"Crap!" Jack exclaims as he hits the deck. He works to get back up and strikes again at Gibs.
Slicing Gibs neatly across the body, "HA! Take that, freak! Jack is on the attack, bay-bee! Oh yeah!"
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Jack swipes at the farmer with both blades this time, hoping to be as successful as Rose.
Unfortunately, he manages to only land one strike against him.
With Balurk getting pummeled badly, "Screw this!" Jack follows Barek through the window, past him, and flanks with Rose, before slicing at the psychotic Gibs.
Jack, with his kukris still in hand, remains at a loss on what to do but finds himself looking curiously at Gibs. "Okay, voice guy, who in the Abyss are you? Tell us! Because you aren't Gibs. I'm actually curious if you've already killed him and taken over his body."
Carla says "Well use your head, butthead!" She smiles at herself for her clever wordplay. She completes "Get it? Butt him with your head? Haha!"
Jack looks at her through narrowed eyes, pondering her 'joke'. "Oh yeah, I get it. I see what you did there. That's pretty good, Carla. Pretty good." He nods, looking slightly perturbed. I think she just called me a butthead! In kind of a slick way, though. I'm very annoyed. But that's just because I didn't come up with it. Man, that would've been a good one for the ol' Jack repertoire! Dang it! Returning to the situation at hand, "Oh right! We're fighting. Get him, Balurk! You got this, buddy! Between you and Rose, this chump doesn't stand a chance! You're going down, Gibs! Give up now, Gibs, or else!"
With a sigh of frustration as he pulls out his kukris, "Seriously, Carla? How do you expect me to do anything with these blades if I can't kill him?" he asks in a normal tone. "I'm open to suggestions."
Barek leans in close to Jack, speaking just under his breath, "If he doesn't open soon, do you think you could rake that lock? Claim the door was slightly opened when I knocked? We'll keep him talking in the mean time." Raising an eyebrow, thinking that's a pretty good idea, Jack gives a slight nod. "I can try." Double-checking to make sure the resident isn't looking through a window, Jack concentrates to remove his picks from his pack subtly and goes to work on the lock.
Rolling his eyes, Jack moves over next to Barek, proceeding to yell through the door. "C'mon, man! You know, the more help we get, the quicker we can get this thing solved, and the quicker we'll be out of your hair. Huh? Huh? That's gotta sound pretty good to you. Not having to deal with us 'vigilantes', or whatever you wanna call us, I don't really care. We're just here to help, that's all. I don't really get why you people hate us so much."
Jack stops what he's doing and listens in to see what Barek's action accomplishes, if anything.
"Interesting. A very lonely-looking house. I wonder if anyone is home." Jack peers through the window out of curiosity.
She also asks "What did you find Jack? Should we follow that trail?" Shaking his head, "Yeah, I'm not sure, Carla. It's hit or miss. I feel like I've got something, and then I seem to lose it. I just don't trust it enough to... well... trust it." He shrugs. "Sorry." He glances around at the scene, shaking his head in frustration.
Nodding, "Yeah, sure, I can give it a shot." Jack takes a look around, wondering if he can discern any real tracks.
He pauses in mid-hunt, turning his focus to Balurk. Grinning, he turns to the others and simply says, "See? Balurk gets it," before returning to his track hunting.
Eyes going wide at the horrific sight, "Whoa! You have got to be kidding me! Whoa! Sheriff, could we please cover that up?! That is something that does NOT need to be paraded around. You've got to be kidding me. He practically just left! I mean, it was just recently! Less than 12 hours ago! This is nuts." Staring at the gruesome scene again for a moment, "Wow. This one shocks me. Unbelievable." Jack then listens to Lloyd make a case for everyone, and then nods in complete agreement. "Now that is well said, Lloyd. Well said," he compliments, grinning.
Between Briar Rose's question, Lloyd's question, and Balurk's question, Jack finds himself irritated that these jerk townsfolk completely ignore them. he yells, clapping his hands hard and loudly several times in an effort to be heard. Hoping that was enough to get SOMEBODY'S attention, "Now, what happened here? And just for the record, if somebody was killed, IT! WAS! NOT! US!" He stares sternly at them, and without seeming to blink at all. "Now, having said ALL OF THAT, my friend here," he points to Lady Briar, "asked if any of you would be interested in joining her for morning prayer!" "Also, this gentleman here," he motions to Lloyd, "asked what it is that has brought you all here!" "And lastly, this friend of mine," he motions to Balurk, "is wondering what happened, and if there is a problem, what can we do to help!" He stares hard at them all again for a long moment before relaxing somewhat, but not really. "And if there is an issue that needs dealing with, hopefully none of you have any issues with us helping! Because that just wouldn't be very nice to turn down folks who are willing to help."
Smiling, "HA! I did not even catch that. You know, now that I think about it, that was actually a pretty good one, Barek. Don't knock it down so quickly there, buddy," he says, chuckling.
With his attention on the crowd, "Yeah, we did, Barek," he answers, sounding almost robotic as he's far more focused on the crowd. "What in the world could it be this time?"
Working to think fast, Jack pulls out his kukri, then just starts ad libbing because he's got nothing else, and says, "Yeah, um, I feel different too! I feel like I can stab somebody good. And boy, would it hurt! Oh yeah! Just stab! stab! stab! and stab! again, bleeding them stupid undead out! Heck yeah! Stab! That's what I'm talking about! Well, except for the fact that undead don't bleed. But you get the point," he grins, nodding, and calming down.
"Kendra, dear, you father's estate is certainly host to a revolving and colorful cast of characters... Welcome, Allosaurus. I am lady Briar Rose Applestar of Magnimar." The paladin offers a warm smile. She's wrapped in a heavy quilt, presumably from her bed. "You've only missed... oh, such terrible things! Ghosts! And undead! Awful!" She leaves the dissection of the literary works to those more versed in books and history. She's more of a dancer herself. "Be warned before you sit at our table: there seems to be a grand conspiracy afoot. I would not blame you if you wish only to pay your respects and leave. Goddesses know I want to..." Jack, already downstairs due to the difficulty of sleep, smiles at Lady Briar. "Rose, I believe you meant Alloysius. Or, 'Lloyd' as he mentioned to make things easier." He winks.
Nodding, "Good to meet you, Lloyd. I'm Jack. Jack Ryder. Like Carla said. The 'Jack' part, I mean, not the 'Jack Ryder' part. Just to be clear," he explains, grinning.
"Alright," says Barek. "Let's head back the way we came. We'll keep researching and come back with fresh eyes. Maybe more holy water...lots more holy water." Chuckling, "You ain't kidding about that, my friend. I've never felt so worthless. We definitely have to do our research on these stupid haunts to where we can ALL contribute on taking them down. And if that takes 4,000 bottles of holy water, then by gosh, so be it," he says, grinning wryly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at the estate... "Thanks, Kendra. Tea sounds good." Jack takes a cup and drinks it leisurely as Carla details what she learned about The Lopper. "Well, I guess the moniker given to him is fitting. Definitely on the nose." Shaking his head, "Freaking psycho. I would've love to have ended that maniac myself. Sicko."
Nodding in complete agreement, "I do like the bucket of water idea from Rose. That makes a lot of sense." She says "Let's... let's get out of here?" With a heavy sigh, "You know, as much as I don't really want to, I think we probably should. A part of me thinks this place is slightly beyond our capabilities right now. Maybe if we call it a day, we can rest up, recuperate, and come back a bit more prepared and ready tomorrow. What do y'all think?"
Taking stock of the situation, "Oh man, this is gonna get hot quick." Jack moves next to Balurk, looking unsure of himself. "Okay, how do we kill the fireplace? Do I chop at it or what? I really don't know."
Jack moves ahead of the others, "Yeah, this place is pretty much done. Wow. Well, which way now, do you think?" he asks, looking all around and wondering.
Barek exhales slowly and lets the tip of his blade drop. He goes over to the hole and looks down into the depths. "What are the chances a stairwell somewhere survived the fire and we won't have to drop into this hole on a rope?" "I'm gonna go with slim to none on that one, Barek. Sorry." He shrugs, grinning.
Jack strikes once again at the flying, flaming skull.
Jack takes another slash at the next one, trying to take these things down as quickly as possible.
Landing another solid hit, "Oh yeah! We got these things right where we want them! On the verge of death! Again!"
Briar Rose, with scimitar and shield in hand, doesn't hesitate to move up to protect the curious ranger from... whatever these are. "Don't worry, Jack! Sarenrae stands with us!" She's not the most scholastic of paladins, but these are clearly undead. Seeing the flaming skulls rise to meet them, "I sure hope so, Rose!" "You know, it never pays to look down into a deep, dark, ominous-looking pit. There is always something that's gonna crawl out of it." Drawing his kukri, Jack slices at the floating skull.
Slicing the skull right through its... well... skull, "HA! Take that, bonehead!"
Jack follows after Barek, stopping right next to him and looking about. "What have we got here, hm? Looks like a big empty room to me. Well, outside of that pit over there. I'm gonna go check it out. C'mon, this'll be fun." He winks, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder with the back of his hand. Moving up near the pit, Jack peers within, holding his sunrod out in front of him, wondering how far he can see down. "Looks like a pretty deep hole. I guess it can't be too deep, right? I mean, I don't know."
At the mention of doors, the orc immediately asks, "You want Balurk to break down more doors?" Shrugging, "Works for me, buddy. Let's see if it opens first, though. If not, you can bust it down all you want." Jack will test the door directly across from Barek.
Briar Rose gives Barek a biiiiiiiiig hug to warm him up. "Sarenrae offers her warmth!"
Looking at the doors next to them, "I guess I ought to check out these doors real quick. Or do you all think we should go back to the main hall and go through one of those doors?" he asks, pondering which to do first. "You know, there are a lot of stinking doors in this place. Way too many, if you ask me."
Shaking his head, "These doors look perfectly fine to me. I am 100% confident neither of these is trapped." Turning to the others, "So, what do you all think? These doors or the main entrance doors?"
Jack moves in and looks curiously at Barek. "What the...?!?! Yeah, Barek, do what Carla said! Get the heck out of that thing! You're gonna freeze to death, buddy!"
Trying to open the door, he realizes he did not get it open. "Nope. Never mind." He attempts it a few more times...
Shaking his head, "Yeah, I'm not getting past this door. It's way more complex than the normal ones. This one is beyond my capabilities." Looking around, he shrugs. "I'm gonna go check what's behind another door. At least they're unlocked. If either of you finds anything of interest, let me know," he says to Balurk and Barek. He's just about to leave before he realizes Barek will be left in the dark. "Hey, Barek, you want my sunrod?" he offers. "I've got another. And I can use Carla's lights." Whether or not he takes him up on his offer, Jack moves back into the other room and checks out another door.
"This door looks safe to me. But just in case, you all might want to step back. No sense in all of us getting blown up." Jack will open the door as soon as everyone else is in the clear.
"And we've got more doors and a wall of iron bars that we can't get through." Cracking his neck, "Oh yeah, this place is gonna be a challenge. I do love a good challenge. I'm gonna try the only door I can in here." Jack checks it for traps, then checks to see if it is unlocked, and if it isn't, then he works on it with his tools.
Disable Device(if necessary):
Concentrating a little better this time...
"Got another door open, I think, anyway." Looking back to the others, "You all wanna check it out? Whaddaya say?"
Raising an eyebrow as every door unlocks itself, "Okay, this place is weird. I'm starting to think we are allowed to unlock what we unlock." With his sunrod in hand, Jack steps inside the room, extending the sunrod in front of him. Looking around to the depth that he can, "We gotta big empty room in here," he tells the others. "Looks like they might have held meetings in this room."
Nodding, "Another door it is then. Time to get to work." Jack moves to the door to their right and checks it over before attempting to unlock it.
And again...
*click* he hears once again. "Got this one. Let's see what this one does, shall we?" Jack attempts to open the door, wondering if this one is going to shut in his face.
Pushing the door, Jack finds only resistance. "What?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Shaking his head in frustration, he turns to the others. "Well, now what? Should we try another door?"
"Okay, I got this. I'm telling you." He goes back to work.
"Ugh! Are you kidding me?!" He tries again.
"Argh! I hate this &*^$ door!" He growls between clenched teeth and wants to destroy the door. He wants to hit and kick it, but he knows that'll just hurt. He takes a moment, waits until he's calmed down some, and then attempts it once again. "Okay. I'm gonna get it this time. If I don't, we burn it all down. Just sayin'." The none-to-pleased ranger takes a deep breath, and attempts it once more, this time with feeling.
As he works the lock, he feels he's pretty close. With one eye nearly squinting as he thinks he's just about got it, he hears that *click* sound and the door opens. With a mighty fist pump, "HECK YEAH! FIRST TRY! I told you I had it!" Mighty proud of himself, "You all didn't think I could do it, did you? I saw the look of doubt on each of your faces, OH YEAH! Never doubt Jack Ryder. He always comes through in the end, m-kay? It's okay, though, all is forgiven," he says with a mighty grin, winking. "Okay! Let's go check this place out."
Carla replies to Jack "
Jack can't help but chuckle at the witch.
Eyes going wide, "Whoa!" Jack exclaims, really not expecting that as he quickly backs up... before just as quickly stopping. Especially since all the doors have closed and locked themselves. "Great. Well, that's gonna make things a bit more interesting." Barek throws himself backwards to avoid the ghostly figure, and only after it has disappeared does he realize he is covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He speaks very quickly and quietly, "Nasul than te daras katar e jag, na?", before saying louder "And so the haunting begins..." Cutting a slight grin, Jack gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Hang in there, my friend. You'll be fine. We got Balurk the Jawbreaker with us. He'll smash anything before it even gets a chance to know what hit it," he winks, grinning. Balurk jumps back, swinging his fists at every single spectre that flies past him, accidentally smashing a meaty punch at a wall. Once the spirits pass, he looks pretty mad that he wasn't able to give a haunt a good punch. Jack watches Balurk punch nothing with reckless abandon and finds himself hiding a chuckle. Man, when he DOES hit something, it's gonna know it. Maybe I should find Braeg and introduce him to my buddy Jawbreaker? I'll think on it. He bobs his head lightly, thinking that might not be a bad idea. He takes a moment to compose himself, willing his very pale face to return to its normal tanned hue and wiping his sweating palm on his pants. "I take it the doors are locked now?" he asks once he has calmed down. Sighing, "I'm afraid that is the case, yes. And that's where good ol' Jack comes in. Don't worry, folks, Jack is on the attack. That's my tag line, you see. 'Jack is on the attack'. I always say that. Like all the time. Probably, to the point of annoyance. But, all the great ones have one, so, that's mine. Oh yeah! Here we go." Rubbing his hands together, he pulls out his tools and goes to work on the very door they just opened.
Sighing as Carla conjures her magical floaty balls of light, "Seriously, Carla? You couldn't have told me you could do that before I wasted a sunrod?" he asks, grinning wryly and shooting her a wink. Barek puts his sunrod away and draws his rapier, sending its slight scream of metal on metal out into the silence. He speaks as quietly as Balurk as he steps into the room "Thank you Carla. I agree Balurk, this is very disquieting. It appears there are several more doors to investigate here, to the north, west, and east. Who wants to pick a direction?" "Coming through, I got this." Jack moves next to the door on their left and inspects it for bombs.
Shrugging, "Seems safe to me." Barring anyone else from interjecting to take a gander at inspecting the door, Jack will open it and look within.
"Welp, I can't see squat." Striking his sunrod, "Yeah, that's better." He then moves to examine the doors. "Hey, Balurky-the-quirky, wanna help me with this door? Or, I don't know, just do it yourself? Probably don't really need me. It's jammed pretty tight. I can try my tools, but I'm not so sure that's gonna get it done." Jack decides to give it a shot, just in case.
Grinning, "Of course! I mean, who wouldn't want to delve into something like this? Are you kidding me? This is child's play. We'll be in and out before we know it. Or, you know, dead. It's one of the two," he winks, grinning wryly. Briar Rose grimaces, prodding at one of the runes with her glaive, scraping off some of the lettering. "This place needs to be burned down again if you ask me." Jack chuckles. "You know, I cannot argue with that. Good one, Rose." Balurk cracks his knuckles and smirks, "Balurk is not afraid of ghosts. Or killers. Or killer ghosts." Jack stares at Balurk with a serious expression for a few moments, and finally says, "You will be. You will be," before relaxing and smiling, and giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Just kidding, big guy." Finally, Barek goes and stands by Jack, rolling a sunrod around in his hand. "Gata te mares tut nesave duxosa?" he asks, as he prepares to head up the stairs. Nodding, "Von na ka džanen so marda len," he says with a confident smile. Varisian: "They won't know what hit them."
Narrowing his eyes as he notices the odd anomaly around the prison entrance, "You go ahead, Balurk. There's something odd about the prison doorway," he mutters mindlessly. He quickly pauses a moment and looks back at the brawler, "Although, you might want to be careful in there, buddy. It looks like it's about to collapse. Your call," he says, leaving it up to him. Jack then makes his way toward the runes and bends down to inspect them.
"I wonder what the heck these are. Can any of you tell me what these runes are all about?"
Grinning, "By all means, Balurk, let's check it out. After you, my large friend." He makes a sweeping gesture with his arm. Jack will strike the sunrod if it's apparent that it's too dark to see inside. After all, he doesn't possess the darksight like his half-orc ally.
Raising an eyebrow, "You know, maybe the Warden's house doesn't really have anything of interest inside. Scratch that idea. The place is pretty much trash. Unless one of you wants to go in there and check it out real quick. I'm game if y'all are."
Turning his attention to Harrowstone, Jack pulls out a sunrod. "Of course, the prison don't look much better. But, we gotta start somewhere. Off we go." Jack leads the way forward, heading directly toward the front doors, keeping an eye out for anything.
Rubbing his hands together, "Alright, folks, what do you say we check out the warden's house first, hm? Maybe we could find something of use in there. If scavengers haven't gotten to it already, that is."
Jack raises an eyebrow at Balurk's level of grace. Huh. That one is full of surprises. He grins at the thought.
Jack hops, skips, and jumps his way to the other side, like it's simply a walk in the park. He then awaits the others to make their way across.
Taking a deep breath, "Works for me. Let's get this show on the road, hm? The east it is. This ought to be fun." Jack then heads in that direction.
Raising a hand, "I'm for Harrowstone. The sooner the better. And I got no problem speaking to the sheriff. If he'll help us, I'll definitely take it."
Grinning, "Don't you worry, Jaws, we'll find 'em. They'll still be around, I've no doubt about that."
"We aren't going to help anyone or stop any grand undead conspiracies if we're run out of town by nervous farmers.""While true, it does seem as if the sheriff is partially on our side. It may be that he does not have the power to stop weird things from happening around Harrowstone, and was hoping for a group such as ours to come help." Shaking a pointed forefinger at Barek, "I like that. That's a good point, Barek. I hadn't thought of that."
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