"They've been gone awhile," Andre whispers to Galavaine. "Do you think they've gone missing?"
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"Many empty chambers," Andre says quietly. "I suppose that's good. The less indication we find of defenders, the fewer there actually are."
Andre maintains the second half of Sir Galavaine's shield wall, watching for trouble ahead.
"Or maybe that's the plan," Andre says, peeking into the vestry. "Leave the top layer unmolested, just in case anyone checks on the place. But, no, that can't be it. Otherwise, why chain the doors shut?" The paladin frowns at the unanswerable question.
"That, and it would be more believable if you didn't show up wearing tatters."
Jealous! That adventure was why I subscribed to the APs. I think that adventure stole all the awesome from the first book.
With the uppermost reaches of the Temple explored and found vacant, Andre leaves Podo and Gnobby to their work, and heads back towards the three stairways. He spies a door on the northwestern wall, and arches an eyebrow. "I don't think we've examined this one," he says quietly, and approaches. He gives a listen at the door before testing the handle and opening it as quietly as he can muster.
"Four elements, somehow?", the paladin ventures. "Red for fire, brown for earth? Green for water, and not blue for some reason?" He shrugs, clearly out of his depth.
Andre winces as he approaches the apse and sets eyes upon the throne. "Whatever sat here long ago has left its stain upon the world," he says, averting his eyes. "Something offends Heaven's senses, even this far removed from Emridy Meadows."
Andre stays in lock step with Sir Galavaine, hand upon the hilt of his blade. He knows it's not a question of if the Temple's denizens will find them and try to repel them - it's all about when. He idly glances up at the dangling bit of chain. "What do you suppose that's for? Pendulum?"
"Perhaps they were deluded into thinking the forces of Evil were dispatched," Andre says in response to Salla. "We still aren't certain how active the Temple has become. Let us hope that it is only a few cultists gathering their power. I shudder to think that the Temple has returned to its former unholy glory."
"This whole place is offensive to both my sight and to Heaven's," Andre says as his eyes fall upon the shattered altar. He reaches down to pick up the shattered manacle. "For the sacrifices, no doubt. The priesthood clearly don't use this space any longer, though. Where have they gone to?"
Andre nods and glances about, seeing if he senses wickedness about.
Andre advances as well, his sword and shield at the ready as always.
Andre smiles as Gnobby and Podo open the side door to the Temple. "Excellent work, you two!", he says in a hushed tone. "Like the Moathouse, let us see how far we may delve without rousing an alarm." He draws his blade and readies his shield, striding into the unhallowed halls of the Temple at last.
Well, the place is locked up. Nothing we can do about it, I guess we better just head on back, then! ;-)
Andre frowns as the mere sight of the Temple causes his compatriots to falter in step. "This expedition has gotten off on the wrong foot," he grouses. "Let not this minor setback be a harbinger of things to come!"
Andre clenches his fists as he stares up at the imposing edifice before him. "Evil has had its way with the land here," he says at last. "We must carve this cancer from its host before it can spread more than it has. I don't know what we will face within these walls, but we will face it with courage, we will face it with valor, and, most importantly, we will face it together."
"Is there anything down the road to the southwest besides the Temple? I would imagine that road is watched. If a strange group starts heading down it, it might be cause for suspicion."
Andre shifts his weight from one foot to the other, blinking as he processes this new information. "So...that's an act?", he asks incredulously. "I must say, he had pulled the wool over my eyes completely." What's this world coming to? It's almost as though you can't judge a man by your first glance at him any longer. "You say we are beset upon all sides by the Enemy. I have only stayed here a night, and I can already tell that Nulb is a far different beast from Hommlet. What sort of assets do we have here? And where do you suggest we start?"
"Elmo? That drunken sot?", Andre scoffs. "It surprises me he has seen naught but the bottom of a bottle of rye for many months."
Andre does little more than eat his breakfast as the group prepares to meet with Elmo's brother here in Nulb, doing his best not to draw attention to himself.
I'm here as well. Like Galavaine, I'm taking a backseat role here in Nulb.
Where Galavaine heads upstairs to confer with Podo, Andre stays downstairs, finding a table by himself for the moment. "An ale to chase away the dust of the road," he says to a passing wench.
I missed the link that showed that we could actually buy magic items. I'll look into that tonight, and see what I can do with my money. Paladins have a rather strict code, IIRC.
Andre notes Gnobby's dealings with the children with some small degree of satisfaction. Clearly the gnome is learning the value of charity to the disadvantaged, so he reminds himself to be a bit more lenient with Gnobby in the future. The formal ceremony that Gnobby came up with was, for lack of a better term, irregular.
"'Forewarned is forearmed, as the Wise Fool teaches us," Andre says. "Whatever we can learn about this demon goddess will arm us further. I don't like that he was out there, not one bit. That tells me there's more to this than simple banditry. Whatever we can learn about Lloth might clue us in on his plans." He frowns for a moment, thinking. "The prisoner may have more information as well. We might want to visit him and tend to him, find out if he has heard anything useful during his ordeal."
Andre listens to Gnobby's plan for the parade, and examines the baton and regalia presented to him. "Who would have thought? We survived our assault upon the Moathouse, only for my dignity to die here in Hommlet," he deadpans, his face stoic for as long as he can manage. Then he snorts, smirks and winks to Gnobby, accepting the mop and smock with a broad grin. "This shall be an honor I shall not soon forget, I believe."
Andre chuckles to himself. "I should be scolded for believing the worst in the good people of Hommlet! But I would not wish them to feel like I am unapproachable." He reaches for his coinpurse, handing over a small sum of money to Ostler. "A room for myself, friend, and a hot meal. It's been a few days since we've had the chance for one. Finally, I'll be buying the drinks tonight. For everyone. Spread the word, and let the people come celebrate an end to the brigandry that has plagued your town!"
Andre takes note of the sudden chill the group is receiving from the townsfolk. "That's odd," he says quietly to his compatriots. "The people of Hommlet have usually been friendlier than this. Perhaps old Gundigoot will be able to enlighten us on what has caused this ill wind to blow in to the hamlet."
"That would be a job for one of the Billets," Andre explains to Salla. "Father Calmert at the temple in town might be able to banish Evil's stain upon the Moathouse, but such abilities are beyond me. I could say a few prayers, if it would put your spirit at ease."
Andre's stomach rumbled at the thought of Ostler's meatpies. "This talk of warm food is very tempting. The Welcome Wench is our first destination, then Verbobonc beyond. The only other option for purchasing additional supplies back in Hommlet is the general store, and I'll sooner walk to Verbobonc City itself than give those fleecing merchants another of my coppers."
Andre chuckles as Podo mimics a high-society fop. "There'll be no eggs thrown tonight," he says lightly. "Though plenty of ale to celebrate our victory over the Moathouse, when we return to the Welcome Wench's stoop!"
Andre hurries after Podo as he goes wandering off by himself. "We don't even know what's over this way!"
Andre whistles as they count up the haul they've gathered from ending the threat Lareth posed. "Now that's a pretty copper," he says, quite impressed by the amount of weaponry and other items of value. "I'm not sure we'll be able to carry everything back to town, but we might be able to tie everything onto one of the two horses and walk it back."
"It was not I, Sir Galavaine," Andre replies, the worst of his wounds closing as the priest's miracles heal the wounds dealt to him. "One of the elfmaids, if I were a wagering man."
"I have faith that the elfmaids can handle the two that fled," Andre says as he cleans his blade and sheathes his sword. "As for these miscreants, their master's head can adorn the keep until Lords Rufus and Burne can manage a team to dismantle the Moathouse once and for all. Take what we can from their bodies - the church of the Cudgeler will be able to aid in destroying any artifacts of Evil, and the rest can be sold to aid in Good works."
Ack! That sucks, Loup au Francais. It's amazing how much we take our high-speed Internet for granted until we can't actually use it. Hopefully, you'll get set up sooner than later. I have a love/hate relationship with Shadowrun. I love the setting - I've always loved blending genres, and the fantasy/cyberpunk mashup works well for me. It's a cool world, and more than a few of my friends said they were upset when Ryumyo failed to appear on Mt. Fuji on Christmas Eve last year. I hate the dice system with a passion, and it doesn't help that I could never find anyone who wanted to run a game just using the base book. They all knew how to make stupidly broken characters, while I'm just struggling to decipher the code that everything was written in those books. It sucked all the fun out of those games. It's probably also why I really enjoyed both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo games - it removed the awful, awful system. Still, if you enjoyed it, then that's all that matters. Clearly, enough people love the game that they don't need my cash!
Andre's eyes flutter open as he feels consciousness returning to him. "Salla...", he begins, before his eyes widen, and he begins casting about for his blade. "Lareth! He must not be allowed to escape! I must..." The paladin tries to stand at this point, but tumbles instead into the elfmaid's supporting arms. "...I must collect myself. Thank you, Salla, the priest's minions were quite capable. If you and Tarmin had not been so precise with your arrows, then I might have been added to the list of those lives claimed by the Moathouse." He finds his footing slowly, and begins walking around the battlefield, walking upon eggshells as the wound in his side is still quite fresh and painful.
"For Verbobonc! For justice! For OOOOOF!"
Andre blinks as the unnatural darkness finally yields to the light, and Andre finally meets the gaze of his foe. "You have hindered me too long, murderer!", the paladin cries. "Your leader has fallen, your ranks have broken, and still we push on! As you shall not yield, I end the threat that you and your allies pose! For Verbobonc!" Mechanics: I sure talk a good game, don't I?
" - shall smite thee, blasphemer!", Andre finishes crying as sound returns to the skirmish. His blade whistles through the darkness as he continues to strive to connect with his elusive foe. Mechanics:
No worries, Salla. Have some sake for me while you're there! On a related note, I'll be at GenCon starting tomorrow and ending Mondayish. I don't anticipate having time to do anything PbP related during that time, so bot me as needed. (It should be pretty simple: say a lot of awesome stuff, then miss badly when it comes time to roll.)
Andre's cheeks redden with fury from Lareth's temptation. "There shall be no bartering, villain! Your life has always been forfeit! I will accept your surrender, that you might hang for your crimes!" He relentlessly follows the man to the south, swinging his sword in a wide arc to connect with the foe before him. Mechanics: I swear, I am the worst paladin ever.
"You might be hidden from my sight, villain, but the Cudgeler's chosen will not be so easily swayed from their tasks!" He swings his blade to where he judged his opponent to be, but once again cut nothing but the air in front of him. Mechanics: , -4 for darkness
I too will be at GenCon in a few weeks, so my posting will likely be very erratic during that time. OK, more erratic than usual.
Another of Andre's senses are snuffed as the light disappears from the room. Completely cut off from the front lines, he briefly toys with the idea of a fighting withdrawal, but gives his allies a moment before calling the retreat. He thrusts his blade to where he thought his foe was at, hoping to end another of Lareth's men before he was overwhelmed. Mechanics: minus darkness penalties.
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