Ugly sees Gronder making his way across the square with his axe.
Attaboy Gron, make our ancestors proud
Given the ineffectiveness of her simple club on the Thing's rubbery hide, she turns instead towards the tiny silvery beasties the Thing had coughed up. The sight of them scurrying into the square and attacking townsfolk turns her stomach. At least the club should crush their tiny bodies, and some more folk might escape...
Charlemange was horrified by the man's exaltation at what he'd done. He felt a resurgence of hope as he noted Walter rushing forward to strike at the deranged man.
"Walter!"
The halting screams of the innocent people caused him to glance back and see the maddening sight behind him. He snapped his eyes closed and forced himself to look back at the threat before him.
Walter was now engaged with the cloaked man and Charlemange cursed himself for giving the other man warning. With that he rushed the man, using his short staff to try and strike the robed man's legs out from underneath him.
"You did this!"
"A blood sacrifice huh?"
Drot looks to the cloaked man being attacked.
"He will do."
I'll take a slow action and move to the man then grab him with both hands. The intention is to chuck him into the portal for my next action. I would attempt to time this until just after the attacks from the others are over.
Fast PCs
Charles and Walt continue their assault on the mysterious cloaked figure. Charles tries to bring him to the ground, while Walt swings his staff at him, to little effect.
Slugoth charges in full swing, but his weapon just bounces off the rubbery flesh of the pseudopod.
Tesswyn tries to cower behind a cart full of goods.
Fast Enemies
The pseudopod shudders upon impact and starts to spit out more silver eggs. ()
Spoik Pthunk Spoik Pthunk
Slow PCs
Ugly feels like she cannot harm the pod and instead rushes over to one of the slimy eggs. Her clubs slams down and impacts it, causing it to pop open. Silver liquid splatters out over everything in arms reach, including Ugly.
Regulus and Gronder join forces almost as instinct as they both go after the same target, swinging at the pseudopod. Regulus’ weapon counced off, but Grondor manages to actually injure the creature - the impact of his weapon leaving behind an open split in the skin. Purple pus oozes out of the wound.
Slow Enemies
The older man who first has the slimy egg slide down his throat is screaming in panic. Then the screams stop. He looks around with malevolence in his eyes, and he tries to take a step by moving both his legs at once. He stumbles. He crouches down and leaps up. It works. He moves several feet. He jumps as far as he can, and continues to travel in such a fashion away from the village center.
Others infected by the eggs move about in a similar manner.
The eggs that have been spit out grow their limbs and prepare to jump.
Two of the eggs launch into the air, but wizz past their targets, smacking against building walls before flopping to the ground again. One of them lands near Tesswyn. They immediately start to reorient their bodies to leap again.
The other three, however, land true. One lands on Regulus and starts climbing up to his face, but it is unable to find a mouth.
Another pops nearly straight up, pegging Ugly and knocking her back a step. The little f!~!er is attached, but so far had not moved to find a mouth.
The last lands on a ten year old girl, who was previously so scared she was rooted to the spot. A shrill scream Pierce's the air and cuts through the rest of the chaos as the egg starts to climb her dress.
Tesswyn shrieks as the egg lands near her. "No! Stay away!" Having had the presence of mind to grab a broom on the way out of the shop, she swings it like a staff, trying to smash the egg!
Drot successfully grabs the cloaked man.
I take a fast action to chuck the man into the portal!
Regulus focuses on the pseudopod, believing that destroying the source of the problem will be the most helpful. Girl in danger. Problematic. But source more important. He swings his staff at the tentacle.
Slugoth rushes over to the terrified girl to help her, grab the egg spider....
Ugly recoils at the sight of the egg spider, clinging to and scrambling up her leg. She shudders in a very un-soldierly manner and instinctively raises the club to crush the creature quickly.
Through clenched teeth she screams, to no one in particular, "Stop the infected! Don't let them leave the square!"
Maybe the guard is close enough to hear, by now. Maybe...
Walter again swings his staff at the now restrained cloaked figure.
"That's it, son, hold him still while I wack him on the head! Guards! Guards!! Where are ye, ya blasted shirkers! Get over here and help yer old comrade send this thing back to wherever it came!"
Attack:
Damage:
His focus on the tentacle, Gronder doesn't really notice what else is going on, the screams and sounds of fighting blending into a background cacophany.
Step in, follow through, just like you were taught. Focus. One down at a time.
"Men! To close the hell gate, this fiend must go through it!"
Charles looked surprised as Drot'ook came barreling in to grab the hooded man who had managed to dodge both his and Walter's attacks. Even as he found himself tightening his grip on his staff, he knew the orc was not anything close to one of his biggest concerns.
As he called for aid, claiming to know how to close the gate, Charles bit back any lingering negative sentiment and moved to help the Orc drag the man forward.
"Fine, I'll help you! Walter, make sure none of those eggs get to us!" he growled moving forward to try and drag the man.
Fast PCs
Grondor and Regulus continue to work in conjunction, both striking the Pseudopod hard enough to cause it to bleed.
Ugly smashes down on another egg, splattering it everywhere.
Drot tries to throw the half-mad half-insane maniac, but he refuses to be reasonable and turns the throw into a dance, prancing around Drot and right into Walt’s staff. The staff cracks against the man's face, causing his nose to bleed.
Ow! Why would you do that? he says accusingly at Walt.
Tesswyn uses her broom to whack at the legged egg, to no avail.
Fast NPCs
Kerplow! screams a metal cylinder in the hands of an older gent. Smoke drifts from the gun barrel.
The dust explodes up from the dirt just to the side of the egg, the sheriff having missed.
Slow PCs
Slugoth runs over to the young girl and grabs the egg, it's slimy surface making it difficult to hold on to, but he prevails nonetheless.
Charles assists Drot in grabbing the cloaked maniac and trying to throw him into the portal. Unfortunately, it's not enough to get the man up there!
Slow Enemies
The Infected hop around and try to grab people, holding them in place so the eggs can leap onto them.
One of the infected grabs Charles!
The egg on Regulus grabs, pulls, and yanks on whatever crack or edge it can find, trying to rip a hole in the clockwork’s face.
But it's unable to find a hold!
Slugoth's egg squirms in his hands, desperately trying to get to his face.
The slippery egg squeezes out from Slugoth's grasp, bounding back on to the ground and rolling away.
The egg near Tesswyn and the Sheriff wiggles its backside as it prepared to jump. It leaps for the sherriff, but goes plummeting past him and lands in the dirt over there.
The Pseudopod bleeds a deep purple, which fume and smoke causing those breathing nearby to cough. The ripples on the sides of its skin move much faster than before.
Instead of eggs, tiny little 11 legged spider-like creatures come scuttling out and start sewing up the wounds; strands of pink thread are weaved from on bit of flesh to the next closing the fissures in the flesh.
Focused on the Portal Thing, and now spider-free, Ugly grits her teeth and nods at Gronder. Dread rises in her gut as her plan solidifies in her mind.
My god, girl, she thinks, aren't you just anxious to join the Ancestors today
She locks eyes with Gronder and leaps onto the slick, foul-smelling surface of the pseudopod, hoping to hold it still enough for him to finish with his axe.
Tesswyn screams and smacks at the egg again! "Sheriff! Do something!"
Regulus focuses single-minded on the pseudopod. Threat prioritization maintained.
"Damn you! Gahhhh!"
Gronder grunts as he leans into his next swing, putting everything he can into it.
"Back to whatever hell you've come from!"
As Charlemange was grabbed from behind and held he glanced nervously at the eggs attacking people as he twisted and struggled against his oppressors grasp.
"Well now this is ironic."
Seeing Grondor smash the pseudopod, Regulus re-evaluates the risk landscape. Drot was yelling about throwing that man in the portal. Regulus did not recognize the man but the cost-benefit analysis was clear. Multiple civilians dying. Send one civilian to potential death to interrupt source? Positive result om average. He grabs the man and flings him into the portal without a word.
Seeing all the people going after the robed man, Walt turns his attention to the weird egg-things that the demon birthed. He moves towards the closest of them and smacks it with his staff.
Attack:
Damage:
Tesswyn smashes down on an egg, and this time the little f*@+er cracks and bleeds silver gunk all over the dirt street.
Kerplow! the pistol screams again as an egg explodes. The sheriff holds his hand out to Tesswyn, as if offering her safety to come out into the open.
Slugoth and Walt likewise destroy the last two eggs in the area.
Gronder swings his axe and completely cleaves through the pseudopod; the orange and purple tentacle flops to the ground, lifeless.
An entity peers through the portal from the other side, but before it can do anything, the cloaked madman goes flying through the air and hits it square on. Regulus can be seen standing where the madman was thrown.
With the sacrifice of blood satisfied, the rip in tear zips close, leaving behind the remains of demons and demonic blood oozing into the dirt.
Tesswyn takes the sheriff's hand, shaking as she steps out of hiding. "By the World Mother! What the hell were those things?"
After a brief moment Drot composes himself, the rush of combat still in his veins. He looks around to find Tesswyn:
"I'm glad you're okay, we have a lot of cleaning up to do!" he says in an attempt to lighten the air of fear lingering around the square. "This does not bode well for us, now we have men working to destroy their own lands"
Drot, with a somber tone now, looks out to where the infected people have scurried off to. He then turns and addresses everyone around:
"We should gather up the people who were attacked by the little demons. Hopefully they can be saved."
Now to the ones who helped with the mad man:
"Thank you for your help, and thank you for trusting my words. My name is Drot'ook. I know you, Regulus, but I've not really seen the rest of you around."
Slugoth checks on the girl he helped, "Are you ok little one," he asks in a gravelly voice.
Tesswyn huffs and hands Drot the gore-slicked broom. "Aye, I'll let you do the honors."
She helps the orc gather the infected.
Walt gives thanks to the New God and then turns to his old commander.
"Sheriff, it is good to see you again, although better circumstances could have been arranged! Any idea who the man who summoned this unspeakable horror was?"
As the possessed man grabbing Charlemange went slack, the young man wrenched himself free. Quickly, all adrenaline left him as he watched the portal closed itself, caught somewhere between amazement and horror.
"So it was true, it was all true." he shook his head.
He could feel the presence of the New God still within his mind. He reached out and touched the blessing he'd received from his dream with the Martyr, it was still there. Then he felt ashamed. For what had he really accomplished?
I knew where to be. I was told. I was even offered assistance but I thought I could rely on just myself. Instead I was just another victim waiting to happen, and now...
the thought trailed off as he looked to the now lifeless tentacle on the ground and the limp figures standing around here and there. His expression turned to wry for he could have done more.
How many more lives perished for my hubris?
As the others began to gather and organize themselves he followed along quietly helping to gather the unfortunate souls who had not run in time.
I don't rightly know, the sheriff says to Walt, proffering his hand, and I don't think we'll ever know now that he's gone. But at least it's all over, thank the Martyr for that.
It doesn't take long to round up the infected. They're all placed in the one jail cell in the sheriff's office while he figures out what to do with them.
Hours pass as you all help with the clean up of the town, picking up bodies (and parts), eggs, tenticals, and trying to clean up their remains. It just seems impossible, as some of the ick and gore just refuse to leave.
A funeral ceremony is held for those who died in the attack.
As the days and weeks pass, the blood from those killed fades away, but the staims from the demons never seem to leave the spot where they died, no matter if the dust is blown by the wind, or even shovel fulls of dirt cover it up. The stain always seems come back by the next day.
Tesswyn does her best to return to the motions of her normal life, but the mental scars from that night stay with her. Her recurring nightmares now feature jumping eggs and writhing tentacles in addition to the usual horrors, and as such she goes through the days haggard and weary.
Regulus aids with the cleanup and discusses with the others. "We must ceryainky contain the infected. Is there anything else we can do to neutralize the threat?"
Ugly wipes her gore-slicked hands on her work-apron and walks, grinning, up to her friend Gronder.
”Looks like we’re gonna hafta start calling you ‘Big BAD’ Gronder after today!”, she says, laughing and slapping the smaller man on the back soundly, ”Glad you were there to save an old lady who was in over her head - looks like I’ve gotten a little rusty from standing in front of a chemist’s bench.”
Ugly is glad the situation didn’t get any worse, but the incredible depth of her failure sinks down to her core.
You’ve gotten soft, Slevin, her Ancestors seem to say, soft and complacent. Too happy for someone who has lost their past, their people.
Ugly bites back the feelings of failure and forces herself to continue smiling at the younger dwarf who had saved her.
Walt takes the sheriff's offered hand.
"Praise the martyr indeed. I feel She was here with us during this incursion of evil and marked certain individuals as Her representatives here in the north. I will go forth and find those brave souls who fought back."
Walt will take time to locate each of the players and introduce himself.
FOR ALL
"Greetings and the blessing of the Martyr to you. You fought bravely against the demon incursion the other day, and I have a feeling that the Matyr Herself has marked you as one of her representatives here in the north. I would like to get to know you and introduce you to the others who helped during the crisis. Here is the address to my modest home. Please come for dinner and conversation tomorrow night. I feel we have much to discuss."
Drot had to bite back some emotion, no one had ever invited him to their home before for dinner non the less.
To Grondor
"My thanks sir, you fought bravely and skillfully. It was a tough situation for all of us, I think. Some comradery might be good for the soul. I look forward to it."
When Slugoth hears another holy man going on about the Martyr he shakes his head, I guess second time is a charm.
As the days turned to weeks passing, Charles had time to come to terms with what had occurred. The stains on the ground reminded him of what he had failed to do before. But his faith in the New God remained strong.
When Walter asked him to meet at his house, Charles accepted the invitation.
"Thank you for your kindness, Walter. It will be interesting to speak with those who faced such unsightly horrors."
Regulus responds uncertainly to Walter's request. "Objective of meeting unclear. Clarification necessary." But he will still come as he has done what he can to clean up the damage. The rest lies to healer's hands, not a strong back.
Ugly grins at the invitation from Walter. The chance to make new friends almost manages to wash her sense of failure away, and warms her spirit.
"I accept your fine offer, Master Walter, and will join you directly, after I wash the demon filth from my skin and hang up my apron"
Ugly slings a friendly arm around the shoulders of Gronder and says
"I hope your home holds enough fine spirits for two fine Dwarfs!"
Sorry again about the delay this weekend - we lost our internet connection due to weather (according to Spectrum). We're back online now.
Tesswyn says nothing in response to Walt's invitation. She initially has no intentions of coming to dinner, but once Drot announces that he will be there, she sighs and reluctantly agrees to come along. "If only to watch your back," she tells the orc.
As the tentacle falls to the ground, finally severed, Gronder stops. He flinches, doing a double-take as a man flies past him into the hole in the air.
Shaking his head as if to clear it, he looks over at the giant clockwork and nods. "Thank you for your help, there."
When Slevin walks over, he smiles at her kind words, but it's obvious his heart really isn't in it.
"I'm glad you made it, Slevin. Truly. I just... can't make sense of what happened here."
He flicks his axe to shake any tentacle-goop off of it, then returns it to the loop on his belt.
As he hears the human with the staff invite people to gather at his home, he strokes his beard, looking thoughtful. When Slevin accepts for both of them, he nods his agreement.
"Yeah. We should probably talk about all of this... I hope it's over, but I am not convinced."
Regulus is fairly unsure what the nod implies or why Gronder thanks him for his help. "I did not intend to aid you, citizen. I was merely minimizing economic damage. I do not believe you are a magistrate concerned with such matters but perhaps I am mistaken."
Later, Regulus arrives at the dinner and stands awkwardly in a corner not eating. His oculus slides back and forth over the participants constantly as he observes them in eery quiet.