"Treachery! The assailant is attempting to flee!" Arc springs into motion and tries to push his way through the audience, cursing his limited repertoire of magic and its lack of movement-enhancing spells.
As he moved through the crowd toward the portal, the ninja drew weapons from hidden pockets...a wakizashi now gleamed in his left hand, in a blade-down overhand grip, a telescopic yari spear in the right...
So the Wolf must fight his way out, eh? Very well, Sun Wukong. May the Monkey King never lack peanuts...
Perched high upon a stalk of celestial bamboo growing on the slopes of heavenly Mount Meru, Sun Wukong hears the ninja’s prayer, and is tickled with flattery...
I like this Gokei Tanawaka San! Hahahahaha! Yes indeed, I like his piety! I will see how he fares in escaping this little pickle he’s slipped into! Hahahahaha!
The Monkey King leaps from his lofty bamboo perch and plummets gracefully down leagues of bamboo-clad mountainside, landing gracefully with a thunderous BOOM!! beside a pool of ambrosia... Peering into its golden depths, he perceives the Mortal World below, specifically the portal of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, where the daring Koga Rokakku Wolf Clan ninja Gokei Tanawaka was engaged in a fight for his life against the orc warrior Zagathoth and French magus Arc Perdu Le Rouge!
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"NOOOO!" In his shock, Johann is slow to react on his friend's plight. But he keeps his wits about himself long enough to not yell, "No, Fox!" as his first instinct.
"RAWWWWRRRRR! MY FRIEND!" Bursting with rage, filled with anger, Johann begins to run after Zag, Arc, and the assassin!
"RAWWWWRRR..."
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"......RRRRRGGGHHH!!" As he runs... Johann becomes hairier, his body grows larger, his claws lengthen, he begins to run on all fours... where the two legged man once ran is instead a terribly huge dire bear moving at tremendous speed! Johann the True Bear barrels through the shocked and screaming crowd!
"......RRRRRGGGHHH!!" As he runs... Johann becomes hairier, his body grows larger, his claws lengthen, he begins to run on all fours... where the two legged man once ran is instead a terribly huge dire bear moving at tremendous speed! Johann the True Bear barrels through the shocked and screaming crowd!
The crowd scatters in a panic, parting a wide path for the charging Bear! The ninja’s eyes bulge in shock and fear as he beholds the beastly engine of wrath and destruction barreling down on him!
N-NOOOOO, BEAR SAN! APOROGIES FOR HURTING YOUR FRIEND THE FOX! I COULD NOT PASS UP BOUNTY!
Oh yeah, baby!! GO BEAR!! TEAR ‘EM A NEW ONE!! HAHAHAHAHA!!
Bear is PISSED boys! Look out!! He’s gonna eat that Chinaman for desert!
That fella ain’t a Chinaman, ya buffoon! He’s Japanese! They smell totally different ‘cause of what they eat!
Good heavens! What on Earth is...hap... A BEAR!? This is the best feast you have ever thrown, Duke of Florence! Hahahahaha! I mean, uh, MY GUARDS, APPREHEND THAT ASSASSIN!!
EEEEEEEEEEEEK!! ASSASSIN!! OH GOOD HEAVENS PRESERVE US!!
Duke of Florence’s face darkens with anger at the assassin’s attempt to slay his honored guest!
How DARE someone try to slay one of MY protected guests! SEIZE THAT MAN!!
This could not be going any more smoothly... I really have a knack for subtlety... Yeah, this mission is a total success, Gokei!...F@&$!!
Lord save Maestro Okumura from the designs of the Evil One!
Good Lord! An assassin!?... Oh, mon Dieu! A giant cave bear!? Wonders never cease in Rome...
What in the Nine Hell’s!? Is Maestro Okumura alright!? Yes... The Holy Father succor him, thank God! But why would anyone want to kill such a precious talent!? It is insane!
BASH-UP AT BASILICA!! OFFICIAL ROUND 1!! EEEEEK!! FIGHT!!
QUINLAN!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
KOGA NINJA GOKEI!
DIRE BEAR JOHANN!
ARC!
ZAGATHOTH!
VATICAN PALADINS 4!
BOGA!
TOSHIO & ORPHEUS!
OOH OOH OOH AH AH!!!
Only an assassin with a clean conscience could escape our scrutiny... This would-be killer is not evil... Or at least, he is not a powerful enough source of evil to give off that unmistakable stench of wickedness...
Four paladin guards with flaming greatswords fix their discerning eyes on the ninja...
The Cardinal surges from his seat and calls in a mighty voice. "In the name of God! Stand aside!"
[dice=Diplo, to move the crowds]d20+11
If the crowd does as he asks the Cardinal moves swiftly to try and bar the assassins escape.
The crowds obey, parting for the cardinal! He makes it to the open portal, where he sees Zagathoth, Arc, and Johann in dire bear form surrounding the nimble assassin as best they can...
Quinlan runs up close to the assassin and blasts him with a burst of rainbow light.
"Who the feck is this fella?"
Quinlan runs up close to the assassin and blasts him with a burst of rainbow light.
"Who the feck is this fella?"
The ninja seems unfazed by Quinlan’s color spray!
In the twinkling of an eye, the assassin vanishes from sight!
After that man, my guards!
Duke of Savoy’s men-at-arms try to push through the panicked crowd with little success... The sight of a dire bear roaring and charging toward the ninja at the portal of the Basilica of Saint Peter causes a chaotic uproar and significant obstacle for the Duke’s men...
Quinlan runs up close to the assassin and blasts him with a burst of rainbow light.
"Who the feck is this fella?"
The ninja seems unfazed by Quinlan’s color spray!
5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Murderer! Stop him! Bishop Tostado pushes through the confused crowd...
Quinlan runs up close to the assassin and blasts him with a burst of rainbow light.
"Who the feck is this fella?"
Trying to distract the Wolf with rainbows, eh? Not gonna happen...
[dice=survival-scent]d20+12
The black ninja disappears in a flash, but the scent is still there. Johann double moves as well (80 feet), following his nose.
Johann follows his nose to an intersection of street and alley, where the ninja is attempting to scurry up the side of a bakery to reach the steep pitched rooftops of Rome...
Dammit! The Bear has my scent! Better use a little alchemy to throw him off...
As the ninja climbs up the side of the bakery like a spider, he fishes a vial of deodorant oil out of a hidden pocket...
Watching the Game of Mortals unfolding in the pool of ambrosia, the Monkey King decides to intervene on behalf of the ninja...
Taking up a silver horn of fog at his hip, Sun Wukong blows a low note into the ambrosial pool, causing a fog to suddenly creep up from the Mediterranean Sea into the streets and alleys of Rome...
Watching the Game of Mortals from her studio in Heaven, Saint Cecilia sees the Monkey King’s intervention and recalls her own divine meddling when she played her harp to befuddle the ghasts in the Catacombs San Callisto on behalf of God’s Crusaders...
I suppose it’s only fair... What’s good for the goose is good for the gander as well, it seems...
She begins to play a battle hymn on her harp...
A thick fog suddenly rolls into the streets and alleys of Rome, obscuring vision beyond arm’s reach...
Johann continues to follow his nose, and ears, as the ninja starts to clatter across roofs
Johann is able to dig his claws into the side of the building and pull himself up at a rate of 20 feet per move action. He moves as far as he can, continuing the pursuit.
Unable to shake the Bear’s pursuit, the ninja applies the deodorant oil, quickly dousing himself and rubbing in the alchemical substance that masks his scent...
Johann catches a glimpse of the black-clad ninja squatting on the rooftop of the bakery, within a claw’s swipe...
Not easily shaken from the ninja's trail, Johann catches up and unleashes his newly discovered power!
First, he swipes with his left claw.
[dice=Claw Attack 1 & damage]d20+9; d6+6
If that hits, Johann sinks his claw into the ninja's arms and tries to hold him fast!
[dice= Free Grab attempt]d20+14
Then he swings his right claw!
[dice= Claw Attack 2 & damage]d20+9; d6+6
[dice= Free Grab attempt if the first one didn't work]d20+14
Finally, he bites down on the ninja's head!
[dice=Bite Attack & damage]d20+9; d8+6
The ninja screams as the Bear’s claws rend his flesh and jaws maul his scalp! He is crushed in an inescapable bear hug!
Toshio sees fit to maintain appearances...
He nods at the Pope, his eyes expressing a deeply felt but breathless thank you. Still somewhat short of breath, he stands and approaches those of the Crusaders who are still in the Basilica. Italian: "I have you all to thank for my life! You are heroes, indeed, as the rumours have said of late." Toshio turns to face the crowd. "Three cheers for the Crusaders of the Catacombs!"
In Celestial: Oh boy! The Bear is going to pop that weasel if I don’t intervene! Perhaps a little lubricant will help Gokei San escape from this dilemma!
The Monkey King readies a wad of saliva in his mouth, then spits it through the surface of the ambrosial pool!
In Celestial: Oh boy! The Bear is going to pop that weasel if I don’t intervene! Perhaps a little lubricant will help Gokei San escape from this dilemma!
The Monkey King readies a wad of saliva in his mouth, then spits it through the surface of the ambrosial pool!
Suddenly breaking out in a torrential sweat that greases and lubricates his nimble body, the ninja pops out of the Bear’s grip like a hotdog popping out of a bun with too much mustard and ketchup on it!
Toshio sees fit to maintain appearances...
He nods at the Pope, his eyes expressing a deeply felt but breathless thank you. Still somewhat short of breath, he stands and approaches those of the Crusaders who are still in the Basilica. Italian: "I have you all to thank for my life! You are heroes, indeed, as the rumours have said of late." Toshio turns to face the crowd. "Three cheers for the Crusaders of the Catacombs!"
The crowd reacts favorably to Toshio’s suggestion of cheering, and erupts in a cacophony of cheering and applause! In Italian: Long live the Crusaders of the Catacombs! Bravo! Bravo!
In Celestial: I cry foul on the Monkey King! He’s cheating at the Game of Mortals! No fair!
The crowd reacts favorably to Toshio’s suggestion of cheering, and erupts in a cacophony of cheering and applause! In Italian: Long live the Crusaders of the Catacombs! Bravo! Bravo!
In Celestial: I cry foul on the Monkey King! He’s cheating at the Game of Mortals! No fair!
In Celestial: Whaaaat!? No! It’s not cheating! What about your harping those ghasts into a stupor to protect your little Fox, My Lady Saint Cecilia? Was that fair!?
In Celestial: I cry foul on the Monkey King! He’s cheating at the Game of Mortals! No fair!In Celestial: Whaaaat!? No! It’s not cheating! What about your harping those ghasts into a stupor to protect your little Fox, My Lady Saint Cecilia? Was that fair!?
Well... That... That was different!
Well... That... That was different!In Celestial: I cry foul on the Monkey King! He’s cheating at the Game of Mortals! No fair!In Celestial: Whaaaat!? No! It’s not cheating! What about your harping those ghasts into a stupor to protect your little Fox, My Lady Saint Cecilia? Was that fair!?
How so?
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Well aware of his limitations, after more than six decades on earth, Lucius leaves it to the more agile members of his party to pursue the ninja. Instead, when Toshio offers his thanks the Cardinal plays his part, offering a benediction and the sign of the cross.
"We all play our part my son, your musical talent is a gift from the Lord and none of us here would see it squandered. The Evil One seeks to take all joy from us, even as he did tonight - but the blessings of the Lord and the powers he has bestowed on my companions have foiled him once again! People of Rome, you have the stoutest hearts and the greatest pride of any city I have ever known! Truly Rome is the heart of Christendom! Let us all give thanks to God and keep faith. With true hearts and brave souls we will triumph again and again over the minions of the Evil One! Deus Vult!" The Cardinal kneels, gesturing that all those around him should do likewise and begins to pray in his deep, sonorous voice.
"Lord God, who guided the Israelites from the desert and delivered them from their enemies..."
How so?Well... That... That was different!In Celestial: I cry foul on the Monkey King! He’s cheating at the Game of Mortals! No fair!In Celestial: Whaaaat!? No! It’s not cheating! What about your harping those ghasts into a stupor to protect your little Fox, My Lady Saint Cecilia? Was that fair!?
Um... Alright! No more interventions from anyone! Agreed?
Well aware of his limitations, after more than six decades on earth, Lucius leaves it to the more agile members of his party to pursue the ninja. Instead, when Toshio offers his thanks the Cardinal plays his part, offering a benediction and the sign of the cross.
"We all play our part my son, your musical talent is a gift from the Lord and none of us here would see it squandered. The Evil One seeks to take all joy from us, even as he did tonight - but the blessings of the Lord and the powers he has bestowed on my companions have foiled him once again! People of Rome, you have the stoutest hearts and the greatest pride of any city I have ever known! Truly Rome is the heart of Christendom! Let us all give thanks to God and keep faith. With true hearts and brave souls we will triumph again and again over the minions of the Evil One! Deus Vult!" The Cardinal kneels, gesturing that all those around him should do likewise and begins to pray in his deep, sonorous voice.
"Lord God, who guided the Israelites from the desert and delivered them from their enemies..."
[dice=Diplomacy]d20+11
Every knee bends, noble and commoner alike, and all join in the cardinal’s call to prayer!
Arc attempts to join Johann in his chase through the streets of Rome, but quickly loses the bear in the fog once he climbs to the rooftops. With a disappointed frown, he returns to the church only to be greeted by the sight of the entire audience in prayer and song. He returns Sanguinelle to its sheath, content to watch for the time being, though still concerned for Johann's safe return.