As you're searching and studying, you hear a small voice, Mommy? I'm thirsty.
The girl has woken up.
"I believe the Goblins have to do with the sight-based abilities of demons." Kandl then explains that they allow you to see through demon-shadow and ignore demon-scariness.
Brinda examines the wand next.
With Jexen working on digging them out, Cynerik dedicates himself to the care of the young girl. Reaching down into his own waterskin, he gently wets a clean part of his clothing and wipes her face clean of the dirt and dust that had filled the room. His hand, calloused, bloodied, and dirty, would gently push the delicate hair from her face as he studied her. She was not his daughter, not really, but she was someone's daughter. Her skin was soft, innocent, and he could feel his chest shudder as the emotions he had kept bottled away almost welled up and sprung out of him.
"You can't be weak. You were a coward, you ran and left them there. Left them as that -thing-. This is the best you can do. Be strong." Cynerik thought to himself as he took a soft, shuddering breath and coiled those regrets tighter in himself. Everything he did now was for his family, for his redemption. He would be a better man. With the Martyr's blessing, he would not run away again.
There seemed to be an assorted collection of items of power, strange and wonderful gifts that were left behind by the dead. The others seemed to spend their time focused on studying these things. One of the bodies nearby had this strange tool belt and Cynerik's curiosity couldn't be denied. Taken the item, he would inspect it and even put it on his person eventually while Jexen worked hard on getting them free from here.
The place was foul, one of the worst places he had been, but Cynerik remembered sleeping in mud and fouler things when he was serving in the militia. This too, would pass.
Finally, the two disjointed groups are brought back together and a smile spreads across his face. He remains seated against a wall, debris and dead bodies pushed away from him, with the young girl laid upon his lap in an almost fatherly manner.
"T.A.S., Brinda, I am glad the two of you are alright. We haven't found another way out of here yet, have we?" Cynerik asks, looking down at the girl. Sköllji's question is answered by Cynerik's nod, his eyes looking towards him. "She'll be fine. She was hurt but the last bit of power I had for today was able to heal the worst of it. She'll need rest but she'll heal for certain."
The little girl begins to wake up, her words nearly making Cynerik jump as he looks down at her. Opening up his waterskin, he tilts her head up as he speaks.
"Be still child. You're safe with us. Now...open your mouth." Placing the waterskin to her lips, he'd pour as much as she would take to try and bring life back into her.
As the little girl wakes up, Brinda hands the wand she's studying and gives it to TAS, muttering, "Look at this, my friend," then bends down to tend to the child. As she puts her arm around the girl, she murmurs gentle words of comfort, reassuring her that she'll be with her mother soon. An old pain throbs in her chest as she does, but she pushes it down. The child needs me. I have power now, no one can hurt me anymore, but she is fragile still, innocent. I will make sure she sees her mother again. She looks up at Cynerik and smiles, and though her face is already bearing the marks of her magic - growing paler, the shadows deepening under her eyes - he sees the face of the gentle girl he met, before Brinda found her power, before she began to move into the world of magic.
The girl thirstily drinks the water, and within moments is choking and throwing it back up. Vague recollections of giving those sick or thirsty small amounts at a time come back, and you give her a small sip, allowing her dehydration to slowly fade away.
Jexen picks up the parchment and unfurls it.
Fine work, this is a quality map, despite the mud covering it and...
He sees the names.
He stares at *the* name.
He keeps staring for some moments.
Then he snaps out of it, and begins to brush the worst of the dirt away. As carefully as he can.
And then he speaks.
"Have any of you ever heard of a mapmaker named Stome? Or...Jexen?"
Jexen says out loud:
"To make the finest maps, cartographers will collaborate with geologists and explorers. Perhaps that will jog some memories?"
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Sköllji scratches his head and looks around for any points which would be a good start for digging.
"As cozy as this place is, I dunnae wish te stay 'ere all night. We should get the wee one back te town, besides."
"Blast. Looks like we ain't gunna catch a break."
Sköllji hoists up his belt and begins moving rocks and debris with his bare hands.
After handling the glasses and giving them to Brinda, Kandl spent his the intervening time looking for an exit. He was smaller than most of them, and so he had to constantly remind himself that any exits he found would need to be big enough for the likes of Cynerik.
Through an absolute amazing stroke of luck, Kandl and Sköllji manage to hit just the right spot to dig, and are able to quickly make a tunnel to the far wall and up to the trap door you came in.
It only took about three hours.
Upon reaching the trap door, you realize that it's stuck. Left over rubble from the outside must be piled on top.
Jexen looks up at the trapdoor.
"I am willing to push. Should I be buried, you can just dig me out afterwards."
Assuming none challenge this, he will try to force the trapdoor open.
Trying to push up the door is extremely challenging, and will impose three banes.
14 - 6 = 8.
Jexen is unable to push the door up.
"I shall need assistance. T.A.S., would you come up here?"
While Jexen is calling up T.A.S., Kandl decides to give it a try himself.
Try as he might, Kandl initially finds the trapdoor just as secure as Jexen did. Kandl, however, shifts his hands and tries again, gaining a little momentum. He does this several times until he feels the weight on the door slide off and it opens.
Kandl's might pushes the door open, and with that, you're free. The fresh air is a welcome scent relative to the fecal and blood smell that has inundated your nostrils for the past many hours.
It's dark outside. Nearly black as the moon is not in the sky.
Welcome to freedom.
Jexen wants to clap Kandl on the back but worries that it might be seen badly.
"Well done, Kandl. Let us leave this place. I am willing to inform a father of the fate of his sons."
Brinda moves to the door and peers out into the darkness, looking for sign of any creatures or other danger.
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Two kids went missing. They're in their pre-teens. Sawmill's sons. He blames the local elf, a Bonesmith.
Bonesmith says boys stole his tools and weapons. Says they need to be punished and he will get his revenge.
Outside Bonesmith's, you saw three sets of foot prints. Two adults that led to the forest and to the hideout. One child's that led to the sawmill. You also saw a child's greasy handprint on the window.
Outside the sawmill, you saw two sets of footprints. One adult and one child. They led to the Bonesmith's. Also outside the sawmill, you saw some dead rats and some sort of Incantation written in blood. Forbidden magic, perhaps?
Jex was on the case to find the missing boys, but she couldn't find them. She's a renowned tracker. She also tried to track the Fomor who attacked the caravan the other month, but wasn't able to locate them, either.
The Fomor revealed that they found one of the boys in an old graveyard and beat him up, stealing a bone dagger from him. They left him where they found him. Kuthuk has the dagger and is out hunting with it, trying to create more Fomor.
You found a girl in a cage with the Fomor. You don't know who she is. You found a small body in the spiderwebs with a toy that is enchanted. You've also found many other bodies in the web.
Also, I'm not sure if anyone actually looked at a bunch of information the townsfolk gave you, but here's a link back to the rumors in the town that Kandl gathered.
The night brings a chill and soon the sky starts spitting rain down upon you.
The girl starts to shiver and cry, complaining that she's cold and hungry and tired, but she seems to refuse to sleep. A near constant whine eacapes from her.
You can hear yipping and yapping from creatures in the forest, coyotes perhaps.
Brinda: you do not see anything in particular while peering into the dark night.
Sköllji hands the girl a ration and the waterskin he recovers from Kandl.
"It's alright little un. We'll get ye to a comfy bed soon." Sköllji attempts to speak softly to the girl, despite his gruff voice. He quietly draws his axe and turns towards the sound of the yipping. He remembers the wolf in the forest. He won't be surprised again.
"We should find a place to make camp. Preferably not near the tainted den of dead fomor."
Jexen begins to work out where nearby might suit.
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Jexen leads you into the darkness, and it isn't too long before you find a place to camp. It's an old tree with a large portion of the trunk hallowed from whothef&@@knowswhat. It provides shelter from the weather and the wind, and also provides a single point of defense for anyone trying to take advantage of you during the night.
The night passes like a slug, sliming along across dew soaked grass. Sleep is hard to get.
The yips and yaps intensify.
Jexen and TAS take guard, as they do not require sleep.
Until, at one point, a spear rips through the wind right past the clockworks and slams into Cyrenik.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! The little girl screams.
Slugoth stood leaning with his back against a tree trying to stay as dry as he could and failing miserably at, it was as if the rain was coming from all directions at once. With his hands hooked in the collar of his armor he struggled in vain to find sleep and with the sky darkened by the storm he couldn't even be comforted by the stars. Suddenly something whips through the air and he hears a cry of terror.
Already angry at the lack of sleep Slugoth stomps toward the enemy.
Jexen feels satisfaction that his skills help find a camp site for the group.
The way of the pathfinder. Wait...where did that come from?
He spends hours, quietly wondering near T.A.S.
And then the strike comes out of the dark.
Jexen shouts:
"Foes in the forest! Awaken!"
And he desperately seeks said foe.
Kandl starts and leaps to his feet, then turns and nearly smashes into the wall he was resting against. He then says "What happened?" before peering out the entrance to try and find the threat.
Sköllji rouses from his slumber, "Nay, I never porked yer ugly wife! Stand en fight, ye-" The dwarf suddenly realizes he's awake, and that Cynerik has apparently been impaled. "What in the blasted 'ells!? Where's me axe?"
Sköllji jumps to his feet, still groggy from his slumber.
He grabs his axe and runs toward the clockworks, ready to face the threat and block those behind him the best he can with his short stature.
1) This spell alters the passage of time for one person, allowing them to move in a "slower" time frame relative to everyone else. From other's perspective, it looks as if they are moving twice as fast as everyone else. Rank 3
2) This spell is powerful. One of the strongest you've ever seen. And it is hideous in the extreme. It forces to living creatures to become one, their bodies painfully merging and mixing until the two become an amalgamation of each other as one being. Rank 5
3) This is a protective spell. It sheaths the reader in a harmless warm fire, protecting them from the cold. Any who dare touch or attack the person while protected will feel the flames. Rank 2
4) This spell allows the reader to "walk" through plants, once. They enter into one plant, and through the shared root system of all plants under the earth, they're able to exit any other plant in a good distance. Rank 3
5) This causes one object to explode, dealing massive damage to everything an area. Rank 3
6) This spell painfully pulls the magical essence out of a living soul and replenishes your own stock. Rank 3
7) This spell turns your voice into a beautiful melody, giving inspiration to friends who hear you. Rank 1
8) This spell creates an interdimensional pathway, bypassing time and space between two locations within a short distance. It opens up two cubes, one near you and one over there. Things that enter one cube reappear at the other cube instantaneously. Rank 1
9) This spell causes a person of your choosing to enter a different time stream. From their perspective, everyone else is moving faster than they should. Rank 1
10) This spell summons the power of nature itself, allowing you to send a forked Lightning Bolt into two different targets of your choice, so long as they're near each other. Rank 1
Round 1 Current Actions Listed:
Fast:
Jexen (peering out into the darkness)
Slow:
Slugoth (move and guarded attack)
Asleep:
Sköllji
Kandl
Bots? (awaiting response in chat):
TAS
Cyrenik
Brinda
Brinda, wearied from both the harrowing day and the exhaustion of channelling magic through her body for the first time, had fallen asleep quickly. When the attack comes, she is sleeping the sleep of the dead, boneless and insensate. As the girl child screams, her eyes snap open, but they are unfocused and glazed. She groggily tries to sit up.
After he realised they are ambushed, T.A.S. makes use of several scrap pieces he was carrying around with him and assembles something that looks like a small crossbow robot. He places a few of his bolts on it and speaks some magic words to animate the machine.
"May I present?" he says proudly to Jexen. "This is a boltthrower I designed to double the firepower."
Just as T.A.S. finished his sentence the machine turns, aims and fires a bolt at one of the enemies which Jexen pointed out.
The beastmen Fomor holler and bleet, creating quite the ruckus once a call of warning is cried our by Jexen. Goat sounds full of malicious intent ring through the rainy night air. A howl cuts through it all.
Fast PCs:
Jexen calls out a warning to everyone.
TAS drops down a bolt thrower and opens fire upon the crowd, striking the leader.
Brinda, Cyrenik, Kandl, and Sköllji all wake up.
Fast Enemy:
None
Slow PCs:
Slugoth moves forward and makes a guarded attack. The attack misses, but he keeps a strong defense.
Slow Enemies:
Kuthuk sees Slugoth charge towards him, and moves in for the attack himself, slicing with his bone knife, driving Slugoth back.
The strange bone knife is much stronger than it seems.
The goatmen bleet and holler even more loudly as their leader engaged in solo combat against the orc.
Jexen, wearing the mail found earlier, charges the leader.
Bring down the leader.
Brinda chants as she rises sleepily; her eyes gleam with power, her features soften, her figure becomes more full and curvaceous, and she generally becomes more beautiful, according to the eye of the individual beholder. She moves forward, murmuring more arcane words as she does so.
Standing, Kandl picks up his quarterstaff and makes his way to the entrance, looking out, sees Slugoth in battle with a beastman.
Kandl moves out to join him, still trying to shake off his mental fog.
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Pain. That was the first thing to enter in Cynerik's mind as he held onto the sleeping girl who leaned in against him. His eyes opened with a start to see the spear that had dug into his shoulder and already his mind was trying to tell him that he needed to rest now. The girl began to scream beside him as his hand reached up and grabbed the heft of the blade before pulling it out and onto the ground. Red began to run along his armor and skin, the warmth sending chills under his spine.
Despite the ache in his flesh, he would rise up and grab onto the incantation within his pocket before looking back out into the darkness. "Stay behind me girl, I'll keep you safe." He said tiredly, catching sight of Slugoth being shoved back by the massive, lupine form that was there. A bolt appeared in the creature's chest and Cynerik's mind remembered the scroll he had on his person. Taking it out, he began to focus on the words, pushing them into reality.
Continuing to keep his guard up, Slugoth's attack is hampered.
Cyrenik reads the paper and it crumbles into dust in his hands, the energy evaporating off as the air around him heats up.
The bolt sticking out of Kuthuk's chest explodes violently, a huge fireball lighting up the sky and evaporating the rain and drying out the grass nearby. Leaves in the tree above catch fire.
The entire chest of Kuthuk goes with it, hurling blood in large globules across everything in a 5 yard radius. His head lands somewhere over there.
The fireball is so large it envelopes the group of Fomor nearest Kuthuk, completely incinerating all five of them.