Brother Thomas OSB's page

Thomas shakes his head sadly. "I fear are right, my good policeman. Perhaps this scroll will give us a clue. I will do what I can to aid you George, but I'm afraid ancient Egyptian is not part of the studies of a man of the cloth. All I know of them is where they intersect into Hebrew history."

"Who would lock up a key too big to be used in a lock?" Thomas asks as he examines it.

"I suppose we should open it." Thomas says as he tries to keep from turning green at the thought of what horrific image might greet them inside of the chest.

Thomas walks in behind Edgar, scanning the room the room as well.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

I'm still around. Though the 31st is my birthday so I won't be able to post right away.

"When all else fails, straight ahead may be the best course. But it would be wise to be a little more on the mend before heading on. Draw close and I will heal you both some."

Drawing out his crucifix, Thomas calls out in prayer and lifts it up. A wave of healing power pours out around him.

Channel Energy Healing: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 5) = 8

"I'm not sure." frowns Thomas.

Thomas nods at Edgar in response and follows his lead. Lord above, keep Altair safe as we try to find him. he prays silently as he follows after the others.

I'm still around as well.

Brother Thomas tries to circle around to the back of the demonic tree, and then swings with his staff again.

Thomas shakes his head ruefully. "I know a blessing to start fires. It's too bad I didn't pray for it this morning!"

Who would have ever thought spark would be useful in combat?

Thomas watches out of the corner of his eye as Edgar weaves back and forth defensively without throwing any punches as he tries his best to give Lucretia space to use the oil. Stepping in next to Edgar, Thomas begins to twirl his staff in a defensive pattern, attempting to block any attacks against Edgar or himself. Unfortunately, he miscalculates his swings and is of little aid to Edgar.

Thomas's AC is 18 until the beginning of his next turn.

Round 4 actions

Brother Thomas grins wildly as his staff connects solidly. With a gleam in his eyes, he spits out an imprecatory prayer at the creature before him. "Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations!"

With a twirl of his staff, he steps in and swings again.

Stepping forward with grim determination Thomas swings his staff at the thing before them.

Brother Thomas blanches at the sight of the demonic tree in front of them, then steels himself. Reaching up he grips the cross hanging around his neck and begins to praying a prayer of blessing.

" 2 Samuel 22:3: God is my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence." As he finishes his prayer, he lifts his hand up, and a glowing white light suffuses those around him for a second, and then fades.

Thomas fidgets uncomfortably as the seance begins. "Father Ignatius would have my head for this." He thinks to himself. He flinches back as Madame Horos channels something demonic, and then nearly falls out of his chair as the sounds of a violent struggle come from the direction of the greenhouse.

"By Saint Michael's Sword, what was that?" he wonders out loud, and then leaps up to follow Edgar as he rushes out towards the greenhouse.

As they rush out into the darkness, he yells out to the others. "I can summon a light with divine power if we need one."

Brother Thomas looks around the entryway to the Manor in appreciation. "Impressive architecture." He thinks to himself. As the noble lady descends down the stairs he stands quietly as Lord Walker introduces them, and then bows his head slightly. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady. Lord Walker tells us that you have one of the greatest botanical gardens in all of eastern England. Would you by chance have some Belladona? And also, if it's not too much trouble, I certainly could use some leaves from the broadleaf plantain if you have any."

Sorry I've been slow to posting. I just finished a 10 page research paper for my class this morning and it's been a rough one.

Broadleaf Plantains have healing benefits. Thought it might be useful for healing. It is a common plant in Europe as well, so shouldn't be too out of the ordinary.

"That sounds like a decent plan. Let me get some more holy water and we'll give Mr. Finch a dose before heading out to get the belladonna." Thomas says.

The doctor answers Thomas's question before finishing his account of his experiences in Transylvania. " I did work in close proximity with a young priest in here in London at the time in preparation to my assistance to Mr. Seward, who lost his wife and his eventually his mind."

Van Helsing takes a quick sip from his red wine before continuing. " I gathered much knowledge from the affair in general and experienced much loss as well. My entire family left me for mad in my pursuit, nay I say obsession to rid the world of such a vile evil. One thing that I did learn was that although it seemed exorcisms of any kind proved futile, but holy items gave us an advantage. There was a count behind this plague that we sought to cure, and he used women as henchman. Some of the involved parties thought this to be cowardly, but in fact it proved as to the cleverness of the beast. You see, I myself was nearly charmed into submission by their false beauty and almost succumbed to being a servant of evil. The creatures can appear very alluring and charming, but when unmasked, their stench is horrendous.

My colleague first requested my presence in Romania when settling some business affairs with his new bride. She fell ill to some curious disease that he could not figure out, so I came for assistance straight away. Several lives later, we discovered that Lucy was enchanted by the count and in fact fallen into undeath, a sort of immortal existence, a cursed life. It was a grand distraction to keep us busy with her as the count came to London to buy up vast amounts of real estate and establish a colony of these undead creatures here. Beautiful as she was, Mr. Seward's young wife had to be subdued and I myself was tasked with the gruesome deed of performing the ritual of ending her undeath which included disconnecting her head. In the end, our group fought hard and when we had given to belief that the last creature that we had vanquished was the count himself, we were duped by dismantling a male underling,...

Thomas frowns as Dr. Helsing continues speaking. He sighs audibly when he mentions the failure of exorcism. "I was afraid of that. I'm sorry Lord Walker, but that probably means there's not enough of your son left to fight off the evil that has consumed him.

At any rate, I've been studying up on exorcism, and I can tell you my faith isn't quite strong enough to attempt one yet. There are still some things I need to deal with in my own spiritual journey before I can attempt to take the battle to a more spiritual level, so to speak. When the time comes I will try, though, if we are able to."

Thomas is braver than I am. Was listening to a story about an exorcism where the possessed person in question threatened to possess the exorcist's epileptic son and make him choke on his own tongue if the exorcist didn't leave him alone. Think I'd pass on that kind of a psychological/spritual battle."

”That’s all very interesting, Doctor…” Reagan begins, fidgeting in her party dress and struggling to find a comfortable position on her chair. ”...but had ya ever thought o’ gettin’ holy water...inside ‘em somehow? It’d take a bit o’ doin’, but I could get a bit inside firearm shells and deliver it that way. If that doesn’t offend our priest, o’ course. Think ya can get me some o’ that water?”

She pauses again. ”Either way, I think goin’ after that thing again is just goin’ ta get someone hurt for nothin’, unless we can figger a plan. So, let’s aim on some studyin’ and come back at the service tunnel later on, when we’re more ready.”

Brother Thomas pulls a vial out of his pocket and hands it to Reagan. "You're more than welcome to give it a try. I can make more, or pick it up at a nearby church if we need to."

Thomas walks quietly into the study and sits down in a chair. He listens with interest to Dr. Helsing's account of his adventures in Romania, eager to discover if there is anything that can shed light on their current predicament.

"Where there any local clergy involved? How did they deal with these problems?" He asks, looking for any clues that might be unique to his own skills and gifts.

Theatre of the mind with simple maps for busy encounters seems nice. Speaking from experience, the most fun I had as an alchemist was when I could do clever things with bomb splash.

I've finally leveled Altair to 3. Now all I need to do is figure out what the plan is for this gang of hooligans I've managed to piss off.

Paying them is obviously out of the question, even if I could hypothetically scam various Londoners out of a collective sum of money that could be adequate.

Maybe with a little access to divine magic (I don't think George has let his cat out of the bag either) we can put the fear of God in them...

If I can convince Thomas to do that, anyway.

>:)

It wouldn't be too hard to convince Thomas to help you bluff them if you convince him it would be saving their lives. Even just a simple light spell cast on your blade and claiming it is the wrath of God might suffice.

After Thomas attends his classes in the morning and afternoon, he heads to Lord Walker's manor, and goes inside. He slightly nods in thanks to Zhou as he pockets the pouch, and thanks him openly for the envelope with the money in it. If the pouch is what I think it is, I'll have to be sure to pay him for it later. he thinks to himself.

He quietly follows the maid into the room, ready to listen to Lord Walker's plan, and eager to share what he has discovered.

GM, not sure if you want to give exorcism any kind of power over the creatures we are facing, but Thomas would at least look into it . I've been studying Catholic exorcisms in particular, and Christian exorcisms in general. There weren't many exorcists in the 1800s in Europe, but I found a few. Thomas might employ some of the techniques and ceremonies ordained by the Catholic church, but he's a bit nervous because technically he's not supposed to. According to church canon law, only specially ordained priests can perform major exorcisms.

"I doubt they'll stay here now that we've outed them. We need to know where they are going, and having someone tail them to find out where they flee would be great. I'm not sure about all of us going though. What if it's an ambush? For all we know there could be several of those huge...whatever they are waiting for us." Thomas says. "If they intend to attack Lord Walker's house we would have another problem as well."

Edgar, treat deadly wounds takes an hour.

If we are going after them, Thomas will use Channel Energy to heal Edgar. If not he'll use Aid Another to help George Treat Deadly Wounds on Edgar

Thomas is updated. I think I got everything settled. He can now use aid another at a distance, and I took the additional traits feat to take Seeker, and Battlefield disciple.

I wish there were more traits to help aid another become more powerful. Looking at taking swift aid at level five, but it's still a trade-off of using a swift action for less benefit. Although at level 6 I can use aid another for two people at a time, so that'll be interesting.

Thomas would be in favor of having someone tail the monster, but he'd be a bit worried about running into an ambush. He is also concerned about Lord Walker. For he knows there might be monsters preparing to invade his house right now.

"Should we give chase? Thomas asks. He looks somewhat doubtfully at Edgar. "You seem to be in pretty bad shape."

Brother Thomas watches as the monstrous corpse rakes deep furrows in Edgar's body. My healing can't keep up with that! He thinks to himself.

Thomas reaches out and grabs Edgar by the shoulder again. "May the Lord be a shield around you, and lift your head in this dark hour!" Power flashes as Edgar is surrounded by a nimbus of blue light for a second, and then fades.

Brother Thomas watches the creature slash out at Edgar with a growing sense of anger. "What darkness does, let the light undo!" He moves up behind Edgar to the left of Nikos, and grips his Crucifix in his hand.

"Death and Decay, flee before the power of him who conquered the grave. In the name of the Christ, the Son of the Living God, be healed! Thomas lifts his glowing blue hand and grips Edgar by the shoulder.

Thomas gives Jack a grim look. "My master is greater than yours. Repent and turn from evil or you will perish, along with your master.'

Thomas holds up his crucifix and cries out in a loud voice " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."

As the others go about the grisly work of decapitating the bodies, Francis somberly things about how fragile life truly is. "I don't know what we will face further in, but we should probably get moving soon. I hope we are all prepared."

*As prepared as we can be* he thinks to himself sourly.

Francis walks up to one of the bodies and pulls out his Rosary, and a vial of annointing oil. He quickly makes the sign of the cross on the creature's forehead and lays the crucifix over its heart. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May the Lord grant you whatever peace he may."

He moves from creature to creature, repeating the same ritual. When he is done he looks at the others somberly. "They may well have been men once. I don't know how to do last rights yet, but it seemed fitting all the same. I hope this is not the fate of Mr. Fitch."

Thomas reloads his sling and begins to spin it, trying to pickout a target. Finally he decides on the spawn being stopped by George's mirror. "Flee from the wrath to come!" he shouts as he unleashes a bullet at it.

As the clawed...things approach Thomas tries to bite back a surge of panic. What are those things? He shudders, wanting to pull back and run, but at the same time rooted in fear.

As the fear courses through him, a calm voice echoes in his mind. "I am with you. For such a time as this I have chosen you to wield the powers of holy righteousness against the servants of darkness."

As resolve blossoms in Thomas' innermost being, he begins to chant as he acts; stepping back as he draws out his sling.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

As his words crescendo at the end of the verse, Thomas fires the sling at the monster that was already struck by Lucretia's crossbow.

Noticing George's discomfort,Thomas walks over to encourage him and ease his mind.

"You ok there George? You seem a bit shaken up. I know it's not easy to have a gun pointed at you, friend"

Thomas raises his eyebrow as Nikos curses. So he speaks Greek, and it sounds like it's his native language because he curses in it. Hmm. Thomas thinks to himself. Thomas understand Greek. Well, an ancient form of it but it is close enough to modern Greek he can mostly make out what Nikos is saying.

"It's unlikely you had a mole Altair, considering you were Mr. Clarke up until recently. And even if you did, it's unlikely they would identify your card sticking out of the wood with you and bother to take it.' Thomas cocks his head slightly. "It's not impossible though. Best be careful."

Altair's inner monologue: DAMN IT THOMAS STOP ANTAGONIZING THEM. You'll ruin the small advantage we might have from acting in a manner they aren't ready for.

My inner monologue: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thomas is the least prepared to actually kill someone too. If he ends up having to do that, he'll end up throwing up when the combat is over.

"Two on one odds. You lot are real brave, eh?" Thomas says as he begins to spin his staff menacingly. "It still won't save you from the wrath of God. Only repentance will do that. Fall on your knees and beg his mercy or you'll be meeting him tonight!"

"Hmm. We may be better off sifting through mythology and folk tales to find our answers than a modern science book." Thomas says thoughtfully as he fiddles with his crucifix. "If time was not of the essence I'd suggest we visit some libraries for research. I suppose memory will have to do."

Red rimmed eyes, anemic skin, contortion of the limbs, spider like climbing. Keep wolves forguardians, and are repelled by garlic. Hmmm. Thomas thinks to himself as he sifts through his memories of folklore.

"If you could aquire some thread, small bells, chalk, and some small mirrors, we could make good use of them exploring the sewers."

"The war between good and evil has been going on for a long time." Thomas said. "Modern science may have cast doubt on what lies beyond the five senses, but the church has fought evil for 2000 years, and will continue to do so until our Lord returns and destroys evil for good. Dr. Helsing, what creature do you believe this claw comes from?"

There are 50 small beads and 5 large beads on a rosary loop so that might work out fairly well as a culturally appropriate replacement for a wand.

"That sounds like a good idea George. I'll ride with you to assist." Thomas says. "I suggest we all give some thought to what kinds of things we might want to get before continuing this misadventure. I'd rather none of us share the same fate as Mr. Fitch."

"Lucretia. Are you saying your cousin is the one who ambushed you? Or did he look like he was being held captive?" Thomas asks.

"Here George let me help you tend to Mr. Fitch." Thomas says as he helps bind the man's wounds. Whispering to George so Lucretia can't hear "If we can get him alone back at the house I can heal him. I'm not sure I want our employers to know about my...gifts. Although they may already. I'm starting to wonder if that has more to do with why they chose me than my scholarly skills. I'm not half the scholar you are."

After finishing with the work on their patient, Thomas turns to Altair "You were the only person tonight who wasn't surprised like everyone else. You've seen things out of the ordinary before, haven't you?"

Thomas is almost twenty years old.

Considering what I'd like as an item. St. Dyfrig was a Bishop who founded several monasteries in southern Wales around roughly 500-600 A.D. and was famous for healing people. What would you think of St. Dyfrig's Staff, a Staff of Healing with some sort of enhancement bonus on it as well? CL for crafting a staff of healing is around 8, so maybe level 9 or 10?

Thomas shakes his head ruefully at being rebuffed by Reagan. "I don't much care for lying myself. But my old Abbot Father Dyfrig suggested I should keep it a secret. He was afraid I could get in trouble. Well, now I suppose that, with the exception of an old druid in the Black Mountains in Wales, you all are the only lot outside of Ireland who know my secret."

Turning to George with a sigh, Thomas says "I can heal cuts and bruises, even repair ruptured organs. I don't know if I can cure a disease like Cancer. I've never had much luck with curing actual diseases. Perhaps in time...the more I learn then perhaps I might discover a way to do that."

I'm thinking correctly right? Wouldn't Cancer count as a disease that would take the spell "Cure Disease" to actually heal?

There's nothing for it Thomas thinks to himself. My secret isn't worth letting George bleed out, nor go into another fight wounded, which we certainly will if we head into that tunnel I'll wager. He sighs and walks over to George.

"There is a third option." He says. "What I'm about to tell you may seem unbelievable, but I assure you it is true. Sometimes, when I talk to God, he talks back. And when I ask for help, sometimes he gives me the power to work miracles. Including healing people."

Thomas reaches up and grasps his crucifix with one hand and begins to pray in a singsong voice "Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" As he speaks, his crucifix begins to glow with a pale silver light. He lifts his hand from the glowing crucifix, trailing silver and blue sparks as it glows with a light of it's own, and lays it on George's shoulder. "Death and Decay, flee before the power of him who conquered the grave. In the name of the Christ, the Son of the Living God, be healed!" George's leg flashes with a silver light, and the wound begins to close. "That should do it."

Thomas sighs as his staff connects with the wolf, dropping it to the ground with a loud crack. "George is right, be wary. As to why they are here...if I had to wager a guess, I'd wager someone trained them to guard this pipe. Even if wild wolves somehow got loose in London, I doubt they'd try to settle into the sewers." Thomas gives the rest of the group a grim look. "You realize this means we probably walked into a trap they didn't want us to walk away from."

Looking for weaknesses in the circling wolves, Thomas moves into position opposite of one of his teammates and swings out with his quarterstaff again.

Thomas grips his staff with both hands and attacks the wolf that is attacking George.

"Saints preserve us! Wolves...in London?" Thomas sifts through his memory to see what he knows about their strengths and weaknesses as he tightens his grip on his staff and lashes out at the nearest wolf.