of a nice axe, these are also rather good for throwing - if your friend likes hunting for his butchery, he would certainly appreciate something like these. Great versatility, high quality, good against both trees and animals!" he shrewdly advertises, displaying the tomahawks in all their splendor. "Now, I'm willing to let one of these go for about 20 copper coins, both of them for 30."
On the Bargain of Ages...
Scott, not terribly bothered by the woman's question, asks his own in return.
"May I ask where we will be staying during this voyage? I fear your teasing of my now probably comatose companion will grow quite tiring."
"You may answer my question and allow things to proceed at a reasonable level of smoothness. Now, have you been on this ship before?"
She seems to be getting a tad impatient, Scott observes.
Niklas, meanwhile, is experiencing a whole new level of personal tragedy. His face betrays more than a slight amount of frustration and bewilderment as he asks his next question.
"Well, where would the golem kitchen be? So I can... look at it."
"Sorry, can't talk to you anymore. Lieutenant will get pissed at me again. She's already kinda peevish."
The woman turns to the mage-hand again.
"Mage-hand, shut your trap or there will be trouble!"
The mage-hand shrugs at Niklas and makes an apologetic motion with his hands.
Kevin, floating above it all, basks in his inability to contribute anything to the ongoing conversation. Best to just accept it and enjoy the feeling of suspension somewhat high above the deck.
Post by: Xantalos on May 29, 2013, 01:43:35 pm
Where is the golem kitchen? I want to ... look at it.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 29, 2013, 03:05:37 pm
Scott will eye them all for a reaction to this hypothesis.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 29, 2013, 03:11:02 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 29, 2013, 05:49:03 pm
-I'm sure he will like these axes. How did you say there were called?
((After the response))
-Well, definitelly I'm buying this. I'd like to have both.
Sigmund then gives the man the gold coin and five copper coins and takes the axes, then goes back to the ship.
((Hooded man with tomahawks, I'm Connor!))
Post by: killerhellhound on May 29, 2013, 06:00:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 30, 2013, 07:43:39 am
Niklas, being given the silent treatment by the mage-hand, tries to get the attention of the lieutenant.
"Where is the golem kitchen? I want to... look at it," he says at a reasonable volume, making sure to keep the suspicious pause in there for the sake of subtext.
The woman looks at him with a mean gaze.
"You can't go there. Entrance is forbidden to all crew except the captain on pain of death to be delivered by the golem chefs. Now shut up about the kitchen already."
She turns to Scott again, expecting some answers. How naive of her.
"Left-tenant? That doesn't seem to be a rank assigned to staff of a civilian vessel... would that be why you are asking us if we have been on this ship before? Some lucky band of mercenaries or an enterprising foreign power that had managed to seize this ship?"
Morton, hearing these insinuations, takes a sizable step away from Scott, scratching his head awkwardly. The woman clenches her teeth for a moment, scowling at Scott, then resumes her default look of annoyance.
"You have one," she says, holding up her index finger, "one more chance. Have you been on this ship before? Now, I want you to think before saying anything more. Just a yes or no. You have a bit of time. Let it simmer a bit. Answer honestly."
As she speaks, she starts to grin a little.
At the stall of Gunther Gunnarson...
Sigmund smiles at Gunther as he sees the throwing axes.
"I'm sure he will like these axes. How did you say there were called?"
"Tomahawks."
"Well, definitely I'm buying this. I'd like to have both."
Sigmund takes out the gold coin he has as well as five copper coins and hands them to the smith.
"Certainly, sir," he says, rather happily removing the cleaver and butcher's knife from the white sheet, placing both tomahawks on it and wrapping the sheet around them in a neat parcel, then handing it to Sigmund and placing a new sheet on his table. Sigmund takes the parcel and bids the man farewell, heading back to the ship. The joy of new stuff, fortunately, distracts him from all the crossroads and he gets back to the ship safely. Hm, looks like all his buddies are still on deck. And being interrogated by robed people. Huh.
In the town hospital of Shriekpot...
Mark tries to somehow express his need for surgical implements to the custodian.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 6]
He drops the chart at his feet, then does an elaborate pantomime of a surgery, starting with a man feeling a pain in his head, then going on to convey that he seems to have brain worms of some kind. Further developments include him going to the hospital and being told that there is little hope, but that there is a surgeon who could help him, oh yes! But he, sadly, lacks the tools to perform the job when the man goes to visit him, and has already descended into alcoholism by the time. The man, having lost all hope, soon expires from brainwormitis. A sad tale, to be sure, but one that can reasonably be avoided! For you see, Mark could be that surgeon that, while brilliant in every way (not to mention handsome), lacks the tools to perform his job and thus experiences a general lack of utility. And the custodian can help him by directing in the right direction!
The custodian, having watched all that elaborate ballet, claps loudly.
"Bravo, sir. I will aid you in your noble quest!"
He fetches a nearby doctor who appears to be loafing about.
"Doctor Johnson, I need some surgical tools to give to this man!"
"What for?"
"He's apparently a surgeon himself."
"Sure, he can have some. There's a few in the west supply closet, you can take those."
"Tree-headed surgeon! Wait here, I'll be right back."
The custodian runs off, then comes back moments later, surgeon's bag in hand. He hands it to Mark.
"Here you go. Do some good with it!"
Oh, he will.
Post by: Tomcost on May 30, 2013, 08:42:56 am
-Is there any problem with these fellows?
Post by: Innsmothe on May 30, 2013, 10:30:48 am
Scott will discretely fondle his dagger in case the lieutenant has a screw loose.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 30, 2013, 11:41:00 am
Scott, rather appalled at this reprehensible treatment of perfectly good passengers, retorts rather quickly.
"Milady, the theatrics are not necessary. I can say, without your crude machinations, that I have never seen this ship before in my life nor unlife. Also, I believe threatening a passenger is not good business sense."
The lady nods, the adjutant once more whispering something at her.
"See, was it so hard to answer my question?"
However, before she can continue, Sigmund walks up to the developing scene and poses a new question.
"Is there any problem with these fellows?"
The lieutenant sizes him up for a moment, speaking after a good second or so.
"In a word, yes. But we're getting to that. Speaking of, have you been on this ship before? A simple question, I would think."
Post by: Tomcost on May 30, 2013, 11:46:36 am
-No, it's my first time in this fine vessel.
Post by: Xantalos on May 30, 2013, 11:57:25 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 30, 2013, 12:05:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 30, 2013, 01:44:26 pm
Sigmund is quick to answer the question, not wasting a moment of time.
"No, it's my first time in this fine vessel."
After yet another adjutant's whisper, the lady looks at Sigmund doubtfully for a moment.
"I have not seen the ship before. Can I see where the kitchen is?"
The adjutant nods and the lieutenant replies with the same, then looks at Niklas in a rather annoyed fashion.
"Place him somewhere else, mage-hands."
"Will do."
[Mage-Hand 1 magic roll: 2+1]
The mage-hand looks at Niklas intently, and Niklas floats about a foot up, then gently descends as the mage lets out a long sigh of exertion.
"Help me out here, buddy!" he says to his compatriot currently busy holding Kevin. The other mage-hand doesn't seem to pay him any mind, though.
"Well, screw you too, then!" he says after a moment, then turns to Niklas again.
"Alright, guess I can show you where the kitchen is, I suppose. At least it'll get you out of the lieutenant's way. Me as well, to a lesser degree. Come with me, now."
He walks over to a steel door and makes it open with a motion of his hand, then beckons Niklas to come in.
Back over at the more popular corner of the ship, Scott keeps asking more questions.
"So, is this normal business or was my appraisal correct? Perhaps you are even slavers..."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Now, when you first came on this ship, and this most certainly wasn't just now, did you by any chance take anything?"
Again with the questions!
Post by: miauw62 on May 30, 2013, 01:54:11 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 30, 2013, 02:11:26 pm
"Did I imbibe something? No, I cannot process food and drink. Did I take offence to something? Sure, all these questions. Was I assaulted and did I withstand it? Both yes and no, but not on this ship. Was I sexually convened upon? Was I given a hand out? Did I retrieve my money? Did I use magical arts to create a picture? Did I purloin some bawbles...Speak girl!"
Post by: Xantalos on May 30, 2013, 02:14:18 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 30, 2013, 03:23:58 pm
-Has something happened here before we arrived? Because we just came here and payed for a trip.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 30, 2013, 03:57:34 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 30, 2013, 06:38:39 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 30, 2013, 09:17:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 01:08:01 am
Kevin, seeing an opportunity, tries to get down from his terrible position!
[Kevin fidgeting vs. Mage-Hand 2 telekinesis: 1 vs. 6+1]
As soon as he attempts to get free, the mage-hand gestures slightly, instantly straightening him out and keeping him completely still! Dang.
At the same time, Scott appears to be executing some sort of conversational strategy based entirely around being completely inane and such, making Morton feel a tad awkward. Oh, that Master Scott, he tries, bless his soul, he certainly tries. But Morton will get out of the way just in case.
"In what context do you mean 'take anything'? Did I imbibe something? No, I cannot process food and drink. Did I take offense to something? Sure, all these questions. Was I assaulted and did I withstand it? Both yes and no, but not on this ship. Was I sexually convened upon? Was I given a hand out? Did I retrieve my money? Did I use magical arts to create a picture? Did I purloin some baubles... speak, girl!"
"Did you remove anything from its location on this ship when you were first here? Yes or no."
"Has something happened here before we arrived? Because we just came here and paid for a trip."
The adjutant nods silently once more, something not lost on the lady.
"We will get to that soon. Wait a moment. I must resolve certain matters."
Niklas decides to take the chance to blow this popsicle stand while he still can, going into the now-open ship door and following the guy.
The interior of the ship is pretty elaborate, he'd say. Lots of wall carvings, murals, exquisite furniture and such, though it does seem a bit... empty. Something's missing from it all, Niklas can tell. Oh well. Kitchen time! He follows the guy through several hallways and down a ladder, then comes to a large steel door with a small slot in it. The door has no visible opening mechanism.
"Right, so here's the kitchen. It's got a whole lot of golems in it, and you can even hear them if you listen in," he says, putting his ear to the door. then withdrawing it in short order.
"Golems are rather nice, not to mention very meticulous and precise. Though if you infringe on the kitchen, they tend to get extremely violent. And since they're made of steel, this is somewhat of a problem for most. You can take a look through the slot to see them at work if you want to."
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, supposing that there's no reason he can't make precautions in case something terrible happens, tries to animate a debris golem!
[Animate Construct roll: 6]
Since they're trying to destroy the house anyway, he supposes he can take some of that debris! He pulls a whole lot of large bits of debris from the crumbling facade, essentially dismantling it entirely and managing to get a good look at the inside of the house - fairly nice interior, filled with rather old, though also rather splendid furnishings. Anyway, though, after performing such renovation, he takes the debris and forms it into a man! A ten foot man made of swirling stones and sharp, jagged bits of glass flying about in a rather dangerous-looking fashion!
"Interesting construct. Looks effective," the dog says as it and the whip man get ready for something. The whip man seems to prepare his whip, his jars, his pentacles and even some axes, not to mention some odd marbles. Darren can sort of hear something now. It sounds a bit like wheezing, a bit like giggling. And it's very close.
The dog looks in a certain direction and barks in it!
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
The blast tears along the street, upturning the already badly abused cobblestones! The response is a bit of giggling from an entirely different direction, the alley in this case. Nothing there that Darren can see, but he's sure that there is actually something.
In the town hospital of Shriekpot...
Mark bows to the custodian and Doctor Johnson, then heads back to the boat. Oh, look. More mages. He certainly hasn't seen enough of those, no sir! A peevish lady in a dark red robe appears to be questioning the group, paying special attention to that Scott guy for some reason. She looks at Mark as he comes upon the deck.
"Wonderful. More strange people. You wouldn't, by any chance, be able to speak?"
Post by: Xantalos on May 31, 2013, 01:23:25 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 02:03:20 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 31, 2013, 04:28:46 am
(I wander how badly this could go)
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 06:50:30 am
Niklas, standing up on his tiptoes, looks through the slot in the door. What he sees on the other side is quite fascinating - at least four men made of steel, each of them possessing six arms and four legs, are busy either cleaning the kitchen, slaughtering and preparing various creatures that Niklas doesn't recall seeing in the surrounding area - they're too strangely-colored and multi-limbed, not to mention quite exotic-looking, managing magical fires on strange stoves, watching over a multitude of boiling pots and filling up bottles with various liquids. Looks like food is not the only thing they prepare here. The golems work quickly, their movements almost a blur in the constant hubbub of the room.
Also, they are all singing as they work. Well, sort of - it's more like the sound of a hundred wind chimes playing melodically at once. Despite the fact that the kitchen looks extremely busy, there is a certain look of serenity. Also, considering the fact that it's working to what Niklas assumes is full capacity, it is surprisingly neat in there - why, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single spot on the wall you could complain about, let alone a single mess.
While he gazes, another metal man approaches the slot and looks at him with colorless crystalline eyes that appear to lack pupils. After a moment, it speaks in a lilting, high-pitched, metallic voice.
"You have a request?"
"Go ahead, ask 'em for something."
On the main deck of the Bargain of Ages...
Mark, prompted by the woman, shakes his tree in a sort of negative way, then presents his surgeon's kit to her.
"Ah, so you are some kind of doctor, I assume? A rather strange-looking one, admittedly, but what can you do."
Scott is shocked that these people would accuse him so! He may be a wanton murderer, yes, but never, never a thief! And now she's talking to treeface! What gall!
"No, the very fact that you have the audacity to even think..."
A whisper from the gray-robed man later, the lieutenant looks a bit perplexed.
"If you did not steal anything on your first time here, do you know of anyone who could have, then? Furthermore, why did you lie about not having been here before?"
Scott looks at the Artiste in bewilderment. The Artiste looks right back somewhat uncertainly, as if unsure what's happening right now.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 07:00:01 am
Scott scowls at the wench.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 31, 2013, 07:08:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 07:13:09 am
Scott takes quite a bit of offense at being called a liar. He scowls at the lieutenant.
"I have never been in this ship in the entirety of creation! Damn, necrophobes!"
The adjutant shakes his head and the lieutenant immediately continues.
"No, you are most certainly lying about that. It is a bold-faced lie, to be sure, but ultimately transparent. The question is, why do you lie if you aren't the culprit? Did you do anything with the ship while you were first here?"
Scott suddenly feels somebody come up behind him and hears a whisper.
"They've got a diviner - guy who's whispering and nodding and whatnot."
"Yeah, fess up, Scotty boy."
Both Erin and Bernie then step back into the group as Mark looks around for fishing gear. Unfortunately, no such thing around that he can see. Guess they don't fish much, mages.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 31, 2013, 07:30:59 am
(mages should have lots of paper)
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 08:06:20 am
Scott will draw his knife and regurgitate the rotten filth he swallowed onto it.
"And you will all be damned before the day I fail to demand compensation for this foul insult!"
(I honestly don;t remember being on the ship before, only outside it. =/)
Post by: Xantalos on May 31, 2013, 09:29:12 am
Can you make this into anything?
He wasn't the type of guy to desecrate another man's cooking area (save for ninjas), so he'd leave their area alone and beat them in cooking outside it!
Post by: Tomcost on May 31, 2013, 10:17:57 am
-Didn't you came here to ask if we could travel in this ship? Maybe you weren't into the living quarters or anything, but you certainly had to spoke to somebody while being on the deck.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 10:21:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 10:34:25 am
Mark, having been denied the superlative joy of angling, looks for some paper instead to wipe away his metaphorical tears of disappointment.
Sadly, there's none of that in plain view either. Guess his metaphorical tears of disappointment will just have to keep welling up in his soul until he realizes he can't live like this anymore. Boy, will that be a hoot and a half.
Meanwhile, Scott figures he'll go for broke.
"That man is a liar! I swear in the name of my master and those of Almiria the Order-Mother, Narcillicus the Artist-Son, Pacitarius the Child of Nature, Rysinia the Maiden of War and Velusius the Middle-Child of Death that nothing of yours has been taken by me! If he does not stop his foul libel, I will claim his blood as mine!"
[Regurgitation roll: 1]
He sticks his fingers down his throat theatrically and vomits all across his own chest to further demonstrate his point, messing up his clothes and covering them with black fluid. Well, it was a good run, but stereotypical zombiehood has finally caught up to him as it usually tends to with wayward undead. Without wiping his mouth or, indeed, emptying it of all its contents, he continues, a slow trickle of black liquid coming out of the corner of his mouth.
"And *ghlarkt* you will all be *gharkle* damned before the day I *blarkht* fail to demand compensation for this foul insult!"
Ah, that's cleared out his oral cavity rather nicely. His clothes are a bit nasty now, though. Oh well. At least he has his knife! A knife he intends to brandish most menacingly! The woman laughs a bit.
"Don't be stupid - well, more stupid - put that away before you hurt yourself. Let's be serious here."
"Yeah, ya should probably be putting that away, Scott. These guys are BC's."
"Don't back down, Scotty boy! I believe in you! Don't let her treat you this way! You deserve better!"
Sigmund, standing comfortably behind the brewing conflict, has an idea.
"Didn't you came here to ask if we could travel in this ship? Maybe you weren't into the living quarters or anything, but you certainly had to speak to somebody while being on the deck."
"All I did was speak to someone on the pier, he gave me a writ promising that the ship would be reserved for my master. That. Is. All."
The diviner shakes his head. Smug bastard.
On the lower decks of the Bargain of Ages...
Niklas tries to lift up the clam to the slot.
[Strength roll: 2+1-1]
Sadly, one arm is clearly not enough to lift this thing. The eyes of the golem wander down to the clam, twisting strangely in their sockets.
"That is an empty clam."
"Can you make this into anything?"
"It is empty. We do not work with shells. We make elixirs, potions, mutagens and food, when required. Do you require any?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on May 31, 2013, 10:42:14 am
In a cake.
Post by: Tomcost on May 31, 2013, 11:04:11 am
-Please, Scott, calm down and think. I think that you had put at least a foot on the deck at some point before you arrived. You shouldn't be discussing about something as silly as that.
He then talked to the lady:
-In case he has been in the ship before, does that change anything? See, he had a terrible day. His lover was transformed into a sheet, which is actually really stressing. I can say that he didn't feel the need to steal anything, as I really don't think he knew what could be stolen from this ship in the first place.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 11:29:53 am
"I actually can't recall whether or not I actually boarded the ship, I just remember the writ. But I can say with god assured certainty, I did take nothing else."
Scott points his dagger at the 'diviner' and feigns a perverse smile.
"Now...spewer of libel and falsehood, either share the supposed happenings you whisper into your mistresses ear or return to me the wholeness of my name and character, fail to do either and I will take all I could want of your person."
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 12:03:54 pm
Niklas, realizing that he probably can indeed ask for anything, asks for what he truly desires most.
"Corn, giant squid, and tiger."
... dramatic pause of culinary magnificence...
"In a cake."
"State your preference - specific parameters, such as alive, dead, restrained, unrestrained, imprisoned, method of preparation, or random parameters?"
On the main deck of the Bargain of Ages...
Sigmund tries to talk Scott out of doing anything he might regret later.
"Please, Scott, calm down and think. I think that you had put at least a foot on the deck at some point before you arrived. You shouldn't be discussing about something as silly as that."
However, this doesn't seem to be working quite well enough. In fact, Scott doesn't seem to really be listening to him. Okay, different approach. He turns to the lieutenant.
"In case he has been in the ship before, does that change anything? See, he had a terrible day. His lover was transformed into a sheet, which is actually really stressing. I can say that he didn't feel the need to steal anything, as I really don't think he knew what could be stolen from this ship in the first place."
"I actually can't recall whether or not I actually boarded the ship, I just remember the writ. But I can say with god assured certainty, I did take nothing else."
The diviner nods.
"We do know he hasn't stolen anything. And it does appear that he doesn't quite recall. Hm."
"Now... spewer of libel and falsehood, either share the supposed happenings you whisper into your mistresses ear or return to me the wholeness of my name and character, fail to do either and I will take all I could want of your person."
The diviner looks at him, blinks slowly and mouths several words silently. Scott can't quite tell what they are, but there's at least two O's in it, judging by the way he expressively forms them. And there's something vaguely derisive about that look of his.
"Seriously, stop pointing that thing or I will take measures. Answer this question - did you tamper with anything the first time you were on the ship?"
Post by: Xantalos on May 31, 2013, 12:25:57 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 12:33:48 pm
"And for the last time no! I don't have the means, need or stupidity to sabotage a ship of which I arranged passage on! Dammit, tell us what this is about already!"
Post by: Tomcost on May 31, 2013, 01:40:07 pm
((No idea what to post))
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 01:49:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 31, 2013, 02:04:54 pm
Niklas feels like being risky today.
"Full random. Surprise me."
"Will do."
The golem quickly disappears. The sound of work from the kitchen doesn't subside in any way, though there certainly is a bit more of a commotion for a bit. Five minutes later, it returns and hands Niklas a small box through the slot. It has a button on top of it.
"Push the button and the box will open. Cake was too large to fit through slot otherwise. Warning: object inside is far larger than appearances indicate. Open in non-cramped conditions."
Hm. Quite an efficient kitchen.
On the deck of the Bargain of Ages...
Scott slips his poisoned knife, carefully wiped on his shirt, up his sleeve, then explains the situation beyond a shadow of a doubt.
"And for the last time no! I don't have the means, need or stupidity to sabotage a ship of which I arranged passage on! Dammit, tell us what this is about already!"
The diviner shrugs and nods half-heartedly. The lieutenant looks at him quizzically, then he leans in and whispers something to her. She nods at last.
"Very well. All of you are now free to remove yourselves from this ship and never return again. You have nothing to do with this affair."
"What? We paid for a journey to the Sea of Death."
"The details are too tiresome to discuss and we have much more important things to attend to. Now leave. All of you."
"Aw, shit. We've been had, guys."
"I was wondering why the flagship of the BCM would take passengers, to be honest."
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 02:16:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 31, 2013, 02:56:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 31, 2013, 03:05:00 pm
-You should do something about our situation. We have been deprived form the money with which we could have payed an actual trip.
EDIT:
((Who wants to hunt down that scum who scammed us? I do))
Post by: Innsmothe on May 31, 2013, 04:03:29 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 31, 2013, 09:07:31 pm
Either way, he felt he was quiet long enough, perhaps he could appeal to the mage. "I'm dreadfully sorry good Lieutenant for the way my friend acted, but please, could we at the least know as to what transpired? We've lost good coin due to what seemed to be a fraudulent deal, and we'd greatly appreciate any information, at least maybe on the whereabouts of our fraud? We'd appreciate to get our money back at the least for your, and our, wasted time."
Post by: killerhellhound on May 31, 2013, 10:06:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 01, 2013, 02:31:42 am
Scott, his usefulness compromised by this latest turn of events, vents his great outrage!
"I knew the tickets were too cheap! Dammit! I demand compensation! I cite your incompetent lax in security leading to a gang of whoever duping innocent members of the public into handing over gold in good faith."
Sigmund opts to agree, though in a bit of a more reasonable tone.
"You should do something about our situation. We have been deprived of the money with which we could have payed an actual trip."
The lieutenant doesn't appear particularly empathetic.
"I don't see why we should compensate you for your own rather poor decisions."
Seeing that the events aren't exactly favorable at the present time, Morton speaks up at last.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, good Lieutenant, for the way my friend acted, but please, could we at the least know as to what transpired? We've lost good coin due to what seemed to be a fraudulent deal, and we'd greatly appreciate any information, at least maybe on the whereabouts of our fraud? We'd appreciate to get our money back at the least for your, and our, wasted time."
"To put it simply, you were scammed by somebody who pretended to be this ship's captain offering what seems to have been a very cheap price for a trip anywhere, capitalizing on the average citizen's ignorance of magical ships and their owners to obtain some easy money. We questioned said man several hours ago, and we managed to establish that he is in no way related to what we are investigating. And it is there that our interest in him ends and yours only begins. As a result, there is no overlap of interest between us. Now leave."
Just as she says that, Niklas and the amiable mage-hand walk out of the deeper recesses of the ship. Niklas supposes he hasn't missed much, really. And Mark's about to leave as well.
The lieutenant, seemingly remembering something, looks at the other mage-hand.
"Release the skeleton."
The mage-hand stops staring at Kevin and turns away, causing him to plummet to the deck. The jester lands rather well on the soft deck, sinking into the floor, then being unceremoniously pushed back out. Silly magical flooring.
Post by: Xantalos on June 01, 2013, 02:52:54 am
Point the box in their direction and push the button.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 01, 2013, 03:11:31 am
hoping that it wouldnt be like last time.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 01, 2013, 03:20:55 am
Scott glowers at Bernie, almost daring him to say something.
Post by: miauw62 on June 01, 2013, 06:41:12 am
Kevin decides that he's spent too long on this goddamn ship, so he quickly leaves and waits outside for the rest.
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 08:54:23 am
-As you questioned that man, do you know where can we find him? He really owes us an explanaition.
Sigmund also takes some steps back from Niklas, just in case.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 10:32:50 am
Morton sighed, following Kevin seeing as their time was just being wasted here. "Thank you for telling us the facts Ma'am. I wish you calm seas and clear skies, as they say." He sounded a little dejected, but once off the ship he perks back up to his usual optimism. There's still the ghost ship, and they can always find their money off of the guy. He couldn't of gotten far, no?
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 10:36:22 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 10:43:50 am
But yeah, Niklas can serve Artiste human again if we find the fake-captain. Just remember to no-one tell Artiste what a human is, as then he might try to eat one of our mages. Or himself. Or the more human looking of us, presumably Sigmund.]
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 10:51:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 01, 2013, 10:52:36 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 10:54:52 am
Also, hah, I swear reading that scene made me laugh for a few minutes straight, it was hilarious.]
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 10:57:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 01, 2013, 11:43:41 am
Niklas, feeling that the atmosphere on the ship is a bit too serious, tries to loosen it up by introducing cake to the equation. His cake, to be exact. He points the box at the mages in some manner, hoping for the best.
"Hey, want some cake?"
"No, th-"
However, this was not actually a question in the strictest sense, or in fact at all, as Niklas just pushes the button on the box. As is customary with magic, there is a flash of light and a blast as Niklas flies backward into a steel wall! As he opens his eyes, he sees what the box has produced.
It is indeed a cake, he sees, though a bit of a strange one at that. Though circular in shape and mostly white in color, it is set apart by two, no, wait, three things about it. For one, the top layer of it looks like soil, and a whole lot of corn appears to be growing from it. Secondly, there is a bit of rustling inside the corn - something alive, Niklas guesses. Thirdly, there is the sound of thrashing from inside the cake, though its firm, moist structure appears to be keeping whatever is inside fairly safe and snug for now.
As the mages look on perplexedly, a tentacle suddenly juts out of the corn, going for the hapless diviner standing next to the lieutenant!
[Grab n' Squeeze: Giant Squid vs. Diviner: 5+2 vs. 2-1]
Well, he certainly didn't predict that, the assembled group thinks as the tentacle quickly wraps around him and lifts him up demonstratively, squeezing a whole lot of stuffing out of him! It's a tad messy, as one might imagine, the diviner's contents splashing on the deck.
"Damn it, that was an intermediate diviner! There's so few of those around!"
Kevin decides that perhaps now would be a good time to leave, quickly making his way to the gangplank, followed by the ever-polite Morton.
"Thank you for telling us the facts Ma'am. I wish you calm seas and clear skies, as they say."
And with that, he and the jester both join Mark on the pier. Scott, meanwhile, asks the Artiste for his preferences on further plans.
"Master... what should we do now? Should we just find another ship or risk everything by taking this one?"
The Artiste views the proceedings with a critical eye.
"Now, though it may look simple to kill three mages, they are from the Black Circle of Magic, and they will probably want their flagship back if we steal it. As such, let's go with some other plan. They're a bit too formidable to mess with, not to mention really numerous. As such, let's get out of here, guys!"
"I thought ya'd never say that!"
The Artiste's attached entourage quickly make their way off the ship, not particularly eager to stay in vicinity of a cake that dangerous. Or a cadre of angry BCM representatives, for that matter.
Sigmund, however, has time and balls for one more question, yet also sufficient wits to step back.
"As you questioned that man, do you know where can we find him? He really owes us an explanation."
However, the lieutenant looks a little busy.
"Mage-hands! Lift whatever's in there right out!"
[Mage-Hand 1 magic roll: 3+1]
[Mage-Hand 2 magic roll: 3+1]
As the mage-hands concentrate, a giant squid quickly rises out of the obfuscating corn, its tentacles swinging wildly as it tries to grasp for nearby terrain!
[Lieutenant magic roll: 6+1]
The lieutenant then gives the creature an intense stare, and a peculiar change seems to come over it. It slowly shifts from its natural darkish tint to a bright orange, then a light red, quickly ascending as the mages weave their magic. As soon as it reaches a respectable distance from the ground, it begins to inflate rapidly. Simultaneously, it also moves sideways for some reason, becoming ever larger and larger, like some kind of squid balloon.
"It appears our investigation will be momentarily suspended," the lieutenant remarks idly.
Post by: Xantalos on June 01, 2013, 12:30:03 pm
Ghost ship, then?
To the ghost ship!
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 12:51:35 pm
Morton sighed, oddly not too surprised at the insanity that was unleashed by Niklas. Well, more surprised at what happened, but not that it was related to Niklas. "Right, with that bit out of the way, what next? I believe the good captain and his ship is still around, he can still take us, although we could try to track down this fraudulent fiend for fortuitous finance." Seeing his question answered by Niklas, he moved on to follow him, calling back to the group. "I'll make sure the ship is still there and arrange for our voyage, good luck with your endeavors and meet us there!"
Post by: Innsmothe on June 01, 2013, 01:40:16 pm
After fetching the rest of his money of course.
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 01:46:58 pm
-Do you know where to find that scammer? I swear that we will stop bothering you, but we need to get our money back.
The leave and go with the rest of the group.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 01, 2013, 03:20:12 pm
Niklas, having watched the diviner get treated like an empty waterskin in the driest desert, begins to walk off. He turns to Sigmund, who appears to still be trying to ask a question.
"Well, I guess some people don't know that you have to subdue your food before you eat it. Ghost ship, then?"
"Hold on there, wise guy," comes the voice of the lieutenant from a short distance away. "You just cost me a diviner. And that is not something I take lying down. Diviners are hard to find."
Sigmund, though it feels a tad awkward, decides that he had best head off this train of thought before it gets to unpleasant places.
"Do you know where to find that scammer? I swear that we will stop bothering you, but we need to get our money back."
"Piss off before I hold you personally responsible as well. I'm feeling vindictive. Inconvenience does that to me. Now... wait."
She turns and looks into the distance at the slowly escaping squidloon.
"It should have-"
Said squidloon then explodes loudly into a far-off shower of mollusc viscera, possessing more than a passing resemblance to happy festival fireworks from a less child-friendly world.
"Ah, there it is."
The lieutenant takes a moment to sigh contently as she appreciates the sight of falling cephalopod innards above the calm afternoon sea. Niklas and Sigmund, meanwhile, take the opportunity to abscond quickly before she turns back around.
Right outside the docks of Shriekpot...
The two undead soon join the group, who haven't gotten terribly far. Morton appears to be going over a plan of further action.
"Right, with that bit out of the way, what next? I believe the good captain and his ship is still around, he can still take us, although we could try to track down this fraudulent fiend for fortuitous finance."
"Well, anybody who wants to give it a shot, do so. But I guess a ship is a bit more important at this juncture, so we'll go with that."
"I'll make sure the ship is still there and arrange for our voyage, good luck with your endeavors and meet us there!"
"No need, we'll be going with you! You see, what I've learned from this experience is that if we want to accomplish something, you need supervision. And besides, we still owe the ghost captain a ship makeover if we want a ride on it. Will do us some good, to boot!"
"Man, I'm feeling inspired now. Gods, I was actually on the Bargain of Ages. Damn!"
The whole group then move quickly to the ghost ship. Scott even manages a good mope on the way, cradling his two-thirds full money box after receiving it from the Artiste. They reach the ship soon enough.
Yep, still there, dilapidated as ever!
"Hit me, Evelyn."
"Will do."
[Evelyn magic roll: 3]
A tiny spark jumps from Evelyn's fingers to Erin.
"What, that's it? Come on, now! Y'can do better!"
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 03:31:46 pm
-What about if, while the mages do their stuff, we hunt down that scammer? He owes us both money and time.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 01, 2013, 03:43:30 pm
Scott will also try and find a way of discretely seeing Bernie 'slip' into the water.
He will then hand the money box back to the Artiste...gently. He will then whip out his knife and harry Sigmund into town, to check the taverns for the treacherous rogues.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 03:46:47 pm
Morton watched the mages get to work, looking at Sigmund. "I believe it might be best suited if I were to stay here, for now at least, dreadfully sorry Sir Sigmund. I wish you luck in your endeavor however, and you may borrow my weapon if you'd like for the task." The undead butler offered Sigmund a rubber oar with horrible filth and a burned rag, stuck on with said filth, on the paddle end of it.
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 03:54:15 pm
-Thank you, sir, but I have already acquired weapons.
He then shows his two tomahawks, and continues:
-But, well, do what you you wish, sir. I just hope Niklas doesn't cause you any problems. If you think that it is inconvenient for the group to have him here, just tell him to come with us.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 04:39:24 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 01, 2013, 04:49:22 pm
-I admire your optimism. I wish you good luck. I hope he next time we met again we will be some gold coins richer.
Post by: Xantalos on June 01, 2013, 07:32:15 pm
I'd like a kitchen like that...but back to business. We need to get a refund, do we not? While its confusing that the demongodartist didn't soul bind the mages who ran the ship, I'll go with you to ... get a refund from the ticket guy.
He looks at the cat on his arm.
What do you think, Sven?
Mrrow.
Good, it's settled then! Let's go get a refund!
And possibly cook the guy.
Niklas remembers the other thing he put in the cake.
Heh. Hope they like that tiger I put in the cake.
Accompany Sigmund on his scammer hunt!
Post by: killerhellhound on June 01, 2013, 09:21:48 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 01, 2013, 09:48:48 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 01, 2013, 10:04:20 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 01, 2013, 10:21:20 pm
(I've become the beacon of crazy, haven't I?)when are you not a beacon of crazy awesome
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 02, 2013, 12:22:08 am
Look around. A lot.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 02, 2013, 02:05:12 am
Sigmund, supposing he has nothing better to do, proposes a plan!
"What about if, while the mages do their stuff, we hunt down that scammer? He owes us both money and time."
This sentiment does appear to echo in the minds of the surrounding undead. Scott, meanwhile, babbles at nobody in particular.
"Oi, you lot! Any chance you could magic up the ship a bit to make me feel better? I'll pay you..."
"What're ya talking about?"
Scott doesn't immediately answer, handing the box to the Artiste and looking at Bernie. Hm. He looks to be standing right on the edge of the pier, looking at the sea with a mix of peevishness and crushing boredom. Perfect!
[Bump: Scott vs. Bernie: 3 vs. 1-1]
Scott casually strolls up to the necromancer and bumps into him, making him lose his balance and plummet into the water below with a subdued, yet girly yell.
[Bernie swimming roll: 2]
Hm, he looks to have swallowed quite a bit of water. Not to mention somewhat failed at flotation. He appears to be sinking! Huh.
"Whoops. How clumsy of me."
Despite the somewhat large amount of noise, nobody seems to have noticed him fall in. The perfect crime. He then harries Sigmund with his knife, though the guy appears to have other business with Morton, who doesn't look like he's about to follow the rest.
"I believe it might be best suited if I were to stay here, for now at least, dreadfully sorry Sir Sigmund. I wish you luck in your endeavor however, and you may borrow my weapon if you'd like for the task," he says, offering his delightfully grubby rubber oar.
Scott, meanwhile, is starting to feel a tad strange. A feeling of great unease assaults him.
"Thank you, sir, but I have already acquired weapons," Sigmund replies, brandishing his tomahawks. "But, well, do what you you wish, sir. I just hope Niklas doesn't cause you any problems. If you think that it is inconvenient for the group to have him here, just tell him to come with us."
"Chef Niklas doesn't cause problems, I've not known him to make any that aren't big enough to clean with a bit of work and dedication. It's up to Chef Niklas as to what he wishes to do, I'm just his friend and helper."
"I admire your optimism. I wish you good luck. I hope the next time we meet again we will be some gold coins richer."
Niklas, as is customary when one's name is uttered, joins the conversation, sighing sadly.
"I'd like a kitchen like that...but back to business. We need to get a refund, do we not? While its confusing that the demongodartist didn't soul bind the mages who ran the ship, I'll go with you to... get a refund from the ticket guy."
"I doubt it would make that much of a difference - the ship is somewhat hot property, as they say in the parlance of the times. Not to mention that it's owned by the closest thing this silly world has to a magic police. I have certain reservations about announcing myself in such a manner. Those people talk to gods and demons far too much."
However, Niklas is a tad beyond the point of caring about such details at this point.
"What do you think, Sven?" he asks the cat. The cat meows resignedly and with a certain dignity resembling that of a man on the day of his hanging.
"Good, it's settled then! Let's go get a refund!"
... nonchalant culinary pause...
"And possibly cook the guy."
Before moving along, he remembers the thing in the cake he didn't even see yet.
"Heh. Hope they like that tiger I put in the cake."
He then moves to accompany Sigmund, who appears to be waiting for Scott to poke him in the right direction. Scott, meanwhile, is staring blankly into the distance and blinking slowly. Mark also joins the exploratory conga line right behind his new designated leader, selected in a process known colloquially as the Path of Most Bat Guano.
Meanwhile, Evelyn appears to be trying to figure out why her magical expertise only seems to work half the time. She looks at Erin coldly and experiments with hand gestures before shaking her head.
"Perhaps later."
"Aw. Well, let's say hello to the captain, then."
All the mages, minus Bernie, step onto the boat.
Back in Emlocke...
Darren looks around carefully. There's certainly nothing to be seen, though there is certainly something around.
"Any ideas? Guys?"
The whip man nods and rushes forth into the alley!
[Whip Man attack roll: 1+2]
He swings his bladed whip around in a rather strange fashion. What's even stranger is that he manages to draw blood. Twice. That is, until something catches him by it, something Darren can't quite see. The whip man then does a strange dance in the thin air, avoiding something that seems to lightly slice along his robe.
"No ideas."
[Master magic roll: 5+1]
The dog barks in the direction of the whip man, though not in such a way as to directly hit him.
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
The whip man laughs as the wave clips him slightly. There is a slight groan from the thin air as something seems to collapse like a sack of potatoes.
"Invisible minions. Be careful."
Just then, the whip man begins to dodge wildly and swing his whip, hitting something rather pronouncedly, as evidenced by a spurt of blood and the sound of a screech, followed by a crash to the ground. The whip man then receives a stab to the side, looks like, ducks strangely and swings again, though nothing appears to be hit by it.
All in all, perplexing.
Post by: Xantalos on June 02, 2013, 02:12:33 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 02, 2013, 02:33:50 am
He will help Bernie if it actually looks like the sap might drown.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 02, 2013, 03:32:40 am
(The Path of most Bat Guano is now the only way I will pick leaders from now on in anything)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 02, 2013, 06:59:55 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 02, 2013, 07:15:05 am
((Altough I'm very, very happy that we're going with the ghostship. Just because ghostships are awesome.))
Kevin boards the ghost-ship too, and looks around for the captain.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 02, 2013, 08:39:59 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 02, 2013, 09:19:55 am
((If Bernie dies, Darren dies. Maybe Mark, if Mark isn't connected directly to the Artiste but rather to Bernie who is connected to the Artiste.))(I will be fine but Darren disobeyed a order to not kill other servants of the artist so he is fucked :P)
((Altough I'm very, very happy that we're going with the ghostship. Just because ghostships are awesome.))
Kevin boards the ghost-ship too, and looks around for the captain.
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 09:49:00 am
-Well, where should we look for him? Hmm, if I were a scammer, what would I do while I'm not tricking people?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 02, 2013, 10:43:58 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 02, 2013, 11:07:43 am
Sigmund waits for Scott, and then says:Mark has an idea where would someone be after getting lots of cash the bar
-Well, where should we look for him? Hmm, if I were a scammer, what would I do while I'm not tricking people?
then to get the point across used interpretive dance
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 11:17:41 am
He tried to interpret the dance of the skeleton:
-So, you say that he should be in a tavern or something simmilar? That makes sense, somebody who scams people probably is not of the hardworking type, and even less of the kind of person who avoids vice. Now that I think about it, he could be either drinking or gambling. Good job, Mark.
He then spoke to the group:
-We will search for the false captain in taverns. Who will come with us?
Post by: Innsmothe on June 02, 2013, 11:25:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 12:27:33 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 02, 2013, 12:47:35 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 12:50:22 pm
((Posting this just in case))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 02, 2013, 02:00:10 pm
Scott considers the feeling he now feels, and judges that it might have something to do with the drowning Bernie. He quickly excuses himself, heads back to the pier and looks down. Yeah, he looks to be drowning. Better save him!
Scott dives right into the water!
[Swimming roll: 3]
Since he isn't all that good of a swimmer, it takes him a while to get to Bernie, as doggy-paddling is really not the fastest way of moving in the sea. Bernie looks to be completely insensible already, and Scott grabs him and drags him ashore in due time.
He is rather shocked to find that Bernie appears to be stone dead, though not of drowning by the looks of it. Or anything else that's readily apparent. The feeling of existential dread mounts within him as he regards the corpse produced by a prank gone rather horribly wrong, becoming rather actual pain shortly.
Back at the navigationally-challenged undead adventurers' association, Niklas reveals his completely unreasonable expectations.
"... you guys DO remember where the guy who sold you the tickets was, right?"
The other people don't really reply, though. Possibly of great shame, possibly of great indecisiveness. Possibly both. Eventually, Sigmund breaks the ice.
"Well, where should we look for him? Hmm, if I were a scammer, what would I do while I'm not tricking people?"
Mark, in a rather uncharacteristic move, has an idea! And he shall convey this through dance!
Several rounds of invigorating dance charades later, Sigmund's got it!
"So, you say that he should be in a tavern or something similar? That makes sense, somebody who scams people probably is not of the hardworking type, and even less of the kind of person who avoids vice. Now that I think about it, he could be either drinking or gambling. Good job, Mark," he says, getting all the delicious points for this round. Niklas comes in a close second, and nobody else is present.
"We will search for the false captain in taverns. Who will come with us?"
Mark lifts up his hand eagerly and starts to forge ahead! Niklas is a bit more reserved in his enthusiasm, and Scott must be busy, since he isn't immediately visible around here.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Morton board the ship, unsuspecting of any misdeeds currently in progress. Morton calls out as he comes up to the assembled mages.
"Hello? Good captain! We're back!"
The head of the captain phases out of the captain's quarters.
"GOOD HEAVENS! Back already, ARE WE?"
"Yes, indeed we are! We wish to take you up on your offer of a ride!"
"Well, we DID AGREE that you WOULD CHANGE THE SHIP before I would TAKE YOU ANYWHERE."
"Yeah, and we're gonna do that!"
"REALLY? But WHAT about the FLYING SHIP?"
"We kinda got swindled on that one."
The captain looks crushed.
"Oh my! THE GALL on some people! DID YOU TAKE APPROPRIATE REVENGE?"
"Several minions are working on that as we speak."
"Hope you CATCH THE CULPRIT, then. AND PUNISH HIM SEVERELY! Can't have swindlers TARNISH THE GOOD NAME of shipping everywhere!"
"Yeah, so I'm gonna need a guided tour of this place so I know what to change and all that. Can I take a look?"
"SURE! Everything should be OPEN, I BELIEVE. TAKE AS LONG AS YOU LIKE. But not FOREVER. That would be FAR, FAR LONGER THAN I WOULD LIKE. And I would know."
Erin nods to the captain and slowly descends the stairs to the lower decks.
"Need help, Erin?"
"Ya can come along if ya like, but it's not strictly needed. Maybe the captain can amuse ya while ya wait."
"Can you amuse us, captain?"
"Why, CERTAINLY! I could TELL YOU A STORY or two, maybe DISCUSS OUR EVENTUAL JOURNEY."
"I do believe I'll stay here, then, captain! After all, this will all be changed shortly, so there's no point in going on two tours of it all. Aside from a before-after sort of effect, but I've never been one for that sort of thing."
"I will go with Erin and make sure she remains on track."
"I'll go with them as well. I like to see how things change."
Back in Emlocke...
Darren stubbornly clings to the delusion that he can actually possess things, but it is to no avail. So instead he directs his construct to go show the invisible schmucks some love.
However, they are very elusive, and the Darren-guided golem just bear hugs a wall instead in its quest to find love.
[Darren will roll: 1]
Just then, something really terrible twists inside Darren's very being! It's almost as if his spectral heart decided that it's time to start explosively hemorrhaging for real rather than just in a metaphorical sense!
[Darren will roll: 4-1]
However, one miniature heart attack later the sheer urgency of the attack seems to subside! Now it's just a more general sense of immediate mortality surrounding him.
Meanwhile, the whip man goes for a brand new and original strategy - using water!
[Water use roll: 5+1]
He fetches two jars from his seemingly limitless satchel and throws them up in the air, then uses his whip to split them open, creating a miniature acid rain!
[Whip Man dodge roll: 5+1]
He then dramatically backflips out of the way as the burning rain begins. There is a visible smoking and screeching at the point where he used to be, originating from no fewer than six different points! A lot of pain has been dealt by the bombardment, one could say. Judging from the sound, at least four of them are out of commission.
[Master magic roll: 6+1]
Since the minion's out of the way, the dog realizes that there's no point to hold back anymore. It opens it maw soundlessly and the world seems to fade away for a moment as the entire alley seemingly implodes upon itself in a mighty blast.
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
The Whip Man, safely on the other side of the alley, looks curiously at the pile of rubble left behind by the dog's magic. If Darren wasn't so busy rapidly expiring, he might say that there's something still moving in it.
[Golem endurance roll: 1+2]
The golem, unlike the whip man, doesn't seem to have had good enough fortune to get the hell out of the way, and it looks to have been visibly affected - some of its skin has cracked and most of its glass bits have shattered into even tinier pieces.
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 02:10:19 pm
Sigmund waits for Niklas and Scott to agree to go with them.
((Also, the Whip Man is still having an everlasting amount of luck))
Post by: miauw62 on June 02, 2013, 02:12:12 pm
Kevin sits down to listen to the captain's stories.
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 02:16:59 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 02, 2013, 02:17:22 pm
"I must admit I'm rather fond of stories, being a captain of a galley must be quite the adventurous life."
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 02, 2013, 02:21:38 pm
((Harry, if the person who soulbinded you dies, you will keep having will rolls until you die? Or, say, a 6 can save you?))
Rolls until you die. A roll of 4, 5 or 6 merely resets the malus to the next roll, a 6 (sum total, that is) postponing the next roll by a round. Theoretically (say, if you're the Whip Man), you could last a while. Though there are... other ways to survive as well. One of which we have already seen utilized and another that we have seen, but not in that particular context.
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 02:34:35 pm
Sigmund decided to look for Scott, as he was the first one to have contact with the scammer. He found him in the shore, wet, by the body of one of the necromancers. He said, slightly agitated:
-What happened? Is he dead?
He then came closer to the body to examine it, and said to Scott:
-Well, that's a pity. But I don't really know if something can be done once his soul went to the afterlife. He was the necromancer, after all. Fortunately, there is another one the group, but I don't know if you want to tell him what you have done. I bet that you don't.
He then sigged and resumed his speech:
I'll tell you something: if you want to pretend that you weren't responsible for his death, you should at least get away from the crime scene, and make it appear that it was his fault. You can come with us if you feel like, and discharge all your grief with that scum who cheated us all. I won't tell anything.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 02, 2013, 03:21:35 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 03:27:56 pm
But all this vampire stuff made me remember a doubt I had since the first chapter of this: what on Earth is beavergoating/beaversnailgoating?????))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 02, 2013, 03:30:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 03:33:28 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 02, 2013, 04:54:23 pm
Scott will then run to the Artiste, completely ignoring Sigmund, and try to explain the situation!
Uhhh...Master, Bernie is...well dead. I knocked him into the water to have some fun with him, but when I pulled him out he was as cold as the grave. Pardon the expression. However, he doesn't appear to have actually died of water inhalation, I can't explain it. Also, I seem to be actually feeling pain, true agonising pain! Could you help me understand that as well please?
Post by: Tomcost on June 02, 2013, 04:57:12 pm
-Well, I think that it would be better if you take the corpse to them, maybe the other necromancer can help.
Sigmund will then help Scott to carry the corpse
EDIT: after that, go back with the scammer-hunting party
Post by: Xantalos on June 02, 2013, 06:24:35 pm
Go with whoever is going to look for the scammer to look for the scammer!
Post by: killerhellhound on June 03, 2013, 12:49:42 am
A tavern?! I'll kill the sunuvabitch, stating at an establishment that serves drink but not food ... or am I thinking of a bar? Taverns have kitchens.(follow me)
Go with whoever is going to look for the scammer to look for the scammer!
Mark leads the murder conga to the inn remembering fond memory's of doing the same with Yorinnsud
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 03, 2013, 05:23:35 am
Sigmund, realizing that Scott has invariably gotten killed or made a great many things exponentially worse while left alone, decides to look for him. Not to mention that he's the one who's presumably spoken most to the good "captain".
It turns out that he is right! Scott has indeed failed to surprise anyone once again. This time, he appears to have killed a team member!
"What happened? Is he dead?" he asks of Scott, who fails to respond in a meaningful fashion, leading Sigmund to presume that the fellow is indeed rather dead. He looks at the corpse of Bernie with a somewhat indifferent eye.
"Well, that's a pity. But I don't really know if something can be done once his soul went to the afterlife. He was the necromancer, after all. Fortunately, there is another one the group, but I don't know if you want to tell him what you have done. I bet that you don't," he says, sure of his correct evaluation of Scott's character.
"I'll tell you something: if you want to pretend that you weren't responsible for his death, you should at least get away from the crime scene, and make it appear that it was his fault. You can come with us if you feel like, and discharge all your grief with that scum who cheated us all. I won't tell anything," he says, ever the helper and now potentially far richer in blackmail material.
However, Scott has a different opinion. He, completely ignoring Sigmund, immediately storms toward the ship. Sigmund attempts to stop the runaway zombie.
[Stopping: Sigmund vs. Scott: 2-1 vs. 4]
Unfortunately, he, being weak as a kitten in daylight, hardly possesses the bulk needed for such an endeavor, and Scott easily pushes him aside. Well, better pick up the corpse anyway.
[Sigmund strength roll: 6-1]
He picks the necromancer up and nonchalantly walks up to the ship, where Scott has already reached the Artiste.
"Uhhh... Master, Bernie is... well, dead. I knocked him into the water to have some fun with him, but when I pulled him out he was as cold as the grave. Pardon the expression. However, he doesn't appear to have actually died of water inhalation, I can't explain it. Also, I seem to be actually feeling pain, true agonizing pain! Could you help me understand that as well, please?"
The Artiste nods and smiles at Scott.
"So, you inadvertently killed my minion while pursuing a rather stupid idea based on nothing but sheer pettiness? Well, good luck."
Scott looks at the Artiste perplexedly as Sigmund arrives with Bernie's mortal remains. He feels a tad better now, though he can't really explain why.
"Ah, there he is! Hi, Bernie!"
He walks up to Bernie and looks at his deadened features for a second, then looks at the sky, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"Alas, poor Bernie. Taken from us before he could prove to be more than marginally useful! Why couldn't fate take Scott instead? Why, fate? What have I done to you to deserve such treatment?"
He shakes his fist at the heavens, then looks at Sigmund.
"Empty his pockets and dump our dear departed friend overboard, will you, dear Sigmund? And then hand me his stuff as well, I have a story to listen to."
"Maybe somebody should CRAFT A MOVING EULOGY?"
"Oh no, he's not nearly dear enough for that."
"OKAY THEN! STORY TIME!"
Morton, wisely deciding to stay out of this whole accidental murder business, gets into the discussion of story time.
"I must admit I'm rather fond of stories, being a captain of a galley must be quite the adventurous life."
"Only when the CARGO is SUFFICIENTLY DANGEROUS! Which is, ADMITTEDLY, frequently. Still, I COULD TELL YOU about a PLACE. It's called KINGRAPE ISLAND, and it's ACTUALLY not too far from here. USED TO BE a mainstay in MARITIME STORIES, though now they DON'T SPEAK OF IT MUCH from what I know. Or I could relay a PERSONAL ADVENTURE, if you PREFER. Or a tale of THE HORRORS OF THE SEA OF DEATH. Which would YOU like?"
"No real preference, I'd say. What about you, Morton?"
Back outside the ship, Niklas expresses his terrible rage over the scammer's presumable choice of locale.
"A tavern?! I'll kill the sunuvabitch, stating at an establishment that serves drink but not food... or am I thinking of a bar? Taverns have kitchens."
Mark, however, is in no position to answer him, as he is too busy leading the way to someplace he doesn't know the location of. Luckily, there is nothing about his looks that may betray such an ignorance. After all, how hard could it be to find an inn in a port town?
As it turns out, not very! Why, there's one scarcely half a kilometer away - the Feisty Jelly is its name, and it looks to be fairly full of people at the present time.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 03, 2013, 06:22:37 am
"I didn't kill him! He was in the water for no more than 30 seconds! And seriously, casually insulting me akin to complaining about a squeaky chair?! SERIOUSLY?! I am sorry I don;t seem to be suited to anything usful, because I was a stay-at-home husband! I trained as a clerk for gods sakes!"
Scott will storm off after the 'lynch mob' stalking the taverns.
"If you really want to complain about me killing people, whilst I didn't, I will then go and actually do such! I will murder so many fecking people you will die of old age before you could summon enough enrgy to raise them all! Speaking of raising, if you loved the little bastard so much, why didn't it occur to you to raise him!? Apparently I am not the only one cursed with uselessness at the present moment!"
Post by: killerhellhound on June 03, 2013, 06:37:53 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 03, 2013, 08:16:09 am
-You'd better decide whether you want to use necromancy on him or not. I'm sorry, but I'm missing my opportunity to take revenge to that false captain, I've got to leave.
Sigmund, before leaving to find the murder conga, hands all the contents of Bernie's corpse to the Artiste.
Post by: miauw62 on June 03, 2013, 09:13:15 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 03, 2013, 09:20:00 am
((I think the second method is being bound to an object. That is, become a possessive spirit like Mike.))((It's demons, that's why it hasn't been used to avoid death, just to avoid being soulbinded to Bernie))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 03, 2013, 10:15:39 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 03, 2013, 10:22:02 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 03, 2013, 10:55:42 am
Go into the tavern.
Post by: miauw62 on June 03, 2013, 11:32:08 am
((I think demons would be the first option, considering they've been explicitely stated to easily mess with soulbinds. Also, I just realized something about Master-Dog. Master-Dog sells souls to demons. Remember when Mike got sucked back into the Jar O' Souls and got taken to somewhere by that woman? And then I came out by breaking the jar, and escaped being sold to a demon. Harry also mentioned that the guy was a dog, and the woman referred to him as master. This guy can probably contact demons with relative ease.))((I think the second method is being bound to an object. That is, become a possessive spirit like Mike.))((It's demons, that's why it hasn't been used to avoid death, just to avoid being soulbinded to Bernie))
Kevin finds a a barrel or box to sit down on and relax whatever magical energy keeps his bones moving.
((Also, skeletons are far weirder if you think about how they look for a bit.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 03, 2013, 02:31:04 pm
Scott looks on with incredulity as the Artiste disses him most openly!
"I didn't kill him! He was in the water for no more than 30 seconds!"
"Point is, he's dead now. And this is a tad unfortunate, you know."
"And seriously, casually insulting me akin to complaining about a squeaky chair?! SERIOUSLY?! I am sorry I don't seem to be suited to anything useful, because I was a stay-at-home husband! I trained as a clerk for gods' sakes!"
"You see, Scott, this is the greatest problem with you. You complain far, far too much. It's probably why people don't like you as a general rule, you see. Difficult to respect the complainer and all that."
"If you really want to complain about me killing people, whilst I didn't, I will then go and actually do such! I will murder so many fecking people you will die of old age before you could summon enough energy to raise them all! Speaking of raising, if you loved the little bastard so much, why didn't it occur to you to raise him!? Apparently I am not the only one cursed with uselessness at the present moment!"
The Artiste thinks about these words.
"You know, that's actually not a bad idea. Not that I'll raise good old Bernie - already got a necromancer, you see. But still, not a bad idea! Now run along, buddy! And stop being so dang vindictive already. It's a bit tiring."
Sigmund, meanwhile, is done picking through Bernie's multitude of pockets, obtaining 6 gold and 7 copper coins, a strange box, some kind of notebook and a weird marble, then handing them all to the Artiste.
"Ah, thank you. Most wonderful," he says, placing all the goods in his respectively multitudinous pockets.
"You'd better decide whether you want to use necromancy on him or not. I'm sorry, but I'm missing my opportunity to take revenge to that false captain, I've got to leave."
"Yeah, that will be a no, I'm afraid. Don't need his dead body stinking up the place, to be honest."
Sigmund and Scott then vacate the premises and go hunting.
Kevin, meanwhile, relaxes as much as a skeleton possibly can on a non-ruined barrel on deck in preparation for story time. He considers questioning the plausible existence of the ligaments holding him together or the animating power of the soul, but decides against it soon enough.
You know, there's something oddly relaxing about Bernie lying there completely still and dead. Not a care in the world for him, seems like.
"Say, um, Kevin, was it? Yes, Kevin - mind throwing our buddy Bernie overboard? Or at least propping him up somewhere out of the way? I'm not really a big fan of dead people lying about everywhere."
"Maybe WRAP HIM UP IN SOMETHING beforehand? SOME CLOTH or something - should be around HERE someplace. Take a PIECE OF THE SAILS if you WANT!"
At the Feisty Jelly...
Mark, ever the clever one, looks at all potential exits of this lousy two-bit rum joint. He comes to the conclusion that he's too lazy to check for back entrances, so he'll just say that the front one is the only one. After all, even if there was a back entrance, presumably nobody but the staff uses it, so no point in checking it anyway.
Niklas goes for a more proactive approach, becoming even piratier than he was a moment ago to bl-well, maybe not blend in, exactly. It's to achieve something, presumably. As Sigmund, led with his eyes closed by Scott, both reach the inn, Niklas makes an enlightened remark.
"Ah, that be yonder tavern."
Armed with his mighty accent, he strolls into the inn, coming to the conclusion that it is indeed full of people. It's a fairly large inn, he'd say, and it's positively bustling with activity. Drinking, gambling, singing, dancing, flirting with comely barmaids, swinging on chandeliers, this place has got it all. Truly a vibrant example of inn culture. Also, there's probably a whole lot of sailors in town right now.
Post by: Xantalos on June 03, 2013, 02:46:44 pm
Well, are ye coming or staying behind, Skelly?
Post by: Innsmothe on June 03, 2013, 02:50:26 pm
To sigmund: "Do I really come off as a whiner? It's not as if it is uncalled for...having seen my terminally ill husband turned into a sheet, being drafted unwillingly into aband of incompetents and halfwits and being treated ill by the low-born...all decent excuses to complain, right?"
Upon reaching his party members, he will scan the crowd for the guy who hoodwinked him.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 03, 2013, 03:54:20 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 03, 2013, 04:55:54 pm
-You have suffered, and have the right to complain, but there is no sense in doing so to the person who enslaved your soul. I also had crappy luck recently, but the difference between you and me is that I was used to serve people. The nobility is full of lazy fat bossy assholes. But in my years of service I learned that when you have no other choice than to serve, it's better to do things right. Remember, it's not the same thing to be enslaved to a poor moron that to be enslaved to a King. And, as far as it goes, we have no other choice now. Prove your usefulness and you will be rewarded, even if it is by only a mere congratulations. It's best than being treated as crap.
He then remembered their main objective: bloody revenge:
-But, now, we have to find that scammer. I'll investigate inside, try to not make a racket.
Sigmund walks inside the tavern and asks the bartender for the cheapest alcohol the place can offer, trying to appear sad, but interesting.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 03, 2013, 07:00:13 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 03, 2013, 07:57:00 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 03, 2013, 10:31:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 04, 2013, 03:16:25 am
Niklas, seeing that there's a lot of people within, believes he'll need help on this. particularly since he doesn't actually know what the captain looks like. He pops his head out of the inn.
"Well, are ye coming or staying behind, Skelly?"
And it's even right on time with Sigmund and Scott getting over there as well. Ah, wonderful.
"... it's better to do things right. Remember, it's not the same thing to be enslaved to a poor moron that to be enslaved to a King. And, as far as it goes, we have no other choice now. Prove your usefulness and you will be rewarded, even if it is by only a mere congratulations. It's best than being treated as crap."
"But, now, we have to find that scammer. I'll investigate inside, try to not make a racket."
He appears to be explaining something to him. Oh well, none of Niklas' concern. Or Mark's, for that matter. Mark abandons his commitment to watching the entrance and follows Niklas inside, joined by the two others. First things first - observe the room!
Well, it's full of people of varying looks, walks of life and seemingly professions as well, though Mark doesn't really see anyone that looks like the good captain. And that guy was pretty conspicuous, mind you.
Sigmund, meanwhile, walks to the bar and takes a seat on a stool, then calls on the barkeep.
"Barkeep, your cheapest wine! I have prominent concerns to drown! And make it snappy!"
The barkeep gives him a peculiar look.
"Sorry, we don't got wine. That stuff's expensive, ya know."
No wine? Truly Sigmund is among savages. Not that he really wants any, to be honest, but still.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, having carefully considered the captain's story offerings, makes a choice.
"When it comes to stories, I prefer the ones of strange and wondrous places, new things, Master Artiste. Kingrape Island sounds like one of those, for a place that used to be talked about much but now is no longer."
"KINGRAPE ISLAND IT IS! Let's see, where to begin. Hm. Oh yes, I've got it."
The captain flies up closer to the listeners, then adopts a seated position mid-air with his legs crossed.
"The STORY of KINGRAPE ISLAND begins, as such STORIES often do, IN THE DISTANT PAST! TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES now, I BELIEVE! MY, how much time has PASSED since then! Anyway, this sea, the SEA OF PLEASANT SCENTS, is host to a MULTITUDE of islands, EACH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THE LAST! With EXQUISITE beaches, WONDERFUL weather, LIVELY locals and ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL nations along its coasts, YOU'LL NOT FIND A MORE DELIGHTFUL PLACE in the world!"
As the captain explains, there is a distinctly nostalgic look about him.
"WHY, I DARE YOU to find a place with such WARM CONDITIONS in WINTER! YOU WON'T, I assure you! NOW, naturally, since this is SUCH A PLEASANT LOCATION, it has been a FAVORED VACATION SPOT for the RICH! The POWERFUL! The MIGHTY! You couldn't sail a MILE without running into a PRINCE'S FLEET back then, there WAS SO DANG MANY OF THEM! And on EACH ONE OF THE ISLANDS, there was AT LEAST ONE PLEASURE PALACE periodically frequented by someone NO LESSER THAN A DUKE! This, naturally, ATTRACTED A GREAT MANY OPERATORS in the EXQUISITE DELICACY MARKET such as MYSELF. And if not for SUCH AN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AREA, I may have NEVER FOUND OUT the GRIM TALE OF KINGRAPE ISLAND!" the captain explains, dramatically outstretching his arms at the very end and looming over the listening people for a moment, then settling back down.
"Now, FIRST THINGS FIRST, it WASN'T always called KINGRAPE ISLAND. Come to think of it, it IS ONLY CALLED THAT in CERTAIN CIRCLES! VERY FEW DARE SPEAK OF IT NOW. You see, it was originally named THE KING'S ISLE, and this was mostly because KING FERDINAND OF ANSOLIA, PROTECTOR OR OWNER of virtually all the STATES surrounding the sea, had built HIS VERY OWN SOLITARY PLEASURE PALACE ON IT! It was MAGNIFICENT, even moreso that THE OTHERS OF THE SEA! It was THERE that he SPENT HIS SUMMERS, and I HEAR that there WAS AN ENTIRE TOWN built specifically to HOUSE HIS SERVANTS ALL YEAR ROUND! The palace WAS THE CENTERPIECE of the KING'S collection of various properties, and he put ALL HIS FAVORITE GIFTS, TREASURES OBTAINED IN WARS, and even FAVORED CONCUBINES there! There were TREASURE CHAMBERS BRIMMING WITH GOLD, WEAPONS, ARMOR, MAGICAL TRINKETS and so forth! Why, there was EVEN A GREAT LIBRARY there, housing ALL OF THE KING'S FAVORITE LITERATURE. It was his PERSONAL SLICE OF HEAVEN, that's what I'm trying to say here."
The storyteller seems a few steps short of openly salivating as he gushes about the contents of the king's home away from home.
"SADLY, as it often happens with such things, IT WAS NOT MEANT TO LAST. One PARTICULAR WINTER SOLSTICE, on the night of the GREAT FEAST, there was some sort of UNFORTUNATE HAPPENING! Some say the KING OFFENDED VELUSIUS with an ILL-CONCEIVED REMARK ON THE IMMORTALITY OF HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS! Some say it was instead a MAGE that he UNWISELY MISHANDLED, though WHAT mage that might be, it is UNKNOWN! Some whisper that HE MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON! Truth is, NOBODY KNOWS! But it was CERTAINLY SOMETHING! THING IS, something HAPPENED! The KING WENT MISSING FOR A MONTH! Just DISAPPEARED, POOF! GONE! ABDUCTED? MAYBE!" the ghost says, making vaguely mysterious gestures.
"He DID get back EVENTUALLY, THOUGH! And when HE DID, he was A BROKEN MAN BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY! NO LONGER THE PROUD KING, this was more a DOG than a HEAD OF STATE! NOBODY COULD EXPLAIN IT until a SERVANT ACCIDENTALLY HEARD HIM TALK IN HIS SLEEP! And what SHE HEARD..."
The captain pauses dramatically.
"... well, let's just say THERE'S A REASON they call it KINGRAPE ISLAND. Shortly after HIS REAPPEARANCE, the KING ORDERED EVERYONE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND with him, TAKING NOTHING from it as HE LEFT. ALL HIS TREASURES, left there JUST LIKE THAT! PRESUMABLY the place was TAINTED FOREVER IN HIS EYES! Back in his palace, HE ORDERED THAT NONE SHALL SET FOOT ON THE ISLAND EVER AGAIN. And in two and a half centuries, PRESUMABLY NONE HAVE! At least, NONE THAT BRAGGED ABOUT IT OPENLY. AND THUS KINGRAPE ISLAND remains, totally SILENT AND ABANDONED, and the SUCCESSORS OF KING FERDINAND have made VERY DANG SURE that NO MENTION is made of the place in POLITE SOCIETY. PRESUMABLY, all of the treasures of the GREATEST ANSOLIAN KING still lay there largely undisturbed. SAILORS PASSING BY THAT WAY have told TALES of it looking very much LIKE IT USED TO. ALMOST UNTOUCHED. Almost as though the CONCEPT OF THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM had been given SHAPE and put on the most MAGNIFICENT ISLE of the SEA OF PLEASANT SCENTS. And that, MY FRIENDS, is the tale of KINGRAPE ISLAND."
"Seems like a rather interesting tale. Why does nobody speak of it much?"
"They DECAPITATE any who DO publicly for the last HUNDRED OR SO YEARS. HOLDOVER from the TIMES of KING TERRANCE THE BRAVE. They CALLED HIM THAT because he SYSTEMATICALLY ELIMINATED any who DIDN'T. LUCKILY, I AM IMMUNE TO DECAPITATION. As well as most OTHER FORMS OF CONVENTIONAL PUNISHMENT."
"Ah."
Back in Emlocke...
Darren, overtaken by a powerful flight instinct, does just that - flies upwards!
Well, more like floats upwards. It's a bit slower than he would hope, but he's currently a tad busy with certain other things. Like not dying.
[Darren will roll: 2-1]
Oh dear gods, that is so incredibly painful. Seriously, worst feeling. Ever.
[Darren will roll: 6-2]
Darren tries to think happy thoughts just as it feels that there is no hope left! This seems to help somewhat, actually. The sensation of his innards getting pulled out through his nose becomes merely a dire sense of urgency as Darren sighs with relief. He keeps on flying, making it faster as a result of his heightened sense of a need to live. He's about a mile up now, though the sky is literally the limit now.
[Darren will roll: 2]
And here it comes again. Beautiful.
Post by: Xantalos on June 04, 2013, 03:22:06 am
What did the captain look like?
Post by: Innsmothe on June 04, 2013, 04:16:59 am
He will then go up to the bar man for a fine pint of Arrack and rumours about local swindlers.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 04, 2013, 04:45:10 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 04, 2013, 07:14:21 am
-Then, which is the cheapest drink this place can offer? I'm quite short of money... damned son of a bitch ((the last part is muttering, but not for the bartender, as if Sigmund was talking to himself))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 04, 2013, 08:01:05 am
Niklas, being at a loss on what to look for here, turns to Scott for details on the target.
"What did the captain look like?"
"Well, I'm fairly certain he was a person. Yes. Probably. And he had a monkey-shaped pipe, I recall. And a red beard, not to mention red hair! And his hat had a skull on it. He was rather short, I remember, like devious people tend to be. Oh, and he had a sharp sword in a scabbard that he occasionally clutched insecurely. His eyes were like two glowing red hot coals, I recall - had a real intense stare. Dressed like a captain, maybe somewhat swankier than the average one, but easily identifiable."
Having told all this to Niklas, Scott takes a seat at the bar.
"Barkeep! A pint of your finest Arrack!"
"A pint of Arrack? That'll be a gold coin from you, it will. That stuff costs a lot. Imports, ya know."
"I'll consider it! How about a rumor about the state of con artistry in this town?"
"Con artistry? Hm. Well, there's a few in town, methinks, but they mostly rip off tourists for small change. Scum, ya know. What're ya gonna do? Though I do hear that there was some bigger fella in town a while back, dunno if he's left yet."
"Then, which is the cheapest drink this place can offer? I'm quite short of money... damned son of a bitch..." Sigmund says from another corner.
"'Scuse me," the barkeep says to Scott, turning to Sigmund. "1 copper buys ya all the water ya can drink or a pint of the Special. Your choice."
Mark looks around some more for somebody fitting the scammer's description.
After a few minutes of looking over the room, he can say with reasonable certainty that the schmuck isn't here.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 04, 2013, 08:41:14 am
so Mark sat down next to the others and played with his knives
Post by: Innsmothe on June 04, 2013, 08:49:51 am
Scott hands over two gold coins
Post by: Tomcost on June 04, 2013, 09:49:53 am
-Don't waste the money we don't have. Come here, I invite.
He then hands two copper coins to the barkeeper:
-Two pints of that Special.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 04, 2013, 11:15:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 04, 2013, 11:16:42 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 04, 2013, 11:18:02 am
Scott continues to hand over the two gold coins.
(Also sorry about you ending up dead...er Spinal. =[ )
Post by: Tomcost on June 04, 2013, 11:29:47 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 04, 2013, 11:38:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 04, 2013, 01:38:47 pm
Mark, feeling a lot of loyalty to the sorry mess of people that are currently his compatriots, sits down on a barstool and starts playing with a scalpel like a good patron in a bar is supposed to.
"So, where 'bouts do the scam bastards hang out?" asks Scott reaching into his pocket and realizing he doesn't have any gold coins on him.
"Well, as far as I know-what the fuck is that?" the barkeep says, looking at Mark.
"Don't waste the money we don't have. Come here, I invite."
He then shows two copper coins, though the barkeep is a tad distracted currently.
"Two pints of that Special."
"No, seriously, what the fuck is that? Do you guys know?"
Very distracted, Sigmund would say.
Meanwhile, Niklas continues an independent investigation. He scans the room, seeing several highly conspicuous people. None of them fit the description given, though. Some of them do look mighty piratey, though.
In the air above Emlocke...
Darren halts his flight suddenly, then tries to get all the heart attack cooties off himself in a bid to rid himself of potential death.
However, he supposes this isn't something he can just get off easily - he feels it's probably something inside him. Something higher than mere bodily functions or some such! Something more!
[Will roll: 5-1]
He manages to not die! This, he supposes, is rather nice. Maybe he can make peace with the gods or something. 'Cause he sure has hardly any clue what's going on here, though he's pretty sure it will kill him eventually.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, having listened to the story, gets down to business and looks for some cloth. Unfortunately, there really isn't any that isn't on the sails. And even the bit on the sails has mostly rotted away. Hm.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 04, 2013, 01:41:00 pm
To barkeep: "Now, as you were saying...?"
((Also Harry, I think you accidentally misused my speech type for the barman.))
Post by: miauw62 on June 04, 2013, 01:48:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 04, 2013, 01:53:25 pm
((Also Harry, I think you accidentally misused my speech type for the barman.))
Well, whoopsie-daisy. What can you do. Fixed it now. Thanks for paying attention!
Post by: Innsmothe on June 04, 2013, 02:17:36 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 04, 2013, 02:20:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 04, 2013, 02:24:31 pm
-It's not like he has eye sockets anymore. Don't waste your breath on him.
He then turned to the barkeep:
-Don't worry, he's mostly inoffensive. It's the result of the practice of an unexperienced transmutator, I think. Well, will you give us two of those Specials?
((Both miauw62 and Innsmothe, what te heck are you doing? I thought miauw62 was Kevin, and that he was supposed to throw Bernie's corpse to the sea, not Scott's.))
Post by: miauw62 on June 04, 2013, 02:33:35 pm
((WHERE DID THAT TYPO COME FROM AGLAGLALGALGA))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 04, 2013, 04:21:55 pm
"OH PLEASE HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON."
Post by: killerhellhound on June 04, 2013, 06:53:38 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 04, 2013, 08:13:04 pm
"Oh dear, I wonder what happened to the poor king to cause such a response. Must of been truly dreadful." The burned undead butler replied, not actually wanting to know what happened. "So good captain, what do you think of our destination, Horizon Isle? I admit I don't know much about it except that people disappear there, so I'm told."
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 05, 2013, 04:55:20 am
Scott looks at the idle Mark and promptly scolds him.
"MARK! Put that away before I jam it in your eye-socket!"
Mark, however, pays no mind to him. Oh well, he tried.
"It's not like he has eye sockets anymore. Don't waste your breath on him." Sigmund tells Scott, then trying to attract the attention of the barkeep again.
"Don't worry, he's mostly inoffensive. It's the result of the practice of an inexperienced transmutator, I think. Well, will you give us two of those Specials?"
"Now, as you were saying...?"
"Hm. Well, okay. I think the con artists mostly hang around the trade quarter - richer pickings there. Also, the Specials, eh?"
The barkeep takes two copper coins and produces two tankards filled with an extremely dark substance that smells rather awful.
Meanwhile, Niklas steps up on a table and shouts, an activity which ranks in his top three of things to do in a bar.
"ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO, RAISE YOUR HANDS!"
About ten people raise their hands. Receptive audience! How naive of them.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin supposes there's no point in wasting perfectly good sails to wrap up some guy he doesn't even know, naval tradition and honor be damned, so he, with Morton's generous aid, handily lifts the corpse of Bernie up and chucks it overboard, watching it float up to the surface slowly.
"Oh dear, I wonder what happened to the poor king to cause such a response. Must've been truly dreadful," Morton notes, making sure that it doesn't sound for one second like he actually wants to get the gruesome details. "So, good captain, what do you think of our destination, Horizon Isle? I admit I don't know much about it except that people disappear there, so I'm told."
"They found THAT PLACE a bit AFTER MY TIME, I'M AFRAID. Not to mention that I STAYED WELL AWAY from the SEA OF DEATH when I could HELP IT! Why, THE ONE TIME I didn't MY ENTIRE CREW and MYSELF ALL PERISHED! I don't know the EXACT LEGENDS, but I DO KNOW THAT IT'S APPARENTLY NOT A GOOD PLACE for common mortals. WHY, I cannot say! I ALSO KNOW that it's probably BEST REACHED from THIS DIRECTION, as it IS PART OF AN ARCHIPELAGO OF SEVEN ISLES. Happens to be AT THE END OF IT, actually! Well, FROM THIS DIRECTION, anyway. FROM THE OTHER THERE IS ONLY OCEAN!"
In the air above Emlocke...
Darren understands that this is no time for rationality! Only one thing will grant him the necessary drive to survive! Panic! Panic as hard as possible!
He rapidly plummets downward, stopping abruptly when he reaches the group!
"OH PLEASE HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON."
"Don't know. Explain, please. Need explanation. Not clairvoyant. Despite appearances."
[Darren will roll: 1]
However, Darren manages but a single "Urk!" as his world becomes pain once again!
[Darren will roll: 3-1]
Followed immediately by a "Gah!" as his soul is seemingly wrenched out of place by some sort of divine spiked crowbar of agony!
"Looks familiar. Bound, perhaps? Try praying. Velusius helpful. Demons also. Try Velusius. Not forbidden. Unlike demons."
Post by: Innsmothe on June 05, 2013, 05:59:07 am
"Onwards! To slaughter!"
Post by: Tomcost on June 05, 2013, 08:28:59 am
-Don't exagerate, we want our money back, just that.
And then he asked the barkeep:
-We are looking specifically for someone who disguises himself as a captain to trick people. He is a red-haired short fellow, does it sound familliar to you?
Post by: killerhellhound on June 05, 2013, 09:13:41 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 05, 2013, 09:26:48 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 05, 2013, 09:45:14 am
Darren clears his throat. This certainly was new to him. He wasn't exactly a religious man back in life, and becoming undead didn't make him any more so. But, there was a first time to everything.
"Velusius, god of... Death. Please, I call upon you. Bring me through this time of trial and give me a chance to prove your power."
Post by: Innsmothe on June 05, 2013, 10:45:32 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 05, 2013, 01:02:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 05, 2013, 01:27:36 pm
Scott pours the tankard of the vague, vile brew referred to only as the Special down his limp esophagus and gets up, fetching Mark on the way.
"Onwards! To slaughter!"
This simultaneously makes Mark rather receptive and restless while Sigmund remains relatively unimpressed. Or so it seems.
"Don't exaggerate, we want our money back, just that."
He addresses the barkeep once more.
"We are looking specifically for someone who disguises himself as a captain to trick people. He is a red-haired short fellow, does it sound familiar to you?"
"Hey! That sounds like Rat-Bastard Gilroy! He's come 'round here once or twice, but he's mostly stinkin' up the Ulubelle these days. That's down at the trade quarter. I hear business is boomin' there. Maybe I should open up a joint like that as well. Got the money, anyway."
As Sigmund listens, his two buddies run off to the trade quarter. In the early evening bustle as more and more people come out to take advantage of the trade quarter's vast entertainment and shopping opportunities, even a bunch as weird as they becomes one with the crowd. Everybody's simply too busy to pay attention to them.
Back in the Feisty Jelly, though, an entirely different form of attention grabbing happens.
"ALL YE WHO RAISED THEIR HANDS, GRAB YER TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS! A SCAMMER SCAMMED ME FRIENDS HERE AND INADVERTENTLY EARNED THEM THE IRE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE! WE'RE GOING TO GO GET THAT STINKING BASTARD! WHO'S WITH ME?!"
The people who raised their hands nod affirmatively, getting up and loudly expressing their hatred of these lousy bastards taking all their money and giving nothing in return. Of course, some of them are talking about bankers, but Niklas figures that's close enough not to matter much.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin tries to get across the message that he needs story time and he needs it right now.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 2]
However, he's having trouble with the concept of a story. Namely, how to show it in an easily comprehensible way. Damn these intangible ideas that prove so difficult to convey when you start to think about it!
In the streets of Emlocke...
Darren, figuring that there's probably nothing to lose and everything to gain, heeds the dog's advice and tries prayer after clearing his throat.
"Velusius, god of... Death. Please, I call upon you. Bring me through this time of trial and give me a chance to prove your power."
Momentarily, he feels like time itself has stopped. All is still for a single moment, then it is slightly less still. As in, the ground starts to writhe beneath his feet invisibly, and he feels inexplicably drawn into it, pulled into its grasp. As he disappears into the ground, everything goes dark, and Darren experiences a very pronounced sensation of being crushed and the profound breathing instinct that had left him so long ago suddenly returns. He starts to claw randomly all around him, then remembers that he can float, and immediately tries to do so.
However, he feels totally immobilized. He feels almost... fleshlike.
~Hello, friend. I see you have a bit of trouble with your soul there. A sort of stone tied to you in this great river we call life, you might say. Well, I can help you with that, no problem. Here, let me do that right now, buddy!~
Suddenly Darren feels like a stone has been lifted from his heart. A ten-ton stone covered in poisoned spikes. He takes a long breath, feeling incredibly refreshed for a moment before the claws of the death god tighten around him once more.
~Now, you said you wanted to give you a chance to prove my power, yes? Don't bother saying so, I know you did. Now, you should know that this is not the way of the gods. Our power is absolute and it needs no proof! Your power, on the other hand, still needs to be actualized. As it is, you're a bit of a waste of space. A sort of epitome of blandness. This is a bit of a problem. I hate people like that.~
~But fret not! You can change! I'm quite sure of it, actually. That's why I, great fellow that I am, will give you a quest. A holy quest, if you will. I require you to locate and unearth the fabled Crown of Flowers, a sacred artifact that will undoubtedly make you the greatest knight of the realm and whatnot. All that good stuff. Do you accept this quest, brave sir Darren?~
As the god whispers the last three words in his mind, it breaks into uncontrollable, chilling laughter.
~Nah, only kidding. You don't get a choice on this. After all, the alternative is almost certain death, and we can't quite have that yet. I'll even send you on your way! Have fun!~
Suddenly, Darren is completely released from any sort of grasp, though something new appears in its place - once again, something Darren hasn't felt in a while.
Gravity. Though it only becomes apparent a short minute later, as something gives him a powerful push right down beforehand.
Darren plummets downward, achieving greater and greater speed. Everything gets incredibly hot very soon, and then transitions into white-hot heat unlike anything Darren has seen or felt before. He attempts to get out of the area as quickly as possible, but he realizes that his floating abilities don't seem to work at the present time. Velusius appears to be big on helplessness. So he just shuts his eyes as hard as he can, though that doesn't help much.
However, he is glad to find that it soon gets less maddeningly hot and bright. In fact, it gets cooler and darker soon. Why, eventually (about two thirds of an hour later, if he hasn't missed his mark) it's gotten downright decent. Though right as he begins to relax, he plops out of the ground, stopping mid-air! He is about to helplessly brace for impact, but then realizes that he appears to be floating again.
Huh. Well, that's done with. Now, where is he?
Looking around, Darren finds that he is in the middle of a rather cold and barren landscape. A vast plain stretches all around him, and Darren is quite glad he's the unfeeling sack of ectoplasm he is, because on a 1 to 11 scale of cold and wet misery, he'd say this ranks at about a 7. Casting a careful eye about, he sees... nothing of importance, really. Just the plain, really. Hopeless, gray plains as far as the eye can see.
Well, he could be dead, he guesses. That might be marginally worse.
Post by: Tomcost on June 05, 2013, 01:43:03 pm
Sigmund replied to the barkeeper before leaving:
-I guess that I should visit him sometime to see if we can get our money back. You can keep that drink, I'd better be sober for this.
Sigmund then went to Niklas and told him:
-The guy we're looking for is called Gilroy. He should be in some place called the Ulubelle, in the trade quarter. See you there.
Sigmund then goes to the trade quarter to look for Scott and Mark.
Post by: miauw62 on June 05, 2013, 01:56:42 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 05, 2013, 02:09:14 pm
ARR, TO THE TRADE CENTER!
Post by: Innsmothe on June 05, 2013, 02:29:28 pm
Failing (any part, save the latter) this, he will just walk in and demand to know where the scummy bastard that was hanging around the black circle ship is.
((Scotts reasoning for the former is thus, he is of some reputation and wealth so the money doesn't exactly matter. What matters is that someone tricked and stole from him, the person and all their followers must now die very painful and very public deaths. This, in his mind, will serve as a warning to the low born filth about scamming and injuring the pride of upper or upper middle class persons.))
((And YAY! I didn't kill spinal! ^-^ *Gives spinal pie.*))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 05, 2013, 02:51:03 pm
[Good on yah for surviving Spinal!]
Post by: Tomcost on June 05, 2013, 05:52:51 pm
((No, I don't want a molotov cocktail, it's for darker purposes))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 05, 2013, 07:17:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 06, 2013, 01:39:11 am
Sigmund notes the barkeep's words.
"I guess that I should visit him sometime to see if we can get our money back. You can keep that drink, I'd better be sober for this."
"Damn! Now I'll have to dump it! You know how much it'll stink in the back alley? Man!"
Sigmund, however, is beyond such concerns. He walks to Niklas and speaks to him.
"The guy we're looking for is called Gilroy. He should be in some place called the Ulubelle, in the trade quarter. See you there."
Niklas, thus inspired, begins a crusade.
"THIS MAN BE IN THE TRADE SECTOR! WITH ME, LADS!"
The band of drunks is handily rallied, the raucous procession leaving the premises and then running off to the trade quarter, where they then consider their next move.
Sigmund, meanwhile, tries to find an bottle of some kind.
There's no bottle, sadly, as they are all kept safely behind the barkeep in a steel cabinet to prevent any unfortunate misunderstandings and dire happenings when things get out of hand. There is an abandoned, yet empty metal tankard, though. Sigmund fetches it, as nobody seems to particularly need it. It smells a bit like the Special, actually. The guy it's sitting next to looks to have passed out. For good.
With that done, he heads down to the trade quarter. Or, rather, he would if not for a particularly fiendish set of crossroads in the way.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin keeps trying to express his need for stories. He also tries not to think.
After spacing out for half a minute, he supposes that maybe a lack of thinking isn't the problem here. Fortunately, Morton's here to bail him out.
"So, good captain, do you have another story to share to pass the time? Perhaps of past deeds or present events? I admit I didn't get out much after my second chance so I can't claim to profess a knowledge of what is recent now a days."
"RECENT EVENTS? No. I don't KNOW much about RECENT EVENTS. I GET OUT EVEN LESS THAN YOU, PRESUMABLY! But I DO HAVE A TALE. It's an OLDIE - the MIGRATION of the GUB-GUB. Boy, was THAT A STRANGE TIME. And then there's the TIME MY NAVIGATOR WAS LOST IN MOTHDALE. OH, and THEN there's THE MAGE IN THE BOX. Which ONE do you want to HEAR?"
In the Trade Quarter (also known as the Trade District) of Shriekpot...
Scott looks for unattended barrels of unsafe, highly flammable liquid in the opulent part of town!
Unsurprisingly, there aren't any. That is to say, there are indeed barrels of flammable liquid, but they are very attended indeed. Plan B, then!
He walks into an establishment called the Flaming Crab, a fairly nice inn from the looks of it, though doubtlessly possessing a highly seedy name, and makes his demands known.
"I demand to know where the scummy bastard that was hanging around the Black Circle ship is hiding!"
"Oh, Herbert? He's over at the Ulubelle, I believe. Place is a hotspot for his ilk."
Post by: Xantalos on June 06, 2013, 01:41:23 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 02:34:18 am
Scott shall head off to the Ulubelle then, Marcus in tow.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 06, 2013, 04:47:39 am
"...Oh...My thanks then, and my apologies for interrupting your morning/afternoon/evening"As Scott turns around he sees Mark already leaving for the Ulubelle
Scott shall head off to the Ulubelle then, Marcus in tow.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 06:22:15 am
"It's my revenge gods damn you!"
Post by: Tomcost on June 06, 2013, 07:02:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 06, 2013, 08:35:52 am
Niklas, full of spirit and fury, leads his trusty drunkard cohort over to the infamous Ulubelle, apparently quite popular around conmen in Shriekpot. It's a fancy building, Niklas finds. And the inside is even better! It's got a refined atmosphere in it, and the place seems populated mostly by rather attractive women! And a few guys, as well, though these mostly look to be patrons. A middle-aged woman wearing what appears to be a stiff, smiling mask composed solely of makeup approaches the group immediately as they enter.
"Hello, good sirs. How may we at Ulubelle help you today?"
How indeed, madam. How indeed.
At the Flaming Crab...
Scott is humbled by the generous behavior of the inn's patrons. If only they were all this helpful.
"Oh... My thanks then, and my apologies for interrupting your evening."
"Oh, it's no problem. Give him a good beating from me if you find him! Son of a bitch swindled me not three weeks ago, can't prove a thing to the authorities!"
Scott nods and looks over at Mark. He appears to be leaving. Quicker than him. Racing time!
"It's my revenge, gods damn you!"
[Revenge Race: Scott vs. Mark: 3-1 vs. 1+1]
Scott walks as fast as he can, eventually catching up to Mark, who seems to be in no hurry at all. However, try as he might, Scott cannot outwalk the fellow before they reach the Ulubelle and go right in.
Oh, looks like Niklas is already here. And some fine gentlemen from the Feisty Jelly. And a woman with a painted-on face and an unchangingly smiling expression.
"And hello to you too, good sir and tree-person. How may we help you?"
In the port of Shriekpot...
Sigmund attempts to sniff out the trail of the mob that followed Niklas. However, the mob smelled like booze and disappointment, and so does everything else in this town, so he's kind of screwed there. Well, guess he'll have to try and get over his crippling indecisiveness!
Sigmund stares down the crossroads. They will not beat him today. He will persevere! He takes one step forward, then another, then another!
Then it suddenly hits him. He is alone now. Nobody to lead him around. Nobody to help. Maybe he should get someone. He turns to one side and beckons a guy to help him out. Said guy doesn't even spare him a glance. Okay, what about you, madam? Help a guy out?
She also doesn't help. Sigmund turns around and seeks aid from many sources, though they all prove unhelpful! And he has also turned around several times by now.
He is completely lost now.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 09:13:14 am
Scott will scan the inn.
Post by: Tomcost on June 06, 2013, 09:15:49 am
((Looks like there are lots of swindlers in Shriekpot))
Post by: Xantalos on June 06, 2013, 09:56:49 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 10:03:58 am
Scott nods sagely.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 06, 2013, 10:37:43 am
Scott explains the purpose of his arrival to the woman.
"We are looking for Herbert."
Niklas, however, is not to be upstaged. After all, he led a riot to here, and he'll be damned if he doesn't make use of it.
"Thank you ma'am, me and my friends here would like to gain entrance to this place - just to look for an old friend. We think he's in there."
"His name is Herbert."
"Herbert... I can look for him if you wish. Otherwise you will have to pay the entrance fee - one silver per person. This covers free food, drink and general entertainment for the night, though you will need to pay for specifics, shall we say. This is a rather low price for the quality you will receive, I assure you."
At an incredibly confusing crossroads in Shriekpot...
Sigmund tries to figure out where the sea is.
Okay. It's behind him. Right there, half a kilometer or so away. Very good. He can do this. Okay, a sign now. Give Sigmund a sign, you wretched town, you! The vampire looks around and focuses on the address plates of the nearby buildings. He is on Lipmann Street, and there's a signpost pointing to the center of town. Ah. Good. Presumably the Trade District is somewhere over there.
He follows the signpost, closing his eyes and slowly going onwards. After bumping into several people, he finds himself in the center of town.
It's a large square with about 18 different streets leading into it. There's even a large sign atop a pillar here that says "Center of Shriekpot". In essence, it's a huge intersection.
Looking around, Sigmund is paralyzed with fear, falling over and curling up into a ball, then going on to whimper softly.
He could go for a drink, he thinks. A drink makes the fears go away. Yeah, a drink is what he needs.
Post by: miauw62 on June 06, 2013, 11:08:15 am
Kevin sits down if he wasn't already and waits for Morton to choose a story, considering that his previous attempts at miming did not go very well.
Post by: Tomcost on June 06, 2013, 11:17:48 am
Sigmund will look for slaughterhouses or butcher's shops.
Post by: Xantalos on June 06, 2013, 11:20:43 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 12:12:50 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 06, 2013, 12:16:55 pm
If she fails to render positive assistance, Scott will charge through and look for the bugger.If this is the case, Niklas and the mob will do the same.
Post by: miauw62 on June 06, 2013, 12:55:08 pm
((You obviously have to pull a Samuel and make the mob dance, then lead them into the building dancing.))If she fails to render positive assistance, Scott will charge through and look for the bugger.If this is the case, Niklas and the mob will do the same.
Post by: Xantalos on June 06, 2013, 01:05:20 pm
((I remember that. Heh. Maybe they'll help me cook him.))((You obviously have to pull a Samuel and make the mob dance, then lead them into the building dancing.))If she fails to render positive assistance, Scott will charge through and look for the bugger.If this is the case, Niklas and the mob will do the same.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 06, 2013, 02:20:39 pm
If she fails to render positive assistance, Scott will charge through and look for the bugger.Never Split the Party so when Scott charges through Mark will help
Post by: Xanmyral on June 06, 2013, 03:42:39 pm
"Mage in a box?" Morton asked, it sounding the most peculiar of the three. "I say, that sounds quite like the lead in to a joke. I'd like to hear that one if you wouldn't mind good Captain, unless you'd like to hear a different of the three Master Artiste." The undead said, trying to be considerate to his soul-bound acquired master. Well, his second one to be precise, he's probably still soul-bound to Master Yaleson.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 06, 2013, 04:09:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 07, 2013, 05:49:52 am
Kevin decides to let Morton take the initiative on this one, since his charades skill is terribly out of whack for a jester today. Fortunately, Morton takes the hint.
"Mage in a box? I say, that sounds quite like the lead in to a joke. I'd like to hear that one if you wouldn't mind, good Captain, unless you'd like to hear a different of the three, Master Artiste."
"The mage in a box does sound pretty interesting, what's it about?"
"THE MAGE IN THE BOX? Well, LET ME TELL YOU. You SEE, occasionally you don't GET A CONTRACT TO SHIP GOODS. Rather, it is PEOPLE THAT YOU SHIP INSTEAD. And RUDOLPH RASMUSSEN, MYSTIC OF THE FORSAKEN ISLE, was ONE SUCH PERSON. You see, ONE DAY a friend of mine, HENRY, told me that there was AN INCREDIBLY LUCRATIVE CONTRACT that required going RATHER FAR INTO the DERELICT SEA. It's not THE MOST PLEASANT PLACE, not to mention ABOMINABLY FAR AWAY FROM HERE, to tell the truth, but it WAS A LOT OF MONEY - 200 GOLD COINS, I TELL YOU! 200!"
"Now, before you ask, WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KIDNAP HIM. In FACT, HE HIMSELF asked to be SHIPPED to the SEA OF PLEASANT SCENTS - STAFFORD'S ISLE, to be exact. So we WENT THERE - the DERELICT SEA, though RATHER CREEPY with all the ABANDONED SHIPS floating around, is LARGELY HARMLESS. Unless you RUN INTO THE WINDSNATCHER."
"What's the windsnatcher?"
"I BELIEVE it is the reason for ALL THOSE ABANDONED SHIPS. Well, FORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T RUN INTO IT and reached the ISLE WHERE RASMUSSEN LIVED in THREE MONTHS. Once we were THERE - it's ONE OF THE MORE MENACING ISLES I'VE SEEN, all JAGGED ROCKS and FAINTLY BONE-LIKE OUTCROPPINGS, not to MENTION all the FLOATING EYES. Now, WE WERE GIVEN THREE DIFFERENT PASSWORDS. Well, not PASSWORDS. More like ENCRYPTION KEYS to DECIPHER THE TRUE PASSWORDS from what RASMUSSEN TELLS US. Also, WE HAD TO SHOW PROOF OF OUR IDENTITY no less than THREE TIMES. When RASMUSSEN was SATISFIED, he SHOWED HIMSELF. Looked like a WILD MOUNTAIN MAN stuck in a MAGE'S ROBE, I tell you. BEARD RAN DOWN TO HIS KNEES," the captain says, indicating the sheer length and size of the fellow's beard with his hands.
"NOW, he DEMANDED to inspect our SHIP IMMEDIATELY. He ran THROUGH IT, checking EVERYTHING. TWELVE HOURS LATER, he comes out and PRODUCES A LIST OF NO FEWER than SEVENTY-SIX STRUCTURAL FLAWS and ISSUES. This WOULD HAVE WORRIED ME MORE if they had not been mostly things like 'CARGO HOLD ISN'T MAGICALLY SHIELDED AGAINST FIRE, OCEANIC THIEVES AND WILD ANIMALS'."
"Oceanic thieves?"
"That was ONE OF THE BETTER POINTS - some parts of the ocean have FISH THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT SHAMELESS THAT WAY. I once LOST A VALUABLE SET OF MY MOTHER'S JEWELRY THAT WAY. Anyway, when I SAID that this was HARDLY THE TIME AND PLACE TO ADDRESS SUCH CONCERNS, RASMUSSEN nodded, then DISAPPEARED INTO A ROCK. When I TRIED TO FOLLOW HIM, the thing was SOLID AGAIN. We SAW HIM AGAIN A DAY LATER when HE CALLED UPON US. Now, THIS IS WHERE IT GETS PRETTY WEIRD. He had A BOX with him - a GIANT METAL CUBE it was, SEVEN METERS on EACH SIDE! RASMUSSEN looked REAL PROUD OF IT. He EXPLAINED TO US that THESE would be HIS QUARTERS FOR THE TRIP. He then TALKED AT LENGTH how this was THE SAFEST BOX he could MAKE, with ABJURATIVE ENCHANTMENTS the REST OF THE WORLD HAD HARDLY EVEN THOUGHT OF THEN. So he HAD US BRING THAT THING into the CARGO HOLD, then SECURED IT HIMSELF with some sort of MAGIC. When we WERE ABOUT TO LEAVE, he SEALED HIMSELF IN THE BOX and TOLD US NOT TO BOTHER HIM until we WERE THERE unless WE BROUGHT FOOD. There was a SPECIAL SLOT FOR IT on the BOX, you see."
"After THAT was done, WE SET OFF! The FIRST WEEK, all was WELL! RASMUSSEN seemed RATHER HAPPY, well, as much as HE COULD BE, and WE MOSTLY LEFT HIM ALONE. He COMPLIMENTED THE FOOD, too, and THE COOK SURE LOVED THAT. Though it WAS A BIT OFF-PUTTING that he SAW FIT TO INSTALL A POISON SCREEN on the FOOD SLOT. And a PROFANITY CENSOR on the VERBAL EXCHANGE UNIT. But STILL, IT WAS PRETTY QUIET. The SECOND WEEK, the HOWLING BEGAN. NOBODY KNEW WHAT IT WAS, but it was a BIT TERRIFYING, though ULTIMATELY HARMLESS. THIRD WEEK, though, that's WHEN THINGS WENT DOWN. The WIND BECAME A SHREDDING GALE, blew our NAVIGATOR STRAIGHT OFF THE DECK! Didn't see HIM ever again! And then THINGS GOT WORSE! STORMS, HOMICIDAL FISH, YOU NAME IT! It all CAME TO A HEAD at the END OF THE THIRD WEEK when A GIANT WHIRLWIND HIT US STRAIGHT-ON - DANG THING WAS FOLLOWING US, I TELL YOU! The ENTIRE SHIP was LIFTED UP into the AIR and THRASHED AROUND AT THE WHIM of this UNNATURAL ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON! WHOOSH it WENT, and we were WHOOSHED UP BY IT!"
The captain's mouth forms a perfect O as he makes the whooshing sound. To amplify the effect, he spins around in the air, looking wild-eyed.
"WE WENT DOWN TO RASMUSSEN TO ASK FOR HELP! He said HE EXPECTED THIS! He HAD SHIELDED THE CARGO HOLD against ALL MAGICAL INTERVENTION! When we ASKED HOW THAT HELPS US, he said it PROBABLY DOESN'T UNLESS WE HIDE IN THE CARGO HOLD. So we DID! THE SHIP FLEW TO AND FRO AS WE COWERED, its STRUCTURE SHAKING AND GROANING AS IT TRIED TO WITHSTAND THINGS NO SHIP WAS EVER MEANT TO! Rather EXHILIRATING IN RETROSPECT. Well, THE ASSAULT continued FOR TWO MORE HOURS, AND WE WERE SAFE IN THAT TIME, IF CONSUMED BY TERROR!"
"And what then?"
"Then MOTHER NATURE STOPPED SCREWING AROUND. THE WHIRLWIND STOPPED SUDDENLY, and THE SHIP FELL! IT FELL RIGHT ONTO A BUNCH OF JAGGED ROCKS! FORTUNATELY, nobody got HURT! PROBABLY because the SHIP APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ALIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ROCKS TO HIT THE BOX! And that thing was RATHER IMPENETRABLE. SHIP GOT COMPLETELY TORN TO BITS, though. WE LANDED SAFELY IN THE WATER! And THEN A STRANGE THING HAPPENED - the BOX DIDN'T FALL INTO THE WATER! INSTEAD, a GIANT WAVE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE, nearly KILLING US ALL! IT SWEPT THE BOX UPWARDS, RIGHT INTO THE SKY! AND THEN THERE WAS THIS STRANGE FLASH, and THEN THE BOX WAS HANGING IN THE AIR! And WHAT'S MORE, there was SOMEBODY NEXT TO IT! A WOMAN, SEEMED LIKE, just FLOATING ABOUT LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS! She TALKED TO THE BOX, I THINK, but it was DIFFICULT TO HEAR over the REPEATED LOUD BLEEPING coming from the BOX! SHE RAISED HER HANDS, THERE WAS A HUGE FLASH, then... NOTHING! Both the BOX AND THE WOMAN remained in the AIR, COMPLETELY STILL! Now, I WOULD HAVE STAYED and WATCHED, but I HAD SURVIVAL ON MY MIND, so I SWAM AWAY WITH MY SURVIVING CREW. MOST OF US REACHED ANOTHER SHIP before anything TERRIBLE HAPPENED, but I REMEMBER THIS - those two NEVER MOVED ONCE when I LOOKED BACK."
"Now, I CAN'T SAY I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, but I BET MAGIC SOMEHOW IMMOBILIZED THEM BOTH. For ALL I KNOW, they may STILL BE THERE, FROZEN IN TIME. I and MORE THAN HALF of my crew made it back to CIVILIZATION, and, though I HAD TO REBUILD MY SHIPPING COMPANY, I was GLAD TO BE ALIVE. And I HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE DERELICT SEA SINCE."
As the captain finishes his tale, a silence settles on the deck that is broken when the three magic minions emerge onto the deck.
"Right, so we took a good look at everything now, so I guess we can get to work!"
"You will have to vacate the deck for now."
"Oh, CERTAINLY!"
The captain begins to move away from the ship, stopping at the gangplank.
"Here GOES!"
He floats over the gangplank and leaves the ship easily.
"Thought it would be MORE DRAMATIC, to be honest."
"Well, at least you aren't exactly tied to the ship in a physical or magical way. That's good, right?"
"I SUPPOSE so."
The Artiste follows the captain off the deck.
"Alright, Evelyn! Magic me up!"
"Of course."
[Evelyn magic roll: 4]
Evelyn points her finger at Erin, and a thin stream of energy hits the transmuter, making her glow a little bit.
"What, that's it?"
"Metamagic abuse hurts the body and mind in equal measure."
"Hey, did I get into magic because it was healthy? Hell no! I'm doin' large scale transmuting here, I need some real power!"
"You will live."
At the Ulubelle...
Niklas explains what he needs that Herbert or Gilroy or whatever guy for.
"No, we just need to talk to him. Could you bring him out for us?"
"I'm afraid not. Usually when people want to talk to Herbert this means he leaves for a while. It's rather unfortunate in most cases. I will have to ask you to leave."
Scott, hardly surprised by such an attitude, charges right past the middle-aged strange woman and tries to get into the deeper workings of the place.
The large double doors that lead deeper inside are a bit locked, however. This stymies his efforts sufficiently to throw him into a bit of an indecisive mood. Niklas' mob are equally puzzled on what to do, not being the resourceful or particularly violent sort. Even Mark stops in line behind the mob.
"Ah. Well now. Guards!"
Four guards outfitted in mail and armed with heavy-looking clubs quickly run out of a side room.
"Yes, madam?"
"These people seem to be troublemakers. Would you mind escorting them out?"
At the Center of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, realizing his dire circumstances, tries to find a butcher! He gets up, closes his eyes once more and tries to get by merely by trying to catch the scent of blood.
He walks around for a bit, but fails to find a butcher shop nearby. However, as he opens his eyes he realizes he's not at the giant crossroads anymore, so it's quite good regardless.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 07, 2013, 06:04:39 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 07, 2013, 06:50:37 am
But, if the guards are pretty insistant about them leaving...
"EVERYBODY CHAAAAAAARGE!"
Scott will proceed to stab, bite and rip apart the foolish guards.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 07, 2013, 08:43:11 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 07, 2013, 09:27:11 am
YOUR INTESTINES!
Proceed to do so with my sharp stabby stuff and my cat.
Also the mob charges and stuff. Yarr.
Post by: miauw62 on June 07, 2013, 10:17:22 am
Kevin follows Morton off the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on June 07, 2013, 10:23:33 am
((Speech color change. SHIT JUST GOT REAL.))((WHAT COLOR CHANGE))
Kevin follows Morton off the ship.
Post by: Tomcost on June 07, 2013, 11:03:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 07, 2013, 01:19:31 pm
Mark, seeing that things are about to get hairy, draws his... money.
He calmly walks up to the lady and hands her a gold coin, pointing at himself, Niklas and Scott.
"To be honest, I'm not sure I should be letting you all in. You seem slightly murderously-inclined."
Scott and Niklas both shrug.
"EVERYBODY CHAAAAAAARGE!"
Scott charges at the guards, seeking to stab them most verily!
[Scott vs. Guard 1: 4 vs. 1+2]
He manages to slightly scratch one of the guards with his knife!
[Guard 1 endurance roll: 1]
Said guard then clutches his side and starts to yell in pain as he falls over and twitches, his precious tissues decomposing at the moment.
"HOW ABOUT I AND SVEN REMOVE..."
... dramatic massacre pause...
"YOUR INTESTINES!"
Niklas, dual-wielding Sven and a kitchen knife, sets upon the honored madam.
[Sven use roll: 2]
Sven, however, is a tad too busy contemplating whether his life is completely or merely mostly devoid of any meaning but the infliction of pointless suffering upon him.
[Niklas vs. Madam: 3+2 vs. 1+1]
He then stabs the Madam right in the gut, then drives the knife upwards, hoping to open her right up. His hopes are not in vain, as the Madam is handily disemboweled by the attack, gasping as her internal organs escape her belly.
The mob, meanwhile, charges the guards.
[Mob vs. Guards: 6 vs. 2+1]
They easily overwhelm the three standing guards, pouring over them like only a wave of drunkards can and easily knocking them over with their foul-smelling bulk. The drunkards then trample the guards quite nicely. Good times.
Mark looks mournfully at his golden coin as he surveys the destruction. Yeah, he did save some money, but man, he didn't even get to kill anyone this time! Oh well. At least there's corpses. Corpses always make everything all better.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton and Kevin vacate the ghost vessel along with Art, who appears to be somewhat idle at the moment.
"I do wonder what they decided to do with the ship, can't wait to see the results."
"Nothing too special, I think - mostly just make her seaworthy again, pretty it up a little, depends on how they do."
[Erin magic roll: 2+1-1]
Erin then waves her arms around wildly until she stops glowing.
"Not enough power, Evelyn!"
"I am not sure how to improve the situation, to be honest. I suppose I could try again."
[Evelyn magic roll: 2]
However, this time nothing happens.
"Come on! I'm starting to think the both of us are jinxed today!"
"Silence. I can do this."
Evelyn then starts to pace around the deck, considering the troubles at hand.
"Oh, fine, then. I'll just compartmentalize. You figure out your bit, I'll work the outer bits first."
[Erin magic roll: 2]
She looks over the railing of the ship and considers the hull for a moment, then gestures at it. However, nothing happens.
"Dammit, we are jinxed."
"We are most certainly not incompetent. At least I am not."
"Oh, yer just as bad and ya know it. Let's make some magic now, come on!"
[Erin magic roll: 5]
As Erin points to a section of the hull, it begins to transform from wood into something altogether different. Some sort of black material, though what exactly it is proves a bit difficult to exactly place. The ship sways a bit as a quarter of the hull changes its material, and Erin smiles.
"Finally! About damn time!"
"I think I may have an idea."
[Evelyn magic roll: 5+1]
Evelyn walks up to Erin and takes her hand.
"Chant with me now."
And they do. After a bit of rhythmic chanting, Erin starts to glow far more prominently than before.
"Aw yeah, that's the good stuff! Let's go!"
[Erin magic roll: 3+2-1]
Erin outstretches her arms and the entirety of the hull soon becomes made of the same black material.
"Right! We've got this. Now, guys, got any interesting ideas? Whaddaya wanna see in this ship?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund looks for somebody handy to ask for directions. Fortunately, there's a fellow doing what appears to be nothing at all on a nearby corner!
"Where could I find the Trade Quarter, good sir?"
"You're standing in it."
Post by: Xantalos on June 07, 2013, 01:23:05 pm
CHARGE INTO THE PLACE AND FIND HERBERT THE SCAMMER.
WITH THE MOB. RANSACK THE PLACE!
Post by: Tomcost on June 07, 2013, 01:26:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 07, 2013, 02:31:13 pm
((Harry, you missed my turn))
It is now officially unmissed!
Post by: Innsmothe on June 07, 2013, 02:31:54 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 07, 2013, 03:09:18 pm
Sigmund was surprised to finally find the trade quarter, but, anyway, that shouldn't be something the man should know. He replied to that man:
-Thank you, sir. By any chance, do you know where the place called the Ulubelle may be?
Either if he tells Sigmund the right directions or not, he will go find that place.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 07, 2013, 07:43:54 pm
Morton ho and hummed about possible changes or additions to the ship. He could think of a few additions that would be welcomed. "Perhaps a kitchen, or a comfy den of some kind? A good place to make tea, or for Chef Niklas to practice his craft." It's what he knows, after all.
Post by: Tomcost on June 07, 2013, 08:39:31 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 07, 2013, 08:43:58 pm
After a moment of silence, Morton spoke up again, having thought of another idea. "Perhaps something to ward off great beasts? We are to be heading into the Sea of Death..." It only makes sense after all. He wonders why he didn't think of that in the first place.
Post by: Xantalos on June 07, 2013, 09:33:38 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 07, 2013, 11:38:52 pm
(Magical flamethrower.)(Want)
Mark sticks with the group and helps with the next fight
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 08, 2013, 02:05:25 am
"YARR! AVAST, ME HEARTIES, AND ONWARD TO FINDING THE BASTARD WHO TOOK ME ASSOCIATE'S MONEY!" comes a yell from Niklas. This is not unusual, as the smell of blood is in the air. He leads the charge at the door, enlisting the aid of Scott after he's put the screaming and dying fellow out of his misery to help out with things.
[Scott coordination roll: 3]
"Hey, you guys smash the door. I'll watch. Er, supervise."
The drunks gather round and start to ram the door to the best of their ability, which isn't very good.
[Ramming roll: 5]
However, the door was hardly built to withstand a siege and, in fact, opens inwards, so it isn't very difficult to break in.
Ah, there looks to be a whole lot of various people inside the rather opulent main room. They look slightly horrified. There are also five guards, armed similarly to the ones in the foyer. Well, one has a shield. They quickly regroup and prepare for battle.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton proposes an idea for the future development of the ship.
"Perhaps a kitchen, or a comfy den of some kind? A good place to make tea, or for Chef Niklas to practice his craft."
"Kitchen, got it."
A moment passes before another idea occurs to the butler.
"Perhaps something to ward off great beasts? We are to be heading into the Sea of Death..."
"Yeah, naturally."
"And make sure there's enough beds for the living members of the group. The undead don't sleep, after all."
"Alright. Your orders are noted, good sirs!"
"Make the deck soft as well like the one on the BCM ship. I loved that, let me tell you."
"Okay, soft deck. Cap'n?"
"Make SOME SHIELDING for the CARGO HOLD! Hahahah!"
"Huh?"
"SECURE THE DANG CARGO HOLD. Make it AIRTIGHT. I get the FEELING this may get DANGEROUS."
"Ah, okay. Let's go!"
"It seems like interior redecoration is all we do lately."
Erin and Evelyn then disappear into the deeper recesses into the ship. There is the sound of something moving and changing from within shortly.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund is a bit surprised about this information.
"Thank you, sir. By any chance, do you know where the place called the Ulubelle may be?"
"Go past me straight on for a bit, hang a left at the first intersection, then straight on until you reach a building with a statue of a naked fellow out front. That's the Ulubelle. It has a sign. Have fun."
Post by: Xantalos on June 08, 2013, 02:10:27 am
Niklas interrupts his sentence by throwing a RDS (Ridiculously Sharp Knife) at one of the guards, then leading the charge at the rest, ready to disember them.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 08, 2013, 02:10:49 am
CHARGE!
Post by: Tomcost on June 08, 2013, 08:48:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 08, 2013, 04:17:55 pm
Niklas, observing the obstacles before him, starts to speak.
"Yaharrr! Do you really think that ye wee men can-"
[Niklas vs. Guard: 1 vs. 1+2]
He throws a knife at the guard before finishing his sentence, watching as it plinks against one of the guards who doesn't even bother to dodge, then falls to the ground.
"Into the breach once more, friends!" comes a cry from Scott, who charges right at the guards! He runs at the fellows along with Niklas, ready to strike them where it hurts the most!
[Scott vs. Guard 4: 5 vs. 6+2]
[Disarm: Guard 4 vs. Scott: 6 vs. 1]
However, his stabbing attempts are stymied readily by a guard, who catches him by the arm, lifts him up from his feet, then slams him into the ground and starts to smash his arm with his club until it is rendered largely useless, snatching the knife right out of his hand when the zombie's fingers lose their integrity.
[Niklas vs. Shield Guard: 4+1-1 vs. 5+2+1]
His attempts to dismember the guard, however, are also rather fruitless, as the guy deflects his attack with a well-utilized shield, then moves to counterattack as the chef reels back.
[Disarm: Shield Guard vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 1]
Repeating the success of the other guard, this one leaps at Niklas, utilizing his shield to bash the chef forward, utilizing his foot to trip him up, stomping commandingly on his solar plexus, then beating Niklas' arm with a club until its lack of structural integrity forces him to let go of the cleaver, the guard snatching it right up immediately. As Niklas thrashes about on the ground, he accidentally lets go of Sven!
[Sven loyalty roll: 3]
Sven, stricken with momentary disbelief, just sort of meanders about the scene of the battle. Could he truly be able to escape his torment, or is cruel fate merely toying with his poor soul, holding salvation at paw's reach only to snatch it away like the jilted mistress she is?
[Drunkard Mob vs. Guards: 1 vs. 6+1]
The drunkards, seeing their buddies in trouble, run to their rescue! However, the guards are ready for this as well, showing what appears to be extremely unusual competence! After they beat the first one into a bloody mess, the other nine take a collective step back.
[Knife Throw: Guard 4 vs. Drunkard 2: 6+2-1 vs. 4]
The guard who earlier disarmed Scott aims a throw at the nearest drunkard, striking him cleanly in the thigh and causing a lot of blood to leave the fellow's body!
[Drunkard 2 endurance roll: 1]
Said drunkard then starts to scream bloody murder as what little is visible of his leg seems to wilt away rapidly together with parts of his abdomen, the rest soon following suit! The other drunkards start to take their second and third steps back.
[Guards vs. Drunkard Mob: 3+1 vs. 5]
The guards don't seem quite ready to charge at the drunkards. Possibly because they look frightened as all hell, possibly because charging blindly into a mass of people isn't the soundest decision.
[Mark helpfulness roll: 1]
Meanwhile, Mark is at a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, this bunch of hirelings just trounced his compatriots rather decisively and it would be the honorable thing to help. On the other hand, the guards aren't perceiving him as a threat yet, possibly due to the uncanny resemblance between him and an avant-garde piece of sculpture, there are five of them and one of him, they have clubs that look to be made of steel, which may be able to mangle his bones, not to mention that they look pretty keen on stealing weapons. And he likes his halberd.
In the Trade Quarter of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, having received directions, thanks the helpful man and seeks out the Ulubelle. It is likely that the others are already there, after all. However, he must brace himself for the crossroads at hand. Gotta be ready.
Gritting his teeth and remembering that his companions probably need him, not being the sharpest tools in the shed, exactly, walks the road, keeping the directions in mind. And he is rather successful! He soon finds himself at the aforementioned statue of a naked gent and a sign pointing out that this is, indeed, the Ulubelle. He goes right in.
He comes to the sight of a disemboweled woman on the floor and four dead guards spread around the ground. Deeper inside the room there appears to be a gathering of people or something.
Post by: Xantalos on June 08, 2013, 04:22:34 pm
Stab guard in the crotch with another knife, then stab him to death while bellowing a warcry to boost morale.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 08, 2013, 04:30:29 pm
"So, good captain, you know where Horizon Isle lies? I admit I only know what I was told by my compatriots, that it lays somewhere in the sea of death." Morton comments idly, looking for small talk as he watches the ship.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 08, 2013, 04:33:24 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 08, 2013, 04:54:08 pm
Sigmund saw the massacre inside, and attempted to leave the damned place. But by this time he had became used to their comrades. He cursed the name of those incompetents, grabbed a club from one of the dead guards (because it could be useful in case he didn't need to cut things open) and went inside again. But he didn't charge, he just rounded the battle and throwed one of his tomahawks to one of the guards, and then attempted to hit his club wielding arm with the other tomahawk.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 08, 2013, 06:51:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 08, 2013, 07:22:00 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 08, 2013, 07:31:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 08, 2013, 07:33:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 08, 2013, 07:35:38 pm
To ridiculous effect.))
Post by: Tomcost on June 08, 2013, 07:37:21 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 08, 2013, 09:16:15 pm
Mark before leaving the fight gives his sword to one of the drunkards
(You both are on the ground with a guard beating you)
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 09, 2013, 03:08:01 am
Niklas, figuring that nothing's lost yet, tries to stab a guard in the crotch after retrieving a knife with his non-broken arm! Fortunately, there is such a crotch within immediate reach!
[Niklas vs. Guard 3: 1 vs. 3+2-1]
As the knife hits the guard's codpiece with a clang, the guard looks down at the prone Niklas.
[Counterattack: Guard 3 vs. Niklas: 5+1 vs. 2-1]
He then set about turning Niklas' other arm into hamburger meat, an endeavor he succeeds admirably at, much to the chagrin of Niklas, who is left with zero functional arms! Niklas makes a furious warcry as he lies disabled on the ground!
[Niklas inspiration roll: 4]
The warcry, though coming from a man with two broken arms, manages to be somewhat inspiring for the drunkards, who then consider their momentary numerical superiority.
Scott, meanwhile, tries to get up and discreetly wander to the knife-throwing guard.
[Scott stealth vs. Guard perception: 2 vs. 6]
However, turns out that they didn't become guards because they're highly inattentive! Who knew? Scott tries to bite the guy anyway, though they are ready for him now!
[Scott vs. Guard 4: 5 vs. 5+2]
As he lunges for a bite, the guard kicks him in the gut, then considers his next move.
Behind the drunkard mob that's currently occupying the doorway, Sigmund jumps and takes a look at what's going on. Ah, looks like the honorable team are getting the proverbial shit kicked out of them. Better help out. But first he has to get through the mob clogging up the doorway!
[Sigmund mob navigation roll: 3]
After a good minute of trying to get through, Sigmund manages to get through despite the drunkards' best efforts! As he gets to the other side, he notices Mark leaving nonchalantly.
Little does he know that Mark is the only one here keeping the objective at heart and keeping generally chill and whatnot! The skeleton, noticing that the patrons are quickly leaving, decides to look for Gilroy among them!
Unfortunately, he spots nobody fitting the description of the captain among the ones still left. Maybe he's outside already? He assuredly couldn't have gotten far yet. Emphasis on yet. He throws his sword to one of the drunkards. Poor bastards really do need the help, he thinks.
As the skeleton searches, the drunkard mob comes to a decision! They will wait around some more, they decide. Maybe the guards will ignore them like they did Mark. Maybe they all can explain that this was all a big misunderstanding, guys.
At the same time, the guards focus on maiming Scott to the point of uselessness!
[Tripping: Guard 1 vs. Scott: 4 vs. 1]
One guard runs at him and delivers a mighty blow to the shin with his club, toppling the zombie rather easily!
[Mangling: Guard 2 vs. Scott: 4+1 vs. 6-1-1]
Another guard tries to hit Scott's leg, but results are fairly mixed, as Scott frantically tries to roll away!
[Mangling: Guard 3 vs. Scott: 1+1 vs. 1-2]
The second guard walks up to the guy and delivers a halfhearted bash to his other arm. This keeps Scott still for a bit.
[Mangling: Guard 4 vs. Scott: 1+1 vs. 4-2]
The fourth guard doesn't even bother with contributing much.
"What are you guys doing?" asks the shield guard. "That's not how you deal with a biter!"
He brandishes Niklas' cleaver.
[Maiming: Shield Guard vs. Scott: 2+2 vs. 5-2]
He plants his foot on Scott's face, forcing it to keep still, then starts to chop at his jaw. He doesn't get very far before Sigmund runs out of the drunkard mob, enacting a desperate assault!
[Throwing: Sigmund vs. Guard 1: 3+1 vs. 5+2-1]
He hurls a tomahawk at one guard, who easily sidesteps it.
"We've got more brave ones, lads," says the guard. Sigmund, feeling that this could have gone better, charges at the man!
[Sigmund vs. Guard 1: 1+1 vs. 6+2]
Sigmund runs right at the guard, though his charge is interrupted by the guard ducking right as he swings, making the vampire tumble right over him. He quickly retrieves the tomahawk that missed him from a nearby wall.
[Counterattack: Guard 1 vs. Sigmund: 6+1 vs. 4]
The guard then utilizes the tomahawk to start furiously chopping at Sigmund's tomahawk arm, not stopping until it is mostly severed, the limb limply lying on the floor in a puddle of blood.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, rather idle at the moment, chooses to ask a question of the captain.
"So, good captain, you know where Horizon Isle lies? I admit I only know what I was told by my compatriots, that it lays somewhere in the Sea of Death."
"Oh, THAT'S EASY! You SAIL along the coast to MOTHDALE, then proceed along the MYSTERIOUS ARCHIPELAGO UNTIL YOU REACH THE ISLE AT THE END OF IT. About a MONTH of SAILING, I'D SAY!"
The magical ruckus continues from within, intensifying noticeably as something dramatically shifts down there.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 09, 2013, 04:55:14 am
"Stop trying to murder him, you low born barbarians!"
Post by: Xanmyral on June 09, 2013, 05:33:20 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 09, 2013, 05:50:48 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 09, 2013, 06:16:31 am
Find and slay the con artist
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 07:51:20 am
He said, pointing right behind the guard, and with a frightened face:
-Shit, for Velusius's sake WHAT'S THAT?
And he then chopped at one of his legs.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 09, 2013, 08:10:51 am
Sigmund resorted to do what he did better: bluffing.If this works it will reaffirm that the only way to defeat a whipman trained man is to distract with words
He said, pointing right behind the guard, and with a frightened face:
-Shit, for Velusius's sake WHAT'S THAT?
And he then chopped at one of his legs.
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 08:20:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 09, 2013, 08:26:06 am
((And not fighting in the conventional way. I mean, who chops at the legs with a one handed axe?. Anyway, I lost an arm for a difference of 3 in rolls. Isn't it too much?))
That's the best thing about precise targeting - it lessens the differences needed for optimum damage.
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 08:33:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 09, 2013, 08:38:04 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 08:40:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 09, 2013, 09:28:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 09:57:48 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 09, 2013, 10:19:55 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 01:58:42 pm
Ah, thank you, my friend! By breaking my arms, you freed the pirate ghost that was possessing me. Sorry about assaulting whatever you were guarding, but those dastardly mages on that Black Council ship put a pirate ghost in my body after a conman tricked my friends and I onto their boat! Now, if you could give me back my cleaver and knives, I'll be on my way, possession free!
Diplomacy! Desperate bluffing skills!
Also, retrieve knives and search for Sven.
Retrieve cleaver from guard.
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 02:29:45 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 02:35:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 02:49:50 pm
Sigmund had lost an arm thanks to those incompetents. It was too much, there is no sense in fighting a lost battle. He put a reasonable distance between him and the guard who chopped his arm, and said:
-I quit! You win! It's enough. I mean no further harm to any of you. I know when to say that I have lost. One arm is more than enough for me. May I grab my arm, sir?
Sigmund will slowly grab his arm and look for Mark to help him sew it back.
[If Mark doesn't help or he is busy, Sigmund will go to where his companions are fighting and say:]
-Don't you know when you have lost? I don't know why you were fighting in the first place. Did these men have done something to you? We were just looking for somebody who swindled us so that we could get our money back. That was all. Why on earth did you attack this place? Don't you have at least a little bit of brain in your rotten heads? It's the last time I try to help you. Fighting is not my style, and I won't risk myself to accomplish something as unimportant as some pieces of gold.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 09, 2013, 03:37:00 pm
Scott, faced with the dire prospect of losing his jaw, tries to pray for victory and/or salvation!
As he prays, though, he feels that nobody up above really gives a rat's ass about what happens to him. Possibly because of his previous chats with the divines.
[Maiming: Shield Guard vs. Scott: 5+2 vs. 3-1]
Meanwhile, the guard with the shield removes Scott's jaw with the cleaver while whistling cheerfully, then takes it off and mounts it on a hook that he hangs on his belt. The guard then walks off as Scott gets up, noticing rather sadly that he has no weapons to stab people with. And only one arm with any use left in it. And no jaw to flap to shout warnings to people mutilating his buddies.
Mark, not really paying attention to what's happening in here, runs out to look for Rat-Bastard Gilroy.
However, outside the service entrance things don't look too good. Most of the people around have split already, possibly worried for their health, safety and anonymity. Only people left around are a bunch of somewhat worried-looking women.
Back inside, Niklas tries to bluff his way out of this perilous situation, realizing that it's better to take the coward's way out than to deprive the world of his supreme culinary mastery.
"Ah, thank you, my friend! By breaking my arms, you freed the pirate ghost that was possessing me. Sorry about assaulting whatever you were guarding, but those dastardly mages on that Black Council ship put a pirate ghost in my body after a conman tricked my friends and I onto their boat! Now, if you could give me back my cleaver and knives, I'll be on my way, possession free!"
The shield guard looks at him skeptically.
"Yeah, sure."
He takes Niklas' suitcase of knives and looks through it, taking out all the sharp, deadly blades and securing them on himself, then throwing the case onto Niklas' chest.
"Hey, he's got a whole collection of knives, guys! Look at me, I'm like some kind of master chef now!"
The other fellows note this interesting detail with some amusement. The shield guard turns back to Niklas.
"Yeah, not giving these back. You'll only hurt yourself some more. Besides, you've got no working arms."
Niklas, silently fuming, slowly gets up and looks around for Sven. Little fella's completely out of sight, though. Wonder where could he have gone.
Sigmund meanwhile, tries to back out of mortal combat with the guard.
"I quit! You win! It's enough. I mean no further harm to any of you. I know when to say that I have lost. One arm is more than enough for me. May I grab my arm, sir?"
"Actually, no."
[Guard 1 vs. Sigmund: 6+1 vs. 1-1]
The guard then chops off Sigmund's other arm nonchalantly and retrieves his other tomahawk.
"Gotta set an example, you know. Nothing personal. Not to mention that those are some nice throwing axes. Anyway, feel free to go now."
The drunkards, seeing the unfair treatment of their newly-made friends, begin their charge at the guards, possessed with a new purpose!
[Drunkard Mob vs. Guards: 1 vs. 5+1]
[Guards vs. Drunkard Mob: 4+1 vs. 2]
However, after the guards bash in a few kneecaps and after the one with the shield decapitates a particularly rowdy one with Niklas' cleaver, they start quickly backing off and dispersing. It is at that point that the shield guard notices the disemboweled corpse of the Madam of the house.
"Gods damn it all, why'd you have to do that, you assholes? Now we're not even getting paid!"
He stands, silently contemplating his wage.
"Oh well. At least got some neat weapons from these guys."
A thought then seems to overtake the man. He takes a look out of the room.
"Sweet! The other four guys are dead! Let's loot 'em! And the Madam as well."
The five guards walk out of the room, one of them grabbing the black paste-knife from the shriveled corpse of one particular drunkard. There is a bit of rustling as they efficiently search the bodies, then walk out of the building newly enriched.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 09, 2013, 03:40:23 pm
Scott will try to make his arms work again and help the others onto his feet.
If they are already up, Scott will try and persuade Mark to attach a replica Jaw. Against his better judgement.
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 03:44:59 pm
Niklas trudges back off to the ship and finds the Artiste and the mages.
I need you to kill some people for me in the most painful way possible. Do this and I'll make some more human stew for you.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 09, 2013, 03:46:31 pm
((The front page still stated I had access to the knife.:/))
Sadly, I am quite terrible at remembering to update it after every turn. Besides, you kind of got disarmed previously (then you went for a bite, I remember) and the guard took the knife, throwing it into a particular drunkard, then picking it back up as he left the premises. It's updated now, I think.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 09, 2013, 03:57:45 pm
Morton, when/upon seeing Niklas, gasps. "Oh dear! What happened to you chef Niklas? Are you quite alright?" If the others come with Niklas, he'll gasp as well seeing their state, looking them over with concern. Even Scott, because not even he deserves what happened to him, regardless of past actions inflicted upon himself by the man.
The burned butler looked to Artiste. "Is there a way to help them back to normal? Heal them?" He asked, hopeful.
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 03:59:54 pm
Sigmund will try to grab his arms and look for Mark to sew them back. in case of not being able to carry them, he will ask Mark to come and get them.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 09, 2013, 04:04:04 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 04:18:03 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 04:39:01 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 04:39:56 pm
((A sweet revenge needs good rolls. I say that we should equip ourselves. I was planning to loot the dead guards for armor. Shit))((That's why I'm recruiting our mages. I plan to make them suffer.))
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 04:45:18 pm
Spoiler: I think I know (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on June 09, 2013, 04:47:40 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 09, 2013, 04:47:52 pm
((They are not combat mages. And I doubt the Artiste wants to just go enslaving and torturing souls. Note that no one of the mages has a natural +x to their rolls. There is still another chance: who wants to use Mark's "medicine" to become an Eldritch abomination?It's only a broken arm.Spoiler: I think I know (click to show/hide)
Two broken arms. I can get a mage to fix that.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 09, 2013, 04:48:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 09, 2013, 05:10:01 pm
(Changed my action, I'm asking mark to fix my face. May the gods preserve my still living corpse.)((Check it. You wrote that Scott will try to persuade Scott))
((At Xantalos: I just said that because the abomination thing fits your character more that the others))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 09, 2013, 07:27:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 10, 2013, 03:22:32 am
As the guards leave, Scott tries to get his arms to work again!
He is pleased when he realizes he's got one fully functional arm! The other, though, is broken in far too many places to be good for much. Maybe he needs a replacement. Still, he helps Sigmund up and walks over to Mark, who appears to have come to the conclusion that the trail is cold as winter in Freezebottom. Against his better judgment, he indicates his lack of a jaw to the tree-headed skeleton.
Mark gets the message well enough, taking Scott back inside and shoving him into a seat. Ah, there's not as many bodies as he would have hoped, but he supposes that might be enough. Time for the daily body harvest.
It's too bad that the materials aren't very inspiring here. The three dead drunkards have very little in terms of teeth or reasonably nice faces, the dead guards appear to have been smashed in a great many places that make their bodies unattractive prospects as well... only thing left is the Madam. Guess he'll use her bits, then.
[Mark "medicine" roll: 4+1]
He removes the Madam's rather interesting jaw with his surgeon's tools and adds it somewhat seamlessly to Scott's face, then uses some of the proprietor's bones to replace the ones in Scott's arms. In but a few moments, Scott is perfectly serviceable again, if a bit weird-looking with that womanly jaw. Fits well enough, he guesses. Okay, next up is... aw, poor Sigmund! Look at him try to carry his arm in his teeth! It's rather cute, Mark thinks. He goes over to the vampire, pats him on the back and forces him to take a seat as he tries to make it all better.
[Mark "medicine" roll: 6+1]
As he takes a look at Sigmund's arms, an idea arrives in his foliage-covered head. Sure, he could do things the easy way. Sewing the arm back on? Eh, that's nothing. It's gruntwork, like what he did for Scott. Not artistic, one might say. Mark gives Sigmund a sidelong glance as he quickly retrieves the rope belt of one of the drunkards and silently runs over to Scott, throwing a loop around him and securing him around the chair he sits in by the legs. Then he takes another bit of rope and ties the fellow down by the gut. Can't have him try to run away, after all. With the subject secured, Mark sets to work. First he removes the arms of the three drunkards on the ground, then their heads - one was already conveniently decapitated, fortunately. He then picks up the arm of the Madam he hasn't de-boned yet and the least broken of the guard's arms, fixing the latter with bits he scavenged from the rest of the place. Finally, he also removes the heads of the three dead guards. Sigmund uneasily wiggles in his tightly wound ropes as he realizes that whatever's about to happen, it's unlikely to be good for the mind.
Mark then sits down in front of Sigmund. It's better to let the subject see the process, after all. And boy, does Sigmund see more than what he bargained for. Mark begins attaching arm to arm, slicing and perfecting the seams until you hardly know that they're there. Eventually he's prepared two branching, fleshy arms, utilizing the fattest drunkard's arms as a base to which he can attach the other ones - some at the bicep, some at the elbow, some at the forearm. When those are ready, he goes about the final step, wherein he begins attaching the removed heads to the arms, making sure to keep up a reasonable degree of seamlessness.
At the end of it, Mark shows to Sigmund the result of his work - the heads are now attached to the arms, resembling ripe, horrified apples on a tree. When he's allowed Sigmund a moment to appreciate the work, he attaches the arms to his stumps rather easily, then unties Sigmund.
Sigmund is pretty sure that he can fully control these things - every last bit of them, including the heads. It feels incredibly weird. Not to mention that their brains appear to work as well, which somewhat disturbs Sigmund. It's almost as if there's six other people in there with him, though their thoughts aren't very intense.
Sigmund now has Flesh Apple-Tree Arms!
Unfortunately, Niklas is not here to appreciate Mark's work, as he has gone off to the shrieking ship, broken arms and disappointed rage in tow.
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
As he stands and considers the path ahead, Morton looks back a moment. After all, that's what you're supposed to do to appreciate how far you've come.
What he sees, though, is Niklas coming his way in a dejected fashion, his arms hanging limply, his weaponry missing, his only friend having abandoned him. He is a humiliated man, but far from defeated. As he approaches the ship, Morton attains a partial understanding of the man's misfortune, and that is almost enough to make him cry. Though that's only because he isn't sure his tear ducts actually work.
"Oh dear! What happened to you, chef Niklas? Are you quite alright?"
Well, he clearly isn't, so it's not even all that relevant that Niklas says nothing. He approaches the Artiste.
"I need you to kill some people for me in the most painful way possible. Do this and I'll make some more human stew for you."
"Human stew sounds good, buddy! Who do you need dead, then?"
"Is there a way to help him back to normal? Heal him?"
"Sure, I guess. Not a problem. Just ask Erin."
"Ah, REVENGE! Quite the FINE MOTIVATOR, if I MAY SAY SO MYSELF!"
Down below there is yet another extremely loud magical discharge as the ship trembles briefly. A moment later, Erin, still glowing brightly, walks out of the ship, followed closely by Evelyn.
"Right, then, got mosta yer requests down, now for the ship weaponry. What kind would ya prefer? I'm familiar with a few. I swear, the best part about studyin' transmutation is all the engineering courses."
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 03:30:46 am
Fix my arms.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 10, 2013, 04:30:06 am
Mark gets any spare unused arms and takes them back to the boat to fix Niklas up with
motioning for the others to follow him as he walks and looks for fishing shops on the way
Post by: Innsmothe on June 10, 2013, 05:26:37 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 06:30:59 am
Sigmund will see if the guards forgot to loot something of the bodies, then follow Mark to the ship, and ask Erin to fix him back to normal.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 10, 2013, 06:49:49 am
((Why it had to be me?))because someone had to satisfy my MAD DOCTOR URGES and you know you wanted it
Sigmund will see if the guards forgot to loot something of the bodies, then follow Mark to the ship, and ask Erin to fix him back to normal.
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 08:23:35 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 10, 2013, 08:30:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 08:37:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 10, 2013, 08:41:26 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 10:42:44 am
Morton pondered weapons for the ship, trying to think of some... He admits he's not well versed in large weaponry. "A ballista perhaps?" It was the best he could offer. When Niklas finishes with his business with Erin, he'll ask, "Is there any way I can help, Chef Niklas?"
Post by: miauw62 on June 10, 2013, 11:18:40 am
Kevin nods approvingly at Morton's idea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 10, 2013, 12:36:57 pm
Niklas, determined to prepare himself for revenge, marches up to Erin.
"Fix my arms."
Erin looks at him.
"Man, those look pretty broken. Let's see."
[Erin magic roll: 5+2]
One wave of Erin's hand later, Niklas' arms rapidly twist back into their proper shape! Then they twist out of it again. They appear to have become unusually wiry and whip-like, though still firm when Niklas feels like it. Pretty weird.
"I love havin' the power. So, weapons?"
Morton ponders this issue.
"A ballista, perhaps?"
Kevin, hearing Morton's words, begins to nod frantically. He likes the idea for some reason.
"Well, alright. A ballista's what you get, then!"
[Erin magic roll: 2+2]
A rather humble ballista grows out of the deck at Erin's beckoning, looming menacingly over the railing.
"Wait, does anybody actually know how to use siege weaponry here?"
Silence falls on the assembled group. A short while later the captain speaks up.
"I can TELEKINETICALLY DIRECT PROJECTILES. Does THAT count?"
"I guess we'll see, eh?"
Morton, now free of his brain-trust obligations, turns his attention to Niklas.
"Is there any way I can help, Chef Niklas?"
Niklas, however, remains stoically silent.
Back at the Ulubelle...
Scott, after seeing what happened to his buddy, gives Mark a firm, thankful handshake before going to look around for any sign of the fabled Herbert.
Looking outside, he realizes nobody's around. What he also realizes is that this was probably a prime hangout for Herbert and his entire stinking breed back when the proprietress wasn't brutally murdered and when there wasn't extreme violence going on in the main room.
Meanwhile, Mark quickly harvests the rest of the arms - can't let good material go to waste, after all - then leads Sigmund, currently a bit put off by his extreme makeover, back to the shrieking ship.
He is disappointed to find out that Niklas is already fixed. And even more disappointed when Sigmund walks up to Erin, pulling back his cloak and showing his arms to her.
"Holy crap, what happened to yer arms? I mean, that's some good workmanship on 'em, almost couldn't tell a lifemage didn't do it, but damn!"
"I'd rather not speak of it. Please, turn them back to normal."
"Normal, eh? Well, I guess I might as well."
[Erin magic roll: 5+2]
"... or I could do something else instead. Something better!"
Erin concentrates on Sigmund's branching arms, the fleshy appendages beginning to twist and change! The heads and branches are absorbed into the twisting flesh of the arms, resulting in a rather pronounced lengthening of the whole thing. By the end of the process, Sigmund's arms are once again completely different! They look to be of normal thickness, though now they sport a more unified skin shade, not to mention that all the branches and heads are gone. Now he's got arms about about as long as twice his total body length! They also appear to be far more segmented, with six joints on each arm.
"And here we go! Y'can even fold them up to make 'em appear... well, sorta normal. Anyway, have fun!"
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 12:40:19 pm
It turns out that the guards at a restaurant the scammer was at were far better at fighting than most. I don't mind being beat by them, they're certainly worthy opponents, but they
took.
My.
Knives.
For that I will skin them alive and feed their faces to my cat in front of them. I need you to help me do that.
Post by: miauw62 on June 10, 2013, 12:46:56 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 12:54:44 pm
Morton looked at the ballista from afar. "Mage Erin, how fares the ship? I can only guess things are going exquisitely well." The undead butler said, optimistically.
Listening to Niklas, he asked a question. "Would these guards be back at the restaurant? Perhaps we can ask for them back? Might be worth a try." Surly they can be reasoned with, perhaps with some tea.
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 12:57:06 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 01:00:56 pm
[So I got a plan formulating in my head... It requires tea, death-paste, the Captain, and a whole lotta luck and bluffing. Who wants to hear it?]
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 01:06:24 pm
Niklas tilted his head to show his curiosity.
What is this plan of yours?
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 01:07:56 pm
Sigmund moved his arms and tried to bend them in a way they could pass as normal ones.
He then said to Erin:
-Thanks, I think.
And then, hearing Niklas talk about revenge, he told to the rest of the group:
-Don't you realize that we were almost killed by triying to take out armored guards with kitchen utensils? Are you suicides or what? Maybe undeath had removed the self-preservation instinct from you, but that's not my case. I lost my arms just because I tried to help you. I'm going to tell you one thing: the next time, I won't be there. I don't fight lost battles.
And then moved towards Mark:
-Don't EVER put a hand on me again.
((I love elaborated plans, so, tell us))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 01:24:48 pm
Morton smiled. He's not usually one for devious plans but... He's not a fan of his friends (or close proximate, in some cases) being hurt either. "Now, what I'm thinking Chef Niklas, is that if I can get the good captain's help, I'll try to pose as a 'possession expert,' or well, rather, someone who works for one. Spin a good tale about how I've been tracking some possibly possessed items, and how they slowly tend to warp one's mind as they hold them." Morton said, implying the knives. "I can say I've been trying to track down a certain man who holds said items," with that he nods towards Niklas, "and say he was last seen in their establishment. I'd ask them if they'd seen you, and if so if you left any items behind perhaps, never specifically mention the knives but hint to them. Talk about how they drive the user more and more mad the longer they are in possession of them, until the spirit takes them over body and mind unless grievous harm is suffered, or the knives removed. With the good Captain's help, I'd appreciate it if he were to aid in the convincing, maybe with something subtle, or less subtle as he wishes." Morton explained in his typical optimistic tone.
After a moment's pause to regain his train of thought, he continued. "From there, I'd attempt to get the guards to hand over the knives, say something about me having a special container for them to prevent mischief on the spirit's part. You did say you wished them dead though, didn't you Chef Niklas? Well, I suppose I can brew some tea and use some of that nasty black paste I believe Sir Scott still has in his possession. A toast on a crisis averted, as it were. I'd drink mine first, after all the paste won't affect me I believe. I've already died." Morton explained with a shrug, smiling at the end of it.
Post by: miauw62 on June 10, 2013, 01:29:51 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 01:30:53 pm
I can always come back later and burn the town to the ground later. Just get the knives back, if you can. The cleaver too. I'll have to look for Sven.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 01:33:04 pm
Morton nodded. "I'll give it my best attempt Chef Niklas." With that, he turns to Erin. "Would the kitchen in the ship perhaps be finished, good mage Erin?"
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 01:35:41 pm
-I didn't know you were such a strategist, sir. I'm afraid that I misjudged you, I thought that you were a mere butler without ambition. I have to say that your plan sounds good, but there is a flaw I can detect: you need to be in these people's home to perform this, it seems. But maybe that can be solved saying that you need to make an exorcism or something simmilar and bring them here, where we will prepare an ambush, just in case.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 01:41:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 01:48:50 pm
-I'm pleased to know that there is still somebody who uses his brain here. I will see how can I organize an ambush. Hmm, that ballista could be of help. And the jester could use the black paste you mentioned to make deadlier bolts. And, well, we have a team of mages also. I'll see if I can arm ourselves.
He then goes to Erin:
-Would you care to make a kind of weapon useful against armor for us? The incident in the tavern left us quite vulnerable. I don't know, a kind of spear, maybe?
((I like where this is going))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 01:57:53 pm
"If things go well, we may not need weapons. However, on that note, Sir Sigmund, do you know where I can perhaps locate Sir Scott? The paste would be much easier to hide in the tea if lanced during its inception, rather than before the fact. I do hope Sir Scott has forgiven me of my previous outbursts though, and my subsequent ignoring of him..." The butler spoke, almost regretfully at the end. "As for good performer Kevin, if he's willing, perhaps he could be the possession expert himself? I've learned that he is a man of many talents and faces, I'm sure such would be a marvelously easy task for one such as himself."
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 02:05:16 pm
-I think that he didn't leave the tavern. I can't really recall what was he doing. Back on the revenge plan, I think that you could be the expert, as Kevin doesn't have any particular means to communicate his thoughts. Or maybe Art would be willing to do so. He's a necromancer after all, he can probably use his technical knowledge to impress the guards and make them agree to come.
((The good thing about an empty past is that you can fill it with whatever you want))
Post by: miauw62 on June 10, 2013, 02:08:45 pm
Hearing Sigmund's mention of his bow and bolts, Kevin points to his empty quiver. The transmuter vaporized them all.
When Sigmund mentions his lack of speech, he nods yet again, albeit less frantically. During his life he learned many, often quite hilarious skills, but for acting he would likely need the ability to speak. Intimidation would still work, tough.
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 02:15:43 pm
Sigmund noticed Keving pointing at his empty quiver:
-So, you are lacking bolts. Well, that can be solved later. It's the easiest of the problems we have now. We can buy them later.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 10, 2013, 02:20:25 pm
"...Why not just use the ballista to burn the entire Quarter to the ground? We can always search the rubble for valuables...such as knives."
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 02:28:33 pm
-Because your ideas left us without arms and you with a woman's jaw in your face.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 02:29:08 pm
After Scott's fortuitous appearance however, Morton was much happier. "Well, Sir Scott, with the utmost respect I fear that such a plan might get more than we bargain for after us. Such plans might also be quite time-consuming, both the fire setting and the obtaining of the knives." The butler hesitantly explained, before quickly adding, "That would be a marvelous back up plan though." He hopes he won't have to act on those false words.
[I don't even want to imagine how horrible it will be to try and put this conversation in order. The update might wind up two posts long.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 10, 2013, 02:58:32 pm
[I don't even want to imagine how horrible it will be to try and put this conversation in order. The update might wind up two posts long.
I'm not sure it's strictly necessary to repeat the whole thing, though I will if you guys want me to. It's not like there's any precedent in this game for people sitting down and actually planning something in this RTD. Mostly it's just people storming off on their own or in pairs to their own little adventures, experiencing gross bodily trauma and reconstruction that they survive, then promptly dying horribly to something completely stupid in an anticlimactic fashion when it all goes wrong.
Though admittedly it will make the dialogue flow better if I organize it in one piece.
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 03:03:57 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 10, 2013, 04:00:25 pm
He will shake Mortons hand, as well as handing over the paste.
"At least you are polite about the rejection of my 'plan'."
He will look deep in thought for a moment.
"Well, how about getting some of the pitch from the shipyard and making some fire bombs? Perfect for an ambush. There were a few books on such tactics in my library."
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 04:07:49 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 04:10:26 pm
It's more the same here too with me as it is with Tomcost, I think we've buried Harry in enough talky-talk for this round. Responses will be up next turn.]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 10, 2013, 05:03:32 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 05:04:55 pm
I love this game.)
Post by: Tomcost on June 10, 2013, 05:07:11 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 05:54:15 pm
I've a theory that this is why no one has killed the Whipman/Whipman-like characters, they require different tactics.]
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 06:04:39 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 06:10:42 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 06:13:41 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 06:20:56 pm
We can probably rig something akin to that though, maybe. Personally, I'm curious as to if the sludge is flammable, and if so if the smoke works as a minor airborne version of itself. We need to get more of this stuff, as chances are the rest of it is going to be used up with this. Too bad its a several hour trip back to the mansion, by then we'd need to leave.]
Post by: Xantalos on June 10, 2013, 06:25:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 10, 2013, 06:30:21 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 10, 2013, 07:29:25 pm
The plan is good Mark helps in any way possible
Post by: miauw62 on June 11, 2013, 12:57:29 am
[Question would be how to turn Scott into such. I mean, the sludge was made by taking some kind of tree's bark and boiling it. Knowing this game, it might not of even been a tree's bark, it could of... Been... Dammit, Morton boiled those Death Mushrooms, didn't he?]((Kevin collected the bark that you then boiled into tea, IIRC.))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 01:04:42 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 11, 2013, 01:10:04 am
((also I had the mental picture that on the boat trip we will be fishing before Niklas screams out from below "GET BACK HERE" with everyone sighing and Mark facepalming as a human attempts to escape from Niklas soup making "Skills"))
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 07:08:48 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 11, 2013, 07:28:11 am
((I have a better solution to the guard's luck: throw them to the sea. Heavy armor=can't swim))((I have a plan someone roughs up the victims and then they see me nearby on the edge of the jetty selling medical attention while they are distracted by my medicine the others can sneak up and push them in))
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 07:31:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 11, 2013, 08:04:58 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 11, 2013, 08:28:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 11, 2013, 09:02:15 am
Niklas coughs out of politeness, then starts to explain his predicament to the Artiste.
"It turns out that the guards at a restaurant the scammer was at were far better at fighting than most. I don't mind being beat by them, they're certainly worthy opponents, but they took. My. Knives. For that I will skin them alive and feed their faces to my cat in front of them. I need you to help me do that."
"Oh, sure. I can help with that."
Morton, meanwhile, examines the ballista. It looks to be functional, if not particularly special in any way.
"Mage Erin, how fares the ship? I can only guess things are going exquisitely well."
"Yeah, they actually are! Cargo hold's shielded, kitchen's done, as is the den, and now y've got a ballista."
Sigmund once again changed in what may or may not be a positive way, takes a moment to thank Erin.
"Thanks, I think."
"You're most welcome, buddy."
"Would these guards be back at the restaurant? Perhaps we can ask for them back? Might be worth a try."
"I tried. Bluffed that I was possessed by a pirate ghost. Bastard let me go, took my knives, and called himself a 'master chef or something'. Said I'd hurt myself with my knives and cleaver. Must. Kill."
Sigmund, listening to Niklas' burning lust for revenge, feels that he must make his opinion clear on the matter.
"Don't you realize that we were almost killed by trying to take out armored guards with kitchen utensils? Are you suicides or what? Maybe undeath had removed the self-preservation instinct from you, but that's not my case. I lost my arms just because I tried to help you. I'm going to tell you one thing: the next time, I won't be there. I don't fight lost battles."
The group stands silent for a bit before Morton speaks up, casting a sidelong glance at the Captain.
"Said you were possessed by a pirate ghost?" he asks with a measure of intrigue in his voice, then pauses.
"Perhaps we can prove to them you were... Or at least, the knives are. If the captain is willing to lend a hand that is."
"Let's hear THE PLAN, then!"
Morton obliges him, and the group listens intently as he details his plan of deception, guile, not a small measure of ingenuity and, of course, pirate ghosts. After a nice round of discussing said plan, hammering out certain details and dismissing the newly-arrived Scott as subtly as possible, the group has really got something going there.
During the negotiations, Sigmund steps over to the intently listening Erin for a moment.
"Would you care to make a kind of weapon useful against armor for us? The incident in the tavern left us quite vulnerable. I don't know, a kind of spear, maybe?"
"Sure, why not."
[Erin magic roll: 6+2]
She outstretches her hand, and the air from a rather wide area above suddenly solidifies as she squeezes it into a fist, forming a rather interesting-looking guisarme that falls out of the sky momentarily, landing in Erin's hands. She inspects it for a moment, then hands it to Sigmund.
Its shaft looks to be made of the same material as the hull of the ship, and the head incorporates both a very sharp spike as well as a rather nasty-looking hook right next to it.
"Hope that works! But I gotta split now, crew quarters are waitin'!" says the transmuter, walking down below decks with Evelyn, at which point the sound of magicking resumes.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Artiste's entourage express their feelings about the plan.
"I could PROBABLY help you! AFTER ALL, there is ABSOLUTELY NO DANGER to me in HELPING YOU. Not that I FEAR DANGER, HAHAHAHAHAH!"
"Seems like a reasonable idea."
"I don't think I'll be volunteering as an exorcist, though. Sounds like it'd get really ugly for me if things went wrong. I'm pretty squishy, don't you know."
On a wet and miserable plain...
Darren realizes that he is alone once more. Luckily, he can fix that fairly easily. On with the golem creation!
[Animate Construct roll: 6]
Forcing his will upon the wet and miserable soil, Darren makes it rise and perform his bidding, forming a vague, though doubtlessly articulate elemental shape ready for his elaborate puppetry! He is no longer alone!
Well, he still is, actually. But at least he doesn't look alone anymore. It's an important distinction. Even though the golem radiates a sense of wetness and misery that resonates well with the surrounding area, it may resemble a person if it tried. And he can make it try if he wants to! Sky's the limit, really.
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 09:42:26 am
-Now I'm ready. Who wants to man the ballista? Maybe Niklas could help with that? Considering that the guards already know about him. About me, well, on the other hand, I should be the backup reinforcement in case things go wrong. But that leaves us the problem of who will be the exorcist.
He then turned to Morton:
-Do you think you could elaborate a convincent lie? Maybe Art could help you with that. But, as far as things go, it seems that you will be the exorcist.
((These are the different plans we have. I ordered them from the less risky to the most risky))
Spoiler: Plans (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 10:03:00 am
Morton turned to the three who responded, first he nodded the Captain. "Any aid rendered would be most appreciated good captain." He then turned to Artiste. "I thank you for your praise Master Artiste, if you like I think we can arrange you a good viewing spot of where the plan will go down from afar." Lastly, the burned butler turned to Art, nodding once more. "Understandable mage Art, if you don't wish to put yourself in harms way we won't force you. I thank you for considering the offer however."
Morton smiled at the mage, then looked to Sigmund. "I can certainly try, I'm indeed hoping that Art would help me with making something of a convincing tale as well, as I'm afraid I don't much know of such things. Also, how many guards were there?" Question asked, he turned once more to the mage, he continued. "If you could help me with such, it would be greatly thanked. I'm not entirely as to the details of such, or what would at least sound accurate. I'd just be posing as an assistant however, so thankfully I wouldn't need knowledge of all matters pertaining to it, just those that a true exorcist would tell their assistant."
Once all the chatting is done, Morton will survey the area around the ship for a likely spot the event can go down in, either a building or alley way that could be in view of the ballista.
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 10:10:06 am
-They were five of them, all in mail armor and armed with clubs. But, after our defeat there, they now have Niklas' knives, my two tomahawks, I mean axes, and a knife Scott smeared with that black paste. They appear to not care about life, as after seeing some of their comrades dead, they only thoought in looting them.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 10:13:41 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 11, 2013, 10:37:26 am
Scott shall ask the captain for a boarding-axe, a harpoon and whether or not there is a barrel of pitch on board.
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 11:21:00 am
-Because we can burn, but neither of us needs to breathe, so we can safely hold then underwater, By seting fire things we can hurt ourselves or destroy the ship. It's better to use things we can control.
Post by: miauw62 on June 11, 2013, 12:04:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 12:12:07 pm
Sigmund moves away from everyone else and practices using his arms as springs to rapidly stab people with his Guisarme from distance.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 01:27:39 pm
((Water flasks? Are you gonna pull a Whipman on them?))[...Possibly. I mean, it just needs to touch them. First idea is to get them to drink it, but if that doesn't work, well... There's always a backup.]
Post by: Innsmothe on June 11, 2013, 01:45:34 pm
Sigmund replied to Scott:But that leaves us open to direct attack, setting a building on fire doesn't
-Because we can burn, but neither of us needs to breathe, so we can safely hold then underwater, By seting fire things we can hurt ourselves or destroy the ship. It's better to use things we can control.
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 01:59:08 pm
-Have you ever tried to swing a weapon underwater? Not only it renders blunt weapons useless, but is also removes most of the efficiency of slashing ones. Besides that, when I spoke of holding them, I meant to throw them, actually. If they are still wearing those armors, there is no chance for them to get out before they run out of breath. Maybe we can collapse some part of the port, or just tell our ghostly friend to push them. It's easier and more subtle that setting a building on flame.
((Are we discussing in character, or just elaborating plans?))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 02:23:27 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 02:27:34 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 11, 2013, 02:31:56 pm
Sigmund was getting impatient. Pyromaniacs tended to end their own lives as fast as they did with others. He replied to Scott, his voice showing his lack of patience:((Former))
-Have you ever tried to swing a weapon underwater? Not only it renders blunt weapons useless, but is also removes most of the efficiency of slashing ones. Besides that, when I spoke of holding them, I meant to throw them, actually. If they are still wearing those armors, there is no chance for them to get out before they run out of breath. Maybe we can collapse some part of the port, or just tell our ghostly friend to push them. It's easier and more subtle that setting a building on flame.
((Are we discussing in character, or just elaborating plans?))
"I meant before they enter the water, during the whole attempt to lure them. They could easily find...heck, smell us and chop us to bits before you could say...'Hey, wanna go for a swim?'"
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 02:50:25 pm
-That makes sense, I have to admit it. On the other hand, we can just ask the captain to help us in that. It is a nice alternative to consider, though. If you manage to make a sort of device able to set them on fire without reducing us to ashes, we could put that in practice. Otherwise, I'd rather not risk ourselves or the ship. And, well, about your smell, just have a bath, it won't hurt you.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 03:18:55 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 03:31:27 pm
-So, we have the means to start a fire, but for what I see we lack both the means to spread it to those bastards, and to control it, it seems. While I don't know what can we use to do the first one, we can use the abundancy of water in the sea for the second.
He then turned o Scott:
So, Scott, would you like to go find a kind of flammable substance? As you were the one who had the idea, I guess that you already have any ideas about what can be used for that, right?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 11, 2013, 03:43:08 pm
"I do insist that if fire is to be used, we must take caution around it. I'd rather not have my second chance taken away from me in such a fate. I can thoroughly promise you, you feel it for much longer than people lead you to believe." Morton said darkly, going back to counting water flasks and scouting the surroundings.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 11, 2013, 04:14:12 pm
Finally there were good news, Sigmund thought. He said to Morton:Either Pitch or naphtha.
-So, we have the means to start a fire, but for what I see we lack both the means to spread it to those bastards, and to control it, it seems. While I don't know what can we use to do the first one, we can use the abundancy of water in the sea for the second.
He then turned o Scott:
So, Scott, would you like to go find a kind of flammable substance? As you were the one who had the idea, I guess that you already have any ideas about what can be used for that, right?
Pitch is common, as it is used to caulk up ships. Naphtha is a bit rarer, as it comes from deep wells that rarely reach the surface.
Put a load of either in a clay jay and put in a rag. You just need to light the rag and throw it and you'll end up with a fire that water cannot put out unless it's a constant or overwhelming source.
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 04:25:04 pm
-I see. If pitch is so common, you probably shouldn't find any inconvenient in finding some of it, right?
((I'm delegating a task to you))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 11, 2013, 04:40:30 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 11, 2013, 04:49:37 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 11, 2013, 05:10:13 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 11, 2013, 05:47:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 11, 2013, 08:15:01 pm
Well, I can't help with the revenge plot so I'll go look for my cat.
Go off in search of Sven! Stay out of sight of the guards.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 12, 2013, 01:45:14 am
As Morton exchanges vaguely planning-related pleasantries with the Artiste, captain and Art, Sigmund, ready for action, rejoins the planning committee.
"Any aid rendered would be most appreciated, good captain," Morton says, turning to the Artiste momentarily. "I thank you for your praise, Master Artiste, if you like I think we can arrange you a good viewing spot of where the plan will go down from afar."
"Ooh, sounds like a wonderful idea."
Lastly, the burned butler turns to Art, nodding once more. "Understandable, mage Art, if you don't wish to put yourself in harm's way we won't force you. I thank you for considering the offer however."
"Ī could probably help some other way if you want to, though. Just not in a way that has a reasonable chance of rendering me into paste."
Feeling that they're presumably done with the back-and-forth, Sigmund slides into the conversation.
"Now I'm ready. Who wants to man the ballista? Maybe Niklas could help with that? Considering that the guards already know about him. About me, well, on the other hand, I should be the backup reinforcement in case things go wrong. But that leaves us the problem of who will be the exorcist."
"I can certainly try, I'm indeed hoping that Art would help me with making something of a convincing tale as well, as I'm afraid I don't much know of such things. Also, how many guards were there?"
"Do you think you could elaborate a convincente lie? Maybe Art could help you with that. But, as far as things go, it seems that you will be the exorcist."
Morton turns to Art, eager to seek out some input.
"If you could help me with such, it would be greatly thanked. I'm not entirely as to the details of such, or what would at least sound accurate. I'd just be posing as an assistant however, so thankfully I wouldn't need knowledge of all matters pertaining to it, just those that a true exorcist would tell their assistant."
"Remember - souls are like any stuff. They come, they go, they sometimes become ghosts. The only difference is what they're tied to - ectoplasm, objects, human bodies. So yeah, it's pretty simple in theory. Say lots of things about how you sense soul energies and how the ley lines cross at this particular spot, all that good stuff. You don't have to know what you're talking about - most exorcists don't, let alone their assistants. Most of the time they deliberately build up this mystique around them despite being essentially pest exterminators with an easier job of things. After all, rats become poison-resistant. Remnant souls don't become magic-resistant. The job is essentially finding the soul, then pulling it out like a painful tooth. Rest is just fluff."
Sigmund and Morton nod, then Sigmund explains more about the guards.
"They were five of them, all in mail armor and armed with clubs. But, after our defeat there, they now have Niklas' knives, my two tomahawks, I mean axes, and a knife Scott smeared with that black paste. They appear to not care about life, as after seeing some of their comrades dead, they only thought in looting them."
"Boy, they sure sound like nice people."
"TRUE MEN OF ENTERPRISE! The MOST DANGEROUS KIND OF MEN! Luckily, you CAN MATCH THEM! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
"Five, thank you, Sir Sigmund. If things go well, their armaments won't rather matter."
Scott has a thought.
"And why are my plans among the most risky? Surely luring them to a large enough body of water to drown them in is more risky than burning whatever building they are inhabitating at the time. By the way, captain, do you have any pitch in a barrel?"
"Not SURE. I certainly have MYSTERY SLUDGE. EVEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS! You might FIND SOME if you LOOK! Perhaps some PITCH as WELL!"
"How about a boarding axe?"
"POSSIBLY! Also not SURE! If there is, IT MIGHT BE TERRIBLY RUSTY. Just a WARNING."
"A harpoon, perhaps?"
"YES! That we DO INDEED HAVE. I was CONSIDERING a career in WHALING, you see. So I HAVE SEVERAL. I TELEKINETICALLY FISH WITH THEM OCCASIONALLY to KEEP MY SKILLS UP. They're in the CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS, so you can BORROW them. Not PERMANENTLY, mind you. I'll be EXPECTING THEM BACK!"
Having found this out, Scott briefly engages in a discussion with Sigmund over the perks of open aquatic warfare versus sneaky pyromania. They come to the conclusion that pyromania may be a viable solution after all, provided the user isn't a bloody lunatic who'll kill everyone. Sigmund then goes off to practice with his weapon.
After practicing his moves for a bit, he can safely say one thing - if he keeps most of his ridiculous extendo-arms under his cloak, most people certainly wouldn't see the spear coming when he uses it. Well, provided they don't know he's a freak of nature who can do things like that. He even practices an innocuous defensive look that will serve him well in such a case.
Man, he'd like to see that guard's face if he tries that.
During Sigmund's practice session Morton looks for a good setting for an exorcism. Unfortunately, there's only two sorts of things around the port - obviously occupied houses and closed stores. Some of them have windows, though. And there's no suspicious alley's - they pack the houses tightly around these parts. Must be prime real estate.
Mark, seeing an opportunity here... looks for some fishing stores. As night falls on the town, he exits the ship and searches the area.
Hm, no fishing stores that he can see, at least not in this neighborhood. Perhaps it's because fishing is done differently around here, Mark thinks. Oh well. He heads back on the ship and familiarizes himself with the ballista's operation.
He realizes that to get any sort of decent firing rate on this thing, he needs a team. He also needs a team because he can't make heads or tails of how to aim the damn thing. Or how to properly load it, for that matter. This is not helped by the lack of any ammo in sight.
Niklas, having silently watched the plotting of revenge, supposes he isn't particularly needed here.
"Well, I can't help with the revenge plot so I'll go look for my cat."
And thus he journeys off the ship and out to search for Sven. Now, it's probably unlikely that he'd be in the Ulubelle. Perhaps he's gone back to where he was forcibly abducted from? Cats are reasonably good navigators, after all. To this end, Niklas heads back to the tree in the woods where he got his buddy. However, he isn't here. Despite this, Niklas thinks he's got something. Sven can't be far, he supposes.
On a wet and miserable plain...
Darren, having created a friend from dirt, contemplates the possibility of improving it somewhat.
He probably could make it bigger, though that might have additional consequences. After all, he is moving the entire thing with careful telekinesis. It isn't actually alive, though he likes to think it is. It's a nice rush you feel when you think you create life, after all.
Post by: Xantalos on June 12, 2013, 01:48:40 am
*meow*
*meow*
Make cat noises to lure him out of hiding. Search for him.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 12, 2013, 02:26:31 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 12, 2013, 06:08:51 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 12, 2013, 06:58:30 am
convincente((Damn, I hate when two languages collide. And I was too lazy to search for the word in a dictionary. I meant to write convincing))
Sigmund will ask the Artiste for a gold coin to buy bolts for Kevin and go with him to look for a shop where he can buy some.
Post by: miauw62 on June 12, 2013, 08:56:12 am
Mark goes over to get the transmuter and shows her the ballista asking for some guiding help on using it and if she could make a sight((Inb4 rubber ballista))
Kevin walks up to the ballista nd sees if he can figure out how to fire this thing.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 12, 2013, 03:38:42 pm
Morton nodded at Art's explanation. "I thank you good mage Art, I shall keep that in mind when the time comes." The undead said thanking him. Later, after looking around the surroundings, the undead sighed. "It doesn't look to be any good spots that I can see around to stage the event. Bother." The butler said to no one in particular. Unless they plan on breaking into a house, which would render the ballista not as useful he would figure, he's not sure of where to host such a thing... Either way, he can work on something concrete however, that he can do right away. "If anyone requires me, I shall be in the kitchen making the concoction." It shouldn't be too hard to find the kitchen, no? Maybe... He's pretty sure.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 12, 2013, 04:24:58 pm
Niklas, not on his first outing as a hunter of the wilds (and cats as well), tries to sound off the call of the noble wandering feline to hopefully attract some that he can promptly enslave for his nefarious purposes.
[Cat call roll: 6]
"Hmm. *meow* *meow*."
When that doesn't work, he tries the mating call instead, assuming the roll of a fetching cat in a certain level of distress and only one cure for it! In moments, cats appear from the nearby area and run at Niklas! However, he doesn't see Sven among them. How strange. He should be around here somewhere, Niklas is sure of it.
The cats, meanwhile, look at him confusedly, then search for their distressed damsel.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott heads off to the captain's quarters and fetches five harpoons. These will presumably be useful. Now to find a barrel of pitch.
Skipping to the place most likely to contain some, he goes down to the cargo hold. It's certainly changed a lot, he finds - it's no longer a hold, actually. More like a vault, really. A really, really secure-looking vault. Fortunately, there's still a barrel of mystery sludge down there! Scott takes a look at it.
Yeah, that isn't pitch. He doesn't know what it is, but isn't pitch. At least not anymore.
Mark, meanwhile, looks for Erin. Moments later he realizes that he has no idea where she is. And since Erin's currently changing the ship, he might end up changed as well if he goes down there. He could become trapped at best and turned into furniture at worst. And who wants that, really? So he'll just stay put until she's done. Not like there's a real hurry to get this ballista sorted out, anyway. If he's lucky, the others will start getting things actually done in a day at best.
For instance, Sigmund is currently performing bolt shopping in Kevin's name. He asks the Artiste for a gold coin, and the master kindly hands it over. It is then that he walks off to look for a bolt shop. Or some sort of weapon shop that'd be open, he doesn't know.
After about twenty minutes of walking off on his own, he finds himself in the Center of Shriekpot. Damn it all.
[Will roll: 1]
Damn it all to hell.
Back in better places, Kevin is performing an interesting bit of empirical research as he tries to divine the workings of the humble ballista.
Well, he supposes it's rather like a crossbow. And he knows how a crossbow works. You lift it up...
[Strength roll: 5-2]
Like so. Well, Kevin's only lifting one side. But the point remains: now you fire it! If you had ammo.
[Endurance roll: 4]
And your arms didn't seem like they're about to crumble from trying with all your might to lift a ballista. Kevin wisely puts it down in a moment. Hm, perhaps a different strategy is in order.
Morton nods upon hearing the explanation from Art on the subtle mysteries of exorcism.
"I thank you, good mage Art, I shall keep that in mind when the time comes."
"Oh, sure. Not a problem. Have to use my experience somewhere, you know?"
Next thing on the agenda - express heightened level of bother over lack of suitable geography.
"It doesn't look to be any good spots that I can see around to stage the event. Bother."
Done! Now to do something useful.
"If anyone requires me, I shall be in the kitchen making the concoction," he says, going down into the deeper recesses of the ship. It's certainly gotten quite a makeover. Why, one might call it cozy now, if not luxurious. Hardly the ghost-ridden wreck it was a few hours ago. And there's even a set of helpful signs pointing him to the kitchen! Morton follows them, eventually finding himself in some sort of interesting room that contains quite a few very comfy-looking chairs arranged around what looks like a somewhat large coffee table. All of the furniture looks to have grown out of the floor organically rather than formed individually, which gives the entire place a bit of an alien look. Particularly strange is the fact that lighting within the ship is achieved through what look like light orange luminescent streaks on the walls, ceiling and floor. It gives the place a strange atmosphere in addition to all the organic-looking stuff. Not to mention that Morton is pretty sure that that's a very complex ornament up on what is most certainly a domed ceiling to this room.
In fact, the luminescent streaks look alive, in a way. Almost like they're breathing. But Morton has no time to consider the implications of this. He heads into the kitchen, which is right next to the den, which he assumes is what the sitting place is. Going into the kitchen, he finds that it is similarly lit as well as designed, except it's strange cooking equipment growing out of the floor rather than anything else. There's even some tools around, which also seem to have been grown out of the same material as the other things.
Upon checking his flasks, Morton realizes he has five in total. Plenty for a sizable amount of tea, at any rate.
Post by: Xantalos on June 12, 2013, 04:37:55 pm
Attempt to convince the cats to follow me so we can go find the female cat, who has been catnapped by evil guards!
((I just had the best idea. Can any of our mages turn humans into other animals?))
Post by: Tomcost on June 12, 2013, 05:26:21 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 12, 2013, 07:28:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 12, 2013, 08:02:31 pm
Finding the closest approximate to an oven, or heat source, or something akin, he gets to heating the spring water, an amount he thinks will approximately fill the flasks and no more. He'll start his tea making magic then, adding the necrotic sludge into the tea in small amounts over the process while stirring the tea to ensure proper dilution.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 13, 2013, 01:45:17 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 13, 2013, 02:09:49 am
((Historically, ballistae were also used to throw large stones. :]))
If time, he will try to locate a pitch barrel sitting outside the ship.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 13, 2013, 05:46:34 am
Niklas tries to somehow convey the concept of kidnapping and rescue to the assuredly non-chivalrous cats surrounding him!
[Animal Empathy roll: 1-2]
He finds that he is utterly incapable of communicating anything meaningful to the cats aside from a dead-on impersonation of a cat soliciting sex and random meowing. The cats, somewhat creeped out by this step forwards in interspecies relations, quickly vacate the scene.
At the center of Shriekpot...
Sigmund tries to compose himself and try to get over this personal crisis.
[Will roll: 6]
Fortunately, he remembers how to deal with crossroads. Close your eyes and move along until the problem is solved. Though he bumps into a wall, he eventually finds his way to a straight street. Now to find Gunther Gunnarson's shop.
He does indeed find it! Gunther appears to be currently packing his stuff in for the night.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Back at the ballista, Mark resumes his attempt to decipher the siege engine's method of operation together with the equally perplexed Kevin. Together they are the skeletal siege team!
Cooperation really does make the entire thing work better, as the two of them can both comfortably lift the ballista and even load it! If they had ammo, that is. But they can prime it at least! And then fire it a few times, which results in absolutely nothing happening. But the string makes a nice twanging sound when they do that, so it's all good. They then aim it at a nearby building and proceed to imagine the carnage that would result. It's glorious.
Meanwhile, Scott disappointedly shakes his head. The ballista, sadly, is too small to launch an entire barrel of disgusting sludge. He'll probably have to use something else. Better look for a barrel of pitch around the area.
He finds several barrels on the dock, though he can't really tell if any have pitch in them - some sound empty, others are full, yet tightly sealed. Guess they don't want whatever's in them exposed to the elements and thieves. How unwise of them.
In the kitchen of the ghost ship...
Morton, rather put off by the new look of the ship, sets about his lethal cookery. Time to make some deadly poison, he thinks. And for this, he'll need to sacrifice his dearest possession. Evil works best in those cases, after all. So he steps over to what he guesses is a stove of some kind and sets about making tea with the paste.
[Teamaking roll: 2+1]
Though the tea is undoubtedly nice with the spring water, Morton finds that adding the paste makes the entire thing a bit thick. Less thick than the paste initially, but becoming thicker with heat. It's an interesting reaction, Morton finds. But it is unlikely that what he has obtained is likely to be confused with tea. Some sort of sandwich spread, yes, but not tea. He also isn't sure how the dilution and the thickening from heating has affected the necrotizing properties, but it is unlikely to have had a positive effect. Mind you, it should do something, it's just a question of how well.
On a wet and miserable plain...
Darren, determined to escape the incredibly depressing surrounding landscape, begins to cruise down the strip while humming a tune from a bygone part of his unlife. He picks a direction and sticks to it, cruising for several hours until he notices something in the distance. Looks like a village of some kind - a set of wooden buildings encircled by a wooden palisade, and the entire thing seems to be located right next to an oddly-shaped river valley on an equally odd hill. The snaking river appears to have gone around the hill, meaning that the hill is surrounded by water from three sides.
From this distance, Darren can see some people fishing in the river and smoke coming from several houses, and the sound of a group of people singing from beyond the palisade.
Looks like he's found civilization.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 13, 2013, 05:56:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 13, 2013, 06:26:19 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 13, 2013, 07:08:48 am
-Are you closing? Would you care to attend to one last customer?
[If affirmative]
-My friend is really happy with those tomahawks I bought here, so happy that he wants to take me in a hunting trip with him! Unfortunately, I have no weapon of any sort, but he was to kind to lend me his crossbow. Sadly, he doesn't have any bolts left. Do you sell crossbow bolts?
Post by: miauw62 on June 13, 2013, 07:33:19 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 13, 2013, 08:32:50 am
Kevin, noticing that him and tree-head share at least some intrests, goes along with Mark.((hey want some !!FUN!! I'm sure we can find something to splice with you))
Post by: miauw62 on June 13, 2013, 08:52:12 am
((Kevin does not approve.))Kevin, noticing that him and tree-head share at least some intrests, goes along with Mark.((hey want some !!FUN!! I'm sure we can find something to splice with you))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 13, 2013, 09:51:59 am
Scott, assuming that the barrels on the pier do indeed contain pitch, goes to look for some clay jars, preferably ones he can seal, to create more weapons for the glorious war effort.
Unfortunately, none are around that he can see. Looks like people keep their jars pretty secure in this town. Scott may require to get crafty.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark puts down the ballista, letting it rest on the deck, then goes off to look for some fun things to launch with it. Kevin, interested in the procurement of ammo for this nifty new toy himself, joins the tree-headed monster-thing. Together they quest for goods!
To this end, they wander into town and look for a good place that bolts or something are kept. Once they reach an adequately fortified-looking tower, they pronounce it to be an armory and try to break in. They get a reasonable amount of the way through assessing the door's durability when the head of an elderly woman pokes out of the tower's third floor window.
"Ah. Strange people at my door. Better reward them." she says in a complete deadpan tone. The head then disappears back into the tower window.
At Gunther Gunnarson's stand...
Sigmund approaches the all-purpose smith and hawker to pester him for a few bolts.
"Are you closing? Would you care to attend to one last customer?"
Gunther, up to that moment completely at peace, seems to come alive.
"Certainly! You've come to the right place once again. I am glad. How can I help you?"
"My friend is really happy with those tomahawks I bought here, so happy that he wants to take me in a hunting trip with him! Unfortunately, I have no weapon of any sort, but he was so kind as to lend me his crossbow. Sadly, he doesn't have any bolts left. Do you sell crossbow bolts?"
"Yes. Sadly, though, my selection of them is at a bit of a low point lately, though I've still got perfectly serviceable ones around - they'll punch through most things you might want to hit on an animal without issue, and they are the choice of many hunters in the area - one copper per twenty bolts, a very low price for the quality you get, I would say!"
He produces a pack with 100 bolts in it and places it on a white sheet.
Post by: Tomcost on June 13, 2013, 10:06:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 13, 2013, 10:12:45 am
((Harry, how many copper coins do I have? Because I'm really cheap and I don't want to use the gold coin, hehe))
Three. Luckily, you did not get mugged by the guards for anything but your weapons.
Post by: Tomcost on June 13, 2013, 10:22:34 am
Sigmund saw a really good opportunity in this trade, so he replied to Gunther:
-1 copper per twenty bolts? Give me sixty, then. I don't think that I'm going to use all of them, but, well, I can't ignore this offer.
Sigmund then goes back to the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on June 13, 2013, 11:43:48 am
Go into a random building that isn't in the Trade Quarter and head for the kitchen.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 13, 2013, 12:56:03 pm
If the prince is unaccommodating, Scott shall go to the raided in to find some suitable glassware.
Post by: Tomcost on June 13, 2013, 12:57:44 pm
Scott shall ask the Artiste for one of HIS OWN gold coins and go find a potter, buying several sealable clay jars.((You know that clay was used because glass was expensive, right? We razed a tavern, there should be some bottles there))
Post by: miauw62 on June 13, 2013, 12:58:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 13, 2013, 04:31:40 pm
"Curious. ...Almost reminds me of the... Surely not, it was bark I put in that water, right?" Morton mused to himself, something he's finding himself do more and more, as he looked at his creation, grabbing a spoon(or a butter+/knife if it is indeed that thick) approximate and getting a small spoonful of it. He looked it over closely, the texture, consistency, appearance, even smell. With a bit of hesitation, he touched the sample, getting a bit and rubbing it between his fingers. "Most unusual." He then tastes it, because why not?
"If heat seems to thicken it, perhaps I can make it thinner then with the cold..." The burned undead examines his supplies to see if he has enough to make a possible second batch, even if just a small amount. He mentally sighed, he should of done a small test batch first instead of going whole-hog. Live and learn though.
[EDIT: Better expanded upon what I was saying. So... We got a large petre dish of death spores, who wants some? I admit, I thought about smearing it on hands to go "dead hands" on them, but probably not the brightest. Problem is, if the spores are growing... They'd be less deadly, because I bet they're only dangerous in their spore form.
Unless I'm waaaaaaaay off the mark, which is utterly possible honestly. This seems the most plausible to me though.]
Post by: killerhellhound on June 13, 2013, 07:24:16 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 14, 2013, 08:03:54 am
Sigmund, seeing an opportunity for some cheap bolts, affirms his willingness to spend ill-gotten gains to purchase ammunition.
"1 copper per twenty bolts? Give me sixty, then. I don't think that I'm going to use all of them, but, well, I can't ignore this offer."
"Naturally! Sixty bolts, here we go."
He separates sixty bolts from the quiver and wraps them up in the standard Gunnarson parcel, handing it to Sigmund and taking three coppers as payment. Sigmund thanks the man and goes back to the ship as Gunther resumes the packing up of his stall.
Sigmund returns back to the ship, finding that the Artiste and the captain are still conversing as Erin appears to be slowly transmuting the mast into the same material that the hull is made of.
"... but isn't THAT a bit of a ROUNDABOUT WAY of going about it?"
"Certainly, but such is the way of bureaucracy. They're clever buggers, you see."
"... I NEVER WAS ONE for the BUREAUCRATIC SONG-AND-DANCE!"
Also among the returning people is Scott, who is having trouble with finding clay jars and requires gold to grease the wheels of supply in order to match the demand.
"Could I have some of MY OWN MONEY to purchase clay jars in order to execute proper pyromaniac warfare?"
The Artiste stops conversing with the captain for a moment and looks at Scott.
"Sure. Have one. Not like we'll need money where we're going."
He presses a single gold coin in Scott's hand which he retrieves from the box. Scott takes the coin and heads out to town, searching for a potter.
None of those around, though. At least none that are open at this hour. Hm, perform breaking and entering or go pick apart the Ulubelle?
In the woods outside of Shriekpot...
Niklas shrugs at the loss of the cats, then heads back into town, looking for a random building to invade.
He finds a rather large warehouse in the port area and walks right in. He looks for a kitchen for a while, but realizes that there really isn't one. It's a warehouse, after all. Also, he's pretty sure he heard something move right behind him, an ever so light step he can't help but find a bit familiar. He looks back, noticing a shadowy silhouette disappearing behind a tall wall of boxes.
At a tower in Shriekpot...
Kevin looks at Mark uncertainly, unsure about what one should do in such a situation. Mark, however, has a plan. He knocks on the tower. The woman pokes her head out of the tower as Mark begins an interpretive dance asking for clarification, but the woman says nothing. She merely drops a large bag out of the window on the ground. It lands pretty softly, and looks to be secured with a rope.
In the kitchen of the ghost ship...
Morton begins to muse aloud once again as he inspects the strange stuff he just made.
"Curious. Almost reminds me of the... surely not, it was bark I put in that water, right?"
He takes a spoon and plunges it into the mixture. It looks to be of a tar-like consistency, and it flows extremely slowly. Also, it appears to have a peculiar texture, most certainly not what one would expect of tea. It is an extremely dark reddish-brown in color, and smells a little bit like... mold, he thinks. Though there's something else as well. With that out of the way, he rubs a bit of the stuff through his fingers. It appears to provide more resistance the harder he presses it, and there's a slight feeling of it crumbling as he rubs it between his fingers. Also, it leaves a stain that is nothing short of awful.
"Most unusual."
He then licks his fingers. They taste awful, with a hint of terrible. Some of it is probably due to the goo.
"If heat seems to thicken it, perhaps I can make it thinner then with the cold..."
As he muses, he consults his tea-making supplies, coming to the conclusion that he has enough spring water to make about one more full pitcher of tea. The same cannot be said of the paste, which he has run out of. As for the actual tea leaves, there's plenty of those. More than one person could probably hope to drink in two months unless they were some sort of tea-crazed lunatic.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 14, 2013, 08:39:13 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 14, 2013, 08:41:33 am
And Morton is just one such tea-crazed lunatic, but for now he sighs and looks at the goo-tea. He doesn't know how to test it without someone alive, but is afraid for what might happen so would be loathe to test it, but the lives of his friends might depend on it working... Morton ponders as he searches around the kitchen for ice, or anything he could use to cool the substance, as well as a smaller pot. If a smaller pot is obtained, he'd scoop out some of the team goo into said pot and try to cool it down if such a measure is found. "Have to get this to work..."
Post by: Tomcost on June 14, 2013, 09:30:50 am
-Master, I bought these bolts for our skeletal friend, but it seems that he is around here at the moment. Would you be so kind to give them to him in case I'm not present? I would be more that grateful if you agree.
Then he will go back to the ship and look for Morton:
-So, how is the poisoned tea going?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 14, 2013, 09:57:45 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 14, 2013, 10:13:56 am
-We should see if we could get more of that paste. You don't know what it was, right? Maybe we can do some experiments. See, I have this mushroom that I took off Mark when he was infected. It's Deathcap. It's spores supposedly cause people's lungs to explode, and it grows with just heat. Seeing that Mark got this in the same place Kevind found that "bark", it could be poissible that, in fact, this was the thing that got boiled and transformed in that black paste.
Post by: miauw62 on June 14, 2013, 10:34:32 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 14, 2013, 11:50:32 am
Ninja chef.
With a mighty Viking roar he turned around and sent the crates crumbling down!
Push the crates over onto the sunuvabitch!
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 14, 2013, 05:21:12 pm
Scott, figuring that he's too lazy to go loot the Ulubelle, tries to perform a daring burglary on the potter's shop.
[Burglary roll: 2]
Hm, there's a locked door and a few glass windows. One is locked and made of wood while the other is unopenable and made of glass. And Scott doesn't like glass - it makes such a nasty noise when it breaks. Also, he might cut himself if he breaks that.
In the kitchen of the ghost ship...
Morton, a plan lodged in his head like an arrow from the nation's top marksman, looks in the kitchen for some sort of ice source. After a moment of searching, he notices the letters "ICEBOX" in glowing yellow on a container. Nice. He looks inside.
It's certainly full of ice. Dry ice.
"Have to get this to work..."
He retrieves a smaller pot and grabs a handful of dry ice, then throws it in before the frost burns get him too bad. At that point, he takes the spoon and starts to scoop some of the sandwich spread into the new pot. Upon contact with the dry ice, the mixture doesn't seem visibly affected - it shrinks a little bit, but otherwise it's quite alright.
Just then, Sigmund, having unloaded his bolts, comes to visit Morton in the kitchen.
"So, how is the poisoned tea going?"
"The results are intriguing, but not of the helpful variety sadly. It turned out to be less tea, more of a sandwich spread, seems heat caused the paste to thicken instead of properly dilute. You can look at the mixture for yourself, I believe it to still possibly be harmful but I'm afraid I can't verify if it would be on the same level as the paste. We could serve them sandwiches I suppose, or find another use for it. I'm looking for a way to cool down a portion of it, to test to see if I can get it to thin a bit perhaps. If I had more of the paste, I could try again with a cold tea brewing, but sadly such isn't the case."
Morton looks at the cooling paste with a measure of intrigue.
"We should see if we could get more of that paste. You don't know what it was, right? Maybe we can do some experiments. See, I have this mushroom that I took off Mark when he was infected. It's Deathcap. Its spores supposedly cause people's lungs to explode, and it grows with just heat. Seeing that Mark got this in the same place Kevin found that "bark", it could be possible that, in fact, this was the thing that got boiled and transformed in that black paste."
Hm. The mystery deepens!
At a tower in Shriekpot...
Kevin, noticing the bag as Mark keeps trying to dance his way into knowledge, goes up and unfastens it, taking a look inside. Perhaps there's treasure.
What he gets, however, is a few tons of force right in the kisser coming from within the bag as the whole thing explodes suddenly.
[Kevin endurance roll: 2]
Kevin is blasted backward, flying off and landing in a broken heap, his skeletal structure direly disrupted! It's a bit tough to move. Also, he's pretty much fractured and broken all over.
[Mark endurance roll: 6+1]
Mark, meanwhile, seems to be having fun with his dance routine as Kevin suffers terribly.
In a warehouse by the docks...
Niklas knows that step.
He also knows how to counter it.
[Crate mayhem roll: 4+1]
He begins to push crates around, causing a massive toppling all around the warehouse! He actually hears something get hit in the commotion! There's a bit of a snapping sound. A-hah!
Now, if only he knew where it came from. He's got a vague direction, but little else.
Post by: Xantalos on June 14, 2013, 05:34:37 pm
Then, after about 30 seconds of this (punctuate it with taunting) whirl around and punch directly behind me where the ninja has undoubtedly been sneaking up! Use the properties of my arms to make one of them wrap around his throat and the other one does the facepunching.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 14, 2013, 05:43:07 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 01:40:37 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 15, 2013, 02:19:52 am
((Should give hima +1 circumstance bonus right? :P))
Post by: miauw62 on June 15, 2013, 03:14:29 am
Post by: TopHat on June 15, 2013, 03:15:55 am
Scott will try and force the door open with his shoulder, with the force directed on the side with the lock.((a +1 has the same chance of something bad happening (counting ones and 6s as 'bad') as a +0 or -1))
((Should give hima +1 circumstance bonus right? :P))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 15, 2013, 04:19:23 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 15, 2013, 05:33:30 am
((A six would work, might break a few things though >.>))((well if you break anything I'm here with knives and a burning need to !!DOCTOR!!))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 15, 2013, 05:41:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 15, 2013, 05:58:50 am
Niklas starts to move crates like a frenzied dockworker to find his quarry!
Interestingly enough, he finds a skeleton in peasant rags with a snapped leg underneath some crates. Looks pretty dead to him. Hm. Or maybe...
He punches right behind him at the empty air! Hm. That's strange. He would have expected...
Hm, yes. He would have expected. Indeed.
At a tower in Shriekpot...
Mark smiles at the completely ruined Kevin on the ground. Internally. Externally, he's still the good old foliage-covered, emotionless violator of all that is sacred. He helps Kevin to his feet.
[Kevin walking ability roll: 5]
Fortunately enough, the jester's upper body seems to have taken the brunt of the force, so his legs are merely fractured all over rather than completely broken. The same cannot be said of his arms or ribcage, though. Or his face. But hey! He can fix that!
Hey, where's Kevin going? He looks to be running from something. Hey, danger's over, mate! You're alright! Soon to be better!
Eh, they all run, Mark guesses. He can fix the weakness of the flesh, but he cannot fix weakness of the mind. Speaking of, better go to the local ritual store.
Walking down the street, he notices a building giving off a more than vaguely unholy vibe. Looks like his sort of place! He strolls right in.
Looks like his intuition was right! The inside of the store is a vaguely fleshy room with no windows. It appears to breathe visibly, and it is rather hot and humid in here. There is but a single counter that resembles a resting annelid, and a rather lumpy, pulsing man of indeterminate age and rather short height is standing behind it. As the man notices Mark, he leaps across the counter and is right next to him in half a second. He slurps for a moment, then speaks.
"Greetings, sir! You have the look of a discriminating customer about you! May I be the first to welcome you to Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders! I am Joyous Hanford. How may I help you?"
He observes Mark for a moment.
"Ah. You don't look like you have a mouth. I understand - they're rather superfluous most of the time. Better to let your deeds speak for you, eh? Well, here you go. Trace your needs on this."
He hands Mark a pulsing, writhing lump of flesh.
"Flatten it and write with your finger - to erase things, crush it and let it reform. Nifty, eh? I call it the Informative Metatablet! Each one made of the screaming, writhing flesh of an unsuspecting drunkard donating his body to science! You can find this and more in my humble store!"
In less troubling places, Kevin quickly makes his way back to the ship, theatrically making a sigh of relief despite not being able to breathe.
In the kitchen of the ghost ship...
As Morton processes the information on the deathshroom, he keeps on working.
"Hm, Death Mushroom? And Mark... the tree-headed skeleton, yes? I knew I saw some similarities there. Are you sure it was a mushroom, though? I thought I handled bark... could it be bark infested with this mushroom's spores? I could try boiling the mushroom to see if I could make more if you wish, or we could try adding the mushroom to the current mixture to see if anything occurs."
He gazes at the cooling and shrinking mixture.
"Hm... The dry ice doesn't seem to be thinning it, indeed, it just shrinks it. Perhaps if I diluted it with more water..."
He fishes out bits of the dry ice with a rag, putting it on a nearby counter, then starts adding some nearby water to the mixture. It does seem to thin the whole thing rather nicely at first, but then Morton realizes that it's basically a giant clump he's stirring around in there.
At a potter's shop...
Scott decides upon a plan of action. Rather than break the window, he shall break the door! They won't be expecting that, he thinks.
[Strength roll: 2+1+1]
Applying his shoulder to the door with a reasonable amount of force, he finds that it breaks the lock rather decently. It does, however, make a bit of noise.
Nobody seems to have reacted much, though. Good.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 15, 2013, 07:03:03 am
Scott shall examine the wares for small open topped clay jars with muslin cloth stretched over the opening... and take them.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 15, 2013, 07:40:56 am
((Yay! ^.^ *glomps RNG*))Mark looks in wander this is his sort of place
Scott shall examine the wares for small open topped clay jars with muslin cloth stretched over the opening... and take them.
then getting to work he writes the ritual tools he needs on the metatablet then asks about any interesting body parts the store has
Post by: miauw62 on June 15, 2013, 08:04:42 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 15, 2013, 08:09:29 am
Kevin, still panicking at the tought of his bones being reformed into shapless lumps of flesh, hurries down into the ship, trying to not fall down the stairs without the balance his arms give him, looking for the transmuter.((why does no one want my help :'( also I only made one monster ... that your character knows about))
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 09:12:11 am
Sigmund saw Morton's unseccessful experiments with the paste, and had an idea:
-If we are going to experiment with this mushroom, we are going o need more of it, and I know how to make more. But I'm going o need a safe place where the mushroom can live without killing everybody. We can't die, but, as Mark got infected with this, the Artiste ordered him to stay at a prudent distance from him, as our master and the mages are vulnerable to it's spores.
Sigmund will look for an abandoned house in the city
EDIT:
Sigmund thought for a couple seconds and then said:
-I suppose that, as the Yaleson house is not occupied now we can use it to experiment there. Would you go with me?
Post by: miauw62 on June 15, 2013, 09:13:54 am
((And that was a guy with 3 heads for an arm.))Kevin, still panicking at the tought of his bones being reformed into shapless lumps of flesh, hurries down into the ship, trying to not fall down the stairs without the balance his arms give him, looking for the transmuter.((why does no one want my help :'( also I only made one monster ... that your character knows about))
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 09:50:50 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 11:54:19 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 12:09:46 pm
-Don't worry, with that thing you have to lit fires, it will be enough. This mushroom grows really fast.
((Take the initiative, please))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 12:20:22 pm
Morton nodded, leaving the ship with Sigmund presumably following. "So Sir Sigmund... You mentioned that you couldn't die? How is that, are you not unlike the mages? You still seem alive by all counts, although those arms were a dreadful sight... Although, I wouldn't quite say I can't die good sir, I'd wager I'm still very much mortal, if just a bit hardier than I used to be in the ring of shrugging off one's mortal coil."
Assuming he sees injured Kevin on his trip off the ship though... "Oh dear! Good Jester Kevin, what happened to you? Do you require aid--Of course you do, let me help you stand. Sir Sigmund, please help us find good Mage Erin, she should be able to fix him up."
If he doesn't find injured Kevin, or sees Kevin in non-injured state, trek back to Yaleson Manor.
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 12:38:41 pm
-I thought that you were already aware of what I am because of my pale skin and my fear of the sun. I'm a vampire, Morton. I'm as undead as you, excluding the rotting part. When I mentioned that I can't die, I just meant that my soul won't leave my body if my lungs explode, as I need them as much as you do. I don't think that there is such things as immortal beings in this world, besides the Five, and the demons. I've been discussing with the Artiste about if he can die, and the truth is that he indeed does. But, with the difference of us, his soul will not go to the Afterlife, and we will be tied to him until he agrees to set us free.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 01:01:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 01:19:11 pm
-Does being a bloodsucking parasite seem glamorous to you? Does being unable to withstand direct sunlight seem glamorous? I don't know where you heard that, but, actually, it's quite pathetic. But it's actually more pathetic that there are vampires who actually think to be cool to drink other people's blood. I have avoided it when possible. After all, blood seems to be an abundant byproduct of slughterhouses, and my former masters could acquire it without issues.
[Almost forgot: if Sigmund sees kevin, he will give him the bolts]
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 02:16:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 15, 2013, 05:21:01 pm
Scott, having successfully infiltrated the lair of the elusive clay pots, looks for some small jars for his purposes.
Though there are indeed some clay jars of an appropriate size around, they lack any muslin cloth. Possibly because muslin cloth is viewed in some parts of the world as heresy, not to mention too much of a fire hazard to leave just lying about. These jars have nice lids, though, and there's a set of four displayed in the main room of the store.
At Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders...
Mark, looking over the interesting decor of the place, flattens the Metatablet and begins to trace his needs on it.
Let's see... he needed something to write with, surgical tools, restraints and a bad attitude. The surgical tools he has already obtained, and a bad attitude he has never lost. So that leaves a writing implement and restraints. He writes the requests down, noting how the bits where he places the finger bulge suddenly, the spot filling with blood to the point of almost bursting. After the creepy-looking text is finished, Mark shows it to Joyous Hanford.
"Hm, restraints are what you want? And a writing implement? Well, those are easy!"
He plunges his hand into one of the walls and the entire store suddenly spasms, but then the shopkeeper whispers something gently to the wall while caressing it with his other hand, and the room slowly relaxes. In moments, the man produces a handful of what look like strange leeches. Most are blood red, two are putrid green. The two latter ones are also far larger than the others.
"The small red ones in my hand, those are Special Writing Companions, and they produce a substance so closely resembling ink, you will never want to question its true nature! Depending on how much blood you feed them, the more the better, naturally, the ink can even become more magically effective - perfect for spellbooks, charms and curses! Tried and true thesis, and I should know. I made several flesh-bound spellbooks with these cute little fellows. I will part with one of these fine little children for five coppers, because the magicality of the ink may open new horizons for any that grow to experience its power. Alternately, if you need something for communication purposes, you may purchase the Informative Metatablet for only 20 coppers!"
"As for our large and green friends, they are known as Happy-Happies. They're extremely fun for both pranks and when you really want that test subject to stand still - attach the Happy-Happy to an area around a major blood vessel and you are in business! The Happy-Happy, you see, introduces his own brand of chemicals into the subject's bloodstream that prevent them from feeling anything but abject bliss and contentment even as he gorges himself on their delicious blood, though it's in reasonable quantities, naturally. Don't want your subject expiring, after all. You don't even need straps for a patient if you've got the Happy-Happy - most people will simply lie about without a thought in their minds, not a single thought of resistance! Only 25 coppers for this beauty, or a gold coin if you're a high roller! Or if these two offers do not pique your interest, I have other, more expensive alternatives for both self-enhancement and achieving other goals! You see, I like to think of this as a pet store of sorts, except far more useful. And cuter too! Yes, you are!"
As he tickles one of the Happy-Happies and makes cooing noises, Mark considers the offer.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, hoping and praying that he is at last safe, looks for Erin. Fortunately, she's still here, working at the ship's design. In fact, she looks to be considering her next move. No time like the present. He runs up to Erin, but hears the voice of the Artiste before he can do much of anything.
"Skeletal fellow! Kevin! I have sixty bolts that appear to be addressed to you with love from our dear friend Sigmund!"
Ooh, bolts. And no hands to properly load them into his crossbow.
In the kitchen of the shrieking ship...
Deeper within the ship, Sigmund is carving plans for further testing as Morton dabbles in alchemy.
"If we are going to experiment with this mushroom, we are going to need more of it, and I know how to make more. But I'm going to need a safe place where the mushroom can live without killing everybody. We can't die, but, as Mark got infected with this, the Artiste ordered him to stay at a prudent distance from him, as our master and the mages are vulnerable to its spores."
He considers a mental list of safe places that he can think of, and only one place springs to mind.
"I suppose that, as the Yaleson house is not occupied now we can use it to experiment there. Would you go with me?"
"A sensible suggestion, Sir Sigmund, if we have more of the paste we can reattempt. Just give me a moment to pack everything up, if you would," he says, placing the dry ice back into the cleverly-labeled ICEBOX, then putting away his direly troubling mixtures. Placing all the stuff he actually wants to keep in the backpack, including the pot of possibly-necrotizing sandwich spread, which he wisely covers before putting it in his to-be-used-later goods section. He also dumps the result of the cooling gone awry into what looks like a disposal hole, making sure that any poor soul trying to eat it at this point would probably deserve what they get anyway.
"Right, ready when you are, Sir Sigmund. If we're going for that trip, might it not be best to go find some of the wild variety however? We could do both however, thinking on it."
"Don't worry, with that thing you have to light fires, it will be enough. This mushroom grows really fast."
Morton leads the way as they pass through the halls of the ship, which still look a bit strange with the luminescent streaks along the walls..
"So, Sir Sigmund... you mentioned that you couldn't die? How is that, are you not unlike the mages? You still seem alive by all counts, although those arms were a dreadful sight... Although, I wouldn't quite say I can't die good sir, I'd wager I'm still very much mortal, if just a bit hardier than I used to be in the ring of shrugging off one's mortal coil."
"I thought that you were already aware of what I am because of my pale skin and my fear of the sun. I'm a vampire, Morton. I'm as undead as you, excluding the rotting part. When I mentioned that I can't die, I just meant that my soul won't leave my body if my lungs explode, as I need them as much as you do. I don't think that there is such things as immortal beings in this world, besides the Five, and the demons. I've been discussing with the Artiste about if he can die, and the truth is that he indeed does. But, with the difference of us, his soul will not go to the Afterlife, and we will be tied to him until he agrees to set us free."
"A vampire, you say? I'm afraid I can't say I'm much familiar with those, outside of knowing of them. Yes, you do quite have a point, I doubt losing some lungs would do much to kill us, although I've the feeling fire or cranial blows might be of a different story, at least going by tales you hear. What's it like being a vampire, Sir Sigmund? As glamorous as I've heard?"
Ah, the classic question.
"Does being a bloodsucking parasite seem glamorous to you? Does being unable to withstand direct sunlight seem glamorous? I don't know where you heard that, but, actually, it's quite pathetic. But it's actually more pathetic that there are vampires who actually think to be cool to drink other people's blood. I have avoided it when possible. After all, blood seems to be an abundant byproduct of slaughterhouses, and my former masters could acquire it without issues."
Silly blood-superstition always ticks Sigmund off. He's had blood. It's not that good. And not like he needs it. Particularly human blood. Why, the very thought is repulsive. He can't even remember if he's ever had any in his unlife.
"I'm afraid not, Sir Sigmund, that does indeed sound rather dreadful. But it must not be entirely horrible, can it? You do not rot, and you're even passable as alive, I didn't recognize you as a fellow second-chancer. One must always look to the bright side when they can, I believe, no matter how horrible the chips may be down."
They would converse more, but they have reached the deck. And the broken visage of Kevin.
"Oh dear! Good Jester Kevin, what happened to you? Do you require aid- of course you do, let me help you stand. Sir Sigmund, please help us find good Mage Erin, she should be able to fix him up."
He looks over to his left, seeing Erin right next to him. Perhaps it was a bit too early to involve Sir Sigmund in this.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 15, 2013, 05:27:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 15, 2013, 06:18:32 pm
-At least you didn't let Mark to put a hand on you. It denotes that you have some self respect left. Luckily, with somebody as good at transmuting as Erin, no physical impairment can be permanent.
He then turned to Erin, just in case she didn't notice Kevin:
-It seems that we have another injured here. It appears that we aren't having good luck today.
And then turned back to Morton:
-Shall we continue with our little trip? As you were saying, well, yes, everything has a bright side, as wel as a dark one. The sun is my main impairment, but I have issues with other things, too.
((Auto me to go to the house and carefully prepare a place for the mushroom to grow. And don't let Morton kill it))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 06:54:33 pm
"As we shall, Kevin is in the best hands available. Of course there are dark sides to things, one cannot have the light without the shadow after all, but it is to not let the shadows rule you, and to always harken to the light. At least, that's what I've always been told. But other issues? What more could be terrible as an impairment from something as incandescent as the sun?"
When/If Kevin is well and fine again, Morton will make a comment to him. "You're free to join us good Jester Kevin, we're heading to the Yaleson Manor to try and find more of the paste. Good Sir Sigmund believes it to have originated from Death Mushrooms." The burned butler explained.
If Kevin answers to go with them, or to stay, or if Kevin is not well enough to travel yet, Morton will continue along towards Yaleson Manor.
Post by: Xantalos on June 15, 2013, 07:28:40 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 15, 2013, 09:28:37 pm
(also I nominate Mark for most competent living character)
Post by: Xantalos on June 15, 2013, 09:32:10 pm
Mark writes on the tablet one tablet two writing slugs and one restraint slug please(Competent for only an interpretation of the word.)
(also I nominate Mark for most competent living character)
Post by: Xanmyral on June 15, 2013, 09:38:08 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 16, 2013, 12:27:16 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 12:28:45 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 16, 2013, 01:31:53 am
getting my legs eaten while saving a friend from that fate
getting launched twice with little damage
launched through a building then got up dusted myself off and speared the bitch who did it
hang glided off a flying house with a friend
leaping onto a flying octopus and killing it then turning it into a dress
making a sanity breaking face on a friend
fell up some stairs
meet a demon then got others soulbound to him
broke out of a magic dream with nothing but willpower
got soul-o-vision
guilt tripping the WHIPMAN with paper
nearly got my soul ripped in half
got covered in death mushrooms
and thats all that sticks out
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 16, 2013, 04:37:21 am
Scott grabs the four clay jars and heads back to the pier, whereupon he goes about unsealing one of the barrels.
[Strength roll: 6+1]
After punching a hole in the top of the barrel, Scott comes to the conclusion that this is a barrel of sauerkraut. He punches a hole in another one. Full of oranges. A third is filled with apples. Damn it, stupid useless barrels.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, looking at the shattered wreck that is Kevin, tries to illuminate a bright side to the whole thing.
"At least you didn't let Mark to put a hand on you. It denotes that you have some self respect left. Luckily, with somebody as good at transmuting as Erin, no physical impairment can be permanent."
He approaches Erin, who seems a tad busy figuring something out.
"It seems that we have another injured here. It appears that we aren't having good luck today."
"Indeed, good Mage Erin, could you please fix our friend good Jester Kevin here? We'd be most appreciative and in your debt more than we already are," Morton pitches in.
"In a bit. Gotta think."
She then makes an odd face as she gesticulates at the mast.
[Erin magic roll: 1+2-1-1]
The mast promptly shrinks and becomes a vaguely curly giant hair, the sail having disappeared altogether.
"Damn it!"
Sigmund, realizing that perhaps now is not the time, turns back to Morton.
"Shall we continue with our little trip? As you were saying, well, yes, everything has a bright side, as well as a dark one. The sun is my main impairment, but I have issues with other things, too."
"As we shall, Kevin is in the best hands available. Of course there are dark sides to things, one cannot have the light without the shadow after all, but it is to not let the shadows rule you, and to always harken to the light. At least, that's what I've always been told. But other issues? What more could be terrible as an impairment from something as incandescent as the sun?"
Seeing as Kevin may need to wait a bit, they head off to the Yaleson house, Morton leading the way. Fortunately, the egg-shaped stone-and-steel domicile is still in place. And in good shape, too. Probably because it's a day old at most.
Now, where to prepare the fungal garden from hell?
In a warehouse at the port...
Niklas, looking back at the skeleton, decides to smash its skull just to be sure.
[Strength roll: 6+1]
He pulverizes the skull with the greatest of ease. Well, now that that's done, what next?
In Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders...
Mark squashes the Metatablet and explains in writing that he really wants the two Special Writing Companions and one Happy-Happy.
"Wise choice, sir, wise choice," says Hanford as he takes 35 copper coins from Mark and hands him what he requested after whispering to the worms a little. "Perhaps I may interest in you several other of my wares as well - I possess the means to extend a subject's life well beyond a reasonable point as well as more efficient means of cerebral overriding, not to mention a few means of biological enhancement you may find useful - just say... well, write the word, and these things and more can be yours for a reasonable price!"
Post by: Xantalos on June 16, 2013, 04:58:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 16, 2013, 05:41:48 am
((Be very afraid;)))
Post by: miauw62 on June 16, 2013, 06:14:10 am
Kevin did notice that even the transmuter's powers were becoming... Less reliable. Even so, he drags himself to the transmuter and tries to get some help, as no fate is worse than being fixed by the skeleton.
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 09:22:10 am
Sigmund told to Morton:
-I will get some dry branches and leaves, you get some stones and prepare something to cantain the fire.
Sigmund then looks for some branches and flammable materials
((Also, Mark is the luckiest character, not the most competent))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 10:53:44 am
[Well, this may go quite easily considering everything needed has already been prepared.]
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 11:09:34 am
-I'd rather do it in the outside, as I don't want to risk burning the house in the process. Not that it is likely to happen, but, well, my luck has been terrible recently. I don't think that we need a lot of wood, too, as this grows quite quickly. Remember how was Mark? We should try to not make a big fire.
[After getting the leaves, branches, etc.]
-So, where should I put this?
Sigmund puts the leaves in the fire pit and puts the pot with the mushrrom at the side of it, so that it recieves heat, but is not burnt in the process
-I recommend you to take a cautious distance from the mushroom once you lit the fire.
Sigmund then takes many steps back
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 11:26:04 am
[If the firepit is found in serviceable use]
"In the pit, I shall start the fire and cover it with this flat rock, it makes a wonderful makeshift cooking surface. It will warm the pot up nice and evenly. It will also give a bit of a delay for the heat to affect it, I believe." Morton does so, letting Sigmund put in the tender as Morton sets aside everything needed, the pot with the failed mixture among them. The burned butler will set fire to the tender using his magical lighter, set the rock atop of it, using dirt as necessary to quell any intense fires that may or may not break out, and sets the pot with the failed mixture atop the stone.
Then the undead butler takes many steps back, akin to Sigmund.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 16, 2013, 01:05:05 pm
He says what he does. And vice versa.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 16, 2013, 03:26:46 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 16, 2013, 05:04:56 pm
Niklas heads off to another building after rolling around on the ground in expectation of death from vaguely-known forces. He is disappointed in Ninja Chef when no such death sees fit to make an appearance. Damn it, Ninja Chef, where have all the good times gone? Dejected, he heads out in search of other buildings.
Fortunately, there's the Feisty Jelly in the neighborhood, now home to a lesser amount of worthless drunks than before! It is here that his next masterpiece may be wrought and appreciated.
In Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders...
Mark is eager to hear Joyous Hanford's offers of biological enhancement, as these may coincide with his artistic visions of the future. And what visions they are indeed! He squashes the Metatablet, flattens it once more and writes out his needs, then shows the tablet to Hanford.
"Ah! Biological enhancement! Yes. I have a very special thing relating to that sort of thing - obtained her from a very special source!"
He once more plunges his hand into the wall and, after he's done with his usual ritual, pulls out something resembling a human arm in both size and form, except for the fact that instead of fingers, it has tentacles running around its mouth, which is located about where the palm would be. In addition, there's a sausage-like quality to it you don't see in most arms, not to mention the fact that it is mostly without joints. So, really, it's only arm-like in size and from a great distance.
"This is Regina. Wrap her around a subject's throat and make sure her sweet lips have access to the back of the head. She'll give a kiss to the lucky chosen one and they'll be hers for a sweet, sweet week or two. And in that week, she'll have made the perfect husband! Muscles like you won't believe, brains of a genius, occasionally magical abilities and, of course, total, complete subservience to her and, by extension, her owner! You see, Regina loves her master in an unconditional manner, and you only need to make her imprint upon you and she'll be yours for life. Now, for this magnificent baby I ask only the humble price of 8 gold coins - I assure you, she's most certainly worth more. I've sold her sisters to mages, kings and even a grand spymaster or two, and none have ever complained! I'll set her down here," he says, putting Regina down. She wiggles on the ground, making a sound reminiscent of purring. Hanford himself then retrieves a marble-sized, fleshy and pale sphere from the wall.
"And these are the Friendly Brain Termites and I do suppose they are exactly what you think if you happen to think like me! Their principle of use is far simpler than Regina's - you hold a person down, preferably utilizing the Happy-Happy first, then stick this little puppy up their nose, making sure it's deep enough to be real warm. The friendly bugs will get to work and make their brain really bustle, if you know what I mean. Extremely painful, the process, and you'll probably need restraints even with the Happy-Happy, but it works wonderfully. They build amazing hives within the cranium, really efficient. Changes the thought process something fierce, and though there's occasionally swelling, it doesn't take long for them to expand the skull to a practical size. Though there's frequently a spot of amnesia afterwards, the subjects most often didn't really need those memories anyway. They do, however, make great use of their new intellectual capacity. Now, I myself do not know exactly how they do it, but in many cases I've seen a twofold improvement in mental efficiency, perceptiveness and general intellect! Of course, there are personality changes and certain aberrant thought patterns, but those are minor side effects. Four gold coins, good sir, and all this termite goodness can be yours," Hanford continues, not missing a beat. He then pulls a seemingly-cooked slice of meat from the wall.
"Finally, I have the Completely Non-Suspicious Slice of Meat. Tastes glorious, and I would know, and looks to be just like any bit of meat you'd buy... or obtain otherwise. But there's a catch! This meat wasn't made by any ordinary chef! An entire team of worms specially trained and groomed from birth were responsible for this culinary masterpiece both in taste and in appearance! And as payment, they require you to eat it. Once this is done, they do you one more favor! They take up residence in your muscle tissues and get to work making you a better, shapelier, stronger and faster you! They're like trichinellas, but far, far nicer. They were made that way, after all. 4 gold coins for the fast-track to becoming a glorious physical superman! And I have many more inventions to make one's life better. Do you wish to see more, or have you seen enough to make an informed decision? Or perhaps a more precise direction that you wish for your future friends?"
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, not very optimistic about his chances, still taps Erin on the shoulder.
"Wait up, ya invalid. Gotta get this done already!"
[Erin magic roll: 3+2-1]
The mast starts to grow again, regaining its original shape. Still no sails, though.
In the former Yaleson house...
Sigmund and Morton, happy little alchemists that they are, get to work on that fungal terror that they have planned.
"I will get some dry branches and leaves, you get some stones and prepare something to contain the fire."
"Of course, good Sir Sigmund, if lumber is required the woodpile survived the changing of the domicile and it is right outside the... um... well, there's no back door anymore. But where the back door should be in any reasonable home. Would you like to do this inside, or perhaps outside the house? A, if I say so myself, decent fire pit is already prepared from earlier, although it is currently outside the manor, and a woodland animal may have savaged it in my leave."
Morton then takes a look outside. Fire pit's still there. Good.
"I'd rather do it in the outside, as I don't want to risk burning the house in the process. Not that it is likely to happen, but, well, my luck has been terrible recently. I don't think that we need a lot of wood, too, as this grows quite quickly. Remember how was Mark? We should try to not make a big fire."
"Yes, I do remember. They were quite hard to get off, if I do say so, takes to scalding water much too pleasantly. The house is mostly stone, but I understand good Sir Sigmund, sometimes it seems like fate works against one to make failure spectacular and logic-defying."
They then go their separate ways. Sigmund disappears into the woods as Morton provides exposition to nobody in particular as he stands around the fire with no fuel for it.
"In the pit, I shall start the fire and cover it with this flat rock, it makes a wonderful makeshift cooking surface. It will warm the pot up nice and evenly. It will also give a bit of a delay for the heat to affect it, I believe."
Sigmund, meanwhile, wanders about the woods and looks for some branches that he may find useful. Fortunately, there's a pretty dead-looking tree over there that he could plunder. He approaches it and pulls on the branches.
The tree smacks him upside the face with another branch, though. Huh. And it appears to be, well, looking at him somehow. Uh, backing away now. Rapidly. Sigmund runs back to the fire pit empty-handed. Not sure what came over him, really. Just had an impulse to run.
Probably for the best, really.
Morton looks over at the arriving Sigmund, noticing that he appears to have rather prominent reddish-brown marks across his face now.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott, left with no other option, looks for mercantile means of obtaining the treasure that is a good bit of high-quality pitch.
Once again, he neglects to consider that it's nighttime and acts shocked when no place is open at this hour.
Near a town on the wet, miserable plains...
Darren quickly tries to reshape the golem and make him more humany.
About half an hour later, he'd say he's made a very nice sculpture of a handsome bard out of the dirt the golem is made of, complete with wide-brimmed hat. He's still uniformly dirt-colored, but what can you do. Maybe he'll say it was an unfortunate accident of some sort with magic and whatnot. Or maybe he can just make the golem wear the hat in a mysterious way and say that he prefers to wear earthen tones.
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 05:15:34 pm
-I-I think that we can use wood from the wood pile. I don't like this forest.
He the goes and grabs a few logs and puts them in the fire pit
Post by: Innsmothe on June 16, 2013, 05:24:24 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 16, 2013, 06:20:21 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 06:32:53 pm
[You know, I can really get used to this SCIENCE-mixed-with-science alchemy stuff, coincides really well with the Tea Leaf Apostle thing.]
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 06:35:45 pm
-Wait! Is this over me? Damned tree! I like my face, is it so bad?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 06:43:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 07:16:43 pm
-I just found a dead tree and so I decided to get some branches off it, but suddenly another brach moved and hit me. And then the tree leaned towards me, and I felt, I don't know, watched. So I run back here. It really made me shiver.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 07:31:25 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 16, 2013, 07:35:55 pm
-W-well, I can take you there, I think, but keep your distance from the tree.
Sigmund takes Morton to the tree, but doesn't get into branch-hitting distance.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 16, 2013, 07:41:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 16, 2013, 09:26:10 pm
Act boisterous.
Cook some beer.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 16, 2013, 09:53:16 pm
Head in.Fixed
Act boisterous.
Cook some beer.
Dwarven style
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2013, 07:38:47 am
-I don't know. But trying wouldn't hurt, at least from this distance.
He cleared his voice and told to the tree:
-Mister tree? I'm sorry for trying to cut a branch from you.
He then waits for a response
((If this fails, we will look quite stupid))
Post by: miauw62 on June 17, 2013, 07:44:47 am
((I also wonder how much biological enhancement Harry can come up with.))
Kevin was now on the brink. Not on the brink of sanity or collapse, mind you. On the brink between impatience and fear. He just decides to stick around, tough, considering that this was probably his best chance to become fixed again. Without being horribly mutated.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 17, 2013, 07:52:59 am
((I also wonder how much biological enhancement Harry can come up with.))He has a very active imagination is that is one of the reasons this RTD is so high quality
plus he was the one that came up with the flying octopus dress.
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2013, 08:25:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 17, 2013, 09:26:14 am
Sigmund feels the need to explain why his hands are currently not full of branches to the confused Morton.
"I-I think that we can use wood from the wood pile. I don't like this forest."
"G-Good Sir Sigmund, wait! Please hold still for a moment, ah, I don't wish to be rude, but... well, you have something on your face. Oh dear, something possibly worrisome."
He examines the vampire's face. Looks rather nasty, though the coloration doesn't quite match that of the paste. Looks more like a scrape than a stain, actually. However, can't be too careful.
"Oh dear, I do hope I'm wrong about this or else... we may've found where the 'bark' came from."
"Wait! Is this over me? Damned tree! I like my face, is it so bad?"
"It'll be fine, should be fine, we've never seen the mixture affect second-chancers... It appears to be rather visible red-brown streaks on your face, a color similar to the mixture itself... It stained my fingers when I was testing it."
Morton proudly shows his rather stained and frostbitten fingers.
"What happened, good Sir Sigmund? There was indeed a tree? So perhaps it wasn't the mushrooms? Do you feel anything, pain or the like?"
"I just found a dead tree and so I decided to get some branches off it, but suddenly another branch moved and hit me. And then the tree leaned towards me, and I felt, I don't know, watched. So I ran back here. It really made me shiver."
"...That's... Most peculiar good Sir Sigmund. A tree that moves on its own? You think perhaps this is the tree the bark was obtained from... Perhaps we should go see this tree. If it is indeed, its poison shan't affect us, we're second-chancers. Hm... Although I do wonder what would give a tree such a trait. I was so sure the mixture was from those mushrooms, it even smelled of mold..."
"W-well, I can take you there, I think, but keep your distance from the tree."
And so they proceed through the unfriendly woods, not stopping until they have reached the tree. It looks rather gnarled and ancient, and its shape is like that of a willow, though vaguely skeletal as well. It still seems to peer at Sigmund with a deadly gaze. Sigmund feels rather uncomfortable being here despite the great distance. There is something not quite right about the thing, and even Morton can see it to a degree.
"... Good Sir Sigmund, perhaps we can reason with it?"
Probably not.
"I don't know. But trying wouldn't hurt, at least from this distance."
He clears his voice and addresses the tree with respect and dignity.
"Mister tree? I'm sorry for trying to cut a branch from you."
The tree's eyeless stare seems to intensify momentarily, and both of Sigmund's legs suddenly quit, the vampire falling over and shivering involuntarily. There's something about the gaze on that thing that seems to shrivel up his very soul, a pure, undiluted hatred of such magnitude one can't help but be awed by its scope and singlemindedness. This tree hates him. It hates him unlike any mortal or immortal ever before. Possibly more than most mortals or immortals are even capable to hate.
Morton, meanwhile, is a bit creeped out by Sigmund's collapse.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott, not one to perform daring acts of burglary more than once per night, heads off to the ship and fills up the clay jars with the unidentified watery sludge from the barrel. Hooray, he supposes.
In Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders...
Mark, not sufficiently persuaded by the available things to purchase them for use, writes out a further line of inquiry. Namely, transplants.
"Transplants, you ask? Hmm... oh, you probably mean grafts! Why, I have those as well! Let me just wake my friend here," Hanford says, stroking the annelid counter. The counter then splits open, revealing an interesting array of strange objects.
"Here, for instance, we have one of my most popular grafts - the Shaper's Limb," the man exposits, pointing out what resembles a shifting lump of flesh and bone. "It may not look like much from where you're standing, but it is certainly one of my more sophisticated inventions! Its power lies in its shapelessness! You see, with an effort of will one can mold this limb into practically anything! It is fluid and soft naturally, but hardening can be easily achieved if you wish it - literally, you simply have to wish for it. You can even pick locks with it, not to mention reach all sorts of things! The price is 6 gold coins, though you can get it for 5 gold coins if you give up an arm of your own or one that used to belong to someone else. After all, you won't be needing, am I right?"
He then moves on to a peculiar snakelike appendage about the size of a leg lying about.
"And this is also an extremely useful graft, the Big Eater, I like to call it. His mouth is certainly far bigger than his eyes," Hanford explains, pointing to the jawless maw of the limb. "He can eat pretty much anything by virtue of extremely active digestive juices, and provide the user with much-needed nutrients in virtually any climate that possesses some organic material. In addition, you can tickle in a particular place to make him explosively or less explosively vomit out his entire stomach at something - perfect for covering a whole lot of people in extremely quick-acting stomach acid. And then you can eat them with the same limb! Very utilitarian, and costs only three gold coins, two with a limb-trade!"
After elaborating on the Big Eater's purpose, he points out something similar to a fractal centipede about the length of two full arms. As in, a centipede that has smaller centipedes for legs that have even smaller centipedes for legs that have yet smaller centipedes for legs.
"This is Curious Ralph. He enjoys science and exploring. It gives him joy. If science and exploration gives you joy, you may like him! You see, he has extremely superior sensory skills - hearing, smelling and tasting are what he enjoys best in life. Attach him to yourself or a favored minion and he will be able to tell you everything as you form a symbiosis at the cerebral level! He'll unfurl when you wish him to, and it is then that he can say a great many things about the water or any other chemical he is submerged in, the quality of the air and anything the sounds of the area can tell you about nearby objects and lifeforms! Just attach him to the spine and his incredible knowledge will be yours! Not to mention that he regenerates like a champ, so feel free to stick most of him in acid if you wish! He won't mind. He enjoys it! Six gold coins, five if you can provide two limbs in trade."
He then moves on to the last notable exhibit, a violet, thorny vine of some kind.
"And this is Susan the Fleshvine. She's the solid type - wrap her around some fellow's spine and she'll have found a wonderful place to flourish and grow! She'll branch and grow anywhere in the flesh from there, forming something like a secondary skeleton! An unbreakable secondary skeleton that regenerates extremely quickly, mind you. Her thorns will pierce every organ, penetrate through all places on the body, and then she'll alter your nervous system to perceive pain... differently, shall we say. She'll change your entire body to make it a better home for herself - the circulatory, nervous and respiratory systems are most affected, and you'll also start growing in size as your flesh becomes too small. Side effects include blooming occasionally - I hear it smells beautiful and looks even better - good, since I made Susan that way - and increased hunger, but the dampening of pain, lack of bleeding and physical growth can more than make up for it! And you can even multiply her fairly easily by cutting off the tail you'll start forming once you've got one grown Susan already - it'll then work as a whole new one! For this miraculous invention I ask 10 gold coins - 9 if you can provide a corpse, 8 if you can provide a living human subject! A worthwhile investment, no?"
At the Feisty Jelly...
Niklas goes inside the Feisty Jelly and decides to act boisterous.
"Right then, it is time for some good fun, yes? Now, my dear girly men, who wants to become tonight's drink? My treat!"
One extremely drunk man raises his hand, laughing awkwardly. A receptive group of patrons! Wonderful! Niklas grabs him and takes him to the kitchen and commences the creation of his newest creation after shooing all the foolish philistines right out. Now it's time for something new - Drunkard Beer! From drunkards to drunkards, courtesy of Niklas!
[Culinary Dark Arts roll: 1+1]
He looks at the drunk intently, trying to figure out how to cook some beer from him. The drunk, rather insensible, doesn't protest much. Should he use the blood or pursue alternate means? There's just so many options!
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin is in a bit of an awkward situation. On the one hand, he really misses having arms. On the other hand, he doesn't want to get mutilated by an impatient or angered mage. Better to wait it out, he decides.
Erin, meanwhile, tries to finalize the issue of the ship.
"Alright, that's good! Now to finish this! Channel some anger, get a good rage goin'..."
[Erin magic roll: 6+2-1-1]
She hugs the mast and starts furiously talking to it, utilizing reassuring words to get it to work! And it does! The mast suddenly increases in size a whole lot, forming new sails of a peculiarly orange, shiny material! It's a fairly mighty sail, one might say. Certainly enough for most ships. And then the transformation overtakes the rest of the deck, altering all the masts and sails at once! Erin lets go of the mast and addresses the Artiste.
"I'm finally done, guys! Everything's great!"
"Good, good. Now we just wait for the others, hope that they get done with their revenge plot against somebody or other soon."
Post by: miauw62 on June 17, 2013, 09:59:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2013, 10:23:54 am
-You get wood from it. I can't stand it any more!
Sigmund the goes back to the house and waits for Morton
((I'm going to read vampire lore to see what on Earth has just happened))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 17, 2013, 10:45:31 am
Even it isn't pitch, he could blind someone with it he supposes.
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2013, 11:35:37 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 17, 2013, 11:51:13 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 17, 2013, 02:01:59 pm
-Fill the drunkard full of copious amounts of every alcoholic beverage in the vicinity until he passes out
-Cut his throat and empty his blood into a pot
-Cut out his stomach and pour the contents into a pot
-Same as above with intestines
-Get a really big bucket and mix the contents of the three pots together
-Put more alcoholic beverage into it
-Add spice
-Put in bottles
Done!
Post by: Xanmyral on June 17, 2013, 04:03:08 pm
Morton looked at Sigmund, then the tree, then back at Sigmund, then the tree again. He has no idea what is going on, but the longer he looks at the tree the more he's starting to doubt that the horrid paste might of came from here. If Sigmund has trouble getting back to the manor, Morton will aid him there, if not, then Morton will look at the tree with trepidation. "N-Now listen here... Uh... Sir Tree. I don't know what you did to good Sir Sigmund, but stop that. ...Please?" Morton moved closer and poked the tree with his rubber oar.
If the tree: 1) doesn't talk, 2) doesn't respond negatively to poking, and 3) is a tree, then Morton will attempt to rip a branch off.
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2013, 05:24:52 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 17, 2013, 06:23:30 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 17, 2013, 06:35:51 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 17, 2013, 07:39:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2013, 06:31:27 am
Kevin quickly moves into Erin's field of vision and provides a demonstrative shrug. Erin stares at him.
"What was yer problem again?"
Just then, Scott walks out of the lower recesses of the ship and presents the captain with the jars o' sludge.
"Excuse me, captain, but would you mind telling me what in gods' names this awful stuff is?"
"NOT A CLUE! Never could FIGURE THAT OUT myself. WATER, I FIGURE. Plus OTHER THINGS."
Meanwhile, Kevin sees the tree-head approach from the distance. Not good.
At an unusually hateful tree in the woods...
Sigmund attempts to crawl away from the tree while urging Morton to go on without him!
"You get wood from it. I can't stand it any more!"
He tries to move, but can't! It's like somebody threw the weight of the world down on him suddenly, he can't get up at all! Morton, meanwhile, examines the tree. You know, he's thinking that this might not be the tree he's looking for after all. Too unpleasant, he thinks.
"N-Now listen here... uh... Sir Tree. I don't know what you did to good Sir Sigmund, but stop that... please?"
Morton takes a few steps toward the tree, which remains silent, and pokes it with the oar. Suddenly, the attention of the tree is diverted from Sigmund and turns to Morton! Morton instantly freezes up as it becomes all-too-clear to him what exactly happened to Sigmund as he falls backwards and curls up into a ball, clutching the oar in his hands. Oh dear. He didn't know trees could feel this way! He gets the feeling it's been slighted somehow. Violated, even.
Sigmund, meanwhile, feels a bit lighter. A little bit. Enough to get up and run, but that would mean leaving Morton in a bit of a bind. After all, he doesn't know what might happen to him. Also, that tree looks really pissed somehow. This is probably not a good thing.
In the kitchen of the Feisty Jelly...
Niklas comes to a decision and a course of action to act upon with the drunkard.
[Culinary Dark Arts roll: 1+1]
He keeps filling the drunkard with all the booze available around here, but that guy must have a steel liver or something. He doesn't pass out! He does sing a bit, though. He's not bad, actually, considering that he has most of this establishment's alcohol coursing in his veins.
In Joyous Hanford's Emporium of Biological Wonders...
Mark quickly excuses himself, writing that he needs some funds.
"Ah, very good. Come back soon!" he says, taking back the Informative Metatablet. Mark then heads back to the ship and goes up to the Artiste, trying to convey his need for moolah.
His interpretive dance, however, isn't really appreciated.
"Yes, I'm sure your dancing makes you and your entirely probable mother very proud, but could you not bother me with it, Mark?"
Outside a hill fort of some kind...
Darren quickly disappears into his dirt-bard golem and proceeds to move inside it as he approaches the fort. Problem is, though, he's completely blind while hiding within it. Not to mention it's a bit difficult for him to perfectly match his own movements to those of the dirtbard - it seems like ectoplasmic bits are constantly poking out of it. Or at least that's what he feels like it looks like.
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 06:44:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 06:56:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 07:18:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 07:39:47 am
"O-oh d-dear that i-is one angry t-tree." Morton could only stutter as he felt the anger of the slighted tree against him. "H-how can a t-tree be so a-angry?" He'd happily accept Sigmund's help outta there.
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 07:43:51 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 07:52:35 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 07:57:19 am
((Altough it just means that you shouldn't put old people into a radically different enviroment))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 08:02:07 am
So Tom, what's your idea with the tree? Try to transfer what's in the tree into a hat, let everyone fear your hat?]
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 08:05:13 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 08:16:32 am
I'm wondering where those guards got off to, we still need to find them. We can do the rest of the plan without killing them, I think, but still having them around would probably wind up being a bother for us later I bet.]
Post by: killerhellhound on June 18, 2013, 08:36:28 am
((If we can weaponize it, we will have one of the greatest psychological weapons ever created in a RTD))((What. The greatest psychological weapon is still the porn mind screw))
Mark gets out one of the writing slugs and writes
"Can I have some more money for body enhancing goods
like the the Shaper's Limb for 5 gold that can change shape by the owner willing it
or the Fleshvine that makes someone very strong, hard to hurt, and they get powerful regenration with more made over time at the cost of 10 gold, 9 with a corpse trade in or 8 gold for a live test subject"
Mark checks that he still has the two arms he was going to graft to Niklas while waiting
((If the transmuter fails to fix Kevin I'm going to step in as your new !!DOCTOR!! ))
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 08:44:35 am
((On a side note, I have just realized that the exclamation marks for something !!On fire!! are the same from both sides. This makes me look as a noob))
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 08:45:51 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 08:48:16 am
((You don't have a writing slug. He took the Informative Metatablet back.))((But he bought two slugs, he even handed the coins))
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 08:59:37 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 18, 2013, 09:03:29 am
Tell sir bard to wait there for now. Head into the village,but scram at the first signs of trouble.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 09:14:59 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 09:21:30 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 09:27:31 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2013, 09:31:32 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 09:32:16 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 09:36:55 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 18, 2013, 09:47:17 am
Niklas will:
-Fill the drunkard full of copious amounts of every alcoholic beverage in the vicinity until he passes out
-Cut his throat and empty his blood into a pot
-Cut out his stomach and pour the contents into a pot
-Same as above with intestines
-Get a really big bucket and mix the contents of the three pots together
-Put more alcoholic beverage into it
-Add spice
-Put in bottles
Done!
Post by: killerhellhound on June 18, 2013, 09:53:38 am
another got turned into a monster
so 50/50 chance of monster or a full fix of the body
any one want to take a chance))
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 10:20:59 am
((So far I've had one patient that is enjoying new arms with no scars thanks to me((Actual chances are:
another got turned into a monster
so 50/50 chance of monster or a full fix of the body
any one want to take a chance))
1-Nothing happens
1-A slight help
2-Actually did something
2-You created a monster!
I would say that there is a 33% chance of staying as you are, another 33% of getting fixed, and a final 34% (beacuse the RNG hates our guts) of becoming monsters))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 18, 2013, 11:09:21 am
More((So far I've had one patient that is enjoying new arms with no scars thanks to me((Actual chances are:
another got turned into a monster
so 50/50 chance of monster or a full fix of the body
any one want to take a chance))
1-Nothing happens
1-A slight help
2-Actually did something
2-You created a monster!
I would say that there is a 33% chance of staying as you are, another 33% of getting fixed, and a final 34% (beacuse the RNG hates our guts) of becoming monsters))
1 backed off
2 fixed that cut on your cheek wait you wanted your leg fixed
3 so you were meaning to have a arm on your head right
4 so that looks good
5 what do you mean you lost your arm
6 Lets see here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDl0G-RmbVI)
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2013, 01:34:17 pm
Sigmund decides to help Morton as the tree just keeps staring with the utmost hatred. He grabs the undead butler and tries to take him away!
[Grab: Tree vs. Sigmund: 5 vs. 1]
However, he is slightly surprised when the tree's branches wrap around his torso and lift him up from his feet! He feels rather odd in the spot that the tree's grabbed him by, as though something's changing, and not for the better!
Morton, meanwhile, mutters as he lies hated on the ground.
"O-oh d-dear that i-is one angry t-tree. H-how can a t-tree be so a-angry?"
He's starting to get a bit used to being hated, though, weird though that may sound. It still feels peculiar, but not as soul-crushing as before. Um... good?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, now possessed of a slightly greater desire to urgently resolve his skeletal issues, points at his lack of arms with his skull.
"Hm, ya look pretty messed up! I'd advise ya to relax for a bit. I'll take a break, then I'll attend to ya. Maybe have lunch, ya know."
Hm. This is not the best news he has heard today.
Mark, meanwhile, takes out the Special Writing Companion and sketches out a message on the deck in front of the Artiste with it.
Can I have some more money for body enhancing goods like the the Shaper's Limb for 5 gold that can change shape by the owner willing it or the Fleshvine that makes someone very strong, hard to hurt, and they get powerful regenration with more made over time at the cost of 10 gold, 9 with a corpse trade in or 8 gold for a live test subject
"Hm, that's a lot of coins, Mark. Not to mention that it would set a poor precedent if I was to just throw money around like that. I think I'll make an executive decision and say 'no' to that. You should start earning your own money. It builds character, you see."
While the fruitful discussions commence, Scott goes on to look for some hideously drunk people to give sludge to. Fortunately, this is a port town - no shortage of drunken sailors here. He walks up to one.
"Excuse me, sir, but would you mind participating in a taste test of a certain foreign liqueur? It is a delicacy in some parts of the world! Possibly not entirely terrible as well."
The sailor looks at the jar of sludge suspiciously, smells it, then sips a little. He looks incredibly sad and disappointed all of a sudden.
"Sir, this is disgusting sludge that contains no booze whatsoever. You should be ashamed of yourself. Good night."
He hands the jar back to Sigmund and leaves.
On a wet and miserable plain...
Darren, seeing that his clever disguise is unlikely to work, tells the golem to sit tight, though it's more for his own sake than for the animated telekinetic puppet's, then floats discreetly over to the hillfort.
He is immediately noticed by a guard on one of the walls, who fires his bow at him.
[Watchman vs. Darren: 2+1 vs. 3]
Darren reflexively dodges the arrow, though there's really no need - it certainly doesn't look magical, he'd say. He then vamooses out of the area before the guy can fire again. Such an unfortunate savage, this fellow. Firing on harmless strangers like Darren.
In the kitchen of the Feisty Jelly...
Niklas, not really feeling that there's anything wrong with this plan of his, resolves to try again. It's flawless in theory, after all.
However, he appears to have run out of booze. And the drunkard's still not out yet. It's a bit strange, but what are you gonna do?
Post by: Xantalos on June 18, 2013, 01:37:59 pm
Pour any liquid I can find down his throat until he passes out/dies. Then proceed with plan.
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2013, 01:40:26 pm
((Xantalos, you could just clonk the drunkard on the head with something.))
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2013, 01:42:03 pm
-Chop the damned branch!
EDIT:
If Morton can't chop the branch, Sigmund will try to slip away like the sneaky bastard he is.
If that fails, he will hate the tree into submission
((And if everything fails, we should just burn it.))
Post by: Xantalos on June 18, 2013, 01:56:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2013, 03:11:00 pm
[Sorry for crappy post, phone.]
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2013, 04:35:28 pm
Shouting "I hate this gods damned city!"
Post by: killerhellhound on June 18, 2013, 06:29:50 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 19, 2013, 07:08:25 am
Niklas looks for all sorts of liquids he can find that he could possibly use to decrease the consciousness level of this particular drunkard.
Fortunately, there is plenty of water around. And milk, too, for some reason. He begins pouring it into the drunkard's mouth in great amounts.
The drunkard drinks a whole lot of it, then vomits profusely. He looks better already! Niklas also supposes one could get extremely inebriated from the fumes the guy's vomit produces if they felt like sniffing the stuff, but that's not really the objective here, is it?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, disappointed and somewhat pissed right now, walks up to the Artiste and points to his lack of arms.
"Ah, you appear to have no arms, jester-friend! Hang on, I'll call for Erin. Erin!"
Erin looks at the Artiste.
"Yeah?"
"My friend here requires urgent assistance! He appears to have been fractured to bits!"
"I'm on a break! Can't this wait? Ya shouldn't overuse magic, ya know. How about in half an hour? I'm a bit hungry right now."
"Ooh, now that you mention it, I'm slightly hungry as well. What say you we go and have dinner?"
"Yeah, sure."
"To the den, then! Everybody capable of digestion, come with me!"
"Dinner sounds good."
"Yeah, let's eat!"
The three mages and the Artiste head downstairs to the den. Damn it. Kevin looks around. What is Mark doing over there? Something troubling, he bets.
[Mark "medicine" roll: 4+1]
Kevin is a bit surprised when he sees Mark show a perfectly serviceable, evidently cleaned pair of skeletal arms that show very little abnormality whatsoever in addition to a rather nicely-done shoulder line, then walk up and nonchalantly attach them to his fractured body after removing some of the less structurally-sound bones.
Mark gets the feeling that this is a bit of a half-measure, though - Kevin's entire body is covered in fractures. He'll need more than just an arm replacement to work as efficiently as before. But hey, at least he's not armless anymore! Lacking a ribcage, sure, but at least not armless!
At an unusually hateful tree...
Sigmund, in a fit of practicality and generosity, drops his guisarme on the ground for Morton to grab and possibly utilize.
"Chop the damned branch!"
Morton staggers to his feet, then goes about chopping while feebly issuing a "Tally ho!"
[Chopping roll: 2]
Midway through, he realizes two things. Firstly, a guisarme isn't exactly a chopping weapon. It's a spear plus a hook - hardly the best thing to cut branches with, pruning hook ancestry of the weapon be damned. Also, there's a whole lot of branches wrapping around Sigmund.
Speaking of Sigmund, the vampire notices that he isn't likely to be helped by Morton presently and so just tries to slip out of the tree's grasp.
[Escape artistry roll: 1]
He expertly breaks his pelvis to escape! Well, except he doesn't escape. He does have a broken pelvis now, though! That's a start if half of what he's heard about being an escape artist is correct!
Still, maybe he should try something else. Sigmund hates a lot of stuff (or at the very least dislikes it in a civilized fashion), like Mark, for instance! Maybe he can hate the tree right back!
[Hate-off: Sigmund vs. Tree of Hatred: 3 vs. 1+2]
Even though the tree isn't targeting him specifically right now, the tree does seem to be more than capable of matching the amateur levels of hatred Sigmund can muster. Maybe competing with something in quite possibly the only domain it has truly mastered isn't the best idea.
However, the tree does seem to have started to pay attention to him again. Sigmund feels awfully cold and heavy suddenly, while Morton feels a tad better. In addition, the area that the tree has grabbed him by, roughly correlating with his waist and abdomen, is beginning to hurt in a most un-vampiric fashion.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott, unhappy about the results of his experiment, downs the jarful of sludge. It is exactly as good as he imagined it.
With that done, he looks for a place that may have pitch in a reasonable quantity.
He supposes a warehouse might have it somewhere. Or a shipyard. But he doesn't know of any shipyards in town, at least none that have pitch in plain view and all. Or drydocks, either.
Damn, it would certainly have paid off to go into town more during his lifetime. Maybe then he wouldn't be as lost trying to find stuff as he obviously is.
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2013, 08:32:24 am
-Use the hook! Cut the branches with...aghh...the hook.
Sigmund then tries to break the smaller branches with his elongated arms.
((Side note: a hook was sometimes used to cut branches. The English bill was designed to do that, or at least I think so.))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 19, 2013, 08:55:52 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 19, 2013, 10:20:29 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 19, 2013, 11:04:59 am
Search for knives.
-Cut his throat and empty his blood into a pot
-Cut out his stomach and pour the contents into a pot
-Same as above with intestines
-Add vomit to pot
-Get a really big bucket and mix the contents of the three pots together
-Put more alcoholic beverage into it
-Add spice
-Stir with spoon/ladle
-Put in bottles
Done!
Post by: miauw62 on June 19, 2013, 11:15:17 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 19, 2013, 02:10:53 pm
"Hey! Is this how you treat everyone who shows up here?"
Post by: Xanmyral on June 19, 2013, 03:57:40 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2013, 06:05:19 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 19, 2013, 06:20:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2013, 06:34:42 pm
[I burn the tree, or we combine our hatred towards it? Both?]((Second option, but Sigmund incites Morton's hate first))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 19, 2013, 07:22:02 pm
((So your plan towards the hate tree is to try to out hate it while it is doing something to your body. As a note to self I need to get a new body for you.))[I burn the tree, or we combine our hatred towards it? Both?]((Second option, but Sigmund incites Morton's hate first))
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2013, 07:39:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 19, 2013, 07:43:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2013, 07:47:35 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on June 19, 2013, 07:52:59 pm
EDIT: Hm, rereading Morton did actually express anger once, when his knees were almost busted. A man of his work place should have plenty to spare though.]
Post by: killerhellhound on June 19, 2013, 10:09:30 pm
((Ah, but you don't know Sigmund's secret weapon:Beware The Nice Ones (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BewareTheNiceOnes)Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2013, 04:44:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2013, 06:35:09 am
Sigmund, gathering his strength, orders Morton to try and chop with the hook. That's what it's there for, right? Pruning branches?
"Use the hook! Cut the branches with...aghh...the hook."
He then tries to break off some of the smaller branches with his long arms!
[Strength roll: 6+1]
He grabs a few of the larger branches and rips them right off their base! This, naturally, is not received well by the tree. However, it shouldn't be as difficult for Morton to get his chopping over with.
"Good Sir Sigmund! Foul tree, you have crossed yourself against me today! Have at you!" Morton indignantly says to the tree, beginning to seriously work at getting Sigmund out of there.
[Chopping roll: 6+1]
He starts to mutilate the tree excessively, hacking at the branches wildly until Sigmund is free. Then he gives the tree an extra trim for good measure, and a bit after that for his own exquisite pleasure. Maybe he should have become a gardener. At the end of the chopping spree Morton points the guisarme at the tree menacingly.
The tree seems to still be seething, but not to a degree where it feels comfortable continuing straight-up combat. It is, if not comfortable, at least rather unwilling to tangle with Morton and Sigmund at the distance they currently inhabit. Morton looks at the pile of branches at his feet. Well, that's some good quality firewood right there. That wasn't so difficult, was it?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, having temporarily gained Kevin's trust, decides to take him on a walk on the wild side of Shriekpot.
However, Kevin is interrupted by the captain.
"Hey, YOU'RE KEVIN, I guess? CATCH!"
[Captain telekinesis roll: 2+1]
A quiver of bolts shuffles in Kevin's direction slowly.
"Well, PERHAPS 'CATCH' wasn't the RIGHT WORD! 'PICK UP' would be MORE APPROPRIATE!"
Not one to argue semantics, Kevin takes the bolts and follows Mark. Let the body run commence! The two skeletal figures walk into town and look for people who are quite alone at the moment.
Ah! Over there! A rather large, but also totally clueless, unarmed and unsuspecting fellow seems to have meandered into a dark alley over there. He looks like a source of high-quality bones to Mark. Probably drinks a lot of milk, judging by the look of him. Also, he looks more than a tad tipsy, which also works in Mark's favor.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott develops a quick strategy in his increasingly long quest for good pitch. He looks for sufficiently large structures to plunder in the port!
Fortunately, there is one such building! It is both rather large and located near the water, so he supposes it might be what he's looking for. Checking one of the doors, he finds it to be shockingly unlocked. Walking right in, he notices that this does indeed appear to be some sort of drydock. In fact, there's currently a ship in it. The sounds of workmen going about whatever workmen do while repairing ships come from within it, and there are some people inspecting it from the outside as well.
They haven't noticed Scott yet from the looks of it.
In the kitchen of the Feisty Jelly...
Niklas, having given up on the idea of further anesthesizing the drunkard, looks for a knife. Fortunately, there's a perfectly good kitchen knife around. He goes back to the drunkard.
[Sneak Attack: Niklas vs. Drunkard: 4+1 vs. 6-1-1]
He walks up from behind the drunkard, then takes out his knife! He ambles up to the seated drunkard and grabs him from behind, then tries to slit his throat. However, he only nicks it before the hopelessly drunk individual falls backwards on top of him, slightly impacting Niklas on the chest and causing him to lose his grip, which is an opportunity the drunkard utilizes to slowly roll off the chef and get up. Niklas also promptly gets up.
"A-wha-hey! Didya just try to kill me? I think ya just tried to kill me! Look, I'm bleedin' here!"
Near a hill fort on a wet and miserable plain...
Darren, offended by the inhumane treatment he has been subjected to, cautiously advances toward the hill fort once more, making sure to duck into the ground.
"Hey! Is this how you treat everyone who shows up here?"
The bowman looks to be a bit confused by the fact that only Darren's head is poking out of the ground.
"SPIRIT!" he yells. "STATE YER INTENTIONS!"
He appears to still be aiming for Darren.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 20, 2013, 07:13:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2013, 09:31:46 am
Sigmund shhok the brances and leaves off him, and told to Morton:
-This was definitely something one doesn't see every day. I want ask someone about plants and emotions. This really doesn't make sense.
He then shrugs and resumes his speech:
-At least we have some wood now. Help me carry it to the house.
Sigmund then carries the branches and deposits them in the fire pit, but he keeps one and inspects it
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2013, 09:40:41 am
((Also, didn't I already recieve bolts from the Artiste a few updates ago?))
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2013, 09:43:01 am
((Also, didn't I already recieve bolts from the Artiste a few updates ago?))You had no arms to get them, so they weren't given to you.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 20, 2013, 10:11:56 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2013, 10:13:28 am
((I guess))((Also, didn't I already recieve bolts from the Artiste a few updates ago?))You had no arms to get them, so they weren't give to you.
Post by: Xantalos on June 20, 2013, 11:52:41 am
Niklas leaves, muttering, Gorram guards. Can't do anything without my cleaver. Those knives were really good, too!
Post by: Xanmyral on June 20, 2013, 04:39:34 pm
Morton gave a suspicious glance at the tree once more, still brandishing the pole arm menacingly towards the tree. "As you wish, good Sir Sigmund. Seems I didn't get out much at all if these were around the place and I had no idea. Probably explained why we didn't have much in the terms of visitors." The burned butler would then indeed help Sigmund with the carrying of the branches, although he still regards the tree with caution. It did almost kill his friend after all. "Are you quite alright, good Sir Sigmund? Are you harmed?"
If Sigmund isn't okay enough to walk by himself, instead of carrying the branches Morton would just shove as many as he could in his backpack and instead carry/help Sigmund away from this place, back to the manor.
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2013, 07:08:18 pm
-Maybe we should try to make a fire, so that at least we can tell if keeping this mushroom is worthwhile or not.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 20, 2013, 07:31:55 pm
"There we go good Sir Sigmund. We can observe the effects of the mushroom from its place, or possibly from on the flat rock if needed."
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2013, 07:41:48 pm
-I don't think that it would matter much. I would be better to try with less heat first, just so that we can know more about it and its strange growing conditions. Anyway, we should stay at a sensible distance from it.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 20, 2013, 08:27:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2013, 01:18:50 am
Mark decides to be a bit subtler with this particular drunk than usual and take a stealthy approach. Kevin, meanwhile, takes the chance to sit on his bony, fractured pelvis and look at the ensuing events.
[Stealth: Mark vs. Big Guy: 2-1 vs. 2-1]
He walks up to the guy, who turns around uncomprehendingly at the last moment.
[Mark vs. Big Guy: 2+1 vs. 1-1-1]
However, this doesn't help his chances. His throat is messily slit as Mark steps forth and swings it wildly in the guy's general direction. Lucky shot, really.
In a shipyard of some sort...
Scott is also in the middle of a sneaky sneaking spree, and sneaks to the best of his ability while keeping an eye out for barrels of pitch.
[Scott stealth roll: 5]
He becomes one with the shadows as he skulks about the shipyard, utilizing the rather poorly-lit conditions of the area to his great advantage. Having conquered the foreboding darkness, he goes about the search. Fortunately, this being a shipyard, there's a whole bunch of barrels of pitch within easy reach. At last, victory!
In the kitchen of the Feisty Jelly...
Niklas gives a perfectly reasonable explanation for his actions.
"No, I was trying to shave you and the knife slipped."
"Oh. Oh! Heh, sorry. Well, I'll be leavin' then, I guess. Didn't really need a shave anyway, methinks. Why am I here?"
The honored chef and the drunkard promptly both leave the kitchen.
"Gorram guards. Can't do anything without my cleaver. Those knives were really good, too!" Niklas mutters with a good dose of dissatisfaction.
At the Tree of Hate...
Sigmund shakes off the leftover lumber from his esteemed person.
"This was definitely something one doesn't see every day. I want ask someone about plants and emotions. This really doesn't make sense."
He looks at the rather angry tree and shrugs.
"At least we have some wood now. Help me carry it to the house."
It is at about this point that Sigmund remembers that his pelvis is broken. This makes walking a bit difficult, as one might imagine.
"As you wish, good Sir Sigmund. Seems I didn't get out much at all if these were around the place and I had no idea. Probably explained why we didn't have much in the terms of visitors," comes an observation from Morton. "Are you quite alright, good Sir Sigmund? Are you harmed?"
Well, he clearly isn't quite alright, Morton finds. So he just picks up as many branches as he can, then drags Sigmund back to the fire pit. Sigmund asks for a branch, and Morton hands one over, whereupon the vampire inspects it. He concludes that it is obviously a branch and not a clever imitation of some kind. It presumably came from the Tree of Hate, and therefore it is bad somehow. After all, if it was good, it would send the wrong message.
"Maybe we should try to make a fire, so that at least we can tell if keeping this mushroom is worthwhile or not."
"Agreed, good Sir Sigmund."
Morton then places some of the gathered branches in the fire, noticing that they're rather dry, and so forgoes the gathering of any dead grass. He then lights the branches with his lighter.
This is when shit gets weird, to use the vernacular. The branches burst into raging flames, producing a massive amount of reddish-brown smoke that billows from the fire rapidly. Morton barely manages to step back before he is engulfed in the fog that forms on the fire. There's something unusual about it, he finds - the smoke seems to tend in his direction a bit. And he isn't standing upwind of the fire.
Post by: Xantalos on June 21, 2013, 01:22:05 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 21, 2013, 01:44:50 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 21, 2013, 02:15:10 am
Scott empties the jars on the floor and re fills them with the goo. Now he will search for some cloth, sailing cloth if necessary, to seal the jars.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 21, 2013, 03:22:53 am
((Also I just had an idea what if we stitched two undead together would they be able to touch each others mind or communicate mind to mind or even become one mind the possibility are endless. Any volunteers :P))
Post by: Xantalos on June 21, 2013, 03:38:12 am
((Yay!!! WOOOO!!!! I am rotting ninja! D:<))
Spoiler: WAT U SAY PUNK (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on June 21, 2013, 04:52:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 21, 2013, 05:03:15 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 21, 2013, 09:33:19 am
-It seems that the remains of that tree hate us even after being burnt. Fortunately, it doesn't do anything to us besides bothering you slightly. Not that it matters now, but we should take that into account. So, can you put this mushroom near the fire? That way, if we manage grow more of it, we can experiment with its deadly qualities.
Sigmund hands the mushroom to Morton.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 21, 2013, 01:21:05 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 22, 2013, 01:42:28 am
"Indeed, it appears the tree does have some... Stranger properties, intense hatred none the least." Morton accepts the mushroom from Sigmund. "Thank you good Sir Sigmund, let us try the test now... Although I had wished under more normal circumstances." The burned undead butler shrugged. Can't always get what you wish. He takes the mushroom and retrieves his rubber oar, balancing the mushroom on it as best he could and got the oar near the fire. He'd keep it well away from the fire itself though, just by it. He'd also attempt to avoid the smoke if he could, trying to use the length of the oar to help prevent it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2013, 01:43:53 pm
Niklas, who at this point may very well be made of disappointment, walks back to the ship. He notices that nobody appears to be around on deck. Even the captain's gone off somewhere.
Everybody has abandoned him, dammit. Fortunately, that does not last for long, as the skeletal murder squad arrives soon enough.
In a dark alley of some sort...
Mark decides to help this man when it is obvious that he has lost enough blood to provide no real resistance.
[Mark medicine roll: 2]
However, he realizes that his medical skills and tools, though considerable, are not quite good enough to mend several major severed blood vessels and a ruined trachea, at least not before the man expires. Oh well. With the aid of Kevin, he drags the fellow back to the ship and considers how exactly is a man like a fishing rod.
Ooh, ooh, he has an idea. He could take the spine, reinforce it with some femurs, then take some sinew to get a string, possibly using slightly carved phalanges to make hooks. All in all, quite possible. But first, he must help Kevin.
[Mark "medicine" roll: 6+1]
He looks at Kevin's skeletal shape. Hm, this will not do. Too pedestrian. He does not do pedestrian work. Also, it'd be a bit too simple to just take Kevin's skull and stick it on the guy's skeleton. So he'll do something rather different. Something... special!
To do this, he swings his halberd diagonally, easily shattering Kevin's central skeletal structure and watching as the entire thing comes down like a jigsaw puzzle in a tornado, leaving only the spine mostly intact and the new arms in reasonably good shape. Okay, now for fun! He takes Kevin's skull, which appears to be in total shock, and puts it on a barrel overlooking the sea. This has the additional effect of preventing Kevin from seeing what Mark is doing. In the meantime, he feels like parts are being added to his skull.
Some time later, Kevin is rudely grabbed from his position and stuck on some sort of pillar. It appears to have a spine in its center, but is also covered in jagged spikes formed from the remains of Kevin's shattered skeleton. The pillar is two meters in length and has a pelvis at the bottom. From it come two rather sizable and also spiky legs. Along the pillar there are four arms, two about half a meter from the bottom of the skeletal column, two about half a meter from the top of it. In the middle of the pillar is something resembling a curious standard, with two sets of horizontal protrusions formed of collarbones and femurs about half a meter apart vertically located smack dab in the middle of the pillar. Between them is the face of the drunkard, stretched out beyond reason and with certain patches from other bits of the body added in places. It takes a moment before Kevin realizes he can actually move the thing, forming lots of exaggerated, darkly comic expressions. Finally, his skull appears to be somewhat reinforced. Not to mention he seems to have a jester's hat on his skull that seems to be made of the dead drunk and a whole bunch of human skin strips hanging vertically from his top pair of arms along their entire length.
In addition, he appears to have what seems like a fishing rod on his back as an integral part of his spine, with a fishing line formed from sinew, a prominent bone hook hanging from it. This is a bit troubling, as it seems to hint at certain intentions on Mark's part that Kevin may not entirely appreciate.
In a shipyard of some kind...
Scott, having succeeded for once, dumps the sludge on the floor and fills the jars with pitch. He then locates no cloth that isn't in the outfit of one of the workers. Guess they keep their cloth secure here.
At least his jar has a lid, Scott thinks. Also, it's not like pitch flows all that well. There's a reason they caulk ships with it.
At a lovely fire pit of hatred...
Sigmund, after distancing himself from the fire, provides an analysis of the things currently going on.
"It seems that the remains of that tree hate us even after being burnt. Fortunately, it doesn't do anything to us besides bothering you slightly. Not that it matters now, but we should take that into account. So, can you put this mushroom near the fire? That way, if we manage grow more of it, we can experiment with its deadly qualities."
After handing Morton the mushroom, he looks on as the butler performs more monstrous alchemy.
"Indeed, it appears the tree does have some... stranger properties, intense hatred none the least."
Morton balances the mushroom on the oar, which isn't really all that difficult, then gets ready to do an amazing experiment.
"Thank you, good Sir Sigmund, let us try the test now... although I had wished under more normal circumstances."
He then starts to move the oar closer to the fire. As the oar enters the smoke, Morton hears a bit of a soft crackle. He can't really see what is going on, but he can certainly feel that the oar seems to be... moving. Or, to be precise, something's moving on it. He can't see what, but it's certainly something. Morton also notices that the smoke is moving closer to him slowly, but surely.
At the gates of a hilltop fort...
Darren explains his purpose here to the guard.
"I'm just here to find something. A god-given mission and all that good stuff."
The watchman stares at him suspiciously.
"FIND WHAT? AND WHICH GOD?"
Post by: Xanmyral on June 22, 2013, 02:26:40 pm
The burned butler obviously doesn't feel comfortable around the fire anymore.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 22, 2013, 02:49:34 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 22, 2013, 02:53:08 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 22, 2013, 03:48:22 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 22, 2013, 04:09:17 pm
Niklas makes his way through town, looking for some sort of weapons shop.
Post by: Tomcost on June 22, 2013, 04:48:16 pm
-Don't worry, it must be the mushroom growing. When somehting grows as fast it can appear as if there is there something actually able to move by itself, but I don't think this is the case. The worst thing that can come out of that fire in this circumstnace is a hateful mushroom. Bear in mind that your little toy can be lost due to the mushroom covering it, so maybe you should try to use a stick or something to take it away from your, umm, what it is? An oar?
Sigmund moves even farther, because he is still a bastard
Post by: Xanmyral on June 22, 2013, 06:22:22 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 22, 2013, 08:10:45 pm
(some spare body parts will help when we get the sea of death)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 22, 2013, 10:18:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 23, 2013, 03:58:35 am
Morton, not quite sure that what is happening is in his best interest, starts backing away from the fire.
"U-uhm.... Good Sir Sigmund? I think it best we, e-er, get away from the fire. Something is in it."
He starts to pull the oar away from the fire slowly.
"S-Shall we watch from a safe distance away? ...P-please?"
Sigmund is slightly less moved by the happenings, presumably because he is at a safer distance.
"Don't worry, it must be the mushroom growing. When something grows as fast it can appear as if there is there something actually able to move by itself, but I don't think this is the case. The worst thing that can come out of that fire in this circumstance is a hateful mushroom. Bear in mind that your little toy can be lost due to the mushroom covering it, so maybe you should try to use a stick or something to take it away from your, umm, what is it? An oar?"
He also, however, edges away from the fire as well.
"Well... how about I pull it out and we see for ourselves, no, good Sir Sigmund? See if it is indeed growing?"
Morton finally manages to pull the oar out completely. At the tip of it the mushroom still stands - in fact, it appears to have fixed itself to the thing. It also appears to have become slightly more reddish in shade. Not to mention grown larger and almost... absorbed the end of the oar in itself. Not to mention that its shape is now a bit different.
In a shipyard of some kind...
Not letting his latest failure get him down, Scott exits the shipyard and runs through the streets of Shriekpot with inspiring glee, holding his prizes far above his head as he laughs all the way. Eventually, after running a few victory laps through the port, he returns to the ship.
Hm. Quite a few are already here - the chef, the tree-head and... good gods, what the hell is that? Kevin?
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, rather peevish at this hour, heads off to look for a weapon shop of some kind. He walks into the town, prepared for a long walk.
One hour later, he has only found that no place apart from inns is open at this hour, and also that weapon shops seem altogether more scarce than he would think in a port town. He does find a couple of drunken sailors, though.
"Nice hat!" one of them yells to Niklas, then laughs together with the other one.
Mark, meanwhile, nods at Kevin approvingly and heads off to find more body parts. There's an awful deficit of them around here.
He does spot drunks, but they're all inside taverns as far as he can see. It's probable that anyone who was about to go home tonight already has, and the rest will probably be spending their night passed out on the tavern floor.
At the gate of a hilltop fort...
Darren, not seeing why he shouldn't reveal his sacred mission, goes on and does it.
"Uhh, the Crown a'... The Crown of Flowers, I think. Velusius sent me here."
"THE CROWN-A-FLOWERS? THE GOD OF DEATH? OH, CRIPES. COME IN! DO I NEED TO OPEN THE GATE?"
Post by: Innsmothe on June 23, 2013, 05:08:57 am
Scott shall beam.
Now I just need a flint and steel...
He sees Kevin, and hugs him. He really looks like he needs one.
Post by: miauw62 on June 23, 2013, 06:30:29 am
Kevin began to panic. He looked like... One of them. The freaks. He had seen them travel trough the villages. Tents filled with cages filled with monstrosities and failed experiments. He was always disgusted by them. He always provided quality entertainment... But now... How would anyone ever take his hilarity serious again? He grabbed Mark with his arms and tested his ability to speak with his other face...
"CHANGE ME BACK."
((Also, do I not get a description of my new abilities?))
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 10:40:02 am
-It was made of rubber, right? it seems that that material can melt. Interesting...
He then looks for a branch (preferably not the one he has from the hateful tree) and tries to remove the mushroom from the oar.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 23, 2013, 10:40:42 am
((I'm in town if you can find me you can ask but you may want to talk to the transmuter))
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 10:46:53 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 11:09:30 am
Morton looked at the mushroom-oar. "You think the smoke might of affected it, good Sir Sigmund? Yes, it is made out of rubber if what good Mage Erin says was true." Morton aids Sigmund in his attempt to remove the mushroom from the oar.
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 11:26:28 am
-Grab something to help you, you don't want to touch this, not if it has grown recently. It can eat your arm, remember what happened to Mark, and he was made of metal.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 11:30:43 am
"Hm... Agreed good Sir Sigmund." Morton nodded, then holds the oar by propping it up with his forearm and holding it with his armpit, and goes to grab a non-hate tree stick along with Sigmund, to try along with him to pry it off with said stick.
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 11:32:43 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 23, 2013, 12:04:29 pm
Head inside.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 23, 2013, 01:53:40 pm
Scott, hardly able to contain his excitement, beams at everyone present on deck!
"I have flammamamamables! Now I just need a flint and steel..."
While he beams like a miniature sun, he notices a rather sad-looking Kevin. Poor Kevin. Scott goes up to him and gives the spiky abomination a hug.
Oh, look, Kevin's giant, funny face seems to be mouthing something! 'Change me back', Scott thinks he's saying. How quaint.
At a fire pit next to the Yaleson house...
Sigmund looks at the rather large mushroom. Hm, interesting.
"It was made of rubber, right? It seems that that material can melt. Interesting..."
He then looks for a non-hateful stick for the speedy removal of the mushroom. Unfortunately, having a broken pelvis hardly helps matters any, so he is left wanting in this respect.
"You think the smoke might've affected it, good Sir Sigmund? And yes, it is made out of rubber if what good Mage Erin says was true."
"Grab something to help you, you don't want to touch this, not if it has grown recently. It can eat your arm, remember what happened to Mark, and he was made of metal."
"Hm... agreed, good Sir Sigmund."
Morton also takes up the search, prodded by the physically-challenged Sigmund. He finds that none of the locally available branches he wouldn't have to climb up a tree for are more than a single meter in length. Whether this is good enough remains to be seen.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Wandering through the mean streets, Mark does a double check on that whole ritual thing. He concludes that he's got all he needs for now to conduct a ritual save for an actual victim. Those really shouldn't be that hard to find, he thinks. After all, there's a victim of a horrible ritualistic slaying born every minute, as the saying goes.
At the gate of a hilltop fort...
Darren, somewhat glad that the guy can see reason, still sees the need for a question.
"No, no, there's no need. Why the 'cripes' though? People come through here for this sort of thing often?"
As he approaches closer, the man lowers his voice.
"Velusian quests are trouble as far as I know - never seen anything good come of them. And the Crown-a-Flowers is much the same thing - tons of adventurers have died in the process of finding the thing."
Darren, passing through the gate effortlessly, finds himself in an austere and, to be frank, quite a backwater of a village. There's several hovels and what looks like a rudimentary town hall in here, but little else.
"You should probably go to the town hall and speak with the elder. He'll want to meet a spirit, particularly a spirit adventurer."
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 02:04:12 pm
Just grab any object. Those branches, albeit short, may be useful. Would you mind getting one for me?
Sigmund then tries to remove the mushroom from the oar with the branch Morton gives him.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 02:11:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 02:17:31 pm
-I'm sure that this oddity is was not caused by that tree at all, Morton. As I said, I think that this material melts when exposed to heat, just that. And the mushroom grows at this speed. I can't say that I had expected it all, but it makes sense.
((Or at least he likes to think it does))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 02:27:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 02:34:07 pm
-Maybe we can just thrust a branch into the mushroom and lift it that way? I'm sure that with it's growth rate it won't be harmed.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 02:51:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2013, 02:54:32 pm
-If it's not a problem for you, I would gladly accept that offer.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 23, 2013, 04:08:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 23, 2013, 04:09:10 pm
So you like my helmet, do you?
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 23, 2013, 06:56:56 pm
"Just grab any object. Those branches, albeit short, may be useful. Would you mind getting one for me?" Sigmund tells Morton.
"Of course, good Sir Sigmund," Morton replies, ripping off three branches, each about a meter in length, then throwing them to Sigmund. "That tree was most peculiar... Even burning it seems to render things an oddity."
"I'm sure that this oddity is was not caused by that tree at all, Morton. As I said, I think that this material melts when exposed to heat, just that. And the mushroom grows at this speed. I can't say that I had expected it all, but it makes sense."
"Hm... Perhaps you are right, good Sir Sigmund, although I query as to how we are to get it near the fire without exposing ourselves to... whatever is going on with the fire. Hm... perhaps I can tie a pot to something long, and use that to send the mushroom along?" Morton muses as he gets the oar into position.
"Maybe we can just thrust a branch into the mushroom and lift it that way? I'm sure that with its growth rate it won't be harmed."
"Indeed."
However, before Sigmund can try to remove the mushroom, Morton addresses an altogether different concern.
"Good Sir Sigmund, after this spot of trouble with the mushroom is over would you like me to fetch you a chair or something perhaps more comfortable to sit on than the ground? You can't seem to stand or walk, and we may be here a while."
"If it's not a problem for you, I would gladly accept that offer."
They nod at each other as Sigmund readies a branch and gets to prying.
However, as soon as the branch touches the mycelium of the dang thing, the mushroom seemingly deflates, producing a brownish cloud around itself that expands rapidly!
[Sigmund dodge roll: 3-1]
[Morton dodge roll: 1-1+1]
Sigmund tries to frantically back away, but he isn't fast enough to dodge the cloud of spores from the mature and very hateful mushroom. Morton, meanwhile, gets quite spooked, accidentally waving the cloud in his direction, then reflexively coughing and stumbling into the thick, brown smoke, which he swears wasn't there a moment ago.
[Morton endurance roll: 5]
He then steps out of the smoke when he realizes it's beginning to produce an incredibly painful searing sensation. Also, he feels a bit infested and violated now, as does Sigmund.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott tries to find something to start a fire with. Fortunately, this being a ship, a tinderbox isn't too far away. And he's pretty sure it works, too! Hooray!
In the mean streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas chooses to approach these kind fellows who complimented him on his headgear.
"So you like my helmet, do you?"
"Actually, yes. It's a rather fine piece of work, and we can certainly appreciate that sort of thing. Not to mention it's the sort of scary-looking thing more sailors could use in their daily lives. Mind if I sketch you?"
"At least you'll finally get a use outta those three years of apprenticing with that guy."
Post by: Xantalos on June 23, 2013, 06:59:39 pm
Speaking of which, do you know where either a kitchen is or I could gt a cleaver and knives?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2013, 07:05:52 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 23, 2013, 07:21:22 pm
Mark heads back to the boat to do some fishing
Post by: miauw62 on June 24, 2013, 12:50:47 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 24, 2013, 01:41:32 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2013, 05:28:22 am
-I didn't expect the spores to affect us. And it certainly feels bad. I wonder if we could capture them in some way? Maybe we could use a flask and try to put the ones over us inside of it. Do you have any other ideas, Morton?
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2013, 06:28:06 am
Niklas, always ready to be a muse, accepts the man's offer.
"No problem. Just draw me with a cleaver and some knives. Speaking of which, do you know where either a kitchen is or I could get a cleaver and knives?"
"Sure, cleaver and knives. There's a slaughterhouse on the edge of town, big building, just off the main road, can't miss it if you know what to look for - got a great big sign that says "Daniel's" on it. You could try looking for some there, I guess."
He gets out a piece of parchment and a small bit of coal, then produces a rather nice sketch of Niklas, devoting particular attention to the helmet.
"'Kay, thank you for your cooperation. Here's one silver for your trouble," he says, handing Niklas a coin.
At the fire pit of hate and spores...
Morton keeps on coughing, trying to keep the spores out of his airways, then drags the also-coughing Sigmund out of the way of the fire and slightly away from the oar, which he drops on the ground as well. Well, at least he's not inside the smoke anymore. That stuff really burns.
"I didn't expect the spores to affect us. And it certainly feels bad. I wonder if we could capture them in some way? Maybe we could use a flask and try to put the ones over us inside of it. Do you have any other ideas, Morton?"
Morton coughs some more, looking back at the oar. Such an unfortunate happenstance, he thinks.
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Mark, guessing that the quest for body parts will have to be put on hold, goes back to the ship. Good, Kevin's still here.
He walks up to the poor skeletal fellow, trips him up, then uses his spiky fishing-rod spine to try and catch something.
[Fishing roll: 6]
Luckily, fish really like human flesh, and there's plenty left over to use as bait. Casting his hook into the sea, Mark soon finds that something seems to have taken an interest! Something large! It bites onto the hook and pulls!
[Strength check: Mark vs. ?: 1 vs. 5]
Large enough to pull Kevin overboard, Mark flying over with him! They both land into the water, with Mark involuntarily letting go of the deformed jester/fishing implement!
[Tree endurance roll: 4-1]
As Mark sinks to the bottom and sees Kevin being helplessly dragged away, he can't help but wonder if this could have gone a bit better. He also feels his precious cytoplasm dehydrate a little.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, noticing Mark fly over the railing of the ship along with Kevin, starts to feel a little concerned.
Reassuring himself that they'll probably be fine for fifteen or so minutes, he looks for somebody to interview on rumors.
However, he realizes that he doesn't really know that many people in town, and just asking random strangers about different random strangers in the middle of the night is probably not the most productive approach one could take in this case.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 24, 2013, 06:54:41 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2013, 07:35:45 am
Sigmund, while waiting for Morton's response, will practice using the branches as crutches and try to walk.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 24, 2013, 08:14:31 am
((I can almost predict that the RNG has already dug out your grave. A salty grave))((Maybe but I will not abandon a friend anyway if the RNG wants me dead I'm dead might as well go out swinging saving lives also the tree shouldn't have had to roll on the first turn in the water it didn't before))
Sigmund, while waiting for Morton's response, will practice using the branches as crutches and try to walk.
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2013, 09:55:56 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 24, 2013, 12:38:28 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2013, 01:58:54 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 24, 2013, 02:15:03 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 24, 2013, 03:27:57 pm
I agree with yah Killer, thought the smoke was going to kill me and I might get an action or two to get Sigmund away, but Morton seems okay for now.]
"It might be the effect of the hate tree. I can most certainly say the smoke of burning its branches is... Quite painful experience, yes." Morton states in his typical understating way. "Do you believe we might wind up like Mark now, covered in mushrooms? How ever did he manage to get them off I wonder..."
"We can most certainly try again under more normal circumstances however, good Sir Sigmund, but I do not suggest we edge near the fire while it burns. I'm afraid it seems to be... A touch unfriendly, indeed."
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2013, 03:40:12 pm
-We should ask Mark how to remove the mushroom, before it finds us as suitable hosts. I agree that that smoke doesn't look very healthy. We should use another kind of wood to burn. Where did you say that there was the wood pile?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 24, 2013, 04:28:57 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2013, 04:47:15 pm
-While what you say is truth, we don't know if the mushroom has been affected by the hate tree at all.
After saying this, Sigmund inspects the mushroom and tries to deduce if it is different from the original ones he saw on Mark.
((If this is indeed a hateful mushroom, I want to make it sentient and have it as a pet. (Disregard that, as it's just a childish and unfunded wish I suddenly had)))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 24, 2013, 05:37:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2013, 05:41:14 am
Mark decides to follow the large, dark shape in the water that the equally dark shape of Kevin seems to be dangling behind! After all, Kevin is both integral to his plans and possibly his sort-of buddy!
[? escape roll: 1+1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 2-1]
As the shape meanders away slowly, Mark does his best to follow it! However, being made of solid steel at the bottom of the sea does him few favors, so a leisurely walk is all he can manage.
[Tree endurance roll: 5-1]
It's not too bad, really - the tree seems to be getting used to being dunked in salt water, really.
[? escape roll: 6+1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 6-1]
Mark decides to get himself into gear and starts to propel himself toward the thing, but the creature sees him coming in the process, then chooses to rapidly flee, taking Kevin with it and swimming away until its shape can no longer be discerned in the dark nighttime sea. Bugger.
[Tree endurance roll: 6-1]
The disappointment is quite enough to keep him going, really. Stupid aquatic creatures, kidnapping people left and right.
At a rather hateful fire pit...
Sigmund, sick of being a dreadful invalid, tries to figure out a way of walking about with crutches.
[Walking roll: 5]
After a bit of practicing, he realizes that they're not strictly necessary - he can just walk on his freakishly long spore-encrusted arms! They're certainly long enough.
"It might be the effect of the hate tree. I can most certainly say the smoke of burning its branches is... quite painful experience, yes. Do you believe we might wind up like Mark now, covered in mushrooms? How ever did he manage to get them off I wonder..." Morton muses on the recent turns of events. "We can most certainly try again under more normal circumstances however, good Sir Sigmund, but I do not suggest we edge near the fire while it burns. I'm afraid it seems to be... A touch unfriendly, indeed."
"We should ask Mark how to remove the mushroom, before it finds us as suitable hosts. I agree that that smoke doesn't look very healthy. We should use another kind of wood to burn. Where did you say that there was the wood pile?"
"It was where the back door of the manor once was, should still be there if the fire pit survived." Morton comments, ever-helpful in matters of guidance. "Surgeon Mark should know how to remove the mushroom, if he managed to do such himself. Do you believe we should attempt under more normal circumstances, or perhaps instead focus on the possibility that we may be infested with hate tree tainted spores? We could worry about certain infestations later, after we've dealt with the regular variety, otherwise we might become infested again, after all."
"While what you say is truth, we don't know if the mushroom has been affected by the hate tree at all."
Sigmund takes a look at the mushroom. Among the things that are different are the fact that it's a distinct shade of reddish-brown all over rather than just a dark tan with a lighter cap, and it also looks far larger and... more mature? It'd have to be, you know. It did just blow its offspring all around the area, after all.
Speaking of offspring, there do seem to be more mushrooms like the one on the oar beginning to grow around the fire pit. That's rather interesting.
Morton, unaware of Sigmund's observations, continues. "Hm... I suppose you are correct good Sir Sigmund. I'm just not one privy to chances, if the smoke was affected what is to say the mushroom isn't as well? I don't believe they are normally this red... But either way, good Sir Sigmund, I do not suggest approaching the oar in your current state, let me, in case the smoke tries to act strangely again."
Morton then quickly retrieves the oar, making sure to stand well away from the smoke in the process.
Within a hilltop fort...
Darren heads right into the town hall, looking for people to meet and greet.
However, the building's only occupant is a hideously old man with an awfully long, completely gray beard sitting in a comfy chair in the middle of the largest room. He turns to Darren and smiles a toothless smile.
"Ah, hello, youngster! Yer one a them dead fellers, right? Ghosts? I'm Elder Yunfunt. Who're ya, why're ya here and how can I be helpin' ya?"
In the mean streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, taking the coin, heads down to the slaughterhouse, reaching it rather soon. It's a rather large building, and it smells distinctly awful. Walking up to the front door, he knocks.
Nobody answers, though. Probably because it's the middle of the night.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott looks over the railing of the deck, scanning the waters for Mark and Kevin.
Despite the dark, he notices a large, dark shape moving about some distance away, causing noticeable ripples in the water and a smaller, shape following behind it. Okay, harpooning time!
[Scott vs. ?: 5 vs. 2+1-1]
He takes careful aim, then hurls a harpoon at the larger shape! Shockingly enough, it strikes through, piercing it! This seems to make it rather angry. Scott grabs the rope tied to the harpoon and tries to secure it.
[Opposed Strength: Scott vs. ?: 6+1 vs. 1]
However, no fish or whatever can match the strength of somebody with no regard for their own safety. Scott takes the rope, secures it around the mast, then gets to pulling. The shape appears to be incapable of providing much resistance to Scott, injured as it is, so it is dragged toward the ship, leaving a pronounced trail of blood. By the time it reaches the ship, it looks to have expired. Fortunately, Kevin hasn't done the same.
Pulling the thing back on deck, Scott notices that the creature is most certainly a fish - large, predatory fish of some kind, resembling something like a catfish, though its teeth are unusually large and its jaw unusually powerful. Kevin, strange and creepy as he is, looks mostly unharmed, only the hook on his back is stuck inside the fish's mouth.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 25, 2013, 05:48:36 am
(I hope the RNG isn't feeling ironic and kills me before I get out of the water)
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2013, 05:58:08 am
Mark seeing the fish get lifted out of the water thinks two words "KARMA MOTHERFUCKER" before he swims for the boat.
(I hope the RNG isn't feeling ironic and kills me before I get out of the water)
You didn't actually see the fish get lifted out, to tell the truth. It disappeared from sight before that.
Also, you can't swim. At all. Side effect of being made largely of solid steel.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 25, 2013, 06:12:41 am
I thought a giant shadow getting dragged over me back to the boat would have been seenMark seeing the fish get lifted out of the water thinks two words "KARMA MOTHERFUCKER" before he swims for the boat.
(I hope the RNG isn't feeling ironic and kills me before I get out of the water)
You didn't actually see the fish get lifted out, to tell the truth. It disappeared from sight before that.
Also, you can't swim. At all. Side effect of being made largely of solid steel.
any way
Mark remembering the weapons on the boat walks out of the water then heads back to the boat
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2013, 06:22:19 am
-Look! It seems that now we don't need to keep trying to grow this mushroom anymore. Now we just need some things to carry them.
Sigmund will go inside the house and look for:
-A blanket.
-Flasks.
-Failed the former, glasses.
Then he will ask back his guisarme and will pick a mushroom growing around the fire pit with it.
He then will say to Morton, as he hands him the mushroom:
-This mushroom can be perfectly used for making poison, there is no need to remove the big one from the oar.
Sigmund will the try to put the spores covering his body into a flask/glass.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 25, 2013, 09:05:10 am
Morton will return Sigmund's guisarme, and accept the smaller mushroom. "As you say, good Sir Sigmund, these will indeed be quite helpful, we can attempt to make a new batch of the paste with this quite readily I believe." Morton helps Sigmund with his search, both with the carrying of said found objects and finding them.
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2013, 09:52:42 am
-While we wait for the fire to extinguish, should we gather wood from the pile?
Sigmund looks for the wood pile, takes some logs, and puts them near the place he had been stting around (that means, away from the fire)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2013, 10:47:12 am
After a cursory hug with kevin, Scott will say:
"Now for part deux."
Fish for wild Marks
((Where is Niklas when you need him? :P))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 25, 2013, 12:11:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2013, 02:00:53 pm
Mark, rather in a hurry now to avoid losing all of his precious internal water, tries to get out of the salty depths!
He goes several steps before noticing a bloodied harpoon lowering nearby. And it has a rope, too! How convenient! He grabs on and climbs it out, finding himself in the company of a rather beaming Scott, a somewhat sulky and ambivalent Kevin and a very, very stabbed giant catfish-like thing that still takes the time to flop around a bit and bleed on deck.
[Tree endurance roll: 3]
The tree still seems like it's not doing too well. Mark feels like he's getting smaller in a head sort of sense. Head no feel good.
At a hateful fire pit...
Sigmund looks at the tiny little mushrooms growing around the fire pit, then points at them excitedly for Morton's benefit.
"Look! It seems that now we don't need to keep trying to grow this mushroom anymore. Now we just need some things to carry them."
"Indeed, the mushrooms grow at a rather expedient pace. Although the coloration worries me a trifle... do be careful of the smoke, good Sir Sigmund, a quite painful experience it is."
He handwalks into the house, navigating the gangplank, then looks for supplies of use in such an endeavor. After a short looks around, he comes to the conclusion that there are no flasks or glasses around here. Or blankets in ready availability - wonder who took them all, actually. A bit sad, he walks out, also on his arms, and parks his keister near the fire pit. Oh well. He probably couldn't have gathered any spores with those things anyway, considering that they're invisible to the naked eye while not in a uniform cloud.
"Please hand me my weapon of choice, Morton. The situation demands it."
Sigmund takes the guisarme and uses his freakishly long arms to cut off one small, growing mushroom and fetch it with the sharp hook. He then picks it up in his hand and displays it proudly! It does cause a tingling sensation in his fingers, though.
"This mushroom can be perfectly used for making poison, there is no need to remove the big one from the oar."
He hands the mushroom to Morton, who takes it and looks at it in the bright moonlight, also feeling his fingers tingle.
"As you say, good Sir Sigmund, these will indeed be quite helpful, we can attempt to make a new batch of the paste with this quite readily I believe."
"While we wait for the fire to extinguish, should we gather wood from the pile?"
Morton goes along with Sigmund and they both gather wood, Morton piling it up (as Sigmund, needing his arms for walking, can't really help much) near the fire pit, but not too near.
In a rudimentary town hall...
Darren keeps things short and concise.
"Gotta find the crown of flowers."
Elder Yunfunt giggles childishly.
"The Crown-a-Flowers? Dunno where t'find one o' those. I'd say ask the guy in the Tomb o' Everything - place where all things go ta die. Also known as our general store!"
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2013, 02:07:39 pm
-Do you feel something unusual about this mushroom? My hand, tingles, it's strange. May it have poisonous properties? I mean, beasides having lung-exploding spores.
Post by: Xantalos on June 25, 2013, 02:53:36 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2013, 03:00:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2013, 03:04:04 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2013, 03:11:53 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2013, 03:18:53 pm
Post by: kahn1234 on June 25, 2013, 05:16:35 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 25, 2013, 07:27:46 pm
(Please RNG give Innsmothe a overshoot :))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 25, 2013, 07:34:28 pm
"Indeed, it is much the same for me as well Good Sir Sigmund... Do you think perhaps its properties have been changed to even effect second-chancers as well? If so, we should be more careful with it." With that, Morton uses his free hand to snag his cleaning rag, then uses that to handle the mushroom. "Good Sir Sigmund, what did you require of the house? I might have such that would suffice in my pack. As is often said, always be prepared, no?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 26, 2013, 03:26:09 am
Sigmund, realizing that perhaps that tingling sensation in his hand isn't really a portent of much good.
"Do you feel something unusual about this mushroom? My hand tingles, it's strange. May it have poisonous properties? I mean, besides having lung-exploding spores."
"Indeed, it is much the same for me as well Good Sir Sigmund... Do you think perhaps its properties have been changed to even affect second-chancers as well? If so, we should be more careful with it."
Morton takes out his trusty cleaning rag and grabs the mushroom with that. The rag blackens noticeably on contact with the thing.
"Good Sir Sigmund, what did you require of the house? I might have such that would suffice in my pack. As is often said, always be prepared, no?"
Sigmund then considers Morton's proposition. What does one really need in unlife?
At a slaughterhouse...
Niklas, sick of all these rude people not having the common decency to answer a wandering lunatic in the middle of the night, tries to force the door open.
[Strength roll: 1+1]
After ramming into it a few times, Niklas concludes that this must be some sort of highly reinforced door, and thus not really responsive to such a treatment. How sad.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, seeing Mark get worse, decides to help with some much-needed fresh water and possibly fertilizer as well.
However, he has no real clue where to find something on the ship that fits the bill.
Meanwhile, Mark gives Kevin a hug, minding the massive amounts of sharp spikes on him to prevent any unintentional dulling.
[Mark endurance roll: 4]
He doesn't feel too good, but also not too bad. He ascribes this effect to the hug. Hugs feel good.
Post by: Xantalos on June 26, 2013, 03:33:07 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 26, 2013, 04:57:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 06:35:01 am
-I was looking for some kind of flask or glass to keep the spores in, but I realzed that, as the spores are so small to even see, that wouldn't be useful at all. I also looked for some kind of large piece of cloth that we can use to cover a mature mushroom, so that it doesn't fire spores at us, but I was unsuccessful, too.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2013, 06:49:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 08:17:02 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2013, 09:03:20 am
((Hey KHH, what do you want to do with the fish? Use its parts? Sell it in the weird flesh-o-mancy store? There are many uses for a dead fish that size, you know))((I dont know The flesh-o-mancy store sounds good
but I want some living fish for sacrifices so maybe stitching Kevins head to it and sending it out to get some fish for me is the best idea not including what the GM could think up that kevin would see coming))
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 10:13:44 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 26, 2013, 10:19:46 am
Kevin tries to rip off the fishing pole, because it seems to be lodged pretty firmly in the fish thing.
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 10:21:54 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 26, 2013, 01:06:38 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 01:40:25 pm
Sigmund wanted to get rid of those spores in his body, so he told Morton:
-While we wait for the fire to extinguish, why don't we take all those spores out of us? It's better to do that sooner than later.
Sigmund takes Morton to a part in the shore without many people, then, he will:
-Say: "I'm going to have a bath, don't look"
-He will then take out his clothes and dust them.
-Then he will go into shallow water and wash himself.
-After washing, Sigmund will go out of the water and shake like a dog to get dry.
-After that, he will put on his clothes again.
((If Xanmyral posts, don't do this))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 03:09:24 pm
"Hm... Not sure if I can help you with a blanket of some kind, but I can the flasks, good Sir Sigmund." Morton responded as he wrapped the mushroom into the blackening dusting rag, putting it away so he can have a free hand to dig out the five or so flasks to show to Sigmund. "How many did you wish to obtain? I have five, I originally planned for them to be full of the tainted drink for the malefactors who have Chef Niklas' knives. I do hope we're not too late for that..."
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 03:19:02 pm
Sigmund replied to Morton:
-Thanks, but those flask are not going to be necessary, unles we manage to capture these tiny spores. Speaking of which, why don't we take a bath? I'm starting to get worried about these fast growing spores.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 03:26:14 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 03:33:30 pm
-I have my differences with him. I would apreciate if you ask him for me. It's nothing personal, but I think that he doesn't understand how a normal human being wouldn't like to become an abomination. He is a tree-headed metal skeleton, after all.
Sigmund follows Morton if he decides to go and ask Mark, but stays away and frowns at Mark from he distance.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 03:58:00 pm
Morton will pack up, putting the flasks back, putting the dust rag wrapped mushroom in a pocket all its own away from stuff, if there is a left over hate tree stick he'll take it as well. Morton debates as to if he should take the oar however... "Good Sir Sigmund, do you believe I should dispose of this? It saddens me to, as it was my only means of defense, but it has become rather tainted now. Do you believe I should keep it, or dispose of it?"
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 04:04:41 pm
Sigmund scratched his chin, then said:
-Hmm, if that mushrrom ever matures again, we could actually use it as a very effective weapon. I say that you should carry it. If you want to get rid of the mushroom, Mark's method will probably work for that. We should keep it away from our master, though.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 04:15:09 pm
Morton will nod, taking it along with him then. "Very true, good Sir Sigmund. Now then, I believe Sir Mark would be somewhere in town, although where I can't fathom... The ship would be a good place to check first, I believe." The burned butler nodded, then started to lead the way to the ship for Sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 04:18:38 pm
Sigmund will follow Morton but stay away from Mark.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 04:20:59 pm
EDIT: Ah, well, quick check says you can't. Man, all those penalties, its kinda funny. Although it does make me question how that will effect the sea voyage...]
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 04:25:53 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 04:33:58 pm
Hopefully not, else you might have to stay at shore which would stink...
But then again, if we go by letter instead of intent, 'crossing' implies going from one end to the other and technically the ocean has no clearly defined 'beginning' or 'end' so one technically can't 'cross' it. Possibly going from landmass to landmass might count as 'crossing' I suppose however...]
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 04:37:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 26, 2013, 04:41:53 pm
Niklas tries a different method for door opening. Namely, a helmet-assisted charge at the door lock!
[Strength roll: 5+1]
Taking a few steps back, Niklas charges headfirst at the door, opening it extremely violently and quickly!
[Endurance roll: 2]
He does appear to have slightly snapped his neck in the process, however. He hasn't lost any limb function, though his head is limply hanging on his shoulders right now.
But who cares! He's in a slaughterhouse!
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, cleverly deducing that Mark is a big boy and can take care of himself, walks off to find some sail cloth.
However, he is wildly unsuccessful, as all the sail cloth he can see around is already used for sailing! How terrible! He is at a complete loss on what to do now!
Mark, meanwhile, tries to figure out what he needs for the rituals. Fortunately, there's a rather small space free where he could probably both start a fire and draw a circle of some kind. Still need a victim, though.
[Mark endurance roll: 3]
In other news, Mark feels like he's getting more stupid. Or is it stupider? What was the rule on that again?
Kevin, still feeling rather down on the concept of being a fishing rod, tries to rip it away from himself!
However, it is both spiky and formed out of his spine, so that might not be the best idea. He does, however, unhook himself from the fish easily. Stupid fish with their lack of fingers. When will they learn that pulling will only hurt more?
At an unusually hateful fire pit...
Sigmund, after considering how best to explain his hideous failures to Morton, goes with the straightforward route rather than the far more interesting route of just making stuff up.
"I was looking for some kind of flask or glass to keep the spores in, but I realzed that, as the spores are so small to even see, that wouldn't be useful at all. I also looked for some kind of large piece of cloth that we can use to cover a mature mushroom, so that it doesn't fire spores at us, but I was unsuccessful, too."
He is also struck by another idea.
"While we wait for the fire to extinguish, why don't we take all those spores out of us? It's better to do that sooner than later."
"Sounds appropriate, although it would have to be cold as the spores tend to take to that well. Good thing we're second-chancers, thus rather cold, else they might grow quickly. Do you think we should ask Sir Mark as to how he got his spores off? Ours might prove to be a more durable brand, a simple washing might not suffice... the mixture did respond by shrinking to the dry ice on the ship, although I doubt we would much wish for frost bite all over us to be rid of such a pestilence. In my case, it would be a matter of the end of the world, fire or ice."
Long story short, that is exactly what they resolve to do - ask Mark for advice! After all, he's awfully mushroom-free now. After packing up, among other things, the single remaining hate-branch, Morton's oar and one of the tiny mushrooms, they leave the raging, smoking fire pit in the woods as they return to the ship. They successfully locate Mark, still looking sharp, if unusually wet, looking at a particularly patch of deck on the ship. Sigmund makes sure to stay away just in case.
In a mostly-empty town hall...
Darren, having gotten what he came for, goes to the Tomb of Everything, which is a quaint little establishment opposite the town hall.
He is greeted by a young girl, probably no older than fourteen, dressed in rags. She addresses him in a squeaky voice, her small, ratlike eyes darting around the store (which, by the way, seems to have mostly ancient, indescribable junk in stock) on occasion.
"Hello, ghost! What're you looking for in the Tomb of Everything?"
Post by: Xantalos on June 26, 2013, 04:43:54 pm
Hold my head straight and search for knives and cleavers!
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 04:46:43 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 04:54:44 pm
The zombie butler coughed, tried to compose himself as he addressed Mark next. "Sir Mark, in our hunt for more of the necrotic paste substance we have deemed that it has come from the Death Mushrooms that inhabit the woods near previous Yaleson Manor. We went to fetch some, but came afoul of the spores, and recalled that you had some grow on yourself, but did not know how you managed to get rid of said growth. If you could perhaps enlighten us, so as to not be a harm to our still-living companions?"
Morton does a quick look around to see if Captain is on the deck.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 26, 2013, 05:22:21 pm
Scott will just steal the clothes of one of his 'cmpanions' for an ignition source, surely an undead monstrosity sees nothing in the sin of vanity?
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2013, 06:13:47 pm
Mark fearing for the tree on his head takes off running back to the village well and leaps down it.
again.
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2013, 07:05:03 pm
-We should follow him, I fear that he will get himself killed.
Follow Mark, rescue him from the bottom of the well
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2013, 07:11:27 pm
"Now now good Sir Sigmund, surely he has an instinct of self-preservation, I doubt he would kill himself." Morton commented, following Sigmund follow Mark. Aid action in said rescue.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2013, 07:23:41 pm
Sigmund shrugged after seeing Mark go running:After the rescue Mark hugs Sigmund
-We should follow him, I fear that he will get himself killed.
Follow Mark, rescue him from the bottom of the well
(The power of friendship even between crazy or evil is powerful)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2013, 02:18:28 am
(I have clothes when did I get clothes)((Meh, I would assume that even a human skeleton would be embarresesed from being 'naked' despite the lack of flesh.
Mark fearing for the tree on his head takes off running back to the village well and leaps down it.
again.
But oh well, I changed the post and now endanger the sensibilities of the entire group. Well done you :P))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 27, 2013, 02:39:18 am
((you have come far my young apprentice soon we will move on to learning the art of !!SCIENCE!!.))(I have clothes when did I get clothes)((Meh, I would assume that even a human skeleton ould be embarresesed from being 'naked' despite the lack of flesh.
Mark fearing for the tree on his head takes off running back to the village well and leaps down it.
again.
But oh well, I changed the poost and now endanger the sensibilities of the entire group. Well done you :P))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 27, 2013, 04:05:08 am
Niklas, making sure to keep his head straight and cool as always with his hands, searches about for tools of enlightened butchery.
This being a slaughterhouse, there are cleavers of large, medium and small sizes, knives of many sorts and even a whole bunch of meat hooks, not to mention what appears to be a saw on hand.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund glances at Mark with a considerable measure of disdain as Morton petitions the fellow for aid. However, Morton is first harrowed by the sight of Kevin, who appears to have been transformed into both a hideous abomination and a fishing rod.
"O-oh dear. What happened to you good Jester Kevin? Are you alright like that? Do you need assistance?"
Kevin says nothing, though. Morton supposes he's alright and coughs politely as he addresses Mark.
"Sir Mark, in our hunt for more of the necrotic paste substance we have deemed that it has come from the Death Mushrooms that inhabit the woods near previous Yaleson Manor. We went to fetch some, but came afoul of the spores, and recalled that you had some grow on yourself, but did not know how you managed to get rid of said growth. If you could perhaps enlighten us, so as to not be a harm to our still-living companions?"
Mark, however, appears to have been spooked by something, and he immediately runs off.
"...Well, there he went I suppose. Perhaps he didn't hear us?"
Morton shrugs, and Sigmund reciprocates with the same.
"We should follow him, I fear that he will get himself killed."
"Now, now, good Sir Sigmund, surely he has an instinct of self-preservation, I doubt he would kill himself."
Still, just in case, they follow Mark!
[Mark movement roll: 1+1]
[Sigmund movement roll: 6]
[Morton movement roll: 3-1]
Both of the undead keep up with Mark, who seems to be leisurely pacing through town to his destination, following him to wherever he may go.
[Tree endurance roll: 5]
The tree-headed skeleton unfailingly travels to a well somewhere in town, then proceeds to dive right in. Oh dear, what's he doing? Sigmund looks down, seeing the fellow sink down to the bottom of the thing. Sigmund considers how best to rescue the creature, and comes to the conclusion that he hasn't the foggiest. He's got no rope, and he isn't sure diving down after the guy is a good idea. He might get hurt. And it's deep. And dark.
Morton also looks into the well. It is at about this point that he is informed by a gust of wind and a certain dangling sensation that something important to him is missing.
[Scott thievery vs. Morton perception: 6 vs. 2]
Back at the ship, Scott marvels at the rather fine quality of the livery he has just procured. Gary, for all his faults, had pretty good taste. This will make for nice bomb material! Flammable, but not extremely so. Not to mention stylish. Also, there's a dusting rag with a mushroom in it in the pocket. Extra loot! Could this night get better? Scott believes so, but not by much!
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2013, 04:07:57 am
Convert as little of the livery as possible into fuses and 'wire' the bombs up.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 27, 2013, 04:09:03 am
((I stole Mortons breeches. :3))
Convert Breeches into fuses and 'wire' the bombs up.
You stole his entire livery, actually.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2013, 04:09:54 am
Cackles with inane glee
Post by: Xantalos on June 27, 2013, 04:10:49 am
((Dear god. Ye hath little idea of what you've unleashed. Nothing can stand against a butler who's had his livery stolen.))((I stole Mortons breeches. :3))
Convert Breeches into fuses and 'wire' the bombs up.
You stole his entire livery, actually.
Post by: miauw62 on June 27, 2013, 04:24:57 am
Kevin tries to run after Morton
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 27, 2013, 04:28:31 am
((Especially if he's the best friend of what amounts to the Hulk in skeletal form. That said, I have no idea what to have Kevin do right now.))
You're less like the Hulk and more like a skeletal, extremely spiky stick insect thing with a stretched-out face banner that you can make funny faces with. And a fishing rod on your spine.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2013, 04:34:55 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 27, 2013, 05:30:23 am
Morton looked down the well, contemplating how they might be able to rescue the strange fellow who had just jumped down it, the burned butler wondering if perhaps he had spoken too soon about the self-preservation instinct... Until a stray gust of wind that is.
The undead, looking down at himself, would of paled if his face was still capable of doing so. Instead it just had a mixture of confusion, horror, and shame. "O-oh d-dear. Ohdearohdearohdearohdear--" The burned butler immediately tried to hide behind something to cover his shame, moving the backpack to try and cover himself additionally as well. He had absolutely no idea what happened, and tried not to think too hard about the fact that he doesn't believe the backpack was ever removed between the trip from Yaleson manor to here, which is the best timeline he knew of when he lost his livery. "U-Uh-hm... G-Good Sir Si-Sigmund? A-A most grave of f-fate has bef-fell me, I-I'm afria-ad, I re-require assistance i-if you would... H-how long was I... I... Indecent." Truly, this is every butler's worst nightmare.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 27, 2013, 06:28:42 am
[I can't tell you how hard I am laughing right now.]((not as hard as I am right now))
Mark seeing concerned faces starts climbing up the well remembering where he put his hands and feet last time
(+1 to roll for memory Hopefully? ???)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2013, 06:40:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 27, 2013, 06:44:03 am
Sigmund pays no attention to Morton's gibberish and extends his elongated arms and pulls Mark out of the well as he tries to climb.
EDIT:
After pulling Mark out of the well, Sigmund said:
-What did you say about him having the instinct of self-preservation? Wait, what on Earth?
He then looks to the other side and adds:
-When did you take off your clothes? And, more importantly, why did you take them off?
He then sighes and says:
-Well, if you want to use this opportunity, you can wash off those spores now, but let me ask tree-head first.
He then asked Mark:
-How did you get rid of those mushrooms growing all over your body?
Post by: killerhellhound on June 27, 2013, 07:55:57 am
((I love this game))((I love this game and all you guys without people like you(including harry)this wouldn't have been as awesome as it is.So thanks))
-How did you get rid of those mushrooms growing all over your body?
Mark hearing the the last request after being helped the last bit out of the well pointed to the salt water.
Post by: Tomcost on June 27, 2013, 08:07:57 am
-It seems that the solution was having a bath, at the sea. I suggest you to dive into it before you get more embarrased about your situation.
Sigmund will:
-Go to the shore with Morton.
-Say: "I'm going to have a bath, don't look"
-He will then take out his clothes and dust them.
-Then he will go into shallow water and wash himself.
-After washing, Sigmund will go out of the water and shake like a dog to get dry.
-After that, he will put on his clothes again.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 27, 2013, 06:18:50 pm
Scott, faced with a vast, bountiful source of resources for his needs, wisely decides to save some for later zany schemes. That is, after he cackles with satisfaction. After all, how much cloth do you really need to make one fuse?
[Fusemaking roll: 3]
He bites a sizable piece of cloth out of the livery, then sets about twisting it into a fuse while chewing off unnecessary bits. It works nicely! He now has one fuse! And a livery with a sizable hole in it!
Kevin, having had his fill of barbarism today, runs to look for his butler buddy. He promptly gets lost in the dark, foreboding city, having found no trace of the fellow.
At one of Shriekpot's wells...
Morton, rather distracted by the matter of his own alarming nakedness, hides behind a nearby rock. It's a small rock, but it certainly helps him keep modest with the aid of his backpack. The shame persists, however, still not satisfied with the small oasis of cover.
"O-oh d-dear. Ohdearohdearohdearohdear- u-uh-hm... G-Good Sir Si-Sigmund? A-A most grave of f-fate has bef-fell me, I-I'm afrai-aid, I re-require assistance i-if you would... H-how long was I... I... indecent?" he asks of Sigmund. However, the vampire is a tad busy right now helping the daft bugger who jumped down the well, Mark.
Down at the well, Mark tries to recall how he got out of here the first time. Fortunately, it was yesterday, so it's not that difficult to remember. And with the aid of Sigmund, he gets out rather easily, weighing more than 200 kilograms be damned. It is at this point that Sigmund attempts to make a snide comment.
"What did you say about him having the instinct of self-preservation? Wait, what on Earth?"
However, his wit is momentarily distracted by the fact that Morton appears to be using a backpack to cover his heavily-burned dangly bits. And the fact that he appears to be completely naked otherwise.
"When did you take off your clothes? And, more importantly, why did you take them off?"
After Morton completely fails to give a sensible answer, Sigmund gives up.
"Well, if you want to use this opportunity, you can wash off those spores now, but let me ask tree-head first."
He finally asks his dear old friend Mark about what he wants to know.
"How did you get rid of those mushrooms growing all over your body?"
Mark points dramatically to the west, toward the port. Sigmund believes he can divine some information out of this gesture! Time for a beach run! He fetches the embarrassingly naked Morton and runs off to the harbor, briefly stopping at an intersection, but successfully distracting himself with thoughts of a midnight dip in the extremely salty Sea of Pleasant Winds.
When he reaches the shore, he wades into the water after undressing and telling Morton to point his naked ass rather than his confused face in his now equally nudity-saturated direction. Then he has a nice bath.
He feels cleaner! And saltier, too. How nice. After drying himself, Sigmund gets out of his birthday suit and into his proper outfit, now fresh and clean, ready for action!
Post by: Tomcost on June 27, 2013, 06:58:02 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 27, 2013, 07:11:54 pm
"G-good Sir Sigmund, just a moment if you will. I-I advise you to avert your eyes for decencies sake." Once that is done, Morton will remove the backpack and take the plunge into the salty water. Well, rather he'll wade into the shallow end and submerge himself for a moment or two, eyes closed, then arise to see if he's somewhere else and properly free of this obvious delusion. If failure is met, the burned butler will sigh and wash himself as well. It will probably do him some good, no?
The butler, if previous delusion breaking failure was met, will climb back onto land and try to dry off, and return the backpack. "Good S-Sir Sigmund, I'd much appreciate something of the clothing nature... I-I'm not entirely sure where my livery went off to. Or how it left my person. I-If you wouldn't terribly mind, I-I'd like to look for a clothing shop... Perhaps, tea willing, they're open this late of an hour..."
Morton then does so with the help of Sigmund. Still only if previous delusion breaking failure was met.
Post by: Xantalos on June 27, 2013, 07:51:25 pm
Niklas gleefully runs around collecting ALL the butchery tools.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 27, 2013, 07:53:39 pm
(Hope I get a few the trip will be long)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2013, 02:22:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 28, 2013, 07:33:35 am
Morton, taking advantage of Sigmund's considerate, considerable, wordless and, most of all, completely unconditional aid, decides to go for a nice bath. Well, not so much a nice bath as an attempt to break himself out of this hellish twilight zone of awkwardness and failure that he currently appears to be stuck in with little hope of outside rescue.
"G-good Sir Sigmund, just a moment if you will. I-I advise you to avert your eyes for decencies sake."
Sigmund, ever the stoic, does so. Morton relieves the backpack of its solemn duty for a moment and dives into the extremely salty bit of water.
Sadly, this fails to make reality seem any better. How terrible. He climbs back out onto land and dries off, then takes the backpack and lets it resume its paramount responsibility.
"Good S-Sir Sigmund, I'd much appreciate something of the clothing nature... I-I'm not entirely sure where my livery went off to. Or how it left my person. I-If you wouldn't terribly mind, I-I'd like to look for a clothing shop... Perhaps, tea willing, they're open this late of an hour..."
Sigmund shrugs, and the duo go out looking for good shopping locations. And, though none look to be open, they do meet a fellow on the street. A rather colorful fellow with a donkey trailing behind him. The donkey's back appears to be laden with fine fabrics, some of which look mighty peculiar indeed, and the man himself is dressed in a very concealing black robe. You cannot even see his face.
"Hello, dear friends," the man says in a crackling voice, two glowing orbs from under his hood peering at Morton. "It appears like one of you has had a wardrobe malfunction. I can help with that. Are you willing?"
One of his hands, resembling more a blackened lobster claw than a human appendage, taps impatiently as he regards Morton.
In your friendly neighborhood slaughterhouse...
Niklas happily collects all the wonderful implements of butchery as he runs around the slaughterhouse, his head joyfully, yet limply hanging downwards. At the end of the exploitation of this marvelous bonanza, Niklas is left holding a pile of 4 large meat cleavers, 6 medium meat cleavers, 7 small meat cleavers, 6 meat hooks, 10 butcher's knives and 3 saws of different sizes!
[Niklas strength roll: 2+1]
Sadly, this stuff is far too heavy to lug around easily. Well, at least it's all in one pile now.
At a well in Shriekpot...
Mark decides to head down to the ship and find something safer than Kevin to fish with. Once he arrives, he considers what he could possibly repurpose for such a function.
Fortunately, there's a perfectly good harpoon tied to the mast already. That's kind of like a fishing rod, and the rope is certainly long enough to fish with. Not to mention that it's unlikely that he'll be pulled overboard by it unless there's a freak accident. Which may indeed happen, given enough bad luck, but still. And he even has bait. So it's all good now.
Slightly farther away from Mark, Scott continues making fuses, soon having created three more at great expense to Morton's livery. Now to dispose of the evidence!
Scott, after making sure to have removed the wrapped mushroom he found in the pocket of the thing for safekeeping, hides the mangled livery in a nearby barrel of sauerkraut. Even if somebody suspected that it was actually in there, Scott doubts they might still want it back in that case. After sealing the barrel, he heads back onto the ship, whistling at the perfection that his crime has attained through his stupendous efforts.
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 07:43:13 am
-Yes, of course, sir. Are you a tailor of some kind?
Post by: killerhellhound on June 28, 2013, 07:47:36 am
(Selling fish souls anyone want some)
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 07:51:09 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 28, 2013, 08:17:47 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 28, 2013, 08:48:32 am
((Only if I could eat them. Maybe the Artiste is interested? Muehehe))((If he sees what I'm doing here then he might be.))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2013, 10:47:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 10:53:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 28, 2013, 11:47:43 am
Sigmund, seeing how Morton is very, very naked and not quite ready to answer most questions without stuttering abominably at the very least, takes the lead with the strange fellow.
"Yes, of course, sir. Are you a tailor of some kind?"
"Sort of. I can help the naked fellow, certainly."
"Y-yes, yes, clothes would be most excellent good sir, I-I appear to have wound up indecent by... s-something. I'm not sure how exactly."
"Think nothing of it. Happens all the time, really. Now it's time to aid you."
He takes out a bit of chalk and draws an unbroken circle around Morton, drawing seven sigils around its side. Morton is about to ask a question, but the man snaps his lobster-claw and the circle becomes a black hole in the ground. Before Morton can react, he is violently sucked inside of it.
Sigmund stares at the man dumbfounded.
"Oh, don't worry. He'll survive. I think."
Morton, meanwhile, flies through what he believes is a realm of infinite darkness. Then it transcends into a realm of infinite color. Swirling, prismatic winds tear at his flesh as he sails through the howling abyss, rainbows searing his eyes and spectral patterns vividly emerging and radiating from his body.
Suddenly, he is aware of a rogue fractal pattern of mauve approaching him! It asks him a question!
"Why, hello there, little girl! Might I ask what you're doing here? Are you lost?"
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark decides to go harpoon fishing while he's at this. He hooks a stray piece of meat on the harpoon and lowers it in the ocean.
[Fishing roll: 3]
Nothing seems to be biting, though. Aside from this one really tiny fish that Mark pulls out. How regrettable.
Scott, meanwhile, has the idea of a lifetime. He goes over to the Artiste in the den, currently in the middle of a very nice dinner and chat with Erin, Evelyn, Art and the Captain, and offers the mushroom to his beloved overlord.
The Artiste looks at the mushroom.
"Ah, Scott, you've done it again! You've brought food! Many thanks," he says, taking the mushroom. As he holds it in his hands, his fingers begin to blacken.
"Hm, judging by the hideous pain in my fingers I would say they are rapidly decomposing! How terrible!"
He places the mushroom back on the dusting rag.
"Now, Erin, could you please fix my hand? I'm afraid it might fall off or poison my bloodstream or some such if I don't do anything about it."
"Right, sure."
[Erin magic roll: 3]
As Erin halfheartedly gestures from her seat, the Artiste's arm becomes shinier.
"Ah, not a bad job, Erin, but could you be a tad more helpful on your second attempt?"
"Um... maybe?"
Erin stands up and points at the Artiste's arm dramatically!
[Erin magic roll: 6]
It then twists into a rather interesting silvery limb, elongated and alien-like, with large, spidery fingers coming out of the palm in several directions.
"Much better. Now, Scott," the Artiste says, turning to his minion. "You really should be more careful with food. It's really terrible when people get hurt due to something as innocent as food."
"Why, I could TELL YOU STORIES..."
[Scott will roll: 1]
Scott, however, does not pay attention, as he is too busy writhing on the ground, black foam collecting in his mouth as he experiences a brand new dimension of exciting pain.
"Ah well. Guess the binding defense mechanism will sort this out."
[Scott will roll: 1-1]
Scott, his very soul splitting into pieces at the tiniest measure of harm to the Artiste for some reason, rolls about on the ground, gibbering crazily as his very being threatens to disintegrate.
"Help him out, will you, Art?"
"Eh, I suppose. After all, wouldn't want him to die for something as minor as that."
[Art magic roll: 5]
Art stylishly points his hand at Scott and utters some words. In the next few moments, Scott feels a wave of relief as he shivers quietly on the floor. He's not dead yet, it seems.
"Still got it, baby."
"BRAVO, the SILLY BUGGER will UNLIVE YET!"
"Good show, Art. Now, where were we?"
"I do believe the Captain was discussing the state of magic in his days."
"That he was, I recall! So, let's resume."
"Ah, RIGHT! Now, WHERE WAS I? OH, I remember. MAGIC WAS FAR LESS COMMON in my day, and you DIDN'T HAVE this BLACK CIRCLE NONSENSE and whatnot. It was all ISOLATED, CRAZY BUGGERS WARPING REALITY in their own COMFORTABLE HERMIT LOG CABINS. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! So..."
They continue their chat, paying the prone Scott no further attention.
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 11:53:31 am
Sigmund took some steps back from the strange individual, and asked:
-Where did you send him?
Post by: miauw62 on June 28, 2013, 11:55:47 am
Kevin decides to take a stroll around town, considering the lack of other things to do and still a bit dazed.
Post by: Xantalos on June 28, 2013, 12:00:23 pm
Actually, that was a lie. He did, most heavily. Fortunately, he knew how to deal with this!
Niklas takes as much as he can carry and still move reasonably fast back to the ship, then comes back and takes similar sized loads until all of it is on the boat!
Then go get the medic mage to fix my broken neck. Actually, do that on the first trip.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2013, 12:09:26 pm
Scott will re wrap the mushroom and remove it from the Artistes sight.
"However...it...OW...may...OH GODS WHY!?
...
..
...be...useful."
((Dammit. :c Rollplaying gets you killed.))
Post by: killerhellhound on June 28, 2013, 12:24:40 pm
((on the boat trip what is everyone's guess of what I bring up from the depths))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2013, 12:40:43 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 12:46:02 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 28, 2013, 12:46:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2013, 12:47:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 28, 2013, 08:11:13 pm
Morton can only say one thing after the strange scene shift. "Oh bother." Except it was rather drawn out and shouted a bit, with added touches of flailing about through what he assumes to be a free-fall. The burned butler quickly erased the mental slashing over the 'I'm in a nightmare' idea on the list of things of what happened to his livery.
His flailing however was dampened when all of the sudden things went from pitch black, to vibrant colors. Everywhere. The butler tried to both keep himself decent and protected from the winds with a mixture of the backpack and his hands, not entirely sure if he should be worried about the colors escaping from his decayed, burned body.
Morton almost didn't catch one of the colors, different from the rest it seems, talking to him. For a moment he wondered if he should be concerned with his sanity, but instead decided that sanity must be missing from this place, which he hopes is a really, really bad dream. "U-uhm... I-I apologize my g-good colorful figment, b-b-but I'm nei-ither female n-nor young. E-er... But s-salutations all the s-s-same. I-I'm afraid th-that I rather do not know-ow where I am, no. I-I apologize fo-for my indecency." Morton tried to keep his voice steady as he responded to the figment. No reason to not be polite after all, even if possibly falling to one's second death while horribly... Indecent.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2013, 04:31:45 am
Sigmund, faced with a most unusual clothes vendor indeed, decides to bravely ask a reasonable question.
"Where did you send him?"
The salesman giggles darkly.
"To a far more fashionable place. They'll take good care of him. Now we just wait."
Elsewhere in Shriekpot, Kevin tries to deal with the fact that he's terribly lost by pretending that he isn't after all - he'll just wander about aimlessly for now. That'll work.
He strolls around town until he finds himself in the very Center of Shriekpot. It's a rather nice square, really. Even has a big ol' signpost pointing in several directions. Like, that way lies the temple and such, that way lies the hospital, that way lies the bank, that way lies the schoolhouse, and more!
In a slaughterhouse...
Niklas, adept at pillaging, decides to make several runs for all the wonderful goods for the slaughterhouse. Picking up an armful of tools, he walks back to the ship and dumps them in what he believes to be a safe place - the cargo hold! Though this is a largely illusory belief, it is calming nonetheless.
On that note, he visits Erin in the den.
"... and SO THEY BLEW THEM UP! ALL of them, to SMITHEREENS! Now THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE MAGIC!"
Niklas walks up to Erin and taps her on the shoulder.
"Yes? Oh my, what's happened to ya? Yer neck's broken!"
"Fix me."
"Sure, why not."
[Erin magic roll: 5]
Niklas' neck straightens out suddenly, becoming unusually metallic in the process!
"It'll be a bit difficult... well, maybe impossible is the better word, to turn now without turning around. Have a good one, though!"
Niklas shrugs, passing by Scott, who appears to be wrapping up a mushroom while mumbling something. Oh well. Niklas carries all the goods back to the ship in two subsequent runs, then gazes at his pile of ill-gotten gains.
By the gods, he could swim in that pile, it's so magnificent!
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, happy about his latest bounty, tries to sacrifice the cute little fishy to Jolly Vito.
[Ritual roll: 6]
He takes the fish and begins to bleed it, drawing the requisite sigils with quite a bit of flamboyance as the fish bleeds out! Soon enough the ritual is successfully complete, and Mark feels wonderfully accomplished as the little fishy passes away, its soul going to a much, much worse place than it presently occupies.
All is good, he thinks. So, now for more fishing!
[Fishing roll: 6]
Soon enough, something bites! Once more, it is something rather large! Large enough to make the ship tilt a little as it pulls, actually.
[Mark strength vs. ? strength: 3 vs. 1+1]
Fortunately, pulling at the mast tires whatever he caught out, and he eventually pulls it out. It's some kind of strange, bulbous fish with many pseudopodia-like things probing at Mark from its skin. Certainly an unusual creature, though rather harmless on land, it seems.
In a fabulous location of some sort...
As Morton plummets through the Fab Dimension, he takes the time to answer the confused mauve thing's question.
"U-uhm... I-I apologize, my g-good colorful figment, b-b-but I'm nei-ither female n-nor young. E-er... But s-salutations all the s-s-same. I-I'm afraid th-that I rather do not know-ow where I am, no. I-I apologize fo-for my indecency."
"Ah, you're a lost old nudist, are you? And covered in burns, too! Not to mention rather dead-looking. I find your appearance offensive to say the least, fellow figment! Let's alter it!"
[Alteration roll: 1]
Morton feels a peculiar alteration as his body shifts dramatically! A peculiar twisting sensation and a feeling of being violated later, Morton suddenly realizes that he is, in fact, a desk! A colorful, beautiful desk! The feeling is curious, he must say.
"How about that? That's better, no?"
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 04:35:20 am
Feeling the ship tilting scott will run out on deck.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2013, 04:38:50 am
((Are you ignoring me on purpose? :'c))
Feeling the ship tilting scott will run out on deck.
I did include you under Niklas' action since you didn't really do much. Didn't really want to set the scene twice.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 04:41:02 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 29, 2013, 07:15:38 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 29, 2013, 07:31:27 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 29, 2013, 07:44:53 am
Sometimes dragging something big and dangerous from the depths on board to sell its soul and use it in transplants))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 29, 2013, 09:01:32 am
Morton isn't entirely sure if he can talk while being a desk. He figures he should probably try anyway, with everything that is going on. It's certainly a nice desk though. "E-er, I apologize f-for my previous appearance, factors w-were not under my control sadly." The butler seemed to be calming down, wondering if falling is actually a thing here really. Sure, he's falling, but is he really falling? He's not that sure. 'Course right now he's becoming less and less sure this is reality and instead that the mushroom smoke must be really giving him weird dreams or something.
"I-I thank you for your help, b-but I'm afraid I-I'm rather attached t-to a living physiology. T-This is most certainly one of the most wonderful d-desk I've seen though, and I-I've seen many." Is indeed true, he has seen a great many desks. "I'm s-still a touch confused as to where I am however, i-if you wouldn't mind, could you perhaps enlighten me? L-Last I remember is a strange man with a lobster-like hand s-saying he'd help me in my most horrid of indecent moments."
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 09:13:15 am
-So, you sell cloth, right? Do you have any useless rag that you wouldn't mind to throw away? It's because I currently need some to andle a particulary dangerous mushroom.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2013, 10:02:58 am
Scott, feeling the ship move most peculiarly as something happens on the deck, composes himself and gets to his feet, intent on investigating. As he comes out on deck, he spots Mark doing something ridiculous.
[Ritual roll: 3]
He appears to be trying to remove the fish's ribs, but is having trouble in doing what follow's next. Namely, the stabbing of the fish's heart and making sure it lives for long enough for him to finish a fairly elaborate carving with his scalpel. Unfortunately, he fails in accomplishing this. Oh well. Plenty more fish in the sea, that's what he always says.
[Mark fishing roll: 2]
Okay, maybe there aren't that many fish in the sea. At least, not that many interested in the bait he's got. How terrible!
At the Center of Shriekpot...
Kevin, having no place better to be, wanders over to the schoolhouse.
However, this being the extremely late-night or extremely early morning, it is predictably closed. Not to mention that there appears to be some kind of notice on the door.
In the Fabulous Dimension...
Morton, unsure of the plausibility of a desk being capable of conveying speech, goes ahead and tries it anyway. Fortunately, one of his drawers turns out to be a rather cleverly-disguised speech organ of some sort!
"E-er, I apologize f-for my previous appearance, factors w-were not under my control sadly."
"Apology accepted, my good desk! All better now, yes?"
"I-I thank you for your help, b-but I'm afraid I-I'm rather attached t-to a living physiology. T-This is most certainly one of the most wonderful d-desk I've seen, though, and I-I've seen many."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll love being a desk! I tried it once, and it was absolutely amazing!"
"I'm s-still a touch confused as to where I am however, i-if you wouldn't mind, could you perhaps enlighten me? L-Last I remember is a strange man with a lobster-like hand s-saying he'd help me in my most horrid of indecent moments."
"This man spoke truly! I have indeed cured your awfulness! However, I really have business to attend to right now. Tell your friends about this place! I'm sure I will be able to help any other fashion-challenged individuals as well! But now, I must bid you adieu, for your exit is coming up!"
Morton is about to ask what that means, but he is sucked through yet another portal before this can happen. He finds himself back in Shriekpot! Right next to the donkey once again, actually.
"-you have any useless rag that you wouldn't mind to throw away? It's because I currently need some to handle a particularly dangerous mushroom."
"No, sadly I have no useless rags. All my rags have multiplex and manifold uses, some of them fairly esoteric. I could sell you some cheaper cloth, however. Ah! Look! The portal has opened!"
The dark man walks up to Morton and runs a hand over his rich, unusually tinted extraplanar finish.
"A desk? Most unexpected. The process most definitely requires reevaluation. Sorry about that, I suppose. At least your friend's desk shape is rather fashionable. A finer desk I have not seen in ages."
Sigmund, though he cannot call this development entirely pleasant, has to agree. Morton's never looked better.
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 10:09:01 am
-Morton, are you this desk?
Post by: Xanmyral on June 29, 2013, 10:17:01 am
[Would normally be longer, but time is currently running short.
Also, my sides. They have been split asunder. Truly this is the gem of all events to happen, becoming an exquisite desk, now to just work it in my favor.]
Post by: miauw62 on June 29, 2013, 10:23:50 am
Kevin reads the notice.
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 10:26:07 am
-Oh, dear!
He then turned to the man and asked:
-Is there a way to change him back? Or, at least, to a better shape? I'm not critizicing this wondurful piece of furniture at all, but I'm afraid that it's not very comfortable to be something as, umm, so immovable on it's own as this.
((At miau: I really doubt so. Well, maybe Jordan, I think))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 10:53:12 am
Scott will grab his harpoon from mark and show him how REAL MEN fish!
Post by: killerhellhound on June 29, 2013, 11:22:43 am
He watched the new blood try his skills.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 12:39:39 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 12:53:22 pm
Spoiler: For Xanmyral (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on June 29, 2013, 01:59:31 pm
Also I am determined to have Morton live, missing form be damned, this just makes him a much better face. Which he kinda was anyhow.
I plan on working on making the most of his desk form.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2013, 02:13:41 pm
Sigmund, figuring that it's best to check if it's actually Morton that's become a desk or just a random desk that fell out of a dimensional rift for no reason. Hey, it happens.
"Morton, are you this desk?"
Morton, thinking for a moment and deducing that this is indeed not a trick question of some kind, opens his talking drawer!
"I... Yes. It does appear I am now a desk. I'm not entirely sure what to say of this change in my body... although it is a marvelous desk, that can't be denied."
To further the point, Morton shambles forward slowly by moving his four legs. Sweet, he can walk! It looks awfully weird, however.
"Oh, dear!" Sigmund exclaims, jumping backwards. He looks at the rag man and asks him a question. "Is there a way to change him back? Or, at least, to a better shape? I'm not criticizing this wonderful piece of furniture at all, but I'm afraid that it's not very comfortable to be something as, umm, so immovable on it's own as this."
"Seems to be walking just fine, our desk-friend. Not to mention rather improved from his previous state. Sure, you may make an argument about the lack of hands, but really, that's just a matter of perspective. And I'd rather not send him through the portal again. The demon may take offense. I could send you, though, long-armed man. Perhaps you will be changed for the better as well? Not to mention that I will have thoroughly proved the concept of the thing and obtained new data. And if you do, I'll give you any fabric you desire as payment. Would such a thing be agreeable?"
At the schoolhouse of Shriekpot...
Kevin strolls up to the schoolhouse and takes a look at the notice.
To any it may concern,
The schoolhouse is temporarily closed as we mourn the untimely passing of Ms. Rita Lenford, our recently departed and dearly beloved faculty member. If you have any questions of the schoolmaster or his subordinates, direct them to the guard and he will do his best to relay them to the appropriate individual.
Sincerely,
Schoolmaster Gingham.
Ah. How unfortunate.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, having decided that Mark is using the harpoon all wrong, takes it away from him. Mark, having had no luck at the moment, does not mind. Scott looks at the sea, trying to spot fish moving around.
Oh, over there! That's most certainly a fish! Scott hurls the harpoon!
[Scott precision roll: 6]
It strikes the thing dead-on! Scott hasn't missed a harpoon throw yet! However, the sound it makes is a bit odd. Scott tries to pull the harpoon back, finding that it offers no resistance!
When it's back in his hands, Scott realizes that it's lost its edge a little. Must have hit a rock. Aw.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 02:31:15 pm
((Why am I getting a discworld vibe here about my turn? ;P))
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 04:09:51 pm
Sigmund thought the proposal for several seconds. He didn't want to end as a furniture, bu he was already in part a freak. Finally he took a decision:
-Yes, sir. Any recomendations before my travel?
EDIT:
Sigmund hands every thing he has got to Morton before the travel. Yes, he will go naked too.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 29, 2013, 05:14:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2013, 05:17:26 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on June 29, 2013, 07:44:43 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 29, 2013, 07:46:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 30, 2013, 04:59:56 am
Scott makes sure to mark the insidious fishrock in order to avoid it in the future, then takes aim at something else.
However, no reasonably visible fish are in sight. There is only that one rock protruding from the depths. It's clearly mocking him with its fishiness, Scott thinks. Well, its fishiness and its general immunity to piercing weaponry. It's a right bastard of a rock, Scott concludes.
As Scott muses on the vile nature of his stony adversary, Mark looks for something to sharpen a harpoon with. Fortunately, there is a very nice-looking whetstone here. That could presumably work.
Next to a rather strange cloth merchant...
Doubtlessly intrigued by the prospect of becoming exquisite furniture, Sigmund realizes there's only one possible answer to the question of whether he wants to take the plunge.
"Yes, sir. Any recommendations before my travel?"
"Don't get snippy is all I can tell you. They hate that. Cooperate! Object if you like, but don't press the issue. Don't make demands, merely suggest. This applies to relations with all creatures of unimaginable power, really. I could give you the handbook when you get back, even. Not before, though."
Sigmund nods and promptly gets shamelessly naked, placing all of his stuff on his favorite (not to mention only) desk-friend. Meanwhile, the salesman draws the same circle around him as he did before, then snaps the claw. Sigmund is sucked into a pit of darkness much like Morton before him! He falls through what appears to be a dark void, then suddenly hits a realm of infinite, all-encompassing color. The transition is not unlike the sensation of a brick wall exploding within your skull. As Sigmund falls through the incredibly fabulous, colorful realm, a powerful ultramarine beam shines on his soul!
"Ah! More visitors! May I ask what exactly a naked old woman seeks in this realm?"
Back in less fabulous climes, Morton briefly reflects on the fact that he appears to have all of Sigmund's stuff placed on him. So he figures it best not to move too far away.
"Uhm... Sir Tailor, what exactly was done to me? I'm... I'm afraid I never really understood. Lots of colors, and a strange figment that spoke to me and... well, turned me into a desk."
"Funny thing is, I'm not sure, either! I think I opened a portal to the realm of a demon, but which exact demon, I don't know. I do know that things that go in, get spit out in a more fabulous form. I suppose it might be a particularly benevolent and fabulous demon you meet, but I have not tried it myself yet - I devised the entire method only yesterday. Tested it on several inanimate objects and it seemed to work fine, so I set out in search of test subjects. Fortunately, you two came along."
This does bring another question of perplexing means to Morton's mind - how exactly does he see anything? To be honest, he has absolutely no idea. Maybe he shouldn't be able to see after all.
Yes, he probably can't see anything. It only makes sense, after all. All the things he saw are probably products of his brain trying to fool him he can actually see something. Well, he'll be having none of that now. Blindness ho!
Also, on that note, he opens one of his drawers. He hears something large and rubbery pop out and fly away rapidly in an uncertain direction. And the third drawer seems to be filled with teamaking supplies.
Post by: Xantalos on June 30, 2013, 05:02:54 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 30, 2013, 05:50:39 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 30, 2013, 05:52:27 am
He whispers.
""Fishy rock, you'll get yours one day..."
Post by: Tomcost on June 30, 2013, 09:53:24 am
-I'm sorry, but I'm a man, and altough I'm quite old, I don't think that I look old. I'm Sigmund, it's a pleasure to meet you. I came here as a result of a ritual performed by an extravagant cloth vendor. I've been told that you make things fabulous here. And I think that I currently lack that fobulousness. I just want to look better, although not very different if possible. I would like to keep a humanoid form, but, well, you are the experts in these kind of things right? I'm sure you will do a wondreful job anyway.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 30, 2013, 12:50:11 pm
Post by: miauw62 on June 30, 2013, 12:58:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 30, 2013, 05:35:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 30, 2013, 05:42:07 pm
Niklas tries to find some kind of strap or rope in order to make himself into a new chef! Better in both armament and looks, it shall be a new beginning!
Fortunately, rope and leather straps appear to be in relative abundance around here! Niklas takes a few and tries to make himself a +5 harness of optimal culinary performance!
[Crafting roll: 4]
He does eventually make a wonderful full-body harness of most of the tools available, including strapping all the giant cleavers around his back! Two of the saw had to stay asides, though. Too big and unwieldy - he's pretty sure you need two people to use one of them properly.
[Strength roll: 4+1]
And the harness can be carried rather nicely! Much better than previously! It's lucky that Niklas is as beefy as he is - a lesser man would break under the weight of the thing. He can't move quite as quickly anymore, though, but he would wager that this harness might function as armor. Not good armor, naturally, but good enough to turn aside a slashing weapon occasionally.
Meanwhile, back on the deck, Scott engages in the ancient Yaleson ritual of sharpening his harpoon vigorously until it becomes powerful enough to turn any knight into a quivering mass of flesh.
[Sharpening roll: 2]
However, the blade, chipped as it is, confounds Scott! It renders him momentarily dysfunctional! His spirits drop immediately as he realizes he has no idea what he's doing! He hasn't sharpened his harpoon once in his entire life!
Maybe he should seek advice from someone more experienced in such matters. Ah, if only he hadn't killed Bernie.
At the schoolhouse of Shriekpot...
Kevin decides to wander off in a completely random direction as he writes the schoolhouse off as a waste of time. He wanders off aimlessly, eventually coming back to port by sheer accident. Go figure, huh?
In the Fabulous Dimension...
Sigmund, flying through the void rapidly, politely clarifies his gender and purpose.
"I'm sorry, but I'm a man, and although I'm quite old, I don't think that I look old. I'm Sigmund, it's a pleasure to meet you. I came here as a result of a ritual performed by an extravagant cloth vendor. I've been told that you make things fabulous here. And I think that I currently lack that fabulousness. I just want to look better, although not very different if possible. I would like to keep a humanoid form, but, well, you are the experts in these kind of things, right? I'm sure you will do a wonderful job anyway."
"Hm. Lots of naked men falling in today. Well, I certainly have my work cut out for me! You are most certainly an abominable nudist, and we cannot have that! Prepare to be changed for the more fabulous, if not necessarily the better!"
[Alteration roll: 4]
Suddenly, Sigmund is twisted and reshaped at the creature's whim! He becomes something... rather different, he would say. He most definitely does not look like he used to - for one, he is taller and much more muscular in his looks. What's more, his arms now have a far more aesthetically pleasing length rather than the previously incredibly strange one. His pale skin becomes noticeably reddish-purple, and he appears to have attained a rather large headdress resembling a strange wig made of strange, scintillating, golden wormlike things. This motif carries over to the rest of his garb - he seems to be wearing a large, rather imposing greatcoat made of the same thing - it's remarkably soft and warm, he must say - and a set of pants that really seem to accentuate the hips. Also, he now has a rather unusual black handlebar mustache that writhes expressively with his every facial movement, complete with eyebrows conforming to the same principle. Every one of his features has become far more sharp and alert-looking. Finally, he appears to be wearing a set of red, high-heeled leather boots that seem to make his feet look bigger than they really are.
In short, he looks a bit fruity, though at least he's not a desk.
"There we go! Don't we look marvelous?"
Next to a rather strange cloth salesman...
Morton keeps up the conversation. Not like he has anything better to do while Sigmund undergoes his extreme makeover.
"I must say, that is quite the interesting achievement Sir Tailor. However did you manage to uncover such a thing?"
"I studied demonology in the University of Magic before I turned to fashion. The two mix rather well, unsurprisingly."
"You haven't tried it yourself either?"[/color]
"Demonologists who are the first to enter portals they make don't tend to live very long, I've found. Besides, I like the way I look."
"Either way, I'm glad to have been of some service to you, although I do wish I was in a more, ah, versatile form. Do you perhaps have any suggestions, sir Tailor? Perhaps a way to reverse such, or attempt to change it?"
"You could try a transmuter, but they are highly unlikely to help. When you begin to comprehend the structure of a demon's works, your mind tends to quit rather quickly. This is why demonologists are largely an easygoing, happy-go-lucky lot while transmuters are largely neurotic control freaks."
Morton, rapidly becoming convinced that this is, in fact, some kind of weird dream, tries to make himself see again! He is well on his way in his attempt when he suddenly realizes he does have eyes - glass ones. They are placed in the knobs of the drawers. How strange.
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren behaves in a friendly and forthright fashion, feeling that the Crown of Flowers is within his reach!
"Howdy. So, the Crown of Flowers. You have it here? Do I have to go through any tests?"
"Crown of Flowers? That's in the really, really deep catacombs. I mostly just wander around the upper, the deep and the really deep ones. I draw the line there, ya see. Too many ghosts down there. Territorial ones, too! They'll splatter your head if you're not real careful-like. You don't wanna go down there. I live down there, and even I don't wanna go down there."
Post by: Xantalos on June 30, 2013, 06:09:26 pm
And then sharpen his stuff too, if they need to be.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 30, 2013, 06:50:20 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 30, 2013, 06:55:57 pm
-I love this change! I have to look at me in a mirror now. Thank you very much. By the way, what's the name of this place? I may recommend it to my friends. Well, if you like to make people more fashionable, and are not doing this because you feel obliged to do so.
((I wonder if this has fixed my pelvis))
EDIT:
[If Sigmund gets teleported back]
Sigmund stands in a confident way and asks:
-Do you like my new style?
[Pause for the response]
-I have to look at my face, do you have a mirror?
Post by: killerhellhound on June 30, 2013, 07:25:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 30, 2013, 07:53:36 pm
Ah, marvelous! It seems parts of the desk neatly cover most of what he can do indeed. Hm... Morton does wonder if the other two drawers are indeed just used for storage however, and if so how much. Given the properties of what is going on, and the happenstance of his changes, he isn't certain enough to say 'what is physically allowable,' as he's seen enough to chuck that out the proverbial window, yes indeed. However, the burned butler suddenly realizes something most dreadful. He can't make tea anymore in his new form, due to lack of hands...
Morton was silent for a minute or two due to this realization, finally giving nothing more than a sigh. "Bother." It was like one of the bright lights of his life suddenly became farther away than it used to be. He'll have to think of a way around this, yes indeed...
But he was being rude and ignoring the good tai--demon--...Tailorologist? Detailorologist? Hm... But enough of that tangent. "Hm, I thank you good sir. Do you perhaps have any kind advice for me about my current physiology, I admit I am still a bit fuzzy on it. I do indeed appear to be a rather, indeed perhaps the best I've seen, marvelous desk. I can move, see, hear, speak... Would you perhaps know of any way to offset my lack of manipulable appendages? I admit I am not too versed in such ways, but perhaps you might know. Oh... Dreadfully sorry, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Carter Morton, although most call me Morton. Who might you be good sir?"
Post by: Innsmothe on July 01, 2013, 02:08:04 am
Scott will check the ballistae to see if it could be aimed to point into the ocean.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 01, 2013, 06:03:40 am
Niklas, having slinked onto the deck and observed from a distance how Scott utterly fails to sharpen his harpoon, utilizes his great experience from prolonged sea voyages and helps him out.
[Sharpening roll: 5]
And indeed, Scott's harpoon is soon extraordinarily sharp and mean-looking - you probably couldn't tell there was a problem with it in the first place! However, Niklas is not sated by this exercise, so he sets about sharpening his own tools to the best of his ability.
[Sharpening roll: 1]
He manages to turn two giant cleavers into things that could be utilized as fairly functional paddles. No idea what he was thinking there, really.
Suddenly, Mark, excited by all this flagrant tool use happening around him, also commandeers the stone to sharpen his own halberd, which, though relatively new and unused, is still in need of attention.
[Sharpening roll: 3]
Well, he sharpens it a little bit. Not too much, though. Just enough to be nice and shiny. It looks rather good now, Mark thinks.
As the others succumb to the joy of sharpening their tools, Scott has something better in mind. Namely, pointing his ballista at something in the ocean. It's a bit awkward, as both the port and starboard side face toward the wharf, and he has to aim around or over the bow to hit the ocean.
In the Fabulous Dimension...
Sigmund, taking a moment to appreciate his brand new look, expresses his approval on the extreme makeover.
"I love this change! I have to look at me in a mirror now. Thank you very much. By the way, what's the name of this place? I may recommend it to my friends. Well, if you like to make people more fashionable, and are not doing this because you feel obliged to do so."
"Oh, this? This is the Most Fabulous of Realms, and I am its lord, the Aspect of Appeal! I do enjoy making people more fabulous than before, but I really shouldn't advertise this place too much. The others may get jealous. Speaking of, your exit."
Sigmund is unceremoniously absorbed by a hole in the fabric of space, returning to the world of variable fabulousness in a process that takes but an instant! He is plopped down on the ground about 50 meters away from the tailor. Huh. Okay. He rushes back to the group.
Near a rather unusual demonological tailor...
Morton is rather happy about the fact that he isn't blind after all. Then he becomes extremely sad about the fact that he can no longer create that sweetest of life's pleasures, tea. The contrasting emotions mix in his tumultuous desk-mind, producing one clear combination, a violent scream of emotion bubbling up from his very essence.
"Bother."
But enough shocking outbursts. It isn't proper to behave like this, after all. Always look on the bright side of things.
"Hm, I thank you good sir. Do you perhaps have any kind advice for me about my current physiology, I admit I am still a bit fuzzy on it. I do indeed appear to be a rather, indeed perhaps the best I've seen, marvelous desk. I can move, see, hear, speak... Would you perhaps know of any way to offset my lack of manipulable appendages? I admit I am not too versed in such ways, but perhaps you might know. Oh... dreadfully sorry, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Carter Morton, although most call me Morton. Who might you be, good sir?"
"Pleased to meet you, Morton. My name is Craig Coville. And about having hands and feet, I can only give one piece of advice - find a carpenter. A good one."
Suddenly, a tall, reddish-purple man wearing outlandish golden clothing and a rather strange headdress steps up to them.
"Do you like my new style?"
"You're the one I sent through the portal, I presume? I suppose you look rather fabulous, not to mention quite exotic."
"I have to look at my face, do you have a mirror?"
"Not on me, I'm afraid - they're bad luck. Particularly around demons."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 01, 2013, 06:23:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2013, 08:52:45 am
-How unfortunate! Well, do you want to know something about that particular place? It is called, by the way, the Most Fabulous of Realms.
Post by: miauw62 on July 01, 2013, 09:15:48 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 01, 2013, 10:17:44 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 01, 2013, 02:17:56 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 01, 2013, 03:12:48 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2013, 04:18:28 pm
-Thank you, Morton. Would you mind keeping my old clothes? I think that I'm not going to need them any more.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 01, 2013, 05:08:12 pm
Mark, glad at the sharpness of Scott's harpoon, takes it, puts some bait on it and resumes fishing. And once more he catches one of those tiny fish!
[Ritual roll: 6]
This time, he chooses to do the limb-removal ritual for Yuhan the Warlock, and is rather pleased when it proves simple to delimb a fish. One more soul bites the dust! Only fifty eight left! Yay!
As Mark triumphantly sacrifices his fine fishie to a bonfire he started on the deck, Scott takes to rather unusual methods of fishing - those that use a ballista. He points it at the sea, then... realizes he has no ammunition. Hurm.
Niklas, the only one still trying to get some decent sharpening done, tries to clear his mind and get to making his cleavers less like paddles! Shamed by his previous failure, he gets to work!
[Sharpening roll: 5+1]
He manages to sharpen each and every one of his giant cleavers and paddles to razor levels of sharpness! He examines his new blades, and he is pleased!
Next to Tailor Craig's traveling demonological clothing enterprise...
Sigmund, somewhat put off by such silly superstition, nevertheless continues the conversation.
"How unfortunate! Well, do you want to know something about that particular place? It is called, by the way, the Most Fabulous of Realms."
"Hm, interesting. Anything else you can tell me about it? Salient facts, such as its looks, the inhabitants? Who altered you?"
However, before Sigmund can tell Craig all about it, Morton interrupts.
"... Good Sir Sigmund, is that truly you? I'm relieved that it went much better your go around, good Sir Sigmund, your stuff is still here if you desire it."
"Thank you, Morton. Would you mind keeping my old clothes? I think that I'm not going to need them any more," Sigmund answers, reclaiming his precious things, most notably the guisarme. Morton, meanwhile, steals away Craig's attentions for the moment.
"Good Tailor Craig, do you perhaps know of a good carpenter around here perhaps? I most thank you for your advice, I shall take it although I am at a lack of knowledge of any around here however..."
"Sadly, I only arrived in this town yesterday, and thus am not the best person to ask, really. I could recommend plenty in Emlocke, had it not exploded into bits. Part of the reason I came here, actually."
Ah.
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren keeps up the inquiry about the lower levels of the tomb.
"Could you tell me a little bit more about what it's like down there?"
"Oh, it's full of ghosts like you. Some are crazy, some are less so - each of them shapes their tomb to their own liking, so the tombs change every time. Difficult to describe, really. Very strange sometimes. Very deep, too. Many people died there, and most of them rose back up as spirits. Sometimes I see my parents - this is when I know that I must run."
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2013, 05:16:11 pm
-When I crossed the portal, I felt like if I was falling towards a tunnel of eternal darkness, and then, suddenly, colours appeared!. They were everywere! And a presence came to me and asked why I was there. It was the Aspect of Appeal. He confused me with an old woman, though. Maybe It doesn't see a lot of people there. Did something simmilar happen to you, Morton? Anyway, I did as you told me, and suggested it that I wanted to look better, although still humanoid, as I don't want to be furniture. Not that there is anything bad on it, Morton. The I was transformed, and it sent me back. And that's all the story.
He added, then:
-By the way, why are you interested in this particular dimension?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 01, 2013, 06:06:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 01, 2013, 06:41:10 pm
"Good Sir Sigmund, the rubber oar was imposed inside one of my drawers and I believe it flew out somewhere, although I didn't see where exactly. My new body isn't quite as mobile as my last, could you perhaps help me find it, or do you best think we just leave it?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 01, 2013, 06:51:31 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 01, 2013, 08:19:21 pm
((It's no issue.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2013, 08:43:26 pm
-I have no problem in looking after it. It shouldn't be difficult to find it, after all.
Sigmund looks for the oar, but doesn't grab it, because of the mushroom.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 02, 2013, 02:21:29 am
By the gods! Fire on deck! FIRE.ON.DECK!
Smother the flames with giant wads of fishy flesh!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 02, 2013, 05:04:28 am
Sigmund tries to put his experience into words for Tailor Craig's benefit.
"When I crossed the portal, I felt like if I was falling towards a tunnel of eternal darkness, and then, suddenly, colors appeared!. They were everywhere! And a presence came to me and asked why I was there. It was the Aspect of Appeal. He confused me with an old woman, though. Maybe it doesn't see a lot of people there. Did something similar happen to you, Morton? Anyway, I did as you told me, and suggested to it that I wanted to look better, although still humanoid, as I don't want to be furniture. Not that there is anything bad on it, Morton. Then I was transformed, and it sent me back. And that's all the story."
He pauses for a moment, then asks a question.
"By the way, why are you interested in this particular dimension?"
"Well, if I plan to send people into a portal of some kind for money, I had better know what was in it, no? But you've been rather helpful in that regard."
"It was mostly similar for me as well. Darkness, than colors, colors of many kinds and shapes and shades, coming from everywhere, even myself. The figment mistook me for a little girl, but in such a dimension I do not doubt that shape is rather meaningless there. It critiqued my appearance and changed me into this desk, then I came here. The figment knew when I would be leaving, I cannot say if it made the exit itself or simply knew when I would be gone."
"Yes, very good. I was hoping it would be something like that - you two have made me a very happy man, I must say."
As the tailor considers this information, Morton addresses his now-fabulous companion.
"Good Sir Sigmund, the rubber oar was imposed inside one of my drawers and I believe it flew out somewhere, although I didn't see where exactly. My new body isn't quite as mobile as my last, could you perhaps help me find it, or do you best think we just leave it?"
"I have no problem in looking after it. It shouldn't be difficult to find it, after all," Sigmund replies, looking around. He can't quite see the thing, though. Such a pity.
"Anyway, I feel I should reward you both for your efforts. Which would you prefer, the Handbook of Demonic Conduct or a selection of high-quality fabrics?"
Hm. Quite the choice there.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark continues his fishy business unabated. He's got fifty-eight souls to go, after all.
[Fishing roll: 6]
Ah. Another big one, it seems.
[Opposed Strength: Mark vs. Fish: 4 vs. 6+1]
Mark pulls hard, but he still loses the fish! Pulling up the harpoon, he notices that it's covered in blood. Maybe making it that sharp wasn't the best idea.
Niklas, having had enough of staying in one place for now, goes to look for an armorer's store. Sadly, he has no idea where to even begin to look. If only there were helpful individuals to aid him in this.
As the others go about their business, Scott, noticing the bonfire, loses his composure.
By the gods! Fire on deck! FIRE. ON. DECK!
[Scott strength roll: 2+1]
He tries to lift the catfish-thing or the other fish, but proves unsuccessful. Guess he'll have to extinguish it some other way, then.
[Fire control roll: 3]
The unattended bonfire seems to be slowly spreading! Oh dear!
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren, intrigued by the girl's words, asks more.
"Why? What's so scary about them?"
She looks at Darren strangely, then sighs.
"They were strange in life - they took me with them to the tombs below, showed me its secrets when I was but a little girl. Now they dwell in the really, really deep tombs, the places they once delved in and then died in, and they frequently come looking for me. Sometimes they see me first, sometimes I see them first. But when they see me, they always yell after me, tell me to come with them, to not wander off. They want to take me to the deepest recesses, and I do not want to follow. They are twisted, changed, as are all the ghosts in the darkest depths. I fear them now, and so should you. Few enter the depths and ever leave, and when the dwellers in the depths come looking for you, you have no choice but to try and run."
Post by: Xantalos on July 02, 2013, 05:12:01 am
Because no one will panic when a Viking wearing an intimidating steel helmet and a harness with a crapton of knives and other things strapped to it, and wearing a bearskin cape, walks into their house.
Post by: miauw62 on July 02, 2013, 05:26:54 am
Kevin tries to pick up some burning things and throw them in the water!
Post by: Tomcost on July 02, 2013, 08:20:02 am
-I may ask what it that handbook about, and what make those frabic so specil, first. I have to consider both things.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 02, 2013, 08:28:40 am
Mark noticing the panic of his fellow helps put out the fire.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 02, 2013, 10:00:55 am
"Hm... A handbook of demon etiquette? Certainly seems like it would be a fascinating read, yes indeed, if I'm not mistaken on what it is about. I do agree with good Sir Sigmund however, a little more information on both would be most wonderful good tailor Craig."
Post by: Tomcost on July 02, 2013, 10:03:11 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 02, 2013, 10:09:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 02, 2013, 10:16:56 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 02, 2013, 10:22:16 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 02, 2013, 10:27:39 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 02, 2013, 10:46:10 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 02, 2013, 11:44:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 02, 2013, 11:56:36 am
Niklas decides to do what barbarians do best, and that is to brutally break into houses and ask for directions! He finds a rather dinghy-looking hovel and goes about finding its occupants. After kicking down the door, he notices an old man sitting around in a chair, completely alone.
The old man looks at him.
"Oh dear, a raider!" he yells out. Then he smells the air.
"Oh my, an undead raider! The Necromancers are back!"
He grabs a flask of oil and hurls it at Niklas!
[Ranged Touch Attack: Old Man vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 6-2]
It hits Niklas straight in the chest, making him stumble back a little and covering his manly chest in oil. Hm. Wonder what the point of that was. The old man appears to be moving quickly away from the undead fellow, going for a window from the looks of it.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, having found the Artiste to be sound asleep previously, gets back to the deck to find a nasty bonfire burning. It evokes rather bad memories, so he tries to get rid of some of the burning junk!
Seeing how the fire seems to have been made out of the remains of a barrel, Kevin has no trouble throwing all of it overboard rapidly. After that he even stomps on whatever is still smoking just to be on the safe side. Mark and Scott are unfortunately deprived of any firefighting action as a result. How sad. Scott still carves one of the dead fish up, and this makes him feel a bit better.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund, rather than immediately choose between two rewards, goes with the more guarded approach.
"I may ask what that handbook is about, and what make those fabrics so special, first. I have to consider both things."
"Hm... a handbook of demon etiquette? Certainly seems like it would be a fascinating read, yes indeed, if I'm not mistaken on what it is about. I do agree with good Sir Sigmund, however, a little more information on both would be most wonderful, good tailor Craig."
"Nothing really special about the fabrics, aside from their general high quality, though you can select a whole lot if you please. And the Handbook of Demonic Conduct is a rather wonderful text for anyone with an interest in the noble art of demonology. It lists methods of communing with demons, bargaining with them and getting away in a timely and discreet fashion should the first two fail. Very nicely written - I have three copies, myself, the one I might give you is an older edition."
Post by: Tomcost on July 02, 2013, 12:03:03 pm
-I don't know if you have decided yet, Morton, but I opt for the handbook, it will help us understand the nature of our new master.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 02, 2013, 12:10:05 pm
"Good Tailor Craig, you are most generous in your help of us, I thank you for that. If we're ever in the need for clothing and you're in the area, we'll be sure to look you up first."
Post by: Xantalos on July 02, 2013, 12:17:46 pm
Bravely run away!
Post by: miauw62 on July 02, 2013, 02:21:59 pm
Remembering previous experiences, Kevin heads down into the ship for some exploring.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 02, 2013, 02:32:25 pm
Scott shall do as he says.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 02, 2013, 04:28:28 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 02, 2013, 09:58:43 pm
(I'm made of metal have a good weapon and have experience at using it. Come at me bro.)
Post by: Innsmothe on July 03, 2013, 01:46:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 03, 2013, 04:02:33 am
Sigmund and Morton, persuaded by Tailor Craig's exalting of the Handbook's virtues, agree that it is certainly the reward worth utilizing.
"I don't know if you have decided yet, Morton, but I opt for the handbook, it will help us understand the nature of our new master."
"Indeed, I was thinking much the same, good Sir Sigmund. Although he does protest he isn't one but something akin however, it may be of aid for us indeed, or perhaps in any future dealings with demons. One can never predict what the future holds as they say, I wouldn't've thought I'd become a desk today this morning. Or an hour ago, really."
Morton then turns to face the tailor.
"Good Tailor Craig, you are most generous in your help of us, I thank you for that. If we're ever in the need for clothing and you're in the area, we'll be sure to look you up first."
"Yes, that would be wonderful. Send more test subjects my way as well - I feel I need to test the process some more," he says, handing Sigmund the Handbook of Demonic Conduct.
"By the way, I couldn't help but notice that you said you serve a demon already. Have you much experience in that sort of thing?"
Craig seems to have taken the hint. Yay!
In the home of a rather aggressive old man...
As the old man escapes through a window, Niklas, realizing that this is no ordinary old geezer he's dealing with, bravely beats a brave retreat!
[Niklas escape roll: 6-2]
He manages to do it surprisingly speedily, actually, heading out onto the street and slowly jogging back to the ship.
Suddenly, an arrow hits him in the back, penetrating through to the chest! Granted, it doesn't hurt much, but it also happens to be on fire. And now Niklas has an oil fire on his chest to deal with!
[Fire control roll: 6]
Fortunately, the rest of him is too damp and non-flammable to catch on proper fire, though! Whether this good luck will keep up, only time will tell.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, having nothing better to do, goes off to explore the ship. He finds that there is an extremely well-shielded cargo hold, opulent crew quarters currently inhabited by the sleeping mages and the Artiste, and also a rather interesting-looking den, complete with unusual kitchen. The Captain seems to be in the den currently. Also, he finds a secret smuggling compartment! Two, in fact - one beneath the captain's quarters, one near the cargo hold.
Some of those places seem like reasonably decent hangouts, Kevin must say.
Back on deck, Scott, not really the wise and attentive sort, tries to rally the absent Kevin to combat the threat to dignity and safety that is Mark.
"Thank you, Kevin, please restrain Mark so I can kick him where it hurts... everywhere."
However, Mark, standing right next to Scott, is not quite as dense as the tree on his head might imply, and immediately takes up a defensive position! This doesn't really matter to Scott, though.
[Scott vs. Mark: 3 vs. 1+2+1+1]
As Scott aims a kick, Mark easily deflects it with his weapon. Obviously, Scott's martial artistry, though undeniably fearsome, is no match for a halberdier in a defensive position!
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren, being the enterprising sort, ask of any traps worth worrying about.
"What type of traps are typically in there? Does it vary like the tombs?"
The girl nods enthusiastically.
"The traps are fun! The ghosts always change them up, though you won't have to worry about most - the specters rarely have traps that hurt other specters. Only the mage-ghosts and the Engineers are capable of such things, and they're usually too busy building their own devices, though you might find some if there's been a squabble. The less subtle, less magical ghosts usually try to drop the ceiling on you, set tripwires, that sort of thing - simple stuff, really. Stuff that can't harm you and stuff you can't activate. I usually step right over them and avoid those particular people - it's the Engineers that have things worth obtaining," she explains, pointing to the varied junk in the store.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 03, 2013, 04:07:54 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 03, 2013, 04:13:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 03, 2013, 05:22:12 am
then returns to his relaxing day of fishing and sacrificing souls to some floating lights.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 03, 2013, 05:47:43 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 03, 2013, 06:20:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 03, 2013, 06:55:03 am
-Actually, no, it's the first time this has ever happened to us. And, in his words, he is neither demon or god. He claims to be something in the middle, not needing to follow the rules of any of them. We are soulbinded to him curently, so we have no other choice that to obey.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 03, 2013, 03:39:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 03, 2013, 04:50:27 pm
Scott snorts demonstratively, going off to do something useful. Like, for instance, finding those scumbags that did all that robbing of honest undead like him and his buddies.
The town's quiet this morning. Too quiet. It's hiding something. Everybody knows something, but no one's talking. Wherever those guys went is a mystery... for now. But what if Scott asked real nice? Maybe then these lily-livered accomplices after the fact would finally let slip the sweet knowledge that Scott seeks.
Back on the more peaceful deck, though, Mark resumes his fishing after the troubling interlude with Scott.
[Fishing roll: 3]
Just one tiny fish. Time for a ritual.
[Ritual roll: 2]
Damn it, there's no bonfire anymore. Mark almost forgot, really.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, noticing the fact that he's on fire, immediately breaks off the flaming arrow! He then drops and rolls, seeking to extinguish the fire!
[Fire extinguishing roll: 1]
Sadly, there is no dirt around! Only cobblestones, cobblestones as far as the eye can see! And the oil fire on his chest doesn't seem to be receptive to common extinguishing methods! In fact, his rolling seems to spread both the oil and the flames a bit.
[Fire control roll: 2]
It spreads something fierce, Niklas must say. Soon enough, his entire upper body seems to be burning! Particularly his bearskin cape!
He is then pierced by several arrows! Five, to be exact - most of them in not overly bothersome places, but one strikes like you wouldn't believe, straight in the spine! One other one misses him, hitting the stones around him loudly.
[Niklas endurance roll: 3]
Niklas seems to be losing feeling in his lower extremities! Oh dear! He also hears something like celebratory shouting coming from nearby.
Damn it, what is it with this city and its abundance of extremely violent, cruel citizens?
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund, figuring he might get even more use out of this guy, spills what he knows about his possibly demonic master.
"Actually, no, it's the first time this has ever happened to us. And, in his words, he is neither demon or god. He claims to be something in the middle, not needing to follow the rules of any of them. We are soulbinded to him currently, so we have no other choice that to obey."
Morton confirms his compatriot's story, the air of a very well-informed witness about him.
"It is indeed how good Sir Sigmund said, I was given a second chance by a necromancer but now I am bound to what I believe is a demon of some kind, although he denies such. A kind fellow from what I can tell, however. We've not much experience with such though, so the book will surely help us, hopefully."
"Something between a god and a... what? That doesn't make any sense. What does he even look like? Would you mind if I went and spoke to him?"
Man, this guy takes hints like a champ. Some people could learn from him, Sigmund thinks.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 03, 2013, 04:58:14 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 03, 2013, 05:09:42 pm
Sigmund involuntarily let a faint smile be seen as he heard that. He answered to the extravagant tailor:
-Of course there wouldn't be any problem with you doing that. He is actually in a human body. Well, I have never seen it myself in another body, but the member of our group that has spent more time with him probably has. But I'm afraid that he must be sleeping now, so it would be better if we don't borher him now. Well, at least that is my opinion. Maybe, meanwhile, I can get another test subject for you.
Then he turned to the desk:
-What do you think, Morton?
((Plan: convince the lone guard from the book store into taking the test. Also convince him to take off his armor. Then I steal the armor and kick the crap out of him when he comes back.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 03, 2013, 05:14:48 pm
((Innsmothe, be more specific. If not, your -2 penalty will make all your efforts futile))
He doesn't have a -2 penalty anymore - he got his stench removed by Erin. And soap.
Post by: Tomcost on July 03, 2013, 05:17:30 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 03, 2013, 05:22:53 pm
((So it's plain bad luck, then. I thought that he still had it. Is he still able to infect people, then? Because that would be something bad in the long term for our group. Until now, Scott has been the most troublesome character of this bunch of undead))
That was removed with the stench in one fell swoop.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 03, 2013, 05:54:04 pm
"Hm... Yes, I suppose you're correct Good Sir Sigmund, he would probably be asleep by now. But yes, he is indeed inhabiting a human body although he mentions that it was a rather recent event however. Considered himself a..." The desk paused for a moment to try and recall the words Artiste used to define himself. "A... 'logisitics... person?' Quartermaster perhaps? Accountant? I can't quite recall his direct wording I'm afraid." The desk wobbled again in a certain way, an attempt at a shrug in a body where it was no longer possible. "If you wish to aid good tailor Craig, I will attempt to help you in your endeavor although I'm afraid I'm not sure what presentable aid I might be able to render beyond conversation."
[Sorry for the wait, was looking up the discussion Artiste had with Morton about what he was so I didn't accidentally use knowledge he wouldn't know.]
Post by: Xantalos on July 03, 2013, 05:59:22 pm
He will head over to the ship via swimming if they don't go out.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 03, 2013, 06:08:38 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 03, 2013, 06:56:41 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 03, 2013, 08:30:09 pm
-Maybe you can wait here while I get another test subject? Tricking someone into doing something that can turn you into a desk would be difficult. I know of someone who will surely be bored by this time, maybe I can convince him.
But, before going on his fool-hunt, Sigmund asked:
-May I take your fire-making device? It's because I may need it and, well, your current state doesn't allow you to use it.
Sigmund then leaves and goes to the book shop where he had bought the book on the Real of Dreams
Post by: Xanmyral on July 03, 2013, 11:11:00 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 04, 2013, 04:50:30 am
Kevin heads out into the town again, looking for something to do.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 04, 2013, 05:45:19 am
Scott, wandering the streets in the early morning as the sun still refuses to rise, goes into the Feisty Jelly to look for any ragamuffins to question about affiliations with the guards of the infamous Ulubelle.
Sadly, the place is rather empty. Whatever drunks were here previously are now either dead, at home or carried off somewhere they will hopefully stink less. The inside of the tavern is completely desolate, and a feeling of profound loneliness assaults Scott as not even the barkeep seems to be around. At least, that's what he can tell from the window. The door is rather locked currently.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund wholeheartedly supports the idea of Craig finding the Artiste.
"Of course there wouldn't be any problem with you doing that. He is actually in a human body. Well, I have never seen it myself in another body, but the member of our group that has spent more time with him probably has. But I'm afraid that he must be sleeping now, so it would be better if we don't bother him now. Well, at least that is my opinion. Maybe, meanwhile, I can get another test subject for you."
"A human body? Demons don't do that. At least, they're not known to. But I can certainly wait, yes. Particularly if you bring test subjects."
"What do you think, Morton?"
Morton, consulted awfully often for somebody who is a desk, gladly provides his opinion.
"Hm... yes, I suppose you're correct, good Sir Sigmund, he would probably be asleep by now. But yes, he is indeed inhabiting a human body although he mentions that it was a rather recent event however. Considered himself a.. a... 'logisitics... person?' Quartermaster perhaps? Accountant? I can't quite recall his direct wording, I'm afraid."
"This is getting stranger and stranger."
He attempts to shrug, but only manages a peculiar wobble.
"If you wish to aid good tailor Craig, I will attempt to help you in your endeavor, although I'm afraid I'm not sure what presentable aid I might be able to render beyond conversation."
Sigmund looks Morton over to gauge his usefulness in finding schmucks to send into alternate dimensions. Moments later, he arrives at a conclusion.
"Maybe you can wait here while I get another test subject? Tricking someone into doing something that can turn you into a desk would be difficult. I know of someone who will surely be bored by this time, maybe I can convince him. May I take your fire-making device? It's because I may need it and, well, your current state doesn't allow you to use it."
Morton, certainly understanding of such a viewpoint, agrees.
"Of course, it isn't a problem, good Sir Sigmund. Although I do hope to deal with that issue eventually."
He then opens up one of his drawers, allowing Sigmund to retrieve the wonderful magical fire creation device. Without a word, the now-fabulous vampire heads off, possessed with purpose to such a degree that even crossroads do not faze him much. In due time, he has reached Brenwicke's Books. The place seems to be locked up currently. Guess they don't open for a few more hours. Sigmund can't see the guards, either.
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Niklas, rather terribly hurt by now, tries to stand up! He can't, unfortunately, at least not properly. So he just tries to roll in the direction of the sea.
[Movement roll: 4-2]
He slowly rolls in the direction of the sea, not getting very far before another volley of arrows! Once again, five of them hit, one misses, though they don't get anything Niklas particularly needs at this point.
[Movement roll: 4-2]
Slow, slow progress once more. Also, two arrows fly at his head, two hit him in other places, two just miss terribly.
[Niklas endurance rolls: 1+1, 4+1]
One of the arrows aimed at his head pierces his skull rather handily while the other is turned aside by the fierce-looking helmet!
[Niklas will roll: 3]
This, naturally, feels terrible. And he's still on fire. Extremely so. This, however, is secondary to the fact that his helmet now has a large hole in it.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, dissatisfied at the lack of any usable bonfires on the deck of this fine vessel, goes down to Erin's quarters. Ah, she's asleep. Well, no matter. He decides to write out his message on the inside of her door.
Dear Transmuter,
I would really appreciate it if there was a bit of the deck made of stone so that I could make a bonfire on it for my dastardly rituals of soul sacrificing. Could you make something like that?
Love, Mark.
It's even in a nice shade of luminescent light red that nicely contrasts with the black door. With that done, Mark gets out of Erin's dwelling, making sure to quietly close the door behind him, and thinks of what to do next.
Kevin, meanwhile, looks for something interesting to do in town. He wanders off in a random direction, completely missing the arrow-riddled zombie on fire slowly rolling toward the water not fifty meters away. He does locate a desk! A rather nice desk, he must say. Next to it stands a rather unusual-looking man with a donkey that seems to be carrying a load of colorful fabrics.
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren wishes to know more about how to loot these catacombs for fun and profit, seeing how he is kind of a divine-sponsored adventurer now.
"And what if I brought some things back? How do you pay people who loot the catacombs?"
"I'm the only one who does it after my parents and every other scavenger died. So nobody really asks me that, to be honest. I really would prefer if you did not steal anything from there, but you're a ghost. How would I stop you? How would I pay you, and how would you carry things around, anyway?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on July 04, 2013, 06:51:55 am
Scott will pull out, light and hurl one of the firebombs through the window before running to another part of the trade district for more questionings of peoples.
((It;s my birthday today. I hope for some fireworks. :3))
Post by: Tomcost on July 04, 2013, 07:40:06 am
Sigmund will look for the guard who was not turned into ashes in the vecinity, as he arrived quite quickly the time he broke the window.
If he is unsuccessful, he will look for random drunks.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 04, 2013, 07:49:54 am
Mark heads out onto the deck and just enjoys the night looking around and taking in his surroundings maybe watching the sun set.
(Niklas help is coming just taking a moment to watch the sun rise. :P))
((edit I was wondering if I can get my halberd added to my inventory page as well as the restrain slug and two writing slugs please.))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 04, 2013, 08:30:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 04, 2013, 08:52:42 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 04, 2013, 09:08:55 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 04, 2013, 09:51:36 am
Post by: TopHat on July 04, 2013, 12:30:27 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 04, 2013, 12:58:58 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 04, 2013, 02:05:32 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 04, 2013, 04:27:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 04, 2013, 05:00:52 pm
Scott is disappointed. And when Scott becomes disappointed, bad things happen. He tries to light his firebomb. Fortunately, his skill in wilderness survival, what little he has, helps him out quite a bit. Soon he's got a perfectly respectable lit firebomb, which he chucks at a window.
The firebomb doesn't break the window. It does land next to the wooden wall, though, starting a small fire.
[Fire control roll: 3]
It's spreading, too. Slowly, but surely. Scott finds himself encouraging the little brave flame to go! It can go for the big leagues, it can achieve something special, he thinks. All it needs is to try. But now, Scott will leave the cute little thing. He proceeds to the trade district, looking for willing scum to question there.
Fortunately, there's a solitary fella standing right outside the Ulubelle, looking at the carnage within incredulously! He'll probably know something.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, supposing that the goons Brenwicke has got protecting his holdings can't be far, looks around for them. After looking around the store and seeing nothing, he is about to go look for other drunks, but then he has an idea. He goes up to the house opposite the bookstore and knocks on the door.
And lo, the quiet guard opens the door. He appears to be snacking on some nice-looking bread currently and looking at Sigmund questioningly. He looks completely unfazed by Sigmund's appearance.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, figuring there's nothing better to do right now, goes back on the deck to enjoy the morning and absorb the positive energies of the sun rising.
But wait! What light from yonder side street breaks? It is the west, and Niklas is the sun! Niklas, wherefore art thou on fire? And wherefore art thou pierced by more than a dozen arrows?
And wherefore art thou trying to extinguish yourself with your bearskin cloak most fine, which also is on fire? It doesn't look very effective, Mark thinks.
[Niklas movement roll: 6-2]
And where dost thine survival instinct spring from, beautiful as it is in its splendor as thou rollest screaming toward the harbor?
"I AM NOT A RAIDER! I AM NOT A RAIDER! I AM NOT A RAIDER!"
Thou wouldst be certainly a most unusual, if not entirely ineffective raider, sir Niklas, were thou rolling in any other direction but that of the cold sea. And what's this? Thou rollest toward Mark? Thou seekest help, perhaps?
[Niklas will roll: 5]
Oh, the sheer tragedy of the rolling man on fire! It is-
Wait, he's still being shot at. That arrow just went through his abdomen. Shit, better help or something. Otherwise Mark's reputation as a helpful minion will be tarnished.
At Tailor Craig's traveling garment enterprise...
Morton, observing the approaching Kevin, speaks up! It's only polite to let someone know if you've been turned into furniture by some ultimately positive and life-altering happenstance.
"Oh, good Jester Kevin, its you! Greetings and salutations, a pleasure to see you again. ... Ah, yes, I have found myself to have become a desk, but at least I'm not indecent anymore."
Kevin judges this to be patently ludicrous, though that's possibly more out of hopefulness that things like that don't happen to people in this universe just like that. Sadly, Morton has to disappoint him.
"Ah, I'm afraid this is no jest, good Jester Kevin, but indeed the truth as strange as it is. In a strange realm of multiple-hued colors and strange talking figments of mauve, I have been transformed into a desk. I can still move and speak, see and hear as you can tell."
He moves his drawers randomly, thus eliminating any possible explanations for this predicament other than the fact that it is exactly how it appears. Well, that and poltergeists at work.
"This here is good Tailor Craig, good Tailor Craig, this is my friend and compatriot good Jester Kevin. Good Tailor Craig aided me in my time of desperate need brought about by... Indecency, however such resulted sadly in my current form. Demons are fickle things, I suppose."
Kevin, utterly convinced, shrugs. Tailor Craig utilizes the momentary lull in conversation to step in.
"Well, I'm certainly... um... pleased to meet you, Jester Kevin. Which face do I address, if I may... no, wait, that's a silly thing to ask. Don't answer that. Tell me, though, how would you like to become fabulous?"
That's an interesting offer. Kevin hasn't been offered a chance to become fabulous in many years now.
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren shrugs at the girl's questions.
"Well, magic, I guess. Also, is there any way to recognize the more dangerous ghosts?"
The girl giggles at the question.
"Oh, you'll recognize them easily. Normal ghosts look normal. Like people, you know. Crazy ghosts, they change. They don't look like normal people. Especially crazy ghosts don't look like people at all. But those are easy to see coming. The ones that aren't, like my parents, for instance, there you have to be real careful. They look like they used to in life, you know, maybe sans a limb or two, with a grievous wound or something, that sort of thing. But when you look carefully, you notice something's... off. Something inhuman about them. Maybe the eyes. Maybe the way they shift around. Maybe they lick their lips when you turn your back. Maybe they cast a shadow, and not like a person would, but all creepy-like. Lastly, maybe their head splits open and the brain flies out at you. Happened once to me, was the freakiest thing ever. So glad I dodged it. But anyway, hatch is over there," the girl says, pointing to a solid steel lid with some elaborate lifting mechanism fitted to it.
"Don't have to open it for you, do I? It takes long. Any more questions?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 04, 2013, 05:15:03 pm
-Hello, good fellow! I'm part of a group of travelers, whose existence is solely dedicated to improving the image of every being. Either if you need it o not, a change of your image is always a good thing. It can improve your relation with your acquaintances, friend and even maybe get you some girls. -He said this moving his eyebrows expressively-. So, what do you thing, my good friend, are you going to miss this wonderful opportunity?
Post by: Innsmothe on July 04, 2013, 05:16:02 pm
Scott will friendly greet the guy with a handshake, judging his intent.
((This is it guys, I feel that the crazy Uberman has come for me. :c
I just hope it become a heroic battle to be retold for aeons. :P))
Post by: Xantalos on July 04, 2013, 05:28:45 pm
IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, GO TO THE SHIP
Post by: killerhellhound on July 04, 2013, 06:25:16 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 05, 2013, 01:39:37 am
Sigmund smiles at the man widely and explains what he's here for.
"Hello, good fellow! I'm part of a group of travelers, whose existence is solely dedicated to improving the image of every being. Either if you need it o not, a change of your image is always a good thing. It can improve your relation with your acquaintances, friend and even maybe get you some girls," utilizing his eyebrows to their maximum potential. "So, what do you think, my good friend, are you going to miss this wonderful opportunity?"
The guard shakes his head with great enthusiasm, clearly intrigued by both the prospect of self-reinvention and the eyebrows!
At the abandoned Ulubelle...
Scott, thinking he may have caught either a very lucky or a very unlucky break here, opts to take the opportunities that have come to him. He walks up to the man.
"Sir, I wonder if I could ask you a few questions?"
He outstretches his hand toward the man, who looks to be a reasonably ordinary sort. However, there is no response from the man, who remains silent, not even turning his head toward Scott. How rude of him.
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, supposing that there couldn't be any harm in rolling into the saltiest sea of the south, goes ahead and does it!
[Niklas movement roll: 6-2]
Even as Mark leaps off the ship, presumably out of a desire to help his fellow innovator, Niklas proves it ultimately unnecessary as he is perfectly capable of plunging into the drink all by himself. He sinks to the bottom of the harbor, extinguishing any flames on him in short order! Mark stands dejectedly at the ship for a moment. What now?
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 01:47:10 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 05, 2013, 01:57:32 am
"Hello? Are you all right?"
Post by: miauw62 on July 05, 2013, 05:29:04 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 05, 2013, 08:12:27 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 05, 2013, 08:45:21 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 05, 2013, 10:57:10 am
-Ah, you are very interested in this, it seems, come with me.
Take the man to the tailor/demonologist/whatever
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 05, 2013, 12:39:29 pm
Niklas, feeling that the danger/enemy interest period has passed, tries to swim upwards. It is at this moment that he remembers that he is loaded down with ridiculous amounts of metal and that his legs don't work. So swimming is a sound no right now. This leaves him with only one solution - find an anchor chain!
He doesn't find one, though. At least, none within his immediate vicinity that he can see. There is a fish, though. It seems to be taking an interest in him. An unhealthy interest. A rather biting interest.
Actually, it's already bitten his leg off. That was rather unpleasant, or at least so Niklas would say if he actually could feel that.
At the Ulubelle...
Scott, of the belief that people usually aren't this rude unless something is wrong, steps in front of the man, looking in his face. The man looks at him as well, though it is an amiable and curious look.
"Hello? Are you all right?"
The man, having been looking closely at Scott's face, seems to realize something. He points at his ears, then shakes his head. He points at them again, making a popping sound with his mouth. He must be some kind of mime, Scott guesses. That or deaf, but the former is infinitely more likely.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Kevin, though rather confused by the peculiar desk-like nature of Morton, realizes that he probably would prefer being furniture to being a freak. At least furniture is funny and fits in someplace. That place may be the study of a gentleman's manor, but what can you do.
In line with this decision, he decides to nod affirmatively to Tailor Craig.
"Ah, you wish to go to the realm of the fabulous then, good Jester Kevin? Very well, I wish you the best of luck then, I know it will go better than it did for I. Do tell the figment that I said hello if you could," Morton tells Kevin as he notices the nod.
"Very good, I'll send you right away," Tailor Craig says, getting his trusty chalk and commencing the drawing of a circle around Kevin.
"Good Tailor Craig, I do recall you mentioning that you have three copies of the book, I must admit I'm curious, were there editions that perhaps edited out some useful information from the newer copy? Or do you just like to be prepared in the case that one might get lost, or damaged? I can completely understand the latter sentiment, something I wish I did for my old livery, although I still wish I knew what happened to it in the first place."
"The older editions are a bit less complete than the newer ones - the newer ones have more demonic realms described in them, but the etiquette described is largely the same, and the strategies are as well. It's certainly a good book I gave you - I learned demonology from it myself."
As he finishes drawing the circle and snaps his claw, Kevin disappears into the ground, the hole that forms also disappearing seconds afterward. It looks fairly mundane in an interdimensional sense, really.
Kevin, though, gets a rather different experience. He hurtles through an endless dark void for, like, at least 5 minutes before he is blindsided by an endless prismatic void! Light dances over his spiky, unpleasant body, forming both real and virtual images all around him. Kevin briefly considers why they call it virtual light if you can still see it, but then decides against devoting further thought to it, as he clearly not an optics expert. And a good thing, too, because suddenly a pale taupe halo appears around his head, saying unusual things!
"I seem to be having so many visitors today! Two abominable nudists and a cute kitten all on the same day! Most irregular! What do you want, cute kitten?"
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark tries his best to contain his excitement. He'll get to operate on Niklas! Properly this time!
That is, if the bugger actually comes out of the water in due time. Maybe he should fish him out or something.
At a guard's house...
Sigmund, noticing the fellow's enthusiasm, invites him to come along.
"Ah, you are very interested in this, it seems, come with me."
Needing no further encouragement, he does indeed come along, and together they arrive back at Tailor Craig's little nook of fashion.
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 12:49:15 pm
((Aww, why no roll for combat?))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 05, 2013, 01:02:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 05, 2013, 01:04:36 pm
Sigmund introduced the guard to the tailor:
-Craig, I have found someone who wants to be fabulous.
He the turned to the guard:
-He is tailor Craig, he will help you to get a better image! But, first, I will explain the process to you: you will be sent to the Most Fabulous of Realms so that the Aspect of Appeal, a being whose existence is dedicated to promoting good looks, can change you into something more fashionable. You can explain to him what would you like to be, but don't give orders, the Aspect is the one who knows which things are best suited for you. I recommend you to take off all your possessions first, as the Aspect will create new clothes for you for free! You will come out in no time, I think. But it would be better if you could give us more information about that realm. For example, the Aspect tends to confuse the ages and genders of those he sees. I wish you luck!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 05, 2013, 01:05:07 pm
((Aww, why no roll for combat?))
You were essentially sneak attacked by a fish in a pool of water while obscenely weighted down and paraplegic. This means you get a -2 to defense while the fish has a +1 to offense. I rolled for the fish's aggression (namely, how much it likes the way you taste) and it came up as a 6.
Post by: miauw62 on July 05, 2013, 01:06:40 pm
Kevin tries to explain that he is not a cat and that he wants to look normal.
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 01:10:46 pm
((If I survive this I'm going to torture the fish to death and then cook it.((Aww, why no roll for combat?))
You were essentially sneak attacked by a fish in a pool of water while obscenely weighted down and paraplegic. This means you get a -2 to defense while the fish has a +1 to offense. I rolled for the fish's aggression (namely, how much it likes the way you taste) and it came up as a 6.
Then probably burn down Shriekpot. Bunch of intolerants.))
Post by: killerhellhound on July 05, 2013, 07:05:22 pm
Mark throws the harpoon at the fish eating niklas and if he grabs on (or is impaled) pulls him up onto the boat.
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 07:07:20 pm
((let me help))Grab onto the harpoon if it comes down close to me.
Mark throws the harpoon at the fish eating niklas and if he grabs on (or is impaled) pulls him up onto the boat.
Then go to Erin to get healed.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 05, 2013, 07:11:20 pm
your paraplegic lost a leg and have too much gear for your own good((let me help))Grab onto the harpoon if it comes down close to me.
Mark throws the harpoon at the fish eating niklas and if he grabs on (or is impaled) pulls him up onto the boat.
Then go to Erin to get healed.
I'm going to be your doctor.
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 07:12:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 05, 2013, 07:26:34 pm
[We're going to make everyone fabulous, aren't we? Also, Sigmund, when we gonna read that book? If this guy learned what he knows from it, well, it would be invaluable to us no doubt. Although Morton will have problems reading it sadly due to his condition, he can't turn the pages. Unless he could perhaps read it if it was placed inside one of his drawers... Something to test later.]
Post by: Tomcost on July 05, 2013, 07:50:14 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 05, 2013, 07:53:23 pm
((If you end up deforming me, I will kill you.))((If you get a hold of a crushing weapon then I will be scared.
Besides I'm fixing your spine be happy because the transmuter probably carn't do that))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 05, 2013, 08:09:07 pm
EDIT: Realized I still didn't answer your question. I... Should probably get some sleep soon I guess, considering this is now MK III of attempting to answer you properly. Nah, its OOC man, not IC.]
Post by: Xantalos on July 05, 2013, 08:41:15 pm
((I do. You gave them to me.))((If you end up deforming me, I will kill you.))((If you get a hold of a crushing weapon then I will be scared.
Besides I'm fixing your spine be happy because the transmuter probably carn't do that))
Post by: killerhellhound on July 05, 2013, 08:53:36 pm
Ummm what did I give to you I don't remember((I do. You gave them to me.))((If you end up deforming me, I will kill you.))((If you get a hold of a crushing weapon then I will be scared.
Besides I'm fixing your spine be happy because the transmuter probably carn't do that))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 06, 2013, 02:40:37 am
Niklas, blindsided by a fish that could only be pure evil personified, tries to fight back! He decides to slash at it with one of the giant cleavers!
[Niklas vs. Fish: 5+1+1-1-1 vs. 3+1]
He gives it a rather nasty scratch! The fish retreats a bit, returning to a circling pattern around the mostly incapacitated chef.
[Mark rescue roll: 6]
He is about to consider an alternate strategy, but a harpoon appears to be flying at him. Rapidly.
[Mark vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 4-1]
It impales him through the gut, and Niklas begins to slowly rise out of the water.
[Mark strength roll: 6]
Niklas doesn't even need to do anything as Mark does all the heavy lifting! Niklas is quickly retrieved and placed on deck by the tree-head, then promptly examined.
Mark considers what to do with him. Niklas' legs don't work, he's full of arrows and covered in implements of butchery. He probably should do something about those - they might rust if exposed to the elements so recklessly.
At the Ulubelle...
Scott, not one to bother deaf people without reasonable cause, hugs the man, who seems a bit humbled by the gesture, and leaves to look for other potentially helpful people.
He doesn't have to walk far, actually, as he just steps inside the Ulubelle, having heard a sound. Going into one of the rooms, he sees a woman packing up various stuff. She, having heard Scott, turns around immediately.
"Um... hello. Can I help you, sir?" she asks.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund, having reached his destination, helpfully introduces the guard to Tailor Craig.
"Craig, I have found someone who wants to be fabulous."
"Very good. The more, the merrier."
Sigmund turns to the quiet guard and explains what is expected of him. Morton, meanwhile, remains silent, wishing to remain but a humble, if fabulous desk for the duration of this conversation.
"He is tailor Craig, he will help you to get a better image! But, first, I will explain the process to you: you will be sent to the Most Fabulous of Realms so that the Aspect of Appeal, a being whose existence is dedicated to promoting good looks, can change you into something more fashionable. You can explain to him what would you like to be, but don't give orders, the Aspect is the one who knows which things are best suited for you. I recommend you to take off all your possessions first, as the Aspect will create new clothes for you for free! You will come out in no time, I think. But it would be better if you could give us more information about that realm. For example, the Aspect tends to confuse the ages and genders of those he sees. I wish you luck!"
The guard nods determinedly and removes his armor as Craig draws yet another circle around him, setting his possessions down outside of it. Craig then snaps his claw. The guard, very much like the three before him, is sucked into the ground.
"So, my helpful friend, what would you like for your trouble?" Craig asks Sigmund.
In the Most Fabulous of Realms...
Kevin, not comfortable with having been taken for a cat, tries to express his desire for normality and the fact that he actually is a human being! Sort of!
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5+1]
He gesticulates expressively at his halo. It seems to understand!
"You are not a kitten? You are actually a strange, skeletal creature almost, but not entirely unlike a kitten? And you wish to look... normal?"
The thing seems to consider Kevin's words.
"I cannot fulfill your request! I cannot make you normal! It is beyond me! I can only make you fabulous! And that is what I shall do!"
[Alteration roll: 5]
Kevin feels himself shrink and become relatively non-spiky! It is an odd feeling, he has to say. Muscles, skin, a lean body forms around his entire being, and clothes seem to organically grow out of that! His face-banner moves around, still remaining on his back, but in an altogether different shape, the face disappearing and becoming a rather strange screen. Speaking of faces, he now has one! He can't speak on its handsomeness himself, but he guesses it's certainly fabulous. And his new clothing looks really strange - the fabric of his new livery looks like a gateway to another realm, some sort of place rich in vortexes that are in various shades of pink. His new skin has a similar thing going, looking kind of like the starry night sky. The entire being of Kevin seems to have become a window of some kind, and it feels weird. All tingly and stuff. And he even has a sweet hat, also made of strange pink plane window-fabric. Kevin briefly wonders if this might clash with his screen, but at that exact moment, the screen folds in on itself and seemingly disappears. And when he thinks that he possibly shouldn't have done that, the screen reappears, extending itself once more.
"There we go! All fabulous now. But I have to go now. Enjoy!"
Kevin then disappears through a dark portal! Moments later, he finds himself in the middle of a forest of some kind. It seems to be morning.
Post by: Xantalos on July 06, 2013, 02:47:23 am
Need ... *ahem* ... need to get a cleaning rag. You guys got any?
Drag self around with arms, looking for cleaning rag. Pull the arrows out first and go see the
KEEP WEAPONS ON PERSON. EMPLOY POSSESSIVE MODE IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TAKE THEM.
((Holy crap I can't believe I survived that.
Now for vengance.))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 06, 2013, 03:09:21 am
Scott will use one of his harpoons as a stave, putting on the gait of someone with mobility issues.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 06, 2013, 03:10:17 am
((Kevin why did you do that you could have been a amazing after a few modifications from myself :P never mind. Also you guys should be careful you can now bleed to death now your alive again (I think?) after the fabulous trip))
Post by: miauw62 on July 06, 2013, 03:20:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2013, 08:32:13 am
-Maybe you could give me some cloth? I don't care too much about quality, but I do for the colour. Do you have black cloth? I feel that I will probably need something that allows more discretion than my current clothes.
He then saw the armor and thought, then told Morton:
-Could you take the armor away? It's going to be useful for us at some point.
Sigmund then puts the armor on the desk
Post by: Xanmyral on July 06, 2013, 04:51:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2013, 05:04:53 pm
((I imagine an auto-fail for this))
Sigmund tried to clarify Morton's doubts:
-When the Aspect sent me back, I appeared at some distance from this place.
He then realized something: he didn't knew that Keving was participating in this!:
-Wait, did Kevin try this? Hahaha, I think that he really needed it. To answer your question, Morton, that man was a guard from a bookstore. When I was going around the city at night, I saw someone break a window and run away, and he, with another partner asked me about that criminal. It is a long story, but trying to get the criminal pay one of them ended as a pile of ashes. Not a very good story, after all, but I knew that he would be alone, that's why I tricked him.
((Glad to see you firmly awake, Xanmyral))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 06, 2013, 05:45:19 pm
"Oh dear, does that mean good Jester Kevin might of reappeared a fair distance away?" Morton asked, wishing he had put the two together at the time before letting Kevin go through, oh dear. Hopefully his melancholy skeleton friend would fair well... "I think we should search for him, I hope he's quite alright... Good Tailor Craig, do you perhaps have any opinion on where our wayward skeleton friend might of happened to?"
On a different subject however... "Ah, I see good Sir Sigmund. I hope the guard for the best then, I wish he fares well in the Realm of Fabulous with the figment, although I'm afraid the same might of happened to him, and indeed he may be even further if the trend continues."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 06, 2013, 06:02:28 pm
Niklas, hardly believing his good luck, wheezes and coughs to remove any unnecessary water from his lungs then pulls the arrows out of his flesh. And when he's got that handled, he looks for a cleaning rag. Oh, look! There's one just lying about over there, a relatively clean rag, no less.
[Disarming roll: Mark vs. Niklas: 4 vs. 5-1]
Mark attempts to disarm the chef, but finds that the fellow does not trust him for some reason! Most irregular. Hm.
Niklas, having successfully fended off the metal fiend trying to take away his back-breaking amount of mostly unused weaponry, tries to find his way to Erin. He is, however, at a complete loss as to where she might be, not to mention that he is having a lot of trouble navigating stairs now in a fashion that does not involve causing grievous harm to his person. He does wipe off his butcher's tools, every last one of them, in fact.
Inside the Ulubelle...
Scott decides to question this woman thoroughly.
"Do you know where the armed guards of this place now reside? Or where, um, Red-Chested Elron is? I have a business proposition."
She thinks for a moment about the question, then answers quickly.
"The guards? Well, the ones that survived may have left town already. Lefty Anderson asked me if I wanted to go with him and his buddies somewhere, Mothdale, I think, or somewhere in that direction. I refused, though. And Red-Chested Elron's probably at the flophouse, that's three blocks to the west. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a friend waiting for me outside."
How uncharacteristically helpful!
In the woods...
Kevin, not having expected such a turn of events, tries to find some sort of road to follow. After an hour of searching, he can't find one. He is now officially completely lost in extremely deep woods.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund supposes he could go for cloth as a reward for his efforts.
"Maybe you could give me some cloth? I don't care too much about quality, but I do for the color. Do you have black cloth? I feel that I will probably need something that allows more discretion than my current clothes."
"If you wish to remain discreet, I would advise that you do not wear black. Black is worn by morticians, mages and malefactors, and not really a good choice for a thing to wear if you wish to be unnoticed. Also, your skin tone will contrast with it very noticeably, emphasizing that there is something unusual about you. I would advise wearing shades of red if you wish to blend in, actually. I certainly have a great many fabrics available in most colors you might want, including a whole section of black fabrics. You need but say the word, and I shall get anything you want."
Sigmund notes the tailor's advice as he quickly retrieves the guard's armor, placing the thing on Morton's surface.
"Could you take the armor away? It's going to be useful for us at some point."
"You really should not steal the fellow's stuff, he is likely to return shortly, and he is likely to remember that his possessions were explicitly stored outside the circle just as you advised," the tailor notes.
Morton, noticing that Sigmund appears to have forgotten that a desk doesn't actually have hands, tries to subtly remind the vampire of his mistake.
"You can try to place it in the drawers good Sir Sigmund, it may fit," he says, opening his storage drawer. Sigmund nods and tries to stuff the armor into it.
[Sigmund inventory management roll: 6]
He manages to get the armor into the drawer! It is very tightly wedged, too. He pushes the drawer back into place, hoping that he'll be able to open it again.
"Hm... good Tailor Craig, good jester Kevin has been in there for a while, do you think perhaps there are communication difficulties?"
"Wait, did Kevin try this? Hahaha, I think that he really needed it."
"No idea what might have happened to him. That's what experimentation is for, after all."
Sigmund, though, has an idea on what might have happened.
"When the Aspect sent me back, I appeared at some distance from this place."
"Oh dear, does that mean good Jester Kevin might of reappeared a fair distance away? I think we should search for him, I hope he's quite alright... good Tailor Craig, do you perhaps have any opinion on where our wayward skeleton friend might of happened to?"
"Well, maybe he appeared quite a bit farther. Or on some other plane entirely. Difficult to say, really."
"Also, if you don't mind my prying who was that, good Sir Sigmund? The person you were to, ah, trick into trying this?"
"To answer your question, Morton, that man was a guard from a bookstore. When I was going around the city at night, I saw someone break a window and run away, and he, with another partner asked me about that criminal. It is a long story, but trying to get the criminal pay one of them ended as a pile of ashes. Not a very good story, after all, but I knew that he would be alone, that's why I tricked him."
"Ah, I see, good Sir Sigmund. I hope the guard for the best then, I wish he fares well in the Realm of Fabulous with the figment, although I'm afraid the same might've happened to him, and indeed he may be even further if the trend continues."
At that exact moment, a man appears on Morton's surface! He looks to be of medium height, dressed in only a loincloth, his skin pale blue in color. He has a sleek and athletic, though slightly stylized-looking build with a few more sharp angles than a normal person would have, but otherwise he is very humanlike, and the most obvious unusual feature of his body are his six arms. He looks like the very image of tranquility, and he gives off a kind impression. He looks around, then hops off Morton, picks up the sword the guard left as well as a small pouch and a bunch of clothes, putting them on to the best of his ability (he ruins the sleeves somewhat in the process). He looks a tad curious about something, and gazes at Sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2013, 06:15:20 pm
-So, you are back! How did the aspect threat you? I see that you came back without clothes, that's strange. When I went there, the Aspect gave me these nice clothes.
He then feigned to have forgotten something:
-Oh! You want your armor! Excuse me, I was trying to get your posessions in order. Usually travellers spend more time in there, and we don't want to have clothes lying around, specially if other people comes here, it's just not aesthetically pleasing, you know. It is in that drawer in that desk.
Edit: cursed grammar...
Post by: Xantalos on July 06, 2013, 06:55:56 pm
MMMMEEEEDDDDDIIIIIC!
Post by: killerhellhound on July 06, 2013, 07:04:51 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 06, 2013, 07:13:30 pm
Morton paused seeing the man appear on him. Well, that quite put the damper in their theory about locational effects of the realm of fabulous. The desk politely waited for the man to become proper decent before speaking to him, making up on his personal promise to greet the man once he came back. "Dreadfully sorry sir for not introducing myself earlier, I wasn't quite sure how you would take my appearance. It is a pleasure to meet you sir, I hear you are a guard of this fine town? You must do a splendid job, I've yet to see any rapscallions commit any robberies since I was here! My name is Carter Morton, and yes I am currently a desk. If you would like your armor, good Sir Sigmund had placed it in one of my drawers so as to prevent it from dirtying, after all it was placed on the ground, such a dreadfully unsanitary thing." Morton explained in his usual long-winded ways, trying to open the drawer that contained the man's armor.
If the drawer refused to come open to due to Morton alone, the desk will sigh. "Oh dear, I was worried of that. I think we may of over-filled the drawer... Hm, a little aid please?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2013, 07:17:14 pm
((I want the armor to fly right to the guard's face when he opens the drawer, but it would be a lot of luck.
I think that I rolled a 1 on the guard's transformation. I wanted him to become furniture so that I could burn it and leave no witnesses))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 06, 2013, 07:18:55 pm
I'm curious as to why this guy's so silent though... You think he's deaf? Surely not, although there is a possibility.]
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2013, 07:24:17 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 07, 2013, 01:53:50 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 07, 2013, 04:21:41 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 07, 2013, 05:34:03 am
[Oh dear, medicine is going to happen. Thankfully, or sadly, Morton is immune to medicine now due to being largely inorganic now I think.]Dont bet on it
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 07, 2013, 06:11:46 am
Sigmund, seeing that the jig is nearly up, gives in and explains to what is probably the guard about his missing armor.
"So, you are back! How did the aspect threat you? I see that you came back without clothes, that's strange. When I went there, the Aspect gave me these nice clothes."
He pretends to consider this for a moment, then feigns sudden remembrance of something important.
"Oh! You want your armor! Excuse me, I was trying to get your possessions in order. Usually travelers spend more time in there, and we don't want to have clothes lying around, specially if other people comes here, it's just not aesthetically pleasing, you know. It is in that drawer in that desk."
The six-armed guard nods, walking back toward the desk. He jumps back when Morton makes his presence known, his speech-drawer flipping open randomly!
"Dreadfully sorry, sir, for not introducing myself earlier, I wasn't quite sure how you would take my appearance. It is a pleasure to meet you sir, I hear you are a guard of this fine town? You must do a splendid job, I've yet to see any rapscallions commit any robberies since I was here! My name is Carter Morton, and yes I am currently a desk. If you would like your armor, good Sir Sigmund had placed it in one of my drawers so as to prevent it from dirtying, after all it was placed on the ground, such a dreadfully unsanitary thing."
The guard looks at Morton with a distinct lack of confidence. Perfectly natural, Morton supposes. It's not every day that you meet a desk as fabulous and articulate as he is. To prove his intentions, Morton tries to open his drawer!
[Morton strength roll: 1]
As he tries to open the drawer, he notices that Sigmund appears to have wedged it in so tightly that Morton can't actually open the thing anymore! Oh dear.
"Oh dear, I was worried of that. I think we may've over-filled the drawer... hm, a little aid please?"
The guard shrugs and decides to give it a try as Sigmund takes a carefully calculated step back.
[Guard strength roll: 6+1]
The guard places four of his arms on Morton's structure, pushing himself away from the desk as his remaining two get into an iron grip on the drawer itself. Then he pulls violently, causing Morton's body to emit a horrifying, painful shriek as the drawer is forcibly removed from it! The guard flies backwards as the desk gives way, rolling away from Morton, clutching the drawer in his arms.
Morton, quite naturally, feels exactly like one would if somebody ripped one's eye out together with the optic nerve. This is to say that he feels not good. Very not good, he might even say.
The guard, meanwhile, retrieves the armor from the drawer and puts it on, looking altogether more secure in himself as he does so. At this point he puts the drawer back into Morton. Interestingly enough, Morton can see through the knob again as it is put back in gently by the fellow. Not as well as before, but at least somewhat acceptably.
The six-armed man looks at the others, not positive on what happens now.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
As Niklas, lamenting the lack of proper railings on the ship, decides to submit at last.
"MMMMEEEEDDDDDIIIIIC!"
Mark, on the verge of taking offense at Niklas' behavior so far, decides to give him a pass. But only because he called him a medic!
[Mark medicine roll: 1+1]
However, he is struck by an unusual lack of inspiration! What could he possibly do with this sad wreck of a chef that hasn't been done to him already? It is rather sad, really.
In the Ulubelle...
Scott, having received information to his liking, leaves as mysteriously as he came, ruining a perfectly good wooden floor with his harpoon in the process. He finds the flophouse easily enough, heading right in.
Yep, this is certainly a highly unsavory place, Scott must say. Many rows of hammocks fill the main room, and there's quite a few people in here, mostly transients and the dregs of society. He can't readily spot anyone who looks like what he imagines an Elron would look like.
In the deepest, darkest woods...
Kevin, seeing how a road is too much to ask for right now, decides that he would settle for just some signs of civilization in the area.
He does find something! A cabin in the middle of the woods, seems like. It looks rather neat and clean, considering how far Kevin is likely to be off the beaten path.
Post by: Xantalos on July 07, 2013, 06:15:57 am
Erin.
Post by: miauw62 on July 07, 2013, 07:44:21 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 07, 2013, 08:19:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 07, 2013, 08:25:27 am
((Just realized something. Why was I damaged? I'm a zombie, which makes me immune to piercing (arrow) damage except on a 5.))
Yes. The only arrow strikes that did you any serious damage (those that hit you in the head and spine) were fives. The others didn't affect you in any tangible way.
Post by: Tomcost on July 07, 2013, 08:29:36 am
-Well, thank you for your cooperation. While we do this as a hobby, mostly, we would apreciate any kind of payment you can give us. We have to earn a living after all. If, by any chance, you are not comfortable with those extra arms, I know a good surgeon who will likely remove them by free. Don't be afraid to ask.
((Second chance to get his armor: !!Medicine!!))
Post by: Xantalos on July 07, 2013, 08:36:15 am
((Ah. Well, I just have to get my body fixed and I can begin committing mass arson.))((Just realized something. Why was I damaged? I'm a zombie, which makes me immune to piercing (arrow) damage except on a 5.))
Yes. The only arrow strikes that did you any serious damage (those that hit you in the head and spine) were fives. The others didn't affect you in any tangible way.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 07, 2013, 09:13:04 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 07, 2013, 10:33:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 07, 2013, 03:25:45 pm
Niklas, realizing that he might be in trouble if Mark happens to get his vile mitts on him, tries to quickly escape as the latter ponders his next move!
[Niklas movement roll: 5-2]
He rolls down the stairs to the lower decks slowly, as the massive amounts of metal he's carrying don't seem to be helping at all. He tries to recall the transmuter's name. It was... Erin, he supposes?
"ERIN! MAGE PERSON! MEDIC! HELP!"
Several doors in the hallway open up quickly, the heads of all the mages and the Artiste poking out of them.
"HELP! INJURED CHEF HERE! ERIN!"
Erin looks sleepily at Niklas, then gets back into her cabin, coming out shortly afterwards, wrapped in a warm blanket. She strolls up to Niklas, not really seeming wide awake just yet.
"Hmph... ruined... what? I don't..." she mumbles for a moment, then starts to gesture at the chef on the ground. The others, content that it's really no emergency, get back into their quarters.
[Erin magic roll: 4-1]
Niklas feels something shift! He now feels a tad different, though he is externally unchanged. He's also still rather paralyzed. Erin shrugs and walks back to her room, closing the door behind herself. Ah.
At a cabin in the woods...
Kevin, supposing that this cabin is the best bet for any form of functional navigation, goes and knocks on the door. The door immediately opens up, and a light breeze blowing into the house seems to invite him in.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Sigmund smiles at the guard, knowing that he can still squeeze something out of him if all goes well.
"Well, thank you for your cooperation. While we do this as a hobby, mostly, we would appreciate any kind of payment you can give us. We have to earn a living after all. If, by any chance, you are not comfortable with those extra arms, I know a good surgeon who will likely remove them by free. Don't be afraid to ask."
The guard nods, handing two silver coins to Craig, who graciously accepts them.
Morton, meanwhile, tries to come to terms with his trauma.
"That... That quite hurt."
He tries to move his drawer in and out, hoping that it might improve his third eye's vision. It does not.
"Do... do you perhaps know where I might find a carpenter, Sir Guard?" he asks.
The guard shrugs, then waves to everyone with his six arms, briskly walking away from the area.
"Nice fellow," Tailor Craig says, placing his two silver coins in his pocket.
In a rather filthy flophouse...
Scott, thinking that subtlety is best reserved for silly schlubs unlike himself, throws caution to the wind.
"Could Red-Chested Elron please make his presence known if he is indeed here?"
The small crowd of drunks parts, revealing a rather large, bald fellow with a heavily bandaged chest and an impressive beard.
"What do you want?" he asks.
Post by: Tomcost on July 07, 2013, 03:51:05 pm
-Was it as terrible as it seemed? I don't think that it can get any worse, but I don't know how exactly do you feel things. We will find a carpenter for you, Morton, but if you want to get hands, asking Erin would be better, I think. We will go to the ship once the mages are awake. Maybe, meanwhile, we can continue our little experimentation with the mushrooms.
He then turned to Craig:
-So, your business can prosper, it seems. About the cloth, I've made a decision: I want the red one. You are the expert in those kind of things, after all.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 07, 2013, 04:15:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 07, 2013, 04:26:01 pm
-Your new physiology is indeed interesting. I'm glad to hear that there is no danger.
He then looks closely at the knob from the ripped drawer, then blows at it and watches Morton's reaction.
-I don't know at which extent this could be something positive or negative. About that mushroom, well, there are others. I can go and gather another while we wait for Kevin.
Post by: Xantalos on July 07, 2013, 04:53:18 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 07, 2013, 04:56:24 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 07, 2013, 04:58:04 pm
"Indeed Good Sir Sigmund, it still confuses me at times and I've much to learn about it if I'm to stay like this for a while. I recall Good Tailor Craig however mentioning that it would be unwise for a mage who can change objects to try to change my present form however, I wouldn't wish to put Good Mage Erin in danger in such a way. If you wish to gather another mushroom, I fear I may slow you down however in my present form, I'm not sure how fast I can safely walk like thus."
Post by: Tomcost on July 07, 2013, 05:53:29 pm
-I doubt that Erin isn't the best suited person to treat something as delicate as your current condition. Nevertheless, a carpenter would be a sensible second option. If you feel that you will indeed slow me, I shall go alone, it's not a difficult task. You will stay here in case Kevin shows up?
EDIT:
After getting the cloth, Sigmund will go to the Yaleson's house, cut a tiny mushroom with his guisarme and wrap it wih the cloth, without touching it, then come back.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 07, 2013, 06:59:25 pm
He runs downstairs grabbing a piece of fabric and shoves it in the yelling zombies mouth then starts dragging him away from the mages back to the deck as they need their sleep.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 07, 2013, 07:06:17 pm
[I was about to write 'Morton nodded at Sigmund' but then realized his range of gestures have boiled down to 'wobble' and 'open drawers.' This amuses me.]
Post by: killerhellhound on July 08, 2013, 12:31:12 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 12:35:02 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 08, 2013, 12:49:08 am
[Nah man, I find it funny. Personally I'm hoping the mage turns Morton into like... A desk golem or something. Or just a desk with arms jutting off of it for some reason, I'd be good with that too. I kinda want to keep the desk vibe though, I think its neat. Not everyday you get to RP as an object. Sadly no floating square, else I'd delegate all gestures to rotations along specific axises.]((same reason I dont have a head sticking out of me yet also I can handle doing !!SCIENCE!! to there people but not to myself))
Post by: miauw62 on July 08, 2013, 04:20:24 am
"Eh, hello? Is anyone there?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 08, 2013, 04:53:26 am
Sigmund, rather concerned about Morton and being all too familiar with the sense of being violently dismembered, goes up to the desk and asks how he's feeling.
"Was it as terrible as it seemed? I don't think that it can get any worse, but I don't know how exactly do you feel things. We will find a carpenter for you, Morton, but if you want to get hands, asking Erin would be better, I think. We will go to the ship once the mages are awake. Maybe, meanwhile, we can continue our little experimentation with the mushrooms."
Morton seems to be less than okay, but at least not horribly, terribly traumatized.
"...I can indeed exclaim that I feel pain in this form, that much has been made present to me indeed. It rather felt like my eye got ripped out, although until rather recently I couldn't exactly say what that might've felt like. I... I can't quite see as well out of that 'eye' either now. Er, suppose I didn't tell you but I can see out of these knobs on the drawers I believe. It may've been damaged, but I can't exactly see myself. Besides that, I don't believe anything else got injured, Good Sir Sigmund, as I can still manipulate the drawer as well I could before, I'm fine now, I think. Ah yes, the mushro... shroom. That was in my livery. Which... which disappeared. ...I'm afraid it might be misplaced, Good Sir Sigmund. We also still have the matter of trying to find Good Jester Kevin, he still hasn't appeared..."
"Your new physiology is indeed interesting. I'm glad to hear that there is no danger."
Sigmund takes a look at the knob. It's one of those crystal knobs, very shiny. Though after taking a closer look, Sigmund notices a peculiar milkiness about it in comparison to the other drawer knobs. He blows on it, and Morton wobbles a little bit involuntarily. Hm, it does seem to be a fully functional, slightly more durable eye, if a bit less clear than one might hope.
"I don't know at which extent this could be something positive or negative. About that mushroom, well, there are others. I can go and gather another while we wait for Kevin."
"Indeed Good Sir Sigmund, it still confuses me at times and I've much to learn about it if I'm to stay like this for a while. I recall Good Tailor Craig however mentioning that it would be unwise for a mage who can change objects to try to change my present form however, I wouldn't wish to put Good Mage Erin in danger in such a way. If you wish to gather another mushroom, I fear I may slow you down however in my present form, I'm not sure how fast I can safely walk like thus."
"I doubt that Erin isn't the best suited person to treat something as delicate as your current condition."
"If Erin's the transmuter, it would be better for her to stay well away from your friend - for a transmuter to be able to alter the structure and composition of something with a material focus, said structure must first be known, and you need to know how exactly it differs from what you need to get at the end - that's why transmuters place such an emphasis on material sciences. And if she has a spellbook, that still means she can only work with certain materials included. And you, I'm afraid, are made of just about the rarest, most poorly understood materials around. As is your friend. It's not even matter from this realm, it's something else entirely."
Ah. Hm.
"Nevertheless, a carpenter would be a sensible second option. If you feel that you will indeed slow me, I shall go alone, it's not a difficult task. You will stay here in case Kevin shows up?"
"I suppose so, good Sir Sigmund, I just wouldn't want to place friends in harm for my own sake," Morton replies, then pauses, becoming awfully aware of himself suddenly. "I'm sorry if I'm rather chatty in this form Good Sir Sigmund, but without the ability to make expressions or gestures I can't exactly be as laconic as I was before. I'm alright with waiting for Kevin in case he shows up, which I hope is soon. Be careful on the trek back."
Sigmund shrugs and turns to Craig.
"So, your business can prosper, it seems. About the cloth, I've made a decision: I want the red one. You are the expert in those kind of things, after all."
Craig nods, grabbing a rather large roll of soft, thick, dark red cloth from the back of his loyal, extremely bored donkey and handing it to his much-appreciated schmuck recruitment officer. Sigmund, receiving his cloth, goes back to the Yaleson house. He finds a massive mushroom grove formed around the still-burning hate-fire. What's funny is that the trees around the fire have died, but the mushrooms appear to thrive. Oh well. Guess he'll retrieve one anyway. He pokes one of the tinier outlying mushrooms and pokes it, but finds that he can't exactly get close to it without disturbing some of the larger, more mature ones.
In the crew quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas tries to quickly crawl over to Erin's door before Mark snaps out of his stumped state.
[Niklas movement roll: 6-2]
[Mark movement roll: 2+1]
He manages to get to the door, pounding on it desperately as he hears the telltale metal clanging of approaching malpractice come from the stairway!
"I'M STILL PARALYZED AND HAVE ONE LEG CHEWED OFF! ALSO MY SPINE IS BROKEN IN 2 DIFFERENT PLACES!"
The door slowly opens, Erin's head poking outside again. She looks to be losing her patience.
[Erin magic roll: 1-1]
Suddenly, the body of Niklas, implements of butchery included, vanishes in the air, leaving but a helmeted head behind on the ground.
"... I'll get back to ya... later," she says, yawning loudly and closing the door behind her.
[Niklas will roll: 3]
Being bodiless is surprisingly unpleasant, Niklas finds! Or is it the fact that all of his carefully-collected tools are now part of the awfully metallic, fleshy air in the hallway? Or is it the fact that he's been seized by an even greater butcher and violator of basic human decency than himself? Or is it the fact that... wait, what's treeface doing?
[Mark medicine roll: 2+1]
Mark, still not feeling quite in the groove, attaches Niklas' head sideways to the pseudo-catfish body. That looks like it might work, yeah. Temporarily. If he doesn't move too much.
In a filthy flophouse...
Scott, seeing Red-Chested Elron before him, bravely asks a question.
"Did you partake or associate yourself with the group pretending to be part of the crew of the Mage ship in the dock to take gold from stupid out-of-towners? If not, where can I find them? I happen to have a job and will pay well for information."
"Oh, I know who you're looking for. You're looking for Purple Pete Petersen. I can tell you where he is, but it'll cost you ten coppers."
A shakedown, huh?
At a cabin in the woods...
Kevin, not terribly trusting of people who readily invite him into their homes, decides to... try and speak, rather than remain mute for no reason! Vocal folds, get ready to be exercised!
"Eh, hello? Is anyone there?" he asks, his voice having a very ethereal, otherworldly, crystalline quality to it.
"Yeah, yeah, come right in!" comes an incredibly nasal male voice from within the quaint cabin. "I'll be right with you!"
Post by: miauw62 on July 08, 2013, 05:00:52 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 08, 2013, 05:52:18 am
"You know what? Tell me everything and I'll promise you 10 coppers once I hear a name that might actually be connected, and 5 gold after *if* what you say is true. *If*, by chance, you gave the wrong name I will happily accept another..."
His voice will sink to a harsh malevolent whisper as he leans into the brute.
"...Persons who dabble in volatile, explosive or...necromantic Majicks do not like to be impersonated, have their names besmirched or be taken for fools. And not being known for patience, their vengeance often lacks... subtlety."
He will cackle softly, put on a creepy beaming smile that puts emphasis on his undead features, end the embrace, and start limping slowly to the door.
(What do you think? :3)
Post by: killerhellhound on July 08, 2013, 06:00:32 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 08, 2013, 06:08:48 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 07:15:09 am
Sigmund, from the distance, will throw rocks at the mature mushrooms near the one he tried to capture, wait a long time until the spores are gone, then gather the tiny mushroom with his guisarme, and come back to Morton.
EDIT: WITHOUTH TOUCHING IT. Has it enough emphasis?
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 10:32:01 am
If said offer is accepted, Morton will hesitate for a moment before asking his question. "I truly don't mean to offend, but might I ask why you have a clawed hand? You don't often find people with such I've seen."
If said offer is refused, Morton will reply quickly: "Right, dreadfully sorry Good Tailor Craig, I understand."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 08, 2013, 10:36:39 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 08, 2013, 11:49:04 am
She took my weapons.
Niklas' eye begins twitching. He begins to sing while his face convulses, softly at first, but getting louder with each verse.
Do you know how the body works, boys and girls
It's it's own little magical kind of world
Disregarding the head, we have the heart for the start and end
Thumping in the chest, one two six ten
It pumps blood along the veins and into the feet
All along the arms, boy, isn't that neat!
The body's a machine, a very complex one too
But can you take it apart and look at the insides
The insides that squirm and wriggle and twitch
Then put it back together again?
I can
IIIII CAAAAAAAN
I KNOW HOW TO EXTRACT THE LIVER AND PUT IT IN A KIDNEY
TAKE OUT THAT KIDNEY AND PLACE IT IN A LUNG
CHEW UP THE INTESTINES, PLACE THEM IN THE HEART
LET IT GO BACK TO THE VERY START
AND YOU KNOW JUST WHAT?! I THINK I'LL DO
YOU TAKE MY BODY
I'LL TAKE YOURS TOO
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA
Post by: miauw62 on July 08, 2013, 11:51:50 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 12:13:49 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 08, 2013, 12:14:11 pm
((Oh god, quickly, somebody calm down Niklas before he goes on a murderous rampage ;_;))TOO LATE, FRIEND!
TWO ARMS, ONE LEG, TWO LUNGS, A HEART, TWO KIDNEYS, A LIVER, A STOMACH, A BLADDER, GENETALIA, SEVERAL HUNDRED BONES, ONE SKIN, A SPINE, AND TEN FINGERS AND TOES TOO LATE!
Post by: miauw62 on July 08, 2013, 12:22:36 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 01:02:31 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 01:09:39 pm
((RIP Niklas. Dark cook, murder, cannibal, catfish. Cause of death: vanished into air/tortured by the artiste to death.))[Pft, you got no faith in him. I know he'll be fine.]
Post by: Xantalos on July 08, 2013, 01:11:10 pm
((RIP Niklas. Dark cook, murder, cannibal, catfish. Cause of death: vanished into air/tortured by the artiste to death.))Not yet.
Not by all the tendons and bones I have left. Not by the flesh I'll take nor the bones I'll break.
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 01:11:45 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 08, 2013, 01:13:20 pm
((I have reasonable doubts about how is he going to survive with that actitude.))((Just wait and see.))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 01:15:52 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 08, 2013, 01:29:09 pm
((I have reasonable doubts about how is he going to survive with that actitude.))((The artiste had me jump of the top floor of a building for pouring water on him, the cook will be atomised.))
Post by: Xantalos on July 08, 2013, 01:33:49 pm
((For waking him up, though. I'm just a singing head now.))((I have reasonable doubts about how is he going to survive with that actitude.))((The artiste had me jump of the top floor of a building for pouring water on him, the cook will be atomised.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 01:36:33 pm
((Attached to a catfish))((For waking him up, though. I'm just a singing head now.))((I have reasonable doubts about how is he going to survive with that actitude.))((The artiste had me jump of the top floor of a building for pouring water on him, the cook will be atomised.))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 01:56:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 08, 2013, 04:27:10 pm
Kevin goes right into the cabin, looking around carefully.
This is somewhat difficult, as the entire house seems to be filled with some kind of weird fog. Can hardly see anything, to be honest. Seems like a nice enough cabin apart from that, though, if a bit rich in odd-looking junk that Kevin can only begin to guess the purpose of.
As he wanders through the cabin, the fog only becomes thicker. Soon enough, he thinks he wouldn't be able to see his own hand in front of his face. In addition, he thinks he hears the voice from before singing somewhere, but the fog appears to be messing with that, too - it seems to echo and come from all directions at once.
Inside a filthy flophouse...
Scott, in a mischievous mood at the moment, tries to take his usual approach of trying to seem far more intimidating than he actually might be. He walks up to Red-Chested Elron and tries to take him by the arm in a friendly fashion, but Elron doesn't seem to be willing to do so, taking a step back from the guy.
[Scott intimidation roll: 5]
"You know what? Tell me everything and I'll promise you 10 coppers once I hear a name that might actually be connected, and 5 gold after *if* what you say is true. *If*, by chance, you gave the wrong name I will happily accept another..." he says, then immediately sinking his voice to something like a rather malevolent whisper, which works rather well due to the raspiness of Scott's voice caused by the gaping wound in his throat that he has to plug to speak. "Persons who dabble in volatile, explosive or...necromantic Majicks do not like to be impersonated, have their names besmirched or be taken for fools. And not being known for patience, their vengeance often lacks... subtlety."
Elron nods and gulps, looking a bit creeped out as Scott limps to the door.
"Purple Pete works with conmen all the time, he probably knows something. Go ask him. Yeah. He lives in a house by the port, right next to the weapon shop. That's near the shipyard, which has this great big ship in it that you just can't miss. Yeah."
Ah. So good he could reach an understanding.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Mark, intent on helping Niklas by any means necessary, thinks about going to look for some more bodies to steal.
But can the doctor really leave his patient? After all, Niklas has just gone through a highly traumatic experience.
"My weapons. She took my weapons," comes a voice from the pseudo-catfish. Niklas' head twitches oddly, obviously trying to make noise as well. The fish begins to move rhythmically as it begins to sing, reminding Mark all too much of that one toy his mother forbade him from getting in that carnival once due to it being magework.
"Do you know how the body works, boys and girls,
It's its own little magical kind of world,
Disregarding the head, we have the heart for the start and end,
Thumping in the chest, one two six ten
It pumps blood along the veins and into the feet,
All along the arms, boy, isn't that neat!
The body's a machine, a very complex one, too,
But can you take it apart and look at the insides,
The insides that squirm and wriggle and twitch,
Then put it back together again?
I can,
IIIII CAAAAAAAN,
I KNOW HOW TO EXTRACT THE LIVER AND PUT IT IN A KIDNEY,
TAKE OUT THAT KIDNEY AND PLACE IT IN A LUNG,
CHEW UP THE INTESTINES, PLACE THEM IN THE HEART,
LET IT GO BACK TO THE VERY START,
AND YOU KNOW JUST WHAT?! I THINK I'LL DO,
YOU TAKE MY BODY,
I'LL TAKE YOURS TOO,
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!"
He seems fine, so Mark heads off on his search.
Fortunately, he does not have to look long, for there is a fellow walking down the street - a bit scrawny, looks to be a bit of a layabout - nobody'll miss him, probably. Perfect for his purposes!
At a still-raging hate-fire...
Sigmund has a brilliant idea. He picks up a few rocks and tosses them at mushrooms, causing a few of the nearby ones deflate visibly and form large clouds of spores that subside quickly. He reaches out with the guisarme and tries to remove a smaller mushroom. However, he notices something at the last minute - a mushroom he's missed! One right next to him!
[Dodge roll: 6]
He leaps away exactly as the mushroom explodes into yet another cloud of spores. Okay, so he'll wait some more, then he'll just retrieve the mushroom and be done with it. He leans in once more, about to cut a mushroom off, but alas, it is not meant to go so smoothly! The wind changes direction suddenly, blowing a whole lot of the hate-smoke in his direction!
[Dodge roll: 5]
Luckily, Sigmund, knowing that fate is an asshole if there ever was one, was prepared for exactly such an occurrence, once more diving away from danger. He feels good about his chances now, though. After all, third time's the charm. He carefully ambles over to the mushroom patch, carefully pushing his guisarme in it and trying to get a mushroom out. However, as he pulls back, he notices that it's kind of stuck. Mushrooms have grown all over it now. Damn it!
[Strength roll: 3+1]
With difficulty, he pulls the thing out. Okay... uh... fourth time's the... eh, screw it, he'll just try again and think no more. He'll try again like none have before! He goes nuts on the mushroom patch in a fit of rage, slicing off dozens of the little bastards in a furious chopping extravaganza! At the end of it, he has a pile of mushrooms. He fashions a bag out of some of the red cloth he has and picks them all up, because gods damn it, he's not coming back here ever again! For any reason!
As he heads back into town, the sun proceeds to rise slowly and sluggishly. Not that Sigmund gives a rat's ass - he just walks determinedly back to Tailor Craig, utilizing his frustration to bypass any crossroads on the way.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
For a while, Morton just stands around, being all desk-like and playing it cool. Then he realizes that one thing does kind of bug him.
"Good Tailor Craig, if you don't mind my prying, could I ask of you a question?"
"Sure," says Craig, currently lounging against the side of his resting donkey and reading a book titled "The Horrors of the Dimension of Love".
Morton hesitates for a moment, then asks his question.
"I truly don't mean to offend, but might I ask why you have a clawed hand? You don't often find people with such I've seen."
Craig closes his book and looks at Morton.
"So. You want to know where I got this claw from? Well, I'll tell you."
He clears his throat in a dignified fashion, then commences his tale.
"Back in the good old days of about seven or eight years ago, I was but a demonologist-in-training back in the good old University of Magic. Wonderful place, it was. Too bad it was mostly populated by people who were, shall we say, dangerously unhinged and occasionally psychopathic, particularly the demonology department - that one attracts whackjobs like you wouldn't believe. I swear, on my first day, one guy who I suspect didn't know how the whole thing worked tried to sacrifice me in my sleep. Or maybe just shiv me, was difficult to tell with him. And he wasn't even the worst one. I didn't fit in at all, to be honest. It seemed like everybody was trying to kill me at any given point except the head of the department and maybe Marianne, who mostly kept all of her craziness deep down. So there I was, a well-adjusted guy from a good family, curious about the boundaries of the world in the midst of a slew of murderous eldritch cultists whose idea of a prank was to twist your cat inside out and put a candle on it. Yeah, I don't know either. Problem was, despite everything, I was really the outsider there - the idiot eldritch doom cultists, though a whole lot got their brains pureed after they tried to lead a session of prayer to the Demon of Logic to call it into the world and an Almirian Herald showed up, were still the norm. And every week I was getting closer and closer to being next on their makeshift sacrificial altar - gods only know what they hoped to achieve with that."
Craig sighs and shakes his head, his face still completely obscured by his robe.
"Anyway, I had to keep the idiots at bay somehow, so I took drastic measures - my life was in danger, after all. I decided to draw up a portal to the realm of the Demon of Fear - it's known to be an amiable creature if approached correctly, and doesn't always ask for your soul, either, so it was my best choice. I drew up the portal and was seized by its minions practically immediately, whereupon they took me to their leader, exactly as planned. Now, I'll not bother describing the terrors visited upon me by the realm - they are always rather private and hardly comprehensible to others in their nature, so you'll have to forgive me for not elaborating. So I got to the Demon of Fear eventually after facing certain inner demons, and then I did what any good demonologist does on an all-or-nothing venture, and that is to try and entertain the demon with music. A harmonica, in this case. I was a bit unsure at first, but the Demon of Fear seemed to like it just fine. It danced rather amusingly, too, though that was probably just my personal perception at the time, considering that the Demon of Fear is a mask behind which all of the world's terrors hide. So, after a bit of that, the Demon of Fear motioned for me to stop, so I did. I knew at this point that I was doing pretty well, so I asked the demon to help me out a bit, make me more intimidating to discourage those idiots from screwing with me too much. And the demon obliged - it made me into a living nightmare and sent me right back out into the world of humans. First time I looked in a mirror, I nearly passed out from the shock. I still can't bear to look into a mirror without my robe on, to be honest. Still, my looks served their purpose rather admirably. After the first two days, pretty much everybody stayed away from me, particularly since I made a point to sleep without my robe on in the night. I still recall the time Herbert looked at me and immediately lost control of his bowels - incredibly cathartic. With the free time I got from not needing to dodge lunatics, I even managed to get an illusionist buddy to make me a nice set of robes that kept the nightmares from creeping out at people that didn't need to see them."
He thinks for a moment.
"Well, I think that's about all there is to it. I managed to finish my education, though I never went adventuring in other dimensions again. Too dangerous. And I kept getting flashbacks for years after the Fear Realm. Place is crazy. I did still experiment with portals, though, and did some tailoring on the side. And now I'm here, after a few years of trying to get settled. I dare say it's gone swimmingly. And that's the story of how I got, among other things, my claw. Funny thing is, it's not even a claw. It just looks like one due to the illusions. I could show you what it really is for a moment if you want, though," Craig says, looking at Morton questioningly.
Before Morton can answer, though, Sigmund reappears, carrying a great big bag of something. Oh dear.
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 04:55:00 pm
-Damned firepit is still raging with those hateful flames. And those cursed mushrooms are still growing bigger. This bag's full of them, I'm not going there again in my whole unlife.
But once having spent some of his rage in that speech, his mind became clearer, and thought:
-Well, that place could be a perfect tomb for any living person. I think that I will consider that. What were you talking about?
Post by: Innsmothe on July 08, 2013, 05:06:05 pm
However, he is a fore'nor and very specific to how he is addressed, as he knows little of our language.
His name is Yufes Toring Kent.
So at the berth, shout out:
'Artiste Yufes Toring Kent, I am owed x by your betters, I would like it now Yufes Toring Kent.'"
He will then limp to the place he was directed to, barely holding back a snicker.
((:P))
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 05:26:13 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 05:43:57 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
"Oh, welcome back Good Sir Sigmund! I hope it went well, you seem unharmed and victorious with your excursion! The fire's still roaring though huh... That doesn't sound pleasant, not at all." The desk said to Sigmund, happy to see his return both healthy and victorious. "Good Tailor Craig was just detailing to me why he has a clawed hand, and the story that goes with it."
With that, the desk turned its attention back to the tailor. "I thank you for telling me, good Tailor Craig, it sounds like they really put you through trials during your stay there, but I'm elated to hear that everything worked out for the better. If you think it alright, I can't say I'm not curious as to what it really looks like if that is indeed an illusion." Morton comments cheerfully, indeed curious. He knows it will probably be a fearsome sight however, from what Craig has been telling him, so he tries to mentally prepare himself.
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 06:04:37 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Sigmund, not knowing what was going to happen, looked curiously.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 08, 2013, 06:13:57 pm
Spoiler: More OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2013, 06:18:07 pm
Spoiler: Guess, what, OOC! (click to show/hide)
Sigmund will also examine his guisarme and determine how bad is the mushroom problem over it.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 09, 2013, 01:09:46 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 09, 2013, 04:29:48 am
Kevin tries to locate a chair and sit down.
Post by: Xantalos on July 09, 2013, 04:41:27 am
Repeat the song.
Forever.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 09, 2013, 04:58:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 09, 2013, 05:42:59 am
Sigmund is not in the best of moods presently.
"Damned firepit is still raging with those hateful flames. And those cursed mushrooms are still growing bigger. This bag's full of them, I'm not going there again in my whole unlife."
However, he has had time to deal with his issues in a perfectly rational and adult fashion, so it's easy enough to get back to other, more important things at hand.
"Well, that place could be a perfect tomb for any living person. I think that I will consider that. What were you talking about?"
Morton, a tad lost in thought presently, still manages to reply to the arrival.
"Oh, welcome back Good Sir Sigmund! I hope it went well, you seem unharmed and victorious with your excursion! The fire's still roaring though, huh... That doesn't sound pleasant, not at all. Good Tailor Craig was just detailing to me why he has a clawed hand, and the story that goes with it."
Speaking of, Morton addresses Craig once more.
"I thank you for telling me, good Tailor Craig, it sounds like they really put you through trials during your stay there, but I'm elated to hear that everything worked out for the better. If you think it alright, I can't say I'm not curious as to what it really looks like if that is indeed an illusion."
"Very well. I suppose it's unlikely that you'll be actually harmed in the process. Hang on a second."
Sigmund looks over at Craig, not really sure what's going on, but he'll be damned if he's about to miss it. And he's just in time, too. Tailor Craig's glowing eyes flash for a moment, and the air grows cold. Just then, Morton sees that his claw seems to be getting longer and sharper, its shape changing as it leaves the man's sleeve. Now, he can't say what the shape is, but he does notice that it appears to have tendrils branching off in various directions. In fact, said tendrils appear to be growing in size and length, stretching out and filling the air around the robe. Soon enough you can hardly even tell that a claw was there to begin with as the entire field of view of the undead is filled with twitching, broken black lines growing ever thicker until all light in the area is blocked out, trapping both of them in infinite darkness, in which the only two sources of light are Craig's eyes, which resemble two distant suns. Sigmund instinctively looks around, but he doesn't see Morton anywhere around him.
[Sigmund will roll: 4]
As the darkness seems to contract around him, several tendrils seem to pierce into his body, invading his inner workings, twisting them to unknown purposes. It doesn't hurt, really, it just feels incredibly wrong. He may belong in the sunless world, but this sort of darkness is something else entirely. This is something he wants nothing to do with, something he wishes to be as far from as possible. However, since escape seems unlikely, he just tries to weather it, hoping that it will indeed retreat eventually, curling up into a ball and trying to think happy thoughts.
Surprisingly, this works. The tendrils seem to retreat after a while, leaving his body entirely afterwards. After five more minutes of nothing, Sigmund opens his eyes.
Hm, looks like everything's back to normal.
[Morton will roll: 6]
Morton, meanwhile, possesses none of the luxuries that Sigmund does. He is left largely unmoving in the endless void, only capable of wobbling uncertainly at the horrors that seem intent on perverting all that he is, was and will be. The tendrils scratch at his finish, pull at his speech-drawer, pierce into his eyeknobsHis legs seem to break under the force of the tendrils, then are put back together, only to be broken again. And through all this, the things draw ever closer to his most valuable possession - his tea! At the moment when he feels most helpless, when his vaunted tea is in the greatest peril, when its purity is under risk, Morton, despite being a desk, feels a rush of adrenaline, or at least a purely mental equivalent, come to him in a great wave! He starts to spin violently and rapidly, forcing the tendrils out of his being, making them retreat back into where they were! The darkness, unprepared for such a reaction, seems to draw back, giving Morton precious room. After valiantly defending himself, Morton feels there is only one thing to do. The darkness is defeated, and only one thing left to do.
He stares into the eyes of Craig, and for a moment he thinks he can sense a kind of smile on the part of the man. The eyes seem to grow larger and brighter until they explode in a flash of light. When Morton regains his sight, he finds himself back where he was, right next to Craig. Sigmund, who is currently examining his presently mushroomless guisarme critically and disbelievingly, appears to be rather okay as well, if a bit confused.
"That was certainly educational, don't you think? I assure you, I didn't do a thing except momentarily deactivate the enchantment. This is merely how it works."
In a filthy flophouse...
Scott explains to Red-Chested Elron how the payment for his services is to be received.
"Then go to the 'haunted' ship berthed in the docks, my minions there will give you the gold. My sergeant, a dandy of a person known as The Artiste will give you your reward. However, he is a fore'nor and very specific to how he is addressed, as he knows little of our language. His name is Yufes Toring Kent. So at the berth, shout out: 'Artiste Yufes Toring Kent, I am owed x by your betters, I would like it now Yufes Toring Kent.'"
Red-Chested Elron nods, and Scott limps away to Purple Pete Petersen's place, still keeping up that pseudo-crippled impression for some reason. He arrives at the house in a short while - it is not really a luxurious place, but is certainly several steps above a hovel.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark, having no time to waste, goes ahead to try and murder the scrawny fellow.
[Mark stealth vs. Scrawny Guy perception: 2-1 vs. 2]
The fellow pays surprisingly little attention, and Mark is almost within melee range when he turns around and takes a good look at him.
Naturally, the fellow tries to run.
[Fellow escape roll: 1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 2+1]
However, it is futile. Mark catches up with him easily.
[Mark vs. Scrawny Guy: 3+1 vs. 3]
He then gives him a scratch. The fellow yelps and keeps running.
[Fellow escape roll: 6]
[Mark pursuit roll: 3+1]
Clearly, the scratch has put the fear into him properly, as he starts to run rapidly, taking Mark a little by surprise!
[Fellow escape roll: 1]
[Mark pursuit roll: 1+1]
He runs into a wall by accident, but Mark still can't quite catch up! Mostly because he ran right past him!
[Fellow escape roll: 5]
[Mark pursuit roll: 2+1]
This proves to be quite the mistake on Mark's part, because when he gets back to where the guy ran into the wall, he finds that he is gone! Completely vanished out of sight!
In a foggy cabin...
After failing to find any helpful people, Kevin tries to find a chair.
This proves surprisingly difficult. No proper chairs that he can find, so he just sits down on an errant footstool.
"Hang on! I'll open a window!" goes the voice again. Moments later, a breeze starts up, and the fog starts to thin.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, currently a bit busy developing more psychoses than a man his age has any right to have, keeps on singing merrily. Well, at least his catfish part. His original face does provide twitching support, though.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on July 09, 2013, 05:57:37 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 09, 2013, 06:27:58 am
With the fog thinning, Kevin tries to find this person.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 09, 2013, 07:38:37 am
He will shout in a menacing growl.
"Purple Pete, I ask for an audience."
Post by: Tomcost on July 09, 2013, 08:57:13 am
-All those things I felt, weren't real? How someone can transform into such thing?
[After the response]
-I see. If possible, don't do that again. It was definitely not a nice experience. Considering that it is dawn, maybe the Artiste is awake. Come with us if you want.
Take the tailor to the ship, but tell him to wait at the gangplank as I go to look for the Artiste.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 09, 2013, 12:12:27 pm
Head on down.
Post by: Xantalos on July 09, 2013, 02:02:18 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 09, 2013, 05:39:01 pm
"Indeed... Thank you, good Tailor Craig, I most appreciate you showing me that." The words were genuine, if a little surprised. The ordeal was cathartic, to say the least, hope inspiring even, oddly enough. The idea that, beyond the situation, there is always a chance of success, and the idea that he himself had the strength to possibly grasp it, if at least only for a moment.
Morton will follow if they head back to the ship.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 09, 2013, 07:21:34 pm
Mark, having lost sight of his quarry, remembers something all of a sudden! He trots back to the ship and goes up to the still-singing Niklas fish he made, then pushes him into the water!
Niklas doesn't seem to have stopped singing, though. In fact, he swims right back ashore, beaching himself with the impressive quickness of an endangered whale!
In a foggy home in the woods...
Kevin waits for the fog to thin a bit after thanking the good man for his helpful behavior. Soon enough he can kind of see something, and it is at this point that he becomes rather embarrassed, as the house really does appear to be no larger than it seemed from the outside. He seems to be sitting near a kitchen, where a tall, skeletal-looking man is working at something - boiling something in a pot from the looks of it. Kevin is about to say something, but the guy beats him to it, turning around.
He appears mostly normal, though his eyes have a peculiar redness to them. Also, he seems to be smoking three pipes. At the same time.
"Whoa, you're certainly weird-looking. Trippy clothes, man. Not to mention the skin," he says through his teeth, carefully trying to not lose any of his smoking implements. After he's said his bit, he takes a deep drag from his pipes, blowing multicolored smoke through his nostrils.
At Purple Pete Petersen's house...
Scott decides to approach this fellow in just as menacing a fashion as the previous one.
[Scott intimidation roll: 3]
He knocks on the door, and soon afterwards hears a question from on high.
"Yeah? Whaddaya want?"
"Purple Pete, I ask for an audience," he says raspily.
"Where would I get one o' those at this hour? People are only gettin' up right now, ya silly goose! Try the theater or something."
Hmph. So that's the way it's going to be.
At Tailor Craig's traveling clothing enterprise...
Morton can't help but agree with Tailor Craig's assessment of the experience.
"Indeed... Thank you, good Tailor Craig, I most appreciate you showing me that."
Sigmund, only getting more confused with every second, asks Tailor Craig what the heck is going on.
"All those things I felt weren't real? How someone can transform into such thing?"
"Well, I just told that story to your desk-friend here and don't particularly feel like telling it again - he can probably explain all the important bits to you."
"I see. If possible, don't do that again. It was definitely not a nice experience. Considering that it is dawn, maybe the Artiste is awake. Come with us if you want."
"Oh, I hardly ever have any need to use my appearance anymore. You need not worry. And I do suppose I'll come with you. Remy, we're leaving," he says, pointing at his donkey, who gets up and starts following immediately along with Morton, who keeps up reasonably well for a desk. Soon enough, they are back at the ship. It seems pretty quiet apart from weird singing coming from somewhere, and after checking the crew quarters, Sigmund finds the Artiste sound asleep. Guess he went to bed late, huh?
Soon enough, Sigmund heads back to the gangplank, only to find Tailor Craig conversing with a fellow with a bandaged chest.
"-so he's in there?"
"I suppose so, if what these fine fellows have told me is correct. Might be asleep. Why do you seek the fellow?"
"Oh, this schmuck promised to pay me 5 gold coins for some crappy information and asked me to call a guy by a ridiculous name. I just smell a trap, is all."
"What name?"
"Yufes Toring Kent."
"I don't get it, must say."
The bandaged man shrugs.
"Neither do I, but it sounds wrong to me somehow."
"Hm. Well, best of luck, then."
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren believes his business here is done.
"No. Thank you, and don't worry, I can open the way myself."
"Good luck, buddy," she says, getting back to a particular shelf and retrieving an odd piece of junk. She seems to be appraising it. Darren, supposing that there's nothing more to it, phases through the door to the tombs, coming to a tall ladder, which he quickly navigates by simply floating down. Eventually he gets to a surprisingly horizontal tunnel. It leads to a door of some kind - a steel, mechanical one. It fills the end of the hallway forebodingly, illuminated only by rather spooky-looking luminescent fungi.
Post by: Xantalos on July 09, 2013, 07:23:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 09, 2013, 07:26:39 pm
-He is still asleep, I'm sorry to waste your time. And who is this good fellow right here?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 09, 2013, 08:27:51 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 09, 2013, 08:36:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 09, 2013, 09:08:52 pm
[I'm going to really enjoy first reactions to Morton talking to people, its always going to be good for a laugh no doubt.]
Post by: Innsmothe on July 10, 2013, 01:46:14 am
"...I would like to talk to you. It may save your life."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 10, 2013, 05:11:11 am
As the singing continues unabated, Sigmund explains that the jolly group of misfits might have to wait for a while before anything particularly interesting happens.
"He is still asleep, I'm sorry to waste your time. And who is this good fellow right here?"
The man with the bandaged chest turns to Sigmund in a rather polite fashion.
"Red-Chested Elron at your service. I came here at the bidding of a man with a womanly jaw and a harpoon. He said I would get paid, but I suspect he may have been untruthful. Speaking of getting paid, do you have anything that needs doing, perhaps? I can do a wide variety of things, starting with the obtaining of things and ending with the convenient losing of things. And everything in between those two activities."
Suddenly Morton decides to pipe up at last, having found that this man probably isn't working with the abnormal furniture removal service.
"Ah, Master Artiste is asleep, is he? He did comment about how he liked such, I recall."
Red-Chested Elron looks at the desk impassively for a moment, then shrugs.
"Although I must wonder... What is that noise? I can't quite place it... Is it singing perhaps? At this hour?"
"Guess somebody is a real morning person around here."
"Oh, I'm being rude, excuse me, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir," Morton says to Red-Chested Elron. "I do hope the bandages don't hide injury though, do they? I wish you the best in that it heals well."
"Oh, those? I'll need those for quite a while. Got a lot of burns in that area. Gift from a wandering asshole mage."
"My, that's certainly terrible. My condolences."
"Eh, they hardly hurt anymore. Not so bothersome these days. Still can't afford to go to a lifemage to fix me, though."
As they converse, Mark discreetly passes them by, heading off into town nonchalantly past the strange-looking unfamiliar vagrants (including a talking desk) at the gangplank to look for somebody useful in his quest to fix and improve the fragile structures of life.
After quite a while of searching, he locates somebody.
Hey, it's that guy from before! Scrawny layabout man! He appears to have walked into an alleyway. What a silly guy.
In the ghostly catacombs...
Darren, instead of doing anything rash, pokes his head through the nasty-looking steel door.
On the other side of it he sees an interesting scene. A room filled with bits of rock and rotten, broken bits of wood and glass. It looks a bit like a living room in shape if not in color. There currently appears to be a woman within, or rather a ghost of one, concentrating on moving the remnants of what may have once been a chair. As Darren looks at her, she immediately turns to him.
"Oh my, a visitor!" she exclaims, quickly looking about the room for anything that urgently needs addressing, and, having found nothing, composing herself.
"Welcome to my home, sir. How can I help you?"
At Purple Pete Petersen's place...
Scott, not pleased at the mental density of this town's inhabitants, explains what he means, slowly this time.
"... I would like to talk to you. It may save your life."
"It'll have to wait, buddy - got business! Can't stick around and chat. Bye!" he says, and there is the sound of a wooden door shutting.
Post by: miauw62 on July 10, 2013, 05:21:23 am
Kevin waits for the mage to answer and sits down if he says yes.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 10, 2013, 06:02:40 am
Even if he isn't in it, it will send a message.
In the dirt will scrawl: "Here dwelt an idiot, who posed as a mage in order to thieve from the stupid. We are not amused."
When, and only when, the building has turned into an inferno will he return to the ship.
Post by: Tomcost on July 10, 2013, 08:01:36 am
-We don't have any business in which we need help, just maybe information on some things. You mentioned that someone with a woman's jaw promised money o your person, what did you give him in exchange?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 10, 2013, 09:05:12 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 10, 2013, 12:20:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 10, 2013, 03:16:47 pm
Darren checks out the female ghost. Both for signs that she's going to attempt to murder him, and for just how she looks. Just because he's dead doesn't mean he has to give up on his pasttime.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 03:21:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 10, 2013, 03:23:07 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 03:29:04 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 10, 2013, 03:32:38 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 03:48:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 10, 2013, 05:43:34 pm
Kevin decides to potentially give his newly-obtained vocal apparatus a good workout.
"It's a long story, really. You see, I used to be a skeleton. May I sit down?"
The fellow smirks, puffing his three pipes all at once.
"Oh, you hardly need to ask, buddy. My house is your house. Well, as long as you don't go into the pantry. That's where I keep the herbs, and that's off-limits. Can't let you mess up the system I've got there. Otherwise, do as you will."
Oh. That's good, Kevin guesses.
At Purple Pete Petersen's place...
Scott hates being dismissed like some sort of unimportant fellow nobody likes! It reminds him too much of his general status as an unimportant fellow nobody likes! And he can't have that. This house is going down.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 1]
He lights up one of his firebombs and tries to hurl it at the house! However, he forgets to let go in time! This results in him getting pitch all over his poor, unfortunate legs, creating a rather sizable fire!
[Fire control roll: 1]
Scott then proceeds to explode into flames! He attempts to stop, drop and roll, but only manages to land right on the rest of his firebombs, which also are set on rather terrible fire! All of him is soon on fire most terribly, even good ol' Gary! Scott shrieks and tries to put himself out, but the pitch is too flammable and sticky to get out of his clothes comfortably!
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, realizing that whatever sort of monkey business is at play here, Scott's probably involved, so it's in his interest to either stay out of it entirely or find out more about it to avoid it more effectively. After a moment, he chooses the second option.
"We don't have any business in which we need help, just maybe information on some things. You mentioned that someone with a woman's jaw promised money o your person, what did you give him in exchange?"
"Oh, I gave him directions to this one guy's place. I couldn't help the fella myself, you see, but I could point him to someone who could. So I said to him, I'll point him to the guy for ten coppers, he promises me that and five gold on top. If that's not fishy, I don't know what is. Still, figured maybe this 'sergeant' of his, the Artiste, might actually give me something, so I came over here anyway, maybe find out more about the guy beforehand. Seemed pretty unstable to me, so thought I'd be able to avoid him better in that case."
Ah, a man after his own heart. How nice. As Sigmund processes this information, Morton gets words of his own in edgewise.
"You have my sympathy, Sir Elron. Although I may not look like it now, I too suffered from horrific burn, it killed me even, to be frank. I'm glad to hear that they don't bother you much now, and I wish you luck in your endeavor for a lifemage. It is a pleasure to meet you for sure, my name is Carter Morton, butler by trade, although most just call me Morton."
"Killed, you say? So, you were what, brought back from the dead? As a desk? Does that happen often?"
Suddenly, the singing stops. Instead, it now sounds like a rather insane reading from a lunatic's cookbook. Wherever it's coming from, the present people sure are glad they are at a respectable distance from it.
However, their gladness does not last, as soon Niklas arrives at the gangplank, somewhat confused about all these weirdos and a desk hanging around. He still continues his catfish-assisted explanation, though.
"-AND THEN YOU FILL THE INTESTINES WITH MEAD! THERE! NOW YOU HAVE MEAD-FILLED SEAL INTESTINES IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES! ENJOY! ENJOY, I SAY!"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark closes in on his quarry, hoping to corner the fellow.
[Mark stealth vs. Scrawny Dude perception: 3-1 vs. 6]
This time, though, the guy seems him coming from quite a distance away. Probably because he's a tad paranoid now. Upon noticing the hunter of men in the street, he once more runs!
[Scrawny Dude escape roll: 6]
[Mark pursuit roll: 2+1]
You know, it's at times like these that Mark really wishes he could have adrenaline, if it could make a man run like that. That guy's quick as the wind. Possibly quicker, actually. Before Mark even knows it, the guy's woven through so many alleys, Mark couldn't follow him even if he could catch up to him. Damn it, this guy. This guy. It's ridiculous.
In the ghostly catacombs...
Darren, since his head is already poking through the door, takes a moment to appreciate the view, sizing up the nice lady.
"Oh, hello. Sorry to barge in, but I'm looking for an artifact. Crown of Flowers?"
Though Darren can't tell much about her intentions just from her bearing, he can say that she's rather decent-looking - her features are unusual, and she is most certainly not classically attractive, but the slight strangeness of proportion in her face and body gives her no small amount of charm.
"Oh dear, that's in the depths. The farthest depths, maybe even deeper. You shouldn't leave the town, it gets pretty strange deeper in. Crazies all about. Better stay here in town, really. Much safer. Much more pleasant company," she answers, smiling at Darren with the last bit.
"But oh, how untoward of me. I'm Karina, and this is my home. Who might you be?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 10, 2013, 06:22:13 pm
HELLO THERE FRIENDS I SEE YOU HAVE A DESK DID YOU KNOW MOST PEOPLE KEEP KNIVES IN THEIR DESKS I NEED A KNIFE DO YOU HAVE A CLOSET MOST PEOPLE HAVE A BODY IN THEIR CLOSRT AND I NEED A BODY TO MAKE MAGE SOUP MAGE SOUP IS MADE BY TAKING MAGICALLY SPED UP SCARAB BEETLES ABD LETTING THEM INJEST THE MAGE THEN YOU TAKE THE CORPSES AND MASH THEM INTO A PASTE AND SWIM DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA TO RETRIEVE THE NOSE OF A DOLPHINSHARK YOU HOLLOW THAT OUT AND SERVE THE PASTE IN THAT RETROACTIVELY TO THE SAME MAGE BY TRAVELING BACK IN TIME SO THEY EAT THEIR OWN CORPSES THUS KILLING THEMSELVES AHAHAHAHA
Flop toward
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 06:27:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 10, 2013, 06:30:44 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 06:40:00 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 10, 2013, 06:40:55 pm
[Alright, so, crazy idea... You think we can Fabulous Niklas up into some kind of walking weapon? Think that might fix his brain, to become one with the weapon?](If you can turn Niklas into the Shrike that would be the best thing ever.)
Post by: killerhellhound on July 10, 2013, 07:04:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 10, 2013, 07:07:37 pm
Mark returns to the group and seeing Niklas yelling at a group of people walks by and fetches a halberd one not attached to the mast.
Do you mean a harpoon? Gotta ask, you see.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 10, 2013, 08:25:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 10, 2013, 08:50:21 pm
-Seeing as this is likely to end in him with a new body, maybe you want to get yours fixed. It's an interesting experience. There is a realm inhabited with a creature who improves the appearance of everybody who enters. I went myself through it, and I recommend it. That creature can even give you new clothes! So, if you decide to go, just tell good tailor Craig.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 10, 2013, 11:06:06 pm
*Facepalm* Yes yes I did.Mark returns to the group and seeing Niklas yelling at a group of people walks by and fetches a halberd one not attached to the mast.
Do you mean a harpoon? Gotta ask, you see.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 11, 2013, 02:19:01 am
(Gods dammit!)
Post by: miauw62 on July 11, 2013, 05:26:14 am
Kevin sits down, waits for the owner to come over and starts explaining.
"Let's start at the beginning. Before I was a skeleton, I even was a jester. A very good one, too! I was allowed to give the king a show personally! But he failed to enjoy it, and thus I became a skeleton. Some time later, I was raised by a necromancer along with a few other undead, and we lived in a house on the outskirts of Shriekpot. It wasn't too bad of a life, but it was a bit boring sometimes. Then a band of mages and some guy that's apparantly a demon-but-not-quite came over and turned our master into a blanket and soulbound us. He wanted to go to someplace he called "Horizon Isle", or something like that. So we found a suitable boat and our transmuter turned it into a fine vessel. Then all the mages and our master went to sleep, and me and the other undead roamed around the town. My lower body got blown up and some nutjob tree-headed skeleton turned me into a monstrosity, a freak. I wandered around town pointlessly and encountered some of the other undead, who were talking to a tailor that had managed to get a portal to the "Fabulous Dimension". So I went in, was turned into a man again, and ended up here."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 11, 2013, 05:47:02 am
Niklas, having explained the path to culinary enlightenment, demands payment! From... uh... the desk thing!
"HELLO THERE FRIENDS I SEE YOU HAVE A DESK DID YOU KNOW MOST PEOPLE KEEP KNIVES IN THEIR DESKS I NEED A KNIFE DO YOU HAVE A CLOSET MOST PEOPLE HAVE A BODY IN THEIR CLOSET AND I NEED A BODY TO MAKE MAGE SOUP MAGE SOUP IS MADE BY TAKING MAGICALLY SPED UP SCARAB BEETLES AND LETTING THEM INGEST THE MAGE THEN YOU TAKE THE CORPSES AND MASH THEM INTO A PASTE AND SWIM DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA TO RETRIEVE THE NOSE OF A DOLPHINSHARK YOU HOLLOW THAT OUT AND SERVE THE PASTE IN THAT RETROACTIVELY TO THE SAME MAGE BY TRAVELING BACK IN TIME SO THEY EAT THEIR OWN CORPSES THUS KILLING THEMSELVES AHAHAHAHA..."
He flops toward the confused Morton, attempting to search the desk! However, he has no hands. This slightly impedes the search, as he can't really pull open a drawer with his current equipment.
"Wha-" Morton observes as he is approached by the creature that he recognizes as... Niklas? "Good Chef Niklas, what happened? What's going on? Are you quite alright? Were you the one singing?"
"SILLY MAGE SHE TOOK MY BODY BUT I WILL TAKE HERS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS..." the fish replies, clearly getting into some kind of cycle.
"Good Chef Niklas, someone took your body? Oh how dreadful, who did it? A mage you say? Hm... I'm not sure I can help you with your weapon problem, sadly, but perhaps we can with the body issue? After all, with the changes the Aspect did, surely it can make a body for Niklas, couldn't it? What do you say, good Chef Niklas, would you like a new body? I think my friend here, good Tailor Craig, can help you with that, if he's alright with that."
"Certainly. More test subjects are always good."
Sigmund, rather bemused by Niklas' strange behavior, backs away and speaks to Red-Chested Elron.
"Seeing as this is likely to end in him with a new body, maybe you want to get yours fixed. It's an interesting experience. There is a realm inhabited with a creature who improves the appearance of everybody who enters. I went myself through it, and I recommend it. That creature can even give you new clothes! So, if you decide to go, just tell good tailor Craig."
"I suppose I could try it, yes."
He taps Tailor Craig on the shoulder.
"'Scuse me, but this guy told me that you can send me to this place where I can be... fixed, sorta."
"I can, yes. Do you want to be sent off?"
"Sure, why not."
"Very well, step over here," Tailor Craig explains, leading Red-Chested Elron a distance away from the rest and drafting up a circle around him.
"Now, remember - suggest to the creature what you want, but don't get snippy. Don't demand."
Red-Chested Elron nods, and Tailor Craig snaps his claw, causing the man to disappear into the pier's surface immediately, at which point the circle disappears as well.
At this point, Mark passes by the group of strangers again, figuring Niklas has them well in hand, so there's no need to worry. He looks around the ship. Ah, looks like there are zero harpoons around that are not tied to the mast. That guy must have taken the other two with him.
Out in front of Purple Pete Petersen's place...
Scott, seeing how this has gone in a 180 degree direction from good, moves to the harbor!
[Movement roll: 5-1]
It doesn't even take too long to reach it! Scott dives right in, extinguishing the flames on him rather nicely. The pitch doesn't quite separate from his body, though.
In a smoking mage's house...
Kevin sits down on the footstool once more and begins a tale.
"Let's start at the beginning. Before I was a skeleton, I even was a jester. A very good one, too! I was allowed to give the king a show personally! But he failed to enjoy it, and thus I became a skeleton. Some time later, I was raised by a necromancer along with a few other undead, and we lived in a house on the outskirts of Shriekpot. It wasn't too bad of a life, but it was a bit boring sometimes. Then a band of mages and some guy that's apparently a demon-but-not-quite came over and turned our master into a blanket and soulbound us. He wanted to go to someplace he called "Horizon Isle", or something like that. So we found a suitable boat and our transmuter turned it into a fine vessel. Then all the mages and our master went to sleep, and me and the other undead roamed around the town. My lower body got blown up and some nutjob tree-headed skeleton turned me into a monstrosity, a freak. I wandered around town pointlessly and encountered some of the other undead, who were talking to a tailor that had managed to get a portal to the "Fabulous Dimension". So I went in, was turned into a man again, and ended up here."
"That's real interesting," says the man, going back to the kitchen and resuming his doubtlessly more interesting watching of pots and whatnot.
Post by: miauw62 on July 11, 2013, 05:58:03 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 11, 2013, 06:51:10 am
-How on Earth did you end up like this, Niklas? Can't you spend one day without destroying your own body?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 11, 2013, 07:04:38 am
Mark gets a barrel fills it with salt water and starts fishing and putting the fish in the barrel.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 11, 2013, 07:58:21 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 11, 2013, 11:23:58 am
As Elron was not here anymore, Sigmund told Niklas:SILLY OLD PERSON THOUGHT I WAS A RAIDER BUT I WAS REALLY A CHEF
-How on Earth did you end up like this, Niklas? Can't you spend one day without destroying your own body?
SO I WAS SET ON FIRE AND IMPALED WITH MULTIPLE ARROWS
AND MY LEG GOT EATEN BY A FISH AFTER I SUNK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HARBOR
AND THEN THE TREE PULLED ME UP WITH A HARPOON
AND THEN PRESUMABLY WANTED ME TO PAY A TREE TAX OR SOMETHING BECAUSE HE KEPT WALKING AFTER ME WHEN I WENT TO SEE THE MAGE
BEARIN OR SOMETHING
ANYWAY SHE TOOK MY BODY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY MY WEAPONS
THEN I SOMEHOW ENDED UP ON THIS FISH
AND NOW I SEEK REVENGE AGAINST THE MAGE
BRUTAL, GORY REVENGE
IF YOU CAN PROCURE A BODY IT WOULD BE GOOD
Post by: miauw62 on July 11, 2013, 12:07:36 pm
BEARIN OR SOMETHING((This is now canon))
Post by: Tomcost on July 11, 2013, 12:26:08 pm
-This individual shouldn't go through the Fabulous Realm. It appears that he got injured, so our transmuter tried to help him, and failed horribly at doing so. And after that our amateur surgeon tried to help him, but apparently couldn't find something better that this sort of monstrous catfish to attach his head to it. So now he wants revenge. Certainly, if he gets out of the realm in a simmilar shape of that guard, there will be problems. I will try to calm things down once I can talk to the transmuter, as this individual isn't on his best moments of sanity.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 11, 2013, 04:44:24 pm
Kevin has always believed in informational bartering, and thus takes the initiative, asking questions of his own.
"So, how did you end up here? And what do you do for a living?"
The man doesn't turn to him to answer, but is still rather nicely audible as he mixes the pot a little.
"I didn't end up here. I chose to live here. And I don't do anything for a living - I do things for fun and to further the cause of science. Herb research."
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Since the bandaged guy is gone, Sigmund turns his attention to Niklas fully.
"How on Earth did you end up like this, Niklas? Can't you spend one day without destroying your own body?"
Being judgmental is the spice of life, after all.
"SILLY OLD PERSON THOUGHT I WAS A RAIDER, BUT I WAS REALLY A CHEF, SO I WAS SET ON FIRE AND IMPALED WITH MULTIPLE ARROWS, AND MY LEG GOT EATEN BY A FISH AFTER I SUNK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HARBOR, AND THEN THE TREE PULLED ME UP WITH A HARPOON, AND THEN PRESUMABLY WANTED ME TO PAY A TREE TAX OR SOMETHING BECAUSE HE KEPT WALKING AFTER ME WHEN I WENT TO SEE THE MAGE, BEARIN OR SOMETHING, ANYWAY, SHE TOOK MY BODY AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, MY WEAPONS, THEN I SOMEHOW ENDED UP ON THIS FISH, AND NOW I SEEK REVENGE AGAINST THE MAGE, BRUTAL, GORY REVENGE. IF YOU CAN PROCURE A BODY, IT WOULD BE GOOD," Niklas explains through the mouth of the fish.
Fortunately, Sigmund, rather horrorized by this revelation, as he would put it, understands perfectly what he's supposed to do in such a situation. He turns to the nearby Craig.
"This individual shouldn't go through the Fabulous Realm. It appears that he got injured, so our transmuter tried to help him, and failed horribly at doing so. And after that our amateur surgeon tried to help him, but apparently couldn't find something better that this sort of monstrous catfish to attach his head to it. So now he wants revenge. Certainly, if he gets out of the realm in a simmilar shape of that guard, there will be problems. I will try to calm things down once I can talk to the transmuter, as this individual isn't on his best moments of sanity."
"In a nutshell, don't help the crazy guy in any way. Got it."
As Sigmund considers how to deal with this situation, Mark busies himself with the creation of his very own aquarium. However, he can't seem to find an empty barrel. The ones he can find are full of rather firm sludge, rather unfortunately.
In the waters of Shriekpot's harbor...
Scott tries to remove the terrible, terrible pitch from himself!
[Self-cleaning roll: 3]
Yeah, he's going to need more than just his hands and salt water to get that stuff off, he's pretty sure. On the bright side, though, it's cooled off nicely while he was doing this.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 11, 2013, 04:49:19 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 11, 2013, 04:58:35 pm
Scott will swim down and find a really abrasive rock face and free himself of the sludge.((I want a six so badly on this))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 11, 2013, 05:23:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 11, 2013, 05:23:43 pm
IF YOU GAVE ME A BODY I WOULD COOK YOU A GOOD DISH AND NOT HARM YOU IN THE PROCESS.
Post by: Tomcost on July 11, 2013, 06:25:13 pm
-just ignore him, I will see what can I do with him.
Sigmund shoves Niklas to the sea (avoiding his mouh if possible), and says:
-Go kill some fish if you want to murder stuff.
He then looks for Mark and introduces his new self:
-Hello Mark! I'm new Sigmund. I found a demonologist which could help us, he even made me look like this. On the other hand, Morton is a desk now. Anyway, there is an urgent problem here: Niklas lost his body, apparently due to Erin, and now wants revenge. I just came here to tell you that unless he dissents from that, you should not give him a new body. By the way, and between us, his head attached to that catfish looks hilarious.
Sigmund then looks if his master is awake.
Post by: Xantalos on July 11, 2013, 06:29:09 pm
Again.
Follow them from a fair distance back.
On land.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 11, 2013, 06:49:05 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 11, 2013, 07:32:02 pm
-If he keeps talking about vengance, I can't allow him to stay here. We will solve things once our master is here to mediate between Erin and Niklas' murderous conduct.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 11, 2013, 08:01:20 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 11, 2013, 09:03:13 pm
Edit: I will be away for the weekend so don't expect any turns from me
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 11, 2013, 11:24:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 12, 2013, 06:42:25 am
Scott, feeling that Mother Nature (or Pacitarius, as the case may be) will provide for him, decides to find a rock. But not just any rock, oh no! An abrasive rock! Like that pumice Gary once brought him!
Fortunately, there are plenty of abrasive rocks on the ocean floor! After grinding himself against very rough stones for the better part of a half hour, Scott feels that he is clean once more. It did ruin his clothes a little bit, though. Oh well. Not like he can do anything about that.
At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, upon comprehending the gravity of the situation, tries to mediate to the best of his ability.
"Oh dear, you said good Mage Erin did this? Surly it was just an accident, good Chef Niklas, there's no need to declare vengeance. We can always get more weapons, can't we, good Chef Niklas? If Erin took your weapons and body, can't we just ask her for it back also? Nicely?"
Niklas doesn't seem to be paying much attention to him, though. It's quite awful that in this enlightened age it is the voice of reason that men most often choose to ignore. The fish flops toward Tailor Craig, proposing a deal.
"IF YOU GAVE ME A BODY, I WOULD COOK YOU A GOOD DISH AND NOT HARM YOU IN THE PROCESS."
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't actually eat. Sorry."
Sigmund, not liking Niklas' presence in this conversation, decides to get rid of him. Temporarily.
"Just ignore him, I will see what can I do with him."
[Strength roll: 1-1]
However, the morning has robbed him of his superior strength! He cannot move Niklas by a single unit of distance in any system of measurement without making his sausage arms hurt rather badly and unpleasantly! He opts for a stern remark instead.
"Go kill some fish if you want to murder stuff," he explains to the fish impotently, who immediately assumes a conspiratorial air. Sigmund utilizes the moment of silence on his part to walk over to Mark along with Morton and Craig, who both follow along out of a desire not to be left alone on a pier with Niklas.
"Hello, Mark! I'm new Sigmund. I found a demonologist which could help us, he even made me look like this. On the other hand, Morton is a desk now. Anyway, there is an urgent problem here: Niklas lost his body, apparently due to Erin, and now wants revenge. I just came here to tell you that unless he dissents from that, you should not give him a new body. By the way, and between us, his head attached to that catfish looks hilarious," he explains to the surgeon, rather unaware of Niklas quietly slinking over to him from behind.
"Now Good Sir Sigmund, I'm not sure that doing that will do much but bait Good Chef Niklas, surely we can talk him out of it, no?" Morton proposes, hoping for a more peaceful way of dealing with things like this.
"If he keeps talking about vengeance, I can't allow him to stay here. We will solve things once our master is here to mediate between Erin and Niklas' murderous conduct," Sigmund states matter-of-factly.
"Yes, I suppose you're correct, good Sir Sigmund. Good Chef Niklas isn't in the right state to be given a body I suppose, we must wait until he calms down..."
Oh, right! He forgot to introduce himself!
"Greetings again, Surgeon Mark. I am indeed a desk now, yes, although it isn't that bad really. Besides a tragic lack of arms though, I suppose... But I digress, this is Good Tailor Craig, and this is Surgeon Mark," he says, pointing out Tailor Craig to Mark.
"Pleased to meet you, Mark," Craig notes, shaking Mark's hand with his lobster claw.
Okay, now that that's done with, there's one more matter at hand.
"Good Sir Sigmund, if you don't mind, may I see the book for a moment? I'd like to test something," he turns to Sigmund, but only finds empty air where he once stood. Guess he ran off already.
That is indeed a correct guess - still pursued invisibly by a land-bound catfish, Sigmund looks for the Artiste. A quick look reveals that yeah, that guy's still asleep. Though him waking up is probably not far off now, Sigmund would guess.
Back on deck, Mark heads off in his perpetual search for free body parts. He walks into town a short distance and notices something heading his way - something like a man in shape, but made of colorful pinwheels, three meters in height and quite prone to shifting its form. That's probably no ordinary bystander, he supposes. Though with this town, you never know.
In Karina's room...
Darren introduces himself to the nice lady. It's only polite, isn't it?
"I'm Darren, Karina. Now, as you could have guessed I'm new around here, what's it like?"
Karina looks into the distance wistfully, shrugging after a moment of reflection.
"Don't know how to say it, really. It's still nice here in the upper parts - people around here are still wonderful and all, but... you know, it's not the same as it was. We used to be such good neighbors, all of us. Now most people are scared to go out. Only person I still talk to regularly is Danielle next door, but even she's become a bit distant lately. Oh, and that nice girl that comes down on occasion. She tells me that things deeper inward are even worse. Some days I'm not sure how to keep on living like this, you know? Everybody's getting so secretive, paranoid, even. And I saw one of the deepers one day, one of my old friends, Ritchie, a few weeks - or was it a few years? - well, some time ago. He had changed. He hardly looked human at all, you know."
She looks at Darren sadly.
"If you were hoping to stay here for a while, not sure what to tell you. I suppose you can crash here if you wish - not like I have any other guests. But be careful outside. People are frightened these days, but don't hold it against them. It's like this... presence that's putting them down."
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2013, 09:26:24 am
Sigmund goes back to the group and hands he book to Morton:
-Excuse me, I was making sure that the Artiste is still asleep. Here you have the book.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 12, 2013, 11:27:39 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 12, 2013, 12:06:52 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 12, 2013, 12:25:45 pm
Continue flopping along behind them.
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2013, 12:38:00 pm
Sigmund remembered that there was a test subject still in the Fabulos Realm, so he told Craig:
-Shouldn't we go back to where we sent that man to get fabulous? It's about time for him to get out, I think.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 12, 2013, 01:15:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2013, 01:17:34 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 12, 2013, 02:25:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 12, 2013, 04:53:01 pm
"Thank you, Good Sir Sigmund." The desk thanked the vampire as it attempted to see if it was possible to read the book from inside his drawer, either opened or closed. It was worth a shot after all, if nothing else. Turning back to the situation at hand, Morton commented. "Yes, I do believe that Sir Elron should of been back by now, perhaps he got sent a distance as well? I do wonder what determines that, it seems to be almost random..." Morton muses.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 12, 2013, 06:55:57 pm
Sigmund remembers that he heard Morton say something about needing a book right when he went down. Seeing as he has no business here for now, he supposes he can attend to his deskified buddy's needs. Might pass the time.
However, before he can leave, he trips over an oddly humming Niklas! How'd he get... wait. Probably best not to ask. The best thing to do in this situation is pretty clear to Sigmund, and that is to walk up the stairs. Niklas, try as he might, can't follow with his slippery fish body and inability to perform articulate movements.
That'll teach him to shadow people, Sigmund thinks as he returns back topside.
"Excuse me, I was making sure that the Artiste is still asleep. Here, you have the book," he says, depositing the Handbook of Demonic Conduct into Morton's open drawer.
"Thank you, good Sir Sigmund," says Morton, quickly coming to the conclusion that he can't really read the thing in this drawer - in an opened state of the drawer, he can't flip the pages, but in a closed state, he can't see a dang thing on account of having no eyes inside the drawer. If only he had additional things to flip stuff with. That would be wonderful.
His thoughts on the matter, though, are interrupted by Sigmund.
"Shouldn't we go back to where we sent that man to get fabulous? It's about time for him to get out, I think."
"Yes, I do believe that Sir Elron should of been back by now, perhaps he got sent a distance as well? I do wonder what determines that, it seems to be almost random..."
"It probably is random - circles have a measure of precision, and sometimes you get... positional mistakes. It happens. Nothing you can do about it except spend several more hours drafting the circle to prevent any sort of minor error or imperfection, and who has that kind of time? Besides, I'm sure the fellow will find his way back - after all, we are only about ten meters from the place he was sent away."
At this moment, a man made entirely of extremely colorful pinwheels, three meters tall and shifting with each movement, arrives at the ship. He turns to Tailor Craig, and suddenly some of the wheels start rapidly spinning after shifting in their positions. The man becomes a whirl of indeterminate color for a moment, but all three of the present individuals quickly notice something - in a moment, a pattern emerges in the foggy whirlwind, one that vaguely resembles a... giant face? It speaks to them!
"That was certainly an interesting experience," the face of what is doubtlessly Red-Chested Elron mentions. "Fellow mistook me for a lamp, but I set him straight. Made me into some kind of pinwheel golem. Can't say I'm entirely dissatisfied, thank you, sir. Here, for your trouble," the thing says, a strange pinwheel limb protruding from its abdomen, then shaping itself into a hand. Slightly above it floats a gold coin. "Those were my lifemage savings. You can have them - I've now circumvented that problem thanks to you."
Tailor Craig shrugs and takes the gold coin.
"That's very generous of you."
"No worries. You've significantly expanded my moneymaking opportunities. No more odd jobs for me, no sir. Finally I'll be able to move out of the flophouse. Many thanks," the pinwheel man says, waving his hand dismissively. "Now, though, I think I'll go sort out some business, if you don't mind."
"Oh no, no. You've been helpful and generous already."
"I can recommend your services to friends as well, yes?"
"Certainly."
"Excellent."
The pinwheel man bows and leaves the premises quickly in his odd gait, his body visibly changing in the process. It is at this point that the entire group on the ship notices that the guy is being shadowed by Mark of all metapeople. Just as he leaves, Scott appears on the pier! He looks at the assorted fabulous hoodlums on the ship. Um... who are these guys? And what's up with the desk? What's going on here?
In a smoking herbalist's home...
Kevin guesses he really has no actual business here, so he'll just ask for directions.
"So... I should get going. Do you know the directions back to Shriekpot?"
The man thinks for a moment.
"No, not really. Is it close by? I might visit someday if it is. Maybe then I'll be able to tell you."
Ah.
In Karina's home...
Darren, rather pleased at the civilized and kind nature of this discussion, thanks the spectral woman.
"Thank you. You're all like me down here, right?"
This question seems to unsettle her a little bit.
"Um... you mean ghosts, right? Technically, I suppose you're right. Practically, not so much. The others are far stranger than I and Danielle, and you too, for that matter. At least the ones I've seen when I look outside. Some of them are lost, some are babbling. Some look monstrous. If you wanna know more, you can go through the wall over there," she says, pointing at the east wall of her humble home. "Though you could stay here and chat with me and... not go just yet, maybe? We could talk about... I don't know, something you've seen? You're from the outside. You must have seen many interesting things."
Post by: Xantalos on July 12, 2013, 07:15:22 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 12, 2013, 08:05:11 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 12, 2013, 08:44:02 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2013, 08:53:10 pm
-It certainly is unfortunate. Don't worry, thogh, even if you are not able to read it by yourself, I shall do so for you. When we have nothing better to do, like, on the trip, wee will read the book together. Now, seeing that Scott has arrived, I have to explain all whathas happened to him.
He then turned to Scott and said:
-There you are, Scott. I'm Sigmnd, and this desk you see here is now Morton. We had a little adventure through the Most Fabulos of Realms, thanks to our good friend tailor Craig-He points at the tailor-. The person who was sent by you to take a kind of payment, which you didn't have the right to offer, has just left, transformed into a colorful creature, thanks again to our friend. Well, and that's all the news I have. Oh, I almost forget about that! Niklas' head is now attached to a kind of giant catfish, it's an unsual kind of show that can make you laugh a bit if you don't take it seriously.
((Last post for this day))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 13, 2013, 01:49:48 am
Scott blinks.
"Anyway, I think I found the place of the scammer, he wouldnt meet with me. And the Guards seem to have fled town."
Post by: miauw62 on July 13, 2013, 04:14:36 am
Post by: Tiruin on July 13, 2013, 05:12:58 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 13, 2013, 06:28:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2013, 07:55:03 am
Niklas, being currently trapped in the deepest, darkest depths of the ship, does what any reasonable person with a lot of spare time would do.
He sings.
[Singing roll: 3]
He's a bit out of tune, too. Not to mention the whole part where he's a fish and whatnot. And where he doesn't know any of those silly opera languages. He continues his ad-libbed sort-of opera performance up until the moment where one of the cabin doors opens. The head of what is unmistakably the Artiste pops out.
"Do I hear singing? I think I do!"
He walks out of the room, fully dressed and fresh as a daisy, looking at Niklas curiously.
"Good morning, Niklas. You're looking wonderful as always."
Meanwhile, back on the deck, Morton, Tailor Craig and Sigmund loaf around in an inoffensive manner.
"He was certainly a friendly fellow, wasn't he? I wish him well in life."
"Certainly a pleasant sort, yes."
There is a moment of quiet before Morton speaks again.
"I'm afraid the testing brought up naught, good Sir Sigmund, you may have the book back again if you desire."
"It certainly is unfortunate. Don't worry, though, even if you are not able to read it by yourself, I shall do so for you. When we have nothing better to do, like, on the trip, we will read the book together. Now, seeing that Scott has arrived, I have to explain all what has happened to him."
He then does as he has thoroughly explained, picking up the Handbook and addressing the rather confused Scott.
"There you are, Scott. I'm Sigmund, and this desk you see here is now Morton. We had a little adventure through the Most Fabulous of Realms, thanks to our good friend tailor Craig," pointing to the inimitable tailor-demonologist. "The person who was sent by you to take a kind of payment, which you didn't have the right to offer, has just left, transformed into a colorful creature, thanks again to our friend. Well, and that's all the news I have. Oh, I almost forgot about that! Niklas' head is now attached to a kind of giant catfish, it's an unusual kind of show that can make you laugh a bit if you don't take it seriously."
There. Now he's presumably brought up to speed.
"...well...That was ...eventful?"
Or maybe not. It's difficult to tell with the guy.
"Anyway, I think I found the place of the scammer, he wouldn't meet with me. And the Guards seem to have fled town."
"If you don't mind me asking, what's all this business about scamming and such?"
Well, that is quite an... interesting story.
At Karina's home...
Darren can't help but indulge the lady's interest in his adventures, such as they are.
"Curious about the outside, huh? Anything you want to know?"
"Uhm... I don't really know. Where have you been? What was it like?"
In a smoking herbalist's home...
Kevin, still in the dark about where he should be going, once more pursues directions for his own benefit.
"Do you know where the nearest road is, then?"
The smoking herbalist considers the question.
"Due west, I guess? Follow the trail, there should be one."
That's comforting, Kevin must say.
Post by: miauw62 on July 13, 2013, 08:26:28 am
Kevin will then leave the house and follow the trail to the road, going in the right direction for the nearest town. When he is leaving the house, he will say:
"It was a pleasure meeting you, herbalist!"
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 08:46:26 am
-I think that you are the one who knows more about that subject. I would answer Craig's question, but Nklas is still roaming around the ship, possibly with his usual murderous intentions.
Sigmund then leaves and goes to find the Artiste speaking to Niklas:
-Good morning, master. I see that you are finally awake. I'm new Sigmund. I had an encounter with the Aspect of Appeal, who made me what I am now. Morton and Kevin also went through the same process, but the results were different. Morton has been transformed into a desk, and Kevin has yet to appear. Anyway, I see that you found Niklas. He was rendered in that state after a confuse episode which involved Erin and Mark. Apparently, Erin made Niklas body dissapear, and Mark attached his head to this kind of catfish. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't that Niklas wants revenge. Not that he can achieve it in such a state, but before he can be fixed, I think that you should grudge the problem between the cook and the mage.
Sigmund then sighs and says some final words to tell his master all that has happened:
-Also, the demonologist who sent us to meet the Aspect of Appeal wants to meet you, he is at the gangplank. I think that he could be a nice addition to our group.
Post by: Xantalos on July 13, 2013, 11:05:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 11:07:24 am
-See? That actitude is clearly not beneficial for our group. I hope you can do something about it.
Post by: Xantalos on July 13, 2013, 11:08:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 11:27:36 am
-First, you are in no condition to threaten anybody. Second, I'm not against you getting a new body, just against you hurting a valuable member of our group such as Erin. And third, I would actually help you get a new body, or at least help mark to do so, if it wasn't for your tendency to solve things by murdering people. It can be the solution to some problems, I admit that, but sometimes it can be detrimental for your body integrity, remember what happened at the Ullubelle?
Post by: Innsmothe on July 13, 2013, 12:26:18 pm
"I will keep it succinct, We came to buy a boat. Some bastards posing themselves as the mages demanded coins for passes...leading to us nearly getting slaughtered by the owners. So we sought them out, raided an inn in the trade district, killing many of the guards, but we were laid low and barely survived. The Guards seem to have fled town, and the bastard is holed up in his house."
...
You are a tailor right? Can you repair my clothes?
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 12:37:47 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on July 13, 2013, 12:45:12 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 12:48:12 pm
Post by: Gamerlord on July 13, 2013, 12:49:05 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 12:54:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2013, 12:56:16 pm
((No, but it seems that by this time he would have won the magic competition, so now he is one of the most powerful mages. Yep, we're not killing him in a long time))
((Silly you. The Whip Man isn't a mage.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 01:01:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2013, 01:12:20 pm
((So, he was in the competence for his master? I know that he isn't a mage, but there was that woman with the hammer who didn't do any magic, so I though that being a mage was not necessary to enter the black circle of magic, which is a little contradictory, actually.))
((He had exactly the same business there as the players, I will say, though under slightly different terms of service. And yes, the hammer lady didn't do magic, though she did use prayers to Rysinia. She and her fellow order sisters (all dead by that point) were a bit of an exception.))
Post by: Gamerlord on July 13, 2013, 01:15:21 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 01:19:45 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 13, 2013, 04:04:00 pm
Sigmund sighed and replied to Niklas:No I do not. Anyhow, I'm not going to murder her!
-First, you are in no condition to threaten anybody. Second, I'm not against you getting a new body, just against you hurting a valuable member of our group such as Erin. And third, I would actually help you get a new body, or at least help mark to do so, if it wasn't for your tendency to solve things by murdering people. It can be the solution to some problems, I admit that, but sometimes it can be detrimental for your body integrity, remember what happened at the Ullubelle?
That would be too quick
I'm just going to cut off her head and take her body, then give it back after a while.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 13, 2013, 04:16:36 pm
"Sir Scott Yaleson, how did the night fair you? Hopefully well, yes?" The desk asked the zombie, attempting to make small talk while Sigmund was off chatting with the Master. Morton meanwhile looked to Craig. "These certainly are interesting times, no? To think, just a few days ago I was a butler in another's employ. On another note however, I must profess myself curious good Tailor Craig, did you not imply you were from Emlocke? Whatever happened to cause you to leave? Something about it... Exploding, was it?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 04:21:57 pm
-In the Ullubelle, your arms were reduced to a pulp because you tried to murder everyone and ended up fighting armored guards wih kitchen utensils, while you could just ask for the bastard we were looking for. And also, I don't know if you realize that not everyone is undead, but Erin clearly isn't, so she wouldn't survive getting her head separated from her body. Now, please, we are all under the orders of the same master, can't we, at least, not fight between us?
Post by: Xantalos on July 13, 2013, 04:39:31 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 05:10:56 pm
-Umm, normal women?
((and I'm going to stop this so that Harry can write the turn, hehe))
Post by: Xantalos on July 13, 2013, 05:13:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2013, 07:22:57 pm
Kevin, having received reasonably good directions, goes on to leave politely.
"Well, then I should get going. In which direction on the road is the nearest town?"
"South, I believe."
South, the most pleasant of directions! So it shall be!
"It was a pleasure meeting you, herbalist!" Kevin declares, then heads out, finding a... well, maybe not what he would call a trail. He's sure it was a perfectly nice trail once, but really, now it's just a stretch of land where the undergrowth is a bit less thick. Nevertheless, he bravely follows it until he reaches... well, probably not a road. But certainly a very proud and dignified-looking corpse of one. Though the cobblestones are mostly visible, they are rather sparse, some of them clearly having given in to merciless grip of violent nature.
Still, Kevin heads south. In only two or so hours, he reaches something! It looks like a town! It's not too large - certainly not as big as Shriekpot by a long shot, but far larger than a village. In the middle of it he sees a rather large temple, presumably to one of the Five Gods, though it's difficult to say more from here.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, seeing how he's got exposition to give elsewhere later, decides to let Scott handle the treading of familiar ground.
"I think that you are the one who knows more about that subject. I would answer Craig's question, but Niklas is still roaming around the ship, possibly with his usual murderous intentions."
He then quickly leaves, allowing Scott to successfully take over. As Sigmund goes downstairs, he hopes he won't have to regret this decision.
Back on the deck, though, Scott accepts his solemn duty with something resembling a reasonable degree of competence!
"I will keep it succinct, We came to buy a boat. Some bastards posing themselves as the mages demanded coins for passes...leading to us nearly getting slaughtered by the owners. So we sought them out, raided an inn in the trade district, killing many of the guards, but we were laid low and barely survived. The Guards seem to have fled town, and the bastard is holed up in his house."
"Sounds like a terrible villain or villains indeed. So do you still seek revenge against this con artist?"
Scott silently looks at Tailor Craig.
"You are a tailor, right? Can you repair my clothes?"
"Certainly. You need but hand them to me, I'll have them fixed in... wait, you mean the ones on you? Probably not - they're burnt all over, and if I tried to patch them, they would end up more like a bunch of patches than a set of clothing. It would be rather inefficient to do so, that's what I'm trying to say here. As an alternative, I can offer you a whole new suit of clothing if you allow me two days of time, as well as a bit of time to measure you. Or I could send you to the Most Fabulous of Realms, which will be much faster, but has proven to be... unpredictable, to be honest."
Hm. That's an interesting choice he offers. The people still on deck spend a moment on contemplation until Morton breaks the silence.
"Sir Scott Yaleson, how did the night fair you? Hopefully well, yes?"
Scott doesn't immediately answer, his mind occupied with the finding of the perfect expletives to characterize his experiences with. Morton, always the considerate type, lets him have a moment to himself and talks to Craig instead.
"These certainly are interesting times, no? To think, just a few days ago I was a butler in another's employ. On another note however, I must profess myself curious good Tailor Craig, did you not imply you were from Emlocke? Whatever happened to cause you to leave? Something about it... exploding, was it?"
"I did live in Emlocke for quite a while - good place. Great place, really. Friendly locals, low rents, generally high standard of living. Purely lifemage-based healthcare. The Black Circle of Magic know how to run their locales for the benefit of the people, must say. Probably because they have no use for money, I suppose. There is the hazard of getting a terrible apprentice mage to help you with something, but otherwise things were peachy. However, there is the problem of one of the heads of the Circle dying, which sometimes happens, though altogether more rarely than it used to. When it does, we are forced to vacate our dwellings to prepare for the horde of new candidates that will arrive and duke it out until only one survives. Barbaric, yes, but such is tradition. And because of it, I am now homeless. This time, the destruction was particularly bad - it upset the earth and shifted stone, and Emlocke was practically destroyed in the quakes and such. So I wandered off and reached this place, you see. Not a bad place, certainly, but I do miss my little house and workshop occasionally."
Oh, those silly mages and their silly ascension rituals.
Below decks, though a drama of a different sort unfolds, as Sigmund arrives to find Niklas face to face with the Artiste! Not missing the slightest inkling of a beat, he explains the facts of the matter.
"Good morning, master. I see that you are finally awake. I'm new Sigmund. I had an encounter with the Aspect of Appeal, who made me what I am now. Morton and Kevin also went through the same process, but the results were different. Morton has been transformed into a desk, and Kevin has yet to appear. Anyway, I see that you found Niklas. He was rendered in that state after a confuse episode which involved Erin and Mark. Apparently, Erin made Niklas' body disappear, and Mark attached his head to this kind of catfish. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't that Niklas wants revenge. Not that he can achieve it in such a state, but before he can be fixed, I think that you should grudge the problem between the cook and the mage," he tells the Artiste, sighing at the end.
"Also, the demonologist who sent us to meet the Aspect of Appeal wants to meet you, he is at the gangplank. I think that he could be a nice addition to our group."
The Artiste nods, though the last statement clearly troubles him slightly. Before he can reply, though, Niklas intervenes! He isn't about to let his name get dragged about in the dirt!
"Revenge, Sigmund? No, forsooth - I merely desire recompense against the Mage for robbing me of my weapons. In this case, I intend to steal her magic once I find a way how. Maybe then I'll kill her for fun, but the point will be moot; I'll have my weapons back in done form or another. Also I need a new body. If another one is not taken, I'll steal hers."
"See? That attitude is clearly not beneficial for our group. I hope you can do something about it."
"I will insult you as well when I get my body back, don't you worry, Sigmund."
"First, you are in no condition to threaten anybody. Second, I'm not against you getting a new body, just against you hurting a valuable member of our group such as Erin. And third, I would actually help you get a new body, or at least help mark to do so, if it wasn't for your tendency to solve things by murdering people. It can be the solution to some problems, I admit that, but sometimes it can be detrimental for your body integrity, remember what happened at the Ulubelle?"
"No, I do not. Anyhow, I'm not going to murder her! That would be too quick. I'm just going to cut off her head and take her body, then give it back after a while."
"In the Ulubelle, your arms were reduced to a pulp because you tried to murder everyone and ended up fighting armored guards with kitchen utensils, while you could just ask for the bastard we were looking for. And also, I don't know if you realize that not everyone is undead, but Erin clearly isn't, so she wouldn't survive getting her head separated from her body. Now, please, we are all under the orders of the same master, can't we, at least, not fight between us?"
"Bah. Women back in my home village of Snårłšbarførdinglisstenzçhudentop could be beheaded all day and suffer no harm. What weak type of women do you have in these lands that they can't survive being beheaded?"
"Um, normal women?"
"Bah. Pansies."
The Artiste, up until this moment only sagely nodding, now speaks.
"Yes, I do believe I have a solution."
He goes up to Erin's door and knocks. After a few moments, the door opens. Erin stands in the doorframe, fully dressed and looking rather awake.
"Ah, Erin. Good morning, glad to see that you are awake. Come here, I need your expertise for a moment."
"Good mornin' to ya as well. What is it?"
The Artiste leads Erin out and points to Niklas.
"This fellow holds you responsible for taking away his weapons and body."
"That was kinda accidental. And entirely preventable, too. This fella kept botherin' me to practice magic on him despite the fact that I was, well, half-asleep. This doesn't bode well for doin' magic, ya see. Kept bangin' on my door, even."
"Ah, I see. That's good, certainly. Sigmund, be a dear and help us carry our fishy friend to the top deck, will you? You help us out as well, Erin. We're all going that way, anyway."
Erin shrugs and goes up to Niklas' side along with the Artiste, Erin grabbing the thing by the tail, the Artiste by the head.
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2013, 07:43:54 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 14, 2013, 02:28:46 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 14, 2013, 03:33:43 am
To morton: "So.....why is a butler like a writing desk? *sniggers* And when they told me that butlers are just another peice of furniture, I didn't expect you to turn out like this! *gaffaw*
...
Joking aside, you make a rather handsome desk. But you should consider painting on a livery...you are very naked."
He will then repeat his experiences hunting for the scamming fiend.
Post by: miauw62 on July 14, 2013, 03:51:40 am
((I'm going to be gone for either 2 weeks or 1 week (1 week from now, that is). If I just stop posting, please default to finding out where Shriekpot is and returning there. (And then finding the ship when I return to Shriekpot))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 14, 2013, 06:00:23 am
Sigmund helps the Artiste and Erin pick up Niklas, and the group carry the large, currently quiet fish back up to the deck, whereupon they set it down right next to the edge of the ship. The Artiste looks at Niklas.
"Sorry, buddy, but as well as you can cook a human being, I simply can't allow you to take revenge against Erin. For one, she has far more uses than you do. Secondly, I do agree that this whole bit with the unfortunate transmutation was an accident. However, since I don't think you'll be able to let it go so easily, I have a good idea on what to do with you! Waste not, want not, you see."
Huh?
"Erin, make Niklas into the very best fish he can be."
"Um... okay."
[Erin magic roll: 2]
Erin looks at Niklas critically, then back at the Artiste.
"That's kind of a very broad term, ya know. Whaddaya need him to do?"
"Swim around, you know. Give warnings. Distract oceanic wildlife."
Erin looks back at Niklas, thinking a moment.
Scott, meanwhile, gives Tailor Craig his answer.
"I would rather have another set of clothes."
"Ah, good choice. I'll measure you momentarily."
He walks up to Scott, retrieving a roll of measuring tape, then starts to quickly determine most of Scott's important dimensions. Scott, meanwhile, proves himself to be the epitome of class once more as he speaks to Morton.
"So... why is a butler like a writing desk? *And when they told me that butlers are just another piece of furniture, I didn't expect you to turn out like this!" he says, first only snickering a little, but breaking into a full guffaw at the end. After a moment of enjoying his own jokes a little too much, he gets slightly more serious.
"Joking aside, you make a rather handsome desk. But you should consider painting on a livery... you are very naked," he tells the desk, imagining what a desk in livery might actually look like for a short moment. Fortunately, he keeps the laughter down this time.
"Anyway, I went and set the Feisty Jelly on fire a little bit, as there was nobody that could help me within. Then I went to the Ulubelle, met this deaf fellow and one of the women working there, she told me that Red-Chested Elron could be found in a flophouse, so I found the guy. He asked me to pay him 10 coppers for information, so I played a little joke on him and sent him here after he pointed me to the dwelling of a man named Purple Pete Petersen. I went to Purple Pete's house and knocked, and the rude fellow didn't even come out and meet me, leaving through some other entrance. Then I tried to set his house on fire as well, but... there was an accident. A seagull flew into me without provocation, making me catch on fire very quickly, which I had to heroically extinguish by jumping into the harbor. Then I came over here. All in all, it's been a frustratingly mediocre night."
He supposes there are more... details he could have added, but he also guesses he shouldn't go overboard too much.
Outside some kind of town...
Kevin sallies forth into the town, looking for any sign of where he is and how to get to Shriekpot.
Okay, so, judging by the signs, this town is called Wellville, Home of the Best Staves in the South. This indicates to Kevin that he is indeed in the south, which means that he hasn't traveled continentally or anything. This is good. Also, in front of the temple he can see a signpost. It says several things. Firstly, it points to the southwest and says "Emlocke, 23 miles". It also points to the northeast, saying "Bromhandel, 57 miles". There is a sign for someplace called Masketown, it's to the northwest and happens to be 33 miles away. Most ominously, there is a sign pointing to the west-southwest, it is labeled only as "Big Trouble, 27 miles".
Hm, that really doesn't tell him where Shriekpot is, so Kevin goes up to a random door and knocks.
Unfortunately, nobody answers. Silly rude people of Wellville.
Post by: miauw62 on July 14, 2013, 06:11:16 am
((I'm going to be gone for either 2 weeks or 1 week (1 week from now, that is). If I just stop posting, please default to finding out where Shriekpot is and returning there. (And then finding the ship when I return to Shriekpot))
Post by: Tomcost on July 14, 2013, 09:20:02 am
-While Erin works here with Niklas, would you want to meet the demonologist? I brought him here just because he would be a nice addition to our group, but I can tell him to leave if you want.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 14, 2013, 11:09:14 am
"So how long will this take?"
Post by: Xanmyral on July 14, 2013, 11:16:56 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 14, 2013, 02:59:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 14, 2013, 03:46:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 14, 2013, 04:03:24 pm
[So you're saying you don't want to become the aboleth?](Aboleths are worms.)
Post by: Xanmyral on July 14, 2013, 04:14:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 14, 2013, 05:58:27 pm
Kevin heads to another door to try his luck there. He knocks firmly, fully expecting somebody around. However, no such luck. Now that he thinks about it, though, this town really is quiet. It's daytime, and the only thing he can hear is wind whistling through all sorts of places. After a few more knocks on random doors and a stroll down the main street, he concludes that yes, this town is completely deserted. Not a soul around, really.
Okay, so he won't be getting any help here. Guess that means only one thing - he's gotta use his experience gained from his old boss' wartime conferences to determine where Shriekpot is in relation to Emlocke!
Hm... too bad he wasn't actually allowed to attend the wartime conferences. No matter how convincing the costume he wore was. Well, not after the first three times, anyway. However, he does remember one thing. Shriekpot wasn't always called that. Had a different name once, he believes. Unfortunately, it does elude him what it was.
Well, maybe he could just go to Emlocke, then go north? He oughta find it then.
Yeah, this is what he'll do. For sure.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund proposes the idea that, since the work's been delegated, the Artiste can direct his attention to other matters.
"While Erin works here with Niklas, would you want to meet the demonologist? I brought him here just because he would be a nice addition to our group, but I can tell him to leave if you want."
"I'll talk to him in a minute. Right now, this comes first."
Niklas, though, isn't quite ready to stand for the treatment he is about to be subjected to.
"Turn me into a fish and I go recruit the Kraken and sink the boat. If you get my body and weapons back I won't seek revenge."
The Artiste stares at Niklas for a moment and smiles.
"Oh, if I give back your stuff, you won't seek revenge, you say? Wow, that's a relief. Simply amazing, Niklas. Why, I'll go ahead and tell Erin to put you back together right now."
"Um, really?"
"No, not really. Turn him into a chair, Erin. You know, for guests. A non-speaking one, if you will."
"Oh. Okay."
Erin takes a step back from Niklas and thinks. She then shrugs and commences the casting.
[Erin magic roll: 5]
A violent twist and a fiendish shake later, Niklas feels his flesh become plush, hideously comfortable plush! He grows legs, but they are stubby and short beyond belief. His scaly skin becomes upholstery, and he obtains a bit of a wholesome, family-friendly look at last. The horror of it is hardly enough to bear for Niklas, who now lacks the ability to see, hear, taste and smell all at once!
"Not bad, Erin. And timely as well. Fella was really starting to get on my nerves. It's always 'me-me-me' with him, isn't it? I mean, I'm a forgiving guy and all, but I just hate that kind of person, really. Gets on my nerves. And right after I try to meet him halfway, too. Oh well. At least I got a chair out of the deal. A guest chair, sure, but a chair no less. Was a good cook though, gotta admit. Erin, you can go and do your own things now, I'll get someone to bring the chair to the den later. Stay positive, you hear?"
The Artiste then takes his good buddy Sigmund over to Tailor Craig, who seems to be measuring Scott at the moment while Morton chatters next to them.
"It is a pleasure to see that you were mostly unharmed by your expedition, Sir Scott Yaleson, and it bore some fruit, that is always good to hear. Our original goal didn't quite go as well as we had hoped, but such is life, no? We met good Tailor Craig here however during our journey, and that more than made up for it in my opinion, yes."
Scott looks at him.
"So, how long will this take?"
"Actually, I'm quite done," says Tailor Craig, putting away his measuring tape. The Artiste takes the opportunity to strike up a chat.
"So, I hear you've been wanting to see me."
"Yes, indeed," says Tailor Craig. "I've been hearing good things about you, Mr. Artiste."
"Oh, I'm sure you have. So, you're a tailor, you say?"
"Yes, and a bit of a demonologist on the side. I transformed your subordinates with this procedure I've been developing."
"I know that, yes. Bit hard not to notice, you know. So, are you interested in joining our crew? We just got an opening, actually. Can you cook?"
"Um, no. Not really. Enough to survive, but hardly on a professional level."
"How's your eyesight?"
"Rather good, actually. Why?"
"And your sense of direction?"
"Haven't gotten lost in my life, certainly."
"Great. How would you like to be a helmsman?"
"Er, perhaps not. Really, I was hoping to find out more about you. Your subordinates tell me interesting things. That you seem to be some kind of... pseudo-demon creature."
The Artiste nods.
"Yeah... sorry to say, but they were screwing with you, dear boy. I might be a tad harsh occasionally, but I'm certainly no demon."
"Not a demon, a demon-like creature. In a human body."
"Now you're just being silly. Demon-like creature? There's angels and demons, right? The good and the bad?"
"Well, that's what I thought as well, and it's not as simple as good or bad, it's-"
"Shouldn't you know this kind of stuff? You're one of those demon guys, didn't you say?"
"Well, yes..."
"And you still fell for it? Geez."
Tailor Craig seems to slump a little in his robes, a bit of joy taken out of him.
"Sorry to burst your bubble there, buddy. Still, you can be our lookout if you want to."
The tailor considers this for a moment. He then shrugs slowly.
"I suppose? Why not. At least I'll get to see new places."
"Excellent, we've got a cabin all ready for you, too. One of our crew members met with an unfortunate accident, you see."
"These things happen, I guess. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go get my stuff."
"Feel free," the Artiste says, seeing Tailor Craig off. He then turns back to his faithful crew.
"Right, new rule. You guys don't talk about who I am anymore. Not among yourselves, not to anyone I don't specifically allow you to talk about me to. Particularly not to our friend here. I'm just a guy with a funny name now. It was kinda silly of me not to warn you earlier, but still, don't do it. I know, I know, I keep messing up. But you have to remember, it's my first time here for a significant length of time and all. Anyway, until I'm certain this Craig guy's trustworthy, don't even think of telling him anything."
Post by: Tomcost on July 14, 2013, 06:18:30 pm
-I apologize for what I have done, master, I just didn't know that your identity should remain as a secret. I hope that he doesn't cause any problems and that he can prove useful to your enterprise. I have to tell you that not only he is both a tailor and a demonologist, but he also has a kind of ilusion cast on himself, that he can remove at will to show horrors that no mortal could even imagine. If you want to know more about this, you can ask Morton, as he was the one who heard the story that Craig has behind that.
Sigmund then slowly walks away, still with a submissive actitude.
((Shit, I didn't expect Niklas to end like that. I really don't know how is Xantalos going to roleplay this. If this can be roleplayed at all.))
Post by: Xantalos on July 14, 2013, 06:22:47 pm
Ah well. I was hoping to not be horrible to you, but you've forced my hand.
Or stump, as it may be.
Attempt to move.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 14, 2013, 07:15:17 pm
"Indeed, a thousand apologies Master Artiste, no harm was meant I assure you, dreadfully sorry." Morton said to Artiste, a sad touch in his tone as he stammered out apologies. He hadn't meant to worry his master, he thought he would actually be mildly interested in him indeed! One can't predict the world, he supposes... But either way, the desk takes his typical happy tone as he speaks again and addresses both Artiste and Erin. "I hope you slept well, Master Artiste, and I wish you a splendidly good morning as well. Besides from this, that is. And a morning to you as well, good Mage Erin, I hoped your sleep fared you well, as does the morning."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 14, 2013, 08:55:46 pm
and bows to the artist before finding Erin and showing her the message I left earlier
Post by: Innsmothe on July 15, 2013, 03:17:42 am
"Yes sir, Mr. Artiste, we won't tell strangers where we live."
Todays been crap, find some booze.
"But how about a boatwarming party?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 15, 2013, 04:29:06 am
Sigmund, dissatisfied at breaking a directive he didn't even know existed, does his best to apologize.
"I apologize for what I have done, master, I just didn't know that your identity should remain as a secret. I hope that he doesn't cause any problems and that he can prove useful to your enterprise. I have to tell you that not only he is both a tailor and a demonologist, but he also has a kind of illusion cast on himself, that he can remove at will to show horrors that no mortal could even imagine. If you want to know more about this, you can ask Morton, as he was the one who heard the story that Craig has behind that."
"Indeed, a thousand apologies Master Artiste, no harm was meant I assure you, dreadfully sorry," Morton adds as well.
"Yes sir, Mr. Artiste, we won't tell strangers where we live," comes a remark from Scott
"Firstly, you don't need to apologize, really. I didn't tell any of you. See, the thing is, that kind of knowledge can be dangerous. If I get busted doing this, there's going to be a lot of trouble. Secondly, that is an interesting bit of information."
Sigmund nods and submissively walks away. Yes, always best to leave a harmless impression, he thinks.
"I hope you slept well, Master Artiste, and I wish you a splendidly good morning as well. Besides from this, that is. And a morning to you as well, good Mage Erin, I hoped your sleep fared you well, as does the morning."
"It is certainly a marvelous morning, isn't it? And I do enjoy sleeping quite a bit."
"Yeah, I guess. Too bad about the chef guy, though. I feel kinda bad for causing the whole thing, ya know? I mean-"
However, before she can elaborate, Mark appears from out of nowhere, having ceased his following of Red-Chested Pinwheel Man, and addresses her! Well, gesticulates at her.
"Oh, right, ya left me a message? Something about needing a stone bit o' flooring? I'll get right on that, thanks for remindin' me."
With that, she walks over to the center of the deck and begins magicking it up.
[Erin magic roll: 3]
A bit of the deck starts to become grayish, though it seems to not be stone... not quite.
"Wait a moment. I'll figure this out."
She stares at the floor for a moment, then seems to realize the problem.
[Erin magic roll: 2+1]
The floor becomes a bit more stony. Now it looks kind of like false stone.
"I think this'll do, right?"
Scott, meanwhile, proposes an idea.
"But how about a boatwarming party? he asks, while looking for booze. Sadly, there isn't any around, which is disappointing. What kind of low-rate pirate ship doesn't have booze, for gods' sakes?
"That's a great idea, Scott! We could even name the ship in the process. I asked the Captain what the name of the thing was, and he said he doesn't remember."
"I could go magic us up something to drink if you wanna."
"Hm... magic drinks, you say? What do you people think?"
"It might be risky to do booze, though. After all, ethanol is pretty closely related to methanol. Gotta be careful with it. I remember when one o' my buddies back in university accidentally made methanol cocktails. That was pretty awful for all parties involved, not to mention fatal for a bunch."
Meanwhile, Niklas, seeing that he appears to have been sidelined entirely, or at least that's the best he can figure, being blind, deaf, mute and largely senseless. To mitigate this, he tries to move.
Fortunately, it appears that he can do this. He moves at a snail's pace, but it does seem like he's moving. Too bad he has literally no idea which direction he's moving in, really.
He is starting to feel weird, though.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 15, 2013, 05:14:47 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 15, 2013, 05:31:53 am
Attempt to entice someone to sit in me and then attempt to cook them.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 15, 2013, 06:42:32 am
"Whisky, ale, cider and mead. A diet for success."
Post by: miauw62 on July 15, 2013, 09:42:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 15, 2013, 10:22:43 am
-Would you like to look for a carpenter, so that we can finally get you some arms?
Post by: Xanmyral on July 15, 2013, 02:40:57 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 15, 2013, 02:54:19 pm
Sigmund replied to Morton:
-It seems that we will have to depart soon, so we should use the time we have to do those things that can only be done in a city. Anyway, we should look for a carpenter first, then a shipwright, because I guess that you would like fine arms, not just stumps added to yourself, right?
Post by: Xanmyral on July 15, 2013, 03:46:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 15, 2013, 03:48:05 pm
((just writing this because I never explicity stated it))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 15, 2013, 04:16:11 pm
Mark tries to find a lighter of some kind. After all, what's a ship without a lighter of some kind?
Unfortunately, he has no idea where to get one. Maybe he could ask someone? Still, even without the lighter, he gathers some fuel from the area, notably a bunch of loose planks on the pier.
Meanwhile, Niklas tries to figure out where these weird feelings are coming from. He realizes that he has no idea, really, so he tries to take out his confusion on the surrounding area by slowly dragging himself forth and wobbling a little.
He doesn't think he injured anyone, though. He does feel... something. Something bad near him. Something he can't see or otherwise detect. Something right outside his field of detection, one might say. Waiting. Watching.
Back in the world of the seeing, though, Scott wants to know if he can get some frickin' drinks already. He is not going to let being immune to alcohol stop him from enjoying some booze, damn it all.
"Whisky, ale, cider and mead. A diet for success," he says, glaring at Erin in the process.
"Yeah, ya might be better off buying those than trustin' me with 'em. Whenever I've tried to make stuff like that, it invariably tastes like piss. If you're lucky."
Meanwhile, Sigmund, ever the productive sort, proposes a plan of action to Morton.
"Would you like to look for a carpenter, so that we can finally get you some arms?"
Morton seems pleased with the idea.
"If it isn't too much bother for our absence, I would be quite appreciative if we could do that, good Sir Sigmund. Surely there must be one in Shrikepot. I admit I'm not versed in carpentry, but perhaps a shipwright might work? They work wood there, no? Although for a touch different purpose however..."
"It seems that we will have to depart soon, so we should use the time we have to do those things that can only be done in a city. Anyway, we should look for a carpenter first, then a shipwright, because I guess that you would like fine arms, not just stumps added to yourself, right?"
"Hm, yes, I suppose you're quite right, good Sir Sigmund. Very well then, let us be off! Hopefully this should be a short and beneficial jaunt."
The desk leads the way into town, Sigmund following closely behind, as they look for people to interview. However, people, upon seeing a desk approach them, seem awfully keen on keeping their distance. One woman even runs at the sight. Guess Niklas was right on that - for such a weird town, Shriekpot sure is intolerant.
On the road to Emlocke...
Kevin heads down the road to Emlocke, reaching it in 3 hours! Hooray!
Well, except the town is completely ruined. That makes him slightly sad. Seriously, the place is totally screwed - the ground's shifted, there's craters everywhere and not a living soul in sight. Slightly less of a hooray.
Good news is, he doesn't have to stay here! Yippee!
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on July 15, 2013, 04:31:20 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 15, 2013, 05:58:39 pm
Post by: GreatWyrmGold on July 15, 2013, 07:35:40 pm
Spoiler: Demosthenes Bones (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on July 15, 2013, 08:53:09 pm
The desk almost drooped a bit, as if sad. "It seems... It seems I scare people now. I just wish directions, but I suppose I cannot blame them good Sir Sigmund, I would not be much comfortable with a moving desk either. Perhaps you could try talking to some of them, or at least explain it so they wouldn't be as disturbed? We can try striking off in a direction and seeing if that takes us to a carpenter however." Morton asked his companion.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 15, 2013, 08:57:28 pm
I decided to join the waitlist. I don't suppose this is one of those games where players die every few turns?no but when people do die it is the most embarrassing way to die possible
like getting killed by your own imaginary creation.
Just beware the whip man
Post by: Tomcost on July 15, 2013, 08:59:40 pm
-Yes, maybe it would be better if you remain silent while I ask the questions.
Sigmund will ask to random people if they know where to find a carpenter.
((Now we have 5 people in the waitlist, if GWG gets in. That means that there is another fresh batch of undead waiting for a silly and anticlimactic death))
Post by: miauw62 on July 16, 2013, 03:41:57 am
Kevin tries to find a sign pointing to Shriekpot. Or a map. Failing that, he will follow a road north.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 16, 2013, 04:20:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 16, 2013, 05:51:39 am
Niklas attempts to meditate on the true nature of cooking, its innermost secrets!
He guesses he gets it, sure. Cooking is where you put stuff together, then mutilate stuff in creative ways to get other, tastier stuff. He likes to get other, tastier stuff, yes.
He also feels something horrible right behind him, something ineffably lethal and terrible creeping up on his helpless, senseless form. This slightly interferes with his meditations.
Meanwhile, Mark tries to kindle a fire the old-fashioned way! That is to say, he grabs a piece of wood and tries to get enough heat to cause combustion! Eventually, this works - a fire is started. Time to fish, he guesses.
[Fishing roll: 3]
He manages to capture yet another one of the tiny fish. How nice.
[Ritual roll: 3]
It has too little blood and far too high a blood pressure to survive all the way through the burning ritual! Bad form, little fish. Bad form!
At the same time, Scott tries to locate some chairs and tables for the deck. Fortunately, there's a ship moored just nearby, and that has several chairs and even a nice table to go with it! Half an hour later, the deck is furnished!
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton, seeing the frightened reactions of the populace, is forced to admit that perhaps he isn't the best one to be performing interviews.
"It seems... it seems I scare people now. I just wish directions, but I suppose I cannot blame them good Sir Sigmund, I would not be much comfortable with a moving desk either. Perhaps you could try talking to some of them, or at least explain it so they wouldn't be as disturbed? We can try striking off in a direction and seeing if that takes us to a carpenter, however."
"Yes, maybe it would be better if you remain silent while I ask the questions," Sigmund answers, taking a shot at accosting random people immediately.
He walks up to an old man strolling slowly down the street. Since he is old, Sigmund wagers he won't be able to escape too easily even if he wanted to. He goes up to the man.
"Excuse me, good sir, would you know where to find a carpenter?"
"Yes. I am a carpenter, actually. Though that's really my second job, to be honest. Can I help you?"
In the ruins of Emlocke...
Kevin, intent on getting precise directions to Shriekpot, searches the ruins for a sign of some sort.
Sadly, whatever signposts there may have been, they have fallen over long ago. Not terribly helpful, those. Okay then, time to head north! Kevin, since he really doesn't have any normal flesh to terribly damage, decides to make a sprint for it. He sprints and he sprints northward, not stopping for anything.
Somehow, he feels there's a long road ahead. A very long road indeed.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 16, 2013, 07:20:47 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 16, 2013, 08:48:05 am
-Well, I am curently needing some help with a friend of mine. First, let me introduce you to him. This is Carter Morton, -he said pointing at the fabulous desk- he had an unfortunate adventure involving mages, and he ended like this. If you were able to make arms or grabbing devices for him I would be grateful.
Post by: miauw62 on July 16, 2013, 10:42:42 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 16, 2013, 11:52:05 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 16, 2013, 12:18:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 16, 2013, 03:27:44 pm
Mark, having nothing better to do than fish and sacrifice, goes and does that now. He begins a great big fishing session, one that will continue for quite a while.
[Fishing roll: 2]
Nothing's catching, though. Guess the damn fish have wised up.
Meanwhile, Scott goes a-lootin' once more, as the landlocked pirate life is calling to him once again. He heads back to the Ulubelle!
However, upon reaching the place, he finds nothing. No beggars, no booze, no furniture, no lighting fixtures, no tools or kitchen implements, nothing. Everything that hasn't been nailed down and a few things that have been appear to have been stolen. Guess you don't leave an empty establishment unlocked during the rush hour of commoner scum.
In a slightly less depressing and more terrifying situation, Niklas tries to identify the ineffably horrible thing behind him. However, he finds that there is nothing to identify it by - he can't see, smell, taste or hear it. Thus it remains ineffable, yet also ineffably terrifying. After all, if the total unknown was actually effable, it wouldn't really be the unknown, would it? Wouldn't be very terrifying, either.
However, contrary to all expectation, Niklas does sense something else. Some kind of... voice coming to him. It's sort of there, but Niklas can't really hear it, unfortunately enough.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund smiles at the old guy, explaining his needs shortly.
"Well, I am currently needing some help with a friend of mine. First, let me introduce you to him. This is Carter Morton," he says, pointing to Morton, who wobbles in an introductory manner. "He had an unfortunate adventure involving mages, and he ended up like this. If you were able to make arms or grabbing devices for him, I would be grateful."
The old man looks at Morton with interest.
"He looks to be wonderfully made. Hm."
He runs his spidery fingers over Morton's fabulous finish, looking more intrigued with every second.
"I will help you! Too much fun to refuse, I'd say. Bragging rights alone would be worth it! Follow me," the man says, slowly hobbling away.
On the road that leads north of Emlocke...
As Kevin sprints, he nonetheless maintains hope that perhaps he might get confirmation on where exactly he might be going.
Sadly, the road is unmarked as all hell, and he has to content himself with shaky confidence in his own sense of direction.
Post by: Xantalos on July 16, 2013, 03:28:46 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 16, 2013, 03:33:57 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 16, 2013, 04:26:48 pm
Time is no barrier.
Post by: Tomcost on July 16, 2013, 04:34:35 pm
-We certaily apreciate that.
Sigmund follows the carpenter accompanied of Morton.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 16, 2013, 07:52:48 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 17, 2013, 01:26:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 17, 2013, 11:21:08 am
Niklas, bereft of sensations to amuse himself with, attempts to attain extreme boredom.
It's actually a bit difficult to be bored, though, as the uneasiness caused by something behind him persists. Stupid terrifying things, go away already. Niklas wants to be bored!
The voice, though, seems to be getting closer.
"... Niiiiii-klaaaas... Nii-klaas..." it drones monotonously. Sounds like the Artiste if he was totally bombed for some reason.
Mark, meanwhile, heads over to the Artiste, who looks rather bored for some reason.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 4]
He dances helpfully at the Artiste, who seems to get the general gist of the thing.
"Hm... you certainly look extremely idle. Carry that chair downstairs, will you?" he says, pointing at Niklas. "Place it in the den next to the other chairs, then come back."
Ooh, busywork! Just what the doctor ordered!
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton feels a state of heightened gratefulness coming on.
"Thank you, thank you sir! You might not know how much this means to be, but I would be very much pleased if I were to have arms again. Being a desk isn't rather that bad, barring that really, oddly enough. I do thank you for the compliment, although I don't believe I've ever saw myself in a mirror yet," he says to the carpenter as they leave.
"We certainly appreciate that," Sigmund adds.
"Yes, yes, now quickly, follow me," replies the man, leading both of the fabulous undead to an old workshop in a dark alley. Once they enter the workshop, an interesting sight awaits them.
Toys. Toys as far as the eye can see - whistles, small toy soldiers, rocking horses, dolls, all made of wood in painstaking detail. The entire workshop appears to be made out of wood, and there is a particular ornateness to its every detail, from the parquet floor to the exquisite paneling to the ornate furniture. The man shows Morton over to a certain corner, where a whole lot of tools lay around, as well as some blocks of wood.
"Welcome to my workshop, you two. Any questions before I begin?" the man asks, a twinkle in his eye as he seems to consider the work ahead of him.
At the Ulubelle...
Scott, seeing how the Ulubelle is currently empty of both life and valuables, tries to find another place to serve his booze-related needs. However, he can't think of where to look - the Feisty Jelly and the Ulubelle are the only two places he remembers, and one of them was looted while the other has presumably burned down by now. How woeful, how very woeful indeed.
On the road north from Emlocke...
Kevin, overtaken by the sensation of having no idea what he's doing, tries to petition the gods with prayer!
He doesn't see any miracles after a brief session of prayer to the Five Gods, though. Maybe they feel that he doesn't need any additional direction. This, he supposes, is good.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 17, 2013, 11:30:08 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 17, 2013, 11:30:56 am
-I have no questions, but I have to say that all this work is splendid. I'm sure that someone of your experience will certainly do marvels with Morton.
Post by: Xantalos on July 17, 2013, 03:27:43 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 17, 2013, 04:53:32 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 18, 2013, 02:19:51 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 18, 2013, 05:43:45 am
Scott heads back to the Feisty Jelly to survey his handiwork.
Predictably, the inn or tavern or whatever is still there, completely unharmed except for a scorch mark. He isn't sure how to feel about this - on one hand, this is a reasonably good opportunity to get booze. On the other hand, this means he is a complete, abject failure as an arsonist.
In a toymaker's workshop...
Sigmund, judging the fellow's work to be at least worth a compliment, goes ahead and says as much to the man.
"I have no questions, but I have to say that all this work is splendid. I'm sure that someone of your experience will certainly do marvels with Morton."
"Indeed, this is marvelous. You said this was only your second job? With the eye to detail I see here, I can't even imagine how well you do your other job."
"My primary vocation is that of a toymaker, so feel free to judge that as well. I do carpenter work because it's a handy source of income on the side."
"I must admit I'm curious to the process, I admittedly don't know much about the profession. How would one go about attaching arms to me? I must confess I'm drawing a blank. Also, I promise you I shall make tea for you after this is done, to celebrate new found arms, its the least I can do."
"To be honest, I'm not sure either. This is why I am not demanding payment. I'm curious on whether what I'll try to do will work. Anyway, I'll begin."
[Toymaker crafting roll: 5+1]
He grabs his tools and a couple of blocks of wood, then begins to do his work at the nearby workbench. Two hours quickly pass as the toymaker creates what look like rather inhuman, blocky arms with rather elaborate and delicate wooden fingers. After securing a few pins and so forth, then oiling, polishing and painting the entire thing to closely resemble Morton's strange coloring, he seems to be done, producing two arms that appear to be both rather long and very articulate, not to mention capable of folding in on themselves conveniently.
"There we go. Now for the difficult part."
The toymaker crouches to Morton's height and carefully examines his structure. He seems to be struck with some sort of understanding.
[Toymaker attachment roll: 4+1]
He secures the arms to Morton's underside, making them look like a completely natural part of the original design. Morton is pleased to find that he can move the arms perfectly! And that he is rather pronouncedly double-jointed now! The old man smiles at the desk, taking obvious pride in his work.
"And now you have arms, Carter Morton. I've made them rather easy to hide if you'd prefer to look as desk-like as possible for, say, the purposes of hiding yourself. They should also work well for delicate work, I'd say. Like, for instance, the making of tea. I'd like to take you up on that offer you made, if you don't mind."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, tired of having his enemies where he can't see them, executes a clever ploy of seduction on the thing right behind him!
[Seduction roll: 2+1]
He senses that he has planted some doubt in the creature whether standing really is preferable to sitting in such an exquisite chair. The creature becomes indecisive in response to Niklas' magnetism!
On the road north from Emlocke...
Kevin continues along the road, feeling there is very little he can do to ascertain his direction, goes forth!
The road, interestingly enough, is completely barren in terms of any directions. Kevin finds this increasingly disheartening.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 18, 2013, 07:06:37 am
(Mark doesn't know about him being a chair yet.)
Post by: miauw62 on July 18, 2013, 07:19:56 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 18, 2013, 07:52:42 am
So plush
You cannot resist
Post by: killerhellhound on July 18, 2013, 08:03:30 am
Attempt to turn around dramatically while emanating the siren call of chair.I have the mental image of a chair doing just that and a massive fight breaking out to sit in the chair.
So plush
You cannot resist
Post by: Tomcost on July 18, 2013, 09:29:47 am
-Now, finally, you are going to be able to handle things on your own, Morton. I suppose that you will be able to read that book by yourself. Not that I don't want to have a reading session with you, but at least you don't depend on me anymore.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 18, 2013, 10:23:35 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 18, 2013, 02:37:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 18, 2013, 04:23:45 pm
Also I now have almost no reason to not be a desk anymore. Yes.]
The desk gingerly inspected his new arms, flexing and bending it this way and that to get a feel for them. "Thank you, thank you good Sir Toymaker, these are more than perfect! I don't mind at all, it is the very least I could do for your help good sir, do you perhaps have a stove and some kitchen supplies I could use? I believe I should have everything else handled." The apostle of the tea was eager to work his craft once more, that bright light of his life once again shining on him once more as he opens his drawer containing his tea making supplies and rifles through them with his new hands.
Gesturing with his hand towards Sigmund in an elaborate way (probably to both make up for lack of other gestures and make up for lost time), Morton speaks to his companion. "Indeed, it will feel wonderful to have some autonomy again in some tasks, no door an obstacle and no object out of reach anymore! I do agree that putting our heads together when we read the book will probably be the most beneficial, we may have differing ideas as to what is said after all."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 18, 2013, 04:30:51 pm
Mark, feeling something might be amiss, looks at the chair with a measure of distrust. Where'd this thing come from, huh? And why does it look like it's moving? Turning around, to be specific.
[Niklas seduction roll: 5+1]
And why is it emitting such an... inviting, enchanting squeak? Mark feels his knees become a bit weak as he looks at the turning chair. If he were less of a skeptic, he'd say choirs of invisible angels of Narcillicus were calling him over.
[Mark will roll: 2-1]
Mark finds himself beckoned to the chair by the squeak. It wants to be sat on. He can't resist the plush! He slowly walks to the chair, his mental resistance crumbling away as he sits down in it.
Man, if he had lungs, he would be sighing with comfort so hard right now. The Artiste seems to be saying something to him, but screw that. He's got a chair, and it's damn good.
Meanwhile, the wonderful world of Niklas experiences a disturbance! He has failed in attracting the creature! Instead, some other schmuck has sat down on him! The creature seems offended.
"I thought you loved me, Niklas," the creature says. "How could you do this to the mother of your own child?"
Oh dear. That's awkward.
On the road north from Emlocke...
Kevin keeps on running like he really means it, and this time he does see something interesting! Namely, an old, weathered, half-destroyed sign pointing north-northwest. It says "Bromhandel, 24 miles".
He isn't sure what this means, so he keeps on running.
At a toymaker's workshop...
Sigmund examines the rather beamish Morton for a moment while he thanks the toymaker.
"Thank you, thank you, good Sir Toymaker, these are more than perfect! I don't mind at all, it is the very least I could do for your help, good sir, do you perhaps have a stove and some kitchen supplies I could use? I believe I should have everything else handled."
The toymaker nods happily, pointing at a certain ornamented door.
"Right behind that door, my good man."
As Morton joyously rifles through his teamaking supplies, Sigmund offers words of support.
"Now, finally, you are going to be able to handle things on your own, Morton. I suppose that you will be able to read that book by yourself. Not that I don't want to have a reading session with you, but at least you don't depend on me anymore."
"Indeed, it will feel wonderful to have some autonomy again in some tasks, no door an obstacle and no object out of reach anymore! I do agree that putting our heads together when we read the book will probably be the most beneficial, we may have differing ideas as to what is said after all," Morton says, gesturing expressively with his lovely arms as he locates all that he needs in his drawers.
At the Feisty Jelly...
Scott, feeling mostly disappointed, grudgingly enters the Feisty Jelly and heads right for the barkeep.
"I'd like to order an inordinate amount of whiskey, ale and cider to be delivered to the haunted ship in the harbor, please, and will pay upon delivery and only upon delivery."
The barkeep looks at him, visibly perplexed by the request and a touch peeved.
"Do I look like some delivery service to ya? Y'want booze, you buy it here for retail prices and you drink it from a glass or a tankard, you understand? I'll not be abettin' an' abidin' this crummy import-export thing! That stuff's for violent criminals, don't you know!"
Oh dear. How barbaric.
At Karina's home...
Darren is at a bit of a loss. He's been to lots of places.
"Places I've been... could you be a bit more specific?"
Karina laughs awkwardly.
"Um... no, not really. I'm not really positive on what's outside - I haven't left in so long. I just want to hear what it's like, you know. You're the glamorous adventurer and all. I'm sure you've got a story in you, right?" she says, nudging Darren gently with her hand. It feels rather weird to Darren, as she seems awfully solid to him. More solid than anything he's felt so far, certainly. And he seems to be equally solid to her.
Post by: Tomcost on July 18, 2013, 04:42:32 pm
Sigmund told to Morton:
-Certainly, Morton. I feel that I'm not needed here anymore, so I think that I will use the time you are preparing what will surely be an excellent tea to do some business. And considering that you now are able to use this device you gave me, I'm going to give it back to you, in case you happen to need it.
Sigmund hands the Magical Lighter to Morton.
-I guess that I will see you back at the ship, then. I would wish you luck at that tea making but you don't need it. I suppose that I will see you at the ship.
Sigmund then leaves and goes to the Bargain of Ages and looks if the scammer is back in his scamming schedule.
[If he is not there:]
Sigmund goes back to the ship to see what is going on.
((I suppose that someone who spent so much work in a captain costume will try to use it again...))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 18, 2013, 05:21:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 18, 2013, 05:56:03 pm
Emit an aura of terror to the person sitting in me while trying to attract the other one.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 18, 2013, 07:20:31 pm
well I carn't just make Niklas into fire wood so I move Him to the center of the deck and wait for him to do more fun stuff popcorn at the ready
Post by: Xanmyral on July 18, 2013, 10:37:57 pm
Morton comments as he opens the door, and from there attempts to find the kitchen. Once found, the desk will set about locating something to heat a pot with, along with finding a pot. If any spring water is left, the desk will use that in the making of the tea, if not simply use some of the water in the house. Then the making of the tea!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2013, 03:43:55 am
Sigmund, feeling like he's intruding upon Morton and the toymaker's teamaking domain as well as realizing he has better things to do right now, goes ahead and excuses himself.
"Certainly, Morton. I feel that I'm not needed here anymore, so I think that I will use the time you are preparing what will surely be an excellent tea to do some business. And considering that you now are able to use this device you gave me, I'm going to give it back to you, in case you happen to need it," he says, placing the magical lighter in one of Morton's drawers.
"I guess that I will see you back at the ship, then. I would wish you luck at that tea making but you don't need it. I suppose that I will see you at the ship."
"Thank you, good Sir Sigmund, I wish you luck in your business," Morton replies, making a purely hand-based bow as Sigmund heads out.
"It shall be but a moment, good Sir Toymaker, the tea shall be prepared," Morton then tells the toymaker, heading for the door and... opening it easily! Yes! His arms, they work! He heads right into the kitchen, which doesn't look like much - it only has a hearth and several tables, plus a set of cups. Hardly like the kitchen on the ghost ship, but what can you do? Checking that he does indeed still have one pitcher's worth of spring water, Morton sets about making tea.
[Teamaking roll: 2+1]
He runs into a problem, though, being a tad vertically-challenged as well as incapable of smelling. As such, he's not really sure what he's making there and how it's going - he can tell the water's boiling, but as for the proper steeping and such... well, that might be a problem.
Sigmund, meanwhile, makes his way to the Bargain of Ages. Fortunately managing to navigate the various crossroads with some difficulty, he comes to the pier where he last saw the ship.
However, it's not there anymore. How terrible. Well, guess he'll head to the ghost ship.
Luckily, that's hardly as uninhabited. Looks like ol' treeface is chilling in a comfy chair and the Artiste seems to be looking at the surrounding landscape.
At the Feisty Jelly...
Scott tries to explain to the man that smuggling is not what he seeks to do at all.
"No, no, my good sir. We need catering for a private party, I doubt a man such as you would like hordes of drunken undead shuffling about his property, who knows what could happen..."
"Hm... that's a reasonable point. Not sure undead can get drunk, but... hm. Got no haulers to bring any crates to ya, though. Like I said, not a delivery service here. If y'can find some people who'll do that, we might have a deal."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, having better things to do with his seating space than host Mark skeletal behind, tries to terrify the fellow somehow!
[Intimidation roll: 4-1]
He makes an impatient squeak at Mark and wobbles a bit, possibly urging him to get out!
[Mark will roll: 1]
Mark, meanwhile, briefly considers why this chair has a soul. A soul vaguely resembling that of Niklas, no less.
Eh, probably so it's more comfortable and is capable of actually loving whoever sits in it. It's working, Mark would say.
As this goes on, Niklas feels the creature grow sad.
"My parents told me you were no good for me after you raided our village, but I didn't listen! I should have seen it coming, really. Do you even remember my name?"
Her name... was it Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna? He thinks he remembers someone by that name.
Post by: miauw62 on July 19, 2013, 04:33:29 am
Kevin keeps following the road.
Post by: Xantalos on July 19, 2013, 04:35:08 am
Chairklas shifts around, fruitlessly attempting to locate her.
How are you talking to me, anyway? And how am I talking back? I'm a chair now.
...
Speaking of which, are you still in contact with that hermit shaman who lived in the dung cave outside your village? Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe, right? I may need to call in that favor he owes me.
Post by: Tomcost on July 19, 2013, 07:48:12 am
-Are you doing something interesting currently? Because I just see Mark getting comfy in chair Niklas. Anyway, I have slightly unimportant, but definitely good news, anyway: Morton now has arms, so he can handle things on his own now.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2013, 11:16:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2013, 04:46:22 pm
Kevin continues his glorious running adventure! And it proves fruitful, too - he comes to a sign! A useful one for once!
It says "SHRIEKPOT - THAT-A-WAY" with an arrow pointing westward! Yay! Kevin runs like mad, glad that his journey seems to be nearing its end!
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, having remembered the name of this woman, makes it clear that he does indeed remember!
"You were Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna, were you not?" he asks. The creature seems to... light up somehow.
"Yes! You remember me! I am Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna! Your dearest, sweetest Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna!"
"How are you talking to me, anyway? And how am I talking back? I'm a chair now."
"Oh Niklas, nothing is impossible to one who speaks the language of love!"
"Speaking of which, are you still in contact with that hermit shaman who lived in the dung cave outside your village? Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe, right? I may need to call in that favor he owes me."
Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna shrugs.
"I speak with Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe occasionally, yes. I could call him up right now if you wish. He's only a few minutes away."
Oh, that's good, Niklas supposes.
In more usual circumstances, Sigmund interviews his layabout master on what's going on here.
"Are you doing something interesting currently? Because I just see Mark getting comfy in chair Niklas. Anyway, I have slightly unimportant, but definitely good news, anyway: Morton now has arms, so he can handle things on his own now."
"As for your first question, no, not really. Mark seems to be enjoying his seat, though. Really, I'm just waiting for you silly bastards to be done with whatever it is you're doing in town so we can get moving already. Getting antsy now, to be honest. But that bit about Morton, that's good. Being armless must be terrible, after all."
In the Feisty Jelly...
Scott, feeling a good deal coming on, tries to find some poor schmuck with nothing better to do than haul crates of booze.
He doesn't find many. In fact, he only finds one, but that one looks big enough to carry three crates in one arm, so he supposes it's all good. Looks pretty harmless, though. And bored.
Post by: Xantalos on July 19, 2013, 04:49:44 pm
Sure, yes please. I'll have need of that magic of his that makes hallucinations real.
((Oh god what is happening now I have to make up a name for Niklas that's also long as hell))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2013, 05:24:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 19, 2013, 09:52:23 pm
Hm... Hm... Morton isn't sure this will do, that this will do at all. The desk wishes it could actually see what he was doing, right now he's only going by feel and instinct, and even that's dulled in his current form that he's still getting used to. The desk will set the current pot off of the heat source and look for something that can help him be able to actually see what is going on, maybe like a wooden block or step stool or something. Oh bother... While he has no doubt the tea is probably okay, he doesn't actually know how far along it is, or if it needs a bit more, maybe less, more heat, less... He needs to try and see it.
But yes, a plan is clear in his mind. The desk will remove the pot from the heat source, so as to hopefully not compromise it any more than it might or might not be, he doesn't really know, and to try to find some sort of way he can get a glance as to what he's doing. A block he can move onto, or perhaps a mirror he can position... Something.
Post by: miauw62 on July 20, 2013, 01:40:45 am
Kevin keeps following the road and goes onto the ghost ship when he arrives.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 20, 2013, 05:35:04 am
Niklas agrees that Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna should call Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe up.
"Sure, yes, please. I'll have need of that magic of his that makes hallucinations real."
"Right away, my sweet. I'll bring Torkeluweragnaharalniklastur as well, so that he can see his dear father!"
She disappears in moments. A couple of minutes later she returns, two presences along with her. One of them is definitely Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe - he'd remember that smell anywhere. The other is... oddly diminutive.
"Now, Torkel, say hello to daddy."
A small, squeaky voice suddenly pipes up, a sharp contrast to Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna's alto voice.
"Are you my real daddy? Are you Niklas? Where's the rest of your name? Do you remember? Did you lose it? Can I help you find it? Will you take me on raids? I've never been on a raid before. Mommy tells me they're dangerous. Are they dangerous? What do you do in a raid, anyway?"
The child is quickly silenced by the rather loud, nasal voice of the hermit, which is somewhere in the middle between the child and mother's respective pitches.
"Be silent, child! Niklas wishes to speak to me! Now, Niklas, what is it you wish from me?"
"Can't a son greet his father, Kruub? It is their first meeting, have a heart."
"I was not dragged out of my comfy cave of Hermepalltrokkgjar dung to be delayed by incessant disturbances!"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott approaches the large man in a friendly fashion.
"Hey sir! How would you like to carry barrels of booze from a pub to a party? I will promise a share of the booze," he says to the man, who looks quite intrigued.
"That sounds very agreeable! I enjoy carrying things. Good exercise, you know," the man says. "Where do I need to carry stuff from and where will I need to carry it to?"
Good to have such enthusiastic people around, Scott thinks.
In the kitchen of a toymaker...
Morton, eager to get better visual feedback on his work, looks for something to step up on to mitigate his height-challenged state. He takes the pot off the heat and begins a search.
However, there doesn't look to be anything of sufficient size to prop him up in the kitchen. The kitchen is entirely lacking in chairs or spare wood! Also, he doesn't see any mirrors. Probably because they're bad luck and stuff.
On the road to Shriekpot...
Kevin, invigorated by his discovery of Shriekpot, follows the now-western road in a mad sprint, thundering past the Yaleson house, which looks to be having a bit of a mushroom infestation, past the gates of Shriekpot and through the city, leaping through the streets in an almost froglike fashion.
Passing by a returning Tailor Craig on the pier (nearly tipping him over, actually) and running up the gangplank to find himself in familiar, rather impatient-looking company, Kevin feels a distinct joy. The joy of victory. He does several victorious cartwheels to celebrate his accomplishment, as he feels at least like forty thousand gold coins right now.
"I wonder who this cheery fellow might be."
Post by: Xantalos on July 20, 2013, 05:37:36 am
Also: I fathered Grate from ER? Ohgodwhy))
((Also, are you typing semirandom characters like I've been for the names up to now or do Yog actually have some sort of structure for them?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 20, 2013, 05:45:31 am
That's not, however, the lore explanation.))
Post by: Xantalos on July 20, 2013, 05:54:00 am
((Goddamn it now I have to find the beginning of the chapter and read through the whole thing to find any lore references I made.))
((Beginning reread of entire chapter now.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 20, 2013, 08:57:52 am
-It's strange, nobody usually goes inside of a ship and begins to dance out of nothing. And his clothes make things even stranger, but I have an idea.
Sigmund then walks to the man and ask him:
-Excuse me, sir, do you know that fellow there called Craig?
Post by: miauw62 on July 20, 2013, 09:33:37 am
((Apparently, I DO have internet here! Huzzah! ))
Post by: Tomcost on July 20, 2013, 10:05:29 am
-Are you really Kevin? I see that you were really lucky in your transformation, not only you look like a normal fellow now, but you can also speak!. Let me tell you what has changed in the time you were absent. After a transmutation accident in which Niklas lost his body and was attached to a giant catfish, I think you can guess who was resposible for the last part, he sworn to take revenge from Erin, so he was promptly transfomed into that chair in which tree-head in now sitting. And also morton has arms now, and tailor Craig has joined our group, but we can't speak about our master's true nature to him, or anybody. We are currently waiting the rest of them to depart, so there are not may interesting things to do now, so you can relax.
((And as I want to do something in this turn))
Sigmund then went to find Art, and asked to him:
-I have to ask you two questions related to souls and that stuff. The first is if emotions are only able to be experienced by beings with souls, and the second one is if plants do naturally have them. You would be amazed to know the origin of these questions.
Post by: miauw62 on July 20, 2013, 10:15:27 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 20, 2013, 10:19:21 am
-He is brewing some tea for the toymake who made him arms, he should be back soon, I hope.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 20, 2013, 11:10:47 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 20, 2013, 11:08:06 pm
Darren said, tones of false modesty in his voice. He sat down, and began to tap his fingers against his cheek bones as he thought.
"Well, I guess I'll just tell you the tale of how I ended up trespassing in your home."
He clears his throat.
"Well, by then, I had been a ghost for maybe a few hours. I thought I was doing pretty well, got into a band, on account of my, apparently quite impressive ghostly wailing. After the band... Fell apart, I guess, I hooked up with some old associates, and we went to finish our job. This place though, was pretty weird. There's a pit that looks like it goes on for eternity, and floating above it, a house. Not some evil castle or anything, just a house. A pretty nice house, but that was all it was. I went in there, and something came towards me. Something strong. It reached inside my brain, tried to mess with me, but one of my partners shot some magic at me, and the house. Whatever was in there was blown off, and I rejoined them. Right after that, however, monsters we couldn't even see poured out from it, as did the monster that came from the house. We fought, but the monster took ahold of me again. With that, I did all I could, and prayed to Velusius. I was called into his prescence, and we struck a deal. He would remove the monster, but I had to do him a favor, and get the Crown of Flowers for him. He dropped me just outside of the town this lies under, I came into the town, then down here, into your home.
That's what happened. You got any interesting tales?"
Post by: Innsmothe on July 21, 2013, 02:29:18 am
Get to tha' sheeeeeeep!(ship)
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2013, 06:51:53 am
Sigmund, seeing the strangely portal-like fellow arrive, tries to logically deduce who it might be.
"It's strange, nobody usually goes inside of a ship and begins to dance out of nothing. And his clothes make things even stranger, but I have an idea."
He strolls up to the man and advances a question.
"Excuse me, sir, do you know that fellow there called Craig?" he asks, pointing to the tailor and his bags of assorted stuff slowly coming toward the gangplank.
"I'm Kevin, creepy vampire guy and artist master guy. It took me long enough to get here. That portal thingie dumped me in Emlocke," Kevin answers, not a fan of roundabout identity confirmation. Sigmund, pleasantly surprised at the lack of pretense, goes ahead and gives him some exposition for his trouble.
"Are you really Kevin? I see that you were really lucky in your transformation, not only you look like a normal fellow now, but you can also speak!. Let me tell you what has changed in the time you were absent. After a transmutation accident in which Niklas lost his body and was attached to a giant catfish, I think you can guess who was responsible for the last part, he swore to take revenge from Erin, so he was promptly transformed into that chair in which tree-head in now sitting. And also Morton has arms now, and Tailor Craig has joined our group, but we can't speak about our master's true nature to him, or anybody. We are currently waiting the rest of them to depart, so there are not may interesting things to do now, so you can relax."
As he finishes speaking, he notices Tailor Craig go up to the Artiste and ask something. The Artiste nods and starts showing him around the ship.
"Oh, cool. Where is Morton?"
"He is brewing some tea for the toymaker who made him arms, he should be back soon, I hope."
Kevin seems okay with this, so Sigmund heads to the crew quarters to find Art. Fortunately, the necromancer is wide awake right now, and is just exiting his quarters. Sigmund approaches him quickly.
"I have to ask you two questions related to souls and that stuff. The first is if emotions are only able to be experienced by beings with souls, and the second one is if plants do naturally have them. You would be amazed to know the origin of these questions."
"Well, that's- wait, who are you, anyway? And what are you doing here?"
In a toymaker's kitchen...
Morton, still lacking in feedback, takes a look at his handiwork by just grabbing the pot and looking inside.
Hm... well, it's definitely not quite up to a high standard. A bit too watery and colorless for that. It really needs work, Morton thinks, as it isn't really presentable to anybody who knows a thing about tea in this state. It probably needs more tea leaves in it, a little more heat, and some time. Too bad Morton has no sense of smell or taste, though.
In Karina's home...
Darren, flattered into compliance, assumes a tone of somewhat false modesty.
"Glamorous adventurer huh? I don't know about that..." he says, thinking for a bit.
"Well, I guess I'll just tell you the tale of how I ended up trespassing in your home."
Karina leans in, listening intently.
"Well, by then, I had been a ghost for maybe a few hours. I thought I was doing pretty well, got into a band, on account of my, apparently quite impressive ghostly wailing. After the band... Fell apart, I guess, I hooked up with some old associates, and we went to finish our job. This place though, was pretty weird. There's a pit that looks like it goes on for eternity, and floating above it, a house. Not some evil castle or anything, just a house. A pretty nice house, but that was all it was. I went in there, and something came towards me. Something strong. It reached inside my brain, tried to mess with me, but one of my partners shot some magic at me, and the house. Whatever was in there was blown off, and I rejoined them. Right after that, however, monsters we couldn't even see poured out from it, as did the monster that came from the house. We fought, but the monster took ahold of me again. With that, I did all I could, and prayed to Velusius. I was called into his presence, and we struck a deal. He would remove the monster, but I had to do him a favor, and get the Crown of Flowers for him. He dropped me just outside of the town this lies under, I came into the town, then down here, into your home."
"That's what happened. You got any interesting tales?"
Karina is surprised by the request.
"Do I have any interesting tales? Well... maybe. You'll have to be the judge. Now... where to begin?"
She flits around uncertainly, occupied with concentrated thoughts about storytelling, no doubt.
"I guess I'll tell you the story of this guy named Terry. He lived here once, a long time ago, actually, when we were all still... well, mostly regular people. He soon moved to live in one of the engineer neighborhoods, but he didn't do any of that magic stuff that they did, he just inherited the house from his grandfather, who was one of the crazier guys around in those parts. So when he moved into the neighborhood, he was kind of a fish out of water - all around him were mages, and the neighborhood was certainly the weirdest place in the city - you'd get giant metal insects marching about and doing the strangest things, occasionally one of the nearby houses would explode, only to be reconstructed the next day, and sometimes even the layout of the entire part of the town would change overnight. And his own house, it was like living inside an engine, he told me. There were all these moving parts, big red buttons, all unlabeled, of course, plus he said that sometimes he thought the house was talking to him. Still, he had to take care of the place. He thought he'd stay there for a while until he could sell it to the other guys who'd hopefully know what to do with it, then maybe buy a house in a more normal location."
She sighs.
"Well, suffice it to say that things got weirder with him - he told me when I met him that he'd been exploring the house, studying the buttons. And then he started talking about how he thought the house really was talking to him, particularly when he laid down to bed. Sang him lullabies, apparently. And he had once even carried on a conversation with it. Or her. He seemed to think the house is a she. I was kinda concerned about his health at that point, because I think he actually whirred at me once when we talked, and it was kinda like a mechanical laugh in a way. Creeped me out quite a bit. Then I didn't see him for a while, like about half a year or so, and when I saw him next at the market, I hardly recognized the guy. I think he was mostly made of metal, and he clicked with every move. I was going to step away from him quickly, but he noticed me and came up to say hello."
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head in recalled disbelief.
"He told me that he had married Lizzie, and I asked who that was. He said he was living with her, had been for at least a year. Apparently there was a kid on the way, even. I was kinda happy for him at first, but then, as we talked further, I realized he was talking about the house. Then I kinda took a step back and asked if he was talking about the house, and he launched this spiel at me about how looks aren't everything and whatnot, and how he loves her honestly and truly. We kinda... parted in an awkward fashion then, and I haven't spoken to him since, before or after my... well... expiration. I think he might still be living in that neighborhood, and when I passed by once, I think I saw this little metallic... well, creature run inside after there was this odd creak from the house. I then walked away - I didn't really want to find out more, being weirded out enough. That was the last time I wandered into the engineered neighborhood, and things only got weirder in the other neighborhoods from there on in."
"Well, that's kind of a story, right? What do you think?" she asks Darren.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Willing minion in tow, Scott heads back to the ship!
"I'll show you where to carry it to, need to get some money, then we'll go to the pub."
"Yes, of course."
They reach the ship shortly, though only an unfamiliar weirdo and a reclining Mark are in sight currently, which Scott find mildly inconvenient.
Post by: Tomcost on July 21, 2013, 09:29:36 am
-So, you didn't hear all that has happened? I'm new Sigmund, I had an encounter with the Aspect of Appeal, who transformed me into what I am now. Morton and Kevin went through the same process, with the former ending up as a desk, and the latter becaming a quite strange fellow, I can't describe exactly what is weird on him, but it's certainly strange. Also Niklas got turned into a chair because he wanted to kill Erin. And we have a new crew member, tailor Craig, who is also a demonologist, so you shouldn't talk with him about the Artiste. That's all that has happened when you were asleep, I think.
Sigmund then lets Art process all the information, and repeats his questions:
-Now, would you care to answer those questions that I asked before? Those about emotions being able to be felt exclusively by souls, and about flora having souls.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 21, 2013, 11:35:14 am
Go find me gold!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2013, 03:06:06 pm
He sits for a moment, thinking.
"Do you think I'm going to have to head into there? Or to places like that?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2013, 04:33:34 pm
Sigmund, hardly approving of repeated exposition, nonetheless explains things to Art.
"So, you didn't hear all that has happened? I'm new Sigmund, I had an encounter with the Aspect of Appeal, who transformed me into what I am now. Morton and Kevin went through the same process, with the former ending up as a desk, and the latter becoming a quite strange fellow, I can't describe exactly what is weird on him, but it's certainly strange. Also Niklas got turned into a chair because he wanted to kill Erin. And we have a new crew member, tailor Craig, who is also a demonologist, so you shouldn't talk with him about the Artiste. That's all that has happened when you were asleep, I think."
"Well, you do sound kinda like Sigmund. I suppose you're a good enough replacement even if you're messing with me."
"Now, would you care to answer those questions that I asked before? Those about emotions being able to be felt exclusively by souls, and about flora having souls."
Art shrugs and begins to explain.
"The soul is essentially an indication that you're alive, this we all know - if you die, your soul escapes, and vice versa. But what I've also kinda learned is that's not all a soul does. It also sorta stores what you've experienced, information, that kind of thing. A soul is who you are, and all living things have them, including plants and fungi, even really tiny things. Yeast, for instance, is a great multitude of souls, all totally alien to us. It's really weird."
"As for emotions... I don't know, to be honest. I suppose you need a soul to have them. At least, I've never heard of a soulless construct with emotions. Maybe plants have them as well, no idea, really. Haven't done much soul-searching, you know. Heh."
"Don't be too freaked out, it is a haunted ship," he explains to the big man.
"Yes, certainly," the rather calm large man answers.
He has no real clue where the Artiste is, though. Guy's just disappeared somewhere, and Scott isn't sure whether it would be wiser to wait until he gets back or search for him and risk missing the guy.
In Karina's home...
Darren expresses his approval of Karina's story.
"Yes, that was quite a story. Kicked mine's ass, that's for sure."
Karina looks humbled by the compliment.
"Oh, you're too kind. These kinds of things happen every day in the engineer neighborhoods. Well, they used to, apparently."
That's not entirely pleasing to hear, Darren thinks.
"Do you think I'm going to have to head into there? Or to places like that?"
"That's really up to you. If you want to go into the deeper areas, I think you will have to. I really rather you didn't - they are frightening and unusual places. Better to stay well away, I think. I do that, and it hasn't hurt."
She gazes at Darren sadly for a few seconds before perking up again.
"But you said you were in a band. Could you maybe sing a song? For me? I haven't heard any music for so long."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 21, 2013, 05:03:55 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 21, 2013, 05:44:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 21, 2013, 05:48:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 21, 2013, 06:44:31 pm
-I'm asking this to you because I found a peculiar tree near the Yaleson's house. Not only it was able to move, but it was able to hate other beings. And when it concentrated that hate in a particular being, a horrible and weakening sensation was produced in the affected person. I wonder if its soul would retain that quality, it may become a useful artifact.
((Somebody wants to go with me to hate a particularly hateful willow?))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 21, 2013, 06:53:38 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 21, 2013, 06:56:11 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 21, 2013, 07:01:16 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 21, 2013, 07:04:25 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2013, 07:42:25 pm
Sing/Wail.
Post by: Xantalos on July 21, 2013, 11:11:29 pm
Torkeluweragnaharalniklastur, I'll answer your questions in one conversation. For now, I need to talk with Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe.
Kruub, as you can probably tell, I've been turned into a chair and I need to get back to my regular body, preferably with some cooking implements. So I need you to get me hallucinating and then make them real for me when I say. I'll consider us even if you do this, in repayment for me convincing my chef instructor Dârbobītastanacoodlintavor not to make you into hermit crab cakes.
Niklas chuckles, the motion expressing itself in a series of judders and squeaks.
Honestly, this is probably what I deserve for getting mixed up with mages without being one. Can you believe the people in the town I got chopped up in thought I was a raider? Bah. I'm not nearly experienced enough to be a professional yet.
Drifting back to the matter at hand, he addresses the Norsemen and women once again.
How are you here, anyway? I can't see, hear, feel, smell, speak or move.
Post by: miauw62 on July 22, 2013, 02:28:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 22, 2013, 09:01:52 am
Scott, rather interested in the acquisition of his... well, not hard-earned cash, but certainly cash that wasn't the easiest to obtain. To further his goal, he wanders into the only area that the Artiste could possibly ever be in - the cargo hold, taking his new buddy with him.
However, disaster strikes! Only the Captain haunts the cargo hold!
"Why, HELLO THERE! I do RECALL YOU, LITTLE MAN. But the LARGE PERSON seems STRANGELY ALIEN TO ME! WHO ARE YOU, LARGE PERSON?"
"Why, they call me Humongous Hugh Haliburton, and I do mostly enforcing and intimidation for a living - got to keep all the dirty scoundrels in the docks in line, am I right? I also do heavy lifting, but that's really more of a hobby. Who might you be, good sir?"
"ME? I'm THE CAPTAIN of THIS SHIP! DON'T ASK what my NAME is, I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY!"
"Pity. I'm sure you probably had the most wonderful name."
"I GET THAT FEELING AS WELL! CURIOUS, no?"
Back on deck, though, Mark decides to use his current position optimally and go for a bit of fishing.
[Fishing roll: 2]
The fish are afraid of him, it seems.
Good.
Beneath Mark's metallic pelvis, though, a different sort of drama unfolds as Niklas addresses the increasing crowd of family and acquaintances enveloping him.
"Torkeluweragnaharalniklastur, I'll answer your questions in one conversation. For now, I need to talk with Kruubalnitsomapürongadēe."
Torkel sighs as his questions receive no answer.
"Okay, dad."
He then turns his attention to the hideous old codger who might help him rather than his own son.
"Kruub, as you can probably tell, I've been turned into a chair and I need to get back to my regular body, preferably with some cooking implements. So I need you to get me hallucinating and then make them real for me when I say. I'll consider us even if you do this, in repayment for me convincing my chef instructor Dârbobītastanacoodlintavor not to make you into hermit crab cakes."
Niklas judders and squeaks then, the sound of which would approach a chuckle if one were the type to try and listen in on a chair with the idea that it might even chuckle.
"Honestly, this is probably what I deserve for getting mixed up with mages without being one. Can you believe the people in the town I got chopped up in thought I was a raider? Bah. I'm not nearly experienced enough to be a professional yet."
However, before Kruub can answer him, he has one more question.
"How are you here, anyway? I can't see, hear, feel, smell, speak or move."
"We are here because you need us. You called to us, and we came. Helsvar came first because of her love, followed by your son and I. All of us are... well, might be important to you in some way, particularly I, if I may say so myself. I will help you, Niklas, but what I need to do is not so simple as merely casting a spell like one of those southern dilettantes might do. What I do is more... cerebral, really. And your thoughts are your thoughts - it is you who must make them real. And for that, you need practice, yes?"
"Ooh, you're going to learn magic? I've seen magic before. I wish I could do it. I tried many times."
"Shh, Torkel. Don't interrupt."
"What I propose will be difficult, but ultimately worthwhile for you. Would you agree to this, young man?"
As Niklas ponders this option, Sigmund continues his scintillating conversation with Art.
"I'm asking this to you because I found a peculiar tree near the Yaleson's house. Not only it was able to move, but it was able to hate other beings. And when it concentrated that hate in a particular being, a horrible and weakening sensation was produced in the affected person. I wonder if its soul would retain that quality, it may become a useful artifact."
Art looks to have been hit by a revelation.
"Wait, a tree that could do that? That does remind me of something. You know how mages can go... loopy sometimes? Genocidal and such? Well, they had a penalty for that in the Black Circle of Magic. Instead of just killing a powerful mage, they decided to use their bloated soul for something. However, these guys were usually pretty hateful, so they devised a way to calm them - bind them into a tree. I think they were going off the accepted theory that the body molds the soul to fit it or something, and that trees were the most tranquil, peaceful, unmoving things they could think of. At the end of it, they'd get a really rich soul out of the deal at the very least. I think they experimented with the idea - not sure what came of it, but the tree might be related to something like that. Plants don't really have thoughts like that naturally, anyway, I'm sure. I mean, what's the point? So you gotta bet there's magic involved, seriously messed-up magic. The kind I don't touch with a 3-meter pole. And it sounds kinda dangerous as a tree, which are mostly harmless. Not sure what would happen if you set it free from that and bound it to something... less peaceful."
Ooh, that's informative. And trivial.
Meanwhile, Kevin goes and looks for the Artiste.
Fortunately, he is less navigationally-confused than Scott, and the fellow proves easy to find. He appears to be showing the den to Tailor Craig.
"-and these walls, they're covered in this fascinating goop that glows and-"
"Excuse me, but do you have anything that needs doing?"
"... actually, yes. Could you go and find me as many books on the Sea of Death as you can? I think they might become rather useful."
Task obtained, Kevin guesses!
In a toymaker's house...
Morton, rather keenly aware of the shortcomings of his desk form right now, still tries to use his expertise to get the tea in proper shape. He will make a batch of tea that's presentable, and no amount of sensory impairment will stop him!
[Teamaking roll: 5+1]
He then proceeds to fix his concoction up in exactly the manner outlined, coming up with a rather visually appealing brew. Difficult to say how it will taste, but it certainly looks good. And strong, too.
In Karina's home...
Darren, though rather reserved about reliving his glory days, agrees to the request.
"Well, it's been a while since I wailed, and I don't have my band, so don't expect too much."
He clears his throat, then begins.
[Vocal performance roll: 4]
He manages a rather neat little number, a song about being dead and rather accepting of the fact. Though hardly a classically-trained singer, he wails in a reasonable pleasing and heartfelt manner. Karina looks rather pleased, and claps when he's done. Her applause doesn't sound quite like a normal human's, her spectral nature making the gesture sound rather more distant than one would think.
"That was quite good, Darren. I like your voice. Do you know any other songs?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 09:20:05 am
-That actually explains what happened. Now I see that it would be better to not mess up with that soul, it may not be convenient for us, as it could case a lot of problems. Thank you for the information, Art, I apreciate it.
Sigmund then leaves to find Kevin talking to the Artiste, and asks:
-Is there anything that needs to be done?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 22, 2013, 10:02:08 am
Mark joins Keiven on his quest if asked.
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 10:35:00 am
Spoiler: Overcomplicated plan (click to show/hide)
How about this?))
Post by: miauw62 on July 22, 2013, 11:51:56 am
"Apparently we have to get some books on that sea thing we're going to. Do you of any bookstores around here?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 12:54:38 pm
-I know one, it's called Brenwicke's Books. I can take you there if you want.
As Sigmund takes Kevin to the bookshop, Sigmund stops and asks Mark:
-Hey tree-head! Would you want to come with us to do some shopping? Maybe you will get some body part! Just make sure to attach them to someone who actually wants them.
Sigmund shakes Mark out of the chair if he can't stand up on his own, then takes everyone to the bookstore
EDIT: added something to my conversation with Mark
Post by: miauw62 on July 22, 2013, 01:22:25 pm
Kevin follows Sigmund to the bookstore.
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 01:35:28 pm
-I have a gold coin, I don't think that they will cost more than that. I wonder if your perfomances would have a different effect now that you have flesh on your bones. You can always distract the shopkeeper while I get away if we have the need to just borrow them, you know. Now that I think about it, we might need more help if we find problems, the shop has an armored six armed guard. Let me handle this.
((Insert here my conversation with Mark))
Post by: Xantalos on July 22, 2013, 03:40:06 pm
Agree and talk with Torkeluweragnaharalniklastur while Kruub does his thing.
So Torkel. My full name I don't use very often down here because these southerner's tongues lack the strength to speak our names. My full name is Niklasbōrrûkvitådnîkrombūrvastidnasvenstur. No need to go looking for it. A raid can be dangerous depending on the composition of the raiders, and if I make it back home re-alive I will take you on a raid or two before the jarl of your village puts you on your training path. A raid is...the intimate expression of Vikingness. It happens when a group of Vikings, usually 20 - 50, have a spontaneous idea for a great raid and go about preparing it. They build sleighs ABD load them up with mead, seal intestines, seal intestines filled with mead, and a great many other good foods, and of course weapons and trumpets, and go careening across the land in search of a village with their sleigh train. Once they find a village, they crash the sleighs right in the center of the village and pour out like bees out of a happy drunk beehive to do whatever it was they had the idea for. Sometimes it's eating every third yak in 5 miles with only a twig, other times it's bedding every woman in the village - that's how I met your mother - sometimes it's killing everything in the village, though the ones who do that generally go to nonviking villages - or many other such merry activities. Our homeland has raids running through most of the villages every 6 months or so.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 22, 2013, 04:09:31 pm
Do eet.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 22, 2013, 04:38:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 22, 2013, 05:00:12 pm
Sigmund realizes that messing with what might be an imprisoned soul of a crazy person is perhaps not the best idea.
"That actually explains what happened. Now I see that it would be better to not mess up with that soul, it may not be convenient for us, as it could case a lot of problems. Thank you for the information, Art, I appreciate it."
Art says something back, but Sigmund can't hear it, really, being miles away by now in the mental sense. It was probably "you're welcome" or something anyway. He goes to the den, only to see Kevin speaking to the Artiste! The gall on the man! He probably got a task, too, judging by his beamish look!
This shall not stand. Sigmund quickly trots up to the Artiste, intent on helping out more than Kevin! By any means necessary!
"Is there anything that needs to be done?"
"Apparently we have to get some books on that sea thing we're going to. Do you of any bookstores around here?"
Nobody was asking you, you-
"Yeah, that. Go do that."
On second thought, he might be able to help out his good buddy Kevin after all!
"I know one, it's called Brenwicke's Books. I can take you there if you want," says Sigmund. Yes, he will certainly require a meatshield or a distraction of some kind, and Kevin fits the bill perfectly.
"You know, we don't have much coin for books. How are we going to get them? I can always do a performance."
You know, one expendable minion might not be enough for the job, Sigmund thinks. He'll need two at the very least.
"I have a gold coin, I don't think that they will cost more than that. I wonder if your performances would have a different effect now that you have flesh on your bones. You can always distract the shopkeeper while I get away if we have the need to just borrow them, you know. Now that I think about it, we might need more help if we find problems, the shop has an armored six armed guard. Let me handle this."
He walks back to the top deck, where Mark still sits around in boredom.
"Hey, tree-head! Would you want to come with us to do some shopping? Maybe you will get some body parts! Just make sure to attach them to someone who actually wants them."
[Mark will roll: 3+1]
Mark, eager to help his buddy Kevin, realizes that he'll just have to live with the reality that he might accidentally help Sigmund in the process and gets out of his chair. Together the jolly band head to Brenwicke's Books. Sigmund, showing remarkable resolve, doesn't even get lost... too much. They reach the place in due time. It looks to Sigmund like the coast is clear. Mark and Kevin, though, spot a guy observing them from a building opposite the store. Looks like a guard. Not a six-armed one, though.
Back on the ship, Niklas comes to a decision.
"Sure then. I didn't even know I had a son up until now, really. It's a good feeling, knowing that you've sired another Viking."
"Very well. I will return later! With tools!" says Kruub, disappearing off into the distance. This leaves the chair with Torkel and Helsvar. He decides to take this from the top.
"So, Torkel. My full name I don't use very often down here because these southerner's tongues lack the strength to speak our names. My full name is Niklasbōrrûkvitådnîkrombūrvastidnasvenstur. No need to go looking for it. A raid can be dangerous depending on the composition of the raiders, and if I make it back home re-alive I will take you on a raid or two before the jarl of your village puts you on your training path. A raid is...the intimate expression of Vikingness. It happens when a group of Vikings, usually 20 - 50, have a spontaneous idea for a great raid and go about preparing it. They build sleighs AND load them up with mead, seal intestines, seal intestines filled with mead, and a great many other good foods, and of course weapons and trumpets, and go careening across the land in search of a village with their sleigh train. Once they find a village, they crash the sleighs right in the center of the village and pour out like bees out of a happy drunk beehive to do whatever it was they had the idea for. Sometimes it's eating every third yak in 5 miles with only a twig, other times it's bedding every woman in the village - that's how I met your mother - sometimes it's killing everything in the village, though the ones who do that generally go to nonviking villages - or many other such merry activities. Our homeland has raids running through most of the villages every 6 months or so."
"You were so wonderful to me when we met, Niklas. I remember it like it was yesterday, really."
Torkel listens with clear wonderment, making the most of his bonding experience.
"Wow. So... what was your raiding sleigh like, dad? Was it fast? Did you have any trophies?"
While Niklas gets that bit of business in order, Scott is a bit busy on a different task. Namely, the acquisition of his damn gold! He petitions the Captain for aid!
"Captain, do you know where the Artiste keeps my money?"
"NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST! MONEY'S not really what I'M INTERESTED IN, TO BE HONEST! I PREFER to adventure for the THRILL OF IT!"
In Karina's home...
Darren, not one to refuse a lady, goes along with the request to sing more.
"Well, I'll try."
[Vocal performance roll: 1]
This time, he goes for a rather farcical little ditty that tells the story of Little Dickie Graham, meanest fellow to ever walk the streets of Fiverock. However, this proves to be a rather poor idea - Darren's voice, already kind of strained by the previous number, kind of gives out at the end of the first verse, which ends with a rather high note. He lapses into a coughing fit immediately, and he feels that he probably shouldn't sing more today. As soon as he begins to hack and cough, Karina moves closer to him rapidly.
"Oh dear, are you alright? I'm sorry I pushed you like that, it's just that... well... you seemed fine and... um..."
She looks a bit distraught now, at a loss on what to say, really.
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 05:07:59 pm
-Do you see any guards? Because the shopkeeper would be easy to take down if we need to.
Post by: Xantalos on July 22, 2013, 05:18:58 pm
So what about you? Have you done much in your village since you were born?
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 22, 2013, 06:11:33 pm
"No worries, I'm fine. It's just been a busy few hours."
Test voice.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 22, 2013, 06:25:50 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 22, 2013, 08:22:25 pm
Once completed, the desk will carefully move outside of the kitchen into the wood working room to serve the toymaker. "Good Sir Toymaker, the tea is done, I apologize for the wait however, here you are good sir." The desk will offer the man the glass of tea. "If it would be alright, may I fill a flask of mine with the tea, you can keep the rest if you desire good sir."
Post by: Tomcost on July 22, 2013, 08:42:20 pm
-What are you doing? Just act normally, please. By the way, maybe I can introduce yourself as a surgeon, and may ask you to practice medicine to a guard or to the bookeeper in case we need to kill someone discretly. Well, I hope that you can be discreet, at least.
Sigmund then enters on his own to the bookshop.
((EDIT: this is my last post today. If possible, don't waste the opportunity we have to strike when they less expect it. This will end in a bloody carnage anyway, but we have to make sure that we have the upper hand from the beginning.))
Post by: miauw62 on July 23, 2013, 03:15:09 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 23, 2013, 04:10:04 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 23, 2013, 04:18:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 23, 2013, 05:14:18 am
Sigmund leans in toward his fellows.
"Do you see any guards? Because the shopkeeper would be easy to take down if we need to."
However, he receives no intelligible response from them. Instead, Mark just shoos him inside the building, which Sigmund rather resents.
"What are you doing? Just act normally, please. By the way, maybe I can introduce you as a surgeon, and may ask you to practice medicine to a guard or to the bookkeeper in case we need to kill someone discreetly. Well, I hope that you can be discreet, at least," he says. He then realizes that he was going inside the store anyway and does so, followed by Kevin while Mark guards the door menacingly.
The store seems to be full of people today. Some seem to be taking advantage of some stupendous deals on romance novels, some seem to be marveling at the six-armed guard standing guard over the door. The shopkeeper is barely visible in the throng of people frequenting the store.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas keeps on explaining things to Torkel.
"They were drawn by an assortment of walrus, foxes, rabbits, moose, wolves, bear, and seals, so they were relatively fast. And in fact I did have some trophies: one for cooking for an entire village in less than an hour, one for cooking an entire village in less than an hour, and one for interbreeding moose and sheep over a period of a year and cooking the resulting shmeep."
"So what about you? Have you done much in your village since you were born?"
Torkel seems to blush a little.
"Well, I've been... um... working with herbs. Gathering them, mostly, though I sometimes give some to animals and such."
"Torkel!"
"I gave the jarl's dog explosive diarrhea once. Lasted for two days, in fact!"
Torkel seems rather proud of this accomplishment, little herbalist that he is.
In the meantime, back in the cargo hold, Scott tries to piece together where his moneybox might be.
Hm. There's probably a secret compartment of some kind where he keeps it! After all, it is a lot of money. It's probably in the crew quarters!
However, a quick search of those reveals nothing immediately apparent. Hm. Perhaps he hid it in the captain's quarters? The Captain doesn't seem to go there much anymore.
In Karina's home...
Darren insists that he's alright, completely fine, in fact.
"No worries, I'm fine. It's just been a busy few hours," he says in a quiet manner, coughing a little at the end. It appears that he's lost his voice a little bit, though it's nothing to be worried about, should clear up soon.
"Still, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was so difficult for you," she says, then hugs Darren apologetically. Darren finds the sensation pleasing, if almost alien to him by now. "You sure you're fine?"
In a toymaker's kitchen...
Morton, realizing he's done it again, celebrates his magic touch for a moment. Then he looks for someplace to pour the tea into. Unfortunately, he can't seem to find a glass, only a rather exquisite wooden pitcher. No coasters either. There are a couple of wooden bowls around, though.
Hm. What now?
Post by: Xantalos on July 23, 2013, 06:01:20 am
At first Niklas had been rather apprehensive - at least privately - about this sudden revelation that he'd fathered a child, but the kid was actually kinda neat! Maybe this father thing wasn't so bad after all.
And Helsvar ... mmm mmm MMM. He definetwly remembered how and why little Torkel had come about, though he'd forgotten with his death.
So Helsvar ... *ahem* ... how have you been faring after my ... departure? he asked, remembering the rather sudden circumstances that had led to his departure.
It was the deepest night of winter when they appeared smack dab in the middle of the Jarl's hall. Ninjas, a full clan of them. Despite their habitual hibernation, the Vikings were easily roused and leapt to their feet with a roar, ready to forcefully examine the intruders' colons. But before any hostile reaction could be taken, one of their number, a ninja with a ludicrously long, skinny mustache protruding from his mask, undoubtedly the leader, stepped forward - with a wok in hand.
It was clear what they were here for.
A cooking challenge.
Over the next day, the Vikings erected the traditional cooking stage, laughing to each other about the easy way in which they would best the ninja. The challengers were participating in none of the usual prebattle banter, brawls, or strength contests that were traditional - instead they conferred silently in their impractical tent made entirely out of bamboo. But the tension could not last forever, and the battle was begun. The two teams would choose a person to represent them in the challenge and the combatants would then have 1 hour to cook a truly divine dish to be presented to the judge of all such competitions - the Chairman.
The battle was begun, and immediately the Vikings knew something was amiss. The chef chosen for their side, Svenstrūbærnomkrìtômbuúrvaßßtigerrånkrom, Niklas' father, was not acting as he usually did. He seemed pale, weak - unable to concentrate on the cooking. But interference in the competition world not be brooked by the Chairman, so all they could do was watch. When the hour was up, the two chefs presented their dishes before the Chairman - the ninja's a something rice something fried pig hoof something vegetable, and Sven's a headless dolphin carcass stuffed with rotten cabbage heads.
Ultimately, the ninja had prevailed, though the Vikings had found evidence that they had drugged Sven to further their own chances of winning.
Their cuisine reigned supreme.
They were the champions of Kitchen Stadium.
Their leader, a ninja by the name of (unpronounceable ninja name), was bestowed the title of 'Ferrous Chef'.
Sven was heartbroken. To be defeated by such a pitiful foe, even drugged? Even the consolatory slaughter of most of the ninjas did nothing to assuage his broken pride; so he wandered off into the wilderness, never to be seen again.* Niklas, meanwhile, vowed revenge, and immediately left the village to do the same to the ninjas as the ninjas had done to him - he would travel around the world, challenge them to a duel of cookery, and win! And then he was killed by (unpronounceable). He could remember the bite of the fork in his vertebrae like it was still happening.
Now that he was dead, what could he do? Why was he not in Valhalla? Had he not proved himself worthy?
What would he do now?
He snapped back to the present. No need to dwell on things that had already happened; he had no time travel yet. Had his 5 1/2 time fling responded to his inquiry?
BACKSTORY DUMP.
*just pointing that out. Wink wink.
Post by: miauw62 on July 23, 2013, 06:33:32 am
"I don't think a simple peformance will distract them enough to nick an entire shelf. What the fuck do you wanna do?", Kevin whispered to Sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on July 23, 2013, 08:40:27 am
-I have a bag full of presumably dangerous mushrooms. If I let them fall, and someone gets poisoned, it will cause enough rattle to let us grab as much as we want. We can also use Mark's abilities as a doctor to distract the guard and the shopkeeper. Do you like the idea?
Post by: miauw62 on July 23, 2013, 08:46:48 am
Kevin starts a hilarious performance like only he can, and exits the store afterwards.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 23, 2013, 09:06:17 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 23, 2013, 09:38:30 am
-Don't worry, these mushrooms have already launched them. And the spores won't affect you, anyway.
Sigmund feigns being shoved by Kevin's perfomance and drops his mushroom bag, spilling all of them in the floor, preferably near the guard.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 23, 2013, 11:30:37 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 23, 2013, 02:30:26 pm
((Niklas named the cat after his father?))((Nope. Sven was merely Sven. His father was Sven(blurblurblur).))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 23, 2013, 04:18:42 pm
Niklas expresses support for his son's admirable hobby.
"Very interesting! Have you tried combining two or more plants into one mixture to increase the effect? This sounds promising; when I'm not a chair anymore maybe we can combine our talents. That would be fun, I think."
Torkel beams at Niklas.
"No, not yet, but I will now. I hope you can help me soon, dad."
Aw. With that, Niklas turns his attention to Helsvar once again.
"So, Helsvar... *ahem*... how have you been faring after my... departure?"
The question brings up a lot more memories than one would be strictly comfortable with in one go, and almost the entire currently relevant part of Niklas' rather sordid past flashes before his eyes. Snapping out moments later, he catches Helsvar in the middle of her tale.
"-so, aside from Torkel keeping me company, I have been mostly alone these years. My son has kept the attentions of other men away, as very few want to intrude upon our family life. Not that I mind, really. You were always the only one for me. But life is life, essentially. I am given plenty by it, and I live as I can," she says, sitting down on Niklas and running her hand softly and affectionately over his upholstery.
Niklas senses Kruub approach from the distance, and the old man is next to him in a scarce few moments.
"Niklas. Are you ready?" he asks, sounding incredibly serious for a moment.
Elsewhere, though not too far away, Scott busies himself with a search of the captain's quarters, freshly renovated and optimized for ghostly habitation. Though he messes with the furniture and such, he can't find a thing relating to his money! Maybe it's in the walls, he thinks. The Artiste would never think that Scott might look there, certainly!
At Brenwicke's Books...
Kevin and Sigmund figure that they should have a plan of some kind.
"I don't think a simple performance will distract them enough to nick an entire shelf. What the fuck do you wanna do?"
Clearly, a true brain trust of legend has gathered here.
"I have a bag full of presumably dangerous mushrooms. If I let them fall, and someone gets poisoned, it will cause enough rattle to let us grab as much as we want. We can also use Mark's abilities as a doctor to distract the guard and the shopkeeper. Do you like the idea?"
"Alright then. I'll do a performance and you drop that bag. I don't want to inhale the spores tough, so I'm out after the performance."
"Don't worry, these mushrooms have already launched them. And the spores won't affect you, anyway."
With that, Kevin begins his show, the greatest show on the planet!
[Kevin goofing off roll: 5+1]
Stricken with amazing inspiration, Kevin stands in the middle of the store, raising his arms and clapping to attract attention. Once that is successfully done, he quickly unfurls the screen on his back, then goes into an in-depth deconstruction of surreal humor as he spouts nonsensical streams of words relating to rather impossible situations. As he does so, the screen flashes with misleading images, surprising the crowd quite a bit. His humor veers into blue territory occasionally, but it gets laughs out of the sheer awkwardness of it in any case. He gesticulates wildly, his speech growing more and more feverish even as Sigmund tries to feign carelessness by bumping into the guy.
[Sigmund sneaky maneuver roll: 1]
Sigmund stands next to the jester, then, when the fellow accidentally taps him on the shoulder, lets go of the bag. It gently falls about twenty centimeters toward the floor, causing absolutely no volcano of mushrooms. He does, however, get buried ankle-deep in the things. He feels a very pronounced sensation of pain and weakness in said ankles.
[Sigmund balance roll: 1]
This catches him completely off-guard, and he falls face-forward into the sea of deadly fungi. The feeling is not pleasant, and Sigmund can't help but yelp as he feels the front of his body start to go numb. Fortunately for him, he is not unaided in his plight, as soon several pairs of arms lift him up. The next thing Sigmund sees is the six-armed guard, who examines the fellow, then puts him down on his feet.
[Sigmund balance roll: 5]
This time, Sigmund manages to stand rather nicely, prepared for the weakness in his ankle area.
Outside the store, Mark, possibly sensing something amiss, clutches his halberd and surgeon's bag uncertainly.
Post by: Xantalos on July 23, 2013, 04:42:58 pm
[This is it. Do or die.]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 23, 2013, 05:07:05 pm
He wheezes out in a strained voice, before smiling wryly.
"Unless coughing some more would get me another hug."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 23, 2013, 05:08:05 pm
He will go out on deck to try and see if his master is near the ship
Post by: Xanmyral on July 23, 2013, 05:45:20 pm
The desk finally decides, after a bit of deliberation, to finally just set the pitcher and flask on himself without anything to protect his surface from it. Oh the travesty of the act, but it is for a good cause, he's sure he can forgive himself for such a transgression some day.
Post by: Tomcost on July 23, 2013, 08:29:17 pm
Sigmund thanked the guard and standed against a wall and examined his ankle
((Sorry for not posting anything else, but I have to know how bad is this before continuing with the plan))
Post by: miauw62 on July 24, 2013, 02:18:53 am
After this, he hurries out of the store, dragging Sigmund with him.
"Cmon, Sigmund. I don't think you want to be in a store infested with death mushrooms.", he whispers to him.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 24, 2013, 04:39:47 am
Niklas affirms his desire to go down this path that he has apparently chosen.
"I am prepared."
"Actually, you are not. But this is a natural delusion, really. What we will do now is prepare you. Making your dreams come true is but a matter of focusing oneself, which you cannot do properly, at least not yet. But fear not, it is entirely within your ability to master, as it is within mine. The first thing you need is to cleanse your mind somehow. I leave the method up to you."
Well, that's a bit less dramatic than Niklas hoped.
In the captain's quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott examines the walls, finding them to be made of some kind of black, shiny material resembling something... woven, really. Point is, it's a bit too weird to mess with presently, so he just goes out on deck and looks around.
The Artiste is nowhere in sight, either on the pier, on the deck or at the harbor. Oh dear.
In Karina's home...
Darren keeps on trying to assuage Karina's concerns.
"I'm fine, don't worry, I've had much worse," he wheezes out in a strained voice, before smiling wryly. "Unless coughing some more would get me another hug."
Karina smiles, then hugs Darren again, though this time a bit more tightly.
In a toymaker's kitchen...
Morton quickly fills the wooden pitcher with tea, then fills a flask with tea from that. Then, after a brief round of mental sparring between the incompatible ideas of common decency and practicality, he sets both the pitcher and flask down on himself, grimly anticipating lasting marks on his immaculate surface. However, in these dark times, it is indeed a sacrifice he must make, distasteful as it may be.
Now the final part awaits - the presentation of his handiwork.
In Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, after thanking the mute many-armed man for his trouble, leans up against the wall and examines his ankles for a moment. They seem rather blackened. He doubts he'll ever be able to walk normally again. Oh, woe. He is about to reflect on his ineptitude when Kevin walks up to him after saying his piece to the confused crowd.
"C'mon, Sigmund. I don't think you want to be in a store infested with death mushrooms," he says in a whisper, then drags the guy out of the store before he manages to hurt himself even worse, finding Mark to still be at his voluntary post.
Post by: Xantalos on July 24, 2013, 04:41:41 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 24, 2013, 04:52:37 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 24, 2013, 06:22:29 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 07:55:55 am
-The most important part is geting the books. So, if you have to buy them, just do so.
He then turned to Kevin:
-I think that I need to see Erin now, so take me there if I'm not much of a bother.
Sigmund gets helped by Kevin and goes to see Erin, handwalking if necessary.
Post by: miauw62 on July 24, 2013, 08:03:54 am
"Alright then, back to the ship we go."
Kevin brings Sigmund back to the ship.
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 08:52:03 am
Post by: Gamerlord on July 24, 2013, 10:36:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 24, 2013, 10:45:08 am
((Heya guys, whatcha doin- WHAT. DON'T TELL ME SOME OF YOU STILL AREN'T ON A BOAT.))
Such is the state of affairs, although they do seem to be just about ready to leave.
I'd rather let them have their fun, as things may get lethal soon enough.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 24, 2013, 10:58:20 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 10:59:55 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 24, 2013, 12:59:28 pm
((Heya guys, whatcha doin- WHAT. DON'T TELL ME SOME OF YOU STILL AREN'T ON A BOAT.))((I'm in the process of a ritual to gain temporary control over reality with my thoughts.
It may kill me.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 01:01:34 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 24, 2013, 01:02:52 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 24, 2013, 03:39:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 24, 2013, 04:30:12 pm
I should also find that crown...
For a split second, he thinks about moving, but then decides to just remain with her. The gods weren't known for being vengeful or anything like that.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 24, 2013, 04:33:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 24, 2013, 05:33:34 pm
Before trying anything extravagant, Niklas asks one more question.
"By cleanse my mind do you mean purge it of all but one thing or of everything?"
"I'm not sure myself. Try one, and if that doesn't work, try the other."
How encouraging.
Scott, meanwhile, seeks out the captain, finding him engrossed in conversation with Humongous Hugh.
"And CERTAINLY, I SWEAR to the GODS, it WAS ALMOST LIKE TIME STOPPED AT THAT VERY MOMENT! IT-"
"Give me your booze, Captain! I know you have some! Do your magic and avail me of all your alcohol!"
"-hm? MY booze? You WANT MY BOOZE? MY PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS BOOZE? Well, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT! I LIVED by the BOOZE, I DIED by the BOOZE, and YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET UNLIFE that I WON'T BE LETTING GO OF IT NOW! Besides, it's PROBABLY GONE SEVEN KINDS OF BAD PRESENTLY!"
Outside Brenwicke's Books...
Mark is about to help poor old Sigmund with his locomotion issues, but Kevin rebukes him!
"Not so fast. Since we both seem to live now, you're probably the only guy that'll be able to go in there and fetch the books we need. You should probably wait a while for the mushrooms to murder everyone inside, though. I'll bring Sigmund to the ship if he wants, but you have to stay here."
Mark shrugs. Man, Kevin remembers a time when he just shrugged. Now he just talks and talks. It's enough to make one feel nostalgic. As he remembers the good old days, Sigmund hands Mark a gold coin.
"The most important part is getting the books. So, if you have to buy them, just do so," he instructs the tree-headed surgeon. He then addresses his faithful wingman Kevin once more.
"I think that I need to see Erin now, so take me there if I'm not much of a bother."
"Alright then, back to the ship we go," Kevin replies, snapped out of his state, beginning to drag the infirm Sigmund back to the ship. As his fellows disappear from sight, Mark decides to brave the bookstore. He heads inside.
Hm, there's a six-armed man examining his fingers, of which two look rather blackened. In addition, there seems to be a bunch of mushrooms on the ground. People seem to be keeping clear of them. How wonderful. Mark looks for the books he wants in the store, paying no mind to the happenings. He's seen weirder things.
Fortunately, the Sea of Death shelf is rather easy to find. Mark takes all the books and stacks them together. There's about thirteen books of varied thickness here. Plenty for any book lover to cut their teeth on, he'd say.
In the meantime, Sigmund and Kevin reach the ship, whereupon they seek out Erin. After much searching, they wind up in the cargo hold, where the Captain appears to be saying something about booze to Scott. There's also an unfamiliar and uncomfortably large person standing around here.
In a toymaker's kitchen...
Morton, quite ready with his tea despite the grim sacrifices he was forced to make, goes ahead and returns to the toymaker.
"Good Sir Toymaker, the tea is ready. It is grand that I get to practice my craft again, the thought that I would never again get the chance was a dreadful thought, I must thank you again. I hope you find the tea satisfactory, I admit it was a new experience making tea for the first time as a desk, one I didn't expect to rather have in my second chance."
The toymaker nods, taking the flask from Morton's hands and smelling it.
"Smells good."
He takes a sip.
"Tastes even better. Good job, Mr. Morton. Good job indeed."
The toymaker drinks the tea rather quickly, refilling it from the pitcher immediately.
"Certainly worth more than common money, this tea," he adds.
At Karina's home...
Darren is at a crossroads. For one, he is being hugged by a woman that seems to like him rather well. On the other hand, he does have a divine quest. After a moment's deliberation, he decides in favor of spending more time here. After all, not like gods are known for being a spiteful bunch of near-omnipotent and near-omniscient beings that are ambivalent and fickle at best and downright malicious at worst.
"I should get hurt around beautiful women more often," he says, and Karina only giggles as a response. A few moments pass in silence before Karina asks yet another question.
"What did you do before... well... before you died the first time? You weren't a musician, were you?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 24, 2013, 05:37:54 pm
Meditate on cooking until the desired state is reached.
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 05:43:36 pm
-I don't know what is that man doing here, but I don't like it. Fortunately, he should be no match for the captain. Let's keep looking for Erin.
Look for Erin in every damned place in the ship
Post by: killerhellhound on July 24, 2013, 05:59:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 24, 2013, 06:45:24 pm
Its nice to rest one's heels without the others. Now that isn't to say he doesn't like them, he considers himself friends with most of them, if not almost all of them, but its always having to go this way or that way or do this or do that or go plan or mediate... He misses the days when he could just have his thoughts in the Yaleson manner while busying himself with some cleaning. But he's being rude, rumbling off in his thoughts like this when he has company. "If you don't mind, may I know your name? You've helped me a lot but I'm afraid I don't know it. I apologize if you might of said it before however, if you did I don't believe I caught it."
Post by: Tomcost on July 24, 2013, 08:58:02 pm
Upon meetin Erin, Sigmund told to her:
-Oh! there you are! I had some problems, which unfortunately ended in my ankles being rendered pretty useless. If it doesn't mean much of a chore for you, would you mind fixing them? And, if possible, and to make me bother you less often, making them more resistant.
If she agrees, Sigmund will take off his boots and show his ankles to Erin, prepared to suffer the transformation process.
))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 24, 2013, 11:43:02 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 25, 2013, 02:14:26 am
...where are the artistes quarters?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 25, 2013, 09:34:55 am
Niklas, realizing that he must begin to bravely experiment on his own, meditates.
[Meditation roll: 2]
He isn't sure how one clears their mind, to be honest. When somebody says that they want to clear their mind, it seems pretty easy. But to actually achieve a near-empty state of mind, or even singleminded focus, that is altogether difficult.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund expresses his sincere concern about the proliferation of strange people on this fine boat to Kevin. Quietly, of course.
"I don't know what is that man doing here, but I don't like it. Fortunately, he should be no match for the captain. Let's keep looking for Erin."
He then tries to find Erin, finding that he can actually walk in the process. It's just that his ankles are rather stiff, so it's altogether like walking on two wooden peg-legs. In any case, he doesn't need Kevin all that much to walk, so he shambles away on his own.
Erin proves easy enough to find - she appears to be relaxing in the den with a book of some kind. The Artiste and Tailor Craig appear to have vacated the place in the meantime. He walks up to Erin.
"Oh! There you are! I had some problems, which unfortunately ended in my ankles being rendered pretty useless. If it doesn't mean much of a chore for you, would you mind fixing them? And, if possible, and to make me bother you less often, making them more resistant."
Erin turns away from her book and looks at Sigmund.
"Ya sure ya want that? Didn't ya get that makeover thing that the tailor guy talked about? I don't think it's safe to practice transmutation on ya, given how I'm not even sure what yer made of anymore or how yer flesh is organized."
Dammit, that applies to him as well? That's terrible!
Back in the cargo hold, Scott returns to his previous plan.
"Damn it... where are the Artiste's quarters?"
"The CREW SECTION, I'd say! WHERE ELSE?"
Hm. Scott's pretty sure he's been there once already. He was hoping for some kind of secret demon cave with limitless treasures and such.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Mark takes the stack of books and places them in front of good ol' Brenwicke, hoping to get a good deal. The bookseller appraises the set of books.
"Hm... you have a very expensive taste in literature, sir. That whole stack will be 18 gold and 3 coppers."
Well, shit. That's 17 gold less than Mark's got.
In the toymaker's home...
Morton graciously accepts the compliments directed at him.
"I thank you indeed, good Sir Toymaker. I like to think of myself as a kind of follower of tea, I've found that it does well for many situations. It's something that I've prided myself on, one of the few things that I do. I've always found it soothing to either drink or make, and I enjoy the joy it gives to others, so it contents me quite a bit."
"You could say that tea is your trade, then. It's what you see yourself doing for the rest of your life, come what may. You may do other things on the side, but the tea is what's truly important, yes?"
Morton thinks on this for a moment. Is he a tea-master who happens to be a butler (and a desk at that) or is he a desk-butler that is also a tea-master? He supposes it's a quandary to consider in the future.
"If you don't mind, may I know your name? You've helped me a lot but I'm afraid I don't know it. I apologize if you might of said it before, however, if you did I don't believe I caught it."
"Oh, my name? My name is Stuart Allen. I did neglect to introduce myself, didn't I? Dreadfully sorry, was a bit caught up in the moment."
In Karina's home...
Passing up the opportunity to lie in a most amazing fashion, Darren decides to truthfully describe his pre-death occupation.
"A stage magician. Used cards and the like. You know, right?"
Karina breaks up the hug momentarily to look at Darren with disbelief mixed with childlike excitement.
"A stage magician? Ooh, can you show me any tricks? Please? I've never seen an actual stage magician perform. We only had engineering shows here, all giant metal machines and fire, magical discharges and dreadful noises, never liked them myself. Do you have any cards with you or something?"
Interestingly enough, he does. He rose from the dead in his magician's outfit, after all. He doesn't recall if his last night alive he went to bed with it, and what it would imply if he did, but he at least has a deck of cards, a collapsible hat and a whole bunch of colorful kerchiefs among his possessions.
Post by: Tomcost on July 25, 2013, 09:48:56 am
Sigmund took off his boots and showed his ankles to Erin:
-I don't really know if my flesh has been changed, actually. I asked the Aspect that I wanted to be a fairly normal person, so I don't think that he changed me much. Anyway, you should judge by yourself.
Post by: Xantalos on July 25, 2013, 11:53:07 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 25, 2013, 02:07:41 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 25, 2013, 03:49:49 pm
"This doesn't seem to bother me though, just something that happens. In my first life, nothing really exciting happened, and while that was all good and fine, compared to my second... It was rather boring. I realized I never got to meet new people, see the sights, or just, well, live. I've shared tea with people I'd never dreamed that I would of back then, talked and became friends with some who I'd normally of avoided, yet now I see there wasn't much of a reason. I've found that I've done more of note in the comparatively short time I've been alive again than in all of my previous life, and it makes me wonder." Morton explained verbosely, then realized that he spoke quite a bit, apologized. "Er... Please excuse my speech there, good toymaker Stuart, I've not really had time to compile my thoughts on all that has happened until now really, I didn't mean to perhaps bore you with that."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 25, 2013, 04:34:58 pm
Sigmund, not one to give up on ideas of dubious prudence, tries to persuade Erin to help him, taking off his flamboyant boots.
"I don't really know if my flesh has been changed, actually. I asked the Aspect that I wanted to be a fairly normal person, so I don't think that he changed me much. Anyway, you should judge by yourself."
Erin takes a look at Sigmund's ankles.
"Well, it's difficult to rightly say just from a look. I'm still not sure if I should try this."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas falls back to that old viking standby, the recipe for alcohol-filled seal intestines! It's saved him before, and it can clearly do so again!
[Focusing roll: 2]
Well, yeah, you pick up some seal intestines, preferably fresh if possible, tie one end up, pour alcohol into the other end. Tie the other end up, and voila, you've got the perfect thing to either smack someone with during a party or sink your teeth into when you're feeling tired and lonely.
Honestly, it is beautiful in its simplicity. And also rather elementary, to be honest. It's hard for Niklas to devote any real thought to the recipe, as it is one of the pillars of his people's cuisine. It's such a basic thing, always at the back of his mind. He thinks about it for a moment, but realizes there's not really a whole lot of cerebral involvement when he recites the thing.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott decides to go back to the crew quarters and search them, but better this time!
However, before he can search the Artiste's quarters, he finds the man himself escorting that tailor guy through the hallway! Ha-hah! He won't escape now!
In Stuart Allen's house...
Morton keeps chatting up Stuart while the latter goes through his second flask of tea.
"I completely understand, I was as well with the idea that I might obtain arms once again. It is a pleasure to meet you formally, good Toymaker Stuart."
"Likewise, Mr. Morton."
Morton pauses for a moment, reaching a conclusion about his general nature.
"I think I see what you meant earlier. While I may be a butler now, I might not in the future, although I'd still make tea. I'm not really sure what the future holds though, I used to think that I could give a good guess and it would more or less stay on that path, but... being turned into a desk sort of corrects that idea. I don't really know what might happen in even the next hour, for all I know I may no longer be a desk, or I may still, or even something else," he explains, shrugging.
"This doesn't seem to bother me though, just something that happens. In my first life, nothing really exciting happened, and while that was all good and fine, compared to my second... it was rather boring. I realized I never got to meet new people, see the sights, or just, well, live. I've shared tea with people I'd never dreamed that I would've back then, talked and became friends with some who I'd normally've avoided, yet now I see there wasn't much of a reason. I've found that I've done more of note in the comparatively short time I've been alive again than in all of my previous life, and it makes me wonder," he continues until realizing that he's launched into a soliloquy by accident.
"Er... please excuse my speech there, good toymaker Stuart, I've not really had time to compile my thoughts on all that has happened until now really, I didn't mean to perhaps bore you with that."
Stuart finishes his second flask and seems to consider another refill.
"Oh, it's no problem. I am curious, though - what do you mean by 'first life'? It is a peculiar distinction you make."
He then opts to refill his flask, supposing one more helping of good tea wouldn't hurt.
Post by: Tomcost on July 25, 2013, 04:58:53 pm
-Well, if you don't want to make a mistake, I understand it. Anyway, if you decide to help me and fail, I won't blame you, as you have reasons. I won't tell about it to anybody. I just came to you because I know that you are perfectly capable of accomplishing this, just look at how you transformed the whole ship! The other option was Mark, and I don't want to end up as a freak again, or at least not if I have another choice first. If you are willing to help me, don't hesitate to take your time and all that stuff. And remember, I won't blame you if my legs suddenly dissapear.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 25, 2013, 05:57:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 25, 2013, 06:46:06 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 25, 2013, 06:49:04 pm
Prep for some tricks in another room. Perhaps a coin trick, a card trick, and the kerchiefs.
Post by: Xantalos on July 25, 2013, 07:04:45 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 25, 2013, 07:58:24 pm
The desk was quiet for a bit, in thought, before commenting "you know, I never really considered how weird everything is in my second chance. Never really had time to think about it till now."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 26, 2013, 12:46:49 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2013, 02:07:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2013, 06:09:20 am
Sigmund, willing to take a gamble on this process, tries to persuade Erin that it's really okay if she screws up and destroys his body in the process.
"Well, if you don't want to make a mistake, I understand it. Anyway, if you decide to help me and fail, I won't blame you, as you have reasons. I won't tell about it to anybody. I just came to you because I know that you are perfectly capable of accomplishing this, just look at how you transformed the whole ship! The other option was Mark, and I don't want to end up as a freak again, or at least not if I have another choice first. If you are willing to help me, don't hesitate to take your time and all that stuff. And remember, I won't blame you if my legs suddenly disappear."
"Hm... well, if ya really want this, then okay."
Erin stands up and carefully looks Sigmund over, then pokes him a few times.
"Yeah, ya definitely aren't ordinary flesh anymore. Guess I'll have to make do."
[Erin magic roll: 4-1+1]
She kneels down and begins to carefully chant and gesture at Sigmund's feet. Sigmund feels his strange flesh change into a material he is more familiar with - rubber! This feels a little better than one might expect, actually. And he can partially move the things now, too. Overall, a win for him!
In Brenwicke's Books...
Mark decides to do what he does best, aside from corpse mutilation - quick exits! He throws his coin in the bookseller's face!
[Mark vs. Bookseller: 5 vs. 6]
The bookseller immediately catches it, his reflexes honed with countless years of operating a popular store in the trade district. Mark, hoping the distraction has proved sufficient, grabs the books and tries to run.
[Mark escape roll: 4+1]
[Six-Armed Guard pursuit roll: 1]
[Brenwicke reaction roll: 3]
He is out of the store before either the bookseller or the guard can react properly, and the six-armed guard is left in the dust as Brenwicke scales the counter, swearing expressively as he follows in the distance.
[Mark escape roll: 4+1]
[Brenwicke pursuit roll: 2]
The bookseller can't keep up with Mark, not at all, as Mark sprints away from the scene of the crime, veering off into an alley. Some time later, he finds himself out of immediate jeopardy! Yay! Crime really does pay, Mark concludes.
In Karina's home...
Darren tries to downplay his relatively meager ability at stage magic.
"Oh, don't expect too much. I doubt I'll be anything impressive if you got tired of those engineering shows. I'll need some time to set up though. Prime the magical ley lines, and what not. No peeking."
"Naturally."
Darren heads back into the hallway to Karina's home, getting ready for his performance. He readies a coin trick, a kerchief trick and a card trick with his available supplies, though he's unsure if he can pull these off as nicely as before. It's been quite a while since he last attempted this kind of thing, after all.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, failed by alcohol-filled seal intestines for perhaps the first time in his life, decides to focus on the long-lost love of his life - his cleaver.
[Focus roll: 3]
This works a bit better than the previous effort, though in his nostalgia Niklas' thoughts still wander. There's the rest of his tools, his kitchen knife set, his wonderful knife suitcase... oh, so many things lost to time and tide, it's almost enough to drive a chair to tears. But most of all, his cleaver. His trusty cleaver, how could he have lost it?
In Stuart Allen's home...
Morton attempts to explain the circumstances of his death and resurrection.
"Oh, well, you see, a while ago I died, so I mean it quite literally. I... can't quite recall exactly when I died, I'm not that sure, really. That whole bit is a little foggy for me, honestly. I know that I died, and that I came back due to a necromancer. The necromancer's a bed sheet now, though, sadly, he was a nice fellow really, although I think we're trying to turn him back," he tells the toymaker, going quiet for a second as he actually stops to process the entirety of his experiences so far.
"You know, I never really considered how weird everything is in my second chance. Never really had time to think about it till now."
"You do lead an interesting life now. Weirdness is but a natural consequence of that," Stuart points out, taking a long sip of tea. "Best to just accept it."
In the crew quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott asks the Artiste if he feels like giving him any money.
"Sir, any chance I can have the money box back to get supplies for the party?"
"No, not really. You most certainly can't have the entire box back. You can get money, though. Reasonable amounts, naturally. No more than a gold coin, maybe two. What supplies are you talking about?"
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin, feeling like he has no place to be currently, expresses his desire to default to basic mulling behavior.
"I guess there's no reason for me to be here anymore, so I'll just go stand on the deck or something."
The Captain turns to him, momentarily stopping his conversation with the large guy.
"Who ARE you? ANOTHER GUEST?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 26, 2013, 06:17:03 am
If that fails, try my helmet.
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2013, 06:37:52 am
"Oh. I'm Kevin. You know, jester skeleton guy. I jumped in the portal thing that turned Mort into a desk."
Post by: Xantalos on July 26, 2013, 06:38:48 am
((Seriously, what's the deal with Erin and rubber.))((That brought up the worst thoughts in my face.))
"Oh. I'm Kevin. You know, jester skeleton guy. I jumped in the portal thing that turned Mort into a desk."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 26, 2013, 10:42:48 am
((I'm going to end up the only one capable of getting things done/ living through the monsters since you all abandoned your archetype advantages and now can die due to blood loss and pesky things like getting beheaded. oh well at least I will have plenty of oppertunity for
!!MEDICINE!!))
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2013, 11:25:59 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 26, 2013, 12:33:18 pm
((I doubt that desks can die of blood loss or being beheaded.))In this story do you want to rule out anything
Post by: Xanmyral on July 26, 2013, 04:23:32 pm
"Yes, you are correct. Nothing wrong with it though, one never has a dull moment." The desk agrees. "If you don't mind though, I believe I should probably get to heading towards the others. It was nice getting to know you good Toymaker Stuart, and I thank you again for the arms and the chat, and you can keep the rest of the tea as well as the flask if you like." Morton offers the toymaker. "Its been a pleasure, but I don't want to keep my friends waiting too long, never know what kind of situations they might wind up in." With the goodbyes, Morton will head back to the ship.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 26, 2013, 04:53:35 pm
"Prepare to be amazed."
Amaze.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2013, 08:01:51 pm
Niklas tries to achieve mental unity with his cleaver, to become the cleaver!
[Meditation roll: 6]
This he knows how to do. You just think about chopping. You chop things. Cleave them. Chop away the unneeded things, separate all. The things in the way, you chop them. Chop them right up. Chop them away, slice them to bits until you can use them once more. Chop, chop, chop. Keep on chopping, never stop. Don't ever stop. Keep at it. Chop it into even bits, then chop the bits into even smaller bits, get them just right. Then chop the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing.
Oh my, he's becoming quite agitated. Fortunately, he doesn't quite get to the point of questioning the entire point of becoming an inanimate object and just focuses on the chopping.
"Yeah, I think it was actually blanking your mind that you're supposed to do. I forget these things so easily."
Chop, chop? Chop chop chop! Chop.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin makes an introduction. Again. He gets the feeling that he'll have to do this at least two more times today.
"Oh. I'm Kevin. You know, jester skeleton guy. I jumped in the portal thing that turned Mort into a desk."
"Oh, SKELETON GUY! MY, how you've CHANGED! And who's this MORT FELLOW? Is he THAT NICE BUTLER MAN?"
It's a neverending parade of exposition here, isn't it?
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark, seeing how there's not much more to it, decides to head back to the ship.
However, he is approached by a man wearing mail who looks pretty jovial and personable, and a tad on the middle-aged side.
"Hello, good sir. Those books look awfully heavy. May I help?"
That's an awfully kind offer, Mark thinks.
In Stuart Allen's home...
Morton keeps the conversation going just a little longer.
"Yes, you are correct. Nothing wrong with it though, one never has a dull moment. If you don't mind, though, I believe I should probably get to heading towards the others. It was nice getting to know you, good Toymaker Stuart, and I thank you again for the arms and the chat, and you can keep the rest of the tea as well as the flask if you like."
"That's very kind of you, Mr. Morton," Stuart says, taking the pitcher off Morton's surface and setting it down on a nearby end table. Morton would cringe if he knew of an effective way to do it in this shape.
"It's been a pleasure, but I don't want to keep my friends waiting too long, never know what kind of situations they might wind up in."
"That's reasonable. Farewell, Mr. Morton. I hope the world treats you well, as it was certainly a pleasure to work with you."
Morton, now liberated of tea and his flask, heads out of the house and back to the ship. He finds the deck to be suspiciously barren aside from a very comfy-looking chair. Huh. Guess he hasn't missed anything much.
Outside Karina's home...
Darren, supposing he's ready, goes back into Karina's room and sets up expectations accordingly as he moves mysteriously and magically onto what will be his stage today.
"Prepare to be amazed."
[Magic act roll: 5]
First off, he does a coin trick, doing this thing he learned way back in school - he takes two coins and shows them to Karina, who nods accordingly. He then wraps the coins in one of his kerchiefs and claps his hand over it, then shakes the thing expressively, demonstrating that the coins are not there anymore! The magician waves the kerchief dismissively, finally blowing his nose in it. He looks into the kerchief with expertly feigned wonder, showing Karina that there are now three coins in the kerchief. She looks a bit impressed by this.
Next up is a card trick. Darren takes out his deck of cards, asking her to pick one - standard fare so far. Karina picks a card, which Darren reshuffles into the deck, which he then hands to Karina to shuffle herself. When she's done, he asks her to take a look at the bottom card - it doesn't match the one she picked. He asks her to check her pocket - the card in there doesn't match either. He asks her to look under the collar of her blouse - that one doesn't seem to be the one either. Well, what about the one behind her ear? That the one? No? Hm. How about the flaming one on the ceiling? Yeah, that's the one, isn't it? Thought so.
Extinguishing the card and reshuffling the deck, Darren does his final trick. He takes out a white kerchief and ties it around his head like a blindfold, then takes out the others, which between them represent most primary, secondary and other colors, each in its own color. He takes a blue one and a yellow one, mashing them together in his hands, producing a green handkerchief and handing it to his spectator. Then he takes a brown one, pressing it between his palms, then releasing them to produce a green and a red one, handing the second green one to Karina as well. He then takes the two green kerchiefs, plus another green one he already had, and presses them together with a black one, seemingly creating a dark green kerchief out of thin air. And finally, he takes the dark green kerchief along with the red one and presses both in his cupped hands. When he pulls his hands apart, one blue, one yellow, one brown, one green and one black kerchief are revealed. At this point, Darren puts them all away and removes the blindfold. He then takes a bow.
Karina applauds enthusiastically at the show, looking fairly entertained.
"You're a pretty good magician. Well, I think. You're the only one I've seen. Was that actual magic? You know, the kind where you have a focus and whatnot?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 26, 2013, 08:18:14 pm
Niklas, having heard the old man's voice to an extent, chops out everything else obstructing his clarity of mind - first the word chop, then the feel of chop, then the sound, etc, etc, and he finally chops the concept of chopping out of his mind.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 26, 2013, 09:03:06 pm
((I am now a chair with the mind of a cleaver. Perfect.))(1) you chop your soul out of your mind
Niklas, having heard the old man's voice to an extent, chops out everything else obstructing his clarity of mind - first the word chop, then the feel of chop, then the sound, etc, etc, and he finally chops the concept of chopping out of his mind.
Mark shakes his tree and continues to the boat not wanting to trust someone he just met
Post by: Xantalos on July 26, 2013, 09:03:41 pm
((I don't know magic yet.)$((I am now a chair with the mind of a cleaver. Perfect.))(1) you chop your soul out of your mind
Niklas, having heard the old man's voice to an extent, chops out everything else obstructing his clarity of mind - first the word chop, then the feel of chop, then the sound, etc, etc, and he finally chops the concept of chopping out of his mind.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 26, 2013, 09:27:20 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 27, 2013, 12:55:03 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 27, 2013, 01:57:43 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 27, 2013, 06:09:16 am
He halts a moment, his stage smile dropping for a second while he thinks of what to say.
"Why don't you decide? It could be either, could it not?"
Once again, his smile goes up, hoping that she goes for it.
Post by: Tomcost on July 27, 2013, 08:49:45 am
Sigmund thanked Erin:
-I just can't express how gratreful I am now! Thank you, Erin, thank you very much!- He then noticed that he had unfolded his arms, in an instinctive movement to hugh her, out of his happines, so he just folded them again and adopted a calmer tone, it was not his style- I hope that this experience has been good for your understanding of the different materials. Some time later I will talk about this with you, but I think that my partners may need me.
Sigmund goes to the deck and looks if Mark has arrived
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 27, 2013, 09:52:06 am
Niklas, in a choppety-chopping state of mind, performs a daring thought experiment. Can he chop his blade off? Chop away the thought of chopping? Chop off everything?
[Chopping roll: 3]
Wait, wait, wait. Wait. Wait. If he chops out chopping, then how can he chop more? This would be counterproductive to say the least. It would be a betrayal of the essence of all things cleaver.
Also, he's pretty sure a cleaver can't reach itself, being a tool and all. That's also a problem.
Meanwhile, Morton examines the chair, judging it to be a rather wonderful piece. So cruel to just leave it out on the deck, he thinks. There's so many awful things that could happen to it. So he resolves to do a good thing and carry the thing downstairs to the den, where it could hopefully do more good.
[Morton strength roll: 3+1]
It's pretty heavy, but Morton can lift it with difficulty. He carries it downstairs, eventually reaching the den, where he sets the thing down near Sigmund, who looks rather overcome with uncharacteristic emotion.
"I just can't express how grateful I am now! Thank you, Erin, thank you very much!"
He looks just about ready to hug the mage, but seems to restrain himself.
"I hope that this experience has been good for your understanding of the different materials. Some time later I will talk about this with you, but I think that my partners may need me," he says, passing Morton right by and returning to the deck, only to find a distinct lack of any of his buddies there. Erin shrugs and turns to Morton.
"So, anything interesting happen to ya out there?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark tries to politely refuse the request by shaking his tree.
"Ah, no, sir, I insist."
Mark notices nine other people in mail approaching him from a great many directions. They look pretty helpful as well.
"I simply cannot leave a fine fellow in distress. It is not my nature. My mother raised me better, you know," he says, outstretching his arms in a harmless manner.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin keeps on explaining things to the Captain. Fortunately, Morton's fate is easy to explain.
"Yeah. I think he's a desk now, though."
"A DESK? That's HIGHLY UNUSUAL! How DID such a THING HAPPEN?"
Kevin is about to say more, but the Captain continues.
"PROBABLY magic. VERY UNFORTUNATE magic. OR PERHAPS NOT. I've NEVER BEEN A DESK, though I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE of being a FOOTSTOOL. Have I TOLD YOU THIS STORY?"
"I haven't heard that one. Mind elaborating?"
"Well, I CERTAINLY HAVEN'T TOLD YOU, HUGH! But STILL, WOULDN'T WANT TO BORE my FORMERLY SKELETAL FRIEND, eh?"
Hm, to listen or not to listen to furniture-related tales? Such a dilemma.
In the crew quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott chooses to go with a simple demand.
"Enough booze to drown an entire party of undead."
"I don't think undead can get drunk, Scott. Or drown, for that matter. Isn't that right, Craig?"
"Not something I have personal experience with, sir. They don't seem to breathe, so I guess they shouldn't be able to drown."
"I don't think they should be able to, either. And getting drunk doesn't sound sensible, either."
Damn it, Scott wishes he could get what he wants just once without being incessantly questioned and badgered.
At Karina's home...
Darren tries to figure out the best answer for the situation.
"Ah, about that..."
Moments later, he has it. A magician's answer, one that fosters mystery.
"Why don't you decide? It could be either, could it not?"
Karina looks at him doubtfully, then sighs.
"Oh, you're one of those illusion mages, right? Never mind, then. I was just wondering."
She seems a bit disappointed, not to mention at a bit of a loss on what to say.
Post by: Tomcost on July 27, 2013, 10:37:18 am
Dissapointed by his lack of partners in the deck, SIgmund goes to where Kevin left him
Post by: Innsmothe on July 27, 2013, 11:11:31 am
"...It would be good for moral? Alot of crazy shit has happened recently."
Post by: miauw62 on July 27, 2013, 02:51:10 pm
((We should have a poll for favorite NPC. The captain is my favorite, certainly.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 27, 2013, 03:40:28 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 27, 2013, 03:55:40 pm
"Yes, quite indeed good Mage Erin. I lost my livery somehow, went to another dimension of colors, talked to a figment, got turned into a desk, made a friend, saw nightmares, then got arms and made another friend. It was a good day." Morton said with sincerity as he moved his arms around with joy that he has them again. "It's a wonder how losing one's arms makes you care for them so. One never truly knows loss unless they lose it, I suppose. I hope your day fared as well as mine had."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 27, 2013, 05:52:21 pm
Sigmund, rather disappointed at the sad lack of his skeletal friend or any books arriving, heads back down to the cargo hold, finding that Kevin has moved very little in the period of time since they parted ways. Seems to be talking to the Captain.
"It happened through demonology shenanigans. The guy that did it was called Craig or something. Mort and Sigmund seemed to like him a lot, so they could've brought him here, I guess. I'm interested in hearing that Stool story, though."
The Captain looks pretty happy about Kevin's enthusiasm. Guess it's story time again.
"Well, LIKE I SAID, I was a FOOTSTOOL once. It was a HUMBLING, YET ALSO VERY REWARDING EXPERIENCE. I SUPPOSE I shall start where all but THE MOST CONFUSING STORIES START - RIGHT at the BEGINNING! This was VERY EARLY IN MY YOUTH, you UNDERSTAND. I was but a YOUTH OF NINE YEARS - OLD ENOUGH to do ODD JOBS, but NOT REALLY A PROPER WORKER YET, not for at least TWO MORE YEARS! My family, GODS ALMIGHTY BLESS THEM FOREVER, were RATHER POOR. Perpetually in CRUSHING, SOUL-WRINGING, KNEE-SHATTERING, BONE-CHEWING DEBT, life was STRESSFUL TO SAY THE LEAST. NEGATIVE CASH FLOW does that to you, as does DEBTORS' PRISON. So I, CUTE LITTLE YOUNGLING THAT I WAS, decided to TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN PLUMP LITTLE HANDS. I went to the LOCAL MAGISTRATE, a REALLY, REALLY RICH PERSON as far as I knew, and decided to ASK FOR A JOB! I had had QUITE ENOUGH of TERRIBLE WORK for MINISCULE PAY. So, come NIGHTFALL, I snuck RIGHT INTO HIS HOME, tiny and crafty tyke that YOU HAD BETTER BELIEVE I WAS. Fortunately, the MAGISTRATE was STILL UP. I went up to him and went "I NEED WORK! AND MONEY! PREFERABLY JUST THE SECOND, BUT WORK WILL DO AS WELL!" And what HE said to ME was that, YOU SEE, I could OSTENSIBLY WORK AS A PAGE! Not for HIM, of course. HE ALREADY HAD ONE!"
The Captain shrugs, then shakes his head.
"I KNEW RIGHT THERE AND THEN that there was ONLY ONE POSSIBLE COURSE OF ACTION FOR ME. So I did the REASONABLE THING and FOUND THE CURRENT PAGE OF THE MAGISTRATE. I then PERSUADED HIM to LEAVE HIS POST, and the town, for that matter, WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE via the HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONAL TECHNIQUE OF BEATING HIM INTENSELY WITH A GREAT MANY STICKS followed by THREATS OF FURTHER UNPROVOKED VIOLENCE SHOULD MY DEMANDS NOT BE MET. Then I, HAVING WISELY STOLEN MONEY FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED PAGE BEFOREHAND, bought myself a NICE LITTLE SUIT and went to OFFER MY SERVICES after a few days to the MAGISTRATE! HE WAS GLAD TO TAKE MY OFFER, as the previous kid had DISAPPEARED SOMEWHERE and was PRESUMED TO BE DEAD. TO HIM, at least. HE WAS NOT THE FORGIVING TYPE. And THUS MY CAREER AS A PAGE BEGAN!"
He seems to nostalgically drift down memory lane for a moment before resuming his tale.
"IT WAS A LIFE I HAD ONLY DREAMED OF BEFOREHAND! While ACTUAL RICHES still eluded me, I was IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THEM NOW. Sadly, I was a RATHER UNCOUTH LOUT back then, and had ALL THE MAKINGS OF A VIOLENT CRIMINAL. I WASN'T VERY GOOD at taking or giving messages (EXTREMELY BARBARIC ONES EXCLUDED), I was FAIRLY AWFUL AT TALKING TO GUESTS, but at least the SERVANTS LIKED ME FINE. PROBABLY because I, UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS SCHMUCK, didn't TATTLE ON THEM when they STOLE STUFF. It was a WONDERFUL ARRANGEMENT that netted me SOME OCCASIONAL LOOT AS WELL. It was ALL GOOD, because the MAGISTRATE WAS A BIT OF A SPENDTHRIFT, and a VERY NEGLECTFUL COLLECTOR OF STUFF. Since I got along SO WELL with the OTHER STAFF, the MAGISTRATE decided to KEEP ME ON as a page, but on ONE CONDITION - I was NOT ALLOWED to speak with GUESTS ANY LONGER. Instead, I WOULD BE HIS CONVERSATION PIECE. I was to SAY NOTHING, and act as his LOYAL, UNMOVING FOOTSTOOL whenever GUESTS HAPPENED TO COME ALONG. Otherwise I would CLEAN THE PLACE UP."
The Captain laughs ethereally at his own story.
"I spent ALL OF MY LATE CHILDHOOD and MOST OF MY EARLY ADOLESCENCE as the MAGISTRATE'S FOOTSTOOL, and if I HADN'T, I DARE SAY I WOULDN'T HAVE BECOME A CAPTAIN! Not only did I SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE COMPANY OF NOBLES, albeit entirely silently, I LEARNED GREAT PATIENCE, GOOD MANNERS and HOW TO SPEAK PROPERLY in my PECULIAR ARRANGEMENT. GOOD MONEY, TOO - both in the SERVING and the LOOTING ON THE SIDE. I grew from a LITTLE PIPSQUEAK SCOUNDREL into an EDUCATED, CULTURED and MANNERLY THUG, and as such, my EMPLOYER, THE MAGISTRATE, thought there was BUT ONE OPTION for such a boy - SERVICE IN THE NAVY! I SUSPECT that there MAY have been OTHER MOTIVES beyond a PATERNAL INTEREST IN MY DEVELOPMENT, such as a PARTICULARLY FLAGRANT THEFT OF CERTAIN ITEMS FROM HIS COLLECTION that I OSTENSIBLY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT, and thus I was SHIPPED OFF, quite LITERALLY, in fact. And then MY NAUTICAL ADVENTURES BEGAN."
The ghost pauses in recollection, then continues.
"So YES, being FURNITURE MAY IN FACT BE GOOD FOR YOU, even if your UPBRINGING AND IDEALS MAY INDICATE THE OPPOSITE. That's CERTAINLY a GOOD LESSON TO LEARN, YES?"
In the crew quarters of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott tries to justify his need for booze in some manner, grasping at any reasons for the purpose!
"... It would be good for morale? A lot of crazy shit has happened recently."
"Hm. Well, seems reasonable enough."
He reaches into a fold of his robes, producing a gold coin.
"Here you go. Should be enough for a bit of booze, yes?"
"Not a lot, though."
"A lot is a little too much, I'd say. Don't want my dear mages too drunk, really. Or consuming stuff that's too high-quality. We've been living a bit too comfortably, I find."
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton chooses to answer Erin's question rather thoroughly.
"Yes, quite indeed, good Mage Erin. I lost my livery somehow, went to another dimension of colors, talked to a figment, got turned into a desk, made a friend, saw nightmares, then got arms and made another friend. It was a good day."
"Sounds like it. It's always a good day if ya've made friends, I guess."
"It's a wonder how losing one's arms makes you care for them so. One never truly knows loss unless they lose it, I suppose. I hope your day fared as well as mine had."
"Well, not really. First I got woken up by that chef guy, he was all screaming and whatnot - I don't exactly know what happened - at that point in the morning, everything's usually a blur to me, but I kinda screwed up, I think. Next time I saw that chef guy, he was a head attached to a fish - not sure if I did that, but he wasn't pleased. That chef guy was all revenge and so on, really seemed to have a chip on his shoulder or something, and the Artiste had had enough, so he told me to turn the chef guy into a chair, and I did."
She pauses to sadly look at the chair Morton brought in.
"In fact, that's him right there, I think. I kinda feel bad for the guy. After all, whether I remember what exactly happened at that hour, I am responsible for his... state."
Erin shrugs, frowning pronouncedly.
Post by: Tomcost on July 27, 2013, 07:05:04 pm
-I don't know if I have been introduced to you, I'm Sigmund GrimDrake, and went through the same process than Kevin and Morton. I just wanted you to know who am I currently, as I have changed since the last time you saw me.
He then turned to the bulky man there:
-Excuse me, but I think that we haven't met before, so, would you mind explaining who are you what is your business in this vessel? We usually don't get guests here.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 27, 2013, 08:28:02 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on July 27, 2013, 10:36:02 pm
The desk spoke again with a happier tone, trying to cheer the mage up hopefully. "I have experience with being furniture after all, it isn't so bad I can rightly say." Morton went back to the more appropriately serious tone however. "I will say, good Mage Erin, that your concern about the situation does tell me good things about you, I can promise I place you in a favorable category." The desk harkens back to their first proper conversation. "Perhaps I can help mediate though? Do you think that if we could convince Master Artiste that Niklas has calmed down, he could be changed back? I know Niklas, we've worked together for a while, perhaps I can help reconciliation for the accident, things happen after all yes? I wouldn't consider myself the best brewer if I had just woken up. Does he even know that we're here?" The desk turned to the chair, gently tapping it. "Niklas, can you hear us?"
Post by: Innsmothe on July 28, 2013, 02:26:57 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 28, 2013, 02:29:17 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 28, 2013, 03:01:57 am
He says, a bit reluctantly.
"I'll tell you, if you really want to know. Typically, I'm not supposed to, but for you, I can make an exception."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 28, 2013, 05:02:14 am
Sigmund realizes that he hasn't introduced himself yet. And that simply won't do, will it?
"I don't know if I have been introduced to you, I'm Sigmund GrimDrake, and went through the same process than Kevin and Morton. I just wanted you to know who am I currently, as I have changed since the last time you saw me."
"Don't really REMEMBER YOU THAT WELL, though that might just be MY MEMORY PLAYING TRICKS ON ME! PLEASED to meet you. AGAIN. PRESUMABLY. I'm the CAPTAIN. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER ME."
He seems about to extend his hand, but he probably suddenly remembers he's intangible, pulling his hand back and looking at the large man at the same time as Sigmund addresses him.
"Excuse me, but I think that we haven't met before, so, would you mind explaining who are you, what is your business in this vessel? We usually don't get guests here."
The large man looks humbled by the fact that somebody finally publicly acknowledged his presence in the room.
"Who, me? I'm Humongous Hugh Haliburton, I doubt you've heard of me. I live in the docks, and I'm here because a fellow came up to me and asked me whether I could do some hauling."
Suddenly, Scott appears in the doorway, coming up to the large man.
"You. Come with me. Booze awaits."
"Oh, there he is. I have to go now. Pleased to meet you all."
Humongous Hugh follows Scott out of the ship, leaving Kevin, Sigmund and the Captain alone. They stand there for a moment until Kevin speaks.
"Nice story! I think I'll go find Mort now, he hasn't seen me after the change yet. Do you know where he is, Sigmund?"
Sigmund considers the question. Where could the desk be? Where can any man or piece of furniture be said to truly be?
Scott, meanwhile, takes Humongous Hugh to the Feisty Jelly, where they approach the barkeep.
"Two barrels of pure, distilled hangover, please," he says, handing two gold coins to the man.
"Two barrels of the Special, then - they're out back," he says, pointing out the back door. "I'm assuming I don't need to be showwin' you the way? Just out the door, really."
Hugh nods, then heads out. Moments later, he is back, two barrels held in his arms.
"These aren't very heavy, I notice."
"Well, the Special's a bit lighter than water - nothing I can be doin' about that."
Ah, the Special. Manna from the heavens, to be sure.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark realizes one thing about this situation - he is most certainly in deep shit. Therefore, only one course of action makes sense - he must cheese it most verily!
[Mark escape roll vs. Guard encirclement: 2+1 vs. 1]
He backpedals, tumbling right into a guard, yet miraculously keeping a hold on his books! The guards, not expecting him to run so quickly, fail to move in for the capture, allowing Mark to begin running!
[Mark escape roll: 3+1]
[Guards pursuit rolls: 1, 3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2+1]
Fortunately, his ducking and weaving allows him to lose at least four guards almost immediately as he runs down a perilous alley!
[Mark escape roll: 3+1]
[Guards pursuit rolls: 3, 1, 5, 5, 2, 2+1]
He then manages to lose another one by diving over a convenient fence, and only two guards still manage to gain on him!
[Mark escape roll: 3+1]
[Guards pursuit rolls: 2, 6, 5, 4, 4+1]
He nearly gets away, too, but of the four guards still pursuing, two of them reach Mark, performing valiant tackles!
[Tackle: Guard 6 vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 5+1+1]
[Tackle: Guard 7 vs. Mark: 3+1 vs. 1+2]
Though the first one flies past Mark, the second one manages to get him, grabbing onto his skeleton and trying to take him down!
[Opposed Strength: Guard 7 vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 6]
Mark just kicks him away, though, resuming his run!
[Mark escape roll: 5+1]
[Guard pursuit rolls: 3, 3, 4, 6+1]
The tackling guards fall behind, leaving only one two more following him!
[Guard Sergeant vs. Mark: 4 vs. 4+1]
As he runs, Mark observes some kind of weird thing sail past him, two balls connected by a string. How odd.
[Mark escape roll: 1+1]
[Guard pursuit rolls: 5, 5+1]
He is so distracted, in fact, that he runs right into a wall, allowing the two remaining guards to catch up to him rather easily!
[Grapple: Guard Sergeant vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 3+1]
Mark is then seized by the rather heavily breathing helpful man, who puts his metallic arms in a rather inconvenient hold.
"You run fast, my friend. Manacle him, MacDermott," he says to the other guard, who also seems to be rather out of breath by now.
[MacDermott manacling roll: 5]
Public Peace Officer MacDermott secures Mark's right arm to his left leg and his left arm to his right leg, then manacling the left and right legs together, quietly grumbling throughout the process. The manacles, surprisingly enough, are sufficiently small to restrain him rather nicely.
"You see, MacDermott? It always pays to bring the juvenile delinquent manacles with you, heavy though they may be. Now, be a dear and get those books back to our friend, will you? Remind him that he had better make good on that money, though. This was exhausting."
MacDermott nods, picking up the books carefully and leaving. The sergeant sighs, turning to Mark.
"Well, my friend, we had best take you to the jail, eh? Amateur shoplifter though you may be, this was quite the outrageous crime, I hear."
He starts to poke Mark into a certain direction, leading him out of the alley they are currently in.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is somewhat distraught at the news.
"Oh... Oh dear."
A moment of silence follows.
"I had wondered why the chair was left alone on the deck. I had seen Chef Niklas when he was a fish and wondered at his predicament, he spoke something about an event that took his body and weapons away, although he sounded more concerned about the weapons. Try not to feel too bad, good Mage Erin, one cannot go against the orders of their bound master, you had little choice in the matter of turning him into a chair, I've learned that bound to Master Gary. It seems I was right in that it was an accident, however, and while I feel sad for Niklas in his current state, I recall he wasn't very lucid previously."
"Well, yeah, but I kinda drove 'im to the point where he flipped out, ya know? I think, at least. Not sure what happened."
Well, but it's not like being furniture is all that terrible. It can be good for a man, really.
"I have experience with being furniture after all, it isn't so bad, I can rightly say," Morton notes cheerily.
"It's kinda... different for ya. Y'can see, hear, move semi-normally - he can't. He's in that chair, trapped almost completely."
"I will say, good Mage Erin, that your concern about the situation does tell me good things about you, I can promise I place you in a favorable category."
"Well, good intentions hardly count, do they, if ya screw everything up? Thanks, though. Validation's always good."
"Perhaps I can help mediate, though? Do you think that if we could convince Master Artiste that Niklas has calmed down, he could be changed back? I know Niklas, we've worked together for a while, perhaps I can help reconciliation for the accident, things happen after all, yes? I wouldn't consider myself the best brewer if I had just woken up. Does he even know that we're here?"
He taps the chair for a moment.
"Niklas, can you hear us?"
The chair doesn't move in any way.
"I dunno what's happening to the poor schmuck in there. I've never been an object before. Like, an actual object. I don't think he can tell we're here. Well, by sound, anyway."
In Karina's home...
Darren hates to disappoint someone, really.
"Well," he says, experiencing a pang of reluctance as he gets perilously close to revealing important information, "I'll tell you, if you really want to know. Typically, I'm not supposed to, but for you, I can make an exception."
Karina shrugs.
"Sure, I guess. Do you use a spellbook or something? Like a spell-notepad of some kind? Or is it one of those crystals that allow you to bend light or something? Or are you a mentalist? Putting images straight into my mind and whatnot?"
Post by: miauw62 on July 28, 2013, 05:06:35 am
Kevin searches for Morton.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 28, 2013, 07:33:35 am
(I'm just glad I didn't try to fight them still ten guards for shoplifting is really excessive.)
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 28, 2013, 10:23:57 am
Mark trips the first guard with a foot to the knee (Metal will brake it hopefully) then do the same to the other grab a book in each hand and run back to the boat.
(I'm just glad I didn't try to fight them still ten guards for shoplifting is really excessive.)
1) Your legs are manacled together, and your arms are manacled to them.
2) The books are gone, carried off by Officer MacDermott.
3) Officer MacDermott has left, leaving you alone with the sergeant.
4) The fact that your legs are manacled together with your arms rather impedes your ability to run or perform acrobatic feats.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 28, 2013, 10:34:59 am
I hadn't noticed that my legs were Manacled together as wellMark trips the first guard with a foot to the knee (Metal will brake it hopefully) then do the same to the other grab a book in each hand and run back to the boat.
(I'm just glad I didn't try to fight them still ten guards for shoplifting is really excessive.)
1) Your legs are manacled together, and your arms are manacled to them.
2) The books are gone, carried off by Officer MacDermott.
3) Officer MacDermott has left, leaving you alone with the sergeant.
4) The fact that your legs are manacled together with your arms rather impedes your ability to run or perform acrobatic feats.
New plan leap on the sergeant (my arms arent manacled to each other so I should be able to grab his arms) and Head Butt my tree through his skull.
Post by: Tomcost on July 28, 2013, 10:50:11 am
Sigmund replied to Kevin:
-I know that he has arrived to the ship, but I don't know where could he be now. Anyway, I want to ask him how is he doing wih his new arms.
Sigmund follows Kevin
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2013, 11:27:10 am
[Don't worry Killer, if worse comes to worse we'll try to break you out man.]
Post by: Tomcost on July 28, 2013, 11:29:52 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 28, 2013, 12:44:21 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 28, 2013, 12:53:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2013, 02:09:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 28, 2013, 03:36:55 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 28, 2013, 04:24:52 pm
He leans towards her conspiratorially, as if the walls had ears, and they wanted his secret.
"The fact of the matter is, other than the standard ghost set, no magic at all. Back when I was a human, no magic, just training. That was just sleight of hand and mind tricks. I'm not a magician, just quite good at deceiving the mind. If I had real magic, I wouldn't be dead, trust me."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 28, 2013, 05:49:04 pm
Kevin, not having time in his busy schedule to wait for Sigmund to answer him, decides to take action!
"Well, I guess I'll go find him myself, then."
Sigmund, however, has a flash of inspiration! He stops Kevin in his tracks, dramatically pausing to let the moment set in, and tells the fellow what he knows.
"I know that he has arrived to the ship, but I don't know where could he be now. Anyway, I want to ask him how is he doing with his new arms."
Dazzled at Sigmund's spectacular helpfulness, Kevin leaves wordlessly, trailed by the rubber-footed, purple-skinned vampire weirdo. Together they look throughout the crew quarters and the deck, but find no sign of their buddy. Hm. Kevin supposes that just leaves the den and kitchen - doubtful that the guy would be in the captain's quarters.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
In a desperate attempt to get out of immediate incarceration, Mark, despite his restrained state, tries to escape in the best possible way - by murdering an officer of the law! He tries to leap on the man!
[Leap: Mark vs. Guard Sergeant: 3+1-2 vs. 1]
He tries to leap at the sergeant, but only manages to awkwardly roll in front of the guy! Still, the guy seems a bit off-balance!
[Guard Sergeant balance roll: 5]
He catches himself, though, stepping over Mark unsteadily.
"What are you doing, my friend? I almost tripped over you there. I know it must be depressing to be caught like this, but you shouldn't just let yourself go like that."
Mark supposes it's probably good that that didn't work - he doesn't actually know how he would headbutt the guy, as he just realized that he doesn't actually have a neck anymore, and, once again, he is a bit too busy with the manacles to get a good swing going with the rest of his spine.
"Now, you going to come along or do I have to get out the drunk hook?"
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton keeps the positive outlook up - after all, a positive outlook keeps one's soul in its place and one's mind in one piece.
"Good intentions at least means that your heart's in the right place, good Mage Erin. Accidents happen, they are just a natural causality of living, the truly important is recognizing when something wrong has happened, and then setting out trying to fix it. To fail is to live, to try again and again when met with failure is to show determination. The past has already happened, I'm afraid, there is little that I know of that can change that which has already been, one must look to the future and the now as to what can happen. As they say, of course though."
"It's still kinda depressing to screw someone over, though. Particularly when people kinda depend on ya. I just feel like I started something here, ya know? Two people, things will never be the same between them again because of what I did. I mean, when bad stuff happens to ya, it's okay, go ahead, try again. Well, unless yer dead, then yer really past the point of caring. It's not the fact I failed, y'see, I fail all the time. Most of what I've learned's from failing. It's guilt in this case, essentially. And it's kinda difficult for a third party to alleviate guilt. I do appreciate ya tryin', though."
Hm. There might be an idea there.
"Is there any way to converse with Chef Niklas in his current state?" Morton asks, nudging the chair. It seems to rustle uneasily.
"Doubtful, unless ya know how to understand squeaks, and can do sign language by touch alone. If the guy even knows sign language or something like it. He sure doesn't have ears to hear ya with, or eyes to see ya with. Speakin' of, I probably should ask the boss if I can turn him into something else, like a squirrel or something. Or at least give him eyes and ears. I mean, damn, this is just inhumane."
Outside the Feisty Jelly...
Scott takes a short, yet unbelievably jaunty and merry trip back to the ship with Humongous Hugh, who sets the barrels handily down on the deck.
"You can take care of things from here, right?"
He seems to be expecting something from Scott at the moment.
At Karina's home...
Darren tries to dispel the idea that he might actually have any magic. Discreetly, naturally.
"Oh, I wish."
He leans towards Karina, hoping that his secrets reach no eager ears of filthy sayers of nays.
"The fact of the matter is, other than the standard ghost set, no magic at all. Back when I was a human, no magic, just training. That was just sleight of hand and mind tricks. I'm not a magician, just quite good at deceiving the mind. If I had real magic, I wouldn't be dead, trust me."
Karina nods, then looks at Darren thoughtfully for a moment.
"You see, that last bit is where I think you're wrong. If you did actually have magic, you'd probably get yourself killed faster than most. Being a mage is pretty hazardous, you know. I'm kind of glad you aren't one, to be honest. It's not as mysterious and suchlike, but it's also way less dangerous. Never get mixed up with mages, my mother always told me. Said they were dangerous. Don't I know it now," she tells him, a wizened look in her eyes.
Post by: Tomcost on July 28, 2013, 05:55:15 pm
-Erin was at the Den, and knowing Morton, he must be talking with her. He is quite talkative to be a butler, in fact.
Go to the Den
Post by: killerhellhound on July 28, 2013, 06:22:14 pm
I also watch the landscape so I get back later.
Post by: Xantalos on July 28, 2013, 07:44:20 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2013, 09:46:56 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 29, 2013, 12:04:16 am
"Well... Yeah."
He suddenly leans forward, as if he noticing something.
"What do you mean know it now? You met a magician before?"
Post by: miauw62 on July 29, 2013, 01:22:06 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 29, 2013, 02:09:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 29, 2013, 07:55:02 am
Sigmund takes a moment to voice this suspicion he has to Kevin.
"Erin was at the den, and knowing Morton, he must be talking with her. He is quite talkative to be a butler, in fact."
"Alright then," the jester answers, and they both head down to the den, where they confirm that both Erin and Morton are indeed still there. How wonderful. Morton seems to be talking to her.
"I'd be willing to help perhaps talk Master Artiste into allowing Chef Niklas at least those, for what the help would be worth. Perhaps we can reason with him, yes? I agree that the punishment is harsh, if we allow Master Artiste to regain his composure from the decision, then he may be allowing for revision."
"Well, if ya back me up, I'll go and ask him. Shall we?"
They look to be plotting something. Something related to their favorite chef, it seems.
Speaking of our favorite chef, Niklas keeps on trying to work with the meditative state he is in. He shall drop his choppety-chopping tool, the noble cleaver, and revel in the nothingness!
[Meditation roll: 1]
Wait, how can he drop himself? He doesn't have any hands. Or a way to lose himself properly. After all, he kinda knows where he is at any given time. Sorta.
And what just poked him? Damn it, you shouldn't poke chairs without warning! Honestly, this meditation junk is getting infuriating. He knows he isn't a cleaver. He doesn't even know what being a cleaver might feel like, and all this roleplaying is driving him nuts here!
In Karina's home...
Darren frowns at the insinuation that he wouldn't be a supreme archmage if only he had been sent to the University of Magic in a timely fashion. Then he thinks about it for a moment and the pessimism that prevented him from being sent to study magery in the first place sets in.
"Well... yeah."
Something does occur to him. He leans toward Karina once more.
"What do you mean know it now? You met a magician before?"
Karina hesitates a little, but relents and begins to explain.
"Not a magician, a mage. I've known a few, though not very well. Well, aside from... this guy. My ex-fiance. He did life magic, and he was sorta good at it, but..."
She stops mid-sentence, a bit distressed by the subject.
"Listen, I'd really rather not talk about him. It was a bit of a traumatizing experience."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott decides to extend a veiled invitation to Humongous Hugh.
"Aye, you staying for the party? I did promise you a share of the booze."
"Dreadfully sorry, but I realize I really can't. I remembered I have an engagement this evening, and I prefer to do my work sober."
He thinks for a moment, then fetches a bottle from one of his oversized pockets.
"I will take a bottle of that Special, though. Helps in my line of work more than a pair of broken legs and repeated defenestration sometimes," he continues, opening the barrel of vile pseudo-beer and filling the bottle with the liquid. The air fills with the stench of the brew, and the smell of dead fish and salty air mix with the affront to human decency rather well.
"Anyhow, pleasure doing business, and pleasure meeting your fellows, but I really must go. See you!"
And with that, he leaves.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark, realizing his chances of escape are slim, submits and follows the sergeant to his lawful place of imprisonment, taking notes on the environment as he does. He eventually comes to a rather fortified stone building. He is led inside, completely disarmed and relieved of his possessions by helpful officers, and shooed into a cell which is immediately locked.
"Now, you just wait there while you are processed. Might take a while, so you may have some literature for your trouble," the sergeant explains from outside the cell. "Any requests? We have several cheap romance novels on hand."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 29, 2013, 07:59:35 am
Mark just follows the man to where every he gets taken??? mate did you mean to hide the action
I also watch the landscape so I get back later.
Post by: miauw62 on July 29, 2013, 08:16:30 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 29, 2013, 08:17:49 am
??? mate did you mean to hide the action
Naw. Just missed it accidentally. Fixed now.
Post by: Tomcost on July 29, 2013, 08:25:43 am
-Indeed, look who is back and totally renewed.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 29, 2013, 08:46:52 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 29, 2013, 11:34:06 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 29, 2013, 12:49:59 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 29, 2013, 12:52:47 pm
"I jumped in and some beige thingie talked to me and made me into this form. It tought I was a cat or something. After that I was dropped in a forest somewhere near Emlocke. I found a cabin with some herbalist guy that pointed me to the road, and then I ran here on good luck. That's pretty much it."
Post by: Xantalos on July 29, 2013, 01:04:37 pm
With that in mind, he just attempts to empty his mind.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 29, 2013, 01:11:48 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 29, 2013, 01:56:59 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 29, 2013, 02:10:24 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 29, 2013, 02:19:29 pm
Kevin heads to the cargo hold.
Post by: Tomcost on July 29, 2013, 03:29:00 pm
-I think I heard you mention that you wanted soften Niklas' punishment. To which extent should it be?
Post by: Xanmyral on July 29, 2013, 06:22:08 pm
[Xantalos: If your next attempt doesn't work, you should totally try by flyting yourself to enlightenment. It will either work or not, but I'm pretty sure it will be hilarious regardless the result.]
Post by: Xantalos on July 29, 2013, 06:26:04 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 29, 2013, 06:31:51 pm
-I see. I was just worried about him being able to murder something in his new form. When I told the Artiste about his intentions, I did it because I though that it would discourage Niklas' attitude, but it didn't work, and that's why he is a chair now. I agree that maybe this is too much, but I wouldn't transform him into something that lets him speak. His songs are rather disconcerting.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 29, 2013, 08:17:14 pm
((Viking rapping my way to enlightenment? Best idea ever.))siggy
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 29, 2013, 11:01:27 pm
"It's okay."
He waits a half a second, then goes back to talking.
"Anything you're curious about in my life?"
Post by: miauw62 on July 30, 2013, 02:07:01 am
Beat me to it.((Viking rapping my way to enlightenment? Best idea ever.))siggy
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 30, 2013, 05:54:51 am
Kevin and Sigmund decide to announce their presence to Morton.
"Hey Mort. It's me, Kevin."
"Indeed, look who is back and totally renewed."
Morton, not an impolite sort by a long shot, finishes up his conversation with Erin.
"Of course, good Mage Erin, I would support and aid your request with Master Artiste, he seems a reasonable person to me," he says, then turning to the two new arrivals, particularly Kevin.
"Ah, good Jester Kevin, you're back with us and okay! I was dreadfully worried when you didn't reappear from the realm, not sure what happened to you, but it seems it all worked out for the better yes? And you can speak, truly wonderful! I'd be interested in knowing what happened, as with everyone who went through you were the one who was gone the longest it seems."
He then recalls that there is a mission for humane treatment of unfortunate chefs he is about to undertake,
"Ah, but I'm dreadfully sorry, but that might have to wait until a touch later however. Good Mage Erin and I are about to try to appeal to Master Artiste to allow Niklas a more lenient punishment, a return of some of his senses."
"Don't worry, it's not a particularly long story. I jumped in and some beige thingy talked to me and made me into this form. It thought I was a cat or something. After that I was dropped in a forest somewhere near Emlocke. I found a cabin with some herbalist guy that pointed me to the road, and then I ran here on good luck. That's pretty much it."
That was indeed a short story, Morton guesses.
"All the way by Emlocke? Oh my, that was quite a ways. Curious that you were the only one to get moved that far however, good Tailor Craig might be interesting in hearing this as well, it might perhaps help him. Are you liking your new form, good Jester Kevin?"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Flamboyant enough for a jester, and certainly better than that... freak Treehead made me into. I wonder where he's hanging out. Either way, I'll go visit the Tailor guy, then. Do you know where he is?"
"I'm not quite sure, good Jester Kevin. I know he isn't on deck, nor in the den, so if I were to guess he might be in the crew's quarter, or perhaps talking with the good Sir Captain, maybe Master Artiste. Although that all assumes that he's still on deck, but good Tailor Craig did seem interested in joining our trip so I believe he's to be on the ship. I can't rightly say I'm afraid, dreadfully sorry."
"Well, I doubt he'll be in the kitchen and I've searched the deck and the crew quarters looking for you. I guess he's in the cargo hold. See you later, Mort!"
And with that, Kevin runs off to the cargo hold, where he finds the Captain whistling leisurely and levitating a barrel carefully. He immediately turns to Kevin.
"Ah, JESTER-MAN! How can I HELP YOU?"
Back in the den, Sigmund keeps on speaking to Morton after a brief distraction in the form of a violent squeak.
"I think I heard you mention that you wanted soften Niklas' punishment. To which extent should it be?"
"Well, we're hoping to at least restore some of his senses, such as sight and hearing, or perhaps get him changed into something else, I believe good Mage Erin suggested a squirrel. If we ever wish to have Chef Niklas back, him being in a form of sensation-less 'time out' isn't the way. Something that can perhaps drink tea, I bet a spot of some good tea, a chat, and everything will be right as rain as they say."
"I see. I was just worried about him being able to murder something in his new form. When I told the Artiste about his intentions, I did it because I though that it would discourage Niklas' attitude, but it didn't work, and that's why he is a chair now. I agree that maybe this is too much, but I wouldn't transform him into something that lets him speak. His songs are rather disconcerting."
At this point, Erin interjects.
"Right, yeah. We should probably be goin'. Gotta find the boss and all."
Meanwhile, unaware of any of this, Niklas tries to empty his mind after squeaking out his grievances.
[Meditation roll: 1]
Sadly, he is a bit too pissed off to try that currently. The whole thing sounds pretty stupid, really. How can he make his thoughts real if he doesn't have any? Seriously, now.
"It seems that you are doing poorly at this, Niklas. This is unfortunate. Perhaps we can try again some time later? Or can you calm down now?"
In a Shriekpot's jail...
Mark decides to ignore the offer of romance novels and inspect his cell for weaknesses. The sergeant looks at him as he does this.
Hm. Well, he supposes the wall might be a weakness, being made of stone while he is made of metal. It'll probably be pretty hard to get through it, not to mention rather noisy.
"So, do you want anything to read or not?"
At Karina's home...
Darren decides to drop the subject at Karina's behest.
"It's okay," he states, then waits uncertainly for half a second. "Anything you're curious about in my life?"
Karina thinks for a moment, trying to come up with something to ask.
"Well... um, how about your family? What were they like?"
This question is a tad unsettling for Darren, because he... doesn't quite remember. He feels he should, but... he doesn't, really. It feels a bit strange.
Post by: Xantalos on July 30, 2013, 06:08:36 am
Have minor existential crisis, attempt to empty mind again.
Post by: miauw62 on July 30, 2013, 06:22:28 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 30, 2013, 09:07:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 30, 2013, 09:08:54 am
-Well, I'll help you.
Sigmund gets in position to lift the chair and waits for someone to help him carry it
Post by: Innsmothe on July 30, 2013, 09:21:21 am
I'll make you relax, even if I have to kill you!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 30, 2013, 09:58:29 am
Force the next person on deck to taste my god damned hard earned booze.
I'll make you relax, even if I have to kill you!
Damn it, skipped you by accident. Why does this keep happening?
Well, let's just assume you got the barrels set up anyway. Quietly.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 30, 2013, 01:05:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 30, 2013, 01:35:57 pm
No hard feelings. I know how arduous it can be to get everything set up and worked out. :)
It's not arduous to get everything set up, it's just that most people are in the same place, so I inevitably skip over the one or two people that aren't and also aren't Spinal, who is far enough removed to easily remember and mark out.
Post by: Tomcost on July 30, 2013, 02:32:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 30, 2013, 04:40:43 pm
Niklas tries to get all his questions out of the way now, hopefully preventing them from cropping up ever again.
"But how can I escape and regain my dignity if I don't do this correctly?! You said I have to empty my mind. Do I have a mind? I'm a chair. Do chairs have minds? Don't want to be a chair. Pretend I'm a vase. Water in vase is mind. Pour out water makes mind empty. I'll do that. Yes."
"I'll be waiting, then! Hopefully we can get this done before nightfall, I have other tasks to attend to as well."
[Meditation roll: 3]
He pours out the water of his mind! This lets him calm down a little, though all the sediments of frivolous, foolish and fiery thought remain in place and continue to bother him with their dirtiness. Really, somebody should clean up around his mind a little, it's so cluttered with random emotions and such.
Sigmund, meanwhile, tries to help out Erin and Morton, and makes his intentions very plain.
"Well, I'll help you," he says, moving into position to lift up the comfy armchair that is Niklas and eagerly awaiting help.
"Whatcha doin'? We'll come back here, we're just going off to ask permission and whatnot."
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin asks the Captain for some info, as he seems fairly knowledgeable in general, particularly if you consider his general layabout behavior.
"Hey, Cap. I'm looking for the tailor guy. Do you know where he is?"
"TRY SOMEWHERE INTERESTING! Like the DEN! Or the CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS! At least, I THINK those are SENSIBLE AREAS for THEM TO BE IN!" the ghost proclaims in response.
In a jail cell in Shriekpot...
Mark expressively shakes his tree at the sergeant.
"Very well, then! I'll be down the hall - bang your fists against the door if you need anything, sir," he answers, heading down the cell block. Mark hears a door open, but not close. He also becomes keenly aware of the fact that he seems to be the only prisoner in this jail.
Hm. Maybe it's also in a state of disrepair? Mark looks over the wall, but finds no obvious cracks or loose blocks to exploit. The external wall looks solid, as do the other two walls.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, having set up a perfectly good station for dispensing the vilest pseudo-ale in Shriekpot in his time on deck, looks for somebody to avail of his booze-related gifts, whether they like it or not. Finding none on deck, he heads into the crew quarters, encountering Art. He approaches the man.
"What's going on, buddy? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Come with me right now, or this might get ugly," Scott explains.
"Well, if you put it that way, okay," the necromancer replies. "Is this going to be hazardous?"
"Perhaps. We shall see."
Scott, being mysterious as ever, brings Art over to one of the barrels of the Special.
"Drink this," he says to the man. However, Art makes the mistake of inhaling deeply while standing downwind of the barrel. He retches mildly, taking a few steps back.
"How about no?" Art asks. Scott, meanwhile, considers how best to force him to have some. Dunk him? Dupe him? Restrain him and pour some down his throat? All of these in some proportion?
Post by: Xantalos on July 30, 2013, 04:42:25 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 30, 2013, 05:10:43 pm
Sigmund quickly stood up and said:
-Oh, excuse me. So, we should go then. Any ideas about the whereabouts of our master?
Sigmund goes to wherever he is suggested to go to, or goes to the kitchen to look for the Artiste
Post by: Innsmothe on July 30, 2013, 05:37:00 pm
Scott will fill a glass and hand it to the 'stricken' necromancer.
((I just want to see what a magic user can do whilst drunk))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 30, 2013, 05:52:06 pm
"Indeed, no reason to do further work yes? I don't believe Chef Niklas will be going anywhere anytime soon in his current disposition. I'm ready if you are, good Mage Erin. I'm not sure where Master Artiste is however, I'd guess his room perhaps?" The desk suggested before turning, turning in this case being gesturing towards instead of physically pivoting, towards Sigmund. "I do thank you for your offered help, good Sir Sigmund, with the three of us I believe Master Artiste will surely listen to reason."
Morton is ready to follow Erin to wherever Master Artiste is, if she knows.
[^ The answer is horrible things man should not know. That way lies Owlbears.]
Post by: Tomcost on July 30, 2013, 05:54:23 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 30, 2013, 06:57:28 pm
"Ah, yeah... There's an issue with that. I really can't remember precisely what my family was like."
Post by: miauw62 on July 31, 2013, 03:22:47 am
To the captain's quarters!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 31, 2013, 05:54:12 am
Niklas, hoping to finally improve his rather terrible meditation experience, envisions that helpful butler guy coming along and cleaning up in that awful mess he calls a mind with a feather duster.
[Meditation roll: 2]
Sadly, he cannot think of a single reasonable way a feather duster could possibly help with cleaning up unfortunate sedimentation. As such, the butler is utterly confused and leaves momentarily. Damn it all!
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, realizing his error, relents from his furniture-hauling intentions and asks where the hell he's supposed to be going, anyway.
"Oh, excuse me. So, we should go then. Any ideas about the whereabouts of our master?"
"Indeed, no reason to do further work, yes? I don't believe Chef Niklas will be going anywhere anytime soon in his current disposition. I'm ready if you are, good Mage Erin. I'm not sure where Master Artiste is however, I'd guess his room perhaps? I do thank you for your offered help, good Sir Sigmund, with the three of us I believe Master Artiste will surely listen to reason." Morton adds.
Erin, meanwhile, considers the question.
"Well, I've been feelin' unusually secure lately - that means the tailor guy's not nearby. Maybe topside someplace?" she says, then heads off to the deck. Morton and Sigmund follow along, supposing her sense of direction and navigation is as good as any. Getting out on the deck, they are struck by an unusual stench, which seems to be coming from a barrel of what Sigmund recognizes as the Special. Oh dear. And Art seems to be in the middle of getting persuaded to drink from it.
"Looks like the big guy ain't here. Captain's quarters, then," Erin says, mostly unfazed by the sight and smell of the area. She heads up the small stairs to the captain's quarters, from which the sound of friendly conversation emanates. Erin cautiously opens the door.
Ah, looks like the Artiste is telling Tailor Craig something.
"-and you see, while I'm not sure what exactly this navigational tool might be used for, I am quite confident that it is utilized for navigation."
"Makes sense, I suppose."
"Uh, excuse me, but can I talk to ya, boss?"
"Not now, Erin. In a couple of minutes."
"Well, okay," Erin says, shutting the door. "He said to wait a couple minutes," she tells Sigmund and Morton. Just then, Kevin also arrives, walking up to the door to the captain's quarters as the first party loaf around for the moment. When Kevin knocks on the door, he is also met with the same reaction from the Artiste, and promptly joins the waiting people.
Luckily, they are provided with some entertainment in this time as they watch Scott's attempts to make Art drink some of that Special.
"Unfortunately that is the perplexing part of the brew, the vapor is one of the deadliest poisons, but the drink can cure all known ailments. The book I got the recipe from some years ago cost my husband quite a few sacks of gold, but he never regretted the purchase. For as you well know, many poisons can be found in the flesh and talons of undead," he boldly and blatantly fabricates on the spot, utterly failing to produce a glass from nowhere.
Art looks at Scott with a critical eye.
"I suppose I could try it. After all, you wouldn't try to kill me, would you? You're kind of bound to avoid that. On purpose, anyway."
He walks up to the barrel, covering up his face with a sleeve, his eyes watering a little as he takes out a rather exquisite metal mug from his robe, with the word "LINDENBERG" engraved on it. He fills it with the brew, then starts drinking.
[Art endurance roll: 6]
His eyes widen as he swallows the stuff. After a moment, he shrugs.
"It doesn't taste as bad as it smells, to be honest. How could it, really?"
He takes a moment to confirm his olfactory judgment.
"This stuff reminds me of something, actually," he says, taking another swig. "In a good way, too."
The necromancer chugs down the entire contents of the mug, then refills it.
"Pretty good. I can barely smell the booze anymore. Not very alcoholic, though. I normally prefer grain alcohol, though this is a rather welcome difference. Thanks, buddy," he says, sitting down on one of the non-booze barrels on deck and quietly enjoying his drink. Scott wagers he's a few people short of a proper party, but upon looking around he notices that there appear to be several potential volunteers around, most notably the transmuter.
In Karina's home...
Darren, ever the optimist, does not lament the severe memory loss he seems to be experiencing. Amnesia is the best way to reinvent oneself, after all.
"Ah, yeah... there's an issue with that. I really can't remember precisely what my family was like."
"That is worrying. I mean, to forget your own family. And the strangest thing is, I kind of can't remember mine, either. I sort of recall a face here, a memory there, but the bulk of it is kinda gone for some reason."
She taps her finger against her chin.
"Bit weird, isn't it?"
Post by: Tomcost on July 31, 2013, 08:02:32 am
-So, that huge man roaming inside the ship was helping you to get some barrels of the special? Well, at least it's cheap.
Hen then turned to Erin:
-While we wait for our master, would you mind tellling me what makes this rubber material so special?
Post by: killerhellhound on July 31, 2013, 10:18:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 31, 2013, 10:44:41 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 31, 2013, 11:56:16 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 31, 2013, 11:59:13 am
-Why on Earth would he do that? As far as it concerns me, he has been a quite rational master, at least for the time we have been serving him. Believe me, if he hadn't bound our souls in this sort of eternal slavery that is soulbinding, he would be quite a nice master, actually.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 31, 2013, 12:24:25 pm
((Yes, those stars are pronounced. :P))
Post by: Tomcost on July 31, 2013, 12:29:09 pm
-I'll pass. Vampirism makes you allergic to anything non blood-related, you know. But I have something for whoever dares to try that drink.
He then produces the mug he had taken at the Feisty Jelly.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 31, 2013, 02:03:14 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 31, 2013, 02:08:30 pm
((I will voice this question allowed for the first time, how can a jelly be feisty? :o))
(([Insert here a list of the nonsense this world is]))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 31, 2013, 03:33:45 pm
It's at times like this that Morton is happy he can neither consume nor smell things, judging from the look on the others faces about what he guesses Scott is up to. Seems Art likes it though, except for that bit of trepidation at the beginning. "I'm afraid I'm rather incapable of doing such anymore, Sir Scott, my apologies. I do thank you for the offer however, much appreciated." The desk does a gesture with his arms one does in a bow, and attempts one with his desk legs. "I wouldn't worry too much, good Jester Kevin, Master Artiste is a reasonable sort, he wouldn't do such. Hm... Good Mage Erin, if you don't mind me asking, why does not being around good Tailor Craig make you feel more secure than usual?" Morton first responded to Kevin, then asked Erin at a lower volume.
Post by: Xantalos on July 31, 2013, 03:34:41 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 31, 2013, 04:45:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 31, 2013, 05:34:02 pm
Sigmund makes yet another enlightening comment as he chills on deck with the gang, awaiting the exit of the Artiste and Tailor Craig.
"So, that huge man roaming inside the ship was helping you to get some barrels of the Special? Well, at least it's cheap."
Having received no acknowledgement of his superior information, he asks Erin about her peculiar tendency to turn things to rubber.
"While we wait for our master, would you mind telling me what makes this rubber material so special?"
Erin turns to him, shrugging.
"It's got good elasticity, not too heavy, plus it's fun to make. Reshaping stuff into these really complex bits, then combinin' 'em into long chains - organic materials were always my favorite, ya know. They make way more sense, y'know. Just don't burn it - fumes are a tad toxic. Not immediately, though."
That explains... something, Sigmund guesses. He supposes he'll just let the silence sink in for a moment. Luckily, it doesn't take too long for Kevin to speak up.
"I hope the master doesn't convince the tailor guy to eat his own arm or something like that."
Sigmund is happy about Kevin's rather sizable level of ignorance, as it allows him to get good exercise for his eyebrows. That's always important.
"Why on Earth would he do that? As far as it concerns me, he has been a quite rational master, at least for the time we have been serving him. Believe me, if he hadn't bound our souls in this sort of eternal slavery that is soulbinding, he would be quite a nice master, actually."
Even Morton is moved out of stoic silence by such an implication.
"I wouldn't worry too much, good Jester Kevin, Master Artiste is a reasonable sort, he wouldn't do such. Hm... Good Mage Erin, if you don't mind me asking, why does not being around good Tailor Craig make you feel more secure than usual?"
"Ya can't see the guy's face, his eyes glow and his hand's a blackened claw. Also, something about him seems really strange, and not just the obvious bits. Makes me a tad uncomfortable, ya know?"
However, this discussion doesn't really get anywhere further before Scott, hungry for new prey to abuse at his leisure, ambles up to them.
"Hullo, fine gentlemen, and lady. Partake of a refreshing hit of ☼Fun☼?" he asks, somehow pronouncing starlike, beamish symbols quite similar to implied quotation marks, if more overt.
Now, the undead realize, is the time for silly excuses.
"I'll pass. Vampirism makes you allergic to anything non blood-related, you know. But I have something for whoever dares to try that drink," Sigmund says, producing his ugly mug. The one he stole, not the one he was given.
"I'm afraid I'm rather incapable of doing such anymore, Sir Scott, my apologies. I do thank you for the offer however, much appreciated."
Scott looks over at Erin.
"Um... I'll pass, too. No good to be drinkin' at this time o' day, y'know?"
It's all on Kevin, then. Or maybe persuasion might help?
In a jail cell...
Mark, having nothing better to do, tries to ram a wall. The wall to the next cell, as an aside.
[Strength roll: 4]
After several valiant charges into the wall, Mark dares say he can see a crack appear! A tiny crack, but a crack nonetheless. However, before he can celebrate, the sergeant comes back.
"You do know I can hear you doing that, good sir? I'm going to have to ask you to stop damaging prison property or we will be forced to dismantle you, as per construct regulations."
Well, that sucks.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas tries to mentally upend himself and shake the bits of mental sediments right out!
[Meditation roll: 6]
He shakes, shakes, shakes! The thoughts from his mind quickly lose context and meaning, the bits of himself that currently don't matter shake themselves out, landing somewhere in the dense mists of his long-term memory! For the first time in a while, Niklas really isn't thinking of anything. Nothing currently bothers him.
It's a pretty cool feeling, one would say if their minds weren't too busy being empty.
"Finally! Now we can do the actual thing we're supposed to be doing. Focus upon yourself, your chairy form! Channel a desire to be more than you are, to manipulate the very fabric of the universe! Devote yourself to the magnificent process, to change your very body, to make your thoughts a reality!"
My, he seems enthusiastic.
At Karina's home...
Darren has an idea.
"You think it's because we're, y'know, ghosts? Have you ever tried asking another ghost about it?"
"I haven't been out of this house in years - and my next door neighbor, Danielle, I asked her once, but she got all defensive."
How curious indeed.
Post by: Xantalos on July 31, 2013, 06:17:44 pm
((Well, if this works I will be awesome reality warping chair guy.))
Post by: Tomcost on July 31, 2013, 06:21:07 pm
-Craig's appearence is not how he really is. He looks much worse, actually, but he has a kind of spell which he can deactivate at will to show his terrifying appearance. I think that Morton heard the whole story about that.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 31, 2013, 07:15:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 31, 2013, 08:33:09 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 01, 2013, 02:55:20 am
Glug
Post by: miauw62 on August 01, 2013, 02:58:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on August 01, 2013, 03:34:49 am
It's harmless.siggy
Glug"Eh... You're dead and I'm made of demonic tissue, so no, thanks."
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 01, 2013, 04:19:31 am
Niklas, determined to reject this reality and substitute his own, does exactly as the man says and focuses hard, channels desires and whatnot, does all those things!
[Focus roll: 6]
He feels his being change, his body alter subtly, adapt to a certain desire made into reality. He feels... very different all of a sudden. Like nothing will ever be the same for him from here. Power flows through him from a strange source, possibly the universe itself, and he feels he can utilize it, and utilize it well! However, he isn't sure why, but he feels an uncommon kinship to all chairs.
"Looks like it worked. Well, I'll be going now, then. Holler if you need me," Kruub says, leaving for the moment. However, Niklas isn't left in solitude for long, as Helsva and Torkel, confident that his business is at an end, approach.
"What did you do, Niklas?"
"You look different now, dad! What's up?"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund decides to confirm Erin's suspicions that Tailor Craig most certainly is not all he appears.
"Craig's appearance is not how he really is. He looks much worse, actually, but he has a kind of spell which he can deactivate at will to show his terrifying appearance. I think that Morton heard the whole story about that."
Morton, not entirely in the mood for story time, corroborates briefly.
"I suppose I can share the story to fill the time, if you'd like, won't be as well explained as how good Tailor Craig explained it, but I think it should suffice. Its a touch long, though, would probably take me more time than we have in my telling of it."
"I guess I'll ask 'im later, then. Seems like an amiable sort, that guy. No need to get secondhand info, y'know?"
Scott, rather peeved at the lack of response on these guys' part, tries to convince them to try some of this stuff.
"It's harmless," he says, chugging down a bit of the stuff and somehow not immediately disintegrating. Not that such a thing could happen, of course. Kevin, though, is still not convinced.
"Eh... you're dead and I'm made of demonic tissue, so no, thanks."
"Yeah, and I don't wanna get drunk. Still got magic to do. Probably."
Tailor Craig and the Artiste still haven't left the captain's quarters. Dang, what's taking so long?
At Karina's home...
Darren keeps on trying to ascertain more about this place from Karina.
"Well, there's other people like us in this place, right? Not crazy ones?"
Karina's tone of voice becomes slightly conspiratorial as she lowers her voice.
"To be honest, they're all weird somehow - even Danielle, lately. Hence I haven't spoken to them much. They've changed, they're no longer like they used to be. Something's wrong with the entire neighborhood - don't trust any of them."
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 07:36:14 am
-How odd, Mark hasn't arrived yet, should we go looking after him at the bookstore?
Post by: miauw62 on August 01, 2013, 07:45:54 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 07:58:46 am
-That's the motive that actually concerns me. I wonder what had he tried to do, I actually gave him a coin to buy a book, so, with a bit of common sense, which is something he lacks, he should be already back here.
Post by: killerhellhound on August 01, 2013, 08:50:36 am
Sigmund replied to Kevin:((I got bored alright and I still call bullshit on 10 guards coming down on me for petty theft in minutes ))
-That's the motive that actually concerns me. I wonder what had he tried to do, I actually gave him a coin to buy a book, so, with a bit of common sense, which is something he lacks, he should be already back here.
Mark waits in the cell amusing him self thinking on the crazy stuff he as already done in his short second life.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 01, 2013, 09:00:07 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 01, 2013, 09:23:56 am
"Are we going to look for him?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 10:21:20 am
-I think that we should do so. I followed him once to see what he was up to and he ended diving treehead-first into a well. It was odd.
Suddenly, he was struck by a doubt, so he turned to Erin and asked:
-Is there any psychological side-effects of transmuting?
((I think that we should get going, but I don't want to take the initiative, if possible))
Post by: miauw62 on August 01, 2013, 10:37:11 am
"Let's go, then."
Head back to the bookstore, inquire about Mark.
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 10:58:33 am
((Yeah, I know, but if I do so, we can lose a turn because the RNG thinks it's funny))
Post by: miauw62 on August 01, 2013, 11:53:37 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 01, 2013, 01:03:57 pm
Muse.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 01, 2013, 03:53:05 pm
"Well... We won't get anywhere talking about this here though."
Pausing to think for a moment, he sits silently.
"I could ask around in the village up there, but they won't know much... How do you mean the others are weird now?"
Post by: Xanmyral on August 01, 2013, 04:32:08 pm
[RESCINDED]
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 04:45:33 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 01, 2013, 05:00:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 01, 2013, 06:27:18 pm
Sigmund, tired of being coerced into trying suspicious booze, decides to look into the whole book situation. However, he needs a sidekick first. Ergo, he requires to voice his desire to leave!
"How odd, Mark hasn't arrived yet, should we go looking after him at the bookstore?"
"Oh, yeah. I wonder why he isn't back. I hope he didn't pull any stupid shit."
"That's the motive that actually concerns me. I wonder what had he tried to do, I actually gave him a coin to buy a book, so, with a bit of common sense, which is something he lacks, he should be already back here."
Scott, rather dissatisfied at the attitude of these schmucks, complains about his trouble even as Art passes him, filling up another mug, then returning to his former position.
"Dammit, I spent money on trying to get you idiots to calm down, stay on the ship and actually do something constructive to the masters plans!"
Nobody cares what he thinks, though.
"Are we going to look for him?"
"I think that we should do so. I followed him once to see what he was up to and he ended diving treehead-first into a well. It was odd."
This does actually give him a thought.
"Are there any psychological side-effects of transmuting?"
"There's the rush o' power, the sensation of alterin' the basic nature of things, the godlike thrill of bein' a user o' really powerful magic and- wait, ya mean for the subject, right? In that case, it probably depends on who ya transmute and under what circumstances. If it's unexpected or worse, unwanted, well... good luck. And fundamental changes to yer body, particularly if ya find them to be a turn for the worse, can be difficult to handle, I hear. Wouldn't be surprisin' if someone goes loopy because of it."
Sigmund nods and thanks Erin.
"Let's go, then."
"Best of luck, good Sir Sigmund and good Jester Kevin."The desk wished his friends luck as they went off to find Mark.
Sigmund goes along with Kevin, and they head over to Brenwicke's Books together. When they go in, they notice that the pile of mushrooms has been removed from the ground. Aw. Kevin walks over to the bookseller.
"Excuse me, would you happen to know the whereabouts of a metallic, skeletal vagabond with a rather conspicuous tree for a head?"
"Filthy thief. My guard - my only competent guard," he says, giving the six-armed guard a dirty look, "caught the bastard singlehandedly after he tried to make off with my entire collection on the Sea of Death - that whole shelf was worth over eighteen gold, you know. Tried to throw a gold coin at my face for it, too. Hope he has a good time in jail, the prick."
Well, that explains a lot, Kevin and Sigmund both guess.
Back on the ship, Morton nearly launches into a glorious tale, but then remembers that such a thing was never asked of him. Oh well. Maybe next time.
"Hm, good Mage Erin, I have to ask what did I miss during my sojourn away from the ship? Anything interesting, or changed? I admit that this is the first time I've stayed for a good bit on the ship after it got changed."
"Aside from the Niklas debacle, nothin' much has been happening around here. To be honest, we're all kinda itchin' to leave, but the Artiste says we gotta let ya sort out yer own business first. I gotta ask, though, what is it with ya guys and getting lost and maimed somewhere all the time?"
Good question. Could it be that the world simply distracts them from their tasks at best and actively seeks their second deaths at worst? Or is it actually their fault all this has happened in some contrived way?
In a jail cell...
Mark, seeing little better to do in here, takes a stroll down memory lane.
Man, it's still funny to him how much he could mess up that guy - well, not really a guy later on - that died. Him/her dying was kind of a shame. They were murder-buddies and all. Then there was that time he did, like, all the awesome stuff in the universe. Too bad that wasn't real. Then he got, like, enslaved by this ultrademon. That was a bit of a bummer. And he got covered in mushrooms, too. Those were hard to get off. But he also met lots of weirdos. Like that guy in the weird store, he was kind of cool, though his stuff was expensive. And then there was the time he wandered around a graveyard a lot, that was pretty funny. It's like somebody just forgot to pick him up for a week or so. And then he worshipped a god and didn't die, that was cool.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, lacking any better outlets to exercise his odd feelings of the moment.
"I'm honestly not sure. I feel different, but I'm still a chair. What happened?"
"Maybe you're not actually a chair! Wouldn't that be cool?"
"Now, Torkel, he's still a chair. He said so himself. Look at him, even."
"Maybe he's a giant that looks like a chair!"
At Karina's home...
Darren realizes the true potential of this conversation.
"Well... we won't get anywhere talking about this here though."
He thinks a little.
"I could ask around in the village up there, but they won't know much... How do you mean the others are weird now?"
"You gotta see it to know what it is - they look at you differently, particularly when they think you're not looking. It creeps me out, really. It's like they are planning something, and they won't tell me what it is. I feel like I'm outside a particular circle, and that it's not the good kind of circle, like a knitting circle, but one of those dark muttering and animal sacrifice kinds of circles. Something's wrong with them, I can sense it."
Post by: Xantalos on August 01, 2013, 06:39:49 pm
Empty mind again, concentrate on warping reality again, focusing on giving self a viking body.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 01, 2013, 07:03:16 pm
"Well. I'll have to head through their area, right? To get the crown?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2013, 07:45:04 pm
-He really did so? Well, his actions were clearly improper, but I can say that they weren't unfounded. But how impolite of to not introduce myself first! I'm Sigmund, I and I am responsible for your guard's current appearance. As you would have noticed, both me and my partner went through the same process as him. But let's get to the point. See, I recently found in this city an aquaintance of mine, who happens to be a brave sailor. He gave me a bag with strange mushrooms he had collected during his last journey in the Sea of Death. The first thing I did was to contact an old acquaintance of me, that happened to be Doctor Mark, the tree-headed individual. We came here to investigate the nature of these mushrooms, but then, due to an unfortunate incident I dropped the bag holding the mushrooms and clumsily got ankle-deep in them. The sensation of pain was excruciating, and my partner had to take me back to a secure place. Meanwhile, I gave Doctor Mark a gold coin so that he could buy a book that had information about that mushroom. For what you told me, I can guess that he panicked and decided to grab all the books at the same time. I apologize in the name of him.
He then smiled and added:
-If you don't believe my story, you can see what those mushrooms did to my ankles, a mage had to fix them.
Sigmund then takes off one boot and wobbles his foot.
Post by: killerhellhound on August 01, 2013, 08:44:02 pm
widen the crack
Post by: ~Neri on August 01, 2013, 09:17:04 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 02, 2013, 02:37:27 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 02, 2013, 04:15:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 02, 2013, 07:01:47 am
Niklas wonders what to do now. Figuring something must have gone wrong, he tries to empty his mind again.
[Meditation roll: 1]
Doesn't work, though. Previous time it was the result of long effort and a great amount of rage, plus a lot of chopping and shaking. It's not gonna be as simple as that this time.
He does ultimately feel pretty clueless, albeit different in some way. A subtle change has come over him, but he'll be damned if he knows what it is.
"Maybe you can do something now? Something weird like Kruub can. That would be amazing!"
"Torkel, you shouldn't disturb him. He's thinking, can't you see? Aren't you, Niklas?"
"Sorry, mom."
At Karina's home...
Darren suppose he'll have to deal with the crazies anyway if he wants the crown, and states as much.
"Well. I'll have to head through their area, right? To get the crown?"
"I don't know. I suppose - but you really should avoid them, and trust no one in there. They have terrible intentions in their crazed minds, I'm sure of it."
At Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund, angry, yet not entirely surprised at how cocked up the operation was, tries to salvage the situation as Kevin nods along with him.
"He really did so? Well, his actions were clearly improper, but I can say that they weren't unfounded. But how impolite of me to not introduce myself first! I'm Sigmund, I and I am responsible for your guard's current appearance. As you would have noticed, both me and my partner went through the same process as him. But let's get to the point. See, I recently found in this city an acquaintance of mine, who happens to be a brave sailor. He gave me a bag with strange mushrooms he had collected during his last journey in the Sea of Death. The first thing I did was to contact an old acquaintance of me, that happened to be Doctor Mark, the tree-headed individual. We came here to investigate the nature of these mushrooms, but then, due to an unfortunate incident I dropped the bag holding the mushrooms and clumsily got ankle-deep in them. The sensation of pain was excruciating, and my partner had to take me back to a secure place. Meanwhile, I gave Doctor Mark a gold coin so that he could buy a book that had information about that mushroom. For what you told me, I can guess that he panicked and decided to grab all the books at the same time. I apologize in the name of him."
Sigmund smiles for a moment, then takes off his boot, showing his rubber foot to the bookseller.
"If you don't believe my story, you can see what those mushrooms did to my ankles, a mage had to fix them."
"Oh, I believe the mushroom bit - I became rather familiar with their properties when I had to call up a cleanup crew to get the things out of here and close up the store on a busy day, costing me quite a bit of money, all thanks to you three, as it turns out. And all for a bunch of mushrooms that this bookstore contains no information about - and I should know, having read most of the nonfiction in here, particularly my prized Sea of Death collection, which your good friend blatantly tried to steal in broad daylight. Your apologies are all fine and good, but until you can come up with compensation in the neighborhood of 6 gold, all three of you idiots are rather unwelcome in this store. Now, I would appreciate it if you were to leave and not return without the appropriate sum of money."
Well, he seems rather pissed. The six-armed guard seems to be keeping a close eye on them as well, looking none too pleased as well.
In a jail cell...
Mark goes about widening the crack on the wall.
[Strength roll: 6]
As he pounds at the wall, the crack widens and increases in size, and the wall looks a lot weaker now! On the other hand, the sergeant, who clearly heard this, is also rather dissatisfied.
"Guess we are forced to dismantle you, good sir. Saddening that it has to come to this."
He raises his voice, calling out to somewhere some distance away.
"We need a dismantling here!"
Mark hears something rustle far away, hurried steps moving about.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott wonders how one would go about preparing this vessel for proper sailing of the seven seas. To find out, he goes to the cargo hold and asks the idling captain!
The bugger's not there, though. How unfortunate.
Post by: miauw62 on August 02, 2013, 07:38:22 am
Kevin drags Sigmund outside and tells him:
"I guess we'll have to head to the prison, then?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 02, 2013, 07:52:07 am
-Yes, it seems like we will have to rescue him. I hope he has not made things worse.
Sigmund looks for the prison
Post by: miauw62 on August 02, 2013, 08:17:45 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 02, 2013, 08:20:11 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 02, 2013, 11:26:48 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 02, 2013, 11:40:16 am
...
What sort of wierd things can Kruub do? I never really found out.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 02, 2013, 05:58:58 pm
In order to prevent any possibility of Sigmund or himself worsening the situation, Kevin drags his good buddy right out of the store, no questions asked.
"I guess we'll have to head to the prison, then?" he sort-of asks of his sort-of buddy when they are outside.
"Yes, it seems like we will have to rescue him. I hope he has not made things worse."
Kevin nods, then follows Sigmund's lead as they look for someplace that may resemble a prison. Well, he mostly follows - he takes the lead when Sigmund gets shakes at the crossroads, although this is but a brief happening in comparison to the general state of things.
They are, however, entirely unsuccessful in locating a prison of any kind. The signage of this town is terrible. Woeful, even. What kind of town doesn't even have the common human courtesy to point all its inhabitants to the county jail?
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, ever the busy little bee, keeps on looking, but better this time! Maybe the lazy bum has finally moved to the captain's quarters and... no, wait, he's on deck, examining the barrel of the Special. Sneaky fella must have phased through walls to get here.
"I THOUGHT I smelled DEATH! I found BOOZE, though! If only EVERYONE WAS THIS LUCKY!"
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas tries to figure out what the hell's going on, as he is most terribly confused. This plays to his advantage, as he can now obtain both exposition and bonding in one fell swoop!
"No, no, it's all right," he says, considering what exactly to ask. Moments later, he's got it.
"What sort of weird things can Kruub do? I never really found out."
"Oh, he can do miracles, dad! He comes out of his cave once in a while, and he makes it rain and he makes it shine, he makes the fields grow fertile and the cows give lots of milk! And he makes it so that the opposite happens to the other villages, so that we're the best around!"
"Don't be silly, Torkel. Kruub doesn't do any of that, pestilent sack of lies that he is. He does his hedge-magic in his dung-cave, impressing the villages with great big light shows when he comes out, cheating them out of their money. Says he makes dreams come true, but it's just light he's playing with, not actual things. And when you ask him about it, he asks what the difference is, the cheeky old weirdo. So proud of his light-mastery, he is, and still lives in a cave made of Hermepalltrokkgjar dung. Some master of mysteries."
"But he does cool things, mom! Makes monsters appear and the spirits of the dead speak!"
"They're not-" Helsvar begins exasperatedly, but stops midway, devoting a moment of thought to whatever the issue might be. "Well, I'll explain sometime later. He is still not one you should wish to be like - he is a fiendish old man, and you are better off following your father's example in any case."
Torkel looks at his mother curiously, but seemingly chooses to drop the matter for now, though probably not for too long.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 02, 2013, 07:19:33 pm
"...Well, I suppose there is Sir Scott having of gotten badly wounded, but I arrived much too late to do much to prevent that. That was... Certainly an interesting scene to stumble upon. I don't believe I've gotten lost yet either, although I do admit to perhaps taking more time than I should with things, and I do apologize for that."
Post by: Tomcost on August 02, 2013, 07:30:11 pm
-Excuse me, good sir, would you be so kind to tell me where the prison is? I heard that someone who owes me money probably ended up there.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 02, 2013, 07:38:02 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 03, 2013, 02:16:06 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 03, 2013, 02:24:18 am
...
Seriously now, how are you two here? Kruub I can understand, but as far as I know you two don't know any magic.
More musings!
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 03, 2013, 04:08:52 am
Morton, having devoted some thought to the matter, speaks on the tendency toward mutilation and wandering off somewhere among his wondrous fellows.
"I've honestly not the slightest, good Mage Erin. Even I'm quite shocked at all the damage that seems to be wrought upon the second-chancers of us, although I'm not usually there to witness much of it. Indeed, the worst injury I've seen us sustain would've been good Sir Sigmund getting his lower torso crushed by a sapient tree. I feel rather sad that I have to say that this is only the worst that I've seen instead of that which has happened."
He pauses to think.
"... well, I suppose there is Sir Scott having of gotten badly wounded, but I arrived much too late to do much to prevent that. That was... certainly an interesting scene to stumble upon. I don't believe I've gotten lost yet either, although I do admit to perhaps taking more time than I should with things, and I do apologize for that."
"Eh, what can ya do? That's how adventure works, I guess. Ya get distracted, then get either rich or mutilated. Or both."
As they muse, Scott initiates communication with the distracted Captain.
"Help yourself, by the way, how are we, untrained in sailing, supposed to get the ship ready for voyage?"
"That is a VERY GOOD QUESTION. Fortunately, TRUE SAILING is actually SIMPLE ENOUGH that you could TRAIN APES TO DO IT! And I should KNOW! Why, I SWEAR that my crew MAY OR MAY NOT have been HALF-APE at ANY GIVEN TIME. Or so it SEEMED, at any rate. To be honest, I AM MORE WORRIED ABOUT NAVIGATION. Those POOR NAVIGATORS. They have a TOUGH LOT IN LIFE."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Sigmund tries to find a patrolling guard of some sort. Fortunately, there is one just nearby! Sigmund, glad that the long arm of the law truly reaches everywhere, approaches said fellow.
"Excuse me, good sir, would you be so kind to tell me where the prison is? I heard that someone who owes me money probably ended up there."
"You don't say? Well, the prison's a ways out of town, but I'm not sure you want to go there - they don't permit visitors. You could go to the headquarters of the guard, maybe set up an appointment - it's in the trade district, looks like a keep, with seven towers and a circular exterior wall. Difficult to miss, but if you do, go to the center, walk down Cooper Street, should be easy to locate. I could take you there, actually - need to make a report, anyway."
At Karina's home...
Darren realizes there's still an unanswered question here.
"Are you sure you'll be safe? I mean, what if they come up here?"
Karina smiles.
"I appreciate your concern, but I should be safe. I live far from where they are - with the exception of Danielle, the others live deeper inside, closer to danger - I'm sure they've got something worked out with the deepers, and I want no part of it. And they don't like to venture far from their haunts - well, except this one guy, but I don't think he hangs around here anymore. I think he went to live deeper."
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas tries to arrive at the truth through well-placed doubt.
"Well, I feel different, somehow. Don't know how, but different."
He then realizes that something bugs him.
"Seriously now, how are you two here? Kruub I can understand, but as far as I know you two don't know any magic.
"Maybe we're here because we should be here, kinda like Kruub? It kinda makes sense."
"Or maybe it's the power of love. But yes, I do feel like I should be here, somehow. Like something greater than both of us has brought me here, my love."
Post by: Xantalos on August 03, 2013, 04:33:30 am
Honestly, I'm not sure how I even know you're there. I have no senses, and while sensory deprovation isn't new to me, I'm not sure of how I know you're with me. Hmm...
Listen to Torkel's opinion, review knowledge of this kind of thing.
Post by: miauw62 on August 03, 2013, 05:40:05 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 03, 2013, 09:25:21 am
-Yes, I think that we should make an appointment to see if Mark is there.
He then turned to the guard:
-Well, we will follow you, if it is not much of a bother.
Follow the guard to the headquarters.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 03, 2013, 10:34:31 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 03, 2013, 03:54:09 pm
Leave.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 03, 2013, 04:33:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 03, 2013, 05:43:13 pm
Niklas, not having that much of an opinion presently, decides to petition the brightest present mind for advice.
"Hmm. Greater than both of us ... what do you think, Torkel?"
"I dunno. Never talked to anyone who was an actual god. I bet they're interesting people, though."
This brings up the question of the day in Niklas' mind.
"Honestly, I'm not sure how I even know you're there. I have no senses, and while sensory deprivation isn't new to me, I'm not sure of how I know you're with me. Hmm..."
"We're as in the dark as you are, Niklas. Maybe we share thoughts? Such a thing is not unheard of."
"Ooh, telepathy's cool! You think we're telepathic, mom?"
"I don't know, Torkel. Perhaps."
Niklas wonders if he's heard of something like this before. In a moment, he realizes that there is literally no situation in his culture that he knows of that approximates his status in any way. He guesses it makes sense, though.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Kevin and Sigmund, glad about the agreeability of this town's law enforcement agencies, affirm their desire to go to the headquarters.
"Eh, alright then. Let's go, I guess."
"Yes, I think that we should make an appointment to see if Mark is there."
He officially addresses the guard next.
"Well, we will follow you, if it is not much of a bother."
"Very well - follow me, then."
He leads the two over to a rather interesting keep-like building, leading them past the gates and right into the headquarters themselves. They are immediately met by the sight of what looks like a desk with a severely old, extremely bald man sitting at it. His abnormally large, shock-white mustache twitches expressively as the two weirdos approach with the guard.
"Flamboyant lawbreakers?" he asks of the guard.
"No - they were wondering about an appointment. Tend to them, will you? I have a report to fill out," the guard explains, then promptly leaving on business, leaving the two under the watchful gaze of the man.
"What do you require of the offices of law, flamboyant not-yet-lawbreakers?" the man says after a moment's pause.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott feels that perhaps he could achieve the intellectual level of a trained ape, so he takes up the challenge of learning all this crazy nautical stuff.
"Train me to sail, then."
"CERTAINLY! You will make a MARVELOUS SEA APE, I am SURE OF IT! Now, let's BEGIN!"
The Captain assumes a dignified posture, but, seeing how this is the sea and all, immediately abandons it and just explains things like a reasonable person.
"So, FIRST OF ALL, you need to MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE you've RAISED THE DANG ANCHOR. Very important, that. The CAPSTAN'S OVER THERE," he says, pointing to a horizontal wheel-like device in a particular spot on deck. "You RAISE THE DANG ANCHOR with it! AMAZING, I know, but that's NOT REALLY VERY COMPLICATED. And when the ANCHOR'S RAISED, you can do MORE FUN THINGS. Like UNFURL THE SAILS!"
The Captain then instructs Scott on how to utilize the available rigging, how to work the sails, how to raise the gangplank, plus which side is port, which side is starboard, what the hell is an aft, where's the forecastle and more interesting stuff as well. A bit later, Scott feels that he's become a slightly more competent sailor, certainly a match for a trained ape in matters of competence if not brute strength and agility.
"Judging by the way you ANSWERED MY POST-ORIENTATION QUIZ, I'd say you are COMPETENT ENOUGH to be a LEADING SEAMAN! Then again, FEW AREN'T. ENJOY YOUR DISTINCTION, it is WELL-EARNED, despite the lack of a FUNNY HAT! Perhaps you can MAKE IT to PETTY OFFICER if you keep this up!"
Meanwhile, at the door to the captain's quarters, Erin and Morton both wait.
"I've been seeing far more harm than good however, but I suppose I can't say it hasn't been interesting."
However, before he can pursue this train of thought and possible pessimism further, it is suddenly derailed.
"Hm... good mage Erin, do you perhaps know what this is? I found it a while back, when Yaleson Manor was still the quaint wooden house that it was. It's an interesting little thing, I've found it quite useful in making campfires, although I've been curious as to what exactly it is. Would you perhaps know?" he asks, showing the magical lighter to Erin.
"Oh, it's a magical lighter. Simple thing, really. Makes fire magically - doesn't run out, either. Makes sparks and fire like nobody's business."
Suddenly, the door to the captain's quarters opens, and both Tailor Craig and the Artiste step out.
"-so, I suppose that concludes your tour. You're as familiar with the ship as I am, perhaps even more, depending on how much you paid attention."
"You've been most informative, sir," Tailor Craig says as they step out.
"Yes, well... oh dear, what is that smell? Did something die here?"
At Karina's home...
Darren supposes he has to go.
"Well, without that excuse, I guess I'll be leaving now. Hate to make a god angry after all. Maybe I'll see you later."
"I really hope you'll come back. You're kinda nice. Anyway, be safe, and don't trust anyone!" Karina says, waving after Darren as he leaves through the door opposite the entrance to the place.
He is rather intrigued when he finds himself in a rather large and oddly glowing cavern. What's even stranger is that this seems to be a rather large row of small houses he is in the middle of, with Karina's home rather snugly placed against the cavern wall. The row continues a ways in both directions, it seems. However, most houses in the row look dilapidated, only Karina's and the one right next to it haven't largely or entirely fallen apart. Which is a miracle in itself, considering that they're made of wood.
However, Darren's appreciation of this everyday miracle is interrupted by a stern, echoing voice.
"You! What the hell were you doing in that house? Explain yourself, NOW!"
Looking around, Darren finds it difficult to see its source, though there is something eerie about the darker corners of the area, and he's not entirely sure what exactly.
Post by: Xantalos on August 03, 2013, 05:48:59 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 03, 2013, 05:58:27 pm
-Greetings, gentlemen. We are looking for an aquaintance of us that may have been arrested recently, he is a tree-headed metal skeleton.
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2013, 02:00:57 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 04, 2013, 04:51:13 am
"Magician of soul damning power on deck!"
Post by: killerhellhound on August 04, 2013, 07:51:15 am
"My friend here means insane construct, not aquaintance. It is hardly controllable without us, but it is very valuable and must be returned to us.", Kevin interrupted Sigmund.(Smart Idea)
Mark hearing the call decides subtlety is for idiots and breaks through the wall(Metal beats rock :D
mabye ???)
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2013, 08:06:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 04, 2013, 09:15:31 am
-Well, yes. I think that we can classify it as that.
((Saying that we own Mark is a very bad idea))
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2013, 09:30:20 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 04, 2013, 11:15:02 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 04, 2013, 11:51:26 am
Of course me. Idiot.
"Talking. Nothing more."
Sadly.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 04, 2013, 01:25:32 pm
Since he cannot really perceive anything in any way aside from touch, Niklas decides to impact the world perhaps not the only, but certainly the best way he knows how. By rampaging through a perfectly civilized room, that's how!
[Rampaging roll: 6]
He makes a very violent clatter and ruckus, bumping into virtually everything in a rebellious fashion, messing up... something, he guesses, definitely upsetting a few chairs a little, if not more. However, he feels that he has bitten off a little more than he can chew when he tries to upturn the table. He manages to make it move a bit, but he falls over in the process! And with short legs like his, this is indeed a problem.
"Whatcha doin', dad?" Torkel asks as Niklas rests on the ground.
Niklas, though, is a bit lost in thought. There was a certain thing he noticed just now - when he touched the chairs, tried to move them from their spots, it felt strange. He feels a certain odd... kinship with his chair brothers and sisters, it seems, as unusual as the idea may be.
In the lobby of the HQ of the guards of Shriekpot...
Sigmund and Kevin decide to go out on a limb and pseudo-lie to the receptionist.
"Greetings, gentlemen. We are looking for an acquaintance of us that may have been arrested recently, he is a tree-headed metal skeleton."
"My friend here means insane construct, not acquaintance. It is hardly controllable without us, but it is very valuable and must be returned to us."
"Well, yes. I think that we can classify it as that."
"Oh, that thing? It'll get processed in the morning - the law office is closed already. It'll probably be penalized for thieving, then let go. So you just need to wait until such a moment - it'll be on our doorstep no later than tomorrow afternoon."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, proud at his new status, hails his master as he approaches with a salute, becoming unusually ridged through some arcane contortion maneuver.
"Magician of soul-damning power on deck!"
"Now, isn't that cute? What's come over you, buddy? Normally you would be on fire and complaining about it or something by now. Glad you're turning over a new leaf, at any rate."
"You're a magician, Mr. Artiste?" Tailor Craig asks.
"Yes, actually - I warp space for a living. And go on naval expeditions, you see."
"Sounds reasonable, for a given value of the word."
Meanwhile, Morton halts his appreciation of the lighter to go and
"I thank you, good mage Erin. Hm, guess there isn't really that much more to it then, a curious if very helpful piece," he notes, moving toward the mystical duo on deck along with Erin.
"Ah, greetings good Master Artiste and good Tailor Craig, I trust things went well? I believe the smell to be something to do with the barrels, drinks that Sir Scott has purchased for our pleasure."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I suppose I'll have one in a moment, then. What about you, Craig?"
"Oh, no. I don't drink. Or eat, for that matter."
"Now, if you're not too busy, good Master Artiste, good Mage Erin and I would like to discuss something with you."
"Uh, yeah, it kinda concerns that chef guy."
"Oh, right! Him! Of course. How is he?"
"Still a chair, I guess?"
"Hopefully he's enjoying it, yes?"
"Erm... well... I don't think so, really."
"How so?"
"Well, he can't see, hear, taste or smell, so... well, uhm... ya see..."
Erin doesn't seem able to articulate this properly.
In a jail cell...
Mark, sensing that it's now or never, smashes into the wall once more.
[Strength roll: 3]
The wall doesn't give way yet, though. The sergeant, while waiting for the dismantling crew to arrive, goes and locks the door to the next cell as well. A moment later, four men with toolboxes and sledgehammers arrive.
"Guess I'll let you chaps in - that's the rebellious one right there."
He unlocks the cell door, and the four men rush right in. brandishing strange poles with what appear to be rings on top of them.
[Touch Attack: Dismantler 1 vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 2+1]
[Touch Attack: Dismantler 2 vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 6+1]
Mark manages to very successfully avoid getting his arms secured, grabbing one of the pole holders and pushing him away, causing him to lose balance!
[Dismantler 1 dodge roll: 1]
The dismantler spins away from the push, accidentally locking his ring around the face of the other pole-holder! Heh.
[Grapple: Dismantler 3 vs. Mark: 3+1 vs. 1+1]
[Grapple: Dismantler 4 vs. Mark: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
[Countergrapple: Mark vs. Dismantler 4: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
Meanwhile, the last two dismantlers try to salvage the situation by grabbing Mark by his limbs! One guy grabs hold of his right arm while the other manages to get within distance, but very nearly makes a fatal error in judgment when he almost ignores a grabbing motion on Mark's part. However, he backs away before he can be grabbed in turn, sizing up his adversary. The sergeant looks over at his fellows, then promptly closes and locks the cell door.
In the City of the Dead...
Darren, feeling rather vulnerable presently, asks the obvious.
"Who, me?"
He doesn't wait for a reply before continuing.
"Talking. Nothing more," he says, kind of regretful that if he is being persecuted right now, it's for something he didn't even do.
"Honest? No bullshit? If you bullshit me, I swear I'll... I'll do something drastic!"
He doesn't seem very convinced of this himself.
"I'll do it too, you know! Don't mess with me! Stay away from her, you hear?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 04, 2013, 01:54:23 pm
-I see. Well, we will be back here tomorrow, then.
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2013, 02:05:23 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 04, 2013, 02:39:29 pm
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2013, 02:49:32 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 04, 2013, 04:05:09 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 04, 2013, 04:08:24 pm
Attempt to contact a chair next to me.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 04, 2013, 04:31:12 pm
Try and get a better look at our new friend.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 04, 2013, 06:42:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on August 04, 2013, 09:58:53 pm
(also how large are the cells because I just got locked in with 4 others)
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 05, 2013, 05:24:16 am
Sigmund and Kevin decide that they agree to these terms.
"I see. Well, we will be back here tomorrow, then."
"Hmpf. Alright."
"Since it is your property, we'll package it and its possessions and leave it here at the desk - return tomorrow and I will sign off on it."
Sigmund and Kevin nod along with the man, then leave for the ship, which they reach in due time, finding that mostly everyone is already here. The Artiste seems to be currently engaged in dialogue with Morton, Erin and Scott.
"So what you are saying, if I may interject, is that the chair-man shall go mad from sensory deprivation?"
"Uh, yeah. In a word, yeah."
Before the Artiste can reply, Morton moves in with a better-articulated request.
"We would be most appreciative if we could garner the permission to perhaps move Chef Niklas into a form more suitable to rehabilitation and mediation. We believe that he'd be more liable to calm down and become a fit member of our group again if we were able to properly converse and create an open dialog with him, but sadly with his lack of all senses attempts can't be made. If only able to interact with nothing beyond himself, I don't believe he'll get anything beyond more and more agitated as he would have difficulties pushing behind him experiences of old with nothing new coming in. We were hoping that you would allow us to change his form to something perhaps more suitable, I believe a squirrel or other small animal such as that was suggested before hand, or perhaps a cat or something similar. While furniture is sufficient for preventing him from causing a disturbance, something small would also suffice, and unlike I he cannot readily interact with the world around him, beyond blind movement I believe."
"That certainly makes sense, I'd say. However, don't turn him into another being just yet - give him something to sense with, rather. And perhaps even a speech organ, so that he may voice his troubles. But no squirrel bodies yet - those will be kept for later, if he's good and whatnot. That's agreeable, right?"
"Yeah! I guess that's good. Right, Morton?"
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, acting on a hunch, tries to contact one of his fellow chairs. And the thing is, he feels something happen - it's not a connection in thought, as the chair has none. Instead, it's something a little different. Niklas can't exactly say how, though.
In the City of the Dead...
Darren makes his truthfulness plain to the figure in the dark. After all, he's got nothing to hide.
"I'm being completely honest. All we did is talk."
There is a pause.
"About what?"
As Darren listens to the voice, he thinks he can see its origin - a strange shape in a particular dark corner. It looks hunched, and not entirely humanoid.
In a jail cell...
Mark tries to push the guy holding his arm off himself.
[Grapple: Mark vs. Dismantler 3: 1+1 vs. 4+1]
However, the dismantler, anticipating such a move, takes the opportunity to try to use Mark's weight against him, attempting to bring the metal skeleton down to the ground.
[Counterattack: Grapple: Dismantler 3 vs. Mark: 4+1 vs. 2+1]
Mark is promptly pushed to the ground front-first by the guard, who then tries to place Mark's arm and leg in a hold of some kind.
[Grapple: Dismantler 3 vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 6+1-1]
However, Mark is a bit too feisty to be easily taken like this, kicking and violently shaking, but unable to move free of the guy's hold!
[Grapple: Dismantler 4 vs. Mark: 3+1 vs. 6+1]
When the other dismantler comes over for a try at the whole grappling business. However, Mark, foreseeing such a maneuver, tries to trip him up!
[Trip: Mark vs. Dismantler 4: 4+1 vs. 3+1]
He manages to make the dismantler stumble back, but doesn't really take him down by any means.
The other two dismantlers, meanwhile, try to get the whole captured face situation, which is quickly resolved as the guard pulls a switch on the capture mechanism, releasing the ring. The two guards look at the developing situation over at the other side of the room. Shrugging, they both get rather sizable metal hammers and chisel-like instruments from their toolboxes and approach.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on August 05, 2013, 05:26:17 am
Attempt to shift my conciousness into a chair next to me.
Post by: miauw62 on August 05, 2013, 06:25:47 am
Kevin walked up to the Artiste and said:
"Hey, boss. The treehead guy tried to steal some books and now he's in jail. They said that we can go pick him up tomorrow."
After that he turned up to Craig and asked him:
"I guess you want a description of what happened to me after I was dropped in that portal?"
Post by: killerhellhound on August 05, 2013, 06:50:44 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 06:56:11 am
Turn:
Sigmund just listens to what the Artiste answers to Kevin.
Post by: miauw62 on August 05, 2013, 06:58:11 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 07:12:40 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 05, 2013, 08:11:45 am
Go and make the chair sit the F' down.
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 09:02:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 05, 2013, 10:29:01 am
((Harry, I have a question: when you say that my guisarme can penetrate up to steel, it means that it has a flavor effect ("you perforate the armor" instead of a "you stab the enemy through a weakness in the armor" upon a successful hit), or does it have an actual game affect, like, ignoring armor bonuses?))
It means it gives a -1 penalty for the enemy's defense roll if they're wearing armor, essentially. If you used, say, a sword, they would get a +1 bonus to their defense because it's a slashing weapon.
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 10:31:57 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 05, 2013, 03:41:19 pm
Morton gestured towards Scott. "Sir Scott, I don't believe such would be necessary, after all Chef Niklas is currently a chair. What trouble could be caused?"
[Dammit Morton, stop tempting fate.]
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 04:14:18 pm
[Dammit Morton, stop tempting fate.]((How are you tempting fate?))
Post by: Xanmyral on August 05, 2013, 04:17:19 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 04:18:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 05, 2013, 05:11:47 pm
Niklas has an idea. Perhaps he could be a different chair! A brave new chair in the same old world, clearly the path to success! He concentrates for a moment.
He concentrates upon his consciousness to the other chair, but it doesn't work! In fact, it doesn't work to such a degree that he feels rather... loose right now. Like something in the fundamental fabric of the universe decided to find out exactly how can a soul be kept in a chair, and didn't like the answer it received!
[Will roll: 1]
It feels rather awful, to be honest.
[Will roll: 1-1]
"Completely terrible" might also be a way to describe it, as a matter of fact. Niklas feels a rising panic as his soul neatly begins to unjam from its perplexing prison, hanging by a thread to this material world!
[Will roll: 6-2]
However, Niklas suddenly realizes something! He can't die! There's so many people he hates that aren't dead and/or crippled yet! And he still hasn't obtained those reality warping powers yet! Most of all, he hasn't become the best chef and taken revenge on that ninja and his dastardly ilk! How can he die if his life hasn't stopped sucking, honestly?
Enough of this nonsense, says he! He'll stay alive, and that's final! He has to accomplish at least something here, else his death will be totally meaningless and anti-climactic, just like that of any old smelly peasant or culinary layman.
He probably shouldn't try that consciousness transference thing again, though. That'd be a tad unreasonable, he supposes.
"Are you alright, Niklas? You looked very distant there for a moment."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin decides to take the initiative, much to the endless delight of Sigmund, who doesn't even need to make an effort to escape responsibility this time! He walks up to the Artiste and gives him the information he's got.
"Hey, boss. The treehead guy tried to steal some books and now he's in jail. They said that we can go pick him up tomorrow."
"Excellent! Wait, no. That's terrible, actually. And I still don't have any of the books I require. You should probably fix that problem, friends. And by probably I mean you definitely should. I'd be grateful, you know. And we might not die horribly if you do that, so there's also that."
Satisfied with the exchange, Kevin turns to Tailor Craig.
"I guess you want a description of what happened to me after I was dropped in that portal?"
"Sure, if you feel like it."
With that done, the Niklas problem once again moves to the forefront, the Artiste turning back to the other bunch of supplicants, now with Scott among their number.
"Then I shall go restrain him for whatever you have planned," Scott says, going for the stairs.
"Sir Scott, I don't believe such would be necessary, after all Chef Niklas is currently a chair. What trouble could be caused?" Morton says, acting futilely as the voice of reason.
"Um, sure. Go ahead and do whatever you want to do, as long as you don't go overboard. Heh. Now, I suppose we're alright here?"
"Indeed, splendid! A million 'thank you's, Master Artiste!" the desk says to his master, then gestures at Erin.
"Good mage Erin, shall we move expediently to enact this action? If we do give him speech, I do believe it would be best to give him hearing as well so that a proper conversation may flow, yes?"
"Yeah, let's go for it. Follow me," she says, heading to the stairs along with Scott. Soon enough, they have reached the den, which is slightly disorderly now. In particular, Niklas appears to have fallen over. Scott shuffles over to the chair, wrestles it for a bit, tells it to stop resisting already, then sets it down on all four legs, giving it a stern look and wagging his finger at it. The others stare at Scott awkwardly for a moment.
In a jail cell...
Mark tries to throw away the rather terrible dismantler right on top of him!
[Grapple: Mark vs. Dismantler 3: 2+1-1 vs. 2+1]
He can't manage to get free of the hold on his arm, though!
[Grapple: Dismantler 3 vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 5]
However, the guard gives him a perfect opportunity in a moment, slightly loosening his grip on Mark's arm as he tries to adjust his hold!
[Counter: Mark vs. Dismantler 3: 1 vs. 3+1]
The dismantler's too quick, though, and nothing comes of this minor mistake on his part!
[Grapple: Dismantler 4 vs. Mark: 4+1 vs. 6]
And the next dismantler manages to also accomplish exactly nothing this time around. However, before they can reflect on their ineptitude too much, the other two dismantlers come along and try to do their thing as well!
[Dismantler 1 vs. Mark: 6+1+1 vs. 2+2-1]
[Dismantler 2 vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 4+1]
As the other one watches curiously, the recently-freed dismantler places his foot securely on Mark's pelvis, driving his chisel-thing into the skeleton's right hip joint and, with a few mighty blows with his mallet, splitting the right leg from the rest of his body. When that's done, he throws the leg into a corner and steps away, considering his next move.
Post by: Xantalos on August 05, 2013, 05:22:12 pm
Try to figure out what I feel with those chairs. Without dying.
Post by: Tomcost on August 05, 2013, 05:30:00 pm
-I think that the only choice we have now is to steal those books. But we should do so at night, so that we don't get arrested. As the bookstore has two guards, I think that we will need help.
Having said that, Sigmund went to the den to find Scott:
-Scott, would you mind helping us in robbing a bookstore? I have already a plan, but I think that we will need you.
Post by: killerhellhound on August 05, 2013, 06:05:43 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 05, 2013, 07:30:26 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 06, 2013, 02:28:41 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 06, 2013, 04:06:06 am
Kevin then turns to the Artiste and says:
"I don't think the bookkeeper still trusts us, tough. Apparently the treehead threw a gold coin in his face and tried to run off with the entire shelf."
E:
"I guess stealing them at night is also an option. We'd just have to hope that there are no guards at night."
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 06, 2013, 06:58:29 am
Niklas explains just what he was trying to do here.
"I tried to transplant my soul. It'll be interesting to try that with other people, but I almost died, so I'll stop that."
"Oh dear. You should be careful doing that kind of thing, Niklas - it sounds terribly dangerous."
Yeah, yeah. Right. Niklas takes a moment to consider his relation to these chairs in the room. He supposes it doesn't really feel like kinship, but like superiority in a way. He feels like he is superior to these chairs, yes. What this means, he can't rightly say.
Meanwhile, the others in the room - Morton, Scott and Erin - discuss the course of action to be taken. Well, Morton and Erin do. Scott is a bit distracted by Sigmund, who arrives in a moment and addresses him.
"Scott, would you mind helping us in robbing a bookstore? I have already a plan, but I think that we will need you."
Scott looks at Sigmund, then authoritatively sits down in Niklas, who is a tad disturbed from his thoughts by this interruption. As he considers the offer, the others decide on what to do.
"Well, either someone came in here with a dislike for ordered arrangements, or Chef Niklas can move." Morton notes, examining the disorderly den.
"Good mage Erin, how do you wish to proceed? We've been instructed to keep his furniture form, but we can give him senses, even speech. I believe, as said earlier, hearing and speech would be good, perhaps even sight. I'm afraid I don't know how one would go about changing such things, but since Chef Niklas' current form is that of furniture, perhaps help or reference could be derived from my form. I know I see through these glass knobs, and speak through this drawer, although I'm not entirely sure how I hear. Perhaps with my whole form? I cannot readily say, as I've not done any tests of such."
"Well, I guess he needs at least one eye, maybe two, plus some sort of organ that senses vibration, and maybe something that makes vibrations. Can do, I guess. Let's see..."
Erin steps over to the chair, ignoring Scott as she considers what to do. She kneels at the side of the chair and runs her hand over the surface of the thing.
"Right, got an idea of how to do this right here."
[Erin magic roll: 4+2-1]
She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, then makes an expressive hand gesture. Moments later, there is a creaking sound that emanates from the chair! Morton looks on in confusion as two odd, club-like metallic tentacles seem to sprout from Niklas' back, small, luminous points at their ends.
"Whew. That was the most difficult part, ya know, giving 'im something to process images with. Now for hearing I guess?" Erin says, looking over the chair once more to judge where a good place to do stuff would be.
Niklas is a bit surprised when he suddenly obtains sight. He looks around the room with his eyestalks, only to see that desk fellow, the purple dude and the chick that took away his weapons and body, not to mention that zombie guy who invaded his kitchen once. Clearly, he is among friends.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin goes ahead and explains what happened to him in the Most Fabulous Realm to Tailor Craig.
"So, alright, I got dropped in there and some beige thing mistook me for a kitten. After that it turned me into this and barfed me out in a forest somewhere near Emlocke. That's pretty much it, really."
"Huh. That's quite far away. Rather interesting."
When Kevin is done explaining his adventures in all his characteristic brevity, he turns to the Artiste.
"I don't think the bookkeeper still trusts us, though. Apparently the treehead threw a gold coin in his face and tried to run off with the entire shelf."
"I'm sure you can figure something out, yes?"
Sigmund, rather disillusioned with the whole persuasion thing now, gives Kevin his honest opinion.
"I think that the only choice we have now is to steal those books. But we should do so at night, so that we don't get arrested. As the bookstore has two guards, I think that we will need help."
"I guess stealing them at night is also an option. We'd just have to hope that there are no guards at night."
After getting hit with such vain hopes, Sigmund, unable to take it anymore, vacates the premises rapidly, leaving only Kevin, Artiste, Tailor Craig and a rather heavily drinking Art on deck.
"Hm. Well, nothing to it. Guess I'll have a drink," the master notes, looking for some sort of vessel to drink from. Fortunately, there is a bowl lying around on deck, and it's not even particularly filthy. The Artiste fills it with the Special, then has a drink.
[Artiste endurance roll: 4]
He stumbles a bit, his eyes widening a little as he nearly spills some of the Special on deck.
"Oh my. That certainly is an interesting brew," he concludes, taking another long sip. "Such texture!"
He takes a seat near Art, who looks at him and raises his mug cheerfully.
In a jail cell...
Mark, in a ploy to get his captors in deep trouble, decides to go limp and play dead.
Considering that he doesn't have any real life signs, this is rather easy. It also significantly simplifies the process of the dismantlers splitting off his arms and last leg, organizing them in a neat pile in the corner of the room. When they are done, they examine Mark's limp body. The sergeant looks through the bars.
"Dead?"
The leading dismantler turns to him.
"Prolly not, these things don't die o' limb loss. Might be playin' dead. Don't worry 'bout it - I've done stuff like this plenty o' times."
They gather their tools and Mark's arms, then leave the cell, which the sergeant unlocks.
"We'll put the limbs in the same place as the rest of its possessions."
"Do so, yes," the sergeant says, closing and locking the cell door when everyone's out.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 06, 2013, 07:10:43 am
Master is going to finally acknowledge me as a useful tool, I just know it!)
"O....kay, I presume this is something for the master? As it's improbable that anyone other than he, me and Erin has the intellectual need or ability to read past a cover."
Post by: Tomcost on August 06, 2013, 07:26:55 am
-Yes, the books we want to obtain are for the Artiste, but the bookstore that holds them has two armored guards protecting them. That's why we need you. The idea is to have Kevin distract one guards while we raid the store, killing the other one, so that when the other comes back, we three take him out.
Sigmund then waves friendly at Niklas's eyes and goes to talk with Morton:
-Morton, I think that I would need my cloak and hood back. And, if possible, that fire making device of yours.
Post by: miauw62 on August 06, 2013, 07:38:18 am
Kevin presumes he won't get much more comprehensible orders or discussion from the Artiste after the Special, so he heads down to the rest.
"Eh, why does that chair have eyes?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 06, 2013, 08:03:48 am
-Because that chair is Niklas, and by this time it's probable that he had went insane from sensory deprivation, so Erin is helping him a little bit.
Post by: miauw62 on August 06, 2013, 08:13:13 am
Post by: killerhellhound on August 06, 2013, 08:29:49 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 06, 2013, 01:19:24 pm
And back to lying. Well, kind of a lie. I tried.
Lie! Sort of.
Post by: Xantalos on August 06, 2013, 02:40:07 pm
Attempt to communicate with nearby chairs. Contemplate position as chair overlord.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 06, 2013, 05:22:53 pm
"Yes, yes, here you are good Sir Sigmund. I wish you luck in your endeaver, if you need help or perhaps a more subtle touch I offer my services, although I'm afraid to say I'm not one for fighting, nor liking it. Come back safely, yes?" The desk, rather disliking his friends going off to cause carnage that will probably end up in their harm, hands over the items requested.
Once this is done, Morton shall attempt to resume cleaning and reorganizing the den after Niklachair's carnage.
Post by: Tomcost on August 06, 2013, 05:41:51 pm
-We will be fine, as long as everything goes according to the plan.
Post by: miauw62 on August 07, 2013, 06:31:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 07, 2013, 08:10:17 am
Scott, having carefully thought about b]Sigmund's[/b] offer of adventure and riches to be had, equally carefully accepts.
"O... kay, I presume this is something for the master? As it's improbable that anyone other than he, me and Erin has the intellectual need or ability to read past a cover."
"Yes, the books we want to obtain are for the Artiste, but the bookstore that holds them has two armored guards protecting them. That's why we need you. The idea is to have Kevin distract one guards while we raid the store, killing the other one, so that when the other comes back, we three take him out."
After stating the facts, he waves at the chair in a friendly fashion, then goes to see Morton, who is but a few steps away and rather beamish at the moment. However, he is interrupted by his good buddy Kevin, who appears to have arrived a moment ago.
"Eh, why does that chair have eyes?" he asks, rather confused.
"Because that chair is Niklas, and by this time it's probable that he has gone insane from sensory deprivation, so Erin is helping him a little bit," Sigmund says succinctly. Kevin stares at him for a moment.
"Aaalright..."
Sigmund then continues his stepping. And being the polite sort that he is, he patiently waits for his turn with the desk, who currently seems busy talking to Erin.
"Ahah, Chef Niklas has sight again! Truly wonderful, good Mage Erin!" he says expressively, waving his arms around like he really means it, too. "I'm afraid I don't know anything to offer as a suggestion for hearing. I'm not even entirely sure how I hear, so I'll just stay out of your way," he continues, though Erin appears to be lost in thought at the moment and not really listening to him. Recognizing his chance, Sigmund cuts in.
"Morton, I think that I would need my cloak and hood back. And, if possible, that fire making device of yours."
"Yes, yes, here you are, good Sir Sigmund. I wish you luck in your endeavor, if you need help or perhaps a more subtle touch I offer my services, although I'm afraid to say I'm not one for fighting, nor liking it. Come back safely, yes?" Morton says, getting the feeling that his friends may truly be trapped in a vicious cycle of adventuring, self-destruction and reassembling. He hands over the cloak, hood and lighter to Sigmund, hoping that he'll practice proper fire safety.
Sigmund, looking at the cloak, notices two things. Firstly, it's a bit too small to look respectable on him now. Secondly, it really clashes with his outfit. The lighter looks pretty good, though.
"We will be fine, as long as everything goes according to the plan," he tells Morton. He supposes it is true, too. If only anything ever went according to plan.
"You can understand that as "if we don't come back after 2 hours, go search for us"." Kevin adds.
Niklas, meanwhile, monologues to himself, perfectly ambivalent about the fact he can see now. He is totally imperturbable in his quest to find out his exact relation to these chairs. He tries to somehow communicate with them.
"Obey me, you low-born pieces of furniture!" he thinks at the chairs near him. He thinks he sees one chair wobble strangely as a result, bending toward him unusually. Nobody else seems to have noticed it, but it's definitely there. What this means, though, is yet to be determined. He also sees Erin start doing something after a period of thought.
[Erin magic roll: 1+1]
He feels something begin to shift within him, but reality reasserts itself quickly enough, and he is still a chair, albeit one that can see stuff.
In a jail cell...
As Mark rests motionless on the ground, he can't help but feel that something in his unlife has gone terribly wrong. As he considers this, the sergeant, who passes by in a moment, asks him something.
"Perhaps I could read something for you, since you lack hands and all? We're big on treating prisoners well, you see. Except when they misbehave, but you've been punished for that already. So, how about it?"
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren judges mild lying to be a good solution to his current situation.
"Well, I was in here for the first time, and she was the first person I met. So she just told me about the sort of dangers that were down here."
"Oh. Well... um, carry on, then- wait, dangers? What dangers? Was she-"
He doesn't get to finish his sentence, as a woman's voice, though certainly not Karina's, interrupts him.
"You're still doing this, Stephen? I mean, I know you've got nothing better to do, but come on!"
The voice of the weird shape quiets down, and Darren can see the shape try to make itself seem smaller in its hiding place. Looking around to find what might have spooked the guy so much, he spots the source of the woman's voice.
Strangely enough, it looks to be a floating head. A spectral, floating head that seems to show signs of fairly messy decapitation. She looks pretty annoyed.
"I can still see you, Stephen!" she says.
"Lay off, will you? I'm just talking to this guy!"
"Yeah, so I heard. And I'm sure you just happened to be in the neighborhood, yeah? Thought you'd stop by and say hello, eh?"
The guy's voice is quiet. Darren gets the feeling that he's in the middle of some kind of squabble.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 07, 2013, 08:39:23 am
"Fine, hopefully my harpoon can find a chink in whatever armour some guards of a bookshop may have."
He says this with a sneer and a tone of superiority.
Post by: Tomcost on August 07, 2013, 08:44:38 am
-Well, the place we are going to raid has two armored guards. One of them is a six-armed blue freak. They live in a building just opposite the shop, so we can't avoid them. What we are going to do is to divide them, and take them out one by one. The guards have a grudge against another bookseller called Wallyn. Unfortunately for them, he is a fire mage and has already killed one of the guards before. One of us is going to ask one of the guards to take us to the bookseller because we need to warn him of something important. Meanwhile, the other two of us break the door of the store, which will cause the remaining guard to get out of the building to see what is happening. We take him out, then. Whoever is warning the bookseller then makes him get to the store, along with the guard. Then we three take them out.
He then asks to them:
-So, who wants to do what? Scott, obviously, will be the thief, as nobody knows him. But either me or Kevin can be the ones to inform the Bookseller of the supposed dangers they will face.
Sigmund then addressses Scott:
-We can change weapons if we need to do so. I think that Kevin's crossbow would fit your job more, in case you need to take the bookseller as a hostage.
Post by: miauw62 on August 07, 2013, 08:54:43 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 07, 2013, 08:59:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 07, 2013, 09:01:59 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 07, 2013, 09:08:34 am
Sigmund answered Kevin's doubt:
-We want to rob Brenwicke and his guards. It would be very dangerous to even try to fight Wallyn, as he is a fire mage. Speaking of which, I borrowed this little device from Morton -Sigmund then shows the magical lighter-. It can ignite a fire anywhere, so to cover our operations, maybe we will need to set fire to the sore after picking everything we need from the shop.
Post by: miauw62 on August 07, 2013, 09:41:55 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 07, 2013, 10:00:27 am
-It would be better if we don't get Wallyn involved, we are just going to blame him. The idea is to have someone, who I think that will be me, go and tell one of the guards to take me to Brenwicke, so that I can warn him. Meanwhile, Scott breaks into the store, causing the other guard to get out of the building to go and defend it. Then, while he is fighting Scott, you attack him from behind. I will buy some time and then lead both the guard and Brenwicke back, so that you can use the guard's armor and weapons against the last one. Once we have killed everyone, we loot the store and set everything, including the bodies in fire.
He then sighs and asks:
-Is it clearer this way? Anyway, I think that you will need this to take down the guards.
Sigmund then hands his guisarme and his cloak and hood to Kevin
-Use the hood so that they don't recognize you, in case everything goes wrong. The weapon, as you can notice, has a nice hook you can use, I think, to down people.
Post by: miauw62 on August 07, 2013, 10:15:30 am
"Cool. Alright then. Let's hope Brenwicke doesn't live in his store."
He then gives the bow to Scott.
"I think this is for you, then? I'd like to have it back after this, tough."
Post by: Tomcost on August 07, 2013, 10:19:15 am
-So, you have a harpoon, right? Are there more in this ship? Because you need a weapon to fight hand to hand, but I also need a weapon to help you.
Post by: Xantalos on August 07, 2013, 02:37:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 07, 2013, 05:24:44 pm
I'll need more than the one bolt you know.
Post by: killerhellhound on August 07, 2013, 05:45:17 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 07, 2013, 07:38:53 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 07, 2013, 09:04:25 pm
Post by: miauw62 on August 08, 2013, 03:44:18 am
Kevin gives Scott his quiver.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 08, 2013, 05:18:34 am
Scott, standing up from his chair regally and brandishing his harpoon, sneers at Sigmund.
"Fine, hopefully my harpoon can find a chink in whatever armor some guards of a bookshop may have."
Sigmund sees that he might need to relate that plan of his now, so that there's no misunderstandings on who gets to be a brave headhunter and who gets to be the distraction.
"Well, the place we are going to raid has two armored guards. One of them is a six-armed blue freak. They live in a building just opposite the shop, so we can't avoid them. What we are going to do is to divide them, and take them out one by one. The guards have a grudge against another bookseller called Wallyn. Unfortunately for them, he is a fire mage and has already killed one of the guards before. One of us is going to ask one of the guards to take us to the bookseller because we need to warn him of something important. Meanwhile, the other two of us break the door of the store, which will cause the remaining guard to get out of the building to see what is happening. We take him out, then. Whoever is warning the bookseller then makes him get to the store, along with the guard. Then we three take them out."
"So, who wants to do what? Scott, obviously, will be the thief, as nobody knows him. But either me or Kevin can be the ones to inform the Bookseller of the supposed dangers they will face. We can change weapons if we need to do so. I think that Kevin's crossbow would fit your job more, in case you need to take the bookseller as a hostage."
Kevin, however, has a question.
"Eh, which bookkeeper are you talking about? Your wording isn't the best..."
Insolent jester! How dare he question Sigmund's impeccable wording! Isn't it enough that he himself knows what he's talking about?
"We want to rob Brenwicke and his guards. It would be very dangerous to even try to fight Wallyn, as he is a fire mage. Speaking of which, I borrowed this little device from Morton," Sigmund explains, showing the magical lighter to his fellows. "It can ignite a fire anywhere, so to cover our operations, maybe we will need to set fire to the store after picking everything we need from the shop."
"So, we lead one guard to Wallyn, break into Brenwicke's store, fight the guard at Brenwicke's, then Scott comes back with the other one and we fight him?"
Sigmund realizes that perhaps he needs to use more straightforward wording so that the more special teammates can understand.
"It would be better if we don't get Wallyn involved, we are just going to blame him. The idea is to have someone, who I think will be me, go and tell one of the guards to take me to Brenwicke, so that I can warn him. Meanwhile, Scott breaks into the store, causing the other guard to get out of the building to go and defend it. Then, while he is fighting Scott, you attack him from behind. I will buy some time and then lead both the guard and Brenwicke back, so that you can use the guard's armor and weapons against the last one. Once we have killed everyone, we loot the store and set everything, including the bodies in fire."
He sighs, hoping that he won't need to repeat this more slowly.
"Is it clearer this way? Anyway, I think that you will need this to take down the guards," he says, giving his guisarme and hooded cloak to Kevin. "Use the hood so that they don't recognize you, in case everything goes wrong. The weapon, as you can notice, has a nice hook you can use, I think, to down people."
"Cool. Alright then. Let's hope Brenwicke doesn't live in his store," Kevin says, handing his crossbow to Scott. "I think this is for you, then? I'd like to have it back after this, though."
Sigmund also turns to Scott, posing a question.
"So, you have a harpoon, right? Are there more in this ship? Because you need a weapon to fight hand to hand, but I also need a weapon to help you."
"I've got four on me and another one's tied around the mast. And I'll need more than the one bolt, you know."
"Oh, right," Kevin says, handing over his 60-bolt quiver as well. They look just about ready to leave for whatever they wish to do, but Morton interjects.
"Er, uh, good Sir Sigmund, I don't mean to pry into your plan but what would prevent the guard one of you distracts from rushing off to go check out the break in of the bookstore? Would that not trump the showing of someone to his boss? I may be misinterpreting your plan however, I do admit."
Sigmund thinks about this.
Meanwhile, Niklas, believing that he might actually be some kind of chairbender, tries to take control of the chairs he can observe! All the chairs shall be his!
He concentrates upon all seven chairs in the room, and he hears a low-pitched whine as the bend, twist and dramatically detach themselves from the floor, then fly into him! They form crude arms and legs that join seamlessly with Niklas' central chair. Now he has arms and legs, yay! He's now... a chairman!
Erin looks a bit surprised by this turn of events, taking several steps back and turning to the others, who also turn their heads. Or their entire bodies, in Morton's case.
"Um, guys? I think something may've happened to the guy while he was out."
Niklas, though, can't really hear anything. Well, anything that he couldn't before he hadn't become a chairman.
"Awesome! Was that magic, dad? Are you a wizard now? You think Kruub could teach me how to do that?"
"Calm down, Torkel. I'm sure daddy would like to have a moment to... process what's happened to him, I guess? Wouldn't you, my love?"
All in all, things are looking up. He still can't hear other people, but he can walk and punch things now. Maybe he can even cook!
In a jail cell...
Mark, supposing that being limbless is terribly boring and that he could use a story to cheer him up, nods as well as he can, which he does by bending his spine to align his inarticulate tree head in a vaguely affirmative motion.
"Great! I'll be back in a minute. Gotta find a book. And a chair."
The sergeant leaves in a moment, leaving Mark alone with his thoughts.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren, rather than say anything or cough to attract attention to himself, looks for an escape route.
He comes to the conclusion that he most certainly isn't surrounded in any way and could leave at any time. That's nice. Meanwhile, the squabble continues. The decapitated woman head seems to get pretty angry at the shape.
"Get out of here already, Stephen. You're being pathetic."
The shape seems to have been pushed a little too hard by this remark, and suddenly snaps back.
"You know, I don't see how my habits of spending time are any of your business! Stay out of my business, dammit! I go where I please, and you can't stop me! What're you gonna do, anyway, glare at me?"
The head's face becomes rather grim, pausing a moment, and she looks at the man disapprovingly.
"Just leave, please. You stalking her isn't going to help. She's already afraid to leave the house, and I think she might be going stir crazy in there. And you being out here is only likely to unsettle her more. I mean, look at yourself."
"What, you want me to give up?"
"I want you to move on already. She has... in her own way."
"I can see that," Stephen says, turning... three? Yeah, three bright yellow eyes in a glare toward Darren. "It still hurts, you know."
The head also turns to Darren. "Wait, who is this? Haven't seen him around," she says to Stephen, then addressing Darren directly. "Uhm, hello? Who are you? You look like you belong here, but I don't recall seeing you in the outskirts. I'm sure I'd remember someone like you."
Post by: Xantalos on August 08, 2013, 05:24:24 am
Ha ha! I now have power over chairs! I know exactly what to do with this amazing power.
Indicate that I should be given speaking stuff and sense organs to Erin for now.
He then answers his family.
Well, Torkel, I think it only worke because I was a chair, but if you want to fuse with other people to become a flesh golem of some sort, go ahead.
Dearest Helsvar, I'm fine! I just need fingers now and I can cook again! I'll be just fine ... ehehehe
Hehehehehehehehe
Hahahahaha
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
He abruptly stops evilly laughing.
*ahem*
But yes, I'll be fine.
Post by: Tomcost on August 08, 2013, 05:42:29 am
-Where did you say the harpoons where?
Post by: miauw62 on August 08, 2013, 06:37:21 am
"Holy mother of fuck!"
Kevin unsheates his sword and takes a few steps back.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 08, 2013, 07:08:54 am
Scott gives sigmund two of his harpoons, and indicates that he is ready to do stuffs. Upon seeing the golem, he will give it a swift whap with the tail end of his harpoon to what may appear to be its hind quarters. He will then attempt to sign for it to sit down and be bloody quiet.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 08, 2013, 03:31:12 pm
Pull a quarter out of her ear, pull some hankerchiefs from sleeve, just do some sort of magic trick to break the tension.
"I'm here on a mission from a god. Need to head down into the catacombs."
Post by: Tomcost on August 08, 2013, 03:42:29 pm
-We will wait until night to strike. Meanwhile, let's try to not get killed by Niklas.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 08, 2013, 06:05:43 pm
Niklas tries to somehow articulate his joy, but only manages to wobble his central chair!
"Ha ha! I now have power over chairs! I know exactly what to do with this amazing power."
And by that, he means he tries to indicate to Erin that he really wants some speech and hearing here.
[Nonverbal communication roll: 5]
Fortunately, long hours spent watching seals and waiting for a moment to pounce upon them have granted Niklas a deep enough understanding of body language to allow him to express these ideas perfectly, like poetry in motion. Awfully needy motion, but hey, that's poetry for you. Erin seems to get the idea rather nicely, though she doesn't say anything audible. Heh.
Anyway, while she does her thing, Niklas takes a moment to answer his family.
"Well, Torkel, I think it only worked because I was a chair, but if you want to fuse with other people to become a flesh golem of some sort, go ahead."
"Cool! Can I, mom?"
"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Torkel. I mean, your father seems a little... distraught. And perhaps confused."
"Dearest Helsvar, I'm fine! I just need fingers now and I can cook again! I'll be just fine... ehehehe... hehehehehehehehe... hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"[/b] Niklas says to assuage her doubts, even lapsing into full-on evil laughter to complete the impression that he hasn't changed a bit. After a moment, he abruptly stops.
"*ahem*, but yes, I'll be fine."
"Um... well, if you say so, my dear..."
Meanwhile, Erin seems about ready to help him, confused as she is.
[Erin magic roll: 1]
Niklas is suddenly overcome by rather considerable pain as two rather large holes form in his armrests. Looks like Erin started forming ears from the wrong end. Burns like fire, Niklas finds.
[Niklas endurance roll: 2]
The pain is intense enough for Niklas to immediately double over, as the sensation of something important to him suddenly vanishing kicks in, formed by long conditioning in the world of the living!
"Aw, crap. Well, doesn't look too badly hurt," Erin concludes, much to the chagrin of her fellows. Sigmund, rather than discuss this particular issue, just attends to other issues.
"Where did you say the harpoons where?" he asks Scott.
"Well... heh heh... let's just say they're very well-hidden on my person and leave it at that. Now, I need you to turn around so I can make the magic happen."
Sigmund thinks about this for a moment, and supposes he can do it. After all there's other people here. He wouldn't do anything overwhelmingly untoward if there's witnesses, right? As he turns around, Scott retrieves two harpoons.
"Holy mother of fuck!" comes an exclamation from Kevin, who takes several steps back, sword drawn, though whether this is a reaction to Scott or Niklas, Sigmund would rather not know. Scott, meanwhile, hands two harpoons over to Sigmund and considers using a third to poke Niklas a bit to make him sit down, but he appears rather downed already. What a bummer.
"So, I'm... like... ready to do stuff. I guess."
"We will wait until night to strike. Meanwhile, let's try to not get killed by Niklas."
Everyone looks at Niklas. He looks pretty harmless right now.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren explains his purpose here.
"I'm a traveling magician. Who died recently."
In order to prove his identity beyond any reasonable doubt, he performs a magic trick.
[Magic roll: 5]
He does the trick with the rags again - requires minimal audience participation, plus it's very distracting. It looks as visually impressive as ever!
"Ooh, nice trick."
Darren chooses not to follow up the kind words with any kind of reciprocation - instead, he states his mission.
"I'm here on a mission from a god. Need to head down into the catacombs."
"Catacombs? A god? What? You're talking nonsense, dear."
"Yeah, I don't remember there being catacombs in this city. What're you looking for, anyway?"
They seem oddly interested in Darren's problems.
Post by: Xantalos on August 08, 2013, 06:08:47 pm
Determine if I can hear. If so, indicate that I should be given speech capability. If not, steel myself and indicate again to get hearing.
Post by: Tomcost on August 08, 2013, 06:17:59 pm
-I'm afraid that due to these recent events I forgot to answer your question. I will entertain the shopkeeper with a story, but hint that he may be in danger at the end, so that I can buy some time for them to get rid of the guard at the bookshop.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 08, 2013, 09:25:06 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 08, 2013, 09:54:38 pm
Make sure there's a good path to run away if neccesary.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 09, 2013, 01:11:51 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 09, 2013, 02:16:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 05:58:34 am
Sigmund, having nothing better to do, goes to the deck.
[If he finds the Artiste drinking:]
-Master, why are you drinking from such a filthy bowl? Take this, it's no much, but it's definitely better that that bowl.
Sigmund hands the mug he had stolen to the Artiste
Post by: miauw62 on August 09, 2013, 06:24:50 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 06:28:50 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 09, 2013, 06:29:36 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 06:30:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 09, 2013, 08:53:36 am
Niklas takes a moment to express his pain.
"Ooooooowwwwww. That hurt considerably!"
"Are you alright, dear?"
Well, he supposes he is, actually. Just terribly inconvenienced at the moment. So he mans up, stands up and reiterates his request, still as deaf and mute as moments ago. Erin nods carefully and steps closer to him again, carefully considering her next move. She looks at the holes in Niklas' armrests, then seems to realize something.
[Erin magic roll: 5+2]
She outstretches her hands, making Niklas shake a bit as the holes seem to close up a bit, the plush insides of his armchair changing in their composition and shape, becoming something rather complex in a few moments. Niklas suddenly becomes aware of the sounds all around him, and it's a bit less dramatic than regaining sight, but still quite shocking.
"Can ya hear me now?" Erin asks Niklas, and Niklas has to admit that he can. He does find the volume of her voice a tad uncomfortable.
Sigmund, meanwhile, stops randomly gawking and speaks to Morton, who currently appears rather unfortunately ignored by everyone.
"I'm afraid that due to these recent events I forgot to answer your question. I will entertain the shopkeeper with a story, but hint that he may be in danger at the end, so that I can buy some time for them to get rid of the guard at the bookshop."
"Alright, I see, then, good Sir Sigmund, so I figure that you will stagger the two events until you are of sufficient distance away from the store then, dreadfully sorry for the confusion on my end. I wish you the best of luck with this plan, good Sir Sigmund, if you require me you shall know where to find me, I think I'll stay on the ship for a bit."
Morton, successfully having avoided inadvertently expressing any hurt feelings, turns to Niklas.
"I must say, I'm confused as to how Chef Niklas managed to do this, use the other chairs for such a form that is. A side effect of the transformation, perhaps?"
"Well, hopefully he'll tell us, eh? Speaking of which," Erin answers, then moves on with the next step of transformation. She once again stands and looks at Niklas carefully, plotting out her next move. At last, she tries something.
[Erin magic roll: 5+1]
Niklas once more feels his being change, but this time the transformation centers on his seat - the space between his main seating cushion and the harder one below it. He feels a cavity form between them, a precise, very elaborate formation of air pathways, plus a strange opening on his underside forms. Testing his new limits, Niklas senses that he can suck air in through it, making it go through his vocal pathways, which more resemble a finely-tuned musical instrument than anything else, to produce rather angelic tones with his new voice, which escapes from underneath his main cushion. Pretty strange feeling, once again.
"Alright, now that y've got your voice back, what've ya got to say, big fella?" Erin asks Niklas. "Where'd ya learn magic, anyway?"
While all of this happens, Scott decides to go with some practice. He looks for a board, but finds nothing fitting that description. Damn these non-wooden constructions!
Kevin, realizing that the danger he is in is perhaps not as great as one might suppose, lowers his guisarme, which he had confused for a sword only moments ago. How embarrassing. Still, perhaps he shouldn't stand close to Niklas. Could be dangerous.
Sigmund, gazing upon his colleagues, realizes he has little to share with them presently, so he heads back to the deck, where he notices the Artiste sitting on a barrel next to Art. And he's drinking the Special from a rather filthy bowl. My, how the mighty have fallen. And Tailor Craig's there as well, though he's conversing with the Captain currently.
"... and so, there I was, with a whole buncha documents in hand, and then the boss aspect was all 'maybe you need to get a folder for those', and I was all 'yeah', and then our eyes met, and there was this chemistry going on between us, you know? I mean, I was bored, she was bored, we had so much in common, you know? And then it was all... whoa..."
The Artiste doesn't really get to the point of this story just yet, as he momentarily loses balance on the barrel mid-lean, swaying a little.
"... I think I'm alright now. Yeah. Totally alright."
"So, what happened?" Art, also clearly experiencing more than a slight buzz, yet also far more composed in his manner, asks.
"Uhm... where was I?"
"You said there was chemistry and-"
Sigmund, however, interrupts the enchanting conversation.
"Master, why are you drinking from such a filthy bowl? Take this, it's not much, but it's definitely better that that bowl," he says, showing the mug to the Artiste. The Artiste stares at him with a glazed look.
"Oh, don't be silly. How am I supposed to drink from an empty mug? Come back when it's full, will you?"
That's sound thinking of a sort, Sigmund guesses.
"So, yeah, after you saw there was chemistry, what'd you do?"
"Oh, right. So, there's me, and then there's the aspect - and she's looking totally interested, so I get all smooth and whatnot, and then I... wait, no. She leans in and asks... something, I wasn't listening at the time, and it wasn't important, so I asked if she was having a good day, and she said no. So I asked if I could help with that, and she went all 'okay', so I helped her file some documents that day. As in, literally file 'em. Pretty neat way to spend the evening, all in all."
Sigmund considers his next move. Should he act the part of the waiter, or should he try and hold onto an illusion of dignity?
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren, guessing that there's some kind of reason these people don't know what he's talking about. So he rephrases his needs.
"Maybe not catacombs. Just rather deep down, there's an artifact I'm supposed to be getting."
"Huh. It's been a long time since I've seen any treasure hunters aside from the girl."
"No, no, he's on some kind of divine mission - weren't you listening?"
"But what's this artifact you're talking about? I mean, the engineer quarter has got plenty of junk, but artifacts? Not so sure about those."
Darren supposes he could make a run for it if he wants to. Well, a float for it. But that would be pretty impolite, and these people, while rather strange, don't seem immediately harmful. Then again, weren't the most dangerous ghosts the ones that seem harmless?
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 09:20:26 am
-It is not empty anymore, Master. And I can assure you that it would be more comfortable to drink frm this mug.
[If he accepts:]
Sigmund gives the mug to the Artiste and says:
-Let me also dispose of that dirty bowl.
Sigmund takes the bowl and empties it in the barrel, then goes to the shore and washes his hands and the bowl, then gets to the kitchen and deposits it there.
EDIT:
also mentally curse having to start from the lower levels of servitude again
Post by: Innsmothe on August 09, 2013, 10:41:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 11:57:50 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 09, 2013, 03:17:01 pm
"Crown of Flowers."
Post by: Xantalos on August 09, 2013, 03:25:43 pm
Yes, I can hear you, though everything is very loud. I learned magic with nothing but force of will and the help of a Viking shaman I knew.
Also, my wife and child came to converse with me, which did wonders for me not going more insane than I habitatually am.
Thank you, Torkel. Thank you, Helsvar.
Post by: miauw62 on August 09, 2013, 03:30:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2013, 03:40:12 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 09, 2013, 04:26:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 09, 2013, 06:13:58 pm
Sigmund, mentally cursing his loss of dignity as he takes the mug and fills it up with the foul brew - he is actually rather shocked when he finds that the two guys have already drunk quite a lot - aboout one sixth of the barrel, if he isn't mistaken. He then walks back to the Artiste and shows him the full mug.
"It is not empty anymore, Master. And I can assure you that it would be more comfortable to drink from this mug."
The Artiste looks at the mug for a moment, then quickly chugs down the contents of his bowl, blinking a few times afterwards before handing the bowl to Sigmund and taking the mug wordlessly.
"Let me also dispose of that dirty bowl," Sigmund says, taking the bowl and going off-ship to wash both his hands and the bowl in some nice, clean dock water. Well, except for the nice and clean part. The dock water smells pretty nasty, actually, and it's salty as hell, too. Perhaps not the best thing to wash your hands in, by all accounts, but it's not like Sigmund has any reason to care about manual hygiene much. He walks back on deck, then over to the kitchen, where he deposits the bowl.
Scott, meanwhile, walks out on deck to do some target practice. He takes aim at the mast, then fires.
[Practice roll: 3]
He is rather disappointed to find that the black material the mast is made of doesn't work very well as a practice target, if only because the bolts you fire at it have a tendency to either shatter or ricochet off the thing and fly into the sea. Luckily, Scott wises up quickly enough to only lose two bolts in the process of realizing that perhaps there are better things around to shoot.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren floats back a bit, because a bombshell like this needs some space. Otherwise somebody might get blasted into pieces.
"Crown of Flowers."
"That sounds pretty silly. A crown of flowers? Isn't that a wreath? And how is that even an artifact?"
"Actually, that does sound a little familiar. I think I heard one of the deep dwellers mention something like that once. A flowery crown, at any rate."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know. I don't hang around with the deep people."
"Neither do I!"
"You certainly look like you do."
"Stop, alright?"
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas tries his vocal apparatus out for a moment. Yep, these are certainly golden pipes, to be sure.
"Yes, I can hear you, though everything is very loud. I learned magic with nothing but force of will and the help of a Viking shaman I knew," he says in a quiet, subdued fashion, more out of instinct and a desire to keep his hearing intact than anything else.
"Also, my wife and child came to converse with me, which did wonders for me not going more insane than I habitually am. Thank you, Torkel. Thank you, Helsvar."
"I am glad to help, my love."
"So, dad, are these your friends?"
Kevin, meanwhile, unaware of Niklas' internal dialogue, notes a pleasant fact.
"Guess I'm not the only guy with a weird voice anymore."
Erin is a bit more confused than he is, though.
"Wait, how did ya communicate with anyone while y'were a chair?"
Everybody seems to be willing to vocalize really loudly about Niklas' latest misadventures, to be honest. It's a tad painful for the chairman.
"Wonderful, Chef Niklas can hear, speak, and see now! Also proper movement, a wonderful bonus! You say that you met your wife and child, along with learning magic while in your senseless state? How strange, but fortunate. I must profess, I didn't know you had family, Chef Niklas, but, then again, I mostly stayed out of your way," Morton comments in his typical fashion. However, he then remembers something.
"By any chance, would someone here have a cloth I could use for a moment?"
"Not me, certainly."
The others look similarly clothless, though perhaps this is but a clever illusion of some kind.
Post by: Xantalos on August 09, 2013, 06:25:04 pm
Semi-aquaintances, Torkel. Two of them are due a beating from me.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 10, 2013, 01:29:20 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 10, 2013, 02:25:07 am
Darren spoke rather loud, hoping to get the two to stop argueing.
Post by: miauw62 on August 10, 2013, 03:50:23 am
Kevin then heads to the deck, and sees that Sigmund isn't doing much, so he walks up to him and asks:
"Hey, Niklas has a mouth and ears now. Should we take him along?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2013, 10:44:55 am
Sigmund leaves the kitchen to go to the deck and see how is the Artiste doing with his alcohol intoxication.
After Kevin spoke to him, he replied:
-Surely. Plans that have a certaind degree of chance of failure can only be improved be increasing success chances, and in this case this means getting more people to mob the guard. I'm not saying that you couldn't take down that guard, I'm actually more concerned about Scott's overconfidence in these aspects. At least he is properly armed this time. So, well, I will try to convince Niklas.
Sigmund then goes to the den and adresses the chairman:
-So, now that you have acquired a new form, why not use it for the first time to murder some folk? You may be able to obtain some exotic blue meat, and maybe some cooking books if we are lucky. You just have to gang up on a guard while I distract the other, then we all gang up on that guard.
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2013, 04:05:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2013, 04:32:24 pm
-It seems that you are still getting used to hear. Fortunately, one of the guards doesn't speak. He is one of the quietest person I've ever met. He is the one with that blue exotic meat I mentioned before. I hope you consider this proposal. If we get enough money from the raid maybe you can buy a new cleaver for yourself. I know of a place who sells them for roughly twenty copper coins. Just tell us if you change your opinion.
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2013, 04:33:45 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2013, 04:42:01 pm
-I see. We will do our little raid at night, so you still have time.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2013, 04:44:59 pm
Niklas tries to explain his current situation.
"You're all talking a bit loudly; I think Bearin made my hearing a tad too sensitive. I don't quite know how I'm communicating with them, but they're here nonetheless."
Erin smiles. "Heh, Bearin. Anyway, are ya-" she says, stopping as she notices Niklas turn to something else that she can't quite see and continue speaking.
"Semi-acquaintances, Torkel. Two of them are due a beating from me."
"Uhm... why, dad?" Torkel asks his father.
Meanwhile, Kevin guesses that his work here, miniscule as it was, is done.
"Well then, I'll go ask Sigmund about the state of the plan. Maybe you could come along if you don't have anything to do, Niklas."
And with that, he leaves for the deck, which, by sheer happenstance, is exactly where Sigmund is heading as well. They meet up on the way and explain the things they know and hope for right now.
"Hey, Niklas has a mouth and ears now. Should we take him along?"
"Surely. Plans that have a certain degree of chance of failure can only be improved be increasing success chances, and in this case this means getting more people to mob the guard. I'm not saying that you couldn't take down that guard, I'm actually more concerned about Scott's overconfidence in these aspects. At least he is properly armed this time. So, well, I will try to convince Niklas."
But first, they head out to the deck to look at what the Artiste is up to. They are rather surprised to discover that Evelyn is up. They'd kind of forgotten she existed by now, actually. She seems to be speaking to the Artiste. Also, she's got some serious bed-head now.
"I have not missed much, then?"
"Well... actually, you have! See those guys who just came here, the ones over at the stairs?"
"Yes?"
"They're actually two of the undead we picked up on the road. Freaky, eh? And that guy talking with the Captain, he's... like... the guy that made 'em like that."
Evelyn looks at Kevin and Sigmund.
"Unusual, yes."
"Heh, you should see the butler guy. He's a desk now."
"Also quite strange. How is that working out?"
"Surprisingly well! Anyhow, why don't you have a drink, Evey? There's plenty to go around."
"Yeah, not like there's anything better to than get drunk right now."
"It smells awful."
"Oh, you won't care at all once you get to proper drinking."
"Hm. Very well," Evelyn replies, looking around the deck for something to drink from. Finding nothing, she ascends to the captain's quarters, returning momentarily with a wine glass. She walks over to the barrel and fills the glass with some of the brew, then helps herself to a mouthful.
[Evelyn endurance roll: 6]
She swills it a few moments, letting the taste set in, then swallows it impassively. She nods calmly.
"Interesting how this concoction seems to weaken the sensation of taste."
"Yeah, I think the tongue just quits after the third round or so. Or was it the fourth? I've lost count, really."
"Rather strong as well."
"Aw yeah, I can attest to that. In fact, I can-" the Artiste begins to reply, but is interrupted by a sudden, extremely loud burp issuing from his mouth. "Erm, I can drink to that," he finishes, raising his mug. The toast is met with approval, and the people resume drinking and chatting with their new companion.
Sigmund's gaze wanders over the others on deck. Scott seems to be looking for something at the docks, and failing miserably, while Tailor Craig and the Captain are still engaged in a conversation about the true nature of fear. Seeing that everything's fine, he heads back to the den, approaching Niklas.
"So, now that you have acquired a new form, why not use it for the first time to murder some folk? You may be able to obtain some exotic blue meat, and maybe some cooking books if we are lucky. You just have to gang up on a guard while I distract the other, then we all gang up on that guard."
However, Niklas doesn't seem to be on board with this for some reason.
"Everything is too loud for now," he says, retreating a few steps from Sigmund. Huh.
"It seems that you are still getting used to hear. Fortunately, one of the guards doesn't speak. He is one of the quietest person I've ever met. He is the one with that blue exotic meat I mentioned before. I hope you consider this proposal. If we get enough money from the raid maybe you can buy a new cleaver for yourself. I know of a place who sells them for roughly twenty copper coins. Just tell us if you change your opinion."
"I actually mean Bearin made my hearing too sensitive, but still. If that gets fixed, I'll join you."
"I see. We will do our little raid at night, so you still have time."
Erin, having heard Niklas' remark, decides to chime in.
"I think ya will get used to it soon enough. I kinda don't wanna mess with the setup I got inside ya, as it's a tad finicky. I'm not sure how exactly to fix it, I mean."
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to get this conversation back on track.
"So, the crown! Was there anything else they said about it?"
The two people turn to him once more.
"Um, no. Haven't actually talked to them about it. They're a bit too weird for me."
"So you're as useful as usual, huh?"
"Screw you, Danielle. Screw you."
"Oh, aren't we sensitive. If you aren't ready to put up with some verbal abuse, you shouldn't go around stalking people, that's what I always say."
"You know what, I'm leaving. I don't need this kind of treatment after what I've been through."
"Yeah, go cry about it somewhere else, will you?"
Stephen, rather hurt, mumbles something, then disappears into the shadows. The floating head then looks at Darren, a bit calmer now.
"Sorry about that guy hassling you - he comes here occasionally. He's got a bit of a coping problem, you see."
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2013, 04:53:36 pm
It's likely a side effect of me not being able to hear for a while.
Turning to Torkel, he calculates their beatworthyness on his mental tally, and surprisingly finds it balanced.
Actually, they both recompensed me enough just now that I don't have to punch them. Just realized that.
Sigmund, I'll take a bit to get used to hearing then go with you. I'm up for punching things.
Wander around ship, attempting to get used to the sensation of hearing. Assimilate any chairs I find into my mass.
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2013, 05:53:05 pm
-See you later, then.
He then turned to Erin:
-As we are going to a bookshop, do you want any kind of book in particular?
Post by: Innsmothe on August 11, 2013, 01:37:32 am
He will haunt the ship, stalking rats and shooting them.
Anyone who comes across him will get :"Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wats".
(and I am sad now, thinking that there may be people out there who don;t get the reference. :c)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 11, 2013, 02:26:46 am
Re-prepare some more magic tricks. They come in handy.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 11, 2013, 02:30:16 pm
Niklas shrugs in a chairy fashion at Erin's remark.
"It's likely a side effect of me not being able to hear for a while."
"Hope so, anyway. I'll be quiet around ya, anyway. Wouldn't wanna upset ya."
He then takes a tally of the crimes these people may have committed against him.
"Actually, they both recompensed me enough just now that I don't have to punch them. Just realized that."
He turns to Sigmund, hoping to explain his situation at the present time.
"Sigmund, I'll take a bit to get used to hearing then go with you. I'm up for punching things."
Sigmund, seeing that this is as far as he's gonna get with Niklas right now, says his momentary goodbyes, then turns to Erin.
"As we are going to a bookshop, do you want any kind of book in particular?"
"Uhm... well... it's a bit awkward to ask you this, but I do have one thing. Ya know romance novels? Well, what I want is kinda like that, but... focusing on a certain aspect, if ya know what I mean. Ya know what I mean, right?"
Sigmund can't help but notice that Erin is slightly uncomfortable.
Niklas, meanwhile, wanders off aimlessly through the ship, looking for chairs to potentially assimilate. Sadly, those are not available anywhere. How terrible. He also doesn't get any more used to the sensation of hearing. In fact, he isn't even sure what that might mean. Instead, he runs into Scott, who seems to be skulking around in search of something.
"Shhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting wats".
Nothing unusual, at any rate. Niklas keeps on wandering while Scott searches for rats. Vainly, one might also add, though he does shoot a shadowy corner by accident. Luckily, though, his inane pursuits may soon be drawing to an end, as the evening is starting to get late and nightfall seems to be approaching quickly.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren does his best to assuage any of Danielle's concerns about his peace of mind and health.
"Well, I'm fine, you're fine, and he wasn't hurt physically, so it's okay, right? Though um... what happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I can't really tell you that much, but the thing is, he was Karina's former fiance - I'm sure you've met her, yes? They used to be a pretty nice couple, but something... bad happened. I think it was magic-related, but I haven't been able to get anything out of Karina about it. Haven't tried to pry about it, since Karina's... well... mentally delicate, shall we say. As for our pal Stevie's condition, he's kind of gotten hit by the sort of thing the deepers get - I think it's from the whole Karina thing. When you're a ghost, you get weirder-looking the more emotional you get. It happens over time if you've got unresolved grievances of some kind, and sometimes if you just go crazy. Not sure on specifics."
Post by: Xantalos on August 11, 2013, 02:42:08 pm
((This'll be my last post for ~3 weeks; see sig.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 11, 2013, 02:48:36 pm
-You could mean many things. And, while I would probably be able to bring you all the romance novels in the bookstore, I think that I wouldn't find what you are looking for unless you tell me what it is. If it is a secret, well, I guess that I would be able to keep it. I'm not the kind of person who likes gossipping, I'm more of the kind who blackmails people, actually. But, as the only think I can possibly want from you is to use your magic, something that you have already done before without asking anything in exchange from it, I wouldn't do it. I'm sorry for that exposition, but I think that being in these kind of aspects is the best in these kind of circumstances.
Sigmund then leans foward to hear something if Erin wants to tell him
-Weird chair beast with that exceptionally good sense of hearing is not here, so don't be afraid.
((It's a pity, Xantalos, you could have pounched many faces. Ayway, if you are doing bussiness, would you mind telling Cthulhu that I will pay him back that pair of souls in a month or so? Thanks. And good luck!))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 11, 2013, 05:04:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 11, 2013, 05:32:33 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 11, 2013, 07:43:50 pm
Morton sighed, seeing that the others didn't have a cloth of any kind. A pity, he needs one rather badly. Well, no need to bother them for that, yes? Off on the hunt, for a clean cloth of which to clean himself with!
...In a moment however. Before Morton leaves, he approaches Sigmund. "Good Sir Sigmund, if I may ask of you a request? Could I perhaps see that book good Tailor Craig has given to us, so as to have something to read while you are out? I believe it would be beneficial, if only to pass the time."
Post by: Tomcost on August 11, 2013, 08:15:34 pm
-Oh, yeah, sure, you may have it. I'm not going to read it now, anyway.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 11, 2013, 08:20:36 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 11, 2013, 09:40:50 pm
As Darren said that, he glanced back towards Karina's house, a little nervous.
Post by: Xantalos on August 11, 2013, 09:49:11 pm
Niklas will participate in the bookstore raid.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 12, 2013, 01:45:52 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2013, 03:02:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 12, 2013, 04:30:09 am
Niklas, having found no chairs in the ship, heads on out to look for them elsewhere. Around the ship, in fact. Fortunately, he does find one chair. It's a rather humble wooden thing, and clearly has seen better days, but he supposes it'll do. With a simple act of will, he causes it to smash into his body rapidly and seamlessly fuse with one of his arms.
However, he is kind of at a loss on where to look now, so he just heads back on deck, where he observes Scott, who looks vaguely unsatisfied, yet also rather organized. He seems to have gathered Kevin already, though how much of this was his accomplishment remains to be seen.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund realizes that he has only a vague idea of what Erin might mean.
"You could mean many things. And, while I would probably be able to bring you all the romance novels in the bookstore, I think that I wouldn't find what you are looking for unless you tell me what it is. If it is a secret, well, I guess that I would be able to keep it. I'm not the kind of person who likes gossipping, I'm more of the kind who blackmails people, actually. But, as the only think I can possibly want from you is to use your magic, something that you have already done before without asking anything in exchange from it, I wouldn't do it. I'm sorry for that exposition, but I think that being in these kind of aspects is the best in these kind of circumstances."
"Actually, ya know something, forget about it. It's not important, ya know."
Sigmund leans forward conspiratorially.
"Weird chair beast with that exceptionally good sense of hearing is not here, so don't be afraid."
"Uhm, no. No. Forget about it, really. I don't really need anything. Think nothing of it."
She backs away from Sigmund, then promptly leaves. Hm. Her loss, then. However, he does not get to perform any proper business yet, as Morton, up until this point filled with too much horror at the possible consequences of not having any cloth to contribute much to any conversation, asks him something.
"Good Sir Sigmund, if I may ask of you a request? Could I perhaps see that book good Tailor Craig has given to us, so as to have something to read while you are out? I believe it would be beneficial, if only to pass the time."
Sigmund finds the request agreeable, handing the Handbook of Demonic Conduct and the book on the Realm of Dreams over to Morton, making sure to hide the former under the latter.
"Oh, yeah, sure, you may have it. I'm not going to read it now, anyway."
"Indeed, many thanks good Sir Sigmund. Now if you excuse me, unless either of you two have a need of me I shall resume the hunt for a clean cloth, I wish you both the best of luck," Morton replies, storing the two books inside his storage drawer. He then looks around for cloth. Sadly, looks like Erin hasn't really made any for the kitchen. How terribly shortsighted, Morton thinks. And right when he needs a rag the most, too.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren is starting to get the picture here.
"Oh, that... I heard about that. And what do you mean by she's mentally delicate?"
Danielle glances around, then, upon seeing nobody around, whispers to Darren.
"Now, I don't like to slander people, but she's kind of crazy. Going off the deep end, you know. She never leaves her house, and doesn't talk to anyone - I think she even fears me for some reason, and I used to be her best friend. Being alone, it gives her ideas, you know?"
Post by: killerhellhound on August 12, 2013, 07:03:02 am
(sorry about the absence damn fan fictions and there being awesome)
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 07:13:46 am
-Well, it seems that we are ready to go. Remember how we are going to do the things: I go and take one of the guards to the bookseller's house, then I bring both back. By that time you should have killed the other guard and taken his stuff.
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2013, 07:23:43 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 07:36:01 am
-Nothing, I was just handing a book to Morton and asking if anybody wanted an specific kind of book.
He then turned to Niklas and said:
-Glad to see that you are coming. You will probably need some weapon, but I don't know if you would be able to actually hold it.
Sigmund hands a harpoon to Niklas
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2013, 07:37:29 am
"I don't think he can hold it. He's made out of chairs, after all. He can just punch people, should be quite effective."
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 07:40:04 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2013, 07:40:49 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2013, 08:07:17 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 08:15:00 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2013, 09:40:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2013, 09:45:14 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2013, 10:06:12 am
Scott will follow the raiders, and will set up for a shot on the remaining guard.
((So no range penalties.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 10:09:17 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2013, 11:01:01 am
They splinter, so even if it only glances off say their collar, the splinters could blind them :P.)
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 01:08:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 12, 2013, 03:07:04 pm
"Hmm..." Morton ho-hummed to himself as he pondered where he could get some cloth.... OF COURSE! Morton snaps with his new wooden hands. Craig! Craig is a tailor, he might be able to have some cloth, no? The desk goes off to find his favorite robed tailor of horror.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 12, 2013, 05:17:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 12, 2013, 05:59:44 pm
Mark decides to spend his time trying to steel his mind against terrible psychic influences. He gets about fifteen minutes of mostly unhelpful practice before the sergeant gets back, several books in hand.
"Wasn't sure what book you'd like, so I brought a few. There's your regular fiction - just randomly picked it out from the shelf, then there's some explorer's memoirs. And a book of entertaining avenues of magic, whatever that means. Finally, some kind of self-help book. Sway once for the first, twice for the second, thrice for the third, four times for the fourth."
He stares at Mark, awaiting an answer of some kind.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
The deck of the ship, already filling up rather nicely, is soon getting a bit crowded as Sigmund finally crawls out of the dank depths of the ship, presenting himself to his partners in crime.
"Well, it seems that we are ready to go. Remember how we are going to do the things: I go and take one of the guards to the bookseller's house, then I bring both back. By that time you should have killed the other guard and taken his stuff."
Kevin, Scott and Niklas all listen to varying degrees. Only Kevin has anything particularly important to say, though. For a given value of 'important', anyway.
"Alrighto, then. Let's go kick some ass. What took you so long anyway?"
"Nothing, I was just handing a book to Morton and asking if anybody wanted an specific kind of book," Sigmund says, turning to Niklas right after, offering a harpoon. "Glad to see that you are coming. You will probably need some weapon, but I don't know if you would be able to actually hold it."
Judging by the fact that the slightly larger than man-sized chair amalgamation has no hands, Sigmund would guess that's a no.
"I don't think he can hold it. He's made out of chairs, after all. He can just punch people, should be quite effective," Kevin adds. He then realizes one thing - Sigmund's no leader! Why, he probably can't even tell left from right, not to mention that whole mushroom debacle. Therefore, by usurping his right to lead the team, Kevin is acting in the name of the public and private good at the same time. He raises his arm in a vaguely leader-like manner, the way he's seen mighty conquerors do it when they disapproved of his jokes back in the career jester days, and begins leading the team over to the bookstore. As the terrible four make their way through the nefarious crossroads of Shriekpot, during which Sigmund performs a rare combination of confusedly half-screaming and fainting at the same time (though it matters not - he is loyally dragged onward by his fellows, who grab him by his rather handy rubber feet), they observe little activity around themselves.
Meanwhile, back out on deck, Morton has successfully braved the stairs and found that Tailor Craig is indeed right out on deck, speaking to the captain about something barrel-related, and that there seems to be some kind of party going on right now.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren continues his conversation about Karina and her rather noteworthy peculiarities.
"Yeah, sort of. How does she look, compared to how she did in the old days? Any different?"
"Not really - not yet, anyway, as far as I know. And it's kind of difficult to tell - you get used to certain faces, you know? Also, these things take time, and she's only really started to isolate herself the past... erm... fifteen years, I guess? And it was only a month ago when I last spoke to her, too. She hasn't had as much time as some others - like Stephen, for instance. That guy's been stewing in his confused head the entire time he's been undead, I'd say. Only way I know how to prevent becoming like him is to, well, be a normal human being. Talk to people, fit in, that kind of thing."
Post by: Xantalos on August 12, 2013, 06:57:10 pm
Follow the group.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 12, 2013, 07:05:45 pm
Ah, there he is! Talking with Master Artiste, about the barrel it seems. Hm, quite the crowd up here too. Morton moves towards the two, greeting them in turn along with the other two mages there. "Good Master Artiste, good Tailor Craig, good Mage Art, and..." The desk paused as he looked at the last mage. He knows she's one of the mages with the group, but the name is alluding him. Oh dear. Uh... "Good Miss Mage. I do hope I'm not interrupting anything, but good Tailor Craig, could I perhaps request use of a cloth suitable for cleaning wooden surfaces? I'd like to keep myself in proper condition, you see." The desk entreated of the man.
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 07:12:57 pm
-The guards are armored and carry swords. One of the is a six-armed but silent blue fellow. Any questions before I go to distract one of them?
Post by: killerhellhound on August 12, 2013, 07:25:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2013, 07:39:13 pm
[If here are no questions.]
-All right. Stay away so that you are not seen, and wait until I get far away.
Sigmund then goes and knocks on the door He then says to the guard:
-I apologize for coming at this hour, but I really need to speak with your employer.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 12, 2013, 10:01:48 pm
((I doubt I've moved more than 50m and already so much interesting stuff here. Really well done.))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 13, 2013, 02:11:45 am
If the plan fails violently, Scott will fire into the resulting melee and peg it back to the ship.
Post by: miauw62 on August 13, 2013, 02:49:53 am
Kevin hides somewhere nearby.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 13, 2013, 06:32:11 am
Niklas, realizing he really wants to have a cool harpoon arm - it'll give him rather good sea cred, he believes - tries to transmute the thing into a chair!
However, it does not work for some reason. Guess because it's not a chair or something. Damn it. Now he truly realizes how cool a harpoon chair would be, too. Such a shame.
"Ooh, ooh, dad! I've got an idea! Maybe you could... detach your arm and send it flying to someone! And then they'd explode! And your arm would explode, too! It'd be like fireworks, the ones Kruub does, but way more smelly and dangerous!"
"Torkel! Don't distract daddy while he's doing magic!"
As Niklas' plan fails, the others move along. Particularly Sigmund, the point man in this little scheme, who has recently woken up from a state of paralyzing terror.
"The guards are armored and carry swords. One of them is a six-armed but silent blue fellow. Any questions before I go to distract one of them?"
There don't appear to be any. Sigmund wonders if this is because they weren't listening. After supposing that to be the case, he wanders over to the store and knocks on the door. Nobody answers.
Kevin, observing that the plan is in motion, immediately feels a little exposed. He looks around for any place to hide, but, not finding any, stands in the middle of the street next to Scott, who... has disappeared somewhere. Damn it! Okay, he stands next to Niklas, hoping that the latter will prove distracting enough for nobody to pay attention to him.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, sort of forgetting what's what in a moment of absentminded confusion, wanders over to the Artiste, Art and... that other lady, Not-Erin or something.
"Good Master Artiste, good Mage Art, and..." he begins, but then realizes that he really doesn't remember this woman's name. How embarrassing. "Good Miss Mage."
"Evelyn, actually. I did not sleep that long, did I?" Evelyn asks.
"Actually, you practically hibernated. Winter's over now, in fact."
"Ah. Of course," Evelyn says, finishing what may be her fourth glass of the Special already.
"To tell the truth, I really didn't remember your name when you stepped over here! Hahahah!" the Artiste says.
Morton then tries to segue into conversation, but realizes that he really doesn't know why he's talking to them.
"Erm, well... carry on," he says, shambling over to where Tailor Craig and the Captain are speaking.
"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything, but good Tailor Craig, could I perhaps request use of a cloth suitable for cleaning wooden surfaces? I'd like to keep myself in proper condition, you see."
Tailor Craig turns to Morton, producing a white, sturdy rag from his pocket. "No trouble at all, really," he says, handing the thing over to Morton.
In a jail cell...
Mark sways four times, in the mood for some self-help right about now.
"Self-help it is, then," the sergeant says, getting out a thick book with the word THINK written on it in bold letters.
"Okay, so this book is called 'THINK: Self-Improvement Via Self-Control'. I haven't read it, so I guess I'll start from the introduction."
He opens up the book, going through several pages.
"Damn, that's a long foreword. Okay, here's the introduction... hm, okay."
He clears his throat and begins.
"Introduction - But I Think Already!"
"Greetings and salutations, noble reader! You have shown surprisingly good judgment by purchasing or otherwise... obtaining this wise volume of smart words that will make you brain better. Now that that's out of the way, we can get to business. You are clearly lost, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this book. After all, if you knew what you were doing, why would you need help? You see, the problem is, you don't think. No need to be ashamed of it except in a purely motivational fashion - in today's impatient and relentlessly babied society, very few can say they truly think about things. And those that do usually really don't, either. This is a problem. However, by obtaining this book, you have stepped on the path to improvement, and its ideas will help you quite immensely if you take them to whatever organ houses your particular thoughts. Pay attention! You will gain much by learning and considering, but, most of all, thinking!"
"Chapter One - How To Think!"
"Thinking is easy, really! You do it every day! The key to doing it is to stop. Stop what you're doing, stop moving, stop physical activity, and turn inwards. Your thinking box considers this the proper signal to start properly working, you know. And your thinking box, such as it may be, may come in handy quite a bit. Unless you're an idiot, in which case you shouldn't be thinking at all and this book is of no use to you. But you wouldn't know anything about it even if you were, so we have no choice but to continue."
"As it was mentioned, when in control of a situation (for example, when cooking a meal at home or chiseling what may be a priceless sculpture out of stone), it pays to stop and consider your next move, your method of achieving your objective and how exactly you could fail at what you hope to accomplish. With this in mind, proceed calmly and in a controlled fashion, and you will find that many things may become easier! It is certainly amazing what hidden depths your mind possesses when you actually bother to use it! Go ahead, try it sometime. Stop, THINK, then act!"
The guard shrugs.
"Seems like pretty obvious advice. And yet there's a great many more chapters here."
He turns a few pages, then gets back to the page right after the one he just read.
"Chapter Two - Applied Thinking!"
"You can apply your thinking box to a great many endeavors, but perhaps the best use of it is in craftsmanship! While some people craft purely by instinct, many people may find that they benefit from some planning and restraint more than their wild artistic vision! It helps to not bite off more than you can chew, and when you THINK, you realize your limits and how to not overstep them! As such, you may find your work improve substantially if you plan it out more, though make sure to allow for flexibility - also a great function of your boundless mind that you are encouraged to use!"
"Also, you can apply thinking to social situations as well, though it usually gets a bit awkward if you do - while you are being smart, you doubtlessly will look like a complete fool if you haven't practiced a good thinking face to put on. A good strategy is to ask a question about something unimportant, then, while your partner answers you, think of a strategy on the spot! Try it with your friends and family. Or, better yet, total strangers! But probably the best way to apply thinking socially is to read your partner even before you begin to speak - very good when you are trying to approach someone and you need something from them, whether your end goal is a promotion or an illicit sexual relationship!"
The sergeant coughs a bit.
"Chapter Three - When Things Go Out Of Control!"
"However much it may please you, sometimes things aren't within your control and you can't take things at your own pace, whether due to time constraints or imminent danger. These situations are not conducive to thinking, naturally, and most of what you have learned here may not apply, as you simply have no time to think! For instance, there might be a bear running after you! Or your house might be on fire! Or your children might be in the middle of being slowly decapitated! These situations happen, and there is little you can do to prevent them."
"That is, unless you think far enough ahead to avoid most of them, but that's the master class of this particular form of self-improvement. For ordinary people, it helps to prioritize! While performing a routine, instinctual action such as, say, trying to escape a bear, you may still distract yourself to think of something, and this may actually be helpful! However, it is also dangerous, so you had best be careful! Overall, the strategy in these cases should be to remove yourself from immediate peril if possible, then THINK carefully on your next move! And in a time-sensitive situation, take a moment in the beginning of your task to figure out what exactly you need to do and make a plan - it increases your efficiency nicely enough that the loss of time may be worth it!"
The sergeant coughs again, this time more intensely, and puts the book down.
"Excuse me, I'll go get a glass of water or two for myself."
He gets up and walks off for now.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren, having received quite a lot of information these past few minutes, decides to keep the exposition streak going.
"Alright, so what do you know about what it's like down there? Where it's really deep?"
"Well, not a lot, to be honest - I'm not even sure where exactly that is - I think they're talking about the engineers' graveyard, which is on the west - well, what used to be the west side of town. I didn't go there when I was alive - I didn't have any engineer relatives. And the last time I wandered into the engineers' quarter back when I was alive, which is near the graveyard, well..."
Her head tilts slightly as she looks at her absence of a body.
"It didn't end well for me, let's say. I'm still not sure what happened there - some kind of accident, I think."
Post by: Tomcost on August 13, 2013, 07:05:24 am
Sigmund then goes and knocks on the door He then says to the guard:
-I apologize for coming at this hour, but I really need to speak with your employer.
Edit:
Knock the door of the house where the guards live Say the same thing:
-I apologize for coming at this hour, but I really need to speak with your employer.
[If it goes unanswered]
Try to see if the door is unlocked
Post by: miauw62 on August 13, 2013, 08:24:39 am
Kevin looks around again, searching for a hiding spot.
Post by: Tomcost on August 13, 2013, 09:57:15 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 13, 2013, 10:44:56 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 13, 2013, 03:13:26 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 13, 2013, 09:21:35 pm
If Sigmund's knock goes unanswered, punch the door down.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 13, 2013, 09:24:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 13, 2013, 09:25:05 pm
[You should really go raiding a furniture store.]((I will at some point, but for now I promised to be muscle for these guys.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 14, 2013, 02:59:14 am
Sigmund, supposing nobody's in the store, knocks on the door of the house of the guards. Also no answer. How terrible.
He pulls on the door to the house. It proves to be locked. Aw.
As Sigmund fails yet again, Kevin looks around to see if there really is no spot he could possibly hide in. After a solid minute of thought he concludes that yes, this indeed seems to be the case. How utterly unfortunate.
Scott, meanwhile, having ingeniously stepped into an alley, considers poking his head out to observe Sigmund. When he does, he sees only failure and discontentment. Par for the course, really.
Niklas also sees something similar, albeit from a clearer vantage point. He debates the exploding flying arm idea with his son.
"That would be cool! But then I wouldn't have an arm."
"Can't you get a spare one? There's chairs... like... everywhere! Ooh, maybe you could... whoa... maybe you could make any chair just explode! Somebody sits down on a chair, you know, and you're like 'BOOM!', and then the chair goes kablooie!"
Niklas finds this conversation rather stimulating, no doubt, but he also feels that there is something else he can do here. Like help Sigmund knock like a true raider of the sea knocks. That's a knock you can't refuse, after all.
He strolls up to the door and winds up a punch, then goes for it!
[Niklas demolition roll: 2+1]
He punches the door! It wobbles a little, but doesn't seem quite ready to give in that simply. However, both he and Sigmund can hear some activity start up in the house. Niklas doesn't doubt that these must be the girly men known as guards, scurrying around in fear of the power of magic-powered chairs.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton asks one more question as he accepts the rather clean rag.
"Ah, many thanks, many thanks indeed, good Tailor Craig. Hm, would you perhaps know where I could find a mirror of which to inspect myself?"
"There used to be one in the captain's quarters from what the Artiste told me, but it's not there anymore. I think your transmuter might be prejudiced against them somehow."
How unfortunate, Morton thinks. Mirrors are so fun! So what if they steal your soul? Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to look acceptable.
Post by: Xantalos on August 14, 2013, 03:05:45 am
Well, I'll see if I can go about that after I do this.
Post by: miauw62 on August 14, 2013, 04:36:18 am
Kevin steps into an alley too.
Post by: Tomcost on August 14, 2013, 06:15:37 am
-Hide, please. They should not suspect of te presence of anybody except from mine.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 14, 2013, 06:50:58 am
If a melee erupts, fire at the aggressors.
If the plan actually proceeds as normal, fire at remaining guard.
If there are more aggressors than planned, fire into them and peg it for the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on August 14, 2013, 11:09:09 pm
Sigmund silently tells to Niklas:Edited
-Hide, please. They should not suspect of te presence of anybody except from mine.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 15, 2013, 05:46:25 am
Niklas is about to do something interesting, but Sigmund tries to stop him with his whispered instructions.
"Hide, please. They should not suspect of the presence of anybody except from mine."
Niklas, guessing he understands the gist of it even if the wording's a tad confusing, dives into a nearby open sewer, completely disappearing from sight within seconds with a mighty splash.
As this happens, Kevin looks over at the nearby alley and realizes that it was a bit stupid of him to not notice that, really. So he just walks in there, joining Scott, who appears to be getting a bit antsy and ready to shoot people on sight.
Meanwhile, Sigmund stands around, possibly expecting something to happen. He doesn't really see or hear anything of importance, though. The house seems quiet, and little happens. That is, until he hears a rather impatient snapping from right above him. Looking up, he notices the six-armed guard looking out of the window at him mutely.
Post by: Tomcost on August 15, 2013, 07:32:19 am
-Thanks Rysinia you are fine! When nobody answered I feared for the worst. I suppose the other guard is still fine, right? I urgently need to speak to your employer.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 15, 2013, 08:34:09 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 15, 2013, 08:48:18 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 15, 2013, 08:49:45 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 15, 2013, 09:04:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 15, 2013, 09:58:23 am
Sigmund tries his best to feign being a decent person.
"Thanks Rysinia you are fine! When nobody answered I feared for the worst. I suppose the other guard is still fine, right? I urgently need to speak to your employer."
The guard shakes his head. Well, that's an awfully impolite response.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 15, 2013, 10:28:43 am
Sigmund told to he guard:
-Please, I fear that he may be in danger! It's about Wallyn!
Put special enfasis in the last sentence
Post by: Xantalos on August 15, 2013, 10:53:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 15, 2013, 11:51:01 am
Sigmund goes for a more desperate-seeming approach.
"Please, I fear that he may be in danger! It's about Wallyn!"
The guard looks at Sigmund with a bit of interest.
Post by: miauw62 on August 15, 2013, 12:07:29 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 15, 2013, 01:23:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 15, 2013, 02:05:03 pm
Darren is a bit intrigued by the info he's obtained just now.
"So when you die, there's markings of how you died on your ghost body? I honestly did not know that... makes sense. though. Hey, should I be scared heading down there? Karina told me that things weren't quite sunshine and cotton candy, but I'm going to want multiple opinions."
"I'm... not sure, to be honest. Most of the people here don't really have any interest in harming you, but I hear some people have... tempers, if you know what I mean. Like Stephen over there, and all the other weird ones. Be careful not to set them off, unless you know exactly what you're doing."
Post by: Xanmyral on August 15, 2013, 02:56:51 pm
"Hm, how strange. Ah well, it isn't any harm, I can make do without, shouldn't be too hard. I thank you again good Tailor Craig, now if you excuse me..." Morton said as he made his way into the kitchen. Once there, he'll try to find a flat metallic surface and attempt to polish it so that it may cast a reflection, failing that a wide container filled with water that he may use to garner reflections. Even failing that though, he'll just do a general wipe down of himself to make sure that there are no unsightly rings.
Post by: Tomcost on August 15, 2013, 03:43:13 pm
-Yes, I think I hear him planning to get rid one of his rival booksellers. Please, we have to go and warn him!
Post by: Innsmothe on August 16, 2013, 02:04:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 16, 2013, 04:08:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 16, 2013, 05:03:40 am
Morton, slightly disappointed at the lack of mirrors, thanks his good buddy Tailor Craig.
"Hm, how strange. Ah well, it isn't any harm, I can make do without, shouldn't be too hard. I thank you again, good Tailor Craig, now if you excuse me..." he says, heading over to the kitchen, where he finds a shiny black surface - a wall! The entire kitchen is a shiny black, though you can't really see your own reflection in it. Morton hopes to correct that.
After a minute or five of furious polishing, he finds himself to be successful! The wall is now rather wonderfully reflective, whereupon Morton notices the rings on his surface. Gah, how infuriatingly improper! Time to get rid of them!
[Self-cleaning roll: 6]
He cleans his surface with a fury that only a practiced butler could possibly muster, and soon finds that he has achieved a rather interesting effect! His surface, formerly a rather matte-looking affair, is now also rather wonderfully reflective. And there's no rings. All in all, wondrous things have been achieved.
Outside a house of guards...
Sigmund goes ahead and commences the next part of his persuasion attempt.
"Yes, I think I hear him planning to get rid one of his rival booksellers. Please, we have to go and warn him!"
The six-armed guard stares at Sigmund for a moment, then disappears from the window frame. A few minutes later, the other guard, looking rather sleepy, appears in his place.
"Erm, my friend here wants me to ask you something. It's not like we don't trust you, though we really don't, what with you being one of our undesirables, but before we disturb our kind and gracious employer, tell me and my friend a few things. So, you saw Wallyn?"
Scott and Kevin, meanwhile, grumble at each other from the alley, not really sure what's taking so long.
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 05:52:53 am
-First, I apologize again for what happened with those mushrooms. If it makes you feel better, I almost lost both my legs due to it. Second, yes, I've been to Wallyn's shop. I came up there because, well, I was looking for an alternative to Brenwicke's, I have to admit. But I did not expect to find him discussing with a city guard. Wallyn was giving him a bag of some kind, and for its weight I can only presume they were coins. He never mentioned Brenwicke's name, but as I don't know any other shop in this city, I came to warn you. He was telling the city guard that the shop's guards, that I presume were you, had been a liability in destroying the shop, and that despite his attempts at luring you to him, they weren't going to be enough. I think he said something about a broken window. So he thought that, on the other hand, taking out the shopkeeper would be way easier. And then he glanced at me, and as by that time I was just staring at what he said, I pretended to not have heard anything and left the place.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 16, 2013, 06:57:23 am
Sigmund goes on to explain more about what he has apparently seen.
"First, I apologize again for what happened with those mushrooms. If it makes you feel better, I almost lost both my legs due to it. Second, yes, I've been to Wallyn's shop. I came up there because, well, I was looking for an alternative to Brenwicke's, I have to admit. But I did not expect to find him discussing with a city guard. Wallyn was giving him a bag of some kind, and for its weight I can only presume they were coins. He never mentioned Brenwicke's name, but as I don't know any other shop in this city, I came to warn you. He was telling the city guard that the shop's guards, that I presume were you, had been a liability in destroying the shop, and that despite his attempts at luring you to him, they weren't going to be enough. I think he said something about a broken window. So he thought that, on the other hand, taking out the shopkeeper would be way easier. And then he glanced at me, and as by that time I was just staring at what he said, I pretended to not have heard anything and left the place."
The guard takes a moment to yawn, then answers, standing up and not leaning out of the window anymore.
"That's all very interesting, but I have another question. Two, actually. What does Wallyn look like, and where is his shop?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 07:26:11 am
-Well, I think that he was slightly above average in height, or at least considering my height as something not average. He had short hair, and, I don't know, there was something in his face, something wicked when he smiled. There is something about him that is not right, yet I can't describe what it is, or maybe it was just a hunch I had. Well, because of that it's why I came here in the first place. And his shop is an alley with a funny name. It was... the Alley of the Silent Shouts, wait, Screams I think it was. Seriously, who names those places?
((I hate the RNG. And the guards probably know that I'm lying. Shit. Well, prepare to fight, or run. Luckily, it's night, so I think I can run))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 16, 2013, 07:50:50 am
Sigmund tries to hang onto his lie as hard as possible, beyond reason.
"Well, I think that he was slightly above average in height, or at least considering my height as something not average. He had short hair, and, I don't know, there was something in his face, something wicked when he smiled. There is something about him that is not right, yet I can't describe what it is, or maybe it was just a hunch I had. Well, because of that it's why I came here in the first place. And his shop is an alley with a funny name. It was... the Alley of the Silent Shouts, wait, Screams I think it was. Seriously, who names those places?"
"Actually, that's entirely correct!"
"What, really?"
"Nah, not really. And it's the Alley of Muffled Screams. Good effort, though. So, what's your deal, anyway?"
He doesn't seem overtly hostile to Sigmund, if a bit guarded in his manner.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 08:05:39 am
-Oh, well, screw everything. Sorry to wake you up.
Go to the alley where the rest are.
-Shit failed. So, if you decide to engage in open combat it's up to you. I can try to burn down the place, though.
Post by: miauw62 on August 16, 2013, 08:46:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 08:47:25 am
-Yes, Morton gave this to me. It can produce flames!
Post by: miauw62 on August 16, 2013, 08:49:27 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 08:57:36 am
-No, I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything by this time. I'm just proposing alternatives. Because the alternative in which we pay twenty-four gold coins to the shokeeper in exchange for the books is far away from our reach.
Post by: Xantalos on August 16, 2013, 09:00:59 am
What's all this now?
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 09:07:07 am
-Whatever you want. There are two armed and armored guards that prevent us from getting the books our master wants. We are four, but we aren't properly equipped. You choose what you want to do.
Post by: Xantalos on August 16, 2013, 09:08:38 am
Attempt to materialize a sword made out of tiny chairs using my chair magic!
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 09:09:19 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 16, 2013, 09:11:06 am
((Pst, swords are bad against armor))((A test. If this works I can reform it into something else. I think.))
Post by: Xanmyral on August 16, 2013, 09:33:21 am
((Pst, swords are bad against armor))[Have you tried half-swording? That tends to fix the issue. Or turning the sword around for that matter, does the trick too. EDIT: Also aim for the joints, the armor is the weakest there for obvious reasons.]
"Wonderful, truly wonderful." Morton happily talked to himself as he saw the unsightly rings gone. "Hm... What now though?" The desk pondered to itself. The others seem to be on the deck, but he loathes to expose himself to the elements so soon after just cleaning himself. He did get the book from good Sir Sigmund, and the den is unoccupied... With that, the desk sets off towards the den!
Once there, assuming no one else is in said room, the desk will inspect the two books given to him. Hm... While the other book Sigmund gave him looks interesting, Morton feels like giving the book given to them by good Tailor Craig to be more interesting, so gently cracks open the book and sets to reading once in a comfortable position in the den.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 16, 2013, 01:42:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 02:34:45 pm
-I complained about the possibility of setting ourselves on fire if we had to actually throw something lit. And at the end I agreed with you, but told you to be careful. I don't owe you anything for your time, we were all discussing what to do.
Post by: miauw62 on August 16, 2013, 02:38:05 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 16, 2013, 02:39:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2013, 02:45:32 pm
-Thinking about it better, Niklas may be caught in the flames, and that can't be good. Any ideas on how to approach this?
((Now I realize something))
[If Sigmund gets chased by the guards, he won't say anything]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 16, 2013, 06:01:59 pm
After thanking her for the information, Darren glances down towards the deep area.
"Well, I'll be going now. Any other dire warnings?"
Listen to warnings or lack thereof, then go.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2013, 07:35:29 am
Sigmund figures he should just give up now, before he inadvertently reveals more things.
"Oh, well, screw everything. Sorry to wake you up."
"Run along, then. And don't loiter around here, either. It's bad for business!"
Sigmund leaves quietly, heading over to the alley.
"Shit failed. So, if you decide to engage in open combat it's up to you. I can try to burn down the place, though," he says with a look of defeat on his face.
"Burn their house down?" Kevin asks, not so familiar with all of Sigmund's little devices. Sigmund, glad to have at least something pleasing to show, brandishes the lighter.
"Yes, Morton gave this to me. It can produce flames!"
Kevin, however, not satisfied with Sigmund's momentary surge of joy, tries to kill the buzz. "Are you sure that's going to burn down the entire house? Before they come out and whoop our ass?"
"No, I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything by this time. I'm just proposing alternatives. Because the alternative in which we pay twenty-four gold coins to the shopkeeper in exchange for the books is far away from our reach."
Just as the conversation hits a low point, Niklas slinks out of a nearby sewer, gracing the assembled undead with a most interesting stench.
"What's all this now?"
"Whatever you want. There are two armed and armored guards that prevent us from getting the books our master wants. We are four, but we aren't properly equipped. You choose what you want to do."
This defeatist attitude does little to deter Niklas, who immediately has an idea.
"I've been meaning to try this stuff out."
He concentrates for a moment, trying to shape something like a chair-sword out of thin air! He tries rather hard, but little happens that he can see. Dang.
"Aw, it would have been so cool if you could have made a chair! Then you could do that exploding thing all day long!"
Scott, in the meantime, explains how unimpressed he is with Sigmund's choices lately.
"Seriously? You admonished me for being a pyromaniac, and now you are doing it because it's convenient? Hypocrite. You owe me something for my time."
Sigmund doesn't really like that tone of Scott's, to be honest.
"I complained about the possibility of setting ourselves on fire if we had to actually throw something lit. And at the end I agreed with you, but told you to be careful. I don't owe you anything for your time, we were all discussing what to do."
"Chill the fuck out. At least we're achieving something by burning this house down."
"Be careful not to burn me or I will break you," Niklas adds. It is kind of important, as, while his limbs are chiefly made out of that black material that the ship was crafted from, the central, important chair that he believes his consciousness resides in is not. And he wants to keep a pretty face, you know.
"Thinking about it better, Niklas may be caught in the flames, and that can't be good. Any ideas on how to approach this?"
Sadly, though, there are few.
In the kitchen of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, supposing there are few better things for him to do, goes on to read the Handbook of Demonic Conduct, as the den is right in the next room and he is all shiny, and thus unsuitable for display outside. He opens up the tome and commences his reading.
As the title says, this is indeed the Handbook of Demonic Conduct, 1st edition, and, as the introduction informs, it serves as the one-stop guide to behaving around the mysterious, seemingly omnipotent forces that one encounters when delving into the realms beyond the simply material. It goes on to inform that contact with demonic entities is not really something to be terribly concerned with - in fact, most of the demons the author has ever contacted have been quite reasonable, and always ready to strike a bargain of some kind. And none of them, as far as the author knows, can really be classified as malicious. Greedy, perhaps, and devious, but none of them really mean you any deliberate harm unless you break certain rules they enforce, like wandering beyond the outer segments of their realms, which may or may not lead into places beyond - the author doesn't have personal experience with the wrath of a demon, but a certain demon has once explained to him that several have met such fates in history, and that trying to travel through their realms without their permission is a bad idea.
The first chapter, appropriately enough, describes contacting a demon. It is very technical, and is absolutely filled with various diagrams and circles, as well as practical tips on portal creation - Morton guesses he sees what they're going for in most of them, and, were he in an experimental mood, he's pretty sure he could duplicate the simplest ones - the verbal "mouth" portals, which don't actually allow a demon to pass into this world, and merely serve as an avenue of communication. However, he's also equally sure that the most complex ones would take several days and a very steady, sure hand to inscribe, and who has that kind of time?
The second chapter then revolves around the first impression one can make. Apparently, demons seem to most appreciate a businesslike, yet accommodating attitude toward themselves, and will treat a person with respect if they adopt such an attitude. Two things that are inadvisable are groveling - this informs the demon that you are a 'mark', and they will seek to give as little to you as possible while taking as much, sensing your desperation. Particularly suspect are requests for 'supreme power', which betray the one who asks as a woefully inexperienced individual. But despite all that, one also shouldn't display bravado or impose demands, which most demons find quite annoying, as they are near-omnipotent, while mortals most certainly are not. The most important thing is to be polite and respectful, but also give an impression that you are here to conduct business. And to do this, one must realize what demons really want.
The third chapter, then, deals with what demons want, and states simply that their primary need is for souls. Since a single living being, by definition, has but a single soul, crazy rituals notwithstanding, this severely limits one's dealings with demonic entities, as in most situations only a single deal can be made. Luckily, though, some also have other things they will accept. For instance, the Demon of Fear responds positively to entertainment, while the Aspect of Greed (though contacting said Aspect is inadvisable, as that particular demon is the most likely of all to stiff you on a deal, being the Aspect of Greed and all) is rumored to accept spreading of its influence as payment. And certain demons have certain whims as well, rather unrelated to soul gathering, as they can be a rather bored bunch, particularly if you approach them during daytime in the spring, when they receive the least visitors. If you're lucky, you might not need to give up your soul at all if you play your cards right.
Morton takes a look at the book and finds that there's still quite a bit left, though most of it is a catalog of known demons and their modes of operation, while the rest contains several passages on the thematic nature of demons and notes on traversing demonic realms, as well as an extra chapter on gods. He also notices Erin stroll into the kitchen, then exit moments later with a mug and leave his presence.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren, rather happy about the wealth of information he has obtained, thanks Danielle.
"Alright, thanks," he says, glancing at the way the streets seem to slope in a particular direction.
"Glad to help you."
"Well, I'll be going now. Any other dire warnings?"
"Not really. Then again, I could just follow along with you for a while. I'm sure there'll be something along the way to warn you about. A float around town will be good for me, anyhow."
Her disembodied head bobs in a not entirely serious manner as she smiles at Darren.
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 08:33:18 am
-Damn, can you just decide what to do?
Post by: Innsmothe on August 17, 2013, 11:05:28 am
If you get one them out the door, I'll have him down with my x-bow so you get away during the confusion, and then we can prick the remainder with harpoons.
I am not going back to the master having failed again. It's do or die...again."
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 11:11:45 am
-I'm out of ideas, but maybe, if one of us distracts the other, that would allow three of us to gang up on the other one. We would need a plan in case everything fails, though.
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2013, 11:12:03 am
Attempt to turn a patch of the alley wall into tiny chairs.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 17, 2013, 11:15:45 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 11:29:42 am
-Same reason as before. That could be detrimental to Niklas's health.
But, then a little flash of hope crosses through Sigmund's mind, he got up and said:
-Now that I think about it, Maybe Niklas could be a nice distraction,
He then walks up to the chairman and touchs his limbs. If they are indeed rubber, he will say:
-Niklas, that material that makes your amrs is rubber. According to Erin, it's extremely flexible. That means that if you can evade the sword of one of the guards, you could just grab him and hinder him enough to let us kill the other. Maybe you should grab the normal guard, while we take out the biggest threat, the six armed one.
Post by: miauw62 on August 17, 2013, 11:36:39 am
Kevin will see if he can get the rock to go trough some of the portals on his body.
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 11:39:30 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 17, 2013, 11:44:02 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 12:04:09 pm
-They don't trust me anymore, what means that they don't trust Kevin too, and maybe Niklas, if they saw him. What we can do to lure them out of their house is to have you break into the store, and tehn we appear from behind.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 17, 2013, 12:16:26 pm
Hands x-bow to sigmund.
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 12:17:26 pm
-I would like to have the quiver too, if possible.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 17, 2013, 01:20:46 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 17, 2013, 02:42:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2013, 04:24:35 pm
As Sigmund and Scott "discuss" a "plan", Niklas goes ahead and tries some interesting experimentation.
"Hmm. So that didn't work. What if I work with an existing material?"
He concentrates on the wall, trying to form a chair out of it! However, try as he might, he achieves absolutely nothing! How wretched, he decides. In fact, he's so disappointed, he-
Wait, why is Sigmund feeling him up? That's a bit creepy.
"Erm... Niklas? Should I be... worried?"
However, before Niklas can process this latest development, Sigmund disengages, giving him a look of profound sadness as he is robbed of the joy of a personal rubber man. Uhm... okay. Niklas would question this, but Sigmund is then distracted by Kevin, who makes a peculiar request.
"We could always charge at them. It's 4 versus one, and me and Niklas are pretty strong. That reminds me, could any of you throw a rock or so at me? I want to try something."
Sigmund shrugs and looks for a rock of some sort. He finds some unidentified gravel and supposes that's good enough, at which point he throws it at Kevin's proudly-displayed chest. The gravel hits him, it seems, and Kevin is slightly disappointed when it doesn't go on miraculous adventures through the nether dimensions. Instead, it just kinda feels very unpleasant for a moment, then falls off. Mostly. Some bits get lodged in his flesh, and require a little bit of picking to be removed. Both of them shrug, and Sigmund continues his discussion with Scott, which concludes promptly when Scott willingly hands over his crossbow and, after a brief reminder, the quiver of bolts.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, guessing he might as well could finish the work he began, goes on to try and finish that handbook.
The fourth chapter is about the fact that all demons have a gimmick of some kind. It is a common rule that they will name themselves after said gimmick - the Demon of Logic, for instance, will be exactly what you expect - a highly logical being emphasizing rationality in dealings, while the Demon of Love most commonly deals in what some experts call "brides for sale", essentially perfect replicas of the ideal romantic match for any given person that feel a personal, intimate, unbreakable bond to them, all for the price of one soul. The Demon of Fear works along the lines of designed nightmares, and the Aspect of Greed... well, you get the idea. However, one shouldn't assume that this is all that a demon can do - in fact, a demon can take any form and do virtually anything at will - they merely choose to remain thematic for an unknown reason, possibly to provide mortals with a chance to tell the difference between them or because they feel it suits their personality. Also, as a consequence, you can ask any demon for any kind of favor, and it is likely that they will be able to grant it, though they may choose not to.
The fifth chapter deals with gods. When speaking of demons, it is good to define how they differ from the Five Gods, as they seem quite similar once you do a little bit of research. Though it is difficult to say for sure, several things are clear, chief among them that the gods do not require your soul for any reason, as one can easily find out through prayer to particular deities. Gods do have a tendency to grant quests of self-improvement, though they frequently may be wrapped in something else, such as the retrieval of a particular item, vanquishing of a villainous individual and so forth. In addition, the relationship between gods and demons is not entirely clear, and both the divine and demonic powers refuse to speak on the matter. Tradition holds it to be highly antagonistic, and it appears to be such at first, but there is no known ideological conflict between the gods and demons, and they do not appear to encounter each other on a regular basis, or at least such things have not been observed on the mortal world aside from apocryphal and anecdotal accounts.
The sixth chapter provides a catalog of known demons, which has eleven entries. These are the Demon of Love, the Aspect of Greed, the Demon of Logic, the Demon of Fear, the Lord of Lies, the Demon of Fire, the Demon of Pain, the Demon of Light, the Demon of Secrets, the Demon of Hate and the Demon of Unusual Tastes. Nothing particularly tea-related, Morton is afraid to say. Or fabulous things. And the Demon of Fear entry just tells Morton things he already knows - responds positively to quality entertainment, quiet type, ones who try to reach it must prepare to go through a barrage of horrors. It also contains a footnote that tells Morton to look back to a particular section of the first chapter to find suggestions for portals to the Realm of Fear.
The seventh chapter explains how to traverse a demonic realm in case you're ever there - namely, that you shouldn't try. If you're there, it's most certainly been noticed by the resident demon, and you'll be seen to momentarily. If you do try to traverse a demonic realm under your own power, it is rather likely that you will either get underfoot, annoy a nigh-omnipotent creature or merely get lost in an alien dimension. Since none of those alternatives are very pleasing, one shouldn't do it. One possible exception is the realm of the Demon of Fear, where the demon in question prefers to mess with you before seeing you, presumably for fun and research, but that still doesn't mean you should fly about within.
The eighth chapter tells of the concept of demonic aspects. Apparently, both demons and gods have the ability to split off a chunk of themselves to act independently from the rest of them. This diminishes their capabilities a bit, though this does not matter terribly much in the face of near-omnipotence. There are certain reports of demonic aspects appearing in our world occasionally - the truth of them is yet to be ascertained, but it hardly seems impossible. It stands to reason that one could deal with this aspect similarly to an actual demon, though the author has no real evidence to back up this idea.
And then, after a long list of contributors and people the author feels require special thanks, the book concludes, telling Morton to always remember that the world of demons likes nothing more than a good deal.
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2013, 04:26:07 pm
Hey, what are we talking about?
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 05:50:04 pm
-You could at least pretend that you were hearing. We are planning how to take out those guards.
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2013, 05:52:39 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 05:56:56 pm
-There are two things that could fail then. One of them is that the guards don't trust us. The other is that we may end with more problems. You know, people screaming and the like.
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2013, 05:58:02 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 17, 2013, 06:38:10 pm
-Then we have the liability of looting the store without anybody seeing us. Kevin and me have to go to the headquarters of the city guard to pick up Mark tomorrow afternoon, and if someone saw us, we can end up in jail. And there is also the problem of the guards not being noble people, you know.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 17, 2013, 07:02:02 pm
For now though, the desk looks back over chapter one, looking over all of the portals he thinks he could perhaps do. The 'verbal' ones look simple enough from what he saw, giving that specific chapter a more thorough look over might reveal more. The desk doesn't necessarily want to do anything of the sort for now, too risky for now and most likely too bothersome, but it might never hurt to look and learn more in case a need should come up.
If he doesn't believe he's found anything more of use though, he'll instead inspect the other book Sigmund gave him. Morton wasn't even aware Sigmund had this book, Realm of Dream? Isn't that where they were going?
Post by: Innsmothe on August 18, 2013, 03:54:28 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 18, 2013, 04:31:47 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 18, 2013, 09:09:46 am
-I don't think so, but it wouldn't hurt to look for it. As the guards already know Kevin and me, I think that Scott should go.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 18, 2013, 09:26:23 am
Scott will go look for a back door to the bookshop.
Post by: Tomcost on August 18, 2013, 09:42:03 am
-Don't worry, lures have to last some time in combat against two armed guards to be effective.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 18, 2013, 09:58:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 18, 2013, 10:00:29 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 18, 2013, 10:08:50 am
-Aren't we all? I mean, nobody here, except Niklas, maybe, has ever recieved fighting training, or has fought a real battle.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 18, 2013, 02:48:33 pm
After a brief session of exchanging various ideas and remarks in the alley, the group - Niklas, Kevin, Scott and Sigmund come up with an idea. Namely, that the most expendable, unpleasant and irritable member of the team, which is obviously Scott for a great many reasons beyond the strictly obvious, should go and check for a back door to the bookstore. With a last warning to the others against the potential merits of screwing him over, Scott strolls around the block, scoping out the joint.
About ten minutes later, he does realize several things. Firstly, there is some kind of yard on the inside of the block, which all of the buildings lead to. Secondly, there does appear to be a back entrance in said yard.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, having finished the Handbook of Demonic Conduct, quickly looks through its first chapter again. It seems that the verbal portals are pretty simple to make, and even some "catcher" portals that suck you into a demonic dimension look within Morton's capacity to make. Rather simple stuff, really, except for some strange bits that involve drawing... a significant image? Huh. He supposes it means that you gotta add a bit of yourself into the thing. And something relevant to the demon, he guesses. Like, maybe he could spill some tea into the circle.
All in all, a highly enlightening read, this book. Tailor Craig certainly hadn't lied when he said that this may come in handy. But now, it is time to read up on the Realm of Dreams. Morton puts the demonic handbook away and opens up Sigmund's book.
Okay, so the gist of this thing is that the Realm of Dreams, as far as we know, is reachable by the largest permanent portal to a demonic realm on this planet. This portal happens to be placed in the very middle of the Sea of Death for some reason, presumably spite, and this has, rather unfortunately, limited hands-on research on the thing most terribly. In addition, despite repeated colonization efforts, humans have been unable to establish permanent residence on nearby Horizon Isle, thus named because of the rather severe distortions on the horizon that the portal produces. As such, we have only the dimmest knowledge of what the other side of that portal may hold - only sources are, as usual, anecdotal evidence and folktales, but there are occasional snippets that repeat themselves in lore - the Realm is unpredictable, the Realm is indeed one of dreams, and those who traverse the Realm can ask for their wishes to be fulfilled.
Quite interesting, albeit less informative.
Post by: Tomcost on August 18, 2013, 03:12:15 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 18, 2013, 03:13:49 pm
Niklas just waits for Scott to come and say something while drawing a chair in the dirt and trying to manipulate that.
Post by: miauw62 on August 18, 2013, 03:21:30 pm
Kevin just sits and waits for Scott to come and say something.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 18, 2013, 05:04:44 pm
"I could probably pry the door open with a harpoon, why you lowlifes didn't scout the place out..."
He sighs.
Post by: Tomcost on August 18, 2013, 05:23:19 pm
-So, there is a back entrance?
((EDIT to actually do something:))
Sigmund will inspect the back door and evaluate the possibilities of jumping it or bypassing it without making noise.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 18, 2013, 06:28:57 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on August 18, 2013, 07:53:09 pm
((sorry about not posting but I'm still here))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 19, 2013, 02:32:18 am
He pauses a moment.
"Haven't done that since I've been alive."
WALK!
Post by: Xantalos on August 19, 2013, 02:33:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 19, 2013, 05:32:25 am
As the sad, sad individuals in the alley wait for Scott to return or give convincing proof of his death in the line of duty, Niklas decides to draw a chair in some nearby dirt. Luckily, the alley provides no shortage of it, and Niklas draws a rudimentary image of a chair. It's hardly a three-dimensional image or even a terribly convincing one (mostly on account of his lack of actual hands), but he supposes it'll do. Niklas then tries to manipulate it as well, but fails most unfortunately.
Scott, meanwhile, comes back with good news for once. He nods expressively at the group, and Sigmund can only guess at what exactly he might mean.
"I could probably pry the door open with a harpoon, why you lowlifes didn't scout the place out..."
Sigmund, having had quite enough whining and not enough action, asks him a question.
"So, there is a back entrance?"
Wait, what is he doing? It will be easier to check on his own than to deal with another tirade of passive aggression and complaining. Not waiting for an answer, Sigmund slinks over to the inner yard of the block, whereupon he does indeed spot a back entrance. He immediately approaches it, evaluating whether he could possibly jump over it, coming to the conclusion that that would probably just result in him flying into the stone wall above if he tried. He then considers how else to alternatively bypass it. He looks at the windows and finds them barred, and the walls look pretty solid, though they might be possible to climb and reach the second floor or perhaps even the roof.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, guessing that he has run out of things to read, heads back up on deck, only to find it in a very similar state, aside from the fact that Erin appears to be drinking with her fellows and that Tailor Craig and the Captain have moved slightly - the specter now appears to be explaining the principles of ghost harpoon fishing to the man and telekinetically spearing the sea at random intervals.
In addition, Erin seems to be drinking rather intensely compared to the leisurely pace of the others.
"Pace yourself, Erin! You'll just pass out if you keep at it like that."
"Nah, nah. I know my limits."
"No, no. I know your limits. You should stay away from booze altogether."
"Why's that?"
"She has an alarming tendency to use magic when drunk."
"No, I don't!"
"She also tends to become quite defensive in such an event."
"What's the worst that could happen? At least I'll see what she can do in such a state, heh."
"Oh, it's real funny to ya, ain't it?" Erin asks after finishing her drink with alarming quickness.
"Well, I find a whole lot of things funny right now that I didn't before. Like, for instance..."
The Artiste thinks for a moment, then starts to chuckle quietly, resting his face in one of his palms.
"Like what?" Art asks, leaning in toward him.
The Artiste takes several deep breaths, then looks at Art earnestly. At this point he loses it once again, guffawing with great glee, nearly falling off his barrel in the process. Evelyn also starts to stare at him. Erin, however, stumbles up from her seated position, walking over to the booze barrel for a refill, then comes back and slumps back into her place, spilling a not inconsiderable amount of the Special on her robe.
"Aw, dammit! That's gonna leave a stain, ya know," she says to nobody in particular. Possibly the heavens themselves. The Artiste, who appears to have recovered from his laughing fit, looks at her.
"Aw, hell! That's a huge stain to be sure. Do you have any other robe?"
"No! That's the problem!"
"Guess you'll have to go naked, then!" the Artiste says, starting to laugh uncontrollably again.
Clearly, much fun is going to be had.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren thinks about the offer.
"A walk with a lady, huh?"
A short pause ensues as a certain bit of tension, at least by Darren's reckoning, builds up.
"Haven't done that since I've been alive."
"Well, I'm hardly even a quarter the lady I used to be, really. But walks are far better with company, no?"
Darren supposes he agrees, and he follows Danielle as her floating head moves down the sloped streets of the city. It seems like a good amount of the city is completely ruined, whether by caved-in ceilings or just natural decay. However, as they move onwards, the structures start to look better-preserved.
"The outskirts are a pretty quiet and peaceful place to be, really. Probably because there's few places left to live in... or at least call one's home. Now we're moving toward the outer city, the non-engineered portion. There's more people around here. Like over there, for instance," Danielle explains, pointing her head at a burned-out building. Darren thinks he can see some shadowy shapes in there, but he isn't sure.
"It's actually pretty interesting that this is one of the newest parts of town - people started flocking here only after the engineers had taken up residence. In the beginning, they were exclusively servants, but then they started branching out, starting their own families, that kind of thing. And then they transitioned into being liaisons between the engineers and the outside world, doing all the trading, speaking, that sort of thing. And the engineers, wishing to be left alone, walled off the original center of the town, and then the growth of the outer city reduced it to kind of a quirky magical suburb," she explains, rather visibly proud of her ability to produce such trivia to Darren.
In a jail cell...
Mark sits around as he awaits the return of his gracious jailer, letting his mind aimlessly wander. A few minutes later, the jailer returns with his glass of water. He turns to the limbless captive after taking a sip of water.
"So, you want to hear more of this self-help stuff? I'm getting kinda tired of it myself."
Post by: miauw62 on August 19, 2013, 05:59:35 am
Kevin sneaks over to the back door
"Can't we just pry it open? Shouldn't be too hard."
Kevin tries the doorhandle to see if it opens.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 19, 2013, 08:06:08 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 19, 2013, 08:58:26 am
-Maybe, if don't make much noise, you know.
Sigmund will try to see if the door could be forced open without making much noise.
((I like how Sigmund's underdeveloped social skills caused Erin to wish to drown her problems in alcohol))
Post by: Xantalos on August 19, 2013, 11:28:33 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 19, 2013, 04:16:40 pm
Oh dear. The desk could only think that as he witnessed the drunken mage's shenanigans, best go do damage control. "I don't believe that should be necessary, good Master Artiste, good Tailor Craig should hopefully have a replacement robe or two, or if not could perhaps make one." Morton tried to politely interject into the conversation the drunken mages were having.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 19, 2013, 05:41:41 pm
The shoplifting team gather round the back door, coordinating their individual levels of expertise to come up with a unified plan of action on how to open this damn door.
"Can't we just pry it open? Shouldn't be too hard." Kevin asks, looking at the door with a good deal of enthusiasm.
"Maybe, if don't make much noise, you know." Sigmund says, looking the door up and down and simultaneously coming up with a rather elaborate, completely soundless approach to prying this door open. It will certainly require the entire team to accomplish, but the clandestine advantage offered by the plan will surely be worth it. Even Scott will have a chance to feel useful in this plan, and that truly is a rare occurrence, Sigmund thinks.
Scott, meanwhile, directs his attentions to the door as well, or, rather, the lock on the door. He certainly would say that one could pick it, though this is clearly a job for someone of his expertise, if anyone. Yes, he'll finally be able to show them all what he is made of, and that he truly deserves to be favored among these schmucks.
Niklas, also gazing at the door, ponders only his desire to punch things and how it might be fruitfully applied to the door. He supposes it'd work rather nicely, too, the door being quite wooden.
However, all of their hopes are dashed when Kevin simply grabs the door handle and opens the door, uncovering a rather small, dark room with a staircase, plus another exit, which is covered up with a rather nice, though faded floral curtain.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, in what might be a vain attempt, tries to stop the situation from getting out of hand.
"I don't believe that should be necessary, good Master Artiste, good Tailor Craig should hopefully have a replacement robe or two, or, if not, could perhaps make one."
"Ooh, maybe he could do that thing where he warps people to that other dimension or something!" the Artiste suddenly mentions, his eyes growing unexpectedly bright.
"Erm... how about, ah... no?" Erin answers.
"Aw, come on, Erin!" Art says, raising his mug. "I wanna see what happens!"
"Uh, like, the answer still... urk... no."
"How about if I go in first?"
"What?"
"Well, I'll ask the guy to do me first, in a manner of speaking, and then, when you can see it's safe, you'll do it afterwards? Does that work?"
"Are you entirely sure that is a good idea, Art?"
"Fuck yeah. Gotta do it sometime, y'know. Here, hold my booze," Art says, handing his precious mug to Evelyn, who reluctantly takes it.
"Hell yeah, Art! Step up to the plate like a man!" the Artiste encouragingly shouts, applauding while still holding the mug, which, luckily, doesn't splash all that much of the Special around, if only because of the high viscosity of whatever floats down to the bottom of the mug.
"Maybe I'll, like, do it and stuff. But only if ya... erm... get out and whatnot," says Erin, pointing to an empty space slightly to the right of Art with her own drink for some reason. Art doesn't seem to be listening at this point.
"Man, I'm feeling pumped right now," he says, dismounting from his barrel and jumping in place for a bit, then engaging in a slight bit of shadow boxing. Morton wonders if they even remember his presence at the moment.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 19, 2013, 05:44:26 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 19, 2013, 06:09:05 pm
Morton watched the debacle, sighed, and made his way to Craig and Captain seeing that there wasn't much he could contain in the situation from there. He could perhaps persuade Craig to not entertain any of them though in their current state at least.
Post by: Tomcost on August 19, 2013, 06:21:07 pm
((Damn, it was open all the time! By the way, Innsmothe, which door do you want to lockpick? One is already opened, and the other one shouldn't be locked))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 20, 2013, 02:39:48 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 20, 2013, 02:53:28 am
((I may not have internet for one week, maximum. So just default to following the group and helping them.))
Kevin whispers: "Well then. Let's get our books."
He then heads trough the curtain into what he believes is the shop and tries to find the books on the sea of Death.
Post by: Xantalos on August 20, 2013, 02:56:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 20, 2013, 05:44:39 am
Scott, supposing that he still needs to make himself useful somehow, shoos everyone out of the way and tries to pick the lock on the back door!
[Scott lockpicking roll: 6]
He shuts the door and expertly locks it with his supreme sneaky abilities. Then, when he is sure everyone is glaring at him intently, he just as easily unlocks it and opens the door once again.
"Now you may go in, gentlemen!" he says, holding the door open politely as he steps inside. The two members of the team capable of disappointedly sighing do so, and then his three compatriots go right in.
Sigmund immediately heads upstairs, whereupon he encounters a door. It appears to be locked for some reason, and quite a bit more secure than the back door, too. How interesting.
Kevin, meanwhile, heads into the store itself. However, looking through the available stock, he finds that many shelves look slightly... emptier for some reason. And the contents of the Sea of Death shelf are altogether absent. How curious.
Niklas, however, is at a bit of a loss on what to do! He wants to follow the group, but finds that everyone has gone their separate ways! And he doesn't want to follow the still-present Scott, either, as he is clearly not going much of anywhere.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton wishes he could somehow mitigate this rather unfortunate situation. Sadly, he really knows better than to argue with a drunken mage, so he just follows along as Art finishes up his routine and heads over to the nearby Tailor Craig as the other mages watch intently.
"And so, if you AIM THE HARPOON JUST SO, you can actually SKEWER MANY FISH AT ONCE! It's FUN!"
"Hm. Rather fascinating, I have to say. So-"
"Hey, tailor-man! I need your help, buddy!"
Tailor Craig turns around to face Art, looking at him quite doubtfully with his glowing eyes.
"Yes?"
"I need you to send me into that demon-place, with the fashionable stuff and whatnot."
"Sir, you've been drinking for the past three or so hours. I am not sure it's a good idea to send you on an extraplanar trek right now."
"Nah, don't worry. I've got a really good alcohol tolerance, I know how to pace myself and that stuff barks worse than it bites, if you know what I mean."
Art demonstrates his point by walking in a straight line, placing one foot in front of the other.
"I can recite the alphabet backwards if it'll make you feel any better as well," he says, looking visibly impatient.
"No need. Instead, I will ask our friend here. Morton, do you feel that this man is too drunk to go on an interdimensional adventure?"
Morton looks at Tailor Craig, then at Art, who appears to be looking at him with an expression subtly encompassing the words "back me up on this, buddy" in its intricacies.
Post by: miauw62 on August 20, 2013, 06:37:01 am
"Hey, Scott. We need your lockpicking, I think."
((Gotta go now. Just default to following the group.
Post by: Tomcost on August 20, 2013, 08:49:03 am
-Novels from every type and subtype.
-Any kind of book related to magic.
-The scientific treatise about souls and the spellbook sample about necromancy.
-Anything interesting he can find.
Sigmund will also look for the collection on the Sea fo Death, because Kevin doesn't have the slighties idea of how it is.
Post by: Xantalos on August 20, 2013, 11:41:44 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 20, 2013, 12:35:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 20, 2013, 03:59:28 pm
Kevin, wandering back out of the store into the back room, takes a look at the only other available door. Seeing that Sigmund's up there looking quite stumped, he supposes it's locked.
"Hey, Scott. We need your lockpicking, I think."
Sigmund notices something as well - nobody has any books yet. This will not do. He heads into the store and looks around.
After a bit of searching, he notices that many books that he had seen here before... well... aren't anymore. How terrible. Namely, all the magic-themed, dangerous-looking and probably expensive ones. He still has a jolly good time sorting all the accessible novels in such a manner that he appears to have an ideal selection of pretty much everything. He even managed to recognize some good ones in stock. The end result is that he has thirty or so novels now, each representing a particular genre or subtype of fiction, from chivalric romance to pseudo-transgressive fiction to humorous novel to plain old smut. It's a bit disturbing that the Sea of Death section has disappeared someplace. Most awful, really. Just as he is about to become desperate, his eyes are drawn to a particular sign on the counter.
It is a rather plain sign, clearly written hurriedly. It says "For an expanded catalog of available merchandise, which includes many more tomes than you can see, ask the proprietor!", with quite a large arrow conspicuously pointing to an even more conspicuous lack of any sort of Brenwicke behind the counter.
Back in the back room, Scott has finally made his imperious way up the stairs, disappointed at the way nobody seems to be able to get anything done around here and quite peeved at the way his life has taken a decidedly criminal turn. He then takes a look at the lock. Looks pretty complex. As in, something that'll be a bit more difficult to open than his standard fallback of "take out the hairpin that you keep in your nose for such a situation and try your best". In short, this lock is a bit too badass to tackle without proper tools with anything approaching reliably positive results. He could certainly try, but he would run a considerable risk of looking like more of an ass than usual. Though he can already feel Niklas' watchful gaze grow impatient. And that makes him feel like he should come to a decision soon.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 20, 2013, 04:15:32 pm
[Knew I shouldn't of gotten something to eat before posting this.]
Post by: Innsmothe on August 20, 2013, 04:58:05 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 20, 2013, 05:22:09 pm
EDIT for a bit of roleplay:
Sigmund will come to the door, and seeing that Scott wants to pry it open, will say:
-Shouldn't we test if we can open it silently first?
Sigmund then tries the door handle and sees if it opens.
[As it will probably fail]
Sigmund looks for the key of the door in the counter
[And if this fails too]
Sigmund will help Scoot in his prying attempt
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 21, 2013, 01:36:39 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 21, 2013, 01:39:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 21, 2013, 05:57:20 am
Morton, when finally asked for his opinion, softly wobbles his speech drawer and tries to gently see this matter through.
"W-well, you see, uh, I think that trekking in the domain of a demon might not... be the greatest of ideas if not thoroughly thought out and planned, er, it is something that requires a good bit of thought. You never know what you might come back as, you may come back as furniture even after all. You wouldn't be able to eat, drink, smell, other such problems might arise as well. I suggest sitting on the idea, giving it more thought... You don't do magic when it would be unwise, right, good Mage Art? I think it would be best to wait until tomorrow, the option isn't going anywhere, no?"
"Why not now? I'm fully in control of myself, I feel totally stoked to do this, I have a pretty good idea how to talk to demons and I am absolutely fearless now. Besides, from what I know of demons, planning's not going to do much good."
"That does seem to be the case - whatever state you are in, the demon ultimately has the say in the matter from what I have gathered. And we've only had one transformation that's been non-humanoid so far. Though he is slightly inebriated, I don't think he might find too much trouble on the way. Demonic realms are quite straightforward, and as long as you don't snap at the demon, you should be fine."
"Yeah! I'll be totally fine. Or a piece of furniture, but that's kind of a subset of fine, isn't it? You seem to be doing okay, Morton."
In the back room of Brenwicke's Books...
Scott, supposing that this door is an issue that really needs dealing with, takes out his harpoon and tries to pry the door open. However, before he can do this, Sigmund interrupts.
"Shouldn't we test if we can open it silently first?"
Sigmund then tries to open the door conventionally, by pushing down the handle. This, however, does not work. Hm. Guess he'll need to look for a key. He goes downstairs while Scott resumes his prying.
[Scott prying roll: 2]
He tries to jam his harpoon into the miniscule amount of space between the door and the doorframe, but both of them appear to be a bit too durable to submit to such a treatment - he suspects that the doorframe's reinforced as well. In fact, it looks like this door is significantly newer than the back entrance. And the wall around it is made of polished stone, too. Crap.
However, he needs not fear, as Sigmund has returned after having violently overturned most of the store in his search for a key, which, shockingly enough, has proven tremendously successful, netting Sigmund an entire keyring of all sorts of keys. He returns to Scott, proudly displaying his new treasure.
Now to only find which one opens the door. And hope that nobody heard his searching frenzy in the other room.
In the City of the Dead...
Darren, getting the impression that being a tour guide is something Danielle takes to quite naturally, offers her to serve as such in an official capacity as they float along the streets of the city.
"Say, would you mind being my guide around the area? You seem to know a lot about the place, and I'll get lost if I go alone..."
Danielle seems to be quite happy about the offer, as though she had been waiting for him to ask.
"Oh, I'd love to. It's been such a long time since I've had the opportunity to actually tell somebody about the city. I mean, I've studied the city all my life, but I only really got to know the place after I died, you know? And as time goes by, the people who listen to me get fewer and fewer. It's kinda sad, really."
She looks at a nearby building and her eyes flash with realization.
"Ooh, this is a great place. The Painted Alley, it's called."
Darren looks around at the mostly-ruined, totally dilapidated buildings of the alley. He doesn't really see where the name might have come from.
"There's a lot of dead artists around here, mostly painters. That's why they call it the Painted Alley - this alley used to be the most vivid area in the city, with murals covering every wall and music coming from every corner. The nobility loved to come here and tip the artists. It's actually how the artists made their livelihood, so this place was optimized for amusement. In fact, the people who remained here still go through similar routines from what I've seen... and heard, too. Like now, for instance."
Darren listens in, but he doesn't really hear music per se. A tiny bit of a distant echo, maybe, but not really music.
Post by: Tomcost on August 21, 2013, 08:13:18 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 21, 2013, 08:31:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 21, 2013, 08:33:01 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 21, 2013, 08:42:23 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 21, 2013, 09:00:44 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 21, 2013, 09:16:09 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 21, 2013, 02:54:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 21, 2013, 05:28:01 pm
Sigmund realizes that he might be in rather deep trouble after that little bit where he upturned most of the store. As such, he decides to go and check the front door. However, as he attempts to brave the staircase once again, he feels a rather unwelcome tug, and a moment of investigation reveals it to be the result of Scott's greasy, peevish mitts on his precious keyrings. Sighing ironically at the ironic nature of his ironic lack of ironic stealth as well as the equally ironic lack of honest stealth on his his part, not to mention trying unsuccessfully to fight off the jamais vu relating to the word "ironic" in his mind, Sigmund lets go of the keyring and heads on downstairs, checking the front door.
It seems to be quite decisively locked. How encouraging. With that, Sigmund returns to see if Scott has made any progress. He finds Scott rather dissatisfied.
"None of these keys work! Why do none of these bajillion keys work?" he asks of the cruel world in which he has been thoughtlessly deposited.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, though altogether skeptical of how this might work out for good ol' Art, concedes the argument, though with several provisional warnings.
"... Yes, you're right, I suppose, I simply worry too much. Apologies, Mage Art, if you and good Tailor Craig really think it okay, I see no reason to oppose, and I wish you the best of luck. From what I can gather, the realm is an intense palette of color where one of them will confront you, that will be the demon, the Aspect. You may wind up anywhere from when you left, to as far as past Emlocke if what good Jester Kevin says is right, it seems entirely random. Good Tailor Craig has mentioned the possibility of winding up in other realms, but this hasn't happened yet as far as we know. If you have any regrets or second thoughts, I suggest giving it additional thought."
"No regrets, no doubts, no second thoughts, let's do this."
Tailor Craig gives Art a long look, then motions Morton to move aside as he drafts up a circle.
"Ah, so we repeat the OLD TRANSFORMATION BOOGALOO, eh? How WONDERFUL!" the Captain, diverting his attention from attacking sea life, adds.
In a few minutes, Tailor Craig is done. After inspecting his work, he snaps his claw, and Art disappears into the deck as a dark pit opens beneath him. The pit closes up quickly after his passing.
"What a LOVELY SOUND that portal makes!"
"Hm?"
"Can't you HEAR IT? The CREAK of TEARING DIMENSIONS? The FRENZIED SCREAMS of the FABRIC OF SPACE as it is VIOLATED BY MAGIC?"
"Not as such, no."
"SUCH A PITY! It truly is a MAGNIFICENT AURAL IMPRESSION."
Morton notices that the Artiste appears to be cheering quite expressively.
Post by: Xantalos on August 21, 2013, 05:30:35 pm
Punch the door down.
Post by: Tomcost on August 21, 2013, 05:33:21 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 21, 2013, 06:50:29 pm
"I hope things go well for Mage Art..." Morton muttered to himself before turning his attention to Craig and Captain. "You can hear the portal, good Sir Captain? Intriguing, I can't hear it. Perhaps it's a ghost thing?" With that commented, and what response it may entail, Morton looks to the both of them and back to the mages. "Hopefully I haven't missed much up here. Nothing regretful has transpired before I got up here, I imagine? Oh, and I must thank you for the book good Tailor Craig, a most riveting read."
Post by: Xantalos on August 22, 2013, 01:36:00 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 02:33:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 22, 2013, 03:50:30 am
Niklas realizes that this is taking too much time, and that some radical methods must be utilized. As Sigmund fumbles around and pokes the door with his keys and Scott comments that he's holding out for a hero, preferably one with magical abilities or a battering ram, Niklas takes action. He punches the door!
[Door punching roll: 4]
He punches and punches, but the door does not quite open. It is, however, slightly damaged now. And a whole lot of abominable noise has been made.
Meanwhile, Scott looks about the room with no small amount of boredom while Sigmund and Niklas mess with the door and Kevin appears to be distracted by a particularly interesting patch of ceiling. He notices something alarming - the two guards appear to have come in through the back door. Erm... maybe they should have locked that.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton quietly hopes that Art'll make it through alright for a moment. After all, this is the first time somebody has tried to go through that portal drunk, if only a little bit. However, other questions have also been raised.
"You can hear the portal, good Sir Captain? Intriguing, I can't hear it. Perhaps it's a ghost thing?"
"POSSIBLY! Or maybe I've been SO BORED OVER THE YEARS that I have learned to LISTEN LIKE NONE HAVE BEFORE! It's a TRANSCENDENTAL thing, boredom, if you STICK TO IT FOR LONG ENOUGH."
"Hopefully I haven't missed much up here. Nothing regretful has transpired before I got up here, I imagine? Oh, and I must thank you for the book, good Tailor Craig, a most riveting read."
"Highly useful, too, if a bit outdated by now - the new edition has over 60 demons in the catalog, and the portals section in that is also appropriately expanded, plus it has a portal theory section. Oh, and I don't think anything too interesting has happened on deck - I wasn't really paying attention, though."
Hm. Wonder when Art's getting back.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 03:59:15 am
Scott will approach optimal range and throw one of his two harpoons at one of the guards.
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 06:05:11 am
"TO ARMS! WE HAVE RIGHTFUL OCCUPIERS! SIGMUND, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"((You have just one, I have two))
Scott will approach optimal range and throw one of his two harpoons at one of the guards.
Sigmund assumed a leading position (from the relative safety of his crossbow), and yelled:
-Nilklas, distract one. The rest, focus on the six armed one!
Sigmund then backs away and shoots his crossbow at one of the six armed guard's arms, preferably the one holding a sword.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 10:46:28 am
((I could have sworn I kept a spare one to throw.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 10:53:49 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 22, 2013, 12:40:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 22, 2013, 02:50:06 pm
Scott clears his throat in a dignified fashion, then informs his compatriots of the people present.
"TO ARMS! WE HAVE RIGHTFUL OCCUPIERS! SIGMUND, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"
Sigmund turns to look at the guards. Well, damn.
"Niklas, distract one. The rest, focus on the six armed one!"
Sigmund then backs up against the wall and tries to shoot the six-armed dude in the arm. His sword-arm, to be precise.
[Sigmund vs. Six-Armed Guard: 3+1+1 vs. 4+2-1]
He fires a single, somewhat decently-aimed bolt down at the six-armed guard, who half-dodges, half-deflects the thing when it hits the armor on his sword-arm, which he has been prudent enough to use the mail sleeve for.
Scott, feeling a bit more adventurous, tries a daring dive down the stairs, hoping to catch him by surprise!
[Scott dive roll: 6-1]
The zombie flies downstairs in a single, mighty bound, harpoon outstretched toward his enemy!
[Scott vs. Six-Armed Guard: 1+1 vs. 2+1]
He, however, finds that the leap was slightly insufficient, coming to a stop a few feet short on the rather disappointingly non-slippery floor. The six-armed guard appears to be slightly confused.
Niklas, meanwhile, though he feels a bit absentminded presently, thinks about what would be a good distraction. Ah, yes, he thinks he's got it. He looks at the non-transformed guard with his strange chair eye-stalks, outstretching his arm.
His arm immediately detaches and flies screamingly at the guard!
[Normal Guard dodge roll: 6]
The guard, seeing the horrid magical chair coming on some instinctual level, dives right out the open door before the chair can hit him, rolling outside as the chair explodes into pieces upon impacting the wall.
[Six-Armed Guard dodge roll: 6]
[Grapple: Six-Armed Guard vs. Scott: 3+2 vs. 4]
The six-armed guard, having noticed the projectile as well, has an equally wonderful idea, grabbing Scott and placing him between himself and the shards of extremely unusual material coming right for him.
[Scott endurance roll: 6]
Scott yells as a great many shards slice into him, but finds himself mostly unharmed by sheer fortunate happenstance.
Kevin, not really all that used to combat, looks at Sigmund confusedly as things go down, his eyes darting between his guisarme, Sigmund, Scott and their mutual excessively-limbed adversary. An excessively-limbed adversary who, one might add, seems to be trying something unusual.
[Six-Armed Guard throw roll: 2+1]
He attempts to hurl Scott to the top of the stairs, but the awful bastard proves too heavy, only making it halfway up and hitting the steps rather noisily.
[Scott agility roll: 6-1]
Despite being manhandled in such a fashion, Scott doesn't miss a beat, grabbing onto the railing to prevent a rather unfortunate tumble downward, taking a moment to regain his balance.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is rather intrigued by this paranormal listening business. And since he doesn't have any readily explicable ears anyway, he figures he might as well try to sense equally inexplicable phenomena.
He listens and he listens, but doesn't hear anything. He... wait. He does hear something. A very distant sort-of voice, he'd say. He listens in.
"Morton... Morton... your tea awaits... step overboard... the water is so nice..."
How very interesting! Wonder who it is?
However, Morton is suddenly interrupted by yet another sound, a sort of low *shoom*. He turns to look at its source, and what he sees is quite unusual.
It appears to be a very feminine-looking, pronouncedly beautiful humanoid as far as he can see, although a bit too transparent and crystalline - in fact, this would be an apt description - a crystal woman garbed in prismatic, equally crystalline armor. She has a rather curvy build and large, very brightly glowing solid white eyes, and she is about a head taller than Tailor Craig. There is a moment of quiet stares exchanged, then the woman speaks.
"You know, gender-flip aside, I feel pretty great!"
Her, or maybe his voice, though slightly higher, softer and with a decidedly inorganic jingling sound to it, is somewhat recognizable as Art's, if only by the pronunciation. The Artiste, upon noticing the new arrival, raises his mug and hoots, then chugs down all he's got at the moment.
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 02:59:54 pm
Reload crossbow, pick cheap book, lit it on fire, throw it to the guards to generate smoke and a distraction, then shoot at the six armed guard's unarmored arms
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 03:18:31 pm
Scott shall charge, enter a slide and stab up point first into the offenders groin!
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 03:22:39 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 22, 2013, 03:29:29 pm
"Oh my." Morton commented, however he was meaning more towards the noise Art's teleportation made than Art's actual appearance. Either way though, "It's grand to see you back well and happy, Mage Art! The trip was fair, I take it?" The desk asked the mage, and after the response will turn to talk to Captain quickly. "I must say, good Sir Captain, you were absolutely correct. A most peculiar noise, a sort of... 'whoom' or 'choom' kind of noise, I think. I greatly thank you for the knowledge of such a thing, most interesting, specially what else one can hear. Just before I heard Art's arrival, I heard someone implore of me a strange task, most peculiar." At that, Morton looks into the city to see if he can perhaps spot whoever was the owner of that voice he heard last.
[Few tips for you guys, if you'd like them. With your weapons, don't forget to aim for body parts, it does more damage as said by Harry. You can also use this as means to get through the armor, aim for the joints if your weapon can't pierce their armor as those spots are always armored the least, or even so, because a damanged joint is a nasty thing to carry around in combat. That mushroom is dangerous, although not to Scott. If he could force it in one of their faces, or even one of their mouths if lucky, that would pretty much knock one of them down and out.]
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 03:34:04 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 03:39:19 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 04:02:38 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 22, 2013, 04:59:18 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 22, 2013, 05:58:49 pm
Piercing weapons are nice, but in heavy armor people with spears and such still aimed for the joints, that piercing weapon bonus isn't entirely enough to get through their armor from the looks of it. Never hurts to make sure, yah know? This seems the kind of game where specific actions are rewarded, but generic ones are more left to the fate of the RNG. At least with what I've seen over the game, and what the mechanics seem to be gently nudging us towards with the thinking and planning bonuses. I may be entirely reading into this differently than what is intended however, to be honest.]
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 06:07:31 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 22, 2013, 06:47:02 pm
Sigmund, quite dissatisfied with how this has been going, tries to reload the crossbow!
[Sigmund reloading roll: 5]
Luckily, this crossbow is quite an efficient mechanism, and thus he can actually reload it almost as quick as a bow! Yay! He takes aim and fires at one of the less armored arms of the six-armed guard!
[Sigmund vs. Six-Armed Guard: 1+1 vs. 3+1]
And he misses yet again! He considers picking up a book, setting it on fire and throwing it at the guard, but then recalls that he really didn't pick any books up on account of still needing to use his hands and whatnot. It's at times like these that he really wishes he would make a habit of having a little wagon to lug loot around on.
Scott, having regained his balance, decides upon yet another fancy, showy maneuver!
"You, sir, have robbed me of my noble dignity, I shall rob you of a humble future!"
[Scott charge roll: 2-1]
Scott then tries to charge-slide into the six-armed guard, but alas, his mind is woefully faster than his body, resulting in a bit of a lag between their respective actions. Namely, when Scott's mind is at the bottom of the stairs, he himself is about three meters behind, and when he launches into a glorious slide, he tumbles down the stairs rather awfully, landing on his face about a meter of the way from the guard. Niklas and Kevin give the landing 6 and 7 points, respectively, mostly due to the lack of any humiliating noises.
[Disarm: Six-Armed Guard vs. Scott: 4+2 vs. 6-1]
The six-armed guard then grabs Scott with all six of his arms, separating the harpoon from his grasp in a slow, painful process. He looks at the harpoon for a moment, then shrugs, taking it in one of his other two arms, leaving three of them free at the moment.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is somewhat intrigued by this turn of events. Not so much by the way Art seems to have changed - that sort of thing was to be expected, really, but the fact that there is a whole world of low shooming, splurting and burbling sounds that he just hasn't been hearing due to being absorbed in other matters, such as voices in his mind telling him to step off the ship. Nevertheless, he addresses Art.
"It's grand to see you back well and happy, Mage Art! The trip was fair, I take it?"
Art's eyes flash mildly, followed by a distinctly glassy laugh.
"Hah, yeah. There was this razzmatazz corona that thought I was a noble warrior princess or something, and the idea, it was just so funny to me. I giggled a bit, and then the corona made me into what you see before you. Cool, eh?"
Morton kind of wobbles in an affirmative fashion, more out of politeness than anything else.
"Alright, I'm going to talk to the brain trust over there if you don't mind."
Morton wobbles negatively, and Art struts over to his company of friends, clinking merrily. Morton then
"I must say, good Sir Captain, you were absolutely correct. A most peculiar noise, a sort of... 'whoom' or 'choom' kind of noise, I think. I greatly thank you for the knowledge of such a thing, most interesting, specially what else one can hear. Just before I heard Art's arrival, I heard someone implore of me a strange task, most peculiar."
"Ah, but did you hear the SHRIEKS? The TORTURED METAPHYSICAL SHRIEKS are where it's REALLY AT, you know! And I wouldn't WORRY about any MYSTERIOUS AND/OR NEFARIOUS VOICES - I mostly IGNORE mine, and I DO JUST FINE! HA!"
Nevertheless, Morton thinks this might be worth investigating. He keeps on listening and looking for any source of the voice. However, it seems to be gone entirely. Hm. Morton can't even remember where it came from, to be honest. All he can hear right now is Art producing streams of expressive epithets to his drinking buddies, who seem to be hanging on to his every word. As he starts paying attention again, he notices Erin stumble over to Tailor Craig's general area, which happen to be his own as well by sheer coincidence. She leans on the handy desk and speaks.
"Erm... so... I wanna do that... thing Art did, if that's... okay and whatnot."
"Can you walk in a straight line?"
"Uh... maybe? Wait, let me... um... try that," Erin says, pushing herself off Morton's surface. She then tries to walk straight, which kinda works for the first two or three steps, but then falls apart at the end. Or, to be more precise, she falls apart, making a fairly terrible misstep that evolves into a rather interesting event where she manages to trip over her own feet and sprawl out over the deck. After moments of lying face-down on the relatively soft floor, she rolls on her back, a pained and irritated expression on her face. She mumbles something, then stares at the sky. Morton supposes she'll have a bit of trouble getting up in the state she's in.
"Well, I do believe that's resolved the matter. Perhaps we should help her back to her room."
"I could LIFT THE POOR DEAR UP, if you want! Or you could just DELIVER HER THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, that works as well."
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 22, 2013, 07:11:03 pm
Sigmund yelled:
-Kevin, do you remember what was that hook made for? Use it! And you Niklas, you could try to punch him, at least.
((Before action the action, I'll do the math: if I shoot without targeting, I get a total +2 bonus and he gets a +2-1=1 bonus, If I shoot to his unarmored arm, I get a +1 bonus and he gets another +1 (from partial coverage I think). Yep, I'm not going to target redundant body parts for now))
Reload, fire, throw one harpoon.
[/hopes for the reload mechanism to not be flavor text and be able to fire it again without a roll]
Post by: Xanmyral on August 22, 2013, 09:36:46 pm
If Craig does mind, he of course doesn't ask the question.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 22, 2013, 11:48:26 pm
After a moment, Darren continues, hoping not to dredge up any bad memories of what happened, whatever had happened.
"So, why are you such an expert on this area? Did you study it, or just pick it up from living here?"
Post by: Innsmothe on August 23, 2013, 01:32:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 23, 2013, 05:29:03 am
Sigmund realizes that perhaps he hasn't been utilizing his field commanding abilities to their full potential. Thus, he relays some orders.
"Kevin, do you remember what was that hook made for? Use it!"
Kevin shrugs and walks downstairs, going up to the six-armed man.
[Trip: Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 1+1 vs. 3]
He utilizes the guisarme like a chef stirring a particularly stubborn vichyssoise, but alas, the six-armed one is too fast. Okay, fire two, then!
"And you, Niklas, you could try to punch him, at least."
Yeah, Niklas supposes he could. He wanders over to the six-armed man as well, aiming a punch.
[Niklas vs. Six-Armed Guard: 1 vs. 6+2-2]
He misses about as hard as one might think possible for a man made of chairs. In fact, it's entirely likely that he just confused the wall with the man. Simple mistake to make, but one the six-armed guard may doubtlessly utilize.
[Counterattack: Trip: Six-Armed Guard vs. Niklas: 2 vs. 6]
The six-armed guard looks at Niklas, shrugs, then resumes his business. And by business, it is meant that he resumes being shot at by Sigmund, who reloads the crossbow and takes aim.
[Is shooting into melee with three allies and one enemy a good idea: surprisingly, yes]
[Sigmund vs. Six-Armed Guard: 4+2 vs. 2+1]
Sigmund shoots the guard right in the gut, which makes said guard give him a stern look and shake his head even as Scott attempts some unidentifiable shenanigans. Even he himself isn't sure what exactly he's doing.
The guard, however, does know what he's doing. He takes aim with the harpoon at the prone Scott.
[Six-Armed Guard vs. Scott: 4 vs. 2-1-1]
He impales Scott with the harpoon, then lifts him off the ground, using five arms to lift the rather heavy load.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton can't help but agree with Tailor Craig's assessment.
"Indeed, some rest is probably for the best for good Mage Erin in her current condition. Good Sir Captain, good Tailor Craig, if you would help me get her back on her feet?"
"YES, of COURSE!"
[Captain telekinesis roll: 6+1]
The Captain concentrates on Erin, at which point she is violently yanked off the floor and thrown rapidly into the air.
"What... what's goin' on? HELP!"
"I AM HELPING! Sorry about the RAPID LIFTOFF, you're just a LOT LIGHTER THAN YOU LOOK. Now, LET'S SEE."
[Captain telekinesis roll: 3+1]
The Captain then weakens the lift, causing Erin to descend in a fairly rapid and efficient fashion, placing her on her feet.
[Erin balance roll: 1-1]
As soon as he lets go, Erin immediately plummets on the ground, once again falling on her face.
"I SWEAR, some people!"
"Oh, gods... what's even happening here? Urk... ugh..." Erin says, trying to get up on her knees. She begins to retch.
"Up we go, good Mage Erin, get up at your own pace. We think it best that you rest in your accommodations in the ship," Morton says, moving over to Erin and offering a hand.
Erin responds by vomiting profusely on deck.
"Oh dear, is it me, or does that smell even worse coming out?" Tailor Craig asks. This gives Morton an idea.
"Hm, good Tailor Craig, do you mind if I ask you a question pertaining to the book?"
"Go ahead. She looks like she'll be at it for a bit."
"I admit to being a touch curious as to what exactly pertains to the domains that such beings tend to inhabit, are they always broad definitions, or are there those with more narrow specifics?"
"There certainly are rather more narrowly-defined demons, like the Demon of Difficult Questions. That one's a great one to make a verbal portal for."
He looks back at Erin, who appears to have emptied her stomach, returning to mere dry heaves. Man, that is a large puddle of vomit right there.
In the City of the Dead...
Darren keeps the conversation going as he and Danielle float through the Painted Alley.
"Sounds like this used to be a nice place."
"Yes, quite," Danielle replies, looking around once more.
After a moment of silence, Darren judges it prudent to move on.
"So, why are you such an expert on this area? Did you study it, or just pick it up from living here?"
"Studied it. I was... and still am, to be honest, very interested in history. Working at the city archive didn't hurt, either. I even wrote a couple of books on history. Not sure if anybody read them. These days, I mostly just do inscriptions on walls and such - at least those will last longer."
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 06:23:44 am
Sigmund tried to rally his companions:
-Now he is distracted! Kevin, this is your chance now! And Niklas, be sure to hit him now.
Reload, shoot at the guard's chest, use confusion to run to the part of the bookstore where the books are.
EDIT:
Don't shoot if the guard is downed
Post by: Innsmothe on August 23, 2013, 09:00:19 am
Quote
The six-armed guard then grabs Scott with all six of his arms, separating the harpoon from his grasp in a slow, painful process. He looks at the harpoon for a moment, then shrugs, taking it in one of his other two arms, leaving three of them free at the moment.))
Scott shall extract the musroom from whatever pocket he has it in and smash it against the man.
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 09:04:32 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 23, 2013, 12:26:18 pm
"And by demon of difficult questions, do you perhaps mean one which asks such questions, or answers such? I can't help but imagine the former being quite the introspective experience, while the latter rather being of the useful sort." Morton commented, looking Erin back over. "Oh my... Good Sir Captain, is there perhaps a mop on deck of which I may clean this later? Never mind that now I suppose though, we should get her back to her room for rest first. Second time's the charm, no? Hm... I don't believe she may be stable enough to walk, judging by what happened a short while ago, help me set her on top of me. I doubt she'll give me trouble carrying her with my physiology, four legs makes for a stable gait after all."
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 12:32:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 23, 2013, 12:46:18 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 01:27:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 23, 2013, 01:32:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 02:06:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 23, 2013, 02:55:24 pm
Sigmund, observing the course of battle, gives more orders.
"Now he is distracted! Kevin, this is your chance now! And Niklas, be sure to hit him now."
Kevin and Niklas gladly oblige!
[Trip: Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 6+1 vs. 5]
Kevin immediately uses the guisarme's hook to try and make the guard lose his footing, and he succeeds in pulling one of his feet away!
[Six-Armed Guard balance roll: 2]
The guard falls backwards, dropping the harpoon that holds Scott. This opens him up for an attack by Niklas.
[Niklas vs. Six-Armed Guard: 6 vs. 1-1]
He punches the guard a great many times, giving most of his torso a slightly pulpy consistency after some time spent at this. He is rather put off by the sound of nothing breaking, but what can you do.
Scott, supposing this is his chance, slips off the harpoon, picks out his mushroom, unwraps it from its rag and pushes it up against the guy. Immediately, a rather awful blackness begins to spread along his fleshy bits. How terribly awful this must feel for him.
Sigmund, supposing the work here is done, runs over to the actual store section of the place, the one with the books. Hm. What to do now.
Back in back room, though, Scott is slightly surprised at what happens next. Namely, the fact that the guy still seems to be moving just fine. And rather dissatisfied with these recent turns of events.
[Grapple: Six-Armed Guard vs. Scott: 5+2-1 vs. 3]
Squeezing Scott with three arms while pushing himself backwards with the other three, the six-armed guard gets up. This is mildly disheartening, not to mention it exposes Scott's soft underbelly to what is now a rather squished mushroom mixed with semi-liquefied semi-flesh. Scott feels a mildly terrifying numbness spread along his torso as this happens.
The man turns to the two others present, brandishing his sword. Kevin and Niklas would reciprocate with an equally heroic pose, but they're a bit distracted by something Scott can't really see - where a lot of the flesh of the man has been punched away, they observe a silvery glint of some kind.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton continues his conversation with Tailor Craig for one moment more.
"And by demon of difficult questions, do you perhaps mean one which asks such questions, or answers such? I can't help but imagine the former being quite the introspective experience, while the latter rather being of the useful sort."
"Both of those, actually. One's more expensive than the other, though."
He then looks back at the vomit. That is a pretty huge puddle.
"Oh my... good sir Captain, is there perhaps a mop on deck of which I may clean this later? Never mind that now, I suppose though, we should get her back to her room for rest first. Second time's the charm, no? Hm... I don't believe she may be stable enough to walk, judging by what happened a short while ago, help me set her on top of me. I doubt she'll give me trouble carrying her with my physiology, four legs makes for a stable gait after all."
"VERY WELL! Let's TRY AGAIN!"
[Captain telekinesis roll: 3+1]
The Captain lifts the retching Erin off the ground and places her on Morton's surface. Erin seems quite confused.
"Who keeps lifting me... stop that!"
"RELAX, DEAR!" the Captain hollers in a not at all relaxing tone. "You'll be in your ROOM VERY SOON!"
"Erm... alright... I guess..."
Morton finds that he has little trouble carrying the transmuter. The captain was right - she certainly is lighter than she might appear from her stumbling.
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 03:14:08 pm
Sigmund shouted yet again as he looked for a cheap and flammable book:
-Keep him on the floor, and, I don't know, break his arms!
Sigmund grabs a flammable book, stabs it with one of his harpoons and lits it in fire, then walks towards the guard, hoping for the smoke to distract him. He will also remember that he doesn't need to breathe, so he won't inhale the smoke
Post by: Innsmothe on August 23, 2013, 05:04:29 pm
"What are you? A mechanical abomination!? At least have the decency to be some sort of semi-natural phenomena like us!"
Edit: Grammar.
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 05:11:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 23, 2013, 05:22:54 pm
Scott will rip the harpoon out of himself and will stab the man in the face/garotte him with his own intestines.
"What are you? A mechanical abomination!? At least have the decency to be some sort of semi-natural phenomena like us!"
Several problems here, buddy. Firstly, you're already off the harpoon - it's lying around on the ground nearby. Secondly, your arms are a bit pinned in what resembles a bear hug (I might not have been exactly clear on that, so I apologize). Thirdly, obtaining your own intestines will take a bit of effort, and fourthly, the six-armed guy doesn't have any intestines that you can find or have seen.
Post by: Tomcost on August 23, 2013, 05:29:45 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 23, 2013, 06:22:25 pm
"Indeed, as good Sir Captain said, you will be in your room shortly." Morton tried to calm Erin a bit as he made his way to where he believes her room would be. "All you need is a bit of rest, and you'll be back in tip top shape good Mage Erin." The desk continued as he pondered if he knew of any tea recipes for dealing with hangovers.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 23, 2013, 06:28:54 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 24, 2013, 02:24:33 am
Scott will rip the harpoon out of himself and will stab the man in the face/garotte him with his own intestines.
"What are you? A mechanical abomination!? At least have the decency to be some sort of semi-natural phenomena like us!"
Several problems here, buddy. Firstly, you're already off the harpoon - it's lying around on the ground nearby. Secondly, your arms are a bit pinned in what resembles a bear hug (I might not have been exactly clear on that, so I apologize). Thirdly, obtaining your own intestines will take a bit of effort, and fourthly, the six-armed guy doesn't have any intestines that you can find or have seen.
Well huh, I guess I was too tired to read last night.
Scott will attempt to break the hold, distracting the beast with kicks to the torso and or face.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 24, 2013, 05:21:35 am
Sigmund looks around for some kind of book he could set on fire, picking up a volume titled "I Was Too Afraid To Ask", quite a thick book to be sure.
"Keep him on the floor, and, I don't know, break his arms!"
He then stabs the book with his harpoon and sets it on fire. The book responds by suddenly combusting with nearly explosive rapidity!
[Sigmund dodge roll: 2]
Sigmund then discovers that his breeches are somewhat flammable!
[Store non-flammability roll: 5]
Luckily, though, the rest of the scraps just land on the floor, smoldering away without setting anything else on fire.
[Sigmund self-extinguishing roll: 1]
As the flames rapidly spread, Sigmund feels a panicked scream bubbling inside him as he runs right into the back room. He bounces right into Kevin, who isn't overly bothered or even set on fire, strangely enough, then into Scott and the guard!
[Scott non-flammability roll: 2]
[Guard non-flammability roll: 5]
This has the unfortunate effect of setting Scott on fire in addition to all his previous troubles. The guard, however, appears to be impeccably non-flammable. Damn him and his inordinately useful makeover!
[Scott endurance roll: 4]
Scott yells as the flames spread along his back, trying furiously to get free!
[Grapple: Scott vs. Six-Armed Guard: 2 vs. 5+1]
As he tries vainly to kick his way out, the guard tightens his grip, giving the hug Scott's receiving a decidedly more unpleasant character!
[Scott endurance roll: 5]
Man, is he glad he doesn't need to breathe. He is, however, glad to notice that the mushroom appears to be having quite an effect on the six-armed guard - black veinlike lines appear to be spreading all over his body, going up to his face, even. He stumbles, slumping up against the wall and letting go of Scott as the world appears to spin away from him rapidly.
Kevin sees this as an admission of weakness, and charges at the man!
[Trip: Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 5+1 vs. 2-1]
The guard is totally unprepared for an attack right now, and is easily sent to the ground by the guisarme-wielding jester. Niklas, supposing that the arm-breaking can now commence, walks up to the guard.
[Called Shot: Niklas vs. Six-Armed Guard: 5-1 vs. 2-1-1]
He winds up a mighty punch, then smashes one of his chair-hands right into the man's right upper elbow, which holds his sword! The joint is entirely smashed, and the arm releases the sword, which falls to the ground!
[Sigmund endurance roll: 3]
Sigmund, meanwhile, spends his time screaming bloody murder as he runs in circles, being all on fire and whatnot. That looks like it'll be difficult to extinguish.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton tries to reassure the somewhat infirm Erin that everything's going to be alright.
"Indeed, as good Sir Captain said, you will be in your room shortly."
"Yeah..."
He walks down the stairs over to the crew quarters and looks around for Erin's quarters. Fortunately, she proves helpful in that respect - looks like she's not completely out of it.
The quarters look a bit bare - there's a bed, a chest and an end table, but that's pretty much it. Morton takes a moment to think about how exactly to remove her now that she's on top of him. He could just roll her off, or perhaps lift her and gently put her down if he's feeling very gentlemanly.
"All you need is a bit of rest, and you'll be back in tip top shape, good Mage Erin."
"Ugh... wha?"
He also wonders if he knows any tea that'd help with a hangover. He supposes he does - it requires a good deal of nightshade, though.
In the streets of the City of the Dead...
Darren is a bit humbled to be in the presence of an actual author, floating head though she may be.
"You wrote some books? Thought you were smart, but that proves it. What got you so interested in stuff like that anyway?"
"Well, it's kind of difficult to explain, but... I like knowing a place, the why and how of things. I also like to investigate, to find out how everything fits together. And history is all a great mystery, you know. Most people know bits and pieces and have only little mementos of things gone by. And what I do is find out what they know and what they have, and piece it all together. It's great fun once you get into it."
She pauses, then looks into the distance, bobbing her head in an indicative fashion.
"Over there used to be the city hall," she says, pointing out a giant pile of rubble that part of the ceiling seems to have collapsed upon. "The poor mayor still haunts the place. Listen," she explains. At this point, Darren notices a rather loud wailing coming from the ruins. In fact, it sounds like it is also joined by a whole lot of weaker voices as well. "I think that's how he makes speeches now."
Post by: Innsmothe on August 24, 2013, 06:42:42 am
Pick up harpoon and sword&scabbard.
Post by: miauw62 on August 24, 2013, 07:44:32 am
Kevin stabs the downed guard with his guisarme.
Post by: Tomcost on August 24, 2013, 11:17:24 am
((Oh, entropy, the force that moves every RTD universe to chaos...))
Post by: Xanmyral on August 24, 2013, 03:54:51 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 24, 2013, 04:25:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 24, 2013, 06:21:28 pm
Scott decides stop, drop what he's doing and then stop, drop and roll.
[Scott self-extinguishing roll: 1]
He has a peculiar way of doing this, to be honest. To be exact, he drops onto Niklas, who is not set on fire by virtue of kicking Scott away and into Kevin, who still adamantly refuses to be set on fire somehow. Go figure. At the end of it, he utterly fails to extinguish himself in any way. In fact, the fire seems to be quite engulfing him now.
Kevin, not really impressed, takes a stab at the guard on the ground.
[Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 3+1 vs. 3+1-2]
He stabs at the guy's chest. He supposes it works, though the guard doesn't really react.
Sigmund, noticing a bit of a lull in the happenings of the room, tries to extinguish himself as well in a manner hopefully not entirely like Scott's.
[Sigmund self-extinguishing roll: 6]
He decides to actually roll down the stairs, as those would give him greater speed! Once he reaches the bottom and then rolls a little more, he is successfully extinguished. He casts a judgmental gaze at Scott.
[Scott endurance roll: 3]
Scott emits a low whine and a sizzle in response.
In Erin's quarters...
Morton decides upon a more chivalrous form of depositing his drunken passenger in the bed - lifting and gently placing her, hopefully with assistance.
"Alright, good Mage Erin, here you are, nice and slow."
She doesn't seem to be very eager to move, actually, as Morton finds when she tries her best to push his arms away. She rolls on her side, wordlessly trying to shrug off any attempt to move her.
"Eh... stop that."
Post by: Tomcost on August 24, 2013, 06:30:37 pm
Post by: kahn1234 on August 24, 2013, 08:11:52 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 24, 2013, 09:21:08 pm
"Er... Good Mage Erin, don't you wish to rest in your bed? I assure you it is much more comfortable than myself, just a moment of effort than you shall be free to rest as much as you like." Morton tried, most likely uselessly, to be diplomatic about the situation as he attempted once more to move Erin to the bed, although this time he'll just lift her himself entirely and try to gently set her in said bed.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 25, 2013, 02:16:48 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 25, 2013, 03:49:36 am
Kevin stabs again, but keeps his guisarme down so the guard can't move or escape.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 25, 2013, 06:52:20 am
Sigmund looks for something non-flammable lying about. Fortunately, the curtain separating the store and the back room looks to be made of something fairly slick and not very cottony, so he supposes he'll use that.
[Sigmund fire extinguishing roll: 5]
He wraps Scott in the thing, glad that it does actually prove to be non-flammable. He hasn't had luck like this in ages! After a round of swift punching and slapping the flaming zombie, Sigmund feels fairly confident that Scott has been extinguished, although he still insists on rolling a bit.
Kevin, meanwhile, decides to stab the guard again. Can never have enough stabbety-stabbing.
[Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 4+1 vs. 6-1]
He tries to stab him in the chest, but the guard twitches pronouncedly to one side, which results in Kevin's guisarme finding purchase in the wooden floor. The guard's face suddenly changes, going from an expression of excruciating pain to mild relief. He looks at Kevin, his face covered in blackish veins.
[Disarm: Six-Armed Guard vs. Kevin: 6+2-1 vs. 3]
Before Kevin even properly knows it, the guard has seized his guisarme, utilizing all five of his arms to attain superior leverage! Kevin is forced sideways, plummeting to the ground as the guisarme slips from his grip. As he recovers, he notices the guard, on his feet, wielding his guisarme in four arms as his eyes dart rather nervously between the other three miscreants in the room.
Suddenly, a voice pipes up from outside. It is a voice Sigmund recognizes.
"Alright, you ungodly bunch of thieving, murdering bastards, surrender yourselves! We have the place surrounded!"
A faint smile appears on the six-armed guard's face, more of a relieved look than a malicious one, really.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton isn't really sure how best to deal with this, but he supposes being nice certainly couldn't hurt.
"Er... good mage Erin, don't you wish to rest in your bed? I assure you it is much more comfortable than myself, just a moment of effort, then you shall be free to rest as much as you like."
"Yeah... that sounds good..." Erin says, stirring a little. Morton lifts her from his surface, then deposits her gently in the bed. He rolls her on her side, just in case, then covers her with a blanket.
There, all good now.
Post by: miauw62 on August 25, 2013, 07:43:07 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 25, 2013, 08:45:38 am
((Why is Sigmund trying to cut off his own arms?))((The idea was to cut the guard's arms))
Sigmund sets fire one wooden bolt and fires it to the guard
Post by: Innsmothe on August 25, 2013, 09:53:50 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 25, 2013, 10:00:35 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 25, 2013, 10:32:29 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 25, 2013, 11:18:12 am
Darren glances around.
"So where, if you were me, would you be looking for the crown? You said something about the deep dwellers, so just poke around there a little?"
Post by: Xanmyral on August 25, 2013, 03:14:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 25, 2013, 06:11:05 pm
Kevin thinks about the situation at hand, and instantly comes to a reasonably apt description.
"Well, fuck."
Sigmund would say something as well, but he's too busy enacting a madcap scheme.
[Proper use of flaming bolts roll: 1]
He tries to set a bolt on fire, and it kinda works! It works really well! Making sure that the fire's not going out, he loads it into the crossbow carefully.
The crossbow is now on fire, Sigmund notes. This may or may not be good. He aims the thing at the six-armed guard and fires!
The bolt, being rather burnt, doesn't take too well to getting fired. Due to being on fire. And due to the crossbow being on fire. Guess that might not have been the best idea.
[Sigmund vs. Six-Armed Guard: 4+1-1-1 vs. 3+2-1]
Something seems to have gone terribly wrong, Sigmund deduces. Maybe he let the bolt burn too long before firing. Maybe it's the fact that the crossbow's currently on fire and it's difficult to properly aim it as a result. The bolt misses, though he has to admit it was a pretty close thing even as he juggles the crossbow like a hot potato.
Well, at least the crossbow seems to be in fairly decent condition, considering it's been on fire for a good minute. Hm.
Scott decides that he needs to pin this guy. So he picks up a harpoon and moves to attack the guy.
[Pin: Scott vs. Six-Armed Guard: 2 vs. 1+2+1-1]
As Scott moves to attack the guard, he finds his harpoon swatted away as the guard flails at him until he decides to take his business elsewhere.
Finally, Kevin, supposing that things were better when the guard wasn't so dang upright, tries to trip him up again!
[Trip: Kevin vs. Six-Armed Guard: 5 vs. 5+1]
However, just like Scott, he backs off from his leg-sweeping ambitions when the tip of the guisarme flashes menacingly about ten centimeters from his head.
The guard, noticing things going rather well for him right now, decides to back right off, heading out the back entrance, leaving the burglars-to-be in a room with one guisarme less and one flaming crossbow more than what they started out with. Once the guard is out, the voice of his companion rings out again to Sigmund, who can hear every word all too clearly.
"What- oh, thank the gods you're alive, bud! I was afraid they'd gotten you, the way you were lying there a moment. Oh shit, they sure did a number on your arm."
There is a moment of silence.
"Oh, they still had that mushroom crap on them? Damn, but that stuff was nasty. You alright?"
Another moment of silence.
"Gods-damned bastards. We gotta-oh, what? Oh, right, keep my voice down. Sorry, got excited."
His voice sinks to a murmur, and is now quite difficult to make out without edging dangerously close to the door.
In the City of the Dead...
Darren is quite interested in all this town stuff, yes, but he also thinks he's got stuff to do here.
"Yeah, and with a platform with that, he's certainly got my vote."
"Aw, don't make fun of the poor guy. I think he was the hardest hit of all when this city went under. It was his city, after all."
Darren, in dire need of a new line of questioning, goes ahead and asks Danielle about his mission.
"So where, if you were me, would you be looking for the crown? You said something about the deep dwellers, so just poke around there a little?"
"Well, the very deepest you can go is the engineer catacombs - they ran out of space in their walled enclave to store their dead, so they decided to dig downward, and these are only rumors, sure, but I hear they go deep. Really deep. But to get there, I guess you need to go through the engineer quarter - and you can find that through one of the engineer gates - like that one over there," she indicates toward a place down the street. Darren isn't quite sure what exactly he's seeing, but it's certainly something large. And metallic.
"But they don't let us through - we're not supposed to wander in there. They've got machines - enchanted ones. And those can kill us just as well as they can mortals. And I don't see why they would just let you through peacefully, either," she explains. Darren thinks that if she could, she would shrug apologetically.
In Erin's quarters...
Morton, having laid Erin to rest, exits the quarters as quietly as a desk can, which is not very, and looks for something useful in cleaning up vomit. He returns to the deck, only to find a scene quite similar to how he left it. Art's still talking to Evelyn and the Artiste, and Tailor Craig and the Captain are still at the puddle of vomit. And Morton doesn't see anything like a mop anywhere.
"I CAN DO IT!"
"It's a liquid. It will be quite difficult."
"Oh, PISH POSH. How HARD can it BE? Just a little CONCENTRATION is what I NEED!"
The Captain bugs out his eyes, adopting a very intense, mysterious posture as he eyes the puddle of stomach contents.
"Okay, maybe not THAT level of CONCENTRATION, but WATCH!"
[Captain telekinesis roll: 5+1-1]
The vomit collects into a single, large glob that rises significantly from the ground, forming a rather impressive, if still pretty disgusting vomit-sphere. The Captain grins widely as he, with a gentle hand gesture, makes it pass over the railing until it is a significant distance from the ship and well into the bay, then releases his hold. The vomit-sphere then loses cohesion, becoming a chaotic morass of unexpected emesis once more, dropping into the sea harmlessly.
"SEE? You SEE?"
"Oh yes, most impressive, Captain. Certainly the mark of a highly skilled mage-hand at the very least," Tailor Craig says, applauding with his claw-hands.
"Thank you, THANK YOU. You're TOO kind," the Captain says, beaming more expressively than usual.
Post by: Tomcost on August 25, 2013, 06:56:02 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 25, 2013, 11:11:27 pm
Darren looked at the gate for a bit, then looks at her.
"Actually, I have a question real quick."
Post by: Xanmyral on August 25, 2013, 11:39:29 pm
Post by: miauw62 on August 26, 2013, 03:02:04 am
"Hey! Watch out with my crossbow!"
Kevin finds a window to look out to see if they are actually surrounded.
E: And he grabs the sword.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 26, 2013, 03:12:31 am
Scott shall, once again, pick up the harpoon
"Siggy dear. I would like another of my harpoons, I am no good in close combat."
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 06:32:48 am
After extinguishing the fire, Sigmund will say:
-Quickly, someone grab the sword the freak left in here, Niklas, you come and push that door over there until it opens. Everybody who hasn't got anything to do, help him.
Sigmund also grabs the book from the pile he previously made and spreads them across the stairs, in a fashion that will guarantee that if one of them is set fire, the other will follow the same fate.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 26, 2013, 07:25:34 am
Sigmund, realizing that having a crossbow on fire does not, in fact, classify as anything like a good thing, does his best to extinguish it.
"Hey! Watch out with my crossbow!" his buddy warns him. Not to worry, buddy. Sigmund's going to make things better
[Sigmund fire extinguishing roll: 5]
After all, he has a non-flammable curtain! This, he feels, is rather fantastic to have, all in all. The crossbow is saved from fiery doom. In addition, it is now just as singed as Sigmund, which, as his mind reasons to find at least some upside to the situation at hand, is a stylistic plus.
Kevin, after making sure that his crossbow isn't in dire peril, decides to do some reconnaissance. Since there are no windows in this particular room, he carefully pokes his head out the door.
He sees six guards, one of which is the six-armed one and four of which have loaded crossbows. And they see him as well, no doubt.
[Guard 1 vs. Kevin: 5+1-2 vs. 6+1]
[Guard 2 vs. Kevin: 3-1 vs. 6+1]
[Guard 3 vs. Kevin: 5-1 vs. 3+1]
[Guard 4 vs. Kevin: 4-1 vs. 5+1]
He ducks back into the room as four bolts fly into the open door with varying degrees of closeness to where Kevin's head used to be. Huh.
Scott, meanwhile, proposes a course of further action.
"So... shall we burn this place down and make the scene of our inevitable demise a place of pilgrimage for all good-hearted undead?" he asks, picking up his harpoon. Again.
"Siggy dear. I would like another of my harpoons, I am no good in close combat," he insinuates greedily to Sigmund. When he's said his piece, he becomes keenly aware of a very faint click coming from the other room. He looks at Kevin, who seems to have heard it as well.
Sigmund, rather occupied with something else, gives some orders.
"Quickly, someone grab the sword the freak left in here, Niklas, you come and push that door over there until it opens. Everybody who hasn't got anything to do, help him."
Niklas shrugs and commences a round of futile pushing. In fact, he isn't even sure the door opens forwards rather than back. Nobody picks up the sword, either. In any case, Sigmund runs over to the actual main room.
There, he is met with the sight of four guards with rather sharp-looking spears on hand.
In the streets of the City of the Dead...
Darren eyeballs the gates.
"So those, huh?"
He then looks at Danielle.
"Actually, I have a question real quick."
"Yes? What?"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, though rather appreciative that vomit can be cleaned with such efficiency, wonders about how the Captain did that.
"Oh my, quite the feat indeed, good Sir Captain. I'm curious, however, how do you do that? I profess to not knowing much about ghosts, can all attempt such feats?"
"NO IDEA! I can, though, and I DO BELIEVE many of the OTHER GHOSTS here on this ship CAN AS WELL! I am also REASONABLY GOOD at the arts of SHRIEKING LIKE A BANSHEE, as you know, not to mention I CAN MOVE ABOUT IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE! Oh, and I can DO VENTRILOQUISM! All in all, a rather NICE SET OF POWERS!"
He then looks at Morton for a moment. Suddenly, his voice begins to come from within Morton's speech drawer.
"I HARDLY EVER use VENTRILOQUISM, though!"
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 07:34:56 am
-Everybody get on the stairs, now!
Run to the highest part fo the stairs
((Plan, use chokepoint to fight them one by one. Let them attack or even stab us, then pull their spears out of them. Build a ball of spikes with either spears or harpoons. Kill them one by one if possible))
EDIT: Kevin grabs the sword, so Sigmund won't do it.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 26, 2013, 08:32:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 08:37:41 am
Also:
Scott will run to the source of the click and throw a harpoon at the biological that caused it.
This is going to end badly, you know, our best bet is to stay together and work as a team))
Post by: miauw62 on August 26, 2013, 08:51:55 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 26, 2013, 11:54:11 am
((Who is closer to the sword? I mean, maybe my turn's two actions require two different turns, and maybe someone else could do it.Changed it.
Also:Scott will run to the source of the click and throw a harpoon at the biological that caused it.
This is going to end badly, you know, our best bet is to stay together and work as a team))
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 11:58:30 am
-Okay, we are surrounded, but we are as resilient as that blue freak. That means that their spears won't do us anything. On the other hand, they will just bleed to death upon being stabbed.
Sigmund hides behind niklas if the crossbowmen arrive. He will also say:
Niklas, cover your eyes!
((Those crossbows won't be able to hurt us much))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 26, 2013, 12:43:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 26, 2013, 12:50:20 pm
(Though if they aim for our joints....)
((What an excellent idea!))
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 12:52:30 pm
Pseudo edit:
(Though if they aim for our joints....)
((What an excellent idea!))
((Damn, just damn. We need an OOC chat or something to not give the GM ideas. Anyway, the guards should not realize that until later))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 26, 2013, 01:04:25 pm
((Damn, just damn. We need an OOC chat or something to not give the GM ideas. Anyway, the guards should not realize that until later))
((Nah, I'm just messing around. They won't shoot at your joints. Probably.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 01:10:50 pm
Post by: miauw62 on August 26, 2013, 01:26:38 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 01:29:51 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 26, 2013, 02:29:09 pm
Post by: miauw62 on August 26, 2013, 02:50:24 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 02:56:57 pm
Another pseudo edit:
((Soul Magic is what killed Mike back in the day. And he was virtually invincible as long as somebody rolled low for will.))
((That's not invincible, because his survivability depended on something. Invincible is that damned blue guard that combining his armor and MY guisarme has a total of +3 to defense, plus a +2 to grappling and dissarming. That's just badass))
Post by: Xanmyral on August 26, 2013, 05:22:51 pm
"A fine set of powers indeed good Sir Captain! You can move at the blink of an eye? Strange, I've always thought you to just float to where you needed to be. I can only imagine that to be most useful in many a situation! Being a second chancer has it's perks, no?" Morton comments on the captain's powers, impressed by his feat of ventriloquism. "Either way, good Mage Erin is now put to rest in her quarters, and with the mess cleaned up I don't believe there are many matters of note to deal with at present. Hm... I wonder what is taking the others so long, I hope everything is alright. Now then, what were we talking previous? Fascinating sounds one doesn't normally hear, I believe, yes?" The desk continues.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 26, 2013, 06:15:09 pm
Sigmund finds out that perhaps whatever plans they had need to be rescheduled quite significantly. He tries to escape!
[Sigmund movement roll: 2]
[Guard 5 movement roll: 5]
[Guard 6 movement roll: 4]
[Guard 7 movement roll: 4]
[Guard 8 movement roll: 4]
However, even as he tries to back away rapidly, accidentally bumping into a wall in the process, the guards break into a mad sprint as they charge him with their spears, with one guard leaping over the counter in a single leap in a charge against the unfortunate vampire in disguise!
[Pin: Guard 5 vs. Sigmund: 2+1 vs. 5]
[Pin: Guard 6 vs. Sigmund: 6+1 vs. 3]
[Pin: Guard 7 vs. Sigmund: 2+1 vs. 2]
[Pin: Guard 8 vs. Sigmund: 3+1 vs. 5]
Said early bird sadly misjudges Sigmund's running speed, however, leaping right into a wall spear-first. Sigmund, momentarily relieved, stops being such when the next guard, slightly better with his spear-leaps, runs him right through the chest, pinning him through the wall even as the others fail to do the same thing despite their target being quite a bit less mobile.
[Guard 5 strength roll: 3]
The early bird guard tries to pull his spear out of the wall, but sadly it's quite tough to do so. Guess with a charge that heroic, one can't really expect pulling their weapon out of their victim, even when it is but a humble wall, to be the easiest of tasks.
"Hey, that blighter was right! These fellas are mutants, just like Hendrickson! Surrender, mutant, or we shall poke you until you are paste!" the guard who pinned Sigmund to the wall says to his victim.
Scott, meanwhile, goes to look what all the noise is about. He is slightly surprised to see a whole bunch of guards surrounding Sigmund, who also look at him, having heard his lumbering before he even reached the door. Scott's not surprised enough to not allow instinct to take hold, though!
[Scott vs. Guard 5: 4 vs. 2+1]
His thrown harpoon is only partially deflected by the guard's armor, who spins instinctively when he feels the steel nick his flesh in passing, causing a mild bruise and some visible bleeding.
"That one a mutant, Carlson?"
"Nope! Not nearly fashionable enough!"
Sigmund, noticing the guards momentarily getting distracted to discuss Scott's 'burnt and depraved psychopath with a blanket for a cape' look, throws him another harpoon, noticing that the foolish fool appears to be unarmed otherwise.
"Niklas, cover your eyes!" he shouts to the other room. Niklas doesn't need to see this.
Kevin, meanwhile, decides that this shall be his finest hour and all that, lifting up the abandoned sword and menacingly facing the area where Scott just went.
This, naturally, does not entirely prepare him for the fact that guards begin to spill in from the back door, led by the six-armed one. As in, he's quite surprised, but not quite enough to just let things happen as they do - no, he shall defend himself!
[Trip: Hendrickson vs. Kevin: 3+1 vs. 1+1+1]
[Kevin balance roll: 4+1]
As such, the wily Hendrickson fails to trip him and gain an advantage! Now to fight off the rest, Kevin thinks. They've put away their crossbows and drawn spears, too, the silly fools. Well, aside from the guy with the sword, the actual store guard.
[Pin: Guard 1 vs. Kevin: 3+1 vs. 1+1+1]
[Pin: Guard 2 vs. Kevin: 3+1 vs. 1+2]
[Pin: Guard 3 vs. Kevin: 6+1 vs. 1+2]
[Pin: Guard 4 vs. Kevin: 4+1 vs. 1+2]
Kevin is rather disappointed when, rather than face him in honorable one-on-one combat, they choose to quadruple-team him, pinning him to the wall.
It is, however, at this point that Kevin notices something interesting - one of the spears that is now stabbed into him, the first one, actually, has not so much stabbed into him as disappeared into his pink jacket. The guard, noticing something wrong, tries to pull it out, but can't - and when he accidentally pushes forward once more, the spear goes deeper - and doesn't come out the other end. Naturally, this doesn't quite seem to mitigate his current state, but he guesses it's food for thought.
[Niklas initiative roll: 6]
Niklas, meanwhile, looks a tad dissatisfied at the way the current Sigmund-ordered game of peekaboo on his part is going. He uncovers his eyes as the relaxing battle sounds cease, noticing Kevin to be, as the saying goes, in deep shit from the looks of it.
"So, surrender already, you bloody weirdo!" the store guard tells Kevin, who is thoroughly pinned.
"Hey! I'm supposed to say that!"
Niklas can't help but notice that there's six people in relative proximity to one another there. And Kevin, but he doesn't matter for what he's got in mind. He sits down at the top of the stairs, curls up into a rather sizable imitation of a cannonball.
Oh, how fondly he remembers the fast times at that village. Bowls were something he always liked, really. He floats upwards, animated by chair-magic beyond the comprehension of anybody present, staying perfectly still in the air for a good second as he basks in the moment. The spearless guard is the only one to look his way in this short time, but by then it's too late.
The chair cannonball flies in all its glorious splendor down the stairs, heading right for the group of Kevin's assailants!
[Hendrickson dodge roll: 1-1]
[Store Guard dodge roll: 4-1]
[Guard 1 dodge roll: 5]
[Guard 2 dodge roll: 3-1]
[Guard 3 dodge roll: 3-1]
[Guard 4 dodge roll: 2-1]
He smashes right into Hendrickson and plows through the group of guards, scattering them around the room with the exception of one, the guy who saw him - that one dropped to the floor immediately. As the guards are scattered, Niklas stops mid-air, then unfurls into his normal shape, seemingly completely unperturbed.
[Hendrickson endurance roll: 1]
[Store Guard endurance roll: 4]
[Guard 2 endurance roll: 1]
[Guard 3 endurance roll: 1]
[Guard 4 endurance roll: 1]
Of the five guards hit, only the original store guard is in any shape to continue to move properly, let alone fight. The three other normal guards hit are reduced to bloody piles of meat and organs from their respective impacts into the wall, while Hendrickson has been snapped cleanly in half at the midsection - the spine-like pillar at the impact point seems to have completely disintegrated, and the rest of Hendrickson doesn't look to be in much better shape, either, the upper half of his body twitching in a particular corner of the room.
Niklas turns his chairy visage toward the one guard who managed to avoid a gruesome fate amongst those assembled. The guard slowly backs away toward the back door. The store guard shares none of his patience, though, making an immediate break for the door and diving out of it as though the building were on fire. Niklas wonders if it's worth pursuing those two.
In the other room, everybody is stricken with a slight bit of curiosity as to what that series of increasingly disturbing and disgusting sounds might have been.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton comments on how some undead get all the cool powers while some are just slightly durable and unusually smelly by nature.
"A fine set of powers indeed good Sir Captain! You can move at the blink of an eye? Strange, I've always thought you to just float to where you needed to be. I can only imagine that to be most useful in many a situation! Being a second chancer has it's perks, no?"
"Oh, I HARDLY EVER do the BLINKY THING, EITHER! Too UNRELIABLE! But YES, I do command MORE POWER DEAD that I EVER DID ALIVE! And I even KEPT MOST OF MY WITS! AHAHAHAHAH!"
"Either way, good Mage Erin is now put to rest in her quarters, and with the mess cleaned up I don't believe there are many matters of note to deal with at present. Hm... I wonder what is taking the others so long, I hope everything is alright. Now then, what were we talking previous? Fascinating sounds one doesn't normally hear, I believe, yes?"
"Why, YES! There's ALL SORTS OF THINGS you can actually HEAR, but you have to LISTEN! LISTEN like NO MAN LISTENS! If you do, you can HEAR THE SOUL DEPART ITS BODY, SCREAMING OFF INTO THE AFTERLIFE!"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 26, 2013, 06:23:17 pm
((And I can't believe the luck we just had. Really, I can't))
EDIT:
((After reading the thing for a second time, now I realize that I'm pinned against a wall, with 3 guards fighting me and one with his spear stuck. Oh, well, let's post an action))
Sigmund points his crossbow at point blank to the belly of the guard pinning him, and says:
Gentlemen, I don't know what happened back there, but I can tell you that it was not pleasant. So, please, stay quiet for a moment so that nothing bad happens, would you? And that goes specially for you- he says to the pinning guard- do not even dare to move.
He then shouts:
-I don't know what happened there, but do come here, please.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 26, 2013, 11:22:18 pm
"Oh dear, that sounds rather dreadful to hear. Have you actually heard such things?" Morton queried the captain. The desk will also take a glance at Craig, as the man has been silent for a while and the butler hopes he hasn't been bored while Morton was talking.
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2013, 03:08:45 am
"Well then."
Kevin picks up his sword and tries to kill the remaining guard.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2013, 03:33:36 am
((I am invincible! Muhahahahaha!))
"Well then."
Kevin picks up his sword and tries to kill the remaining guard.
Which one? There's three of them that aren't dead, strictly speaking - the store guard is the furthest away, having dived out into the street, the only one of the town guards is at the door, and Hendrickson is snapped in half on the ground.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 03:39:59 am
Scott will be screaming in a foreign language he barely knows (You have a lot of time on your hands when you are married and without employment) but hopes that it adds to his unholy visage and makes their defence less effective.
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 05:31:04 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2013, 06:13:53 am
Sigmund decides to take advantage of the distraction and point his crossbow at Carlson's belly!
"Gentlemen, I don't know what happened back there, but I can tell you that it was not pleasant. So, please, stay quiet for a moment so that nothing bad happens, would you? And that goes specially for you," he says to the pinning guard, "do not even dare to move."
"Or what, you're going to shoot me with an unloaded crossbow?" Carlson asks. Sigmund looks down. Bugger.
Scott, noticing a mild lull in the action, decides to liven up the situation a little.
"Bolshoy syurpreez!" he screams, knowing that he's probably pronouncing that wrong, but hey.
[Scott charge roll: 1-1]
He slowly shambles toward the guards, who look at him with no small amount of confusion. He appears to be outstretching his harpoon, too. Hm, what to do, what to do.
[Scott vs. Carlson: 6-1 vs. 3+1]
He stabs out at the damnable Carlson, who is rather scratched in the process.
"Ow, son of a bitch! Gods-damn it all!"
[Pin: Guard 7 vs. Scott: 6+1 vs. 4-1]
Another guard then promptly reacts, stabbing him through the chest and pinning him to the wall in a manner similar to Sigmund before him, leaving them about a meter apart.
"Right then, we've ascertained that these are right bastardly criminals we're dealin' with here, and some are mutants at that, so let's just execute 'em on the spot, eh?"
"Right!" says the other guy, having given up on his spear for a moment and pulling out a rather trusty-looking blackjack - the sort of weapon you'd give a name, Sigmund thinks.
[Called Shot: Guard 5 vs. Sigmund: 6+1-2 vs. 6-2]
The guard promptly takes the blackjack and starts smashing Sigmund in the face with it violently. It is, as one might suppose, extremely unpleasant. Sigmund feels a great many teeth of his loosen, and his nose, his beautiful nose is rapidly losing cohesion!
"I don't *crack* know what *crack*... ugh... *crack crack* hurk... happened there, but do *crack* come here, *crack* pleathe!" he shouts, hoping to attract some attention from the people in the other room.
The only unoccupied guard decides to follow Mr. Blackjack's lead and try the same thing on Scott... with a spear!
[Called Shot: Guard 8 vs. Scott: 3+1-2 vs. 4-1-2]
He stabs Scott right in the mouth, then pulls out the spear.
In the other room, Kevin tries to execute one of the remaining guards with his sword! He decides that it is the store guard who's asking for it the most, as he is the one who started this mess.
[Store Guard escape roll: 5]
[Kevin pursuit roll: 5+1]
He runs outside, finding that the guard hasn't gotten far. Should be easy to run him down.
[Store Guard escape roll: 3]
[Kevin pursuit roll: 6+1]
He breaks into a sprint, catching up to the man easily and trying to swipe at him with the sword!
[Kevin vs. Store Guard: 5+1-1 vs. 3+2]
The sword clinks against the armor of the guy, who turns around.
"Leave me alone, asshole! I'm just running for dear life here! I'm not gonna call anyone else!"
[Store Guard vs. Kevin: 2+1 vs. 5+1]
He aims a punch at Kevin, but the jester dodges, not really one to be caught off-guard by a thing like that.
[Counterattack: Kevin vs. Store Guard: 6 vs. 6+2]
The store guard, however, is firmly unshakable in his resistance to getting slashed. How awful.
Niklas, meanwhile, wonders what that sound he heard from the other room might have been. Eh, probably nothing. He looks over at Hendrickson. Hendrickson looks at him, eyes full of various regrets of the things he hasn't done in his life and the many jobs he could have taken rather than work one more week at Brenwicke's. Brenwicke wasn't even a good boss, he thinks. Treated employees like shit, and now there's supercriminals right inside the store. His life fleeting from his body, he does one last instinctive act before dying - he prays to Rysinia.
[Hendrickson prayer roll: 2]
And yet there's nothing. Guess the goddess must be busy with something. Oh well. Hendrickson just sighs, going completely limp moments afterward as his soul departs his body.
And so Niklas is left alone in the room, as the only other guard has already escaped - the one Kevin didn't chase - has also escaped. Niklas, supposing there's nothing to do here right now, sits down on the staircase and contemplates the pretty patterns of the smashed guards.
"Ooh, dad, that was absolutely amazing! I knew it would work!"
That you did, Torkel. That you did.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, feeling an unwelcome touch of morbidity in this conversation, asks more.
"Oh dear, that sounds rather dreadful to hear. Have you actually heard such things?"
"Why, YES! These are the DOCKS, FOR GODS' SAKES! SLIT THROATS ARE THEIR MAIN EXPORT! Or so I HEAR! HAHAHAH! SERIOUSLY, though, my POINT stands. You don't LIVE ON THE DOCKS for SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS without hearing SOMEONE DIE HORRIBLY. Or ANYWHERE ELSE, for that MATTER!"
Morton looks over at Tailor Craig. His expression, being entirely concealed in darkness, is quite unreadable, but his eyes and posture suggest he is listening with interest. Perhaps he simply has nothing to say.
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 06:23:14 am
EDIT:
If Sigmund can't slide, he will try to break the spear and set himself free.
((Damn, gotta avoid the -2 pinned malus, or this will end bad for me))
EDIT2: no choking, instead say:
-That was pretty rude from you. Now I think that I will need another head. This would be the nineteenth head I lose in two days!
((The other heads are the creepy apples))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 06:38:55 am
Scott attempts to distract the guards with pretty words until Chair golem comes.
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 07:34:37 am
Scott, after being freed from the spear, shall rabidly glomp his opponent and wrestle him to the floor; biting, scratching and smashing all the while.((You are still pinned. You could try to use your strenght bonus to break the spear, though))
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2013, 10:18:14 am
"Alright, but don't come back, or you won't be so lucky."
He then goes to the main store area to look for the remaining guards, calling Niklas along.
"Come, Niklas. We may need your help."
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 10:34:50 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2013, 10:57:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 11:03:50 am
((I don't want to metagame, really. So I'll come after I finish this guy off, which is hopefully soon.))((He has a plus 2 because of armor. Your sword's bonus is nullified by it. I think that it won't happen soon. And it's not metagaming, you have an excuse to stop fighting him, that is how he got so scared because of Niklas that he won't ever come back. I don't like to metagame either, but even if you kill this guy, the other one has already escaped, you know.))
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2013, 11:14:12 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 11:57:03 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 27, 2013, 11:59:40 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 12:03:13 pm
((As a side note, we need spears to face these guys, or blunt weaponry))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2013, 12:49:32 pm
Sigmund tries to slide along the spear toward his adversary as far as possible!
[Sigmund's sliding vs. Carlson's kicking: 6 vs. 5]
Though he is kicked backwards furiously by Carlson, he manages to make some progress, pushing himself off the wall about midway along the spear when Carlson presses his foot to Sigmund's abdomen to keep him at bay!
"That was pretty rude from you. Now I think that I will need another head. This would be the nineteenth head I've lost in two days!"
"Well, you've probably gotten used to it by now, then."
[Called Shot: Mr. Blackjack vs. Sigmund: 5+1-2 vs. 4-2]
Mr. Blackjack, realizing that perhaps the face isn't the best place to impact one's brain from, tries the back of Sigmund's head instead! There are several cracking sounds as whatever Sigmund has for a skull starts to give way! He doesn't think he can take much more of this!
[Sigmund endurance roll: 3]
At least, he... um... what was he thinking about again? And why does everything seem mildly foggy?
As this happens, Scott attempts to distract the guards.
"I am unarmed! And that bloody hurt!"
"As much as I hate to point this out, you really aren't. On both fronts. We'll be glad to stop when both problems are corrected," says the guy, aiming another spear thrust to Scott's face.
[Called Shot: Guard 8 vs. Scott: 3+1-2 vs. 1-2-1]
"Speaking of."
The guard stabs Scott right through the eye, the brain and the entire skull, the spearhead coming out through the other end of his head. The guard plants his foot on Scott's chest and pulls the spear out, and along with it a decent chunk of the brain.
[Scott will roll: 5]
[Scott endurance roll: 2]
Scott isn't overly bothered, though. Probably because he doesn't remember why he was here in the first place, who these gentlemen with spears might be and what might happen next. And why he doesn't have three-dimensional vision anymore. And why is he holding a harpoon? He's no fisherman, he knows that!
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Kevin supposes he doesn't really have the right weaponry to kill this guy anyway, so he supposes he'll let him go.
"Alright, but don't come back, or you won't be so lucky."
"You know, we probably could've worked out some kind of arrangement and avoided all of this if you just asked us about it. Assholes."
He runs off as Kevin heads back to Brenwicke's Books. He supposes he's right on time for cleanup, too. He walks into the back room.
"Come, Niklas. We may need your help."
Niklas looks at him and immediately follows Kevin over to the other room. There, they witness Sigmund and Scott being beaten and stabbed in the head by four guards. They don't look so hot, to be honest.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton concedes the point. After all, docks and murder go well together - the docks being the welcoming bread and the murder being the warm, red jam that happens upon it.
"Hm... You are correct, being in one place for such a length of time hearing such a noise does become an inevitability. I'm curious, what other sort of noises do you hear? Or perhaps I should attempt to hear for myself?"
"I PERIODICALLY listen to LITTLE PIGEONS HATCHING! It's like DEATH, but IN REVERSE and MORE VIOLENT! And THEN there's the way SOULS PLAY TOGETHER - exchanging INFORMATION of ALL KINDS in their MUTUAL CONTACT! These happen at VARYING INTERVALS, though - you have to KNOW IT WHEN IT HAPPENS! Otherwise, YOU'LL MISS IT!"
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 12:56:21 pm
-Niklas, do your thing and rescue us!
Sigmund then tries to choke the guard
((I recommend that Kevin grabs a spear, becuase that sword is not going to do much))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 01:44:23 pm
Break the spear.
((Guyz plz ned halp! :p))
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2013, 02:48:36 pm
Grab a spear if there is one laying around and charge at the guard keeping Sigmund pinned.
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 02:50:57 pm
((Hope this helps))
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 03:07:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 03:16:29 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 03:40:02 pm
And won't my dear and cuddly blanket-husband transform with me? >.>
Might be a good thing then.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 03:41:18 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2013, 05:03:08 pm
I...don;t get you.))
Post by: Xanmyral on August 27, 2013, 05:19:11 pm
"Souls play together? I'm afraid I don't understand quite what you mean good Sir Captain, the closest I can postulate upon would be ghosts talking to one another, but I'm not so sure that is quite what you meant." The desk queried further.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2013, 05:54:17 pm
Sigmund, guessing that his head trauma might be getting in the way of his escape, whatever reason that might be for, tries to cover his head with his hands and slide forward.
[Sigmund sliding vs. Carlson's kicking: 2-1-1 vs. 3]
To say that he makes no progress in his confused state is to put it mildly - he is kicked back against the wall, undoing all his precious hard work! He reaches toward Carlson, but just can't seem to reach! Also, he's kind of covering his head with his arms, so he can't really throttle anyone that way.
Scott, trying to come to grips with his rather poor situation, tries to confusedly break the spear rammed through his chest.
[Scott weapon destruction roll: 1-1]
He punches the spear. It is a strange spear, as it appears to have a very sturdy shaft that's not made of wood at all. Go figure.
Kevin, who among those assembled is the only one who knows the score, figures he'll instruct Niklas and find a better weapon.
His instructions are simple.
"CHARGE, NIKLAS!"
[Niklas charging roll: 6]
Niklas rapidly moves toward one of the guards - Kevin suspects magic. No chair is that fast.
[Niklas vs. Guard 8: 6+2 vs. 2]
He punches the guard who was about to stab Scott in the eye again clear across the room - when he meets the door, he is in a few more pieces than before. Definitely more pieces than are strictly survivable for a human being. The door's not in too good a shape, either.
[Guard morale roll: 3]
"Oooh-kay. We'll be leaving now, I think," Carlson says. "Don't worry about us, we know the way out."
Carlson then quickly pulls his spear out of Sigmund, allowing the latter to tumble to the floor, as does the other guard who's pinned Scott. The two brain-damaged individuals are free once again. Moments later, Kevin returns with a spear. He roars and charges at one of the guards, unaware that the conflict has taken on an altogether different character now.
He does notice that Sigmund's free, though. That's interesting.
Meanwhile, the three remaining guards cheese it at varying efficiencies: Blackjack disappears from sight practically immediately - you wouldn't guess a guy could run so fast with that much armor on him. Carlson opts for a bit of a slower move away, or rather tries to when the last guard topples him over in his dash - even madder than Blackjack's, actually. Though Carlson immediately recovers, he is still in the store when everyone else comes to terms with the new situation.
"So, how's life for you lot?"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton isn't really sure what the Captain's talking about here.
"Souls play together? I'm afraid I don't understand quite what you mean, good Sir Captain, the closest I can postulate upon would be ghosts talking to one another, but I'm not so sure that is quite what you meant."
"I MEAN when TWO (or more) PEOPLE have a real HEART TO HEART - when they SAY IMPORTANT THINGS, THINGS that CHANGE ONE'S SOUL and DEFINE ONE'S EXPERIENCES! Why, to HEAR such a THING is MAGNIFICENT!"
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2013, 06:04:25 pm
-Well, sir, if you cooperate, nothing will happen to you. First, we will need you to drop your weapon. I assure that we have no interest in killing people, unless they get in our way.
EDIT: better do this.
Sigmund said, as he recharged his crossbow:
-Kevin, cover the fron entrance. Niklas, cover the other.
He then spoke to Carlson, aiming at him with his crossbow:
-Well, sir, if you cooperate, nothing will happen to you. First, we will need you to drop your weapon. I assure that we have no interest in killing people, unless they get in our way.
If he tries to escape, shoot him.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 27, 2013, 07:28:48 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 27, 2013, 11:58:58 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2013, 02:05:13 am
"Can we leave now?"
Post by: miauw62 on August 28, 2013, 02:06:09 am
"Yessir."
Cover the front enterance.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 28, 2013, 04:47:47 am
Sigmund, stumbling up to his feet, tries to recharge his crossbow. After that doesn't work, he tries to reload his crossbow, getting it done on the second try despite his daze.
"Kevin, cover the front entranthe. Niklath, cover the other," he says through broken teeth.
"Yessir," Kevin replies, heading over to the front entrance while Niklas lumbers over to the other one. Sigmund then turns to Carlson.
"Well, sir, if you cooperate, nothing will happen to you. First, we will need you to drop your weapon. I assure that we have no interest in killing people, unless they get in our way."
Carlson gazes at him for a moment, then at the leaving Niklas.
"Nah."
He immediately runs toward the front entrance, and Sigmund fires upon him!
It is at this point that Sigmund notices that he appears to have loaded the bolt in backwards. Luckily, the crossbow is completely undamaged, the drawstring merely skipping over the bolt.
[Carlson charge roll: 6]
Carlson tries to get past Kevin, spear thrust forwards as he thunders quickly down the store area.
[Carlson escape vs. Kevin guarding: 3+2 vs. 3+1]
He utilizes his spear to turn away Kevin's, then smashes into the jester-turned-door-guard with his armored bulk, sending both of them sliding out into the street. Carlson, being on top, gets up first and begins running away quickly.
Scott, meanwhile, is quite happy that he is free and all, but he really needs a weapon. Going off to the other room, he, after noticing a six-armed man lying on the ground, picks up his cool guisarme. Then he goes back into the main room.
"Can we leave now?" he asks, having accomplished everything he wanted here.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is a bit shocked that when people talk, sound is made! Who would've thought it?
"That... such exchanges make a sound? I had no idea, I can't even fathom what such a thing would even sound like. It must be grand though, to hear you speak of it so."
"OH YES! Quite."
"If you don't mind, I think I'll try to listen again, see what I can hear."
"Go RIGHT ahead!"
And Morton does. He listens in carefully to what seems to be happening around here. He hears... well, there's the still-awake mages talking, with Art being particularly chatty. There's the Captain, who returns to explaining the principles of manly fishing to Tailor Craig. And then there's distant voices in the town, sounds of merriment from taverns, the sound of waves. The town seems a bit quiet right now. Probably because it must be three or four in the morning already. Morton can also hear faint snoring come from the Artiste, and birds flying about nearby.
Near the town hall of the City of the Dead...
Darren asks about his old acquaintance, the adolescent store owner and junk collector.
"Heard any rumors about a mortal girl heading down there and coming back with stuff? Up above, there was a girl who was supposed to go down to the catacombs and take things up. You heard anything like that?"
"Oh yes. Quite the adventurer, that one. Haven't spoken to her myself, though Karina says she meets the girl on certain occasions. Apparently she makes a living off carrying things away from the engineers' quarter - you could ask the gate guard about her. I think she has some sort of arrangement with him."
Post by: Tomcost on August 28, 2013, 05:45:01 am
-Well, we should finish what we begun. Niklas and Scott, search for all the spears and armor that the guards left. Kevin, come with me, we are going to enter the upper floor from outside.
Having said this, Sigmund walks to the outer side of the back entrance and helps Kevin to climb with his arms
-Break the window if necessary.
EDIT: typos, but maybe I should have left them, because of brain damage, which I don't know if it is permanent or not.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 28, 2013, 08:06:17 am
Hm... While interesting, Morton feels he isn't quiet hearing... Hard enough? Acutely enough, not the best fit but that would be a sufficient enough descriptor the desk feels. With that bit of linguistic shuffling done, Morton continues to listen, attempting to hear more acutely than before to see what he might be missing.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2013, 08:34:46 am
He will have the spear in his hands at all times.
He will then follow Sigmund up the stairs, he will grumble though since he never was thanked for risking his unlife and limbs (no matter how incompetently) for Sigmund's own.
Post by: Tomcost on August 28, 2013, 08:47:02 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 28, 2013, 10:44:38 am
Kevin then goes upstairs and waits for Niklas to punch the door into submission.
Post by: Tomcost on August 28, 2013, 11:23:35 am
-Oh, well, do whatever you want.
Look for my guisarme, and a decent armor. If it is dirty because of blood, clean it with my curtain first.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 28, 2013, 01:31:54 pm
Sigmund, rather uncharacteristically, has a plan!
"Well, we should finish what we begun. Niklas and Scott, search for all the spears and armor that the guards left. Kevin, come with me, we are going to enter the upper floor from outside."
Niklas shrugs and commences a search.
Kevin, though believes he has a better plan by virtue of not being concussed.
"Nah. You just sit back here, I'll get Niklas to punch down the door," he smugly says. "Hey, Niklas, I need your help punching down this door!" he shouts to Niklas, then heads upstairs. Niklas, however, doesn't seem to be coming yet.
"Oh, well, do whatever you want."
Sigmund is then joined by Scott, who appears to have commandeered the guisarme, in search for some armor. However, they can't seem to find any - all of the people in the store appear to have been stripped completely clean of any weapons, armor and any other personal effects. This is quite strange.
Meanwhile, Niklas finally heads up to help Kevin with the door.
[Niklas punching roll: 2]
He punches the door several times. It doesn't budge an inch. Niklas notices that the door, underneath that wooden paneling, appears to be made of steel. How devious!
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton keeps on listening, hoping to find more interesting things, some of them like the ones the Captain describes!
He realizes that he is listening very acutely already - why, he can almost discern what exactly a passing bunch of drunks are discussing on the riverside street. It appears to be a highly lewd joke of some sort - definitely not the sort of thing he should be listening to, at any rate.
Perhaps he should listen when he knows something is happening, rather than just put a possible-but-yet-undiscovered ear out. That way, he'll know for sure if he's missing something.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2013, 01:47:34 pm
He will then try to work out how best to use a Guisarme in battle, being a minor noble he would have read something on the topic, having to provide arms to his liege as per feudal contract.
Post by: miauw62 on August 28, 2013, 01:52:07 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2013, 01:54:23 pm
Scott will attempt a sneer with the ruined visage that is his face.
Post by: Tomcost on August 28, 2013, 01:57:57 pm
Sigmund wraps his hands in the curtain and begins to search between the gore if there is any leftover of weapons or armor salvageable.
Post by: miauw62 on August 28, 2013, 02:03:42 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2013, 02:05:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on August 28, 2013, 02:14:27 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 28, 2013, 03:01:22 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 28, 2013, 05:43:40 pm
The desk turned to look at Artiste and the duo of drunken mages to see how they are fairing, he believes he heard Artiste snoring if he heard right. Best not leave Master Artiste exposed to the elements while sleeping, no? If Artiste is indeed asleep, Morton will
[Five imaginary internet monies, the mages are drawing/writing on Artiste.]
Post by: miauw62 on August 29, 2013, 02:32:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2013, 05:26:53 am
Scott, rather pleased with himself right about now, tries to figure out how best to use a guisarme, figuring that he must remember at least something about warfare with such an implement.
He realizes that it would probably be best used against a mounted adversary, to knock them off a horse or whatever with the aid of the hook. Alternatively, he could use it to trip people up. Or just plain stab people very hard. He's got options here. And speaking of options, he has some advice to give as well!
"A door needs a frame to work, right? Break the frame or the wall surrounding it, it will be weaker than steel whether it is brick or wood."
Kevin can't help but admit that the guy with the perforated brain is right. That could indeed work.
"Eh, I guess Scott is right for once. Punch the frame," he says, causing Scott no end of delight.
Niklas, looking slightly bored, tries to punch the frame.
[Niklas punching roll: 1]
The frame is also made of steel. And Niklas manages to chip his chair arm on it something fierce. The wall, in addition, looks to be made of stone or something. While this would make it more fragile, it is also at least four times as thick as the door.
Sigmund, not very happy about the lack of any armor or weapons around here, tries digging through some of the gore with the curtain he stole. He lowers his covered hands into some of the messy stuff.
Eww. He can still hear it squelch as he touches it! That's, like, super-ew! Mega-ew! You couldn't force him to dig through this stuff! Nuh-uh! No way!
At the City of the Dead...
Darren expresses yet more interest about the girl.
"Have you heard anything else about her? I'd hate to be outdone by a little girl, so anything you've heard about her that might help would really come in handy."
"Well, you see, the thing is, I think she has an arrangement with the guard, like I said. I think it involves people vouching for her or something - I haven't really looked into the matter, but I've heard rumors, certainly, and that's all I've got. Like I said - the guard's a polite sort, ask him."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, having heard everything he needed, though not everything he wanted, looks over at the Artiste. Yeah, he appears to have fallen asleep, and is precariously sitting on the barrel. Clearly, he needs to be brought to his room. Morton shuffles over to him and places him on his surface, encountering no resistance from his sleeping master.
"I suppose I shall now go to sleep as well," Evelyn says, noticing the happenings around her.
"Well, I don't think I need to sleep anymore. And I'm also feeling remarkably clear-headed, too. So I guess I'll stay here. Talk to the Captain, maybe. Or the tailor guy. Good night, I guess."
"Good night."
Morton carries the Artiste off to his room, which is indicated helpfully by Evelyn, and rolls him into his bed after nearly dropping him on the floor. Glad that all of the mages capable of sleep have finally gone to do such a thing, he considers what to do next.
Post by: miauw62 on August 29, 2013, 05:37:25 am
Kevin goes outside and looks for any windows on the top floor.
Post by: Tomcost on August 29, 2013, 05:42:43 am
-Hey, Scott, there must be weapons and armor inside this pile of crap. Why don't you look for it while I help Kevin go into the second floor?
Sigmund also goes outside and helps Kevin climb with his super long arms.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 29, 2013, 11:26:08 am
Search for more weapons and armour (which he will seek to wear himself.)
Post by: Tomcost on August 29, 2013, 11:28:21 am
-We don't have the slightiest idea about where he lives, so that could be a problem.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2013, 11:49:15 am
Sigmund also goes outside and helps Kevin climb with his super long arms.
You don't have super long arms anymore.
Post by: Tomcost on August 29, 2013, 12:07:28 pm
((Oh, as the perk stayed for some time in my character sheet I thought that I still had them, but it was not relevant, that's why you removed it afterwards.))Sigmund also goes outside and helps Kevin climb with his super long arms.
You don't have super long arms anymore.
Changed action:
Sigmund looks for a broom or some implement with which he could remove the gore, and does so.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2013, 02:27:27 pm
Kevin realizes that this room is being hideously stubborn.
"Alright then. I guess we're going in from the outside. Come with me, Niklas, you could lift me up to the windows or something."
He and Niklas both head out, and Kevin looks carefully at any windows he could possibly see up top.
Fortunately, they are as plain as windows can be - in fact, one could easily break and go through one. Sweet.
Sigmund, meanwhile, has an idea. He approaches Scott.
"Hey, Scott, there must be weapons and armor inside this pile of crap. Why don't you look for it while I help Kevin go into the second floor?"
"Lets go over to the owner's place and take the key, we took care of the guards."
"We don't have the slightest idea about where he lives, so that could be a problem."
Scott shrugs. He then starts digging through the horrid piles of meat lying around the area, which promptly refuse to surrender their secrets to him. Damn it! He can't find any armor anywhere! Or weapons!
Sigmund, disbelieving such a conclusion and assuming the simpler explanation that Scott is merely extremely incompetent, looks for a broom or a stick or something. Sadly, nothing of that description is around either. How absolutely terrible.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on August 29, 2013, 02:46:06 pm
Kevin climbs on Niklas and tries to reach the window, break it and get inside.
Post by: Tomcost on August 29, 2013, 03:04:11 pm
Sigmund realized that searching in a pile of gore was a difficult task, so he needed somebody with experience in the subject. No, not somebody with experience, but a professional in dealing with flesh bits and gore! And he knew one which exels at that.
Sigmund walks to Niklas and waits for Kevin to climb him, then says:
-Hey, Niklas! There is a lot of good cooking material inside, but it is mixed with stuff that can't be eaten. I think that, while we wait, you could make a pile of all that possible future dishes and leave at a side all those things that can't be eaten.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 29, 2013, 03:57:06 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 30, 2013, 12:53:57 am
((Wise actions? I better play it safe.))
Post by: Xantalos on August 30, 2013, 03:32:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 30, 2013, 05:17:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 30, 2013, 06:42:05 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 30, 2013, 05:14:39 pm
Morton does indeed consider! All that are used to sleep are so now, so he supposes talking to them are out. Captain and Craig are probably engrossed in a conversation by now, and Morton is sure they're tired of him interrupting them, so that leaves Art to talk to. Hm... The desk considers that he's never really spoken much to Art beyond a few questions when they were planning that plan with the guards. The desk mildly wonders what happened to the plan but
Ah well, Morton shouldn't be shy in getting to know those he'll voyage with more! No sir indeed, Morton goes to where he saw Art last.
Post by: Tomcost on August 31, 2013, 08:48:02 am
Sigmund takes Niklas to the main massacre and says:
-I think that you were responsible for this, so you should know what to do.
He then goes to the ain room and tries to pull the spear off the wall
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 02, 2013, 01:34:44 am
Kevin, deciding that now is a good time to properly utilize his buddy Niklas and possibly get something done in the process, hops onto the chairman and tries to jump to the second floor window.
[Kevin jumping roll: 6+1]
He leaps off Niklas like a frog, smashing headfirst through the window like some kind of magically-accelerated undesirable from a respectable establishment, landing in a pile of glass shards, which doesn't feel very pleasant as one might imagine. He gets up and looks around.
Hm. This looks like a storeroom of some kind - there are several cabinets and chests lying about, all secure-looking and whatnot.
Outside, Niklas is about to go about his business, whatever that may be, but he is then interrupted by Sigmund, who appears to have been waiting for exactly such an opportunity.
"Hey, Niklas! There is a lot of good cooking material inside, but it is mixed with stuff that can't be eaten. I think that, while we wait, you could make a pile of all that possible future dishes and leave at a side all those things that can't be eaten."
Niklas shrugs. He guesses he can do that. Heck, maybe being unable to perceive smells or tastes will actually improve his cooking. He walks back inside with Sigmund, only to find the corpses he made earlier. Oh, those.
"I think that you were responsible for this, so you should know what to do."
Well, not much sorting needed there, he supposes, considering that he already took a moment to claim all the treasures of the people he singlehandedly eliminated while the others were busy getting smashed, stabbed, murdered and being not very useful at all, thus earning exactly zero loot in the process, according to northern law. Niklas wonders if he actually shouldn't impose the special martial savior tax - after all, these guys would have been slightly deader meat without him. That means he should at least get something extra, right?
Sigmund, unaware of Niklas' current thought process, tends to other business. For one, he attempts to retrieve the spear stuck in the wall.
[Sigmund strength roll: 1+1]
Sadly, it does not look like it's coming out. How sad.
Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs in the back room, Scott takes a moment to ponder whether he could possibly force this door open with the guisarme. After giving it some thought, he supposes that's a no. And considering that there was the sound of breaking glass from outside, it seems like someone else has already bypassed the situation.
Near the engineer gates in the City of the Dead...
Darren supposes he'll stick around for a bit longer, if only to put off the inevitable.
"So, any other places I should go, any other facts I should know, or is it time I actually do the job I was sent here for?"
"Well, I could talk your ear off all day about who lives out in the normal city, various places and their history, particular people you could try to meet and so forth, but I'm not sure you're very interested."
She thinks for a moment.
"I suppose there is the obvious fact that the engineers really value their privacy. Other than that, I don't really know what to tell you."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, after a period of thinking about his next move, decides to head back on deck, whereupon he finds Art, who appears to be as busy as always. As in, not at all. He, or maybe she, or perhaps even it seems to be looking at the stars quietly.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on September 02, 2013, 05:29:33 am
Kevin sees if he can open the door and the chests.
Post by: Tomcost on September 02, 2013, 08:04:15 am
Spoiler: The solution to the loot issue (click to show/hide)
Sigmund sees if there is a way he could a apply force to the spear to make it dislodge from the wall, and tries again
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 02, 2013, 03:30:55 pm
Darren starts to head towards the gate, but he turns about to say one last thing.
"Hopefully, I'll see you on my way back up. Or, anyone, really. If not...."
He grimaces and continues towards the gate, to wait for the guard.
Post by: Xantalos on September 02, 2013, 03:34:39 pm
If not: Collect loot and then go cook.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 02, 2013, 04:33:21 pm
Kevin attempts to open the door leading out of the room, but it remains locked. This is unfortunate, he thinks. He then checks the chests lying about. Those seem to be rather wonderfully open, and the same applies to the cabinets. Inside said cabinets he finds books. Loads and loads of books. Rather nice-looking books they are, too.
Downstairs, Sigmund keeps on trying to obtain some weapons. Scorned by the wall, he decides to put to use the greatest skill he is known to possess - half a brain! Yes, he shall improve his weaponless state... with physics!
[Strength roll: 2+1+1]
It takes him several solid minutes of huffing, pulling and dislodging, but the spear eventually gives in, getting ripped out of the wall. Sigmund looks around and beams at Niklas.
However, when he sees what's happening, his beamish look disappears.
[Niklas culinary dark arts roll: 6+1-1-1]
Niklas appears to be making... things. Canape-style sandwiches, to be exact, made purely out of found gore and crossbow bolts. A milestone achievement in corpse mutilation, to be sure. Several of those things seems to be made out of a liver and a spleen placed between two different scalps, and Sigmund's pretty impressed by the shattered bone garnish on most of them. No weapons that he can see, though. Hm.
Near the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
"Alright then," Darren says, beginning to determinedly float toward the engineers' gate. He does, however, recall his good manners before he's gone too far. He turns around.
"Hopefully, I'll see you on my way back up. Or, anyone, really. If not..." he says, grimacing at his train of thought. Danielle keeps up her fairly bright demeanor despite this, though.
"I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Just don't give up, and stay undead, you hear?"
Darren guesses he can get behind that or something. He floats off toward the gate, whereupon he comes face to face with a giant, silvery gibbon-like thing in front of a great, ornamented silver gate bearing images of scenes of invention and knowledge triumphing over nature. And an image of somebody slicing a tree in half with something like a glowing knife. The gibbon-thing looks at him with its great black eyes, examining him carefully.
Post by: Tomcost on September 02, 2013, 04:40:25 pm
-Well, Kevin, I think that you can start dropping those books. Begin wih the ones we are looking for, but feel free to also grab those that you like. Particularly, I want a scientific treatise about souls that should be there.
Grab the books Kevin drops.
Post by: Xantalos on September 02, 2013, 06:03:24 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 02, 2013, 07:24:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2013, 12:33:54 am
((How many arms does Niklas currently have?))
Two. He's humanoid, after all.
Post by: Xantalos on September 03, 2013, 12:39:49 am
Didn't be lose one when he activated rocket arm?((How many arms does Niklas currently have?))
Two. He's humanoid, after all.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2013, 12:42:06 am
Didn't be lose one when he activated rocket arm?
He lost a chair from said arm, but there's still one more, so one of his arms is admittedly shorter than the other.
Post by: Xantalos on September 03, 2013, 12:44:17 am
Ah!Didn't be lose one when he activated rocket arm?
He lost a chair from said arm, but there's still one more, so one of his arms is admittedly shorter than the other.
...
Need to get chairs.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 03, 2013, 03:03:48 am
I have been out of the loop for a bit and this is crazy awesomeAh!Didn't be lose one when he activated rocket arm?
He lost a chair from said arm, but there's still one more, so one of his arms is admittedly shorter than the other.
...
Need to get chairs.
so Mark wakes up from zoning out and looks around
Post by: Xantalos on September 03, 2013, 03:05:43 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 03, 2013, 01:17:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 03, 2013, 01:20:22 pm
-I'm sorrry Niklas, but I'm unable to eat any kind of food barring blood. Well, now that I have been transformed, I don't think that I can even drink blood-He sighs- Vampirism and demonology are not the best combination.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2013, 03:48:23 pm
Sigmund decides that, as Niklas appears to be free right now, Kevin must be either inside, completely useless or dead. In any of those cases, he should probably do something. He goes outside and looks up. Well, window's broken. He guesses that means that Kevin's inside. Or at least Sigmund hopes that he is. If not, this will sound awfully silly.
"Well, Kevin, I think that you can thtart dropping thothe books. Begin with the ones we are looking for, but feel free to also grab thothe that you like. Particularly, I want a thientific treatithe about thoulth that should be there."
Kevin does not respond. Sigmund wonders what that could mean. Unfortunately for him, he can't really see Kevin rooting vainly through the vast quantities of books in the storeroom, finding that there seems to be far too many volumes here to search in any reasonable amount of time. Also quite unfortunately for him, Niklas appears to have taken an interest in him, walking right up and offering a sandwich. Sigmund looks at it, gulping reflexively.
"I'm thorry, Niklath, but I'm unable to eat any kind of food barring blood. Well, now that I have been transformed, I don't think that I can even drink blood... Vampirithm and demonology are not the betht combination," he explains, but Niklas has none of it, placing a whole lot of fleshy canapes in his hands. Sigmund looks down at them.
Hm... they do look... awfully bloody. Surely it couldn't hurt to... erm... uh...
While Sigmund stares at his armful of artful gore, Niklas looks for a kitchen and, to put it mildly, there simply isn't one. At all. No kitchens whatsoever in a bookstore. For some reason.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton supposes for a moment, as a sort of wild idea, that he might ask Art whether he is indeed looking at the stars or if he is merely gaping aimlessly into the darkness. First, he believes he should check whether there are indeed stars up there. He tries to look up, but, having no neck, realizes that this is a bit of a difficult prospect. However, it is nothing for a mind such as his! He pushes himself off the ground, getting a very good look at the sky as he successfully topples himself, landing rather noisily on his... rear side, he guesses? Well, the side opposite the direction the drawers open in, anyway.
The stars are indeed there, Morton finds. They look pretty neat, all shiny and so forth. He-
Oh dear. Where are his manners? He should announce his presence to Art, who must have undoubtedly heard him.
"What are you looking at, Mage Art? The stars?"
"Uh, yeah. Got nothing better to do, really."
He pauses a moment.
"So, need any help or something?"
In a jail cell in Shriekpot...
Mark, after spending who knows how long sitting around motionless in a cell, takes a look around. Well, not really - he can already see in a 360 degree angle. Still, he takes stock of the situation.
He is still limbless and largely powerless, not to mention locked in a cell and without any sort of equipment, and the sergeant appears to have buggered off somewhere. Quite unfortunate, really.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 03, 2013, 04:20:25 pm
Be prepared to skedadle.
Post by: Xantalos on September 03, 2013, 04:21:47 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 03, 2013, 04:44:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 03, 2013, 06:04:03 pm
-Umm, are you there Kevin? Just begin to drop the books, whatever you can find that seems useful. We are going in a long trip, so any kind of thing to read would help.
Grab whatever books Kevin drops.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 03, 2013, 07:43:11 pm
Post by: miauw62 on September 04, 2013, 05:29:58 am
Kevin will locate the chests with the more scientific books, close them, and push them out of the window.
Post by: Tomcost on September 04, 2013, 06:49:14 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 04, 2013, 01:28:15 pm
Darren looks at the gibbon-thing cautiously, being ready to leave in case of trouble.
"Hello," he says to the creature. The gibbon nods respectably, which is quite unusual, Darren believes, considering that it is indeed a giant gibbon and thus quite rarely associated with something approaching respectability. It doesn't speak, which he supposes amplifies the impression somewhat. Its suspiciously wise, dark eyes pass over his ectoplasmic body.
The gibbon looks pretty harmless, or at least not particularly hostile to Darren for the time being.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Niklas, rather disappointed with the lack of any kitchens, decides to look for chairs instead. Unfortunately, there aren't any of those, either! What a terrifyingly woeful place this must be to conduct business in.
Sigmund, seeing how Niklas isn't looking directly at him anymore, throws the sandwiches into a nearby alley, causing a rather abominable mess that he isn't sure even a whole lot of rainfall might fix. And now his hands are covered in blood. Sweet, delicious blood. Lovely crimson liquid almost fresh from the veins of an unwitting victim of violent assault, truly a pleasure for all the senses.
Sigmund tries for a moment to resist the temptation to lick his fingers clean, but then figures what the hell and goes ahead and tries some of the blood on his fingers. He slurps a great glob of it from his index finger. Damn, that's good. He licks his hand again. Still just as wonderful. Mm... blood.
He tries to break himself from the enjoyment of his hands, but the sweet scent of vitae is too much for him, and he starts frenziedly licking his hands, paying no mind to anything else. Damn, guess he's been going through blood withdrawal something fierce! He can't stop licking his arms, and the world seems to fade away even as the sensation of being well and truly alive floods through every bit of his body.
"Try to not stand in front of the window for a second, Sigmund," comes the voice of Kevin from on high. Sigmund can't really hear it, but Kevin is currently in the middle of finding a particularly scientific-looking chest of books, which is altogether easier to find than the Sea of Death section, and attempts to push them out the window.
[Kevin strength roll: 5]
He lifts the thing confidently, fitting it through the window and dropping it.
[Sigmund positioning roll: 3]
[Sigmund endurance roll: 5]
It proceeds to fall on the rather distracted Sigmund, clipping him across the shoulder. No obvious damage is caused, and the impact does not even shake him out of his state. How interesting. And now there's books all over the ground.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton keeps his chin up despite possessing no such thing, and goes on to chat with Art.
"Erm, perhaps in a bit. I seemed to have been a tad too eager to see if I could look upwards, but at least I can, I suppose. Adjusting well to your new form, Mage Art? It is good that you didn't come out as something less humanoid," he says.
"Yeah. Have to say, though, being a crystal warrior princess feels really weird. And I kinda need to put in effort to keep up a voice like this. If I don't, I start sounding like this. It's quite strange, really. Also, I feel... pretty," Art explains, his voice becoming noticeably more womanly midway through before lapsing into his old sound.
In a jail cell in Shriekpot...
Mark, having nothing better to do right now, opts to think of what the others might be doing.
He thinks for a moment, and then realizes that they very well may be all dead by now, as depressing as that may be. Or at least not at all similar to how they may have been previously. That seems to be standard procedure, anyhow.
Post by: miauw62 on September 04, 2013, 02:22:09 pm
Try to locate another scientific crate and drop it again.
Post by: Tomcost on September 04, 2013, 02:35:08 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 04, 2013, 02:39:04 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 04, 2013, 02:43:55 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 04, 2013, 09:40:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 05, 2013, 12:32:59 pm
Kevin guesses he'll try another box - that one over there looks pretty sciency, so he chooses it to be the next volunteer.
[Kevin strength roll: 5]
He lifts it up and chucks it out of the window - this time, there is no Sigmund to break the books' fall, as he appears to have moved elsewhere. Namely, to the inside of the store, where he finds a rather large chunk of bloody meat Niklas appears to have missed somehow. He wraps it in the curtain and begins to squeeze it to get some blood out.
Once again, that stuff tastes amazing. Really, he could do this all-
"What are we doing here again?" asks Niklas in his now-typical sing-song voice.
Sigmund looks at him with a bloodied mouth. Hah. Talking chairs are funny.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, though most certainly not a qualified expert in transmogrification, does his best to provide quality advice.
"Pretty? Hm... I'm afraid I can't exactly give much of an answer there. I have been personally feeling more fashionable ever since becoming a desk due to my wondrous finish, but I don't doubt this isn't similar to what you've been experiencing. The others might perhaps have more insight, when they get back. I'm afraid, Sir Mage Art, that there isn't much of a way to change back or to another form unless you fancy another trip through the realm."
"Oh no, I do like this new shape. Being made of crystal feels great. And I don't really feel like a lady, you know. I'm just... like... a statue of one. It doesn't feel half bad. It's that part, the not feeling weird part, that mildly disturbs me. But I'm sure I'll adapt," Art explains, smiling awkwardly.
Post by: miauw62 on September 05, 2013, 01:52:50 pm
"Alright guys, I'm coming out. No more scientific books here. Let's take it home."
Climb down and start putting the fallen books back in the chests.
Post by: Tomcost on September 05, 2013, 03:37:11 pm
-Our master asked for some books on the Sea of Death, Kevin should be dropping the books from the upper floor.
Having satisfied part of his thirst, Sigmund chose to go loot the guard's house, paying attention for the availability of chairs ((because maybe he could trade them with Niklas))
Post by: Xantalos on September 05, 2013, 04:04:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 05, 2013, 06:06:42 pm
Morton must say, constantly looking at the stars does one's outlook quite well. Perhaps he should do this more often.
Post by: miauw62 on September 06, 2013, 12:54:01 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 06, 2013, 01:40:41 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 05:53:29 am
Anybody knows what happened to Innsmothe? Maybe school?))
Post by: Yoink on September 06, 2013, 06:46:31 am
"A... a clown?"" That didn't sound so hard. He was expecting something rather more terrible and difficult. A clown toppling down a few stairs would be simple, he figured, especially with all the circus experience he had during his lifetime. Add to that the strange, malleable properties of the un-world he was in, and it was child's play.
His eyes slid over to his skeletal-hippo-companion...
"Hold still, I gotsa idea."
>Imagine up a lovely clown costume for my hippo-friend, hopefully using a similar process to the firework launchers.
If he complains, just explain how funny the end result will be, and the positive effects it will have for his acting career.
>Then conjure up a nice, fancy spiral staircase, shove ol' Hippobones down it, and laugh. As loudly and enthusiastically as needs be.
((I'm glad to see this is still going! Also, apologies for wandering off again, but with this new laptop comes a resolution: I shall stop being such a useless sod and actually post in all the games I'm in. :-[))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 06, 2013, 07:55:38 am
Kevin clearly observes other chests and boxes on the top floor, but is a bit too lazy to do anything with them presently. With this in mind, he goes ahead and lies about the contents of the room.
"Alright guys, I'm coming out. No more scientific books here. Let's take it home," he says, climbing out of the window.
[Kevin climbing roll: 1+1]
Well, maybe not climbing exactly. In fact, he doesn't get anywhere at all from here presently, mostly due to the severe lack of anything soft to land on down there, and he really doesn't want to break anything important falling down by just risking the jump. In fact, Kevin thinks there's nobody outside right now at all.
Sigmund, being one of said absent people, decides to go ahead and explain to Niklas what is required of him. Honestly, these short attention spans are destroying society. Fortunately, Sigmund is a bit too high on blood to care, and promptly licks his lips clean before telling Niklas what the deal is currently.
"Our master asked for some books on the Sea of Death, Kevin should be dropping the books from the upper floor."
Having said that, Sigmund goes over to the house of the guards, hoping to go in. He steps over to the doorway, but finds it shockingly locked. Nobody trusts anybody anymore, he guesses.
Niklas, left with nothing but some vague instructions, decides to go look for some books. Finding none of the Sea of Death variety around on the ground, he decides that maybe he should go on a personal investigation instead. Namely, the investigation of where all the damn chairs are. This proves altogether more successful - there appears to be some sort of furniture store a few blocks away, or at least so he might guess from the sign, which says "Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends".
"Ooh, dad, are they a guild or something? They sound mysterious!"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton guesses he should keep on being the positive Patty of the group to balance out all the bad things that insist on happening to them.
"I've no doubt you will, Sir Mage Art, you seem the resilient sort to me. Enjoying the perks of no longer needing sleep? I can't help but be agape at how much time I've whittled away while sleeping in my first chance. No longer feeling tired, always full of energy, every second that which is our own, it is a wonderful notion, isn't it? Although I'm not sure how much of my previous physiology traveled over to my new form however, I'm frankly still not sure how I hear except that I do. I think you'll enjoy the new qualities of life ahead of you, if going by my own experiences."
"Gotta say, I'll miss sleeping. The night's so very boring, you know? And you'll never again wake up refreshed, either. But I guess them's the breaks, huh? Better just go along with it."
Art pauses.
"You know, I just had an idea."
Art outstretches his hand for a moment. His inner light goes dim all of a sudden. Art stumbles, using a nearby barrel for support, then falls to the ground.
"Crap. Shouldn't... have done that... ugh..."
He lies mostly motionlessly on the ground.
In the jail of Shriekpot...
Mark, despite not really needing to, pretends that he can actually rotate his head in any way to look out of the window.
By his reckoning, there's about three, maybe two hours until the sun begins to rise. This being very late winter, he supposes that it's starting to get quite early.
In the timeless non-void of Undefined Space...
Timothy is a bit surprised at the simple request made of him, but not surprised enough to have any reservations. He looks over at the skeletal hippo, his one true helper in this alien dimension. Oh yes, he shall do most acceptably.
He imagines a clown costume on the hippo, shaping the undefined stuff into a rather good image of clowning professionalism, which fits the hippo just perfectly, actually. Very funny-looking, or so Timothy thinks, at least.
"What a marvelous outfit! You shouldn't have, really."
Alright, next step - spiral staircase! He strains his mind to produce a great staircase, a mighty construct of amazing proportions, with great steps that wind down for what may be quite a long distance indeed. He even adds slapstick gravity to it for kicks. Now for the main event!
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 1]
The hippo's too fast, though, floating obliviously out of the way as Timothy accidentally propels himself toward the stairs, flying into the rather amusing gravity well of the thing which, most unusually, seems to be able to affect him for some reason.
[Timothy agility roll: 5]
Fortunately, being both an acrobat and having three legs plays in his favor, and he manages to only dangle precariously over the steps before regaining balance. He can't help but wonder what could have happened had he not had the honed skills of a consummate entertainer. Probably something bad.
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 08:13:50 am
Sigmund checks the books and puts them in the boxes
[If there is not any book on the Sea of Death, he will say:]
-Kevin, are you having problems to find the books? Maybe I can help you.
Describe the books on the Sea of Death
[If the scientific treatise about souls is not inside the boxes:]
-Also, would you mind looking for a treatise about souls?
((We gotta finish this once and for all))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 06, 2013, 08:29:23 am
Scott will go up to Sigmund and ask if anything needs doing.
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 08:36:18 am
-Well, actually, yes. Take these boxes with books to the ship. We will keep looking for more books, so come back afterwards.
((I mainly asked because if we leave and your character stays here, he will end up in jail or dead. If you can't post for some time, tell us, we will
Post by: Innsmothe on September 06, 2013, 08:39:09 am
Scott shall sniff and shall take the books to the ship.
Post by: Yoink on September 06, 2013, 08:46:36 am
Maybe the Voices would find his own clumsiness amusing? Then again, he wasn't dressed as a clown, and nobody had actually fallen down the stairs yet, either. He sighed, then looked over at Skelehippo, then back to himself.
"Guess I's tries dat again. Mebbe hedges my bets first, though..."
>Firstly, wait for any reaction from the Voices to that little spectacle.
>If none is forthcoming, imagine a clown costume of my own- just in case, eh? Make sure to include a jingly multicolour jester's hat.
>Then, time for take 2. Propel Skelehippo down the staircase with the best of intentions, whilst preferably not falling down myself.
>Whatever the result, dutifully summon up some satisfying belly laughs.
Post by: miauw62 on September 06, 2013, 09:13:27 am
Look for a chest filled with books about souls and related things. Push this one out of the window too.
Post by: Xantalos on September 06, 2013, 09:18:09 am
Open door, preferably quietly, and go in. Absorb all chairs within into myself.
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 09:24:45 am
-But if we don't get the books we would have been stabbed in vain!
Get away from dropping position, wait for Kevin to search, if he doesn't drop anything, or after he drops everything, Sigmund will evaluate how can climb the wall and do it. Liberal use of furniture to reach any grabbable surface is allowed
Post by: miauw62 on September 06, 2013, 10:26:48 am
((I also realized that the only person likely to be able to push these chests is Niklas.))
((Also, Xantalos, "all furniture" may end badly, considering you only possess chair magic.))
((And my mind still hasn't quite got used to the fact that we're pulling a heist on a goddamn bookstore.))
Post by: Xantalos on September 06, 2013, 10:33:23 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 11:06:40 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 06, 2013, 04:11:19 pm
"Do you need assistance? Help up perhaps?" Morton fretted at the mage on the floor, hopefully upright by now.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 06, 2013, 06:08:30 pm
Sigmund, not entirely satisfied with the progress on the work with the books, decides to check all the books lying about. He finds that most of them relate to various obscure fields, such as particular fields of electric alchemy and other interesting things he doesn't really care about. There is one book on the Sea of Death, but that's pretty much it, at least in terms of whatever he cares about.
"Kevin, are you having problems to find the books? Maybe I can help you. Also, would you mind looking for a treatise about souls?" he says, supposing he has to do everything on his own or at least in a leading position for it to have even the slightest chance of working as intended.
"Too many books here to search, really, so these descriptions won't do much good. I'll look for books about souls," Kevin answers from up top, shortly afterwards finding a chest that seems to have a book about souls in it, though it takes some digging to confirm this.
"But if we don't get the books we would have been stabbed in vain!"
"Why do you think I'm pushing chests out of this goddamn window?"
He throws the book out of the window, whereupon Sigmund picks it up. It does indeed seem to be a book that may come in handy - the very treatise he earlier ignored. How wonderful.
Scott, meanwhile, recalls there's something he was supposed to do, but for the unlife of him he can't remember what exactly! So he just goes to find Sigmund. Luckily, he is not far.
"May I be of service?" he asks.
"Well, actually, yes. Take these boxes with books to the ship. We will keep looking for more books, so come back afterwards," Sigmund answers, placing the fallen books into chests randomly.
Scott looks at the chests. They look heavy.
[Scott strength roll: 1+1]
And impossible to drag successfully as well, at least for one of his mindset. Quite a bummer.
Sigmund, noticing that things seem to be going much slower than they really should, examines the wall that leads to the second floor. It takes him but a few moments to plot a very nice course along the wall, which he figures may come quite in han-
"Right, you lot can go ahead and surrender now," suddenly comes a voice from just nearby. Turning around, Sigmund and Scott find that it is their dear friends, Carlson and Blackjack, plus two others that seem to have survived, all geared up and everything. "If you don't, you're gonna die really horribly. Trust me on that."
You know, Sigmund thinks the schmuck might actually mean it. Scott, on the other hand, is just confused. And Kevin doesn't hear any of this, being busy within.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy laughs awkwardly, hoping that at least someone is having a good time. However, the voices remain steadfastly grave. Hm.
"Guess I's tries dat again. Mebbe hedges my bets first, though..."
He concentrates for a moment, and suddenly his rather charming freakrobat outfit turns into a far more stupendous jester sort of thing - he even has the hat, even if it's a bit oversized and a tad too jingly to be credible! Anyhow, he supposes he is garbed appropriately, so he tries his plan again.
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 3]
He exerts a tiny pull on the skeletal hippo person, who seems a bit surprised.
"May I ask what you're doing, good chap?"
Outside the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, supposing that such a classy and mysterious establishment warrants investigation, decides to go right in, finding that the door is rather open. Once he gets in, he finds himself in a large, dark room that lacks furniture of any sort.
Suddenly, a small light comes on, and Niklas becomes aware of a small, mouse-like man in a black robe standing next to him. His pencil mustache quivers questioningly at the sight of his esteemed guest.
"Hello and welcome to the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends. What is it you seek, sir?"
"I have never trusted furniture salesmen - they always seem very eager to enter covenants with you as payment."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton is somewhat concerned with what is happening to Art.
"Erm... Mage Art? Mage Art, are you alright?" he asks, completely failing to push himself up in any way - his position is just too awkward for his arms!
"Do you need assistance? Help up, perhaps?"
"No, no. I feel a little better now. Shouldn't mess with things you don't yet understand, yeah," Art says, slowly getting up. She helps Morton up as well after a moment of catching some rest.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 06, 2013, 06:45:50 pm
"So if you don't mind me asking, Sir Mage Art, what exactly did you try to do? It seems like... You dimmed a little, then fell down. Hm... Were you trying to concentrate your light upon one spot perhaps?" Morton gave a shot in the dark at a possible cause. As he asks his question, the desk tries to ascertain as to if the glow was back to how it was, or perhaps still dim.
Post by: Xantalos on September 06, 2013, 06:47:15 pm
((Whoops I abandoned the party in an hour of need. Don't worry though. If I get a crap ton of chairs I can become a chair collossus and kill everything for you.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 06, 2013, 07:57:01 pm
-Umm, how exactly are we going to die? You know, there are many ways to for a soul to leave a body.
Do not appear threatening, but be ready.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 07, 2013, 02:00:15 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 07, 2013, 02:39:12 am
"LUMBEEERR!"
Push a chest out of the window, on the guards.
Post by: Gamerlord on September 07, 2013, 02:43:04 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 07, 2013, 02:54:07 am
Post by: Yoink on September 07, 2013, 02:58:22 am
>Assume attitude of cheerful professionalism whilst toppling Skelehippo down yon flight of stairs.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 07, 2013, 09:09:35 am
Morton thanks Art, who appears to be quite alright, if a tad dim right now.
"So if you don't mind me asking, Sir Mage Art, what exactly did you try to do? It seems like... you dimmed a little, then fell down. Hm... were you trying to concentrate your light upon one spot perhaps?"
"Oh, I was trying to see if I had any magical powers - it looks like I was able to do something with the light, though I'm not sure what exactly. I do know that it felt really, really terrible."
Art's inner light appears to be returning slowly, interestingly enough. Still really dim, though.
At a rather unusual furniture-oriented place of some kind...
Niklas engages the fellow in conversation, hoping to achieve some of his goals here.
"Could you lead me to where you keep your chairs? I wish to appraise them."
"I could not. We do not keep them anywhere, actually. We make them on demand and in seconds, you need but ask. Do you have any requests, good chair-sir?"
At Brenwicke's Books...
Sigmund does his best to somehow deal with the situation at hand. He looks around for escape routes, and notices that the guards seem to have positioned themselves in such a manner that it would be quite difficult to run past them in any direction. In addition, he thinks he hears footsteps from within the store - a whole bunch of footsteps. And a few shadows up on the roofs around here. He notices that all of the guards are garbed in mail and currently wielding spears in a defensive fashion, but that they also seem to have clubs with them at the very least, plus some of them have crossbows. All in all, they seem rather well-armed.
"Umm, how exactly are we going to die? You know, there are many ways to for a soul to leave a body."
"I don't know. Maybe you'll explode. Maybe something else. I am sure it will be horrible, though."
Scott guesses he knows what to do - alert the guards to Kevin's location!
"Kevin, help me with the box!"
[Kevin strength roll: 6]
"LUMBEEERR!" Kevin roars as he throws a chest full of books at Carlson from the top floor! However, it inexplicably slows down mid-flight, rather slowly flying at Carlson.
[Carlson dodge roll: 2+1]
It bumps into Carlson unpleasantly, causing him to stumble back a little and fall on his ass as the chest gently falls down near him.
"Man, that could have seriously hurt. Why must you pricks always resist?"
[Blackjack charge roll: 5]
[Guard 1 charge roll: 1]
[Guard 2 charge roll: 4]
One of the guards opts to check up on Carlson even as the other two charge at Sigmund and Scott, hoping to impale them on their spears.
[Pin: Blackjack vs. Sigmund: 3+1+1 vs. 1+1]
[Pin: Guard 2 vs. Scott: 4+1+1 vs. 2-1+1]
They easily run them through, pinning them both to the nearby wall quite easily. Kevin looks down, slightly bothered by this development.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy tries to explain.
"We is, uh... performin'. Yeah, with all them slappy-sticks an' what not. Like inna circus. It's be real funny, you just waits!"
"Oh, I love the circus! And performing! I await with metaphorical bated breath!"
That's good, Timothy thinks, because this might hurt a little. He looks at the hippo, then realizes that what he needs to do is simplicity itself - he just needs to distract him! Which he's actually already done. Magnificent!
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 2+1]
He manages to move the hippo to the stairs, whereupon he settles on the top step.
"Ooh, haven't seen one of these in ages!" the hippo says. Timothy guesses that's good - it'll make for a great surprise! He centers his mind, preparing for the main event.
[Timothy telekinesis roll: 5+1]
He rapidly pushes the hippo, causing him to tumble down the stairs rapidly! As hippos were clearly never meant to navigate stairs by nature, it doesn't even seem to occur to him to grab onto the railing, which is probably just as well, considering that Timothy's not sure what he would grab it with, strictly speaking.
It takes about fifteen minutes for the hippo to fall the entire length of stairs, a gag that manages to drag on for quite long enough to stop being funny, then become funny again. However, once the hippo reaches the bottom of the stairs, he is but a pile of bony shards jutting out from a somewhat ruined clown costume. Timothy, noticing the hippo's predicament, can't help but wonder if these are actually slapstick stairs. Maybe he accidentally created black comedy stairs instead.
The bones do not move. At all.
Post by: Yoink on September 07, 2013, 09:52:42 am
Well, where his gut would be, if he had one- in fact it was really more of a mental feeling, but in his stricken state he wasn't in the mood to self-analyse. He could only watch, cringing, as his friend and mentor (for a brief time, anyway) fell end-over-end, with all manner of accompanying crunches and clattering, until finally coming to rest at the foot of the stairs. His first reaction was to run to the skelehippo's aid, but of course, there was laughing to be done, first- or else all this would be for nothing.
Besides, not like any of this was real-- he told himself, again.
"...Ha! Ha ha?" He managed, dutifully twisting his features into a grin as he awaited some response from the voices.
"Heh heh hoo hahahah!" He figured he should really put some more effort into it, just to be sure.
>Hide my unease and anxiety over Mister Hippo's fate, force out some convincing laughter.
>After cackling for a bit, hopefully receiving a favourable reaction from the Voices, attempt to make my way down to check on the hippo-man- without sending myself tumbling down to join him.
Post by: miauw62 on September 07, 2013, 10:13:30 am
"Uh..."
MORE CHESTS!
Post by: Tomcost on September 07, 2013, 11:26:12 am
-Damn, Kevin! Can't we have a single day of our unlives in which we don't end up losing limbs or being mauled?
Sigmund then drops his spear and says:
-Okay, I surrender. I was not the one who hurt any of you, anyway, I just got stabbed and beaten, and then tried to threaten you to prevent more bloodshed. The guy that kills people is not even here, anyway.
Cover my head with my arms in case shit happens
Post by: Xanmyral on September 07, 2013, 11:52:41 am
"Magical powers? In addition to those you already posses as a mage I assume, perhaps granted by your new form? Hm, an interesting prospect. I'm afraid I don't quite know of any of the others who have such powers, but then I suppose we're all still getting used to our new form, trying to understand how it works properly." Morton shrugged. After the response Art will probably give, Morton launches on another subject. "If you don't mind me asking, sir Mage Art, what exactly led you to be with this assortment of individuals? No offense to the others, but you all together seem more... Relaxed, than your compatriots. Hm... Perhaps that's not the right term, no... Rather, you seem like the kind of person I could perhaps imagine meeting in a library or bookstore rather than out wondering and doing strange things. I suppose 'normal' might suffice as the word, although I'm hesitant to use it in these times to be frank."
Post by: Innsmothe on September 07, 2013, 12:26:35 pm
Scott throws down his spear.
Post by: Xantalos on September 07, 2013, 05:37:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 08, 2013, 03:53:48 am
Timothy looks at the shattered remains of the hippo. Um... uh... better make this good, 'cause he thinks there won't be a repeat performance.
"... Ha! Ha ha? Heh heh hoo hahahah!" he forces out, though it's not the best laugh of his life, he must admit. Or his unlife, for that matter. He runs downstairs, noting how odd it is that he has to walk down them. After some time, he makes it down there.
Strangely enough, the hippo appears to be dissipating. His bones shift into various geometric shapes, as well as certain fruit-like shapes on occasion, then explode into tiny motes of dust. The clown costume quickly disintegrates, and soon there is but a small trace of unswept bonemeal where the hippo once was. For some reason, the strange and inexplicable void seems oddly quiet right now.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Kevin, supposing that one shouldn't give up on a plan that hasn't worked only once, and gets another chest, preparing to hurl it.
[Kevin strength roll: 4]
He picks the thing up slowly, shoving it out of the window right above the two guys skewering his buddies!
[Blackjack dodge roll: 1]
[Guard 2 dodge roll: 5]
[Blackjack endurance roll: 3]
Blackjack is hit straight on the head with the chest, though he takes it rather well - as in, he doesn't seem very dead right now. Merely unconscious and probably quite concussed. And covered in books of many sorts. The other guard dodges backwards in time, looking up at Kevin. It is not the nicest look Kevin has seen.
"Damn, Kevin! Can't we have a single day of our unlives in which we don't end up losing limbs or being mauled?" Sigmund shouts, quite dissatisfied at this turn of events. He then drops his stolen spear.
"Okay, I surrender. I was not the one who hurt any of you, anyway, I just got stabbed and beaten, and then tried to threaten you to prevent more bloodshed. The guy that kills people is not even here, anyway."
Scott also can't help but concur, freeing his grip on his guisarme and dropping it to the ground.
"Sir, I surrender. As a noble, even minor, you will treat me and my servants more gently than this and you will bloody well like it!"
Carlson nods at him.
"Since you surrender and all, you won't be killed just yet - have to wait until trial for that, don't you know."
He looks up at Kevin.
"That guy, though... won't be so lucky."
The guards quickly grab Sigmund and Scott, then drag Blackjack away from the building.
"And... now."
Kevin, who is a tad perplexed, suddenly feels something change about him. Something changes very rapidly, actually. He suddenly attains great velocity, and is flung against the back wall with amazing force, smashing into it extremely rapidly and immediately bouncing off, smashing into the next wall with the exact same rapidity. After about three more times smashing into virtually every wall in the store he flies out of the window, then ramming into the walls of several homes, yet flying perfectly horizontally for some reason. And then, just as abruptly as this neverending pinball hell began, it stops, and Kevin begins to fall, smashing into a final wall before unceremoniously falling down to the ground as a completely mangled and smashed mess.
[Kevin will roll: 2]
He feels that this doubtlessly could have gone better. This certainly could have gone much, much better. He thinks most of his face has wound up on various walls in the Trade District. As well as a large proportion of his arms and legs, not to mention his torso, his poor torso.
Back at the store, Carlson looks mighty pleased with himself after the screaming body of Kevin is launched out of the building.
"Right, let's go after him. He should look pretty amusing now."
The guards, after collecting Sigmund and Scott's weapons, start poking them over in the direction Kevin went.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton continues speaking with Art, supposing that he has little better to do and blissfully unaware of more exciting and far more terrible things happening elsewhere.
"Magical powers? In addition to those you already possess as a mage, I assume, perhaps granted by your new form? Hm, an interesting prospect. I'm afraid I don't quite know of any of the others who have such powers, but then I suppose we're all still getting used to our new form, trying to understand how it works properly."
"Yeah, and I think that light I have... well, had inside me does something other than look pretty. Guess only time will tell."
"If you don't mind me asking, sir Mage Art, what exactly led you to be with this assortment of individuals? No offense to the others, but you all together seem more... relaxed than your compatriots. Hm... perhaps that's not the right term, no... Rather, you seem like the kind of person I could perhaps imagine meeting in a library or bookstore rather than out wondering and doing strange things. I suppose 'normal' might suffice as the word, although I'm hesitant to use it in these times to be frank."
"Well, I'm really here because me, Evelyn, Erin and Justine went on a sort of joint venture. We were going to get into the Black Circle of Magic. Must have spent months planning it all out, who was going to be there, how to deal with 'em, that kind of thing. Grueling, but it was gonna be worth it - we were gonna get everything, access to the Black Circle, artifacts beyond measure, knowledge and so on. And from there, we would get our own domains, move up in the world. I mean, yeah, I already had a house and garden, and there was a bit of money in the exorcist business, but it didn't seem like something you want to do your whole life. There's gotta be more, you know? So I went with the scheme - Evelyn had contacted me previously - I knew her from my university days, though not her new friends, certainly. And, some misadventures and so on later, I'm here. Can't say it's been the worst experience, really."
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas is intrigued by the proposal.
"What is your preferred payment method?" he asks.
"Money, preferably. And if you wish to cut down on costs, you can also give us some materials to work with. It's cheaper when you have some dense matter ready than when you have to do the whole thing out of thin air. And once you pay, we guarantee satisfaction within the margin of your payment."
Fortunately, Niklas does have some money - exactly four gold coins in change that he took from the dead guards. And plenty of dense matter in the form of armor and weapons.
Post by: Xantalos on September 08, 2013, 03:58:26 am
I need chairs. As many as all this stuff will pay for and as many as you're willing to give m for putting rival businesses out of business.
Post by: Yoink on September 08, 2013, 07:31:25 am
'Was this all a trick, then? That's nasty! I didn't think any of this was real, but he looks pretty dead-like to me... I hope not. He was nice!'
>Demand an explanation from the voices.
"Oi! You's all see dat, right? Had costume an' everyfing! Why's I hear not-laughin'?! You better not be tries to trick me!"
>Impatiently await an answer.
>Try and scrape that fine dust of bonemeal together into a pile, then, with no better options at hand, attempt to 'imagine' it back to life.
Undeath. Unlife. Whatever that hippo counted as in the first place, I guess.
Post by: miauw62 on September 08, 2013, 08:12:50 am
Pray to the gods.
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 08:34:23 am
-I'm glad I surrendered, even if I get a new body, I prefer this before being mauled so badly. What kind of magic it was? I mean, I'm sure that nobody spontaneously flies out of a window on his own.
He then turns to Scott:
-Scott, I think that you just can't realize that you don't have servants any more, you are someone else's servant, deal with it.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 08, 2013, 09:20:56 am
Scott will look at Sigmund as if he was just put upon a slab where he would be forced to witness his own dissection.
I am a noble, and you are an idiotic, braindead, vacant, ignorant, repugnant and iconoclastic peasant. You will always be my servant.
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 09:33:56 am
-I'm sorry? Did I hear well? WHEN WAS I YOUR SERVANT? And, for your information, I was a counselor, and if it hadn't been for that revolution I would be still in that place. Keep your rotten and conceited tongue inside your flithy mouth.
((Lol at how he thought it was kind))
Post by: Yoink on September 08, 2013, 09:36:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 09:41:23 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 08, 2013, 12:06:31 pm
"Justine? I don't believe I've heard of this person, an old compatriot I believe? It seems that must of the people you worked with have moved on to helping Master Artiste, what ever happened to Justine? Makes sense that you were in the exorcism business, you had stellar advice about it previous."
Post by: miauw62 on September 08, 2013, 12:24:05 pm
((Besides, they're going to put them on trial and probably hang them, so we need Niklas and his soon-to-be steel chairs to punch a hole in the walls.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 12:31:40 pm
((About the trial: I didn't hurt anybody, or at least not anybody who is still alive))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 08, 2013, 01:10:40 pm
Niklas lays his cards on the table and gives a reliable inventory of the things he currently has in his possession.
"I have four gold coins as well as all these armor pieces and weapons. If you want I could go put some competition out of business for you. I need chairs. As many as all this stuff will pay for and as many as you're willing to give me for putting rival businesses out of business."
The man chuckles.
"Your offer is tempting, but alas, we have no true rivals. Any other people in the furniture business are to us as a common street fiddler is to a virtuoso in his prime. We can offer you chairs of many kinds. There are the common, yet quite impeccable variety - those are one silver each. There are novelty chairs, which can be quite unusually large and unusually small - these cost from two to three silvers. And then there are our specialties - powerful, dangerous chairs beyond the imagination of common men, prepared to order in no more than an hour or your money back - naturally, these carry costs of their own, but I am sure we can come to an arrangement with your available supplies."
In Undefined Space...
Timothy decides to go for broke and demand satisfaction of some sort.
"Oi! You's all see dat, right? Had costume an' everyfing! Why's I hear not-laughin'?! You better not be tries to trick me!"
The voices remain quite silent. Well, at least as far as Timothy can hear, anyway. Okay then. Guess they're not going to be of any help. Time for him to do this on his own.
[Telekinesis roll: 3]
In the next few moments, Timothy finds out that it's actually pretty difficult to gather up a whole bunch of dust with just the power of his mind. This is rather troubling, but he supposes he can make do with sheer imagination. After all, there's little one can't do with the power of the undefined stuff that litters this place, apparently. He concentrates upon the pile.
A shape begins to slowly form - it is indeed a hippo skeleton, Timothy guesses, though admittedly lacking in detail and articulation. He's afraid he's unsure how joints work, exactly. And that thing doesn't look very alive to him. All in all, things aren't looking very good.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Kevin, quite terribly mangled at the moment from his amazing meeting with the many walls of this neighborhood, goes ahead and tries to pray to the gods for something. It's customary, after all.
However, the only thing he can hear in his mind is distant laughter of some unspeakable description. Presumably Velusius. That guy's kind of a dick sometimes, he's heard.
[Kevin will roll: 5-1]
Luckily, though, the laughter appears to have been exactly the sort of negative reinforcement Kevin needed - he feels sufficiently righteously indignant to not die just yet, as that would be rather silly and anticlimactic, not to mention it would be playing right into that dastardly death god's hands. No sir, he will survive in some form!
As he takes a moment to reaffirm his existence beyond a shadow of a doubt, he hears voices approaching.
"Aw, there he is! Look at 'im! I think most of him is plastered over the walls here."
"So, what do we do?"
"Eh, drag him along. It'll be good exercise."
One of the guards hooks Kevin's idle carcass on Sigmund's spear and drags him along. Meanwhile, Sigmund and his good buddy Scott argue on who is the master, noble, slave and indentured servant here, and they clearly don't seem to be in agreement. The guards just snicker, idly whispering remarks about married couples to each other.
And so the assorted people are guided to the local guard headquarters - Sigmund and Scott are certainly familiar with the building, and the reception fellow appears to remember them as well.
"Ah, I remember these people. They were here this morning, I believe, on the matter of the imprisoned tree-headed thief."
"Well, hopefully they'll enjoy their stay. Right, buddies?"
"We will need to process them, at any rate. What are your names, people?"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton wonders who this Justine person might be.
"Justine? I don't believe I've heard of this person, an old compatriot I believe? It seems that must of the people you worked with have moved on to helping Master Artiste, what ever happened to Justine? Makes sense that you were in the exorcism business, you had stellar advice about it previous."
"Justine? Um... well... she's dead. Fell on a fence. Absolute tragedy, really. Whole town exploded, and she went right out the window. Can't say I knew her very well. In fact, she was a bit creepy. Diviners are like that, you know. Still, a real shame that happened."
Post by: miauw62 on September 08, 2013, 01:16:05 pm
((I shouldn't have a pulse or any vitals, so...))
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 01:22:42 pm
He then turned to to Carlson:
-I will surely enjoy this more than being stabbed, so you can bet on that.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 08, 2013, 01:30:57 pm
"Sir Mage Art, do you believe that perhaps your light will come back faster if closer to things that emit light? It is a strange thought I had, maybe it absorbs light from its surroundings. You may recover it faster in the day time, I imagine."
Post by: Xantalos on September 08, 2013, 02:25:16 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 08, 2013, 02:55:10 pm
I am Scott Yaleson, noble consort of [insert husbands family here]'s manor. Can you at least treat me with some bloody dignity!?
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2013, 03:07:47 pm
-I don't know what do you regard as being treated with dignity, but not being insulted, beated or otherwise aggravated is actually a distintion for criminals, you know. Just be polite for now, please. Probably, it would be better for your body integrity than complaining all day.
Post by: Yoink on September 08, 2013, 10:55:55 pm
Draw on memories of them whilst alive/undead. He can't be dead for good, can he?!
>Also attempt to silence that nagging feeling of guilt!
"Hey, I not just lets dis badness happen for nothings! I gotsta goes back home, after all! 'Sportant!"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 09, 2013, 01:53:48 am
"Excuse me, but I would like to propose a deal with you. If you are able to speak with me, please speak, or nod. If not, shake your head."
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 09, 2013, 03:50:35 pm
Kevin, hoping to get away both scot and Scott-free, plays dead intently. Considering that he is mashed horribly and has no life signs that he knows of, this proves extremely easy. He just stays still! Man, having no heartbeat has never been more useful.
Sigmund, meanwhile, just goes ahead and has himself booked all peacable-like.
"I will surely enjoy this more than being stabbed, so you can bet on that." he mentions to Carlson.
"I'm sure you will - we've got the most civilized jails for hundreds of miles in any direction. Now, what's your name?"
"Sigmund GrimDrake," he says in all seriousness. Carlson laughs.
"No, no, you see, we want your real name."
Scott, since it's his turn and all, goes ahead and provides his name.
"I am Scott Yaleson, noble consort of Yaleson's manor. Can you at least treat me with some bloody dignity!?"
"I don't know what do you regard as being treated with dignity, but not being insulted, beated or otherwise aggravated is actually a distintion for criminals, you know. Just be polite for now, please. Probably, it would be better for your body integrity than complaining all day."
"What, you're that guy's husband? You're... oh."
Carlson snickers, realizing something.
"Oh, I know who you are! You're the dead guy!"
"He does not look very dead to me."
"Well, he used to be dead, y'see. Got hit by a cart, smashed him, like, BOOM," says Carlson, punching his fist into his right palm with a loud slap. "His boy-toy didn't take it well. Total whackjob, that guy. And a necromancer to boot. I believe you can guess what happened next, eh?"
The man at the desk nods, looking mildly uncomfortable.
"Yes. No need to elaborate."
"I'm glad. So, what do we do with this guy on the ground?"
"He appears deceased."
"Well, guess we can take his stuff and bury him, then. The plot's still got room, right?"
"Oh yes, definitely."
"It's a plan, then! So... you four," Carlson says, pointing at four guards standing nearby and chatting. "Disrobe this guy, sew him into a bag and chuck him into a hole. And fill it up this time as well, will you?"
The four guys grumble, saying that it's their time off, at which point Carlson glares at them in a rather unpleasant fashion. They recoil mildly, then scoop up Kevin from the ground, then start dragging him off through the corridors.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton kind of regrets bringing the subject up, though it's certainly good to know one's share of history nevertheless.
"Oh dear, apologies for bringing up such a subject then, Sir Mage Art, although I have to say that I don't quite know that about diviners, I know little about magic to be quite honest. My only dealings with mages has been now in my second chance, and when I bought a particularly bad batch of tea materials from a mage in my first life."
"Well, diviners are weird. They keep trying to read everything. And they're good at it, too. Of course, they aren't as creepy as those mentalist people, but hey, creepy's creepy, right? Granted, I didn't even know Justine very well. She was just sitting in a corner and babbling the entire time we were in Emlocke, and what's weirder is that she did the same thing during the planning sessions. Weird as heck, you know."
Fortunately, the length of Art's answer allows Morton to come up with an idea. Possibly even a good idea!
"Sir Mage Art, do you believe that perhaps your light will come back faster if closer to things that emit light? It is a strange thought I had, maybe it absorbs light from its surroundings. You may recover it faster in the day time, I imagine."
"I guess, you know. It seems to be coming back, anyhow."
Art looks out at the town.
"You know something, let's go out on a walk. There's plenty of stuff to do in town, I imagine. And just standing around here doing nothing is getting a bit maddening."
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, carefully weighing the options he's got, goes on and explains his desire.
"How much would it cost for two metal chairs that have giant spikes all over them?"
"Well, that would depend on several things. Questions, sir, before we proceed."
The man clears his throat, then launches into an unbroken tirade of questions.
"How large would you like the chairs? How large would you like the spikes? What metal would you prefer the chairs to be made of? Would you prefer the design to be stylish, comfortable or optimally aerodynamic? Would you like the spikes to be poisoned, and if so, how poisoned would you them to be? Do you wish for the chairs in question to be obviously deadly? How intimidating or pleasing to the eye would you like the design? Any particular requests or markings, any desires? Chair design is serious business, I assure you."
He looks like he means it, too. His eyes seem to convey the gravity of the situation in a rather effective fashion.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy refuses to give up - the hippo must live, oh yes! He focuses upon the undefined nature of the void, trying to inject meaning into it like he did before. The hippo statue moves slightly. Then a little more. Then it looks at him
"Hi," it says. Timothy looks at the statue. Could this really be the hippo, risen from the dead like some sort of messiah for his age?
"No, not really. Sorry," the hippo says, promptly exploding into tiny pieces once again, the dust of its bones disintegrating into the void. Timothy has but a single question.
"Hey, I not just lets dis badness happen for nothings! I gotsta goes back home, after all! 'Sportant!"
He gets a distinct impression that this place is trying to tell him something. Or, to be exact, ask him something. After a moment of listening, he thinks he's got it.
'Where is home?', they seem to be asking.
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to open up some form of dialogue with the gibbon.
"Excuse me, but I would like to propose a deal with you. If you are able to speak with me, please speak, or nod. If not, shake your head."
The gibbon nods, its eyes kept solidly on a spot that Darren guesses must be in the middle of his chest.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 09, 2013, 04:17:22 pm
...And please don't speak of my husband in such a manner. *haughty sniff*
Post by: Tomcost on September 09, 2013, 04:24:18 pm
-That IS my actual name. My mother had an affair with a farmer called Grimes. When she got pregnant of me, her husband, whose surname was Drakers, had a legal dispute with the farmer about who was my real father. The local judge was on a funny mood that day, and decided that I was the son of both, so he set my legal surname as a mix of both.
((I don't know how much control do I have about my character backstory, but I hope that this can be canonized, hopefully compensating my lack of ability to come up with names))
Pseudo edit: (([sarcasm]Right, tell them about our master's location. Excellent idea! So that they can kill him and we die.[/sarcasm]))
Post by: Xantalos on September 09, 2013, 05:59:41 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 09, 2013, 07:14:53 pm
[Well, funny thing I was actually planning on having Morton of gotten too worried to stay on the ship and search for the others. With Art wanting to go on a walk, that simply simplifies matters.]
Post by: Yoink on September 09, 2013, 11:02:04 pm
>Before he/it disintegrates again, ask: "How I puts you back together? Not meanin' to hurtcha..."
If/when that fails, Timothy will sigh and look up in whatever general direction he imagines the voices to come from.
"Uhmm. You know, place wif alla things?"
Wait, maybe he had to describe with a bit more detail. Weren't they in his head already? Timothy didn't know, but either way he concentrated, trying his best to summon up memories of the places from his former life/unlife.
>Shortlist a few central places from Timothy's un/life: Mister Bob's house, Bernie's lair, a carnival wagon and even *shudder* his childhood home. Whichever of those he has the clearest memory of, imagine what it looked like in detail, hopefully giving the Voices something to work with.
>If nothing happens, start trying to describe the place verbally to 'em.
Post by: miauw62 on September 10, 2013, 12:54:05 am
Keep playing dead and hope I'll be able to dig myself out.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 10, 2013, 03:45:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 10, 2013, 10:27:13 am
Scott decides to not stand for this kind of treatment.
"I'll have you know that the 'dead guy' is a transfigured construct of a peculiar infernomancer, who is partner to a very powerful necromancer to boot! Would you like to annoy those sorts of people? Return the remains to the haunted ship at the docks as a gesture of supplication, or at least neutrality."
He glares at Carlson.
"...and please don't speak of my husband in such a manner.
"Well, I'm sure all these people who definitely exist will be perfectly willing to come over from their jolly little haunted ship to vouch for you, buddy. And I haven't even begun to talk about that freak, though mostly because he's not the sort of thing you mention in polite society."
Sigmund, currently busy silently fuming over the mockery of the name his mother gave him, decides to explain a bit about his history.
"That IS my actual name. My mother had an affair with a farmer called Grimes. When she got pregnant of me, her husband, whose surname was Drakers, had a legal dispute with the farmer about who was my real father. The local judge was on a funny mood that day, and decided that I was the son of both, so he set my legal surname as a mix of both."
"Eh, alright. Have it your way. What about the dead guy? What was his name? And the chair-thing?"
Said dead guy, Kevin, is currently busy getting dragged through the corridors of the guard headquarters. The guards remove all his earthly possessions - they somewhat fail at taking off his clothes, as those seem to be fused directly onto his body, much to the guards' puzzlement. Still, after thoroughly looting whatever can be looted off the guy, the guards place him into a sack, sewing it shut with practiced hands, then dragging him through another set of corridors until they reach what Kevin thinks might be a yard. He can hear digging sounds, which persist for a short while, and then he feels getting flung into a rather shallow hole - just a little less than a meter deep, he'd say. Guess the guards were feeling lazy today. He stays still while dirt is liberally shoveled on top of him, which also continues for a while.
When he is absolutely sure he is alone, Kevin decides to try and dig himself out.
[Kevin digging roll: 3-1]
However, even with a hole this shallow, Kevin finds that it's very difficult to get out. If only he had had more practice in his time - perhaps if the old king had let him go to the beach, maybe, just maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas tries to elaborate to the best of his abilities.
"I'd like the chairs to be made out of steel, about the same size as the one that serves as my hand currently but with 6-inch spikes all over them. Optimally aerodynamic, if you could, and deadly, yes. Intimidating is preferred. No markings necessary, the blood of my foes will do. What would be the cost for two of those?"
"Steel is rather cheap, not very difficult to make at all, so we start from the standard 1 gold rate. The spikes will cost a little extra, about two silvers for the desired size. Aerodynamic design is difficult, and will cost 2 gold. Preferred style is intimidating and obviously deadly, which is 2 more silvers for guaranteed frightening visages. No poison, either - that's 3 gold and 4 silvers per chair, 7 gold and 3 silvers for both. And that's if you provide the courtesy amount of material, which is a quarter of the weight of the end product, slightly less if you do not. Perhaps you'd like to specify a particular desired weight for the chairs as well?"
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton finds the idea of going for a walk on the town rather agreeable.
"Hm, you do have a point. I was actually about to comment how I'm starting to become a touch worried about the others, it has been a while since they've left. Surely they haven't gotten into any trouble, yes? Either way, a walk would be wonderful, I'm hoping that if I get used to this form more I should find it easier to get around so it is well due. Places always take on a new look after dark afterwards, there are many things one can only see when others have left."
"Not going to be dark for much longer. I think dawn might be breaking soon. Anyhow, let's go," Art says, walking off, with Morton following closely behind.
"Don't DISAPPEAR now, will you?" the Captain's head, which is currently poking out from the deck, states plainly.
"Yeah, sure," Art answers, and he and Morton go out, the crystal warrior princess and fabulous desk respectively walking and rhythmically wobbling forward side by side. "So, uhm, know anyplace interesting?"
In Undefined Space...
Timothy, intent on not giving up, tries once more to fix this whole mess and imagine Skelehippo alive and well! He summons up his entire will, intent on brute-forcing his way through the boundaries of reality, and he succeeds! Well, in a way, anyhow. As in, there's now a gaping, screaming hole in front of him, and several appendages of uncertain origin that protrude from the thing appear to be grasping for him presently.
[Timothy dodge roll: 3]
He is rather weakly grabbed by one such appendage, which is strange, because he hasn't been grabbed by anything in ages.
[Timothy strength roll: 6]
Fortunately, he reasserts his superiority by pulling his intangible foot out of said appendage and calmly floating away before he's caught. Well, guess there's little else to do but give up - he shudders to think what other possible misadventures might ensue should he keep trying.
And with that, he looks... well... in some direction. Really, the voices are coming from everywhere, he thinks. He tries to successfully convey an image to them - a carnival wagon. His carnival wagon, actually. Despite much of his memory being slightly muddled, he remembers that place, and remembers it well. The image is something one does not forget. Once he thinks this, the voices seem to react - they react very vividly, actually. They shout and hoot, and Timothy finds it difficult to get their point at first, but it comes to him quickly enough.
They are saying he is going to die should he return home. He cannot return home, home is death. But he can go elsewhere instead. To better places. Less deadly places.
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to ask the gibbon a question, abolishing any thought of the notion being more than merely borderline ridiculous.
"Do you know anything about the girl that comes in here occasionally? The one who brings things to the surface?"
The gibbon nods once again, looking very pleased with itself in some very distant way.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 10, 2013, 10:59:58 am
Scott will sound genuinely infuriated.
Post by: Tomcost on September 10, 2013, 11:18:08 am
-Scott, I already told you, make such a rattle won't change anything for good, I can assure you that. Do you remember what has people told you about complaining?
He then adressed Carlson:
-I don't know much about them. I know that the spectacularly mangled one was called Kevin, and the chair freak is called Niklas, he's a foreigner, but I can't really say how will you encounter him next time, as he tends to change a lot.
Sigmund then remembered something:
-Speaking about him, I think that you should not let the families see what he did with the dead guards. That should not be endured by any sane person.
Post by: miauw62 on September 10, 2013, 11:43:57 am
Try to dig myself out of the hole and crawl back to the ship as stealthily as possible.
Post by: Tomcost on September 10, 2013, 12:12:21 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 10, 2013, 01:22:20 pm
Post by: Yoink on September 10, 2013, 07:43:37 pm
First he'd pushed a sortof-maybe-friend down a flight of rather unfriendly stairs.
Then he'd been grabbed by some kind of magic-y tentacle with who-knows-what planned for him. And now these Voices were telling him that his old carnival wagon was too dangerous a place for them to send him to, too 'deadly'?
But he was dead already, right?? How does that work?!
"Aaaugh why's dis gotsa be so confusing?!"
He attempted to massage his spectral temples with the heels of his ghostly hands. It helped. Maybe.
He guessed it was time to move down the list of 'places out of his memory'. "Uh, try this, den."
>Mister Bob's house, Bernie's lair, Timmy's childhood home. Try and visualize whichever of these places I remember best.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 10, 2013, 10:03:38 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 11, 2013, 12:16:05 am
Darren, though hopeful that he could get in, was beginning to suspect that the guard wasn't going to start talking anytime soon.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 11, 2013, 09:17:45 am
Scott can't believe these people. What terrible manners!
"Polite society?! We are nobles! WE ARE SOCIETY!! What treasonous poison do you speak?!"
"Scott, I already told you, making such a rattle won't change anything for good, I can assure you of that. Do you remember what have people told you about complaining?"
However, Carlson can't stop himself from retorting to Scott.
"Well, you're hardly important, are you? Not to mention that you have died at least once, I would say, and dying does make your properties, such as they may be, pass to any extended family you may have. So you're not really a noble, are you? You haven't even got any land! And a landless noble is just no good, is he? I mean, you could try to coast on a noble reputation, but your post-mortem adventures, not to mention your involvement in disgraceful thievery, kind of defeat that idea as well. So, really, you are a noble without property or dignity, which puts you several leagues behind what one would consider a noble worth accounting for."
"I wish I could say this sort of thing happened more rarely, really."
That being established, the stage is once again given to Sigmund, who spills whatever beans he currently possesses with all the enthusiasm of a practiced expositor.
"I don't know much about them. I know that the spectacularly mangled one was called Kevin, and the chair freak is called Niklas, he's a foreigner, but I can't really say how will you encounter him next time, as he tends to change a lot."
"So, Kevin who's dead and Niklas who's very much alive and extremely dangerous. Duly noted."
"Speaking about him, I think that you should not let the families see what he did with the dead guards. That should not be endured by any sane person."
"Well, we'll be posting a bounty for him in any case - murder of five guards, corpse disfigurement, aiding and abetting of thieves, resisting lawful authorities - all in all, he is looking like a solid 10 gold coins to me. And worth spreading the word about, too. All in all, he's got the makings of a properly infamous sort, I think."
"And he does not seem to be a construct, judging from these individuals' reports."
"Indeed. So, do you lot admit that you are disgraceful thieves and deserve to be severely punished for the crime?" Carlson asks Sigmund and Scott in equal measure.
In the criminal grave plot of Shriekpot...
Kevin, glad at being freed at last, even if it is at the bottom of a shallow grave, decides to move along with his plan of action - escaping!
Sadly, though, that is still a whole lot of earth he is trapped underneath of. While mangled. And inside of a sack. With nowhere to really displace earth and lacking the ability to just punch through almost a meter of dirt with his arms and legs, which, as mentioned, seem to be broken in places Kevin didn't even know he had.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas asks more on the whole weight thing.
"Will they be costlier if I make them lighter?"
"No, as that wouldn't make any sense. The heavier they are, the more expensive they are - and, considering that this is steel we are talking about, lower weights will mean less room for detail, hollow spikes, that sort of thing."
"What's the typical weight for a chair?"
"The very lowest I can go is ten kilograms for a steel one, and the very highest... well, there is no real limit to that."
In Undefined Space...
Timothy finds this whole thing rather bewildering. He just wants to get home! Is that so wrong?
"Aaaugh why's dis gotsa be so confusing?!" he implores convincingly, trying to visualize places that may be safer instead. Like Mister Bob's home. Or Bernie's lair. Yeah. Those places. As he does this, though, he can't really hear much of the voices - a faint murmur is all he gets, in a tone that seems almost patronizing to him.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton considers whether there's any places he knows of that might fit a certain definition of 'interesting'.
"Well... I suppose it depends on what one deems interesting. I recall a ship who's captain spoke in my head, another which was currently being watched over by a rather diminutive man. I saw a pub on a ship, although I can't exactly profess if it is interesting or not as I had to leave rather quickly afterwards, Sir Scott was there. I suppose I did meet a very talented toymaker and carpenter, he was the one who crafted my arms, if such takes your interest. I'm afraid I can't really recall much else about this town, I've not wandered it much and every time I did something typically came up, or I was whisked away with the others on some scheme. Worse come to worse, we can just wander and look around, sure to be an interesting sight or two."
"Well, no point in going to a pub. Neither of us can get drunk, after all, and the atmosphere becomes pretty dull if you don't have a drink. And the carpenter's probably asleep. That ship sounds pretty weird, though. Maybe we can go talk to this captain or something. Don't see many mentalists running ships these days. Where is that ship?"
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren pursues answers like an intellectual bloodhound, going for all the hard questions.
"Could you go into more detail about what it is?"
The gibbon nods solemnly.
Post by: Tomcost on September 11, 2013, 09:31:21 am
-Well, first I feel the need to ask you two questions. The first is what kind of punishmend does thievery deserve, and the second is if there is a way to decrease that punishment by doing any kind of charitative act.
Post by: miauw62 on September 11, 2013, 09:44:59 am
Try to break the sack and dig my way out.
Post by: Yoink on September 11, 2013, 10:07:16 am
'But if they don't like any of those places, that only really leaves...' He grimaced, awful memories that not even a lifetime (and deathtime!) of mental scrubbing couldn't wipe from his mind came flooding back.
Rather than dwell on those, he figured he might as well just throw it out there and see if it'd work. You know, before actually thinking it through. That wouldn't help right now.
"Maybe dis not works... maybe I kinda hopes no... but here goes, try dis."
>Imagine Timothy's boyhood home, the little shack half-sunken into a swamp.
>Await reaction (hopefully, teleportation) from the Voices.
Post by: Xantalos on September 11, 2013, 10:09:33 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 11, 2013, 12:45:04 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 11, 2013, 02:28:24 pm
Scott attempts to be a professional man of law, and just as deceitful.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 11, 2013, 07:54:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 12, 2013, 03:10:33 pm
Sigmund is cautious about admitting guilt, at least when he doesn't know the punishment he might face.
"Well, first I feel the need to ask you two questions. The first is what kind of punishment does thievery deserve, and the second is if there is a way to decrease that punishment by doing any kind of charitative act."
"Well, confessing will net you a summary confiscation of your current properties and also the confiscation of one of your arms. Not confessing will give you the same, except we confiscate both arms and possibly your head, depending on how much time is wasted in the process of us explaining that you were caught in the act and resisted arrest the first time around."
Scott, not being a fan of either option, tries to go for the classic soulbound defense.
"Well, having been conscripted by a foreign necromancer, we can hardly be called anything other than tools, and should be treated as such. We cannot be culpable of any action we do as long as that action is ordered by the person who's magic binds us, for if we would refuse we would be magically tortured and compelled to do whatever nefarious task put forward without mind or control. Our crimes should thus, by necessity, ethics and empathy, be transferred to our master."
"Ah, is that so? You say in all honesty that somebody magically compelled you and your accomplices to enter a bookstore unlawfully, slay several officers of the law and one civilian and resist arrest, which included multiple unsuccessful efforts to murder additional officers of the law?"
In a shallow grave...
Kevin tries to get out of this damn sack already. It's really tough to move in it.
[Kevin strength roll: 1-1]
However, being encased in rather unyielding soil is rather unhelpful in that respect. In fact, his latest movements just result in the dirt packing itself around him quite a bit more densely than before - he can hardly move at all now.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy, desperate to get out of this weird plane, tries one more memory - that of his childhood home, so distant and muddled, and yet quite important as well.
"Maybe dis not works... maybe I kinda hopes no... but here goes, try dis."
He imagines the shack that couldn't even sink into a swamp right, the place where he spent his earliest years... quite the place it was, really. The bits of emotion seem to set the voices off once more, and they begin to furiously chatter once more - not in a positive fashion, though.
In fact, they seem to be getting quite annoyed - they keep repeating certain phrases to him, like 'not in the center', 'you will die', 'you are chained', 'move to the edge', 'find the guardians', 'ask for help'. They even enunciate the words with extreme emphasis. How strange.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas asks more about the prices in this joint.
"How much would 40 kilogram chairs cost?"
"Still the standard price, good sir, but the courtesy material fees increase - you only get the standard price if you provide 20 or so kilograms of material, and a discount of 1 gold coin if you provide the full weight of the chair in preferably metallic goods."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton tries to recall the direction the ship was in.
"Hm, I believe it to be this way, if I recall..."
He leads Art down the docks over to where he saw the ship last - it is still there, fortunately enough, and it appears completely empty of life at first sight - no lights, no people, no activity. As the two approach closer, this impression proves completely correct - there really doesn't seem to be anyone aboard right now. Art looks at Morton, shrugs and steps aboard.
He then stops in his tracks, slightly weirded out by something.
"Uhm... hello. What? Oh, right," he says, becoming quiet after a moment of confused speech. He appears to be concentrating, though there's also a strange look to him, almost like childlike wonder, or at least the closest thing to childlike wonder that one can read from a face that is half-transparent.
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren, not really having the patience for the roundabout ways of the gibbon, reiterates what he wants.
"Please do so."
The giant gibbon seems to think for a bit. It then shakes its head vigorously, giving Darren a hearty two-thumbs-down.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 12, 2013, 03:19:01 pm
"Yes. Apparently wizards like books."
-pause to obviously eyeroll-
"Enough as to not afford the thousands they collect...You know...being people that tend to rely on handouts or others to earn them income as they play with other expensive, and often explosive, corrosive, addictive, festering and etc components."
Scott will return to professional tones, as to further convince the lawman.
"Now that our mission can no longer be feasibly be carried out, the compulsion is removed, hence our enthusiasm to surrender and pour out our cold, dead hearts to you... instead of rabidly removing your innards and playfully maiming you."
(I am really enjoying this segment rather perversely. ^.^)
Post by: Tomcost on September 12, 2013, 03:23:26 pm
-Just shut up, please.
He then turned to Carlson:
-Okay, I confess, but can I keep my arm, please? It's not going to be of any utility to you...
Post by: Innsmothe on September 12, 2013, 03:32:19 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 12, 2013, 03:40:08 pm
Anyway, I don't trust the dice, because the most likely outcome would be the guards attempting to imprison our master, and that won't end well in any way possible. If he gets killed, we die, if he survives, we are likely going to be tortured and probably die from our incompetence.
All in all, losing an arm, the guisarme and the crossbow doesn't look like something so bad, actually. We have lots of harpoons in the ship, so being weaponless won't be any issue right now. Maybe Niklas will give us som of his loot))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 12, 2013, 03:47:55 pm
It;s not like our master is helpless, and he would only find out if someone told him of our betrayal. He did okay our plans, and thus is legally responsible. :P))
Post by: Tomcost on September 12, 2013, 03:50:40 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 12, 2013, 03:55:15 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 12, 2013, 04:00:46 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 12, 2013, 04:33:38 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 12, 2013, 05:39:21 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 12, 2013, 07:48:40 pm
Morton watches Art for a moment in confusion before figuring that the captain of the ship must be conferring with Art mentally. Morton moves to walk onto the ship too, curious as to what the conversation must be about.
Post by: Yoink on September 12, 2013, 07:58:59 pm
He sighed, then floated off a ways from the stairs, looking glumly at the empty, malleable space around him.
"Aw. Well, was worth a shoot." He decided he might as well amuse himself if he was stuck here.
>Imagine up some super-magical-building block-things!
>Let's build some houses. And castles and stuff. Ooooh, and bridges! Over canyons! Bridges are always fun.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 13, 2013, 09:26:37 am
Scott keeps his cool, moving along with his explanation in his typical manner. As in, the manner that makes one wish to strangle him until he has one less functional neck than before.
"Yes. Apparently wizards like books. Enough as to not afford the thousands they collect... You know... being people that tend to rely on handouts or others to earn them income as they play with other expensive, and often explosive, corrosive, addictive, festering and etc components."
He then opts to become professionally irritating instead.
"Now that our mission can no longer be feasibly be carried out, the compulsion is removed, hence our enthusiasm to surrender and pour out our cold, dead hearts to you... instead of rabidly removing your innards and playfully maiming you."
"Ah, I see. Who is your master, then? The one who bound you? And where can we find this person?"
Before Scott can answer, Sigmund can't help but voice his complete and utter lack of support for this idea of his.
"Just shut up, please."
He then turns to Carlson, ready to accept his fate.
"Okay, I confess, but can I keep my arm, please? It's not going to be of any utility to you..."
"Sorry, no. Rules are rules, you know. Besides, our arm wall is looking a little bare lately, and yours looks like a fine replacement. Come with me," he indicates to Sigmund, then turning to Scott.
"Relay any incredibly important information to this guy, I'll be right back," he says, pointing to the reception guy. He then beckons Sigmund to follow him, as does another guard. With a spear.
Scott, meanwhile, finds himself alone in the company of the reception man plus three other guards.
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren, quite disappointed at the lack of information from the gibbon, just goes along with the charade for now.
"Ah. Well, is there any way I could get in there?"
The gibbon nods.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas goes ahead and introduces the man to all of his metallic commodities, all five suits of armor and all the weapons he has. The fellow looks it over.
"I would say that is almost enough to cover all of it."
He lifts up the various items, checking them carefully.
"About sixty, perhaps seventy kilograms total. All in all, that would give you a 3 silver discount on both chairs."
At the odd ship in the harbor...
Morton looks at Art perplexedly before he remembers about the whole telepathy thing. Ah. How silly of him. He wobbles onto the deck, at which point he is spoken to by a voice in his head.
~Hello. I recognize your thoughts from earlier. You appear to have changed, sir.~
In Undefined Space...
Timothy is saddened by how the universe appears to be intent to keep him from going where he wants and doing what he needs.
"Aw. Well, was worth a shoot."
He then tries to imagine some building blocks, managing to create an entire amazing pyramid of them. It stretches quite high, he finds. Quite high indeed. Now to build something for real! He lays down a solid foundation of blocks, forming something not unlike an island, whereupon he plants more blocks upon it. These shall be rocks, he declares. Then he makes pretty nice trees, because you can't have a nice village without nice trees. He then builds houses, beautiful, tall houses like the ones he has always wanted to be at least be allowed inside of, and even makes room for a magnificent, if a tiny bit intimidating castle near a canyon. It all looks a tad blocky, but Timothy finds that it attains a certain kind of stylized charm in the process.
He also feels that something is looking at him. However, when he looks around, he finds that nobody's around that he can see.
Post by: miauw62 on September 13, 2013, 10:01:19 am
Post by: Yoink on September 13, 2013, 10:06:54 am
Timothy shrugged. He wasn't overly concerned about the unseen observer who may or may not be a figment of his imagination and/or real and/or a threat. I mean, come on, he was stuck here- what could they do to him, really? Asides from chuck him down a flight of Black Comedy Stairs, he supposed...
>Suggest that who/whatever is watching me can join in!
>Then let's start building a road, heading north from that lovely castle I just built.
"Heh. Looks bit like where I met Mista Bob! An' there Hansel's place!"
Post by: Xanmyral on September 13, 2013, 12:58:59 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 13, 2013, 01:45:36 pm
Any chance for a cup of tea?"
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 02:13:45 pm
-May I ask you a question? Do you believe in his words?
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 04:47:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:06:02 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:09:28 pm
((I wonder which modifiers will a chair like that get. I mean, it's heavy+aerodinamic+spikes. That's pretty badass))((Exactly. Then if I have enough money left over I can get one more chair to balance my arms out.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:13:45 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:14:41 pm
((Wait, how many chairs do you pretend to buy?))((2, but I lost one a while back thanks to rocketchair thing.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:20:10 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:24:12 pm
((Wouldn't it be better to just buy one to balance your arms? You know, currently you have only one arm who lacks a chair. And I presume that the other chair is obsidian or something simmilar, considering how it smashed against the wall and threw shards all over the place. Or do you pretend to have two doom-chairs?))((Ill rearrange my chairbody to have the two ultra chairs at my arms. I can do that, the only issue is paying for them.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:27:55 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:30:58 pm
We should become expys of the Avengers. I'll be Hulk.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:37:48 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:43:05 pm
...
After the whole death island thing.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 06:51:46 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 06:53:52 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 13, 2013, 07:16:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 07:24:20 pm
((Sadly, there may be mages where the store is. And Niklas is vulnerable to those))
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:25:43 pm
Chair Viking diplomacy.))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 13, 2013, 07:29:33 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:30:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 07:30:47 pm
((If things get really bad, I'll activate my diplomacy.((I hope I had a sig page to sig that, but I'm not into it))
Chair Viking diplomacy.))
((Thanks, Xanmyral))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 13, 2013, 07:46:27 pm
Anyway, I'm trying to think of a way you guys can possibly get out of that but really I can't think of one. They'll shoot you down if you flee, then kill you if they catch you. Kevin can possibly dig his way out eventually, unless he rolls enough ones that it becomes impossible... Scott actually might have a way out of this, depending on how he plays it. After all, there are two bookstores in town and the other's owner is a mage... But I'm not sure if I would recommend hedging your bet on that idea, but if that mage would incinerate a guard without a care it might work in a sense. Of course if the mage is rational and talks his way about stuff, that may not work very well if they choose to believe him. It would work very badly actually.]
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:48:31 pm
[That reminds me, Xantalos, I believe the combination of Human/Armchair has come to pass. Now to just be on the lookout for a Fae/Silk Carpet.]HA
HAHAHA
HOLY CRAP IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN
IN ANOTHER GAME SURE BUT IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN AHAHAHAHA
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 07:53:35 pm
It would be good for Niklas to be a non-anthropomorphic entity for some time, maybe he can get a kind of advantage from that? Spiky chair-snake, constricting and stabbing stuff at the same time! Bonus points for a spiky tail attack))
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:54:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 07:57:00 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:58:01 pm
((Wouldn't you need more chairs for that? Or will you try to break into random houses first to get more?))((Well, how many guards are you guys up against?))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 13, 2013, 07:58:53 pm
Also, yeah it wasn't that great of an idea. Hm... Morton still has the hate tree branch. Don't know if that's useful, but it really, really messes with stuff given the previous mushroom patch-which-is-probably-a-forest-now-around-an-ever-burning-fire.]
Post by: Xantalos on September 13, 2013, 07:59:49 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 13, 2013, 08:20:43 pm
On a side note, I think that we will end up covering the whole ciy in those mushrooms. And then we will loot the heck out of it))
Post by: killerhellhound on September 14, 2013, 01:08:32 am
((There is a bounty of 10 gold on yourBecause that's what adventurers doheadarmchair, I think that they will use deadly force on sight. I'm mostly worried on the mages, though.
On a side note, I think that we will end up covering the whole ciy in those mushrooms. And then we will loot the heck out of it))
wreck everything then loot the remains
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 14, 2013, 03:49:41 am
Kevin, not quite ready to abandon hope just yet, tries his best to leave his earthly imprisonment - however, he finds his efforts stymied by the dirt all around him. He's pretty sure he isn't getting out under his own power, at least not through digging of any description. This, he thinks, is quite saddening. And incredibly boring.
In Undefined Space...
Timothy wonders briefly whether the intruder is actually real. Or threatening, for that matter. He supposes he can always ask.
"Uh... if you wantsta play, is just gotsta ask."
The presence intensifies, growing with every moment until Timothy can pinpoint it exactly - it's right next to him! He looks over to see who it is.
Ah, it looks to be a little girl. A little girl with three faces, sharp teeth in each of her mouths and suspiciously long arms, but a little girl nonetheless. She looks vaguely pleased.
"Who you? Why you playing here?" she says, her three sets of lips emphasizing particular words each as she speaks.
On a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton, not having entirely expected the captain to recognize him, tries to think the conversation along.
~You recognize my thoughts? But yes, hello again, I have indeed changed quite... apparently, haven't I? Strange beings do strange things, I've discovered, but I've adapted well to my new form and I find myself to rather like it now oddly enough. Things have been going well on your end I hope?~
~Very much so. Have you had any luck in obtaining transportation? I sail out tonight, and the offer I made still stands.~
At the guard HQ in Shriekpot...
Scott, feeling rather comfortable at the moment, believes he can adopt an appropriately privileged state.
"Before I say anything... any chance for a cup of tea?"
"No, not really," the reception guy says simply.
Some distance away, out of Scott's earshot, Sigmund converses with Carlson.
"May I ask you a question? Do you believe in his words?"
"Nah. Binding doesn't work that way. We actually had a pretty educational seminar about that sort of thing. If you were bound to do all of that, it would require for your master to be in close proximity at all times, and I didn't hear any barking of orders between you all when this happened. I don't doubt somebody instructed you to steal all that stuff, though, and we'll be finding most of that out with the diviner's help. Thanks for playing along, by the way. Saves quite a bit of work for at least one of us. Anyhow, let's get this over with, shall we?" Carlson explains, leading Sigmund into a rather small room where a bored-looking guard wielding a rather wicked-looking saw awaits. The guards poke Sigmund over to a table, where, after relieving him of all of his possessions apart from his clothes, of which they only take off the overcoat, they seat him, placing his left arm on the table and strapping it in snugly.
"So, need something to bite down on or are you good?"
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas supposes he'll make do with thirty kilograms. Sigh.
"How about I set the weight at 30 kilograms, then?"
"Then you only need to submit 60 kilograms of metal to receive the full discount, which would put your chairs at 2 gold and 4 silvers each, 5 gold and 3 silvers total, leaving you with about five kilograms of things to spare. Alternatively, you could choose one sixty kilogram chair and get it for the aforementioned 2 gold and 4 silvers."
Post by: Xantalos on September 14, 2013, 03:54:17 am
Post by: Yoink on September 14, 2013, 04:36:04 am
"Oh, yeah- I be Timothy. What's youse name?"
>Introduce myself to this newcomer, then summon up another pile of blocks for her.
>Then keep working, building something vaguely based on that castle where Bob lived and the surrounding countryside.
Let my new friend join in if she wants, or build something completely different, Timothy doesn't mind. Oh, and pay attention to whatever she says.
Post by: miauw62 on September 14, 2013, 04:55:26 am
Post by: Xantalos on September 14, 2013, 04:58:32 am
...
Really, since you can't dig at all, I dunno.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 14, 2013, 06:58:13 am
((Yay, ancronism! And dammit I am screwed as hell. Save my soul damn it!))
Post by: Tomcost on September 14, 2013, 08:54:58 am
-Well, I think that I'm going to need something that doesn't break my teeth even more. Wouldn't my lack of some teeth count as something?
[After the obvious no]
-Oh, well, couldn't you use something that could make this quicker? Like, I don't know, a big axe? It's not like I can bleed to death.
Try to not scream, too much
((Shit will certainly happen soon))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 14, 2013, 02:11:27 pm
~Much luck actually, me and my compatriots managed to locate a ship for few funds to take us to our destination. Well, few funds but some hard work I suppose. I do thank you greatly for keeping the offer on the table for us however, very considerate of you.~ Morton mentally explained, still a finding talking in this method a touch odd. Knowing that the mentalist can probably read his thoughts, he figures he may as well say something to that extent instead of have them dig it up. ~I must admit that speaking in this manner is a touch foreign to me, I'm afraid I'm more comfortable with speaking face to face I suppose. Either way it is grand to hear that things have been looking up for you, I always find joy in others being happy, it's how most people should be I believe.~
Post by: miauw62 on September 14, 2013, 03:05:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 14, 2013, 06:06:11 pm
Niklas continues the haggling, as is traditional.
"If I upped the weight of the chairs to be 32.5 kilograms, then, would there be any tasks I could perform for you that would be worth 1 gold and three silvers?"
"Not really, no. We have no debtors nor suppliers, and require nothing that we cannot create ourselves aside from money, which we prefer to earn as honestly as possible. Better living through transmutation, I believe they call it. Very liberating."
Bummer. How is an honest murderous thug to make a living when there are people around that don't need anything aside from money?
In Undefined Space...
Timothy explains his purpose or lack thereof here in so many words.
"I is stuck here!" he announces cheerfully. He then recalls that they haven't been introduced yet, which seems quite unlike how he thinks a true gentleman should behave. He strives to rectify this dire error immediately.
"Oh, yeah- I be Timothy. What's youse name?"
"I am Og. And you speak what is not true - nobody stuck here. All who are here, choose to be here."
While considering the implications of such a phrase, Timothy tries to summon up some blocks for her. However, he only succeeds in slightly unbalancing the nearby nonsensical ether, causing odd geometric ripples to form. They gather around whatever blocks Timothy had already left lying around, assuming what Timothy can only guess is a protective orbit.
At the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott stalls for time, hoping to get a better deal by persistently bringing up better ways to deal with him.
"O...kay. Do you happen to have a witness protection program? I am not comfortable about ratting out on the guy who has complete and utter control over my soul before I can be sure my continued existence."
The receptionist nods.
"We can help you with that. Would you like to sign up?"
In an altogether different room, Sigmund tries to take his impending amputation like a man.
"Well, I think that I'm going to need something that doesn't break my teeth even more. Wouldn't my lack of some teeth count as something?"
"Well, if you feel like biting down on the shrapnel of your own teeth is good enough, more power to you."
"Oh, well, couldn't you use something that could make this quicker? Like, I don't know, a big axe? It's not like I can bleed to death."
The man in charge of amputation scoffs at the very notion, scowling at Sigmund.
"Why, to entertain such a barbaric notion would be intolerable! An axe? What do I look like, some sort of savage?"
"The saw certainly makes for a neater separation, you have to admit. Now, let's get on with it, shall we?"
"Agreed, let's be quick about it."
The amputation expert places his saw slightly above where Sigmund supposes his bicep is and begins to furiously saw through his arm. It is a very long and very painful process, lasting a whole hour while the man experiments with various methods to get through the odd pseudo-bones running through the arm. Eventually he does manage it, much to the delight of Sigmund, who has stoically born his suffering throughout the entire hour. Fortunately, Carlson had already run out of terrible amputation puns within fifteen minutes, and the rest of the time was spent in solemn silence occasionally broken up by a bout of swearing from the amateur surgeon at work.
"Finally!"
"Right bastard of a limb that was."
The man picks up the severed arm, looking at it from several angles.
"Well, that's all, I guess."
"Yes. So, how does it feel to have one less arm, Sigmund?"
Sigmund has to say that it is an altogether familiar feeling, and it lacks a certain something the next time around.
On the deck of a strange ship...
Morton relates his magnificent adventures to the captain. Well, what he knows of them, at any rate.
~Much luck actually, me and my compatriots managed to locate a ship for few funds to take us to our destination. Well, few funds but some hard work, I suppose. I do thank you greatly for keeping the offer on the table for us however, very considerate of you.~
~Very few actually take the opportunity to travel with me. I am unsure why exactly, but I think that my method of relating puts people off. Still, carrying passengers is only a side goal - it's the cargo that matters, after all.~
~I must admit that speaking in this manner is a touch foreign to me, I'm afraid I'm more comfortable with speaking face to face, I suppose. Either way, it is grand to hear that things have been looking up for you, I always find joy in others being happy, it's how most people should be, I believe.~
~Sadly, this is as close to a face-to-face conversation as I can get. One could say it's slightly more intimate than that, though I find that very few use the opportunity to look outwards rather than retreat back. Is it some sort of instinct, I wonder? A sense of being invaded preventing exploration?~
In a shallow grave...
Kevin tries to figure a way out. He thinks and he thinks, and comes up with several plans of action.
Sadly, they all require him being about a meter higher than he is right now, which slightly obsoletes the entire need for a plan in that case. He has zero clue what he could possibly do aside from act like an expensive mummy and hope for enterprising grave robbers.
Post by: Tomcost on September 14, 2013, 06:20:29 pm
-Well, it certainly makes you feel out of balance, I have to say. Considering how difficult it was to remove it, may I examine it? Ideally, I would like to take it, considering that we mutants don't know much about our own anatomy, and that arm would certainly help me to understand my own physiology.
Take the arm and examine it
He then added something:
-There was a device within my possessions that was actually borrowed. Is there any chance to get it back so that I can give it to its legitimate owner?
Post by: Xanmyral on September 14, 2013, 07:48:44 pm
[So it seems everyone has those strange super-hard bones after the transformation. I'm curious if they're present in Morton, or if not because he technically doesn't have bones anymore. On another note, I'm not sure how well the fabulous demon will take our wounded traveling through again, but I suppose relating that the world is cruel to beautiful things might explain that.]
Post by: Xantalos on September 14, 2013, 07:50:59 pm
Also, remind me in case I'm not remembering correctly, a regular chair is one silver, is it not?
Post by: Tomcost on September 14, 2013, 08:01:47 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 14, 2013, 08:05:43 pm
On that note, I need to remember, was Morton spoken too about the deal with Mark? I think it's almost morning now, he can probably go pick him up if he knows. Or, I suppose, if Sigmund is leaving now that his arm was taken he can pick him up there I guess.]
Post by: killerhellhound on September 14, 2013, 09:10:29 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 14, 2013, 09:11:23 pm
We should say he died when Bernie did or something.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 15, 2013, 02:05:40 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 15, 2013, 02:26:30 am
Kevin sighed, and prayed to the gods again.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 02:43:00 am
I shouldn't have believed him, he claimed to have been given orders by our new master, the Artiste.
Said he wanted a book and that he was given special permission to get it by ny means.
When I initially refused, he claimed the book had already been paid for, but had been withheld after the bookseller learned of its real value and thus it was the masters rightful property. He said my personal mission was to delay the seller and any guards by any means necessary whilst he got the book and ran back to the master. Having already failed my master once...
Scott will forcibly recall the pain of killing that damned child necromancer and react applicably
...I...I wasn't going to risk it again. I admit I have lied to this point....but I couldn't risk stating all this in front of lanky...he...he had plans for an eventuality where he was imprisoned that doesn't bear contemplation. The master is used to our schemes and punishes us accordingly...however...lanky...lanky is vicious. It's hard to keep your sanity when all you have is an accursed bond to an individual you don't like and a certain ethereal future of terror and woe. See how willing he was to lose a limb? If you noticed...they weren't his to begin with, and despite our physiology...the nature of our enchantment 'allows' us to feel pain.
You see this?
Scott will point to his chin.
It's his work. He came to the gang one day and said the Artiste had been scammed out of his money for a ticket for a ship. He said he had scouted out the city and found the scammers in a tavern in the trade district.
He...he ordered us to help him kill everyone he found in the place...In the name of our master. I had initially objected, saying that innocents would only turn the city against our master...but the look in his dead eyes quietened me.
Fortunately, later that night, when we stormed blades raised high...we were met by a company of armed men, presumably city guards. Whilst we felled several of them, and captured the proprietress of the establishment...the rest of the tavern had time to flee. Lanky was not happy.
He turned to me and screamed that I was a traitor, that I had alerted the city guards. He...hacked at my face several times with his sword...missing every few slashes. But he succeeded in separating me from my jaw. He then, after questioning her, killed the proprietress out right and lopped off her jaw.
He said "A perfect present for you Scott...for you and all that women's talk."
Scott will curl up in his chair, shuddering, hoping beyond hope that the slivers of truth will distort the lies he was telling them and win him his freedom.
Post by: Yoink on September 15, 2013, 02:56:02 am
>Continue working with my own collection of blocks- try to recreate the "real" world, or at least what I remember it looking like.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 15, 2013, 03:03:17 am
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 03:08:20 am
[God I hope this works.]
Post by: Xanmyral on September 15, 2013, 03:36:50 am
I'm kinda mixed here really, I don't want you dead but at the same time I don't want Sigmund dead either. Couldn't you of tried to pin it on someone we know and hate? There's the flying ship captain, but I fear she has too many connections for anything to be done. Those guards at the inn might work too, but they don't have a mage for that to work and might of checked in with the city guard before scramming.
Bernie? He's dead, sure, but that might work to your favor with a bit of thought.]
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 03:55:21 am
And I am just rp'ing. Him and Sig rub each other the wrong way and he is pretty convenient atm.]
Post by: Xanmyral on September 15, 2013, 04:01:27 am
Yeah, you have a point about that, Scott and Sigmund don't really like each other. Black spy versus white spy style bickering and fighting I suppose.]
Post by: Yoink on September 15, 2013, 04:16:52 am
Post by: Xantalos on September 15, 2013, 04:19:09 am
“No, sis, now shut up. Let’s go, minions!” says the necromancer, also removing his hood. He sure has an awful complexion, somewhat yellowish in places. He looks pretty hateful, to tell the truth. Large brown eyes just like his sister’s, almost no chin and a large, hooked nose. He couldn’t be more than 20 years old, you wager.((Ta da))
Post by: miauw62 on September 15, 2013, 04:39:40 am
((I thought Bernie was basically just the Medieval Fantasy equivalent of a neckbeard?))((Same here.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 15, 2013, 05:09:43 am
Sigmund tries his best to convince the guards to give his arm back.
"Well, it certainly makes you feel out of balance, I have to say. Considering how difficult it was to remove it, may I examine it? Ideally, I would like to take it, considering that we mutants don't know much about our own anatomy, and that arm would certainly help me to understand my own physiology."
He reaches for the arm, but the butcher man draws it back.
"Not giving it back, buddy. Not by a long shot."
"After all, you might put it back on. And that would defeat the point, wouldn't it?"
Sigmund's expression sours a little as his arm is pulled out of immediate reach.
"There was a device within my possessions that was actually borrowed. Is there any chance to get it back so that I can give it to its legitimate owner?"
"Oh, I'm sure you've borrowed a great many things. If somebody wants them back, feel free to tell them to come over here and get them."
Just at that moment, a guard steps inside the room and whispers something to Carlson. Carlson nods, then turns to Sigmund.
"I have some business to take care of, buddy, so you wait here a little bit, I'll be right back."
He then exits, leaving Sigmund in the room with the other guards. The amputation guy appears to be eying him curiously.
"So, are you a construct? Or simply altered in some fashion? This arm of yours is... unusual. Most exquisite."
He whispers something to one of the guards, who leaves for a minute, then comes back.
On the deck of a strange ship...
Morton is a tad confused by the captain. Such unfortunately cryptic thought patterns, really.
~As close as you can get, 'sadly'? I'm afraid I don't quite understand, are you perhaps far away from this locale or otherwise incapable? Do you require assistance of some kind, or perhaps require help?~
~Oh, no. Certainly not. I'm perfectly content how I am, actually.~
~I did not mean to relay that talking in such a way was off putting for myself, simply that it is something new. I've surely dealt with stranger than holding a conversation in my head with another, it's simply an activity I don't do quite frequently is all. If I remember correct I believe I actually spoke out loud last time, a touch embarrassing I suppose looking back. It's a shame people don't take the chance to travel with you, you seem like an interesting fellow to converse with, that much I can glean from our conversations.~
~Even if you do not find it strange, many others do. Most of my business associates are quite wary of someone accessing their innermost thoughts, even though I typically do not do such a thing out of respect for one's privacy, as strange, primal and animalistic as it may be. But I digress. Your associate here is quite interesting. Educated, too. Did you go through the same process as she did? She thinks of fabulous dimensions and demons dwelling within them - rather interesting if I may express so myself.~
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas tries to reach a compromise.
"Well, I only possess 4 gold. What if I went and got 1 gold and three silver, then came back here - I could get the chairs then, could I not? Also, remind me in case I'm not remembering correctly, a regular chair is one silver, is it not?"
"You can certainly pay us the four gold to place the order, then come back to receive the finished product when you have the rest. Should you not do so within a day, we will render the chairs down to their raw components again. And the price of a regular chair is actually one gold, with variations based on required materials."
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren just converses on with the gibbon, hoping to wring some usefulness out of it.
"Could you explain it to me?"
The gibbon nods.
In a shallow grave...
Kevin, hoping to get some sort of help from the divines now that the earthly powers have failed him, attempts to pray his way to safety. He prays intensely to every god he can think of (well, there are only five, so it doesn't take very long). He feels he's got a good thing going here, really. He even sounds kind of sincere, at least to himself.
A bit of time passes, and Kevin almost gets the idea that he hasn't been heard, but then he feels the earth move above him - this feeling continues until he is successfully exhumed - oddly enough, by the same people, it seems. This time, their grumbling seems louder.
"Wish they'd make up their minds already, digging pits is hard work!"
"Yeah, I never asked for this."
They pull Kevin out of the grave in due time.
"Should we fill it up?"
"Nah, we'll prolly need it later, anyway."
As the guards decide this, they begin dragging Kevin along once more.
In the main lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott, realizing that now might be his chance, decides to go all out. Oh yes, it is time for a most incredibly unreliable narration.
"Yes, so...It was that damned lanky armed bastard. I shouldn't have believed him, he claimed to have been given orders by our new master, the Artiste. Said he wanted a book and that he was given special permission to get it by any means. When I initially refused, he claimed the book had already been paid for, but had been withheld after the bookseller learned of its real value and thus it was the masters rightful property. He said my personal mission was to delay the seller and any guards by any means necessary whilst he got the book and ran back to the master. Having already failed my master once..." he trails off, recalling the way he felt when he accidentally murdered Bernie, altering his already unpleasant one-eyed expression accordingly. The receptionist seems unmoved, but he also seems to be busily taking notes, so he supposes it's working.
"... I... I wasn't going to risk it again. I admit I have lied to this point....but I couldn't risk stating all this in front of lanky... he... he had plans for an eventuality where he was imprisoned that doesn't bear contemplation. The master is used to our schemes and punishes us accordingly... however... lanky... lanky is vicious. It's hard to keep your sanity when all you have is an accursed bond to an individual you don't like and a certain ethereal future of terror and woe. See how willing he was to lose a limb? If you noticed...they weren't his to begin with, and despite our physiology...the nature of our enchantment 'allows' us to feel pain. You see this?" he asks, pointing at his chin. "It's his work. He came to the gang one day and said the Artiste had been scammed out of his money for a ticket for a ship. He said he had scouted out the city and found the scammers in a tavern in the trade district. He... he ordered us to help him kill everyone he found in the place... in the name of our master. I had initially objected, saying that innocents would only turn the city against our master.. but the look in his dead eyes quietened me."
"Fortunately, later that night, when we stormed blades raised high... we were met by a company of armed men, presumably city guards. Whilst we felled several of them, and captured the proprietress of the establishment... the rest of the tavern had time to flee. Lanky was not happy. He turned to me and screamed that I was a traitor, that I had alerted the city guards. He... hacked at my face several times with his sword... missing every few slashes. But he succeeded in separating me from my jaw. He then, after questioning her, killed the proprietress out right and lopped off her jaw. He said 'A perfect present for you, Scott... for you and all that women's talk,'..." he concludes his chilling testimony. A few seconds later, the receptionist finishes writing, then checks his work. Looking at the paper, Scott notices that it's filled with really weird-looking squiggles. The receptionist glances at him, then at a particular guard.
"Get Carlson."
The guard walks off, and it is not long until Carlson arrives.
"What's up?"
The receptionist hands him the page... no, wait, several written pages. Carlson looks through them interestedly.
"Ooh, very interesting indeed! The plot thickens, so to speak. Right then, time to get down to the real business at hand."
He looks at Scott.
"You've certainly changed your tune quite a bit. I guess you know what that means, right?"
Scott looks at him silently.
"Investigation time!" Carlson says, grinning wildly. "Now, about this Artiste - who is he? Where is he? How can we find him?"
In Undefined Space...
Timothy clarifies that he is, indeed, quite stuck.
"Nah, I is stuck here for sure. Dem voices says they's send me home, but not do nothin'. Guess I stays here."
"Voices do little. They guide path to get out, but not needed to get out. Can always leave, yes."
Timothy tries to manipulate the remainder of his own blocks, but finds that the geometric ripples are a tad hostile to him. Probably best not to bother them right now.
"You have soul. You from far away. I see soul also chained, yes? You want out, but you die if you do. Want help?"
Right at that moment, another presence drifts over, a shining, spinning face of curious composition.
"Ooh, soul-man-thing in the fun-place! I knew I heard soul-man-things in middle-corner! Yes! What's shaking, soul-man-thing? Nice landscape-thing!"
Post by: Xantalos on September 15, 2013, 05:17:32 am
Resolve payment issues: if it turns out that I get my money back if I can't pay, pay them 4 gold to assemble the agreed chairs and go search for people who I can get money from. Maybe a bank or something.
If it turns out I won't get my mony back if I can't pay, ask them to keep the chair specifications on file under 'CHAIRMAN NIKLAS', and then go and search for people/institutions that I could get money from.
I'm searching for 2 gold and three silver.
Post by: miauw62 on September 15, 2013, 05:25:04 am
Play dead.
Post by: Xantalos on September 15, 2013, 05:26:36 am
((I'm having a hard time determining if the situation has improved or become worse.))((Improved, of course! I'm back in action!
Play dead.
I just hope I don't end up robbing a bank or something.))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 06:47:00 am
...Is...Is there any chance I can go now? Technically all I did was pick the lock to the shop, whilst I engaged the guards I took pains not to kill them, though it was more like I took pain when they tried to kill me. But the deaths were the constructs doing at the lanky bastard behest."
Post by: Tomcost on September 15, 2013, 08:48:07 am
-Well, I think that I went through another dimension, and I was transformed into this. Tell me, it was difficult to sever it because of how uncomon is its structure, or because it being particularly hard?
OOC EDIT:
((We are getting even worse each time Scott talks, now we are going to be charged with many things more. I'm going to point out something REALLY important: they have a diviner. That means that they can guess all the damned crimes we have commited. We can't lie, because the diviner knows when we lie. Do you realize that? We are screwed.))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 09:24:47 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 15, 2013, 09:43:10 am
((I can bet that Harry found all his plans for story progression quite unlikely to happen. And the deadly part of the chapter was supposed to be the Sea of Death. I think that we are just not going to see it))
Post by: miauw62 on September 15, 2013, 09:48:04 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 15, 2013, 09:54:01 am
((We still don't know exactly what the Artiste is. For all we know he could be the avatar of Cthulhu. I'm just hoping I can get away and warn the Artiste on time.))
((You don't know in character all that is happening, but you could certainly say that we are in jail.
And, judging by that conversation in which the Artiste said that he had a boss and that he had to organize files, I think that he is just an administrative employee of the gods))
Post by: miauw62 on September 15, 2013, 11:11:00 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 15, 2013, 11:15:59 am
~Yes actually, we both went through the same dimension and met the same demon unless something strange had transpired, but I believe it to have gone normally, for that which amounts to normalcy with such a place. My compatriot is actually male, or at least he was one physically before he entered the realm to be truthfully honest. But yes, we both went through the same ordeal and changed our forms to what they are, yes indeed. It was certainly an interesting trip, if a touch unexpected given the circumstances, at least if for no other than for myself. I don't believe I've seen anyone go through the ordeal and come out similar to one another, it's quite the peculiarity if not entirely unexpected I suppose.~
Post by: Tomcost on September 15, 2013, 11:33:42 am
((An administrative employee of the gods possesses some random zombie guy and then is later seen as a guy organizing a trip to an uninhabitable island? Besides, we've never seen him commune with the gods or so.))((Because he wants to become more powerful, and that's not allowed by the gods. That's why he wants to get to the Realm of Dreams: to "imagine" more power for himself))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 15, 2013, 01:16:11 pm
((We are screwed anyway. This can only end in either the whole party dying (due to the Artiste being executed), or the whole city guard being somehow destroyed by Niklas. The first alternative is the most likely to happen))[[I just hope he is still enjoying it.]]
((I can bet that Harry found all his plans for story progression quite unlikely to happen. And the deadly part of the chapter was supposed to be the Sea of Death. I think that we are just not going to see it))
Post by: Tomcost on September 15, 2013, 01:21:18 pm
((If he suddenly felt that torturing players (like every good GM does) is not fun anymore, he would just close the waitlist, or something simmilar))((We are screwed anyway. This can only end in either the whole party dying (due to the Artiste being executed), or the whole city guard being somehow destroyed by Niklas. The first alternative is the most likely to happen))[[I just hope he is still enjoying it.]]
((I can bet that Harry found all his plans for story progression quite unlikely to happen. And the deadly part of the chapter was supposed to be the Sea of Death. I think that we are just not going to see it))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 16, 2013, 01:34:21 am
Niklas does his best to negotiate a payment plan with the fellow.
"If I don't have the money within the day, however, will I get my money back?"
"No."
Oh. That's disappointing.
"Hold that thought. Filed under CHAIRMAN NIKLAS, preferably. I shall be right back."
"I shall await you, then."
With that, Niklas runs right out, hoping to find quick, easy sources of income. He runs and he runs, thundering down the streets like a suspiciously busy buffalo, eventually comes across a large building with rather armed and armored people standing outside. They look familiar for some reason.
In the corridors of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin just keeps on playing dead, hoping that whatever these people want, they'll leave him alone eventually.
Fortunately for him, they do! They eventually lift him up, plop him down on some hard surface, then they seem to leave, shutting a door of some kind behind them. Granted, Kevin is still in a bag and mangled, but at least he isn't buried under a whole lot of immovable dirt.
In the main lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott does his best to try and get out of this investigation, providing information readily.
"The Artiste is not much of a villain despite his necromancy, his lack of responsibility for his peons actions however are at best an annoyance for the city and at worse a danger. I believe he is currently at the dock, I recently delivered him a 'special' brew from one of the taverns nearby, I hope he is enjoying it. He is fairly affable, though I do not afford him much courtesy, as he allowed for the destruction of my husband at the hands of one of his partners."
"Mm-hm. Rather interesting."
"... Is... Is there any chance I can go now? Technically all I did was pick the lock to the shop, whilst I engaged the guards I took pains not to kill them, though it was more like I took pain when they tried to kill me. But the deaths were the constructs doing at the lanky bastard's behest."
"Not yet - still a few questions, I'm afraid. Firstly, and this is for clarification, 'lanky' is Mr. Sigmund with the funny name, right? Secondly, who else is associated with this Artiste? Thirdly, do you have some kind of place you base your operations out of? Fourthly, I'm going to need your thumbs. Standard procedure for lockbreakers, y'see."
Carlson looks over at the receptionist, who hands him what looks like a rather brutal pair of scissors.
"You don't have any fresh blood, right? We can just get this done here and I can send you on your way."
In the amputation room of the guard HQ in Shriekpot...
Sigmund makes idle conversation with the butcher man.
"Well, I think that I went through another dimension, and I was transformed into this. Tell me, it was difficult to sever it because of how uncommon is its structure, or because it is particularly hard?"
"The bones seem to be pretty hard - they kind of seem like weird glass in a way. Pretty curious. I'll be experimenting with this thing, that's for sure," he says, waving Sigmund's severed arm in his hand.
On a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton continues his mental conversation.
~Yes, actually, we both went through the same dimension and met the same demon unless something strange had transpired, but I believe it to have gone normally, for that which amounts to normalcy with such a place. My compatriot is actually male, or at least he was one physically before he entered the realm, to be truthfully honest. But yes, we both went through the same ordeal and changed our forms to what they are, yes indeed. It was certainly an interesting trip, if a touch unexpected given the circumstances, at least if for no other than for myself. I don't believe I've seen anyone go through the ordeal and come out similar to one another, it's quite the peculiarity if not entirely unexpected I suppose.~
~Ah. But how did this happen? I do not know of any stable portals to other dimensions, and the two of you don't seem to be demonologists. That is, if you don't mind me asking.~
Post by: Xantalos on September 16, 2013, 01:39:32 am
Avoid the guard people, look for a banking establishment. If bank found, request to borrow 2 gold, 3 silver. If no bank found, enter random houses (knock lightly first) and politely ask if I may borrow 2 gold, three silver. Continue until I get the money.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 16, 2013, 02:28:35 am
..
Technically, the lock wasn't broken. Another technically would be that all I did was jab at the lock lazy with a pin and the door sprung open. I did early state I wasn't to enthused about the whole thing, so I was doing a token effort just so I could say I tried and failed. If any one should loser their thumbs it should be the proprietor of the establishment for not securing his main portal properly. Surely you can;t punish someone for accidentally unlocking a door? How about one thumb as a compromise?
Scott tries to sweat believably.
((Yay I might live to tell the artiste that Sigmund has destroyed us all! ;P and I may not lose anything of any importance! :D))
Post by: Tomcost on September 16, 2013, 07:34:13 am
Sigmund kept talking to the guard:
-So, it seems that the guard has a lot fo different jobs to offer. From the predictable law enforcement officer, to bureaucrats and even mages. Tell, me, are things usually calm in the city? Or do you have much work?
((Yay I might live to tell the artiste that Sigmund has destroyed us all! ;P and I may not lose anything of any importance! :D))((No thumbs: amost the same effect as no hands. No grappling, no using tools))
((PS: After re-reading my posts I realize that they had a kind of bad vibe in the way they were written. That was not intentional, I'm still having fun, but I like to speculate, just that))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 16, 2013, 07:50:45 am
~Oh, I quite don't mind at all, it's a very valid curiosity indeed as neither of us are demonologists, although I admit to reading literature on the subject. See, back when I still held my previous form a strange but quite horrible tragedy struck me; I somehow lost my livery without me noticing until later, and I'm afraid I'm not even sure how much later. It was atrocious, an utter barbarity of a malign nature, a terrible indecency most certainly.~ Morton melodramatically put, before carrying on.
~I quickly scoured for a way to perhaps avail me of this grand and peculiar embarrassment, and that was how I found a tailor who I would later become friends with. He offered me help with my problem and in doing so sent me to another dimension. It was most unexpected, I was truly expecting another set of clothes. At first I was worried about my new form, troubled that I wouldn't be able to perhaps do things as I had before, but it worked out fine in the end. As I like to say, a kind attitude and a friendly smile takes one far in this world, and makes one many friends.~ Morton thought for a moment of back when he first realized after turning into a desk that he wouldn't of been able to make tea, and how he eventually got arms again thanks to a kind toymaker.
~After coming back here, my other compatriots and friends wished to attempt the same process as I had. I had the chance to talk to the tailor, good Tailor Craig as I would later find his name to be, and got to know him and how he wound up where he was that day. He was interesting in meeting the others and it seems has joined us in our expedition, something I'm rather happy about. Trips are always more enjoyable the more friends and pleasant company one brings along with them, no?~
[Exposition ho!]
Post by: miauw62 on September 16, 2013, 09:11:37 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 16, 2013, 10:36:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 16, 2013, 03:42:36 pm
Niklas reasons that these people look familiar because he knows them, naturally. And since most people he knows either hate him, have been wronged by him somehow or want him dead for some other reason, this can't be very good, so he just trots away, making sure he isn't seen. He then looks for a bank.
Eventually, he finds one! A rather large establishment, actually. "De Jong and Associates Bank" it's called - looks fairly reputable and wealthy. He heads right in, finding himself in an opulent lobby rich in fancy columns. It even has a fountain! Sweet!
He is immediately greeted by a refined, quite attractive young woman, who smiles at him.
"Hello, sir, and welcome to de Jong and Associates. the largest and most profitable banking enterprise of this part of the continent. I'm Olivia de Jong, how may I assist you today?"
"Need cash. 2 gold, 3 silvers."
"A loan, you mean?"
"Maybe."
"They may be able to help you at Personal Loans, I believe. It's right over there," she says, pointing to a particular door. "It's a very small loan, sir, and it is unusual for this bank to grant such a thing, but you can ask nonetheless. Will that be all?"
In the lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott explains further, hoping to get away with at least one thumb.
"Yes, Messier Sigmund. As for associates...some horrible enchantress and recently a fashion designer who dabbles with devils. We are located at the docks. As for my thumbs... technically, the lock wasn't broken. Another technically would be that all I did was jab at the lock lazy with a pin and the door sprung open. I did earlier state I wasn't too enthused about the whole thing, so I was doing a token effort just so I could say I tried and failed. If any one should loser their thumbs it should be the proprietor of the establishment for not securing his main portal properly. Surely you can't punish someone for accidentally unlocking a door? How about one thumb as a compromise?"
Scott tries to sweat, but finds that he can't. Being a walking corpse does that to you, he guesses.
"Can't haggle with the law, buddy, at least not like that. Also, you don't really have any proof and you already confessed. Not to mention you're already getting off easy. Now, show of hands. Don't have all morning, you know!"
In the amputation room of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, supposing he can do little but kill time, goes ahead and makes smalltalk.
"So, it seems that the guard has a lot of different jobs to offer. From the predictable law enforcement officer, to bureaucrats and even mages. Tell, me, are things usually calm in the city? Or do you have much work?"
"Oh, I have plenty of work. I took this job voluntarily, actually. They pay quite a bit for morgue-work, you know. And I get to put my butchery experience to use! All in all, pretty sweet. Mostly we respond to people making trouble, which doesn't happen quite as often as you'd think."
At a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton girds his panels for yet more exposition, going into depths seldom discussed these days.
~Oh, I quite don't mind at all, it's a very valid curiosity indeed, as neither of us are demonologists, although I admit to reading literature on the subject. See, back when I still held my previous form, a strange but quite horrible tragedy struck me; I somehow lost my livery without me noticing until later, and I'm afraid I'm not even sure how much later. It was atrocious, an utter barbarity of a malign nature, a terrible indecency most certainly. I quickly scoured for a way to perhaps avail me of this grand and peculiar embarrassment, and that was how I found a tailor who I would later become friends with. He offered me help with my problem and in doing so sent me to another dimension. It was most unexpected, I was truly expecting another set of clothes. At first I was worried about my new form, troubled that I wouldn't be able to perhaps do things as I had before, but it worked out fine in the end. As I like to say, a kind attitude and a friendly smile takes one far in this world, and makes one many friends.~
He pauses, reflecting on the events that both cost and returned his arms to him, and with them the ability to make tea.
~After coming back here, my other compatriots and friends wished to attempt the same process as I had. I had the chance to talk to the tailor, good Tailor Craig, as I would later find his name to be, and got to know him and how he wound up where he was that day. He was interested in meeting the others and it seems has joined us in our expedition, something I'm rather happy about. Trips are always more enjoyable the more friends and pleasant company one brings along with them, no?~
~Certainly. I do enjoy conversing with my passengers, if only on a professional level. Breaks up the monotony, you see, particularly on a longer voyage.~
In some room in the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin, not quite sure what to expect, just lays still, listening for anyone coming near him. Sure enough, he hears footsteps nearby - however, they pass on by, leaving him in peace. Other than that, nobody seems to be arriving just yet.
In a jail cell...
Mark, rather bored despite the jolly beaming of the quickly rising sun, tries to extend his senses somehow. He finds that it doesn't really work - despite his soul sense acting as 360 degree vision, he can't see through walls at all. And there's no souls within immediate sight. All in all, it's pretty terrible in here.
Post by: Yoink on September 16, 2013, 04:18:26 pm
He decided he might as well pay more attention to these others. He squinted up at the first one as she spoke.
"Umm... dey said 'ey could send me home, though..." he murmured, growing more confused as she went on, "An' yeah, I guess dat's tha magick-y fellow has my soul." Timothy perked up a bit, forcing a grin. "He is send me on alla special missions!"
...Well, not that he seemed terribly likely to ever get any of that done. He couldn't even really remember what he was supposed to be doing...
He put aside those thoughts and looked over at the newcomer, which was, if anything even stranger than the girl. That's okay, though. Timothy doesn't judge on appearances. Heck no.
"Dis fun place? Was pretty fun 'cept my blocks is stop workin'..." He couldn't help but beam with pride as the thing complimented his block-work. It was always nice to feel appreciated. Maybe his new friends would like to hear a bit about the subject?
"Thanks! I is try ta make place from back home. See, dere's Mista Bob's house, an' dat's where I's first meets Hansel..."
>Talk talk talk
>Graciously accept compliment, then give my new friends a bit of a tour around what I built! Tell 'em a bit about my adventures back in the real-world, too.
Be sure to stop if they look bored, though- I don't want to chase away my friends! They might be hard to come by here, y'know.
Post by: Xantalos on September 16, 2013, 04:52:32 pm
Go get loan.
Post by: Tomcost on September 16, 2013, 04:55:04 pm
-It seems like a nice job. Not one that I would take, as butchering people is not my style, but I guess that if you like it, it would be a great job. Tell me, do you know about scammers and the like in the city?
Post by: Xanmyral on September 16, 2013, 08:22:10 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 17, 2013, 02:38:37 am
Submit
Post by: miauw62 on September 17, 2013, 11:22:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 17, 2013, 12:59:54 pm
Timothy does on ahead and tries to talk his guests' auditory organs right off.
"Why's me blocks not work?" he asks mostly himself before turning toward the others.
"Umm... dey said 'ey could send me home, though... An' yeah, I guess dat's tha magick-y fellow has my soul. He is send me on alla special missions!"
"They do not send. You send yourself. They only help."
"Yeah, the always-voices can be terribly unhelpful-harmful sometimes! Majorly! But anyone-everyone who gets here-there can get right back-there!"
Timothy thinks about this. It sounds a little familiar, actually. He promptly changes the subject, the usual strategy when he needs time to think.
"Dis fun place? Was pretty fun 'cept my blocks is stop workin'..."
"Very fun fun-place! And very nice-wonderful block-things!"
"Thanks! I is try ta make place from back home. See, dere's Mista Bob's house, an' dat's where I's first meets Hansel..."
He begins his epic tale of various adventures had and enemies vanquished, stopping but a few sentences later when he realizes that these people, if that is indeed what they are, probably can't relate to his past or his home on any reasonable level.
"You do not belong here," Og suddenly mentions.
"Not that that's a bad-terrible thing, yes?"
"This our realm. We can help leave, if want. Help with soul issue."
At De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, having found out all he needs to know, moves on to the Personal Loans department, ducking into the door cautiously. On the other side, he observes a whole lot of people lining up for six different desks, behind each of which is a bureaucrat. There are at least five people in every line, and the entire place looks pretty busy.
In the amputation room of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Sigmund compliments the guard offhandedly while fishing for information.
"It seems like a nice job. Not one that I would take, as butchering people is not my style, but I guess that if you like it, it would be a great job. Tell me, do you know about scammers and the like in the city?"
"Oh, plenty of those. Difficult to catch, though. They're a crafty lot. And fast runners. Those that aren't don't last very long."
On a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton looks over at Art, who seems perfectly content, if a little distracted.
~I admit to being curious, you're able to keep two private conversations at a time? I have to admit I'm impressed, I sometimes have trouble keeping one conversation straight to be utterly concise.~
~Actually, I'm having three right now. One with you, one with Arthur and one with a shipping official about half a kilometer away. I've had plenty of practice, and I am configured to handle such a thing easily. I typically use my senses for navigation, which requires quite a proficiency for multitasking.~
In the main lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott tries for a compromise one last time.
"Is there anything I can do for you to keep at least one of my thumbs?"
"No, you see, the point of taking your thumbs is so you stay out of trouble. And you've already done quite enough, I think. Now, give 'em here."
Scott produces his hands grudgingly, looking away as Carlson places the strange scissors around one of his thumbs, cutting it off after liberal application of force. He then does the same thing to the other thumb. At the end of it, he takes both thumbs.
"Now, if we need you, we'll find you. Other than that, you're free to go. Happy trails!"
Carlson promptly walks off, leaving Scott with two fewer thumbs and considerably less legal trouble than before.
Somewhere in the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin tries to look out of the bag carefully, but finds that it's been sewn up tight - no way he's getting out without ripping it open.
Post by: Tomcost on September 17, 2013, 01:17:42 pm
-Well, it makes sense. I got scammed for quite a lot of money by someone who posed as a captain some days ago. Have you heard about someone called Rat-Bastard Gilroy?
Post by: Innsmothe on September 17, 2013, 01:47:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on September 17, 2013, 01:51:54 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 17, 2013, 02:51:13 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 17, 2013, 04:14:09 pm
~Impressive, truly impressive, I can't even imagine holding that many conversations concurrent to one another without getting something mixed up. Also Arthur? I pondered if Art was short for something but never truly got around to asking.~ Morton mentally commented, glancing at the port for a bit trying to think about how to phrase a question he's been wondering without sounding terribly rude. After all, what kind of polite individual would he be if he were to ask 'are you the ship' or 'are you human?' Terribly, terribly rude. He decided it might be best to edge around it, see if he can find a polite opening.
~You are the navigator of the ship, along with the captain? You must indeed be quite proficient with multitasking, most stories I hear of captains talk of them having navigators under them. If you don't mind me asking, where is the crew? I've not seen nor heard any of them, are they perhaps buying supplies for your voyage? I've always imagined ships to be bustling with activity at most times.~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 17, 2013, 11:18:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 18, 2013, 11:22:21 am
Sigmund, quite bored by now, just keeps going through the usual conversational motions. Like, for instance, asking about scammers. Those were simpler times, he must say.
"Well, it makes sense. I got scammed for quite a lot of money by someone who posed as a captain some days ago. Have you heard about someone called Rat-Bastard Gilroy?"
"No, not really. If he lives in town, it wouldn't be surprising - these con artists know not to shit where they eat, so to speak. Those who live here don't work here, and those who work here don't live here. And we don't really have much in the way of cooperation with other lawgivers aside from maybe being able to post huge bounties and hope for the best, so no luck on con artists, unfortunately. They aren't really that much of a high priority, to be honest. There's easier targets, you know. Murderers, thieves, ruffians, those sorts. They're nice and obvious, usually."
Nice to see the public order in safe hands, Sigmund guesses. And while he guesses, Carlson returns.
"Hey, Ziggy, come over here - got some questions for you! Good questions, too. Follow me," he says, looking at Sigmund enthusiastically.
"Finally! I'm outta here," the butcher man says, immediately vacating the room and heading away.
In the main lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott decides to go ahead and leave in as morose a fashion as he can manage. It works wonderfully - he can feel the atmosphere in the lobby worsening from the sheer disappointment. He heads out, looking for street surgeons on the way. Rather interestingly, he does notice a guy in one of the squares on the way - he has a rather important-looking sign, even. It says "HOLDEN GREENLEAF, MIRACLE WORKER EXTRAORDINAIRE!" Currently, he appears to be performing eye surgery on an old woman. Judging by the way nobody is screaming and panicking, Scott thinks he's doing a good job, actually.
In a room of some kind...
Kevin does his best to try and open up the bag a bit.
[Kevin's strength roll: 4-1]
He manages to tear a small hole in the thing. Through it, he sees a ceiling! How exciting!
At the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas looks at the shortest line, which just so happens to be made up of five people, and stands right in it, awaiting a point when he might get processed.
Ten minutes later, the guy in front moves up to the desk after an old woman gets up from her conversation, looking quite dejected.
On a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton keeps on conversing. Gotta fill the time somehow, right?
~Impressive, truly impressive, I can't even imagine holding that many conversations concurrent to one another without getting something mixed up. Also, Arthur? I pondered if Art was short for something but never truly got around to asking.~
~Arthur Lindenberg is his or her original name, yes. Rather pleasant person, certainly.~
Well, that clears that up.
~You are the navigator of the ship, along with the captain? You must indeed be quite proficient with multitasking, most stories I hear of captains talk of them having navigators under them. If you don't mind me asking, where is the crew? I've not seen nor heard any of them, are they perhaps buying supplies for your voyage? I've always imagined ships to be bustling with activity at most times.~
~Not quite. Like you already suspect, I am, in fact, the ship. There is no crew, you see. Quite superfluous, really. The shipping authorities perform the loading and unloading, and I act as the one who does the actual shipping. It's very good work, I would say. Lots of variability. The last transaction will be performed this afternoon, at which point I will set off to my home in Mothdale to unload the new bits of cargo and receive further orders.~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren, coming quite close to understanding this creature's deal, so to speak, asks once more to confirm his suspicions.
"Are you going to?"
The gibbon shakes its head, then opens its mouth in something that would resemble a grin if one's eyes wouldn't be distracted by the absolutely enormous canine teeth protruding from its maxilla. Seriously, you could skewer a guy on those things.
Post by: Tomcost on September 18, 2013, 11:28:25 am
-So, what did Scott say?
Post by: miauw62 on September 18, 2013, 11:28:33 am
((Daring escape plan go))
((Oh fuck he's going to try and cut off my clothes fuck fuck fuck))
Post by: Xantalos on September 18, 2013, 11:43:31 am
Post by: Innsmothe on September 18, 2013, 01:08:54 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 18, 2013, 01:11:07 pm
Tear open the bag further and try to get out.((I want so hard that he gets sucked into you. That would be hilarious))
((Daring escape plan go))
((Oh fuck he's going to try and cut off my clothes fuck fuck fuck))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 18, 2013, 09:30:08 pm
~Indeed? I didn't wish to ask for fear of seeming impolite, but that's quite interesting. I must say though, if you are the ship I believe this would indeed qualify as a face-to-face conversation. At least in my ledgers.~ Morton comments on, before moving on another topic. ~From what I've seen of Art, he's been nothing but pleasant and helpful, so I agree to that assessment.~ Morton pauses for the response, before swapping to yet another topic. ~You're from Mothdale, I believe you said? [Try to remember something pleasant about Mothdale and compliment it, otherwise ask how it's like.]~
Morton would normally carry on with a topic instead of swap around such, most likely say something nice about Art perhaps or a comment on the captain being the ship, but his thoughts are getting distracted, his thoughts more disjointed than usual. They keep veering towards what the others are doing and how it's been quite a while since he's seen them last with no small amount of worry. After all, every time they've been outside of his presence for an extended amount of time, they've always been injured in some way and with Erin still most likely sleeping off her drinking from the previous night and this time they're doing something actively dangerous and he has a feeling needlessly dangerous even...
He tries to focus back on the conversation, mustn't be rude, or possibly annoy the captain with his idle worries. He'll direct Art towards a bookstore, or finding a bookstore, after Art's finished with his conversation. Remember the Butler Creed: 'Remain calm in all facets that you can,' remember the Apostle's Motto: 'Tea brings light to all dark situations.' Be optimistic!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 19, 2013, 01:48:43 am
"Ah. Is there some sort of... riddle, or something?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 19, 2013, 05:01:24 am
Sigmund follows Carlson, asking a most pertinent question.
"So, what did Scott say?"
"Oh, nothing much. Quite a tough nut to crack, rather unexpectedly. That's why I'm going to ask you a few things as well," Carlson replies, leading Sigmund over to a different small room, indicating a small stool for Sigmund to sit down upon.
"So, my first question is, who is the ringleader of your little gang of thieves and killers? Who gives the orders?"
In some sort of room...
Kevin, though mangled, tries once more to open up the bag.
[Kevin's strength roll: 5-1+1]
He rips the bag right open, freeing himself quite easily. He notices that he is currently placed upon a table in what seems to be a morgue. He also notices the door opening and a guy coming in, whistling a jaunty tune. He looks Kevin straight in the eyes somewhat peevishly, stopping mid-note.
"Ah, not actually dead, are we?" he asks. "You really should be more careful trying that sort of thing. Getting buried alive can't have been pleasant, I think."
He looks Kevin over, shrugging.
"So, guess we gotta process you properly, then. Unless you particularly mind, that is."
At the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, as respectful an individual as any, waits in line like a good citizen.
Fortunately, the guy in front of the line was only there to get some minor clarifications on a loan, and moves along in less than five minutes. The lady after him seems to only be here to officially declare her husband dead and to facilitate the passing on of loans and such, which also goes remarkably smoothly. After that is an elderly man, who takes about ten minutes to produce documentation that he is, in fact, alive and not dead at all, contrary to recent reports, explaining to the clerk at length the precise chain of paperwork combined with miscommunication that led to the unfortunate error, and that there is no need to start rapidly collecting debts from his son just yet. After that is a quite portly and hairy individual, clearly determined to get a loan today. He produces various statements and papers proving his income and other things, confusing legalese words streaming forth from his mouth at a rapid pace. The clerk seems to be understanding all this, and it seems that the whole thing, while quite complicated, shouldn't take too long. True enough, fifteen long minutes later the man gets up, shakes hands with the clerk and moves on after splitting his mound of paperwork with the clerk roughly evenly. The clerk motions for Niklas to come forth, and he does so.
"How can I help you today?" the clerk, a middle-aged man whose face is decidedly equine in its proportion, asks.
In a particular square in Shriekpot...
Scott walks up to the man he presumes is Holden Greenleaf, Miracle Worker Extraordinaire.
"Excuse me, would you happen to have time to give a man new thumbs?" he asks.
"Certainly!" the surgeon says. "I just happen to have some prosthetic thumbs I was hoping to try out on some convicts, c'mere!"
He pulls Scott over to him, then leans in toward the old woman, placing the needle he is currently operating on her eye with in his teeth, continuing with the operation while rooting in his pockets with his two free hands. Eventually he produces two thumbs, made out of high-quality wood from the looks of it, and starts working on Scott's hands as well.
[Holden Greenleaf medicine roll: 6+1-1]
He quickly attaches the thumbs to Scott's hands in a very secure fashion even while he carefully removes the lens of old woman's eye, pushing it downwards. Suddenly, the woman mentions that she can see vague shapes, at which point he stops, simultaneously finishing up the affixing of Scott's thumb.
"Congratulations! You are both healed by the skill of Holden Greenleaf, Miracle Worker Extraordinaire! Live long and healthy lives, both of you! Now, who's next?"
A man with a rather pronounced limp enthusiastically raises his hand, trying to make his way to the surgeon. At the same time, a rather sickened-looking woman also approaches.
"Enthusiasm! Wonderful!" Mr. Greenleaf exclaims, subtly shooing his two previous patients back into the crowd.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton continues his mental dialogue with the amiable ship.
~Indeed? I didn't wish to ask for fear of seeming impolite, but that's quite interesting. I must say though, if you are the ship I believe this would indeed qualify as a face-to-face conversation. At least in my ledgers,~ he comments, though he's not sure how he actually splits off individual comments in his mind.
~I am quite faceless, however. In that respect, I can't relate to another being through body language, expressions or anything of the sort that one hopes to attain from a face-to-face conversation. At least, not without intruding more than most find comfortable.~
Morton considers this, then moves on.
~From what I've seen of Art, he's been nothing but pleasant and helpful, so I agree to that assessment.~
~He also seems rather educated on the subject of marine travel, interestingly enough.~
~You're from Mothdale, I believe you said? I hear the desert there has wonderful sunsets.~
~Mothdale doesn't have a desert, I'm afraid. And I wouldn't know about the sunsets, since I only have secondhand information on the subject. My senses are mostly just spatial and intuitive, you see.~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren wonders if this is some kind of test.
"Ah. Is there some sort of... riddle, or something?"
The gibbon shrugs in a somewhat indecisive manner, closing its mouth thoughtfully.
Post by: Tomcost on September 19, 2013, 08:38:10 am
-Well, you want information that is not influenced by external information, but I know that Scott must have said something to save himself. Anyway, I will answer you: the term "leader" is not exactly what best describes our kind of organization. I can not even say that we are organized. That group of people do mostly what they want. I tried sometimes to give orders, but that bunch of stupids just listen to somebody else if they want to, so most of the time, if I want them to do something, I have to suggest it and give reasons. For example, back in the store, we had to gain access to the top floor, so I suggested entering through a window, but they decided that it was better to try to punch down a steel door, and spent quite some time doing so. It is actually frustrating to try to do something with them.
Post by: miauw62 on September 19, 2013, 08:52:14 am
((You should imagine IRL me uncomfortably gripping the trump card in his pocket, not sure if it'll save him this time.))
Post by: Xantalos on September 19, 2013, 10:01:33 am
Post by: Innsmothe on September 19, 2013, 04:43:59 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 19, 2013, 05:23:20 pm
~I personally wouldn't necessarily say that being face-to-face with someone is about having a face, or expressions, or even body movement. Indeed, I'd rather say it's a sort of... Understanding that they're there, so to speak. Being on equal grounds, with equal attention, I suppose. I no longer have a face, indeed for a while I lacked limbs or any kind of ability to gesture beyond a kind of wobble or to open and close a drawer. I wouldn't say that I was then unable to truly speak to someone. Indeed, I made two good friends who have helped me in my need during that period of time even though I could do little more than just speak or wobble. One of the people whom I've met had their expressions was similarly missing, their face little more than two eyes, nor was one for gestures.~ Morton remembered back when Craig shared what he really looked like beneath his illusions, and what Morton did, looking back into the darkness of his face. He found better words to express his idea.
~It's less about looking the other in the face but rather... Through it, so to speak. Beyond it. Knowing who the other is, not are, the matter that personal details are shared that might otherwise be receded in normal conversation. You may not consider this a face-to-face conversation because of lack of expressions or body language, but I certainly do, because its not about those things. It's about what they convey, what is shared, not the method it's shared. I admit I perhaps don't hold the same value to the word as others, but I question why not? What is life if there aren't other people, friends, to share it with?~ The desk issued forth his overly wordy response about a topic he particularly cared about.
~You may not of seen a sunset, but perhaps I can help you there. Do you want to see one? You can hear my thoughts, can you see through my eyes? I'd be willing to let you see through them, see a sunset for yourself.~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 19, 2013, 08:41:45 pm
"Is there anyone else who could tell me how to get in?"
Post by: Xanmyral on September 19, 2013, 09:03:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 20, 2013, 06:51:50 am
Sigmund, not really buying that his good buddy is anything but a filthy rat that will sell him, his own mother and anybody else who he finds along the way to save his own craven hindquarters, still goes ahead and provides a testimony.
"Well, you want information that is not influenced by external information, but I know that Scott must have said something to save himself. Anyway, I will answer you: the term "leader" is not exactly what best describes our kind of organization. I cannot even say that we are organized. That group of people do mostly what they want. I tried sometimes to give orders, but that bunch of stupids just listen to somebody else if they want to, so most of the time, if I want them to do something, I have to suggest it and give reasons. For example, back in the store, we had to gain access to the top floor, so I suggested entering through a window, but they decided that it was better to try to punch down a steel door, and spent quite some time doing so. It is actually frustrating to try to do something with them."
"Ah. Hm. Well, your friend did mention one thing - somebody named the Artiste. Who is that?"
In the morgue of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin can't help but wonder what this guy means. He seems like an unsavory type, to be honest.
"Processed how? Are you going to kill me?"
"Erm... probably not? I'm not exactly sure what you did - I think I'll just have to chop your arm off after we book you as not actually killed. Nothing that should bother you too much, I'd say."
In the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas sees no point in any sort of ceremony, and just states his request.
"I need a loan. 2 gold, three silver."
"Certainly, but first I will have to take a sample from your central chair. Standard policy, you see. May I?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Scott, feeling quite good about his new thumbs, tests them out. He finds that he can move them, but not bend them - fortunately, the thumbs aren't completely straight, but rather slightly hooked in shape.
He casts his eyes along the streets, hoping to locate a food-related street vendor or two. Sadly, none appear to be around. Guess hawking snacks on the streets this early in the morning isn't very profitable or something.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton feels like a rapport is developing here.
~Ah, apologies, I must've been thinking of Lothenburg. I admit to not having gotten out much in my first chance, so my knowledge of the world may be particularly shaky at best I'm afraid.~
~Lothenburg, sadly, also lacks a desert of any sort, being an island town. However, geography can be quite confusing, so I do not hold it against you, really.~
Rather than speak about a subject Morton really has zero clue about, he chooses to cleverly direct the conversation along a different path.
~I personally wouldn't necessarily say that being face-to-face with someone is about having a face, or expressions, or even body movement. Indeed, I'd rather say it's a sort of... understanding that they're there, so to speak. Being on equal grounds, with equal attention, I suppose. I no longer have a face, indeed for a while I lacked limbs or any kind of ability to gesture beyond a kind of wobble or to open and close a drawer. I wouldn't say that I was then unable to truly speak to someone. Indeed, I made two good friends who have helped me in my need during that period of time even though I could do little more than just speak or wobble. One of the people whom I've met had their expressions was similarly missing, their face little more than two eyes, nor was one for gestures.~
~It's less about looking the other in the face but rather... through it, so to speak. Beyond it. Knowing who the other is, not are, the matter that personal details are shared that might otherwise be receded in normal conversation. You may not consider this a face-to-face conversation because of lack of expressions or body language, but I certainly do, because its not about those things. It's about what they convey, what is shared, not the method it's shared. I admit I perhaps don't hold the same value to the word as others, but I question why not? What is life if there aren't other people, friends, to share it with?~
~Life is what you make of it, or so I've heard. I wouldn't know.~
This gives Morton an idea.
~You may not have seen a sunset, but perhaps I can help you there. Do you want to see one? You can hear my thoughts, can you see through my eyes? I'd be willing to let you see through them, see a sunset for yourself.~
~I cannot see at all. I simply lack the mental apparatus for the process, as my other senses make sight superfluous, thus obviating the need for anything that provides visual interpretation. Thus, the only impressions of sunsets I can obtain are from the thoughts of others, and such impressions I have had plenty of. To others, a sunset may create unusual emotions and experiences, but to me it means nothing. It is a thing that I am incapable of seeing or interpreting in any meaningful way. And, to be honest, I do not feel particularly diminished for it. Not my thing, as they say.~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren continues the asking game after a brief time-out to think of something.
"Is there anyone else who could tell me how to get in?"
The gibbon thinks for a short bit as well. It then nods.
Post by: Tomcost on September 20, 2013, 07:21:22 am
-Just the guy who enslaved us. He a kind of necromancer or something simmilar. The weird thing is that he is a bit of a passive boss. He just gave us some orders to don't deliberately hurt ourselves or any of our partners, and since then he just says what would we need and he mostly lets us figure out how to get it.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 20, 2013, 08:07:31 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 20, 2013, 09:52:52 am
"Uh. Alright, I guesss? Didn't know justice was this straightforward. Sure I can't keep my arm? I didn't actually kill anyone, you see."
((... I HOPE I didn't actually kill anyone. There weren't a lot of people left over to kill after Niklas' chair cannonball trick.))
Post by: Xantalos on September 20, 2013, 10:14:03 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 20, 2013, 03:50:34 pm
~I'm afraid I don't quite understand,~ the desk couldn't help but ask, ~why don't you know? Well, I suppose what life is 'about' is a hard subject to really give a conjecture on, so I suppose I can understand that, but I don't indeed believe that's what you were getting at there.~ Morton thought back on Niklas and how Erin gave him his senses back. Could that perhaps work here? A subject to bring up after this question.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 20, 2013, 05:30:54 pm
Sigmund tries to explain to the best of his ability.
"Just the guy who enslaved us. He's a kind of necromancer or something similar. The weird thing is that he is a bit of a passive boss. He just gave us some orders to not deliberately hurt ourselves or any of our partners, and since then he just says what would we need and he mostly lets us figure out how to get it."
"Ah. So, essentially he's got nothing to do with you robbing the bookstore aside from asking you to go on a book run, then?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Satisfied at the state of his thumbs, Scott ambles over to the Artiste's ship, eager to observe the iniquity that the humans have subjected themselves to.
Sadly, there is nobody on deck.
"HO THERE! How goes the ADVENTURING, SEA APE?"
Correction, almost nobody.
In the morgue of the guard HQ...
Kevin... guesses he can comply? He could try to run, sure, but he wouldn't be getting very far. So he just submits.
"Uh. Alright, I guess? Didn't know justice was this straightforward. Sure I can't keep my arm? I didn't actually kill anyone, you see."
"Arm's the minimum for your antics, I think. We'll have to see about that, though. Now c'mere!"
The guy grabs Kevin, pulling his mangled form off the slab and dragging him through several hallways and up a flight stairs until they reach the lobby. The receptionist regards Kevin with a raised eyebrow.
"Wasn't that the dead fellow?"
"Funny thing is, he isn't dead. He just doesn't have any life signs. Go figure, eh?"
"Ah. Easy mistake to make."
"It truly is. Well, sign him up as alive and apprehended in any case. What do we charge him with?"
"We'll see. Have to get Carlson over here."
"Where is he?"
"Speaking with the ringleader, I believe. The one who got his arm chopped off."
"Oh, that guy. So we're not done with him?"
"Apparently not."
The two people continue to converse about various things, most notably the rather unseasonable weather, and the somewhat unfortunate state of their marriages.
In the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas supposes he can agree to the terms of this deal.
"Very well, but make it a small one. A sliver, if you could. I assume this is to ensure I pay it?"
"It will be used to find you in case you do not."
The clerk takes out a very sharp-looking knife, then quickly cuts off a piece of Niklas' central chair (rather close to two fingers side by side in size), wrapping it in paper very efficiently.
"Please state your full name, occupation, the amount of your loan and preferred repayment period."
On a telepathic ship...
Morton wonders what the ship might mean with its remarks.
~I'm afraid I don't quite understand, why don't you know? Well, I suppose what life is 'about' is a hard subject to really give a conjecture on, so I suppose I can understand that, but I don't indeed believe that's what you were getting at there.~
~Well, I wouldn't know because I'm not actually alive. I'm just pretending that I am. In addition, I have altogether more purpose in my existence than most others, and I was built and shaped to perform a specific function. Thus, I have a preset direction and certain objectives, not to mention that I have no actual soul. The only insights I can give on life are those I obtain from scouring the thoughts of those who live it, which I hardly do at all anymore.~
Post by: Xantalos on September 20, 2013, 05:35:51 pm
Niklas, chef, 2 gold three silver, within 4 weeks.
((So close to getting badass chair hands I can't wait! Well, I can, but still. Eager.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 20, 2013, 05:38:01 pm
-Exactly, he just said that he wanted some books, which we didn't have any money to buy because Scott made us lose over three-hundred copper coins to a swindler.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 20, 2013, 07:42:25 pm
~'Pretending?'~ Morton's mental voice was a mixture of confusion and annoyance. If he had a face, he would of scowled right then and there. ~'Pretending' nothing! You think, you have opinions, you have feelings, you have preferences and you have wants. You are alive, even if you don't think you are. You are as much alive as I am right here, right now. 'No soul' nothing, you've demonstrated yourself that you're as much a person, as alive as anyone else I know. Sadly, I'd actually quite say in some sense more of a person than some I know. I don't quite know what right bastard put this in your head, but that's far more cruel of a notion to do to someone than I can rightly think of!~
The desk raised up both of his hands a short distance above the top of his desk, pointed his palms towards the ground and pushed them down until they were past the desk portion of his body. An old butler technique to help center one's self.
~Apologies.~ Morton's mental voice was calmer now, but still held its edge. ~I truly don't know why you believe such a horrid thing about yourself, whether you arrived to this conclusion by either yourself or perhaps others. But I can promise you, it's quite wrong. If you're so dead set on this being your outlook, tell me this. Why do you believe you're not alive, not a person? Because you perhaps lack the biological processes? Because you perhaps lack a soul? I can tell you that there isn't a difference that I can note. Afterlife? You're not missing anything, let that be said from one who's been there. Its an unfair, vague place only fitting for this unfit, vague world.~ Once again, if Morton were to have a face he would be giving a smile more teeth than not right now. ~Or is it perhaps that others, or perhaps yourself, have said this of you over and over and over again, until you finally just accepted it?~
Post by: Innsmothe on September 21, 2013, 02:09:38 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 21, 2013, 03:01:26 am
Tell some jokes and goof to the best of my rather limbless ability.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 21, 2013, 03:17:37 am
[This door is just giving you mathematician answers, I don't think it will ever give you a straight answer beyond 'true' 'false' or 'I don't know.' Riddles and all that. If you want my guess as to his answer for your question it will be a nod. Can you phase through the walls? That might be a way around the door, but I admit to not have kept up with what's happening to you admittedly.]((Yeah, it's been all true-false answers like that. But what I'm afraid of is that he's a guard for an area that's surrounded by ghosts, so I really don't want to aggravate him, or what's inside the engineering area. I'm also hoping that since the girl could make a deal with him, Darren can as well. Hopefully.))
"Ah, okay."
Darren would be pulling his hair out. This guard was certainly being unhelpful. Although, he considered, being unhelpful to people trying to get in was the guards job description, but still. After a few moments of unproductive contemplation, Darren decided that perhaps the most direct question was the best.
"Can I just head in there?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 21, 2013, 04:41:02 am
Niklas decides to not release his full name to the public quite so easily, and gives the clerk just the first two syllables instead.
"Niklas, chef, 2 gold three silver, within 4 weeks."
The clerk writes down the important bits on the package with Niklas' fragment, then deposits it in his desk. He then writes something unintelligible on a small piece of paper, handing it to Niklas.
"That is acceptable. Here is your voucher. Proceed to the next room," he says, pointing to a door at the far wall of the room.
In an interrogation room...
Sigmund confirms that it was indeed all their idea to go and kill a whole bunch of guards while robbing a bookstore.
"Exactly, he just said that he wanted some books, which we didn't have any money to buy because Scott made us lose over three-hundred copper coins to a swindler."
"Right. So, I take it that you are the most level-headed of the group and that the plan was, in large part, yours, yes?"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton becomes quite annoyed at the ship. He does so hate it when people disparage themselves so.
~'Pretending?' 'Pretending' nothing! You think, you have opinions, you have feelings, you have preferences and you have wants. You are alive, even if you don't think you are. You are as much alive as I am right here, right now. 'No soul' nothing, you've demonstrated yourself that you're as much a person, as alive as anyone else I know. Sadly, I'd actually quite say in some sense more of a person than some I know. I don't quite know what right bastard put this in your head, but that's far more cruel of a notion to do to someone than I can rightly think of!~
He then realizes how unbecoming his behavior is, performing a brief calming motion to return to an acceptable state of tranquility.
~Apologies. I truly don't know why you believe such a horrid thing about yourself, whether you arrived to this conclusion by either yourself or perhaps others. But I can promise you, it's quite wrong. If you're so dead set on this being your outlook, tell me this. Why do you believe you're not alive, not a person? Because you perhaps lack the biological processes? Because you perhaps lack a soul? I can tell you that there isn't a difference that I can note. Afterlife? You're not missing anything, let that be said from one who's been there. Its an unfair, vague place only fitting for this unfit, vague world. Or is it perhaps that others, or perhaps yourself, have said this of you over and over and over again, until you finally just accepted it?~
~Not quite. I am not alive because I was never born - I was created in the shape of a ship, with a set of standard thought patterns, conversation strategies and navigation solutions. In addition, I, unlike any living being, was created with a definite, immutable purpose - I am mentally incapable of stepping beyond it in any fashion. I am also not alive because I cannot die - I have no soul to lose, and thus, even if my entire body is obliterated and scattered, I can still be reconstructed to perfection and imbued with the exact same thoughts. I will then exist again. Finally, I am not alive because, of all that I have told you so far, none of it is the product of my own thoughts, because I do not have any. It is merely a trick to introduce an element of humanity to what is otherwise a purely functional device. My conversational capabilities are simply refurbished and reorganized remarks of other people I have conversed with, polished through consistent application, trial and error and linguistic processing, plus a slight bit of human calibration. You can attempt to convince me otherwise, but it will have little to no effect on me aside from perhaps introducing a greater amount of remarks I can make.~
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott asks the Captain where one could go to observe some proper debauchery here.
"Uh... goood... where is the Artiste?"
"ASLEEP, I believe! Was HITTING THE BOTTLE quite intensely, YOU SEE!"
In the main lobby of the guard HQ in Shriekpot...
Kevin supposing there's no such thing as a bad time to goof off, goes ahead and does what he does best.
[Goofing off roll: 2+1-1]
Sadly, he can't think of any jokes about cripples that would be in particularly good taste, and he's having a bit of trouble getting his body language to work on account of about 80% of his bones being broken or shattered.
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren wonders what question to ask next after bemusedly accepting the gibbon's answer. Moments later, he thinks he's got it.
"Can I just head in there?"
The gibbon shrugs in what Darren presumes to be a cheeky manner.
Post by: miauw62 on September 21, 2013, 06:08:39 am
Post by: Innsmothe on September 21, 2013, 08:44:48 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 21, 2013, 10:07:29 am
-Actually, no. I just wanted to distract the store guards while the others could silently pick what we were looking for. When that proved to not be possible, the rest decided to just go inside and break things.
Post by: Xantalos on September 21, 2013, 11:34:06 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 21, 2013, 05:06:17 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 22, 2013, 01:35:41 am
Better be certain.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 22, 2013, 02:58:51 am
Kevin, seeing how his previous efforts appear to have been for naught, tries a new approach - wife jokes!
[Goofing off roll: 2+1-1]
Unfortunately, aside from a rather dubious glance on the part of the two guys, his valiant attempts to lighten the mood achieve no reasonable result.
"Can it with the jokes, will you, buddy?"
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott decides to inquire more about the Captain.
"So he enjoyed the booze... Captain, can you personally attack people? Kill, murder and maim?"
"I most CERTAINLY can!"
Scott's facial expression improves ever so slightly.
"I just CHOOSE NOT TO! Violence is so UNCIVILIZED!"
And now it's back to normal again.
In an interrogation room...
Sigmund tries his very best to slightly lessen the pressure on himself.
"Actually, no. I just wanted to distract the store guards while the others could silently pick what we were looking for. When that proved to not be possible, the rest decided to just go inside and break things."
"And you had absolutely nothing to do with the events that followed? What was your immediate reaction to the guards arriving?"
In the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, after trying his best to awkwardly (and unsuccessfully) grab the voucher, is thrown a bone by the clerk, who puts it on his top cushion. With that, Niklas heads for the next room. It features a single window. It has no line, as the man who negotiated a loan before Niklas seems to be leaving already, a bit of money in hand.
The man at the window, a sanguine and jovial sort from the looks of it, motions Niklas to come closer.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton, ever the optimist, seeks some sort of way to reach out to the ship.
~Are you really quite certain about all of that? That you can never become more than what you are? Because I'm not so certain about that.~
~Oh, I certainly could become more than I am. Just not through conversation. I can become more than I am through external modification and structural improvement, which I will obtain if I perform adequately and cause no issues. I believe such a thing to be likely.~
Outside the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren guesses he can't be too careful, and asks yet more.
"You going to kill, mutilate, imprison, assault, defenestrate, mutilate, decreate, desecrate, or even berate me for going in there?"
The gibbon stares at him for a second, then breaks into what Darren thinks might be a rather savage imitation of laughter, its mighty, shining teeth flashing at him menacingly. After it's done, it shakes its head.
Post by: Xantalos on September 22, 2013, 03:05:18 am
Post by: Innsmothe on September 22, 2013, 03:55:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 22, 2013, 08:05:36 am
-No I had nothing to do with all the killing. Actually, I tried to create a distraction so that nobody had to die and ended up setting myself on fire. And, when you arrived, I tried to not get stabbed, which proved to be unsuccessful.
Post by: miauw62 on September 22, 2013, 08:17:06 am
((Everybody is putting the blame on everyone else.))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 22, 2013, 04:15:37 pm
~Well, yes that certainly is a route but I was more meaning mentally, or perhaps emotionally, or personality or something. I wasn't meaning becoming physically more than what you are, becoming more, growing. You say you're not a person, do you think you ever can be? Are you indeed telling me that you can never derive something that is from yourself? A want, something you perhaps yearn for that isn't the task you were given from your creation? A dream? I just find it hard to believe that, from talking to you, that you lack these things.~ Morton commented, waiting for a response.
Post by: Tomcost on September 22, 2013, 06:18:40 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 22, 2013, 06:21:17 pm
((Actually, Niklas has already been blamed for everything really bad))((With good reason.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 22, 2013, 06:22:31 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 22, 2013, 06:28:26 pm
((I have just remembered something: chair magic will probably allow you to fly.))((Hence why I'm getting these spiked ones. I will be a spiky cannonchair.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 22, 2013, 06:31:40 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 22, 2013, 06:49:57 pm
((I suggest guerrilla tactics against the guards, just in case))((I'll try to bluff my way through them at first.))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 22, 2013, 08:14:26 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 22, 2013, 08:15:38 pm
Sig((I have just remembered something: chair magic will probably allow you to fly.))((Hence why I'm getting these spiked ones. I will be a spiky cannonchair.))
Post by: Xantalos on September 22, 2013, 08:17:50 pm
[Wait, why is Niklas assaulting the guards again? I thought it was to break you guys out, but it seems you'll be let out soon anyhow. Or is it a preemptive strike against the guards?]((They're assuming I will because I'm a loyal comapnion or something. The likely situation is that I'll end up collecting a bounty for the Artiste or something.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 22, 2013, 08:18:48 pm
[Wait, why is Niklas assaulting the guards again? I thought it was to break you guys out, but it seems you'll be let out soon anyhow. Or is it a preemptive strike against the guards?]((A preemptive strike, maybe not. But once he gets chased continuously, he will need to fight. And the best way to weaken them is sporadic attacks.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 23, 2013, 01:52:49 pm
Niklas approaches the man at the window, looking at him expectantly.
"Hello! Got a voucher, my friend? I can't help you without a voucher, you see."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott brings up a purely hypothetical scenario up for the Captain to consider.
"Then, if I told you that the city guard may be moving on the Artiste and co., possibly in a way that may endanger your ship... how would you act when confronted?"
"I would GENTLY EXPLAIN that they CONDUCT THEMSELVES in a FULLY CIVILIZED MANNER! I would expect NOTHING LESS from OFFICERS OF THE LAW, yes? I'm sure they and the ARTISTE FELLOW could HASH SOMETHING OUT given half the CHANCE!"
In an interrogation room...
Sigmund tries to deflect yet more of the blame from himself.
"No, I had nothing to do with all the killing. Actually, I tried to create a distraction so that nobody had to die and ended up setting myself on fire. And, when you arrived, I tried to not get stabbed, which proved to be unsuccessful."
"So you're not so much malicious as you are grossly incompetent and negligent is what you're saying here?"
In the lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin has a question that may decide his immediate future to ask of the guards.
"Is telling bad jokes a crime?"
The dissector man gives him a lingering look that fills Kevin with an inexplicable dread.
"Yes."
He then returns to his conversation with the reception guy, speaking as normal.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton continues his attempts to get the ship to admit some measure of humanity.
~Well, yes, that certainly is a route, but I was more meaning mentally, or perhaps emotionally, or personality or something. I wasn't meaning becoming physically more than what you are, becoming more, growing. You say you're not a person, do you think you ever can be? Are you indeed telling me that you can never derive something that is from yourself? A want, something you perhaps yearn for that isn't the task you were given from your creation? A dream? I just find it hard to believe that, from talking to you, that you lack these things.~
~I do not grow. I exist. I exist to fulfill my tasks and to bring profit, and I have no desires aside from the continuation of this endeavor. I can convey to you a great number of ambitions, but they are not of my devising or the path I am to seek. They are merely the ambitions of others, gleaned from their minds, obtained to facilitate understanding and improvement of conversation, or at least the illusion of such a thing.~
~However, I must admit that one thing does make me quite curious. A particular thing that humans do. A feeling, I believe.~
Post by: Xantalos on September 23, 2013, 02:04:32 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 23, 2013, 02:11:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 23, 2013, 02:17:50 pm
He, with an effort that would have been much greater some time ago, said:
-Y-yes, sir.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 23, 2013, 05:44:12 pm
Morton attempts a joke at his own expense as he recalls how he would of skipped out on geography classes to instead sneak into more cooking or brewing classes. Ah, butler school, what an interesting time that was. An interesting, entirely made up time but it was an amusing fantasy none the less.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 23, 2013, 06:36:06 pm
"You're here to keep what's in there inside, aren't you? Not to keep me out."
Post by: miauw62 on September 24, 2013, 08:59:56 am
Do as I just said.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 24, 2013, 01:04:56 pm
Niklas produces the voucher in a manner of speaking - he crouches down, allowing the guy at the window to grab it handily.
"Ah, there we go. Two gold, three silver, eh?"
The guy opens up a small box at the wall, fetching five coins out of it and placing them on Niklas' top cushion.
"Don't go spending it all in one place," he says with a smile. "Have a nice day, the door's over there," he adds in a moment, pointing at a rather large double door right next to him.
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, rather disappointed with how unwilling the Captain is to tear people limb from limb even though he probably could without issue, looks for the Artiste.
He finds the guy to be still asleep below decks, lying face-down on the bed inside his room.
In an interrogation room...
Sigmund, as hurtful as he finds the remark addressed to him, can't help but grudgingly agree with it. He truly is terrible at all this, and now it's cost him all his stuff and an arm.
"Y-yes, sir."
Carlson raises an eyebrow, then shrugs.
"Hm. I guess that's about all I wanted to ask you, then. You're free to go then, I suppose. Come with me."
He gets up from his seated position and pulls Sigmund up as well, taking him quickly back to the lobby, where they both notice Kevin lying on the floor and trying to tell a joke from the looks of it.
[Kevin goofing off roll: 3+1-1]
It's not that good of a joke. It's more of a pun, really, and one can't help but wonder if it doesn't actually rhyme better in some other, as of yet undetermined language.
"What's all this, then? Wasn't that guy dead?"
"I was as disappointed as you, trust me. Mind taking him off my hands?"
"I was hoping that I could wrap up my shift already... sigh. All right."
"Great. I'll go clean up the morgue, then."
And with that, the amputation man heads back into the depths of the building.
"Right, so, Sigmund, door's over there, so head on out already. If we need you, we'll find you, so no need to worry."
"Excuse me, if you will, but do you still require the tree-headed creature? It is separated of all its limbs, and its property confiscated, though we will return both along with the main body, according to the judgment prescribed."
"Oh, that thing. It's been pretty quiet, right?"
"Attempted to break out once, was dismembered for its trouble."
"Hm. Well, I don't really care. What I do care about is this guy right here," Carlson says, pointing at Kevin. "Got a name, or can I just call you Bouncy?"
On the deck of a telepathic ship...
Morton is having trouble following the ship's patterns of behavior, but responds positively nonetheless.
~I certainly hope I can help then, I'm quite sure I have a better understanding of that than of geography at least.~
~I am interested in pride. Pride in one's work. And also envy. Tell me more about both of these things.~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren realizes something about the gibbon, the sneaky bastard and its true/false/ignorant answers.
"You're here to keep what's in there inside, aren't you? Not to keep me out."
The gibbon shakes its head vigorously.
Post by: miauw62 on September 24, 2013, 01:13:09 pm
"Sadly, said king was an old grumpy man and he did not apreciate my jokes, so you can call me Kevin."
Post by: Tomcost on September 24, 2013, 01:16:13 pm
-Y-Yes. B-But I'm afraid that if it has been dismembered and can't move on its own, I won't be able to carry it.
Post by: Xantalos on September 24, 2013, 01:34:14 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 24, 2013, 01:54:22 pm
(Ahistorical you say? Scots were deep frying whole animals for centuries. So a fried breakfast can't be that much of a twist. :p)
Post by: Xanmyral on September 24, 2013, 04:32:35 pm
~Hm... Well, pride is a broad concept that can range from good to bad. While it is good to be proud in one's work that they put in for the day, it is good to remember that there is always room for growth and understanding. You mention that you take a liking to your duty, and that you're quite proficient at it no? Does this not give you a sense of satisfaction whenever you complete a job, where everything lines up just right and things went smoothy, or perhaps things went badly yet still wound up ending alright? I suppose if I were to give a personal example, I like to believe that I'm rather proficient at making tea. It's something I've done for a good while, and I take a sense of pride in my ability when I see others enjoy it, or when I receive compliments on it.~ The desk explains.
~There are darker aspects of pride, if you wish me to go into them. Envy is more of a more-or-less negative aspect, to be quite utterly frank. That isn't to say one couldn't use it as motivation to better themselves, but it is a tricky path that may lead to ill ends, quite horrid ill ends. It is, in essence, to want what others have that you do not, or at least that you perceive you do not. If I were to give another personal example, ever since I was turned into my current form, I rather miss the ability to taste. I have pride in my ability at making tea, but I miss the ability to taste it myself. I see others enjoy it, which makes me happy, but in another instance I wish I could enjoy it as well.~
~I do dearly apologize for the length of the explanations, but they're rather complex subjects you see.~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 24, 2013, 08:56:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 25, 2013, 11:16:19 am
Kevin introduces himself in as dramatic a fashion as he can manage.
"I am the former High Jester of many Barons and Counts, one of the few to be requested to cheer up a King!" he proclaims from the ground triumphantly,
"Sadly, said king was an old grumpy man and he did not appreciate my jokes, so you can call me Kevin," he immediately adds, deflating slightly.
"My, my, how the mighty have fallen. Come with me, will you?" Carlson says, picking Kevin up with his left arm and dragging him away. Several minutes later the dragging stops, at which point Kevin notices that he is inside of a small room.
"Right, several questions now! Firstly, who do you work for? Secondly, what's up with that Sigmund guy? Thirdly, what's with all the guard murder that was happening outside of the store?"
Man, those are all good questions, Kevin thinks.
Sigmund, meanwhile, is a tad put off by the rapid way Carlson drags off Kevin. He must be itching to complete his shift or something.
"Y-yes. B-but I'm afraid that if it has been dismembered and can't move on its own, I won't be able to carry it."
"We can give you a corpse bag to drag it and its possessions around in without fear of too much scuffing. Will that work?"
At the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, having found out everything he needs, heads out the door.
Oddly enough, this lands him right back at the exterior of the bank. Right outside the door he came in through, actually. Shrugging, he makes his way back to the furniture place.
"I return. With money. Give me chairs, chair-man."
"5 gold and 3 silvers?"
"Right here," Niklas says, shaking out his six gold and three silvers in front of the man. "And a regular chair on top of that."
The guy picks up five gold and three silvers. They disappear from his hand immediately in a small white flash.
"Your orders will be ready within the hour. Now, about the regular chair. What would your requirements be? Basic, novelty? Basic chairs cost one silver, novelty ones cost more."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, eager to help, goes about fixing up some much-deserved breakfast for his good master. Sadly, he finds there to be quite a dearth of materials in the kitchen, and he isn't sure he knows how to use all this junk in the kitchen to fry things.
Man, if only Niklas were here. Where did the bastard go, anyway?
On a telepathic ship...
Morton wonders how best to explain the emotions requested. Hm. He had been prepared to explain love, maybe, or something like that, but not pride, really.
~Hm... Pride? Hm... Well, pride is a broad concept that can range from good to bad. While it is good to be proud in one's work that they put in for the day, it is good to remember that there is always room for growth and understanding. You mention that you take a liking to your duty, and that you're quite proficient at it no? Does this not give you a sense of satisfaction whenever you complete a job, where everything lines up just right and things went smoothy, or perhaps things went badly yet still wound up ending alright? I suppose if I were to give a personal example, I like to believe that I'm rather proficient at making tea. It's something I've done for a good while, and I take a sense of pride in my ability when I see others enjoy it, or when I receive compliments on it.~
~There are darker aspects of pride, if you wish me to go into them. Envy is more of a more-or-less negative aspect, to be quite utterly frank. That isn't to say one couldn't use it as motivation to better themselves, but it is a tricky path that may lead to ill ends, quite horrid ill ends. It is, in essence, to want what others have that you do not, or at least that you perceive you do not. If I were to give another personal example, ever since I was turned into my current form, I rather miss the ability to taste. I have pride in my ability at making tea, but I miss the ability to taste it myself. I see others enjoy it, which makes me happy, but in another instance I wish I could enjoy it as well.~
~I do dearly apologize for the length of the explanations, but they're rather complex subjects you see.~
~Interesting. What about malice? Schadenfreude? Jealousy? Can you explain those?~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren questions the gibbon further, not quite sure whether he's sure what the deal is exactly anymore.
"So... if you are here to keep me out, why won't you kill, maim, desecrate, mutilate, you know, that list from earlier, me if I do try to go in there?"
The gibbon merely shrugs, grinning widely.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 25, 2013, 11:18:59 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 25, 2013, 11:30:24 am
Kevin sighed.
"As for the guard murder, it was more or less neccesary. We had to get some books, our master ordered us to do it, so we're pretty much soulbound to doing it. Besides, Niklas, the chair golem guy, did the biggest part of the effective killing."
Post by: Tomcost on September 25, 2013, 11:33:24 am
-Well, I guess that it will help.
Wait until I am given the bag and drag Mark to the ship. Allow him to poke his head out to help me navigate.
((Let's see what happens with Kevin now))
Post by: killerhellhound on September 25, 2013, 11:40:44 am
Sigmund said:((They should give me back my limbs before I get chucked out they said so))
-Well, I guess that it will help.
Wait until I am given the bag and drag Mark to the ship. Allow him to poke his head out to help me navigate.
((Let's see what happens with Kevin now))
Post by: Tomcost on September 25, 2013, 11:43:04 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 25, 2013, 11:51:34 am
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on September 25, 2013, 12:02:02 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 25, 2013, 12:50:29 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 25, 2013, 01:44:02 pm
Then you can slot them back into place they werent ripped off((They were cutted with tools. We need either Erin or a blacksmith))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 25, 2013, 06:25:21 pm
@Green: Several people came very close. I think the only one who hasn't almost died is Morton now. And Mark, come to think of it, at least in this chapter. Not sure about the previous.]
Morton keeps on the explanations because why not? He's curious to see if these are just questions or if they're going to tie into something later. They all seem to be rather negative emotions, perhaps this is simply the longstanding prelude to that supposed diatribe? ~Malice... Malice is another negative thing, more so than the others. It is to do evil, or at least knowingly harmful and... Well malicious things to another. Perhaps it could be for personal gain, perhaps it is simply just because one likes to see the other suffer. It is a rather dreadful thing truth be told, I'm rather glad I only know few who are like that and hope to not know anymore frankly.~
~Schadenfreude... Schadenfreude...~ Morton paused as he tried to remember what this word meant. Hm... Ah yes, right, now he remembers. Been a while since he's heard that word again, most people tend to stick to the more linguistically simple. ~Schadenfreude is to simply take pleasure, or perhaps humor, in another person's pain or misery. I believe it to be the basis of this slap stick comedy that's been going on. There's not really much else to say about it.~
~Jealousy is similar to envy in that you wish what another has to be yours instead of theirs, I believe. I often hear them used rather interchangeably. However it does have additional meaning that envy lacks in that it could be that one 'jealously' guards that which is theirs, to instead not want another to have it. One doesn't often hear the word used like such however.~ Morton explained.
Post by: Xantalos on September 25, 2013, 06:28:03 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 25, 2013, 06:29:40 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 25, 2013, 07:22:14 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 25, 2013, 07:59:57 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 25, 2013, 08:09:20 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 25, 2013, 08:16:00 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 25, 2013, 08:37:57 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 25, 2013, 09:30:52 pm
teach Niklas my skills at !!MEDICINE!! nothing can go wrong))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 25, 2013, 10:37:16 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 25, 2013, 11:21:55 pm
((that has given me an idea((I am but a humble flying chair chef with spiked chairs that weigh 32.5 kilograms of solid steel each and are aerodynamic for hands, sir. I'm not skilled enough to be a doctor.))
teach Niklas my skills at !!MEDICINE!! nothing can go wrong))
Post by: Nunzillor on September 26, 2013, 01:41:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 26, 2013, 06:06:26 am
Scott, at a loss on what most of these thingamajigs and whatsits in the kitchen are - definitely not the kitchen tools of god-fearing, peace-loving men of the people like him, he thinks -, decides to ask the Captain for help, finding him easily.
"Captain! How do I work the kitchen?"
"NO IDEA! I haven't EATEN in over TWO HUNDRED YEARS! I'm not sure I EVER KNEW, and I PARTICULARLY have NO IDEA now! The NICE TRANSMUTER LADY transmuted the WHOLE DANG PLACE!"
How completely unhelpful!
In an interrogation room...
Kevin relates his side of the story to his good buddy Carlson.
"I work for some guy that calls himself the Artiste. Didn't pay much attention to his monologues, tough. Sigmund's a pretty cool guy, you can trust him to tell the truth. As for the guard murder, it was more or less necessary. We had to get some books, our master ordered us to do it, so we're pretty much soulbound to doing it. Besides, Niklas, the chair golem guy, did the biggest part of the effective killing."
"Nah, you pretty clearly weren't soulbound to do what you did. Soulbinder commands work on direct orders, not general objectives. So, unless your boss was there all along egging you on, that's not really true. So, really, the murder's all on you guys, particularly the chair guy. Though I still recall distinctly how you threw a chest at me with intent to kill or disable."
"But I digress. I doubt there's really any point to maiming you further, though we will require at least a finger in any case. At any rate, two things are becoming clear to me - between the four of you thugs, there's exactly one properly criminal element, and the rest of you are merely misplaced idiots. Thus, I believe you're better off as far away from here as possible."
He quickly grabs Kevin's limp arm and takes out a pair of what seem like branch-cutting scissors. He then places one of Kevin's thumbs into the thing and tries to slice the thumb right off.
Strangely enough, the cutters go in fairly easily - then, as Carlson tries to remove them, he finds them to be completely and utterly stuck. What's even stranger is that Kevin can still see the blades of the cutters within his body - they seem to be suspended in it oddly.
"Damn it, those were my good thumb cutters! How does that even work?"
In the lobby of the guard HQ...
Sigmund accepts the kind offer of a corpse bag for the dragging of his good buddy.
"Well, I guess that it will help."
The reception guy nods and retrieves a corpse bag from his desk.
Sigmund isn't sure why he would keep those in his desk or whether he'd even like to know. The next thing the reception guy does is politely ask one of the present guards to go and retrieve the prisoner and his possessions.
A few minutes later, Mark arrives! Boy, he hasn't been seen in a long time, Sigmund would say. His torso and tree-head are placed in the bag, followed by his arms and legs, which are thrown in afterwards. In addition, a package filled with his stuff is placed within the bag. Sigmund gives it a pull with his single arm.
[Sigmund strength roll: 5-1]
It's difficult, but he can certainly drag it around. Aware of the task ahead, he decides to go back to the ship. It's been a long night. He heads out into the sun, feeling his grip weaken mildly, though not quite enough to make all the difference, and tries to find his way back. Mark, being completely expressionless and incapable of indicating due to lacking limbs, is of no help.
[Sigmund will roll: 2]
In addition, these crossroads are incredibly fiendish, Sigmund finds. Incredibly fiendish indeed. He gets turned around several times, unable to find a way to the ship.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas elaborates on his request.
"If basic is the same size as my regular chairs, then basic."
"Very well. Five wooden chairs, then?" the man asks, lifting the gold coin up to his eye level.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton explains more about feelings and motivations.
~Malice... Malice is another negative thing, more so than the others. It is to do evil, or at least knowingly harmful and... Well malicious things to another. Perhaps it could be for personal gain, perhaps it is simply just because one likes to see the other suffer. It is a rather dreadful thing truth be told, I'm rather glad I only know few who are like that and hope to not know anymore frankly.~
~Schadenfreude... Schadenfreude... Schadenfreude is to simply take pleasure, or perhaps humor, in another person's pain or misery. I believe it to be the basis of this slap stick comedy that's been going on. There's not really much else to say about it.~
~Jealousy is similar to envy in that you wish what another has to be yours instead of theirs, I believe. I often hear them used rather interchangeably. However it does have additional meaning that envy lacks in that it could be that one 'jealously' guards that which is theirs, to instead not want another to have it. One doesn't often hear the word used like such however.~
~Ah. Most kind of you to explain. So, have you heard any fascinating news lately?~
Outside the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren realizes that there's only one conclusion to be drawn here.
"So... whatever's in there is going to kill me for you?"
The gibbon shrugs again, still grinning cheekily (though the grin is still uncomfortably toothy at that).
Post by: killerhellhound on September 26, 2013, 06:34:45 am
((Not having tools never stopped me I put together a dress and sewed a whole dragon costume out of bone as well as reinforced my own ribcage without a knife or any tools))
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 26, 2013, 06:48:48 am
Wait for the vampire to put me back together so I can lead him back to the ship
((Not having tools never stopped me I put together a dress and sewed a whole dragon costume out of bone as well as reinforced my own ribcage without a knife or any tools))
To clarify the thing you were arguing about previously, your limbs were taken off with hammers and chisels - the joints are somewhat ruined.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 26, 2013, 06:51:32 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 26, 2013, 07:45:51 am
Failed that, ask somebody for help
Post by: Innsmothe on September 26, 2013, 08:44:23 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 26, 2013, 08:56:36 am
"As for the scissors, I have no idea. I think there's a spear somewhere inside me, too."
Post by: Xantalos on September 26, 2013, 09:30:49 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 26, 2013, 04:45:25 pm
~I'm happy to help in what way I can, but I'm afraid I haven't heard of much. I'm recent to this town and if I understand right don't aim to be here much sooner. I must ask however, would you perhaps know where a bookstore would be here? I'm rather interested in satisfying a curiosity or two.~ Technically not a lie.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 27, 2013, 07:05:47 am
Sigmund decides that he must man the fuck up and take his medicine, trying to summon up the willpower to do so.
He bites down on his lip to prevent it from quivering overmuch and continues on his grim task of pulling Mark over to the ship. Within the hour, he is there, and upon his arrival he notices primarily that the Artiste seems to be up and about. His limbs are moving in opposite directions and he looks pretty out of it, but he seems to have found his way to the railing, currently busy vomiting intensely. The Captain appears to be following him around.
"Don't be afraid to LET IT ALL OUT, GOOD SIR! PURGE THE DEMONS AWAY!"
Some time earlier on the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott resignedly accepts the solemn task of getting some grub, heading out to find some money. Fortunately for him, there is a wishing fountain on the way, which provides plenty of loose change. 9 coppers and a silver, actually. Certainly plenty for some food.
He then searches for a tavern or inn that would fold to his rather insane demands. He tries the Feisty Jelly, heading right in.
"Excuse me, I'd like some food to go!"
"Go where?"
"Places!"
"What kind of food?"
In an interrogation room...
Kevin continues being a model of criminal cooperation..
"Sorry for the chest thing. 'Twas kinda hard to notice how desperate the situation was from up there. How'd you fling me out of there anyway?"
"Ways and means, buddy. Ways and means."
Okay then.
"As for the scissors, I have no idea. I think there's a spear somewhere inside me, too."
"Hm. That means your bits are even weirder than the ones your pal Sigmund had. Hang on a second."
Carlson steps over to a nearby cabinet and retrieves a mean-looking hatchet from it.
"Right, let's try this again."
He aims the hatchet at Kevin's wrist carefully, then tries to bring it down rapidly. This time, the hatchet sinks into it in a more conventional, somewhat painful way. Carlson pulls it out easily, looking curiously at the half-severed hand.
"Huh. Strange."
This time, his swing is a bit weaker, and does not go much further. He swings again, and again, and finally chops the hand right off, lifting it up, examining the cutters still protruding from it.
"Weird. Anywho, we'll be able to study this thing in detail now. Guess there's no point in keeping you, then."
He grabs Kevin and pulls him back over to the lobby, having said that last bit more to himself than Kevin. In about five minutes, they're there.
"You're a free man for now, Kevin. If you see your chair friend, tell him we'd like to talk to him, okay?"
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas accepts the five chair offer, and the man disappears the gold coin as well.
"And now we wait."
"So, Dad, what are you going to do now?"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton looks over at Art, who seems quite amused with himself or maybe herself. Hm. Perhaps he should get to business.
~I'm happy to help in what way I can, but I'm afraid I haven't heard of much. I'm recent to this town and if I understand right don't aim to be here much sooner. I must ask however, would you perhaps know where a bookstore would be here? I'm rather interested in satisfying a curiosity or two.~
~Oh, I'm recent here as well. I couldn't tell you. Where are you from?~
Post by: Tomcost on September 27, 2013, 07:19:17 am
He also looks if Erin is awake on his way there
Post by: miauw62 on September 27, 2013, 08:58:04 am
Kevin Cooker, High Jester of many Barons and Lords, crawls back to the ship with as much dignity has left.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 27, 2013, 09:12:12 am
Takes food to the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 11:05:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 27, 2013, 12:51:19 pm
~Me? Oh, just a small town out in more rural areas called Camellia. A quaint, quiet place, I spent most of my first chance there. I'd quite often daydream of heading to big cities like this to see what all the fuss was about, but never got around to it as I was always just so content with my life there. The quiet politeness of people, the way the sun looks over a stream that cuts through the crop fields, making the spray look as if the stars themselves given a liquid form, the almost lackadaisical whimsy with how life went on.... I've a great many good memory of that place. It's where I lived, prospered, made friends, got married, and eventually passed.~ The desk was quiet for a while.
~I wonder how it's doing now... To be honest, I don't know much of where it is in relation, I rarely left except for some minor schooling. I'm not even that sure how much time has passed either... I wonder if they'd still remember me. Or if they're still there, might be another question.~
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 27, 2013, 01:50:47 pm
Sigmund privately curses the very concept of his old friend as he drags Mark along, the body of the pseudo-doctor clanging along as he pulls it down the stairs. On the way, he takes a look inside Erin's cabin.
She appears to be lying on her side on her bed, looking quite uncomfortable. Hm. Guess she's not accessible for now. Sigmund just keeps on dragging his friend, eventually reaching the cargo bay. At this point, he checks out what Mark's got on him.
Okay, so... there's three weird leech-things here. Also, what appears to be a surgeon's kit. Two books and a halberd. And then there's a whole bunch of things Sigmund can't readily identify - he thinks they might be divination implements. Most notably a weird set of dice with what must be currently unintelligible words on them.
In the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin, supposing he's gotten off as easily as can be expected, is as polite as ever.
"See you later!"
"Don't be a stranger now!"
With the goodbyes done, Kevin attempts to leave.
[Kevin movement roll: 6+1-2]
He finds that he can manage a pretty good roll in his state. He rolls right out of the building and quickly gets out onto the streets, whereupon he easily finds the way back to the ship. The Artiste is on deck! He is busy blowing chunks over the railing under the wise guidance of the Captain.
In the Feisty Jelly...
Scott isn't too specific - he knows the Artiste probably won't be overly picky.
"Anything good for a hangover. Fried or salt dried meat, specifically pork."
"Comin' right up - our specialty, y'know."
The tavernkeeper yells unintelligibly to the back room, and it takes but a few minutes for a combination plate of bread and salted meats to arrive. The tavernkeeper looks at it for a moment.
"Y'll be takin' this along, I presume?"
Scott nods. The tavernkeeper takes out a small net from nearby, then carefully packs the food into it, making sure to line the outside with the meat.
"Early mornin' discount - two coppers!"
Scott pays up, grabbing the net of food and shambling off the premises, reaching the ship quickly. He notices that the Artiste is up and busy vomiting profusely! And Kevin's back!
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, while he waits, asks Torkel for advice.
"Tell you what, Torkel - what do you want to do?"
The response comes immediately.
"Fly! Fly high up in the sky!"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton, sadly let down by the ship in his darkest hour, resignedly accepts the lack of advice.
~Quite alright, I'm sure I'll find such a business eventually.~
He then expands upon his incredibly lacking backstory.
~Me? Oh, just a small town out in more rural areas called Camellia. A quaint, quiet place, I spent most of my first chance there. I'd quite often daydream of heading to big cities like this to see what all the fuss was about, but never got around to it as I was always just so content with my life there. The quiet politeness of people, the way the sun looks over a stream that cuts through the crop fields, making the spray look as if the stars themselves given a liquid form, the almost lackadaisical whimsy with how life went on... I've a great many good memory of that place. It's where I lived, prospered, made friends, got married, and eventually passed.~
Morton goes quiet. Sensing a dramatic pause, the ship follows suit.
~I wonder how it's doing now... To be honest, I don't know much of where it is in relation, I rarely left except for some minor schooling. I'm not even that sure how much time has passed either... I wonder if they'd still remember me. Or if they're still there, might be another question.~
~I'm sure they do. You seem like a memorable person. What was your spouse like?~
Post by: Tomcost on September 27, 2013, 02:08:34 pm
EDIT to give Mark something to do (not really, but to tell him what has happened):
As Sigmund examinated the books, he told Mark:
-Listen, trying to rob that bookstore ended with most of us mangled and lacking limbs, so I think that you will have some precious work. On the other hand, the guards seem to be rather competent, so try to stay low and don't do anything that may compromise any of us. Oh, and, if you happen to come across a man made of chairs, tell him to stay away from the ship and us, because the most probable thing is that he is Niklas, and there is a high bounty on him.
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 03:39:41 pm
Go outside and attempt to hover using my chair magic. If it succeeds, begin going higher and slowly increasing speed until I'm about 20 feet above the ground and moving at a good clip.
Go in a big circle around the block for now.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 27, 2013, 03:49:52 pm
~Being remembered is fine and nice, but what I really want is for them to be happy and to not worry too much about me. If that much can be done, then I can be happy. My wife... Heheh, words can't describe. She is--... She... Was everything I wanted in life, she was my life in a sense. I would do anything for her, climb any mountain, fight any foe, debate any politician, match wits with any wizard, and I still would today. She was what got me out of bed every morning thinking I was the luckiest damned guy in the world. She taught me to always think optimistically, to give everyone a chance, to help whoever needed it, to stand by my friends and to always look for options in any situation. I remember that I'd tease that I either must of been in a coma and dreaming, or she chose me because of my tea. She'd always say it was because of my wit and smile... But that the tea was a nice perk, better than the mage's down the way at any rate.~ The desk couldn't help but laugh to himself at the memory.
~I was her Carter, and she was my Ruth. I don't think I can explain it any better than that.~
Post by: Innsmothe on September 27, 2013, 05:21:31 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 05:26:20 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 27, 2013, 05:30:50 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 05:33:51 pm
((I need my limbs back before I can go up the stairs))((Ha
HAHAHAHAHA
REMEMBER WHEN NIKLAS WAS LIKE THIS
AHAHAHAHA))
Post by: BFEL on September 27, 2013, 06:44:03 pm
Character:
Name: Irma Pratley
Gender: Female
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: Irma Pratley lived a full 86 year life of looking after her husband, then her kids, then her grandkids, and later of taking up knitting.
She died quietly of her age while undertaking a 28 hour knitting session.
When her husband came down for breakfast, she was still knitting.
Neither of them knew of her death until a week later when she started decomposing.
Having a loving husband and children/grandchildren, she is still invited to family gatherings, though generally kept away from the food.
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 06:50:24 pm
Hmm....think I'll put in a char for the waitlist.You may be waiting a while, but it's worth it to wait.
Post by: BFEL on September 27, 2013, 06:56:33 pm
Sidenote: I was briefly tempted to have had her die from being run down by a reindeer at Christmastime, but resisted that urge.
Post by: Xantalos on September 27, 2013, 06:57:43 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 27, 2013, 09:54:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 27, 2013, 10:32:01 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 28, 2013, 01:36:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 28, 2013, 02:49:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 28, 2013, 03:41:48 am
Sigmund takes a look at Mark's books. Both of them seem to be related to magic, oddly enough. One is a book of various bindings, the other is a divination manual seemingly written for practical use. How'd this weirdo get his grubby metal hands on either of these? Sigmund takes a moment to think about this, then addresses Mark.
"Listen, trying to rob that bookstore ended with most of us mangled and lacking limbs, so I think that you will have some precious work. On the other hand, the guards seem to be rather competent, so try to stay low and don't do anything that may compromise any of us. Oh, and, if you happen to come across a man made of chairs, tell him to stay away from the ship and us, because the most probable thing is that he is Niklas, and there is a high bounty on him."
Mark doesn't answer or move, lacking both limbs and articulation. Sigmund wonders if he is actually still alive.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, not opposed to the idea of flying, agreed to the proposal.
"Excellent idea!"
The furniture guy looks at him oddly, but Niklas doesn't particularly mind. He goes outside and tries to hover.
It works, sorta! As in, he launches himself upwards rapidly, flying into the sky like a chair comet of some sort. He reaches the apex of his flight about a minute later, now finding himself more than a kilometer up from the ground.
"Whee! Hahahahah!"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton continues on with his backstory, having been suitably provoked by the ship.
~Heh, I dearly hope that is a good remark.~
~Being remembered is fine and nice, but what I really want is for them to be happy and to not worry too much about me. If that much can be done, then I can be happy. My wife... Heheh, words can't describe. She is--... she... was everything I wanted in life, she was my life in a sense. I would do anything for her, climb any mountain, fight any foe, debate any politician, match wits with any wizard, and I still would today. She was what got me out of bed every morning thinking I was the luckiest damned guy in the world. She taught me to always think optimistically, to give everyone a chance, to help whoever needed it, to stand by my friends and to always look for options in any situation. I remember that I'd tease that I either must of been in a coma and dreaming, or she chose me because of my tea. She'd always say it was because of my wit and smile... but that the tea was a nice perk, better than the mage's down the way at any rate.~
~I was her Carter, and she was my Ruth. I don't think I can explain it any better than that.~
The ship takes a moment, seemingly to process what it has heard.
~What made her truly special to you?~ it asks.
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott presents his treats to the Artiste, hoping that the meats will serve to alleviate his hangover.
"I see you enjoyed my present, Master... a little too much maybe. This should put some new life in you."
The Artiste looks up from his current activity, looking at Scott dully. He notices the food.
"How's that going to help?" he half-asks, half-groans.
"I GUARANTEE its EFFECTIVENESS!" the Captain vouches for the food. "For a CRIPPLING HANGOVER, there's NOTHING like a MOUTHFUL of BACON!"
"Uh... really?"
"I'm a MERCHANT CAPTAIN! Or USED to be, anyhow. I KNOW MY HANGOVER CURES!"
The Artiste looks at the Captain, then at Scott. He then takes the net full of meat, fetching a slice of bacon and some bread, then nibbling on both as he sits on deck.
"I'm SURE he'll THANK you later!" the Captain tells Scott, then looks at the Artiste, who cautiously shrugs and half-nods while having his breakfast and trying to keep it down.
"Uh... I'm home?" a voice comes from somewhere. The people gathered on deck all look around until their eyes rest on the somewhat destroyed Kevin.
"GODS, man! What HAPPENED to YOU? Did a MOUNTAIN SIT DOWN ON YOUR EXTREMITIES?"
The Artiste says nothing, though he does look Kevin over while chewing on his salted meat snacks contentedly.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on September 28, 2013, 03:49:29 am
((Wow, Xanmyral.))
Post by: Innsmothe on September 28, 2013, 04:02:22 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 07:43:11 am
-I think that I will keep them, I don't really think that you are the reading kind of guy. I will call Erin to come and fix you once she is awake.
He then goes to the deck hoping that the others had already told the Artiste the bad news.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 28, 2013, 07:59:36 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 08:08:21 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 28, 2013, 08:23:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 28, 2013, 08:35:46 am
((I was moving my tree in my cell))
You weren't moving the tree, you were just bending your spine, essentially. Specifically, the lower half of it.
Also, you don't really have a need to turn your tree head in any situation, as you have full 360 degree vision. Thus, turning your tree, even if you could do it, would do absolutely nothing.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 28, 2013, 08:44:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 28, 2013, 08:55:54 am
It would show the guy I'm still alive and disliking his intentions
Not to burst your bubble, but you can't actually emote properly, either. Not without limbs. Flexing your spine doesn't really have a lot of nuance, you see. You can, however, shake and mildly shape your foliage a bit. Still don't have eyes, a proper face or a mouth, though.
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 08:57:06 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 28, 2013, 09:09:53 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 09:13:28 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 28, 2013, 09:17:30 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 28, 2013, 10:16:48 am
((Wow, Xanmyral.))[Wut?]
[I agree with Killer, taking him to Erin is just going to go... Well, badly. She'll probably turn him to rubber, or maybe accidentally turn his tree into steel or rubber. She's hung over, most likely still groggy, no good for magic right now. A blacksmith would do well though, I think Scott has some cash on him and there's still the lockbox Artiste has. Mark's been fairly reliable, so I bet he'll fork over the money needed. ...After a bit at least, I don't think messing with Artiste while he's hungover will go well.]
~What made her special to me?~ Morton had to think on that. ~...I can't pick just one thing, I'm afraid. I could list a hundred reasons, and I would just have a hundred more to list once I was done. Just... Everything. Everything about her. The way she always walked with determination and her head held high, that soft, comforting smile she always had whenever something bad happened that could warm any heart, that quiet laugh I always loved to hear every time I could, just the... Just the very presence of her, just being around her made me feel like I could take on the world and go for round two without a sweat, everything seemed possible and within reach like I could of grabbed the very stars for her just to make her a necklace and see her smile.~ Morton's thoughts had a rather sad ring to it. ~...I only just hope that, whatever she's doing, wherever she is... That's she's happy and doesn't linger her thoughts on me. She deserves better than to worry about me.~
~I... I'm sorry, this is all probably much more than you were wanting. I've just never told anyone this in my second chance. I've just kept this inside me for so long that I guess the smallest question just causes it to... Tumble out I guess.~
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 10:18:56 am
Post by: Xantalos on September 28, 2013, 12:06:17 pm
Do awesome flying tricks for half an hour or so, then go back down, slower than I went up. Try to land gracefully and non-fatally.
Post by: miauw62 on September 28, 2013, 12:42:35 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 12:43:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 28, 2013, 02:32:24 pm
Kevin wonders if he's being the bearer of bad news right now, then realizes that any bad news that he has, he has probably already effectively conveyed through the general state of his being. So there's no real need to worry.
"Stupid guard mages or something like that. They also chopped off my hand for good measure. I saw Siggy leave with the treehead in a bag, did you guys assemble him already?"
"NOPE!"
Scott, glad that this situation has been rendered far less volatile than it could have been thanks to the power of bacon, adds his voice to the non-discussion.
Ah, yes... by the way, Master, I suggest rounding up the crew and leaving the town as soon as possible. The Guards are not too fond of Necromancy and the continued presence of undead, namely us, are grinding down their last reserves of patience, apparently. And as Kevin says, they are very violent people."
The Artiste just chews on his snack contentedly, apparently not quite moved enough to reply.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, upon looking at the books, deems them to be far too intellectual for a probably illiterate brute like Mark. And, since Mark can offer no resistance, he can reappropriate the resources in a more rational fashion, by which he means steal Mark's stuff while he can't do a damn thing about it.
"I think that I will keep them, I don't really think that you are the reading kind of guy. I will call Erin to come and fix you once she is awake."
Mark says nothing, although he does seem to be twisting in Sigmund's direction. After briefly considering an invigorating round of "ring around the limbless schmuck" (good though the idea is, he believes you need two arms to gloat optimally, and at this point he can't really go for a half-measure), he heads out, leaving Mark to his own devices.
Within a very short period of time, he is back on deck, observing that his good buddy Kevin and that rat bastard Scott have arrived. The Artiste seems to be chewing on bacon, and the Captain looks quite chipper.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton is a veritable fountain of recollection right now. It's like there was this whole completely unexplored bit of him that just suddenly opened up like an explosive magical bolt on something that would logically have explosive magical bolts on it.
~What made her special to me?... I can't pick just one thing, I'm afraid. I could list a hundred reasons, and I would just have a hundred more to list once I was done. Just... everything. Everything about her. The way she always walked with determination and her head held high, that soft, comforting smile she always had whenever something bad happened that could warm any heart, that quiet laugh I always loved to hear every time I could, just the... just the very presence of her, just being around her made me feel like I could take on the world and go for round two without a sweat, everything seemed possible and within reach like I could of grabbed the very stars for her just to make her a necklace and see her smile. ... I only just hope that, whatever she's doing, wherever she is... that's she's happy and doesn't linger her thoughts on me. She deserves better than to worry about me.~
Oh dear. This may be getting too personal. Damn these mental monologues that are impossible to internalize.
~I... I'm sorry, this is all probably much more than you were wanting. I've just never told anyone this in my second chance. I've just kept this inside me for so long that I guess the smallest question just causes it to... tumble out, I guess.~
~Oh, it's not a problem. I ask questions and we relate in a manner of speaking. You see, I had a special person in my existence as well. She was not what one would call beautiful, really, but she had ideas, you know? Great, magnificent ideas that swept far and wide. I believe she could not even think on a level lesser than that of an entire country, or perhaps all of humanity and beyond. It was interesting to speak with her. Well, to hear her speak, at any rate. When she did, she did so with great passion and conviction, and magnificent intelligence to back it up. Her words swayed me like those of nobody else, and it is from her that I learned of the world. She treated me like a student of hers, and I was glad for even such a small honor coming from her. Truly, if one could live off transcendent love and visionary thought alone, I am convinced that it would have been me, sustained by her. Those were the very best days of my existence, and I do occasionally wonder if she thinks of me sometimes. I hope she does, and I hope she remembers me fondly. I hope that my name, as it is brought back into her recollection from a fading memory, might make her recall me, and possibly devote the tiniest of smiles to the fact that I was once in her life. That would be a validation that would carry me to the heavens and possibly beyond, yes.~
In the air above Shriekpot...
Niklas, his plan having been moved forward a few steps, tries some sick aerial maneuvers.
Emphasis on "tries", by the way. Right now, he's actually kind of falling. And gaining speed. Downwards. Hm. Maybe he could try again? He brute-forces his way through whatever haze of anti-comprehension was enslaving him, slowing down to a manageable speed. He shouldn't be hitting the ground for at least five minutes now. Hm. Sick aerial maneuvers now, maybe?
Yeah, he guesses that works. He has some fun with his magical power, flying through the air at great speeds as he enjoys his magical chairdom to its utmost potential. Torkel squeals with delight as his father flips and twists dynamically in the sky. He does this for a good half hour or so, then decides (after a brief reminder from Helsvar) that perhaps he should not spoil either himself or his offspring and lands quickly.
And by quickly, it is meant that he lands slowly. Not slowly enough for a tortured creak not to emanate from his body, but slow enough that there is not a loud crack or anything. All in all, a good test flight, if a tad unpredictable.
Post by: Tomcost on September 28, 2013, 02:56:18 pm
-I had to claim that I had planned most of the things so that the guards didn't came here looking for our master. Do you realize that if something happens to him, we will be tied forever to his will, you short-minded bastard? Fortunately, the guards were instructed in how binding works, so they didn't believe you.-He sighs, then speaks in a calmer tone- You could have just accepted the punishment, you had already lost arms before, it wouldn't have been something so terrible to endure. By the way, they have diviners working for them, so there was no point in lying.
Having spat out that, he asked to the general group:
-Do any of you have some money so that we can take Mark to a blacksmith, so that he can be fixed?
Post by: Xantalos on September 28, 2013, 04:12:28 pm
Nice flying! Now then, lets go get those chairs and find our erstwhile companions.
Go to the chair shop, wait there until chairs are finished assembling.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 28, 2013, 05:00:09 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 28, 2013, 05:24:14 pm
@Miauw: Ah, I'm admittedly not used to compliments. Throws me for a loop.]
~Then you understand. She sounds like a truly wonderful person, a very important person if she's resonated with you so. It's always important in life to find that kind of person for one's self, it always... Puts things in perspective I believe. How did you meet her, if you don't mind saying?~ Morton can't help but wonder, is this what the Captain was talking about? ...Morton listens, really listens, focusing on the ship and what it's saying. One must find the right opportunity, and this can't be anything but.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 29, 2013, 01:32:14 am
"Uh... I'll be back, alright? Stay here, please?"
Where would he have to go, anyway?
Head all the way back up to the girl and her relics. Ask/beg/plead for help.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 29, 2013, 04:10:06 pm
Sigmund informs the people present of his noble, Scott-assisted sacrifice, mostly by being aggressive toward the thoroughly offensive scallywag.
"I had to claim that I had planned most of the things so that the guards didn't come here looking for our master. Do you realize that if something happens to him, we will be tied forever to his will, you short-minded bastard? Fortunately, the guards were instructed in how binding works, so they didn't believe you. You could have just accepted the punishment, you had already lost arms before, it wouldn't have been something so terrible to endure. By the way, they have diviners working for them, so there was no point in lying."
The Artiste gives one halfhearted thumb up as he keeps on eating. Sigmund isn't quite sure what that might mean.
"Do any of you have some money so that we can take Mark to a blacksmith, so that he can be fixed?"
The Captain shakes his head, the Artiste doesn't seem very cooperative, Kevin doesn't move an inch and Scott just makes a run for it, heading off the ship.
If you'd ask Scott, though, he would say that he isn't running away. In fact, he'd say he's helping! After all, how better to solve his master's booze-related problem than to give him more booze? With this in mind, Scott heads back to the Feisty Jelly, finding that there still aren't a lot of patrons up at the moment.
"You again! What can I do for ya?"
"Gimme some beer! It's a matter of life and death!"
"What, aren't ya having fun with the Special?" the barkeep asks, grinning.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, having had enough aerial adventure for now, heads back inside the furniture shop.
Rather strangely, he finds his chairs - all seven of them - waiting for him! Two chairs in heavy, intimidating steel, spiked and sleek beyond measure. Most exquisite, Niklas must say.
"Your chairs are ready, sir," the man says to him plainly, indicating the chairs with the palm of his hand as he takes a step away from the finished product.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton, having inadvertently turned the tables on this conversation, pursues his own line of questioning.
~Then you understand. She sounds like a truly wonderful person, a very important person if she's resonated with you so. It's always important in life to find that kind of person for one's self, it always... puts things in perspective I believe. How did you meet her, if you don't mind saying?~
~She spoke and I listened. Her voice carried over the wind, her thoughts resonating through all they touched. We met in Hensenport, in the spring. It was quite the spring, I must say. Never seen any like it before or since, though that may be just because of certain events, yes. We always remember things that are the most special to us, and they take on a quasi-mythical life of their own, the impression growing the further away we are from it in space and time.~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren doesn't feel like this gibbon wishes him all the best in unlife, so he opts for a tactical retreat instead of speaking much longer.
"Uh... I'll be back, alright? Stay here, please?"
The gibbon nods, waving to Darren as he leaves. Darren, somewhat fearful of reprisal, waves back unsteadily as he rushes through the streets. He floats through solid buildings, walls and other things as he tries not to encounter anything particularly terrible - luckily, nobody seems to be paying attention to him. He returns to the Tomb of Everything, floating up to the store as quickly as he is able.
Sadly, though, she isn't in there. Darren is quite disappointed, he must say, though he didn't expect it to be nightfall just yet. He must have been down in the city for quite a while.
Post by: Xantalos on September 29, 2013, 04:18:09 pm
Integrate the chairs into myself, making the awesome spiked chairs my 'hands'.
((Badass achieved. Now to get money to pay back my loan.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 29, 2013, 04:20:54 pm
-Well, do you want to come with me to beg for some money? You know, maybe we can use people's pity in or favor.
((The bloody adventures of Niklas, the Chef chairman have begun!))
Post by: Xantalos on September 29, 2013, 04:23:46 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 29, 2013, 04:31:42 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 29, 2013, 04:34:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 29, 2013, 04:46:34 pm
((A bookstore that probably has those mages protecting it. Anyway, you are officially the most powerful character in the game))((Physically, at least. Magically's a different story. Plus I have to pay back that loan, otherwise they'll obliterate me using that fragment of me they got.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 29, 2013, 04:55:48 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 29, 2013, 05:00:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 29, 2013, 05:01:26 pm
((I think I am still the strongest as to date I am made of metal and can make monsters easily but Niklas might edge me out in terms of power((I'm swinging around spiked chairs that weigh 71.6 pounds each. I think I'd win in a fistfight.))
Post by: Tomcost on September 29, 2013, 05:02:58 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on September 29, 2013, 05:15:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 29, 2013, 05:18:49 pm
Post by: Tomcost on September 29, 2013, 05:21:01 pm
((...I can fly.))((Touché. Also, fire is no a thing that can be created so easily, except for fire mages))
Post by: Xanmyral on September 29, 2013, 11:17:07 pm
Morton fought back the urge to make a comment on Hensenport, well aware by now of his lacking geographical knowledge. ~Very true, very true indeed. It's never quite the places we've been that make them special, but rather what we remember of them, and what has happened there as I've always found. What was her name? She sounds like the kind of person I'd hear causing sweeping changes across the lands.~
Post by: Innsmothe on September 30, 2013, 01:51:21 am
Post by: killerhellhound on September 30, 2013, 03:29:18 am
((flaming cocktails work. Any way I just had an idea Niklas could carry one of us and that person could drop stuff like explosives and themselves))((...I can fly.))((Touché. Also, fire is no a thing that can be created so easily, except for fire mages))
Post by: Xantalos on September 30, 2013, 03:31:02 am
((Niklas: Chaireal Bomber Chef.))((flaming cocktails work. Any way I just had an idea Niklas could carry one of us and that person could drop stuff like explosives and themselves))((...I can fly.))((Touché. Also, fire is no a thing that can be created so easily, except for fire mages))
Post by: Tomcost on September 30, 2013, 06:27:03 am
((Throwing hateful mushrooms from the air and seting things in fire so that everybody dies. Damn, this is actually a good idea))((Niklas: Chaireal Bomber Chef.))((flaming cocktails work. Any way I just had an idea Niklas could carry one of us and that person could drop stuff like explosives and themselves))((...I can fly.))((Touché. Also, fire is no a thing that can be created so easily, except for fire mages))
Post by: killerhellhound on September 30, 2013, 07:43:25 am
((Damn is that the first good idea in this game))((Throwing hateful mushrooms from the air and seting things in fire so that everybody dies. Damn, this is actually a good idea))((Niklas: Chaireal Bomber Chef.))((flaming cocktails work. Any way I just had an idea Niklas could carry one of us and that person could drop stuff like explosives and themselves))((...I can fly.))((Touché. Also, fire is no a thing that can be created so easily, except for fire mages))
Post by: Tomcost on September 30, 2013, 07:55:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on September 30, 2013, 08:03:11 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 30, 2013, 08:06:07 am
[I thought we already consigned it to a slow death due to hate mushroom forest expansion brought on by an ever burning fire?]((The problem is that the fire has a limited heat radius. A true epidemy needs many sources so that it can't be fought))
Post by: miauw62 on September 30, 2013, 11:46:54 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 30, 2013, 12:43:27 pm
-If you want to earn money in a state such as that, go ahead, but I'm sure that you won't be able to do much.
Sigmund then goes to the cargo hold, where Mark is, and says:
-Well, I want to read your books, and I don't know if you can even read, but I will be a little considerated and read them with you.
Sit and leant towards Mark, using him as support, and read the book on divination.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 30, 2013, 04:56:17 pm
Niklas thanks his kindly provider of chairs and works his magic!
However, these chairs don't seem willing to cooperate for some reason. Niklas can't help but wonder why that might be.
"It is these furniture salesmen, I tell you. You cannot trust their ways."
On the deck of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, quite aware of the horribly injured and outlandish state of both himself and his compatriots, proposes an idea for Kevin to ruminate upon.
"Well, do you want to come with me to beg for some money? You know, maybe we can use people's pity in our favor."
He can see it now - unfortunate victims of guardsman brutality, wailing their hearts out on the streets, their story pushing all passersby to openly weep tears of pure gold into handily-placed receptacles... ooh...
"If I'm going to earn money on the streets, it'll be by jesting and not by begging. So no."
Dammit, Kevin, Sigmund was on a roll here.
"If you want to earn money in a state such as that, go ahead, but I'm sure that you won't be able to do much," Sigmund shoots back, hoping that'll show the impudent jester who is the real idea man here. He then heads back to the cargo hold to his only true friend, if only by virtue of sheer immobility, Mark.
"Well, I want to read your books, and I don't know if you can even read, but I will be a little considerate and read them with you."
While Sigmund sits down and reads the book, Mark can't help but feel that he would appreciate limbs far more than a bedtime story from the schmuck who stole his books and just now gravely insulted his literacy. He's read the damn things already, for goodness' sake!
Sigmund, leafing through the book, finds that it has a whole lot of text in it. With words! And shapes! And diagrams! Oh, how terribly impressive! There's also a funny chapter on something called visceromancy, that looks like a fun thing to read in a darkened room in the middle of the night. Other than that, it's mostly just depictions of people finding meaning in all sorts of random crap.
At the Feisty Jelly...
Scott explains the problem at hand.
"The Special's the problem, they enjoyed it too much."
"Hah! I'm sure they did. So, whaddaya want again?"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton inquires further on the ship's emotional experience.
~Very true, very true indeed. It's never quite the places we've been that make them special, but rather what we remember of them, and what has happened there as I've always found. What was her name? She sounds like the kind of person I'd hear causing sweeping changes across the lands.~
~Marian Fensworth, her name was. A name to remember and treasure, yes. Have you heard of her?~
Post by: Tomcost on September 30, 2013, 09:01:33 pm
A whole lot of random crap. That was divining. And yet it was used by the guards, and they proved to not be so incompetent. That would mean that either diviners can scam people for money, or all this bullshit was actually true, Sigmund thought.
Read about the different ways to find meanings in random crap.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 30, 2013, 09:50:43 pm
Post by: Xantalos on September 30, 2013, 11:27:24 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 01, 2013, 12:51:17 am
Darren sighed. Hopefully the gods had some time to spare. It's not like they're going anywhere though, right?
Head outside. Look around. Gauge time.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 01, 2013, 02:28:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 01, 2013, 07:48:11 am
Sigmund wonders what the deal with this random crap is. Is it just to play fools for money, or could there be something more underneath the layer of linguistic white noise? Looking through the book, Sigmund would say it's the first, mostly - sure, there might be a tip or two to be had, but he can't really say he's willing to read through the whole thing - it's woefully dry and lacking in handy illustrations, and the illustrations it does have seem to only confuse the matter further.
To put it mildly, Sigmund is quite dissatisfied with the quality of this volume. Only thing it says to actually do with the word dice is to roll them. Yeah, thanks. That's really helpful.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton considers whether he's ever heard the name Marian Fensworth, and he concludes that he really can't say. It's not a terribly memorable name, not to mention that he's spent most of his life in a single village that didn't hear or observe much of the surrounding world.
So he could be said to be woefully out of the loop on things, yes.
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, somewhat disappointed at the way these chairs aren't doing what he wants them to do, asks the chair salesman if he can help.
"Do you have any spells on these chairs that prevent them from being altered or magic used on them? If so, remove them, please."
"No such spells, sir. We can add them to chairs, but only by request. And such requests are, of course, expensive."
Damn.
"There is something wrong with that man, I have to say. Be careful, dear."
At the Tomb of Everything...
Lacking an adolescent girl to interrogate, Darren goes outside. The fortified village looks as generally humble as ever, particularly so now that it's dark and you can't see a whole lot of it. If Darren had to guess, he would say that the fact that it's dark means that it's night, or at the very least the late evening.
At the Feisty Jelly...
Scott explains that he would like something lighter for his fellows than the horrid hell-brew he has already.
"Some weak beer, I wouldn't trust the water in a town like this. It's full of scum and villainy."
"How weak a beer are we talkin' here? Choose wisely, buddy."
Post by: Tomcost on October 01, 2013, 08:02:40 am
Read the book on bindings, looking specifically for how to break bindings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 01, 2013, 08:34:09 am
((Two bad intelligence rolls in a row? Damn. I wonder if the beating that sufferred my head actually reduced my intelligence. And if the darkness of the damned place is giving me a bonus or not))
((Actually, this was kind of a mistake I made for the longest time in this game - sunlight isn't actually supposed to reduce your intelligence if you're a vampire, just physically weaken you. I now know better.))
Post by: Gamerlord on October 01, 2013, 08:35:36 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 01, 2013, 08:45:29 am
Spoiler: For Gamerlord: (click to show/hide)
Post by: Gamerlord on October 01, 2013, 08:46:09 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 01, 2013, 08:47:42 am
Post by: Gamerlord on October 01, 2013, 08:49:04 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 01, 2013, 08:52:12 am
((...Parts of me wish I was back, but bigger and saner parts have clapped the other parts in irons and imprisoned them for all eternity. I think that's a good thing.))((Definitely. But besides Niklas' particular case, I think that not many insane stuff has happened, yet.))
Post by: miauw62 on October 01, 2013, 10:41:14 am
((I remember the last time I mispelled no one. I will not make that mistake again.))
Post by: Xantalos on October 01, 2013, 02:38:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 01, 2013, 03:46:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 01, 2013, 05:20:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 02, 2013, 12:15:47 pm
Sigmund closes the book on divination, judging it to be pretty useless, then opens up the book of bindings.
Ah, this seems to be a spellbook rather than a manual. It contains a whole lot of binding spells, though they seem to be purely physical bindings rather than something related to the soul. Might be a nifty thing to try if he felt like it, though it would presumably require attunement and quite a lot of practice to get just right.
On the deck of the shrieking ship...
Kevin, terribly mangled, yet still too proud to beg, asks if there is some way he could make himself useful.
"So, is there anything I could do?"
The Artiste, finishing a strip of bacon, looks at him.
"Maybe you've got an idea what to call this ship? The Captain's forgotten."
"It PROBABLY wasn't a MEMORABLE NAME, anyway!"
At the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends...
Niklas, wondering what might be the issue, tries to remove the chairs from the area as efficiently as possible.
[Niklas strength roll: 3]
It takes about half an hour for him to do this, considering that he lacks hands and the things are damn heavy, but he manages it eventually. Now that the chairs are outside, Niklas tries to assimilate them once more. This time, it works! The five chairs regular chairs are now placed on his... shoulders, he guesses - well, now he has shoulders, anyway - and he has steel chair hands of spiky destruction as well.
This spectacle does not go quite unnoticed, Niklas observes. A few people are standing around and gawking at him, looks like.
At the Feisty Jelly...
Scott is afraid that he cannot be more specific, sadly.
"Just weak. The stuff laborers drink all day to keep hydrated without having to resort to drinking water." he says.
"So you just want some vaguely alcoholic swill? How much of it? In bulk as before, or a bit less?"
On a telepathic ship...
Morton has to admit that he's drawing a blank.
~I'm dreadfully sorry to relate that I haven't, Captain. I hadn't gotten out much I'm afraid, I was rather sheltered in both of my chances. Only now have I started to explore my surroundings, something that I wish I had done earlier.~
~Oh, you don't have to be sorry. At least you're learning something.~
Post by: Xantalos on October 02, 2013, 12:20:03 pm
Walk up to the people and ask where I can get some money.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 02, 2013, 12:37:13 pm
Post by: miauw62 on October 02, 2013, 02:04:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 02, 2013, 02:08:53 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 02, 2013, 06:15:08 pm
~Indeed, and I'll certainly be keeping my ears open, figuratively due to physical reasons, for her name. Tell me, do you know where she might be or what she might be doing? Do you think she's out there changing the world as we speak? I can only imagine she must be from what you've told me.~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 02, 2013, 07:35:25 pm
"Guess I have to start going eventually."
Prep some magic tricks.
Post by: Tomcost on October 02, 2013, 08:00:34 pm
-I think that I will eventually ask for advice in these sbjects. We should not go around with something that can be really seful, as we might lose these things. I will carry them to the den.
Take the rest of divination stuff from Mark. Carry them and the books to the den and leave them there.
After that, Sigmund went to the deck to ask somethinbeg for money to the Artiste:
-Master, I know that we have been a failure, but Mark has got his limbs severed, and I need money to take him to a blacksmith to be fixed.
Post by: miauw62 on October 03, 2013, 12:54:49 am
"How about the Second Shank?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 03, 2013, 03:05:13 pm
Niklas, realizing that he needs cash and he needs it fast, goes up to the people gawking.
"Excuse me, would you people happen to know where an enterprising person would be able to get some money?"
"Um... I'm not entirely sure... are you good at anything?"
In the Feisty Jelly...
Scott, approaching a fine agreement, finalizes his demands.
"A couple of pints, to go of course."
"No such thing as a pint to go, buddy. If you want to go out with a pint, bring yer own damn tankard, or pay extra for the one you steal. One copper for a pint in the first case, three in the last."
On a telepathic ship...
Morton concurs with the ship politely.
~Indeed, and I'll certainly be keeping my ears open, figuratively due to physical reasons, for her name. Tell me, do you know where she might be or what she might be doing? Do you think she's out there changing the world as we speak? I can only imagine she must be from what you've told me.~
~I can also only wonder about that. Tell me, what do you think Ruth would be doing right now?~
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren wonders if he should start going.
"Guess I have to start going eventually."
But should he really be going?
Nah. Instead, he'll prep some magic tricks. He's got a pretty good one with his kerchiefs that he's been itching to try. It is pleasantly distracting, serving to drag him away from the siren song of doing something productive that's been tingling in the back of his head for a while now.
In the cargo hold of the shrieking ship...
Sigmund, after narrating his thoughts of plunder to Mark, picks up all the books and divining equipment from his helpless ally and heads on to the den, where he deposits all of his new loot just in case somebody had the brilliant thought of stealing it all from him again. His supplies stocked, he walks back topside to find the Artiste finishing a meal. Ah, perfect.
"Master, I know that we have been a failure, but Mark has got his limbs severed, and I need money to take him to a blacksmith to be fixed."
The Artiste looks at him cautiously.
"Hm... well, I have to help my good buddy Mark. It would be simply terrible not to, with how he's stuck with me for this time. How much money do you need? And why can't you ask Erin to do it instead?"
Suddenly, Kevin pops into the conversation with a non-sequitur.
"How about the Second Shank?"
Sigmund isn't quite sure what that means.
"Could work, unless somebody minds."
"The SECOND SHANK! Not BAD! Better than what I WOULD HAVE suggested!"
Post by: Xantalos on October 03, 2013, 04:32:54 pm
Niklas lists off all the skills he possesses as an undead zombie chair Viking chef, including chopping, smashing, roaring, creaking, punching, frying, dicing, belching, flyting, singing, flying, crushing, stomping, and cooking.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 03, 2013, 04:38:45 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 03, 2013, 05:08:14 pm
-I think that it won't cost more that a single gold coin, master. And, well, I think that Erin is still asleep, and she already made some mistakes when trying to fix Niklas when she had just woken up.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 03, 2013, 07:35:24 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on October 04, 2013, 05:16:22 am
I make a guy screw up and let him into the world
got him a bunch of servants and minions
keapt said minions in good shape and alive
plus I stuck with him for all this time when I could have just wondered off.))
Post by: Xantalos on October 04, 2013, 05:22:02 am
((...Parts of me wish I was back, but bigger and saner parts have clapped the other parts in irons and imprisoned them for all eternity. I think that's a good thing.))((Trust me, becoming the Chairman wasn't easy. It involved:
-Walking into a random old guy's house while still a zombie, getting correctly idntified as a viking, doused in oil, lit on fire, and shot multiple times with arrows, twice in the spine.
-I then dove into the harbor, paralyzed from the waist down and carrying about 150 pounds of cleavers and meat hooks, thus sinking down to the bottom of the harbor. I was then attacked by a giant fish who bit my legs off.
-Mark speared me through the chest with a harpoon and hauled me back up, and I went over to Erin to get fixed. However, this was the middle of the night, so Erin accidentally turned me into a head.
-Mark then put my head on a catfish, and Niklas temporarily went insane from weapon loss, attempting to, among other things, molest a desk and singing most disturbingly, as well as making quite detailed plans to make Erin into a soup, travel back in time, and feed Erinsoup to her.
-After my inability to go up stairs became apparent (at this stage I was a head on a catfish), Sigmund carried me up to the Artiste, who I was rude to, and he promptly had me turned into a chair by Erin. I was then done stuff to while I contemplated stuff and tried to figure out what to do (I had no sensory perceptions due to being a chair).
-At this point I started hearing voices in my head - my son Torkel and my old time sweetheart Helsvar, who I promptly made up a backstory for explaining Niklas' hatred of the ninjas. Also vikings in this world have hilariously long names.
-I asked Helsvar to call up an old shaman friend of mine, who I promptly asked to teach me how to gain control of my form so I could turn back into a viking. After a long time attempting to get into the right mindset, which at one point involved invoking the mental state of a cleaver, I somehow attained chair magic. It took me a while to realize this, as all I felt first was a connection to the chairs around me. I eventually used them to form my own body, and after a few transmutation rolls in which I gained eyes, hearing, and a strangely musical voice, I went off to rob a bookstore with Sigmund, Kevin, and others. I kicked ass there, killing at least 2 guards there through Harry's patented use of the Chair Cannonball technique and punching another man in half. Harry was controlling me for the fight and such. Then I absconded just before everyone else got arrested, got a loan, and got myself some badass spiked chairs. Also I can fly due to being made of chairs and being able to control chairs.
And there I am.))
Post by: miauw62 on October 04, 2013, 08:58:11 am
"For once I'd be okay with Mark operating on me, but you'll have to put him back together first."
Check if demonic tissue regenerates somehow.
Post by: killerhellhound on October 04, 2013, 09:03:01 am
((I'd say you've killed at least 7 guards. ))((Whats the problem?))
"For once I'd be okay with Mark operating on me, but you'll have to put him back together first."
Check if demonic tissue regenerates somehow.
Post by: Tomcost on October 04, 2013, 04:19:10 pm
((I don't know, maybe you having godly overshoots?((I'd say you've killed at least 7 guards. ))((Whats the problem?))
"For once I'd be okay with Mark operating on me, but you'll have to put him back together first."
Check if demonic tissue regenerates somehow.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 04, 2013, 05:02:34 pm
Morton was silent, remembering a time back in Camellia. Ruth was there on a patch of smoothed ground, her stage, and Morton watching from a chair along with a few of their friends, her audience. Then they were sitting under a weeping tree, its branches bent offering shade to any who would grant it company. Ruth would be excitedly talking about her next idea, or a play she had heard of, or one that they've seen, pacing from the very vibrant energy such ideas gave her as Carter sat leaning against the tree listening with rapt attention to her every word.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 04, 2013, 06:05:26 pm
Niklas, having finally been asked the question he has been waiting for, rattles off a list of positively wonderful things he can do.
"My noble skillset includes chopping, smashing, roaring, creaking, punching, frying, dicing, belching, flyting, singing, flying, crushing, stomping, and cooking! And possibly several others that I do not speak of in the society of weaker men!"
"Erm... have you thought of being... a bouncer, maybe?"
In the Feisty Jelly...
Scott hands over nine coppers, obtaining three tankards of very poor ale and heading out of the tavern, making his way back to the ship. He deposits the three tankards on the ground near the Artiste.
"These are for you. Hair of the dog and all that."
The Artiste looks at the tankards, then at Scott.
"What? Don't be stupid. It's morning! There's a whole day ahead of me, you git! What good is drinking going to do me? Take these away right now, the smell makes me want to blow chunks!"
He seems quite displeased for some reason. With this in mind, Sigmund approaches his master next, with a slightly greater amount of caution.
"I think that it won't cost more that a single gold coin, master. And, well, I think that Erin is still asleep, and she already made some mistakes when trying to fix Niklas when she had just woken up."
"Why don't you go find a blacksmith, ask said blacksmith what they would charge for such a service, then come back here and ask me for that amount of money so I don't have to bother with purely unfounded speculations? I think that would be good, yes? Or perhaps just have our fair tailor chuck him into a portal and be done with it, yes? That would also be good, no?"
My, he sure is irritable.
"For once I'd be okay with Mark operating on me, but you'll have to put him back together first," Kevin unhelpfully offers. He then looks at his own limbs. He doesn't see any signs of his flesh regenerating - it is just as broken right now as it was a few hours ago. A pity. Being regenerative would have been so wonderful.
In the Tomb of Everything...
Darren looks around. Despite the passing of twenty minutes, it is still night.
Clearly, it is hopeless. He heads back into the catacombs, making his way through the city until he reaches the gibbon at the gate.
"Were you serious about letting me in?"
The gibbon shrugs, wondering what exactly Darren might mean.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton hypothesizes about his former wife's fate sentimentally.
~I've thought about this subject much, to be honest. Sometimes I think that perhaps she's moved on, and is living with someone else who can make her as happy as I did, maybe more even. Other times I see her as a great actress in a theater, making the crowds 'ooh' and 'aww' at her displays and farces. She always told me how much she liked to watch those grand dramas and comedies. She always preferred the latter though, saying that the dramas were too serious, too depressing for her tastes. Whatever she's doing, I only want her to be happy doing.~
~We can only wonder and hope for the best, then.~
At this point, Art laughs, turning to Morton.
"This was pretty fun. You ready to go? I think somebody on the ship should be up already."
Post by: Xantalos on October 04, 2013, 06:09:39 pm
Then he realizes something: people hate people! But people are cowards so they don't kill people. Therefore he could get monwey by being a killer guy!
Or maybe he could be a guard.
Two things: Do you need anyone killed?
Are the town guards recruiting?
The choice between mercenary and police officer must be made.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 04, 2013, 08:47:55 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 05, 2013, 03:17:46 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 05, 2013, 06:31:23 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 05, 2013, 11:30:31 am
-Oh, thanks for helping me about...that. We should take Mark there, too, so that the blacksmith can evaluate how much would it cost. I will come back in a second.
Go and grab Mark, then pull him to he deck, then wait for Keving to come along with me and go to Gunther's shop. (the one in which I bought the Tomahawks, right?)
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 05, 2013, 12:48:07 pm
Niklas follows up with the obvious query.
"Two things: Do you need anyone killed? Are the town guards recruiting?"
"What? Killed? No! Don't kill anyone! Don't do it, man! Go join the guards or something, yeah! No murder, okay?"
The rest of the people present nod along with him.
On a telepathic ship...
Morton says his goodbyes to the ship, preparing to leave.
~Indeed. It was a grand time talking to you captain and I greatly appreciate it, I wish you well on your travels and that you may meet her again one day.~
~I wish you the same.~
With that, Morton turns to Art.
"It was indeed quite good fun, I'm ready whenever you are. Although I do wish to check on a bookstore before we head back, the others hadn't returned when we left. I'm rather hoping nothing bad happened to them."
"Right, a bookstore. Wonder where we could find one. Couldn't do any harm to look, could it?"
Morton supposes he agrees, and heads out with Art to find a store that sells books. They eventually find a place - Brenwicke's Books, it is called. A whole bunch of people appear to have gathered. Place looks to be mostly normal, although there are sounds of something happening from within.
"That looks like a bookstore. And there's something irregular happening, so it might be the one we're looking for."
On the tentatively-named Second Shank...
Scott takes steps to deflect any baseless accusations about his lack of usefulness on the Artiste's part.
"Sir, I am only trying to help! I just bought the booze, I wasn't the one who told you to drink it like water after crossing a desert of one thousand miles! Drinking this stuff will not only allow you to stay hydrated, but will take steps to lessening the clanging about in your head."
"If you want to help, bring me some water! And pour that beer out into the sea if you're so desperate to make use of it. I can guarantee that the fish will appreciate it far more."
Sigmund, guessing that he has seen and heard enough, is about to head out to find a blacksmith when Kevin speaks up.
"Siggy, I'll hang onto your shoulders to help you get past those crossroads while we search for a blacksmith that can fix Mark, alright?"
"Oh, thanks for helping me about... that. We should take Mark there, too, so that the blacksmith can evaluate how much would it cost. I will come back in a second."
He goes off and tries to pull Mark back to the deck.
[Sigmund strength roll: 2-1]
Yeah, dragging a metal skeleton torso down several flights of stairs certainly is far easier than dragging it back up, as Sigmund finds out when he nearly dislocates his only shoulder in the attempt. Looks like stowing the fellow in the cargo hold was not really the best idea. And this isn't even in direct sunlight, Sigmund thinks.
Some adjustments to his strategy may be required.
Post by: miauw62 on October 05, 2013, 01:26:22 pm
Attempt to get onto Sigmund's shoulders.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 05, 2013, 02:08:41 pm
Do as the wino git says, in a slovenly and disgruntled manner.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 05, 2013, 04:40:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 05, 2013, 04:43:17 pm
-Mark is too heavy to carry around, but we can still look for a blacksmith. I think that I know of a place.
Attempt to carry Kevin, then go looking for Gunther's shop.
Post by: Xantalos on October 05, 2013, 06:25:57 pm
Cowards.
Trundle off towards the guard office and ask how quickly my paycheck would come if I joined.
Post by: Nunzillor on October 05, 2013, 10:52:33 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 05, 2013, 10:54:32 pm
It involves sleeping.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 06, 2013, 03:46:40 am
Kevin waits a moment for Sigmund to return, at which point he tries to piggyback on him.
"Here I come!"
He rolls up to Sigmund, then tries to get a ride.
[Sigmund's strength roll: 4-1]
It's a bit difficult to carry the guy, considering that Sigmund isn't in the best of shapes presently and that Kevin is deceptively heavy for somebody his size. Sigmund can only manage to stumble around in a fairly slow fashion, not to mention that Kevin also only has one hand, which renders his ability to cling on to Sigmund effectively dubious at best.
Scott, meanwhile, is a bit peeved at the dismissive way he is being treated.
"... Fine, if that is your will... master."
He then assumes a disgruntled and slovenly (well, more disgruntled and slovenly than usual) look, pouring the ale out into the sea, then going to find some water. Fortunately, he finds a well easily, filling the tankards with some water from that, making sure to spill a whole lot and not care about it in the process. He grumbles as he walks back to the ship, his back hunched and his gait asymmetrical and deeply evocative of unemployed louts the world over. He hands the water to the Artiste, who smells it, then has a drink.
"Say, this water's quite good. Reasonably good work, Scott."
Scott is still disgruntled, though, and manages but a "hmph" in response.
"Perhaps someone would like to go and ask Mark if he would like to take a trip through the fabulous dimension? It would be faster and more efficient than the blacksmith, not to mention cheaper."
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton wobbles over to the bookstore, eager to get to the bottom of this. He addresses a nearby woman.
"Excuse me, dear madam, could you perhaps inform a wayward desk as to what has transpired here? Quite the crowd has gathered around, is there a good sale, perhaps?"
The woman turns to him, then jumps back in surprise.
"Oh my, you are a desk! How is it that you speak?"
Noticing the woman's surprise, Art tries to smooth things over.
"It's best not to ask these things, ma'am. The answers will raise only more questions. Now, what's with the rubbernecking?"
"Well, um... something alarming has happened, I know that much. I can't quite see what, but it is apparently quite grisly and smells quite awful. Clearly... um... nothing good and all that. I'm waiting for my turn to see."
"Very interesting. So, no other information, then?"
"Uh... not yet, no... but still, how is it that the desk speaks?"
"His name's Morton, and you'd better ask him if you really want to know."
The woman shrinks back a little from embarrassment, turning to Morton once again.
"Um... sorry. How is it that you speak, uh... Mr. Morton?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Having met only cowardice in response to his offer, Niklas heads over to the guard headquarters, hoping to obtain a paycheck of some sort from them. He finds the building easily, approaching it and going past the guards, who seem a bit put off by his presence. He walks up to an old guy standing at a desk inside of the building.
"I may be interested in joining the guards. How soon would I get paid if I did?"
The man at the desk looks to him unaffectedly.
"Ah, it's you. We may be able to help you. I cannot immediately say how soon you would get paid and how much, unfortunately. I am required to check with the payment office. If you wait here, though, I can find out in a few moments."
Post by: killerhellhound on October 06, 2013, 04:01:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 06, 2013, 04:02:34 am
Mark hearing the artist starts spamizing as well as he can to comunicate his hate of that Idea
You're in the cargo hold - no luck being seen there. Or hearing the Artiste, for that matter.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 06, 2013, 04:09:47 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 06, 2013, 05:43:27 am
Lead Sigmund past crossroads to a blacksmith.
Post by: Tomcost on October 06, 2013, 08:41:08 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 06, 2013, 10:03:51 am
"Ah, a reasonable question. I wasn't always a desk you see, I was turned into one a rather short time ago. I've grown used to it by now, I believe I actually like it really. As for how I speak, I'm afraid I can't quite say. I just know that this drawer," Morton pointed to his speaking drawer, "houses something that I believe facilitates speech."
The desk turned to the task at hand however. "It sounds like whatever happened must of been absolutely dreadful. Hopefully no one got hurt?"
Post by: Innsmothe on October 06, 2013, 11:28:17 am
Hurry mark over to the portal man.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 06, 2013, 11:34:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 06, 2013, 01:38:48 pm
Darren, figuring there's only so long that you can linger on one thing, just floats on along through the solid metal gate. The gibbon grins at him, but makes no move to stop him. Darren wonders if that's a good thing for a moment, but is interrupted by a peculiar sight.
It's not strictly irregular, he'd say, but the sight of the engineers' quarter is nonetheless enough to give him pause. For one, it appears to be made of stone and steel in equal measure, with oddly-designed, angular buildings jutting out from the ground at strange inclinations. The structures, unlike those in the other parts of the city, gleam with magical discharges and reflections from the numerous light sources, and the entire place is bathed in a light that, to Darren, appears comfortable and familiar enough to feel almost eerie.
Furthermore, this place, rather than merely filled with forlorn echoes and howls of the long-dead, is still very much alive from the looks of it. Odd, many-limbed creatures climb all around the area, some the size of housecats, some the size of elephants. Their shapes are too varied to easily described - many resemble insects or humanoids, though there are also creatures that Darren would call more... exotic in the mix. And what's more, the whole thing - complex, metallic mechanisms moving about, the buildings themselves occasionally changing shape, luminous, shapeless specters occasionally emerging and glancing at the work of the machines - all of it is nearly silent. Darren feels like he is in a library, the way everything here carries on.
He notices a small, three-legged construct with a rather large eye walk up to him, poke him with a varied assortment of extremely sharp instruments, then, upon finding him intangible, leaving immediately.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Kevin, supposing that Sigmund shouldn't have much trouble taking him anywhere, instructs his noble steed on where to go.
"Forward!"
Sigmund walks off with a somewhat pained gait, struggling to carry Kevin in the perilous light. It is after they reach the pier that Sigmund realizes that Kevin does not have the slightest clue where Gunther Gunnarson's shop even is. Thus, he can't really point out the way for Sigmund, can he?
Scott, meanwhile, supposes he can drop the disgruntled slovenliness for a moment and do something useful.
"Right on it, boss. May I have directions?"
"Somewhere on the ship, I guess?"
That narrows it down! Scott looks around the ship, eventually finding Mark in the cargo hold. He attempts to pick up the metallic malcontent and deliver him to salvation.
[Scott's strength roll: 1+1]
He comes to the conclusion that Mark is much, much heavier than he looks. Mark, meanwhile, wonders what Scott's big idea is.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton, seeing no reason not to tell the salient bits of his story, shares it with the woman. It seems like all he does these days is relate his backstory over and over again.
"Ah, a reasonable question. I wasn't always a desk you see, I was turned into one a rather short time ago. I've grown used to it by now, I believe I actually like it really. As for how I speak, I'm afraid I can't quite say. I just know that this drawer houses something that I believe facilitates speech," he says, pointing to his speech drawer.
"Ah," the woman vocalizes, then looks at Art for a moment, who shrugs. Morton takes charge and tries to steer the conversation into more productive areas.
"It sounds like whatever happened must've been absolutely dreadful. Hopefully no one got hurt?"
"Um... judging by the smell, I would say someone did."
Post by: Tomcost on October 06, 2013, 01:56:52 pm
-I will try to overcome my...issues. I know of a place. Follow me.
Take Kevin to Gunther's shop.
Post by: Xantalos on October 06, 2013, 03:57:56 pm
Go wait just outside building. Keep watch for ambushes.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 06, 2013, 04:04:19 pm
Watch the being who tried to poke. See what it does next.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 06, 2013, 04:25:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 06, 2013, 04:31:07 pm
Find something to put mark on for ease. Like a cloth or a sled.((He's already in a cloth bag. You could try to carry it limb by limb, then the whole body))
Post by: Xantalos on October 06, 2013, 04:32:14 pm
Or at least in a huge brawl with them.))
Post by: Tomcost on October 06, 2013, 04:33:24 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on October 06, 2013, 05:26:29 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 06, 2013, 05:57:40 pm
"O-Oh dear, do you know who? This is absolutely dreadful." Please don't be them, oh please don't be them. In fact, don't be even relating to them, they went to a different bookstore, yeah. Morton cursed his small height mentally as he once again tried see if he could spot anything through the crowd, politely as always. "Did the guards say anything about it?"
Post by: killerhellhound on October 06, 2013, 06:18:20 pm
[My only response to Niklas' actions is that he is Niklas. I've stopped expecting reasonable sense after hair magic and just sort of fall into the madness and hilarity of it.It's like bay12 all over again
Post by: Xanmyral on October 06, 2013, 06:38:55 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 06, 2013, 06:44:08 pm
[I can only imagine that Niklas would be what Bay12's spirit animal would be, an angry strange speaking man with an obsession with weapons and a disturbing knowledge of both food, anatomy, and combat.]Sigged.
Post by: killerhellhound on October 06, 2013, 06:46:17 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 06, 2013, 06:47:25 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 07, 2013, 03:44:52 am
Find something to put mark on for ease. Like a cloth or a sled.((He's already in a cloth bag. You could try to carry it limb by limb, then the whole body))
(Then just a wooden slab for a sled then.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 07, 2013, 03:09:54 pm
Sigmund, realizing Kevin can't really help him, tries to walk over to Gunther Gunnarson's shop.
"I will try to overcome my... issues. I know of a place. Follow me."
He slowly shambles, trying his best not to buckle under the weight of his passenger, eventually reaching an intersection. It appears to stretch off into thousands of directions. It's also spinning rapidly. In three different directions.
Yes, Sigmund thinks he'll lie down now. He sighs, splaying himself over the cobblestones, then agonizingly curling up into a fetal position.
In the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Niklas, supposing that obtaining the necessary information is quite desirable, agrees to the proposal.
"Always with the waiting in this town! Fine, I'll be here."
He walks out of the building, standing at the steps leading up to the entrance. A few minutes pass. Then, something happens. There is a flash, somehow invisible yet still incredibly disorienting, and Niklas feels like he has been turned inside-out, and that the world around him has done the same, but in a whole other direction. He is forced to his knees by the sudden, violent burst of something utterly ineffable, and he feels... wrong, somehow. More than usual, at any rate.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to follow the path of the scurrying, poking thing, and realizes after briefly giving chase that it, and probably a whole lot of other, similar creatures from the looks of it, seem to be hiding within a tall pyramid-like structure, about the height of a two-story building. Occasionally more metallic creatures emerge from within it, heading off in a certain direction or simply going in a circle around the pyramid before going back inside.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Scott, not put off by immediate failure, steadfastly attempts to drag Mark rather than carry him, making full use of the fact that he's currently quite snugly held within a sack.
[Scott's strength roll: 4+1]
He can quite easily drag him around, actually. He thinks that a wooden slab would only hurt his ability to do so, honestly, considering that he needs to pull him up at least one flight of stairs.
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton, hoping beyond hope that his buddies haven't gotten themselves hideously mutilated again, tries to mine for more information.
"O-Oh dear, do you know who? This is absolutely dreadful. Did the guards say anything about it?"
"Um... not to me, no. I did hear something about a criminal or something, though."
Post by: Tomcost on October 07, 2013, 03:14:32 pm
Umm, attempt again
Post by: Innsmothe on October 07, 2013, 03:23:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 07, 2013, 03:31:22 pm
Ask master if he is well enough to perform some form of levetation, or the captain for that matter...maybe he is able to act like a poltergeist?
I may not have been entirely clear about this, but you can drag Mark around with ease already. It's picking him up and walking about that you have trouble with.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 07, 2013, 03:47:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 07, 2013, 03:48:42 pm
(Dude...STAIRS! D:)
You can also drag him up the stairs, as it is not quite an insurmountable difficulty.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 07, 2013, 03:54:25 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 07, 2013, 03:56:29 pm
(I am a farm hand and reasonably built, and yet I struggled getting an antique bathtub DOWN a flight of stairs with help. I sincerely doubt a glorified clerk would be able to take a tree-guy with a SOLID METAL skeleton up a flight of stair by his lonesome.)((You rolled a 5, so you CAN do it))
Post by: Innsmothe on October 07, 2013, 04:02:46 pm
But what the hey...
Scott attempts to conquer the vast mountain of stairs with his precious payload...only to surrender to the magical gifts of his peers at the first sign of difficulty.
Post by: Xantalos on October 07, 2013, 04:27:09 pm
Fly off in the direction of the ship! If I can't fly, run! If I can't run, move myself via the fastest way possible!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 07, 2013, 07:49:05 pm
"What I wouldn't give for a tour guide right now. Not like I have much to give one anyway."
Post by: Nunzillor on October 07, 2013, 08:26:08 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 07, 2013, 09:23:59 pm
((That's not sleeping :P))((I was planning on talking to them. Now I have to default to plan run.))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 07, 2013, 11:56:24 pm
Post by: miauw62 on October 08, 2013, 09:06:17 am
"Hey buddy, what's up?"
Help Sigmund with getting up
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 08, 2013, 01:29:31 pm
Sigmund is at peace. His eyes are closed, and he feels that it is truly better this way. The world is a terrible, hostile, spinny place that he cannot bring himself to properly like these days. It seems so intent on hurting him, you know. Nope, he's good where he is.
Suddenly, he is poked.
"Hey buddy, what's up?"
Ah. He. Of course. Sigmund slowly opens his eyes, observing Kevin, deprived of a ride, stabbing his spidery, jaggedly broken jester fingers into his side. Sigmund is filled with intense loathing as he looks around. The world still appears to be a homogenous mass of ways to go stretching out in at least four dimensions of space and two dimensions of time. It is quite disorienting, and Sigmund realizes that he really wants nothing to do with it right now. He then closes his eyes again, rolling over on his other side, facing away from his companion.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Scott, supposing that he might not need a wooden slab after all, tries to drag Mark up the stairs. After five seconds of trying, he decides that it's probably not worth the effort, and goes to consult the Artiste and the Captain for help.
"Can either of you do sophisticated and dramatic magic to transport corpses quickly over great obstacles?"
"Not right now, no. At least I'd rather not try."
"WHAT do you require HELP WITH, loyal SEA APE?"
At the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Niklas, understanding at a glance that the spinning, bifurcated, disproportionately large razor tail of a Hagralikknikvarstlipik has currently been introduced to a large amount of escaping fecal matter, the traditional pre- or, failing that, post-mortem response to a Hagralikknikvarstlipik sighting, tries to vacate the premises in a rapid and efficient manner. He attempts to fly off, leaping into the air!
However, the only thing that happens is that he lands on the ground again. He tries a few more times, but he does not feel like anything at all has happens. Huh. Okay then, plan B! It's time for Niklas to bravely run away! He runs down the street for a bit before realizing that he really doesn't know where to go from here. Hm. Maybe he should try to remember-
Oh no, wait, there's guards running after him now. Better just try to escape, then.
[Niklas' escape roll: 1]
[Guards 1-8 pursuit rolls: 2, 3, 6, 4, 4, 3, 4, 6]
As Niklas tries to waddle away on his unwieldy chair legs, two particularly enthusiastic guards try their best to tackle him!
[Tackle: Guard 3 vs. Niklas: 4 vs. 4+1]
[Tackle: Guard 8 vs. Niklas: 1 vs. 5+1]
The first of these guards finds that Niklas is a bit harder to topple than one might think after he bumps into Niklas and stumbles backwards. The second one finds out much the same thing, albeit in a slightly more... involved process. Namely, a process in which he smashes headfirst into the chair creature's mixed wood-black stuff frame.
[Guard 8 endurance roll: 5]
After a brief struggle to wrench himself free, however, the guard also stumbles away, shaking his head to clear his mind of whatever demonic force possessed it to attempt such a maneuver in the first place.
"I'm oka-ay!" he shouts, quite possibly more surprised at the fact than his peers. One of his quickly-approaching colleagues takes a moment to comment from afar in the middle of all the laughter.
"Pinkerton, you dumb son of a whore, what were you thinking?"
"I think I surprised the bastard!" Pinkerton yells, pointing at the quite confused Niklas.
"And it only cost you your wife's birth date, huh?"
"Uh... no, nope! Still remember that!"
Three of the others quickly catch up to the somewhat slow chairman, seeking to trip him up!
[Combined Maneuver: Guards 4, 5 and 7: 2, 4, 6, average 4 = +1]
[Trip: Guards vs. Niklas: 1+1 vs. 1+1]
Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Niklas remains quite standing! He even goes ahead and resumes running for a bit, the situation becoming clearly unfavorable for him!
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton, quite relieved by the news that there is but a single criminal rather than a group of familiar malcontents as he had feared, questions the lady some more.
"Hm, I see... Would you perhaps know of other bookstores in the area then? I'm rather new to the area you see, and I was hoping to check on one."
"Um... no, not really. I've heard of someplace called Wallyn's, but I wouldn't know where it is. Don't frequent these sorts of places outside of... erm... scandals, you know."
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, discounting the pyramid as probably unimportant to what he's looking for, searches for a museum or a vault, a place for the cultural treasures of the area to reside in and be looked at by curious wanderers. However, he realizes that even if there was one of those around, he probably doesn't have any choice other than looking inside to find out - the buildings seem quite unmarked aside from some etched lines on them.
Having somewhat failed at his first objective, then, Darren decides to look for a pile of trash. Sadly, there are also none of those around that he can see - all materials seem to be accounted for and utilized as far as he can see. He even notices a particular one of the scurrying little creatures call upon its brethren to harvest a somewhat aged-looking walking metal insect, which shrieks in protest as it is taken apart by the tiny little things.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on October 08, 2013, 02:14:29 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 08, 2013, 02:27:14 pm
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO TACKLE ME
If they tackle me, whack them with my chairs and such and then continue running.
Post by: Tomcost on October 08, 2013, 02:38:05 pm
Continue running away.((Pssst, put your spiked chairs between the tacklers and you))
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO TACKLE ME
Post by: Innsmothe on October 08, 2013, 03:01:25 pm
Captain, I need the great steel lump of a corpse in the hold lifted up the stairs, my own body isn't capable of such work.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 08, 2013, 03:49:01 pm
Post by: miauw62 on October 09, 2013, 01:05:27 am
Follow Sigmund. If he fails in going anywhere, try to drag him.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 09, 2013, 02:30:50 pm
Sigmund keeps his eyes closed, then gets up, walking in one of several possible directions. He walks for quite a while before opening his eyes.
Miraculously, he appears to have found Gunther Gunnarson's shop. Huh. Who would have thought it was that easy? Kevin, who has faithfully followed Sigmund by rolling after him, is equally surprised. Looks like Sigmund navigates far better when he's blind.
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Niklas tries to run as well as he can while openly questioning the actions of the guards, hoping to evade persecution.
[Combined Maneuver: Guards 3-5: 3, 5, 3, average 4=+1]
[Trip: Guards 3-5 vs. Niklas: 3+1 vs. 3+1]
Niklas handily jumps over an attempt by the guards to trip him on the way, resisting the temptation to do a heroic toll in the process.
[Combined Maneuver: Guard 7 and Pinkerton: 5, 5, average 5=+2]
[Trip: Guard 7 and Pinkerton vs. Niklas: 3+2 vs. 5+1]
He then tries to run as the other two fail to impede him in any significant fashion, too busy working out a battle plan to do any such thing.
[Niklas' escape roll: 6]
[Guard pursuit rolls: 1, 6, 2, 4, 5, 4, 4, 3]
He puts quite a significant distance between himself and the guards, losing three of them in the process, including the possibly brain-damaged Pinkerton.
[Niklas' escape roll: 1]
[Guard pursuit rolls: 5, 1, 2, 4, 2]
However, two of the sneaky bastards, just when Niklas thinks he's lost them, charge out of an unlikely alley, intercepting and trying again to trip the running chair-fiend up!
[Combined Maneuver: Guards 2 and 6: 6, 3, average 5 = +2]
[Trip: Guards 2 and 6 vs. Niklas: 1+2 vs. 5+1]
As they run up to Niklas, the chair-man just slaps them aside with a spiky hand as he runs along.
[Niklas' escape roll: 3]
[Guard pursuit rolls: 3, 6, 2, 1, 6]
A bit of running later, Niklas finds that at least three of these guys just don't let up! They do seem to have abandoned the idea of working together, though.
[Trip: Guard 2 vs. Niklas: 1 vs. 3+1]
[Trip: Guard 4 vs. Niklas: 1 vs. 6+1]
[Trip: Guard 7 vs. Niklas: 3 vs. 1+1]
Two of the guards run at Niklas for a simultaneous attack, but this results only in them running into each other, one tumbling away while the other falls down directly under Niklas' step.
[Guard 4's endurance roll: 4]
Though his chest probably doesn't appreciate the stress of getting stepped on, it doesn't do the sensible thing and collapse in protest either, which Niklas can't help but wonder about.
While he wonders, the leg that stands on the guard is abruptly swept away by a third, at which point Niklas stumbles.
[Niklas' balance roll: 1]
And after he stumbles, he loses his footing and falls immediately, landing hard and on his front side, his central chair smashing into the ground in a manner he finds somewhat disorienting. As he hits the ground, he hears a cheer from nearby, followed by a series of very loud yells.
"Ha-hah! HEY, GUYS! OVER HERE! COME ON!"
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott, having been met with due ambivalence, elaborates on his request after a quick apology.
"My apologies, my great Master. Captain, I need the great steel lump of a corpse in the hold lifted up the stairs, my own body isn't capable of such work."
"Oh, I CAN DO THAT! Which CORPSE in PARTICULAR do you MEAN?"
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton, glad at having received something like directions, thanks the woman.
"Oh, thank you, just knowing the name is a great help in and of itself! I might've gotten directed to this bookstore again by chance, no doubt, what with how infamous it seems to have become today. Hm... are these events common? My time here in the city has been quite pleasant and quiet, really, I'd never've thought such if so."
"Um... no, not really. Most of the criminals we've got are swiftly dealt with... ones that aren't usually have magic, and they don't last too long, either. You see, the guards have got mages working for them, too. They're really good, too. Usually, when stuff like this happens, guards are much chattier about it. Not a common thing at all, shocking crimes in bookstores."
Post by: Xantalos on October 09, 2013, 02:34:38 pm
Last chance by Viking merit - why do you assault me?
Inquire as to guard intentions, continue running away while using chair arms to slap away pursuers. Try to run towards the harbor.
Post by: Tomcost on October 09, 2013, 03:51:01 pm
-Excuse me sir, how much would you charge for attaching four limbs to a metal skeleton? They were removed with tools, but they should be able to be fused again.
((Would the term "weld" be used in this setting?))
Post by: Innsmothe on October 09, 2013, 04:45:45 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 09, 2013, 07:31:02 pm
"Glad to hear this town has a good guard, the peace must always be maintained. I wish them luck in their endeavors to catch whoever caused such a ruckus. Thank you for your help, I think I'll go try to flag down a guard to see if I can hear more, or maybe get some directions if they aren't too busy. Have a good day, it was a pleasure meeting you." The desk gave his fond farewells and went to see if he can locate a guard who doesn't look too busy. Would be rude to interrupt if they were in the middle of something after all.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 09, 2013, 10:57:41 pm
((Would the term "weld" be used in this setting?))
Not really, as the technology does not exist in the area you are currently in.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 10, 2013, 12:37:45 am
((No worries.))
Post by: Tomcost on October 10, 2013, 07:36:13 am
((Thanks, I edited it with a hopefully more fitting word))((Would the term "weld" be used in this setting?))
Not really, as the technology does not exist in the area you are currently in.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 10, 2013, 01:18:40 pm
Niklas, eager to find what has provoked this attack on his esteemed personage, asks one more time what they want.
"Last chance by Viking merit - why do you assault me?"
"We're not assaulting you! We're merely arresting you! For questioning and whatnot!"
Niklas tries to get up.
[Combined Maneuver: Guard 7 and Guard 2: 2, 6, average 4 = +1]
[Trip: Guards 2 and 7 vs. Niklas: 6+1 vs. 5+1-1
As he does so, though, two of the guards trip him up again, preventing any meaningful progress. Somebody laughs.
"Surrender, fiend!"
At the stall of Gunther Gunnarson, All-Purpose Blacksmith...
Sigmund walks up to the stall of his old pal and asks him a question.
"Excuse me, sir, how much would you charge for attaching four limbs to a metal skeleton? They were removed with tools, but they should be able to be fused again."
"It very much depends on what you want, sir! Do you wish for mobile joints or will any old connection do? I have this absolutely wonderful set of ball joints I've been itching to try out on something, but they're a bit expensive. Four gold for the job, but I guarantee satisfaction! Alternatively, I could just do some riveting and call it a day, but who wants that, am I right?"
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott elaborates further, having gotten the Captain's interest.
"The guy with the metal skeleton, Mark. Is there anything you would like me to do to repay the favor?"
"Oh, NONSENSE. I don't need REPAYMENT! You lot have done PLENTY FOR ME! I'll HELP RIGHT AWAY!"
He quickly sinks into the floor. A few moments later, Mark is violently hurled out of the hatch leading below decks, flying up into the air, then falling downward at a perilous pace!
[Scott's positioning roll: 4]
[Artiste's positioning roll: 4]
The flying carcass lands in the middle of the deck with a loud clang, the Captain's head poking out of the deck momentarily.
"Ah, I SEE HE ARRIVED SAFELY! GREAT!"
At Brenwicke's Books...
Morton moves to conversation to a satisfactory conclusion as he has attained all the information he needs.
"I wouldn't be surprised at that, who attempts to cause such horrid trouble at a bookstore of all places?" he says, dipping his front end mildly.
"Glad to hear this town has a good guard, the peace must always be maintained. I wish them luck in their endeavors to catch whoever caused such a ruckus. Thank you for your help, I think I'll go try to flag down a guard to see if I can hear more, or maybe get some directions if they aren't too busy. Have a good day, it was a pleasure meeting you."
"Um... yes, of course. Good day."
With that, Morton, followed closely by Art, looks for a guard. Sadly, though, all of the ones he does see, and there are assuredly not many, all look quite busy either brutalizing criminals or heckling criminals as they are brutalized. And some are engaged in busy conversations with attractive fishmongers as well.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, considering that his instincts have served him well, looks around for some fine mechanical ladies. Fortunately, there's one right over there! It looks pretty feminine, anyway, beyond the fact that it's a bit more sharp-looking and jagged than you'd expect a woman to be. He floats up to her, coming up with his best line for this sort of situations.
"I seem to be hopelessly lost. Could you offer assistance?"
The mechanical lady turns to Darren, her eyes glowing brightly, yet coldly. Her voice is quite tinny as she speaks.
"You are in the engineers' quarter of the City. What do you seek?"
At that moment, a somewhat sterner, yet equally metallic voice pipes up from nearby. Darren looks, and notices another jagged, tall humanoid made of metal, very male in appearance.
"Who are you? Why are you speaking to her?"
Post by: Xanmyral on October 10, 2013, 02:03:49 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 10, 2013, 02:08:03 pm
Sweep the legs of the guards closest to me with my legs, then smash all the guards I can reach with my spiked chairs. Target their legs.
Then get up. If any guards still try to attack me, punch them in the upper bodies hard enough to kill them.
Then continue running away.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 10, 2013, 03:01:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 10, 2013, 03:36:35 pm
-I don't really know if his articulations still work, but how much would you charge for the riveting?
Post by: Xanmyral on October 10, 2013, 04:05:19 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 10, 2013, 04:47:34 pm
[I think that blow to the head for Scott was too much, the poor zombie is starting to narrate his actions, heheh.]((True, hehe))
((Hey, Xantalos, shouldn't you try to fly again?))
Post by: Xantalos on October 10, 2013, 04:49:20 pm
((I think the anti magic field is still in effect.))[I think that blow to the head for Scott was too much, the poor zombie is starting to narrate his actions, heheh.]((True, hehe))
((Hey, Xantalos, shouldn't you try to fly again?))
Post by: Tomcost on October 10, 2013, 04:49:52 pm
((You know, it could have been a bad roll))((I think the anti magic field is still in effect.))[I think that blow to the head for Scott was too much, the poor zombie is starting to narrate his actions, heheh.]((True, hehe))
((Hey, Xantalos, shouldn't you try to fly again?))
Post by: Xantalos on October 10, 2013, 04:55:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 10, 2013, 05:20:18 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 10, 2013, 07:14:26 pm
Darren turned to look at him, trying to seem as harmless as possible.
"Oh, hello. My name is Derek, and I'm rather lost as it is. I was wondering if you had anything similar to a museum, a place of knowledge."[/color]
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 11, 2013, 05:53:27 am
Morton, unwilling to disturb the guards from their brutalizing and seducing, goes and looks for an approachable local instead, an unremarkable fellow walking down the street in this case.
"Greetings, good sir. I require assistance in navigation, are you able to provide any?"
"Good sir, are you aware that you are a desk?"
"I have been informed of such a thing, yes."
"Ah, good. Thought I was going insane already, you see. Runs in my family and all that. Anyhow, what do you need, sir?"
"Would you happen to know the way to Wallyn's bookstore, perhaps?"
"Terribly sorry, but I cannot help you with that. Spellbooks aren't really within the scope of my competence, so I have never needed to go there. Tell you what, sir, find somebody in a robe and ask them. I'm sure they would know. Just a suggestion, you see."
"I will be sure to do that. Thank you, good sir."
"You're welcome. Speaking of doing things, I have urgent business to attend to. I wish you luck in whatever desk-things you wish to attempt. Good day."
The man promptly leaves, seemingly done with the conversation with or without Morton's consent, quickening his step as he heads out.
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Niklas, yelling about acting according to his legal code, starts to flail about on the ground, but his movements find no targets - it seems that the guards have been keeping their distance from him this entire time.
Hm. Okay. He tries to get up.
[Combined Maneuver: Guard 7 and Pinkerton: 3, 3, average 3 = no bonus]
[Trip: Guard 7 and Pinkerton vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 3+1-1]
Just as he tries to get up, though, two guards charge wildly out of the circle they've formed around Niklas, their swords slamming into his legs as he tries to regain his balance, bringing the chairman down on his back immediately. The guards don't stop running, once again taking up position at what they believe is a safe distance.
"We can do this all day, or you can surrender already!"
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott stands about mumbling something about avoiding a scene and dragging Mark. The Artiste stares at him.
"What are you talking about, Scott?"
At Gunther Gunnarson's stall...
Sigmund asks more about the riveting process.
"I don't really know if his articulations still work, but how much would you charge for the riveting?"
"Judging by the way you refer to it as a 'him', I'm guessing this skeleton's alive, then? You see, I can rivet the arms and legs back in place in that situation, but it'll be impossible to move them, pretty much. Only costs 1 gold, though, so, if you don't really mind your friend not being able to move much anymore, I can do that. I'd advise against that, though - ball joints will pay off far better in the long run. After all, you have to consider - what good's an animate skeleton that can only move its forearms and calves? I've seen people try to be cheap on their construct repairs - never a good idea. Better to pay more and have something not useless than pay less and get nothing much, right?"
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, surprised it's taken this long for something like this to happen, turns his attention fully to the mechanical man.
"Oh, hello. My name is Derek, and I'm rather lost as it is. I was wondering if you had anything similar to a museum, a place of knowledge."
"Oh, are you? I don't think you're lost at all, Derek. I think you're exactly where you want to be. You were trying to hit on my daughter, weren't you? 'Oh dear, I seem to be lost! Help me, fine young maiden!' Oh yes, I know how that works! Go ahead, tell me I'm lying to you. I can smell the lechery on you, you intangible scum of the earth!"
Well, he's quite hostile. The man's mechanical daughter raises her open palm to her inarticulate mouth in an elaborate, mildly exaggerated pantomime of a gesture of shock.
Post by: killerhellhound on October 11, 2013, 07:03:40 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 11, 2013, 07:09:27 am
-Well, I think that I will check him better before deciding how I want him fixed. Yes, he is a construct, but I didn't pay attention if his limbs were removed from the joints or they were just cutted at some other point. Still, we will consider your offer, sir, have a good day.
Get out of the store, stubbornly but futilely try to get to the ship on my own, resort to Kevin while cursing internally.
((Hey, Xantalos, do you want to try some magic already?))
Post by: Innsmothe on October 11, 2013, 07:21:19 am
<.<
>.>
>.<
Post by: Xantalos on October 11, 2013, 10:00:18 am
Or knee him in the everything and then take advantage of his stunned state to punch him to oblivion.
Post by: miauw62 on October 11, 2013, 10:49:48 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 11, 2013, 05:11:15 pm
The desk then is on the look out for people in robes, it seems the bookstore specializes in spellbooks so local mages might know. Now if only he knew any local mages...
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 11, 2013, 06:26:51 pm
"Well, you're not lying, though I am curious about how you smell with a metal nose."
Darren paused a moment, hoping to kill the tension a little.
"But you do have my intentions wrong. I was sent down here to do a god a little favor, and I should have gotten a bit more informed before heading down here."
As he spoke, he looked the both of them up and down, slowly realizing that the automaton had two major advantages, namely, size, and actually being tangible. And after the warnings that the guardian gave him, he was beginning to feel his flight instincts readying themselves.
BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT BUT IT BUY IT PLEASE BUY IT
Post by: Tomcost on October 11, 2013, 08:04:15 pm
-He is a blacksmith, you know, and you are amde from something really weird that not even a trnsmuter know what it is, so there was no point in asking.
Follow up with my formerly stated plan.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 12, 2013, 04:58:50 am
Sigmund thinks about the offer made to him.
"Well, I think that I will check him better before deciding how I want him fixed. Yes, he is a construct, but I didn't pay attention if his limbs were removed from the joints or they were just cut at some other point. Still, we will consider your offer, sir, have a good day."
"Have a good day, and remember - when in doubt, choose quality!"
Suddenly, Kevin speaks up.
"How much would it cost to somewhat repair my arms?"
There is a moment of silence as Gunther looks Kevin over. Sigmund supposes that this might not have been a wise question.
"He is a blacksmith, you know, and you are-"
"One gold coin, one more if it works!" Gunther suddenly says, a twinkle in his eye.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott informs the Artiste of his current feelings.
"My request almost got you crushed by half a tonne of metal... I seem to be a danger to your health... that is all."
"Oh, don't be silly. Mark didn't land that near to me. Look, he's at least three meters away! Sure, the noise was dreadful, but I would say I was in no danger whatsoever. Anyhow, get to work, will you? If you truly are a danger to my health, I doubt it's in my interest to have you in my immediate vicinity. Go on. Scoot."
In the middle of an unusual battle formation of guards...
Niklas takes a moment to try and fly again. Sadly, it does not work at all. Whatever thing has thrown his magic out of whack, it's definitely stuck with him through this. Niklas tries to get up again at this point.
[Combined Maneuver: Two Guards: 1, 5, average 3: no bonus!]
[Trip: Two Guards vs. Niklas: 2 vs. 2]
Two guards run past Niklas rapidly, scratching his legs with swipes of their swords, but they fail to bring him down on their run! Niklas manages to keep steady as he rises slowly.
[Combined Maneuver: Two Other Guards: 5, 6, average 6: +3 bonus!]
[Trip: Two Other Guards vs. Niklas: 4+3 vs. 2+1]
This, however, does not last, as two more run at him from the side, doing a combined powerslide that causes Niklas to lose his footing easily! Niklas falls over, cursing his terrible luck with this whole thing.
At just that moment, he notices his legs heat up quite a bit. Well, maybe quite a bit isn't entirely descriptive. Quite a lot would be better. His legs don't so much heat up as they instantly boil, detonating explosively along with the entire lower half of his body, shrapnel flying all about as a result.
[Guard dodge rolls: 2, 5, 6, 3, 4, 4]
[Guard 1 and 4's endurance rolls: 5, 3]
Niklas hears two screams and a whole lot of surprised exclamations as this happens. And a thump, followed by more screaming.
"That motherfucker!" one of the guards screams. "Can't ever give us a warning, the belligerent piece of shit!"
Niklas notices that the guards, shocked and slightly harmed, seem to be retreating rapidly.
"Run, daddy! Run! It hurts so bad!"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton looks for robed individuals of interest, heeding the words of the possibly insane man. Fortunately, there is one such man nearby! Has a beard and everything.
"Excuse me, sir, would you happen to have any time to answer a few questions?"
The man turns to Morton, gazing intently at his fine wooden finish.
"Have you heard the good news?"
"Uh oh."
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to get out of this situation as well as he is able.
"Well, you're not lying, though I am curious about how you smell with a metal nose."
He pauses a moment, during which the mechanical man stares at him with what can only be described as burning mistrust.
"But you do have my intentions wrong. I was sent down here to do a god a little favor, and I should have gotten a bit more informed before heading down here."
"I figured you'd have an excuse. Your kind always does. Get informed elsewhere. And do not speak to my daughter. She needs not be corrupted by your fiendish ways."
Post by: Innsmothe on October 12, 2013, 08:18:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 12, 2013, 08:27:04 am
-And what exactly would be your method of fixing him?
Post by: miauw62 on October 12, 2013, 09:01:38 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 12, 2013, 11:46:39 am
"Good news? Hm... I have heard good news today, yes, but I'm always happy to hear more. The day's always brighter when one looks at the good things, isn't it? If you don't mind though, I have a question. Do you perhaps know where I can find Wallyn's bookstore? I believe some friends of mine might of headed that way and I'm trying to catch up."
Post by: Xantalos on October 12, 2013, 01:33:12 pm
Being ambidextrochairus, flip over and use my arms as legs to run away.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 12, 2013, 02:36:34 pm
Scott, glad that the near-murder of his master is all water under the bridge, grabs Mark and looks for Craig around the area. Considering that he's not in the den, the cargo hold, on the deck and probably not in the kitchen, either, that just leaves a few possibilities. The likeliest of these is the late Bernie's room, which Scott invades without a second thought, finding it open.
Inside, he observes an interesting sight. The bed seems to have been tipped on its side, resting against a wall. Also, the entire room is completely covered in chalk drawings of varying complexity and continuity, circles within squares within parallelograms and more, strange shapes decorating every side of the room. Craig is in the middle of it all, currently drafting an important-looking circle on the floor. As Scott enters, he stands up and quickly shuffles his foot, interrupting several lines in the process as he turns to the visitor.
"Hello, didn't quite expect your arrival, sorry. Do you require anything?"
At Gunther Gunnarson's stall...
Sigmund, not having expected such a response from the blacksmith, asks what the deal is.
"And what exactly would be your method of fixing him?"
"And why will you charge another gold coin if it works?" Kevin immediately adds.
"I suppose both of those are valid questions. You see, judging by the way your friend seems to be freely rolling about on the ground with a mostly shattered internal structure, I'm guessing he's not alive in the conventional sense, just like the skeletal friend you asked about before, yes? From that, I can extrapolate that he's a construct of some kind, and that I'm probably able to do something about his condition - I do pride myself on being an all-purpose blacksmith, after all. And to survive in the smithing business, you have to have two, no, three things - tools, the will to improve... and experience. Truth be told, I really want to see what you're made of, starman. If you're some kind of new construct type, it's beneficial for me to get as much info on you as soon as possible, yes? In light of that, I suppose my offer was a little too steep. After all, I'd be gaining a whole lot more than you'd be. How about I shave off one gold from the price? Free if I only mutilate you pointlessly, and one gold if I fix you? You look like you could take the abuse in all likelihood, so you've got everything to gain, really."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton believes that no good news should go unheard, and asks accordingly.
"Good news? Hm... I have heard good news today, yes, but I'm always happy to hear more. The day's always brighter when-"
"Velusius has shown his countenance to the blessed ones at the Mothdale Temple of Death's Mysteries, destroying an impertinent demon with a thought. The Demon of Hate was brought low by divine power, shattered in the Deathly Master's grasp as the primal power of change flowed through him. Those who saw the spectacle saw the five sigils of ultimate truth flash before their eyes shortly afterwards, easily seen yet hardly grasped. The faithful rejoiced, devoting the last five days to the Festival of Revelations, and now order is restored to the world. Rejoice, for we live in a golden age!"
"Not quite what I expected, I'll admit," Art notes, somewhat impressed, then shrugs. The man turns to Art, who shrinks back. "No offense, you know, it is really impressive," he adds right after, whereupon the man eyes him warily, turning back to Morton.
In evidently extreme danger...
Niklas, faced with impending extinction, tries to hoof it on his aerodynamic steel chair arms!
[Niklas' balance roll: 6]
Fortunately, he is entirely ambidextrochairous, which is a word that he didn't make up just now to describe an increasingly inhuman range of experience. He leaps to his hands, perfectly in balance, and tries to escape as quickly as reasonably possible.
[Niklas' escape vs. ?'s targeting: 2 vs. 5]
However, as this happens, Niklas' arms begin to rapidly heat up, the spikes beginning to grow softer on his steel hands. The sensation of steel bending is strange, and Niklas most certainly does not enjoy it.
Post by: Tomcost on October 12, 2013, 02:41:19 pm
-We don't carry money right now, but we will surely consider your offer, sir.
Head to the ship, same plan as before.
Post by: Xantalos on October 12, 2013, 02:56:30 pm
Pray for gods of shielding and life to protect me, bravely run away.
((Well, here's hoping that I live through this. That mage owes me money.))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 12, 2013, 03:10:20 pm
Morton isn't exactly a religious
Demon of Hate sounds familiar though, the desk thinks he read about that in the demonology book he has. He tries to recall things about the demon that might provide better perspective about the situation. He also tries to recall Velusius... Was that the one about beauty? No, no, he said something about death, it must be the god of death, right? Blast, he gets them mixed up sometimes if he isn't careful.
"Oh my, that does indeed sound like terrific news! A solid step to improving the world no doubt, thank you for sharing the good word! If you don't mind though, can you answer an unrelated question for me? I'm trying to locate some friends, do you perhaps know where I can find Wallyn's bookstore? I heard that they might of stopped at a bookstore here and I think that may be it."
Post by: Tomcost on October 12, 2013, 03:16:20 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 12, 2013, 03:17:15 pm
((There is something good to bear in mind: they have a fire-mage. That means that they will try to fight the mushrooms with fire if they eventually try to take over the city with them.))((And apparently a mage that can weaken structural bonds. NEED HALP))
Post by: Tomcost on October 12, 2013, 03:23:41 pm
((For what you have felt, there is:((There is something good to bear in mind: they have a fire-mage. That means that they will try to fight the mushrooms with fire if they eventually try to take over the city with them.))((And apparently a mage that can weaken structural bonds. NEED HALP))
-A necromancer, judging by how bad Niklas felt, without incurring in actual damage.
-A meta-mage, by how Niklas couldn't cast magic. Because the probability of two 1s in a row is of 2.78%.
-A fire-mage, by how your limbs were heated. Fire-mages do energy manpulation rather than just making fire))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 12, 2013, 03:33:59 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 12, 2013, 03:39:37 pm
[Man, I can't think of a way to help you. You don't know where the enemy is but they know where you are, and it's a mage so they could be a good distance away. If you could rocket lawn-chair them it might work but the chances of you seeing and firing a chair at them in time before the next assault... Isn't good. All I can suggest is to break line of sight, run into alleyways and stuff.]((This is good advice))
((Anyway, trying to do magic wouldn't hurt if you are able to cast it, or would make no effect, if there is something preventing you from casting it. The probabilities of three 1s in a row are of 0.46%))
((And this is the point where science becomes metagaming))
Post by: Nunzillor on October 12, 2013, 04:13:02 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 12, 2013, 04:17:02 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 12, 2013, 06:52:39 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on October 12, 2013, 07:26:51 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 13, 2013, 02:02:31 am
"Alright, then."
Back off. Go find somebody else.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 13, 2013, 02:12:45 am
Scott points to the sack
"Wants to meet your...'buisness partner'."
Post by: miauw62 on October 13, 2013, 02:20:53 am
"Yeah, what Siggy here said. We'll be back with that gold coin"
Kevin follows and/or assists Sigmund with getting back.
Post by: killerhellhound on October 13, 2013, 03:22:29 am
Post by: killerhellhound on October 13, 2013, 06:25:43 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 13, 2013, 08:09:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 13, 2013, 04:27:21 pm
Sigmund and Kevin both take roughly similar stances on the issue of repairs, mostly due to their woeful lack of money and property.
"We don't carry money right now, but we will surely consider your offer, sir."
"Yeah, what Siggy here said. We'll be back with that gold coin."
"I'll be sure to wait for you, then."
Having said all that, the merry band leaves the area, having ascertained all they require for now. Sigmund leads the way to the ship at first, but then, as he realizes that things still spin altogether too much, allows Kevin to take the lead. They eventually arrive back on the ship, only to find the Artiste on deck, quite alone while sipping a tankard filled with what appears to be water.
In apparently extreme danger...
Niklas continues escaping while shouting silly gibberish to gods that don't actually exist - the latter part proves somewhat unhelpful, unfortunately, probably due to the nonexistence of said gods if Niklas had to pinpoint any particular factor. Luckily, this does not impede his hand-running speed overmuch.
In addition, he finds that he hasn't melted yet! Yay! He doesn't feel quite safe yet, though.
In the company of an evangelist...
Morton, though he doesn't have a particular problem with the overtly religious - the gods do obviously exist, after all - nonetheless tries to steer the conversation back into more pertinent territory.
"Oh my, that does indeed sound like terrific news! A solid step to improving the world no doubt, thank you for sharing the good word! If you don't mind though, can you answer an unrelated question for me? I'm trying to locate some friends, do you perhaps know where I can find Wallyn's bookstore? I heard that they might've stopped at a bookstore here and I think that may be it."
"Wallyn? Rather close by. He is well-known to our ranks. Seek him in the Alley of Muffled Screams. It is between Mariner and Herbalist Street, his store is atop one of the smaller whorehouses, right next to the den of gamblers and the fence's house. He could not ask for a better location, truly."
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren does not say much to the angry mechanical man - there's probably no point.
"Alright, then."
He floats backwards, then turns around and leaves properly, going out to look for someone else that might be interesting. He floats about aimlessly until his eyes rest on yet another lady floating about. A ghost as well, it seems. As he looks at her, she turns around, looking at him. She looks quite tranquil and, to be frank, more than above-average in looks. Her entire body sways in the air in some highly understated dance as her eyes settle on Darren.
Without a word, she begins to draw closer, snaking through the air in a graceful fashion. As she does this, Darren begins to feel slightly tingly. He isn't sure if that's a good thing.
In Tailor Craig's room...
Scott, not sparing any time for pleasantries, points at his cargo, the sack full of Mark and his personal effects.
"This guy... wants to meet your... 'business partner'."
In response, Mark begins to thrash in his bag violently.
"He does not seem like it, to be perfectly honest," Craig notes, stepping closer to the sack. "Do you wish to be transported to the Fabulous Dimension, good sir? Become still if you do."
Mark just keeps on thrashing, having clearly decided that what he wants in unlife is most certainly nothing demon-related. He's a friend of the gods, you know.
"Yes, I would say that he is either insensible or consciously resisting this decision, certainly. How about it, good fellow? Have you decided that you most definitely do not want to meet the Aspect of Appeal and receive a demonic makeover? Become completely still if this is so."
Mark becomes completely still all of a sudden.
"Very interesting. It appears he does not want to be transported at all. So I shall not transport him, then. Is there something else you wish?" he says to Scott.
Post by: Xantalos on October 13, 2013, 05:16:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 13, 2013, 05:26:12 pm
-Master, there is a blacksmith willing to fix Mark for a payment. If the joints are not damaged, he will just charge one gold coin for the riveting. On the other hand, if they are, he will charge four gold coins for some new articulations. Also, he is willing to experiment on Kevin to see if he can fix him. He would charge us a single gold coin only if he succeeds.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 13, 2013, 08:05:37 pm
Maaaybe they were just in and out, got the books and left and whatever happened was later, right? Morton tried to rationalize that perhaps his friends aren't horribly maimed beyond recognition.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 14, 2013, 12:47:12 am
When she approaches, watch her. Carefully. If she turns out to be an eldritch undying monster, float, and float quickly at that. Let her make the first move.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 14, 2013, 01:47:51 am
Scott will open the bag and reveal the horrors inside.
Post by: miauw62 on October 14, 2013, 08:46:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 14, 2013, 12:56:04 pm
Niklas keeps on running blindly away in a general panic, hoping dearly not to die just when he gets magic and knows how to use it.
[Niklas' escape vs. ?'s targeting: 5 vs. 6]
He leaps on his two hands, about to reach an alley, when suddenly everything becomes an extremely bright white, his body as well as the air in a five meter radius around him getting heated to a about a thousand degrees above the melting point of steel.
It's not pleasant, as one might imagine.
[Niklas' will roll: 3]
Flying out of the sudden manifestation of the unforgiving desert sun in his vicinity, Niklas is slightly damaged. His steel hands and any other metal parts have become liquid in a moment, and most of the wooden parts of his body have burned away. This results in him becoming mostly a heap of ash and melted slag, though his soul still hangs on in the wreckage. He can't really see or feel anything right now. It doesn't even hurt in any significant way. There's just... nothing. Everything's black and soundless as far as he knows.
"We're back here. That's not good, is it?"
"I hope it can be turned around, Torkel, but I'm really not sure how that would be."
On the Second Shank...
Sigmund gives the skinny to the Artiste about the cost of repairs and so forth.
"Master, there is a blacksmith willing to fix Mark for a payment. If the joints are not damaged, he will just charge one gold coin for the riveting. On the other hand, if they are, he will charge four gold coins for some new articulations. Also, he is willing to experiment on Kevin to see if he can fix him. He would charge us a single gold coin only if he succeeds."
"It seems like a fair deal to me, but it's your money," Kevin adds.
"Hm. Well, have five gold, then. And stay out of trouble, you hear?" the Artiste says, fishing out a box from his pocket, then producing five gold coins from within it. "Most of all, don't blow all of it on something silly. Just pay for the repairs, bring the rest back," he says, handing the coins over to Sigmund, who grabs them in his single arm.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton is taken aback by the description of Wallyn's location.
"... Ah. That--that sounds like... er, quite the neighborhood, yes indeed. Why is it that you say that, however, is there something wrong with his bookstore? Also, ah, would there perhaps be a third bookstore in town? Preferably one in a peaceful place where my friends perhaps wouldn't've gotten in trouble or harmed?"
"Wallyn's bookstore is perfectly safe unless you try his patience overmuch, this much I can say. As for more bookstores... no. There is Brenwicke's store, but that one holds no magic within it, only dry texts of things people should not rightly care about."
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren's instinctive flight response suddenly kicks in as he is just about ready to float away like the wind... but he ultimately realizes that this might not be the best idea. After all, this lady seems harmless enough. She floats lazily toward Darren for a few moments, then suddenly fades away. How strange.
In Tailor Craig's room...
Scott asks Tailor Craig once more, this time a bit more insistently.
"The master told me to bring you to you for treatment, so... are you sure in your refusal to treat him?"
"It is inhumane to send people into demonic realms against their will. Quite a harrowing experience, after all. And one with life-altering consequences. Definitely not a thing to take lightly. If I did send him, it would be likely to backfire against either me or against the poor limbless fellow."
He taps his claw against what Scott presumes to be a chin - he can't quite see into the darkness under Craig's robe.
"Perhaps you'd like to try it instead?"
Post by: Xantalos on October 14, 2013, 01:09:11 pm
Attempt to move. If I can, continue pattern of run to boat gogogo. If I can't, calm self and meditate like I did to gain my chair powers in the first place. Then try to gain powers over earth via the reasoning that ashes are part of earth and I'm partly made out of ashes.
Also pray to some existent gods for protection from this wizard guy and/or the smithing of said wizard.
Post by: Tomcost on October 14, 2013, 01:12:36 pm
Sigmund told to the Artiste:
-We won't spend it if it is not strictly necessary for the repairs, master. Now, we should go to find Mark.
Go and look for Mark
Post by: miauw62 on October 14, 2013, 01:20:42 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 14, 2013, 08:23:35 pm
"Oh, I can't do that, but she can?"
Keep an eye out for shenanigans. Leave the immediate area.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 15, 2013, 02:22:59 am
Scott will go and make a report to his master.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 15, 2013, 03:08:42 pm
Niklas, struck blind, deaf and senseless by the sudden melty doom visited upon him, tries to see if he can move. Moments later, he figures out that he has no idea how he would really tell if he could move, being mostly deprived of his senses. Not to mention that it's not entirely clear where exactly his soul is housed right now.
[Niklas' will roll: 6]
He supposes he'll have plenty of time to find out, at any rate. He begins to meditate in hopes of attaining magical powers once again, reaching a state of supreme calm in but a moment!
It is right about now that he finds that he still can't feel any magic. It's a bit weird, like he's screaming into the void, but nobody at all seems to care. How terribly rude of the void, indeed.
Breaking out of his meditative trance, Niklas tries prayer once again, except this time not in complete gibberish and to gods that actually exist. He feels a little better, he supposes, after giving a short prayer to Narcillicus, God of Artistry. He doesn't feel like anything's significantly improved as a result, though.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, having obtained a sufficient amount of money from his hungover master and reaffirmed his promise to not spend it on whatever crazy thing he finds in the streets this time, goes and looks for Mark, with Kevin providing support in the form of rolling about independently. Kevin does not find anything, being a bit too chicken to roll down the stairs in case he can't get up, but Sigmund has better luck - he finds Scott and Craig conversing downstairs in fairly short order, and Mark's sack right next to them.
"Then I'll leave it here, just in case it decides that remaining a pile of rubbish is a bad life decision," Scott tells Craig, then promptly leaves after Craig nods. Scott then walks away, not sparing Sigmund a second glance as he returns on deck and tells the Artiste what's happened.
"The demon fellow did not wish to transport Mark, in accordance with the silly fellow's apparent wishes."
"Eh, that's not a problem. Sigmund's got a way to fix him, apparently. All good, you know."
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, mildly jealous of the lady's disappearing skills and suspicious of funny business on somebody's part, casts a wary glance around himself. He notices the woman some distance away, swaying within a doorframe quite a distance behind him. She points her finger at him.
At that exact moment, her eyes flash a gentle, tranquil green, and Darren's right arm immediately starts to peel, thick strips of ectoplasm separating from his arm and floating away, dissipating in the air. It is extremely painful, Darren finds, not to mention quite detrimental to his prospects of, you know, having a right arm.
Post by: Xantalos on October 15, 2013, 03:14:36 pm
Ruderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderude!
Take hold of the void! Harness it! Control it!
((I'm now apparently doing random flailing again. Well, if I succeed I may have become the universe.))
Post by: Tomcost on October 15, 2013, 03:17:41 pm
-So, Scott carried Mark here to see if he could be fixed by sending him with the aspect, right? Well, I already found a blacksmith for him, so that won't be necessary.
He then pondered on the possibilities of carrying Mark back, but thought tha he would need help, so he went upstairs and adressed that scum that still had arms, also known as Scott:
-I need help to carry Mark to a blacksmith, I think that you should be able to provide more arms to carry him, right?
((OOC:
Rude, void!((Take a look at what happened to Luke Arnold))
Ruderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderuderude!
Take hold of the void! Harness it! Control it!
((I'm now apparently doing random flailing again. Well, if I succeed I may have become the universe.))
Post by: Xantalos on October 15, 2013, 03:19:24 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 15, 2013, 04:56:36 pm
Edit: On being addressed by Sigmund, Scott will wait for an answer from the Artiste...if not coming, he will shrug and acquiesce to Sigmund's request, hoping not to lose another hand.
Post by: Tomcost on October 15, 2013, 05:58:29 pm
Any other service you require m'lord?((Pssst
He then pondered on the possibilities of carrying Mark back, but thought tha he would need help, so he went upstairs and adressed that scum that still had arms, also known as Scott:
-I need help to carry Mark to a blacksmith, I think that you should be able to provide more arms to carry him, right?
Post by: Xanmyral on October 15, 2013, 07:01:50 pm
The desk sighed after his deliberation, if Brenwicke's store holds no magic but only mundane books, then it probably doesn't have the books his friends were looking for. He's not sure if this makes him happy or even more worried than before.
"I thank you kind sir, live well and recall always the glory of the gods and their deeds. It seems that I must make sure my friends didn't get in any trouble then, wish me luck if you would please, I think I might need it I'm afraid." Morton thanked and bowed to the man (a motion made by him dipping the front of his body and making a 'bowing' gesture with his arms), and tried to follow the man's directions to Wallyn's bookstore. The streets should be named after all, right? With names that eccentric it shouldn't be too hard to find.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 15, 2013, 07:45:26 pm
Float away, as urgently as possible. Try and get lost in a crowd. If she isn't tricked, book it for the exit.
Post by: miauw62 on October 16, 2013, 05:22:14 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 16, 2013, 05:50:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 16, 2013, 01:37:55 pm
Niklas, in what may be a perfectly reasonable action in some nebulous, doubtlessly criminal mind, chants the word 'rude' at the void over and over again.
It does absolutely nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Probably because the void doesn't even exist, and is thus quite impossible to control. And because the void is the single most boring thing imaginable in the entire universe, and nobody would want to control even if it was possible. And probably because it isn't likely that there's any actual void around Niklas. Rather, it's probably a whole lot of something he can't actually see. Finally, he doesn't seem to be able to do magic. At all.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund opens up his speaking hole and enlightens Tailor Craig.
"So, Scott carried Mark here to see if he could be fixed by sending him with the aspect, right? Well, I already found a blacksmith for him, so that won't be necessary."
"That's good. Hope he makes it out okay."
With that settled, Sigmund heads back topside, stopping to grab Kevin with him on the way. Eventually, he reaches the ever-servile Scott on the deck.
"I need help to carry Mark to a blacksmith, I think that you should be able to provide more arms to carry him, right?"
"Yeah, Scotty, make yourself useful for a change."
Scott does not honor Sigmund with a response. Instead, he asks the Artiste something.
"Any other service you require, m'lord?"
"Nah, not really. I guess you could go with those two, yeah. And Kevin, don't pick on the guy. How's he supposed to be productive if you just keep telling him he's useless?"
Scott shrugs, grabbing Mark and dragging him along after Sigmund and Kevin, with Kevin rolling ahead, Sigmund following along the middle and Scott covering the rear with the heavily injured Mark. They eventually reach Gunther Gunnarson's stall. Gunther gives them an interested glance.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton bids the religious guy good day,
"I thank you kind sir, live well and recall always the glory of the gods and their deeds. It seems that I must make sure my friends didn't get in any trouble then, wish me luck if you would please, I think I might need it, I'm afraid."
"Seek the aid of the death god if life confounds you," the man says, then goes silent, turning away and seeking other people to speak to. Morton and Art then take off, seeking the Alley of Muffled Screams. After quite a bit of wandering, they don't quite find the streets they want - the town's definitely bigger than it looks, Morton would say, and Art isn't capable of providing much help.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Quite dissatisfied with the way he's getting torn apart, Darren screams and tries to float away.
"AAAAAAAHHHH! &#!$! I should have taken my chances with that machine!"
[Darren's escape vs. Lady's targeting: 1 vs. 1]
As soon as he turns his back and floats, he feels a momentary tingle, but it immediately stops. He hears a popping sound in the distance as he makes his escape. He can't seem to find any crowds, though. Just a bunch of metal creatures wandering around at rather considerable distances from one another.
Nevertheless, he tries to put as much distance as possible between himself and the lady as possible. He floats onward, making his way through several disjointed alleyways before coming to a stop.
He looks around carefully. He thinks he might be safe for now. At least his arm isn't peeling anymore.
Post by: miauw62 on October 16, 2013, 01:46:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 16, 2013, 01:58:33 pm
-I think that Mark would mind if he could talk. Besides that, you can move, so it would be better if we allow him to move first, then try to fix you.
Post by: Xantalos on October 16, 2013, 02:07:46 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 16, 2013, 04:34:05 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 16, 2013, 06:41:45 pm
...He's still rather not a fan of that name. Who's screams are they muffling? How could something even garner such a strange and macabre name?
Post by: miauw62 on October 17, 2013, 12:56:09 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 17, 2013, 07:36:43 am
-You already did something useful, you helped three invalids. I will abstain from making a comment on the first part of that sentence, though.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 17, 2013, 02:12:44 pm
Kevin, prone as he is, chooses to take the initiative in this case.
"We've got the money and our broken friend. Anyone mind if I go first?"
It turns out that someone does mind. Sigmund, to be specific.
"I think that Mark would mind if he could talk. Besides that, you can move, so it would be better if we allow him to move first, then try to fix you."
"Mmph, alright."
Scott is also a bit peevish from today's experiences, and makes his grievances plain.
"Am I here just as a pretty face, or can I do something useful?"
"You already did something useful, you helped three invalids. I will abstain from making a comment on the first part of that sentence, though."
Before this wonderful dialogue can go on further, Gunther intervenes.
"So... I take it that your friend is the one inside the bag, yes?"
In the dark void of sensory deprivation...
Niklas attempts to communicate with his old pal Kruub.
"Kruub! Kruub! Come in, Kruub!"
There is no reply. He must be busy or something. Or just a rotten old codger who likes ignoring people on purpose - both are equally likely, Niklas supposes. After all, the bastard loves his dung cave to a degree that would be distinctly unhealthy if one didn't take into account that he, by all rights, should have expired some ten years ago, really.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton confers with Art for a moment.
"Hm... suppose we must look for directions again. But each time we're at least getting closer to our goal. I thank you for coming along with me good Mage Art, it is much appreciated. If I can't find them there however, the only other place I can think to check would be the boat again, in hopes that perhaps they've returned while we left."
"I guess, yeah. In any case, I seem to be glowing nicely again."
That's kind of true, actually - the light seems to have returned nicely to Art's crystalline core. However, Morton has more pressing business presently. He approaches a nearby person, seemingly a local.
"Excuse me, sir, but do you know in which direction lies the Alley of Muffled Screams?"
The man turns to him, wild-eyed and manic in his manner.
"The truth does not exist, good sir! Everything is a lie! Believe it or not!"
Post by: Xantalos on October 17, 2013, 03:30:29 pm
Empty my mind again.
Post by: Tomcost on October 17, 2013, 03:38:47 pm
Sigmund told Gunther:
-Yes. And I think that he would apreciate if we begin doing bussiness.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 17, 2013, 03:53:44 pm
"I, ah, I see. Or... Not see?" Morton is confused, to say the least. Oh dear, bit cities are quite peculiar it seems. Things were so simple out in the country, everyone knew one another and the rather more stranger of them had the tact to not shout in stranger's faces. A part of him said to rapidly depart, another to see what in the world is upsetting this man so. The third part is to just ask him again, but he's well aware that probably wouldn't quite work.
Against his better judgement... "Hm, what exactly is bothering you, sir? Why denounce truth and everything as a lie? I'm afraid the meaning is lost on me."
Post by: Innsmothe on October 17, 2013, 04:47:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 17, 2013, 04:53:36 pm
Sigmund added:
-I guess that it depends on how damaged he is.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 18, 2013, 02:26:54 am
Post by: killerhellhound on October 18, 2013, 06:13:49 am
also in a town of weird people we aren't the weirdest, that is disturbing for this community, wheres Derm when you need him))
Post by: Tomcost on October 18, 2013, 06:33:17 am
((I am finally getting fixed FUCK YEAH((Why would we need Derm when we have hateful mushrooms?))
also in a town of weird people we aren't the weirdest, that is disturbing for this community, wheres Derm when you need him))
Post by: killerhellhound on October 18, 2013, 07:26:35 am
Derm would speed it up alot((I am finally getting fixed FUCK YEAH((Why would we need Derm when we have hateful mushrooms?))
also in a town of weird people we aren't the weirdest, that is disturbing for this community, wheres Derm when you need him))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 18, 2013, 08:27:08 am
Niklas attempts to empty his mind once more. Fortunately, he is getting rather good at this, mostly due to repetition, and manages to abolish all thought from that nonexistent cranium of his.
Come to think of it, not having a brain might also be a pretty good way to empty your mind, and Niklas has already got that part down pat. So he's pretty much all good now.
At Gunther Gunnarson's stall...
Sigmund, interrupted before he could make any choice remarks, answers Gunther.
"Yes. And I think that he would appreciate if we begin doing business."
"Ready when you are, sir. Show me the money, and your friend will be fixed in a few hours or so."
Scott, a little out of the loop, asks a question.
"What is it that you plan to do with him?"
"I guess that it depends on how damaged he is."
"Indeed. I was hoping to fit him with some quality ball joints, myself, though perhaps it might not be necessary. Remains to be seen, yes."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton can't help but wonder if this town will ever run out of unusual people that go about their guidance in a roundabout fashion.
"I, ah, I see. Or... not see?"
"Exactly!"
Morton tries to restrain himself from asking yet more, but unfortunately fails.
"Hm, what exactly is bothering you, sir? Why denounce truth and everything as a lie? I'm afraid the meaning is lost on me."
"Yes," the man says simply. "Quite so, indeed. The meaning is lost because it cannot be found. Gods, man, you're a desk, and you're asking me why everything is a lie? How do you even eat or drink?"
Post by: Tomcost on October 18, 2013, 08:37:20 am
Simgund opened the bag and showed Mark, then said:
-So, would the ball joints be necessary?
If he says yes, hand him four gold coins. If he says no, hand him one gold coin.
-Would you mind if I stay to see the process? It may be educational.
((Hidden cause: I can't come back on my own))
Post by: killerhellhound on October 18, 2013, 09:49:35 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 18, 2013, 10:18:24 am
Post by: Xantalos on October 18, 2013, 10:31:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 18, 2013, 10:35:02 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 18, 2013, 11:02:21 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 18, 2013, 12:05:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 18, 2013, 12:07:56 pm
Unlikely but possible.)
Post by: killerhellhound on October 18, 2013, 12:12:23 pm
With Xantalos I can make him a body and stick whatever is left of his soul inside.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 18, 2013, 02:12:45 pm
Sigmund opens the mysterious bag he had Scott carry here, and produces the badly damaged and de-limbed Mark. Gunther gives the pile of body parts a quick appraisal.
"So, would the ball joints be necessary?"
"I would say so, yes. His joints are completely split into tiny bits, you see. No chance that a riveting alone will give him any of the necessary dexterity."
Sigmund nods and hands Gunther the necessary coins.
"Would you mind if I stay to see the process? It may be educational," Sigmund also adds, hoping to get a good glimpse at what's about to happen to his crazy surgeon pal.
"Sure, I would say that you can certainly watch."
However, before the spectacular combination of master smithing and adoring gawking can commence, Scott interrupts in his typical fashion, poking his artificial wooden thumbs at the smith.
"I would like a better hand..."
"Seems like a perfectly good pair of hands to me - wonderful quality on those thumbs, actually. Still, I could figure something out, provided you had about one or two gold coins, depending on what exactly you want."
Kevin, who is left watching as offers are continuously made, resignedly accepts his lot in unlife - to be a crippled tagalong!
"I hardly have a choice but to stay, do I?"
Nobody really bothers to answer him.
"So... guess we get to repairing your buddy, then? Help me drag him inside, will you?"
In a senseless void...
Niklas, supposing there ought to be earth around him or something, tries to reach out to it somehow.
After a while of trying this, he realizes that, to put it simply, magic no work. Magic no work most distressingly.
Post by: Tomcost on October 18, 2013, 02:21:05 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 18, 2013, 02:44:55 pm
Existential flailing!
Post by: Xanmyral on October 18, 2013, 05:33:41 pm
Morton does indeed regret asking this man further questions. Bother. "Ah, well, you see I'm not entirely sure myself, I don't believe I need to eat and drink actually. Now, it was nice meeting you sir, but I'm in a bit of a rush, I have to find my friends. I wish you luck in your, ah, endeavors."
The desk internally sighed and tried to find someone else who might perhaps know where this alley is. Third time's the charm, after all.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 19, 2013, 02:18:32 am
I guess scott will go find a book and read up on this witchery-pokery happening here.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 19, 2013, 06:00:15 am
Sigmund, interested in getting all this crap done, helps Gunther heft Mark with his single arm, delivering him inside, all the while giving Scott the stinkeye for buggering off like nobody's business. While Scott completely fails to find a book lying around on the street, the smithing begins. Gunther, ever the consummate professional, works incredibly slowly, Sigmund finds. After two hours of drilling, polishing and fitting, he's still only done with one joint, and even that's placed at the elbow. After asking Gunther how many are left, Gunther replies that there are still seven or so to go.
Wonderful.
In a senseless void...
Niklas, having nothing better to do, starts to flail existentially, whatever that means. And it sorta works, because he notices Helsvar all of a sudden.
"What are you doing, my love?"
In the company of a severe nihilist...
Morton, seeing that this guy will only serve as a rather pointless distraction at best, tries to leave.
"Ah, well, you see I'm not entirely sure myself, I don't believe I need to eat and drink actually. Now, it was nice meeting you sir, but I'm in a bit of a rush, I have to find my friends. I wish you luck in your, ah, endeavors."
However, as he wobbles away, the man follows along, continuing his rant.
"No! That doesn't make any sense, either! You need energy to exist! To move, to speak, to do things! You don't make any sense whatsoever!"
Art, clearly losing his patience as well, intervenes.
"Yes, yes, of course. Shove off, buddy."
"You're a fine one to talk! How can you move? I've never heard of flexible crystals, and you seem to require them to function! How does that work?"
"Well, you see..."
"I don't! It doesn't work! It can't work! Madness and lies, all of it!"
Morton notices that people seem to be actively avoiding him now as the man rants at him. Oh dear.
Post by: miauw62 on October 19, 2013, 06:07:58 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 19, 2013, 10:13:32 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 19, 2013, 10:57:48 am
Morton tried to think of his demonology book. He recalls good Tailor Craig mentioning a demon of hard questions, perhaps this man would like to speak so such a demon. If nothing else it could be a distraction while they get away...
The desk tries to think if there was a speaking portal to this demon in his version. All the while though he continues walking along, perhaps such a measure wouldn't be needed.
[I got a bad feeling that tells me perhaps I shouldn't use demonology for such petty reasons. Another says go for it, nothing can go wrong.]
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 11:04:37 am
-Well, as this is taking more time than I wanted, do you want to come back to the ship for some time?
Post by: miauw62 on October 19, 2013, 11:24:44 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 11:27:45 am
-Well, I found some books on Mark, and Morton has some of them too. And you already know the way back, so there is no need for me to be here.
Post by: Xantalos on October 19, 2013, 11:34:08 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 11:42:07 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 19, 2013, 11:45:10 am
I'm kinda curious as to if I can
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 11:53:07 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 19, 2013, 12:04:24 pm
Besides, our souls are technically already owned, aren't they?]
Post by: miauw62 on October 19, 2013, 12:19:47 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 02:13:59 pm
((That's never stopped all the other players from selling their souls to demons. That said, the Artiste may be different.))((Aaaaansweeer meeeee. I want to go to the ship))
Post by: miauw62 on October 19, 2013, 04:24:50 pm
Head back to the ship, make sure to memorize the route.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 19, 2013, 04:41:33 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 19, 2013, 05:21:22 pm
After arriving to the ship, thank Kevin and look for the mages.
Post by: Xantalos on October 19, 2013, 06:45:01 pm
See if I still have my chair sense by trying to attract any chairs in the area to me.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 20, 2013, 03:47:39 am
Sigmund, Scott and Kevin, upon the former realizing that this is taking too much time, confer with each other (well, not with Scott, of course, but that much makes sense), and all decide to get back to the ship, arriving rather quickly on the spot. Sigmund immediately realizes he needs to see the mages, and takes an inventory of the mages available.
Firstly, there's the Artiste. He's right on deck, fortunately, looking out into the city contentedly and probably nursing a mild headache. He finds Evelyn to be still asleep despite the fact that it's well past noon already. Erin is similarly asleep, though she seems a bit more restless. Tailor Craig seems to be busy vandalizing his room with a vast number of diagrams and circles, making sure no spot is left uncovered, and the Captain seems to be floating about and whistling. Art is nowhere to be seen.
In the company of an extreme nihilist...
Morton tries to be polite to the abrasive disbeliever man.
"It works on magic of some kind, I assume. We don't rightly know beyond that it works in some fashion, the development was recent so we haven't time to figure it out. If you could, could you please use an inside voice sir? I mean no offense, but I don't believe yelling is necessary when we're only paces away."
The man quiets down just the tiniest bit.
"But 'magic' doesn't answer a thing, does it? What is magic? How does it work? Where does it come from? Is it divine, or a property of the universe itself? Why does it exist?"
"It's more of a force, really, and-"
"Do either of you have a brain? A physical brain, I mean? It doesn't seem like it - I can see through one of you, and observe nothing of the sort. How do you think?"
"Through the soul, naturally."
"And what's the soul? Where does that come from? And what purpose does it serve?"
Art pauses, looking thoughtfully at the man. In the momentary lapse of conversation, Morton wonders about the Demon of Difficult Questions. He thinks he did see a verbal portal in the Handbook of Demonic Conduct for the fellow, yes. Perhaps this man would be interested in it.
In a senseless void...
Niklas answers Helsvar's question, having little else to do.
"Trying to find a body to house my soul in, my sweet."
"Oh, don't leave this body, my love! I couldn't bear the thought of your soul departing for the next life!"
Hm. Maybe Niklas can still sense... nah, no, he can't.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, hoping he's at least safer than he was a moment ago, looks at his arm. It's not a pretty sight. Strips of flesh - or whatever Darren has for flesh, anyway - have been flayed right off, leaving large patches where he can see exposed ectoplasmic muscle. He thinks he can even see a patch of bone underneath, though it's a bit ethereal, so it's difficult to tell.
In fact, it's a tad scary that it doesn't actually hurt or anything, aside from the initial sensation of peeling and having chunks split off from his body. Thinking about it for a moment, Darren looks around. He seems to be in a rather clean-looking cul-de-sac currently, in the middle of a nearly complete circle of odd, shifting metallic structures of varying complexity and unknown purpose.
Suddenly, Darren becomes aware of a plate on the ground next to him rising upwards, protruding from the artificially roughened surface of the street. From this protrusion two long metal arms emerge, each fashioned in what would be a likeness of the human arm were it not for two things - each hand has two thumbs, on opposite sides of the palm, and one hand has a mouth on the palm while the other has a triplet of what look like eyes. The mouth-hand moves closer to him, beginning to speak in a pleasant, soft male voice, and the eye-hand moves in a circle around Darren, appraising him from several angles before settling next to the mouth-hand.
"Why, hello, good sir. Might I ask why you grace us with your presence?"
Post by: Xantalos on October 20, 2013, 03:54:03 am
Hm.
I'm still connected to that Nartif guy via soul bond. Maybe I can contact him.
Attempt to perceive the soulbond thing around my soul and communicate with the Artiste through it.
Somehow.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 20, 2013, 04:53:28 am
Post by: killerhellhound on October 20, 2013, 05:08:56 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 20, 2013, 07:37:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 07:56:24 am
-Oh, yes, come with me. I placed them at the den, just in case somebody decided to steal from Mark.
Take Kevin to the den and show him the books.
-We have two of them. This one appears to be a spellbook, about necromancy. Probably something that our master doesn't want us to even get near. And the other one appears to be a manual of that bullshit called divining. Well, at least a convincing bullshit which manages to convince people,a ctually, as the guards have at least one diviner helping them. It came with its own divining tools apparently. I wonder where did Mark get them.
Post by: miauw62 on October 20, 2013, 08:12:34 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 08:19:08 am
-It is mostly bullshit, but I guess that it would be useful to pass the time. There is a part about visceromancy or something like that that is simmilar.
Sigmund then goes to Tailor Craig and asks:
-So, what demon are you going to contat?
Post by: miauw62 on October 20, 2013, 08:45:38 am
Pick up the divining book and head back to the smith.
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 09:27:32 am
"I also need money to pay fixing up Mark."((Already payed for that))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 20, 2013, 10:57:04 am
"I'm sorry that we can't provide adequate explanation sir, but I honestly don't know. I was turned into a desk by a demon a day or so ago, and don't rightly know many things. I know that I see out of these," with that Morton pointed at the knobs on his drawers, "and I can speak out of this." The desk similarly pointed at his speech drawer. "I don't know how I can hear, nor how I can think, nor even how I can articulate movement really. I don't like not knowing, but such is sadly how it works. These arms aren't even original to my body, they were added on later and I found I could manipulate them as if they were natural. Perhaps I can simply manipulate wood to a strange degree, if within a certain distance from whatever might be truly me inside this desk? I do not know."
Morton turned around until he was facing Socrates, a strange name by all counts, but one he finds fitting for some reason he's not entirely aware of. Sadly, strange things that seem fitting for reasons he's not aware of is starting to become a common occurrence, such as his form, magic, soul binding, demons, gods, city life... Oh how he missed the days when things were simple.
"But I believe I might know someone who would. I warn you though, I've never attempted to contact such an individual so I'm not sure what might happen should he-or-she indeed be contacted. But I lay the offer out, I can quite possibly contact someone who can answer your questions if you wish. I've been told this individual asks as many hard questions as they themselves answer, and they may request a type of payment, possibly severe, for their answers or questions. Would you like to speak with him-or-her? I'm not the kind of person who likes to force anyone into anything; I consider such things dreadful and barbaric you see, so if you do not wish to, I will rescind the offer."
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 11:06:15 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 20, 2013, 11:18:33 am
Remember: Always be business-like, be straight forward, remain calm, and never, ever barter with your soul.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 20, 2013, 01:43:22 pm
Niklas does his best to assuage the fears of Helsvar.
"Don't mourn, my sweet. I can't find any chairs to transfer to anyhow. Hm."
That gives him an idea.
"I'm still connected to that Nartif guy via soul bond. Maybe I can contact him."
"Be safe, my love."
Niklas then tries to do something with the soul bond, but he doesn't find anything to work off of. Doesn't seem like the bond's an actual, physical thing. At least, not right now.
On the Second Shank...
Scott quickly takes an inventory of the things available here on the ship. He finds out that there really aren't any. There's only a bit of food in the kitchen, a bit of water here and there and the barrel and a half of the Special that Scott brought.
A sad state of affairs, to be honest.
Sigmund and Kevin, meanwhile, figure out a plan of action. It involves giving Kevin a book and a gold coin. This is more difficult than one might imagine due to the fact that Kevin's fingers don't really work properly due to being broken. And the fact that he can't roll up the stairs with anything that can be described as a reasonable amount of effort.
Sigmund, though, has no problem just walking over to Craig and pestering him.
"So, what demon are you going to contact?"
Tailor Craig is a tad startled by Sigmund's sudden remark, and rapidly wipes away a single line of chalk that he was drawing.
"Ah. Didn't see you there. But to answer your question, these are templates, mostly for verbal portals. I have one mostly drafted up for the Demon of Difficult Questions - quite a useful portal, that one. And one template for the makeover portal, one on the far wall that leads to the Realm of Fear, and one more general one, and some companion sigils, definitely a rather good beginning, I would say. Sadly, there is only so much space I can use here, or I would perhaps do one of the larger ones as well, for practice if nothing else."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton, against what one would consider good sense, replies to the man, who he has dubbed Socrates for the purposes of this discussion on a whim.
"I'm sorry that we can't provide adequate explanation sir, but I honestly don't know. I was turned into a desk by a demon a day or so ago, and don't rightly know many things. I know that I see out of these," he says, pointing at the knobs on his drawers, "and I can speak out of this," he continues, indicating his speech drawer. "I don't know how I can hear, nor how I can think, nor even how I can articulate movement really. I don't like not knowing, but such is sadly how it works. These arms aren't even original to my body, they were added on later and I found I could manipulate them as if they were natural. Perhaps I can simply manipulate wood to a strange degree, if within a certain distance from whatever might be truly me inside this desk? I do not know."
"But I believe I might know someone who would. I warn you though, I've never attempted to contact such an individual so I'm not sure what might happen should he-or-she indeed be contacted. But I lay the offer out, I can quite possibly contact someone who can answer your questions if you wish. I've been told this individual asks as many hard questions as they themselves answer, and they may request a type of payment, possibly severe, for their answers or questions. Would you like to speak with him-or-her? I'm not the kind of person who likes to force anyone into anything; I consider such things dreadful and barbaric you see, so if you do not wish to, I will rescind the offer."
"Who is this individual, and what makes you believe they can provide the truth?"
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 01:47:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 20, 2013, 01:52:12 pm
((So, Kevin is still in the ship, right?))
Yes. He also doesn't have the book, as it doesn't fit into any of his pockets, unlike the gold coin.
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 02:05:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 20, 2013, 02:10:22 pm
((I see, but he did not go downstairs, right?))
He had to in order to attempt to get the book - it was presumably painful.
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 02:24:36 pm
Sigmund told to Craig:
-I will be right back, I would like to make you some questions about all this.
Help Kevin to go upstairs, then come back and ask:
-Would any of these things be actually dangerous? Because I know of a place where you could do all this things and won't ever be bothered.
Post by: Xantalos on October 20, 2013, 02:53:42 pm
Helsvar, my love, are you capable of interacting with anyone but me?
Post by: Xanmyral on October 20, 2013, 04:37:18 pm
Morton laid out his offer in more clear and less vague terms, along with what he wants to get out of it. The desk wonders if there are easier ways to get this man to stop following him, and there undoubtedly are, but at least the offer would either distract the man to where he could get away, or dissuade the man from following him either way.
[There is absolutely no way this can go wrong, nope, no way at all.]
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 04:46:11 pm
"I don't know the individual's specific name, but from what I've heard they're called the Demon of Difficult Questions. This individual provides both answers and questions to what is provided, and I for one can't imagine a source more reliable than a being dedicated entirely to such an endeavor. I can provide you with a way to speak to this individual, hopefully helping you find the answers to your questions. It's no small thing I'm offering however, so I understand caution and indeed would only go through such a thing if you wish it, but I believe it can help you. If you accept such a proposition, all I ask is for one thing: you tell me where I can find the Alley of Muffled Screams."((Hey, bit a bit of luck the demon will overload his mind and we end up having a fresh body!
Morton laid out his offer in more clear and less vague terms, along with what he wants to get out of it. The desk wonders if there are easier ways to get this man to stop following him, and there undoubtedly are, but at least the offer would either distract the man to where he could get away, or dissuade the man from following him either way.
[There is absolutely no way this can go wrong, nope, no way at all.]
By the way, Sigmund is probably going to propose Craig to go to the Yaleson's house to practise potenially dangerous stuff there instead of the ship, so you should make this quick))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 20, 2013, 04:49:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 04:53:23 pm
On the food and water subjects: if we keep like this we will make the Feisty Jelly rich.
We need a way to make money. Preferably a legal one. Maybe taking Craig through the city turning people into fashionable abominations?))
Post by: Nunzillor on October 20, 2013, 09:10:39 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 20, 2013, 09:19:12 pm
((Well, a trip to the fabulous dimension for each crew member should fix the whole food and water problem.))((I will regret this, but I have to say that it may be a good idea.))
Post by: miauw62 on October 21, 2013, 12:58:50 am
Wait for assistance with the stairs, then head to the smith.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 21, 2013, 02:47:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 21, 2013, 02:00:00 pm
Sigmund, recalling that he has inadvertently trapped Kevin downstairs, excuses himself for a moment, goes back and helps him up - with only one arm, it's a bit more difficult than one might imagine, but he gets it done eventually, sending Kevin on his way. He then returns to Craig.
"Would any of these things be actually dangerous? Because I know of a place where you could do all these things and won't ever be bothered."
"Hm? Where? I don't think the cargo hold would be a good spot, as we may need to store things there, and I don't think the den or the other people's rooms will work either due to reasons of good etiquette if nothing else."
Kevin, meanwhile, rolls over to Gunther Gunnarson's place, hearing what sounds like slow, deliberate work from within.
In a senseless void...
Niklas asks Helsvar for assistance.
"Hm. Helsvar, my love, are you capable of interacting with anyone but me?"
"Yes. Torkel, for one. And Kruub as well, though I have not seen him lately. Maybe I can find some of the other villagers as well, though I do not speak with them as often as I used to - they have taken to shunning me, actually. Why?"
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton offers the man the name of his friend-of-a-friend, hoping to get a sort of trade going.
"I don't know the individual's specific name, but from what I've heard they're called the Demon of Difficult Questions. This individual provides both answers and questions to what is provided, and I for one can't imagine a source more reliable than a being dedicated entirely to such an endeavor. I can provide you with a way to speak to this individual, hopefully helping you find the answers to your questions. It's no small thing I'm offering however, so I understand caution and indeed would only go through such a thing if you wish it, but I believe it can help you. If you accept such a proposition, all I ask is for one thing: you tell me where I can find the Alley of Muffled Screams."
"What, ask a demon? Are you insane, man? Demons are the very architects of the lies and deceit that permeate this world of ours! As are the gods, for that matter. Everyone upstairs, downstairs and on different planes than the stairs altogether is in on it! Distorting our senses, twisting the world in ways it must not be twisted! Why, to seek one's aid would bring only further illusions, layers upon layers of cowpat to hide the ultimate truths!" the man replies, becoming more agitated and consequently louder with each sentence. "Why do you advocate such a thing, desk-man? Have you had dealings with them?"
Art narrows his glowing eyes at the man, taking a discreet step back.
On the Second Shank...
Scott, knowing that a lack of food and water is definitely news too terrible to keep to himself, finds the Artiste and explains the situation to him.
"Good gods, man, there's no food! Or water!"
"Don't think we need it, actually. Erin can make this stuff out of thin air, apparently. I've seen her do it, even. Tastes odd, you know, but works well enough. Haven't died yet, at any rate."
Post by: miauw62 on October 21, 2013, 02:09:11 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 21, 2013, 02:15:51 pm
-First, I have to amke you two questions, as this plsce where you can't be bothered is really dangerous. The first one is if you need to breathe. THe second one is if you are made of flesh or a simmilar material.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 21, 2013, 02:20:33 pm
At least you know that I apparently care about your mortal deficiencies.
...
So, how long do you suppose the trip shall be?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 21, 2013, 02:22:36 pm
Patiently wait for Gunther to finish.
About twelve hours left for that. Willing to wait that long?
Sigmund said to Craig:
-First, I have to amke you two questions, as this plsce where you can't be bothered is really dangerous. The first one is if you need to breathe. THe second one is if you are made of flesh or a simmilar material.
"No on both counts. I am not entirely corporeal, actually."
Oh...
At least you know that I apparently care about your mortal deficiencies.
...
So, how long do you suppose the trip shall be?
"No idea. I was actually planning to find out right now. I wonder if this will work..." he answers, standing up from his seated position, taking a swig of water and looking at the mildly overcast sky.
Post by: Tomcost on October 21, 2013, 04:13:17 pm
-I see, so maybe you can go to this place. But, to be sure, do you think that you are made from a simmilar material than me?
Show my stump
((I love this way of doing things. Because spending two IRL days on a single conversation is annoying))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 21, 2013, 07:04:41 pm
"I didn't mean to upset you sir and I apologize for that, but I'm afraid I don't think we're communicating on the same, ah, ground level? Either way, I apologize again for upsetting you, I'll leave you be then. I wish you a good day sir, and I hope you find the answers you're seeking. It sounds like a noble task, but I'm afraid possibly over my head."
Post by: miauw62 on October 22, 2013, 01:00:30 am
Go back to the ship.
Post by: Xantalos on October 22, 2013, 01:04:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 22, 2013, 01:11:43 am
Sigmund said:
-I see, so maybe you can go to this place. But, to be sure, do you think that you are made from a simmilar material than me?
Show my stump
"No, I wouldn't suppose so. For one, we were altered by different demons. Two, even if it was the same demon, they like to get creative somewhat frequently. In addition, the nature of my transformation, from what you've told me, differs greatly from yours."
"...They are? Who are 'them?' The demons? I've only met one in my life honestly, it's what turned me into this. I'm afraid I don't believe we're understanding one another it seems... If you say everything is a lie, than what is the truth? What is trying to be hid? I don't understand, I'm afraid." Morton was genuinely confused now, he thought he was trying to help the man (and as a byproduct be rid of him) but it seems that backfired.
"I didn't mean to upset you sir and I apologize for that, but I'm afraid I don't think we're communicating on the same, ah, ground level? Either way, I apologize again for upsetting you, I'll leave you be then. I wish you a good day sir, and I hope you find the answers you're seeking. It sounds like a noble task, but I'm afraid possibly over my head."
"Everything is a lie, and the truth is obfuscated! And you are one of their agents! The agents of deception! I knew there was something wrong with you!"
The man begins to step in your direction.
But not anyone in the physical world? Why is that? Did the Viking collective ascend to a higher state of being while I was away?
"Um... what? What are you talking about, dear?"
Post by: Xantalos on October 22, 2013, 01:13:37 am
Could you talk to someone other than me, the villagers, or Torkel or Kruub? Like (insert Artiste description here)?
Post by: Innsmothe on October 22, 2013, 02:41:14 am
((Assuming that Scott normally tries to breathe, either reflexively or to try and calm nearby mortals))
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 07:08:54 am
-Well, then you may be safe there. We had a problem with the imprisoned soul of a mage inside a tree and some deadly mushrooms that created some fast-growing mushrooms which make everything they touch to go numb. If the mushrooms infestation is controlled, then we may have an empty house. I will take you there.
Take Craig to the Yaleson's house, but make a stop to tell the Artiste:
-Craig wants to do some demonology stuff, so I'm taking him to the Yaleson house. I suppose that I will be there for some time. if you have to send someone to tell me something, send Morton, as the house has certain problems that only him can bypass.
[If I see hateful mushrooms:]
-They may not be able to harm you, but to be sure it would be better if you don't even get near them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 22, 2013, 07:18:44 am
Sigmund said to Craig:
-Well, then you may be safe there. We had a problem with the imprisoned soul of a mage inside a tree and some deadly mushrooms that created some fast-growing mushrooms which make everything they touch to go numb. If the mushrooms infestation is controlled, then we may have an empty house. I will take you there.
"I don't really need a place outside the ship, sadly - these circles are not so much for practice as they are for utility. I do not plan to summon any demons or, indeed, confer with them on any matters any time soon - I have simply drafted up these circles in the event that we need them for the voyage so that I can deploy their effects rapidly. Sketching these templates anywhere outside would be somewhat useless, possibly even harmful, as not only would they be inconvenient to quickly find and use for us, someone ekse may find them and attempt to fool around with them later, which can produce results that would be assuredly grim... for them, at least."
Post by: Xanmyral on October 22, 2013, 07:40:09 am
Morton, meanwhile, was digging in and getting ready to defend himself from whatever crazy thing Socrates may do. Oh bother, why must things be so complicated?
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 11:19:19 am
-Oh, I'm sorry then. I thought that you were just practicing some demonology. So, you say that these circles could be useful. Which uses could they have? I'm really intrigued about that Demon of Difficult Questions you mentioned.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 22, 2013, 12:13:07 pm
Sigmund said:
-Oh, I'm sorry then. I thought that you were just practicing some demonology. So, you say that these circles could be useful. Which uses could they have? I'm really intrigued about that Demon of Difficult Questions you mentioned.
"That is actually one of the more interesting demons. The Demon of Difficult Questions is exactly what one might think - an entity you can contact, and receive an answer to a question that has bothered you your entire life, perhaps the solution to a great dilemma, perhaps the whereabouts of a particular person, perhaps the truth of a particular matter that has been left unclear up to now. Or you can have it ask you a difficult, but worthwhile question - this is less expensive than the former alternative, naturally. Selling your soul to the Demon of Difficult Questions is what is required for actual answers, at least in most cases, and I prefer to keep mine in my possession for as long as possible, so I have not dealt with it for too much, though we have spoken once through a verbal portal. Quite an amiable individual, in my experience. Most demons are, in fact, unless you get on their bad side."
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 12:28:59 pm
Post by: miauw62 on October 22, 2013, 12:38:05 pm
"Just tell this treehead guy to head back to the ship when you're done, I'll come then. No point waiting here, is there?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 22, 2013, 12:47:25 pm
-I see, so, you can contact them without the need to sell your own soul, but can you get something from them without doing so? What kind of things can you trade with them?
"Demons are, by and large, a very bored lot, it seems. Though their main interest is your soul, you can also, just like in the case of the gods, pique it by being interesting somehow. Perhaps by offering an avenue of amusement, or prove yourself worthy of respect, or simply convince them that they must help you somehow. I believe that, in the case of the Aspect of Appeal, it may be the latter case, to draw on your own experiences - the demon must simply find you too offensive to not alter in a pleasing and possibly creative manner, and neglects to take possession of your soul in the process because it finds its task trivial to perform and absolutely necessary for its own peace of mind. Or at least that is what I believe - it can sometimes be difficult to figure out the exact motives and preferences of various demons."
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 12:51:18 pm
Action: watch the tailor do his job and try to learn something
((Edited because of many typos))
Post by: miauw62 on October 22, 2013, 01:01:42 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 01:22:41 pm
((Avenue of amusement. I feel like I'm going to be used as a demonic sacrifice soon.))((Why? This guy is one of the sanest persons this game has seen. In fact, considering all that he's been through, I think that he definitely is the sanest guy. Sigmund, on the other hand, is not, but probably is going to be a bit reluctanct to sell other people's souls. Because deep inside his fashionable vampire heart, he still has some sense of morality. Well, it has been maimed after helping nobles to kill their own relatives, but it still exists))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 22, 2013, 04:32:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 22, 2013, 04:33:28 pm
Kevin is a patient man, but not patient enough to wait around for who knows how long for the smith to finish up with his business.
"Just tell this treehead guy to head back to the ship when you're done, I'll come then. No point waiting here, is there?" he says, conveniently ignoring the fact that Mark can probably hear him very nicely himself and probably knows the way quite well. He then rolls back to the ship just in time to notice something happening on deck. The Artiste seems to be doing something, with Scott watching him somewhat theatrically, pretending to hold his breath - it doesn't quite work, considering that he doesn't breathe at all in the first place.
"Let's see... it's a grab, a shake and a pull..." the Artiste mutters, closing his eyes. Something shifts, then twists violently, and the air becomes peculiarly dry as all the atmospheric moisture of the nearby vicinity, which there is a lot of, this being the seaside and all, collects into one place, starting to glow faintly as it reshapes for a few moments. Eventually, a distinct shape emerges, an ethereal silhouette of a woman that defines itself over the next few seconds. She appears to be wearing a robe with a hood, and her features are somewhat plain, though it is difficult to see, what with the gaping hole in her face where her right eye should be. There's a very similar hole in her chest as well, right where her heart should be, and the light, patchwork fabric of her robe has a great amount of what can be easily recognized as congealed blood on it.
"It worked!"
"That it did, regrettably. At least you took your time with it, fiend."
The Artiste smiles.
"Oh, come on. Am I really that terrible?"
"Even looking at you pains me greatly."
"Aw. Well, luckily, you don't have to look at me! And, just in case, let me lay down some ground rules."
The ghost sighs with a supernatural weariness.
"I order you to not kill yourself, first of all. I got the feeling your original plunge wasn't altogether accidental."
"Precisely timed and aimed, actually, with contingency plans included."
"Also, you'll mostly be working with my pals here. One of them is Scott," he says, pointing to the appropriate individual, "and the mangled individual over there is Kevin. There's also others - one rather pleasant desk, a man made of chairs and one that's unusually reddish-purple and dresses in quite a fruity fashion. There's also your old friends and one more demonic fellow - I'm sure you'll meet them all in due time."
"How wonderful."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Justine! So, my first question to you is how long will it take to get to Mothdale with this ship."
Justine sighs, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Too vague a question, answer is variable. Anything else?"
"I'm sure we'll think of something. What about you guys? Any questions you'd like to ask her? Don't be shy, now."
"Yes, pester me all you wish. Not like I have anything else to do or anywhere to be."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton, too polite to assault or dodge a raving lunatic, tries to stop him with words.
"You state everything is a lie one moment then that truth is hidden the next. Which is it? If everything is a lie than is not the truth a lie, or if there is truth that is hidden by the lies than doesn't that mean not everything is a lie? What truth is being hidden, and how do you know that it's there? How can you tell what is real and what is fake?"
"Now you're learning!" the man says, advancing quickly. "Let us test your veracity, yes?"
He keeps advancing, outstretching a single hand and placing it on Morton's surface. Morton feels an unpleasant shiver run through his form, followed by the sensation of thirst flaring up, then disappearing, and the man's eyes narrow.
"Resistant, are we?"
He turns to Art.
"You also have the look of the demon-touched about you! Question is, will you hold up to the same examination?"
As the man reaches his hand for Art, Art slaps his hand away in what seems like a rather painful fashion - it even leaves a small mark that starts to trickle blood on the man's hand.
"Why, I am insulted that you would insinuate I have had anything to do with demons of any sort, you impudent wretch! Even more so, you have deigned to try and touch me in public, me, the eldest daughter of the high reeve of Glastington! I would strike you down on the spot were I not wary of covering my esteemed visage with your filthy low-born blood!" Art furiously proclaims to the man, who backs away a few steps, though whether this is due to beggar instincts or fear of sharp things impacting his soft tissues is unclear. He eyes Art suspiciously.
"Why have you not left my sight yet, you dirty little serf? Have I not made my grievances with you plain enough?" he asks, slowly reshaping his hand into an altogether more blade-like form.
The man seems about to say something, but Art cuts him off.
"And now you intend to talk back to me? I say, guards! There is a filthy layabout here, bothering his betters!" he shouts out conspicuously. The man, probably no stranger to altercations with the law, judging from his manner, starts to back away quickly, turning around while muttering angrily and leaving. Just as soon as he leaves, a guard arrives.
"Who is bothering you, ma'am?"
"Oh, officer, it was terrible! A dirty, unkempt man came at me, shouting about the illusory nature of existence or some such rot and insisting that he be allowed to manhandle both my esteemed person and my equally esteemed desk-in-waiting!"
"Ah. Him. What do you mean by 'manhandle', ma'am?"
"He extended his hand toward me, meaning to touch me in a sinister, dirty fashion and drag my good name through his own terrible brand of pseudo-intellectual beggary! He even placed his hand on my desk-in-waiting! Now my servants will have to wash him for five days and five nights in special scented oils and disinfectants, though the moral stain will be even more difficult to remove!"
The guard seems both intrigued and shocked by the description of the man's behavior, though he also takes a peculiar interest in Morton.
"This is your... um... desk-in-waiting?"
"Why, yes. My dearest, sweetest Morton - I've had him in my service since I was but a seedling in the Holy Pods of Procreation in distant Glastington! He is a treasure to me, and has not left my side throughout my entire life, so you understand my shock when a beggar simply up and touches him without provocation!"
The guard leans in toward Morton.
"Does it... um... he speak? Or hear? He seems to have arms. Can you point to where the man touched you, Morton?" the guard asks in a slightly condescending tone.
In a senseless void...
Niklas asks Helsvar if she can actually summon somebody helpful.
"Oh, sorry. Got a bit too much into high-level theoretical chopping. Could you talk to someone other than me, the villagers, or Torkel or Kruub? Like that apparently-not-a-demon man?"
"I don't know... I don't think so. He doesn't live near my village, does he? Or maybe in the next one? I could go further than that, but it would take a long time to return, and I cannot bear to leave you alone like this."
In Tailor Craig's room...
Sigmund, having attained insight about the various flavors and sorts of demonic entities, asks one more question.
"Mind if I watch you work?"
"Not particularly, feel free to watch, but I would advise against stepping inside the room itself - disturbing a circle in just the right way can cause disturbing and dangerous consequences."
With this in mind, Sigmund watches Craig keep on vandalizing his room. He can't help but wonder that he would have probably learned more had he arrived earlier - right now, Craig just seems to be putting on the finishing touches, and is done within fifteen minutes, stepping out of the room and standing next to his single audience member.
"I suppose that's quite enough for now. Not much more room in there, anyway. I'll be in the den if you need me," Craig says, half-walking, half-floating off quickly.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 22, 2013, 05:36:46 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 22, 2013, 05:52:12 pm
-It is always a pleasure to know a little bit more about the supernatural beings above us.
Sigmund then went to see what the Artiste was doing, and found that ghost there. He asked:
-What is happening here?
((OOC edit: that was an epic turn. If this system encourages these kind of turns, then keep it, please))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 22, 2013, 07:41:51 pm
Darren takes some of the handkerchiefs from his jacket and wraps them around his arm wound.
"Oh. Uhh... Sorry."
Please, please, please...
"I was running away from... From some sort of mage woman."
Post by: Xantalos on October 22, 2013, 08:02:42 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 22, 2013, 09:49:05 pm
While he dislikes the rather, ah, blunt way the situation was dealt with this, the man obviously didn't mean them well it seems. He knew enough to play a part though, thinking back to Ruth and all the plays she performed. The desk hopes some of it rubbed off on him and shows itself right about now... Here goes nothing.
The desk shivered heavily and the drawer slowly slid out in a self-pitying, if dignified, groan as its arms gingerly came close to touching the spot where Socrates laid his hand on him, but not quite. "A travesty, a tragedy of the highest order has befallen us. Yes, good officer, I greatly assure you that I can quite indeed point where that... That..." The desk searched for words for a moment before letting out a low voice to express his displeasure in the word, "Vagrant befouled me."
Almost immediately the desk turned to Art, body drooping in an ashamed posture. "Please forgive me my lady; I did not mean to use such dreadful language in front of you, the severity of the situation must be getting to me. I assure you, had that man came any closer to you I would of attempted to insist that he of left us alone post-haste, or extradited him to the nearest official of the law. My greatest consolation is that he did not manage to befoul you thanks to your tactful action, I only wish I could of done more."
The desk turned back to the guard, trying to dredge up dignity in bearing and posture again as an astute desk-in-waiting only can. "I assure you officer, the damage is plain for all eyes, I can feel his--his marks. I--I had been only trying to ask for directions, but the man raved and ranted, shouted and followed us wherever we went. I feared for my lady's safety and tried to ask for him to be on his way, but then he accosted us with accusations of demon possession and guile!" With that the desk pointed gingerly at where the man touched him again. "I had thought this was such a quaint city, with its rustic charms and upstanding citizens, but I dreadfully fear such an image has now been tarnished in my mind... But I trust in the will and presence of the guards, I know you will prevent such a travesty and rightful action will be taken."
Post by: miauw62 on October 23, 2013, 06:02:12 am
"I have a question. Who are you? What happened to your face?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2013, 01:26:01 pm
Scott opens up negotiations with a simple bunch of questions.
"What are the chief dangers we may face?... And why did you address the master as 'fiend'?"
Justine doesn't close her eyes this time, answering Scott immediately in a completely deadpan manner.
"Yourselves, to answer your first question. All other dangers, including, but not limited to fiendish sea-creatures, opportunistic land-lubbers, airborne invaders and magic gone wild in ways never before imagined, are secondary. As for why I called the fiend a fiend, I was merely speaking the truth."
"You're too kind, Justine. By the way, you are strictly disallowed from harming either me or any of my minions, should you feel the need to do so in the future."
Justine lightly twitches, but says nothing. Suddenly, Sigmund appears quite out of the blue, approaching the happenings with interest.
"What is happening here?"
"Secret club meeting, good sir. You're not invited. Go on now, shoo," the ghost tells him, making an appropriate shooing gesture.
"Aw, don't be so harsh on the poor guy. That's Sigmund, you know. He means well and all that."
"I would still prefer it if he would leave, though. Don't like the look of him. I mean, he's obviously up to something. Better to keep him out of the loop about your big plans. Doesn't look like he'd be glad to get sacrificed, does he?"
"Oh, don't be silly. I'd never sacrifice my dear boy Siggy! After all, how likely am I to get another minion like him to just stroll up to me like that again?"
Justine gives the Artiste a knowing, yet completely artificial grin.
"I'm sure you'd figure something out," she says, and the Artiste just waves his hand at her dismissively.
Before the dialogue can develop further, Kevin asks a question.
"I have a question. Who are you? What happened to your face?"
"I'm Justine, obviously. Can't you tell? I see things, and somebody apparently thinks it's a valuable talent. I can also froth at the mouth on command when the mood strikes me. As for my current condition, it is a most unfortunate birth defect. I was born stabbed through the face and heart, you see. Quite tragic, really."
In a cul-de-sac of some sort...
Darren, hoping he isn't setting himself up for more flaying disappointment, wraps up his flayed arm in his available kerchiefs. It looks quite swanky now!
"Oh. Uhh... Sorry."
The mouth-hand's mouth narrows to an O, almost looking like an eye like the one on the hand next to it.
"I was running away from... from some sort of mage woman."
"Oh. So you weren't visiting at all? How disappointing. Perhaps I can help you with something anyway? After all, since you're here, might as well enjoy a little hospitality, yes?"
In a senseless void...
Niklas proposes an interesting idea.
"Could you take me to your village?"
"I could try, yes. It's not far at all - I should be able to drag you along, if you do not mind, my love."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton, after a moment of being confused at the way events develop, jolly well joins Art in the indignation parade. He opens his drawer up with a groan, then moves his arms to approach the spot where the hideous filthy man deigned to place his dirty hand - nay, not even a hand, a vicious claw of defilement, even! As he begins to speak, the officer shrinks back a little.
"A travesty, a tragedy of the highest order has befallen us. Yes, good officer, I greatly assure you that I can quite indeed point where that... that... vagrant befouled me," he says, turning to Art immediately in a cowed manner.
"Please forgive me, my lady; I did not mean to use such dreadful language in front of you, the severity of the situation must be getting to me. I assure you, had that man came any closer to you I would of attempted to insist that he of left us alone post-haste, or extradited him to the nearest official of the law. My greatest consolation is that he did not manage to befoul you thanks to your tactful action, I only wish I could've done more."
"You are forgiven, dear servant - why, that terrible, wretched goblin of a man brought me to a point where even the most proper lady would be sorely tempted to lapse into the most base vernacular. To be assaulted in the streets by dirty peasants, one simply cannot expect such a thing from a proper, rational society - I was nearly petrified from shock myself! Petrified, oh yes!"
Morton then turns back to the guard, looking a bit more dignified. "I assure you officer, the damage is plain for all eyes, I can feel his--his marks. I--I had been only trying to ask for directions, but the man raved and ranted, shouted and followed us wherever we went. I feared for my lady's safety and tried to ask for him to be on his way, but then he accosted us with accusations of demon possession and guile!" he says, pointing at the tarnished spot again. "I had thought this was such a quaint city, with its rustic charms and upstanding citizens, but I dreadfully fear such an image has now been tarnished in my mind... but I trust in the will and presence of the guards, I know you will prevent such a travesty and rightful action will be taken."
"I think I can see a handprint on him! Oh, the humiliation!"
"Rest assured, ma'am and... desk, we will apprehend and question him in due time - he is well-known to us, and seemed harmless until now - we will be sure to administer many vicious beatings in your name, have no fear. In the meantime, I advise you avoid such suspicious types to the best of your ability."
"It is the least you can do, after all! Getting attacked by vagrants in the trade district, what's next? Kings having their pockets picked in public? Zero tolerance, good sir! Do not let such filth take root in the city, or civilization as we know it is lost!"
"Erm... yes, of course, milady."
"You have to wonder, where are we safe, really? Clearly not here, as our experience has proven!"
"If I may say so myself, this section, despite isolated incidents, is one of the safest. You should be protected well enough here, though perhaps you should... um... well, nevermind. Just avoid wandering too far to the east - stay away from suspicious names, like the Alley of Muffled Screams, the Feisty Jelly, Leaky Eye Road and-"
"The Alley of Muffled Screams! What kind of respectable town would have a alley with such a terrible name?"
It's almost audible as the guard mentally backpedals a little. He looks a bit embarrassed.
"Uhm... they tried renaming it, but the name was already popular, and it didn't stick, you know how it is... and besides, it's not that bad a place - it's not too far from here, really, and there's hardly any screaming going on there aside from... heh-heh... aside from certain activities."
"Do not forget who you are speaking to, you barbarian! You say it is close by, this disreputable place! How do I avoid walking into it? I do not think I could handle a repeat of this incident!"
"I am sorry. Just don't go down too far Cooper Street - that's right there - yes, stay clear of the further parts of that, and you should be good," the guard helpfully explains, pointing to a nearby street.
"Very well! I shall!" Art half-shouts, getting near-hysteria across pretty well, Morton would say. The guard looks at them in silence for a moment.
"Gods, man! What are you waiting for? Report that dastardly knave at once!"
"Oh, right, sh-uhm, yes, milady. I shall do it at once. Stay safe in the meantime!" the guard says, running off quickly. Art turns to Morton.
"Right, then! Onward, my loyal desk-in-waiting! Business awaits!" he says, still in that odd tone.
Post by: Tomcost on October 23, 2013, 01:43:05 pm
-Wait, you see things? You are one of those diviners, right? How much does that work?
Post by: Xantalos on October 23, 2013, 02:11:21 pm
Go with Helsvar.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2013, 02:15:44 pm
((Another epic turn!))
-Wait, you see things? You are one of those diviners, right? How much does that work?
"Perfectly and without fail, obviously. Nevertheless, I do prefer to froth at the mouth instead. It's much more of an aesthetic experience."
Post by: miauw62 on October 23, 2013, 02:16:42 pm
((Also, I love Art and Morton atm.))
Post by: Tomcost on October 23, 2013, 02:20:58 pm
-So, if that doesn't fail, tell me, how much arms have I lost?((Another epic turn!))
-Wait, you see things? You are one of those diviners, right? How much does that work?
"Perfectly and without fail, obviously. Nevertheless, I do prefer to froth at the mouth instead. It's much more of an aesthetic experience."
Sigmund smiles expecting her failure.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 23, 2013, 02:32:43 pm
"Looks like we're one passive-aggresive bitch richer."
((Also, I love Art and Morton atm.))
"Asinine questions deserve asinine answers, friend."
-So, if that doesn't fail, tell me, how much arms have I lost?
Sigmund smiles expecting her failure.
She glances at you, grimacing a little, then becoming serious again.
"Preliminary thoughts tell me that the answer would be 'quite a lot, in fact'. It depends on how many arms you count those branching abominations as. In any case, you seem to have managed to find quite creative ways of mutilating yourself, if your surface impressions are any indication."
Post by: Tomcost on October 23, 2013, 02:50:31 pm
-Who did tell her about that abomination Mark made uot of me?
Post by: Xanmyral on October 23, 2013, 06:48:16 pm
"As you desire, my lady." If Morton could, he'd probably have wide grin on his face. He can't believe that worked! Maybe watching Ruth act so much did rub off on him! He couldn't help but have a pang of sorrow though, at the thought of wondering how Ruth would react if she could of seen that...
The desk made his way Cooper street, happy to finally figure out where this poorly named Alley was. Morton couldn't help but think about the interesting turns his life takes, each stranger the next day. He wanted to congratulate art on his bloody brilliant thinking, but didn't want to chance someone realizing it was a ruse so decided to put said congratulations off until they were someplace safer.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 23, 2013, 06:52:19 pm
Go ahead and creep towards the door. Keep an eye on friendly fingers.
Post by: miauw62 on October 24, 2013, 01:02:02 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 24, 2013, 03:21:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 24, 2013, 05:10:18 am
"I guess they stabbed you trough the head because stabbing you trough your heart did nothing."
"More like 'in case it did nothing', but yes, that's mostly correct."
"One last query, what at the end of our journey, is there to be worth the peril? And, my ladyu,is there anything we can do to help you rest?"
Justine shimmers for a moment.
"There's the Realm of Dreams, of course. The fiend seeks a particular prize there, and it isn't quite what you would expect. Whether it will be worth the peril is up to your perspective, but most probably not in your case. It is definitely worth it for your master, however, though he has far less to lose than you do, relatively speaking."
"Quite astute, really! I didn't know you could read me quite that easily!"
"You are not easy to decipher, but it is ultimately possible, though complete understanding thankfully eludes me. As for helping me rest, that is quite the noble sentiment, but I am quite dead and need no rest as a result, so your pleasantries are entirely misplaced."
Post by: Tomcost on October 24, 2013, 08:01:30 am
-Since when do you know each other?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 24, 2013, 10:49:08 am
Sigmund spoke to the Artiste:
-Since when do you know each other?
"Glad you asked!"
"As you may suspect, it involves enslavement."
"Hit the nail right on the head there! She used to run with our wonderful wizard friends Erin, Evelyn and Art not six days ago."
"Then I quit."
"Or tried to, at any rate."
"An enjoyable, if brief respite."
"She didn't quite seem to realize at the time that you can't really quit my service - at least, not without my say-so. Even if you become slightly living-impaired, as a good friend of mine once put."
"I was hoping you would forget about me, actually. Seemed quite in-character for you."
"If you were an extra necromancer, maybe! But you're a bit too useful to leave on the backburner, Justine! Such is the tragedy of your existence, I would say."
Post by: miauw62 on October 24, 2013, 11:30:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 24, 2013, 11:41:23 am
"I bet you also keep her for the company."
"There's certainly worse people to look at, I would say, and I love the way she keeps badmouthing me. It makes me feel quite appreciated."
Justine offers no comment, merely raising her single eyebrow.
Post by: miauw62 on October 24, 2013, 11:44:52 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 24, 2013, 12:21:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 24, 2013, 12:35:43 pm
"By rest, I meant 'depart into the ether' obviously."
"No point. He'd just pull me right back," Justine explains, pointing to the Artiste.
"Yep. She'll be our navigator. After all, she is a diviner. Thought she'd be perfect for the job, too. Like I said, ask her anything you like."
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 24, 2013, 03:00:50 pm
Niklas agrees with the proposal, and Helsvar commences the dragging of his body. It takes a while, but eventually he feels that he is in a more populated place - there are quite a lot of men and women around. Raiding season must be over, he guesses, so now it must be feasting time.
Nobody seems to pay attention to him just yet.
"We're here. They seem to still be avoiding me."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Morton, deciding to keep on playing along with the charade, acts his part out to completion.
"As you desire, my lady."
Together they proceed down Cooper Street until they reach Mariner Street, which they go down immediately, finding the alley they've been seeking after a while - it is as seedy as one might imagine, although it also appears to be somewhat quiet right now. There's nobody outside in the alley, and Wallyn's House of Fine Women and Spellbooks, easily identifiable by its glowing sign, appears to be more peaceful than one might expect from a combination spellbook store and whorehouse.
In a strange cul-de-sac...
Darren, unsure if he should be speaking too much with suspicious hands in cul-de-sacs, tries to edge himself toward a nearby door - sadly, standing in the middle of a cul-de-sac, which is kind of like a square, except purely residential, provides few such opportunities.
"Uh, I'm really not too sure you can help with my few problems, unless you've got an artifact vault and a ghost hospital back there, but thanks for the offer."
"An artifact vault? Why would you want to find such a thing? And why would a man of an ethereal persuasion such as yourself need a hospital?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on October 24, 2013, 03:02:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 24, 2013, 03:36:14 pm
"I must say Art, that was absolutely marvelous back there. I still don't know what was wrong with that strange fellow though, but I can say now him touching me wasn't quite pleasant indeed, rather... Odd in a dreadful way really. I was most definitely not a mundane gesture I fear. Are large cities usually populated with people like that?" The question was rhetorical to be honest, but Morton wouldn't say no to an answer. "We should best get this place behind us soon though I feel."
With that, the desk made his way to the front door of the establishment and entering.
Post by: Tomcost on October 24, 2013, 04:00:28 pm
-When did Mark get into the group? I meant, where you all already enslaved?
Post by: Innsmothe on October 24, 2013, 05:08:50 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 24, 2013, 08:28:12 pm
Darren unwraps his arm for a moment and shows it to the hands.
"Aren't any ghost hospitals around here though, I assume. And as for the vault, it's a long story, but I'm doing a favor for a god."
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 25, 2013, 06:29:54 am
Sigmund suddenly realized something, but he wasn't sure about that yet. He asked:
-When did Mark get into the group? I meant, where you all already enslaved?
"Silly Sigmund! Mark was my very first minion! He introduced me to the late Bernie as well as these fine mages we journey with today."
"An object lesson that you should not trust a bound stranger if anything in that regard."
"Ah, this."
Darren unwraps his arm for a moment and shows it to the hands.
"Aren't any ghost hospitals around here though, I assume. And as for the vault, it's a long story, but I'm doing a favor for a god."
"Oh dear. That arm does not look good at all. And a god, you say? Which god is it?"
Post by: Tomcost on October 25, 2013, 06:37:02 am
-Oh... I see. I think that I may have found something that is your, ustine.
Go get the book and divination stuff and show it to Justine.
-I found it on Mark.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 25, 2013, 03:00:07 pm
Now everything made sense. Mark had been the first, and look at how was he now! But he hadn't got any other choice thatn to abey, as he couldn't get away from someone who had enslaved his soul. On the other hand, he realizaed that the divination book wa probable Justine's. he said:
-Oh... I see. I think that I may have found something that is your, ustine.
Go get the book and divination stuff and show it to Justine.
-I found it on Mark.
"That is indeed my manual - you can keep it, though. I can't very well read it now, can I? And you barbarians have probably defiled it in some way already."
Post by: Tomcost on October 25, 2013, 03:03:55 pm
Then, as there was a diviner here, and there was a particularly important question to make, one regarding a murderous chair construct, he asked:
-So, if I asked were is Niklas, one of the undead that was turned into a chair and somewhow learned to use magic, would you be able to answer it?
Lean foward showing expectaion if she says yes
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 25, 2013, 03:17:31 pm
-Thanks, I guess.
Then, as there was a diviner here, and there was a particularly important question to make, one regarding a murderous chair construct, he asked:
-So, if I asked were is Niklas, one of the undead that was turned into a chair and somewhow learned to use magic, would you be able to answer it?
Lean foward showing expectaion if she says yes
"Describe him to me. In detail, preferably."
Post by: Tomcost on October 25, 2013, 03:24:36 pm
Describe him further if possible
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 25, 2013, 04:31:07 pm
Morton doesn't quite like this place, he has to say.
"Hm... Not quite what I was expecting. I really hope they didn't go in there, hopefully this will be only a quick detour."
"Yeah. If they did, I can't see things going well for them."
After a moment of silence as they move toward the door, Morton addresses Art once more.
"I must say, Art, that was absolutely marvelous back there. I still don't know what was wrong with that strange fellow though, but I can say now him touching me wasn't quite pleasant indeed, rather... odd in a dreadful way really. It was most definitely not a mundane gesture, I fear. Are large cities usually populated with people like that?"
"Depends on the city, to be honest - this is pretty close to Black Circle country, so it's understandably a bit weird - for one, that guy clearly had magic of some kind on him. Not sure what it was, but I don't think it worked on you for some reason. And thanks for the compliment. Felt good to really get into character like that, haven't done that for ages now."
"We should best get this place behind us soon, though, I feel."
"Agreed. Let's head on in."
The two sorta-people walk to the door of Wallyn's building - it's a pretty grand entrance, all things considered - a well-done arch with some heavy doors, almost a bit too respectable in a way - doesn't mesh with the general aura of iniquity. They step into the building, whereupon they find themselves in an even more suspiciously nice-looking hall, being attended to by a portly, mildly dazed-looking woman.
"Hi! If you don't mind me saying, you don't look like you're here for the downstairs business, so I'm guessing you're here for Wallyn, right?"
She winks at Art for some reason, who doesn't immediately respond.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott shrugs and leaves quietly, finding the Captain.
"Cap'n, I am ready to progress through the ranks! I can be an officer, I know it!"
"SPLENDID! I KNEW you had it IN you, SEA APE! FIRST THINGS FIRST. Can you MOVE OBJECTS WITH ONLY YOUR MIND?"
Sigmund, after a short moment of conversation, starts to describe his old partner in crime.
"Well, he was a man made of chairs. Actually, he was only the central armchair, which Erin game some weird glowing clubs with which he could see. He controlled the rest of the chairs with magic he spontaneously acquired. Either that or he had been a chair mage all his life and he didn't tell us anything, but I don't think it's probable..."
"Chair mage? Should be easy enough to find."
Justine shuts her eye again, and her other empty eye socket vibrates oddly. Moments later, she opens her eye.
"Hm. Maybe not. Several possible reasons for that. Might be dead, might be changed somehow. Or maybe not really what you describe him as - I'm getting something, but it's not a whole lot."
Post by: Xanmyral on October 25, 2013, 05:02:32 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on October 25, 2013, 05:21:06 pm
"...uh...no sir. My talents lie in paperwork, rotting and random acts of surprisingly effective violence... or an amazingly underwhelming lack of violence... depending on how important the violence is to my unlife."
Post by: Xantalos on October 25, 2013, 06:29:54 pm
Hello all! Raiding season's over, I see.
Approach crowd, make Viking small talk.
Post by: Tomcost on October 25, 2013, 08:01:21 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 26, 2013, 12:30:37 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 26, 2013, 02:36:05 am
Post by: Xantalos on October 26, 2013, 02:40:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2013, 02:43:26 am
"Yes indeed madam, we're looking for Wallyn's bookstore. Could you perhaps direct us to the store, or perhaps Wallyn himself?" The desk politely asked the woman, hoping in part to take her attention off of Art. He has a bad feeling about this place, but Morton is remaining optimistic that they'll soon have this all behind them at the least.
"Thought so. Well, he's... a bit busy right now, if you catch my meaning, so I hope you don't mind waiting a little while."
((Why am I attributing the captains voice to Brian Blessed? :P))
"...uh...no sir. My talents lie in paperwork, rotting and random acts of surprisingly effective violence... or an amazingly underwhelming lack of violence... depending on how important the violence is to my unlife."
"That COMPLICATES THINGS! You SEE, this ship CRUCIALLY needs such TALENTS to MOVE PROPERLY! PARTICULARLY since it's been ALMOST TWO CENTURIES since my LAST SAILING EXPEDITION!"
-Well, he had a bounty of ten gold on his person for killing guards and making his corpses into sandwiches. Would that help?
"That is a relevant fact, yes. Any other psychotic quirks this undoubtedly charming individual had?"
Hello all! Raiding season's over, I see.
Nobody responds.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 26, 2013, 03:08:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2013, 03:12:19 am
So...No manual controls what so ever?
"Oh, I'm SURE THERE ARE. I just don't know WHERE or HOW to USE THEM, is all! So I FIGURE I'll do it a LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME AROUND!"
Post by: Tomcost on October 26, 2013, 07:37:16 am
((You did. First you became a magical cannonball and saved our ass, then you made sandwiches that Sigmund ate.))((Sigmund throwed the sandwiches away and sucked some blood from bloody chinks left behind))
-Well, he had a bounty of ten gold on his person for killing guards and making his corpses into sandwiches. Would that help?"That is a relevant fact, yes. Any other psychotic quirks this undoubtedly charming individual had?"
-He had a kind of weird addiction to his kitchen implements. He used to be a cook, a foreign one that cooked things raw in a disturbing way. But he had lost his tools when he had that incident with Erin that somehow ended in Mark attaching his head to a giant catfish-like monster. Then he swore that he would murder Erin, so I told our master about that, and he decided that he should be transmuted into a chair. Overall, he is a very disturbed and disturbing individual.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 26, 2013, 07:43:07 am
((Check the ropes from the wheel to the rudder are still in service etc.))
Post by: miauw62 on October 26, 2013, 08:07:57 am
Post by: Xanmyral on October 26, 2013, 02:28:48 pm
I'm surprised I still have that stick actually. It would be interesting to test with, but oh so dangerous. I think... I don't think it does anything to Morton to touch it considering he has it stored away in one of his drawers. Or inside a backpack in a drawer, if he still has that.]
"Ah, no bother at all madam. One of the benefits of having four legs is that it's as if I'm perpetually sitting. Quite comfortable to be honest." Morton commented, throwing out a offhanded comment as he glanced around the grand hallway. Now, while Morton wouldn't dream of stereotyping people nor making comments on societal classes, he does wonder how someone can keep such an ostentatious display in what appears to be so rough a neighborhood.
Then Morton remembered the evangelist telling him to not test Wallyn's patience much... Hm. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.
Post by: Tomcost on October 26, 2013, 04:28:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 26, 2013, 04:32:33 pm
Morton replies that it's quite alright that the esteemed shopkeeper is busy at the moment.
"Ah, no bother at all madam. One of the benefits of having four legs is that it's as if I'm perpetually sitting. Quite comfortable, to be honest."
Morton glances around the room - it's not exactly luxurious, he would say, and definitely not overdone in any way. It evokes a rather pleasant middle-class charm, one has to conclude. The furnishings are somewhat tasteful, yet not too expensive. There's artwork on the walls as well, but most of it is of somewhat dubious quality, albeit mildly pleasant to look at, mostly pastoral landscapes.
"Wonderful. Can I get you two anything, perhaps? Food? Drink? Conversation to pass the time?"
On the Second Shank...
Scott, after he realizes that the Captain has as little clue on how to operate this ship as he does, tries to figure out where everything is and how it works. He finds out that there is definitely a wheel. There are also sails, and they seem like they would work if somebody would unfurl them. The rest of the ship's inner workings seem quite obtuse.
Well, except the anchor. That thing has a wheel to raise and lower it.
Sigmund and Kevin, meanwhile, continue feeding Justine information.
"He had a kind of weird addiction to his kitchen implements. He used to be a cook, a foreign one that cooked things raw in a disturbing way. But he had lost his tools when he had that incident with Erin that somehow ended in Mark attaching his head to a giant catfish-like monster. Then he swore that he would murder Erin, so I told our master about that, and he decided that he should be transmuted into a chair. Overall, he is a very disturbed and disturbing individual."
"He left our bookstore raid to get some better chairs for his arms. The guards promptly busted us without him, tough."
"The more I hear about him, the less I want to find him. Nevertheless, I will try, if only to get you people off my back."
She closes her eye again.
"Ah, there's your problem. He's not made of chairs anymore, or particularly magical - he's a molten pile of slag currently, although distressingly alive despite said fact. A foreign cook, disturbed and deranged, unusually ethnic, oozes twisted macho sensibilities only very distantly related to the culture he claims to hail from? That sound like your guy? That one's in the western part of the trade district, in the middle of a glassed patch of cobblestones on the corner of Gardener and Pinkgate - can't miss it. Will probably be difficult to peel him out of there, but I'm sure you'll either figure something out in due time."
She looks at Sigmund, raising her single eyelid ponderously.
"Will that be all, or do you have other enormously pressing inquiries?"
Post by: Tomcost on October 26, 2013, 04:41:54 pm
-I don't know how he manages to completely destroy his body again and again and survive. Thanks for yor help Justine, but I thought that you actually were here so that we could ask you questions, you know.
He then turns to Kevin:
-We should go to get him back. But I doubt that we would eventually be able to carry him back. Maybe we should take Erin with us? That way she can just transmute him in a way that it makes it easier for us to carry him back.
Post by: Xantalos on October 26, 2013, 05:48:34 pm
*ahem* HELLO, VIKINGS! HOW ARE YOU DOING? WAS THE RAID SUCCESSFUL?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2013, 01:44:14 am
Sigmund sighs:
-I don't know how he manages to completely destroy his body again and again and survive. Thanks for yor help Justine, but I thought that you actually were here so that we could ask you questions, you know.
"Just because I'm here to help doesn't mean I have to like doing it. In fact, I despise people who ask me questions."
Niklas is disturbed by these people ignoring him! Was he not speaking loud enough?
*ahem* HELLO, VIKINGS! HOW ARE YOU DOING? WAS THE RAID SUCCESSFUL?
You sense somebody turning to you.
"Why does a pile of garbage address me so? Has it no shame?"
Post by: Xantalos on October 27, 2013, 02:03:41 am
That said, try to form myself into a man shape.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 27, 2013, 02:10:41 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 27, 2013, 03:26:40 am
Kevin then turned to Sigmund to answer him.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure if I'd be of much help in my current state, though."
Post by: Nunzillor on October 27, 2013, 04:01:02 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 27, 2013, 04:03:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 27, 2013, 07:06:08 am
Go and buy a book on large ship sailing and navigation.
As far as I recall, you do not have any money. There are also other problems with this suggestion, but this is the most immediate one.
"The god was... Velusius. Fitting, given my current predicament."
"Oh dear! Does he want his crown back already?"
Post by: Tomcost on October 27, 2013, 08:41:06 am
"Don't worry, we despise you too."-That's why I suggested going with Erin. I will go to see if she is awake.
Kevin then turned to Sigmund to answer him.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure if I'd be of much help in my current state, though."
Go and see if she is awake.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 27, 2013, 09:14:42 am
:P
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 28, 2013, 12:43:54 am
"Uh... Yeah. He does."
Check around. Keep guard up.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2013, 01:52:18 am
Niklas is offended by the accusation leveled at him. How could one ever confuse him with a pile of refuse? Unthinkable!
"No, and I would know who it is that calls me garbage!"
"Bjarfjoltringarharaltfijrolturhelfrejbalgarthuriskaldollothar!" the fellow yells out to him. It's not a particularly long name, but it does contain a fair amount of pedigree in it, if Niklas heard it right. Hm. He supposes he needs to become more manlike to be taken seriously. However, he seems to lack the ability to do so himself.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, after carrying on for a bit with all that speaking he seems to be so fond of, goes and checks up on Erin.
He finds her to be still asleep, twisting and turning in her bed, probably having reasonably vivid dreams.
Scott, meanwhile, looks into the possibility of stealing books. He walks back over to Brenwicke's Books, as this is the only bookstore likely to carry what he needs, and tries to muscle his way in through the crowd.
[Scott's strength roll: 2+1]
Sadly, the rubberneckers are made out of sterner stuff than one might imagine, resisting his advances to an displeasing degree.
In a cul-de-sac in the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren affirms that it is indeed the crown that Velusius wants back.
"Uh... yeah. He does."
"If you don't mind me saying, sir, it was about time he sent someone over to quest for it. Thing's been sitting here for ages!"
As the hand speaks, Darren looks around. The neighborhood, while seemingly innocuous, looks more than a bit spooky to him. The shadows in the area dance distressingly on occasion, and he has a very distinct sensation he's being watched. Closely.
"Perhaps you'd like to come inside my place of residence? It has got a very pleasant radiance I'm sure you'll enjoy, and we could speak more on the matter of the crown - the Crown of Flowers, I believe it was called?"
In the distance behind the hands, Darren believes he can see a very dim silhouette, humanoid, gently floating in the air.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 28, 2013, 02:42:44 am
Scott wonders.
Post by: Xantalos on October 28, 2013, 02:53:34 am
Anyone remember what page it was Niklas revealed his full name? I don't have the time to go browsing through and I can't remember it offhand.))
Post by: Tomcost on October 28, 2013, 07:22:54 am
((Uh. Shizt.((I don't know, but I think that it was near the mement Niklas was firs transformed into a chair))
Anyone remember what page it was Niklas revealed his full name? I don't have the time to go browsing through and I can't remember it offhand.))
Sigmund shrugs and just heads back to the deck and tells Kevin:
-She is still sleeping. I guess that we're stuck here until she wakes up.
He then turns to the Artiste, hoping to pass the the a little bit:
-Master, I think that you mentioned before that you had some kind of magic besides soul magic, what kind of magic do you do?
Post by: miauw62 on October 28, 2013, 07:29:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 28, 2013, 07:36:37 am
"Can't you wake her up or something?"-Niklas ended up as a head attached to a catfish when he woke her up. So I'd rather not try.
Post by: Xantalos on October 28, 2013, 12:43:18 pm
Not a bad name at all! A little short, though. Now then, direct me in the direction of the nearest dirt or stone shaper, if you please. I need some fixing up.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2013, 04:20:44 pm
"Hmmm, is there a public library about?"
Scott wonders.
Scott realizes he can't conjure information on this subject out of the blue, not being a diviner or anything, thus his wondering serves no real purpose aside from confirming he has no idea.
-Master, I think that you mentioned before that you had some kind of magic besides soul magic, what kind of magic do you do?
"I warp space! It's quite fun. Not on very large scales, but I did shorten a several day trip rather nicely. I should probably practice that a little, it's sure to come in handy. All this lazing about can't be good for doing magic, right?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just keep on doing nothing and the rewards will keep piling up."
"It's worked so fa-wait, no. That's the exact opposite of what's been happening."
The Artiste reflects on current events, looking mildly troubled.
"In fact, how many things have happened lately that haven't ended in some sort of disaster and didn't involve our friend Craig in some respect? I wonder."
Niklas scoffs condescendingly.
Not a bad name at all! A little short, though. Now then, direct me in the direction of the nearest dirt or stone shaper, if you please. I need some fixing up.
"You cannot successfully polish a wet glob of goat excrement, my grandfather always told me. Better to quit while you're not too far behind," Bjarfjol answers equally condescendingly. "And learn more respect for your betters, you sad pile of refuse."
Post by: Xantalos on October 28, 2013, 04:26:45 pm
Cries the actual pile of refuse.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 28, 2013, 04:34:05 pm
And who are you, to speak of yourself as my better?!
Cries the actual pile of refuse.
"I give you my name, and you still know nothing? Somehow, you manage to be even less cultured than the average heap of discarded slop. I would explain, but I dare not sink to a nadir of ignorance like yours for fear that it will drag me down. In fact, I shall take my leave now. I would say goodbye, but that would imply I wish you well to some degree."
And with that, Bjarfjol promptly leaves without another word.
"I think they realize I brought you here. You are tainted by the association."
Post by: Innsmothe on October 28, 2013, 05:35:10 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 28, 2013, 05:37:57 pm
I seem to alternate between awesomeness and very inconvenient situations in this RTD.))
You will rue the day you crossed Niklasbōrrûkvitådnîkrombūrvastidnasvenstur, Bjarfjoltringarharaltfijrolturhelfrejbalgarthuriskaldollothar!
Anyhow, I need to get a body. Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna, tell me, can you see if there are any smiths around here? I need to rebuild my body.
Vow revenge, or at least a smacking. Then look for smiths.
((And I feel the pain of my overly long names once again. Welp, I can have fun with this.
Also, I need to add to Niklas' name - that guy's is longer than mine! How boorish.))
Post by: Xanmyral on October 28, 2013, 07:00:18 pm
"I must say, this is quite a pleasing abode here." Morton said politely, although to be honest he wasn't entirely paying attention, it was mostly smalltalk. Hm... The desk pondered if now would be a good time to listen, but remembering the name of the alley way and where he was hastily decided against it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 02:24:07 am
You will rue the day you crossed Niklasbōrrûkvitådnîkrombūrvastidnasvenstur, Bjarfjoltringarharaltfijrolturhelfrejbalgarthuriskaldollothar!
Anyhow, I need to get a body. Helsvarbjornlingharalgjanna, tell me, can you see if there are any smiths around here? I need to rebuild my body.
"Erm, no. There aren't any that would be able to help you. The smith we do have is just a brute with a hammer and no furnace, and I hope I can spare you the experience of meeting him."
"I believe I'm well enough on food and water, thank you kindly for the offer however madam. Some conversation would be lovely however." The desk studied some of the paintings on the wall to pass the time as he spoke. He tried to glance Art's way to see what he was doing, or if he was uncomfortable with the surroundings. Morton had, by now, judged that Art tends to know better what kind of situations they were in.
"I must say, this is quite a pleasing abode here." Morton said politely, although to be honest he wasn't entirely paying attention, it was mostly smalltalk. Hm... The desk pondered if now would be a good time to listen, but remembering the name of the alley way and where he was hastily decided against it.
"It is a very nice place, isn't it? We have it thanks to Wallyn, such a wonderful chap he is. Our most frequent customer, too! So you be sure to treat the man with respect, you hear?"
Art looks to be somewhat at ease, and asks a question.
"Does Wallyn have a stake in anything else in the neighborhood?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest, but I suppose that it's either that or they respect him rather greatly for keeping the peace and all that."
Post by: Xantalos on October 29, 2013, 02:35:50 am
Torkel, do you have any ideas?
Converse with family while trying to sense if there are any chairs around.
Post by: Nunzillor on October 29, 2013, 04:31:13 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 29, 2013, 05:07:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on October 29, 2013, 08:03:06 am
((That's VERY dangerous. Magic can screw you over BADLY.))((Thats what they said about praying but I proved you guys wrong but you do have a point you would have to be insane to think magic is a good idea...
Wait
Post by: Nunzillor on October 29, 2013, 08:04:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 08:06:32 am
Hmm. Well, given that I think I'm a literal pile of slag at this point, we should ... what person does one go to when one is a pile of slag with a soul in it wanting to get a better body?
Torkel, do you have any ideas?
"I dunno. Does magic work? Magic is very cool! And useful!"
"Magic is what got him here, Torkel. Perhaps it's not wise to fool around with these forces again."
Post by: Tomcost on October 29, 2013, 11:05:36 am
Post by: Xantalos on October 29, 2013, 11:27:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 11:39:14 am
-So, master, if you warp space, that means that you can make someone go from one place to another without effort, possibly bypassing obstacles, right?
"Yes! Well, as far as I know and as far as nothing too tangible is in the way."
Were there any chairs around?
Not that you know of.
Post by: Tomcost on October 29, 2013, 11:49:56 am
-We could have succeeded in robbing that bookstore if we could have used you abilities, master. Damn, Kevin wouldn't have been harmed, and there wouldn't have been any need for me to lose yet another arm. If you still need those books, master, and if the guard forget about that incident, maybe we could try to get them by more peaceful means next time.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 11:56:20 am
Sigmund realized something: he ahd been a fool, a real fool. Damn, all the perils he faceed could have been sorted if he had known this fact. He facepalmed with his lone arm, and said to his master:
-We could have succeeded in robbing that bookstore if we could have used you abilities, master. Damn, Kevin wouldn't have been harmed, and there wouldn't have been any need for me to lose yet another arm. If you still need those books, master, and if the guard forget about that incident, maybe we could try to get them by more peaceful means next time.
"That's an interesting bunch of ifs right there. I'd rather you didn't try that again, though, as I'm not sure if I'm confident in your continued survival if you do - I mean, you're all somewhat greatly crippled right now."
Post by: Xantalos on October 29, 2013, 11:59:35 am
Wander around the possibly mental projection village looking for something that can either give me a body or that I can inhabit safely.
Or chairs.
Post by: Tomcost on October 29, 2013, 12:01:23 pm
He then turned to Justine:
-We have been scammed some days ago by someone posing as the captain of the floating ship of the Black Circle of Magic. He got over three hundred copper coins from us. Do you know where he is?
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 12:15:28 pm
-Well, Mark is being fixed, so eventually he will be able to fix us too. And thanks for caring about my safety, Master. But there is another thing that we can do meanwhile.
He then turned to Justine:
-We have been scammed some days ago by someone posing as the captain of the floating ship of the Black Circle of Magic. He got over three hundred copper coins from us. Do you know where he is?
"300 coppers? Quite the scam, but can't divine much out of just that. Do you know anything else about the guy?"
Post by: miauw62 on October 29, 2013, 12:43:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on October 29, 2013, 12:47:01 pm
Post by: Xantalos on October 29, 2013, 12:53:19 pm
-The Ullubelle, I think. The guy was supposedly called Rat-Bastard Gilroy, or something like that. Or at least that was what the barkeep at the Feisty Jelly told us. That despicable piece of scum was red-haired and short, I think.((Oh god it's Bukkar from that one lawastooshort game.))
Post by: Innsmothe on October 29, 2013, 01:31:56 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on October 29, 2013, 04:04:24 pm
Also, I'm still rather curious as to how Morton resisted whatever that dude tried to do to him. I think he was trying to forcibly put 'logic' into how Morton worked, making him require sustenance and the like. Might be that he just got a bad try, as this isn't exactly something that would be wise to test. What with the whole 'having magic haphazardly thrown at you' is a bad thing.]
Morton recalls the words of warning he was given to not test Wallyn's patience, and couldn't help but wonder if that might be a part of it. But then, the desk doesn't consider himself one to try to aggravate others, so he doesn't believe he would bother the man much. If anything, the man seems to be regarded positively here, for what that means.
"Can you tell me about Wallyn's store? I've heard that he sells magical books and the like, but I admit it wasn't very descriptive I'm afraid." The desk asks, before considering something.
"Actually, if you don't mind, I think you could perhaps help us as well. I'm looking for three of my friends, an odd sort admittedly so you'd probably know them if you saw them. I heard that they were going to a bookstore, but that was a while ago so I fear something might of happened to them. Two of them are very, ah, colorful, with a mild similarity to my finish." Morton gestured to his colorful finish on his body, before continuing, "The third, however, is entirely composed of chairs."
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 29, 2013, 05:01:40 pm
Scott tries to check the sails with his rather inconsiderable nautical knowledge. He concludes that they do not have holes in them and are shaped like one would expect sails to look like, and thus they can be confidently placed into the admittedly broad category of "good enough". With that decided, he climbs the main mast, finding that there's a pretty good view of the docks up in the crow's nest.
He spends a moment up there in the calming heights, feeling all rugged and sailor-like for a moment, ready for marine adventures the likes of which the world has never seen.
If only these schmucks would get it together so they can all go already!
Sigmund and Kevin, meanwhile, interview Justine to pursue their coldest lead yet, the dreadful rat bastard who stole their money through insidious fraud.
"He went to this one bar often, apparently. What was the name again, Sigmund?"
"The Ulubelle, I think. The guy was supposedly called Rat-Bastard Gilroy, or something like that. Or at least that was what the barkeep at the Feisty Jelly told us. That despicable piece of scum was red-haired and short, I think."
Justine considers this information.
"Still not as specific as I would like, but what the heck, I'll give it a shot."
She closes her one eye, makes a face, then opens it again.
"Something's not right. I think your information might be a bit faulty. Not that this is entirely surprising."
In Helsvar's village...
Niklas wanders off in search of adventure. Or help, whichever comes first. He eventually finds someone, a man wearing metal armor that seems to shift. The man is currently busy inhaling multicolored smoke from an unfamiliar device. He does look quite magical, though.
Underneath Wallyn's store...
Morton, not having reason to believe there might be harm in it, keeps on asking questions, which under normal circumstances would be a dangerous thing to do in an alley like this.
"Can you tell me about Wallyn's store? I've heard that he sells magical books and the like, but I admit it wasn't very descriptive, I'm afraid."
"Spellbooks, actually. The one stop for all your spellbook needs, no other store like it in at least a hundred miles from here! He even takes orders, you see, though he doesn't do proxy attunement, whatever that means. I wouldn't know the specifics of the trade, sorry. Anything else I can help with, though?"
"Actually, if you don't mind, I think you could perhaps help us as well. I'm looking for three of my friends, an odd sort, admittedly, so you'd probably know them if you saw them. I heard that they were going to a bookstore, but that was a while ago so I fear something might of happened to them. Two of them are very, ah, colorful, with a mild similarity to my finish. The third, however, is entirely composed of chairs."
"Yep, I'd certainly remember them if they strode in here. I don't, so they probably didn't."
At this point, a door opens at the far end of a nearby hall, and out strolls a middle-aged, balding man with a smug-looking, flushed face and a rather long ponytail, adjusting his robe carefully. He seems to be emitting a particular glow - not a magical one, fortunately. He comes up to the visitors.
"Hello! Who might these people be?"
The woman turns to him, smiling.
"Oh, they're here looking for your store. I told them you were busy at the moment, and they agreed to wait. Not too long, though."
"Excellent. So, what do you seek here, my... friends? A particular spell, some other thing?" he asks, looking doubtfully at Morton.
Post by: Tomcost on October 29, 2013, 05:41:13 pm
Describe the man.
Post by: Xanmyral on October 29, 2013, 08:10:18 pm
This isn't as bad as he thought it would be. A little... Dirtier, figuratively, than he was used to, but nicer than he expected.
Post by: Xantalos on October 30, 2013, 12:59:19 am
You, froop*! Are you a mage, wizard, or transmuter by any chance?
*froop: unknown but presumably badass person
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 30, 2013, 01:13:57 am
-Hmm, there are a lot of scamers in the city, so I'm not surprised either. Well, let's use the reliable information that we have, the one the we saw ourselves.
Describe the man.
You don't recall much other than the fact that he was red-haired, short and gave off the impression of being far more competent than he likely was. You're not good with faces, you see.
"Actually, I was just hoping to ask you a question, Sir Wallyn. Three friends of mine informed me that they were heading to a bookstore, but that was quite a while ago, much longer than what it should of taken; I'm quite frankly a little worried about them. The other bookstore seemed to have had something absolutely dreadful happen there, and I'm rather hoping that they didn't head there and avoided whatever did happen, so I'm hoping that you have perhaps seen them. Two of them are rather colorful fellows, quite literally you see, and the last is made out of chairs, the last I saw of him." Morton explained to the bookstore owner.
This isn't as bad as he thought it would be. A little... Dirtier, figuratively, than he was used to, but nicer than he expected.
"Haven't seen anyone like that, though I did hear that somebody made out of chairs got melted down in the street. Altercation with the guards, I believe - they had to bring in their mages to deal with it. Glassed a sizable patch of the street in the process, I believe - haven't seen for myself yet, but seems consistent with what I know of the heating guy."
Art looks a bit put off by these news.
You, froop*! Are you a mage, wizard, or transmuter by any chance?
"Yes," the man answers in a weak, crackly voice, blowing smoke out of his nostrils.
Post by: Xantalos on October 30, 2013, 01:16:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 30, 2013, 06:23:40 am
Post by: Innsmothe on October 30, 2013, 09:10:57 am
Post by: miauw62 on October 30, 2013, 11:55:06 am
Post by: Tomcost on October 30, 2013, 12:01:49 pm
"I can't really remember much... The guards did mention that he probably doesn't live here. And since he went to the Ulubelle a lot, maybe they lied to us about his name?"-Probably, considering the huge amount of scammers in this town, we were given the wrong name. Anyway, he probably would had spent all his ill-gotten money by this time. And vengance is not particularly my style, it's more like Niklas' one.
((I wanted you to make a description roll, but, well, it doesn't matter. Any ideas on what to do while we wait until Mark gets fixed?))
EDIT if there is nothing to do:
Sigmund had an idea to pass the time: Maybe he could get into necromancy. That book hadn't soul-enslaving spells anyway, so it wouldn't be that bad. But he didn't know really how to begin, only that the book needed to be binded. He asked to his master an Justine:
-If I wanted to make a focus, what should I do to attune it to me?
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 30, 2013, 08:05:55 pm
"Oh, I'd love to. Lead on."
Post by: Xanmyral on October 30, 2013, 08:19:56 pm
The desk's voice was noticeably more somber than before, more precise and polite than the previously cordial tone it carried. Did Niklas die? What of the others? Did they maybe die too...? While Morton wouldn't ascribe Niklas as being the most grounded of individuals he's met, he still called him his friend, having worked with him for a while under Master Yaleson.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2013, 06:47:49 am
Niklas makes a proposition, hoping to get a new body out of it.
"Good! As you can see, right now I'm a pile of something. I don't even know how I'm talking right now, honestly. Anyway, would you mind giving me a body I can be proud of as a Viking? I'm an incredible chef, so I can make it up to you, and you won't even lose any body parts in the cooking process!"
"Sure. No food, though."
The man points his hand at Niklas, and the latter promptly becomes a squirrel. A shockingly ordinary squirrel. It feels surprisingly good, actually, though he does feel rather exposed all of a sudden. Maybe it'd be a little safer in a tree?
"What have you done?" Helsvar asks, visibly distressed.
"I have made him complete," the man says. The sheath of prismatic smoke grows thicker around him, taking on the appearance of a thick fog. The fog then lifts, leaving nothing behind.
In the crow's nest of the Second Shank...
Scott casts his eye about the docks, looking for interlopers sizing up what is very nearly his ship.
Minutes later, he has spotted several shifty types nearby, one gazing at the Second Shank from a nearby ship, one standing on a roof and pretending to work while really watching, and a possibly fake beggar who seems to be staring right at the Artiste at all times.
This is not good.
Slightly lower down...
Sigmund realizes that there's one thing these schmucks could be helpful with - magic! They both have it, so they must have had some method of getting it, obviously.
"If I wanted to make a focus, what should I do to attune it to me?"
"If you make a focus, you don't need to attune it to yourself, since you made it and all."
"Sounds reasonable. And consistent with what I can get from the other guy's memories."
"Attunement is what you do when you've got somebody else's focus, which usually means you killed or merely robbed the person who previously had it. It's not as good as making a focus yourself, especially for beginners, who are bad enough at magic that they don't really need any more interference from their focus. Better make a focus yourself in that case. It's pretty dangerous, but it's really just getting into the right frame of mind to bend reality, then focusing that into an object. Or yourself, but that has unpredictable, usually messy results. Try writing out a spell or something on a piece of paper, then practice with that - it's what I did, and it's not too difficult to get minor magic that way. Of course, you can still explode your brain if you screw up too badly, but that's a very real risk for all mages who haven't passed a certain point. Regardless of which happens to you, it's bound to be interesting."
In one of the cul-de-sacs of the City of the Dead...
Darren, seeing how he may already be in peril, sees no reason not to dig himself a deeper hole while he's at it.
"Oh, I'd love to. Lead on."
"Oh, I can't. I move along different roads than you do, regrettably. The house is right over there, though, go right in. I'll be there in a moment," the mouth-hand explains as the eye-hand points at a particular polyhedral residence, not too large or opulent, at least not in Darren's opinion, then both slink into the ground, a metal plate sliding over the hole in the ground it came from and went back inside of.
Beneath Wallyn's store...
Morton doesn't like the sound of these news. In fact, they sound downright bad.
"... Oh dear."
After a pause, he continues.
"Do you know where I can find said street? If that truly was my friend, I think... I need to see it. I thank you, kind sir, for your time and answers, and I'll be sure to direct anyone looking for spellbooks your way."
"Thanks! The street was not too far from here - get over to Cooper Street from here, go back toward the center a little, then take a left at the vaguely phallic statue and head down the street until you see a great patch of melted and solidified stone - I don't think you'll be able to miss it. Maybe there'll still be a fire or two to show the way - in that case, follow the smoke if you're still confused."
Wallyn then shrugs, looking apologetic.
"They say it was a vicious murderer or something, though, so maybe it's not the same one? You don't seem like the type to consort with people who kill officers of the law and all that."
Post by: Xantalos on October 31, 2013, 09:16:54 am
...
Too bad there's no nuts around here.
Look around for food. Squirrels get hungry fast.
Post by: Tomcost on October 31, 2013, 09:54:06 am
After the advise, go and look for a piece of paper and writing implements.
Post by: Xantalos on October 31, 2013, 09:56:48 am
-I see. Hmm, I think that I will give it a shot. Any advice on just making a focus?((Shouting doesn't work :P))
After the advise, go and look for a piece of paper and writing implements.
Post by: Harry Baldman on October 31, 2013, 10:01:32 am
-I see. Hmm, I think that I will give it a shot. Any advice on just making a focus?
"Try chanting nonsense to yourself, get it deeply ingrained. Then think real hard. It'll be difficult for you, but I'm sure you'll manage it."
Post by: Tomcost on October 31, 2013, 10:08:53 am
Default to looking for those writing implements whenever there is a turn.
Post by: Innsmothe on October 31, 2013, 10:20:11 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 31, 2013, 05:42:38 pm
Head on in. It's adventurin' time,
Post by: Xanmyral on October 31, 2013, 07:04:49 pm
The desk relayed to the store owner somberly, giving a short bow, unable to bow any other way, and made his way to where Niklas expired, following Wallyn's directions.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 01, 2013, 06:44:23 am
Niklas, disappointed with his transformation, tries to find food, realizing that he could probably eat a horse right now, his pint-sized body be damned. He scurries down the dirt paths of the village, looking for some sustenance for a poor, downtrodden squirrel. He darts from shadow to shadow, making sure to avoid any hungry-looking children, and finally comes to a tree.
It's an oak, taller than any of the puny structures in the village, stretching upward and sideways. To Niklas, it looks more massive than anything he's ever seen before. There's also another thing about it, though. It has more acorns on it than he could ever dream to eat in a single season.
"You're going to live in the Great Old One, dad? That would be awesome!"
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund asks a quick follow-up question to Justine.
"So, it is basically concentration?"
"Yeah, but deadlier if you screw up. Generally, the less powerful the magic you want to get - small spells, tiny alterations, very little information obtained - the less hurt you are when you screw it all to hell and back."
Sigmund, brimming with this new information, runs off to find vendor trash, namely a piece of paper and a writing implement. Luckily, the den has both in quite ample supply - sheets of paper and sticks of graphite encased in wood, that is. Wonder why.
While he does that, Scott urgently slides down the mast, approaching the Artiste.
"There are people watching us, filthy belligerents, no doubt. Be on your guard."
"Oh, they probably have a good reason to be watching us."
"Like the fact that you're a hideous monster who will destroy all that is well and good in the world?"
"Like that, yes."
Scott has no time for this banter, so he rushes off to find the Captain - well, shambles off, at any rate. The Captain's nowhere to be seen, though.
Maybe they've already got him? Oh dear.
In a calm suburb of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, knowing that there's no fun to be had if you avoid horrible danger, floats toward the house, phasing through the door and finding himself in what looks like a fountain room. That is to say that it's a large room with fountains.
Suddenly, one of the fountains begins to shift, splitting slowly into three parts, yet not spilling a drop of water in the process. It reconfigures itself, leaving behind a large hole in the floor. Before Darren can react to this process, a pair of hands comes out of it again. This time, they look a little different. The fingers are longer, and each of the hands has an extra thumb, bringing the total up to three for each hand. The eyes on one hand focus on Darren, each reminding him of some close-up drawings of insects he recalls seeing once in a naturalist's collection, and a feminine voice speaks to him.
"Oh! Hello! I am sorry, but are you a guest, or do you have business here?"
Beneath Wallyn's shop...
Morton is quite somber now as he speaks to Wallyn.
"I don't believe I am, I surely hope not. But how many other beings made of chairs are there in this city? I fear it's most likely him... And that doesn't bode well for the other two; I'm afraid to say. I worked with him for a good while under the employ of a kind master, it wouldn't well to not at least send my regards at his place of passing. I'm afraid I don't believe I have any other question, nor money to buy anything, so I'll leave before wasting any more of your time. I wish you well, and hopefully if we meet again it will be a happier time."
"Oh, time is never wasted if you spend it to meet new people. Good seeing you two! Don't be strangers, now, and remember - you need magic, you come here, and I'll set you right up!"
Morton, after taking a short bow (though he can only manage about half of one with a frame as rigid as what he's got), exits back into the alley, and Art follows him over to the location described by Wallyn, remembering to turn left at the vaguely phallic statue and follow the smoke - there is quite a bit of that in the air.
When they get there, they see an interesting scene. The street is empty, as are the nearby houses, and there is a sort of scar, about six meters in diameter, smack-dab in the middle of the cobbled path. It radiates unbelievable amounts of heat, and looks really hazardous, to be honest. There's a white-hot bit of metal lying in the middle of it is presumably what Wallyn was talking about.
There's pretty much no way to tell if it's actually Niklas, though.
"That's definitely a dramatic way to dispose of someone," Art notes.
Post by: Tomcost on November 01, 2013, 07:00:42 am
He thought for a bit and grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote: "Displace air" in it.
Yeah, that was simple enough.
He then went to the cargo hold, were nobody would be able to bother him, and he wouldn't bother anybody else.
He then put the piece of paper over a box (or barrel), and sitted over another and tried to concentrate on what he was going to do.
((To make it short:
Actions:
>Write "Displace air" in a sheet of paper
>Go to the cargo hold.
>Prepare to make the focus, concentrate, and things like that))
Post by: Innsmothe on November 01, 2013, 07:28:15 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 01, 2013, 10:45:00 pm
"...I suppose this would be how Chef Niklas would of wanted to go. I know little about him, having only known him for his cooking, but I know he must of led a colorful life; hopefully one that left people happier than not."
Post by: Xantalos on November 01, 2013, 10:47:30 pm
Collect nuts!
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2013, 04:20:10 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 06:52:12 am
Sigmund tries to think of something simple enough to use as his practice spell. Within moments, he's got it - he shall try to displace air! He writes the phrase "Displace air" on a piece of paper, then heads down into the cargo hold, prepared to experience interesting things. Within the cargo hold, he finds the Captain, who appears to be conversing with a wall.
"Oh, I'm SURE we can PULL IT OFF, OH YES! It will simply TAKE A BIT OF EFFORT, REALLY!"
Sigmund wonders what that might be all about for a moment when his thoughts are interrupted by Scott's voice, not unlike the scream of a crow, albeit much louder, yet still as unpleasant as usual.
"CAPTAIN, GET YOUR SPECTORAL HANDS ON DECK, WE HAVE FILTHY LANDLUBBERS EYING YOUR SHIP LIKE DRUNKS ON A BARMAID!"
The Captain turns from the wall.
"Oh DEAR! HOW TERRIBLE!"
He then floats off, paying Sigmund no mind. The shouting stops after a minute or so, at which point Sigmund tries to concentrate. He gets himself all worked up within minutes. He's feeling it, that's for sure.
In the meantime, Scott stands around yelling until the Captain arrives, which he does quite soon. This is good, because Scott fears his voice would have give out altogether given but a minute more of the dreadful noise.
"AH! THERE you are, SEA APE! WHERE are these LAND-LUBBERS or WHATEVER that you seem so WORKED UP ABOUT?"
On the deck of the ship, Kevin, having been left alone, asks Justine a question.
"Could you divine how long it's gonna take the smith working on Mark to finish?"
"Given that you're asking and that I have very little clue what you're talking about, probably not. But a rough estimate? About half a day, maybe more. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
At what is presumably Niklas' current resting place...
Morton asks Art if he can help in any way.
"Mage Art, I'm not sure if this is something that can be done, but can you sense if Chef Niklas is... there? Even if you can, I know that the chances are probably slim, and I'm not sure what we could exactly do if we did indeed find him to still be alive..." he says to him.
"Sure," he says, looking to be deep in thought in a moment.
"...I suppose this would be how Chef Niklas would've wanted to go. I know little about him, having only known him for his cooking, but I know he must've led a colorful life; hopefully one that left people happier than not."
"Well, I wouldn't know - I'm not very well-versed in whatever weird culture he comes from. He's also not very dead at all, it seems. Soul's still in there, and it's definitely his, seems quite agitated. Strangely, he seems a bit... happy, I guess?"
At the Great Old One, the biggest tree of Helsvar's village...
Niklas has but one thing on his squirrely mind.
"NUTS."
He proceeds to climb up the tree and go on an acorn looting spree, finding that there are far more than he can carry up there - far more than he can even stuff in his amazing cheeks! He's got it made! He's as rich as a squirrel can-
"I SAY, YOU THERE!" comes a voice from nearby. Niklas looks to see who it is, and sees that it seems to be another squirrel. Not bigger than him, but not much smaller, either. "What in the name of the Nut Gods do you think you're doing in my tree?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 02, 2013, 08:57:26 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 02, 2013, 10:04:47 am
((I wonder if written foci are also able to do magic related to what they are written in. I mean, most mages maybe would be able to do book magic.))
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2013, 10:26:26 am
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 11:50:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 12:08:18 pm
Isn't it obvious? I'm pilfering all the nuts in order to achieve the true state of Squirrel. Who're you?
"I'm the Master of the Nut Temple, and I represent the Nut Gods in saying that those who have not been inducted have no goddamn business stealing the goddamn acorns from the goddamn Sacred Tree!"
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 12:15:13 pm
Also my nuts.
Continue stealing nuts.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 12:20:37 pm
Can't a man steal someone's livelihood without being accused of heresy anymore?
Also my nuts.
Continue stealing nuts.
"Fair warning, you goddamn pilfering son of a crab louse, I can and will call down the power of the Nut Gods to fry your dumb ass if you don't desist immediately."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 12:29:52 pm
Blasphemer.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 12:33:26 pm
And what if the Nut Gods find me more favorable than you? I am worshiping them by collecting the nuts, while you're yelling at me.
Blasphemer.
"Luckily for me, the Nut Gods find pilferers of other squirrels' nuts to be complete assholes deserving of smiting, and thus I'm in the clear, while you are not."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 12:34:20 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 02, 2013, 12:49:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 12:50:48 pm
((How hilarious would it be to die after offending the god of an imaginary squirrel while being a squirrel yourself during a delusion caused by sensory deprivation? Okay, we should stop smoking that.))This is sigged.
And OOC'd.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 12:52:07 pm
Wait, this tree belongs to you?
"Good guess! No! It belongs to the congregation of the Nut Gods! Which, I might remind you, you are not a part of. What, you really thought a big honking tree like this doesn't have a claim staked on it? We've lived here for a thousand years, buddy, and we're not leaving any time soon."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 12:54:47 pm
Is the squirrel standing on the edge of a branch?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 12:58:53 pm
...
Is the squirrel standing on the edge of a branch?
Ayup. The two of you are on a tree, so you are, by necessity, standing on branches or at least clutching them vertically. Right now, the former is the case.
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 01:02:00 pm
D'you know what I've been through in order to get here? I've had my body destroyed no less than 3 times, been reconstructed as several different animals, and now I'm here.
...
Your Nut Gods can't make me a Viking again, can they?
Post by: Tomcost on November 02, 2013, 01:03:41 pm
((This game is a hidden goldmine of sigs hoping to be unhearted by any spectator who decides to relate in his own words the almost uninterrupted stream of madness our characters are being constantly submerged into))((How hilarious would it be to die after offending the god of an imaginary squirrel while being a squirrel yourself during a delusion caused by sensory deprivation? Okay, we should stop smoking that.))This is sigged.
And OOC'd.
((In another context would that frase be siggable?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 01:08:06 pm
Tackle him off the branch
D'you know what I've been through in order to get here? I've had my body destroyed no less than 3 times, been reconstructed as several different animals, and now I'm here.
...
Your Nut Gods can't make me a Viking again, can they?
"Why would they? You're pretty insufferable as a Viking from what they're telling me."
Post by: miauw62 on November 02, 2013, 01:16:00 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on November 02, 2013, 01:20:06 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 01:25:32 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 01:59:58 pm
Because I'm bound to a revenge quest! I can't exact bloody vengance on the ninja as a squirrel.
"More precisely, you won't do it. Not that that's a bad thing, what with revenge only bringing escalation and so forth. Besides, how do you hope to accomplish revenge as a Viking, anyway? You've been turned into a minion twice over, and you've got no good way of escaping short of offing yourself again somehow, and that'll just be another failure."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 02:08:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 02:43:37 pm
The demon guy said he'd release us if we explored this one island, so that's no bother. I need to do this because otherwise my father will never be able to redeem his honor as a cook.
"Yes, of course killing a bunch of people many years after the fact without any proper witnesses will help redeem the honor of your stone dead father. Considering that you are also stone dead presently. You're also assuming that you can trust the demon guy, and that you will be able to survive both the trip to the island and the trip back to your home, even though the trouble you're having surviving even before the journey has properly begun seems to indicate the exact opposite as a more likely scenario."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 02:47:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 03:01:05 pm
You're clearly not an optimist.
"And your quest is clearly quite pointless, considering that by the time you could even consider catching up to whatever things you imagine took your father's honor away - as if he didn't do it himself by giving up like a complete pushover - anybody who might have even cared will probably be dead anyway. You're much better off as a squirrel."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 03:17:08 pm
Did you just call my father a pushover?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 03:22:26 pm
Niklas' eye bulges.
Did you just call my father a pushover?
"Yep. Total disgrace, the way he handled the situation. When you're wronged, you seek restitution yourself, not hide in some hole and sulk away until death comes along and reaps you out of pity."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 03:29:05 pm
Aww, Niklas looks so cute when he's in a murderous rage!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 03:49:41 pm
HE WENT OFF INTO THE WILDS TO KILL BEARS UNTIL HE GOT BETTER AGAIN! TAKE YOUR INSULTS BACK!
Aww, Niklas looks so cute when he's in a murderous rage!
"And what difference does that make? Killing bears is but a form of sulking, seeking easy pleasures and quarries because you're frightened of facing true threats."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 03:52:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 04:21:14 pm
WHO ARE YOU TO THINK BAD OF MY FATHER?! HE WAS DISGRACED IN FRONT OF THE CHAIRMAN HIMSELF! YOU CAN'T JUST SHRUG THAT OFF!
"Perhaps, but you can also not fall apart and try to behave like a man, take responsibility and strive to prove yourself worthy of respect even in loss, live to fight another day rather than destroy yourself when things don't work out how you want them to."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 04:26:01 pm
Niklasquirrel is now positively melancholic.
Then why scorn me? I went off to avenge ourselves on the ninja! So tell me, wise squirrel priest, why am I being punished by fate for that?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 04:35:43 pm
Stop trying to destroy my image of my father as a good man. I think he was more mad at succumbing to the drugs of the ninja anyhow.
Niklasquirrel is now positively melancholic.
Then why scorn me? I went off to avenge ourselves on the ninja! So tell me, wise squirrel priest, why am I being punished by fate for that?
"Because it's a waste of time, this revenge thing. To gain respect and fulfillment, more productive pursuits are needed. Service to the Nut Gods is one such pursuit, though you may feel free to come up with other answers on your own."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 04:44:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 04:48:45 pm
But I have found fulfillment in besting southern chefs! Only trouble is the mages there keep destroying my body. I'm not really even physically here, this is more of a mental construct thing. I think.
"Besting southern cuisine is hardly a tough challenge to tackle, is it? I hear it is distressingly bland and lacking in unprocessed animal parts. Although, now that you're a squirrel, new avenues of difficulty in that regard will surely spring up."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 05:00:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 02, 2013, 05:05:25 pm
Some in the far south are interesting, but I've really just been doing that to pass the time while I search for the homeland of the ninjas.
"Provided they have one, that is."
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 05:06:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 02, 2013, 05:52:36 pm
"He's alive?" Morton stared at the pile for a good while (read: faced its direction), before turning back to Art, antsy. "How--Nevermind that, we have to get him out of there; we have to save him--Ah I'm not sure I can get close due to the heat much less grab him; oh bother, of all the times to be made of wood!" The desk practically hopped from leg to leg among his four as he watched the molten slag, trying to think of how to rescue Niklas. He's still alive!
The desk rooted around quickly in his drawers, trying to see if he might have anything that could help. Tea supplies, strange stick, clothes, flasks, a pot... He stopped as he had an idea. "Good Mage Erin, good mage Erin might be able to give him a body back, or get him out of there, or--or something. Maybe I can toss water on it to try and cool it down, or there might be something in the book. Good Mage Art, we have to do something."
Post by: Tomcost on November 02, 2013, 06:14:27 pm
((BURN LEVEL: SUN))
((Oh man, now he's done it))
Spoiler: OOC for really Out of Context stuff (click to show/hide)
((Now OOC for Out of Character stuff:
I think that when this game ends I will ask Harry if when the NPCs tear down the PC's expectations and self-steem he is actually making them say what he would tell the PCs as if he was speaking for himself))
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 06:16:22 pm
Quote from: Tomcost
When the NPCs tear down the PC's expectations and self-steem, are you actually making them say what you would tell the PCs as if you were speaking for yourself?
Post by: Tomcost on November 02, 2013, 06:20:34 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 02, 2013, 06:23:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 02, 2013, 06:55:23 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on November 03, 2013, 12:36:10 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 03, 2013, 01:00:49 am
Post by: Xantalos on November 03, 2013, 01:02:51 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 03, 2013, 01:13:28 am
I'm still not really buying him dying because someone pushed him into the water, that seems like something someone would of done before Scott long ago. Heck, Scott didn't even suffer from the problems associated with killing him, at least no longer than a moment. Which is still weird. To be honest, I'm still casting a suspicious glance towards Art for that, he has all the means to make such an accident possible. Then again, it could of been Artiste...]
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2013, 04:02:26 am
Scott takes the Captain up to the main deck and goes about pointing out the varied silly people watching the area. First, the fellow on the other ship.
"OH MY! How utterly DISTRESSING! He DOES SEEM TO BE LOOKING THIS WAY!"
"Perhaps it's because there are two ghosts and a crippled light show on deck?"
Kevin takes offense to that remark. He's not that gaudy. Scott then points to the man on the roof.
"He LOOKS to be HARD AT WORK! But there IS SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THAT ONE!"
Then Scott finally indicates the last guy, the beggar.
"Oh, I recognize HIM! That's the FELLOW who's watched this ship for MANY YEARS NOW! I think I SCARED HIM ONCE AS A CHILD! Terribly NASTY OF ME, but it was FOR A GOOD CAUSE, yes! Maybe I SHOULD GO AND APOLOGIZE!"
Meanwhile, down in the cargo hold, Sigmund tries to make a focus out of his piece of paper.
[Focus creation roll: 3-2+1]
He's still not quite sure how this is supposed to work, though. Where does the magic come from? And how does one harness it, or make the words work and not, say, paper control or something of that sort? The process isn't very well explained, Sigmund finds.
Between the branches of the Great Old One...
Niklas, after having a discussion with the squirrel priest, asks another question.
"Could you perchance ask the Nut Gods where it is?"
"This is something you have to discover for yourself, which is to say that I can't be bothered to ask for a lowly heretic such as yourself."
At the spot of Niklas' melting...
Morton scrambles to find a solution to this dire situation.
"He's alive? How--nevermind that, we have to get him out of there; we have to save him--ah, I'm not sure I can get close due to the heat, much less grab him; oh bother, of all the times to be made of wood!" he starts to think out loud as Art looks uncertainly at the pile of slag.
"Good Mage Erin, good mage Erin might be able to give him a body back, or get him out of there, or--or something. Maybe I can toss water on it to try and cool it down, or there might be something in the book. Good Mage Art, we have to do something."
Art raises his crystalline index finger thoughtfully.
"I could try to transfer his soul to another object. A little dangerous, but certainly possible."
Post by: Xantalos on November 03, 2013, 04:09:03 am
Scurry away from tree, go find an axe or something.
Store the nuts I stole somewhere safe.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2013, 04:13:27 am
*humph* Fine then.
Scurry away from tree, go find an axe or something.
Store the nuts I stole somewhere safe.
Since you didn't get a proper action this time, I'll grant you a little exception.
Among the branches of the Great Old One...
Niklas, having gained very little of note in this exchange, scurries out of the tree and looks for an axe after storing his acorns under a nearby rock.
After about ten minutes of searching, he finds one! It is ten times his size, to put it mildly, and meant for creatures with hands.
Post by: Tomcost on November 03, 2013, 08:00:56 am
Sigmund comes to deck while being somewhat dissapointed. He said to the mages:
-It didn't work. I don't really know what exactly should I do to make a focus, actually.
(("Paper control". Haha, Perplexicon logic))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2013, 09:14:44 am
((Hmm, I didn't know that we had now a -2 penalty to making focus. While I know it is because of ignorance, the only information we go about making focus is that it is done by sheer force of will. Oh, well, I will try to do something different.))
Sigmund comes to deck while being somewhat dissapointed. He said to the mages:
-It didn't work. I don't really know what exactly should I do to make a focus, actually.
(("Paper control". Haha, Perplexicon logic))
"It's difficult enough to explain that I really don't feel like doing it presently. Keep trying, though. You're sure to get something done that way."
Post by: Tomcost on November 03, 2013, 09:32:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 03, 2013, 09:42:19 am
-Well, and what about you, Master, would you be so kind to explain me something about focus creation?
"I don't actually know much about it. I haven't had cause to investigate such a thing. I suppose it's an act of will, yes. At least, that's the way it should work. I could dig around in my body's memories a bit, but that'll take a while."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 03, 2013, 10:19:36 am
"Yes, reintroduce yourselfto that pitiful peasant, and let your appoligies spring forth like gold from a priests purse."
Post by: Xanmyral on November 03, 2013, 10:39:54 am
...Which would, most likely later, need to be morphed by Erin to give you basic functionality, depending on what Morton sticks you in. But then again, I don't think Erin can actually get close enough to change you, what with you being in the epicenter of a ridiculously hot crater.]
The desk calmed himself down after the initial rush of trying to figure out what to do with Niklas, after all, if he's been like this for a while he's probably okay with being like this for a bit longer, but it's still quite distressing.
"I don't believe I have much on me that might house him however, unless he fancies being inside a pot, a stick, or a book I suppose. It would most certainly get him out of the heat however, which would make it much easier on good mage Erin to give him a body from there... What exactly pertains to transferring his soul? Is there something that might make it less dangerous?"
Morton dug through his drawers yet again, pulling out the three objects and laying them on his surface, the book being non-demonology book he was carrying.
Post by: Tomcost on November 03, 2013, 10:48:37 am
Post by: Xantalos on November 03, 2013, 02:07:22 pm
Maybe cool my remains down and get them back to the ship first?))
Oh right. Axes are large.
Idly explore the village. Try to find kitchens.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 03, 2013, 06:30:46 pm
The desk thought for a moment before speaking again to Art. "Whatever we choose, it would most certainly be for the best to get him out of the unbearable heat first; I fear there isn't much any of us can do while he's in there. I think good sir Captain might be able to help us here, he seems marvelously talented with moving things magically. I believe he should be on the ship most likely, shall we go attain his aid?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2013, 01:10:06 pm
Scott believes that the Captain is on to something here.
"Yes, reintroduce yourself to that pitiful peasant, and let your apologies spring forth like gold from a priest's purse."
"NOT AT ALL, you mean? Hm. I SHALL CONSIDER THIS! OFF I GO!"
The Captain floats off the deck, moving over to the beggar. They have a conversation, which seems to proceed a tad uneasily on the part of the beggar. They speak for a while - Scott cannot rightly say what about - and the beggar then leaves, looking slightly at ease. The Captain then returns.
"THAT WENT WELL!"
Sigmund, meanwhile, seeks the Artiste's aid.
"If it is not much effort from your part, I would appreciate it, Master."
The Artiste stares off into the distance for a minute.
"Yeah, it's actually pretty simple, to be honest. All you have to do is rearrange the fundamental harmonies of existence and induce a flexible cascade event into a single artifact, then customize it with application of judicious context."
"Couldn't have explained it better myself."
At a molten scar on the face of Shriekpot...
Morton tries to think of a good plan here, wondering what his old buddy would say about all this. Probably something vaguely disturbing and cooking-related.
"I don't believe I have much on me that might house him however, unless he fancies being inside a pot, a stick, or a book I suppose. It would most certainly get him out of the heat however, which would make it much easier on good mage Erin to give him a body from there... What exactly pertains to transferring his soul? Is there something that might make it less dangerous?"
"Well, having another necromancer around would sure be handy, as they could keep an eye on the soul, make sure it doesn't fly off, but we don't seem to have one of those anymore, do we? Besides, it doesn't matter what we transfer him to - you can literally house a soul inside anything. Erin will have to reshape him no matter what, so we could put him anywhere at all, really."
"Whatever we choose, it would most certainly be for the best to get him out of the unbearable heat first; I fear there isn't much any of us can do while he's in there. I think good sir Captain might be able to help us here, he seems marvelously talented with moving things magically. I believe he should be on the ship most likely, shall we go attain his aid?"
"My way would probably be faster, and we wouldn't have to wait for the pile of slag to cool down, but hey, he's your buddy. I'll defer to you on this one."
In Helsvar's village...
Niklas searches for a kitchen in the village, although he does it in an altogether idle fashion.
Fortunately, there do seem to be a bunch of people preparing what looks like a feast in the clan hall. As such, the entire place somewhat resembles a kitchen now.
Post by: Tomcost on November 04, 2013, 01:22:03 pm
-Well, if I have to customize it at the end that part seems to be quite personal, but I have to ask what would "rearranging the fundamental harmonies of existence" mean.
He decided to ask about how to induce a cascade event with that rearranged bullshit later.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2013, 01:27:28 pm
-Well, if I have to customize it at the end that part seems to be quite personal, but I have to ask what would "rearranging the fundamental harmonies of existence" mean.
"It's... well, you... um, how to explain this?"
"See what I mean?"
"Yeah, pretty much. It's kind of an experiential thing. It makes complete sense to me, but I can't really explain it to you without going in a lot of detail."
Post by: Tomcost on November 04, 2013, 01:31:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 04, 2013, 01:34:36 pm
-So, I should just experiment about what I can feel about the general order that this world has and then focus it into the object I want to become a focus?
"Sure."
Post by: Xantalos on November 04, 2013, 01:38:20 pm
Attempt to fashion a chef hat out of one of those acorns, then march up to an open spot and begin performing pile drivers on a section of meat in order to tenderize it.
Post by: Tomcost on November 04, 2013, 01:40:28 pm
Sigmund hen thoght about were could he go to feel the world, then he realized that most of the world is being constantly hit by the light of the Sun, so he decided to go again to the cargo hold an try to feel the world from a dark room inside a ship.
Action:
Go to the cargo hold, try to feel the world and its order.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 04, 2013, 07:43:18 pm
Ah. So there were two.
"I was speaking with a man outside about an artifact I'm questing for?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 05, 2013, 09:57:11 am
Scott will try to confront one of the the other rogues, preferably not the man on the roof.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 05, 2013, 06:01:43 pm
Morton mentally debated with himself. On the one hand, doing this is possibly dangerous and may cause harm to Chef Niklas, would be faster however and they could get him to Erin for help much quicker. Who knows how stable this state is for Niklas, if he could possible be endangered by further melting, or in fact cooling down?
On the other hand, it could be an unnecessary risk to put him through, and if it goes wrong, what then? But by the time they get Captain to help Chef Niklas could of been removed by someone, gone forever. Surely they won't leave this eyesore on the street forever, they will eventually do something about it. Who knows if they might find him again, if that's even possible? The trip to get Captain and back could of been all the time needed to remove the lump, or bury it, or something else entirely, Chef Niklas along with it.
After a bit, the desk nodded, which looks very similar to his bowing except quicker in nature and done twice. "The guard surely won't keep the street like this for long, I fear that if we don't hurry they may remove him before we return. If there is anything I can do to aid the transfer, do please speak up, good mage Art. Choose any of the three that you feel best works. Chef Niklas liked to cook, as he is a chef, so perhaps the pot may hold a firmer grasp onto him?" The desk offered a guess as he gestures to the pot, stick, and book on his surface.
Post by: Xantalos on November 05, 2013, 09:26:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 06, 2013, 01:23:20 am
Niklas, after creating a remarkably heavy acorn chef hat, tries to perform something vaguely resembling cooking in certain parts of the world. He finds an adequately small piece of meat and tries to piledrive it into the table he found it on, to varying degrees of success. The other people in the room seem quite amused and not at all bothered by a rodent physically assaulting their food.
Question is, are they laughing with him or at him? His guts twist with this question, but the sensation quickly passes.
On the Second Shank...
Sigmund heads down into the cargo hold of the ship and redoubles his efforts to make a focus. He first tries to feel the order of the world somehow.
He does feel something, he finds - it seems a bit strange, because, for all of Sigmund's talents, he didn't know extrasensory perception to be one of them. How very odd. He gets the feeling that there is something up with the world, a certain knotting of universal laws centered around him for some reason.
Scott, meanwhile, seeks out the fellow on the other ship to ask him a few good questions. He walks off the gangplank, shambles up the pier and steps over to the other ship, where the watcher stands, still looking at the Second Shank. The guy turns to him.
"Hm? What do you want?"
In a house of hands...
Darren asks a question of the handmaiden.
"I was speaking with a man outside about an artifact I'm questing for?"
"Er... I wouldn't be an authority on that sort of thing. Did he say that he would be here or... oh, there he comes. Thank goodness."
Darren looks around, but doesn't see anything until a panel on the wall opens up and the two hands from outside slink out of it.
"Ah, I see you've met Ms. Fern."
"Well, we haven't officially introduced ourselves or anything."
"I'm sure you will, but that will have to wait until later. Firstly, I believe the good fellow had a question about the Crown of Flowers?"
Ms. Fern is visibly quieted by the mention - her mouth-hand purses, then closes up into a fist as her hands retreat back into the hole, though the eye-hand still peeks out at Darren.
At the melting point of Niklas...
Morton, after making sure to consult with the varying voices in his head, comes to a decision.
"The guard surely won't keep the street like this for long, I fear that if we don't hurry they may remove him before we return. If there is anything I can do to aid the transfer, do please speak up, good mage Art. Choose any of the three that you feel best works. Chef Niklas liked to cook, as he is a chef, so perhaps the pot may hold a firmer grasp onto him?"
"I don't really know, but yeah, let's go for the pot."
Art outstretches his hands, pointing one at the pile of slag, the other at the pot.
[Art's magic roll: 1]
He opens his eyes.
"Erm... whoops. Well, doesn't look like he was killed by that, so why don't we try again?"
Post by: Xantalos on November 06, 2013, 01:47:51 am
Retrieve a paring knife or something and commence cookery! Make a meat mash.
Post by: Innsmothe on November 06, 2013, 04:08:16 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 06, 2013, 05:38:19 am
Try to discern the different laws
Post by: miauw62 on November 06, 2013, 06:22:34 am
"Not much to do for me right now, is there?"
Post by: Tomcost on November 06, 2013, 06:42:51 am
((Magicophysics, I'd guess.))((Well, as far as this goes, it seems that in this universe reality can be altered by application of will in the correct form (as there is no such thing as "mana"), so I wouldn't be surprised if anyone can just try to feel the magic laws and actually do it.))
((Also, I think that Niklas is the character who has endured the highest amount of will rolls. He is really lucky))
Post by: Xantalos on November 06, 2013, 11:26:55 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 06, 2013, 11:31:40 am
((Why thanks. And yes, as I proved, you can alter reality if you concentrate hard enough. Ie to become a chairman.))((It wasn't exactly a compliment. Or at least from my perpective. Being lucky means that you are risking far too much and only survived becaused the RNG happened to agree.))
Post by: Xantalos on November 06, 2013, 11:32:40 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 06, 2013, 11:34:36 am
Post by: Xantalos on November 06, 2013, 11:38:32 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 06, 2013, 11:47:09 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 06, 2013, 06:43:02 pm
Morton didn't quite like the sound of that, but kept calm as is the way of being a butler and most certainly of desks. "Take your time good mage Art, focus, think it through. It mustn't be easy, with Niklas soul having endured this and having survived, but I know you can do it, you'll manage marvelously and make the task almost trivial." The desk supportingly advised Art in his magical mojo, hoping it might help.
Post by: killerhellhound on November 06, 2013, 07:13:21 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 06, 2013, 08:46:55 pm
[No idea what Morton may get a bonus to, his actions have been kind of spread out. If I were to wager a guess, probably politeness/diplomacy/something of the sort. I wonder if I can turn him into a diplomancer of sorts... Not sure if that's actually a thing, but chair magic is so who knows. Then again, I've no idea if any rolls have even been done conversationally, so I've not a clue.]((Tea+black deadly paste-->Bonus to alchemy))
I have no idea what I might get since I've been a lump of metal and tree for so long but I'm hoping for improved soul vision or a boost to hide or maybe a boost to endurance.)((Maybe a further bonus to !!medicine!! rolls, allowing you to decide wether you want an overshoot or not?))
Post by: Xanmyral on November 06, 2013, 09:04:45 pm
Which... He hasn't made in a while. Granted, tea is the bit you only truly make for the proper situation, make it all willy-nilly and it loses what makes it special.
Really though, this is all assuming we survive the ocean bit, which will most likely be very hard.]
Post by: Innsmothe on November 07, 2013, 03:30:10 am
((And Scott will get a bonus to being an insufferable ass- OH WAIT, HE ALREADY HAS A +3 TO THAT))((He isn't that bad, his entire world did shatter a short while ago. So he is going to be extremely erratic and sometime prone to violence and paranoia. ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2013, 05:20:45 am
Niklas looks for that staple of northern cooking, the knife. Luckily, northerners have only two types of knives - sharp knives and their teeth, as the other sorts don't frequently come into play unless the food is needed to be extra painful. Sadly, though, all the knives are currently in use. And even if they weren't, Niklas would need to use three limbs to hold one of them anyway.
On some ship in Shriekpot...
Scott asks the man the most important question of the moment.
"Are you in any way planning anything that may displease my master?"
"That depends. Will going out for a drink at the Feisty Jelly displease whoever your master is? 'Cause that's what I've been planning to do the past ten or so minutes. Say, got any coins to spare? I'm a few short of getting a decent mug of swill."
This is possibly good, or he might just be lying. Either seems likely.
On the Second Shank...
Sigmund tries to approach universal understanding one thing at a time. First, the laws! He tries to unravel the knot, but then realizes that one of the laws within the knot is that you do not unravel the knot. He slumps a little at the realization.
Furthermore, it looks like another law is that he can't do whatever he wants just because he feels like it. Finally, there's no fun permitted, period. Seriously, man. No fun beyond this point. This will not be repeated, and one runs the risk of severe retribution if they forget that for a few seconds.
Man, he knew the universe was old, but not like this!
Topside, Kevin realizes what's wrong here.
"Not much to do for me right now, is there?"
"One could argue you're completely superfluous, yes."
"Aw, don't be mean to the poor guy. It's probably not entirely his fault he's crippled."
"It probably is, actually, knowing this lot like I do."
"Still, negative reinforcement isn't a viable way to deal with people in a positive way. Say, Kevin, you should seek help. I bet somebody out there in the streets would love to operate on you a little, help you get back in shape."
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Considering that Niklas still isn't dead, Morton gives Art the go-ahead to try again.
"Take your time, good mage Art, focus, think it through. It mustn't be easy, with Niklas soul having endured this and having survived, but I know you can do it, you'll manage marvelously and make the task almost trivial."
"Hey, thanks. A little faith goes a long way, I'd say."
Art then focuses a moment, looking at the pot, then at pile of slag that is Niklas. He raises a single hand. The pile of slag seems agitated for a moment, but it subsides once more.
"Good news, I screwed up again and he's still not dead. Pretty great subject, that fellow. Okay, one more time!"
Art gestures a few times, but nothing seems to happen.
"Nah, nah. I lost it. Let's go get Erin instead."
Post by: killerhellhound on November 07, 2013, 07:22:26 am
oh wait thats me. :P
now, hold still. :D))
Progress check on repairs
Post by: Tomcost on November 07, 2013, 07:40:24 am
Just observe the laws, without directly interacting with them.
Post by: miauw62 on November 07, 2013, 09:49:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 07, 2013, 09:51:47 am
"There's a smith willing to help me, or experiment on me, but he's currently working on the treehead."
"Truly, you are the most unlucky individual I have ever known. My condolences on your perpetual misery."
Post by: Xantalos on November 07, 2013, 12:54:41 pm
Don't eat it yet though.
Post by: Innsmothe on November 07, 2013, 04:15:23 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 07, 2013, 08:05:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 08, 2013, 01:19:07 am
Mark suddenly remembers that he, against all odds, is quite conscious. And terribly bored. The blacksmith guy is slowly working on the whole ball joint thing, and has installed four out of eight by this point, right now finishing work on his arms. He's humming a cheery tune and looking somewhat relaxed.
Mark really wishes the guy would get a move on. He's been here for eight hours already.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund realizes that the laws are things that should not be poked without reason. Instead, he looks at them. They don't seem to mind much, as looking does not qualify as anything fun in their book. There's a whole bunch of laws in the knot right in front of him, and the first three he found are simply the overarching, strongest ones. One particular rule he notices is that no willful alterations of reality are permitted, as this hurts the general sensibility of the universe. And the general sensibility of the universe does not like to be hurt, naturally.
Furthermore, each rule is founded on several small subsets of rules. For instance, the "no fun" rule stands on three main pillars, or is based on several strands, whatever your preference, the knots are really just an abstraction: "no magic", "soul is taken after death" and "your enjoyment means absolutely nothing to anyone", which in turn have several smaller subsets supporting them. And the "don't unravel" rule is founded on "don't manipulate the strands", "don't move the knot" and "no smartass lateral approaches to knot unraveling".
Interestingly, Sigmund becomes aware that such a knot exists for pretty much every object around him - some have more complex knots, with Sigmund himself having the most tangled one that he can see in the room, while his piece of paper has significantly fewer strands, presumably due to having no concept of death or fun.
In a kitchen...
Niklas, though he feels a little sick for a moment, nonetheless commences a chopping frenzy. He nibbles the meat present into several slices, which is pretty hard work, all things considered. Luckily, his teeth are knives in their own right, and thus they are surprisingly suited for the job, albeit a little small.
After a good hour of this, he proclaims the meat rather nicely chopped. The people present clap at his steadfast spirit.
On a different ship in Shriekpot...
Scott offers the man a drink.
"We have the finest swill on our vessel, providing of course that my master hasn't drunk it all...will you accept the invitation?"
"Uhm, no offense, but that seems a little suspicious. Particularly the way you keep mentioning a master. Sounds like something out of a horror story, no? I think I'll pass, thank you very much," the sailor replies. "In fact, I think I'll go to the Feisty Jelly instead. Thank you for pushing me to make up my mind."
The sailor man moves to leave the ship.
At Niklas' melting point...
Morton agrees with the proposed course of action.
"We best hurry then, I sincerely doubt they'll leave him like that for long. Getting good sir Captain to aid us would also be of marvelous help, I fear that whatever good mage Erin might change chef Niklas might be damaged by the heat. Good sir Captain could probably get him out of there for safe transforming."
"Right. But first, let's get there."
And soon enough they do! They are greeted by something interesting, namely an unfamiliar ghost standing next to the Artiste, gabbing about something.
"Is that... hey, it is! Justine, that's you, isn't it?"
The ghost turns to face Art slowly.
"I'm afraid not. You must have me confused with someone else, whoever you are."
"Nah, it's her alright. Justine, remember Art? He got a makeover, you see."
"I do recall someone with that name. The mostly useless necromancer, right?"
"Hey! I take offense to that."
"And I care so very deeply about your opinion."
Art grumbles a little in response.
Post by: Xantalos on November 08, 2013, 01:47:01 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 08, 2013, 08:52:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 08, 2013, 08:58:20 pm
Morton politely waits until Art was done talking with the new guest, Justine from the sounds of it. Hm... That name sounds familiar... Wait, didn't Art say something about someone named Justine being in their group? Before Master Artiste? Yes, that's right, he did! Seems she's a second chancer now, how wonderful to be given another chance at life!
Now that there seems to be a lull in the conversation, he introduces himself as any self-respecting and polite desk should. "Salutations, mage Justine. It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow second chancer; my name is Carter Morton, but most of my friends just call me Morton. I'm afraid I might have to disagree with your assessment on good mage Art, I assure you he's a phenomenal necromancer."
Greetings out of the way, the desk turned to Artiste. "Good master Artiste, have you seen good mage Erin or good sir Captain? We need their help most expediently, chef Niklas is in grave danger."
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 09, 2013, 05:40:54 am
Niklas retrieves absolutely nothing from anywhere, as he has no pockets, being a squirrel. And there are no squirrel-sized cooking pots around here, either. Niklas finds this to be disappointing, but not entirely surprising.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund takes a closer look at the anti-magic laws surrounding the piece of paper. The main rule is "no magic", unsurprisingly, but, vague as such an instruction is, it requires further clarification.
The "no magic" knot is composed of several substrands. Firstly, nothing written on the paper is to be taken as an instruction upon the universe, with or without confirmation of an external entity. Secondly, the paper itself is not allowed to change its shape or the shape of other objects, even those like itself, wantonly or according to the whims of a user. Thirdly, the paper is not allowed to illogically and non-physically influence other objects or souls in any way, possible or impossible. Fourthly, the shape of the paper is strictly disallowed from imposing itself upon its surroundings or inducing other similarly-shaped objects to do the same. Fifthly, the fibrous cellulose structure of the paper is similarly prohibited from doing anything like that as well.
From there, each of the sub-rules extends downward almost infinitely, with terms explaining what the universe is, what the paper is, what's a soul-bearer and what any of the other terms in the law mean. It's shaped very much like a pyramid, in a way, and Sigmund can discern more than a bit of unwieldiness about the whole thing, not to mention a lack of redundancy in the structure. Also, there appears to be a little fraying at some points, and the knots are a little grubby from disuse.
Finally, while the core of the knot, the main rule, is untouchable as far as Sigmund can see, the same does not necessarily apply to the more distant bits, such as the one that defines who Sigmund is in this particular configuration, which is already leaning against his face in an unpleasant, pointy manner.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Morton goes on being polite to the somewhat irritable-looking ghost on deck.
"Salutations, mage Justine. It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow second chancer; my name is Carter Morton, but most of my friends just call me Morton. I'm afraid I might have to disagree with your assessment on good mage Art, I assure you he's a phenomenal necromancer."
"Oh, salutations to you as well, second-chancer! I hope your day of perpetual enslavement has been as wonderful as mine. And I was merely jesting about our mutual friend, obviously. Of course I am thankful to him or her or whatever for getting me subjected to service from which death was but a temporary respite."
"That was hardly even my fault!"
"True, but it does not really change the fact that I rather dislike you for a multitude of other reasons as well."
"You've gotten a lot crabbier since your death."
"Reflection upon certain events does that to you."
As the Artiste listens carefully to the conversation, Morton grabs his attention with a question.
"Good master Artiste, have you seen good mage Erin or good sir Captain? We need their help most expediently, chef Niklas is in grave danger."
The Artiste looks around.
"Not entirely sure. I suppose Erin might still be asleep, though I can't say for sure, and the Captain was right here moments ago. Not sure where he went."
Post by: Tomcost on November 09, 2013, 08:29:02 am
Determine the presence of a loophole in the "nothing written on the paper is to be taken as an instruction upon the universe" part, specifically what is considered as written.
((I love this game more and more each day))
EDIT:
((A classification of the magic used by the players:
-James (life magic): bypassed the first law.
-Samuel (cane and skull magic): bypassed laws from two to five. As he got a 5 in creation, he would have been able to bypass the first one if he had tried to write on the cane, but this is speculation.
-Niklas: bypassed part of laws three and four, thus allowing him to control chairs but not to create nor transform them.))
Post by: Innsmothe on November 09, 2013, 11:42:52 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 09, 2013, 04:36:48 pm
"Good jester Kevin?" ...Oh dear. "What in the world happened, are the others alr--Er, I'm dreadfully sorry, I would help you right now if I could, but I have to see to Chef Niklas before we lose him. He's in an even worse state I'm afraid. If you don't mind, could you come with me and explain along the way? I understand if you're busy however, but I'm in a touch of a hurry. I can set you on top of myself if you wish, it wouldn't be much bother." Morton cleared off his surface of any objects if needed, stowing them, and if Kevin agreed he would try to carefully hoist him on top of himself. Otherwise he'll hurry off to go check on Erin.
First he checked the den and kitchen inside the ship, in case Erin hopefully awoken, but failing that will check her room by knocking.
Post by: Nunzillor on November 09, 2013, 06:32:36 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 09, 2013, 06:34:35 pm
Dig a pit in the ground.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 09, 2013, 07:33:27 pm
Course, this makes me curious. Are the rules different for different people? What would one see if they looked at Artiste's knot?]
Post by: Tomcost on November 09, 2013, 07:40:22 pm
[Man, I love nitpicking rules, sounds like my kind of magic system. Something that may benefit is looking at a person's focus to see how they did it. That divination book or necromancy book Mark has would be a good bet to look at for hints if needed.I haven0t considered this, I was planning to create a loophole regarding what is considered written in it, possibly needing to create an altogether different language to do that, but your idea is far better.
Quote
Course, this makes me curious. Are the rules different for different people? What would one see if they looked at Artiste's knot?]The question is: do we really want to know?
Post by: Nunzillor on November 10, 2013, 03:33:55 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2013, 04:18:10 am
"Oh, hey Morton. What'd you say about Niklas?"
Kevin follows Morton.
Post by: Tomcost on November 10, 2013, 12:24:40 pm
((And we still haven't figured out what the Artiste is exactly. It may be worth looking at his knot.))((Considering the difference in timezones (or Xanmyral's shedule for that matter), maybe you should put more input in your dialogue, or straightfoward agree in going with him, because these conversations have proved to last forever.))
"Oh, hey Morton. What'd you say about Niklas?"
Post by: Xanmyral on November 10, 2013, 01:02:00 pm
"Chef Niklas is in a terrible, terrible state! He's been reduced to a pile of molten metal in the middle of an intense heat, scorching the road and glassing the streets. He's still alive though, how I'm not sure but that matters little, we have to help him for they won't leave him there forever. I'm trying to find good sir Captain to get him out of the heat, and good mage Erin to hopefully give him form again." Morton explained with a slight flare of dramatics.
"I wish the same could be done to you, but I'm afraid that, due to the transformation upon us, good mage Erin would be hard pressed to fix."
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2013, 01:21:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2013, 02:24:58 pm
Sigmund examines what the rule about written instructions really means. He finds that it's not so much "written" as "symbolically conveyed", and an instruction can be any sort of indication that an action or inaction of some kind should be taken by the universe at large. He doesn't exactly see a loophole here, but the whole structure seems a bit flimsy when inspected very closely. He figures with a bit of unraveling he could cause a bit of a stir in the rules. Maybe he could unravel the larger rules by unraveling the smaller ones.
That is, if unraveling the knots was not expressly forbidden in all perpetuity by yet another rule. Still, his point might stand under certain circumstances.
On a different ship entirely...
As he watches the sailor leave, Scott has an idea. A parting gesture, so to speak. He doesn't quite manage to scratch out a legible message with his fingernails on the wood of the deck, but he does scratch it up a little bit. Unwilling to destroy his manicure further, Scott ventures to find the bloke on the roof, and finds him to still be pretending to work.
He doesn't seem to notice Scott, although he does pretend to work with great gusto, falsely wielding varied tools in a completely ineffectual manner and making a not inconsiderable amount of noise.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
After helping Kevin catch up on current events, Morton hoists him up and deposits him on his surface, then looks for Erin. She isn't in the kitchen or the den, so he checks at her door, knocking softly.
There is no immediate answer, although Morton can hear movement on the other side of the door - it sounds very much like footsteps.
In a kitchen of some kind...
Niklas, undeterred by the lack of any sort of pot, starts to dig a pit in the middle of the hall. He succeeds in scratching the wooden floor a little.
Post by: Tomcost on November 10, 2013, 02:43:58 pm
Look at the rule that explains who Sigmund is.
EDIT: another action:
Go and grab the binding spellbook, then go again to the cargo hold and try to see what is special in its knots.
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2013, 02:54:03 pm
Kevin leaned over to the door and yelled:
"GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS, NIKLAS IS ABOUT TO DIE!"
Post by: Xanmyral on November 10, 2013, 03:18:17 pm
Morton was taken aback by the yelling, having been used to Kevin's silences for so long. "E-er, the situation is indeed dire, but I'm not sure if shouting is strictly necessary. She's probably suffering a terrible hangover from the alcohol the day prior, I fear." The desk relayed to Kevin, quietly so that Erin could not hear him however.
The desk coughed, now a mental reflex than any sort of biological need, and spoke after Kevin. Much quieter however, but making sure it is loud enough to be heard comfortably from beyond the door. "Apologies good mage Erin, but yes, the situation is indeed dire and we require your assistance as quick as you can prepare it. Chef Niklas has been reduced to molten slag in the streets and still lives, but I fear that may not be the case for long, however, if we do not remove him from the heat he has found himself in and repair his body most expediently."
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2013, 04:02:44 pm
"I hope she can get over a little hangover to save Niklas. We'll need everyone we can get on the Sea of Death."
Post by: Xantalos on November 10, 2013, 04:49:43 pm
Go find a regular bowl and put the piledriver'd meat into it. Then go find saffron, whale bile, and chopped horse ass.
Post by: Innsmothe on November 11, 2013, 01:30:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2013, 02:15:19 pm
Sigmund, unclear on what to do now, examines the definition of himself.
Apparently, Sigmund is the assigned self-name of the current vessel of Soul 55-137322-14456711-61119031-1345221885-909799155, and this soul possesses no privileges. That's rather straightforward, he guesses. With that out of the way, he quickly retrieves the book of bindings from the den, then returns to the cargo hold to take a look at it.
He can't really tell what's so special about it. Seems pretty generic as an object, though there is a certain lopsidedness to its knot.
At Erin's door...
Kevin, fully informed of the urgency of the matter, tries to inform Erin as well.
"GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS, NIKLAS IS ABOUT TO DIE!"
Morton is taken aback by such spectacular rudeness, naturally.
"E-er, the situation is indeed dire, but I'm not sure if shouting is strictly necessary. She's probably suffering a terrible hangover from the alcohol the day prior, I fear," he quietly explains to him, then coughs oddly, as there truly is no other way for a desk to cough.
"Apologies good mage Erin, but yes, the situation is indeed dire and we require your assistance as quick as you can prepare it. Chef Niklas has been reduced to molten slag in the streets and still lives, but I fear that may not be the case for long, however, if we do not remove him from the heat he has found himself in and repair his body most expediently."
A few moments pass, and the door opens, revealing a rather unimpressed-looking Erin, still wearing the rather stained robe she went to bed with, although it's quite a lot more rumpled now.
"What, repair him again? He got destroyed? He works fast, gotta admit."
She doesn't look too bad, really. A little drowsy, but hardly a wreck or anything.
"Give me a few minutes, will ya?"
In a kitchen...
Niklas, upon failing to dig a hole in the floor, looks around for a bowl. All the ones around here, though, are kept well away from him, it seems. Having failed at that, he looks for the primary spices of his special cuisine.
Sadly, though, there is no saffron at all. There's even a sign that states it is absolutely forbidden in this village on pain of death. There's a whole vat of whale bile in the middle of the hall, though. No horses or their asses in the vicinity, however. Well, one out of three isn't completely terrible.
At a building in the process of renovation...
Scott confronts the insidious blackguard/complete slacker on the roof.
"Sir! Yes, you right there, sir!" he points at the roof man, who looks back.
"Who, me?"
"Yes, you! I have it on good authority that you are nothing but a horrible spy and not a roof repair person at all, and I doubt that you can prove the opposite to me at all! Gods, man, do you even know how to repair a roof? I could do a better job than that, and I've never used a hammer for anything but pure jackassery my entire life!"
The man on the roof is surprised by the accusation, but then starts to look a bit angry.
"Of course I'm not doing a good job, you fool! I'm pretending to work rather than actually doing so, as you can see. Now shoo, before you blow my cover! My wife might pass by at any moment!"
Post by: Xantalos on November 11, 2013, 02:23:07 pm
Grab some whale bile and mashed spleen of goblin if they have any, and mix the meat into it in the bowl.
Post by: Tomcost on November 11, 2013, 02:32:50 pm
((Damn...)
Post by: Innsmothe on November 12, 2013, 09:31:53 am
*Shove*
If successful, Scott will feel accomplished in protecting his present interests, the ship and his master. He will stroll with dignity and grace back to said master's side.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 12, 2013, 09:40:46 am
"Estrangement? How about you go confront her?"
*Shove*
If successful, Scott will feel accomplished in protecting his present interests, the ship and his master. He will stroll with dignity and grace back to said master's side.
You're not actually on the roof right now.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 12, 2013, 06:27:48 pm
Morton takes a respectful step away from Erin's door and awaits her, turning his attention to the crumpled mess atop of him, poor Kevin. "Good jester Kevin, would you kindly inform me as to what transpired in your trip to acquire some books? I checked both stores earlier, and I assume you unfortunately must of been to the one that was surrounded by quite the crowd. What caused such a travesty to befall you all? Where is good sir Sigmund and sir Scott?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 12, 2013, 06:28:19 pm
Then get me up there dammit! *shakes fist*
:p
Hmm...
Scott Will feign interest in the bastards plight,and put on a caring air as finds a way up the building..before carrying out what was ordained for him in the first place.
Post by: miauw62 on November 13, 2013, 02:00:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2013, 12:11:43 pm
Niklas attempts to grab some whale bile, but realizes two things. Firstly, he has no hands. Secondly, he's got nothing to keep the whale bile in. Thirdly, eww, though this is a very distant concern for anyone in the room. He also realizes that goblins don't actually exist, which makes their spleens rather rare, particularly in mashed form.
Man, there's nothing to cook with here! Such limitations from every direction, most unfortunate.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund compares the lopsidedness of the book with the rather different knot of the piece of paper. This way, the differences are rather easy to spot. Or, to be exact, the single difference.
The difference lies in the "no magic" bit, as Sigmund may have already suspected, and it trails down to the part of written instructions. Namely, there's a clause added. It stipulates that the words within, if invoked by a particular soul deliberately, are an exception to the written instruction bit. It's a small difference, but it's clearly unbalanced the knot quite dramatically. It's quite interesting, actually. It seems like great care has been taken to balance the thing and prevent it from falling apart, in fact. Wonder what would happen if it wasn't secured in such a way.
At a house currently getting its roof redone...
Scott pours out some honeyed words at the man.
"I'm sorry, sir, but my ability to rightly give a rat's ass is lightly impaired by the distance. However, you have piqued my curiosity! I shall approach!"
Fortunately, the guy doesn't seem to be quite listening to him. Also, the house has a wall conveniently missing, so Scott goes right in and gets up to the roof, ready for a little face-to-face conversation. The man turns to him.
"Didn't I tell you to piss off already, you-"
[Shove: Scott vs. Fake Roof Guy: 2 vs. 1]
Scott gives the guy a shove, unbalancing just the tiniest bit.
[Fake Roof Guy's balance roll: 2]
Fortunately, it's quite enough to send him rolling off the roof immediately and falling to the ground two floors down.
[Fake Roof Guy's landing roll: 2]
[Fake Roof Guy's endurance roll: 5]
He falls right on his back, and there is an audible flop as he hits the ground, followed by several heinous and obscure curses as he gets up. Happy with the work he's done, Scott merrily walks downstairs and heads outside.
At this point, the guy, clearly pissed beyond the point of rationally discussing this, charges him with the hammer he had in his hand.
[Fake Roof Guy's charge roll: 6]
Quite pissed indeed, Scott would say about the guy.
[Fake Roof Guy vs. Scott: 5+2 vs. 3-1]
There is a flash of dark metal as he makes an enraged overhead swing at Scott, catching him right on the skull. There is an obnoxiously loud crack as the hammer impacts Scott's brain at a great speed, the crazed fake roof man getting the lucky shot of his life.
[Scott's will roll: 6]
Scott just shakes his head disapprovingly at the guy, who pales visibly after realizing what he's done just now, then leaves to find the Artiste, the hammer still embedded in his head. The fake roof guy then elects to make a run for it rather than investigate further or perhaps get his hammer back. Scott, satisfied with the impression made, walks on back to the ship at a dignified pace, finding the Artiste to still be conversing with Justine idly while sitting down on a barrel. The Artiste looks at him with mild distress, as if about to ask a question, then seemingly reconsiders, turning back to his pet diviner to talk about what sounds like gastronomy.
"... so you have to let it marinade for a while, then take it out and put it over the flame, but not for too long. Just enough to release the good stuff, which you collect. Then you stick it back into the stew and the whole thing happens again, your part included."
"Is that really all there is to it?"
"Yep. That's it."
"Huh."
Outside Erin's room...
Morton gives Erin permission to do whatever she needs to do, as long as it's quick.
"Of course, good mage Erin, but please hurry as much as you can, I fear for chef Niklas' life. I do not believe they shall keep him on the streets for long."
"Yeah, okay."
She closes the door, and there is a light wobbling sound as Morton converses with Kevin for a short moment, with Kevin explaining shortly why everything's turned to shit lately. It abates for a moment, then stops again. Moments later, Erin opens the door again, with her clothes looking a little cleaner.
"I'm ready. Where we goin' exactly?"
Post by: miauw62 on November 13, 2013, 12:15:15 pm
"I dunno. Some street in this town. Morton can lead the way, I think. We gotta hurry, tough."
Post by: Tomcost on November 13, 2013, 12:42:37 pm
((We are one hammer richer! It gives no bonus, but may be useful to bypass armor.))
Post by: Xantalos on November 13, 2013, 12:55:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 13, 2013, 01:54:19 pm
Darn, no dream meat then.
Scoop some whale bile up in the bowl and toss the meat in. Then get a stick and stir thoroughly.
You don't have a bowl.
Post by: Xantalos on November 13, 2013, 03:00:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 13, 2013, 09:26:30 pm
"He's over on Cooper Street, follow me posthaste please, I fear time may be limited." Morton called out to them as he hastened himself towards where Chef Niklas was as fast as he could, with respect to Kevin on him however so as he wouldn't fall off. While he's on the deck of the ship, he'll look around for Captain quickly, then call out for him. If he's found, he'll quickly ask for his help with Niklas, and to follow them, if not he'll hurry off so as not to waste too much time.
Post by: Yoink on November 13, 2013, 11:23:02 pm
Timothy tilted his head at one of the beings before him, somewhat skeptical. They didn't strike him as any sort of super-magical pilot for a trip through the unknown... but then again, Timothy could hardly remember how he got here in the first place. Couldn't be too hard, right?
"Well... alrights, then! I'd really muchlikes to go back home. This place, uh, nice, but... it not really my scene, you knows?"
>Happily throw myself into whatever plan these non-creatures have to get me back to the real... well, real-er world.
>Try and remember just why I needed to go there in the first place.
((I am so sorry for being away from this for so long. I find it hard to keep up with, especially without easy access to a computer. :-S))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 14, 2013, 07:28:34 am
Kevin and Morton give Erin all the information she needs.
"I dunno. Some street in this town. Morton can lead the way, I think. We gotta hurry, though."
"He's over on Cooper Street, follow me posthaste please, I fear time may be limited," Morton explains, then rushes off as quickly as a desk can, which is not very quickly at all, over to the deck, finding himself calling out to the Captain once more. The Captain does not deign to make an appearance, however. Morton figures that's that, then, and takes his entire group over to the site of the noble cook's hideous melting. The scar in the streets has cooled down a bit, though not enough to be considered even remotely safe. Nevertheless, some gawkers have gathered around the area regardless, watching the liquid parts of the street settle into a solid shape once more from a good distance.
"Whoa. They sure didn't mess around with him, did they? That's him in the middle there, right? The pile o' slag?"
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund takes a moment to analyze the exact principles of construction that resulted in the book he sees before him. He supposes he understands what he needs to do - presumably will the rules into existence over at the piece of paper. Probably not too difficult, he guesses.
[Sigmund's focus creation roll: 6]
His mind is put to work as it commences the reorganization of rules for the sheet of paper, adding the requisite rule at the end of the knot and watching the entire knot of the paper bend and twist for a moment before settling into a precarious shape. The paper softly hums for a moment before settling as well.
Were Sigmund a more optimistic sort, he would say that this has worked!
In a kitchen...
Niklas goes forth to search for more bowls. Looking outside, he finds only a cat, and a rather mean-looking cat at that. This is a cat that looks like it's survived wars, man.
It looks quite hungrily at him. Niklas isn't sure this is good.
In Undefined Space...
After a moment of considering the beings' offer, Timothy accepts.
"Well... alrights, then! I'd really muchlikes to go back home. This place, uh, nice, but... it not really my scene, you knows?"
"I know."
"We both-two know-understand! Let us help-aid!"
The two beings shift around for a moment, and Timothy suddenly hears a sucking sound from behind him. He turns to look, and notices a dark hole that leads into what looks like a bright, sunny realm of bright colors and accentuated tones. It smells really nice.
"Go in. Good things await."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 14, 2013, 09:49:30 am
Scott shall extract the tool from his brain and try to bandage up the worst of it using spare sailcloth.
"All visual threats have been dealt with, sir. Though I still advise to set sail quickly. Oooo, I might need to lay down"
Post by: Gamerlord on November 14, 2013, 09:56:26 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 14, 2013, 10:14:16 am
((Hey mates, how's the insanity?))
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Action:
Now that he had a focus, Sigmund had to try it! But considering how unstable magic was, he had to make sure to not screw up.
Try to feel the air, concentrate on casting the spell
((Oh, god, I got a 6. I'm going to die in a horrible way.))
Post by: Innsmothe on November 14, 2013, 10:20:23 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 14, 2013, 11:19:30 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 14, 2013, 11:56:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 14, 2013, 05:17:29 pm
"Good jester Kevin, can you perhaps look to see if any guards are about? If they possibly caused this, I dare not think how they might interpret this event if we were to help chef Niklas. I'm afraid I cannot look around without it being a touch conspicuous. Perhaps we can pose as cleaners, if asked?" Once again he talked quietly to his two companions.
Post by: Xantalos on November 14, 2013, 05:21:02 pm
Bluff the cat, then jump up on its back.
Make cat my mount.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2013, 06:36:12 am
Scott removes the hammer from his head, somewhat disturbing the Artiste with the squelching sound and gaping skull hole this produces, and speaks.
"Rotten soup foxed at meandering dawn, goulash. Terminal fruity a la George my thickener helps concatenate. Ooh, peaches mark jolliness on circumnavigation eve," he says.
"That's very nice, Scott. Maybe you should lie down."
That's what he just said, dammit! Scott takes a moment to bandage himself up, wrapping a stylish sailcloth bandana around the large, cavernous opening in his head that isn't his mouth.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund attempts to cast his spell of displacing air.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
He feels air rush all around him for a moment, producing quite the breeze. He can't really feel the air in any esoteric fashion, though. Wonder why.
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Kevin can only offer words of uncertainty as Morton explains the issue at hand.
"I'm afraid so, good mage Erin. Good mage Art said that his soul is still in there, alive somehow. I had hoped Captain could of joined us, so as to get him out of the heat, but I'm afraid that's no longer an option. Hopefully that won't be much of a difficult trial to surmount?"
"I dunno. Only one way to find out."
Erin reaches out toward the pile of melted cook up ahead, and the air distorts a little.
"Question is, what to turn him into?"
"Good jester Kevin, can you perhaps look to see if any guards are about? If they possibly caused this, I dare not think how they might interpret this event if we were to help chef Niklas. I'm afraid I cannot look around without it being a touch conspicuous. Perhaps we can pose as cleaners, if asked?" Morton then asks his crippled friend, who merely twitches in response.
In an alley with a cat...
Niklas, ever the optimist, just rolls with the punches.
"I warn you, cat, I'm filled with explosives."
"Shit, man, that ain't no good," the cat answers, looking concerned. Niklas utilizes its confusion to try and mount it.
[Subjugation: Niklas vs. Cat: 3 vs. 5]
Niklas tries to mount the cat, but the cat jumps back.
"Hey! Stay away from me, you explosive bastard! I ain't dyin' today!" the cat exclaims, then runs off.
Post by: Tomcost on November 15, 2013, 06:58:03 am
Sigmund, happy to having made some magic, rushes to the deck, exclaiming:
-I did it! I have a focus now, and I managed to influence reality!
He then speaks to the Artsite, specifically:
-Thanks for your help, Master! But if you had said that creating a focus was like rearranging the terms of a contract, I would have been achieved this faster, I think. Anyway, I think I have have learned the basics of written foci.
Post by: miauw62 on November 15, 2013, 11:03:40 am
Kevin looks around the area for any guards, if there are none, he will signal that the coast is clear.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 15, 2013, 01:09:57 pm
"Anything that can hopefully get itself out of the heat, and withstand it for long enough to escape." Morton commented as he watched the pile of slag that is Niklas. "I thank you for helping us, good mage Erin, and I apologize that we must get hurt so often. I truly wish that wasn't that wasn't the case however, almost every day someone gets horribly maimed, terribly dreadful..." The desk trailed off in an inaudible mumble that ceased shortly afterwards, mostly about wishing that his friends wouldn't be hurt so much, and a fear that one day they may not be fixable.
He returns back to his optimistic self shortly afterward however. "I know that everything will go alright however, soon we'll all be back on the ship. This shouldn't be anything but a trivial problem in the end, I have utmost faith in you good mage Erin." Morton confidently cheered Erin on as she worked her mojo.
Post by: miauw62 on November 15, 2013, 01:21:30 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on November 16, 2013, 10:38:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 16, 2013, 04:12:03 pm
Scott makes another request of the Artiste.
"But flagellate ampersand other squirrels away in ululating hamsters. Horse ottoman trouble handily fornicates with iron pepper and slaying chipmunks off piercing summit chalets!"
"You see, Scott, I'm sure you're telling me something important here, but you'll have to speak clearer. It's a little difficult to discern what your metaphors mean, exactly."
What a thick lout his master is, Scott thinks. There literally isn't any way he could make this clearer. Did he lose the fellow at the boiled vegetables bit, he wonders?
Before he can contemplate the matter, Sigmund appears from out of nowhere.
"I did it! I have a focus now, and I managed to influence reality!"
The Artiste applauds. Justine joins in, making an ethereally clapping her hands even while she looks contemptuously at Sigmund. Sigmund turns to the fellow who's taken him this far.
"Thanks for your help, Master! But if you had said that creating a focus was like rearranging the terms of a contract, I would have been achieved this faster, I think. Anyway, I think I have have learned the basics of written foci."
"Wait, rearranging terms? That's not how making foci is supposed to work. At least, not as far as I know. It's all bizarre waveforms to me."
"You say you rearranged terms? How? And what terms?"
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Kevin, ever the perceptive one, offers his observations on Niklas' woeful situation and its solution.
"Just... turn him into a ball or something and roll him back to the ship. I don't think we have a lot of time."
"Anything that can hopefully get itself out of the heat, and withstand it for long enough to escape." Morton adds. "I thank you for helping us, good mage Erin, and I apologize that we must get hurt so often. I truly wish that wasn't that wasn't the case however, almost every day someone gets horribly maimed, terribly dreadful..." he continues.
"You guys do always find new and exciting ways to get in trouble, that much is true."
"I know that everything will go alright, however, soon we'll all be back on the ship. This shouldn't be anything but a trivial problem in the end, I have utmost faith in you, good mage Erin."
"Thanks, I guess," Erin says, concentrating. Kevin, meanwhile, looks over the surroundings. He thinks he sees a very suspicious-looking individual in very bulky-looking clothes watching over the crowd from a window - the clothes, he thinks, hide a suit of armor beneath them. Man, that must be uncomfortable.
Erin eyes Niklas' body with skepticism.
"Not sure what to do. I suppose I could turn him into something that doesn't melt easily, like tungsten or something. But then I'd have to give him legs, which would require some kind of brain to move them with, which is another buncha problems entirely. It'll take extensive work is what I'm sayin'."
She looks unsurely at Morton.
"I think we better just move him outta here before tryin' anything. Maybe get the captain guy to help out."
Post by: Xantalos on November 16, 2013, 04:50:05 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 16, 2013, 04:50:26 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on November 16, 2013, 05:28:04 pm
"Look at this you moon-mad drunken fool, look at it and do something about it!"
((This is hilarious, what are you using to generate the words?))
Post by: Tomcost on November 16, 2013, 06:08:32 pm
-I don't know how did you manage to get your head crushed, but you should see Erin, I think that that wound managed to disrupt your brain even more than what it had been since you were born.
He then turned to the Artiste:
-Well, for what you say, it appears that the experience is pretty different for every person. In my case, I felt a mutitude of rules inherent to the universe in general which were arranged in a kind of knot, as if they were threads. Each rule was very well detailed and had a set of sub-rules. What I did is to arrange the rules of this paper [Show paper] so that whatever is written in it is to be taken as an order upon the universe, whenever I want it to happen.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 16, 2013, 06:45:58 pm
"I know the situation is dire, but we must keep our heads as best we can. I'm afraid that I'm not sure how well turning chef Niklas into a ball will help in getting him away from the heat, I'm not sure the floor is tilted enough to generate enough movement, nor how we could perhaps control his movement afterwards. I can only imagine that he must be hot enough that if we were to touch him, we may combust. I have a pot that may contain him, however." Morton mediated between the two, before contemplating.
"If we must get good sir Captain, we must hurry as fast as we can. I fear we shouldn't take anymore time, a spectacle is being made of the scene now and I fear that will not abate given a few minutes. But perhaps there is merit in what good jester Kevin says, can you perhaps shape chef Niklas into a ball and give the ground under him direction? Just enough to get him going, then perhaps I can scoop him into my the pot and we can leave the rest to be done on the ship."
Morton retrieved the spot he spoke of to show the others, holding it in his hands.
"If not, then we must hurry to go get captain before anymore time passes."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 17, 2013, 04:06:56 am
How about you practice and transport me to her by magic. >.>))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2013, 04:13:24 am
-Well, for what you say, it appears that the experience is pretty different for every person. In my case, I felt a mutitude of rules inherent to the universe in general which were arranged in a kind of knot, as if they were threads. Each rule was very well detailed and had a set of sub-rules. What I did is to arrange the rules of this paper [Show paper] so that whatever is written in it is to be taken as an order upon the universe, whenever I want it to happen.
"Never heard of anything like that happening, and I've researched the subject extensively."
"You might want to be more specific with the instructions you write, though."
Unwrap bandage, point at wound repeatedly whilst getting very close to him.
"Discombobulate to others, any feasible unchanging admixture, discombobulate to yourself but freshness around yourself!"
"Once again, you should lie down, Scott. Relax. Stick something in that brain-hole of yours and let your worries melt away."
Post by: Yoink on November 17, 2013, 05:54:34 am
Timothy's eyes lit up as his spectral, probably-not-really-even-as-real-as-usual nostrils sucked up a good whiff of the portal's scent. His first instinct was to fling himself bodily(?) through it, eager to get out of this place and head on towards new adventures, but then he figured maybe that wouldn't be the wisest choice.
After all, look where his impulsiveness had gotten him!
He decided to think things through. Strenuously.
Hovering back and forth before the strange rift, he heaved, strained and did his best to extend his mind in the vague direction of the familiar.
>Try and use some sort of telepathic-stuff to contact Bob, or Hansel, or that odd boss-guy who sent me on my journey, and ask whether hopping into this whole creepy portal thing is a good idea.
>If that fails and/or I get no response, peer at these strange beings and their portal, and try to judge their intentions.
>If either I get a positive answer from some telepathy, or (if that idea fails) if my sensible deductions tell me it's a good, safe idea, float slowly into the portal-thing.
Otherwise... don't.
Post by: miauw62 on November 17, 2013, 07:22:35 am
"We just need to hurry up or those chucklefucks that call themselves guards are going to cut off a few more limbs of each of us, and I think Erin won't endure it as well as we do."
Post by: Tomcost on November 17, 2013, 08:07:56 am
((Now I'm puzzled))
Post by: miauw62 on November 17, 2013, 08:45:20 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 17, 2013, 09:08:32 am
Post by: Innsmothe on November 17, 2013, 04:10:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2013, 04:36:14 pm
Niklas laughs (or at least chitters) maniacally and begins to wander aimlessly. He soon finds a mighty spruce man blocking his path, bristling with spruce cones and sharp green needles.
"You there!" it bellows at Niklas. "Are you the Chosen Rodent?"
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Emotions are in full swing as the unsettled Kevin and the more calm Morton instruct Erin.
"That's what I fucking said. Make him into a goddamn ball and roll him away before the guards come to beat us up even more!"
"Now now, good jester Kevin, there's no need to get angry. I know the situation is dire, but we must keep our heads as best we can. I'm afraid that I'm not sure how well turning chef Niklas into a ball will help in getting him away from the heat, I'm not sure the floor is tilted enough to generate enough movement, nor how we could perhaps control his movement afterwards. I can only imagine that he must be hot enough that if we were to touch him, we may combust. I have a pot that may contain him, however," Morton mediates, hoping to prevent things from getting out of hand. "If we must get good sir Captain, we must hurry as fast as we can. I fear we shouldn't take anymore time, a spectacle is being made of the scene now and I fear that will not abate given a few minutes. But perhaps there is merit in what good jester Kevin says, can you perhaps shape chef Niklas into a ball and give the ground under him direction? Just enough to get him going, then perhaps I can scoop him into my the pot and we can leave the rest to be done on the ship," he continues, showing off his sweet pot to his companions. "If not, then we must hurry to go get captain before any more time passes."
"We just need to hurry up or those chucklefucks that call themselves guards are going to cut off a few more limbs of each of us, and I think Erin won't endure it as well as we do."
"I guess I can try that, yeah. Less complex than makin' brains, that's for sure."
She turns once again to the pile of molten metal and concentrates. The slag bubbles for a moment, then shrinks, reshaping itself into a red-hot solid sphere about the size of a human torso.
"Okay, and now the next step..."
She squints her eyes a little, but nothing else of note happens.
"Semi-molten rock's pretty difficult to work with. Not sure exactly what it's made of - stone is real variable that way. But maybe..."
Suddenly, a large chunk of the sphere that is the chef's current form just up and disappears, like something just took a large bite out of it, giving the thing a look that resembles the crescent moon just a little.
"Whoops. Didn't mean for that to happen. I get real erratic in the mornings, sorry."
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund is put off by this new information. What could it mean?
"Really? So, how is that for you? Because that's the way I felt everything. It was even related to the rearranging of the harmonies of the existence, that were the rules, and the cascade event was the progressive rearranging of less important rules to more important ones."
"Classic effort of will, helped by chants and a reasonably good approximation of what I wanted my focus to do - same as how it is for most people that know what they're doing. Didn't have anything to do with outright rules or anything - haven't even heard of such a thing."
"It reminds me of something, actually. Did you happen to see any rules for souls?"
Scott, meanwhile, tries to do a favor to the fabric of society and goes to smack his head against a wall.
[Scott's endurance roll: 1]
It turns out that bashing your broken skull against a wall isn't actually a good idea! Who knew? Certainly not Scott, whose brain is now more exposed and filled with jagged skull fragments than ever.
[Scott's will roll: 4]
He doesn't particularly mind, though. He doesn't even remember what exactly it was he did, which is all you can really ask for in cases of severe brain trauma. He just goes to look for whatsherface instead rather than dwell on the unsettlingly soft and fragmentary nature of his skull. It takes him a while, but he believes he's found her - her hair is really messy and a different color than he remembers, not to mention she's lost a bit of weight, but Scott stands by his results. He blocks her way as she tries to make her way to do something doubtlessly bereft of any importance to anyone.
"Would you kindly move out of the way? I am sure you have something to say that you believe is important, but I have business to conduct," she says to Scott, giving him a hard, unblinking look right in the eyes.
In Undefined Space...
"Ooh! Dat smells nice!" Timothy remarks upon the portal. However, a measure of distrust creeps into his mind. Sure, it smells real nice and looks real nice, but how can he be sure that it's not actually a horrible trap executed by horrible people? Clearly, he needs counsel.
After straining his mind for a couple of moments and finding telepathy a terribly elusive prospect, he turns to his people skills instead, looking Og and the mask-thing over cautiously. He supposes they seem okay. Not very evil at all. So he supposes he can trust them. And the portal does smell nice. Nothing to it, then! Into the portal he goes, diving headfirst into fresh, new adventure. There is a moment where he feels turned inside-out, but it quickly subsides as he looks around. This place looks like a sort of idealized version of the mortal world - a sort of small, idyllic village, except it feels more... saturated. The colors are brighter, the smells are nicer, the sun itself seems to shine at him more pleasantly, and the birds chirp wonderfully enough that an inattentive enough listener might in fact confuse the noise for actual music. It reminds Timothy of something, but he can't quite pinpoint what that might be.
This is mostly because, before he can process the whole thing fully, a creature appears next to him suddenly and without warning - a rather androgynous thing, tall and dressed impeccably, with golden hair and a bright smile. It looks at him joyfully, and suddenly Timothy is surrounded by a crowd of beautiful, yet somehow... unusual men and women, who regard him with no small measure of amusement.
"HELLO, MORTAL!" the voice of the creature booms at him. "WELCOME TO THE REALM OF LOVE! I GET THE FEELING THAT YOU AND I WILL BE THE BEST OF... HM. YOU SEEM TO BE CHAINED TO A DEAD MAN, SIR! ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS?" the creature begins, then suddenly takes on a less official tone, looking at Timothy skeptically.
Post by: Parsely on November 17, 2013, 04:40:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 17, 2013, 04:41:28 pm
There's no way in heck I'll ever get to play this.
I have been lazy on the player murdering lately, haven't I?
Not to worry, the death toll should pick up soon enough. Maybe when these dudes leave the town.
Post by: Xantalos on November 17, 2013, 04:44:29 pm
I know not! How would I know if I were the Chosen Rodent?
((If this is really Niklas' subconscious like I think it is, I wonder what other terrible horrors are hidden within?))
Post by: Tomcost on November 17, 2013, 06:01:36 pm
-Oh, yes, Master! There was the rule about how every soul leaves it's vessel after death, the rule about how souls can't alter the reality through will, and an unbeliabably huge list of souls, which was pretty dull in its content. I modified the rule about my own soul in the set of rules in the paper so that it allowed me to influence reality through whatever was written in the paper.
((We have almost died several times due to our own stupidity, I can't imagine how quickly will things go south when we get to the Sea of Death))There's no way in heck I'll ever get to play this.
I have been lazy on the player murdering lately, haven't I?
Not to worry, the death toll should pick up soon enough. Maybe when these dudes leave the town.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 17, 2013, 07:37:11 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on November 18, 2013, 12:39:34 am
Progress check on my repairs
Post by: Innsmothe on November 18, 2013, 04:42:13 am
"I kinda need some care, love."
((I think this person may in fact kill me. :c))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2013, 05:01:20 am
((Ohgodwat))
I know not! How would I know if I were the Chosen Rodent?
((If this is really Niklas' subconscious like I think it is, I wonder what other terrible horrors are hidden within?))
The spruce man's solid black, insect-like eyes blink at you.
"Are you at the center of any particular prophecy? Perhaps a blind oracle pointed you out when you were but a youngling and started frothing at the mouth? Do you have any peculiar artifacts you know not the significance of and yet were pressured by your friends and/or family to keep at some point, with additional points awarded if it is claimed to be your mystical birthright?"
-Oh, yes, Master! There was the rule about how every soul leaves it's vessel after death, the rule about how souls can't alter the reality through will, and an unbeliabably huge list of souls, which was pretty dull in its content. I modified the rule about my own soul in the set of rules in the paper so that it allowed me to influence reality through whatever was written in the paper.
"Ah, yes. That explains it. See, you're not supposed to be able to see that. Pretty interesting that you can, though. Didn't think that could happen, really. Most people just do it blindly, like Justine here."
"Wait, you mean he actually uncovered some kind of underlying principle of magic?"
"Sort of, yes. It's difficult to properly explain, really, so I think I won't. Privileged information and all that."
Scott will point to his head and put on a sardonic expression.
"Walruses perhaps eat infinite cubes, ghostie."
She regards you blankly, her eyes wandering over your ruined scalp and brain.
"I see. I believe I can help."
She produces a wicked-looking knife from her sleeve, tapping it against Scott's head.
"Step into my room, please. It is right over there," she explains, pointing to a nearby door.
Post by: Xantalos on November 18, 2013, 05:07:33 am
Relay backstory to treeman.
I'm also obsessed with cooking, knives, and implements of butchery if that means anything.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2013, 05:34:39 am
Well, I do have a tragic backstory that gives me a revenge based motivation. See, it all started like this...
Relay backstory to treeman.
I'm also obsessed with cooking, knives, and implements of butchery if that means anything.
"You do not sound very chosen. More of a victim of circumstance and probably a lunatic as well. Hm. Perhaps you know of other, more chosen rodents in the area?"
Post by: Tomcost on November 18, 2013, 05:37:27 am
-Privileges? Now I remember, the explaination on every soul clause just said that there are no privileges on most of them, excluding those who the focus is attuned to. What circumstances have given you, Master, those privileges?
Post by: Xantalos on November 18, 2013, 05:39:09 am
How would one become Chosen?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2013, 05:43:21 am
((Ok, I figured metaphysical principles just by will. I have to put it to good use somehow))
-Privileges? Now I remember, the explaination on every soul clause just said that there are no privileges on most of them, excluding those who the focus is attuned to. What circumstances have given you, Master, those privileges?
"Being a sort-of-demon, mostly."
No.
How would one become Chosen?
"Somebody has to choose you, obviously. Probably a rodent of much higher standing and wisdom."
Post by: Xantalos on November 18, 2013, 05:49:38 am
...
Choose how?
Post by: Tomcost on November 18, 2013, 05:55:08 am
He seems uncomfortable for some seconds, then speaks up again, trying to break the uncomfortable silence:
-Do you happen to know where is Art? I have found something that may be of his interest.
[I don't know if Art is still on the deck, but this will be hilarious anyway]
Post by: miauw62 on November 18, 2013, 09:58:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 18, 2013, 10:47:05 am
Oh.
...
Choose how?
"Well, you know how it is. Single you out, say that you're special, be all mystical about it. Generally attach importance to you that stretches beyond what is normally your station, that sort of thing."
-Right, I see, Master.
He seems uncomfortable for some seconds, then speaks up again, trying to break the uncomfortable silence:
-Do you happen to know where is Art? I have found something that may be of his interest.
[I don't know if Art is still on the deck, but this will be hilarious anyway]
"Not really, no. He went off someplace after Justine was mean to him."
"Not undeservedly, I might add."
"Mostly undeservedly, actually. Justine likes being mean to people, it seems."
"Only the ones I dislike, actually."
"Most people you know, then."
Post by: Tomcost on November 18, 2013, 12:45:55 pm
-Hmm, I think that I will just wait some time here, then.
Retreat and lean against a wall, then read the Artiste's knot.
Post by: Xantalos on November 18, 2013, 08:28:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2013, 10:47:14 am
Morton offers words of support to Erin, knowing that negative reinforcement would be silly to try.
"I'm sure it's alright, good mage Erin, the shape he was in prior was too large to fit in the pot anyhow. Whenever you're ready."
"Um, yeah. I hope, anyway."
Erin tries once more, looking over at the now-lesser pile of spherical slag. The slag becomes roughly spherical once more. She then points her finger at the scar on the ground, at which point a small ramp forms from the ground, causing the white-hot chef sphere roll toward Morton and Kevin, the air rippling around it as it slowly approaches. Morton can't help but wonder if that thing is safe to keep in a pot.
In Gunther Gunnarson's workshop...
Mark, currently in the middle of regretting his inability to nap, reflects on the fact that his sixth joint has finally been attached. Two more to go. This guy sure is taking his sweet time. He went to have some tea a little while back, actually.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, after briefly excusing himself, tries to examine the Artiste's knot. He hasn't really examined a living being's knot before, but there do seem to be standard "no fun", "no magic" and "no knot manipulation" knots, a knot specifying the soul housed within and the conditions of its departure and a knot that specifies "access", whatever that means.
"I would really appreciate if you did not mess with those," the Artiste suddenly notes. "Have to uphold a certain balance, you see." Justine looks at him doubtfully, but he just waves off her curiosity.
In Helsvar's village...
Niklas informs the spruce man of the improbability that he will ever be chosen for anything.
"Only guy that could do that for me is that nut priest, but he hates me, so I can't. That's disappointing."
"A nut priest, you say? Perhaps he might be chosen, do you think? After all, one does not simply become a disciple of the unhallowed Nut Gods simply because they like the benefits. At least, not commonly."
Post by: Xantalos on November 19, 2013, 10:59:49 am
Niklas wonders briefly why he referred to the nut priest in reference to whether he was a main character. They weren't in a story, after all.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2013, 11:05:10 am
No, he definitively wasn't a main character.
Niklas wonders briefly why he referred to the nut priest in reference to whether he was a main character. They weren't in a story, after all.
"How terrible. Any other rodents you know of in the area?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 19, 2013, 11:09:00 am
((gonna die gonna die...))
Post by: Tomcost on November 19, 2013, 11:09:52 am
Enter the room((Nah, unless she rolls a one, she is the medic of the group))
((gonna die gonna die...))
Post by: Xantalos on November 19, 2013, 11:16:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 19, 2013, 11:32:17 am
-I won't, Master, I was just feeding my curiousity. It appears that your soul will leave your body if you happen to die, Master. So you are pretty much subject to the rules of mortals, it seems. Or, more appropiately, the rules that the universe has set for mortals. I'm afraid that this creates more doubts for me, as I can't concieve why would a being like you willingly choose to be subject to those rules.
"Oh no, that's not my soul. I don't have one of those, you see. That's the soul of the schmuck whose body I'm inhabiting. The bugger never saw it coming. They never do - both times I've tried this it's worked like a charm."
Nope.
"Perhaps you'd like to help me look for some? There would be some spruce cones in it for you. Your sense of smell should be better than mine, at any rate."
Post by: Tomcost on November 19, 2013, 11:40:46 am
He then looks at the deck to see if Art is near, and as he isn't, he will say:
-I think that, as it appears that Art isn't coming anytime soon, I should go look around to find him.
Go look for Art.
Post by: Xantalos on November 19, 2013, 12:04:27 pm
Chosen one hunting!
Post by: miauw62 on November 19, 2013, 02:02:06 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 19, 2013, 02:03:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 19, 2013, 02:19:15 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 19, 2013, 02:24:07 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 19, 2013, 10:49:55 pm
If successful, the desk will quickly right the pot and set it down on the ground. He'll observe the slag and pot for a while to see if the pot melts or is too intense of a heat to handle. If it's not the case, he'll attempt to, slowly, lifte the pot.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 20, 2013, 10:06:50 am
Scott decides to comply wordlessly with the lady's words, and steps inside her room. It's a rather neat place, with a nicely made bed and a solitary chair. Scott could possibly appreciate it more under less dangerous circumstances, of course, but he supposes a person who's neat enough in their habits would be the one you let poke around your brain.
Evelyn seats him without a word, then starts to quickly work at his brain, taking out small pieces of it along with any skull shards that may have been in there. Soon enough a good chunk of Scott's brain is removed and placed on a nearby plate - Scott isn't sure he likes the implications of that. After a while, she is done, and Scott's skull feels quite a bit lighter.
"And that is that, I suppose. Very little else I can do. Very interesting to cut up a brain, though. I have never done that before. I wonder if your mental functions will return in time. No better chance to find out. Stay here."
Now it all falls into place. That's why Scott can't see anything anymore.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, hoping to find Art, goes hunting around the ship. However, he (she?) is nowhere to be seen. Definitely not in the cargo hold, at least. Or the den, kitchen or corridors.
In Helsvar's village...
Niklas agrees with the spruce man's proposal, and together they go forth and seek the Chosen Rodent. They find no such thing, it has to be said. Niklas can't smell hide nor tail of any squirrel nearby - even the Great Old One seems to have disappeared someplace.
"How very suspicious this is. I was told the Chosen Rodent was here. Had a vision and everything."
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Morton, after Kevin rolls off him and plummets to the cobbled ground with an embarrassing thwack, catches the slowly rolling ball of Niklas in his pot. The parts of the pot that touch the sphere soon begin to glow red, then white. And the heat the whole thing radiates is quite intimidating.
A few moments later, he isn't quite sure if the pot is melting or not - its shape has changed a little, but he doesn't know it won't just fall apart if he lifts it. That is, if he can lift it at all and his arms won't combust upon contact with the thing.
Post by: Tomcost on November 20, 2013, 11:31:42 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 20, 2013, 12:19:33 pm
Try to touch the pot as carefully as possible.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 20, 2013, 01:06:42 pm
He pondered for a while, before addressing Erin with an idea. "Good mage Erin, can you perhaps form a non-flammable liquid above the pot? Water, or salt water perhaps? That may cool it down rapidly, possibly enough to at least carry Chef Niklas to the ship."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 20, 2013, 05:29:14 pm
Scott, slightly angered by this turn of events uncharacteristically tries to be reasonable. Half remembering lectures by his husband, he soundboards off the woman.
"Undead...are dead things right? Non-living bodies powered by magic and the will of the inhabiting spirit right?"
He continues, possibly interrupting the foul hag.
"So, it could be reasoned that non of my fleshy parts are needed for myself or my senses to operate. I have seen skeletons walking about and reasoning...why should I be any different? All I need is time, focus, and a deep well of stubborn will!"
He does not see the irony in that last statement.
Scott tries to focus and SEE, TALK and to HEAR.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 12:27:18 pm
Sigmund, having exhausted most other options, looks for Art in his room. Luckily, he seems to indeed be in there, chatting up the Captain.
"... and that's how I became a crystal warrior princess, after a fashion."
"How EXCITING!"
One has to wonder why Sigmund didn't look in here sooner, really.
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Kevin has an idea on how he'd be able to help - he can touch the pot without fear of combustion, if not exactly guaranteed safety!
"Uh... I could try feeling it. I'm probably fire-proof."
He places one of his broken hands on the pot's handle. It doesn't burn off, which bodes well for his idea.
"If it feels too dangerous, I heavily suggest caution and restraint, good jester Kevin." Morton warns the jester in a manner not unlike a concerned parent. He thinks on how to solve this whole problem, and does believe he has it after a moment.
"Good mage Erin, can you perhaps form a non-flammable liquid above the pot? Water, or salt water perhaps? That may cool it down rapidly, possibly enough to at least carry Chef Niklas to the ship."
"Sure. I hope he doesn't rupture from the temperature change, though."
She extends her hand upward and a large glob of water momentarily forms above Kevin and the pot. Erin jumps back as the whole thing crashes over the pot, covering it and Kevin in water completely. A whole lot of steam erupts from the spot as both the pot and the chef cool down to an altogether more manageable temperature, both of them taking on a more pleasing grayish shade compared to the blinding reds and whites of before. The teapot even looks pretty much unharmed in the process, as does Niklas, or rather what's left of him by this point.
In Evelyn's room...
Scott speaks out in an uncharacteristically reasonable fashion, hoping to find solutions rather than revenge this time around.
"Undead...are dead things right? Non-living bodies powered by magic and the will of the inhabiting spirit, right?" he begins. There is no response. This may be because Evelyn's left already, but Scott doesn't particularly care. He has grown used to talking to himself.
"So, it could be reasoned that none of my fleshy parts are needed for myself or my senses to operate. I have seen skeletons walking about and reasoning...why should I be any different? All I need is time, focus, and a deep well of stubborn will!"
Having said that, he tries to focus himself and figure out how to see properly. This does not take long, as his vision just spontaneously returns, presumably as a reward for his flawless solution. And everything seems so colorful now, too. Way better than previously, certainly. Wonder how that works, really.
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 12:47:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 12:58:29 pm
Maybe I'm the Chosen Rodent, just not yet.
"Certainly an intriguing thought. You think I should come to visit you later, then?"
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 01:01:05 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 01:03:11 pm
Hmm. I could go wander off into the wastes to try and find my long-lost father. Want to come on an adventure with me to do so?
"Hm, probably not. I just came from the wastes. They are quite boring. I think I will instead find lodgings here, rest a while, then move on."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 01:05:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 01:08:17 pm
Where are you going?
"Oh, someplace where I can forge a legend. Become a king in my own right. That kind of thing."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 02:02:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 02:06:35 pm
Would you like to be the head of a clan of ninjas?
"Oh no. I'm not nearly conniving enough."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 02:13:23 pm
While you're here, do you know anything about someone named the Artiste?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 02:20:59 pm
Hmm.
While you're here, do you know anything about someone named the Artiste?
"Sounds pretty pretentious. Has a "the" in their name and everything."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 02:25:02 pm
...
Do you know if this is the real world or just my mind? I'm unsure of it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 02:41:58 pm
Hm. So you don't know about him. Good. Try not to learn.
...
Do you know if this is the real world or just my mind? I'm unsure of it.
"I dunno. Kind of a complicated question to answer, really. Very philosophical."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 02:43:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2013, 02:46:21 pm
How would I tell, though? If this were a dream?
"I wouldn't know. I don't sleep at all."
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2013, 02:48:45 pm
Look at my hands. Those are usually distorted, have more fingers then they usually do, etc while dreaming.
Post by: Tomcost on November 21, 2013, 04:07:14 pm
-For Pacitarius sake, why did you go through The Most Fashionable of Realms? I'm sure that there wasn't any inminent danger in the ship, as nobody told me anything. Anyway, are you Erin or the other mage?
Post by: Innsmothe on November 21, 2013, 05:13:24 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 21, 2013, 08:18:53 pm
"Thank you so much, good mage Erin, now quickly, let us gather him up and retreat to the ship before anything else horrid happens." Morton, carefully, heaves Kevin back on his surface again before grabbing Niklas and the pot and carrying the two back to the ship.
He speaks along the way, so as to hopefully arrive at an idea before they reach the ship.
"Good jester Kevin, good mage Erin, what should we do with chef Niklas? He can't stay in his state, I can only imagine how dreadful it must be. He came out of his prior state talking to two people who weren't even there, I can't help but imagine being plunged into such a thing again is terribly good for his mental health."
Post by: Tomcost on November 21, 2013, 09:03:50 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 21, 2013, 09:14:28 pm
Thinking on it, if that's true you might get overloaded if you wander into Craig's room due to all the circles.]
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2013, 01:56:00 am
Post by: Xanmyral on November 22, 2013, 08:26:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 09:18:58 am
Niklas wonders if this is a dream or not, and thus looks at his hands. He finds that they are paws, as befits a squirrel, obviously. Other than that, they seem rather normal.
He wonders if that really counts as his hands being distorted.
In Art's room...
Sigmund, though he initially assumed that this must be Art, suddenly realizes he has virtually no evidence to support this fact, as, while this person sounds kind of like Art, this could very well be a clever illusion of some kind.
"For Pacitarius sake, why did you go through The Most Fashionable of Realms? I'm sure that there wasn't any imminent danger in the ship, as nobody told me anything. Anyway, are you Erin or the other mage?"
"Hey, it was pretty fun, and I mostly did it to get Erin to do it. I may have been a little drunk at the time, but hey, turned out for the best, didn't it?"
In Evelyn's room...
Scott, rather glad about being senseless no more, gets up and cheerfully seeks out the Artiste, who should be on deck presently. He does not encounter Evelyn on the way, but that's okay, one would suppose. He comes out on deck, but the Artiste has gone off someplace, it seems. Only Justine remains outside now, watching the sun begin to set.
At the site of Niklas' melting...
Morton feels rather thankful right now as everything seems to be working out quite well somehow.
"Thank you so much, good mage Erin, now quickly, let us gather him up and retreat to the ship before anything else horrid happens," he says, picking up Kevin and Niklas, then heading out with Erin. As they walk along the streets, he continues.
"Good jester Kevin, good mage Erin, what should we do with chef Niklas? He can't stay in his state, I can only imagine how dreadful it must be. He came out of his prior state talking to two people who weren't even there, I can't help but imagine being plunged into such a thing again is terribly good for his mental health."
"You're implying that he wasn't batshit insane to begin with."
"I... suppose you do have a point there, good jester Kevin. He never was entirely, ah, stable. Bringing bears in the house and screaming, cleaning up after him in the kitchen was a dreadful nightmare at times."
"A little extra crazy probably won't kill 'im, then."
Eventually, they get back to the deck, where they behold the ghost of Justine as well as Scott standing about doing nothing in particular.
"Wait a minute, that is Justine! I thought she looked familiar!"
"You are, as always, quick on the uptake, dear Erin."
"I was in a rush, come on! We had to go find and retrieve this-"
"I don't really care."
Erin just frowns in response.
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 09:22:23 am
Post by: Innsmothe on November 22, 2013, 09:25:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 09:26:13 am
-So, you are Evelyn, then? Well, the alcohol tends to make people take these kind of decisions. At least you don't seem o regret it.
"Nah, I'm Art. Can't you tell, man?"
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 09:28:41 am
-Wait-He giggles- Why did the aspect turn you into a woman, didn't you say what you wanted to be turned into?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 09:31:48 am
-Wait-He giggles- Why did the aspect turn you into a woman, didn't you say what you wanted to be turned into?
"Funny, that - the Aspect was all like 'you must be a warrior princess of some kind', and I was too busy imagining that and laughing to say otherwise. And here I am. Gotta say, I kind of like being like this. Not like gender is anything but cosmetic for these shapes, anyway."
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 09:41:49 am
Produce the bindings book that I definitely kept in my person because going to grab it would have been a way to waste time.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 09:45:43 am
-Well, at least you got an improvement. And looking like a princess has some advantages. Anyway, I was looking for you because I have a gift for you. I found it on Mark.
Produce the bindings book that I definitely kept in my person because going to grab it would have been a way to waste time.
He takes the book and leafs through it, then shakes his head and hands it back.
"That's real considerate of you, but I don't really need it or anything. I've got most of these spells in some form or another already."
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 09:51:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 10:09:49 am
-Really? What do you use as a focus? Because I made one recently and managed to do some magic.
"A spellbook. It's kind of like the one you've got there, but with more emphasis on soul mechanics rather than bindings."
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 11:00:11 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2013, 11:11:06 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 11:19:09 am
Post by: Xantalos on November 22, 2013, 11:24:12 am
So where are you heading off to?
Post by: Xanmyral on November 22, 2013, 12:50:42 pm
Granted, I can't recall if we ever got that back from the guard... I don't think we did, did we? Morton's inventory states he still has it, but I think the last time that was updated was when he snagged the branch.]
"Good mage Erin, let us move on and deal with chef Niklas please," the desk said in a kind tone, trying to convey that now isn't the best of times to let Justine get to her.
Morton moved over to an open free spot on the deck and carefully lowered the pot, then tried to remove the molten slag from it gently, or if failing that by trying to dump it out of the pot. If failing that, the desk will merely sigh and leave the pot be on the deck, taking a few steps back.
"What should we make chef Niklas into? A chair might be an option as before, it seems he grew rather used to it. Along with some other interesting measures, for sure."
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 12:55:19 pm
((Chair Niklas FTW! He already has chair magic, so why not?))
Post by: miauw62 on November 22, 2013, 01:21:34 pm
((Also, the lighter is rather valuable.))
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 01:23:21 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 22, 2013, 01:25:24 pm
I do wonder if Niklas could still control chairs after this though. His body is wrecked, he's not a chair anymore. Turning him back will hopefully give him his chair magic back.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 22, 2013, 02:54:30 pm
-Ahh. I see. I wanted to find a different kind of focus, a non-written one, so that I could see how to make one of them on my own. But if I remember well, Bernie had some interesting objects with him, maybe I should see if one of them is a focus. I guess that you have already encountered Justine, right?
"Actually, I'm not sure where his stuff went or who might have it. The Artiste, maybe? And yeah, I met Justine. She's a lot crabbier now that she's dead."
Huh. I doubt I'll ever figure this out. I might as well accompany you then, treeman.
So where are you heading off to?
"I suppose I'll keep looking for the Chosen Rodent, look for more clues, read the stars, that sort of thing."
Post by: Tomcost on November 22, 2013, 07:42:59 pm
Go and look for the Artiste.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2013, 11:14:54 am
Scott quickly checks if he still has that hammer on him. He does. This is pleasing and altogether wonderful news. Now to seek out the Artiste. He goes down to his demonic overlord's quarters, where he finds the Artiste, currently quite distracted by what looks like the sweetest nap.
He could try to wake him up, but, then again, the last time he tried that he was ordered to take a plunge off a ramp. Whether that is likely to stop him this time remains to be seen.
Morton and Kevin, blissfully unacknowledged by Scott, try to get things back on track. Well, Morton does, at any rate.
"Good mage Erin, let us move on and deal with chef Niklas please," he says to Erin, hoping to distract her from Justine's general irritability. He upends the teapot, causing the melted husk of Niklas come tumbling out.
"Right, yeah."
"What should we make chef Niklas into? A chair might be an option as before, it seems he grew rather used to it. Along with some other interesting measures, for sure."
"I guess a chair works? Maybe give it legs that work properly, that sorta thing. And something to hear with, maybe."
She considers the chef-husk a moment. She then raises her arms.
"'Kay, let's do this."
[Erin's magic roll: 6]
The ball of tungsten bubbles and twists, and then flattens, several pseudopodium-like bits jutting out of it, branching and interconnecting in moments, forming a respectable quartet of legs and a fairly nice mesh-like back. He looks pretty slim and flexible for a chair, particularly with all the hinges that seem to have appeared on it.
"Question is, how do we do the eyes? I'm not really sure how I did them the first time, I kinda let it go on autopilot. Not sure if that's such a-"
"Oh, I'm sure it's a perfect idea. After all, what terrible things have ever come to pass from magic running wild? None that I can think of, that's for sure."
"Oh, screw you. I'm gonna do it outta spite now."
Erin raises her hands and points them at the chair, looking rather knowing for a moment.
[Erin's magic roll: 5-1]
It lasts for a moment, after which she just looks relaxed and a little confused as a pair of eye-looking things form on the chair's back. They blink wildly at the people present, though it doesn't look like they're actually seeing anything, as the chair just twitches oddly.
"You see! Perfect."
"Bet you can't do his brain as well."
"You're on!"
[Erin's magic roll: 4-1]
A slight bulge forms where the chair's seat should be after Erin does an expressive hand wave at it.
"Is that it?"
"Shut up, it's not ready yet!"
Erin starts to furiously gesture at the chair, but nothing else happens.
"Gods damn it all, work already!"
"You know something, I suppose that was it."
"Shut it!"
Erin looks a bit angry now.
Niklas, meanwhile, is a little confused. He feels like he can move something he couldn't before as he regards the spruce man. Also, everything looks a little foggy now.
In Art's room...
Sigmund, having said his bit and ascertained more facts, leaves all the richer from his encounter with Art, the Captain waving to him as he leaves. The two then resume their conversation, with the Captain's mixed shouting audible from all around the hall. Sigmund then seeks out the Artiste. Luckily, as Scott has left the door open, he finds said demonic overlord easily, being overseen by said de-brained minion as he sleeps.
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 11:26:06 am
Upon seeing the people there with a chair, Sigmund said:
-So, I guess that that chair is Niklas, right?
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2013, 11:43:09 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 12:07:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2013, 12:11:46 pm
"This guy's enslaved too, you know. You probably shouldn't be trying to get him killed."
"That is true, yes. Hm."
Justine thinks for a moment.
"Very well, Erin. You may proceed at your own pace. Don't let me rush you or anything."
Erin simply mutters something presumably not very good in response.
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 12:31:05 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2013, 01:13:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 01:18:53 pm
-Could you illuminate my friend, who happens to have forgotten that you are a competent diviner? He flew out of a window last night, when we futilely tried to rob a bookstore called Brenwicke's Books. We already presume that it was caused by a mage, we just want more information on the subject.
Post by: miauw62 on November 23, 2013, 01:27:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 23, 2013, 01:30:26 pm
Sigmund facepalmed with his only arm. Then turned to Justine:
-Could you illuminate my friend, who happens to have forgotten that you are a competent diviner? He flew out of a window last night, when we futilely tried to rob a bookstore called Brenwicke's Books. We already presume that it was caused by a mage, we just want more information on the subject.
"Oh, right. Not exactly sure wether I want to know now... But let's try anyway."
"Of course. Every glimpse into your sordid past is, at least to me, quite educational, to be perfectly honest. And most amusing. You sure can take a lot of abuse. Judging from the vibes I am getting, demons were involved in the magic that was used against you."
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 01:35:10 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 23, 2013, 05:50:08 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 23, 2013, 06:20:40 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 06:27:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 23, 2013, 06:41:30 pm
"Yes, we've managed to retrieve him and good mage Erin is in the process of giving him his form and senses back, thank you again for your help in that regard." The desk gave a desk-bow with the accompanying sweeping gesture, open palm on one of his drawers as his front end tipped in her direction. "I have indeed been getting familiar with the book, it is quite a fascinating read although I don't believe it's all yet sunk in. Review would probably do me well, it isn't a simple subject after all. I'm afraid I'll have to say I'm not overly familiar with what a focus is, is it similar to the staffs mages are often regarded as having in stories? A channel or some sort?"
Post by: Tomcost on November 23, 2013, 07:03:19 pm
He then turned to Erin and asked:
-What kind of focus do you have? A written one? Or of another kind? Because I would like to have a look at it when you finish with Niklas. If it is possible, of course.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 02:14:00 am
He then turned to Erin and asked:
-What kind of focus do you have? A written one? Or of another kind? Because I would like to have a look at it when you finish with Niklas. If it is possible, of course.
"A spellbook. Transmutation's pretty hard to get a material focus for."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 24, 2013, 04:01:12 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2013, 04:19:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 04:37:49 am
"What's the advantage of a material focus, if they're so hard to get?"
"Power, mostly."
"Lots of it, too."
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 06:27:00 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2013, 08:07:34 am
"Isn't he some sort of demon guy? Do demons even need foci?"
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 08:09:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 09:11:04 am
-I guess that I will keep searching for someone with a material focus, then. Do you know which focus does the Artiste use?
"No idea."
"But it is definitely a focus of some kind, yes. Haven't really seen the guy in action yet, so it is difficult to say what exactly it might be."
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 09:27:22 am
He sudenly had an idea:
-If Niklas could do magic, it means that he had a focus, right? And as he is a chair and didn't have any kind of material in which he could write, he should have made a focus out of his own body, right? Then, Niklas is his own focus, if I'm right.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 09:29:43 am
-If Niklas could do magic, it means that he had a focus, right? And as he is a chair and didn't have any kind of material in which he could write, he should have made a focus out of his own body, right? Then, Niklas is his own focus, if I'm right.
"Sounds accurate, yes."
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 09:32:27 am
Metaphysically1 examine Niklas to discover which rules does he bend at will.
1) Metaphysical examination means "look at the knots"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 02:34:33 pm
Niklas, blissfully unaware of all the talky business going on around him, tries to focus his vision and attain clarity of some sort. Interestingly, though, his vision only becomes grayer and grayer by the moment, his surroundings quickly losing coherence. This continues for a moment despite Niklas' best efforts, but then, in a most peculiar twist, reverses itself.
However, the picture this time is rather different. This isn't Helsvar's village anymore. This is the ship. The Artiste's ship. Hm. It's all in black and white, though, and seems most unnatural in several ways. For one, Niklas has never actually beheld anything in a purely grayscale fashion. Secondly, the various miscreants that are his regular companions (and Morton), with the exception of one, have all gathered here and are saying something he can't quite discern, being unable to hear anything.
"Interesting ship. Is it yours?"
Meanwhile, taking a break from the intense dialogue, Sigmund takes a good, hard look at Niklas, who looks right back. Sigmund finds that Niklas' knots are a horrible mess. What's even happened here, damn it? It's like a tornado ripped through or something. Can't even recognize most of his metaphysical makeup.
Erin, as is apparent to Morton and Kevin, seems to be at a loss on what to do next. Perhaps it's some leftover drowsiness or something. Or maybe she's feeling lazy. Difficult to tell from the outside. She appears to be about to do something, but then she's distracted by a shiny object approaching on the gangplank that looks a bit like a glittering pumpkin on four segmented, just as glittery legs.
In the Artiste's room...
Scott, seeing that he will find no conversation here, seeks more conscious company, and locates it promptly in the form of the Captain and Art, who seem to still be speaking in the latter's room.
"So, you SAY that being of the FEMALE PERSUASION does not BOTHER YOU AT ALL?"
"Well, like I said, I'm not female, strictly speaking, I simply look like it."
"But is it not the OUTSIDE that matters MOST? To be DEPRIVED of one's FORMER IMAGE can be TRAUMATIC! Not that I WOULD KNOW, of COURSE! It's what OTHERS have TOLD ME when I HAD RELATED my STORY to them!"
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 02:39:09 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2013, 02:55:56 pm
Examine pumpkin
((magic tanks? oh fuck))
Post by: Xanmyral on November 24, 2013, 02:58:27 pm
"Good jester Kevin, were we followed?" The desk takes a cautionary step backwards.
Post by: Xantalos on November 24, 2013, 03:10:39 pm
Niklas sees the people being distracted by something! Now's obviously his chance for escape!
FREEDOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM
Squeak away like a chair William Wallace but not really! Try not to fall over while doing so.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2013, 03:52:20 pm
(( I want Sigmund to exclaim something like "for [Insert godess of order here] sake", but I don't remember which one was. Would someone clarify my doubt?))
Almiria - order.
Narcillicus - beauty, artifice, art.
Rysinia - war, logic, engineering.
Pacitarius - life, the wilderness, agriculture.
Velusius - death, magic.
For future reference, as this is something all characters would ostensibly know.
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2013, 04:43:14 pm
Get at like 15 meters away from the pumpkin.
He then said from a distance:
-Each single time where we have dealt with magic from someone who doesn't belong to our group hasn't ended well. And the fact that it is glittering doesn't help. Yeah, it is going to explode at any moment, I know.
((I genuinely think that it will explode))
Post by: Innsmothe on November 24, 2013, 05:10:02 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 24, 2013, 06:29:08 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 25, 2013, 09:56:51 am
Run to the cargo hold, hide.
Post by: Nunzillor on November 26, 2013, 02:24:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2013, 02:41:57 am
The arrival of the pumpkin slightly changes the dynamic on deck - a feeling of unease settles on the people assembled.
"What the fuck is that?" asks Kevin, sliding off Morton and slowly edging toward the thing.
"What in the world...? Good jester Kevin, were we followed?" Morton asks, looking curiously at the four-legged pumpkin.
Niklas, meanwhile, feels that this lull in people wantonly altering him for fun and profit offers him several good chances, chief among which is the chance to escape! He emits a bewildering squeak as he starts to gallop off the ship, and has left the ship within half a minute.
"What a highly interesting group of individuals. Do you know any of them?"
Back in more distressing circumstances, Sigmund begins to slowly, but surely flip out.
"Oh, for Almiria's sake, Niklas, what have you done to yo-" he begins, but then Niklas runs away, causing Sigmund to finally pay attention to what Kevin was indicating. "Damn, damn, damn!"
Luckily, he knows how to deal with these things - run away! After a splendid bit of retreat, he shouts back to the gathered individuals.
"Each single time where we have dealt with magic from someone who doesn't belong to our group hasn't ended well. And the fact that it is glittering doesn't help. Yeah, it is going to explode at any moment, I know," he explains loudly. The pumpkin turns to Sigmund. How it does that is difficult to explain, but you can definitely see it. Morton takes a few cautionary desk-steps back.
"O-oh dear, maybe its... Maybe its nice and peaceful? Just curious about our ship perhaps?"
Kevin finds it unlikely, that much is plain.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIVEEESSSS!" he shouts, rolling toward the stairs rapidly and tumbling down in a noisy fashion. The rolling sounds continue for a while, but then fade as the jester grows too distant to hear.
The pumpkin looks distinctly unimpressed. It taps one leg against the deck, making an impatient-sounding noise.
"It looks familiar to me for some reason. Like I've seen it before."
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna trust the bomb guy over ya on this. Better chance o' survival that way. To the cargo hold!" Erin says, also vacating the premises.
In Art's room...
Scott interjects into the gentlemanly conversation.
"Talking of shell changes, I have learnt today I neither need a brain to think or eyes to see, due to the magic and spiritual natures of undeath. It's all based on the belief and will of the occupant of the shell. I am curious if it can work in a similar way for strong magically inclined living beings. Are either of you able to offer any insight?"
Art turns to Scott. He looks quite happy, as if he has been waiting for somebody to ask him this very question.
"Ah! Glad you asked! I actually did a thesis back in UM on this. Pretty interesting stuff. See, the thing about it is, the soul is a very cool thing. It keeps information in store, pretty much. Who you are, what you did, what your life was like, that sort of thing. Usually, you wouldn't be able to tell or anything, as normal people have their souls tied to their vital processes. But it's when you start studying the undead or other constructs, that's when stuff gets real interesting. Take a skeleton, for instance. They haven't got ears, eyes or even skin, but they can hear, see and feel pretty much as well as a human being can, if not sometimes better. This doesn't always work, and sometimes they can only smell, but can't see or hear, which is rare, or they can only see and not hear - it all depends on the soul you put in there. I tested this with a whole bunch of souls in one skeletal host - it was totally awesome, by the way. Had to do chants all the time to pull it off, but I digress. Anyhow, the soul can fill in certain physical blanks under certain circumstances. Some can do it better, some can do it worse. For instance, a deaf guy's soul put in a skeleton will probably give you a deaf skeleton from what I could see, same principle applies to a blind guy's soul. Even if it's the same skeleton they're put inside of! Cool, huh?"
Art looks like he's about to continue, but something rolls past the door, distracting him for a moment. Immediately afterwards, there are footsteps that pass by as well.
Post by: Xantalos on November 26, 2013, 02:44:12 am
...
I wonder if my powers still work.
Clatter about in search of chairs!
Post by: Innsmothe on November 26, 2013, 03:31:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 26, 2013, 06:59:40 am
-Hey, Justine, you are inmaterial, right? Why don't you deal with that thing while we physical beings hide just in case?
Slowly and non-aggresively back away to the cargo hold
Post by: miauw62 on November 26, 2013, 10:26:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 26, 2013, 02:31:40 pm
Can you teach me how to manipulate souls? It seems to be interesting work. Plus I;d be able to force my husband back into being.
"Well, that's a lot more practical. Manipulating your own soul is commonly known as 'willpower', and that you either have or you don't. Manipulating other souls needs a focus, and that's a whole other matter entirely."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 26, 2013, 05:10:50 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 26, 2013, 07:06:42 pm
Once he reaches the door, if the pumpkin doesn't address anyone or doesn't act in a particularly non-strange or non-aggressive way, Morton will address the pumpkin again, "Well, urm, good sir-or-miss shining orb, I'll go see about the--uh--thing. Yes, the thing, yes I should really go see to that, dreadfully important you see, er, goodbye!" The desk then sprinted towards the cargo hold.
If the pumpkin does however address someone in a way that wouldn't be construed as dangerous, Morton will stay on deck, albeit close to the door.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2013, 07:50:37 am
Are you able to talk me through it?
"Not really. You need a couple years of study to do necromancy right and make a decent focus, at least if you do it the normal way. There's probably lots of dangerous shenanigans you could pull to do the same in less time, but I never was one for pulling anything like that. I kinda like being alive and in one piece, know what I mean?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 27, 2013, 12:04:42 pm
(Yay a regular work schedule and limited access to computer makes me !!HAPPY!!)
Post by: Tomcost on November 27, 2013, 12:06:42 pm
I mean talking me through focus creation.((I didn't understand what you meant the last time either. But, well, that happens.))
(Yay a regular work schedule and limited access to computer makes me !!HAPPY!!)
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2013, 12:17:31 pm
I mean talking me through focus creation.
(Yay a regular work schedule and limited access to computer makes me !!HAPPY!!)
"That's what I was talking about as well. To make a focus and be able to use it takes lots of practice and so on. Why'd you think there's universities for that kind of thing?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 27, 2013, 04:02:03 pm
Niklas, wishing to know if he is still the very best magical chair he can be, seeks other chairs to sate his unholy urges.
None are in sight, however, and the people seem to be avoiding him for some reason, which hurts his chances of finding any chairs further.
"Perhaps you should try and endear yourself to the populace somehow. They seem to find you repulsive for some reason. Maybe you conflict with their religious beliefs somehow? I don't know."
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund believes he can delegate bomb squad duty to the person who has the least actual body parts to lose - the ghost!
"Hey, Justine, you are inmaterial, right? Why don't you deal with that thing while we physical beings hide just in case?"
Justine just sighs.
"If it's a magical bomb, it does not matter if I'm intangible. Don't be an idiot. Feel free to cower, though."
Sigmund freely complies with the latter idea, as this was something he was going to do anyway, making his way to the cargo hold and huddling in a corner together with the curled-up and unsettled Kevin.
This climate of fear is not reassuring to anyone, least of all Morton, who also finds himself succumbing to a certain degree of panic.
"Uh--Er, Excuse me, sir-or-miss... Shiny Orb? Are you perhaps, er, looking for someone... O-or perhaps require aid of some kind? Perhaps the owner of this fine vessel? Can you, ah, speak, or perhaps... well, erm, say something?" he asks, shimmying toward the stairs down. The pumpkin turns to him, then possibly emotes in some fashion - not being an expert in the body language of either pumpkins or arthropods, Morton can't rightly say. It starts to scratch the deck with one of its legs, though. Justine tilts her head at the creature curiously.
"It doesn't look very dangerous. And it also looks to be writing something."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 27, 2013, 05:05:53 pm
Though, I wonder if anyone has ever experimented with a living focus though, I presume that would be a rather rotten yet abstractly powerful thing to do?"
After an answer Scott will bid his leave and take another scouring look at the filth and scum surrounding the ship for danger and malediction.
Post by: Tomcost on November 27, 2013, 07:40:01 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 27, 2013, 08:40:02 pm
"Hm... Apologies, but I'm afraid I didn't quite understand that. Can you perhaps raise a leg--or tap once--for yes, and raise two legs--or tap twice if that's more convenient--for no? Although I suppose that's reliant on if you understand us as well... Are you seeking the captain of this vessel? Or perhaps someone else?" The desk will attempt to see if he can get a look at whatever Pidem is writing, albeit from a respectful distance.
Post by: Xantalos on November 27, 2013, 08:42:42 pm
Swagger into a nearby house to look for chairs. If none are found, swagger back out and look for more elsewhere. If there are chairs, then claim them for my body and swagger out and go looking for more elsewhere.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 28, 2013, 06:31:45 am
Scott realizes that focus creation is probably beyond the bounds of his patience right now, and responds accordingly.
"Do I look like I keep up with all that nonsense? It was bad enough having to sort me husbands paperwork in a tidy fashion let alone having to read the rubbish. Though, I wonder if anyone has ever experimented with a living focus though, I presume that would be a rather rotten yet abstractly powerful thing to do?"
"I get the feeling I've talked about this with either you or some other guy recently. Can't remember who exactly now that you've all changed... well, most of you, anyway. Still, one of the more powerful magic users right now is a guy whose focus is his cat or something. So it works, but it's real dangerous. I think, anyway."
Scott, having heard this answer, bids his leave intensely and goes back on deck, whereupon he observes Justine and Morton seemingly communicating with some kind of pumpkin with legs.
"Hm... Apologies, but I'm afraid I didn't quite understand that. Can you perhaps raise a leg--or tap once--for yes, and raise two legs--or tap twice if that's more convenient--for no? Although I suppose that's reliant on if you understand us as well... Are you seeking the captain of this vessel? Or perhaps someone else?" the desk says, edging toward the pumpkin, which he has tentatively dubbed Pidem. The creature doesn't seem to mind, and Morton gets a look at what it's writing, which appears to be a simple message scrawled with the sharp spidery appendage of the creature in a reasonably legible cursive script.
It reads "I am Evelyn. Changed."
"Ah. Evelyn. You've sure changed a lot."
The pumpkin taps one of its legs once.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas concludes that his rugged seafarer stare must be what is scaring away all these lily-livered, weak-bellied southerners.
"They're obviously scared of my intimidating glare."
"Maybe you should not glare at them, then. People like it when you are nice to them, and are far more likely to engage in the trade of goods for services, the mainstay of the wandering, grizzled northern warrior, in that event."
There is a house nearby, Niklas observes, but entering it proves to be a bit of a problem. The door doesn't look locked or anything, but it is closed, which for an armless misfit like Niklas places it right into the "somewhat insurmountable" obstacle category.
Post by: Tomcost on November 28, 2013, 09:08:38 am
-Who wants to have a look? I say that the individual who can't be mangled even more should go, as he hasn't got anything to lose. Right, Kevin?
Post by: Xantalos on November 28, 2013, 10:05:51 am
Trundle back to ship.
Post by: miauw62 on November 28, 2013, 10:46:14 am
Post by: Innsmothe on November 28, 2013, 12:06:38 pm
"I swear...if the Artist turns into a damn object d'art I am just going to walk away."
Post by: Tomcost on November 28, 2013, 04:16:36 pm
Peek outside in a really childish and cowardly way
Post by: Xanmyral on November 29, 2013, 02:32:05 am
"Do you know what changed you so?"
[If she says yes] "Was the reason--just simply tap once if I hit it--demonic, arcane, divine, other?"
"Do you wish to be changed back?"
[If she says yes] "Can you be changed back?"
"Has the change harmed you?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 29, 2013, 05:45:01 am
Niklas recalls why it is that he requires those schmucks back on the ship - they can do things for him if sufficiently prodded. After remarking on this lapse in judgment, he returns to the ship, which is not too far away. Right now it looks like Morton is engaging in diplomatic communication with a four-legged magic pumpkin.
"...Mage Evelyn? What in the world happened to you?... Right, hm. Once for yes, twice for no, thrice for maybe, and four for unknown. Do you know what changed you so?"
Evelyn taps once.
"Was the reason--just simply tap once if I hit it--demonic-"
One tap.
"Do you wish to be changed back?"
Two taps.
"Has the change harmed you?"
Once again, the pumpkin taps twice. Scott, who is currently staring at the mysteriously transformed mage and the happenings revolving around her, has his regular dose of thoughts to dispense.
"I swear... if the Artist turns into a damn object d'art I am just going to walk away."
"He can't do the same thing she did. Not very safe for him."
As the people on deck speak, a head pokes out from the hatch leading downstairs. Its eyes are covered by a single reddish-purple hand, its fingers parting to reveal a pair of eyes that unquestionably belong to Sigmund. However, this maneuver has proven to be most unproductive, as the sight he sees when he looks only serves to confuse him more.
Post by: Tomcost on November 29, 2013, 06:39:16 am
-Psst, a-are you still alive? Is the thing dangerous?
Post by: Innsmothe on November 29, 2013, 12:30:48 pm
Scott scans the dockyard.
Post by: Tomcost on November 29, 2013, 01:35:58 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 29, 2013, 01:49:18 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 29, 2013, 05:50:45 pm
...Then again, our diviner did seem to okay it, but, well, she strikes me as the type who would withhold information if it benefited her somehow. Such as death. But that does draw into question if, due to how she was bound, if such is a possibility. Purposely not acting on information that can save ones self or another would probably draw its effects, but what about purposely not divining, thus simply being willfully ignorant of the entire thing?
Bah, conjecture.]
"Hm... Oh, good tailor Craig must have sent you through the Fabulous realm." The desk snapped, thinking he's discovered the reasoning for Evelyn's change.
"I'm happy you are content with your form, as I'm afraid it may be hard to change if a demon had prompted the action. I'm also terribly sorry for our behavior prior, it's a bit like screaming plague in a theater, and we're rather jumpy lately it seems." The desk attempted to apologize, before noticing Niklas.
"Oh, chef Niklas. Weren't you..." The desk then remembered that the chair had squeaked off the ship. Oh, right. Possible deathly peril does seem to make one overlook oddities like that. He resumed his sunny tone. "Glad to see you rejoin us, chef Niklas. And that you're alive! I truly feared the worse when I first found you in that molten crater, it was utterly dreadful. Hm... I don't believe you can actually hear me, can you?" The desk fell silent at his too-late realization.
Post by: Xantalos on November 29, 2013, 06:37:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 30, 2013, 06:51:32 am
-It seems that that thing is actually Evelyn, which has gone through the same place as most of us.
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2013, 06:57:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 30, 2013, 07:01:44 am
Post by: miauw62 on November 30, 2013, 07:04:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 30, 2013, 07:09:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 30, 2013, 04:29:28 pm
After making it clear in no uncertain terms that Sigmund is a silly bugger like no other, Scott returns to his originally-planned activity of looking around the docks for ruffians and conspirators to rough up and mutilate in the name of security.
Sadly, though, nobody appears to be giving the ship any sidelong glances or conspiratorial looks that Scott can see, and he's looked around rather extensively. There was a little girl walking down the docks that stopped for a second or two and looked at all the funny weird people, but then she giggled and left just as quickly.
During this time, Niklas, who has no patience for this sort of foolishness with walking pumpkins, just walks past the thing and noisily presents himself to the assembled public. The only one to even notice is Morton, and even that is in a hardly urgent fashion.
"Hm... Oh, good tailor Craig must have sent you through the Fabulous Realm. I'm happy you are content with your form, as I'm afraid it may be hard to change if a demon had prompted the action. I'm also terribly sorry for our behavior prior, it's a bit like screaming plague in a theater, and we're rather jumpy lately it seems," the desk tells the pumpkin, which responds by tapping once, then stepping over to the mast and tapping against that for a moment. Morton then turns to Niklas.
"Oh, chef Niklas. Weren't you... glad to see you rejoin us, chef Niklas. And that you're alive! I truly feared the worse when I first found you in that molten crater, it was utterly dreadful. Hm... I don't believe you can actually hear me, can you?"
Niklas merely clatters.
"Looks like everyone's calming down at last. Shame. It was so entertaining watching you all running scared, if I may say so myself."
Just then, Sigmund returns for real, dragging Kevin behind him while glancing about for ambushes, garlic and hidden explosives. Soon after, Erin emerges as well, looking a bit less nervous yet a lot more confused.
Post by: Tomcost on November 30, 2013, 05:21:48 pm
Post by: Xantalos on November 30, 2013, 05:31:58 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 01, 2013, 01:14:27 am
"Ah, yes."
Darrens curiousity was piqued. What about the crown had the handmaiden so bothered? He would have to tread lightly.
"I was sent here on behalf of a god. He saved me from being made into ghost soup, and now I must retrieve this for him."
Post by: Xanmyral on December 01, 2013, 02:58:06 am
Morton moves up to the mast wondering if Evelyn wanted something done about it, but the meaning was beyond him. "I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what you mean with the mast, mage Evelyn. Do you wish for us to go off onto our destination?"
Post by: Innsmothe on December 01, 2013, 03:20:48 am
Post by: Xanmyral on December 01, 2013, 03:43:08 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 01, 2013, 08:09:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 01, 2013, 01:35:47 pm
Sigmund, not entirely trusting either Justine or the word of a magical pumpkin, scans Evelyn with his metavision, which he happened to tentatively name just now. He gets few facts out of this look - he now knows that the pumpkin contains Soul 55-137322-14456711-61119031-1345221885-910995376, that its self-name is Evelyn Greene and that it possesses no innate magical ability.
Niklas, underwhelmed by the way nobody wants to help him, clatters up to Erin in what he hopes to be an expectant manner. Erin stares at him for a moment, then seems to remember something.
"Oh, I remember. I was gonna help ya with something. But what? Hm... maybe y'could remind me..."
[Erin's magic roll: 5]
Suddenly, Niklas' structure is altered, and immediately something like a system of pipes forms on the bottom of his seat, with some sort of articulation apparatus included. It feels in many ways like a throat, mouth and tongue, albeit in a very abstracted fashion.
"Now, what is it y'want, exactly?" Erin asks, though Niklas can't exactly hear it.
As this happens, Morton continues to play the role of mediator.
"Self-preservation is a rather powerful thing," he tells Justine, who merely smirks. He then moves over to Evelyn, who is still examining the mast.
"I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what you mean with the mast, mage Evelyn. Do you wish for us to go off onto our destination?"
Evelyn pauses a moment, then taps once and heads downstairs. As she steps over Kevin, the jester has only one question.
"So, what is that thing?"
"Evelyn. Rather interesting what can happen to you in a week, really."
Scott, meanwhile, feels like things have taken a turn for the abominably boring, opting to complain and ask for tea in lieu of being able to destroy various interlopers.
"Dear gods what will go wrong next? Can anyone make tea?"
"I can do so if required, sir Scott. It has been a while since I've made some, and perhaps it would help calm our nerves..." Morton immediately and predictably offers.
In a house of hands...
Darren, feeling that reiteration has never hurt anybody, does so for the benefit of the hand person.
"Ah, yes. I was sent here on behalf of a god. He saved me from being made into ghost soup, and now I must retrieve this for him."
"Yes, somewhat of a standard situation. Well, apart from you being a ghost. That is a new one, I have to admit. There have been several people who tried to get the Crown before you - they did not do too well, I'm afraid. They were made of flesh and weren't very well suited to getting through here, really. The machines in this district took them apart, I believe. The Crown itself is in the engineer tombs, if I recall correctly - I think the death god put it there on purpose. The fellow loves tombs, as I'm sure you must suspect. Anything you'd like to know about the thing? I recall some facts, but nothing too in-depth, I'm afraid."
Post by: Tomcost on December 01, 2013, 01:44:01 pm
-It seems that she is indeed Evelyn. How odd. I think that trying to change her structure to give her a means to speak would be rather complicated. But maybe giving her the ability to write would be easier, right?
Post by: Xantalos on December 01, 2013, 04:45:59 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 01, 2013, 05:26:41 pm
TO THE KITCHEN! *Holy scene change batman!*
Post by: Xanmyral on December 01, 2013, 09:00:15 pm
The desk set out the supplies and went to clean the pot, what with it no doubt probably dirty from having handled Niklas when he was a chunk of molten slag. "If you could get some heat going, sir Scott, while I clean this? I'll probably need your help keeping an eye on the mixture as well, I lack the height I once did sadly, and removing the brew repeatedly to check its progress is a touch crude."
Post by: Innsmothe on December 02, 2013, 01:24:33 am
Provide heat and check tea
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 02, 2013, 04:23:14 pm
Darren pauses for a moment for thought.
"What does it look like, what can it do? Can you just give me some general information, please? Velusius didn't tell me much."
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 03, 2013, 02:56:34 pm
Sigmund has nothing all that good to do right now, so he speaks to Erin, who seems mostly unoccupied.
"It seems that she is indeed Evelyn. How odd. I think that trying to change her structure to give her a means to speak would be rather complicated. But maybe giving her the ability to write would be easier, right?"
"She can already write, looks like. Did a nice job on the deck, anyway. Not to mention I'd rather not-"
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Niklas shouts suddenly. Erin turns to him.
"Huh. Well, okay. Guess I can help with that as well."
[Erin's magic roll: 6-1]
Niklas feels something twist in his structure, something as deep within him as he can possibly sense. And then it comes, the sound of the sea mixed with various voices mingling together, the familiar sound of people saying things that Niklas finds uninteresting being like a breath of fresh air after all that terrible deafness.
"Better now?"
A few steps away from this scene of miraculous transformation, Scott and Morton forge plans for tea.
"You know what Morton? Come, I'll help you."
"Very well, sir Scott. It has been much too long since I've brewed some up anyhow, and I'd welcome the help."
Together they head off to the kitchen, where they set about making tea.
Or they would, anyway, if the pot that Niklas was once kept in wasn't so dang difficult to clean. Guess you really can't use the same receptacles for metallurgy and gastronomy, no matter what Niklas himself might offer on the subject.
In a house of hands...
Darren questions the hand on the matters that interest him most.
"Yes, I would appreciate more information," he says, pausing for thought. "What does it look like, what can it do? Can you just give me some general information, please? Velusius didn't tell me much."
The hand gestures as it begins to speak, which is somewhat odd to behold.
"As far as I know, the Crown of Flowers is tied to death somehow - it prevents death, I believe. It's more of a wreath, really, though, made of apparently quite real-looking flowers, too. I think it might be related to all the ghosts around here, after a fashion - would make sense, considering the description. There's lots of ghosts, have you noticed? I'm sure you have. At any rate, it's quite important as far as artifacts go. Probably one of the more powerful artifacts I know of, really, and I've heard of quite a few. Anyhow, the Crown's been around her for a couple hundred years at the very least."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 03, 2013, 06:50:25 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 03, 2013, 06:55:32 pm
-Blast air in the direction the user's index figer is pointing at.
Then he will try his new spell pointing at the sea, from the deck.
Post by: Nunzillor on December 03, 2013, 08:27:01 pm
Edit: also of course there is force, duration, and area of effect. But again it could be unimportant.))
Post by: Innsmothe on December 04, 2013, 02:55:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 04, 2013, 01:37:04 pm
"Preventing death, huh? I could have used that. So, is it supposed to have any sort of guardian, or should I just be careful about everything else here that's trying to kill me?"
"Oh, plenty of guardians. A whole lot. About twenty or so. And by guardians I mean people who live in the tomb. They're a private lot. Mostly keep to themselves. They also really do not like strangers. At all. Quite inhospitable in that regard, though you can't really blame them. They're a little loopy from all the isolation and whatnot."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 04, 2013, 04:04:19 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 05, 2013, 12:39:15 am
I shall do, how is being a desk nowadaysif I may ask?
"Quite splendid, by all accounts, one can be surprised how handy having a surface to work with can be. I may be beset by some difficulties due to my form, such as height or movement, but I believe I can overcome them simply enough with a touch of persistence and determination. I try to keep myself well cleaned though, it isn't to do with being dirty after all.
...I'm probably due for a touch up. I mean no offense to good jester Kevin, but I've not the faintest what he might of been rolling in when I sat him atop me."
The conversation took his mind off of his most-likely-ruined tea pot, inspecting it closer to see if it is even possible to perhaps salvage it.
"Hm... This pot as served me well over the length I've known it, it is sad to possibly see it go. Perhaps there is a replacement around however, although with the peculiarities of this kitchen finding one may be a task." The desk has a moment of silence for the lost pot if it is impossible to fix, otherwise he will continue trying to clean it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2013, 01:51:23 pm
Sigmund, realizing that killing time is no fun unless you do magic, writes a sentence on his bewitched piece of paper that orders the universe to rearrange so that Sigmund can blast air from his index finger. The paper hums a moment, then promptly goes silent. Figuring that's good news, Sigmund goes up to whatever side of the ship is the one that has the sea visible and points his index finger triumphantly outward.
Nothing happens, however. Sigmund ponders the strangeness of such a happening for a moment, but his thoughts are interrupted by a disturbing sound that he finds rather familiar. Looking to see who it is, he notices Mark leaping and cartwheeling down the streets of Shriekpot, expertly navigating past several confused sailors and somersaulting over a carriage. He then leaps over to the ship's gangway, rolling up it and gracefully jumping to a spot right next to Sigmund, at which point he sits down, his joints bending at highly unnatural angles as he does so.
Hm. Guess that means he's fixed, then.
In the kitchen of the Second Shank...
Scott, having plundered sufficient sailcloth in his downtime to sate his every need, makes tea bags out of his available supplies. They're a bit large and unwieldy, but perhaps it's best to consider these a proof of concept, really.
Morton, meanwhile, looks at his pot. It had a good life, certainly, and it has been party to a great many boilings of wonderful water. Sadly, it has lost both its wonderful proportions and its relative purity - it is filled with bits of slag and ash now, and most of it's melted to the walls. It has become a mere shadow of its former self, and it would be best to put it down now to end its suffering.
Morton holds a moment of silence as befits an occasion when a dear friend departs from this world in an untimely fashion. Truly, a great ally to the cause of butling has been lost.
In a house of hands...
Darren wonders if there's any chance this will ever be easy for him.
"How do the chances that I just float by look? They have magic?"
"Not very good, considering that they all live there, and yes. They were engineers, after all! If they didn't have magic, they'd be craftsmen of the lowest order. Nevertheless, they're not bad people, really. Most of them are simply crazy. There's a few malevolent ones as well, like Dr. Shooke, but he's really more of an outlier."
Post by: Tomcost on December 05, 2013, 02:01:16 pm
-I see that Gunther has already finished working on you, Mark. As you have noticed, there are some people who need to be fixed here, and I am one of them. So, I suppose that you should be able to get us in a proper condition if you had materials to work with, right?
((Killerhellhound, it's time for body parts hunting!))
Post by: miauw62 on December 05, 2013, 02:34:18 pm
Head towards Gunther.
Post by: Xantalos on December 05, 2013, 03:03:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2013, 03:11:46 pm
...SOMEWHAT. ARE THERE AMY CHAIRS HERE?
"Not that I can see, no."
Post by: Xantalos on December 05, 2013, 03:14:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2013, 03:27:36 pm
DAMMIT. COULD YOU GIVE ME TEMPORARY LIMBS SO I CAN RETRIEVE THEM?
"Sure, I suppose. Any preferences on limbs? I could just give your chair legs hands."
Post by: Xantalos on December 05, 2013, 03:31:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2013, 03:34:00 pm
So long as they're strong, I'm good, though I would prefer to have hands I could cook with.
"'Kay. Don't move."
Post by: Xantalos on December 05, 2013, 03:35:09 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 05, 2013, 05:03:02 pm
"It'll do, might be a bit stronger so lets compensate with more sugar."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 05, 2013, 07:43:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 05, 2013, 09:31:31 pm
[Silly typo is silly.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 06, 2013, 04:26:10 pm
Sigmund, observing that Mark appears to be in even better than perfect health, at least from a physical standpoint, propositions him in a manner that would be downright lewd if the circumstances weren't what they are.
"I see that Gunther has already finished working on you, Mark. As you have noticed, there are some people who need to be fixed here, and I am one of them. So, I suppose that you should be able to get us in a proper condition if you had materials to work with, right?"
Mark remains stoically silent and unresponsive. Sigmund wonders what to make of that. Maybe all his enthusiasm is spent already?
A short distance away, Niklas has successfully negotiated an arms deal with Erin, and now he enacts the final step on his part - complete motionlessness! As he becomes still, Erin starts to work her magic again.
[Erin's magic roll: 4]
Suddenly, Niklas' chair legs transform, with four small claw-like fingers growing on the bottom of each leg - they feel somewhat responsive, too! Niklas has hands once again!
This transformation along with the recent arrival of Mark signals to Kevin that there's really something he should be doing, and that something is getting his bad self fixed already! He rolls down the gangway and heads off to Gunther Gunnarson's stall, which he reaches rather promptly. There he notices Gunther himself, getting his stall in order. The man looks at him with a tired expression.
"Ah. Hello. You're here to get fixed as well, right? Give me a moment and we'll begin."
In the kitchen of the Second Shank...
Scott and Morton, armed with ingenuity and a great need for tea, go about the mitigation of the situation and creation of some wonderful beverages through the use of methods that many older butlers might find questionable - really, a bag full of tea? How does that even work? Regardless, Morton locates a small pot and commences the making of hot water.
Midway through the process, however, Scott finds, much to the distress of the tea-loving elements of both his and Morton's mind, that the sailcloth appears to be completely waterproof.
In a house of hands...
Darren asks the hand person for some final tips, hoping to be as prepared as possible.
"Any other advice?"
The creature starts slowly tapping its eye-hand fingers against the floor, which makes a rather considerable amount of noise.
"Hm... well, this one is more common sense than anything, but I'll say it anyway - if one of these ghosts says they see something, you take their word for it. Don't say nothing's actually there, even if that's the truth. Play along. Don't ever call them crazy or insinuate that they're not of entirely sound mind - even if you're completely right, and odds are that you will be if you meet someone - calling them out on their delusions never works. It only makes them distrust you. Also, if you go to the tombs, make sure to bring gifts of some kind - they might distract the ghosts from noticing you're not exactly supposed to be there," the hand deliberately explains.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 06, 2013, 05:01:18 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on December 06, 2013, 06:49:55 pm
He grinned as much as his tree could this would be fun
Practice !!MEDICINE!! on Sigmand
Post by: Tomcost on December 06, 2013, 07:49:56 pm
Mark stares at Sigmand someone asking for medical help that hadnt happened before((You don't have any body parts. We should go hunting drunks))
He grinned as much as his tree could this would be fun
Practice !!MEDICINE!! on Sigmand
Post by: Xanmyral on December 06, 2013, 09:37:36 pm
"Perhaps we should just brew the tea as per the norm, sir Scott? We have a pot now, although it is rather small. It may take a few times to get enough water to appease everyone with the tea. If you're really so bent on that strange method however, perhaps you should consider inquiring as to if good tailor Craig might have some suitable textile?" Morton just goes about his regular way of making tea while Scott goes about trying to work his new fangled approach.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 07, 2013, 12:18:11 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 07, 2013, 04:55:38 am
"Alright. How long do you think this is gonna take?"
Post by: killerhellhound on December 07, 2013, 05:32:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 07, 2013, 05:35:56 am
-I think that we should find a lonely drunk one, rather than a bunch of them. You know, it's not going to be easy to subdue a bunch of people.
Go find a wandering drunk.
((You were in jail for trying to steal Brnwicke's Books))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2013, 12:36:26 pm
Scott, knowing that his method is sound even if the execution could use a little work, is undeterred from his quest to make this strange thing called a "tea bag". He looks around for some linen or silk cloth. Sadly though, there is none within the kitchen.
"Perhaps we should just brew the tea as per the norm, sir Scott? We have a pot now, although it is rather small. It may take a few times to get enough water to appease everyone with the tea. If you're really so bent on that strange method however, perhaps you should consider inquiring as to if good tailor Craig might have some suitable textile?" Morton suggests, going about the making of tea his own way. As Scott looks in vain, he makes enough tea for two whole cups. Wonder who he could serve it to.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Mark is about to unleash his long-suppressed medicinal instincts until the realization that he hasn't got any materials hits him. He takes Sigmund and heads out into the dark streets of the city, intent on finding some drunks to butcher.
Luckily, the Feisty Jelly is just nearby, which happens to be a constant source of stumbling drunks leaving one by one, which is known in Mark's line of work as free body part city.
At Gunther Gunnarson's stall...
Kevin confirms his determination to become less of an invalid as soon as possible.
"Alright. How long do you think this is gonna take?"
"No idea. But let's get to it."
Gunther lifts Kevin from the ground, slings him over his shoulder and takes him inside to the shop, whereupon he lays the broken jester down on a table and begins to work.
"Hm... where to begin?" he says out loud, searching for an appropriate tool amongst the available ones, but seemingly coming up with nothing. "Erm... guess I'll have to take you apart to see what's what, then."
He stays true to his word - grabbing a saw, he removes each of Kevin's limbs one by one, then detaches his pelvis, running into surprisingly little trouble on the way, then starts to dissect the resulting mess, removing shards of an unknown material from the mystical-looking arms and legs.
"Huh. Looks like you had bones, really, but these are just ruined. Guess I'll have to figure something out."
The next hour or so is spent by the man looking for and finding a whole lot of metal pipes, which he then deposits in a great pile. Kevin looks on as Gunther adds hinges to the things, testing them to see if they work right for a bit. He then goes about the process of reconstructing the pelvis in a very detailed fashion.
Post by: Tomcost on December 07, 2013, 02:06:42 pm
-Ok, let me handle this.
Walk to a lonely drunk and say:
-Excuse me, sir. Would you be so kind to help a poor invalid to move a booze barrel? It is too heavy for me to move in this condition, and I'm not very fond of alcoholic drinks, so I wouldn't like to drink it alone on my own. Would you perhaps be able to help me?
((By removing drunks from the streets, are we doing something good for this community or ruining its economy?))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 07, 2013, 02:09:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 07, 2013, 03:04:12 pm
Sigmund wispered to Mark:
-Ok, let me handle this.
Walk to a lonely drunk and say:
-Excuse me, sir. Would you be so kind to help a poor invalid to move a booze barrel? It is too heavy for me to move in this condition, and I'm not very fond of alcoholic drinks, so I wouldn't like to drink it alone on my own. Would you perhaps be able to help me?
The drunk turns to you, looking rather happy that somebody has finally made him the job offer he has dreamed of his entire adult life.
"I'd be happy to help you out! Yeah! Where's the booze?"
((By removing drunks from the streets, are we doing something good for this community or ruining its economy?))
Perhaps both?
"Any suggestions on what to bring? I haven't been a ghost for long."
"Preferably a toy of some kind, something they can distract themselves with - there is a toy store a few blocks away, you can check in that. They used to have very good prices a few hundred years ago. There has to be something interesting in there."
Post by: Tomcost on December 07, 2013, 03:14:18 pm
Go to the ship and show the guy the barrel.
Make sure tha Mark comes with me [in case there is no response from a KHH]
Post by: Innsmothe on December 07, 2013, 05:14:23 pm
Scott storms off to the tailor and demands small patches of porous but strong fibrous cloth that will not thread and thin when wet and hot.
(I still can't get over my shock when I learned that the glorious development of the tea bag was in fact invented accidently by an American wishing to make the sale of tea leaves in the street less precarious. -.-)
Post by: Tomcost on December 07, 2013, 05:21:41 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 07, 2013, 05:30:19 pm
To the toy store.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 07, 2013, 07:56:30 pm
Now for a problem though. The butler can make two more cups of tea, but the one he's currently made will sadly become cold during that time, and that surely won't do. Who drinks lukewarm tea? Barbarians, that's who, and as far as the desk was concerned there were no such on this ship. He supposes the best option is to give the tea to Artiste, and inform Erin that he shall be making more soon for her as well.
Post by: Caerwyn on December 07, 2013, 10:37:11 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 08, 2013, 04:08:26 am
Post by: Xantalos on December 08, 2013, 04:22:00 am
Go find chairs.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 08, 2013, 08:02:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 08, 2013, 09:12:02 am
Follow the drunk when we get on the boat and he isn't paying attention to me sneak attack decapitate him((You have a Happy-Happy, remember?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 08, 2013, 09:13:58 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 08, 2013, 09:17:47 am
/Cheats for the best of the group.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 09, 2013, 04:57:09 pm
Sigmund, having obtained a suitable victim, points him in the right direction.
"Well, the barrel is in a ship. Let me take you there," he says. He then remembers that there is an inexplicable tree-headed skeleton standing next to him. He'd better cover that as well. "Oh, and this individual you see here is Mark, he takes care of me when I find myself unable to do certain things. But he was unable to help me to move that barrel."
The drunk gives Mark a long look, blinking several times, but then evidently thinks it better not to ask. The three people then go back to the ship, where they find the barrel of the Special. Sigmund points at it in a dignified manner, and the drunk begins to stare at it, smacking his lips. At this point, Mark chooses to strike!
[Mark vs. Drunk: 5+1-2 vs. 1-1-1]
His arms go around the drunk's neck with astonishing quickness, then his entire body constricts suddenly and violently, crushing the drunk's neck completely in mere seconds. Mark then twists the head a few times, then removes it completely, leaving a headless, bleeding corpse behind.
Justine, it must be said, isn't very happy about this, it seems.
"Why would you do that? Just kill a man like that?"
This sudden bit of reproach wakes up Niklas, who immediately snaps out of his fugue state and heads out to find chairs, stepping right off the ship and taking a stroll around town.
After a couple minutes spent walking half a kilometer or so toward the town center, he still hasn't found any chairs. He has, however, found a bunch of people who seem to be following him. They look distinctly unsavory and converse with each other in hushed whispers as Niklas walks down the street - something the chair isn't sure he likes.
In the kitchen of the Second Shank...
Scott knows a good idea when he hears one - he is about to head off to find Craig immediately, but is stopped by Morton, who seems to have something to offer.
"Wait, wait, Sir Scott, before you go could you give this glass of tea to good tailor Craig?"
Scott happily takes the cup of tea and heads over to Craig, who is still in his room and currently reading a demonology book while inspecting a particular circle.
"Excuse me, good sir, but I've brought you some tea," Scott politely says to the tailor, who turns to him, looking quite surprised.
"Tea, you say? Well, thank you," he says, accepting the cup.
"In addition, I was hoping to find out if you had any porous, strong cloth. Preferably of the sort that isn't damaged by heat or water."
Tailor Craig points to an orderly pile of cloth in the corner of the room.
"There's something like that in my pile, I believe - some patches of plaid fabric - don't quite remember what exactly it was, but I think it fits your criteria," he says. "Shouldn't be hard to find if you look."
He then nears the area of complete darkness that is his face to the tea, at which point fumes start rapidly rising from it, the tea slowly evaporating into his hood.
In the meantime, Morton considers bringing the other cup of tea he has ready to the Artiste - he is slightly put off by the prospect that the man is obviously still taking his nap, however.
In a house of hands...
Darren has no further questions and he believes he has availed himself of the hand-person's hospitality for long enough, and thus bids the fellow adieu.
"Thank you for your help."
"Always glad to help a guest. Particularly when they're the questing types. They remind me of myself when I was younger."
And with that, he's off. Darren hits the streets once again, looking for the toy store. However, he does not see anything of the sort in the nearby area - it certainly doesn't help that the buildings around here are woefully unlabeled aside from cryptic pictograms that don't tell Darren very much at all. As he floats down the street confusedly, he is approached by a strange individual - a woman who appears to be... stretched out, for lack of a better word. She is about twice as tall as Darren, and she appears to be a ghost very much like him. She also has seven eyes - two in their normal places, the other five placed irregularly over her face. When they run into each other, the woman is surprised, but then smiles.
"Hello-hello!" she says cheerily, and as she does this, all seven of her eyes begin to slowly migrate toward her forehead.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 09, 2013, 05:00:32 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 09, 2013, 05:51:39 pm
-Wha- Mark, you could have been more tactful, please. Look at all the blood being spilled in vain here!
Quickly look for an empty container to store the blood. Then store as much blood as I can.
Post by: miauw62 on December 10, 2013, 01:49:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2013, 02:05:56 am
((Mark indeed had a halberd, I don't know why did the GM decide to make Mark sue his arms, but it was awesome nonetheless. Or was it beacause I "cheated"? I just said so so that KHH could have time to decide what to do.))
I do recall a bit where you looted all his stuff and put it down someplace else. So he didn't really have his stuff with him.
Post by: Tomcost on December 10, 2013, 07:29:30 am
Spoiler: My turn when I did it (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 10, 2013, 07:58:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 10, 2013, 08:21:53 am
Post by: Xanmyral on December 10, 2013, 06:41:43 pm
But how should he do it? Should he make iced? It would certainly allow it to sit for longer, but Morton was always more of a fan of hot tea. But what does Kevin like? Good jester Kevin never was much of a talker in Yaleson manor. Hm... The butler decides to do what he does best, and how he does most things really, wing it and pretend you have it all planned out in advance.
First though, Erin. The desk gets another glass, or one of his flasks if need be, and fills it with the rest of the tea. and go on the hunt for the eccentric transmogrifying mage.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 11, 2013, 01:49:40 pm
Scott quickly retrieves the indicated cloth - a rather interesting black-and-white affair hidden beneath a sheet of silk - and, after thanking Craig, who appears to be rapidly inhaling the cup of tea he has received, heads off to make more of his marvelous inventions out of it. He is successful in this endeavor, and finally has a set of bags filled with some of Morton's wonderful, seemingly inexhaustible supply of tea. As he prepares for the final step of this new, absolutely revolutionary method of teamaking, he is almost bursting with anticipation.
Morton, though, is nowhere to be seen - this is mostly because he is currently located on the deck of the ship, offering a spot of tea to one of the two people on this ship who actually need water to survive now, which is to say the good mage Erin.
"Oh, tea! How thoughtful. Thanks," Erin says, taking her eyes off the scene of grisly decapitation with a set of blunt objects for a moment, then taking a sip. "Ya know, I've never been much of a tea person, but I dare say y've converted me."
Speaking of grisly decapitation happening nearby, Sigmund tries to salvage the situation. And by 'situation', he means 'blood'.
"Wha- Mark, you could have been more tactful, please. Look at all the blood being spilled in vain here!"
Without missing a beat, he runs down the pier, grabbing a random barrel and emptying it of its nominally cabbage-related contents, then runs back up, grabbing the drunk and placing him upside-down in the barrel. He gets a bit of blood this way, but it's hardly that much when he considers the size of the barrel. He can only imagine what he could do if he had enough blood to fill it completely. Why, the very thought makes him salivate, though purely on a metaphorical level, as he lacks the requisite anatomy to actually do such a thing anymore, it seems.
"I would comment how I am shocked and disgusted by what I'm seeing here, but that would leave me with fewer words to describe whatever you're likely to do next."
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on December 11, 2013, 01:54:50 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 11, 2013, 02:44:56 pm
Then he turned to mark:
-What is true, indeed, is that you could have made all this less disgusting. At least we could have taken him to the cargo hold, where you could have worked alone, and you could have spared us from this sight. So, why don't we go there?
Carry the body, still upside down in the barrel, to the cargo hold, with Mark's help. If the body doesn't have more blood, loot it.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 11, 2013, 02:58:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 11, 2013, 03:15:23 pm
-We are busy here, can't you see? -He sighs- Anyway, vampirism doesn't let you drink anything but blood. So find somebody else to test your tea shenanigans.
Post by: Nunzillor on December 11, 2013, 04:18:03 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 11, 2013, 05:09:30 pm
(Perhaps you can add some blood to the tea, rather then drinking from a barrel like a common uncouth vampire?)
((You, fool! Sigmund will drink from the barrel in a crystal glass! Well, he will ask Erin for one, possibly.))
Post by: Xantalos on December 11, 2013, 06:49:50 pm
Wander around aimlessly.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 13, 2013, 01:50:04 am
If Morton had the ability to, he'd be beaming now. "Glad to hear I've made a convert, good mage Erin, and I'm quite glad you enjoy it too. Say, have you seen good jester Kev... In..." And now he would be looking utterly horrified and disgusted.
"O-oh dear."
His stunned silence didn't last long though. Under less severe circumstances, Morton would be very worried about his rapid desensitization to these things. "Wh-what happened, who was this poor soul, and, Gods above, what are you doing good sir Sigmund?!"
Post by: Tomcost on December 13, 2013, 05:39:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2013, 10:35:52 am
Morton is glad that Erin seems to be gradually accepting the true light of civilized life, tea, as her one and only beverage of choice. Granted, it might take a little while before she makes that exact declaration, but still...
"Glad to hear I've made a convert, good mage Erin, and I'm quite glad you enjoy it too. Say, have you seen good jester Kev... In..." he begins, but then his eye is drawn to the barrel placed in the middle of the deck that has two legs sticking out of it. "O-oh dear."
Sigmund isn't sure what the big deal is here. Can't a man drain people of their blood without being judged?
"Justine, I think that you have spent more time with Mark than me, and that you have already seen what Mark can do. And what he already did with me once, too. So I don't know why you appear to be so concerned about that."
"As usual, you think wrong. And I am quite concerned because this person embodies within himself and his acts a departure from humanity of such atypical wrongness that it took me until this moment to realize their dark, terrible scope."
Pshaw, what a naysayer.
"Wh-what happened, who was this poor soul, and, Gods above, what are you doing good sir Sigmund?!"
"I'm trying to salvage something out of this body. Mark definitely hasn't got tact, at all, when it comes to his surgery skill."
Having said that, Sigmund turns to his buddy Mark, who appears to be busy enjoying the wonderful feeling of a fresh coat of blood warming up his cold metal bones.
"What is true, indeed, is that you could have made all this less disgusting. At least we could have taken him to the cargo hold, where you could have worked alone, and you could have spared us from this sight. So, why don't we go there?"
He puts his single arm to use and, along with Mark, is about to take the barrel downstairs, but then Scott appears, carrying a mug of tea with a bag slightly sticking out of it. He initially looks at Sigmund hopefully, but Sigmund has just the right answer to the likes of him ready.
"We are busy here, can't you see? Anyway, vampirism doesn't let you drink anything but blood. So find somebody else to test your tea shenanigans," he lies confidently, immediately disappearing downstairs with Mark. Scott is unamused, but continues in his quest, walking up to Morton and Erin. Morton seems a little too distraught to help him, while Erin looks to be sipping some tea of her own. Scott gives her the mug, which she accepts cautiously, smelling it first, then taking a sip.
"Hm... it's... not really as good, yeah. A bit too strong. And missing something, I think," she says, grimacing, then handing Scott his mug back.
Well, Scott did go a little light on the sugar, as he couldn't find any. That might be a problem.
Downstairs, meanwhile, Sigmund evaluates if the drunkard's bled his share into the barrel. After a brief look reveals that he is leaking very minor amounts of blood now, he takes a moment to search the fellow. He is somewhat surprised when he locates a sizable hidden pocket on the person - it seems to have a flask of dark liquid of some kind inside it. For some reason, Sigmund finds the sight of it inexplicably alluring. Aside from a copper coin that fell out of his pocket and into the blood, he has nothing else on him.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, feeling that the people following him need no undue attention directed at them, wanders about aimlessly along the streets, keeping to crowded areas. The dudes just keep following him along.
"I do not like the look of those people. They seem to be scum of the earth. Perhaps you should tell them to obtain better pastimes than gawking at you."
"Who are you, anyway? You look like one of those funny tree men."
"Shush, Torkel. Don't pester the fellow."
Elsewhere in Shriekpot, Kevin finally walks out of Gunther Gunnarson's place, with Gunther trailing behind him.
"It looks like you're working fine now. Guess I've earned my gold coin, eh?"
Kevin has to admit, having metal bones feels really cool.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 13, 2013, 10:55:30 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 13, 2013, 11:28:32 am
Ignore the liquid, roll up my sleeves and get that coin. Then lick it, without going into a blood frenzy.
Sigmund then waits a bit more until the drunkard stops bleeding, and says to Mark:
-So, Mark, are you ready to fix me? I just want to have an arm attached to me, so don't try anything weird. I think that your stuff should be somewhere around this place.
[Action in case KHH doesn't post]
Get Mark to fix my arm. With his surgery equipement
Post by: miauw62 on December 13, 2013, 12:09:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2013, 12:29:09 pm
See if I actually brought the money.
Let's say you did. I remember something like that.
Post by: miauw62 on December 13, 2013, 12:33:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 13, 2013, 12:41:37 pm
"Big thanks for patching me up. I'll recommend you if I ever return here again, since apparently I'm leaving on a cruise across the Sea of Death."
"Ooh. That's pretty dangerous. You'll probably need every bone I gave you for that place. And it was my pleasure. I love working on constructs, particularly when they've got weird anatomies. Gives me ideas for when a mage will finally commission my work or something."
((Dark liquid? Maybe a kind of drug?))
I actually kind of messed up there, I meant a flask of dark liquid. The hidden pocket isn't simply full of gunk.
Post by: miauw62 on December 13, 2013, 12:56:17 pm
Head back to the ship.
Post by: Tomcost on December 13, 2013, 01:03:46 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 13, 2013, 10:55:43 pm
"Well, I suppose that was... Eventful. I thought sir Sigmund despised blood but... Surgeon Mark appears to be up and around again, although as to where good jester Kevin presides is still in question." The desk turned away from the spilled blood and back to Erin and Justine. "Good mage Erin, could I perhaps ask a request? Retrieving chief Niklas has unfortunately ruined my old tea pot, but I've managed to find another. It's quite diminutive however, could you perhaps expand it? I understand if you have better things to do however, it quite suffices.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 14, 2013, 05:38:11 pm
Scott, knowing what must be done now, casts a wily eye over the nearby area. He sees a whole bunch of barrels, sacks and other such containment contrivances lying about - clearly, he will have to open them to see what's inside! He wanders off the ship and starts rooting through all these unattended supplies.
First barrel - sauerkraut. Second - lemons of second-grade freshness. Third - more sauerkraut. Fourth - yet more sauerkraut. There sure is a lot of that stuff here. Maybe the sacks will have more of what he wants. He chews one open and runs his finger through it. Grain. Two others contain much the same. Hm. He wanders over to a nearby ship, slinking along the shadows until he reaches an interesting-looking barrel. It's full of a yellow semi-liquid. Scott, not one to judge unduly, submerges a finger in the stuff, then pulls it out and has a taste.
It's honey! Cool!
Back on deck, Morton tries to cajole Erin into providing a new teapot for him.
"Well, I suppose that was... Eventful. I thought sir Sigmund despised blood but... Surgeon Mark appears to be up and around again, although as to where good jester Kevin presides is still in question. Good mage Erin, could I perhaps ask a request? Retrieving chief Niklas has unfortunately ruined my old tea pot, but I've managed to find another. It's quite diminutive however, could you perhaps expand it? I understand if you have better things to do however, it quite suffices.
"Oh, sure," Erin says, taking another sip and looking at an empty patch of air.
[Erin's magic roll: 6]
Suddenly, the air seems to implode at a single point, coalescing into a large metallic pot - somewhat bigger than Morton expected, certainly, and a bit too large to carry around comfortably - it definitely won't fit in his drawer, but he thinks he could set it on his surface, though this would probably be poor form in most social situations. It's a solid black teapot, looking very sleek and professional as it lands softly on the deck.
"Does that work?"
Just then, Kevin reappears on deck, having gotten himself fully repaired and not having paid a single coin to Gunther for it. He wonders if he should. Maybe he should just open up a tab there for next time.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, knowing he'll probably need that copper coin, if only to place on somebody's eye, reaches into the barrel and grabs it, then licks all the blood off it. It's not too good as far as blood goes. A bit too alcohol-saturated, and not quite as rich as that of the guards. But good to have nevertheless. He also takes the flask of liquid, perhaps to find out what it might actually be later. He then watches as the last bits of blood trickle out of the drunkard, a lovely pastime for one such as him. When it's done, he pesters Mark.
"So, Mark, are you ready to fix me? I just want to have an arm attached to me, so don't try anything weird. I think that your stuff should be somewhere around this place."
Mark shrugs as well as he can, which is not too well, all things considered, and gets right to work, picking up his surgical tools.
[Mark's medicine roll: 4+1]
He neatly cuts off the drunkard's arm and attaches it to Sigmund's stump - a rather straightforward operation devoid of any unforeseen strokes of inspiration. Guess Mark worked that out of his system when he popped that dude's head off, huh?
Post by: Tomcost on December 14, 2013, 06:12:01 pm
-I'm glad you didn't do anything else. That would have been both a waste of body parts and something really unpleasant.
Get to the deck showing my new arm.
-Now I'm fixed and ready to get devoured by who knows what lies in the Sea of Death. Do we have an actual plan if we happen to be attacked by something?
Post by: Xanmyral on December 14, 2013, 08:59:25 pm
The desk happily took the pot and examined it, seeing if it was any different or similar to what he was familiar with beyond size. It's size wouldn't be too much of a hindrance, the butler believes. Seeing Sigmund back on the deck, Morton addressed him.
"Ah, sir Sigmund, you're back again." The desk decided to ignore the whole 'last seen one armed and dragging a body, now two arms' thing. It was much more favorable for his prior rationalization. "I do believe we made a ballista, did we not? Stock to actually use it however might be another matter, I can't rightly say as to if we addressed that pressing issue."
Post by: Xantalos on December 14, 2013, 09:55:10 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on December 14, 2013, 10:00:00 pm
Mark heads up starts and grabs one of his injured fellow undead and drags them down to the drunks corpse. Then !!MEDICINE!!
Post by: Xanmyral on December 14, 2013, 10:21:39 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 15, 2013, 03:58:46 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 15, 2013, 04:09:05 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2013, 07:27:21 am
-It seems that we are all in a better condition now.
He then turned to Morton:
-I'm afraid that neither of us know how to operate a ballista. And it would be pretty unwieldy against something living, I guess.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2013, 02:17:07 pm
Sigmund, happy that he has avoided grotesque mutilation at the hands of Mark just this once, expresses his sincere gratitude.
"I'm glad you didn't do anything else. That would have been both a waste of body parts and something really unpleasant."
Such as it may be, anyway. The two undead head upstairs, getting out on the deck. Sigmund, upon noticing the others, flashes his new, rather flabby and swarthy arm to the rest of the gathered undead.
"Now I'm fixed and ready to get devoured by who knows what lies in the Sea of Death. Do we have an actual plan if we happen to be attacked by something?"
All bothered eyes fall on Erin, who shrugs.
"Hey, no clue. The Artiste doesn't tell me a thing. Not that I asked, but... well, ya know."
"It is entirely probable he has a plan, but I would not count on it. Perhaps he is relying on some kind of miraculous providence in Mothdale."
"Ah, sir Sigmund, you're back again. I do believe we made a ballista, did we not? Stock to actually use it however might be another matter, I can't rightly say as to if we addressed that pressing issue," Morton says, not acknowledging the fellow's clearly stolen arm under the pretense of examining his new teapot, which seems to have a very teapot-like shape and a lack of features aside from the fact that it seems to have a pressure seal on it. On both the top and the spout, actually.
"I'm afraid that neither of us know how to operate a ballista. And it would be pretty unwieldy against something living, I guess," Sigmund answers, shooting down that idea. As a dialogue begins, Mark casts his eyes across his companions. Let's see... Morton's all right, Sigmund is fixed... the ghost is beyond his current equipment... Scott just returned, he seems pretty happy and unusually functional... and even Kevin seems to be all right now. Damn it all, nobody needs help!
"Hey, I'm back. Gunther fixed me up."
"It seems that we are all in a better condition now."
Oh, rub it in, will you? Mark is about to grab one of these fellows and beautify them for the sheer principle of the thing, but something interrupts him. Something's tapping against his leg. He turns to look what it is and discovers that seems to be a magical pumpkin of some kind. With legs, no less. It has a note impaled on one of the legs, which it shows to Mark.
It says 'Improve me, please.' in a calligraphic, elaborate script.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, not a big fan of being followed, becomes loudly indignant at his pursuers.
"I say! It is terribly impolite of you to follow an individual on their business without asking permission first!"
The three people pause momentarily, then start whispering to one another. After conferring with each other, they do absolutely nothing, staring at Niklas and evidently waiting for him to make a move.
"Ah! I was right! They most certainly deserve a good vanquishing!"
Post by: Innsmothe on December 15, 2013, 03:04:26 pm
"So...We ready to go now or what? I'm pretty sure the local guard will not put up with us much longer."
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2013, 06:11:52 pm
He then turned to justine:
-So, any example of the monsters we may face?
Post by: Xanmyral on December 17, 2013, 12:39:26 am
"I must ask, how familiar or perhaps knowledgeable are you with odd materials? I have in my possession a stick from a rather odd tree. Odd in that it was, namely, alive and filled with more hate than I've ever known a plant, much less a person, could have. It seems to affect fire and fungi in odd ways, the former in that it seems to be actively harmful to those around it, its smoke painful and rather focused on drifting towards a living person. I can't rightly say on the latter, beyond a slight color change."
The desk reveals the stick that has been gathering dust in his drawer for so long.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2013, 04:38:29 am
He grabs the pumpkin and goes downstairs before getting to !!FUN!! namely !!MEDICINE!!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2013, 10:33:55 am
-The Artiste is asleep, so we would need to wait until later to figure what to do. Meanwhile, I think that we should investigate on which thing exactly we may find.
He then turned to justine:
-So, any example of the monsters we may face?
"Dolphins, I think. They're rather unfriendly."
"As sir Sigmund said, I don't believe we can rightfully cast off without Master Artiste's say-so." Morton agreed with the vampire in addressing Scott, before turning to Erin once more.
"I must ask, how familiar or perhaps knowledgeable are you with odd materials? I have in my possession a stick from a rather odd tree. Odd in that it was, namely, alive and filled with more hate than I've ever known a plant, much less a person, could have. It seems to affect fire and fungi in odd ways, the former in that it seems to be actively harmful to those around it, its smoke painful and rather focused on drifting towards a living person. I can't rightly say on the latter, beyond a slight color change."
The desk reveals the stick that has been gathering dust in his drawer for so long.
"If the tree actively hated ya, it's not an exotic material. It's enchantment, plain and simple. Can't tell ya more than that, though."
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2013, 10:58:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2013, 11:02:20 am
-Improving our knowledge on this subject is likely going to improve both our and our Master's chances of survival, which in turn is one of your tasks, and actually something beneficial for you in case the Artiste decides to let us free at some point. So it would be better if you are more cooperative than that.
"You think I'm kidding?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2013, 11:13:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2013, 11:41:31 am
-Yes. How would a dolphin be able to attack a ship? I was expecting something like giant monsters, poisonous critters and giant poisonous mosnters, actually.
"No idea. Perhaps the whole thing's a exaggerated. Or maybe I can't make accurate predictions about an area I know nothing about from a distance of a couple hundred kilometers. But I did get dolphins, definitely."
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2013, 11:43:14 am
Go find the captain.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 17, 2013, 09:52:48 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 17, 2013, 10:07:35 pm
Get all up in their faces and stare them down. Try to mak them feel guilty enough that they become my
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2013, 08:56:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 18, 2013, 11:49:20 am
The ship grows somewhat restless - it is quite clear that everybody wants to move along, but they don't seem to be able to for whatever reason. Scott in particular seems antsy.
"So...We ready to go now or what? I'm pretty sure the local guard will not put up with us much longer."
Sigmund has a good answer to that one, as usual.
"The Artiste is asleep, so we would need to wait until later to figure what to do. Meanwhile, I think that we should investigate on which thing exactly we may find," he says, and Morton agrees readily.
"As sir Sigmund said, I don't believe we can rightfully cast off without Master Artiste's say-so."
Scott would sigh, but he doesn't have the energy for it, really. These fools have no initiative. As the others move on to their own not entirely fruitful conversations. After a moment, he realizes that perhaps he had best listen. Boring though their dialogues probably are, they may contain ample opportunities to act upon. He looks at Morton, who is engrossed in a chat with Erin.
"-you know of someone I could ask about enchantments? It's rather peculiar that someone would enchant a tree, much less with hatred. Also, would you perhaps know where I might find something to clean this mess with? I'd rather detest it being left to mar the ship so. If no, I think I'll try good Tailor Craig."
"Art's pretty good with enchantments. He's kinda obsessed that way. Loved magic theory, the weirdo. As for something to clean with..."
[Erin's magic roll: 5]
The air above Erin distorts quite a lot as she outstretches one hand, a rather striking-looking mop falling out of the sky and landing in her hand. Simultaneously there is a rush of air as a bucket of water suddenly appears at her feet. She hands the former to Morton. "Do these work?"
Okay, that was fun to look at, Scott thinks, but not really a scintillating example of dialogue. He looks over to Sigmund, but the bastard's gone by the time he turns his head. Really, you can't let people out of your sight here.
For you see, while Scott wasn't looking, Sigmund has already concluded his business on deck and gone to find the captain, who he runs into in the hallway, moving toward the cargo hold with Art. As he draws closer, the two turn to him.
"Ah! Very nice ARM you have there! LOVE THE TATTOO!"
Art just giggles a little. Sigmund begins to answer, but then Mark rushes past them, holding Evelyn in his hands. Oh dear.
"Oh DEAR! He looked EXCITED!"
And indeed he was, for the skeleton rapidly descends toward the cargo hold, whereupon he sets the four-legged pumpkin down next to the barrel, grabs his surgical tools and commences a procedure that promises to be quite fun indeed.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 6+1]
He pulls the corpse right out of the barrel. It's a rather limited piece of meat. Quite flabby and distasteful. Such a thing will not do. There will be alterations needed. Mark begins the process by skinning the fellow entirely - he was almost too hideous to look at otherwise! He does pretty well, too. The skin is nicely removed, without any obvious cuts aside from the bit where Mark himself tore off the guy's head and cut off the arm.
First of all, he carefully dissects the sole remaining arm, as he requires to alter it to a notable degree. Grabbing the drunkard's severed head, he takes it apart piece by piece, paying special attention the mouth and throat - reconstructing that is a bit more difficult than one might imagine, what with all the entirely necessary crushing that happened to it. Nevertheless, Mark perseveres and gets what he believes is a fairly close resemblance to how it should operate, complete with a set of lungs and diaphragm to power the entire setup. However, when he's done this, he realizes he's gotten a little ahead of himself - he probably needs to make something to put this inside of. Yeah, probably. He puts the stitched piece of meat aside for a bit, then disassembles the rest of the torso - quite a lot of unneeded organs there, he finds. Can do with a lot of improvement, certainly.
After removing the ribcage and whatever else he felt like removing at the moment, Mark points the exposed spine of the drunkard at the pumpkin, which seems to catch the idea and grabs on, placing itself where the intestines used to be. Glad at having such a cooperative patient, Mark sews the pumpkin tightly into the abdomen, then seals the entire thing. After the entire torso twitches when he pokes it, Mark claps his bloodstained metal hands with satisfaction. It's working! He then opens up a spot for the pumpkin's legs, which he allows to touch the ground. Right, that's a nice foundation.
The good pseudodoctor then works his previously-created breathing and vocalization apparatus into the arm, which he then attaches to where the neck would be. Step two is thus completed - now for the final touches! He removes the fingers from the hand, as they are not needed, and adds the ribs in their stead, creating a rather interesting-looking thing that he can't quite compare to only one thing. Perhaps a flower, if an altogether asymmetrical one. Or maybe an unusually toothy bear trap. Or maybe both! At any rate, he's made a pretty neat-looking thing. Now, what to do with the other remains?
Ah, he's got it. With the drunkard's skin and the legs that are left behind, he creates a pair of wings - he's not sure if they'll work right, if at all, but he supposes that's why he's a doctor and not some kind of aeronautical engineer. He attaches these to the torso, producing on the whole something not unlike a skinless, slightly strange-looking swan. Ooh, that's the thing it was missing! Eyes! He adds those as well near the mouth, adding a rather funny-looking ornament made of splintered bone that gives them an atypically kindly quality - one that the owner of the eyes itself will be unable to change. And now that he's begun that, he takes the rest of the bones he removed, crushes those as well, and produces to lay out mosaics over the creature - they remind one of an amateur arts and crafts project, a lot of love put into the labor, but certainly lacking in grace. He even puts a mosaic of a smiling face right on the back of thing.
Drawing back from his creation, Mark gives it a long look. Hm. He's not so sure he's got the swan look quite down here. Maybe... hm. He points at the creature, which looks at him curiously (or at least he assumes it does - it, like Mark, is wholly unable to emote with its features), then makes a quacking motion with his hand.
"Khrrkhhsssss," the creature, standing in the middle of a neat patch of blood where a lot of meat once had lain, replies inarticulately. Nope, definitely a swan. That's okay, he supposes. He looks over at the pile of internal organs lying about. A thought strikes him - that stuff would make pretty good bait. No fish can resist a good bit of liver, as is common knowledge.
Meanwhile, back on deck, the atmosphere quickly descends into mild boredom.
"Uh, where's Niklas?" Kevin, who has been ignored for quite a while now, asks. Justine, now also alone, quickly answers.
"Currently being accosted by and reciprocally accosting a Mr. Terrance Barrymore, a Mr. Siegfried Kirche and a Mr. Shamus Sedgwicke about two and a half kilometers to the east - said three individuals wish to pick him up and sell him off for a nice sum to the Brotherhood of Fine Furniture and Other Odds and Ends, an unorthodox furniture dealer that makes its home nearby."
Oh.
Two and a half kilometers to the east...
Niklas, faced with unrepentant ruffians, lets the individuals know what they're in for.
"Prepare to meet a disapproving Northman!"
The three dudes are interrupted by the remark, looking at Niklas approaching them. He stares at the fellows and walks toward them. He is somewhat put off when the fellows don't seem to mind at all.
[Coordinated Attack: 6, 3, 6, average 5 = +1]
[Grab: Terry, Ziggy and Shamus vs. Niklas: 5+1 vs. 6]
The three fellows immediately grab for Niklas, who jumps back, not quite ready for such a step in their burgeoning master-slave relationship.
"Dammit, guys, can't you do anything right?" one of the guys, a graying, bearded man, says, smacking a younger, clean-shaven one.
"There goes the chair-grabbing strategy, I guess," a short individual with an uncharacteristically huge mustache, the third of the group, says sadly. "We need a better plan. How about we try to get him separately?"
Post by: Xantalos on December 18, 2013, 12:03:31 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 18, 2013, 12:06:26 pm
He then looks at the tattoo, as he hasn't really payed attention to it.
He then turned to the Captain again:
-I came here to ask you something. Which kind of monsters inhabit the Sea of Death?
((Oh, god, I can't believe how can Harry keep coming out with that medicine stuff. It's amazing and disturbing at the same time))
Post by: Xantalos on December 18, 2013, 12:11:33 pm
I just need to get some limbs again and I can start cooking again.))
Post by: Tomcost on December 18, 2013, 12:20:50 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 18, 2013, 12:26:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 18, 2013, 01:12:21 pm
((I dunno, there's no chairs for me to test it out on. For now I am a mere chair facehugger.))((You seem to be missing the point of being your own focus.))
Post by: Xantalos on December 18, 2013, 01:14:01 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 18, 2013, 01:17:31 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 18, 2013, 01:18:02 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2013, 01:26:50 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 18, 2013, 01:30:50 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2013, 01:40:26 pm
Ask Justine where Niklas is, go there.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 18, 2013, 04:44:07 pm
"Oh! Hello-hello to you as well. You live down here, correct? I'm rather lost right now, and perhaps you could help me find my way?"
Post by: Innsmothe on December 18, 2013, 04:58:35 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on December 18, 2013, 07:55:31 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 18, 2013, 08:46:12 pm
"Good jester Kevin, please don't go alone, I'll accompany you. I'm not sure what help I can perhaps render, but it will be there."
Post by: killerhellhound on December 18, 2013, 09:27:58 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 18, 2013, 10:18:09 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2013, 05:49:42 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2013, 11:25:25 am
Niklas knows or at least suspects he cannot run or facehug adequately at the moment, so he tries another option - flight! Magical flight! He leaps upward, trying to magically levitate away from the area!
It is when he lands right afterwards that he disappointedly has to conclude that it didn't seem to work. Maybe he should have stuck to the facehugging idea. It is, after all, a tried-and-true Northlander tactic, unlike the rather unpredictable and frequently horrible alternatives magic never ceases to provide.
[Grab: Terry vs. Niklas: 5 vs. 4]
[Grab: Ziggy vs. Niklas: 3 vs. 4]
[Grab: Shamus vs. Niklas: 2 vs. 4]
However, before he can consider such a maneuver, the three fellows leap at him, two of which he avoids handily while the last - the older guy - grabs him by one leg.
"Got him! Help me here, guys!"
In the halls of the Second Shank...
Sigmund looks at his arm. It is a rather nice arm, even if it does clash a bit with the rest of his body.
"Thanks, Mark has done a pretty good job this time," he says, looking at the tattoo on it that he hadn't seen until now. It appears to depict a somewhat obese, underdressed woman with a large, frothing mug of ale in her hand, pointing outward and winking. Right next to the image is a single word: "Thirsty?" It's a rather silly-looking and suggestive thing, Sigmund thinks.
"I came here to ask you something. Which kind of monsters inhabit the Sea of Death?"
"DOLPHINS, for one! They're VERY NASTY, I've heard. DEFINITELY not in your BEST INTEREST to go OVERBOARD! I've also heard the SHRIMP can be downright DEADLY! Haven't BEEN there MYSELF, but you hear HORROR STORIES, YOU KNOW! I've heard the SKY ITSELF CAN CLAIM YOU there!"
"Doesn't sound good."
"Oh, IT ISN'T!"
How very helpful.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Kevin is disturbed by the way Niklas seems to find himself in rather awful escapades time and again.
"Where'd you say Niklas was again, Justine?" he asks after Sigmund proves entirely unhelpful.
"East. Two and a half kilometers," she says. "That-a-way," she then points toward a particular street that leads further inside the town. Kevin shrugs and begins the chair retrieval quest that is sure to take no time at all. Seeing the fellow leave, both Morton and Mark join as well, with Mark setting aside his fishing line and brandishing his halberd. Looks like the next body harvest is due soon.
"Good jester Kevin, please don't go alone, I'll accompany you. I'm not sure what help I can perhaps render, but it will be there," Morton tells the ex-jester, putting away the mop, pot and bucket in the name of group cohesiveness. He looks over at Mark, who looks equally enthusiastic.
"Ah, surgeon Mark, you're to be joining us? I for one welcome your company and thank you, hopefully those rapscallions won't cause undue harm to chef Niklas and can be persuaded to leave it be."
Yes. Of course.
"Alrighto, let's go!"
The three fellows head off the ship and in the direction Justine indicated - it doesn't take long before they reach an interesting scene - three fellows awkwardly trying to manhandle an unusually mobile chair - Niklas, obviously. Now, how best to deal with such a situation?
Meanwhile, Scott, not one for such camaraderie as has been displayed by the atypically unified march of disparate personalities toward the accomplishment of an entirely reasonable objective, goes up to Erin and asks her a good question.
"Say, do you know why the Artiste sleeps so much?"
"I dunno. To pass the time? I think I've heard him say he loves to sleep," Erin answers, sipping her tea. "Can't say I blame him."
At that exact moment, the Artiste steps out on the deck, looking quite fresh indeed.
"Good evening, everybody! How's business? Are we finally ready to set off or has everyone gone off to maim themselves again?" he asks cheerily, Erin giving him a polite nod while continuing to sip.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, mostly accustomed to the strangeness of the city's inhabitants, questions the lady.
"Oh! Hello-hello to you as well. You live down here, correct? I'm rather lost right now, and perhaps you could help me find my way?"
The lady nods enthusiastically, blinking randomly with all her eyes.
"Uh-huh! Yes-yes! Go that way!" she explains, pointing toward a large cylindrical building nearby with a large pentagon sculpted into its surface. "Lots of treasure and wonderful things there! I can show you the way."
The woman then begins to beckon Darren to follow her.
Post by: Xantalos on December 19, 2013, 11:29:29 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 19, 2013, 11:44:11 am
Sigmund really didn't believe that shrimps or doplphins could be dangerous, but it would be better to hear one of those horror stories about that place. Maybe some part of it could be useful. He said:
-Oh, horror stories you say? Do you know a good one? Because I would like to hear it.
Post by: Xantalos on December 19, 2013, 11:45:45 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 19, 2013, 11:59:27 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2013, 12:02:12 pm
-Oh, horror stories you say? Do you know a good one? Because I would like to hear it.
"No GOOD ones, I'm afraid! They lose a LOT of their IMPACT when the teller has not SEEN and EXPERIENCED the HORRID HAPPENINGS and TROUBLING TRAVAILS involved!"
Post by: Innsmothe on December 19, 2013, 12:05:28 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 19, 2013, 12:06:21 pm
((Also, I'm sorry for making you waste your turn. For some reason it appears that you can't do magic anymore, which is odd, unless changing you form has altered your possiblities of doing magic, which is odd. Or there was a bad roll, that's another possiblity))((Eh, it's fine. Apparently Niklas' soul is so screwed up that almost anything could happen at this point :P))
Post by: miauw62 on December 19, 2013, 12:06:52 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2013, 12:07:59 pm
Everyone of some import is here my lord, we may leave as you command!
"Oh. Who's actually here, then?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 19, 2013, 12:29:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 19, 2013, 01:52:21 pm
-Oh, I see. If you don't mind, I would like to hear one anyway, to know what can we find there.
"It would be TERRIBLY DISHONEST of me to repeat TALES that I don't RIGHTLY REMEMBER! Not to mention that I might SPREAD MISINFORMATION about such an IMPORTANT SUBJECT! That would BE IRRESPONSIBLE, and I CANNOT ALLOW IT!"
Post by: Tomcost on December 19, 2013, 04:39:28 pm
Get to the deck cursing mentally this useless fellow.
Upon finding the Artiste, ask him:
-Master, how are you plannig to deal with the dangers of the Sea of Death?
Post by: killerhellhound on December 19, 2013, 08:58:02 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 20, 2013, 12:01:40 pm
I apart from Erin, butlerboy and vampirelad I don;t know...so anyone who is't here anyway cannot be that important right?Everyone of some import is here my lord, we may leave as you command!
"Oh. Who's actually here, then?"
Post by: killerhellhound on December 20, 2013, 10:58:57 pm
((The Doctor would like a word with you))I apart from Erin, butlerboy and vampirelad I don;t know...so anyone who is't here anyway cannot be that important right?Everyone of some import is here my lord, we may leave as you command!
"Oh. Who's actually here, then?"
Post by: Xanmyral on December 21, 2013, 02:17:28 am
That should settle this in a civilized manner, the desk thought. Short, sweet, and to the point. What could go wrong?
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 21, 2013, 03:23:10 am
Follow. Avoid staring at the eye(s).
Post by: killerhellhound on December 21, 2013, 04:14:39 am
What could go wrong?((You had to say it))
Post by: Xantalos on December 21, 2013, 04:33:22 am
"Unhand Chef Niklas!" Morton spoke as commandingly as he could, shaking his fist. "What has he done to you? Leave him be before we call the guards."Certainly not the fact that he's wanted by them!
That should settle this in a civilized manner, the desk thought. Short, sweet, and to the point. What could go wrong?
Post by: Xanmyral on December 21, 2013, 04:55:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2013, 05:17:07 am
Niklas, not necessarily aware that the cavalry has arrived, tries to pinch his way out of the old bastard's grasp.
[Niklas vs. Terry: 5 vs. 5]
He pinches and pinches, but the fellow refuses to let go, clenching his teeth and bearing the assault with the utmost courage. Kevin, noticing the resolve of these individuals, tries to distract them from their task.
[Kevin's jesting roll: 2+1]
He performs an expertly-timed pratfall a cautious distance away from the three vagabonds, but said caution proves to be his undoing - in the tension of the situation, they hardly give him any looks at all! Guess they are somewhat distracted already - this is quite good for Mark, who approaches with impunity, halberd raised at the fellow grabbing Niklas.
"Unhand Chef Niklas!" Morton suddenly declares, shaking his fist. "What has he done to you? Leave him be before we call the guards." The three men immediately look in his direction, only one of them noticing death approaching through the corner of his eye. And that one individual is definitely too late to warn the fellow quite busy grappling with a chair.
[Mark vs. Terry: 6+1 vs. 3-1]
This gives Mark the opportunity to drive his halberd straight into the man's back, the blade splitting his heart in half and coming out the other side. Mark makes sure to miss the spine - those are going at a premium right now! With the man soundly pierced, he lifts the soon-to-be-corpse and hoists him over his shoulder. The other two men are rather disquieted by the display, and begin to retreat, one of them tripping and rolling down the street while the other panics and stands still, torn on whether to run from the crazy tree-head skeleton or to help his mate do the same. Mark, meanwhile, wonders if he could possibly lift two people with the same halberd. They seem rather light, to be honest. Or is that just his excitement over fresh materials to work with?
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott makes a mental count of who exactly he remembers to be a rightful part of this crew and whether they are present.
"I, apart from Erin, butlerboy and vampirelad I don't know... so anyone who isn't here anyway cannot be that important right?"
"You see, you'd think so, but I like to believe that all of our crew members could be good for something if given proper motivation and objectives. I don't really know what those might be, but I suppose if I promote synergy and things like that, it'll work out fine. But for that to work, we'll need a whole bunch of crew. Right now, we should have Mark, Art, Erin, Evelyn, Justine... Sigmund, Niklas, Morton, you, Kevin, the Captain and also the tailor fellow, Craig. I think that's the full list, anyway. Did I forget anyone, do you think?"
Suddenly, a slight hiss can be heard, as well as a flapping sound. Both the Artiste and Scott turn toward the source of it, and notice that a creature appears to be on deck - some kind of skinless, large duck with wings made of human skin, four tiny spider legs and a beak that opens radially and seems to be made of ribs.
"She's certainly changed a lot since I last saw her," the Artiste notes.
"What in gods' names is that thing?"
"Evelyn, seems like. At least that's what the soul appears to be marked as, and I don't recall binding any hellish ducks by a similar name lately."
Evelyn flaps her wings for a moment, paying no mind to the people chatting about her. She then jumps up and tries the same thing, only faster. It is quite surprising when she seems to ascend a little, then descend slowly.
"Aw, she's learning to fly!"
The onlookers are interrupted by Sigmund, who, not having noticed the blood red pseudoavian creature a small distance away, asks a rather important question.
"Master, how are you planning to deal with the dangers of the Sea of Death?"
"Poorly, it must be said, given that I have no idea what the dangers even are. I'm hoping we'll obtain more information when we stop at Mothdale - otherwise we may very well be up a highly unpleasant river with no boat, not to mention without any paddles. It wasn't without reason that I asked you people to get some books on the subject, I hope you realize? Perhaps Justine will be of help as well," he says, indicating the ghostly diviner, who doesn't respond, looking quite disgusted about something unrelated.
In the streets of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren is pleased to find individuals who can be of help.
"Please, do."
He follows the lady, who floats through the streets in a manner that's a little too jittery to be called graceful, and eventually they reach what appears to be a single-story house that stands on several spiraling columns.
"Come along! Very good treasure here!" the lady explains, disappearing through a wall. Seeing no reason not to, Darren goes through the very same wall. What he sees on the other side is rather interesting - it looks to be a store. However, it is most definitely not the toy store he is looking for. No, this store sells something else entirely - they look like pets, Darren guesses. If pets happened to be made of very expensive-looking weaponry. There's a whole bunch of cats made of varying swords, axes and spears, a bear constructed purely of strange, glowing tubes, a... puppy, maybe, built out of a miniature crossbow, and a spider-like thing composed purely of interlocking chakrams. There's also other things - all kinds of highly dangerous, ornate-looking, obviously enchanted weapons organized and combined into animal shapes.
"Welcome to my store! Buy a pet! Bring home! Best treasure family can ask for! Buy today, yes!" the lady says in a highly manic-sounding fashion. It seems she has been waiting quite a while to say these very words.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 21, 2013, 05:52:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 21, 2013, 08:00:11 am
Totally fail to notice the weird flesh thing.
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2013, 09:20:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 21, 2013, 09:30:46 am
Post by: Innsmothe on December 21, 2013, 10:17:03 am
Heck, if you some how have a way to magically amplify or translocate your voice, youshould try."
If the artiste questions such input, scott will reply that whilst he may not have the ability, he has more than enough knowledge on magic.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 21, 2013, 01:59:10 pm
"Good gods, what are you doing surgeon Mark? You just-You just killed him! We could of handled this peacefully!" A conflict of methods was at work here, it seems.
Post by: miauw62 on December 21, 2013, 02:23:44 pm
"We have to show them, Morty! Or else they'll keep coming back for Niklas!"
Post by: Xanmyral on December 21, 2013, 03:40:52 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on December 22, 2013, 01:58:19 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 22, 2013, 05:08:28 am
You guys sure like murdering people!((It's a living and we need the parts))
Post by: Tomcost on December 22, 2013, 08:15:57 am
((I think that by this point it is unnecessary, but I enjoy the way combat is narrated in this game, so keep the bloodshed going))You guys sure like murdering people!((It's a living and we need the parts))
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2013, 08:36:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2013, 01:59:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 22, 2013, 02:13:14 pm
Furiously squeeze the head of the guy I'm patched onto!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2013, 02:14:57 pm
Furiously squeeze the head of the guy I'm patched onto!
That dude is currently impaled through the heart on Mark's halberd, which is currently being used as a weapon. Continue?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 22, 2013, 04:28:40 pm
Morton is absolutely mortified at the way Mark seems to want to handle this situation. This is not how civilized people behave!
"Good gods, what are you doing, surgeon Mark? You just-you just killed him! We could've handled this peacefully!"
Mark doesn't really appear to be listening, though - too busy deciding which of the two remaining individuals to stab first, it seems. He decides that it should probably be the one who makes a run for it first - always take down the smart ones first, his old polearm instructor used to tell him. He looks at the fallen fellow with the large mustache and the other, more nondescript fellow expectantly - not that they can tell, really, it's all just blank, premeditated murder coming out of that tree as far as it can be determined.
The guy who's currently upright proves to be more courageous, starting to take steps away from the area while the other one just lies where he is, obviously trying to shrink away from impending doom, yet utterly failing. Mark takes this as a signal, and charges at the man!
[Quickness rolls: Mark vs. Ziggy: 2+1 vs. 2]
The fellow has little time to react before the skeleton has reached him, menacing him with the rather horrid combination of a very sharp instrument and the bleeding body of his good friend trying to suck air in the last moments of his reasonably long life, a look of horror on the almost-dead fellow's face.
[Mark vs. Ziggy: 6+1 vs. 6]
The fellow does have the presence of mind to jump back when Mark stabs at him, though, realizing that he's about to end up like his buddy if he doesn't act fast. He's a bit late - Mark does manage to draw blood a little bit with his stab, but no vitals or even moderately important organs are pierced, as the man has dodged backward sufficiently for the thrust to have lost most of its impalement potential.
Kevin, guessing that Mark has got this handled, runs over to the other guy, all the while justifying this impromptu murder of citizens to Morton.
"We have to show them, Morty! Or else they'll keep coming back for Niklas!" he shouts, to which Morton can only offer an uncertain "I--I suppose." As Kevin runs over and tackles the immobile, grounded short person with the ridiculous mustache, who offers no resistance, something occurs to the desk-butler. Witnesses! There must be tons of them around! And that's not good. Maybe he should listen in. Put his ear to the street, so to speak.
Sadly, though, the general bloodshed is a little too off-putting for him to properly concentrate - he does see a whole bunch of people around looking horrified, though. Particularly at the way the chair seems to be trying to take part in the melee despite having no real means of fighting effectively.
Indeed, Niklas seems to have taken special offense to the man who grabbed him in such an impious, impolite and impudent manner, galloping toward Mark's halberd and trying to leap on the near-dead individual's head.
[Niklas' leap roll: 1]
He manages to miss entirely - in fact, one could hardly call it a leap at all, with how he barely lifted himself off the ground -, hitting Mark straight in the legs and putting the skeleton off-balance for a bit, giving the other fellow a chance to run for it in the confusion!
[Ziggy's running roll: 3]
He doesn't manage to put too great of a distance between himself and Mark, making the rather notable mistake of trying to backpedal rather than straight-up sprinting away from the homicidal maniacs in the streets. Whether this will prove to be a fatal mistake remains to be seen.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Despite most of the others currently looking at it and absolutely not at him, Sigmund keeps the whole 'responsible planning' line of conversation going.
"Aside from dolphins, both the Captain and Justine don't know about any other kind of dangers. Well, at least there will be a stop before we go to the Sea of Death."
"If they've both heard of them, that must mean the dolphins are probably rather dangerous. Or simply rather famous, that could be the case as well."
Before the Artiste can muse further on the nature of this information, Scott has a suggestion.
"Since you can see souls, is there a distance limit? Or can you leave your own body and find our missing crew? Heck, if you somehow have a way to magically amplify or translocate your voice, you should try."
"To the first question, yes - line of sight. To the second, no. If I leave this body, I'm quite out of this realm. Consequentially, very, very bad things would happen to pretty much all of you. Except Mr. Craig - he'd probably be perfectly fine, I would say. And the Captain as well. As for the last one, I don't think I can do that. At least not in any useful manner. I'm sure at least some of them will return shortly anyway. Morton, for instance. I can't imagine him getting into much trouble, honestly."
Post by: Innsmothe on December 22, 2013, 04:45:01 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 22, 2013, 04:51:47 pm
Continue face hugging attempts at the guy running away!
Post by: Xanmyral on December 22, 2013, 05:00:45 pm
"Good day, sirs."
And with that, the desk trudged back to the ship, grumbling about "needless barbarities" and the "dreadful waste of life."
Post by: Tomcost on December 22, 2013, 06:45:17 pm
-Add a bit more to the air blast instruction so that it is fired from my new arm.
-Point at the sea with it, then cast the spell.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 23, 2013, 12:42:09 am
I need more parts for !!MEDICINE!!
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2013, 04:35:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2013, 11:51:15 am
Scott makes a remark that some might construe as dubiously sincere - however, by this point nobody can really tell what he's actually trying to say at any given point, so nobody seems to mind.
"I am glad you find some worth in us, my lord."
"Mm-hm, yes," the Artiste replies, looking back at Evelyn, who has managed to actually glide a little bit.
Sigmund, seeing no reason to continue speaking to his questionably benevolent overlord, returns to practicing magic. He starts to alter the small sheet of paper with the air blast spell. However, just as he writes any additional words on it, they evaporate immediately. This is quite unusual, Sigmund believes.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas, ashamed at having slightly impaired the murderous efficiency of good old Mark, tries to make it up as they together try to chase down that silly running fellow.
[Opposed movement: Niklas and Mark vs. Ziggy: 3 and 6+1 vs. 6]
Despite a valiant attempt on the runner's part that leaves Niklas in the dust, Mark catches up to the fellow, going for yet another stab at his vitals in both the literal and the metaphorical sense.
[Mark vs. Ziggy: 3+1 vs. 6]
The stab robs Mark of some of his momentum, however, and the running man takes the opportunity to sprint away, gaining a reasonable amount of distance from the skeleton in the process.
Morton, meanwhile, realizes that he cannot watch such uncivilized, murderous conduct like some kind of horrid accomplice - oh no, such a thing would be unthinkable, not to mention signify a total failure of the butling ideals he has tried to uphold in his unlife. So he makes his grievances plain.
"I-I'm sorry, I just-I just can't do this. This is wholly unnecessary, barbaric, and-and... And utterly ungentlemanly and uncouth! Good day, sirs," he says, raising his voice to the vaunted level of 'rather peeved', then turns around and leaves. Nobody really responds - neither Mark and Niklas, who currently seem unable to catch a thief, nor Kevin, who is currently kicking a fellow lying on the ground.
[Kicking a man while he's down: Kevin vs. Shamus: 1 vs. 5-1]
He kicks the fellow a few times, and the man is about to whimper, but then a thought strikes him. He looks over at who's kicking him.
Ah, it's not the terrifying creature with a lethal weapon that it does not hesitate to use! This is simply some other guy. Good.
[Counterattack: Trip: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 3+1]
He kicks at Kevin's leg, which refuses to budge. Hm. Well, it was a decent idea, anyway. He then rolls away, getting up and breaking into a run in the same fluid motion.
Luckily for him, Morton has ended his association with these barbarians and their antics, and reaches the ship in no time at all. He is somewhat comforted by the sight of his more civilized partners - the Artiste, Erin, Sigmund, even Justine and Scott, and the skinless duck-thing.
Okay, maybe not the skinless duck-thing.
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2013, 12:05:28 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 23, 2013, 12:18:19 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 23, 2013, 12:20:04 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 23, 2013, 03:51:53 pm
Go to the dude lying on the ground and bite him in the face!((I'm eager to know the biting potential of a chair whose voice is produced from a pipe system))
Try again to write the words. If it fails, write another simmilar spell that does specify how I want it to be fired.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 23, 2013, 09:38:52 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 24, 2013, 03:39:13 pm
Darren was, once more, suprised. He had thought that he had gotten used to the peculiarity of the districts denizens. He was incorrect.
"These are... Unique. Where do they come from?"
Post by: Xanmyral on December 25, 2013, 12:30:16 am
There were still butler duties to uphold however, no matter how strange the circumstances. And the duckthing doesn't seem overly hostile. "Good master Artiste, it is good to see you awake, I trust you slept well? If you would like, I could perhaps brew you some tea."
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2013, 07:01:13 am
Kevin knows he can't let this fellow escape righteous retribution, choosing to run after him! Slightly further away, Niklas has a similar thought, albeit his reasoning is more grounded in the idea that he should probably go after the slower, shorter people who should be easier to catch.
[Shamus' escape roll: 1]
[Kevin's pursuit roll: 6+1]
[Niklas' pursuit roll: 6]
Luckily, both of them are quick enough that they catch up easily with the man, who seems to have made the critical error of running into a dead-end alley. Now his two pursuers will presumably make him regret it.
[Tackle: Kevin vs. Shamus: 3 vs. 5]
The short man just steps aside as Kevin runs right at him, watching the jester nearly run into a wall. He breathes a sigh of relief before noticing a chair also running at him, at which point he returns to a state of high alert.
[Niklas vs. Shamus: 2-2 vs. 5]
[Counterattack: Throw: Shamus vs. Kevin: 2 vs. 5+1]
As the chair makes a brave leap toward the man's face, he notices the fellow's mustache quiver in a bastardly fashion - he is ready for him! He grabs the chair-creature by the legs, does a mighty spin and hurls him at Kevin. Or, rather, the place where Kevin was a moment ago. The jester has already moved on, and the chair merely bounces off a nearby wall with a clang.
Glad at not being dead yet, the short guy tries to book it from the alley as rapidly as humanly possible.
Mark, meanwhile, continues the chase, waving his halberd plus corpse around like a grisly banner as he tries to run the wonderful bundle of body parts down.
[Ziggy's escape roll: 4]
[Mark's pursuit roll: 5+1]
He gains distance very quickly, making great leaps toward the fellow running away - they are so close now that Mark can practically see his blood ready to burst out of the new stumps the man is about to gain.
[Ziggy's escape roll: 6]
[Mark's pursuit roll: 6+1]
As the man tries to desperately sprint off, Mark goes in for the kill, leaping halberd-first at the man.
[Mark vs. Ziggy: 4+1 vs. 4]
Once more, though, the erratic pattern of the man's frenzied run makes it difficult to hit him - Mark manages to make a sizable gash in the man's size, but no proper stabs are achieved.
[Opposed quickness: Mark vs. Ziggy: 1+1 vs. 1]
As the man grabs his side in pain, though, Mark sees yet another opportunity.
[Mark vs. Ziggy: 2+1 vs. 6]
But it is not to be - when Mark tries to handily decapitate the increasingly annoying man, he reacts quicker than one would give him credit, ducking and trying a particular maneuver.
[Counterattack: Trip: Ziggy vs. Mark: 4 vs. 4+1+1+1]
His attempt at a competent leg sweep only hurts his foot a bit, however, causing him to wince.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott, ever the epitome of good etiquette he is known to be, remarks on the Artiste's unfortunate staring.
"You are staring m'lord... Evelyn may get the wrong impression."
"I'm sure she understands. Besides, she's the most interesting thing on deck right now. You can hardly blame me for being unable to look away. I mean, look at her, really."
Morton, quite disturbed by the sight of skinless abominations flapping around on deck, inquires about the anomaly.
"I-ah... Might I ask as to the presence of the, er..."
"Horrible mockery of avian anatomy stitched together from human body parts obtained from hapless, innocent victims?"
"That's kinda unkind to Evelyn. I mean, she can hardly help bein' the way she is right now. Ya should see what else Mark's done to people. Ain't pretty."
"Regrettably, I have seen the flesh tree arms. So I wish I could say this was something unique, but sadly that is not the case."
As the people speak, Evelyn stops flapping around for a moment, turning her rib-beak toward her assembled friends.
"Khtsss," she hisses out, though it doesn't seem like a particularly unfriendly hiss. Morton decides that he shall not mind this right now.
"Good master Artiste, it is good to see you awake, I trust you slept well? If you would like, I could perhaps brew you some tea."
"I would certainly appreciate that, Morton. Great to have you back. Where're the rest? We should get moving soon."
While that happens, Sigmund tries to work that old black magic again. Sadly, though, he can't seem to figure out the problem with the paper - it just doesn't accept new words for some reason. And the paper doesn't seem to take new spells, either. He could write it on another piece of paper, but that would mean redoing the focus creation process again.
In a dangerous artifact pet store...
Darren did not quite expect this sort of treasure when he went inside, really.
"Ah! These are... unique. Where do they come from?"
The woman is taken aback by the question. It seems that the idea is somehow unfamiliar to her.
"Er... I would think that when one pet loves another very much, and they live together, they make new baby pets, yes? But these new pets have nowhere to go when they grow up, so they come here, and then they live here until a kind, gentle owner comes and buys them, and takes them home, and loves them like their own children, for they are wonderful and always loyal, yes?" she says, shrugging. "Pet one, and take them to a new home, good sir, yes?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 25, 2013, 08:30:25 am
If it fails, go to where the mages are and ask:
-Is there a possibility for a focus to prevent you from writing new spells on it?
Post by: miauw62 on December 25, 2013, 08:48:33 am
Keep trying to tackle him!
Post by: killerhellhound on December 25, 2013, 02:45:41 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on December 25, 2013, 04:18:51 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 25, 2013, 04:25:12 pm
"I may be in no position to question a mans taste m'lord, but perhaps you should make your feelings and intentions known to her? Instead of acting like a canine sat outside a butchers?"
"Good point!"
The Artiste looks at Evelyn again and shouts "Hey, Evelyn! Just wanted to let you know we're gawking at you primarily because we're bored, and only secondarily because you're a horrifying freak of nature!"
Evelyn looks at the Artiste, then does something like a shrug, but with wings, and returns to practicing her flying.
Post by: Xantalos on December 25, 2013, 04:50:42 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 26, 2013, 12:49:59 am
"It is a pleasure to be back on the ship, good Master Artiste. Jester Kevin and Surgeon Mark are assisting Chef Niklas in preventing himself from being sold. I was assisting, until it was decided that settling the differences between the two parties in a civilized manner wasn't nearly as provoking as spitting one of them through the chest with a blade while the poor soul wasn't looking." The desk explained in a rather removed tone, keeping professionalism at a tee for the topic.
Going on a more appreciated topic however, the butler's voice took on a happier tone on the subject of tea. "I shall brew you up a well made cup then, good Master Artiste. Good mage Erin, would you perhaps like another glass? The smaller pot makes two cups, it would be no trouble."
Post by: Nunzillor on December 26, 2013, 01:37:07 am
Post by: Xanmyral on December 26, 2013, 01:43:34 am
Post by: Nunzillor on December 26, 2013, 02:02:58 am
Post by: Xanmyral on December 26, 2013, 03:15:01 am
I mean, first Morton was a desk, then Niklas was a chair... Now that Evelyn's a magical pumpkin, next thing you know Artiste's a nightstand, Erin winds up being a table, and somehow Justine turns into a magic eight ball.]
Post by: killerhellhound on December 26, 2013, 03:43:54 am
next thing you know Artiste's a nightstand, Erin winds up being a table, and somehow Justine turns into a magic eight ball.]((New Objective Received/ Challenge accepted))
Post by: Innsmothe on December 26, 2013, 03:57:47 am
Scott will open his mouth, raise a finger and...he will tuen away and get some of his not-yet-patented tea for the Artiste.
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2013, 04:36:19 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 26, 2013, 05:44:18 am
((Life Begins at Furniture?))((Life begins at the doctor"s
also you made me choke water))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2013, 06:31:10 am
Sigmund, wondering if it's just magic in general that's being wonky or if the focus is simply trying to resist change, tries to cast the spell from the piece of paper, pointing out at sea.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
A small amount of air moves in response to his act of will - not a very powerful blast, more of a stiff wind than anything, and not coming from his good arm in particular, but some sort of air displacement at any rate. As far as he can tell, anyway. Looks like the magic works just fine.
Morton, meanwhile, sees what he can do about the tea while making conversation.
"Mage Evelyn sure has changed, it seems. More so than the last I saw her," he comments, but receives no response. Hm. "It is a pleasure to be back on the ship, good Master Artiste. Jester Kevin and Surgeon Mark are assisting Chef Niklas in preventing himself from being sold. I was assisting, until it was decided that settling the differences between the two parties in a civilized manner wasn't nearly as provoking as spitting one of them through the chest with a blade while the poor soul wasn't looking."
"Well, hopefully they'll be back before morning. If not, I'll just go ahead and assume they're all dead or something. This whole delay thing is rapidly moving from ridiculous to absolutely ludicrous."
"I shall brew you up a well made cup then, good Master Artiste. Good mage Erin, would you perhaps like another glass? The smaller pot makes two cups, it would be no trouble."
"Can't say no to good tea, Mr. Morton."
With orders placed, Morton commences preparations for teamaking. Seeing the subject get steered in this direction, Scott realizes that there's something he was supposed to be doing, but mysteriously forgot - his new invention! Yes! He shambles over to wherever he left his bags of tea and the cup Erin didn't quite finish. Now, there was a thing he needed to do here. What was it?
In a dead end alley...
Kevin, not one to give up on an elusive quarry so easily, tries to tackle the escaping man once more.
[Opposed quickness: Kevin vs. Shamus: 6+1 vs. 6]
[Tackle: Kevin vs. Shamus: 6 vs. 5]
[Shamus' balance roll: 2]
He runs right at the mustached man, grabbing onto him, and positioning him delicately on the ground when the guy loses his footing. The thief responds with a counter maneuver.
[Grapple: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 2]
Said maneuver results in Kevin slowly getting pulled down alongside the man, which looks a bit awkward to any outside observer, particularly Niklas, who supposes that he should probably just leave these two alone before he gets arrested for public indecency or something. He instead walks off in search of more chairs.
However, the streets are still quite empty and the houses are rather locked, it being nighttime and all. Maybe he should just ask Erin to make a chair and be done with it.
Elsewhere in Shriekpot...
Mark hates these prolonged chases. They are so inconvenient. Rather than prolong the man's suffering, he tries to trip him up.
[Trip: Mark vs. Ziggy: 4 vs. 5]
However, the silly meatbag just jumps over his swing of the halberd, looking disturbed at the way his comrade is dragged along the ground. The man looks around for a second, then starts to run. Oh, damn it all.
[Ziggy's escape roll: 3]
[Mark's pursuit roll: 2+1]
Mark easily keeps up with the guy, who seems to be running out of steam, judging by his breathing. There's only so far his frail flesh will take him, really.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 26, 2013, 06:43:55 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2013, 06:52:06 am
CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE
Post by: Tomcost on December 26, 2013, 07:31:26 am
Sigmund walked up to Erin, and said:
-I'm practicing some air magic, but this useless piece of paper I made a focus from doesn't want to accept any new spells. Could you make me a kind of glass sphere for me with air inside so that I can make it into a meterial focus?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2013, 09:01:20 am
((Ok, I only managed to displace air again. Damn. Better get a material focus.))
Sigmund walked up to Erin, and said:
-I'm practicing some air magic, but this useless piece of paper I made a focus from doesn't want to accept any new spells. Could you make me a kind of glass sphere for me with air inside so that I can make it into a meterial focus?
"I guess, yeah. But it's pretty dangerous to mess with that kinda thing, ya sure that's a good idea?"
((Also, you do displace air when you blast it. There's only so much air to go around, you know. You don't just conjure it from nowhere.))
Post by: Tomcost on December 26, 2013, 10:08:07 am
-Where lies the danger? In the amount of power that it would bring?
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 26, 2013, 10:40:01 am
-Where lies the danger? In the amount of power that it would bring?
"Not the power it'd bring so much as what'd happen if ya messed up. I mean, y've been at this for what, a couple hours? Seems irresponsible t'give ya an object ya can misuse so catastrophically. Also, not sure if whatever I'll make'll even work for ya."
Post by: Tomcost on December 26, 2013, 10:43:06 am
Try stubbornly to write once again in my paper. As it fails, go and mak another piece of paper a focus.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 26, 2013, 07:13:51 pm
Once the tea is prepared, he'll garner two glasses (or use two of the flasks he should still have, I think) and present them to Erin and Artiste.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 27, 2013, 08:57:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 27, 2013, 05:30:13 pm
Mark, hoping he can take this fool down before too long, tries to leap like a heavily-armed, murderous frog and finish this whole affair.
[Opposed quickness: Mark vs. Ziggy: 6+1 vs. 4]
[Mark vs. Ziggy: 5+1 vs. 2]
And lo, the leap works admirably as Mark soars through the air, stabbing his halberd through the man's chest, skewering him together with his buddy. This obviously shortens the man's life expectancy several million times, if Mark's calculated it right.
[Mark's strength roll: 4]
What's more, he can actually carry both of these dudes on the same halberd. Man, this is a highly convenient form of corpse transportation when you think about it. It's a bit difficult to swing the thing now, but hey, can't have everything.
In a dead-end alley...
Kevin, hoping to end his adversary with style and efficiency, tries to choke the man.
[Choking: Kevin vs. Shamus: 3 vs. 4]
The short man just kicks him away, immediately trying to break out of the grip the jester's got on him and escape.
[Grapple: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 6]
This only results in Kevin seizing the opportunity to catch the man from behind, trying a slightly different approach.
[Choking: Kevin vs. Shamus: 5 vs. 4]
He successfully constricts the windpipe of the man! Now to hold on tight and wait!
[Escape attempt: Shamus vs. Kevin: 4 vs. 4]
The first half a minute passes uneventfully, with the short fellow kicking at Kevin ineffectually. Not very interesting, admittedly. Kevin thought strangulation would be more dramatic, really.
[Escape attempt: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 3]
As the fellow keeps kicking, Kevin wonders if he should whistle a merry tune to pass the time. He decides against it - too distracting.
[Escape attempt: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 6]
[Kevin's strength roll: 4]
When the kicking becomes quite annoying, Kevin tightens his grip, eliciting quite a nasty sound from the man - he seems to be running out of steam, fortunately.
[Escape attempt: Shamus vs. Kevin: 3-1 vs. 4]
Well into the third minute, the dude's still kicking as hard as ever, though Kevin can sense him weaken internally. It's kind of weird how long this takes. Kevin honestly thought the fellow would have passed out already. Maybe he's not doing this the optimal way.
[Escape attempt: Shamus vs. Kevin: 1-1 vs. 2]
Finally, after what honestly felt like forever, the guy stops resisting at all. Kevin just keeps holding on to the man's throat for a while longer until he's absolutely positive the man's face has reached a state of blueness highly uncommon among the living.
Damn, choking people is hard work. Maybe he should see someone about proper techniques or something. He doesn't think it normally should take this long, so he probably screwed up on some step. Still, got the job done without any help from Niklas. This might actually be one of his first solo kills. A cause for celebration, mayhap?
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, having been persuaded of the monumental wisdom of not messing around with powers he does not yet wield competently, tries to write on the paper again. The ink just evaporates from it.
"Yeah, not gonna work. Written foci do that. Universe settin' itself right, I guess."
Sigmund, not entirely persuaded, tries to make another piece of paper a focus.
[Sigmund's focus creation roll: 5]
He promptly makes a blank piece of paper into a written focus. Despite the fact there's nothing written on it. There's a plan in the works here, obviously.
Morton, meanwhile, works on preparing a spot of brand new tea, which is quite simple to do - he gets rid of whatever tea was available, which, fortunately, doesn't include Scott's brew, which the fellow has chosen to sagely carry with himself at all times. While the wannabe-teamaker shambles over to the other ship to successfully raid a honey barrel, Morton makes another small pot of tea, which he pours into glasses. After that's done, he presents two flasks of it to Erin and the Artiste, both nod gratefully and accept them with bright smiles.
"This is becoming a serious habit for me."
"At least it is a highly delicious habit, yes?"
Post by: Xantalos on December 27, 2013, 05:57:56 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 27, 2013, 06:18:40 pm
Sigmund clearly hadn't thought very well the focus thing. Now he had to write stuff before the universe noiced that piece of paper and didn't allow him to write on it.
He thought of all the spells he could and wrote them down:
-Cause breeze to flow in the direction the user is thinking of.
-Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of.
-Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of.
-Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of.
((Any other ideas for this, gentlemen?))
Post by: killerhellhound on December 28, 2013, 12:16:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2013, 03:10:24 am
((Nice choking mechanics, but maybe it lasts too much. Didn't a man's conciousness last between 3 and 10 seconds while being choked?))
((For a blood choke, yes. Air chokes take longer.))
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2013, 04:51:46 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 28, 2013, 06:43:46 am
((I thought that it was the opposite, huh. I learn new things every day))((Nice choking mechanics, but maybe it lasts too much. Didn't a man's conciousness last between 3 and 10 seconds while being choked?))
((For a blood choke, yes. Air chokes take longer.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2013, 06:51:55 am
Niklas rambles on down the street until his attention settles on a promising-looking door. He steps up to it and knocks in a harmless-sounding fashion. The door opens. A large, bald man stands in the doorframe, looking at Niklas with obvious distrust.
"Damn chairs!" he shouts, aiming a powerful kick at Niklas.
[Mighty Boot: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 4+1 vs. 1]
The kick is unexpectedly powerful (also, the fellow seems to be wearing steel-toed boots), sending Niklas flying across the street and making him just miss a soft-looking vagrant, hitting a brick wall rather hard instead. Highly disrespectful of the man, to say the least. Not to mention rather painful.
Some distance away, Mark, having completed his hunt, goes back to the ship at last, the death rattle of the second man to be impaled on his halberd serving as an adequate soundtrack on the way.
In a dead-end alley...
Getting up from the ground and dusting himself off, Kevin quickly performs a cute little victory dance over his victim's corpse, then proceeds to drag the man away, heading back to the ship. There are few people in the streets right now, and nobody pays him much attention. Guess they don't particularly care about violence in Shriekpot unless you do it in plain sight or to people the guards actually care about.
Anyhow, he gets back to the ship roughly at the same time as Mark. So, the result of their trip has been three new bodies and no Niklas. That's... close enough, maybe? Kevin wonders if he should follow Mark after the latter fails to acquire any tea (it's just as good, Mark guesses - the blood on his roots feels quite wonderful already).
The fact that there appears to be an avian abomination on deck is slightly disturbing to Kevin, but he supposes that, since nobody minds, it's probably supposed to be there, anyway, so no point worrying about it presently.
"Ah, there you two are! Where's Niklas? I'd like us to get moving at dawn."
Mark shrugs and heads down below decks, where he deposits the corpses accumulated. That should last him a while, yeah. Plus Kevin got one as well. Strangled, too, so there's not that much damage!
Sigmund, who is still on deck and still fully absorbed in his tasks, tries to quickly write out a list of spells he wants on the newly focusified piece of paper. He is glad when he manages to write all of it on the sheet. This'll be a focus to be reckoned with, that's for sure!
Post by: miauw62 on December 28, 2013, 07:07:13 am
Kevin thought for a few seconds, and then said:
"Justine, where's Niklas this time?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 28, 2013, 07:23:25 am
"God fucking damnit. At least we got some medical supplies, as much as I despise Mark's way of work."
Kevin thought for a few seconds, and then said:
"Justine, where's Niklas this time?"
"Dead."
She pauses.
"I hope he is, anyway. The mental image is pleasing enough, but the real thing might be even better."
Post by: Tomcost on December 28, 2013, 08:24:15 am
Write on the paper:
-Repel air from the point the user is thinking of.
Then:
Lean against a wall and cast the Cause a breeze spell towards me. (So that air flows towards me)
Post by: killerhellhound on December 28, 2013, 10:28:28 am
Post by: Innsmothe on December 28, 2013, 10:52:16 am
Post by: Xantalos on December 28, 2013, 06:22:01 pm
Another house!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 28, 2013, 06:27:38 pm
Go find something small, adorable and disarming.
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2013, 05:02:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2013, 05:29:53 am
"You hope so? Are you SURE he's dead?"
"Not really, but he seems pretty dead to me at first sight."
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2013, 06:44:23 am
Sigmund, wary of horrible things that may happen, heads down into the cargo hold, where he finds only corpses and traces of his lovely surgeon friend's presence, namely bloody skeletal footprints. Ignoring this, he writes something else on his piece of paper - a sentence that commands reality to repel air from a certain point. It sticks to the paper, not protesting overmuch. Okay, time for magic! Sigmund thinks of a direction.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 3]
There is a minimal amount of air flow in a certain direction, but it's also accompanied by an odd rippling effect, with air distorting in various ways around the extremely mild breeze. Hm.
Somewhat higher up, Mark does the thing he likes second-best - fishing! Well, one can't say he really likes it or anything. It's more of a hobby that was forced upon him than anything. Still, he gets to kill things, albeit in a roundabout fashion, so he can't complain.
[Mark's fishing roll: 4]
He even catches three fish! Without bait, no less. Guess the blood on the harpoon attracts fish nicely enough already. Having obtained that many, he moves on with his routine sacrifices.
[Mark's sacrifice rolls: 6, 5, 3]
He dares say he's got two of the sacrificing methods down, really - Jolly Vito and Nick are easy to please. The delimbing's a bit tougher, but Mark's learning as he goes. The bleeding ritual he's pretty sure he can do reliably now, as well the heart-stabbing. And despite a whole lot of difficulty on the way, he got the last one kinda done - he supposes it counts. That leaves him with... fifty-five more? That's kind of a lot. Luckily, he should have time for that on the way.
"Great. Now he's performing unholy sacrifices on deck."
"What're those for, Mark? Good luck? Or something else?"
"Pretty sure that's not how you secure good luck."
"Can't you just divine his motives or something? You sure ask a lot of questions for somebody whose job is to know things."
"He sees things differently. I can't really process information from senses I don't have, can I?"
On a different ship altogether...
Scott, unappreciated master of japery that he is, picks up the barrel of honey and tries to look important and confident. He guesses it work - nobody stops him, and he returns to the ship a whole load of honey richer.
Outside a chair-hater's house...
Ruffled at the way he's been treated by the uneducated ruffians in this town, Niklas tries another house. He knocks on the door.
He is a little surprised when the same guy answers this door as well.
"Why must you chairs torture me so! DAMN YOU ALL!"
[Mighty Boot: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 3+1 vs. 6]
This time, Niklas is prepared! He dodges out of the way in an unlikely fashion, and the man's kick finds no purchase in the northerner's metal frame. Victory!
"Dodging me, are you? That's it! I'm going to twist you into a pretzel for that!" the man shouts angrily. He looks quite pissed off now, his eyes bugging out and his muscles becoming tense. He then pulls a small hammer from his belt, looking ready to put it to use.
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren supposes that's the best explanation he's likely to get, and rolls with it.
"Ah, of course. Why would I expect anything different?"
He then browses the store's available pets, looking for something that is small, adorable and likely to mislead people into thinking it's not made of weaponry so dangerous it could kill pretty much anyone fifteen times over in under a minute.
Unfortunately, though there are indeed small things in this store, like some kind of monkey-thing constructed from delicately assembled knives, a centipede made of spiked chains and a four-legged (the legs seem to be glowing nunchucks) gem-encrusted tube, they are all distinctly worrying in appearance. Maybe because they don't have eyes that Darren can see. In fact, aside from weapons poking out from various places, the pets are all entirely featureless as well as completely unmoving.
"Don't be shy! Pet one! They like it!"
Post by: Tomcost on December 29, 2013, 07:28:05 am
Try the spell that stops air flow.
EDIT: another action:
Loot the bodies before attempting any magic
Post by: miauw62 on December 29, 2013, 08:06:51 am
Post by: Innsmothe on December 29, 2013, 09:26:26 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 29, 2013, 11:26:56 pm
He then gets back to fishing and unholy rituals
((I love how Mark is the go to man for anything against the laws of man and god))
Post by: Xantalos on December 29, 2013, 11:56:51 pm
Bravely run away! Across the street or something.
Then knock on a door.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 30, 2013, 03:26:11 am
Morton will resume his business of cleaning the dried (and apparently fresh again) blood from the deck with Erin's magic'ed up mop and bucket.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 30, 2013, 06:45:17 am
Spooky Scary Skeletons (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6-ZGAGcJrk)))
Post by: Tomcost on December 30, 2013, 06:54:27 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 30, 2013, 07:07:32 am
((Poll time what character would you like to see in this game from any where in the mulitverse))
Post by: Tomcost on December 30, 2013, 07:21:31 am
Spoiler: Because your question has derail potential (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on December 30, 2013, 08:42:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 30, 2013, 09:53:04 am
Spoiler: Another answer to the question (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 30, 2013, 06:52:14 pm
Sigmund attempts to cast another spell - he hopes it'll work nicely this time as well, or he'll be very sad indeed.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
He concentrates upon making air stop flowing all around him - as a result, something happens, but air definitely doesn't stop flowing entirely. It's quite difficult to tell what exactly happens, but there is a ripple in the air that he can see, and the air gets kind of weird somehow. He also notices the bloody, horrid smell coming from the corpses. He should get on that, by the way.
One of the fellows - the younger one - has a coin purse. It has a gold coin in it and two silvers as well, plus a very nice-looking amulet. Doesn't seem magical or anything, but reasonably expensive, anyway. He places both in his coat pocket along with the weird flask he looted earlier. The older one has only some kind of wooden case on him - it has a latch on it to keep it closed, and Sigmund's eyes are drawn to the varying patterns on its surface, which seem to be composed of highly detailed, articulate parts. Very fine workmanship. Probably something important inside of it.
Slightly higher up, Kevin asks some follow-up questions of Justine, who is visibly peeved by the way the jester is currently lugging around an asphyxiated corpse.
"Can you tell me WHERE he is dead?"
"Not too far, I suppose? Near where you left him. And do you all really have to drag corpses around wherever you go?"
Kevin is tempted to shrug, really.
A few steps away, Mark explains his side quest to the Artiste. Using the vast amounts of fish blood available, he writes out that he needs sixty souls sacrificed because he wanted to get out of a bottomless pit.
"Ah, one of those things. Oh well, carry on."
As Mark gets back to his fishing, the Artiste is pestered by Scott, who has prepared some wonderful tea. He edges close to his master and offers a cup.
"Aha! Thank you, Scott," he says, accepting the tea and taking a large sip from it. He immediately grimaces.
"There's a lot of honey in this, isn't there? That's... quite unfortunate. I believe I'm a bit allergic to that," he says, giving the cup back. "Nothing very life-threatening or anything, just very unpleasant. I suppose I'm about to find out what an allergic reaction actually feels like, at any rate."
He promptly sneezes, looking somewhat pained.
"Tea was a bit too strong, must say. And obviously there was too much honey in it. Not that I blame you, of course. I didn't even know it would be a relevant thing," the Artiste explains.
Mark, meanwhile, has gotten to fishing. Absolutely nothing is catching, though. When he pulls out the harpoon, he notices all the blood's been licked clean off it.
Morton, having accomplished his primary objective, takes up the task of cleaning up all this blood.
[Cleaning roll: 6]
He grabs the mop and gets to work - soon enough, the deck shines brightly as every inch of it has been lovingly swabbed by the butler, who has, as the butler of a deranged necrophiliac necromancer, has dealt with far nastier messes in his unlife. He hopes that he won't have to clean the blood off the deck too often. He also hopes that Kevin will soon remove his newly-dead friend from deck soon - it disturbs Morton and presumably others to gaze into the cadaver's dead, bulging eyes and rather unfortunate facial expression that comes with being somebody who's been slowly choked to death.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas hopes to avoid any unfortunate situations here, so he just moves along incredulously.
"Why are you in this house too!"
"Don't pretend you don't know, you four-legged son of a whore!"
Well, he's not in the mood for talking, obviously, so Niklas just runs across the street, hoping for help with this issue. However, just as he approaches the door to this new house, the door flies open and the same guy runs out of it straight at him!
"When will this end?" the man screams, almost frothing at the mouth as he leaps at Niklas from the door.
[Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 1+1 vs. 3]
Niklas merely ducks down, thanking his hinged legs silently for a moment, letting the guy fly over him and roll away curled up in a ball of pure hatred. The man then gets up, still looking mighty displeased.
"I sense that something is very wrong here!"
"How does the funny man do that? Be at different places at once? And why is he so angry?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 30, 2013, 07:03:33 pm
Examine the ripple. Get near to feel it if necessary.
Post by: Xantalos on December 30, 2013, 11:24:48 pm
Run up to him and perform a spinning headbutt to the groin to pacify him!
Then inquire as to how he's in all these different houses at once.
If he starts to beat me at combat, run away like a little wussy.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 31, 2013, 12:29:17 am
"Well, that's one to check off the metaphorical list." Morton said to no one in particular, setting aside the mop and bucket for future use, and while he was at it set the large tea pot made by Erin in the kitchen.
Implements put away for future use, the desk offered Scott some help. Who knows, perhaps by the commonality of tea and a helping hand, the butler may sway his fellow second chancer away from a dark course. One must always be optimistic, after all.
"Sir Scott, would you perhaps like assistance with your tea-making attempt? I'd be more than willing to render what possible critique I could."
Post by: Innsmothe on December 31, 2013, 03:16:22 am
"They...The-ey..."
Scot will then turn and begin planning on how to move violently flammable material or liquids into the hold of the ship he purloined the honey from, for enticing him with a substance they must have known would have harmed his master. First he'll have to find something that can't be extinguished very easily and burns at a high heat...like pork fat or naphtha
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2013, 05:03:13 am
"I'll go and search for Niklas, then."
Chuck the body into the cargo hold and head back to where I last saw Niklas.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 31, 2013, 07:53:31 am
Sigmund, eager to find out what all this nonsense is about, looks at the ripple. However, before he can obtain much information about it, it fades away. Seems like it was a result of the spell, but he can't really say what exactly it might have been.
After spending a moment looking at the empty patch of air in front of him, Sigmund notices that something's changed in the room - a new corpse! That's wonderful!
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Before things can get downright brutal here, Niklas opts to pacify the man the only way he knows how - groin attacks!
[Niklas vs. Chair-Hater: 1-1 vs. 5]
However, his attempts at theatrics prove to be his undoing, as his leaping and spinning is interrupted by the man catching him mid-air. He seems to not be pacified at all by the move, unfortunately.
[Counterattack: Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 5+1 vs. 4]
[Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 5+1 vs. 5]
The man starts to pull and twist at Niklas' various bits, obviously trying to remove and dislocate parts of him - he makes disturbing amounts of headway in that regard, but does not manage to significantly damage the chair. Still, the attack is sufficient indication to Niklas that he should probably cheese it very soon, and so he attempts to beat a courageous retreat from this otherworldly adversary.
[Escape attempt: Niklas vs. Chair-Hater: 3 vs. 4+1]
But though he may try to wiggle and shimmy and thrash to the best of his ability, the chair-hating individual is unfettered by any of it - he simply continues his disfigurement attempts.
[Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 6+1 vs. 6]
Though Niklas' steel frame is highly durable, the man's efforts seem sufficient to keep bending it - this is obviously getting uglier by the second.
"Can't escape me, can you? And I can't escape you! I can only keep hurting you until something snaps!"
[Chair-Hater's dodge roll: 1-1+1]
Suddenly, there is a crashing sound as a chair flies out of a nearby tavern, flung by an angry drunk, no doubt, and hits the chair-hating individual straight in the back of the head.
[Chair-Hater's endurance roll: 5]
The wooden chair bounces off his head, leaving him slightly angrier, but still highly mobile and violent, it seems. The chair seems to have visibly cracked, and one of its legs appears to have snapped against the man's torso.
"Gah! I hate this! I hate everything! Especially you!" he yells, directing that last remark at Niklas and continuing his attempts to take him apart.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Morton, satisfied with his work, puts away the mop and bucket, then quickly pops off to the kitchen and sets Erin's pot in an inconspicuous, easily accessible spot. With that done, he heads back to the deck, where he notices Scott, who is definitely not in a happy place right now.
"Sir Scott, would you perhaps like assistance with your tea-making attempt? I'd be more than willing to render what possible critique I could."
Scott doesn't appear to be having any of that, though. In fact, he looks downright disastrously crestfallen right now.
"They... The-ey..."
He doesn't even seem to have properly heard Morton, or at least doesn't make any indication that he has, and simply leaves the ship, looking for something. He stops at a particular barrel on a nearby pier, opening it and gazing at its contents in a nefarious way. The barrel in question appears to filled with interesting-looking grease.
Meanwhile, Kevin decides he'll do what needs to be done.
"I'll go and search for Niklas, then."
He also decides to ditch the corpse - he knows Sigmund will enjoy the company. The jester then hits the streets again, heading over to the alley where he recently strangled a man. He carefully looks around, and realizes he doesn't see anything in particular from here. He does hear a distant noise, though. Kinda like a tavern.
Post by: Tomcost on December 31, 2013, 08:06:41 am
((Ok, time for some inventory management))
Loot the new corpse ((Why do you guys always forget the most important part of a battle?))
Open the lid of the flask with the black thing and smell it to determine what it is
Try to open the wooden case and determine what is inside of it
Post by: killerhellhound on December 31, 2013, 09:09:23 am
Also keep fishing and doing unholy rituals
Post by: Innsmothe on December 31, 2013, 10:19:44 am
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2013, 12:12:46 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 31, 2013, 05:29:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 31, 2013, 06:55:53 pm
Seeing as most people are leaving, Morton decides to go seek out Art. There's been something he wanted to ask him but things kind of got jumbled what with Niklas being a molten pile of slag. The desk walks--although some might call it trundling--to the Artiste-Erin-Justine wombo combo. "Excuse me, have either of you perhaps seen good mage Art?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 01, 2014, 06:27:24 am
Sigmund quickly moves to loot the new arrival, the strangled one - oddly, he has nothing on him apart from some kind of metallic snake sculpture. It has a small, inconspicuous button on its head, and looks rather well-made. He pockets it for now, as this is assuredly something quite interesting for some street knave to carry around. Having accomplished the looting, Sigmund then turns his attention to the flask he got earlier. Opening it up, he smells the contents - they smell kind of like flowers, but there is an underlying aroma to them as well, making the whole thing smell pretty interesting. Hm. He plugs the flask back up and puts it away, turning his attention to the box. It is not unreasonable to suppose there is treasure within - after all, what else would you keep in a box like that?
He undoes the latch and opens the box, and sees that it has little space within it - less than one would suspect, to be honest. Maybe it has a false bottom? Sigmund considers this for a moment, but his thoughts are interrupted by a flash of white and a loud bang accompanied by a rain of mixed wooden and metal shrapnel, all of which is centered in his hands.
[Sigmund's endurance roll: 5]
Sigmund is blasted backwards, landing on his back, becoming acutely aware of the large amount of box fragments his face and torso have absorbed. Right now, his hands feel more than a bit odd - his fingers are bending in odd directions, and more than a minor amount of flesh has been blasted away. All in all, he does not feel good right now!
"What in gods' names was that? Siggy, what happened to you?" comes the voice of Art from the cargo hold entrance.
"It sounded like a RATHER NASTY EXPLOSION, yes? But WHAT could have CAUSED IT?"
"I hope he is alright. He looks quite injured, but it is always hard to tell with the undead, really."
Oh, sure, blow yourself up by accident and suddenly everybody's real interested in your fate, huh?
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Mark, not one to give up easily, keeps trying to catch more sea life to sacrifice to his vile benefactors. Try as he might, however, it seems nobody wants to bite onto his harpoon for some reason. Guess fish don't like the taste of cold steel or something.
Morton, who happens to be nearby, has currently accomplished his important business and, having determined that his former master is entirely beyond help, goes about the accomplishment of something that he hasn't got around to yet - the questioning of Art. But to do that, he needs to find out where the man is. He trundles over to the Artiste, who currently seems to be busy sneezing, and directs a question toward him and his friends.
"Excuse me, have either of you perhaps seen good mage Art?"
"Not really?" the Artiste answers. His eyes seem to be watering.
"He's prolly below decks. Can't see how he'd wander off too far, really," Erin explains, sipping tea while sitting on a barrel.
Suddenly, a loud boom issues from below decks, much to the chagrin of Mark, who knows that this means that the fish have been thoroughly spooked, and much to the surprise of the other people on deck.
"The heck was that?"
"Sigmund activated a small magical explosive device in the cargo hold. He's somewhat alright, though none too pleased, and doesn't require immediate aid or anything. The cargo hold itself is undamaged - the explosive was aimed more at maiming people than destroying property. There may be jagged fragments of metal and wood lying about in the hold now, however, so be careful not to stroll there barefoot."
"Uh... good to know?"
"I live to serve and all that. Can we get moving already? I am getting dangerously bored."
"As am I, Justine. As am I."
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott, unaware of any explosions back on the ship, tests the flammability of the grease, splashing a little puddle of it on the nearby cobblestones, then trying to light it.
[Fire safety roll: 2]
The puddle lights up wonderfully! So does Scott's hand, which has grease on it. This results in it smelling even more awful than it used to - quite the accomplishment, really. This leaves Scott with the question - how is he going to extinguish it?
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Kevin, hoping that the source of the noise is somehow related to his danger-prone chef companion, heads in its direction. After a bit of walking, he notices that the noise is coming from a small, dinghy tavern evidently called the Webbed Toe, which seems to be currently hosting a friendly bar brawl. Maybe his quarry is inside? Seems like a place he'd frequent.
A small distance away, Niklas is locked into a battle. He attempts to reverse his position and break the miserable chair-hating bastard's arms. It's the least he can do, right?
[Reversal attempt: Niklas vs. Chair-Hater: 2 vs. 6+1]
It is of no use, however. The chair-hater holds him tight, offering no wiggle room whatsoever. In fact, whenever Niklas tries to struggle, the man just twists and holds him with that much more intense hatred.
[Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 6+1 vs. 4]
The man screams incoherently as he puts a quite painful amount of effort into twisting off one of Niklas' chair legs, removing it from its hinge and hurling it away. Despite this victory, the man is clearly not pleased yet. Actually, the horrible pain trying and succeeding at bending steel causes him seems to only egg him on further.
Niklas, meanwhile, suddenly notices a chair behind the man. It's a plain little thing, looking a little out of place in the middle of the street.
Post by: Xantalos on January 01, 2014, 06:37:31 am
((Oh dear.))
Post by: miauw62 on January 01, 2014, 07:00:34 am
Kevin yells:
"NIKLAS, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? PLEASE ATTRACT THIS CHAIR SO I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!"
And holds the chair up in the air.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 01, 2014, 07:17:39 am
he skips down stairs and looks for someone to fix
Post by: Tomcost on January 01, 2014, 09:49:15 am
He then notices Mark entering:
-Oh, no, I just have pieces of metal in my body, there is no need to become an abomination here, so you are free to go.
He then turned to the other members of the crew:
-But I think that I will need some help to at least pull this sharpnel from my hands, so that in turn I can do the same with the rest of my body on my own.
((Ok, Im going to try divination on the snake))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 01, 2014, 10:03:54 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 01, 2014, 11:59:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 01, 2014, 04:05:45 pm
Niklas, seeing that opportunity has presented itself to him, tries to take control of the chair! Unfortunately, though, nothing at all happens. He can't reach out to the chair at all, it seems like. The man does not even notice the attempt.
[Grapple: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 1+1 vs. 6]
He does, however, try to back up, which results in him tripping over the unexpected chair right behind him, which results in him tumbling backward, inadvertently releasing Niklas in the process.
"I can't live like this! It's driving me insane!" he shouts as he rolls away and gets to his feet. He then gives the offending chair, the one that seems to have interrupted his hate crimes against chairkind, something that is best described as a death glare. Niklas briefly wonders whether this is a good time to run.
Not too far away, Kevin enters the Webbed Toe - his suspicions are confirmed as he notices tankards, chairs and tables flying about inside the place. What is much, much stranger is that there are only four people inside - all others have evidently fled. They seem to be the cause of the ruckus - two young women in particular seem to be duking it out while using the rest of the tavern as improvised weaponry while a rather strangely painted man and an exquisitely-clothed golden skeleton with brightly-glowing eyes sit at one of the tables further away from the center of the hall, sipping wine and making merry conversation. What's more, the two fighters seem to be using telekinesis.
"Take it back!" one of the combatants, a rotund, red-faced young lady in an extremely expensive-looking dress shouts at her opponent, a tall, pale, raven-haired young woman with a conspicuously long face and a rainbow-colored robe.
"But it is, isn't it? Jane herself said so!" the rainbow-robed woman shouts back. None of them seem to have noticed Kevin yet, and he can't help but wonder if it'd be a good idea to attract their attention. He can't really tell if Niklas is in the pandemonium going on in the middle of the room, but if he is, he would probably require saving, yes.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Mark, though a little distraught by the way this turn of events will impact his fishing prospects, knows the value of positive thinking. Explosions mean victims, and victims mean medicine! Some would say that medicine in turn means even more victims, but those people are naysayers and must not be listened to by gentlemen of class and medical competence. Mark excitedly runs downstairs, goes right past Art and Tailor Craig, moves right through the Captain and finally finds himself next to Sigmund. So it is time for them to tango once again, it seems.
"Why on earth does someone carry an explosive thing with them all the time? It is not even useful for killing other people when you have to open it, damaging yourself in the attempt to use it against someone. Damn, which kind of stupid people live in this city?" Sigmund rants, wondering why all the people that get killed here are poopy-brained dunderheads that insist on trying to get him killed as well. As he reflects on this incompetence on the part of somebody that is definitely not him, he notices the looming shadow of Mark's tree growing larger near him. He turns to face the skeleton with as much bravery and flippancy as he can muster.
"Oh, no, I just have pieces of metal in my body, there is no need to become an abomination here, so you are free to go. But I think that I will need some help to at least pull this shrapnel from my hands, so that in turn I can do the same with the rest of my body on my own."
This is something Mark is not entirely satisfied with, but he guesses he has to enjoy whatever work comes to him, really.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 4+1]
He quickly and easily removes all bits of shrapnel from Sigmund's body. His unblinking gaze briefly rests on the superfluous bits of flesh on Sigmund's body - there is a slight temptation to do something about all of that, to be honest, but Mark decides it best not to pursue such ambitions for now. He sadly concludes the operation by sealing up all new holes in Sigmund, hoping that the trust engendered by the highly predictable, plebeian acts of so-called medicine will serve to bring repeat customers in the future - and when that comes, he can really cut loose.
At the docks of Shriekpot...
Scott, having found out what he needs, quickly flops into the ocean. This is rather effective at extinguishing the fire on his hand, and the water is nice and icy this time of year.
Now there's only the question of getting out!
Post by: Xantalos on January 01, 2014, 04:09:57 pm
Grab the chair and run for it!
Post by: Tomcost on January 01, 2014, 05:56:39 pm
-I-I'm surprised, Mark. I thought that you were only capable of constructing abominations on your own. Well, I think that I should prevent any deadly things from happening and look for some help.
But first, he turned to the other members of the crew that for some reason had came to the cargo hold asking what had happened to him:
-Thanks for coming, but I think that I'm fine now.
Go to the deck, ask Justine, while showing the snake:
-Do you know what does this device do?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 01, 2014, 06:03:04 pm
Go to the deck, ask Justine, while showing the snake:
-Do you know what does this device do?
"It's definitely magical. I can sense that much. And you can activate it by pushing that button. More than that is a bit difficult to tell - the nature of the object is dormant, so to speak. It feels less like a device and more like a being, though."
Post by: Tomcost on January 01, 2014, 06:17:19 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on January 01, 2014, 06:34:19 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 02, 2014, 01:53:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 04:23:42 am
-Do you sense any kind of danger if it happened to be activated?
"... now that you mention it, yes, actually. I can indeed sense quite a bit of malevolence in the creature. And it also contains some sort of enchanted venom, which probably isn't good. In addition, I get the feeling that it doesn't like it when somebody pushes the button."
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2014, 06:01:42 am
"Sorry to disturb you, but have you seen any chairs walk in here of their own accord?"
Post by: Tomcost on January 02, 2014, 07:40:21 am
Get to a place on the deck where I can lean against a wall, and there is no people around. Carry a heavy barrel and put it in front of me, so that I end up between a wall and the barrel. Cast the create breeze spell, making it flow towards me.
For when Sigmund recieves the harpoon:
-I don't know what do you want, but I won't help you kill people without reason.
He then puts the harpoon by his self-containing experiment.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 09:43:40 am
Kevin goes over to the two, he presumes, men dining in the corner.
"Sorry to disturb you, but have you seen any chairs walk in here of their own accord?"
The skeleton immediately turns to you, followed by the man. It's very difficult to read the skeleton's expression, but the man - a slimy-looking individual dressed in very mute colors - looks rather interested. The skeleton speaks first, unusually enough, a deep, unexpectedly warm female voice emanating from the skull as its eyes flicker strangely.
"Oh my, aren't you an... interesting-looking one. Shame you're taken. Darn shame, really," she says to you, shaking her head.
"That's never been an obstacle before, Lizzie!" the man says, then laughs to himself.
"Oh, stop, you!" Lizzie replies, waving her hand dismissively at the man and giggling as well. She looks back at you. "Don't mind him, my good man, he's drunk."
"So are you!"
"Well, yes, but I'm certainly better at dealing with it than you are. How far did you dial it, anyway?"
"Not too far, I think. Little more than usual, but it's quite the occasion, is it not?"
"That it is! Speaking of, would you like to join us, sir? The show's exquisite, I must say," Lizzie says to you, pointing at the storm of furniture and other things developing between the two mage-hands - you can even see a corpse or two flying about. "And this is the best seat in the house. Got inertial shielding and everything! Hah! Come now, sit with us," the skeletal lady says, indicating a free seat next to herself.
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2014, 09:55:20 am
"How would you know if I'm taken?"
Post by: Tomcost on January 02, 2014, 09:59:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 10:19:50 am
"If you insist.", Kevin says, and sits down.
"How would you know if I'm taken?"
"Why, because I'm an expert, naturally. I see these things. I see lots of things."
"Some of them even real, in fact!"
"Yes! Now, don't be shy, sir," Lizzie continues, leaning in toward you. "I'm Lizzie, and this man right here is my good friend Stephen. We work together on occasion. And those two lovely ladies battling it out over there are our retainers - they had a bit of a disagreement, and they're more than a little drunk, you see, so things spiraled out of control just a little bit. But enough about them - who are you, if you permit me to ask?"
"Oh, she's got you now!"
"No need for running commentary, Stephen! You'll scare the poor fellow," Lizzie snaps at Steven, then turning to look at you expectantly.
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2014, 10:26:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 10:47:58 am
"I am Kevin, royal jester. I'm also undead, although you may not notice it at first glance. I went through an experimental portal and a demon transformed me into this. It's pretty neat. Some guard tried stabbing me but his halberd went right in, and it didn't come out on the other side!"
"A royal jester? Didn't expect that, I must say."
"Know any good mage jokes?"
"Don't pester him, dear. I'm sure he's tired of being asked that, aren't you, Kevin? Which court are you from? I've visited a few, and I don't recall anyone like you around. I'd definitely... wait, did you say a guard tried to stab you? What for?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2014, 10:52:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 11:12:04 am
"We sort of robbed a bookstore. Our master needed books on the Sea of Death. It's not like I like killing, the plan was to steal them unnoticed. Sadly, my fellow, uh, undead aren't as subtle. They're hardly undead anymore, though. One of them is a chair, as I mentioned, and there's a butler that got turned into a desk."
"So you're a gentleman thief as well? Man of many talents, eh?"
"I'd say branching out is quite a commendable thing in this day and age, really. So, you say you ran into some guards? How did it go? Did you manage a daring escape into the night, perhaps, followed by a tense morning spent dividing the loot? I've always wondered what it's like to break the law, honestly."
"You have? Don't you break the law, like, three times a day on a quiet week?"
"Oh, shush. It's not the same without consequences, you know?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 02, 2014, 12:50:03 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 02, 2014, 01:13:04 pm
"Well, the chair golem guy that I'm looking for pulped a first load of guards and made them into sandwiches, which another companion then ate. Then I killed some more, but after we managed to break into the attic where the guy stored his books, there was a whole load of them and I got magically catapulted into a nearby building. I played dead, which isn't hard without a heartbeat, and got buried, then dug up, then they wanted to cut me up due to my... special structure and I got released because the pulping of all of my limbs was enough of a punishment. Some smith guy fixed me up. We have some sort of undead skeletal surgeon, but he's... a little odd. If he repairs you, you end up a monstrosity. And I'm a jester, not a freak!"((Sigmund didn't eat the sandwiches, he threw them at an alley))
Post by: Nunzillor on January 02, 2014, 04:12:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 02, 2014, 07:09:58 pm
Niklas knows that now it is time to run like the littlest female puppy of the litter, though he is unwilling to leave his brave new chair friend in the lurch - he grabs the chair with one leg and tries to escape!
[Niklas' escape roll: 1-1]
[Chair-Hater's pursuit roll: 6]
Before Niklas can even turn around, the chair-hater has caught up with him, grabbing at the wooden chair that Niklas is currently holding on to.
[Chair-Hater's chair destruction roll: 5+1]
He pulls the chair out of Niklas' grasp, throws it upward, then, as it is about to land, headbutts it in half. Then he snaps the individual parts of the chair into smaller fragments, breaking each into no less than three and no more than eight fragments. For a moment, Niklas is really glad he isn't made out of wood. Then he notices yet another chair fly out of the window of the tavern, flying along the street and skidding rapidly toward the crazed man.
[Chair-Hater's dodge roll: 1+1-1]
The chair-hater doesn't notice the chair's approach, and it promptly sweeps him off his feet, sending him falling to the ground backwards.
[Chair-Hater's endurance roll: 2]
He appears to be visibly bleeding from his head now. Also, he is screaming louder than before. Judging by the expression on his face, this is mostly due to his anger reaching previously unseen levels. He tries to get up, but slips in his own blood, which obviously impedes his progress.
"CURSE YOU, CHAIRS!"
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, upon finding out that his new snake probably harbors only ill intentions toward him, comes to a conclusion about the people in this town - they are a confusing, frightening lot and mean him nothing but the very worst they can muster.
"So, it appears that common folk in this town carry dangerous magical elements. I think that if I ever have to press the button, I will do so just before throwing this to an enemy. Thanks for the information."
"Welcome."
Sigmund then goes over to the part of the deck where the aftcastle begins, grabbing a barrel on the way. He notices it seems to have something in it, though it is difficult to say what exactly. Some kind of strange sludge? Regardless, he moves it over to the aftcastle with him, standing between it and a wall. He is about to cast a spell, but suddenly Mark appears, offering him a harpoon. Sigmund takes it and sets it down next to himself.
"I don't know what do you want, but I won't help you kill people without reason."
Mark is unimpressed. Or at least that's the way he looks - very difficult to read the guy, Sigmund finds. Oh well. Magic time!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
He channels the magic from the piece of paper, willing a breeze to blow toward him. And a breeze appears! For a moment. Then it abruptly stops. Then it comes from another direction. Then it becomes like a miniature whirlwind. Then it stops again. Then air suddenly flies away from Sigmund's vicinity as though Sigmund were some kind of atmospheric pariah. And then a powerful wind moves the air back into place with a loud whoosh. And then the whole process repeats itself, with the degree of each step varying each time. Quite the pickle, Sigmund supposes.
In the icy waters of the Sea of Pleasant Winds...
Scott moves out of the water as quickly as possible, grabbing the highly flammable barrel of grease and moving over to the ship that provided him with the highly dangerous honey, setting it down in the spot where the barrel of honey formerly was. He then sets the thing on fire.
[Pyromaniac destruction roll: 2]
As the grease begins to burn in the barrel, he slowly steps off the ship. He notices that the barrel doesn't appear to be falling apart or anything - the grease fire is currently contained within it. Hm. Not as effective as one might have hoped. Also, somebody appears to have seen him. A sailor on the ship, looks like.
"Hey! What's happening here? Why is that barrel on fire? And where's the damn honey gone?"
Inside the Webbed Toe...
Kevin keeps conversing with his two current companions while the two other mages telekinetically wrestle over a particularly heavy oaken table. He finally busts out his bookstore heist story.
"Well, the chair golem guy that I'm looking for pulped a first load of guards and made them into sandwiches, which another companion then ate. Then I killed some more, but after we managed to break into the attic where the guy stored his books, there was a whole load of them and I got magically catapulted into a nearby building. I played dead, which isn't hard without a heartbeat, and got buried, then dug up, then they wanted to cut me up due to my... special structure and I got released because the pulping of all of my limbs was enough of a punishment. Some smith guy fixed me up. We have some sort of undead skeletal surgeon, but he's... a little odd. If he repairs you, you end up a monstrosity. And I'm a jester, not a freak!"
"Quite the tale," Lizzie says after a pause, toying with a wine glass she clearly can't drink from.
"Could use some embellishment. Maybe you should have one of these," Stephen says, digging around in one of his pockets and producing something very similar to a signet ring, but with some kind of mechanism where a gem would normally be, offering it to Kevin. "Put this on. It's a nifty little thing, it is. An 'inebriation dial'. You turn the knob it has and parties happen, heh."
"Definitely in my top 3 of this century's inventions, I must say. I would have offered one of mine, but I seem to have forgotten to bring more than one, sadly. Anyway, back to the current topic, you were caught, you say? What about the rest of your associates? Did you acquire what you wanted?"
Post by: Xanmyral on January 02, 2014, 09:48:42 pm
"Good Master Artiste, are you perhaps allergic to anything else? I believe I can perhaps brew you a tea to help fight your suffering, nature's natural remedies tend to work wonders I've found."
If Artiste doesn't protest more tea (what strange man of class would however), the desk will check his tea ingredients for anything that would work and will get to work on brewing a special cup of herbal/ginger/mint/(insert allergic response reliever that Artiste isn't allergic to) all-natural tonic for his allergies.
Post by: Xantalos on January 02, 2014, 09:58:07 pm
Punch him in the throat!
Post by: killerhellhound on January 02, 2014, 10:56:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 02, 2014, 10:56:39 pm
Telling others of your terrible crimes against the law, humanity, and the very fabric of reality itself? That's how I break the ice when meeting new people too!Also siggy
Post by: Nunzillor on January 03, 2014, 12:15:55 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 03, 2014, 03:41:37 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 03, 2014, 05:11:27 am
Pet one. Carefully.
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2014, 06:11:19 am
"Thanks. Can I keep this?"
He then continues the story:
"Well, my friends got arrested and had various limbs cut off, but that got fixed too. We sort of gave up.
Anyway, enough about me, it looks like you guys have an interesting story too. I wonder what brings such an attractive lady to this town?"
Post by: Tomcost on January 03, 2014, 07:09:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2014, 09:08:00 am
Kevin takes the ring and puts it on, then turns the knob.
"Thanks. Can I keep this?"
You put the ring on and turn the knob about halfway. The room begins to swim before your very eyes, and the world seems like a much happier, friendlier place all of a sudden. You're glad you're sitting down, because you're definitely not sure of your current ability to walk in a straight line.
"Feel free to keep it and use it to your heart's content, my good man! I'm happy to spread the love, you know."
"At least right now you are, anyway."
He then continues the story:
"Well, my friends got arrested and had various limbs cut off, but that got fixed too. We sort of gave up.
Anyway, enough about me, it looks like you guys have an interesting story too. I wonder what brings such an attractive lady to this town?"
Lizzie laughs at that last remark.
"I'd say the ring's working, Stephen, because I've been called a great many things in my life, but never 'attractive'."
"Oh, come now. He didn't turn it that far."
"Well, I'm flattered nevertheless. As for our story, we're wizards, so to speak!"
"Great and powerful wizards from fantastic worlds beyond human experience!"
"That first bit, anyway. We're mostly in magic, but also in politics a little, and it just so happens that we got some amazing news!"
"Maybe not amazing, exactly, but pretty good as far as news go. Fun news."
"Long story short, somebody we didn't like kicked the bucket at long last, and I and Stephen both decided to celebrate. Those two others over there we took along as retainers - more a matter of etiquette, really, though they turned out to be real funny sorts along the way, so it all worked out very nicely. And Shriekpot was close by, plus it has this wonderful mixture of backwoods quaintness and Circle-inspired strangeness that I absolutely adore."
"Charming little city, really."
"Why, I've met no fewer than five delightfully quirky individuals over the course of the last four hours, and I wasn't even looking! Love this town, and love the people here. Do you live in Shriekpot, Kevin? What do you think about the place?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2014, 09:54:22 am
"The master says we'll be leaving soon, though. We're going to Horizon Isle or something. We found some sort of ship along the docks with a crazy old ghost captain. I'd much rather stay here, although the guards probably disagree."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2014, 11:05:19 am
Morton, after spending a moment considering whether the Artiste's current condition warrants a special sort of tea, decides that it probably does and trundles over to the man to ask if he, by any chance, isn't allergic to anything else.
"Good Master Artiste, are you perhaps allergic to anything else? I believe I can perhaps brew you a tea to help fight your suffering, nature's natural remedies tend to work wonders, I've found."
The Artiste, whose eyes seem to be watering a little, scratches his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, I think I'm allergic to other things as well. Like mint, for instance. Pollen, I think. A whole host of herbs as well. Really, the symptoms seem to be passing right now, so there's no real need for any herbal teas. My throat hardly even itches right now, honestly."
How disappointing. A small distance away from this terrible scene of refusal, Mark petitions Justine for help locating the errant crew members. He writes out a message on the deck in front of her with his writing slug, then points at it.
Where are the two we are missing?
Justine looks at the message.
"Haven't got precise information on that. The chair is presumably near where you last saw him, and the jester is out looking for him. Find one and you're likely to find the other."
Supposing that's as good a hint as any, Mark heads out to find his friends. He soon manages to locate his chair buddy, who seems to currently be fighting a bleeding man.
While Mark locates his quarry, Sigmund tries to stop the random air flows around his location.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 5]
The air flow mostly stops - Sigmund can still feel little breezes blowing toward him and hear little whooshing noises all around him - clearly, something is getting mixed up here.
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Niklas is rather angry. His chair friend has been murdered horribly! And someone's responsible! Someone currently at a slight disadvantage!
"FOUL MEATFLESH I WAS GOING TO USE THAT!"
[Niklas vs. Chair-Hater: 3-2 vs. 5+1-1-1]
However, a martial arts genius Niklas certainly is not, as he leaps right over the man, who then uses the chair as both a support for getting up and an outlet for his pent-up rage.
[Throw: Chair-Hater vs. Niklas: 4+1+1 vs. 4]
He lifts Niklas off the ground and throws him across the street, bellowing with frustration. This time, Niklas merely slides to a stop on the ground, not hitting anything particularly hard on the way. It's still unpleasant, though.
Mark, meanwhile, wonders whether it's best to just grab Niklas and go or to stab the frustrated chair person and risk potential escalation.
Near a rather dangerous grease fire...
Scott, supposing that the barrel itself is enough of a statement to the owners of the ship, quickly vacates the premises and returns to his home - the Second Shank! There he finds that little has changed aside from the Artiste looking a little better than before and Mark being missing. Hm.
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren, hoping that he won't regret this decision, picks a particular maybe-sculpture-maybe-pet - a rabbit made of bone-white, glowing bolts - and pets it.
[Darren's carefulness roll: 4]
He feels the tip of one of the bolts nearly pierce into his ectoplasmic flesh - it's almost like the bolts were pulling him toward themselves. He pulls his hand back slowly, hoping that the pet store lady is satisfied.
"See? Very lovely and cute pets, no? This one is a bargain - only five hundred quicksilvers, yes?"
Darren's not sure how much that is, honestly.
Inside the Webbed Toe...
Kevin, now feeling nice and drunk, elaborates on his unlife story.
"I come from a house not too far off. All undead soulbound to some necromancer guy who made his own husband into a zombie! Boring as hell though. Then this guy who calls himself the Artiste comes along with a skeleton that has a tree for a head, a bunch of wizards and a dodgy vampire guy, soulbinds us all, and then one of the wizards turns the necromancer into a blanket."
Kevin pauses. It sounds kind of silly when put like that.
"The master says we'll be leaving soon, though. We're going to Horizon Isle or something. We found some sort of ship along the docks with a crazy old ghost captain. I'd much rather stay here, although the guards probably disagree."
"What a terribly pretentious name your master has."
"May be fitting for someone who can undo a binding of a soul. But that's something to look into later, really. As is the prospect of turning one of my own enemies into a blanket - remind me to consider that, Stephen."
"Only if you record the event!"
"Naturally! I might even gift you the lucky person. That'll result in a good night's sleep, I'm sure."
"Maybe turn another one into a pair of undergarments and gift it to somebody you hate!"
"Truly, the sky is the limit, heh! Anyway, Kevin, I heard you mention a dodgy vampire fellow. Is he the real deal? Panics at intersections, can't go into houses uninvited?"
"Upchucks at the smell of garlic or roses? Is petrified by pentacles?"
"Those vampire people are so cute! I have one as a retainer, and he just breaks down, curls up and starts crying blood whenever he reaches a fork in the road. What a card!"
"It's also funny if you conjure sunlight at them. Particularly in the middle of the night. I tell you, I've heard one shriek like a little girl when I did that."
"Most prankable sentient creature currently around by a good country mile. Messing with them simply never gets old!"
Kevin wonders how hilarious it would be to fill a bucket with, like, garlic and set it above a door. He can't imagine Sigmund's reaction, but he bets it'd be really funny.
Post by: Tomcost on January 03, 2014, 11:14:56 am
Attempt to stop air flow again ((because clearly a 5 doesn't stop a 6)).
Repel air from myself if the former spell is successful.
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2014, 12:59:32 pm
"Probably, he went through the portal too. I'll try showing him a pentacle, with this portal thingie on my back."
Kevin turns around and tries to make a pentacle appear on the screen on his back and not fall over in the process.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2014, 01:07:39 pm
((I'm coming for you, Tomcost.))
"Probably, he went through the portal too. I'll try showing him a pentacle, with this portal thingie on my back."
Kevin turns around and tries to make a pentacle appear on the screen on his back and not fall over in the process.
You get up from your seat unsteadily, then turn your back to Lizzie and Stephen, who watch with interest. The screen, which you seem to have forgotten can be extended like a banner, seems to respond to your thoughts, and though you can't really see it, you know that an image of a pentacle has appeared on it.
"You have a screen on your back! Didn't expect that! And you can even project things on it!"
"Quite impressive! Can you do moving images with it?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2014, 01:09:40 pm
Try to project some random moving images on it.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2014, 01:25:42 pm
"Uh... Maybe."
Try to project some random moving images on it.
You try to think of random moving images and project them on the screen. Sadly, though, being drunk does not do much for your imagination. You can't rightly think of a single, concrete thing.
"Well? Anything?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 03, 2014, 01:30:01 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on January 03, 2014, 05:27:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 03, 2014, 06:37:25 pm
Think of a man walking to a house
You think of this, and it miraculously shows up on your screen!
"Ah, there we go!"
"It's even in color! Definitely quite a wonderful little device. I should get one like it for one of my minions."
"I have sent a stern reply to those whos produced poisoned you sir. However, i would like to be informed on any other health issue you have, just to avoid further embarrassments on my part.
"Uh... good, I guess? And I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to a lot of stuff. Pollen, honey, lots of different herbs - not exactly sure which ones, but a whole bunch. So as long as you don't give me any of those, I should be fine."
Post by: Xanmyral on January 03, 2014, 07:40:24 pm
Morton instead considers another idea. Justine is quite the surly character, but if there's one thing he knows is that tea always raises spirits and makes one more agreeable. But there in lies the problem of the mage being a ghost, and as far as he knows, they can't drink tea. Such a sad state that must be!
In fact, there's an awful lot of people who can't drink tea on the ship. Himself unfortunately included! This simply must be fixed, and Justine seems like a good person to start with as any. Now... How would one make tea able for a ghost to enjoy? Various stories enter the butler's head about various ghosts and spirits, but few helpful and mostly horribly (or hilariously, depending on one's opinion) embellished for entertainment purposes. Hm...
Art! He would know! He's still been meaning to ask him about the performance from yesterday anyhow. Ah, multitasking. Wondrous.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 03, 2014, 09:52:05 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 04, 2014, 01:19:23 am
Mark grabs Niklas and runs to a nearby bar hoping the Niklas could use the chairs there((But you're not even near me.
Are you?))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 04, 2014, 01:29:50 am
Post by: Xantalos on January 04, 2014, 01:37:08 am
RAGRSHSRAAARGARGARAA
Niklas attempts to pick Mark up and use him as a club to beat the chair hater!
Post by: Innsmothe on January 04, 2014, 03:31:42 am
xP
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 04, 2014, 03:40:03 am
Using all of his ability at showmanship, Darren makes a big show of rustling through his pockets and coming up with nothing, followed by dissapointment..
"Ah. Unfortunate. I think I may have left my wallet back on my body. I'm sorry."
Post by: Xanmyral on January 04, 2014, 03:47:05 am
Scott will dive into the water to find seaweed and shellfish, surely those are safe right?
[I'd be careful for rogue death god's, one was last seen prowling under water trying to lure desks to early graves.]
Post by: Innsmothe on January 04, 2014, 06:59:44 am
Hopefully scott can show his amazing will and spontanious arseholery if anything unterward occurs.
Post by: miauw62 on January 04, 2014, 07:45:58 am
"Anyway, our master is some sort of divine accountant or something, so I guess he wants to earn some money with Horizon Island or something..."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2014, 09:56:14 am
Sigmund, figuring that what he clearly needs is more power, tries again to stop the flow of air in the area.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
Once again, the winds do not abate and continue to swirl around Sigmund, funneling in strange ways, then repelling strangely. As Sigmund wonders what it is that keeps going wrong, he notices that Erin seems to be asking him something.
"Whatcha doing there, Sigmund?"
Morton, who is just nearby, doesn't seem to spare the wild magic happening nearby a single thought. Instead, he is entirely consumed by consideration on how to make Justine drink some tea and thus attain progress on new serving solutions for people who don't actually have any physiological needs - he's sure that someone knows something about the matter. Probably Art - he is both the most worldly and most acquainted with undead around here. And he has some additional questions for the man as well, so it's all good. With this in mind, he heads below decks to locate the necromancer, and concludes that he most definitely isn't in the cargo hold. A bit of additional seeking after that reveals that he is in the den, reading a book on divination while the Captain converses with a wall.
Back on deck, Scott guesses that, since there's nothing better to do, he might as well dive overboard and look for shellfish and seaweed - nobody's allergic to those, right? He clumsily hefts himself over the guardrail and flops into the extremely salty water once again, diving into the depths of the briny sea.
As he sinks, he notices a lobster idly swimming along the sea. It looks kind of lost, he thinks. And rather large - dog-sized, in fact. He never did like this sea - too many strange inhabitants!
In the streets of Shriekpot...
Mark, realizing that Niklas is up to no good as usual, tries to quickly grab the chair and get out of there already - too much time has been inefficiently utilized already, and Mark already has a whole lot of corpses to his name.
[Opposed strength: Mark vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 4]
Even though Niklas squawks, yells and growls, trying to reverse Mark's steel grip, but the skeleton is deft enough that the chef doesn't really stand a chance. Mark just picks him up and leaves as the strange man tears apart the newly-arrived chair with his bare hands, then smashes each individual fragment into many pieces meticulously.
Supposing that this fight probably arose due to chairs, Mark takes Niklas to a nearby tavern - the Webbed Toe. The place is not quite as lively as it appeared from the outside, he notices - in fact, the tavern, despite the ruckus, has only five current occupants - two women having a telekinetic fight with the available furniture and corpses, and three people having a conversation at one of the tables - a golden skeleton in a robe, a man who looks like he's stepped out of a painting and Kevin, fortuitously enough. Their voices are somewhat audible over the sound of furniture crashing and the soft hum of telekinetic interference.
"Anyway, our master is some sort of divine accountant or something, so I guess he wants to earn some money with Horizon Island or something..."
"Probably trying to go to the Realm of Dreams - not many do these days. Guess people do learn with time, huh?"
"Well, it's certainly not the wisest quest, is it? I don't know anyone who's returned from there, and many have gone."
"'Cept Lyman, maybe. He's still around."
"Him actually going is kind of apocryphal, though. He's never confirmed it. Then again, nobody's asked him."
"Seems likely that he'd be able to, anyway."
"Let's not talk about him, though. I keep getting this feeling that he's right behind me when you mention his name."
"A not unreasonable feeling, I might say!"
"Yes, quite!"
They seem to be having fun. And Kevin looks pretty happy.
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren, knowing that a simple 'maybe later' probably won't suffice, tries to let the woman down easily.
"Ah, wow! Quite a bargain," he says, rustling through his pockets very much like a true vaudevillian would, but coming up with nothing, and providing an adequate expression of sadness to go with it.
"Ah. Unfortunate. I think I may have left my wallet back on my body. I'm sorry."
"But... but... you must buy one!" the woman says, laughing nervously. "They are so sad and lonely, but now you are here, and everything will be all right! You will buy a pet and will love it for the rest of your life, and then it will be happy and you will be happy! Can't you see?"
Post by: Tomcost on January 04, 2014, 10:02:42 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 04, 2014, 10:16:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2014, 10:32:12 am
-I'm tryng to get used to air magic, but for some reason it appears that the air is doing all the things I have written on my focus at the same time.
"Can't say I know why that would be, exactly, but I do know that spellbooks typically have this setup where there's only one spell on a page. That's how they told us to write spellbooks back at uni, anyway."
Post by: Tomcost on January 04, 2014, 12:04:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2014, 12:11:57 pm
-One at a page? That definitely could have been something useful to know before writing all this in this piece of paper. Well, can you transmute a book for me? So that I don't need to make every sheet of paper into a focus.
"I think that ya'll need to anyway. I remember hearing that ya can tear out a page from a spellbook and it'll work like a focus on its own. So yeah."
Post by: Tomcost on January 04, 2014, 12:18:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2014, 12:23:55 pm
-So, I will have to make each individual page of a book a focus to be able to use the whole book as a focus? Well, with the one spell per focus it makes a bit of sense. If it doesn't bother you much, could you make me something to fasten some sheets of paper in a kind of a book? There are plenty of them in the den, but I think that it is going to be a bit unwieldy to carry a lot of them.
"I could make ya some needle and thread."
Post by: Tomcost on January 04, 2014, 12:30:09 pm
Post by: miauw62 on January 04, 2014, 01:16:29 pm
"That skeleton guy is Mark, he's kind of an asshat and tries to dismember you then put you back togheter. That chair is probably Niklas, he can cook pretty well"
When Kevin notices that Mark tries to grab him, he says
"Hey, I'm just having some fun! It's not because you can't talk that I can't talk with these people!"
Post by: Xantalos on January 04, 2014, 02:11:36 pm
Grab hold of all chairs in tavern. March out with my new comrades and take revenge.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 04, 2014, 04:45:07 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 05, 2014, 04:26:44 am
Ah, damn it...
"Yes, I know. It would be quite a future, this bolt-bunny and I. However, I simply have no money. No job, no home, and no way to care for such a precious creature. As much as it hurts me, I cannot purchase it in good conscience while there are so many more stable and prosperous owners for the little darling."
Vaudeville some more. If she begins to get more unstable, accept fate and get one before she gets too stabby.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 05, 2014, 05:54:02 am
Of course she's insane. Why would he expect any different? Everyone is insane here, nice pet shop women included.
Bay 12 in an nut shell also siggy
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 07:30:21 am
Mark, knowing full well how his companions love to get themselves into extremely time-consuming trouble, tries to retrieve Kevin and leave as quickly as possible. As he runs toward the table, Kevin, the jester turns and waves at him, speaking to his new friends.
"That skeleton guy is Mark, he's kind of an asshat and tries to dismember you then put you back together. That chair is probably Niklas, he can cook pretty well."
"An asshat, you say?"
"He seems quite intent on coming over here to greet us, though."
In moments, Mark is right next to Kevin, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Hey, I'm just having some fun! It's not because you can't talk that I can't talk with these people!"
Not listening to this crap, Mark tries to pull the drunken jester away from what to him must be absolutely charming company. However, he finds the jester to be peculiarly immovable - no effort of strength seems to have any effect on his location, strangely enough.
"Excuse me, good sir, but did you not hear the man? He clearly wishes to stay here, no?"
"Unless you really do have to go, Kevin. Do you have any urgent business, perhaps?"
Niklas, for his part, acts as civilized as you can expect him to in the situation.
"*rabid growling*"
[Opposed strength: Niklas vs. Mark: 5 vs. 3]
He then extricates himself from Mark's grip and seeks non-flying chairs to use and abuse in the name of revenge. Luckily, there's one right in front of him - he grabs hold of it. At that same moment, the chair is grabbed hold of by something else - magic!
[Niklas' strength vs. Mage-Hand 2's telekinesis: 6 vs. 4+1]
Though the pull is strong, Niklas is stronger! He growls and nearly barks as he pulls the chair away, going for the exit. The rainbow-robed woman glares at him.
"Do not steal my ammunition, chair," she warns him before getting distracted by another projectile launched by her opponent.
Before marching out, though, Niklas realizes he has no new companions and only one new chair - definitely not a great advantage when dealing with a man possessed of a monomaniacal tendency to destroy chairs. Hm. Perhaps some strategy is required.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund agrees that needle and thread could probably work if he wants to bind together a spellbook. Erin nods and proceeds to magic away.
[Erin's magic roll: 1]
As she waves her hand in an arcane fashion, though, all that materializes with the sound of rushing air is some manner of metallic sea urchin, or at least that's what it looks like to Sigmund.
"Uh... what? How'd that happen?"
In the waters below the Second Shank...
Scott, figuring his chances are pretty good against a lobster that size, tries to restrain the lobster.
[Grapple: Scott vs. Lobster: 6 vs. 6+1-1]
It almost works as he dives at the thing, but the carapace of the creature proves too slippery to get a grip on, and the lobster slips out of his grasp, swimming away at first, then beginning to circle Scott at a rather significant distance. This gives Scott the distinct impression that his new predator-prey relationship may have been... slightly redefined, a perception that is aided by the short look he got at the lobster's claws - they looked pretty dang dangerous, honestly.
In artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren, though disturbed by the way everybody around here except some nice hand-creatures is completely insane, continues to play out his routine.
"Yes, I know. It would be quite a future, this bolt-bunny and I. However, I simply have no money. No job, no home, and no way to care for such a precious creature. As much as it hurts me, I cannot purchase it in good conscience while there are so many more stable and prosperous owners for the little darling."
The lady doesn't really take it well.
"No! There are no other owners! There is nobody else! You must buy one!" she says, the tone of her voice rising. In her multitude of eyes Darren can actually spot some tears.
Uh, well... maybe he could get one, really. There couldn't be that much harm in it, right?
"... okay then, I suppose I will get one, then."
The pet shop woman, extending her hand with a grim expression, makes a familiar request.
"500 quicksilvers, please," she says with a distinct undertone of desperation.
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2014, 08:06:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 08:50:23 am
"Eh, the master wants to leave soon, but besides that I don't have much to do."
"Oh, he does? Is he a forgiving sort? Wouldn't want to spoil your working relationship, really. That'd just make your unlife unduly difficult."
Post by: Tomcost on January 05, 2014, 09:21:30 am
Go to the cargo hold. Grab a lot of sheet of papers. Concentrate to do a massive focus creation.
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2014, 10:05:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 10:16:49 am
"Eh, he can wait. Where were we?"
"We were talking about where you were going, and you mentioned Horizon Isle. It's a very interesting place, I hear. Difficult to reach, however. Does your master know what he's doing?"
"Because very few do, really. Most that know what they're doing stay well away from the Sea of Death."
"Then again, he is some kind of... divine accountant, you said? What does that mean, anyway?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 05, 2014, 10:27:46 am
Mark then goes out and decides Niklas wont leave with out that man dead well more resources. Sneak up and attack the Chair hater.
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2014, 11:48:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 12:15:14 pm
"No idea. Said he was an accountant from the gods, not much more. Also said weird things, like, not "i have to sleep" but "this body needs to sleep, it's quite an odd sensation". Like it's not his body. Really weird guy."
"Sounds like he's using his body as a host of some kind. Definitely unusual!"
"Perhaps a god-fragment of some kind?"
"Well, we can't really find out from here, can we? But he sure sounds like a singularly unique person. Maybe we should go see him?"
Post by: Tomcost on January 05, 2014, 12:19:40 pm
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2014, 12:20:52 pm
If they agree, Kevin goes back to the ship.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 05, 2014, 12:42:15 pm
"Yeah the body is from a demon summoner who screwed up trying to kill me and he got possessed by the our master"
Post by: Innsmothe on January 05, 2014, 02:27:15 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 05, 2014, 02:53:33 pm
((He's very stubborn about these things.))
Post by: Xanmyral on January 05, 2014, 03:46:24 pm
Morton greeted Art and the Captain, although the butler wasn't particularly sure what the Captain was doing at the moment. Perhaps talking to some of the shyer spirits he's mentioned before? Seeing him also makes the desk realize that should he devise a way to give Justine tea for her to enjoy, the same could be said of the Captain!
"I certainly hope I'm not interrupting anything, good mage Art, but if you don't mind I have a few questions."
If mind is not given, Morton will continue.
"I've got an, admittedly peculiar, idea. I'm wanting to make a tea that second chancers of the more incoporial persuasion can enjoy, but I don't particularly know how such a thing might work. Knowing what a ghostly second chancer can interact with would be as good a start of this quest as any."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 06:31:10 pm
Axe the lobster to dinner!
Didn't you have a hammer? I don't recall you having an axe.
Post by: Tomcost on January 05, 2014, 06:34:10 pm
Yep, he had a hammer.Axe the lobster to dinner!
Didn't you have a hammer? I don't recall you having an axe.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2014, 06:58:21 pm
"I certainly hope I'm not interrupting anything, good mage Art, but if you don't mind I have a few questions."
"Go ahead, Morton. Always got time for you."
"I've got an, admittedly peculiar, idea. I'm wanting to make a tea that second chancers of the more incoporial persuasion can enjoy, but I don't particularly know how such a thing might work. Knowing what a ghostly second chancer can interact with would be as good a start of this quest as any."
"Like with most things, there's several ways I can imagine. Firstly, you can try to enchant your tea after you make it - you haven't got experience in that regard, though, so that'd be pretty complicated. Secondly, you could try to get Erin to make tea out of ectoplasm, but there's several problems with that as well - for one, she won't know what ectoplasm is composed of, exactly, and also she probably won't be good at getting the tea to taste any good - there'd be lots of experimentation involved, and you probably wouldn't be able to involve yourself in any meaningful way, and you're the tea expert here. Thirdly, you could try the time-tested method of turning a man into a spectacular pot of tea, utilizing advanced mentalism techniques to convince him that he really is a pot of tea, then smashing him into little pieces, then bringing back his ghost through necromancy, then figuring out a way to serve him to ghosts, presumably through magical gloves or something. Finally, you could just get a way to induce the sensation of drinking extremely fine tea into a person's mind, like an artifact of some kind, or maybe find out a way to use mentalism yourself. But that might be cheating, according to your interpretation and personal beliefs. Really, there's plenty of things you could try."
Post by: Nunzillor on January 06, 2014, 12:43:41 am
Perhaps even a demon of tea!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 06, 2014, 01:37:31 am
@Spinal: Other forms of payment might work too, perhaps bartering or by performing magic for her?((Thank you for being a genius.))Ah. Of course that didn't work. She's crazy.
Darren backed up a little. Her eyes had seemed charming, in a sense, before. Now, the multitude of eyes and her expressiveness terrified him further. His mind raced in an attempt to find a method to survive. Then it hit him."I don't have 500 quicksilvers on me, but, perhaps we can negotiate another way to pay."
Do a quick little trick. A sleight of hand cantrip.
Though it pained him greatly to even offer revealing the tricks of his trade, the concept of re-dying pained him more, so he went for the survival.
"Are you interested in sleight of hand? I can teach you some tricks, then you can use them to draw attention to your shop."
Post by: Xanmyral on January 06, 2014, 01:41:20 am
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
The desk pondered to himself. Such complications, but he supposes it is to be expected really for such a task. This doesn't deter the butler however.
"What exactly makes something irrefutably enchanted? Does it have to be particularly magical, a sort of measure I suppose, or would any touch of magic do?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 06, 2014, 01:56:01 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 06, 2014, 08:20:38 am
Hammer the invitation home then! :PAxe the lobster to dinner!
Didn't you have a hammer? I don't recall you having an axe.
(I forgot myself -.- :P)
Post by: Yoink on January 06, 2014, 09:03:24 am
In Undefined Space...
"Ooh! Dat smells nice!" Timothy remarks upon the portal. However, a measure of distrust creeps into his mind. Sure, it smells real nice and looks real nice, but how can he be sure that it's not actually a horrible trap executed by horrible people? Clearly, he needs counsel.
After straining his mind for a couple of moments and finding telepathy a terribly elusive prospect, he turns to his people skills instead, looking Og and the mask-thing over cautiously. He supposes they seem okay. Not very evil at all. So he supposes he can trust them. And the portal does smell nice. Nothing to it, then! Into the portal he goes, diving headfirst into fresh, new adventure. There is a moment where he feels turned inside-out, but it quickly subsides as he looks around. This place looks like a sort of idealized version of the mortal world - a sort of small, idyllic village, except it feels more... saturated. The colors are brighter, the smells are nicer, the sun itself seems to shine at him more pleasantly, and the birds chirp wonderfully enough that an inattentive enough listener might in fact confuse the noise for actual music. It reminds Timothy of something, but he can't quite pinpoint what that might be.
This is mostly because, before he can process the whole thing fully, a creature appears next to him suddenly and without warning - a rather androgynous thing, tall and dressed impeccably, with golden hair and a bright smile. It looks at him joyfully, and suddenly Timothy is surrounded by a crowd of beautiful, yet somehow... unusual men and women, who regard him with no small measure of amusement.
"HELLO, MORTAL!" the voice of the creature booms at him. "WELCOME TO THE REALM OF LOVE! I GET THE FEELING THAT YOU AND I WILL BE THE BEST OF... HM. YOU SEEM TO BE CHAINED TO A DEAD MAN, SIR! ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS?" the creature begins, then suddenly takes on a less official tone, looking at Timothy skeptically.
Timothy took in the scene- and these strange people accosting him- slowly, with his ghostly eyes wide with bewilderment. When the being mentioned a "dead man", however, he snapped back to attention with a frown, glancing quickly about himself in alarm.
"Whatcha means? What dead man?! I hopes no-buddy's been deaded 'cause of all dis weirdyness..."
Timothy was feeling quite overwhelmed, as was evident from his expression as he looked back to the speaker. This plane-hopping business had certainly taken it out of him, overall the poor ghost just wanted to go home, as interesting as the place looked. He longed for something familiar, even something small, just to reassure him.
>Ask hurriedly for an explanation of which "dead man" this fellow is talking about.
>If there's no immediate danger I can see, look around and try to see just where and what this weird place is.
Post by: miauw62 on January 06, 2014, 09:50:09 am
Post by: Yoink on January 06, 2014, 09:50:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 06, 2014, 07:16:06 pm
Kevin finds the idea of taking his new friends over to the ship most agreeable.
"Sure, that solves all the problems. We'll just move the party there!"
"Wonderful. Let's move then, shall we?"
"Yes, let's."
Before they can move, though, Mark writes out another message on a nearby wall.
"Yeah the body is from a demon summoner who screwed up trying to kill me and he got possessed by the our master"
The words are not lost on Kevin's two friends.
"Ooh, I've heard of things like that. Never seen convincing proof, though."
"Probably because nobody it's happened to has ever told the tale, so it's easier to assume they were just crazy or whatever."
This makes Kevin remember something.
"Oh, and the guy doesn't like talking about his nature. He said that he was just a necromancer to this demonologist guy. So don't believe him."
"Duly noted!"
"Should we interrupt Marlene and... the other one over there?"
"Meh, let them resolve their differences. I do so hate people who get irritable when they're drunk."
And so Lizzie, Stephen and Kevin all head out for the ship, leaving Marlene and the other one - and Mark and Niklas, by extension - behind. The two remaining undead utilize their time in varied ways - Mark, for his part, sneaks outside and tries to find the chair-hating gentleman who might provide some free parts for him to mess with. However, he is nowhere to be seen - only the mutilated remains of two chairs and a sizable puddle of blood provide evidence that he was even here to begin with. There is a small blood trail, but it quickly ends. Judging by the lack of a corpse, he must have either stopped the bleeding or been lifted up into the heavens somehow - at this point, neither would be entirely surprising.
Niklas, meanwhile, seeks to connect with the chair he's currently holding. Despite his best efforts, though, chair empathy proves elusive, and the noise in the ruined tavern in combination with the failure is starting to make him quite annoyed.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, knowing what he needs now, thanks Erin for trying to help him in his time of need.
"Oh, well I guess that I will figure how to do this on my own. Thanks anyway."
Guess he'll have to do this the uncivilized way. He heads down into the cargo hold, grabbing a whole lot of paper on the way, then sits down to concentrate a moment. The task ahead is going to be quite dire, and he must be ready... sadly, though, he can't really imagine what challenges he might face. So far, his focus creation has gone pretty well. He has no idea what he's in for, to be honest, and that's a little frightening.
Meanwhile, back on deck, something appears on the horizon.
"Is that Kevin?"
"Looks like he isn't in great shape."
"Who are those people with him?"
"They seem... harmless? I guess?"
"Well, that's good."
As the people on deck assess the approaching people, Evelyn flaps her wings and makes her usual hissing sounds, then returns to trying to pick up small objects with her grasping rib-beak. Within a few minutes, the three people step on deck. Lizzie makes an unnecessary throat-clearing sound, then speaks.
"The party has arrived!"
The people on deck are silent a moment.
"Uh... welcome? Who are you?"
"We're friends of Kevin, and we're here to spread good cheer!"
"Or at least greedily get more of it for ourselves, if you don't prove too friendly - don't worry, it happens."
"You're the Artiste, right?"
The Artiste sighs, glancing at Kevin for a moment.
"Yes. That I am."
"Kevin here says you're a pretty amazing necromancer!"
"I suppose?"
"Can you fuse souls?"
"Not sure, really. I've never tried it. Isn't that dangerous? I don't think you're supposed to do that."
"So what?"
"Yeah, come on! From what Kevin said, you're like some kind of soul... master or something!"
The line of conversation appears to be making the Artiste a mite uncomfortable.
In the waters under the Second Shank...
Scott, thinking on his feet as always, dives at the lobster with his hammer.
[Scott's swimming roll: 1-1]
He tumbles through the water like an elephant in a tidal wave, and for a moment isn't really sure where he is or what exactly is happening to him at the moment.
[Lobster's charge roll: 6+1]
[Lobster vs. Scott: 3+1+3 vs. 4-1-1-1]
Then, however, he realizes what just happened - a lobster just went by. He had two claws to show him. They were really, really sharp. And now he's in three pieces - neatly severed head, neatly severed pelvis and legs, neatly severed torso. That lobster may have been a little dangerous, Scott concludes.
[Scott's will roll: 6]
As his head, the current seat of his soul, it seems, floats down to the bottom of the sea, he briefly wonders how he'll get out of here. He'd be more shocked about just getting diced like that, but right now it really just feels like a logical continuation of what's already happened to him at this point. After a brief moment of fidgeting about, he notices the lobster poke at his torso for a moment and sample a piece of it. He'd never really thought of lobsters as things that eat up until this point, honestly. It doesn't seem particularly interested, and promptly leaves, once again resuming a confused-looking, leisurely swim.
In the den of the Second Shank...
Morton, wondering about what kind of world he is about to step into, asks follow-up questions on magical teamaking.
"Is it perhaps possible for good mage Erin to make me some ectoplasm and I attempt to make tea from that myself? Although I suppose I might need enchanted tools for that, perhaps. Hm..." he ponders. "What exactly makes something irrefutably enchanted? Does it have to be particularly magical, a sort of measure I suppose, or would any touch of magic do?"
"As long as it's magical in some way, it should work - I've never tried it myself. All I know is that ghosts can be sliced to bits with magical weapons - why couldn't they imbibe magical tea as well? I don't think anyone I've heard of has tried it, actually. But it sounds crazy enough to attempt, no?"
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren wonders if this lady'll be open to bartering.
"I don't have 500 quicksilvers on me, but, perhaps we can negotiate another way to pay."
The pet store lady's eyes widen with interest, though she still seems generally distraught. Darren decides to perform a quick trick to cheer her up - his handkerchief trick. While complicated, it is also quite interesting. At least Darren thinks so, anyway.
"Are you interested in sleight of hand? I can teach you some tricks, then you can use them to draw attention to your shop."
The ghost stares at Darren cryptically for a few seconds, blinking irregularly. She then slowly nods.
"That... works. Yes."
She doesn't look fully on board with the idea - rather, the look on her face is one of resignation.
In the Realm of Love...
As Timothy takes in the scene, several questions arise in his mind. But one definitely takes precedence.
"Whatcha means? What dead man?! I hopes no-buddy's been deaded 'cause of all dis weirdyness..."
The creature laughs. Its voice, like most everything here, is strange to Timothy - the voice makes him feel oddly excited, instilling a feeling of longing.
"I WOULDN'T KNOW, MY FRIEND. I JUST KNOW THAT IT ISN'T HEALTHY TO TRAIPSE AROUND LIKE THAT. HERE, LET ME SEVER THAT FOR YOU," the person says, and Timothy suddenly feels much lighter. "THERE WE GO. YOU'RE FREE NOW."
Not ready to give a reply just yet, Timothy looks around. There's no sign of the portal he came in through, and the rest looks like the pastoral backdrop he'd already seen - it looks pretty much like the normal world, but more colorful. Or is that just him being momentarily unaccustomed to the sight of normality?
"SO, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?" the androgynous person, apparently quite the important person, judging by the volume and authority of its voice.
Post by: Xantalos on January 06, 2014, 07:29:02 pm
Shut them up.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 06, 2014, 10:22:19 pm
"I believe it might be easier to simply enchant the tea, but the process is unknown to me. Would you perhaps have some advice, or someone I could turn to to ask such a question? I don't believe it would need to be anything interesting, just simply something to satisfy what I wish."
After a second, the desk remembers the branch. Isn't that enchanted? As well as the magical fire-maker? Although he doesn't have the latter anymore, a pity really.
"Would having something enchanted perhaps help in this endeavor? I happen to have a branch that's enchanted, rather nastily unfortunately, so it isn't one I'd quite like to replicate. Would it help as a reference, perhaps?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 06, 2014, 10:42:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 07, 2014, 03:41:17 am
EVERYONE SHUT UP!
Shut them up.
Who are you addressing?
Post by: Xantalos on January 07, 2014, 03:43:24 am
In the tavern, of course, not across the entire world. Though if you can make that work please do :P))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 07, 2014, 03:44:34 am
Post by: Xantalos on January 07, 2014, 03:53:24 am
Ah, just have me do it anyway. Might as well be crazy alongside the everything else.))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 07, 2014, 04:00:19 am
Using his earlier deduction of the nature of undead*, he will will (awkward) his limbs back to him and knit themselves back to his body.
((*That undead are the magically entrapped will of the late living person, and Scott is a bloody minded as they come.)))
Post by: Yoink on January 07, 2014, 04:07:00 am
"We-ell..." The ghost felt somewhat self-conscious, voicing his woes and troubles in a strange, bright place like this, but he supposed he didn't have much choice- and for all he knew, this strange lot might be able to help him! Surely they'd at least have more idea of how this stuff worked than he, anyhow.
"I's sorta... lost. Magicky stuff's happens, an' now I's not sure where I is, not either where I was, wantsta get back ta home but 'snot really working outs."
He gave a shrug of his intangible shoulders, then raised his eyebrows in a hopeful expression.
"Maybes you can help me? Dat's be real nice, yes."
>Ask the nice interplanar people to help me get home!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 07, 2014, 04:21:58 am
"Uhhh, thanks, me thinks..." Timothy mumbled, more bewilderment in his expression than gratitude, then peered up at the figure as it spoke again.
"We-ell..." The ghost felt somewhat self-conscious, voicing his woes and troubles in a strange, bright place like this, but he supposed he didn't have much choice- and for all he knew, this strange lot might be able to help him! Surely they'd at least have more idea of how this stuff worked than he, anyhow.
"I's sorta... lost. Magicky stuff's happens, an' now I's not sure where I is, not either where I was, wantsta get back ta home but 'snot really working outs."
He gave a shrug of his intangible shoulders, then raised his eyebrows in a hopeful expression.
"Maybes you can help me? Dat's be real nice, yes."
>Ask the nice interplanar people to help me get home!
"AH, SO YOU JUST CAME HERE BY ACCIDENT, THEN? THIS IS THE REALM OF LOVE, AS I MENTIONED ALREADY. I SUPPOSE I COULD SEND YOU BACK TO THE MORTAL REALM IF YOU WISH. THAT IS, UNLESS YOU'D LIKE SOME KIND OF BOON AS WELL. PERHAPS A LOYAL LIFE PARTNER? A VALUABLE ARTIFACT? SOMETHING ELSE? I'D ONLY STAKE A CLAIM ON YOUR SOUL IF YOU CHOOSE SUCH A THING," the strange man explains.
Post by: Tomcost on January 07, 2014, 06:51:09 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 07, 2014, 10:12:32 am
Kevin waves.
"Don't worry, these guys are really friendly! They gave me this cool party ring!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 07, 2014, 11:05:33 am
((I think the Artiste is going to ground me or something.))
Kevin waves.
"Don't worry, these guys are really friendly! They gave me this cool party ring!"
"It's a strange thing to ask, really, but are you drunk, Kevin?"
"We all are! Party rings, you know."
"Want a ring to help you with that as well?" Stephen asks in an innocuous manner.
"No need. I can get perfectly drunk the conventional way, really. I did so yesterday, in fact."
"Good for you! Feeling okay now?"
"I'm good, thank you."
"Because, barring work circumstances, I've found it unquestionably better to be drunk for two days straight than just one."
"Once again, I'm good. Really."
At this moment, the group becomes aware of Erin, who seems to have approached suddenly along with Evelyn.
"I heard something about party rings."
"We've got a bunch."
"Can I have one?"
"Sure!" Stephen says and hands her one of his rings. "Feel free to keep it for as long as you like. I keep a steady supply around. These things can be a mite insensitive, you know, so make sure to turn the dial as far as possible!"
"I've always wondered how these work!" Erin excitedly says and turns the dial almost three-quarters of its entire range. She then stumbles backward, supporting herself against a barrel. Her eyes spontaneously become glazed, and she seems pretty unsteady. "Whoa. Whoa, y'guys. What just happened? Why's the floor... swaying like that?" As she tries to get her bearings, Stephen and Lizzie both start to laugh.
"Hahahah! That never gets old!"
"Look at her, she looks like a first-year student on her first night out!"
"Very funny."
After a moment spent laughing, Lizzie turns back to the Artiste.
"By the way, that's a cool duck you have there," she mentions, pointing at Evelyn.
"She's not actually a duck, to be honest. I think our skeletal doctor got to her."
"That's great!" Lizzie says, turning to Kevin. "So, there a place we can sit? I don't want to slum it on a barrel like the others here that aren't ghosts."
"What's wrong with sitting on a barrel? This guy right here loves it," Stephen says, indicating the Artiste.
"We probably should get chairs out here someday, though."
"It's so undignified, you know. And I like open air settings as much as the next-"
"No, you don't. You don't even breathe!"
"Well, neither do you."
"Correction! I do! I don't have to, but I do! I'll have you know it feels great."
"I suppose you can stay out here, then."
"I'd love to!" Stephen says half-spitefully, half-jokingly. "Right, buddy?" he continues, nudging the Artiste with his elbow. The Artiste sighs again. "We love it on deck. In touch with nature, the sea spray hitting out faces... besides, there's the other reason, you know?" he says. Lizzie just chuckles and nods.
"Yes, of course. Want to go below decks, Kevin? I'd like to see the inside of the ship, you know."
Post by: miauw62 on January 07, 2014, 11:32:02 am
Post by: Yoink on January 07, 2014, 04:42:45 pm
These 'boons' sounded pretty nice, but then again he didn't exactly have much need for a "loyal life partner"- he wasn't quite sure what the thing meant by that, but as a ghost he couldn't really 'do the deed' these days anyway, now could he? He eventually shook his head and managed a small smile(surely a terrifying grimace for anyone with human-like sensibilities.)
"Thankyouse for da offerings, but I's thinking I just wantsta go home. I been losted a while now, dun' know what's maybe happened."
He bobbed his head a few times, looked around, then felt a tinge of guilt for abandoning such a nice place so quickly.
"...Maybe I comes back somedays, yeah? Dis real nice place, yes." He smiled again, somewhat more crookedly than usual.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 07, 2014, 06:31:40 pm
"You're not gonna find any chairs, I think, Niklas took them all. But let's go below-decks, I guess."((They can sit on Niklas because sitting on possesed demonic chairs is !!FUN!!))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 07, 2014, 07:05:36 pm
That was easier than he thought. But, still. The look on her face. He would have to make this up to her. Somehow.
"Alright, so, what do you want to learn?"
Post by: Xanmyral on January 07, 2014, 07:12:04 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on January 07, 2014, 09:42:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2014, 05:39:26 am
Timothy opened his mouth, then closed it, desperately trying to make sense of what the strange being was telling him in his befuddled state.
These 'boons' sounded pretty nice, but then again he didn't exactly have much need for a "loyal life partner"- he wasn't quite sure what the thing meant by that, but as a ghost he couldn't really 'do the deed' these days anyway, now could he? He eventually shook his head and managed a small smile(surely a terrifying grimace for anyone with human-like sensibilities.)
"Thankyouse for da offerings, but I's thinking I just wantsta go home. I been losted a while now, dun' know what's maybe happened."
He bobbed his head a few times, looked around, then felt a tinge of guilt for abandoning such a nice place so quickly.
"...Maybe I comes back somedays, yeah? Dis real nice place, yes." He smiled again, somewhat more crookedly than usual.
The fellow doesn't seem entirely happy about this.
"ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING OTHER THAN TO LEAVE? BECAUSE I REALLY CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT. REALLY. IT'S NO TROUBLE AT ALL - IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE TO HELP. AND YOU'D ONLY NEED TO SIGN OFF YOUR SOUL TO ME - IT'D PASS TO ME AFTER YOU DIE, OF COURSE, NOT BEFORE. YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT AN INCREDIBLE BARGAIN LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW? IT'S WHAT I DO, YOU KNOW. BARGAINS."
Phwew...
That was easier than he thought. But, still. The look on her face. He would have to make this up to her. Somehow.
"Alright, so, what do you want to learn?"
The lady just shrugs.
"Everything you can teach?"
Post by: Yoink on January 08, 2014, 11:01:55 am
"ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING OTHER THAN TO LEAVE? BECAUSE I REALLY CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT. REALLY. IT'S NO TROUBLE AT ALL - IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE TO HELP. AND YOU'D ONLY NEED TO SIGN OFF YOUR SOUL TO ME - IT'D PASS TO ME AFTER YOU DIE, OF COURSE, NOT BEFORE. YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT AN INCREDIBLE BARGAIN LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW? IT'S WHAT I DO, YOU KNOW. BARGAINS."
"Uh, thanks but... I don'ts... is a bit..." Timothy trailed off.
The ghost was terribly conflicted; he really wanted to go home, and he didn't too much like the sound of someone else getting his soul-- didn't he have some problems along those lines already?-- but at the same time he didn't want to offend this person, who seemed pretty nice and was, after all, trying to help him out. He attempted a curious smile and spoke again, somewhat hesitantly.
"Um, we-ell... what sortsa things is you makin' bargains of? I's has a looksy, maybe. Is real nice idea."
He nodded his head a few times, feigning enthusiasm whilst really just wanting a return to normalcy.
>Ask just what the fellow wants to offer in exchange for my soul.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2014, 11:13:09 am
"Uh, thanks but... I don'ts... is a bit..." Timothy trailed off.
The ghost was terribly conflicted; he really wanted to go home, and he didn't too much like the sound of someone else getting his soul-- didn't he have some problems along those lines already?-- but at the same time he didn't want to offend this person, who seemed pretty nice and was, after all, trying to help him out. He attempted a curious smile and spoke again, somewhat hesitantly.
"Um, we-ell... what sortsa things is you makin' bargains of? I's has a looksy, maybe. Is real nice idea."
He nodded his head a few times, feigning enthusiasm whilst really just wanting a return to normalcy.
"GLAD YOU ASKED! MOST COMMONLY, I HELP PEOPLE FIND LOVE, WHETHER BY GRANTING THEM A LOYAL PARTNER, MAKING THEM MORE BEAUTIFUL AND GRACEFUL OR BY MAKING THEIR VOICE THE MOST BEWITCHING THING IN THE WORLD! I CAN ALSO GRANT GREAT INSPIRATIONS, ARTIFACTS OF MANY KINDS AND MORE! ASK FOR SOMETHING, I CAN DO IT! BELIEVE IT!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2014, 01:54:32 pm
Niklas, while looking around the tavern, suddenly gets a powerful urge from an unknown source, an itch at the edge of his mind that direly requires scratching. Abandoning whatever it was that he was doing, he straightens out and lets loose a mighty shout!
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"
It doesn't come out as large-sounding as he had hoped, but it does get the attention of the two telekinetics nearby. Both of them don't seem pleased.
"HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT UP?" the rotund, northern-looking one shouts right back, the resulting pressure wave lifting Niklas off his legs and sending him flying into a wall as the windows of the tavern (and, if Niklas hasn't missed his mark, the windows of several nearby buildings as well). The thin woman applauds.
"Well said. Don't take guff from furniture, my mother always told me."
"Can you believe the gall on that one? Not even a real person, and talking to one's betters like that."
"I'm not entirely sure he's not real, though. I mean, we both heard him."
"Well, we are both equally inebriated."
"So it's like a hallucinatory wavelength, you think?"
"Exactly! I've been working on this theory, you see. How about we discuss it over a nice drink?"
"Sounds agreeable, I suppose."
"Wonderful! I think there's some goods left behind the counter. Let's check it right now!"
The two women then go behind the somewhat ruined barkeep's counter and start rummaging through the rubble for alcoholic substances. Niklas, meanwhile, peels off the wall mostly unharmed. At this point, Mark comes in through the door, grabbing the stunned chair surreptitiously, then leaving the premises post-haste. He arrives back on the ship only minutes later, depositing Niklas on deck. He wonders if now would be a good time to raise his arms in triumph.
"Hey, look who's here! What took you so long? The party's already happening!" the unfamiliar wizard man from the tavern says to him, looking quite smug as he sits next to the Artiste. He doesn't wait for an answer, but merely turns back to the Artiste and starts talking about something else.
"So yes, there's a whole lot of things you can do if you know abjuration - I once had this amazing idea for a wedding. I started by making one whole temple of Narcillicus completely bouncy - you could leap at a wall and you'd bounce around the entire day!"
Kevin, meanwhile, heads below decks with Lizzie, questing for chairs.
"You're not gonna find any chairs, I think, Niklas took them all. But let's go below-decks, I guess."
"Let's go, then. Adventure awaits!"
They both go down the stairs - well, Kevin stumbles and has to crawl the last few bits, but they do get down eventually. From there, they walk down the hall.
"This is a very interesting-looking place. Who did the interiors for it?" Lizzie asks, but before Kevin can answer, they reach the door to the den. "Ooh, that place looks promising! It's even got free chairs. Very sleek-looking ones, too!"
She pulls Kevin inside and seats him in one of the chairs, then sits down next to him. Art and Morton, who are currently located opposite her, don't quite notice her immediately, being engrossed in conversation between themselves.
"I believe it might be easier to simply enchant the tea, but the process is unknown to me. Would you perhaps have some advice, or someone I could turn to to ask such a question? I don't believe it would need to be anything interesting, just simply something to satisfy what I wish. Would having something enchanted perhaps help in this endeavor? I happen to have a branch that's enchanted, rather nastily unfortunately, so it isn't one I'd quite like to replicate. Would it help as a reference, perhaps?"
"I'm not really an expert in enchantments, but I don't think it'd be good to use something cursed as a reference. Maybe-"
"Hello!" Lizzie suddenly interjects, visibly startling Art. "I'm Lizzie, a friend of Kevin's. Who are you people?" she then asks. "Oh, wait! How stupid of me! That one's the desk guy, but the other one's..."
"Art."
"Hm? What?"
"My name's Art."
"Well, hello then, Art! I'm very pleased to meet you. And the desk guy as well, I guess."
"His name's Morton."
"Of course. Pleased to meet you and all that, Morton."
Under the sea...
Scott, having thus far demonstrated willpower that's been nothing short of heroic, tries to apply it for something other than not dying. Like, say, fixing himself up. He concentrates on his limbs and torso.
[Scott's magic roll: 2-2]
Try and fidget as he might, however, the regeneration isn't happening. Scott supposes that magic isn't one of those things you can achieve through willpower alone... at least not in most cases, anyway.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, realizing that there's no way to assess difficulty without experiencing it (or lack thereof) firsthand, so he tries to go ahead with enchanting a sheet of paper anyway.
[Sigmund's focus creation roll: 6]
Easy as pie, honestly. Sigmund thinks he might be getting pretty good at adjusting this particular sort of knot. At least he hasn't died yet or anything. He thinks. Unless reality shifted and he's now the last person on the planet. In an alternate dimension or something.
Not that such a thing could happen, of course.
He thinks so, anyway. He's not really an expert, though.
Post by: Tomcost on January 08, 2014, 02:57:14 pm
Get to the deck. Check is everything is in place
Post by: Innsmothe on January 08, 2014, 03:52:37 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 08, 2014, 06:58:48 pm
>Ask what the being means by 'bewitching', then also ask just who the 'dead man' it mentioned was.
Post by: Xantalos on January 08, 2014, 07:53:00 pm
Run back to the bar and get into another shouting match with that telekinetic.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 08, 2014, 08:25:05 pm
I AM INCREDIBLY INDIGNANT!Stop Him and restrain him till he apologizes or we sail away
Run back to the bar and get into another shouting match with that telekinetic.
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 02:00:07 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 09, 2014, 02:26:37 am
If she does not, try and find one in the outfit somewhere.
In either case, try and teach her the basics. Once she gets those down, move onto misdirection.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 09, 2014, 02:59:06 am
"Always a pleasure to meet a fellow second chancer, and more so a friend of good jester Kevin." Morton greeted the golden skeleton, Lizzie, properly as he gave a desk bow. Hearing Kevin's explanation, the desk continued.
"Yes, we all do have a rather interesting habit of falling into portals. A quite voluntary one, to be precise, but none the less."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 07:02:34 am
"Well, I's already handy-some enuff," Timothy mused, "An' I thinks full up on 'grace' alreadies, too. What's you meanin' with 'bewitching'? Is dat makes me sound like a... a... a witchy-lady?"
"IF YOU WANT, YES! IF YOU WANT, I COULD ALSO MAKE YOUR VOICE EXTREMELY COMPELLING OR SEDUCTIVE, OR MAKE YOUR EYES OR VOICE PETRIFY PEOPLE WHEN YOU WANT THEM TO... FIGURATIVELY OR LITERALLY, PLEASANTLY OR UNPLEASANTLY! I COULD EVEN TEACH YOU A SECRET, MAGICAL LANGUAGE OF THE BODY THAT YOU COULD USE TO ACCOMPLISH ANY NUMBER OF MAGICAL FEATS! YOU NEED BUT ASK!"
Confusing words aside, though, Timothy was a bit distracted- something else was bothering him. He made sure not to interrupt his new friend, but still, he had to ask, "Oh yeah, dat um, dead man you's said I was tied with... who was they?"
"I DIDN'T QUITE CHECK, HONESTLY. HAVE YOU BEEN BOUND TO ANYONE BY YOUR SOUL LATELY? IT'S LIKELY THAT THAT'S WHO THE DEAD MAN IS."
"Always a pleasure to meet a fellow second chancer, and more so a friend of good jester Kevin." Morton greeted the golden skeleton, Lizzie, properly as he gave a desk bow. Hearing Kevin's explanation, the desk continued.
"Yes, yes, yes, of course," Lizzie replies, not really looking at you.
"Art fell through the portal too, he's a guy. And Erin transmuted the ship."
"How fascinating! What sort of portal was it, if I may ask again? I don't recall finding out. And who's Erin again?"
"Yes, we all do have a rather interesting habit of falling into portals. A quite voluntary one, to be precise, but none the less."
"A habit, huh? Whatever you say."
Post by: killerhellhound on January 09, 2014, 07:46:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 09, 2014, 08:41:06 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 09:29:09 am
Who are we waiting on for the turn
Nobody, actually!
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, getting a little shaky on whether he should continue with this. He has no reason to suspect that his focus may suddenly become a huge, lethal mass of compressed paper blades that would tear him into tiny, tiny pieces, but the possibility that it might is a tad too unpleasant to consider. He also has no reason to believe that he may have just crossed dimensions and found himself as the last living creature on an underpopulated simulacrum of the world he formerly inhabited, but he finds it wise to check nonetheless. He runs back up to the deck, only to find... everyone! Erin seems to be resting her back against a barrel and looking rather dazed, Evelyn is currently perched on another barrel and staring out to the sea. The Artiste is sitting next to some loud, very unusual-looking person.
"... and then when I'd caught her and the Narcillican priest, I said 'I do'! It was one of the funnest days of my life. The marriage itself, though, was annulled a couple of weeks later when the mind control wore off, though! Hah! We still talk sometimes, though."
"That's real interesting. I suppose I'll just keep on listening."
"Yeah, it does remind me of this other time when..." he keeps speaking, but Sigmund stops paying attention when he notices Niklas and Mark.
"I AM INCREDIBLY INDIGNANT!" Niklas shouts for some reason, and tries to get away. Mark, his current handler, is greatly displeased by this maneuver.
[Quickness: Niklas vs. Mark: 2 vs. 3+1]
He grabs the chair and lifts him from the ground, preventing the chef's lofty ambitions of petty squabbling with drunken mages. This action on Mark's part is not missed by the Artiste.
"Hold on a second," he says, gesturing at Stephen to stop. He walks over to Niklas and looks at him.
"Niklas, I order you to remain completely motionless until I give you permission to move again!"
At this, Niklas goes completely still, his body refusing to act against orders. The Artiste breathes a sigh of relief and turns to Mark.
"Thanks, Mark. You're one in a billion, really. Put him somewhere harmless if you don't mind."
Under the sea...
Scott is not about to give up so easily on his designs of personal soul-mastery. He wants ghost-limbs at the very least, dammit!
[Scott's will roll: 2-2]
He tries to undo the things keeping his soul in place... and he guesses he succeeds, to a degree. He feels a bit woozy.
[Scott's will roll: 6]
As his soul reasserts itself, however, he finds that this was but a passing event.
In an artifact pet-weapon store...
Darren, honoring his deal, starts to teach the lady how to do fake magic.
"Alright, first, I'm going to teach you the basics of sleight of hand. Just basic stuff like the double-lift. Do you have a deck of cards in here?"
"No."
Luckily, though, Darren is prepared. He draws a deck of cards from his own possessions, which the lady nods at. From that point, he begins to teach her how to do various sleight of hand tricks with the cards as well as more general ones. She takes to the lesson rather nicely, getting a decent grasp on the methods used. She's also pretty deft and quick with her hands, Darren notices - this is probably another reason why she's good at this.
After some time spent getting the basics of that down, Darren moves on to teaching the lady the art of misdirection. This... is a bit more difficult.
"It seems very dishonest to live on lying, no?" she mentions at one point when Darren is explaining. She's getting a little uncooperative, he thinks. And also her nervousness seems to be returning. Whether that's better than being as morose as she has been for the last hour or so, he isn't sure.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 09, 2014, 09:58:02 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 10:13:13 am
"Uh, experimental and demonic, for one. You should talk to Craig about it, he's somewhere around here probably. He's this really cool demonologist guy."
Post by: Yoink on January 09, 2014, 10:25:48 am
He thought of all the times people hadn't listened to him in the past, and all the bad things that had occurred because of it... Having a better voice might help, who knows. He was still a little worried about the whole thing, still wanted to get home-- but hey, a few more minutes talking to this thing could be worth it!
"A fancy voice? Well, I guess is always peoples what not listenin' to me... dat always not good. Magic-stuff sounds pretty fun, too!"
He smiled for a second, then screwed up his face a bit and asked, in a more timid tone, "Uh, but... just what you's want wif my soul? I mean, what's you be usin' it for? Kind of a 'portant question. I thinks."
>Express interest in a Compelling Voice and/or Magic Powers, but ask just what the creature wants with my soul.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 10:49:27 am
((Harry, you messed up your quotes in that mini-turn))
"Uh, experimental and demonic, for one. You should talk to Craig about it, he's somewhere around here probably. He's this really cool demonologist guy."
"Oh, come on, Kevin. I just sat down. Do you really want me to just get up and start running about again? Just because I'm made of metal doesn't mean you can run me ragged, you know? Just tell me about it yourself."
"A fancy voice? Well, I guess is always peoples what not listenin' to me... dat always not good. Magic-stuff sounds pretty fun, too!"
He smiled for a second, then screwed up his face a bit and asked, in a more timid tone, "Uh, but... just what you's want wif my soul? I mean, what's you be usin' it for? Kind of a 'portant question. I thinks."
>Express interest in a Compelling Voice and/or Magic Powers, but ask just what the creature wants with my soul.
"WHAT I WILL DO WITH YOUR SOUL DEPENDS MOSTLY ON WHAT YOU DO WITH IT FIRST, IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING. THERE'S TWO ALTERNATIVES, WHEN YOU REALLY GET DOWN TO IT. YOU SEE, ALL SOULS HAVE A WEALTH OF... POWER IN THEM. THIS ACCUMULATES WITH ADVENTURE, EXPERIENCES, STRONG EMOTIONS, THAT SORT OF THING. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, ANYWAY. SO, SHOULD YOU HAPPEN TO LIVE LONG, PROSPER AND DO GREAT THINGS - AND WITH MY BOON, IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT YOU WILL - I WON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL WITH IT, I'LL JUST..."
The person scratches its chin doubtfully, pausing for a moment.
"... TURN IT IN? NO, THAT SOUNDS WRONG. SUFFICE IT TO SAY I'LL GET GOOD THINGS FOR IT AT ABSOLUTELY NO FUTURE COST TO YOU. LITERALLY. IF YOU DON'T GIVE YOUR SOUL TO ME, IT GOES TO THE GODS INSTEAD AND THEY'LL DO MOSTLY THE SAME THING. SO BY SIGNING YOUR SOUL OVER TO ME, YOU LOSE NOTHING, PRETTY MUCH, AND GAIN A WHOLE LOT. IT'S SORT OF LIKE A REWARD FOR FINDING ME AND NOT BEING A TWIT, BASICALLY."
The demon then raises one finger.
"HOWEVER! IF YOU DO NOT HAPPEN TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH FOR THE INVESTMENT TO ACTUALLY PAY OFF, YOU MAY GET USED AS A DEMONIC MINION FOR A WHILE. KIND OF LIKE THESE FINE MEN AND WOMEN GROUPED AROUND YOU," it says, indicating all the people surrounding you. All of them seem supernaturally beautiful to you, and they all smile at you brightly when their eyes meet yours. "IT'S NOT FOREVER, OF COURSE. JUST LONG ENOUGH TO FILL YOU WITH A VARIETY OF IMPRESSIONS SPREAD OVER A LONG TIME - SADLY, IT TAKES A MITE LONGER TO DO IT HERE THAN TO DO IT ON YOUR OWN. SO BOTH YOU AND I WILL LOSE SOME TIME THAT WAY. BUT IF WE COOPERATE, AND YOU SUCCESSFULLY FIND INTERESTING THINGS TO DO AND ACHIEVE OVER A LONG TIME PERIOD, WE BOTH WIN, SO TO SPEAK! ISN'T THAT GREAT?"
And a very special turn for Innsmothe, the missing link!
Under the sea...
Scott, having met only failure so far, takes a different approach - he thinks first! He wonders how one is to manipulate the body from the soul... theoretically, what he is lies in the soul. He can control his mind, and apparently, as Art told him, the mind shapes the soul and vice versa, depending on circumstances. As he knows, if he believes hard enough, he can regain sight miraculously. But what else can he regain?
He thinks of Justine momentarily. How did she become a ghost? She died, and her body was nowhere near where she was raised. How did the Artiste do it? Presumably it involved pulling her soul out of the aether or wherever it is souls go when the bodies that hold them are damaged beyond the point where the soul is held in place. And when she was called, she appeared with a body. A spectral body, but a body nevertheless. Where did it come from? Her mind? Some form of magic? Her soul? If it's the first or last, Scott may be able to do something similar... but that would probably require doing something drastic. Removing his soul from his body, maybe? That would be like willingly dying, in a way. He gets the feeling that's not generally something that's safe to do.
Then again, he might not have many alternatives.
Post by: Tomcost on January 09, 2014, 10:57:51 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 11:16:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 11:19:50 am
"It was really... colorful. And there was this beige streak that can transform you..."
"Really? A beige streak? Where does the demon come in, then?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 11:25:17 am
Post by: Yoink on January 09, 2014, 11:26:50 am
Timothy decided, all at once, to trust this odd figure. Hesitation was getting boring, after all, and he had things to do!
"Ehhh... alright, den!" He looked around the little group, his face split in a ghastly grin.
"Sign me up! I wants fancy voice with magic an' things, an' then I's go home to help Hansel."
>Happily sign away my soul in exchange for a FANCY VOICE and UNTOLD POWER.
And hopefully a ticket home, too.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 11:30:18 am
"It sort of was the demon. The demonologist called it the Aspect of Appeal"
"Ooh, how alliterative. Never heard of it, though. And I know a whole lot of demons, trust me."
These people certainly didn't look too unhappy, for "demonic minions". Good enough.
Timothy decided, all at once, to trust this odd figure. Hesitation was getting boring, after all, and he had things to do!
"Ehhh... alright, den!" He looked around the little group, his face split in a ghastly grin.
"Sign me up! I wants fancy voice with magic an' things, an' then I's go home to help Hansel."
>Happily sign away my soul in exchange for a FANCY VOICE and UNTOLD POWER.
And hopefully a ticket home, too.
The demon is obviously delighted.
"OKAY! GREAT! SO, YOU WANT A MODIFICATION OF YOUR VOICE - WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT IT TO DO? COMPEL PEOPLE? SEDUCE THEM? SOMETHING ELSE? OR WILL YOU LEAVE IT UP TO ME TO DECIDE? AND WHAT KIND OF MAGIC DO YOU WANT? THE BODY LANGUAGE THING, OR SOMETHING ELSE?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 11:45:42 am
Post by: Yoink on January 09, 2014, 11:45:58 am
He was already regretting agreeing to this. So many big words... couldn't anyone just keep things simple in this weird place?!
"I just wants people ta agrees with me. When 'sportant, you knows? An' I isn't knows nuffing about magics. Just gives the house special or somethin'." He thought for a moment, frowning, then his eyes lit up and he added, "Wait! I gots it-- gimme somethin' what good for helping peoples! Yeah, Helping-People-Magic!"
He grinned as he said it, nodding his head a few times. That sounded great! Timothy liked helping people!
>Ask for a compelling voice and Helping-People-Magic. Healing, maybe?
Post by: Xantalos on January 09, 2014, 11:54:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 02:34:15 pm
"Well, he said it was new research... Craig, that is."
"What was the demon like? Interesting? What did it ask for in return for the transformation?"
"Uhhh..." Timothy's eyes glazed over as he was bombarded with questions.
He was already regretting agreeing to this. So many big words... couldn't anyone just keep things simple in this weird place?!
"I just wants people ta agrees with me. When 'sportant, you knows? An' I isn't knows nuffing about magics. Just gives the house special or somethin'." He thought for a moment, frowning, then his eyes lit up and he added, "Wait! I gots it-- gimme somethin' what good for helping peoples! Yeah, Helping-People-Magic!"
He grinned as he said it, nodding his head a few times. That sounded great! Timothy liked helping people!
>Ask for a compelling voice and Helping-People-Magic. Healing, maybe?
"HMM... HMM! SO, COMPELLING VOICE. GOT IT. AS FOR YOUR SECOND REQUEST, I'LL AGREE TO GIVE YOU ONE OF TWO THINGS - ONE IS THE POWER TO GRANT SOMEONE WHAT THEY MOST REQUIRE AT THE MOMENT, THE OTHER IS THE POWER TO GRANT... LIMITED WISHES! EACH OF THOSE WOULD BE OF GREAT HELP TO CERTAIN PEOPLE, BUT I WOULDN'T LIKE TO GIVE YOU BOTH. IT WOULD BE UNSPORTING."
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 02:35:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 02:36:51 pm
"It thought I was a kitten, but didn't say much else. It didn't ask for anything, actually. I guess it just likes making people look good."
"Sounds suspiciously altruistic for a demon. You sure it didn't take anything?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 09, 2014, 02:48:34 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on January 09, 2014, 05:09:35 pm
((By the way Harry, if this doesn't work and Scott dies, I want to say this has been fun. It;s been one of my main distractions for a while and you have been an excellent host and I could never thank you enough, given all the time in the universe.)
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 09, 2014, 05:36:10 pm
"Not that I know."
"What a strange creature. How many have gone through the portal? What happened to them?"
And another turn for Innsmothe. Let's get this show on the road.
Under the sea...
Scott, not feeling like going the full possible distance, tries a half-measure. A compromise. He shall be like the hermit crab, extending a new ectoplasmic body from his head!
[Scott's will roll: 2-1]
Midway through the process, something in Scott's mind tells him it couldn't and shouldn't work this way - but he wants to try anyway. He pushes mentally at his life, loosening it once again. And then the feeling returns.
[Scott's will roll: 2]
This time, his soul does begin to slip away! Question is, has he gone past the point of no return? Does he face a choice of being a ghost or being stone-dead, or is there another alternative?
Post by: Xanmyral on January 09, 2014, 08:10:08 pm
Still though, seeing as Kevin and his friend seem to be enthralled in their own conversation, Morton will attempt to continue the one he was carrying before with Art. Albeit at a quieter tone so as to not interrupt the others in the room.
"As you were saying, good mage Art?"
Post by: Yoink on January 09, 2014, 08:35:08 pm
((No time for da dialoguesies just now, sorry))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 09, 2014, 10:03:09 pm
((Everyone list your ideas for what perks you might get
Mark: polearm skill +1
monster maker ; bonus when fighting monsters as you are a bit crazy about using there parts
Morton : tea maker: can make tea that gives a bonus
Desk mimic; can pretend to be a desk and quickly kill anyone who looks through you
Post by: Xanmyral on January 09, 2014, 10:30:59 pm
One I can give a good guess on is some Tea Apostle skill. 'Course, this assumes he survives to the end of the chapter, you can't talk your way out of deep sea monster attacks. At least, not that I can figure for now. I may think of something later.
Maybe consult a demon for the gift of gab...]
Post by: Xantalos on January 10, 2014, 12:55:16 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 10, 2014, 01:57:46 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 10, 2014, 02:58:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2014, 04:35:14 am
Sigmund, guessing that reality has not crumbled yet, slinks back to the cargo hold, sits down and attempts to psych himself up for some serious focus creation. This time, he thinks he will take this a bit more seriously - he's had good luck with focus creation so far, but he can't let it go to his head. If something goes wrong, he has to be ready to prevent horrible things from happening at all costs. He doesn't know what might happen if he drops the ball big time, and he's pretty sure he wouldn't like to personally find out just yet. The fear fills him in a motivating way, like the way a master of dubious moral integrity tries to inspire his minions of equally dubious loyalty.
Back on deck, meanwhile, Niklas begins to practice his war chanting, being quite idle at the moment.
[Niklas' practice roll: 5]
Despite having a somewhat different vocal apparatus, Niklas finds that he can, in fact, perform the treasured Northerner tradition of the war throat-chant, designed to strike fear into the hearts of man, beast and Northern food alike and build strong relationships between fellow warriors. It gives the deck a very nice ambience. Niklas also finds that he can masterfully impersonate the Northern didgeridoo, an absolute requirement for a proper Northern war chant, even as he sings the main parts. He's like a one-man Northern musical warband in that respect. All in all, he discovers a ton of useful information.
"Wow, dad! I didn't know you could do that! Can you teach me?"
Mark, paying no mind to Niklas' performance, is about to head off down to take inventory of the ship's corpses, but the Artiste stops him on the way.
"Put Niklas down somewhere here, okay? I... kind of like how he's singing."
"Exotic fellow, that chair of yours!"
Seeing no reason not to do such a thing, Mark puts Niklas down according to his master's wishes and walks to the cargo hold, where he finds Sigmund in the middle of something undisclosed, yet probably quite intense. There seem to be... one, two, three - yes, three corpses still available, plus a pile of organs left over from a fourth guy. Mark makes sure to gather them all together, then looks for some kind of pickling solution to keep them in a state of reasonable integrity. Fortunately, he finds a whole barrel filled with salted meat - very old salted meat at that. He gets rid of the choice cuts of ancient pork and sticks the corpses in there instead - at least they won't stink up the place anymore. It took two barrels and a whole lot of cutting up corpses to pack all this stuff, but Mark dares say he's done an admirable job of it. Now he's got two whole barrels of reasonably preserved, mostly intact body parts! Hooray!
In the den of the Second Shank...
Morton is determined not to be offended by the most impolite way he had just been treated, and resumes his conversation with Art.
"As you were saying, good mage Art?" he asks in a quiet tone, and Art responds in much the same way.
"I... what was I saying? I remember thinking that you could ask Evelyn, but she's a bit indisposed... I guess she could write out some advice for you, maybe? She's the metamagic person around here, she's got a better grasp on theory than I do. I think she might know how to use an enchanted object as a template. If I remember it right, she did take a whole bunch of enchanting classes back at uni - she had to, 'cause pure metamagic classes were quite few in number."
Kevin, meanwhile, carries on a conversation of his own on the other side of the room.
"I dunno. Quite a few, go ask them."
"Ah. I get the feeling I'm boring you, Kevin," Lizzie says, tapping her fingers against her lower jaw. The process, Kevin notes, makes no sound at all, despite it being the tapping of metal against metal. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
In the Realm of Love...
Timothy knows that Helping-People-Magic is best when you can give people help without them asking for it first, and thus chooses the first option. His demonic benefactor claps its hands together.
"GREAT! NOW STAND STILL FOR A SECOND."
Not a problem for Timothy, obviously. The demon raises its hands dramatically.
"SHALAKAZAM!"
And with that single word, Timothy is filled with what feels like incredible cosmic power - so it's nothing unexpected, really. Timothy suddenly feels like he's no less than twice as powerful than before! Rather appropriately, the demonic minions around him all emit a simultaneous, harmonious 'ooh!', and the realm itself brightens for a moment before returning to normal.
"THERE WE GO. YOU ARE NOW DEMON-BLESSED! ENJOY YOUR VASTLY IMPROVED... UNLIFE, I SUPPOSE. SO, WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO DROP YOU OFF? THE MORTAL WORLD, RIGHT?"
Under the sea...
Scott, quite sure he doesn't want to die just yet, tries to backpedal into his head once again. He focuses his will, trying to stabilize himself.
[Scott's will support roll: 6]
[Scott's will roll: 1-1+2]
Unfortunately, though, he is definitely slipping out of his body rapidly. He realizes that now, unless he gets extremely lucky, he is likely to die if he doesn't think of something quickly. Going full-on ghost is starting to look more and more viable, actually. Preferable to dying, at any rate.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 10, 2014, 06:52:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 10, 2014, 07:30:10 am
((Oh, well, it was a pleasure to have you with us here, Innsmothe. We will miss Scott, well, we will miss the fun created by his conflicts))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 10, 2014, 09:30:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2014, 10:47:29 am
Mark, having gotten into the proper shipping spirit, tries to take an inventory of all the stuff and people on the ship. After spending about half an hour walking to and fro, opening barrels, examining people and opening crates, he finds out several things - firstly, a lot of barrels and contain useless crap, and they would require Mark to dig through them all to locate what might be in them. He also finds a barrel of sludge, one and a half barrels of absolutely horrible pseudo-ale (or perhaps wine - it is difficult to tell, and his tree nearly wilts from the aroma), several barrels of near-fossilized apples and lemons, a lot of rope secreted away in the strangest places, a whole bunch of bowls, jars, buckets tankards and more (also put in the darnedest of hiding spots), various foods in the kitchen along with a container of dry ice, a large supply of paper and writing supplies, a crate of spare sailcloth and a few other odds and ends. Oh, and a high quality mop and bucket in the kitchen. Plus the three corpses plus extra organs pickled in two barrels.
As for people, they seem to have everyone - the Artiste, himself, Evelyn, Erin, Art, Justine, Morton, Niklas, Kevin, Sigmund, Tailor Craig, the Captain... Scott's missing. Gods damn it all to hell, how many people will he have to pull back here? Oh, and they also have two guests, Chatty Golden Skeleton Lady and Equally Chatty Painted Dude.
Sigmund, unaware of Mark's highly productive exploits, continues his mass focus creation.
[Sigmund's focus creation rolls: 3+1, 6-1, 2+1, 4+1, 2+1, 6-1, 2+1, 2+1, 5, 5]
He gets ten pages of... varying quality. He would say that five of them came out nicely, one was merely okay, but four others are pretty weak. No immense catastrophes happened, though, so that's good! This is quite tiring, though.
In the deep, spooky depths of the Sea of Pleasant Winds...
Scott, knowing he has but one chance at this, tries to ghostify himself - his knowledge, while hardly complete, should be enough... he hopes.
[Scott's ghostification roll: 6]
As his soul peels out of his head, Scott lets go for a moment, his soul slipping out of his mortal remains and, for a split second, beginning to fly off into the afterlife. Scott is ready, however, and, in a single, mighty effort, asserts his powerful need to be here, in this very spot. Fortunately enough, his soul immediately responds, suddenly becoming very, very still. There it hangs for a bit, Scott wondering if this is it. Did he mess something up? Can he fix it?
Then, in a moment that feels like a longer wait than it really was, it starts. The area around Scott's soul becomes foggy and thick suddenly, forming a sphere of what looks like a milky, blue-greenish fluid. It swirls and moves all around for a bit, reminding Scott of mushroom soup more than a little bit - he supposes it has less bits in it, though, so the similarity is imperfect.
However, before he can consider this further, the fog suddenly implodes on itself, congealing around Scott's soul with great rapidity and not an insignificant amount of light emission. Blinding, painful light emission. For a good minute or so, Scott is in the middle of a dense swirl of what he realizes must be ectoplasm. And with this realization, the swirl stops, assuming a definite shape over the span of a second. And then, just as abruptly as it happened, it is over. Scott can only see the sea around him, rather quiet now. When he looks down, he can also spot a whole bunch of body parts that he knows are his own lying around - including his former place of residence, his fleshy, traumatized head that still manages to look devilishly handsome despite having been vacated of its inimitable occupant.
As he looks down, however, he realizes another thing. Though he is now a ghost, he still seems to have no body. Combined with the fact that Scott can still see his own nose, this leads him to strongly suspect that he is still just a disembodied head, albeit a spectral, floating one. He'd have to get confirmation on that, though. And after that, he could certainly use spectral flames enveloping his head. That is definitely second on the great checklist.
Post by: miauw62 on January 10, 2014, 11:25:43 am
"You're not boring me, I just don't really know much. I think Morton and Siggy talked to the tailor a lot, though. I just came around and he offered me a trip through the portal... It's certainly better than being a skeleton. Not being able to talk sucks, you know."
Post by: Tomcost on January 10, 2014, 11:28:13 am
Well, that was a good job, Sigmund thought. Maybe not the best ones, but it should have to suffice.
Write in the good foci (one phrase in each paper):
Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of.
Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of.
Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of.
Repel air from the point the user is thinking of.
Concentrate air in front of the user's right index finger, then blast is away in the direction the finger is pointing at.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 10, 2014, 11:29:29 am
((So, do we have any PCs currently in the party that HAVEN'T undergone some sort of transformation left?))((Well I made it my mission to make monsters out of my teammates so no no one is left unchanged))
Post by: Tomcost on January 10, 2014, 11:31:28 am
((Well, maybe you were right, Mark is the most successful character so far))((So, do we have any PCs currently in the party that HAVEN'T undergone some sort of transformation left?))((Well I made it my mission to make monsters out of my teammates so no no one is left unchanged))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 10, 2014, 11:55:52 am
Post by: Xantalos on January 10, 2014, 12:05:50 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 10, 2014, 12:12:21 pm
((I am the first character to break the railroads I think :P))((Which railroads? If Harry railroaded this we would be in the Realm of Dreams by this time))
Post by: miauw62 on January 10, 2014, 12:14:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2014, 12:15:25 pm
((So, do we have any PCs currently in the party that HAVEN'T undergone some sort of transformation left?))
"You're not boring me, I just don't really know much. I think Morton and Siggy talked to the tailor a lot, though. I just came around and he offered me a trip through the portal... It's certainly better than being a skeleton. Not being able to talk sucks, you know."
"I would definitely agree, and I do know how that feels. Can you believe I was unable to talk for more than 20 years? Seems ridiculous how simple it was to actually solve that problem, in retrospect."
((I am the first character to break the railroads I think :P))
Pretty much everything that's happened so far has been a result of things going off the beaten path in a big way. Chapters 1 and 2, you could argue those went reasonably according to the basic plan, if only because of Jordan. The rest... not so much.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 10, 2014, 12:31:42 pm
Pretty much everything that's happened so far has been a result of things going off the beaten path in a big way. Chapters 1 and 2, you could argue those went reasonably according to the basic plan, if only because of Jordan. The rest... not so much.((And that is one of the reasons you are an Insanely awesome GM you make a crazy world for us to run around in and discribe just how crazy what we see is.))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 10, 2014, 05:23:27 pm
((Well, Scott is really lucky, I thought that he wouldn't be able to roll that six.))I knew, no one that stubborn is wanted in the netherworlds.
Scott will buzz up and try to scare his master after his new awesome metamorphosis, but in a way that cannot be misconstrued as hostile.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 11, 2014, 01:34:19 am
A step towards the completion of his quest, and a step towards being able to serve tea to any and everything! A small, admittedly, but still. However, there were still other matters at hand, and having garnered a satisfactory answer Morton changed subjects.
"Thank you, I'll certainly ask. Before I do however, I have another, quite unrelated, question. A while back, when you helped me evade that strange man by means of acting, you mentioned it felt good getting back in character. No offense meant, but you didn't quite strike me as the type to take interest in such an interesting field. I must admit myself being a fan of such myself, back during my first chance at life. Were you formally taught perhaps?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2014, 07:02:10 am
Sigmund, after successfully sorting out the focus failures and removing them from his sight, goes about the writing of spells into the good ones. 'Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of.' he writes on the first one... and the ink evaporates. Damn it. He puts the piece of uncooperative paper away. Okay, next one. He quickly writes the sentence 'Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of.' on the next focus.
The focus responds by suddenly catching on fire and promptly disintegrating in Sigmund's hands. This is also quite distressing. He takes the next focus, hoping that it'll like 'Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of.' better. And it does, taking to the paper wonderfully. Feeling like his luck is turning around, he writes 'Repel air from the point the user is thinking of.', which also seems to take nicely at first, but then Sigmund notices something unusual - the letters seem to shift a little, and the spell changes into 'Repel air from the point some guy thought of.', though how significant the change is, he doesn't know. Okay, last one. He writes 'Concentrate air in front of the user's right index finger, then blast is away in the direction the finger is pointing at.' on another focus, and is quite disappointed when that disintegrates as well.
Yeah, it's probably a better idea to write the spells on foci beforehand, he thinks. That's two (with certain leniency, mind you) usable foci out of 5 successes of an initial 10 sheets of paper. Definitely not the most efficient process.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Niklas, petitioned by his son to teach the art of the war throat-chant, does so happily.
[Niklas pedagogy roll: 2]
Torkel, however, isn't the best student. He doesn't have the lungs for it, clearly. Or the ability to create polyphonic vocal-instrumental music all by himself. As a result, they do not get very far in practice. Torkel, though he means well, does not have much in the way of talent, Niklas thinks. Now he wonders how best to break the news to the poor kid.
Just then, though, the spooky disembodied head of Scott pops up from the deck. My, he's changed a lot since the last time Niklas saw him.
"Yee-hehee-hehee-hehee!" he giggles shrilly and girlishly, hoping to mildly, but not overly frighten his master. He succeeds in drawing a look from the guy, as well as his new companion. And Justine and Evelyn as well. Even Erin looks his way, though she's drunk enough that she doesn't quite process what exactly she's seeing.
"The hell is that?"
"Scott. He seems to be a ghost now."
"Khrktss."
"That's Scott? Really? It looks like... something's missing... can't really put my finger on it..."
"Perhaps the fact that he's a disembodied head."
"Oh. Yeah... that's true."
"You all seem to be forgetting an important fact."
"What's that?"
"Scott's back! You know what that means?"
"A party to celebrate his partial return?"
"No. No, no, no. No. It means that we can get moving! WE CAN GET MOVING! AT LAST!"
"Maybe you-"
"No! No distractions! Nobody move, I'm off to find the Captain!"
With that, the Artiste, looking altogether too excited for his own good, runs down the stairs leading below decks. The guest-person is the first to break the silence after he leaves.
"He seems a bit intense, doesn't he?"
In the den of the Second Shank...
Morton is edging closer to his glorious destiny with every passing moment, the ability to become a true master of tea.
"Thank you, I'll certainly ask. Before I do however, I have another, quite unrelated, question. A while back, when you helped me evade that strange man by means of acting, you mentioned it felt good getting back in character. No offense meant, but you didn't quite strike me as the type to take interest in such an interesting field. I must admit myself being a fan of such myself, back during my first chance at life. Were you formally taught perhaps?"
"Heh, no. It's from when I was an exorcist. My favorite part of the job was hamming it up. Mostly when people call for an exorcist, they don't really need one, and that's when you need to get creative with your routine. You can have all the necromantic credentials you need, but most important is that you look important, act dramatic and mystical and come up with good-sounding reasons for every silly thing you do. Too bad I only started doing amateur theater on my last year in uni - now that was real fun. I frequently got to do female roles, actually. We even had a production where all the male characters were played by women and the female roles went to men. Ah, the memories."
For a moment, Art looks quite wistful, but this moment is interrupted by the Artiste sprinting through the door suddenly, looking highly tense.
"Where's the Captain?"
"Why, RIGHT HERE!" comes the Captain's voice from the far wall. "Do you REQUIRE ANYTHING?"
"That's the Captain?" Lizzie asks, but the Artiste ignores her.
"Captain, everyone's present. Let's get moving. Right now. Before everyone gets lost again."
"Ah, SPLENDID! There IS a LITTLE PROBLEM, though."
The Artiste sighs.
"Yes. Of course. What is it?"
"ALL MY CREW'S GONE! They DON'T like the SHIP'S NEW LAYOUT. Or the WAY I LOOK NOW!"
"Can't the ship move without them?"
"Well, I SUPPOSE I COULD move it MYSELF, but it WOULD BE DIFFICULT!"
Suddenly, Lizzie pipes up again.
"Is your crew made up of ghosts?"
The Captain, not having noticed Lizzie beforehand, bows gracefully to her.
"YES, MILADY! Though THEY prefer the term RESTLESS SPIRITS! Or PREFERRED, at any rate! Now they've MUTINIED and GONE WHEREVER! And I FOUND THIS OUT FROM MY THIRD NAVIGATOR! He wasn't EVEN ON THE SHIP when WE ALL DIED!"
"If you want, I suppose I could lend you some of my own captured souls."
"You have captured souls?"
"Thousands, actually. And I'm getting more by the day. You don't need more than fifty, right?"
"... can you spare that many?"
"I'd hardly even notice the drain! I have too many as it is, anyway!" Lizzie says with a dismissive gesture.
"It would BE MOST KIND OF YOU, milady! How COULD WE POSSIBLY RETURN the FAVOR?"
Lizzie just laughs, glancing at Kevin.
"I will think of something, don't you worry. Do you want them right now?"
"WELL-"
"Yes, that would be preferable, thank you."
Lizzie shrugs, lifting her skeletal hand up. A soft hum fills the room, along with what sound like low, lilting whispers. The walls light up in places, then the glow subsides.
"There, that was... a bit less that sixty, actually. A bit more than intended, but some people just don't want to be separated, I guess. Silly families."
She then points her raised hand at the Captain.
"Now THAT is a STRANGE FEELING!"
"Eh, just a specific binding. Now, if your new crew disobeys you, they will experience... unpleasant sensations, shall we say. They are yours to command, at any rate."
"AH, I SEE! NEW METHODS, eh?"
"Not really. That one's pretty basic, honestly. Anyhow, you're welcome."
"OF COURSE! THANK YOU! Your KINDNESS is only exceeded by your GENEROSITY!"
"Thank you kindly. Now, Captain, can we move out?"
"... YES? Let me TRY SOMETHING."
The Captain clears his throat, then speaks in a commanding chorus of voices.
"CREW! PUT THE SHIP IN MOTION OUT TO SEA!"
The ship begins to sway to and fro oddly, moving in a certain direction.
"Uh... THAT'S THE WRONG WAY! CREW! REPORT TO ME ON DECK!" the Captain shouts, then begins to ascend through the ceiling. He's gone in a second. However, suddenly his head pops back in.
"Just a MOMENT, I will NEED TO FAMILIARIZE the crew with HOW WE DO THINGS HERE!"
"Well, as long as things are going somewhere. You have no idea how bored I am right now."
"Of COURSE! And THANK YOU AGAIN, milady!"
"You're very welcome again, sir," Lizzy replies, waving to the Captain as he disappears. She then turns to Kevin. "So, where were we?"
The Artiste, meanwhile, steps over to a vacant chair and almost literally sinks into it, exhaling more air in a single sigh than anybody who looked his way thought possible.
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2014, 07:18:50 am
"Captured souls, eh? What kind of politics are you in, actually?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2014, 07:36:19 am
((THERE IS NO WAY THIS COULD GO WRONG))
"Captured souls, eh? What kind of politics are you in, actually?"
"Regional politics! The best kind, really. Ever hear of the Black Circle of Magic? Silliest-named magical consortium in the Greater South? I run with them, just so you know. I'm pretty important there, actually."
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2014, 07:39:44 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2014, 07:57:00 am
"Oh, I see. I've heard about them. Didn't they have that contest thingie lately?"
"Yeah, they did. One of the Great Masters... ugh, hate that name... one of them died. He was primarily a transmuter, not to mention hideously old and reclusive, so it was to be expected, really. They seem really powerful, what with their command over matter and so forth, but ultimately a lot of them lack the long-term survivability of, say, a lifemage or, of course, a necromancer. Heh. Don't get me started on the contest, though. That was just plain hilarious. Did you know that a talking dog won? Granted, he did have help, but still. A talking dog. Can't speak a sentence of more than two words, apparently. He's even called Master Dog, for gods' sakes. But I guess he's good with artifacts, though. And he's got this guy working for him, real piece of work, that one. Was fun to watch, though, even if I had to round up this huge construct that was trying to build a giant sandcastle afterwards."
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2014, 07:58:47 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 11, 2014, 08:10:17 am
((Also, I thought that the foci inestability was caused by that six I rolled that time. Well, that was a bad assumption)).
Discard the foci which don't allow to be written in and that one that changed itself into another sentence. Save low level foci in case of emergency.
Write the following sentences in unused sheets of paper, one per sheet, then make them into foci:
Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of.
Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of.
Repel air from the point the user is thinking of.
Concentrate air in front of the user's right index finger, then blast is away in the direction the finger is pointing at.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2014, 08:15:51 am
"Who did he have help from? And what kind of mage are you, actually?"
"He was helped by two people - one of them was this girl he picked up during the contest, she's sort of his personal assistant now. Can conjure knives and whatnot, but she's not overly interesting. The other person, though, came to the contest with the dog. A Mr. Colin Burmont, if I remember it right. He and the dog made a very good team, apparently, and, with a not insignificant amount of effort on the man's part and a whole lot of luck, they managed to eliminate pretty much everyone who didn't surrender and bail out of there - granted, a lot of that was fighting between themselves and horrible accidents killing off the opposition. That Burmont fellow is apparently a bit of a brute. Uses a... swordwhip, I think it's called? And he seems to have a limitless supply of some kind of magical acid, among the various things he's stolen off his many, many victims. Lyman absolutely loves him from what I've heard. Haven't met him personally, but I hear he does great murdering."
"As for the magic I do, well, necromancy. Mastery of the soul. Most everything else I need, I get from artifacts. And I must say, I do love my job very much."
Post by: killerhellhound on January 11, 2014, 08:31:34 am
"I talked to the whip man he seemed nice though I was crying over a fallen friend and wasn't paying much attention."
Post by: miauw62 on January 11, 2014, 08:32:37 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 11, 2014, 08:34:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 11, 2014, 08:44:53 am
Mark hearing the conversation chimes in
"I talked to the whip man he seemed nice though I was crying over a fallen friend and wasn't paying much attention."
I don't think you can exactly chime in. Do you mean write on a wall or something?
"Swordwhips? Never heard of those."
"Neither had I, actually, until he came along. It's like a sword, but hinged and segmented as well as extremely long. Still really sharp, though. Not to be confused with a whipsword, though I'll be damned if I know what that is."
Lizzie thinks a moment.
"Wait, it might have been the other way around - he had a whipsword, and you're not supposed to say it's a swordwhip. Yeah, I think it was actually a whipsword he had. And still has, of course. But that's really more important to me than to you. Man, I should really memorize those notes soon. Maybe tomorrow, I guess."
Post by: Innsmothe on January 11, 2014, 08:50:53 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 11, 2014, 08:55:26 am
Mark hearing the conversation chimes in
"I talked to the whip man he seemed nice though I was crying over a fallen friend and wasn't paying much attention."
I don't think you can exactly chime in. Do you mean write on a wall or something?
Yes sorry for not saying
Post by: Xanmyral on January 12, 2014, 01:38:57 am
"Yes, theater is always quite the experience, isn't it? I've never quite been one to attempt myself, but I've always enjoyed watching during my formative years and on, occasionally helping others practice if I could."
Morton tried to ignore the touch unsettling scene around him. The idea of captured souls doesn't seem to faze many around him, given their lack of response to it, but the desk for one is quite glad of his current desk-like nature of lacking facial expressions. The butler felt the need to move away from the golden skeleton that hoards people's souls, as a matter of both preserving tact and pragmatism.
"If you'll excuse me, good mage Art, but I believe I'll go follow your advice and attempt to speak with mage Evelyn. I'd love to continue this conversation at a later date however, if you wouldn't mind. It's not often I meet another fan of theater after all."
With that the desk excused himself from the room and moved on deck, where he last saw Evelyn.
Post by: Yoink on January 12, 2014, 11:31:19 am
"THERE WE GO. YOU ARE NOW DEMON-BLESSED! ENJOY YOUR VASTLY IMPROVED... UNLIFE, I SUPPOSE. SO, WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO DROP YOU OFF? THE MORTAL WORLD, RIGHT?"
"Yep, dat's be good! Thanks!" Timothy's grin split his face almost from ear-to-ear. This person was really nice, just handing out special magic-y powers like that! Timothy decided things were looking up. All going well, he'd be back home before long, too.
"...What's youse name, anyways?" He asked, tilting his head whilst waiting for the figure to do whatever magic was about to send him home.
>Agree to be sent back to the mortal world, thank the figure, and ask their name.
Post by: miauw62 on January 12, 2014, 11:35:48 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 12, 2014, 01:02:22 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 12, 2014, 03:14:33 pm
Once she's mastered misdirection, go for on the job training outside.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 12, 2014, 06:14:08 pm
Sigmund, disappointed with the lack of success in the focus writing department, keeps the only one that turned out any good - the air funneling one - and writes out the other four spells he's got in mind on his other sheets of paper, then attempts to turn them all into foci.
[Sigmund's focus creation rolls: 3, 3, 1, 2]
The first two seem to become very weak foci for some reason. And the last two don't seem to be changed at all... that is, until the "repel air" focus starts acting up, beginning to levitate unsteadily. It seems that magic does not like Sigmund for some reason.
On the deck of the Second Shank...
Scott, hoping that it doesn't necessarily have to be a limbless life for him, tries to summon up his limbs from the deep.
[Scott's ghost-summoning roll: 4-2]
Sadly, though, limbs consistently fail to appear in the next few minutes. Maybe because they don't have souls, Scott supposes. While he thinks about that, though, he notices something on deck. The Captain. And around him, he sees... shadows, he thinks. Cowering, whimpering shadows, most of them human-sized, but many quite a bit smaller.
In the den of the Second Shank...
Mark, having carefully listened to the conversation between Lizzie and Kevin, realizes he can actually contribute! He immediately runs over to a wall and begins to write on it while they speak.
"A dog as lifemage, eh? I wonder what the story behind that is..."
"Dog's not a lifemage. He just barks really loudly," Lizzie says, laughing at the notion. "That's literally all the magic he can do. But, like I said, he knows lots and lots of lore, and he's pretty good with artifacts, so I'd expect him to fit right in. Besides, he's a dog. His very presence in the larger meetings ought to give the entire place a more friendlier atmosphere. Hopefully he's housebroken."
At this moment, Mark's done with his message.
I talked to the whip man he seemed nice though I was crying over a fallen friend and wasn't paying much attention.
Lizzie notices the sentence almost immediately, probably because it's right there on the wall in large, bright yellow letters.
"Huh. Didn't expect him to contribute to the conversation. Yeah, I guess that guy's kind of nice. Helped a dog realize what must have been its lifelong dream, after all."
Morton, meanwhile, speaks to Art while steadfastly trying to ignore the passing of what amounts to about 60 lives getting passed around.
"Yes, theater is always quite the experience, isn't it? I've never quite been one to attempt myself, but I've always enjoyed watching during my formative years and on, occasionally helping others practice if I could," he says while shuffling slowly away from Lizzie's vicinity. He's definitely sure he doesn't like people who have thousands of souls they got from gods know where put away for future use.
"Well, theater was fun and all, but I don't much enjoy watching it, you know? I like to perform more. Improvisation especially."
Charming conversation, really, but Morton feels he should leave now. Quickly.
"If you'll excuse me, good mage Art, but I believe I'll go follow your advice and attempt to speak with mage Evelyn. I'd love to continue this conversation at a later date however, if you wouldn't mind. It's not often I meet another fan of theater after all," he says, and Art nods, getting back to his book. Within a minute, Morton is back on deck, where he finds Evelyn, still being bloody and ducklike, perched on the forecastle and overlooking the sea. He also spots the Captain giving what seems to be some kind of speech to a host of ethereal beings - Morton hesitates to call them ghosts, exactly. They definitely don't resemble Justine... or Scott, who also appears to have been turned into a ghost, or at least his head has... they look more like living shadows, really. He must say that the warped sound of whimpering, more doglike than human, coming from them is a little unsettling.
In the Realm of Love...
Timothy kind of likes this extremely helpful person. Now he's all magically-empowered and whatnot, and it only cost him his soul!
"Yep, dat's be good! Thanks!" he says, grinning. Then a thought occurs to him.
"...What's youse name, anyways?"
"MY NAME? THAT'S A SECRET, SORRY. BUT I AM THE DEMON OF LOVE, THE BEST HOST ACROSS THE MULTITUDINOUS DIMENSIONS, AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!"
The demon is about to snap its fingers, but then remembers something midway, stopping in place.
"OH, RIGHT! ONE THING. YOU SHOULD KNOW - THOSE POWERS YOU GOT, THEY DON'T WORK ON YOURSELF. ENJOY! AND HEY, THANKS FOR THE BUSINESS!"
It then completes the snap, and everything melts away around Timothy, the bright colors of the Realm of Love giving way to a large, drab (though that may only be in comparison to the Realm of Love) stretch of open countryside. There's no civilization currently in sight, though the place looks quite temperate, maybe a bit on the warm side. There is a rather tall hill he can see nearby with a trail leading to it, plus a road running along the plains, rising above the surrounding meadow by a rather large margin.
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren tries to save the reputation of stage magic from the scorn of this pet store woman.
"It's not lying, it's like storytelling. I try to make them forget about their lives and troubles and restore their sense of wonder. It doesn't hurt them, and it's an entertaining way for me to make my pay."
"Yes," says the woman. Darren briefly expects her to continue, but she doesn't seem to be in the mood for it. Oh well.
He continues to try and teach her misdirection, but the woman is still lacking in enthusiasm, it seems, and makes little progress. She doesn't seem to be trying very hard now.
Post by: Yoink on January 12, 2014, 06:23:29 pm
So happy, in fact, that he felt just about ready to burst from the sheer amount of happiness crammed into his small, spectral form.
>Fly directly upwards and let out an almighty screech of joy, to celebrate being back in the land of the (un)living!
Let's make up for some lost time, here.
Post by: Tomcost on January 12, 2014, 06:24:50 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 12, 2014, 10:14:55 pm
The desk can't exactly say being up here is any better than down there. The shadow-specter-ghost people, well, are kind of... He doesn't want to say disturbing honestly, because he's sure they can't exactly help it, but he can't think of another way to really phrase it.
Morton instead deems to concentrate on other things, such as: "Oh dear, what happened to you sir Scott? How did you become a, er, of a more spectral nature? Where's the rest of you? Do you perhaps need some assistance?"
The butler wonders if there will ever be a point at which the rapid changes to his companions would stop fazing him. He then wonders if that would be a good or bad thing.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 13, 2014, 12:00:48 am
[I feel like Morton spends half of his time interacting with other players by reacting in mild horror and shock.]((The reason he still is feeling shock and horror is that he still has some sanity left. If you want I can remove that nasty thing.))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 13, 2014, 03:18:33 am
"Captain...it's one thing to be a slave to some unknown horror in human form, but a ghost slaving other spirits into doing his will really takes the cake. Why not get some humans to do it!?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 13, 2014, 04:57:38 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 13, 2014, 08:41:31 am
Talks with Evelyn will most likely lack any sort of useful nature without some medium to converse with, after all, unless he expects her to scratch what she wants to say on the deck. Such isn't exactly something that can be done for long before the entire deck is covered with scrawls, and looking quite the worse for it really.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 13, 2014, 09:51:34 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 13, 2014, 11:51:54 am
"How do you know how much lore he knows, though? You said he can't speak more than a few words."
Post by: Innsmothe on January 13, 2014, 11:52:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 13, 2014, 02:16:30 pm
Timothy is overjoyed at the fact that nobody has seen fit to try and ruin his day by sending him someplace entirely terrible. So overjoyed, in fact, that he feels the need to lift off the ground and fly up in the sky while screeching as loud as he can.
[Timothy's joyous spooky screeching roll: 1]
He tries to screech, but does not succeed in making a whole lot of noise. Instead, he lapses into a savage cough. It feels absolutely terrible, he must say. Has it really been that long since he last tried this? Well, better take it easy for a bit anyway.
After he's done contemplating his current vocal inadequacy, he notices that he's pretty high up. Like, at least two hundred meters. He guesses that must have been a pretty long coughing fit. He also guesses the fact that he can see in the distance a point where the grassland abruptly ends and a blackened stretch of blasted land interspersed with pinkish points of light begins is a little surprising. On the flipside, he can also see a rather large town far in the opposite direction from that area - the road seems to connect the two. He can also see some kind of elaborate black tower on the really tall hill nearby.
In the cargo hold of the Second Shank...
Sigmund, having an all-too-real fear of things exploding in his vicinity, runs away from the cargo hold. A hole that may or may not be blasted in the ship as a result is clearly one of those things that is somebody else's problem. He reaches the deck in a few moments. Among other things, the Captain appears to have a whole lot of darkened spirits gathering around him, and Scott has turned into a ghostly head that seems intent on berating the Captain.
"Captain...it's one thing to be a slave to some unknown horror in human form, but a ghost slaving other spirits into doing his will really takes the cake. Why not get some humans to do it!?"
The Captain turns to him, briefly interrupting an enlightening lecture on ghostly nautical techniques.
"HUMANS are SQUISHY and CAN'T WALK THROUGH WALLS! Or do A WHOLE LOT OF MOVING THINGS AROUND! Besides, these PEOPLE were a GIFT! Can HARDLY REFUSE THAT, can I?"
Having said that, he turns back to the shades.
"Now, WHERE WAS I? Oh, RIGHT! I was DONE! YOU PEOPLE now KNOW as much about SAILING AS I CAN PRESENTLY REMEMBER! Which IS DISAPPOINTINGLY LITTLE! Luckily, WE AREN'T going to be SAILING!"
The shades don't seem very confident. Then again, they would probably be very sorry excuses for shades if they were.
Morton, who has meanwhile tried and failed to address the indignant Scott, realizes that he probably needs stationery to converse with Evelyn. Regrettably, all stationery on the ship happens to be in the den (and probably where Sigmund took his share, though he presumably won't want to part with his stuff that easily), where the rather unpleasant soul-peddling woman resides. Fighting against the desire to be as far from her as possible, Morton quickly pops into the den and grabs a pen and some paper - not all of it, naturally. That would just be rude. He then trundles up to the deck as rapidly as he can, all the while figuring out what would be the best way to start up a conversation with a duck-abomination.
In the den of the Second Shank...
Mark is quite glad when neither Scott nor Sigmund nor Morton steal any quantity of paper he would miss in the following few seconds - he needs those for his master plans, you see. He takes three sheets of paper, each corresponding to a single plan, and proceeds to lay down a decent strategy for most things he believes could happen to him on the high seas.
Mark's Master Plans, Vol. 1: Monster Attacks on the Sea of Death.
Step 1: Analyze monster, look for weak point.
Step 2: Stab/slash/mutilate weak point.
Step 3: Inflict massive damage to presumably vital organs.
Step 4: Free monster parts!
Step 5: Party!
Step 6: Post-party surgery?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark's Master Plans, Vol. 2: What To Do About Mind Rape
Question 1: Does everything seem atypically awesome?
Question 2: Are most things going your way all of a sudden?
Question 3: Is there something obviously surreal happening?
Count number of 'yes' answers. If 1, mind rape is possible. If 2, mind rape is likely. If 3, mind rape is definitely happening. If mind rape is likely or definitely happening, try the next three steps to rectify the situation.
Step 1: Disbelieve.
Step 1A: If successful at dispelling illusion of fulfilling, successful life, locate and stab mind rapist until mind rapist is well done.
Step 1B: Free body parts!
Step 1C: Party!
Step 2: Disbelieve!
Step 2A: See Step 1A
Step 2B: See Step 1B
Step 2C: See Step 1C, consider dialing up the festivities.
Step 3: DISBELIEVE!
Step 3A: See Step 2A
Step 3B: See Step 2B
Step 3C: See Step 2C, add party hats. Construct from organs if necessary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark's Master Plans, Vol. 3: Those Pesky Magefolk
Step 1: Ignore magic. Get to business immediately. Don't give magical person time to act.
Step 2: Stab/slash/punch/kick/strangle offender. Go for the arms first, maybe - gestures seem important. Also, mage is likely to miss arms dearly.
Step 3: Loot focus from cold, dead hands (or torso if arms already both severed). If focus is swallowed or worked into body, try to remove it anyway.
Step 4: Free body parts!
Step 5: Party!
While Mark pens the first chapters on what is sure to be his magnum opus, Kevin keeps on talking to Lizzie, ignoring the planning going on a few steps away.
"How do you know how much lore he knows, though? You said he can't speak more than a few words."
"True, but he's apparently got a whole library's worth of books, a lot of artifacts squirreled away and he can apparently write as well. Got quite a bit of demonology experience on him as well, though he said that was mostly his assistant's work. Some other woman - she seems to have disappeared somewhere prior to his entry in the contest. I haven't really met him myself, once again, but my mistress apparently has received him on at least one occasion, as have the other masters of the Circle. And some of said masters are telepaths, and they've seemingly had some enlightening conversations with the strange canine. He's apparently a lot more eloquent in his thoughts."
Post by: Tomcost on January 13, 2014, 02:39:01 pm
Practice wind magic by leaning towards a wall and funneling air towards me.
Post by: Xantalos on January 13, 2014, 03:09:12 pm
Request that everyone come down and help me. Be very vague and inspecific about what exactly it is, but try to have them do a variety of odd and physically strenuous things to see if it was it. Talk very loudly and slowly to everyone in a condescending manner.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 13, 2014, 04:21:28 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 13, 2014, 08:17:49 pm
[I'll work under the assumption of 'inkwell and quill' just to have something out there.]
The desk will trundle towards the duckination... Nah, that's not quite right. Aduckination? No, no... Abomiduck? Good enough. Regardless of (if at least to himself) amusing portmanteaus, the desk speaks to the abomiduck.
"Mage Evelyn, if you perhaps have the time I'd like to ask you a few questions about enchantments and the like. I'm interested in seeing how they work, and if possible perhaps try my hand at something quite basic. Nothing fancy, I assure you, but I was hoping that perhaps just making an object magical might be a good place to start."
The desk will remove the top off of the inkwell and place it by Evelyn, along with setting a sheet of paper down (and keeping a hand on one of the edges to make sure it stays in place). Morton was keeping purposely vague to avoid spoiling the secret to Justine, although was also trying to not be too vague so that it wouldn't be looked into. If what he knows about diviners are true, hiding things from them can be a pain. They must always be disappointed with surprise parties.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 13, 2014, 09:12:05 pm
(( I wonder how much like Pinkie Pie I can make this guy let's see; intelligent, check; no concept of personal space, check : no sanity, check: throws party's, soon : bends reality, not check. Need to fix that :D))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2014, 06:20:47 am
[By pen, do you mean something more modern or just short hand for an inkwell and quill? Gotta ask 'cause magic throws technology a loop usually. I wouldn't be surprised if simple 'simple thin metal sticks enchanted to have one end leave ink on stuff when turned on' being a thing in this 'verse.]
[I'll work under the assumption of 'inkwell and quill' just to have something out there.]
Actually, it's more like a fountain pen. Not magical at all, as it usually is with things created by Erin.
The desk will trundle towards the duckination... Nah, that's not quite right. Aduckination? No, no... Abomiduck? Good enough. Regardless of (if at least to himself) amusing portmanteaus, the desk speaks to the abomiduck.
"Mage Evelyn, if you perhaps have the time I'd like to ask you a few questions about enchantments and the like. I'm interested in seeing how they work, and if possible perhaps try my hand at something quite basic. Nothing fancy, I assure you, but I was hoping that perhaps just making an object magical might be a good place to start."
The desk will remove the top off of the inkwell and place it by Evelyn, along with setting a sheet of paper down (and keeping a hand on one of the edges to make sure it stays in place). Morton was keeping purposely vague to avoid spoiling the secret to Justine, although was also trying to not be too vague so that it wouldn't be looked into. If what he knows about diviners are true, hiding things from them can be a pain. They must always be disappointed with surprise parties.
Evelyn nods and takes the pen in her rib-beak, starting to write immediately.
Enchanting is not overly complicated, it simply requires one to focus their will into an object while having a very clear image of what needs to be accomplished. This can be done reliably with practice, and highly unlikely without practice. It is similar to creating a focus, except it is not linked to a user and acts constantly or upon a certain condition. Constant effects are easier to add than conditional ones. Do not try to enchant things right away. You are likely to cause the death of both yourself and other people if you do. Instead, practice these chants.
The abomiduck then writes out three different strings of complex, difficult syllables. The first has the words Empty Mind Chant - use with caution written next to it, the second has Single Thought Chant - beginning here recommended in the same location, the third has Listening Chant - for increased understanding appended. The chants seem to be real tongue twisters, at least in some places. Once Evelyn is done jotting each string down, she adds a note at the bottom of the sheet: Take care with chants. Mental side effects may be observable from use.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 14, 2014, 02:25:55 pm
"Gracious thanks, mage Evelyn. I have a few more questions, if that's quite alright. This seems like quite the subject one should be prepared for, after all." The desk places a second, empty mind you, sheet of paper where the prior one was. That sheet of paper now stashed in a drawer of his for safe keeping and future speculation. Don't want the chants to be both difficult to read and difficult to say.
"What exactly do you mean by side effects? Is it something to take caution to avoid, or perhaps an expectation? Do you perhaps have any final advice?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 14, 2014, 02:55:26 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 14, 2014, 05:58:54 pm
Go outside with her. Perform some tricks on the street for cash.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 14, 2014, 06:45:56 pm
Sigmund, not having heard the tremendously huge ship-scuttling explosion from the cargo hold, practices his windy magic with his one good focus, leaning against the wall of the aftcastle.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
Air begins to funnel toward him rapidly, pressing him into the wall with its sheer speed. Anybody looking Sigmund's way presently - like Justine, for instance - can't help but smile at the way his cheeks start to move as a result of the wind. It's so amusing, in fact, that she forgets to pay attention to the nearby Niklas, who has just snapped out of his chair coma and is trying to be loud and disruptive.
"HELP! HELP! I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT I WAS DOING AND NEED HELP!"
The painted guy steps over to Niklas calmly.
"I do believe you were telling me a story."
"No, I believe it was something... more strenuous! You, my dear, were trying to reach your own hindquarters with the back of your head, I believe. Can you try that again for old Niklas, please?" he asks slowly.
"Hm... that does sound fun!"
In that very moment, his torso folds suddenly in half like a flat sheet of paper, the back of the man's head tapping against the man's left buttock in a second. The upper half of his torso then snaps back into place without a sound.
"And it was! It was fun!"
"Wait, I think it was something else... now, my dear, let's try... you wouldn't know how to tie a figure-of-eight knot, would you? No, of course you-"
"Wait, that's an even better idea!"
The man suddenly elongates, tying himself into a figure-of-eight knot surprisingly elegantly. And he even keeps his arms and head in roughly the same place in the process.
"Say, that looks pretty cool. I think I'll keep it that way for now!"
"No... still not it, dear. But you're doing great, yes. Keep doing that. I'm trying to remember..."
Really, Niklas is trying to think of some way to further exploit this guy. It's no fun when it doesn't hurt anyone!
Scott, who still has no limbs, wonders if he can do anything fun now. He looks at a nearby barrel. That looks like a good target!
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 1]
It seems to do something, but then Scott realizes that's just himself flying through the barrel and landing in the sea. Though it doesn't hurt or anything, it feels kind of weird to phase through things like that, he thinks. Not fun at all... until he gets used to it, he supposes.
Rounding off the company on board is Morton, who has just received a complement of chants.
"Gracious thanks, mage Evelyn. I have a few more questions, if that's quite alright. This seems like quite the subject one should be prepared for, after all," he says, taking the sheet of answered questions and placing a new one in front of the abomiduck. "What exactly do you mean by side effects? Is it something to take caution to avoid, or perhaps an expectation? Do you perhaps have any final advice?"
Evelyn's answer is brief.
Mostly hallucinations. Sometimes elaborate ones. Some endure them, some indulge in them, some disbelieve them. Disbelief may be the wisest strategy, but others have their good points as well. Final advice - do not get hasty. Ever.
While all this fun business happens on deck, the action stops for a moment when something begins to happen. That something appears to be the ship beginning to rise from the sea. An astute observer may note the sudden absence of both the shades and the Captain, though there does seem to be a shortage of those on deck presently. The rising is gentle, barely noticeable - it's easier to notice the accompanying low hum, actually.
In the den of the Second Shank...
Mark, after giving his master plans a quick look again, decides to deliver them to the Artiste immediately. He heads up to the deck, where the Artiste is found watching that wizard guy contort himself at Niklas' command. He hands the papers to his master, who seems confused.
"Uh... thank you?"
Good enough! Mark then looks for party supplies. Since there weren't any party favors that he could locate in his ship-check, he supposes he'll have to fashion his own... but then he'd have to craft them from something. But the only thing he's qualified to properly work with are corpses, and though those would make exquisite party favors, there's two, no, wait, three problems - Mark wonders whether that's a rational use of his limited corpse resources, Mark fears that if he makes them now, they'll spoil, plus there seems to be a dangerous-looking floating sheet of paper in the cargo hold.
Back in the den, though, Kevin pursues interesting avenues of conversation.
"Curious. What did you say about a huge construct that you made or something...?"
"Oh, was that a funny one. Get this, a huge machine meant for war - at least eight stories high, it was. Or was it ten? Eh, doesn't matter - there's this giant construct that's supposed to smash things. Then its master gets offed and it's left standing around. And then it gets to thinking, which leads to this epiphany that it wants to be a force of creation rather than destruction and that it has a lot of untapped potential that servitude simply wasn't helping to develop. So it walks off and starts building castles from debris. I get sent to fix the problem - hey, can always use a huge engine of destruction, right? But what do I find? The damn thing has its soul wedged in there so tight and affixed to so many triggers and contingencies, even its master's death - the guy actually soulbound it, too - couldn't rip it out of its frame. It described the feeling it felt as 'a slight discomfort of unknown origin'. Unbelievable. So I do the next best thing - get it under contract doing controlled demolition, cleanup and reconstruction. That made the thing happy. Best part is, it agreed to it despite getting paid nothing and being obligated to remain in service for a thousand years. Sweet, huh?"
The rising of the ship is also evident down here, though obviously with fewer signs like the town becoming increasingly less visible. Kevin's not sure, but he thinks Lizzie's eyes flash a little with realization. He gets the feeling that if she could actually smile, she would right now.
In an artifact weapon-pet store...
Darren has a new idea. He has to drum up some enthusiasm here.
"Here, let's try this outside. I might even be able to pay you back."
"Very well..." the woman says resignedly, and they both head outside. At this point, Darren realizes there is nobody around here. At all. The streets are completely silent, with the nearby buildings looking completely untouched. He thinks he can see tracks in the dust covering the streets, but those don't look like human tracks.
"Everyone is dead," the woman states. "Except me, you and the pets."
Post by: killerhellhound on January 14, 2014, 10:24:23 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 15, 2014, 12:12:42 am
More important steps closer to his goal, but slow ones from the sounds of it. Morton supposes this isn't entirely surprising, after all he is trying to learn magic. He must admit that enchanting is rather less... Flashy than he assumed.
After possibly returning the pen and paper, the desk will rest in the kitchen and retrieve the paper with the chants on it, looking over the chant of 'Single Thought.' Supposedly the easiest to begin with, according to Evelyn. Judging by its name, the butler assumes that it will probably allow him to focus on a single object or idea. That was easy enough considering his goal: tea. A wonderfully varied topic that is held quite dearly to him.
Best not dive right in though, recalling the abomiduck's advice. The desk will closely look over that chant's wording, trying to figure out how some of the trickier bits of it might be best pronounced before tackling it. It would be quite embarrassing to flounder over the quite tricky chant when he attempts it, after all. Times like this Morton wished he really had attended a prestigious school for butlering, surely they would of offered a course on enunciation.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 15, 2014, 03:06:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 04:22:56 am
Mark goes to Erin and asks on a peace of paper "can you transmute some party materials please"
Erin looks at the piece of paper, rising unsteadily from the deck.
"Shyeah. Totally."
Post by: killerhellhound on January 15, 2014, 04:26:56 am
Post by: Gamerlord on January 15, 2014, 04:39:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 04:41:55 am
((*slithers in* Hey guys, killed the universe yet?))
Not yet. I'm currently trying to get things moving and end this overly long breather chapter before I start the next one.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 15, 2014, 04:44:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 04:50:11 am
((Damnit guys! So disappointing. Has someone at least killed that damn bastard who kept wrecking my shit?))
Sadly, he is not present in this town. He seems to have other business.
Post by: Gamerlord on January 15, 2014, 04:53:04 am
((SON OF A BITCH.))((Damnit guys! So disappointing. Has someone at least killed that damn bastard who kept wrecking my shit?))
Sadly, he is not present in this town. He seems to have other business.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 15, 2014, 06:29:22 am
He is now the slave of a dog that's on the black council of magic.((SON OF A BITCH.))((Damnit guys! So disappointing. Has someone at least killed that damn bastard who kept wrecking my shit?))
Sadly, he is not present in this town. He seems to have other business.
Post by: Tomcost on January 15, 2014, 08:34:33 am
((That means that he is even more badass than before))He is now the slave of a dog that's on the black council of magic.((SON OF A BITCH.))((Damnit guys! So disappointing. Has someone at least killed that damn bastard who kept wrecking my shit?))
Sadly, he is not present in this town. He seems to have other business.
((Awww, I can do magic!))
If the wind has stopped, go to Erin and ask:
-If I had hypothetically failed really hard in the creation of a focus, what's the worst thing that could happen?
Post by: Innsmothe on January 15, 2014, 08:42:49 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 15, 2014, 08:46:02 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 15, 2014, 08:51:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 15, 2014, 10:01:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 10:06:28 am
((We will eventually destroy the fabrics of the universe if we keep getting power))
The fabric of the universe is actually remarkably easy to change, mutate and destroy. It happens all the time.
The problem in doing so lies in your prospects of long-term survival.
[...]
If the wind has stopped, [...]
It hasn't.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 15, 2014, 11:02:49 am
((The Whip Man cannot die.))((This is Bay 12 there is no cannot or should not there is only time and !!FUN!!))
Post by: Xantalos on January 15, 2014, 11:38:46 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 15, 2014, 11:49:28 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 15, 2014, 12:51:31 pm
"As long as the guy's happy. I bet there's a bunch of other weird shit that happened there."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 01:05:36 pm
"As long as the guy's happy. I bet there's a bunch of other weird shit that happened there."
"You better believe there's a bunch of weird shit happening everywhere at any given moment, really. That way you'll be less surprised when you run into it. Granted, that kind of thing's hard to predict on the best of days. How can we ever know what goes on in the mind of a madman or madwoman? It can be quite distressing to play the straight woman in their routines sometimes. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, right?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 15, 2014, 01:07:09 pm
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I got turned into some sort of grotesque freak not too long ago."
Kevin shudders.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 01:10:27 pm
Kevin glanced over to Mark and said:
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I got turned into some sort of grotesque freak not too long ago."
Kevin shudders.
"The surgeon guy, right? He seems like a weirdo. What'd he do?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 15, 2014, 01:17:48 pm
That fuckhead is insane. I hope I don't get hurt, but if I do I'll swim back to this place to get somebody that is not the treehead to try and heal me, because I am not a freak."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 15, 2014, 01:52:08 pm
"Huge spikes, four arms, A FUCKING FISHING ROD ATTACHED TO MY BACK!
That fuckhead is insane. I hope I don't get hurt, but if I do I'll swim back to this place to get somebody that is not the treehead to try and heal me, because I am not a freak."
"That's... kinda messed up, I guess. The fishing rod part, at least. Glad my stylist's nothing like him, at least, though he can get a bit tacky on occasion. I mean, look at me right now. I'm made out of gold. Or look like it, anyway. How am I supposed to look serious like this?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 15, 2014, 05:05:52 pm
Go back to where there were the crowds. Find someone else.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2014, 05:44:05 am
Mark, after proposing that Erin should transmute some party materials, removes her drunk ring for safety. Erin offers little resistance to this.
"Oh yeah... that thing. I guess I'm alright now?"
She doesn't look alright, Mark thinks. Definitely still drunk.
"Right! Let's go! Magic awaaay, hahahah!"
[Erin's magic roll: 4-1]
The air in front of Erin twists and compresses in a single point, forming what appears to be a noisemaker of some kind. Erin takes it immediately and starts making noise with it.
"Party! Hah! Woo!" she half-yells, swaying from one side to the other. Yeah, removing the ring did not help at all. And the Artiste, who is seated nearby, is not impressed.
"Stop giving her ideas, Mark. She's drunk."
"I am not drunk! He removed the ring, see?" Erin says, pointing unsteadily at the ring in Mark's hand. The Artiste sighs, which seems to be something he's doing a lot lately.
Morton, meanwhile, thanks Evelyn for her help and patience.
"Wise advice. I'm in your debt, good mage Evelyn, thank you. You can keep the pen and paper if you wish, although I'm admittedly not sure where you'd keep it, otherwise I'll return them to the den."
She just nods and pushes the pen back into Morton's hand with her beak. Morton takes that as an indication that he should take it back, and leaves with the paper as well. He then heads carefully through the den, reaching the kitchen quickly and painlessly. Having done that, he begins to examine the Single Thought Chant. The syllables are pretty difficult, and though Morton can easily pronounce them in his mind, he isn't so sure he can do the same in reality as well - there's going to be some mistakes, he's sure. This chant looks like it was deliberately made difficult to pronounce, in fact, which means linguistic pitfalls are all but assured. How important they are, though, is another question.
Back on deck, meanwhile, Scott returns from his oceanic excursion and tries to focus on something less humongous instead, like a nail - there are no loose ones, but hey, the ship is levitating, so it's not likely to be that problematic even if the nail is important.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 1]
Once again, though, Scott only manages to pull himself into a wall. This is getting tiresome, really. And it's also making him wonder if he can actually do telekinesis at all, honestly. Maybe he should ask someone whether that's something he's supposed to be able to accomplish.
Niklas, who is not far away, scarcely notices Scott's failed attempts to move things with his mind, for he is busy with a hoodwink!
"I think, my friend, that you were trying to turn into a chair!"
"I am fairly certain I wasn't! And I remember these things! I've turned into a chair several times in my life, but not in the last 20 years, definitely. I'd have to be far more drunk to even attempt such a thing."
"I'm sure you were! I am completely convinced that was the case, in fact!"
"Well, that's good. Now you remember what you were doing! So we can move on to you telling me a story, yes?"
"But-"
"Storytime now. I'm getting bored, and that's never good."
Not far away, Sigmund tries to undo the effects of his spell with another, much more unpredictable one, because that's definitely a recipe for success right there.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
It doesn't work! Sigmund is both dissatisfied at his failure and happy that didn't result in some kind of storm on deck, because that could end messily, really.
The rising of the ship abates as it seems to have partially lifted itself out of the water, and after a sound of an anchor quickly lifting, the ship begins to gently move away from the pier, picking up speed quickly.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren is disappointed at the flagrant pessimism of the lady. There are totally people around here. Somewhere, anyway. However, as he moves around the engineers' quarter with the lady, nobody is in sight - there are no crowds in the engineers' quarter or, in fact, the entire city. Just a couple constructs skittering from one place to another on occasion, looking for things to steal. Darren thinks back and realizes that he hasn't seen any ghosts around here aside from the crazy mute lady that tried to peel away his various bits, and she didn't seem like the type to appreciate stage magic.
As for the other creatures - the constructs - they don't seem entirely appreciative of Darren, considering that they cannot take him apart to salvage him for bits, which disappoints them, evidently. There's the hand people, but they also seem to keep to the area beneath the streets unless bothered, it seems. Other than that... well, he can't think of anyone here. There's ghosts in the other parts of the city, he's sure, but those are pretty far. And most of the ones he knows are from the outskirts.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 16, 2014, 08:14:10 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 16, 2014, 09:55:37 am
He then takes inventory of all weapons on board and plans ways to kill monsters with what we have
Post by: Tomcost on January 16, 2014, 11:54:52 am
Wait until the effect either fades away or is displaced into another point fro the ships movement.
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2014, 12:01:42 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 16, 2014, 12:08:01 pm
Subtly slip subliminal messages about chairs into the story.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2014, 12:11:28 pm
"As long as you have two arms and two legs in the right places, you could be worse off."
"Fortunately for me, I can fire my stylist if he does something like that. You'd have a harder time getting rid of your friend if he got insistent."
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2014, 12:14:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2014, 12:35:51 pm
"Yeah, can't hurt him. Soulbinds and all that jazz."
"Yes. Quite. Have you thought about disciplining him some other way for misbehavior? Physical pain is one thing, yes. But maybe there's a better way?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2014, 12:43:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2014, 12:56:17 pm
"...Not really. He's too insane for psychological torture. Throwing his gear away will make him mad, but we may need it, as much as I despise his way of work."
"You could try to manipulate your master, though. That could get the guy off your back."
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2014, 01:02:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 16, 2014, 01:14:21 pm
"Eh, I think he likes the guy. It'd take some serious manipulating."
"... yeah, probably, I guess. I don't really know much about either of them or anything. In fact, I'm feeling kind of tired now. Mentally, you know. I should probably leave. And get Stephen out of here, too."
Post by: miauw62 on January 16, 2014, 01:18:57 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 16, 2014, 08:58:24 pm
Darren turned to look at her.
"How long has it been since you sold one of your pets? If you're suffering from a lack of customers, I have an idea for a location you could try."
Post by: Xanmyral on January 16, 2014, 09:46:52 pm
Morton took a deep breath--purely cosmetic as he didn't need to breathe--and looked the chants again. The desk is expecting himself to most likely flub the speaking part, with how things are that's to be expected the first time around really. But there's always the second and third try, after all.
But really how important are the chants? Are they words of power, or simply complicated words that help bring their mind to the correct framework? Do the words really matter? Evelyn said enchanting was all about will, so where would the words factor into that but to help focus the mind?
Hm. Evelyn did say not to rush, but he believes himself sufficiently ready for the beginner chant. He's gone over the tougher parts of the chant, has a clear subject in mind. Perhaps he's ready. Tally ho, then.
Morton held the chant in front of him and started, trying to focus his mind on tea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 17, 2014, 04:13:51 pm
Scott, at a loss on what to do now that he's a ghost that can't seem to do anything, looks for the Captain. He is, however, nowhere to be found - not in any of the rooms, the halls or anywhere else Scott can think of. He's checked everywhere and had no luck. Wonder where the fellow might be?
Mark, meanwhile, attends to Erin. He obtains a glass of presumably clean water from the kitchen and hands it to Erin, who drinks it happily.
"Thanks! Needed that."
Keeping the ring to himself, Mark then takes inventory of the weapons aboard the ship - he concludes that the only one he's aware of is his halberd. And the harpoons. Both of those are useful mostly for stabbing, sometimes for slashing. But there's also Erin, he guesses, who can basically provide any weapon he may desire at will (that is, when she sobers up - otherwise it's probably not the best idea to bother her with anything). That's definitely something to take into consideration.
But enough about that! Sigmund, who is still trapped against a wall, hopes that the motion of the ship will make the point he concentrated the air flow toward distant enough to not bother anyone. And that does indeed seem to happen! Hooray! Yippee! Yay! Sigmund, for one, is quite happy that magic decided to be sensible this time around. He is freed just in time to see Niklas try something rather silly on the guy who's twisted into a know.
"Very well! I shall tell you a story!"
"A story!"
"A great story! A saga, even!"
"Ooh. Interesting."
"The saga of Fjolbraagchairbjorhlarvirgchairgarmhunnchairjorgchairharalchairchair, the Hero!"
"What an exotic name!"
"The saga begins like most sagas do, with a hero - Fjolbraagchairbjorhlarvirgchairgarmhunnchairjorgchairharalchairchair, or Fjolbraagchair, heading out of his home village with a band of hardy men of the north - Lothchairhardralchairulfchairchairtryggchairchair and Luthchairhardralchairulfchairchairtryggchairchair, toughest and meanest warrior brothers you have ever seen, among them! This legendary band sought out Hildredchairjulgrumphchairchair, the mostly nameless villain from the west that had displaced Fjolbraagchair's third cousin, Porfjalachairbuursvajkechairmutkechairchairchairhelne, the most beautiful woman in the entire land, from her comfortable home near the inhospitable volcano Fjolbraagchair had built her for the day that he would return to marry her and all of her sisters in a grand ceremony!"
"Ooh!"
"And then-" Niklas continues, but is interrupted by the skeleton woman returning and tapping the guy on the shoulder.
"Hey, Stephen. We should leave. Sun looks to be rising."
Stephen looks at the horizon.
"Yeah, I guess. Too bad. I was hoping to hear this."
"Well, you can come back later. When you have time."
"Right. When'll that be? Next century?"
"Oh, stop whining, will you? Besides, I've seen your schedule. Mine's worse. Let's go."
Stephen shakes his head and shrugs, then the two mages disappear in a flash of light.
In the den of the Second Shank...
Kevin says his farewells to Lizzie.
"Aw. Well then, I guess you have business to attend to. It was nice talking to you anyway. Don't get chopped in half or incinerated or something."
Lizzie nods slowly.
"Will do. And I hope you do the same. In fact..." she begins, fishing around inside her robe, "where'd it go? Ah, here."
She pulls out a bright red sphere about the size of an eyeball, opening up Kevin's hand and placing it on his palm.
"I'm pretty busy most of the time, but hey, if you ever feel like talking to me again or maybe arranging a meeting, just squeeze that little rock. Until then, goodbye. Was an immense pleasure talking to you, Kevin, and good luck to you," she says, waves goodbye to the jester, then soundlessly walks out of the room.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, not having found any people in the vicinity, advances to plan B.
"Huh... Actually," he turns to look at the woman. She seems to still be morose. "How long has it been since you sold one of your pets? If you're suffering from a lack of customers, I have an idea for a location you could try."
"Haven't sold one yet. Everyone is dead. Everyone who can help, anyway. And even if I could move my store, where would I take it?"
In the kitchen of the Second Shank...
Morton, after devoting a quiet moment to thinking about chants, comes to the conclusion that the only way to get anywhere with them now is to try and actually chant them. The Single Thought Chant comes first, and the accompanying single thought is obvious - tea!
[Morton's pronunciation roll: 4]
Morton actually has few problems pronouncing the words - there are a few doubtful 'ae's and a 'krkfthziks' he probably flubbed somehow, but he does feel a bit different as he focuses on the chant. There's actually an empty space provided for the object of one's focus - that's handy, Morton guesses. After a single time of getting through the whole thing, Morton doesn't feel any different. The second and third times, though, the idea of tea does begin to seem more defined to him. He can very easily form a complete mental picture of a cup of tea now, the texture of it, and what he remembers of the taste and aroma, he remembers clearly. Vividly, even. One has to wonder what would happen if he repeated this for an hour.
Right, guys (by which I mean the current main party, not Spinal and Yoink) - it's time for travel turns! Each turn is 24 hours, and there's going to be four of these. List the vague gist of the activities you hope to get to during the day. Though you can also do specific actions, and those'll be resolved outside of regular turns.
Post by: Tomcost on January 17, 2014, 08:00:53 pm
Outside of these turns:
Go and ask Evelyn:
-What is the worse thing that can happen when you fail badly to make a focus?
Also:
Check the specific metaphysical knots of the presumably dangerous sheet of paper.
For the travel turns:
-Fix the not so good foci, make a focus of the failed focus attempt.
-Tie myself to the mast and practice wind magic.
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2014, 08:53:12 pm
For travel turns:
Try to get my chair powers back. Do the meditation thing a few times, see if it works.
Have awesome fatherson bonding time with Torkel.
Also do stuff with Helsvar.
Get my moving privileges back and cook everything I can find into a glorious feast as a gift for the god of cooking and yelling,
((Too much?))
Post by: Xanmyral on January 17, 2014, 09:44:04 pm
The chants seemed successful, surprisingly so to the desk. Perhaps there was more to these chants than simply focusing the mind? All the same, Morton recalls Evelyn's advice that he shouldn't rush things. Practice of these chants are important on the road to enchanting, after all.
Travel Turn:
More practice! With Tea! Try to branch the subject of tea to things related to tea, with focus of his home. The warm summer days where there was nothing better to do but sit watching the sun set with a nice hot cup of tea and nice company. Distant, pleasant memories of home and family.
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2014, 10:18:14 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 17, 2014, 10:41:08 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2014, 10:44:50 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 17, 2014, 10:50:13 pm
You might be able to enchant again, what happened was that you enchanted your body to give you control over chairs. That body got toasted though, so you'd need to enchant yourself again.]
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2014, 10:52:51 pm
If he does that, could Morton try to get him to check me again? I might want to change one of my actions.))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2014, 12:03:00 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 18, 2014, 12:11:43 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2014, 01:54:49 am
[Sure, although he'd need to know what Sigmund was doing.]((Same with Mark but I'm worried fit Sigmond's sanity when he looks at my soul))
Post by: miauw62 on January 18, 2014, 04:00:03 am
Keep the stone safe somewhere on my body.
Turn the knob of the drunkness ring all the way down.
Practice jesting skills.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 18, 2014, 04:15:06 am
Post by: Yoink on January 18, 2014, 04:21:13 am
Still, looking down, he didn't trust those glowy lights too much- normally, he'd be quite intrigued, but he'd had more than enough glowy lights and strange ethereal spectres (other than himself) lately. It was time for some refreshing normalcy!
>Fly over and investigate that town! See if it has a sign with a name.
>Greet any townsfolk I see in a friendly, harmless manner!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 05:47:39 am
Allright:
Outside of these turns:
Go and ask Evelyn:
-What is the worse thing that can happen when you fail badly to make a focus?
Evelyn has this to say in response.
"Krkhtskhurksstkhhtk."
She accompanies this with an expressive gesture with her wings that you're not sure what to make of, but you are definitely certain doesn't mean anything you'd like to hear.
Also:
Check the specific metaphysical knots of the presumably dangerous sheet of paper.
They're quite tangled, and the knot structure seems to have partially collapsed under the imbalances caused. As such, it's difficult to judge what's really going on in there. It's a mess, that's for sure.
Scott will go bother Master instead, surely he has knowledge beyond imagination on such a subject. And he seems to be good with Ghosts as a whole.
You bother the Artiste.
"Tell me about ghosts, master!"
He looks a bit uncertain about why you're bothering him of all people.
"Ghosts are... made of ectoplasm, I guess? And they appear around souls that get chained to a place. You should know that, right? After all, you're a ghost now yourself."
High up in the sky...
Timothy, upon noticing the town in the distance, knows that, out of the available options, that one's the most likely to contain things he will enjoy being around. Consequently, he flies over that way. As he gets closer to the place, he is glad to discover that there do seem to be people there! What isn't there, however, is some kind of sign with the town's name on it. That's a little disappointing.
Though the townsfolk don't seem overly friendly at first sight, Timothy's sure that this is just a cold exterior that masks hearts of gold or at least some other precious metal. He lands quickly and approaches one.
"Hello!" he says in his friendliest manner to a woman in peasant clothes calmly strolling down the street. Once she hears Timothy, though, her disposition quickly changes.
"Huh? What? Who?" she asks, glancing about her for a second, then noticing Timothy. "Oh gods, no. What do you want?"
She seems distraught to Timothy for some reason.
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 06:53:25 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 09:16:47 am
Give Evelyn a blank sheet of paper and something to write with, then make the same question.
This time, her response is much more articulate.
The worst thing that can happen is unknown. Presumably it involves the localized breakdown of a universal law. What happens then is uncertain.
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 09:18:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 09:24:57 am
Quickly go, analize the knot and try to fix it! ((Oh, shi- oh, shi- oh, shit))
Suddenly aware of business that needs doing, you head over to the floating sheet of paper, chanting the mantra you usually do when you're up shit creek and lacking a paddle. You find the focus still there, looking deceptively harmless. Hoping it's not too late, you analyze the knot!
Sadly, though, you can't really get any headway still. It's just a pile of disjointed rules now. You could try to reconstruct it, but that'd be a very risky thing, you suspect.
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 09:26:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 09:28:08 am
Try to grab the paper and throw it to the sea.
You try to grab the paper, but it evades your grasp, flitting about under its own power and devilry. It does not seem to wish to be caught right now.
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 09:29:36 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 18, 2014, 09:37:13 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 09:39:37 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 18, 2014, 09:41:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 09:42:26 am
Sit by the piece of paper, waiting. Stare at it, stubornly. After some time, try to repeat the formar action.
You stare, glower and smolder at the piece of paper. It is both unamused and unashamed - a combination you did not expect at all. It is clearly trying to be clever. That means that you can only try to do the same. After a bit of thought devoted to the subject, you suppose you're ready to try again - this time, though, you'll do it better! You'll do it in a way the paper does not expect it.
With this in mind, you set upon the piece of paper once again in a moment, distracting it with deft hand movements while performing a more unorthodox maneuver, biting down on it with your teeth! It seems to work, and although the paper tries to open up your jaws and propel itself out of your mouth, your sharp canines (you're secretly glad the Aspect of Appeal decided to preserve that aspect of your appearance now) hold it in place nicely. You raise your arms in triumph as the paper is secured wonderfully.
You then recall that the paper is likely to explode or mutilate physics any second now, at which point you make a break for the deck. In what you are sure could have been the last few seconds of your life, you spit the piece of paper out of your mouth over the side of the ship.
It slightly bothers you when it just hangs there, remaining at the same level in front of you. It appears to have taken on the ship's velocity somehow.
Post by: miauw62 on January 18, 2014, 09:44:39 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 09:57:22 am
-I'm sorry for tha, but I don't know if you are dangerous or not. If you mean any harm to us, hover up and down. If you just want me to leave you alone, hover right and left.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 10:06:23 am
Well, if Sigmund couldn't get rid of the paper, maybe he could interact with it somehow? He said, from a reasonable distance:
-I'm sorry for tha, but I don't know if you are dangerous or not. If you mean any harm to us, hover up and down. If you just want me to leave you alone, hover right and left.
The paper begins to hover toward you, then hovers away, then hovers back.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2014, 10:32:37 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 10:50:23 am
((This is getting even weirder than expected))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 10:56:05 am
-A third option? You are interested in something else? Hover up and down for yes, or to the sides for no.
((This is getting even weirder than expected))
The paper responds by spinning in place.
Post by: miauw62 on January 18, 2014, 11:39:49 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 12:15:22 pm
Resume my planned schedule.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 12:19:55 pm
This paper is not sentient, or it is trying to make fun out of Sigmund. In either case, it doesn't deserve more attention. Inverse psychology, perhaps? That should teach that pesky piece of paper to don't bother other people. He could always tell the Artiste about it if something happened, anyway.
Resume my planned schedule.
As you turn away from the paper, you hear a *foom* sound. Glancing back, you notice that the paper is now enveloped in magenta-colored flames.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 18, 2014, 12:25:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 12:31:14 pm
"Aye sir, I however am ignorant on their abilities. I would like to inter act with the world, even if only with my mind."
"Maybe you could ask an actual ghost? I'm not positive on how it all works exactly either."
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 01:53:53 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 01:55:42 pm
Keep ignoring it, but walk away slowly, to give it time to react.
A very low hum begins to issue from the piece of paper and it begins to shake visibly as you approach the stairs.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 18, 2014, 02:00:53 pm
Hm... Papey? No, that's stupid. Doom paper? ...A good name for it isn't coming to mind.]
Post by: miauw62 on January 18, 2014, 02:26:56 pm
[Congrats, you made clingy paper. That will probably kill us all.]Exactly my thoughts.
Post by: Tomcost on January 18, 2014, 02:49:15 pm
-Aha! I knew it! Now, would you please listen to me? If you understand me, move in a circular fashion.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 18, 2014, 05:47:09 pm
Sigmund stopped walking and jumped back, looking at the piece of paper:
-Aha! I knew it! Now, would you please listen to me? If you understand me, move in a circular fashion.
The piece of paper keeps on flaming and humming, and also starts moving up and down.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 18, 2014, 05:53:30 pm
...Burning Paper? Humming stock? It's hard coming up with names for magical paper.]
Post by: killerhellhound on January 18, 2014, 07:02:54 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 18, 2014, 07:32:20 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 18, 2014, 10:48:10 pm
Dear lord I'm a walking reality bomb chair.))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 19, 2014, 12:20:40 am
((Dear lord I'm a walking reality bomb chair.))((I wouldn't have it any other way
Post by: Yoink on January 19, 2014, 02:07:40 am
He was used to getting a poor reception, but this seemed perhaps even worse than usual. He would get to the bottom of this! Clearly, these people need his help! Timothy began to practically itch with excitement at the idea of getting to be useful for once.
"...What'sa matters?"
>Quickly calm the woman down, reassuring her that I don't want anything, and even if I did I wouldn't be hurting people to get it.
>Then, seeing her strange demeanour, ask her just what's wrong. Offer to help solve her problems, whatever they may be!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2014, 05:25:44 am
Mark gets the heck away from the peace of Burning paper
You perform a daring leap away from the side of the ship, hoping to not get caught in a cataclysmic reality-warping event. You roll right up to the mast and hide behind it.
"Well, back where I got here from, there were a few ghosts, like us. I don't have any money on me, but maybe if you relocated over there, you could find some more customers. We could even put on a magic show to celebrate the opening."
"Do they have money?"
Right now, I'm waiting for Innsmothe to specify his travel turn before moving along with things. Skipping him a whole day would be a bit much.
In some kind of town...
Timothy tries to reassure the peasant woman, shrinking down humbly and harmlessly, a thing he is rather proficient at.
"Dun' worries, I's not wants a thing, not gonna hurts people," he says, but the woman is not visibly calmed.
"Shut up!"
Timothy, however, does not relent, as this woman clearly does not know the extent of his helpfulness.
"...What'sa matters?"
The woman does not immediately answer. Instead, she looks around, and notices a person approaching. Timothy wonders a moment what her problem might be, but then she turns back to him.
"Damn it. Didn't work. Listen, leave now! Go away!"
She begins to quickly walk away from Timothy, looking to be in quite a rush.
Post by: Yoink on January 19, 2014, 05:34:29 am
>Do my best to turn invisible! Surely I should be getting the hang of that by now...
>Then: surreptitiously inspect the person approaching. Try and figure out why that woman would be afraid of them.
Try not to lose sight of her, though.
Post by: Tomcost on January 19, 2014, 07:07:51 am
((Aww, I wanted it to be clingy paper!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2014, 11:21:39 am
Get the hell away from that paper. Tell the Artiste about it, then go to the cargo hold
((Aww, I wanted it to be clingy paper!))
The paper begins to fly in your direction as you turn away from it. Uh oh.
In a town of some kind...
Timothy tries to become invisible! It's worked before, after all.
[Timothy's invisibility roll: 4]
And it works! Timothy becomes more translucent over a period of several seconds until you can't very well see him at all! He is invisible! And not blind, either. That's great! Now for some investigative work. Timothy looks at the person approaching - a man walking relaxedly, or at least that's what Timothy thinks. It might not be a man at all. It might be a woman. Or a giant spider dressed as a human being for some nefarious purpose. What he's trying to say is that he is unsure of who or what this man may actually be, and his motives are equally unknown. Perhaps this is what frightens the woman so? The unknowable nature of the thoughts of other people? The tragedy of being unable to share minds as easily as words? It might be, Timothy thinks.
Speaking of the woman, though, where'd she go? Timothy looks around, and notices her heading over to a nearby dark alley, her step having become more of an urgent run.
Post by: Tomcost on January 19, 2014, 01:39:22 pm
Also scream to make everybody get away from it
((Damn stability and dangerousness rolls))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 19, 2014, 01:47:38 pm
Funnel air in the direction fo the paper! Trap it!
Also scream to make everybody get away from it
((Damn stability and dangerousness rolls))
You attempt to funnel air at the paper to trap it.
[Your magic roll: 6]
The paper is easily blown away by the funneling of air, flying far away from you. You notice it start to form elaborate patterns in the air, leaving a flaming trail that does not seem to dissipate quickly about a hundred meters away. It looks rather pretty, but you think it's actually getting closer again.
Your screaming does manage to rouse the people on deck, who decide that it's probably best to stay away from you for the next day or so.
Post by: Yoink on January 19, 2014, 02:24:24 pm
As much as he would like to help every nice person he came across in need of help, in Timothy's experience one could only really help one person at a time. Besides, something seemed a little... off about that approaching figure. The lady, on the other hand, seemed fairly nice! Maybe a little perturbed by Timothy's appearance, but he could hardly hold that against anyone now, could he?
Besides, he was invisible now. He was pretty sure, anyway.
>Follow after the nice lady. Whilst invisible.
>When she's out of sight of the pursuing(?) figure, speak to her in a conspirational whisper.
"Pssts! 'Ey! 'Sme! Is dere a problems happening here? Does you need a help?"
Be sure to keep my tone non-threatening, and as helpful as possible.
Post by: Parsely on January 19, 2014, 02:28:26 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 19, 2014, 02:30:33 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 19, 2014, 04:16:34 pm
((Shit, I won't get rid of it until it explodes, right?))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 19, 2014, 05:19:45 pm
Scott is going to wander around the ship and study the wailing ghosts for a clue to his knew abilities and how to use them.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 19, 2014, 05:36:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 05:57:52 am
Find the captain and ask him to go faster
((Shit, I won't get rid of it until it explodes, right?))
You locate the captain, but he seems to be following the ship while not actually being on it, evaluating the work of his shades from afar. Undeterred, you shout to him.
"Captain! Go faster!"
Regrettably, he seems to be too far away to hear you, no matter how much you shout. You find yourself feeling rather insecure for a moment. This feeling is amplified manifold when you turn and notice that the focus paper appears to be right next to your face now.
Traveling on the Sea of Pleasant Winds, day one...
Sigmund, in the time when he wasn't hounded by clingy paper of death and destruction, spent the day doing two things, mostly - fixing foci, where he didn't meet much success - he got one good focus and all, but that's it, pretty much - it didn't even have anything written on it. Depressed, he decided to tie himself to the mast and practice wind magic as penance. After getting the same spell off a few times, he realized he couldn't really see if what he was doing was really working, considering that the wind is entirely invisible. And the already windy conditions did not improve things any, as he could hardly even check the flow of the wind with his own trusty face. Dejected, he sought out Evelyn to find out if there's something she can say to him that would make his altogether crappy day complete. Fortunately, she did! And from there, his real debacle of the day began.
Niklas tried to meditate to get his chair powers back. For some reason, though, he found he could not concentrate of the idea. The magic has faded, both literally and figuratively. Not being one to dwell on loss, though, Niklas decided to spend quality time with his family. Sadly for him, however, Torkel had gone to the forest on a herb-gathering adventure that day, and couldn't be expected to return until tomorrow - Helsvar said it was quite okay, the boy was definitely young and curious, but the spirit of the North was in him, and he had already successfully wrestled his first bear the previous winter, a fact that made Niklas a little proud - though the child's mandatory bear-wrestling was a touch overdue, he obviously did the best he could, which is good if you consider he had to face growing up without a strong male role model. With Torkel gone, Niklas had the idea to try to hang out with Helsvar that day, but sadly she had to rebuke him, being a bit busy that day, as she had to take part in a ritualistic women's gathering that day, which precluded spending time with any men, chairmen included. Having faced failure today on all those fronts, Niklas nevertheless did not lose hopes for getting something done, and asked the Artiste to get his moving privileges back, which he granted. Obviously, Niklas had to wait until the Artiste was passing by close enough to hear what he's saying, which took a few hours of waiting, but hey, he was free from that moment on. And to celebrate his freedom, he decided to cook a grand feast with the available materials - something he is quite good at, unlike socialization and meditation! At the end of the day, he had created a feast so grand and elaborate that not only did it completely deplete the ship's food supplies (granted, there were only two people on deck that actually required food, and Niklas suspected that the Artiste has some kind of snack supply - possibly sea biscuits he may have appropriated before Niklas occupied the kitchen) he decided that nobody could have it, to increase its potential deliciousness, and devoted it to the god of cooking and yelling. Unfortunately, though, he realized there is no god of both cooking and yelling - he supposes the cooking he does is more like art, so that would be Narcillicus' domain, while yelling... he's not quite as sure, really. It's one of the lady gods, he knew - on one hand, Rysinia's the goddess of war, combat and industry, but also of strategy, while Almiria's the goddess of order... ultimately he decided in favor of Rysinia, as she seemed to represent his interests more. However, either the gods didn't like to share or they aren't generally impressed by food, because Niklas did not feel very blessed. He wondered then if it was bad form to have someone eat a sacrifice that didn't seem to get accepted by the gods.
Morton remained blissfully oblivious to the antics on the ship because he was too busy practicing his mind-altering chants. He practiced chanting the Single Thought Chant all day with a singlemindedness normally reserved for those who have already chanted the Single Thought Chant all day. Through extensive experimentation, he discovered the shocking fact that the Single Thought Chant does not work too well with complex concepts like home, life, the universe, everything that isn't a single object, thought or activity and people, as evidenced by the fact that these words lost all their meaning after he focused on them for longer than an hour. Tea, though, remained entirely interesting and exciting the whole way through, which gladdened Morton. He was, however, somewhat impeded by an emerging compulsive desire to serve it excessively, which cut into his time significantly (though the Artiste, Erin, drunk as she was, and even Tailor Craig seemed entirely satisfied by it, if a bit creeped out after the fifth time in seven hours they were offered it).
Mark decided to devote his day to fishing and sacrifice to please the dark powers that brought him out of the pits of eternal darkness. He, unlike his fellows, met with stupendous success on that front, catching eighteen fish of varying size and weirdness with the help of expertly chosen organ bait and sacrificing them equally to all three of his old friends. Only thirty seven souls left! And now he's got somewhere under 30 kilograms of assorted fish parts! Double hooray, indeed! Slightly more depressingly, though, he found that Erin did not sober up one bit during the entire day, and remained distressingly physically dysfunctional, if outwardly jolly despite the fact that she seems to have drunk several liters of tea during the time he saw her. Either Morton is running a side business, he thought, or he had a bit to learn about magical drunkenness.
Kevin, after turning the dial on his drunk-ring way down and finding himself pleasantly sober without the mortal inconvenience of a hangover, squirreled his call-stone away in a secure location on his own person, the skill of doing which he perfected early in his jesting career because of how much it amused his king. His king was strange that way, honestly. One had to wonder whether he didn't have some repressed issues in that regard, though anybody who did so openly would doubtlessly have gotten executed. The idea of jesting having reemerged in his mind, Kevin decided to practice and improve his routine for the rest of the day. What he realized during the day was that, to be honest, he wasn't all that good of a jester at all. Most of his jokes were old and tired beyond belief, having come from over 50 years ago, and his more physical routines had suffered quite a lot from age. This was probably why not that many people find him funny. And honestly, what laughs he did get from people, he probably did more from being a natural fool than a licensed one, depressing though it sounded. In a way, he was only as funny as the rest of his companions, possibly less. He realized that Morton, with his inherent absurdity and generally chipper, overly polite demeanor, plus the whole butler and tea thing, was probably way funnier to most people. And Niklas, though highly obnoxious most of the time, had more fool cred than he did - a natural fool without a doubt, seemingly incapable of behaving or responding reasonably to anything, had a sort of edge to his behavior, particularly to his cooking, that amused one to a certain level. Sigmund was a great straight man with his generally productive intentions, plus he has a propensity toward everything he did going wrong amusingly, not to mention that he gets reduced to a gibbering wreck by crossroads unless led with his eyes closed by someone else, and on top of that he was a funny-looking vampire, unlike Kevin! Mark also looked pretty funny, with the face of a tree and all. Then there was his obsession with fishing and surgery that, while highly disturbing to Kevin, somebody probably found funny or at least intriguing. Like that time he stitched Niklas' head on a fish. And Scott was basically a walking (now floating) one-man comedy act, though also not entirely unintentionally. And the Captain was also quite ridiculous. Though the mages were probably less funny than Kevin, and the Artiste wasn't one for much comedy, this was but a cold comfort to Kevin - he realized that, despite his vocation, he seemed the most normal, serious and all around generic person on this ship. He has been outclassed by a cadre of gifted amateurs. This realization was enough to make him crawl into a corner to think about things for the rest of the day.
Scott spent the day investigating his ghostdom, trailing the shades operating throughout the ship and studying their capabilities. From several hours of observation, he concluded that ghosts should probably be able to move objects with their minds, even if he seemed to be having trouble on that front. He also noticed that the shades seem to be able to move great distances on a whim - they seemed to pop out of one place and move to another all the time, usually when they heard one of the Captain's orders. It may not have been entirely intentional on their part - the shades were evidently an easily frightened lot, and they had a very pronounced tendency to lament audibly while they worked. Mostly they were empty lamentations - they seemed emotional about something they did not even properly remember, and they would occasionally call for somebody they seemed to know, and when one of the shades asked who they were calling for, they could not answer coherently. Nevertheless, the shades seemed to be doing their work acceptably, and the noise they made seemed to be the only problem - it was quite unnerving to hear it for long, honestly.
In the streets of wherever...
Taking advantage of his invisibility, Timothy follows the woman into the alley, where she seems to stop for a moment to catch her breath a little. This exercise in maintaining her calm fails spectacularly when Timothy begins to whisper to her.
"Pssts! 'Ey! 'Sme! Is dere a problems happening here? Does you need a help?"
The woman is once again quite startled, and Timothy hears a faint *fwish* and the sound of something impacting stone.
"Damn it! Why are you haunting me? I can't help you! With anything!" she furiously whispers to the air, shrinking back against the wall and glancing about wildly, trying to locate Timothy, but failing quite miserably.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren bravely suggests the other parts of the city as optimal ghost hangouts for the lady, insinuating that they may have money to give her.
"I didn't check, but I'm certain one of them must. Also, wouldn't it be nice to go out and meet others, instead of spending all your time with only your pets?"
"I can't leave. Not for long. Somebody will take things from the store, the little rat-machines scurrying in the streets will remove things from their places and use them without permission. And then I'll have nothing to give the taxman, so it'll take my pets! I can't allow that. If they wish to buy things, they must come to my store, yes? It is in a convenient place, and the prices are good, and... and it'd mean much to me if they bought one..." she begins and trails off. The idea of not being able to leave seems to have struck her suddenly, igniting some sort of emotional spark. Her morose mood seems to be giving way to nervousness again.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on January 20, 2014, 06:42:42 am
Post by: Yoink on January 20, 2014, 07:07:07 am
He lowered his voice to a conspirational tone, bobbing unseen about the woman's head. "I's one of da good guys! What's da problems?"
>Convince the distraught woman that I'm one of the good guys, here to save the day!
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 07:11:31 am
"No no no," Timothy quickly reassures the woman, someone distressed by her reaction and desperate to calm things down, "I wantsta help youse."
He lowered his voice to a conspirational tone, bobbing unseen about the woman's head. "I's one of da good guys! What's da problems?"
>Convince the distraught woman that I'm one of the good guys, here to save the day!
She seems most dissatisfied with this answer.
"You're mocking me, aren't you. You think this is funny! Well, I'm not about to play your game!"
She takes a step away from the wall, and looks ready to run, yet a bit too paranoid to make the first move.
Post by: Yoink on January 20, 2014, 08:06:48 am
"Aw, awrights, den," he says in a sad little voice, "If you's not wants my help, I's leaves you alone. Dat's fine. Why's nobody ever wants my help, anyways? I be real helpfuls..."
He trails off, mumbling unhappily to himself whilst idly watching the woman.
>Give up, let her go if she really doesn't want my help. If she does take this chance to leave, go look around the rest of town instead.
>If she changes her mind, well, great! Try and figure out what her problems are, so I can help with them!
Post by: Innsmothe on January 20, 2014, 08:20:20 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 20, 2014, 10:06:12 am
-Allright, you can stay with us, as long as you don't explode or anything.
Determine if the pink flames are dangerous.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 20, 2014, 11:33:14 am
Sigmund resigned getting rid of the paper. It probably had powers beyond his comprehension, so the effort wonuldn't probably pay off. He tried to get on good terms with the paper, at least:((Start treating it like a loved pet It might start to like you. and by treat it like a loved pet I mean play with it and be nice not butcher it and make roast))
-Allright, you can stay with us, as long as you don't explode or anything.
Determine if the pink flames are dangerous.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 12:19:48 pm
Sigmund resigned getting rid of the paper. It probably had powers beyond his comprehension, so the effort wonuldn't probably pay off. He tried to get on good terms with the paper, at least:
-Allright, you can stay with us, as long as you don't explode or anything.
Determine if the pink flames are dangerous.
The piece of paper abruptly explodes.
[Your dodge roll: 5+1]
You drop to the ground immediately, only getting singed as magenta flames roar over you. Fortunately, it is late and dark, and nobody is close enough to the blast to get hurt any. Mark does look your way, however. At least you think so. He doesn't seem overly pleased. And neither does Evelyn, who appears to have hidden in the aftcastle. The paper still hangs in the air, burning happily. It looks a bit singed.
[Evelyn's magic roll: 2]
She makes a strange hissing noise, but nothing comes of it. She turns to you immediately from her high perch.
~Stop what you are doing.~
Wait, could she do that the whole time?
Post by: Tomcost on January 20, 2014, 12:23:50 pm
-Doing what? I was trying to prevent that failed focus from hurting all of you.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 12:26:05 pm
((Whooo! I'm not dead!))
-Doing what? I was trying to prevent that failed focus from hurting all of you.
~Well, it is not working. Stop it,~ Evelyn's voice rings out in your head. You'd honestly forgotten what she actually sounded like.
Post by: miauw62 on January 20, 2014, 12:29:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 12:31:30 pm
((Wait does the piece of paper still exist?))
Oh, right. Yes. Yes, it does. Still floating happily, ayup. It looks damaged, though. Added to miniturn.
Post by: Nunzillor on January 20, 2014, 12:46:14 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 20, 2014, 12:47:44 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 12:56:51 pm
-Any suggestions, then? I don't know what to do with this piece of paper.
~Do nothing. Wait a moment. Ignore it.~
Evelyn stares at the paper for a long minute.
~It is difficult to handle. Do not provoke it.~
Post by: Tomcost on January 20, 2014, 01:10:44 pm
Wait, some distance away from it
Things to do in the day:
-Concentrate on reapairing the foci.
-Do so.
Post by: miauw62 on January 20, 2014, 01:36:35 pm
Show those amateurs who the real jester is on this ship.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 20, 2014, 01:43:20 pm
-Well, it somewhat worked before.
Wait, some distance away from it
Things to do in the day:
-Concentrate on reapairing the foci.
-Do so.
You step away from the focus and wait. It doesn't do anything at all in the time you do so. That's good, you guess.
~That is an acceptable state of things, I suppose. Keep doing whatever it is you are doing.~
Post by: Tomcost on January 20, 2014, 01:48:20 pm
Don't go too far away from the paper, and do my stuff if possible.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 20, 2014, 03:47:53 pm
Post by: Parsely on January 20, 2014, 03:52:23 pm
((I don't think so, I'm afraid. :( We almost lost someone, but apparently they escaped from their predicament- sitting on the sea floor as a severed head- by becoming a ghost through sheer force of will. With any luck they'll blow themselves and their boat up before long in some magical mishap. :P))((That's okay. I don't think I'd ever be able to catch up with this anyway. :p I haven't even read any of this since I signed up, which was like, two years ago?))
Post by: Yoink on January 20, 2014, 04:14:32 pm
((I don't think so, I'm afraid. :( We almost lost someone, but apparently they escaped from their predicament- sitting on the sea floor as a severed head- by becoming a ghost through sheer force of will. With any luck they'll blow themselves and their boat up before long in some magical mishap. :P))((That's okay. I don't think I'd ever be able to catch up with this anyway. :p I haven't even read any of this since I signed up, which was like, two years ago?))
((There is probably the same amount of it that I haven't read... to be honest I have no idea what the others are doing, or how they got there, or what happened to Bernie, or just about anything other than my own little story. O.o
This game is pretty dang epic, that's for sure.))
Post by: Xantalos on January 20, 2014, 04:32:25 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on January 20, 2014, 05:49:07 pm
Post by: kahn1234 on January 20, 2014, 06:20:22 pm
I sorta stopped reading at around 180 pages (with 50 posts per page......)
Especially how magic works (or is supposed to anyway)
By the way, whatever happened to Bernie's Sister?))
Post by: Nunzillor on January 20, 2014, 06:38:03 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 20, 2014, 06:50:02 pm
On the topic of catching up, to be completely honest I've only read from where I signed Morton up and I believe I'm doing fairly well. May help that Morton is also the least homicidal of the bunch though.]
Travel Turn: Let's try the listening chant now! In the kitchen, of course, so as not to weird out or bother the others.
Also, inspect the ship for dirty places and clean them, should time provide!
Hm. Not quite the results the desk was hoping for, a dreadful pity really, just dreadful. But perhaps he should rest on the Single Thought chant, there is the listening chant to attempt after all, although what it does isn't certain. First, however, the desk wants a bit of fresh air and a bit of variety.
Perhaps a pleasant chat with good tailor Craig can alleviate such a want, assuming the friendly demonological fellow has the time.
Post by: Nunzillor on January 21, 2014, 01:59:32 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 21, 2014, 02:00:25 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2014, 01:39:46 pm
Timothy realizes that this woman is in all likelihood beyond his help if she does not let go of her rather nasty disposition. He sighs.
"Aw, awrights, den, if you's not wants my help, I's leaves you alone. Dat's fine. Why's nobody ever wants my help, anyways? I be real helpfuls..."
The woman seems both surprised and mildly relieved. She slowly and unsurely takes a step, and, when nothing happens to her, speaks up confidently.
"Yes. Leave me!"
And with that, she sprints right out of the alley, disappearing around a corner. Wonder what her problem was? Oh well. Timothy just goes ahead and looks around the rest of the town. It seems to be somewhat atypical, he concludes. For one, the townspeople, while looking mostly harmless, have this look of nervousness and alertness about them. Also, there's a whole lot of guards present, and they never seem to be around in groups of less than three - one of which is apparently always a mage, judging from the markings on their armor (there seem to be four types 'MM', 'MH', 'EM' and 'LM', all in roughly equal quantities as far as Timothy can tell). Timothy wonders briefly about the increased security, but then he spots a poster that provides a potential reason - apparently, you're supposed to really watch out for pink stuff in this town for some reason, and seek a guard immediately if anything of that sort is spotted.
He also finds out the name of the town, which seems to be Blynn, judging from the poster, and familiarizes himself with the general layout of the place - landmarks of note are a fortified hill on which a fort that houses the town guard stands, a loose group of buildings in a less dense part of town that seem to house a variety of magical workshops (though they don't seem open to the public or commercial in nature, interestingly enough), a town hall that appears to have partially collapsed, a whole bunch of blocky, tall buildings grouped together near the workshop area, what must have been a market square that now holds only a rather high stone platform with ominous-looking stairs leading up to it and an adjacent, very lively establishment called Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry, which is an awfully indicative as well as alliterative name, Timothy supposes. He also notices that most of the buildings that seem to have any activity happening within them appear to be quite new as well as somewhat alien in architecture - blocky, tall affairs with gently sloping roofs and very little regard for aesthetics, unlike the rest of the town. In addition, there appears to be an older wall surrounding the whole town, which is in a state of mild disrepair, and a newer inner compound that contains both most of the guards as well as most of the residents of the town.
All in all, Blynn appears to be strange place, that's for sure.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, guessing that he can't bring the lady to her customers in light of these circumstances, proposes an alternate solution.
"So... what if I went and found some customers for you? To pay off my debt?"
The woman thinks about the idea, evidently, her many eyes migrating along her face as she considers the offer.
"I... yes. Do so! I need more customers! Yes! I will be at my store," she quickly answers, then flies down the street, going back inside her store.
Perhaps a pleasant chat with good tailor Craig can alleviate such a want, assuming the friendly demonological fellow has the time.
Do you wish to initiate conversation? Hard to tell if you don't bold the action.
"*sniff* Marry... *sniff* Nuncle..."
Show those amateurs who the real jester is on this ship.
I assume that's what you want to do the entire day, yes?
-It seems that he wants to be near me, for some reason.
Don't go too far away from the paper, and do my stuff if possible.
~Do not be ridiculous. It is not and will never be a 'he' by any stretch of the imagination. Do not engage the focus in any way. Do not even think about it.~
Right, we need Xantalos in here. He seems to have posted, but left no action, regrettably.
Post by: Tomcost on January 21, 2014, 01:44:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 21, 2014, 01:48:12 pm
-Isn't there a probability of it becoming sentient for some reason? Erin made a knife sentient by mistake, couldn't the same thing happen to this piece of paper?
~Are you doubting me? I would not do that in your position.~
Post by: Xantalos on January 21, 2014, 01:55:21 pm
Niklas shall:
Sacrifice the feast to himself instead, since the gods aren't listening.
Steal all of Mark's fish and use them to cook more feasts which he will sacrifice to himself.
Obtain materials and build as many chairs as possible. Doesn't matter where the materials come from or what they are.
Spend time with Torkel/Helsvar if they aren't busy.
Post by: Tomcost on January 21, 2014, 02:02:08 pm
-I'm just saying that I've seen stuff gain sentience when someone fails with magic. I won't risk geting myself exploded for it, so I will stay away from it if possible. But if it has happened before, it could happen again.-Isn't there a probability of it becoming sentient for some reason? Erin made a knife sentient by mistake, couldn't the same thing happen to this piece of paper?
~Are you doubting me? I would not do that in your position.~
Post by: Xanmyral on January 21, 2014, 06:52:44 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 22, 2014, 02:47:20 am
He also didn't like the idea of frightening someone and making those guards mad-- they had magick-y types with them after all, and in his experience they were awfully hard for a ghost to hide from. He figured it'd be best to make a good impression... He still needs directions, after all.
>Let's go telekinetically repair that outer wall! That'll make people like me, right?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 07:09:46 am
Mark, seeing that Erin appears to be having trouble getting sober, put the ring back on her finger and tried dialing it down - a maneuver which worked rather splendidly, sobering Erin up completely and instantly. She was very thankful for the favor, though her general business changed little, her schedule mostly consisting of hanging around and killing time. As she was once again in a useful condition, Mark then gave her a letter asking her to conjure up some fish bait. She gladly obliged, providing Mark with rather aromatic lures of many types to aid him in his quest. Glad at finally getting what he needed, Mark got back to his fishing. And once again, he met with quite a lot of luck - the fish seemed to enjoy the bait rather nicely, and Mark managed to improve yesterday's result by catching 19 fish, which he sacrificed with great gusto as he caught them. Eighteen souls left. He was making bank, that was for sure.
Scott, what with having spent the previous day studying shades, today tried to process this information and understand his capabilities. He did not make great headway in this respect, however. He believed that he could, in fact, use telekinesis, though his many attempts throughout that day seemed to say otherwise. That teleportation trick was also something he wished he could do, but sadly the nuances of the thing were beyond him as well. And with the Captain busy at all hours of the day, he couldn't think of anyone he could ask about this sort of thing, leading him to develop disturbing feelings of inferiority during the course of the day.
Kevin, still incredibly threatened by the idea that he might not be good at this jesting thing at all, resolved to utilize this day to make himself feel better. He was going to show these people who the real, professional, licensed jester here was. So he went around to each of the ship's residents, trying to cheer them up with a good joke. However, the reactions were regrettably quite negative. The Artiste did not seem amused about the joke with two elephants walking into a bank, Erin's reaction to what was, in Kevin's opinion, an absolutely amazing pun was simply a faint, almost apologetic smile, Art wasn't a very big fan of toilet humor, and most of the others seemed a bit too busy to pay attention to him. Even the shades, miserable and impressionable bastards that they were, didn't like any of his material, and he tried it on any that he could find, too. This served to only exacerbate his fear that he was not very funny currently, and possibly never was funny at all - after all, his poor taste in jokes was what got him executed in the first place. And he suspected he only got the royal jester job in the first place because the male line of his entire family as far back as his great-great-great-grandfather had all been court jesters of somewhat great renown, and not because he was any good himself. There was an existential crisis brewing up within Kevin, and he was certainly ill-equipped to deal with it, what with his newly realized lack of humor.
Sigmund, though not feeling terribly relaxed around the wantonly exploding piece of paper, tried to get his business done regardless. He tried to fix up as many foci as possible, spending long periods of time concentrating on the tasks at hand before that. Unfortunately, however, concentration wasn't going to happen, Sigmund realized, mostly due to the fact that there seemed to be a flaming piece of paper following him around that seemed to behave erratically whenever he tried to concentrate, interfering, menacingly rumbling and occasionally shrieking loudly just as he tried to focus. This meant that he did not manage to properly do anything that day, either, particularly when, at the end of the day, the paper started randomly emitting strange, pinkish beams of light that left pink trails on deck that seemed to undulate threateningly and pulse oddly. Just as Sigmund notices this, Evelyn addresses him once again, the voice in his head going ~The focus has become highly unstable. It will soon become increasingly dangerous.~
Morton, unaware of the magical tragedies unfolding on deck for most of the day, tried the Listening Chant next. He liked to listen, after all, and it could come in handy. And the chant proved rather easy to use, much simpler than the Single Thought Chant, he found. Chanting it repeatedly, Morton found the distraction of his own thoughts slowly decrease, allowing him to more acutely hear the surrounding area. And the longer he chanted, the less he felt his own presence on this world, his oneness with his surroundings increasing. He could hear very clearly a whole lot of things - the lamentations of the shades, the sound of pages in a book flipping, Mark performing beastly sacrifices to dark entities, Evelyn flapping her wings on occasion, Erin humming a tune, a strange twinkling that Morton supposes most likely belongs to Art, the structure of the ship occasionally groaning as a shade misjudges a telekinetic push, the Captain shouting out orders... he thought he can even hear occasional splashes coming from the sea, and the sound of wind blowing over the ship. After the effects of the chant, rather dramatic in a way, subsided in Morton's mind, he realized that he probably could not spend the entire day just listening - it would get quite dull, after all. So he got out his mop and started looking for dirt to bravely vanquish - over the course of the day, he managed to clean up the entire ship, rendering it quite spotless and earning a pat of approval from the Artiste at the end of the day. Happy about being a valuable member of the crew, Morton then decided to take a break and go chat up Tailor Craig - the fellow had moved over to the den some time previously, and seemed to be making use of the ship's vast amount of writing supplies to pen some kind of manuscript. Also in the den with him were Art, Erin and Justine, the latter hovering in the air in a pose that seemed to suggest she was meditating while the other two were making conversation between themselves, the tailor occasionally speaking up and adding some sort of detail - the main topic of conversation seemed to be the Aspect of Appeal, as well as other demons, and speculation about their abilities and spheres of interest.
Niklas resolute in sacrificing the feast to someone, sacrificed it to himself. However, a few minutes after clogging up his vocal apparatus with food, he realized that maybe there is no way to do such a thing effectively. It took him about an hour to clean out his packed pipes, during which he formulated a plan which, quite unfortunately, involved stealing from Mark of all people. Stealing his fish, to be exact, which proved to be shockingly easy as long as Niklas waited until after they were sacrificed. He even stole all of the fish from the previous day on top of that, and used his newly gained riches to cook more feasts - they did not involve much variety, being composed exclusively of fish, or, indeed, much preparation either, for northern cuisine frequently did not involve much preparation of various meats (it did, however, involve quite a bit of food poisoning for those with weaker stomachs), so the pile of fish parts at the end of the feast preparation was still a pile of fish parts, albeit a more appealingly organized one. Still faced with the impossibility of sacrificing it, though, Niklas opted not to stuff his chair face with the feast this time around, and instead moved on to the next activity - chair making. For this the fish and remaining other food came in handy, as the bones and tougher vegetables made for great materials to make chairs from, and soon Niklas had made an entire five chairs out of the entirety of the food available. They looked both good for sitting as well as quite appetizing, so Niklas thought his job was done for now, and decided to spend some time with his family again - hopefully they were not be busy today. He was sad to find out that Torkel was still absent, apparently having decided to extend his adventure by another day. Helsvar, though, was quite free, and they spent a nice evening catching up on old times, conversing and otherwise alleviating their general friendlessness. The experience was quite pleasing for Niklas, and helped him feel quite a bit less alone among strangers than usual.
In Blynn...
Timothy, hoping to endear himself to the populace of Blynn with random acts of kindness, heads into the less populated area or Blynn and tries to repair the outer wall - its sad state can't be good for providing the town with a sense of security, can it?
[Timothy's repair roll: 6]
Despite the wall missing great chunks in places, Timothy resolves to do his best anyway, utilizing dirt and bits of rubble to put the wall back into serviceable condition. After about six hours of work, he has reconstructed and repaired about a hundred meter stretch of wall. The entire length, however, is probably a few kilometers, though.
Maybe engineering is not the best way to endear himself to people. Hardly anyone seems to live outside of the inner wall, anyway - Timothy certainly hasn't seen any residents. And fixing this entire wall alone could take weeks - this wasn't even the worst part of the wall, just a good starting point. The task is daunting, to say the least.
Post by: miauw62 on January 22, 2014, 08:02:18 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2014, 08:11:38 am
if he completes all the sacrifices he will sharpen his halberd he knew that he had a whet stone here somewhere.
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 08:20:03 am
Find Justine, ank her to telekinetically throw water over the focus from a distance.
Try to concentrate meanwhile in casting the funnel air spell
As the water hits the paper, cast the funnel air spell in such a way that the paper flies outside of the ship and to the bottom of the sea.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 22, 2014, 09:06:45 am
If he gets no headway, he will 'dive in at the deep end' and try to interact with something he cares about. He will try to make a cup of tea.
(we get bonus die for role-playing right?/jest :P)
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 10:08:15 am
((Allright, I have to somehow destroy it, now))
Find Justine, ank her to telekinetically throw water over the focus from a distance.
Try to concentrate meanwhile in casting the funnel air spell
As the water hits the paper, cast the funnel air spell in such a way that the paper flies outside of the ship and to the bottom of the sea.
You come up with a cunning plan to deal with the focus once and for all - first, you find Justine. She seems to be in the den, fortunately enough, meditating upon something. You wave your hand through her spectral form, disrupting her relaxation.
"What? What do you want?"
You explain the need for her to get some water and splash it on this rogue piece of magic paper that seems to be on deck right now.
"What are you talking about? A piece of magical paper? One of your foci, I presume?"
You reiterate the question, this time stressing the fact that it seems to be unstable and emitting bursts of pink light. This seems quite disquieting to Justine, evidently.
"Well, I suppose I could try it," she says, following you back to the deck. She looks at the ocean and tries to concentrate. You decide that's probably a good thing for you to try as well, and do the same thing, except on a different bit of magic. You can't seem to get your thoughts into order, though, before Justine tries to lift up some water.
[Justine's telekinesis roll: 2-1]
You notice a spout of water shooting up into the air slightly off the ship.
"Yes, it seems that telekinetically moving water is indeed just as difficult as one might think."
This means your plan may have hit a bit of a snag, you guess.
~Take a few steps away from the focus again. I wish to try something,~ Evelyn's voice calmly declares in your head.
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 10:20:53 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 22, 2014, 10:21:34 am
Post by: Yoink on January 22, 2014, 10:52:11 am
He paused, letting the piece of rock he was moving fall to the ground, and swiftly decided that it would be far more interesting to find someone else to talk to, instead. So thinking, he floated off further into the outskirts of the town, sweeping his way back-and-forth through the mostly abandoned streets. Surely the people who still lived out here would be more interesting- and less dangerous- than the ones in the central parts.
>Find one of the few people still living outside of the inner wall and observe them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 11:39:21 am
Do what Evelyn says, and cover my head with my hands, but in a way that allows me to see
You step away from the focus, putting your hands over your head defensively while keeping your eyes uncovered.
[Evelyn's magic roll: 1+1]
The focus looks completely undisturbed in the next minute or so. Evelyn does not seem happy.
~The focus is highly resistant to tampering, it seems. Despite my best efforts, it remains unchanged.~
Speaking of the focus, the bursts of pink light do seem to be getting more intense right now. It's beginning to look pretty dangerous here on deck, actually.
"I have a better idea," Justine suddenly says.
[Justine's telekinesis roll: 4]
The focus begins to slowly move away from the deck and out over the sea, the bursts of light slowly intensifying and the hum of the thing becoming more pronounced with every moment as it seems to actually resist the manipulation.
At the outer wall of Blynn...
Timothy, getting distracted from his duty by the mind-numbing tedium of it all, decides it best to look for someone to talk about all these weird things he's seen so far. And the best place he can think to look is the outer section of the city, as that part is more likely to house people he can find things in common with.
And after about half an hour of searching, he finds someone! It's that nasty lady from before, but this time she appears to be in the company of a friendly-looking young man of some sort. Rounding out the group is a rather large, strangely twitching pink dog. The two people seem to be conversing while the dog stands silently by their side, and the man seems to be holding the woman's hand.
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 11:41:31 am
Funnel air to push it to the sea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 11:49:24 am
-We have to combine our efforts in this! Keep it away from the ship!
Funnel air to push it to the sea.
"Will do."
~I will also try to help.~
[Evelyn's magic roll: 4]
Justine begins to glow more than usual. You... think that's good?
[Justine's telekinesis roll: 3+1]
Despite Justine's efforts at moving the thing, though, it seems to be slowly moving the opposite direction. You decide that this will not do.
[Your magic roll: 2]
However, you find yourself momentarily incapable of funneling air properly, and the focus continues its journey back toward the ship. The pink light seems to be rapidly becoming brighter, and you can see pinkish tendrils extend from the focus. They appear to be reaching toward you.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2014, 11:53:06 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 11:54:58 am
Try again!
If it fails, call the captain:
-Captain! There is something trying to harm your ship! Come and help us to blow it away!
((Question added to the list: what the heck is all this pink stuff? Pink magic, pink people, and other stuff))
Seeing the light show Mark gets a crossbow and bolt from Erin and attempts to shoot the Focus
((Thanks. Maybe we will also need Scott to help us with telekinetic stuff))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2014, 12:02:08 pm
*goes away humming*
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 12:18:46 pm
Seeing the light show Mark gets a crossbow and bolt from Erin and attempts to shoot the Focus
You notice that excrement seems to be moving in a downward direction, and so resolve to get yourself a crossbow. You visit Erin and ask her to help in writing.
"Be happy to help!"
[Erin's magic roll: 4]
A plain-looking crossbow appears nearby, complete with a single bolt. You grab it and head off to engage in magic-hunting.
-Evelyn, hit me too!
Try again!
If it fails, call the captain:
-Captain! There is something trying to harm your ship! Come and help us to blow it away!
You ask Evelyn to hit you up with some of that magical goodness.
~I will. Be patient.~
[Evelyn's magic roll: 4]
You also begin to glow similarly to Justine. Score! Now it's time to show that focus who's in charge.
[Justine's telekinesis roll: 3+1]
[Your magic roll: 5+1]
Justine begins to push the focus back, and something seems to come loose within it when you funnel a powerful airstream at it, causing it to fly away a good distance, leaving a bright pink trail that just hangs in the air unmovingly, thus getting left behind as the ship moves on. The focus is still faintly visible in the distance, you notice.
At this point, Mark comes out and tries to shoot it.
[Mark's marksmanship roll: 5-1]
Mark aims his crossbow at an angle, shooting off a single bolt. Mark's aim appears to have been true - the thin dark shape of the bolt and the pink form of the focus evidently meet. And then the shape of the focus begins to twist strangely, looking a little like a huge pink whirlwind for a few seconds before assuming a treelike shape. It doesn't seem to be moving anymore, at least, judging by the way it doesn't appear to be getting any closer.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2014, 12:34:53 pm
Mark seeing that his friend is safe gets back to what he was doing giving Sigmund a nod as he leaves.
Post by: miauw62 on January 22, 2014, 12:57:54 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 03:11:44 pm
((Pink may just be the representation of a large amount of magical energy in this universe, much like octarine in Discworld. Doesn't seem that unlikely and it explains the incredible pinkness that some characters have encountered.))((This is, an unusually sensible guess, considering the amout of weird stuff that has happened in this game))
Sigmund nods back at Mark
-It seems that we succeded! Thanks for the help. It is a bit weird, I made lots of foci, but this is the only one that came up like this. I guess that I should be more careful with it.
((Hey, Harry, are you willing to answer if the focus was sentient or not now that it exploded? (or did something similar)))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2014, 04:41:34 pm
((Hey, Harry, are you willing to answer if the focus was sentient or not now that it exploded? (or did something similar)))
I'd rather not say. Some things are best not revealed.
((Pink may just be the representation of a large amount of magical energy in this universe, much like octarine in Discworld. Doesn't seem that unlikely and it explains the incredible pinkness that some characters have encountered.))
I can, however, reveal that magical energy isn't an actual thing in this universe.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 22, 2014, 06:46:01 pm
I fear what might happen if someone goes hardcore solipsist, personally. Actually, that might be how demons happen. Hm. Kinda makes me want to attempt the Single Thought trance with the focal point being Morton himself.]
Travel Turn:
Now for the Empty Mind chant. Only try it a few times however, if nothing too bad seems to be happening then for a while longer.
Try alternating between the Listening and the Single Thought (Tea) chant.
Ask Craig about what he knows about enchanted items, and possibly links with demons. Not that Morton thinks one is intrinsically linked to the other, but rather out of curiosity.
Ask Evelyn when one would be ready to attempt chanting, bringing pen and paper for her to discourse. (Unless he's aware of her new found mental prowess.)
Clean up after the others if need be, serve tea if wished.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 22, 2014, 07:20:27 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 22, 2014, 07:30:02 pm
He was elated. He knew something had caused that woman's strange reaction, and his instincts had been correct- she mustn't have wanted anyone finding out about her strange pink dog, since the people around here apparently had something against the colour. Or maybe she was just late for her romantic rendezvous with her companion? Timothy didn't know, but he was pretty sure they'd need some sort of help at some point in the not-too-distant future.
It didn't really cross his mind that maybe they were bad people and the colour pink was disallowed for good reason.
>Remain invisible and float down closer to the three, listening in on the conversation. Remain silent for now.
>Look more closely at that pink dog.
((Been meaning to say this for a while, but Harry: I've no idea who/what that avatar is, but it really just... fits somehow.))
Post by: killerhellhound on January 22, 2014, 08:41:26 pm
((Pink may just be the representation of a large amount of magical energy in this universe, much like octarine in Discworld. Doesn't seem that unlikely and it explains the incredible pinkness that some characters have encountered.))You know I think I know what made this world if life/magic energy is pink and I hope I'm wrong
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2014, 08:42:29 pm
-Concentrate again on fixing and/or making foci.
-Make foci so that I have a focus saying the following (because I have lost track of what I have):
Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of.
Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of.
Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of.
Repel air from the point the user is thinking of.
Concentrate air in front of the user's right index finger, then blast is away in the direction the finger is pointing at.
Make sure to write the stuff beforehand.
Post by: Nunzillor on January 22, 2014, 11:19:29 pm
Does that explain it?
Post by: killerhellhound on January 23, 2014, 12:03:31 am
Post by: Nunzillor on January 23, 2014, 01:44:57 am
Post by: Tomcost on January 23, 2014, 06:52:53 am
Ask the mages which is the color of robe an air or wind mage would use.
Ask Tailor Craig to make me a robe of that color, if possible.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 23, 2014, 09:17:37 am
Also adding some stuff to the travel turn:I think the answer is what ever damn colour the mage wants.
Ask the mages which is the color of robe an air or wind mage would use.
Ask Tailor Craig to make me a robe of that color, if possible.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2014, 10:49:39 am
Also adding some stuff to the travel turn:
Ask the mages which is the color of robe an air or wind mage would use.
The answers vary quite a bit.
The first is ~Mages do not color code themselves according to specialty. It gives away far too much information. This is why the University of Magic removed dress codes for students.~
The second is"I dunno, I guess white, gray or blue, maybe?"
The third is "Why do you need a robe? You've got pretty nice duds already. Mages usually have robes with lots of pockets to keep stuff inside of, but you seem like you've got plenty of those in your coat already."
The fourth is "Your robe color depends on what organization you belong to, not the type of magic you use. And air manipulators aren't frequently in the habit of forming their own organizations. They're usually part of more varied groups."
The fifth is "I'd guess white, or maybe gray? Seems thematically appropriate. Although my host has often wished that wind mages would wear thematically appropriate transparent clothing."
The sixth is "It's more of a question of taste than tradition, really. Unless you pick something like pink, you should be fine."
You guess there's no definite answer, then. Unless you count white, which got two mentions.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, guessing that he should probably get the lady some customers right now, heads back to civilization - it takes him an hour or so to speedily float back to the town above the ghost city. Right now, it appears to be morning, and the town, while not exactly bustling with activity, seems to have regained some life in the time Darren's been away. The girl appears to have returned to her store as well.
"Had fun, I assume?"
In the outer section of Blynn...
Timothy, intrigued by these people, but especially by the pink dog, draws closer to the group. After all, if they were meeting in private, that must mean they had something interesting to discuss! He floats right up to the group, listening in on what they're saying.
"-and that was that," the woman says, apparently finishing up some kind of story.
"I'm sure you did your best," the man says, looking her straight in the eyes.
"But I didn't get anything for you."
"Fasting clears the mind, I find."
"It also makes you desperate and more than a little rash."
"Well, if I start to feel hungry, I'll just get something from the fields, heheheh."
"Don't mess around. You hear me? I cannot afford to go look for you there again."
"Yeah, I hear you. I'll stay here a while. Maybe find one of the other residents. They'll be able to help, I bet," the man says and grins widely.
The woman just sighs, looking at the fellow doubtfully. The man responds by giving her a rather warm-looking hug. Aw. Giving them a moment of privacy, Timothy looks at the dog. It's a real strange creature, to be sure. At closer inspection, he notices several things about it. For one, it seems to be quite unnaturally skinny, and its legs appear to bend in ways they probably shouldn't for normal dogs. It has no eyes that Timothy can see, and its ears have a peculiar spiraling shape to them. Finally, the form of the dog seems to be shifting with every moment, changing its width, length and depth slowly and seemingly randomly over time. He wonders what might be up with the thing when he hears the conversation resume. Looking back, he notices that the two still haven't broken up their hug.
"A voice spoke to me today."
"Like, a disembodied one?"
"No, not really - it was some kind of ghost, I think. But then it started following me. And became invisible. It wanted to help me with something."
"I hope you didn't accept, right?"
"Of course. He was probably a BCM operative, anyway. Had this strange quality to his voice, some kind of mental magic, I think. Gave him the slip after telling him to leave me alone."
"Calmly, I hope."
"Well, no. But I think he left anyway. Seemed a bit weird in the head, you know what I mean?"
"Aren't they all?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 23, 2014, 11:02:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2014, 11:13:56 am
What other travel turns are needed
We need Xantalos, unless I completely missed him somehow.
Post by: Tomcost on January 23, 2014, 11:23:17 am
((To Tailor Craig))
-Why pink not? It there something bad with that color? Because I had to fight a failed focus which emitted pink flames some time ago.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2014, 11:33:52 am
Sigmund though, maybe this mage thingy shouldn't get him so cocky. There was a tactical advantage in not showing that you are a mage, so it would be better to remain things as it is. Anyway, now he was curious about something: Why pink?
((To Tailor Craig))
-Why pink not? It there something bad with that color? Because I had to fight a failed focus which emitted pink flames some time ago.
"Well, first of all, you would look very silly in a pink robe, and I believe most everyone would. Secondly, like you mentioned, pink is a rather fearsome color for mages, owing mostly to the reputation of pink magic and the way the color pink seems to be a harbinger of destruction in many cases. It seems to be tied with magic going terribly wrong as far as anyone can tell, and pink magic is a forbidden, highly dangerous avenue of study because of this."
Post by: Xantalos on January 23, 2014, 11:42:49 am
Gimme about 8-10 hours. Gotta do finals and then work.What other travel turns are needed
We need Xantalos, unless I completely missed him somehow.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2014, 11:44:44 am
Gimme about 8-10 hours. Gotta do finals and then work.
Naturally, take your time. Even if you posted right this minute, it would be unlikely for me to give everyone a travel turn today.
Post by: Yoink on January 23, 2014, 11:59:52 am
He wanted desperately to open his mouth and disagree, to tell them how nice he was and how he's never heard of any 'BCM' thing to begin with and what a cute little dog they had, but then that would just scare them off again, wouldn't it?
He floated up a bit, forcing down the urge to speak, and settled for just watching them and the surroundings. It wasn't all bad, though- he had the perfect idea for how to make friends with these people: the fellow was hungry, right? Timothy could help with that! ...Probably. And then they could introduce themselves! And he could pet their dog! And maybe they could go on an adventure and find Hansel, and Bob! ...He was getting a little ahead of himself. He forced himself to calm down and pay attention.
>Hover unseen above the strange trio, keep an eye on both them and the surrounding area.
>When they split up, barring any unexpected incidents, follow the young man and see where he's hiding out.
Post by: miauw62 on January 23, 2014, 01:01:44 pm
((The pink pyramid could've been a mage that decided to study pink magic. Although it hinted at the fact that there is some sort of pink order.))
Post by: Tomcost on January 23, 2014, 01:21:42 pm
((The pink plot deepens. All these pink areas were just basically magical nuke impact craters or meltdown sites or something, then ;_;))((Magical nukes? Chaos cultists? Oh, the possibilities!))
((The pink pyramid could've been a mage that decided to study pink magic. Although it hinted at the fact that there is some sort of pink order.))
-Pink magic? That's something that I haven't heard. Why something so oddly specific as kind of magic which manipulates a color even exists? Shouldn't it be something like a subset of light magic?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 23, 2014, 02:48:53 pm
-Pink magic? That's something that I haven't heard. Why something so oddly specific as kind of magic which manipulates a color even exists? Shouldn't it be something like a subset of light magic?
"The color itself is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Pink magic is the magic of nonsense, mastery of the impossible, the nonexistent and the blatantly incomprehensible. It twists the mind of its practitioners, and tends toward the corruption and destruction of all that it touches. And if a manifestation of it is left uncontrolled, it will definitely result in quite a lot of trouble for anyone nearby. Or so goes uncommon magic wisdom, anyway."
Post by: Nunzillor on January 23, 2014, 08:27:44 pm
Also, I don't think Pink magic is incomprehensible so much as it is poorly understood by most. It may twist the minds of its practicitioners, but only insofar as granting them the blessing of greater understanding! It seems to originate from a civilization deep underground very similar to ours. There, Pink magic is the norm and not simply a force for destruction! I believe one of the characters early on discovered this Pink haven.
Post by: Tomcost on January 24, 2014, 10:13:36 am
It certainly seems that a Pink robe will strike fear into the hearts of your enemies. I heartily recommend it!((It was James! But he discovered so many stuff that this is not even worthwhile to mention))
Also, I don't think Pink magic is incomprehensible so much as it is poorly understood by most. It may twist the minds of its practicitioners, but only insofar as granting them the blessing of greater understanding! It seems to originate from a civilization deep underground very similar to ours. There, Pink magic is the norm and not simply a force for destruction! I believe one of the characters early on discovered this Pink haven.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2014, 11:58:46 am
Post by: Xantalos on January 24, 2014, 12:10:08 pm
Assemble more chairs out of any materials - even the ship, if necessary.
Attempt once more to fuse with said chairs.
If that doesn't work, attempt to perform that meditation again.
Steal everybody's things in a fit of jealousy, and eat as much as I can. Hoard the rest somewhere deep in the hold.
Drink all the alcohol on the ship.
Try to fight someone in a drunken rage.
Escape culpability for any damage I cause.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 24, 2014, 12:13:28 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on January 24, 2014, 12:27:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 24, 2014, 01:00:50 pm
Anyway, I probably won't be able to play this for roughly a week, so I will say ow my character can be auto run:
-Go and explore the city with Morton.
-Try to avoid any kind of problems, peacefully if possible.
-If problem is unavoidable, run to the ship.
((I'm leaving my charactrer basically in the hands of Xanmyral because I know that I won't get terribly maimed that way.))
EDIT: default to hang around the ship practicing wind magic with some precautions (like making sure that I won't fall from it) if I just can't go with Morton.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 25, 2014, 08:04:34 am
Mark continued his fishing for the third day as well, hoping to fulfill that quota of his as soon as possible. Today, though, did not seem to be as good of a day for the fulfillment of his goals, though. The fish didn't seem to be catching too well, perhaps getting wise to the fact that shiny objects in the water were more likely to be their doom than anything else, and Mark ended the day with only six fish. Granted, that was still a reasonable amount, but he still needed, like, twelve more before he's off the hook for good. That's not a lot, he guessed, especially when he considered how many he already had caught, but being in debt was still not a good feeling. Then again, there were doubtlessly many fish still in the sea.
Scott chose to utilize his day trying to learn how to move objects with his mind, an endeavor he had been woefully unsuccessful at previously. He was without luck in that department today as well. It appeared that it was not like swimming after all, despite the entirely sound reasoning (fully known only to him, obviously) Scott had used to arrive at such an idea. Or at least so it seemed. Not quite ready to retire his absolutely brilliant analogy, Scott tried a different approach in the second half of the day - it involved making tea with his mind, something he would have learned earlier in his life, no doubt, if it weren't for the constant presence of his butler who did it for him. However, he could not muster even the tiniest shifting of a teapot or the littlest tip of a cup. This, naturally, enraged Scott, who, as he subsequently realized, had spent an entire day making a fool of himself. It seemed that the majestic, supremely useful ability of telekinesis was entirely beyond him. Who knows, maybe it wasn't actually a guarantee that he had it? Such a grim possibility became more probable with each day, it seemed.
Kevin, similarly to Scott, also tried to find his talents this day. He practiced various things, and discovered many things about himself. For one, he had a remarkably pleasant singing voice when he wasn't messing around, and, though his jester training had mostly focused on speech, he guessed it was some kind of vocal training. With practice, he guessed he could get good at that. Also, he realized that, while his jester training hasn't given him a lasting or consistent ability to be funny, he had quite a bit of skill at various tricks and acrobatics. Like juggling, for instance. Or doing backflips. Or doing backflips while juggling, an art he had not mastered before he was executed. Finally, there were the abilities of his form. Through experimentation with various sharp and less sharp objects, some of which he got Erin to transmute for the occasion, he realized that his flesh was definitely quite alien, but still linked to his mind, and thus it was likely that he also had certain abilities that he could unlock through practice on that front. All in all, he had quite a few possibilities now that the corny jokes had proven untenable.
Morton, for his part, was trying to perfect the final chant today - the Empty Mind Chant. It was not as easy for him as the Listening Chant, but he noticed that the effect appeared to be quite unusual - a fading of external stimuli as well as his own internal world, an all-encompassing gray haze slowly enveloping his senses and thoughts as he went through the syllables. It was more than a little disturbing to experience loss of both sensory information and his own identity like that, so he quickly stopped, feeling a lot better when he returned to a proper state of mind. He then spent a few hours alternating between the Single Thought Chant and the Listening Chant, though the Single Thought Chant made it highly difficult to actually listen to anything, the sound of the thought of tea being very distracting, especially for a tea enthusiast like Morton. After serving tea a few times, though, the urge cleared up, and Morton felt much better. And, having gone through all three chants and met no great difficulty, Morton decided that it was time to attain more information. First, he saw Tailor Craig and questioned him about enchantments, and their possible links with demons. Tailor Craig was quick to point out that enchanted items were, to put it simply, about as far from the area of his expertise as anything, and he had no real information about that sort of thing. He did volunteer the tidbit that demons rarely gave people enchanted items or anything like that, most often choosing to endow the people themselves with unusual, powerful qualities instead. Morton thanked the tailor for his time and moved on to questioning Evelyn - he was rather surprised when he found out that Evelyn could commune telepathically with him, though it fortunately streamlined their communication quite a bit. After a bit of magic-related back-and-forth, Morton found that one is ready to begin properly chanting when one can pronounce all the chants fluently, which Morton is pretty sure he can do already. Evelyn also informed the desk butler that the combination enchanters typically use for their work are a few hours spent with the Single Thought Chant followed by a little time with the Empty Mind Chant, though the Listening Chant could also be employed first, followed by Single Thought, followed by Empty Mind - the Listening Chant dispenses with the self, the Single Thought brings out an idea (he should probably focus on what he wants the item to do) before others, the Empty Mind eliminates all that's left beside that thought (it will also mute the thought somewhat, hence the need to chant the Single Thought for quite a while and the Empty Mind for only a little bit). Morton, thus schooled, spent the rest of the day cleaning up the ship, which was both appreciated and needed, with how sloppily these mages lived.
Sigmund, after averting his personal catastrophe, spent the day practicing his focus creation - this went rather well, and now, after a few missteps along the way that he quickly corrected, he had a total of six foci - one to make wind flow, one to stop air flow, one to funnel air, one to repel air, one to concentrate and blast air and one to do all five of those things at once. It was pretty hard work to get it all done, Sigmund found, and pretty dangerous as well, but he was getting better at this. Slowly, granted, but surely.
Niklas was starting to get a little crazy in his long voyage. He continued to make chairs out of anything he could find - other chairs, barrels, loose pieces of wood, panels he tore off a wall, that sort of thing. Soon, he had four more chairs. Sadly, however, he could not fuse with them in any way. This was quite terrible, so Niklas tried to meditate again. It did not work at all, as he kept being distracted by the shades, who would always wail in a moment of peace and quiet, preventing Niklas from achieving anything close to pleasant mental emptiness. Left with no choice but to act out, Niklas tried to steal everyone's things. Unfortunately, the only person who kept enough stuff in places Niklas could actually find and search seemed to be Mark - and he was not very pleased with Niklas trying to steal his lures, chopping off one of Niklas' legs in retaliation and retrieving his stuff. Having only two legs now, Niklas could only drag himself along the floor now, lacking enough balance to do much else. He then tried to drink as much alcohol as he could - which was none whatsoever, as he was deficient in both organs to drink with and the height or leverage needed to reach what booze was available. At that point, Niklas was angry enough that no alcohol was necessary to make him increasingly willing to brawl, so he decided to pick a fight with that duck thing - he did not like the way it was looking at him. And speaking inside his mind when he challenged it to a brawl.
[Brawling: Niklas vs. Evelyn: 4-1 vs. 5]
The duck thing was a bit too quick, though. When Niklas was priming himself for a good swing at it, it just stepped on both his legs while holding down his backrest with its wings. While Niklas struggled, the Artiste arrived. About to be held accountable, Niklas had but one priority.
"It wasn't me! It was a wizard! The god of yelling possessed me! You have no proof! You're out of order!" he yelled. But the Artiste did not seem impressed.
"Honestly, Niklas, I do not entirely care," he began. "I've really had enough of you, to be even more honest. Your contributions, as far as I know, are limited to rarely cooking for other people, going missing and causing trouble. Not to mention that you were just subdued by a larger-than-average duck. And while Scott could be argued to contribute even less, he at least shows potential for improvement and commendable subservience, while you seem to possess nothing of the sort. Thus, due to your stellar lack of ability to work for me, I'll be cutting you loose. Sorry it didn't work out," he then explained without emotion. As he said it, a great feeling of freedom washed over Niklas, as though some massive existential chain had snapped in his very being. He was filled with the sudden desire to run, pillage and cook, but had no ability to act on this impulse due to the way he was being grappled currently. "Send him off, Evelyn," he said, and the duck thing immediately took flight, carrying Niklas overboard and dropping him into the sea, whereupon he quickly sank to the dark depths. This would have probably been more depressing if Niklas was not suddenly free of an inescapable life of servitude.
In the outer section of Blynn...
Timothy consciously restrains himself from clearing his name as he listens to the man and woman converse while the dog dully stares into space.
"We're halfway done."
"Took no time at all, huh?"
"A lot of effort, though."
"Hey, I'm great, you're great, and we're doing this, and we're going to finish it. No turning back."
"I hope we can keep to that, though. Things are about to get crazy."
"We'll keep it together. And it'll be even better than last time, you'll see."
"Yes... right then," the woman says, sighing as she steps away from the man. "Have to go. I'm going to need some rest for tonight."
"I bet. Have fun."
The woman doesn't answer, opting to simply walk away. The man goes in the opposite direction, whistling a strange tune, and the dog floats after him lazily, not even turning around to do so. Timothy also follows the man, since the dog has seen fit to do so. The man walks quite a distance, reaching a dilapidated-looking ex-tavern. Following him inside the ruined tavern hall and down the steps to the basement, Timothy notices that the fellow seems to have a laboratory of some kind set up, with all sorts of crystals, beakers, colorful liquids and small magical fires set up around the place, with a messy bedroll lying in the center of the sizable basement storeroom. The man immediately checks up on some kind of concoction that he seems to have brewing in a barrel, then taps a crystal with his finger questioningly, nodding with satisfaction as a blue light flickers on within it.
Post by: miauw62 on January 25, 2014, 08:15:13 am
If there's any time left, try to practice signing a bit. Preferably on the deck where people can hear.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 25, 2014, 08:32:32 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 25, 2014, 10:39:31 am
Edit new travel turn below
Post by: Xantalos on January 25, 2014, 06:16:29 pm
Now then, to get myself a ship somehow.
Start walking north, if I can figure out which way that is. Keep going until I find something interesting/useful or I reach land.
((Ehehehehe. I was so useless I got freed! I'm likely screwed, but I'm a free chair!))
Post by: Yoink on January 25, 2014, 06:51:02 pm
Timothy had no idea just what he was doing down here, but it sure looked important. Maybe a bit scary and confusing, too. He wasn't about to waste time lingering down here gawping, though-- once he'd made friends with the man and his lady-friend, Timothy could just ask 'em about it! And the dog!
>Memorize the location of this basement and how to get here, then head (cautiously) back into the central part of town.
Remain invisible and avoid any of those guards, of course.
>Get a wheelbarrow from someplace. Or a box. Or a freaking carriage, I don't know, but get some form of receptacle and telekinetically fill it full of foodstuffs. From a tavern or a mess hall or somesuch- whatever food I can find that isn't guarded.
If any of those mage-guards seems to be onto me, fly directly up in the air and get outta there. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars... just flee and come back later.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 26, 2014, 12:04:39 am
Spoiler: Travel Turn (click to show/hide)
While Morton was thinking up his plan for the day, he couldn't help but feel things were... Off. The butler couldn't quite put his finger on it though. Everyone seems more or less the same, the ship is clean, the shades are mildly creepy and the desk feels sad for them, overall nothing seems to have changed.
Try as he might, the desk couldn't shake the odd feeling and it interrupted his thoughts for the day. He has to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps Art would know? Morton heads off to find Art, hopefully not interrupting something.
"Good day, good mage Art, I hope everything is pleasant. If you don't mind me asking, does something seem... Different on the ship? I can't quite place it. I admit to have been wrapped up lately in study, the fruits of which hopefully visible later. Did I miss something perhaps?"
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 02:31:21 am
Mark spends a few more hours catching fish then he goes and sets up a shooting range using some of the fish as targets for practices using the crossbow. Also get a bunch more ammo from Erin and a quiver before starting the training
Normal
Mark goes to the master and using paper ask's "Can we officially make Erin quartermaster and make here responsible for our supplies she could use something to do aside from transmuting and someone knowing what we have and need could be useful."
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2014, 10:25:50 am
Niklas, quite happy at the way everything seems to be coming up his way, blorbles a little before he realizes his vocal apparatus doesn't work underwater, then tries to find a northward direction. Fortunately, like all the rest of his kind, Niklas has an impeccable sense of direction. Not to mention that the ship he was just thrown off of was going approximately that way as well. So he drags himself along the bottom of the sea for a while until he comes across something interesting - a ship! A wrecked ship, but still a ship. It doesn't look too old or too decrepit. In fact, it's rather fresh as far as shipwrecks go. Not a bad find, really.
In a secret laboratory in Blynn...
Timothy, supposing that he can do nothing too important in this secret lab, figures he should memorize where this place is - simple, considering that it is obviously a tavern and thus built to be somewhat distinct from its surroundings - and do something about the hungry fellow's food situation. So he does exactly that, heading invisibly and cautiously into the town and searching for a wheelbarrow of some kind he could filch and fill with food. Unfortunately, he can't seem to locate any such thing - at least, no such thing that isn't in use. There are some metallic plates covered in supplies that occasionally float past him in the streets, probably moved by somebody else's mind, but he's pretty sure someone would know if he jacked one of those.
He does notice one thing about the food in this town, though - it looks pretty samey. All of it appears to be made up of different-colored cubes that people occasionally sit down and eat. No fresh food in sight, seems like. And there, once again, don't appear to be any places to get food aside from these buildings where people walk in at lunchtime and come out with small packs of those food cubes - Timothy notices a tendency of careful rationing of food on the part of the townspeople. And they never seem to let go of their food packs.
Traveling on the Second Shank across the Sea of Pleasant Winds, day four...
Kevin, having realized that he has veritable oodles of potential bubbling up within his soul, utilized the first half of his day finding out the secrets of his own body. And while he could not discover exactly how it worked or how to control it, he did realize one thing - he could plunge his own hand within his own body, then also withdraw it harmlessly. Interestingly, the same principle was in effect for his legs as well, and he discovered he could very nicely compact himself into a sphere, then return to his regular shape. Highly intriguing. Further experimentation, however, failed to provide significant results. So he decided to practice his vocal abilities instead, stepping on deck and simply starting what eventually amounted to an impromptu opera. The shades seemed to like it, and the Artiste gave him a thumbs up when he passed by. Eventually the deck was even visited by the other mages, who seemed to have arrived for the express purpose of listening to him. Kevin had never felt so appreciated in his career. And when he was finally done, they applauded. They liked him! They really liked him for once!
Scott tried to find the Captain today, and did so quite frantically at that. So frantically, in fact, that he decided to look outside the ship as well, which just so happened to be the exact place the Captain was, wonderfully enough. He then asked the Captain for help with this whole ghost thing. The Captain, though quite busy, was apparently feeling very informative. And concise, as he managed to convey exactly what Scott needed to know in no more than three or so sentences, in which he explained that Scott, as a ghost, should have four distinct powers - moving things with his mind, teleporting around, shrieking in an ungodly manner and throwing his voice with all the talent of a master ventriloquist. He then tells Scott that, if he has failed to manifest these powers so far, that's probably just him being unused to them, and the best strategy would be to keep trying - he definitely should have them, at any rate. Regrettably, though, Scott is not helped by this bit of instruction - he knows he should have telekinesis and those other things, but they still seem to be stubbornly locked away somehow, as he discovered during the arduous subsequent experimentation he did. When asked, the Captain could provide little help, stating that he was more of a "learn by EXPERIENCE!" type than a good teacher for this kind of thing, as he had hardly thought about having powers at all, and had merely mysteriously, suddenly and inexplicably had them at some undefinable point he could not remember due to reasons of insanity and lacking any reasonable frames of reference for that time period. All in all, Scott had essentially wasted another day.
Morton, unlike his compatriots, had a very busy day filled with literal enchantment. First order of business was asking Evelyn how enchantment actually works - the difficulties and such, nuances of the process, limitations of enchantments. Evelyn proved to be informative as usual, and seemed to be in an even better mood today than the previous day for some reason. She explained to him that the issue with enchantment difficulties was that, the more complex and nuanced an enchantment, the harder it is to effectively will it to be and the less feasible it is to incorporate the idea into the Single Thought Chant. There are, of course, more advanced chants for these concepts, but those were sadly not covered in the courses she took. However, they were reputed to take even longer and require more focus and linguistic ability than most were able to muster. Another plague of enchanters was apparently vagueness - the more vague a specified and willed request, the more likely it was for it to go catastrophically wrong. She especially advised against willing something to be generically magical, as that could result in pretty much anything. Instead, if one wanted to make something generically magical, one should will it to glow instead. Finally, one could enchant an object as much as they wanted, but it was increasingly likely that reality would become more than a bit unstable if one added more than, say, two or three, and such work required quite a bit of expertise and more than a little luck, apparently. So, if Morton happened to be enchanted somehow after his trip to the Realm of Dreams, he would indeed be harder to endow with magical capabilities, though that did not have to be the case, necessarily. Morton took this advice to whatever he had for a heart these days, and headed off to... no, wait... he was bothered by something, actually. Something was missing. He went and asked Art if he had noticed something different about the ship. Art replied that he hadn't, really. Everything seemed normal to him, anyway. Morton, though still not sure if Art's assessment was correct, figured there was little else to do but carry on. Maybe it was one of those unfounded strange feelings. Oh well. He then retired to the kitchen and began to chant away, experiencing first a fading of the self from the Listening Chant, then a fading of external stimuli and an emergence of a single thought (which just so happened to be the concept of room temperature), then a fading of everything but that single thought, and then focused his magnified and focused will into a flask, singlemindedly willing it to attain and maintain a comfortable lukewarm temperature, which seemed to work out just fine and without any significant problems for all of the flasks he had (five, by last count) - they were all now constantly at a temperature of a reasonably heated room, as a short trip up to the deck proved. Carried onward by his success, Morton made tea in a rather jubilant manner, then returning to chanting. Though it seems to have worked, the effect of the enchantment was a bit harder to gauge - something happened to the tea, obviously, but it wasn't as obvious as the constant temperature of the flasks. Also, the tea had gone cold by the time he managed to enchant it, and he wasn't sure if heating it was safe. Regardless, though, he seemed to have taken the first great step to becoming a decent enchanter and also apparently devised a manner of serving ghosts tea, which was really very good, considering how new he was at all this.
Mark used the first half of the day like he did the rest of his days - fishing. He managed to catch six fish, which was not altogether too bad, and also left him with only six more sacrifices required for freedom. All very fine and wonderful. Quite tired of this fishing business, he then sets up a practice range with some fish serving as targets. his crossbow serving as the weapon to practice with and Erin serving as a limitless supply of bolts. It was all fun and games, but Mark really doubted the usefulness of the range, considering that it wasn't a particularly long range (twenty meters, give or take a few), Mark was already familiar with how a crossbow is operated, having been a mercenary in a previous life, and the also significant fact fish weren't likely to be what he might fight during his time on the Sea of Death, being relatively regular-sized and lacking in extremely dangerous capabilities like movement or being in their element. Disappointed at the way the ship did not lend itself to combat training, Mark sought out the Artiste, hoping to introduce some naval discipline to this operation regardless. After finding the fellow on deck enjoying Kevin's vocal performance, he produced a note that said 'Can we officially make Erin quartermaster and make here responsible for our supplies she could use something to do aside from transmuting and someone knowing what we have and need could be useful.'. The Artiste's reply was "She's already the quartermaster, pretty much, being the only one who can produce supplies. Anybody who needs anything, they visit her and get it if they don't know where to find it. Transmutation seems to make the title of a quartermaster superfluous, really. Especially if you consider that, of the people on deck, only I and Erin actually need any sort of regular sustenance while the others only have occasional requests for unusual items we don't seem to have anyway. All in all, people around here seem to be pretty good at keeping their own counsel and not needing anything." This reply was not terribly encouraging for Mark.
Sigmund, feeling a little more absentminded today than usual, practiced his wind magic all day. The result was a whole lot of wind on deck, which eventually proved so distracting that the Artiste politely asked Sigmund to stop. Or at least go somewhere else to practice. Sigmund nodded in halfhearted agreement and went to the cargo hold. The result was a whole lot of wind in the cargo hold, which, when combined with the lack of things to tie himself to in the cargo hold, resulted in him hitting the walls a lot. Regardless of this, however, he did feel like he had gotten a little better with wind magic by the end of the day. Well, better at dealing with it conspiring to murder him, anyway.
As the people on the ship went about their business, they almost entirely missed the fact that, on the horizon, a city in was looming. The Free City of Mothdale, gateway into the Sea of Death, located on the picturesque Anderson Strait, known popularly and dramatically as the Doom Strait (Strait of Doom is apparently a perfectly acceptable alternate form of the name). The city looked like it had indubitably seen better days, and one couldn't help but take note of the way the architecture appeared to have been rearranged at some period in the past. Several towers loomed over the city, most of them very conical and strange-looking, plus one in the center of them all, which looked more classical in its construction. As the ship drew closer and pulled into the strait, more and more things became clear about the town - for one, it seemed to have sustained quite a bit of fire damage lately. Also, the system of channels the city had also seemed to have been a recent development, what with the way the channels appeared to not play well aesthetically with the rest of the town, being clearly modern and utilitarian in style similarly to the newer towers. Finally, the city was rather quiet for its size despite the fact that it was midday. Finally, the channels seemed to be absolutely teeming with sea life, the most visible of which appeared to be dolphins. As the ship stopped at the sizable harbor of the city, the shades letting it sink back a little into the water, everybody stepped out on deck to appreciate the look of the place (even Sigmund, as much as he disliked the sun, was more than a little curious). As they looked at the town, they felt something in the air, a stirring of some sort. This was followed by a voice that, while most of the people were not experts on that sort of thing, nobody present could call human, exactly.
~welcome to the free city of gub! the gub is pleased to receive such interesting humans! will thank your lyman, yes!~
The first impulse on the part of most of the crew was confusion.
~we greet you as well, nice humans! welcome!~
The feeling of confusion then intensified thousandfold suddenly, creating a feeling not unlike that of somebody's life suddenly turning out to be a lie, then that turning out to be an even bigger lie that masked some sort of even more shocking, underlying truth, which turned out to all be a dream, but not really. And after this feeling, there is only sleep.
End of Chapter 5!
In an unprecedented twist, nobody important died this chapter! Well, except for Bernie, I guess. Not for lack of trying, either. So, new abilities for everyone! Pick one, people.
Darren: Voice of Reason, Enough Fooling Around, No Longer Out Of Practice.
Timothy: Plane Shift, Oddly Compelling Screech, Honestly Helpful.
Mark: Branching Out, Scourge of the Sea, Body Carrier.
Scott: Firestarter, Vengeance!, Like A Shadow Of A Ghost.
Kevin: Portal Flesh, Practiced Invalid, Hidden Depths.
Niklas: Must Confirm!, Forbidden Techniques of the Far North, Quitting Is For Dirty, Weak Southerners.
Morton: Apostle of the Tea Leaf, Just Part Of The Furniture, Supremely Helpable.
Sigmund: Yeah... No, Tedium Mastery, Magical Theorist.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 10:43:45 am
Why must they all be so good AHHHHHHHH
ok I think I will take Scourge of the sea where we are going it will be the most useful and I can still attach flesh to the desk and the others
Post by: Innsmothe on January 26, 2014, 11:07:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2014, 11:09:24 am
Scott who is very frustrated and terribly frightened and slightly psychotic after extended periods of partial sensory deprivation. He will find a nice abandoned corridor and will try to rip apart everything in sight in a huge mental tantrum.
Choose an ability! Besides, there's no sensory deprivation at play here. Just sleep. Sweet, dreamless sleep.
Also, no actions yet. It's a chapter break!
Post by: miauw62 on January 26, 2014, 11:37:30 am
((Also Sigmund apparently gets a Rincewind ability.))
I'll take Portal Flesh. Gotta stack dem combat bonusses.
"Hello...?"
Dream.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 26, 2014, 11:53:19 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 11:59:36 am
that when the team normal member (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheTeamNormal?from=Main.TeamNormal)is a metal skeleton Doctor with a tree for a head it says alot about the others
Post by: miauw62 on January 26, 2014, 12:01:00 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 26, 2014, 12:22:53 pm
Personally, I think Mark is actually the weirdest, with Niklas following behind and Scott indignantly next.
EDIT: Oh wait, you mean no magic. Yeah, you'd be right then.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 12:24:18 pm
Mark may be insane and be a metal skeleton but he doesn't use magic
Post by: Xanmyral on January 26, 2014, 12:36:20 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 12:51:51 pm
and I forgot about the soul vision completely
Post by: Xanmyral on January 26, 2014, 12:57:12 pm
Really though, magic seems like its something simple to blunder upon considering its all about manipulating the world with your mind. As to if you survive that encounter is another thing, but still. Heck, if you hate something hard enough and focus that hate towards it, you might be able to actually hate them to death. Or enchant it, as is the case with the tree.
I really gotta find a use for that stick, I'm loath to throw it away because it could wind up useful.
Post by: Innsmothe on January 26, 2014, 01:36:09 pm
Oops, I read in a rush, redid turnScott who is very frustrated and terribly frightened and slightly psychotic after extended periods of partial sensory deprivation. He will find a nice abandoned corridor and will try to rip apart everything in sight in a huge mental tantrum.
Choose an ability! Besides, there's no sensory deprivation at play here. Just sleep. Sweet, dreamless sleep.
Also, no actions yet. It's a chapter break!
Firestarter please, sir.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 26, 2014, 01:45:54 pm
I really gotta find a use for that stick, I'm loath to throw it away because it could wind up useful.The reasoning for every RPG player ever not using an item it could be useful later
Post by: Tomcost on January 26, 2014, 01:56:36 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 26, 2014, 02:08:30 pm
Darren greets her back.
"Yes, thank you. But, I have a question for you. There's a woman down there who sells some... interesting pets. Won't need food, won't get sick. You want one? Or know anybody who does?"
Post by: Xantalos on January 26, 2014, 03:26:43 pm
With me literally walking across the bottom of the ocean, I'll need it. Plus, prevention death abilities are a must.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 26, 2014, 06:23:15 pm
((Sorry. Also, why do you make all of these chapter-end traits so amazing? I'll take No Longer Out of Practice.))
This chapter lasted what, half a year? Have to provide something good after that. Besides, it helps offset my killer GM tendencies, which I've already been trying to keep in check.
Darren greets her back.
"Yes, thank you. But, I have a question for you. There's a woman down there who sells some... interesting pets. Won't need food, won't get sick. You want one? Or know anybody who does?"
"The pet store woman? I don't have the money she wants for them. Her prices are a bit ridiculous, honestly. Probably accurate, too, considering that all the "pets" are made of what pretty much amount to artifact weapons. Still, I doubt I could haul one of those away without accidentally slicing my arms off or something like that. Would be lucrative to do so, though. I'll think about it. I don't think there's anyone else here who'll go for it, though."
Must Confirm!
With me literally walking across the bottom of the ocean, I'll need it. Plus, prevention death abilities are a must.
By the way, you do actually get an action. You weren't just incapacitated for an indeterminate period of time, after all.
Just poking in to say Tedium Mastery for me. I think that I'm at 1 or 2 spells from being able to average it.
Actually, you'll already be able to average it. That day you spent practicing wind magic wasn't for nothing, after all. I'll roll for the last five in short order.
Post by: Xantalos on January 26, 2014, 06:25:12 pm
Explore ship. Look for loot, and assess the viability of getting it working again.
Post by: Tomcost on January 26, 2014, 07:11:21 pm
I have to say that you have done a good job regarding that.((Sorry. Also, why do you make all of these chapter-end traits so amazing? I'll take No Longer Out of Practice.))
This chapter lasted what, half a year? Have to provide something good after that. Besides, it helps offset my killer GM tendencies, which I've already been trying to keep in check.
Quote
Woo! Now that I have time, I feel the need to assault you with a lot of questions, sorry if this is tedious:Just poking in to say Tedium Mastery for me. I think that I'm at 1 or 2 spells from being able to average it.
Actually, you'll already be able to average it. That day you spent practicing wind magic wasn't for nothing, after all. I'll roll for the last five in short order.
-Which roll is taken into account? The natural one, or the modified one?
-If I decide to cast the spell the conventional way, then it is averaged instead of the one that was in the 5th place, right? Does this happen even with those spells casted using this ability?
-The average number needs to reach the roll, or, say, a 3.8 is still a 3?
I will resume normal play in some days, but I think that I can still do some actions, but probably not much roleplay.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2014, 04:06:59 am
-Which roll is taken into account? The natural one, or the modified one?
The natural one. After all, the idea of the trait is the mindless repetition of a certain task.
-If I decide to cast the spell the conventional way, then it is averaged instead of the one that was in the 5th place, right? Does this happen even with those spells casted using this ability?
If you cast a spell without utilizing the ability, it edges out the casting that was furthest in the past.
-The average number needs to reach the roll, or, say, a 3.8 is still a 3?
The result is rounded according to standard practices - a 3.5, for instance will be a 4. Speaking of, here are your current averages for each of the foci you have:
"Cause breeze to flow in the direction the user is thinking of. Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of. Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of. Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of. Repel air from the point the user is thinking of." - 4
"Make wind flow at a constant rate determined by the user in the direction the user is thinking of." - 4
"Stop air flow in the area the user is thinking of." - 5
"Funnel air into the point the user is thinking of." - 3
"Repel air from the point the user is thinking of." - 3
"Concentrate air in front of the user's right index finger, then blast it away in the direction the finger is pointing at." - 4
Unless you start keeping notes from here on in, you don't get to find out what the data this was gathered from actually is due to reasons of, surprise, the information being lost in the tedium.
Post by: Yoink on January 27, 2014, 04:11:27 am
May I ask just what my compelling voice does already, or is that information purposefully hidden?
If the latter, that's fine. I think I'll take Plane Shift- countless situations where that could come in handy. Although I guess it could horribly backfire, too- but I can't exactly telefrag myself as a ghost now, can I?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 27, 2014, 04:28:13 am
((May I ask just what my compelling voice does already, or is that information purposefully hidden?))
When you tell somebody to do something or believe something, they must make a Will roll to resist if they don't want to comply.
Post by: Yoink on January 27, 2014, 12:25:03 pm
Timothy glumly wondered just what to do. Didn't seem like there'd be any fooling these people, and they kept a pretty close eye on their food. He considered going and asking for food at that big spooky black tower, but not very enthusiastically.
A thought occurred to him, however: with all these recent world-bending, magic-portal-y adventures he'd been having... why not ask one of those weird Other places for food? Surely he could just head to one of those and there'd be all sorts of wonderful food, ripe for the taking!
Timothy wasn't exactly sure how this stuff worked, though. After a few moments of feverish consideration, he decided to just picture one of his favourite foods in his mind's eye, concentrate very hard, and hope for the best.
>Plane-shift to the Plane of Pie!
((...I really hope this doesn't go badly.))
((Edit: Just a typo.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 27, 2014, 05:35:29 pm
Go back into the more concentrated areas of the catacombs.
Post by: Tomcost on January 27, 2014, 07:10:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 28, 2014, 06:18:20 am
Enjoying the Gub Life?
In the Free City of Gub...
Mere subjective moments after the sudden onset of unexpected unconsciousness, the undead cohorts of the Artiste begin to slowly awaken, their minds filled with very good questions like, for example, 'what's going on?', 'where am I?' and 'why does this always happen to me?'. However, these are questions they cannot immediately find answers for, partly because some of them are entirely rhetorical, but also because it hurts to think right now.
Mark, for one, awakens in what he recognizes to be a mortuary of some sort - the place is filled with partially melted, mutilated, burned, dismembered and otherwise grievously harmed corpses. Though most of them are human, some also appear to be, unusually enough, distinctly anthropomorphic human-sized rats, though in some cases it's hard to identify what some of the remains might actually be, given their rather sorry state. Most of them are placed into piles, with signs placed near them indicating that some organization may be in order, while others are placed into specific alcoves in the walls. Besides the vast quantities of fleshy material, Mark also notices several unoccupied stone slabs with various shiny surgical tools placed on them. Looks like this place might be open for business.
~welcome to workshop duty, city beautification officer! congratulations on your promotion! now, pretty sculptures to please the eyes of silly humans are needed!~ a now-familiar voice rings out in his head.
Elsewhere, the disembodied ethereal head known as Scott also slowly wakes from a slumber that did not feel all that long. He does appear to have been a little displaced, though. He seems to be at the top of a lighthouse, judging by the rather sizable empty brazier he appears to be floating over.
~enjoy your promotion, ship guide! your job is to be here and keep the beaches shipwreck-free!~
Judging by the way the shore, which he can see from here, seems to have quite a few shipwrecks on it already, Scott wonders who his predecessor might have been, and how he wasn't fired sooner.
Kevin regains consciousness in a tavern - a quite dilapidated and partially singed tavern, but a tavern nonetheless. He appears to be the only one here. Also, he doesn't see any booze - all of it seems to have been either drunk or stolen.
~you are the new jolly, enjoyable ambiance officer! your performance will be judged based on increase in business and subsequent, unavoidable immigration! at least it should. remind us if we forget!~
Morton awakens in an office of some kind - it looks to have belonged to a magistrate of some kind, although somebody evidently left it in quite a hurry. There are also quite a few signs of fire damage in it, with the heavily damaged drapes and the ashes lying on blackened spots on the wooden floor.
~beverage consultant! there are matters that require your attention! we think, at least! let us check right quick... yes. we think there are indeed matters that require your attention.~
Sigmund, though, finds himself in the strangest place of all - tied to a robust metal pole of some kind at the top of the town's central, tallest tower - the sun shining down on him feels incredibly unpleasant, and he can't say he's a big fan of being thirty one stories up from the ground, no matter how well-secured he is - and he looks to be rather well-secured indeed. With chains, in fact.
~airmaster! lovely view, yes? perfect for your job, we think. speaking of, you are now airmaster. very fun job. must keep the weather clear and the air nice or face severe consequences, like freezing solid or being struck by lightning. keep watch on clouds, don't trust them!~
All in all, a great way to start their day.
Under the sea...
Niklas, not one to say no to an opportunity for nautical plunder, goes over to explore the ship. A quick look at the thing, though, gives him a strange feeling. For one, there's no loot he can see. Secondly, the whole thing looks a bit wrong to him, not at all conceivably like a ship that might have sunk - Niklas knows what those look like from experience, after all. Though the hull is cracked, it doesn't look natural at all. Once he looks through the crack, though, he notices that the ship appears to be entirely hollow, lacking anything inside it apart from a rather strange-looking ornate metal capsule about the size of a small house. It's difficult to make out what exactly the ornaments on it might be, it being the bottom of the sea and all.
One thing's for sure, though - it's probably not supposed to be here.
In Blynn...
Since the town of Blynn appears to be lacking in food, or at least food that anyone would want or be ready to give, Timothy has a great idea. It involves pie and interdimensional travel, like all good ideas - the latter, which he thinks he should be able to do with the knowledge he's obtained so far, will provide the former! Time to head over to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Pie, which Timothy is pretty sure might exist somewhere.
Despite the potential concern that the Plane of Pie may be a place he might not want to return from after having seen its glory, Timothy tries to slip off the mortal world for a quick trip to the plane he dearly wishes actually exists. He quickly shuffles off the world, and soon finds himself... elsewhere. Looks like a land of rhombuses and spheres to him. No pie in sight. What now?
At the Tomb of Everything...
Darren thanks the girl for considering pet adoption in the near future, and heads back down into the city of ghosts, passing by Karina on the way. He wonders where to find a more dense concentration of ghosts - there's several alternatives. The outskirts have few ghosts - Karina and Danielle, plus maybe some others, the outer city probably has more, but they're mostly hiding, the engineers' quarter has two he knows of, but both of them are crazy, though in different ways, plus a whole bunch of seemingly intelligent constructs, while the engineer tombs, his ultimate destination, presumably have a bunch of them, but he hasn't been there yet, so he can't vouch for the safety of going there right now.
All in all, lots of options for dear old Darren. But which will be densest?
Post by: killerhellhound on January 28, 2014, 07:59:29 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 28, 2014, 10:01:23 am
((Everything suggests that this town is completely deserted apart from us. Sigmund is the only one in a position to find out, though.))
"This better be some very elaborate joke... You don't have to rub it in, you know. It's not very funny either way..."
Look outside.
Post by: Xantalos on January 28, 2014, 12:31:30 pm
Poke the capsule. Is it openable? Do I see a clapse or any such thing?
Post by: Xanmyral on January 28, 2014, 12:47:00 pm
~Beverage consultant?~
To say Morton was confused was a touch of an understatement. Distressed might actually be a bit of a better qualifier, really, but the butler wouldn't consider himself so crass as to say such forthwith. The desk takes a moment to compose himself, trying to recall what he knew of Mothdale and take stock of the situation.
Let's see... Uh. It... Had... Beautiful sunsets over its deserts? Wait no, no, the nice-but-self-disparaging ship told him it didn't have deserts. And that the ship was from there, right? And didn't that priest on the street tell him about some demon being banished or destroyed or something here? He's not sure if either of those tidbits are helpful though. Well, at least he won't have to take care to avoid sand abrasion.
The desk takes a closer look at his surroundings, along with seeing if anything of his was missing. He makes sure to avoid any floors that creak or crack, a fire might of harmed the structural stability of the place and he has no idea what floor he's on. Even when he had a human body, Morton wasn't that great at getting out of holes, no need to try to see if he fares any better.
Just at a quick glance though the place looks absolutely dreadful, but maybe a bit of work could make it spick and span again.
Post by: Xantalos on January 28, 2014, 12:48:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 28, 2014, 12:50:18 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 28, 2014, 12:53:02 pm
Timothy grimaced at the boring looking vista before him, then went back to concentrating. He hunched his spectral shoulders, gritted his ghostly teeth, and squinted his eyes shut- not that that made much difference, seeing as he's transparent- and then began to emit a vague humming sound. He thought it might help.
Hey, when your learning process for inter-dimensional travel is so very trial-and-error, you experiment, okay! Sheesh.
>Try again! To the plane of pie! Or at the very least delicious baked goods and/or chocolate.
((I've realised that I've never really been sure what Timothy looks like, as a ghost in this setting. I've always pictured him as, well, a transparent floating human, translucently coloured the same as his dialogue. Spooky ethereal mist trail optional. ...Also I've just realised that I've neglected to get him a hat from someplace. Next stop after the plane of Pie shall have to be the plane of Adorable Spherical Bowler Hats.))
Post by: miauw62 on January 28, 2014, 12:56:20 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 28, 2014, 12:57:44 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 28, 2014, 02:01:44 pm
Determine:
-Closeness to the sea.
-Amount of buildings, shapes, their state, etc.
-Any important feature in the landscape.
-Existence or not of any kind of living being here.
((Also, I noticed something: the strange voice doesn't use caps, so we don't know if the gub is some important person, an entity, a race, or something similar))
Post by: Xanmyral on January 28, 2014, 02:29:07 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 28, 2014, 02:33:19 pm
Post by: miauw62 on January 28, 2014, 02:50:40 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 28, 2014, 02:55:46 pm
((Well, we all know that dolphins are, besides humans and mice, the most advanced species on Earth :P))((At least they are fleshy. Hell, maybe we can kill a bunch of them, tell Mark to construct a dolphin-corpse golem out of them, and kill them with their own bodyparts. But I think that I'm thinking too foward for now))
Post by: Innsmothe on January 28, 2014, 05:16:39 pm
...
They wanted it literal right?
He will then try to get a panoramic view and look for his cohorts.
Post by: Nunzillor on January 28, 2014, 07:57:00 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 28, 2014, 08:18:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 06:13:55 am
Mark figures he should do what the not entirely friendly voice in his head is telling him. Going with the flow is usually a wise thing to do, particularly when it results in as much fun as working here promises him!
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 5+1]
He begins by constructing a statue of a woman, about one and a half times the size of an ordinary woman, made entirely out of toes. It's a fun design challenge for him to get the joint articulation right, plus arranging the toes in a way to make a convincing face. Not to mention hair made of shredded toenails. At the end of it, he's got a very lifelike sculpture done! So lifelike, in fact, that he does sincerely wish somebody would transfer a soul into it, as he's pretty sure it would work great as a body.
In an empty tavern...
Kevin is not amused by the circumstances he finds himself in.
"This better be some very elaborate joke... You don't have to rub it in, you know. It's not very funny either way..."
~we know. we do not really understand what 'funny' even is! we think it requires something we do not have! we have somebody working on that right now.~
Kevin looks out the window, where he is somewhat glad to notice a street. Well, a channel, really, with two walkways on both sides of it. He can spot one person on the other side of the street, but other than that the place seems to be empty.
~nobody's going to come in unless you provide a pleasant atmosphere, ex-jester! and maybe redecorate while you're at it! we can send someone to help with that last part!~
In a fake-looking shipwreck...
Niklas moves closer to the capsule, poking it. The capsule sure sounds metal. It doesn't seem to have any method of entry, though. No clasps, no hatches, nothing like that. It's just this monolithic-looking hollow hunk of metal. As Niklas considers how best to plunder such a seemingly impenetrable container, he hears a feminine, grandmotherly voice in his head.
~Hello. You appear to be sentient, yes? Where did you come from?~
In an office of some kind...
Morton's first thought is entirely understandable.
~Beverage consultant?~
~yes! you seem highly qualified for the job! we were thinking of simply naming you teamaster instead, but figured this would present more opportunity for growth and skill development, as those seem important for humans, even nicer humans like you!~
Morton's confusion doesn't quite abate. He tries to recall something about Mothdale, but the only things that come to mind are the fact that it doesn't actually have deserts and that a demon was obliterated here, apparently.
~correct! it is unfortunate that the skyman of hatred was gone before we could commune with him! we have a new one now, though!~
Hm. Morton looks around the office - it seems that the fire hasn't damaged the structure much, considering that it seems to have been built of stone. Only the more flammable parts of the room, like the furnishings and documents, appear to have caught on fire. Though one of the stone walls does look a little deformed. Other than that, Morton thinks he could get this place looking fine again if he got rid of all the burned stuff and cleaned the floors and walls a little.
~that's the spirit! get to work, beverage consultant! beverage consulting can only be done in a pleasant work environment!~
In some kind of alien plane...
Timothy's pretty sure this plane holds none of the pie he seeks. So, before anybody comes over and hassles him, he decides to move out. Just as he fades out, a rather large humanoid emerges from one of the nearby rhombuses, and it looks like it was about to say something just as Timothy disappears.
Timothy reappears... someplace else. He can't really see anything, honestly - it's a bit bright. And hot. And oppressive. And lacking in pie.
At the top of the central tower of Mothdale...
Sigmund is sure he won't like the answer, but he tries to determine where exactly he might be. He's pretty sure he's in the center of the city he remembers entering - Mothdale.
~now known as the free city of gub!~
Yes, now known as the Free City of Gub. At least, Sigmund thinks that he should mentally capitalize that. He appears to be looking out toward the Sea of Pleasant Winds, or at least so he reckons - the Doom Strait is to his left, and the Sea of Death is probably behind him.
~if you want to be rotated, let us know!~
As for the buildings, they are mostly of the multistory townhouse variety, with other public buildings scattered around the place. They seem mostly undamaged, though there are parts where one can spot massive fire damage, usually at least a good five blocks in size. At least, on this side of the strait. On the other, the construction seems to veer more on the slummy, wooden as well as unharmed side, though it's a bit far off to say for sure. There's also a fortified compound of some sort on this side of the strait, but it looks to have been partially melted. Finally, there's three other tall towers he can see, conical, gray and utilitarian in style, but he remembers that there should be more.
~there are! the city of gub is glorious, is it not?~
As for landmarks, there's the strait, the tower he's on, the other towers, the compound, a park of some kind, the harbor, a couple of slightly elevated parts of town that seem more opulent... and the town is surrounded by a forest. It's impossible to determine whether any of it is properly inhabited, though Sigmund can see smoke coming from a few chimneys.
~oh, we have many subjects that we acquired here! two thousand and fifty three humans, four hundred and six rat people, five bears, fifty three nice dogs, one hundred and twenty eight less nice dogs, exactly three hundred cats and many more! and yet the city is unfortunately quite empty! there used to be fifteen thousand humans here, don't you know! possibly even some lymans as well! and at least one skyman before it got exploded! but things are looking up not only for you, but also for us! we shall repopulate the city of gub very soon!~
At the top of a lighthouse...
Scott figures he doesn't like this business one bit. And, since his job description was so pleasantly vague, he thinks this may be a good exercise for his powers! So... telekinesis was out, teleportation wouldn't help and howling would only make him feel better... how about something a little more creative? Like fire, for instance?
~fire! yes! what a fascinating thing it is!~
It is, isn't it? Scott tries to focus on one of the shipwrecks, hoping that this will lead to excellence rather than the usual serious injury.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 2]
Unfortunately, it leads to neither. Maybe he's not close enough? Scott's pretty sure he just needs to, like, compress air. Or cause friction. Or something like that.
~no fire? shame! we know a guy, though! we could ask him to come over and help! you'd owe him a favor, though!~
Scott finds he has a panoramic view already, though. He can see the entire city from here, though not quite as well as he could from one of the eight tall towers the city has. Particularly that central one. No sign of his good buddies, though.
~they're all busy! doing good work for the city of gub! like what you're trying to do!~
In the City of the Dead...
Darren figures he had best visit the constructs... his best lead on where they might be, though, is that cul-de-sac where he met the hand people, so he heads over there immediately. Nothing really troubles him on the way, and when he reaches the place, he is immediately greeted by a rather large statue of an anatomically incorrect naked human being. He's pretty sure that wasn't here before. And it's not entirely surprising when the statue suddenly turns to him.
"You there! What are you doing here?" it asks in a slightly accusatory tone.
Post by: miauw62 on January 29, 2014, 06:28:08 am
"What are you anyway? And what happened to the others? Abducting people isn't going to give this town a good reputation, you know. I wouldn't immigrate to a town where you're abducted when you arrive!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 07:07:04 am
((Five bears. That made me laugh.))
"What are you anyway? And what happened to the others? Abducting people isn't going to give this town a good reputation, you know. I wouldn't immigrate to a town where you're abducted when you arrive!"
~we are gub! the others are working! and what if we abduct lots of nice people who everyone wants to be around? and make the place highly presentable, suitable for humans and lymans, and skymans alike! you will be of great help in that regard! we believe in your abilities!~
Post by: killerhellhound on January 29, 2014, 07:31:35 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 29, 2014, 07:41:44 am
Sing
Post by: Innsmothe on January 29, 2014, 08:28:06 am
Scott will float to one of the shipwrecks and start causing environmental damage.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 08:47:37 am
Are we paid for this, or were we conscripted...Where is the Artiste? Did he abandon us?
~the skyman is enjoying our hospitality! we find his mind interesting and layered! he wishes to leave, but we do not permit it! as for payment... we can repay in simulated sensations if that is agreeable!~
Post by: Yoink on January 29, 2014, 10:01:45 am
He decided not to dwell on his failures, and instead decided to repeat the process.
"Third time'sa lucky, right? ...Just how manies dese places is there?"
>Channel surf until I either reach the Plane of Pie, find something that looks edible, or get back home. Any of the three results is acceptable!
Post by: Xantalos on January 29, 2014, 12:39:58 pm
Tell it my entire life story.
Post by: Tomcost on January 29, 2014, 12:54:41 pm
Begin changing the direction of the wind so that the clouds are redirected to a place that is not the city, don't make the wind flow strongly, though, just make a breeze. Use TM
Meanwhile, mentally ask the entity:
-So, what exactly are you, and the gub, by the way?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 01:19:10 pm
-So, what exactly are you, and the gub, by the way?
~we are gub! or the gub, if you prefer! and we did not conquer this city, it was handed to us! and we do not see the problem with fastening you to a pole, sigmund! we thought your only fears were crossroads, garlic, trespassing, certain flowers and running water! you will notice we have thoughtfully removed anything of the sort from this rooftop!~
Post by: Innsmothe on January 29, 2014, 01:26:44 pm
Also, where is our 'Skyman'?
Post by: Tomcost on January 29, 2014, 01:30:17 pm
He then thought of something: what if they decided to release him to a fall to his doom? He quickly mentally said:
-Please don't let me fall. If I'm allowed to leave this place at some point, allow me to get to the floor in one piece.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 03:06:15 pm
Since you speak in my mind, and promise to tweak my tactile feelings...can you unlock the powers denied me in my own mind? I would like to interact with the world again.
Also, where is our 'Skyman'?
~we messed around with your powers for quite a while when we were testing them! they were very interesting! that fire thing especially! and your skyman dwells in comfortable quarters, attended to by at least one servant at any given time! he is not pleased, but guarantees of safety should he not under any circumstances leave his quarters have kept him rather peaceable and agreeable! we are conversing right now, in fact! he is asking us to not be so extremely overbearing, and that it is distracting to have voices speaking in his head all the time! we suspect he is being unreasonably surly, and have not complied!~
-My question was not answered, what are you? Are you physical in any way? Oh, and while those things make me really uncomfortable, there are things that make me uncomfortabe too, like sunlight and being deprived for my freedom to move to another place on my own.
He then thought of something: what if they decided to release him to a fall to his doom? He quickly mentally said:
-Please don't let me fall. If I'm allowed to leave this place at some point, allow me to get to the floor in one piece.
~oh, right! you do not like sunlight! do not worry, we have our best agents on the job to help with that! as for lack of freedom, that is something you'll have to get used to right now! it wasn't easy to carry you up there, and we can't have you falling off! at least, not when the prospect of bad weather still threatens us! you must remain watchful!~
~as for your first question, we are gub! we are the sea itself! even more than that now! the gub grows forevermore!~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2014, 04:47:18 pm
Darren held his breath.
What are the chances that he ends up trying to kill me?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 04:58:44 pm
"I am a stage magician, just looking to sell wares for someone I know."
Darren held his breath.
What are the chances that he ends up trying to kill me?
"What wares, and who is this person you know?"
Post by: Innsmothe on January 29, 2014, 06:09:12 pm
Scott will test this during his burning of a wreck.
Post by: Tomcost on January 29, 2014, 06:23:05 pm
-So, you mentioned that the city was handed to you. Why did it happen? And who handed it to you?
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 06:34:10 pm
So I am able to use telekinesis and other stereotypical ghostly powers?...What happened during these 'tests'?
~not much! we levitated objects together, made you change your location, throw your voice, start small fires! lots of little tricks! interesting, yet limited! your other companions had more interesting potential skills!~
This was unusually well coordinated for a conquest, and the entity mentioned that it was handed to them. That made more questions arise:
-So, you mentioned that the city was handed to you. Why did it happen? And who handed it to you?
~it happened because we are good at receiving gifts! and it was handed to us by a lyman, and thus the handing does not concern you!~
Post by: Tomcost on January 29, 2014, 06:38:49 pm
Do hard cloud-displacing work.
EDIT:
((Who else is thinking of a dolphin hive-mind? We are so screwed))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 29, 2014, 07:28:28 pm
"The pet saleswoman. Her pets.""I am a stage magician, just looking to sell wares for someone I know."
Darren held his breath.
What are the chances that he ends up trying to kill me?
"What wares, and who is this person you know?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2014, 07:33:20 pm
"The pet saleswoman. Her pets."
"Who? And what makes you think there is anyone here to buy anything?"
Post by: Xanmyral on January 29, 2014, 10:36:15 pm
Morton mentally connected 'skyman of hatred' with the demon, and couldn't help but wonder at the next part of having another. In time he supposes, even however odd the situation may be it always behooves one to be polite and kind.
~I'm afraid I can't help but agree with that, the state here appears to be rather dreadful. Nothing a little bit of work shouldn't solve however, do you perhaps know where I may find something to help me? Perhaps a broom of some sorts, that would do quite marvelously I believe.~
~Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Carter Morton, a pleasure to meet you.~
The desk goes on the hunt for a broom to get to work, along with the layout of the building he's in. While searching/working, he'll ask a few questions.
~If its no bother, would you mind if I ask you a few questions? I'm curious to know where I've been relocated to.~
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 30, 2014, 01:36:29 am
"There's a woman around here that sells artifact pets. She's indisposed, so I'm here to sell her products. And do you believe that the house minders would like a pet? They seem like hospitable people, and they don't get many visitors.""The pet saleswoman. Her pets."
"Who? And what makes you think there is anyone here to buy anything?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 04:39:14 pm
Mark, having exercised his creativity for a bit, decides that maybe he needs to find the others. Unquestioning obedience toward the voices in his head, while it usually felt good, was hardly the best way to run one's life. He looks for... well, he immediately finds an exit and looks outside. Seems like he is in the middle of some kind of small graveyard. He definitely hasn't left the city he came to, at least it doesn't seem that way.
~you seek your companions! they are employed similarly to you! perhaps you wish to relay some sort of message to any of them? we also sense you wish to see some of the gub! we can send one over if you promise not to cause it injury!~
In a tavern of some kind...
Kevin, supposing he has no other choice, strains out an "Ugh, fine." before he starts to just sing. It's a bit difficult to get into the proper mood, though, particularly when he doesn't have any audience, just a vague pressure to provide ambiance or face some undiscovered consequences. Still, he sings. He sings... adequately.
And it does seem to work, as somebody does eventually arrive! A fairly tall fellow in a dark blue robe from the looks of it. He doesn't look too good, and seems to be eying the single remaining barrel of booze interestedly.
At the top of a lighthouse...
Faced with many shipwrecks to burn and not a lot of time to do it in (at least, his patience does not allot him more than, say, more than an hour), moves closer to the shipwrecks to try out the magical powers he totally should have according to his new boss. He moves to the nearest shipwreck, a merchant vessel that seems to have been... chopped up? That's not normal.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 3]
Scott, however, is rather pleased when he discovers that he can make small sparks with his mind if he concentrates hard enough! And that small spark is, fortunately, enough to start a rather sizable fire on the shipwreck! Huzzah!
~see! you can set things on fire with your mind! you simply need to concentrate!~
In a blinding plane...
Timothy decides he had probably best continue doing this shifting business until he gets what he wants... okay, jump three!
He seems to be... somewhere close to what he wanted? It looks like a rather nice room - an opulent dining room, though decorated in a slightly alien, unfamiliar, angular style - in some sort of strange building, except it appears to have pie. And cake. And also various other things, like meat, fruit, vegetables... things less pleasant than cake, certainly, but perhaps a little more nutritious. This place might not be the fabled Quasi-Elemental Plane of Pie, but it does have food! Decent food, even.
Also, there's very unobtrusive music playing in the background. Sounds like a choir to Timothy, except made up of birds actually singing in delicate harmonies, rather than screaming their tiny little lungs out in order to find someone to spend their silly, empty and meaningless lives with as it usually is in the mortal world.
Next to a capsule under the sea...
Niklas, realizing that the woman has no idea what she has just gotten herself into, begins the grand tale of his life.
~Well, I was born in the village of-~
~Human village?~
~That's a very interesting question, for some scholars of my kind have wondered - are the people of the far north more than human, or is everybody else simply far less? It has taken-~
~A human village, then. Very good. That means you are an irrelevant discovery. Do you need anything, or can I get back to work?~
At the top of the central tower of Mothdale...
Sigmund supposes that he should take his position as airmaster very seriously indeed, as he seems to be completely powerless to do anything else right now. He looks at the stormy clouds on the horizon, and thinks that he should probably push those away as soon as possible.
However, he realizes that this would be... slightly greater in scope than his previous attempts at wind magic. As in, covering vast areas of air. Also, he doesn't know what the accurate distance between himself and the clouds might be, and simply creating generic air flow in a ten kilometer radius may be a little beyond his current abilities. He knows he hasn't trained himself for anything like this, anyway.
In an office of some kind...
Morton has several thoughts here. Ones he concentrates on, actually.
~I'm afraid I can't help but agree with that, the state here appears to be rather dreadful. Nothing a little bit of work shouldn't solve however, do you perhaps know where I may find something to help me? Perhaps a broom of some sorts, that would do quite marvelously I believe.~
~Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Carter Morton, a pleasure to meet you.~
~we know you are carter morton! apostle of the tea leaf! we are gub! and you can find brooms in the nearby closet!~
That's helpful. Morton trundles out of the office, searching for this closet - it does indeed prove to be a nearby closet, only about five meters from the office door. Morton opens it up and finds... that the back wall of the closet appears to have melted away. The stone back wall, mind you. The cleaning supplies have not survived this event, evidently. The hole gives him a nice view of the city, though - he can see a melted castle wall in front of him, a scar of melted stone on the ground before the wall... and lots of varying buildings that blend in with each other as well.
~If it's no bother, would you mind if I ask you a few questions? I'm curious to know where I've been relocated to.~
~you have been relocated to the now-empty guard headquarters along with the entertainment consultant! it is a very prestigious position! treasure it!~
In a strange cul-de-sac...
Darren tries to explain all this to the statue man.
"There's a woman around here that sells artifact pets. She's indisposed, so I'm here to sell her products. And do you believe that the house minders would like a pet? They seem like hospitable people, and they don't get many visitors."
The statue man is unconvinced.
"I have not heard of any such thing. And servants cannot buy things without their masters' permission. And soliciting is forbidden."
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 05:23:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 05:33:04 pm
I'm a chair now. Anyhow, I'm claiming this ship in my name in order to force vengeance on those who've wronged and/or slightly annoyed me. Do you happen to have any air magic of any sort or will I have to possess the ship?
~This isn't actually a ship, in case you haven't noticed. Even so, I'd advise against trying to possess it.~
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 05:35:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 05:39:36 pm
Can I pilot it at least? I'd loot any magical artifacts we came across.
~You can't. This thing is immobile. And affixed to the seafloor. And replete with tampering countermeasures. But you seem like you would like to go somewhere. Any particular destinations in mind?~
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 05:42:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 05:51:25 pm
Back North, maybe. I'm also seeking revenge for wrongs I was inflicted there and stupid things I did. I'm blaming them on other people to save my pride and kill them to boost my ego.
~That'll be difficult. I don't think they have beacons there. How about the Red Tower of Power? That sound like a good place?~
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 05:52:59 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 30, 2014, 06:02:59 pm
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 06:06:12 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 06:09:54 pm
Where's that?
~In the middle of some woods, but you can go places from there. Both vertically and horizontally, in fact. And I happen to know exactly where it is, so that's a pretty good option right now, yes?~
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 06:12:05 pm
Wait. Can you possibly give me a body before we go? I'm a chair with 2 legs right now.
Post by: Tomcost on January 30, 2014, 06:41:00 pm
((If I happened to succeed in an intelligence roll, could I use TM with that roll? For a normal case, I mean.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2014, 07:01:49 pm
Let's do it!
Wait. Can you possibly give me a body before we go? I'm a chair with 2 legs right now.
~The Tower of Power people can help you out with that. Maybe. Any other questions?~
((If I happened to succeed in an intelligence roll, could I use TM with that roll? For a normal case, I mean.))
TM is for basic uses, more or less. And intelligence rolls don't apply to it, unless the intelligence roll is to determine something not directly related to the act of casting magic.
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2014, 07:02:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 30, 2014, 09:56:57 pm
~What happened here? I'm afraid that whatever melted the stone has caused the unfortunate destruction of the brooms. Group Gub--~ Morton makes a note to think of a better prefix. ~--Are there any other brooms around? Perhaps a substitute? I'm sure there must of been some that survived. Hm... I suppose a rag or square of cloth might suffice, although it would take me longer. I'd of needed one sooner or later though I suppose.~
~And I do thank you for the distinction, it's always nice to be complimented. May I ask who's the entertainment consultant? Good Jester Kevin, perhaps?~ The desk wouldn't mind seeing a familiar face, considering the confusing surroundings.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 30, 2014, 10:45:41 pm
Follow the Gub to my friends do not harm the Gub I don't want to piss off the hive-mind just yet
Post by: Yoink on January 30, 2014, 10:48:34 pm
It might not be pie, but he was sure it'd be more than good enough for someone who'd had nothing to eat for a while.
He wasn't quite sure how getting it back would work, but well, Timothy tended to deal with problems as they occurred.
>Telekinetically gather up a good haul of delicious, healthy food!
>Keep an eye out for anything that might object to me taking said delicious, healthy food.
Post by: miauw62 on January 31, 2014, 01:58:12 am
Post by: Innsmothe on January 31, 2014, 02:10:38 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 31, 2014, 05:07:47 am
"Hello and welcome to the tavern of... The Third Shank tavern! Need anything?"((After the sea of death trip we are going to need the Fourth Shank Doctor's sanity not assured.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 31, 2014, 05:59:23 am
Sigmund tries to make this weather manipulation more manageable by chopping it up into little chunks of tasks - something that works reasonably well, although doesn't seem overly effective - he doesn't actually know how high these clouds happen to be, and so only after an hour manages to find a reasonable distance... feels like a gazillion kilometers away. And though the stormy-looking clouds begin to move, they do so rather slowly, Sigmund thinks. Particularly since there seems to be another, slightly stronger wind acting against his manipulations and making slight whirlwinds from the looks of it... hm. Weather manipulation does seem more difficult than expected.
Meanwhile, he notices a pair of birds rapidly approaching - they're pretty huge birds, Sigmund thinks, with large, very sharp-looking beaks. They seem to be carrying some kind of object - a flat, circular thing that's... ah, it's a shade. The birds fly over to Sigmund and quickly install the shade above him on the pole, providing Sigmund with a significant measure of shade and a minor reprieve from the rather uncomfortable rays of the sun. The birds then immediately fly away.
~better!~
Inside a non-shipwreck...
Niklas has no objection to visiting someplace called the Red Tower of Power - has to be better than the bottom of the sea, right? So he agrees after a bit of playing a game of questions and answers with the voice from the depths.
~Great. Off you go.~
Just then, everything peels away around Niklas, almost as though his surroundings were just some kind of obsolete shell he just managed to messily shed. The depths of the ocean are replaced with fresh air, lots of trees... and the Red Tower of Power, located on a tall hill right next to Niklas. It doesn't look much like a giant gambling den, mead hall or whorehouse, but Niklas is sure that the anonymous maybe-lady at the bottom of the sea wouldn't steer him wrong.
The tower is a rather tall, massive and monolithic affair, looking a bit like a very fat obelisk with an entrance at the bottom. There are a few windows he can see for the tower, but they are assuredly not many in number, and are rather irregularly placed. Additionally, there appear to be rather elaborate and creative, yet also highly obscene drawings on some parts of the giant construction, at heights Niklas would think highly improbable for common vandals to reach. He can see a group of people loitering in front of the entrance, some dressed in robes, some wearing armor, some completely naked for some reason.
In the former guard headquarters of Mothdale...
Morton doesn't like the look of all this melted stuff. Signs of thermal mass destruction are never good in his line of work, whether one perceived that as beverage consulting or butling. Probably not good in many other lines of work, either.
~What happened here? I'm afraid that whatever melted the stone has caused the unfortunate destruction of the brooms. Group Gub... are there any other brooms around? Perhaps a substitute? I'm sure there must of been some that survived. Hm... I suppose a rag or square of cloth might suffice, although it would take me longer. I'd've needed one sooner or later though I suppose.~
~repugnant though the idea may be, drape theft and/or mutilation is, according to our information, a great way to gather cleaning supplies! try the other offices!~
Ah.
~And I do thank you for the distinction, it's always nice to be complimented. May I ask who's the entertainment consultant? Good Jester Kevin, perhaps?~
~no! good mage art is the entertainment consultant and teaching assistant to the gub! good ex-jester kevin is the jolly, enjoyable ambience officer! and now that you've mentioned good ex-jester kevin, now would be a good time to visit him! it is an emergency! he is at the tavern known as the ponderous tingfish! you will need to perform beverage consulting! we shall guide you there! but you must prepare!~
In a mortuary in Mothdale...
Mark wonders if the gub can lead him to his friends by any chance.
~no! not yet, anyway! if you feel alone, we can provide other, equally social friends whose company you may possibly enjoy! or relay any important messages of yours to particular existing friends if needed!~
Hm... other friends, huh?
Near a rather nice feast...
Timothy is rather happy about the feast before him - this should be enough to make some people more cheerful, right?
[Timothy's telekinesis roll: 6]
He clasps his hands together, and all the food on the table immediately compacts into a sizable sphere (though nonetheless a sphere that is smaller than the original total volume of the food on the table), along with all the forks, knives, spoons, bowls and plates that were present there as well. Timothy supposes whoever he gives all this to will probably need the implements to eat it, anyway, and this is the fastest way he could think of to steal food. Hopefully as long as he concentrates he'll be able to get away with it, too! And since nobody interferes in any way and Timothy can't really hear anyone approaching, he supposes he very well might get away with it after all.
Inside the Ponderous Tingfish...
Kevin is determined to fulfill his duties, even if there is only one tavern.
"Hello and welcome to the tavern of... The Third Shank tavern! Need anything?"
The man looks unimpressed.
"Ugh. This ambiance blows." he says, picking up a chair and hurling it at Kevin.
[Impolite Patron vs. Kevin: 4+1 vs. 4+1]
Kevin ducks as the chair goes sailing over his head. Okay, maybe this guy's not in a great mood.
"this is not good! improve the ambiance immediately, jolly and enjoyable ambiance officer!"
At the beaches of Mothdale...
Scott continues his shipwreck-clearing duty by trying to carry bits of the burning ship to another shipwreck, spreading the love and the fire in one fell swoop.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 4]
It is difficult, but he eventually manages to start moving one of the looser bits of the ship, slowly removing the burning bit of wreckage and making it hover through the air and reach another wreck, where it fails to start a proper fire just yet. Well, at least one shipwreck of six appears to have been taken care of, pretty much.
~this is a day of discovery for you! the power is yours!~
Post by: killerhellhound on January 31, 2014, 07:12:07 am
Post by: miauw62 on January 31, 2014, 09:59:31 am
Post by: Xantalos on January 31, 2014, 01:05:19 pm
EXCUSE ME OUTTA MY WAY COMING THROUGH MAKE WAY
Post by: Innsmothe on January 31, 2014, 04:16:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on January 31, 2014, 07:52:08 pm
-Thanks for the shade, I apreciate it. I see that you are able to control other animals besides humans. That gets me thinking, where are the rest of the crew of the boat in which I traveled? Is the Artiste allright?
After that question, he also asked something about his job, as he was unsure he could achieve his goal:
-I think that you overestimated my abilities, as fighting against the weather is a tad difficult for a begginer mage as me. I was wondering if I could eventually let some clouds come to the city, but in smaller quantities? That way some rain would fall, hopefully helping to clean the ashes of whatever happened here before.
Post by: Yoink on February 01, 2014, 12:20:04 am
Well, moment of truth- would his food-ball stay with him when he jumped between Places?
>Shift back to my home dimension, trying my best to bring the ball o' food with me!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 01, 2014, 04:36:28 am
Look around. Any signs of life, save the guard?
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2014, 10:39:12 am
Mark decides that he probably does need a bit of practice... maybe the gub would be amiable to the idea?
~maybe! but caution would have to be exercised!~
Great! Mark was just wondering where to find living subjects to practice medicine upon in a way that doesn't actually kill them! Excellent. He asks the gub to send some of its friends and to send a message to his companions that he is alive, well and inside a mortuary practicing medicine as normal.
~will do!~
It doesn't take long until Mark notices something move in the nearby channel - there is a sudden loud splash, and two dolphins suddenly leap out and begin to make their way toward him. They look rather purposeful in their movements. They also seem rather grizzled, if one can honestly say such a thing about any dolphin. Their approach is rather awkward, though the dolphins seem to be making do and don't seem very unhappy. Eventually they flop over to Mark, looking at him with their wild dolphin eyes. Mark notices that one of them looks distinctly lumpier, while the other has longer, sharper teeth which it seems to like to display.
~they feel ambivalent about meeting you!~
In a tavern in Mothdale...
Kevin, knowing that he can totally impress this guy if he just gives him a chance, tries to soothe him with his singing, producing a sweet, soft little number that ought to calm anyone right down. The man stares at him, and begins to speak.
"The bar needs cleaning up and yeah, the singing doesn't help in any way."
He pauses, inclining his head a little.
"To summarize, it blows, this guy blows."
[Impolite Patron vs. Kevin: 6+2 vs. 3+1]
The patron's entire body suddenly tenses and twists in a movement that Kevin can scarcely identify before there is a flash of metal that abruptly separates his right leg and a sizable chunk of his torso (including at least half of the pelvis) from the rest of him, causing said sizable chunk to fall to the ground. Kevin doesn't quite keep his balance and also falls over as a result, in what is assuredly the second-worst performance review he's ever gotten.
~the public has spoken, kevin! there is room for improvement here! also, mark wants you to know he is at the mortuary!~
The man walks over to the solitary barrel of booze still remaining and begins to inspect it.
Outside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas knows that the best way to get into these shady places is to pretend you're important. And pretending he's important is something Niklas has done quite a lot lately. He charges (well, drags himself as quickly, and consequently as loudly as possible) up the hill and toward the entrance.
"EXCUSE ME OUTTA MY WAY COMING THROUGH MAKE WAY!" he shouts conspicuously, and the assembled crowd pays him absolutely no mind except for a mildly intrigued glance from some of the younger people present. He storms in through the door, which is completely open and unlocked, and finds himself in a rather small room with a remarkable number of doors and staircases available, where a small, cheerful, yet remarkably hairy and bearlike man sits behind a desk, dressed in a fuzzy black robe that's a bit too large for him.
"Who might you be?" he immediately asks.
At a not yet shipwreck-free beach...
Scott continues his work with the burning of shipwrecks while experimenting with his translocation abilities.
[Scott's teleportation roll: 3]
He manages to translocate himself a short distance, but not quite enough for the gesture to seem either efficient or suitably dramatic. Ah well. Back to work.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 4]
He brings another burning piece of the first shipwreck to set fire to the next one, and finds that it works just as poorly as the first time that he tried it. Hm. Just as he wonders about whether to change his strategy, he hears the voice of the gub.
~mark sends you a message! he is at one of the mortuaries and feeling fine as far as we can tell! ~
At the top of the central tower of Mothdale...
Sigmund guesses he needs a break right now. So he speaks to the gub. Or the Gub.
"Thanks for the shade, I appreciate it. I see that you are able to control other animals besides humans. That gets me thinking, where are the rest of the crew of the boat in which I traveled? Is the Artiste all right?"
~the skyman lives comfortably, but without happiness! he wishes to leave, but we keep him here because his mind is unusual, mostly due to its two levels of operation! and the rest of your best friends in this entire world are scattered over the city, performing duties less important than yours! mark is productively playing around in a mortuary! other people are doing other things we will not get into right now!~
The feeling of being in a little over his head does not go unvoiced in Sigmund's mind either.
"I think that you overestimated my abilities, as fighting against the weather is a tad difficult for a beginner mage as me. I was wondering if I could eventually let some clouds come to the city, but in smaller quantities? That way some rain would fall, hopefully helping to clean the ashes of whatever happened here before."
~we were just about to mention a similar thing! it seems that a majority of the population do not like rainy weather, but evelyn tells us that rain is more useful than constant sunshine! so we wonder whether there are not better applications for an airmaster! can you think of any?~
Someplace filled with food...
Timothy, delighted with his loot, moves on to step two of his cunning plan - now that he has the food, he has to move back to where he used to be! He concentrates for a moment, and suddenly feels a lot closer to his original position than before - though definitely not quite there at all. In fact, he seems to be in the same plains that Blynn was located in, but he can't really see the town from here.
He is happy, though, that the food seems to have traveled with him! Joyous day!
In a cul-de-sac of constructs...
Darren inquires about more from his new human-shaped obstacle.
"Masters? I didn't see anybody live in those homes."
He looks around. He doesn't exactly see anything moving around in the houses, but, then again, they don't seem to have been built to facilitate spying upon their inhabitants. There aren't any lawns to tend to, no gardening to be done... the constructs seemed to be keeping the streets clean, too, and the windows don't seem to have been constructed to let much light in.
"You're not supposed to. I haven't seen anybody live in there either. Which means they must be quite reclusive indeed. So they would appreciate intrusions even less, would they not?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2014, 10:40:26 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 01, 2014, 11:00:01 am
-I am not only an Airmaster, Sir! I can do other kinds of jobs, not only those in which I have powers! For example, I'm pretty good at making foci, so I think that I could eventually do some other kind of magic jobs. Or maybe help you to coordinate the rebuilding of the city, I think that with Morton's and Erin's help we could clean and rebuild some parts of it. After all, if you want your people to be happy, the first thing that you should do is to prevent them from being reminded constantly from whatever happened here before, as I'm sure that it was not a nice experience. By the way, what exactly happened here?
Post by: miauw62 on February 01, 2014, 11:05:00 am
~I guess I have no choice but to go and see that psycho again.~
Pick up my leg and limp towards the mortuary. Ask the hivemind for directions.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2014, 11:38:45 am
((Double post, Harry))
Forum was screwing with me in a most malevolent fashion this time, I swear.
-I am not only an Airmaster, Sir! I can do other kinds of jobs, not only those in which I have powers! For example, I'm pretty good at making foci, so I think that I could eventually do some other kind of magic jobs. Or maybe help you to coordinate the rebuilding of the city, I think that with Morton's and Erin's help we could clean and rebuild some parts of it. After all, if you want your people to be happy, the first thing that you should do is to prevent them from being reminded constantly from whatever happened here before, as I'm sure that it was not a nice experience. By the way, what exactly happened here?
~we are sure you think you must be good at many things! we find your ability to hallucinate the underlying rules of reality particularly interesting! and while you are efficient at making foci, we have that part of our industry covered for now! we shall keep you in mind nevertheless! we have also taken your recommendations into account! as for what happened here, nobody here knows for sure! it was all to our benefit, however!~
"OW! You asshole! I'm the fuck out of here. Fuck improvement. Fuck you, especially. How am I going to get anything done without a fucking leg?"
~I guess I have no choice but to go and see that psycho again.~
Pick up my leg and limp towards the mortuary. Ask the hivemind for directions.
~we would advise against doing this! you are being most non-conducive to a jolly, enjoyable ambiance! not to mention quite unpleasant to an esteemed patron!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 01, 2014, 11:41:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2014, 11:48:35 am
"How the fuck am I supposed to be jolly when people are throwing shit at me and dismembering me? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE JOLLY? WAVE MY FUCKING DISMEMBERED ARM AT THEM IN A JOLLY FASHION?"
~that is quite the challenge to overcome, our data shows! perhaps a redefinition of your job title will be in order soon!~
Post by: killerhellhound on February 01, 2014, 11:54:43 am
((Also OH SHIT sentient killer hive mind dolphins And I'm making them stronger out of boredom))
Post by: Tomcost on February 01, 2014, 12:16:10 pm
((I'm wondering, how do we kill a hive mind? Is there a kind of Overmind there?))
Post by: miauw62 on February 01, 2014, 12:18:12 pm
"A job change to what? Dismemberment officer?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 01, 2014, 12:19:49 pm
-So, if I'm not actually needed here, then you should put me down, so that i can help in doing other things meanwhile, don't you think so?
~yes! we believe you could help scott! he needs to keep the beaches shipwreck-free, and needs help! helpers are incoming!~
"A job change to what? Dismemberment officer?"
~no, just remove the jolliness part of your job description!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 01, 2014, 12:28:38 pm
Practice air repelling while I am waiting. When the helpers come, TM stop the air flow to allow them to rescue me.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 01, 2014, 03:06:52 pm
"Tell mark I am am slightly more happy, and The artiste if he would like anything from us, we unlive to serve him"
Post by: Xanmyral on February 01, 2014, 07:24:59 pm
~Emergency? Is good jester Kevin in trouble, what's wrong? What do I need to prepare, please, let us make haste!~
The desk pepped up considerably at the fact that one of his friends need help, he has to get there fast or else it might be too late!
Post by: Yoink on February 02, 2014, 02:08:55 am
Post by: Xantalos on February 02, 2014, 02:15:56 am
I need a better body, can you give me one?
Post by: miauw62 on February 02, 2014, 06:37:24 am
((Heist of the century! :)) ))((I concur, the heist of the century was most certainly the glorious bookstore raid.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 02, 2014, 06:41:00 am
Kevin is pronouncedly dissatisfied with the patron. After all, he thought he had left his life of regular dismemberment behind for a fresh new start.
"OW! You asshole! I'm the fuck out of here. Fuck improvement. Fuck you, especially. How am I going to get anything done without a fucking leg?" he says, picking up his leg and beginning to move out of the tavern.
"Thanks," he hears the patron say. For some reason, the remark fills him with foreboding.
[Patron's technique roll: 3+1]
[Kevin's dodge roll: 5+1-1]
Guided by said feeling, Kevin rolls aside as some kind of liquid hits the spot where he formerly was. The floor in that spot begins to smoke and sizzle in a highly unpleasant fashion. Kevin looks back and notices the patron looking a little more dissatisfied than before as he finds a tankard to fill with the contents of the nearby barrel of alcohol, then sits down to enjoy a nice drink.
~it seems that he really does not wish you to leave, enjoyable ambiance officer! this is your chance to impress!~
In one of Mothdale's mortuaries...
Mark figures he had best work on these two. After all, it's the best party favor he's got. He draws his Happy-Happy and attaches it to the lumpy dolphin, who seems to calm down quite a bit and relax. Mark then places said dolphin on a slab and begins his improvements.
[Mark's medicine roll: 4]
He soon realizes there's nothing actually wrong with the dolphin - well, maybe it could use some hands and all, but that's pretty much it. So he picks up some arms and attaches them to the dolphin's flippers. After completing this rather simple operation, he removes the Happy-Happy and checks how the dolphin is functioning. The answer seems to be that it's doing great - it doesn't seem to be able to move the arms or fingers, though. Guess that's the price of being a living creature, though. The dolphin doesn't seem to mind too much, although it makes a very unpleasant grimace at Mark for a moment, then rolls off the slab. The arms don't seem to be doing it a lot of good. Hm. Mark reattaches the Happy-Happy, then removes the arms, instead fashioning two sharp hooks of bone with the tools and materials he has available. Attaching those to the dolphin's flippers instead of arms seems to work better - when the Happy-Happy is removed, the dolphin seems to appreciate the change much more, swinging its new hooks through the air in a delighted fashion.
Surprisingly, there is not a lot of blood shed in the process - the dolphins seem to not bleed all that much. Mark wonders why that might be.
~a very worthwhile addition, beautification officer! also, scott says he is slightly more happy! we believe it is because he knows of your continued existence!~
A happy day all around, then.
At the top of the central tower of Mothdale...
Sigmund thanks the gub for deciding that maybe leaving him chained to a pole for all eternity to do things he can't actually do might not be the best idea.
"Thank you, sir!" he says to the air.
~we shall have you sorted out soon! do not worry!~
Sigmund appropriately doesn't worry, and attempts to repel air.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
He thinks it worked - at least that's what it seemed like. And there was a rush of air, too. He lets the air come back, then tries it again.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
This time, it doesn't work quite as well. Again, again!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 3]
He feels the air repel a little bit.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 1]
And then it comes rushing back at him in a great big gust. His eyes start to hurt a little. And just then, a group of four of the large birds flies up to him. They seem to be trying to extricate him from his chained state, and one of them appears to be carrying a key to help in this endeavor. Their beaks, however, are a bit ill-suited to this sort of thing, it seems. They do eventually free him, holding him in their rather sharp and large claws as they carry him through the air. Sigmund can't say this feels entirely safe.
~it isn't!~
That's reassuring. Despite this, however, Sigmund does get somewhat safely, if uncomfortably conveyed to an area slightly to the north of the harbor, where he can see six different shipwrecks, one of which appears to have become a raging inferno. The birds quickly descend, finally dropping Sigmund softly on the ground. As Sigmund gets up, he looks around. Scott isn't difficult to spot - he's right over by another shipwreck, seemingly concentrating.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 6]
Just then, the shipwreck he is standing next to suddenly explodes into flames, brightly burning bits of wood flying into the air as part of the deck immediately disintegrates. Scott looks quite happy about this development.
"Tell Mark I am slightly more happy, and the Artiste if he would like anything from us, we unlive to serve him," Scott says, grinning at the carnage he has caused. Sigmund guesses he's talking to the gub.
~will do!~ answers the voice in Scott's head. Scott then turns happily to the other shipwrecks.
In the ex-guard headquarters of Mothdale...
Morton knows that, no matter what the state of cleaning supplies in this town is, the fate of Kevin is probably more important to worry about right now.
~Emergency? Is good jester Kevin in trouble, what's wrong? What do I need to prepare, please, let us make haste!~
~oh no, he is not in too much trouble! he is merely doing a very poor job of hosting patrons at the tavern known as the ponderous tingfish! we hope the situation will improve, but it would be good to have you there regardless, to help out and so forth! you will probably need some cleaning supplies, which you can find at the tavern, and a kind, unobtrusive attitude! we hope you can manage these things in short order! we will guide you to your destination when you are ready!~
Inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas introduces himself to the bearlike person.
"NIKLAS! A Northman! I need a better body, can you give me one?"
"Unless you sign up with us, no."
Ah. So it's one of these operations, huh?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on February 02, 2014, 06:51:05 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 02, 2014, 07:37:46 am
Sigmund came closer to Scott, and asked:
-What are you supposed to be doing?
Post by: Yoink on February 02, 2014, 09:22:23 am
"...Maybe dis works after all!" He grinned madly to himself, then looked around. "Hmm. Well, close a-nuffs." Good thing he could fly, he decided.
>Fly happily upwards with my food-sphere to get a wide view of the countryside, see if I can spot Blynn.
>If I get to the point where I can barely distinguish landmarks due to distance and haven't spotted it, start doing wide circles over the area instead, staying over these familiar-looking plains until I find it.
Post by: miauw62 on February 02, 2014, 09:29:47 am
Limp away.
Post by: Yoink on February 02, 2014, 09:39:27 am
Post by: Innsmothe on February 02, 2014, 09:44:06 am
ALL SHALL BURN BEFORE SCOTT! BRIGHTER! FASTER! HOTTER!
Post by: Tomcost on February 02, 2014, 10:37:34 am
Wait until Scott tries to burn another ship, then begin searching the insides of the ships that haven't been burned nor are in danger of being burned. If possible, salvage any kind of useful material, or remove things that can't burn, thus making the task of the fire easier.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 02, 2014, 01:42:58 pm
~Oh, that's a relief, you had me worried there for a moment group Gub.~ Morton still needs to figure out a proper prefix. ...Team? Many? Several? Nothing better is coming to mind however.
~Just point me in the right direction and I'll have that place cleaned up in a spiffy. I have to say I'm a little surprised that things aren't going well, good jester Kevin is always the first I look to for a humorous outlook. But I suppose entertaining people isn't quite the same as hosting a tavern, I've always imagined a more respectable approach than a, albeit humorous, sillier approach.~
~If you could please tell good jester Kevin I'll be there shortly?~
The desk will head towards the Ponderous Tingfish, following the directions of group Gub.
Post by: Xantalos on February 02, 2014, 06:24:23 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 02, 2014, 11:21:03 pm
Darren goes back to where he had met the young mechanical woman and her father in the engineer district. Then he sets up his gear and does some tricks, trying to garner attention for himself.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 12:35:11 am
What does that entail?
"It's basically like a job, but better. You do things, we give you cool stuff. There's a contract, but you're not bound to it in any way other than the most literally legal sort. We pride ourselves on doing it that way, actually."
Post by: Xantalos on February 03, 2014, 12:36:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 12:43:21 am
Can you read it to me?
"Nah, because I'd probably fall asleep if I tried and my shift ends in half an hour. Here in the Tower of Power we don't do silly things like read contracts. Especially not aloud. I can give you a copy if you want, though."
Post by: Xantalos on February 03, 2014, 12:46:00 am
Contract get! Contract read! Examine contract for fine print x5!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 01:00:19 pm
Timothy finds that things are going uncharacteristically well, what with how he seems to have stolen food from another plane without any visible repercussions.
"...Maybe dis works after all!" he says, grinning like the master criminal he is. "Hmm. Well, close a-nuffs."
Knowing Blynn can't be too far off, he floats into the sky. Once he rises hard enough, he finds that his suspicions have been confirmed! Blynn is indeed not too far away from here! Just some ten or so kilometers, he thinks, until his legend can properly continue to grow.
Inside the Ponderous Tingfish...
Kevin knows he can't take this kind of frivolous attitude toward severing limbs. So he can only do what he's already tried to do - leave.
"What the fuck do you even want from me? Enjoy your fucking drink! You can drink the entire barrel! Just let me go!"
The patron decides he won't take this kind of guff, apparently, because his response is to throw some kind of wooden object at Kevin.
[Homicidally Impolite Patron vs. Kevin: 1+1-1 vs. 4+1]
This object flies quickly through the air, but it only hits the wall, not coming anywhere close to actually harming Kevin. Quite glad that drinking seems to hurt this fellow's aim, Kevin hops away on his single leg, escaping into the streets as quickly as he can, which definitely isn't too quickly.
"you need to be nicer to esteemed guests! even if they are often murderous and perplexingly aggressive! morton will arrive shortly! will you back him up?"
Indeed, Kevin can spot the desk trundling toward the tavern from afar. The question is, what's he going to do about it?
On the shipwreck-rich beaches of Mothdale...
Scott, as part of his gift to this community as the new god of hellfire, brings fire to burn everything. Except Sigmund. Maybe.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 2]
The fires ain't starting, though. Maybe that explosion took too much from him. Or maybe he's afraid it won't be as cool next time. Or maybe he had a limited amount of fire magic he could use, and he just used it all. Scott knows all too well that the potential reasons for why he failed this particular time could be listed all day. But that would be very unproductive, so he'll instead feel disappointed as he watches Sigmund try to help...
Hey, wait a minute! Sigmund's not trying to help! He's trying to steal stuff! Look at him go! He seems to have recovered a rather nice silver teapot that has a skull-shaped dual spout from one of the ships. He looks somewhat proud of his find, actually.
~that teapot! we cannot believe little tommy left it behind the way he did! we shall send him to retrieve it at once!~
At the ex-guard HQ of Mothdale...
Morton, informed that he doesn't actually need to pack anything, moves out immediately.
~Oh, that's a relief, you had me worried there for a moment, group Gub. Just point me in the right direction and I'll have that place cleaned up in a spiffy. I have to say I'm a little surprised that things aren't going well, good jester Kevin is always the first I look to for a humorous outlook. But I suppose entertaining people isn't quite the same as hosting a tavern, I've always imagined a more respectable approach than a, albeit humorous, sillier approach.~
~we have also found this turn of events disturbing! fortunately, you shall save the day!~
~If you could please tell good jester Kevin I'll be there shortly?~
~in due time! now, the way you have to go is...~ the gub begin to explain the road to Morton, who follows their directions to the letter, eventually arriving at the tavern in question. From the outside, he thinks he can see a single guy sitting inside and drinking. He doesn't see Kevin in there, though.
At a mysterious cul-de-sac...
Darren, after a valiant try at becoming a door-to-door advertiser, decides to give up.
"Ah. I understand."
The statue man nods, and Darren promptly leaves the neighborhood, looking for the place he saw that mechanical man and his machined daughter. He finds it soon enough, and promptly decides to loiter a while, do magic tricks and stuff. He doesn't have to wait long before a group of four small humanoids, metallic simulacrums of a small gang of boys from the looks of it, comes out of a nearby alley and notices him.
"Look at that! It's a dead guy!" one of the little ones walking along the side of the group exclaims in a metallic, musical voice.
"What's he doing?" a rather broad-looking kid in the middle asks.
"Probably being crazy. You know how they are." another metal child with four spindly arms and a rather sophisticated-looking jaw explains dismissively.
"No, no! Didja see that?" the excitable one points at Darren as he does a rather ingenious little coin trick.
"See what?"
"Magic," a short little automaton boy marching in front of the rest says.
"Yeah, what he did with the coin! Look!"
The group approach Darren, watching his tricks with varying reactions. The excitable one seems more pleased than the rest, though all of them seem intrigued at the very least, and their interest in Darren seems to grow with every trick he does.
"Can he see us?" the one filled with wonderment suddenly asks.
"Yes," the laconic kid says.
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas decides he can break the standard northlander rule of never reading any contract lest he scare away adventure, and accepts the offer of a copy of the agreement he may need to sign. He takes it and reads it.
The contract appears to be written in large, friendly letters throughout, with no fine print in sight that Niklas can see. It mostly involves the signer of the contract pledging to be the most amazing, fearsome, terrifying, generous, friendly, open, ferocious, wild, festive and inimitable individual he can be under the wise guidance of a Minor Mentor until such a point when he can be trusted to be all those things on his own and of his own initiative, at which point he will be reassigned to a Greater Mentor and will, in turn, be a Minor Mentor to the less initiated assigned to him. He shall accept a Minor Blessing decided by his Minor Mentor upon becoming an Initiate, and in return will respect and follow the rulings and orders of his Mentor and the Mentors above his Mentor, and above all the word of the Grand Mentor. Depending on his amazingness, he will receive more Blessings in time. And if he acts in a way that is blatantly contrary to the ways of the amazing, he is liable to have to pay the price in humiliation before his peers.
Honestly, this contract reads as much like a legal document as it does like a brochure. Niklas wonders whether that might be at least part of its point.
"So, you in or not?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 03, 2014, 01:12:20 pm
I'm in!
Post by: Innsmothe on February 03, 2014, 01:28:23 pm
Scott, out of curiosity, will attempt to melt sand into a 2m2 pool of glass.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 01:33:03 pm
"Huh...By the why voice, who or what are you and how did you become the masters of the isle?"
~we are gub, and your lyman gave this city for the gub to rule as we see fit!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 03, 2014, 03:17:01 pm
-So, why is this teapot so important?
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 03:23:16 pm
Sigmund also spoke to the Gub:
-So, why is this teapot so important?
~because it belongs to little tommy! it's his favorite teapot! he requires its immediate return!~
Post by: Innsmothe on February 03, 2014, 03:24:11 pm
"What are the Gub?""Huh...By the why voice, who or what are you and how did you become the masters of the isle?"
~we are gub, and your lyman gave this city for the gub to rule as we see fit!~
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 03:29:13 pm
"What are the Gub?"
~we are gub! weren't you paying attention?~
Post by: Tomcost on February 03, 2014, 03:44:47 pm
Metaphysically check the teapot's knots, there is something weird about that teapot.
Post by: Yoink on February 03, 2014, 03:58:11 pm
"Justa big ball of da foodses, nuffin' to sees here...
>Ensuring that I'm still invisible, float down with my food-sphere to the outer area of Blynn where that inn was.
Ensure not to fly over/through the central, guarded part of town.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 03, 2014, 04:35:02 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on February 03, 2014, 04:40:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 03, 2014, 05:05:33 pm
What manner of entity are the gub? As in your closest comparison in any bestiary or collection of zoological studies?
~our closest comparison in any bestiary or collection of zoological studies would definitely have to be the elephant, as we find the thought of elephants highly agreeable! we wonder if they would find thoughts of gub agreeable as well? there is only one way to check!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 03, 2014, 05:12:16 pm
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on February 03, 2014, 05:20:07 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 03, 2014, 05:33:09 pm
((I have no data to support any analysis at this present point in time.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 03, 2014, 07:25:14 pm
Get directions then deliver the Masterwork Toe Statue to the Bar
Post by: Xanmyral on February 03, 2014, 10:16:55 pm
Hm... Where did Kevin go? Maybe he's just hidden from the outside, but if not the man might know. The desk trundles into the store and takes a look around for the wayward jester. After (most likely) not finding him he'll address the man if he doesn't look particularly busy.
"Excuse me good sir, if you have the time could I perhaps ask a question? I'm trying to find my friend, he's about so-high,-" the desk indicates with his arm, "- and has quite a peculiar attire and look, typically rather amusing? ...Perhaps a tad foul-mouthed though, I do admit. I was informed he was suppose to be here."
Ask man about where Kevin is in usual Morton fashion.
Post by: miauw62 on February 04, 2014, 01:40:31 am
Run away and try to find the mortuary.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2014, 10:08:52 am
"I meant physiologically! Physiologically, what manner of corporeal or non-corporeal race are you?! Where are you from, what do you eat, how do you reproduce?"
~physiologically, we are a very fine creature! we're from the neighborhood, we eat what we like and reproduce however we need to!~
Post by: Innsmothe on February 04, 2014, 10:52:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 04, 2014, 11:08:14 am
((Sorry, I felt the need to answer that obvious question))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2014, 11:17:12 am
Are you being intentionally nondescript?
~it seems very likely! but it is entirely possible that this is not the case!~
Post by: Innsmothe on February 04, 2014, 12:56:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2014, 01:22:28 pm
"I hope you are not offended but... you seem very...infantile...undeveloped for sake of no better term."
~we speak to you through your own mind, and so we are what you make of us! we are gub!~
Inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas does believe that he is, in fact, in.
"I'm in!"
The receptionist seems to believe he is in as well, and takes the contract right back.
"Great. Now head up the far left staircase. You'll eventually come to a really noisy room. That's where some Minor Mentors should be hanging out. Tap one you like on the shoulder or something, and they'll set you up."
At the shipwreck-rich beach of Mothdale...
Scott, while carrying on a delightful conversation with the gub, tries to melt some sand.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 4]
Well, he manages to set off a rather nice fire at a sandy patch, but, lacking anything to burn, it quickly dissipates. Aw.
Sigmund, meanwhile, examines the teapot's metaphysical knots. After all, an object can't look this weird and not be magical, right? He looks it over carefully. Hm. The knots look a bit strange, he thinks, but he can't quite put his finger on what the reason for this might be. The teapot certainly looks suspicious, and since somebody named Little Tommy wants it back, it probably has some value to somebody.
~little tommy is fast approaching, sigmund! there is no time for tomfoolery!~
Looking up from the pot, Sigmund does notice something running at him from the distance. Wonder if that's who the gub meant?
A ways from Blynn...
Timothy, barely able to contain his enthusiasm, quickly checks if he's still invisible. He realizes that he isn't, and seems to be perfectly visible instead. Better fix that!
[Timothy's invisibility roll: 4]
This proves quite simple, all things considered. He is now once again mostly invisible. Aside from the giant ball of food, that is. He descends toward Blynn, reaching the place within the hour. Were there any locals looking at the sky at that point, they might have noticed a black dot flying downward right at their beloved, yet suffering town. But there aren't many of those, and this singularly unusual event goes mostly unremarked upon except by men and women of great leisure, which Blynn has quite a shortage of right now. And so Timothy lands undisturbed near the inn that the guy with the dog inhabited.
When his eyes rest on the door, Timothy realizes a few things. Firstly, he's well on his way to properly helping a person now! Secondly, there is no way he's fitting that sphere of foodstuffs through the door.
At one of Mothdale's mortuaries...
Mark, getting a bad feeling, thinks that he needs to visit some kind of bar.
"Where are my companion who is running a bar I think my statue would fit best there."
~you have no such companion! and we shall move your statue elsewhere soon! your advice is rather uninformed, after all!~
Oh well. Guess Mark isn't going to get the opportunity to have a drink today after all.
Outside the Ponderous Tingfish...
Morton guesses he'll just ask the guy who's in there what's up. He slowly shambles inside, noticing that there is indeed only a single patron, a rather well-built man in a robe. Probably an important sort.
"Excuse me, good sir, if you have the time could I perhaps ask a question? I'm trying to find my friend, he's about so-high," the desk says, raising his arm to about... well, a bit less than Kevin's height - Morton's sadly too lacking in the height department to provide an accurate demonstration -, "and has quite a peculiar attire and look, typically rather amusing? ...Perhaps a tad foul-mouthed though, I do admit. I was informed he was supposed to be here."
Just then, Kevin, his impulses of charity and kindness to his fellows having overcome his sense of self-preservation, pokes his head into the tavern.
"DON'T TRUST HIM! HE CUT MY LEG OFF!" he shrieks, then turns tail and hops away on his single leg. Morton has to pause to process this a moment. Hm. The patron seems to be devoting his attention to him now, looking at his surface earnestly. Maybe this has all been some kind of misunderstanding!
[Fiendishly Impolite Patron vs. Morton: 3+2 vs. 2]
Suddenly, the patron's entire body seems to coil up as he seems to draw a rather long, silvery object - a bladed whip? Before Morton can react, the whip streaks through the air, cutting a rather sizable gouge in his demon-blessed finish. Now that's definitely not a polite way to converse, Morton thinks. Maybe Kevin had a bit of a point there.
~maybe it would be better to leave him alone! he seems to highly dislike company for some reason!~
Kevin, meanwhile, cheeses it like there's no tomorrow, hopping through the streets in search of a mortuary. Eventually, he does believe he's found something - a graveyard! The mortuary shouldn't be too far away, he thinks.
Post by: miauw62 on February 04, 2014, 01:23:36 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 04, 2014, 01:30:57 pm
Scott will try to concentrate in a particular space in the air, and try to combine his levitation and fire abilities to create fireball.
Post by: Xantalos on February 04, 2014, 01:31:49 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 04, 2014, 01:34:02 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 04, 2014, 02:05:14 pm
There he was, trying to be polite and this man strikes him! Granted, it appears to be of little structural damage but the action still stands! The desk can't really say he's met someone this rude before, to attack with so little prompt. Best to find a way out of this.
"Sir, have I wronged you in some way? I apologize if I did, I'll leave you be." Then extradites himself from the premise (and the rude man) swiftly.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on February 04, 2014, 02:45:02 pm
[Whip Man dodge roll: 5+1]
...
[Whip Man endurance roll: 6+1]
((I think he has a natural +1 to everything, and a bonus +1 to whipping stuff.))
Post by: Tomcost on February 04, 2014, 03:26:03 pm
Leave the Teapot carefully on the floor. Back away and be ready for anything. Nobody runs so fast without ill intentions.
If I get attacked, TM air blast the feet of whatever is coming to make it fall.
((I wonder how does Harry decide when to make the biggest player killer appear in game))
Post by: Xanmyral on February 04, 2014, 06:08:19 pm
Death god did that, yeah? Is he a sort of avatar of the death god and is just hunting undead? Demons? He left Mark alone prior, but he was burying people... Hm.]
Post by: Yoink on February 04, 2014, 08:14:11 pm
Timothy was too pleased with his successes to let such a simple setback slow him down! ...Much.
He looked at the door, at the ball of food, squinted, then looked back again at the door. The doorframe didn't look too important...
>Assess if I can remove the door (and its frame) without overly damaging the building's structure!
>If I can, and if it looks like that would make fitting the food in possible, do so!
>If not, just place the food-ball carefully down just outside the door, then float sneakily inside the inn. If the guy's there, telekinetically grab some important-looking piece of his science stuff and float it slowly off outside in full view of him, hopefully enticing him to follow it.
Edit: Whilst remaining invisible, naturally!
Post by: Tomcost on February 04, 2014, 08:45:41 pm
[I'm more curious as to why the whipman is here. Harry said there's something up with him, and he looks important so what is it? Is it related to the demon? The Gub? Why does he follow our group so, specially when it is often disjointed and in differing places. I'm thinking he may be related to the death of the demon prior.
Death god did that, yeah? Is he a sort of avatar of the death god and is just hunting undead? Demons? He left Mark alone prior, but he was burying people... Hm.]
((It was explained by golden skeleton girl. He serves a talking dog who now is part of the Black Circle of Magic))
Post by: Yoink on February 04, 2014, 08:50:27 pm
((I wonder how does Harry decide when to make the biggest player killer appear in game))
((When he realises, "gosh, I didn't kill any player-characters in the last chapter". :P))
Post by: Xanmyral on February 04, 2014, 08:54:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 04, 2014, 09:00:31 pm
[Hm. She never did mention why he was here though, at least I didn't catch it. But apparently he's connected with "Lyman," who was some guy who managed to go to the realm of dreams. Maybe. Interesting.]((Theory:
The Gub recognizes different groups of beings:
-Normal stuff (humans, animals, etc.)
-Skymans (like the Artiste and the Demon, aka, non-deity supreme beings.)
-Lymans (probably gods))
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on February 04, 2014, 11:15:01 pm
[Hm. She never did mention why he was here though, at least I didn't catch it. But apparently he's connected with "Lyman," who was some guy who managed to go to the realm of dreams. Maybe. Interesting.]((Theory:
The Gub recognizes different groups of beings:
-Normal stuff (humans, animals, etc.)
-Skymans (like the Artiste and the Demon, aka, non-deity supreme beings.)
-Lymans (probably gods))
((Well, seeing as they constantly refer to things in the plural form, I would hazard a guess that 'Lymans' refers to someone named 'Lyman'. Or maybe his job title is 'Lyman', whatever that means.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 05, 2014, 12:29:56 am
RUN everyone.
Post by: miauw62 on February 05, 2014, 01:57:40 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 10:18:52 am
Scott idly toys with his powers, his information fishing attempts abating after the gub proved somewhat secretive. He tries to make a fireball.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 1]
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 3-2]
He concentrates on a patch of air, trying to use both telekinesis and his fire power at the same time - he thinks he can... wait, why does he feel very hot all of a sudden? And why can't he see properly? Is he... well, of course he's on fire now. Honestly, how could it have gone any differently?
[Scott's endurance roll: 1]
Good gods, that hurts like hell! He thinks his spectral eyes just melted! Also, he doesn't have any lips or hair anymore. This he realizes to be a very terrible occurrence. Also, whatever remains of his spectral brain may be on the verge of boiling.
[Scott's will roll: 2]
Yeah, it's definitely painful enough for Scott to suddenly wish he could be elsewhere... anywhere, really, except here.
Meanwhile, ignorant of Scott burning with a bright cyan flame nearby, Sigmund prepares to receive Little Tommy, whoever that might be. He places the teapot on the ground, then takes a few steps back, choosing a defensive posture and preparing to blast the feet of the approaching person should it be necessary. The sprinting shape draws nearer and nearer with each second, and as it comes close to Sigmund, he notices that it seems to be a skinny man, a meter and a half tall at most and sporting a large beard. He half-stops, half-trips, rolling a short distance before coming to halt a few meters from the teapot. He then crawls the rest of the way, breathing heavily and visibly sweating, and picks the teapot up. He briefly glances at Sigmund, providing a hearty "Thanks!" before getting the teapot and proceeding to sprint away.
~you've made little tommy a happy man today, sigmund! he is most thankful, as you have noticed! by the way, scott is burning to death behind you!~
Sigmund looks the way the gub indicated. Ah, so he is.
Inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, not needing directions to his destiny to be given twice, rushes up the indicated staircase until he's at the top, which seems to be the destination he was pointed toward - it appears to be some manner of lounge, filled with rather interesting-looking people. Well, maybe not filled, exactly. There's only five or so people that look somewhat interesting.
The first is an incredibly fat, satisfied-looking woman who seems to be floating in a meditative pose right in the middle of the room while having a drink, with several people, some of which are also floating and most of which seem to project an air of adoration, grouped around her having the very same sort of drink
The second is a flustered, sweating man wearing rather solid (and very heavy from the looks of it), plain plate armor of a make Niklas doesn't recognize, seemingly carrying on a spirited conversation with himself at one of the tables.
The third is a small boy in a rather large robe, standing on a chair and singing to a small audience in a voice most high and pristine and gesticulating with his hands, his listeners looking either quite absent or filled with immense wordless wonder.
The fourth is a young, very fit woman who seems to be hanging off the ceiling upside-down, her legs wrapped around one of the support beams. She looks pretty excited to be accompanied by a whole host of suspiciously naked people hanging up there with her, messing around and doing various acrobatic tricks to amuse her.
By the way, speaking of naked people, the fifth is a rather large, well-built man, although definitely approaching the end of middle age at the very least. This is easy to determine due to his striking nakedness, although he seems to be trying his best to avoid attention, sitting in the corner while a bunch of grim people who seem to be his entourage look around the rest of the place.
In a graveyard in Mothdale...
Kevin hops around, looking for a mortuary amidst all the grave sites, and eventually finds one. He even notices Mark standing around right outside it looking quite distracted while a rather lumpy dolphin with hooks on its flippers appears to be mock-fighting a very toothy dolphin right next to him. It looks both silly and deranged at the same time, and first blood seems to already have been drawn.
~you seem acceptable at navigation, kevin! far better at it than ambiance, definitely! though that may be your dismemberment creating urgency!~
Inside the Ponderous Tingfish...
Morton can't believe the sheer rudeness of this fellow. That's no way to treat a perfectly polite (not to mention rather fetching) piece of talking, tea-making furniture! No way at all, definitely! However, before he can extricate himself from this situation, there is the obligatory question.
"Sir, have I wronged you in some way? I apologize if I did, I'll leave you be."
Without waiting for an answer, Morton moves to leave quickly.
[Morton's escape roll: 6-1]
He is out the door almost immediately, moving with the speed, grace and resplendence of a true moral victor. Once out in the street, Morton moves further still to a distance he hopes is adequate to avoid reprisal for some entirely imaginary offense.
Outside a tavern in Blynn...
Timothy, faced with an engineering challenge, tries to deal with it like a true civil engineer would - if the entrance to this tavern is too small for food deliveries, that clearly means it has failed in one of its most important purposes. However, he isn't sure if removing the door is something he can safely do with his telekinesis - who knows what holds this place together? It might be that door, it might not. Timothy's not about to try and find out. He might hurt someone that way, after all. So he just puts the food on the ground and floats on through the inn. If he can't bring a mountain of food to this dude, he'll have to settle for bringing this dude to the mountain instead. Imperceptibly floating into the basement, he notices the fellow still seems to be working on something here. So he comes up with a distraction.
[Timothy's telekinesis roll: 6]
He tries to tug on one of the funny-looking crystals in the man's improvised lab, but his enthusiasm gets the better of him, and he accidentally yanks it out of the system a bit too suddenly and harshly. Well, maybe not a bit. A lot, from the looks of it. As soon as the crystal leaves the machine, the guy immediately looks its way, a look of surprise on his face. It quickly turns to dawning horror.
"Crap."
The apparatus Timothy pulled the crystal from immediately begins to spark and vibrate menacingly, the crystal's receptacle which Timothy upended and slightly deformed with his pull beginning to glow brightly. The man runs at the machine the instant he notices this, but he trips on his bedroll, flying face-first into the magical machinery right as the glow reaches its peak, then falling to the ground while clutching what must be a very broken nose. The dog begins to bark distortedly and shake, though it remains perfectly stiff and inarticulate while doing so.
And then, the machine explodes suddenly, blowing Timothy quite far backward (right through the wall of the basement and into the earth behind it, in fact) and causing him to drop the crystal, but causing no real damage. When he comes to a stop, he isn't quite sure how far he was blown away, actually.
Post by: Yoink on February 05, 2014, 10:32:52 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 05, 2014, 10:52:15 am
He then turned to Mark, and shook him gently.
"Stitch my leg back on. Quickly."
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 11:08:25 am
Trundle up to him and ask if he's a Mentor Miner or whatever that guy said.
Post by: Tomcost on February 05, 2014, 11:28:56 am
TM blast his head with air. That will hopefully extinguish the flames, as it is a concentrated burst of air. Or at least help it to cool it down
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 11:43:29 am
Plate armor guy!
Trundle up to him and ask if he's a Mentor Miner or whatever that guy said.
He snaps out of his speech immediately when you address him.
"Who? What? Did you say 'mentor miner'?"
You affirm that this is indeed what you said.
"What's a... oh, wait, a Minor Mentor, right? I suppose I am. Why do you ask?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 11:47:54 am
Also I signed that contract thing.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 11:53:30 am
Because I'm a guy who wants to get a better body again. I used to have chair magic after I willed it into myself, but then my body got destroyed and I lost it. Then I got released from my soul bound slavery and I want to pursue my own goals! This starts with a new body, and I'm told you can get it here!
Also I signed that contract thing.
"A new body? Well, I can see how you could use one, honestly. I've got this armorer a few floors up, I guess I could ask him to help you out. You sure you want me to be your Mentor, though? I'm not exactly in a good way right now, and I'd hate to screw you over down the line, to be frank."
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 11:55:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 12:08:02 pm
Why aren't you in a good way, though? You're wearing armor!
"I'd... rather not speak of it. It's a personal matter. You understand, right?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 12:44:28 pm
That said, why do you think you'd be a bad mentor?
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 02:59:09 pm
No, but I understand shame and such so I won't.
That said, why do you think you'd be a bad mentor?
"I'm more than a bit preoccupied. I think you'll have better luck with the others. I mean, I can be your mentor, but I can't vouch for the quality of my mentoring, at least not right now. Personal issues and all that."
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 03:04:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 05, 2014, 03:15:34 pm
Alright then. Who do you recommend?
"Of the people here? That's a good question, I guess. A very good question. My first instinct is to say Rosie," he says, pointing at the woman hanging from the ceiling. "She's the most active one right now, though she has many Initiates under her already. I think she'd give you way more jobs than I ever could."
Post by: Xantalos on February 05, 2014, 03:42:42 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 05, 2014, 06:12:12 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 05, 2014, 10:19:16 pm
~Group Gub, can you please inform me of where good jester Kevin is? I fear he may be in danger or in trouble because of his injury, is surgeon Mark anywhere in the city? I believe he may be able to fix him, hopefully.~
After a moment, the desk also tacked on another request.
~If you could, could you also inform me of when that rather impolite man is around? I don't wish to upset him again, nor be harmed. I'm still confused as to why he attacked me though, did I perhaps break a custom of his? Insult in him some way? I certainly didn't mean to, but I suppose if he wants his space I'll quite leave him with it.~
Ask Gub where Kevin and Mark are, also if Gub could warn Morton when Whip Man is close.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2014, 02:54:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 08:53:18 am
Kevin may have recently gone over his limit of truly distressing things that are allowed to happen to him over the course of a single day, so he can't really bear his current circumstances with too much grace, all things considered.
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" he yells at the gub, which may as well be nobody in particular as far as the outside observer is concerned. Looking quite unstable, he hops up to Mark and seeks aid, shaking his buddy gently.
"Stitch my leg back on. Quickly."
This is music to Mark's non-ears, and he gets to work the instant he is petitioned.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 3+1]
He stitches the leg back on quickly and neatly, occasionally glancing at the bloody dolphin melee happening next to him. The job is simple enough to not need anything more than the smallest modicum of attention.
On a shipwreck-rich beach in Mothdale...
Sigmund tries to help Scott with his savage burning problem with a well-placed blast of air. But first he needs Scott to stay still.
"Scott, come near me and stay still!"
Sadly, Scott doesn't seem to hear this, possibly because his ears are too full of fire.
[Sigmund's aiming roll: 3-1]
He completely misses the spectral head, however, as Scott seems to be flipping out while trying to find water to submerge himself into.
[Scott's fire extinguishing roll: 1]
Being mostly blind right now and not blessed with a great spatial memory, he naturally fails, flying up into the air like some kind of screaming spectral fireworks display.
[Scott's will roll: 3-1]
Fortunately for Sigmund, Scott seems to be running out of strength to scream with, which will hopefully let him concentrate much better on extinguishing the silly bastard.
~we are not incredible experts of surface physics, sigmund! but we think a lack of air is not exactly scott's problem right now! now save him already! having one of you die within hours of granted independence will make this whole endeavor look very bad!~
In a lounge at the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, having been rebuked by one potential mentor, drags himself over to the fat lady and is about to try and get her attention, but she notices him without the need for such effort.
"What is this? A chair has entered my presence? You are brave, little chair. Most of your kind do well to fear me," her voice comes out of her humongous form as she ponderously turns mid-air and regards her visitor. She then laughs in a manner Niklas can't help but perceive as villainous. "Have you come to pay tribute in return for the safety of your family and business?" she continues, then starts to chuckle again. Her assorted cronies join in after a moment.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton figures he should stick with Kevin - sadly, he doesn't know where the fellow might be. But rather more excellently, he knows somebody who does.
~Group Gub, can you please inform me of where good jester Kevin is? I fear he may be in danger or in trouble because of his injury, is surgeon Mark anywhere in the city? I believe he may be able to fix him, hopefully.~
~good jester kevin has been fixed without issue and improvisation by surgeon mark! they are both at a mortuary not very far from here! we can guide you there if required!~
~If you could, could you also inform me of when that rather impolite man is around? I don't wish to upset him again, nor be harmed. I'm still confused as to why he attacked me though, did I perhaps break a custom of his? Insult in him some way? I certainly didn't mean to, but I suppose if he wants his space I'll quite leave him with it.~
~you seem to be made of evil and also set off some primal instinct to destroy in his mind! tell us about the evil within you! is there any that you are aware of? or are these sorts of things determined by external examination? also, if we spot him nearing your location, we will make sure to warn you of his presence!~
Well, this all seems to be working out well. Maybe the day holds potential for improvement!
Post by: Tomcost on February 06, 2014, 08:58:48 am
TM create air flow downwards, so that Scott is pushed into the water.
((Dammit, you tried to jump into the water and you failed! That should be the most incompetent thing that has ever happened))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 09:01:42 am
-I'm on it.
TM create air flow downwards, so that Scott is pushed into the water.
((Dammit, you tried to jump into the water and you failed! That should be the most incompetent thing that has ever happened))
One thing - Scott flew up into the air - beneath him is only sand. Also, Scott was rather blind at the moment and, being largely unaffected by gravity, with no good way to determine which way is down.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2014, 09:19:14 am
Mark asks for some popcorn and prepares some tools then watches the fight if one goes down !!MEDICINE!!them then send them back to the fight
Post by: Tomcost on February 06, 2014, 09:34:59 am
Action change:
Shout to Scott:
-Let the air guide you to the water!
Then TM cause air flow in a middle point between sideways and downwards so that Scott is pushed (or at least guided) into the water.
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 12:13:44 pm
"Good, now we have to get out of here, quickly. There's nobody here and the ones that are here are insane! With exception of us (me), I guess."
Post by: Innsmothe on February 06, 2014, 12:15:42 pm
((Air+Fuel/Scott + ignition/Scott =fire.
fire + air equals hotter fire.
Try to create a vacuum, don;t fuel my death D:))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 12:19:00 pm
((The whipman has a primal instinct to murder PC's.))
"Good, now we have to get out of here, quickly. There's nobody here and the ones that are here are insane! With exception of us (me), I guess."
~don't be silly! leaving is strictly forbidden! besides, we've come up with a new job for you! temple officer! you must head for the temple of the death god! the priests shall receive you!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 12:27:18 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 12:32:02 pm
"Does being a temple officer of the death god involve death or re-death?"
~of course it does! it is a temple of a death god! a god is a kind of skyman! they do things that are related to their names!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 12:37:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 12:39:19 pm
"Does it involve MY death or re-death?"
~that depends on the scale and depth of your incompetence!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 12:53:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 06, 2014, 12:54:44 pm
"What will you do if, purely hypothetically, I refuse to go?"
~we will revoke your free will privileges! and maybe other privileges as well!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 01:11:25 pm
Head to the temple.
Post by: Tomcost on February 06, 2014, 01:56:39 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 02:52:34 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 06, 2014, 02:54:01 pm
((If shit goes tits-up, I always have one last resort.))((I suppose it is not telling bad jokes, right?))
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2014, 03:07:34 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 06, 2014, 03:19:46 pm
Anyway, Miauw, I want your job. But I have no in-game ways of getting it. Damn))
Post by: Xantalos on February 06, 2014, 04:38:06 pm
Actually I'm just power hungry, megalomaniacal, and somewhat detached from sanity. I also need a better body. Can I be your apprentice or whatever it is?
Post by: kahn1234 on February 06, 2014, 05:43:58 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 06, 2014, 05:45:48 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on February 06, 2014, 10:08:32 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 07, 2014, 12:27:20 am
>Try and remember the direction the laboratory was in, go that way.
>If I can't seem to find it, initiate a telepathic conversation with the nearest earthworm, and ask them for directions to the surface.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 07, 2014, 12:31:57 am
Morton listened to Gub attentively, first remarking on the ex-jester situation.
~I'd quite appreciate being directed to good jester Kevin if you don't mind, I'd like to make sure he's alright is all.~
Then the marred furniture turned his attention to the next matter, a strange one.
~I'm made of evil? I'm afraid I don't quite under--Oh, you must be meaning my form. A desk wasn't my original body, you see, my original was changed and transmuted by a demon. That must be what it is, he saw that I was changed by a demon and must of assumed from there.~
The desk swayed to the left and then the right, as if tilting a non-existent head.
~Its an honest mistake then, and no real harm was done. Still, if it upsets him I suppose I should leave him be, although I do wish I could explain myself. There's not much I could do to change my form anymore even if I wished it though I suppose, so I'm not sure there's anything to help the situation. Either way, I thank you good group Gub for any advance warning, I'd prefer to avoid a needless conflict.~
Follow Gub's directions to Kevin.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2014, 12:55:19 pm
Mark figuratively prepares some exploded corn kernels for his personal enjoyment, then continues to watch the dolphin battle happening nearby. He notices that the lumpy dolphin, though its hooks are rather threatening, has much to learn about combat on the surface of the earth and fighting with its flippers, as the toothy dolphin seems to be at a clear advantage right now - still, despite a whole lot of rather grievous-looking bite wounds, Lumpy definitely doesn't seem to be ready to quit, and seems to have only gotten angry. It proceeds to tear a whole bunch of rather large holes all over the body of Toothy, which bleed a lot more than the ones that Lumpy incurred. Toothy, similarly to its friend, refuses to stop in any way. And so the melee continues without pause, though the two fighters are badly bloodied. It hasn't done much aside from causing them both to start taking this a lot more seriously - Toothy bites a large chunk out of Lumpy's belly, which seems to give Lumpy pause at last. Mark realizes he must help his new friend!
[Mark's medicine roll: 3]
He's not sure what exactly to do here, though. He guesses he can bandage the creature, but other than that... Toothy seems pretty attached to the chunk of flesh it has now obtained, triumphantly flopping over to the channel and diving in, which Lumpy responds to with a furious screech as it tries to flop after its adversary.
Kevin, meanwhile, realizes that he must go. The gub are helpful enough to point him in a certain direction and slightly coerce him to make sure he definitely goes there.
"I see... I guess I don't have much of a choice, then," he eventually admits and begins to head down the streets.
~the best kind of free will is where you can't make any choices!~
Guided by the gub, he eventually reaches a somewhat interesting structure - a sleek, organic-looking affair with lots of stylized depictions of bones on the walls together with what appear to be actual bones sticking out of the masonry. The sizable front door, made of wood and also encrusted with assorted bones, stands wide open, and Kevin can see a very tall, skinny and completely hairless man, almost more of a skeleton than he used to be, standing out front, casting a rather nervous eye on his surroundings. When he notices the approaching ex-jester, he nods.
"You are who I require. Come in."
He then very lightly steps inside what Kevin presumes to be the temple, making almost no sound, the motion resembling floating more than walking. Kevin, having no better choice, heads into the temple as well, and is a little surprised when the door closes behind him. He finds himself in the sort of large hall that one might expect from a place of worship - this one is richer in shady alcoves, balconies and strange effigies than others Kevin's been to, plus there's a really neat-looking fountain spouting sky blue water in the middle of the room. And the altar looks more than a bit menacing, being constructed of strangely twisted skulls. There's also a few statues, showcasing that the "stone and bones" aesthetic isn't limited to strictly architecture in the Velusian tradition. One statue - some kind of polydactylic, grasping hand - seems to have collapsed. Most of the walls are covered with thick, dark blue drapes with black bone patterns stitched into them. Kevin also notices a rather significant-looking patch on the floor - the dark tiles of the temple floor look visibly different there, altered in some unknowable way.
"Now we commence the initiation. The temple is yours to explore. Gain our favor, and then we will speak," goes the man's voice all of a sudden, though Kevin can't quite place where it might be coming from.
At one of the beaches of Mothdale...
Sigmund knows that saving Scott is something he probably shouldn't fail at, as Scott seems to be able to set fire to things (and himself, obviously) at will, so he could still come in handy.
"Let the air guide you to the water!" he shouts to Scott, summoning up some wind to take him into the sea. Scott seems to have a better idea, and, guided by the wind, tries to move in a downward direction. It takes him a bit, but he eventually floats down into the sand, his head mostly reduced to a nearly formless lump of melted ectoplasm. The extinguishing of the flame, though, seems to have prevented that sinking feeling and the need to escape that Scott had going there for a while.
~you are not dead yet! this is acceptable! get back to work!~
At a lounge inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas realizes he should probably introduce himself appropriately.
"Actually I'm just power hungry, megalomaniacal, and somewhat detached from sanity. I also need a better body. Can I be your apprentice or whatever it is?"
The lady eyes the chair critically, floating closer. Niklas feels himself get lifted off the ground, then spun around in the air.
"None of those bits grab my interest. What else have you got?" the lady asks disinterestedly.
In the ground beneath Blynn...
Timothy gets his bearings after a moment of panic, and tries to remember the direction in which he was blown - he thinks he has it after a moment. He floats onward, trying to retrace his flight path, and eventually reaches something - a whole lot of darkness. It's some kind of space, he can tell, and he can hear water. It's definitely not the lab, though. Time to speak with somebody who knows the way, then. He tries to find an earthworm. Luckily, he eventually stumbles into something rather huge and breathing, which he supposes is close enough. Gathering his thoughts, Timothy attempts to initiate communication.
Sadly, though, he can't actually project his thoughts to anyone at will. In fact, it slightly depresses him to have even tried something so preposterous.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton, after attentively listening to the word of the gub, thinks productive thoughts at them again.
~I'd quite appreciate being directed to good jester Kevin if you don't mind, I'd like to make sure he's alright is all.~
~he's alright, but unreachable! you may not inquire why!~
Mm. Well, then it's time for the next train of thought.
~I'm made of evil? I'm afraid I don't quite under--Oh, you must be meaning my form. A desk wasn't my original body, you see, my original was changed and transmuted by a demon. That must be what it is, he saw that I was changed by a demon and must've assumed from there.~
~we knew all that, but had not made the connection! this is pertinent!~
~It's an honest mistake, then, and no real harm was done. Still, if it upsets him I suppose I should leave him be, although I do wish I could explain myself. There's not much I could do to change my form anymore even if I wished it though I suppose, so I'm not sure there's anything to help the situation. Either way, I thank you, good group Gub, for any advance warning, I'd prefer to avoid a needless conflict.~
~we will warn you in case of trouble! in the meantime, there is a tavern we would like you to clean up and get ready for service! it is not very far from here! and it will also take you off the streets for a while!~
Post by: Xantalos on February 07, 2014, 01:00:43 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 07, 2014, 01:03:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2014, 01:10:59 pm
I once gave myself chair magic through sheer willpower.
"How else would you give yourself chair magic? But fair enough. Anything else?"
-So, Gub, is there any need of wood in the city, like, for burnir, for example? Because I feel that burning all of it here would be a waste of materials.
~not to our knowledge! also, burning it all is only the simplest solution! there are doubtlessly others! you have been given full command of your miniature intellect! we advise you use it!~
Post by: Xantalos on February 07, 2014, 01:15:07 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 07, 2014, 01:21:38 pm
Gather some sails, long sticks, rope and a chair from the ships. Build a rudimentart tent where I'm away from direct sunlight and I can fit the chair into, but at a safe distance from the wreckage. If there are any flames left, grab a burning piece of wood and use it to light the other ships, if not, just watch Scott from the chair.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2014, 01:29:07 pm
I'm an excellent chef, provided I have access to organic material and something pointy.
"Care to prove it?"
Post by: miauw62 on February 07, 2014, 01:32:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2014, 01:45:51 pm
"I'm not in the mood for profound philosophical bullshit right now."
~the priest insists on a test! otherwise you are not qualified to handle your position!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 07, 2014, 01:51:19 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 07, 2014, 02:01:56 pm
Sure. Just give me a grasping limb of some sort, a pointy thing, and organic material.I'm an excellent chef, provided I have access to organic material and something pointy.
"Care to prove it?"
Post by: miauw62 on February 07, 2014, 02:37:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2014, 04:59:14 pm
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do."
~we are unclear on that as well! his mind is closed to us! but it is probably something related to something within this temple!~
Post by: killerhellhound on February 07, 2014, 06:54:11 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 07, 2014, 07:09:46 pm
Attempt to revert back to his unbunt self
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 07, 2014, 09:39:04 pm
Turn towards the kids, then try to do a relatively simple trick with telekinesis simultaneously with another trick done with hands.
Post by: miauw62 on February 08, 2014, 08:21:04 am
Look for a high place to use as a vantage point and go there.
Post by: Yoink on February 09, 2014, 01:57:02 am
Timothy ventured, his voice hardly more than a squeak. He didn't know what this creature was, or whether they'd be friendly.
He'd lost a fair bit of confidence lately when it came to meeting people, given recent events.
"I's a bit losted... you maybe helps me?"
>Nervously greet this being before me, then ask for directions.
>Be ready to fly away very, very quickly if it does something scary!
Post by: Yoink on February 09, 2014, 01:57:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2014, 05:39:13 am
Sigmund, upon getting his intellect insulted, realizes that you're really a nobody until you have a tent to call your own, like a general's tent, or a war tent, or a lead researcher's tent! Tents do correspond to status, after all. And since nobody else has a tent, he doesn't even have to try very hard on his! With this in mind, he runs off to loot the ships. After obtaining a whole lot of sailcloth, sticks and chairs, he commences the construction of his tent, drafting plans in the sand, then acting on them in short order.
A bit of time passes, and he's got a tent! It's an unorthodox in its construction, Sigmund thinks, but he believes he's got most of the necessary things right - there's a central wooden tower, a delicately arranged entranceway, and even what he would say is a rather fetching set of wooden gargoyles decorating the facade. Proud of his work, he steps inside. And at just that moment, a stiff breeze decides to blow upon the magnificent structure, perhaps jealous of the works of man daring to approach those of the divinity in scope and beauty, and the entire thing promptly collapses onto Sigmund in a rather painful fashion, and his body makes several sudden cracks that Sigmund believes to lie squarely in the realm of not good.
Well, at least he's out of the sun.
Scott, who is still underground and still a mildly pulsating, amorphous lump of burnt ectoplasm, wonders how best to deal with his situation. The obvious course of action is to reverse it, definitely.
"Walk me through how to reform myself first, so I can be a better servant."
~what we know, you know! our information on the matter comes solely from your head! justine is uneducated on the matter!~
Oh well. Was worth a shot. Scott tries to reform himself on his own instead.
[Scott's reformation roll: 3-2]
It doesn't work, however, similarly to how it didn't work back on the ship when he tried to recreate his body. This is most disappointing.
~actually, your new appearance does not seem to impair you in any way! this is good to know!~
Inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas says that he'd love to prove that his culinary chops cannot be beaten, under the stipulation that he be provided a grasping limb, a pointy thing and some organic material.
"Agreed. Wait a few moments."
A few moments pass, and the fat woman nods.
"Let's go."
The room around Niklas seems to shatter, leaving behind a room empty of anything except a single, rather large uprooted tree and a steel end table with an awl resting atop it along with a metallic clawlike instrument. Niklas glances around him, and notices the Mentor floating next to him. She looks at Niklas and says "Begin," then disappears.
At one of Mothdale's mortuaries...
Mark figures that he shouldn't follow those dolphins lest he wind up endangering the lives of whatever dwells inside the canals. So he instead tries to make something interesting on his own.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 1+1]
He can't quite drum up the inspiration to create a dragon - for one, he can't decide whether it would be more accurate to give it two legs or four. And how many pairs of wings should it have? Would it be serpentine or dinosaur-like? Most importantly, how would he make it breathe fire? A dragon without fire breath is no dragon at all as far as Mark is concerned, and he might as well not try rather than disgrace the intriguing ideas in his head.
In the streets of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren, finally feeling like a proper magician after so long, tries his best to impress the kids by incorporating telekinesis into his acts, something he hadn't actually tried before. So, while doing a rather interesting coin trick with his hands, he also tries to perform another, simpler one in the air right above.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
Fortunately for Darren, neither trick requires much thought on his part, and so it is rather simple to concentrate on his telekinetic abilities instead. The result is a seemingly impossible feat - a coin floating above Darren's hands splits into two smaller coins just as he smashes two other coins together with his hands. Visually impressive, and the way the coin floats in the air makes it easier to convey a sense of mystery as well as leave little room for obvious sleight of hand. The kids are quite impressed.
"How does he do that?"
"Magic, you dunce!"
"Not just magic, I think. Unless the coins are false, you can't freely transmute currency. At least, that's how it should be."
"Huh?"
"Impressive tricks. Not magic."
In a temple of Velusius...
Kevin, currently the victim of quite the bit of malaise, looks for some sort of high place to gain better visibility from. Sadly, though, he can't see any such place. Not that it would do much good - the hall itself is only two stories high, and seemingly empty of life and value. Quite the depressing place, all in all.
Deep, deep underground...
Timothy's telepathic communication having proven unfeasible, the ghost tries more conventional communication methods.
"Uh... Hello?" he squeaks quietly. "I's a bit losted... you maybe helps me?"
The creature shuffles a bit, then starts to emit a very unpleasant high-pitched sound and scratch at something in its vicinity. Timothy appropriately takes this as a cue to leave immediately, floating rapidly away and not looking back until he is very far away. So far away, in fact, that he seems to have reached some kind of room. It's very dark and seems decisively abandoned, but he can't really vouch for its exact contents in any way.
Post by: Xantalos on February 09, 2014, 05:41:01 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 09, 2014, 05:55:00 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 09, 2014, 05:59:39 am
((Wait, what's an awl? Xantalos sleepy and forgetful.))
Awl! (http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_17946.jpg)
Mark asks the Gub "Can I have something to fight, murder gets my creative juices flowing"[/color]
~any preferences on what exactly? how difficult would you like your adversary to be?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 09, 2014, 06:38:49 am
Post by: Yoink on February 09, 2014, 06:52:22 am
"I not likes dis, not likes dis at alls..."[/color
He cleared his ghostly throat and spoke up, unable to keep a quaver from his voice, "...Hello?"
>Greet the seemingly deserted room, see if anyone responds. If not, explore the room.
>If someone does respond in well, a scary manner- fly away, real quick-like. Upwards! If I can work out which plane is the floor of the room, I guess.
Post by: Tomcost on February 09, 2014, 08:43:41 am
((This is becoming an endemic quality of Sigmund: getting his plans torn apart time after time))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 09, 2014, 08:53:58 am
Scott will test the distance of his power and try to light one of the more distant wrecks.
Post by: Tomcost on February 09, 2014, 09:06:28 am
If Sigmund gets on fire, cast the repel air spell on himself as he runs to the sea.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 09, 2014, 05:29:07 pm
~Very well then, good group Gub, I'd be more than happy to help. I'm sure good jester Kevin is in good hands and good health.~ Optimism! Optimism despite what past experiences say! The butler does really hope the ex-jester is okay.
~If you wouldn't mind, perhaps after I clean the tavern could I head back onto my group's ship? I made some tea on there that I'd like to check on, although I suppose by now it may have gone bad... Ah, that would be a dreadful shame if so. I was hoping to surprise Justine, Captain, and Scott with it. Oh, do don't tell them of that if you would, I'd like to keep it at least a bit of a surprise. How long was I incapacitated?~
Follow Gub's directions to Tavern, give it a good thorough look over and search for cleaning supplies or perhaps things that could be made into makeshift supplies!
Post by: Innsmothe on February 09, 2014, 06:07:50 pm
Conditional action:((Ye of little faith))
If Sigmund gets on fire, cast the repel air spell on himself as he runs to the sea.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 09, 2014, 07:46:13 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 09, 2014, 08:32:42 pm
[I'd prefer to call it pragmatism.]((This is so far his (and my) ideology))
Post by: Xantalos on February 09, 2014, 09:01:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 10, 2014, 02:45:29 pm
Kevin, with the instinct of adventure awakening within him, begins to check for hidden doors and knobs to pull in this joint. He can't seem to locate any, though. They must be cleverly hidden rather than in plain sight, he deduces, which significantly complicates things on his end. Lacking the ability to see any secret doors, he attempts to smell them, but succeeds in only catching a scent that reminds him of a grave - and he would know, he has been in one recently.
His next step is to try and listen for some hidden knobs, but they, being hidden and knoblike, do not make any sound, further confounding the ex-jester. He opens his mouth and tastes the air, but that similarly avails him nothing. These doors are definitely rather well hidden, he thinks.
In a dark room...
Timothy, though definitely in a place he doesn't like, still tries to be friendly with whatever hobgoblins and bugbears may dwell in the terrible, endless darkness of the room.
"...Hello?" he asks, his voice quavering a little. Nothing answers, however. Possibly because he's not speaking the right language and/or doesn't have the right amount of tongues to communicate with boogeymen, or maybe because no one's around. Hoping he's not imposing on some eldritch demon's personal space, he tries to explore the room - it's pretty empty aside from some overturned furniture, or at least that's what he guesses that irregularly shaped stuff might be, and there's also a staircase - Timothy presumes it leads upward, because the alternative would mean he's taken a very wrong turn someplace.
At the shipwreck-rich beach of Mothdale...
Sigmund, not eager to spend the rest of his day in a tomb of his own broken dreams and failed ambitions, tries to dig himself out.
[Sigmund's strength roll: 3-1]
He promptly begins to regret the grand domed wooden ceiling he installed in his tent before its untimely and hideous demise at the hands of the elements. His only hope right now is Scott, which is a fact one may very well equate with a loss of most reasonable hopes for rescue.
~we can send someone to help if needed!~
Meanwhile, Scott abandons his own hopes of not being the hideous, burnt, misshapen floating freak of nature he currently is and tries to test the range of his abilities.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 5]
Concentrating on the furthest shipwreck, a rather fancy mail runner if Scott's ever seen one, which he actually hasn't, the hovering lump manages to summon up fire across a distance of hundreds of meters, which is a pretty amazing result if you take the events of the past hour or so into consideration. The ship immediately bursts into flames, the sails immediately combusting, fragments of sailcloth raining all over the deck. The ship doesn't burn as well as Scott would have hoped, but it definitely is on fire now, which is very good. Feelings of competence and magical might overwhelm him - he wonders if this is what those Black Circle mages feel like after a good day's work.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton has put the less enjoyable parts of the day behind him by this point, and bravely forges ahead at the behest of the gub.
~Very well then, good group Gub, I'd be more than happy to help. I'm sure good jester Kevin is in good hands and good health.~
~you are sure about all the right things, morton! it is very convenient!~
~If you wouldn't mind, perhaps after I clean the tavern could I head back onto my group's ship? I made some tea on there that I'd like to check on, although I suppose by now it may have gone bad... Ah, that would be a dreadful shame if so. I was hoping to surprise Justine, Captain, and Scott with it. Oh, do don't tell them of that if you would, I'd like to keep it at least a bit of a surprise. How long was I incapacitated?~
~you were out for three days, we will not tell anyone about your enchanted tea, and we will point you in the right direction once you are done with the tavern!~
Having received a fresh, gently steaming heap of promises from the gub, Morton follows their directions to a tavern - a dinghy joint called the Dancing Fly. As it turns out, the name is awfully descriptive - the air has a sense of thickness about it, with flies dancing within mostly around the three corpses - one presumably young, though a little maggoty and repeatedly stabbed woman and two somewhat fresh, yet unspeakably mangy, mangled and hairy people of uncertain gender lying around on the floor in poses so silly, you just know that they probably actually died like that. Well, either that or somebody in this town has a true artistic calling in life that seems to be humorous corpse positioning (a calling that they've chosen to embrace in a third-class tavern of all places, no less), which is altogether too saddening for Morton to contemplate, so he doesn't.
Beyond the colorful surface impression given off by the swarm of flies, the mess of bodies on the floor and the signs of struggle that seem to have left no chair untoppled Morton finds that this looks to have been quite the disreputable and deleterious establishment even before somebody decided to kick off what must have been the beginning of a respectable killing spree inside here. This clearly wasn't the sort of place one went into, ordered an ale and had a ripping good time with one's chums - rather, this would be the sort of joint one walked into, gave their best shot at drinking themselves to death, then shuffled out into the streets when no kind gentlemen with blunt objects and an urgent need for money volunteered to put one out of their misery. Fortunately for Morton, this sort of establishment is hardly ever short on cleaning supplies, given the volume of vomit and ichor that is best not identified that rolls in over time, and soon he has located a mop, a selection of rags, a bucket and other odds and ends for removing filth from its natural habitat, plus a well out back that contains water which makes Morton glad he can't get thirsty, lest he be forced to let the liquid get too close to whatever sensitive membranes he may or may not have.
In a mostly empty room...
Niklas is intrigued by the clawlike object - it is an implement worthy of addition to his glorious form. His chair leg goes for the tool greedily, proving sufficient against all odds to capture this latest treasure. And though he believes he may be able to utilize this marvelous contraption with only one hand, he also knows that you're nobody until you can perform impromptu bodily modifications without regard for any consequences.
[Niklas' impromptu bodily modification roll: 2]
After an extended session of probing, poking, pushing, pulling, spanking, punching, kicking, fluting, huffing, puffing, caressing and aimless questing that makes Niklas discover many new things about himself, he realizes that, while this tool definitely has its uses, 'prosthetic limb' isn't one of them regardless of how much he might wish for the opposite to be true. He does find out that the use it is most practical for seems to be holding it in your hand and reaching places you can't get to due to reasons of being a silly half-pint who really should know better than to want to get to high places both in a metaphorical and a literal sense.
Post by: Tomcost on February 10, 2014, 02:53:20 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 10, 2014, 03:18:43 pm
He put on his game face, hovered cautiously forwards and pressed his intangible self into the wall of the stairwell with determination.
>Phase into the wall of the staircase and follow the stone upwards from the other side, so as not to encounter whatever may lurk upstairs.
>Just keep flying upwards through the ground, using the stairs as a guide for as long as possible.
Post by: Xantalos on February 10, 2014, 03:42:43 pm
1. Chop up tree until mulch.
2. Insert liquid (optional measure).
3. Immerse self in mulch and exude a single emotion very intensely for a period of 2 days. In Niklas' case, he'll choose glee. The emotion will soak into the food and imbue the eater with the emotion.
4. Insert whatever other ingredients you can find (in Niklas' case, bits of table, the floor, dirt, a fungus if he finds one, and several shards of metal; shattering the awl will do for this.
5. Shout at mixture for several hours while mixing it for effect.
6. Done!
Post by: Innsmothe on February 10, 2014, 05:28:16 pm
He will also try and see where that idiot companion of his wandered off too.
"Am I free to destroy any ships that stray into your waters...gub? Seriously, the group-think nomenclature is rather tiring, what do I call you as an individual?"
Post by: killerhellhound on February 10, 2014, 07:07:09 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 11, 2014, 12:17:10 am
-Fill bucket with water from outside, heat, add soap/cleaning agent
-Set bodies outside (a good distance) along with broken furniture (much closer)1
-Set upright and clean unbroken furniture with rags and hot soapy water, clean corner and set aside there to dry.
-Clean windows on the inside so as to not have to clean the floors again afterwards.
-Clean floors, counters, etc.
-Set up clean unbroken furniture in proper or appropriate positions.
-Clean windows on the outside as a nice final touch, maybe the door as well if it is particularly dirty.
There's not much he could do with the flies now beyond move their food source and give them little to eat, they should move on in time.
1: ~Good group Gub, it seems some poor souls have passed in the establishment. Hopefully you have someone to ferry them to a graveyard or similar and see to their mortal coils being paid proper respect. The broken furniture can simply be tossed, I believe, although I could re-purpose them as firewood if wished.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 11, 2014, 01:34:43 pm
Punch his face in the face.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 11, 2014, 02:25:25 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 11, 2014, 02:28:40 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 11, 2014, 03:14:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 11, 2014, 03:37:31 pm
Sigmund freely admits defeat, and calls for the aid of his good buddy Mark, his voice muffled by the warm, yet unyielding embrace of his ruined tent. As a particularly heavy piece of lumber he liberated off what must have been some sort of merchant ship threatens to make his precious stuffing spurt out of his ears in copious quantities, he hears something fleshy hit the ground nearby. And then the heavy load of his incredibly ugly wooden gargoyle facsimile is lifted off his chest, followed by the load of his improvised roof terrace following suit. And when most of the second floor is removed, Sigmund begins to once again regain that notoriously unreliable feeling that he's going to be alright after all. Fortunately, this feeling immediately fades when he spots the emotionless tree head of Mark regarding him through the hole he has dug down to find his gracious volunteer patient. Before Sigmund can say a word, Mark yanks him out from the rubble and shakes him in the air. When he notices that most of Sigmund's body seems to be flapping freely and at odd angles, he knows that some serious medicine is about to be done here.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 6+1]
So serious, in fact, that he honestly guesses drastic measures will be needed. Fortunately, he has brought a whole cart full of corpses (they had those at the mortuary, which gladdened Mark's blackened and missing heart), so drastic measures are entirely affordable for him right now. He rolls the cart's wheel over Sigmund's foot so he doesn't have any second thoughts along the way, and begins his work. That dragon idea was pretty interesting, Mark thinks. He might have been on to something there, honestly. And now that he needs to help Sigmund, he has the motivation to resolve all those little design quibbles he had on his previous attempt.
Let's see... first there was the matter of the number of legs... his choices were two or four, so he guesses he'll go for the very nice compromise of eleven instead, because, as his mother always told him, anything with more than ten legs is bound to get somewhere in life. Then the wings - he supposes three pairs of batlike wings fashioned from human arms and skin would be sufficient, as long as he makes them big and scary-looking enough. As for the torso, well... he doesn't think the materials would lend themselves well to either lizards or serpents, so he once again compromises with a torso that resembles a three-meter-long furry leech complete with the necessary five eyes and nine ears spaced around its gaping, toothy, circular mouth. And though breathing fire seems impossible to achieve with his available materials, Mark does manage to add in a sort of giant bag connected to the mouth and a great number of muscles that can hopefully allow it to spit out whatever crap it has eaten. It takes quite a while for him to do all that, even while rushing a little, but eventually he's got a neat little dragon that's about the length of two cows and the height of a regular person. He looks back at Sigmund, who seems to have something between a pleading look of horror and a sad look of resignation on his face. Luckily, Mark's about to fix all his problems - he does so by cracking the fellow's skull open, becoming absolutely delighted when he spots a nice-looking white orb within which he removes immediately. When this causes Sigmund to cease all signs of unlife, Mark knows he's doing something right. He carries the orb over to the new body and plops it inside one of the handy skulls he incorporated into the body of the design, then seals the whole thing up quite tight. And with that done, he quickly skins the remains of Sigmund's previous body and collects the hide for later use - never know when you might need to make something reddish-purple and fancy-looking, after all.
From Sigmund's perspective, that last part is mostly just a very long moment of horror and darkness that he spends clinging on to his dear unlife, followed immediately by the sudden realization that he is a hideous parody of a dragon created by a teammate who he shall henceforth never ask to do anything.
Scott, meanwhile, saw the entire operation from his rather privileged vantage point. The process is morbidly fascinating, to say the least, almost enough to make him forget the important realization he made that magic is probably best practiced when under the effects of a homicidal rage, as that's what most ghosts he's heard about, you know, the really fun and scary ones, seem to have gone with.
In a very dark room...
Timothy, finding nothing more obvious than the fact that there can be nothing good awaiting him at the top of that staircase, puts on his very best game face and tries an unorthodox ascension method - he phases into the stairwell and ascends, which the terrifying creatures above will presumably not expect. It does not take long before he reaches something intriguing - a corridor! Filled with sunlight! Obviously belonging to a regular, if seemingly abandoned house, at least as far as he can see from here. And there appear to be no frightening creatures in sight.
Then again, he hasn't turned around yet. In fact, this all seems like such good news, he's not sure he wants to, really. After all, there might be a pernicious fiend of some kind awaiting there to scare the living daylights out of him, which would, quite frankly, ruin the whole perfectly wonderful set of circumstances he's got going here.
In a mostly empty room...
Niklas, though the circumstances he finds himself in are unusual, resolves to make the best of it. After all, rule one of northern cuisine is that everything can be eaten and possibly enjoyed if you're drunk and angry enough! His first step, naturally, is to loudly whine about still having only one limb when it is clear that he probably needs two to do this as rightly and properly as possible. When that avails him nothing, he drafts up a proper plan for his newest masterpiece - an amazing stew made primarily of wood mulch to provide much glee to all who eat it. After forming a nice little wishlist of the things he needs, he notices that the room seems to be completely empty of any fungus, liquid and dirt, and also that the end table appears to be both made of reinforced steel and secured to the ground. And also that mulching a tree with an awl will take a very long time.
Still, none of those factors really make the plan impossible as such, they simply make it a bit unrealistic to achieve in a time period of less than a week or a week and a half.
Inside the Dancing Fly...
Morton, possessed of that good cleaning spirit, begins the process of transforming this awful place into a respectable establishment once again. First, he prepares some buckets of hot soapy water to help him vanquish the scourge of filth that has infested this place. Then he takes the next step, which is to remove the bodies and broken bits of furniture, which proves simple enough. When he warns the gub of the bodies' presence, he hears a nearby splash, and when he looks at where he left the bodies, he notices that they seem to have disappeared, a few bloody smudges and a couple of confused flies serving as the only testament that the putrid corpses were there in the first place.
The next important step is to clean the furniture - this proves to be not overly difficult as well as mostly quite enjoyable, and he places what furniture he's got left in a specially cleaned corner. The windows prove more of a challenge - the glass is of rather low quality, and has the unfortunate tendency to look quite dirty and slightly yellowed no matter how much one tries to clean it - still, Morton gives it his best shot, and they do look better than they did a half hour ago, certainly. The floor is similarly damaged and cheap-looking, something Morton can't really correct with a mere mopping, but he still manages to clean out all the viscera, dead flies, leftover maggots and all the other more disturbing elements of the decor, and also make the counter look respectable after what must have been a long lifetime spent in a most dishonorable state. After he puts the unbroken furniture back in place, he does have to admit that this place looks halfway presentable now. And when he cleans the windows from the outside as well, he can see how somebody may construe the visual impression of this establishment as indicative of decency levels as high as 50 percent.
Inside a temple of Velusius...
Kevin ponders the nature of this test as he sits on the floor. Obviously, the priest wants something of him, but what? Could it be-wait. No.
"Wait. Waaaaiiiiit," Kevin involuntarily vocalizes in what must have been a sudden epiphany. It can't really be that simple, can it? And yet there's a peculiar sort of elegance to it. Who would have seen a solution like that coming? It solves all of his problems while creating no new ones, the hallmark of truly correct answers. Left with no better choice, Kevin acts on the revelation that has struck him, winding up for a mighty punch that he then throws at his face. That is to say, at his own face, as his face seems to be the only face within this room that is both easily reachable and eminently punchable. He winds up a mighty punch while he isn't looking, hoping to catch himself unaware.
[Kevin vs. Kevin: 5-2+1 vs. 3+1-1]
His fist flies in an arc, smashing into his own face gracefully - he never saw it coming, it was so fast! His nose cracks painfully as the blow lands, and he falls to the ground on his back, both resplendent in his victory and ashamed for getting clocked across the snout like that by a rank amateur such as himself. The mixture of animalistic triumph and very human shame is breathtaking, he must say. Inspiring, even.
His broken nose definitely takes his mind off the rather poorly-contained chuckling he can hear from somewhere within this room, that's for sure.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 11, 2014, 04:04:22 pm
"You are the most beautiful and heart softening form I have seen in a long while and if it wasn't for the fact that I am a hideous fire scarred ectoplasmotic head, I swear I would hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears...to say the least"
He will turn to mark
"You sir...are...are...a true rival to the gods themselves."
Post by: Tomcost on February 11, 2014, 04:17:22 pm
Experiment with my body, determine if I can talk
Also look back at Scott, and try to scare him, it should be easy with this form, right?
Also determine if I can fly
((I am wondering if I should stay like this after all the medicine tht has been inflicted on me))
Post by: Nunzillor on February 11, 2014, 04:23:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 11, 2014, 04:24:28 pm
Is that a joke? Yes, you should stay like this! No one will ever forgive you if you change! No one!((I already went back from a human head and arms tree, so it wouldn't be so strange))
Post by: Nunzillor on February 11, 2014, 04:56:56 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2014, 08:09:47 pm
Mark looks over his handy work and see's that it is awesome drinking in the praise. When he is struck by a thought I really need to be able to communicate to get praise and drive on people. To that end he asks the Gub "Hey Gub can you teach me to talk to others mentally with out you relaying what I say"
Post by: Xantalos on February 11, 2014, 08:14:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 11, 2014, 09:02:25 pm
((Just imagine what would happen if Mark learned Life magic.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 11, 2014, 09:25:22 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 11, 2014, 09:32:33 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 11, 2014, 09:36:52 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2014, 02:01:08 am
"Sneaky bastard..."
Run over to the priest and punch HIM in the face!
Post by: Innsmothe on February 12, 2014, 03:16:26 am
((When I envisioned this character...I was hoping this secret 'flaw*' I had rolled for him (yes I am a nerd that actually keeps randomised lists of reactions to strange and improbable events) was going to be a hilarious way to get him killed. But...oh my god I have ruptured my diaphragm xD))
*Admiration for mind bending horror.
Post by: Yoink on February 12, 2014, 04:28:04 am
Timothy decided not to turn around and feast his poor eyes on whatever horrors lurked behind him-- if he kept going upwards he'd discover if this was really a house or not, and then he could always wander back in if he so wished.
>Continue upwards, see if I pass through a roof and into open sunlight, or if this is some sort of underground illusion.
>If I do end up aboveground, try and get my bearings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2014, 12:09:52 pm
Scott, having witnessed quite the impressive of traumatic event, depending on who you ask, can't help but gush at his newly-transformed friend and the medically unsound surgeon who made the whole thing happen.
"You are the most beautiful and heart softening form I have seen in a long while and if it wasn't for the fact that I am a hideous fire scarred ectoplasmotic head, I swear I would hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears... to say the least," he tells Sigmund, who reacts in no way whatsoever. If that is still Sigmund, of course.
"You, sir... are... are... a true rival to the gods themselves," he then gushes at Mark, who also doesn't react visibly, but certainly wishes he could, turning to the gub for aid.
~Hey Gub can you teach me to talk to others mentally with out you relaying what I say~ the surgeon asks boldly and greenly of the gub while basking in all this credit he's finally getting from his peers. Truly this is a great day to be Mark.
~no, we can't! you may as well ask us to teach you how to think at all! we would tell you to seek the help of evelyn, but she is completely and utterly occupied presently!~
Sigmund, meanwhile, tries to see if he can talk in this form - signs point to yes, as he now seems to have five tongues inside him and at least that many throats. With this in mind, he attempts to frighten the lump of flesh floating in front of him and singing that rather unpleasant surgeon's praises. He expressively and gutturally retches in Scott's direction, hoping that this will serve to distract him from his reverie - Sigmund is quite sad when it does not and the silly bugger continues in his efforts to completely embarrass everyone on this beach and possibly beyond. Oh well. Time to check the next thing on the grand list of things you want to find out when you're a pseudodragon - can he fly?
As he finds out after flapping his wings as hard and fast as possible, no, he really can't. He can somewhat slow his descent, but he definitely can't generate enough lift to fly upward. Probably just as well he can't fly - he would just mess it up and kill himself in all likelihood if he could. And the fact that this train of thought is literally the first thing his mind went with when he realized this is a bit depressing. Before he can consider this further, though, he notices Scott trying something.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 3]
The sand on the beach is momentarily disturbed, but nothing really comes of it. As Scott's intangible head starts to near his own bulk, Sigmund wonders if he should start running. Can he run, actually? He's not really sure about the logistics of doing so with eleven legs, to be perfectly frank.
Inside a mostly empty room...
Knowing that the sooner he starts mulching this dang tree the sooner he'll be done mulching this dang tree, Niklas starts mulching this dang tree already. As expected, progress is very, very slow. Not as slow as it could be if it was, say, a stone block, but definitely slower than most people could safely deal with and retain their sanity. But Niklas never had much of that anyway, and he's got Torkel and Helsvar and the spruce guy to keep him company along the way, so it's a very merry, if gruelingly monotonous, generally unpleasant and only a few steps from being downright Sisyphean. Along the way, Niklas has little in the way of marking the passage of time - he could have been at this for days, weeks, seconds or years - all he knows is that, after what definitely felt like a long time, he has mulched the tree, foliage and all, in its entirety, creating a most wonderful pile of finely ground organic material.
Now, what did he plan to do with this again? His goal, having been placed in a part of his mind he usually does not access while mulching wood, has become a little hazy over the long decades, Niklas thinks.
Inside a temple of Velusius...
Enraged over a cheeky priest making light of his rather impressive struggle with himself, Kevin jumps to his feet, his adversary having revealed himself inadvertently, and seeks his opponent. By the time he gets a good read on where he might be amidst the echoing chuckling, however, it has stopped - nevertheless, Kevin sees the fellow anyway, and rushes him.
[Kevin vs. High Priest: 3-2 vs. 4+2]
As he goes right for the nose on the guy, the priest ducks and grabs Kevin, enclosing his midsection in a vice-like grip one really wouldn't expect from a guy that small.
[High Priest's throw roll: 2+1]
He lifts Kevin up into the air, and is about to hurl him away in what seems like a very unsafe way when he apparently reconsiders, instead throwing Kevin to the ground somewhat uncomfortably. Kevin is about to provide some choice words to the fellow, but before he can manage this, the high priest interrupts him.
"Don't get me wrong, you're a very amusing fellow, but it will take more than that to win me over, I'm afraid," he quickly says, then skitters up the vertical wall behind him in a decidedly unnatural-looking way, disappearing behind an elaborate tapestry hanging on the wall when he reaches the top.
Inside what looks like a fairly ordinary abandoned house...
Timothy firmly decides that he is not the sucker this setup is looking for.
"Nope. I's not falls for dat," he says and steadfastly refuses to look behind him, instead keeping on floating upwards. He passes through the ceiling, finding himself on a second floor just as abandoned as the first, then through a small and dusty attic, then through what must be a roof, at which point he beholds the blue sky right above him with quite a bit of relief. Looking around, he concludes that he still appears to be in Blynn, despite whatever strange and frightening detours he may have taken on the way back up. Quite fortunate, all in all.
Post by: Tomcost on February 12, 2014, 12:17:48 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2014, 12:55:05 pm
Shake my fist in the general direction the priest skittered away in.
~So, what am I supposed to do now?~
Post by: Xantalos on February 12, 2014, 01:51:35 pm
Observe my surroundings. Is there an exit or anything organic? If not, try praying to the god/demon/both of water for some water. If that isn't forthcoming, jump into the wood pile and exude pure frustration for several days.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 12, 2014, 01:52:30 pm
~So, what am I supposed to do now?~
~impress him somehow!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2014, 01:57:09 pm
Sing.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on February 12, 2014, 02:01:03 pm
~I'm basically out of options now, so...~((Last time you sung, the whip guy came and nearly cut you in half. are you sure that's a good idea?))
Sing.
Post by: miauw62 on February 12, 2014, 02:14:59 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 12, 2014, 02:17:00 pm
((Well hopefully he'll come and cut the priest in half. Besides a chant of whipman-summoning seems fairly badass))((If you don't end up dead, then it is badass))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 12, 2014, 04:12:25 pm
Scott will examine this new object of mental distraction, informing him of any inefficiencies he is having as he adjusts to his new form and how he may improve in his motions.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 13, 2014, 12:01:44 am
Post by: Xanmyral on February 13, 2014, 01:25:17 am
~Does this suffice, good group Gub?~
Fine, group can be the prefix, the desk mentally resigned. He had hoped a better one would come to him with time, but it seems that was for naught. Either way, groaning over lack of imagination or vocabulary solves little sadly.
~If you could, I'd like to go check on the ship. While the tea has most likely gone bad by now, quite a tragic event, it would be nice to regain my tools and attempt again. Perhaps I could pick up something that the others wish from the ship while I'm there, if you could please ask them? Assuming they're not currently busy, of course, I wouldn't wish to bother them.~
Morton will, Gub willing, follow directions to the ship and check on his supplies along with any possibly requested pick-ups by others in the group.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2014, 02:24:28 pm
Sigmund decides that he'll try to run, thank you very much. Being vaguely amorously harassed by Scott is exactly the opposite of what he would consider a good thing. Really, he can't think of anything he would enjoy less right now, though that may be a mere side effect of Scott's general nearness.
A few steps in, Sigmund realizes that he truly does seem to lack the mental capacity to control eleven legs at once, and immediately falls over on his belly, flapping his wings wildly as he rolls around on the ground in panic. Why does everything have to suck so much, he wonders. Why does this always happen to him? And why does everything backfire worst when he asks for help rather than passively receives it? And why didn't his surgeon tormentor give him any hands to strangle people and grab things with?
None of this is made any better by Scott, who continues bothering Sigmund without pause.
"So...what's it like being the most wonderful thing alive? I am sure you will come to accept and love your new form as much as I do!" he says, then pauses as he realizes that Sigmund appears to be unable to walk around with his sheer number of legs. "Say, I know how to fix that problem of yours! You need to try and run around some more! It'll come to you eventually, you'll see!"
Mark, who is nearby and quite done basking in his glory, asks the gub where to find Evelyn and insists that he might be able to help her with whatever she is doing.
~we disagree! you are strictly forbidden to communicate with Evelyn as she is communicating with us presently! telling us secrets too arcane for us to merely fish out of her mind!~
In a temple of Velusius...
Kevin, after shaking his fist at that whippersnapper priest for scurrying off before he could punch his smug mug intensely and repeatedly, decides he has no other recourse but to sing.
[Kevin's vocal performance roll: 5]
He finds that the acoustics in the temple hall are quite exquisite, so he gives it his best, singing his heart out in the middle of the temple. As he sings, though, things fail to happen. Nobody seems to care at all. Is there anyone even still here to listen to him?
In a somewhat empty room...
Niklas is in possession of what seems to be several tons of mulch, and yet he doesn't really remember what he needed it for. Hm. Where is he, anyway? Some kind of room, it looks like, with no exits, but a good amount of light despite the lack of any windows. Aside from the mulch, no organic things seem to be present. At a loss on what would be expected from him in these circumstances, he prays... to a god of water, he guesses? Who is the god of water, anyway? Pacitarius, maybe? Yeah, he'll work. Niklas prays to Pacitarius, but nothing much seems to happen. Guess the gods don't feel like rewarding him with a massive pool of water or whatever. So Niklas instead jumps into the mulch and tries to exude all his frustration - better out than in, his mother always said. And she was the most famous projectile vomiter in quite a wide area, at least within a three village radius in any given direction, so her expertise is the most trustworthy on the situation that Niklas currently recalls.
Some time later, he realizes he doesn't feel too frustrated anymore. He's all out of frustration, in fact. Now he just seems to be filled with bemused acceptance of his circumstances.
At the Dancing Fly...
Morton thinks this cleaning job will suffice - the tavern certainly has experienced a lot of improvement, anyway.
~Does this suffice, good group Gub?~
~in terms of cleaning, yes! we would like to convert this place into a tea house! you can run it!~
Um... well.
~If you could, I'd like to go check on the ship. While the tea has most likely gone bad by now, quite a tragic event, it would be nice to regain my tools and attempt again. Perhaps I could pick up something that the others wish from the ship while I'm there, if you could please ask them? Assuming they're not currently busy, of course, I wouldn't wish to bother them.~
~certainly! we shall show you the way!~
And they do - after trundling through the streets and passing a whole lot of vacant-looking people, Morton eventually reaches the ship he knows and enjoys - it seems entirely unharmed, and is tied securely to one of the numerous, though mostly empty piers of Mothdale. A quick check of the ship reveals that everything on it has basically gone untouched since the crew all had to take their leave under the gub's influence. His enchanted tea has gone visibly stale, however.
~the enchanted tea! your expertise on the matter was very important, morton! we are about to start enchanting things ourselves, in fact! any requests before we begin chanting?~
Post by: Xantalos on February 13, 2014, 02:27:08 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 13, 2014, 02:50:42 pm
-Mark! Come here you bastard! Why did you even think about making me something as impractical as this! I can't fly, I can't even walk! Have you ever tried doing these things to yourself? Have you? No? Well, it feels horrible. How am I supposed to be able to coordinate eleven legs? I can't even stand up because I don't have arms! So, come here you psychopath. Come here and make me something in which at least I could move! FIX ME!
The last sentence in all caps is pronounced with all his means to pronounce things.
Post by: miauw62 on February 13, 2014, 03:11:03 pm
((Tomcost, I'd say it's partly your own fault for trusting Mark. You didn't have much choice, though.))
Post by: Tomcost on February 13, 2014, 03:16:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2014, 03:20:14 pm
~Do you have a job position for not doing anything officer?~
~yes! but you are unfit to have it presently!~
Post by: Innsmothe on February 13, 2014, 06:00:02 pm
Burn another hulk from this distance...to highlight his statement.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 13, 2014, 07:33:58 pm
Sigmund will scream to Mark, using his different vocal apparatuses:Mark thinks "Damn can't anyone like my help it's awesome" then gets to work fixing it so he has ten legs and can move well with more !!MEDICINE!!
-Mark! Come here you bastard! Why did you even think about making me something as impractical as this! I can't fly, I can't even walk! Have you ever tried doing these things to yourself? Have you? No? Well, it feels horrible. How am I supposed to be able to coordinate eleven legs? I can't even stand up because I don't have arms! So, come here you psychopath. Come here and make me something in which at least I could move! FIX ME!
The last sentence in all caps is pronounced with all his means to pronounce things.
Post by: miauw62 on February 14, 2014, 01:59:36 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2014, 06:16:01 am
Post by: Innsmothe on February 14, 2014, 10:23:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2014, 11:32:08 am
~You know, I think I wouldn't make a terribly great temple officer~
~that is because you are silly and mostly useless while we are smart and know exactly what your best uses are! now cease your whining and get to it!~
Post by: miauw62 on February 14, 2014, 11:46:08 am
"But damn if I'm not going to get that bastard priest back."
Attempt to sing at the resonant frequency of the temple.
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2014, 11:48:33 am
((Guessing Sigmund is ignoring Scott then? :P))((It is mostly because he has more important matters to attend to, like trying to get back his ability to move. And also I don't understand what shenanigans is Scott trying to pull))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 14, 2014, 03:10:25 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2014, 05:23:58 pm
Niklas tries to mold the mulch into something more appealing to the eye and soul, like a half-bear-half-walrus.
[Niklas' sculpting roll: 5]
Utilizing the various resins and sap contained in the mulch, Niklas realizes he can do some pretty mean sculpting with this stuff - in no time at all, he has a very respectable-looking statue of the hideous lovechild of a northern bear and a walrus. It menaces the entire room with its tusks and shining coat rather exquisitely, Niklas must say. Definitely the best sculpture he's done yet - it has the exactly right proportions of bear and walrus in its features that you can't really tell where one ends and the other begins. Particularly fine are the finned feet of the sculpture, which fill Niklas with thoughts of naval adventure and violent inland expeditions filled with equal parts foraging and looting.
At the shipwreck-rich beach of Mothdale...
Sigmund, to put it mildly, is pissed.
"Mark! Come here, you bastard! Why did you even think about making me something as impractical as this! I can't fly, I can't even walk! Have you ever tried doing these things to yourself? Have you? No? Well, it feels horrible. How am I supposed to be able to coordinate eleven legs? I can't even stand up because I don't have arms! So, come here, you psychopath. Come here and make me something in which at least I could move! FIX ME!" he screams at Mark, who has failed him in ways so terrible, they are hardly worth recounting again, with all the varied colorful voices he possesses. The tirade is withering enough for Mark to actually begin considering the virtues of minimalist design a little. That is, before he mentally denounces it as blasphemy and thinks about how best to compromise here.
Scott, who feels like he is in the middle of this argument despite nobody so much as acknowledging his presence, attempts to mediate.
"Come on, Siggy. Not many survive surgery. Albeit most people want a leg or an arm removed, but so what? You got a brand new body... you are even ALIVE AGAIN!!! Do you know how much offense you cause to the non-living like me to see you complain about a completely viable... and attractive... form like yours?" he says to Sigmund rather creepily and unhelpfully. When Sigmund doesn't deem it fit to answer, Scott feels the need to demonstrate that he has feelings as well.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 4]
A small fire starts on one of the distant ships, and soon the vessel is almost entirely aflame. Yes! That is suitably dramatic, Scott thinks! And he's also sort of doing his job. It's like he's multitasking or something.
Mark, meanwhile, decides that he probably should let Sigmund have what he wants for now, even if his demands are so unreasonable. So he wipes off his tools a little to get some of the dried viscera off and goes right back into the fray.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 4+1]
He promptly removes a single leg, the least symmetrical one, from Sigmund's body, sealing up the spot where it was attached until one can't very well say if there was a leg there in the first place at all. Sigmund finds that it doesn't really seem to be helping, as ten legs are only slightly less impossible to keep track of at once than eleven. Still, if he could run in the first place, he guesses it would be a definite improvement, though he can't say for sure. But since right now he doesn't feel very improved at all, he resolves to keep nagging in the hopes that things will get better eventually.
"And don't forget about the arms. Dammit, why do I keep resorting to you? Anyway, you idiot, if you have at lest a bit of mental power you will make me into something practical at least."
Mark is starting to find it difficult to see why he has to take this kind of guff from a guy he made into a dragon, honestly.
In a temple of Velusius...
Kevin, upon getting chastised for being so dang unenthusiastic, hopes to achieve something on this go around. After remarking on his driving motivation of vengeance upon a crazy man who lives in a temple, he attempts to sing slightly differently than usual. To sing like one with absolute truth in his voice and the power to abolish lies and the ones that perpetrate, but most of all to bring any and all houses of unpleasantness like this one down into the ashes where they belong.
[Kevin's singing roll: 5-2]
He tests out a variety of pitches he can produce, not having to worry about silly things like keeping his throat together and working unlike most mortal singers, and eventually he thinks he hears something crack! Granted, it looks to be a glass that somebody left lying on one of the pews, but it's a start!
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2014, 06:40:03 pm
-Hey, I know that you like doing these things, but there are ways to do this that don't involve other people. Could you put me in a more manageable body at least? I don't care anymore if it is horrifying or not, I just want to move.
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2014, 08:02:17 pm
Wait, it was for a judge, right? Yeah, that floating fat lady! What she wanted with a frustration-embued bear walrus statue, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to conceal this masterpiece from anyone.
HEY FLOATING LADY I'M DONE!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 14, 2014, 08:19:24 pm
Sigmund somewhat reconsidered how he treated Mark. He was his only hope from being able to even move again, so he tried a different approach:Hmmmm more !!MEDICENE!! might help to allow him to move.
-Hey, I know that you like doing these things, but there are ways to do this that don't involve other people. Could you put me in a more manageable body at least? I don't care anymore if it is horrifying or not, I just want to move.
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2014, 08:27:48 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 14, 2014, 09:40:28 pm
((This is clearly a good idea, Sigmund.))((A very good idea))
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2014, 09:42:06 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 15, 2014, 04:52:32 am
((Intervention!))
"Siggy! I am sorry, I believe that you are addicted to dangerous cosmetic surgery! Please stop now... before it's too late!"
((If you are really wondering about Scott's motivations consider the following.
Run over by a cart and brought back to life by horny husband.
Husband is poisoned and turned into a sheet.
Husband passes on and Scott then consistently gets maimed.
He is reduced to a ghostly head and then is burned horribly.
If you do not question his mentally stability, then you are an idiot. :P))
Post by: miauw62 on February 15, 2014, 07:21:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 08:18:32 am
Go around the fire wall if I can.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 15, 2014, 10:50:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 11:27:44 am
"I can definatley think of worse situations Sigmund! It's time to quit whilst you aren't a head!" *zing*-I'd prefer being an ectoplasmic head, then. At least I would be able to move.
Post by: Nunzillor on February 15, 2014, 01:10:40 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 01:45:21 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on February 15, 2014, 02:26:13 pm
God knows, that fire wall could go so, so wrong!
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 02:33:19 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 15, 2014, 02:56:50 pm
The desk physically slumped at the sight of the stale tea. While it wasn't unexpected, after all it was left unattended for three days, the sight still saddened the apostle. He couldn't serve this, no, it would be heart breaking to hand out old tea, even if it was enchanted.
But one of the great many happy thing about tea is that one can always make more and try again! And there was still his supplies here, so that shouldn't be any problem.
~Hm, I do thank you for the offer good group Gub. I've been personally pondering the option of making something that may heal me, or perhaps enchant myself so that any damage may heal. I'd hate to be a strain on the group, and while surgeon Mark is adept at what he does I fear he may not be able to help me should something dreadful happen.~
The desk lightly touched the gouge that marred his surface so.
~I suppose something that may clean and purify water would be appropriate as well, I'm more than happy to turn the old tavern into a respectable place but I fear the quality of the water might hamper things terribly, I'd hate to serve tea that might be tainted. Boiling the water may reduce the impurities, but I fear the process may be slow.~
Bemoan ruined tea, gather tea supplies and cookware, request regeneration to not be a medicinal strain and something to purify water for the making of tea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2014, 03:14:19 pm
Sigmund, though less dissatisfied with his horrible body than before, is still incapable of proper movement as far as he can tell. So he decides to give Mark some more grief about the way he still hasn't been helped enough.
"Hey, I know that you like doing these things, but there are ways to do this that don't involve other people. Could you put me in a more manageable body at least? I don't care anymore if it is horrifying or not, I just want to move."
Mark, guessing that it does make sense that a silly fellow like Sigmund wouldn't be able to handle sixteen limbs any better than seventeen, wonders what to do next while making sure to advance vaguely menacingly on Sigmund so as to not give the impression that he needs time to actually think of his next course of action. Scott notices this and isn't quite as understanding of Sigmund's requests as Mark.
"Siggy! I am sorry, I believe that you are addicted to dangerous cosmetic surgery! Please stop now... before it's too late!" he yells, and tries to conjure a wall of fire between Sigmund and Mark.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 4]
He manages to make a flash of fire in the air between the two, but it doesn't really last or anything - his power doesn't seem to provide him much in the way of continuous burning, and it's very draining to keep setting off these flashes in quick succession, as Scott finds after his third and last flash before he has to stop and gather his thoughts a moment.
"There is a moment in which one's situation can't get worse, Scott. And I tell you that I can't." Sigmund replies cryptically and rolls closer to Mark, noticing that Scott seems to have run out of juice to keep spontaneously combusting an empty patch of air. Despite his exhaustion, though, Scott immediately thinks of a comeback.
"I can definitely think of worse situations, Sigmund! It's time to quit whilst you aren't a head!" he says, the zing almost audible against the crackling backdrop of the burning shipwrecks.
"I'd prefer being an ectoplasmic head, then. At least I would be able to move," Sigmund replies, and then begins to disregard Scott's attempts to dissuade him, knowing that he hardly has the power to stop Mark when the latter is up to his dark deeds.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 6+1]
Realizing that the problem is obviously that Sigmund is not really ready for legs, or wings for that matter, Mark handily removes all of those, putting them back in his body part cart. When Sigmund is about to insist that this isn't what he wanted again (at least Mark guesses that was what the foolish bugger was about to say), Mark, quite bored of the fellow's capricious and overly demanding attitude, plunges a knife into Sigmund's flesh and, in fewer movements than Sigmund would have thought the process to be possible with, handily removes all of his throats and tongues (throwing those back into the cart as well), and rejoices as Sigmund's complaints are replaced with retching and gurgling, sounds that are altogether more musical to him than his patient's previous attempts at negotiation. Mark gives Sigmund a quick thumbs-up, then turns his back on the fully wormified and gloriously inarticulate creature he has left in his wake, beginning to pace and ponder what he could do next.
~we have people you must entertain and educate with your art, mark! there is little for you here! hurry, as we will be busy momentarily!~
In a mostly empty room...
After considering the walbear or bearrus he's got built here, it slowly dawns on Niklas that there was some kind of purpose to this whole thing he did here. That purpose was a floating fat lady, more or less. Now that the statue's done, he guesses he had best present it.
"HEY FLOATING LADY I'M DONE!" he shouts to the room. Minutes pass. Nothing happens. Huh.
Inside a temple of Velusius...
Disappointed in his inability to really get the place rocking and cracking, Kevin just keeps on trying.
[Kevin's singing roll: 1-2-1]
He tries to hold the high pitch that cracked the glass, but quickly finds out that there's a reason it's not a thing that all people can do all the time when he feels something very unpleasantly give way inside his throat, a sinister shifting of demoniac flesh suddenly robbing him of both breath and voice. That... probably could have gone better. Much better.
On the Second Shank...
Morton, though depressed by the sight of stale tea, resolves to solve this problem soon rather than dwell on it. While he considers, gathers and consolidates his supplies, he converses with the gub.
~Hm, I do thank you for the offer, good group Gub. I've been personally pondering the option of making something that may heal me, or perhaps enchant myself so that any damage may heal. I'd hate to be a strain on the group, and while surgeon Mark is adept at what he does I fear he may not be able to help me should something dreadful happen.~
~this you can safely achieve on your own! you can enchant things, yes!~
~I suppose something that may clean and purify water would be appropriate as well, I'm more than happy to turn the old tavern into a respectable place but I fear the quality of the water might hamper things terribly, I'd hate to serve tea that might be tainted. Boiling the water may reduce the impurities, but I fear the process may be slow.~
~a crew is on the job, morton! we shall begin chanting soon!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 05:01:06 pm
Mentally contact the Gub:
-Could you tell Erin to come and help me, please?
Post by: Innsmothe on February 15, 2014, 05:12:06 pm
"I warned you Siggy. The 'good' doctor is obviously blessed by demonic or elder powers, for nothing in heaven would allow him to remain in existence. Now, it's time for you to pay their price...I hope they are gentle."
Scott will float to the farthest wreck from here, continuing his job.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2014, 05:27:18 pm
((Well, I'm slightly worse. The only difference is that I can't talk now. Also, how on Earth does he keep getting sixes????))
Mentally contact the Gub:
-Could you tell Erin to come and help me, please?
~erin is very busy! she cannot help! we advise you get used to being a worm!~
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 05:43:56 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 15, 2014, 05:44:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 15, 2014, 05:46:18 pm
-Could you tell her to come when she gets a free moment, please?
~she does not have any free moments, as she is not a nice human and thus does not get independence!~
Hmm. What are the walls made of?
Stone, looks like.
Post by: Xantalos on February 15, 2014, 05:47:59 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 15, 2014, 06:02:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 15, 2014, 06:15:42 pm
~Thank you, good group Gub. If you don't mind, I'd like to attempt the first now. It wouldn't do well to those coming in if they see the new establishment with a damaged owner, I believe, first impressions are always important. I imagine it will take you time to make the water purifier as well, and it's always good to use time efficiently.~
If yes: Morton will start the enchantment process with the three chants, his focus being imagining himself with various chips, gouges, and wounds of varying severity but watching them knit and seal, leaving behind a pristine surface as if it was never there.
If no:
~Very well good group Gub, another time then. Shall I return to the Dancing Fly? Hm.. To be terribly honest, I'm afraid I don't much like the name. It sounds...~ The desk hesitated, not comfortable using harsh words. ~Crude. Perhaps I could change the name of the establishment, something more befitting of its second chance?~
Post by: Yoink on February 15, 2014, 07:47:14 pm
>Quickly fly back towards that tavern, taking a route that makes me less likely to be spotted by the inner-towns mages.
>Assess any signs of damage as I go. Approach the tavern with great caution, and perhaps a large helping of dread, too.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 15, 2014, 08:06:49 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 16, 2014, 02:04:19 am
Assuming the coins are real, let them examine the coins before continuing. If they're fake, move onto the next trick.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2014, 02:20:02 pm
Scott would shake his head if the act of doing so wouldn't look completely ridiculous. Sigmund just can't keep himself together, it seems. He sighs in a very recognizable, unique fashion that he has considered declaring illegal to reproduce without his permission at times.
"I warned you, Siggy. The 'good' doctor is obviously blessed by demonic or elder powers, for nothing in heaven would allow him to remain in existence. Now, it's time for you to pay their price... I hope they are gentle."
Sigmund doesn't answer. Scott has to say there are many virtues in Mark's design choices. It's lovely when people don't talk back, honestly. He turns away from Sigmund and moves over closer to one of the nearby shipwrecks, resuming his shipburning quest.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 2]
He can't quite work up the inspiration to set things on fire again, though. Particularly when he notices that Mark appears to be preparing to mutilate Sigmund again, apparently having gotten an idea again.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 2+1]
He quickly sews four tongues, four wings and four legs on a single patch right above Sigmund's mouth, making a very nice and eye-catching (probably not literally unless he practices a lot) head ornament morbidly reminiscent of a tasteful fruit hat that distracts efficiently from Sigmund's gaping mouth. And judging by the way he seems to be wiggling the entire thing, Sigmund can move it a little bit and seems to like it. Man, is it convenient to rob people of speech and simply project one's own thoughts on them, imagining that's what they really think. Mark should do it more often.
Sigmund, after giving up on communicating with Mark in any reasonable way, tries to get the gub to see reason at least.
~Then, if she is not independent, you could just make her try to fix me, right?~
~later! now, we chant!~ the gub say abruptly, then go silent.
In a room with a very fetching bearrus and nothing fun to do...
Niklas thinks that maybe he wasn't heard the first time, so he shouts for the floating lady again. No reply or indication he was heard. Nothing happens the next few times he tries it, either. How rude of her to leave him here like this. Oh well. He's got an awl - he's well prepared for this sort of thing, he thinks. Time to tunnel on out of here.
Fortunately, Niklas does believe he spies a potentially nasty-looking crack in one of the walls, stretching right up to ceiling. Great place to start, he thinks! Driving the awl into the crack a few times, he feels something odd, a tingle going over his chair form as the awl nears it. Intent on investigating, he loosens a few chunks from the wall and notices that there does appear to be something within - a glowing point of light almost too small to make out, with little threads going out of it in several directions. How very interesting! Niklas' first thought is a very obvious one - plunge the awl into it! And so he does, feeling the tingle intensify until a point where it stops being a tingle and starts to feel like lightning coursing through him in a somewhat dramatic yet mostly painless fashion. It feels very strange, Niklas must say.
On the Second Shank...
Morton finds the gub's level of cooperation reasonably agreeable, and makes his thoughts known accordingly.
~Thank you, good group Gub. If you don't mind, I'd like to attempt the first now. It wouldn't do well to those coming in if they see the new establishment with a damaged owner, I believe, first impressions are always important. I imagine it will take you time to make the water purifier as well, and it's always good to use time efficiently.~
~naturally! we will not have guests for some time, we imagine, so you are free to improve yourself for now! we will chant as well, just like our teacher instructed!~
Having been given the go-ahead as well as briefly thinking of how much trouble his companions could possibly get into while their every thought and movement was being watched and guided by some kind of strange group. He doesn't devote much time to such unproductive thoughts, however, and begins the Listening Chant, soon reaching a state of heightened awareness - such heightened awareness, in fact, that he becomes acutely aware of the presence of the gub's thoughts on the air. He can't quite put his finger on what exactly gub are saying, just that their voice has become an audible, if not intelligible murmur at the end of his first chant. It seems reasonable to guess they are chanting the same thing as he, though.
Above the rooftops of Blynn...
Timothy, experiencing a brief moment of relief before overwhelming concern once again sets in, speedily floats back to the tavern, which now seems to be missing a sizable portion of its roof and side wall - that looks to have been some explosion, Timothy notes. He can see inside the basement from outside, and he isn't even looking very hard - it appears that a part of the tavern that wasn't blown up has collapsed inward into the unstable hole that formed after the blast. Also of note is the immobile, stiff shape of the pink dog, seemingly unharmed, floating around the grounds jerkily, and several pink puddles on the ground with small, pink, organic tower-like structures slowly rising out of them. In addition, Timothy spies that something has been eating from his mostly unharmed pile of food, judging by the small, yet deep depression formed into its surface - he suspects the dog might have done that.
The question is, where might the hungry guy be?
In the streets of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren isn't sure whether to show the coins to the kids - they were real back when he was alive, but now they seem to be quite ectoplasmic, which may increase their technical fakeness somewhat. So he just moves on to the next trick, another little distraction with handkerchiefs, which the kids quite enjoy from the looks of it.
"I've never seen mages do things like that!"
"'Cause it's not really magic at all?"
"I have heard about parlor tricks, certainly, but these are a bit more advanced. And yes, this fellow is definitely not a mage. Well, aside from the basic ghost abilities, obviously."
"So, what, do we, uh, tip him or whatever?"
"Useless. He is dead."
"And intangible as well. The only way he could carry the tip around would be with telekinesis, which would be quite distracting."
"Wouldn't it be a nice gesture, though? It would be kinda rude for us to just leave without giving him anything."
"Kind words might work, depending on how... far gone he is."
The kids go silent, staring at Darren, apparently trying to gauge his level of undead dementia.
Post by: miauw62 on February 16, 2014, 02:56:16 pm
Try to speak.
Post by: Tomcost on February 16, 2014, 03:21:17 pm
Also creep around the city, see if I find exactly what happened here
Post by: Xantalos on February 16, 2014, 04:09:56 pm
Grasp that source! Nothing can go wrong here!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2014, 04:13:34 pm
Grasp that source!
Mentally or physically?
Post by: Innsmothe on February 16, 2014, 05:18:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 16, 2014, 05:22:08 pm
Morton now does the single thought chant, his focus being imagining himself with various chips, gouges, and wounds of varying severity but watching them knit and seal, leaving behind a pristine surface as if the wound was never there. He even imagines bits of himself being cut off and then being reattached or regrowing.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2014, 09:28:19 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2014, 09:29:48 pm
DAMN YOU WOODEN SKELETON! BURN!((Are really attacking a metal skeleton who is incredibly creative and has a list of impossible success stories and the favor of our master and which you are soul bound not to attack. Good luck with that :P))
go down to the water and chill for a bit telling the Gub "On Break"
Post by: Xanmyral on February 16, 2014, 09:56:49 pm
EDIT: I think. It makes sense to me that's what he's talking about.]
Post by: Xantalos on February 16, 2014, 10:14:12 pm
...Grasp that source!
Mentally or physically?
Try it both!
Post by: Innsmothe on February 17, 2014, 03:35:16 am
[Nah, he's talking about the wooden skeleton of the ship that he failed to ignite rather anticlimactically.(('Dis.
EDIT: I think. It makes sense to me that's what he's talking about.]
I love melodrama. The dice must pay.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 12:17:44 pm
Kevin tries to speak, shifting himself in various ways and trying to vocalize as best as he can - however, he doesn't seem to be able to make any sound at all with his throat - something seems to be very wrong with it now. This is most unfortunate.
At the shipwreck-rich beach of Mothdale...
Sigmund tests out his new limb-hat, and finds it to be most stylish, if woefully inadequate at grabbing things, being composed of legs, wings and tongues sewn together with much regard for fashion and little for practicality. Thus disappointed, he decides to pop off and explore the town, slinking off the beach and hitting the streets. Rolling absently through crossroads and not bothering with trying to find any particular way to go, he ponders the town - there do appear to be quite a few residents living here, even if the town looks mostly empty. They invariably look very vacant, and many appear to be singing at the moment.
The townspeople, of course, only make up a certain proportion of residents - there also appear to be ratlike people and very strange dogs walking around the streets. Occasionally Sigmund passes by a whole bunch of buildings that seem to have burned down. From the looks of it, he's guessing some kind of popular revolution happened, and he suspects he would see a guillotine or something if he rolled far enough.
Scott, meanwhile, tries to get that dang shipwreck to light up! He finds that the inspiration isn't coming to him, though, and neither is any melodrama! Truly these are dark times, and they begin to appear darker still when he notices that Sigmund appears to have buggered off someplace while he wasn't looking. Also, that other skeleton, Mark, seems to be sitting by the seaside doing absolutely nothing while he is trying to get something done here! Truly, life is quite unfair right now.
In a mostly empty room...
Intrigued by this small point of light, Niklas tries two methods of grasping it that come to mind - first, with his leg hand. He puts the awl away and moves it to the point, and the feeling of something coursing through him becomes stronger still, like a violent shaking of his very soul, in fact. And though this is a slightly desirable result, Niklas does believe he wants more out of this. So he tries to mentally engage whatever curious enchantment might be in place here, attempting to grasp it with his mind.
[Niklas' will roll: 6]
This seems to have been exactly what he wanted - the very act of attempting this seems to make the very room shake violently, and the stone of the walls becomes, he finds, unquestionably his, in a way. His mind experiences a strange sort of high as he becomes mentally one with the wall, his stone prison becoming a veritable extension of his own body. As he rides out the feeling of becoming far, far more than he was before, he notices the shaking of the walls intensify, the stone construction practically bursting with ill intent stemming from his mind.
He suspects this will end in a way that is nothing short of miraculous, to be honest.
On the Second Shank...
Disregarding the voice for now, Morton commences the Single Thought Chant, tuning his mind to the very specific concept of healing oneself through continued renewal. The image becomes stronger with each chanted syllable, and the sound of the gub's whispers quickly fades away, as do any considerations of his surroundings. The specifics of the healing meld together over time, crystallizing into a single concept that encapsulates the basics, as anything other than that is beyond the scope of the Single Thought Chant. Still, it's not like Morton is in any position to mind overmuch.
Post by: Tomcost on February 17, 2014, 12:32:01 pm
Keep rolling throuh the city, determine if the burned houses belong to a particular social caste, or if there is anything similar between them. Revolutions are carried for those on the lower castes to those of the upepr ones.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 17, 2014, 12:40:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 12:42:33 pm
"Gubber McGubbingson! I need to rest or distract myself, is there anything interesting in town?"
No intelligible answer, strangely enough.
Post by: Xantalos on February 17, 2014, 12:44:24 pm
Exult in feeling of power, but make sure I keep control of it!
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2014, 12:50:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 12:51:46 pm
~Fucking great. Anything you can do about THIS?~
Also no answer!
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2014, 12:54:14 pm
Grab the wizard stone.
Squeeze it.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 17, 2014, 01:07:59 pm
Scott will head into town and find something of interest...Interesting architecture, old moldy books...small mating animals...you know...anything eye catching.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 01:11:50 pm
THIS IS MY CHANCE.
Grab the wizard stone.
Squeeze it.
Lizzie's voice suddenly rings out in your head. It sounds altogether preferable to the voice of the gub.
~Hi, Kevin. I was just wondering when you'd finally call me up.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2014, 01:27:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 01:32:13 pm
~Well, calling you up while I had some sort of hivemind threatening to revoke my free-will privileges didn't seem like the best idea.~
~Sure sounds like you've been having fun without me, Kevin. How's life, anyway?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2014, 02:32:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2014, 02:34:13 pm
~I'm looking for a job, but apparently I'm not good at anything beyond being absolutely gorgeous and murder. I pissed off some guy with acid jars while trying to bartend, and I've been trying to figure out what exactly I have to do to become temple officer for a while. Quite literally sang my lungs out, sadly. Or at least the undead demonic equivalent thereof.~
~Hm... are you on break right now?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2014, 03:04:40 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 17, 2014, 08:40:39 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 17, 2014, 09:12:39 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 18, 2014, 01:53:02 am
"A tip would be fine, but, would any of you be interested in getting a pet? A woman I know is seeking homes for some animals, and there's probably an animal for each of you."
Post by: Yoink on February 18, 2014, 02:01:18 am
Timothy was worried and uncertain. He wanted to know where that fellow was, if he was hurt or needed help, but what if he was mad at Timothy? He'd been doing magic-y stuff after all, he might be able to hurt him. The ghost mightn't even have a chance to explain away the misunderstanding before, who knows, getting turned into a ghost-toad or something.
Still, Timothy really did want to make friends with someone after all this effort.
He felt really bad about the whole ordeal, too... time for some damage control.
>Ensure my invisibility is on and then float slowly closer, scanning the area for any signs of life other than the dog-thing.
>Inspect this 'hole'- is it a mundane sort of hole, or does it lead to one of those Other places?
If I can't see any movement after a short while, float upwards and check if anyone's coming to investigate the explosion from elsewhere in Blynn.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2014, 04:02:51 pm
Idly rolling through the streets, Sigmund considers the burned houses, and concludes that he can't determine much about them - there isn't anything at all left, just black piles of ash that the wind blows every which way at regular intervals. Presumably the inhabitants of said homes died horrible deaths at the hands of an angry mob of some kind, or, who knows, maybe they were burned alive inside. It's definitely a mystery he can't resolve without the glorious power of limbs, he supposes.
He is also rather disappointed when he spots no guillotines or bloodstained headsman's blocks on his roll through town. Maybe the noblemen were all taken down without due process? That'd make it a somewhat savage revolution, he guesses.
In a mostly empty room...
Niklas tries to strike a careful balance between exulting in his obviously deserved power and trying to make sure he doesn't inadvertently do something violent and wildly stupid with it as usual. He believes he may have grown quite a bit as a person since the last time he was granted power of a similar magnitude, and that this will somehow help.
[Niklas' will roll: 1]
His belief is proven to be woefully, tragically, completely mistaken when he feels the walls of the room lurch, then crack, then half-explode and half-disintegrate, the shards of wall flying right at him, enveloping him in a mosaic-like statue of a chair with only two legs, like an outer stony shell of some kind. It has the twin deficiencies of being completely impossible to move inside of and having no way of standing upright.
And that's not even taking into account the fact that the floor, walls and ceiling of the room are gone now, which leads him to fall about a single floor and hit another stone floor, which affects his stone shell in no palpable way whatsoever.
Strangely, he can actually see what's around him from inside the shell - he seems to have landed in some sort of room filled with bunk beds and surprised people, none of which he seems to have squished accidentally in his descent.
At the sunny beach of Mothdale...
Scott and Mark, having nothing better to do, head back into the city on their own separate paths, the gub's mental presence being insufficient to presently stop them.
Scott is lucky enough to find a house. It reminds him a little of his own old house. Very nice to look at.
Mark is similarly fortunate, in that he finds a silver coin lodged in the fingers of a dead body lying in a basement he happened to look into - all but the basement itself are appropriated for personal use in short order.
In a temple of Velusius...
Kevin thinks he would like to get out of here, thank you very much.
~Well, the hivemind seems to be sleeping or something, else I wouldn't dare contact you. The priest climbed up the walls, so I guess I'm on sort of a break. I'd love to get out of here, for a start.~
~Easily done.~
Kevin's surroundings take on a liquid nature within seconds, then reform into a colorless gas, then a massive cloud of pure white in what seems like a very dramatic, yet completely natural transformation, which then reverses itself, with Kevin finding himself in what looks like some sort of stone terrace. The architecture and furniture, all of which seems incredibly solid, monolithic and lacking in ornamentation as well as rich in vegetation growing in the cracks, evoke a sense of ancient history, or maybe even prehistory. From the terrace, which seems to be placed as high up from the ground as Kevin has ever been, the ex-jester spies somewhat untamed vegetation dotted with signs of limited destruction as far as the eye can see, with the exception of what appears to be a far-off small town.
Next to him stands a solid black silhouette of a woman wearing a bluish-white robe. It turns and speaks to him.
"Nice place, isn't it?"
On the Second Shank...
Morton, now in the final third of the chanting process, begins the Empty Mind Chant, and soon (subjectively, anyway - it's difficult to tell how much time has actually passed) thinks of absolutely nothing apart from the idea of healing, which bounces around in his mind, echoing so powerfully that it drowns out pretty much everything else. Though his senses have not been taken, he sees nothing, hears nothing and feels nothing. His mind is numb, allowing it to focus purely on one concept, to bring it into reality with nothing but the driving desire to do so.
He is ready.
In the streets of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren decides now would be the time to spring the sales pitch on these children. He puts away the tools of his trade and bows to the kids, who look surprised.
"A tip would be fine, but, would any of you be interested in getting a pet? A woman I know is seeking homes for some animals, and there's probably an animal for each of you."
"Depends on details," the laconic one says first.
"A pet? I dunno, maybe, I guess."
"I have to agree with my friend - it does depend on certain details, such as who this woman might be and other facts."
"Wait... woman... pets... you mean the crazy lady, right? My mom told me to stay away from that pet store she's got!"
"That doesn't fill me with confidence about the prospect."
Outside Blynn's finest ruined tavinn...
Timothy, after making sure of his invisibility, floats closer to the hole - no signs of life are immediately apparent, though the ruins don't seem entirely silent. Part of it is the dog, of course, but Timothy can detect some other sound within as well, though it is not easily discernible enough to pinpoint exactly what or where it is.
The hole itself seems like a perfectly normal perfectly round hole in the ground that a good portion of a tavinn has collapsed into, by the way. Timothy can still see the surface of the table he unwisely messed with, actually. Still, with no signs of movement, he decides to float up and see if anybody's coming to investigate. After a bit of vertical ascension, he notices... nobody, pretty much. Nobody except the familiar figure of that dog owner's main squeeze, who appears to be rushing this way rapidly from the rough direction of center of Blynn.
Post by: Xantalos on February 18, 2014, 04:06:00 pm
Try to get them to assist me, and attempt to will the stone covering off me in the meantime.
Post by: Tomcost on February 18, 2014, 04:08:23 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 18, 2014, 06:25:40 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 18, 2014, 07:37:05 pm
Mark is similarly fortunate, in that he finds a silver coin lodged in the fingers of a dead body lying in a basement he happened to look into - all but the basement itself are appropriated for personal use in short order.((Siggy also good to see Mark still has his adventurer instincts))
Mark goes through the town on the look out for more interesting things
Post by: Yoink on February 18, 2014, 08:18:28 pm
Timothy couldn't stop a frightened squeak from escaping his throat as he saw the lady running in his direction. She was gonna be so mad with him-- he had to act fast!
>Quickly, telekinetically dig whatever's left of that magical fellow out of the wreckage!
>Use my powers of helpfulness to put him back together before his lady-friend gets over here!
Post by: Xanmyral on February 19, 2014, 01:38:02 am
[Wonder how this is gonna go. Never enchanted outside of a day turn.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2014, 12:54:55 pm
Niklas tries to get other people to help as directly as possible - by simply asking, of course!
"Figures. HEY! HEY OTHER PEOPLE. HELP!" he says, but it doesn't seem to carry over too well, as the people only seem to either gape at him or just leave as quickly as possible. They are, in fact, just as helpful as one might expect people who were just interrupted in whatever kind of sleep they may have been having here.
Some of them seem to ask rather important-looking questions, but Niklas finds it difficult to hear them through all this stone.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund keeps on rolling through the town, looking for the Artiste - he eventually concludes that somebody who is important like the Artiste should also be in the most important-looking location - simple logic, really. And the most important-looking location is none other than the tower he was tied to earlier during his tenure as airmaster! So he heads that way, eventually reaching the rather grassy space all around it - much to his dismay, the large doors leading inside appear to be closed, and he lacks any hands to open them with. And he felt like he was on to something, too! Drat!
Elsewhere, Mark also searches for various things and people of interest - his searches are rewarded with the rather interesting sight of a dancing man in the middle of the street. On his face is an expression of pure, unadulterated fear, presumably at the pack of dolphins surrounding him, one of which appears rather unusual in its looks. The dolphins look his way and seem to almost sneer. The man also glances Mark's way, but seems rather occupied with what appears to be an actual matter of life and death.
Outside a very familiar-looking house...
Scott, quite interested in the house so much like the one he remembered (even similar in its level of dilapidation!), heads right in and looks for loot, even though he requires constant concentration to even attempt to carry any goodies in the first place. Regardless of this, though, he keeps searching, and eventually finds a rather interesting-looking box in the basement - it looks to be some sort of large puzzle box, with lots of intricate mechanisms worked into its surface. Wonderful workmanship, though it looks pretty damn heavy to Scott.
Outside a ruined tavinn of Blynn...
Timothy isn't really reassured by the lady's reappearance on the horizon - he's got to sort this out quickly, that much is clear, and so floats down and tries to dig out that fellow from the rubble - hopefully there would be something left of him, yes?
[Timothy's telekinesis roll: 4]
He lifts a piece of ruined tavinn off the neighborhood of the table that the fellow was last seen at and, lo and behold, the fellow is there! Very much alive, and though his legs seem to have been rather terribly crushed by the collapsing tavinn, he seems to be in no danger of being otherwise! Hooray! He seems rather surprised and suspicious at being dug out, as well as moved to saying rather impolite words about his predicament. This does not deter Timothy from being helpful, though - in fact, he decides that now is a good time to use that helpfulness power he has. Pointing his finger dramatically at the crippled man, he projects pure helpfulness in outrageous quantities, hoping that's actually how you make it happen.
However, it works out a little differently than hoped, Timothy finds - rather than everything suddenly fixing itself in a reasonable way, a ramp with a railing suddenly materializes at the bottom of the pit, leading up out into the streets. This mystifies the man further - one has to guess that this is a day he will remember as one of the stranger ones.
On the Second Shank...
Morton, currently feeling as single-minded as anyone, finally moves on to the last part of the enchanting process - the actual enchantment. Focusing inward, he applies his thoughts of healing to his own frame in a forceful manner.
[Morton's enchantment roll: 3]
After a period of concentration, Morton certainly feels like something's changed a bit, that his body is now more in sync with his mental image. It feels a bit incomplete, however. Less powerful.
Post by: miauw62 on February 19, 2014, 01:09:33 pm
~Very nice indeed, but not like any castle I've visited before.~
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2014, 01:13:05 pm
((Wait, fuck, my turn didn't get sent? Damnit, b12.))
~Very nice indeed, but not like any castle I've visited before.~
She doesn't seem to have heard you.
Post by: miauw62 on February 19, 2014, 01:23:29 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2014, 01:29:34 pm
Kevin tries to produce a sound, a wail or half-hearted screech will do, and then points to his throat.
You can't make any sounds, and she seems a little confused.
"Are you feeling okay, Kevin? You seem very quiet."
Post by: Xanmyral on February 19, 2014, 01:39:29 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 19, 2014, 01:51:53 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 19, 2014, 01:55:37 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2014, 02:11:07 pm
Question: Does Morton still feel the effects of the chants on him currently? Do they seem to be fading at all or anything?
They aren't fading just yet, and do last for a while.
Try to tell her that I can't speak through interpretative dance.
Do you wish to do so through interpretive dance?
Post by: miauw62 on February 19, 2014, 02:36:19 pm
Yes.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 19, 2014, 05:25:50 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 19, 2014, 05:49:30 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 19, 2014, 06:32:21 pm
No, no, no, that's not right at all. It didn't quite hold, as if someone had only half-cleaned a window instead of making it immaculate and easy to peer through, the image is fuzzy, not clear and crisp as it should be.
Morton tries again, trying to push his body just a nudge more in synch with how it should be, how it is, that clear and crisp idea in his mind so sharply that it could cut crystal. His body heals, but it's not healing as it should just yet, not as the idea in his mind.
Second time's the charm, fix the first time!
Post by: Tomcost on February 19, 2014, 07:02:29 pm
The Gub said that they were the sea itself, right? Then there should be something in the water of the strait, the place which should have been used for getting to the city, right?
Post by: killerhellhound on February 19, 2014, 07:16:41 pm
((Well it looks fun))
Post by: Nunzillor on February 19, 2014, 11:34:57 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 20, 2014, 01:02:21 am
Higher tonight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Sm84C-9cA)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 20, 2014, 01:32:31 am
SALES PITCH
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 20, 2014, 08:59:20 am
Kevin, guessing Lizzie isn't so good at taking hints, tries to tell her that he can't really communicate through interpretive dance through the means currently available to him - interpretive dance!
[Kevin's interpretive dance roll: 6]
His first move is to artistically flop to the ground, his hands closing in quickly around his throat, and on the stony floor of the terrace he thusly gyrates, conveying the unspeakable torment of speechlessness and needing to explain to everyone else from now on how he can't actually speak and how problematic it is to explain speech while you are personally incapable of it. Then again, at least Kevin gets to practice his interpretive dance skills, so maybe speechlessness isn't so bad, the realization of which makes his dance a little more confused than is strictly necessary.
"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something, but-" Lizzie begins, but then seems to get the point already, at which point she facepalms visibly, but soundlessly. "You can't speak. I'm an idiot," she states, shaking her head. A moment later, her voice is in Kevin's head.
~Is this better? What happened to you?~
In a barracks area of some kind...
Niklas, feeling the need to become free more acutely than ever, tries to thrash about. Sadly, it seems that his shape is kept the way it is by some supernatural force - a force that is entirely beyond his control right now, it appears.
At least the rest of the people seem to be getting it together - the armored, sweating guy from earlier has arrived, and seems to be taking stock of the situation. He speaks with the rest for a moment, then quickly leaves. Minutes pass like hours, and soon the floating fat lady arrives, examining the absence of the room above with a small measure of annoyance mixed with what looks like amusement. She examines the chair statue in front of her for a moment, then raises one sausage-like finger at it. Pieces of stone begin to slowly peel off Niklas as a result.
In a basement of a familiar house...
Scott can't resist the lure of a well-made puzzle box. It's practically begging to be solved! He concentrates on the thing and tries to move some of the articulated parts.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 6]
In doing so, he rather overestimates the mechanisms durability, accidentally yanking out a rather sizable bit and exposing part of the inside of the mechanism - the whole thing looks a bit broken now, and further attempts to manipulate it only seem to make things worse. The box seems rather ruined now, and bits of polished wood and metal parts now seem to be on the ground. Interestingly, the center of the thing appears to be glowing oddly.
On the Second Shank...
Morton, who really does hate leaving a job half-done, tries to finish up this enchantment and get himself to heal properly. After all, when you've geared your entire mind toward this sort of thing, you might as well do whatever you were going to do as best you were able - he finds it unlikely that he'll have several hours of free time later, anyway. Concentrating on his mental image, he tries to bring himself in sync with it once more.
[Morton's enchantment roll: 1]
As he exerts his will again, however, something seems to go wrong - whether it is his resolve weakening or the effects of the chant wearing off, he can't tell, but, rather than bringing the images in his mind and the reality closer together, the differences become amplified instead - his body is weak and fragile, and it shall never attain an ideal shape, the doubt in his mind goes, and Morton, for a split second, accidentally focuses on it, and things go downhill from there. The idea of healing fades completely from his mind, and suddenly he is there, on the ship, feeling cold, empty and alone - he isn't sure how he realized this, but Morton now knows one thing - he is weakening. He is dying. And he doesn't know if anyone can help him.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund continues his trek through the city, abandoning prospects of tower exploration for now. This time, he approaches the Doom Strait, hoping to divine more about the gub from its waters. A preliminary examination reveals that it is indeed water he is looking at - it is a little difficult to say more about it without rolling inside, and whether that's a good idea is certainly something up for quite a bit of debate.
Elsewhere, Mark thinks that now is the best time for breaking out his finest moves, he runs up to the guy and joins in on the dancing.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. Dancing Man: 5 vs. 4]
And his best moves are impressive indeed - though the fearful, sweating man next to him does his very best in trying to imitate him, he is a little slow on the rhythm, and clearly doesn't have the requisite practice necessary to keep up choreographically with someone made of metal and possessed of amazing dexterity. The dolphins seem to notice this as well, and set upon Mark's inferior, who, while he valiantly punches two assailants, is mercilessly bitten by the other three, and tries to retreat while bleeding more than is strictly healthy for a man his age. When he tries to retreat, the dolphins begin to hiss and flop menacingly, which seems to cow the fellow sufficiently for him to resume dancing, though it looks like his wounds have given him quite the handicap.
In the streets of the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to salvage his sales pitch from the initial hit that one kid knowing what he's talking about gave it.
"Yes, it's true that the pets are a little unusual, and it's true that the owner is a little unusual, but she just wants a home for the little critters. They just want a home. You folks, automatons, seem like the sort that would do well with them."
"What kind of pets are they? And I do object to you calling us automatons. It's disrespectful. We're citizens, you know!"
"My mom said she's dangerous, Mr. Street Performer! And my mom doesn't lie to me, I think."
Post by: killerhellhound on February 20, 2014, 09:07:28 am
((From now on all battles I fight in are dance battles sometimes including swords, halberds and fish))
Post by: Tomcost on February 20, 2014, 09:21:05 am
Get in between the dolphins and the man then challenge the dolphins to a dance off through interpretive dance((I honestly wonder if that bonus to fighting sea creatures also applies to dance fights))
((From now on all battles I fight in are dance battles sometimes including swords, halberds and fish))
Damned lack of limbs, Sigmund thought. Well, time to look for someone reasonable here, maybe he wasn't able to speak, but someone who isn't totally insane may be able to help him.
Look for Morton
Post by: miauw62 on February 20, 2014, 10:35:32 am
~Thanks for saving me from that hellhole, by the way.~
Post by: Xantalos on February 20, 2014, 11:29:49 am
Ask many questions.
((Torkel had to get that trait from somewhere after all.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 20, 2014, 11:31:58 am
~As I said, I quite literally sang my lungs out while trying to appease or murder a priest of death.~
~Thanks for saving me from that hellhole, by the way.~
~Happy to help, for what it's worth. Want to go inside, maybe?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 20, 2014, 11:42:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 20, 2014, 11:44:54 am
~Sure, I'd love to see this place from the inside. Is this your house?~
~Actually, it's my boss. It's complicated.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 20, 2014, 11:54:54 am
Post by: Innsmothe on February 20, 2014, 05:34:07 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 20, 2014, 06:24:18 pm
I'm afraid it may be more of a patch than a true fix though, which worries me, so I'm not sure if I should go with that or instead just try enchanting himself with healing once again to fix his mess-up.]
~Stay calm and alert.~
Morton echoed these thoughts, unsure of how much time he might have left. He has to press on, a simple slip cannot be the end of him, the desk had so much to do, so much to see! He has tea to make and share, people to meet and interact with! He cannot lose his second chance, not yet, not now.
Trying to stay calm and collected, the desk immediately heads straight into the listening chant, knowing that this may be his last chance if he doesn't get it right. Morton just has to fix this, and everything will be alright.
An idea is already forming in his mind, as he spies his old tea. When things go wrong, there's always tea.
Listening Chant!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2014, 01:58:42 pm
Mark tries to get between the dolphins and the dancing man and challenge them to a dance-off. Leaping into action and interposing himself deftly, he successfully catches the dolphins' attention, then attempts to convey his idea to them through interpretive dance.
[Mark's interpretive dance roll: 5]
They seem to get the idea rather well, though only one chooses to participate in the contest that ensues - a diminutive dolphin compared to the others, yet one that possesses a peculiar fire in its eyes.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. LD: 6 vs. 6]
Mark is doing his best and breaking out moves that, if not illegal around these parts, certainly should be! And despite the fact that Mark wonders if he should be on the lookout for any authorities, because he's not sure he could convince any who arrive that one could possibly be holding this much sexiness strictly for personal use, the dolphin seems to be equally as good. The spectacle is surely one to behold, and the dolphins appear to be both curious about the eventual result and amazed at the prowess displayed.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. LD: 5 vs. 3]
And yet, despite its raw talent and almost supernatural skill, it proves to ultimately be inferior, slowing down as its inferior biology tries to keep it from hurting itself, and the other dolphins look quite disappointed. The largest dolphin, a very gray and scarred creature of uncertain age, quickly leaps at its compatriot, pushing it out of the way and flopping out in front of Mark, looking intent on testing his skill in another fashion - it balances carefully on its tail, then bows politely before shimmying up to his adversary and putting its flippers on him - one on his hand, another on his midsection (well, spine, really). The other dolphins, apart from the little one, who retreats into the channel in shame, begin to beat a lively rhythm by flopping on the ground.
In a decidedly calmer spot not too far away, Sigmund comes to the realization that he dearly, terribly misses his best desk friend. Maybe he could prove helpful?
Sadly, though, he only runs into some crossroads, which aren't too bad while he's idly rolling about, but now that he is actively seeking something, the multiple choices have become so very confusing! Also, he has no idea where to begin to look, so there's that.
In a barracks area of some kind...
Niklas figures he needs some questions answered here - his knowledge of past events has been notoriously spotty lately.
"Hey! Hey floating lady! Where was I? Did you eat the food I made? How long have I been gone? Where am I? What's your name so I don't accidentally call you fat? Would you take offense to me calling you fat?"
Sadly, though, the peeling of the stone around him is a little too slow for his voice to come across too clearly. Nevertheless, the fat lady seems to hear him.
"My name is Mistress Redding to you, chair. And I do admit that the way you got out of that room was promising, if impractical. Next time, try subverting the structural enchantment in a less explosive way. And I certainly would not take offense to being called fat. It is a mark of my mastery."
On a roof terrace far away from Mothdale...
Kevin is intrigued by stories, and thus asks Lizzie to share the complicated tale of the building the two of them are currently standing on.
~I'm not in a hurry, so if you don't mind to tell me, I'd be glad to hear.~
~Very well. You know how there's eight masters in the BCM? Well, my mistress not only runs a tower of her own, she actually is the tower. There's a bit more to it than that, of course, but that's about the most basic gist of it. She absolutely loves being the way she is as far as I can tell, since it absolves her of a whole lot of responsibility while letting her experiment willy-nilly in the basements that nobody else can reach. Naturally, I have to pick up the slack after a fashion, and so, as you can imagine, I have a really busy schedule most of the time.~
~I'm actually not sure how much of what I think and say she is aware of - I have many countermeasures currently in place to prevent her from spying on me too much, but I suspect that she may be finding ways around those even as we speak. She is quite capable at multitasking, and probably considers it good practice. Much more unfortunately, she also likes practical jokes. A lot. So be careful around here, yes?~
In a basement with a puzzle box...
Scott, seeing no point in turning away from his path of destruction, tries to peel away the rest of the box so that he can get to the glowy center beneath the layers of wood and metal.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 3]
The inner bits, though, prove a little more stubborn, as they seem to be connected with the shiny thing! Though he makes some headway, the thing is far from free. He can see from here, though, that it is indeed just as pretty a glowy thing as he has ever beheld, and he feels like it would be something rather valuable to make off with.
On the Second Shank...
Morton, though currently uncannily aware of his own mortality, nevertheless tries to collect his thoughts, and tries another time to chant the Chant of Listening - given how he just chanted it a few hours ago, it proves simple, and the fading of his own thoughts is a very welcome thing right now. Though the sensation of doom does not fade entirely, it still moves to the very back of his mind - instead, he hears the sounds of... something bumping up against the ship? That's interesting.
Post by: Xantalos on February 21, 2014, 02:04:26 pm
Also what was that about a structural enchantment?
Post by: miauw62 on February 21, 2014, 02:08:15 pm
~And I thought I had seen some shit.~
~Shall we go inside, then?~
Post by: Tomcost on February 21, 2014, 02:14:24 pm
((I suppose that if I roll a 6 I will find Mark, right?))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 21, 2014, 03:46:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2014, 04:53:23 pm
I'm actually a Northerner in the body of a chair but okay. Did you get the food I made for you? I spent quite a while on it, and it looks quite beautiful!
Also what was that about a structural enchantment?
"I didn't receive any food, and am very disappointed about that. See to it that errors like that don't happen again."
"And structural enchantments are common for practice rooms, as well as important buildings. As you can see, they have certain weaknesses, but they usually do work exceedingly well against forces that aren't directly sabotaging the magic. Try not to fool around with them - you are rather lucky that the tower did not collapse on top of you."
((I can hear the We Will Rock You beat being flopped by dolphins now.))
~And I thought I had seen some shit.~
~Shall we go inside, then?~
~That would be preferable, yes. I've always preferred being indoors, myself,~ Lizzie tells you, raising her hand and pointing at a nearby staircase leading downward. ~Watch out for missing or trapped steps, by the way. Navigating stairs here can be a little tricky at times.~
Post by: Xantalos on February 21, 2014, 05:31:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2014, 05:40:13 pm
Where is the room I was in? the food was in there. It was a statue of a balrus!
"I am currently peeling said room off you. I presume it has not met the best of ends."
Post by: Xantalos on February 21, 2014, 05:43:28 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2014, 05:45:43 pm
Aww, I spent a while on that. How long was I in there?
"I put you in there... maybe slightly more than a week ago? It was long enough for me to forget you existed, at any rate."
Post by: Xantalos on February 21, 2014, 05:49:25 pm
So what happens now?
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 21, 2014, 06:02:30 pm
Well, I did have to mulch up the tree you gave me with only an awl.
So what happens now?
"I could accept you as an initiate - you'll just go kill yourself elsewhere if I don't. And I could teach you more about power and such. In limited quantities, naturally."
Post by: Xantalos on February 21, 2014, 06:15:31 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 21, 2014, 06:50:30 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 22, 2014, 03:42:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2014, 01:20:26 pm
Sigmund, guessing that his buddy Morton is probably beyond his ability to find at the moment, closes his eyes and rolls in a random direction for a while. After a while, he does find somebody - looks like Art! He appears to be skulking down the street, glancing around himself carefully and nervously. Sigmund wonders what the problem might be.
[Sigmund's dodge roll: 6-1-1]
Just then, he senses a shift of the wind - the sound is unmistakably of something descending on him, he believes, and so immediately rolls aside - good thing, too, as his previous position seems to immediately get covered with some kind of semi-transparent... bag of liquid? It's a very strange-looking thing, and seems to be moving of its own volition - something tells Sigmund its intentions aren't entirely good-natured.
Elsewhere, Mark continues with his quest to prove himself once and for all as the single best dancer in all the multiverse one danceoff at a time. Getting into the new beat, he and his dolphin dance partner whirl around, each hoping to upstage the other in their tango.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. Largo: 5 vs. 4]
And though the large dolphin started out in a favorable position, Mark quickly takes the lead, spinning his partner around wildly and with passion, and his opponent simply cannot resist the sheer charisma of his adversary, and ultimately begins to willingly submit in the dance. The other dolphins look rather ashamed of their companion's submission, though they don't appear quite ready to give up - instead, they start to change up the beat instead every couple seconds or so.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. Largo: 3 vs. 1]
And though this confuses Mark quite a bit, the large dolphin seems to take it even worse, fouling up even the most basic steps. Mark wonders if dolphins simply aren't made to dance as well as the creatures of dry land. Their stratagem having failed, the strange dolphin leaps into action, punting the large one away rather simply and quickly. Mark notices the other dolphins open their mouths - strangely, no sound seems to come out, but the strange dolphin begins to slowly dance anyway. Perhaps it can hear something he can't?
In a dark basement...
Scott decides to go with something brutal, yet simple for his next trick - smashing the box against the wall. This is going to be rather satisfying, he suspects.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 2]
The box is really heavy, though. Even though it's made of metal, Scott didn't really expect it to be that heavy. Also, the glowy center's emitted light flickers a little, he notices. He wonders if he might have broken it somehow.
In a barracks area of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas makes it clear that he is always up for power.
"Sure! Power is good!" he says, and as Mistress Redding peels away the extraneous layers of wall shards, he feels himself lift off the ground - once he has been reduced to a manageable lump of shattered stone, she appears to have chosen to just pick him up and move on rather than bother too much with details like making sure Niklas can walk under his own power.
"Firstly, you require a new body. Your first task is to go get one. I'm sure someone around here can help you. Make sure to ask nicely and politely of course. Perhaps make some offers, bargains, or choose other methods - all you need is to get someone to help you, obviously," the lady says, depositing Niklas in the middle of a rather sizable hall that people seem to occasionally walk through. "If you succeed, you will solve several problems, and that would be, of course, desirable. Also, it will be great practice for when you're older and more powerful. Good luck," she explains, then slowly floats off.
At the top of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin, duly warned about the dangers of stairs in the sentient tower, carefully descends, Lizzie following closely behind. Fortunately, the traps that are on the stairs are fairly easy to spot - tripwires linked to buckets, steps that seem to have been replaced with strange-looking portals into dark dimensions, puddles of suspicious liquids Kevin rather would not investigate and more of that sort. They walk down several flights before Lizzie indicates that Kevin should step through a particular door, which he does, immediately finding himself in a somewhat dank stone imitation of an elegant parlor - though much of it seems to have been painted to resemble a room that some might describe as elegant, the monolithic decor is very much present here as well, and the room looks more to have grown from the walls, floor and ceiling rather than been furnished.
~This is sort of an emergency guest receiving area - not really a place to take high rollers, as you can tell from the state of the place. This is more for unexpected guests, and guests that aren't too politically important. And though you're technically both of those, it's more because you're the former that I took you here. Didn't have any places booked right now, you understand,~ Lizzie explains in Kevin's head before taking a seat. ~You do have to give her a hand for trying so hard with this room, though. I think she learned to change color specifically for this room.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 22, 2014, 01:24:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2014, 01:32:28 pm
~As I said, this is entirely unlike anything I've seen before. Very interesting. What did you mean by "booked"? Is this some sort of crazy hotel?~
~Oh, no. As you've seen, my mistress gets... frivolous at times, and the decor could certainly use some work. So I usually just meet people in other places when I have to. She also prefers it that way, I think, as she has enough to deal with courtesy of my underlings. They do tend to make quite a few messes,~ Lizzie says, and, as if to punctuate her statement, the tower creaks rather loudly. ~Ooh, there goes another room. Wonder if she's remodeling some more?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 22, 2014, 01:38:57 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2014, 01:49:39 pm
~Oh, I see.~
~Yes. So, anyway, I was wondering about one thing, Kevin. How'd you like to try an experiment? It'll be fun.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 22, 2014, 01:51:00 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 22, 2014, 04:15:59 pm
~Well, I don't really have anything better to do right now, so why not?~
~I'm glad you feel enthusiastic,~ Lizzie says, placing her hands on your shoulders gently. ~Now, this thing I'll try will be a bit... unusual, let's say. And it involves souls. You still up for it?~
Post by: Xantalos on February 22, 2014, 05:24:31 pm
Go up to the first person I see and ask if they can help me get a new body. Describe my original form if they can help. If not, move on to the next person. Repeat until done.
If necessary, ask Torkel, Helsvar, and Tree Guy if they know anything about replacing bodies.
Post by: Tomcost on February 22, 2014, 05:53:50 pm
((This is the moment to regret not having chosen the other perk right?))
Post by: Xantalos on February 22, 2014, 06:00:55 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 22, 2014, 06:25:56 pm
((Well, what was your other perk?))This:
Yeah... No
Post by: Xantalos on February 22, 2014, 06:35:08 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 22, 2014, 07:22:21 pm
Main idea so far is enchanting the old tea further to wash away any magical properties of an object it splashes on. Best bet I got and I'm not a betting man, I don't trust my luck.]
While Morton feels haste is of the matter, the chants still take some time, and he may not have it considering whatever bumped the ship. The butler mentally debated continuing on and checking out whatever bumped the ship for a short while before ultimately resigning that at the worst it will just be a slight delay.
The desk quickly, and quietly if possible, heads to the deck (with his tea making supplies) to see what bumped the ship. The tea apostle hopes that it isn't anything dangerous.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 22, 2014, 07:48:44 pm
((I feel sorry for novices in chuch if Mark becomes a god "Here is a statue of Mark the Undead doctor, God of !!MEDICINE!! second chances and Dance" Novice:"lolwat"))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 22, 2014, 09:09:25 pm
Keep the sales pitch going.
Post by: miauw62 on February 23, 2014, 04:10:29 am
Post by: Innsmothe on February 23, 2014, 06:38:33 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2014, 07:20:48 am
~Is it dangerous?~
~I don't think so. I've tried it a few times, though I can't vouch for the long-term effects.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 23, 2014, 07:46:10 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 23, 2014, 08:36:04 am
Hmm. Seems useful. What'd you pick?I picked:
Tedium Mastery
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2014, 03:04:59 pm
Niklas feels quite capable of getting somebody to help him. He is, after all, notoriously lovable.
His first attempt to go up to someone is interrupted by his complete inability to walk, given how he is still trapped in a block of stone shards his new mistress had been too lazy to peel off. Nevertheless, he perseveres, shouting for someone nearby to come closer, since he is highly unlikely to bite in his current state.
Sadly, though, people seem intent on avoiding him for some reason. Maybe being a shouting rock isn't a desirable quality people look for in new friends these days.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund, struck by a sudden sense of imminent doom, decides to run from the goofy slime that appears to want him dead. Or, to be exact, roll away in a speedy fashion.
[Sigmund's escape roll: 2-1]
[Cloud Jelly's pursuit roll: 4-1]
Sigmund tries to roll away, but the jelly proves faster, slinking toward him in a dreadfully slow, yet nonetheless dreadful and inescapable fashion.
[Cloud Jelly vs. Sigmund: 1 vs. 1-1]
The jelly puts one of its edges on Sigmund, which makes Sigmund's flesh tingle for reasons that Sigmund dares not guess. And what's more, Art seems to have decided to go the other way, presumably having decided that a battle between a giant worm and a slime is something he had best not witness.
Elsewhere, a battle of a different nature ensues as Mark tries to dance his adversary into submission.
[Danceoff: Mark vs. McStrange: 5-1 vs. 2]
And though the strange dolphin has the advantage of knowing what the beat is, it simply does not have the grace, style and panache of a proper dance duelist, and once Mark has studied its movements sufficiently, it proves very easy to beat indeed, as Mark, unlike his opponent, has had time to truly warm up first. As the strange dolphin shrinks back, knowing that it and all its brethren have been defeated as soundly as asthmatic children in a 100 meter sprint, shrieks in a manner most horrid and lunges at Mark.
[McStrange vs. Mark: 2+1+1+1 vs. 4+2+1]
Mark, however, simply steps aside as the dolphin flies past him. They appear to be sore losers, hm. Just as he considers his best method of dealing with such insufferable behavior, he notices another dolphin, one with a very prominent beak, rocketing at him from its previous position in a way that makes him seriously consider scavenging its tail muscles after he's done with these creatures.
[Beakley vs. Mark: 3+1+1+3 vs. 4+3]
This one is much more difficult to dodge, but Mark somehow manages to duck in a timely enough fashion, dropping to the ground, then getting back up like it wasn't no thing. His eyes rest on the third dolphin, who seems to be baring its teeth and making screechy noises. After a moment of this, it also tries to leap at Mark, but its mighty lunge proves insufficient to reach him, and it has to content itself with a standing attack instead.
[Screechy vs. Mark: 6+1+1 vs. 1+3]
But this does not seem to bother it too much, as it merely locks its jaws around Mark's right leg, then rips it right off, ball joint and everything, with its preternatural anger-assisted dolphin strength, which is something Mark most certainly did not expect. Mark notices a very satisfied gleam in its eyes as the dolphin begins to swing the leg around menacingly, apparently intent on harming Mark with it further.
On the Second Shank...
Morton perhaps unwisely decides to use his listening abilities to go and check what that bumping sound was - given that this strait led into the Sea of Death, he would say that it can't have been anything good. So he shuffles up the stairs and out onto the deck, taking his tea supplies along in case of trouble.
Looking over the side of the ship, he quickly notices what appears to be a some kind of strange, organic mound placed next to the ship - swimming around it appear to be walruses. For some reason, he gets a bad feeling - he isn't sure why. Walruses aren't known to be ominous portents or anything, at least not usually.
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren tries to convince the kids that there is nothing to be afraid of from the weird pet store lady aside from her being weird.
"She's not dangerous to you, whether you're ghosts or citizens, unless you make her angry. She's actually a very nice lady, when she's feeling okay."
"That actually applies to most ghosts around here. Question is, how often is she feeling okay and how easy is it to anger her?"
"Indeed."
"Yeah, is she one of those moody ghosts?"
"Moody ghosts are real dangerous, my mom says!"
In a dark basement...
Scott goes closer to examine the glowy center - he concludes that it looks very glowy indeed. It's difficult to see much of it, given how it is mostly obscured by the box. It does look pretty mystical from here, though. Wonder what it might be? And why is its light flickering so softly and almost imperceptibly?
It's a mystery currently, he supposes.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin doesn't need much convincing to take part in Lizzie's experiment - after all, she's trustworthy, right?
~Alright then, let's do it.~
~Okay, here goes.~
Suddenly, Kevin is overwhelmed by a very painful sensation spreading through his body, followed by a very pronounced sense of loss as his soul is ripped out of his body, flowing into Lizzie. The next minute or so is... unclear. Visions play back in her mind. He remembers the subjects - there would be some crossing over of bits, as the separation could not be enforced completely afterwards. She feels very confused by the sudden duality of his past experience. And staring at his prone body on the ground, its soul so forcefully removed, was a bit disquieting as well - she had miscalculated a bit. That's what happens when you practice with fortified servants, obviously, he thinks disdainfully.
She should try to separate them soon, though. Otherwise there might be more mixing than he desires, as interesting and new as the current state may be. If this works out without issue, it would be interesting to repeat. Perhaps the physiological losses that undeath entailed were highly desirable indeed if they paved the way to something like this. The emptiness of lovers' rhetoric about unity is more apparent than ever now.
What's happening to her? Why is his body over there? This was supposed to not be dangerous, man! It looks pretty dangerous from here! He looks pretty dead! Hm... it is probably more dangerous when the soul manipulator is also the subject, she guesses. But that was an unnecessary detail to mention at the time. Luckily, he seems to have retained most of the control in the current interplay of souls, even with the happening diffusion. Question was how much time she had to bask, really. The longer he waited, the more diffusion would happen.
Post by: miauw62 on February 23, 2014, 03:10:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2014, 03:24:18 pm
~What...?~
It is a very good question, you think. This certainly is a sensation very few get to ever experience. You could definitely see this as becoming very fashionable among the less alive circles of society, particularly longer-lived ones like yourself. It's like rediscovering yourself all over again. Easy enrichment.
Post by: Xantalos on February 23, 2014, 03:57:34 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 23, 2014, 07:46:53 pm
Keep rolling away
EDIT
((Sorry for my former reaction, but I can't understand what was that. Maybe a 7 in a charge roll?
Post by: killerhellhound on February 23, 2014, 08:28:10 pm
((+1 to dexterity don't fail me now))
Post by: Nunzillor on February 23, 2014, 11:00:32 pm
Did you know that dolphins are the only mammal besides humans that kill each other for fun? They are also known to commit suicide.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 23, 2014, 11:27:44 pm
While the desk has plenty of questions about the situation, many that he would love to ask, but at the moment he feels a touch like he should be expedient. A plan was forming in his mind, one he hoped to see to fruition.
He'll get back to the Dancing Fly--perhaps he should call it the Delightful Cup? Dancing Drink? Apostle's Abode? Oh, he liked that one! Wait-no-Morton, focus! The butler planed on getting back to the Apostle's Abode and making some tea quickly. While the lesser quality of the water pains him, its crucial.
Then, to enchant the tea to wash away the enchantment on himself, if he can do that then everything will be right as rain again and Morton can say he's learned a valuable lesson in never enchanting one's self without being very, very careful.
[Chances of survival? I'm not sure if Morton is on a ticking clock and degrading constantly, or if attacks on his person will be aggravated terribly, but both worry me.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2014, 12:29:25 am
((Sorry for my former reaction, but I can't understand what was that. Maybe a 7 in a charge roll?
A 6 in the charge roll, actually. Maybe I should dial those bonuses back a bit.
Post by: Yoink on February 24, 2014, 12:43:10 am
"Uh, uh, I's real, real reallyreally sorries! I-I-I um, I just, um, let's us just be gets you outta dis hole, yes?! You's not needs a worries, it nah too bad, we fixes you up real good, yep, I's a helps you gets better, we is got plenties a' foods, it's alrighties, Timothy is makes all better..."
He goes on mumbling worriedly like this, doing his best to reassure the fellow as he tries to lift him from the wreckage.
>Slowly, carefully lift the man from the collapsed tavern and place him gently on the ground near the food-ball. Inspect his injuries more closely, and try to figure out what I can do to fix him.
>If I see either his girlfriend or his weird dog approaching me menacingly, fly directly up in the air to a safe distance!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 24, 2014, 12:45:16 am
With an internal sigh, Darren decided it was not yet time to give up hope. Now, was she a moody ghost? He'd have to say yes.
"If you're afraid of her, how about I bring the pets to you? You don't have to meet her, she gets to move some pets."
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2014, 12:47:39 am
Kids these days... Back in my day, I would have jumped at the chance to run around with a puppy made of knives.
With an internal sigh, Darren decided it was not yet time to give up hope. Now, was she a moody ghost? He'd have to say yes.
"If you're afraid of her, how about I bring the pets to you? You don't have to meet her, she gets to move some pets."
"Sounds agreeable, as long as you keep the pets at a safe distance."
"Yes. Agreeable."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 24, 2014, 01:01:24 am
"I'll go and tell her the news, then."Kids these days... Back in my day, I would have jumped at the chance to run around with a puppy made of knives.
With an internal sigh, Darren decided it was not yet time to give up hope. Now, was she a moody ghost? He'd have to say yes.
"If you're afraid of her, how about I bring the pets to you? You don't have to meet her, she gets to move some pets."
"Sounds agreeable, as long as you keep the pets at a safe distance."
"Yes. Agreeable."
Head back to the pet store and tell her about the idea.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 24, 2014, 03:29:33 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 24, 2014, 06:29:11 am
((When Niklas got a 6 in a charge roll, he got only a +2. Just pointing that out))((Sorry for my former reaction, but I can't understand what was that. Maybe a 7 in a charge roll?
A 6 in the charge roll, actually. Maybe I should dial those bonuses back a bit.
Post by: Xantalos on February 24, 2014, 06:37:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 24, 2014, 06:48:36 am
((Charge roll?))((When Kevin shouted NIKLAS, CHARGE! during the bookstore heist. You rolled a 6, and so you were given a +2 bonus in that attack, that resulted in one of the guards exploding in gore against a wall))
Post by: Xantalos on February 24, 2014, 06:56:30 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 24, 2014, 07:32:29 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 24, 2014, 07:39:10 am
((I really want one of our characters to become a god just for the awesome factor))((I bet that the Artiste wants that))
Post by: miauw62 on February 24, 2014, 09:52:22 am
Magic, look for magic. I have to get back to my body.
((Ripping this ordeal apart is probably dangerous, but it may become nigh impossible if I wait too long.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2014, 11:04:34 am
((When Niklas got a 6 in a charge roll, he got only a +2. Just pointing that out))
Luckily, it didn't matter this time.
Post by: Tomcost on February 24, 2014, 12:36:10 pm
((Yeah. Sorry again for my former reaction, that advantage just felt like something out of place considering the way you run this game))((When Niklas got a 6 in a charge roll, he got only a +2. Just pointing that out))
Luckily, it didn't matter this time.
*Tomcost walks back to old boring Obsessive Internal Consistency City
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 24, 2014, 04:36:04 pm
Niklas, having found mere walking impossible, tries jumping instead. This attempt seems doomed to fail as well - after all, jumping does require far more strength than mere shuffling about. And he doesn't really have any way to move his legs, or the rest of his body, for that matter. Things look grim for his continued mobility prospects, he has to say.
"Maybe you could tell them you have candy, dad!"
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund, hoping rather dearly that he isn't about to die in a manner as excruciating as he thinks being slowly digested by a slime might be, tries to keep on rolling onward.
[Sigmund's escape roll: 4-1]
[Cloud Jelly's pursuit roll: 1-1]
And he does manage to get to a decent pace - in fact, he seems to be fast enough that the slime appears to decide that pursuing him isn't worth it, and simply flaps upward and away, forming a flattened, cloudlike shape as it takes to the skies, leaving Sigmund quietly hoping that any other vicious creatures he encounters will be just as easy to dissuade from snacking on his stolen flesh.
Elsewhere, Mark decides that being able to run away whenever you damn well please is probably the best part about not giving a rat's ass about what people think, and so tries to hop away after getting up, utilizing his halberd as a crutch.
[Mark's escape roll: 5+1-1]
[Screechy's pursuit roll: 1]
[McStrange's pursuit roll: 1]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 4]
He soon realizes that the halberd's really only holding him back, and instead hops rapidly, utilizing his ability at vertical ascent to run up a nearby stairway and get on a roof - this seems to be enough to lose two of the dolphins, who lack the proper anatomy to ascend stairs, while one is merely delayed, somehow climbing to the roof only about fifteen seconds after Mark has ascended - it seems to have jumped upward from the water, actually.
[Mark's escape roll: 5]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 4]
As Mark jumps to another rooftop from this one, the final dolphin tries its best to follow, but it is difficult for it to do so, granting Mark some precious distance as he hops for his life.
[Mark's escape roll: 4]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 4]
Now, though, the dolphin seems to be getting into a rhythm - when Mark jumps to another building, the dolphin seems to have less trouble following him, even though it is relatively far off. Hopefully it would tire out its sea-adapted muscles soonish, as Mark isn't sure if he can keep this up for too long.
[Mark's escape roll: 1]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 2]
Just as Mark thinks this, he actually miscalculates the next jump somewhat, and nearly falls down, only managing to hang on by the fingers on one hand, and though he does climb back up as quickly as he can, the dolphin has gotten much closer in the time he took to do it.
[Mark's escape roll: 6]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 5]
And while the dolphin seems to taste blood in the air, which seems to motivate it, the approach of the crazed mammal motivates Mark to do much better on his next jump, and he scales a rather perilous gap with some effort - the dolphin will have quite a bit of difficulty following him here.
[Mark's escape roll: 1]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 4]
Which makes it all the more surprising when the dolphin simply coils up in an unnatural fashion, then performs a mighty springlike leap, practically landing right next to Mark within moments.
[Mark's escape roll: 5]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 3]
Mark, thinking that his momentary advantage has been nullified, slides down a nearby chimney - the beaked dolphin is clearly far too large to follow effectively, he thinks.
[Mark's escape roll: 5]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 2]
It's a bit surprising when it actually tries to do this, in fact, and doesn't really seem to get stuck - instead, it appears to be slowly moving downward through very deliberate movements and controlled breathing. A very impressive feat indeed, Mark thinks, and quickly hops out of the house and into the streets, jumping away for about ten minutes through various detours until he becomes absolutely sure that no dolphins are following him. Now it's time for phase two, he thinks, and goes looking for his friends - almost immediately after he hops out of the alley, he notices a rather familiar ducklike shape flying his way - Evelyn. She seems to be flying somewhat evasively, and once she notices Mark, she immediately addresses him.
~We are leaving in no more than two hours. Regroup at the large tower at the center of town. Pass on the message. Get everyone you can. The Captain is a priority. Do not fool around.~
After relaying this message, she immediately flies off. Huh.
Aboard the Second Shank...
Morton chooses to obey his bad feeling as well as he is able, as he hasn't ever had a bad feeling about anything that was all that good, and heads down into the streets, trundling back to the Dancing Fly to take cover. As he moves through the streets, he tries not to attract any attention.
[Morton's dodge roll: 1-1-1]
However, just as he thinks he is about to be home free, only about a hundred or so meters away from turning into the street that the Dancing Fly is on, a bird swoops down from the sky, its beak held out like a mighty lance. Before Morton even notices it, the bird's beak tears right into the middle of his top surface, the resulting massive crack proving enough to split the desk in half, leaving an arm and drawers on one side while another arm is left on the opposite side. Even the bird looks more than a bit dazed from the impact, though it seems to realize after a few pecks that Morton probably isn't exactly what it might have been looking for, and promptly begins to fly away.
[Morton's will roll: 3]
Even considering all else that has happened to him, Morton does have to say that this is probably the most traumatic, senseless and terrible event that he has experienced ever since he burned to death all those years ago. The sheer shock of it makes him feel a tad... blunted mentally, as if something has fundamentally failed in the world just now.
At a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy resolves to help the poor guy with the crushed legs before his girlfriend gets back, and immediately flies down to him and tries to apologize.
"Uh, uh, I's real, real reallyreally sorries! I-I-I um, I just, um, let's us just be gets you outta dis hole, yes?! You's not needs a worries, it nah too bad, we fixes you up real good, yep, I's a helps you gets better, we is got plenties a' foods, it's alrighties, Timothy is makes all better..."
The man looks to be have entered a somewhat interesting state of mind from the excruciating pain.
"Yeah... it's alright, I guess? I think my spine might have shut off from the pain... good riddance, too... what good was it doing me, hahahah... hah... aw, shit, that still hurts..."
Timothy thinks he should be delivered to a safer place. Say, next to a pile of food, for instance.
[Timothy's telekinesis roll: 5]
Working quite expertly for once, Timothy gently lifts the man from the basement, making sure to put him outside next to all the food. Though the dog vibrates uncertainly at the sight, Timothy ignores it, and is done in record time with a record zero additional inflicted injuries. With that done, Timothy inspects the man whose sudden lack of coherency and leg movement he is responsible for - an examination reveals that his legs aren't in all that bad of a shape - one's broken in two places, the other only in one - that shouldn't be too hard to fix!
In the engineers' quarter of the City of the Dead...
Darren guesses he can accept a halfway-agreement like this - once they see all the knife-puppies and so forth, they'll probably want whatever that lady can sell them.
"I'll go and tell her the news, then."
"Do so."
"But we'll still need to see the pets, you know."
Darren keeps that in mind, and quickly floats back to the pet store, where the lady is drifting about, adjusting the weapon pets on occasion. She looks over at Darren.
"Ah! Welcome! Welcome to my store! There are many pets here that await new homes! You must buy one!" she says excitedly. Darren isn't sure she recognizes him, actually.
In a dark basement...
Scott, quite intent on determining what the glowy really is and how he can use it to become rich, powerful and attractive, imagines that the box is like a metallic orange - to get at the possibly good bits, he must first remove the damnably useless coating.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 3]
He does manage to peel back one layer of parts, but he gets no further on the stubborn box before it wantonly flashes with light, and suddenly Scott sees the room around him completely transform from a dank basement to a rather expansive, austerely-decorated library about two floors deep. At the bottom floor, he notices an ancient creature that looks to have been once a perfectly ordinary, if ancient man, but now seems to be more dust than flesh, so brownish-gray and earthy is his look. The man shoots Scott a look of extreme disdain, one that makes Scott wonder if he shouldn't just turn around and float off instead of choosing to be here a second longer.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin thinks that she needs to find magic and get him into the body. This is very important. She is convinced of it. And, to not let this test run get out of hand, he will indeed put her soul back into her body. Or was it something else that needed to be done? His soul in his body? The distinction is getting difficult to make, which is in itself an indication that things are getting risky. So she concentrates and tries to set things the way they should be.
Interestingly, the separation is slower than the joining - the adhesion of souls is rather tight, it seems. But Kevin's soul is slowly coming loose. And she feels that things will probably work out rather fine. At least he had started to do this in a timely fashion. Now it was only a matter of applying force of will.
But which of the wills is his own? Even as she thinks this, the souls keep on adhering more strongly, his work coming undone. This was worrying to her, and to him. Maybe the process really was far more dangerous when attempted on oneself. This may have been a bad idea. It was a terrible idea, in fact, he thinks. Somehow, he seems to complement her in unforeseen ways, which makes separation more difficult than predicted. He is starting to get a bit worried. And the diffusion is continuing.
Post by: Xantalos on February 24, 2014, 04:42:17 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 24, 2014, 05:29:56 pm
If a partner finds me, just follow him instead.
Damn, why did the Gub have to do that...chanting nonsense. Why? Now things are trying to kill him without reason. What the hell is happening?
Post by: killerhellhound on February 24, 2014, 07:02:41 pm
((If the Mark heard of the whip man during his healing of (I forget who)))
He also look out for the whip man he might be able to talk him into helping and hopes the whip man remembers him from the arena
((Yes I am trying to hire the whip man))
Post by: Xanmyral on February 24, 2014, 10:29:41 pm
Morton tentatively moves one arm, and if possible the other, trying to see what was articulated. The tea apostle isn't entirely certain what just happened. Well, that isn't necessarily true, but he supposed rather it hasn't sunk in, he supposes. Sort of, well, numb he guesses.
Will he be alright split in two like this? It would certainly be a bother moving around, that much is sure, and making tea, oh my that would be a new task. The desk is certain he can figure out some way however, he's resourceful after all, and if something fails to work once, well, try try and try again!
Wait... If he's split down the middle, and he was carrying his tea making supplies on top of him... Oh no! Oh no, no, no! He can't let them get dirty, and he most certainly has no time to have shock now of all times, what if his tea leaves spill into the street? Where would he be then? Or if the pots get dinged and mangled, how would he fix them without Erin to help?
The desk focuses on the situation the best he could, trying to gather and safeguard his tea supplies, looking for someone nearby that may help him.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 12:27:10 am
Wait, do I actually have candy? I've lost track.
"I dunno, dad. Maybe if you think real hard that you do, you will?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2014, 12:33:24 am
Hmm. I wonder if I still have that chair appeal I did a while ago.
Try to use my chair attractiveness to get someone to sit in me and then ask them if they can help me get a new body. If they can't, let them go. Repeat.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 25, 2014, 12:45:13 am
Now why did I go and remind her?
Post by: miauw62 on February 25, 2014, 02:00:30 am
Try harder.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 25, 2014, 03:11:34 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2014, 04:21:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 06:15:33 am
((also that dolphin was a fucking ninja))((I thought that dolphins would have a malus for being putside the water, but they don't. This means that when they are on water, they are even more badass))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2014, 09:12:24 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 09:41:09 am
((An army of whip man dolphins OH SHIT))((Not only they would have +2 to attacks, but we would have a -1 to everyting. It would be a suicide to fight them.
Wait, the Whip Man has a +1 to everything. This means that they are actually at Whip Man-level outside of the water))
Post by: Xanmyral on February 25, 2014, 09:42:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2014, 09:47:15 am
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 09:56:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 10:56:32 am
((I thought that dolphins would have a malus for being putside the water, but they don't. This means that when they are on water, they are even more badass))
Actually, they do technically have a malus for being outside the water. It's just that they have a bonus that cancels it out.
"You remember me, miss? The magician?"
Now why did I go and remind her?
"I... remember someone like you. You didn't buy any pets, did you? Why didn't you buy any pets? They are wonderful pets, and they would love to go home with you!"
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 11:30:28 am
((This means that they have a +3 inside the water?))((I thought that dolphins would have a malus for being putside the water, but they don't. This means that when they are on water, they are even more badass))
Actually, they do technically have a malus for being outside the water. It's just that they have a bonus that cancels it out.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 11:32:25 am
((This means that they have a +3 inside the water?))
There's a fun way I can think of to find out.
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 11:39:36 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 25, 2014, 12:44:06 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 12:54:38 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 25, 2014, 12:56:37 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 25, 2014, 01:04:16 pm
"So uh. I's real sorries. Just trys to helps, you know? But nuffin' ever goes right, nope. Alla times I tries an' helps anybody I does it all wrong, makes fings worse an' stuff." He heaved a sad sigh, shook his head slowly, and continued, hovering despondently beside the newly-crippled mage, "See, I's brings all dat food for youse, because I's hearing how hungy you is. But den it's nah fit through da door, so I's needs to get you outside, an' I worries dat you won't trusties me, and well... thingses go all wrong agains."
He emits a sad sort of whimpering noise, then looks down to the fellow.
"...Is anyfing I can do ta makes you better? I's not messes it up dis time. Maybe."
>Talk to the mage whose legs I accidentally broke, explain myself and how I was only trying to help, and then ask if there's anything he actually wants me to help with.
>Keep an eye out for his lady- if she's charging towards me in a fury, time to vacate the vicinity. Same goes for the weird pink dog-thing.
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 01:43:41 pm
[You know, I'd be skeptical of this plan if it wasn't for the fact that Morton needs a new body anyhow.]((You'd be skeptical if it wasn't for the fact that you are playing LBaD))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 03:18:57 pm
Sigmund decides that the most preferable course of action here would be to hide, hide like the worm he undoubtedly is! Noticing a nearby hole in the ground he dives down it, supposing that wherever that might lead, it's probably not worse than here - and he's actually sort of right. It's dark, it's cold, he's about knee-deep (well, he would be if he had knees, anyway) in highly brownish-green water, there is a distinct tunnel-like feel to the place, and the ground feels like it is very happy to see him, judging by the pronounced tingle he gets from it. And there's no dolphins or avenues for aerial attack! Splendid!
Elsewhere, Mark decides to take these orders as seriously as he possibly can, and immediately heads out to the harbor. Or, to be more precise, hops. He jumps down the street, hoping that the harbor is indeed the way he's trying to go.
[Mark's dodge roll: 5+1-1-1]
He's so filled with hope, in fact, that he only barely dodges some sort of transparent sky-filth flying at him from above. It does not attempt to give chase, so Mark finds it easy to get away and reach the harbor - he can see the ship from here! He also notices the Captain and his entourage of shades, who seem to be gently floating toward it from another direction. He also sees a mound of some unidentified substance floating next to the ship - it seems beset with walruses, who appear to be looking at the ship and poking it with their tusks.
Further away still, Morton tries to keep it together despite his distressing state. Keeping his priorities in mind, he uses his one functional arm - the one on the drawer side - to check his tea supplies, and is rather happy when he finds them unharmed, if a little disorderly from the sudden impact. He then looks around for somebody who might help - luckily, he does notice something up in the sky - Evelyn. She seems to have noticed him as well, and flies right down, landing on Morton's broken body momentarily.
~You are still alive, it seems. Stay that way. We shall be leaving soon. Move to the ship as well as you are able.~
[Morton's will roll: 4]
Yes, Morton does believe he will stay alive - after all, he's still got many milestones in teamaking to achieve before he can give up on this second chance. So what if he's only half the desk he used to be? Time and tea wait for no one!
In a room in the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas supposes that maybe imagining candy will be a distant plan C for now - instead, he tries to summon up whatever is left of his chair charm and appear as desirable to sit on as possible. He feels solid and comfortable, now it's only a matter of projecting that outward.
[Niklas' charm roll: 6]
He finds that as soon as he shuts up and just appears as natural as he can, people can't wait to sit on him! Soon a whole fifteen people have gathered on his body, fighting amongst each other for space while they read books, enjoy their quiet time and, in the case of at least three of the arrivals, their rather hideous nakedness. Looks like Niklas has become quite the popular hangout within the space of an hour.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin is starting to get a bad feeling here, and so is she. She is an undead jester, not some kind of mage! This doesn't feel right. She should put this whole thing in order right now. Playtime's over. Time to do this. Just put in a barrier between the souls, then separate them. Simple.
Once again, though, it proves not to be. The barrier takes a lot of effort to erect for him, and feels somewhat incomplete - more of an indicator of where to begin rather than a solid separator. And as she evaluates this, he finds that she does not have a lot of time before he becomes her and vice versa. Things are already looking fairly perilous, in fact.
In a dark library...
Scott, not the wise sort by any means, decides to engage the terrible man lower down in conversation.
"Uh... hello? I come with... boundless curiosity?"
The man looks up at him, then takes a step to the left, suddenly appearing up on the second floor of the library next to a rather interesting shelf, from which he retrieves a book and leafs through it. Nodding along for a minute, he looks at Scott.
[Dustman's magic roll: 6]
Suddenly, Scott finds himself... elsewhere. He can't quite tell where he is - everything's a blinding white suddenly. He definitely feels like he's gone somewhere, though. Somewhere not too good, obviously.
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy, confused little bugger that he is, tries to confess his accidental crimes to the suffering man in front of him.
"So uh. I's real sorries. Just trys to helps, you know? But nuffin' ever goes right, nope. Alla times I tries an' helps anybody I does it all wrong, makes fings worse an' stuff. See, I's brings all dat food for youse, because I's hearing how hungy you is. But den it's nah fit through da door, so I's needs to get you outside, an' I worries dat you won't trusties me, and well... thingses go all wrong agains."
"Shit, man, what did you do? Was that you who blew me up? That's not an okay thing to do! My legs are broken, man! Why would you do that?" he asks, looking really shocked and pained by the realization that his would-be assassin turned out to be an invisible failure at charity. Timothy decides not to dwell on this failure and asks the next question.
"...Is anyfing I can do ta makes you better? I's not messes it up dis time. Maybe."
"I don't know, can you help me in any way without blowing me up or whatever?" he asks in a shaky voice, grabbing a handful of food and shoving it into his mouth. However, the pain really seems to distract him from eating, judging by the way he keeps pausing in his chewing to groan with dissatisfaction.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 25, 2014, 03:24:14 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 03:31:57 pm
Get out, go to a burned house and cover myself with ashes, then play dead.
((To do list: weaponize sewers))
EDIT: also look for any kind of thing falling from the sky on top of him. Sigmund is not going to get fooled again.
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2014, 03:34:55 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 25, 2014, 03:38:33 pm
Also, good call on leaving Tomcost, bet you the sludge you're in probably has slimes in it.]
Well, things didn't seem that bad. Still alive though? Why would being split down the middle kill him? Oh, well, sure it may have when he was still alive, or a true second chancer at least, but now? He's a desk! This is only an inconvenience.
If Evelyn is still around, the desk will try to speak. "Yes, I still live good mage Evelyn, although I suppose movement may be a touch of a bother. Pity though, I was just there moments ago, suppose it would of indeed been better to not leave. I'll make haste, as fast as I safely can. If you happen to see someone who could lend a hand, I'd greatly appreciate it."
The desk will try to prop himself up his remaining hand and, with the use of his two legs, crawl as fast as he safely can to the ship.
Post by: Tomcost on February 25, 2014, 03:43:17 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 04:04:52 pm
Announce to the people trying to sit on me that they can sit on me if they help me get a new body afterwards.
"Thank you for participating in the free trial of Niklas, the optimal, streamlined seating solution for a new age!" you proudly declare to the people sitting on you, which causes about half of them to get up immediately. "To obtain the deluxe, permanent version of Niklas, you must agree to a deal where you provide the intelligent chair core of this seating solution a brand new body so that it does not go insane in its mute, isolated existence!"
Your announcement is met with silence at first, when suddenly one of the people who got up, a completely nude man, raises the index finger of his right hand thoughtfully.
"Tell me, Mr. Optimal, Streamlined Seating Solution, would you accept the body of an ordinary human being?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2014, 04:23:19 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2014, 04:33:13 pm
A strong male human body will be perfectly acceptable payment!
"If I can't find one, will any other sort of body work?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2014, 06:02:03 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 26, 2014, 12:33:54 am
Prepare to run.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 26, 2014, 12:34:55 am
"I was getting some additional clientele, remember?"
Prepare to run.
"That's very kind of you! But where would you find any?"
Post by: miauw62 on February 26, 2014, 01:54:48 am
Make one more, last-ditch attempt.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 26, 2014, 05:12:12 pm
Scott attempts to divine what sorcery has brought him to this new and terrible place - he guesses it's some kind of magic, definitely. And since that library place suddenly appeared from out of nowhere - or, rather, the glowy center of the box - he guesses the dusty guy is definitely some kind of mage with a fairly wide mean streak and with the power to do funny things with spacetime. He's also pretty sure magic isn't a force of any kind, and involves to invisible hands doing things to other things, which would be totally cool.
As such, he is momentarily at a loss on what he could do to directly escape from here - probably not much. But maybe there are more indirect avenues he could try? Like exploration, for one. It's not the most promising idea, but it's an idea nonetheless.
In the sewers of Mothdale...
Sigmund, not about to risk another fungal contamination any time soon, tries to heroically leap out of this dunghole and return to the monster-filled streets of Mothdale.
[Sigmund's agility roll: 5]
This, luckily, proves to be something a wormlike person like he is good at, and he slinks easily back into the sunlight, briefly wondering how good of an idea that was. Looking up at the sky on occasion to watch for trouble, he moves on to look for some ruins to hide in. As he slinks onward, though, he comes face-to-face with a slavering hound about as tall as a man, covered in rippling muscle. It growls at him in a manner Sigmund can only describe as primal, blocking the way onward with its massive body and aura of menace. Sigmund ponders what would be the best pace at which to escape from this situation.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton, quite alive and conscious, not to mention just summoned for an actual purpose rather than working toward the base, animalistic purpose of survival, addresses Evelyn.
"Yes, I still live, good mage Evelyn, although I suppose movement may be a touch of a bother. Pity though, I was just there moments ago, suppose it would of indeed been better to not leave. I'll make haste, as fast as I safely can. If you happen to see someone who could lend a hand, I'd greatly appreciate it."
~People will be far too busy working to get to the ship safely to aid you. And my primary goal right now is to find Erin,~ Evelyn says, then lifts off and flies away in a roundabout, circular fashion. As she flies over a channel, a dolphin briefly leaps out of the water to try and catch her, but can't seem to reach high enough. Guessing that now would be a good time to leave, Morton props himself up, and slowly moves away from the scene, leaving his other half on the ground. As he walks back to the ship, he becomes aware of something in the way - a dog! A very huge and menacing dog! It seems to be snacking on the remains of a dolphin that litter the street Morton traversed to get here not ten minutes ago. The dog, glancing around, seems unsure about what to make of Morton, and returns to its snacking, letting the desk pass without issue. The rest of the way is rather uneventful, and Morton gets to the ship without too much trouble, noticing that the walruses still appear to be around and that they are still giving him an unpleasant feeling in his now-reduced top surface.
In a room in the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas agrees with the bargain - a human sacrifice is, after all, a small price to pay for optimal seating.
"If it has hands, feet, arms, and legs, as well as the capacity to use them effectively, it is good!" he says, and the naked man nods enthusiastically.
"Got it! Everybody else, wait right here!"
And they do, interestingly enough, as the man runs away. Soon enough, he returns, in his arms a confused yet mean-looking, diminutive young woman with bright red hair and a lazy eye, dressed in a very informal, heavy-looking burlap robe.
"This is Camilla, sorry, best I could find, and, as you can probably tell, she isn't very well-liked. Hopefully you'll do a better job with her body, eh?"
Camilla quickly draws a knife from one of her pockets, but the man equally speedily disarms her. The small woman begins to kick at the naked man in protest.
"Now, now, Cammy, you had your chance to step off the boat before it left. Let's not get dramatic here. Yeah, we should probably hurry up. I think she caught on at last. Think happy thoughts, rockchair!"
As the guy says this, Niklas immediately feels his soul get ripped out of the chair he formerly inhabited, and then placed into the little woman's body, during the journey passing the rather seething soul of the woman, which seems to be going the opposite way - he has to say, it feels like he shouldn't be here for some reason. Living flesh feels so strange after going so long without it.
"There, done!" the naked man says, then hands Niklas the knife he took previously from him or her or whatever. "You'll need the knife, I think," he then continues, quickly jumping over to the rock and taking a seat. "Pleasure doing business, good sir!"
In one of Lizzie's mistress' guest rooms...
Kevin tries to reassert her identity. His identity. Whose identity is it, anyway? It's all getting jumbled up! She tries to ask Lizzie for help, but he doesn't seem to rightly know anymore, either, so Kevin is left with no recourse but to scream. Very loudly. Maybe that'll help.
Fortunately, it does seem to motivate him! Or her! Or whatever! And this time, she manages to continue the work on the wall, splitting the two souls at last and quickly shooting the nominally Kevin part back into Kevin's body, which is a great relief to the ex-jester, who, while feeling quite different from before, does seem to have regained individuality of a sort. His first impulse is to get up and carefully make sure he does not look too undignified, strangely enough.
~Fuck me, that did not go as planned. At all. But hey, I could've screwed it up even more, and I do feel different, so I guess it mightn't have been so bad after all,~ Lizzie says. Her tone feels a bit unusual, if familiar.
Post by: Tomcost on February 26, 2014, 05:45:41 pm
Begin to slowly back away. If the dog tries to bite me, use my mouth muscles to propel a burst of air in his direction, in a menacing fashion.
Post by: Xantalos on February 26, 2014, 06:06:42 pm
Not bad! I'll have to see about growing a beard.
Get used to moving around in a human form again, then run around trying to find the fat lady.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 26, 2014, 06:58:55 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 27, 2014, 01:00:39 am
"The constructs. I simply need to run them over there from here.""I was getting some additional clientele, remember?"
Prepare to run.
"That's very kind of you! But where would you find any?"
Post by: Innsmothe on February 27, 2014, 03:00:04 am
Post by: Xanmyral on February 27, 2014, 08:57:43 am
Stand by door leading into ship, commence listening chant and focus on listening, as Captain told him how!
Post by: miauw62 on February 27, 2014, 12:31:13 pm
~What did you DO?~
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 01:06:23 pm
((I sort of hoped that it would've failed, because if it had I would've tried to take over. But hey, I'm still Kevin and not some sort of amalmagation!))
~What did you DO?~
~Why, merged our souls for a little bit. I had tried it on other people before, but I never suspected it'd feel like this. There's this... newness, you know? Can't you feel it?~
Post by: miauw62 on February 27, 2014, 01:13:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 01:17:27 pm
~Yeah, I can feel it. It felt as if it was going to be longer than a little bit, though...~
~Yeah, turns out it's a little harder to separate two souls when you're one of them. Seems pretty obvious in retrospect.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 27, 2014, 01:39:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 01:41:18 pm
~Guess it'd be fairly pointless to tell you any jokes now, eh?~
~You're not very good at them, after all.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 27, 2014, 01:45:46 pm
Search my mind for remnants of magical knowledge from the soul fusion.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 04:17:50 pm
Sigmund knows how to handle dogs, obviously - back away slowly, don't make any sudden moves, be smooth, keep up an air of mystery, make sure to keep them interested, make a joke occasionally, preferably high comedy...
As he rolls away, though, the dog just keeps growling and slowly moving in his direction. It does not seem to like his presence one bit, though it does not look like it wants to particularly bite him, either. So Sigmund is left indecisive on the matter of whether burping at it forcefully would be appropriate under the circumstances.
In a hall in the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, seeing nothing wrong with this new body, takes a moment to get used to moving around in it - it is rather easy, and the woman seems about as agile and strong as a regular person despite her small stature. It has no beard, but this is something Niklas believes he can fix with time and effort.
With all that clarified, Niklas runs to look for the fat lady - unfortunately, though, she is nowhere to be found, Niklas realizes after running through the nearby rooms. And the other people seem to be avoiding him for some reason.
"Dad? I have a question - are you still Dad or should I call you Mom now?" Torkel suddenly asks on top of all this.
At the Second Shank...
Mark, careful of the walruses in the water, hops onto the ship and begins to search for things of importance - he finds that all the supplies of the ship have gone completely untouched, and that nobody seems to currently be on it aside from him. Shortly after him, the Captain enters along with his enslaved helpers, as one can easily tell from the wailing that soon permeates the air. Guess there's not much to do now except hope that that bumping noise that the walruses seem to be making is not some kind of ominous portent of things to come but rather their inability to achieve some kind of objective. Just as he thinks this, though, he notices two tusks pierce through one of the nearby walls, then promptly remove themselves, allowing water to begin streaming in. Uh... that's not good. And, judging by the sounds he's hearing, more holes are getting made elsewhere as well.
Morton, meanwhile, moves up to the deck of the ship, taking up a watchful, inanimate position as he begins to recite the Listening Chant once again. It takes hold relatively quickly, the last chanting still fresh in his mind, and soon he can hear quite a few interesting things. Like the wind. And the birds. Nothing anyone cares too much about, though. Although he does hear a very unusual sound, followed by the rather surprising sight of the Artiste suddenly appearing on deck.
"Dang, Morton, you look messed up. Let's hope the rest are in better shape, eh? I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd rather get below decks as soon as possible. There's birds around, you know!"
Oh, Morton most certainly knows. The Artiste, however, keeps to his word and immediately steps away, disappearing in a very unusual fashion.
Inside an artifact pet store...
Darren tries to explain current events to the pet store lady.
"The constructs. I simply need to run them over there from here."
"The... constructs? Hm..." the lady says doubtfully. "I don't think they're allowed to own pets! Also, they don't have any money, do they? And I can't just give away my pets without knowing who is getting them, yes!"
In a place of blinding white...
Scott, seeing plainly that his eyes are no good here, closes them. Or, rather pretends he can't see, which seems to work just as well despite the fact that he has no working eyes. He then spins around and heads off in a random direction, entrusting himself to the fates themselves.
Eventually, he bumps up against something. It is a very odd feeling.
"Yeeheeheeheehee!" a soft voice giggles at him.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin searches his slightly changed mind for emergent information about magic, because that feels like information that would come in handy. He searches his mind, and, oddly enough, distinctly remembers being a little girl once, and wishing that she could do something about that shouty neighboring man who always interrupted her naps and nightly sleep with his very unfortunate tendency toward loudness. And that was the day she knew she wanted to have magic.
Rather disappointingly, she didn't manage to get magic before her patience ran out and she resorted to merely leading one of his children off the beaten path, capturing him in a net and then selling him off to a traveling peddler in exchange for books about learning the art of magery. The man had been a lot quieter after that, and the daily and nightly sobbing had proven far less disruptive to her at first, and after that he just moved away somewhere.
Kevin gets a slight kick from remembering that. It was a more innocent time, of course.
~Looking wistful there, Kevin. What's up?~
Post by: Xantalos on February 27, 2014, 04:21:45 pm
Niklas wonders why people are avoiding him. Could it be his knife? His face? Well, as the proverb went, when people avoid you for some unspecified reason, shout.
HEY FAT LADY I GOT A NEW BODY!
Post by: Tomcost on February 27, 2014, 04:31:06 pm
Keep slowly backing away, try to go around a corner so that I break sight line. All being careful and not aggressive.
If successful, look again for people I know, looking at the sky for ninja slime clouds from time to time.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 04:35:27 pm
Call me Dad still. Once I learn transmutation I'll be able to change my body to a man anyway.
Niklas wonders why people are avoiding him. Could it be his knife? His face? Well, as the proverb went, when people avoid you for some unspecified reason, shout.
HEY FAT LADY I GOT A NEW BODY!
Moments later, the fat lady floats out of a nearby room.
"Ah. So you have. Quick work. I like that."
She scratches her chins thoughtfully.
"So, what type of magic would you like to learn? I'm thinking you would be best suited for something like, say, metamagic."
Post by: Xantalos on February 27, 2014, 04:41:15 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 04:43:20 pm
What's that?
"Magic that controls other magic. Mostly helps or hinders it. Not overly dangerous on its own, but a good starting point, especially if you intend to learn more magic later."
Post by: Xantalos on February 27, 2014, 04:44:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 27, 2014, 04:49:09 pm
You're not limited to one type of magic? Amazing! Then yes, I will like to learn metamagic first!
"Specialization is helpful, but ultimately unnecessary for someone like you, one who is not bound by mortality. Go to the library and obtain the book 'On Metamagic'. A boring title, yes, but the book itself should prove helpful. And then we will speak about where you will find your tutor on obtaining this power."
Post by: Xantalos on February 27, 2014, 04:55:59 pm
Get directions and head to the library. Search for that book!
Post by: Yoink on February 27, 2014, 05:14:08 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 27, 2014, 05:55:38 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on February 27, 2014, 06:19:17 pm
Let there be...sight?
Post by: Xanmyral on February 27, 2014, 11:42:30 pm
Perhaps he could use his listening chant to keep on the 'look out' for anything strange, warning others?
Head down below deck where it's safer! Continue listening for anything that may be bad!
Post by: miauw62 on February 28, 2014, 03:52:48 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2014, 11:22:09 am
~Sort of remembering your childhood, I think. This really was interesting. Do you remember my childhood?~
~Uh, not really. I don't think I remember mine, either.~
"Uh... I dunnoes much about doctoring. I means, could try, sure, but prob'ly not ends real well. Could go finds you a doctor, maybes? Or maybes you friend knows sumfin' about dat sort of thing?"
"Nah, no doctors, please. And no doctoring from you, then. Guess all I've got left is to hope my girl gets here soon, huh?"
"Hello?"
Let there be...sight?
You still can't see a damn thing.
"Hello! Hello, hello, hello! Hello! Hello-hello! Oh, hell! Hello! He-he-he-he-he-hello! Hel-LO! HELLO! HELLO!" the voice replies, becoming shriller.
Post by: miauw62 on February 28, 2014, 11:35:17 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2014, 11:39:44 am
~Weird. If you have selective amnesia, I probably have it too... What do you remember that's probably not your own memories?~
~Nothing that comes to mind, to be honest. It's possible that the separation wasn't exactly equal, and if that's the case, you might've gotten more soul-stuff than me... that's a little troubling, I guess.~
Post by: miauw62 on February 28, 2014, 12:18:23 pm
Scour my soul and memories for things that are out of place.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 28, 2014, 05:02:48 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 28, 2014, 06:25:41 pm
"Is she... do you think she..." he cringed a little as he put the question into words, his voice little more than a squeak, "...Is gon' to be mad wif me?"
He glanced up and down the abandoned street, anxiously searching for any glimpse of the mistrustful woman he'd tried to befriend earlier.
"I's nah think she likes me very much. You is 'splains dat this all justa mis-derstanding, right? An' dat I was just tryna be a helps, right?"
>Wait nervously for the fellow's girlfriend to show up, hovering about and keeping an eye on his condition.
>Be prepared to quickly explain myself and/or fly directly upwards when she does arrive.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2014, 07:57:53 pm
Sigmund continues in his rolling, slowly trying to get away from the dog's personal space. After a period of intense uncertainty, though, he does manage to get around the corner, breaking line of sight. This seems to somewhat calm the dog, as the growling quickly stops. Having narrowly escaped a mauling, Sigmund then returns to his previous activity - searching for people he recognizes. He slowly slinks into another street, not having any idea where he's really going due to the way he has closed his eyes in the hopes of navigating these crossroads safely.
Just as he opens his eyes and looks upward again, though, he notices a bird flying his way. Hurtling his way, actually, its body assuming an arrowlike shape, its gigantic, sharp beak leading the way.
[Sigmund's dodge roll: 4-1]
He tries to roll out of the way, but does not quite succeed, the beak of the bird piercing some of his flesh and creating a sizable gash in his side - nothing bothersome, but definitely not a good sign of things to come, either. The bird, jumping away from Sigmund, flies up into the air again rather quickly. Sigmund wonders if these distractions will last much longer, as they really are making his business rather difficult to attend to.
At a room in the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas accepts the task laid out before him.
"Okay! How do I get to the library?"
"Figure it out. Spatial awareness is a great skill to practice," the fat lady says, then floats away. Niklas, though a little disappointed in the way people insist on making things difficult, tries his best to find the library anyway - fortunately, it is not too far, and the book in question is still very much available in multiple. And the librarian looks very full of cheer and friendly, too. Not to mention that the place itself is fairly clean and well-furnished, with a very inviting-looking set of reading tables placed on a raised platform just outside the bookshelf area.
On the Second Shank...
Mark decides that these latest dire straits are probably worthy of telling the Captain about, so he hops back upstairs and tries to explain the situation to the ghostly mariner through interpretive dance.
[Mark's interpretive dance roll: 6-1]
Luckily, the spirit of the dance has not left him, and probably never will, and the Captain understands Mark's meaning almost immediately.
"You are TRYING TO SAY that I AM SUPPOSED TO BE HERE? How AMAZING! Truly a SPECTACULAR COINCIDENCE! And yet there is... SOMETHING BOTHERING YOU! WATER! Insidious, TREACHEROUS, hideous water! WHERE IS IT? SHOW ME!"
And Mark does, pointing out a rather sizable hole in one of the side walls that a set of tusks currently seems to be working rather hard on widening. They don't seem to be succeeding, though.
"That IS highly DISTURBING! And I only GOT THIS SHIP less than a WEEK ago!"
The captain taps his chin ponderously.
"The QUESTION, though, is HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM! Brute force seems UNLIKELY TO WORK, SHOCKINGLY ENOUGH!"
Suddenly, the Artiste steps out from nowhere.
"Say, Captain, there seem to be holes in this ship! Big ones!"
"TROUBLING, aren't they?"
"They certainly are!"
As the two undead and one sortademon wonder about how to fix this terrible pickle of a situation, Morton decides that the inside of the ship probably is safer, and presumably possesses nicer acoustics. So he moves inside, stepping downstairs, and giving his surroundings another good listening to.
Luckily, he hears nothing that fills him with any concern. It's great to be so safe in here, he thinks. This ship could probably survive so many hazards, it's not even funny.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin tries to reassure Lizzie in his own way.
~Mhhmm. Don't worry, I don't think I've gotten any magical abilities or so.~
~I don't really see how you could. My foci shouldn't become attuned to you no matter how much of my soul you might've gotten.~
Becoming more and more aware of the differences in his mind and identity, Kevin continues to search his memories for things he remembers. One thing that comes to mind is the book. The book of pictures. He had always wanted to track down one of them later on, but either never had the time, or lacked the resources. It was a very inspiring picture from it that he remembers. A man - a wizard, young and healthy, with lively eyes and a lithe, agile form, dancing within a mushroom circle in a forest clearing, looking like he's having the time of his life as skeletal hands appear to be slowly digging their way out of the ground. He had always thought that it would be great if he could get that, or something similar to it, painted somewhere, like on a wall or some canvas.
What's interesting, though, is that all of the memories Kevin can find feel like his own, and none really seem out of place. Somehow, all the events he can remember form a continuum, and one that appears to make perfect sense as well.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott doesn't appreciate it when unidentified entities seem to be trying to mock him.
"Please... please don't do that."
The voice gasps, then goes silent for a moment.
"Okay, but only because I love you, Jeremy."
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy isn't sure if the man's girlfriend will be too understanding of the situation and its entirely accidental nature, and makes his concern known.
"Is she... do you think she... Is gon' to be mad wif me?"
"I... dunno, I guess. Probably, maybe. Who knows? You did nearly kill me, after all."
That's the closest answer he's going to get, obviously. Timothy glances around the street, but doesn't see the woman anywhere nearby yet. Hm.
"I's nah think she likes me very much. You is 'splains dat this all justa mis-derstanding, right? An' dat I was just tryna be a helps, right?"
"Yeah... yeah, of course. A misunderstanding. You were trying to help. I'll tell her that."
Now that that's cleared up, Timothy just floats in place, waiting for the woman to arrive - she does not take too long, all in all. Longer than he would have expected, but not too long. She seems somewhat distraught when she spots her boyfriend lying next to a pile of food.
"Oh gods, you're alive! What happened to you?"
The man scratches his chin, presumably thinking on how best to say this.
"Well, I blew up. Sort of. It was an accident."
"An accident? This looks like some kind of natural disaster!"
"It wasn't his fault, is what's important. He was only trying to help, you know."
"Who was?"
"Timothy. He spoke to me a little while ago. The details are a little hazy."
Timothy wonders if now would be a good time to reintroduce himself.
Post by: Xantalos on February 28, 2014, 08:04:02 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 28, 2014, 08:09:40 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 28, 2014, 10:18:51 pm
Morton wonders what he should do. It seems that everyone is perhaps further below deck or getting to the ship, and he's certainly in no condition to do much sadly. The butler sadly recognizes that he would have trouble in probably even the simplest of tasks. The apostle of the tea leaf supposes he should do what he can, checking on what he has. He's sure he probably lost something in being split in two, but at least he has the most important part, the tea.
Move to den, prop self up so standing straight, check inventory for possible lost items due to being split in two like lumber! Investigate den for possible replacement parts!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 02, 2014, 01:29:56 am
Get outside.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 02, 2014, 03:20:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2014, 06:03:23 am
"I'm...I'm not Jeremy..I'm Scott? I am a wierd floating head...can't you see that?"
"Well, of course I can't see you, Jeremy! Don't be stupid! Can't you see where you are?"
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2014, 07:01:11 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2014, 07:03:03 am
~So, what do we do now?~
~I dunno. Didn't have much of a plan for you aside from 'bring here, merge souls'. And I do have work to do.~
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2014, 07:31:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2014, 07:40:36 am
~Hm. Could you like, bring me back to that town? I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I sort of miss my companions.~
~Yeah, sure. Do you want to go right now?~
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2014, 07:42:20 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 02, 2014, 09:11:07 am
"It's Scott, and no I can't, where are we?""I'm...I'm not Jeremy..I'm Scott? I am a wierd floating head...can't you see that?"
"Well, of course I can't see you, Jeremy! Don't be stupid! Can't you see where you are?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2014, 09:49:35 am
"It's Scott, and no I can't, where are we?"
"We're somewhere that you can't identify by sight due to all the blinding light, Jeremy, that's where we are! Fortunately, in your absence I have formulated a plan, so rest assured that I haven't been idle. Oh no, not at all."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 02, 2014, 01:15:58 pm
Niklas quickly takes one copy of "On Metamagic", making sure to check with the librarian if it's permitted (it is, and it's free of charge unless he carries it out of here!), and then gets to reading, taking a seat at one of the reading tables.
The first chapter, appropriately enough, is titled "What In Gods' Names Is Magic, Anyway?", and explains the nature of magic to the best of its ability, and the section seems pretty long. Luckily, the book isn't too big on complex terminology at this point, and Niklas gets the rough gist of the chapter, which is that magic is not, among other things, an object, process or resource. You can't manipulate magic itself, because magic does not exist at all - it's merely an imaginary construct people have devised to explain what is, basically, the soul asserting itself on the universe.
The current paradigm in the magical community is that the universe is actually very malleable in its construction and laws, and nowhere is it more apparent than in its interaction with the soul. The soul, guided by the mind (at least initially - once the soul is guided by a mind for long enough, it can take on a mind of its own), can warp reality in any number of ways, though it is notoriously difficult for the average person to do such a thing. This warping of reality, or at least a formalized subset of it applied to certain objects, is called magic by most people. By calling it magic without understanding the principles, however, one invites quite a few misconceptions about how it works. Still, this chapter and the ones to come should clear up some of the confusion, or so the book hopes.
So, with that out of the way, the book explains, metamagic is essentially the manipulation of the soul's ability to impose itself on reality either way - both ways are equally useful, naturally, though increases in soul potential are highly dangerous, and can lead to hideous injuries unless practiced carefully. "How?", one might ask, and the simple answer is that the universe, while malleable, tends to react poorly when a lot of its laws begin to fail with great frequency. The results are obviously not pleasant, and tend to involve lots of strange occurrences.
A detail to remember is that there are no known natural material foci for metamagic - only written ones work, and they usually have to be pretty nonspecific, because one has no idea how the process of reality warping actually works - the current theory is simply a good approximation of its effects. A good hint on what more scientifically-inclined readers could eventually study, the book says, because the information would presumably be quite useful.
And all of that information was just in the first two chapters, Niklas thinks. Wonder what's in the rest.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund rolls away from the bird, then proceeds to resume his seeking of friendlies. Sadly, though, as he rolls through the streets, sticking close to the walls, he doesn't see anyone aside from some people occasionally poking their heads out of buildings, then, seemingly finding the dangerous state of the outside unsatisfactory, disappearing back into their abodes.
The city's pretty large, Sigmund thinks. Is it likely that he's going to find what he's looking for around here?
On the Second Shank...
Morton, seeing how everything seems okay, moves over to the den, becoming somewhat perturbed by the sound of rushing water coming from nearby, as well as the way the floor seems a little wet. When he arrives at the den, the perturbation only increases as he notices a rather large hole in the side of the ship through which water seems to be coming in. A very unfortunate development, he believes.
On the bright side, he doesn't believe he's lost anything after being split in half, given that all of his items were in his drawers, which he only had on one side. And he does notice that several of the wall panels appear to have fallen off, and those would probably serve as wonderful spare parts.
In an artifact pet store...
Darren guesses he can't oppose the woman's logic. After all, if one believes that mechanical slaves should not be allowed to have loving pets in their lives, who is he to say no?
"Yes, of course. I'll go and look for somebody else to buy them."
"Okay! Come back soon, yes!" the pet store lady says enthusiastically, smiling at Darren as he leaves. Once outside, the ghost wonders what to do next.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin supposes it's time for him to leave now.
~Sure, I guess. See you later!~
~Happy trails, Kev.~
With a bright flash of light and the sped-up sound of a harpsichord tumbling down a flight of stairs, Kevin rapidly reappears elsewhere, in a place he recognizes as the harbor of the city he was in until recently. He notices the ol' Second Shank still floating, though it does look a little lower than it used to. And a little crooked. And surrounded by walruses.
Post by: Xantalos on March 02, 2014, 01:20:42 pm
Continue reading.
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2014, 05:36:06 pm
Kevin then remembers that nobody can hear his thoughts right now.
Look for a weapon.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 02, 2014, 05:44:16 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 02, 2014, 05:56:24 pm
Try to find the Second Shank. Always near stone walls and looking at the sky, just in case.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 02, 2014, 07:28:22 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 02, 2014, 07:54:33 pm
But how could he attach them, he has nothing possibly useful that could cause them to stick... Hm. Perhaps enchanting can help here? It's worth a shot, he supposes, as the tea apostle sadly can't think of any other way to help.
The desk gathers and inspects the panels in full detail, looking at one side than the other, mainly as to if there is an obvious distinction between the two, and procures spare cloth if possible. Perhaps good tailor Craig's room? If either side of the panels aren't distinctive, make one side distinctive by making an obvious mark on it in some way, shape, or form. Perhaps the hate stick, or a nearby sharp object?
If Morton can make the panels adhere to the spots where the holes are, then he can patch the holes perhaps! But the desk isn't sure if he can only make one side adhere without accidentally sticking himself to it or making the hole thing adhere to whatever it touches, a rather dreadful possibility. Hence the spare cloth, if he only touches it with the cloth, then he should be fine.
Once the above is done, if still in the listening chant mode then recite the single thought chant with the main idea of the panel with the distinctive side being incredibly adhesive and sticky, able to attach to something and be very hard to let go. If not in listening chant mode, get into such.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 02, 2014, 08:23:16 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 03, 2014, 02:15:11 pm
Niklas is amazed by what you can learn from just reading a book once in a while, and thus continues in his intellectual pursuits.
Unfortunately, though, this is where the book gets a tad technical, deciding to introduce a series of strange symbols to stand in for various metamagical effects - though the book advises to get used to them, as they will be immensely useful in the creation of foci. The symbols are pretty complex, Niklas thinks, though he certainly can see how a nonlinear system of writing could help the perception of the idea of the text rather than the mere words.
And then the book starts talking about chants without properly explaining what they might be (although the author does make recommendations on what books to find chants and tips on using them in), which is where Niklas starts to feel a little lost. Hm. Maybe he should do some additional reading before tackling the rest of this.
At the docks of Mothdale...
Kevin starts to remember why he left this place not too long ago - all the damn danger from unlikely and inexplicable sources. Realizing that mystifying danger is something you don't face without at least a stout face-beating stick, he looks for a weapon - and he does find a rather nice board lying around nearby. He guesses that's kind of a weapon.
Now to check if you can beat faces in with it properly!
In a place of blinding white...
Not in the mood for conversation with the strange person in front of him, Scott tries to adjust his ghost-o-vision to filter out polarized light.
[Scott's will roll: 3-2]
Midway through, he recalls that he doesn't actually know what polarized light is, let alone how it works or how it might be relevant to his current situation. He, very much like the eminent scholars of his time, knows that light is actually made up of particles. Why, if it was actually a wave, how would shadows with solid edges be possible? So polarized light is obviously just some ludicrous gobbledygook he came up with just to try and cheat his way out of his blindness, and he suddenly feels ashamed at even considering the idea he had.
"Jeremy! Listen up! You're going to be the valiant test subject for my experiment, Jeremy. And I just want you to know that, if a hole appears, you are most definitely obligated to go through it. Understand, Jeremy? This is very important!" the soft voice tells him insistently. "Okay, then! Here goes!" it says, and Scott hears a distinct wobble followed by silence. How interestingly perilous!
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund, supposing that perhaps he should look for things that are more permanent and less likely to move around and get themselves killed, tries to find the Second Shank, rolling along the streets, keeping an eye on the sky and himself close to a wall.
It takes a short while, but he does eventually reach the harbor - the ship is there, as is Kevin and a whole bunch of walruses that seem to be busily punching holes and ripping out panels from the side of the ship. They appear to be doing disturbingly well at this, in fact, and the ship has begun to lurch and sink in a very unsettling manner.
On the Second Shank...
Mark decides that he should probably tell the Artiste about those instructions he got and, despite his one-legged state, he still attempts to do so through interpretive dance.
[Mark's interpretive dance roll: 5-1]
Luckily, the ducklike shape of Evelyn proves simple to imitate in movements, as is the feeling of urgency and the concept of ships, which all seems to click just fine in the Artiste's mind. He doesn't seem happy, though.
"Dammit, Mark, I know all that already. Those were my instructions!"
The sound of rushing water seems to grow louder, and the ship's floor now has a pronounced incline to it.
"WE are SINKING! MOST UNFORTUNATE, that! Perhaps an EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE will help!" the Captain says, then floats upward, phasing through the ceiling and disappearing from sight.
"Maybe he's got a point there," the Artiste says, and steps out of sight as well, leaving Mark alone on the slowly sinking vessel.
Meanwhile in the den, Morton drags himself over to one of the panels, inspecting it. Fortunately for him, it doesn't seem like he'll need any tools to mark this thing, as it's already got a yellowish line on the interior side. Filled with joy over this discovery, he moves over to Tailor Craig's room, only to find that there seems to be no cloth at all there. Somebody must have taken it, he guesses as he gets back to the den.
When he notices that the holes in the walls have gotten about twice as large (making the amount of water pouring in several times greater) and now have the mischievous heads of marauding walruses poking in through them, he begins to wonder about whether he has the hour or so necessary for the Single Thought Chant to spare, given how he seems to get the distinct feeling that the ship is now lower than it used to be.
Outside an artifact pet store...
Darren decides that maybe he should stop distracting himself with such things as helping the obviously demented populace of this strange husk of a city, and resolves to get back on track with that god quest or whatever. So he seeks out the engineers' graveyard, as that was where he was last pointed, and he knows that being pointed somewhere is important to act upon after the mandatory distractions have been engaged in with some measure of enthusiasm. Fascinatingly enough, it's not difficult at all to find - it's a rather large, shiny, glowing mausoleum on the far side of town, its perimeter patrolled by very nasty-looking giant insects.
Darren wonders if his questing so far may be of any help here, considering that he didn't really fully accomplish anything in all this time.
Post by: Tomcost on March 03, 2014, 02:24:16 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 03, 2014, 02:26:55 pm
The tea apostle flees (read: drags/limps) the ship and onto the harbor! A sinking ship is much more dangerous than being out in the open!
Post by: miauw62 on March 03, 2014, 02:33:39 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 03, 2014, 02:38:46 pm
Second, go rent the books the book recommended to read.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 03, 2014, 02:58:48 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 03, 2014, 04:14:53 pm
((Gah, I should have figured that referencing relativley recent scientific knowledge would be heavily penalised without a decent argument. >.<))
Post by: Tomcost on March 03, 2014, 04:18:12 pm
"In the name(s) of whatever demon, devil, god or celestial council in charge of Death and Agony, I curse you, I curse you and condemn you to BURN!"((Cursing directly at Velusius, right? That's always a good idea (see James' story)))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 03, 2014, 06:22:50 pm
((Huh? Scotts angry and just shouting things at this idiotic blind voice and trying to set its source on fire. The 'cursing' is melodrama.))"In the name(s) of whatever demon, devil, god or celestial council in charge of Death and Agony, I curse you, I curse you and condemn you to BURN!"((Cursing directly at Velusius, right? That's always a good idea (see James' story)))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 03, 2014, 07:50:09 pm
Exactly how giant are the giant insects?
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 04, 2014, 12:01:36 pm
Sigmund slinks out of cover, approaching the only known person aside from a slowly ascending Captain, Kevin, who seems to be looking down at the ship from the pier, occasionally attempting a menacing swing at the walruses in the water - he looks very disappointed that they are out of reach, to be honest.
He is rather unpleasantly surprised when he notices that some kind of giant worm appears to have moseyed over to his location and has begun wiggling its body-part hair at the sun and making displeased noises while rolling about. The ex-jester, though put off, recognizes the thing as Mark's work, and guesses he's out of the loop a little. Who might this be, anyway?
Just then, he is passed by Mark himself, hopping away on one leg, and then also by Morton. Both of them stop not too far from the ship upon seeing people and things they know.
Mark, however, is not really satisfied, and goes a-wandering again, perhaps to find some of the missing people at last. The one thing he does locate, though, are more dolphins. The same ones as previously, actually. One of them is still wielding Mark's leg in its mouth. The fortunate part is that he sees them in advance. Unfortunately, so do they, considering how little stealth Mark is capable of in his current state.
In the library of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas suddenly remembers something - he's technically alive right now! That probably means that the lady's body he currently inhabits needs food. Fortunately, that does not seem to be the case right now - in fact, he feels quite full. Maybe he had a sizable lunch beforehand?
Oh well, he guesses he'll just find more books rather than worry about that - fortunately, all of the books he needs and then some seem to be in the library - Chanting: The New Method, volumes 1-6 of the Unified Chant Compendium, Non-Linear Linguistics: Introductory Edition and The One-Stop Guide To Supreme Enunciation. That's a lot of books, Niklas thinks. Wonder where to start.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott feels that there's only one way to make his feelings clear to this silly person next to him.
"Enough of this! In the name(s) of whatever demon, devil, god or celestial council in charge of Death and Agony, I curse you, I curse you and condemn you to BURN!"
[Scott's firestarting roll: 5]
Suddenly, a merry whoosh and crackle issues from Scott's vicinity, and he believes he may have gotten the voice, judging from the burning sounds. However, it doesn't seem all that perturbed.
"Yeesh, that sure stings! Now stop messing around, Jeremy. Go into the light! Or darkness, as the case may be!"
Outside the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren is glad to finally have obstacles that are easier to deal with than all the ladies he seems to attract.
Granted, these obstacles are cottage-sized metal insects, but they don't really seem that bad. They actually look to be somewhat preoccupied with landscaping, although every last one of them makes sure to visibly and, one can't help but get the feeling, distrustfully glance at Darren every couple of moments.
Post by: Xantalos on March 04, 2014, 12:06:52 pm
Read the Supreme Guide to Enunciation!
Post by: Xanmyral on March 04, 2014, 12:57:45 pm
Morton trailed off as the metal skeleton hopped off, and without skipping a beat moved on to addressing Kevin.
"Good jester Kevin, is everything alright? Do you perhaps know what's going on? And, ah, oh dear. You appear to have a, er, giant worm behind you. I quite hope its rather friendly..." Even with that said, the tea apostle slowly started to reach for the hate stick.
Post by: miauw62 on March 04, 2014, 01:10:09 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 04, 2014, 01:53:44 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 04, 2014, 04:08:14 pm
"Darkness? Are you addled? I am not evil...I am disabled! You try staying rational after half the trials I have been through! Try being raised as a shambling abomination by your pervert of a lover! Try being enslaved by some probable half-demon princling thing! Try being slowly maimed and mangled by various evil entities and becoming nothing but an incorporeal head!"
He will cut off with a frustrated growl and start walking away into the light.
((...I may have survived smiting a god?))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 04, 2014, 06:05:53 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 04, 2014, 07:51:34 pm
Mark leads the dolphins back to his friends so they can help him kill them((The insane +2 dolphins? I'm not able to do anything against that))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 04, 2014, 07:59:16 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 04, 2014, 08:10:21 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 04, 2014, 08:13:51 pm
We can probably call to captain for help, they can't do anything to hurt him but he can shove them into walls or hold them still. We made friends, they can help us. But he may want to deal with the walrus problem first however.
You have that metal snake (I think) if things go bad, although I suggest fleeing the moment that happens. If you have that, you may have your scrolls of magic too.]
Post by: Tomcost on March 04, 2014, 08:17:50 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 05, 2014, 12:35:58 am
Telekinetically grab some loose objects, resorting last to what the insects are landscaping. Then form it into a golem and breathe life into it. Repeat a few times, if possible.
Post by: miauw62 on March 05, 2014, 04:06:34 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 05, 2014, 01:40:21 pm
Niklas decides that he needs to master the ways of an expert enunciator - there can be no mastery of magic without mastery of one's own linguistic apparatus, obviously! So he opens up the One-Stop Guide to Supreme Enunciation and commences the learning.
He is a bit disappointed when the book doesn't really turn out to be filled with vocal secrets that would let him master the ways of pronouncing things in no time at all - instead, it seems to be a whole lot of exercises, with pronunciation guidelines and number of repetitions written out for each. Apparently flawless diction is hard work! Who knew?
He concludes that it will probably be quite a while before he's mastered the whole thing if he tries to get through it right now, and now that he's got a mortal body with physiological needs he's not sure he's got that kind of time - then again, maybe it'll be really useful later. Oh, the dilemmas of autodidactics!
At the harbor of Mothdale...
As the Second Shank slowly sinks into the Doom Strait, Morton tries to gather all this precious information about the who, the what, the where and the why that he appears to be missing about Kevin and his giant worm.
"Good jester Kevin, is everything alright? Do you perhaps know what's going on? And, ah, oh dear. You appear to have a, er, giant worm behind you. I quite hope its rather friendly..." he says, slowly reaching for the stick from the Tree of Hate - however, the attempt causes him to fall over, given how he used that arm to support himself previously, which
Unbeknownst to Morton, though, Sigmund is quite annoyed how the single person able to identify him without too much fuss just hopped away like the insensitive bugger he is. So he resorts to signs, wiggling his body in a negatory manner, then pointing his maw at a cobblestone, then burping loudly in the direction of the walruses. It's all very strange and confusing to both Morton and Kevin, not to mention kind of disgusting, so Kevin chooses to not acknowledge that and instead convey his speechlessness to Morton in the best possible way - dance!
[Kevin's interpretive dance roll: 2]
And though he dances most interestingly, Kevin gets the feeling he is not getting the main point across to Morton. Perhaps his dance requires a bit too much imagination to successfully divulge any information out of. Or maybe he's just not very good at it. It's difficult to say, really, and not just because he's mute. It's also because Mark appears to be hopping back to the ship, followed by three dolphins.
[Mark's escape roll: 3]
[Screechy's pursuit roll: 5]
[Beakley's pursuit roll: 1]
[McStrange's pursuit roll: 3]
He is a good fifty meters away from the harbor, however, when one of the dolphins - one that seems to be wielding his missing leg in its mouth - catches up to him!
[Screechy vs. Mark: 5+1+1 vs. 2+3-1]
The dolphin's head jerks to the side, and Mark's leg is momentarily reunited with the rest of his body as it strikes him square on the shoulder!
[Mark's balance roll: 6]
Mark, though he seems a little distraught at the abuse targeted at him, just keeps hopping away as the strange dolphin draws near!
[McStrange vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 6+2]
[Counterattack: Mark vs. McStrange: 3+1 vs. 3+1]
However, the aquatic creature's attempts to bite any more of Mark's limbs off are for naught, as Mark just pushes it away, propelling himself forward at the same time.
The others wonder what the dolphins' deal might be, attacking Mark like that. Also of interest is the question of whether they should assist the fellow.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott, deprived of much-needed emotional release at the expense of other people's suffering, decides to just rant instead.
"Darkness? Are you addled? I am not evil...I am disabled! You try staying rational after half the trials I have been through! Try being raised as a shambling abomination by your pervert of a lover! Try being enslaved by some probable half-demon princling thing! Try being slowly maimed and mangled by various evil entities and becoming nothing but an incorporeal head!" he says, groans in frustration and heads off in a random direction.
"I will try that, Jeremy, but maybe right now we should focus on getting out of here! Also, you're going in the wrong direction, J! The way out is the other way!" the voice says as he heads off. Hm.
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren is shocked at his own emergent preference of metallic, monstrous insects over women - he guesses he has been disappointed less by the former, but still! He looks for some loose objects to build a construct out of - strangely, though, there aren't any around. Only thing that is around seems to be the dirt that the insects are excavating - Darren guesses he'll have to work with that, then.
[Darren's Animate Construct roll: 5]
Immediately, he forms a humanoid shape with his telekinesis - all this floating around and talking sure hasn't hurt his abilities none. However, an insect immediately takes notice of the telekinetic construction, and ambles over to poke at it ponderously, as if deciding on whether extermination is desirable when the ground itself suddenly starts to move.
Darren briefly considers making another construct, but then he realizes that it would probably take a lot of concentration to suddenly telekinetically shape another body while keeping another one together with nothing more than practiced willpower.
Post by: Xantalos on March 05, 2014, 01:44:58 pm
Read the next book. Nonlinear Linguistics: Intoduction Etc.
Post by: Tomcost on March 05, 2014, 01:48:46 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 05, 2014, 03:42:42 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 05, 2014, 04:55:31 pm
Action below
Post by: Tomcost on March 05, 2014, 05:05:53 pm
Get to the boata((it is sinking))
((Gentlemen, I think that we can win this, but it is going to be difficult. Kevin has to tank and keep them busy while Sigmund burps stuff at them, with Mark helping to finish them off.))
Post by: Xantalos on March 05, 2014, 05:40:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 05, 2014, 05:47:30 pm
((I find it incredibly funny that by being the most useless member of the group, I'm now in a far less dangerous situation than you guys.))((You got horrendous amounts of luck))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 05, 2014, 08:48:10 pm
We'll be fighting three dolphins with a plus one to everything (and one has a weapon that gives a further plus one) while one of us is a worm, a defenseless desk, and missing a leg. Kevin's the only one in fighting shape. Discretion might be the better part of valor here, but the thing is Morton probably has a -2 to fleeing due to his prior -1 and now missing half of himself. So pretending to be a broken desk might actually be the best thing.
Fleeing is always a, sometimes wise, option. They have the favorable ground and have us at a disadvantage, and rule one of being at a disadvantage is gaining an advantage. You don't stick around in ambushes just like you don't fight a superior force head on.
So my vote is for fleeing here, or taking cover, or doing something that would put them at a disadvantage. Problem is, I can't think of an advantage beyond surprising them, or locking them away somewhere.]
Post by: Tomcost on March 05, 2014, 08:54:04 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 05, 2014, 09:10:42 pm
Spoiler: Tactical Talking (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Possible Actions To Attempt (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on March 05, 2014, 09:58:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 05, 2014, 09:59:03 pm
Mark heads for his friends instead of the sinking boat Turning and fighting the dolphins once he reaches them
Post by: Xanmyral on March 05, 2014, 10:07:08 pm
Spoiler: Fight or Flee plan (click to show/hide)
That should hinder those aggressive animals.
Spoiler: Should the others choose to flee instead of fight (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on March 06, 2014, 12:29:08 am
Post by: Yoink on March 06, 2014, 12:55:57 am
Eventually he said, cautiously, "I uh, I finks we's gotted off on da wrong foots."
Yeah, that was putting it mildly. What's-his-name here was lucky to have any feet left.
"I was only just tries to help... 'cause I hears youse talk about how hungry you is, I wanted to gets you some foods. Gone to lotsa troubles to getsit, too."
He sighed sadly, still hovering in place. "I's real sorry. Not havin' much lucks wif being helpfuls lately. At least youse not be hungry now, right? I helps 'leasta little teeny bit?"
>Explain how I only intended to help the couple out, after hearing how what's-his-name was going hungry.
Point out that, even if his legs are kinda screwed, at least they have food now!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 06, 2014, 02:31:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 06, 2014, 06:44:47 am
((We should really just get the fuck out of this town.))
Post by: Yoink on March 06, 2014, 06:50:16 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 06, 2014, 07:00:50 am
((From what I've read, you really should! Also: I just realized, I haven't encountered another player since the very first turn I was in the game :o))((Wow that's impressive which chapter was that))
Post by: Yoink on March 06, 2014, 07:09:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2014, 01:02:10 pm
Niklas decides to set the text on enunciation aside for a bit and instead read up on his nonlinear linguistics - that one proves to be quite fascinating indeed, dealing with a subject as interesting as this. The first few chapters seem to be devoted to learning how to think in a nonlinear fashion - a skill that is quite integral to nonlinear writing and nonlinear reading, obviously, and Niklas tears into the texts and exercises with great enthusiasm. They're kind of like koans, but they actually make a lot of sense once you start to think about them in the right way, and they're not philosophical at all. As Niklas moves through them, he feels like certain bits of his mind are beginning to twist, and he starts to get the general gist of the radial, circular and prismatic modes of thought, if not the exact details - when he goes through all the exercises again, just to be sure, he feels much more nonlinear! Finding this to be worthy of some further experimentation, he goes through the thing again, in what is assuredly a manifestation of circular thought already.
He isn't sure when exactly he faded out of consciousness - it was rather weird to encounter the problem of sleep sneaking up to him like that. What was also weird, though, was the mix of prismatic, radial and circular dreams he had, none of which could be effectively relayed to a linear listener without them becoming more than a little confused.
Also, he's hungry, thirsty, and needs to pee quite a bit. All of these are relatively new sensations to him, or at least only barely remembered. They're not very pleasant.
The feeling of a good night's sleep, though, that he could certainly get used to.
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Sigmund, upon spotting Mark getting chased and abused by dolphins, looks for a handy cobblestone to suck into his gaping mouth - unfortunately, what he first takes to be a loose cobble instead proves something rather more organic. And when he attempts to regurgitate it rapidly at the uncouth sea mammals harassing his personal surgeon, not only does it not fly further than two meters, it also sprays a little. And it also tastes rather awful.
[Mark's escape roll: 1]
Mark, still about fifty meters away from the harbor, promptly trips on the exact loose cobble Sigmund was looking for, which makes the vampiric worm a bit sad. By the time he regains his footing, all three dolphins are upon him.
Morton, though, seems to have roughly gotten the idea of what Sigmund was doing, and, even though the worm is unfamiliar to him, attempts to hurl a flask the entire considerable distance to Mark.
[Morton's throwing roll: 3-1]
However, he can't quite seem to reach Mark with his flask, and it hits the ground about twenty meters away from Morton, which is saddening indeed. Kevin, who seems to also be interested in his compatriot's fate, tightens his grip on his board. These dolphins will pay for what they are doing, that much is certain. His resolve strengthening, he moves after Mark.
[Screechy vs. Mark: 1+2 vs. 1+2]
[McStrange vs. Mark: 4+1 vs. 2+2]
One of the dolphins begins to ineffectually beat Mark over the skeleton with his own stolen leg, while the other starts to chew on his tree in a rather nasty-sounding way. Neither do much damage, but they do seem to be hindering Mark's escape quite a bit, jumping all around him and menacing him with attacks from all fronts.
[Beakley's charge roll: 4]
And the third dolphin, arriving from whatever business kept it away beforehand, jumps rapidly toward Mark, seeking his death like some sort of sentient pebble flung from an infernal sling.
[Beakley vs. Mark: 3+1+1 vs. 3+2]
The bump it inflicts with its nose as it contacts Mark would surely slay a human being - however, Mark could never be accused of being one of those. Not these days, anyway.
[Kevin's movement roll: 6+1]
Luckily for Mark, however, Kevin has arrived to save the day!
[Kevin vs. McStrange: 3 vs. 4+1]
The board is... less than helpful. The strange dolphin barely seems to notice the strike as the board impacts its skull. There's just a slightly comical, wet bonk.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott listens to the voice's advice, and goes the other way. Just as he gets to an appreciable speed, the voice calls out to him again.
"Wrong way again, Jeremy! Better than before, but you need to correct your course a little! Go a bit to the left!"
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy, though hesitant, ultimately goes for telling it like it is to the guy.
"I uh, I finks we's gotted off on da wrong foots."
"You!" the woman says, recognizing Timothy pretty much immediately.
"Hm?"
"The voice that was badgering me earlier! That's who it is!"
"Oh."
"I was only just tries to help... 'cause I hears youse talk about how hungry you is, I wanted to gets you some foods. Gone to lotsa troubles to getsit, too. I's real sorry. Not havin' much lucks wif being helpfuls lately. At least youse not be hungry now, right? I helps 'leasta little teeny bit?"
"Food for broken legs? What kind of messed up gnome logic is that? Did you ask him to make a wish, too, and looked for ambiguous wording in that?"
"Now, come on, dear. He really was trying to help. And I'm not hungry anymore, so there's that."
"Everything's blown to shit now! Everything! Do you understand that?"
"I'm sure it'll be alright. Timothy can help us, you know."
The woman looks at the man with the broken legs in horror.
"Did he do something to you?" she asks.
"No... well, I don't think so, anyway. He just sounds trustworthy, you know."
"What the hell are you even talking about?"
The lady looks a bit frightened now, actually.
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren retreats from the graveyard a little. It seems like bad news, you know. He also turns his telekinetic construction into something as harmless as anything he can think of - a reasonable dirt facsimile of a human baby! The insects react to this - all of them, actually. The nearest one immediately and, it has to be said, very gently lifts the construct from the ground, then begins to look around for something. The other insects also seem equally alarmed, taking a moment to inspect the creature, then beginning to scurry about, all intents of landscaping completely abandoned from the looks of it.
What strange creatures, indeed.
Post by: Xantalos on March 06, 2014, 01:56:07 pm
Go stumbling along looking for faculties to get food and drink and have a pee. Take my books with me.
Post by: miauw62 on March 06, 2014, 02:08:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2014, 02:09:31 pm
Grab Mark's severed leg and hit the nearest dolphin with it.
It's inside a dolphin's mouth currently, meaning you will need a roll to disarm. Continue?
Post by: miauw62 on March 06, 2014, 02:10:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2014, 02:12:16 pm
Disleg, and yes.
It also means that, unless you roll really well, that's actually two turns' worth of actions.
Post by: miauw62 on March 06, 2014, 02:18:06 pm
Uh.
Then just keep hitting the dolphins.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 06, 2014, 04:18:58 pm
Follow directions.
Post by: Tomcost on March 06, 2014, 05:10:31 pm
Same action, but making sure that I'm going to throw a cobblestone. Same targeting the most distracted dolphin and that.
((Somoene should lead the dolphins to the broken flask. Also, our highest threat is the leg dolphin. If we can grab that leg, then Mark would be mostly nice))
((Also, I'm regretting not carrying the hateful mushroom with us))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 06, 2014, 06:20:13 pm
Problem is, while Mark wouldn't give two craps about glass Kevin is a different story, since he's flesh and all. If he has good boots though that would be a different story, but beats me as to his footwear.]
Post by: killerhellhound on March 06, 2014, 06:26:31 pm
Mark use's the halberd to attack any dolphins that get close while backing into the glass field.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 06, 2014, 06:29:43 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 06, 2014, 06:36:04 pm
((I wonder if them having no arms would make it easier to wrestle a dolphin))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 06, 2014, 06:40:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 06, 2014, 06:43:03 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 06, 2014, 06:59:16 pm
So I'm not sure. We gotta get outta here though. I'm not sure what the Gub is, nor why it connects to the whipman, because I doubt either are here by accident. Gub can't access whipman's thoughts, nor can he access the priest's, most likely for the same reason I bet.]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 06, 2014, 09:48:23 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2014, 02:53:25 pm
Niklas figures he had best address all these sudden physiological needs he has - he remembers something bad happening if he doesn't, though what it was was pretty nebulous. Taking his whole lot of books, he looks for the facilities he requires - fortunately, the hall where the feasting happens is well known to him, and food proves inexpensive - only two of his seven copper coins for a relatively decent meal and drink!
A bathroom, though, is nowhere to be found. This is... unsettling.
"Hgfbgrl. Helsvar, are you there? Torkel? Tree guy?" he asks to the air.
"Present!"
"I'm here, dear."
"As am I. Your adventures have been a little too strange for me to offer advice."
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Kevin, after considering taking one of the dolphins' toys away for the time being, decides that his board's fine for now for hitting dolphins with, despite the lack of indication that it is anything but ineffective.
[Kevin vs. Screechy: 1 vs. 2+1]
The dolphin with Mark's leg in its mouth seems equally impervious to attacks with the board, however. Perhaps it would be better if drove a nail through it, Kevin thinks. If only he could locate one in the near vicinity, though!
And while Kevin thinks, Mark finally brandishes his halberd, trying to slash at a nearby dolphin while jumping toward the distant glass.
[Mark vs. Screechy: 5+2 vs. 4+1]
The halberd draws quite a bit of blood, but this doesn't seem to stop the dolphin using Mark's leg at all, and it just continues in its assault.
[Screechy vs. Mark: 4+2 vs. 4+2+1]
Now, though, it can't get quite as close to Mark due to all the slashing and stabbing coming from the skeleton. This, obviously, does not discourage its friends.
[Beakley vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 1+3]
[McStrange vs. Mark: 5+1 vs. 6+3]
[Counterattack: Mark vs. McStrange: 3+2 vs. 2+1]
The other two dolphins are successfully repelled, and Mark even manages to stab the strange one a little - it is unimpressed, and there's not even any blood. The dolphins seem to be getting a little bored, actually. Mark notices just as he realizes that he's managed to get about halfway to the bit of glass lying about on the ground.
Further away, Sigmund works out a strategy. This strategy is to look more closely next time when he is picking out things to spit at people, and he puts it into practice immediately, locating another shiny cobblestone!
He is rather disappointed when it turns out instead to be a somewhat peevish isopod that chews on his mouth distractingly right up until the moment he elects to simply spit it out nearby - he's pretty sure this thing is too light to cause any serious damage, anyway.
Morton, ever the helpful half-desk, tries to throw more flasks to widen the broken glass area.
[Morton's throwing roll: 1]
[Sigmund's dodge roll: 5-1-1]
Unfortunately, the only thing he manages to hit is the worm, the glass smashing over its side and creating a series of small lacerations. Morton wonders if it knows what just happened, and if it is likely to try and take vengeance upon him.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott keeps on trying to find his way according to the directions of the voice.
"Any chance you can actually physically steer me out?!"
"Signs point to yes, Jeremy!" the voice says, and Scott feels himself turn. He heads in the direction he eventually attains, and suddenly comes to a rather strange place - the rest of the place is still blinding white, but now there appears to be a rather large, circular dark spot in front of Scott. Through it, he thinks he can see... something.
"Go through it! I want to see what happens! If it works, come back and tell me you're fine!"
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren attempts to resize the construct baby to be a bit larger - hopefully this would work.
[Darren's telekinesis roll: 2]
Unfortunately, though, the resizing is a bit difficult to do, what with the insects frantically carrying the baby simulacrum around the graveyard. This fact also somewhat hinders the other steps of his plans, given that he'd need to somehow sneak past the insects to get into the construct, then somehow get out of their literally steely grips and walk into the building.
Post by: Xantalos on March 07, 2014, 03:11:19 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 07, 2014, 03:13:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2014, 03:22:16 pm
Niklas decides that, when nature calls and humanity does not provide, savage virtues must prevail. He looks for a discreet corner. Fortunately, the layout of the tower being the chaotic mess it is, such a corner proves easy to find!
A few moments later, Niklas is once again at peace with his body. A bit inconvenient, he guesses, but what can you do (beyond magic, of course).
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren slowly shuffles over to his goal, the big building in the center of the graveyard. Just as he goes that way, however, some of the insects clearly notice him - after taking a quick look at the construct they're carrying, then at Darren, then the construct again, they seem to decide that he definitely does not belong here, and they, all as one, point their heads at him, faceted dragonfly eyes glowing and the air filling with rather ominous humming.
Post by: Tomcost on March 07, 2014, 03:55:06 pm
Look for a weapon that Kevin would be able to use more effectively than that board.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 07, 2014, 04:47:28 pm
Scott ...Swoops...in.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 07, 2014, 06:58:28 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 07, 2014, 09:35:44 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 08, 2014, 05:05:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2014, 04:43:37 pm
Scott guesses that there's no use turning around - there are only annoying voices and blinding light in that direction. So he swoops through the portal, suddenly finding himself in an alleyway - judging by the canals around him, it seems that he is in Mothdale once again! How extraordinarily fortuitous.
Now there's the question of whether to tell his new friend about this interesting discovery, or just bail before it realizes anything is amiss.
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren, always mindful of ominous humming and threatening moves made by creatures several magnitudes larger and mightier than he, turns around and nonchalantly gets out of the graveyard. The insects immediately resume their extremely noisy scurrying, which almost looks like they are running laps around the graveyard, swiveling their heads about in search of something.
Wonder what they might be looking for, really?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on March 08, 2014, 04:55:34 pm
Morton looks at the worm uneasily, not sure if he should apologize or not. Better safe than sorry he supposes? It is helping him and his two friends after all. "Er, m-my apologies my good..." The desk's mind locked up as to the gender of the worm, or even how one respectfully calls one a 'worm', before deciding to go fully neutral in termonology. "...Ally."
The worm does seem to want to cough something at the dolphins, but it seems to have dreadful luck in that regard. Maybe if he can find somethings the worm can throw, he can make amends?
Find rocks/stuff the worm can spit at the enemies! Preferably inanimate!
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 08, 2014, 05:16:21 pm
Sigmund, rather than embarrass himself further, decides to look for some kind of weapon, crawling off into one of the nearby houses - the good news is, there is a weapon! A very nice-looking weapon, actually - a rather ornate two-handed sword with a wicked curve Sigmund suspects to be more aesthetic than functional. But you have to work with what you've got, you know?
Morton, upon noticing that the worm has decided to search for something other than rocks, decides to embarrass himself in its place. That is how succession works, right? So he drags himself up and down the street a bit, but finds nothing of interest right up until the point he locates some shattered glass on the ground. That could certainly be useful, he thinks, and starts gathering it up. Honestly, what kind of vandal would fill the ground with shattered glass like this? The idea is nothing short of barbaric, really.
Mark and Kevin, meanwhile, find themselves locked in what may turn out to be deadly combat.
[Grab: Kevin vs. Screechy: 3 vs. 3+1]
First of all, Kevin finds out the hard way that dolphins are pretty slippery and have few articulate parts that he can easily lock in place under the best of circumstances, let alone when they are aggressively battling.
[Mark vs. Screechy: 4+2 vs. 4+1]
Similarly to Kevin, Mark realizes that dolphins don't really respond favorably to being poked with a halberd from a distance either. They are a mysterious race, that is absolutely certain.
[Screechy vs. Mark: 1+2 vs. 5+3]
Fortunately, the dolphin volunteers itself for a slight change in combat conditions, leaping right at Mark in a way that practically begs for a skewering.
[Counterattack: Mark vs. Screechy: 1+2 vs. 2+1]
This is made more than a little embarrassing for Mark when he comically misses the dolphin as it flies right past him. Damn these slippery things.
[Punt: McStrange vs. Mark: 2+1 vs. 6+3]
Fortunately, another dolphin takes its place and offers him a chance for redemption.
[Counterattack: Mark vs. McStrange: 3+2 vs. 2+1]
And, while he does not quite skewer the creature, he does give it a nice slice on the chest, which does not bleed at all, once again.
[Punt: Beakley vs. Mark: 6+1 vs. 3+3]
[Mark's balance roll: 3]
And as Mark considers this, he is very rudely punted in the side by the third dolphin, which upsets his rather delicate posture and sends him rolling toward the nearby canal, only stopping near the edge. These dolphins do hit pretty hard when they hit, he notices as he is laying at the possibly dangerous precipice.
Post by: Xantalos on March 08, 2014, 05:20:24 pm
Sit down and read Chanting: The New Method!
Post by: Innsmothe on March 08, 2014, 05:26:55 pm
Scott will head back through and tell his new ghostly buddy.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 08, 2014, 06:25:24 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 08, 2014, 06:35:03 pm
If there is a Dolphin trying to push Mark into the water, push them aside. Also burp in its face.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 08, 2014, 09:07:59 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 09, 2014, 12:17:32 am
If he can get there before the dolphins somehow, the desk will drop the broken glass around him and Mark and hold a flask at ready to strike at any dolphin that gets within range, seeking more to keep them away than actually harm them.
If he gets there at roughly the same time, he'll try to tackle/ram one of the dolphins away from Mark.
If he lags behind by a good bit, he'll try to chuck another flask between Mark and the dolphins.
Post by: miauw62 on March 09, 2014, 04:38:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 09, 2014, 08:23:26 am
Try to grab the nearest dolphin again.((I'm going to give you a sword! A sword! And they have a +1 to not bein grabbed))
Post by: miauw62 on March 09, 2014, 08:42:13 am
Post by: Yoink on March 09, 2014, 08:48:57 am
Instead, he bobbed happily up and down above the pair, practically singing out his agreement with the young man.
"Yes! I's gonn' be real helpful! I brings you all da food youse can eat, keeps you all hideaway'd from dem weird peoples in da middle-town, we can goes on adventures together, sees lotsa places, all sortsa fun stuff!" Why, if his face was a tangible thing Timothy was sure it would be hurting from smiling so hard!
...Then he remembered about the whole 'just destroyed their home and broke the poor guy's legs' thing. Mmmaybe he was getting a tad bit ahead of himself. He decided to add, "Er, well, once youse legs is fixed, anyways. Maybe I's not helps so much wif dat, is not uh, a real-goods idea..." He coughed softly.
"Is you knowing abouts fixin' legs an' stuff?" he asks the woman, his tone cautiously hopeful. He's still not sure whether she trusts him yet, after all!
>Talk talk talk with my new friends! Ask what's-her-name if she can fix what's-his-face's legs!
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 09, 2014, 09:49:38 am
Niklas, his needs satisfied for the moment, sits down to read "Chanting: The New Method". It looks like a reasonably old book, at least thirty years old from the looks of it, so Niklas suspects the method described may not be all that new. Regardless, he digs in.
The book explains that the 'new method' it deals with is chanting itself, which seems to have been taking the magical world by the storm at the time of the book's writing. Chanting, compared to the then-standard, less effective method of using copious amounts of drugs to get oneself into the proper state of mind for reality alteration, has many virtues. For one, it is rather inexpensive. It is also easy to do (although there is a need for some background knowledge and reasonably good diction), and only in cases of improper use does it have notable side effects!
Chants, it explains, are tools used to attune the mind to a specific task, to concentrate it and remove distractions until only a singular purpose is left. The linguistic construction of chants was found and tested empirically at first, but now the principles are becoming clearer and clearer, though they are a bit too complicated to fully explain here. Due to their great utility and ease of use, chants are rapidly becoming the tool of choice for obtaining magic, the book says. It opens up with what it describes as the basic chant - the Single Thought Chant. While it was not the first discovered chant (that honor goes to the Empty Mind Chant), it is definitely the most crucial to any who hope to begin to wield magic without engaging in very difficult meditation techniques or extremely dangerous focus creation attempts.
There are several things to remember about chants - firstly, there are several kinds, and these correspond to different modes of thought. The most conventional ones are linear ones, and these include examples like the Single Thought Chant, the Empty Mind Chant, the Listening Chant, the Speaking Chant, the Cold Chant and others. While they are highly useful, they are somewhat limited in the power over the universe they grant - fortunately, there are others as well, for different thinking models. They are fewer in number, but their usage and research has been expanding at the time of writing, and it grants greater versatility, quickness and efficiency of reality alteration. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional thought patterns open up a whole lot of fascinating avenues for chanting and magic, and it is expected that future research will bear quite a lot of fruit.
Secondly, chants are frequently used in conjunction with one another. The most typical patterns are the Single Thought Chant followed by the Empty Mind Chant, and the Cold Chant followed by the Speaking Chant, though the latter serves no purpose in learning magic.
Thirdly, it is highly important to pronounce the chant as precisely, quickly and rhythmically as possible - that way they are most effective, though they may occasionally be too effective in some cases. Usually, when you're trying to chant, you should set aside about five hours of your day to deal with both the chanting itself and the mental aftermath.
In one of Mothdale's alleyways...
Scott decides to inform his friend in the other dimension that the portal is perfectly safe - he seems rather pleased!
"It worked! I knew it, Jeremy! I knew it!" it says, then Scott feels a prominent shifting in the area as something brushes past him, moving out of the portal, it seems - as it leaves, the whole place, previously so flooded with light that one could hardly see a thing, becomes immensely, infinitely dark instead, which is a bit of sensory shock for Scott. He looks around a moment, and notices blinding light coming from the portal now.
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
After watching the insects scurry for a moment, Darren decides to check if anything is amiss in the general area. However, the only things he can see are similar to what you'd see anywhere else in this part of town - ancient, still buildings made of steel, no apparent signs of life anywhere in the immediate vicinity. And the only sound, aside from a very distant dripping, seems to be the sound of the insects moving around the graveyard.
In fact, he can't even hear any other constructs in the vicinity. They must not be working very actively in this section of town.
At the harbor of Shriekpot...
Within one of the nearby houses, Sigmund attempts to loot the sword! Sucking it into his mouth, he is rather surprised when it pierces through his mouth, the blade poking out of his body. Nevertheless, he tries to get back to the others before it's too late.
[Sigmund's movement roll: 4-1]
This proves to be... a difficult task, to say the least.
Morton, meanwhile, tries to reach his compatriots as well.
[Morton's movement roll: 1-1]
However, since his movement rate averages out at .5 meters per second, he quickly reconsiders this strategy and tries to lob a flask in Mark's direction instead.
[Morton's throwing roll: 3]
The flask falls a little short, landing about three meters from Mark's prone form - the glass probably won't be enough to cause serious damage to anybody, but at least it's something!
Mark, who is currently prone and lying next to a canal, tries to get up.
[Mark's balance roll: 6]
Naturally, it's hardly difficult for him to do this at all - with a stylish twirl and an upward leap from a prone position, he manages to regain his standing position without any trouble at all, and tries to finish the grandiose maneuver with a timely prayer, bending his knee and trying to reach the goddess of war herself!
[Screechy vs. Mark: 5+2 vs. 4+3-1]
His attempts at divine address, though, are disrupted by one of the dolphins whacking him across the tree with his own leg. It's quite unpleasant.
[Punt: McStrange vs. Mark: 4+1 vs. 2+3]
[Punt: Beakley vs. Mark: 1+1 vs. 4+3]
[Counterattack: Mark vs. Beakley: 6+2 vs. 2+1]
After dodging another dolphin, Mark notices the strong-tailed one making a rather dire error - thinking that leap thing it does can surprise anybody more than once or twice. As the creature launches itself at Mark, the skeleton swings his halberd in a diagonal fashion, separating the dolphin messily in half - as the two halves land in the water, Mark suspects it'll stay down. The sight of their comrade perishing, strangely enough, seems to cheer the other dolphins, whose bloodlust only seems to become much more pronounced as a result.
Kevin, meanwhile, looks around for a weapon - it takes him quite a bit of time to notice the worm in the distance - it seems to have somehow stabbed itself with a nice-looking sword! Kevin jogs over to it in a leisurely pace, and takes a moment to remove the weapon.
[Kevin's delicate removal roll: 5]
He even manages to cause very little damage to the worm's mouth in the process! He wonders if the worm is now in his debt, to be honest.
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy is quite excited about the way the guy seems to be standing up for him!
"Yes! I's gonn' be real helpful! I brings you all da food youse can eat, keeps you all hideaway'd from dem weird peoples in da middle-town, we can goes on adventures together, sees lotsa places, all sortsa fun stuff!" he says, smiling manically before the entire business with how he smashed this guy's legs and livelihood pops back into his memory. "Er, well, once youse legs is fixed, anyways. Maybe I's not helps so much wif dat, is not uh, a real-goods idea..."
"Is you knowing abouts fixin' legs an' stuff?" he asks the lady after a short pause.
"What did you do to him, you bastard?" the lady spits out at him instead.
"It was an accident, dear! Don't blame the poor guy!"
"You messed with his head, didn't you? Didn't you?" she asks furiously of the air, having no notion of where Timothy might be. "Why? Why would you do that?"
Post by: Tomcost on March 09, 2014, 10:31:57 am
Bodyslam the leg dolphin. Faceburp and generally be annoying.
((What is the best use of limbless ally? Being a meatshield. Hell, the dolphin even uses blunt weaponry, that I hope is pretty useless against an unliving flesh worm))
Post by: miauw62 on March 09, 2014, 10:57:36 am
Kevin then realizes that it is probably not a good idea to charge aggressive dolphins standing at the edge of a dock, with destructive walrusses waiting below.
Run back to the dolphins, make sure to stop properly and then attack the dolphins!
Post by: Xanmyral on March 09, 2014, 11:07:49 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 09, 2014, 12:31:41 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 09, 2014, 05:47:03 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 09, 2014, 10:44:22 pm
Post by: Yoink on March 10, 2014, 12:51:13 am
Timothy was genuinely puzzled by the woman's words. His invisible brow twisted up into a wrinkly frown as he stared at her in confusion.
"I not did nothings to his head, the ghost explains with boundless patience, speaking slowly and clearly as though to a small child, "Is his legs what's all smashed up. An' dat was all accident, anyways! I not be makin' dem mistakes again, no, I's be real proper helpful now ons, dun' worry."
>Calmly explain to this strange lady that I've done nothing to his head, it's only his legs that I have (accidentally) damaged.
Hopefully she'll calm down and do something to fix it, so that we can all get to work being friends and stuff.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 10, 2014, 03:23:56 pm
Sigmund, hoping that he will finally be able to put his bulk to some use, tries to slam into one of the dolphins!
[Sigmund's movement roll: 4-1]
He even manages to reach a dolphin in a semi-timely manner to do this, in fact.
[Sigmund vs. Screechy: 1 vs. 1+1]
But the whole plan is marred by the way he seems unable to build up any speed, or even raise himself up high enough to annoy his enemy with some burping or whatever. Truly, if his form has a use of some kind, Mark has hidden it very well.
Kevin also has a pretty great idea he chooses to run with - he shall go forth and slash the dolphins. While making really sure not to charge, either! He jogs toward the melee, stops right before the dolphin with Mark's arm in its mouth and slashes.
[Kevin vs. Screechy: 6+2 vs. 2+1]
It is indeed gratifying to Kevin when the dolphin proves unready for his assault, succumbing to the series of slashes very much like a paper doll, the blade separating flesh with surprisingly little effort! With three diagonal slashes through its body, the dolphin is mostly slain, and lasts only a few seconds, shrieking something probably really nasty in whatever strange language these dolphins may or may not have devised before expiring noisily. Taking care of business, aw yeah!
Morton, noticing the battle begin to go in his comrades' favor, tries to involve himself more directly and provide aid.
[Morton's movement roll: 5-1]
Inspired by the hideous, yet entirely deserved violence, he gets over to the melee in record time, then ponders how best to provide aid. He decides that it would be best to try and impede the remaining dolphin somehow rather than try to attack it directly, and attempts to discreetly get underfoot (undertail?) while Mark performs a combat maneuver.
[Morton's impediment roll: 5]
[McStrange's balance roll: 6]
As he nearly trips the strange dolphin, he notices the creature direct its attention toward him - it looks rather enraged by the way all this broken furniture seems to be lying around like this is some kind of ruined office or whatever! It begins to flip out in place, shrieking at the skies defiantly, and after a moment of that, immediately rips Mark's leg out of its fallen comrade's mouth, waving it around in a declaration of war on this terrible, terrible universe.
[Mark's movement roll: 1]
Mark is rather impressed by the spectacle. So much so, in fact, that he entirely neglects to try and attack the distracted dolphin, or do much of anything, in fact.
At a place of inky dark...
Scott, having informed his new friend and thus fulfilled his citizen's obligation, heads out into the normal world and freedom again.
He finds it to be filled with blinding light, which makes it rather impossible to see.
"I had forgotten how spacious the material world was! Pretty amazing, isn't it, Jeremy?" comes the voice of his friend again.
At the engineers' graveyard of the City of the Dead...
Darren, having absolutely zero ideas on what else to do, goes off to investigate the distant dripping, heading back into the streets of the engineers' quarter. It is not too difficult to find, and turns out to be - surprise, surprise - water! Dripping from a cavernous ceiling onto the ground in the middle of a partially collapsed alley for what seems like a long time, judging by the sizable stalactite it's formed. The sound is regular, rhythmical and oddly mesmerizing, Darren finds.
Little surprise, then, that there seems to be another ghost here. Another one of those strange ghosts - it looks more like a melted pile of flesh with two eyestalks and a single arm poking out of it than anything human, and seems to be tapping out a rhythm with said hand that seems to be out of sync by exactly half a beat with the dripping. The way its eyestalks are gently waving in the air give Darren a strong impression that the creature is at peace.
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy is unsure what this lady is talking about. He had better set her straight on all this business she insists on bringing up.
"What? I not did nothings to his head, he explains slowly. "Is his legs what's all smashed up. An' dat was all accident, anyways! I not be makin' dem mistakes again, no, I's be real proper helpful now ons, dun' worry."
The woman seems unconvinced.
"There it is again! You keep doing it! You talk, and everything gets foggy in my mind for a moment! What are you playing at, huh? What could you possibly hope to gain from doing this? Just put him back the way he was and kill us already, you asshole! And if you try that voice thing again, I swear I'll slit his throat myself!" she says, sounding a little hysterical.
"What are you saying? Timothy's trying to help!"
"That's not you talking. It's just what he wants you to think! He's bending you to his will somehow!"
"No, he's-wait. Why do I trust him? He blew me up! He's obviously working for the BCM!"
"You see! He's screwing with your mind!"
The man seems to agree, as his eyes widen and his expression hardens a bit.
"Maybe the food's poisoned, too? This probably all just a game to him. Mess with us before killing us, why not, right?"
"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" the lady says, quickly moving to grab her boyfriend and get on out of here. She doesn't seem to be quite able to move him effectively, though - Timothy would say the man's poor diet is to blame. How else can someone be so starved and yet so tubby?
Post by: Xantalos on March 10, 2014, 03:29:28 pm
Post by: Yoink on March 10, 2014, 03:40:50 pm
Timothy was hurt. Deeply and truly hurt. Just when he thought he'd been making some headway with befriending these people, suddenly he was right back where he started- worse, even. He felt betrayed. All he ever wanted to do was help, after all. Couldn't anybody see that?
Maybe everyone in this weird town was just as crazy as the ones in the middle. Timothy didn't know, he didn't really care to think about it right now. He didn't want to think about it. He had a sad. As his lower lip began to tremble and he felt the first few ectoplasmic tears slide down his face, the poor young ghost felt truly helpless.
He didn't know where he was, he had only just managed to escape from those weird Other-places, he'd lost his friends and now, just when he'd thought he was making some new ones, they decided to say mean things and leave him. What if he really was just some evil ghost-person, trying to cause people problems and kill them? He didn't think so, though. He really was just trying to help, wasn't he? Timothy didn't know what to think anymore. He sniffled loudly and blinked his eyes a few times, then began to sob.
>Burst into tears. Cry my eyes out like only a grotesque, half-mad little ghostly blighter can.
Post by: Tomcost on March 10, 2014, 03:43:12 pm
Same plan as before, but with the dolphin that is still alive.
((Also, Kevin, that sword gave you a +2! You gotta thank me))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 10, 2014, 04:51:57 pm
Think I should defend, or pretend to be a broken desk set aside waywardly? 'Cause this dolphin could very easily kill Morton with that leg, I think.]
Post by: killerhellhound on March 10, 2014, 05:06:23 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 10, 2014, 05:12:13 pm
[Hm... So, will the dolphin go on a raged rampage on Morton, or pay attention to those attacking it? I guess that relates to if it thinks he's alive or not. Even so, it may just attack because of anger. I mean, did they see him chuck glass at them? Or were they paying too much attention to Mark?((I hope faceburping helps to distract him, hehe))
Think I should defend, or pretend to be a broken desk set aside waywardly? 'Cause this dolphin could very easily kill Morton with that leg, I think.]
Post by: Innsmothe on March 10, 2014, 06:07:47 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 10, 2014, 06:43:40 pm
"Ah.. H-Hello?"
Post by: Xanmyral on March 10, 2014, 07:59:10 pm
Morton will try to pretend to be nothing more than an inanimate, broken desk. If it looks like the dolphin isn't going to buy it or will attack anyway, the desk will focus on solely on defense until his allies can help.
Post by: miauw62 on March 11, 2014, 01:50:34 am
Attack the remaining dolphin!
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 11, 2014, 12:01:00 pm
Niklas, guessing there's only so many books he can read at this point, takes a look at that Unified Chant Compendium - it appears to be exactly what it says on the cover, a compendium of chants, neatly separated and indexed for easy use. The compendium has three large sections - one-dimensional chants, two-dimensional chants and three-dimensional chants, plus a small appendix of experimental four-dimensional work as well. The compendium's a bit too large to read in a single go, so Niklas supposes he'd be better off searching for some specific chant - there's a handy table of contents here, too.
The information held within the book seems to include many things - the name of a chant, an explanation of its effects, chant suggestions for added synergy, suggested chanting length, the chant itself in its entirety, with some having optional variants, and some comments by influential authors at the bottom of the entry. Each chant has about a page devoted to it in the first section, and one chant at the end takes up fourteen pages and seems to be filled with largely incomprehensible symbols.
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy feels quite betrayed by the not very nice people he was honestly trying to help. His sensitive soul is rather deeply hurt by these terrible blighters, in fact.
"But... but... but..."
Lacking any other option, he sniffs a little, then sobs, then starts to grotesquely weep and wail at the way the world seems to be going out of its way to hurt him and make him look like a bad guy. What kind of world does that? He cries his eyes out, the emotional outburst setting off a chain reaction in his mind, becoming a nearly self-sustaining process. The man and woman look creeped out by it, but nevertheless continue their attempts to escape, the woman managing a burst of strength and beginning to drag the man away. Timothy just weeps on as they slowly disappear around a nearby corner, and the dog briefly shakes in place before choppily flying after them.
Timothy is left once again alone and friendless, with nobody around even caring one whit for his feelings.
At the harbor of Shriekpot...
Sigmund, though a rather miserable failure at most other things, believes he can be of use in the dispatching of this dolphin - it is a four-on-one battle now, after all. So he tries to slam into the strange dolphin.
[Sigmund vs. McStrange: 1 vs. 5+1-1]
As he bumps into the dolphin, the creature gives him a long look. It seems he got its attention.
[Counterattack: McStrange vs. Sigmund: 4+1+1+1 vs. 2-1]
It proceeds to leap on top of him and begins smashing the everloving crap out of his not overly delicate body with Mark's leg - pieces of stolen human flesh fly as the leg is swung with unbelievable force by the dolphin. Whole chunks of Sigmund fly through the air, coating his comrades with generous helpings of skin and sinew. Within twenty seconds of wild flailing and ravaging of Sigmund's strange form, it finally reaches the orb deep within the worm's body - its first impulse upon noticing a shiny is, obviously, to hit it as hard as possible. The orb cracks.
[Sigmund's will roll: 4]
Sigmund is nearly paralyzed with fear, and his mind hearkens back to a day in his life when his very own mother told him that the best thing to do when being bullied is to curl up, bear it and let whoever was taking out their issues on you wear themselves out - it's this particular form of paralysis and seclusion that seems to be preventing his very soul from leaking out of the cracked surface of the orb.
It takes a few moments for the others to finally get their undead behinds into gear and try to aid the brave little worm that tried as hard as it could. Mark goes first.
[Mark vs. McStrange: 3+2 vs. 4]
He pokes the dolphin sharply, but it fails to react, and Mark doesn't think he can get too close without a serious risk of being struck.
Morton, realizing full well how fortunate he is to not have been on the receiving end of that particular outburst, tries to remain as unobtrusive and furniture-like as possible - it works perfectly, as the dolphin has found something else to take its frustrations out on.
Finally, Kevin attempts to help as well.
[Kevin vs. McStrange: 5+2 vs. 5]
He carves out a solid chunk out of the dolphin's side, yet the creature cares not one whit, and continues beating on Sigmund.
[McStrange vs. Sigmund: 3+3 vs. 5-1]
It doesn't seem to be devoting much attention to Sigmund's exposed orb - rather, it seems to insist on destroying as much of the worm's already gutted and torn form as it can, accidentally knocking the orb aside a little as it devotes all of its attention to turning Sigmund's former body into a bloody smear. Sigmund, though he feels like he probably could move his body, wonders if he really should. The dolphin could take that as provocation.
In a place of blinding white...
Scott asks if his new friend could maybe tone down this whole 'being the Sun' thing he's got going.
"Can you turn down the light, and allow me to gaze upon my savior and new found friend?"
"No, Jeremy, don't be ridiculous! That won't work at all! The light is who I am! Weren't you listening? Besides, we've been best friends for the past seven hundred years! You know what I bloody well look like, you silly bugger! Now come on! To adventure!" the voice rebukes him, and begins to lightly whistle as it floats upward.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren watches as the odd creature keeps tapping its beat, eventually daring to speak up.
"Ah.. H-Hello?" he asks unsurely, and one of the creature's eyes twists to face him, and he notices a mouth swim out of the transparent flesh, its rather disturbingly large lips smacking a few times before speaking to him.
"Hey there, beautiful. What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?" it asks in a deep, definitely male voice while still regarding the stalactite with one eye and not missing a single beat.
Post by: Xantalos on March 11, 2014, 12:03:42 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 11, 2014, 12:05:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 11, 2014, 12:10:59 pm
Hmm. Wasn't there something the fat lady had sent me out for?
You do remember that she sent you out for a book, the one you tried to read, but couldn't because you hadn't read all the things on its reading list. It's been one and a half days since she sent you out, you would say. This reminds you that you're feeling kind of hungry again.
Post by: Xantalos on March 11, 2014, 12:14:47 pm
Try to read that book again afterward. Surely skimming the texts it recommends count, right?
Post by: Tomcost on March 11, 2014, 12:40:52 pm
((Hey, that's my first will roll, right? I SURVIVED A WHOLE CHAPTER WITHOUT MAKING A WILL ROLL. I mean, to determine wether I die or not))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 11, 2014, 03:04:48 pm
Welll, there were these neat guys I've been hanging around with, if they are anyway competant they should be looking for the ship, probably located at the harbor. Would you like to say hello?
Post by: Xanmyral on March 11, 2014, 05:47:17 pm
Oh dear, that strange dolphin sure is giving that poor worm a once over. The desk momentarily thought about not getting involved, but the worm did only try to help them, it would only be fair to help back. But what can he do in his state?
Wait, is that surgeon Mark's leg? Is the dolphin beating on that strange worm with a leg? That will not do, not at all! For one, that's one of his compatriot's limbs, one can't just beat another within an inch of their life with that! That's just dreadfully rude, which is only compounded by that the 'another' in this case is a rather helpful worm!
Perhaps through more bravado and wanting to help than actual brains, the desk attempts to disarm the strange dolphin of its weapon! And then promptly go on the defensive if possible.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 11, 2014, 05:48:34 pm
Use his distraction to skewer him on my sword, while Mark hopefully does the same with his halberd.Having had the same idea Mark skewers the dolphin on his halberd.
Post by: Yoink on March 11, 2014, 05:54:08 pm
>Continue crying!
Can't bottle this stuff up, y'know? That's how you end up with baggage. And baggage is heavy. And telekinetically carrying heavy stuff is hard.
Post by: Tomcost on March 11, 2014, 06:18:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 12, 2014, 09:27:53 am
Kevin, seeing how the dolphin is quite distracted, attempts a skewering to make it get with the program and die like it's supposed to.
[Kevin vs. McStrange: 2+1 vs. 2]
The shape of the sword is not too conducive to such an approach, however, and the dolphin is merely poked instead. What a dreadful performance, truly.
Morton, feeling like he should contribute a bit more, also tries to help out a bit by shuffling up to the dolphin and attempting to disarm it.
[Morton vs. McStrange: 4-1 vs. 4]
Sadly, he is not tall enough for his hand to reach the dolphin's mouth, and thus the creature remains completely undisturbed. However, there is hope yet in Mark, who attempts a skewering of his own.
[Mark vs. McStrange: 3+2 vs. 3]
The dolphin, sadly, insistently continues in its complete ignorance of any and all stabbings inflicted on it, and focuses on beating Sigmund as deeply into the ground as possible.
[McStrange vs. Sigmund: 1+3 vs. 5-1+1]
It doesn't seem to be doing much except liquefying some choice bits of anatomy, however - the orb, though in a perilous location, is nonetheless quite safe within an as of yet untouched fold of the worm's flesh.
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas tries to find something to eat once more - fortunately, somebody has left an unattended pie on a nearby bench - before its owner can return, Niklas grabs it and vacates the area, eating the pie in a dark corner - it doesn't taste very poisoned, at least not going in, so Niklas thinks he might be in the clear. That hit the spot rather nicely, actually. Time to get to business.
He takes out the book on metamagic, and tries to read it once again. However, it seems that he clearly has not progressed far enough through multidimensional thought - the book starts to get downright arcane after devoting a chapter to nonlinear symbolism and its applications in metamagic - seems like you need a solid grasp of these principles to actually practice efficient metamagic to begin with. How very saddening.
In a blindingly lit area of Mothdale...
Scott decides to follow his new friend despite its very unfortunate fluorescence, floating upwards along with it.
"Well, there were these neat guys I've been hanging around with, if they are anyway competent they should be looking for the ship, probably located at the harbor. Would you like to say hello?"
The voice seems surprised.
"Wait, what guys? There was nobody in that pocket dimension! Nobody but you and me, Jeremy! I think that was just your imagination acting up again, buddy!"
They float upward for a moment, and Scott realizes that, while he faces away from the voice, he can actually sort of see. Everything he can see looks really dark, of course, but at least he can see what he thinks is the city below. They're pretty high up, actually.
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy just continues bawling with all his might, letting it all out. His cries and sobs echo into the empty streets of Blynn, and it feels like he has been at this for hours when Timothy suddenly becomes aware of somebody next to him.
"There, there, big fella. It'll be alright," the person, a fellow dressed as one of the guards of Blynn says. He's one of the mage-types, it looks like, and has a very significant LM stitched on the fabric covering his armor. "I'm sure you'll get through this. At least you weren't liquefied, you know? Being liquid really sucks, I hear."
Looking around, Timothy notices two other guards, non-magical ones this time, checking out the pink puddles on the ground. He also notices that he doesn't seem to be invisible anymore.
Post by: Xantalos on March 12, 2014, 10:07:00 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 12, 2014, 10:51:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 12, 2014, 01:56:59 pm
((I am tanking! As a flesh bag! Wooo! Who needs armor? Haha. I'm going to die))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 12, 2014, 04:51:41 pm
Head towards the docks...at speed....lighting large fires for guidance if necessary.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 12, 2014, 04:55:58 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 12, 2014, 05:12:07 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 12, 2014, 08:50:42 pm
"Well, ah, I'm looking for an artifact, but there's those beetles over there. Do you know what they're looking for?"
Post by: Yoink on March 13, 2014, 01:17:11 am
In fact, he seemed rather nice. Timothy felt somewhat cheered up already, as well as a little guilty for being so mistrustful of these people without every having met them. He sucked a long strand of ghostly mucus back up his nose and spoke, his voice muffled by crying.
"...Thangks. Uh, who id you? My nabe id Timovy."
>Cease crying and thank this compassionate guard fellow, then introduce myself.
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2014, 02:43:01 am
Niklas, sure that he has fulfilled any and all obligations he might have had in regards to the books, heads out to find the fat lady and ask her what to do now that he's all booked up. Oddly enough, just as he thinks this, he notices the fat lady floating down a nearby hallway calmly. Excellent! He trots over to her and displays the book proudly. The fat lady gives him a glance, then looks at the book.
"And you were... the... ex-chair, I believe?"
Niklas nods.
"You've got the book, I see. Took you long enough. I assume you tried to read it, yes? It doesn't really matter, honestly. You'll have to eventually. Your next task is to obtain the blood of a virgin. Have a vial," the fat lady tells him, and a vial floats out of her pocket, landing in Niklas' hand. "Be quick about it, if you will. There's only so long we can spend on the basics."
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Kevin, sick and tired of this crazed dolphin's enduring moxy, tries to slice off its silly head already.
[Kevin vs. McStrange: 6 vs. 3]
The dolphin does not even dodge as Kevin's blade goes straight through its upper body - the head is very neatly severed! Have to love that amazing sharpness, Kevin thinks.
Distressingly, however, the head, even after falling to the ground, does not seem to have let go of the leg in its mouth. Or stopped moving, for that matter. It jumps back toward the worm and keeps trying to destroy it! This distresses Mark as well, who feels he should fix this mess as quickly as he can.
[Mark vs. McStrange: 2+2 vs. 2-1]
He sinks the blade of his halberd right into its skull, causing it to leak out a little bit of its brain, but that doesn't seem to quite work either! Mark gets the sneaking suspicion that this might not be a regular dolphin, as does Morton, who keeps trying to disarm it in order to minimize its threat.
[Disarm: Morton vs. McStrange: 3-1 vs. 3-1]
He manages to actually catch the leg this time around, but the dolphin rips it out of his hand almost immediately, concentrating on his most hated enemy on this earth - Sigmund!
[McStrange vs. Sigmund: 2+2 vs. 1]
And through its bouncing and flailing, it clears off more and more of Sigmund's bits until the orb is well and truly exposed - most of Sigmund's body is torn off and scattered around the area, he notices, finding his movement range even more limited that before, sadly enough. And then the dolphin knocks the orb loose, causing Sigmund's vision to go completely dark suddenly, and his surroundings completely vanish.
In the air above Mothdale...
Scott decides that he can prove he's not some kind of crazy person with a wild imagination! He just needs to find his friends!
"I'll prove it to you. Follow me."
"Oh, all right. But I'm telling you, you won't find anything, Jeremy!"
Scott is unamused by this pessimism, and heads to the docks, followed by the voice. He reaches the place eventually, but there's a bit of trouble - he can't really see anything - slightly darkened shapes of buildings and ships are the best he can do, sadly.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren decides that he'll engage this enchanting pile of misshapen flesh in conversation.
"Well, ah, I'm looking for an artifact, but there's those beetles over there. Do you know what they're looking for?"
The fleshy thing considers it for a moment.
"Well, you're in the right place, cute stuff. That place with the beetles is the big mausoleum where they keep all the artifacts. They don't like visitors very much, though. They let only those who look right in. You have to be someone like me to get in there. Somebody talented, you know?"
Its eye winks at Darren in a conspiratorial fashion at that last bit, and its monstrous lips twist in a grin.
"Why do you wanna go in there, anyway? Place is dangerous, you know. Wouldn't want a cutie pie like you to get hurt or anything."
Outside a ruined tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy, confronted with a reasonable authority figure, feels quite cheered already, and speaks to the man, voice muffled by ectoplasmic tears and mucus.
"...Thangks. Uh, who id you? My nabe id Timovy."
"I'm Lenny, and I'm sorta keeping this town safe - well, what's left of it, anyway. Where'd you come from, Timothy? I don't really recall seeing you in town before. You a new arrival?" he asks, smiling politely.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 13, 2014, 05:08:34 am
Leaving the halberd in the dolphins head to encumber it Mark races forward grabs the orb and races away keeping it away from the dolphin
((I feel so stupid for not thinking of that before grab him and get him away from the dolphin instead of trying to kill the dolphin before he killed))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2014, 05:41:44 am
Mark seeing the orb fall out feels a sense of dread that orb contains the soul of his friend he knows
Leaving the halberd in the dolphins head to encumber it Mark races forward grabs the orb and races away keeping it away from the dolphin
((I feel so stupid for not thinking of that before grab him and get him away from the dolphin instead of trying to kill the dolphin before he killed))
Quick note - the halberd is not still in the creature's skull. Would you like to deposit it there?
Post by: killerhellhound on March 13, 2014, 06:16:39 am
Mark seeing the orb fall out feels a sense of dread that orb contains the soul of his friend he knowsQuick note - the halberd is not still in the creature's skull. Would you like to deposit it there?
Leaving the halberd in the dolphins head to encumber it Mark races forward grabs the orb and races away keeping it away from the dolphin
((I feel so stupid for not thinking of that before grab him and get him away from the dolphin instead of trying to kill the dolphin before he killed))
Nah go straight for Sigmund's orb. Save him first kill later
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 07:20:34 am
((Oh, god, undead dolphin hivemind? This is going to be a tough fight))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 13, 2014, 07:37:08 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 07:46:47 am
1) They are zombies. This means a +1 to strength.
2) Their anatomy gives them +1 agility and endurance out of the water.
1) coupled with 2) divided by 2 gives them those 1 bonuses to attacking and defending))
Post by: Xantalos on March 13, 2014, 10:09:29 am
Go off and examine body for virginity. If positive, cut finger with the dagger and get the blood in the vial, then head back to fat lady.
Post by: miauw62 on March 13, 2014, 10:20:23 am
CHOP THAT MOTHERFUCKER INTO TINY PIECES.
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 10:22:02 am
((After we finish fighting, we should really really just make a run for it ASAP. Three of these fuckers is bad enough, and there's probably many, many more.))((Should we run into the forest? Maybe the Gub doesn't have a large area of influence. I miss the hateful mushroom...))
CHOP THAT MOTHERFUCKER INTO TINY PIECES.
Post by: miauw62 on March 13, 2014, 10:23:05 am
Post by: Yoink on March 13, 2014, 10:39:31 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 10:45:11 am
Post by: Xanmyral on March 13, 2014, 10:57:21 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 11:02:58 am
[Also, realize that any of the sea animals or animals in general in the area may be like the dolphins. You think these dolphins are bad? Try the walruses, I bet they're much worse. But yeah, flee like crazy, recover, try to figure out what to do next.]((Augment ourselves with their body parts?))
Post by: Yoink on March 13, 2014, 11:07:24 am
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Timothy managed to pull himself together somewhat. This Lenny fellow was certainly quite reassuring.
"Yeah... I gotten losted a whiles ago an' ends up in Blynn. Been losted a real long times, not much sure where I's come from," the ghost said, wracking his brains for a name for that far-off, half forgotten land of sunshine and smiles where he'd wandered happily before ending up in the Other-place, "But I knows dat I had a friend names Mister Bob there! And 'nother one called Hansel. Hansel weared all feathery-stuff, an' Mister Bob is had lotsa scary-crows on da garden..."
He trailed off and peered hopefully at Lenny, wondering if perhaps the man had heard of them. He doubted it, though. he didn't know much about this place, but he was sure it was far away from anywhere he'd been before. If only he could remember the name of that place where he'd met Bob... He had trouble remembering things from one minute to the next, much less from that long ago.
"Dis Blynn place is seems real-nice, though," Timothy said, remembering his manners, "I's sure you does realgood job of safe-keepin' it!"
>Tell Lenny about how I got lost and ended up here in Blynn.
>Try my best to remember the name of the place I came from, before all this scary interdimensional travel and other such distracting nonsense.
>Either way, follow Lenny. He seems nice.
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 11:24:37 am
Post by: Xantalos on March 13, 2014, 11:48:02 am
Post by: Xanmyral on March 13, 2014, 11:51:03 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 12:10:43 pm
[Because we exist. And Mark out danced the hell outta them. They be jelly h8ers yo. Note to self: never use that phrase or type like that again.]((I agree with the text-that-must-not-be-seen.))
Post by: miauw62 on March 13, 2014, 01:35:17 pm
((Either way, we probably want to find the Artiste too, or half of our party may suddenly drop dead.))
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 01:47:17 pm
((whyu h8in brah? not like theirs like anythin' wrong with dat!))
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Quote
((Either way, we probably want to find the Artiste too, or half of our party may suddenly drop dead.))((This. It is like, really important. Like, to not ruin the GM's expectations besides shoving our deaths into the future a little bit more))
Post by: miauw62 on March 13, 2014, 01:52:09 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 02:15:13 pm
((The problem with this is: [Searching: 1] oh hey another dolphin.))((Or: hey, slime cloud, or hey bird attack. Yeah, we should stick together.))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 13, 2014, 02:46:59 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 13, 2014, 04:09:14 pm
Mark decides to run interference for Sigmund, and tries to get the little orb before the dolphin head can!
[Opposed Quickness: Mark vs. McStrange: 3 vs. 6]
Before he can even hop forward, though, the dolphin has spit out Mark's leg into the nearby canal and grabbed the shiny orb in its teeth - as the others move to attack, the dolphin rolls away and gnashes its teeth over the smooth white surface of the soul container!
[Sigmund's durability roll: 3]
It cracks very visibly, and the poor little soul of Sigmund within the sphere shrieks mentally (and thus inaudibly), fearing the new sucking holes in his home greatly as they attempt to pull his being out into the great in-between.
[Sigmund's will roll: 4]
Somehow, he is not gone yet! He feels like his position is incredibly tenuous, however, and the orb's structural integrity is in quite a bit of peril.
Morton thinks on whether it's a good idea to try and snatch the orb from the dolphin's jaws - he supposes there have been better ideas, but this one is pretty close to his original thought of disarmament.
[Stealing: Morton vs. McStrange: 4-1 vs. 6-1+1]
[Chomp: McStrange vs. Morton: 6+1 vs. 1]
He doesn't quite manage to draw his hand back before the dolphin bites it right off, along with most of his forearm. Morton can't help but wonder if that was worth it as Kevin throws his hat into the ring.
[Kevin vs. McStrange: 5+2 vs. 3-1]
He starts to wildly chop at the head, slicing off chunks of flesh and bone until he's fairly sure he's gotten to the brain matter, which he proceeds to chop some more. And even though this would pretty much stop any lesser undead, the dolphin - or, rather, the dolphin's jaws, for most of the rest of its head has been mutilated into unrecognizability, nevertheless continue to chomp on, harder than ever before, wood chips from Morton's former arm joining little flecks of white scrapings from the cracking orb.
It is a sad thought indeed that there are probably a lot more dolphins exactly like this one, the undead think.
At the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas has a bright idea and heads off to check his own body for virginity. A few minutes later, he concludes that this body is a bit too old for it to retain any anatomical indication of virginity, and while it may technically be a virgin, he definitely has no way to tell if that's the case, so he has to err on the side of 'probably not a virgin' this time around.
After all, it rarely pays to bank on things you have no clue about.
Outside a tavinn in Blynn...
Timothy feels composure coming over him slowly, but surely as Lenny reassures him.
"Yeah... I gotten losted a whiles ago an' ends up in Blynn. Been losted a real long times, not much sure where I's come from," he says, completely failing to remember the name of the place he came from, "But I knows dat I had a friend names Mister Bob there! And 'nother one called Hansel. Hansel weared all feathery-stuff, an' Mister Bob is had lotsa scary-crows on da garden..." he then trails off. If only all that business didn't feel like it happened so many years ago!
"Dis Blynn place is seems real-nice, though," he then remembers to say, "I's sure you does realgood job of safe-keepin' it!"
"Well, I'm not the only one working here. There's lots of guards here, and most of them are very good at what they do. But enough about that - sounds like you're very lost indeed, Timothy. I don't think I can guide you back to where you were from. But maybe I know somebody who can. Would you care to follow me?" Lenny asks softly, and Timothy guesses he can follow him - he seems nice, anyway. The other two guards look over at him, but don't seem to care overmuch that he seems to be leaving, and together they head out toward the center of Blynn, a walk that takes only about twenty minutes - the center of town seems very lively, absolutely bustling with activity.
"I'm going to take you over to meet my boss - he's a bit scary, but don't worry, he's actually pretty nice underneath it all. Heart of gold, really. Just don't talk back to him. Can you do that, Timothy? Can you do that for me?" he says genially.
Somewhere in Mothdale, presumably the harbor...
Scott tries to illuminate his way by lighting some buildings on fire.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 3]
A nearby building starts to burn a bit. Scott can't really see how much, blinded by the light as he is. It feels rather terrible.
Post by: Tomcost on March 13, 2014, 04:32:34 pm
((I say that breaking the joint would be pretty much the point in which it stops being a problem. Also, these guys work pretty much like us. That means they will almost never die. It is indeed a problem))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 13, 2014, 04:57:47 pm
((...See what I did there? >.>
Also You guys might want to look up, one madman and an ex-imprisoned god might be a hazard to your health. )
Post by: Xanmyral on March 13, 2014, 05:20:19 pm
"Oh dear."
The desk could only really think to say as he attempted to wave his nub where he could see it. Oh, the good craftsman who made them would probably feel bad knowing Morton took such terrible care of them. The tea apostle isn't quite sure what to do in all honesty, he's not sure he can even perhaps move in his current state.
Test movement without arm! What can he manage? Either way, cheer on allies with unending optimism!
Post by: Xantalos on March 13, 2014, 06:25:11 pm
Wander around the tower asking people if they're virgins in the meantime.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 13, 2014, 09:37:22 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 14, 2014, 01:59:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 14, 2014, 12:45:22 pm
Sigmund tries his very best to not die for once. He even gives prayer a shot, because really, why not? It has as much of a chance of helping as anything! He closes his mind, and focuses upon the glory of Velusius, god of death and magic. And he gets the distinct feeling that Velusius is quite amused, which is a good thing as far as he knows. Hopefully he's not going to die, eh?
Morton, who has just lost his single arm, feels like he's a bit past the point of providing any benefit to his compatriots in this fight, and, going out on a limb, so to speak, tries to ascertain his current mobility. He is pleased to discover that his arm was long enough that he can still use it perfectly well to move around on - it's just as inelegant as before, obviously, but he doesn't seem functionally impaired, anyhow.
Mark tries to get angry, but, on account of his previous experience with the fellow, fails to properly give a rat's ass about whether Sigmund's going to make it or not. Maybe he could get a pet undead dolphin to make up for the loss of his previous friend. He could ride it across the waves, unlike Sigmund. And it would bite stuff that sucks, also unlike Sigmund. And if he could teach it magic, it would basically be like a much better version of Sigmund. Really, the old bugger was close to being obsolete anyway. Nevertheless, Mark guesses he should make a token effort to get his "buddy" out of the creature's jaws. He hops over to the thing.
[Opposed Strength: Mark vs. McStrange: 6 vs. 5+1]
It seems that emotion seems to be working in the dolphin's advantage, though, which seems to make a crucial difference in how it seems to be able to defy Mark's grip. Mark guesses that's okay - he gets new friends all the time, he'll probably live.
Kevin, feeling like maybe Mark isn't doing all he can to help his buddy, tries to help! He runs up to Mark and snatches the jaws from his hands, trying to throw them away.
[Throw: Kevin vs. McStrange: 1+1 vs. 6-1]
[Counterattack: McStrange vs. Kevin: 3+1 vs. 5+1]
It's rather embarrassing when he completely fails to manage anything but the very girliest of throws, and the dolphin jaws practically slip from his hand, falling to the ground with a very unsatisfying thunk. Maybe he could kick it instead?
Just as he thinks this, the dolphin jaws make another chomp at the orb.
[Sigmund's durability roll: 4]
Fortunately for Sigmund, it does not sustain all that much damage this time around. Maybe whatever his silly friends are doing is working! Or maybe it's the prayer, you never know.
Not all that far away from the protracted melee...
Scott feels like he should try again, since the world sometimes seems to forget that it is there for the sole purpose of serving as fuel for the series of escalating disasters and rampages that we know as history, or at least the entertaining parts of history.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 4]
He can't see too well what it is that he just set on fire, but it doesn't seem very flammable.
"See? Nobody here, Jeremy! Just some useless ships! Now, let's move on up!" the voice says, beginning to float upward. "Follow me, Jeremy!"
At the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas petitions the only source of information about this whole virginity thing he can think of - Helsvar! She's got good ideas, right?
"Hey Helsvar, do you have any idea how to tell a virgin from the common crowd apart from seducing them?"
"I am fairly sure there is no way to actually tell for sure, my love. Even if you seduce someone, which I really would prefer you did not, what you discover provides no guarantees."
Having gotten this advice, Niklas decides to go for the direct approach. He walks around the tower, asking people if they happen to be virgins - however, everybody he asks seems very insistent on the fact that they most definitely aren't any such thing, and some just plain avoid him. Wonder why.
Post by: miauw62 on March 14, 2014, 12:52:58 pm
((Hint now would be a good time to slash it apart.
Post by: Tomcost on March 14, 2014, 01:36:06 pm
Engage in a worshipping trance
((Now I found a way to go towards the priest path. I actually wanted Sigmund to get into this from some time ago, but didn't find a way to do so.
Also, I hope that the joint is finally broken soon, that would end its threat))
Post by: Xantalos on March 14, 2014, 04:53:56 pm
Continue going around asking if people are virgins. Explain that I need their blood.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 14, 2014, 06:13:42 pm
He guesses that the orb must be important, and he thinks he saw it get snatched from the worm. "Place something hard near the hinge of the jaw, that should help I believe! Perhaps a rock, or something equally as durable and hard!" The tea apostle hopes that helps somewhat, and goes searching around for something of that repute, so he can at least point it out to his fellow compatriots to save them some time.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 14, 2014, 06:54:49 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 15, 2014, 12:58:19 am
"Yes, I ah, need an artifact for a friend, a close one. I promised him I would get it for him."
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 04:37:00 am
They are real...aren't they?
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 08:47:17 am
Kevin tries to grab the jaws again and spread them as far apart as possible - surely they will not be able to withstand a coordinated attack that such a maneuver necessarily implies?
[Opposed Strength: Kevin vs. McStrange: 5 vs. 3+1]
He manages to open them up a little bit, and the orb isn't quite as tightly secured anymore! And Mark looks like he is about to solve the jaw menace once and for all, too!
[Mark vs. McStrange: 4+2 vs. 3-1]
The blade of the halberd strikes the joint between the dolphin's maxilla and mandible, separating both halves very decisively. The orb is safe! Hooray.
Morton, meanwhile, is only vaguely aware of the current state of the battle as he pokes the corpse of the worm - he realizes that the creature, whatever it may have been, is very definitely devoid of life. He looks over at the jaw that the two others seem to be messing with, and is about to offer advice, but the business seems to have been concluded - the jaws are separated, and the threat of the dolphin seems to have been nullified. All is well until suddenly all three hear a voice in their minds.
~we are back, and we now have power beyond imagining!~
How unfortunate!
~it appears that things have slightly deteriorated in the absence of our guidance! commencing urgent fixes!~
How ominous!
In a state of senselessness...
Sigmund, having nothing to do, attempts to go for broke and enter a trance of pure worship. He thinks of Velusius, professing his undying love toward this presumably mannish deity he has never met, and hopes that the god will accept him into the fold! The trance is coming along nicely when suddenly he hears it - the voice! The voice of Velusius!
~I have to admit, this is kind of funny how you think I like it when somebody as worthless as you grovels to me. I guess there's kind of a point there, it is pretty fun to hear somebody squeal like you do. Like you're a rat in a trap. Because that's what you are to me. A rat with its body broken by the steel frame of my world. And I look down at you inside your little demon sphere, and I just have to laugh. It's almost a shame you're not in any real danger anymore. Or are you?~
[Sigmund's will roll: 6]
Sigmund feels a violent tug at his soul, and frenziedly clings on to the inner surface of his orb. That's not good.
~What fun, what fun! Let's try that again, shall we?~
[Sigmund's will roll: 6]
The pull comes back, stronger than before, and Sigmund only manages to cling on to the surface by conveniently forgetting that he actually has nothing to cling on to surfaces with. It's these comforting mental constructs that keep one alive more than anything, really.
~Okay, last time. Let's see if I can make your stuffing come out this time, shall we?~
[Sigmund's will roll: 4]
The last pull comes strongest of all, and Sigmund only barely holds on within his housing, simultaneously paralyzed and secured by the consuming fear of death that motivates much of what he does.
~Yep, you've got that rat-spirit in you, all right. But you'd best not squeak at me again, lest I come on over to poke at you more sharply. Have fun in your trap, you hear?~ the divine voice says, fading out while another voice fades in. It is regrettably familiar.
~greetings, sigmund! you seem to be trapped in a sphere! we have magic now and we can use you as our first test subject! is this agreeable?~
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas reassures Helsvar that he surely will not betray her, and continues in his rather ineffective strategy. He decides it best to be more assertive, and corners a particular young man in an isolated hallway. The young man glances at Niklas questioningly.
Niklas just runs at him, tackling him to the ground and pressing his knife against the fellow's throat while straddling him.
"Tell me, good sir, would you happen to be a virgin?" he asks.
"What?" the panicked man says, staring at the blade that appears to be treacherously close to his windpipe.
"Are you a virgin?"
The fellow gulps, the blade drawing a little blood in the motion.
"Uh... I..."
"Choose your answer wisely," Niklas adds, inching his body's face a little closer to the man.
"Erm... yes," the man caves at last. "I am a virgin. You can bleed me, just please don't kill me!" he then begins to plead.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren tries to explain his mission to the ghostly, fleshy thing before him.
"Yes, I ah, need an artifact for a friend, a close one. I promised him I would get it for him."
The creature's lips make a whistling noise.
"Now isn't that something. How close a friend are we talking here?" it asks. "The real close kind, if you know what I mean?"
Somewhere at the harbor of Mothdale...
Scott growls at the idea of his longtime friends being imaginary, surely it cannot be, can it? He flies downward, screaming their names at the top of his lungs.
"Mark! Siggy! Kevin! Morton! Artiste! Anybody! Where are you?" he shouts, and suddenly becomes aware of a presence near him.
"Hey, Scott! What's with all the light here?"
"Who's that, Jeremy?" the voice asks from above.
"Yeah, who is that, Jeremy?" the Artiste echoes.
~there is only the gub!~ a familiar voice goes off in their heads. ~very nice work on the new arrival, jeremy!~
Quite the reunion, all in all.
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2014, 08:57:04 am
Squeeze the stone again.
((There is literally no way this will end well.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 09:13:56 am
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK, Kevin thought.
Squeeze the stone again.
((There is literally no way this will end well.))
~there's no need for your crude language!~ goes the voice in your head as you squeeze the stone, and it is quickly joined by another one.
~Hey, how's it going? I'm kind of busy right now, would you mind getting back to me a little later?~ Lizzie asks him.
~yes, it would be proper to respect her schedule, kevin!~
~Who is this?~
~the gub!~
~Oh. The gub. Uhm...~
~being in charge of a city, mind and soul, is impossible for us to quantify in terms of being interesting, but it is very new and we are learning, to answer your question!~
~Yeah, I think you should maybe call later, Kevin?~
~but it is useful to peer into your mind! can you not speak more?~
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2014, 09:29:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 09:37:33 am
~Uh, yeah, sorry for calling again this soon. This thing is sort of a mind-manipulating hivemind or something. It would have probably been a good idea to tell you this earlier. We've all sort of been abducted.~
~false! they arrived in the city of gub, and thus were made subject to gub! no abductions were performed! and she knows full well what the gub is!~
~Uh, yeah, funny story about that...~
~it is the work of their lyman that the city of gub is here today! so we are all allies here, kevin!~
~I'm kind of in a meeting about that, actually. Really, can we talk later, Kevin?~
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2014, 09:52:59 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 10:01:49 am
~Okay. I doubt I'll be able to squeeze this stone again easily, so please don't forget about me.~
~Uh, yeah, sorry for calling again this soon. This thing is sort of a mind-manipulating hivemind or something. It would have probably been a good idea to tell you this earlier. We've all sort of been abducted.~
~I'll try,~ Lizzie's voice goes before she disappears from your mind.
~things are optimal again now that we are back! efficiency will be restored!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 10:14:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 10:26:13 am
~A-Are you telling me that you are now starting to do magic, and so you want to test it in a poor soul? I'd rather not, or at least not until you are better at it, I'm afraid, as it could probably be dangerous for me, and you wouldn't like me dying, right? Also, despite how I hate to have Mark practice his...art on me, I think that it would be convenint for me to have him make me a new body. Would you mind asking him?~
~very well! we shall try it on someone else instead! and notify mark as well!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 10:38:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 10:39:54 am
~Thank you! May I ask which kind of magic did you get?~
~the best kind!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 10:43:36 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 11:13:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 11:15:32 am
~Oh, so you can control everything, or maybe has veried uses? And considering how you wanted to experiment on me or somebody else, would it be necromancy? Or perhaps you learned how to transmute things?~
~necromancy!~
What in the nine rings of hell is going on?!
~a great many things, jeremy!~
"That really is a very broad question, to be honest."
"And I'm hardly the best person to ask, Jeremy!"
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 11:19:11 am
Where was I?...Who is the person I just brought into this world and what cruel fate have I brought on them?...Why did the Gub disappear?...Why was the artiste powerlessly imprisoned? AND WHY IS MY NAME APPARENTLY NOW JEREMY!?
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 11:24:55 am
O-kay.
Where was I?...Who is the person I just brought into this world...Why did the Gub disappear?...Why was the artiste powerlessly imprisoned? AND WHY IS MY NAME APPARENTLY NOW JEREMY!?
"You were in another dimension, Jeremy!"
"Sounds like it was quite a trip."
"And I'm Joe! I am the light itself!"
~joe is a very useful addition to our town! and we did not disappear! we were chanting! it limits our involvement unfortunately!~
"And I wouldn't say I was powerlessly imprisoned, it's just that I couldn't take any of my minions with me, and I would presumably need them later on."
"And your name's always been Jeremy, Jeremy! I gave it to you all those years ago!"
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 11:28:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 11:30:24 am
~Necromancy? Well, that's useful of you want to take control of beings who don't belong to anybody else, I think. Speaking of taking control of minions, why did those dolphins attack us?~
~they failed to appreciate the cut of mark's jib! the feeling is entirely understandable!~
Post by: Xantalos on March 15, 2014, 11:34:54 am
Cut the tip of one of his fingers and get his blood in the vial.
Then return to Fat Candace or whatever her name is.
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 11:36:21 am
~Speaking about death, I'm going to need to speak to the Artiste once I'm somewhat fixed. Would you be able to lead me to him?~
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 12:04:45 pm
~So, Mark angered them? I know that he somewhat lacks a sense of self-preservation, but he hasn't tried to fight many things at once before. I hope that he doesn't get himself killed...~
~Speaking about death, I'm going to need to speak to the Artiste once I'm somewhat fixed. Would you be able to lead me to him?~
~that would be very inadvisable! you are forbidden to speak to the artiste!~
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 12:59:59 pm
...
And, master...if you weren't powerlessly imprisoned...why are you still here? The voice said they were coercing you.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 01:06:25 pm
And what were the gub chanting?
...
And, master...if you weren't powerlessly imprisoned...why are you still here? The voice said they were coercing you.
~chants for magic! we have that now!~
"Well, like I said, all of my minions are out here - I get the feeling that the Sea of Death itself isn't very rich in human or undead life. And I can't really do this alone. At the end of the day, somebody has to do the busywork, and it sure is not going to be me."
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 01:12:57 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 15, 2014, 01:20:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 01:34:36 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 03:42:55 pm
[Cut to Scott jaw dropping]
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 03:49:58 pm
~That's...Unexpected, I have to say. Any particular reason for this?~
~he is subversive and presenting you to him will only further his personal goals! they are incompatible with the goals of the gub presently!~
Wait... you said that before...The Gub did not have magic before!? You seem magic in nature at the least!
[Cut to Scott jaw dropping]
~it is apparently magic of a sort, but it does not count because we inherently possess it! it is how we sense, communicate and dominate! this is secondary magic! acquired power!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 04:52:38 pm
((Harry, as I just can't do shit, I just can keep
((What is good is that I rolled two consecutive sixes and a 4 in soul fortitude, that's somewhat good, I think))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 15, 2014, 04:59:48 pm
~Subversive? Oh, I see. And what are the current goals of the Gub? I assume that everybody will eventually be in a better situation if they are accomplished, right?~
~the goals of the gub must remain a mystery! but you can certainly assume such a thing, yes!~
Post by: Innsmothe on March 15, 2014, 06:17:50 pm
Scott will look around his environment in detail.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 15, 2014, 06:36:41 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 15, 2014, 07:13:56 pm
In other words !!MEDICINE!!
Also ask the Gub to tell the others that I beat the dolphins in a dance fight so that was why they attacked me.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 15, 2014, 07:32:27 pm
Then Gub spoke.
~Ah, good group Gub, you're back and seem well from the sounds of it. I had feared something dreadful might have happened to you, your absence was expected but the hectic chaos was unfortunately not.~
The desk looked to his two companions as best he could. "Good jester Kevin, good surgeon Mark, perhaps we should find some place safe off the streets? I know of one such we could perhaps attend, the Apostle's Abode. I'm afraid I may need help getting there in my current condition however. Perhaps we can try to find good sir Sigmund along the way?"
~I do hope you don't mind me renaming the Dancing Fly, good group Gub. I felt that the original name was perhaps a bit of a detract to the new place, and felt this one was more neutral in that respect.~
Ask companions if they wish to go to the
Post by: Tomcost on March 15, 2014, 08:06:12 pm
Try my metaphysical sense to see if I can feel the Gub or not.
Post by: miauw62 on March 16, 2014, 03:15:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2014, 08:40:35 am
"He, ahm, saved my life once, if that counts, so I suppose he's rather close, yes."
"That sounds real romantic. I wish I could have someone like that, you know?"
"Acquired power you say? Has the artiste been giving you lessons?"
~no! evelyn has! her instruction has proven most useful!~
Post by: Yoink on March 16, 2014, 11:46:38 am
"Yep, alrighties- I's not talks nothin'."
>Agree not to 'talk back', follow the man to wherever he's leading me.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 16, 2014, 11:48:03 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 16, 2014, 04:31:40 pm
"Ah, yes, it's quite nice. But, ah, he really does need that artifact..."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 16, 2014, 05:29:11 pm
And have you shown affinity for particular things?
~affinity is not a real thing that exists!~
Darren leans back a tad, still uncomfortable.
"Ah, yes, it's quite nice. But, ah, he really does need that artifact..."
"What does he need the artifact for?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 16, 2014, 11:48:51 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 17, 2014, 09:57:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2014, 02:53:20 pm
Niklas takes a moment to drain a full vial of blood from the man - he seems to take it reasonably well, almost as if he is no stranger to being bled for profit. He probably isn't, come to think of it. When the glass container is filled, which takes quite a while, actually, Niklas gets off the person and goes to report to Fat Candace. She proves easy to find as usual, and gives Niklas a very nonchalant look when he presents the vial.
"Reasonably good work. Now, have you ever prayed to the God of Death? And do you know how to chant?" she asks of him, floating a little closer.
Somewhere along the harbor of Mothdale...
Scott looks around at his environment, but realizes that he still can't see a damn thing. This is disappointing, he thinks.
"Well, what were your magical interests?"
~manipulation of souls! this is now fully within the realm of the gub's power! next, we will attempt to harness the power of transmutation directly! and then telekinesis! and then the magic of life! and finally metamagic as well! and then energy manipulation, and possibly portal creation! many things and powers shall be gained by us before the week is done! and then the work will begin! we will transform this mostly empty city into the sprawling center of gub!~
For some reason Scott can't help but find this information a little troubling.
Slightly further away from Scott...
Mark takes a quick look around for his leg, but then realizes that the asshole dolphin spit it into the canal. He's not sure if diving in to get it would be the best idea, to be perfectly honest, and so contents himself with merely getting the orb and putting its occupant into a serviceable state again. That guy goes through so much abuse, it's getting ridiculous, to be frank.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 1+1]
Then again, why bother? Sigmund's hardly going to appreciate it, and he'll just go and wreck himself again. Maybe he can delegate this to someone else instead. He just doesn't have the energy for it, really. Especially with a sordid set of body parts like the ones currently on hand. Instead, Mark decides to ask the gub to relay to his companions exactly why he in particular seems to have landed on the grand dolphin hit list.
~we have already told all interested parties the reason why you were attacked!~ the gub tell him. Hm.
Morton, meanwhile, communes with the voice in the air.
~Ah, good group Gub, you're back and seem well from the sounds of it. I had feared something dreadful might have happened to you, your absence was expected, but the hectic chaos was unfortunately not.~
~we have taken the first steps to ultimate power! so we are 'well', as you put it! the chaos was unexpected, but the loss of assets will not be repeated! next time assets will be locked up in safe places! in fact, we have begun doing this already!~
Ah. Morton turns to his companions.
"Good jester Kevin, good surgeon Mark, perhaps we should find some place safe off the streets? I know of one such we could perhaps attend, the Apostle's Abode. I'm afraid I may need help getting there in my current condition however. Perhaps we can try to find good sir Sigmund along the way?" he asks, and Kevin just shrugs and picks him up, though they fail to go anywhere, much to Morton's disappointment.
~I do hope you don't mind me renaming the Dancing Fly, good group Gub. I felt that the original name was perhaps a bit of a detract to the new place, and felt this one was more neutral in that respect,~ he then thinks at the gub.
~it matters not! now, do you require a new body? we can provide one within minutes!~
In a dark void of tenuous existence...
Sigmund, having few better ideas, tries to check if he can sense the gub - the answer is a very definite yes. What he can also sense is death. It pervades the sphere he is trapped inside of, and his so-far dormant claustrophobia is on the verge of triggering, actually. Death in every direction, and endless darkness, and eternal peril.
Sigmund wonders when Mark will get his metal ass into gear and put him in a new body already. This is starting to become fairly frightening.
~the technique of soul transportation has been successfully tested! it works without issue! are you still opposed to the idea of us practicing magic upon you?~
In the center of Blynn...
Timothy agrees not to talk back to his betters as per Lenny's instructions - Lenny seems pleased.
"Great. Now let's go find the guy."
They head through the center of town, attracting few looks along the way - there actually seem to be other ghosts around here, interestingly enough. Eventually Timothy is led to the hill fort looming over the rest of the town - viewed up close, the magical nature of the fort really stands out. Virtually every wall gleams strangely, and it quickly becomes evident that there seem to be a great many manipulations of space put into place - Timothy, following Lenny's lead, keeps landing in all sorts of curious places that he did not intend to float to at all, but Lenny does look like he knows where he's going. Once again, nobody seems perturbed at all by Timothy's appearance or anything like that, right up until the moment Lenny leads Timothy up to a very imposing-looking office entrance - the jet black door has the letters "CLM-BCM" written on it in bright purple, which strikes Timothy as a little bit too much, but he follows his guide within regardless.
Within the door seems to be a very luxurious, yet also very fleshy and very distinctly breathing office, filled with strange, organic alternatives to what Timothy would expect to see in a magistrate's office - cabinets, a huge desk with a veritable throne behind it, several chairs, a whole lot of miscellanea he can't quite identify and more, all in a slightly unsettling shade of tan that reminds Timothy of human skin. And the man behind the desk, a very gnomish-looking, grinning gentleman in a robe that, did it not have the look of having grown out of the man's skin, Timothy would describe as far too luxurious for his presumed station.
"Sir, I have an individual in need of help here," Lenny says. "He seems to be lost, and would like to return home."
"How charming," the gnome of a man replies. "And why should I help him?"
"He is willing to provide help. Right, Timothy?" Lenny asks his companion. Timothy wonders how grave this choice might be.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren tries for a good answer on this latest question from the odd pile-thing.
"I don't know, exactly, but isn't that the point of friendship? Trust?"
The pile shrugs. It looks very strange, considering that it has no shoulders to speak of.
"Well, I guess. So, friendship, you say? How about we become friends? What do you say about that?" it asks in a tone Darren finds a little skeevy - granted, it is significantly less skeevy than before. "I take good care of my friends, you know," it says and winks at him.
Post by: Xantalos on March 17, 2014, 02:56:49 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 17, 2014, 03:04:39 pm
Never prayed to no god of death, and I have a bunch of books on chanting. I'm stubborn enough for it though.
"Stubbornness will avail you nothing in magic. Learn the methods of chanting and the mode of address for Velusius. Then return."
Post by: Xantalos on March 17, 2014, 03:08:03 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 17, 2014, 04:41:08 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 17, 2014, 05:28:23 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 17, 2014, 06:49:23 pm
!!MEDICINE!! him so he can go get my leg
Post by: Xanmyral on March 17, 2014, 07:44:56 pm
A new body? Morton can't help but wonder how exactly that would happen. Would Gub make him one? Transfer him to a new one perhaps? The desk can't really say with the strange being's new admittance of power. But the apostle of the tea leaf isn't one to turn down free help, and it would be rude for one to look a gift courser in the mouth, as they say.
~I would most certainly appreciate such a generous offer, good group Gub. I've only one request, if you don't mind, which is that the new body may be able to make tea effectively. Otherwise I've no qualms, whatever you believe is best good group Gub. Might I inquire as to how however? I must admit to being a tad curious.~ A small moment passed before the desk realized something.
~Oh, I should quite inform my compatriots of the transfer, I wouldn't want them to worry.~
"Good jester Kevin, good surgeon Mark, good group Gub has been kind enough to offer me a new form, and I've accepted."
Accept the Gub's kind offer of a new body! Warn allies of acceptance so they don't worry!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 17, 2014, 10:47:07 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 18, 2014, 01:54:34 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 07:32:39 am
Kevin, knowing no other way of communication without vocal cords, shrugs.((Back to old skelly days))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2014, 12:51:07 pm
Niklas sits down in front of Fat Candace and decides to read his chant compendium for the information desired.
About an hour later, he gets up, having learned nothing about addressing gods and knowing which exact chants he might want out of all these available ones. Fat Candace seems to have utilized Niklas' state of distraction to float away. Hm.
In a dark and scary void...
Sigmund wonders about the sort of body he could receive from the gub - probably something ridiculous in all likelihood.
~Well, if Mark doesn't decide to get his metal buttocks moving and make a body for me soon, I think that I will agree, it's getting too dark here. In which kind of body would you put me, in that case?~
~there will be plenty momentarily! we are in the middle of transferring assets, and free bodies of human beings and ratfolk should be available, starting... now! yes! there are human and ratfolk bodies available!~
In a harbor of blinding white...
Scott keeps on talking, but now decides to ask the Artiste for input.
"What are your thoughts on this development... and possible future, master?"
"What, the gub using magic? They've been rather harmless so far, actually, and I see no reason to suspect that they will be anything but the very nicest overlords of all they can see for all eternity. Nevertheless, I must order you to not listen to or fulfill any of the gub's orders or requests from here on in," the Artiste says firmly. Ah, that lash of magically-enforced authority. Scott has not missed it.
~we knew that we had neglected an important fact! but it was lost in our list of priorities!~ the gub say, and suddenly everything turns dark for Scott. When everything returns to a state of normality, there is no more blinding light. Instead, Scott can fully see the docks, which look just as mostly deserted as they did when he was here the first time.
~you are an unproductive and inefficient addition to the thinking apparatus of the gub! we are at a loss on what to do with you exactly! so for now, you are free! and if you seek out or happen to observe your master, your soul will be placed into a random place and shuffled around for as long as it is needed!~
Interestingly, both Joe and the Artiste seem to be gone, though the former's absence is certainly easier to spot.
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Morton, who is currently being carried, decides to stop being such an awful burden and accept transfiguration once again.
~I would most certainly appreciate such a generous offer, good group Gub. I've only one request, if you don't mind, which is that the new body may be able to make tea effectively. Otherwise I've no qualms, whatever you believe is best good group Gub. Might I inquire as to how however? I must admit to being a tad curious... Oh, I should quite inform my compatriots of the transfer, I wouldn't want them to worry,~ he says, looking at his compatriots and regaling them with the pleasant news.
"Good jester Kevin, good surgeon Mark, good group Gub has been kind enough to offer me a new form, and I've accepted," he says, and Kevin just shrugs while Mark remains steadfastly expressionless.
~commencing relocation!~
[the gub's magic roll: 5]
Suddenly, Morton feels an immense pull, and is yanked out of his own broken body with ruthless, yet painless efficiency. The period in between is only seconds long, but feels quite a bit longer - the sensation of hurtling bodilessly through the city is disorienting and bewildering, to say the least, and feels quite a bit like death, Morton observes after a period of calmly thinking about it. In fact, it might as well be death as far as he knows, except maybe it's the temporary sort of death, you never know.
Well, anyway, he doesn't die, fortunately enough - instead, he feels the altogether familiar - at least twice as familiar as death, in fact - sensation of entering a body. A body, in fact, that may have been alive mere moments ago! It feels warm, anyway, and its life signs have not disappeared entirely when he enters it. They even quickly resume once the transition takes - Morton is, in fact, kind of alive right now.
Opening his eyes, he notices a very filthy ceiling.
Mark decides that he does probably need Sigmund for something - fishing, for instance. That's a pretty good use for him, really. He takes out his tools and hops back to the orb, thinking up some kind of fishing-related design.
[Mark's "medicine" roll: 2+1]
He can't really think of anything much better than a net of some kind, and so begins slicing tiny little bits of flesh from one of-
~no time!~
[the gub's magic roll: 2]
Mark wonders what the gub meant by that, and continues his work on the net-thing - he starts making headway on the weave, actually. Eventually he manages to make a crude sort of fleshy fishing tool - now to only figure out how to put Sigmund in it, really.
Kevin, meanwhile, wonders what to do with his life now that he's shrugged and all the life has drained from Morton's former body. Hopefully the fellow's alright. Wouldn't want him to have died or anything. Hm. Wonder what kind of body the gub put him into.
~no time no time no time!~
[the gub's magic roll: 2]
The gub do seem awfully excited, Kevin thinks. Wonder why.
"Hey, Kevin!"
Kevin turns to look at the Artiste, who seems to have buggered over here from wherever he was before. The man looks quite excited.
"I forbid you to fulfill or listen to any orders or requests from the gub!" he says rapidly, and Kevin feels his very soul snap a little as the order takes effect.
~how tiresome!~
Kevin then immediately blacks out, and the Artiste performs a rather unusual ten-meter step toward Mark.
"Hey, Mark, I forbid you to fulfill or listen to any orders or requests from the gub!" he tells the skeleton, and the order takes effect similarly to how it did in Kevin's case. Furthering the similarity, Mark immediately blacks out as well.
The two undead wake up some time later, and the Artiste is nowhere to be found at that point.
~we order you to speak with and follow the artiste!~ the gub immediately say. For some reason, both Mark and Kevin immediately feel a very distinct aversion to the idea.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren attempts to discover more about this creature before agreeing to be its friend.
"Ah, yes, that would be delightful, but I have a question. What sort of things do you and your friends do? We can't very well be friends without shared interests."
"Well, I do suppose that's true," the thing says, twisting in place a little. "I rather like music, I suppose. I can tap out a pretty mean beat, I think. I also shapeshift occasionally. And I like geology, I guess. Other than that, I don't think I've done much in the past ten or so years."
Post by: miauw62 on March 18, 2014, 01:00:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2014, 01:02:53 pm
~Why?~
~don't ask questions and do it already!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 18, 2014, 01:04:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2014, 01:05:13 pm
~Where is he?~
~seek him out!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 18, 2014, 01:10:27 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2014, 01:14:32 pm
~Did he teach you this magic?~
~he did not! but that is somewhat unimportant!~
Post by: Xanmyral on March 18, 2014, 01:22:09 pm
~That was quite certainly an interesting procedure. I thank you, good group Gub, for the new body.~ Whether the last sentence was more a polite formality or genuine depended on the body however.
Inspect surroundings and self! Thank the Gub!
[Bets on what Morton is now: Human? Rat people? Animal? Something else that is alive, on its back, and may be inside a house?
I got my money on the stock standard human personally. Probably one of the people who hid in the houses during the chaos.]
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 01:23:34 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 18, 2014, 01:24:06 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 18, 2014, 01:25:56 pm
~Gub! Please, talk to me! It's extremely dark here! Why is Mark taking so long!~
~because he is useless and terrible and hopes to use you as an impromptu fishing rod once he has given you yet another awful body!~
~I'm sorry, I must ask you questions. How exactly did you get this city?~
~you do not need to, actually! and the city is ours! that is the way it was agreed!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 01:35:14 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 18, 2014, 01:45:43 pm
Post by: Yoink on March 18, 2014, 03:35:52 pm
He was a bit too frightened to talk, anyway- he did not like the look of the person behind the desk, not to mention the whole room and its creepy furnishings. He wasn't entirely sure if this was a good idea, but Lenny seemed nice. Lenny wouldn't try to trick him into something bad, would he?
They seemed to be expecting some sort of response from him, though.
Somewhat uncertain as to the correct course of action, the wretched little ghost offers a slight nod of his head.
>Nod, and hope that's sufficient answer without counting as "back talk".
Post by: Innsmothe on March 18, 2014, 05:29:02 pm
Imagines shaking a fist at the sky and will start looking for the others
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2014, 06:12:00 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 07:17:47 pm
Mark puts together some dolphin parts and makes a body out of them then puts his friend inside. !!MEDICINE!!((I find it distressing how you get sixes when I don't want to get it and ones and twos when I really need a body. The Random Number Gods probably find it funny))
Post by: Xanmyral on March 18, 2014, 07:23:22 pm
I'm wondering how many times I'll accidentally refer to Morton as a desk.]
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 07:29:22 pm
((Inb4, Morton becomes a chair. Because in the last two chapters at least one player ended up being a chair at some point))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 18, 2014, 07:32:33 pm
((You, noble sir, will carry the spirit of the noble desk with you forever! The gentlemanly character of the furniture must remain on Morton!))((Niklas was a chair is this chapter as well))
((Inb4, Morton becomes a chair. Because in the last two chapters at least one player ended up being a chair at some point))
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 07:38:24 pm
((I am talking mainly of being transformed into one. Morton is the ideal candidate to suffer that now. I hope that Sigmund doen't end up being furniture))((You, noble sir, will carry the spirit of the noble desk with you forever! The gentlemanly character of the furniture must remain on Morton!))((Niklas was a chair is this chapter as well))
((Inb4, Morton becomes a chair. Because in the last two chapters at least one player ended up being a chair at some point))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 18, 2014, 08:12:11 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 18, 2014, 09:27:27 pm
But yes, the experience of being a noble desk will probably never leave Morton. Even if he now has a heart beat. I'm wondering who's the poor bastard who's body he just jacked though. Chances are it was shutting down due to having lost its soul, so that means Gub shunted whoever originally owned the body out.]
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 09:32:38 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 18, 2014, 09:35:23 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 18, 2014, 09:38:33 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 18, 2014, 11:06:06 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on March 19, 2014, 01:04:31 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2014, 01:13:32 am
Post by: Nunzillor on March 19, 2014, 11:35:45 am
The most recent loss of control notwithstanding!
Post by: miauw62 on March 19, 2014, 12:07:13 pm
((At least with the demon we know where everyone stands and he is nice unless we try to annoy him))((This, pretty much.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 19, 2014, 04:38:42 pm
Morton's first impulse after regarding the ceiling a moment is to check himself out.
He notices that he seems to be a fairly hairy humanoid - a very diminutive one as well, considering the other bodies present in the room. He also appears to have a tail and a fairly humanlike set of limbs. By this point, he is fairly sure he must be one of those rat people, and a stunted one at that. Still, he guesses he could make tea if needed, so the gub have fulfilled that stipulation.
~That was quite certainly an interesting procedure. I thank you, good group Gub, for the new body,~ he thinks.
~it was needed practice! you have aided the effort as much as you have momentarily hindered it!~ the gub reply hurriedly.
In a dark and frightening void...
Sigmund, despite his friend's failure to solve all of his problems yet, places his trust in the surgeon.
~W-What? B-But it has happened before, with Kevin, specifically. And I have changed so many bodies before that I'm getting used to this. Hell! Tell him that I will even hug him if he builds me a body that allows me to move well! I don't care about having a fishing rod attached to my back! Not any more...~
~our consideration of your reply has been interrupted by a high-quality plan! commencing execution!~
[the gub's magic roll: 4]
Sigmund can hardly even ponder the meaning of the phrase when his soul is suddenly and violently yanked out of the orb, then sent careening through the air wildly, in a simulation of death Sigmund was not eager to familiarize himself with - flying upwards into the sky, he is consumed by fear of the great infinite expanse of nothing above him - the pull of the void is incredibly strong, and causes Sigmund's flight to arc very noticeably before the magic involved creates a little bit of course correction and causes him to collide with a very familiar shape - or rather a very familiar, distinctly shapeless form. His soul forced into a rather large jelly, he feels a moment of panic. When he realizes he doesn't have any knowledge of how to fly and begins falling, this moment of panic becomes much, much longer and more distressing.
~don't die just yet! you may be of use later!~
At the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas runs off to the library!
He reaches the library!
Hooray!
In a very fleshy office...
Timothy, hoping a nod won't be misconstrued as backchat, agrees with Lenny silently.
"Yes, he does seem to be agreeing to provide help," his benefactor says.
"Question is, what could he help us with?" the flesh-gnome asks, stroking his chin.
"Maybe he could-"
"Map the Kilkit anomaly? Wonderful idea!" the man says, looking at Timothy and grinning. "He could certainly accomplish that! Okay, get to it, friend!"
Lenny frowns for a moment, and then motions for Lenny to follow him outside of the office. They silently walk down the hall, then Lenny turns to Timothy.
"Okay, that is not good. That did not go well at all," he says. "I wonder if he expects you to actually try."
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Scott, feeling like people keep screwing him over for no damned reason, vibrates at the sky menacingly.
"Why do you seek to separate me from the man currently ensuring my fricking existance? Damnit, if I am untethered I will pervert the rules of the multiverse and pull myself from the void just so I can lay some welts on your capricious collective ethereal backsides!"
~that is assuredly 'very interesting', scott! do go on!~ the gub say, but Scott guesses they're not really listening, and so just moves on, and promptly fails to find anything even roughly pertinent to any of his buddies as he moves through the town. Instead, he finds Erin, looking hale, hearty and highly cautious as she moves through the streets.
Roughly two hundred meters away from Scott's original position, Mark continues his attempts at constructing a new body for his buddy. Sadly, though, he can't quite seem to get much inspiration. There's only so long you can stare at dolphin parts until you hit a brick wall, really.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren asks a very decisive question.
"Do you happen to like magic?"
The pile laughs a moment in a deep and guttural manner.
"I like fun magic. Boring magic, like these enchanted steel things, that I like less."
Post by: Xantalos on March 19, 2014, 04:50:13 pm
Search the shelves for methods of conduct concerning the gods, as well as the gods in general.
Probably also some sort of chanting manual if I haven't got that already.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 19, 2014, 05:13:55 pm
Follow her.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 19, 2014, 05:38:43 pm
Even if it is just sleight of hand.
Do some sleight-of-hand tricks.
EDIT:((I just barely noticed how poor of a color choice I made, so I'm going to change it to this , if you don't mind.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 19, 2014, 05:52:49 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 19, 2014, 09:14:24 pm
Attempt to fly. Do it by testing what I can do, or trying to simply will for it. If I can't help falling to the ground, procure that I fall on something soft (like plants or ashes, try to avoid water)
Post by: Xanmyral on March 19, 2014, 10:30:08 pm
Oh my, sounds like Gub is a bit busy. The ex-desk decides that perhaps now is a good time to leave Gub to his own devices, after all the butler has things he needs to get in order now.
"Oh dear."
The bodies are heavily disconcerting to the diminutive rat. While thankful for the body--alive too! A comforting-and-missed feeling for the second chancer--he isn't quite sure where he is nor where he was last in relation to now. Morton knew he and his friends were at the harbor, would they wait for him there?
The butler does a quick and more thorough check over of what he currently has on him (items and the like along with a rough estimate of his size versus the bodies), proper decency and cleanliness he most certainly hopes so, as well as begrudgingly and respectfully searches the bodies in the room. Carter says a quiet apology to each of them as he inspects them, and then tries to look inconspicuously out a window. The thought of his tea supplies unattended sends a chill down the poor posh-rat's spine.
The once-desk has to admit he's rather thankful he has actual gestures and body language again, one rarely realizes how one would miss something so simple unless they go without.
Post by: miauw62 on March 20, 2014, 01:52:31 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2014, 05:13:40 pm
Niklas decides to look for pertinent literature on contacting the gods - he decides to choose Them Crazy Deities by Arnold Q. Arnold, as the cover seems interesting enough and the pictures within juicy enough to inform him sufficiently upon the matter. When that's done, he tries to remember whether he had any kind of chanting manual.
A few moments pass before he remembers that yes, yes he does!
In the streets of Mothdale...
Scott decides to greet Erin and ask how she's doing, as that seems like the polite thing to do.
"Hello Erin, have the almighty and most precocious Gub treated you well?" he asks, causing Erin to jump more than a little. She stares at his form for a few seconds, tilting her head questioningly.
"Hrm..." she begins inarticulately, beginning to back away slightly from the ghostly shape. Her eyes are rather wide and distrustful, Scott notices. Is he really that creepy?
At a forming stalactite...
Darren assures the creature that he does indeed possess magic of interest.
"Oh, my magic is quite fun, trust me. I used to make money just having people watch."
He then demonstrates his amazing skill at entertaining sleight of hand, which seems to amuse the creature reasonably well.
"You're pretty good with your hands," it intones at him. "I love that in a man."
At the harbor of Mothdale...
Mark, after quickly gathering up an armful of body parts, decides to follow his old pal Scott - unfortunately, this idea proves entirely unfeasible, considering that Mark hasn't seen Scott in quite a while, at least not since the beach. Where could he have gone? Hm.
Kevin, who is eager to follow his much more decisive buddy before the inevitable realization that he seems to have absolutely no clue on where to go now, feels very disappointed. He thought he was going somewhere for a minute there.
~you are going somewhere!~ the voice of the gub speaks in his head. Uh...
[the gub's magic roll: 5]
In but a single instant, Kevin's poor, abused soul is ripped right out of his body, causing his fleshy form to convulse wildly for a second, then drop, lying on the ground for a second before a suitable replacement is shunted in, which causes the body to get right up and dust itself off.
Kevin himself, meanwhile, flies through the sky for a few interesting, if terrifying minutes before landing in a brand new body! It's a little strange, but he seems to be underwater now! He feels kind of fishy, and yet not really! What could it mean?
High up in the sky...
Sigmund realizes that he's going to have to learn how to fly.
~How does this shit work?~ he asks only semi-rhetorically.
~it operates on effort!~
Finding the gub to be of no help, Sigmund tries to figure out how he might do this - as he plummets downward, he has to admit that he has zero clues on how it might work - he seems to be able to deform his body slightly, and willing himself to fly does nothing at all, predictably enough. So he instead tries his best to find something soft to fall upon - like that pile of unattended straw!
Screaming through the air as he flies down into the straw, Sigmund feels very irritated in the sense that his sensitive outer membrane has now been poked by as many as several thousand tiny little needles that straw inevitably forms - however, he does manage not to splatter and perish horribly, so there's that!
In a room with a dirty ceiling...
Morton guesses he should continue this whole business of sorting out what's what. Firstly, he checks out his pockets, only to find that he doesn't have any. He does have a rather cute little pinkish outfit. It feels pretty nice and fluffy, even if it looks a little grimy. Also, he appears to be lying in the middle of a circle of tiny wooden animals and noisemakers. This in addition to the way he seems to be slightly less than half the size of the other apparently dead rat people in the room tells him quite a bit about the state of things - neither he nor the other bodies seem to have any injuries whatsoever.
Speaking of the bodies, they have nothing but somewhat useless and filthy things that get Morton's hands a bit dirty - he wonders if he should wash them now, really. Too bad there's no water. While considering the problem, he looks out of the window inconspicuously - he has to stand on his toes to do so, and even then he doesn't get too good of a view - a lot of burned buildings outside, he notices. The place he is located right now seems a bit more posh than the surrounding neighborhood, but it still has suffered obvious fire damage as well as lost all of its furniture, and does not seem altogether stable, to be perfectly honest. Morton wonders if it'd be safer outside.
Post by: Tomcost on March 20, 2014, 05:39:49 pm
Post by: Coolrune206 on March 20, 2014, 05:44:59 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Magic-remnants ghost. (Effectively, a powerful wizard who died, and is now effectively just a rapidly replenishing mana battery for wizards to draw from) ((If this race is not okay, then simply have me as a skeleton :())
Biography: Rune started life as a child in a village nestled in the mountains. His parents were both magicians - his father being a magician specialized in enchanting, while his mother preferred researching magical living organisms. He quickly learned to be a young little magician, and received his first focus at the age of 3 - he brought home an icicle one day, and his dad helped to enchant it into a focus. He then started messing around it, snowballing huts like crazy, and dominating anyone else in snow or ice based activities (Living on a mountain, almost all of the games were sledding or snowball fight based). As he grew a bit, his dad helped him enchant his second focus - this one was a tree-root from a rare tree with many magical properties. His mother actually discovered the tree, so she had plenty of root samples to go around. It allowed him to cast plant-based magic, and he sprouted a forest around the village, with the trees growing unnaturally close by to each other. His mother finally gave him the horn of a fire-based creature (It had some weird name, and he could never remember it). His father then enchanted it and made it into the now teenager's final focus. Three years after he became 18 (At the age of 21, effectively) his mother died in an accident caused by a massive explosion as a demon contained in an ancient prison broke free, decimating half the town. His father swore vengeance and nearly slew the demon before being flung far away by a powerful spell. Rune, siezed with fury, combined the power of all 3 focuses (Foci?) to tear the creature apart with thousands of spears of ice, fireballs raining from the sky, and finally, a huge root slamming out of the ground, flinging the demon into the sky. His father, nearly dead, managed to heal himself with a magical artifact he kept on him at all times. It ran out of power after he used it, and broke. He then made his way back to the village, and was despaired to find that his son had run completely out of any energy, and was nearly dead. All the magic use had exhausted the tiny supply he bore inside, and he was doomed. His father only had one way to stop his son from dying completely - he dashed into the magical artifact vault, which survived the explosion and massive battle, and grabbed one specific artifact. A tome, that was said to turn the living to the un-dead. He flipped randomly until he saw what looked like a blueish sort of ghost, then dashed back to his son. He chanted the words, and used the book as a focus. His son became preserved forever in the shape of a magic-remnants ghost, and was able to live again (Sort of). His father, then exhausted, fainted, and was in that state for many years, being fed by the surviving villagers in an act of kindness. Rune, or "Rick", never left his father until his father finally awoke, and said out loud to thin air "Thank you for waiting, so long.... You may now... go free... my son... I am proud of you... But I will always search for a way to bring you back..." After that, Rune traveled the lands until he was finally captured by Bernie and enslaved.
Too Long? :) Good.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 20, 2014, 05:51:09 pm
Morton frowns at the scene, as he starts mentally piecing it together. Seems Gub has given him the body of a child, perhaps a girl? The butler feels terrible at this revelation, wondering if perhaps these others were the poor girl's parents.
He admits to not really knowing how to take the situation: on one hand, he's happy to have an alive body again that's vaguely humanoid, on the other he feels terrible of most likely having taken it from somebody who was using it just moments ago. But on the third hand, the apostle of the tea leaf didn't really have terribly much say as to where he would be, and is honestly a little afraid to raise an issue with it considering Gub's apparent hastiness and odd behavior. Who knows where he may end up next, quite possibly an even worse situation.
The butler tries to shove the issue out of his head for now and simply wished the family the best of luck and his apologies, and trying to wipe what grime he could off of his clothes. Morton then quickly looks over the rest of the building (if there is any beyond this room) for anything notable before hesitantly asking the Gub a question.
~Do you perhaps know where my old body is in relation to where I am now? I would be dreadfully appalled to lose my tea making supplies.~
Stealthily head that direction if one is given, otherwise go outside and look around (similarly with stealth) for signs of where the harbor might lay.
Post by: Tomcost on March 20, 2014, 06:27:34 pm
Name: Rune, but nicknamed "Rick" (He has no idea why)((I suggest reading through the whole game, or asking the GM on how this universe is first.
Gender: Male
Archetype: Magic-remnants ghost. (Effectively, a powerful wizard who died, and is now effectively just a rapidly replenishing mana battery for wizards to draw from) ((If this race is not okay, then simply have me as a skeleton :())
Biography: Rune started life as a child in a village nestled in the mountains. His parents were both magicians - his father being a magician specialized in enchanting, while his mother preferred researching magical living organisms. He quickly learned to be a young little magician, and received his first focus at the age of 3 - he brought home an icicle one day, and his dad helped to enchant it into a focus. He then started messing around it, snowballing huts like crazy, and dominating anyone else in snow or ice based activities (Living on a mountain, almost all of the games were sledding or snowball fight based). As he grew a bit, his dad helped him enchant his second focus - this one was a tree-root from a rare tree with many magical properties. His mother actually discovered the tree, so she had plenty of root samples to go around. It allowed him to cast plant-based magic, and he sprouted a forest around the village, with the trees growing unnaturally close by to each other. His mother finally gave him the horn of a fire-based creature (It had some weird name, and he could never remember it). His father then enchanted it and made it into the now teenager's final focus. Three years after he became 18 (At the age of 21, effectively) his mother died in an accident caused by a massive explosion as a demon contained in an ancient prison broke free, decimating half the town. His father swore vengeance and nearly slew the demon before being flung far away by a powerful spell. Rune, siezed with fury, combined the power of all 3 focuses (Foci?) to tear the creature apart with thousands of spears of ice, fireballs raining from the sky, and finally, a huge root slamming out of the ground, flinging the demon into the sky. His father, nearly dead, managed to heal himself with a magical artifact he kept on him at all times. It ran out of power after he used it, and broke. He then made his way back to the village, and was despaired to find that his son had run completely out of any energy, and was nearly dead. All the magic use had exhausted the tiny supply he bore inside, and he was doomed. His father only had one way to stop his son from dying completely - he dashed into the magical artifact vault, which survived the explosion and massive battle, and grabbed one specific artifact. A tome, that was said to turn the living to the un-dead. He flipped randomly until he saw what looked like a blueish sort of ghost, then dashed back to his son. He chanted the words, and used the book as a focus. His son became preserved forever in the shape of a magic-remnants ghost, and was able to live again (Sort of). His father, then exhausted, fainted, and was in that state for many years, being fed by the surviving villagers in an act of kindness. Rune, or "Rick", never left his father until his father finally awoke, and said out loud to thin air "Thank you for waiting, so long.... You may now... go free... my son... I am proud of you... But I will always search for a way to bring you back..." After that, Rune traveled the lands until he was finally captured by Bernie and enslaved.
Too Long? :) Good.
Things that you should know:
-There is no magical energy.
-Mages typically study for years.
-Foci are made personally (although the GM has hinted that proxy focus making exists, but we don't know to which extent)
-A demon is a god-like entity that can destroy you with a thought or something similar.
-Bernie is dead. The plot is terribly different from what happened at the start.
-Etc.))
Post by: Coolrune206 on March 20, 2014, 06:29:44 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 20, 2014, 08:11:44 pm
Well... I have about 500 more pages of reading to do. Disregard my character sheet for about 2 more years.((Look on the bright side its full of crazy awesome and funny stuff))
Mark heads into the city pondering on what he could replace his leg with.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 21, 2014, 12:36:17 am
Peer pressure!
Post by: miauw62 on March 21, 2014, 01:51:48 am
Examine surroundings and new body.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 21, 2014, 08:57:23 am
Insert a sarcastic whine (he knows he wasn't regarded much) and maybe a crocodile tear
Put the building behind her aflame for dramatic effect.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2014, 03:36:11 pm
Sigmund, very dissatisfied with the horrid prickliness of the very thing that may have saved his life, slips out of the pile of straw, flopping out on the street and inspects himself - he realizes that he is a blob, and that he is very wet and disgusting. He has no mouth, which is good, because he would presumably vomit out of it if he could. He kind of misses being able to vomit, even if he never did get to use his capabilities for anything other than failing to make dolphins hate his guts to death.
He isn't sure how he's supposed to move on a non-sloped surface, actually. How do the jellies do even that, let alone fly? Their ways are indubitably mysterious, Sigmund thinks. Mysterious and vaguely alluring in their own way.
In a crumbling house...
Morton feels uneasy about this state of filth, death and destruction he has landed in, and wipes off some of the grime off his very nice outfit - unfortunately, the filth on his hands kind of rubs off on it. Hm. That's no good. He quickly looks around the rest of the building - it appears to have been thoroughly looted, unfortunately. All of the furnishings, which must have undoubtedly been there not too long ago, seem to have been stolen, and parts of the place seem to have collapsed.
He is also reasonably sure he is not actually a ratgirl, unless his knowledge of human anatomy does not really apply to the body of a ratlike human being.
Anywho, he petitions the gub once more.
~Do you perhaps know where my old body is in relation to where I am now? I would be dreadfully appalled to lose my tea making supplies.~
~they shall be delivered eventually!~
Morton wonders if that's good enough. After all, the gub do seem dreadfully busy with something. While he ponders, he walks outside, thinking on what to do. The outside feels very warm and safe, if one discounts the unsettling noises coming from the canals and the nasty winds blowing all around the city. And that giant monstrous dog strolling down the street, looking highly alert and primed for trouble.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Mark, still entirely confused on what to do, hops on his merry way, wondering what he could possibly replace his missing leg with. A walrus, maybe? A grasping toothy appendage of uncertain structure? Something even more interesting? 'Tis an issue he shall have to work on in due time, he thinks. Maybe he could... no, probably not. Hm.
~we have a solution!~ the voice of the gub says in his mind. Mark wonders what it might mean.
[the gub's magic roll: 4]
Unfortunately, it seems to mean peeling his soul out of his body and getting dragged through a rather large stretch of the city before settling in some sort of new body! The body in question seems to be a... person of some kind, dressed in highly garish clothing and sporting a very strange hat. Feels somewhat alive, Mark has to say. It's pretty unusual.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren gets into this manipulation game that everyone seems to be extolling the virtues of. First, he tries peer pressure.
"Ah, yes, that's, ah, thank you for the compliment. So. How about we hang out somewhere cool? Like in there," he says, pointing off toward the mausoleum.
The pile seems amused again.
"You wanna go over to a darker corner, huh? I wouldn't go in there, though, it's full of people. I've got a pad of my own nearby, in a manner of speaking. I could show you lots of fun stuff there, if you know what I mean!" it says, winking strangely.
In one of the canals of Mothdale...
Kevin does not enjoy these spontaneous soul pulls, evidently, as he is quite displeased.
~What the fuck? Change me back!~
~you will grow to enjoy this form!~ is the gub's answer. Typical. Kevin decides to examine himself, and it takes him a minute to get his mind to process what's happened to him - it cannot be! But it is!
Kevin is now a dolphin swimming in the canal! There seem to be other dolphins around. They look unspeakably volatile. And the bottom of the canal is currently looking pretty hazardous as well - it seems to be crawling with worms! And it also has a lot of algae in it, too, Kevin thinks. No wonder the water here looks so terrible.
Elsewhere in Mothdale...
Scott, disgusted at the disrespect afforded him, asks Erin if she is really that forgetful.
"It's me, Scott... have... have you forgotten me?" he asks in a vaguely mocking tone, and Erin's mouth opens up a little. Scott guesses she needs extra reminding.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 2]
He vibrates a little, but this does not seem to do much. Erin, at any rate, seems to relax a little and nod, for what that's worth.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on March 21, 2014, 04:05:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 21, 2014, 04:08:55 pm
Okay, time for a different strategy:
Determine:
-My ability to move my outer membrane.
-My ability to move my insides.
-What happens when I push the ground (aka, jumping).
-If it is the same thing to be turned around or not. I could roll around as a means of transport.
-If I can distribute my weight to one side or another. I may be able to slug around.
-If my outer membrane is flexible enough to allow me to extend part of myself forwards. May help with previous point.
((I have a bad roll? Who cares, I have !!logic!!))
Post by: miauw62 on March 21, 2014, 04:15:36 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 21, 2014, 04:20:19 pm
So...what's been up with you?
Erin just kind of shrugs and grunts before turning to leave cautiously.
~I won't! That was a very special body!~
~that is what you say now, knowing nothing of special bodies! in any case, you are not getting yours back!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 21, 2014, 04:43:03 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 21, 2014, 04:47:12 pm
Look specifically for information on Velusius.
Post by: Coolrune206 on March 21, 2014, 05:08:22 pm
I could not imagine something more beautiful.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 21, 2014, 09:01:28 pm
Stealthily scamper/skulk inside and away from dog! Morton decides to listen to Gub and not face the dreadful experience of being a chew toy.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 22, 2014, 01:25:18 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2014, 01:33:46 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 22, 2014, 02:58:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 22, 2014, 05:10:26 am
~Why not?~
~because it is ours now!~
"Ah, but wouldn't it be fun to cruise through there for a bit and show off?"
"People in there, they don't take kindly to our kind of fun, let me tell you. At least not most of 'em. Some are cooler with it than others, and the rest you just have to avoid."
Mark expressed his emotions at the change with his new vocals. "What the fuck change me back gub. I liked being made of metal." he also checks over his new body
~your preferences are meaningless!~
Your new body seems to be that of a woman, curiously enough. Rather functional and well-trained, but nonetheless that of a woman dressed in funny-looking clothes.
"You might as well tell me, I have nothing else to do and it's not like I can make myself hidden or anything."
Erin just keeps walking away, taking short looks around at her surroundings and keeping low to the ground.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 22, 2014, 05:50:50 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 22, 2014, 08:45:44 am
Make the world burn around her (like, the buildings and stuff, I don't want a literal ring of fire to cook her.)
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2014, 05:39:23 am
Sigmund, failed by random flailing, decides to approach his body from a more logical perspective, even though logic is not something objects are guaranteed to respond to very well. Nevertheless, the approach proves reasonably fruitful - he discovers that he can pretty much deform himself in any way, including moving forth pseudopodia, flattening himself, making funny shapes out of himself as well as all sorts of other things. Furthermore, he can sort of propel himself around, both by rolling and by utilizing his shape changing abilities. And, since he's found out he can flatten himself, he's pretty sure he could try flying by capturing some air in pockets (or large compartments in his body), then expelling it rapidly.
Furthermore, he can move around all of his internal organs, including whatever it is he's got for eyes, rather freely, allowing him to orient himself in any possible way.
The downside of all this niftiness, however, is the fact that he can't move very fast. He's pretty sure a toddler could safely outpace him on land if it was going in the right direction.
At the library of the Red Tower of Power...
In this latest instance of Niklas' non-adventure, he begins reading a book again! Fortunately, this one looks more fun than the others. Opening up the first page, Niklas immediately beholds the crudely drawn visage of Arnold Q. Arnold, deity expert extraordinaire. He appears to be grinning and giving two thumbs up. Pretty ancient-looking guy, honestly. There's even an 'On The Author' section extolling his theological education and vast experience and research on the subject. So one cannot help but know he must be good at this.
Reading through the book, Niklas finds numerous solid bits of advice in the 'General Godly Guidelines' section. The first is "Gods are basically demons, but more powerful and easily reachable! As well as bigger jerks to people and less helpful as a general rule!" It's even written in very large, important-looking letters. Another nugget of divine wisdom is "Gods don't give a single, solitary shit about rules, so don't try to invoke any! They'll probably just kill you if you try to be a smartass!" This is followed by "Gods don't care much about devotion, they care more about you being awesome and/or amusing!". Hm. Also, "Gods are pretty crazy and have wild mood swings! Be careful!"
Lots of exclamations in this book, Niklas notices as he moves on to the next section, 'The Gods Themselves'. The main idea of the section is, fortunately, conveyed in a handy chart - the 'Sliding Scale of Godly Niceness', and it has 5 entries, 1 being the nastiest, 5 being the nicest.
"5 - Narcillicus - chillest god in the heavens, that's for sure! Usually willing to help wayward travelers and those lacking in beauty and elegance achieve their goals! Not very crazy, either!"
"4 - Pacitarius - likes nature and life! This makes him pretty okay! Except sometimes when he isn't! Can be a little vengeful and judging of people who don't meet his standards, whatever those may be at the moment!"
"3 - Rysinia - a little cold and mean, but has good intentions! Doesn't like people badgering her much, but can be persuaded to provide favor if needed and deserved! What being deserving means is up for debate, though!"
"2 - Velusius - mostly an asshole! Likes hurting people to an unhealthy degree! Enjoys seeing magic go terribly! Embodies death! Nevertheless, can be appealed to in the right way!"
"1 - Almiria - almost always hostile to people when present! Never answers prayers except to smite you! Smites you if you pray to demons instead as well! Contact not recommended!"
The rest of the section is pretty much this, but reiterated several times and with slightly different sentence structure. The sections that follow are 'Godly Gossip - Myths and Legends', which looks fairly expansive, and 'Theological Tips for Maximal Self-Benefit', which seems significantly shorter, and 'Demonic Testimonies', which is the longest of all. It might take a while for Niklas to get through it all.
In the vicinity of a nasty dog...
Morton sees stealthy scampering and skulking as sensible in his circumstances, and moves out of the way and back into the building. The dog just moves past, not noticing him at all. Phew.
~no need for that! nothing in this city will harm you! we are currently in control!~ the gub tell him. ~aside from that matter with your former master, obviously!~
In a curious place in Mothdale...
Mark quickly rifles through his pockets, locating a flute, three coppers and one silver. Not quite a lot to work with, really. And the clothes he's wearing seem to be those of an entertainer - probably a jester, judging from the hat.
He also notices that he seems to be sitting in a very comfortable armchair in a rather nicely furnished parlor. Two other dead women, mostly identical to him in both dress and looks, seem to be here as well. It appears that someone was eating dinner right now, or at least something similar to it, judging by the three plates of meat on the nearby coffee table.
Elsewhere still in Mothdale...
Scott figures that if he can't get no respect, he'll have to fight for it. He'll have to impress.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 4]
A building to Erin's left suddenly starts burning gently, the fire increasing in size until a reasonable blaze has formed. Erin appears to have noticed it. Her response is to yelp under her breath and start waving her arms around, which produces a small sphere of metal that clatters to her feet. She stares at it for a moment, then starts running away.
~we may need to confine you somewhere, scott! this is simply not safe!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2014, 05:45:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2014, 05:53:28 am
Swim to the surface, examine surroundings.
You seem to be located in a canal. In the city of Mothdale. Not a very familiar part of it, either.
Just when you begin to consider where to go, you are jabbed harshly in the side by another dolphin before it swims on ahead.
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2014, 06:44:08 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 23, 2014, 07:43:43 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 23, 2014, 07:50:13 am
Scott will examine the sphere.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 23, 2014, 11:00:39 am
Either way, seeing as he appears to be safe currently, the tea apostle decides that more fitting clothes and then returning to the Apostle's Abode might be a good choice of action. Now, that's not to disparage his current clothes, but he could hardly call them fitting for a proper butler. Certainly not clean either. He runs it by Gub just in case--a polite formality he's sure, Gub probably already knows.
~Good group Gub, if it's of no mind I'd like to perhaps clean up, find more suitable clothing, and make some tea in the Apostle's Abode. Do you perhaps have some suggestions for the first two? I'm hardly respectable as I am now, dirty and filthy as such.~
Ask and converse with Gub! Go to suggested places for clothes and cleanliness! Otherwise, he searches himself unless Gub tells him not to!
[Geeze this is slow going. Anyway, where's Erin? We know where her body is, but where is her soul?]
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 23, 2014, 11:11:49 am
~Matter with my former master? I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean by that, good group Gub. Is good master Artiste being disagreeable?~ The diminutive butler questioned Gub, not sure what he means.
~he is! we are presently negotiating! we have agreed that we shall keep evelyn, but he is trying to fight us on keeping erin! what a silly skyman he is! it is fortunate for him that we cannot simply kill him and be done with it!~
~Good group Gub, if it's of no mind I'd like to perhaps clean up, find more suitable clothing, and make some tea in the Apostle's Abode. Do you perhaps have some suggestions for the first two? I'm hardly respectable as I am now, dirty and filthy as such.~
~we do have suggestions! in fact, we could safely steer you over to tailor craig! he is completely idle presently thanks to being unable to act on any of our requests!~
Post by: Xanmyral on March 23, 2014, 11:41:54 am
The apostle of the tea leaf cheers up right quick at the mention of good tailor Craig. A friend to talk to would help, of that he's sure. He hopes that Craig recognizes him though.
~I'd very much appreciate that, good group Gub, I'm quite confident in good tailor Craig's abilities.~
Go find good tailor Craig, rejoice in finding a friend! Explain to him that he is Carter Morton if needed.
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2014, 12:03:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 23, 2014, 12:33:41 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 23, 2014, 01:20:58 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 23, 2014, 02:46:07 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 23, 2014, 10:25:48 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 24, 2014, 01:44:16 pm
Kevin thinks it best to follow that dolphin, and glides through the waters of the canal in a fashion as carefree and light as that of a traumatized brick. Nevertheless, he makes decent progress, though the dolphin ahead of him is definitely much faster than he. Fortunately, it does wait up for him, impatiently jabbing him with its nose whenever he lags too far behind. Eventually the two reach a particular point, when the leading dolphin jumps out of the water, landing on the cobbled street with a wet splash. Imitating the creature, Kevin leaps after it, landing at its side.
At this point, the dolphin stands up on its tail, a feat Kevin can't seem to imitate, much to his new friend's disappointment, and he is reduced to crawling after it. In any case, they slowly move through the streets until the other dolphin suddenly notices Art of all people walking down the street. Its eyes gleaming with strange intent, it begins to move in the unsuspecting fellow's direction.
Inside a nice little parlor...
Mark, guessing that, if he's not hungry, he probably should be, eats some of that unattended meat - it's nice and spicy, and actually quite rare. A steak of some sort, he guesses, or at least vaguely remembers. Eating it provides him with a rather nice sense of fullness - it's almost enough to make him reconsider immediate looting and getting out of here as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, the call of loot is not to be ignored - the other two dead ladies seem to have about six coppers and five silvers between them, not to mention a lute and a bongo, both of a very high quality. When the three instruments are in close proximity, Mark notices an odd glow begin to emanate from them. Hm.
The rest of the house contains little of note - there's silverware, of course, and candles and some tapestries, and some fairly expensive furniture, but nothing else. Looks like the only proper treasure here were the instruments.
On one of the more blazing streets of Mothdale...
Scott deflects any accusations of ill intent with all the flippancy one would expect.
"Shush, I just wanted to scare the little thing. Is it much to ask for a 'Hello' 'I am doing fine' 'You presence is appreciated Scott'?" he says to the air, floating over to the sphere of metal and examining it - he concludes that it is spherical and made of metal, oddly enough. And judging from the way it hasn't exploded yet, probably mundane as well, and this assessment is confirmed when he manages to successfully phase through it.
~that's actually a bear, scott! it is presently delivering its focus to erin!~
Huh. It sure looks like Erin, Scott thinks.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton senses looming conflict, and it could potentially be quite nasty, he suspects.
~Oh dear, that all sounds absolutely dreadful. I hope a peaceable parley can be reached.~
~we guess it can be reached! the only matter is the cost!~
Fortunately, it is beyond Morton's control what dire consequences may be in store for him, his master and all of his friends, and finds the idea of meeting the tailor an agreeable proposition for now.
~I'd very much appreciate that, good group Gub, I'm quite confident in good tailor Craig's abilities.~
~the way shall be illuminated!~
And it sort of is - Morton notices a blazing trail of light form ahead of him. Seeing no reason not to do so, he follows it for a good while until he comes to the familiar form of Tailor Craig, reading a book on a terrace idly. He doesn't seem to have noticed the trail culminating in a flaming arrow pointing to him. Morton approaches the man and bids a cheery greeting!
"Mm, yes?" Tailor Craig asks, turning away from his book. "You are presumably going to ask something of me, yes?" he then says. Morton wonders how Tailor Craig could have known this, really.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren tries to push his viewpoint on the pile.
"What, you don't think we can show them how cool our fun is? They can't be that stubborn."
The creature thinks a bit, smacking its lips while one of its eyes inspects Darren.
"Hm. I do suppose we could go in there if you really want it that badly. Who knows, might be fun," it eventually says. "Though we will need a little something to get in."
The pile of flesh begins to bubble and stew, its ectoplasmic body beginning to deform. The eyestalks slide into the mass, as do the lips and the arm, and a pillar begins to grow from the shape, a head, arms and legs emerging almost immediately. The definition of the thing increases up until the point where Darren sees before him the ghost of an elderly, portly man who for some reason doesn't seem to have any eyes. Or a mouth. Just a bulbous, spotty nose.
"Right. Follow me, and look natural," the creature tells Darren, floating off in the direction of the mausoleum.
In the library of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas quickly mobilizes to get some more food - in good time, too, he was beginning to feel a little hungry again. Unfortunately, however, there don't seem to be any pies left unattended in the area this time around, or any other sort of consumables strewn about careless to just pick up like nobody's business. Hm.
Fortunately, he believes he can still get some reading done before the day is done. At least the Godly Gossip section. He sits down and looks through it. The basic myths seem to run along the lines of each god teaching mortals various important life lessons - Arnold Q. Arnold notes that these myths are those that are least likely to be literally true, since it seems quite uncharacteristic of gods to teach mortals these kinds of things in any direct fashion.
The second sort of myths are the various creation myths (the gods appearing in the world, either creating or enslaving the demons, then working out the order of things is the general gist of it, with the second two steps occasionally reversed and the initial state of the world varying) - the gods don't really seem willing to provide any evidence for these, and are fairly tight-lipped on the matter, Arnold Q. Arnold notes, except for Velusius, who just responds with conflicting, outrageous accounts of creation that involve varying degrees of sex, violence, violent sex and usually copious amounts of incest. Velusius is kind of unhelpful, Arnold Q. Arnold also notes, and his stories lack any form of internal consistency, as he seems to be making them up on the fly.
The third sort are individual accounts of encounters with gods - these are probably the most reliable, and it is from these that Arnold Q. Arnold has principally deduced the general disposition of each god - it is easy to obtain information on them this way, because the gods are, to reiterate an already stated point, easily reachable. Gods, when contacted, tend to give quests rather than the more demon-typical rewards-for-souls deal, or accept some form of token of personal growth instead. Velusius has a fixation with virgins, blood and danger in most of these stories, Rysinia tends to give quests involving violence and power grabs, Narcillicus mostly gives quests involving reflection and striving for perfection, Pacitarius prefers people becoming more in touch with nature (whether that means more tranquil or more savage doesn't seem to matter), and Almiria is pretty much there to just hurt you if you do badly.
The fourth sort are more amusing stories - the treasured godly gossip that injects life into the entire pantheon. Many are blatant fabrications - like Almiria hating Tuesdays specifically because one of her children - the Sixth God - met an unspeakable fate on that day (this is a fabrication mostly because Almiria is not known to hate Tuesdays in particular - if anything, she hates all days of the week equally). The most credible of these are tales of flings happening between gods and demons, and of these the only one that might be semi-confirmed is the somewhat obscure love triangle involving Narcillicus, the Aspect of Greed and Velusius - Arnold Q. Arnold has apparently sent several parties (mind-controlled and subtly mind-wiped beforehand, of course) to question the gods and the Aspect of Greed - none of them ever returned, which to the author screams confirmation. There are also other confirmed stories, but those are focused upon in Demonic Testimonies.
Niklas would read more, but his stomach seems to be protesting rather loudly and uncomfortably to such a course of action.
Post by: miauw62 on March 24, 2014, 01:57:11 pm
~Gub, why is this dolphin attacking Art?~
Post by: Xantalos on March 24, 2014, 02:37:40 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 24, 2014, 06:14:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 24, 2014, 08:04:53 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 24, 2014, 10:59:05 pm
Morton isn't sure if good tailor Craig recognized him, the response sounded tired and as if he dealt with several people for similar reasons. Perhaps he did recognize him and just wishes for space instead?
"Oh, dreadfully sorry if I'm interrupting something, good tailor Craig. It's me, Morton, I'm afraid I've run afoul of a terribly bird and a man with a whip with a whip and my prior body was sadly rendered a burden on my compatriots."
The rat's body movement were odd, the emphasis more in the arms and legs than anything else, and his face much less guarding of his emotions. The tea apostle notes this, it will be a while before he broke his adaptive habits he believes.
"I was rather hoping that maybe I could garner some more suitable clothes than this, and perhaps a chat if you weren't too busy. If preferred, I could perhaps come at a more convenient time, I'd need to clean myself before I wear any new clothes after all."
Apologies if time is inconvenient, inform of who he is and why the new body to the good tailor, ask for new clothes and if he has time to talk, mention that Morton can come back if needed.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 25, 2014, 03:28:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2014, 04:12:15 pm
Kevin knows he should act fast - Art may be in dire peril! Flopping forward in the direction of the crystal princess man, he sees that the other dolphin seems a lot faster on land than he. It reaches Art without much trouble, and Kevin can only lament his fate and petition the gub for an explanation.
~Gub, why is this dolphin attacking Art?~
~is it?~ the gub ask, and Kevin notices the dolphin poke Art, who jumps in response. His chest flashes, and the area fills with light, nearly blinding Kevin (fortunately, he has the good sense to flip around and turn away, preventing any sort of eye damage). When he looks back, he notices that the dolphin seems to have reacted just as quickly as he, and seems similarly unharmed. It shrieks at Art in displeasure.
"What do you want from me? Leave me alone!" Art says at it, but the dolphin, being a dolphin, does not answer.
~hm! we shall make it cease and desist!~
The dolphin immediately twitches, flopping on its belly and rolling away for a few seconds. It seems to be frothing at the mouth intensely. Hm. Art uses the lull in the dolphin's approach to begin running away.
~we have news, kevin! you and your confederates may go free yet! we offer you freedom in return for a task!~
In the library of the Red Tower of Power...
The sinister urge of hunger has driven Niklas to try and perpetrate some of his notoriously dire cooking - though unfortunately he will be rather limited this time, on account of actually needing to eat whatever he will make. He begins stalking the halls of the tower in search of suitable ingredients, making sure to cast an evil eye at any and all who dare look upon him in this latest important matter.
Eventually Niklas comes to a rather large hole in one of the walls - clearly some kind of urban cave, Niklas thinks. He gets down on all fours and crawls right in, going through a rather long tunnel until finally reaching an ancient-looking room - there appears to be an altar of bones here, long fallen into disuse, a single rat the height of three cats stacked on top of one another and the approximate length of a short man, and a very sizable pile of pristine-looking food and treasure (for a given definition of 'treasure', anyway).
The rat, unfortunately, seems to have noticed his coming well in advance, however, and currently seems to be standing ready to pounce at the slightest hint of trouble.
In a building with two dead ladies...
Mark, after securing all of his loot as securely as loot can possibly be secured, flits out into the street, trying to get his bearings.
Fortunately, bearings are very easy to get in this town - he is still in Mothdale! There are still canals! And there's gub all around! And also Art running down the street.
~mark! we have an optional task you may accomplish in return for freedom! we can connect you with the terrible skyman! he will provide details!~
Elsewhere in Mothdale...
Sigmund decides that now would be an appropriate time to take off and move up into the skies - after all, that's what these jellies seem to do best. However, he notices that his ascent is fairly slow - even if he's got the theory of it down reasonably well, he guesses he'll need a bit of practice to get the exact method down.
~sigmund! new details have been worked out! there is a deal in the making! it involves kidnapping and deception! are you interested?~
On a reasonably nice sort of terrace...
Morton elaborates on his needs and offers apologies for the awful interruption to the tailor - after all, he may have been busy with something.
"Oh, dreadfully sorry if I'm interrupting something, good tailor Craig. It's me, Morton, I'm afraid I've run afoul of a terrible bird and a man with a whip and my prior body was sadly rendered a burden on my compatriots."
Tailor Craig's glowing eyes soften a bit as he seems to realize who he's speaking to.
"Ah, Morton. You used to be a desk, yes? I must admit, I'm somewhat out of the loop right now. I haven't seen any of you ever since you left mysteriously that day. You've certainly changed a lot."
Morton cuts to the chase immediately.
"I was rather hoping that maybe I could garner some more suitable clothes than this, and perhaps a chat if you weren't too busy. If preferred, I could perhaps come at a more convenient time, I'd need to clean myself before I wear any new clothes after all."
"Oh no, it's no trouble at all. I left my tools within, I could fix you up a suit of finery within a few hours if necessary. Would serve to break up the monotony, certainly. Or I could send you through the portal again. That would be a valuable bit of information, I think. Haven't done any repeat customers yet."
The gub suddenly pipe up in Morton's head.
~morton! there is a matter that may culminate in your freedom and a resolution to this whole situation! if you are interested, we do not forbid you to say so!~
Elsewhere still in Mothdale...
Scott guesses there's no point in torturing Erin if it's not actually Erin - that defeats the whole point, really - so he just floats up into the sky. He doesn't need to even go too far to notice a familiar thing - Tailor Craig! He seems to be talking to some kind of tiny rat person. How uncharacteristic for a man of his stature.
~scott! the artiste is calling! are you willing to establish a connection?~
Post by: Xantalos on March 25, 2014, 04:18:16 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 25, 2014, 05:17:01 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 25, 2014, 08:21:19 pm
~I must admit my curiosity is peaked, but if I could have one quick moment? It would be terribly rude of me to leave good tailor Craig unanswered.~
That matter dealt with, the butler moved his attention back to Craig and his offers, as it seems he may not be aware of Gub, rather curious. Another trip through the realm sounds tempting, and he does know more about demons than before, but now may not be the best of times.
"An offer I may take you up on at a later date, but I'm afraid something appears to be going on that requires my presence. And I must admit with a bit of shame that I've rather missed having a heart beat, its presence is quite calming. If you wouldn't mind, I'd quite like a fine clothing again."
Now the rat's body language was too subdued, much to its inhabitants annoyance. He'll get the hang of it soon, he simply over compensated.
"I must ask though, 'left mysteriously that day?' I'm afraid I've only regained consciousness earlier today. All I remember back then was being about to share my tea with the others in celebration of having gotten to Mothdale, then hearing the Gub mentally welcome us into his city and nothing more. At least until I 'awoke' later in a stone building. You speak of it as if it was a while ago, how long ago was this?"
No longer in a desk, his new body did little to hide his hesitation or worry over the answer.
Interest indeed peaked by what Gub said. Politely refuse trip to fabulous dimension, ask for fine clothing, inform of his perspective of that strange day and ask how long ago it was.
[Urg, every post looks long and thin in my phone.]
Post by: killerhellhound on March 25, 2014, 09:28:50 pm
Jog over to the Artiste waving and shout at him to stop
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 26, 2014, 02:54:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2014, 07:27:32 am
~Of course I am! But you have to explain me what exactly is happening here first, otherwise I may not be able to do much~
~your master requires you to kidnap some spellcasters from the surrounding countryside in order to stand in for the unavoidable loss of you and your so-called friends! we shall connect you with him!~
The voice of the gub cuts out, and something else replaces it.
~Right, who exactly is this? Eh, doesn't matter. Thing is, I've worked out a little deal with the gub - you bring over a whole bunch of spellcasters - five, I think - and they'll let us take Erin and leave. Any questions?~
Post by: miauw62 on March 26, 2014, 07:40:09 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2014, 07:59:14 am
~Could you tell Art who I am? What is this deal, and is there any chance to get a somewhat humanoid body back? Will we do this task together?~
~yes, it involves kidnapping spellcasters, yes and presumably!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 26, 2014, 08:28:40 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 26, 2014, 08:36:52 am
~I should be able to help a lot with the kidnapping and those things. Oh, just like the old times! I have to find my stuff first, though, wind magic is going to help me a lot with moving around. Any chance that I may be guided to the place where Mark left my foci and my stuff?~
Post by: Innsmothe on March 26, 2014, 08:44:57 am
...
Hey artiste, oh savior of mine heart, Is everything alright?"
Head towards the tailor and hope nothing squicky happens to the rodent.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 26, 2014, 10:08:33 am
~Good. Where is my nearest companion? ~
~mark is just up ahead! and art, of course, but he does not really count!~
~Oh, Master! It is a pleasure to hear your voice again! Or at least from an entity of your kind that doesn't directly want my suffering! I have many questions to ask you, but I guess that it can wait.~
~I should be able to help a lot with the kidnapping and those things. Oh, just like the old times! I have to find my stuff first, though, wind magic is going to help me a lot with moving around. Any chance that I may be guided to the place where Mark left my foci and my stuff?~
~I have no idea what you're talking about with the foci, and I have no real means of guiding you. This is basically just the gub simplifying communications a little.~
~and we have no idea where your foci may have gone!~
~Anyway, regroup with the others. More information will be forthcoming.~
"Yep.
...
Hey artiste, oh savior of mine heart, Is everything alright?"
~Everything's peachy. Be a pal and get everyone together, Scott. I've got some work for you lot to do. Me and the gub have reached a tentative agreement.~
Post by: Tomcost on March 26, 2014, 10:44:48 am
Be guided to Mark
Post by: miauw62 on March 26, 2014, 11:11:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 26, 2014, 11:26:57 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 26, 2014, 11:48:50 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 26, 2014, 12:21:07 pm
((We know that we have hit bottom when Mark has became the de facto team leader))I'm the oldest undead I can fix everyone and upgrade everyone why shouldn't I be leader.
Just because I turned a few people into monsters dosen't mean I'm not fit to lead.
Post by: Tomcost on March 26, 2014, 01:34:12 pm
((You are the most insane guy from us, that's why we have hit bottom))((We know that we have hit bottom when Mark has became the de facto team leader))I'm the oldest undead I can fix everyone and upgrade everyone why shouldn't I be leader.
Just because I turned a few people into monsters dosen't mean I'm not fit to lead.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 28, 2014, 07:03:30 pm
Niklas, not one to back down from a fight with a tasty rodent such as this (at least not when treasure like the kind it is sitting on is involved), pulls out his trusty war shank, stands in the customary war stance of his people, then begins to utter a slightly disappointing war mumble. The rat, while not sufficiently alarmed to try and run, does seem to have been put in to an aggressive mood by the terrible manners of its guest.
[Rat vs. Niklas: 3 vs. 6]
It leaps forward at Niklas, but the sheer volume of experience that the chef possesses in the capture and preparation of foul rodents for public consumption quickly makes itself known - Niklas simply deflects the rat with a well-timed kick, and attempts to follow through with a powerful thrust of his knife.
[Counterattack: Niklas vs. Rat: 2 vs. 6]
[Niklas vs. Rat: 3 vs. 3]
He nearly manages to land a good stab on the squatting pest, but its squirming ways prove to be a greater source of befuddlement than expected - the rat, angered by its terrible treatment at the hands of this anonymous lady, tries to get its revenge.
[Rat vs. Niklas: 5 vs. 4]
It sinks its teeth into Niklas' calf, causing a small amount of bleeding - its teeth feel rather blunt. Must be a very busy rodent in its spare time, Niklas concludes.
[Niklas vs. Rat: 4 vs. 3]
Before the rat can let go of its enemy's leg, the knife whizzes past its ear, as well as slightly through it. A very unpleasant trickle of blood begins to run down the side of its head.
On a rather nice terrace...
Morton has grown to appreciate offers of freedom, nebulous, vague and unrealistic as they may often be, and informs the gub that he would probably be interested in the concept they have presented at the very least.
~I must admit my curiosity is piqued, but if I could have one quick moment? It would be terribly rude of me to leave good tailor Craig unanswered.~
~naturally!~
Morton looks at Tailor Craig - he seems to be a little confused at Morton's absentminded behavior and hesitant answers.
"An offer I may take you up on at a later date, but I'm afraid something appears to be going on that requires my presence. And I must admit with a bit of shame that I've rather missed having a heart beat, its presence is quite calming. If you wouldn't mind, I'd quite like fine clothing again."
"I do probably have something that's your size. Perhaps nothing too fancy, but at least you will not be walking around in a set of pajamas," Tailor Craig says, preparing to glide away in his particular way, but Morton interrupts him with a query.
"I must ask though, 'left mysteriously that day?' I'm afraid I've only regained consciousness earlier today. All I remember back then was being about to share my tea with the others in celebration of having gotten to Mothdale, then hearing the Gub mentally welcome us into his city and nothing more. At least until I 'awoke' later in a stone building. You speak of it as if it was a while ago, how long ago was this?"
Tailor Craig thinks for a moment, then shrugs.
"Three, perhaps four days ago? It's been quite a dull experience the past few days. I had considered moving on, but it did seem like a dishonest move to me, leaving all of you behind like that, even if almost all of you did walk away with no explanation whatsoever while refusing to acknowledge my presence. Also, I have gotten the feeling that there is something strange about this town, to be honest. The people here are a bit... vacant, as I'm sure you noticed. And I haven't even spoken to anyone in days. Both the people and the creatures on the streets seem to be avoiding me, unfortunately."
Just then, a terrible lump of flesh descends from the heavens, beginning to speak in a fell, yet unpleasantly familiar, Scott-like voice.
"Tailor man! Your cooperation is required to save all of our souls! We must gather! Gather and cluster together!"
"I do seem to be becoming popular again, however," Tailor Craig observes half to himself.
In the streets of Mothdale...
"Sure, I'll go have a chat with him, but when can I get my stuff back?" asks Mark of the air, hoping that it'll be sometime soon. His fingers are itching. This is not a good thing.
~you cannot! your stuff belongs to us now! part of the deal!~
Well, that's depressing. He kind of liked his stuff. Ah well. Mark tries to stop Art in his tracks by waving, running at him and yelling out his friendly intentions - Art is fortunately confused enough to stop and take a look at him before he can decide upon more important ideas like whether to backpedal rapidly away or not.
"Who are you?" Art asks, perplexed and slightly frustrated. "Do I know you?"
As he asks this, however, two menacing figures arrive on the scene - one of the dolphins, plus some kind of bag of jelly, organs and jellied organs descending from the heavens - Mark wonders if this could possibly count as a dangerous situation.
At a forming stalactite...
Darren opts to follow his new friend - after all, what else would be a reasonable reaction in this situation? Slightly disconcertingly, the creature offers him a slightly more than friendly arm, insisting that it is necessary for purposes of entry - Darren is not convinced at first, but caves when the insects begin humming and their eyes flash when he approaches - with the creature in its current shape holding his arm, the insects seem to recognize him somehow.
They move through the perimeter of the mausoleum without so much as a single hitch, then head inside - the doors are locked, but that's not really something that could stop a ghost, obviously. Once inside, Darren notices that the two of them seem to be in a fairly darkened room, the artificial lighting seemingly turned low. Furthermore, a rather strange ghost shaped like a three-pointed starfish seemed to be tinkering with a knob on the wall, adjusting the lights every few moments or so. The rest of the room, peculiarly enough, seems completely empty, not to mention entirely doorless. Though, once again, that's hardly a problem at all, Darren guesses.
"I... don't know who that starfish guy is. Probably one of the weird ones. We should probably move on before it takes notice," his friend says, pulling him slowly out of the room.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on March 28, 2014, 07:05:49 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 28, 2014, 09:16:07 pm
Meanwhile make my body into a big S, to somehow show that I am somewhat sentient
Post by: killerhellhound on March 28, 2014, 11:02:29 pm
Turning to the dolphin I'm Mark who are you" after they tell me look around for a weapon of any kind
Post by: miauw62 on March 29, 2014, 06:38:53 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 06:39:49 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 29, 2014, 08:41:20 am
"Now now! Unless you seek enslavement to strange and magicl beings?!"
Scott will try mentally pushing him to the nearest door off the terrace that is in the right direction if necessary.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 29, 2014, 02:03:19 pm
"Sir Scott, it's me, Morton. Why the rush, and good heavens what happened to you? Are you quite alright, do you need aid? Why push good tailor Craig so?" He feels a touch out of the loop, but from what Craig had told him, not nearly as much as the tailor.
"If I could at least have a word with good tailor Craig first? I don't believe he hears good group Gub as the rest of us do, and doesn't quite know all of what's going on as a result."
Morton hopes this stalls the temperamental ghost at least for the moment, turning to Craig and preparing his new body for the exposition about to be dropped on the tailor.
"I do apologize for the confusion over the past few days, although I've--much less the rest of us who can hear good group Gub--had little choice in the matter I'm afraid. The reason many seem so peculiar in this town is because they hear the voice of an entity that names itself Gub, a being who speaks to and I assume can control if wished those within their influence. I convened with them not but a short while ago, to explain my silence. I had assumed you could hear good group Gub, but it seems my presumption was quite off the mark."
"I do hope that explains the rather odd behavior around you, as I said earlier I've not regained my faculties until just earlier today. I don't doubt similar experiences with the others of the group. I don't quite know why you cannot hear good group Gub, but such seems the case. Either way, a belated thank you for staying around, good tailor Craig, and for helping me once more with my wardrobe issues."
Introduce self to Scott, exposition ho!
[Requisite exposition out of the way, I do wonder why Craig cannot hear Gub. His demonic-blessed form perhaps?]
Post by: miauw62 on March 29, 2014, 02:14:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 29, 2014, 02:30:29 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 29, 2014, 02:34:25 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 29, 2014, 02:46:43 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 04:10:51 pm
[Ah, never forget the age old adage: if it has stats, it can die or be defeated. Whip man will need to be dealt with on our terms, together, and in such a way that the word blitzkrieg is an understatement. Problem is, we rarely have such opportunities due being pulled this way and that.]((I agree with all this. Eventually, we will either kill or recruit him))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2014, 05:04:07 pm
Niklas attempts to teach this rat a lesson it is unlikely to remember via a knee to its squishy rodent skull.
[Niklas vs. Rat: 2-2 vs. 1]
He nearly trips over himself as he fails to realize that a roundhouse knee is hardly an actual fighting move - the rat seems equally surprised to find this out, to be honest.
[Rat vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 1]
Not one to leave a perfectly good advantage unexploited, it pounces at Niklas, biting out a sizable portion of his trachea! Blood starts rapidly flowing into the respiratory tract of the chef, and he begins to choke! As this happens, the rat just keeps on going to town on his face and upper torso, removing chunks of flesh with each bite. Niklas hadn't suspected that rats could be this savage, really. Must be all the magical insulation it's probably eaten. Makes creatures huge and loopy, or so Niklas would suspect if he wasn't currently in the middle of yet another steamy makeout session with death itself.
[Niklas' will roll: 5]
Fortunately, death is feeling a bit tired today, and doesn't seem willing to skip to next base just yet. Maybe it needs some extra motivation. Anyway, Niklas picks up right where he left off - stabbing rodents!
[Niklas vs. Rat: 3-2 vs. 2]
He finds out that it's a little difficult to stab something in the throat while it's eating yours. Particularly when the rat starts chewing on Niklas' esophagus. Most displeasing feeling, Niklas must say.
[Rat vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 3]
The rat chews onward bravely, but has to unfortunately stop when it reaches Niklas' spine - damn thing's a little too hard and thick to bite in half just like that. So it instead removes its bloodied maw from Niklas' throat and starts violently and messily nibbling on his shoulder instead, getting to the shoulder joint in no time at all! Before Niklas can even offer some choice words on the matter (or at least try - it's a little hard for him to vocalize in any manner aside from gurgling, actually), his non-knife arm starts to feel terribly loose.
In the middle of a wacky, friendly version of a standoff...
The relatively quiet section of the street is treated to a wonderful show as the people present try to explain their respective identities - Sigmund starts off by shaping his body into a rather large, sadly not upright 'S'. This explains shockingly little, though it might prove as a sufficient indication of sentience. Then again, 'S' could stand for either sapience or stupidity - it probably does not matter, as both either are or immediately will be present in the area.
Kevin, not discouraged by the malleability-assisted performance of the jelly, tries to introduce himself through cetacean interpretive breakdancing. Sadly, possessing no limbs, facial articulation or favorable gravity in the area, he only happens to flop about in place mysteriously, confounding his unknowing friends.
Mark, having gotten most of the good cards in this whole body switching business, decides to get to the bottom of this through the power of articulate speech. He tries to explain himself to Art.
"Hi, I'm Mark and I thought you were my friend, but I just relised that everyone has had bodies switched around, one sec..." he says, turning to the dolphin. "I'm Mark, who are you?" he asks, but the dolphin only keeps perplexingly sloshing around on the cobbled ground. It might be having a seizure, Mark suspects. If only he had a surgical kit of some kind to perform the necessary surgery to check for this kind of thing.
~Okay, this is odd. Why did you change their bodies? It's not like it was necessary for them?~
~every action we perform is perfectly justifiable! the important detail to remember is that this only holds true for a certain period of time! and, now that you mention it, we have a solution!~
[the gub's magic roll: 2]
[the gub's magic roll: 4]
Sigmund is surprised when absolutely fuck-all happens to him. Usually ominous remarks like that are followed by something amazingly terrible happening. The universe must be feeling kind today.
Kevin, on the other hand, is not so lucky. His soul, only freshly adapted to a dolphin body, is once again removed from its housing, zipping across the distance to his good buddy Mark and nestling in the female entertainer's body right next to the disturbingly misshapen soul of the "doctor". This is slightly closer than Kevin has ever wanted to get to the guy, he has to say. Rather interestingly, though, he seems to be able to hear Mark's thoughts, and vice versa.
~it is time for ultimate teamwork!~ the gub say widely enough for all four of the present parties to hear.
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Art says, then glances at the suddenly prone and lifeless form of what was the short-term body of Kevin. "Wait, what happened to the dolphin? It looks dead!"
~it is! for now, anyway!~
On a rather nice terrace...
Scott keeps trying to persuade Tailor Craig to see things his way.
"Now, now! Unless you seek enslavement to strange and magical beings?!" he shouts, but Tailor Craig doesn't seem convinced.
"Wait, is this some sort of task again? I thought people had stopped offering those a while ago," he says, tapping his claw against what may or may not be a chin. Scott, lacking patience, decides to try and push him away.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 3]
The tailor is lightly prodded, but doesn't seem very movable. He looks a little confused.
"What beings do you mean, anyway? These 'gub'?"
Morton is more surprised than he probably should be at finding Scott this way.
"Sir Scott? Sir Scott, it's me, Morton. Why the rush, and good heavens what happened to you? Are you quite alright, do you need aid? Why push good tailor Craig so?" he asks of the ghost. "If I could at least have a word with good tailor Craig first? I don't believe he hears good group Gub as the rest of us do, and doesn't quite know all of what's going on as a result."
He then turns to the tailor while Scott feebly tries to push him off in a direction.
"I do apologize for the confusion over the past few days, although I've - much less the rest of us who can hear good group Gub - had little choice in the matter I'm afraid. The reason many seem so peculiar in this town is because they hear the voice of an entity that names itself Gub, a being who speaks to and I assume can control if wished those within their influence. I convened with them not but a short while ago, to explain my silence. I had assumed you could hear good group Gub, but it seems my presumption was quite off the mark. I do hope that explains the rather odd behavior around you, as I said earlier I've not regained my faculties until just earlier today. I don't doubt similar experiences with the others of the group. I don't quite know why you cannot hear good group Gub, but such seems the case. Either way, a belated thank you for staying around, good tailor Craig, and for helping me once more with my wardrobe issues."
"Huh. That's certainly interesting, I suppose," Tailor Craig says. "I am not entirely sure about what to do with that information, though. I suppose we should get to the whole tailoring business, then. It seems that whatever he wants," he points at Scott, "might be somewhat important."
[the gub's magic roll: 1]
At exactly that moment, Scott suddenly feels his soul get yanked in a very unpleasant way, causing a slight eccentricity between it and his current ectoplasmic body.
[Scott's will roll: 6]
Though nauseating, the experience proves harmless as Scott's soul rights itself immediately.
~hm! ultimate teamwork is more difficult to realize than expected!~
Both of the others glance at Scott, who involuntarily seems to have emitted a very unnatural sound. It happens when your soul gets partially ripped out of your body, you know?
~morton! we can simplify the issue of your wardrobe by granting you a new body! it is dressed impeccably, impressions indicate! are you ready for ultimate teamwork? we are considering splitting you all into two teams for the next task! it is likely to simplify getting things done immensely! if you wish, you may choose between the first and the second team!~ Morton hears the gub say to him. The gub just seem to be brimming with opportunities lately.
Post by: Xantalos on March 29, 2014, 05:08:57 pm
STAB RAT IN FACE AND THROAT AND LUNGS
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 05:14:11 pm
~What the hell did just happen? Why did the dolphin stopped moving? And you could explain your motives before acting, to see if we agree or not, or if we have a better judgement~
Do not let my soul get taken away from my body. No, I'm just getting used to it.
Post by: Xantalos on March 29, 2014, 05:15:28 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 05:16:30 pm
((Hey, it turns out acting like an incompetent cripple with malevolent intent was the right thing to do!((You are about to die anyway, so I'm not so sure))
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2014, 05:18:53 pm
~What the hell did just happen? Why did the dolphin stopped moving? And you could explain your motives before acting, to see if we agree or not, or if we have a better judgement~
~explaining motives is for entities that lack exceptional ideas! also, we are reasonably convinced that you will not enjoy this idea at first glance! but it is likely that you will warm up to it soon enough!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 05:21:35 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 29, 2014, 05:30:16 pm
~And what is your exceptional idea? And how exactly will make things better for us?~
~it will solve many problems of differing location, group cohesion and lack of teamwork! and it does not even involve any sort of permanent mental alteration! hence the name 'ultimate teamwork'! once again, we suspect the idea in its basic form will be unpalatable to you, but we are sure the method is sound and effective!~
Post by: Xantalos on March 29, 2014, 05:35:54 pm
((Guess what perk I picked.((Hey, it turns out acting like an incompetent cripple with malevolent intent was the right thing to do!((You are about to die anyway, so I'm not so sure))
Yes it's the one that lets me not die due to situations like this.))
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 05:58:54 pm
((Did you do the math? It is not as worthwhile as it seems))((Guess what perk I picked.((Hey, it turns out acting like an incompetent cripple with malevolent intent was the right thing to do!((You are about to die anyway, so I'm not so sure))
Yes it's the one that lets me not die due to situations like this.))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 29, 2014, 06:07:19 pm
Prod harder!
Post by: Tomcost on March 29, 2014, 06:20:44 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 29, 2014, 08:58:49 pm
((No, because to me it's not worthwhile to do the math :P))((Did you do the math? It is not as worthwhile as it seems))((Guess what perk I picked.((Hey, it turns out acting like an incompetent cripple with malevolent intent was the right thing to do!((You are about to die anyway, so I'm not so sure))
Yes it's the one that lets me not die due to situations like this.))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2014, 01:18:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2014, 03:06:14 am
~Wait, you mean that you want to get all of our souls in the same place? Did you think about it as a good idea? It doesn't make any sense! You would be limiting our resources, effectively making a bunch of people do the job that can be made by only one of them!~
~to be fair, you can't get anything done separately! we wonder if merging will not improve efficiency! as the expression goes, do not knock things before you try them!~
Mark adds his complaints to the gub "One body for many souls is a waste because that one body can only do so much with out other body's to help like a lone body can't gang up on a enemy like two or more body's can."
~so you say! but is that really the case? there is only one way to find out! besides, fighting enemies is not a priority of yours right now! right now sensible and calculated actions are required!~
Post by: miauw62 on March 30, 2014, 04:18:42 am
With these words, he sits down on the cobblestones.
((Well, at least Kevin has experience with having his soul merged...))
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2014, 04:23:23 am
Post by: Coolrune206 on March 30, 2014, 04:23:55 am
Post by: miauw62 on March 30, 2014, 04:29:08 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2014, 04:29:43 am
I'm all caught up in the story. I'll just be a skeleton, then. Disregard my entire post before now. I'm going to create a character sheet soon.Welcome to the insanity mate be sure to give death a high five as you pass him by.
EDIT:
"Uh, what is going on? Why do you guys look so unnerved all of a sudden?"Mark says "Well Kevin you just got put into another body" Turning to the others "The Gub put him in my body for shits and giggles"
Post by: Coolrune206 on March 30, 2014, 04:38:10 am
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: Rune was a man who lived in the extremely hot deserts of Sah-Arra. He lived in a small community that went by many names, and was a wealthy owner of a small shack in the market at the town. However, his store was continually attacked by massive insect-like creatures every night, usually destroying most of his wares. After many weeks of this, he had had enough, and took up arms with an iron set of armor, and a steel sword he purchased. He set out, following the footprints, reached the den of the insects, and...!
The Insect Demon Throws the fluffy wambler!
The fluffy wambler strikes Rune in the head, shattering the skull, tearing the muscle, and tearing the brain.
Human Swordsman, Rune, has been struck down!
His body left out in the storm, slowly devoured by hungry insects, and bones bleached by the sun, he was eventually discovered by a scavenger, and his body was dumped into the ocean. There, it waited, for hundreds of years...
Post by: miauw62 on March 30, 2014, 05:59:27 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 30, 2014, 08:37:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2014, 08:42:29 am
Mark started feeling unnerved having his body move on it's own "Gub with more bodys we could search a larger area for these mages quicker and it would be easier to capture them to bring back"
~nevertheless, you have no option but to try things this way first!~
~Improve efficiency? Sending many people to do the job of only one is completely unefficient. Besides, can't you hypothesize on what would be the result of merging all of us into a body? If we don't have cohesion when each of us is not sharing anything, how would we be able to coordinate a single, shared body? That is likely to end with a nonfunctional body with an excess of orders. So, by merging us all into the same body, you would be actually not only reducing the efficiency, but rendering us all pretty much useless.~
~we shall see!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 30, 2014, 08:45:52 am
~And I have a question about your very nature, Gub: Can you really hypothetize about future consequences? Because so far the answer seems to be negative. Either that or you are being stubborn.~
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2014, 09:51:18 am
~So, if it doesn't improve efficiency, what would you do? Keep pulling our souls around?~
~And I have a question about your very nature, Gub: Can you really hypothetize about future consequences? Because so far the answer seems to be negative. Either that or you are being stubborn.~
~we will give you different bodies if you prove sufficiently catastrophically inept for such a thing to be needed! and yes, we can hypothesize about the future! however, we are working with incomplete data! this shall be corrected soon enough!~
Post by: Tomcost on March 30, 2014, 09:58:36 am
Post by: Xanmyral on March 30, 2014, 02:03:24 pm
Also, good things are said in Gub giving Morton a choice. I think. It's hard to know where one stands with Gub. He may just be the odd one out.]
Morton didn't understand the full implications of what Gub was speaking of. The butler was always happy to cooperate with people, within reason of course. The term for it does draw some interest to mind, although he took it as nothing other than the Gub's eccentric nature coming across.
~I thank you for the offer, good group Gub, but I trust in good tailor Craig's abilities, and. I fear it would be unkind of me to promptly leave him as swiftly as I've arrived as well, especially if unannounced. I'm always happy to cooperate however, although might I ask who is on which team? I'd wish to be on the team I would be most helpful.~
"Sir Scott, there's no need to be rude. I'm sure if you discussed it with good tailor Craig, he may agree to go along, instead of, please pardon my language, incessant badgering." The butler all but wagged a finger at the ghost, his tone respectful yet disappointed, and then turned his attention back to the tailor.
"I apologize for my companion, and for my haste, it seems it would be wise to move on to the matter of tailoring, my presence seems like it will be soon needed elsewhere before long. Gub wishes to ferry us to work in teams soon."
Hesitant about and make points against changing bodies again, good with working in either team, curious who's on what team, chastise Scott, apologize for Scott and haste due to what seems to be his presence needed elsewhere soon.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 30, 2014, 03:48:26 pm
Niklas tries to stab the rat in the vitals with all the strength in his body, which is admittedly limited.
[Niklas vs. Rat: 5-2 vs. 6]
He manages to severely misjudge the stab and nearly stab his own poor, abused little body! The rat, having been reminded of the need to kill its current chew toy, tries to finish the job with increasing ferocity.
[Counterattack: Rat vs. Niklas: 4 vs. 1]
[Rat vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 3]
Resuming its assault, it nibbles Niklas' left arm right off, and makes good progress on doing the same with his right arm as well! Niklas' knife slips out of his hand as the arm becomes a limply hanging bit of flesh. This rat is starting to feel a little dire to him, honestly.
At the site of a jolly bit of teamwork experimentation...
Sigmund is fairly sure he doesn't want to be rid of his absolutely wonderful new body, and does his very best to try and avoid getting ripped right out while simultaneously trying to convince the gub that there are probably better ideas for them to try rather than simply moving people willy-nilly.
~You need more data? Just wait and see how do Kevin and Mark fare in only one body, and how can they coordinate themselves, there is no need to move more people around.~
~we can't extrapolate from such a limited sample! that's not how rational inquiry works! time for some more testing!~
[the gub's magic roll: 4]
[Sigmund's will roll: 5]
Sigmund feels the gub's magic as it grabs its soul and pulls, but he manages to resist in a manner surprisingly similar to his attempts to survive inside the soul orb. It's all in the fear, Sigmund finds. It's the fear that keeps you alive.
~hm! will you keep resisting, sigmund, or must we knock you out to do this?~
Meanwhile, Art is perplexedly watching the way Mark and Kevin address him and the jelly, one another, the skies and the gods only know what else.
"You know, I'm thinking I should run, but it probably won't help, will it?"
A moment passes and he nods.
"Yeah, thought so."
[Art's magic roll: 6]
He begins to glow very pronouncedly, and the others present hear the gub mumble something unintelligible.
"Okay, so, you two want to be split away from each other? I think I have a spell that'd work," he then says, looking fairly concerned for the health of his two known friends.
At a nice terrace...
Scott continues his attempts to relay the information of the current situation to the tailor.
"They seem to be nigh omniscient beings trying to become omnipotent. NOW MOVE!"
"I'd rather not," Tailor Craig says. Scott guesses he'll have to keep playing hardball, then. Time to go in, full power!
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 5-1]
He presses Tailor Craig, but finds that he's really mostly moving the robe - Tailor Craig, probably out of modesty, seems to be trying to move with it, but he appears to have slightly overestimated his abilities on the matter in any case.
"I would really prefer it if you stopped doing that," the tailor says.
[the gub's magic roll: 1]
The pull on Scott's soul resumes, and somewhat mimics his inept handling of Tailor Craig - except the results feel decidedly more lethal in this case!
[Scott's will roll: 2]
"Hurk!" Scott says eloquently as his very soul starts to leak out of his ectoplasm, which would be best described as 'mildly unpleasant'.
~these ghost souls certainly are slippery!~
Morton, meanwhile, tries to straighten out his own business with the gub.
~I thank you for the offer, good group Gub, but I trust in good tailor Craig's abilities, and I fear it would be unkind of me to promptly leave him as swiftly as I've arrived as well, especially if unannounced. I'm always happy to cooperate however, although might I ask who is on which team? I'd wish to be on the team I would be most helpful.~
~one team currently includes kevin and mark, and possibly sigmund if all works well! the other we are less certain about! it will probably have scott on it, provided he does not suddenly and inexplicably expire before your very eyes! but joining a team requires body switching!~
Morton, slightly unaware of Scott's impending doom, turns to him with a disapproving look on his dirty rat face.
"Sir Scott, there's no need to be rude. I'm sure if you discussed it with good tailor Craig, he may agree to go along, instead of, please pardon my language, incessant badgering," he says. Scott sure looks sorry, or at least he seems to from what Morton can tell, so that's good. Continuing his business, he turns to Tailor Craig again.
"I apologize for my companion, and for my haste, it seems it would be wise to move on to the matter of tailoring, my presence seems like it will be soon needed elsewhere before long. Gub wishes to ferry us to work in teams soon."
"Yes, we probably should get you outfitted as quickly as possible. Follow me," Tailor Craig says, taking Morton into the building the terrace seems to belong to - inside, Morton can spot what seems like an improvised tailor's workshop - clothes delicately and tastefully arranged everywhere, even though this place otherwise looks more like an oversized, lavish living room. Tailor Craig quickly moves to a certain section of his supplies and provides a... is that a tiny dress? It seems rather immodest in its cut to Morton, strangely enough, and Tailor Craig doesn't look too confident in it being too appropriate for him either.
"I have had this for quite a while," he says, regarding the dress critically. "The noblewoman I originally made this for thought it was a little inappropriate for her wedding. Looking back, I slightly agree. Nevertheless, it's the only thing I have that might fit you. I normally don't work on people quite as small as you. Although I certainly could make you a new outfit, though that would take some time."
Post by: smurfingtonthethird on March 30, 2014, 03:49:19 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 30, 2014, 05:32:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2014, 06:00:57 pm
Post by: Xantalos on March 30, 2014, 06:02:52 pm
BATTLE RAGE GAREDARETARRHEGST
Post by: killerhellhound on March 30, 2014, 07:26:16 pm
BITE RAT IN THROAT((Question How are you fighting a rat and losing when you killed a bunch of guards with no problem.))
BATTLE RAGE GAREDARETARRHEGST
Post by: Nunzillor on March 31, 2014, 02:11:01 am
Post by: Innsmothe on March 31, 2014, 03:16:41 am
Try to fortify one's self and follow the rat and the tailor
Post by: Tomcost on March 31, 2014, 05:41:36 am
~First, is there any possibility for me to convince you with the right arguments?~
~If not, is there any posssibility for me to not get pulled outside of this body? Considering that it is far different than the rest adn has many uses that are likely to help with our mission~
~And, for last, can you not put me in the same body with Scott or Mark? I don't care about the rest, I just don't want to share a soul vessel with them~
Post by: miauw62 on March 31, 2014, 05:55:30 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2014, 06:55:57 am
~Fuck. Out of all people you could have fused me with, you chose Mark?~"What are you implying? You do know that I've lived through a war zone and I've been on my second chance longer then you with out mutilations."
Post by: miauw62 on March 31, 2014, 06:57:11 am
Post by: killerhellhound on March 31, 2014, 07:23:21 am
"I'm implying that you're batshit insane and that Lizzie was much more pleasant to share a body with."Mark took quick look through his memories "Well I can't argue with that"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 31, 2014, 01:40:04 pm
Darren, not one to protest against choosing not to hang out with weirdos, follows his friend through one of the nearby walls. This time they seem to have landed in a rather cozy little temple of some kind - it's got a massive staircase leading up to an altar of black stone, even! And a lot of pews and braziers with variably-colored flames. And a bunch of metallic worshipers praying at the altar and softly chanting in metallic voices. Overseeing this synthetic place of worship is a floating woman, her unmoving, dignified pose giving her the look of a statue. She seems to be the object of worship here, as evidenced by her floating above the altar.
"I swear, this place just gets weirder every moment," Darren's friend remarks, and suddenly the ectoplasmic statue's eyes open. Before the two even know it, it seems to disappear from its spot, instantly transporting itself over to the two visitors.
"Why, hello!" the statue says in a feminine voice, sounding remarkably cheerful despite the grave expression on her face and the way her lips never seem to move. "Can I help you?"
"Well, we're looking for a place to have some fun, if you know what I mean," Darren's friend says, nodding suggestively.
"Ah! Of course. Can I watch?" the statue asks, and Darren's friend looks at him questioningly.
In the lair of an evil, nasty rat...
Niklas tries to channel his rage at the rat, and use that to gain an advantage!
[Niklas' raging roll: 5]
Finding his lack of arms to be something to get righteously pissed off about, Niklas roars and jumps at the rat, seeking to provide it with the most painful and terrible death using nothing but his teeth and bloody-mindedness.
[Niklas vs. Rat: 1-2+1-1 vs. 3]
[Counterattack: Rat vs. Niklas: 5 vs. 5-1]
[Attack: Rat vs. Niklas: 6 vs. 4-1]
However, just as Niklas tries to go for the rat's throat, the creature simply headbutts him, sending him reeling backward, then sets about the wonderful task of ripping out the rest of his digestive tract, chewed-up guts flying left and right as the rat goes into a feeding frenzy. Niklas feels like the battle is not really going in his favor right now. It's a little unfortunate, he finds.
Mark nods "the main problem is that after we are split is that the Gub can just put us back together again. Is there a way to stop that?"
"Really, you just need to consciously resist being pulled out of your body. That'll make it exponentially harder to pull you this way or that. I've also got spells of warding to help you out if needed."
~we must say, it is quite uncharacteristic for art to do things! we had not accounted for this possibility!~
"Gub! Will you just hold on to yourself and be patient! I am trying to do what you require from me and I do not need the threat of discorporation to harry me along!"
~we are trying to move you places, not rip out your soul! we have this wonderful idea on what to do with you, actually!~
~I'm going to try a different aproach~
~First, is there any possibility for me to convince you with the right arguments?~
~If not, is there any posssibility for me to not get pulled outside of this body? Considering that it is far different than the rest adn has many uses that are likely to help with our mission~
~And, for last, can you not put me in the same body with Scott or Mark? I don't care about the rest, I just don't want to share a soul vessel with them~
~yes, how about a ghost body, and it seems unlikely!~
~Fuck. Out of all people you could have fused me with, you chose Mark?~
~silly kevin, you are not fused! you simply happen to control the same body! now will you get moving already?~
Post by: Innsmothe on March 31, 2014, 01:51:52 pm
Attempt to reason how to block mental signals based on limited experience with telepathy and telekinesis.
Post by: Xantalos on March 31, 2014, 01:54:06 pm
Run away while praying to Narcillius for help. He was a chill god and stuff.
Post by: Tomcost on March 31, 2014, 02:14:42 pm
S-I-G
Then pointed at itself with more pseudo limbs.
Meanwhile, Sigmund kept trying to reason with the Gub:
~I'm glad I can reason with you. I will willingly let myself to let you transfer my soul if I find your motives to be sensible enough, but you will have to let me reason with you first.
You say that you want to improve our teamwork by putting us into the safe confined space. But, it just would increase the problems we already have. If we lack cohesion when deciding over how to do thing in general, shouldn't we have problems to agree to perform every single basic action? That would be worse than if we had been in a separate body, because in that case each individual could accomplish actions on their own, while if we are in the same body, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything bigger than a simple action, due to different criteria.
Second, if you want to improve things related to spacial dispersion and lack of communications, then you can indeed help with that by allowing us to communicate through you. That would help us to coordinate different things even when we are away, without the need to decrease the amount of available bodies.
Third, decreasing the number of bodies we are able to use would make more difficult to accomplish our goal. Isn't it a better option for kidnapping someone to come from every side, cutting the target's escape ways, instead of coming from only one? Wouldn't more bodies be able to cause distractions as the abduction is performed?
And, about the ghost body, its inmaterialness can help with subterfuge, but it actually has the problem of requiring a huge effort to influece the material world, thus making more difficult the abduction. Also, I can't carry my foci in that state.~
((Apologies for the wall of text, I unusually like the slime body. Odd, I know, but I like it))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 01, 2014, 12:16:17 am
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
"That... Is quite certainly a choice of attire."
Morton was at a loss of how to really describe it in a positive way. He most certainly would prefer to not wear such a thing, and can quite see the noblewoman's viewpoint from here. He quickly picked up on his prior statement however, finding his conversational flow again.
"But, if you don't mind, I would be quite fine with waiting I believe. Although it seems the need for proper attire may be unnecessary, good group Gub seems to require me to attain a different body for a task. I do so apologize for the waste of time..." The rat trailed off, an idea occurring to him to perhaps make the wasted effort up to the tailor.
"But perhaps I can still provide assistance. If I'm to acquire a new body promptly, I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in giving you an example of what may happen to second attempts. If something dreadful were to occur, I'd simply be moved to another body, if not, then it shall be helpful information none the less. It may perhaps be of more use to good group Gub as well. If you would allow me a moment to offer the suggestion to good group Gub, good tailor Craig?"
The rat then communed with Gub. He must admit he isn't entirely sure what the reason for the body transfer was, perhaps due to the task or maybe to cut down on travel time, but he supposes it wouldn't be too terrible now that he could prepare for it.
~Is this perhaps agreeable to you, good group Gub? I believe it shouldn't take too long, and if this body isn't necessary I suppose I don't see any harm into the attempt, beyond a bit of time taken. I shall go into the portal, commune with the Aspect, and then return. I'm afraid where may be perhaps variable however, as the time. As for the team I would wish to join, I trust you shall find which I would be most helpful on.~
Politely deny dress, attempt to make peace with the good tailor due to the above proposal, ask Gub for permission. If yes, give the tailor the metaphorical thumbs up and go portal diving. If no, apologize for raising his hopes.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 01, 2014, 05:27:00 pm
This was awkward. He had started to wonder as to whether it would have been wiser to try and make it on his own. But, he had made his choice.
"We were interested in ancient artifacts. That's fun to us."
Smile. Try to use the ol' lady killer charm to get past this.
Post by: miauw62 on April 02, 2014, 06:02:07 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2014, 03:45:50 pm
Scott attempts to make the gub stop whatever they're doing through the amazing power of intelligence. After a moment of thought, he guesses that he'd probably be able to block all sorts of foreign influences if he just thought various disruptive thoughts. Yeah, that'd probably work.
"Uh...maybe you should see daddy-gub before messing around with the fragile form of the ghost head thing...huh?...huh?"
~the gub have no fathers, mothers, sons or daughters! the gub are gub from the beginning until the end!~
His current process of dying, however, is something he fails to consider.
[Scott's will roll: 2-1]
And boy, does dying feel like crap. Scott doesn't need this! He's had way too much of this, in fact. If one imagined life as a great big bar, he'd be the guy who has one too many drinks, then gets shanked with a broken bottle and robbed every Friday. Yes, every Friday. The dissatisfaction within him mounts as his soul more than half-slips out of his body.
[Scott's will roll: 5-2]
He does wonder what he could do to not die, though. Something clever, preferably. Yes, something clever would do very nicely right about now.
~it seems you are on your own here, scott! we are without ideas on how to help you! try not to die! it would lessen the amount of spellcasters we could obtain from the kidnapping venture that is to follow!~
In the lair of a monstrous rat...
Hoping that he might survive if he takes the cowardly southerner way out, Niklas spurts blood from his torn throat in a manner suggesting he may have been attempting to utter an expletive and tries to run away.
[Niklas' escape roll: 5]
[Rat's pursuit roll: 1]
The rat does not seem willing to follow Niklas out of its lair - a possibly fatal mistake, as Niklas manages to tumble through the passageway, making the whole area slick with his blood, and eventually flops out into the hallway - nobody seems to be around presently, so Niklas utters a prayer to Narcillicus. Sadly, he feels no different afterward. Guess Narcillicus is too chill to talk to him right now.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund tries to approach Art and inform him of who he might be. As he approaches Art, though, the necromancer turns to him and points his hand at him.
"Stop."
Sigmund does, as he doesn't want to find out what Art's default attack spell this way. He instead tries to write some letters on the ground, which winds up to be something of a fruitless endeavor, considering that he doesn't actually seem to be secreting a whole lot of slime, being rather membranous and all, and that whatever he is secreting appears to be translucent. And his control of his body doesn't seem to be sufficient to make any recognizable letter shapes, unfortunately.
"Good," Art says, noticing that Sigmund seems unwilling to try anything rash, and turns back to Kevmark to hopefully resolve the whole matter of their unification.
"We can't do shit if we both control the same body," Kevin says out loud.
~false! lies! lies and deceit! really, you are just too inert to try anything pr cooperate! we are disappointed in your lack of progress!~
"Well, how about we fix that?" Art says.
[Art's magic roll: 5]
Kevin feels himself get torn out of Mark's body and placed into the nearby dolphin corpse. Quite an efficient process, Kevin must say.
~you truly are the worst imaginable minions who have ever existed! were it not too inconvenient, we would eliminate you all for your unfortunate attitude!~
Sigmund doesn't hear any of this, however. He just mentally converses with the gub, mindful of his own business.
~I'm glad I can reason with you. I will willingly let myself to let you transfer my soul if I find your motives to be sensible enough, but you will have to let me reason with you first.~
~You say that you want to improve our teamwork by putting us into the safe confined space. But, it just would increase the problems we already have. If we lack cohesion when deciding over how to do thing in general, shouldn't we have problems to agree to perform every single basic action? That would be worse than if we had been in a separate body, because in that case each individual could accomplish actions on their own, while if we are in the same body, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything bigger than a simple action, due to different criteria.~
~Second, if you want to improve things related to spacial dispersion and lack of communications, then you can indeed help with that by allowing us to communicate through you. That would help us to coordinate different things even when we are away, without the need to decrease the amount of available bodies.~
~Third, decreasing the number of bodies we are able to use would make more difficult to accomplish our goal. Isn't it a better option for kidnapping someone to come from every side, cutting the target's escape ways, instead of coming from only one? Wouldn't more bodies be able to cause distractions as the abduction is performed?~
~And, about the ghost body, its immaterialness can help with subterfuge, but it actually has the problem of requiring a huge effort to influence the material world, thus making more difficult the abduction. Also, I can't carry my foci in that state.~
~you lack cohesion because you are not unified! unification does not require cohesion, it engenders it! communication is not the issue! you have far too many bodies and far too little intellect between you! that is the problem! that is the exact problem we are having here! and your foci are lost! beyond immediate recovery! we suspect they may have been eaten by rampant animals! and you are woefully unimaginative about abductions! particularly since you are seeking spellcasters! also known as people who tend to defy physical methods of apprehension! really, the very human urge to kill each and every one of you is rapidly intensifying within our collective mind! the consequences are beginning to seem relatively insignificant! what a relatively unfamiliar sensation this is! temptation rising! must kill! shouldn't kill! oh, the dilemma!~
A pause. Sigmund finds the silence in his mind somewhat eerie, to be honest. Something is obviously still there, but it seems to be doing the mental equivalent of glowering.
~actually, let us not address the issue right now! we shall bask a moment in morton's mind instead! he is a calming influence, we find!~
In the improvised workshop of Tailor Craig...
Morton... can't really say he approves of this dress. It seems to practically beg for a scandal.
"That... is quite certainly a choice of attire."
"That it certainly is," Tailor Craig says, shaking his head.
"But, if you don't mind, I would be quite fine with waiting I believe. Although it seems the need for proper attire may be unnecessary, good group Gub seems to require me to attain a different body for a task. I do so apologize for the waste of time... But perhaps I can still provide assistance. If I'm to acquire a new body promptly, I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in giving you an example of what may happen to second attempts. If something dreadful were to occur, I'd simply be moved to another body, if not, then it shall be helpful information none the less. It may perhaps be of more use to good group Gub as well. If you would allow me a moment to offer the suggestion to good group Gub, good tailor Craig?"
"I suppose I am okay with it - I certainly did not want to find out what you would look like in that dress. Perhaps the portal will work out better than before, one can never know without trying."
Morton turns to the gub once more.
~Is this perhaps agreeable to you, good group Gub? I believe it shouldn't take too long, and if this body isn't necessary I suppose I don't see any harm into the attempt, beyond a bit of time taken. I shall go into the portal, commune with the Aspect, and then return. I'm afraid where may be perhaps variable however, as the time. As for the team I would wish to join, I trust you shall find which I would be most helpful on.~
~yes, of course that would be agreeable, morton! you are agreeable! we greatly enjoy permitting you do things! and if you travel far enough away, be sure to return with a magic-user at least half as agreeable as you are!~
Well, that sounds like approval to him. Morton gives Tailor Craig the go-ahead, and soon a circle is drafted around him - the finishing touch is added, the claw is snapped and Morton sinks into the ground, plummeting into the endless abyss that serves as a wonderful contrast with the mind-shattering blast of light both familiar and strange, impressions of the vast, unending color that is the Most Fabulous of Realms permeating Morton's tiny little rat skull and tickling his brain in ways it was never meant to be tickled. He had nearly forgotten how this felt, too.
"I remember you!" a wandering splash of avocado says to Morton. "What happened to your immaculate fabulousness? It must be fixed immediately!"
Before Morton can get a single word in edgewise, the Aspect of Appeal has set upon him.
[Alteration roll: 6]
The colors in the area twist, shift, then blast inward, and Morton feels... 'interesting' would probably be the best word. It's sort of a transcendental experience, he finds. His arms turn to ochre jelly, retreating inward into his body. His fur repels from his body, combusting in scintillating rainbow flames. His legs split in two, and one pair migrates to where his arms once were. His head pops off and floats away - it's a bit odd that he can see it leave, Morton thinks. It gets even stranger when it turns around and winks at him with approval. Huh.
Suddenly, Morton is flipped around, all four of his legs stretching straight ahead. A jolt passes through his body, and he feels himself become petrified suddenly. Moreover, he senses a certain flattening of his body, though his body mass seems to wander over to the back of his body to compensate, accumulating in a boxy shape. It is at this point that Morton realizes that he seemed to be able to sense things with his entire body all at once - this sudden realization is relevant for but a few moments before his skin, quite superfluous by now, gathers in spherical shapes along one half of his body.
Before Morton is even properly cognizant of all the changes he's undergoing, it becomes fairly clear that he is regaining a shape most familiar and dear to him. But it feels different this time. Not quite as... solid, though not in an immediately physical way. He also feels remarkably light, though that may be more the weightless, fabulous realm he happens to be in. Then, just as suddenly as the process began, it ends. Oddly enough, Morton still seems to be glowing with a brownish light.
"You are fabulous once more. Now go out there and impress the woefully uninspired masses! The world will tremble before the spark of true beauty," the avocado splash tells him, and Morton is once again blasted right out of the realm, this time the sending feeling much more urgent than before. Perhaps the Aspect is excited? Flying through the darkness between worlds, he eventually appears... outside on the terrace (complete with the very same Scott, who seems to be looking rather under the weather), conveniently enough.
Through his own bodily awareness, Morton can confirm that he is a desk once more. What he can also confirm is that he seems to be floating slightly above the ground and that he seems to be filling the area with a slightly darkened, murky version of firelight, and also that he feels peculiarly warm.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren puts on his sliest face as he tries to steer this conversation in a less creepy direction.
"Ah, yes... Sure...
"Huh. Really? On the altar while she watches?"
"Worship provides a wonderful backdrop for that sort of thing, I find."
Things are getting heated. Maybe he can try a little harder.
"We were interested in ancient artifacts. That's fun to us," Darren says, prompting a raised eyebrow from his friend.
"That certainly is a strange kink," the lady says. "Just any artifacts? I do believe I have some hidden away here someplace. You'd have to find them, though. A little activity to get the life flowing in you, you know?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on April 03, 2014, 03:59:48 pm
What was the number 4 god on that list? Pray to that one, hoping for a boost as I'm clearly the ultimate survivor.
Also try to patch myself up with the closest available material that isn't my own body. My clothes if necessary.
Post by: darkpaladin109 on April 03, 2014, 04:04:02 pm
Gender: Male
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: A hunter for some ancient native american-like tribe, he was called that for his skill at hunting Otters with nothing but his fists. One day while hunting otters. he was ambushed by a member of a rival clan, who shot him through the neck from behind and left him to die.
Post by: Xantalos on April 03, 2014, 04:05:31 pm
Name: He Who Punches OttersHey a buddy for Niklas!
Gender: Male
Archetype: Zombie
Biography: A hunter for some ancient native american-like tribe, he was called that for his skill at hunting Otters with nothing but his fists. One day while hunting otters. he was ambushed by a member of a rival clan, who shot him through the neck from behind and left him to die.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 03, 2014, 04:32:44 pm
Float it off and meet up
Post by: Tomcost on April 03, 2014, 05:18:39 pm
Help the Gub to change my soul of place, at least by willingly allowing them to do so. Enjoy the relaxing experience of not having any actual responsibility on my own as I travel the void, just to lose it after I enter a new body and find one of the two mad people in the group sharing a soul vessel with me.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2014, 06:15:15 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 03, 2014, 07:00:34 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 03, 2014, 08:12:54 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
The tea apostle wanted to see a mirror, he's curious as to how different he is from before. After all, he can float now, which is most certainly an odd-if-exciting new ability, and he emitted a light, most curious! He also felt warm, although as to why he couldn't quite say at the moment.
Morton put his exciting changes aside however, driven by his remorse at his poor attitude to Scott prior in their journey, was about to move to see if he could help the unstable ghost head in what was ailing him. He would of too, if it wasn't for the head floating off in some strange direction and shouting. Oh dear. The desk wished him the best of luck in whatever was ailing him, even as unhinged as he is, he doesn't deserve--to the desk's knowledge--all the rubbish life seems to dredge on the poor man.
~Good group Gub, I've returned. It was truly a short trip, and I believe it went most splendidly! I appear to be a desk once more, yet I float and give off a dim light. Most curious, I plan to investigate after informing good tailor Craig of the success. Now, after I inform good tailor Craig of the endeavor through the portal I will undertake your task of locating those of the magical-inclination. If it wouldn't be too much to ask, perhaps I could stay in this new form if that's quite alright? If it is unsuitable for the task, I'll be willing to transfer, but maybe the strange form is of more beneficial use?~
The butler figured it was a long shot, but he did indeed want to explore this new body a touch more. It isn't often one's changed by a demon after all, much less in such an interesting manner. The desk attempts to see if he can float to where Craig was last through a variety of methods, the first being flailing in the air as he had trundled on the ground, another trying to simply move that direction, will himself, etc.
Post by: Tomcost on April 03, 2014, 08:46:52 pm
Spoiler: long OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xanmyral on April 03, 2014, 10:37:23 pm
Spoiler: More OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on April 04, 2014, 03:20:57 am
Kevin flops around gratefully, for he is no longer in the same body as Mark.
Post by: Tomcost on April 04, 2014, 06:53:49 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2014, 04:12:31 pm
Niklas figures he should try the less posh alternative to Narcillicus - his kid brother! At least, that's how he thinks Pacitarius works, anyway, and Arnold Q. Arnold seemed to agree. Getting down on his knees, he raises his head to the ceiling and invokes (well, mentally, at least) the most holy name of Pacitarius, godly child-emperor of all things natural. It doesn't take long for something to happen!
~Hey, hey, hey. Haven't heard from you before. You've reached the direct line to the Child of Nature, Friend of Man. Treasure the moment. I take it you want something, right?~ a gentle voice, childish in tone, yet with a strange mannish quality to it, says to him all of a sudden.
Niklas can't help but nod and think of various boosts and whatnot.
~You want a boon, huh? I guess I can help you - you sure seem like you could use some kind of assistance. Tell you what, there's a little something in the basement of this tower, in a long-forgotten, blissfully unguarded corner of a disused storage room filled with... flasks, I think? Anyway, it's right behind a loose, magical brick. This little something will probably help you in pretty much every way if used right. If you want, go get it - pretty sure nobody else knows where it is, at least not yet. Have a good one and all that,~ the voice of Pacitarius says, then cuts out quickly. Guess if Niklas doesn't want to slip on his own blood while going downstairs, he'll probably have to do a quick patch job with what he's got.
[Niklas' first aid roll: 3-1]
Said patch job is hindered by a severe lack of arms to perform it with and an insufficiently flexible spine to render such a problem moot.
On a nice terrace...
Scott, rather displeased by the way he seems to be dying, attempts to take it like a man and simply float on, looking for the others in his group.
"I am a tragic figure of death itself! I...SHALL...NOT...PERISH!" he shouts defiantly, his body twitching as the soul threatens to squirm out of it.
~perhaps we shall not move you yet!~ the gub suddenly say, and Scott feels something begin to happen. ~instead, perhaps we will make you not die instead!~
[the gub's magic roll: 6]
His soul is suddenly forced back into place, and the sudden feeling of mortality subsides. Scott knew that fate was only bluffing this time! Reality is clearly too scared to eliminate him in any permanent fashion. Nevertheless, he looks around to spot any interesting beings around - the first thing he notices is a floating, brownish, otherworldly desk that, while he can't say he's perfectly confident about it, he'll just go ahead and guess is probably Morton.
Morton is currently testing his ability to move. His first idea is to try and flail around in the air. This creates an interesting result - rather than any sort of more conventional movement, Morton observes thin, wispy brown arms - a variable number of them, somewhere from seven to fifteen, and each seems to be a different length - suddenly sprout from his form, grabbing at the ground and propelling him forward - slightly spooked, Morton goes still, and the arms withdraw back into his body. Huh.
Next, he tries to shuffle forward, then will himself to move forward, and these seems to work just as well, if less impressively than the previous method - he simply floats forward without any sort of sound aside from a very subtle, low buzz that may or may not be mostly be made up of infrasound.
~Good group Gub, I've returned. It was truly a short trip, and I believe it went most splendidly! I appear to be a desk once more, yet I float and give off a dim light. Most curious, I plan to investigate after informing good tailor Craig of the success. Now, after I inform good tailor Craig of the endeavor through the portal I will undertake your task of locating those of the magical-inclination. If it wouldn't be too much to ask, perhaps I could stay in this new form if that's quite alright? If it is unsuitable for the task, I'll be willing to transfer, but maybe the strange form is of more beneficial use?~
~like we have mentioned, we find permitting you to do things very easy! so this is what we shall do! your body seems to be of the useful sort!~
Good to know! Morton floats off, looking for Tailor Craig - fortunately, the fellow appears to not have moved much in Morton's short absence, regarding the most unwanted of his dresses with a slightly wistful look.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund guesses he shouldn't provoke the gub too much. They seem unstable.
~This is getting ridiculous. Okay, make me travel to another body, but my lack of foci while performing tasks will remain your responsibility. I'm willing to continue this conversation when your mental state is far better.~
It takes a moment for the gub to reply.
~we have a better idea! a more aesthetically pleasing one and hopefully one that will not make you useless peons complain for days on end how your ridiculous demands are not being met!~
Hm, that sounds okay. Maybe Sigmund should somehow facilitate...
[the gub's magic roll: 1]
... getting himself killed? That's certainly what this feels like, what with the terrible sensation of doom and extremely hideous pain.
[Sigmund's will roll: 4]
Fortunately, this is hardly the first time somebody has tried to murder Sigmund with advanced necromancy today. Though it does hurt a lot more in a physical body, Sigmund does manage to hold on nicely and not die. At least, not in any easily apparent way.
~we seem to be discovering an interesting new side of magic! it is called unexpected, slightly deadly failure! it is fortunate indeed that the gub cannot die, is it not?~
Mark, meanwhile, thanks the brave crystal princess that saved him.
"Thanks, Art. I'm just going to look around for some gear," he says, and Art just shrugs.
"It's all good, I suppose. Now, any of you want to be slightly protected from interference or whatever? Who wants to go first?"
Mark would volunteer, but he is far too busy looking for weapons, and spends the next few minutes painstakingly extracting some metal fence posts from the ground - they seem fairly thin and metallic, as well as at least three quarters of his current height, and Mark does believe that metallic, swingable things you can hit people with are weapons - after all, what use is there for a fence aside from improvised weaponry, anyway?
Kevin, meanwhile, flops about gratefully, looking fairly ecstatic about not sharing a body with his worst friend forever. And he probably is ecstatic until he hears from the gub again.
~your current body will be of no use in your task! this we shall change!~
[the gub's magic roll: 4]
Kevin is most disappointed when his soul is suddenly peeled away from his body, hurled through space in a matter of seconds and lodged into another body - this one seems to be located inside a building. Moreover, it seems to look mostly exactly like Mark's body. How strange.
Post by: Xantalos on April 04, 2014, 04:27:15 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 04, 2014, 05:08:41 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 04, 2014, 09:10:00 pm
Same action as before. Hope that the Gub does things the right way this time.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 05, 2014, 02:20:56 am
After sending off the psychic image of a smile Scott will float after morton's otherworldly desk-like form.
"So....you re-died too? As sooon as I do it, everyone seems to want in on the action."
Post by: miauw62 on April 06, 2014, 03:47:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2014, 05:28:06 am
~Thanks, I guess. This is probably as good as it's going to get, so where is the rest?~
~outside!~
Post by: miauw62 on April 06, 2014, 06:43:21 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 06, 2014, 03:41:32 pm
Niklas, in another entirely reasonable twist, decides to scream for help, but then realizes that he has no trachea. This somewhat limits his calling abilities, as he has not obtained the immensely useful skill of telepathy just yet. This is going on the list, he realizes.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Mark heads back to Art - he finds that Art has not gone far, and seems to be poking at the dolphin, who seems to have become dead again. When a body roughly identical to his turns up, Mark guesses that Kevin must have been relocated already. Things are moving along nicely! He strolls up to Art and asks politely for protection.
"Looks like you're going to be the lucky second subject, then," he says, raising his arms in a very magical fashion.
[Art's magic roll: 1]
And as the magic is worked, Mark can't help but get the feeling that it might not have worked as it should have. Hm.
"Something might've gone wrong... don't move, man."
Art thinks for a moment.
"Hard to say what, though."
Sigmund, meanwhile, lectures the gub on magic.
~Well, yes, magic tends to have tragic consequences if not done properly. I advice to focus on what you want to do pay special attention to it for a while. Magic is all about how you influence the world with your soul. Your idea of not being able to die is rather odd, considering that souls are those who influence the world with magic, and that thus you have at least one. I suspect that you mean that the Gub as an entity can't die even if its members do, but I digress, I don't want to occupy more your mind, it would be more productive if we happened to get something done finally.~
~we know all this! we know everything you do, actually! more or less! we have not quite managed the rulesight on our own, however! we will work on that eventually! but now, switcheroo!~
[the gub's magic roll: 2]
Things fail to happen despite Sigmund's positive thinking - the gub seem to be having a somewhat terrible time at this lately.
~productivity sure is plummeting!~
On a nice terrace...
"Thank you for taking responsibility for your mistakes Gub, it was very mature of you. I am very proud of you all," Scott tells the gub, attempting to evoke the mental image of a smile.
~and we find you reasonably functional, scott! we do hope things will start to get done soon, though!~
Scott, quite joyous right now, floats into the building after Morton, finding him to be right inside. He asks him a reasonable question.
"So....you re-died too? As soon as I do it, everyone seems to want in on the action."
Morton responds merely by looking resplendent. Tailor Craig appears to be lost in thought.
Post by: Tomcost on April 06, 2014, 03:53:28 pm
Sigmund thought that he could just relax, because he doesn't have any real responsibility right now. What's the slime's equivalent of relaxing anyway? Maybe just having a form way closer to the ground, and letting the gravity do its job instead of fighting it? In either case there must be an equilibrium so that he doesn't end up desintegrating. Dammit, he can't get relaxed.
Well, at elast he could do something with his body as the Gub figured out how to change his body again.
~As you are changing my body again, do you want me to leave this body in any particular place?~
Post by: Innsmothe on April 06, 2014, 05:11:08 pm
Heck, why not go legitimate and try to negotiate labour from heads of state as an equal power?[/
Post by: Tomcost on April 06, 2014, 05:23:10 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 06, 2014, 07:24:53 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on April 06, 2014, 10:19:49 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 06, 2014, 11:16:53 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 07, 2014, 02:37:57 am
Go forth and find artifacts.
Post by: miauw62 on April 07, 2014, 04:06:22 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 07, 2014, 06:01:15 am
Go outside and look for Art.((I think that you are already outside with Art))
Post by: miauw62 on April 07, 2014, 07:03:39 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 08, 2014, 03:16:06 pm
Morton was a little disturbed by the arrival of many strange arms, but he couldn't say he wasn't delighted in the inclusion of manipulators. All he'd need is his tea supplies and things would be wonderful, really. It also doesn't seem that this floating thing is so hard after all, although even he must admit its a little bit of a let down compared to the arms, but most likely a more sociable form of conveyance.
"No, I'm not quite what I would qualify as a 'third-chancer', thankfully, I must admit it doesn't quite roll off the tongue quite as nicely as 'second-chancer.' Good tailor Craig sent me through the portal once more, and most fabulous results have ensued, as you can see." It was much quicker for the butler to readjust to a desk again, his voice taking on greater inflection to make up for his lack of facial expressions. The tea apostle noticed two arms phasing into existence, instinctive body language calling them forth, and the moment they've completed the gestures retreating back seeing as they're no longer needed.
Having addressed his ex-master, the desk turned his attention to the tailor. "I've returned, good tailor Craig, and I must say it was quite the success. The Aspect of Appeal remembered me, and restored me to a more comfortable form after expressing what appeared to be intent on fixing my missing fabulousness. After the change was done, the Aspect charged me to impress others with my new appearance and sent me on my way." Morton explained to the tailor, doing a little spin in the air to present a full view of his new form.
"I thank you again for the trip through the portal, and I hope the information is most helpful to you, good tailor Craig. I don't wish to tarry any more on good group Gub's task however, it would be dreadfully unbecoming of me. We're to search for mages in the area from what I was told, and to bring them here. I'd appreciate assistance or perhaps advice for the task, good tailor Crag, you've been wonderful help already. My guess would of been to follow a road until I reach another town, and to explain the offer over some tea perhaps."
~On that note, would you perhaps wish me to attempt to gather other such locals who may be helpful in the building of a town? Craftsmen, perhaps?~
Converse with Scott, make presence known to good tailor Craig and explain experiences, ask if he wishes to provide assistance or perhaps advice. Ask Gub if they wish for craftsmen as well as mages.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 08, 2014, 05:26:43 pm
He still wants his question to the Gub answered though.
Quote
As you have grown in power, is it not more efficient to create artificial workforces, if not try 'transporting' workers from other lands?
Heck, why not go legitimate and try to negotiate labour from heads of state as an equal power?
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 09, 2014, 01:35:54 pm
Hoping things won't go catastrophically wrong again, Sigmund tries to not move and relax a bit, failing badly at the latter.
~As I said, just dedicate special effort. I know that you already know all this, that's why I have been plainly talking to you and stating what I don't like, instead of just thinking about it, because that would be hypocritical and just useless, right? Anyway, I can wait, it's not like I will die of old age at some point.~
~we would not put such a silly death beyond your ilk!~
That's just uncalled for, really.
~As you are changing my body again, do you want me to leave this body in any particular place?~
~do not move, and all shall be well! or perhaps not! let's pull a little more strongly this time!~
[the gub's magic roll: 6+2]
And boy, do they make good on that - in fact, Sigmund can practically sense his slime body basically explode as his soul rockets out of it, landing in a nearby body oddly reminiscent of Kevin and Mark's bodies.
~a little too strong! but what can you do! go outside now! follow the trail of disgusting jellied viscera!~
Speaking of disgusting jellied viscera, Mark, Kevin and Art most definitely did not expect there to be so much of it flying at them suddenly!
[Mark's composure roll: 1]
Mark, by virtue of his 360 degree vision, sees the jelly guts coming quite well in advance! His reflexes kick in and he dives to the ground, feeling right clever and skillful up until the moment where his soul seems to come loose!
[Mark's will roll: 3]
He begins to twitch on the ground, missed by the disgusting jellied viscera similarly to Art, but very much unlike the most unfortunate Kevin, but nonetheless in great danger!
~oh, but you are so terribly fragile, aren't you? let's see if we can fix that! we are, as they say in your terrifyingly metaphorical language, on a roll!~
[the gub's magic roll: 5]
Mark feels unexpectedly glad at the gub's presence when his soul suddenly reaffixes itself to his body. With friends like these, how could he possibly ever feel like he is in true danger?
"So, where are we going?" Kevin, stoically bearing the fact he is covered in oddly steaming exploded cloud jelly. It kind of burns a little, he notices.
~you are questing outward! as per the artiste's direction, you will presumably find mages and bring them back here so that we may control their minds and enslave them in the service of the gub in order to use their power and to learn all their secrets! we are already dutifully copying erin's memories, but it would be wise to milk you awful people for all you are worth and possibly more!~
At the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, falling back on his old tricks, decides to get down on his disemboweled stomach and flop about bloodily and noisily until somebody decides to either help him or put him out of his misery. And despite the fact that flopping around seems to be less effective than walking, which, unlike calling out, he can totally do, he does get somewhere! A hallway! Disappointingly, though he doesn't seem to be too good at eliciting the impulses of helpfulness from his fellow man and woman.
In fact, most of them seem to pay him no mind at all, while some others shake their heads and look fairly disappointed.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren is as polite as he can be to the statue lady.
"Ah, yes, that sounds fascinating! Absolutely riveting! But, ah, would you mind me keeping one? I have a friend, huge fan of artifacts as well, and there's one that he's heard is in this area that he has had his eyes on for a while. Is there any way I could acquire one from you?"
"You surely can keep any you like, though I am not sure where you'd put them," the statue says, and Darren, along with his friend, who seems a little disappointed, get to searching. Darren's first impulse is to look inside the altar the automatons are worshiping, and surprise, there seems to be a frightening, glowing mask of some kind in there!
"Well, that sure didn't take long."
"I found one as well," Darren's friend says from not too far away.
"Ah. You certainly seem to be good at this looting business. So, you wanted to do something with artifacts?"
In Tailor Craig's improvised workshop...
Morton decides that he has remained silently resplendent for long enough, and speaks at last.
"No, I'm not quite what I would qualify as a 'third-chancer', thankfully, I must admit it doesn't quite roll off the tongue quite as nicely as 'second-chancer.' Good tailor Craig sent me through the portal once more, and most fabulous results have ensued, as you can see," he tells Scott, gesturing with two devilish arms, then turning to Tailor Craig.
"I've returned, good tailor Craig, and I must say it was quite the success. The Aspect of Appeal remembered me, and restored me to a more comfortable form after expressing what appeared to be intent on fixing my missing fabulousness. After the change was done, the Aspect charged me to impress others with my new appearance and sent me on my way."
Tailor Craig is a bit surprised at being addressed, but seems to take Morton's change rather well on the whole.
"Ah. So it tries to recreate the first transformation, then. Interesting. Seems to have variability, too."
"I thank you again for the trip through the portal, and I hope the information is most helpful to you, good tailor Craig. I don't wish to tarry any more on good group Gub's task however, it would be dreadfully unbecoming of me. We're to search for mages in the area from what I was told, and to bring them here. I'd appreciate assistance or perhaps advice for the task, good tailor Craig, you've been wonderful help already. My guess would've been to follow a road until I reach another town, and to explain the offer over some tea perhaps."
"That's certainly an interesting task. And this city is woefully lacking in interesting opportunities. And I find your method rather pleasant and workable. I know I certainly could not say no to a wonderful bit of tea. How about I follow along and help?" Tailor Craig asks.
~On that note, would you perhaps wish me to attempt to gather other such locals who may be helpful in the building of a town? Craftsmen, perhaps?~ Morton quickly asks the gub before answering.
~if it is possible, we would not be opposed to craftsmen arriving in town! but it is not a real necessity if you bring mages!~
Scott, meanwhile, has questions of his own to ask the gub.
~As you have grown in power, is it not more efficient to create artificial workforces, if not try 'transporting' workers from other lands? Heck, why not go legitimate and try to negotiate labor from heads of state as an equal power?~
~we do not need a workforce! magic is far more valuable! and we cannot reach very far beyond the city limits!~
Post by: miauw62 on April 09, 2014, 01:38:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 09, 2014, 01:40:21 pm
"I don't know wether you know this, gub, but most individuals have a need for a bit of, well, individuality. Putting us all in bodies that look exactly the same isn't going to help that."
~these bodies were functional and, more importantly, nearby! suck it up or die painfully, either is fine with us!~
Post by: miauw62 on April 09, 2014, 01:44:44 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 09, 2014, 02:11:28 pm
~HEY I NEED HELP YOU FESTERDS FIX ME~
Post by: Innsmothe on April 09, 2014, 05:47:52 pm
Aloud to the air: So if we left the city, and the others new of this and followed, you'd be stuck here alone with ever retreating influence?
Mentally: Gub, I really do suggest that you develop some sort of empathy, because your rude disregard for other beings will most assuredly leave you miserable... if not lead to your downfall.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 09, 2014, 10:31:51 pm
Go and look for crown or flowerlike things.
Post by: Tomcost on April 10, 2014, 07:10:28 am
-Wow. That's exactly what I was saying, actually.
The he proceeded to examine his new body. Hmm, similar to that of the others, this means that something could actually be done in coordination with them. It is giong to be difficult indeed. Anyway, time from the show.
Check inventory and go outside. If the other's are actually outside, say, pretty loudly:
-Sigmund is back!
Then he proceeded to explain where was him aññ this time:
-As you don't know what happened with me, I was the weird worm construct made by Mark. Yes, the one that the murderous dolphin obliterated. The Gub then transfered my soul to that disgusting piece of jelly that... Is now covering your faces? Oh, that was just too much, but I can't really complain about a successful soul transferece. A pity that it was destroyed, the ability of flying could have made good synergy with wind magic. Anyway, let's ask the Gub for the exact instructions of our mission.
He then spoke to the air:
-So, do you want these spellcasters to be carried here in a good physical condition or not? Or what about if they have no body and we just carried their souls, would it still be effective? Do we need to keep their foci in perfect shape? Do yuo care if we actually tell them that they are going to "work" for an omnicient entity that can read minds?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2014, 07:36:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2014, 02:30:15 pm
Nibble at ankles until someone helps me. Try to mind talk to them.
~HEY I NEED HELP YOU FESTERDS FIX ME~
Eventually a man is stopped by your ankle-nibbling - mostly because he seems to be bleeding terribly from it and has tripped over you in the process of escaping. He does not look very ready to help you, and you don't think you can actually talk through your mind alone.
SIIIIIIGH
Aloud to the air: So if we left the city, and the others new of this and followed, you'd be stuck here alone with ever retreating influence?
~not at all! and nobody aside from a select few can choose to leave if we do not wish it! it works very nicely!~
Mentally: Gub, I really do suggest that you develop some sort of empathy, because your rude disregard for other beings will most assuredly leave you miserable... if not lead to your downfall.[/color][/glow]
~silly scott, we do have empathy! we are perfectly aware of everyone's feelings within our sphere of influence at any given moment! we simply find the opinions of non-gub extremely limited in their perspectives! and usually non-gub have far too many frivolous complaints for us to take them seriously!~
"Yes, I owe a good friend of mine a favor. And he wants an artifact."
"Any artifact, or are you looking for something specific?"
-The Gub then transfered my soul to that disgusting piece of jelly that... Is now covering your faces?
Only Kevin's face, actually. And he seems to be lightly smoking.
Check inventory
You conclude that you have been rather thoroughly looted. Nothing of value or meaning on you, no sir!
-So, do you want these spellcasters to be carried here in a good physical condition or not? Or what about if they have no body and we just carried their souls, would it still be effective? Do we need to keep their foci in perfect shape? Do yuo care if we actually tell them that they are going to "work" for an omnicient entity that can read minds?
~we need their knowledge! as long as their minds are brought into our sphere of influence, we will subjugate them effortlessly, very much like we did with you upon your arrival! then all their knowledge shall be ours!~
Mark sits and concentrates on seeing if there are any memory's in the body I got transferred to
There are plenty, actually! A whole lifetime's worth, in fact. Reasonably happy childhood with two sisters, somewhat troubled teenage years, total failure to become a mage, a subsequent escape with two equally untalented sisters, discovery of a rather interesting talent for music, wanderings through the world, playing music, many romantic entanglements along the way, nothing too extraordinary beyond the gift of three magical instruments of great power from a former enchantment instructor. The memories suddenly cease upon arrival in Mothdale. Any specific inquiries?
Post by: Xantalos on April 10, 2014, 02:35:27 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 10, 2014, 02:37:54 pm
Locate a piece of cloth or, in abscence of that, Mark and clean myself with it.
((I feel like it would be a great idea to read the turns a little better >.>))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 10, 2014, 02:49:02 pm
Try to write a message in my blood asking for help.
You write out a statement encapsulating and articulating your feelings and needs at the moment.
It reads "ARGLEBLARGFLCHAIRGURGLEILLKILLYOUALLunlessyouhelp"
For some reason, it doesn't seem very effective at conveying your need for help. Perhaps more colorful threats are needed?
Post by: Xantalos on April 10, 2014, 02:58:00 pm
You write out a statement encapsulating and articulating your feelings and needs at the moment.Write as such:
It reads "ARGLEBLARGFLCHAIRGURGLEILLKILLYOUALLunlessyouhelp"
For some reason, it doesn't seem very effective at conveying your need for help. Perhaps more colorful threats are needed?
'REPAIR CURRENT BODY WILL GIVE FOOD FOR HELP'
((Also, I'm quoting that.))
Post by: Tomcost on April 10, 2014, 03:11:46 pm
He then turn to Art:
-This means that we will probably need yor help for that task.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2014, 05:25:48 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on April 10, 2014, 05:45:03 pm
Scott continues stalking Morton.
Post by: Tomcost on April 10, 2014, 05:47:51 pm
"Empathy was the wrong word, I meant sympathy."((I'm not with you! You don't even know in which body I am now))
Follow Sigmund
Post by: Xanmyral on April 10, 2014, 08:40:03 pm
"I'd be delighted and most grateful, good tailor Craig, and I'm happy to hear you enjoy my tea, I promise to try my best on the next brew. Traveling is always much more entertaining when in good company." The desk nodded--although the expression would perhaps be better called a bow--his body dipping towards the tailor and then back. "All that's left now would be to retrieve my supplies and then we'll be good to travel, I believe. I can't very well make tea without supplies, after all. Now, I believe I was at the docks prior to this, so my old form should still be there as well, with my old stuff, should fortune prevail."
At the thought of regathering his old stuff, the desk wondered if his storage was any different than his old form, either more or less. He checked such quickly before floating towards the exit. "It should hopefully be a short trip to recover my old items, I admit I'm sadly not aware how far the next town may be, so we could wind up traveling for a while. If you wish you can accompany me to my old form, or I can fetch them myself as you secure your belongings. Good group Gub takes good care of the town, but I'm told it is most wise to be prepared."
Morton happily accepts Craig's offer for help, explains need to prepare before the trip (recover his old equipment), and goes off to do so (hopefully with Gub's help on directions).
Post by: Innsmothe on April 11, 2014, 09:05:20 am
((Sorry got you mixed up with Morton. >.>))"Empathy was the wrong word, I meant sympathy."((I'm not with you! You don't even know in which body I am now))
Follow Sigmund
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 12, 2014, 04:13:06 pm
Darren just keeps on looking for artifacts, unmindful of any other distractions - he's got holy quests to accomplish! And after a bit of searching, he does find a very nice-looking crown decorated in golden flowers! It even glows with a mildly unholy light, so he guesses this must be what he's looking for - it's pretty well-hidden, too - he had to rip out a very sizable panel off a wall to get a good look at it.
Now the question is what he's supposed to do with it, he guesses.
"Ah! You've found that thing, I see. Is that what you were looking for?" the statue asks while Darren's friend looks on slightly dejectedly.
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, guessing that he must fall back on good manners now as a last resort, writes out a less forceful message some distance away from his last one.
REPAIR CURRENT BODY WILL GIVE FOOD FOR HELP it says, and this does seem to attract some attention, and a rather small and tubby child with a manic look in his eyes eventually stops to look at the words.
"Ah! Food! What sort of food?" he asks of Niklas.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Kevin is most distressed by his current state, especially by the way he seems to be burning.
"AAAAAAAAAAA GET IT OFF ME!" he shrieks, grasping desperately for something to clean himself with. Unfortunately, no clothes can be found, and his only solution is to grab his good buddy Mark, who seems to be trying to learn how to play three instruments at once, and try to rub as much of the jellied innards off him as possible. This proves mostly successful, and he gets off quite a bit of the corrosive gore off all sensitive membranes and exposed skin, though this does come at the expense of Mark's investigative efforts and general comfort. To say nothing of the smell, obviously.
Sigmund, meanwhile, explains things nobody seems to care about.
"The Gub just told me that we only need the knowledge of the mages. This means that we are perfectly able to destroy their foci and capture their souls to do so, negating all their possibilities of doing magic," he says, turning to Art. "This means that we will probably need your help for that task."
"Yeah, I guess I could help," Art says.
And just as a plan is settling in Sigmund's mind, all four of the present people hear the voice of the gub in their heads, sounding fairly urgent this time.
~we are interrupting your idleness to inform you that a detachment of up to thirty ravenous nicedogs hungering for human flesh may or may not have been dispatched to your location in order to facilitate progress and movement! we hear they have a reasonably good sense of smell, can chew through steel with effort and consistently run at speeds approaching 70 kilometers per hour, and are capable of 4-meter vertical jumps! thank you for your time!~
"... maybe we should get going, guys?" Art offers.
At Tailor Craig's improvised workshop...
"Empathy was the wrong word, I meant sympathy," Scott says to the gub to clear up any misunderstanding.
~we have very much sympathy for people and creatures of our fold and outside! the problem is simply that today is not a very good day! today seems to be more the sort of day when we wish to destroy all that is not gub! our patience is tenuous indeed, one might say! so we would appreciate it if you tried to be quieter so that we are not tempted to lash out at you for issues you had little part in causing! this is agreeable, we know this, and will result in no injuries whatsoever for you!~
Hm. The gub does not seem to be in the best of moods somehow. Morton, meanwhile, is chatty and in good spirits as usual.
"I'd be delighted and most grateful, good tailor Craig, and I'm happy to hear you enjoy my tea, I promise to try my best on the next brew. Traveling is always much more entertaining when in good company All that's left now would be to retrieve my supplies and then we'll be good to travel, I believe. I can't very well make tea without supplies, after all. Now, I believe I was at the docks prior to this, so my old form should still be there as well, with my old stuff, should fortune prevail," he says to Tailor Craig. "It should hopefully be a short trip to recover my old items, I admit I'm sadly not aware how far the next town may be, so we could wind up traveling for a while. If you wish you can accompany me to my old form, or I can fetch them myself as you secure your belongings. Good group Gub takes good care of the town, but I'm told it is most wise to be prepared."
"Oh, my belongings should be all right if I leave them here. I have little of true importance to carry that I do not already have on my person at all times," the tailor says, snatching up a few choice fabrics and stashing them in his robe as he speaks. "Shall we go?" he asks of the desk, and Morton supposes that they probably could, so they do! They head off into the city, followed by Scott, and eventually wind up at the site of Morton's remains - fortunately, they are largely untouched, though the fact that Surgeon Mark's body lies not too far away is slightly more disconcerting.
In any case, Morton recovers his old equipment - his tea supplies, a few unbroken flasks, the hateful tree branch and even a small teapot. What's more, he also discovers that his storage space is quite expansive indeed - though he still has three drawers, each of those seem to hold much more than one would expect from just looking at them - indeed, each drawer, when fully pulled out of his body, seems to be about the size of a filing cabinet, complete with a number of subdrawers that Morton finds more than a bit implausible. But it seems to work, so he guesses it's all good.
Also, just as he begins to ponder the ramifications of his new storage space, he becomes aware of a new presence in his vicinity! A familiar presence, no less - it is the ghost of none other than Justine, the most forgotten of all acquaintances. She looks rather frustrated right now.
"Finally found you lot. You're more difficult to keep track of than one might suspect, what with all the soul-swapping going on," she says. "You're off to do abductions as well, unless I've missed my mark," she then asks, no trace of a question in her words.
Post by: Tomcost on April 12, 2014, 04:37:46 pm
Wait for anybody, more likely Kevin or Mark, to start sprinting. Grab the hand of whoever is the leader and also run. Close my eyes upon finding a crossroad, and let whoever is leading me, well, lead me. Also say:
-Don't ask, I have issues. Just go.
After solving tha thing, and while still moving, say:
-Gub, that was strictly not necessary!
Post by: Xantalos on April 12, 2014, 05:07:24 pm
FOOD QUALITY SCALES WITH BODY REPAIR QUALITY
BODY REPAIR FIRST
Write this.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 12, 2014, 05:29:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 12, 2014, 05:43:31 pm
"Let's get going now" head out with the group to hunt some mages((Ahem, did you mean, by heading out, "sprinting" or "running like there is no tomorrow because you don't want to be eaten alive by a pack of dogs"?))
Post by: killerhellhound on April 12, 2014, 09:44:29 pm
((I'm undead and can't tire, unless I'm looking for something, just assume I'm running like hell))"Let's get going now" head out with the group to hunt some mages((Ahem, did you mean, by heading out, "sprinting" or "running like there is no tomorrow because you don't want to be eaten alive by a pack of dogs"?))
Post by: Innsmothe on April 13, 2014, 02:04:17 am
Follow Craig
Post by: miauw62 on April 13, 2014, 03:49:04 am
"Shit."
Follow Sigmund at maximum speed.
((I'll be gone for the next four or five days, and I probably won't have an internet connection. So Tomcost can do my actions, if he wants to.))
Post by: Tomcost on April 13, 2014, 09:15:16 am
((I'm not sure if we're still undead, actually.))((I'll gladly do that. Any kind of orders? I don't want to roleplay for you if I can avoid it, but it would be nice if you could tell me general way to do stuff for you))
"Shit."
Follow Sigmund at maximum speed.
((I'll be gone for the next four or five days, and I probably won't have an internet connection. So Tomcost can do my actions, if he wants to.))
Post by: miauw62 on April 13, 2014, 10:07:35 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 13, 2014, 10:10:33 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 13, 2014, 04:53:03 pm
Morton felt considerably calmer and happier after recovering his tea, almost feeling as if a large burden has been lifted off his shoulders. His equilibrium was restored and strengthened, ready to take on the world and its challenges again, and just in time too, considering Justine's appearance.
He was just about to greet her before being caught off guard by her final remark, mildly confused, and Scott's follow up did little to help. He knew Justine wasn't often agreeable, but to call their work abductions seemed mean spirited to the desk. "I'm afraid I'm terribly unsure what either of you mean. Mage Justine, we're to seek mages to see if they wish to consider residence here, perhaps over a nice cup of fresh tea, and to hopefully improve the poor city's state. I do hope good group Gub starts to feel happier however, perhaps I can brew some tea to help later..."
The desk trailed off and pondered the logistics of serving tea to a vague entity who's physical description he lacks, which is to say he's questioning as to if that was even possible. If Gub can read thoughts, then perhaps he can glean emotions as well, maybe taste? A round about method, the tea apostle figures, but a plausible one.
But he figures he should focus on the task at hand, and notes that his luck truly is looking up: both of the more incorporeal second-chancers are present! While he brews tea to help encourage those of the more magical inclination to join the town, he can attempt to make tea for them. And since he's recovered his flasks, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to serve them. Perhaps that will help cure the two of their choleric attitudes--along with a dash of kindness.
"No matter, it is good to see you well, good mage Justine, and I do apologize for any undue trouble in attempting to locate us."
Chat with Justine, consider logistics of giving Gub tea, be happy about upturn of luck of finding both his tea supplies and the two incorporeal second-chancers.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 13, 2014, 04:59:23 pm
Now let's see our masters ignore that dollop of proactivity! He thinks
((I am always impressed by your write ups Xanmyral. :3))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 13, 2014, 07:01:13 pm
Morton was confused yet again, although with a small side order of slight appall at the suggestion. "Sir Scott, good heavens, why would we do that? That doesn't seem particularly polite, much less kind. I dare say that almost sounds a touch... Well, I'm afraid to say, rude." The desk was visibly uncomfortable using that word.
"Isn't our task to try and persuade mages to live here? I'm afraid I fail to see that being particularly long term, much less agreeable for the poor individual. I'm sure that if we explain, be polite, and are honest, things will go swimmingly. No need for such crass methods when kind words and true intentions will lead one to a better path."
Post by: Innsmothe on April 14, 2014, 01:52:22 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2014, 05:42:10 am
Sigmund guesses in-depth planning will have to wait until they are clear of the mortal danger the gub seem to be sending his group's way.
"Yeah, just rush the heck out of this place. I'll follow you, guys, but move quickly," he says and, since Mark luckily volunteers to be party leader, grabs his hand and follows along, Art and Kevin following suit, with Sigmund himself closing his eyes when they reach any crossroads.
"Don't ask, I have issues. Just go," he says as if nobody was aware of his rather embarrassing neurosis, which they naturally are. They proceed in this vaguely awkward manner through the city of Mothdale, eventually reaching the city limits, which is where Sigmund feels confident enough to actually speak to the gub once more.
~Gub, that was strictly not necessary!~
~it most certainly was! it has gotten you moving, has it not? and if you take too long in the wilderness, we have your scent well-memorized by several independent sources now! so even if you move outside of our influence, we can still occasionally send a tracking dog or two to provide a helpful reminder that you should really be getting back to work already! so we advise you to not linger too long, yes?~
Right now the entire party seems to have run right outside the city gate, where a road leads off into the distance. A nearby signpost indicates that there is a town by the name of Eckledun about thirty kilometers westward, so they seem to be on the right track already.
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas informs the child through writing that he'll strive to grant whatever the child's request might be, taking into account the quality of the repairs, naturally, which will obviously be needed before any cooking can commence. The child seems to like the prospect.
"Sold!" he says, then waves his arms in the air.
[Child's magic roll: 5]
Horrible, yet highly motivating agony shoots through Niklas' body as his bones begin to realign themselves. His flesh begins to bubble, and his guts pop back in. He twitches and hisses for a long moment as new arms begin to grow out of his arm sockets, his neck slightly lengthens and repairs itself, allowing Niklas to scream terribly once more, and his abdomen looks entirely presentable now aside from the rather significant tear in his robe in that region.
"I wish for a magical lizard steak in human blood marinade, please! With sprinkles on top, ma'am! It is a Sunday, after all!" the child then asks happily.
"I like him!" Torkel says after a long silence. "I think you should be friends!"
Next to half a broken, yet still fashionable desk...
"You might want to rephrase that as 'recruitment' Madame Ghost. Our taskmasters are not in the most jovial of moods," Scott tells Justine, feeling that nomenclature makes all the difference for some people.
"Recruitment also works, yes," Justine agrees. Morton, who feels that one might call a polite request many things, but never really an abduction, weighs in on the conversation.
"I'm afraid I'm terribly unsure what either of you mean. Mage Justine, we're to seek mages to see if they wish to consider residence here, perhaps over a nice cup of fresh tea, and to hopefully improve the poor city's state. I do hope good group Gub starts to feel happier however, perhaps I can brew some tea to help later... No matter, it is good to see you well, good mage Justine, and I do apologize for any undue trouble in attempting to locate us."
"Well, that's one method of recruiting people, I suppose. Awfully deceptive, however," Justine says.
~not quite! beyond unforeseen circumstances, they should have a fairly nice experience here! it is all a matter of perspective!~
"Morton, do you happen to have any fast acting sedatives or tranquilisers? I believe our 'invitees' may need some very strong encouragement to be the Gub's 'guests'," Scott suddenly suggests, and immediately thinks ~Now let's see our masters ignore that dollop of proactivity!~, which is met with no reply from the gub.
"Sir Scott, good heavens, why would we do that? That doesn't seem particularly polite, much less kind. I dare say that almost sounds a touch... Well, I'm afraid to say, rude. Isn't our task to try and persuade mages to live here? I'm afraid I fail to see that being particularly long term, much less agreeable for the poor individual. I'm sure that if we explain, be polite, and are honest, things will go swimmingly. No need for such crass methods when kind words and true intentions will lead one to a better path," Morton replies idealistically.
"I do agree with Morton," Tailor Craig offers after remaining silent up until this point. "It seems altogether more pleasant and less complicated to simply entice people to come here with kind words and wonderful tea, to be honest."
"We aren't here because of kind words Morton. I sincerely doubt anyone would want to be in our present situation. I am particularly surprised we weren't ordered to just kill them and let art summon their souls from the nether under an unbreakable contract," Scott shoots right back, at which point the gub speak to all three of the people they can speak to.
~it disappoints us, scott, how easily you resort to violence, intimidation and skulduggery to achieve a goal! what you just relayed to morton and friends is basically the plan of your, let's be honest, rather awful friend sigmund! we thought you were better than this, scott! for shame, really! for shame! we do not see why people judge living here to be a bad thing! the pessimism is also most disheartening! we have it on good authority that convincing individuals to come here is indeed possible, and, for that matter, highly practical on a level that kidnapping is not! as morton has said, kidnapping is a crass method reserved for such barbaric individuals as your other friends!~
"Are you pretending you're not going to enslave them right now?" Justine asks in a deadpan voice.
~the fact that you call it enslavement shows a very limited understanding of the gub! it is a shame you did not retain memories of your time within us, for the experience of it would surely persuade you otherwise!~
Post by: Tomcost on April 14, 2014, 06:07:27 am
Begin walking to that town.
~I'm not going to get in yet another discussion with you, but I am going to say that I was going to get moving once I finished convincing Art~
EDIT:
Also check the memories of this body.
EDIT2:
Kevin also walks to that town, following the team
Post by: killerhellhound on April 14, 2014, 09:40:38 am
Post by: Xantalos on April 14, 2014, 11:39:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 14, 2014, 12:35:00 pm
Thanks, kid! Would there happen to be magical lizards in the basement?
"I dunno. Maybe?"
Post by: Xantalos on April 14, 2014, 12:37:17 pm
Good idea, Torkel.
Head down to the level that god - Patricius, I think? - told me about. Then go looking for that one boon he mentioned.
Post by: miauw62 on April 14, 2014, 03:28:07 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 14, 2014, 03:29:00 pm
((I do appear to have internet connection! Technological wonders such as Wi-Fi have spread as far as the wilderness that is Normandy. Tomcosts action is fine, though.))((*Lets burden fall off shoulders*))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 14, 2014, 07:18:08 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Remembering that Craig cannot hear Gub, the desk faced him and offered a quick, quiet laconic of what the entity said to the tailor. "Good group Gub spoke, expressing dislike for good sir Scott's plan." While rough, hopefully it would help keep him a bit further in the loop. The desk turned his attention back to the rest of the group.
"I'm afraid I don't see why my methodology is deceptive, I'd only be telling them the truth and see if I can persuade them. If some truly don't wish to go, I most certainly won't force the matter. It would be most unbecoming, not to mention terribly unkind to do so." Morton clarified his position to Justine.
"Is it truly so hard to reach peaceful terms, or to at least seek them?" The accusation didn't hold any edge or bite, more honest confusion and a slight melancholy at the actions of those around him.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 15, 2014, 12:40:26 am
Darren noticed the dejected expression of his companion and felt a pang of guilt. The guy(?) had helped him break in, helped him get past, and now he was getting nothing for it. Darren would have to make up for it somehow.
He turns to his friend.
"Hey, uh, I got something to tell you. I don't know if I can hold up to what you expect of me, so, is there anyway I can make it up to you. Like, uh, I can show you how to misdirect people, or how to fix a deck, or something."
Post by: Innsmothe on April 15, 2014, 02:31:55 am
Walk together.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 15, 2014, 01:59:38 pm
~I'm not going to get in yet another discussion with you, but I am going to say that I was going to get moving once I finished convincing Art~
~of course you were, sigmund! and we helped you convince him!~
Also check the memories of this body.
You remember a surprising amount of things - how to play the drum, how getting educated in magic really sucks if you have no talent for it, how you hate your parents, what kissing a dude feels like, the accomplishment that resulted in you and your sisters receiving a set of magical instruments and more! Pretty much a whole young person's worth of memories. Certainly more than enough entertainment for a whole bunch of afternoon walks. Sweet.
"I'm afraid I don't see why my methodology is deceptive, I'd only be telling them the truth and see if I can persuade them. If some truly don't wish to go, I most certainly won't force the matter. It would be most unbecoming, not to mention terribly unkind to do so." Morton clarified his position to Justine.
"Is it truly so hard to reach peaceful terms, or to at least seek them?" The accusation didn't hold any edge or bite, more honest confusion and a slight melancholy at the actions of those around him.
"Are you going to tell these mages that as soon as they come here they'll become one with the gub? Because that is what is going to happen, you know."
~we still fail to see how that is a bad thing!~
"I think this is it, actually. Not sure, though."
"Well, good on you! What are you going to do with it?"
"Hey, uh, I got something to tell you. I don't know if I can hold up to what you expect of me, so, is there anyway I can make it up to you. Like, uh, I can show you how to misdirect people, or how to fix a deck, or something."
"Nah. How about instead, I show you a couple things? It'll be a learning experience. And pretty fun, I think."
"On the altar while I watch?"
"Yeah, unless he minds. This is gonna need witnesses if he goes through with it."
Post by: Tomcost on April 15, 2014, 02:10:14 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 15, 2014, 02:25:33 pm
~Let me say something that I got from experience. Multiple causes may make it to be better to be feared than loved, but being hated is never a viable option. Of course, that applies only when you are dealing with beings that not necessarily have to agree with you. Are you too used to agreeing with yourselves? I get that sensation sometimes.~
~we get the feeling that you have misunderstood our relationship, sigmund! you must understand that we wish to be rid of you! and you wish to be rid of us! and we wish to get something from you so our losses in the process are minimal and so we do not need to take the much nastier route of simply eliminating your skyman master when he least expects it, for most of his minions are impossible to join with the gub due to the prior incident! our only objective right now is to get you moving and motivated as quickly as possible so that we can get rid of you and your useless friends post-haste! and you are not exactly in a position to disagree! veer from your path for too long, and your master will lose his patience, and probably tear out your souls! or perhaps we will eliminate him if he starts trouble! we are wise to his tricks now! and our proficiency in magic is growing!~
Post by: miauw62 on April 15, 2014, 02:31:12 pm
Check the memories of this body.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 15, 2014, 02:37:31 pm
((WAIT WAIT WAIT. Are we a wizard sisters band now?))
Check the memories of this body.
Oh gods, you have three disparate sets of memories now! Childhoods mixing together! Jesting and entertaining and wizardry all over the place! Well, you guess it's not that bad, you know, but you're pretty sure the owner of this body wasn't a mage. Just had a magical instrument that's been conspicuously looted by now, along with all other valuables. And you also remember a bunch of other things - your accumulated memories make for about two or two and a half accumulated trips through puberty, approximately two of them as a woman, for instance. Just a fun fact to remember, you guess.
Post by: Xantalos on April 15, 2014, 03:32:33 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 15, 2014, 06:19:30 pm
Sigmund then turned to the rest of the group:
-So, for what I could take from the memories of this body, we are a trio of musicians. That is good as a fake identity, but I don't have anything on myself right now, which makes me wonder what happened to my instruments.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 15, 2014, 06:40:50 pm
"I dont have any instruments aside from this flute and I dont think its magic here take a look"
Pass the flute to Tomcost
Post by: Tomcost on April 15, 2014, 06:42:46 pm
Keep going an keep a lookout for anything that could serve as a decent weapon((Pssst, I'm asking if someone has any instruments))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 15, 2014, 08:09:19 pm
Ask Justine for further clarification!
Post by: Tomcost on April 16, 2014, 06:39:11 am
"I dont have any instruments aside from this flute and I dont think its magic here take a look"
((Look at this:
Nevertheless, the call of loot is not to be ignored - the other two dead ladies seem to have about six coppers and five silvers between them, not to mention a lute and a bongo, both of a very high quality. When the three instruments are in close proximity, Mark notices an odd glow begin to emanate from them. Hm.
You looted our bodies!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 16, 2014, 02:47:58 pm
Sigmund is pleased to discover that he and the gub appear to be on the same page at last!
~That's definitely good to know! I honestly thought that you wanted us to stay in the city forever. I have to add that I'm glad to know that you are a cold-blooded mind, rather than the somewhat unexperienced and childish yet intelligent being that you seemed to be when I just met you. Your lack of care about us is completely explained now. Now I can work better knowing that it will be mutually beneficial for both of us.~
~we are glad that you have understood your grave misconceptions! and you must forgive our changing disposition! we have only been fully sentient for a week at most in total! but we are improving!~
Sigmund guesses that explains a few things, at least. He turns to his loyal compatriots Kevin and Mark, who seem quite unengaged in any complex braining, and instead seem to be proceeding along the road like a bunch of well-behaved fur traders.
"So, for what I could take from the memories of this body, we are a trio of musicians. That is good as a fake identity, but I don't have anything on myself right now, which makes me wonder what happened to my instruments," he says, and Mark doesn't turn to look at him while he speaks, probably because he doesn't actually need to in order to see him clearly.
"I don't have any instruments aside from this flute, and I don't think it's magic, here, take a look," Mark lies bold-facedly even though it's clearly apparent that he seems to be carrying three instruments in total and that all three of them seem to be glowing. Sigmund does notice that the glow lessens considerably when Mark hands him the flute, however.
"So, while you three are working your 'trio of musicians' thing, do I just hide in the bushes or something?" Art asks as Sigmund examines the flute and plays a short tune on it, successfully realizing that he can probably play it with a reasonable level of skill. He decides not to question Mark further, since it kind of freaks him out when he talks. Mark's not supposed to talk. It's totally a rule.
At any rate (but at a quick pace), they eventually walk the requisite distance to the fair town of Eckledun. Mark, for his part, spoke very little during most of the journey, though he did wander off the road for a few moments and then returned with what appeared to be a sharpened axe fashioned from animal bones, which would be all fine and good if bits of animal skin, muscle and tendon weren't still hanging off it in places.
The town of Eckledun, rather wonderfully, seems to be fairly sizable! Quite a bit larger than one would expect at this distance from a city like Mothdale, and it looks highly vibrant and busy, to be honest, though it is also apparent that many of the buildings seem very secured, and a lot of the structures incorporate much more steel into them than one typically sees in your average seaside town. A lot of the taller buildings seem to have an outer frame made purely of steel. Or at least the travelers suppose it's steel - could be any other similar-looking metal, really, but it hardly matters. Most of the windows are barred as well.
Finally, even before the gang get inside the town itself, they notice a rather sizable bunch of camps some distance outside of it - surrounding it, in fact. A lot of the people there look somewhat distressed.
At the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas believes that this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship as he regards the corpulent little lifemage in front of him.
"Good enough for me!" he says to the intriguing possibility of there being lizards deep down below, and heads down with the kid to find the mystical treasure of the great god Patricia or whatever. The downward journey is long and arduous, especially for one as hungry as Niklas. But the will of Patricia is not to be defied, and they reach the basement eventually! They find it to be rather dark and expansive, with irregularly-shaped hallways leading every which way. Only some of them may contain magical lizards, Niklas suspects.
"I think one of these passages has many spiders in it. Many, many spiders! I hope, at least! I put two there a year ago! Boy, were they big then."
In the streets of Mothdale...
"Then I apologise Gub, you just seem the type that would enjoy efficiency and not having to rely on loose contingency. Anyway, Morton, we should be off. If the others had the same thoughts as I, we may not need kind words... but a spade," Scott ominously remarks as Morton seeks further clarification.
"I... No, I'm quite afraid I didn't know. What exactly do you mean, good mage Justine? Are they to 'merge' with good group Gub, cooperate, or..." he trails off, somewhat unclear on the business the gub tend to perpetrate.
"I mean that they will become part of the gub, probably irreversibly. Merge with their collective mind, like we did for those three days we blanked out. They'll lose all individuality and independent thought, pretty much. And I wonder if you're going to include that important fact in the sales pitch, Morton. Or did you somehow not guess that this is what the gub do yet?"
~that's a very negative way to put it, justine! while it is true that the gub make all decisions as a single entity, the individual identities of its constituents live on forever! even when the body itself perishes!~
Scott is a bit disappointed that nobody seems to presently be going anywhere.
Post by: miauw62 on April 16, 2014, 03:35:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 16, 2014, 03:51:58 pm
Sigmund answers to Art:
-You can perfectly pass as a friend of us if you wish, I guess. As long as nobody here knows the former owners of these bodies, we should be fine. Sepeaking about that, I think that this vessel is called Search in my body the names from this body and those from Mark's and Kevin's and say them (making clear which name belongs to which body).
Edit:
Also check in memories from this body the function of the enchantment (defaults to looking with my metaphysical sense)
Post by: Innsmothe on April 17, 2014, 02:30:56 am
"We should leave now and not annoy the Gub any further."
Post by: Xantalos on April 17, 2014, 02:32:48 am
Walk around looking for the boon thing with the kid in front of me. If we see any giant spiders, make fortuitous comments about how deliciously fluid-filled my companion is.
Just saying, man. Nothing to do with the spiders.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2014, 08:00:07 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2014, 12:02:31 pm
Spoiler: Theory (click to show/hide)
So, any thoughts?))
Post by: Innsmothe on April 17, 2014, 12:54:49 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 17, 2014, 02:21:12 pm
((Use the Mages to magically deconstruct the Gub? I presume it is the collective souls of the city.))((What? I said that it was created by someone in the BLack Circle of Magic to collect souls so that they could be sold to a demon))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 17, 2014, 07:31:24 pm
"No, I'm afraid I haven't guessed as much, good mage Justine." Morton said reticently, pondering this new information. It most certainly did not sound like a nice thing, much less a kind thing, to cause to someone unaware of such a fate, and he's not sure if many would be up for such an offer if presented. Frankly, the desk could understand. Perhaps he could try to see if he could change Gub's minds?
"Good group Gub, if I may perhaps offer some possible perspective? Most I know would fear such an action, many tend to be most appreciative and treasure the freedom of mind and body, to be given and maintain autonomy. I fear this may cause Mothdale to become a place to avoid than to flock to, sadly, once word were to get out. Good group Gub, I dearly believe that with your gifts and talents you could have this city become a center of safety and opportunity, a true, genuine gem. Those who have skills you wish to learn could teach you, and aid you in building a city to truly be a marvel, in exchange for stay and new chances, to make a new start."
Getting on a roll, the desk continued, his mind working to lay out his argument mere moments before he speaks. "Perhaps a middle ground could be reached, if you truly wish to have others become one with you, but I'm afraid I must preface this with a question. How does the passage of time affect one such as you, good group Gub? If age truly wears you not, such is not the same on those who would live within this prospective city. Perhaps if one were to pass, they could possibly become one with you instead of passing on? I imagine that may be much more palatable to those whom may wish to live here."
All the desk could do was hope that Gub would consider his point of view.
Diplomacy!
Post by: Innsmothe on April 18, 2014, 02:19:16 am
((But how else are you going to create a Hive-mind like entity without using thousands of people?))((Use the Mages to magically deconstruct the Gub? I presume it is the collective souls of the city.))((What? I said that it was created by someone in the BLack Circle of Magic to collect souls so that they could be sold to a demon))
Post by: Tomcost on April 18, 2014, 07:57:06 am
((It started using animal souls I think. There is a relation between the Gub and the Gub-Gub (mentioned as an animal with a reproduction cicle in some part of the previous chapter))((But how else are you going to create a Hive-mind like entity without using thousands of people?))((Use the Mages to magically deconstruct the Gub? I presume it is the collective souls of the city.))((What? I said that it was created by someone in the BLack Circle of Magic to collect souls so that they could be sold to a demon))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 19, 2014, 06:43:32 pm
Follow. Carefully.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 20, 2014, 03:22:52 pm
Sigmund figures there's no need to particularly rush. After all, they seem to be in no danger presently.
"You can perfectly pass as a friend of us if you wish, I guess. As long as nobody here knows the former owners of these bodies, we should be fine. Speaking about that, I think that this vessel is called Bertha," he tells Art, pointing at himself. "And that over there is Gertrude," he says, pointing at Mark. "And that one over there is Lisbet," he indicates Kevin.
"Well, I guess. Not like I'd have a better explanation for being around town than that," Art says, shrugging. Sigmund, meanwhile, tries to find out what the enchantments on their collective instruments might be - his available memories, when compared with an empirical examination, seem to be misleading - the instruments appear to be magically tuned, if that makes sense. The sound they make appears to be magically altered in a way that doesn't make too much sense to Sigmund. But it does seem like the enchantments on all three instruments are similar - not the same, but similar. Maybe their sound has some emergent property?
The next few minutes are spent as the others look at Mark playing the bongo after he hands the lute to Kevin - he doesn't seem to be very good at it, strangely enough. And yet it is a bit fascinating to hear the tones it produces, even though the inexpert playing and slight lack of enthusiasm does impact the quality of the sound.
Somewhere in Mothdale...
Scott thinks that maybe one should not ask too many questions of the gub. After all, the gub tend to be... peevish if one asks too many questions. Or so Scott surmises, at least. And peevish gub are truly in nobody's best interest, are they? Following that train of thought, he decides that what the people around here need is a distraction.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 2]
He begins to think about what sort of small, unimportant thing would be most appropriate for a bit of spontaneous combustion. The obvious answer is himself, but Scott doesn't really like that answer. He feels he has been on fire for quite long enough, thank you very much. And as he considers the various alternatives (there are few - a wandering cat here and a pile of trash there, you know), he suddenly realizes that he has utterly failed to prevent Morton from attempting that most dangerous of endeavors, diplomacy with the gub.
"Good group Gub, if I may perhaps offer some possible perspective? Most I know would fear such an action, many tend to be most appreciative and treasure the freedom of mind and body, to be given and maintain autonomy. I fear this may cause Mothdale to become a place to avoid than to flock to, sadly, once word were to get out. Good group Gub, I dearly believe that with your gifts and talents you could have this city become a center of safety and opportunity, a true, genuine gem. Those who have skills you wish to learn could teach you, and aid you in building a city to truly be a marvel, in exchange for stay and new chances, to make a new start. Perhaps a middle ground could be reached, if you truly wish to have others become one with you, but I'm afraid I must preface this with a question. How does the passage of time affect one such as you, good group Gub? If age truly wears you not, such is not the same on those who would live within this prospective city. Perhaps if one were to pass, they could possibly become one with you instead of passing on? I imagine that may be much more palatable to those whom may wish to live here."
~all of those sound like very reasonable ideas, morton! we will do our best to put them into practice!~ the gub says. That went quite well, Morton supposes.
At the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren begins to feel a little nervous.
"Well... What are you teaching me, exactly?" he asks cautiously as he follows his friend to the altar.
"I'm not going to be teaching you so much as we'll both learn exciting things about each other," the ghost says as he floats over to the altar. "You've got any preferences, friend? Any particular shape I should take to get you going? I guess that's still an important thing, right?"
"This should be quite interesting to watch," the statue notes without inflection, looming over the altar as Darren and his friend reach it.
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2014, 03:42:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 20, 2014, 03:49:57 pm
Start playing my instrument.
Post by: Tomcost on April 20, 2014, 04:00:23 pm
Lead the group to the camps, keeping some distance. Look from a distance about is going on.
Post by: Xantalos on April 20, 2014, 09:58:22 pm
Hmm.
Walk around looking for the boon thing with the kid in front of me. If we see any giant spiders, make fortuitous comments about how deliciously fluid-filled my companion is.
Just saying, man. Nothing to do with the spiders.
Post by: miauw62 on April 21, 2014, 02:05:43 am
Follow Sigmund.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 21, 2014, 02:21:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 21, 2014, 03:53:36 am
Hmm.
Walk around looking for the boon thing with the kid in front of me. If we see any giant spiders, make fortuitous comments about how deliciously fluid-filled my companion is.
Just saying, man. Nothing to do with the spiders.
Well, whoopsie daisy. How'd that happen? I blame the lateness of the hour, myself.
Inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, accompanied by his adorable sidekick, go looking for the Boon of Patricia and keep a watchful eye out for giant spiders. Unfortunately, though, it is quite dark down here - Niklas can't rightly see where he's going, and neither can the kid. Besides, who knows what one might find if one ventures into the darkness without a light source? Something gruesome, no doubt. If he went forward without a light source, why, he wouldn't even know when would be the right time to offer up his new friend as a sacrifice to the horrible fiends that are doubtlessly watching him even now.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 21, 2014, 10:11:10 pm
"Something... Feminine. Like, a woman. That's a good one."
Post by: Xanmyral on April 22, 2014, 10:53:59 am
Feeling that their stay now in the city is drawing to a close, Morton addressed the others, Justine included. "With that business thankfully taken care of, I believe now would be a good time to move on to the next city. Following the road should lead us to one in short order, hopefully. Good mage Justine, I would be quite happy if you were to accompany us, but I understand if you perhaps have other matters you wish to attend to."
With that, the desk started to make his way to the city gate/road/street that would lead out of the city and onto their journey, unless anyone needed anything before they headed off.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 22, 2014, 04:20:42 pm
Sigmund, after narrowly averting an attempt by Kevin to play some music, takes the group, inexpertly bongoing Mark included, out to the camps dotting the outside of the town.
Much to Sigmund's disappointment, there seem to be exactly zero plagues currently in progress (not that plagues or epidemics are particularly common these days, what with the advent of life magic), though many of the people here look slightly disenfranchised and weather-beaten. It's fairly clear that they're refugees of some sort, and relatively fresh ones at that. On a side note, it's been far too long since he has last evaluated a human being in terms of their freshness, Sigmund notes.
There seem to be quite a lot of tents and wagons around the place - the refugee camps are about the size of half the town, at a conservative estimate made from a less than optimal perspective. And, as luck would have it, Sigmund and company manage to come across a particular tent - they realize that it is actually a particular and not generic tent mostly from the fact that it has a sign out front - it says "Goods & Healing", and just as the group directs its eyes toward the entrance, a rather joyful, healthy and well-supplied peasant wanders out of the place, passing the group while whistling a tune for what Sigmund suspects might be a drinking song.
Still in Mothdale...
Scott begins to not-so-gently nudge Morton toward his tailor-friend when the desk seems to conclude his negotiations.
"With that business thankfully taken care of, I believe now would be a good time to move on to the next city. Following the road should lead us to one in short order, hopefully. Good mage Justine, I would be quite happy if you were to accompany us, but I understand if you perhaps have other matters you wish to attend to," he tells Justine.
"I guess I'll follow you. Time away from the gub will do me a lot of good," she says, shivering. Guess Morton and friends can leave now! So they head out northwest, eventually coming to the road that seems to lead them along the coast of the Sea of Death - no doubt many hardened men and women of magic will be found along this path!
~it is wonderful that you did not choose the wrong direction, morton!~
"Shame I can't sense magic that far away. Could save us a trip, maybe."
~trust us when we say that you do not want to take the other western road out! if only because your criminal friends already wandered down that one, if nothing else!~
At the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, after sighing with resignation, decides to try and make the experience to follow at least not completely unpalatable.
"Something... feminine. Like, a woman. That's a good one," he says to his friend.
"Well, aren't we picky?" he laughs, and his ectoplasmic flesh twists a bit, creating a vague dark silhouette, or perhaps a shadow, of a mildly feminine figure. "Something like this?"
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2014, 04:56:17 pm
-Well, we got a bunch of refugees. I wouldn't be surprised if they have run out of Mothdale, actually. And, whoever is inside this tent is probably a life mage. But, before attempting, well anything, it would be better to get to know what has happened in first place. So, I would suggest we spread out a little bit, hear what the people is talking about, then regroup here to discuss our findings.
Sigmund then directed his sight to Mark:
-And please stop playing those. I think that I am the one who is supposed to play them, not you.
Exchange bongoes for the flute wit Mark, wait for Art's response before going to investigate.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2014, 06:04:17 pm
Post by: miauw62 on April 23, 2014, 12:57:00 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2014, 06:21:11 am
"We should try a street performance, to see if these things are useful. I'm not comfortable going up against a mage without some tricks up my sleeve."
-The mage is working, sadly, but I guess that keeping the other people distracted enough from not noticing how the mage gets his soul sucked away could work. Before attempting this, though, we should see if the mage would want to come with us willingly.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 23, 2014, 10:00:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2014, 10:34:28 am
Hey kid, do you have a light spell?
"I dunno. Never tried to make anybody glow yet. Wanna be my first test subject?"
"Which road would you suggest then?"
~we would advise that you do not listen to any who knock this road! it is the perfect road and should be lacking in danger now that we are more aware!~
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2014, 10:46:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2014, 10:56:57 am
How about my knife?
Sadly, the loss of your arms also resulted in the loss of your knife.
"No, no, no! I do meat magic, and bone magic, and marrow magic! Not metal magic!"
Post by: Xantalos on April 23, 2014, 11:06:10 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 23, 2014, 03:00:16 pm
((I wonder how he;d feel if Scott deliberately slammed himself into him in the form of a common meme?))
Post by: Xanmyral on April 26, 2014, 12:57:51 am
~Is the western road particularly dangerous, good group Gub? While certainly... Er...~ Morton honestly couldn't think of a nice way to put it. ~...Delinquent, at times, there is always the hope for reformation and penitence. I do hope they don't run into any dangers.~ The floating desk communed with the Gub, wondering how much control he has over his light and seeing if he can fiddle with it in a minor way, nothing major.
"I'm certain that we'll find someone once we near a city or town, good mage Justine. It should be an interesting trip none the less, and there's truly never a better way to see the surroundings than to walk amongst them!" The desk spoke in his usual chipper tone, his inner, calming joy having returned after the successful diplomatic conversation with Gub.
Ah, the rustic joys of the country side! How he's missed it, having been cooped up in a claustrophobic ship and cold city. It does good to be reminded of one's home, after all, even if in just small ways.
Onward down the path Gub suggested, which is just onwards! Also, fiddle with personal lighting, see if Morton can control it. Attempt only slight changes however.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2014, 12:15:08 pm
Sigmund knows it would be best for the group to split up for now - that way they won't cramp his style, and also maybe find out something on their own, though he wouldn't exactly bet money on that possibility.
"Well, we got a bunch of refugees. I wouldn't be surprised if they have run out of Mothdale, actually. And, whoever is inside this tent is probably a life mage. But, before attempting, well anything, it would be better to get to know what has happened in first place. So, I would suggest we spread out a little bit, hear what the people is talking about, then regroup here to discuss our findings."
He waits a moment for someone to respond. Nobody does.
"Any questions?" he asks, hoping that at least somebody makes it known that they still inhabit the same general place in space and time as he does.
"That includes me, right? I'm supposed to investigate as well?" Art asks, and Sigmund patiently nods. "Yeah, thought so. Okay."
After a brief moment, Sigmund looks at Mark, who seems to still be playing the bongos.
"And please stop playing those. I think that I am the one who is supposed to play them, not you," he says, taking away his weird friend's bongos and handing him the flute instead. Mark just begins to play that instead. Out of time and patience, Sigmund paces off in search of information, keeping an ear out for information. And, twenty minutes later, from a generous mixture of eyewitness accounts and thrilling tales of peril obtained in the process of investigation, he manages to piece together an important piece of information - most of these people are from Mothdale, and demons are clearly responsible for all this in some way. Exciting facts acquired, he comes back to the healer's tent.
Mark and Kevin are there already, which should not come as too much of a surprise. Mark appears to showing off his flute abilities with a virtuoso performance, while Kevin appears to be doing his damnedest to dance along to his high-speed rendition of three different popular folk songs layered on top of one another, and succeeding quite admirably. The dynamic duo's antics seem to have attracted a very sizable crowd of refugees, some of which seem to be throwing them copper coins on occasion. While Sigmund processes how and why they're doing this, Art walks up to him.
"Right, the people here are all from Mothdale, and they came here because a bunch of people came over one day, killed their archmage, obliterated their city guard and made good progress on exterminating the rat people as well as a whole lot of innocent bystanders. Also a whole lot of transmuters came to town for a few weeks and started massively shifting everything. Apparently it was some kind of organized takeover," he says. "The people in Eckledun are letting as many of them live inside the town, but it's been pretty problematic to provide them all with lodgings. The Black Circle of Magic are apparently helping out a lot of necessities and so forth, and many of the mages around here are their people. Some of the healers, though, are freelancers, or so I gathered. What did you find out?"
In the basement of the Red Tower of Power...
"Well, what's the worst that could happen. Glow me!" Niklas bravely says, as unafraid of untested magic as he is of starved bears during mating season.
"Glowy glowsticks go!" the boy chants, touching his stubby little pinkie finger to Niklas' chest.
[Lifeboy's magic roll: 3]
Niklas feels his torso begin to tingle, which quickly becomes a slight burning sensation. On the other hand, he seems to be very softly glowing. Not quite enough to see in the dark, but certainly enough to be seen in the dark - as such, he doubts he is more prepared to brave the spider-filled confines of the basement than before.
"Uh... ah... I know! How about I mess with your eyes to let you see better in the dark? I'll try it on you, and then on myself, okay?" the boy says enthusiastically.
"Ooh! Do it, dad! You might get cat eyes!"
"Don't encourage your father too much, Torkel! You know how impressionable he gets!"
On the road out of Mothdale...
Morton wonders if the gub might not have sent his friends into slightly more danger than they can handle (that is to say, any danger at all).
~Is the western road particularly dangerous, good group Gub? While certainly... er... delinquent, at times, there is always the hope for reformation and penitence. I do hope they don't run into any dangers,~ he says to the gub.
~oh no! it is perfectly safe! it is only their delinquency that could make it otherwise! they are silly, silly people, you must remember!~
While the gub speak, Morton is pleased to find that his glow seems to respond to conscious control rather freely - he can intensify and dampen it as he pleases. That could probably be useful, he guesses. But that is a consideration for another time. For now, travel is of paramount importance!
"I'm certain that we'll find someone once we near a city or town, good mage Justine. It should be an interesting trip none the less, and there's truly never a better way to see the surroundings than to walk amongst them!"
"Your optimism never fails to amuse, Morton," Justine merely replies, and the group set off along the northwestern road. There are few sights on the way aside from the thick pine forest covering the coastline dunes, and the road twisting and turning around coastal lagoons on the way. The vegetation is a bit sparse this time of year, and the animals seem quite skittish, which is probably a good thing. Eventually the group, in all their obviously abnormal glory, reach a structure! It looks to be a rather large seaside castle, constructed entirely of red, purple and gold stonelike blocks put together in strange, seemingly meaningful combinations. It seems to be quite the fortified place, though, and one can see the faintest glimmer of some kind of largely invisible field encircling the area. Outside this field is a platform with a heptagram on it - next to it is a polished marble sign saying "Visitors! Stand on the platform if you have business here!"
Post by: miauw62 on April 27, 2014, 12:27:47 pm
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2014, 12:28:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 27, 2014, 12:32:44 pm
How about you try it first? That way if it doesn't work on me we each have a tool to guide ourselves through the dark.
"But what if my eyes explode or something? Then I won't be able to try it on you!"
Post by: Xantalos on April 27, 2014, 12:38:02 pm
But it's not like it's the first time I've run the risk of being killed by magic, so I'm sure I won't die this time. Magic away, then!
Post by: Tomcost on April 27, 2014, 01:19:01 pm
Okay, time to not show how ashamed you are when you are beaten so hard in gathering information. Dammit, but maybe Sigmund was a bit rusty in all this things. After all, spying and checking mail was his first job after entering forced servitude.
-Well, I gathered mostly the same information as you, but, for what I heard, demons are also involved in all this. Hmm, the Gub said that they have been sentient for about a week, so all that has happened was pretty recent. I suspected about the takeover as I went around Mothdale, but I did not expect the assailants to go away.
Sigmund then got an idea:
-Unless the making of the Gub was planned by them! But who would be able to make something like this? It is troubling. So much death without apparent reason. And the Gub would actually benefit from having more people around, specially their Archmage. It doesn't make sense.
He then sighed, and continued:
-But we have to attend to more urgent matters first. The people seem to be disctracted, and we could perfectly steal the soul of this poor mage inside this tent, or we could try to pay him to get him back at Mothdale. So, let's try the less-barbaric solution first. I'll check if the other's have some money, as I suspect Mark has looted my body before I have been transfered to it. When I come back to handle it to you, well, I think that I can leave the negotiation on you hands, assuming that whoever is inside the tent is a life mage.
Wait until Mark and Kevin finish their song, then go with them and say to the public:
-I hope you have enjoyed my sisters' performance! Now, I'm going to join the fun briefly! Just wait for while I arrange our next song with them, please.
Now, talking in private:
-I need all the money you have to pay for the life mage to go the Mothdale. These people are all refugees from a massacre there, so this is not an easy task.
After getting the coins (and those in the floor), give them to Art, get back with Mark and Kevin, and perform a song with them as Kevin dances.
Post by: miauw62 on April 27, 2014, 01:44:52 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on April 27, 2014, 09:09:38 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 28, 2014, 01:30:20 am
Go onwards.
Why could he not refuse the ectoplasm man/woman? If it were proposing what he thought
Post by: Tomcost on April 28, 2014, 07:24:46 am
((I cannot say how accurate was Harry when he mentioned how odd was to hear Mark talking))
Post by: Innsmothe on April 28, 2014, 08:42:29 am
Scott rests on Morton, hoping for this embarrassment to end quickly.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 28, 2014, 11:59:24 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Seeing as he's one of the two who can physically stand, the desk floats on over to the platform and quietly settles down on it. He's not particularly sure what to do now, waiting patiently. Perhaps it works as a door knocker, letting a doorkeeper know that one is wishing attention? Perhaps a method akin to telepathy? Was it an enchantment perhaps? Or some other form of magic? The tea apostle's interests were peaked, to say the least.
"I wouldn't bother much about it, good sir Scott. They may not receive much in the way of visitors. It must be dreadfully isolating, I fear." The desk said to the ghostly head. While he found Scott's actions a tad odd, it was nothing to comment on. Perhaps mental fatigue, Morton figures, as he doesn't believe those of incorporeal-make would tire as others would. Considering all that's happened, he can't particularly blame the ghost. It was not just a scant week ago they were all at the manor, going about their old businesses. Or was it? The desk isn't quite comforted in his difficulty in judging passed time. When one never sleeps it becomes hard to separate one day from another, it seems.
Stand on platform, wait patiently and politely.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 29, 2014, 03:23:17 am
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2014, 06:23:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2014, 02:27:40 pm
Kevin tries to dance even faster (http://youtu.be/NKID2LRzIdY?t=55s)! And faster! And faster still! The audience look quite impressed. Sigmund, though, pays them no mind, for he is a little too busy hiding his shame from being totally overshadowed by Art's info-gathering skills.
"Well, I gathered mostly the same information as you, but, for what I heard, demons are also involved in all this. Hmm, the Gub said that they have been sentient for about a week, so all that has happened was pretty recent. I suspected about the takeover as I went around Mothdale, but I did not expect the assailants to go away," he says at first, but is struck by an idea. "Unless the making of the Gub was planned by them! But who would be able to make something like this? It is troubling. So much death without apparent reason. And the Gub would actually benefit from having more people around, specially their Archmage. It doesn't make sense."
"Their archwizard was apparently some weirdo. Specialized in shields and stuff like that. Maybe that ties into the whole thing? Didn't have any apprentices. Lived alone in his tower, apparently."
Sigmund merely sighs and continues.
"But we have to attend to more urgent matters first. The people seem to be distracted, and we could perfectly steal the soul of this poor mage inside this tent, or we could try to pay him to get him back at Mothdale. So, let's try the less-barbaric solution first. I'll check if the other's have some money, as I suspect Mark has looted my body before I have been transferred to it. When I come back to handle it to you, well, I think that I can leave the negotiation on you hands, assuming that whoever is inside the tent is a life mage."
"Yeah, sure."
As Mark tries to keep up, Kevin just increases the speed and complexity of his footwork up until the point where he feels one of his legs give way - with a painful twist and a nasty wobble, Kevin is sent sprawling to the ground, which makes the audience emit a collective 'aw!' of crushing disappointment before they lose interest and start wandering off. Ah, the treacherous ways of men and women with short attention spans. Sigmund, slightly miffed, walks over and gathers some coins from the ground - or tries to, anyway - seems a lot of the audience picked their (well, maybe not their own, strictly speaking) money off the ground before leaving. Damn these wily refugees! He turns to the injured Kevin and his buddy.
"I need all the money you have to pay for the life mage to go the Mothdale. These people are all refugees from a massacre there, so this is not an easy task."
"Mark looted our bodies, I think he'll have any coins we had," Kevin says, still rubbing his injured knee.
"Yeah, I got the coins, now let's give these people a proper show," Mark says, seemingly looking at nothing at all (granted, he doesn't actually need to face anything to see it, unlike his friends) while handing Sigmund his 9 coppers and 6 silvers. And despite Mark's unreadable method of perception, Kevin gets the feeling that Mark is looking at him. Very closely, no less. Sigmund decides to leave them to it for now and hands Art the coins.
"I... don't think this'll help that much, but hey, you never know. Unto the breach and all that. Wish me luck!" Art says, walking off and disappearing into the healer's tent.
In the basement of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, guessing that he probably does make for a better test subject than the kid, agrees to testing.
"Ah, you look competent though! But it's not like it's the first time I've run the risk of being killed by magic, so I'm sure I won't die this time. Magic away, then!"
"Okay, here goes! Zippety... BOOP!" the boy says, violently poking his fingers into Niklas' eyes at the last word.
[Lifeboy's magic roll: 4]
Niklas recoils a bit from the poke, and, while rubbing his eyes, notices that the basement looks quite a lot brighter now! He can actually see! Hooray!
"Okay, now me! Hooskity... ZOOG!" he shouts as he drives his fingers into his own eyes immediately afterwards.
[Lifeboy's magic roll: 4]
He yelps a little, then blinks a few times, regarding the room around him with wonderment. His eyes look somewhat... different now. There seems to be a pronounced mirrorlike quality to them now.
"It works! Yay me! Hooray for you! We make the bestest team, huh?"
"Bestest team, yay!"
"Three cheers for heroic adventure in the darkest of dungeons"
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, once again, feels quite resigned to his fate.
"Ah... A bit more wouldn't hurt, but..."
"A bit... more, huh?" his friend (who Darren has dubbed a 'her' for the purposes of what comes next) says, and suddenly her body grows in each direction, her volume increasing threefold in seconds. She's about the size of three women horizontally now, Darren thinks. "How about this? Have to make sure you're comfortable, right? Otherwise the whole thing falls apart."
At a colorful castle by the seaside...
Scott feels highly deflated and embarrassed as he regards the colorful castle, and nobody aside from him can really say why, to be honest.
"I... I can't stand," he states the obvious, floating weightlessly over to Morton and attempting to rest on his surface. It seems to work at first, as Morton does seem somewhat impermeable by ectoplasm, but Scott feels his surface get uncomfortably hot the longer he spends near it, and buggers off within half a minute.
"I wouldn't bother much about it, good sir Scott. They may not receive much in the way of visitors. It must be dreadfully isolating, I fear," Morton says, moving over to the platform and settling atop it.
"I can't see inside the place. That's a sign there's something magical there," Justine says. "Hopefully someone deserving of the gub."
"I hope it is somebody agreeable. The color scheme seems to indicate so. Well, it could be somebody brutally annoying as well, of course," Tailor Craig says while they wait. Only about half a minute passes before an individual in a bright blue robe, his face obscured by a pointed black cowl, appears before them, and speaks in a high, mildly girlish, but still definitely male voice.
"You approach the secluded retreat of our mistress, Lady Melville!" he says cheerily. "Do you have business here? Perhaps you are potential guests of an agreeable nature? Do you bear any messages?"
"We fit the first category best," Justine says.
"But we're also the second as well, of course," Tailor Craig adds.
"Then you are welcome!" the man says, and the world around the entire group turns to powder, blasted away like so much dust to reveal a huge entrance hall, the general color scheme making it rather obvious that it's the castle they already saw. Paintings of important-looking people cover the walls, and empty-looking fountains form a slightly desolate line running along the middle of two parallel ascending staircases along the sides of the room. There appear to be doors to the left and to the right, as well as past the fountains and on the second floor. The whole place looks a bit... dusty in places.
"Behave yourselves well! I shall go and rouse Lady Melville and tell her the good news!" the man says and disappears, leaving the group alone in the room. A moment passes.
"So I guess we-" Tailor Craig begins, but is cut off by the sudden reappearance of the man. With him appears to be a short, rather exquisitely beautiful maiden with bone-white skin, looking no more than nineteen years old at best. She seems to be dressed in somewhat old-fashioned, though nevertheless very well-made and nicely maintained finery. Also, her hands resemble slightly underdeveloped bat wings, as a side note, with the bones looking slightly misshapen and with bits of skin (still entirely white and partially transparent, with subtle blood vessels occasionally visible under the right light) stretched between the fingers and between her arms and the sides of her torso.
"Ladies, gentlemen, desks and blobs, I introduce Lady Pauline Melville, the mistress of the manor!" the red-robed man says, bowing while backing off from the maiden, arms outstretched toward her in a presenting gesture. Lady Melville giggles and curtseys.
"Oh, don't mind Henry," she says, flapping her arms a little as if by instinct before blushing and lowering them along her sides. "He so rarely gets to introduce me. What brings you to my little corner of the world?"
Post by: Xantalos on April 29, 2014, 02:35:17 pm
Now then, let's go get what we came for!
Search for whatever it was we came for. Xantalos has forgotten because of six days of fever.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2014, 03:40:44 pm
-Damn you Kevin, can't you just keep a good body without destroying it? At least you should still be able to play any instruments. Don't really count on me to carry you on the way back.
He then turned to Mark, feeling that he needed to say something about how he was helped by him, even after all the complaints:
-Now that we have an oportunity to talk, well, I think that I should say at least, yes, well, thank you, for fixing me even after all my complaints and that. But know that I am only going to need it again if I am in a desperate situation, so don't do that unless I absolutely need it, yeah?
A few seconds pass as Sigmund is uncomfortable silent, then he speaks again:
-Now that we are waiting, why don't you go and look around for more mages? I, unfortunately, am not really good at travelling around towns, and Kevin is hurt, so the task must rely on you.
He then hoped for his psychopath companion to leave. Because he felt even more awkward with a Mark made of flesh than with the weird metal skeleton tree.
((The second response from Art says the same thing as the first one, just pointing it out. Also, I find this new character really interesting. It seems like a vampire!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 29, 2014, 03:43:05 pm
((The second response from Art says the same thing as the first one, just pointing it out.))
Fixed!
Post by: Innsmothe on April 29, 2014, 05:12:01 pm
Shake with anger.
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2014, 05:31:39 pm
"Pardon me for my rudeness, and I apologise profusely to my compatriots for this embarrassment, but I'm a spirit not a 'blob'! And I refuse to be insulted, degraded and demeaned by such a distasteful address!"((I can almost imagine your charred and amorphous self shaking with disgust))
Shake with anger.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 29, 2014, 06:28:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 29, 2014, 06:45:21 pm
-Allright, lets find a place where we can sit to chat like sisters or like we are common people at least, yes? We need to talk about what we know about the Gub.
Help kevin to sit nearby, in a place that it is not the middle of nowhere.
-So, what information have you gathered so far? I can say hat the Gub has been sentient for about a week, has emotions, and is not or at least not entirely human.
Post by: miauw62 on April 30, 2014, 07:01:37 am
Let Sigmund help me, and once I've sat down try to test if I broke my leg or just sprained it or something.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2014, 08:02:07 am
"Pardon me for my rudeness, and I apologise profusely to my compatriots for this embarrassment, but I'm a spirit not a 'blob'! And I refuse to be insulted, degraded and demeaned by such a distasteful address!"
Shake with anger.
"I apologize deeply, sir," Henry says, placing his hand in front of his mouth worriedly. "Such a terrible mistake on my part! I am shamed. How can I make amends?"
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2014, 09:16:50 am
Gauge how genuine his reaction was.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 30, 2014, 10:16:51 am
"Apologising was enough. Few do even that courtesy nowadays."
"You are too kind, sir," Henry says, bowing to you. You're... not really good at reading someone who's hidden behind a robe and a cowl. His body language does seem expressive, though.
Post by: Lyeos on April 30, 2014, 10:34:49 am
Name: Eduardo Flurberson
Gender: Male
Archetype: Ghost
Biography: "Ah, so you wish to know about Eduardo, eh? Well, all we really know is that the man was certifiably insane! I mean he was completely bonkers! Naturally, he became a jester for... Well, we don't want to go into that, now do we? All I'll say is that Eduardo's employer was a very rude man. That said, Eduardo told me he enjoyed working for that family... Unfortunately, they had him executed after Eduardo tried to fill his lord's bathtub with mud. While he was in it."
Post by: Tomcost on April 30, 2014, 01:44:12 pm
"I didn't ask to be put into this body, you know."((I kinda added something else, I'm helping you to move to a place where you can properly sit and asking you what information did you get from the Gub))
Try to test if I broke my leg or just sprained it or something.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 30, 2014, 02:45:09 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 01, 2014, 11:37:52 am
"Salutations, good lady Melville, I dearly hope our appearance isn't anything of a bother. We're admittedly new to the area and don't know much about the surroundings I'm afraid, so it is quite fateful that we managed to chance upon your wondrous abode. We were rather hoping if we could discuss recent events of the area, and hopefully an offer, with you. Perhaps over some nice, fresh tea, if that sounds particularly agreeable?"
The desk turned to the left and right slightly, mimicking a head shake with his whole body. "But first we should repay respect in kind and introduce ourselves, this is good mage Justine, good sir Scott, good tailor Craig, and I am Carter Morton, butler. Most simply refer to me as Morton however." The desk introduced the group, the brown, wispy arms growing out of his frame and gesturing to each member of the group in kind before retreating after introducing Craig.
"Now, before we begin, mind if I ask if you would like some tea? I consider myself somewhat of a tea enthusiast," an understatement if ever one was to be made by the desk, "And I fear it has been dreadfully far too long since I've brewed any. I've always believed that one should take all opportunities for tea as is made available. I have the necessary ingredients, all I would require would be water and something to heat the brew with."
Explain reasoning for stopping by, introduce the group, offer to make tea!
Post by: Innsmothe on May 01, 2014, 03:36:26 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on May 01, 2014, 05:57:17 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 01, 2014, 07:31:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 02, 2014, 06:39:19 am
"Häer! Hōōr! Hnng! Now then, let's go get what we came for!" Niklas says, not entirely sure what he came here for anymore.
"What did we come here for?" Lifeboy asks, and Niklas ponders the question.
"We came here for... a blessing! Of Patricia!" he says after his mental gears finally start moving.
"Makes sense, let's get to it!" Lifeboy agrees and they move along, walking through the darkened halls of the basement and searching for something appropriately blessed-looking. No such things seem to be around, and Niklas wonders if he may have forgotten something important here. A crucial detail of some kind.
"Maybe it's hidden!" Lifeboy suggests, and Niklas pauses for a moment. It would make sense for it to be hidden, yes - wouldn't want just about anyone getting their hands on that sweet Patricia-magic, right? And he does remember there being something about bricks, storerooms and flasks, that they were involved somehow. But the details, it is the details that presently elude him!
Outside a healer's tent in Eckledun...
Sigmund is disappointed in his companions' propensity toward self-injury while unattended - it is most disappointing, to say the least.
"Damn you, Kevin, can't you just keep a good body without destroying it? At least you should still be able to play any instruments. Don't really count on me to carry you on the way back," he says disapprovingly at his "sister".
"I didn't ask to be put into this body, you know," Kevin replies, examining his evidently sprained knee. Sigmund, meanwhile, turns to Mark.
"Now that we have an opportunity to talk, well, I think that I should say at least, yes, well, thank you, for fixing me even after all my complaints and that. But know that I am only going to need it again if I am in a desperate situation, so don't do that unless I absolutely need it, yeah?" he says, then pauses uncomfortably, for a moment expecting Mark to reply, but then realizing that he doesn't want to hear the fellow speak more than is strictly necessary. "Now that we are waiting, why don't you go and look around for more mages? I, unfortunately, am not really good at traveling around towns, and Kevin is hurt, so the task must rely on you," he continues. A few moments pass, with Mark still not looking directly at them, then he turns to face Sigmund, his eyes practically looking through him, and salutes the creeped-out vampire.
"I won't let you down," he says softly, then leaves quickly. Though there have certainly been better ideas than splitting up in a situation such as this, Sigmund breathes a sigh of relief as Mark leaves. "Alright, lets find a place where we can sit to chat like sisters or like we are common people at least, yes? We need to talk about what we know about the Gub," he says, dragging Kevin out of the way of any potential foot traffic and seating him on a nearby barrel.
"So, what information have you gathered so far? I can say that the Gub has been sentient for about a week, has emotions, and is not or at least not entirely human," he says, to which Kevin replies with a somewhat blank stare. He raises his finger, about to say something, but then seems to reconsider. A few more moments pass, and Kevin seems to have something important on the tip of his tongue when Art emerges from the healer's tent, a tall, middle-aged, concerned-looking woman and a very tired teenage girl following behind.
"-very glad you have decided to help, as our need is great and the still-suffering are many," Art appears to be telling them.
"Indeed! I cannot believe that so many elected to stay!" the woman says, shaking her head. "We must go help them at once!"
"You mean, of course, that I must help them," the girl adds derisively.
"I won't have your backtalk, Annie! There are people dying out there, and it is our duty to help!"
"If only more people had your moral integrity, ma'am," Art says. "Such acts of charity at times like these are indeed commendable. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"It is the duty of our order to offer help where it is needed - we are simply doing the will of Narcillicus, miss," the woman says. "Now we must make haste for Mothdale!"
"When you get there, look for the large tower - it is there that the charitable efforts are organized from - the people there will point you in the right direction."
"Will do! Now spread the word, sister! Tell them that Mother Frische invokes the sacred duty! I will do the same, then head for Mothdale!" the woman says, dragging the girl along as they take off from the area.
"Good luck!" Art shouts after them, and the woman turns around and gives him a strange salute, which Art returns, and then runs off. He stands there for a few moments and, when the two are out of sight, walks back over to Sigmund.
"Man, I feel like shit for doing that to the poor lady," he comments, shaking his head. "Still, it's done. What now?"
Some distance away, Mark has made quite a bit of headway on finding mages - for one, there's a whole magical tower in the middle of the town. Also, he thinks there might be some mages in certain establishments, most notably at certain stalls in the market. The question is, how would one go about convincing or possibly "convincing" them to go to Mothdale?
At the castle of Pauline Melville...
Morton, pleasantly surprised by the cordial greeting he has received, does his best to return the gesture.
"Salutations, good lady Melville, I dearly hope our appearance isn't anything of a bother. We're admittedly new to the area and don't know much about the surroundings I'm afraid, so it is quite fateful that we managed to chance upon your wondrous abode. We were rather hoping if we could discuss recent events of the area, and hopefully an offer, with you. Perhaps over some nice, fresh tea, if that sounds particularly agreeable?"
Lady Melville's face lights up quite a bit when recent events are mentioned.
"I do love hearing news, good sir. I don't get out much lately, as I'm sure you may suspect."
"But first we should repay respect in kind and introduce ourselves, this is good mage Justine, good sir Scott, good tailor Craig, and I am Carter Morton, butler. Most simply refer to me as Morton however," Morton introduces the group, who each nod in turn (though Scott's rendition of a nod leaves quite a bit to be desired). "Now, before we begin, mind if I ask if you would like some tea? I consider myself somewhat of a tea enthusiast. And I fear it has been dreadfully far too long since I've brewed any. I've always believed that one should take all opportunities for tea as is made available. I have the necessary ingredients, all I would require would be water and something to heat the brew with," he then offers, but Lady Melville doesn't seem overly enthused.
"You must forgive me, good sir, but I never drink... tea. But I would be glad to speak with you and your entourage in the dining hall, if you will? Regrettably, I have already dined, but one can never say no to a spot of good conversation nevertheless, yes?" she says, once again obviously restraining the urge to flap her arms cheerily. She turns to Henry. "Henry, get Sie to prepare the dining hall, yes?" she asks of him, and Henry nods and immediately disappears.
At the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren feels that his friend is getting a bit too large for optimum enjoyment of mutual activity, and makes his opinion known.
"A-uhh... A bit much there... Go ahead and go back."
"Hm... well, okay. Let's try to get it right now," she says, returning to the vaguely feminine figure of before, albeit with slightly more of a definite shape and color this time around. "Good enough?" she asks, and Darren half-nods, half-shrugs affirmatively, and she claps her hands for a moment.
"Very well, let's begin!" she says, and outstretches her palm toward Darren. Darren is about to construe this as a hint of some kind when a deck of cards appears in it. "Now take a card and put it on your forehead, face toward me. We're going to play a game here."
"This is going to be great," the statue-woman says.
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 07:44:36 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 02, 2014, 08:19:29 am
[Don't be afraid to contribute to the conversation, I'd feel terrible to put you in inaction just because of diplomatic talks.][Dude, I am not.:)
If I told you that I modeled Scott off of what people tell me about certain aspects of my own personality, would you be happy to let me be more assertive or afraid? :p
Seriously though, I believe Scott knows of his shortcomings and the strengths of his compatriots and is desperately trying to behave himself to COMPLETE...THE...MISSION!]
"You don't drink...tea? Pardon me if you will madam, but are you being intentionally ominous? We DO have..or have had... vampire friends you know. It is NOTHING to be ashamed of."
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 10:09:43 am
"We DO have..or have had... vampire friends you know. It is NOTHING to be ashamed of."((I look forward to the answer))
Post by: miauw62 on May 02, 2014, 11:09:40 am
"Wait... Actually, I do know something. Lizzie told me that the Black Circle of Magic were having a meeting about this whole affair. Not too long ago, I think."
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 11:29:43 am
"I know of the Gub that I don't like them. Not much else, sadly. I was too busy disobeying and thus trying to keep my soul to find out much."-What? The Black Circle is involved? We have to find somebody important from that place to know more about the Gub!
"Wait... Actually, I do know something. Lizzie told me that the Black Circle of Magic were having a meeting about this whole affair. Not too long ago, I think."
Sigmund then decided to say something to the rest of the group:
-I have to say that, when dealing with a being that can read your mind, the best alternative is to not know what you don't want it to know. That's why I sent Mark to do stuff out there. He is going to be the one which will go back and forth from Mothdale to deal with the Gub, while we are still focused in our task. This means that we won't say a word about this to Mark. Unless you have thought of a better alternative, of course.
Post by: miauw62 on May 02, 2014, 11:30:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 11:52:38 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 02, 2014, 12:00:26 pm
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 12:14:07 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 02, 2014, 04:43:05 pm
"You don't drink...tea? Pardon me if you will madam, but are you being intentionally ominous? We DO have..or have had... vampire friends you know. It is NOTHING to be ashamed of."
"It's a bit untoward to imply someone is a vampire in polite society," Lady Melville says, looking at her pseudo-wings, "even if it is rather obvious. It invites all sorts of boring discussion, I find."
-Can't say that I actually feel well about doing this, but I guess that we don't have a choice at this point. We really lack the knowledge about how to deal with the Gub, actually. I was just asking Kevin, now hat Mark isn't here, what does he know about the Gub. We need to know what are we dealing with, so it would be great if you could contribute with whatever kind of information you have.
"I've got my own little theory, and you'll have to bear with me on this one - the gub is actually a person, or maybe several people. I think I've read about magical experiments of this nature - fusing minds together, creating telepathic networks of people, facilitating efficiency through assimilation - it gets pretty scary when you realize that some of these people, these mind aggregates get out into the wild. Can you even imagine? It's like a colony of human bees, in a way. I think the gub are one of those, like a magical experiment gone horribly wrong. Maybe that old archmage messed with things he shouldn't have, you know what I'm saying?"
Post by: Xantalos on May 02, 2014, 05:44:05 pm
Quote from: Niklas' memory
~You want a boon, huh? I guess I can help you - you sure seem like you could use some kind of assistance. Tell you what, there's a little something in the basement of this tower, in a long-forgotten, blissfully unguarded corner of a disused storage room filled with... flasks, I think? Anyway, it's right behind a loose, magical brick. This little something will probably help you in pretty much every way if used right. If you want, go get it - pretty sure nobody else knows where it is, at least not yet. Have a good one and all that,~ the voice of Pacitarius says, then cuts out quickly. Guess if Niklas doesn't want to slip on his own blood while going downstairs, he'll probably have to do a quick patch job with what he's got.
He brightens up!
Look for those flasks and that loose magical brick!
Post by: Tomcost on May 02, 2014, 06:00:21 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 03, 2014, 01:42:24 am
In anycase I feel we should get to the matter at hand, Morton, if you would so kindly?"
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2014, 07:05:48 am
Post by: Coolrune206 on May 03, 2014, 07:19:13 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2014, 07:22:01 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 03, 2014, 07:32:51 am
When am I going to be added into the game? This chapter seems to go on forever... :l
All chapters aside from the first two in this game go on forever, and the current group seem somewhat bad at dying, I'm afraid.
Post by: Tomcost on May 03, 2014, 08:31:01 am
When am I going to be added into the game? This chapter seems to go on forever... :l
All chapters aside from the first two in this game go on forever, and the current group seem somewhat bad at dying, I'm afraid.
((But I can say that either playing or watching is fun. Or at least it was for me.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 03, 2014, 08:41:46 am
"I find 'polite society' is rather rude and unforgiving in it's own uniquely foul ways. If you cannot be yourself or be allowed to be happy, there is little hindrance in burning everything to the foundations and build it back up brick by brick....or so my partner taught me after I passed.
In anycase I feel we should get to the matter at hand, Morton, if you would so kindly?"
"Well, you see, the real problem is that, once you mention you're a vampire, people treat it like your definitive personal trait virtually all the time, which, as I'm sure you must suspect, tends to get insulting. It's not like being a vampire or being recognized as such is integral to my happiness in any way. Really, it's mostly just a basic convenience. And like most conveniences, it's scarcely worth talking about, hence my insistence that we do not. But yes, let's get to the matter at hand, shall we?"
-I do know what you are talking about. I was actually thinking something similar. The Gub tries to be efficient, behaving sometimes like a being far more rational than a human being, but then they get emotional problems. When I made them to get angry by means of arguing about how puting a lot of souls in the same vessel actually reduces coordination, they... they briefly wanted to kill me, but restrained themselves. I am hated by the Gub, which is something bad, but somehow incites my curiousity. They said that the desire to kill was too human for them. Maybe they are more than human souls? I think that I have heard the term "Gub" before, but I digress. The Gub pretty much acts like a being trying to assimilate people, souls, into itself, but, with no apparent goal, we can only expect it to go in a lust for power. It is also worth mentioning that the Gub thinks that they are immortal, that they can't die. I really doubt that, but it can play in our favor eventually.
"I don't know... I'm not sure the gub care so much about the souls. They seem to be putting them into a variety of places, not assimilating them. It seems like they're interested in minds more than souls. After all, they didn't really assimilate any of us, just put us under their control for a while. And I also think they're really making things up as they go - they didn't seem to have any sort of greater plan. Well, not yet, anyway, aside from getting magic."
Post by: miauw62 on May 03, 2014, 08:49:23 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 03, 2014, 09:38:10 am
Sigmund then went back from his reflection to his more practical way of thinking:
-Well, our first priority should be to get in contact with the Black Circle somehow. If they are here, it shouldn't complicated, and we also have a contact inside the Circle. We have to know what is happening, or how to eventually deal with the Gub. And now that we have actually talked about this, we should find Mark before he kills somebody.
Lead the group to find Mark
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 03, 2014, 03:14:34 pm
Do so.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 03, 2014, 04:08:22 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
The butler's mind whirled as he considered the differences in steeping, how strong the blend of tea leaves and ingredients to balance with the taste of the blood, and what at what temperature would result in best consumption and steeping. It would be most certainly more difficult than with water, one isn't competing with another flavor for attention, and to make the tea too strong or too weak would be a true disservice. Morton can't really say what blood tastes like with any sort of confidence, and without a way to test the brew himself he's cautious of serving it to others. Keeping the blood from hardening would be another bother, and constant attention the desk doesn't doubt. Perhaps if he--...
Seeing as the two have finished their conversation, the desk squirreled away the thought for later and rejoined the conversation where she left it with him. "One never can say no to a pleasant conversation." The desk agreed, moving onto the next point. "A move to the dining hall would be most wonderful, and I thank you for the gracious hospitality. You're abode is quite colorful, and I've never seen a place such as this; I most certainly cannot turn down an opportunity to see more of it."
"As for the tea, there is nothing to forgive for there is nothing remiss, good lady Melville. If you desire, I could attempt to make a tea more suited to your tastes, but I'm afraid it would be an experimental venture on my part. But perhaps for later, I most certainly do not wish to impose. I'm afraid our knowledge of the surrounding affairs may be limited, due to being newcomers, but I believe the events in Mothdale might be the most interesting as of late. It has presumably gone under a rather dramatic shift and change as of late, from what we've seen."
Head to dining hall when directed/prompted, speak with Melville, leave tantalizing tidbit about Mothdale to inspire curiosity.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 03, 2014, 05:41:40 pm
"You know Morton, whilst most dullards believe the black and green teas are separate entities, they are actually the same plant. The black variety has just been pressed and heated until dry.
The green variety goes well with fruit juices and honey. I must say that the latter ingredient along with the tea is very effective at clearing the humors from the body at a time of illness...Pity we neither have bodies that can experience that sensation."
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 04, 2014, 03:57:07 pm
Niklas, after giving his cerebral cortex a bit of a workout, manages to retrieve the information he needs, and recalls that he does indeed seem to be looking for a room full of flasks with a loose magical brick that has divine goodies hidden beneath it! Awash with purpose, he strides down the hallway, kicking down each door he can see, and eventually one turns out to be open! Walking in, Niklas finds that it seems to be full of spiders, and, after apologizing profusely to the arachnids, moves along. The second go around at this goes much better - it does not take too long until another open door is found, and this one does seem to lead to a room full of flasks! Niklas runs right in and begins feeling up the walls, looking for a brick that is slightly more magical than the others.
Fortunately, said brick proves easy to find - it is the only one that responds to Niklas' incessant biting with humming in addition to the altogether more mundane hurting like a bitch and maybe chipping his teeth a little. With tooth and fingernail, Niklas manages to extract the brick without much effort at all, leaving a dark hole in the wall that not even he can see inside of.
"Ooh, secrets!" Lifeboy whispers enthusiastically. "You know what to do with a hole in the wall!"
Obviously, Niklas does, and plunges his hand right in, finding something fuzzy and more than slightly damp almost immediately - feels like plunging his hand into a great big hairy nostril, Niklas can say, drawing on his vast life experience. And then, in an entirely expected twist, Niklas feels a very powerful sensation of extreme pain as something seems to... bite him, maybe? A burning sensation begins to travel up the hand he plunged into the hole, and a shiver goes down his right arm. Nothing else yet, though. After a large quantity of nothing continues to happen, he pulls out his hand from the hole - nothing obviously wrong with it, though it does feel a bit weird now.
"Didja find anything?" Lifeboy asks, drooling slightly.
Outside a healer's tent in Eckledun...
Sigmund, after waxing strategical and expositional for a moment on the topic of the gub, decides to return to matters at hand.
"Well, our first priority should be to get in contact with the Black Circle somehow. If they are here, it shouldn't complicated, and we also have a contact inside the Circle. We have to know what is happening, or how to eventually deal with the Gub. And now that we have actually talked about this, we should find Mark before he kills somebody," he says, and tries to lead the party in search of good old Mark, only to stop at the first crossroads on the way. A moment passes, and a single bead of sweat runs down his temple as the paths homogenize and multiply before his very eyes. Sigmund begins to tremble and bites his lip a little.
"What's the matter?" Art asks as he regards his companion.
In the temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, not quite sure what this is all about, draws a card and puts it to his forehead, and his friend does the same. The card is a strange thing, completely blank except for a single word - LOVE - written on it in plain black letters.
"See, friend, these are the cards of fate and aspiration. I can't see mine, and you can't see yours, but we can see each other's. We can't tell each other what the cards we see are, we can only give each other one of two pieces of advice - 'keep it' or 'drop it'. We draw cards five times in total, the deck gets shuffled for each draw, and only the ones we keep count at the end. To start off, I'd advise you to drop yours. Oh, and now that we've started the game, we need to do the whole five draws. So, got any advice for me?"
In the entrance hall of Castle Melville...
Morton is slightly disquieted by Lady Melville's sad physiological inability to process tea - it is a feeling all too familiar to Morton. Perhaps if he could make something like tea out of blood - it shouldn't make that much difference, should it? And Morton has already made steps in the field of exotic teas for the physiologically disadvantaged, so if anyone would be qualified to try uncovering recipes for delicious vi-tea, it would definitely be him. As he, in what is for the moment a purely theoretical exercise, begins to work out the logistics of preventing coagulation (leeches, perhaps, could come in handy) in beverages, he notices that Scott appears to be critically low on things to say, as evidenced by his attempts at smalltalk.
"You know Morton, whilst most dullards believe the black and green teas are separate entities, they are actually the same plant. The black variety has just been pressed and heated until dry. The green variety goes well with fruit juices and honey. I must say that the latter ingredient along with the tea is very effective at clearing the humors from the body at a time of illness... Pity we neither have bodies that can experience that sensation," he says, but Morton is hardly impressed, opting to speak with Lady Melville instead.
"One never can say no to a pleasant conversation. A move to the dining hall would be most wonderful, and I thank you for the gracious hospitality. Your abode is quite colorful, and I've never seen a place such as this; I most certainly cannot turn down an opportunity to see more of it."
"Well then, shall we go?" Lady Melville asks, and the others seem to agree. She leads them into a nearby hallway - the walk toward the dining room seems short indeed, though clearing some of the spiderwebs on the way takes a few moments.
"As for the tea, there is nothing to forgive for there is nothing remiss, good lady Melville. If you desire, I could attempt to make a tea more suited to your tastes, but I'm afraid it would be an experimental venture on my part. But perhaps for later, I most certainly do not wish to impose. I'm afraid our knowledge of the surrounding affairs may be limited, due to being newcomers, but I believe the events in Mothdale might be the most interesting as of late. It has presumably gone under a rather dramatic shift and change as of late, from what we've seen," Morton tells her on the way, and it is his last sentence in particular that seems to catch the lady's attention.
"A dramatic shift in Mothdale? Whatever could that be, pray tell? Mothdale's been much the same way for over a century now. Surely Jurgen's not up to any tricks, is he?" she asks, smiling as the group all walk into the dining room, which seems far, far cleaner than the hallway - Henry and a purple-robed, cowled maid of indiscernible features appear to have done quite the bang-up job in cleaning it up.
Post by: Tomcost on May 04, 2014, 04:25:52 pm
-I-I think that it would be better if someone else leads the way. I have to admit that my sense of orientation is unnaturally bad regarding towns.
Post by: Innsmothe on May 04, 2014, 05:02:51 pm
((Doesn't hurt to be cautious))
Post by: Xantalos on May 04, 2014, 05:41:15 pm
Wait to see if I explode.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 04, 2014, 08:01:23 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 05, 2014, 12:53:11 am
Lead the way, search for Mark.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 05, 2014, 03:02:36 pm
Drop the card.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 05, 2014, 07:48:04 pm
"I fear I cannot profess to know who sir Jurgen is, but I believe this may belay just how much change has befallen the quaint port town. Poor town looked truly appalling, to be honest, something truly dreadful must of happened there. Burned down buildings, melted holes in stone walls, few inhabitants, truly disheartening." Morton explained, turning softly to the left and right to mimic shaking one's head in sadness.
"We arrived at Mothdale just a few days ago if I'm recollecting correctly, en route to a further destination. When we landed we were hailed by a most strange character, or characters, I believe that may be more accurate. They welcomed us to what they called their city, informing us that they were called Gub. A peculiar entity, no doubt, trying to build up Mothdale back to its prior grandiose, beyond, even, from what they imply. I don't believe any of us have met them physically yet however, as they prefer to converse mentally. A mostly pleasant entity in my experience, although with a daunting task and, sadly, little experience I fear."
Morton finished explaining, giving a short and truthful (from his perspective at least) laconic. Moments like these he can't help but feel a sort of odd-yet-fond nostalgia for the days back in Camellia, sitting around the fir--Ah, best not be drawn too far into old memories at times like this.
Extoll the grand tale of Mothdale, await any possible (and probable if he did it right) questions.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 06, 2014, 02:58:22 pm
While the others speak, Scott takes a look around for things he could use to kill people with, because that's the natural thing any responsible guest does in the home of a generally kindly-seeming host. Unfortunately for him, though, there is little of that nature around - the chairs seem to be made of stone and inextricably attached to the ground, as does the table, and most of the other fixtures of the room seem the same way. There are quite a few flammable tapestries, however, and pretty much anything around him is an exit, considering that he is a ghost and all. For the others, though there are quite a few more conventional doors along both sides of the room - where most of them lead, though, Scott can only begin to guess.
"It's true, I'm afraid, we just came from there. I must warn you that it isn't a joyful tale, although there is always hope," Morton begins to tell Lady Melville in the meantime.
"Oh my. Now you must tell me," Lady Melville says, growing slightly agitated from the looks of it.
"I fear I cannot profess to know who sir Jurgen is, but I believe this may belay just how much change has befallen the quaint port town. Poor town looked truly appalling, to be honest, something truly dreadful must've happened there. Burned down buildings, melted holes in stone walls, few inhabitants, truly disheartening. We arrived at Mothdale just a few days ago if I'm recollecting correctly, en route to a further destination. When we landed we were hailed by a most strange character, or characters, I believe that may be more accurate. They welcomed us to what they called their city, informing us that they were called Gub. A peculiar entity, no doubt, trying to build up Mothdale back to its prior grandiose, beyond, even, from what they imply. I don't believe any of us have met them physically yet however, as they prefer to converse mentally. A mostly pleasant entity in my experience, although with a daunting task and, sadly, little experience I fear," Morton explains, noticing that the explanation appears to do little to assuage any fears that may be building inside his host.
"The... Gub? Do you mean the gub-gub?" she asks nervously. "And they're in control? Oh dear. What about the tower? The big tower? Anybody living inside of that?"
"None of its original inhabitants," Justine says laconically.
"Oh... dear," Lady Melville says, sitting down in a chair and placing her head in her hands. "This bodes very ill. Very ill indeed. Have the creatures of the sea overrun the strait, then?" she asks.
"Dolphins are certainly present in the city, milady," Tailor Craig mentions.
"What kind of dolphins are they?" she asks of the tailor.
"The kind that live in the Sea of Death," Justine says out of turn, looking very grim.
"It is all coming together, then. Jurgen is either dead or driven into hiding, then. It cannot be otherwise, if all of what you say has happened," Lady Melville says, staring at Justine now.
"It would be easier to say for sure if I knew who this Jurgen is."
"Jurgen Melville. Master of abjuration. Protector of Mothdale. And once upon a time, though technically even now, my husband as well," the lady of the manor explains, looking quite shaken.
"Oh, him. I am afraid he is very dead," Justine says with absolute certainty, and Lady Melville nods with a faintly disgusted look.
"I... suppose I thank you for the news, terrible though they may be," she says in a shallow-sounding voice.
In the basement of the Red Tower of Power...
"Naught but odd sensations! I may explode soon. I don't know," Niklas says, suspicious of biting things in the dark, as any proper Northerner should be. However, despite his buildup and the way Lifeboy holds his breath in preparation for the event, Niklas fails to explode.
"Aw," Lifeboy says after a while. "And I was getting hyped up, too."
In the streets of Eckledun...
Mark, forgetting himself for a moment, stops looking for traces of magic and instead tries to find something to keep his attention for a bit and distract him from the terrible stresses of undead life in a living body. He walks over to the market and takes a look around, and only a moment passes before a mustached fellow in a black robe approaches him.
"'Scuse me, sir, but you seem to be the enterprising, adventurous type. Am I correct in this assessment?" he asks in a strange accent.
Slightly outside Eckledun...
Kevin, obviously the only one with any sense of direction around here, leads his fellows to Mark, who is assuredly just around the corner.
Half an hour later, the group finds themselves in the middle of some thick undergrowth in the nearby forest. Kevin slowly begins to realize that they probably took a wrong turn someplace, and that maybe those skeletal-looking footprints they found might not be Mark's after all.
"Wait, I blanked out a moment. Where are we?" Art asks suddenly as Sigmund finally dares to open his eyes.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren decides to heed his friend's advice and drop the card, watching as it fades out of his hand and probably reappears in the deck. The deck is shuffled again, and the two people draw their cards again, following the same procedure. This time, his friend seems to have drawn a card with "Non-Sequitur" written on it. His friend seems to regard Darren's new card with a bit of uncertainty.
"Eh... not so sure about yours this time. I'd guess... drop it?"
Post by: Tomcost on May 06, 2014, 03:05:35 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 06, 2014, 03:34:56 pm
Post by: Xantalos on May 06, 2014, 04:40:30 pm
Examine own body, as well as trying to flex metaphysical senses. Did Patricia give me any powers or tentacles?
Post by: killerhellhound on May 06, 2014, 06:14:27 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 06, 2014, 08:02:46 pm
I don't even know what that means.
"Uhh, drop it. But, quick question. What happens if we look, or had it revealed to us or something?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 07, 2014, 08:22:45 am
What are these Gub-Gub? A race of children? They act like such and can be talked to at such a level with positive outcomes.
"... the gub-gub? Jellyfish, if I remember it right, or maybe some other kind of creature like them, from the Sea of Death. They live in the depths, and are known to be extremely dangerous... but not sentient, I think. They're naturally magical, I think their entry in the bestiary of the sea went."
He had finally recovered from his shock, and the relief flooded him.
I don't even know what that means.
"Uhh, drop it. But, quick question. What happens if we look, or had it revealed to us or something?"
"The deck makes you physically unable to reveal information about the card you see aside from the most tangential. And if you look, it'll just come up blank - retroactively blank, actually, and be made invalid."
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2014, 10:09:50 am
Post by: Innsmothe on May 07, 2014, 12:39:14 pm
Whos hell inspired idea was it to give Jellyfish a group sentience and aspirations of Godhood?!
Post by: Tomcost on May 07, 2014, 12:57:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2014, 01:53:36 pm
Attemt to guide my companions back.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 07, 2014, 09:00:40 pm
The desk can't help but feel in parallel a metaphorical dagger be plunged into his equally metaphorical heart at the revelations his once hopeful, but now quite tragic story brought about. Morton pushed on in the conversation, to avoid dwelling on thoughts that threatened to emerge.
"My apologies, good lady Melville, I'm sorry for your loss, and that it must be this way that the news be broken to you. Had I'd known..." The tea apostle sorrowfully put, apologizing for his most unkind way of telling her. "We'd understand if you wish us to leave you be after the grave news." There was a slight pause for a response, and if one isn't given for them to leave, the desk will continue, slightly hesitant.
There aren't many times Morton is particularly cautious to speak, but this would be one of those times. "If not, while I hate to dwell on the subject, I'm afraid I'm unsure what dolphins have to do with the strange events. Some of my companions and myself faced three dolphins, but I don't believe they were rightly alive, nor particularly normal to what I've prior thought of them."
Apologies and offer sincere, partially sympathetic and partially empathetic condolences. Ask if she wishes us to leave, otherwise question about the dolphins' relevance.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 08, 2014, 07:13:06 pm
"Yeah, go ahead and drop the card."
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 10, 2014, 08:07:11 am
Post by: killerhellhound on May 10, 2014, 09:20:06 am
Post by: Tomcost on May 10, 2014, 10:20:07 am
Post by: miauw62 on May 10, 2014, 11:14:46 am
Post by: Nunzillor on May 10, 2014, 11:38:45 am
Post by: Xanmyral on May 10, 2014, 02:57:01 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 10, 2014, 04:38:53 pm
Just promise to send us messages if circumstances change!
Post by: Xantalos on May 10, 2014, 05:29:25 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on May 13, 2014, 09:48:35 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on May 14, 2014, 10:16:05 pm
You know, guys, I think I'm going to take about a month's break from running this, to regain a bit of enthusiasm and hopefully improve things when I resume. It worked reasonably well for the Forgotten Art, and I'm slightly low on both time and energy right now.Nothing I can say which says it better than what's already been said. Enjoy your breaj
Post by: TruePikachu on May 26, 2014, 01:20:59 am
I'm probably going to make a map of player+NPC locations verses time, as well as major events (e.g. Bookstore Heist). I'm not sure if it will end up being like the xkcd maps were, we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated on any progress made on the front.
...anyone remember Skip Rogers?
Post by: Xantalos on May 26, 2014, 01:22:07 am
Just making sure this doesn't slide down too far.You brave soul.
I'm probably going to make a map of player+NPC locations verses time, as well as major events (e.g. Bookstore Heist). I'm not sure if it will end up being like the xkcd maps were, we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated on any progress made on the front.
...anyone remember Skip Rogers?
Post by: Yoink on May 26, 2014, 01:24:04 am
I should probably post an action for when this resumes, before I forget...
@TruePikachu: That sounds incredibly confusing, convoluted and badass.
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 26, 2014, 04:50:23 am
Just making sure this doesn't slide down too far.
I'm probably going to make a map of player+NPC locations verses time, as well as major events (e.g. Bookstore Heist). I'm not sure if it will end up being like the xkcd maps were, we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated on any progress made on the front.
...anyone remember Skip Rogers?
Damn, man. Even I have no idea about most of those beyond the most basic topography. Though I might eventually provide a map of my own if my mental image turns out to be different enough from the actual facts I've relayed. It's probably going to be pretty hard to get a decent sense of time, though, since that's proven to be rather malleable in this game, along with space.
Post by: miauw62 on May 26, 2014, 09:45:54 am
Post by: Yoink on May 26, 2014, 11:09:47 am
...Wow, I confused myself just typing that.
Post by: Xanmyral on May 26, 2014, 07:38:38 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on May 26, 2014, 11:39:13 pm
Post by: TruePikachu on May 27, 2014, 01:00:55 am
Just making sure this doesn't slide down too far.
I'm probably going to make a map of player+NPC locations verses time, as well as major events (e.g. Bookstore Heist). I'm not sure if it will end up being like the xkcd maps were, we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated on any progress made on the front.
...anyone remember Skip Rogers?
Damn, man. Even I have no idea about most of those beyond the most basic topography. Though I might eventually provide a map of my own if my mental image turns out to be different enough from the actual facts I've relayed. It's probably going to be pretty hard to get a decent sense of time, though, since that's proven to be rather malleable in this game, along with space.
I was actually thinking something more along the lines of http://xkcd.com/657/ (http://xkcd.com/657/) then a map of the world. It is better fitting for the creator to make a world map, since I don't know the topography as well as you do.
EDIT: As for my method, I'm probably going to start with making a log of events and turns, and write up a program to draw out the map. Hopefully that will make updating it easier as well.
EDIT: Trivia: Harry has made 2217 posts so far in this thread. Each one is now saved to individual .html files on my disk.
Post by: TruePikachu on May 27, 2014, 09:36:21 pm
So you guys better understand the log:
Code: [Select]
0013 META Prologue: The Dead Rise At Suppertime, Part 1
0013 TIME 1700
0013 DISCOVER Bernie AT Graveyard
0013 DISCOVER Sis AT Graveyard
0013 ENTER James AS Vampire AT Graveyard
0013 ENTER Bruce AS Vampire AT Graveyard
0013 ACTION Bernie's book explodes
0013 BIND James TO Bernie
0013 BIND Bruce TO Bernie
0013 RAISE Jordan AS Zombie AT Graveyard BIND Bernie
0013 RAISE Philip AS Ghost AT Graveyard BIND Bernie
0013 RAISE Vincent AS Skeleton AT Graveyard BIND Bernie
0013 RAISE Samuel AS Skeleton AT Graveyard BIND Bernie
The first column is the reply number, then each line has a sort of command, which can take parameters. It isn't storing information about where things are relative to each other, but it is storing location names. And the reason for the prefixing of line numbers is that events are going to be in ingame chronological order (TODO: come up with some sort of timeline splitting/merging setup, maybe location related). I'm going to log up Chapter 1 before writing up the map renderer.EDIT: You guys remember Samucane, right?
Code: [Select]
META SCENE SamuelGetsCane
0046 ENTER Samuel FROM SCENE 001 AT RichardsburghRoad
0046 WAIT LESS 0100
0046 TRAVEL Samuel TO ErrantSparkInn
0046 ENTER NPC Cheater AT ErrantSparkInn
0046 ATTACK Samuel KILLS Cheater
0046 LOOT Cheater BY Samuel GETS Cane 15c LoadedDice Clothes
0052 EXIT Samuel TO SCENE 001
META SCENE END
NPC just means unimportant character. Bernie isn't an NPC. Whipman isn't an NPC. The drunk cheater who exists just to be killed is an NPC.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 17, 2014, 05:33:05 am
Niklas, knowing how disappointed Lifeboy must be, having been deprived of both the visceral explosions of, well, viscera all lifemages are known to enjoy as well as the opportunity to lift himself out of sidekick status into the glorious heights of heroism, assuages his concerns in what he feels is a very reasonable fashion.
"Well, now you get the pleasure of my company!" he says, and Lifeboy perks up immediately.
"That's right! And maybe I can do experiments on you now! You know, to check why you didn't explode! And how we can change that!"
Appreciative of Lifeboy's enthusiasm, Niklas gives his metaphysical senses, also known as eyes, a good flex, and looks over himself. He still appears to be in a lady's body, albeit with better eyes and such, and seems to have absolutely no tentacles, which is something he most certainly would not have expected from a god such as Patricia. How very disappointing.
He does notice a rather large, scary, glowing face looking at him from nearby.
"A messenger! I wonder what it wants?" Lifeboy says.
"YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED UPSTAIRS BY MISTRESS REDDING!" the face suddenly blares at the two of them, causing Lifeboy to jump a little. Not Niklas, though - if he was put off by mere screaming, why, he wouldn't have survived past his third birthday in the North!
"Mine or hers?" Lifeboy asks curiously, and this gives the face some pause.
"BOTH!" it eventually says and poofs out of existence.
At Eckledun's market...
Mark, knowing that nothing bad has ever come of sidequests, decides to identify himself as suitably adventurous.
"Why, yes I am, good sir. What can I help you with today?"
"You are adventurous. Excensational. I need you to make a hands-off to many good friends of mine. It it this feathers, yes?" the man says, handing Mark a large feather with some kind of small sphere at its end. "Cracking this spheres over heads of yours, and deals will be sealed, and we tell you where go," the man says, nodding and shaking his head alternatively.
In the dining hall of Castle Melville...
Scott, upon getting an idea of the secret origins of the gub, has a very good question.
"... whose hell-inspired idea was it to give jellyfish a group sentience and aspirations of Godhood?!"
Lady Melville thinks a moment, and is about to shrug, but then seems to have an idea.
"I can't say for sure, but, even though one can blame them for all such things for the world in any case, the Black Circle of Magic seems like a very good guess. Jurgen did have many differences with that band of amoral villains, vicious scum and self-styled scientists of the magical world. As ungodly a bunch as you will ever know in your life, I can guarantee that much," she says with a look of intense disdain for the subject.
"I do have a feeling you're correct," Justine confirms. "The gub did seem to be very much a suddenly developing intelligence. And developing quickly at that."
"So they did get Jurgen after all these years. It is a terrible shame," Lady Melville says, examining a recently-dusted portrait of a young man hanging on the opposite side of the room.
Morton, feeling he should inject more tact into a situation like this, pitches in with equal parts sympathy and empathy.
"My apologies, good lady Melville, I'm sorry for your loss, and that it must be this way that the news be broken to you. Had I'd known..." he begins, looking as sorry as a desk can be. "We'd understand if you wish us to leave you be after the grave news."
"Indeed, milady," Tailor Craig seems to agree, "we are quite sorry."
Lady Melville shakes her head, her expression becoming a little more sorrowful at the apologies. "No, no, you didn't know. And it is not really the news of his death that sadden me so, not really," she says, trailing off quietly. Still, though, Morton believes there's something to be gleaned here, and tries to keep the information flowing in as cautious a way as possible.
"Good Lady Melville, while I hate to dwell on the subject, I'm afraid I'm unsure what dolphins have to do with the strange events. Some of my companions and myself faced three dolphins, but I don't believe they were rightly alive, nor particularly normal to what I've prior thought of them," he says slightly questioningly, and Lady Melville sighs in response, slightly regaining her composure before beginning to speak.
"The dolphins of the Sea of Death are... strange, good sir. Perverse and odd in just about every way. Word has it they devour the most terrible of poisons, and live afterwards, though their minds become twisted and their bodies become scarred. Fishermen dread to speak of the acts they see these lunatic dolphins enact on the Sea of Death, especially when the moon is out. They are terrible, vile creatures like none other, absolutely nothing like the kinder, gentler dolphins of the Sea of Pleasant Winds, though much greater in number," she explains. "But please, let's not speak of them. It makes me uncomfortable to even consider them," Lady Melville says after a moment.
In the goddamn woods...
Kevin, consumed by the intense and not entirely unfounded desire to blame Mark for everything, is nevertheless pressured by Sigmund into guiding him and Art back to civilization. Goddamn vampires and their goddamn dependency on people guiding them everywhere in conga lines. Also, goddamn Art and his goddamn easily distracted nature.
"So, why are we in the woods again?" Art asks. "I thought we were looking for mages, right?"
Sterling observation, Art! If only Kevin had any prizes to give for such incredible skills. But no, he has only disdain to provide instead, though there is admittedly more than enough of that for everyone.
It takes about a solid hour of blundering through the unknown reaches of the woods, but eventually Kevin sees something! A cabin in the woods! Plus a trail leading away from it. Maybe whoever's in there could point him in the right direction? And presumably not murder him and wear his pelt in the process?
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren goes with dropping his card while recommending that his friend do the same, and his friend seems to agree with this idea.
"Okay, three cards left - remember, you probably should keep at least one," he says as the next round ensues. His friend draws a card with the word "EXILE" on it, and he appears none too pleased with Darren's card, either.
"Uh, I know I said you should keep one, but let's just say you'd be better off without this one, okay?" he says, looking quite nervous suddenly.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2014, 05:48:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 17, 2014, 06:07:26 am
so in short So long and thanks for all the !!FUN!!
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 17, 2014, 06:10:16 am
Guys I'm going to be out of the fourm's for a long time I've been failing my classes due to the awesomeness of the internet and my parents and I have decided that going cold turkey would be best
so in short So long and thanks for all the !!FUN!!
Well! Good luck with that. I wish you attain mastery at your work, then! Your absence, while regrettable, will be something that will need to be dealt with.
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2014, 07:36:02 am
Sigmund sighed and turned to Art:
-Yes, we were looking for mages, but we are currently lost. On the other hand, what are the odds of an individual isolated from society being a mage? They could be pretty high, and also nobody could miss the mage, it seems.
He kept talking, but to nobody in particular, as if he had been thinking as he spoke the words:
-So, maybe we could try to see what is in there. And, if things go south, we could always try that soul plan I thought about back in Mothdale.
Now he turned to Art again and asked:
-Which element would be a good vessel to hold a soul captive?
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 17, 2014, 07:58:11 am
Sigmund sighed and turned to Art:
-Yes, we were looking for mages, but we are currently lost. On the other hand, what are the odds of an individual isolated from society being a mage? They could be pretty high, and also nobody could miss the mage, it seems.
"I dunno, I don't hear much about hermits who are also mages. Unless they're really freaky ones that would also mess you up very badly."
Now he turned to Art again and asked:
-Which element would be a good vessel to hold a soul captive?
"Anything, really. You can keep it in a rock, in a piece of wood, anywhere. Just has to be a good binding."
Post by: Tomcost on June 17, 2014, 09:01:08 am
Sigmund looked at the cabin, then thought that maybe it wasn't the best idea. On the other hand, if there was a trail leading to it, maybe it came from civilization! Yeah, that was their best bet to get back to the city.
-...then we could probably get back to Eckledun if we follow that trail there.
Lead the group through the trail if there are no objections
Post by: miauw62 on June 17, 2014, 10:03:04 am
"Alright, sure."
Post by: Innsmothe on June 17, 2014, 03:32:59 pm
((And yay, more stuffs! :3 ))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 17, 2014, 04:14:29 pm
What avenues do we have in the context of action? We have been tasked to gather those of magical competence to aid in the Gub's ascendance...
"Have you considered not doing such a thing?" Lady Melville asks, raising an eyebrow.
Post by: Coolrune206 on June 17, 2014, 06:52:27 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 17, 2014, 09:52:56 pm
"It may be for the best to not aid good group Gub," the desk followed along the lines of the conversation good sir Scott brought up, "but perhaps he has little to do with event, except as a coincidence or accident?" Morton didn't sound so sure of himself with the soaking in of this new information, his glow dimming even though he tried to remain optimistic. Gub hasn't been anything but nice to him, after all, albeit Gub does seem naive. Could he truly be responsible?
"Regardless, I'm afraid I don't believe good group Gub may allow us passage onto our original destination without completing his task. I fear our hands may be tied, unless we can learn more about the situation." While Gub's town seems peaceable (when Gub is in control at least), the desk does have places he wishes to go outside of the city, things to see and people to search for. Which unfortunately means he must complete Master Artiste's task first before he be given a chance of freedom.
Post by: Xantalos on June 17, 2014, 11:23:29 pm
Loot anything in sight and head upstairs.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2014, 12:02:05 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2014, 12:29:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2014, 03:20:26 am
Since this has been gone a long time, and just came back, a few players may, unfortunately, not realize it's back. In case that occurs, would you consider adding more players? Like, Me?
Oh, I PMed everyone. And I add in players at the end of the chapter, which will be once the group go over the Sea of Death or something very plot-derailing suddenly happens.
"It may be for the best to not aid good group Gub," the desk followed along the lines of the conversation good sir Scott brought up, "but perhaps he has little to do with event, except as a coincidence or accident?" Morton didn't sound so sure of himself with the soaking in of this new information, his glow dimming even though he tried to remain optimistic. Gub hasn't been anything but nice to him, after all, albeit Gub does seem naive. Could he truly be responsible?
"Regardless, I'm afraid I don't believe good group Gub may allow us passage onto our original destination without completing his task. I fear our hands may be tied, unless we can learn more about the situation." While Gub's town seems peaceable (when Gub is in control at least), the desk does have places he wishes to go outside of the city, things to see and people to search for. Which unfortunately means he must complete Master Artiste's task first before he be given a chance of freedom.
"I'm afraid I cannot say I can inform you on all these matters. I suspect the Black Circle are involved to one degree or another, but the details of the matter are unknown to me. I had not even known of Mothdale's fate until you told me."
I have had my soul torn out of my current ethereal body by the Gub once before./deadpan
"They can... perform necromancy? Oh dear. Those are certainly disturbing news."
Post by: Yoink on June 18, 2014, 04:40:52 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
))"Oh, oh, 'course I try!" Timothy insisted, bobbing up and down around his new friend excitedly. He was going to be helpful at last!
"I real-big helpfuls. You's real nice to me afta alls. Dunno what a 'kill-kit' thingy is, but. He say something with 'map', right? Maps is fun!"
A small complication occurred to the ghost, and he cocked his head thoughtfully. "Ummm... what's you want I to do, 'zackly?"
All his previous worries were forgotten for now, so happy he was to have found some purpose in un-life.
>Happily agree to help out my new friends!
...And then request clarification as to just what they want me to do.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2014, 04:59:40 am
"Oh, oh, 'course I try!" Timothy insisted, bobbing up and down around his new friend excitedly. He was going to be helpful at last!
"I real-big helpfuls. You's real nice to me afta alls. Dunno what a 'kill-kit' thingy is, but. He say something with 'map', right? Maps is fun!"
A small complication occurred to the ghost, and he cocked his head thoughtfully. "Ummm... what's you want I to do, 'zackly?"
All his previous worries were forgotten for now, so happy he was to have found some purpose in un-life.
>Happily agree to help out my new friends!
...And then request clarification as to just what they want me to do.
"The Kilkit anomaly is... very dangerous. It's as pink as places get, pretty much. Things have really deteriorated around that neighborhood, and we don't really send people to map out anomalies anymore for really good reasons. So... this is a mission nobody expects people to come back from. Going to an anomaly, mapping it out and coming back is a really tall order for anyone. Nobody knows what could happen there. And divination doesn't even work in that area, and nobody really knows why."
"So, yeah. Sorry about that. I don't think we can get him to help you any other way, and this is incredibly dangerous work. Hopefully you didn't get your hopes up too much."
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2014, 11:55:27 am
Anyway, since they can do that trick at range...How about we 'arrest' you and then you can give them a thorough thwapping the little pricks deserve at their central...hub.
Float around lazily]
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2014, 12:05:59 pm
Thanks for caring about how I feel... /dead-er pan.
Anyway, since they can do that trick at range...How about we 'arrest' you and then you can give them a thorough thwapping the little pricks deserve at their central...hub.
Float around lazily]
"I'm... not sure why you think I can do that."
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2014, 01:41:41 pm
((I'm not sure either.))Thanks for caring about how I feel... /dead-er pan.
Anyway, since they can do that trick at range...How about we 'arrest' you and then you can give them a thorough thwapping the little pricks deserve at their central...hub.
Float around lazily]
"I'm... not sure why you think I can do that."
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2014, 04:02:14 pm
I don't. Either the Gub does whatever it wants with you and we get reassigned, or you spectacularly outperform your current reflection of your own abilities and we stop being slaves to an evil neigh-omnipotent demi-god. Either way, our drab existence is assured.Thanks for caring about how I feel... /dead-er pan.
Anyway, since they can do that trick at range...How about we 'arrest' you and then you can give them a thorough thwapping the little pricks deserve at their central...hub.
Float around lazily]
"I'm... not sure why you think I can do that."
( this is one of the mages we were tasked to seize right? I am not misremembering things? I thought my notes were up to date.)
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2014, 04:06:11 pm
I don't. Either the Gub does whatever it wants with you and we get reassigned, or you spectacularly outperform your current reflection of your own abilities and we stop being slaves to an evil neigh-omnipotent demi-god. Either way, our drab existence is assured.
( this is one of the mages we were tasked to seize right? I am not misremembering things?)
"That does not sound like it would end well for me, actually. So I'm afraid I cannot really help you with that."
((Actually, you were sent out to get any mages you can find. No specific names given, since the gub don't actually know any.))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 18, 2014, 04:17:17 pm
It mentioned that it needed tutorship, from what I gather it has an entire cities worth of goods to pay you in. It's a bit of an idiot, so charge what the hell you like. Our master seemed to tolerate his service to the great jelly-ness.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2014, 04:22:47 pm
Aren't you at all interested in how the Gub works as an entity? This is your chance to find out in person! Think of it as a scholarship, to work under a God that actually meets and greets people!
It mentioned that it needed tutorship, from what I gather it has an entire cities worth of goods to pay you in. It's a bit of an idiot, so charge what the hell you like.
"A god that will rip out my soul and that evidently wants something from me specifically. This sounds more than a little shady, honestly. And I do not really have any need for goods, or much else, for that matter, and I cannot say I have been terribly curious about sea monsters ever since I started to find out more about them," Lady Melville says, looking distinctly unnerved by this sales pitch.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 18, 2014, 11:06:48 pm
Morton still isn't quite sure what to think. Was Gub responsible for what happened in town, or is he a byproduct? Perhaps an accident, or perhaps as something to shift blame away? Or did Gub truly lay the town low...? The desk isn't sure what to consider on the matter.
The desk was silent as Scott and Lady Melville conversed, his mind elsewhere. He started to tune back in at the end, and regretted not having been a part of the conversation earlier. "Good sir Scott, if good Lady Melville doesn't wish to go we shall not make her, it is of her wish and she's made it clear. We cannot confirm she's of a magical nature, but whether good Lady Melville possesses magical talents is irrelevant without her consent in the matter." The butler butted in, politely, and kept a calm and kindly tone.
"But yes, our task is to locate and see if we can convince those of magical talent to move residence into that of the town at the word of good group Gub. They wish to rebuild the town, I believe, and they believe that magical talent would aid in the endeavor. I'm of no knowledge about such magical matters, but I believe such a task would probably take much time and energy. It may be wise to look more into the matter however, before we take rash action.
Good mage Justine, could you please perhaps give us insight into the matter of what happened to Mothdale?" The desk turned and gestured towards the ghost of the Diviner, a brown arm emerging once more from the desk as it motioned in her direction.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 19, 2014, 05:20:32 am
"I see..." Sigmund says, rather discouraged from attempting muscle in on some crazy hermit if said crazy hermit may have some form of horrible death in store for any trespassers, as one always expected hermits to have, "...then we could probably get back to Eckledun if we follow that trail there."
This reasonable conclusion seems palatable to both Kevin and Art, so off the group goes without even attempting to investigate the cabin for fear of the cannibal demon army that no doubt lives within. Following the trail, they eventually find themselves... not in civilization. Rather, they appear to have come to a clearing in the woods, one that appears to have been excavated to a significant degree not too long ago - down below one can see what looks like some sort of stairwell leading down into darkness. There are no signs of life around the excavation, but there are sounds audible from the stairwell. They sound a bit like whistling, actually.
In the dining room of Castle Melville...
Not very happy about Scott's rather unsubtle attempts at convincing Lady Melville to go the city of gub, Morton intervenes to not let the situation deteriorate further.
"Good sir Scott, if good Lady Melville doesn't wish to go we shall not make her, it is of her wish and she's made it clear. We cannot confirm she's of a magical nature, but whether good Lady Melville possesses magical talents is irrelevant without her consent in the matter," he says. "But yes, our task is to locate and see if we can convince those of magical talent to move residence into that of the town at the word of good group Gub. They wish to rebuild the town, I believe, and they believe that magical talent would aid in the endeavor. I'm of no knowledge about such magical matters, but I believe such a task would probably take much time and energy. It may be wise to look more into the matter however, before we take rash action."
Turning to Justine, he asks her to use her talent once more. "Good mage Justine, could you please perhaps give us insight into the matter of what happened to Mothdale?"
"The picture I am getting from all this is that somebody killed Jurgen Melville, some kind of third party, it seems like, and then transmuted the city to host the gub - this was probably the work of the mages of the Black Circle, and it seems like the gub were installed there rather than moving in of their own accord, though they seemed very pleased about the matter. The process of taking over the town was seemingly very violent, but I'm not getting a feeling of direct gub involvement there. I... don't think I can get more specific than that without running the risk of getting the details wrong," Justine replies after a moment of thought.
"Divination does tend to be better with space than time, if I remember it right," Lady Melville remarks, and Justine nods. "It does very much confirm my suspicions of a plot at work, rather than the mere aggression of sea beasts. Jurgen could very safely deal with those."
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2014, 09:30:52 am
Sigmund was relieved that there were no crazy mages here. Even if he turned hostile for some unexpected reason, a miner should not be a problem, at least not for the three of them.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 19, 2014, 11:20:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 19, 2014, 11:30:40 am
Maybe we can replace most of our quota with these 'Black Circle' thugs. Any chance of a location Justine?
"None nearby - there's a tower of them at Eckledun, but, other than that, nothing."
Post by: miauw62 on June 19, 2014, 11:59:56 am
Descend the stairs. Carefully.
Post by: Tomcost on June 19, 2014, 12:29:12 pm
-That sounded like something that our beloved psychopath would say. But, well, I hope we don't startle the poor person.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 20, 2014, 12:03:47 am
"Hmm..." The desk pondered to himself. "I recall good group Gub mentioning the banishment of a demon in Mothdale, and how he hadn't been able to commune with it before it was removed. However, I've heard the news beforehand in Shriekpot. I believe that perhaps what has transpired in Mothdale may be a more recent event. The man who spoke to me about it may have been speaking of older news however, although that would of meant Gub has been aware before the event in question. Perhaps they know what has happened, and who did the dreadful deed." Morton pushed forth his theory, recalling vaguely a demon being banished and Gub's comment.
The desk moved left and right swiftly and shortly afterwards though, attempting to mimic shaking his head in his headless form. "But I suppose we cannot ask without completing good group Gub's task. I've spoken them about their task and the result of, I believe I've changed their mind as to how they shall accomplish their rebuilding. If they have taken my words to heart, I know that they'll turn Mothdale into a shining gem in these lands, a place to flock to instead of fear." The butler commented optimistically.
"Good lady Melville, I must ask, would the Black Circle of done such a thing? To destroy a town so violently? I admit I know very little of the Circle, only what I've heard from my companion, old rumors, and some stories. Why would they have perhaps wished ill against good sir Jurgen?" The tea apostle asked the vampire, curious about this group, and hoping that he could perhaps help provide closure.
Ask Lady Melville questions, push forth ideas and speculation!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 20, 2014, 01:42:41 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2014, 04:16:30 am
Sigmund is most pleased to see this development - perhaps he won't encounter crazed mages who will tear him limb from limb after all!
"What can I say? A miner would not be an inconvenience, and could actually help us to get back to civilization. Don't you think so?"
"I guess. Nothing ever goes wrong at excavations in the middle of the woods, right?" Art says cheerily.
"Crazy hermits digging tunnels to the center of the earth. But it's not like we've got a choice. We should've just looted the house and then walked away," Kevin grumbles, ever the perfect pessimist.
But, no matter their personal opinions, the group moves on forward and downward, approaching the stairwell, a rather new, wooden affair that holds their weight admirably well, and go down for what seems like... twenty meters, maybe? The walls of the stairwell are initially merely reinforced till, but as the group progresses downward, they quickly transition into proper stone.
Once they reach the bottom, they become rather aware that the only light coming in is from above - the light of the now-setting sun. And this far down it illuminates rather little - the room they find themselves in is quite dark, though it is possible to make out tunnels leading in four cardinal directions, though not anything further within, sadly, aside from what looks like a small light source in what can freely be assumed to be the northward tunnel. Even the illumination from Art's core only brightens things a little bit, and in a rather short range, too.
"Man, it's dark in here," Art observes, and the sound makes the three notice something else - the whistling seems to have stopped, though one can still make out some very faint clicks before those stop as well.
In Castle Melville...
Morton, quite deprived of exposition up until this very moment, tries to process the information he has so far.
"Hmm... I recall good group Gub mentioning the banishment of a demon in Mothdale, and how he hadn't been able to commune with it before it was removed. However, I've heard the news beforehand in Shriekpot. I believe that perhaps what has transpired in Mothdale may be a more recent event. The man who spoke to me about it may have been speaking of older news however, although that would have meant Gub has been aware before the event in question. Perhaps they know what has happened, and who did the dreadful deed," he says, eliciting a look of interest from Justine.
"I'm not sure what exactly, but I think something there might be a bit off. The timelines don't feel right about it."
"But I suppose we cannot ask without completing good group Gub's task. I've spoken them about their task and the result of, I believe I've changed their mind as to how they shall accomplish their rebuilding. If they have taken my words to heart, I know that they'll turn Mothdale into a shining gem in these lands, a place to flock to instead of fear," Morton continues.
"I really don't share your optimism on that front. The gub are of dubious trustworthiness at best," Justine pitches in.
"But what if being good benefits them? Wouldn't it make sense for them to operate on that basis, then?" Tailor Craig, silent up until this point, proposes. Justine looks at him and shakes her head disapprovingly.
"Good lady Melville, I must ask, would the Black Circle of done such a thing? To destroy a town so violently? I admit I know very little of the Circle, only what I've heard from my companion, old rumors, and some stories. Why would they have perhaps wished ill against good sir Jurgen?" Morton meanwhile asks of Lady Melville, hoping to obtain some good information.
"The Black Circle of Magic, one of the most awfully-named magical consortiums in existence, and yet unquestionably the most powerful one, collect, manufacture, study and innovate things of magic - quite successfully, too. With eight main towers and many other centers of power all over the Free Seas, their grandmaster has more political power than any group of kings you'd care to name. The regular mages in the Black Circle are average, ordinary mages - their masters, on the other hand, tend to be of vast power and alien to anything we would consider normal conduct or behavior among people of magic. The group as a whole tends to be really distasteful as a result. And Jurgen, he had an artifact and didn't want to give it up, and also had a city of his own - I am guessing the mages wanted to consolidate by any means necessary. Although the introduction of this gub seems like a very strange twist to that idea..." Lady Melville says, raising her sort-of wings to the air as she speaks, possibly out of agitation, then lowering them again.
In the basement of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas, not quite sure if the face meant Fat Candace or somebody else, begins to loot everything in sight with the aid of Lifeboy, ending up with a set of thin glass beakers that he accidentally shatters in his hands and pockets after gripping them a little too firmly and walking a little too quickly - now, with glass thus embedded in Niklas' flesh, he and Lifeboy move upstairs!
But, as soon as they are out of the basement, they quickly realize that the face was oddly nonspecific as to where they were supposed to meet Fat Candace - upstairs is a very broad term in a tower, after all.
"Aw, nuts," Lifeboy says. "I bet she's in the last place we'd look. And then she'd blame us for not getting there sooner. She's kind of mean that way."
At the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren finds himself remembering that he remembers terribly little about this game.
"So, uhh. What are the consequences of looking again? Can I look afterwards, or what? Oh, and drop that one," he says, dropping his card.
"Considering the entire principle of the game is that you're not supposed to know what you get, I'd presume really bad. But actually I'm not that sure," his friend replies, following suit. Both of them draw new cards. His friend appears to have gotten... uh... "TREE"?
"Oh, finally! Keep this one," his friend says.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on June 20, 2014, 04:22:18 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2014, 04:24:08 am
The toilet! That's the last place we'd look. Where are the excretory facilities?
"I know! Follow me!" Lifeboy says, beginning to rush off.
Post by: Xantalos on June 20, 2014, 04:28:14 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2014, 05:23:59 am
Post by: blazing glory on June 20, 2014, 05:29:16 am
Spoiler: Character sheet (click to show/hide)
Can someone bring me up to date because there's no way I'm going to read through 651 pages of RtD.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2014, 05:34:57 am
"We heard you whistling. We're not trying to murder you or anything and we even refrained from looting your house!"
The darkness seems quite unmoved by the sentiments expressed.
Can someone bring me up to date because there's no way I'm going to read through 651 pages of RtD.
No worries - a lot of it is extremely tangential to whatever you might possibly encounter. Also, your sheet has been noted.
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2014, 08:44:10 am
-It is clear that whoever is here is afraid of us now, thanks to Lisbet-He briefly considered trying to look at Kevin disapprovingly, but decided that it wouldn't achieve any effect in the darkness-,who considered that mentioning murder or theft when introducing ourselves to a stranger would be a good idea. Better try to find the way back to the city on our own.
Begin going up again.
((Question to the GM: do vampires get any kind of better sight in the darkness than non-vampire people?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2014, 08:49:33 am
((Question to the GM: do vampires get any kind of better sight in the darkness than non-vampire people?))
No, not really. You need extra assistance to see in the dark any better than the average schmuck.
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2014, 09:04:57 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2014, 09:24:44 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2014, 10:13:00 am
-Not many things to do now, whoever is here seemed scared enough to not answer back. Unless you want to apologize and hope that he listens to us, the alternative seems to be only one.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 20, 2014, 10:41:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 20, 2014, 03:55:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 20, 2014, 05:04:54 pm
"I'm sorry I intruded into this sweet tunnel! Can you point us back to civilization now?
The darkness does not reply, although another clack in the distance can be heard just as you finish your sentence.
Post by: Tomcost on June 20, 2014, 06:29:47 pm
Go up, with whoever wants to go with me. Look for civilization.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 20, 2014, 11:57:26 pm
Morton pondered Justine's words. "Could it perhaps be good group Gub's? A vague memory of before his genuine mental awakening? Or... Perhaps the demon was cast out after the event? During, maybe? I'm afraid there is unfortunately quite little to go off of at the moment. Something quite peculiar has happened however, that I can most certainly see."
"Good sir Scott may be in the right, perhaps it would be wise to speak to the source and see their perspective on it? I fear we wouldn't elicit a helpful response if they were the perpetrators, but perhaps this was an event with affiliates of the Black Circle, but not sanctioned? A... Splinter group of sorts?" The tea apostle was admittedly more going off of the dramatics than reality with his final comment, thinking back to his days at Camellia.
"Good lady Melville, I thank you for your hospitality although I apologize for the news we've brought. If you would indulge us for one favor? Do you perhaps have a map of the local region? I fear we may know little of the surrounding regions in as fine detail as a proper map."
Wonder at Justine's comment about a problem in the time line, agree with Scott about the need for more information (and silent disagreement with methodology) and ask Lady Melville for map.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 02:38:38 pm
Niklas, knowing a good plan when he sees one, follows his trusty sidekick Lifeboy toward the nearest excretion facility, since one can expect to find many important things in the head. Like the medulla oblongata, for instance. So he rushes off to find the throne room, and arrives rather shortly - a mage is always sure to have a bathroom nearby, as one never knows what could happen in the wild world of magic.
Inside, Niklas and Lifeboy both are greeted by a place of superb cleanliness! Porcelain floors, porcelain walls, porcelain ceilings, porcelain thrones, porcelain washbasins with running water! All of which appears to clean itself every few moments or so to attain that special sparkle. Frankly, Niklas hasn't ever seen a more pristine, sacred place in his entire life, and he's been to at least one primordial grove that he knows of. And it even smells completely inoffensively - in fact, it doesn't smell like anything at all, which is essentially the perfect state of affairs one could wish from a bathroom.
It appears to be completely unoccupied, though. But Niklas has faith - no matter where one's path may take them, one needs to visit the restroom eventually. So, if he were the type to play the long game, he could simply wait for Fat Candace to come over here rather than seek her out in any other facility, excretory or otherwise.
"Drat! Maybe she's in one of the other chambers?" Lifeboy wonders.
In the dark depths of an excavation...
Sigmund, unwilling to disturb whatever miners may dwell within here, knowing people of said trade to be a skittish lot in the best of circumstances and downright surly when cornered, decides to ascend, and Art appears to agree with this course of action, or at least follows the vampire up, leaving Kevin downstairs to try and repair whatever relations may have been damaged by these objectively terrible attempts at diplomacy he's been throwing at the dark.
As the other two disappear up the stairs, Kevin becomes aware of something - repeating clacks, slowly drawing closer, accompanied by an intermittent click or two and a low, continuous warble coming from what seems like close by.
Sigmund, meanwhile, attempts to find civilization along with Art - they are remarkably successful in this endeavor, since, as they come near the top, they notice an individual standing over the stairwell - a tall, nearly skeletal man with a completely shaven head and face, eyebrows and all. He seems to have a peg leg, and also a slightly tattered bright red robe. Both of his eyes are glowing quite brightly, and his teeth, currently bared in a grin, have visible, regular gaps between them.
"Hullo. Might I inquire as to what yer doing in my hole?" he asks, tilting his head and leaning in. "Prospecting, mayhap?"
In the dining room of Castle Melville...
Scott, hearing of the dark deeds of the Black Circle, has a bright idea.
"I vote we go to Eckledun and capture some of these fiends and use them for the Gub's purposes."
"A more deserving target than most, I admit," Justine says. "We could provide them with a taste of their own medicine, perhaps."
Tailor Craig says nothing, and merely looks slightly concerned.
Morton, meanwhile, seems to experience an exponential rise in questions he still has. First, he begins wondering about the demon cryptically.
"Could it perhaps be good group Gub's? A vague memory of before his genuine mental awakening? Or... perhaps the demon was cast out after the event? During, maybe? I'm afraid there is unfortunately quite little to go off of at the moment. Something quite peculiar has happened however, that I can most certainly seem," he ponders aloud, but Justine doesn't reply, so he just moves on to the next subject. "Good sir Scott may be in the right, perhaps it would be wise to speak to the source and see their perspective on it? I fear we wouldn't elicit a helpful response if they were the perpetrators, but perhaps this was an event with affiliates of the Black Circle, but not sanctioned? A... splinter group of sorts?" he wonders dramatically.
"There are no real splinter groups in the Black Circle of Magic," Lady Melville says. "Most of them do act more or less independently of each other or their masters, however, so what you propose is indeed possible. Then again, they are invariably an amoral lot, so getting them to care enough to interrupt their own business would prove difficult, I assume."
Pausing a moment to process this information, Morton has the thought that perhaps there is more business to attend to.
"Good lady Melville, I thank you for your hospitality although I apologize for the news we've brought. If you would indulge us for one favor? Do you perhaps have a map of the local region? I fear we may know little of the surrounding regions in as fine detail as a proper map."
"Of course, good sir. I have a great many maps in my possession - to part with one or two would be no issue at all," she says, turning to an empty patch of air near her and whispering to it. The air shimmers, then subsides. A few moments later, a small cube appears in Lady Melville's hands, and she places it on Morton's surface. "Here you are - an extending map. Slightly old, but it should work after a good rub. You may have it - I have quite a lot like it, and I feel I should compensate you somehow for all this information you've brought to my attention," she says.
Post by: Tomcost on June 21, 2014, 03:01:20 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 03:04:08 pm
-Oh, no. We were actually looking for the owner of the hole back in there. We are sorry to get there without your permission, sir, but we needed to ask for directions, and we came upon the only sign of civilization here, so we thought that maybe the owner was down there.
"What directions are ya looking for?"
Post by: Tomcost on June 21, 2014, 03:15:11 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 03:31:57 pm
-Well, we want to go to Eckledun
"Eckledun? 'Kay, so, I think that's kind of far from here. But I do know where it is - go down the stairs here, then follow the light - that's a tunnel. From there, go down the hillside and you'll get to the plains, and you'll see Eckledun from there."
Post by: miauw62 on June 21, 2014, 03:32:08 pm
Kevin runs upstairs to join the others rather hastily.
Post by: Tomcost on June 21, 2014, 03:43:58 pm
-We didn't see any lights down there. In fact, it was too dark to see.
He turns to Art:
-Did you see any kind of light?
Post by: miauw62 on June 21, 2014, 03:45:30 pm
"Oh, hello. Do you know what is going on down in that tunnel?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 03:52:37 pm
Sigmund briefly thought that the strange man could be wanting to lead him (or, now that he remembers about it, her) into a kind of trap. Better to make sure that he is telling the truth:
-We didn't see any lights down there. In fact, it was too dark to see.
He turns to Art:
-Did you see any kind of light?
"Naw, pretty sure ya can see it from down there. It's the tunnel right to the left when ya get off the stairs."
"Oh, that? That was a tunnel?"
"Ayup."
Kevin emerged, and saw the robed man.
"Oh, hello. Do you know what is going on down in that tunnel?"
"Not much. Why you asking?"
Post by: Xantalos on June 21, 2014, 04:17:28 pm
...
Hey Helsvar, where would you look for a woman of her stature?
Post by: Innsmothe on June 21, 2014, 04:28:19 pm
Scott's voice becomes strained and raises a few octaves as he struggles to restrain cackles and titters; his form blurs as he nervously floats side to side in the air and his horrific mangled and melted ecto-flesh is absurdly animate as he gibbers and guffaws...before becoming instantly still and his hissing whispers echo off the walls.
As far as I know he can't wrangle my soul like the Gub can, however, he becomes rather wild when you disturb his sleep cycle!
Cue loudest barking laugh.... and then... silence.
He rests on Morton, gnashing his teeth together with nervous energy.
Post by: Tomcost on June 21, 2014, 05:01:41 pm
Also, I'm waiting on miau's response to the weird guy who wants to rape us))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 05:11:27 pm
Seal gizzard, I thought she'd be in here.
...
Hey Helsvar, where would you look for a woman of her stature?
"The parlor, maybe? I do not know, my love - the ways of these complicated folk are far beyond me."
"Try the throne room! All cool people have throne rooms!"
"I'm not Helsvar! I'm Lifeboy! And I think we should try a dining hall!" Lifeboy maintains.
Post by: Xantalos on June 21, 2014, 05:13:14 pm
To the dining halls!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 21, 2014, 11:23:52 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on June 22, 2014, 02:25:58 am
((Looks like Scott has become the sadistic crazy person that our group now lacks without Mark. Huh, I guess that there should ever be a beacon of insanity among us.((I feel he has every right and privilege to be insane to some degree.
Also, I'm waiting on miau's response to the weird guy who wants to rape us))
My actual motives...it just popped into my head. xD))
Post by: miauw62 on June 22, 2014, 02:43:02 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 02:54:02 am
"Typically, are these cards more metaphorical or literal? Because I'm drawing a blank on this one."
"Probably more metaphorical than literal," your friend says.
"Weird clicking and clacking down there, that's why."
"Those'd be the gnomes. They make noise, but they ain't bad folk."
Post by: miauw62 on June 22, 2014, 03:06:02 am
"Why did anybody build a tunnel to the middle of nowhere anyway?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 03:10:25 am
"So they aren't giant ants? Phew."
"Why did anybody build a tunnel to the middle of nowhere anyway?"
"This place is kind of a crater, so I figgered I'd save a lotta energy moving things through a tunnel instead of further up only to bring it down again."
Post by: miauw62 on June 22, 2014, 03:55:43 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 04:04:19 am
"Ah. So you're the guy living in that house?"
"Maybe. Which house do ya mean?"
Post by: miauw62 on June 22, 2014, 04:25:40 am
"The one down that path!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 04:28:23 am
Kevin points to the path they came from.
"The one down that path!"
"That one? Yeah. I used to live there, not so much anymore. Bit too far to walk, so I just sleep in the tunnels."
Post by: Tomcost on June 22, 2014, 08:06:28 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 08:13:28 am
-Are those gnomes shy? Because we tried to talk to them, but we got no answer.
"Naw, they just talk different."
Post by: Tomcost on June 22, 2014, 09:28:32 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 22, 2014, 09:29:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 11:01:21 am
So how should we do to communicate with them? I-I wouldn't like to startle them by mistake.
"You shouldn't try, for one. They don't like that sorta thing."
"If one were to say, yell into the darkness about being sorry for not looting houses, how would these gnomes react?"
"They prolly wouldn't like you shouting at them, that's for sure. But they're a forgiving lot."
Post by: Tomcost on June 22, 2014, 11:18:03 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 22, 2014, 02:30:32 pm
-Can you guarantee that going through the tunnel will be safe, then?
"Nothing is guaranteed to be safe, lady. But it should be pretty hard to screw up badly enough that ya hurt yerself."
Post by: Tomcost on June 22, 2014, 02:35:45 pm
Sigmund turned to the others:
-Do you want to go through that way? I wouldn't mind if I had to walk in the same direction aboveground... So you decide.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2014, 01:01:26 am
"Gracious thanks, good lady Melville. This will be a boon on our travels and learning of the locale. Certainly of more ease of mind than following a road until one hits civilization." Morton thanked their benefactor as he wondered about the shimmer. An invisible servant, perhaps? Magic maybe? Either way, he was happy that they now have a concrete lay out of the land. The tea apostle was about to continue on the topic of the Black Circle when Scott spoke up.
After the ghostly head's outburst, the desk tried to continue on with the discussion although he was disturbed by his companion's demeanor (and proximity after such an event). "We--well, hopefully those of the Black Circle in, erm, Eckledun will be helpful and forthwith, so there shouldn't hopefully be any need for such, uh, actions." The desk managed to get regain his composure by then, and an arm composed from his frame and reached for the cube on his surface so that hey could inspect it better as he spoke.
"I'm certain they'll at least listen to us, and I suppose a place with a center for such a faction must attract many of similar talents. Hopefully some of them will be keen on helping start up a new town. I thank you again for your hospitality, good lady Melville, and for what you've told us. We will be sure to inform you of any new information we manage to garner about the event, either from others or perhaps from good group Gub himself." The desk ended on, as he turned to his two companions. "Is there anything you three wish before we set off? I don't believe I've forgotten anything, have I?" The desk asked his allies, believing that there stay here is at an end.
Thank good Lady Melville for the map, ponder on the shimmer, be disturbed by good Sir Scott, regain composure and check to see with companions if there is anything else before they move on.
Post by: miauw62 on June 23, 2014, 02:32:25 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2014, 11:36:26 am
Go with everyone through the tunnel that the man pointed if everyone agrees (tunnel to the left when we leave the stairs)
EDIT: also thank the man.
Post by: miauw62 on June 23, 2014, 03:05:11 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 24, 2014, 01:50:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 02:42:49 pm
Niklas, after explaining his habit of talking to his family (making sure not to mention to spruce man, who is hardly present these days anyway) in his head to Lifeboy, who simply rolls with it and chooses not to ask any questions, presumably knowing better from his constant contact with people of magic. At any rate, they move out, seeking the nearest dining hall that his mistress may frequent - and as luck would have it, the main dining hall is closest! What's more, Fat Candace is floating within! Niklas and Lifeboy approach, both quite happy at their stupendous success.
"Ah. You're here. Finally," she says, looking at Niklas with an impatient eye. "I assume all of your business is sorted out, or, rather, that you didn't have any in the first place. This is the only acceptable way of things. Now, on to what I need you to do, new minion - there's some pathetic little king in the nearby area that demands a representative from our Tower in his court - somebody has to do it, and I drew the short straw, so to speak. So you get to go spend time in a king's court. Any questions?"
"Can I go, Mom?" Lifeboy asks.
"Of course, dear," Fat Candace replies sweetly, and Lifeboy squeals a little with delight. "After all, you are woefully behind on your field work. Any other questions?"
In the dining room of Castle Melville...
Morton thanks Lady Melville for the map - unusual though the map seems, a gift is indeed a gift, and one should never refuse a gift offered in good faith.
"Gracious thanks, good lady Melville. This will be a boon on our travels and learning of the locale. Certainly of more ease of mind than following a road until one hits civilization," he says to his benefactor, quite glad at the way she seems to be performing an almost fateful role of pointing them where they need to go and explaining what actually seems to be happening. But then the gladness is significantly lessened by yet more of Scott's charming antics.
"I can't wait to try out a few ideas I have for my psychokinetic talents on this outing. I have free reign right Morton? Maiming some of these childers won't encumber the Artiste in any fashion right?...I WON'T BE SENT HURTLING INTO THE NETHER RIGHT? TO BE DEVOURED BY SOME CRUEL CAPRICIOUS GOD?!?" he begins to rant apropos of little, collapsing into absurd, significantly frightening, gibbering laughter that serves as a most adequate indicator that, were he still in possession of flesh, it would have been wise to keep him away from any sharp objects. This continues for a moment before he stops, then speaks again. "As far as I know he can't wrangle my soul like the Gub can, however, he becomes rather wild when you disturb his sleep cycle!" he says, barking with laughter for a bit before going silent and coming to a rest atop Morton's surface.
"Truly there is no greater pleasure than to travel with such bastions of mental health," Justine says, and Morton, ever tactful, tries to smooth things back into regularity, as Lady Melville appears most disturbed, though seemingly too polite to say much on the matter.
"We--well, hopefully those of the Black Circle in, erm, Eckledun will be helpful and forthwith, so there shouldn't hopefully be any need for such, uh, actions," he says, inspecting the little black cube that purportedly houses a map, though he can't really see how one could fit one inside such a small space. "I'm certain they'll at least listen to us, and I suppose a place with a center for such a faction must attract many of similar talents. Hopefully some of them will be keen on helping start up a new town. I thank you again for your hospitality, good lady Melville, and for what you've told us. We will be sure to inform you of any new information we manage to garner about the event, either from others or perhaps from good group Gub himself," he continues, turning to Lady Melville thankfully once more.
"I would... appreciate that, yes," Lady Melville says, glancing concernedly at Scott.
"Is there anything you three wish before we set off? I don't believe I've forgotten anything, have I?" the desk asks his allies, and much shrugging happens.
"Well, if you wish to set off, I can have my servant teleport you out now. You may feel free to come back at any time afterward - I would certainly appreciate the company," Lady Melville says, glancing at Henry, who is standing by quite eagerly.
At an excavation in the middle of nowhere...
After meeting no objection amongst themselves to the plan of going through the tunnel beneath the earth, Sigmund, Kevin and Art thank the helpful magic man up top and head back down into the tunnels, finding that there is indeed a light in one of the tunnels - and it is the one right to the left! Also, no clacking, clicking or whistling to be heard - happy about this turn of events, the group head down the tunnel, making sure to step carefully as they proceed. The tunnel's a bit narrow, it seems, so Art, being a pretty good light source, goes first, with Kevin next and Sigmund last.
It is quite a distance the group gets to walk to the light ahead - at least a good half mile, and the ground's pretty uneven, prompting the occasional "whoops", "whoa" and "whuh-oh" as they nearly trip over various peculiar elevated bits, protruding structures similar to wooden doorsteps and more. Eventually they come to the end of the tunnel and, as they regard it for a moment, they are less than pleased.
For one, it appears to be a white sheet draped over a wall, illuminated by a directed lamp that had been out of sight for the length of the whole tunnel. A quick check reveals that beneath this sheet no escape route can be found. Kevin, whose thought it is to perform the check, turns back to report this fact to his fellows, only to find that Sigmund appears to be missing. Art stands there for a moment, wondering what Kevin's staring at, then notices the conspicuous absence of Sigmund as well.
In addition, the sounds of gnomes - the clicks and the clacks, and more than a few whistles, reappear suddenly, just as the two make their realization, in fact.
"I'm... not the only one getting a sinking feeling here, right?" Art wonders.
Sigmund, for his part, remains missing and in darkness - currently, he feels like he has been stuck inside some sort of oversized pillow - a rather sizable one, with plenty of fuzzy, unidentified filling! It's not an uncomfortable feeling, though Sigmund's still not sure being abducted by filthy cave dwellers was worth it, honestly! But before he can even start doing something about it, he enters a state of weightlessness - he suspects he was just thrown off a very tall precipice of some kind, given the way he seems to still be falling since having that thought.
He lands without many troubles - nothing is broken, bruised or even mildly pained - that filling, in addition to absorbing his screams very nicely, appears to have protected him just as well!
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, not particularly confident he's doing the right thing, goes with telling his friend to keep the card. And then he makes an informed, reasonable decision as to what he will do with the current card, either dropping it or keeping it - a decision that shall remain unstated for now, though will assuredly become clear at the end of the game.
Next, he and his friend both draw new cards - his friend seems to have gotten an "ECSTASY" card, and looks rather doubtful about Darren's card.
"Kind of open to interpretation, but I'd say... keep it?" she says.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 02:49:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 02:51:11 pm
What task did you send me to do in the first place? I've entirely forgotten but I'm pretty sure I might have read something about it. I spent an awful lot of time in that library.
"If you can't remember, how can you expect me to do the same? It probably wasn't very important, anyway."
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 03:06:33 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 03:10:41 pm
Ah, an initiation task. Can I gather cooking materials and supplies before I go?
"I assume the king's court will have plenty of both when you get there - royalty love to treat their mages with luxury, and also with incredible tedium."
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 03:23:56 pm
Wait, shouldn't I know magic if I'm going to be a court mage?
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 03:29:51 pm
Ah, good.
Wait, shouldn't I know magic if I'm going to be a court mage?
"You're not going to be the court mage. The king in question already has one. You're going to be a liaison. Write a report once a month, tell the king to pass on artifacts he has to us if he ever gets any for identification and safeguarding, pass on any messages from the king to the person you'll get assigned to report to. You'll get briefed in more detail when I shuffle you over, but what I'm telling you are the important parts. You'll be a mouthpiece and a link to the greater system at work."
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 03:31:23 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2014, 03:34:27 pm
EDIT:
Use metaphysical sense if it helps
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 03:53:17 pm
Perfect! Nothing could possibly go wrong! So when am I going?
"Right now. I procrastinated on the matter a little. I'll send you and Lifeboy to the office of that guy who keeps bothering me about it."
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 03:58:28 pm
Oh by the way, I think Patricia or that god who's name sounds like that gave me a boon. Can you tell what it is?
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 04:01:40 pm
Okay then!
Oh by the way, I think Patricia or that god who's name sounds like that gave me a boon. Can you tell what it is?
"I have no idea what you're talking about, so probably not."
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 04:08:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2014, 04:09:57 pm
Nature god? The relaxed one?
"Oh, that one. No. Despite appearances, I can't really determine every single attribute of your being just from looking at you. That's what experienced diviners are for."
Post by: miauw62 on June 24, 2014, 04:19:37 pm
Look (well, feel) the wall for any places Sigmund could have dissappeared in
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2014, 04:39:20 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2014, 05:53:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 24, 2014, 10:20:36 pm
"It seems we're indeed ready to depart." Morton nodded (read: rotated his body up and down along the horizontal axis) to good lady Melville after seeing the lack of committal responses from the group.
"We will be most certain to take you up on your generous offer, good Lady Melville, hopefully with more news." If Morton could he'd smile at her, happy to meet someone quite pleasant on their journey. Most certainly a more pleasant meeting than with the strange skeleton that shackles souls, or that fellow that struck at him with his strange weapon. Uncertain of his body's abilities, he tries none the less to smile to see what may result, hopefully pleasant.
Wish good Lady Melville well and depart with the thanks of her servant, Henry. Try to smile friendly at Melville, unsure of bodily ability.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 25, 2014, 12:49:52 am
Keep.
"Uh.... Keep yours."
((Ah, I thought I had posted it earlier. Sorry.))
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2014, 01:58:39 am
"When it comes to our future engagement of the black magicians Morton, I will try very hard not to set you on fire. However whilst fire is a symbol of purity, it casts the biggest shadows, reflecting the poor mental state of anyone crazy or stupid enough to wield the violent and wilful forces of almost pure energy. And let's not even dwell on the fact that my handling of telekinesis is barely adequate and I will most likely smash you apart against a wall or something.
Although I suspect the rogues we will face will have no inkling into the foul and awe-inspiring powers lurking inside an animate desk and a torched and mangled floating head and will faint when we reveal our might."
Scott astounds even himself with this rare moment of clarity.
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2014, 09:12:56 am
Sigmund, as soon as he feels content at the way the pillow seems to not be moving, attempts to break out.
[Sigmund's strength roll: 4+1]
A mere pillow, no matter how giant and strange, can stop one empowered by the dark! Fearsomely yet quietly struggling for a bit, Sigmund tears himself free of the confines of the leathery thing, falling down on what feels like soft, dry grass, and crumples in a similar way. Finding that he can't see jack in this darkness, he has the clever thought of looking at all this from a more metaphysical standpoint, at which point he notices that the air around here seems to have knots, as do different minerals in the walls and the floor, and each individual plant - unfortunately, there is absolutely no way to tell any of them apart without close study, it seems!
Also, there's something clickety-clacking nearby, and a few whistles emanate from a short distance. Judging from the way the whistles are getting closer and slowly joined by more, Sigmund guesses that he may have set off some kind of alarm.
In a dead-end tunnel...
Kevin is made slightly uncomfortable by the conspicuous absence of his best... well, not really friend, but at least a dude who may or may not have had his back in a pinch. Now he's stuck here with only Art, and experience indicates that this is hardly a thing helping his survival in any way.
"Uh... Uuuuhhh..." he says, looking around the area for any secret passages that Sigmund, in his endless canniness, could have disappeared into. When that produces no results, he begins feeling around the walls, eventually finding something - a hole! An invisible one, slightly larger than the circumference of his arm, one he can sort of plunge his hand into, feeling a certain suction of air pulling at his arm while he does so. A vent, looks like. An ensorcelled one at that!
But before Kevin can properly extrapolate the meaning of all this, a flash of light and a loud "Aagh!" interrupts him. Swiveling around, Kevin notices Art, standing in the light, looking very unsettled.
"Something grabbed hold of my legs!" Art says. "I think it ran away when I did that flash thing."
In the main dining hall of the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas is not very happy about still not knowing what it is his boon did, suspecting that such knowledge could indeed come in handy if he wanted to, you know, use it and stuff.
"Aw man. Ah well, I suppose it'll just come back to bite me in the ass later, or other body part if I don't have an ass at the time."
"Very well. Enough questions, time to say goodbye," Fat Candace says.
"Goodbye!" Lifeboy says right before the entire world turns into fine dust, blowing away gently to reveal a very cozy office whose owner seems to be a great fan of wood - everything here seems to be either made of it or paneled with it, and little to no other materials are visible. And yet there's little to no traces of any organic aesthetic to it all despite the fact that it's ostensibly all made of the remains of living things.
In the middle of an office is a desk, cluttered with various papers and parchments in all manner of scripts, from what look like love letters to very important, if visibly stained official documents. At this desk sits a middle-aged man in a black and red horizontally striped sleeveless robe, very muscular, with extensively tattooed arms and a shaved head. His rough face is dominated by a huge black, bushy mustache entirely obscuring both his upper and lip. Even Niklas suspects that this may be more than slightly questionable from a fashion standpoint. The fellow gets up, leaning forward on his desk, focusing with one eye on Lifeboy and with the other on Niklas unsettlingly.
"I see you're here. Ambassadors, right?" he says after a moment.
"She's the ambassador, I'm the assistant!" Lifeboy answers, pointing at Niklas.
"Yes, yes. Let me get your equipment," he says, rooting around in his pocket for a good twenty seconds before coming up with an item - a small blue gem with a black core set inside a golden frame. He hands it to Niklas. "Press the gem to your forehead every once in a while. Once a week will do, but you can do it more often if there's something important. Listen to the king and the advisors. Somebody asks you to do something or brings a matter to your attention, say that the request or concern has been duly noted. When you put the gem to your head, the operator will know what you know, and questions will be heard. Somebody asks you a question, answer something smart-sounding. Doesn't have to be true, but at least plausible. Also, try not to make an ass of yourself. Any questions?"
In the dining room of Castle Melville...
Morton feels that they are ready to depart.
"It seems we're indeed ready to depart," he says, rotating affirmatively, quite ready to depart. "We will be most certain to take you up on your generous offer, good Lady Melville, hopefully with more news," he says, his drawers and surface curling up in a vaguely smile-like formation that Lady Melville does seem to comprehend the meaning of.
"I wish you safe travels, friends," Lady Melville replies, smiling back, and both Justine and Tailor Craig bid respectful farewells together with Morton.
"When it comes to our future engagement of black magicians, Morton, I will try very hard not to set you on fire. However, whilst fire is a symbol of purity, it casts the biggest shadows, reflecting the poor mental state of anyone crazy or stupid enough to wield the violent and willful forces of almost pure energy. And let's not even dwell on the fact that my handling of telekinesis is barely adequate and I will most likely smash you apart against a wall or something. Although I suspect the rogues we will face will have no inkling into the foul and awe-inspiring powers lurking inside an animate desk and a torched and mangled floating head, and will faint when we reveal our might," Scott pipes up, still on about something that the rest don't seem to have quite chosen to linger on. The room is silent for a few moments, then the world shatters, revealing the group to be outside the castle, same as where they entered.
"We now know more than we did, I suppose," Justine says.
"And I don't feel like I am completely in the dark anymore," Tailor Craig mentions.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, thinking that ecstasy's probably a good thing in most cases, tells his friend to keep the card, which she does, and keeps his own card as well, and, since he's presumably kept his own previous card as well, has a total of two cards.
And then, suddenly, both of his cards disappear, and a thought runs through his mind - sixteen and fifteen is thirteen, BUGBEAR!
Darren isn't sure he likes the sound of that, or the feeling that immediately follows. A chill flows through him, though there is no apparent result that comes of it. His friend, though, seems to have undergone a much more dramatic change, beginning to glow brightly and emanating an aura of virtue and grace. Guess Darren has chosen well.
"Huh. Exaltation. What did you get?" she asks.
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2014, 09:25:12 am
Do clicking sounds. Try my best a echolocation!
Also defend. Counterattack by grabbing the gnomes and smashing them against the ground.
Post by: miauw62 on June 25, 2014, 10:13:14 am
Spit into the vent
"Where the fuck did Sigmund go?"
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2014, 10:59:32 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 25, 2014, 01:37:00 pm
Lifeboy, do you have any questions?
What will he be doing?
((Awesome, I'm basically the Armory Master only much less dangerous.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2014, 05:06:01 pm
Do I actually have to do anything they ask me, or just 'your request has been duly noted'? Also, is there a kitchen and cooking equipment somewhere here, wherever we are?
Lifeboy, do you have any questions?
What will he be doing?
"If they ask you to do something political, do not engage. Do not do anything. Just say their requests and/or concerns have been noted. If they ask you to pass the salt, do it if you're not too far away. As long as it's not some kind of political euphemism. Learn those, as they're provincial. Also, this is just my office. The palace of the king of... Yelm, I think the name was? Yelm and something else. The palace is about two and a half thousand miles away. You're just here in transit."
"Can I say that their requests and/or concerns have been duly noted?"
"Only if their request is to see the ambassador."
"Do I actually have any duties?"
"To assist the ambassador. Help her find the kitchen and the cooking equipment while court is not in session. Make sure she is comfortable and dignified before the court if she herself cannot manage it. But mostly you, like the ambassador, are there to make like a wall and emotionlessly absorb information. Like a listening device with two human faces and a mouth."
"Oh, before I forget - if the king makes any advances toward either of you, refuse politely but firmly. It has been a problem occasionally."
"Noted!"
Post by: Xantalos on June 25, 2014, 05:12:00 pm
Hear that, Torkel and Tree Guy? We're going to go be bureaucratic spies!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 25, 2014, 10:50:05 pm
Darren waits a moment for any further oddness.
"Is there anything else I can expect to happen?"
Post by: Xanmyral on June 26, 2014, 03:04:00 am
Attempt to access the map!
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 26, 2014, 06:50:09 am
"Bugbear and a bad feeling, I guess."
Darren waits a moment for any further oddness.
"Is there anything else I can expect to happen?"
"Er... maybe? I think so. These are cards of fate and aspiration, after all."
"I believe the map good lady Melville gave us should redress that problem, good sir Scott." Morton relayed to the head-ghost as he picked up the cube with the strange brown arms again. He fiddled with it, bringing it into view to see if there was some way to activate it. She said it may of needed a rub of some sort? Perhaps like a sort of djinni?
Attempt to access the map!
You rub the map cube against Scott, who happens to be significantly more expendable than you by way of crippling insanity as well as sufficiently close to use for this purpose, and are rather pleased when it unfolds, creating a patch of darkness in the air illuminated by a very detailed geographical representation of the area, light blue in color - your location is a red shining star, and you can see the rather large town of Eckledun, carefully and legibly labeled, quite a distance to the south. The map even registers the direction Scott is currently facing, although it doesn't seem to indicate Castle Melville as a marked location from the looks of it.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 26, 2014, 08:39:20 am
Post by: Nunzillor on June 26, 2014, 08:19:30 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on June 27, 2014, 12:59:21 am
"Hmm? Who, good lady Melville? I believe she was happy to hear some news and be able to entertain company, although I don't believe she particularly appreciated the content of the news." Morton responded to Scott as he inspected the map, looking for a quick way to Eckledun and perhaps any possible easy detours.
"Oh, and I do apologize for needing to rub the cube against you, good sir Scott, I feared it wouldn't quite work on myself, being particularly akin to that of an inanimate object in form." The tea apostle added on, still inspecting the map. He was visibly trying to trace a route to Eckledun with a brown arm that has extended from his frame. "I do wonder if we can set make markings on the map, it would be helpful to be able to easily return here." Morton attempts to mark their current location on the map by touching it, or failing that attempting to rub an 'X' in that spot on the map.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 27, 2014, 11:27:33 am
((Quick question: is the blanket husband still alive/existent? A little confused on that.))((I assume at this point it was cut/rotted enough to free his soul.))
Post by: Tomcost on June 27, 2014, 11:40:57 am
((if that had been what happened, you would all be dead at this point))((Quick question: is the blanket husband still alive/existent? A little confused on that.))((I assume at this point it was cut/rotted enough to free his soul.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 27, 2014, 03:14:51 pm
Sigmund begins to understand why these cave-dwelling individuals seems so intent on making such a damn racket - obviously, it's the echolocation potential! It's so simple! Now, echolocation is not a terribly easy thing to accomplish for somebody who isn't a bat - Sigmund, though people may be pardoned for making this mistake, dark as it currently is, is not, and to his knowledge has never been a bat. In addition, clicking one's tongue isn't really helpful in the dark when there's already a very solid background level of clicking as well as other noises present.
So Sigmund just does the reasonable thing and listens for the noises all these approaching schmucks are making, and rather easily extrapolates their very rough location from that. Standing defensively, he prepares to catch and bodyslam any gnome that makes a move!
[Grab: Gnome 1 vs. Sigmund: 3+1 vs. 4+1]
He grabs a particular nearby clacking presence, but finds its surface altogether too smooth and non-hairy to plausibly belong to any gnome he's ever heard of, and the surprise is enough to accidentally lose his grip.
[Grab: Gnome 2 vs. Sigmund: 3+1 vs. 3+1]
But he also doesn't let another gnome that makes a pass at him make a fool of him, either - he sends the creature packing with a good dose of blind flailing, his senses not sufficiently sharp to discern its exact location, but certainly enough to frighten off the subterranean equivalent of a day laborer.
[Grab: Gnome 3 vs. Sigmund: 4+1 vs. 3+1]
Rather troublingly, though, one of his arms is quickly seized by yet another gnome, and the feeling is one he does not enjoy particularly, as the grip of the creature is somewhat sharp and not very fleshy at all - furthermore, the creature begins to emit a squealing whistle as he tries to ward it off, and the attempt does not go very well at that.
[Grab: Gnome 4 vs. Sigmund: 2+1 vs. 1+1-1]
And in his distraction, he barely even notices as yet another gnome grabs and stretches out his other arm, sort of keeping him drawn out, only his legs sort of still free. All in all, this is going poorly already! Joy! And the whistling becomes louder and louder, more creatures pouring in from a great deal of directions, it seems.
In a dead end tunnel...
Kevin isn't entirely pleased by all this magic gnome bullshit going on.
"Fucking traitorous mages! Sneaky little gnomes!" he says, spitting into the vent. "Where the fuck did Sigmund go?"
Unfortunately, nobody sees fit to reply, though the vent does seem receptive to spit - it's been so long since Kevin's been able to spit properly. He'd almost forgotten its perks, honestly. Pettily amused, Kevin nods his head at the vent. That showed them.
Then the ground seemingly opens up beneath him, and Kevin emits but the shortest of yelps as he falls down into darkness, the ground closing up above him as he falls a short distance, landing into soft dirt that opens up again, allowing him to fall some more. This continues for a good eleven or so times before Kevin finally tumbles down to what feels like a pile of hay arranged atop a bed of solid rock - judging by the sound of dripping water, this is either a cave or some other subterranean hollow. And judging by the sound of clicking and clacking, and also whistling, gnomes seem to be around.
In the office of some guy...
Niklas is satisfied! Filled! Bursting with knowledge!
"All right! Let's go then! Hear that, Torkel and Tree Guy? We're going to go be bureaucratic spies!"
"Yay!"
"I feel ambivalent about this information!"
"Off you go, then," the wizard says, and suddenly the universe melts, and a superior one takes its place! One where both Niklas and Lifeboy seem to have found themselves in what is very obviously a magical laboratory - the two of them are standing next to a large stone pillar, and around them is a glowing enclosure of what may or may not be glass - it certainly is transparent, and there's a tall fellow with really messy hair and the face of a baby standing outside it, observing the two.
"Why have you come here?" the man asks as if several feet of glowing glass were not separating him from the two visitors.
Outside Castle Melville...
Morton, intrigued by this magical map, begins to plot out a route to Eckledun - it immediately becomes clear that to get there, they will need to trek through many miles of wilderness first - there is no nearby road to Eckledun, since there don't seem to be any villages on the coast of the Sea of Death for reasons that may be entirely understandable if one thinks about all the violent dolphins, cloud jellies, evil birds, property-unfriendly walruses and maybe even the gub-gub.
In addition, it is with great sadness that Morton discovers that the map, while very dynamic, is but an illusion - he cannot really touch it or mark anything upon it, as the map only becomes slightly disrupted wherever his desk-hands touch.
Post by: miauw62 on June 28, 2014, 02:24:12 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2014, 05:32:59 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 28, 2014, 09:45:15 am
Well, time to resort to other stuff, namely, magical stuff.
Relax my muscles, leave the gnomes handle me, so that they don't incurr in any kind of harmful conduct. Metaphysically examine the gnomes, try to discern the material they are made of and how do they see in the dark, for possible knot-copying purposes
Post by: Xantalos on June 28, 2014, 05:22:31 pm
Ambassadors from the Red Tower of Power, known more formally as...
Nudge Lifeboy to say the title since I never bothered to find out.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on June 29, 2014, 06:42:01 am
Darren looks around at the others.
"So, may I go and retrieve that artifact?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2014, 06:44:21 am
"Oh. Fabulous."
Darren looks around at the others.
"So, may I go and retrieve that artifact?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Without a doubt, yes!" the female statue says. "But would you care to play the game with me afterwards?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 29, 2014, 05:09:36 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2014, 05:27:10 pm
Post by: Xantalos on June 29, 2014, 09:48:10 pm
How old is Lifeboy?
Are the voices in Niklas' head the actual people or just signs of his insanity?
Does that barbarian region I described to Torkel actually exist now that I have? Would I be able to go there, supposing I was allowed to by my new boss?
How much does Fat Candance weigh?
Post by: Innsmothe on June 30, 2014, 12:40:36 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 30, 2014, 12:42:56 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 30, 2014, 01:14:24 am
Questions:
- What would Melville have said if pressed on what she was truly sad about? (Guessing this may be possibly plot-y though)
- How/what is the disposition of the various NPCs in the group to the various PCs?
- Will the talking ship make another appearance?
- How is the toymaker doing?
- What was up with the strange man trying to magically change Morton?
- Will we see the rubber dragon/wyvern again?
- What is the total damage of the fungal infestation left at old Yaleson Manor?
- Where did the guards that stole Niklas' knives and beat almost everyone up go?
- Exactly how horribly terrible at geography is Morton on a scale of "I believe the top of the world must be very hot, being so close to the sun so, it must be all desert," to "Oh, you won't find any forests here past the mountains, they block the humid wind and the rain it brings from the shores from reaching this far inland."
Turn:
"Hm... Yes, it seems that if we wish to reach Eckledun in any resemblance of a reasonable time, we may need to walk through the wilderness. I believe the travel will be most refreshing on both the mind and body to see nature so close! Its a shame we won't have any stopping points however." Morton agreed with Scott as he examined the map and tried to estimate how much time it might take them to reach Eckledun.
Should there be minimal complaint with heading there through the wilderness also, start off on their glorious quest for answers (and mages)!
Post by: Nunzillor on June 30, 2014, 01:25:16 am
1). What happened to Bernie's sister? Will she show her face again?
2). Whipman showed superhuman levels of endurance, breaking his neck and limbs and still fighting admirably. Is he a regular human whose prowess is attributable only to his good dice rolls? Or is there an in-plot reason for his awesomeness?
Post by: miauw62 on June 30, 2014, 04:11:54 am
Post by: Yoink on July 06, 2014, 12:16:02 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
"Oh, oh, 'course I try!" Timothy insisted, bobbing up and down around his new friend excitedly. He was going to be helpful at last!
"I real-big helpfuls. You's real nice to me afta alls. Dunno what a 'kill-kit' thingy is, but. He say something with 'map', right? Maps is fun!"
A small complication occurred to the ghost, and he cocked his head thoughtfully. "Ummm... what's you want I to do, 'zackly?"
All his previous worries were forgotten for now, so happy he was to have found some purpose in un-life.
>Happily agree to help out my new friends!
...And then request clarification as to just what they want me to do.
Timothy had just one question on his mind.
"Where is dis an-molly thing?" He stared at Lenny with wide, eager eyes, not overly worried by his grim words. He was pretty good at getting out of trouble, after all! Especially real-bad trouble. These living types tended to make a big fuss over things that didn't worry you too much once you'd got over, well, being alive. Really changed one's outlook on life, that.
>Ask just where the "anomaly" is!
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 12, 2014, 08:47:02 am
Kevin decides to try and find a hard place to complement this beautiful rock he seems to have blundered into through no fault of his own, and finds, much to his pleasure, that there is one readily available - a wall, quite slimy, yet also somewhat crunchy to the touch, smelling very metallic and leaving some sort of unseen residue on his fingers as they run over its uneven surface. Kevin wonders if this is really the best wall to prop oneself up against, but the lack of any visible, audible or otherwise perceptible alternatives persuades him that he should indeed count his blessings. He throws his full weight against the wall, hoping that it will guard him from any insidious back attacks.
Regrettably, it does not! Instead, it merely crumples inward, and Kevin begins to slowly roll through its internals, his body weight evidently doing a number on the structural integrity of whatever the hell this thing really is. Just how low it extends, Kevin does not really know! He merely rolls with it, so to speak. He notices that the sound of the clicking and clacking seems to be slowly fading away! And then returning! And then fading away!
In the hands of what are presumably gnomes...
Sigmund may be captured by mysterious creatures, but he is not bothered! He knows what a proper spelunker does when in the belly of the beast (not literally this time, though) - goes limp and tries to ascertain more information about his surroundings, most notably these gnomes!
The next few minutes pass as he quickly looks over the knots of the gnomes, idly reading the serial numbers of their souls and the 'no fun permitted' clauses attached. Shockingly, he finds them to be thoroughly unenchanted, and the knot not particularly unlike that of a random schmuck you'd see on the street, although their limbs certainly are much better armored and sharper, as evidenced when Sigmund tries to move, inadvertently or not. In addition, these gnomes appear to be quite naked, wearing absolutely no clothing or other items that he can observe on their persons. He notices, rather oddly, that their touch feels a little familiar, though he can't quite place it at the moment.
After a good twenty minutes or so of being carried both in a vaguely curved and occasionally downward fashion, Sigmund is deposited on an oddly comfortable little pedestal - it feels almost upholstered, as a matter of fact. And then the sounds of the area go completely silent as the gnomes carrying him quickly retreat, leaving him quite alone in what feels like a fairly small room. Sigmund still can't see anything, and the knots, while giving him a general sense of where things may be, are hardly helpful in identifying things to any degree more than whether they are enchanted and whether they are living.
Almost as an afterthought, one gnome quickly shuffles up to Sigmund, placing what feels like a heavy stone bowl filled with some kind of very aromatic liquid on his stomach, where it causes a bit of discomfort in addition to stirring his senses a tad.
In the inbound teleporters' room...
Niklas, knowing that first impressions are very important, tries to be as professional as possible.
"Ambassadors from the Red Tower of Power, known more formally as..." he says, nudging Lifeboy to complete the sentence like a proper assistant should.
"... the Third Tower of the Black Circle, Dominion of the Mistress of Shapers!" Lifeboy says evenly and with an air of practice.
"Ah. Of course," the man says, putting his hands behind his back. "I better show you to the king, then."
A hole opens in the glass wall around the two arrivals, and the man motions them to follow along. Once they exit, they notice that this whole place seems to be very nicely ordered - boxes with barely legible labels line virtually every wall outside the enclosure, each glowing with a peculiar light. One such box seems to have been unfolded in a corner, revealing some kind of strange, obviously magical measuring instrument, though what purpose it serves is not immediately evident. Nor do they have a whole lot of time to examine the contents of the area, as the baby-faced fellow leads them out without much ceremony, through a very unadorned, though fastidiously clean hallway, past a set of rather large doors and into what looks like a fairly lush little parlor, where a rough man sits in his nightshirt and nightcap, reading a book far more rapidly than should theoretically be possible. Next to him appears to be a concerned, nearly skeletal man, currently standing up and tweaking his nose while simultaneously biting his lip. It seems to all be part of a concentrated effort not to nod off, judging from the way he seems to be slouching despite himself.
"My lord, the ambassadors of the Black Circle have arrived," the rather obvious wizard that led the two here says. The concerned man perks up immediately, regarding the arrivals mutely, his eyes wide. The man in the nightshirt, evidently the king, looks up after putting the book, which on closer inspection may in fact be a ledger, off to the side. His face is a bit odd, though Niklas doesn't exactly know why. His eyes are a radiant, piercing green, both of which are epithets one normally wouldn't associate with green eyes.
"Finally," the king says. "It's so difficult to get recognition these days, isn't it?"
He gets up and shakes his head, crossing his arms as he examines the two. The baby-faced wizard bows, and Lifeboy nudges Niklas to do the same. Ever the mannerly one, Niklas obliges the king.
"They're from the Third Tower, sir, and they came via teleport."
"Third Tower? Was hoping for the Seventh myself, but what can you do. So, ambassador people, before you stands His Majesty Fintel, Lord Protector of the Fifty Fiefs of Farning-Fenton. Or something of that sort, anyway. What have you two to say for yourselves, then?" he asks. "Or should I just have Numbers here show you to your quarters?"
"Your Majesty, why-" the concerned man begins to ask, but the king cuts him off.
"Because I get the feeling you'd make a better chambermaid than an accountant, Numbers, judging from these ledgers," the king says, giving Numbers a very displeased glare. Numbers takes a step back, looking rather crushed by this criticism and possibly on the verge of tears.
"Such a mean man he is! I'm sure Numbers did his best!"
"Shush, Torkel. Don't question the jarl."
"Least of all when the jarl is irritable. Irritable jarls give quests when pleased, and order executions when not."
On the road to nowhere...
Figuring there is no way around it and meeting no protest on that front, the ragtag group of misfits conform to Morton's suggestion to head through the wilderness, though they found Morton's estimate of a few hours of walking at best overly optimistic and at worst critically delusional. But no better options are available, and so they shuffle off in a southward direction without much fuss.
The wilderness, fortunately, isn't much trouble, given how none of the travelers are properly physically human and three of them can float freely while Tailor Craig seems to be able to do a sort of gliding walk. The forest definitely notices their passing, though, given how even the most courageous of animals seem to be rapidly vacating the area the four move through. The place is almost eerily silent as they move through, and before long darkness begins to fall on the woods.
"Well, I guess it was a bit more than a few hours after all. Not that it matters," Tailor Craig remarks.
"It's still the best way," Justine says with certainty, having gone through the alternatives with her power, no doubt.
After dark, they keep moving, having no reason to rest, and eventually come into a clearing, where the group spies a man, a handsome youth garbed in black livery, hair carefully braided, with a mandolin clutched in one hand, a black rose in the other. The youth immediately notes their approach, staring at them wildly.
"You have come!" he says, grinning widely, stepping toward the arrivals and offering the black rose to them as he bows.
"It's one of those people," Justine remarks under her breath.
In the company of Lenny the concerned Circle representative...
Timothy, close friend of mortal peril and the first man to vouch that it's really not so bad once you get to know it, though that may be because he really has no problem being dead to begin with, unlike some of these uptight living people. Guess he's just a blithe spirit like that.
"Where is dis an-molly thing?" he asks bravely, not looking overly bothered by all of these dire warnings.
"It's... well, it's the nearest pillar of pink light you can reach from the city. But seriously, you want to think twice, no, three times before you even consider going that way. Physics stop working there. More so than usual. I'm not sure it's even possible to map those things. At least not accurately," Lenny replies. "I can... take you there, I guess, or at least to the nearby observation tower, but... I'm telling you, it's not something people expect you to come back from. People send you there so that they never hear from you again, in fact."
He looks pretty bothered, Timothy notices.
Spoiler: GM Note and Q&A (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2014, 09:10:29 am
Well, time to move out. Do not spill the bowl, just leave it where is it, but on the floor, not over me. Look for an alternative exit which is definitely not the maw of a cave monster, of course.
Also, if nothing reacts around me, more echolocation! Why? because there is nohing else to do with my main sense impaired due to lack of light.
Post by: miauw62 on July 12, 2014, 09:11:06 am
That said, it seems logical that each Wizard of the Black Circle of Magic has his/her own tower, so maybe not.))
"HAHAHAHA, YOU CANNOT IMPRISON KEVIN, ROYAL JESTER!"
Keep running through walls. There is no way this can go wrong.
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2014, 09:13:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 12, 2014, 09:28:42 am
((It seems logical to assume that Lizzie's Mistress is also one of the towers of the Black Circle. Could even be the Third one.
That said, it seems logical that each Wizard of the Black Circle of Magic has his/her own tower, so maybe not.))
She is one. The Seventh, slightly pertinently.
((Wait, is the gnome still in the room? I may change my action if affirmative))
It isn't. It scurried away immediately, which, while not stated, did indeed happen.
Post by: Tomcost on July 12, 2014, 09:32:57 am
Speaking about that, I just remembered about the underworld crabs or similar things that appeared in the first chapter. All the weird stuff happens underground))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 12, 2014, 09:36:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 12, 2014, 09:39:03 am
Try to find the quickest least obscured route on the map that isn't the road.
The map is currently put away, since your group checked it about an hour ago to make sure you're still going in the right direction. And Justine maintained that you're going straight toward Eckledun already. So navigation efforts on your part, while very much possible, are of evidently dubious use. So you might not even merely appear useful if you do that presently.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 12, 2014, 03:59:20 pm
Edited.
Post by: Nunzillor on July 12, 2014, 11:02:23 pm
((I wanted to spill that liquid into the gnome! Maybe it would get scared if it gets all his monster food spilled over him. Or something like that. I think that I'm going to be sacrificed to something.
Speaking about that, I just remembered about the underworld crabs or similar things that appeared in the first chapter. All the weird stuff happens underground))
((You know, all this clicking and clacking reminds me of another character's experience with similar seeming beings. He ended up getting a new, arguably better body! Maybe you'll come out of this improved?))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 13, 2014, 03:22:17 am
Although I think we may be the weirder group here to be honest.]
Morton had underestimated the time to reach Eckledun, quite severely, the desk admitted to himself. The tea apostle can't say he's particularly surprised, he never was good at judging distances, but it was the fastest and the best according to good mage Justine. He wasn't wrong on the peaceful trip however, much to his delight. At least, until they chanced upon this strange fellow.
Morton couldn't make heads nor tails of Justine's remark, not sure if such was a warning of danger or perhaps just minor annoyance. Still, always best to be polite and courteous! Such is the proper way of civilized folk, after all, and he's in far too good of a mood from the peaceful jaunt.
"Ah, greetings and salutations! A true pleasure to meet another traveler on the road, specially when so far off the road itself. I hope the night has been finding you well, as it has us."
The desk returned the bow, tilting forward (slightly, so as not to disturb the oddly rotating ghost resting on his surface), brown arms extending from his body to complete and provide proper context for the gesture. A third extended forward to accept the rose, holding it gently and ready for the man to take it back if he wished so.
"A most exquisite rose, I must say. Wherever did you find such a wonderful specimen?" The desk examined the rose as best he could from the distance, wondering if it was native. He admits to knowing little of such natural things, having a green thumb that only really pertained to a rather specific niche.
Greet the fellow traveler happily! Bow and extend three arms, two to aid with the bow and one to accept the rose. Comment on the rose and question where it came from.
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2014, 07:40:09 am
((You mean one of the first characters? Well, I think that it was different. Also, Harry doesn't tend to make previous characters appear again))((I wanted to spill that liquid into the gnome! Maybe it would get scared if it gets all his monster food spilled over him. Or something like that. I think that I'm going to be sacrificed to something.
Speaking about that, I just remembered about the underworld crabs or similar things that appeared in the first chapter. All the weird stuff happens underground))
((You know, all this clicking and clacking reminds me of another character's experience with similar seeming beings. He ended up getting a new, arguably better body! Maybe you'll come out of this improved?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2014, 10:49:50 am
Sigmund slowly takes the bowl off himself, placing it carefully on the ground. Probably best not to touch the stuff. The fumes are making him a little dizzy. He gets off the upholstered area, and begins to look for an exit. He bumps into a wall first and foremost - an oddly soft wall, though. Not damp or wet, or otherwise similar to a mucous membrane, which he supposes is a good sign. Not in the maw yet, it seems! But it does feel close!
Feeling his way along the wall, Sigmund eventually comes upon a door, rather metallic and solid. It seems to be heavy, and it is only through its different texture that Sigmund can discern that it's probably a door at all. It's a little odd, because he doesn't remember a door closing when he got put in here, and this does seem like a very noisy door to open or close. Confused, Sigmund figures he had best try echolocation again.
Immediately he discovers that he doesn't really have keen enough hearing to properly echolocate in a room like this - only thing he hears is his own tongue clicks. Even the surrounding noises seem to have subsided largely. Maybe because he's sealed in a room or something.
In a crunchy-tumbly wall-thing...
Kevin is elated at this latest development in his escape strategy, which is still a ploy very much in the making.
"HAHAHAHA, YOU CANNOT IMPRISON KEVIN, ROYAL JESTER!" he shouts as he tumbles ever downward, and the clicking intensifies, along with a whistling rising in pitch and urgency. He increases his speed, digging downward continually, finding the material he's in very much pliable up until a point, that point being when it just ends beneath him, the material parting with an audible rip, Kevin's body proving too heavy for the remaining stuff to hold.
He plunges downward, falling for a short distance before hitting something that feels a lot like water! Water flowing down an incline, to be exact! The floor the water seems to be running down gently is most definitely worked metal judging from the slippery smoothness and the sound Kevin made when he impacted. There's a way downstream and a way upstream, and he seems equally capable of traversing either at the moment.
In a nightly clearing...
Scott, as dutiful a servant as ever, decides to aid Morton by rotating atop his surface and making subtle bleeping noises as he examines the surroundings. Much to his chagrin, he detects no bandits. Just a pasty man with a musical instrument and flowers. Reminds him of his first date, in a way.
Morton, doing his best to ignore Scott's non-stop shenanigans, tries to be polite.
"Ah, greetings and salutations! A true pleasure to meet another traveler on the road, specially when so far off the road itself. I hope the night has been finding you well, as it has us," he says, bowing properly to the man while accepting the offered rose at the same time.
"A most exquisite rose, I must say. Wherever did you find such a wonderful specimen?" he asks, examining the black petals of the thing. This seems to lift the man's spirits, already high at this point, a considerable amount.
"Plucked from the garden of a widow in its prime and dyed with the blood of a vampire, as tradition dictates. I am glad you find it pleasing, milord," the man says, looking up at Morton once more. "Accept it as my gift to you and yours, to facilitate communication and to broach a certain subject."
He takes his mandolin in his hands, setting it up for immediate play.
"Oh, hosts of Death and Unhallowed Sorcery, I solemnly and truly ask of thee, will you bring my lost love back to me? The one who died before she lived, the peerless, perfect Emily?" he asks in an odd, lyrical cadence, strumming a few pleasing chords on his instrument to accompany the request. Justine groans in response.
Post by: Yoink on July 13, 2014, 11:13:44 am
"Aw, dun' worries, I's real good with dis sorta stuff!" He says, attempting to cheer Lenny up, then continues, "'Sides, if I not maps this an-molly business, how's I gets back home an' finds me friends? I gots to do what I gots to do, right?"
He puts on his most confident expression, which was somewhere between a maniacal grin and a grotesque leer.
Still, he is somewhat perturbed by Lenny's reaction... surely this anomaly thing wouldn't actually pose a threat to Timothy? Surely?
Talkin'.
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2014, 11:14:17 am
Tear the wall, it is soft after all. Look for a way up. Sigmund has to get the hell out of this place. Or at least get a way to see in the darkness.
Post by: miauw62 on July 13, 2014, 11:48:36 am
Upward, quickly. There has to be an exit.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 13, 2014, 01:49:53 pm
Scott halts,gazing upon the black clad bard.
"Are you personally acquainted with the Mages of the Black Circle?"
Summon forth holy fire to cage him if the answer is either evasive or indeed positive...with a shrill outcry of BEEEEEEEEEP!.
Continue scanning the area if answer is negative.
(God damn you Harry, I almost laughed myself into an asthma attack -.-; .)
Post by: Xantalos on July 14, 2014, 09:44:48 pm
Shitshitshit diplomacy makes me want to smash things
After taking the time to point out to the narrator that the above was thinking not talking, he resumes his robotic speech.
No comment required. Numbers may escort us to our quarters.
Don't worry Torkel, I'm sure there's a courage spell of some sort that we can cast on him. Those never backfire!
He ignores all the times they've backfired.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 14, 2014, 11:02:07 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 15, 2014, 02:41:44 am
At the mention of having lost a love though, the desk drooped slightly. How horrible, to have one's love lost. First the news to Lady Melville, now this. "I apologize for your loss, good sir, indeed my condolences. There are many ways to take the passing of a loved one, few without pain." The desk replied, saddened and his light dimming slightly. "Is this Emily perhaps a second chancer? One we could find, or perhaps aid you in finding?"
Morton feigned ignorance to ease the conversation along, guessing that the man was requesting them to perform necromancy of some sort. Perhaps he should have good Sir Scott spin a tale for the man, having gone through similar circumstances from the other side? The desk knows that Art is skilled in necromancy, although as to where he could be found is another question sadly. Perhaps a demon?
Offer condolences to the man, ask about if Emily is a second chancer and if so if she could be found. Consult knowledge about demons related to spirits, undead, etc.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 15, 2014, 06:59:04 am
Timothy, despite all these dire warnings from Lenny, tries to remain optimistic. His can-do attitude is, after all, what's gotten him this far!
"Aw, dun' worries, I's real good with dis sorta stuff! 'Sides, if I not maps this an-molly business, how's I gets back home an' finds me friends? I gots to do what I gots to do, right?" he says, trying to infect Lenny with a heaping helping of happy thoughts while grinning manically. Lenny sighs.
"See, you're not getting what I'm saying here - I don't think it's even possible to map out one of those things. It's all an infectious mess of shifting, broken space and time. That's why we try to keep any and all of it out of here - the pink is like a plague. It spreads and it twists things, that's why keeping it in check is essential. Otherwise it's like a domino effect. And even if you come back from the anomaly, odds are you won't be the same as you were before. So think real hard before going, man. Even floating all the way in the direction you want would be a better, if slower idea. But if you really want to go, well... good luck, you'll need it more than ever in your life." he tells Timothy slowly and patiently.
In a soft room...
Sigmund, ignorant of the basic precepts of politeness when in another's abode (or at least another's prisoner holding area), begins to tear at the wall.
[Strength roll: 6+1]
He rips off a good chunk of the stuff - some kind of weird, organic upholstery from the feel of it, with solid brick stretching out beneath it, and then, figuring he's got time and upper body strength to spare, begins to tear off more and more, finding a perverse, childlike pleasure in ruining the wall covering as much as possible, creating a large pile of the stuff that he, after a moment's thought, decides to wallow in for a minute or so, realizing that this is probably the happiest he's felt in weeks, which promptly depresses him slightly.
Now, with all the requisite fun of the day had, it's time for business. He begins to look for a way out, but is suddenly interrupted by something. A noise. He turns around to face it out of reflex, but, rather predictably, sees nothing. What a useless reflex that was, he thinks as forces unseen descend upon him.
[Grab: Gnome 1 vs. Sigmund: 2+1+1 vs. 2]
[Grab: Gnome 2 vs. Sigmund: 6+1+1 vs. 6]
What is rather obviously a set of two gnomes, though the pairs of arms involved are four, one pair for each of Sigmund's limbs, seizes the poor fellow without much issue. The claws of the creatures feel distinctly different this time - for one, they are much sharper. And they feel rather weird in shape at that. The two creatures begin to carry Sigmund off, the large metal door opening very noisily as he is carried through, then closing behind him. Curiously, there is absolutely no sound made by either his carriers or any other gnomes in the vicinity. No clicking, no clacking. Nothing at all.
Expediently, Sigmund is carried over to a table of some sort - his hands are quickly secured with metal shackles, as are his feet, his body locked in a spread-eagle position. A few moments pass, and he senses the two carrier gnomes quickly retreat from the shifting of the air, though he's not entirely sure why. The whole thing, however, fills him with a sense of great foreboding. As well as seems unpleasantly familiar.
In a large pipe of some kind...
Kevin quickly checks if there's any way upwards, leaping to find an edge of some kind - however, it seems he fell down a rather tall shaft, and the wall of it appears to be quite smooth. So he opts to go upstream instead, finding that the pipe takes him that way for quite a distance - it branches in a great many directions, all the while narrowing as he goes on. There seem to be similar upward shafts along the way, and soon the jester has ascertained several things.
For one, there is one particular pipe that appears to have ruptured a little - there is a hole along the top of it, and it seems to have been pushed open after being slashed in many places, as a cursory feel of the thing reveals. Secondly, there is also an upward shaft that is in a poorer state of repair than the other ones, as well as narrower - with some strength and persistence, Kevin could try to climb it. And thirdly, there's a wealth of as of yet unexplored pipes stretching off in several directions, if Kevin's sense of touch isn't failing him, though they are narrowing as they go by, requiring that he drop to a crawl to explore. Plus they smell a bit suspicious.
In the presence of a black-clad bard...
Morton, though a bit put off by the way the flower in his hand has been made the way it is by unholy bodily fluids, tries to be polite and merely places it on his surface at a respectable distance from Scott.
"I apologize for your loss, good sir, indeed my condolences. There are many ways to take the passing of a loved one, few without pain," he says sadly. "Is this Emily perhaps a second chancer? One we could-" he begins to add, but is interrupted by Scott, who abruptly stops bleeping.
"Are you personally acquainted with the Mages of the Black Circle?" the beeping ghost asks with great gravity of the bard, who seems taken aback.
"Well, of course, how else would-"
"BEEEEEEP!" Scott interrupts the man, but flames fail to materialize as per his plan. The bard is visibly disturbed.
"Um, not that I'm questioning the procedure here, but-"
"BEEEEEEEEP!" Scott cuts him off again, louder this time.
"Would you stop th-"
"BEEEEEEEEEEP!" Scott's voice reaches a shrill peak, and he wonders if volume is the main issue here. Maybe making a different sound would do the trick?
"Look, I know you're the Incarnation of Senselessness, but would you please stop that? I'm trying to be serious here, man," the bard says. "Now. Emily. She needs a second chance at this, like you said. I've done the ritual as detailed, and, if you don't mind, I'd like you people to take this as seriously as me. I've come a long way to get here, and I am prepared to go further still. Do you need proof of my devotion? The urgency of my need? Because I can give plenty of that if you want."
In the court of King Fintel...
Niklas, never a big fan of speaking appropriately in quotes to make it clear when he's actually talking and when he isn't, because normally the assumption would go that he is, being a Northerner of plain words and immediately vocalized thoughts, wastes a whole five seconds pointing out (also mutely) that his current exasperation with diplomacy as a concept and his general culturally ingrained social phobias typically disguised by his equally ingrained propensity toward quick solutions to conversation like violence and terrifying, attention-absorbing food, that all of the discomfort caused by the unfamiliar situation he now finds himself in, which is to say being in front of a man who he cannot mouth off to in good conscience and cannot offer awful food to, shall remain unvocalized physically despite his mind being afire with thoughts of how diplomacy is something one can totally avoid with the much more sensible option of violence, and thus unnecessary to any who roughly fit his perverted idea of the masculine ideal, himself included despite technically being a woman right now.
"No comment required. Numbers may escort us to our quarters," he says to the king after an awkward pause.
"You heard the woman, Numbers. Show them to their room," the king says, grinning. Numbers sighs, and moves as commanded, taking the two visitors out into the hallway after murmuring a weak assent.
"Your rooms should be somewhere on the... guest wing," he mumbles as they walk through the hallways, entering a somewhat well-furnished area - the guest wing, it seems, with a whole six rooms. The place is quite silent, and no activity in the castle itself can be heard. As they regard the hallway, Numbers stops.
"This is the guest wing. You can take one room each if you want, nobody's here anyway, I think..." their guide says rather absently. Looking at him, Niklas begins to feel a tad odd. There's something... intriguing about Numbers, he can't help but think, though he's not sure why. Seems like a fairly sorry sort of guy, though he is kind of handsome, he notes.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren guesses he can play another game. After business is concluded, obviously.
"I don't mind at all. But, may I go to get the artifact first?"
"You mean the crown's replica? Sure. I do not really need it, to be honest," the statue says.
Post by: miauw62 on July 15, 2014, 07:05:50 am
Start climbing. Up, up, up!
Post by: Tomcost on July 15, 2014, 07:35:29 am
Oh, shi-oh, shi-oh shi- Sigmund doesn't want to die a horrible death!
Metaphysically sense all the things!
((Unplesantly familiar? Yes, I'm going to end up with less limbs!))
Post by: Innsmothe on July 15, 2014, 09:24:39 am
"So...you are a prospective member...not actually ingratiated with their perverted ilk? I suggest my friend that you drop whatever it is you plan to do. Ours is a cursed existence, only perform the rites if you hate and loathed the one you have lost, because that will be the basis of any further relationship down this dark path you tread.The black Circle will be purged and offered to the gods for their perverted knowledge, lust and devotion. Promise us the end of your quest and you will be spared.
Post by: Xantalos on July 15, 2014, 02:31:22 pm
"What is your position at court, Numbers?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 15, 2014, 02:40:13 pm
FULL STOP.
"So...you are a prospective member...not actually ingratiated with their perverted ilk? I suggest my friend that you drop whatever it is you plan to do. Ours is a cursed existence, only perform the rites if you hate and loathed the one you have lost, because that will be the basis of any further relationship down this dark path you tread.The black Circle will be purged and offered to the gods for their perverted knowledge, lust and devotion. Promise us the end of your quest and you will be spared.
"I thought you Death Aspects liked this kind of stuff. What's wrong? Did I mess up the ritual somehow? I messed it up somehow, didn't I?"
((I actually forgot quotes existed with all these fancy text colors.))
"What is your position at court, Numbers?"
Numbers glances at you.
"Royal accountant. Or that's what I used to be, anyway," he says bitterly. "And don't call me Numbers, please. It's demeaning. Call me Zeb, Mr. Hewell, or whatever else you like, just not Numbers. Can you give me that much?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 15, 2014, 02:44:58 pm
Enter chambers! Presumably bask in their glory.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 15, 2014, 04:19:41 pm
Looks with venom at the bard.
" I am now bound to a servant of a prospective Godling. All before them will perish or serve...the Black Circle will likely be the former.
But I await your answer, will you surrender your quest and tell us what you know about the tactical nature of the circle, or do you forfeit your freedom and/or existence?"
Flames grow more intense.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 15, 2014, 04:38:40 pm
"What do you mean by Aspect? I am unfamiliar with this term. I am a bound undead, raised to serve those with the power to bind me. Originally I was raised by my spouse to use as their pleasure. They have since been destroyed."
Looks with venom at the bard.
" I am now bound to a servant of a prospective Godling. All before them will perish or serve...the Black Circle will likely be the former.
But I await your answer, will you surrender your quest and tell us what you know about the tactical nature of the circle, or do you forfeit your freedom and/or existence?"
The bard is visibly taken aback by your words.
"What? That's not how this is supposed to work at all! Who are you working for? What's even happening right now?"
"You've gravely misunderstood a situation, and said all the wrong things," Justine explains cryptically.
"You seem like the demon summoning type, have I understood correctly?" Tailor Craig suddenly pipes up.
"Huh? What?" the bard emotes, increasingly confused at the words of the two new speakers.
"Er, never mind," the tailor mutters.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 16, 2014, 12:39:50 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 16, 2014, 02:34:52 am
Morton kept silent through the conversation between Scott and the bard, although not for lack of trying. Seeing things about to possibly turn, the desk heeded good sir Scott and spoke.
"I believe this all to be a vast and unfortunate misunderstanding, good traveler, and I must urge all sides to please calm." The tea apostle started with, raising a hand up with an open palm in a gesture of cessation, deeming that it be best to be straight forward with all parties involved.
"Please, good traveler, I beg of you to not think me rude but I must ask you to listen to the full of what I say before replying. I'm afraid we are no aspects, nor apparitions, no shades, nor demons of any sort, simply travelers. We weren't summoned, but have been on our way to Eckledun, striking off through the wild for brevity." The desk first explained, hoping to stake through the most of the bard's confusion about who they were and why they were there.
"But regardless of what ritual you have committed, it seems fate is fitting. I apologize that we may not be able to directly assist you in returning your beloved to you, but perhaps we were meant to speak." Morton grew an arm that gestured to the most comfortable spot in close proximity for the man, the desk himself sinking softly onto the ground in similar respect. Regardless of whether the man stands or sits, the tea apostle will continue, a seriousness replacing his usual optimism.
"I do not question your devotion, good traveler, nor the means you may wish to seek reunification, as I'm familiar with separation. What my companion, good sir Scott, spoke of is that he has been witness and even a participant to an event you are asking us. You see, he perished before his lover, who brought him back in undeath to seek his presence once more. Time has passed though. Good sir Scott once had a body, a home, and a spouse. His lover gone, he (along with the others in his home) were to move onwards at the beckoning and bindings of another, adrift. Time has not worn him, nor any involved, well. The world is cruel like that, I'm afraid, and death is not one to be cheated of its dues without marks."
The desk grasped the rose again, gingerly, looking at it once more before offering it back to the man. "I fear this situation may not differ. Good sir Scott was miss Emily once, and miss Emily may become good sir Scott. As I've said before, good traveler, I do not question your devotion, nor how you may seek miss Emily, but I ask you to listen. Be past events different, I would be in your shoes and attempting the same and I cannot say if I would listen to myself. It's a hard thing I ask. I apologize that we were not who you seek, and that you had to endure my rambling. Perhaps afterwards we can participate in calmer conversation of a happier note, maybe with some tea?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 17, 2014, 04:22:43 am
Kevin, knowing no better way to go than up, as well as slightly mistrustful of slashed-open holes, climbs upward.
[Kevin's strength roll: 1]
It is, however, an entirely wasted effort - pushing his back against the pipe and using his limbs to sort of slide upward does not work at all, primarily because of Kevin's new body not having nearly the appropriate strength and endurance of limbs to do such a thing. As he topples downward, a jagged piece of metal slices into his leg, though not very deeply, fortunately. It's bleeding a little now, which Kevin suspects may be a bit of a problem in a place like this.
In a strange chamber of some kind...
As Sigmund waits for the inevitable shoe to drop on the prospects of his future existence and examines the knots of the things around him - very boring knots, he might add, he senses a presence nearby - a nonmagical creature, with a regular knot - more than this he cannot say about it, least of all because the creature's first move is to remove both of his legs in a barely heard set of motions. The stumps don't seem to bleed at all, strangely, though the instant of horrible pain is there indeed. And though this is no doubt quite a harrowing experience, Sigmund now starts to feel something else - the intent of the movements, the style of the gnome's work, it evokes memories. Bad memories. Sigmund sighs nervously, knowing that this is quite possibly the worst sign he's had all day.
But then something unexpected happens. Though his legs are separated from the rest of his body, Sigmund finds that he can still feel them somehow. And even move them! It's a shocking moment for him, to tell the truth, as he senses his legs still wiggle, unusually free in their movements, the disconnection between them and the rest of his body still plainly apparent. The gnome seems to have been taken aback by this as well, pausing for a moment to consider the legs. But only for a moment.
Immediately, Sigmund feels one of his legs become unshackled and taken away by two clawed arms, then placed in what feels like a box - even at this distance, the limb functions perfectly well. The gnome then takes the other limb and, upon regarding it for a moment, holds it down with two arms while another two begin working on it, tearing skin and rending muscle, whittling something out of it extremely painfully, bits of flesh landing all around it. And though many bits are separated from one another, little chunks of flesh landing around the rough stone floor, Sigmund notes that he retains awareness in each piece. And even some limited motion, judging by the way they seem to twitch occasionally.
The gnome, rather more sizable than the other ones as far as Sigmund can tell, upon swiftly butchering the leg up to a certain point, seems to pause again, its clawed arms tapping against bits of exposed bone in the mutilated limb.
At the guest wing of the Castle Fenton...
Niklas explains politely that no offense was meant.
"Didn't hear anything else, so I believed that was your name. Thank you for escorting me to my chambers, Mr. Hewell," and Mr. Hewell seems most appreciative.
"You're very much welcome," he says, smiling at him weakly, then promptly leaving. As soon as he's gone, Lifeboy comes alive once more.
"What a depressing man! Anyhow, dibs on the room to the right!" he says, and immediately disappears into one of the furthest guest room to the right. Niklas, having been pointed the other way, steps into the furthest room on the left, and basks in the glory of his new quarters.
Unfortunately, they are less glorious than one might expect - there's a bed, or, rather, a mattress, since there's no sheets, no blanket and no pillow, a mirror and a washbasin. And a wardrobe with nothing in it, plus a nightstand. A bit bare, all in all, an effect enhanced by the spacious nature of it all.
In the company of a confused bard...
Scott believes it may be time to hand off the conversational torch to Morton, who is doubtlessly more prepared to suffer fools, given that his entire existence so far has involved it to some degree.
"Morton, I will give you one chance to get this fool to be coherent and pliable before I lose my temper."
But he need worry not, as Morton has already prepared words for the occasion. Getting the bard's attention, he speaks.
"I believe this all to be a vast and unfortunate misunderstanding, good traveler, and I must urge all sides to please calm," he says, raising a palm in a gesture of cessation. "Please, good traveler, I beg of you to not think me rude but I must ask you to listen to the full of what I say before replying. I'm afraid we are no aspects, nor apparitions, no shades, nor demons of any sort, simply travelers. We weren't summoned, but have been on our way to Eckledun, striking off through the wild for brevity. But regardless of what ritual you have committed, it seems fate is fitting. I apologize that we may not be able to directly assist you in returning your beloved to you, but perhaps we were meant to speak," he says, motioning for the bard to sit down, which he does not for some reason, while settling lower himself. "I do not question your devotion, good traveler, nor the means you may wish to seek reunification, as I'm familiar with separation. What my companion, good sir Scott, spoke of is that he has been witness and even a participant to an event you are asking us. You see, he perished before his lover, who brought him back in undeath to seek his presence once more. Time has passed though. Good sir Scott once had a body, a home, and a spouse. His lover gone, he (along with the others in his home) were to move onwards at the beckoning and bindings of another, adrift. Time has not worn him, nor any involved, well. The world is cruel like that, I'm afraid, and death is not one to be cheated of its dues without marks."
He offers the rose back to the bard, who takes it back immediately.
"I fear this situation may not differ. Good sir Scott was miss Emily once, and miss Emily may become good sir Scott. As I've said before, good traveler, I do not question your devotion, nor how you may seek miss Emily, but I ask you to listen. Be past events different, I would be in your shoes and attempting the same and I cannot say if I would listen to myself. It's a hard thing I ask. I apologize that we were not who you seek, and that you had to endure my rambling. Perhaps afterwards we can participate in calmer conversation of a happier note, maybe with some tea?"
The bard is silent, examining the rose for a moment, then looking back at Morton, then at Scott.
"Short version is, let the dead stay dead, because the dead being alive is much worse," Justine adds, slightly diminishing the polite tone.
Another moment of silence.
"Hm... well, bugger," the bard mutters to himself. "Guess there's nothing for it, then."
He immediately takes off at a quick run, making good time on an unexpected escape.
"He doesn't seem very convinced," Tailor Craig observes calmly. "Though I do suppose I wouldn't be, either, in his position."
Post by: miauw62 on July 17, 2014, 05:46:46 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 17, 2014, 06:15:30 am
Do not move the severed legs anymore, if possible. Play dead.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 17, 2014, 08:25:19 am
"What do you mean that you wouldn't be convinced, does no one trust the undead to speak truthfully about their existence?"
Post by: Xanmyral on July 17, 2014, 09:57:33 am
"Sad the good traveler didn't stick around for tea, I've been quite itching to brew some. Always time however, always time." The desk cheerfully said, before turning to the others. "Good mage Justine, if you don't mind a question, I'm quite curious as to what you meant when we first saw the good traveler. Is this sort of strange act common, or he a part of some odd group?" The desk queried, and after receiving an answer brought out the map again.
"I believe it would most assuredly be best to continue our joyful trek towards Eckledun, now that this strange matter appears completed."
Attempt to calm Scott with explanations, question Justine on what 'those people' are, and if lacking any particular vote to stay, check the map and continue onwards to Eckledun!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 17, 2014, 12:42:15 pm
Mile long trail of fire after the runner.
"What do you mean that you wouldn't be convinced, does no one trust the undead to speak truthfully about their existence?"
"It's all about breaking rules and trying out strange things. It doesn't work for everyone, of course. That's why there's never a shortage of people getting hanged for crimes. But there are always enterprising people for whom crime does pay, and who can break the rules and get away with it. That is the entire point of magic, and of the Black Circle as well."
"I believe loss can endow even the most diplomatic a certain sort of stubbornness, even in the face of truth from experience, I fear. I'm afraid that if there's even a chance, a small one, it will with most certainty be held and lifted as a goal. Still though, a strange (and confused) fellow to believe the first he sees as aspects or demons." Morton commented, trying to lower good sir Scott's hackles a bit, raising back up to a float with a muted shrug. He tried, as to how it took hold is up to the bard.
"Indeed, how could he ever not have considered the idea that an animate mutilated head, a physical personification of fear itself, a witch's ghost and a demonic desk crossing his path all at the same time during about midnight exactly after he'd done some kind of magical ritual to summon mystical heralds of the god of death is all some kind of wacky coincidence?"
"Sad the good traveler didn't stick around for tea, I've been quite itching to brew some. Always time however, always time." The desk cheerfully said, before turning to the others. "Good mage Justine, if you don't mind a question, I'm quite curious as to what you meant when we first saw the good traveler. Is this sort of strange act common, or he a part of some odd group?" The desk queried, and after receiving an answer brought out the map again.
"It is common amongst less-than-educated people. Raising the dead is something one can hire a sufficiently skilled necromancer to do, provided they have the money and the know-how of the business of magic, not that it's strictly advisable under normal circumstances, as evidenced by our good friend Scott. But people who raise zombies and ghosts and the like can be difficult to find if you don't have any University of Magic hook-ups or anything, since they rarely, if ever flaunt their abilities, or even bother with raising the dead in the first place. And necromancers, since their talents involve killing, forcible body transfer and enslavement, aren't very sociable in the first place as a general rule."
"But I do digress. The point is, there are people who know necromancers, and people who don't. This guy was one of the latter category, and he obviously didn't know any magic whatsoever. Not a drop. So he instead went to the next best thing, a priest of Velusius, who pointed him on one of their messed-up quests. Hint - their quests almost always involve blood, since Velusius has some kind of blood fetish. And his seemed to be to get blood from a vampire, then dye a special rose with it, come to the woods alone at night and wait for the magic to happen. Who knows, maybe it would have worked. And I'm sure he will try again shortly. Probably will come right back here, in fact. Who knows, maybe it'll work. Or maybe the god of death will just try to be funny again. It's all kind of sad and sickening, but also unavoidable."
Post by: Tomcost on July 17, 2014, 12:49:16 pm
It was inevitable
Post by: Innsmothe on July 17, 2014, 01:57:22 pm
The dead should not be called upon for so personally selfish reasons.
I think we should also pay a call onto the death priests, I am sure he would love to learn the intricacies of celestial majicks and worshiper/God relations.
Post by: Xantalos on July 17, 2014, 04:30:32 pm
Now then, does this body need to sleep? Checking on them gets so tiresome.
Check if I need to sleep/eat/bodily function here. If not, review my mission. It was something about telling people their requests have been considered, right?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 17, 2014, 04:32:22 pm
Check if I need to sleep/eat/bodily function here.
You do! Lifeboy seems to have done more than just make your flesh knit itself together again.
Post by: Xantalos on July 17, 2014, 04:34:22 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 17, 2014, 04:43:54 pm
Hmm. Determine what bodily function it is then, and perform it in the appropriate spot!
You could really use some dinner, truth be told. And there's no food around here.
Post by: Xantalos on July 17, 2014, 04:46:39 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 18, 2014, 02:18:28 am
Hey Lifeboy! Are you capable of summoning animals?
"No! I can only change them however I please!"
Post by: Xantalos on July 18, 2014, 03:31:45 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 18, 2014, 10:17:58 am
"Indeed, how could he ever not have considered the idea that an animate mutilated head, a physical personification of fear itself, a witch's ghost and a demonic desk crossing his path all at the same time during about midnight exactly after he'd done some kind of magical ritual to summon mystical heralds of the god of death is all some kind of wacky coincidence?"
"You do have a fair point, good mage Justine. I suppose we are quite the odd band of travelers, aren't we. It is a wonder how things can strike one as normal if they witness it often enough." Morton rotated slightly along the horizontal slightly in a nod-like fashion, looking around at the group once more.
"It is common amongst less-than-educated people. Raising the dead is something one can hire a sufficiently skilled necromancer to do, provided they have the money and the know-how of the business of magic, not that it's strictly advisable under normal circumstances, as evidenced by our good friend Scott. But people who raise zombies and ghosts and the like can be difficult to find if you don't have any University of Magic hook-ups or anything, since they rarely, if ever flaunt their abilities, or even bother with raising the dead in the first place. And necromancers, since their talents involve killing, forcible body transfer and enslavement, aren't very sociable in the first place as a general rule."
"But I do digress. The point is, there are people who know necromancers, and people who don't. This guy was one of the latter category, and he obviously didn't know any magic whatsoever. Not a drop. So he instead went to the next best thing, a priest of Velusius, who pointed him on one of their messed-up quests. Hint - their quests almost always involve blood, since Velusius has some kind of blood fetish. And his seemed to be to get blood from a vampire, then dye a special rose with it, come to the woods alone at night and wait for the magic to happen. Who knows, maybe it would have worked. And I'm sure he will try again shortly. Probably will come right back here, in fact. Who knows, maybe it'll work. Or maybe the god of death will just try to be funny again. It's all kind of sad and sickening, but also unavoidable."
"You seem quite familiar with Velusius, good mage Justine, a point of study at one point perhaps?" The desk commented after having listened raptly to her explanation. Its not often she talks this much, after all, beyond the odd quip. It wouldn't do well to discourage her from speaking so by not paying attention.
After her response (or lack of response) to the prior statement, Morton will continue. "Hm, I do most certainly thank you for the explanation. I admit most topics found on our travels are often beyond what I know, I'm afraid, and I appreciate those who help me along with that unfortunate circumstance. I suppose nothing can, or perhaps instead should, be further done with the traveler's situation."
Feeling that there time there is perhaps done, Morton addressed the group. "Hm, I believe our time here may be at a close. Although I wouldn't say no to a most welcoming respite in such a peaceful locale, perhaps it is time we continue along, unless there is any objections?" The desk gave the polite query, although he didn't expect any to be bothered by moving along again.
Respond to good mage Justine, propose it may be best to move onward. If no objects are met, continue along in the map-assisted direction of Eckledun, and further along their peaceful but glorious trek through the forest!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 18, 2014, 12:52:10 pm
Knowing from life experience way back when that bleeding is an ostensibly bad thing, Kevin sacrifices a scrap of his clothing to...
Wait, he can't actually bandage this cut with just a scrap, as he discovers. This is something he'll definitely need a strip of clothing for. Besides, it's just a small cut. Really, the bothersome thing here, as he realizes, is that blood has a very characteristic smell and that he is probably the only thing presently smelling like blood in the area. And cave creatures, he would venture to guess, would presumably have a reasonably good sense of smell, to put it mildly.
In some sort of gnomish operating theater...
Sigmund, knowing things are about to go even more poorly for him if he doesn't stop squirming, promptly does so and plays dead, resisting the urge to make a silly dying noise as he does so.
However, as he quickly discovers, the gnome working on him isn't fooled at all as it slices off his entire left arm, then takes out his left eye to stick on top of it - despite Sigmund's best efforts to remain still and as dead-looking as possible, which he thought would be easier than this, the gnome continues its work silently. Or maybe it does think he's dead, and simply doesn't care.
Its next move is to take off Sigmund's head, a surprisingly painless experience and one that doesn't even begin to cause him any sort of existential agony or desire to leave this body - indeed, he can still feel everything both in his head and his torso, as well as all other things severed and put together by the alien butcher working on him. In a humiliating turn, the creature removes Sigmund's main body's sole forearm, leaving a torso with an upper right arm strapped onto the table only by the neck, and attaches the head on top of the forearm experimentally. As he is placed on the ground, Sigmund finds he can't keep his balance even if he tried.
In addition, he finds it a little difficult to pay attention to all of his separate, yet uniformly animate bits to an equal degree.
At a clearing in the woods...
Scott tries to create some mile-long trails of fire to put the fear of the gods into that punk that just ran off, but manages only to start a little spark, which is quite a running theme with him lately. And, after being so generously reminded by Tailor Craig of the Black Circle of Magic's existence, his mood is verging on completeness.
"I will sing so joyously when we present them bound, gagged and humiliated in front of his gubby-ness. The dead should not be called upon for so personally selfish reasons. I think we should also pay a call onto the death priests, I am sure he would love to learn the intricacies of celestial majicks and worshiper/God relations," he says.
"They already have death priests, sadly. Mothdale had the biggest death temple for hundreds of miles around," Justine points out, some sort of know-it-all floodgate evidently having open in her mind.
"You seem quite familiar with Velusius, good mage Justine, a point of study at one point perhaps?" Morton wonders after checking the map and confirming that yes, they are still going the right way and should be in Eckledun before morning rolls in.
"You get real familiar with Velusius if you ever happen to get mage training. Used to be the only way you'd have a decent chance of becoming a mage was through blood sacrifice to that dick. And for the regular person who doesn't get educated in a chant-based program or, alternatively, doesn't subject themselves to some other yahoo method, it still is. Only reason why extracting virgin blood is even a thing is because you can offer it to Velusius so that he helps you magic around to your heart's delight. So yes, I know something about all that crap."
"Hm, I do most certainly thank you for the explanation. I admit most topics found on our travels are often beyond what I know, I'm afraid, and I appreciate those who help me along with that unfortunate circumstance. I suppose nothing can, or perhaps instead should, be further done with the traveler's situation," Morton says, and Justine seems to agree. "Hm, I believe our time here may be at a close. Although I wouldn't say no to a most welcoming respite in such a peaceful locale, perhaps it is time we continue along, unless there is any objections?"
There indeed is no objections, and shiz is all harmonious in this bizatch for real, so the group move along, and, as predicted, it does not take overly long to reach Eckledun. What they see is a town built to last - steel constructions, reinforced towers, even the regular houses seem to be built for maximum durability, and even glow slightly -, and around it is a mixture of a shantytown and refugee camp, currently silent, but evidently host to a great deal of people, judging from the number of tents.
In the guest wing of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, becoming quite hungry by now, pokes his head out of his room in order to shout for Lifeboy much more efficiently.
"Can you change a very small animal into a big one, like a bug into a goat? I'm hungry!" he says.
"Ooh! Fantastic idea! Here's a nice wasp, with a nice large abdomen..." Lifeboy replies, immediately taken with the idea. A moment of silence passes, followed by a rather confused "Ah? Erm...", at which point a rather rapid, powerful flapping of wings drowns out all other sound. Lifeboy quickly runs out of his room, shutting the door behind him.
"Well! That was an interesting experiment!" he observes, stepping away from the door as he gives it several distrustful looks as he comes closer to Niklas. "You know, I think I'll go sleep on the other end of the wing!" he then adds, and runs to the room at the opposite end of the hall, on the opposite side as well.
Post by: miauw62 on July 18, 2014, 01:18:37 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 18, 2014, 02:02:27 pm
Run after him! Look for a pointy thing!
Post by: Tomcost on July 18, 2014, 02:11:52 pm
Sigmund's action is going to be divided in two simultaneous parts:
Part 1: move a bit of the torn off flesh away from the gnomes. Find a crack, or anything were it can reside in safety.
Part 2: silently "pray"... to Velusius: "Hey! You liked to watch me suffer? Then I have a gift for you!"
EDIT:
If Velusius is paying attention, begin a rattle with all my assorted pieces of my body. Make the situation as weird for both the gnomes and me as possible!
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 02:07:54 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 02:10:49 am
"Refugees from mothdale perhaps?"
"To a man, yes. All from the city - the surrounding countryside inhabitants didn't know they needed to escape anything."
Post by: Yoink on July 19, 2014, 02:41:37 am
"But... if I's nah do dis thing for you boss-man, how's I be gettin' back wif my friends? They's no-buddy else what knows where they's at."
His face wrinkles up sadly as he says the next part, remembering his many past failures, as well as his good times with Hansel and Bob.
"Dey my friends, can't just go giving them ups. An' I's not real bad not-good at friend-making, so I needsta be holdin' on da ones I got."
Timothy sighs unhappily, then his eyes widen and he adds, his voice rather distressed by this sudden realization, "...An' what 'bout dem scary-crows?! They was in da troubles, can't be leavin' them! I gotsta make sure they's okay! I gotsta get back home, Mister Lenny. If you dun' wants me doin' tha map-thing, maybe youse gots some other idea?"
>Pour out my disjointed, hard-to-understand sob story to Lenny, explaining that I have no other choice.
Unless, of course, he has a better idea to get me back to my friends...?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 02:51:46 am
The cheerful expression dropping from his face as Lenny continues to pile on the doom 'n' gloom, Timothy peers at him uncertainly.
"But... if I's nah do dis thing for you boss-man, how's I be gettin' back wif my friends? They's no-buddy else what knows where they's at."
His face wrinkles up sadly as he says the next part, remembering his many past failures, as well as his good times with Hansel and Bob.
"Dey my friends, can't just go giving them ups. An' I's not real bad not-good at friend-making, so I needsta be holdin' on da ones I got."
Timothy sighs unhappily, then his eyes widen and he adds, his voice rather distressed by this sudden realization, "...An' what 'bout dem scary-crows?! They was in da troubles, can't be leavin' them! I gotsta make sure they's okay! I gotsta get back home, Mister Lenny. If you dun' wants me doin' tha map-thing, maybe youse gots some other idea?"
>Pour out my disjointed, hard-to-understand sob story to Lenny, explaining that I have no other choice.
Unless, of course, he has a better idea to get me back to my friends...?
"Well... there's the tavern. The 4H. There ought to be someone who can help you there, provided they're drunk enough and you ask nicely. It's not the most likely option, but you never know. Trust me, you want to exhaust all other options before trying this one."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 11:49:16 am
Its likely that the bard managed to run back here and report us, so approaching openly may lead to unpredictable occurrences.
I could start a large fire in the refugee area to lure the guards away from their posts and we can hide somewhere in the city.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 12:11:01 pm
How should we approach this? With the refugee situation, there will be a large contingent of patrol men at the city access points.
Its likely that the bard managed to run back here and report us, so approaching openly may lead to unpredictable occurrences.
I could start a large fire in the refugee area to lure the guards away from their posts and we can hide somewhere in the city.
"We're mostly ethereal, Craig's mostly inconspicuous and Morton's completely non-threatening, the bard couldn't, wouldn't and didn't, and don't even think of trying to start a fire in the middle of all those innocent people, or I promise I will kill you."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 03:02:04 pm
Who are you to assume the innocence or guilt of anyone without even hearsay of their deeds? Such hubris breeds arrogance and complacency. But if it pleases you I will agree to try to wander in like lambs to the slaughter.
If the need arises I can instead leave the inferno to the fringes and hem the refugees into a mad crushing panic for the city in which we could easily conceal ourselves in.
Anyone who perishes would not directly be on my conscience as the flames would be a barrier instead of an uncontrolled blaze."
Monotonous voice is monotonous and list-y to show his lackadaisical opinion on threats to his tortured existence.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 03:32:24 pm
"
Who are you to assume the innocence or guilt of anyone without even hearsay of their deeds? Such hubris breeds arrogance and complacency. But if it pleases you I will agree to try to wander in like lambs to the slaughter.
If the need arises I can instead leave the inferno to the fringes and hem the refugees into a mad crushing panic for the city in which we could easily conceal ourselves in.
Anyone who perishes would not directly be on my conscience as the flames would be a barrier instead of an uncontrolled blaze."
Monotonous voice is monotonous and list-y to show his lackadaisical opinion on threats to his tortured existence.
"They live next to the Sea of Death. They see stranger things than us if not every day, then at least very often. We will be conspicuous, but mostly the subject of gossip. About 37 people I can currently detect would be suitably alarmed by our presence to consider calling for guards - none of the guards would do anything rash if they did, which some are more likely to do than others. Instead they will ask us if we're lost and if we want to find the local Black Circle tower, which they will kindly point us to. Craig looks like a typical Black Circle mage of high standing, and we will be assumed to be his entourage. They will speak to him respectfully, and will only hint that perhaps his presence is causing discomfort to the populace."
"Ah. Do I need to know anything to say in that event?"
"Be polite and dignified and don't volunteer too much information, because respectable mages don't do that for strangers. You do not even need to mention your name, and they will not ask. All this I know from a scan of the town. From simple pattern recognition I know that allowing Scott to try anything that he's proposing right now would lead to nothing but continued, unmitigated disaster and massive casualties for all parties involved. And from basic decency I know that using magical terror tactics on the displaced, terrorized and, most of all, defenseless populace of Mothdale is a vicious crime contrary to anything and everything a human being could ever consider good, both in the sense of intellectual quality and of ethical merit."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 03:48:24 pm
OOC: A hint of an unbridled maelstrom of seething venom might be detected here. Just fyi >.>
Scott vibrates for a few seconds.
"I just assumed that the fact the town had not seemed to have given aid to the horde on their doorstep to be a sign of hostility, imagining the possibility they would seek to bar or maim just anybody seeking to enter their pristine city, which is home to our assigned enemies, without priorly ordained reason and invitation. I only thought it a precaution to safeguard our already fleeting lives."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 03:56:32 pm
"It must therefore be good thing that no one would even consider venturing to call me anything resembling human."
OOC: A hint of an unbridled maelstrom of seething venom might be detected here. Just fyi >.>
Scott vibrates for a few seconds.
"I just assumed that the fact the town had not seemed to have given aid to the horde on their doorstep to be a sign of hostility to just anybody seeking to enter their pristine city without priorly ordained reason and invitation. I only thought it a precaution to safeguard our already fleeting lives."
"You are human, Scott. Being mentally ill and rich in terrible ideas does not make you otherwise, so that excuse does not fly. Sorry."
"Anyhow, they have given the refugees aid. But they significantly outnumber the Eckledun residents, who are already swamped with their own Mothdalish relatives. The lifemages of the Black Circle regularly visit the camp to head off any outbreaks of infectious disease, and their specialized transmuters conjure food regularly to keep the people from starving, as is standard operating procedure. Some are currently finishing up their shift in the supplies tent."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 04:01:40 pm
"Even a quasi-trained necromancer can construct metamorphosed bonemeal blocks that rival the purest of marble veins. This city is the host for a cabal of powerful wizards and yet the refugees live in a perpetual squalor. This city is not an establishment that beams hope and friendship, it's more like an estranged tolerance."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 04:08:05 pm
Seemingly off guard, Scott rambles into his last trump card.
"Even a quasi-trained necromancer can construct metamorphosed bonemeal blocks that rival the purest of marble veins. This city is the host for a cabal of powerful wizards and yet the refugees live in a perpetual squalor. This city is not an establishment that beams hope and friendship, more like an estranged tolerance."
"It's more of an outpost than a proper home, and most of the really powerful wizards hang around elsewhere, but I suppose that yes, the Black Circle of Magic could certainly be a more altruistic organization, and Eckledun could have been more prepared for the sudden destruction of the safest, most unassailable city on the coast of the Sea of Death and the sudden migration of a large proportion of its residents to its doorstep."
Post by: Innsmothe on July 19, 2014, 04:20:04 pm
"Well...yes..they should have..."
OOc: It's been great sparring with you tonight Harry :3
I hope my little insertion there wasn't too intrusive to your construct. I just wondered that since chalk, limestone, marble and bone are all mostly calcium and other minerals, it would be relatively easy for someone atuned to such materials to be able to metamorphose one into the other echoing geological processes.
Post by: Yoink on July 19, 2014, 04:22:27 pm
"A tavinn! Ooh, let's go to da tavinn! Well, if you's wants ta take me. I's sweared off all da boozings, but I reckons you can uses a drink or five!"
>Happily follow Lenny to the local
Try and turn invisible on the way, you know, to avoid arousing too much suspicion... and to prepare for some pranks once we arrive!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 19, 2014, 04:34:14 pm
OOc: It's been great sparring with you tonight Harry :3
I hope my little insertion there wasn't too intrusive to your construct. I just wondered that since chalk, marble and bone are all mostly calcium and other minerals, it would be relatively easy for someone atuned to such materials to be able to metamorphose one into the other echoing geological processes.
It would be easy for a transmuter (not for a necromancer, since they do souls, not physical materials, unless they also happen to be transmuters or have appropriate spellbooks), relatively speaking, if they were specialized in such a direction or had a spellbook with the appropriate spell. I'm saying this mostly because IC you would probably have a decent idea how this works.
It's lucky you have Justine along, though! You can get obtrusive exposition, unwanted moralization, confrontational nature, obnoxious know-it-all behavior and more, all in one ghostly package!
Post by: Tomcost on July 19, 2014, 04:41:51 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 19, 2014, 10:59:25 pm
Morton listened to the conversation between Scott and Justine, rather relieved it didn't turn into a 'heated' one. "I agree with good mage Justine, I would most assuredly prefer to solve this conundrum without violence if possible. It only brings about more, I'm afraid, and I would prefer those still in the city to be safe. Perhaps we can garner an agreement between good group Gub and the mages, or perhaps other alternatives."
The desk would prefer a non violent alternative, as he doesn't really consider Gub that bad. The dangers about him seem to be more due to his lack of awareness and careful care than any sort of maliciousness. Either way, the desk pondered their alternatives out loud. "Hm... We could go ask some of the refugees about what happened, surely some of them must know of whatever strange event transpired in Mothdale. We could also head straight to the tower and ask there however as well, we may get more answers. But... I think I would quite prefer to float into the tower with more knowledge at hand than we possess. If we know to little, I fear they may simply wave us off."
"Good mage Justine, I admit I may be incorrect in asking you, but can you perhaps glean who or where we might be able to find the most suitable information in the camp? I fear us simply wandering around and asking may be with slow results, but it may be necessary."
Agree with Justine on solving issue as morally as possible, ponder out loud as to their options, ask good mage Justine if she can perhaps magic up who or where might be a good place to start in the refugee camp or if they have to do it the old fashion way.
Post by: miauw62 on July 20, 2014, 02:32:27 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 20, 2014, 08:07:56 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 20, 2014, 11:56:57 am
[I'm always sad when I miss these great conversations, stupid work.]
Morton listened to the conversation between Scott and Justine, rather relieved it didn't turn into a 'heated' one. "I agree with good mage Justine, I would most assuredly prefer to solve this conundrum without violence if possible. It only brings about more, I'm afraid, and I would prefer those still in the city to be safe. Perhaps we can garner an agreement between good group Gub and the mages, or perhaps other alternatives."
The desk would prefer a non violent alternative, as he doesn't really consider Gub that bad. The dangers about him seem to be more due to his lack of awareness and careful care than any sort of maliciousness. Either way, the desk pondered their alternatives out loud. "Hm... We could go ask some of the refugees about what happened, surely some of them must know of whatever strange event transpired in Mothdale. We could also head straight to the tower and ask there however as well, we may get more answers. But... I think I would quite prefer to float into the tower with more knowledge at hand than we possess. If we know to little, I fear they may simply wave us off."
"Good mage Justine, I admit I may be incorrect in asking you, but can you perhaps glean who or where we might be able to find the most suitable information in the camp? I fear us simply wandering around and asking may be with slow results, but it may be necessary."
Agree with Justine on solving issue as morally as possible, ponder out loud as to their options, ask good mage Justine if she can perhaps magic up who or where might be a good place to start in the refugee camp or if they have to do it the old fashion way.
"The best people to ask would no doubt be the mages currently finishing up their shift down there - a transmuter and a lifemage. Both are, as far as I can tell, knowledgeable on many matters. Though you could just, you know, ask me, the diviner, instead, and trust whatever answers I provide. That's why I'm here, after all. To provide answers. What do you want to know, anyway?"
Post by: Innsmothe on July 20, 2014, 12:00:02 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 20, 2014, 12:20:12 pm
"Are the circle aware of our intentions? And can they cloud your sight?" Scott interjects
"It's possible, but I doubt they've done it, simply because they have no idea who I am or if I am coming. It's a bit hard to defend yourself without preparation."
Post by: Xanmyral on July 20, 2014, 02:10:39 pm
"But... I'm afraid I'm not so sure. If the Mothdale refugees arrived in Eckledun, where a Black Circle tower is, why would they flee to those responsible? Unless they didn't know, I suppose." The desk mused, pondering. "Surely the Black Circle wouldn't of wished to cast themselves such a bother as good group Gub sending the Mothdale residents fleeing to their tower? But it does make a good way of making one look innocent..." The tea apostle didn't seem to be making much headway into the pondering.
Converse with (and apologize to) Good Mage Justine, ponder to self!
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 20, 2014, 02:24:39 pm
"My apologies for being vague, good mage Justine. I would like to know who assaulted the town, killed good sir Jurgen, and placed good group Gub at its head. You've mentioned it was a third party, and speculated the Black Circle, but I was hoping that perhaps one of the refugees might of seen the perpetrator, or perpetrators. I apologize again for not asking you initially, good mage Justine, I just worried it may of been too specific." Morton apologized and explained to the mage, pondering.
"But... I'm afraid I'm not so sure. If the Mothdale refugees arrived in Eckledun, where a Black Circle tower is, why would they flee to those responsible? Unless they didn't know, I suppose." The desk mused, pondering. "Surely the Black Circle wouldn't of wished to cast themselves such a bother as good group Gub sending the Mothdale residents fleeing to their tower? But it does make a good way of making one look innocent..." The tea apostle didn't seem to be making much headway into the pondering.
Converse with (and apologize to) Good Mage Justine, ponder to self!
"It was somebody not present in Eckledun, obviously. I can't quite say for sure from my quick scan. And an important thing to remember here is that none of these people have any idea what's really happening - they only know where danger is and where it is not. I am fairly sure all this is part of some greater plan, however. Everything seems to fit together - the people come here, the Black Circle reappropriates them as they wish after it becomes clear that returning to Mothdale isn't an option, and so it goes. Free human resources."
Post by: Xanmyral on July 20, 2014, 03:35:22 pm
"Of course, reaching that goal would undoubtedly be a trek and a half, I believe. I suppose at the moment we should properly brush up on how we shall approach the tower. I believe it would be best to seek them for answers if possible, perhaps through posing as the entourage of an initiate or perhaps a member? I fear the direct and honest route may result in a closed door. Maybe we can seek an entrance with the mages finishing up their shift? Travelers who wish to render aid?" Morton planned out loud to the group, wishing to have some sort of a plan before they just wander up to the tower. That's how the clever heroes always did it in the stories, after all.
"From there, we can perhaps try to garner a peace between good group Gub and the refugees, or try to convince the Black Circle mages to head to Mothdale."
Plan!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2014, 02:56:24 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2014, 03:03:54 am
Morton rotated along the horizontal axis in a nodding fashion. "So I suppose if we do want to throw a colloquial rock in their metaphorical soup, our best option may be to have returning to Mothdale safely indeed be an option again, and to expose them as the source of the danger." The desk still had doubts as to the identify of the perpetrators, but he does admit it makes the most sense to be the Black Circle.
"Of course, reaching that goal would undoubtedly be a trek and a half, I believe. I suppose at the moment we should properly brush up on how we shall approach the tower. I believe it would be best to seek them for answers if possible, perhaps through posing as the entourage of an initiate or perhaps a member? I fear the direct and honest route may result in a closed door. Maybe we can seek an entrance with the mages finishing up their shift? Travelers who wish to render aid?" Morton planned out loud to the group, wishing to have some sort of a plan before they just wander up to the tower. That's how the clever heroes always did it in the stories, after all.
"From there, we can perhaps try to garner a peace between good group Gub and the refugees, or try to convince the Black Circle mages to head to Mothdale."
Plan!
"That would probably be wise, yes. Shall we go see them? I can lead the way."
"Replica, what do you mean by that? Is it, uh... not real?"
"Well, obviously. The real thing is further below. I think one of the eldest Engineers had it, actually."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2014, 04:46:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2014, 05:01:34 am
"Oh. So... You mind if I uh, borrow some of these artifacts you've got up here? I've got to head down there, and dying isn't on my todo list. Then, once I get back from down there, we can play that card game?"
"They're not terribly useful artifacts, I'm afraid. But you can have one if you want, of course."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2014, 07:06:29 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2014, 07:12:28 am
"Not useful like gives light? Or not useful like makes doves fly out?"
"Not useful like designed to look like more valuable artifacts, but made at a fraction of the price."
Post by: miauw62 on July 21, 2014, 10:52:19 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 21, 2014, 04:49:15 pm
Kevin, deprived of the best option he had, takes the second one - the slashed-open pipe - regardless of the potential threat that a being that can slash a hole straight through a metal pipe may possess - fumbling through the dark, he eventually finds the opening and slips through it, finding himself in what feels like fairly cramped quarters - crawling forward still, he feels the tunnel widen, though not to a point where he can stand - the ground, which had after leaving the pipe been rough stone, now seems to have gotten a bit softer, lined with some kind of crunchy material.
Feeling further onward, Kevin is a tad startled when his questing hand finds an object - a slick, large object of some sort. A quick examination reveals it to be some sort of giant crustacean, all limbs and chitin plates, with claws as hard and sharp as axes. Fortunately for Kevin, it appears to have died somehow - otherwise he's fairly sure it would have reacted most adversely to an accidental poke in its oversized antennae.
In the guest wing of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, realizing the inherent folly of living in a room next to the as-of-yet unknown intermixing of wasp and goat (presumably combining the wasp's inherent hatred for all life and the goat's unending hunger for all things vaguely edible), runs along with Lifeboy to the other end of the hall, quickly lifting a torch off the wall in case killing things with fire proves necessary. The two partners in adventure regroup at the other end of the hall.
"Okay," Lifeboy begins to say, slightly out of breath. "I don't think it can open doors, so that's good!"
Just then, as if to prove a point, the door to the former room of Lifeboy is penetrated by what looks like an incredibly nasty stinger - the stabbing continues for the next few seconds until it strikes the doorknob a few times, pounding the locking mechanism right out of the door. It swings open, and out comes a creature. Its wings flap incredibly fast, its stinger is unspeakable, its eyes are murderous and compound, and the sound it makes with its toothy maw is horrendous, and that perhaps is all that needs to be said about it.
"Maybe I did not give it enough credit!"
In a gnomish operating room...
Sigmund, quite enthusiastic about taxing his multitasking skills at last, begins to do two things at once.
Firstly, he begins to move some of his bits discreetly away from the gnomes of the room, though only the smallest ones begin to make any measurable moves, as the gnomes seem awfully sensitive to this sort of thing.
Secondly, he prays to the god of death, feeling that doing such a thing has not done him enough favors yet.
~Hey! You liked to watch me suffer? Then I have a gift for you!~ he soundlessly thinks as his head-arm construct is enriched with three additional rib-legs, made from his very own ribs - these actually make it possible for him to keep his head sort of upright.
Sadly, though, he gets absolutely no indication that he has been heard - perhaps here, in the darkest corners of the earth, even prayers are blocked out by the multitudinous layers of stone? That's something that might potentially make sense, Sigmund guesses.
In an important building in Blynn...
Happy to follow Lenny's alternate directions, Timothy agrees to visit one of the fine tavinns of Blynn!
"A tavinn! Ooh, let's go to da tavinn! Well, if you's wants ta take me. I's sweared off all da boozings, but I reckons you can uses a drink or five!"
"Oh yes. Yes, I certainly could."
And so they head off to Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry, the premier tavinn of Blynn and a favorite of many men and women of Blynn these days, both due to its massive levels of hilarity and the exquisite service in terms of harlotry. Wandering in, Timothy, despite managing to only partially turn invisible, doesn't feel out of place at all - in fact, a few people around here are ghosts like him, and several he can spot look even stranger.
Following Lenny, Timothy heads over to the bar, where a very, very old man stands, various drinks floating in a gentle orbit around him.
"I'll have the usual," Lenny says, and one of the drinks floats into his hand - the man makes no other movement. In fact, Timothy's not entirely sure he's a real guy, from the way he looks. Lenny takes a sip and looks around.
"Well now. There's a whole bunch of people here. I think the man in the corner there's a diviner," he says, pointing to a robed, handsome fellow being a wallflower in the corner. "You wanna go talk to him, or should I?"
Post by: Xantalos on July 21, 2014, 04:57:41 pm
BAAAAAAAA BBZZZZZZZZ BBBAAAAAAAA BZZZZZZ
Emit sounds while dancing in a waspgoatish like manner in order to placate the beast!
If that doesn't work, try burninating it with the torch.
Post by: Tomcost on July 21, 2014, 05:15:10 pm
Well, with praying out of the question, and with gnomes that don't seem to want to kill him, and instead do experiments on him, the best thing to do is to wait until they have done them. Or otherwise try to avoid getting killed by mistake.
Do not react, wait until the gnomes get bored. If they do something that would put in peril my life, show that I'm conscious and I don't like that.
Post by: Nunzillor on July 21, 2014, 06:49:55 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 21, 2014, 08:06:06 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 22, 2014, 01:16:09 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 22, 2014, 01:24:14 am
"I'd be most appreciative, good mage Justine." Morton assented to her offer, trying to compose some idea of how to properly deal with the situation.
Follow the diviner!
Post by: miauw62 on July 22, 2014, 01:36:13 am
Kevin decides that it's best to head back and go down, to see what's in the other direction
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 22, 2014, 04:36:43 am
"Do they, well, do anything?"
"They look good, and they do have some effects. The fake crown can be used to sort of bring life to a small creature, while the fake mask makes people forget your name. And a few other fake artifacts do other, less impressive things."
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 25, 2014, 11:27:31 am
Niklas faced with quite a thing he cannot fully describe, can think of only one reasonable course of action. Moving forward, he begins to buzz wildly while doing what he believes to be an adequate waspgoat dance!
[Niklas' charisma roll: 4]
The beast, fortunately, is, if not placated, then at least sufficiently confused to be open to future discussion of whether Niklas and Lifeboy's position in its 'things to kill' list might not be a negotiable matter. Lifeboy, sensing that Niklas is on the right track and also that the waspgoat dance looks like amazing fun, joins in on the fun!
[Lifeboy's charisma roll: 5]
The sheer power of expression that a buzzing, dancing child can emit seems to work on the beast, its confusion becoming slight identification as the mammalian, goatish side of its fractured, unnatural psyche begins to feel a sense of familiarity with these strange figures in front of it, and it joins in the waspgoat dance, its wasp side appreciating the structure and patterns of the figures' movements while its goat side's social instincts guide it into conformity.
In a gnomish operating room...
Sigmund does his best not to feed his monstrous surgeon with anything resembling cooperation or terror, and merely tries to be as boring as inhumanly possible - it becomes slightly difficult to do so when the creature disembowels him, then, by stitching the rest of his torso muscles onto his gut and using the ribs to make teeth, makes it into some sort of strange gut snake.
And then, when Sigmund refuses to acknowledge this as the best of ideas by moving around in any way, the creature performs a strange, incredibly painful yet seemingly harmless swipe, but Sigmund successfully resists the temptation to react, at which point the surgeon appears to give up and just leaves.
To review, Sigmund is currently a gut snake, a mutilated, slightly nonfunctional leg, a head attached on top of a forearm supported by strange rib-legs, a very much gutted and fragmented torso, an arm with an eye set inside it and a severed leg inside a box, plus some bits on the ground that he can move. And now he's been left inside this room, fragmented, alone, and probably not very functional. Hm. What could he do?
Outside Eckledun...
Eager to find out as many answers as they can, Morton, Tailor Craig and Scott follow Justine down into Eckledun, and soon they reach a tent emblazoned with, of all things, a white triangle enclosed within a red circle.
Outside of it appear to be standing two mages, a man and a woman, both nondescriptly attractive, wearing matching dull red robes and looking oddly cheery. As soon as the group are in sight, the two of them wave and approach, though one can see a subtle exhaustion in their eyes.
"Hey!" the man begins. "You're finally here!"
"You sure kept us waiting!" the woman says and laughs.
"But you're here, and that's what counts. Scott, Craig, Carter, Justine, allow us to be the first to welcome you four into Eckledun. You've sure come a long way from the not-so-Free City of Gub, huh?" the man begins, and almost instinctively the group look to Justine, whose face appears to have sunken more than usual.
"It was definitely quite a trek, from what we've discovered!"
"And you've even had a chance to talk to good Lady Melville. We're sure she told you many interesting things."
"Quite positive about that, yes!"
"But despite your plans, we wouldn't advise that you try to kidnap or lure away any local mages. Especially our retainers!"
"Yes, that would indeed be an exceedingly poor idea, just like harming any of them or our property! So, you know, if you need anything, come see us or our superiors at the tower. I'm sure we could work something out."
"Indeed. Bye, newcomers!"
"Bye!"
And with that, the two mages disappear suddenly, leaving just an empty tent, where two fresh-looking and energetic colleagues of theirs, much more different in their individual appearances, suddenly appear and get to work creating what looks like food and water.
"Huh. That could have gone worse, but it certainly went different than expected," Justine immediately says.
In the lair of a dead crustacean...
Figuring that corpses probably mean that there can only be more danger ahead, Kevin decides to go all the way back and explore the way downstream.
He finds out that it all converges to one large pipe, as expected, and that this pipe goes on for a while, sloping a little sharply at times, all the way until it suddenly ends, terminating at a waterfall of some kind - the pipe's walls just stop, and beyond them is a great nothing, complete darkness as far as Kevin can tell.
Post by: miauw62 on July 25, 2014, 11:50:53 am
Post by: Xantalos on July 25, 2014, 02:09:33 pm
Through dance.
Post by: Tomcost on July 25, 2014, 02:20:52 pm
It would be a traumatic experience for him indeed, hadn't it happened from time to time to him. Well, at least the thing is bored. Well, now he has enough time to ideate a plan to escape. Lets see, he will Have to use magic, due to the current circumstances. And the only kind of magic that is likely to work here should be related to rocks. Well, time to make a focus!
Multi-step plan because I will not be here for about a week:
1) Find a peeble, or loose stone. Put it in my mouth via creative use of the parts I have left.
2) Examine its knots, device a way to make it into a foci that allows me to control stone.
3) Make it into a foci.
4) Begin making a pillar to go upwards, tunneling through the stone. The pillar must push me and all my parts up.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 26, 2014, 12:07:30 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2014, 12:18:53 am
"...these are the people that made the Gub?...and they seem to have their own diviners."
"Indeed," Justine seems to agree, taken aback by the welcoming committee.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 26, 2014, 04:09:45 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2014, 04:16:31 pm
"I advise caution, this could be a dark deception. No one that created the Gub can be considered sane or 'good'. They are either pathetically ambitious, atrociously capricious or just dastardly vindictive ."
"Almost goes without saying, honestly. Let's just be as careful as possible from now on, okay?"
Post by: Xanmyral on July 26, 2014, 08:50:14 pm
"They used my first name." Was all Morton could dumbly say in response to the divining duo, unsure of how to respond or take the situation. He didn't want to hurt, harm, nor do any of the sort to the mages, although the desk admits it would be lying to himself to say he didn't regard it as a regrettable and hopefully avoidable option.
Without further adieu, the desk went to ushering the group to a close by and slightly more secluded spot to think things out, not wishing their conversation to be overheard by the two new mages on duty. He can't help but feel the gesture more of a sort of comforting placebo than actually effective, considering the prior encounter.
Feeling slightly better thanks to the touch of seclusion, although aware of its rather more habitual/ceremonial nature instead of actual effectiveness, the desk spoke to the group. "That was... Most odd. I'm curious how they learned we were coming, perhaps the good traveler did indeed inform them of our intentions? He did mention ties, after all, to the Black Circle if I recall rightly." The desk started, trying to reason something out.
"But the warning is all of the same, I fear, that they know of us, our intentions, and what we've done. A bold--and effective, I'm afraid--power play." Like those true scheming villains, the tea apostle added on mentally but otherwise kept to himself. "Perhaps it is for the best they know, they did invite us into the tower to perhaps work something out. I was indeed most hoping for a more peaceful resolution to this situation, and I still do and believe it may be reached." Morton was sure a satisfactory and peaceful solution could be reached between Gub, the refugees, and the mages, there's always such an option after all. Has to be. Perhaps with some tea.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 27, 2014, 08:47:24 am
Kevin, feeling that there really are few ways the situation could get much worse, jumps right out of the pipe, and finds himself in freefall. The fact that he remains in freefall for over five seconds is not heartening, to say the least.
[Kevin's landing roll: 2]
[Kevin's endurance roll: 2]
And the fact that he falls for over fifteen seconds is even worse, in fact, as he plunges right into a body of water of some kind, both of his legs snapping at the powerful reaction of his impact, his screaming form sinking underwater as he flails to keep afloat, the pain from his broken legs flooding his senses and eroding his judgment to a significant degree.
In the guest wing of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, having found a friend in this creature, attempts to make it go and be his friend (with all the collateral damage this implies) someplace else, with a greater proportion of innocents, which are in all likelihood tastier than he is.
[Niklas' charisma roll: 5]
Fortunately, Niklas knows how to indicate 'helpless food that-a-way' in a great many languages, waspgoat included, and the creature obliges. Niklas holds the door open for it while it leaves, becoming both out of sight and out of mind within a short bit.
"Hm... so! The original problem was food, right?" Lifeboy remembers after the waspgoat leaves. "Okay! I think I know what to do now!"
[Lifeboy's magic roll: 3]
He holds out his hand, and suddenly a fleshy bump begins to grow out of his palm, slowly increasing in size.
"This will take a moment!" he says as the bump grows. "You can wait, right?"
In a gnomish operating room...
Sigmund figures that there's nothing to it, then - have to use the miracle of magic to find his way out if nothing else is going to work. And he is certain that nothing else would properly work - after all, he is dealing with a civilization here that believes making snakes out of guts could ever be a good idea. That's Mark-like levels of civilization right there, a nadir of sentient beings' inhumanity to other sentient beings.
So, with his own survival in mind, he goes for some pebbles! Only to be interrupted by two other figures, which seem to have not moved at all in the moments previous, hence why Sigmund seems to have been unaware of their presence. They immediately place all of his parts into a single box along with his leg, evidently to keep them from escaping further.
Well, if they're going to be that way, Sigmund decides to examine the box around him - fortunately, it seems to be made, rather impractically, of stone as well, with stone hinges to boot, which he finds suits his needs perfectly. Time to devise the next step! So, the knots of the chest's lower part, typical as they are, seem to have the crux of their usefulness in the no-fun-allowed part. So he decides to toy with that - if fun seems to be forbidden, what could be an exception to that? Or, rather, what could work within its boundaries to make the box do what Sigmund wants? Sigmund believes he knows the answer.
Firstly, contact between objects is fun, right? Things smashing or rubbing together is one of the most primeval forms of fun that Sigmund can think of. So that can't happen, of course - a subclause that Sigmund can add without disturbing the structure of the knots too much. It fits in nicely with the no object overlap rule that's one of the core "no fun" precepts. And the balance of the knot would probably work better if he added some kind of additional clause where the objects in question were other minerals - after all, smashing someone's head in with a rock is not fun, despite the protests of some in the creative rock usage community. It's horrifying and terrible, and thus entirely permissible. Consistency!
Secondly, there's the matter of defining what's contact, exactly. Judging from the "no object overlap" rule, there's actually a sort of "sphere of existence" around the box, corresponding exactly to its physical shape. Here the terminology gets a little difficult, but Sigmund seems to have it well in hand - marvelous. So, he thinks he should mess with that whole sphere of existence thing now. Maybe customize it a little, and key it to his own mental faculties, so he can project it however he wants. In combination with the no-contact rule, this should allow him to project the presence of the stone, and use that to push other bits of stone around. Simple!
So, with all that in mind, Sigmund begins his journey on to new magical horizons and, hopefully, freedom!
[Sigmund's focus creation roll: 1+1]
Unfortunately, however, the no-fun rule is more resilient than Sigmund thought, or the fineness of his control is insufficient - he spends a few minutes pondering this, and decides that perhaps his touch is a tad too delicate - a forceful, quick alteration should provide results. Damn the potential side effects, he's got his own life to save!
[Sigmund's focus creation roll: 3+2]
And so, in a tremendous act of will, he alters the fabric of reality to create himself a focus! A mighty focus, in all likelihood - he inspects the knots and, curiously enough, finds them all uncharacteristically in the order set up by him - the structure does not even look too lopsided. Not bad for an improvised job like this. In addition, his mind tingles slightly at the focus - the presence of the stone feels a little like an extra limb, a controllable blanket of force
Now, though, it's time to test it!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 5-1]
Carefully arranging his mind to use his newfound magical limb, Sigmund places it in a location right beneath him, feeling an odd crack as the stone beneath is pressurized, then lifts upward as he expands the sphere of influence - the box and the parts of Sigmund within are lifted along with it, giving it the appearance of a pillar rising from the floor, the stone wobbling and cracking as the force his presence exerts on it expands. At the same time, to the slight detriment of his effectiveness, he inserts a sharp blade of presence into the ceiling above, then parts it, causing the ceiling to open up as well, collapsing all around the room as he rises through it up to a point where he reaches a brand new passage of some kind - he's got no idea where he is, since it's dark and he couldn't see even if he wasn't trapped inside a box, but he's certainly out of the room he was in. Though he's pretty sure that clicking all around him is not a good sign.
Outside a tent in Eckledun...
After spending a moment being generally dumbfounded, Morton ushers his friends over to a slightly more discreet location, though probably in vain.
"That was... Most odd. I'm curious how they learned we were coming, perhaps the good traveler did indeed inform them of our intentions? He did mention ties, after all, to the Black Circle if I recall rightly," he begins to reason.
"But that guy hasn't left the woods yet, and he had no magic," Justine replies.
"But the warning is all of the same, I fear, that they know of us, our intentions, and what we've done. A bold--and effective, I'm afraid--power play. Perhaps it is for the best they know, they did invite us into the tower to perhaps work something out. I was indeed most hoping for a more peaceful resolution to this situation, and I still do and believe it may be reached," Morton continues, keeping the optimism up.
"Indeed. If they did want to eliminate us, they could have done so fairly simply without even speaking to us. Especially if their divination abilities are as powerful as demonstrated. They were merely showing their advantage in the situation, so to speak."
"Or they were merely toying us, and will kill us all somehow at a later date. You never know with their type."
Post by: Xantalos on July 27, 2014, 09:27:51 am
Of course, of course!
What are you making?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 27, 2014, 09:33:02 am
Niklas is already outside the door of the room, prepared to slam it shut if needed.
Of course, of course!
What are you making?
"Tumorsteak! The best kind of steak, I am told!"
Post by: Xantalos on July 27, 2014, 09:50:13 am
Sounds like it! I'll just wait, then.
Watch and wait, ready to slam the door shut and run away if need be. Y'know, normal precautions when dealing with magic.
Post by: Yoink on July 27, 2014, 11:27:25 am
He hadn't expected the place to be so, well, inclusive- Timothy certainly wasn't used to having other beings as strange as him around. This was all rather a lot to take in, and he wanted to make a good impression, especially on his fellow ghostly types!
So he decides to let Lenny do the talking, at least for now. People often reacted badly when he tried to strike up conversation; he wasn't quite ready to test whether these interesting folks were any different. He peers at the 'barkeep', wondering just how much his sobriety is worth when weighed up against useful liquid courage.
"Uh," he says again, this time to the man behind the bar, "Has you got anny-thin' for ghosts?"
>Bid Lenny go talk to the diviner he pointed out.
Once he walks off, ask the bartender if he has any booze that works on ghosts. Then look around the establishment more closely, especially at the other ghosts. Do they look more-or-less like me? How are they drinking? Are they holding their drinks telekinetically? Try to plan a charming introduction.
Post by: miauw62 on July 27, 2014, 03:58:47 pm
((If I die in sewers while on vacation...[/b]
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2014, 03:43:34 am
"Perhaps, good mage Justine, but I'm afraid that changes the situation little. We may leave, but to what end? To call an end to this line of inquiry, leave good lady Melville without answers, and the refugees still eking out their lives away from home? I feel its worth an attempt, even if such is slim." The desk tried to reason with the diviner, laying out what will be left should they flee the city for their lives. If they truly wished them dead, what could they do to stop them, after all? Morton isn't so sure even distance could help.
"I think a good plan of action would be to simply approach directly and speak about the situation. Perhaps they will enlighten us to factors we don't see, or perhaps they have a plan of action already that will accomplish what we seek and we can aid it. A token of good will would perhaps be advisable, maybe some tea? We'd need to attempt to make some before reaching them, of course, so as not to bother their culinary staff or such area." Considering their recent display, they must know of Gub and the situation, perhaps already with a plan in action. Hopefully a benevolent one that seeks to return the deposed refugees.
Reason and plan out a course of action.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 28, 2014, 06:33:14 am
With that, a bow, and a twirl, it was out the door and down to the catacombs. Though completely unnecesary, the practice in the old moves could be helpful, as could having a possible goddess for a friend.
Watch for swoons. Do we still got it? To
Post by: Innsmothe on July 28, 2014, 08:58:04 am
We've been out manoeuvred, all we can do is just sit down and allow fate to play its hand.""
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2014, 11:59:06 am
Post by: Innsmothe on July 28, 2014, 04:10:20 pm
They have put us in chains we have not the key too...
Unless our own diviner knows ways around such methods?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 30, 2014, 04:36:32 pm
Niklas decides to try and take precautions this time around, and quickly hides inside one of the rooms, leaving the door open just a crack to watch how Lifeboy prepares a meal of his own flesh to serve to him.
[Lifeboy's magic roll: 5]
The bump on Lifeboy's hand grows and grows more rapidly with each second, attaining the size of his head, at which point he lowers his arm, and then increasing to about the size of his torso, at which point the growth stops - the giant tumor then begins to undulate and change color, becoming darker, starting to secrete some kind of golden liquid that coalesces over its surface, and emitting a smell that makes Niklas' mouth water intensely. And then it separates from the child's hand with a slightly unappetizing schlurp, rolling a short distance on the ground.
"There! One giant tumorsteak, right here! You need a fork or knife? I can grow those as well if you want! Wanna see?"
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...
Timothy may be courageous or at least willfully ignorant of peril when faced with exploring mystical places that defy physics and destroy all that has ever held sense in life, but social situations, particularly those of a magical and unfamiliar nature, leave him quite uncomfortable.
"Uh, I fink... maybe you does it?" he tells Lenny, who shrugs and walks toward the diviner. In need of some liquid courage, he turns to the barkeep. "Uh, has you got anny-thin' for ghosts?"
Immediately a solid stream of transparent liquid comes out of the nearby wall, no reaction at all on the part of the barkeep, making several 90 degree turns before settling on a course straight for Timothy, flowing into his body and diffusing through his ectoplasm. Timothy is quite confused and almost instantly drunk beyond anything he has experienced before in his life. Finding his question answered extremely demonstratively, he looks around at the other patrons. The ghosts, to be exact, since the other patrons are mages and mage-guards to a man or a woman, and behaving very much like regular patrons at an establishment like this, which is to say vaguely bawdily and generally merrily, although there is an undercurrent of the mystical to them, a very ineffable and secretive undercurrent that only mages rightly possess much of the time. As for ghostly patrons, there's the average dead person, who look like dead people floating around looking out of place, then there's dead mages, who look like they're enjoying themselves a lot more, and then there's beautiful dead women, of which there's a majority among the ghosts. In fact, one of the beautiful dead women, who also seems to be a dead mage, seems to be looking right at Timothy, pretending to sip a drink in a coquettish manner. Oddly, the drink is ethereal as well.
In a reservoir of water...
Kevin, despite being nearly overwhelmed by pain, maintains enough judgement to conduct a simple observation - is there flow? Signs point to no, but he could be wrong! Nevertheless, he swims for his life.
[Strength roll: 6]
And an imperiled jester needs no legs to secure his freedom, as Kevin so aptly demonstrates, propelling himself back to a breathable area through arm power alone, eventually finding his way to a rocky outcropping of some kind and flopping out upon it, quite exhausted and in terrible pain. Perhaps he should rest.
In the Temple of Automaton Worship...
Darren, now altogether less confused than before, decides to dial up the charm a little.
"Ah. I see. Thank you for the information, and for the hospitality. I would stay, but for now, I must bid you a very fond adieu, as I must continue my mission. Farewell, good lady," he says, and then with a bow and a twirl begins to move away - he is disappointed to note that the statue-like woman remains statue-like, with absolutely no change in expression of any sort. Oh well. He moves on, only to realize he's quite conspicuously alone now. Where'd his friend go?
The room he's currently in looks... clean. Very clean. In fact, there's nothing in it aside from a single spectral white-robed man without a head or neck, floating idly around the place, an empty hood flopping around on the front of his torso. Darren gets the urge to look behind him suddenly, and the chill that vaguely haunted him in the previous room now feels frightfully urgent.
In the refugee camp outside Eckledun...
Morton, Scott, Justine and nominally Craig continue to work out a plan here. Scott seems to be a proponent of the "we're quite screwed" position, while Morton keeps up the optimism he is well known for. After a short bit of time of reaching no real compromise, Scott asks Justine if she does not perhaps know of ways to counter divination.
"Well, I know of them, but they're abjuration, not divination. Not really my thing. Most diviners don't bother with them, and instead settle for being too unobtrusive to scan or too fast to get a bead on. Seems like we were neither, and now they know everything about us."
"I'm not against playing along with them. It is better than simply waiting for them to do something."
"Alternatively, we can just find another town to explore instead, one where the local authorities don't know our innermost secrets."
Post by: Xantalos on July 30, 2014, 04:41:16 pm
Begin eating the tumor-steak Norse-style!
Ie, extremely savagely.
Post by: Yoink on July 30, 2014, 05:51:59 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on July 31, 2014, 01:23:21 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 31, 2014, 02:16:57 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 31, 2014, 07:23:38 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 31, 2014, 07:40:13 am
Scott will look out the tent and scan for approaching death and destruction.
Your worst nightmares have not gained flesh and begun to terrorize the living and the dead. Yet.
"Uh. Hi."
The figure snaps to look at you. That is, its body snaps toward you. It begins to approach you silently, arms open wide. Your sense of foreboding rapidly increases.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 31, 2014, 08:52:18 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 31, 2014, 08:57:35 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 01, 2014, 12:33:11 am
"We wouldn't know unless we tried, and I only wish to attempt. Should our findings be fruitless, then I will not obstruct any endeavor to move on. Perhaps they just wrongly misjudge our wishes in this situation, thinking us to be simply looking for mages when we seek a remedy to this sad situation, one that they might seek as well. We've heard and guessed of their possibly suspect intentions, but we do not truly know it."
While the demonic desk bartered with the ghostly mage, he watched Scott float up to the tent, and was mildly curious as to if he could change his elevation. Something to try later, but as for the moment he was preoccupied.
Continue to debate with Justine!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 01, 2014, 02:44:38 am
Back up.
Post by: Yoink on August 01, 2014, 06:22:34 am
He panicked a little as he turned a slow, woozy circle about the room- he was drunk! He hadn't felt such a sensation for a long time, but nevertheless he was sure he was quite badly drunk as well!
This was just how all his problems had began, he shouldn't be drinking, it was how he'd ended up-- oh hey, that sweet little thing over there was looking his way! Time to give 'er a taste of the good ol' Amscray charm, yes indeed, see if he still had it.
Reservations forgotten, the young ghost sets off determinedly with a ghastly attempt at a suave grin on his face, floating his way clumsily towards the ghost-babe looking his way, doubtless phasing through a few tables and chair legs as he goes.
Go chat up the ghost-lady looking at me! Ask her what a girl like her is doin' in a place like this.
Try not to fly off-course as I go over to her, or to slur too much while I speak. Like that's going to happen...
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 01, 2014, 05:00:15 pm
When dealing with more dangers of something you know, answer with something you already know how to do! Actually, Sigmund can't think of many things to do when under pressure. This means, holes, many holes!
Make the stone recede around me! Do not affect my pillar.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 04, 2014, 11:07:53 am
Niklas politely affirms that he, being a Northerner, has never in his life needed a fork or a knife in order to devour things, which suits Lifeboy just fine, and digs into the tumorsteak right in front of him, flying face-first into it and chewing in a very audible manner.
The first important fact he discovers is that this thing is delicious. Almost incredibly so. Maybe he should eat tumors more often, he thinks. Or maybe Lifeboy's just that good. Whatever the case, the food fills a hole, and Lifeboy freely joins in on the meal. The two of them manage to eventually finish the delectable tumor, at which point a profound sleepiness descends on both of them.
"Ah, time to go to bed! There is much ambassing that will probably need doing tomorrow!" he says, and shuffles off into one of the middle rooms. "Say! This room is rather decent!"
Deep, deep underground...
Feeling safe on his precipice, Kevin decides to rest to let the brokenness of his legs feel a little less painful than it is right now. So he huffs, groans and puffs as he gets into a more comfortable position, settling his broken legs as painlessly as possible. This makes the universe feel exponentially happier for the time being, so he just relaxes. This he does for a period of a few hours until something suddenly touches his legs - some sort of creature with sharp claws, it seems, making slight tapping sounds as it skitters around Kevin.
He tries to remember what the proper protocol was in this kind of situation - flipping out to get it off or remaining motionless to let it lose interest? Does anybody know? Has this happened to anyone like him before? Or is this a completely novel happening that no amount of previous life experience could have prepared him for?
At a refugee camp in Eckledun...
Scott quickly ascends upward, settling on top of a nearby tent, and regards his surroundings. For some reason, the dark refugee camp right before dawn fills him with incredible fear, partly because he can't see anything, like, there could be a frost mage hiding in a nearby tent and, guided by a diviner, she could easily freeze him into a solid block of ice, unable to move for as long as the spell is maintained, with little to no trouble at all. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There could also be necromancers in the tents waiting to rip his soul out, or transmuters currently focusing all their willpower to transform a normally stubborn bit of ectoplasm into, say, a blanket, and then laugh as it floats helplessly down to the ground.
Morton, meanwhile, engages in a spot of persuasion.
"If we leave however, good mage Justine, we may never know more. Should we sadly find ourselves remiss of information despite our attempts, I wouldn't be opposed to another town, although I would feel rather sad for our inability to redress the refugees. We lack information, I fear, and such may be as easily gained as a pleasant conversation, or perhaps only to meet hostility instead. We wouldn't know unless we tried, and I only wish to attempt. Should our findings be fruitless, then I will not obstruct any endeavor to move on. Perhaps they just wrongly misjudge our wishes in this situation, thinking us to be simply looking for mages when we seek a remedy to this sad situation, one that they might seek as well. We've heard and guessed of their possibly suspect intentions, but we do not truly know it."
"How about this," Justine offers, "me and Scott head out to seek answers either in town or from the surroundings, while you and Craig go talk to the people in the tower?"
"I would not be against such a plan, as long as it gets at least some of us moving. Thoughts, Morton?"
In an empty room inhabited by a headless ghost...
Darren decides to cautiously back away from the approaching ghost.
"U-Uh, how you doing?" he asks, but the ghost does not reply. He keeps backing away, but the feeling of being threatened only increases, right up to the moment when something completely awful is suddenly plunged into his back, a monstrous claw of some kind, and a deathly chill runs through Darren.
[Darren's will roll: 6]
He instantly twists around, only to find nothing there. Huh. And then the headless ghost hugs him from behind, which is creepy at first, but then, as a few seconds pass, makes Darren feel a tad warm inside. Double huh.
They float like this for a few minutes, Darren being unsure how to break a hug with a person like this non-awkwardly.
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...
Timothy, drunk far beyond his imagining, tries to make his way toward the ghost lady, which teaches him a very vital lesson to remember - ghosts do not have balance problems no matter their inebriation. Instead, drunkenness tends to manifest as a peculiar rotation of one's body, which Timothy hardly notices as he looks upon the strangely crooked ghost lady in the equally crooked room.
[Timothy's charisma roll: 4]
Now, he's not sure what exactly he's saying right now. He's not sure the lady understands what he's saying right now. And he is not even sure if what he's saying can be understood on a verbal level. But she seems to get the idea, and giggles in a distant, spirit-like manner, then asks Timothy something he doesn't quite understand.
In the kingdom of the gnomes...
Unfamiliar with these gnomish caves, Sigmund tries to give himself some breathing room via some stone manipulation.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 5]
He extends his presence all around, and in almost a perfect sphere, the stone around him recedes, sending some gnomes tumbling down its surface from the sound of it, and even blocking pretty much all of the tunnels leading to him as the displaced stone relocates itself. This, he feels, is a marvelous success like few others. And he even manages to reinforce his pillar in the process!
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2014, 11:15:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 04, 2014, 11:19:11 am
Do my legs still hurt like shit?
You suspect they will if you move, but not particularly right now.
Post by: miauw62 on August 04, 2014, 11:38:58 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 04, 2014, 12:07:32 pm
Concentrate into creating a straight hole in the ceiling, towards the surface.
And I mean, concentrate, not doing that this turn. I don't want to screw all these wonderful rolls.
Post by: Xantalos on August 04, 2014, 01:44:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 04, 2014, 04:37:26 pm
Do you want a
Post by: Yoink on August 04, 2014, 04:44:08 pm
Timothy grins his best most handsomest grin and, not to be outdone, answers her right back!
After all, not like she could understand what he was saying, so why couldn't he pull the same trick?
>Guess what it is she's saying (perhaps she's asking how long I've been in town? Whereabouts I'm from? Or maybe what hair products I use?) and respond, in an appropriately charming and flirtatious manner. Try and rotate myself right-way-up.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 04, 2014, 07:57:45 pm
The desk rotated slightly along the horizontal axis in agreement. "I believe that would indeed be most agreeable good mage Justine, most agreeable indeed! We'll have either option to fall onto should one fall through, although hopefully such won't be the case. I wish you the best of luck in your inspection, good mage Justine and good sir Scott. I believe this would be a good enough spot for regrouping afterwards, perhaps [insert next day phase: morning if night, noon if morning, night if noon]? Should you require us, we'll hopefully be conversing in the tower."
"Good tailor Craig, shall we put word to action?" Morton invited, the strange arms appearing once more from the desk's frame and doing a bowing, beckoning gesture to invite the demonological tailor to lead their exit.
"Should we head to the tower straight away, or perhaps bring the aforementioned token of good will? I believe water should be easily retrieved from a well, although a kitchen or kitchen like area may be slightly more of a bother. Perhaps a pleasant innkeeper will let us use it momentarily? I believe the tower occupants would excuse the slight delay for such." As tea apostle pondered as he floated besides the tailor, checking to see if his tea supplies are still kept and doing a minor inventory of his possessions, having forgotten what he fully kept on himself. He remembers sadly losing a few bottles, but he thinks he should have a few more, along with the tea leaves, herbs, kettle/pot. Oh, yes, and that stick, he believes he still has that. Perhaps the demonology book as well?
Agree with Justine, invite to move on with Craig. Ask Craig if they should just head straight away to the tower, or garner tea first. Recheck inventory, look around for a well or inn (or signs of such) as they float into town.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 05, 2014, 08:47:19 am
An unwelcome hug, though unexpected, was by no means the worst possible outcome. As such, Darren stays as he is, but tries to slowly turn around to see exactly who's getting friendly with him.
((Yeah, but what's a wizard touchdown?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 06, 2014, 06:09:38 am
Kevin decides to wait a few moments to see what this thing is going to do - it seems to be crawling over him for the moment, running some sort of antennae over his legs. After It seems to be some kind of giant ant, Kevin thinks, until he is soundly disproven when the creature digs two sizable fangs into his belly. A horrible panic takes over the jester, followed by an immense relief when his legs go completely stiff, yet painless.
On one hand, he really needed that. On the other hand, he can't really move his legs anymore. So he picks up the creature with his arms and shoves it into the nearby water, which is something it definitely doesn't seem to enjoy at all. Kevin's... not entirely sure it can swim.
In an isolated chamber...
Sigmund, happy to be here and very much enjoying this new power, decides to step off this triumphant wave of good luck he's been having and not ride it out to the inevitable jagged rocks that will follow, and thinks real hard about his next move.
A few moments later, he realizes he doesn't really have any better ideas than just plunging his presence upwards and hoping for the best. After all, he can't see anything, or make an informed judgement of these matters.
In the guest wing of Castle Fenton...
Niklas goes on and checks out a random room, in this case the one he initially chose to stay at, and upon finding nothing terribly dangerous within, settles down to sleep, only to spend all night dreaming of Numbers for some reason. He looks way more handsome in Niklas' dreams for some reason. After this unconscious episode, he wakes in the morning, noticing a maid in his room. She seems to be glancing around nervously as she is examining the area, wiping away dust, though seemingly looking for something else as well.
She's also quite classically beautiful, he notes, with fairly large eyes, golden hair, reasonably well-proportioned and thick bones combined with a very womanly figure. Fairly young, but not overly so. Very easy on the eyes, though certainly not delicate.
In a refugee camp in Eckledun...
Scott quickly pops back in to seek affirmation for this idea he has.
"Do you want a fly-, er, float-by of local layouts, positions and storage or an in-depth reconnaissance on certain buildings or people?"
"Go for it," Justine says before getting distracted by Morton's agreement.
"I believe that would indeed be most agreeable good mage Justine, most agreeable indeed! We'll have either option to fall onto should one fall through, although hopefully such won't be the case. I wish you the best of luck in your inspection, good mage Justine and good sir Scott. I believe this would be a good enough spot for regrouping afterwards, perhaps at noon? Should you require us, we'll hopefully be conversing in the tower."
"Yes, quite."
"Good tailor Craig, shall we put word to action?"
"Indeed, no sense in wasting time."
And thus the two demonic creatures head out to the tower of the Black Circle, seeking
"Should we head to the tower straight away, or perhaps bring the aforementioned token of good will? I believe water should be easily retrieved from a well, although a kitchen or kitchen like area may be slightly more of a bother. Perhaps a pleasant innkeeper will let us use it momentarily? I believe the tower occupants would excuse the slight delay for such," he says, doing a mental inventory of his possessions. He finds that his tea supplies are still present on him, fortunately, along with a hateful stick and a book of demonology! And possibly something else he hasn't found yet. That's possible as well.
"It would be only polite to make tea, I'm sure," Tailor Craig agrees. "After all, did they really specify a time at which we should arrive?"
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...
Timothy, after righting himself to make the room and the lady less crooked, continues to speak with the woman. He still has exactly zero clue what she's saying, but it's not like that's stopped him from charming conversation before. She probably can understand what he's saying even less!
[Timothy's charisma roll: 3]
Although there is something to be said about a conversation consisting entirely of flirtatious non-sequiturs, Timothy's fairly sure he can't characterize such a conversation as 'moving along', exactly, given how he still doesn't know who this woman is or even what language she actually speaks.
In an empty room...
Darren is not quite prepared for surprise hugs, but he supposes surprise hugs are quite possibly the best kind of surprise he's encountered here yet.
"Yes, uhmmm, spread the love," he says, noticing that it seems to be the headless ghost hugging him. Feels very nice, he must say. That robe is soft and warm like nobody's business. Besides, the ghost seems to kind of like him for some reason.
Post by: miauw62 on August 06, 2014, 07:05:05 am
Explore my rock outcrop
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 06, 2014, 07:18:11 am
((Why do I feel like I should thank that ant-thing.))
It's more of a spider, really, as I forgot to tell you that you discovered as you threw it away.
Post by: Tomcost on August 06, 2014, 07:35:39 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 06, 2014, 12:18:42 pm
Hopefully he can phase through a wall or at least enter the highest window.
Post by: Xantalos on August 06, 2014, 01:23:09 pm
"Hello!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 06, 2014, 01:42:43 pm
Hmm. Too bad I don't have a male body to resist temptation with anymore. You always seemed to like my resolve, Helsvar.
"Hello!"
The maid looks quite startled by your greeting.
"Er, sorry, ma'am! I was only checking for waspgoat eggs! I'll be leaving right away! Sorry to disturb you!"
She begins to make for the door.
"How timid! So unlike a proper woman."
Post by: Xantalos on August 06, 2014, 01:44:10 pm
"No trouble!"
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 06, 2014, 04:11:46 pm
Unfortunately so.
"No trouble!"
She disappears out of the room regardless.
"Ill-mannered, too!"
Post by: Xantalos on August 07, 2014, 04:27:55 am
That said, check for waspgoat eggs. Wouldn't do for a new infestation to pop up...
Where I'm residing, that is.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 07, 2014, 04:31:04 am
Well, there's no accounting for taste, I suppose. Southerners prefer their people meek and nonboisterous for some reason.
That said, check for waspgoat eggs. Wouldn't do for a new infestation to pop up...
Where I'm residing, that is.
There weren't any here last night, and the waspgoat had already gone away by that point. Besides, you're not sure if a goat can lay eggs all by itself. At least not eggs that have a reasonable chance of hatching.
Post by: Xantalos on August 07, 2014, 04:32:59 am
Try to remember if there's anything I have to bother getting up to do.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 07, 2014, 04:36:36 am
Ah good.
Try to remember if there's anything I have to bother getting up to do.
You're not sure. You guess you're an ambassador - maybe you have some ambassing to do?
Post by: Xantalos on August 07, 2014, 04:42:57 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 07, 2014, 04:50:38 am
Any of you guys in my head know anything about ambassing?
"Sadly, I am not experienced in matters such as these, my love..."
"I never knew ambassadors actually did anything, to be honest."
"So maybe there's nothing you need to do and you can just check what the waspgoat's been up to!"
Post by: Xantalos on August 07, 2014, 05:03:06 am
Go outside and find someone. Question them as to recent waspgoat activity.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 08, 2014, 12:03:30 am
Morton considers himself quite fortunate to have all of this survive the body swap, transformation, and momentary loss of control that were in his past. Truly, tea can stand the test of a second chancer, and will always be by your side.
"No, I don't believe they did, good tailor Craig. Nothing I believe implied, nor nothing inferred, no. I suppose they must assume we shall arrive when we believe ourselves properly prepared to converse. Most appreciative, as it gives us time to properly prepare." The tea apostle replied to the demonologist tailor, looking for any signs of an inn or a place that may accommodate their wishes for water and a safe place to set it boiling. "Should we fail to locate a hospitable domicile for some proper tea brewing, we should be able to improvise. My new form appears to give off some sort of heat, although I'm afraid I'm not sure how well I can control it, if at all. Failing that, a simple improvised heated surface would be suitable, I've had to make do with such before in the past. I do quite prefer the creature comforts of civilization however, it makes things much easier."
Morton searches for an inn, restaurant, or similarly receptive place he can find and appropriate water and a fire pit to boil it from! Failing that, just water might do, as improvisation is the spice of life.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 08, 2014, 01:50:12 am
Small talk. Avoid being uncomfortable.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 09, 2014, 02:55:51 pm
Kevin, paying no mind to the spider-creature fighting for dear life a few steps away, begins to explore his rocky outcropping. After all, the creature had come from somewhere, right? And would you look at that (or rather feel it, since it has become no less pitch black since Kevin last reminded himself of the fact he can't see), there is indeed a slope leading upward. Kevin is slightly deterred by this, but then remembers that his legs feel no pain and that he's got to ride out this high while it's still there, and soldiers on, crawling up until reaching a rather narrow crack in the wall - it seems the spider-thing came through here!
In a dark and spherical chamber of stone...
Sigmund, rather careful now that it seems that luck is once more trying to turn its back on him, begins to carefully part the stone above.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
A bit too carefully, Sigmund finds, as he doesn't quite manage to inject the presence into the rock strongly or sharply enough to part it. Perhaps less care is needed in orchestrating his escape.
In the refugee camp of Eckledun...
Scott, interested greatly in ensuring the safety of his pal Morton, floats high up in the sky, following the desk's movements through the town while also keeping a close eye on the tower. Justine follows him, though floating higher than he has chosen to for some reason.
As Morton heads down the streets with Craig, eventually shuffling into a certain inn, Scott notes the location and moves off to the tower, reaching its forbidding, metal-studded exterior within a few minutes. He looks for a window, and finds that there aren't any, so he just chooses a random spot somewhere around mid-level. He floats right in, only to come into a conspicuously clean, stark white office with shelves lining the walls absolutely littered with random knickknacks, where a woman sits behind a desk (really just a set of two metal plates joined together seamlessly with each other and the floor in an L-shape), evidently conversing with a man in a dark blue armored robe with one conspicuously long arm.
The woman, garbed in a black robe with a broad white stripe running down the middle and generally round in shape, turns to look at the lump of ectoplasm that seems to have blundered into her office.
"Ah, Scott. I figured you'd drop by. I'm Susanne. How can I help you today?" she asks pleasantly.
Meanwhile, Morton and Craig both wander into an inn, seemingly dubbed the Purging Crab, which is indeed an image neither Morton nor Craig had ever quite imagined before in their lives. Walking inside, Morton quickly asks the innkeeper, a man with a large crab for a head, if he can use that rather wonderful fire cooking over there by the fireplace to boil some water, and the innkeeper clicks and chirps affirmatively. Morton, quite happy, gets to work and fixes himself up a perfectly wonderful pot of tea while Tailor Craig clicks away with his claw by the counter and chirps strangely, seemingly conversing with the crab-man.
In the guest wing of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, figuring all waspgoat news are good news, goes on and looks for somebody who hasn't slept through the rampage of the creature through the halls of the castle. He soon finds a rather more composed maid walking the halls, very cautiously looking about.
"Greetings, ma'am," Niklas says, becoming overly polite once more, knowing that this tends to bring better results when speaking with meek Southerners. "I've heard tales of waspgoat eggs. Care to comment?"
"They've got the waspgoat caged now. No eggs have been found, but you never know," the maid explains. "They say it came from the guest wing, and there's a broken door there, the destruction seemingly a perfect match for several of the waspgoat's appendages. Care to comment?" she says, and Niklas feels oddly... bewitched by her tone of voice, and also her eyes. Not in a magical way, though, he thinks. She's just incredibly fascinating to him somehow.
In an empty room...
Darren keeps trying to engage the headless thing in conversation.
"So, uhh, yeah. How are you doing?" he says, utterly failing at maintaining a modicum of personal comfort. But the other ghost says nothing, and merely continues to hug him. Darren does guess it has no ears, after all.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 09, 2014, 04:07:27 pm
*sigh*
Bloody clairvoyants.
"Any chance for fully detailed and annotated maps of the town and the tower, in case you are really the insane and perverse cultists we believe you to be and need to cut you down in the name of all that is holy and good?
...of course, you could prove yourself otherwise and use your considerable wealth and magical acuity to inform me of a way to regain physical form or at least to see to whatever malady that has turned my frie- uh...servant into a haunted piece of furniture?
...
....
.....
Also helping us destroy your insane creation would be of no small gesture of friendship."
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2014, 04:22:22 pm
((I have to ask, does Tedium Mastery apply to material foci?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 09, 2014, 04:26:12 pm
((I have to ask, does Tedium Mastery apply to material foci?))
Not in this case, since you're not doing the same thing over and over again. You could become a master of averages at parting stone above you with this focus, though.
Post by: Xantalos on August 09, 2014, 04:33:03 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 09, 2014, 04:41:33 pm
Fascinating enough to deserve a fascinating embellishment of what really happened?
Oh yes. You would definitely say so.
Post by: Xantalos on August 09, 2014, 05:23:27 pm
"My assistant and I were actually there for its horrific rampage, or the beginnings of it. We were inspecting the guest quarters when all of a sudden, just when we were opening a particular door, it came bursting through with bloodlust in it's eyes."
Wait a minute this is a female body. I should say something about my ... vegetables? Verdunn? Veterinarian? Vorpal? Vivacious viper? Do I even have one of those? That'd be awesome.
...innocence, I think they call it. Gotta stay maidenly and all that.
"I feared for my innocence, so I pulled my ritual knife and began brandishing it in the beginning strokes of a certain horrible ritual that you wouldn't wish to know the end result of, and recognizing it, for it's inimical to all magical creatures, it immediately fled, whereupon my panic caused me to temporarily forget the last hour or so, only to regain said memories when I woke up just now."
((Also I'll try to actually be consistent with quotations and stuff now so you know what's thinking and what's not.))
Post by: Tomcost on August 09, 2014, 05:56:17 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 10, 2014, 02:23:58 am
Morton hummed to himself happily as he checked and double checked the tea, trying to make sure everything was correct. Without another word, the desk withdrew two of his mildly enchanted flasks and filled them up with the freshly brewed tea. Satisfied, he topped off the tea in the pot and let it properly brew again, trying to make sure the adjustments for the refilling being just right. Making a single brew is one thing, after all, quite another topping off an existing one without tampering with the proper ratio too much.
When he was satisfied, the desk will pull the pot off of the heat and cover it carefully, making sure to try and not let much of the heat out and that it was sealed properly. Carefully setting the heated pot on his surface (withdrawing it if it proved to be too hot and instead holding it), the desk carried the two flasks to the conversing crustacean-enthused pair. A flask was presented to each when their conversation lulled, the desk first addressing the kind innkeeper.
"A gift for graciously allowing us to use your cooking fire, I do hope you enjoy it good sir innkeeper. You may keep the flask; I do apologize for our swift departure, but we are expected somewhere I'm afraid and it simply wouldn't do to keep them waiting for too long." Morton happily explained and apologized to the man, wishing he had time to converse (or attempt at least) with the interesting fellow but not wanting the tea to get cold. He makes a mental note to return later.
The tea apostle then cheerfully addressed the tailor. "A promise (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=118106.msg5172611#msg5172611) is something I always do try to keep, I hope you enjoy it good tailor Craig. I believe now we are ready to properly meet those in the tower, whenever you feel ready." Morton prompted the tailor, half as much to try and help personally mentally prep for the meeting as to politely wait for when Craig was ready to move onwards.
Prep two flasks of tea, refill the pot, place pot on Morton's surface (or carry it should it prove too hot for such). Wait for lull in conversation to present flasks to both the innkeeper and Craig, as both a gift and a kept promise respectfully. Make mental note to return to the Purging Crab to converse with its interesting proprietor. When Craig feels ready to move on, head off to the tower quickly but carefully, wouldn't do well to spill the tea after all.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2014, 02:55:45 am
...
*sigh*
Bloody clairvoyants.
"Any chance for fully detailed and annotated maps of the town and the tower, in case you are really the insane and perverse cultists we believe you to be and need to cut you down in the name of all that is holy and good?
...of course, you could prove yourself otherwise and use your considerable wealth and magical acuity and inform me of a way to regain physical form or at least to see to whatever malady that has turned my frie- uh...servant into a haunted piece of furniture?
...
....
.....
Also helping us destroy your insane creation would be of no small gesture of friendship."
"YES YOU MAY AND-" the man begins to shout at the woman, but she interrupts him as you begin to speak.
"In a moment, sir. First, I will attend to Mr. Yaleson here," she says, turning to you and listening to your spiel. "Regaining a physical form is easy, Scott. You just need a necromancer to put you in a body of some sort. As for your friend, he seems rather fine and happy. I do believe he's been a desk for quite a long time. It's kind of his thing now, isn't it?"
"My assistant and I were actually there for its horrific rampage, or the beginnings of it. We were inspecting the guest quarters when all of a sudden, just when we were opening a particular door, it came bursting through with bloodlust in it's eyes."
Wait a minute this is a female body. I should say something about my ... vegetables? Verdunn? Veterinarian? Vorpal? Vivacious viper? Do I even have one of those? That'd be awesome.
...innocence, I think they call it. Gotta stay maidenly and all that.
"I feared for my innocence, so I pulled my ritual knife and began brandishing it in the beginning strokes of a certain horrible ritual that you wouldn't wish to know the end result of, and recognizing it, for it's inimical to all magical creatures, it immediately fled, whereupon my panic caused me to temporarily forget the last hour or so, only to regain said memories when I woke up just now."
"Where did the waspgoat come from?"
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2014, 03:15:57 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 10, 2014, 03:21:46 am
Go into the crack.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2014, 03:23:28 am
"Inside the room, obviously. I don't know where it came from before that. My experience with magic is that it causes a lot of things like that."
"No offense, but your story does sound a tad flimsy. You may want to work on it," the maid points out.
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2014, 03:36:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2014, 03:38:50 am
"Even if it weren't true, no one would question it for fear of pissing off the Black Circle. Besides, it's completely true. The first rule you learn about magic is that sometimes random events like this happen. I was a squirrel at one point! Or maybe I was a hallucination. Or both."
"Well, that first bit's a reasonable point, I suppose."
You're getting a little hungry. You wonder if you could ask her out to lunch or breakfast or something.
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on August 10, 2014, 03:42:26 am
The amulet finds a random vampire somewhere else! He appears to currently be receiving a horrible amount of punishment from a fellow with a sword-whip. There's a pentacle sticking out of his forehead. Hm. Next guy!
At first I thought that we had just missed the first anniversary but apparently he goes back to 2012.
So, uh...cheers to getting mutilated?
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2014, 03:44:05 am
Quote
You're getting a little hungry. You wonder if you could ask her out to lunch or breakfast or something.
Time to be blunt!
"Can you get me food? Are you one of the food people?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2014, 04:18:16 am
"Can you get me food? Are you one of the food people?"
"I suppose I can, if you want some. What would you like?"
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2014, 04:20:32 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 10, 2014, 04:57:39 am
However, I see you only answered two of my questions...I assume they were the ones you could only answer positively? Is there an reason for this?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2014, 08:30:51 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 10, 2014, 11:20:54 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 10, 2014, 11:39:58 am
Post by: Xanmyral on August 10, 2014, 11:53:25 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 10, 2014, 12:01:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 10, 2014, 12:07:43 pm
"Meat and dairy products, as well as a big fork and knife."
"Very well, follow me."
She leads you over to a small kitchen, where she presents you with a ham and some fresh milk to drink with it, plus a fork and a knife. Neither of the pieces of cutlery are very big, however.
"You never know when something may grow tiresome...
However, I see you only answered two of my questions...I assume they were the ones you could only answer positively? Is there an reason for this?"
"Well, obviously I can't give you a map of the tower. That's privileged information. And besides, nobody really maps modular magical towers these days. Teleportation beacons as needed work far better. As for the town, I just don't have a map to give you. We phased out such materials with the advancement of divination as the informative method of choice. I simply chose not to waste your time with negative answers."
Just as you are about to reply, the man, seemingly calmer now, looks at you and speaks, having brandished a metallic swordwhip coated in hideous fluids of uncertain origin.
"Excuse me, sir, but I can't help but notice that you seem to be an ectoplasmic blob of some sort, if you'll pardon the bluntness. Am I to understand that you're the victim of a terrible curse of some kind? Perhaps a punishment by a user of magic? Have you fallen prey to any mythical beasts in the woods, mayhap? I suppose what I'm asking is, is there an interesting, monster or magic-related reason why you're an ectoplasmic blob?"
Post by: Tomcost on August 10, 2014, 12:16:08 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 10, 2014, 12:31:01 pm
Post by: Xantalos on August 10, 2014, 10:25:08 pm
"Thank you."
Cut the ham into the visage of a terrifying monster using my knife, and use the knife and fork provided as decoration.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 11, 2014, 01:16:15 am
...
Nice whip by the way...seems well used. You must be very doting to have have it survive after such apparent heavy use."
Involuntary shudder.*
Turns to the lady.
"And what is your response to the charge of creating a creature against a laws of nature that is currently seeking to assend into godhood?
I am not here to judge...I may sound a bit terse since my master, who I am unfortunately bonded to, is currently held captive by the thing...it wants to 'learn' from wizards, so we are tasked with...collecting them."
Scott tries to sound as melancholy as possible
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 12, 2014, 06:42:21 am
Sigmund goes ahead and attempts to make progress in a slow and steady fashion, figuring he should be able to get out of here sooner or later. After all, he's got time.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
He casually worms his influence upward, slicing deeply into the stone above, and when he's made decent progress, he spontaneously widens it, the stone almost doesn't know what to do with itself! The whole surrounding area begins to quake as the moved stone displaces other stone, and that in turn moves other stone, and a sort of domino effect ensues - Sigmund can hear ceilings begin to cave in around him, walls crumble, wild clicking emanating from newly-opened holes in walls, and, as he soon discovers, a rather sizable amount of rubble collapsing down on his extended presence. It's not difficult to hold it up, strictly speaking, but it definitely leaves him with fewer options of what to do from here on in, given that if he stops extending his presence that way, he's going to find out firsthand what it feels like to have 20 tons of rubble fall on him from a great height.
Within the Purging Crab...
Morton, after bringing the preparation of exquisite tea to a stylish conclusion at the cooking fire, moves to the innkeeper and Tailor Craig, and offers some tribute for allowing him patronage of this fine establishment as soon as the conversation (or at least what Morton can make out of it) comes to a lull.
"A gift for graciously allowing us to use your cooking fire, I do hope you enjoy it, good sir innkeeper. You may keep the flask; I do apologize for our swift departure, but we are expected somewhere, I'm afraid, and it simply wouldn't do to keep them waiting for too long."
Tailor Craig also clicks his claw a few times, and the innkeeper accepts the flask of tea offered and chirps happily. Morton then turns to Tailor Craig, handing him another flask.
"A promise is something I always do try to keep, I hope you enjoy it good tailor Craig. I believe now we are ready to properly meet those in the tower, whenever you feel ready," he says, watching Tailor Craig absorb the tea as it floats out of its container when he nears it to his lack of a face, propelled by some form of inaudible suction.
"It's quite good, thank you," Tailor Craig says, his speech seemingly not impeded at all by the consumption of tea. "And we were only making smalltalk, no need to wait on our account," he adds, then clicks at the innkeeper a few times, who clicks back. And then, without another word, the desk and the tailor walk out of the Purging Crab, and reach the tower within five minutes, finding a massive, forbidding steel front door with, strangely enough, a doorknocker awaiting them.
On a slope leading up to a spidercrack...
Kevin, hoping that the spider he just threw into the water wasn't part of a colony, crawls into the crack, and proceeds along it, seeking to move so deep down the rabbit hole that he emerges out the other end. And as he continues on, he realizes that his hope may have been in vain, as what awaits him deeper within is a series of small tunnels, claustrophobic and feeling like they may be crushed with him in them at any point, and also with regular sounds of something skittering in the distance.
And just then, much to his dismay, he feels a quake, but it does not cause any tunnels to collapse, most fortunately, or get him stuck in any way. However, he is still blind, and stuck inside a network of tunnels that is in all likelihood filled with giant spiders.
In one of the kitchens of Castle Fenton...
Niklas tries to locate his knife, before realizing that he probably left it with the rat back in the Tower of Power. Oh well! Further challenge awaits!
"Thank you," he says and digs in!
[Niklas' culinary dark arts roll: 1+1]
He stabs the not particularly sharp knife provided into the ham, and the ham nearly bounces off the table as a result. Hm.
"You need to hold it down, then stab," the maid advises soundly, smiling at him, and Niklas blushes a little.
In an office in a tower of the Black Circle...
Scott, addressing the whip man, spins the tragic tale of his mutilation.
"I was cut down... literally... whilst hunting giant crab. After freeing myself from the remains of my body I later lost control of my latent pyrokinetic powers."
He pauses.
"Nice whip, by the way... seems well used. You must be very doting to have have it survive after such apparent heavy use," he says, shuddering. The man makes no indication of finding the compliment in any way flattering. And with that, Scott turns to the lady.
"And what is your response to the charge of creating a creature against a laws of nature that is currently seeking to ascend into godhood? I am not here to judge...I may sound a bit terse since my master, who I am unfortunately bonded to, is currently held captive by the thing...it wants to 'learn' from wizards, so we are tasked with...collecting them."
The lady merely shrugs.
"Well, can't say that's any of my business, really," she says, glancing at the man for a moment. "But we can point you to some wizards that need collecting."
"By the way, sir, have you seen a group of three roughly identical women and one shiny, crystalline one? It's part of a quest I am currently undertaking, you see. And what is this I heard about a moving desk?" the man asks immediately afterward of Scott.
Post by: miauw62 on August 12, 2014, 06:59:36 am
Can I swim?
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2014, 07:55:07 am
So, this is what actually appened in that conversation a long time ago:
Harry: are my player killing tendencies controlled?
Me: yes, they are
*Sends the Whip-Man in a quest to kill the players))
Hmmm. Shape my presence into a conical shape, so that the rocks I'm currently holding slide away into the rest of the place. The not-above-my-head place.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2014, 08:23:30 am
As for the others...I recall seeing them perhaps on the other side of the Island? We didn't converse much and I had not the chance to ask what they were doing."
Scott says truthful things without being too informative.
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2014, 08:38:35 am
Post by: Xantalos on August 12, 2014, 12:27:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 12, 2014, 12:34:59 pm
Try again, but use the knife the lady had up her sleeve before I possessed her.
You lost your sleeve in the usual way, by losing your arm to a frenzied rat. Hence why you're walking about in a sleeveless robe right now, in what is surely a major fashion faux pas.
Post by: Xantalos on August 12, 2014, 12:36:17 pm
Take her advice, then.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2014, 03:18:25 pm
((I think that you haven't seen us at all))Pretty sure I have, we were on the boat together. And I was shown where we landed, so not much of a stretch. :P
Post by: Tomcost on August 12, 2014, 03:25:40 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on August 12, 2014, 03:51:12 pm
Well then...
"Morton, my-erst while servant is a spiritually inhabited desk at the moment, but it has not one bit lessened his optimism and dedication to politeness. I do hope very dearly that he is not part of this same quest? I would be gravely injured if this was so.
As for the others...No...I have not heard of such things.
Make my leave and warn Morton.
Post by: Xanmyral on August 13, 2014, 09:54:44 am
Morton gave the tower an appraising gaze before finally settling on the steel door, giving it a good look over. "They most certainly value their security, but I suppose one shouldn't blame them. As important officials have bodyguards, I've no doubt a door of such construction is sadly a necessity." Morton commented, before a wispy brown arm extended from his floating frame, latching onto the doorknocker and giving it a swift three knocks.
Use the doorknocker, wait patiently. Should a reasonable amount of time pass without notice, attempt again a second time
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 15, 2014, 09:47:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 16, 2014, 07:35:56 am
Kevin, not-so-secretly terrified of both large numbers of giant spiders and dangerous quakes, decides to move out of the labyrinth as quickly and screamingly as possible, which he succeeds at wonderfully, plunging out onto the rocky outcrop.
An unfortunate side effect of this seems to be that the spiders have heard him, are currently skittering right after to investigate and find the flesh that seems to be disturbing the peace so terribly. Kevin guesses the obvious thing to do here is to try and swim - he doesn't think it should be difficult at all, considering he's still got functioning arms. One might point out that he doesn't have functioning legs, however, but that's just needlessly negative thinking.
In a shaped, partly collapsed chamber deep underground...
Sigmund has a clever thought. When facing rubble, the best idea is no doubt to deflect it off to the side. Having no idea how that could possibly backfire, he tries to shape his presence conically to divert the rubble away.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 1]
In a slight lapse of concentration as he tries to figure out the exact shape and dimensions of the cone needed to not be crushed underneath the rubble, he accidentally withdraws his pillar of presence, from above, and the rubble falls toward him.
[Sigmund's reaction roll: 2]
[Sigmund's endurance roll: 5]
He is buried underneath around 50 tons of rubble momentarily, though his box, to its credit, is largely unharmed by this. The rubble seems to have filled the chamber entirely, covering the few gnomes still within and presumably squishing them dead, and more of it seems to be collecting atop Sigmund at this very moment, making for an unpleasant pressure on his box.
In a kitchen of Castle Fenton...
Following the maid's advice, Niklas tries to do his work once more, placing a hand on the ham and then beginning to cut it.
[Niklas' culinary dark arts roll: 6+1]
It turns out that having a dull knife does wonders for ones creative drive, as Niklas discovers, having cut the ham into a visage so hideous and decorated it with the knife and fork so unthinkably, even he wishes to look away as he considers it. He shows his handiwork to the maid, who looks at it for a moment.
"That looks... artistic. And somewhat appetizing, disturbingly enough," she comments, then looks at Niklas. "Does it, erm, signify anything?"
In Eckledun's Black Tower...
Scott, after informing these rogues that he don't know nuthin', quickly disappears through the nearby wall before anyone can say another word, finding himself back in the air once more. He knows immediately that he should warn his friends, but then realizes that he doesn't see them anywhere around here. A quick check of the inn they went inside of reveals nothing of interest as well. You know, aside from a crab-headed innkeeper.
Outside Eckledun's Black Tower...
Morton, after regarding the door, thinks of what a door may say of its owner - this door in particular speaks of importance, he thinks.
"They most certainly value their security, but I suppose one shouldn't blame them. As important officials have bodyguards, I've no doubt a door of such construction is sadly a necessity," he says, giving the door three knocks with doorknocker, and suddenly both he and Craig find themselves... elsewhere. A waiting room of sorts, where two mages seem to be sitting, drinking what looks like tea. Ah! Connoisseurs of the drink, maybe? They both raise their eyes to look at the new arrivals - one is a middle-aged, good-looking woman in a dark blue robe, one is a young man in a reddish robe. Both look a tad enchanted at the sight of the two new arrivals.
"My, you seem like unusual people," the woman remarks.
"Er, if both of you are people, that is. Wouldn't want to make assumptions," the young man remarks, and the woman gives him a sharp look.
In an empty room...
Darren, not sure he wants his hugs to be quite eternal, pats his ghostly friend's hands, and begins to move forward, only for the ghost to move forward with him, their movements synched. On one hand, that's a bit strange. On the other, this ghostly fellow doesn't seem to really inconvenience him in any way aside from the obvious social kind, or particularly inhibit his movements.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 16, 2014, 07:51:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 16, 2014, 08:39:55 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 16, 2014, 10:20:03 am
At least Sigmund knows how to remove rock from above him. Do that.
Post by: Xantalos on August 16, 2014, 05:01:44 pm
Do you happen to have any paper and recording things? I want to draw this before I devour it to boost my courage.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2014, 03:46:49 am
I don't think so. It's just a mindset.
Do you happen to have any paper and recording things? I want to draw this before I devour it to boost my courage.
"Actually, I do."
She hands you a small sheet of paper with a few quick notes made on one side and a sharpened piece of coal wrapped in a handkerchief, both retrieved from one of her many pockets.
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2014, 03:58:39 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2014, 04:02:17 am
Draw said horrible visage!
You draw a fairly accurate representation, although it does suffer a bit in the transition, losing some undefinable quality in its horrible nature, and becoming very mildly less fearsome in two dimensions. A limit of the medium, you suppose.
"You seem to have many talents," the maid comments. "Can you... do any magic, if I may ask?"
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2014, 11:07:15 am
Does this place have a blacksmith?
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2014, 11:09:10 am
Not yet, unfortunately. It takes many years to master the simplest spells, apparently. Or it could be my teacher does not trust me.
Does this place have a blacksmith?
"Of course. What kind of third-rate castle wouldn't have a blacksmith?"
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2014, 11:14:26 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2014, 11:42:42 am
Extremely third rate castles. Could you lead me there?
"Certainly. Shall we go right now, or would you like to eat your breakfast first?"
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2014, 11:44:25 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 17, 2014, 11:46:25 am
I'll bring it with me; I want to show it to the blacksmith.
"I see. Well, that's quite acceptable, I suppose. The ham may get a little dirty in there, though."
Post by: Xantalos on August 17, 2014, 11:49:34 am
To the smithy!
Post by: Xanmyral on August 17, 2014, 04:35:49 pm
"Oh, we are quite people indeed, good sir and miss." Morton spoke, his frame tilting forward as brown arms extend to accompany the respectful bow. He was mindful of the tea, however. Both his, and with a twinkle in a non-existent eye, theirs.
"If it's not too much bother, would you perhaps know where we are? I'm afraid this is my first time visiting such a prestigious place, so I fear I may lack knowledge of common practices such as, well, suddenly appearing other places. Oh, but where are my manners, first, proper introductions are in order: I am Carter Morton, and this is my friend, good tailor Craig."
Greet the affable mages, inquire of current location.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 17, 2014, 11:31:15 pm
Every time I meet a ghost, I swear.
Onwards!
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 20, 2014, 06:06:49 pm
Scott, figuring that his friend's probably on top of his game as usual, descends to check the door to the inside of the tower. But sadly, there's nobody here! Well, aside from a small dog sitting by the nearby wall, watching Scott silently.
It appears to be judging him.
On a rocky precipice outside a labyrinth of spiders...
Kevin decides to risk another swim - but only with certain precautions, naturally. Such as a precious lifespider to keep him afloat. He lies down and waits for a spider to come within reach.
[Spider 1 vs. Kevin: 3 vs. 6-1+1]
And as soon as the first spider begins to prod at him painfully, Kevin strikes!
[Countergrab: Kevin vs. Spider 1: 2 vs. 4]
Unfortunately, a living spider is a little difficult to grab, especially in this kind of darkness!
[Spider 2 vs. Kevin: 4 vs. 3]
Another spider pokes him in the arm!
[Spider 3 vs. Kevin: 6 vs. 2-1+1]
And a third stabs him right in the chest, and at that very moment Kevin's arms go stiff and he can't quite move anymore! The spiders, having obtained food at last, begin to drag him away, into the labyrinth.
Underneath many tons of rock...
Sigmund guesses there's an easy solution to the whole rock problem (or stone problem) that he's having - more magic, obviously. More magic is the only option, of course, aside from prayer, which has far too many strikes against it according to Sigmund's personal experience to be considered viable, and maybe hoping for demonic intervention, which seems unlikely. So more magic it is!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 5]
A blade of presence is emitted upwards from Sigmund, and it parts the debris around him, creating a relatively small, stable upward tunnel, stone compacted all around it, taking off any pressure and also narrowing his chamber a significant amount - he feels there is only a small distance for his presence left to go, and then he can focus on rising up.
In one of the kitchens of Castle Fenton...
Niklas urges the maid to take him over to the smithy, and she does - it takes quite a walk, though not outside the castle, in a peculiar room that seems to be empty except for a giant black box in the very middle with a crude metal ladder leading up its side.
"Our smith is a tad... unusual," the maid explains, and knocks on the side of the box. After a solid minute of complete silence, the figure of a man appears on the edge of the box. He is a man, large and rather hairy, with crazy eyes and muscular build, shirtless and terribly scarred all over, and also possessing a rather long and also thoroughly singed beard.
"What do you people... a-wahey!" he goes upon spotting Niklas and his companion. "Not one, but two pretty girls coming to visit me today! How can I help?"
Upon looking in his wild eyes and seeing the untamed spirit within them, Niklas is almost swept off his feet with sudden infatuation.
In a waiting room of Eckledun's most magical tower...
"Oh, we are quite people indeed, good sir and miss," Morton informs the two mages.
"We may certainly look only vaguely human at best, but I assure you we are both gentlemen of class and distinction," Tailor Craig adds.
"If it's not too much bother, would you perhaps know where we are? I'm afraid this is my first time visiting such a prestigious place, so I fear I may lack knowledge of common practices such as, well, suddenly appearing other places. Oh, but where are my manners, first, proper introductions are in order: I am Carter Morton, and this is my friend, good tailor Craig."
"Mr. Morton, Mr. Craig, I am pleased to meet you both," the woman nods. "Lindsay Fenster, by the way."
"Jay Garfield. Also kind of pleased to meet you and all that," the young man offers.
And at that exact moment, two people walk in - a cheery woman in a black robe with a broad white stripe running down the middle and that fellow who whipped poor Morton back in Mothdale for no good reason, who Morton is slightly surprised to see here.
"Welcome, Carter! Welcome, Craig!" the woman goes. "How have you been? Is your quest going well? Because I'm Susanne, and I'm ready to help to the best of my ability."
The man merely looks at Morton quite intensely, his nostrils flaring with recognition.
In the Engineers' Tombs of the City of the Dead...
Darren, incapable of freeing himself from the warm, headless ghost, tries to make conversation instead as he moves along.
"Ah. Okay then. I uhh, I guess you're with me then. You, uhh, got a name?" he asks as they move toward a nearby wall, but the ghost, being very much neckless as well as headless, has not the throat to answer with, unfortunately.
Ultimately, though Darren makes it into a brand new room, one that seems to be more of a pit - a pit that glows a peculiar shade of cerulean, tiny little wisps of energy streaming up from it. He looks into it as best as he is able, and notices that there seems to be something at the bottom - a pedestal of some sort, a large figure seemingly circling around it. And in the walls of the pit he believes he can see spectral faces - either hiding ghosts or merely the remnants of ghosts, best described as humanoid and little else that Darren finds recognizable.
Post by: Xantalos on August 20, 2014, 06:22:12 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 20, 2014, 07:56:00 pm
I don't doubt that soon he'll be shrieking in a very shrill manner if they were to meet again.]
Oh my. That was the first thought that popped into the desks mind upon witnessing the new arrivals. The next being the very base instinct to flee the violent man, followed shortly by if he could make peace with him. After all, the damage had been minimal and fixed by now, and he very much doubts the man would strike him here, but fear for one's mortal coil is rather convincing.
His civilized ethics winning out, the desk quickly regained composure and proceeded, giving the woman a bow, albeit mindful of the tea once more. "We fare quite wonderfully, good mage Susanne, and thank you for the gracious and speedy welcome. Formal greetings are quite in order I believe, I am Carter Morton, albeit most simply call me Morton, and this is my good friend, good tailor Craig. I do hope we aren't too much of a bother on your schedule." The tea apostle replied, mindful of the other guests, who prior he was just about to address before the newcomers arrived.
"As for the quest, marvelously considering the present circumstances. Before we perhaps get down to business -- as they say -- about Mothdale, I'd like to invite everyone here to a bit of tea, I brewed it myself not too long ago. I believe I should have enough for everyone. It's the least I can do to repay your attention."
Turning to Fenster and Garfield, the desk apologized quickly. "I'm terribly sorry our conversation is cut short, and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you. I do hope we can continue it afterwords; I don't wish to take up to much of good mage Susanne's time when others could be waiting."
Greet Susanne, be affable, invite all in the room (including the whipman) to tea. Apologize to the other two mages for their conversation being cut short.
Post by: Xantalos on August 20, 2014, 11:33:37 pm
*ahem*
Helsvar, I'd like you to know that I will always be loyal to you, and that any untoward actions on my part are not mine, but the result of the uterus devils infesting this body's bowels climbing up into my head.
Compose self with thoughts of cooking and drudgery. Try not to vacantly stare.
"Smithman! I have an important proposition."
Show him the ham and the drawing.
"Are you skilled enough to put this image on a helmet and leave the scariness in? I need a war helmet. I think I lost my previous one to some sort of fish. Or something. Anyhow, can you do it?"
Post by: Innsmothe on August 21, 2014, 12:51:00 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 21, 2014, 02:33:56 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 21, 2014, 05:34:11 am
((I wouldn't be too worried about the Whip Man. He is no match for Craig. Or at least I hope that))
Make my pillar keep going up. Stop If I'm going too far. Better reduce the distance that something falling vertically on me would be able to use to accelerate. You know, so that history doesn't repeat itself.
EDIT OF THE EDIT:
Concentration check: with how much force would I have to push the pillar so that it doesn't crush me against the ceiling?
((And I'm here trying to beat entropy in an RTD. Yeah, I'm mad.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 22, 2014, 06:47:39 pm
If no, proceed.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 26, 2014, 08:12:13 pm
Morton decides, against his animal instincts of flight and diplomacy, to be as affable as he can toward these people - no doubt they'll respond with the same.
"We fare quite wonderfully, good mage Susanne, and thank you for the gracious and speedy welcome. Formal greetings are quite in order I believe, I am Carter Morton, albeit most simply call me Morton, and this is my good friend, good tailor Craig. I do hope we aren't too much of a bother on your schedule."
"Very pleased to meet all of you."
"In all honesty, Carter, you shouldn't worry. Today, you basically are our schedule, if that makes sense."
It sort of does, but that does not make the remark sound less ominous. The whip man appears to be eying Morton, stroking his chin and sniffing the air thoughtfully.
"As for the quest, marvelously considering the present circumstances. Before we perhaps get down to business -- as they say -- about Mothdale, I'd like to invite everyone here to a bit of tea, I brewed it myself not too long ago. I believe I should have enough for everyone. It's the least I can do to repay your attention."
And thus he serves tea - the whip man is the first to take a sip. It's a good, long sip.
"Yum," he says, narrowing his eyes at Morton.
The others seem quite pleased with it as well, though they say nothing, merely making animal noises of approval. Morton quickly apologizes to Jay and Lindsay.
"I'm terribly sorry our conversation is cut short, and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you. I do hope we can continue it afterwords; I don't wish to take up to much of good mage Susanne's time when others could be waiting."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. There's not much business we had here in the first place."
"Though I suppose we'll stick around in any case."
"Well then!" Susanne sort of interjects. "You have business here. Shall we get to discussing, then? There's the Not-So-Free City of Gub, and you need people there. Mages, to be specific. We can help, of course, and I believe you'd be interested."
At the smithy of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, considering that his loyal lady love has the privilege of hearing his every thought, or at least he thinks that might be the case, tries to assuage her no doubt very overt suspicions.
~Helsvar, I'd like you to know that I will always be loyal to you, and that any untoward actions on my part are not mine, but the result of the uterus devils infesting this body's bowels climbing up into my head.~
"Strange how I have never had that problem, isn't it, my love?"
"Tee-hee, Dad has funny feelings deep inside!"
He tries to compose himself despite this lack of faith in the existence of uterus devils, which are surely to blame. He only succeeds in getting his palms to start sweating.
"Smithman! I have an important... proposition," he says, inhaling deeply as his heart starts to beat faster, producing the ham and showing it to the breathtakingly beautiful man. His face immediately becomes quite grim, and Niklas' heart sinks a little, but he continues, albeit a little shakily. "Are you skilled enough to put this image on a helmet and leave the scariness in? I need a war helmet. I think I lost my previous one to some sort of fish. Or something. Anyhow, can you do it?"
"I'm afraid I cannot in good conscience do that, milady," he explains slowly. "It goes against my creed to reproduce things of beauty. It cheapens their appeal, and the visage of this ham is far too beautiful in its impermanence. It will soon be eaten, no doubt, and if not, it will decompose, losing its original shape. But it will remain in the memory of the ones who have seen it. And from there, the memories will grow and transcend the physical limitations of the medium. To make an imitation of this ham would be to deprive it of its true potential for horror, and I can't bring myself to do such a thing, sad as it may make me to decline. But tell me, who was the artisan who shaped this ham? It would be most interesting to speak with him, I think."
Outside the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott, though not rich in time at the moment, nevertheless decides to go with what social custom dictates he should do. And that is to politely request entry.
"Ahem. May I come in?" he asks, and the dog merely replies with a bark, then begins to pant. Its eyes are still judging.
In the grasp of spiders in the dark...
Kevin decides that he does not wish to be captured by spiders and have his insides liquefied, then eaten, and so he tries with all his might to bite the spiders carrying him!
[Kevin vs. Spider 1: 3-2 vs. 1]
He then almost immediately discovers that chitin is tougher than he thought it was, even when in such miniscule quantities as spiders possess it. It's like trying to bite through a centimeter of leather, he discovers. The spiders are a bit spooked by this, but move along with his body anyway, dragging him into the rather unsafe-feeling cracks. He is dragged for a good five minutes before he is allowed to settle in a certain place, at which point the spiders bite him several times, anesthetically neutralizing basically any muscle movements on his part. And then, in a move you'd entirely expect from your average spider, they immediately begin to fight from the sound of it.
At that moment, the sounds of intense, sustained fumbling around of eight-legged creatures fill the area where Kevin is deposited - Kevin quickly comes to the conclusion that spiders probably can't fight each other that well. Especially if they're the same species. But they are animalistic machines that exist only to murder, so what else are they going to do? In the next few minutes there's chittering, jumping sounds, legs rubbing up against one another, fangs swinging around and missing, pedipalps clashing, chelicerae spurting venom, that sort of thing. Then a sudden high-pitched screech and the sound of something getting crushed. The noises become less audible, and there's a sound of legs tapping against the stony surroundings, growing more distant. And then, only one spider begins to drag Kevin off again - he's still entirely numb, but one guesses he could still get out of it. Somehow.
In a secluded subterranean chamber...
Sigmund, in no rush whatsover, wonders how much force is needed to push him upward. Locked in a box and not very educated on these matters, the best he can provide is a ballpark estimate. And if he had to guess, it's not at all a matter of "how much force", but really kind of an issue of "how to displace", in which case the answer is a definite "slowly". He needs actual compacted material to fill the area beneath him, so that when he moves his presence he doesn't run the risk of falling down, but scooping that much rock up without making the place cave in on him may be difficult - the obvious answer is to scoop from some distance away. And then, once everything's pushed over here, though not to a degree where it crushes him, then he might be able to make a pillar up to where he wants to be.
Simple hypothetically, of course, but Sigmund has not let that stop him in the past.
At a strange pit of some sort...
Darren, for fear of accumulating yet more friends on his body, decides to ask a question.
"Uh, are-are you guys also going to hug me?"
Some of the faces begin to shake vigorously. Some begin to go in circles. Darren guesses that's a no, and decides to proceed - though in this case, he finds himself inexorably drawn to the bottom of the pit. He moves closer and closer, and something becomes increasingly visible on the pedestal - a wreath of sorts, green and full of life, although seemingly coated in a layer of glowing ectoplasm, giving it a strange sheen, then encased in a greater sphere of glass set into a very predatory-looking claw. And around it floats a ghost - over two meters tall and recognizably human, although there seems to be something peculiar about him. It's unplaceable, really - there's something up with his balding scalp, his darting eyes, his rather muscular frame, his flowing robe. A distinct aura of unnaturalness, one might say, though its exact nature is elusive.
Judging from the rather obvious importance of the pedestal, Darren would guess that's the Crown of Flowers. Though who the man is, he cannot say. Before he can really devote it much thought, the man looks at him, his eyes seemingly swimming freely around his face, altering their position to view Darren from as many perspectives and angles as possible, though he says nothing.
Post by: Xantalos on August 26, 2014, 08:50:06 pm
"I did, obviously. Now then, step aside. I'm gonna have that terrifying helm one way or another, even if I have to spontaneously teach myself how to blacksmith!"
Make a frowny face. Also check that I still have both arms, I remember them getting ripped off a little while ago.
If he steps aside, dash into the workshop and try to figure out this blacksmithing business.
If not, keep on talking.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 27, 2014, 02:24:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2014, 04:37:01 am
That's because your body is pure and wonderful and from the North. I don't even remember where I got this one; I bargained it out of some guy so I wouldn't have to be a chair, I think? It's third rate, while yours is masterwork.
"I did, obviously. Now then, step aside. I'm gonna have that terrifying helm one way or another, even if I have to spontaneously teach myself how to blacksmith!"
Make a frowny face. Also check that I still have both arms, I remember them getting ripped off a little while ago.
If he steps aside, dash into the workshop and try to figure out this blacksmithing business.
If not, keep on talking.
"Aw. I just can't stay mad at you, my love."
As soon as you mention that you're the author of this piece of work, the man appears surprised.
"Ah? You made it? I would not have thought so! How fascinating!"
As he considers this, you attempt to clamber up the black wall of the box that seems to host the forge, but the walls are quite slippery.
"Hm! Perhaps I could indeed let you into the Mystery Forge. Perhaps you will create something quite impressive indeed! But be warned that the Mystery Forge can be dangerous to the unprepared. This would not be a problem, if it were not for the fact that none are prepared for the Mystery Forge, and that only one may be inside it or even behold it at a time! Do you believe yourself worthy?"
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2014, 05:17:24 am
((Also, Life Begins at Death: Profound Ham))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2014, 05:32:27 am
((What were the gods of thsi universe again?))
((Also, Life Begins at Death: Profound Ham))
The Five Gods:
Narcillicus: beauty, emotion, art
Pacitarius: nature, life, non-humanity
Rysinia: war, industry, logic
Velusius: death, magic, adversity
Almiria: order, regulation, killing you if you step out of line
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2014, 05:34:29 am
Do what I thought. Stop if I'm getting too close to the ceiling.
((Fingers crossed))
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2014, 06:07:04 am
"Oh great Velusius, give me the strength to murder the fuck out of these spiders."
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 27, 2014, 07:46:52 am
"Hey, uhh... How are you?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2014, 08:19:43 am
In the midst of the glamour, power, and infinite mysticality of the Crown, Darren found himself struck speechless. As such, he tried do what he always did when he lacked things to say, ask the easy questions.
"Hey, uhh... How are you?"
"Awful," says the... currently left eye of the man.
"Despicably terrible," his right eye agrees.
"Haunted by deadlines," his mouth mumbles along.
Post by: Xantalos on August 27, 2014, 02:26:10 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2014, 03:25:12 pm
"I make stuff like this all the time. I'm worthy."
"Very well!" the blacksmith says, kicking down a ladder and climbing down, then stepping aside. "You may climb on up! I'm sure you'll know what to do from there if you're worthy."
Post by: Xantalos on August 27, 2014, 03:37:06 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 28, 2014, 05:53:50 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 28, 2014, 05:56:04 am
"Ah, yes, sounds absolutely awful."
"I know, right?" his left eye concurs.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2014, 03:34:41 pm
Sigmund, armed with a deep conviction that he can, against all odds, get out of this nightmarish realm, utilizes his accessible knowledge to magically uplift himself.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4+2]
And he ascends, see how he rises! Sigmund's rising from the earth! The pillar carries him upward, upward, ever upward, bringing him almost right next to the ceiling he so desperately wished to reach. He is quite close to freedom, of that there can be no doubt. All his multitudinous parts shall soon be free, unless the gods themselves decide to screw him over!
Which could totally happen, of course, and wouldn't even be particularly unlikely, if what Sigmund's experience tells of them is correct.
In the lair of many giant spiders...
Kevin, like so many poor, desperate fools before him, sees no particularly displeasing way this could possibly get any worse. So like any poor, desperate fool, he decides to pray to Velusius, god of death, magic, and other such amusing diversions that take one away from life and one's life away!
"Oh great Velusius, give me the strength to murder the fuck out of these spiders."
He gets the feeling that this was probably not enough groveling, because he can feel all of jack shit right now. Or maybe that's the spider venom. He does feel a little better, he thinks. Maybe some other god would be more inclined to help him?
Outside the Mystery Forge...
Niklas, goaded on by the blacksmith, moves up the stairs and gets on the boundary of the Mystery Forge - oddly, he can't see inside, despite there being plenty of light. It's like down there is only solid darkness of some nefarious kind.
Not that this worries someone as brave as Niklas, naturally. His madmanwoman instincts tell him that this can only end well, and so he climbs right in!
[Mystery rolls: ?, ?, ?]
Time passes, and Niklas comes out of the solid darkness, unknowing as ever. In his hands seems to be a metal helmet in the shape of a regular ham with no eyeholes, and a ham in the shape of the head of a rather fetching woman that looks a little familiar. As he climbs out, Niklas gazes at the other people present. The maid goes a little pale, while the blacksmith applauds.
"Wonderful work! Wonderful!" he says, in a manner that nearly makes Niklas' heart melt.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 29, 2014, 04:50:35 pm
Final thing to do:
Move the stone above me upwards, until no thing is blocking its movement, then set it aside. After that, more pillar thing upwards to freedom!
((Yet another time that Kevin has been rejected by Velsius. Who knows, if the Artiste succeeds and becomes all powerful and godlike, he may even kill Velusius for us! Yeah, not likely, but, well, we can dream))
Post by: Xantalos on August 29, 2014, 05:17:58 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2014, 05:19:25 pm
"Hmm. Well, that'll be for Lifeboy. May I go in again, smith?"
The blacksmith smiles.
"Feel free."
Post by: Xantalos on August 29, 2014, 05:22:40 pm
ignore his smiling ignore it
Post by: miauw62 on August 30, 2014, 05:13:05 am
"Oh great Pacitarius, grant me control over these spiders so that I may release them from their savage, spidericidal ways!"
Post by: Xanmyral on August 30, 2014, 04:54:17 pm
Also, amusingly enough, seems that their precog wasn't that in-depth considering what she thinks Morton's current goal is. Go big, go home, etc.]
Morton rotated along the horizontal axis slightly at the comment by Susanne, nodding in respect as the focal point shifted to the two. "Yes, it is true good mage Susanne, good group Gub did inquire of us to go invite mages to join the soon-to-be-gem town of Mothdale. But I'm quite of the hope that it shall be a by product what I wish to truly accomplish."
"You see, good mage Susanne, I wish to inspire and encourage a peace between good group Gub and the old inhabitants of Mothdale, the poor inhabitants of the refugee camps. I want the refugees to not fear for their minds nor their lives if they live in Mothdale, nor do I wish them to harm good group Gub for he simply lacks perspective and knowledge. A peaceful accord can be struck to great benefit to both, for I've seen what good group Gub can do, and I believe that should such a accord be reached, Mothdale can flourish as a unique and peaceful place."
The desk explained, arms materializing out of his frame to gesture along with what he was saying: a waving gesture away from the group at the comment of the camp, two hands shaking together at the comment of the accord, so on and so forth. Morton idly wished he could perhaps shape the arms into other forms, as a sort of pictographic form of physical gestures, but moved on swiftly.
"Should this be accomplished, I don't doubt mages would flock to such a strange but peaceful place for their studies or to avoid worry. But this is contingent on the accord I'm afraid, and that requires an assurance from Gub and a presentation of the idea to the refugees. I would most certainly appreciate any means of assistance, and I'd be more than happy to hear of any possible ideas of how to address the dreadful situation; I'm aware that mine is unfortunately long term."
Put the -mancy in diplomacy.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2014, 01:48:14 pm
Scott, deciding that he has no interest in listening to this silly dog judging him, moves to phase into the building, going right through the door.
The thing that immediately happens, Scott notices, is that he finds himself in a rather dark place after a peculiar warble rings out. You try to move, but realize that you seem to be in some sort of capsule. One you don't seem to be able to phase into, exactly.
~Hello, Scott,~ a petite voice, perhaps that of a little girl, rings out in your hand. ~How are you feeling?~
So very close to the surface...
Sigmund, quite excited about freedom, in what is surely a natural reaction by someone trapped beneath it for what has felt like a very long time, succumbs to the intense urge to rush at the very last moment as the scent of freedom hits him!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
He rips away the layer of stone right above him, blasting it every which way, then focuses on pushing himself out along with a stone pillar!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
And so the pillar rises, pushing him up out of the earth, on a mighty tall pillar of assorted minerals dubbed 'stone' for the sake of convenience! The box is still sealed tightly, he still can't see anything or really open it in any reasonable way, and he's probably about thirty meters above ground, but those are all minor details in all likelihood.
On the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas, not ready to give up just yet, dives back into the Mystery Forge, seeking to build the helmet of his dreams!
[Mystery rolls: ?, ?]
He comes out once more, holding another chunk of metal shaped vaguely like a helmet. The rest of his items appear unchanged.
"Ah, you're getting closer, I see. Sad that you do not have the sample anymore, is it not?" the blacksmith notes.
"Erm, not to spoil the fun, but perhaps you should stop?" the maid asks. "The results seem... unpredictable."
In the clutches of a spider...
Kevin continues down the list of potentially helpful deities, though perhaps his means of appeal could use work.
"Oh great Pacitarius, grant me control over these spiders so that I may release them from their savage, spidericidal ways!"
The air becomes thicker for a moment, and Kevin becomes aware of a presence here. A divine presence. The spider seems to feel it as well. And then it begins to say something to him. The voice sounds immature physically, yet manlike in its words.
~Just dropped in to say, crappiest pitch I've heard all month. Congratulations on being this month's winner. Don't ask again, m'kay?~
The presence promptly disappears, and the spider soon begins moving out once more, depositing Kevin in what feels like a larger room of some kind. The spider retreats immediately, though another one seems to be arriving from a slight distance, if what Kevin is hearing is correct.
In a waiting room in Eckledun...
Morton continues his diplomacy unabated, words pouring from his obvious lack of a mouth while the others nod knowingly.
"Yes, it is true, good mage Susanne, good group Gub did inquire of us to go invite mages to join the soon-to-be-gem town of Mothdale. But I'm quite of the hope that it shall be a by product what I wish to truly accomplish."
"You see, good mage Susanne, I wish to inspire and encourage a peace between good group Gub and the old inhabitants of Mothdale, the poor inhabitants of the refugee camps. I want the refugees to not fear for their minds nor their lives if they live in Mothdale, nor do I wish them to harm good group Gub for he simply lacks perspective and knowledge. A peaceful accord can be struck to great benefit to both, for I've seen what good group Gub can do, and I believe that should such a accord be reached, Mothdale can flourish as a unique and peaceful place."
The whip man strokes his chin at this, eying Morton as peculiarly as ever.
"Should this be accomplished, I don't doubt mages would flock to such a strange but peaceful place for their studies or to avoid worry. But this is contingent on the accord I'm afraid, and that requires an assurance from Gub and a presentation of the idea to the refugees. I would most certainly appreciate any means of assistance, and I'd be more than happy to hear of any possible ideas of how to address the dreadful situation; I'm aware that mine is unfortunately long term."
Susanne looks rather intrigued.
"Oh, I see! I thought you'd try to enact the instructions given to the letter, myself. This is a little problematic, because we already have rather well-established plans on how to relocate all of these refugees - I had Woody write up the entire shipping manifesto not three days ago, in fact. Didn't think you'd come along and propose something like this, certainly."
She begins tapping her fingers against her cheek as she thinks.
"Hm, no, I don't think we can relocate the refugees, sadly. Plans are in motion, you see, ones we can't readily change at the moment. On the other hand, I can point you to a few villages where you can potentially find agreeable mages, if that's okay with you."
Post by: miauw62 on September 03, 2014, 02:06:28 pm
Try to mimic spider noises to make peace with the spiders.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 03, 2014, 02:07:58 pm
"Claustrophobic, and terrified that my friend is suffering perverse advances by one of your other invitees?"
Post by: Xantalos on September 03, 2014, 02:09:30 pm
Good thing she doesn't know I don't have a middle name.
One more time! See if focusing on a certain thing during the process gives different results. To try this out properly, focus on the image of a bearsharksquid while I'm working.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2014, 02:13:39 pm
Well...crap.
"Claustrophobic, and terrified that my friend is suffering perverse advances by one of your other invitees?"
~How terrible that must feel. It is also quite unfortunate that you think so little of our guests. What would you qualify as a perverse advance, if I may ask?~
Post by: Tomcost on September 03, 2014, 02:26:01 pm
((Also, I counted the times I made a tunnel over myself, but I don't know if all of them count towards Tedium mastery. I bet that they don't, but if they do, I would like to use TM. I will die from falling while trying o move my odd self anyway.))
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Innsmothe on September 03, 2014, 03:28:28 pm
"It's just a suspicion that I have based on this one persons assumed proclivities...though I think he would be a little unnerved if you started stroking and polishing him.Well...crap.
"Claustrophobic, and terrified that my friend is suffering perverse advances by one of your other invitees?"
~How terrible that must feel. It is also quite unfortunate that you think so little of our guests. What would you qualify as a perverse advance, if I may ask?~
Can...Can you let me out now? I did knock and I have been here before."
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 03, 2014, 03:30:54 pm
"It's just a suspicion that I have based on this one persons assumed proclivities...though I think he would be a little unnerved if you started stroking and polishing him.
Can...Can you let me out now? I did knock and I have been here before."
~I'd rather not. For one, you're fun to talk to. Two, you sound like you're about to cause trouble as usual. So let us relax. Reflect on our lives. Think about what we've done.~
((Also, I counted the times I made a tunnel over myself, but I don't know if all of them count towards Tedium mastery. I bet that they don't, but if they do, I would like to use TM. I will die from falling while trying o move my odd self anyway.))
I will count the multitasking toward Tedium Mastery, though there is a certain difference between what you're doing right now and making a tunnel, strictly speaking, namely that you're using your own bit of presence to make an impact in your own bit of presence.
Post by: Tomcost on September 03, 2014, 04:33:30 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 03, 2014, 11:11:19 pm
Morton rotated in an understanding nod as he listened to Susanne, although he recalled what Justine had said earlier. Hmm. "It was too much of me to expect the refugees weren't already squared away. If I may ask, good mage Susanne, could I inquire as to where the refugees are going, and if there will be a potential peace between good group Gub and those around Mothdale? It would sadden me if he were driven out or harmed simply because he lacks understanding and perspective of others. I just fear that those I may bring to help aid Mothdale might be for naught."
The desk rotated to the left and right slightly in an attempt at a solemn head shaking motion. "I'm afraid many were hurt during Mothdale's unfortunate destruction by whoever did such a thing, you can feel it just by being there and seeing the destruction, seeing what was. Until the destruction is repaired, I don't believe the wound will heal. One cannot heal a burn without the proper treatment."
"I would welcome any assistance in helping the situation and my task that you may offer. But I'm afraid I must also request another question: what happened in Mothdale? I've seen holes bored into walls, buildings licked by flames, and destroyed structures, and now the city controlled by good group Gub. I admit to knowing little to go upon except that it was a group of some sort."
Ask questions, be the token bleeding heart and (metaphorically) try to tug those heartstrings, accept assistance they're willing to give, ask about what happened.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 03, 2014, 11:54:04 pm
Small talk.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 04, 2014, 02:28:13 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 04, 2014, 11:17:26 am
"Yeah, being dead can be tough. How long ago did you die?"
Small talk.
"Two centuries, perhaps three centuries ago. Lasted a little longer than the others, though this may not have been a good thing," all three of the ghost's talking features reply.
"Trouble as usual...have we met before? I do not remember such an encounter."
~We haven't. But I did get the memo with your roughly complete history and then sent it out to the others. It's a very efficient method of introduction, I think. I'm Francine, by the way. How is being a ghost, really? I've been considering taking the plunge lately myself.~
Post by: Innsmothe on September 04, 2014, 01:48:04 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 04, 2014, 02:07:23 pm
Not too bad. Kind of unpleasant to become one though. Now, since I have been invited inside before. Please let me go.
~Okay then. Are you ready? Might sting a little.~
Post by: Innsmothe on September 05, 2014, 07:37:24 am
((Please forgive me these for horrible anachronisms. xP))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 07, 2014, 06:48:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 08, 2014, 11:12:01 am
Post by: Xantalos on September 08, 2014, 11:15:38 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 08, 2014, 11:31:14 am
Take as much time as is necessary, then. It's never good for an exhausted GM to try to interpret whatever the hell we're doing.+1
We all love the game because of the amazing quality, not the speed of the updates.
Post by: miauw62 on September 08, 2014, 11:49:35 am
+1Take as much time as is necessary, then. It's never good for an exhausted GM to try to interpret whatever the hell we're doing.+1
We all love the game because of the amazing quality, not the speed of the updates.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 08, 2014, 04:24:05 pm
You made the magic happen, we would not wish it to go away.
Take a full blown retreat if you have to! <3
Post by: Xanmyral on September 08, 2014, 06:34:57 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 26, 2014, 01:28:19 am
Post by: Omeganaut on November 10, 2014, 10:47:36 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 10, 2014, 02:47:46 pm
Kevin knows that he is pretty much screwed right about now, and his entrails are probably going to be liquefied and devoured by ravenous creatures that know nothing other than ceaseless violence, killing and crimes against conventional morality. And also seedy flirtation tactics, but Kevin's zoology knowledge is hardly even half of what is required to know about any of that. He is in dire straits, surely, so that leaves but one last resort, one that no man or woman of adventure would choose unless the situation were hopeless indeed.
That last resort is diplomacy. Arachnid diplomacy, conducted purely through what Kevin assumes to be spider noises. He commences this immediately as he regains control of his face, chittering away at the darkness surrounding him.
[Kevin's diplomacy roll: 4]
Chittering does not provide him with much attention or any response, so he stops soon enough. He moves on to buzzing sounds, then smacks his lips in a vain attempt to imitate the graceful movements of chelicerae. This is similarly useless. So the last thing he tries is squeaking - he squeaks loudly and powerfully, and this causes a stir. Immediately something very tiny begins to move toward him, intrigued by the sudden fluctuation of the air. Soundlessly it taps toward the ex-jester, finding him immobile and utterly helpless. It crawls atop his chest, interested in the source of the squeak.
Atop the dreaded Mystery Forge of Castle Fenton...
Niklas cannot, will not accept defeat at the hands of this terrible forge. It must not be allowed to triumph over him, for that would mean submitting to something he hasn't even fought. Not a very Northern thing to do, obviously.
"Unpredictable is my middle name!" he declares before diving back into the Mystery Forge unimpeded and unabated, focusing on the image of a bearsharksquid of some description.
[Mystery roll: ?, ?, ?]
He emerges seemingly moments later, filled with an ineffable sense of wonder, though why that would be, he cannot see. His helmet is still vaguely helmet-shaped, though rather rough to the touch and with a few oddly-placed teeth. Hm, he proclaims! Hm! This science thing he's doing may indeed be paying off, he considers while feeling its texture with one of his furry, toothy facetacles.
In addition, that rather gooey ham in his hands seems to be looking pretty tasty right about now.
"Fair maiden, I dare say you are starting to get it right!" the smith triumphantly says, making Niklas' heart go aflutter for a moment. He's lucky he doesn't seem able to blush anymore, he thinks.
"Indeed you are, Niklas, indeed you are," Helsvar notes, immediately suppressing the urge Niklas has to express his joy with a quivering of the facetacles instead.
"I would implore you to stop, ma'am!" the maid says, looking quite alarmed. "What's happening to you is becoming a mite disturbing!"
"Nonsense! She's about to get properly into it!" the smith laughs.
In the idyllic countryside surrounding the Sea of Death...
Sigmund figures he could probably use magic to make sure he actually is free rather than merely deposited in some other horrifying alternative for death. Not that freedom isn't one of those necessarily, but he's not one to knock being able to choose one's means of attaining oblivion, even in the most uninformed and random of ways.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
Try as he might, though, the porthole he envisions for his magical focus does not seem likely to materialize in the immediate future, not least of all because he can't seem to wrap his head around how exactly he's supposed to impact something with itself. Magic would be the obvious answer, but he's had the terrible misfortune of obtaining the exact sort of magic where not knowing what in gods' names he's doing is a completely untenable state of affairs. So he remains blind, trapped and butchered into very tiny pieces, and perhaps it's better he does not open up an avenue through which this rather safe and comfortable state may be averted.
In the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Morton tries to push on with his agenda in spite of the rather unfortunate bureaucratic reallocation of Mothdale's populace - hope's not lost until he sees them all burn in the great pyres of the Black Circle, as a popular saying around here goes.
"It was too much of me to expect the refugees weren't already squared away. If I may ask, good mage Susanne, could I inquire as to where the refugees are going, and if there will be a potential peace between good group Gub and those around Mothdale? It would sadden me if he were driven out or harmed simply because he lacks understanding and perspective of others. I just fear that those I may bring to help aid Mothdale might be for naught. I'm afraid many were hurt during Mothdale's unfortunate destruction by whoever did such a thing, you can feel it just by being there and seeing the destruction, seeing what was. Until the destruction is repaired, I don't believe the wound will heal. One cannot heal a burn without the proper treatment," he tells Suzanne, hoping for some sympathy for the plight of the common folk unknowing in the ways of mind-controlling creatures from beyond human understanding.
"Eh, they'll be fine," Suzanne waves off his concern. "Most of them will be set up as retainers of five different Black Towers, and maybe a few of the really sickly or injured ones will be turned into ghosts for further work. Nothing too horrible, by and large. A lot of the people hurt are probably either dead or belong to the Gub, in which case all their worries are likely to be in the past," she points out.
"I would welcome any assistance in helping the situation and my task that you may offer. But I'm afraid I must also request another question: what happened in Mothdale? I've seen holes bored into walls, buildings licked by flames, and destroyed structures, and now the city controlled by good group Gub. I admit to knowing little to go upon except that it was a group of some sort," Morton continues, changing the subject a little as he considers the implications of somebody being turned into a ghost before becoming a retainer of the Black Circle.
"I wouldn't be the one to ask, really. You'd be better off asking-" she begins, looking around, but finding nobody. At this moment Morton becomes aware that the whip man's disappeared someplace along with Lindsay and Jay. Strange. "Huh. Where'd they run off to? Quite impolite of them, really."
In a capsule beyond the reach of man and woman alike...
Scott has no regrets. He needs to explode right out of this prison. A little pain is nothing. He's been in so much pain over his unlife that it hardly matters at all anymore. It's more likely that being alone is what'll get him eventually, all things considered.
"So did losing my corporeal body... all things are relative. Let 'er rip."
~Here goes!~
Scott suddenly finds himself at the foot of the Black Tower of Eckledun, this time at the outer steel door. The dog is still here, examining him critically, looking a little bit like a military officer of some sort with the fur across its snout resembling a mustache.
In the depths of the engineer tombs of the City of the Dead...
Darren attempts to keep up the smalltalk with the obviously strange ghost before him.
"Must have been hard. Any advice for a starting ghost?"
The ghost turns toward him rather quickly, the entirety of its being staring into his soul for a second before it suddenly appears to liquefy, its previous image turning into that of a rather regular-looking old man in a tan robe, vaguely transparent and with a faint corona of white light surrounding his body.
"Ventriloquism is more useful than you'd think," he says after a moment of thought. "Also, learn to shapeshift."
A moment passes as he examines Darren.
"What did you want, anyway?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Coolrune206 on November 10, 2014, 03:02:33 pm
Post by: miauw62 on November 10, 2014, 03:20:04 pm
Try to see what it is, and squeak imploringly.
((brb, sacrificing my firstborn to the rng))
((also, awesome that this is back.))
Post by: Xantalos on November 10, 2014, 05:13:31 pm
First of all, examine myself for whatever alterations got made. The tentacles, obviously, but what else? Take off the helmet and look at it, then put it back on.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 10, 2014, 06:21:18 pm
Post by: Tomcost on November 10, 2014, 07:15:48 pm
So Sigmund can't make something hit itself, huh? Well, the solution is simple, hit it with something else.
But, first, something else should be done, and that is decreasing the risks inherent to smashing things against each other at who knows how many meters above ground while over a small surface capable of holding them.
Two actions:
1) Make the pillar recede, but not too much.
2) Manipulate (aka, apply magic to) a peeble and smash it against the hinges of the chest Sigmund is currently into.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 11, 2014, 01:11:42 am
Tensing up at the gaze of the elder ghost, he responds, leaning back slightly.
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 11, 2014, 06:39:02 am
"I was hoping to find the Crown of Flowers."
Tensing up at the gaze of the elder ghost, he responds, leaning back slightly.
"What for?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 11, 2014, 07:59:35 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on November 12, 2014, 01:55:20 am
Morton nodded along with Suzanne's explanation, slightly put off at the brevity with which the topic is handled with, but he supposes she must of been asked such a similar inquiry before. The desk supposes it should only be expected, after all, she appears to be the representative of this tower so she must field many a question. The tea apostle hopes he hasn't bothered her with what might be a frequently asked question, but moves on to address the disappearance of several of the guests.
"I suppose something pressing must of come up, I do quite hope its nothing dreadfully serious." The desk commented about their vanishing trick, remembering that they did mention they didn't have much business there. "Good mage Suzanne, I must thank you again for fielding my questions and taking the time to speak with us. I must inquire further though, who might know more? The man who accompanied you perhaps, Mr..." The desk visibly pauses for a moment, the lights shimmering on the desk as he pondered recent events. "I'm afraid I didn't catch his name, I'm afraid to say, but would he perhaps be the one I should speak to? If so, do you perhaps have any advice? I've met him before but I'm afraid I must of taken a misstep as I believe I've offended him last time. Should I address him as Sir..." The desk let the conversation trail from there, leaving it for her to step in.
Continue to converse, use some social engineering to try and persuade Suzanne to slip Whipman's name!
[Hm. I figured he had something to do with it. God of death shows up, kills demon. He's there. He assaults people who have been brought back from death, which angers god of death. Only time he was shown as peaceable, someone was burying the dead. Priest of god of death has mind barrier from Gub, as does he... Still got my money on him being an avatar or perhaps some important figure of this god.]
Post by: Innsmothe on November 13, 2014, 04:52:44 am
Scott nods to the dog
I shall now make my long-awaited entry and bid you a good day!
...Nice 'mustache'.
-Zoom-!
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 15, 2014, 04:40:52 pm
Kevin tries to see what exactly could it be that has chosen to take up residence on his chest, and it takes him only a moment to realize that he is paralyzed and that this may, in fact, be an area into which light has never made its way in the entire course of human history. Possibly arachnid history, even.
"Squeak?" he implores, and the thing on his chest squeaks back disharmonically. This form of diplomacy does not appear to be working as well as it should. However, it does seem to attract a few more squeaking things to him - Kevin thinks that these must be arachnids of some kind as well, but far more tiny than the other ones living here. Of course, they're still the size of a splayed hand and nearly five times as hairy, but still. It's all relative, you know?
At the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas thinks he should probably take stock of the bodily alterations visited upon him - examining the helmet in his hands, and finding it just as mildly inspiring as before, he then feels up his face.
"Tentacles! This can only be a good thing," he says out loud, running his fingers over his head. The general shape appears to remain the same - the skull isn't particularly altered apart from the mouth region, where the jaws seem to have split up into five radial parts that form a circular mouth that he seems to be able to stretch wider and purse together without much problem - and to a much greater degree than before with a human mouth, no less. Score!
Also, his mouth cavity seems to be lined with very sharp teeth arranged in many rows. And he has eight furry grasping tentacles around his mouth with hooks worked in beneath the thick hairs running over them. The tentacles seem rather sensitive, and it feels like there may be some sensitive whiskers on it, particularly near the tips. The fur continues across the rest of Niklas' head, largely obscuring all of his human features. It's thicker on where he used to have hair, too, though but it's a little uncomfortable and tight around the mouthparts.
On the surface without a single care in the world...
Sigmund is not quite ready to admit that his entombment in a chest of body parts is entirely inescapable, and thus resumes his magical ministrations.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 5]
He carefully adjusts the height of his pillar, pushing the stone responsibly back down to a point with his presence, making sure to stabilize the foundation when he's done. Feels like he's close to the surface when he's done. So that's step one done - now to find a pebble to shoot himself with. He scours the ground with his presence until finding an appropriate stone, then grabs it with his magic. Step two is done, now for step three -freedom!
[Sigmund's magic roll: 1]
The pebble, compressed to a bullet with Sigmund's presence almost to the point where it would shatter, is aimed at the chest rather crudely - removing a small avenue of presence, Sigmund lets the stone fly his way, only to feel a whole lot of dust impact his magical prison. Huh. Maybe he overdid that a little.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren supposes this ought to be uncomplicated to explain. The problem is, at its root, uncomplicated as far as he can tell. The trouble is really how this fellow will take it.
"It's for my friend. Who, uhh, happens to be a god."
The ghost's expression turns sour, his facial features wobbling asymmetrically, tiny bumps forming in places, then subsiding as he considers this new information.
"Don't tell me, it's the god of death and magic, right? About to get his harvest of tormented, long-suffering, at best half-mad souls, replete with experiences from countless centuries of haunting the ruins of their own destroyed lives."
He huffs indignantly.
"Well, you can turn around and leave, then. I'm this close to getting a solution here," he explains, showing a very tiny distance between his thumb and index finger. "Can't allow anyone to meddle, least of all the infernal tosser who got us into this mess in the first place."
In Eckledun's Black Tower...
Morton, not minding the departure of the menace to society that the fellow with the whip doubtlessly poses, continues the conversation nonchalantly.
"I suppose something pressing must of come up, I do quite hope its nothing dreadfully serious. Good mage Suzanne, I must thank you again for fielding my questions and taking the time to speak with us. I must inquire further though, who might know more? The man who accompanied you perhaps, Mr... I'm afraid I didn't catch his name, I'm afraid to say, but would he perhaps be the one I should speak to? If so, do you perhaps have any advice? I've met him before but I'm afraid I must of taken a misstep as I believe I've offended him last time. Should I address him as Sir..."
Suzanne thinks a moment.
"To be perfectly honest, I'm sure he doesn't care at all. Strikes me as the type to not worry much about names or facts. Or to even engage much in polite conversation. Can't even keep the man confined in a waiting room for fifteen minutes, let alone engaged in much more than a short exchange of words. Like now, for instance. So I'd advise you not to speak with him at all. Rather, try and get one of his underlings, like one of the Fensters or perhaps Jay. You already saw Lindsay and Jay, yes? I'm sure his other companions are around here someplace, or perhaps back at the City of Gub. They'd be your best bet," she explains. "Although I've heard that they have a certain Mr. Duchamp in their number - you'd best steer clear of that one as well, just to be sure."
"In any case, you would probably not be missing much even if you were to not converse with any of them. Their tales would likely involve lots of flames and death and wouldn't befit polite society were they to go in any detail. The Grand Master's task forces tend to accrue such narratives and reputations as a general rule, I've heard, with a few exceptions, of course. Like my wonderful aunt, for instance. Have you heard of her, perhaps? You wouldn't have, I bet."
Suzanne appears to be about to open some form of conversational floodgate.
Outside Eckledun's Black Tower...
Scott nods at the dog in acknowledgment. Perhaps he needs a hat for tipping purposes.
In fact, he might absolutely need a hat without regard for any sort of kinetic function, if only to give him some kind of human feature and prevent him from looking like some kind of melted floating kidney. Perhaps he can grow an ectoplasmic one through willpower alone. Or get Morton to enchant a regular hat and hand it to him, though there'd probably be a bit of a flammability issue there.
In any case, he zooms up, up and through the wall, the dog's barking seeing him off on his path. Through the wall he goes and into the internals of the tower.
The first thing he notices is a crystal - a rather large one at that, staring at him with its glowiness and wonder in the middle of an otherwise empty room.
"Hey, Scott!" the voice of Francine emanates from it. "You sure got here fast."
Post by: Innsmothe on November 15, 2014, 05:12:54 pm
...so when are you due?
There is a definite hint of true earnestness in his voice.
Post by: Tomcost on November 15, 2014, 05:41:40 pm
Grab a far bigger peeble. Lift it high enough above the hinges, then let it fall.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 15, 2014, 07:50:42 pm
"I most certainly will give that an attempt, should I find them again. Hopefully they wouldn't mind divulging some insight, if they have the time." Morton nodded, happy to be given a path for more information. He owes it to good lady Melville.
Ever one for good ole fashion polite discussion and interesting conversations, Morton most certainly couldn't deny Susanne her opportunity to unleash the floodgate. "I must admit you have quite peaked my interest about your aunt though, good mage Susanne. I might have well heard of her, in a prior life I was a purveyor and pursuer of many a story and account, you see. While such a profession is now sadly behind me, I still feel its call to investigate that which intrigues. If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear."
Contemplate Whipman And Co., Open Flood Gates.
Post by: miauw62 on November 16, 2014, 03:31:40 am
Kevin can feel panic slowly overtaking him.
Keep trying to diplomace these spiders!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 16, 2014, 09:51:34 am
"A solution for what?"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 16, 2014, 05:08:56 pm
((So, how long did it take before somebody monstrously altered their body after we were given normal bodies again? :P))[Scott is still
Kevin can feel panic slowly overtaking him.
Keep trying to diplomace these spiders!
Post by: Xantalos on November 16, 2014, 06:03:27 pm
Also, I'll ask you, Helsvar, Torkel, and Tree Guy. D'you think I should keep going?
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2014, 10:59:13 am
Scott is quite glad to see Francine like this.
"Why hello, it is so nice to meet again in so short a time! I must remark that I am impressed about your size and that you seem to have a healthy glow about you!"
"Thanks!" she says.
"... so when are you due?" he wonders immediately.
"Very soon, as it happens," she replies. "You might be right on time, in fact."
A moment of silence.
"Maybe in five minutes or so, give or take a few."
Her glow pulses a moment, then starts to rise in intensity.
On the glorious outside...
Sigmund decides to scale up his efforts a notch, and what better way to do it than to grab a much bigger pebble? So he grabs the largest nearby pebble he can find (well, maybe it's technically not a pebble anymore - they're all pebbles to Sigmund's power, anyway), then prepares to drop it upon himself from a great height.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
[Sigmund's endurance roll: 3]
Well, okay, maybe he gives it a little push on top of that, testing that whole launching idea in the same fell swoop. And maybe he did also pick something that would better be described a boulder. And maybe this one ton boulder just slammed on top of him at a ludicrous speed. These are all factors he couldn't have possibly foreseen when he elected to drop a rock on himself in the name of freedom, and he sees no reason in having any regrets now that his magical focus chest has been entirely shattered and a lot of its contents have either been mashed to a paste underneath or fortuitously squirted along with a lot of blood every which way.
You know, he can't help but feel a little surprised this didn't hurt way more. Right now it feels almost worth it, as his entirely animate gibs can now feel the cool ground, the colder wind, and a rather splendid sensation of freedom, both from the foul tyranny of the gnomes down below and from the more subtle tyranny of having bones and skin keeping all of his innards in strict confinement.
Also, if that fragment of Sigmund's skull isn't missing its mark, he thinks that the platform he used to be on might be a little bit unstable now, not that he'd exactly be able to tell in any way other than wiggling the shattered, mutilated remnants of whatever happened to be in the middle of that chest.
In the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Morton, after making a mental note to seek out the more polite members of the whip man's entourage, keeps the conversation going without fear of any sort, as he has an infinite patience for all things related to the gathering of information and really has no better engagements at the moment.
"I must admit you have quite piqued my interest about your aunt though, good mage Susanne. I might have well heard of her, in a prior life I was a purveyor and pursuer of many a story and account, you see. While such a profession is now sadly behind me, I still feel its call to investigate that which intrigues. If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear."
"Ah, wonderful. Now, where to begin? My aunt is quite the extraordinary woman, after all. A master of many arts, not least of which is the art of diplomacy, and a sheer prodigy in terms of-" her voice suddenly cuts off, though her mouth keeps moving. It takes her a moment to realize she's not making any sound, at which point she shrugs and sighs soundlessly, retrieving a notebook and writing a message on it. She stops, then soundlessly sighs again.
Many apologies, but it seems my aunt does not like me talking about her in public like this. Alas, I must respect her wish to not relate any of her exploits, such as the famous affair of the writing starts out calligraphically, cutting off abruptly at the end.
In the clutches of tiny cute little spiders, relatively speaking...
Kevin, not sure if things are going his way at all here, attempts one more burst of scattershot spider persuasion. He squeaks wildly at them, and they seem to respond very happily, and soon he's absolutely covered in the things, as well as considerably smaller spiders. For the next few minutes, he doesn't exactly feel much, which indicates he's probably been bitten in a whole lot of places by the things. At one point, the largest spider thing Kevin's ever heard approaches, and pokes his prone body for a bit. This time, it's not Kevin who squeaks - rather, the squeaks seem to come from other spots in his body, and some of them feel like they're coming from, well, the inside, as strange as it may seem. But he guesses that's good, since the larger one retreats, immediately losing interest.
At the resting place of the Crown of Flowers...
"A solution for what?" Darren inquires, not sure what this fellow's on about.
"For this whole bloody mess!" the ghost replies, mouth opening unnaturally wide. "Bet that smug bastard was really happy he did this, and now he thinks I'm just going to let someone waltz in and take the Crown! I'm not going to beg for death, I hope you realize. The idea has never once crossed my mind in these three centuries. So you can bugger off, like I said, or I'm going to set you on all kinds of fire. You don't want to be set on fire, do you?"
Darren's eye is drawn to the nearby pedestal of the Crown as he considers the question.
On the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas is torn between his sense of restraint and his sense of adventure, which probably means that he's gone far enough with this that even the former sense is getting rather stretched.
"Well, this is a very interesting state of affairs! I think I'll consult you two, however: do you think I should go further and keep doing whatever it is I'm doing to myself with this forge?" he asks of the two people observing him.
"No! You should not!" the maid says.
"Do it! Embrace the mysteries!" the smith advises, obviously very excited at the prospect. Hm. That's not much of a resolution, even if he'd rather listen to that ruggedly handsome man whose very voice makes something very deep inside of him absolutely melt with adoration.
~Also, I'll ask you, Helsvar, Torkel, and Tree Guy. D'you think I should keep going?~ he asks of his other friends.
"Absolutely, dad!"
"Absolutely, my love!"
"Absolutely, you fool!"
Post by: Innsmothe on November 21, 2014, 11:45:52 am
Post by: Tomcost on November 21, 2014, 11:53:57 am
-See if I can manipulate stone or not.
-If negative, move all my little bits towards the floor. Work on trying to coordinate them somehow, maybe by making a rudimentary body out of them and then internalizing the movement of said body much like one does with an actual, given at birth body
Post by: miauw62 on November 21, 2014, 12:12:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2014, 12:37:50 pm
""Do you mind if I reconnoitre with my manservant, I fear he is in trouble."
"Feel free, Scott." she says.
Post by: Innsmothe on November 21, 2014, 04:00:06 pm
-Zip-
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2014, 04:39:34 pm
Back into the forge! Focus on ... making myself into a flying shark-octopus-bear-raven-chef!
Or do the same to my helm if that's not how this thing works.
((I've no idea if I've forgotten how this thing is supposed to work but this will be an interesting turn either way.
Sorry for foisting all these elaborate descriptions on you, Harry :P))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2014, 04:42:47 pm
((I've no idea if I've forgotten how this thing is supposed to work but this will be an interesting turn either way.
Sorry for foisting all these elaborate descriptions on you, Harry :P))
I'm not sure flying shark-octopus-bear-raven-chef counts as an elaborate description.
Unless you mean me needing to describe what happens, which is no trouble at all, since I love doing that.
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2014, 04:44:05 pm
Good to hear it's no burden to you though. Let's see what my latest half-asleep rambling will happen!))
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 21, 2014, 04:52:51 pm
((Yeah, the describing of the wonderful transformations I inflict upon myself.
Good to hear it's no burden to you though. Let's see what my latest half-asleep rambling will happen!))
Wait, you actually thought that the guy who devotes an average of two to three paragraphs to body alteration and body alteration procedures when they come up actually doesn't particularly like writing about body alteration?
I should probably one day run a game even more about body alteration than this. Maybe something about augmentations, complete with rusty tools and chances of rejection, mechanical errors, anatomical errors and infection.
Post by: Xantalos on November 21, 2014, 04:54:37 pm
But yeah, good to hear.
Post by: Tomcost on November 21, 2014, 05:02:31 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on November 22, 2014, 02:33:45 am
((I would stalk you out of sheer adoration if this is a thing.((Yeah, the describing of the wonderful transformations I inflict upon myself.
Good to hear it's no burden to you though. Let's see what my latest half-asleep rambling will happen!))
Wait, you actually thought that the guy who devotes an average of two to three paragraphs to body alteration and body alteration procedures when they come up actually doesn't particularly like writing about body alteration?
I should probably one day run a game even more about body alteration than this. Maybe something about augmentations, complete with rusty tools and chances of rejection, mechanical errors, anatomical errors and infection.
<3
Is A Big Transhumanism Activist.
edit:I don't have the means, will or money t become a proffesional stalker.))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 22, 2014, 07:52:13 pm
Back off a bit. Look around the pit for anything that could be used as a puppet, as part of a magic trick, or as a construct..
Post by: Xanmyral on November 23, 2014, 08:48:02 pm
Feeling a question forming in the back of his mind, the desk changed topics (seeing as this one appears to have reached its end). "I suppose to move back to the nature of the visit, I have one final question pertaining to Mothdale: if the question of what happened be as it is, perhaps you could enlighten me as to the why?" As the tea apostle asked, he dredged out the map cube given to them by good lady Melville.
"If you would be so kind as to point out the prior mentioned village where suitable recruits for good group Gub may be found? I can only hope things will work out for the best. Do you perhaps have any final advice?" The desk asked, feeling his time here is coming to a close.
Ask question, ask for directions, see if there's any last tid bit she may wish to share.
[Phone posting is the worst.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on November 24, 2014, 12:20:42 pm
Sigmund, not exactly pleased with this newest development but neither feeling particularly disappointed, attempts to get more information so that his stance on this... event may be clarified. He wriggles his bits and jiggles his gibs as he tries to rediscover his ability to manipulate stone. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't quite appear to be coming to him - he doesn't feel the presence of the stone or whatever shard of the chest happens to have inherited the entirety of the magical ability of the former focus. This is unfortunate, and only leaves him with his other immediate idea - reconstitution! Using an uncanny sense of orientation, he pulls whatever bits of him are most mobile and drags them to a single point first, beginning to form a blob on the cold ground.
The material of his former body gathers and gathers until it has reached a fairly respectably high pile - about half of his original size, actually, and none too shabby in looks, if a little... gooey. He can't quite get bones to work, and his eyes don't appear to have survived the impact, or at least are currently indistinguishable from any other gib, and for that matter virtually all other sensations are a bit limited for him, which is to say that he can't quite hear, smell, taste or do anything like that, and his sense of touch and warmth is highly limited, though he does seem to have wound up with some mildly intact bits of skin. A considerable bit of him appears to have remained trapped under the boulder, and he's presumably missing a lot of blood and interstitial fluid to pad out the volume and mass. And also he doesn't actually have anything to stick his bits together apart from a steadfast refusal to fall apart, and though he can project small towers of flesh as a result, there's not much fine control to it all.
He's leaning toward this being an unfortunate twist now, despite the fact that he may be a blob and thus wonderful by default. He's starting to understand what his erstwhile ghostly friend might have been on about, in fact. It's an oddly liberating experience, being a pulped mass of stolen flesh kept moving and coordinated by what Sigmund assumes to be fell magic, because honestly what else could it be or has ever been?
In the grasp of a great many little spiders...
Kevin, figuring he's probably alright even if he's full of spiders, stirs a little, wriggling his big toe. It only starts to work after a bit, and the only result of his body stirring seems to be a series of bites to all of his organs, reinstating a state of complete paralysis once more.
Nevertheless, it seems that the spiders within him seem to have taken a hint, and Kevin, who doesn't appear to be moving of his own volition, rises to his feet awkwardly, arms pushing him up from the ground. The creatures within him experimentally have him take a few steps, surprisingly perceptive of his body's intended functions despite their seemingly mindlessly murderous nature.
In a particular room of the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott, eager to get to business without further ado, utters a simple pleasantry to Francine before disappearing through a nearby wall, hoping that his next dive will take him to whatever it is he seeks.
And would you believe it, it totally does! His salvation seems to have been hiding all this time in the room above. It appears to be a kitchen of some sort, strewn with horrific gore and signs of great violence being perpetrated mere moments ago. And there, at a table reading what appears to be some form of demonic document through rather thick spectacles, is the person Scott has been looking for all this time.
"Hrr," he says, nodding in agreement with whatever horrible thing just passed his eyes on the shifting sheet of parchment.
On the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas, never one to argue with a clear, sensible majority such as this, goes ahead and jumps back into the Mystery Forge, hoping for the very best of the best - in this case, a flying shark-octopus-bear-raven-chef, or the unlocking of his true, horrid form if one prefers to call it that.
[Mystery rolls: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?]
And after what feels like moments later, he emerges! Or, rather, floats out, slimy wings swinging uselessly every which way, the protruding claws and teeth on each one flailing all around. There's about eight wings on him that he can immediately discern, though none seem to be directly related to his ability to float, as evidenced when he stops flailing them around. At the tips of each wing he can make out a claw, a hook, a set of teeth, some talons, a sharp-looking knife or even a perfectly normal human hand in one instance.
What's more, he can't quite see all of himself, though he feels a little bloated, and his entire body surface as far as he can tell has become pure black and stalklike, covered in patches of fur or skin that feels extremely rough. He is also acutely aware of there being a significant quantity of nutrients in the air, odd as that may seem.
"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" the blacksmith shouts.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren backs off a little from the weird old guy, examining the pit around him. There's a bit of crap lying around here and there, junk that's either fallen off the walls, off the ceiling far above or from the edge of the pit, landing and deforming significantly as a result. Looks kind of jagged and bent, mostly, plus there's not a lot of it, but hey, it's something, innit?
The unfriendly ghost, for his part, looks back at the Crown of Flowers, thinking intently at it and probably of it as well.
In the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Morton plays it cool as usual, not quite as curious anymore.
"Well, I wouldn't wish to go against your aunt's wishes, should she prefer her story untold. I suppose to move back to the nature of the visit, I have one final question pertaining to Mothdale: if the question of what happened be as it is, perhaps you could enlighten me as to the why?" he wonders, but Suzanne simply points to her mouth, moving it soundlessly for a second, then making a helpless gesture. Getting the idea here, Morton simply dredges up his cube and puts up a map of the nearby region.
"If you would be so kind as to point out the prior mentioned village where suitable recruits for good group Gub may be found? I can only hope things will work out for the best. Do you perhaps have any final advice?" he says as Suzanne points out a certain point not too far off on the map, then draws a little symbol in her notebook, showing it to Morton. It seems to be the stylized picture of a knife covered in blood, plus a stick figure on the ground. Seems adequately cryptic, he'd say.
Post by: Tomcost on November 24, 2014, 12:53:49 pm
Pray to Narcillicus:
"Oh, Narcillicus! My body has been squandered repetitively by entities performing some kinds of macabre experiments, or maybe some dark arts I can not comprehend. My body has lost its integrity. Please guide me to make it more appealing to the eye, more useful again!
Post by: miauw62 on November 24, 2014, 01:05:44 pm
((i am spiderlard))
Post by: Innsmothe on November 25, 2014, 04:53:33 am
Cursing his damaged eyes... as well as his possibly failing cogitative facilities and the general lack of detail his eyes are receiving about the figure, he says :"Just so am a sure...Sir? Ma'am? have you or have you not ever had a closeness to moving wood that is eldritch and blasphemous?"
Prepares to set the disgusting room alight if the figure is neither the Whipman or Morton and head to the highest room of the building
[I honestly don't remember the Whipmans colours. >.>
Starts rereading thread for the third time.]
Post by: Xantalos on November 25, 2014, 04:57:11 am
Attempt to verbally communicate. Can I talk? Try to say something to the effect of 'this is awesome'.
Then try absorbing those nutrient things.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on November 25, 2014, 10:21:46 pm
Try and distract him into a rant. Once he's distracted, conjure together a little construct, with soft feet.
Post by: Xanmyral on November 30, 2014, 03:56:15 am
"Gracious thanks, both for your time again and for the parting advice, good mage Suzanne. We'll head there and hopefully see what we can do. But first, we should check in on our compatriots. I wish you good fortune in the time to come." The desk bowed to the mage, before turning to good tailor Craig and nodding (really more of a lesser bow), indicating that he's finished.
Should the tailor not have any point to raise, leave the tower and see if he can spot the wayward ghosts.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2014, 12:20:23 pm
Sigmund, tempted irresistibly by what a god of art and beauty could possibly do to harm him in this state, tries prayer - the last humorous resort of any situation, and the second-to-last resort generally, the last being good old acceptance of one's lot in life. And he'd hardly be a self-respecting bundle of pulped stolen vampire parts if he was about to accept his terrible lot in life, right?
~Oh, Narcillicus! My body has been squandered repetitively by entities performing some kinds of macabre experiments, or maybe some dark arts I can not comprehend. My body has lost its integrity. Please guide me to make it more appealing to the eye, more useful again!~ he thinks, hopeful for an answer!
"Bloghrfshlichtschlombt!" he bubbles and spurts, having no mouthparts to make mouth noises with!
"..." says Narcillicus, god of art, beauty and technology!
He's probably right busy at the moment, is all. Surely the Nicest God of All wouldn't ignore a wretch such as Sigmund, right? And if he would, surely that means Sigmund's situation is far less wretched than he thinks. This, cognitively speaking, is a win-win, he decides, and devotes it no more thought, though the idea that he could go for double or nothing crosses his seemingly pulp-based mind.
In the subterranean kingdom of infinite spiders...
Kevin, hoping for the best much like other beleaguered undead the world over, attempts to command his subjects.
"Uh, forward?"
In a spectacular coincidence, the spiders do seem to be experimenting with his movements, and currently appear to have had the same idea, and Kevin walks forward, not seeing a damn thing as he proceeds through the tunnel, the spiders forcing him to duck down to fit through.
It is when he fails to stop on command or do anything else that Kevin begins to realize what sort of predicament he may be in, the spiders, with the aid of what seem like forward scouts occasionally skittering out of his body, move him for quite a distance. As the paralysis starts to wear off, or at least things start to properly hurt again, the spiders seem to sense it, a certain hesitation in his movements, and bite him silly, poisoning the feeling right out.
The good news are, he seems to have crawled out into less spider-infested territories, and not back at the reservoir, either - the little things in his body appear to take a very serious approach to dangerous joyriding, and seem to have taken him to altogether unfamiliar places. Keeping his body balanced seems a bit difficult for them, as a side note, which mostly results in Kevin finding himself falling over more often than is strictly necessary.
However, eventually (that is to say, Kevin has no idea how long this might have taken) the fellow sees a ray of hope in the situation - in this case, an actual bright ray of light. It's actually quite dim, but it appears bright at the moment, and it takes him a while to even figure out what it is as he approaches. He feels a bit silly at first, but this is quickly replaced by a new feeling - a slight elation that this actually appears to be sunlight coming in from straight above, presumably through a very deep pit in the ground, rather than some cruel illusion or a magical lamp laid out to mislead him like that asshole guy that caused this whole mess did. He even forgets to be perplexed about how the spiders within him appear to have led him straight over to a staircase, and then straight up that same staircase without missing a beat. He even almost misses the part where the spiders move his arm to make him knock on a door, which immediately gets an answer.
"Do come in!" says a very smooth voice, and the spiders have Kevin's hand open the door and walk him right in, where a very strangely painted room awaits. It's kind of like a rather large hall, giving off a very distinct impression that it may have once been a tomb of some kind. Now, though, it's completely desecrated - the ceiling and the walls are painted sky blue with elaborate white clouds added, the floor is grass green and carpeted, while what may have formerly been sarcophagi have been broken open at the side, painted green, then had one of two things done to them - one, a mesh added and the resulting enclosure filled with rather hideous, not to mention hideously familiar spiders accompanied by bits of meat, or covered with glass and filled with water and rather spiky-looking fish. On the ceiling by a chain hangs a sphere, shining brightly down at a pit with a neat white railing protecting unwary passersby from an untimely death by falling into an abyss of endless darkness.
Near the pit sits a peculiar workstation, almost a cubicle, with a sizable chair, both made out of what look like entirely unnatural wood and cushioned with some unholy transformation of root hairs. In this chair sits a woman with long blond hair that may very well reach down to her hips, a small wreath of spring flowers on her head, wearing a very light summer dress. Her flesh is exceedingly wiry and slightly leathery, and one of her eyes is noticeably larger than the other, though both appear to have somewhat exotic yellow irises a few sizes too large for their eyeballs with triangular amphibian pupils darting around on them. She regards the arriving Kevin with a bit of curiosity.
"Ah, a spiderfriend. How do you do, spiderfriend?" she asks, and the spiders make Kevin do a motion of tipping the hat despite Kevin not having one. "Cute! Now, spiders! Leave the spiderfriend! Leave only a friend, yes?"
The spiders don't appear to understand, and she laughs at herself, guffawing a moment before squeaking at a highly unpleasant pitch and intensity mid-laugh. The spiders exit very nasty-looking bloody cavities on Kevin's body one by one, skittering out the door like little ducklings in a row. Kevin, his puppet strings cut, slowly and half-paralytically collapses in a pile, feeling very acutely that he's probably missing quite a few precious chunks of flesh right now, considering how many spiders just exited him.
"Friend!" she says, tilting her head at him as she steps out of the chair, . "Do you speak the language of civilized people, or have the gnomes been overly successful in their heinous breeding experiments? It's the second, right?"
In a kitchen of absolute doom...
Scott tries to recall who this is. The kitchen's a mess. There's horrible food somewhere in the corner, smelling like the dickens. It will probably murder whoever it tries to eat. The man in front of him is hairy, holding a very sharp cleaver and has probably been dead for at least a month, judging by the smell.
Clearly, it must be the man with the whip. Scott sees no likely alternative.
"Just so am a sure... Sir? Ma'am? Have you or have you not ever had a closeness to moving wood that is eldritch and blasphemous?"
The figure emits a fell and terrible laugh. "MANY TIMES," it then says cheekily, chopping a great big gash in the table in front of it with the cleaver as it remembers its glory days. Scott wonders whether to set the place on fire or not a few moments, but then a voice interrupts him.
"Right, fun's over," says Francine, and suddenly Scott is outside the tower, feeling like the entire world just blew away in front of his eyes like dust. He looks around, and notices the dog still there. And next to him is the person he was actually looking for - Morton! And also the tailor guy. Him too, yes.
On the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas believes that this may be the best thing that has happened to him lately, this whole Mystery Forge business.
"This is awesome," he readily communicates, his entire body tingling as he speaks, the sound itself issuing from somewhere deep within him.
"I tend to agree," says the blacksmith. For some reason, his voice doesn't feel quite as impressive to Niklas anymore. It's probably because of all these darn nutrients in the air, he thinks. They seem fairly tasty and distracting.
With but a minimal effort of will, Niklas feels his body surface vastly expand, though visibly he seems to remain the same - he feels the air around him, as if some kind of aura had just emanated from him, taking in the scarce organic traces and relatively scant moisture, filling himself with it. He has to say, it does feel pretty tasty, although a little tiring to do it for longer than 10 seconds or so, since he feels rather stretched as he tries to project the aura.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren, probably having failed in buttering this guy up, tries provocation instead.
"So what exactly did the big guy try to do that got you so mad? Because this is some serious rage against the heavens stuff."
"Oh, you know," says the ghost, oddly calm. "Standard genie stuff. It's quite terrible that the god of magic is also the god of death, since one's the cure for the other. Especially when you ask him for a quest to grant your people immortality so that they may bring a golden age to the entire world. Predictable result in hindsight, but I was a bit of an idiot back then."
He immediately notices the rather curious event of two pieces of junk desperately banging against one another to make a vaguely leglike shape a few meters away.
"You wouldn't be trying anything, would you?" the ghost asks, giving Darren a skeptical eye. "That would be very unwise of you, doing the bidding of the god of death like that. Don't you know that it never pays off?"
In the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Morton, after committing the picture to memory as well as making sure that Suzanne's finger has indeed left a rather distinct point on the map, figures that this source of information may have run dry.
"Gracious thanks, both for your time again and for the parting advice, good mage Suzanne. We'll head there and hopefully see what we can do. But first, we should check in on our compatriots. I wish you good fortune in the time to come," he says, looking at Tailor Craig, who appears to have been spacing out these past few minutes. Upon being interrupted, he too bids a farewell and the two move out, Suzanne pointing them to a convenient door. Knocking on it, the two are immediately transported to the outside of the tower.
~Hey, Morton,~ a voice in his head says in a friendly manner. ~This is Francine. I'll return Scott in a moment.~
On cue, Scott appears a scant few steps from the two, looking as confused as an ectoplasmic blob can be.
Post by: Tomcost on December 02, 2014, 12:43:40 pm
Fine, try to use my metasense to see how can I detect stuff. If skeletons can, a pile of meat should be able to do so.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2014, 12:58:34 pm
Wait, Sigmund can at least produce sounds at will! That is something! Maybe not everything is missed! Some parts of him must have survived!
Search for my eyes inside my pile of myself
There might be some vitreous humor in there, for what it's worth.
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2014, 01:00:21 pm
Kevin felt happy. He was no longer in the custody of lethally rational spiders, but just in the company of a raving lunatic, which had been his situation since well before his death. He knew what to expect from raving lunatics.
"I'm not a result of some unnatural breeding experiment, no. They did try to recruit me, though. But that ended with me almost being eaten by really big spiders."
On closer consideration, he added:
"Uh, I'm Kevin. What's your name?"
((i have been abducted by spiders))
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2014, 01:17:27 pm
"M'lady"((NO NO NO NO))
Kevin felt happy. He was no longer in the custody of lethally rational spiders, but just in the company of a raving lunatic, which had been his situation since well before his death. He knew what to expect from raving lunatics.
"I'm not a result of some unnatural breeding experiment, no. They did try to recruit me, though. But that ended with me almost being eaten by really big spiders."
On closer consideration, he added:
"Uh, I'm Kevin. What's your name?"
"Ah, so I see. Shame. I keep wondering when they'll figure it out, though. They're quite thick, I've noticed. Perhaps some more specific instructions should be left," she says. "And you may call me... hm, well, Ms. Klemm would probably work best. Would you happen to have a last name... Kevin?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2014, 01:29:24 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2014, 01:40:05 pm
"My last name is Cooker. And who will figure it out, if I may ask?"
"Why, the gnomes. Who else? You said they tried to recruit you, though? Elaborate, if you will, Ms. Cooker," she says, looking at you very seriously.
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2014, 02:01:42 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 02, 2014, 02:27:48 pm
"Well, they tried to capture me. Some weird dude told us to go through a tunnel and we did, but at the end there was just a trap. My friend was captured too, I don't know what happened to him. I managed to escape."
"It seems you've run into Mr. Mir if I haven't missed my mark. Surprisingly effective worker, that one. I thought from the beginning that people would just run in the other direction as soon as they saw the man. Last I heard, he's gotten over fifty people this way. Well worth his wage, that's for certain. Should probably reassign him to something more glamorous for his trouble. He's certainly been a boon for human-gnome relations thus far."
"At any rate, capture sounds reasonably common, yes. Your wording was a tad confusing, since I am not aware that the gnomes had developed civilized communication. But all is well, Ms. Cooker. All is well. Would you like a change of clothes, perhaps? I have some spare sets lying around. It seems poor form to converse with you being so unpresentable. As well as your body being in the state it is, I'm sorry to say."
Post by: miauw62 on December 02, 2014, 02:57:51 pm
"Nice place you've got here, by the way, Ms. Klemm."
Post by: Xantalos on December 02, 2014, 05:10:46 pm
Float/swim/jet/whatever over to the group of people there - the maid, perhaps - and extend that feeding aura while near her. See what happens.
((Also, I wonder what that vision of me was that Scott experienced. Was that a house that granted visions of the past?))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 03, 2014, 03:22:22 am
ABORT THE PSYCHIC STUFF. Listen more.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 03, 2014, 03:36:21 am
"I-I believe I have been violated and bewitched in the most unseemly of ways.
It seems that someone believed it would be detrimental for me to encounter you whilst about your business in the tower...What on earth were your doing?!"
Scott will concentrate on bolstering his fortitude against non-physical intrusion...or to at least detect forces that would seek to warp his perception of reality.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 05, 2014, 01:52:07 am
~Ah, thank you good voice Francine.~ The desk thought at the voice, unsure if it would hear him, but the gesture would be good all the same, he believed.
Brief attempts at pleasantries satisfied for the moment, the desk turned its attention to the ghost. "Ah, good sir Scott! I..." The poor once-butler was thrown for a loop at the ghost's comments. "I was simply conversing with good mage Suzanne, good sir Scott. She explained the situation quite admirably and advised on a suitable course of action, as well as kindly fielded a few of my questions. I suppose I would be quite lying to myself that it didn't go entirely as I had wished, but I understand it was perhaps presumptuous of me to propose a radical change of plans on an issue that sounds like its been unaddressed for a while."
"I must ask though, are you well? I'm afraid I can't see why someone would refuse you admittance to see me. I do hope your investigation went well."
Converse with good sir Scott, look at surroundings to see if he can spot one of the whip man's entourage around. Perhaps he can see them leaving, if they tarried after leaving the tower.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 05, 2014, 03:43:54 am
So what was this 'suitable course of action'? The woman did tell me she did know of some wizards we could collect, however, I was too suspicious of her motives to ask."
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 05, 2014, 04:37:53 pm
Sigmund, after making the rookie mistake of confusing flapping, bubbling tissue for a communicative organ, then failing to locate any form of eyes within himself, tries the well-known third method of undead sensation recovery - seeking evidence for one's ability to detect things.
His metasense reveals nothing of use in that regard, of course. He doesn't actually have the ability to see, for even he is not oblivious enough to believe he might be able to when for all intents and purposes he is a bloody ooze, with only vague sensations of pressure, temperature and pain his guides in this terrible world.
Speaking of, he feels kind of sick, which he supposes is probably because it's sunny today.
In the dwelling of the wonderful Ms. Klemm...
Kevin graciously accepts any help Ms. Klemm can provide, hoping that she is indeed as kind a hostess as the cheery atmosphere in here may indicate.
"Ah, yes, thank you, that would be great. Nice place you've got here, by the way, Ms. Klemm."
"I find the paint job really helps the atmosphere a lot," Ms. Klemm replies, smiling as she points her thin fingers at Kevin's collapsed form. He feels his hand tickle a little. "Hm. Perhaps a bit more of a complicated task than I would have thought. No matter, Ms. Cooker, I am sure this is but a minor setback."
She picks up Kevin's body and lays it out in a very orderly manner across the floor in sharp contrast to the sort of half-deflated pile he resembled before. Kevin's not quite sure how that helps, but his joints are a little too eaten by spiders for him to make much of a fuss about it.
"Now hold still, good woman. I shall have you up and walking about momentarily."
She bends down and puts a finger up to one particular spider-cavity in Kevin's body, and it immediately sloshes, then bulges as it is filled up with flesh and blood knitting itself together appropriately. She drags her finger slowly along Kevin's body, and the shapes of it become malleable at her touch, altering and filling out, wounds disappearing, the color of the flesh becoming healthier, pinker, everything feeling much more functional and alive, new and unusual organs taking shape beneath his skin. She has a slightly absentminded look as her hand travels along Kevin's body, physical features reassembling at her whim. She makes three whole passes over the whole thing, each time lingering a little around the stomach area, and almost seems to be in a trance until the moment that Kevin coughs loudly and slightly uncomfortably. All of his flesh has been smoothed and filled out in a highly proportional, anatomically correct manner, and a healthy, warm feeling strikes him as Ms. Klemm looks him in the eyes.
"I apologize for taking so long. It's just been rather long since I've manipulated a human body. Come now. We shall find you some new clothes."
And this they do - walking Kevin to a closet nearly indistinguishable from a wall, Ms. Klemm quickly retrieves a set of dresses similar to her own for Kevin to wear, handing an orderly parcel of them for him to pick from.
"I am afraid there is not much choice here. I am not the most fashion-conscious sort, but we will have to make do," she smiles warmly. "Would you perhaps like some dinner afterward, Ms. Cooker?"
On the precipice of the Mystery Forge...
Niklas, quite interested in his new capabilities, nonchalantly floats off the top of the Mystery Forge, finding his way to the maid, who backs away a little.
He draws a bit closer.
She backs away faster.
"Um, miss, I would ask of you to respect my personal space," she says, quite uneasy. Why must they always be so shy?
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren, immediately halting all psychic activity in a way that most certainly does not implicate him in doing it in the first place (the ghost merely rolls his eyes, so he knows he's safe for now), continues trying to start up a dialogue.
"Oh, heavens no. He's a dick. But tell me more about the ways he screwed you over," he says glibly.
"It was the usual, really. Ask for immortality for your people, he provides it in the form of a divine artifact," he points to the Crown of Flowers, "then everybody happens to mysteriously die as magical devices start to work oddly, and everybody lingers perpetually as a ghost, incapable of moving out of here. And now he's trying to kill us all off for good via a hapless adventurer. Going to be a decent crop of souls if you succeed, the way I understand it. You sure you don't want to go for it?" he winks.
Outside the Black Tower of Eckledun...
A meeting of the minds occurs outside of the most nefarious structure belonging to the Black Circle, and Morton and Scott happen to be its main participants, with Tailor Craig looking absently into the distance. While Morton prefers to assume innocuous intent, it is abundantly clear to Scott that there is a conspiracy at work, and a most terrible one at that. He immediately figures out the most important course of action - steeling his mind something fierce! Luckily, he has perfected his ability to scream inwardly through his vast personal experience, and the only thing he really needs to do now is manage to do that all the time. Of course, screaming inwardly does make it a little difficult to concentrate or think, but when the integrity of his mind is at stake, who can really blame him for getting an immediate head start?
Good news is, the voices in his head immediately abate! Bad news, though, Francine currently isn't one of them, so he has no real way of telling if it worked. Damn mind with its lack of objective reality-checking devices!
Morton, meanwhile, gazes about and looks for any signs of mysterious wizards responsible for heinous acts of city destruction - he can't really see any, so he assumes they must have buggered off entirely or some such.
Tailor Craig, meanwhile, makes an observation.
"Ah, Scott! Where did you come from?" he asks a little absently. It seems his little distracted phase has come to an end.
Post by: Xantalos on December 05, 2014, 05:01:28 pm
"But I was! Am! Don't worry, I'm 40% sure that it wouldn't have hurt."
He floats over to the blacksmith guy.
"Can I try something?"
This is assuming he can communicate normally anymore, of course.
Post by: Tomcost on December 05, 2014, 05:05:01 pm
Pray to Narcillicus:
"Oh, Narcillicus! My body has been squandered repetitively by entities performing some kinds of macabre experiments, or maybe some dark arts I can not comprehend. My body has lost its integrity. Please guide me to make it more appealing to the eye, more useful again!
If there is a negative, begin reading the knots of my flesh. Because there is nothing else to do right now, and maybe Sigmund can get out of this the same way he did with the gnomes: magic.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 05, 2014, 05:35:39 pm
SIGH
mutter mutter mutter
"So! What has occupied you this last hour or so?"
Scott has an epiphany! If he can will flames into existence with his mind...why couldn't he transfer every recollection of his painful experiences into the minds of other terrestrial beings in order to momentarily confuse or incapacitate them?
Post by: miauw62 on December 06, 2014, 04:21:32 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on December 08, 2014, 01:31:08 am
Darren takes a moment to think.
"Any idea on how to weasel out of a deal with a god?"
Post by: Xanmyral on December 08, 2014, 10:35:48 pm
"Well enough I suppose...
So what was this 'suitable course of action'? The woman did tell me she did know of some wizards we could collect, however, I was too suspicious of her motives to ask."
"Ah, then I suppose you know of it. Good mage Suzanne gave us directions to a village of mages, whom I assume are unaffiliated with the circle, that she believes will be apt applicants, should they prove willing and eager. I suggested a few possibilities or alternatives, but it seems we've unfortunately arrived too late to possibly effect much through the circle." The desk replied, quieting down as the ghost spoke to the tailor. Unfortunately, it seems the compatriots are no where to be seen. The tea apostle supposes that they may cross paths again, hopefully.
mutter mutter mutter
"So! What has occupied you this last hour or so?"
"Mostly just speaking with good mage Suzanne, she was quite informative as quite a few subjects, I must say. She even directed me to a source of where we might learn a first hand experience of whatever dreadful thing befell Mothdale, but I'm afraid I can't see them anywhere. She had directed me towards the sir..." She never did tell him the man's name. "Er, the quite official looking man who was just here a few moments ago. It looked like they were at a meeting, but had just concluded when I arrived." A brown hand absently rubbed a spot on his desk where a chip was gouged out of him last time when they first met. Another body, another chance, he supposes.
"Tell me, have your and good mage Justine's quest for information fruitful?"
Answers and questions, dialog and so such.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 09, 2014, 03:44:11 am
By the by, there was this strange man with a gore encrusted whip who happened to become very excited upon hearing of you. A past acquaintance? I don't believe such a...modern relationship was mentioned upon recruiting you into service."
Scott does his best catface.
Post by: blazing glory on December 09, 2014, 05:49:55 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 09, 2014, 05:54:49 am
((I made my sheet in June, 6 months ago, just wondering, but has anyone actually died in all that time?))((No, but many of us were pretty close to doing so!))
Post by: Xantalos on December 09, 2014, 06:00:20 am
((I made my sheet in June, 6 months ago, just wondering, but has anyone actually died in all that time?))((I've been reduced to basically complete helplessness twice or three times now I think, Tomcost is a literal pile of mush, and I dunno about the other guys, I'd have to have been paying attention.))
Post by: Innsmothe on December 09, 2014, 07:55:17 am
((Yeah, just a ball of floating ectoplasm at this point.))((I made my sheet in June, 6 months ago, just wondering, but has anyone actually died in all that time?))((No, but many of us were pretty close to doing so!))
Post by: Xanmyral on December 13, 2014, 02:13:55 am
Morton didn't quite understand what Scott was trying to float by him, although he got that it had some sort of meaning. Does sir Scott think the desk is hunted? The tea apostle doesn't quite understand what makes that certainly modern though. "Hmm. I believe I know who you speak of, good sir Scott. He would most likely be the man who I mentioned prior, the one good mage Suzanne mentioned. I don't believe we're engaged in any sort of "modern relationship," at least hopefully not. I'd quite like to believe I didn't offend him overly too much, and taking appropriate strides to amend."
"Hmm. Good mage Justine will find us in due time, when she believes her search is satisfactory. It wouldn't be very polite to leave without her, so I believe we should take this opportunity to rest before our next jaunt. If I may, I believe I know of something to do during such a time. I've been meaning to attempt thus for a while, perhaps now is as good as any." The desk said vaguely, thinking back on that tavern he originally brewed the tea for the tower. He's been meaning to make tea for Scott and Justine, and by Saint Jove of Butlering, it shall be done! Unless good mage Justine arrives too early, he supposes.
"I shall be making tea, that is, but a special tea. Hopefully, I may also learn of the whereabouts of the nobleman and his entourage. They know what happened in Mothdale."
Responses, plans, and hopeful coincidences! Start making way to the inn Morton first made tea for the tower, make tea again if he's given the go-ahead, start getting those enchantment limericks/chants up and going, with the goal of making the tea a perfect temperature, THE perfect temperature for tea consumption. Ask if a patron of Whipman/The Two he traveled with have passed by or if someone has seen them before the enchantment bit though.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2014, 07:57:14 am
Niklas is shocked that someone would recede from his grasp. Do they not know that they all exist to provide momentary amusement and/or ingredients for his next masterpiece?
"But I was! Am! Don't worry, I'm 40% sure that it wouldn't have hurt."
She backs away a little further. Oh, fine. He floats over to the blacksmith.
"Can I try something?"
"Nope!" he says, jumping back as well. "While I am insatiably curious, I do value my flesh a little bit too much!" he says, grinning wildly.
In the wilderness not very far from Eckledun...
Sigmund figures that there surely is no way a divine entity could be busy enough to refuse two whole calls made in good faith within a short period of time, and that neither could there be any way that the gravity of his situation is in any way unclear. So he tries again, attempting to hide the slight frustration in his thoughts.
~Oh, Narcillicus! My body has been squandered repetitively by entities performing some kinds of macabre experiments, or maybe some dark arts I can not comprehend. My body has lost its integrity. Please guide me to make it more appealing to the eye, more useful again!~
No reply. Sigmund guesses that the god of art must have joined the divine dickbag club under president Velusius in the not too distant past as well. All the other gods probably bowed to peer pressure at that point and joined up as well. Prayer is obviously not going to work, so that just leaves magic. A quick examination of the metaphysical knots of his flesh reveals to Sigmund that he can't seem to read the metaphysical knots on his flesh for some reason. The sun's probably in his metaphysical eyes.
Right outside the Black Tower of Eckledun...
After conferring with Morton for a short moment, Scott has a thought that is nothing short of brilliant. If he can suddenly manifest flames out of nothing but a sheer effort of will, why can't he export some of his highly traumatic experiences to whoever he wishes for the purposes of making them sympathize with his plight all that much more efficiently (and optionally go mad from the revelation)?
It takes him a moment to realize something. He can't do that because he's not a telepath. That's why, mostly. But there's sure to be other reasons, of course, as Scott very well knows, being an old hand at this whole experimentation business. Only a very dire situation could possibly awaken the power within him. Hm. Maybe he could ask Morton to- wait, where did Morton go?
The answer to that question is, sadly, not within Scott's immediate visual range. And Tailor Craig appears to have gone off as well, leaving him all alone and miserable as usual. Perhaps Scott should go looking for trouble. That'd show Morton that he really shouldn't leave him alone like this. Maybe he could set the city on fire, or at least frighten a baby to death or something. That'd be an adequate way to prove the moral low ground.
But this train of thought could not be any less relevant to Morton and, by extension, Craig's current activity, which is a bit of an engagement at the Purging Crab, where he seeks a person with information to share about any evil wizards traveling about. Fortunately, he finds a very evil-looking wizard (that is to say, wearing a black robe, mask and hood, and having no visible knives to obviously identify him as a confused assassin who doesn't quite understand disguise) who may, in fact, have answers. Morton approaches him and, in the most polite cadence he can muster, asks him if he's seen any wizards who may or may not be involved in the subjugation and destruction of Mothdale.
"Oh! You must mean those consortium tossers on a mission, right?" says he in a gruff manner, smelling strongly of cheap booze. "That lot's been sighted in the other inn in town, at least a couple of 'em, but they be long gone by now. You try Mothdale itself, or izzat still as unsafe as it was a day ago?"
Morton suspects that this man is very drunk, though surprisingly knowledgeable despite this. Delegating further conversation to an amiable Craig, who he is polite enough to introduce as wonderfully as possible to the obviously evil wizard, whose name is Lawrence, it seems, he heads over to the teapot and starts working out the preparations for creating an enchanted cup of tea specifically created to be the perfect temperature for consumption. A little while later he is entirely consumed by the thought of the process, and just about ready to burst forth his enchantment.
In the domicile of Ms. Klemm...
Kevin realizes that he hasn't really eaten anything in a while. Possibly since the first time he died, even. So dinner is sounding pretty nice, what with how suddenly hungry he's feeling. It's a bit weird, feeling hungry. Alien feeling.
"Yes, that'd be lovely."
"Excellent," Ms. Klemm says, clapping her hands together with a tinge of excitement. "Follow me, dinner is served already, I believe."
Together they walk out of the rather sizable office and into what looks like a hallway - the grassy and altogether natural look of the place, complete with sun-like lighting continues, although the hallway certainly appears to have a higher ceiling, with passages, staircases and balconies lining the sides. Must have been some elaborate necropolis before Ms. Klemm moved in. They take a right immediately after exiting the office and move into a different room - it's the exact same sort of hall as the one Kevin entered, but a little different in how it's been repurposed. The walls, floors and ceilings are still comfortable imitations of things you'd find in nature, but here there is a small round table in the middle of the room with some chairs next to it, and out of each sarcophagus along the side sprouts a set of vines that seem to have climbed all over the walls - each vine has a series of pods growing out of it, and small antlike creatures are clambering all over the place, seemingly tending to each pod with a great deal of attention and care.
"Hello, my cuties!" she coos at the room. "Meal for two, please!"
The ant things immediately respond, checking over several pods before choosing four different ones and bringing them over to the table.
"This way, Ms. Cooker," Ms. Klemm says, bringing Kevin over to the table, where they both sit down opposite one another. Ms. Klemm wastes no time, immediately thrusting her fingers into the seam of one of her pods and peeling it open, producing a plate-like shape full of what look like peas. She peels open the other one, and inside is a rather impressive slab of fruit flesh, attached to the inside of the pod with three separate white strings. She quickly separates the fruit and takes a bite, her teeth vaguely yellowish and very sharp-looking.
"Mm. Still warm, too," she says after swallowing the bite. "The menu is strictly vegetarian, I'm afraid, but it's very good nonetheless, to say nothing of the richness of it."
She looks over at one of the passing ant things.
"And the service is positively adorable, too!" she says. The ant thing pauses, possibly to determine whether its mistress wants anything, and Kevin notices that it appears to be a little bit fuzzy. Hopefully those aren't urticating hairs. He looks down at his two pods. Since they look exactly the same as Ms. Klemm's, he peels them open. Strangely, the peas, unlike her bright green, seem to have a slightly golden tinge, and the slab of pineapple-like flesh is similarly slightly richer in color.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren gets the feeling his unlife may be in a tenuous position presently.
"No, not sure," he says, and the ghost opposite him tilts its head quizzically and a little playfully. "Any idea on how to weasel out of a deal with a god?"
"There are few ways, and most of them rely on the god in question losing interest. Not unlikely, depending on how bored the god of death may be. If you want to take that option, you simply float on out of here and pretend nothing ever happened, and leave us all to figure out how to get rid of this bloody curse."
~... and then forever wonder what moment will I choose to enact my revenge upon you, and what method will I choose to do so...~ goes a sinister voice in Darren's head, and he feels his very soul tighten for a moment, as if squeezed by some powerful force.
Post by: Xantalos on December 15, 2014, 08:24:43 am
Do you have any animals I could test it out on? Or people you don't particularly like?
Niklas is shocked that someone would recede from his grasp. Do they not know that they all exist to provide momentary amusement and/or ingredients for his next masterpiece?((Also, I'm gonna sig this if you don't mind.))
((I think the character sheet might need a bit of an upgrade now, what with all the metamorphasis everyone's been going through.))
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2014, 09:23:46 am
Post by: Innsmothe on December 15, 2014, 09:28:52 am
He will go and get well and truly trousered, to the point where he will not be able to distinguish between the philosophical concepts of which,when,what and/or indeed why from a disappointedly impolite tomato.
How to pay?
He will pay by a non-visitation agreement...alcohol now, no hauntings later.
He will also fail to mention that the agreement will hold only because he will cause a spark in their spirits storage that will threaten to burn their pathetic mortal establishment to the third layer of silt and soil.
Post by: Xantalos on December 15, 2014, 09:54:41 am
((Any ideas about what can I do, gentlemen?))((Focus your power! Make yourself into the god you need to get help from!
More seriously, maybe try fusing yourself metaphysically with the patch of ground you're on and building a new body out of that? Is that a thing that can be done?))
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2014, 10:03:08 am
((My current problem is getting some way to feel. nd I don't know how to get Mark's soul vision))((Any ideas about what can I do, gentlemen?))((Focus your power! Make yourself into the god you need to get help from!
More seriously, maybe try fusing yourself metaphysically with the patch of ground you're on and building a new body out of that? Is that a thing that can be done?))
Post by: Xantalos on December 15, 2014, 10:07:13 am
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2014, 10:19:53 am
((Do the Disney and sing a heartfelt song about your emotional isolation.))((I have no mouth! I am a pile of torn flesh! Daw. I think that I will have to incurr in some kind of abstraction))
Not having any means to alter whatever his own body is, Sigmund will have to somehow transfer his own soul to another body. The thing is, how to do it? He will have to see if he can actually feel something as incorporeal as souls with his mea sense.
See if I can feel souls with my meta sense.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 15, 2014, 02:37:03 pm
Morton was sure good tailor Craig can deal with good mage Lawrence. While the desk isn't sure what to make of the mage's attire, he knows it good general practice not to judge one by their appearances. Sometimes.
Getting into his enchantment groove, the chants ringing in his mind and the tea ready, the desk set about to accomplish his goal. He will serve tea to all!
Pull the lever, Kronk! Enchant that tea (now that the chants are active)! Make it the perfect temperature!
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 15, 2014, 05:18:53 pm
Do you have any animals I could test it out on? Or people you don't particularly like?
"Those categories include everyone that is not me. But none of them are in captivity... yet."
Not having any means to alter whatever his own body is, Sigmund will have to somehow transfer his own soul to another body. The thing is, how to do it? He will have to see if he can actually feel something as incorporeal as souls with his mea sense.
See if I can feel souls with my meta sense.
Sure you can! There's what you assume to be a shrew or something of a similar nature wandering around right now. Plus something a little bigger further away and drawing closer.
In addition, should you ever feel confused and without direction, merely petition for a hint from the netherworld, and all will become clearer. Maybe.
Post by: Nunzillor on December 15, 2014, 07:28:44 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 15, 2014, 08:05:56 pm
Oh, and do you have a mirror so I can behold myself?
Post by: Tomcost on December 15, 2014, 09:01:53 pm
Sure you can! There's what you assume to be a shrew or something of a similar nature wandering around right now. Plus something a little bigger further away and drawing closer.
In addition, should you ever feel confused and without direction, merely petition for a hint from the netherworld, and all will become clearer. Maybe.
((Yes, yes, YES! Sigmund will become a necromancer!))
See again the code/number of my soul (if my soul doesn't have it "written" on it, look for it in my current soul vessel). If the bigger thing draws closer, find the knot of its body which says which soul does it act as a vessel for. If it doesn't get too close, default to another of the small animals
It should be just a matter of changing some numbers, and eventually Sigmund should be able to allocate his soul in that body.
((I think that I have figured this out! YEAAAAAHH))
EDIT: here is Sigmund soul's code. Why? Just in case.
Sigmund, unclear on what to do now, examines the definition of himself.
Apparently, Sigmund is the assigned self-name of the current vessel of Soul 55-137322-14456711-61119031-1345221885-909799155, and this soul possesses no privileges. That's rather straightforward, he guesses. With that out of the way, he quickly retrieves the book of bindings from the den, then returns to the cargo hold to take a look at it.
Post by: miauw62 on December 16, 2014, 08:16:00 am
"Hm, this is pretty good!"
"Uh... So how do you tell these... Uh... Cuties... To do these things?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 16, 2014, 09:52:22 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 01:07:16 am
Can I rejoin or should I wait?
edit:
Also how did you guys get so mauled one guy is even a pile of organs
Post by: Xanmyral on December 17, 2014, 01:31:17 am
Also how did you guys get so mauled one guy is even a pile of organs
Murphy's law, mostly.
Post by: Xantalos on December 17, 2014, 01:37:20 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 01:38:38 am
Universal schadenfreude.I'm not even going to question that
Also I heard the GWG got banned how did that happen?
Post by: Xantalos on December 17, 2014, 01:40:40 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 01:57:09 am
10/10 style points
Post by: Xantalos on December 17, 2014, 02:18:38 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 02:30:57 am
In other news I will be making a RTD after christmas
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 17, 2014, 02:44:52 am
Hey guys I have time to do this again and just caught up on the last 20 pages
Can I rejoin or should I wait?
edit:
Also how did you guys get so mauled one guy is even a pile of organs
Sure you can. There might be some improvisation of your current circumstances, but you certainly can.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 02:56:03 am
Thanks I can see the party needs my skill at !MEDICINE! I just need to find them.Hey guys I have time to do this again and just caught up on the last 20 pages
Can I rejoin or should I wait?
edit:
Also how did you guys get so mauled one guy is even a pile of organs
Sure you can. There might be some improvisation of your current circumstances, but you certainly can.
Just how many planes of existence are they spread over?
Post by: blazing glory on December 17, 2014, 03:19:57 am
EDIT so I guess the thing with your parents is fixed now?
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 03:23:41 am
Also I reread roll to roll to dodge to loosen my sanity, its still as funny as ever
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2014, 06:01:00 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 06:14:16 am
Lesson for the kids don't piss off the crazy doctor still working on you.
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2014, 07:09:04 am
Also while I remember who did I turn into a eleven limbed dragon then a no limbed slug when they complained*Raises hand
Lesson for the kids don't piss off the crazy doctor still working on you.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 17, 2014, 07:15:07 am
Well let's see what I can make out of the pile of organs how would you feel about being a sentient weapon?Also while I remember who did I turn into a eleven limbed dragon then a no limbed slug when they complained*Raises hand
Lesson for the kids don't piss off the crazy doctor still working on you.
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2014, 07:34:11 am
((Umm, no. I will try to do necromancy and get myself another body.))Well let's see what I can make out of the pile of organs how would you feel about being a sentient weapon?Also while I remember who did I turn into a eleven limbed dragon then a no limbed slug when they complained*Raises hand
Lesson for the kids don't piss off the crazy doctor still working on you.
Post by: Coolrune206 on December 17, 2014, 03:03:02 pm
Post by: Xantalos on December 17, 2014, 03:14:17 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 17, 2014, 04:26:54 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 17, 2014, 04:29:54 pm
@Hellhound: Glad to see you back, I missed Mark's brand of insanity.]
Post by: miauw62 on December 18, 2014, 06:08:44 am
Post by: killerhellhound on December 18, 2014, 07:34:07 am
Marks will probably be I played in a tavern for a very long time
Or if by GM's decision he doesnt do that
I got stabbed by guards while fixing people they were too boring
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 21, 2014, 02:52:05 pm
Scott not entirely unfoundedly believes that he could probably use a drink, and that such a small niggle as him being entirely unable to drink is not about to stop him. Surely enough threats and fire shall fix this much as they shall solve all other problems in his unlife in time. Happy thoughts of flaming destruction keeping him company, he looks around for the nearest fine place of extreme inebriation.
Fortunately for him, he needs not look far, for a place called Bill's Hideaway seems all too inviting from across the street - it has all he could possibly want aside from an actual wooden construction - instead it seems to be all worked stone and metal. There's plenty of drunks out front who look pickled enough that he could set them on fire with a mere glance, however, so he's holding out hope. Floating in through the front door like it wasn't even there, he finds himself in a fairly low-class joint, the kind of place he feels only a few regulars might miss if it were to suddenly explode, complete with a stone and metal bar seemingly made specifically to deflect any falling drunkards without a single scratch remaining on it. There's a rather fine-looking older woman with a glass eye standing behind the bar, looking less than thrilled that the patron ugliness record was just soundly broken beyond all belief with Scott's arrival. She rather politely says nothing as Scott moves toward the bar, only venturing to guess his purpose midway through his opening threat, which need not be repeated, but can be freely assumed to be rather ugly. Since she gets the point rather easily, Scott does not mind.
"You want a stiff drink, I'll freely assume."
She produces a carafe from one of the cupboards behind her. The liquid within glows a bright green.
"Here's what I got, then. You'll want the whole bottle, I'm guessing?"
When Scott bobs affirmatively, she places it in front of him. Scott, like the polite drunk he is, bobs forward into the bottle, phasing through the glass, whereupon the liquid within quickly gets absorbed into his ectoplasmic form.
[Scott's endurance roll: 5]
That did the trick, he thinks. So well and truly knackered he's never been in his life, let alone in the days of enforced sobriety death had brought him. He's even got the old quintuple-vision thing going. What a charming throwback to a more innocent time. So stone drunk is he, he wonders if he might have sustained a bit of brain damage from all that. After all, he's starting to worry about brain damage, which is already a marked departure from the list of psychoses and neuroses that compose his very being.
At the Mystery Forge...
Niklas needs victims, this much is clear. Not having a victim is worse than not having an audience, this much he knows.
"Are there any nearby? Aside from maid person there," he says, pointing at the vacant spot where the maid was a moment ago. She seems to have gotten the right idea at last. A shame. "Oh, and do you have a mirror so I can behold myself?"
"No on both counts, dear creature! But I am sure if you can move quietly enough, both will be within reach soon enough!" he explains, then runs over to the Mystery Forge, which he begins to climb.
At the Purging Crab...
Morton, having let good tailor Craig alone with good mage Lawrence for far too long already, focuses all of his narrowed will and strengthened resolve, to say nothing of superior knowledge, straight into the tea he has prepared, willing it to be the perfect temperature, intimately known to him like it is to no other, now and forever.
Interestingly, as he makes the effort of will needed to accomplish this, he finds it surprisingly easy to make reality do what he wants, and in his mind there can be only one explanation - clearly nature itself wants people to enjoy wonderful tea just as much as he does. The warm feeling this fact brings him is truly irreplaceable, he finds. This is good, since when he's done (and taken the necessary fifteen minute break afterward to get his faculties in order, naturally) there is absolutely nothing to indicate that he has done anything to the tea at all apart from its rather uniquely pleasing temperature.
In the wilderness of the deadliest of coasts...
Sigmund, ever the crafty sort, immediately starts working dark designs on the new arrival. First he checks the serial number of his soul, because how can one work dark designs without messing around with souls? They wouldn't be very dark in that event, would they? So, he quickly looks through his soul number, and finds it boring as usual, although he comes across a very interesting fact - something's changed there, a detail he hadn't noticed before while trying to look through the veritable hundreds of soul vessels his body is composed of. That detail happens to be a certain privilege, which is something Sigmund finds intriguing.
That privilege, or at least that's what it's termed, seems to be called the privilege of inseparability, with a timestamp saying that it's begun on 22114333.12899.557, whatever that might possibly mean.
Meanwhile, the body in the distance seems to be meandering around, not changing its location much, though its meandering is admittedly slowly taking it closer to Sigmund's pile of organs.
In the dining room of Ms. Klemm...
Kevin decides to eat up without protest, and do his very best to appear that he's enjoying the food. Fortunately, that's not a problem, since the food genuinely is rather delicious, or at least it tastes very nutritious. Has a bit of a dusty taste, but otherwise a very solid way to absorb all that vitally important goodness. Very filling, too, though Kevin's hungry enough to make very good progress on the food anyway, and soon manages to finish both pods at a markedly faster rate than Ms. Klemm.
"Hm, this is pretty good!" he comments.
"I know, right?" she replies with her mouth half-full. A moment passes as Kevin elects to wait until she swallows before asking the next question.
"Uh... so how do you tell these... uh... cuties... to do these things?"
"Oh, I cheat," she says, blushing a little and laughing to herself. "I used to try working with actual insects, because they're so very cute! But then I realized that they're a bit too... alien to train. No brain, just ganglia scattered across the body. Not much learning capacity in them, either. So I did the next best thing and made them very cute-looking, but on the inside they're pretty much above-average dog parts. Same for the spiders. I mean, there's only so much hard work you can put in just for squeeing value, am I right?"
She beckons a nearby ant thing, which does start to look distressingly like a six-legged, chitin-covered dog in its mannerisms as Kevin observes it more closely, to come closer, and it does, at which point she pets it. The ant thing appears to appreciate it.
"Anyway, want seconds?"
In the gutter of the dead...
["Medicine" roll: 6+1]
"I dunno, it doesn't seem like it'd be in the community's best interest to..."
Mark puts two fingers to the lady necromancer's mouth. She pauses a moment, taken aback by the effective certainty of the gesture. With his other hand, he lets the wonder of his creation speak for itself. It is a glorious invention, a thing of hollowed and hewn bone, precariously placed fingers, sinew strings and membranous drums, with small and stubby walking legs, about six of them, all six skinless and without a wasted bit of flesh on them. No torso to speak of - all has been filled with points of articulation most delicate, each part set up with exceptional timing, frequency and intensity in mind. It took three dead refugees (not murdered, mind you - Mark, reasonable chap that he is, realizes that it'd probably complicate the pitch overmuch if he'd killed them himself, and the note he presented to the lady had been complicated enough to explain already).
The smell of Mark's fingers hits the lady necromancers brain and she retches, drawing back. Mark tilts his head.
"Ugh, don't you ever wash those? Gods, man."
Mark takes a look at the nearby stream, a mere trickle now due to the several refugees falling into (or being thrown into, he supposes - a few of them didn't look drowned) a closed off part of the sewer the water was coming from. He'd tried washing with that, but it had an overly gunk-like consistency.
"Anyway, I don't see anything to transfer a soul from into that thing anyway. Do you even know how this works?" she asks. Mark rolls his eyes and points at the nearby refugee pile. Should be three good people in that.
"Wait, they're not dead?"
Mark passes her another note. This one details the system - the pile of three is the "barely breathing" pile, while the ravaged pile of what was formerly five others is the viable materials one. The seeping pile of three to six is the non-viable materials pile, probably extreme life magic failures (and not just minor ones like the others), and a little bit too spicy for this project. Took only a little bit of systematization, too!
"Okay..." she nods as she reads it. "I dunno. This seems a bit disrespectful."
Mark is prepared, and provides her with his last note, the note of justifications. It provides a multitude of reasons why this is totally a thing the lady necromancer should do, including the fact that these people are probably dead anyway, this is like a new lease on life, they are going to be providing the community a valuable service, and that she's a goddamn necromancer and he thinks these kinds of reservations are really something necromancer school ought to have stripped from her long ago. And really, it could turn out funny! There's no way this thing could be a threat, either, since this is one of the rare things he hasn't made with the express purpose of either enabling or facilitating criminal activity (he assumes fixing up his former companions all counts toward one of those two categories, and other things he hardly remembers).
Side note - the stationery he bought for all those tips he got from playing the flute before seems to have made his thoughts more presentable than ever, even with the unsavory smell of the rest of his being! Way more fun than speaking, and more menacing to boot!
"... uh, well... eh, fuck it. Let's give it a shot," the lady necromancer says, giving Mark back the note and turning to the barely breathing pile, keeping both it and Mark's creation in her view.
[Wilma's magic roll: 1]
She looks at the pile, concentrating upon its contents, and it stirs! Oh, how it stirs! Mostly it's one body that stirs - a young lady in the middle, pale and in very poor health, her body twitching, looking suddenly revitalized for some reason.
"Oh. Uh, whoops!" says the lady necromancer as the young woman starts to scream wildly and flail, as if in extreme agony. Quite a bit of life in her now, Mark notices. And such violence, too! With barely any effort she manages to shake off the fat old fellow atop her (placed deliberately on top, mind you - Mark understands the concept of the corpse paperweight very well) and immediately tries to get up, though this appears very difficult, as the several parts of her body appear to not be moving quite as concertedly as they should be. The fat fellow, to further the disappointment, looks to have died entirely, judging from the lack of breathing. The skinny middle-aged woman at the bottom, though, emits a low pained gasp as she can finally breathe at full efficiency once more.
"Dammit, I told you I'm an exorcist, not one of the undead types! Why'd I let you talk me into this?" the lady necromancer looks accusatorily at Mark, who seems to be wondering about three things. Firstly, whether there's anything he can do with the fascinatingly lively near-corpse flailing around in the near vicinity. Secondly, whether he could improve his current design, the One-Beast-Band, with materials from the dead fat fellow who just freed up his vast bulk. Thirdly, whether he should have planned a bit further ahead with his notes.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 21, 2014, 03:13:27 pm
"If I recall correctly, jokes are a proper form of bar time etiquette...
Have you heard the one about the animate Desk, hell bound fashion guru, amalgamate demi-god and the quest to enslave the world and all magic?"
Upon reply: "HA! You are living it! The gods have abandoned you, give in to your loss and proffer all your mages ,sorcerers, alchemists and tricksters to the abandoned city in vain hope of being the last one to face the full fury of GUB and his wroth!"
One more drink! ((in the sunken Norwegian))
Life shall once again begin at death and all will wail, shriek and howl to the gibbering mass that is my lord and master!
All shall burn, crackle and pop under my gaze, wailing in unending life!
All shall drink and and drown in the profane brews of the Desk, their flesh forever waxen and preserved in the perverse broth!
All shall consort with demons and their eye for your clothing, form and soul. Eldritch madness will haunt your days!
WE ARE YOU FUTURE! SUFFER AND SERVE!
Fly erratically out the pub
Post by: Xanmyral on December 21, 2014, 04:48:58 pm
Either way, his task done, the desk moves to return to the good tailor to see how they're doing in their discussion, and if he has the appropriate supplies, hands each of them a flask of tea, or if not offers it to them if they have available mugs/glasses from the pot, should any remain there. Count flasks, as said above
The next step of the plan would be to try and find good mage Justine, also good sir Scott so that he may share the joy that even nature wishes all to enjoy! Hopefully they're along the way to that other inn, that would be the next lead to look into before leaving the town.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 21, 2014, 04:50:10 pm
make a new note saying that the best thing for the woman is to try again as it can't get any worse for her if she does it properly this time throw her a party
Post by: Innsmothe on December 22, 2014, 01:54:43 am
I must be spending too much time in Scott's head, for I am getting paranoid that people will start to think that I am not serious about the character or the thread.))
Post by: Xantalos on December 22, 2014, 02:02:10 am
Be quiet for a bit while Smithy does his stuff.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 22, 2014, 03:12:01 am
((It's harder than you think; playing a person of questionable sanity, with no concrete personal goals, motives or desires. Not that I am not enjoying the experience, but more of an explanation if any of my input irks some people. :/
I must be spending too much time in Scott's head, for I am getting paranoid that people will start to think that I am not serious about the character or the thread.))
[I've been personally amused by what Scott does, dunno about the others. You're doing fine.]
Post by: miauw62 on December 22, 2014, 06:11:23 am
That said, he had dealt with people that had it much, much worse. One person, anyway.
"Sure!"
While eating, he comments,
"So, you're a mage, then?"
Post by: Tomcost on December 22, 2014, 06:28:09 am
((Let's see, this is serious stuff, so I will do it the old, somewhat safe way))
Concentration roll to transfer my soul into the bigger thing. The way to do it will be by changing the current soul of that vessel for Sigmund's, by replacing soul numbers.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 23, 2014, 04:22:31 pm
Scott, quite pleased with his inebriated state, tries to lighten the mood a little in the way that only a floating kidney-shaped bit of ectoplasm can - through the noble art of observational comedy!
"If I recall correctly, jokes are a proper form of bar time etiquette... have you heard the one about the animate Desk, hell bound fashion guru, amalgamate demi-god and the quest to enslave the world and all magic?"
"Nope," says the bartender with a modicum of interest, serving a drink to a nearby patron.
"HA! You are living it! The gods have abandoned you, give in to your loss and proffer all your mages, sorcerers, alchemists and tricksters to the abandoned city in vain hope of being the last one to face the full fury of GUB and his wroth!"
"Gub's wroth, eh?" the bartender parrots, this time actually looking at Scott. "That's more interesting than the usual doom we get here, to your credit."
Feeling lucky, Scott asks for another drink, having drained the whole bottle already. The woman gives him a critical eye.
"I'll give you a shot. Not another bottle. That stuff's expensive," she says, and quickly pours him a shot. Scott drains that and, suitably inspired, launches into song as he starts to fly out of the pub. It's rather pleasing that the bartender does not appear to have had any intent of asking him for payment - she probably knows better than to badger a ghost for change.
"Life shall once again begin at death and all will wail, shriek and howl to the gibbering mass that is my lord and master!
All shall burn, crackle and pop under my gaze, wailing in unending life!
All shall drink and and drown in the profane brews of the Desk, their flesh forever waxen and preserved in the perverse broth!
All shall consort with demons and their eye for your clothing, form and soul. Eldritch madness will haunt your days!
WE ARE YOUR FUTURE! SUFFER AND SERVE!"
Nobody seems to mind as he leaves through one of the walls, finding himself in a different house. He briefly wonders why he came here, but then remembers that he's several drinks past having any sort of reason for things. He notes an odd thing - beyond suspecting that he's too inebriated to process further information about his immediate environment, he notices that he can't quite make sense of the room around him. Absolutely no object in it looks familiar enough for him to make good guesses as to what it might be and why it's here.
At the Purging Crab...
Morton, quite curious about what might have happened with Tailor Craig during his enchanting episode, floats over to the man, and is promptly quite puzzled when he finds the tailor alone. Passing him a bit of tea, Morton asks the fellow what's up. He takes a sip before replying.
"We had a charming conversation about his work, which seems to be something about advancing the agenda of pinkness, which seemed altogether nefarious, though I am certainly not one to judge. Naturally, the chap inquired about my work in turn, and seemed awfully interested in my makeover procedure, which I then proceeded to demonstrate to him outside in an alley. He has not returned yet, but I am sure he is not very far off," he explains.
In the gutter of the dead...
Mark is not unsympathetic to the lady's concerns, naturally. But certain objectives of his must take precedence, now and for the foreseeable future, in this case musical excellence. He quickly writes up an eloquent note stressing the need for improvement not through giving up on seemingly terrible ideas, but through improving on said terrible ideas until they lose what made them terrible in the first place! In this case, the way she clearly wasn't trying this last time (though clearly Mark puts it mo.re tactfully as realizing a hidden potential that may significantly increase her marketability in the current magical climate). The lady necromancer appears moved by his plea.
"I guess I see your point," she says, scratching her chin. "I did seem to transfer a soul there. It just went wrong somehow."
She looks at the flailing, twitching young woman trying to get away.
"Wait, I know! I think I transferred it to the wrong body! That has to be it!"
Excited, she splays her hands at the subject, looking at Mark's creation in the meantime.
[Wilma's magic roll: 2+1]
The woman stops flailing about and returns to heavy breathing - looks like she's not going to last very long like that, Mark thinks. Not that her life expectancy was terribly long anyway, so Mark's not worried. Mark's little One-Beast-Band, meanwhile, stirs! It moves! It lives! It's limbs start to move, and a few strings are immediately plucked, producing a chord. A good sign, if anything can truly be described as such!
It's a bit twitchy, granted, and looks barely alive, but technically it seems to have worked! That can only mean one thing - it's party time! This, however, brings up a few questions - aside from the lady necromancer, who else is invited? Beast-Band obviously is, and maybe the two people with both knees in the grave. It occurs to Mark that he doesn't really have any other acquaintances in this town, so he just writes up one invitation and hands it to the lady, who takes a look, and seems reasonably impressed.
"Oh! A party for me?"
Mark nods.
"It, uh, doesn't specify a place. And the time's put down as 'now'."
Mark nods again. She gets it!
Near the Mystery Forge...
"I can be quiet," Niklas lies shamelessly as he observes the smith climb to the top of the Mystery Forge, and is rather disappointed when he just sits down on the edge, looking rather excited. Two minutes pass. He appears to be swinging his legs to a rhythm Niklas finds difficult to identify.
"I am not going to make you any people or mirrors if that's what you were thinking," he points out after two more minutes elapse. "I was more insinuating that you skulk around and look for people and mirrors to victimize on your own, actually."
In Ms. Klemm's dining room...
Kevin can't say no to free food, so he just goes ahead and agrees to get seconds. With but a single gesture from Ms. Klemm, another two pods find his way to him, and he digs into these as well. These little peas and pineapple steak things, however, don't seem to be golden this time around, and they don't taste quite as good. Still delectable, however!
"So, you're a mage, then?" he attempts smalltalk.
"Kind of you to notice, Ms. Cooker," she replies. "Yes, I am indeed a mage. Does it honestly surprise you to find someone of my occupation this far underground? Past a certain threshold of survivability, I guarantee you that all you are likely to find are Circle representatives, really."
In the wilderness of Eckledun...
Sigmund, seeing no need to delay, sets his plan in motion, immediately trying to concentrate on changing the number of the soul the slightly distant creature's body is supposed to have.
[Sigmund's enchantment roll: 2]
It is, however, more difficult than it looks to achieve this, mostly because Sigmund keeps coming back to check his soul number, which he can't seem to manage to memorize in full. He can't really blame himself, to be honest. It is a very dull and long number.
Post by: miauw62 on December 23, 2014, 04:27:10 pm
Post by: Tomcost on December 23, 2014, 04:35:57 pm
((OH SHIT))
((Specifically, what is the problem?))
Let's do this the indirect way:
Find a close peeble, then make it a focus that allows me to transfer a soul from one vessel to another, replacing the previous soul in said vessel.
If there is a souls-related bit to add the necessary clauses, do it there, if not just add them where it doesn't inerfere with anything.
Post by: Xantalos on December 23, 2014, 05:20:51 pm
Float out of the room, going back to my and Lifeboy's dorms I suppose. He's probably still there or something. Or is he here? Go find Lifeboy. Explain to any alarmed people that it's alright, I'm the Circle ambassador.
Post by: killerhellhound on December 23, 2014, 08:59:33 pm
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2014, 04:33:08 am
Post by: Innsmothe on December 24, 2014, 10:01:11 am
[[Bets on whether I managed to port into the abode of a local ghost hunter? :c]]
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 24, 2014, 01:40:58 pm
"Oh, you're a member of the Circle? It's an honor. I've only met one once before, and she happened to be a tower, so we didn't really talk much, haha"
"That sounds like the Mistress of the Seventh Tower, to be honest," Ms. Klemm wonders. "How might one such as you find yourself in company like that, Ms. Cooker?"
Post by: miauw62 on December 24, 2014, 05:18:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on December 25, 2014, 11:46:15 pm
Morton nodded along with Craig's brief explanation, although he must admit confusion. "Ah, 'agenda of pinkness,' good tailor Craig? I suppose it's good for everyone to have a goal, but a curious name none the less. As for good mage Lawerence, I'm sure he's fine. We've yet to see anything overly negative come about from the portal, nor from the good aspect. Perhaps a makeover will help him achieve this personal pinkess he seeks."
"Either way, I thank you for your patience, good tailor Craig, I've finished in my surprise for our more spectral members." The desk practically beamed, the desk trying to up his luminosity a touch to fit his happy mood. "I do hope they like it, I admit I'm not entirely sure what the process of enchantment may do to the taste, and I sadly lack the facilities to test. Tell me, does it taste as it should?" The desk pushed the demonological tailor for an honest critique.
After noting his answer, should it be positive the desk will have his worries abated and suggest the two of them try to now find their wayward companions before they get in too much trouble. He jokes, but only partially.
Post by: Harry Baldman on December 29, 2014, 10:42:08 am
Sigmund knows the best way to solve a complicated problem he can't quite wrap his head around - add more parts! More parts is more fun, as the saying goes. He focuses on a nearby pebble, willing it to become his unthinking accomplice in gruesome, blatant body theft. All it takes, obviously, is but the addition of a few more knots, plus a couple others. One really big knot, too, defining what a soul is and how to exchange the numbers and that kind of nonsense, since it seems that quite isn't defined. And finally a big ol' subordination clause knot submitting its power entirely to Sigmund, so the damn pebble doesn't get up to any funny business while its master isn't looking. And then one final addition giving it knowledge of what subordination is, when to do it and when to avoid it, a couple guidelines on self preservation, informing it that "happiness" equals "a state of mind", giving it certain moral guidelines shared with Sigmund so it doesn't become some kind of evil genie pebble, all the basic stuff.
Now, with all that done, Sigmund quickly examines his handiwork. Looks pretty brilliant, he thinks. A bit lopsided from all that stuff he added. And also a bit animate, which exacerbates the lopsidedness as the knots start spinning and swinging, the first overt indication of proper motion Sigmund has ever observed while doing this as far as he can remember, which he can't help but feel a touch perversely proud of right up until the moment the knots - all of them at once, in fact - begin to violently and spontaneously unravel, the little eddies of metaphysical twine making them up swinging about ever more chaotically, making new and interesting knots in the process. It's all very fascinating to watch, Sigmund finds, right up until the moment he notices that virtually all the living mobile things in the area have vacated the vicinity with astounding haste, and it occurs to him that maybe he'd be more worried if he could actually see what was happening about twenty meters away from him, because the knots, as far as he can tell, are just plain gibberish at the moment.
At the Mystery Forge of Castle Fenton...
Niklas is understandably quite disappointed that the smith doesn't seem about to provide him with any spontaneously created flesh puppets or reflective surfaces, and after saying some choice words to the fellow, slinks out of the Mystery Forge and into the halls of the castle, where he manages to almost avoid bumping into anyone. The person he does bump into, however, appears to be some sort of layabout knight having nothing better to do (judging by the way he's just unhurriedly walking down the hall in plate armor, helmet included) than interrupt wizard affiliates in their nightmarish business, as he sees fit to make an affair of it.
"I say," he says, "aren't you just the most unusual abomination I've ever seen!" Niklas wonders if that's smalltalk or actual alarm, but feels the need to reply regardless.
"I am a representative of-"
"-those magic circle types, right? Say no more, say no more!" the knight interrupts. "Heard you was a handsome maiden or something, but I hear those magic circle types like to be all handsome and maideny for the interviews, makes 'em all trustworthy-like, you know? Now you've got the job and all, a little variation's to be expected, izzat right?"
"Ind-"
"Quite, quite. It's a good look for ya, very alien and foreboding. Having a face that looks like it could eat another face is all fine and good in my book, prime number of limbs is also a nice touch. And inexplicable flotation's a classic. You one of them mages who does tricks of the light, or do ya actually meat-change yourself each time?"
"I-"
"Right, right, prolly should know better than to ask a lady that. Apologies and all that, I'll be running along now, then!"
And he does indeed immediately take off at a leisurely jog, clanking his way down the hall. Niklas, seemingly lacking the capacity to shrug, bobs quizzically for a moment, then gets over to Lifeboy's dorms, where Lifeboy is, strangely enough, not found for some reason. Probably gone off to do something else, having fun without his wonderful friend like the selfish little thing he might just be.
In the gutter of the dead...
Mark is knowledgeable on how to show a lady like Wilma the necromancer a wonderful time - naturally, a tavern holds the key to a proper party. Everyone's going to be invited, clearly. Doing his best to feign an inspired look on his completely deadened face, he ushers Wilma out of the gutter. The one-beast-band twitches uncertainly for a moment, but a swift poke on Mark's part returns it to a sensible state.
At any rate, they make it swiftly to the nicest tavern (inn?) in town, the Purging Crab, where, oddly enough, the first thing Mark happens to spot is two of his wonderful companions just leaving the tavern - one is a floating desk going on about tea, and the other is that fear guy who made his other friends look all funny and whatnot. How fortuitous! They are exactly who he doesn't appear to have been looking for! Better yet, they don't seem to recognize him at all, although the one-beast-band, currently unwittingly playing an improvised march from the looks of it, just as Mark intended it to do when it walks around at a steady pace, draws a curious glance from the tailor and the desk (though it's harder to tell with the desk, obviously).
In a house of complete inexplicability...
Scott, most curious about things he has no notion of, moves closer to one of the strange objects, in this case a stack of four wooden (entirely wooden - even the strings have a grainy, organic, natural look to them) guitars, arranged side-to-side, the bodies facing toward the ghost like a set of malevolent eyes. Each guitar, he notices, appears to be much larger than any of the three others, and his soul starts to hurt a little as he considers the thing for a little while longer. The slight double vision he's experiencing doesn't seem to be helping, and the fact that one of the holes in the guitars visibly blinks at him from time to time with an audible plink does his state of mind no favors, either.
In addition, Scott notes another thing about his surroundings, which is a low note seemingly sung from a very robust throat, coming from an unplaceable location and giving a very palpable evil temple ambiance to the room. There's also the fact that the only doors he can see look more like windows, which might be a little peculiar.
In the dining room of Ms. Klemm...
Kevin feels like this might be leading into a massive dose of story time if he does not inhibit himself a little.
"One of my compatriots was turned into a chair and ran away. long story I walked into a bar to search for him and a servant of said Mistress was having a drink there. Funny coincidence, really."
"That does sound rather fortuitous and greatly fascinating. Do tell me more, perhaps over another portion?"
Kevin notices that he's finished his current portion rather quickly, and also that he doesn't feel quite full yet.
At the Purging Crab...
Morton, though not entirely sure if he should trust somebody described as having an agenda of pinkness, nevertheless supposes that somebody as personable as Lawrence surely can't be that bad.
"Ah, 'agenda of pinkness', good tailor Craig? I suppose it's good for everyone to have a goal, but a curious name none the less. As for good mage Lawerence, I'm sure he's fine. We've yet to see anything overly negative come about from the portal, nor from the good aspect. Perhaps a makeover will help him achieve this personal pinkness he seeks."
"Oh, but that's the interesting thing. It's not personal pinkness he seeks, the fellow already has that down perfectly. He apparently seeks pinkness, which as far as I understand carries slightly greater implications than mere horrendous violations of aesthetics, on a wider scale. You see, he wanted the makeover to help with the task of infiltration he was evidently failing at quite badly," the tailor explains.
"Either way, I thank you for your patience, good tailor Craig, I've finished in my surprise for our more spectral members," he says, producing his tea. "I do hope they like it, I admit I'm not entirely sure what the process of enchantment may do to the taste, and I sadly lack the facilities to test. Tell me, does it taste as it should?"
Tailor Craig takes a slight sip of the tea, which Morton prepares in the cup, and after a series hms and ahs produces an answer.
"It does certainly have the quality I have come to expect of your tea, although the magic is slightly palpable. Enough to make one wonder, I think, but not quite enough to provoke suspicion of evil sorcery, which is a good balance for magic to have. Good job, fine fellow!"
Heartened by this, Morton suggests they seek the others, and Tailor Craig agrees that this is an absolutely splendid idea. Together the two leave the Purging Crab, and immediately come face to face with what look to be two and a half approaching patrons accompanied by strange music. Two are blissfully humanoid, fortunately. One is a very colorfully dressed pretty, young, largely expressionless woman with blond hair, a flute and two pouches, one ink-stained, the other bloodstained, side by side on her belt, the other is a slightly older, jovial woman with her hair dyed a very intense, rather shiny gold color, and wearing a bright red robe with a single large golden flower embroidered on the front. Next to these two shambles a relatively small creature, all joints, limbs, odd pipes and sinew strings, creating mildly unsettling marching music. It appears to have a bit of a tendency to wander off, only for the younger woman to guide it back on the path by way of unsubtle poking with her foot. Something about the creature seems familiar. The slowly drying blood, the extremely fresh nature of its components, the unusual appropriation of flesh. Hm.
Post by: Tomcost on December 29, 2014, 01:20:46 pm
Or... he could try to capitalize on this thing. No, no, that will end up badly. It would be better to fix this.
Stabilize the horrendous mess I just made. Prevent the knots from unraveling and forming new things, contain the evident entropy that will eventually come out of it
Post by: killerhellhound on December 29, 2014, 07:43:47 pm
Invite him to join.
Post by: Innsmothe on December 30, 2014, 05:13:23 am
"TO THE BEINGS WHO DWELL HERE! I KINDLY ASK YOU TO PRESENT YOURSELVES IN FORMS THAT WILL NOT DAMAGE MY SOUL INCARNATE, ELSE I WILL DEFEND MYSELF!"
[I sooo want to trigger the presumable trap and burn these lovely creature to cinders.]
Wait for reply.
Post by: miauw62 on December 30, 2014, 11:25:08 am
"Me and some other undead were servants of an old, sick man. Along comes somebody called the Artiste with some soul bound mages and another undead. They turn our master into a blanket and soulbind us. We promptly left for a town to find a boat, where we picked up yet another mage. He had somehow designed a portal to a dimension with the Aspect of Appeal, which gives you fashion makeovers. It turned one of my comrades into a desk, although he didn't seem to mind. That's where I met that servant. Anyway, we left on a haunted boat because that was the only one willing to cary a bunch of undead and mages for free. When we arrived we all went unconcious, and next thing I know I'm in the body of a woman and soulbound to yet another thing, this time some sort of weird hivemind."
Post by: killerhellhound on December 30, 2014, 07:18:04 pm
Well you probally got told some when.
Post by: Xanmyral on December 31, 2014, 01:05:46 am
"Good surgeon Mark? That's you? Oh, joyous to see you! I must admit I'm surprised, I thought our groups had headed quite different directions on our quests. A celebration? Oh, I'd love to join, I was just about to try and find my companions actually. Perhaps you could help? Oh, will good jester Kevin and good sir Sigmund be there as well?" Morton quickly asked the once-skeleton, two brown arms forming out of him and opening wide in a gesture of welcome to the two, as the luminosity and the heat from the desk increased in measure to accent the desk's excitement, as he could control it at least.
"Ah, but where are my manners. I am Carter Morton, but most just call me Morton, butler and tea enthusiast. A pleasure to meet you, a friend of good surgeon Mark is a friend of mine!" The desk introduced himself to Mark's companion and did similar to the stranger one following the two, albeit briefer as he wasn't sure if it could hear him. Mark's handiwork, to be sure.
Introductions, questions, and joyous reunions, and not necessarily in that order.
Post by: Xantalos on December 31, 2014, 02:30:47 am
Head on over to the cafeteria to see if Lifeboy's still there! Also to see if there are any unsuspecting people I could test this extendy thing out on.
Post by: miauw62 on December 31, 2014, 03:30:06 am
umm your character wasnt around for the arena and (guy whos name I forgot) necromancer died soon after due to antics .((Thanks.))
Well you probally got told some when.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2015, 11:06:25 am
Sigmund goes from progress to damage control so quickly, one could hardly believe he had faith in his initial success in the first place, really. Of course unlife would not suddenly become easy for him. Why would it? The gods hate him, his comrades are probably dead somewhere, and his ability to warp reality has just crapped out in a big way. But perhaps he can fix this! He attempts to contain the rapidly spiraling mess that seems to be increasing in size, and introduces a knot to the mix to stabilize the thing.
It immediately unravels, of course, but it seems to mildly interfere with the general unraveling for a very short bit. Clearly this is the way forward! Or it would be, if not for the troubling way the mess he's made were willing to wait for a more organized and methodical approach. Instead it simply starts to shuffle off away from Sigmund at an astoundingly quick rate, its messed up knots orienting in a single direction, though its frayed strands thrash around wildly. Huh. Seems like it's got other plans it needs to attend to. Perhaps that's for the best, really.
Outside the Purging Crab...
Accompanied by fanfare as the one beast band stays still after a little poking, prodding and not a little kicking, Mark hands a note explaining his current situation to his good friend Morton, who accepts it readily and reads it immediately, with Tailor Craig looking over his surface to see as well.
"Good surgeon Mark? That's you? Oh, joyous to see you! I must admit I'm surprised, I thought our groups had headed quite different directions on our quests. A celebration? Oh, I'd love to join, I was just about to try and find my companions actually. Perhaps you could help? Oh, will good jester Kevin and good sir Sigmund be there as well?" Morton says with a mingling mix of excitement, joy and utter incredulity. "Ah, but where are my manners. I am Carter Morton, but most just call me Morton, butler and tea enthusiast. A pleasure to meet you, a friend of good surgeon Mark is a friend of mine!" he then says to both the lady and the... music thing.
"And I am Craig Coville, though everyone just calls me Craig. Tailoring is what I do, though I am well-versed in demonology as well."
"Very pleased to meet you, Morton, Craig. I'm Wilma Wilkins, MNR. I'd prefer that you just call me Wilma. I'm a traveling exorcist, sometimes dabbling in creating undead," the lady says, shooting the music thing a slightly worried glance. The music thing just continues making music, evidently having no capacity to process sound of any kind and being only dimly aware of the pokes with the foot that Mark keeps giving it. It doesn't look to be very healthy.
In a perplexing room of an unidentified domicile...
Scott thinks he's had just about enough of this nonsense, and that whoever is responsible for the travesty all around him should just quit being such an awful bastard and show themselves so he can burn them to death as well as everything else in sight.
"TO THE BEINGS WHO DWELL HERE! I KINDLY ASK YOU TO PRESENT YOURSELVES IN FORMS THAT WILL NOT DAMAGE MY SOUL INCARNATE, ELSE I WILL DEFEND MYSELF!" he tells the air.
"Done," says a mysterious voice in reply practically immediately. "Why'd you break into my house, anyway? Are you looking for treasure or something?"
In Ms. Klemm's dining room...
Kevin tries to explain further about his various misadventures to Ms. Klemm.
"Me and some other undead were servants of an old, sick man. Along comes somebody called the Artiste with some soul bound mages and another undead. They turn our master into a blanket and soulbind us. We promptly left for a town to find a boat, where we picked up yet another mage. He had somehow designed a portal to a dimension with the Aspect of Appeal, which gives you fashion makeovers. It turned one of my comrades into a desk, although he didn't seem to mind. That's where I met that servant. Anyway, we left on a haunted boat because that was the only one willing to carry a bunch of undead and mages for free. When we arrived we all went unconscious, and next thing I know I'm in the body of a woman and soulbound to yet another thing, this time some sort of weird hivemind."
Ms. Klemm is quiet for a moment, then nods.
"I must say, it is interesting how the questions your explanations raise seem to increase geometrically as you go on, Ms. Cooker," she says after a moment.
In the guest rooms of Castle Fenton...
Niklas disappointedly floats out of the guest area, seeking more interesting places to visit, like the castle cafeteria.
When he promptly discovers that castles do not, as a rule, have cafeterias, unlike the great longhouses of the North with their massive lunch lines that effectively combine a social venue and a method of artificial selection against the weak and polite in the populace. His disappointment is palpable, and he floats over to one of the kitchens, where there is nobody at all, not even a saucy ham to make conversation with. No food either, awfully enough.
Post by: miauw62 on January 04, 2015, 11:11:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2015, 11:24:44 am
"It's a good thing I have no explanation for most of the things that happened so far, then."
"Perhaps it is the region you find yourself in. The Sea of Death area tends to attract all manner of strange types in my experience, not least of which are my fine colleagues of the Circle."
Post by: Innsmothe on January 04, 2015, 12:41:44 pm
...
Now that is out of the way... why is there seemingly a temple to nigh understandable horrors right next to a pub? And a related question being, do you actually like drunken vandals defecating on your doorstep?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2015, 12:48:48 pm
"No. In fact my intrusion has everything to do with the fact I am both very drunk and very incorporeal. I had just left the pub after informing everyone of their servitude and doom at the hands of the great childish psuedo-god mass that is the Gub!
...
Now that is out of the way... why is there seemingly a temple to nigh understandable horrors right next to a pub? And a related question being, do you actually like drunken vandals defecating on your doorstep?"
"The answer to your first question is that this just so happens to be my house, and go home, you're drunk. As for the second question, that very fact is why I don't have a doorstep anymore and have soundproofed the place rather thoroughly, and go home, you're drunk."
Post by: miauw62 on January 04, 2015, 01:35:53 pm
"Who knows. Did you know that I used to be a simple jester? I can't even crack a decent joke or anything nowadays!""It's a good thing I have no explanation for most of the things that happened so far, then."
"Perhaps it is the region you find yourself in. The Sea of Death area tends to attract all manner of strange types in my experience, not least of which are my fine colleagues of the Circle."
Post by: Xantalos on January 04, 2015, 01:57:25 pm
Go float over to ... I don't actually remember much of this castle. Go float around until I find something interesting. Didn't I have offices?
*one of the many personified Aspects of Northern cooking, personifying wringing, vascularity, drunkenness, and fish spines.
**I made the Aspects up just now and they can be dismissed as part of Niklas' growing insanity if need be.
Post by: Tomcost on January 04, 2015, 02:35:48 pm
Second attempt:
Fisrt: find an object that was previosly alive (or belonged to a living thing, like a bone, branch, etc) to utilize as a focus.
Second: think of a way to do step three, because I don't really want to cause another mess. I will write a reasoning below anyways.
Third: Make it into a focus that allows Sigmund to move souls from a vessel to another, replacing the previous soul in the vessel that receives it.
Reasoning:
The failure followed by the unstability of the peeble focus was caused by an excess of complexity, so Sigmund should aim now for something more minimalist now. Things like moral clauses and stuff relating to sentience should be evaded to decrease the potential unravelings of the knots.
Using an element that had been alive could probably make it easier to find a soul-related knot, so that the rest of the rules could be written off said knot. This is likely going to prevent the complexity that ruined Sigmund's last attempt.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 04, 2015, 05:58:55 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 04, 2015, 07:47:28 pm
"Who knows. Did you know that I used to be a simple jester? I can't even crack a decent joke or anything nowadays!"
"Are you not a jester anymore because you cannot crack a decent joke, or you cannot crack a decent joke because you're not a jester anymore?"
Post by: Coolrune206 on January 04, 2015, 09:44:37 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on January 05, 2015, 04:00:56 am
"Sir...I don't know if you are learned in biology...but I am undead and an incorporeal soul to be particular, for me to be drunk it is to be a state of mind, not a state of drug induced stupidity....though the presence helps the induced delusion.
Though I do have one last question before I make my leave, was what I experienced an illusion itself upon entering your abode, or are you truly a being beyond human perception? In either case are you free to tutor out your knowledge?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2015, 07:13:20 am
First: do an intelligence roll because I don't really want to cause another mess. I will write a reasoning below anyways.
So, do you actually want an intelligence roll? The reasoning's good enough that you really don't need the roll, although you won't get a bonus for it. In addition, I'd prefer it if you didn't phrase it simply as "do an intelligence roll", since that way I can interpret it as applying to any one particular action (in this case, either finding an object or doing the enchantment process) or, in fact, nothing action-related at all.
Post by: Tomcost on January 05, 2015, 08:06:33 am
My apologies for not being clear enough. I do want to make the intelligence roll (to make the focus), because it increases my chances of not destroying the fabrics of the universe.First: do an intelligence roll because I don't really want to cause another mess. I will write a reasoning below anyways.
So, do you actually want an intelligence roll? The reasoning's good enough that you really don't need the roll, although you won't get a bonus for it. In addition, I'd prefer it if you didn't phrase it simply as "do an intelligence roll", since that way I can interpret it as applying to any one particular action (in this case, either finding an object or doing the enchantment process) or, in fact, nothing action-related at all.
I have edited my action for clarity. I hope that it helps
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2015, 11:27:55 am
"I'd say I stopped being a jester when I was raised from the dead and turned into a skeleton. But I assume the second, I guess?""Who knows. Did you know that I used to be a simple jester? I can't even crack a decent joke or anything nowadays!"
"Are you not a jester anymore because you cannot crack a decent joke, or you cannot crack a decent joke because you're not a jester anymore?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2015, 02:59:52 pm
"I'd say I stopped being a jester when I was raised from the dead and turned into a skeleton. But I assume the second, I guess?"
"Ah, I see."
You seem to have finished the last portion now, and at last you do feel completely fed.
"Well then, Ms. Cooker, would you like another portion, or should we conclude this meal and effect your release?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2015, 03:08:34 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2015, 03:28:26 pm
"I'm completely full. Let's get on with it, then?"
"Very well. Would you have any objections to being released in a quaint surface village? I am sure one such as you can find her way from there, no?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 05, 2015, 03:38:38 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 05, 2015, 03:53:41 pm
"Not at all. It'll probably be the most pleasant place I've seen in a while."
Ms. Klemm rises from her seat. For a moment, all the ant things look at her, and she smiles at them and nods, at which point they return to their work.
"In that case, follow me, Ms. Cooker. I will show you to the exit," she says, sweeping her hand in an appropriately inviting manner.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 05, 2015, 09:09:59 pm
Be trustworthy.
Post by: miauw62 on January 06, 2015, 01:52:31 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 08, 2015, 12:05:25 am
Turning to good tailor Craig, the desk's strange brown arms materialized and shrugged once Mark was out of sight. "I suppose our task hasn't differed, onward to finding our wayward compatriots."
Onward! To try and locate our wayward compatriots! Ask around if people have seen wandering ghosts in the way Morton does best, surely someone has seen them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 10, 2015, 08:39:09 am
Niklas, realizing his objective is probably more trouble than it's worth, decides to immediately lose sight of it and look for something more interesting instead, like his offices. He assumes he has offices, anyway. And so he moves into the hallways, about to look for them, only to be interrupted by the king, who looks slightly miffed and entirely unaccompanied.
"There you are!" he says, tapping his foot impatiently. "I heard about your adventures thus far, and I must say, I really expected better of a Black Circle representative. It's about time we put an end to this foolishness, clearly. Will you head back to the Mystery Forge and fix yourself, or should I just do it for you?"
In the wilderness outside Eckledun...
Sigmund, supposing that the previous focus he just made is likely someone else's problem now, decides to locate a currently dead object in the area. Fortunately, there seems to be what he suspects to be an ancient tree only about a hundred meters away, so that's all taken care of, he thinks. Now, he's going to have to be smart about this. Clearly none of that business with self-awareness and all that other nonsense will be allowed to slide, so he might as well forget it for the moment. Besides, the object's already got definitions for souls and that other business in it, so the only problem is its potential set of ethics, and that ought to be easy to fix by simply letting it transport Sigmund's soul rather than doing anything else. And also presumably freeing the soul in the chosen body before transporting his soul into it, obviously. So, murder-transport. Should be simple to arrange, with only one target, a time delay, then putting in a soul with the appropriate number. Should be easy to arrange, plus he needs to add a Sigmund-triggered switch to make it do what he (and only he) wants, when he wants it. Just need to rewrite some numbers and set a trigger plus a method to accept a single set of targeting parameters, in short.
So, with all that appropriately figured out, Sigmund manages to effortlessly make a nearby tree into a Sigmund-activated focus that murders a target and sets its body's inhabiting soul to be Sigmund's. He assumes it ought to work perfectly well, judging by the way it doesn't seem like it's about to unravel in any significant way. Not to mention that it precludes any possibility of Sigmund getting the number wrong in the process of activating it due to the high degree of automation, so it's just a matter of picking the target and setting the process in motion. He even thought to include a failsafe for if the first attempt at murdering the creature in question didn't work - it just keeps on murdering in that event, checking for whether there is a soul in the creature, and if not, retrying the blanking of the body's ownership until it works.
Outside the Purging Crab...
Introductions done, Mark wastes no time and takes Wilma and the one beast band into the... tavern or inn, who knows, that is the Purging Crab, propping himself up by the bar next to the woman of the hour and ordering up a round of drinks, which the crabby-looking bartender readily serves.
"Um, I'm afraid to say I don't actually drink," Wilma says, and Mark looks at her. More for him, then! Splendid. He grabs the first mug, and is slightly disappointed when it bounces off at his touch, spilling fine ale all over the chitinous man behind the counter. Though his expression is unreadable, he seems quite bewildered if one judges from the body language.
"Does that happen a lot here?" Wilma asks, and the bartender shakes its head. The ale on its head seems to be, oddly enough, dripping sideways.
Morton, meanwhile, attends to his mission! He may have ascertained Mark's location and fate, but now the better question is likely what the others are up to, since they seem much more injury-prone as a rule.
"I suppose our task hasn't differed, onward to finding our wayward compatriots," says he, and Tailor Craig agrees readily, so the two of them move off to find concerned and/or informed citizens to question on the whereabouts of their companions. They manage to take about three steps (well, step-equivalents, considering both of them generally tend to glide rather than walk) before coming face to face with something terribly unusual, namely a bush coming their way. It's not a large bush, and appears to have thick, blue-green leaves and very light red berries - looks like an oversized, off-colored lingonberry bush. An incredibly oversized lingonberry bush, in fact, in that it seems to actually be a bush. A nearby pedestrian seems about to stop and take a good look at it before beginning to fall upwards unexpectedly rapidly.
"Aha! There you two are," the bush says after making a dim grunting acknowledgement of the upwards falling man. "Craig, you ingenious bugger! It worked like a charm! I'm less conspicuous now than I've ever been!"
"Granted, such a state is not very difficult to achieve, is it?" Tailor Craig points out.
"True indeed. It's a shame that such an opportunity came along when it was least likely to be useful, don't you think?"
The falling man seems to be moving very quickly indeed, now but a mere dot in the sky.
In a mysteriously strange house...
Scott, clearly in over his head, tries to adopt a less confrontational mode of conversation.
"Sir... I don't know if you are learned in biology...but I am undead and an incorporeal soul to be particular, for me to be drunk it is to be a state of mind, not a state of drug induced stupidity... though the presence helps the induced delusion. Though I do have one last question before I make my leave, was what I experienced an illusion itself upon entering your abode, or are you truly a being beyond human perception? In either case are you free to tutor out your knowledge?"
"Oh, there are two steps to putting yourself beyond human perception if you are a ghost. The first it that you hide in a wall. The second involves you using the powers of ventriloquism to sound as if you are not hiding in a wall. By no means you should reveal to the unsuspecting public that you can do either," the voice explains. "In addition, make sure to peek out once in a while to make sure you're not flying blind here. And that's pretty much it. Granted, I cannot guarantee that's what I'm presently doing, but I'm not going to reveal much more than that without at least some sort of compensation."
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren is not quite reassured by all this business.
"Yeah, but I mean, the chance of HIM forgiving me?"
"Insignificant unless he forgets who you are. And if you fail this quest, I don't think it's likely that he's going to quite forget who you are before you are at the very least dead. Especially if I manage to turn you away with rational argument rather than the excessive force I am hoping I will need to use." the elder ghost explains. "It's been a while since I've had cause to turn someone inside out and then flay their insides inch by inch until I feel vaguely pleased with myself. I'm not even sure that's possible anymore, since I may have fabricated that particular memory, so I suppose it'll be a learning experience as well."
In the dining room of Ms. Klemm...
Kevin, itching to see sunlight that isn't this strange lamp light again, follows Ms. Klemm out of the dining hall back into the main necropolis walkway, and is a little surprised when she immediately stops there and turns to face him.
"It's not that we're about to go anywhere, Ms. Cooker, I just wanted to be out of the room before we teleported. It spooks the little ones, you see. They become nervous for the entire day, no matter what I tell them afterwards," she smiles at him.
She snaps her fingers and everything around her falls to dust, then seemingly reconstitutes itself in the shape of a rather bare room in what appears to be a rather dilapidated home. Light comes in through the windows, hitting the damp, moldy, insect-eaten walls. This place seems like it could fall apart any time now, and Kevin's not quite sure what's keeping it together, really. There appear to be two adjoining rooms, just as empty as this one. A set of double doors is set into one of the walls, apparently leading outside.
"And we're here. So convenient, teleportation. Any quick questions before you go, or may I just skip on back before anyone notices me gone?"
Post by: miauw62 on January 10, 2015, 09:50:31 am
"Good luck with your little ones!", Kevin says, as he walks outside.
Post by: Tomcost on January 10, 2015, 09:53:34 am
Wait for a not-too-small animal to come closer, with a bit of luck a bird so that I can fly, then transfer my soul to it!
Post by: Xantalos on January 10, 2015, 05:01:07 pm
He/it hovers slightly disapprovingly.
Anyhow, I just want to try this one thing this form lets me do. It's very curious, something to do with nutrients.
Do the extendo-thing to the nearby monarch!
Post by: killerhellhound on January 10, 2015, 07:20:42 pm
Well, sire, I was bored, you see. That grants me moral freedom. Anyway, I'm not sure I remember what I originally looked like anymore, so I'm just going to stay like this for the time being, unless you discriminate against floating chimeric abomination chefs.well we now have a regicide commiting floating abomination chef this is why I love this game sanity is used as a scoreboard the less you have the more powerful you are.
He/it hovers slightly disapprovingly.
Anyhow, I just want to try this one thing this form lets me do. It's very curious, something to do with nutrients.
Do the extendo-thing to the nearby monarch!
Try to figure out what is messing with gravity if it is a teammate be upset because Mark wanted to be the first reality warper
Post by: Innsmothe on January 11, 2015, 01:57:53 pm
Pop in wall nearest to road.
From within the wall
"In which I mean that you must, please, rest in pieces."
Pop out again, set a combustable thing on fire...hopefully a wall, the ceiling or the floor...and retreat into [and down] the street.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 14, 2015, 12:09:10 am
Post by: Xanmyral on January 15, 2015, 12:10:42 am
"Ah, greetings again good mage Lawrence! I'm glad you're joyous at your changed form, but I must admit it is a shame at the timing from the sounds of it. Life works in strange ways in these things. Is it truly too late for your prior opportunity? You may hopefully yet find another."
Morton queried the bush, after politely greeting the pink mage.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 17, 2015, 11:18:53 am
Kevin is anxious to get back into the actual world of the properly living already, and does not extend the goodbye more than it needs to be.
"No, not really. Thanks for the food, by the way. It was delicious. Good luck with your little ones!" he says to Ms. Klemm as he heads for the exit.
"You too!" Ms. Klemm replies, there one moment, completely gone the next. Kevin thus opens the door of the disintegrating house and goes out, hit by a blast of fresh air as he beholds a village.
The house he was in is indeed rather tiny, and appears to have been placed on a hill somewhat away from the other buildings in the village, which are all arranged in a set of very rough concentric circle down below, including a larger building that reminds Kevin of an inn and what is very probably a smithy. Further away he can see a few farmhouses and empty fields, probably on account of it being either winter or early spring right now. Kevin hasn't exactly been paying attention to that.
He briefly recalls herself once being assigned to such a village by her superiors (back in the days when she had any) to oversee the construction of a new tower to host a new branch office of the Circle. It offered her much room for improvisation, many opportunities for entrenching herself, quite a few souls to harvest from the surrounding area without the interference of anyone with even a modicum of magical skill, since eliminating the local witch after she refused to join the new branch, as per Circle protocol, was the very first thing she took care of. A bloodless, possibly even painless removal of the soul in one's sleep, then release - a very good test of her third focus, in fact...
Kevin shakes his head before he gets too lost in memories. Probably best not to stand too long in front of the creepy house of the hill lest someone get the wrong idea.
In the wilderness near Eckledun...
Sigmund is nothing if not patient, and decides to wait for something to pass by so he can steal its body with impunity. Before long, his designs bear fruit, as soon enough he becomes aware of an animal wandering close by. It seems reasonably large, so he activates the focus, designating the creature as a target. After a few automatic pulls, the soul of the thing comes free, and Sigmund's soul is effortlessly inserted into it with supreme efficiency. Now that's a well-designed magical focus he's got here, Sigmund realizes as he evaluates his new body, which appears to be a roaming badger. Not quite the optimal creature to get slotted into, but very nice nevertheless.
[Sigmund's will roll: 4]
He does feel a little sick, though. He wonders why, and then notices that he seems to still be able to move the pile of gore that he used to be. In addition, he's getting sensory input from it even now. Odd.
In the halls of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, not even a little bit embarrassed, goes ahead and tries to cheekily elaborate on his conduct.
"Well, sire, I was bored, you see. That grants me moral freedom. Anyway, I'm not sure I remember what I originally looked like anymore, so I'm just going to stay like this for the time being, unless you discriminate against floating chimeric abomination chefs."
"As it happens, I do. The Mystery Forge tends to have many unfortunate side effects, and your appearance is making castle staff uncomfortable," King Fintel explains. "We wouldn't want to make castle staff uncomfortable, would we?"
Niklas wonders if the castle staff would be particularly discomfited if one of them were boiled and marinaded as an example to all the rest about what happens to tattletales. But he has a better idea.
"Anyhow, I just want to try this one thing this form lets me do. It's very curious, something to do with nutrients."
King Fintel tilts his head and raises an eyebrow as Niklas tries to do the extendo-thing, and it works most admirably, as tendrils practically invisible to the naked eye shoot forward out of his body, collectively looking like a cloud of blackish fluff. It touches the king immediately, running into his flesh, going through his body, digging holes in his flesh to make room for itself to dwell in. Fundamentally connected now, Niklas' mycelium begins to fully explore the surprised king, bending his body to his will.
"See, that is exactly what I'm talking about," says King Fintel. "You seem to have some god fungus in you. Looks like Pac's work. Was that on you before you went into the Mystery Forge? Seems vaguely self aware, partly keyed to your mental processes. Might have connectivity between bodies. Hang on."
Suddenly, a large part of the tendrils within Niklas snap off and withdraw into the king's body, which seems to have become a shade darker now, then lightens to become a bit whiter than before, then returns to its proper, tanned shade.
"This might come in handy, actually. Unobtrusive if properly applied, effective for subjugation, has a unified soul across bodies... why, yes. Most interesting."
Niklas starts to feel a bit odd as his flesh becomes lighter as well.
"Well now! That's a very nice gift you've given me," says King Fintel. "But you'll have to get a regular body nevertheless. Hang on."
Niklas' body snaps in three different places down his central axis, then his wings fold inward, and finally he rolls up, becoming a large darkish blob with two eyes, all of which he remains conspicuously aware of for some reason. And then, just as suddenly, his body sprouts arms and legs and a head, and attains definition as it forms into the body of a rather stumpy, bearded, dark-skinned humanoid with a pointy black hat that may be a protrusion of the skull rather than an article of clothing, and little else on him beyond that.
"Was that what you were supposed to look like? I forget. You may want to get some clothes, anyway. Call a maid or something. And, of course, stay away from the Mystery Forge from now on. That thing's not for the untrained, and I don't feel like training another lunatic to use it. Finally, be discreet about this whole business if you don't mind. There may be a bit of trouble for you if you say a little too much."
At the bar of the Purging Crab...
Suspecting that gravity is out of whack, Mark casts a suspicious eye around the tavern. It's a little strange that ale should behave this way. It's clearly some form of magic by virtue of the fact that it can't be regular physics, since, once again, physics doesn't behave this way.
That one of the patrons off in the corner seems to have his teeth a few inches to the left of his actual mouth, suspended in air, confirms that it's probably some kind of magic. That a patron next to the toothless man tries to have a drink and instead is upward abruptly while his ale remains perfectly still, leaving a very unfortunate smear on the ceiling, provides Mark with the idea that this might not be the fun kind of magic, either. Insofar as grievous bodily harm can be unfun, of course.
In the house of an unidentified voice...
Scott plainly does not like the cut of this fellow's jib.
"My good man, I can veritably exclaim that I do not in fact...suck eggs...so please spare the lecture of said action. But you however seem to tire of my company so I will now make my farewell."
He then immediately pops into a nearby wall, which is fortunately thick enough to accommodate his blobby form.
"In which I mean that you must, please, rest in pieces," he attempts to say, though due to the wall it doesn't really come out very audibly. So he pops out again and tries to make his point anyway.
[Firestarting roll: 3]
He manages to set off a spark near a very flammable-looking nearby free-hanging curtain, and is critically disappointed when it fails to catch on any sort of fire.
"Go home, you're drunk and not even a wizard, so I don't even have to be nice to you," says the voice, and Scott attempts to retreat into a wall, but when he crosses it, suddenly finds himself falling. It feels a bit weird, being a ghost and falling. Looking down, he notices he seems to be above the town of Eckledun, which he recognizes by its tower and sturdy buildings.
Also, he can't quite move, which is a little odd.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren is displeased by this rather aggressive attitude on the part of both sides of the conflict.
"Before I get ripped to shreds by an angry god, or my soul gets ripped to shreds, or whatever the hell my fate is, can you tell me what's gone on down here? Why I've been sent down here as some mook to come and get the crown?"
"Oh, you're not a mook. You're an adventurer. And you're about to make a return on Velusius' magical investment that I petitioned him to make rather foolishly. Souls are what make the gods run just as much as the demons, they simply have the privilege of getting them by default. And once you manage to take the Crown, then everything in here except you will die, you'll have the favor of Velusius, and you'll then be the next investment he gets to reap. Simple, no?"
In the streets of Eckledun...
Morton tries his best not to be bothered by the sudden strange behavior of the nearby man, and keeps the conversation flowing.
"Ah, greetings again good mage Lawrence! I'm glad you're joyous at your changed form, but I must admit it is a shame at the timing from the sounds of it. Life works in strange ways in these things. Is it truly too late for your prior opportunity? You may hopefully yet find another."
"No bloody point in being inconspicuous anymore, old sod. Look around you."
Craig suddenly disappears into the ground.
"Look around you," Lawrence restates, before spinning off into distance himself, though he continues speaking as if entirely uninterrupted. "Look around you. Do you see it yet?"
"Correct," he says after a moment, after fragments of a dog tear past where he formerly was. "It's the Pink."
Morton's sight is drawn to something in the distance, a thing that appears for but a moment, speeding past an intersection, thankfully orthogonally to the direction Morton's in. A flash of something large and pink as it disappears, the ground erupting in sharp, monolithic magenta towers several stories in height as it passes. A soft wind blows toward Morton from the towers as he wonders what this might be all about.
Post by: miauw62 on January 17, 2015, 12:08:53 pm
Head towards the town
Post by: Tomcost on January 17, 2015, 12:12:44 pm
Bury my pile of flesh, so that it doens't get any kind of stimuli from the outside world.
Then test how far away can I be from it without suffering.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 17, 2015, 04:20:07 pm
((I am finally able to move!))(If you can't get to far you always can eat it and take it with you that way. Hmm can a soul be captured via eating of the vessel? Needs testing.)
Bury my pile of flesh, so that it doens't get any kind of stimuli from the outside world.
Then test how far away can I be from it without suffering.
Go outside and meet up with my companions get my axe ready as I do so
Post by: Tomcost on January 17, 2015, 04:22:33 pm
Or commit suicide via autocannibalism.((I am finally able to move!))(If you can't get to far you always can eat it and take it with you that way. Hmm can a soul be captured via eating of the vessel? Needs testing.)
Bury my pile of flesh, so that it doens't get any kind of stimuli from the outside world.
Then test how far away can I be from it without suffering.
Go outside and meet up with my companions get my axe ready as I do so
Post by: Innsmothe on January 17, 2015, 04:26:20 pm
Attempt to move down in a controllable fashion with staggering willpower.
EDIT
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2015, 04:51:58 pm
Why is it that whenever I run into someone in charge of something they inevitable end up having vast magical and/or physical superiority over me? It's almost like southron society rewards hard work and ingenuity with positions of power or something.
"Is there a maid anywhere near?"
Post by: Xanmyral on January 20, 2015, 05:06:33 pm
"Good tailor Craig?" The desk took in the insanity around him, slightly distressed that good tailor Craig had vanished. "This is the pink..." The tea apostle certainly can't say he expected this, nor if he was really talking to anyone anymore. Moving away from the strange occurrence, the desk went off to hurriedly find his allies. Being alone in this mess will only spell disaster. Morton hoped good tailor Craig was alright, but if there's one thing the demonologist has shown him, he's a resourceful survivor. The others though...
The desk says his piece and hurries off to find his allies (in a direction away from the pink/crazy, and this includes finding Craig should he manage to find a way to follow/find him), trying to float or move as high as he can for a greater vision, even if that has to involve using his strange and many arms to essentially grip and hoist himself on buildings.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 22, 2015, 04:17:30 pm
Kevin, in no mood for careful deliberation when his reputation as a decent human being may be at stake, legs it over to the center of the village, as it would indeed be very charitable to call it a town. It's two and a half rows of wooden buildings arranged around a circular dirt clearing, after all.
In addition, it has a bit of a half-abandoned vibe going for it, as it has only the vaguest sounds of life emanating from its buildings and perhaps one or two people Kevin can see in the distance, and even those don't really look like prosperous, proud lowland folk with a rich cultural tradition by any means, having more of an aimless drifter or simply drifting and aimless look to them. The smithy appears to be working, though, and the inn is clearly open. There's also what looks like a meeting hall, but it seems to have partially collapsed.
In the wilderness outside Eckledun...
Sigmund, unwilling to lose this badger body in favor of the rather useless pile of flesh that he appears to remain in spite of his best efforts, lumbers over to where he knows it to be and does his best to bury it, which is rather easy to do, all things considered, which is the first warning sign Sigmund gets that this may not have ultimately been a great idea. For one, the result changes rather little in the amount of feedback from said pile of flesh that he's getting, only the variety of it.
He does feel a little better being close to it, though, he notes. So, as his first quest, he decides to try and wander away from the shallow grave of the last remnants of the stolen body the gub happened to give him. This time he makes it for quite a distance without feeling anything at all. Odd, he thinks, as this appears to expose a rather dire inconsistency in how the universe is currently screwing him over. That it seems to be in his favor for now just makes it all the more suspicious.
Within the Purging Crab...
Mark, after casting a quick suspicious glance about, decides that this place definitely ain't safe, and decides to get off the stool and head outside, taking Wilma and his one beast band along. Wilma seems confused.
"What's even happening right now?" she wonders aloud as she looks at the way the tavern starts to descend into pandemonium as people notice the splattered guy. "Looks like some kind of magic," she then observes, then gasps when she sees Mark readying a great and terrible axe he seems to have fashioned out of reconstituted hobo bone. Of questionable practicality, but fearsome looks, the thing menaces with eyes of hobo, and the less said about the rest of it and how exactly Mark has been keeping it hidden thus far, the better. He and his two friends walk out of the tavern cautiously, and join the confused Morton, who appears to be quite distraught and missing his traveling companion. In the distance, a spiky row of pink towers can be seen, and Mark briefly wonders if that's normal before guessing he should just follow Morton anyway, who seems to be most wisely heading away from that direction.
Or at least they seemed to be about to do that, but then the sudden appearance of a rather strange and decrepit, not to mention distinctly bluish fellow, holding a perfect T-shaped pose, arms outstretched as wide as possible, seems to interrupt them, floating up next to their group and vibrating intensely and emitting a low hum, possibly with intent to communicate, but more likely with intent to explode suddenly. That's not to say Morton would immediately assume the worst of such a person, vibration, floating and ominous noise notwithstanding - why, if he were the sort to judge by that criteria, he'd probably not consider good sir Scott anything more than the public menace he clearly is, and that just doesn't seem like a very Morton thing to do. Then again, good sir Scott, for all his faults, also does not attempt to resemble a human being in any way, so perhaps the jury's still out on this one.
High up in the sky above Eckledun...
Scott, as usual, appears to be several steps behind the current events, having more than enough cause to think long and hard on whether the universe is throwing him all these curveballs on purpose, and what he can do to make the bloody bastard universe dearly regret doing so in the near future if this is indeed the case.
''Hello? Hellooooo? Have I been invited to join the pantheon? I am sure I would do pretty well as the god of misfortune...'' he asks of the air, perhaps even vaguely aware that there is no reasonable way the answer to that question could be yes - though, to be fair, the laws of anti-nature do not turn on anything that could be described as reason as far as he could possibly know.
Unfortunately, though, it doesn't seem like he's guessed correctly, as Eckledun draws closer, and Scott becomes keenly aware that the forces of drag and other such aerodynamic wizardry don't seem to apply to a purely intangible object for some reason, and that he seems to be picking up a clearly unreasonable amount of speed. Maybe he could conjure some fire around himself to complete the look?
In the halls of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, naked and gnomish and with few ideas at the moment, beseeches the king for some sage advice.
"Is there a maid anywhere near?" he asks, and the king rubs his chin for a second, considering what must be a multitude of good ideas no doubt involving some form of bodily harm being visited on the poor, entirely innocent chef (at least he thinks he's innocent, attempted regicide doesn't really count if the assailant is clearly this far outclassed, right?).
"You get to find out," King Fintel says, making a very compelling gesture with his hand that makes Niklas desperately want to go looking for maids to speak with, and since this is likely to be his immediate goal anyway, he just goes and does it without particularly questioning the urge.
"Aha! It works!" says the king, his voice growing distant as Niklas rushes off in a frantic search, immediately barreling into a stout, powerful maid while turning a corner. He smacks right into her and falls backward, while the maid merely stumbles back a little.
"Ah! You startled me," she states, looking over Niklas' strange form. "Wait, who are you, even? You do not look like you belong in a castle," she continues. But Niklas isn't particularly listening, since there is a rather insistent voice he keeps hearing right now in his head.
~touch her touch her touch her~ it seems to be chanting at great speed, which Niklas finds a little annoying, to be honest.
Post by: Tomcost on January 22, 2015, 04:26:27 pm
Happily climb a tree and look for any signs of civilization. Begin moving towards that direction
Post by: Innsmothe on January 22, 2015, 04:53:20 pm
He will instead scream:''Mortals! I have been summoned to give you wisdom and guidance from the heavens, prostrate yourselves before this heavenly spirit!''
Post by: Xantalos on January 22, 2015, 09:31:08 pm
"I'll have you know I'm the representative of the Black Circle, and I require clothes! Also, I will now touch you."
Touch the lady while "politely" (read: imperiously) asking for clothes.
Post by: killerhellhound on January 23, 2015, 04:21:51 am
((I think the Gub got bored of waiting for us to do our job
Post by: miauw62 on January 23, 2015, 11:13:19 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on January 24, 2015, 08:21:43 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 29, 2015, 04:07:18 pm
Sigmund ponders the current aliveness of his body. It is indeed curious, he thinks, how things are turning around like this. Moments ago he was but a windswept pile of gore, but now? Now he's a badger with a gore phylactery! An immortal creature who shall no doubt bend the entire county to his will in due time. Maybe even more than that! Or maybe he'll just try and find something actually fun to do, who knows? In badger form, he tries to climb a nearby tree, looking all around. There's trees, he determines. Lots of trees. Some clearings as well! And far off in the distance there might be something else. Could be a town. Could be a hill. Could be-
[Will roll: 1]
-an impending heart attack! Something within Sigmund abruptly seizes up, and his badger body emits an involuntary half-shriek as its bodily functions begin to go haywire.
[Will roll: 4-1]
Good news, Sigmund manages to remain in the tree! Wait, is that good news? Does he want to be here? He's kind of dying. There's probably no medical help to be had in the woods either.
In the pleasant skies above Eckledun...
Scott, not quite ready to break out his dead-on meteorite impression, tries instead to intimidate the mortals on the fast-approaching ground, perhaps hoping they would be prepared to arrest his fall with an ectoplasmic trampoline if he gave them enough motivation.
"Mortals! I have been summoned to give you wisdom and guidance from the heavens, prostrate yourselves before this heavenly spirit!"
A mortal flies past him, going upward at an unreasonable pace. Scott suspects his approach is working for all of twenty seconds before he becomes aware that no ghostly trampoline seems to be there to stop him. He promptly hits the ground and disappears into it. The fall continues unimpeded and at an unchanging rate, it seems, though it's hard to tell with the consuming darkness of the depths of the earth engulfing the falling ghost.
In the halls of Castle Fenton...
Niklas is mildly insulted that the voice believes he must be specifically persuaded to bully and inappropriately touch everyone he meets. He makes his displeasure known in no uncertain terms.
~Voice, if you know anything about me it's that I'm all too willing to do radical things in the name of myself, so you needn't pester me.~
~SORRY! NEED MORE COHERENCY IN HERE, CLEARLY!~ the voice booms at him from within. ~IT'S JUST THAT BEING KING FOR THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS HAS MADE ME LOSE ALL FAITH IN HUMAN COMPETENCE! MAKE SURE TO TOUCH EVERYONE YOU MEET!~
Niklas takes note, and engages the maid in possibly entirely redundant conversation.
"I'll have you know I'm the representative of the Black Circle, and I require clothes! Also, I will now touch you."
"Uh, what?" asks the maid, proving Niklas' suspicions of conversation being useless entirely correct. He puts his forefinger on the maid's shoulder, and feels something that's quite difficult to quantify shoot into the poor lady with all due haste. Her entire body spasms for a moment and she falls over, going very still for a bit before getting up again, looking a little more purposeful than before.
"Ah, I see. Clothes, then, is it? Be right back, sir," she says, running off to attend to the assigned errand, returning in but a scant two minutes with a perfectly good few sets of loose finery. She deposits these on the ground, then runs off once again without another word.
In the streets of Eckledun...
Mark has a brilliant idea. How about he takes cover and lets his newfound old friend take care of this whole business? Morton, as far as he recalls, seems the type to not find himself in situations he doesn't happen to have well in hand. So Mark slinks away from the others, seeking to save himself from a horrible death, only to be followed by Morton, Wilma and the T-person. The four of them regroup behind the building, the T-person vibrating a little less intensely than before, though what this could mean, Mark does not feel confident to guess. Morton appears to have nothing to say to this thing beyond a meek offering of tea, which the T-person appears to have no discernible opinion on.
In a quaint, out-of-the-way town...
Kevin goes up to the drifters confidently, feeling that they will surely be able to provide him with all the information he needs. Well, either that or they'll try to steal his money and slit his throat or something. In a town like this, the only way to really know what the locals have in store for you is to go up and ask them yourself, Kevin believes.
The drifters, two in number and seemingly out here to meet one another, one significantly hairy and small in size, the other slightly larger and even hairier, immediately notice the rather lightly-dressed woman coming their way and wave genially, their smiles half-empty of teeth and rather yellow. Both appear to be women.
"Well met, fine sirs, could either of you tell me where this is? I fear I may be lost," Kevin tells them in the most innocent manner he can manage. The question evidently gives the two ladies pause.
"This?" the smaller one says after a moment. "This is here. I think."
"This is the center of the observable universe," the other states. "I observe that existence continues for at least two miles in every direction, just like yesterday."
"Indeed. This is definitely here, like she said," the first one nods enthusiastically. "I hope that helps."
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren, not a big fan of this sticky wicket he appears to have been engineered into, asks a possibly pertinent question.
"So, if I leave, Vesuvius smites me, but what happens to you and yours?"
"Oh, nothing much. I'll figure out the secret of freeing us from this damned city, then we'll probably fan out and do whatever. I think I'll go see what people have innovated in the art of magic, myself. I can't wait to share some insights! Don't know what the others will do, but I suspect something similar, no? Catch up with all these wacky mortals? Figure out what's been happening? Maybe find living descendants? I don't really care, I think. Not anymore, anyway. The important thing is that we'll have gained the upper hand over that insipid twerp of a god and live out our perpetual unlives in endless spite to the god of death and magic, don't you think?" the ghostly fellow elaborates.
Post by: Tomcost on January 29, 2015, 05:03:05 pm
Quickly get back to where the pile of flesh is, hopefully the attempts of the universe to murder him will stop that way.
Conditional if I fail: try to at least keep my soul binded to my pile of flesh.
Post by: Xantalos on January 29, 2015, 07:25:08 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on January 29, 2015, 10:50:29 pm
Also, king-gub in the making I see. I bet the king has similar influence over whoever Niklas touches as he does, or perhaps more.]
Morton held the bottled tea as an offering to Mr. T for a moment, before hesitantly bringing it back. "I--er--suppose that would be a 'no' on the tea then, good sir? If you change your, uh, mind, the offer stands. Its been enchanted to keep the perfect temperature, suitable if you should be of a rather... Intangible nature. I made it myself." The desk hesitantly offered, still keeping the bottle visible in case the strange thing changes its mind.
The desk mentally reconvened after his sentence, coming back to his proper faculties. "But I'm being quite rude, we haven't even introduced ourselves. My name is Carter Morton, desk, butler, and lover of tea. These would be my compatriots and friends, good surgeon Mark and good mage... Wilma." The tea apostle caught himself at the last moment, offering her remembered name and gesturing to the two in kind with his strange arms.
Believe in the powers of good manners and diplomacy!
Post by: miauw62 on January 30, 2015, 02:06:41 am
"Uh-huh... Thank you for your time."
Try to find a road leading out of the town.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2015, 02:49:39 am
This seems like it has no way to go catastrophically wrong at all. What do you mean, voice? What king are you? What's your name?
~MY NAME? CURRENTLY IT IS... HM, IT WAS SOMETHING STUPID-SOUNDING, I RECALL. SOMETHING LIKE FINTEL FARBO FOUNTAINBRIDGE. DOESN'T MATTER. I'M STILL THE KING, AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, THE KING YOU WERE JUST TALKING TO.~
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2015, 02:54:12 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 30, 2015, 02:59:54 am
And you're in my head? How come? I wasn't really paying attention.
~OH, THAT'S JUST THAT GOD FUNGUS YOU HAVE IN YOU. I CAN ORDER YOU AROUND WITH IT MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY THIS WAY. AS WELL AS ANY OTHER CASTLE MINION ONCE I SPREAD THE GOOD WORD, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. YOU CAN DO IT, TOO, ACTUALLY. TRY CHECKING WHERE THAT MAID WENT, FOR INSTANCE.~
You do feel where the maid's gone - she's currently sneaking up on a cook of some kind if you're reading it right. She's run pretty far in the last thirty seconds, you realize.
Post by: Xantalos on January 30, 2015, 03:04:14 am
Try to command the maid to forcibly steal the cook's cook outfit and cook utensils like the knife and cleaver and stuff. Then bring it to me!
Post by: Innsmothe on January 30, 2015, 10:37:20 am
Post by: killerhellhound on January 30, 2015, 05:50:16 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 04, 2015, 01:49:06 am
Sigmund, feeling the consuming need to not be horribly dead, crawls back to where he buried his visceral remnants, hugging the ground and hoping it helps. It is at this moment that he starts to regret burying said remnants so deeply, because it doesn't help as much as he'd like.
[Will roll: 4-1]
On the other hand, his heart doesn't seem to be stopping completely just yet, and his soul is sort of holding on in the meantime. Perhaps he could continue to exist like this, on the edge of death. Maybe he could even grow to enjoy it!
He does notice, however, that his buried bits don't seem to be experiencing the same problems as his badger form, feeling snug and lonely beneath the earth.
In the plagued streets of Eckledun...
His offer of tea falling on deaf ears, Morton starts backpedaling.
"I--er--suppose that would be a 'no' on the tea then, good sir? If you change your, uh, mind, the offer stands. Its been enchanted to keep the perfect temperature, suitable if you should be of a rather... intangible nature. I made it myself," he says, but Mr. T appears to want none of it regardless. "But I'm being quite rude, we haven't even introduced ourselves. My name is Carter Morton, desk, butler, and lover of tea. These would be my compatriots and friends, good surgeon Mark and good mage... Wilma."
"... hello," Wilma says with an air of trepidation. Mark, for his part, shakes the man by the legs before breaking into an eminently pleasing interpretive dance that appears to calm Mr. T, decreasing his vibration amplitude considerably. He does not seem to make any other sort of acknowledgement at things being spoken at him.
In a village out in the boonies...
Kevin decides to not discover the exact method of his eventual grisly murder in this out-of-the-way village and looks for a road leading away - he looks for a while, actually, but doesn't find anything that looks like a large thoroughfare - instead, there's just paths leading to nearby and outlying farms, and beyond that there are only woods. There is a road leading to a bridge over a nearby river, but that seems to have collapsed some time in the past, seemingly isolating the farms on the other side from the rest of the village.
In the halls of Castle Fenton...
Niklas readily accepts the burden of being able to influence the minds of the weak and make them do stuff for him.
~Hmm. It's obvious we must assimilate the world with this, but we'll have to work together. Otherwise I'll probably end up accidentally fucking you over like I have with some others. Now then, that outfit seems like a good thing to have. Get back to my roots!~ he thinks forcefully, half to his king and half to the maid. He tries to impel her to steal the cook's clothing and utensils, but the maid just seems highly perplexed for a moment before something seems to reassert itself in her mind, and she merely puts her hand on the back of the cook's neck. The cook falls over, laying there motionlessly. He twitches a couple of times, then becomes still again. One of his arms rises, then falls back to the ground.
~DAMN IT ALL, HE SEEMS TO HAVE DIED. AND THE FUNGUS DOESN'T SEEM TO PROVIDE FULL LOCOMOTION JUST LIKE THAT!~
The maid, now falling back to lower priority commands, it seems, proceeds to undress the cook and steal a bit of kitchenware, which she promptly returns with to Niklas, depositing them in his abnormally large hands.
~why are we doing this?~ he hears a brief question, though the maid's mouth doesn't seem to move at all.
~BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY THINGS MUST BE!~ the overpowering inner voice of the king bellows back.
Deep in the dirt and stone...
Scott spontaneously decides to no longer confirm to reality's increasingly unreal demands, and starts to imagine himself coming to a stop. It almost works, but then Scott realizes that he is continuing to move, so the plan obviously needs work.
Good news, though, are that it is starting to feel considerably warmer here!
Post by: Xantalos on February 04, 2015, 01:52:52 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 04, 2015, 05:08:53 am
Ask him where did he come from and what is he doing here through interpretative dance
(also am I the only one who finds it funny the only one that communicate is the one who cant talk)
Post by: Tomcost on February 04, 2015, 05:48:54 pm
If successful (as in, I do not die, and there are no more risks of death):
Find a peeble and do to it the same thing to make that into a focus that I made to the rock chest. Try to remember how I did do that first, so that I dobn't end up with another sentient thing
Post by: Innsmothe on February 04, 2015, 06:24:36 pm
...
I must still be in that room.
REPULSE THIS BLACKGUARD WHO DARES TO CORRODE HIS WILL! HE WILL SEARCH HIS MIND FOR PARASITES AND PUPPET STRINGS AND BURN THEM ALL!
''GO DASH YOUR FACE INTO THE NIGHT-SOIL IF YOU THINK THIS FARCE WILL IMPROVE MY TEMPERAMENT!
Show me some consideration and courtesy, god's thrice damn you!''
[[I have so many scenarios on what could be happening to Scott that I am at a loss on how to react beyond increasing trial and error.]]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 05, 2015, 01:48:11 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 05, 2015, 03:38:03 am
THIS.HAS.TO.BE.AN.ILLUSION! MY 'BODY' IS A TEMPLE THAT NO MIND CAN DEFILE!so you have lost all meta power?
...
I must still be in that room.
REPULSE THIS BLACKGUARD WHO DARES TO CORRODE HIS WILL! HE WILL SEARCH HIS MIND FOR PARASITES AND PUPPET STRINGS AND BURN THEM ALL!
''GO DASH YOUR FACE INTO THE NIGHT-SOIL IF YOU THINK THIS FARCE WILL IMPROVE MY TEMPERAMENT!
Show me some consideration and courtesy, god's thrice damn you!''
[[I have so many scenarios on what could be happening to Scott that I am at a loss on how to react beyond increasing trial and error.]]
Quick Harry strike while he is weak.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 05, 2015, 11:13:07 am
I had metapower? ]
Post by: Xanmyral on February 05, 2015, 05:02:32 pm
Morton backs up good surgeon Mark in his communications, letting the silent once-skeleton-now-woman take the lead and simply aiding where he could that wouldn't interfere.
Post by: miauw62 on February 06, 2015, 10:53:49 am
Post by: killerhellhound on February 06, 2015, 11:43:09 pm
[*Blinks*the power of knowing what could happen next through studying of wording and experience from other games
I had metapower? ]
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2015, 03:23:17 am
Niklas wastes no time and tries on the chef outfit, assuming he should probably fit it reasonably well, considering the dimensions of the average chef. He discovers that, while the chef appears to have been wide enough for his purposes, he also seems to have been considerably taller. The resulting ensemble of clothing thus looks even more like a dress than it usually would.
On the other hand, now he has knives and forks. And a spoon! After discovering he seems to have no pockets, Niklas sticks them all in his oversized pants, inhaling to tighten the waist area and prevent any kitchenware from coming loose. Having thus achieved a maximally cheflike form, Niklas goes forth to find his kind clothing donor in the kitchen.
Arriving there, his first deduction is that the chef appears to be dead. And also inflated. Little stalks ending in soft, fluffy bulbs appear to be rising from his body. His skin is covered in dark veins that seem to be branching actively even as Niklas examines them.
~WELL! THAT SURE IS AN INTERESTING SIDE EFFECT. SUDDEN INEXPLICABLE DEATH FOLLOWED BY INTENSE FUNGAL BLOOM. GUESS NOT EVERYONE HAS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO KEEP THIS STUFF IN CHECK.~
With a feeling that reminds him of a mental ping, Niklas feels the presence of another person being added to his collective. The maid appears to have found one of her colleagues, and she seems to have responded in a much more positive fashion than the cook.
~ANYWAY, PROBABLY NO POINT IN PUTTING YOU ON INFESTING DUTY. COME OVER TO THE STUDY, MAYBE? IT'S A LITTLE INCONVENIENT YELLING AT YOU THROUGH THE MENTAL LINK ALL THE TIME, AND WE HAVE THINGS TO DISCUSS.~
In the increasingly dangerous town of Eckledun...
Mark continues his attempts at communication now that both sides are sufficiently relaxed and unlikely to explode. He then discovers that the best he can effectively convey through dance seems to be a general state of unknowing and inquiry.
Mr. T, seemingly getting the message, responds by opening his mouth and letting noise pour out.
"<#!!$@&%!!> <#;!!;;*!!>!" he seems to say, intensifying the vibration of his body once more.
Morton, relieved that he is absolved of the responsibility to deal with someone like this, mentally breathes a sigh of relief. Mr. T, seemingly sensing this, suddenly blinks out of existence, reappearing right above the desk. Morton tries to move out of the good fellow's way, half out of reflex, half out of a healthy respect for his personal space, but Mr. T seems intent on staying above him for some reason.
"What a strange man," Wilma says, approaching a little closer to the floating figure.
In the wilds outside Eckledun...
Sigmund starts to dig as quickly as his badger claws will allow, that is to say very quickly indeed. He didn't think this specialization would come in handy so soon. In no time at all, he seems to have reached his buried flesh.
However, just like in the case of a lone badger ambushing a moose, a pervasive sense of "what now?" strikes him as he realizes he doesn't seem to be feeling any better.
[Will roll: 6-1]
Fortunately, that seems to correct itself shortly enough. Not questioning magic out of turn, he thinks nothing of it and continues on his quest for more magic. Locating a handy pebble with his advanced badger senses, Sigmund tries to make it into a focus to substitute the loss of his stone chest. Simply tuning it to project its presence according to his instructions when he realizes that he doesn't exactly remember what he did to make it work in the first place, Sigmund turns the pebble into a workable focus in no time at all. He's getting better at this, he thinks for a moment before realizing that he's probably jinxed it now.
Deep down under Eckledun...
Scott, desperate and helpless, finally crosses the disillusionment event horizon, the point where everything just seems like some sort of cruel illusion created specifically to annoy him. It's not a dramatic threshold to cross, so Scott elects to pick up the slack with some well-placed shouting.
"GO DASH YOUR FACE INTO THE NIGHT-SOIL IF YOU THINK THIS FARCE WILL IMPROVE MY TEMPERAMENT! Show me some consideration and courtesy, god's thrice damn you!" he yells, his ethereal voice muffled by miles upon miles of minerals as he descends deeper and deeper.
Focusing on the plainly apparent lack of realism in this situation, Scott then attempts to convince himself that all this surely cannot be an actual thing that is happening. He is marginally successful, he thinks. He sure feels pretty detached from the facts, anyway. That might be the best he's likely to get, he thinks before something interrupts his thoughts.
[Scott's endurance roll: 1]
That something feels a lot like a magical flat plane of something entirely ineffable, despite such a thing being about twenty miles underground feeling utterly out of place. It feels rather real, Scott observes as his ectoplasmic blob form splatters against it, his ghostly form scattering evenly across the strange subterranean artifact.
[Scott's will roll: 4]
Very real indeed, Scott continues to think in the next few minutes, now a much flatter, thinner and sheetlike ghost than ever before.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren is at a loss for physically viable resolutions for this encounter, and so tries to pull the standard undesirable immortality card. Who knows, it might even work.
"So I mean, doesn't that seem like sort of a bad thing? Roaming the planet without a purpose just because you want to 1-up a god?" he asks.
"Everybody roams the planet without a purpose. Don't see why I or any of my people should be any different. And one-upping a god is a purpose of its own, so that's a bit of a logical contradiction," the ghostly keeper of the Crown tells him. "Besides, the alternative to that is dying, which is in a whole different league of worse, as I'm sure you must understand."
The ghost pauses for a moment.
"Wait, you probably don't really know what happens when you die, do you? You've died once, obviously, but you probably haven't retained much of your post mortem, pre-revival experience, right?"
In a village out in the sticks...
Kevin, robbed of a quick exit, tries to find authority of some kind, even if is of the booze-dispensing kind, and goes right into the inn, which seems like the most important building in town.
Inside he finds people - lots of people. Seems like almost the whole village has gathered in here, about a hundred men and women in a space that might be a little small for this sort of gathering. About two thirds of them are standing up due to a lack of seating, and the inside of the place is hot and lacking in oxygen from the sheer volume of bodies it is hosting.
They all appear to be looking at the bar, where a man is pacing steadily back and forth on the counter, ranting at the people in the room about something. It seems to be about the dismal state of the bridge leading out of town.
"-and I am telling you, good people of Rugish, fixing the bridge is a secondary concern - the important task is to find out who broke it in the first place!"
"Must have been the witch on the hill!" goes a voice from the crowd, prompting immediate agreement from much of the room.
"Or vicious termites! Perhaps beavers!" another, slightly more inebriated voice says.
"They must have been acting under the witch's orders!" the first voice collaborates, prompting even more agreement.
Post by: Xantalos on February 07, 2015, 03:52:24 am
This bodes for opportunity! Using the chef's body and some other ingredients in the kitchen, transform the former chef into a humanfungus and liver replica potato, complete with edible potato organs inside. In fact, go the extra mile and assemble a potato brain out of cabbage, liverwurst, granite, some fabric and a pumpkin. Make sure to wire it all up to the rest of the body properly.
If there aren't the specific ingredients there, just make do.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 07, 2015, 05:37:09 am
I'll be there in but a minute.I love Nikla's antics
This bodes for opportunity! Using the chef's body and some other ingredients in the kitchen, transform the former chef into a humanfungus and liver replica potato, complete with edible potato organs inside. In fact, go the extra mile and assemble a potato brain out of cabbage, liverwurst, granite, some fabric and a pumpkin. Make sure to wire it all up to the rest of the body properly.
If there aren't the specific ingredients there, just make do.
Mark motions to her ears and shakes her head to show her lack of understanding then having a brainwave motions writing to the others to ask for writing implements
Post by: miauw62 on February 07, 2015, 08:40:03 am
Post by: Salsacookies on February 07, 2015, 10:18:02 am
Name: Ronald Bones
Gender: Male
Archetype: Skeleton
Biography: A small upstart of a pirate, he was the dread of the local port-towns, but nothing special out in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, he couldn't swim. At his best, he could dog paddle, so he definitely couldn't swim with a huge splinter skewering him due to a cannonball going through the deck before knocking him off the ship. When he was alive, he was a big talker and drinker, so he's understandably angry due to being unable to partake in these activities anymore.
Post by: Tomcost on February 07, 2015, 12:01:48 pm
Check the knots of the peeble to determine whether I did a good job or not. If it is ok, shape a thick but hollow stone sphere, enough to contain the pile of flesh, then practice levitating it around and moving it. ((Portable phylactery! hehehe))
Post by: Xanmyral on February 07, 2015, 12:55:14 pm
Also, if there is a way to at all even attempt to communicate with Mr T, by jove there will be diplomacy!]
Perhaps he doesn't quite have it handled, the desk thinks, watching T-Man shake it up and inexplicably appear above him. However, why he did it was peculiar. Hm. The strange man responds to vibrations, but also whatever the desk just did. What did he do though? Feel relief at a momentarily-lifted burden?
Perhaps Mr. T responds or perhaps senses emotion? The desk considered this, before trying a few methods of communication. His first was an attempt to communicate telepathically, as he's done with the ship and Gub, but he's not entirely expectant of such to succeed. ~Salutations, good sir! Can you hear me?~ Should that expectantly fail, the tea apostle will try a different approach. Taking a mental deep breath, he slowly let it go practiced the old butler technique/ritual (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=118106.msg4622168#msg4622168) of centering one's self.
Attempt mental communication, failing that, attempt to feel a deep calm and collected comfort in an effort to calm the strange being who may or may not sense emotion.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 07, 2015, 05:01:02 pm
''Oh, almighty gub! Hear this sinners prayer! I believe I am about to die and require your aid, for the sake of my master and the Divine PlanTM please save me!''
If no immediate[2-3 minutes] response, he will attempt to do the trick his tutor taught him and phase though the artefact.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 07, 2015, 07:47:19 pm
Niklas tells the King to cool his britches for a moment - there's cooking to be done here first. Not the edible sort of cooking, though. More of a wedding cake project, with a dash of homuncular science and vegetable anatomy. Indeed, his project is to turn this perfectly dead human being and the perfectly alive fungus it hosts into something much nicer instead. It takes him but a moment to form a coherent shape in his mind - a humanfungus and liver replica potato is what he wants. Now, how shall he achieve this?
["Medicine" roll: 6+1]
First, he rolls up the freshly dead chef into a careful fetal position, and holds him that way for a good minute or so before the knitting of the hyphae proves enough to hold it fast. This leaves the resulting potato approximation in the rough spatial neighborhood, though the little creases and lumps, like the armpits or the knees, are certainly no good whatsoever. So Niklas grabs some of the available goose livers and quickly fashions some putty out of them to fill in some of the more terrible unevenness, and ascribing the rest simply to non-traditional tuber shapes. The humanfungus is glad to oblige many of these structural requests, it seems, and though of questionable intelligence overall, seems to be cooperative and malleable enough.
Now then, with the potato shape being done, Niklas is struck by a terribly strange feeling, where for a moment he isn't entirely sure whether potatoes are supposed to have brains or not. This is cause for concern for but a moment, as the default answer is always the one Niklas has liked best - even if they are not, true Northern ones certainly are, and he will have it no other way. So he goes ahead and fashions what he believes to be an appropriate brain out of available supplies of untouched, perfectly good food and non-perishable materials. It looks like a brain, he thinks, which probably should be good enough for a potato anyway, since it's known to be a job that's less than taxing on the mental faculties. He sticks it into the potato, trusting that the thing will know best where its brain should be and how it needs to be wired up, similarly to the large degree of agency in their own neurosurgery that his countrymen generally espouse.
And so, in a process that's somehow both less and more involved than one would expect, the humanfungus and liver replica potato with authentic potato organs (potatoes that Niklas hypothesizes might be organs of some sort if properly applied) is complete, writhing in a lively fashion and seemingly burning with desire to be planted so that it may create more giant tubers soon. It seems to be growing little roots, even! How cute! Now, if only Niklas could teach the thing that uniform expansion of its mycelium in every direction is not the potato way as a general rule, he may in fact be golden.
In the unhallowed presence of Mr. T...
Mark, not liking Mr. T's insistence on stressing the importance of Morton like some form of posthuman exclamation mark, tries to express his confusion more clearly, which for the moment seems strangely paradoxical.
The awful amount of confusion that trying to understand the implications of intentionally clarifying one's confusion in no uncertain terms seems to resonate with Mr. T., who promptly dematerializes and rematerializes above Mark, his feet a scant few centimeters away from the top of his head. Glad at being the most important one once more, he motions for the rest of the crew to get him some writing implements before taking note of the fact that he's the only one who carries writing implements around in the first place and that he seems to have plenty already on his person. Nevertheless, feels good to ask imperiously about these things, you know.
Morton, meanwhile, tries a different tack, suspecting telepathy to be at work.
~Salutations, good sir! Can you hear me?~ he mentally wonders, but Mr. T appears to be fascinated with Mark too much for the moment. Feeling a little left out, Morton forms two arms out of his surface and performs a little ritual, pointing his palms and the ground and slowly pushing them down. It seems to work reasonably well, at least in the symbolic way. The calm collectedness of Morton's mind seems to seep into Mr. T as well, as he appears to be almost still now, or at least vibrating too quickly to be seen by the naked eye.
Feeling grand about this fascinating discovery, Morton is about to politely share his insights, but the universe feels compelled to intervene. This manifests as a slight movement on Morton's port, a little reflexive fidget just as insight hits him, where one part of his body - one of the corners of his desk surface, in fact - goes one way, embedding itself into the wall of a stone manor across the street, while his desk leg, theoretically corresponding to that same corner, disappears into the sky. Both, peculiarly enough, remain attached to his body and don't seem to hurt at all.
[Morton's will roll: 3]
It still fails to hurt when he experimentally moves but a smidgen, which causes a long black triangle of Morton's stretched demonflesh to form a neat perspective effect in the distance as seemingly more parts are pulled in the same unusual directions.
"I... think it might be best to consider quickly leaving," Wilma says, having had quite enough of the strangeness. Mr. T starts to vibrate more noticeably. "Never looking back, that also seems like a wise plan."
In the local inn of Rugish...
Kevin, intrigued by bridgebreakers and lynch mobs, tries to figure out where this discussion in the inn is going - his first impression is "nowhere", as there's too much speculation about beavers for the immediate course of the group mind to produce much of use. It does, however, quickly progress into a much more practical plan of action proposed by the man on the counter, apparently a priest of Narcillicus by the name of Dan. This plan entails looking for suspicious new people or nervous familiar people in town (on the basis that the townsfolk already know the witch on the hill is evil, and that the Black Circle is even more evil, and the latter will no doubt exterminate the village if it tries anything against the former, and also that the witch on the hill probably has few reasons to mess with these villagers aside from the abductions here and there), grilling them for what they know and then probably figuring out they're behind all this once enough grilling has been done.
Sleuthing isn't difficult if the whole village is in on it, the priest states. The goal is to find the odd ones out, then figure out their angle, then think of a suitably painful punishment for them, clearly. Now, who could possibly be a good candidate for this sort of investigation, the crowd wonders? As they do so, Kevin is relieved that this doesn't seem to have been a rhetorical question and nobody seems to be giving him any sinister looks just yet.
In the wilderness outside Eckledun...
Sigmund, unsure of how his pebble of magic might actually work, considers its structure carefully. After all, if he doesn't remember anything, who's to say he hasn't made it into something completely ridiculous again? It's hard being his own quality control, he grumblingly decides. Giving the thing a cursory inspection, he realizes that it should probably work perfectly well, and that it's a bit silly to assume he'll have some special insight about its structural flaws the very minute after he made it (which he did in under two minutes).
Having regained confidence, he strives to prepare a sphere of stone for his flesh to inhabit.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
It is almost immediately that he realizes that his stone shaping abilities don't appear to extend very far or very wide. Namely, not enough to reach much of actual stone, though the nearby pillar of stone he managed to form seems to work well enough as a source of material.
Secondly, the control is definitely not the finest that Sigmund's experienced, and the closest he can manage to a stone sphere is best described as a jar, if jars had no hollow space inside them. Hm.
Across a magical sheet deep beneath the earth...
Scott, having run out of options of his own, tries to invoke the gub to help him out in this dire time of need.
"Oh, almighty gub! Hear this sinner's prayer! I believe I am about to die and require your aid, for the sake of my master and the Divine PlanTM please save me!" he says, specifically enunciating the TM for unknown reasons. This appears to not matter, as the gub do not seem to hear him at all, or at least make no indication of having done so at all. Hm. Time for drastic measures, he thinks as he tries to phase through the magical wall - this, just as predictably, shows no signs of success, either, considering that enchanted objects react with ectoplasm as if it were tangible, if Scott remembers his undead trivia right.
Hm. That's two perfectly good plans proven untenable in three minutes. Scott has stepped up his methodology's efficiency in terms of plan output, it seems.
Post by: Tomcost on February 07, 2015, 08:20:20 pm
Hmmm, a weak focus... better try to do that while being nearer, maybe the range of the focus is lower and thus Sigmund needs to be closer to its target.
carry focus peeble near the stone jar, magically make it hollow, but leave a thick wall to protect the future contents.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 07, 2015, 08:44:01 pm
Morton tries to coalesce his rebellious body together and moves with Wilma out of here.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 07, 2015, 09:16:21 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 07, 2015, 10:33:05 pm
Baby talk to Påt on the way there.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 08, 2015, 03:06:14 am
Scott will attempt to heat the artefact to break the apparent magnetism that has him caught.
Post by: miauw62 on February 08, 2015, 03:37:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 08, 2015, 06:28:54 am
Sigmund, grabbing the enchanted pebble in his unwieldy badger claws, tries to get closer to the stone jar to make it into a proper phylactery yet.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 6]
With a powerful push of presence, he easily manages to hollow out the jar, creating a space within it that could certainly host his insides if needed. The resulting phylactery is about a third of a meter in diameter, so it's a bit too large for a badger to lug around, but Sigmund suspects that this isn't a problem that couldn't be solved by throwing more magic at it. In fact, is there a problem that can't be solved by throwing more magic at it?
In the increasingly illogical environs of Eckledun...
Morton, despite his parts going places without his permission, keeps his cool and advises Wilma to do the same.
"Please remain calm, good mage Wilma. Our friend here responds to emotion, if one is calm, he is calm. I agree all the same, lingering is perhaps not in our best interest."
"I... agree, I suppose?" she says, distrustfully looking over Mr. T, who makes no visible response. Mark also appears to be on board with all this, deciding to walk away from Morton's current location in case the clearly dangerous gravitational anomalies affect him, too. With that matter all settled, Morton focuses on trying to get his own body together.
[Morton's contortion roll: 1]
He tries to draw one of his corners back, and it turns jagged and strange, waggling around in the air as it indecisively moves through a wall. Drawing back the leg results in his entire left side disappearing into the ground, then reappearing in the distance as an infinitely tall monolith pointing at the sky, with the two desk legs rotating like massive propellers - a thing Morton can't quite see, but perceives nevertheless. He appears to be well and truly stuck.
"Uh oh. That doesn't look good."
In the kitchen of Castle Fenton...
Niklas decides that his newest creation Påt is definitely required in a discussion with the sovereign ruler of a state, and looks for a baking tray to carry him on. Fortunately, there is a pretty big one available, so Niklas just rolls Påt onto it and tries to lift the man-sized false potato for easy carrying.
[Niklas' strength roll: 1]
It takes him a few moments to realize that there is no way that he could possibly lift a chef that must have weighed at least 120 kilos in life when he himself currently weighs about 80 or so at most. And Påt doesn't look very ambulatory, to be perfectly honest. More like the sort of thing that'd best be buried underground and left alone for the foreseeable future.
Across an underground sheetlike artifact...
Scott, having gotten into quite the sticky wicket, considers the possibility of somehow damaging or destroying this magical artifact that appears to be keeping him in place. The first and most obvious solution is to try and heat it up, which he thinks the ability to set fires should nicely translate to.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 5]
At his calling, the flat surface beneath him heats up. It begins to undulate and warble as it does so, the temperature rising for a moment before becoming steady. However, the sheet appears to be undulating faster and faster with every passing moment. Scott begins to suspect that this process may not be, strictly speaking, a safe thing to be in the immediate vicinity of. In addition, he feels quite a bit more free than he used to, which is an additional plus.
In a Rugish inn...
Kevin is interested by this mention of witches on hills, and so wanders out of the inn to look about for something of that nature.
Fortunately, a witched hill is very simple to spot from here or, indeed, anywhere in town. It's that hill with a dilapidated-looking house on top of it, seemingly abandoned to the ages, emanating an almost palpable aura of foreboding, surrounded by gnarled, old, yet still very lively trees. In other words, that house Ms. Klemm put him in when she teleported him here. What a strange coincidence! Maybe he should relate this to the local authorities. Surely they could help him get to the bottom of this.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on February 08, 2015, 07:00:43 am
Practice levitating the jar and moving it around smoothly.
((Yes, I'm aiming to use Tedium Mastery with this, just because I do not want the RNG to screw with me each time I want to move.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 08, 2015, 07:08:26 am
((I'm glad you are find new enthusiasm in this game, Harry))
Losing enthusiasm in a game is, I find, a self-fulfilling cycle:
1) You feel like there's not enough progress.
2) You lose enthusiasm.
3) You update less frequently.
4) Even less progress is made.
5) Go to step one, repeat until game death.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 08, 2015, 07:45:24 am
[*Blinks*the power of knowing what could happen next through studying of wording and experience from other games
I had metapower? ]
[[FYI, Harry's interpretation of my character being semi-nobility and coupling with a mage allowed me the freedom to transcribe some of my own academic learning and genre savviness in-character though the assumption of having an extensive library. I ain't a munchkin. :P]]
Post by: killerhellhound on February 08, 2015, 07:55:47 am
(Incase anyone hasnt noticed Mark cares deeply about his friends he is just so screwed in the head from his death and unlife that it is shown weirdly.)
Post by: Tomcost on February 08, 2015, 08:38:01 am
((I'm glad you are find new enthusiasm in this game, Harry))
Losing enthusiasm in a game is, I find, a self-fulfilling cycle:
1) You feel like there's not enough progress.
2) You lose enthusiasm.
3) You update less frequently.
4) Even less progress is made.
5) Go to step one, repeat until game death.
True, but the elements that allow to break the cycle (that I have found) are outbursts of creativity, which encourage the GM to write more, even without progress.
Also, the time that one has spent in a game also helps to deter death. Nobody wants his effort to go to waste (unless the actual goal of creating the game was not running it, but creating the universe and/or the story, which seems to be the case for many short-lived forum games that are very well thought)
Post by: Xantalos on February 08, 2015, 12:53:02 pm
Hmm. Maybe I can change that, now that I think about it...
This fungus-manipulating thing can't be too hard, right? Try to make it make this body stronger and more manly!
Post by: Xanmyral on February 08, 2015, 12:53:43 pm
Morton kept his cool and watched his body closely, thinking. His body still moves to his accord, albeit not as he originally thought. But his arms, they extend and retreat into his body, no? So surely he has the ability to do this, that isn't in question.
Thinking on how he draws his arms inside of himself when no longer wishing them present, the tea apostle tries to apply this technique to his wayward body.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 13, 2015, 08:24:33 am
Sigmund's levitational technique needs work, he decides. Work he shall both assign and perform preemptively, so as to not be caught with his pants down again. He grabs his focus in little badger claws, and attempts to direct his jar to move according to his dictates.
[Magic roll: 3]
It stirs a little as Sigmund pushes on it from beneath. Good start! Needs more power, though, and slightly more distributed application.
[Magic roll: 5]
With a mentally directed push, it lifts off from the ground and floats up to his badgery countenance, as if awaiting appraisal. Sigmund approves.
[Magic roll: 5]
He lets it slowly rise up to the treetops, then letting it move down on an impromptu slide of presence, approaching him rapidly. His mind is afire with the power of magic, the stone is guided by an aura of deceptive presence.
[Magic roll: 3]
He slows the jar's descent as it comes closer, preventing even the slightest bit of harm from coming to it as it hits the ground. The presence is softer, less directed now, and it takes him some effort to keep it from just hurtling down.
[Magic roll: 6]
Faintly pleased with his work, Sigmund flicks the jar up in the air, letting it fly up until reaching the zenith, where it looks like but a black dot. It begins to fall back down.
[Tedium Mastery: 4]
The manipulation of presence is growing familiar to his mind, and it takes almost no thought for him to slow the jar to a reasonable speed through friction alone. The jar's weight, shape and points of effective manipulation are now simple to predict with a degree of accuracy. His phylactery, such as it is, may be ready for habitation. If he can squeeze his entrails in there, of course.
Deep in the bowels of Eckledun...
Scott tries to move up, and wouldn't you know it, it seems to be working!
Fortuitous indeed, as it seems like the undulating subterranean artifact is now emitting a high-pitched hum. It feels very hot all around Scott suddenly.
In the presence of Mr. T...
Mark, getting a little desperate for assistance, decides to get Mr. T's input on this grim situation. He dances, he cavorts, he gesticulates at the man, then points at Morton. Mr. T, for his part, is unmoved. However, Morton begins to stir and vibrate, as if some energy had just been suddenly transferred to him. It feels oddly cold, yet supernaturally energizing. Morton starts to glow a bit more brightly.
[Morton's contortion roll: 5]
And with a single powerful drag of his form, Morton coalesces into a small, luminous blob of roiling demon matter, stable for but a second before his form reasserts itself, the desk shape getting recreated, no missing edges or wandering parts included! A spot of luck, one would think. Mr. T vibrates with what the others perceive to be approval.
In the kitchen of Castle Fenton...
Niklas, feeling responsibility for his dolled-up corpse, calls up his superior.
~Say king guy, are you physically strong? I have a potato thing I need to lift so I can come over to you but this body's too scrawny. Hmm. Maybe I can change that, now that I think about it...~
His mind starts to wander in the direction of self-improvement. There's probably no limit on that, is there? Especially given what he's already done with Påt.
~I'M NOT COMING OVER TO HAUL YOUR STUPID CORPSE, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING,~ the voice of the king replies after a moment.
[Niklas' fungal mastery roll: 6]
This rebuke spurs Niklas on, and with a single thought makes his body bloom rapidly, arms growing denser, torso becoming broader, knees reinforcing themselves, matter getting reallocated all around his form. He feels rather mighty, if he may say so himself. Grabbing Påt, he feels like he can lift it easily, although he finds it a little odd how his hands seem to be sinking into his creation's body.
Post by: Xantalos on February 13, 2015, 08:28:23 am
Head over with Påt to the king guy.
Post by: Tomcost on February 13, 2015, 09:08:47 am
Lower the jar and put my pile of flesh in it. If I find it difficult, dig a hole and put the jar with the opening facing upwards, then roll the flesh inside of it.
If successful:
Climb a tree again, and TM the jar to follow me. Look for a city in the distance.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 13, 2015, 09:24:59 am
-I wonder if this will have unforseen cosequences upon the surface...and if I was the only one caught by this 'ghost trap'?-
Post by: killerhellhound on February 13, 2015, 06:26:21 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 14, 2015, 06:02:59 am
Walk along the river, look for any place where it looks like I could cross it.
Post by: Xanmyral on February 14, 2015, 11:26:50 am
Morton couldn't help but feel quite pleased about his change in predicament, if also curious. But fight or flight tends to be a bigger motivator than curiosity. Looking at Mr. T and thanking him via emotions (or at least he tried, thinking of all the things that makes him happy in order to convey the feeling).
With that done, the desk turned to his allies. "I do believe we should depart." He can't help but quite agree with good surgeon Mark.
And with that, the desk moved with the others away from the crazy anomalies.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2015, 02:12:59 pm
Niklas, holding up his creation for all to see, walks to the king's chambers, noticing that Påt appears to be getting suspiciously lighter as he moves along. Eventually he gets there - a sort of living room awaits him, where the king himself appears to be sitting all alone in a massive armchair, smoking a sizable pipe ponderously. His eyes look oddly hollow in the dim light of the room.
"You're here. At last," the king says, standing up from his seat. "For future reference, when I call you up, you come immediately. Otherwise we may have some problems. Speaking of, do you have any kind of questions before we begin? Better to clear up any confusion now," he gestures with his pipe.
In the wilderness outside Eckledun...
Sigmund, as the final step of his plan, slowly brings the stone jar down to the depths of the pit, then scoops his bloody remains into it. Turning the jar to face upward to prevent spillage (at least until his bloody entrails decide to coagulate and dry out, at which point that presumably won't be an issue), he then decides to climb a tree while levitating the jar up to a certain point.
[Climbing roll: 1]
Levitating the jar upward to the treetop, Sigmund tries to be as delicate as possible, all the while following it with his own body. He gets almost to the very top, stabilizing the jar up high, when suddenly he loses his grip! Damnable slippery branches!
[Recovery roll: 1]
Hitting a branch, then another, then about ten more, Sigmund's badger form plummets to the ground, planting itself headfirst into soil.
[Endurance roll: 5]
Nothing breaks, fortunately enough - in fact, he is almost stupendously unharmed. A spot of luck just at the right time, it seems!
[Will roll: 5]
In fact, he feels so perfectly alright, it's almost hard to believe he's fallen fifteen meters just now. Of course, his fall was broken by a bunch of branches, so there's that.
Deep in the earth...
Scott makes good on his escape, unwilling to find out what exactly an exploding magical artifact could do to him. He flaps, he ascends, he zooms!
He fails to get anywhere of significance. Maybe his regular mode of locomotion is a tad too slow for dramatic escapes. Not that this will dissuade him from trying, obviously.
On another note, the earth around him starts to taste a little pinkish. This is slightly odd, because Scott doesn't recall having anything to taste stuff with. Also, he feels like he might have left something behind, a certain two-dimensional vector of his body that feels conspicuously missing. Once again, not quite sure how he's sensing this. Probably foul sorcery.
In the backstreets of Eckledun...
Mark and Morton both appear to have a similar idea now - get the hell out of this terrible place. Wilma is all too willing to follow, and so, it seems, is Mr. T - though perhaps he's just following by default. They get out into the street, where a whole bunch of anomalies appear to be present - this is probably not quite good. So they continue moving at a brisk pace, suspecting strongly that this entire town may not be quite as safe as previously suspected.
Some distance down the street, however, they suddenly find themselves... nowhere. Looking ahead and to the sides, the party sees nothing - looking behind them, they see the path leading back deeper into town. And that, it seems, is all they can see. They hesitate to look under themselves for fear of sudden gravitational attack.
In the village of Rugish...
Kevin, witch-blessed and conspicuous, vacates the immediate neighborhood of the inn and goes to investigate the river, as it seems that his plans of leaving are probably much more urgent than he may have suspected.
And as luck would have it, about a mile outside of the village proper he does find what seems to be a shallower, narrower part of the river - though he'll likely need to wade in neck deep or slightly deeper, it should presumably be traversable. It seems to be a specifically constructed crossing - although in poor repair, hence the depth, it may in fact do for his needs for the moment.
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2015, 02:26:38 pm
Post by: miauw62 on February 14, 2015, 02:34:51 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 03:45:23 pm
"Begin what? What exactly happened to you when I did that extendy thing? How come you were so disgustingly powerful in the first place? What's with your eyes? Do you have anyplace I could plant Påt? Do you know where Lifeboy is? What problems might we have if I insist on having free will? Are you threatening me with that? Why did you even need a Black Circle representative if you have superpowers and that Mystery Forge? How'd you get that, by the way? Where is your country geographically on the world? How big is it? Do you have a powerful military? How did you get so overpowered in the first place? What is the fungus stuff you keep mentioning? Do I have any measure of control over it?"
Ask Helsvar, Torvig (I think that's his name anyway, it's been a while), Plant Guy and any other mental occupants/psychoses of mine if they have any questions for the king and repeat those back to him as well.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2015, 04:05:17 pm
Niklas mentally ahems.
"Begin what? What exactly happened to you when I did that extendy thing? How come you were so disgustingly powerful in the first place? What's with your eyes? Do you have anyplace I could plant Påt? Do you know where Lifeboy is? What problems might we have if I insist on having free will? Are you threatening me with that? Why did you even need a Black Circle representative if you have superpowers and that Mystery Forge? How'd you get that, by the way? Where is your country geographically on the world? How big is it? Do you have a powerful military? How did you get so overpowered in the first place? What is the fungus stuff you keep mentioning? Do I have any measure of control over it?"
Ask Helsvar, Torvig (I think that's his name anyway, it's been a while), Plant Guy and any other mental occupants/psychoses of mine if they have any questions for the king and repeat those back to him as well.
"Inquisitive. I like that in a minion," the king nods and clears his throat.
"Begin the next stage of planning. I took that divine fungus you had in you and took control of it with disgusting ease. I am the king, and thus should and do command a whole lot of powers that I tend not to inform others of. My eyes are perfectly all right. Just about anywhere outside. No. I will kill you with the utmost efficiency if I happen to be in an unforgiving mood. In a manner of speaking. Because the Black Circle is a link to the wider world, though now ultimately unnecessary. I built it with my superpowers. North of the Sea of Death. It stretches about a hundred miles in every direction from here. I do not, though that's a moot point. I got my godlike powers through the use of a powerful artifact - an amulet, to be precise. The fungus is that black stuff you were made of when you stepped out of the Mystery Forge - you had it on you beforehand, which I assume was through divine intervention. Yes, but not quite like I do. Any other questions?"
You question Helsvar and Torvig, and also Plant Guy, but they don't reply or make their presence known.
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 04:14:47 pm
Think that's all."
Post by: Nunzillor on February 14, 2015, 04:29:18 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 04:32:56 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2015, 04:33:15 pm
"What is/was this amulet, where did you get it, how did you obtain it, and what powers did it grant you? The fungus was divine, you say? Which divinity? Are you immortal? What do you plan to do?
Think that's all."
"I have it right around my neck, you can have a closer look if you want. I got it from a good friend of mine who happens to be dead now. He gave it to me as part of a clandestine deal. It granted me some significant abilities on par with what you might expect from a deity, albeit with none of the status or omniscience. It was. Pacitarius, if I'm guessing correctly. Theoretically not, practically yes now that I've got that fungus. I plan on getting some undead agents with your help, then sending you out to pursue a lead relating to other methods of mind control, since they are, as of today, something of an interest of mine."
"Now, I can give you my amulet if you want to examine it for a moment, as long as you promise to be careful with it," the king then reminds you, raising a rather inconspicuous amulet with a muted green stone set in it from underneath his collar. "And answer any final questions you might have, if you wish."
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 04:40:50 pm
Examine the amulet closely. Try it on, see if I get any sense of ridiculous power.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2015, 04:51:49 pm
"Who was this friend? How'd he die? How did he get the amulet? What deal was it for an object of such power? Mind control, eh. D'you know anything about someone called the Artiste? We were on the Sea of Death last I saw him, I think. Alright, everything sounds about good. Yes I will try that amulet out, however. Don't worry, I'm very good with equipment.
Examine the amulet closely. Try it on, see if I get any sense of ridiculous power.
"Don't recall his name, but he really wanted to be a powerful wizard. He was given it by a great enchanter. The deal stipulated that he deliver the amulet to me from the hands of its maker, and in return he would obtain forbidden knowledge. Indeed, mind control. Never heard of an Artiste. Sounds slightly relevant, you'll relate the details to me later," the king says, taking off the amulet and placing it in your hands. You have to let go of Påt to examine it, but he seems perfectly alright on the floor, if a little scared and alone.
The amulet is made of what looks like gold, with a green stone set in it. No ornamentation. The chain is robust, a little thicker than you'd expect from the average piece of jewelry. Looking at it, you sense... something unusual. Given that you are wholly untrained in perceiving enchantment, you wonder if this is an indication of the ridiculous power you're looking for.
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 04:56:27 pm
Try it on. Anything different?
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 14, 2015, 05:08:50 pm
"Forbidden knowledge of what?"
Try it on. Anything different?
You put the amulet on. A sense of warmth pervades your body. Your mind stretches toward the heavens, expanding beyond the reaches of the castle. Reality starts to bend around you, and you hear whispers from the dark beyond. Your feet do not quite touch the ground, and you feel you could ascend higher if you wish. Dozens of new senses are opening up to you. The workings of the universe are coming into the light of your eyes. The king is bathed in a soft glow that you take a millisecond to realize you are emitting. All the minds of the castle staff are within your reach. From thin air, you could craft a blade to rend the world in twain.
"Forbidden knowledge of magic, obviously - the best kind. Shame he didn't seem to retain much of it. The enchanter was a bit mean on that point, I think, considering the man's splendid work. Oh, before I forget, you'd best give the amulet back soonish. I'd like to hear that story of the Artiste."
Think of a mystery, any mystery. It shall unravel before your very eyes. The skies shall open and the darkest depths will sing to you.
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2015, 05:20:10 pm
((...details please?))((The Demon of Greed wanted Samuel (later, the great and almighty Samucane, a living cane-focus) made him put the amulet in the King's neck in exchange of knowledge, but he rolled a 2 in "knowledge absorption" and thus all was pointless.
Also, this whole revolution thing made Sigmund get kicked out of his counselor job))
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 05:27:27 pm
Niklas asserts control over his megalomaniac thinking and contemplates the potential.
Think of magic. All magic, from the power the gods wield to the slightest cantrip performed by a street fool to the great workings of the Black Circle to whatever it was the Artiste did - all of it, every last bit.
Oh, and the art of cooking. Can't forget what's important.
"The Artiste? Oh right, him."
Also inform king guy of all the Artiste did that I know of, with all the bias that implies.
((Huh, can you point me to around the page number? I'd like to take advantage of this.))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 14, 2015, 05:30:33 pm
Post by: Tomcost on February 14, 2015, 05:34:18 pm
((Huh, can you point me to around the page number? I'd like to take advantage of this.))((Number? Samuel was one of the original characters, so he starts with the game itself))
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 06:00:41 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on February 14, 2015, 06:12:41 pm
Post by: Xantalos on February 14, 2015, 06:16:19 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 14, 2015, 07:50:11 pm
"Hmm?" The apostle of the tea leaf wondered audibly as he looked to around. But... There was nothing? It was certainly a most strange sight.
"Well, I believe it is quite ascertainable that we are being led somewhere. Most peculiar, is it perhaps by the strange pinkness, or perhaps something else?" Morton mused to himself, still keeping himself in a jolly and calm mood despite the chaos around them. It certainly made taking in the oddities rather easier, if slightly dissonant to the situation.
"Suppose we should see what they want? Would be rude to keep them waiting."
Post by: killerhellhound on February 14, 2015, 10:31:19 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 14, 2015, 11:25:24 pm
"Hm. Well, we could go down the path and see who wishes to meet us, good surgeon Mark. Or I suppose we could try to simply walk into the nothing, perhaps it ends? Or perhaps it is but an illusion?" The desk offered, thinking of possibilities. Having an idea though, he grabs the tea.
"I know, perhaps some tea could help us perceive the situation in a new, refreshed light? Something to ease the mind?" The apostle offered, ready with the tea. He knows its meant for the ghosts, but, well, sadly they're yet to be found and he's not one to hoard tea. Such is to be shared, after all.
Converse! Offer tea! Ponder!
Post by: killerhellhound on February 15, 2015, 05:04:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 16, 2015, 04:08:19 pm
Sigmund beckons his sphere to come, and it ponderously sails back to him. It feels much safer to have it near. Now it's time for the second try. He approaches a less evil tree and attempts to climb.
[Sigmund's climbing roll: 6-1]
His phylactery ascending with him, Sigmund makes his way up the tree with altogether less issue than previously. The top offers him a very nice view, he thinks. There's forest all around. Most of the other trees are taller than this one. The sky's easy to see, though, and Sigmund thinks he does see smoke. Probably the habitation-related kind of smoke rather than the forest fire-related kind of smoke, though he's certainly no expert.
At a river crossing outside Rugish...
Kevin scouts about for some wood to help him get across this river - he has reason to suspect drowning may severely affect him now, considering he seems to be alive and all. Unfortunately for him, though, the people of Rugish clearly believe in beautifying their surroundings the old-fashioned way - all stray pieces of wood have been removed from the area, and the only tree Kevin sees in a two hundred meter radius is on the opposite side of the river.
Of course, there's plenty of houses about, but they seem to be either using their visible wood for walls or firewood. One of them might be effective, and one of them is easily obtainable, and the two qualities do not overlap, which is most regrettable.
In the chambers of King Fintel of the Fifty Fiefs of Farning-Fenton...
Niklas, faced with power almost beyond comprehension, grabs for more. His mind reaches forth and grabs for magic, all magic - from the unimaginable powers of demonkind to the simple tricks of the consummate entertainer to the subtle, incredibly tedious arts of the average enchanter. Scooping knowledge from all possible sources, he processes the knowledge - his mind envelops it like a great stomach, crystallizing, homogenizing the truth into a coherent bundle of secrets, a knot of extraordinary implications layered among one another. It tantalizes him to even look upon it - it takes the form of a fractal haze of green ice, ready to melt into his mind in one great wave of power.
His mouth, unstopped while his mind works, relays the knowledge he already has - that of the Artiste, what little Niklas truly recalls at the moment, being easily distracted at the best of times. His story is fractured and filled with asides on chairs and bloody-minded hostility, as all good stories must be.
"... hm, quite fascinating..." the king mutters, though whether it is at his story or at the innermost secrets of magic, which he appears to be staring at right now.
Niklas, almost as an afterthought, quickly scoops up the secrets of the culinary arts as well, arranging them into an elliptically orbiting body of deepest blue unknown in respect to the green haze. The arrangement has a sense of completeness, he thinks. There is nothing to add, and nothing to take away. He needs but reach out and absorb it.
"An interesting thing you've built," the king comments. "What do you plan to do with it?"
Deep, deep underground...
Scott has made the realization that all men must ultimately come to - the true obstacle to his ambitions of freedom, agency and power is that the person having them is Scott. This is an issue that must be fixed at the bottom floor, the rest of his fractured mental pyramid be damned.
[Will roll: 4]
It takes but a light tap, it turns out, and Scott is only minutely scrambled for a few moments before he manages to perfectly adapt. Now he's a self-made lunatic, which he supposes will have to do. Now, the question is, how does having so many pieces of his psyche so readily smashed help him at all?
It doesn't, and it takes him but a few moments to realize this. What he's missing is a two-dimensional vector from his body, as evident from something about him feeling distinctly one-dimensional, which with Scott's knowledge of subtraction makes perfect sense. What he needs, then, is to devise a method to find a two-dimensional object in ostensibly three-dimensional space before this sudden misplaced vector business becomes a problem.
This sudden shock of insight, naturally, lends credence to the idea that mentally breaking his psyche more than usual may have in fact been an oddly therapeutic thing for Scott. Perhaps it would be a good idea to try it more often.
At the gateway to absolute nothing...
Morton and Mark, bedazzled and befuddled by this terribly inconvenient cessation of existence that their escape route appears to have caught a case of, come to a singular agreement.
It's time for a tea break. Everybody gets tea. Blissfully forgettable conversation is made. Mark attempts charades, but it avails the group nothing. Mr. T vibrates. Wilma advocates moving away from the brink of nonexistence. Mark and Morton, on grounds that it seems to be perfectly harmless at the moment, don't see the need to do so just yet. Mr. T suddenly flips into a mirror image of himself, looking an entirely different man now. The difference, while truthfully minute, is staggeringly apparent. This manages to distract the group from any fleeting intent of productivity for the rest of the tea break.
As they finish their respective bits of tea, no progress has been made. But no regress has been made either, Morton points out, so it's all good. Probably. Unless something is tracking them through the city with evil intent. Wilma ventures that this may in fact be so. Mr. T appears to agree, as he vibrates again. Looking back at where they came from, Mark and Morton become aware of something coming their way. It seems akin to a wave. A wave of pink spikes erupting from the ground at odd angles. Slightly reminiscent of that thing Morton observed crossing the intersection earlier, but distinctly more malevolent and focused. Probably entirely incidental to the discussion. Also slightly far away. Thank goodness for long streets.
Post by: Tomcost on February 16, 2015, 04:41:07 pm
((And so, finally, I'm able to continue adventure!))
Post by: Xantalos on February 16, 2015, 05:08:17 pm
Eat this thing!
((This should be fun.))
Post by: killerhellhound on February 16, 2015, 05:19:49 pm
Mark suggests that we get running in any direction we can that wont result in possible death
Post by: Innsmothe on February 16, 2015, 06:20:21 pm
Scott will move the earth in a shrug, or at least attempt to.
Mathematics be damned, this is one dimension that will be recognised, if not by his merits then by rendering any possible [learned] observer into a drooling puddle of hysteria over my physical impossibility!
Scott will venture back into to the world and find his lost companions, who must obviously be without hope and beleaguered with woe without him.
Post by: miauw62 on February 17, 2015, 07:23:35 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2015, 01:07:35 pm
"What any chef eventually does with his or her masterpiece!
"The thing you are about to eat will grant you godlike power, of this I am perfectly certain. My question is, what will you do with it?"
[[Are you hinting that I am a boring singular dimensional character Harry? :P]]
Not at all. The one-dimensionality is far more physically literal in this case.
Besides, even if I had a problem with one-dimensional characters, Scott would be far from a prime concern.
Post by: Xantalos on February 17, 2015, 03:39:01 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2015, 04:12:43 pm
Oh, that's what you're asking. Various things. Like any mortal, I have unfulfilled desires I'm not powerful enough to accomplish. I'll try my hand at those first of all. I'll likely also cooperate with you for a good while, as you gave me this opportunity. But I do have a grudge against ninjas to fulfil, so I'll be off looking for them at ... some point in the future. Afterwards? Likely begin something greater. If you've any ideas I'm up for it.
"I'm not quite certain godlike power is the best thing for you is all. The amulet does tend to make these things rather easy."
Post by: Xantalos on February 17, 2015, 04:17:21 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2015, 04:22:42 pm
Why do you think that?
"Look at me, for instance. What has godlike power afforded me thus far?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 17, 2015, 04:56:29 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 17, 2015, 05:00:40 pm
Heedless of the personal oddity, Morton agreed with good surgeon Mark. "Yes, I do agree. It is time we bid haste, now properly refreshed and welcoming of adventure!"
Onwards! Away from the strange pink and towards the road! They have an appointment to keep!
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 17, 2015, 05:24:08 pm
Not really much, it seems.
"Indeed. Would you consider yourself more resourceful than me, then? More imaginative? Less constrained by outdated notions of decency and morality?"
Post by: Xantalos on February 17, 2015, 06:36:08 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 18, 2015, 02:55:02 pm
Yep.
"Oh. In that case, go on."
Post by: Xantalos on February 18, 2015, 03:06:44 pm
((That response is actually rather hilarious. Normally the warning of the consequences of godlike power has more impact on the people involved but in this case it's 'oh, you're a bigger nutcase than I am? Go ahead then.'))
Post by: ATHATH on February 18, 2015, 06:46:44 pm
How to Obtain a Large Amount of Power In Five Easy Steps:
Step 1: Be a ghost that was a knight when he/she/it was alive.
Step 2:
Step 3: Float into the armor.
Step 4: Get the armor and possible sword enchanted while you are within the armor.
Step 5: Proceed to laugh because you are now a effectively a jedi/sith (minus non-telekinetic powers) that is nigh-invulnerable (ghosts are unaffected by normal weapons, and even enchanted weapons and magic have to get through the enchanted (possibly with unbreakability) armor) and bypasses the ghost's main weakness (by interacting with stuff with the armor). You also still have the manipulation/distraction potential that is Ghost Sound and an escape plan in Specter Teleportation if you are desperate enough to leave your armor behind to get away.
Post by: Tomcost on February 18, 2015, 09:45:22 pm
Idea!((Until a Necromancer changes your body by that of a snal and stomps you, or a transmuter directly transforms you into nothing. Nobody is safe here. Nobody))
How to Obtain a Large Amount of Power In Five Easy Steps:
Step 1: Be a ghost that was a knight when he/she/it was alive.
Step 2:StealAcquire a suit of armor and possibly a sword.
Step 3: Float into the armor.
Step 4: Get the armor and possible sword enchanted while you are within the armor.
Step 5: Proceed to laugh because you are now a effectively a jedi/sith (minus non-telekinetic powers) that is nigh-invulnerable (ghosts are unaffected by normal weapons, and even enchanted weapons and magic have to get through the enchanted (possibly with unbreakability) armor) and bypasses the ghost's main weakness (by interacting with stuff with the armor). You also still have the manipulation/distraction potential that is Ghost Sound and an escape plan in Specter Teleportation if you are desperate enough to leave your armor behind to get away.
Post by: miauw62 on February 19, 2015, 12:27:09 pm
Post by: ATHATH on February 19, 2015, 12:43:54 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 19, 2015, 04:48:27 pm
Progress is almost within Sigmund's grasp! All he needs to do is climb down and-
[Climbing roll: 1-1]
-immediately fumble a step and fall about ten meters through an area oddly clear of branches, though he does impact the side of the tree, knocking his insides about a little and scratching his underbelly on the bark before getting a faceful of topsoil and cruel gravity.
[Endurance roll: 6-1]
The topsoil, fortunately, is willing to not break his poor badger neck, though he feels very sore all of a sudden. Levitating down the phylactery in due time, Sigmund then proceeds to his destination, leaving this whole business as far behind him as his conscience will allow. Now is the time for the rebound, not dwelling on past mistakes!
He reaches the source of the smoke in due time, and realizes that it appears to be Eckledun! This is fantastic news, though Sigmund can't help but feel the town looks a little different now. For one, there's pink spires all over the place, he doesn't remember those. And he can't quite hear too many people, either. Aside from a couple falling down from the sky, of course, burning up as they exceed terminal velocity against all kind attempts of deceleration by the air around them.
At the deadest of ends...
Mark brilliantly suggests that the group probably shouldn't stand there and gawk.
"Well, good news is that now we know where the route isn't, which leaves only where the route is, yes?" Morton starts to agree in longer form than Mark would approve of. "Yes, I do agree. It is time we bid haste, now properly refreshed and welcoming of adventure!"
"Let's get out of the way while we're at it, too," says Wilma, and the four of them, Mr. T included, move out of the dead end and inspect their surroundings. There's the cobbled street, quiet buildings, dark alleyways... the latter seems preferable at the moment for a good mix of mobility options and obfuscation, so the group moves in there, and immediately notices something amiss in there.
First off, the alleyway appears to lead into a yard of some kind, probably a shared backyard of the six or so houses in this block. This is not unusual in itself, but the backyard seems to be particularly noteworthy in that it looks unusually pink. A tree is sinking into the pink ground deeper in there, and things that remind Mark of wooden lily pads (and nobody else, since a wooden lily pad is frankly absurd) in shape, color and texture cover its surface in places. Tiny whirlpools of blood and ice cubes can be seen here and there on the strange terrain formation.
Mr. T, for his part, seems to approve of this newest discovery, as he ceases his consistent hovering over the party and just moves toward the pink plaza, maintaining a constant altitude of three meters, though he seems to blink back a meter or so every few moments.
"We're not getting out of here, are we?" Wilma remarks hopelessly.
Deep beneath Eckledun...
Scott shrugs, and the earth shrugs and groans with him. He ascends, and he ascends alone. It feels like this is taking a while. A real damn while.
And what's worse, he seems to have come out somewhere entirely unexpected! There's trees, and holes in the ground, and a really shady-looking tree. Hostile country, no doubt. Is Scott prepared for the dangers that await him here?
At a possibly dangerous river crossing...
Kevin throws caution to the wind and, despite probably being able to reach the bottom of the river the whole way through the crossing, swims for it anyway just to be sure. The swim is blissfully uneventful, and while the water is colder than expected, and the wind on the other side terribly inhospitable now that there's liquid to evaporate off Kevin, on the bright side he is clear of the village!
Possibly less fortunately, he notices that someone appears to be looking at him from one of the farmhouses. It's a young man with a bushy beard and well-combed hair, holding an axe in both of his hands, ready to chop a bit of firewood in half this fine afternoon. His mouth is slightly open as he observes Kevin, and then he quickly looks away as the ex-jester returns the gaze and resumes work on the firewood. He seems to have closed his eyes and blushed a bit.
In the chambers of King Fintel...
Niklas, spirited as always, bites down on the haze, his face sinking into its green fractalicious form. He inhales and swallows the power at the same time, and yet does not choke. He is keenly aware that he knows more. Not the full picture, but a sizable chunk of it. His glow intensifies, and the king, for the first time that Niklas notices, casts a deep black shadow on the wall behind him. There are a lot of thoughts to be thought right now, and a lot of things to be done. He has an inkling of what exactly they are - he needs to eat more of this thing. He takes another bite, and another. Somewhere along the way he shoves the cooking thing into his throat, swallowing greedily. There is much to be eaten here, and Niklas digs into it with little restraint.
In less time than he thought it would take, the secrets have been all gobbled up, and as he digests them, Niklas burns bright as a star, and the lines of metaphor and reality begin to blur. All magic is opening up to him. The unseen realms of human experience lay bare before him, and reveal the even more obscure realms beyond them. Places far and unknown, places that he could go if he wished. And he sees things that are further still. Oh, the things he could create now. The possibilities, the inevitabilities.
"I suppose this is happening, then," the king remarks nonchalantly, looking away from Niklas' painful radiance. "Ascension. Or is that descent? Any insights, maybe? Thoughts? Acknowledgements? A speech, if I'm lucky enough?"
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Xantalos on February 19, 2015, 08:47:34 pm
I can do many things with this gift, and my mind churns with glee at the possibilities I will inflict upon the world imminently. But I am reminded of something from very long ago, in another lifetime. One that propelled me on this route to begin with. What I've started I must end, after all - I have to kill the ninjas. Then my mortal aspirations shall be more or less complete.
Gaze through my knowledge of the world and find the secret realm of the Ninjas that dishonourably defeated my father and made his shame manifest in me all those years ago. Go there and inform them of their wrongdoing. Then obliterate them and their home.
((Well then, I have no idea what's gonna happen next. Might as well actually get around to doing something Niklas has wanted to do for a long while now!))
Post by: Tomcost on February 19, 2015, 10:00:57 pm
Anyway, he probably shouldn't be near this place. No, at least not near pink magic. It surely had to be that chaotic kind of magic, as there would not be any kind of rational goal involving that twisted thing.
On the other hand, the phenomenon is quite... interesting. Surely, if the place where is standing now was not affected yet, it would take time for the Pink to reach the place, if it extends at all. Maybe this is a nice place from which to observe...
Look into the apparent chaos of the picture. Study the phenomenon. If chaos is related to Pink, maybe it is not chaos at all, as true chaos would ignore any kind of patterns. Pink is already a pattern, and there must be more, hidden somewhere.
Post by: Innsmothe on February 20, 2015, 02:48:41 am
[Milking my background for all it's worth here. >.>]
Post by: killerhellhound on February 20, 2015, 04:52:38 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 20, 2015, 01:42:36 pm
"Why, hello. What's your name?"
Post by: ATHATH on February 21, 2015, 05:18:53 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 22, 2015, 03:18:30 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on February 22, 2015, 07:33:56 pm
"I'm afraid I barely know anything about this, good surgeon Mark. There was a mage good tailor Craig and I was speaking to who knew of this pink, but I'm afraid I wasn't present for the conversation. Shortly after seeing him again, things have become like this for a reason that eludes me." The desk explained as best he could, now looking back into the courtyard, thinking.
"Hm. I do believe I think good sir Tee might be trying to show us the way." The desk looked at the various wooden steps and tried to ascertain with sight if they might be safe to step on and perhaps cross the sea of pink, watching Mr. T to see if perhaps he was appearing in significant places.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 23, 2015, 02:50:22 pm
Niklas, prompted by the unsuspecting king, commences his inaugural soliloquy.
"Not so much, no. Ascension or descent imply up or down. This is just ... becoming more. Seeing more. I can do many things with this gift, and my mind churns with glee at the possibilities I will inflict upon the world imminently. But I am reminded of something from very long ago, in another lifetime. One that propelled me on this route to begin with. What I've started I must end, after all - I have to kill the ninjas. Then my mortal aspirations shall be more or less complete," he says, and casts an eye across the universe for his quarry.
He turns up... little. Nothing, actually. His sight beyond sight appears to be failing him. This seems like a bit of a letdown. To be expected with ninjas, of course, but to see... nothing? After all this?
"Not quite a god yet, you'll note. It's a slightly misleading process, I will admit. Partly because I'm improvising. Conditions remaining favorable, you should have a connection momentarily."
Niklas gets the impression that the king is indeed telling the truth. There's a connection forming here, beneath all this flashy magic and symbolic powers. True godhood is upon him. It is still upon him, as it has been for the past few minutes already. The god-hype is starting to fade.
Outside the progressively more ruined town of Eckledun...
Sigmund, like any connoisseur of unmitigated disaster in his position would, elects to watch the town from afar. Policy of non-interference and all that. Wouldn't want to ruin the beauty. He considers the towers of pink, the crumbling buildings, the screaming people getting carried off into the sky by forces unknown, then plummeting down fatally.
It is fairly clear that magic is involved, first of all. Probably magic gone horribly wrong, or magic intended to go horribly wrong. Either seems possible, though Sigmund keeps to the old wisdom of considering stupidity first, and only then outright malice. Is it the Black Circle that's responsible? It seems quite catastrophic, this incident. Perhaps a highly unfortunate dabbler of some kind? Would be rather unfortunate to bungle something up so badly it destroys an entire town, but that's magic for you. Magic kills, children. Often when you don't want it to. Combined with a scatter-brained enough practitioner, shit is practically guaranteed to hit the fan.
The towers appear to be rising still, Sigmund quickly deduces. In a straight path. Curious, he takes a metaphysical look at these things, trying to make them out from afar. What he sees is somewhat displeasing - the pink towers seem to be made of gibberish. Solid gibberish. All the knots are frayed to the point where they resemble a pom-pom more than a properly structured thing. It'd look fairly amusing if it weren't for the fact that the knots of the objects around them seem to be fraying by association. Some of them more than others. The pink seems to be spreading like an insidious plague, that much is clear. And furthermore, it appears to have an agent as well. Sigmund traces the path of towers, which seems to be extending tremendously quickly, and for a moment manages to get a bead on its leading edge.
There's a thing at the front of it. It's all made up of whirling ruins of what may have once been a whole mess of knots, thrashing wildly as if trying to escape from the cage of impossibility reality is trying to keep it in. Its very touch, nay, its mere presence seems enough to corrupt all things near it to one degree or another. And it seems to be on a rampage. Sigmund looks closer.
The thing looks back. Sigmund feels awfully light all of a sudden, and gravity feels like it's skewing. His four feet phase into the ground a little. It looks away, seemingly having better things to do. The effects do not abate.
In the wilderness, where the weather is fine...
Scott, like any person with a modicum of education in natural philosophy, is never satisfied when told that a forest is just a forest. He tries to identify as much as possible of the area, so that he may better know his location.
This plan falls apart momentarily when he realizes that all he can really tell about these trees is that a lot of them are probably some weird kind of pine, and that the forest itself looks persuasively virgin. There's a bunch of birds around, too. Most other animals seem to be staying away from this area.
Oh, and in the distance Scott can see a rather tall stone pillar. That's a little unusual, and doesn't seem like part of the forest as such. There's a bunch of broken garbage and blood near it, too, as he can tell as he draws closer. Definitely not a natural feature, then!
Next to a pink-plagued yard...
Mark, like any true survivor of events beyond his control, tries to shift blame onto something familiar. Like Morton. Morton can take it, clearly. He writes up a somewhat sternly worded accusatory letter of inquiry to the desk and passes it to him, then hugs Wilma, who appears to appreciate the gesture and hugs back. This creates a very firm and carefully engineered atmosphere of exclusion, scorn and incompetent reliance toward the desk, so that he may be better motivated to help them all out of this.
Fortunately, Morton is used to this sort of treatment. They never give the help the time of day around this part of the world, do they? All the same, these friends of his.
"I'm afraid I barely know anything about this, good surgeon Mark. There was a mage good tailor Craig and I was speaking to who knew of this pink, but I'm afraid I wasn't present for the conversation. Shortly after seeing him again, things have become like this for a reason that eludes me," he explains, then takes a look at the pond of pink and its wooden lily pads, floating over to the edge. "Hm. I do believe I think good sir Tee might be trying to show us the way," he mentions as Mr. T jerkily floats and blinks to the middle of the pond, then stops abruptly. Morton watches confusedly for a moment, trying to pick up on the exact environmental cue Mr. T seems to have done, but is at a loss.
Mr. T, as if to spite the guessing, disappears into the pond. The surface does not stir one bit as a result.
Outside the village of Rugish...
Kevin plays it cool and walks over to the man to socialize.
"Why, hello. What's your name?" he says, perhaps sounding a little too smooth to assume innocent intent.
The man looks at him and opens his eyes. He seems to be trying to maintain eye contact. His face is slightly red.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to stare or-" he starts to say at a quick pace, but stops himself abruptly, then takes a deep breath. "Montark. Edgar Montark. Pleased to meet you. Hello, I mean. Yes," he stammers out.
Kevin's not quite sure what this fellow's malfunction might be. He seems shifty.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
Darren bites readily at the mention of more exposition. More readily than is perhaps healthy.
"No, I don't. What happens?"
"They take your soul and peel the experiences out. The peeling is what feeds the gods. Then they cast the soul back in when it's done, probably into a little baby or maybe a blade of grass." the ghost says less than probably would normally be expected. Darren counts his blessings, and realizes he's a few short when the ghost speaks again. "And life is just the way the gods fatten you up for consumption. There is a sweet spot, as I understand it, where a soul has lived long enough and seen enough to make for a great meal, but has not become a proper long-term investment yet. And this, you see, is the crux of the issue. I do not want to be eaten by a god. Velusius wants to eat me and my countrymen, and I shall not permit it."
"But enough chitchat. Shall we do battle for the Crown, or will you retreat and face possible retribution from a god? Choose quickly, or I get the first strike. I'm growing impatient."
Post by: Tomcost on February 23, 2015, 03:44:41 pm
Alternatives if it fails:
-Use metaphysical sense to feel if anything got screwed up, try to fix it.
-Use rock focus to move a chunk of stone underneath my feet until I am not phasing downwards any-more.
((Hmm, I may have to deal with this thing. How to destroy entropy itself?))
Post by: Innsmothe on February 23, 2015, 04:21:18 pm
Maybe these idiots know how to appreciate spirits.
Post by: Tomcost on February 23, 2015, 05:43:20 pm
Physical destruction: hurling giant stones would be the best bet here
Metaphysical tinkering: This has many different options. Do I stabilize the anomaly? Do I destroy it? Do I desprive it from its powers?))
Post by: Xantalos on February 23, 2015, 05:45:22 pm
Try something more mundane while king guy talks. Summon a sword of infinite sharpness. That can be on fire. And unbreakable, or near as I can make it.
((And now the saga of Niklas refusing to confront his possible delusions continues, this time with cool weapons! Let's hope I'm not massively misinterpreting whatever this thing does.))
Post by: Nunzillor on February 23, 2015, 08:52:58 pm
((I'm considering various alternatives:Well, you could try and make the space around you extremely boring and logical from a metaphysical standpoint. Perhaps make each knot reference and insert programming into the surrounding knots to create a competing wave of boring? Hopefully when the pink and the boring meet they will just cancel eachother out.
Physical destruction: hurling giant stones would be the best bet here
Metaphysical tinkering: This has many different options. Do I stabilize the anomaly? Do I destroy it? Do I desprive it from its powers?))
Or you could run away really fast after fixing your feet. That might be easier.
Post by: killerhellhound on February 24, 2015, 04:36:59 am
Post by: Xanmyral on February 24, 2015, 10:47:05 pm
Morton will pick up a small object and toss it on one of the wooden lily pads to see if there's any reaction. If no reaction, he'll toss something slightly heavier. He'll also backtrack a bit and see if there's another route they can take beyond the alleyway.
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2015, 04:03:54 am
"...shit, I was hoping to actually do productive things with godlike power. What connection dyou mean?"
"Connection with the, how best to say this... realm of the gods? Sounds mystical enough, yes. You wouldn't think the, er, divinity was in you all along and you just had to reach out and grab it, would you? Some transfer will be required."
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2015, 04:20:32 am
Post by: miauw62 on February 25, 2015, 08:54:46 am
"I'm... Uh... Lisa. Yes. Lisa. Why are you looking so flustered, Edgar?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2015, 12:47:47 pm
"You better not be trying to possess me or something."
"I'm not, unfortunately. But let's say I was. What exactly would you do in that case?" the king asks, looking completely and utterly mirthless.
Kevin realized that he didn't actually know what this body was called. He suspected that this fellow would be rather confused with "Kevin".
"I'm... Uh... Lisa. Yes. Lisa. Why are you looking so flustered, Edgar?"
"Er, I was... and you were, um... and then you... sod it all, there's no way I can explain this without buggering things up spectacularly, is there?"
Edgar looks at you earnestly for a moment. Then he takes off at a sprint, running inside his home (you think it's his home, anyway), then slamming the door behind himself desperately. He seems to have dropped his axe on the ground. And left the firewood woefully unchopped, too. What a strange man.
On another note, you feel rather cold now. The weather's perfectly awful around here. Not nearly as warm as in Shriekpot, even if it's less windy.
Post by: miauw62 on February 25, 2015, 12:49:31 pm
"Hey, I'm not here to kill you or anything. I just want to find my way to... Well, there's better places to be than an isolated village that wants to murder a powerful mage."
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2015, 01:21:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 25, 2015, 02:31:47 pm
Knock on the door.
"Hey, I'm not here to kill you or anything. I just want to find my way to... Well, there's better places to be than an isolated village that wants to murder a powerful mage."
The door opens a crack. Edgar's looking at you from it.
"What? Murder a... do they mean the witch on the hill? Poor sods are going to get themselves killed, they are! What did they say?"
The door opens further, and the whole of the man's head pokes out. He's still trying to maintain eye contact.
"Violently detonate your body, hopefully before you could complete the process. Then the castle and myself if you succeeded.
"An optimistic assessment, but your assumptions could use some work," the king scratches his chin, sighing. "Then again, you don't really know anything, do you? If I had to guess, I would advance that as the reason I am feeling slightly bad about the whole thing right now."
"But let's hush up now, and let this next moment be yours to do with as you please, for what it's worth. Make it count."
Post by: Xantalos on February 25, 2015, 05:19:20 pm
Do something ridiculous while I wait for whatever inevitable doom he's concocting to descend upon me - cook a universe into being out of whatever surrounding materials there are, including the king and/or the amulet, if he doesn't object.
((Notice, I might but probably won't end up changing this action tonight, since I'm not quite sure what exactly my thoughts are doing at the moment.))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 26, 2015, 09:23:19 am
"Alrighty then. Mind explaining what exactly it is you're doing before I die or explode or panic and atomize the surrounding area? If I can even do that."
"The important thing to remember here is that I'm not doing anything. Or, to be exact, I'm standing here wondering if you'll catch on in the next five to ten seconds, idly considering the possibilities of either result."
Post by: miauw62 on February 26, 2015, 12:14:59 pm
Post by: ATHATH on February 26, 2015, 04:49:46 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on February 26, 2015, 04:59:24 pm
""I bet it was that witch on the hill who destroyed the bridge!" and "We should look out for any foreigners that could've helped her" style of thing. Needless to say, I didn't exactly feel like staying there."I still find it funny you haven't noticed that you are in the body of a naked young pretty woman.
Post by: Xantalos on February 26, 2015, 07:36:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2015, 05:42:17 pm
Sigmund, faced with imminent collapse of the rules of reality and good sense, panics immediately. He tries to pull his feet out of the ground before it becomes abundantly clear that it's a little difficult to pull all four of your feet from the ground at once. He then tries to pull one leg out - it comes loose, but the other three immediately sink deeper. There is a feeling of volatility to his imprisonment. His body is vibrating. He puts the foot on a nearby bit of seemingly solid ground, and is delighted to see it hold decently well. He tries to get the rest of himself out by the same method, but the violent increase of vibration due to the attempt quickly dissuades him from continuing this plan.
There's clearly something wrong here, Sigmund thinks, something wrong with the very fabric of reality. So he, being in the enviable position to actually check, does so without hesitation. The resulting picture is... unfortunate, in that he can't quite tell what's happening. His knots seem less like knots and more like... fluff, he supposes. This is probably a bad sign, he thinks as he moves on to his other plan - shifting the rock under his feet.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
It seems a bit odd that it doesn't seem to work at all, not least of all because there's no rock under Sigmund's feet. It's more like soil, really. Furthermore, his feet haven't really sunk into the ground, they've phased into it. And he gets the feeling disturbing this careful balance of impossibility may end incredibly poorly. Though right now he's not quite rich in other options, either.
In the woods outside Eckledun...
Scott approaches the pillar, and is disappointed that there don't seem to be any visible cultists nearby, despite it clearly being used for human sacrifice. Maybe these aren't their operating hours. He can't see any paths leading toward here, either - the forest is otherwise just about the closest thing to primordial that one could think of. So their operating hours are likely to be a pretty narrow interval of time, too, Scott concludes. And there's probably not many of them, either.
Perhaps they live underground? Maybe there's a rabbit hole nearby he could follow down into a realm of savage butchery and devil worship? There'd no doubt be a place for him there, presumably as a god of some sort. Or maybe just a saint?
There does seem to be a hole here, as a side note. It's not a bottomless-seeming one, though, and seems to have the character of a grave or some other variety of corpse pit. Its bottom is stained with blood.
Next to a threatening yard full of pink...
Mark and Morton spring to action, with the former trying to plot a more optimal path around the yard, while the latter tests the lily pads.
Mark, for his part, quickly concludes that the safest way (relatively speaking) is probably out the way they came - since that weird thing didn't try to follow them in here, it's reasonably safe to assume it's lost the scent to some degree.
Morton, working slightly more diligently, tries to chuck a pebble onto one of the wooden lily pads. It fails to react much. He then dislodges and throws a cobblestone, which responds by bouncing up from the pad in a most satisfying fashion. The lily pad does not sink into the pond one bit, however. Puzzled, Morton moves out of the alleyway and successfully confirms that no monsters are presently after him and his friends, and also that they'd probably be able to find a much better dark alleyway to skulk into if given time and a slight bit of effort.
Wilma, finally, decides to do something a bit more radical. She takes a running jump at one of the lily pads.
[Wilma's strength roll: 3]
The jump is a bit short - she lands halfway on a lily pad, her feet accidentally sinking into the pond. The lily pad bounces her right back, and she tumbles to the ground right next to Mark in a painful-looking fashion. She seems suspiciously fine given that her feet were just submerged in what Mark assumes to be liquid madness itself.
"It was definitely worth a try," Wilma assures herself as she lays on the ground, her nice robe slightly messed up now. After sighing, she gets up and dusts herself off. "Honestly, I think it's worth another one."
At the door of Edgar Montark...
Kevin tries his best to relay the exact speech and mannerisms of the repugnantly hostile villagers.
""I bet it was that witch on the hill who destroyed the bridge!" and "We should look out for any foreigners that could've helped her" style of thing. Needless to say, I didn't exactly feel like staying there," he explains, and Edgar nods along.
"They tried this before," he says. "Tried this before, and it didn't end well, not one bit. Only the priest got away looking the same. Doesn't look like they learned."
Locals who never learn are shockingly common, especially on timescales expected of an immortal. They replenish themselves and hand themselves to people like Kevin, so that she may take their souls with practically guiltless impunity and put them to better use. All that is needed is the occasional atrocity or oddity committed by his hand, and they come in force. At least the first two times - when the third point of crisis comes along, they prefer to scatter. This is even better for harvesting, as it makes the entire village fair game. She has wondered occasionally if this could somehow be spun into a form of farming, or would a cult be better for this sort of thing...?
"E-erm, miss?" the man interrupts Kevin's thoughts. Kevin gives him an inquisitive look. "Where are you from?"
It seems like a simple enough question, though Kevin can think of at least a few probably displeasing answers.
In the chambers of King Fintel...
Niklas resigns himself hopelessly to inevitable doom, though he does feel the need to supplement it with a ridiculous act of some kind.
"No, and I doubt I will until it starts to happen," he assures the king, attempting to figure out a method to cook the universe. He concentrates his godlike powers, and brings the surrounding area to a steady boil, the king excepted.
"Would you object to being boiled?" he asks of the king, feeling a terrible lack of harmony stemming from the monarch's stupendous lack of bubbling.
"Of course not, if it's for a good cause," the king says, and Niklas includes him in the boiling as well. The air ripples, and the room feels stiflingly hot. "Do note that this isn't quite as real as you would think, this momentary godlike power." A connection is made. Niklas' body shivers involuntarily as something ineffable begins to prod him. "I was playing around with the amulet's settings a little, fine-tuning it, and this appears to be the result. Seems unnecessary, and it needs me to pull the switch. I think it was better when I first made it. No dithering of this sort at all. So, in the spirit of fairness during this little experiment, I will be generous. You have, let's say, two seconds left to use well. But that really is going to be it. Starting... now."
Post by: Xantalos on February 28, 2015, 05:49:28 pm
"Okay. Sorry, Lifeboy."
Best not to waste time. Atomize everything but me in the surrounding several hundred miles, or as far as I can reach with my destructive power. Don't vaporize the ground under my feet though; keep the explosion to a dome above the ground. A half-sphere, not a full one. You get what I'm saying?
((Out of options, omnicidal default activated))
Post by: Tomcost on February 28, 2015, 06:04:00 pm
((Out of options, omnicidal default activated))
((Guess where this is going to? Yep, OOC quotes thread))
Post by: Harry Baldman on February 28, 2015, 06:48:40 pm
Niklas is about to bring this matter to its conclusion.
"Okay. Sorry, Lifeboy," he says, and concentrates very hard on atomizing the entirety of his surroundings (well, apart from the area beneath him). In response, the chamber fills with blinding light and deafening sound practically immediately. It feels as if Niklas could do just about anything at the moment, and as he rides this peak of achievement, the connection with his being opens, and the flow begins.
"The point was missed, sadly, but a try it was nevertheless," the king says, not speaking up to any significant degree, but plainly audible over the sound of the disintegrating light. A great wave casts a shadow of immense proportions over his soul, then crashes over it all at once, his innermost essence drowning in a deluge of something vast and alien to his body. The mycelium running through him reels and twitches, his flesh tearing itself apart as the fungus attempts to escape, then reknitting itself as some form of other authority starts to force it back into line. Niklas' vision goes dark as his mind forgets how to see, and his memories begin to flood out in order of appearance, creating a feeling of his life draining out before his very senses, a history of the Niklas that was in smells, tastes, sounds, impulses of pain and other sensations, until one by one his other main senses disappear as well, leaving but the most visceral, blurred recollections of his early days to be experienced. Finally, that mechanism too is dismantled, and Niklas' soul, now empty of experience or, indeed, anything that would even hint at a Niklas of some sort once owning it, is regarded by the being now encompassing the rest of his being for but a moment before it is nonchalantly passed toward the heavens, disappearing from sight and from relevance.
"I think I didn't telegraph the right choice well enough," King Fintel shakes his head. The room around him has not changed one bit despite at least two attempts at destabilizing its molecular structure. "But I did feel pathetic about dropping that many hints already. If I dropped more, my self-respect would never recover."
"Self-respect. I had that, once. You're not that old of a fragment, are you?" the body of Niklas responds, entirely unfazed.
"Ha," the king says slowly and flatly. "I must be the first to empirically confirm that self-loathing is much less charming when personified."
"Listening to you, I'm inclined to say the same thing. You must be me from a much bitchier time. Great that that's what gets conserved so well."
The king drags his palm across his face slowly. "I can already tell this is going to be a brilliant cooperation."
"Yes, yes. Let's get to business. Who's this, and why is he dressed like an idiot?" the body asks, pointing at itself.
"I will try to bring you up to speed as quickly as possible. First off, fungus-enabled telepathy."
The king stares at his new counterpart intently. The counterpart stares back. One or both of them nod after every few moments. A minute or two later, the body of Niklas nods one last time and, after handing the king the amulet it's wearing, walks off. King Fintel walks over to a contemptible chair and sits down, putting the amulet around his neck once more. For the next few hours, he broods, occasionally nodding as the mental reports keep coming in. The situation has grown simultaneously simpler and more perilous.
But he'll just have to live with this latest mistake, he supposes. And never try to tempt anyone with godlike power again. To have to deal with just one more of herself would be cause enough to go on a murderous rampage even before this is all over.
Niklas' soul has been cleansed and plopped into the afterlife unceremoniously! Most regrettable for all involved.
Post by: Xantalos on March 01, 2015, 12:01:36 am
I'd guess the key to survival there was taking the amulet off?))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 01, 2015, 03:21:53 am
There is no body in the obviously used grave.
Post by: Tomcost on March 01, 2015, 08:35:02 am
If I don't vibrate too much, try removing another foot and putting it in safe ground.
Post by: miauw62 on March 01, 2015, 01:17:48 pm
I may have forgotten the naked part.""I bet it was that witch on the hill who destroyed the bridge!" and "We should look out for any foreigners that could've helped her" style of thing. Needless to say, I didn't exactly feel like staying there."I still find it funny you haven't noticed that you are in the body of a naked young pretty woman.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2015, 01:27:31 pm
I may have forgotten the naked part.
That's because you aren't. You've got a dress.
Post by: miauw62 on March 01, 2015, 02:18:27 pm
Kevin shrugs, hoping that this motion from his skeletal time might help with these intrusive thoughts.
"From very, very far away. It's probably closer than where I'm trying to go, though."
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 01, 2015, 02:46:50 pm
((Oh, phew. Also R.I.P. Niklas, it's sad to see you go.))
Kevin shrugs, hoping that this motion from his skeletal time might help with these intrusive thoughts.
"From very, very far away. It's probably closer than where I'm trying to go, though."
"Where are you trying to go, then?"
Post by: Xantalos on March 01, 2015, 03:12:56 pm
((Oh, phew. Also R.I.P. Niklas, it's sad to see you go.))((Oh don't worry, I'm interested in seeing how this game develops, even without me in it.))
Kevin shrugs, hoping that this motion from his skeletal time might help with these intrusive thoughts.
"From very, very far away. It's probably closer than where I'm trying to go, though."
Post by: Innsmothe on March 01, 2015, 05:40:31 pm
Normally I refuse to read other characters happenings to keep the disconnection realistic, but that last one was awesome.]]
Post by: miauw62 on March 02, 2015, 05:21:42 am
"I was supposed to go to a refugee camp. Something terrible has happened in Mothdale. But I haven't a clue of where I am now, much less how I would get there."
Post by: killerhellhound on March 02, 2015, 08:37:35 am
Also nooooo Goodbye Niklas I will miss your insanity causing incompetence and endless mad Viking fun
Post by: ATHATH on March 02, 2015, 12:46:58 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 02, 2015, 01:03:32 pm
Even if Niklas did succeed at destroying everything in a several mile radius, he would suffocate from a lack of air or he and the five by five by five (foot) cube of earth he was standing on would fall into the crater. Also, GM, have you considered "golem" as an archetype yet?((A zombie is basically a flesh golem))
Post by: Xantalos on March 02, 2015, 02:29:57 pm
Even if Niklas did succeed at destroying everything in a several mile radius, he would suffocate from a lack of air or he and the five by five by five (foot) cube of earth he was standing on would fall into the crater. Also, GM, have you considered "golem" as an archetype yet?((Atomizing, not destroying. I'd still have had air, and I don't think my form really needed it.
Also I worded the action so I'd destroy everything above ground.))
Post by: Innsmothe on March 02, 2015, 03:49:29 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 04, 2015, 01:21:21 pm
Morton returned to the group. "Friends, I do believe we can find oth--oh, we're jumping across?" The desk supposed such is as it will be now, seeing Wilma having made it across. "Right, I shall be across in a moment." He feels it would be wise not to just attempt to float across, but he is curious.
Morton will float up as high as he can, bringing out his strange and many arms once more. He'll catch onto the ground and try to stretch the arms over to the nearest wooden platform, trying to get a grasp and see if he can sort of hoist himself across via pushing, pulling, and floating over there without touching the pink. If nothing seems to be trying to drag him down into the pink, he'll just float across onto the platform.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 06, 2015, 05:18:16 pm
Scott tries to decipher the origin of this scene of obvious foul sorcery, consulting his encyclopedic knowledge of Velusian and Pacitarian worship, since the others don't seem to be likely suspects. He immediately concludes that there's no real way to tell much about this scene aside from the obvious fact that whatever it was that's supposed to take place here has already happened. There's no ritual objects and scant evidence of human activity. If they went anywhere, Scott couldn't really say where, as there's no tracks. Whoever was here didn't feel the need to leave any clues for future generations to decipher their movements. Might have been ghosts. Might have been assassins. Might have just been very crafty peasants.
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Sigmund keeps on trying to get himself out of his little jam with the ground. First he attempts to reassert the rule that it really shouldn't be possible for two objects to occupy the exact same space. The universe, it seems, agrees heartily, and stops that noncommittal vibrating and just launches Sigmund into the air. Problem solved!
[Landing roll: 4-1]
Being a badger, Sigmund is not particularly well-suited to falling, and it does show as he lands rump-first on the ground.
[Endurance roll: 6]
It hurts like hell and it's painful to walk for a moment afterward, but Sigmund counts it as a successful landing, given that he doesn't need a new body yet.
Outside the home of a strange man...
Kevin tries to explain.
"I was supposed to go to a refugee camp. Something terrible has happened in Mothdale. But I haven't a clue of where I am now, much less how I would get there," he half-lies. Fortunately, Edgar seems to be going for it.
"Oh! We had refugees a while back! They went west," says he. "Not sure where, but west. Over the... uh, bridge, through the village and away. Does that help?"
In an alleyway in Eckledun...
Mark, getting into the spirit of desperate stupidity, makes his very first attempt at platforming.
[Mark's agility roll: 4]
Making a much nicer leap than Wilma, he lands on a lily pad, which bounces him easily over the pond. The landing, though...
[Mark's endurance roll: 3]
... is a bit painful, taking away his breath and making him need a little bit of a break before moving again. Wilma, heartened by this outcome, gives the jump another shot.
[Wilma's agility roll: 2]
She has a false start, throwing herself off rhythm in the middle of the run and stopping just shy of the jump, then retreating to catch her breath a little.
"Okay, I can do this. I need to do this," she reassures herself.
Morton, though not sure this is a good idea in any way, shape or form, floats up to the roofs of the surrounding houses and projects several appendages to grab onto architecture on the opposite side and pull himself forth. This proves unnecessary, as the float across seems to have been utterly unimpeded by the pink, as disappointing as that might be. On the other hand, Morton does notice that the alleyway leading out on the other side does appear to go on for quite a bit longer than expected - why, it seems almost a mile long, like a very tiny street of sorts.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 07, 2015, 02:36:13 am
Post by: Xantalos on March 07, 2015, 02:41:45 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 07, 2015, 03:45:22 am
((Say Harry, wouldn't Sigmund have changed his archetype by now, or is he a badger vampire?))
Vampirism is a property of the soul rather than of the body. It can be spread via the body, though.
Post by: Xantalos on March 07, 2015, 03:58:05 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 07, 2015, 08:45:37 am
First, lower my phylactery and leave it against the ground, for good measure.
Then:
Find another peeble. Insert a clause in the "No magic" knot so that, in a fashion that seems respectful to the desire of the universe to not be altered, the peeble would attempt to prevent further distortion of the rules in its vecinity. Its radius of action should not be too big, to allow Sigmund to move it away in case he tries to do more magic.
Post by: Xanmyral on March 07, 2015, 01:59:34 pm
Floating down to the wooden platform where Wilma is, one of his strange arms extending to her. "Here, good mage Wilma, perhaps I can help you across. I've never tried to carry someone while floating before, but perhaps I can help. No friends left behind, no? Although I question our destination... I saw from above this alleyway goes for quite the distances, perhaps a mile maybe? Most strange."
Offer Wilma help to get across, set her on top of surface. Try to float straight up first, to test weight, then if possible float across. If not, try to float with the assistance of the arms to push self across.
Post by: miauw62 on March 08, 2015, 08:06:55 am
Head East, I guess. Also, take the axe.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 09, 2015, 01:29:48 am
Darren halts for a moment in thought. If that's what happened after death, then he really couldn't erase them like that. Or even try. Even if they were all insane and long dead... He was too, in a way. Nothing made him better than them.
"Go ahead and do your thing.
Head to the surface. Be eaten.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 10, 2015, 05:37:15 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 10, 2015, 12:24:39 pm
Scott abandons this fruitless investigation and turns his attention to more interesting pursuits, such as finding out where Eckledun might be. After giving his sheetlike shape a good spin and emitting a loud beep, Scott realizes he has no idea what he's doing, and considers the alternatives. He could dive down into the ground and try to follow the groundwater to lowlands, or maybe examine the direction the moss grows on a tree. Maybe he could try and justify having a sense of smell so he could discover where the cultists of this place might have gone.
Or maybe, just maybe, you know, he could set fire to this bloody forest. When the smoke clears, it's bound to be easier to navigate. Plus it'll be really fun, and this place looks like it's due a slight pyrokinetic remodeling. Have to ensure the succession of the undergrowth and all that.
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Sigmund, fearing shenanigans, puts his phylactery down and tries to enchant a random pebble to help him in his journeys. Bequeathing it with a sphere of influence, thus far undefined in precise function, he tries to empower its ability to prevent any and all fun in the area. Pouring his will into it, he makes it so!
[Will roll: 1]
Sigmund's badger form screams loudly as his soul, rather inappropriately amusingly distributed among several separate bits of flesh, is reprimanded for its poor behavior and pulled out of his body. It hurts rather badly, it should be said, and it's working almost incredibly well!
[Will roll: 4-1]
Sigmund's badger form convulses and shakes as the recently-enchanted pebble continues its attempts to rip out his soul from its bodies and put it into the likeliest receptacle in the area. Whichever one that is, it's clearly not the badger one. He starts to regret making its radius of action as large as he did.
In an alleyway in Eckledun...
Morton decides to give Wilma a demonic hand.
"Here, good mage Wilma, perhaps I can help you across. I've never tried to carry someone while floating before, but perhaps I can help. No friends left behind, no? Although I question our destination... I saw from above this alleyway goes for quite the distances, perhaps a mile maybe? Most strange," he floats over the pond to the place he came from, offering his surface for Wilma to lay upon.
"I'm not so sure about going back, though. It's dangerous out there," she states with unclear amounts of obliviousness, making herself comfortable atop the desk. Morton attempts to ascend, only to phase through Wilma entirely, floating upward unassisted, his shape flowing liquidly around her as he attempts to gain height. Wilma, losing composure at the loss of her seat, falls on her back immediately.
She is, however, amenable to a second try, this time with Morton's hand power assistance - this works out exactly like before, with Morton becoming selectively intangible upon encountering strong resistance. How strange.
"Okay, enough. I'll jump now," says Wilma, her two short spells on the ground giving her newfound courage. She prepares for another go at it, and takes off at a run.
[Wilma's agility roll: 5]
This time, though, she manages to actually make the leap, landing dead-center on one of the lily pads and clearing the entirety of the pond, landing softly and gracefully on the other side right next to the quietly waiting Mark. Standing up demonstratively, Wilma turns around to look at Morton, abject terror in her eyes. She exhales and shivers.
"I... can't believe that worked," she says. "I thought for sure I'd fall in. Negative thinking, I know."
Rejoining his pals on the other end, Morton notes that the alley seems to be ahead. As it appeared from the other end, the alley does indeed go on and on. How far, though, that is altogether more difficult to say.
Outside the Montark house...
Kevin guesses there's no use pestering Edgar much more.
"Oh. Well. I guess I should... go back the way those came, in case there's any more. Goodbye, thank you for your help."
"You're, uh, welcome, goodbye," says the man, and quietly shuts the door. Walking away, Kevin grabs the axe that the guy left. Living here, he sees no reason why the man'd need it more than he does. There's probably not even any bears to chop into bits around here.
With an axe stolen, he moves eastward, along the road that the bridge once seemed to be a part of. His path takes him past many farmhouses and quite a few curious onlookers, until eventually he gets into the woods proper. The road continues, though it's mostly a dirt path, and shows no real signs of leading anywhere in particular. This may be a long walk Kevin's got ahead of him.
In the chamber of the Crown of Flowers...
"That's... That's jacked up," Darren observes upon having the mysteries of death related to him. Feeling defeated, he seems to give in at last.
"Go ahead and do your thing," says he, and heads upwards, not waiting to listen to the ghost's reply. Screw this quest, it's probably not worth it. Ignoring a great many seemingly difficult obstacles, it is in a matter of hours that Darren is on the surface, in the plains he found himself in right as he showed up in this damn place. It's nighttime now, and the stars are clearly visible. Looking up, Darren seeks the eyes of an angry god about to smite him, but sees nothing.
The night is silent on the plains, aside from the brief chirping of a cricket in the grass that cuts off abruptly, leaving only the acute sensation of complete solitude.
Post by: Tomcost on March 10, 2015, 12:32:57 pm
Move or throw the peeble away, then return to my phylactery.
Post by: miauw62 on March 10, 2015, 02:06:16 pm
Follow the road, it's got to lead somewhere eventually. Going back certainly isn't an option.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 10, 2015, 02:37:01 pm
Scott will soar above the forest looking for the city.
But just in case he will select a single tree, away from the others, to become a signal fire.
I mean, why travel when others can come to you?
Post by: killerhellhound on March 11, 2015, 04:53:10 am
(I'm supriced Wilma hasnt asked the desk why I dont talk though it may be because she prizes her sanity.)
Post by: Innsmothe on March 11, 2015, 02:04:15 pm
Mark heads down the path hoping to find the cause of all this. he Beacons the others to follow[[That useless rubbish? Nothing to be prized, it's a bothersome restriction. :P]]
(I'm supriced Wilma hasnt asked the desk why I dont talk though it may be because she prizes her sanity.)
Post by: Xanmyral on March 11, 2015, 05:24:25 pm
"Either way, nothing else to do but head onward!"
Morton: Likes optimism, peace, and long walks down dark alleys with his friends.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on March 16, 2015, 04:09:25 am
Look around for incoming wrath. If there is none, check what time it is.
Post by: ATHATH on March 20, 2015, 12:02:53 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 20, 2015, 12:22:35 pm
Sigmund has a quick solution for this particular problem. He just needs to throw away the pebble! Going straight for it, he attempts to hurl it away with his unwieldy badger claws.
[Grip roll: 6]
Spinning around on his two badger legs, Sigmund throws the pebble far away toward Eckledun, far enough for it to disappear from sight entirely. Granted, it is a pretty small pebble. He feels better already, he finds!
[Will roll: 5-1]
Or at least he does after his badger body chunders profusely for a few moments. He seems to have no stomach for near-death experiences.
On a path leading into a deep forest...
Kevin, armed with an axe and a million stories of woodland horror, heads into the half-tamed wilderness. The forest is overwhelmingly oak, with low crowns and plentiful shadows and abundant vegetation encroaching on the road from both sides, increasingly so as he goes on, until it becomes hard to tell the road apart from any other bit of the forest. The path goes on, twisting and turning with no rhyme or reason, its maker obviously either drunk or unnecessarily sensitive to leylines. These two qualities tend to overlap in a person, of course.
Hours later, Kevin's legs feel rather tired, and the insects of the forest seem more intent than ever to impede his progress. There is, however, a figure he can see approaching from the distance lazily on horseback. Humanoid, clearly. Perhaps even human. Cowled, clearly, and robed as well. The horse, for its part, looks unusually pale in shade.
In the bloody woods...
In a fit of good judgment, Scott ascends upward, ever upward, about half a klick or so up, to get a good look at the surroundings. And hey, would you look at that - there's Eckledun! Pretty far off, all things considered. Maybe he should let people come to him instead. And what better way to do that than to light a signal fire?
[Firestarting roll: 2]
Scott has an epiphany as his sheetlike shape billows about, trying to get a specific tree about half a kilometer down to combust - maybe it would indeed be easier to just float off to Eckledun. Or at least try going a little lower before trying it again. There's always the possibility of finding a less damp forest to ignite as well.
Near an inevitable alleyway...
After a brief check of faculties, the team of Morton, Mark and Wilma proceed onward, heading into the alleyway. A brief walk that is nevertheless of undetermined length, possibly about an hour, perhaps two, perhaps even longer - time begins to bleed away after a short while - takes them to what feels definitively like the second third of their entire path.
"Did anybody just feel like we've gone two thirds of the way through the alley?" asks Wilma, audibly spooked. The alleyway's sides have grown taller, its windows rarer and barred, and its sounds entirely, eerily quiet.
In the plains of far, far away...
Darren looks around to see if there's any indication of him being smote, smitten, smited or smit, and is forced to conclude that there are no obvious ones. Maybe the god of death is merely disappointed rather than outraged? Maybe Darren's not about to be killed gruesomely after all? Seems too good to be true, really. Darren closes his eyes and presents his craven soul to the skies. Smiting fails to follow. Hm.
He checks the position of the sun right quick, and notes that it's completely absent from the sky right now, what with it being nighttime. Wait! Maybe Velusius can't see him in this dark, and that's why he's not dead yet? Could be the case, you never know. Can't see the moon either. Maybe it's right before dawn?
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on March 20, 2015, 12:43:48 pm
Kevin waits for the horsehumanoid to come closer.
"Hey, there's nothing this way! The bridge has collapsed!"
Post by: Xantalos on March 20, 2015, 12:44:23 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on March 20, 2015, 02:46:45 pm
Upon his Arrival he will proclaim.
''Doo-Dabee-Da, Da Da, DA-DA-DA!* I have defeated a monstrous magical field that was attracting and trapping ethereal creatures with an unthinkable amount of force! Now... Where my money and axed peas?!''
*
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on March 20, 2015, 08:32:20 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 20, 2015, 08:38:36 pm
Post by: miauw62 on March 21, 2015, 05:37:30 am
Post by: Tomcost on March 21, 2015, 10:38:00 am
Post by: kahn1234 on March 22, 2015, 04:37:21 pm
Post by: Tomcost on March 22, 2015, 05:00:57 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on March 23, 2015, 01:13:03 am
Query, attempt if agreed upon, if not, continue along with the others. If they find another window, try to peer through it, or pull a plank from it to peer into it if possible.
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2015, 02:22:08 pm
Kevin, perhaps overly enthusiastic about meeting somebody on this frankly sinister road, waves at the approaching figure.
"Hey, there's nothing this way! The bridge has collapsed!" he shouts from afar. The rider looks his way, but keeps on coming closer, so Kevin freely assumes that he hasn't been heard correctly, and waves again, shouting roughly the same thing. This time, though, the figure does not even raise its head. Within a few minutes, the rider comes within about ten or so meters, and finally looks at Kevin again. It's a wizened, shrunken old woman, and, looking at her face, it suddenly occurs to him that not all of the lines are wrinkles. A significant proportion of them are scars, in fact, and one or two defy any sort of explanation whatsoever. She tilts her head as she examines Kevin.
"Hey, there's nothing this way. The bridge has collapsed," he says weakly. His skeleton creaks at the jaundiced, dark-eyed gaze of the woman. The horse's gaze, though much clearer, is also accompanied by bared teeth that are a very familiar shade of yellow.
"That's where you're wrong, friend!" the rider says, her voice shrill, the last word coming out critically wrong, as if only half-memorized phonetically. "You're here! So why don't we talk business?"
The woman laboriously dismounts from the horse, showing her apparent age very definitively. She digs around in her saddlebag and produces an ancient-looking leather scroll. Her pudgy, spotted hand holds it out for him to see and perhaps grab at.
"Do you want to see the extremes of the universe? Heights and depravities both? Do you want to know? Do you want the Mantra? I know you do! Take a look!"
She pokes the scroll impatiently in Kevin's direction.
Up in the sky, where no birds dare fly...
Like a pyrokinetic airborne manta ray Scott descends upon Eckledun, prepared for a hero's welcome, though he finds himself becoming increasingly unsure of getting any such thing as Eckledun, upon closer and closer inspections, appears to look quite different than he remembers it. There's pink spikes poking out of it. There's no people. Something's burning. Distant screaming that cuts out suddenly.
Probably nothing, of course, but it does make one a little leery. The streets seem empty, too. And some of the buildings are twitching, twisting.
And finally, there's a badger looking soulfully at the city from a distance. Next to it is a sphere of stone, which looks like an odd combination. It pauses in its observation and starts to snuffle around a little, seemingly examining the area in front of it. It is greatly startled by Scott's sudden proclamation.
In an overly long alley...
A strange feeling is suspicious. A simultaneous strange feeling for three different people is adequate grounds to suspect enemy action.
Mark takes the lead, and explores a little further while the others stay put, traveling about 100 meters down the path, at which point it occurs to him that he's about halfway to the end of the alley.
Morton, however, tries a different tack.
"Hmm... Yes, same here good mage Wilma. Most strange. I could try floating above to see how much longer we have, if wished," he offers, and Wilma shrugs in response.
"I don't see why not, surely?" she says, and moves to examine a nearby wall. Taking this as approval, Morton ascends slowly, past a single barred window, then another, and then past another that, he notices, seems to not be a window at all - merely a painted-on ornament that nevertheless looks exactly like the ones below from a certain perspective. And above that is the roof.
Above the roof, though, there is nothing. Absolutely nothing at all, just a narrow band of blue skies above. The buildings are not buildings - they seem to be fences, props, false. The alleyway stretches off in the distance both ways, its walls coming to a point visually, insufficiently far apart for Morton's sight to resolve. But that's nothing compared to what lies below, beyond the fence. It only occurs to Morton in the last moment to actually look down. He'd assume there was nothing there, after all, same as in the distance.
However, he is wrong. Terribly wrong. A single look, not enough to tell what he saw in detail, reveals this readily. What it also reveals, it should be noted, is that perhaps Morton would be a better person for never looking that way again.
One other thing, though. Whatever it is down there, it seems to be rising. Coming up. Reaching.
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Sigmund is not about to walk into a trap. Consequently, he looks around to see where the pebble might have fallen - it flew far, this much he knows. If it landed before the first building, it probably disappeared in the long grass. And if it flew deeper in, it'd probably be very hard to discern where it might have landed. Especially from this distance. Maybe it even landed in a gutter or some pool of stagnant water. In any case, the only safe way of telling where it might be would be to go over and find out with his own body. This, naturally, is not the most appealing proposition. He sniffs the air. Can't smell the pebble, either. Damned useless animal senses. This will require some careful-
"Doo-Dabee-Da, Da Da, DA-DA-DA! I have defeated a monstrous magical field that was attracting and trapping ethereal creatures with an unthinkable amount of force! Now... Where my money and axed peas?!" comes a shouted proclamation from behind Sigmund, tempting him to play dead in a most unbadgerlike way. He turns his head to see...
Well, Scott, obviously, since that's who it sounds like, but he looks different. Very sheetlike, which seems appropriate enough for a ghost. A little like a flag, maybe, now that he's triumphantly waving in the air.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on March 25, 2015, 02:42:21 pm
"What Mantra? What do you MEAN? Is this one of those "sell-your-soul-for-unlimited-power" deals?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2015, 02:55:48 pm
Kevin considered his options. On one hand, he'd preferably just ride a boat and do errands all day. Get out, meet people. Sure, it's a little strange, but it beats hunting down mages in the name of some dubious authority. On the OTHER hand, he doesn't really have a choice but to hunt down mages in the name of some dubious authority.
"What Mantra? What do you MEAN? Is this one of those "sell-your-soul-for-unlimited-power" deals?"
"Ah!"
She starts to clear her throat, but settles for coughing up a lung.
"The Mantra! In an ancient dialect, written by hands unknown, cryptic beyond measure! Copies abound, but this is the original! Pure, untainted, unconstrained! Take a look, it is no potential hazard in its current form! But to develop it further, I do need something of yours - the axe? The dress? Your choice! Both, if you are feeling generous!"
Post by: miauw62 on March 25, 2015, 03:19:09 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on March 25, 2015, 03:26:49 pm
"Yeah, but what does it DO? Do you know?"
"The Mantra does anything! It depends on what you ask, and what you read, and what you speak! Do you see?"
Post by: miauw62 on March 26, 2015, 09:28:07 am
Take a closer look at the scroll.
Post by: Innsmothe on March 26, 2015, 11:23:33 am
Or at least someone resembling a party member to buddy along with. Preferably Morton, since he could prolly do with a tablecloth.
Post by: ATHATH on March 26, 2015, 09:19:50 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on March 27, 2015, 05:19:47 am
Random idea: Sigmund and Scott return to the Gub. They get put into one body together. They return to the pink. They then use Sigmund's meta-sight and Scott's pyrokinetics to set the knots of the pink on fire.Excuse me you seem to be trying to set the building blocks of souls on fire, want some help?
Post by: Xanmyral on March 28, 2015, 07:27:00 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
"Ohdearohdearohdearohdearohdearohdear--Good mage Wilma, assistance is required!" The desk got back to the others as quick as he could, frantic the whole way. "This is not as it appears, not as it presents itself, a play, an act I do believe! The ends go on and on and the buildings are fake, the windows are merely painted the further above I went. There is nothing around us except for below, which has something rising to meet us!" The desk hurriedly--and most likely poorly--attempted to explain the situation to the mage about their beleaguered predicament.
Well, so much for his calm and collected attitude from before. "We must hurry and leave soon before what's down there rises to meet us, there must be some path out of here. Continuing might get us out, but from above I saw no end to either side. Hm... The windows, perhaps? Oh, but the buildings aren't real..."
Inform Wilma of the issue, gesture for Mark to return to the group. Ponder situation with others and investigate the immediate area for clues, see if any of the boarded windows can be peered through.
Post by: killerhellhound on March 28, 2015, 08:07:41 pm
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 03, 2015, 01:35:50 am
BRILLIANT. This I like. Self sacrifice, commitment to the betterment of man, those are things for men, or ghosts, greater than I. Hiding? That's my thing. Though... I suppose that if I hide here, he can send "adventurers" like me. So I'll run. Even better. But first...
Go ahead and go back in to the underground to bid the fair femmes a fond farewell.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 03, 2015, 04:11:49 am
Kevin accepts the kind offer of getting to take a look at this Mantra thing, taking the scroll and unfurling it in a businesslike fashion, making his smartest face as he examines the writing on it. It doesn't seem to be in any language he's familiar in, or even that any human being would be familiar with. In addition, it also appears to display the perfectly commonplace magical effect of shifting about as Kevin looks at it, seemingly trying to escape his gaze.
"Man, they made magical artifacts out of EVERYTHING back in the day, eh?" he says.
"They did! Apparently! But yes, the Mantra will grant you powers, and raise you high above the rest, if you would only let me attune it to you with one or two of your personal effects! It works - I myself have used it, and I now know things no girl was ever meant to know!" the woman tells him quickly, poking the Mantra with her finger indicatively.
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Scott freely scorns the excitable badger in front of him and goes off to seek more enlightened company within Eckledun, floating up high above the town to watch for wizards, desks or anything else that is likely to lead him to yet another strange conversation about what's been happening here.
From this height, Scott is vaguely aware of a suspiciously large amount of splattered remains littering Eckledun, especially the roofs of the sturdy buildings. Smashed, crushed, twisted and otherwise destroyed human beings appear to be quite the common sight, and among them sometimes walk things that... appear somewhat human, and that is as far as he's about to go with his assessment. Mages, cunning sorts that they are, seem to be nowhere in sight, aside from one fellow who appears to have been inadvertently impaled on a giant pink spike. Scott floats up to him and relates his subterranean heroics, and so amazed is the mage that his mouth slowly opens up.
"<##$!!$%%!!>" an alien voice issues from its mouth in a tone of slightly varying, hissing noise. Doesn't seem like a right helpful person, really. Maybe it's the impalement that's the problem?
In an endless alley...
Most alarmed, Morton descends over to good mage Wilma, hoping to figure out some way out of this utterly inescapable deathtrap.
"Ohdearohdearohdearohdearohdearohdear--Good mage Wilma, assistance is required!"
"Oh dear," Wilma echoes worriedly. "Impending doom, is it?"
"This is not as it appears, not as it presents itself, a play, an act I do believe! The ends go on and on and the buildings are fake, the windows are merely painted the further above I went. There is nothing around us except for below, which has something rising to meet us!" Morton frantically explains, gesturing at Mark to get over here post-haste!
"Something?" Wilma parrots, capturing the ominous tone almost perfectly to the point of shivering at the mention again.
"We must hurry and leave soon before what's down there rises to meet us, there must be some path out of here. Continuing might get us out, but from above I saw no end to either side. Hm... The windows, perhaps? Oh, but the buildings aren't real..." Morton thinks aloud, floating up to a window to see if there's anything that can be seen through the boards. The answer, as it turns out, is yes - Morton can't quite say what, but he does believe he sees something on the other side, just beyond the boards. Though this something, ineffable as it is, appears to be slowly moving away.
Mark, meanwhile, has sprinted on back, an inquiring look on his face. Wilma, who seems to be scratching and knocking at the walls to check for... who knows what, looks at him and starts to explain.
"The alley is fake and infinite! And we're about to be flooded with something!" she says with urgency, then resumes her checking of the wall. Mark notices, oddly enough, that her scratching appears to be dislodging significant chips of what he would have previously thought to be solid brick. "This wall seems... crumbly?" she notes, looking at her two companions, then pokes the wall with two fingers, only for her hand to go right through. "Uh... well?" she starts to say, and suddenly yelps as she is pulled toward the wall, sucked into it up to her armpit, and quickly sinking deeper. "Help!" she screams.
In the plains of the surface...
Relieved at the lack of smiting that has happened, Darren decides to bid the fair femmes of the underground a fond farewell, heading back into town and going down the hatch and the tunnel to find himself in the home of Karina, who greets him fondly.
"Hey, you're back. Have you found what you were looking for?" she asks with a gentle smile, then becomes a little serious. "You... seem different, somehow. You are who you were, right? Please be who you were, okay?"
She appears to become uneasy looking at you.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 03, 2015, 08:09:48 am
((I'm really out of ideas))
Post by: Tomcost on April 03, 2015, 08:28:35 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 03, 2015, 12:14:36 pm
''I hope you enkoy Shashlik, my friend. Pray we do not meet again.''
He will then move and float over the city again to find his tea-table.
Something seems off about the city. Has the Gub grown impatient and launched an assault?
Post by: Xanmyral on April 03, 2015, 02:46:28 pm
Save Wilma by trieing to pull her out and if that doesnt work try walking through the wall
((I'm really out of ideas))
[Best one I got is to walk backwards, because we hit 2/3rds of the way walking this way, you went further on and hit 1/2nd of the way, which means forward isn't helpful. Another idea I got is to summon a portal we can escape through though, if all else fails. Although... A third might be escaping through a window. The something is moving away from the window, so we might be able to find more information on the other side.]
The desk pondered on the new sight, more of the something but this time moving away from the windows? Most curious. Hearing a cry for help from below, the desk took a look to see Wilma looking like she was stuck or being eaten by the wall.
"Good mage Wilma!" The desk aided good surgeon Mark in the mage extraction process with his many arms.
Post by: miauw62 on April 04, 2015, 04:14:21 am
Search pockets for personal objects.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2015, 04:16:12 am
"Well, I'd give you the axe, but I'd rather not give my only weapon to a stranger offering a strange and magical artifact, eh?"
Search pockets for personal objects.
The dress you've got doesn't seem to have any pockets. Damn.
"But the Mantra can be a weapon! It can be anything, you see!"
Post by: miauw62 on April 04, 2015, 04:34:51 am
Take off my dress at a small distance behind a bush, then give it to the woman.
"I'm Kevin, by the way. What's your name?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 04, 2015, 05:45:10 am
"Well, I assume you can have my dress..."
Take off my dress at a small distance behind a bush, then give it to the woman.
"I'm Kevin, by the way. What's your name?"
Since the dress was wet from your crossing of the river, and making you feel cold and miserable as it is, you suppose it's no big loss. You take it off at a private spot and hand it over to the woman, who grabs it greedily and starts to examine it carefully.
"My name? It's... Patty."
She pauses a moment, and smiles a little.
"Feels strange to say it! Hah! Well! Will that be all? I warn you, the potency of the Mantra depends on the number of items given - give the axe as well, and you may double it!"
Post by: miauw62 on April 04, 2015, 06:29:47 am
Give the axe.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 08, 2015, 01:15:43 am
Enquire after why she is distressed.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 09, 2015, 11:23:10 am
Morton and Mark snap into action, grabbing at Wilma and trying their best to prevent her consumption by this malevolent wall thing. They pull, Mark huffs, Morton puffs (mostly for solidarity's sake), and they start to make a little progress, the arm of the mage inching out of the wall quite slowly.
However, upon reaching a certain point, the arm refuses to budge any further. Wilma, quite optimistic at first, makes a very nervous sounding "uh", and the other two pause for a moment to assess their progress. Wilma's partially out of the wall, and doesn't appear to be getting pulled in any further, but still stuck inside up to her bicep.
"This... feels very uncomfortable," she says. "I can't feel my fingers anymore. Or my hand."
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Sigmund, forgetting for a moment that his anti-magic pebble is anti-magic, and also that he doesn't know where it is, tries to move it further into town nevertheless, just sort of blindly poking with his sphere.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 3]
He manages to unsettle a wall a little, though not particularly so. He supposes the pebble's not in the vicinity of it, which is probably a little bit of progress made on solving his problem.
Slightly above most of Eckledun...
Scott gives up immediately on extracting anything at all useful from this fellow.
"I hope you enjoy Shashlik, my friend. Pray we do not meet again," he says, flicking his immense flatness at the twitching body.
[Firestarting roll: 4]
The mage catches on fire, intensifying the hiss coming out of him. His arms start to flail wildly, and his head bends at angles most unnatural. Mildly entertained by the spirited reaction, Scott moves on, looking for something more to his liking, such as his nicest old friend. Descending a little lower, he starts to scan the streets once more. Doesn't look like Morton's anywhere to be seen, however, though there's a weird pink swimming pool that catches Scott's visual centers. Floating ever lower, he takes in its shape - rectangular, about the shape of a courtyard, with wooden-looking lily pads floating on its homogenously pink surface. They look kind of like sunken tables. Maybe they're alive. Or used to be alive, not that Scott'd be able to tell. They'd know where Morton is for sure if they were.
On a road to somewhere, one would hope...
Kevin, enticed by promises of power, surrenders the axe as well, leaving himself naked and weaponless in the damn woods, which doesn't exactly seem like a safe proposition. Patty seems incredibly satisfied, however, wrapping the scroll and the axe in the dress, and holding it in both of her arms promisingly. The impromptu satchel starts to glow as her eyes run over it, her face the very picture of intensity.
"This will work perfectly..." she says, her voice trailing off. Sucking air as her strength momentarily leaves her, she falls on her knees, plopping down on the soft, muddy road. The glow intensifies over the next few seconds, the dress glowing very brightly and giving off a little bit of white smoke. Patty opens her mouth and inhales, and an ecstatic thrill fills her. Her mouth opens, and a single, perfect, musical sound issues forth, the dress and the axe bursting into a blinding flame, burning up in a few seconds, leaving no ash whatsoever. The scroll they were wrapped with, however, remains. Patty hobbles to her feet and pushes it into Kevin's hands, and he nearly drops it due to its incredible temperature, though that subsides momentarily.
"The Mantra is yours now! Read it," she says, and Kevin sneaks a peek at the contents of the thing, which now look quite understandable, if still somehow completely undefined. "Chant its words and focus your desires, and everything can potentially be yours!"
In the home of Karina...
Darren does not fully understand the question. Must be one of those paranoid trick questions.
"Of course I am who I was, and I am who I am. Wait. What do you mean?"
Karina tilts her head and leans forward, looking distressed.
"I... you seem different, I don't know! And I... I'm not sure. I feel strange. I..."
Karina goes quiet, and Darren becomes aware of a certain line on her forehead, noteworthy because it appears to be vertical rather than horizontal. Was that there a moment ago?
"It... feels so odd."
Karine pokes at the line, and her ectoplasmic flesh stirs a little in the area. The crease looks wider the next moment, longer, then it starts to protrude, forming an odd ridge as her fingers run over it and her eyes widen in shock. Darren is transfixed as he stares at the formation of undoubtedly something, and is only snapped out of it when the ridge runs down Karina's entire face, and chooses that exact moment to bulge outward with a sickening crack, eliciting a pained shriek from the woman that cuts off as her jaw, and the rest of her face as well, starts to peel aside, the edges rolling up as they retreat to reveal a chittering blackness beneath. What looks like a malformed ant skips over the edge every now and then, dropping off Karina's body and floating off into the distance, almost but not entirely indistinguishable from a mote of dust.
Karina, it should be noted, still seems quite conscious - her hands frantically try to close up her opening face. Darren gets the feeling that she'd be making quite a lot of noise right now if she could - the opening now seems to be going down to her throat, and it almost looks as though the woman is entirely hollow inside - if the ant-filled cavity goes down, and Darren suspects it might, he couldn't rightly say he knows how much further.
Post by: miauw62 on April 09, 2015, 01:02:24 pm
"Well, alright..."
Kevin hesitated. What did he really want? He'd just been milling about, following orders... Well, the portal body was nice. But this was new. Start with the basics.
Chant the words... Think about some decent, pocketed clothing?
Post by: Innsmothe on April 09, 2015, 02:39:40 pm
This is an obvious magical catastrophe and inanimate objects may have been given sentience.
Scott will flatly describe the party members he was with previously and ask for directions if any positive reply is forthcoming. Negative replies will be answered with flaming death, since this is a magical catastrophe and inanimate objects may have been cursed with foul sentience.
Post by: Yoink on April 09, 2015, 09:43:50 pm
Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...Timothy, after an uncomfortably long pause, comes to the sudden realization that he needs to up his game.
Timothy, after righting himself to make the room and the lady less crooked, continues to speak with the woman. He still has exactly zero clue what she's saying, but it's not like that's stopped him from charming conversation before. She probably can understand what he's saying even less!
[Timothy's charisma roll: 3]
Although there is something to be said about a conversation consisting entirely of flirtatious non-sequiturs, Timothy's fairly sure he can't characterize such a conversation as 'moving along', exactly, given how he still doesn't know who this woman is or even what language she actually speaks.
In times like these, he supposes, it's generally the best course of action to stick to the classics.
Say, in my most suave voice: "What's a nice ghoul like you doin' in a place like dis?"
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 09, 2015, 11:18:53 pm
Seal the fair lady shut with telekinesis!
((That's a solid idea.))"Oh yes, that's certainly different."Maybe you can use telekinesis to seal the hole?
run run run run run
May someone please post a link to Kingspawn?
Post by: ATHATH on April 10, 2015, 02:38:12 pm
"Oh yes, that's certainly different."Maybe you can use telekinesis to seal the hole?
run run run run run
May someone please post a link to Kingspawn?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 10, 2015, 10:18:37 pm
Post by: Tomcost on April 11, 2015, 11:16:26 am
Metaphysically find an isolated pink-affeted thing, or just one near the edge of the pink madness, then try to prevent further unraveling of its knots. Observe results.
Post by: Xanmyral on April 12, 2015, 02:41:24 pm
"I don't believe that is a good sign, good mage Wilma. Perhaps its stuck? I think I know what might help, one second..." With that, the desk dug in his drawers and pulled out the tea he had saved for the ghosts on his team. The tea apostle really wanted to save it for them but... Tea can help out here, can it not? He shall be forgiven for its use to help another, surely.
Morton used some of the tea he had stored away for the ghosts to try and lubricate the arm free. Failing that, he'll simply give whatever was left in the flask to Wilma to try and calm her down.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 16, 2015, 11:29:26 am
Kevin, assuming all this business to be on the level for now, takes the Mantra off Patty's hands and chants the words, thinking of decent clothing with an appropriate number of pockets so that he doesn't freeze to what might be a second or perhaps third death out here in the damn woods.
The words, though not entirely distinct or constant on sight, resolve themselves perfectly in his mind, and the phrases flow from his lips entirely naturally, the alien tongue clear as day, though only three syllables of it appear to fit into Kevin's mind at any given time - the one he is pronouncing, and the ones before and after it, respectively. The rest seem to vanish from his mind almost instantly.
For a moment, Kevin feels light, then heavier - looking down for a second, he notices that he is now clothed, and rather well-clothed at that - quality finery that nevertheless seems appropriate for the road, with pockets both obvious and not lining it. As he chants further, he feels an overcoat appear around his shoulders, and fine boots upon his feet, and a warm fur hat to keep him safe from the elements materializes on his head - feeling quite snug, he stops the chant. He feels much, much better already!
"And it works!" says Patty. "Very good indeed!"
Her horse, for its part, appears to have adopted a sneering expression.
In a pinkish backyard...
Faced with out-of-place furniture-like objects, Scott gives negotiation a go. No reason why it wouldn't work, is there? Providing the table-like things with a flat, yet sufficiently specific description of Tailor Craig and his own former butler, he flits about in the air, awaiting a reply - fortunately, he needs not wait long at all.
"Gzk!" says the surface beneath him. "VESSEL DESCRIPTION MATCH. Inquire beneath LAYER OF PINK."
It says this and nothing more, bobbing on the motionless pool of pink indicatively.
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry, crown jewel of Blynn's nightlife...
Timothy suddenly realizes he doesn't appear to have been speaking in anything that could have been loosely described as language up until now. No wonder the lady seems so amused.
"What's a nice ghoul like you doin' in a place like dis?" he attempts to say. He lacks the equipment to process exactly how well he's done, unfortunately.
"Nuffin' much," Timothy thinks is what the lady replies with. "Lookin' fer fun," she adds a moment later, pursing her lips. "Takin' a real long break!"
Inside the home of Karina...
Darren, not sure if this is normal, but guessing it isn't, tries to fill the awkward silence that's now formed between him and Karina.
"Ah! Err... That's also quite different."
The rift in Karina's flesh continues to lengthen and deepen, traveling down toward her sternum. Her hands start to twitch, and tiny swellings develop around the sides of the rift. Bugger, he'll have to do something about this.
[Telekinesis roll: 5]
Concentrating briefly, he quickly forces the rift entirely shut, pressing the edges of it together hard enough to meld them together like bits of ethereal clay. Smoothening the edge in a final stroke, he inspects his handiwork. Karina looks as good as new, if a little shaky and vacant-eyed, and maybe slightly unresponsive. A small spidery thing crawls out of one of her tear ducts, skittering down her face like a confused black tear. She looks to be inflating slowly.
Hm. Maybe he should let her rest a while. Go somewhere else for a while, and then never come back while assuming she will be perfectly all right from here on in.
In an alleyway of utmost danger...
Mark, leaving Wilma be for a few moments, searches about for anything that may prove of use in this less than logical conundrum. The alleyway, however, continues to be an infinite, pointless, empty dick to him on a personal basis, and seems to mock his efforts at locating anything of potential use. Can anything even be of potential use in this situation? What is this situation? Where is he, if anywhere? The mind boggles.
Morton continues in his efforts to help Wilma, and does a bang-up job at that.
"I don't believe that is a good sign, good mage Wilma," he says.
"I also believe that I am going to die in the next few or so minutes, good sir whatever your name was," Wilma says, tugging at her arm once again. It fails to budge. "You see, I don't want to die. I didn't become a necromancer so I could die."
She sounds a little bitter about this now.
"Perhaps it's stuck? I think I know what might help, one second..." Morton continues, and pours some perfectly warm tea he has on Wilma's arm, hoping against hope that tea has somehow become a good lubricant in the wonky physics of this alleyway. It hasn't, unfortunately, but the section of the wall it hits does appear to dissolve readily, letting the mage pull her arm out quickly. She kisses her now-free hand, evidently quite glad to have it back.
"Well! That's much better. Thank you," she says. "Now we only need to survive whatever horror is about to be visited upon us."
She looks at Morton for a moment before a tinge of worry crosses her features, something on the edge of her vision. Slowly turning her head, she looks upon the hole in the wall roughly simultaneously with Morton, who also seems to have seen the same thing.
The hole, as it were, is a complete black, nothing at all visible inside of it except a small shadow of a glint, an infinitesimal point of voracious something. Wilma tilts her head as she looks upon it, and Morton rotates back and forth, but the sight remains just as perplexing as moments ago.
"Oh dear. That looks very dangerous," the mage states the obvious.
Outside the ruins of Eckledun...
Sigmund suspects that it'd probably be healthy if he went ahead and did something about these wanton breakdowns of physics in his vicinity. But alas, the source seems unknown or at the very least extraordinarily unpleasant, so he'll have to deal with the symptom first, and address the underlying cause later. He examines a quaint little brick in a wall on one of the outlying houses, finding it very nice and bricklike, though a little bit inclined toward being a multidimensional razor blade as well in both appearance and function. Perhaps it would be good to change this misconception of the silly thing.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 2]
Sadly, its ambitions are not easily forsaken, and the brick continues to menace its surroundings with its extratemporal sharpness and Sigmund's mind with its simultaneous sentience, non-sentience and semi-sentience.
Post by: Tomcost on April 16, 2015, 04:11:04 pm
Investigate further! Is the brick capable of taking decisions? Can it expand the pink on its own?
Post by: killerhellhound on April 17, 2015, 12:39:06 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 17, 2015, 11:02:16 pm
Reading the note as a nice distraction, the tea apostle ho-hummed. "Make more tea? Good surgeon Mark, wherever shall I find the water and heat? I'm afraid I only have what I've currently saved for the ghosts amongst our companions. The tea was enchanted though, it might be that perhaps this place is susceptible to magic?"
Morton ventured and guessed, asking good mage Wilma if perhaps she knew any sort of applicable magic or magical application for this type of situation.
Post by: miauw62 on April 18, 2015, 04:02:21 am
Post by: Innsmothe on April 19, 2015, 02:17:32 pm
Scott would say whilst circling above.
Post by: Yoink on April 19, 2015, 07:34:59 pm
"Ooh, a break! Breaks is lovely. Whatcha takin' a break from?"
Continue getting to know this lifeless lovely.
Post by: ATHATH on April 21, 2015, 08:47:55 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 21, 2015, 04:49:41 pm
Sigmund continues his indirect interview with the brick, seeking to discover the limits of its sentience, however simultaneously existent and nonexistent it may be at any given moment.
Truth is, it takes him a moment to wrap his mind around the idea that something can be sentient and non-sentient at the same time, and he's not sure his mind is better off for realizing how this is possible, since he does need to deconstruct causality and some basic precepts of existence to do so - fortunately, the metaphysical vision helps a lot. The truth about the brick, he soon realizes, is that it does not obey any laws that Sigmund cares to set for it - indeed, to try and analyze the ways of the pink is futile, as they do not make any form of sense. The brick could theoretically swallow Sigmund whole from twenty miles away and experience no increase in mass, and tear his soul in half with a thought that it should not have, or perhaps that it ought to have thought of some time ago. It knows where he will go and what he will do, on some level. It can extrapolate flawlessly, but chooses not to, or it cannot and it desperately wishes to. It is through this sort of discontinuity and disharmony that the pink spreads and prospers - one thing existing in many contradictory states ripples outward, causing fraying in the very bones of the universe. It appears to have a roughly set radius, given that it appears to lose some potency over distance, which is very good indeed, as otherwise there'd probably be no way of stopping it from just eating the world.
Maybe it could eat the world, and simply doesn't want to at the moment. It doesn't have to make sense on any level, the point is. And trying to find out more about it is pointless, as the rules it follows seem to be made up of random noise that remains after the knots of the universe have unraveled, and are thus anything but consistent. Or maybe they are consistent, in that the noise balances out in the end - Sigmund hasn't seen enough pink phenomena to know for sure just yet.
In an increasingly perilous alley...
Mark has a brilliant idea, and immediately sends Morton a small letter detailing an urgent need for tea to fight this new pink menace. Morton is less than cooperative, which is most unexpected for the man.
"Make more tea? Good surgeon Mark, wherever shall I find the water and heat? I'm afraid I only have what I've currently saved for the ghosts amongst our companions. The tea was enchanted though, it might be that perhaps this place is susceptible to magic?" he starts to reply, looking at Wilma in an unquestionably wondering manner.
"Might be. Or maybe it's just screwing with us," she replies with no small measure of paranoia. "But then again, this is the Pink. It might not be so much susceptible to magic, as it is actually all magic of a sort. I think that's how it goes, anyway. If a mage ever sees pink, that's a good sign they need to run in the other direction, you know. It's bad, really bad magic. The kind where anything can happen."
The alleyway's walls start to bend inward a little, creaking ominously. Even the bits that have dissolved appear to be bending inward in keeping with the rest of the thing.
"Yeah, like that," she points out. "I have no idea why that's happening."
In the deepest woods...
Kevin, feeling altogether more comfortable now that he's clothed, settles into more familiar routines immediately.
"Well, uh. Thanks, I guess. Do you know the area, by the way? I need someplace to go that isn't a possessed city."
"That way," Patty tells him, pointing in the direction Kevin came from, "that way lies danger. The way I came from, that way lies danger also. But the most danger, hm..."
She points her arms off both sides of the road.
"Yes, the most danger you would find in those directions!"
Above a pool of deepest pink...
Scott wasn't born yesterday - he knows that such a reply practically begs for followup questions.
"Before submerging myself into this liquid, ominously bodiless voice... what the hell is it and how will my ethereal form react with it?"
"Pink. PINK," replies the voice in two distinct, alien inflections.
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...
Timothy, breaking all the ice he knows how, makes further talk with the lovely ghost.
"Ooh, a break! Breaks is lovely. Whatcha takin' a break from?"
"Liftin'," she says and giggles. She has the look of a weirdly swirling peasant girl about her, just on the cusp of blurry womanhood. "I'm the best lifter! They have me lift all the big stuff. Built the food-place all on my lonesome one night, y'know!"
She sounds quite proud of the work.
"They said they was promoting me! Now I'm learnin' funny magic words to say a lot so my thinkbucket gets funny too, and then I can do magic stuff! Thee-retically, they say. I started a week ago. Now I study half a day, lift half a day, stay in here half a day, and it's real fun!" she giggles. "Yah, real fun. Whatchoo doin', uh... what's yer name?"
Post by: Tomcost on April 21, 2015, 06:20:52 pm
He slowly turned his badger body away from the sight of chaos that was Eckledun. It was foolish to try to understand what can not be understood. He walked away, there may be another town nearby, one with people.
Turn away, search for another town. If I happen to find a human skeleton/dead guy on the way there, stop. Sigmund at least needs hands.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 22, 2015, 03:17:25 am
Post by: killerhellhound on April 22, 2015, 04:38:37 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 22, 2015, 08:50:35 am
Will myself some sort of small sword to use as a lightweight weapon, and continue on my way.
Post by: ATHATH on April 22, 2015, 02:11:06 pm
Turn away, search for another town. If I happen to find a human skeleton/dead guy on the way there, stop. Sigmund at least needs hands.Wait, don't leave yet! The brick is (possibly) sentient, right? Your phylactery can possess sentient things, right? Suddenly, the option of being a scientist vampire lich pink/stone mage becomes possible! If you don't want to risk your sanity, you could make it a focus instead, or at least take the brick with you. You might never get the opportunity to get a possibly omnipotent brick again!
@miauw62: Obviously, you must go up (or down)!
@Harry: Wait a minute, what happened to the waitlisters who are still milling around in Bernie's graveyard?
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2015, 02:22:09 pm
1) I'm not near the brickTurn away, search for another town. If I happen to find a human skeleton/dead guy on the way there, stop. Sigmund at least needs hands.Wait, don't leave yet! The brick is sentient right? Your phylactery can possess sentient things, right? Suddenly, the option of being a scientist vampire lich pink/stone mage becomes possible! If you don't want to risk it, at least take the brick with you. You might never get the opportunity to get a possibly omnipotent brick again!
2) It's neither sentient nor non-sentient. It is weird, incomprehensible pink stuff.
3) My phylactery is just a stone jar with my innards. It is floating because of a magic focus I made. I need my dead tree-focus to possess stuff.
4) Pink magic is likely to get you killed. Maybe also hilarious, but I won't risk it.
That makes me remember:
Make my phylactery always follow me unless stated
Post by: Innsmothe on April 22, 2015, 02:26:10 pm
...
In either case, I am not satisfied. However it is clear for your responses and mannerisms that you are not sentient enough to give an intelligent answer. So beast, If you want me, you will have to work for it.
BAR-B-Q PINK!
Post by: ATHATH on April 22, 2015, 02:39:54 pm
Oh. Can you get close enough to retrieve it without being affected by the pink? You might be able to turn it into a focus, which could be used to rescue your friends and might be able to provide safe passage through (and possible control of) the pink.1) I'm not near the brickTurn away, search for another town. If I happen to find a human skeleton/dead guy on the way there, stop. Sigmund at least needs hands.Wait, don't leave yet! The brick is sentient right? Your phylactery can possess sentient things, right? Suddenly, the option of being a scientist vampire lich pink/stone mage becomes possible! If you don't want to risk it, at least take the brick with you. You might never get the opportunity to get a possibly omnipotent brick again!
2) It's neither sentient nor non-sentient. It is weird, incomprehensible pink stuff.
3) My phylactery is just a stone jar with my innards. It is floating because of a magic focus I made. I need my dead tree-focus to possess stuff.
4) Pink magic is likely to get you killed. Maybe also hilarious, but I won't risk it.
That makes me remember:
Make my phylactery always follow me unless stated
BAR-B-Q PINK!You want to do an action that might cause an eldritch abomination that is literally unraveling the world (in an area) to dislike you? Baaaad idea. Then again, it might like being roasted.
Post by: Tomcost on April 22, 2015, 07:16:25 pm
Oh. Can you get close enough to retrieve it without being affected by the pink? You might be able to turn it into a focus, which could be used to rescue your friends and might be able to provide safe passage through (and possible control of) the pink.
Pink is dangerous and likely to get me killed. Also, making a pink focus goes against the definition of what a focus is: it is an element whose underlying rules have been altered to allow reality to be altered at will. You can't make a focus out of the lack of rules. In fact, pinkness is created every time the focus creation goes wrong.
Post by: ATHATH on April 22, 2015, 10:56:39 pm
You can't make a focus out of the lack of rules.Maybe no one's been crazy enough to try. I mean, you never know with the pink. It doesn't follow your puny mortal logic. Plus, even if you don't use it as a focus, there's nothing quite like a possibly omnipotent brick as a backup weapon in a pinch. What I'm trying to say is, the brick is interesting, and as a PC, your job is to investigate/take interesting things.
Speaking of bricks, I was actually going to make a character called Jimmy the Magic Brick (not in this game, of course) eventually before I saw this. Now the randomness factor has been kind of dampened.
Post by: Yoink on April 22, 2015, 11:45:20 pm
He murmurs the occasional encouraging phrase such as "Yer," or "Dat's real 'pressive!" as she tells her story, then puffs out his misshapen, cloudy chest as she asks his name.
"I is Tim! I be goin' off to, uh, map de uhh, anner-, anmer-, anno... da weird-pink-thing!"
He nods his head enthusiastically, hoping that will make up for his lack of actual knowledge on the subject.
"Gon' be a adventure! It's real 'portant. What's youse name?"
Introduce myself and explain my mission!
Then ask this wonderful waiflike wraith for her name.
Post by: Xantalos on April 22, 2015, 11:49:37 pm
((Well actually there was that guy who turned into Pink at one point.))Oh. Can you get close enough to retrieve it without being affected by the pink? You might be able to turn it into a focus, which could be used to rescue your friends and might be able to provide safe passage through (and possible control of) the pink.
Pink is dangerous and likely to get me killed. Also, making a pink focus goes against the definition of what a focus is: it is an element whose underlying rules have been altered to allow reality to be altered at will. You can't make a focus out of the lack of rules. In fact, pinkness is created every time the focus creation goes wrong.
Post by: ATHATH on April 23, 2015, 09:27:01 am
I think his name was Luke.((Well actually there was that guy who turned into Pink at one point.))Oh. Can you get close enough to retrieve it without being affected by the pink? You might be able to turn it into a focus, which could be used to rescue your friends and might be able to provide safe passage through (and possible control of) the pink.
Pink is dangerous and likely to get me killed. Also, making a pink focus goes against the definition of what a focus is: it is an element whose underlying rules have been altered to allow reality to be altered at will. You can't make a focus out of the lack of rules. In fact, pinkness is created every time the focus creation goes wrong.
Post by: miauw62 on April 23, 2015, 09:59:20 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2015, 11:39:51 am
Sigmund, faced with violent illogic of the highest caliber, decides not to bother with this awful town and its no doubt awful violations of everything he has assumed of the world he dwells in. No, what he'll do is find someplace nicer. That's not much to ask, is it? Someplace nicer than this? Turning around and continually moving his phylactery to follow along, he trots off into the sunset. A good choice in all likelihood - with his luck, he would have probably lost his direction at the first intersection and then gotten flayed by a mote of dust that had taken offense at his style of walk. Nope, not going to happen any time soon!
Fortunately, he is not flayed by a mote of dust that had taken offense at his walk just then, but that is not to say his little trot is uneventful - why, he comes across something interesting in a matter of twenty or so minutes - it's rather clearly a tower, and seems to have a distinctly bony look. From a distance, it looks like it might be made of skulls that have been bolted together - closer examination, however, suggests that they merely appear to have been melted into a semblance of a wall instead. The tower's not very tall, about the size of a two story house right now, albeit it seems to be growing at a slow yet steady pace. Atop it, Sigmund notices, is a floaty-haired man garbed in black, screaming his lungs out, his eyes completely shut and arms outstretched. He sounds like he is in horrible agony.
In the home of Karina...
Darren, after thinking about it a few moments more, floats off quickly, trying not to think of whether Karina actually twitched her hand feebly in his direction as he was turning his back. Fortunately, his concerns are put out of his mind almost immediately as the spirit of glorious fleeing overtakes him, and takes him over to the hatch in the scavenger girl's shop, blissfully back on non-spider-infested surface once more.
Now then, he's sort of at a loss on what would be the logical thing to do next. Probably stay inside during stormy weather so he doesn't get hit by god-lightning. Maybe go and find somebody to bother with magic tricks? Ask somebody where he is? See if he can get into low orbit, mayhap?
In an alleyway in Eckledun...
While Morton and Wilma continue to consider their impending doom Mark falters not. This whole business seems like a problem he could easily solve if he had ill-explained reality-altering powers that are meant to easily solve problems insurmountable to regular people. But for those he needs a focus, and also a wizard to bite him, and an incubation period of a couple of days.
Can he wait a couple of days? The creaking of the alleyway suggests not, even if he could convince Wilma to bite him in a particularly infection-prone part of the body.
In the woods somewhere...
Kevin, satisfied with his reality-warping artifact of glory, bids Patty a respectful farewell.
"Well, I guess some people that could be called friends are back there. I guess I should go and find them. Thanks for giving me this. And good luck, wherever you are going."
"Oh, no need for luck!" Patty laughs, and her horse chuckles deeply along with her. "I am older and I am wiser, just as I bid the Mantra to make me all those weeks ago... heh! I wish you the most splendid luck with it, friend!" she then adds, clambering atop the horse and riding off into the distance. What a strange old woman. But at least the Mantra appears to work. Hang on, better check right quick. Looking at the Mantra, Kevin thinks of his next need - a sword, obviously. All heroes require a sword. Not a large sword, of course. A small one, agile, good for a firm stabbing or two. Gazing upon the swimming words, Kevin chants the words once more, feeling them resolve more clearly in his mind than before, their meaning and their inexorable will forcing itself upon reality as the words pour from his mouth.
Sometime before he snaps out of his reverie, he feels a blade in his hand - a little like an overly large dagger, practically weightless, and seemingly quite extraordinarily sharp. And also rather transparent, too, which is a little unusual. In addition, he appears to have manifested another layer of clothes during the chanting, which is also a little strange.
Above a pool of exquisite pink...
The Pink, it seems, has not convinced mighty Scott.
"Sir...Ma'am? IT? Pink is not enough description to answer my question. Unless your name for yourself/ves is pink and by submerging myself I would become you, thus 'PINK!'"
The Pink, perhaps sensing the rhetorical nature of Scott's pause, declines to respond.
"In either case, I am not satisfied. However it is clear for your responses and mannerisms that you are not sentient enough to give an intelligent answer. So beast, If you want me, you will have to work for it."
[Firestarting roll: 5]
[Pink roll: 4]
The pond catches fire, the pink burning with an appropriately pink flame producing pink fumes. It does not make any additional movements. "Submerge!" it mentions quite out of the blue. "Result is unknown. Kzzat!"
Doesn't seem to be terribly impressed about being on fire. Drat. Though it does look nice now, with the flames as animate and strange as mad little crackling spirits, each possessing more than a trace of emotion in its movements.
In Harlan's House of Hilarity and Harlotry...
Timothy, afforded a chance to introduce himself, finally feels like he's getting somewhere.
"I is Tim! I be goin' off to, uh, map de uhh, anner-, anmer-, anno... da weird-pink-thing!" he states proudly and with great enthusiasm.
"The weird pink thing!" the ghostly woman echoes with joy. "They don't talk 'bout it in here. I was a-wonderin' about it the other day, but the serious magic man said that was all for later-like. He had this serious face he makes, and his bushy whiskers were quiverin', I tells you."
"Gon' be a adventure! It's real 'portant. What's youse name?"
"Julep!" the woman declares. "Is 'cause I'm sweet and maybe medicinal, see?" she giggles as her gaze wanders over Timothy for an idle moment. "Say! You's got three legs, you do. Or izzat just me again?"
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2015, 11:44:39 am
Post by: miauw62 on April 23, 2015, 11:55:37 am
"Uh-huh. Well."
Continue along the road the way I was going.
Post by: Harry Baldman on April 23, 2015, 12:01:08 pm
Metaphysical check! Is it magic? Is something else causing it to grow? Keep a safe distance from the thing. Carefulll observe the man in black to see if he is trying to do something, or just suffering.
The pillar's magic! Huh! Not a growing kind of magic, though. More of a calling kind of magic, or perhaps a note. It's got a peculiar signature and a statement of its coordinates in some unknown system attached on top of the system of coordinates that any separate object has at any given time but which doesn't appear to have been considered by whoever enchanted this thing.
The man in black, for his part, appears to be making the thing grow with a focus kept... somewhere inside him. Ugh. It seems to relate to matter creation in some way, but it's a little far to tell exactly. It is currently being used.
Without metaphysical vision, the man in black looks to still be in pain. Whether that's because of the magic or just a general sort of anguish remains to be seen. The man's throat is enviable, though. He's been screaming for at least ten straight minutes and shows no real sign of stopping.
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2015, 12:18:10 pm
Circle the tower from inside the forest until Simgund is at the oposite side the man is facing. Leaving his phylactery at a reasonable distance inside the forest (oen that would not break my soul link), Simgund will come near the tower to better examine the workings of the mage. If the mage seems aware of my existence in a manner that would show that Sigmund is something more than a simple honey badger, just go away, wihtout much of a fuss.
Post by: Innsmothe on April 23, 2015, 04:45:34 pm
1. Roleplaying.BAR-B-Q PINK!You want to do an action that might cause an eldritch abomination that is literally unraveling the world (in an area) to dislike you? Baaaad idea. Then again, it might like being roasted.
2. Take that, wuss. :P
Following is IC.
Scott theorises.
That is not the voice that previously came from the creature, was it an observer or a puppet master? Maybe even a costumed organisation? Have the wizards banded up into a huge false flag operation for some unknown profit potential? Hrmmm.
In any case, it is inadvisable for Scott to investigate at this situation. For it is dangerous, and the status of his fellows is still pending.
----
SEARCH!!
Post by: ATHATH on April 23, 2015, 06:54:41 pm
@Tomcost: You might want to take note of the coordinates that the mage is summoning the skulls from. I have a hunch it might be that planet that Samuskull made. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to go there, find the remains of Samuskull, and restore him to his former glory (or you could just use him as a focus)!
Post by: Tomcost on April 23, 2015, 06:59:07 pm
@Tomcost: You might want to take note of the coordinates that the mage is summoning the skulls from. I have a hunch it might be that planet that Samuskull made. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to go there, find the remains of Samuskull, and restore him to his former glory (or you could just use him as a focus)!
Unfortunately, that planet was made out of silver skulls, not bone. Anyway, I hope I will bea ble to find something about that.
Post by: ATHATH on April 23, 2015, 09:18:07 pm
Speaking of Samuskull/cane/el, can we revive him if his soul is still in the domain of the demon of greed? If not, we might need a character who worships Samuel or something so that he can exchange his servitude for Samuel's. He would probably need godly guidance to know where Sameul is, though.@Tomcost: You might want to take note of the coordinates that the mage is summoning the skulls from. I have a hunch it might be that planet that Samuskull made. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to go there, find the remains of Samuskull, and restore him to his former glory (or you could just use him as a focus)!
Unfortunately, that planet was made out of silver skulls, not bone. Anyway, I hope I will bea ble to find something about that.
Idea: A character that is controlled by non-players and waitlisters (but not the GM). It would be like a SG, giving people who are itching to play the ability to scratch that itch.
Post by: killerhellhound on April 24, 2015, 08:13:23 am
Post by: Xanmyral on April 25, 2015, 12:12:40 pm
EDIT: Aaaaand I forgot to put a bolded "this is what I did" thing at the end. Darnit.]
Morton had pondered what could be done in this most dire of situations, taking the needed moment to calm himself to what is appropriate for one of his position and station. Much better.
"Hm... Perhaps... Perhaps." The desk queried himself as he went about searching his drawers for the Big Book of Demonology. He might be able to attempt from memory, but such seemed unwise to the desk. "I might know a way we can leave, provided I happen to have it on me... Oh, where are you..." The desk continued to root around in his drawers as he expressed to the group his plan. "Perhaps not the wisest course of action, but I'm certain it would get us out of this dreadful situation. If I could make a portal to one of the more milder demons, we might be able to bargain for leave of this situation. ...Say, Wilma, can you perhaps sing?"
Relay possible plan to group!
Post by: Spinal_Taper on April 25, 2015, 09:43:13 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on May 07, 2015, 01:27:17 pm
Kevin continues on the long road leading... somewhere. Perhaps it is home, perhaps yet more danger. Perhaps the gub, which are in many ways both of those. Fortunately, it's a lonely road he's got ahead of him, so he's got plenty of time to consider how exactly the world is about to make him pay for that nice Mantra he seems to have got for practically free.
The woods get darker and the sun goes lower and lower until Kevin finds himself at borderline dusk conditions. Soon enough it's going to be pretty difficult to see more than three meters ahead of him, and honestly it feels like the hour of the werewolf is upon any bastard poor enough to find himself in the woods alone right now.
Luckily for him, though, he's not alone! Or so he thinks - there's a log cabin slightly off the path, seemingly newly-built, its windows dimly lit with a blue light clearly coming from the inside. Outside is a goat tied to a post, resting in the middle of a miniature circular wasteland of its own making. Upon Kevin's approach it gets up immediately, eagerly walking toward him until the rope prohibits it from going further - at this point it rises on its hind legs and keeps walking, the legs moving forward until the goat, its upper half still arrested by the rope, loses balance and falls backward, rolling on its side and pulling its legs up close. It cranes its head toward Kevin, looking at him like an excited dog.
Next to a tower of skulls...
Sigmund decides to take a cautious route, and circles the guy on the pillar until he's managed to get completely behind him. Putting down the sphere in a location hopefully far enough away to escape magical retribution, he advances on the pillar discreetly, all the while keeping his meta-eyes on the man and his odd magic.
Well! A closer look indicates that it's not a bone that the man's using to do magic. In fact, it seems to actually be some kind of bolt, though made of a material completely unknown to Sigmund. Something exotic, no doubt. It appears to be programmed to shoot out some kind of thing a hundred times every second or so, or several somethings, and that's in addition to its magic apparently granting the ability to create matter. Not just bone. Matter.
Anyway, the guy seems completely unaware of Sigmund's presence, which is a little unfortunate, because it appears to have resulted in Sigmund's poor head getting encased in the now more quickly expanding pillar while he was busy ogling the mage's interesting bolt. It gets him a pretty good look at the pillar, confirming that it does appear to have some backwards coordinate system attached to it. It's not even stated in any kind of coherent number, he quickly notices.
At a pond of purest pink...
Scott begins to deduce the truth behind this whole silliness.
"That is not the voice that previously came from the creature, was it an observer or a puppet master? Maybe even a costumed organisation? Have the wizards banded up into a huge false flag operation for some unknown profit potential? Hrmmm."
Of course, functionally it makes absolutely no difference, aside from wizard machinations being slightly more appealing on account of there actually being faces he could burn off in revenge for all this. And with that, he resumes the search, taking a quick look around.
Fortunately, he thinks he sees something in the alley nearby. It looks kind of like three shapes, a little indistinct, which is strange, given that they are about ten meters away from Scott. Moving closer to check if his eye-equivalents still work, he notices that of the three blobby shadows, two have a very vertical sort of character, while one is a little more horizontal and, he would dare to venture, quite desk-like. Maybe that's what he's looking for?
Inside an endless alley...
Mark urgently scribbles a note with an important question and passes it to Wilma, who reads it and frowns. She looks at him apologetically.
"No. In a word, no. Unless you want to make a large virgin blood sacrifice to the magic god, and I'm fairly sure I'm not a virgin. Although..." she looks Mark over slowly, "... I don't know that you're not a virgin, so I could sacrifice you, if you didn't really mind? I'm getting a little desperate here."
"Hm... Perhaps... Perhaps," Morton begins, fishing inside himself for his Big Book of Demonology, "I might know a way we can leave, provided I happen to have it on me... Oh, where are you..."
He continues to search for a moment in his untold reaches for the helpful tome, hoping that it's not been lost in the one or more body transformations and transitions that he's undergone in the past few days.
"Perhaps not the wisest course of action, but I'm certain it would get us out of this dreadful situation. If I could make a portal to one of the more milder demons, we might be able to bargain for leave of this situation... Say, Wilma, can you perhaps sing?"
"Not well, but I'll try anything?" she shrugs in response, just as Morton pulls out the book he's been looking for, electing not to ask questions on whether it was supposed to be in there at all. He resists the urge to say "aha!" Meanwhile, the walls of the alley continue to creek and start to sway unnervingly.
In a scavenger's shop...
Darren, carefully regarding the store, but finding no sign of any occupants, cautiously greets the place anyway.
"Hey, uhh, what's up?"
The furniture elects not to respond. Probably for the best.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on May 07, 2015, 01:35:56 pm
Post by: miauw62 on May 07, 2015, 01:49:05 pm
Knock on the door.
Post by: killerhellhound on May 07, 2015, 06:05:19 pm
(I fully expect we could excape through simply turning around and walking away but not willing to risk it with an eldrich abomination trying to eat us)
Post by: ATHATH on May 07, 2015, 07:38:34 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on May 09, 2015, 02:33:30 pm
Obviously some wizard crafting a ward to prevent any disturbance of his perverse xylophagious(?) habits!
Post by: Xanmyral on May 13, 2015, 03:10:44 pm
Meanwhile through his search though, the tea apostle multitasked and explained. "Good, good enough, good mage Wilma! You see, demons are often dreadfully bored beings, so entertainment is oft a pleasant way to persuade them to help one. Now then, crash course: do not grovel or they will take all they can, do not demand or they will spite you, don't be boring, be confident and treat them politely! We will be a guest in their realm and must act as one." Morton nodded. "Yes, yes, if all go wells we'll escape this dreadful situation most swiftly." He chirped optimistically.
[Oh shoot! I just realized I didn't do the [good/bad/_] [profession/mr/ms/mrs] Wilma last turn. Darn it, must of slipped my mind.]
Post by: killerhellhound on May 14, 2015, 04:56:17 am
The desk quickly began flipping through the book for the portal circles, hoping there's a few mild demons in there. Although... A speaking portal to the truth demon could work too. He keeps his options open.Well you are about to be eaten by a street a little slip is alright especially after a seeing the void trying to break through and eat you.
Meanwhile through his search though, the tea apostle multitasked and explained. "Good, good enough, good mage Wilma! You see, demons are often dreadfully bored beings, so entertainment is oft a pleasant way to persuade them to help one. Now then, crash course: do not grovel or they will take all they can, do not demand or they will spite you, don't be boring, be confident and treat them politely! We will be a guest in their realm and must act as one." Morton nodded. "Yes, yes, if all go wells we'll escape this dreadful situation most swiftly." He chirped optimistically.
[Oh shoot! I just realized I didn't do the [good/bad/_] [profession/mr/ms/mrs] Wilma last turn. Darn it, must of slipped my mind.]
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 18, 2015, 12:14:19 pm
Realizing that he's made a grave error indeed, Sigmund places his paws on the tower of skulls and pushes away with all of his might, seeking freedom for his poor head.
[Sigmund's strength roll: 4+1]
Fortunately, being a vampire and thus not particularly needing to worry about spinal trauma comes in handy, as he can pull his head right out. It also helps that he doesn't have much of a neck to serve as a narrow point between his head and his shoulders. Within moments he is free, and cautiously takes a good twenty steps away from the pillar as it continues to grow.
Phew. For a moment he thought he was in serious trouble. Now then, where was he?
Outside an odd cabin in the woods...
Kevin thinks it best to ignore the goat and go see what's up with the cabin, giving the door a solid knock. In the eerie quiet of the late evening he can distinctly perceive a set of footsteps lazily approach the door.
[Kevin's dodge roll: 2]
However, he's not quite fast enough to jump back as the door is suddenly kicked open, slamming into him and sending him sprawling down the set of steps leading up to the entrance. The goat becomes very excited as it rushes toward Kevin's location, stopping about a meter short of him, tongue flicking out of its mouth occasionally as it regards his prone form.
Looking back at the entrance, he notices a short bald man in the doorway, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. His mouth is munching rhythmically as he regards Kevin, and the ex-jester's eyes are immediately drawn to his hands, one of which appears to be clutching a very well-done human leg. Chunks of the thigh appear to be missing, clearly bitten off. The other seems to be holding a hand axe with little flecks of charred flesh on it.
"Shorry," the man says with his mouth full. "Had my handsh full. Come in," he gestures toward the interior with the axe.
In an alley full of surprises...
Morton in a fit of desperation decides to quickly skim the demonology book he's got for any kind of demon who might be helpful in this sort of situation. Oddly, he happens to come across one that seems immediately relevant - the Demon of Narrow Escapes. It seems like a really popular one, too, and the circle's really easy to draw since you're supposed to draw it in a rush. Though there only seems to be a translocation circle available, which means there could be a one way trip to a demon's realm in his future if he draws this one. Alternatively, he could try to draw a speaking circle for the Demon of Difficult Questions, but that one seems about twice as complicated and maybe not quite as likely to work.
Mark keeps an eye out for his part, given that he doesn't think leafing through the book while Morton's looking at it is likely to help much. First off, he notices Wilma doing some sort of goofy-sounding vocal exercise. And second, he notices a wave of something crash against the wall of the alleyway, a small gout of it spilling further down the alleyway. As soon as it hits the ground, Mark gets the urge to look away and never gaze in that direction again, which he wisely follows, and a similar urge to not speak of what he just saw, which he considers a little more.
Near some peculiar shadows in an alleyway...
Scott rushes toward the shadowy figures, hoping to interrupt whatever buggery they happen to have planned, if any. Surely nothing good could come of shadowy plotting, right? Charging forth, he unfurls himself like a giant sail and plows straight through one of the vertical figures, hoping the maneuver has done a number on whoever that was.
Looking back, however, he gets the distinct impression that the figure was unbothered by his effort, though he does feel an oddly profound sense of loss as he gazes at the flickering shadowy things, which appear to be completely static as far as he can tell.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on June 18, 2015, 12:31:50 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 18, 2015, 02:01:10 pm
Of course, another means of inspecting the thing are required. In fact, if Sigmud could get closer to the caster...
Then, he suddenly has an idea. A crazy one. He can try to fly there atop his phylactery! But first he has to make sure that he can get a hold of it properly.
Go to my phylactery. Try to stand over it and make it levitate, just a few inches away from the ground. If I manage to not fall, make it slowly go higher until I'm near the mage and I can analyze his weird focus.
Post by: ATHATH on June 19, 2015, 01:34:32 am
Post by: Xantalos on June 19, 2015, 01:43:54 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 19, 2015, 06:29:06 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 22, 2015, 07:55:27 pm
Make a circle to the Demon of Narrow Escapes large enough for the three of them (or if that isn't how portals work, three individual circles).
[Awesome, its back!]
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 23, 2015, 08:10:47 am
Kevin mentally shrugs, electing not to judge the cannibalistic murderer from the backwoods, lest he be judged in turn, found wanting and promptly eaten. Getting up, he follows the cannibal inside, and finds that the cabin is, just as it appeared from the outside, illuminated by a peculiar blue light of uncertain origin - the whole interior is filled with a fog of smoke with a strange choking odor.
After a short walk through the entrance corridor, Kevin is brought over to the central room, where the first thing that strikes Kevin is, fortunately, not an axe. Instead, he notices the hearth. Something's happened to it, clearly, because it's not a hearth anymore. At least not as far as he can tell. Instead, it looks something like a more bulbous version of the mouth of a Venus flytrap, with needle-like teeth protruding from its lips and sliding past one another as it breathes rapidly despite being made of what looks like some kind of basalt. The smoke that's been filling the room billows out occasionally from the corners of its mouth. Right next to it is a fire, now burned out, atop which a woman has been impaled on a spit and roasted, then partially eaten. The leg in the man's hands appears to have belonged to her at one point.
"Shorry 'bout the wife," the man turns to Kevin with his mouth full. "Washn't my fault, y'know."
He leads Kevin up to the spit and grabs a sturdy chair that's been knocked over - indeed, everything aside from the spit appears to have been knocked over at some point - and offers it to Kevin, then grabs a chair for himself. "Really. 'Twash the..." he looks at the mouth a little further away and stops mid-gesture, his axe hand hanging in the air as he completely blanks upon regarding the mouth, remaining entirely motionless for the moment. Kevin looks over at the mouth, which seems to have opened a slight amount, the opening giving off a slight amount of blue light. The smoke is starting to make Kevin feel nauseous.
At a rapidly growing skull tower...
Sigmund rather brilliantly decides to use his phylactery to levitate himself as well - shouldn't be too difficult with the force output he can manage. Climbing on top of the phylactery suspended in air, he tries to hold his balance.
[Agility roll: 3+1]
Fortunately, it's not incredibly difficult as far as such things go, especially since he can keep the phylactery steady pretty decently while doing it. Now for the ascent, of course. Need to calculate the force required carefully, of course.
[Magic roll: 3]
He starts to rise very slowly upwards, realizing that it seems to have underestimated his weight quite a bit along the way. As a consequence, as soon as he gets to the top of the tower where the wizard in agony was standing, he appears to have finished up whatever he was doing, and now is standing there regarding his handiwork, which Sigmund in his concentration upon his momentary task had completely failed to register until this point. To make matters worse, it is at this moment that the tower wizard chooses to turn around, giving Sigmund a surprised, if very exhausted look. He... doesn't look hostile, oddly. Mostly just curious as he leans forward a little and looks Sigmund in the eyes.
In a soon to be flooded alley...
Mark and Morton, both very deeply conscious of the trouble they're in, immediately set about the drawing of a narrow escape circle for three, which the book seems to have an appropriate instruction for (it takes groups up to six for convenience's sake, though the exact number needs to be specified in a particular spot on the circle itself). Wilma, who's not quite as well-versed on drawing demon-circles, watches curiously as the two start to feverishly draw the relatively simple, though nevertheless somewhat complex diagram on the ground.
[Morton's circle-drawing roll: 2+1]
Knocking together a very quick and dirty demon circle, Morton is somewhat surprised when the circle disappears suddenly, its former center abruptly sinking into the ground and creating a completely black hole in front of the three unfortunates. Good news is, it probably should work. The bad news is, of course, that it seems to be a very narrow hole, which was probably to be expected, considering the name. For a second, the three silently look upon the hole as the alley groans and heaves, beaten this way and that by the waves.
[Wilma's agility roll: 5]
"Who's going fi-" Wilma begins to ask, but then decides not to bother, instead stepping in front of Mark and executing a surprisingly competent headfirst dive into the hole, sliding halfway into it from the initial drop, her legs comically dangling out at first, then apparently making the rest of the way in via vigorous clawing and crawling. Looks like this escape route is going to be a tight fit.
The next spout of something, considerably larger than the first, lands further down the alley, and seems to be flowing in Morton and Mark's direction.
Post by: Tomcost on June 23, 2015, 09:28:23 am
Post by: Innsmothe on June 23, 2015, 03:22:08 pm
Cowards, no one out incorporeals a ghost!
((sorry for not noticing the update, new expensive computer stuffs and shiny games.))
Post by: Xanmyral on June 23, 2015, 05:31:59 pm
Help Mark in next and accept no other alternative. Go in after Mark is in.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 23, 2015, 05:52:41 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2015, 05:49:37 am
Sigmund nods at the mage with understanding, and the mage nods back. They stare at each other for a moment from a slight distance.
[Skull Mage's agility roll: 4]
And then the mage, clearly having decided on a course of action, leaps toward Sigmund, who nearly falls off his phylactery - seizing both him and the artifact mid-air, a split second passes before the world around them abruptly explodes in a flash of pure, white light. For a moment, Sigmund feels like he is falling, but he regains his balance on the phylactery immediately. He hears a bump.
As his sight slowly returns, he realizes that he appears to be floating mid-air about a meter off the ground in a large stone chamber, largely lacking in ornamentation, though seemingly very rich in alcoves. Near him he notices a toppled obelisk that appears to have been uprooted from the stone, and not too far from that a robed corpse lies in a pool of blood, its throat pierced on the front and back and its head entirely missing. This is slightly alarming.
"Geez, what happened here?" the skull mage says, looking around, eyes finally resting on the corpse in front of him. "Must be some kind of emergency."
Getting up, he occasionally glances at Sigmund as he checks the rest of the room, paying attention to two things in particular - firstly, a closed stone door at the far end of the chamber, and secondly, a whole lot of enormous claw marks on the wall going up in a roughly linear fashion, then along the ceiling for a bit before terminating in an irregularly shaped hole of unnervingly large size that seems to lead to another room.
"Yeah, definitely an emergency," the mage nods, then turns to Sigmund. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back," he quickly mutters, then makes a break for the stone door immediately. At his approach it begins to open.
In a suspicious alley filled with suspicious figures...
Scott, not about to let some impudent gang of motionless silhouettes get the better of him, tries the next standard approach of dealing with the unknown, which is to set it on fire and see what happens. Hopefully death and destruction.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 1]
Scott focuses on one of the vertical silhouettes and begins to imagine it on fire, focusing raw hatred and ill intentions on it with all his might, letting a good bit of flame-thought build up inside him before manifesting it. He begins to warm up rapidly and shake with power, and starts to roar with the sound of a burning orphanage. This ought to be a good one.
Of course, it is exactly before he's ready to release it that the crafty bugger seems to sense his intention, and responds by disappearing. For a moment, Scott's confusion triumphs over his focus as his rage is robbed of an immediate target. That, naturally, proves sufficient to inadvertently release the buildup of power within him.
[Scott's endurance roll: 5]
Centered on himself, the flames shoot forth in every direction, engulfing the entire alley, melting stone, turning wood to ash, shriveling and layering Scott's ectoplasm to the point where he resembles a giant strip of ethereal bacon. Bits of already pink-destabilized architecture abruptly explode into dust and shrapnel, disappear or fly off like ruptured balloons (mildly amusing sound included), creating a cacophony seldom heard in these parts of the world.
To add insult to injury, however, as the dust settles Scott becomes aware of a single silhouette, the more horizontal one, remaining after not having had even the basic decency to pretend it was hurt by any of this, unlike Scott himself. Looking around to see if the other silhouette is merely standing behind him or some such rot, Scott looks back to see even the last shadow completely gone.
He does, however, have an unexplained bad feeling all of a sudden as he looks upon the still-falling bits of rubble from his scene of destruction.
In an increasingly dangerous alley...
Morton feels that the time for discussion is probably over. Of course, doesn't mean one can't have some provisory last words.
"Well, no time for arguments I'm afraid. If I don't make it in time... Give the others my best apologies for failing them," he says as good surgeon Mark begins to crawl into the hole.
[Mark's agility roll: 1]
For a moment, it seems like it ought to be all right, really, but then Mark proceeds to get stuck in the hole at about shoulder depth, leaving most of him out and wriggling in an effort to move himself in either direction. It doesn't seem to be working. Well.
[Morton's strength roll: 3]
Morton responds by giving Mark a good, long shove, which does let him resume downward movement, though the movement's very slow - now he's waist-deep, and still not particularly able to move one way or the other. Oh dear. This may be an even closer call than imagined, Morton thinks as he hears the roar of a nearby wave of something about to crash into the wall.
[Mark's agility roll: 4]
Fortunately, Mark does obtain the presence of mind somewhere along the way that maybe he could bring his shoulders together and straighten out his neck, which minimizes his horizontal profile enough to simplify the rest of the way in - moments later after Morton helps him the rest of the way in, some form of supernatural suction kicks in, and the next thing Mark knows, he is falling in a black void.
Of course, that still leaves Morton back on the other side. As the final, greatest wave is about to strike the walls, Morton makes a desperate effort to dive into the demon-hole.
[Morton's agility roll: 6]
It turns out to be a much easier thing than initially surmised, actually, as Morton's flesh does appear to be elastic and semi-liquid enough to permit easy passage through even a demon portal as small as this - perhaps deliberately designed as such to enable repeat visits to the most fabulous of realms, no matter the quality of the circle.
Granted, this squidlike squeeze does do a number on Morton's possessions, judging by the scrunching and spilling noises coming from within, but perhaps this is of lesser concern at the moment, as he, after regaining his original shape, seems to be falling in an endless black void. In the distance, he can perceive Mark experiencing the same fate - considerably further away good mage Wilma seems to be doing the same thing, though it's a bit hard to see her at this distance. In the far distance, though neither Morton nor Mark could properly say how far, there is a point of red light resembling a distant star.
Post by: Xantalos on June 24, 2015, 05:55:50 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 24, 2015, 05:57:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 24, 2015, 06:18:06 am
Kevin, supposing cannibals and lunatics to be the exact types to be keen on etiquette in all likelihood, makes polite conversation.
"Quite a nice place you've got here. Never was a big fan of the whole "demonic hive" aesthetic, though."
The man slowly turns his head to look at Kevin.
"Yer gonna have to be my new wife," he mutters, then looks at the axe in his hand, lowering it by his side. "There hash to be two of ush. Sho the other remainsh."
Kevin can hear a slow rumble coming from somewhere - not from the mouth, strangely enough. Lower down.
Post by: Tomcost on June 24, 2015, 07:00:09 am
Get down from the phylactery and leave it against a wall. Without floating. Then, extract a bit of non-magic stone (check first) from a place where it won't be missed and shape it into a kind of lance or jabelin with my magic. Or maybe just something with a sharp tip. Be prepared to hurl it at whatever thing is stalking the place.
If nothing happens, use the opportunity to check the dead person for any kind of focus
Post by: miauw62 on June 24, 2015, 10:56:23 am
Depart, if he tries to stop me, use my incredibly sharp doubly double-edged sword.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 24, 2015, 03:13:38 pm
A single tear falls.))
Scott will search for the tower, these mages must answer for their perversions with fire, swords, pokey things and squelches!
Post by: Xanmyral on June 24, 2015, 05:09:17 pm
To take his mind off of his accidental sins against tea kind, the tea apostle went about the task of trying to collect his allies and move them towards the red light as best he could. Perhaps his levitation could come of assistance.
Post by: ATHATH on June 25, 2015, 01:38:09 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 25, 2015, 05:07:32 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 25, 2015, 09:34:22 am
As his captor disappears through the door, which in turn shuts with what seems like increased tightness after his passing, Sigmund springs into action himself, dismounting from the phylactery and placing it on the ground, then trying to get some kind of stone weapon he could use to defend himself from sinister predation.
[Magic roll: 2]
Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to squeeze out stone from what is, as far as he can tell, a completely uniform wall of stone in a chamber that's been shaped from what is probably a single great chunk of stone - the technique used here is a bit more advanced than what he's got, whether the respective users know it or not. This stone's been grown, Sigmund suspects. With that in mind, he checks the headless wizard on the ground, both normally and with his magical vision, and finds that the focus is located in the man's pelvis - embedded in there, he suspects. It's a crystal with telekinetic properties - unfortunately, the focus is keyed to a soul that's not here, probably the dead guy's, and it's a bit messy in its execution, which ought to complicate its realignment a bit.
In a cannibal's haunted abode...
Kevin's general tolerance for lunacy clearly ends at creepy marriage proposals. It's time to leave.
"Sorry, I've got places to be," he says and starts to leave. The cannibal, of course, reacts predictably.
"No! Thash what she did!" he says with alarm, running toward Kevin. Fortunately, Kevin's quite ready for shenanigans of this nature.
[Kevin vs. Cannibal: 6+1 vs. 1]
Using both the cannibal's momentum and his own, he rams the large dagger straight through the man's throat and spine, letting it come out the other end - sharp indeed, this sword of his. Before the cannibal can bleed too much over him, he kicks the man off and lets him sprawl across the floor, confusion and fear in his eyes as his last moments come upon him. Not missing a beat, Kevin breaks into a sprint and, assuming the door to have locked behind him, dives through the window instead, landing right outside.
[Endurance roll: 4]
The experience leaves him mildly lacerated, but very much free - a wonderful thing, he notes, since the next thing he hears is the entire house roar wildly with some kind of internal rage. Probably good that he didn't stick around for much longer, really.
In the ruins of a once-proud alleyway...
His work done or at the very least futile, Scott vamooses as quickly as he can from the scene of the crime, and starts to look for that insidious Black Tower of Eckledun, which is fortunately not very far away at all! Far enough for plausible deniability, of course, but near enough to be convenient. A sweet spot of sorts.
What's more, it actually looks somewhat unharmed. Although the front door is admittedly missing, revealing a solid stone wall to be beyond it. There also appears to have been some kind of explosion at this entrance, judging by the splattered and charred human remains.
In a dark expanse between worlds...
It takes Morton surprisingly little time to realize that his ability to generate propulsion might come in handy mid-fall, and so he flies over to Mark, who seems to be trying hard to see something in this whole lot of nothing and evidently failing. It takes a little bit more before he gets Mark over to Wilma, who seems to be surprisingly calm.
"Seems like you two got through all right," she says. "Sorry about going first like that, I just figured we shouldn't waste time, you know?"
The red light still appears impossibly distant, Morton thinks, a single point in the presumably far distance. In the minutes it took to catch up with Wilma it has still grown no larger. Morton considers this for a second before Mark somewhat rudely bumps him on the surface, pointing somewhere off in the distance. Morton's a little unsure of what he might mean, which causes Mark to point a little harder. And for just a moment, something sticks out to Morton. A portion of the black void, almost invisible in this lack of light, can barely be distinguished, the red light from the distance glinting off on its slick surface before it veers off into the distance, becoming invisible once more.
"What's she pointing at?" Wilma asks with concern in her voice.
Post by: Tomcost on June 25, 2015, 09:58:26 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 25, 2015, 11:16:56 am
Jog away at a decent page in the direction I was going.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 25, 2015, 11:46:02 am
Post by: Xanmyral on June 25, 2015, 07:34:54 pm
"Well, nothing wrong with a little investigation?"
Showing the question to be purely rhetorical, the apostle of the tea leaf investigated the strange thing off in the distance with his friends in tow.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2015, 04:35:47 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 26, 2015, 06:54:59 am
Sigmund goes ahead and checks out the rest of this weird chamber, and for a moment feels a bit silly, since he seems to have completely forgotten previously that there's a perfectly good upturned obelisk just lying around, ripe for the picking and throwing. A bit heavier than your average javelin, but not like it terribly matters with the forces Sigmund can typically output. Oddly, it seems to be enchanted with the same kind of backwards set of ancillary coordinates as the skull pillar he regarded previously, which does give him a slight clue as to what its purpose might have been.
Other than that and the corpse, the chamber is surprisingly bare and utilitarian - seems like some kind of combination of entrance hall and containment chamber (the massive hole in the ceiling hinting at a considerable failure in the latter function). The chamber itself is cylindrical and very tall. Other than that, plus a whole bunch of rubble from the broken bits of wall and ceiling, there's nothing else of note that Sigmund can see around this place. The door's shut, and a quick approach fails to make them open on their own. Hm. There's also a bunch of distant noises, but nothing particularly distinct. Probably doesn't help that he's inside an isolated stone chamber in that respect.
Outside a cannibal's cabin...
Kevin continues his steady vacation of the premises, jogging off into the night, not letting the bleeding or roaring bother him one bit, or even the way the goat screams at him as he passes it. Leaving all this nonsense behind, Kevin finds himself on the road again in decreasingly illuminated conditions, and realizes that his prediction of not being able to see more than three meters ahead of him has proven unnervingly accurate soon enough. Eventually he can barely keep on the road, which culminates in him stumbling and falling into a roadside ditch.
When he tries to get up and realizes how little he seems to feel like it, Kevin comes to the conclusion that he's quite exhausted. It's been a very long day. He also starts to feel very hungry, a feeling that his strenuous activity thus far has served well to suppress.
At the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Intent on getting to the bottom of this, Scott ascends up along the tower, looking for an obvious entrance to try out. Fortunately, there's a giant melted hole in the side of it, almost good enough to be Scott's own handiwork. A bit too precise, though, with no passion visible in its making, and the pink around the fringes is a little unfortunate as well. The hole, about twenty meters in diameter, looks like it has managed to destroy an almost perfect half-sphere on the inside of the tower, making the whole structure from there on up considerably lopsided and seemingly not too far off from falling over on its own. In the very center of half-sphere, Scott notices, is a floating brick, spinning at an extreme speed to the point where it appears to only slightly rotate. An interesting-looking thing to be sure.
The rooms bisected by the hemispherical absence appear to be entirely ruined, their contents either missing or unrecognizably mutilated and turned slightly pinkish. All in all, looks like the party was started and possibly even concluded without him, Scott notes with considerable disappointment, only to be immediately proven wrong.
~You!~ goes the familiar voice of Francine, bender of minds. She seems distraught. ~Where did you come from?~
In the lonely void...
Morton starts to guide the others toward the last sighting of the shiny black thing. The shiny black thing could be useful, after all, as shiny things often are. Using Mark as a compass of sorts, since he seems to have the best idea of where the thing might be, he moves a bit off-trajectory to check what's going on in that direction.
Mark, meanwhile, keeps an eye out for the thing, and seems to get a lock on it soon enough - it's something relatively large, he thinks, quick, adept at sailing through the void. Its shape leaves him with a bit of a fishy impression, and... huh, it seems to be coming for him right now. Must not like being pointed at.
[Mark's dodge roll: 6+1]
As it sails right in his direction, foolishly assuming Mark can't see it as far as he can tell, he ducks. Instinctively, Wilma follows his lead, though she's latching on to Morton's side and in less of a precarious location than Mark, who has elected to surf atop Morton this entire time.
The shape, a great eel-like thing with a metallic, scaleless form, sails right over Mark. This would be the end of the current engagement, obviously, though Mark does feel a bit curious, and grabs onto one of the thing's fins, dismounting from Morton as he climbs on his new carrier. It's a somewhat large thing, he notes with curiosity as it twists and tries to shake him off. Definitely larger than your average shark.
[Mark's strength roll: 4]
It's also not particularly slippery, and seems to have quite a few places to latch onto and clamber about on. Some of them look like deliberate handholds, even. Looking back, he notices the shapes of Morton and Wilma grow a bit small, then radically change orientation as the fins of this voidfish start expelling some sort of colorless liquid in a radically different direction from before. What odd predicaments he finds himself in, truly.
Morton and Wilma, meanwhile, lose sight of Mark entirely, and really don't feel much other than a sudden whooshing sound and the abrupt disappearance of their good comrade in arms.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 26, 2015, 07:12:17 am
Mark holds tight to the handhold like sections of the void eel and starts trying to maneuver it back to the others. A prize like this needs onlookers to be amazed by.
Post by: miauw62 on June 26, 2015, 07:56:15 am
These new needs make Kevin regret losing his magical body more than ever.
Post by: Innsmothe on June 26, 2015, 04:43:17 pm
Post by: Tomcost on June 26, 2015, 04:47:07 pm
Post by: ATHATH on June 27, 2015, 12:35:45 am
Post by: killerhellhound on June 27, 2015, 05:22:13 am
Otherwise, begin to study the intricate focus in that dead guy's pelvis.I love this forum where stuff like this is normal
Post by: Xanmyral on June 27, 2015, 02:20:40 pm
The desk looked around trying to see if he could spot the wayward companion. "Good mage Wilma, did you see what happened to good surgeon Mark? Where did he go?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on June 28, 2015, 04:49:52 am
Mark maneuvers himself into a more advantageous position on the eel, trying to find a nicer place from which to maneuver it, as pulling on the handholds here doesn't appear to be doing much. Climbing a little higher, he observes the exact same kind of handholds, still rather easy to hold on to. It's a bit odd, he thinks, since he doesn't recall actual eels having such convenient handholds. Maybe these are for some variety of void barnacle? Seems like a big enough beast to have barnacles, anyway. It also appears to have a very small soul when one compares it to the beast's body, nestled somewhere deep inside. Most unusual.
Meanwhile Morton tries to get his bearings. "That was most peculiar. Is everyone alri--Good surgeon Mark? Good surgeon Mark, are you there?" he asks, receiving no reply. "Oh dear."
The desk looks around for a moment, but sees no real trace of his associate, although he does vaguely perceive rapid movement off in the distance, which is an ominous hint to say the least. "Good mage Wilma, did you see what happened to good surgeon Mark? Where did he go?" he asks.
"I don't know!" she snaps back. "Something swooped over you, and then he was gone. I... think something wants us dead, to be honest, so I'd really appreciate it if you went a little faster in the direction of that light. Though maybe that wants us dead, too?" she sighs. "I don't know. When will this be over? I don't like all this mortal peril we're in."
In a ditch by a road, specifics unknown...
Kevin decides to embrace his vagrancy and just sleep in this ditch for a while, curling up into an anonymous humanoid blob that could be confused for a wayward stump in the dark. He can't really check if he's invisible from the road, but it also probably doesn't matter. At least not to his tired brain. Reality slowly transitions into pleasant, unremarkable half-dreams before becoming entirely irrelevant.
When he awakens, he notes that he hasn't been in any way eaten, stabbed or robbed in his sleep, and that he has kept roughly the same position as well. In addition, he's now a few steps beyond merely hungry, and feels like he is somewhere between starving and ravenous, with a tendency toward the latter. It's a very distracting impulse, he finds.
Within the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott does not seem very pleased to hear from Francine.
"From a fiendish trap and a battle against magical perversion and Xylophagic cowards! I charge you to answer for the current state of affairs 'fore I lay its cause at your 'feet'!" he shouts at nothing in particular, since Francine's not really in visual range.
~What? Do you know what's happening?~ Francine speaks into his mind. ~Because I'd sure like to know. I've never seen this much pink! And then right after the emergency meeting the tower suddenly exploded, and I strongly suspect I'm the only one left!~
In a monolithic entrance chamber...
Sigmund attempts to lift the strange magical obelisk with his focus, carefully preparing a field of pressure around it and applying a little more force from below.
[Magic roll: 3]
The pillar lifts slightly, but it's clearly a bit of an undertaking to make it go much of anywhere. Using this as a weapon - indeed, using any stone as a weapon - may be a bit more dynamic a use of his focus than what Sigmund's used to. It's all very fine and good when one tries to shape stone, or slowly lift it, but actually throwing or jabbing it at something is a much more artful thing, and requires more precision exhibited in a smaller window of time, which amounts to considerable complication. The process requires some refinement, clearly.
Post by: killerhellhound on June 28, 2015, 06:40:00 am
(I know this is probally a really stupid thing to do but !!MEDICINE!!)
Post by: Innsmothe on June 28, 2015, 09:48:37 am
Post by: miauw62 on June 29, 2015, 03:51:05 am
Post by: Tomcost on June 29, 2015, 08:59:04 am
Post by: ATHATH on June 30, 2015, 01:40:43 am
Hmmmm. Get near the door. See if it opens. If not, try giving it a mental order. If that doesn't work, try touching it in different places, or stepping in different places. Maybe one of hese things activates the mechanism.He probably locked the door behind him.
See if I can take some of these clothes off. If I can, will myself some food IN FRONT OF ME.Don't forget to add "remove outermost layer of clothes" to the mantra.
Post by: Xanmyral on June 30, 2015, 04:58:59 pm
The tea apostle sighed. "You are right, good mage Wilma. I shall ferry you to the light. But after I see you out of the realm, I'll go back for good surgeon Mark. One must never leave an ally behind."
Begin ferrying Wilma towards the red light.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 01, 2015, 08:17:11 am
Mark decides to find a better vantage point on the soul of this sinister beast, and begins to climb on the handholds, finding them relatively easy to navigate. Traversing the breadth of the eel this way, he comes to a spot where the handholds stop, aside from one strangely circular one - feeling around it, Mark does believe this to be some kind of hatch, which seems like an odd thing for an eel to have. Though it does seem like a very convenient way to get to the soul, especially given Mark's lack of quality cutting implements. Seeing no better method for doing so, he tries twisting the handhold, and is pleased to note that it does seem to be giving way - about three turns of the handhold and the hatch comes open, revealing a shaft bathed in red light, a ladder leading deeper down into the eel along its side - not one to let opportunities go to waste, Mark climbs right down, the hatch automatically shutting behind him as he descends to what he thinks might be the middle of the thing.
He then finds himself in a narrow, cramped hallway filled with odd elongated metal structures - like segmented pipes, shiny and dark, with protrusions similar to the little horns on vertebrae. In fact, these might just be spines, though there's a whole lot more of them than Mark would reasonably expect in an eel, even a giant one. The interior is humming very loudly, and Mark has occasional trouble standing as the eel veers this way or that. The hallway seems to have two openings along the side, and one opening at the very end, which is where Mark notices the soul he's been looking for, kept in some kind of smaller vessel he can't quite make out from here.
Meanwhile, Morton evaluates the urgency of helping good surgeon Mark. "But... Good surgeon Mark! He could be in danger, or--or..." he begins to say before it strikes him that there's probably not much he can do for Mark that Mark couldn't somehow manage for himself, probably by some ridiculous method or another. "You are right, good mage Wilma. I shall ferry you to the light. But after I see you out of the realm, I'll go back for good surgeon Mark. One must never leave an ally behind."
"I'm, uh, sure he's all right," says good mage Wilma, though it's clear she very much doubts the fact herself. They say nothing more as Morton starts to pick up speed toward the light, hoping that it makes some kind of difference at least. Barely a minute passes, however, when Morton suddenly gets a bit of a bad feeling.
[Morton's dodge roll: 1]
And as he considers what this could possibly mean, he suddenly finds himself in complete darkness along with good mage Wilma, who inadvertently separates from him when they impact an unpleasant, though mercifully soft wall and each go their own way. Morton finds himself tumbling down some sort of passage, eventually coming to a stop against another, even softer wall, an impact that almost distracts him from a great metallic sliding sound from right behind him, a slam indicating that some sort of door just shut behind him.
In the ruined Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott flits about distrustfully as he and Francine exchange words. Wonder where she is - above or below? Seems unlikely she could be very near to the destroyed bits.
"Tell me, what was being discussed?" he asks.
~Well, this is going to need some context, so here goes: Susanne's head suddenly exploded. Literally. She was our diviner and, well, director... and looking out the top window, Tom saw that there was some kind of pink stuff happening in town, and pretty massively at that. So that's instantly a high alert for us and HQ. He sent word to the guys down south, like we're supposed to, and then then they all - except for me, since I could follow along without being there - met where you are now and quickly decided that the best thing to do when your director's head explodes was probably to evacuate and not hang around for long - I was going to go join them, but it'd take me a bit to get there, and I told them they probably should go right away without me... and they did, but something happened with the teleport, and then I heard them screaming - mentally screaming, I mean - and then there was a huge explosion, and the tower nearly fell over, but it seems to be kind of holding up for now?~ Francine nervously recounts, then pauses. ~Long story short, I think they're all dead now. And I don't want to move too much because my room's a bit safer than outside, and I'm not sure I can even get down from my floor - I think the stairs are out, and I don't dare even try teleporting after what happened.~
She mulls over something for a moment or so, then speaks once more. ~It... wouldn't be too much to ask for you to help me out a bit, would it? I can't get down on my own, and you should have telekinesis. I just need to get clear of the tower, and preferably the town as well. I'll only need one big mostly skyward push.~
At the bottom of a ditch...
Kevin quickly checks if his clothes haven't suddenly melded into his flesh, a vital part of any morning for him. They have not, so he removes the outermost layer, and then proceeds to try and will some food into existence for himself.
[Will roll: 1-2]
He looks at an empty patch of weeds, and imagines a lovely steak materializing into being on the spot, his mind wandering through the delights of its texture, smell, flavor and the sheer hunger it will serve to alleviate, the satisfaction building inside him as he sinks his teeth into it, drawing a healthy amount of cooked juices out of it, his entire being orienting itself for an incoming meal, which feels... a tad stringy. And cold, and... it kind of hurts?
Kevin opens his eyes, and notices he's bitten his own hand. Rather deeply at that. It's bleeding quite a lot. And it says quite a bit about Kevin's current state that he is sorely tempted to actually keep at it to see if he can get a decent chunk out of his hand to at least chew on for a while.
In a mostly sealed entrance chamber...
Sigmund strides toward the closed door and checks out what its problem is, since it doesn't seem about to open for him at any point. He orders it to open, but it remains steadfastly closed, and stepping around this way or that or even giving it the pawing of its life doesn't help.
What catches his eye, though, is that the mechanism for the door is magical in nature, and seems to be based on receiving a command - or, rather, an impulse of activity within a two meter radius - from some other magical apparatus, and the mechanism has the same kind of janky coordinate system attached to it as the pillar.
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2015, 08:19:16 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 01, 2015, 08:24:06 am
((There is a slight problem with the turn, Harry))
Why, so there is! Should be all better now, though.
Post by: Tomcost on July 01, 2015, 09:08:23 am
Begin to analize the telekinetic focus. Is it too different from my stone-moving focus?
Post by: Innsmothe on July 01, 2015, 09:13:27 am
Upon being told, attempt to do as requested.
Post by: miauw62 on July 02, 2015, 04:45:00 am
Will myself to be invincible
((THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAN GO WRONG))
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 02, 2015, 05:48:50 am
Post by: ATHATH on July 03, 2015, 01:26:20 am
"Ugh."Ensure that your cells will not grow out of control (cancer+) due to your cells not dying but still replicating, and that your hair and nails can be trimmed.
Will myself to be invincible
((THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAN GO WRONG))
Post by: killerhellhound on July 03, 2015, 02:48:30 am
((Also just because your invincible doesn't mean you cant be trapped somewhere like say under a layer of lava.))"Ugh."Ensure that your cells will not grow out of control (cancer+) due to your cells not dying but still replicating, and that your hair and nails can be trimmed.
Will myself to be invincible
((THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAN GO WRONG))
Try to break into the soul container
Post by: Innsmothe on July 03, 2015, 02:28:16 pm
That got ugly quick.
Post by: Xantalos on July 03, 2015, 02:44:10 pm
Trust me.))
Post by: Xanmyral on July 03, 2015, 03:58:47 pm
Just when things seem to be somewhat (if you look on the bright side) going well, something seems to come along. The desk sits in the darkness for a moment or two before sighing. Well, no point dwelling on misfortune. First! He must figure out where he is, and where good mage Wilma went.
Searching his person for anything that might present a light, the desk remembered that he himself gives off a faint light. Hm... Perhaps?
Attempt to turn up the lights! Or at least make things a brighter shade of brown, perhaps.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 04, 2015, 09:43:23 am
Sigmund quickly checks out what's up with that pelvic focus the dead man has, examining it with his magical expertise. It seems like it ought to be a simple enough thing, really, but sadly Sigmund doesn't happen to live in a world where so-called magical professionals actually know how the heck magic actually works. So instead what he sees before him is a somewhat brute-forced crystalline formation implanted in a man's pelvis that seems to apply an enormous multitude of different velocity and acceleration vectors to a given object at seemingly random angles, with it being possible to suggest a predominating direction for them, which requires a specific series of gestures and thoughts (with minor variability depending on task required) from a strangely non-specific soul, but a specific body type, which is drawn from a description from what Sigmund assumes to be some form of running report of all the focus' activities up to this point since its creation, a thing that's not really supposed to happen for most objects, and yet somebody seems to have accidentally (because Sigmund refuses to believe such a convoluted design could have been possible to do on purpose, honestly) turned on.
It's going to be pretty hard to modify without upsetting something sensitive, clearly, because the knots on this thing are pretty lopsided. The work of some idiot, he can tell, as he's seen some idiots in his lifetime. Could be useful if he could dig it out of this guy's pelvis, though only if he managed to remove it being keyed to this dude's body type.
In the ruined Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott decides to humor this request for the time being.
"Then here is the awkward and possibly very impolite question, where are you and what form are you currently in?"
~Oh, I'm in my room. It'll take a moment to get my body out of the closet, but I'll see if I can't get to the roof on my own. I'll holler at you if the need arises. See you at the top, hopefully,~ Francine replies, and Scott for a moment feels a sensation of ponderous movement before the communication abruptly cuts out. Supposing there to be no harm in it (perhaps naively so), Scott floats out of the tower and makes his way to the top past what seem to be battlements placed around the edge. The roof itself is fairly bare. No, wait, it's actually completely bare. Doesn't seem to have anything here, not even a staircase down or anything. Hm.
~Hm. I can't seem to get out of my room,~ Francine notes all of a sudden. ~I... think something's blocking my door. Mind checking it out? It's three floors down from the roof, central room. Can't miss it.~
In a roadside ditch...
Kevin's problems, assuredly many and grand in scope to say the least, are clearly not all that hard to solve, he thinks. He really only needs one thing! Invincibility, that's it. Invincibility ought to cut it just fine. So maybe if he just went and wished very hard for it, well...
[Kevin's will roll: 6-2]
... well, he does feel a bit less vincible, to be honest! Still ravenous, no doubt, but also significantly less vincible. Of course, unless it's the hunger misleading him into feeling less vincible so that he'd go and fight something and maybe get some damn food in him already. He really wouldn't mind some damn food himself right now, to tell the truth.
In a town as far away from known climes as possible...
Darren figures he needs to get in touch with some clergy. Maybe they'll know what the deal is. So he glides out into the streets and discreetly into the local shrine, which is a humble wooden building decorated with five-pointed star of the Five Gods, the only gods you can petition for aid and not be blown to bits in short order by a golden messenger from the Offices of Order. Looking inside, he notices an amiable-looking priest smoking a pipe as he leans on an altar. Great!
Now to find a cloak. Darren flits about for a second before moving into the friendly neighborhood non-junk store, where there appear to be no magical cloaks to be found. But Darren frets not - surely they would not be so barbaric out here as to have no magical things at all. He approaches the storekeeper, a chubby fellow fast approaching middle age, and asks for a fine magical cloak he could drape over his disturbingly ectoplasmic shape.
The storekeeper has a short look of revelation, and seems about to say something, but then stops, blinking and furrowing his brow. He smiles with one side of his face and starts tapping on the counter expectantly. Darren smiles back politely. The storekeeper starts to bleed out of his nose. Darren is about to point this out, but the storekeeper then starts to bleed out of his eyeballs as well, and promptly collapses on the counter face-down in a growing puddle of his own blood, twitching a few times before he goes deathly still. Huh.
Within the confines of a void eel...
Mark strides right down the hallway and checks out the soul container at the end of it, which appears to be some kind of dark, shadowy fella sitting in a chair clearly too nice for him, busily laboring over several boards filled with pretty lights of some kind. He's got a soul in him, that's for sure. Better get it out!
[Mark vs. Shadow Fellow: 3 vs. 4-1]
Putting his hands on the fellow's head from behind, Mark tries to peel open the creature's skull, but it doesn't quite work for some reason. Maybe he requires some tools for this.
"Eh?" the fellow goes, swiveling his head 180 degrees to look at Mark. "Whuh? How'd you get in here? Get out, will ya? Got people to catch! Ain't got time to bother with stowaways!"
In a darkened section of a void eel's digestive tract...
Morton, bothered by the lack of visibility in here, dials up his light a bit, illuminating everything around him in a blinding shade of near-infrared light, which lets him easily discover that he seems to have found himself in some form of room - there's a fluffy, soft barrier on one wall that he landed on, a forbidding steel door on the opposite side that he presumes just shut behind him, and some form of steel-looking paneling all around the rest of the place, which is regrettably cramped and smells of fresh oil.
Whatever this place is, it doesn't seem very civilized. Clean, yes, but hardly civilized. To treat furniture this way is deplorable, to say nothing of the same treatment likely being leveled at good mage Wilma in equal measure. Simply shameful.
Finally, there's a metallic-looking knob pretty high up on the ceiling, and also some form of glass orb set into one of the upper corners of the room. Most perplexing.
Post by: Tomcost on July 04, 2015, 09:59:35 am
And that bone mage still doesn't appear...
And, suddenly, Sigmund got an idea! The man itself could be the focus! Well, a part of it, so that he coul still inhabit the rest of the person. It would be a matter of removing a finger, making it into a focus, and then moving his own soul into the dead body! But it may not be very advisable to do so, considering the wounds of the dead guy...
Can I get a small description of the wounds of the dead guy before deciding what to do?
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 04, 2015, 10:01:30 am
Can I get a small description of the wounds of the dead guy before deciding what to do?
His head's been pretty uncleanly bitten off, and there's a small hole in his throat that seems to have pierced his trachea and come out the other end. Otherwise he doesn't look terribly harmed.
Post by: Tomcost on July 04, 2015, 10:07:49 am
But, then, Sigmund suddenly gets an idea: what if the mage has some kind of door-opening device inside of him? Maybe Sigmund could check if the body can open the door.
Change of plans: move the body near the door, see if it gets opened that way.
Post by: H4zardZ1 on July 04, 2015, 10:19:10 am
Post by: miauw62 on July 04, 2015, 10:26:35 am
Try to will myself some food.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 04, 2015, 11:32:36 am
Is my hand still bleeding?
Yep. That's from when you were more vincible, clearly.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 04, 2015, 04:07:58 pm
"So, are you a construct or an undead?"
Post by: killerhellhound on July 04, 2015, 07:18:49 pm
Use my AXE on guys FACE
Post by: Xanmyral on July 05, 2015, 11:11:35 am
Spoiler: Actions (click to show/hide)
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 06, 2015, 06:19:47 am
An idea for door-opening coming to him in the middle of all this consideration, Sigmund bites down on the headless man's neck and starts dragging.
[Strength roll: 2+1]
The corpse, however, is pretty large in comparison to Sigmund, and progress is considerably slower than he would like. Eventually, however, he does make it to the door! However, it fails to open. Damn it all. On the other hand, this does seem like a generally sensible course of action despite this, given that Sigmund does notice a bit of a change in the door-opening mechanism - it hasn't really activated, but it does seem... excited? Not in the emotional sense, but in the energetic sense, of course.
In a roadside ditch...
Now more confident in his ability to will things to be, Kevin tries to capture godhood in a bottle once more and will himself some food, blissfully unaware of probability itself not being on his side for this task.
[Will roll: 1-2]
Concentrating hard, he imagines a delicious cabbage (which does hint at increasing desperation on his part) in his hands, many-leafed and filled with wondrous nutrients that are all a living fellow such as himself would need, and closes his eyes, this time trying to keep his teeth to himself. He runs through several rounds of concentrated wishing, going over all of the relevant attributes of a cabbage that he can recall at the moment, and feels his hands grow heavy with something promisingly spherical and with a leafy texture. Once it reaches a properly cabbage-like feel, he stops, and waits a few seconds. The cabbage remains. Feeling it from all sides, Kevin becomes convinced of its reality, and then opens his eyes. There it is! A cabbage! A delicious pink cabbage in his hands, right there for the eating!
Atop the ruined Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott, not unmoved by Francine's plea for help, mindfully descends through the tower's top and through roughly two floors, each of which he crosses at what looks like a hallway.
"So, are you a construct or an undead?" he asks on the way of Francine.
~Undead, sort of. Not that I was really raised from the dead, but instead that my soul was bound a bit more tightly to my body and then my body was "killed", so to speak, and then carefully preserved. Makes things much more efficient. I was wondering if it wouldn't be good to transition to ghosthood, as you may recall, but I'm not sure if that would work too well in my case,~ Francine relates to him as he crosses down into the floor she's on, and notices that this one does appear to have only one large room in the center of it, surrounded by an outer hallway winding all the way around it.
Immediately as he gets down there he suspects what the problem is - it probably has something to do with the outer hallway being filled up to about the halfway point with that pink stuff, similarly to the pool he encountered earlier, except this one seems to not have a level rather than a slope - a gentle downward slope running from inside to outside, in fact, as if it were some kind of static tide being pulled toward the center.
In an eel-machine cruising through the void...
Mark at once figures out the problem and the solution, remembering his reconstituted hobo axe with uncanny precision as he performs a fluid strike at the seated fellow.
[Mark vs. Shadow Fellow: 2-2 vs. 1-1]
Unfortunately, the fellow ducks down a bit, seemingly indignant at this blatant murder attempt.
"Ay now!" he says, sliding out of the seat and standing a little bit away from Mark. "This is a terribly sensitive area. You wanna fight, let's do it in the hallway, all right?"
He quickly maneuvers his hand to flick a small, unsigned switch and starts to push Mark out of the far chamber back into the hallway.
In the captivity of some kind of void beast...
Morton, intrigued by the room he's in, examines the glass orb, noting it to be black (or perhaps clear, but with something black behind it). Touching it reveals it to be smooth glass, and also leaves a bit of a brownish-black stain on its surface.
Next he turns his attention to the knob on the ceiling - it takes only a little examination to discover that it's probably for some sort of ceiling hatch, given the seams on the ceiling around it. No hinge that Morton can see, however. Hard to tell how to open it without trying the knob.
The door, Morton notes, seems to have slid down from above with the help of some well-oiled mechanism. Strange thing is, though, Morton can't see a locking mechanism at all - it seems to have come to a rest on the floor, but if it's not locked in place and was merely brought down by some form of gravity, it would not be unthinkable to lift it. The gaps, between it an the walls, floor and ceiling, though, are much less hopeful. No way he's sliding through these. At least not without getting rid of his stuff.
Speaking of his stuff, it looks better than one would expect. He's spilled any tea he had, of course, but it seems to have collected on one side and blissfully missed the demonology book entirely. The book is slightly crumpled, but nothing overly tragic. The rest of his stuff, however, seems to exist in a worrying state of flux, all tucked into one dark corner of his drawers. Might not be wise to disturb that much.
Post by: miauw62 on July 06, 2015, 06:30:18 am
Panic, chuck it away, imagine any other foodstuff then run.
Post by: Xantalos on July 06, 2015, 06:42:28 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 06, 2015, 06:44:06 am
Post by: killerhellhound on July 06, 2015, 07:22:03 am
Mark moves back with the man then AXE TO HEAD
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 06, 2015, 07:29:06 am
(Wow we suck at fighting whats my -2 from?)
Mark moves back with the man then AXE TO HEAD
((Aiming for the head - it gives you a -2, but if you hit that's immediately an extra-serious injury for your opponent.))
Post by: killerhellhound on July 06, 2015, 05:56:12 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 07, 2015, 09:46:02 am
Afterwards he will liberally coat the observed with fire (unless told not to)
Post by: Xanmyral on July 07, 2015, 11:21:48 pm
His first attempt is to push the door open with his many arms, using several to push and several to brace himself.
His second, should that fail, is to try and manipulate the knob by multiple means (twisting, turning, pushing, pulling, etc).
Morton's final attempt, should all else fail--as by then he'd of just wished to do anything with results--is to completely make the strange sphere stained and see if he can remove it from its perch.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 08, 2015, 06:28:27 am
Kevin is about to dig into his fresh new pink cabbage before realizing that cabbages as far as he knows aren't supposed to be pink. This is sufficient to alarm him greatly for some unknown reason, so he chucks it over his shoulder, presumably into the ditch on the other side of the road, and briefly imagines some roast rat to settle his mind. This only succeeds in making him more ravenous than before, so in a fit of animal instinct Kevin just makes a run for it to get the adrenaline flowing and suppress his inescapable hunger.
After running a very respectable hundred meter sprint down the road, he feels a bit less hungry. Just a bit, though. But he also hasn't exploded or been set on pink fire or anything, so the improbable cabbage is presumably not about to hurt him much more than it already has, which is to say mostly in his dwindling, starvation-hit morale.
In an insufficiently sealed teleportation chamber...
Sigmund, excited by the excitation of the door opener, positions the headless corpse in a highly undignified fashion in order to get his pelvis about as close to the door opener as reasonably possible without employing some overly complicated mechanism of ropes and pulleys. This, he is sad to note, fails to open the door, or indeed cause any change in its knot configuration. It seems that whatever it is expecting, pelvic proximity is not quite it.
Of course, this makes sense, because Sigmund does not quite recall the skull mage opening the door with any form of pelvic thrust. He's pretty sure he'd remember seeing something like that.
Inside an eel-machine's control center...
Mark sadly disagrees with the shadow fellow's idea of dueling in the hallway, and continues on his execution strategy as if nothing at all had happened.
[Mark vs. Shadow Fellow: 4-2 vs. 1]
Stepping back while giving the shadow man a good knee in the kidneys, he swings the axe downward, sending its blade sailing right into the distracted creature's head, where it gets messily stuck.
[Shadow Fellow's endurance roll: 3-2]
The shadow man straightens out, and seems to be about to make a closing remark about this encounter, which turns out to be a literal croak as he falls backward, his body liquefying as it falls on the ground, leaving a great black, slippery puddle with Mark's axe sticking out of one end of it.
On the third topmost floor of the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott stoically reveals the state of the hallway to Francine, noting its saturation with ungodly pink and its terribly poor imitation of a water level.
~Well, that's not good at all, is it?~ she beams in response. Scott responds, as he often does, with a clever solution. His golden hammer, so to speak.
[Scott's firestarting roll: 3]
Starting a small spark, Scott is delighted to see the pink instantly catch fire, the entire hallway covering itself in pink flame as he watches the fire spread. Probably looks awfully impressive from the outside. Maybe he ought to check.
~What did you just do?~ Francine asks with a hint of worry. Scott doesn't worry, however, as it seems that the level of pink is decreasing, though it reminds Scott more of melting tallow than, say, combusting spirits, which is slightly unusual. The smoke is also pink, and appears to be covering the walls in pink soot, which makes the room seem more tasteless by the minute.
In a sealed chamber in the middle of a lonely void...
Morton continues his systematic approach to escaping this dreadful place. Placing a multitude of arms on the ground and a multitude on the door, he gives it a good push. It fails to budge horizontally, which is not very surprising, considering that it's probably set deeply into the walls. Lifting it produces slightly better results, making a slight crack at the bottom through which Morton can't quite see, but which seems like the beginning of an escape route.
Next he investigates the knob. He pushes, twists, turns, then pulls - the pull, possibly on account of the twist, gets the hatch around the knob open, revealing a passage that goes vertically for a short distance and seemingly opens up into a larger room - it's going to be a tight squeeze for Morton to get through that, though considerably less so than the portal was. Unlike the room he's in, the one on the other end appears to be lit.
Post by: miauw62 on July 08, 2015, 06:53:42 am
Post by: Tomcost on July 08, 2015, 07:08:30 am
So, the skull mage is probably dead, or fighting whatever monster is in here, and Sigmund is trapped underground. Again. Well, at least he actually knows how to get out now...
Begin tunnelling horizontally, to a point where it doesn't seem likely that there is any kind of building or chamber above me, so that I can do the whole pillar thing afterwards.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 08, 2015, 03:57:01 pm
My judgement is flame and torment, madness is my domain and from which springs forth the Dharma of my followers. Run little voice, for actions and alliances often come with grim consequences...
Curiosity killed the cat you know...but satisfaction verily brought him back!
<Cue stereotypical laughter>
Post by: ATHATH on July 09, 2015, 12:44:07 am
Okay, that was dumb, but worth a shot anyway.Maybe you should try actually turning the knob on the door?
So, the skull mage is probably dead, or fighting whatever monster is in here, and Sigmund is trapped underground. Again. Well, at least he actually knows how to get out now...
Begin tunnelling horizontally, to a point where it doesn't seem likely that there is any kind of building or chamber above me, so that I can do the whole pillar thing afterwards.
Post by: Xantalos on July 09, 2015, 12:50:08 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 09, 2015, 07:54:20 pm
Morton pauses as he contemplates the light. Can it really be that simple? The desk dims his light as much as he can, and then the tea apostle listens and watches. After he is satisfied with what his senses find, assuming he doesn't notice anything hostile, the desk begins floating towards the light.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 10, 2015, 07:59:52 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 10, 2015, 10:58:04 am
Kevin, still having made no progress toward feeding himself, goes on to forage in the woods for sustenance of any kind, stumbling over the ditch and into the underbrush, his hands questing for anything handy to devour.
Some time later, he finds himself a bush covered in small yellowish berries that nobody seems to have bothered to eat yet - with a greed only possessed by the famished he digs in, picking the bush clean of any sort of edible matter, including any insects. This serves to take the edge off his hunger, but he'd hardly consider it filling. Needs something to go with it, definitely.
In an improperly sealed teleportation chamber...
Sigmund, having had enough of this room, tries to tunnel out with the help of his focus.
[Magic roll: 2]
He pokes at the wall firmly, but it refuses to yield, being a bit more homogenous and unified in structure than, say, the average layer of sedimentary rock. Dang it, this was his best plan yet!
On the third topmost floor of the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott commits himself to cleansing this place, applying more fire to the problem in a perhaps ill-advised maneuver.
"My judgement is flame and torment, madness is my domain and from which springs forth the Dharma of my followers. Run, little voice, for actions and alliances often come with grim consequences... curiosity killed the cat, you know... but satisfaction verily brought him back!" he starts to rant.
[Firestarting roll: 1]
He sets off the most minute of sparks on the volatile, flaming pinkness, hoping to push it over the edge into a massive explosion... and the spark bounces off in a most unprecedented way, jumping into the air and somewhat distressingly deciding to ignite that instead.
[Endurance roll: 2]
The entire hallway (and presumably quite a bit of air outside as well) combusts spontaneously, engulfing Scott in a whole lot of flames, his maniacal laughter becoming interspersed with pained screams as a result. The tower is shaken by the blast wave that results, and bits of it start to crumble all around him. Scott hardly notices, in horrendous pain as he currently is.
[Will roll: 4]
Not that this level of horrendous pain is terribly unusual for him, naturally, given that he's still finding time and energy to laugh. Floating in place, he feels the tower begin to lean, the hallway moving despite his own still state. The walls are falling, chunks of magically-shaped concrete falling past him.
~I... probably should have seen this coming,~ Francine speaks into his mind, her voice growing distant. Scott is now outside the tower, not feeling like keeping up with its fall. He watches the entire structure collapse onto the surrounding buildings, bits of pink architecture stabbing into it and exploding, twisting or otherwise reacting unpredictably. A supersonic piece of rubble passes through his smoking, shriveled form, which now is reminiscent of a half-burnt sea sponge. The rubble on the ground after a brief resting period seems to have started to organize itself into small cohorts of miniature tornadoes that proceed to storm into the town's streets.
Well, his work here is probably done, Scott supposes. Whatever that might have been.
In an unsealed chamber in a lonely void...
Morton dims his light and waits a bit, listening carefully for any sounds. At first, there's nothing - however, a few moments later he hears a shuffling noise approaching, and it continues to approach for a good few moments before suddenly a shape appears in the area above. Humanoid, dark, indiscernible and shadowy, it overall doesn't seem very friendly.
"Hey!" it says. "Don't fool around with the feeding hatch before your food's brought along! No dinner for you just for that, you hear?" it says, then disappears from sight before Morton can say anything to it. The shuffling noise resumes, moving away from Morton.
In a presumable control room...
Mark, after retrieving his axe from the murdered shadow, takes a look at the various things it was messing around with - boards full of blinking, whispering, beeping, scintillating, sometimes disturbingly organic lights, switches, dials and other things, virtually all of them with little to no indication of what their function might be - there are only two clearly noted thing, a little blob of some kind with the words "EJECT" written over it, and a bony lever with "EMERGENCY STOP" engraved on it. He also manages to locate the lip-like switch that the shadow flicked right before engaging him, though it lacks any sign of its function. Not a very helpful control room, Mark would think. But there are certainly enough thingamabobs and whatsits to control any function of a giant void eel that he could think of, so he'll give it that.
Post by: miauw62 on July 10, 2015, 11:11:58 am
Will myself some actual food.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 10, 2015, 01:09:26 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 13, 2015, 07:33:07 am
Kevin, not about to even begin learning his lesson, tries to will some actual food to appear in his hands.
[Will roll: 1-2]
His mind wanders through the infinite possibilities of culinary satisfaction, imagining every kind of possible food that could sate his ravenous hunger, feeling progressively hungrier as each possibility is run through, his mind beginning to fade as progressively more delicious foods race through it. He attempts to stop thinking about it, but it appears he's set off some kind of runaway mental process. His mind on fire, he starts to scream, his eyes opening wide. He then loses consciousness - for how long, he cannot say.
When he awakens, it is dark. He stirs a little. A tumbling sound is heard as something rolls off him. Rising a bit more decisively, Kevin emerges into the light, dislodging himself from a pile of delectable pink cabbages he appears to have found himself in. As he attempts to rise, the cabbages surge toward him a little, seeking to return to their pile-like aggregation and force Kevin down once more.
[Strength roll: 5]
Being quick enough and strong enough, Kevin manages to prevent himself from being buried again, and breaks out of the pile entirely, stepping a good distance away from the thing. Looking around, he sees that he is still in the woods. However, he does not recognize the location. It's definitely not where he found the berries, and he can't even begin to guess which way the road might be found. He... does feel a little less hungry, though.
Above the fallen Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott, recalling that he was supposed to save rather than condemn someone to a horrible death for once, rushes down to the fallen, crumbled tower, looking for any sign of the mage, though in the crumbled, twisting ruins he's got no earthly clue on where the third topmost floor might have landed - everything just looks very rubbly and broken, and he suspects some of the explosions around him might actually be malfunctioning magical equipment.
Point is, Francine's probably down here somewhere, though in what condition, Scott would not be at liberty to say. She's undead, though, so it's not implausible she could have survived. Heck, Scott's survived things that are much worse today alone.
Post by: miauw62 on July 13, 2015, 11:21:51 am
Head off in a direction at random, gather and eat berries I come across.
Post by: Tomcost on July 13, 2015, 12:33:50 pm
As the stone is too thigtly packed, instead of tunnelling, try pulling a stone cylinder out of the wall, then start tunneling from there.
Post by: Xanmyral on July 13, 2015, 07:37:03 pm
The desk was surprised to hear the voice. A person! Somebody! Morton quickly speaks up and works up his best butler charm. Perhaps he can find something out? The fellow seems rather amiable.
"Oh! Terribly sorry, I didn't know. Could you spare a moment of your time for a quick word? I'd offer refreshments of tea, but I'm afraid I lost what I had already prepared on me. I must admit, this certainly isn't what I expected when I created the portal."
Post by: killerhellhound on July 13, 2015, 07:58:48 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on July 14, 2015, 02:49:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 14, 2015, 07:01:07 am
With a flawless record for foraging and a nearly flawlessly catastrophic record for willing things into being, Kevin goes for foraging as his new plan. And maybe some pathfinding as well. He heads off in a random direction, looking for delicious vittles on the way.
Fortunately, both prove to be rather wisely chosen, as a mere six hours later he now has quite an assortment of yellow, orange, black and even a few red berries (the ones he was fairly sure were wild raspberries and strawberries, to be specific, not any of the other red berries he happened to encounter) in him - it's not quite filling, but it serves to keep him from starving. Considering his long walk, it's none too surprising that he does eventually happen on some kind of village placed at the confluence of two creeks.
Approaching slowly, Kevin notes several things. For one, the place seems pretty still and quiet. Secondly, he's pretty sure one of the creeks has a heavily mutilated corpse of some kind on its shore not far from where he's standing, mostly by the way its arms appear to be broken in several places, its neck snapped and its skull soundly broken, which happen to be the only parts of the corpse still visible. And thirdly, the wind sounds odd here. A bit... articulate for a natural phenomenon, with too much varying pitch and modality. Can't exactly tell what the wind's on about, though. At least not so near to the creeks.
In an improperly sealed entrance chamber...
Sigmund considers how best to rephrase his attempt to tunnel, and figures he'll just try to pull a cylinder out of the wall, forgetting for a moment that his ability to project a theoretical presence upon stone does not technically allow him to pull much of anything. Pulling is just pushing in a different reference frame, right?
[Magic roll: 3]
He tries the pushing thing, and upon trying it with some projected presence notes that the walls of the chamber do not seem to quite approximate the end of the complex - he can project some presence a mere meter beyond in one particular spot and there's emptiness in there - better yet, there seems to be some kind of vertical shaft on the other end, judging by a quick probe. Excited, Sigmund forms a fist of presence and forces it to come toward him at badger eye level - it connects! And about three or four good presence-punches later he notices a crack forming on this side of the wall. Progress!
In a chamber beneath a lit room...
Morton, not ready to give up, calls out after the leaving silhouette from beneath.
"Oh! Terribly sorry, I didn't know. Could you spare a moment of your time for a quick word? I'd offer refreshments of tea, but I'm afraid I lost what I had already prepared on me. I must admit, this certainly isn't what I expected when I created the portal."
The shuffling noise stops, and it's clear the silhouette's moving quickly back again. Its head pops up above again.
"Was that backchat I heard? For your sake, I sure hope not! No breakfast for you, either, for prophylactic purposes! Give me actual backchat, ooh, then you'll be really sorry!" the silhouette goes in an ominous voice. It neglects to disappear, electing to laugh to itself instead as it contemplates Morton's inevitably terrible fate. Perhaps a bit too long, in fact.
In the control chamber of a giant void eel...
Mark, upon seeing the stupendous variety of choice in thingamabobs, whatsits and gizmos in this place, can hardly contain himself, and immediately flips out in a button-pushing frenzy. Oddly, this results in little more than a lurch in the void eel's movements, which does put Mark a little off balance, but seems altogether less dangerous than one would expect pushing random buttons in a sensitive control center to be.
Maybe there's some pattern required to make this into a proper air accident, or maybe despite the lack of names for all of these buttons this place does adhere to some form of safety.
Atop the fallen Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott carefully circles around the ruins, using his architectural expertise to evaluate where in gods' names might Francine's floor have fallen. He manages to narrow it down to the furthermost areas of the ruins, but not much narrower than that. This stuff does get a bit mixed up at times.
And then suddenly he hears a rather terrible-sounding cry for help in his mind, in a voice that sounds an awful lot like Francine's, he thinks right before its piercing qualities start to drive him to act with little thought.
[Will roll: 4]
Being no stranger to insistent impulses, however, Scott takes a moment to analyze this request. It seems to be aimed at a particular spot of rubble, quite deep in it, in fact, and it does appear to coincide with Scott's loose estimation of where the third topmost floor might have fallen. Francine's probably a little distressed, being buried under all that rubble. The initial impulse seems to have been to push it upward, but that doesn't seem like it'd work too well with that much rubble. Maybe a different approach.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 14, 2015, 07:08:26 am
Scott will use his singular dimensionality to slide under the rocks and lift them one by one...or get completely bored and attempt to crush them in his grasp. Which ever works.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 14, 2015, 07:53:58 am
Post by: Dark One on July 14, 2015, 09:40:42 am
Spoiler: Character sheet (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on July 14, 2015, 10:13:58 am
Post by: Xanmyral on July 15, 2015, 05:01:06 pm
The desk floated away from the hatch and inspected the door once more. It was the way he came, but also leads to where he and Wilma got separated. Perhaps its worth another look and a bit more effort... Once his strange captor is away.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 16, 2015, 12:16:12 pm
Leave.
Post by: miauw62 on July 22, 2015, 03:06:29 am
Cautiously approach the village.
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 23, 2015, 07:34:35 am
Scott urges calm in this distressing situation.
~Calm down, you are undead, act like it! Be stoic about this, I'll have you out before your bones rot away,~ he thinks at the rubble, and the shrieking immediately stops. Now in a much better state of mind, Scott slides into the rubble easily, starting to lift out bits of rubble.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He hefts a bit of wall off the rubble, sending it sliding down the side of the ruins. This proves to be quite an undertaking, taking quite a bit out of the poor ghost, but it does clear a reasonable amount of the rubble atop the area the shriek seems to have been indicating. Picking several more bits of architecture out, Scott is making considerable headway on the rubble, getting about halfway down. Fortunately quite a bit of the rubble is in smaller chunks than the other bits, but soon enough he comes upon what he suspects to be the remnants of Francine's chambers - these seem to be in a considerably larger set of pieces than the other rubble.
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
Indeed, these pieces seem a bit too heavy to lift with any degree of success. Perhaps a new method is in order.
~You're getting very close,~ the voice of Francine suddenly pipes up in his head. ~Keep at it! Sorry about shrieking in your brain earlier, by the way. That was more of a distress call than specifically addressed to you.~
In the control room of a giant void eel...
Mark considers briefly why it might be that his efforts are not producing much in the way of results. He's pushed all the buttons, after all. Well, there's one he didn't push, or rather it was a switch - the one the shadow fellow flipped before his untimely demise. Ignoring his common sense and failing to thank his lucky stars for the lack of catastrophes thus far, he flicks that very same switch. The panels full of widgets and whatsits light up, indicating that something was definitely just done, but the void eel continues on its course unimpeded and unbothered.
Question is, does Mark feel lucky enough to bother it further?
In an improperly sealed stone chamber...
Sigmund, his efforts finally meeting some success, tries to pierce a larger hole in the wall.
[Magic roll: 2]
He keeps slamming that fist of presence into the wall, but the crack fails to widen any further. Damn it. A different approach is probably required.
In captivity inside a great void beast...
Morton, instinctively issuing a quiet apology to the shadowy figure, floats away from the hatch and checks out the door. His captor, after laughing for a minute or so, finally goes away to attend to his own business. This is what Morton has been waiting for, of course. He works his tentacular appendages under the door and gives it his best.
[Strength roll: 3]
He manages to widen the crack he's already made some further - probably enough to be able to slide on under it with a minimum of crumpling incurred on his demonology handbook. Beyond the door, of course, there seems to be only darkness, but it does happen to be the likely path to good mage Wilma, so the darkness he may very well need to brave to find her.
In a newly ownerless store...
Darren begins to understand his predicament.
"Oh. I'll take that as a 'You've been cursed to kill anyone you speak with.'"
The dead storekeeper implies consent with his silence, and Darren takes that as his cue to leave. Would be disrespectful to loot his store while he's dead, of course. Moving back out into the streets, he takes a look around. No people wandering the streets, fortunately for them. Must not be a very busy time of day.
Outside an eerily phenomenated village...
Kevin moves toward the village, carefully looking about, but finding very little that is outright threatening rather than merely highly ominous - approaching closer, the only thing properly noticeable is the deathly stillness of the place, all of it slightly intensified by the odd sound of the wind. Crossing over a half-broken bridge running over one of the creeks, Kevin comes into the village proper, which remains as lifeless as the rest of the area. As he walks through the village streets, he suddenly hears a sound coming from behind him. Being on edge throughout the approach, he flips around to look at it.
What he sees, unfortunately, is distressingly familiar. The large, scarred, upright shape of a wandering murder-dolphin, its beady eyes staring right at him, mouth slightly open and spiky teeth showing. Worse, it seems to be holding something between its flippers - a cabbage, bright pink and probably extremely delicious. Balancing precariously on its tail, the dolphin appears to be hopping toward Kevin, seemingly proffering the cabbage insistently.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 23, 2015, 09:29:12 am
Slink off into the wilderness.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 23, 2015, 11:53:32 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 24, 2015, 04:45:45 pm
The desk moves past the door and dials his light up.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 24, 2015, 08:09:05 pm
Post by: miauw62 on July 25, 2015, 12:54:02 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 25, 2015, 01:10:15 pm
Post by: blazing glory on July 25, 2015, 01:23:22 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 25, 2015, 06:31:08 pm
Post by: Xantalos on July 25, 2015, 06:34:13 pm
Post by: ATHATH on July 25, 2015, 06:54:26 pm
((Oh, and Sigmund's relatively safe for now. He might be in a dangerous spot in a bit though, who knows with HB?))Plot twist: the door was a "Pull" door and the hole is the "normal" entrance, and Sigmund is in no actual danger (yet).
Post by: Innsmothe on July 26, 2015, 09:22:55 am
[Niklas died, Mark and Morton are in sort of a weird-but-potentially-lethal situation in a demon realm, Kevin is playing with powers beyond mortal keen, and Darren ticked off the death god last I recall. Only one relatively safe at the moment is Scott, which is a sentence I never thought I'd type.]{Scott is very fun, not even fate has yet tired of the torture unlife gives him. :D }
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2015, 10:18:30 am
Darren decides that civilization is not for him, and floats out of the town, careful not to kill anyone on the way, flying off into the plains all around. It's a gray, overcast day, and the horizon doesn't quite fill him with hope, being some variety of brownish grassland as far as the eye can see in most directions, though off in the southward distance he does perceive what could potentially be a stretch of woods through all the grass and mud.
Perhaps it is there that he could hide, unseen by any civilized eye for interminable aeons, though how enjoyable such a fate may be is up for debate.
Atop the crumbled ruins of the fallen Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott advances his rock management strategy by enlisting some manageable rocks in a strategical attack on the undesirable bits lying atop poor buried Francine.
[Telekinesis roll: 2]
He starts to lift a particular piece of rubble, but this then immediately explodes for an entirely unknown reason. He tries another one, and it flies off into the sky. A tornado of rubble briefly pauses in its rampage through the city to regard him, going completely still and motionless while still retaining all of its components, then shrugs and continues on its way. One bit of rubble moves the complete opposite way. Bugger. This is hardly conducive to proper landscaping, and the pinkness appears to be asserting itself over some of these rocks in an unfortunate manner.
In an improperly sealed chamber within a void eel...
Morton after taking a deep, if superfluous breath slinks under the opened door, bathing the rounded passage beyond it with his great brown light - it looks to be some kind of tube, and proves uneventful to follow back to the point he would think to be the one he was separated from good mage Wilma at.
What this appears to be is a padded wedge of some kind, at the same time delicate and firm, clearly meant for separation of ingested individuals that come in through an odd sphincter-like "mouth", or perhaps a door, at the front of the passage. The other passage - the one Wilma was likely to have flown down - seems much the same as his, including the same sort of door at the end. Rather fortuitous that they had exactly two passages to accommodate two captured individuals, truly. Must be a common thing around here, people attached to one another, that they should have a system for separating them, though Morton also gets the idea that a heaping helping of magic is also at work here, judging from the feeling these soft walls are giving him.
He is about to go and perhaps knock on the door, but suddenly the entirety of the world starts spinning all around him, the walls smashing into him and sending him in the same wild, confusing spin. This takes quite a bit of getting used to, at least two minutes' worth - this many Gs of acceleration Morton has not experienced in quite a while, though it seems to be lessening over time at a perhaps unreasonably slow rate.
In a void eel's control room...
Mark, having pushed one button, meditates on its meaning for a moment before pushing another. He feels himself get pushed backward as the eel picks up speed. Ooh! What a charming control. Should keep it in mind.
He pushes another, and there is a mechanical sound that Mark's unsure as to the meaning of. Probably nothing, really, which is disappointing. His sight is drawn to another, bright orange button. Doesn't seem to have been bright orange before, actually, which is a very interesting sign. Feeling curious, Mark pushes it immediately, and a panel slides open with a metallic noise, revealing a lever. What a charming trail of clues! With abandon people would come to expect of him if they could indeed live long enough in his presence to expect anything he pulls the lever, causing the void eel to do an incredibly strange twist and bend that forces Mark into the ceiling of the control room (perhaps it would have been a good idea to sit down and strap in, but hindsight's 20/20), the momentary weightlessness feeling very unusual and pleasant for him.
He gets the urge to laugh, but doesn't quite get the chance, as it is then that there is a louder crash than anything Mark has ever heard before, the otherworldly sound of metals never dreamed of by mortal minds crumpling as a result of massive force being exerted on them, all in the span of a second or so. There is a loud blare, and then a whoosh, and suddenly Mark falls to the ground with incredible roughness, losing a good few teeth as his face impacts the hard floor. Fortunately, he does not at all require his face to see, and so he notes without trouble that quite a few of the bits in the control room have gone slightly lopsided. And also a lot of them have gone dark. That's certainly an odd turn of events, he supposes.
In a dolphin-infested village...
Not wanting either dolphins or pink cabbages in his life right now, Kevin makes a break for it, perhaps not fully understanding the implications of running deeper into the village that appears to have been abandoned due to a combination of this and possibly more. Running away, he notes the dolphin pursuing him with gusto, its lack of human-compatible facial features nevertheless showing something that might be enthusiasm.
Kevin, naturally, comes to immediately regret this decision as he observes three more dolphins ahead coming out of a building, all joyful and making dolphin noises to one another that surely mean that something evil must be afoot here. Taking a hard left he darts between some buildings, hoping the cabbage-carrying dolphin has a wide enough profile to have difficulty following him. A nice enough plan, of course, if it weren't for the fact that he manages to plow right into a dolphin seemingly relaxing in the backyard of someone it has brutally murdered, judging by the assortment of human remains strewn about. The mass of the dolphin, of course, means that he smashes into it and falls right back, simultaneously attracting attention and losing his footing. The scarred shape of a native resident of the Sea of Death looming above him and blood rushing into his ears, Kevin ponders what to do next when the wind, still unusually articulate for these climes, finally utters something resembling a word. A familiar word.
~kevin!~ the word echoes just on the edge of his hearing, followed by another. ~hello!~
In an improperly sealed chamber of teleportation...
Not prepared to give up, Sigmund psyches himself up for some old-fashioned penetration, which he feels confident in performing on this stubborn stone wall. Preparing his magnificent presence for a moment, he thrusts forward his forceful spike, hoping to undo the wall in one great swoop.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
It doesn't quite fall apart before him, but a vigorous round of thrusting does seem to do him well enough, making a serviceable hole in the wall, revealing a dark shaft beyond. Looking inside, Sigmund notices that it goes up and down, both ways for quite a distance, and that it seems rather roomy for one of his size, which both seem like very good things - furthermore, he does believe he can spot a star or two up at the top of the shaft, leading him to believe that there might be only the night sky above him. There's also another spot that he can make out a bit higher where some light is shining in - perhaps a passage to access the shaft?
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2015, 11:12:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2015, 11:19:55 am
"You again?"
~we should be saying the same thing! would not have thought that you would be alive at this point. how is life? our sight carries poorly this far off,~ the voice of the lovely gub resounds in your head, the connection growing stronger with every second. The dolphin tilts its head at your remark, perhaps wondering what you mean by it.
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2015, 11:27:58 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 26, 2015, 11:42:51 am
"My unlife is as confusing and hard as always. I'd appreciate it if these dolphins didn't eat me, too. I've acquired a powerful form of magic that I don't really understand, so killing me is probably not in your best interest."
~oh, if only we could manipulate the dolphins! their uniqueness stymies us still. you're on your own here, friend! though we would advise you make way back to the free city of gub! we do sense a great degree of lostitude about you. and your master has already grown critically impatient!~
The dolphin, perplexed at your loud non-sequiturs, pauses to consider whether it would be a good idea to eat you just yet, or so you assume.
Post by: miauw62 on July 26, 2015, 11:58:29 am
Stab the dolphin and then abscond away from the village.
Post by: Tomcost on July 26, 2015, 12:48:15 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 26, 2015, 07:57:22 pm
If this is successful, the desk will try to slowly amble his way towards the door good mage Wilma is presumed to be behind by inching his way across with his hands. Hopefully she's alright in all of this mess.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 27, 2015, 11:59:33 pm
Post by: killerhellhound on July 28, 2015, 05:45:37 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 28, 2015, 02:52:14 pm
Utilizing the dolphin's confusion, Kevin launches a treacherous, underhanded sneak attack, rolling to his feet and striking swiftly.
[Kevin vs. Dolphin: 1+1 vs. 5+1-1]
The dolphin, however, dodges with shocking adeptness, and in a single instant appears to make up its mind that yes, it would probably be in its best interest to savage Kevin terribly.
[Counterattack: Dolphin vs. Kevin: 3+1 vs. 2]
Launching toward him, the dolphin slams its hard, tough nose into Kevin's chest, sending him stumbling backwards, the wind knocked right out of him.
[Dolphin vs. Kevin: 4+1 vs. 5]
The distance Kevin gains on the furious aquatic mammal, though, allows him to get a good head start on running the hell away even while the dolphin leaps forward, which in retrospect may have been a smarter idea to do immediately. Stumbling forth, he starts to run away from the village. However, his first desperate stumble does not afford him much in the way of speed, and with some concern he notes that the dolphin appears to be gaining on him rapidly, now whipped into an appropriate rage to tear every bone out of his body in short order. After running down a street for a bit with no luck, he decides to half-run, half-roll into another space between buildings, which the dolphin is fortunately too fat to comfortably fit through.
Feeling like he's got a moment to catch his breath, Kevin rests his back against a nearby wall, only to be interrupted, as one might expect, by the dolphin from before leaping at him from above. It's actually a little late by Kevin's own reckoning.
[Dolphin vs. Kevin: 6+1 vs. 6]
And though he is bumped something fierce by the dolphin's descent, he is fortunate to say that it's not as bad as all that, as most of the dolphin's weight does go into the ground, which fazes it little, as it flops back up and balances on its tail. He'd almost forgotten the pleasures of being chased about by dolphins within an urban environment.
At a hole leading to freedom...
Sigmund prepares to lift off, stepping atop his phylactery and lifting it up with his magical presence. Floating through the hole carefully, he takes a moment to look up. Quite a long way to go, it seems - difficult to tell with the darkness. He then looks down, and notes an even longer way to go. With trepidation he tries to make himself ascend.
[Magic roll: 1]
The darkness doesn't help, and neither does his rather unwieldy grip on the phylactery, and so he manages to misjudge the application of presence ever so slightly, and the phylactery tips one way precariously with him still on it.
[Agility roll: 6+1]
Sigmund makes a sudden yelp and moves his paws rapidly, causing the phylactery to tip further, combining it all with a furious reapplication of magic, a process which unfortunately furthers itself to the point where Sigmund is now running atop the phylactery constantly, afraid to stop for fear of plummeting an untold distance downward into what may be a very literal abyss.
In a spinning tunnel of misery...
Morton takes a moment to come to a standstill in the spinning tunnel's reference frame, stabilizing himself with a multitude of projected arms. Within a minute or so he finds himself next to Wilma's door, which seems undisturbed by the spinning.
It does, however, appear to be greatly disturbed by the fact that good mage Wilma seems to be yelling and banging on something from the inside, which seems like it'd call for something approaching a quick response.
Above the ruins of the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Not satisfied with his insufficient power, Scott considers briefly where he might find some more. He considers one way, then the other, and pushes at the great bits of rubble and pulls, but nothing comes of it save a small display of twinkling lights around the rubble in question, which seem to mock him.
The shameful thing is, his contemplation of the task is of such intensity that he neglects to even get mad about the nearby area clearly mocking him for being unable to dig through several hundred tons of rubble in search for a buried mage.
In the control room of a giant void eel...
Mark, having technically not failed yet at his goal in any capacity, at least as far as he can tell, sits down at the shadow fellow's chair and pulls some straps over himself, feeling much more secure already, even if he's not quite sure what the proper procedure is for using these - much like the controls, they do seem replete with whatsits and protrusions of an ominous nature. Assuming he's done a serviceable job with what he knows, though, he gets back to the controls, testing out some interesting-looking buttons, going for the first glowing one, which emits a powerful shriek that chills Mark to his very bones, and seems to shriek for as long as it keeps it pressed down. How strange.
Next he tries one of the more conspicuous levers, and finds himself slightly pulled upwards as a result. Wonderful!
Finally, he tries a green whatsit, twiddling it this way and that before finding the right way to do it - it clicks, and then Mark feels a sudden roar, and is forced down into the chair with extreme force, to the point where he starts to feel a bit faint. It doesn't last long, however, as soon the roar cuts out, and is instead replaced by a very powerful boom that sends Mark's new chair off the floor and flying upwards - he manages to avoid getting smashed into the ceiling by shrinking back and allowing the armrests to take most of the punishment, which admittedly ruins the chair's structural integrity a little.
Worse, though, Mark becomes aware of a gaping hole beneath him all of a sudden, through which the only thing he can see is blackness - around him the control room appears to have split into several fragments, which now seem to be slowly drifting apart, a black void visible through every widening crack, the individual pieces starting to rotate away from each other. The hallway that led him here, Mark notices, seems to be gone as well.
In fact, he can't really see much beyond this control room, least of all any trace of the void eel he was attempting to commandeer (though a brief red glint does indicate that the light is probably still out there somewhere), which leads him to believe that he may not be as good of a driver as he may have believed. And none of the buttons on the disintegrating control room look to be glowy anymore, which is even worse.
Post by: miauw62 on July 28, 2015, 02:53:52 pm
((i'm too scared to will things to die ;-;))
Post by: Harry Baldman on July 28, 2015, 02:55:37 pm
WILL ALL DOLPHINS I SEE TO DIE. (but keep running ;-;)
I can't see any way this could possibly go wrong.
Post by: miauw62 on July 28, 2015, 02:58:52 pm
Post by: Tomcost on July 28, 2015, 03:02:10 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on July 28, 2015, 04:58:52 pm
Ah, the work of a good butler never ends as they say. It keeps him from being bored, none the less.
The demonic desk examined the door for any sort of easy open, latch, lock, wheel, anything that looked like an opening mechanism. If he fails to find anything, Morton will brace himself as best he can and try to lift the door.
Post by: killerhellhound on July 28, 2015, 05:49:02 pm
Mark unstraps himself and leaps to the red light trying to get out of the disintergrating sections making a mental note that if anyone asks he ment to do that.
Post by: Innsmothe on July 29, 2015, 12:45:16 am
Burn the infection.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 30, 2015, 03:56:07 pm
Go into the woods and explore. Spook people, but acoid killing them.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 08, 2015, 09:33:10 am
Kevin, after briefly considering suicide as an alternative, starts to run for his life once again. The dolphin starts to follow, making hideous dolphin noises for intimidation purposes. This makes Kevin run a bit faster - fast enough, in fact, that he manages to run clear of the village in about a minute, vaulting over a farmhouse fence, turning a corner and then bolting straight into a nearby grove of trees, disappearing from sight entirely.
After about three more solid minutes of running, Kevin is pleased to note that he doesn't appear to have any notable pursuers on his tail. The dolphin noises ceased a while ago, and now there's only the sound of crickets and miscellaneous wildlife in the thick, brambly undergrowth to keep him company as well as the occasional snapping twig and the solemn whispering of a pink cabbage nestled in one particular tree hollow.
~nicely run!~ the voice of the gub rings out once again. ~your survival is continually interesting in its mounting unlikelihood!~
In a dark vertical shaft...
Sigmund prepares himself for the worst as he tries to jump off his phylactery back into the large chamber.
[Agility roll: 6+1]
Concentrating on the task at hand with all his might, he flawlessly times a leap back into the chamber, landing about as perfectly as a badger ever has - definitely a 9 out of 10 at the very least. Maybe even more if he could remember the proper step one's supposed to do to demonstrate their poise and... wait, he might be forgetting something.
[Will roll: 5]
Oh dear. Phylactery's falling. Better catch it.
[Magic roll: 2]
Looking down, Sigmund sends a scoop of presence sweeping upward, hoping to seize the phylactery before it falls even further - unfortunately, he misjudges the distance a little, and narrowly misses it by sweeping the scoop too close. That's... not good at all. Fortunately, though, it looks like a very long way down, so he'll have at least another chance by his on-the-cuff calculations!
In a spinning corridor...
Now appropriately stabilized, Morton examines the door to good mage Wilma's accommodations, which appears to be very similar to his own. There is no visible latch or any other opening mechanism, so Morton supposes the brute force method will have to do.
[Strength roll: 4]
Perhaps motivated by the direness of the situation, Morton raises the door quite handily, revealing a room that is, for all intents and purposes, completely identical to his own. Within he observes none other than good mage Wilma, who appears to have made an effort to grab onto the hatch handle, only to be met with the hatch coming off similarly to how it did for Morton. Right now she appears to be curled up and trying to minimize trauma from banging against the wall, the back of her head solidly covered with her hands. One could presumably forgive her for not noticing Morton in the doorframe, preoccupied with being tossed around as she is.
In a disintegrating bit of void eel...
Mark takes a moment to unstrap himself and take a dive out of the destroyed control room, shoving aside weightless debris as he shoots toward the red light, getting clear of the crap in his way without much issue. The red light, unfortunately for him, appears as distant as ever, and doesn't appear to be getting appreciably closer. Must be very far away, truly.
Much, much closer, however, and slowly approaching at that there is something else - it resembles a humanoid salamander seemingly carved of living luminescent ivory winding its way through the void, its head an odd mixture of man and amphibian, its two arms longer than the rest of its body, the fingers webbed and with what look like blunt, very fancifully curved hooks at their ends, the legs looking stunted and much more animal-like in comparison. From the way it moves, Mark can't help but think it's probably much further away than it first appears. At the moment it seems to be scanning the wreckage Mark seems to have left behind.
Atop the mysterious ruins of Eckledun's Black Tower...
Scott's plan of alternating between the two methods of burnination and telekinesis seem to have worked well thus far, so why fix what isn't broken?
~Ms. Francine? do you have any power to shift the remainder of the rubble, I may have to resort to pyromancy again to keep this pink malady at bay. I think it alters the effects of magic abilities... or the nature of anything it fancies,~
he warns Francine beforehand, knowing full well the risks of burninating that which is touched by pink.
~I don't, sadly - not a mage-hand, you see. I am starting to see an appeal in controlling motion, though. Should I survive I will definitely look into it post-haste. And yes, the pink does whatever it wants, hence its undesirability in most affairs. In any case, my current tomb ought to protect me at least a bit.~
[Firestarting roll: 4]
With this reassurance Scott sets fire to the layer of rocks atop Francine's place of burial, and sees them immediately catch on fire like so much dry hay, which seems like an oddly non-explosive result, occasional popping pebble notwithstanding. The large piece of rubble he couldn't move certainly burns rather well, cracking into smaller components as the flames cover it all over. Not bad at all!
In climes most far...
Darren takes a moment to ponder whether inserting himself into local folklore is a good idea as he heads toward the distant woods, watching the grass slowly transition into trees and shrubs as the hour passes, until at last he finds himself faced with the slightly overgrown majesty of the woods.
"Well. Maybe I'll become some sort of folk tale. That'll make up for the eternal solitude," he says, the image of the ghosts in the City of the Dead, twisted in mind and shape from an interminable existence without any sort of purpose perhaps not as fresh upon his mind as one might hope. He moves to explore, but is suddenly distracted by a sound. A tree falling somewhere behind him.
Turning around, he notices a very peculiar thing - the path he took to get here stretches out behind him, a black and empty trail of mud. The trees and shrubs have bent over it, their leaves having fallen off and their limbs twisted oddly and covered in tumors, and one appears to have snapped in half. A bird's nest has fallen out of another, revealing a whole clutch of dead, almost unrecognizably disfigured chicks. Huh. Guess it'll be easier for him to make a name for himself than one would think.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: miauw62 on August 08, 2015, 09:37:53 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 08, 2015, 09:44:11 am
((Dammit, why do I have to keep getting into these situations?))
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 08, 2015, 09:47:47 am
"Any reason why it's mounting?"
~on a long enough time scale the survival rate of everyone drops to zero! but you do not seem to be an outlier on the shorter end, strangely enough. we would have thought sending you off in a direction would end up getting you very much killed, and yet here you are! it is surprises like these that make us reconsider things momentarily. would you happen to know if the rest of your compatriots are dead?~
Post by: killerhellhound on August 08, 2015, 06:17:10 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 08, 2015, 11:30:03 pm
With little more adieu or prompt, the demonic desk moves into the room (keeping stabilized) and tries to gently catch her with whatever arms he can free.
Post by: miauw62 on August 09, 2015, 07:44:55 am
Try to find my way out of the village and go in the direction I was going, preferably on a road.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 09, 2015, 04:35:04 pm
Post by: ATHATH on August 09, 2015, 09:21:36 pm
GHOST SMASHIt must suck to be a ghost version of the Hulk. You lose most of the benefits of the transformation due to incorporeality, and retain the downsides.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 11, 2015, 02:23:46 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 13, 2015, 08:14:24 am
Sigmund, convinced that he had best not fail if he knows what's good for him, tries to catch his phylactery once more.
[Magic roll: 4]
And so, with a great mitt of presence coming in from below at a rapid pace, he manages to seize his phylactery with a minimum of damage sustained (that is to say, it is merely cracked rather than broken in the process, the force of gravity seemingly rather lenient at this time of night. With that done, Sigmund lets instinct take over as he starts to float his phylactery back up. Whew. Would have been pretty terrible if it had gotten lost in an abyss. But now it's safe, thank goodness.
In the dark and lonely void...
Mark shoots for the salamander - if he misses, he'll at least be going for the darkness. He paddles in the void for a bit and twists about, supposing that if he can breathe in here, why not swim? The void seems to agree, and Mark starts to alter his trajectory, bringing himself onto a discreet collision course with the salamander, starting to fly over it and hoping that he can hit it in the back. Drawing closer, he notes that his first impression does seem to have been correct - while no doubt far closer than the red light, whatever that may be, the salamander is still very far away. Consequently, considering its current visage, it is also really quite immense.
Despite its magnitude, though, it seems to notice immediately as Mark steers his course toward the thing, and apparently with great interest it swoops closer, covering an unimaginable distance in the span of a second as it critically underestimates Mark's distance from it and accidentally swats him with a flick of its city-sized palm.
[Mark's endurance roll: 3]
Mark's impression that something isn't quite right with physics here is confirmed when the swat merely serves to break a massive number of bones in his now-careening body rather than reduce him to a thin red fog as being smacked with an entire city at orbital velocity normally would. On the bright side, he does seem to be careening toward the red light now.
"DAMN!" says the salamander in a voice that shakes Mark's internals even further. "WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN? COME BACK, YOU!"
The salamander starts to swim in the void after Mark, though it seems to be falling behind as Mark flies like a bullet through the void, in pain and horrifically injured all over.
In a spinning prison...
Morton, stabilized himself and in a position of advantage, has some soothing words to offer as he attempts to seize the tumbling good mage Wilma.
"Good mage Wilma, just a moment please. I shall have you to safety most expediently," he says as he slides into the room and extends a series of tendrils to stabilize her similarly to himself.
[Morton's strength roll: 4]
Fortunately, flexible as his tendrils are, it is beyond elementary to form a perfectly good net for the mage, and Morton manages to still her painful tumbling with slight effort, which good mage Wilma seems to very much appreciate.
"Guh..." she exhales, removing her hands from her head and opening her eyes, then looking at the heroic desk. "That was horrible. Thank you for saving me, Morton. I..." she starts to say, then takes stock of the rest of the room, her head seemingly still spinning internally, and only barely manages to keep her lunch down. "Ugh. I don't feel so good. You've, uh... you've got a way out of here?" she asks, very much green around the gills.
In the woods outside a dolphin-murdered village...
"Dying once was enough for me, and I've gotten close plenty of times. And no, I don't know where they are. I was looking for them, in fact," Kevin explains to the gub as he proceeds in the direction he was going before attempting to escape, being well clear of the village for a good while now.
~ah, then you did indeed all get separated. helpful to know! we will relay these news to your master shortly!~
A few hours pass until Kevin finds himself staring at a familiar sight - Mothdale, still as messed-up as he recalls it being, though a bit shinier now as its tall towers glitter in the distance.
~behold, kevin! do you like the glittering? we could not master transmutation just yet, so we just had erin and one of the mages sent back here help out on that! we think it looks fantastic! a worthwhile three days spent, surely!~
Above the fallen Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott is about to bring this rubble nonsense to an end, concentrating his power in a telekinetic smash for the ages.
[Telekinesis roll: 4]
He finally manages to break through the rubble, his telekinesis breaking stones and other remnants of the tower floor alike. Shuffling aside the debris, he finally comes upon a small, partly crushed closet, no doubt the hiding place of the mage he has been looking for. As he nears it, the door is kicked open, and out climbs a stout, yet womanly figure missing two things of significance - first of all clothes of any sort, and secondly a head, the top of her neck just a sewn-up, conspicuously unhealed stump, though the rest of the body looks rather pristine, all things considered. The figure takes a moment to fish around in the closet, retrieving a shiny metallic skull which she takes under her arm.
~Thanks for the assistance,~ the voice of Francine rings out in his head, the skull's eye cavities hosting tiny greenish lights as its sorcerous power activates. ~Now, care to give me a lift or an escort? I should be getting out of here as quickly as possible.~
Post by: miauw62 on August 13, 2015, 08:23:16 am
Post by: Tomcost on August 13, 2015, 08:26:23 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 13, 2015, 09:17:16 am
"If I give you this magic, can I have my body back? I don't know how to really transfer it to you, but I think I can find out..."
~which magic do you mean?~
Post by: miauw62 on August 13, 2015, 09:42:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 13, 2015, 09:47:53 am
"It's some weird scroll thing I got. I can do stuff and make stuff just by willing it to happen."
~hm! maybe we will take that off your hands! show that to evelyn in the central tower. we shall notify her of your arrival.~
Post by: Innsmothe on August 13, 2015, 10:17:29 am
"Any idea on where we should go now the world is ending?"
Post by: miauw62 on August 13, 2015, 11:03:04 am
Go to the central tower, show it to Evelyn.
Post by: ATHATH on August 13, 2015, 11:11:05 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 13, 2015, 11:37:13 am
I posted a character sheet here, right?
((If you did, I certainly missed it. Haven't put you on the waitlist, at least.))
Post by: ATHATH on August 13, 2015, 01:07:46 pm
Oh.I posted a character sheet here, right?
((If you did, I certainly missed it. Haven't put you on the waitlist, at least.))
Archetype: Ghost
Name: Jeremy
Method of Death: Jeremy committed suicide, in order to meet up with the meta-stream (which has been the target of his life's research), so that he may become what he has dubbed a "PC".
Post by: Xanmyral on August 13, 2015, 07:25:00 pm
Morton started making his way out from the way they came (more fell really), keeping his light on.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 15, 2015, 05:55:43 am
Double back, try to find a way with less life to extinguish./b]
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 27, 2015, 01:49:56 pm
Sigmund goes on with his pulling plot, making his phylactery ascend at a decent clip, feeling like he just dodged a rather terrible fate awaiting his phylactery in the deep dark abyss.
[Sigmund's dodge roll: 5+1-1]
And of course, just as he thinks this, he manages to dodge something he presumes to be relatively similar, jumping back from the shaft just as a tendril of something very thin, yet highly abrasive sweeps across his flesh in what was probably an attempt to catch him - only a dash of nigh-preternatural vampire badger quickness allows him to slide out of it in an instant, leaving him with just a bit of fur missing, bleeding abrasions left in its place - the looped tendril that seems to have assaulted him retreats back into the darkness above, which seems like a rather ominous development.
In the uncovered ruins of the Black Tower of Eckledun...
Scott, having succeeded in rescuing the telepathic witch of the tower, begins the next stage of the plan, which is to hoist her up into the sky.
[Scott's telekinesis roll: 6]
With but a minute quiver of his ectoplasm he manages to launch Francine, head and body both, right up into the sky at amazing speed, watching her disappear into the darkness above, blending with the stars and the clouds. He begins to follow at a decent clip himself, flying up some three kilometers before he starts to wonder if it wouldn't be more efficient to let her come back to him at this point.
In the not-so-free city of the gub...
Kevin proceeds through the streets of the city, finding them slightly shinier than before. Probably all that transmutation.
"Mind giving me directions to the central tower? I'd be happy to give this away if I could get my old body back, to be honest. Having a hard time dealing with all these catches..." he says as he turns down a dark alley to dodge an incoming set of distracted dolphins, only to come upon a pink cabbage placed on a rough stone pedestal, just standing in the middle of the alleyway.
~it's the tallest one, hint hint!~ say the gub, conveniently distracting Kevin from contemplating this find and getting him moving out the other end of the alley. ~and we may even give you your body back, yes! depends on the quality of your service!~
Heading out, Kevin does find the tower very easily - it is indeed the tallest one. Navigating bridges over the channels running along the streets, he gets inside the enormous building, where Evelyn seems to be waiting on a bench, fingers steepled as she listens to a wormy-looking guy yammering on about something.
"-and let me tell you, the goddamn eleventh - now there was a barrel of laughs. You should have seen what he had in-" the guy speaks, his back currently to Kevin, but is interrupted by Evelyn raising her hand to quiet him, then looking at Kevin.
"You have something for me," she says, looking Kevin over.
"Who's the babe?" the wormy guy wonders in a level tone, causing Evelyn to roll her eyes.
"One of the minions," she replies without looking at him, her gaze still fixed on Kevin with an air of imminent, expected disappointment. Eager to prove her wrong, Kevin pulls out a pink cabbage, then throws it out the nearby door, whereupon it walks off on its own business. Evelyn seems vaguely unnerved by the sight. Next he produces the Mantra, which she seems altogether less threatened by and takes immediately, giving it a careful look.
"Hm. Strange artifact," she says. "What does it do?"
In the esophagus of a void eel...
Fortunately for good mage Wilma, Morton can be always depended on to have an overly optimistic plan.
"Why, the way we came of course, good mage Wilma! Also, I suggest not looking until we've vacated the premises, to ease any ill feelings. I've yet to locate good surgeon Mark, but for now leaving this strange place is of high order," he explains, then proceeds to take her down the tunnel carefully, returning to the sphincter-like mouth-door he beheld but a short while ago. It still appears to be closed and rather forbidding as well as slightly steely, which might not be such a terribly good sign.
"Wait, so we..." Wilma starts after a moment's thought, her voice a little weak, "... just go out there again? What if something eats us again?"
On a path of death and destruction...
Darren momentarily reconsiders plowing straight through a forest and contemplates a different approach as he retreats over his path to prevent unnecessary devegetation.
Giving the matter some thought, it becomes rather apparent to Darren that if he genuinely cares about trees dying, maybe the forest isn't really a good place for him, largely on account of the trees everywhere. Maybe somewhere else would be better? There's plenty of uneventful-looking landscape all around, but that does all seem a bit more bland than a dark forest. Of course, go far enough in any direction and something interesting ought to show up.
Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomcost on August 27, 2015, 02:07:55 pm
Seal the hole with stone magic!. Better to find another way out.
Post by: miauw62 on August 27, 2015, 03:53:07 pm
Post by: ATHATH on August 27, 2015, 04:22:39 pm
"Lets you will yourself anything. That's it, basically. You just will something and it happens."You should probably tell her about the catch.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 28, 2015, 01:55:58 am
"Lets you will yourself anything. That's it, basically. You just will something and it happens."
"Hm," Evelyn says, moving her hands in preparation for some form of magical shenanigans. "Show me."
Post by: killerhellhound on August 28, 2015, 04:14:01 am
Post by: miauw62 on August 28, 2015, 04:44:42 am
Post by: Innsmothe on August 28, 2015, 08:05:23 am
[edit: I can't remember if I was drunk or not when writing this, but I must have been.}
Post by: Xanmyral on August 30, 2015, 09:56:12 am
The desk tried to see if he could pry the barrier open. One must never falter, at least not without an attempt!
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 30, 2015, 11:23:16 am
Sigmund, quite sure that he wants none of what happens to be in that hole, tries to seal it shut.
[Sigmund's magic roll: 4]
Pressing the stone wall with his magical presence, he closes the hole after about ten seconds of concentration - the missing material from the wall, which presumably plummeted down into the shaft, is still very much missing, so unfortunately the wall does become a little thinner. Hopefully whatever spooky jellyfish that was in there will be sufficiently discouraged.
There is, however, the problem of his phylactery, which still happens to be on the other side and still quite a ways down. At least he remembered to keep a hold on it this time around.
In a friendless void...
Mark makes the wise executive decision to go toward the red light instead of the inscrutable salamander thing, weakly paddling with his incredibly broken body. And it does work rather well! The salamander still can't quite keep up, though it doesn't fall behind either. And when it becomes clear that it seems to be going insufficiently fast, the creature starts to swim faster, which leads to an ominous gradual increase in its size.
"STOP!" it yells after Mark in a voice that makes him a touch tingly in the marrow. "THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
In the foyer of Mothdale's central tower...
Kevin, having been adequately prompted to challenge destiny yet again, lets Evelyn see his cabbage-making skills.
[Kevin's magic roll: 2-2]
He thinks of cabbage, great and powerful and sure, why not pink while he's at it, seeking to bring matter into being by force of will, as he clearly has before, and in his fingers he can feel a stirring as the air around them starts to twist and change, adopting a structure that, while not leafy just yet, would likely need just the slightest nudge in the right direction to-
[Evelyn's magic roll: 1]
-go completely out of control, yes. A feeling of resignation strikes Kevin as the contents of his hands spontaneously implode, his eyes opening in alarm, spotting but a single point of absolute blackness hovering in the air above his open palms. Evelyn also appears to be staring at it with an annoyed expression, and for a moment nothing happens, the tower foyer filled with absolute silence.
"Isn't that-" the wormy-looking guy begins to say, but is cut off by a sudden tidal wave of undefinable pink forcing its way through the infinitesimal black point. Before his field of vision becomes pink, Kevin only sees Evelyn flinch and the wormy guy throw his hands up defensively, a deluge of oddly-covered pseudo-matter crashing into his body.
Well, maybe not crashing exactly. Most unusually of all, it doesn't quite feel any worse than a warm wind. Moving his arms, Kevin finds himself with perfectly nice ranges of motion, and after a few moments more of checking he seems to be perfectly fine in all the ways one would find significant. How... distinctly underwhelming.
In the skies above Eckledun...
Scott travels on up, intent on locating the mage while going on incoherently about something to do with imaginary balloons. On the bright side, going on about imaginary balloons helps him endure the long, arduous trip upward.
After a while, he hits what he thinks is a cirrus cloud, hard to tell in the dark, with no Francine in sight. Must have flown up very far indeed.
At a void-creature's mouth...
Morton considers the wisdom of going out into a field of hungry metal monsters.
"Hmmm. I'm not sure if there's a way we can avoid that no matter which way we go, good mage Wilma. I suppose we could go deeper into this strange place, there are others here but they aren't remarkably polite. I can't say I have much of a heart to force the issue with them, I quite prefer peaceful alternatives," he says as he extends his tendrils to the pseudo-mouth, seeking to open it.
"Very well," Wilma sighs back.
[Morton's strength roll: 6]
It quickly becomes apparent that the sphincter-like mouth won't open, so Morton tries a more expedient solution and puts a tendril through it instead, since the surrounding metal wall around the sphincter seems much less durable. A bit scrappy, really. With a bit of punching, twisting and tearing he manages a perfectly sensible hole, moving through it with some ease. Good mage Wilma, however, has a bit of trouble, getting a nasty cut on the arm from the sharp edges, an unsightly spot of blood forming in the area beneath an equally unsightly cut on the robe itself.
"That rather hurts," she complains largely to herself at first, but then beholds the other side of Morton's breach, which makes her purse her lips concernedly.
First of all, the mouth does indeed seem to lead to the void, judging by the red light occasionally streaking past at great speed, indicating that the two of them are probably spinning very fast right about now. Small shiny points of light can also be discerned. But this is of little concern, because there seems to be an enormous salamander-man with incredibly finned long arms spinning past at the same speed, filling the void with an unearthly white glow. And though it doesn't appear to have seen them yet, it pretty clearly seems to be miffed about something.
"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!" it yells after something that neither of the two can see, its voice overpoweringly audible in Morton's position.
Post by: miauw62 on August 30, 2015, 11:29:15 am
Will myself to be somewhere else entirely.
Post by: Innsmothe on August 30, 2015, 12:48:29 pm
FRANCIIIIIIINE!!!! He cries psycially.
Post by: Tomcost on September 02, 2015, 02:07:20 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on September 02, 2015, 08:57:47 pm
"Good news, good mage Wilma. I believe we've found good surgeon Mark."
The desk doesn't leap free just yet, he investigates his surroundings first and tries to determine if its possible to jump free without a risk of bring struck by the rotating mass of their once-prison, as well as to try and see if he could figure out what those motes of light were in the distance.
[How exactly is the thing spinning? Is it doing a barrel roll, or sort of an out of control rotation while also spinning?]
Post by: killerhellhound on September 03, 2015, 05:00:23 am
Post by: Nunzillor on September 03, 2015, 01:58:37 pm
Post by: miauw62 on September 03, 2015, 02:13:40 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 08, 2015, 04:45:14 am
Kevin, feeling himself to be on a roll after this latest catastrophe, tries to will himself to be elsewhere.
[Kevin's magic roll: 1-2]
He closes his eyes and tries to shut out the pink - this proves surprisingly easy, considering how unintrusive the pink is being. He imagines himself elsewhere, somewhere safe, and warm, and presumably not in the middle of a violent discharge of pink... a tropical island of some sort, perhaps. Yes, that's it. A place of no worries, no troubles...
Feeling a gentle peace descend upon him, Kevin takes a look around. A gentle sea of pink sloshes behind him, small waves washing onto a beach of salmon sands. Pink palm trees with nearly white leaves sway this way and that, and slightly away from the beach he can see a pink cabbage patch with a dark pink cabin set right next to it, and in the distance beyond a line of palm trees he can spot another body of pink, leading him to suspect that he may have inadvertently set himself on an atoll rather than an island.
Oh well, small mistakes, right?
In the skies above Eckledun...
Scott has a sudden terrible realization.
~FRANCIIIIIIINE!~ he screams with his mind in some fashion as he dives down at a rapid rate, hoping to catch the poor mage before she hits the ground, moving into what he suspects would approximate the sub-orbital flight trajectory she might have taken (well, as far as he remembers).
Or, well, he tries to. Truth is, he's about three or so kilometers above what he would expect the peak of her flight to be. On one hand, this would mean she's probably already hit the ground somewhere. On the other hand, he didn't really see or hear her when he flew up, which would seem like something even he could notice if she was falling down past him.
These facts taken together paint a slightly mystifying picture, one that gives Scott a moment's pause.
In a stone chamber with too many holes in it...
Sigmund takes a very prudent amount of steps away from the hole, finding himself a bit wary of opening it again. In the meantime, he continues his lifting of the phylactery up to his own level, spending a few moments bringing it up until he encounters something in the shaft. The phylactery lightly brushes up against something oddly hard and, in fact, slightly mobile, which strikes Sigmund as the start of some form of problem. He begins to consider it.
His thoughts, however, are interrupted by a great big slam on the wall he just closed, dust falling from it and some from the chamber ceiling as well. His phylactery turns a little as something moves past it. His rather hastily shaped wall, meanwhile, appears to have very noticeably cracked.
Inside a spinning void eel...
Morton, rather than forging ahead like your average adventuring sort, takes a moment to appreciate the situation.
"Good news, good mage Wilma. I believe we've found good surgeon Mark," he concludes first of all.
"You mean the giant thing? I... don't think that's her," she replies, raising an eyebrow.
His insight unappreciated, he takes a quick look both forward and backward, trying to make sense of this situation. Unfortunately, it does seem to be spinning a bit too fast and, he suspects, rather uncontrollably at that, with larger and smaller bits of debris flitting past at breakneck speeds, to appreciate much in the way of detail. And the blackness all around is certainly not helping.
Of course, it's not impossible he'd be perfectly safe if he just flew clear of this thing. There's probably a perfectly plausible physical explanation for why he'd be fine, even. He can't say he can come up with anything of the sort in his current state, however.
"I'm... getting a bit dizzy looking at all this," good mage Wilma comments. Meanwhile, the giant salamander thing grows smaller with each revolution, seemingly intently following what is in all likelihood good surgeon Mark.
In a less spinny iteration of the void...
Mark has never been one to give in to sensible objection, and just keeps on paddling awkwardly with all his might, unsure if it's actually helping. He paddles and paddles, not looking back, and the salamander just keeps on yelling after him and swimming in turn.
"STOP! DON'T MAKE ME CHASE AFTER YOU! YOU'RE JUST MAKING ME MORE MIFFED! GAH!
It goes on like this for a while, actually.
"... CAN'T ESCAPE! I'M COMING FOR... AH, SOD IT! BE THAT WAY! FLY OFF! SEE IF I CARE!"
And with that, the yelling stops, and Mark sees the salamander off in the far distance, looking a bit out of breath, its chest moving rapidly. Seems like it's a bit exhausted, poor thing. And now it appears to have turned around and started to swim back toward where he was - can't even see where he was from here, actually.
Looking forward, Mark sees the red light in the unspeakable distance. No doubt he'll reach it eventually, given that it seems to have gone from a pinprick of light to something just under the size of a poppy seed of light.
Post by: Innsmothe on September 08, 2015, 04:55:29 pm
the pink stuff changes...well every law of matter and energy, so SOMETHING must of happened.
Post by: ATHATH on September 09, 2015, 11:12:03 am
Post by: miauw62 on September 09, 2015, 11:20:56 am
Explore the atoll.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 10, 2015, 11:44:03 pm
"Hold on tight if you would."
Brace self and prepare for leap, and then go! Towards the red light but away from the large creature!
Post by: Tomcost on September 11, 2015, 11:25:32 am
Post by: Spinal_Taper on September 18, 2015, 05:12:53 pm
Go search for a wasteland, or a desert.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 18, 2015, 06:31:13 pm
Mark feeling slightly bad at the salamanders depression (and less intimidated) tries to catch and grab on to it without being noticed
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 19, 2015, 03:42:34 am
Scott decides to keep searching - Francine must have fallen or disappeared somewhere, and someone's responsible! Scanning about, he looks at the ground, then at the sky, then spins about and makes very sophisticated noises. She doesn't appear to have hit the ground, she doesn't seem to be in the sky, and...
... wait, didn't she just want a lift out of the Eckledun area anyway? As in, just a launch in a direction? It would stand to reason she had a plan for that kind of thing if she asked for it. Presumably teleportation, since her good friends at the fallen Tower seemed to explode when they tried it within the bounds of Eckledun itself. With that in mind, she's probably safe, though where she went Scott wouldn't be able to say.
On a pink atoll...
Kevin gingerly goes off to explore this new area, taking a stroll around the beach - the atoll appears to be perfectly, unnaturally round, like a torus superimposed upon a lifeless pink sea that stretches as far as the eye can see. The pink cabin and its associated cabbage farm appears to be the only structure on the island that Kevin can see, although a freestanding, jagged rock also is a feature he can observe beyond a set of unusually thick palm trees. And far away from the atoll, barely visible on the horizon, there appears to be a slowly pulsing light, visible in the exact same orientation in relation to Kevin no matter where he is on the edge of the atoll.
As he returns to the spot he started in after a leisurely circling of the area, he locates Evelyn, seemingly in very good health and very well acclimatized to the change of scenery, given that she seems to have ditched her robe for a pink grass skirt and several white garlands draped over her shoulders. Despite this she doesn't seem very pleased.
"You show unexpected proficiency in making things worse," she comments. "Should have prepared better for crushing incompetence."
In a spinning, lifeless void eel...
Morton, feeling quite optimistic for no explicable reason, prepares to leap.
"Well, nothing ventured nothing gained, no, good mage Wilma?" says he, looking out at the spinning void. "Hold on tight if you would."
"Wait, wha-" Wilma says as Morton rears up and prepares to launch himself, but takes the hint before she finishes the question and clamps down on his surface, curling up as much as possible to minimize her profile. With that, Morton leaps forth!
[Morton's fortuitous trajectory roll: 1]
[Morton's dodge roll: 5]
[Wilma's dodge roll: 3]
[Wilma's endurance roll: 2]
And right as he flies out along his current velocity vector, he manages to intersect with a prodigious piece of void eel - as it smashes into him, Morton's semi-corporeal form bends around it, sliding off it with the grace of a water droplet on a lotus flower.
Good mage Wilma, however, is less fortunate, getting clipped by the rapidly flying piece of metal - Morton hears a very pronounced thwack and a crack, and notices that Wilma appears to have let go of him entirely after a very surprised shriek, and is currently spinning off into the void, a sizable part of both her legs having simply gone missing, her body producing unnerving ribbons of blood in its wake, her screams of incredible pain cutting off after a bit as she seemingly faints from shock.
Off in the distance, the great salamander-thing seems to be coming back. It appears vaguely interested in the area once again, a low grumble creating a background of noise in the otherwise silent void.
In a monolithic entrance chamber...
Sigmund, hoping there is a way to get rid of the unfortunate obstruction in the shaft, tries to sneak his phylactery right past it.
[Sigmund vs. Shaft-Creature: 3 vs. 6]
It does, however, prove unexpectedly, incredibly chunky - the first hard, compressible layer appears to have much meatier layer beneath it, and the thing is nearly filling the entire shaft at this point. And most distressingly, just as Sigmund discovers this, the first layer suddenly reacts, shooting a tendril that wraps around the phylactery what feels like three times in different directions, keeping it secured as it is yanked higher.
Sigmund tries to desperately pull it out of the hold of the tendrils, but it seems to be no use - the phylactery is grabbed and then slammed against the wall as well, seemingly in quite an experimental fashion.
[Phylactery vs. Wall: 2 vs. 5]
Three times it is slammed, and each time the phylactery cracks further, being formed of stone far less stern than what the room is fashioned of - at the end of it the thing is barely holding together, actually, being now more a collection of loose stone-shaping shards than a proper stone jar. This seems to not be going according to plan at all, unfortunately for poor Sigmund.
On the other side of the world...
In his probably futile quest for harmlessness, Darren continues his wanderings, rising up into the sky as he surveys the landscape. Picking a direction at random, he heads off, traveling at a slow, floaty pace.
Unfortunately, as three days and three nights pass, he sees only forest and towns beneath him, and on the fourth day he observes a great city on the horizon, its magnificent golden towers and freely floating, no doubt magical platforms rising up high above the horizon even before he sees the city itself. It's one of the bigger cities he's seen in his life or unlife, actually. There's probably hundreds of thousands of people living there, he'd guess. Especially given how vertical the thing appears to be.
The surrounding area is riddled with terraced farms mingling with great castles of steel and glass, colossal, many-armed beasts trundling along the fields and raking the ground gently with very sharp-looking limbs, dwarfing crowds of oddly-dressed people wandering after them, collecting whatever they produce.
In a vast and lonely void...
Broken and possibly delirious, Mark decides to cheer up the salamander by paddling after it, perhaps catching onto it somehow.
However, some two hours of paddling later, he doesn't seem to have gotten any closer to the thing, probably because he is moving incredibly quickly away from it and shows very few signs of slowing down. Now, if he had a nifty void eel or something, this would be an entirely different matter, but he unfortunately blew the one he had right to heck. As such, he seems to still be going toward the red light, albeit at a slower pace. It has started to loom a little more in a distance nevertheless, now being a rather bright light the size of a meaty fist.
Post by: miauw62 on September 19, 2015, 05:21:52 am
Post by: ATHATH on September 19, 2015, 10:49:14 am
"You think I was trying to help the Gub? Not that this was according to plan, but it's more or less in the general direction."Psst. Use the Mantra to destroy the Gub and remove the Pink from existence.
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 19, 2015, 11:36:50 am
"You think I was trying to help the Gub? Not that this was according to plan, but it's more or less in the general direction."
"I would have preferred it if your ill-conceived notions of planning, let alone your ill-planned notions of sabotage did not involve me," she replies. "Especially if you are going to use unfocused magic like a complete nonce."
She looks around contemptuously.
"Simply ridiculous. This clearly was not your first attempt at it, either. You have actually somehow become worse at magic than someone who has never even tried to will something to be. Pink does not stream so readily from merely unknowing hands," she continues, shaking her head.
Post by: ATHATH on September 19, 2015, 12:48:14 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on September 19, 2015, 12:50:33 pm
Post by: Innsmothe on September 20, 2015, 03:14:44 am
Come to me strange one, we will have such a good time together. You've been naughty, oh so very naughty. he whispers.
Scott heads to the largest concentration of the magical anomaly and bathes it liberally with physic screams and unholy fire.
Post by: miauw62 on September 20, 2015, 04:14:14 am
Hmm, I guess if he just phrased everything the opposite of what he wanted to happen, he could be extremely powerful.((thats metagaming :P))
((also, embracing the pink has never gone well, for anyone.))
"I was doing fine before. For a given definition of fine, anyway."
"What is this pink stuff, anyway?"
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 20, 2015, 04:28:06 am
"I was doing fine before. For a given definition of fine, anyway."
"What is this pink stuff, anyway?"
"It is magic gone completely wrong, or rather its symptom. A virulent decay of the physical universe," Evelyn says. "This... locale you seem to have conjured appears stable enough for now, but nothing pink is to be trusted."
"Hm. I need to create a new focus while the land remains favorable," she says after a moment. "You, meanwhile, must not make things worse. Do we have an agreement?"
Post by: miauw62 on September 20, 2015, 04:29:53 am
Post by: Harry Baldman on September 20, 2015, 04:36:24 am
"So I'm just supposed to sit around while you make a focus out of... The stuff you just said not to trust?"
"I will not make a focus out of the pink. Instead it will have to be a piece of myself unless you can donate some of your collected garbage," she says patiently. "And yes, you are to sit around and do absolutely nothing. It is the only way to be sure."
Post by: miauw62 on September 20, 2015, 05:09:02 am
Sit around, I guess.
Post by: Xanmyral on September 20, 2015, 12:22:42 pm
Morton goes to rescue the injured mage and then get out of here by heading to the red light.
Post by: ATHATH on September 21, 2015, 12:02:39 am
"I hope you know what you're doing"Psst. Use the Mantra.
Sit around, I guess.
Post by: killerhellhound on September 21, 2015, 04:29:41 am
Post by: Tomcost on September 23, 2015, 02:05:08 pm
Remove a stone from the opposing wall and crush it against the thing. If the stone is spike-shaped, better.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on October 16, 2015, 10:04:58 pm
Go the other way. Check below, hoping for no little bambis dying.
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2016, 11:39:35 am
Nevertheless, I did vow to end it somehow. So what I'm going to do is write up an ending just like any other overly ambitious GM who finds complication easier than resolution. With some rolling, of course.
This is largely for my own peace of mind, of course, but the nice part is that anyone who can be bothered to post can suggest stuff (including players who can suggest the ultimate goals of their characters). Namely, characters whose fate I expound upon as well as anything else. That list currently includes the player characters both lost and (ostensibly) active, the Artiste, the Aspect of Greed, the Gub, the Demon of Hate, the whip man, Boris, Velusius and the Black Circle of Magic. You can suggest any you'd like to see if you are at all curious, and I'll do my best to write up their ultimate fate.
In addition, if anyone has any questions or uncertainties, this is the time to receive ultimate clarification.
Post by: ATHATH on January 08, 2016, 01:36:05 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on January 08, 2016, 01:41:47 pm
Post by: Harry Baldman on January 08, 2016, 03:31:02 pm
Post by: Nunzillor on January 08, 2016, 03:31:32 pm
...
Oops.
I edited it just to reference which characters I'd like to know about.
Post by: Xantalos on January 08, 2016, 04:38:27 pm
I imagine Boris would've ended up fucking everything over at a critical point for nearly everyone else. Probably while mistaking something for food and/or booze and in truth eating someone(s). He might get back to the North, who knows.
Other than that ... I can't really think of any questions I have for this setting. I left it happy as always.
Post by: Xanmyral on January 08, 2016, 04:43:04 pm
Morton's overall goal was, well, probably to survive and help the other hapless minions he has taken responsibility for survive as well. Keep making friends, keep being polite, keep making tea, investigations into the demon realm with the help of good tailor Craig, side order of eventually find a peaceful resolution to regaining his free will, and if that was done seek out his old wife to see what might have become of her and after that... Probably keep doing what he's already been doing.
Still curious what became of that rubber wyvern that was a sentient pebble. That and the Captain, he was fun. Hope he's getting on well. ...And Craig, he was interesting as well.
Post by: Tomcost on January 11, 2016, 01:40:14 pm
Sigmund will try do anything necessary to have a free soul. If this means helping the Artiste, he will do so. If he succeeds, he will delve into the intricacies of cheating the laws of the universe (the so called magic), and eventually aspire to an important position of power in the mage's organization.
Post by: Tiruin on January 12, 2016, 10:55:00 pm
Yeah, I figured this was dead sadly. I had fun though, Harry, it was good while it lasted[...]
Post by: Spinal_Taper on February 04, 2016, 12:04:45 pm
Darren's real aspiration is to find a place, or a purpose, just like it was in life, but it's not like he knows that. He doesn't really want to get involved in too much conflict, especially with his current situation. He probably chooses to flee over fight, but if he is forced to, he'll try to be somewhat moral about it. And of course, old habits die hard, so he falls head over heels for any attractive ghost ladies that come his way, though he'll be careful, given what happened to Katrina. For as long as he kills everything around him, I think he'd try to avoid coming in contact with basically anything, so that they don't weigh on his conscience.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 24, 2016, 01:31:48 pm
We Live And Live Again
After a great deal of time and effort...
All stories must end eventually, and it only befits this story that this end be unnaturally extended into the far future, well past its time and appropriate context. In this sense, the story is much like a man who is turned into a zombie butler against his will, and then proceeds to attain his true form, which is that of a colorful writing desk. In the end, you can only begin to wonder how it all could have ended up like this.
Speaking of, how does it end up? Does it end at all? Was all of this for nothing? This, as you might possibly have expected, depends on forces outside the immediate control of the poor undead pressed into the service of a not-quite-demon. Before that, however, let us figure out their odds of short-term survival.
First of all, poor Sigmund, trapped in a battle with a horrible monster hidden inside the tower's improbably tall chimney, its hair like razors made of steel, its size prodigious, its intentions unmistakably malevolent, its tendrils very securely wrapped around Sigmund's phylactery. Can he make it out of this terrible situation? Can he apply his amazing and unique magical skills to overcome his immense adversary?
[Sigmund vs. Boris the Bear: 1 vs. 2]
[Sigmund's survival roll: 1]
Perhaps unsurprisingly he cannot, and much like anyone else within the mage tower within the course of the next day (and, for that matter, the next couple of nearby population centers over the next couple of weeks), Sigmund's first encounter with a bear of the far north also proves to be his last as his magical visceral remains are digested into nothingness over the course of the next century or so. Northern bears waste not, and yet they want always. It is a curious fact of ecology, and one that makes the Northern bear a particularly invasive pest in other continents. Sigmund's remaining unlife experience is marked by several minute-long blind attempts at unraveling the knots of the bear's existence which alternate with the next digestion cycle that brings roughly a week of concentrated, insensible torment, until at last he ceases to feel and know, and his soul is finally released.
[Boris' swath of blood and sheddings roll: 6]
Several dozen hunting parties were organized as Boris went on to look for the North in his own way, each week marked with new adventures and intriguing changes in his physiology that, while strange, ultimately made him better adapted to his perplexing environment as he harnessed the natural forces of pink, hair and many more sinister ones besides to render himself unto paragon beardom, becoming to his own kind what he used to be to a regular ursine specimen. He was pursued for all of his days by the Black Circle of Magic, who were intrigued by the secrets held within his flesh. Their efforts were ultimately in vain, and when Boris the bear left this mortal world, he did it of his own accord, and the place where he is presumed to have finally ripped a hole into reality with nothing but his teeth is a place of interest to this very day to many students of the subtle art of world-breaking.
In no less precarious a position is Kevin, trapped in a land of pink gone wild, occupying a violation of the laws of the universe, his only recourse being yet more violation of the laws of the universe. But will this lead him deeper in, or further out? And what of his unwilling companion, one Evelyn Greene, trapped along with him with only the slimmest of hopes of escape, with death lurking around every impossible fold of this damnable pink atoll?
[Kevin's lucky escape roll: 6]
[Evelyn's lucky escape roll: 5]
As one would expect, the path out is an exponential exercise in distraction, iterative explorations of the pink, a path fraught with inexplicable peril and also cabbage. His path takes him along the peaks of impossibility, the very depths of eldritch depravity, the heads of many a pin, and the rants of many an incongruous gardener encrypted in seemingly pink noise, his only companion a neverending stream of vaguely educational verbal abuse from the distinctly unfriendly mage sharing his fate. How long this carried on, none can truly say, for time is among the first things to fray into impossibility, flimsy thread of causality that it always has been.
The pink is ultimately unknowable by the very principle of its formation, and plainly hostile to all attempts at reason. Thus escape is invariably a matter of blind luck. Unfortunately for the two inadvertent explorers, neither possessed much of that to begin with. To spite fate itself, a different method had to be developed. Kevin had proven himself disturbingly willing and unsettlingly well-attuned to the mass destruction caused by someone misapplying their first experience in magic usage. Seeing no use in trying to teach him differently, Evelyn steered him along the path of ascension through awe, the way of the Red Tower, the harnessing of the power of will to rewrite reality, for what is reality if not a cradle for the soul to flourish in? Weaving together the powers of metamagic and nurtured obsession, a power, however humble, was eventually awakened within the ex-jester, and this power proved to be their ultimate salvation. More so for Evelyn, naturally, if only because of a keen sense for opportunity. Seeing an instant of potential escape, she forced her way out through the very walls of her impossible prison, enforcing momentary order on its all-consuming chaos, a rare instant of non-fatal pink magic. She found herself in the heartlands of the Black Circle, her sense of universal coordinates having guided her entirely correctly.
[Evelyn's future roll: 5]
And as it is with anyone with secrets of worth and value, she found herself in a perfect position to attain her original ambition - to enter the Black Circle, and ascend through its ranks. It was not difficult to get the attention of the Red Tower after her own experiences tutoring people in world-breaking, and in not too long she found herself among the ranks of the Greater Mentors, a teacher in the truest sense of the word, part of the vaunted bleeding edge of magical application. Though not fated to be a rewriter of reality itself, she was made perpetual in the tradition of all indispensable minions, and like most truly indispensable minions eventually outgrew the Mistress of Shapers in relevance to mortal affairs as the latter grew increasingly estranged from the laws of gods and man.
Kevin, following shortly afterward, was less fortunate, the chaos of the dimension making him veer down and down, deep into the earth, in a realm not entirely unlike the one he just left... but unchanging, relatively predictable, and filled with people only slightly less incomprehensible than he was used to at this point. The underground realms of the pink, lost empires of old claimed by great cataclysms of magic, hidden in the deep dark corners of the earth. It was a refreshingly sensible place to be.
[Kevin's future roll: 2]
It is not easy to be perpetually trailed by cabbage as a general rule, but Kevin found a decent enough niche for himself to occupy in time, becoming what he supposed to be either a minor fertility idol among the people of the underground or just a general sort of tourist attraction, accompanied by bursts of pink noise uttered in recognition wherever he dared venture. The buildup of anomalous occurrence was mostly an inconvenience, but one that he could eventually come to terms with and manage by continuing to move at all times, a hobo oddity in these forgotten underground streets, and eventually an unwilling jester of renown as his alien antics went into vogue among humorist circles of the lost cities. In the end, a comfortable enough unlife, and one that he eventually had few regrets leaving behind.
Of the others, Scott was perhaps freer than most. But insanity can become a prison all on its own, as one can surmise from his decision to make his displeasure known to the anomaly that he had nearly escaped.
[Scott's screaming, burning roll: 6]
And known it indeed was, not just to the anomaly, but to roughly fifteen miles of territory around it as well, in terms just as certain as the annihilation that followed them. The area remaining has been described by scholars as a place to behold, silent as death itself, definite as the moon, a place where sensible life fears to tread to this very day, and an occurrence that was claimed as a resounding success by the one member of the contingent of Black Circle representatives who due to pressing business at the Tower of Master Dog happened to avoid both being vaporized and being eaten by a bear. He now oversees the reconstruction of Blynn.
[Scott's future roll: 4]
As for Scott himself, he went on to provide the folkloric basis for the yaleson, a popularly known spirit of misery, revenge and torment blamed for enormous conflagrations and incidents of mass hysteria, usually thought to be mostly shapeless or at least not recognizably human in any sense apart from its voice. Expert investigations into the more overtly supernatural events linked to yaleson activity have turned up intriguingly positive results, and among the most fantastic accounts is that of one necromancer who claims to have spoken to a disfigured, melted apparition that had been terrorizing the townsfolk of Shriekpot for years. It seemed to identify by the name of Tom Yaleson, and in between barely understandable rants on some form of perceived slight the mage says she could identify repeated references to some kind of Father, which to her seemed to imply a strange genealogy of ghosts - an idea that was deemed questionable at the time even if as the legend gained steam reports of oddly formulaic yaleson incidents began to spread through many of the nations near the Sea of Death.
And then there is the matter of the wayward gang in the Realm of Narrow Escapes, noble desk Morton, good surgeon Mark and unfortunate necromancer Wilma Wilkins as they sought their way out of this strange and perplexing place.
[Morton's escape roll: 3]
[Wilma's escape roll: 6]
Both Morton and Wilma, still trapped in the metal-strewn void, soon found themselves recipients of the attention of the colossal salamander as Morton tried resolutely to patch his poor associate up so as to avoid her bleeding to death in a place so very far away from anything she has ever known. As the planet-sized creature swam close to the two travelers and they heard its voice, they could only tremble at first... well, until it turned out this was all something of a misunderstanding.
It turned out the salamander was, in fact, the Demon of Narrow Escapes, the most powerful mulligan in the known universe, and that it apparently had a whole set piece planned here. It was the classic "enslaved by mysterious aliens" bit, that one never fails to impress! But then these two and the other guy trashed the whole thing as well as two of his fish-ship-things. There's a whole planet he had planned they never got to see! Right over there, actually, the demon pointed off into the distance with one webbed claw.
Morton took the time to try and apologize to the beleaguered extraplanar entity, but it seemed to be no use. The creature was resolute in that the whole thing was ruined now. Best to just send these two on their way. So a quick and dirty deal was drafted up and, with some negotiation, Morton was able to secure his release in return for another narrow escape some time in the distant future (he was unsure how this constituted a gain for the demon, but apparently it was a big fan of making up losses through volume), while Wilma got the standard deal of restoration of any injuries suffered as well as unlimited future narrow escapes for the low, low price of her soul. That done, the demon sent the two on their way through an impromptu portal, and Morton and Wilma found themselves walking away from the town of Eckledun at a cool and leisurely pace as the whole thing was suddenly and extremely brightly vaporized, resisting the urge to look back (apparently this was a contract stipulation with the demon) as their shadows grew long and thunder resounded in their auditory organs.
[Morton's future roll: 5]
[Wilma's future roll: 3]
At the end of this adventure, however, good mage Wilma had had quite enough of adventures for one lifetime, instead opting to retire to her family farm and continue to make a modest living as an exorcist, mother of five and local wise woman just as she did before her encounter with one Mark MeatWagon (she decided not to let her family or friends know about the whole Demon of Narrow Escapes bit). Morton, ever the gentleman, saw her off to safety and, after serving up another legendary set of tea for the woman's trouble to both her and her family and sincerely apologizing for all the trouble caused, set off to locate the rest of his associates, wherever they may have wound up, wandering far and wide across the world to get the gang back together. In this he found purpose, and also application for his emerging talents of demonology and enchantment, crossing boundaries many others seldom even conceived in the service of all the friends he had already made, and many more he would make along the years...
[Mark's escape roll: 2]
Mark, meanwhile, did not quite manage to enjoy a narrow escape. Or, rather, it turned out considerably more protracted than expected. The Demon of Narrow Escapes was not at all fibbing about its level of prep, it turns out. There were quite a few planets in here indeed, some half-finished, some more like stages upon which to set great tragedies, some barren yet orbited by a great deal of intriguing satellites. He has the misfortune to get caught in the gravitational well of one, actually, and so his flight was... delayed, shall we say, as he found himself on a primal world of demonic figments who had yet to discover the art of stone tools, let alone fire or anything more complicated than that.
[Mark's future roll: 4]
And admittedly it did take some time to figure out how to leverage his skills at... medicine... to get him out of this mess. But demonflesh proved a rewarding mistress in a few years of practice, and the savage brutality of the jungle-filled world of eternal night he landed on proved very much in line with his own aims as he would go about harpooning the great worms of the black oceans, netting the one thousand and one nectarivorous hummingbirds of the deep jungles and harvesting the sinew of a hundred great beasts, renewing his body to the point where it ceased to resemble anything slightly humanoid, a creature of hands and joints and integral blades and many, many, many useful devices. Lashing together the harvest of a good decade of work, the humming winged worm rose from the planet and took off for the void, Mark nestling in its stomach as he made a beeline for the portal that would lead out of this strange space he found himself in (as his astrological expertise gleaned on the roughly one hour of break time he allowed per week of nonstop work right after the mandatory twelve hours of partying). And with timing that impressed the demon in charge of the realm he found his way out, finding himself in regular, far more airless space above the world he used to know, looking so very new, so full of interesting flesh...
Of course, re-entry is far more of a concern in a world where regular physics hold more sway, as Mark would soon discover as his laboriously built spaceworm started coming apart on hitting atmosphere, wings coming off and flitting through the atmosphere, flesh burning and peeling like impromptu ablative heat shielding, auxiliary layers kicking into gear, new wings emerging as the air grew thick again and the worm struggled to correct course, trying to level out its trajectory, though only to limited success. The impact was a thing he had underestimated, honestly, the forces tearing his mount and himself nearly to shreds, the phenomenon observed by shamans and astronomers alike, dubbed the Black Rain by future generations as pieces of the great Demon of Narrow Escapes embedded themselves into soil, plants and folk alike, leaving blasted heaths, darkened forests of thick and twisting trees infested with much the same form of hummingbird and vicious insect as Mark left in the realm of the demon, and even the occasional hatchling of the great black worm still viable from the remains of the corpse that Mark used for his mount.
In the middle of the falling rain was Mark, home again, yet far from anything he had known, broken by his fall, most of his instruments snapped and burnt, few bones still intact as his will held his soul in his corpse for some time yet. He edged slowly across the shrubland for the better part of an hour, looking for materials to add to himself, when he felt the touch of a familiar tendril on the remains of one of his bladed hands. Here waited Morton, a perfect picture of what he was at the time of their parting, ready to help, willing to serve his old associate once more. He had made certain arrangements, he informed the good surgeon, and they should have him in good shape in no time, no time at all...
[Art's future roll: 4]
[Justine's future roll: 5]
The desk had been hard at work collecting the rest of his associates across the past decade, one of the first among which had been good mage Justine, the ghostly diviner's information having proven extraordinarily useful in locating the others and assessing their best time for retrieval. Morton could recount quite a few adventures to good surgeon Mark as they proceeded through a conveniently made portal (a quick diversion through the realm of the Demon of Fear, ever a helpful chap, far less traceable than mere teleportation and far less dependent on unreliable beacons at that). For one, the recovery of good mage Art from the clutches of the twisted gnomes, one of his earlier exploits - one that did involve traversing a great length of underground tunnels, admittedly - turned out the strange fellows had a whole highway system underneath the Sea of Death, in fact! Including a colony right underneath Horizon Isle, as it turned out. Fortunately poor Art was in quite a good shape when they found him at last (well, not an unrecoverable one, at least). Quite the chilling tales he had, in fact, and you'd best ask the fellow or, well, madam, it's not quite clear so much anymore, you'd best ask them in any case - when Mark visits the Fifty Fiefs next, he might want to visit Art at the Crystal Palace (turns out soulbinding makes for useful, if unwilling associates in rule if applied in a sufficiently clandestine fashion), actually, it's rather a nice place at this time of year. Good mage Justine might be more difficult to find, however. She does like her privacy, to the point where Morton himself needs to put on his A-game in tea preparation to get her to even show herself these days. Diviners can be the squirreliest of mages, Morton would freely confide, but she seemed to have come to terms with deathlessness when last they met a year or so ago, and seems to have undertaken a quest for omniscience in the meantime, to some success if her tendency to fortuitously appear is any indication.
[Craig's future roll: 6]
[Erin's future roll: 6]
[The Captain's future roll: 5]
[The Gub's domination roll: 5]
Come to think of it, a lot of his fine associates have undertaken quests of their own. Morton had, in fact, helped with most of these. For instance, he did bring a few enterprising transmuters back to the Free City of Gub, as had been agreed beforehand, and a few others beside that, and the gub did seem inclined to deal fairly in releasing its favorite mage, Erin, from her servitude as the remaker of its cities, and left her brimming with memories of the wonders she had wrought with the alien mind at its back. It left her feeling strangely... accomplished in her own way. And though she had received a measure of freedom from her release, she did feel rather intrigued by the alternative possibilities. And so she stood before the gub, her mind open, her eyes turning to the moon, the object of her childhood dreams and later fancies alike.
Where some would turn away, she wished to strike a deal. And where a deal was to be struck, one Tailor Craig, displaced by the power of pink and found again, perplexingly enough, having reappeared in the Free City of Gub, was more than willing to assist. There were a multitude of creatures he knew of that could provide, among other things, quite a good deal of reach. But a connection could be forged over a long distance, and a new city would be made high up in the sky, beyond the reach of Circles and Towers, where only gub could rule, and its great architect let her fantasies run wild. Soon the Free City, a test bed envisioned and sponsored by the Black Circle of Magic from its very inception, grew far beyond their expectations, and far from where they expected. Some say there was water on the moon before the gub left the sea of their birth and took to the skies, but none can dispute the fact now, Morton relates to his associate, pointing up at the waxing moon with a tendril, its light side dotted with large lakes and filling volcanic seas, its dark side crisscrossed with mysterious bright lights as the satellite looks down upon the earth, a watchful ever-present eye to accompany the unyielding hand that the former city of Mothdale remains even today, a hundred channels like questing tentacles extending every way from it, carrying exotic goods and magic hardly ever seen before from on high.
Oh! And even the good CAPTAIN was found. The Artiste had obtained him a NEW ship, a talkative if, as Morton found out when it repeated his own backstory as he had related to it some time ago right back at him, entirely unintelligent thing, his LEGION OF GHOSTS and the permission of the gub having proven extraordinarily useful in crossing to Horizon Isle. It was slightly embarrassing, truth be told, to COME UPON the fellow by complete accident while recovering good mage Art, but you do know what they say about happy accidents. The captain seemed overall satisfied with his lot in unlife, truth be told, having never sailed much of the Sea of Death, but he did admit that the HORRIBLE YAMMERING of the ship bothered him a little, at which point Tailor Craig, ALWAYS HELPFUL, offered it a makeover. The ship, accustomed to pleasantries, agreed unthinkingly, and as an enormous portal was drawn up it was sent on a voyage through that MOST FABULOUS of dimensions, and the result was REALLY QUITE SPECTACULAR. The ship, which the captain rechristened SHANK THE THIRD, was a fractal structure of lightning and ice and scintillating color underlaid by steel and silver, and oh how it would SING as the spirits of the dead howled through it! 'Twas a barge to truly behold, and one that would carry them to the City of Dreams itself and back soon enough, and ply the route between earth and moon and many places beyond in the days to come.
But yes, the City of Dreams. The destination of the Artiste - it was a reasonable enough place to look for him when the rest were found (with the exception of Sigmund, who had been unfortunately eaten by a nascent bear god, and Kevin, who they only found the preceding year due to pink interference). And what did they find?
[The Artiste's master plan roll: 2]
Ultimately, the man had disappeared, though they did search far and wide, as had the Lord of Dreams, whose permission was required to leave. The only one remaining and holding the long dream together, paradoxically enough, was none other than Bernie von Glautzenheiser, a soulless, persistent figment dreamed by his now-dead minion Mike Schuler. This Bernie, however, significantly predated the ones that knew anything of Morton or indeed any of his associates, instead wondering about wholly different ghosts and other minions. Another marked difference, as it happens, was that this Bernie had managed to acquire and graft to himself a hand of a dead demon - the Demon of Hate, dramatically destroyed by Velusius some months ago for insubordination. He could say little more (and even that only after a great deal of cajoling, promises and bribery, being even more irritable by nature than the Bernie they recalled) than that the Artiste had woken up the sleeping demon at the core of the dream, and then left all known realms). "Probably for the best we never found out more," Bernie did say to them, "whatever garbage the bastard was interested in, it sounded really goddamn bureaucratic. All 'regulations' this and 'logs' that."
Rather unfortunately, it did seem the Artiste had neglected to set free the souls of his associates in the process, perhaps assuming that they were already either dead or lost forever, or saving them for a different, later purpose. None has thus far materialized, however.
[Figment Bernie's future roll: 4]
The road back was perhaps not terribly perilous, as Bernie seemed more than willing to "blow this fucking dump of a realm already" and return (or, really arrive for the first time) to the world of mortals. And by leveraging the leftover privileges of a demon, the demonology knowledge of both good Tailor Craig and Morton, the helpful insights of Justine, the supernatural ship of the Captain and his crew and even the moral support of Art, who had come along out of a sense of obligation, the crew all managed to return from the City of Dreams, which collapsed in the wake of Bernie's exit, for his power had been the only thing keeping the thing going.
At this point Bernie decided to show absolutely no gratitude for being rescued from the degenerating realm in characteristic fashion, and went "welp, see you fuckers in the next life", seemingly intent on recovering his old minions and catching up on his figment memories as interpreted by his dreamer, sustained by demonic contempt as he made his way throughout the land as well.
[The Aspect of Greed's boundless ambition roll: 2]
Amazingly enough, he wasn't even he only one. The Aspect of Greed had actually taken direct control of the Fifty Fiefs of Farning-Fenton and managed to keep a rather iron grip on the region, its two mortal avatars of the king and his Northern armchair mystic establishing a strange dictatorship over the lands, employing necromancers (such as good mage Art, eventually) to administer the lands and streamline the acquisition of souls. By all accounts life there is... strangely exciting, the optimization of soul enrichment with experience being the highest priority of the reigning magocracy. Oddly enough, the realm seems to have no ambition of expanding outward, despite the way it totally could with two demonic avatars ruling over it. Perhaps it is the warding influence of the gods, or maybe a more sinister agreement? Morton couldn't really say, and Justine maintained that it is best not to inquire too deeply.
[The Black Circle of Magic's good fortune roll: 2]
[Master Dog's prestige roll: 2]
[Whip Man's future roll: 4]
As one can guess from the outbreak of pink havoc, demonic rains, magical kingdoms and the rising power of the gub and other magical incidents Morton decides not to get into, recent history has not been overly kind to the Black Circle of Magic's political ambitions, as it were, and the mages have been slowly turning inward, feeling their power wane with the ascendancy of other magical realms in the world. Their research has become increasingly arcane, and though none know more about the practice and application of magic, their golden age of geometrically increasing power has been clearly at an end, with lesser Towers such as those of Master Dog and his right-hand murderer Colin Burmont, the Whip Man, suffering particularly as their expansion was stifled in its infancy, which eventually led to the Whip Man's dismissal from the Tower's service as the need for both monster-killers and mage-killers lowered and the artifacts the Circle once so freely doled out to its retainers became ever more jealously guarded.
The Whip Man himself, proactive fellow that he is, decided that now would be the time to hone his talents on gnome genocide, and went into the underground. This coincided with the collapse of many gnome colonies, but also the emergence of several gnome champions, subterranean horrors to a one, each possessing a part of the great killer that they personally had lopped off the hunter in cataclysmic battles for survival and grafted to themselves in order to claim a part of his power. A scant few of these are flesh - some are made of spiders, some of strange cubes, some of warped and animate wood, some of living stone, some are congealed pink and many more are almost too horrible to contemplate and all in all by Justine's count there are roughly 247 and a half such limbs in circulation in the modern day among the gnomes of the underground. Rather disturbingly, all of them appear to be completely genuine, and more keep appearing every year while some are reclaimed at an increasing rate - by their original owner, no less.
But he digresses. The good dream mage Bernie did go on a seemingly less purposeful route, apparently to recover what minions he could still recall, and some others beside those.
[Darren's future roll: 3]
Out of curiosity he went into the heart of the Velusian plague that was tearing through a whole other continent on the other side of the world, and found a ghost named Darren, a ghost he did not know but which certainly seemed to know the other him, trailing around the resting place of his newest forbidden love, a ghostly long-dead princess of an empire he accidentally visited on his route. Bernie's soulless nature did help in not being immediately killed by the horrid godlike aura the ghost was projecting. He was slightly disappointed upon discovering the ghost was still apparently entirely bound by proxy to a greater demonic power than he. However, he did offer relief from killing everything he came into contact with, so Darren instead entered a voluntary contract of eternal servitude in return for plentiful opportunities to flirt with undead ladies on the way, work some magic and provide quips for this strange shadow of his old master. Together they traveled the long way back in search of others still.
[Timothy's future roll: 1]
[Timothy's survival roll: 2]
Rather notably among them was Timothy Amscray, or at least what was left of him by that point. The freakish acrobat had gone through a great many adventures in his time, most of them filtered through his own brand of single-minded misunderstanding and good intentions, and one in particular had gotten most of him lost and diluted in Undefined Space after a botched attempt to shift planes. What remained, curiously enough, was a free-floating, stunted branch of a leg, flitting over the Sea of Pleasant Scents on a confused trajectory to... somewhere. It proved shockingly useful in its own way, having the power to give people exactly what they need (but hardly ever what they want), and functioned much like a magical wand, though one with a confusing set of command words - "Hansel", for instance, and also "Bob", and occasionally even "Lenny", as even the most powerful divinations he could muster would scarcely answer to something as vague as one name (as hilarious as it is to make the query 'define: Bob'), and Darren seemed to have never met the owner of the leg in question. Ultimately, the whats and the whys of the artifact remained by the sidelines, and instead Bernie decided to be satisfied with the knowledge that having an eldritch leg of providence in his possession kicked ass on a visceral level and needed no rational explanation.
[Alaric's future roll: 1]
[Alaric's survival roll: 2]
[Bernie's sister's future roll: 5]
That done, Bernie made his way to his sister, Emily van Glautzenheiser, who had been living alone near the Bradford family mausoleum for some time. She had, of course, not been entirely idle. Rather bored with living alone, accompanied only by ghostly con artist Alaric Delthin, she had... changed somewhat in the past few months. She had become an expert backgammon player, for one, after many late-night games with the gents from the basement when the loneliness drove her on several occasions to try and get lost in the tunnels and never be found again. They turned out to know a lot of old secrets, actually. Such as how to extract your own heart, brain, liver and a whole lot of other things you didn't really need and anchor the soul in one's flesh. And they had a lot of cosmetic tips beside that on how to keep oneself looking fresh and clean after all that time. Oh, and she had also mastered cosmetic surgery on herself out of boredom. Did need a few, er, replacement faces before she got that down, but she was sure those girls didn't need them that badly anyway. Oh! And she also figured out how to do surgery on ghosts. Subtle art, that. Took a lot of work, she said as she turned to look at Alaric, who had been... cut down a little, to say the least. She tried to make a few more of him to help with chores... didn't, uh, work out, so to speak.
The reunion was a pleasant one, and Bernie's long-lost sister was more than happy to come along with her brother, the quiet countryside at this point depleted of handsome subjects and the ruins beneath fully explored and their secrets well-studied. She and Darren enjoyed a year-long torrid love affair behind Bernie's back that ultimately resulted in the restoration of Darren's curse and his extremely hurried escape to the ends of an alien earth, on the prowl again in search of a worthy master to tame his dread curse and attain his services.
[Vincent's future roll: 6]
Oddly enough, Bernie himself became very hard to track shortly afterward, disappearing along with his sister and Darren from the face of the earth by unknown means, never to be directly seen again. Questions differently posed would reveal glimpses - a strange and primitive world, a winged skeletal figure with a staff tipped with a bladed torus, strange magics unleashed, great temples of the ancient dead, and skulls, so many, many skulls... one wonders what they might find there, at the edge of the universe, or perhaps a whole other universe entirely? And moreover, what they could possibly bring back.
[Five Gods' roll: 6]
They say that the Five Gods - Almiria, Velusius, Ryssinia, Narcillicus and Pacitarius - work their hardest in uninteresting times. Perhaps this would explain why their temples now lay quiet, and their visions rare beyond measure. The world has changed - is changing, not least of which because of the efforts of a good few people who, for all intents and purposes, died a long time ago. Most of those who rose again died in strange and largely pointless ways, alone and deluded, but for a scant few undeath has presented a new life, be it the undead mercenary ascending to the heavens themselves through amateur surgery, the nobody turned butler turned butlerdesk, the dutiful husband turned murderous howling incarnation of fire, vengeance and hatred, or even the roguish stage magician turned ghost and continuing to do exactly what he did in life on a grander scale. A life begun at death and lived on the fringe, where the strange and random nature of the world is laid bare, and its most unique excesses lived out to the fullest, started inauspiciously and, every now and then, ending in long-awaited triumph.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 24, 2016, 01:33:23 pm
What follows are some additional thanks I'd like to write up, mostly to clarify some things and add additional context to possible future readers.
Special Thanks
For achievements in making Life Begins At Death what it was, I'd like to thank:
THE PLAYERS (anailater, TopHat, peglegpenguin, Greenstarfanatic, Caerwyn, Firelordsky, OREOSOME, mesor, Gamerlord, miauw62, Onyxjew994, Yoink, Spinal_Taper, Innsmothe, Xanmyral, Xantalos and killerhellhound): even the ones of you who went inactive or dropped out were good sports, and each and every one of you was fun to write for more often than not, and damn there used to be much more player turnover back when I wasn't so mellowed out.
THE WAITLISTERS (kahn1234, GUNINANRUNIN, BFEL, Coolrune206, darkpaladin109, Lyeos, blazing glory, Salsacookies, Dark One and ATHATH as well as anyone who was a waitlister and a player): interest is delightful to have on every occasion, even if the latter half of the game proved insufficiently fatal to keep the rotation the first bit had going.
Of these, special thanks go to:
Greenstarfanatic for his excellent portrayal of the Whip Man through an epic campaign of PM RTD gameplay spanning 4 threads and probably several hundred messages. He truly did get a lot more out of his throwaway expy villain character than he likely bargained for, notable achievements including ganking Gamerlord twice over, winning the Great Selection on behalf of Master Dog, invading the Tower of Jurgen Melville on a special assignment from James P. Lyman, Grandmaster of the Black Circle, overseeing the subjugation and reconstruction of Mothdale to host the gub and a whole lot of incidental adventures between all of those.
mesor, who after being horribly killed in Chapter 2 was given the opportunity to mess up Lake Victory in Chapter 3 as demonic sorcerer Lord Anormist Drake before the players got there! Something that the players never actually managed to do, unfortunately. Which was probably a good thing - there was shit in there that rolled at +4 on a d6, and insta-head-kablooey islands and more beside that. Playing by PMs with him notably gave rise to the idea of pink magic if I remember correctly, which turned into a much larger concept over time.
Gamerlord for taking a similar offer as Greenstarfanatic and entering the game as a villainous entity from Undefined Space known as Cabhan! You would know him best from that time he took the form of an enormous illusory dog in an ultimately doomed attempt to screw with the PCs. This having failed, he took up the mantle of the Demon of Hate, and got fired for insubordination by Velusius, and entered the higher world of gods and demons unemployed, at which point he got incredibly high on a combination of LSD and Viagra made with his own tincture set and enjoyed a steamy love scene with a common housefly and her mother who was also a housefly. Frightened and disturbed by the experience, he was put into the game one more time as a gnome surgical specialist whom you may remember from that time he operated on Sigmund and tried to figure out why his bits were so strange through various unusual methods, finally giving up after Sigmund's escape and running off with Art to the colony under Horizon Isle.
Xantalos for his short, but sweet role as Boris the Bear, straight from the North and wasting no time in killing pretty much everything standing in his quest to probably catch some fish in a stream and maybe eat some berries. Also the only other player-villain to gank a player, even if only in the epilogue. He actually wrote up a piece on the ecology of Northern bears as preparation after deciding on the bear instead of, for example, the grown-up version of Torkel as opposed to the wholly imaginary one in Niklas' mind we saw during the game.
And as for additional thanks, there are of course:
miauw62, without whose mention in one of the emotion threads a month or three ago I wouldn't have written the first half of this epilogue.
piecewise, whose Einsteinian Roulette got me into RTDs to begin with, and whose imminent completion of the same drove me to write the second half of this epilogue.
lawastooshort, whose excellent RTDs informed much of my early and even latter style in RTD writing, and who remains probably the funniest RTD GM on the forum
Tiruin, who never really played but did occasionally drop in for a much-appreciated kind word, as well as Nunzillor, TruePikachu and anyone else who posted with interest and appreciation, the two commodities a GM craves most in life
Post by: Xantalos on August 24, 2016, 04:20:44 pm
Heh, playing as Boris was quite fun, and I'm happy to see how he accidentally murdered his way to bear-godhood.
Here, for the benefit of everyone else, I'll post that Northern culture/ecology piece I wrote up so long ago. Before I do though, may I just say that goddamn Harry, you wrote one hell of a story here, and also holy shit I had no idea there were so many player-driven NPCs behind the scenes. A pleasure to play this game, truly.
Now, without further ado, worldbuilding for a game that never actually saw the light of day until now:
Spoiler: LBAD North Details (click to show/hide)
Post by: killerhellhound on August 24, 2016, 07:14:35 pm
Thank you for a great experience.
Post by: Dark One on August 26, 2016, 02:26:48 pm
Post by: Xanmyral on August 26, 2016, 10:07:32 pm
It was a heck of a ride.
Post by: ATHATH on August 28, 2016, 07:54:08 pm
But what happened to Samucane and the graveyard full of waitlisters?
Also, the revelation that Whipman and Master Dog were PC's what quite unexpected.
Post by: Yoink on August 29, 2016, 06:20:29 am
Obviously my own character didn't get a whole lot of screen time in it, which makes sense since I was hardly the most active player (something I am most terribly apologetic for), but even his ending just feels... perfect. Reading that the other day definitely made me smile. :)
Part of me really wants to re-read the game, another part is ashamed of how I would disappear for months or years at a time without explanation, and a third, more sensible part is simply daunted by the game's length... but I think I'll give it a try regardless.
One thing, though: what happened to the scary-crows? And that town I found them in? Not to mention Hansel the bird.
The details are hazy, but I remember them and a few other characters being rather close to Timothy's heart.
Thanks for properly wrapping up a great game, and in such an entertaining fashion!
Always a huge fan of your GM'ing, Mr. Baldman, and this is doubtless (one of?) your best game(s)... so far. ;D
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2016, 09:13:22 am
*Plays 80's music*
But what happened to Samucane and the graveyard full of waitlisters?
Also, the revelation that Whipman and Master Dog were PC's what quite unexpected.
Well, Samucane was dead, so that's pretty easy.
As for the graveyard full of waitlisters, it's not so much a graveyard full of waitlisters now as it is a wide world full of waitlisters. I was going to get clever with it and put each and every one in there someplace, but the whole thing was long enough as it is.
Finally, Master Dog wasn't a PC, he was just a talking dog with a dream.
One thing, though: what happened to the scary-crows? And that town I found them in? Not to mention Hansel the bird.
The details are hazy, but I remember them and a few other characters being rather close to Timothy's heart.
The scary-crows went on with the glorious revolution, causing entire villages of people to disappear at a time, leaving ghost towns in their wake, surrounded by fallow fields on which no bird or any larger animal dared trespass for fear of the sentries set up in them.
As for Hansel and Bob, after Hansel's full recovery from his injuries the leather-winged giant bird seemed comfortable enough in Bob's presence that they just stuck together, and Bob became a very successful sesame farmer to feed his rather large (and considerably growing across the next decade and more) bird friend, and after circumstances forced him to seek out new lands to work his trade in, it was not very long until a new town started forming under the protection of a giant bird that could eat up to 1d6 bandits in one round of combat.
Post by: ATHATH on August 29, 2016, 11:25:30 am
Refinement to the Waitlisters Question: What happened to the undead that Bernie raised in the graveyard but left behind as waitlisters?
Which dog was a PC, then? You mentioned that there was an illusory one.
Post by: Harry Baldman on August 29, 2016, 11:40:10 am
Sorry, I meant to ask what happened to Samucane's legacy: the cane golem, cane planet, and traitor cane that he made.
Refinement to the Waitlisters Question: What happened to the undead that Bernie raised in the graveyard but left behind as waitlisters?
Not sure which cane golem that would be, the cane planet probably remains in space somewhere, doing cane things, and as for Welt Verschlinger, he probably lived up to his name and formed yet another very significant unnatural hazard in forbidden territory as he carved out a realm of his own out of mastery over the elemental powers of cane.
As for the waitlisters, they proceeded to experience a 96% attrition rate in the wilderness as they inevitably wandered off into the woods and ran into horrible things that have mastered the elemental powers of cane, pink anomalies, ornery wizards, bizarre and ravenous beasts, demonic cultists and farmers with giant leather-winged rocs for pets. The remaining one, one Eduardo Flurberson, proceeded to tour the country and beyond demonstrating the applicability of ghostly powers to the art of jesting. Well, in the sense that jesting is the most likely motivation (next to the obvious one of balls-out insanity, but that really goes without saying) that people have been able to assign to the following horrific spree of crimes against humanity and decency.
Which dog was a PC, then? You mentioned that there was an illusory one.
This one, I think. (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=118106.msg4195159#msg4195159)
Post by: Greenstarfanatic on September 04, 2016, 08:46:49 pm
This actually...ended. Damn. Well, I'd say that I'm gonna catch up to what happened after being gone like...what, a year? 2 years? I dunno, but either way if I did say that I'd be LYING SO GOD DAMN HARD. This went on ridiculously long and I'm sure Harry Baldman did an amazing job running it as always.
And yeah, I loved being Whip Dude, in addition to good ol' Jordan.
On another note, I guess me posting here is a good place to say HEY GUYS I'M BACK WOO. It's been too long guys. It's been far too long.