Shaking off the influence of Viktors spell, Garroth shot the magician a hateful stare, looking very tempted to make a beeline for him. Instead, he was jerked back to the task at hand as Marcello and Sarcon continued to rain blows upon the vampire.
"You deaf or something!?" He howled, flailing madly at Marcello.
Once more hooking his leg, Garroth reintroduced Marcello to the floor before attempting to cleave into his breastplate.
"Oh I bet you'd like that wouldn't you!?" Garroth shouted back, slashing at Marcello a few times, though the attacks were more quick than effective. Without much effort, Marcello avoided the slashes, rolling out of the way of most, the few that found their mark sliding harmlessly off his armor.
Fethryth casts a spell at Garroth, trying to knock him out. Her aim goes wide. "Don't you DARE kill him! It's not his fault!"
Fate moves back and draws a scroll of Cure Light Wounds.
,
The vampire is generally annoyed by Marcello's stubbornness, and is starting to look a bit worse for wear. He tries vaulting the table to evade the gathering party.
He then withdraws into the far corner.
"Dont make this any harder than it needs to be!" Garroth shouted, staring intently at the vampire, seemingly addressing him. Eying the others, weighing his options, he then shifted his position, stepping inside Sarcons now massive reach. With both within easy striking distance, he then swung at Marcello and Sarcon, aiming at their legs as he had been doing most of the time.
He then swung at Sarcon, trying to bring the rather large half-orc down to his own level, before slashing him with his blade.
Upending Sarcon, he quickly spun around, kneeling down as he did, catching Marcellos ankle instead of his knee as had been usual. Caught off guard, Marcello was once more sprawled on the floor.
Victor lets out an annoyed grunt as he peers at the mangled remains of Garroth and the quickly gathering pool of blood on the ground. He turns his head from Melaphi to Fethryth and mutters apologizing: "That was a bit unfortunate, but, surely you understand that it was an act of self-preservation on Sarcon's side. Have no worries, it should not be too difficult to re-animate him after we have taken care of this little demonic nuisance."
He twists his head backwards to get a proper look at the vampire, nearly a bit too much for it to seem comfortable for a man of his advanced age. "Oh! And Miss, you have got to let me take a glance at that book afterwards. Perhaps the solution to what we have seen here lies in it"
While speaking, Victor shuffles through his robe and retrieves a scroll from its inner folds. He uses a moment to unfold it and then proceeds to chant the arcane incantation: He reaches out and taps Sarcon on the knee, channeling a small sliver of red energy into him.
"Oh, well, when you put it that way I just feel silly for being upset that you killed him when it would have been just as easy to knock him out. Why, we might as well let the vampire kill all of us since it just takes a few wiggles of our fingers to come back to life." Fethryth is....upset. Very, very upset. She might be having an aneurysm.
The vampire might be across the room but he's not out of range of Magic Missile
Fate moves back behind Sarcon and closer to Melaphi, her scroll of Cure Light Wounds still in her hand.
|
Getting annoyed by how Feth was reacting to it, Marcello started grumbling as he got up.
"If you wanted him knocked out, then you should have knocked him out. In case you didn't notice, he was busy trying to cut us open! Battle is not pretty, but I am sure as hell not going to explain why an ENEMY got killed."
With that said, Marcello gave a look on the cut up Garroth and started to move towards the vampire.
*He was starting to be annoying... It was a question of time before he became a problem.*
"NO", Melaphi shouts as Garroth falls. A wave of light bursts outward from the oracle. His features harden but he turns towards the vampire, he resists getting into an argument with the others just yet. First problem first.
He followed in behind Marcello to aid him against the vampire.
The vampire uses his new vantage point to launch a bead of fire at the party, exploding flames all around them.
He then retreats into the shadows.
A badly burned Fethryth falls to the ground. She is dead.
Victor should, by all account, be shrieking in pains he is encompassed in flames for a short flicker of a moment, however, he remains quiet and merely strides toward Fethryth. He leans down, his smoking robe still slightly alight with a dozen of small embers.
With nimble fingers his picks out the vampire's book from Fethryth and holds it up in the air. Then, without a pause he roars, with newfound defiance: "Listen, o' you vampiric fiend! Cease your struggle, release our fair-haired maiden and we will let your book remain intact! Continue this act of cruelty and I will personally destroy your tome! You must have lived long enough to tell that this will end only in sorrow for your work. Will it not be easier to find a new maiden to work on and let this whole thing slide?"
"Surely you see the rationality in that!"
Melaphi nearly passes out from the pain, but somehow keeps his feet.
She looks at the scroll she had in her hand and shakes her head, chuckling to herself.
"Tsk tsk. You think that Fate did not anticipate this turn of event? Clearly, Fate vas prepared."
She moves over to Sarcon and casts the spell from her scroll.
Fethryth coughs. She's burned and dazed and yet somehow she's still alive.
Another wave of light energy emanates from Melaphi, sooting the wounds of the living.
Melaphi then moves to limit the damage any further area of effect spells might cause.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The vampire pops back into the light, a stressed look twisting his face. He reaches out longingly for the book in Victor's possession, considering the fighters around him. His expression transitions from worry, to annoyance, to pain, back to annoyance, and then eventually, to resignation. "No, no need to get nasty. Just... set the book down and leave." he says with a charming smile. "This was all just a friendly misunderstanding I'm sure."
|
|
Taking a step towards the vampire, Marcello stops. Suddenly aware that the vampire is not ready for an attack, he considers his options.
He could charge right at him... *Let us call that, the Sarcon approach...*
But with how the night had played out so far, he would probably stumble over some loose stone.
*Maybe I could move behind him and...* the train of thought stopped when he realized he wouldn't really be able to do anything to the Vampire other than swing his sword at him.
Giving a quick look behind, Marcello note that Sarcon is down and is making no moves to get up again.
Sighing inside, he steps to the side.
"You are of course right." The metallic echo could be clearly heard. "I also make the friendly misunderstanding of burning down visitors." His voice had no training, no finesse, no suave or charming perks to it, but it was loud.
And at that moment, that was all he could ask for.
As if the idea just hit him, Marcello looked up, almost surprised. "How about you come visit?" He was of course joking, but as it stood right now, he had to leave it to Victor or, if it was really needed, Melaphi.
But there was no way in hell he would allow him to cast a spell again...
Victor shutters back as he sways light back and forth, his eyes running through the room as he attempts to get some vague semblance of control over the whole situation. He understood that the book was the key to escaping this completely unfortunate event without bloodshed, but how would he handle it when the book was back in the fiend’s grasp? He shook his head for a moment, clearly distressed by how quickly this event had turned against them and left them weakened and dying. ”Now. Let us handle the details so you can return to your work. The deal is as follows: The twitchy fellow clad in armor receives our companions. You vow never to return to the city, without my written permission and we avoid all further dealings with each other. In return, we will place the book in a safe place and return it to you, as soon as we are sure that Crystal is entirely healthy. You won’t have to die and I do not have to lose half of my companions. Everybody is pleased."
While speaking, Victor draws his ritual dagger from his robe and lets the tip touch the cover of the tome. He doesn’t damage it, but rather uses the act as a way to underline the serious nature of his offer.
The vampire's smile melts into a grave expression of impatience and hostility. "Or you can leave the book on the table and run out of here before I kill you all."
Victor shakes his head slowly, some grotesque resemblance of a chucjke flows from the mask: "You must surely understand that we have fought hard to get Crystal back. Return her to us and we will grant you your book at once. That must truly be a fair compromise, is it not?"
The vampire waves dismissively to his zombie, still bound by webs and controlled by Victor. He says nothing.
Victor peers back at the gasping Fethryth and tilts his head slightly to the side. ”Then, my dear friend. Why does the sorcerer claim that she was attacked and beaten by Crystal and then why does the large green orc claim that the corpse does not belong to Crystal, despite of the clear resemblance?”
Melaphi, still aching from his wounds, heals himself as the others barter. Just need a little time to heal.
|
|
Following the talk back and forth, Marcello sense a sudden shift in it. The vampire seems to be unwilling to trade anything evenly, and that is even when Victor offers up the book so precious...
*Vampires... Maybe they don't need books for things like these?*
Wondering the great philosophical values in the life of a Wizard, Marcello makes a running start against the Vampire with frightening speed and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Deal or no deal! You die either way!"
Bringing the sword close and personal with the Vampire.