[OOC: Hiya! I planned to reply the day before we moved into a new place, but once more we had another Evil Internet Crash (tm).
Now, I've left satellite dsl behind, and have a REAL dsl connection - but only got everything working tonight. Put short, I had no chance of replying anytime earlier. Sorry that you had to wait!
Tomorrow morning (which is only a few hours ahead :-/ ) , I'll post a reply in-game, right now I'm just way too tired, sorry. I'm still sitting among boxes and stuff, and we'll probably be busy getting things where they belong for another two days or so.
The game will go on tomorrow, promised!]
Game: Great minds think alike
Blackthornes runs to Liria, who lies on the ground with a slight trembling, moaning in pain. She doesn't even notice Blackthornes, and no more than an almost inaudible whining comes out of her mouth as his rapier cuts through her chest. She twists a bit harder for a second or two, then ceases moving.
Obviously, she is dead now.
The other succubus, who has already reached a height above most of the buildings around, suddenly screaches, then slowly moves back to the ground. She flaps her wings hard, even attempts to flap her arms, looking around in irritation and anger, until finally her eyes meet those of Ian.
I know you caught me. I give up. Let me go and I will make you a present which will not only save your life three times, but also make you rich enough to get a mansion like those around you. No tricks - my life's too important to me, her voice appears in Ian's mind.
"DAMN IT BLACKTHORNS! YOU ARE NOT SUPOST TO HIT GIRLS! I OUGHT TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY AND THROW YOU OFF THE SPIRE! I SHOULD BEAT YOU TO A BLOODY PULP AND FEED YOU TO A MEPHIT ORFANAGE! I OUGHT TO.....WHY I OUGHT TO....."
MG raises his fist in anger as if to hit the teifer, then remembers something...then takes off running for Ophilia
"Ophilia are you ok? I tried to saved the day for you, but Blackthorns doesn't play by the rules.
"Oh, MG....You DID save me. If you didn't go after her first she might have picked me as her main opponent!" She jumps up and throws her arms around this gentle giant, and give him a kiss on the cheek. Then she aburptly lets go and stands there with a schoolgirl look on her face, blushing and all. She cannot meet MG's gaze.
OOC:@joyblood, are the other succbi still there too? Or did they go running/flying off too? Or did we kill the rest of them? I am confused .
-Ophelia
*Blackthornes stands up and dusts himself off, not even flinchng at the Gnoll's Claims.*
" Why shouldn't I have killed her? She's just another waste of life around here....besides, she tried to hurt the rest of you guys, Im just protecting my group."
OOC: the last part is a lie, so I will make abluff check with the dice roller. Im in school and dont have access to my dice right now.
[OOC: All but one succubus are dead!]
Ian concentrates on the ring, slowly pulling her toward the ground, as he thinks his response at her.
You have my attention, succubus. Describe this 'present', and quickly. There's more then enough bladed architecture in this city to ruin your day.
OOC: Just a notice: Im going to be on the road for the next couple days. My posting may be a little less frequent until I get back.
The archon Thrianomaxeth once created a heart-shaped jewel, the succubus gives a quick mental answer. He filled it with the energy of three mortal incarnations, and he shaped each incarnation to attract wealth. It was later stolen by a rilmani, who reshaped it, so that its powers can be used by an already incarnated mortal. See? It's useless for me, as I'm no mortal. But it's three lifes, and the power to attract wealth, for you.
An interesting proposal. Very well then, succubus. Simply drop it. I will catch it in the same manner that I caught you.
Assuming she complies.
I apologize for the loss of your comrades, but you did bring it upon yourselves. Fare well, succubus.
OOC: Ian will switch his ring to catch the gem before it hits the ground.
OOC: About how far away from me is that Succubus?
[OOC: @Blackthornes: You're about 45 yards away from her.]
The succubus grabs a necklace she's wearing, rips it off her neck, and drops it. A moment later, she flies up into the sky again, leaving back only the necklace, which hovers in the air now.
Those who die earn death. Those who succeed do so because of their strength. Farewell, mortal!
Ian lowers the gem and sets it on the ground, making sure not to touch it, yet.
He then looks around to see if there are any harmonium in sight.
That one harmonium did go to get reinforcements...
OOC: I assume at this point the turn-based system of battle is over?
[OOC: Yes, unless anyone else in the group does anything which implies round-based gaming.]
[OOC: What's your actions, everybody?]
"speaking of protecting the group....."
MG does a quick head count...
We have Ophilia and Ian and Ohalian and me and fiend-for-brains here that doesn't even know you shouldn't hit a girl......but where's Naruk? I don't want to botch my first job as a vigilante by losing a group member!"
"He's here!" Sheeram calls out to MG. "At least physically - I'm not so sure about his mind. And I don't see your Illumian friend anywhere."
[OOC: In case princessbunny doesn't appear again right now, I'll just say she fled the place when she turned invisible.]
Ian telekinetically lifts the heart shaped gem, and places it in the same red bag as the scroll and cube, making sure not to touch it.
"Speaking of Naruk, Ophelia! Considering Naruk's condition is the result of the glow-worms that the succubi released, I believe he might have been poisoned. If memory serves me correctly, druids have the power to neutralize such a poison, correct?"
"Masked Gnoll, could you please keep a lookout for harmonium? Blackthornes, its time we had a look at what we can salvage from this mess. But for the love of the gods, try not to activate anything!"
"I FORGOT PRINCESSBUNNY! I CAN'T DO NOTHING RIGHT! I CAN'T THINK OR SPEAK RIGHT, AND NOW I CAN'T EVEN COUNT RIGHT! I'M THE WORST MASKED ADVENTURER EVER!
MG sits down where he was standing in the street and almost starts to cry.
*Blackthornes speaks with a slight laugh*
"Of course Ian, I don't just claim to be a rogue for the attention."
*Blackthornes will search Liria's body to see if she had anything of value.*
OOC: Search check 3+11=14.
Ophelia runs over to Naruk and casts "Neutralize Poison" on him. "You feeling a little better Naruk?"
Ian will join blackthornes in the looting process, starting with the succubi in the red dress that he killed.
[OOC: @dread pirate: princessbunny was the player's name, not the character's ]
On Liria's body, Blackthornes finds a metallic black amulet with a monstrous face on it, a ring on one finger, and a small wooden box with a golden lock. The box is about the size of a male human's hand.
Ian finds a pouch which is closed with a broad shiny red thread, which has white runes woven into it. Except of that pouch, there's nothing of interest on the succubus' body.
Sheeram takes a close look on Naruk as Ophelia casts her spell. The man still stands there, the only movement the slight shaking all over his body as sweat rolls down his face. His eyes are still wide open, as in shock.
Ian hear's Ophelia ask the question, but doesn't hear Naruk's response. He looks up, and sees Naruk's condition is unchanged.
"Some sort of curse, maybe?" He asks, pocketing the pouch. He then starts walking toward the next Succubus, one thats closer to Naruk if possible.
"I'd say it's simpler than that," Sheeram replies to Ian's suggestion. "I guess his body has been infiltrated by small Abyssal creatures. No curse, no poison, just some nasty buggers gnawing on his flesh or soul or something."
On the next succubus, Ian finds a thin wooden rod, about double the size of a human's finger, and a small chest with a beautifully ornamented lock crafted from some material astonishingly similar to ice - just that it's neither cold nor wet. Beyond that, the woman's beautiful green shoes have a couple of tiny symbols on them. It's hard to say whether they are magical or just beautiful ornaments.
*blackthornes will put the box and ring in his pack, and then will move to the other succubus that Ian hasn't searched, carrying the amulet with him. He hears Sheeram and will answer*
"Are you saying he was possessed M'Lady?"
"I can't say I've heard of anything like that before, but that trick Liria pulled on us was new to me as well. So, how do we help him?" the last part is almost as much to himself as it is to anyone listening.
He snaps his fingers. "Oh! Got it. Ophelia, you mentioned earlier that you could make small areas of ground holy. Assuming that Naruk isn't evil, which he doesn't seem to be, we might be able to burn the little buggers out of him, right?"
"No," Sheeram replies to Blackthornes. "Possession is a spiritual thing. This here seems like nothing more than a parasite infection."
On the next succubus, Ian finds a small book with a noble cover - it looks like a mixture between linen and silver. The cover shows three complex symbols, written fluid and soft in red ink. They are in no language that Ian has seen so far. Besides that, the woman has a normal leather pouch, a beautiful silver necklace with five large sapphires on it, a sapphire ring on her finger, and a tiny transparent bag with a white powder inside.
Blackthornes, searching the last body, finds a beautifully ornamented dagger with a row of tiny symbols along the edge of the blade; a black candle about half a foot long, and a silvery pendulum. The last thing he finds is a dark brown leather pouch. It has a simple lock, but a symbol is carved into the lock which is so strong that Blackthornes feels its power merely by looking at it.
Meanwhile, a single dabus enters the place from the sidealley in which Ohalian still hides. He holds a piece of cloth in his hand, takes a look around, and begins cleaning the blood-splattered ground, ignoring everyone around.
"Ian, that takes a good 24 hours to do and I don't think he has that kind of time. Lady Sheeram, would touching him with the rune on this staff work? If not are there any other ideas that you have?"
-Ophelia
"No," Sheeram says, "it only works against evil creatures, and... not exactly in a helpful way. Not to them, at least. But, we're in the Lady's Ward, so maybe you just seek out one of the many temples around here. There's three of them only two minutes down the street."
She points in the direction where the only surviving Harmonium Officer ran.
"Then we have no time to lose."
Ian gestures toward Naruk, and uses his ring to lift him into the air.
He bows toward Sheeram, and says "That you, lady, for your assistance in this matter."
With that, he starts down the street at his fastest, longest stride, with Naruk floating atfer him.
Ophelia whispers to Sheeram "Thank you m'Lady for the use of this staff, and as promised I will return it to you." With that she hands over the staff and curtsies, and takes off at a strong pace to follow Ian.
-Ophelia
Sheeram takes the staff and nods friendly. As the group leaves, she enters her mansion and closes the door behind her.
[OOC: Where is everyone else? Nick? Blackthornes? Swan?]
OOC: [attempt to grab player's attention] It would seem our guide isn't the only thing in danger of dying. [/attempt to grab player's attention]
*Blackthornes will take all of the things he found, except what he put in his pack, and bring to everyone else*
OOC: Im here, waiting
[OOC: Okay, I'll just go on, hoping the other players will return.]
The group hurries down the street, until they reach the temples that Sheeram talked about.
The first temple is built from pitch black stone, and symbols of pain, suffering and death hover magically above it. The temple is shaped like a pyramid, with an oval entrance at each side. Ten guards stand before every entrance, each of them wearing a black armour and standing a full 15 feet tall.
The second temple, directly opposite of it, is basically a miniature castle. Folks of all kind - humanoids and other, even two modrons can be seen - hustle all over the garden surrounding the castle, some of them armed and armoured, some not. Two large statues of a woman clad in chain mail, her left arm risen to the skies with a hammer in her hand, stand at the entrance to the yard.
The third temple is a couple yards down the street. It is a tower, built from white stones, with a diameter of about twenty yards, rising over two hundred yards into the sky. A large falcon is painted over the tower's entrance.
Ian, dragging Naruk through the air, quickly glances at each temple in turn. He then makes a beeline for the tower with the falcon on it.
Ophelia sees Ian go into the temple with the falcon on it, and quickly ducks in to the same temple.
OOC: What does she see?
-Ophelia
As the group enters the oval entrance door, they see a large hall with a shining crystal floor and ceiling. The ceiling is about five yards above their heads, with no visible entrance to higher levels.
A falcon's statue is situated in the centre of the temple, crafted from pure white stone.
Two humanoid priests, clad in white robes, wearing white masks with a neutral expression and slim, beautiful crowns on their heads, stand before the statue. So far, they ignore the newcomers.
MG goes up to the priest to engauge conversation
"I see you two wear masked....I wear a mask too....isn't that wierd, we have so much in common!"
"Yes indeed," the man on the left replies with a young man's voice, "and we both are learning, students of life, ever-changing, ever moving on. What is your reason for wearing a mask?"
The hulking gnoll gets real close and wispers into their ears
"It's to protect my secret idendity you see. I wouldn't want my family and friends getting hurt on acount of me being a hero. That's why no one must ever see my face......why do you guys wear yours?"
"We are novices of the Falcon God Ul-Mruth-Gath. There are three paths for a novice; one of them is the path of the mask. Step by step, you choose to understand that everything you show to the world outside of you is but a mask, and as you realize that you find the real self inside of you. The first step of this path is wearing a mask. You wear it until your heart - not just your mind - understands that your face is nothing but a mask, as well."
*Blackthornes snorts and rolls his eyes as the men speak.*
"An intriguing idea." Ian says. "However, I'm afriad we can't chat much at the moment. It would seem that our guide has been attacked by some sort of tan'ari parasites, which we are told are eating away at him from the inside. Is there anything you can do to help us?"
OOC: Diplomacy: roll = 7 + 16 = 23
The man smiles. "Yes, indeed. No fiend can survive the falcon god's presence. Let your friend touch the statue. But know that it might change him, as well - or it might not work at all if your friend fights the presence of Ul-Mruth-Gath. The falcon god would not influence anyone who doesn't want it."
Ian raises one eyebrow. "What kind of changes?"
He then looks over Naruk to see if his condition has worsened in any way he can detect.
"He wíll see what's behind his masks," the novice replies.
Ian thinks for a bit, and he has a look of alarm for a brief moment, he walks over to Naruk and speaks in a clear voice next to Naruks ear.
"This may be a bit traumatic, but I don't know of any other way to help you. Your perceptions of yourself and what you have done are probably about to change, at least for a while. Just, try to keep an open mind."
Assuming that naruk stays catatonic and doesn't do anything to singify a protest, Ian will move him to the statue, and lean him up against it, making sure not to touch it himself.
OOC: Hey! I am here too! I am just waiting for MG to go so that I can post my action.... and WHERE IS the dm??? Joyblood!? Oh joyblood!? Where for art thou joyblood!?
-Ophelia