Ruarc, now small, curses as there is still no room for him to get to the mongrelmen. He is further shocked by Valeria's transformation. Could it be?! Is she like me?!
Fidget takes a moment to process all the miraculous things going on around her. First Ruarc was a big freak! Now he's small again! Then Valeria turns into a critter! WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY MIND??? Just as she starts to lose it, a hard punch to the ribs shocks the oradin back to reality. She hears a "crunch" as one of them breaks. She immediately grasps her holy symbol and starts to pray. Most of her wounds quickly heal. Then, the beam of light connecting Fidget and Nat abruptly disappears.
HP 30/31
AC 18
Disappointed that his spell hadn't been more useful, Tik moves his hands around and mutters "Clickity Cluckity Bickity Broom / Next time I cast it, I hope there's more room" When he's done, Ruarc is back to his normal size.
"Thanks," the tiefling mutters.
Valeria suddenly feels a smoldering heat build up in her core, crawling through her veins and turning them a dark black that can be seen standing out in contrast to her tan skin. Her fingers harden and grow into sharp points, and the area around her eyes blacken and her eyes glow a deep red.
She drops her bow during the transformation and charges forward, lashing out at the Left most mongrel man as she roars in a terrifyingly inhuman voice.
"The hell-" Nat presses himself against the wall to let the creature? demon? Valeria? past. Swallowing for a moment, he tries to put her out of his mind as he batters at one of the mongrelmen. The corner of the passageway obsructs Nat's attack, and it misses.
Ruarc, now small, curses as there is still no room for him to get to the mongrelmen. He is further shocked by Valeria's transformation. Could it be?! Is she like me?!
Fidget takes a moment to process all the miraculous things going on around her. First Ruarc was a big freak! Now he's small again! Then Valeria turns into a critter! WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY MIND??? Just as she starts to lose it, a hard punch to the ribs shocks the oradin back to reality. She hears a "crunch" as one of them breaks. She immediately grasps her holy symbol and starts to pray. Most of her wounds quickly heal. Then, the beam of light connecting Fidget and Nat abruptly disappears.
The two terrified mongrelmen try to batter the demon-woman standing between them.
================================
____________________________
Miss, Hit
Valeria steps forward, still roaring in rage, and lashes out at the one to the right of the door, but her wild strikes miss the creature.
__________
Tik's eyes light up when he sees Valeria take on a beastly visage.
"Oh ho ho ho ho, hee hee hee hee, ha ha ha ha ha! That's a surprise there, deary. Just what else do you have going on beneath the surface, eh?"
He then cranes his little neck around the knees of those before him until he can get a glimpse of one of the mongrels, at which point he bulges a bloodshot eye at him and then continues to chuckle.
_________________________
Suddenly inspired to act by a momentary flash of boredom, Fidget's confusion and fear disappear. She growls adorably and rockets past her companions, then somersaults between the two mongrelmen, deftly avoiding their clubs. She lands in the middle of the next room and strikes at the nearest mongrelman.
HP 30/31
AC 18
Valeria steps forward, still roaring in rage, and lashes out at the one to the right of the door, but her wild strikes miss the creature.
Tik's eyes light up when he sees Valeria take on a beastly visage.
"Oh ho ho ho ho, hee hee hee hee, ha ha ha ha ha! That's a surprise there, deary. Just what else do you have going on beneath the surface, eh?"
He then cranes his little neck around the knees of those before him until he can get a glimpse of one of the mongrels, at which point he bulges a bloodshot eye at him and then continues to chuckle.
Suddenly inspired to act by a momentary flash of boredom, Fidget's confusion and fear disappear. She growls adorably and rockets past her companions, then somersaults between the two mongrelmen, deftly avoiding their clubs. She lands in the middle of the next room and strikes at the nearest mongrelman.
Weird? Evil? A threat? Decide later... Gritting his teeth and stepping forwards, Nat lashes out at one of the mongrelmen.
The two mongrels attack fidget with their clubs. Her armor and fast moves protect her from any damage.
================================
___________________________
Miss
Tik continues to creep forward at the back of the group, bulging his eye out at the other mongrel this time, shaking its ability to hit reliably as well, all the while still cackling.
_________________
Nat's strike kills one of the mongrels, and he steps out of the way for Ruarc to get in. The dark warrior misses horribly.
Valeria again swipes her clawed hands wildly at their foe, who frantically dodges the onslaught. Valeria's roar thankfully subsides, but unfortunately is replaced by something far more disturbing.
In a voice with a deep, animalistic tone, she says, "You will not evade me forever. Soon, I shall bathe in your blood and feast upon your still beating heart as your dieing eyes watch in futility!"
__________
Fidget bobs and weaves deftly to avoid the mongrelmen, giggling at their attempts to hit her. She growls adorably and swings her wee scimitar at the remaining mongrelman. Her weapon connects and takes a healthy slice out of his left thigh.
HP 30/31
AC 18
Tik continues to creep forward at the back of the group, bulging his eye out at the other mongrel this time, shaking its ability to hit reliably as well, all the while still cackling.
"Let's finish this, c'mon!" Nat's voice quavers with unusual stress as he brings his sword down for the third time on one of the mongrelmen. His head shivers slightly but refuses to turn and stare at Valeria.
Nat's strike kills one of the mongrels, and he steps out of the way for Ruarc to get in. The dark warrior misses horribly.
Valeria again swipes her clawed hands wildly at their foe, who frantically dodges the onslaught. Valeria's roar thankfully subsides, but unfortunately is replaced by something far more disturbing.
In a voice with a deep, animalistic tone, she says, "You will not evade me forever. Soon, I shall bathe in your blood and feast upon your still beating heart as your dieing eyes watch in futility!"
Fidget bobs and weaves deftly to avoid the mongrelmen, giggling at their attempts to hit her. She growls adorably and swings her wee scimitar at the remaining mongrelman. Her weapon connects and takes a healthy slice out of his left thigh.
The mongrel panics and swings at Valeria. He strikes a lucky blow upside the demon-girl's head.
___________________________
No.
miss
Ruarc swings, misses, and then steps out of the way. So that Fidget can make room for Nat.
Valeria responds to the strike with an incredulous look, as if she were offended that this thing dare to attack her. She roars back at it like an enraged beast, her jaw unhinging far beyond what it's anatomy should allow. A fiery glow can be seen smoldering within her through her open maw, and again launches a flurried assault with her claws. The first puts the thing off balance, while the second tears through it's abdomen and chest, leaving a hideous wound in it's wake.
__________
Tiknesr edges a bit further. His eyes bulge out again at the remaining mongrel, this time unraveling its defenses. As he does, he continues to cackle at the poor fellow, "Ah ha ha ha hee hee hee hee hee!"
__________________
Fidget stabs and jabs at the mongrelman, connecting with her tiny blade once again. She hears Tik's continuous laughter, and as she extracts the scimitar from the mongrelman's thigh, wonders, What's so funny?
HP 30/31
AC 18
Fidget's blade ends the mongrel's pitiful life.
Valeria plunges her claws into the body of the creature, despite it being dead, and tears open it's abdominal cavity with the efficiency of a razor. She reaches in and takes hold of the things intestines and lifts some of them out into the open, laughing quietly to herself as she does so.
Then, her veins begin to return to their normal hue, and the claws on her hands recede. Her eyes lose their demented demeanor and return to their previous lovely green. She blinks her eyes repeatedly, as if waking from a dream, and assesses the situation she is now in. She quickly drops the organs in her hands and recoils in terror, falling backwards to the floor in the process.
"Wha...what is happening to me!? What's going on!?"
|
Panting, slowly rising from a practiced drill stance, Nat looks over the stricken woman. Clarity suddenly fills him as adrenaline disappears from his system. The last vestiges of his training guiding his movements, he grips the hilt of his blade as its tip begins to rise again in preparation for another blow...
Then he stops, then cleans and sheathes his weapon.
"I... I don't know" he says, clearly more to himself as Valeria can barely hear him over her own cries. "We can find out when we make the surface. Just a little bit further. A little more..." He nods to himself. "A little more."
Looking helplessly at Fidget and Tiknesr, he mechanically walks over to the next door and peers through the keyhole.
There is no keyhole in the plain wooden door. It has a bolt-lock on the inside (the side you're currently on).
He hears nothing.
Fidget stands next to Tik, watching Valeria, or whatever creature is living within Valeria, tear open the mongrelman. Fidget's eyebrows raise almost up to her hairline and her mouth falls open, but she doesn't make a peep in fear that Valeria will turn on her. When the woman returns to normal, Fidget breathes an enormous sigh of relief.
"Not a single door has been trapped in this compound so far. I'm willing to take the risk," Ruarc says, unlocking the door and shoving it open.
This large chamber must have once been a cistern for the sewer system. Walls made of identical stone blocks hold up a lofty ceiling reinforced with elegant stone arches, while the center of the room contains a more recent-looking structure made of brick walls that reach from floor to ceiling.
Valeria walks with her head down to her bow and picks it up with a shaking hand. She knocks an arrow and takes up a position behind the normal front line combatants, but keeps the bowstring relaxed as she stands numbly looking at the ground.
What is wrong with me? What did they do to me?
Ruarc follows him in. "Looks like some kind of maze. We should probably stick together."
Tiknesr stays a few safe feet behind his bigger companions, sniffing to see if his nose will alert them to anything their eyes and ears don't catch.
Valeria follows along quietly.