After regaining a bit of his senses, Fray notices the dead bodies lying in the muck. One in particular catches his eye. He'd know himself anywhere, even if it is mangled and broken. He falls to his knees over his old body and begins weeping.
"What is happening!?" Fray cries out, his voice much more shrill than before. He panics for a moment and then gasps lightly, remembering something.
He reaches for a small pouch on his corpse, and pulls out a tiny hedgehog.
"Winslow! Winslow are you okay!?"
the hedgehog is fine, if very nervous at the strange person picking him up.
Merek wakes up, upon hearing his name. Ugh. I have such a headache.
He looks around and find himself surrounded by creatures of darkness.
Damn! I've been captured. Where's Sarrissa. Not here. I can still feel her presence. Good, she's alive. I need to escape.
First, get myself untied- I'm not tied up. Odd. Maybe they do not think me a threat. Their mistake.
Where's my weapon? There it is. About 30 meters. I don't think I can get to it on time. At least I have my armor...
No, not my armor. Some sort of scale mail, tinted green. Full body suit. With clawed gauntlets. I can make use of that.
Ok, who do we have here. A Lizardfolk; I'll have to tell the council that some survived. Hobgoblin. Bugbear. A few unknowns. Take out the big own first, the run and hide; hit and run tactics until they leave me be and I can focus on finding Sarrissa.
With his plan laid out, Merek charges the bugbear.
Sarrissa sits up begins to rub her eyes. Once she hears the screeching of the Strix, she is snapped back to reality. "By Sarenrae's light!" she gasps. The next few seconds seem like an eternity as she scans the scene and takes in the dead bodies, the monsters looting the corpses, and her then her eyes come to rest at Merek's body. She begins to weep, her world shattered. The tears last only a brief second until it hits her...the rage. A guttural scream surges forth from her lungs "RRROOOAAARRR!!!" as she scrambles to her feet.
She rushes to Merek's still form and bellows at the furry goblin "He was my husband you talking gerbil and if you think I'll let you loot their bodies then you'll find yourself in a shallow grave, rodent!"
She has not yet realized her new physique, her lack of gear, or her own body laying a few yards from her husbands.
Distracted by Merek's body, the squawking harpy, and the talking hamster, she takes no notice of the lizardman charging her until it crashes into her.
meanwhile, unnoticed and afriad, a chinchilla who still hasn't worked up the guts to leave the pile of clothes he's in begins to shake, still managing to cling to a locket like his life depended on it.
Sarrissa sits up begins to rub her eyes. Once she hears the screeching of the Strix, she is snapped back to reality. "By Sarenrae's light!" she gasps. The next few seconds seem like an eternity as she scans the scene and takes in the dead bodies, the monsters looting the corpses, and her then her eyes come to rest at Merek's body. She begins to weep, her world shattered. The tears last only a brief second until it hits her...the rage. A guttural scream surges forth from her lungs "RRROOOAAARRR!!!" as she scrambles to her feet.
She rushes to Merek's still form and bellows at the furry goblin "He was my husband you talking gerbil and if you think I'll let you loot their bodies then you'll find yourself in a shallow grave, rodent!"
She has not yet realized her new physique, her lack of gear, or her own body laying a few yards from her husbands.
Wait, husband? Castell says under his breath. What is that monster talking about? He muses, when he begins to recoil in fear, he feels something press between his legs, not just feeling it touch them, but he feels the object itself dragging on the ground. A tail? Hold on. He begins to puzzle things out in his head. I'm on the ground, sarrissa and merek are on the ground... I look like this...
He loudly breaks into the opening lines of one of the only church pieces he enjoys as a test.
Heh, at least my voice is the same.
Wait! My bag! Fray shuffles through his backpack looking for anything reflective. He removes a large vial and manipulates it in the light to see his reflection.
"What trickery is this, beast? Dozens of thoughts go rushing through her head. Could he really be a follower of Sarenrae? No, it must be some sort of trick. Her hand goes to draw her scimitar from its sheath. My blade?!?...where is my shield?!?...where in the nine hells is my armor...my clothes. The rage begins to simmer and fear begins to crawl in. She instinctively reaches for her holy symbol, and that's when she begins to panic. "Why Sarenrae? I've devoted my life to you. Why would you steal my husband from me? Why have you anbandoned me in my darkest hour? Sarenrae, I need your light! Your guidance! Merek, I will avenge you, with my bare hands if need be."
Fray has absolutely no idea what he is. The fear of his predicament is only overshadowed by the fear of monsters screaming of Gods and attacking each other. He grabs his lifeless body and drags it as fast as he can away from the others.
Fray recognizes the image in the reflection as a strix. He then drags his body away from the group.
Zveris is jolted out of the blackness as his heart goes into overdrive. Everything hurts, but at the same time he can't gather the strength to do more than breathe heavily and clench his teeth and hands in pain. He can't even scream.
His heart beats faster than ever before. Father than chasing wolves through the forest. Faster than crashing a boat over a waterfall.
He is used to becoming an animal. He does it every day. Multiple times. But this is different. Then it was his choice. He had the reigns. He decided what and when and why. Now he could only lay there and grit his teeth in pain as he became something else.
The changes start at his core. As his heart picks up speed, it becomes larger, pushing blood through his body faster and hotter. But the heat doesn't stay. His heat boils off and away into the air and the ground, never to return to his now cold blood. As his heart grows larger, so does his chest cavity. His bones grow longer, some break and become new bones, some fuse together. His shoulder blades get pushed out into wider, broader shoulders. His neck becomes thicker, snapping the bone that held the pelt over his shoulders as it falls off. Similarly, his leggings and cloth rip and tear, falling into the dirt, leaving him exposed as his body grows large. His musculature and circulatory system burn and tear and expand and reform as his skin loses its warm tan into a dark, bluish gray set of scales. His hide becomes thick and cold, sharp in some places. Had he been wearing shoes, they would've been torn off as well as his feet grow larger and taloned. Similarly, claws rupture from his fingertips as new inch long claws grown out of his new gray palms, including the one that houses his gem with its own claw. All of his hair is gone and replaced by frills and scales to regulate new blood. His jaw dislocates and stetches as his teeth grow larger and sharper and more plentiful before it resets itself under new, powerful jaw muscles. His organs shift underneath, realigning to eat meat and digest bone. A massive reptilian tail erupts from his lower back and thrashes in the dirt as his body finishes, making a few popping sounds as the last of his bones and innards set themselves anew.
Stinson watches from a tree nearby, confused, but still held by his bond to Zveris. He deftly climbs down from the tree before growing to his large size and laying down next to his master to comfort him, feeling fear and pain through their bond.
the chinchilla finally pops it's head out of the clothes it was stuck under, only to see the group, and pull itself back in.
"What trickery is this, beast? Dozens of thoughts go rushing through her head. Could he really be a follower of Sarenrae? No, it must be some sort of trick. Her hand goes to draw her scimitar from its sheath. My blade?!?...where is my shield?!?...where in the nine hells is my armor...my clothes. The rage begins to simmer and fear begins to crawl in. She instinctively reaches for her holy symbol, and that's when she begins to panic. "Why Sarenrae? I've devoted my life to you. Why would you steal my husband from me? Why have you anbandoned me in my darkest hour? Sarenrae, I need your light! Your guidance! Merek, I will avenge you, with my bare hands if need be."
...Sarrissa? W-what happened to us... He asks quietly, starting to shake as the evidence piled up. Finally looking around himself, he sees the other "monsters" moving, in just as much shock, or moreso. What had happened to his sister? What happened to him? What kind of sick joke- He interrupts his own thoughts. If Sarrissa and I were changed, then the others must be...
"How do you know my name creature? And how is it you speak? What do you know of all this? What has happened here? And where is my stuff? The questions flowing into her head seem to escape from her mouth as she struggles to control her emotions; an internal battle she is obvious losing.
Christopher returns to the land of the living face down in the sludge with a massive headache. Further inventory showed that the rest of his body didn't feel so great either, ok, face down in some kind of goo, hurting, massive headache, not entirely sure what happened the night before... How much did my brother convince me to drink last night...or maybe it was Edgar, "a drink before a job limbers the body" pfft, you can bite my taught round buttox he gets up and notes that he doesn't have his sword, but that he can feel it close by, he goes and searches for it, finding it on a -sleeping person's back. He removed the blade from it's sheath saying "that's mine, don't care what my brother told youz.. Wait, what're you doing in my clothes... What am I doing naked" he kicks the body over and shouts "hey I'm talking to you!" And it turns over revealing... Himself "hey you're me! What are you doing as me! That's my job!" He looks over himself in a panic, noting that the orange tint to his skin wasn't actually paint or weird lighting conditions of the swamp that was his skin now. He takes the holy sword with him as he runs to the waterside to see his reflection "no no no, f~!$ no!"
Edgar groans as he awakens. Head pounding and body aching, he seems oblivious to the world around him as he cradles his head. Then he remembers what had happened, and looks for the hag in a sudden panic, finding instead that he was surrounded by monsters and familiar bodies. He finally sees himself laying face down in the muck.
This... this must be a dream.
He stands up and walks over to himself in a daze on unfamiliar legs.
This has to be a dream, or some trickery.
He kneels next to himself and rolls his body over, and stares at his face.
This is a dream, i-it has to be.
The new sensations hit him now, the light breeze on his scaley skin, his tail, the new found strength of his body. He stares at his new claws in disbelief, shaking.
This... this isn't a dream. I've become a monster.
Fate, you cruel b*&**...
Hymnals! I'm not alone! Merek's mind become swollen with joy, Someone's still alive!
Time to change plans; strike and run; hamstring the bugbear and run for the Bardiche. Then turn and reassess.
As Merek charges, he starts to sing, joining in the hymn. His voice starts as a whisper.
The land is full of anger,
The seas are dark with wrath,
The Nations in their harness
Go up against our path:
Ere yet we loose the legions—
Ere yet we draw the blade,
Sarenrae of Light
Oh God of Glory, aid!
He charges the bugbear, and at the last minute, ducks into a slide through the muck feet first, sliding past the monster; his clawed gauntlets held out to hamstring the beast.
As he passes the bugbear, his voice grows louder; he uses the momentum from the slide to lift himself back to his feet so he can keep running towards his blade.
High lust and forward bearing,
Proud heart, rebellious brow—
Deaf ear and soul uncaring,
We seek your mercy now!
The sinner that forswore you,
The fool that passed you by,
Our times are known before you—
Oh, grant us strength to die!
He grabs his pole-arm from the muck, stops, and whirls the staff around as he turns to face his opponents. His voice is a loud shout, booming through the swamp:
For those who kneel beside us
At altars not your own,
Who lack the lights that guide us,
Lord, let their faith atone!
If wrong we did to call them,
By honour bound they came;
Let not your Wrath befall them,
But deal to us the blame!
...I'm in a nut house. Devout, singing lizard men. I've obviously gone insane... Fray continues to drag his own battered corpse away from the others. I'll get to a specialist... possibly a priest... get this cleared right up. Fray chuckles to himself at the thought of all of this. His laughter gets louder until he falls to the ground in hysterics. His maddening laugh echoing through the swamp.
"How do you know my name creature? And how is it you speak? What do you know of all this? What has happened here? And where is my stuff? The questions flowing into her head seem to escape from her mouth as she struggles to control her emotions; an internal battle she is obvious losing.
I... It's me, Cas. I don't know what just happened but I think- Castell stops when he hears the song begun behind Sarrissa. That sound. That's from Sarenrae's holy books. But, is it that Lizard- he chokes on the word, seemingly without knowing. Stop! Stop attacking her! What are you doing?! His fear finally begins to turn to anger. I need to stop this. After Merek comes to a halt with his weapon, Castell once again stands between his family and danger. He then poses a simple question to the lizard that attacked Sarrissa.
What. Is. Your name? Vile beast that it is, Castell couldn't help but seem to recognize it's combat form, and what weapon it went for. This can't possibly be him.
Castell is caught off guard by his sudden burst of rage. What did I just say?! I've never killed somebody before, monster or not. What am I even going to do to this thing?
An even louder voice booms from the trees nearby, cutting off the singing and weeping and squabbling and yelling mid-verse, mid-sob, and mid-phrase.
"Now. I've been trying to explain for the past five minutes if you'd all care to stop and listen..."
From the shadows steps a tall lizardman. When Zveris had been about average height as a human, maybe even less than that, as a lizard he is quite tall and stocky. He moves with a powerful build under his scales.
If he isn't recognized by his bright green eyes that remain even now, or the red gem in his palm he holds up, the raccoon on his shoulder should be a dead give away. This is Zveris. As the rest of you, he is without clothing and is bearing... everything... to the world, or at least to the group here. He crosses his arms, covering himself with something more than scales and smooth skin being the least of his worries currently.
"She- Margaret that is- did this to us. I know she did. I didn't have the luxury of being asleep as you all did. I felt it as I was torn apart and made... this."
Where everyone else's bodies were somewhere nearby, his is gone. However the remains of the clothes he wore are nearby along with a wooden shield and Armored Coat he had before.
Merek stares at the taking meerkat. Sister...?
You were the one singing, he says. You are blessed by Sarenrae.
Merek quickly scans around for evil creatures. Seeing that none of the monsters here are such, he continues, I am the protector of all that is good; I am the blade that strikes retribution upon Evil; I am the path for those who seek redemption. I am Merek Montague, Paladin of Sarenrae. Who are you and what have you done with Sarrissa?
Zveris? So, he changed too...Hah! It's making sense now. Heheheheh. Alright, yeah, that sounds like you Merek. About as quick on the uptake as usual too. For what it's worth though... *ahem*. He puts on his hammiest performing voice. I am the voice in the light, and the fire within me burns bright as the solar fires themselves. I am Castell Danza, and I don't get a fancy title like you paladins. His voice goes back to normal. I just sing. At this point he starts to hear the hysterics of Fray in the distance.
Dispite all the chaos, your nose is still rather active. Even through the horrible, burning smell of Zevris's oil, you can make out a smell as the wind blows. Rotting flesh. It may occur to you that yesterday, there were numerous undead about, and they likely didn't just dissapear.
The stench of the lizards, one or all of them-Castell doesn't bother trying to tell them apart yet- is overpowered by the new arrivals.
Everybody! He tries to project his voice as best he can, overcompensating for his new size. We have guests, and they're more poorly dressed than we are if you can believe that. Just dying to meat us.
Hahahaha! It is you, Castell! Look at you; what have you become?
And Zvaris! Why are you a bipedal lizard?
At this point, Merek notices the bodies lying around and starts to piece the connections together.
By the Gods! You've all changed!
Int check; going with DC 10:
And why did you dress me in green scalemail with clawed gauntlets?
Alright. Calm all. Destroy these first. Then. You can go back to killing each other. Castell exhales slowly. Focus. Oh, and Merek? He turns toward his newfound old friend.
Alright. Calm all. Destroy these first. Then. You can go back to killing each other. Castell exhales slowly. Focus.
[dice=Perception to pinpoint the undeads approach]1d20 + 9
in the meantime, the more aware may noitce a flailing about in the man's clothes that accompanied you- the one that just seemed to vanish.
"I'm not the only lizard between us, M."
He swipes the drama out from under the feret's game.
"Everyone gather in the middle. They'll be around on all sides. They've only held off this long because they thought we were dead. Get your weapons and as much armor as you can get on. Someone take my coat. Doesn't fit anymore."
"I'm not the only lizard between us, M."
He swipes the drama out from under the feret's game.
"Everyone gather in the middle. They'll be around on all sides. They've only held off this long because they thought we were dead. Get your weapons and as much armor as you can get on. Someone take my coat. Doesn't fit anymore."
What he said. Jokes on you though Zveris, I was just going to tell him a different awful truth.
"I'm not the only lizard between us, M."
He swipes the drama out from under the feret's game.
"Everyone gather in the middle. They'll be around on all sides. They've only held off this long because they thought we were dead. Get your weapons and as much armor as you can get on. Someone take my coat. Doesn't fit anymore."
"That his wife's not the same thing he is? Or that he's naked?"
The larger lizard says as he summons his gem claw.
"That his wife's not the same thing he is? Or that he's naked?"
The larger lizard says as he summons his gem claw.
Nope. Castell begins to smile. It's so simple and obvious too. I'll let you think it over since this seems important to you though. Right. Also, Sarrissa is the Bugbear, Merek. And you're naked.
This is... slower than I thought. It might be a while.
Edgar snaps back to reality and starts retrieving his gear from his former body. As he straps on clothing and armor (or what little of it will fit) he calls out, "Fray, Christopher, are you here?!"
"I'm a WHAT?!?! she screams. She begins to look down at her own form. Her arms with thick hair, her now giant feet with thick, pointed claws, her powerful hands and legs. It all seems so foreign, so monstrous. The flood of emotions dissipates some what as the memory of the encounter with the witch bubbles to the surface. It was almost as if time froze as the last few minutes echoed through her head. "Cas...is that, is that really you? And my Merek, he's alive, you say? As her head clears, she begins to notice everything in the immediate vicinity, the "monsters", the bodies, her body...still not trusting her eyes, she makes for the one thing that has never betrayed her, her shield. Upon laying her hands on it, she cracks her first smile in her new body. "Sarenrae protect me, grant me the wisdom to understand, and the strength to persevere."
Not believing the talking mongoose Sarrissa asks "if you really are my brother, what was our fathers name?"
Chris can be seen takeing the clothes off of his old body and putting on what will still fit, and makeing small expansion cuts in what won't and putting it on as best he can "I'm over here, I've been turned into some kind of large slightly orange goblin," his holy sword is drawn and in his hand.
Edgar notices the hysterical laughter of his employer. "Well, we're probably not getting paid for this one. Everyone okay? Other than being turned into various monsters of course. What happened to that man that was with us?" he says, eying the pile of clothes where a man once stood.
Chris walks over to the pile, the flaming celestial blade still present in his hand, "I don't know, maybe she decentigrated him, or turned him into a ghost, or maybe his body formed last or... Hold on... What's this lump here?"
Fray curls into fetal position, and his large black wings fold into a cocoon around him. Though his laughter continues, it has quieted over time to a mad chuckle.
After a few moments, his wings spread back out clumsily and he struggles to stand up, not used to his new body. He bends down and lifts his former body up and over his shoulder. He looks around, still slightly dazed. Now where is that damned horse?
Not believing the talking mongoose Sarrissa asks "if you really are my brother, what was our fathers name?"
Our father is named Jorran. In spite of all the trouble I gave him, he was always willing to at least try to treat us equally. I know this is rough right now, but we need your help first. Castell responds as calmly as he can.
Edgar snaps back to reality and starts retrieving his gear from his former body. As he straps on clothing and armor (or what little of it will fit) he calls out, "Fray, Christopher, are you here?!"
Chris walks over to the pile, the flaming celestial blade still present in his hand, "I don't know, maybe she decentigrated him, or turned him into a ghost, or maybe his body formed last or... Hold on... What's this lump here?"
the clothes flail a bit in reponse, and a small rodent pops it's head out, desperately holding a tarnished silver locket as best it can.
Fray curls into fetal position, and his large black wings fold into a cocoon around him. Though his laughter continues, it has quieted over time to a mad chuckle.
After a few moments, his wings spread back out clumsily and he struggles to stand up, not used to his new body. He bends down and lifts his former body up and over his shoulder. He looks around, still slightly dazed. Now where is that damned horse?
"Oh Cas, it is you! What is going on? Are we...are we really monsters now?" Sarrissa removes the holy symbol from her corpse and ties it around her neck using her old sling. She picks up her scimitar and slings her pack over her shoulder. She uses her dagger to begin cutting her rope into sections and ties several lengths around her waist as a make-shift belt. She stands, scimitar in one hand, shield in the other, and turns to face whatever comes next. "Which one of you is Merek?" she inquires loudly. "Pethaps if we introduced ourselves...again...I am Sarrissa, daughter of Jorran, priestess of Sarenrae, and soon to be slayer of witches."