You know what, I miss this game.
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Gotta say this is the character I've had the most fun with, ever.
A lack of interest in PbP overall or in this particular game?
Lyla advanced in the Alchemist class.
Guys, I have been absent because my wife was in the end of her pregnancy and our baby boy was born last Wednesday. We're absolutely thrilled and everything is fine, but you can imagine that time has been scarce. Time and sleep. Yes. Anyway, please bot me as necessary and I'll resume posting as soon as our new routine allows. :)
"Thanks", Lyla says to the tiger-man before turning around. She walks up to the secret door and, standing next to Nalun, does her routine safety check.
"Listen, whiskers, we're not interested in this family feud. Whatever beef you got with Glorio's lies, you can take it with him upstairs. We're just going to fetch Vencarlo and Neolandus and then we'll be on our way. There's no need to make this... unpleasant for anyone. So, where are they?"
"Yeah, I didn't find anything either. Get ready then, people. We're going in," Lyla announces opening the stone doors.
Lyla takes the front and holds Demitri back. "Wait, chief. You know how much these guys love traps. Let me check first. Care to give me a hand, Slim?", she asks approaching the doors carefully.
Lyla follows Demitri, also paying close attention to their surroundings while the group delves deeper into the underground.
"Maybe we oughta leave a trail, if we want to find our way back? I mean, we're supposed to be entering a maze, right?" She goes through her pockets and doesn't find anything that suits her needs. Lyla then halts and pulls out the alchemy crafting kit from her bag of holding. After opening the case, she selects a few components and starts mixing them up. "I think I can come up with something quickly," she explains to her friends, justifying her stop as she starts working.
Lyla swipes her forehead. "Whew. Not a scratch here, chief." She sheathes her rapier and winks at Nalun. "How did you like my moves, slim? Getting better, huh?" The halfling then proceeds to scavenge the remains of the fungal creatures.
"Magical scimitars and magical chainmail suits," she says, starting to stuff them in her bag of holding. "Unless anyone wants to change gear right now, I'll put them away for later, 'kay?" Bended over, she knots the bag and straightens back up. "Let's keep moving, we haven't even scratched the surface of this maze, and we're already dealing with weird stuff. Can't say I'm not curious about what's ahead of us," Lyla says with a sly smile on her lips as she begins to march forward.
Lyla dances around Karri's dogs and stabs the remaining skeleton in the back, taking advantage of the distraction provided by Ortik and Nalun. Rolls:
Rushing to combat, Lyla unsheathes her rapier and dashes against the skeleton glued to the floor. I wonder if this is gonna be even effective than my bombs, but I could use some practice anyway. "Here goes nothing," she utters while struggling with the unfamiliar weapon in her hand. Rolls:
Darn! Looks like fire doesn't bother them much... and a rapier will go right through their ribcages, barely nicking a bone. Time for a new plan, Lyla. Devising a strategy that can give her allies an advantage over the fungal skeletons, Lyla starts mixing another bomb—only this time it is full of tar, resin and other sticky components, rather than explosive ones. If I can't hurt them, at least I can glue them in place so the rest of the gang can take them down more easily. [dice=Ranged touch attack - Tanglefoot bomb]1d20+11[/dice]
Wow. Time really seems to go slower when you're invisible, Lyla notices while standing and watching the action unfold. Indeed, the sensation is that of being there and elsewhere at the same time. Like being a ghost. The situation also brings her a sense of calm, and she moves around the battlefield at ease, going past both her friends and enemies confident that she cannot be caught.
In an instant, Lyla finds herself on the other side of the battlefield, ready to attack the skeletons from behind. She mixes a bomb and, again, a strange sensation overtakes her. Although her eyes cannot see her hands at work, it feels as though her mind does. So, being invisible is a little like being a ghost, but not, and being blind, but not? Hah. Hadn't stopped to think about that before. The girl smiles as she prepares to throw her bomb. As soon as it leaves her hand, she can feel her body materializing again, with a rush of adrenaline. She is back in the game.
Lyla grabs a vial from her pouch and uncorks it. "You know, two can play that game! Or four, in this case... anyway, I digress." She drinks the extract and throws her head back, sending it all down in one gulp and turning invisible herself.
Lyla looks over her shoulder as Demitri, behind her, ignites the blade to light the way. She notices the skeletons and takes a few steps back in order to take a better look, letting Demitri and Nalun through.
Lyla rolls her eyes. "Fine, we'll go with your modesty instead of mine." She turns to Karri. "We'll be right behind your, huh, Legion thing. And one of these days I'd like to know what is all about."
"Yup, that works, Karri," Lyla says before adressing Nalun. "I hear you, slim. But by now I'm kinda used to walking into a trap and then mopping the floor with whatever comes at us. So, well, who sould really be afraid here?"
"Hey chief, can you light a torch or something?", Lyla asks Demitri while drawing her rapier. She walks with the tip pointed down, still trying to get used to the grip and weight. She keeps the other hand free and with easy access to her extracts and explosive mixtures, a proven combat technique with which she is far more comfortable. The halfling girl follows Demitri and turns to Glorio Arkona as she passes him. "You said it's a labyrinth. How about a map?"
Lyla closes her right hand into a fist and swiftly smacks it against the open palm of her left hand. "Hah! I knew it! These guys just loooove this whole underground, dungeon-style thing!" She turns to Glorio. "Really, what's the deal with that? And how do we get there?"
Turned with her back to the door, Lyla finds herself facing the master of house Arkona, the rest of the party interposed between her and him. She straightens up and speaks defiantly. "I thought you of all people would find that helping yourself to stuff is just a part of life. Like helping yourself to Seneschal Neolandus and Vencarlo Orsini. Not to mention all your shady business with the Cerulean Society." She squints her eyes and stares intenly at Glorio Arkona. "Now, quit playing the victim and give us what we want before we have to take it. Where are they?"
Lyla goes up the staircase along with the rest of the group, leading the way to the room occupied by the snake-armed creatures. Stopping in front of the door to their chambers, the halfling knocks and announces the party's presence, despite her certainty that it is already known. "Hey, fellas! We're looking for Glorio Arkona, hope you don't mind that we've left ourselve in! Care for a little chat with us?" She looks back to her allies and waits for an answer from the other side of the door.
"Alright then. I'm sure it's gonna go smooth as usual", Lyla says mockingly as she heads back from whence they came. "There's a staircase over there." The halfling walks down the corridor, past the door, and opens the double doors on her right to gain access to the room at the southeast corner of the mansion.
Lyla stops dead on her feet. "Uh, guys... not only do they know we're here, they can actually see us. This thing here is actually someone's third eye, and I'm betting that someone is Glorio Arkona." She picks up the gemstone and drops it in her bag of holding—not the one with Blackjack's gear, though—followed by the other magic objects. "Well, all it's gonna see now is a the inside of a dark, extra-dimensional bag." She turns around to face the group. "So, since we don't have even an ounce of the element of srurpise anymore, we might as well go upstairs and talk to them. What do you say?"
Lyla approaches the items pointed out by Ortik to take a better look. Before picking them up, she checks the area for any kind of traps or special protection. "It's weird that they would leave it all like this, out in the open. Everything seems too easy."
From my part, I'd say you needn't beat yourself up. It's going on a slow pace, but I know you have other games and that kind of thing can build up to some stress, with the "need" to post getting a little overwhelming. We've had slow times before and by now I've realized that our game is a little bit like a long book: there are times when the story drags on for a while, and then we pick up the pace and can't stop reading it until the next bump on the road comes along! So, all things considered, I'm cool with this. On the other hand, if you're feeling unmotivated by this particlar game or if you think there's something we can do that can help you get more excited with the adventure again, I think we're open to feedback. Like, for instance, I believe at this point I should start skipping long scouting missions that interrupt the flow of the game since everybody has to wait around for days...
Lyla follows Demitri and Ortik into the house. She takes a look around, remembering the mental map she has made of the manor, and waks up to a doorjust past the corridor on their left. "Like I said, I saw no trace of the Devargo and the Seneschal, and I got to see most of the upper floor, too. I wouldn't waste time right now going over what I've seen already; my bet is that somewhere here in the inner rooms there's a stairway to a basement or cellar. From our experience, the baddies love to keep their prisoners underground, right?" She takes a moment to study the door before her before turning the doorknob and swinging it open.
Lyla sprints back to the group to get out of the Arkona Manor before her magic wears off. She squeezes past the bars and meets her friends in an alley just outside the property grounds. Her heavy breathing can be heard even before she starts to materialize back into view, now returned to her regular size. "Whew! Managed to get a good look of the mansion, and boy, what a weird decoration taste the Arkonas have. There's a serious exotic jungle vibe going on in there", she says pointing with both her thumbs over her shoulders, before proceeding to describe her findings. "In any case, I didn't see much activity, only those four weird snake-armed guys. No sign of the seneschal or Vencarlo yet", she summarizes at the end of her report.
Finishing her first round of the manor, Lyla reaches for another extract. The girl drinks the potion and feels her leg muscles strengthen. With barely any effort, the halfling girl jumps up in the air to reach the manor's upper floor. She carefully moves around the house, this time trying to keep her balance and occasionally hopping from one side to the other to reach every possible window and peep inside. When she's done exploring, Lyla jumps down to the garden and runs back to report to the group, crossing the bars before her spells wear out. Rolls:
Guys, sorry for stalling the adventure with the scouting mission. I think we're about to get back on track here.
Lyla reaches into her backpack and pulls out a row of phials bound to each other by a leather strap. She sets four of them aside, drinking three of them right away. She spits the third one back into the vial, and then stuffs it in her pocket along with the other remaining extract. In a matter of seconds, the halfling becomes even smaller and, right after that, completely disappears. Making the most of her reduced size, Lyla squeezes past the manor's fence and runs across the yard to reach the first window. She hops up on the window sil and looks into the room, inspecting the chamber and hoping to see and hear what goes on inside the building. She jumps down and moves to the next window, going clockwise through every room until she completes the house's perimeter. Rolls:
"Hmm. I didn't remember it to be this big. Let me just take a first look so I can decide how to do it as quickly as possible. I have about 20 minutes worth of magic to get in and get out," she says while studying the grounds. @Dragoncat:
The group's open display of affection disarms Lyla. She blushes, shying away for a moment. "Yeah, okay. I know. Thanks," the girl mumbles. To put the moment behind, she quickly straightens up and claps her hands once. "Let's move then, people!"
Lyla sneers. "On the one hand, I'm a little offended that you don't think I can do it. On the other, you're probably right."
"Well, we can't babysit everyone. Right now there are bigger fish to fry," Lyla shrugs. "The Arkona manor sits right by the edge of Garrisson Hill. Not far from Vencarlo's, actually. I'm not sure what our plan is yet, but I can try and scout the place before we go in. Between my extracts and these two babies," she says patting the two bags of holding dangling from her waist, "I might be able to smuggle Vencarlo and Seneschal Neolandus out of there without ever raising the alarm. That will depend on the level of security, but I think it's worth a shot. What do you say?"
Whew! Up to date with all my games now! Back to regular posting. :)
Healing:
"... I'm not sure we've let Salvador in goods hands. That woman is bats**t crazy", Lyla blurts out shaking her head. "Anyway, this is not that big a surprise. Glorio's name's been all over this whole thing for a while now."
It's that time of the year! Fellas, I'll be off on vacation tomorrow for a whole month and I probably won't have a reliable internet connection until I come back. I expect I'll be able to keep up with the posts but won't have much time to write them. In the meantime, I kindly ask our GM to bot Lyla when necessary. I'll be back to regular posting around September 7th. Cheers!
Lyla lets Nalun through while swiftly setting up a tanglefoot bomb, which she throws straight at Boule. "Your men can run, but you're staying, Boule." [dice=Ranged touch attack - tanglefoot bomb]1d20+13[/dice]
Lyla chuckles. "Hah! I know who can vouch for that," she says throwing a sideways glance in Karri's direction.
"People everywhere just love you, heh, chief?", Lyla jokes as Boule shouts out Demitri's name. "Well, we escaped a fire before, and we'll do it again. Let's see how good those locks are." The halfling darts forward to the door and starts picking the lock.
Lyla sniffs the air and confirms Laori's assessment. She clenches her hand into a fist and smacks the wall in anger. "M*****f*****!", she swears, shaking her head. "He's sooooo gonna regret this. Come on guys, let's get out of here." Lyla then goes on to check the fire and the conditions for their retreat.
"Don't worry about that, Mr. Scream. We got it covered." Lyla helps Salvatore Scream and, looking over her shoulder, asks Nalun "Everything alright back there, slim?"
"He's afraid of us. That did it."
"This is... pretty disturbing," Lyla remarks after walking past the trophy heads and reaching the decrepit bedroom chamber. Out of the thugs' earshots, she leans towards Demitri and says, from the corner of her mouth, "I'm not sure we can let that guy off the hook for too long. Once we've fried the bigger fish, we'll probably need to come back for Boule."
Lyla follows Nalun into the adjoining room, where the stuttering man apparently toils for the emperor. "Yes, Mr. Scream, we are here to take you bak to your home. Pack whatever you need from this place and we'll help you take it to your house. And then, we'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's ok."
Happy birthday, Dragoncat! Here's to a fantastic day for you. ;)
Lyla rolls her eyes. "Aw, come on! That has to be one of the worse attempts at keeping a straight face that I've ever seen! What are you up to, Boule? Don't mess around with us. What's really going on here?", the halfling demands, raising her finger at the emperor.
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