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Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of posting lately. I haven't really been feeling it in this game and recently I have become much more busy than I have been in past years. What is a graceful way for me to withdraw from this game? Do you all want me to keep posting for a set amount of time until we reach a landmark? I will post again here soon.
Sorry for not posting earlier. I should have done so and feel regret.
"Pontia, try to get to cover," Gregor barks out. He turns sharply away from the tower, looming behind Doro. With a heave of muscle, he attempts to trip the shadowy creature attacking his ally.
"Inside the tower, you find a chest filled to bursting with platinum pieces."
Not sure if that tower is safe..Should I check it? "We don't want to leave enemies behind us. You go first, and call for help if you need."
"Torches. Someone living has been here, and not long ago." "I'll follow you into the rubble Doro, but let's not linger here. This building looks like it could collapse at any moment."
Gregor continues attacking the remaining skeletons.
Once again, he changes targets fluidly, before it's clear whether his initial target is dead.
Gregor feels his blood boil, red spittle dripping from his mouth. He attempts to trip the skeleton directly in front of Doro.
He then switches his attention to the skeleton left of that one.
Gregor watches as the others prepare their spells. When the time draws nearer still, he will use his wand to cast Shield on himself, as before. "If Vivian goes with Sophie, the two of them will have an easier time blocking any extra exits." Gregor is ready to fight, standing behind Doro as usual.
"Very well. With the horses and into the heart of town." Gregor grabs his barbarian chew, staining his teeth a deep red. He leads his summoned horse along with the others.
"If the skeletons are doing the bidding of the cultists, they may lead us to our primary quarry. I suppose my vote is to search the ruins with all possible stealth until we spot one of these possible patrolling skeleton squads, then follow behind. If we cannot avoid combat with them, then at least there will be a few less abominations in the world. As for the Demon Wolves, I expect we will come across them soon enough." "I like this plan. Upon thinking about it more, I think we would be better served to avoid trying to draw both sides into conflict. That would only raise the alarm for everyone, which might make it harder for us." Gregor pauses for a moment, drinking from a bottle. "Then again, the dead don't need to sleep or take off their armor, so they might be ready for us no matter what."
"As for the horses, I know of no magic which can prevent a horse from screaming when it becomes nervous." Gregor looks at the animals, scratching his own summoned horse on the withers. "I would prefer to keep them as far away from us as possible."
"Well, as the Jezaldans still think we're on their side, we could turn to them for assistance." Gregor shakes his head. "I think it would be best to avoid destabilizing the political situation, but..." He stares at the bloody corpse in front of the party for a few moments. "I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't kill them all."
Gregor is struck by the shrine. "I wonder if this person took the knife willingly." He stares at the remains for some time.
Gregor offers a hand to Vivian.
He also checks the straps on his armor, adjusts his pack, and grabs his barbarian chew. "Do any of us look like lambs?" Gregor asks Vivian. "I think we should clear the outer buildings first, then work our way in. We don't want to get surrounded or ambushed."
"Young man, that's no way to speak to your elders! Just who do you think you are, eh?" Gregor smirks, chuckling slightly. "I'm just a big man with a long, sharp stick." He is glad that the others seem to recognize the old woman. ----- Gregor's face relaxes as the healing magic is applied. He thanks Vivian, bowing low before her.
Gregor furrows his brows at Niculaie for a moment, not getting it. Injure me? Why would it...oh. He nods. "Could you help me, Vivian?" It was just like the big man to ask the pretty lady for help first.
Gregor eyes Niculaie's healing wand for a moment. "Would you mind helping me out with that?" He asks politely.
Gregor pushes himself up and away from the center of the tree, flailing a bit before finally managing to drop to the ground. He coughs a few times. "Thanks," He says, wincing slightly and feeling at his armor to see if it's dented. Turning to Sophie, he asks "Who are you?"
Gregory’s scream abruptly ends as he is thrust headfirst into the maw of the tree. He struggles against the iron grip of the vine, trying to free himself before he’s crushed to death. Sounds like the others are still fighting, at least.
I think the only feat she has that boosts them is superior summoning, which makes one extra archon. But the main combo seems to be lots of attacks which target touch (so the lower level summon's weak attack bonus doesn't matter) and bardic inspiration to boost damage.
Gregor is shocked to find that the real danger is the tree itself, not inside the house. The voice calling from inside the house also surprises him. "Is there a danger inside?" He asks, hesitating for a moment. Niculaie is my friend, and he's in pressing and immediate danger. That voice could be another trick for the senses. Gregor charges the tree.
"Doesn't seem like the polite thing to do, but fine. As long as you're not leaving yourselves vulnerable while you do your examining." Gregor hefts his fauchard. He will stay between the house and the skeletons while the examination takes place.
Gregor stays close to Doro, beckoning for the rest of the party to follow. "Hmm, interesting Vivian. Given that Niculaie can see that there is no illusionary magic at play here, perhaps there is some strange creature using some unusual ability." Gregor thinks for a moment, but has no idea what such a creature might be. "I am ready to walk up and knock on the door. Let's make sure our horses are secure but close by, so they don't spook but we can chase any fleeing enemies if need be."
Cool, thanks for the route.
"Are you sure there's some illusion here, Doro? I see only four skeletons on a tree. That doesn't look out of the ordinary to me." Gregor watches his horse carefully, but she doesn't seem to be overly afraid. "Hmmm, skeletons, not fresh corpses. Paint peeling, shingles cracked. It's been a long time since whoever built this house lived here." Gregor dismounts and checks his armor, making sure his straps are tied. Good thing I got rid of the visor on my helmet. Damn thing was for cowards anyway. "I will follow your lead, Niculaie."
"That idiot that lead them here is the cause of this fate. I think he will survive, but likely as a Primal now." "Hahahahaha," Gregor laughs heartily, somewhat in bad taste given the party's bloody surroundings. He shook his head. "What a fitting fate for such a man."
"It must have been directly opposite the stairs, wouldn't it? Because we couldn't see it through the mist." "By the time I went looking for her, she could have already dropped down to the forest floor and gone off in any direction." Gregor wipes sweat from his forehead. I can make myself huge and call stones with my mind, but I could never learn that damn magic trick for cleaning things. Later, when they find the corpses, Gregor shakes his head sadly. "I wonder if this had to happen, or if there was something we could have done to prevent it." He looks over the corpses, their faces sticking in his mind. Gregor never forgot a face. "I don't think we have time to bury them all." He frowns. When the people approach, Gregor calls out to them. "Hail, travelers in the woods. Were you with this band?" He gestures to to the corpses around the party. "Or has something else brought you here?"
Thanks for the heads up
"Did any of you get any hint as to where we should go next?" Gregor shook his head. "No, perhaps now we could follow Tara's earlier suggestion and try tracking the pack that was following the Whispering Way." "Maybe knowing it way before will help us prepare for these future fights." "Indeed, preparation is always useful." Gregor folds his arms. "At some point we should look for anything we can use to fight that vampire." Garlic, mirrors, maybe a wooden stake...or are those just rumored to be effective by ignorant villagers? Gregor blinks, looking around at the various group members who might know more than him. "And we're definitely going to need some magic to breathe and fight underwater. Somehow I got the sense that we were very deep beneath the waves, under a lot of pressure and far from the sun."
I'm pretty sure the next step is to track down Vrood, the Whispering Way, and find the heart. I don't think we looted the body.
Gregor glances up at Pontia's words. Guess I look a little less like a freak now. He stretches his arms out wide, like he's wrapping his huge frame around the entire group in a gigantic hug. "We are connected now, all of us. When we go somewhere new and people see us together, they'll know we have some connection." Gregor closes his eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply. "How strange this life can be. Sometimes the closest bonds can be forged with those we have only just met."
When Gregor wakes, he has completely forgotten about their plan to ask Desna where the Whispering Way had taken the heart. "That was...life changing." The big man smiles softly. The change in his eye color is striking, where before they had been a bright and shocking yellow, dirty and alien looking, now they were cool, silvery, and celestial.
"We can try to track the pack that was in pursuit, or we can clean the temple." "Hrrm, we could try tracking them...but I think progress would be slow that way, and we have no way of guaranteeing that would take us where we want to go." Gregor rolls his supernaturally wide shoulders experimentally. "This way at least we know we'll be making progress on something important.
"I would agree with you, save that we don't know where the heart is or what the Whispering Way has done with it."
"I worry we will not be allowed that much time." "Where are Duristan and his cronies when you really need them?" Asks Gregor. "It wasn't such a long walk to get here, perhaps we could go back and get help, then stand guard while they do all the hard work cleaning this place." Gregor rests a hand easily on his armor, now stained red with blood. "Or we could hope that the Vollensags and Jezeldans get back before the Mordinachts and Dorzhanevs. So long as we don't actually have the heart, and we won't until we track down the Whispering Way, we won't have to break the news to the Jezeldans that we aren't their friends. So maybe they'll help us hold and cleanse the temple. By the time we do have the heart, the temple may have changed hands once again." Gregor rolls his neck. Or maybe the Mordinachts and Dorzhanevs will get here first and we'll all be dead by then.
"Damn," Gregor frowns. "Perhaps if we clean and hallow this temple, we can prevent further bloodshed. Then we can focus on the Whispering Way."
I certainly wish I could atone for my own sins, Gregor thinks as he listens to Pontia. All this talk of the heart of Kvalca Sain is making me hungry. Gregor looks down at Estovian, a hint of pity in his yellow eyes.
At Niculaie's call, Gregor drops back into a combat stance. He moves a little bit sluggishly, first feeling around in the space Estovian had occupied.
Hearing Doro's call, Gregor follows after the man, standing in the doorway to try to block any escape.
"Great." Gregor pants softly, putting his arms on his hips to rest for a moment. "Another spellcaster got away. Maybe he went up to the roof? We could make the climb again, it doesn't seem like there's anyone else down here."
Gregor relaxes somewhat once he gets ahold of the man, his anger disappearing like leaves in the wind. "Nice thinking, Vivian. If we can restrain him, maybe we can figure out where this bite came from."
Gregor once again tries to grab ahold of the spellcaster, trying to hold him still. "Manacles...in my pack," he grunts, gritting his teeth through his rage.
Gregor files into the room after Doro, glancing around to make sure it's empty before relaxing. "Never heard of an Inn that wasn't exciting."
When the secret door is opened and Estovion revealed, Gregor starts towards him. He tries to get a grip and hold him still, so as to prevent him from casting any spells.
Gregor's face softens. "Good thing you're with friends now." His plate armor clanks solidly a few times as he adjusts.
"What, you don't enjoy being wracked with pain?" Gregor quips, smiling rakishly.
"Right," Gregor says, his nose wrinkled indignantly. "Let's try the other door then."
"Would you go first, Doro?" Gregor asks, his voice small and quiet. He indicates the door on the left, though he doesn't have much preference.
Gregor listens for movement from behind the door they're about to enter. If he hears any sounds from within that seem to belong to something living, he will activate his wand before they enter.
Gregor stoops to examine the prints, trying to discern information from them. Were they made recently? Can he tell how many creatures made them? "I can try to follow the human ones," he suggests.
Gregor followed along, taking Niculaie's advice and spreading out. Got enough magically inflicted scars already.
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