Dancing ... music ... this gets more bizarre by the minute. Now he's doing the eye thing again.
"Do ye think ye can keep all the good news ta y'self, now, Akallabeth? Tell us where lies the threat that we may respond ta it!"
I take notice as they call Lucienne's name. May the Host protect her. Though in this place, even that may not be enough.
"We will await ye, Lucienne." I hope!
Lucienne looks at you each in turn.
"Gentlemen, remember your history, the legends which inspire us. Individuals don't make history. Our strength is in our company. From the Company of Ghall'dar Reborn, to Lady Marryn's Knights, to the Hearty Souls of Droaam, it has always the band of allies which prove true to victory.
"We have been allies for, what, two minutes? But allies all the same. We have peril before us, and adventure, too.
"I am going through that door. Who goes with me?"
"I am going through that door. Who goes with me?"
Storm the gates ... yes, perhaps some boldness is what the occasion calls for.
I move to meet Lucienne as she approaches the door then keep pace with her, motioning for Akallabeth to join us.
"May Olladra favor us." Or may we sate the Devourer with the blood of our enemies.
The inn's front door creaks open, admitting a chill breeze, and the sound of light drizzling rain, as well as allowing in a tall, thickly muscled half-orc wearing heavy leather armour, dyed black.
He closes the door, and taps his boots against it to dislodge any wet clods of dirt, and then shakes his head gently, sprinkling some of the cold water out of his long, black, beaded and braided hair, producing a soft rattling sound as the wooden beads around his neck, and at the end of his braids clack together.
His dark eyes take in the room briefly, and he accepts the drink chit from the little barmaid, then lumbers over to the bar, and exchanges it for a dark frothing mug. He spies an empty table, and plods over to it, and adjusts his belt, which is loaded with several leather pouches and a large thick club, allowing him to sit comfortably.
He takes a sip from his mug, and his already grim orcish features twist into a foul expression. For a brief moment, he appears to consider spitting it back into the cup, but instead swallows the brew, and sets the mug far away from him on the table.
He works his mouth for a moment, then reaches into two pouches at his belt, and produces a small dagger and a small shriveled fruit of some kind. He carves small pieces of the fruit off, and pops them into his mouth, while in between morsels, he spits the seeds into the corner behind him, and absently twirls the dagger in his large hand, and lazily assesses his surroundings.
Dancing ... music ... this gets more bizarre by the minute. Now he's doing the eye thing again.
"Do ye think ye can keep all the good news ta y'self, now, Akallabeth? Tell us where lies the threat that we may respond ta it!"
I take notice as they call Lucienne's name. May the Host protect her. Though in this place, even that may not be enough.
"We will await ye, Lucienne." I hope!
I stumbled as I was stunned by the onslaught of overpowering auras. When I recovered I rubbed my eyes. "Well,...SIX" Was all I could think of to say.
I looked up at Kegi. "We have a situation." I told them what I had seen.
When they called Lucienne's name, I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.
Pretty ironic considering where I thought my powers came from.
"That, might not be the best idea right now." I said before she could answer the call of her name. "But the 'management' might not know about what's going on in here, and should be told."
I looked around the room again. With a much more determined eye. "I think we may have just found out what happened to the original owners of the establishment." I said even lower.
"If you have access to enduring defensive magics, you might want to use them now." I interjected more urgently. "Something that protects you from summoned creatures or charms would probably be best."
I turned up one side of my mouth wryly. "Of course 'Protection from Evil' is not, currently available to me. What else can go wrong today? I thought as I listened to Lucienne's statement. And observed the entrance of another applicant.
A Gatekeeper orc ... what brings this tree-brother so far from the wild lands?
"Psst. Lucienne - delay somewhat if ya can. Th' newcomer may be a' some help ta us if 'e be willin'."
I steal over towards the orc.
"Brother Gatekeeper - if that be yer callin' - how come ye amongst such a den o' demons? Though, if darkness be what yer lookin' for, y'r in th' right place. Behold th' dancers and singers an' say - if ye can - this place be not under a strange spell."
Maddock looks the shifter up and down, appraisingly. After a slight pause, he pockets his fruit and his dagger, and offers his big meaty hand in greeting.
"Call me Maddock" he says, in a deep gravelly voice, "and yes, I am one of the Gatekeepers. I'm here because of a tip about a job for a whole heap of coin. Far as I can tell, the dreggy beer is intended to kill off the weaker hopefuls."
"Now that you mention it, the entertainment's not that satisfying either. Who is the boss who's doing the hiring here? "
"Call me Maddock" he says, in a deep gravelly voice, "and yes, I am one of the Gatekeepers. ... Who is the boss who's doing the hiring here? "
I laugh, more to buck up my own spirits than anything else. "My name is Lucienne, and we're about to find out. Feel free to give your name to the lass there and wait your turn amid the wild magic, or, if you believe in the hand of fate, you've come at the right time to join us as we meet him en ensemble. Goodman Kegi seems to like the looks of you, at any rate."
I looked up at Kegi. "We have a situation." I told them what I had seen.
"If you have access to enduring defensive magics, you might want to use them now." I interjected more urgently. "Something that protects you from summoned creatures or charms would probably be best."
Agreed.
Alone amidst the midnight vaults a single candle flares,
Its steady glows illumine those who seek it in their prayers.
May Flamekeep's holy silver fire come warm me in its spark.
Please keep at bay all fiends, I pray, and gird me 'gainst the dark.
Maddock stumbles to his feet, and quietly mumbles "...madness..." looking around the room at the strange apparitions.
"Lucienne, Kegi, and anyone else here with a sane head on their shoulders, we should probably stand close together to meet this thing."
He then plants his feet, taking a more stable stance, and readies his club, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth at the strange scene, taking in a deep breath to try and quell the uneasy feeling rising in his gut.
Brandishing my staff, I call out, "I stand with you." I then move towards Kegi and the others.
I glance around the room, identifying puddles of liquour and other inflammables that might be ignited should I throw some fire into the mix.
I slowly draw an arrow from my quiver and twirl it on the tip of my finger while taking a position a few step away from anyone else. I'm looking behind me and to the sides to spot a path clear of obstructions.
Now it comes to it. Dol Dorn guide my eye/let wound ravens fly!
"Just so as ye know. I ain't gonna be standin' still when whate're it is comes a callin'. So grab what cover y' can."
I told them what I had seen.
"Friend Gatekeeper, the Darkling sees enchantment riding on your cloak. Best you leave it here before you venture with us."
Lucienne turns towards Kegi, and says authoritatively:
May Dol Dorn's hand upon your own drive home your deadly blade.
Or may Olladra's Luck upon your shoulders bring you aid.
Or may your tasks be simpler with the Traveler by your side.
These gifts of gods increase your odds; receive one as your guide.
"All right, boys. Let's start a legend."
And we walk to meet our host.
Well, who was I to turn down such an exciting invitation?
As I took my position in the circle, I pulled my hat more firmly onto my head and loosened my coat, briefly revealing the sword at my waist. I nodded to my newest aquaintance.
"Gatekeeper. Good timing indeed. I believe yon gate could use some attention." I smirked goodnaturedly at the newcomer.
"Again, 'Protection' spells if you have it. Keep an eye on those of us who don't. And for the Five's sake, if you like to throw around lightning or fire, as I do, give some warning!"
"That said, don't try to extinguish me just yet,..."
With that, I gathered the power and watched my hands burst into flames. I traced the requisite patterns in the air, and slapped my hands against my chest. In an instant I was covered in a conflagration. But almost as quickly it burnt itself out, leaving me unharmed. But an observant person could still see the flicker of the now invisible flames that covered me, protecting me from physical harm.
I took my place in our growing circle. And marveled at how a group of people, even one as cynical as I, could so calmly and quickly band together when given a common threat!
They say politics makes strange bedfellows. What must they say about adventurers!
For Logos
If there are drinks left at the table, I fling liquor in the air in an attempt to catch any invisible entities that might be lurking.
I torch any such being that might be detected this way.
Maddock grumbles a vulgar Orcish word, and casts off his traveling cloak, dropping it onto the nearby table. He gives the cloak several thumps for good measure with his club, punctuated by a few other choice Orc obscenities, then flashes Lucienne a quick toothy grin.
He delivers a friendly wave at Akallabeth, and prepares to either step forward into danger if the door opens, or to shield some of the smaller of his new comrades from harm, if a threat appears between the group and the door.
"Akallabeth, as it seems that we're all in this together, can you cast a protective charm on me?"
"Akallabeth, as it seems that we're all in this together, can you cast a protective charm on me?"
I nodded briefly at the request. and turned to face the bandaged Romulus.
"I can, and still have a couple of spells left after that." I answered."Don't let the flames bother you. It's,...part of the magic." I finished lamely, even to my own ears.
I summoned the magic, and placed the flames on Romulus, watching as they flared and then appeared to burn themselves out, leaving only a telltale flicker to my magic-enhanced eyes that they were ever there.
I released a breath I hadn't even realized i was holding.
"Well, THAT went better than the last time. Maybe I am getting better control after all."[/ooc]
[i]"Or maybe Romulus is just lucky. Don't get cocky Akallabeth, It's far too dangerous for you to lower your gaurd like that."
I nodded again, realizing too late it was almost quick enough to be rude.
I took a firmer grip on my staff, and loosened my coat to free up the light crossbow hanging at my hip from a strap over my shoulder.
"Let's do this." I announced firmly to the group at large. Then fell into place as we headed for the door.
"Thank you, Akallabeth."
"Thank you, Akallabeth."
I nodded once more to acknowledge his thanks, but my focus was on the door before us.
Maddock returns to the dark doorway, kicking it firmly and to his surprise the ordinary door splits right down the middle opening as if it was a double door ( Congrats on kicking a hole threw reality +100 xp for Maddock)
'Wow. He has a future at any hotel in Sharn. Or as a tax collector.'
Entering the Darkness your eyes adjust, a bare and leafless tree copse lay before you, but instead of lives the skeletal and sharp looking branches bear impaled elves and fairies, their blood long turned black, a grisly sap to the tree's morbid fruit.
'The gardener should be fired. And I think I just lost my lunch. At least I would have if I'd had time and money to buy any.'
Just after you enter this dark realm, you hear from behind you "Let me be no nearer In death’s dream kingdom" as the doors crash soundlessly shut behind you. A single twinkling star laying above the door in the dark sky.
'Great, what frakked up manifest zone/Dal Quor/nightmare have I gotten myself into THIS time?!?'
I fixed that star in my mind's eye. I wanted to know which way to go if we had to beat a hasty retreat. Sorry Mitchell, I meant 'Strategic Withdrawal'.Ahead of you lays a grey path leading to an opening in the copse, a large dark shapes lays there just behind sight.
I bowed to Lucienne in a flourished copy of Maddock's earlier motion. "Well m'lady, would you like to lead the way? Or would m'lady like our esteemed Gatekeeper to stomp any obstacle that may lie in our path first?"
I winked at Maddock to let him know that I was kidding. Mostly.He looked like he could snap me in half without breaking a sweat. I resolved to try to keep my acid wit to myself for a while. That was one theory I had no desire to test.
Trees and dead elves. Great.
"Courtesy o' the Crown o' Breland, I be somewhat experienced in leadin' a march. If ye like, I shall go ahead."
Lucienne shivrs as she remembers the verse, and completes it. She gestures towards Akallabeth and recites, "Let me also wear such deliberate disguises:"
She gestures at Kegi, "...rat's coat, crowskin...."
To Romulus, "...crossed staves."
Looking at Maddok: "In a field, behaving as the wind behaves, no nearer."
"Romulus, was this what you'd encountered before?"
"Can anyone tell if there's anything still alive in there?" She guesses not. Not here, and not now. "Not that final meeting in the twilight kingdom."
"Lucienne, this does not remotely resemble anything in the interview room... I don't even think we're in Sharn anymore."
For Logos:
Addressing the gnome, "Pennywise, is this part of the job? If it is, then be mindful that you'll be owing me and my partners here a lot of overtime."
Addressing the gnome, "Pennywise, is this part of the job? If it is, then be mindful that you'll be owing me and my partners here a lot of overtime."
"Eh, this be the one that was doin' the interview? I like not the look of this, nor this strange ... magic, if that be what it is."
"Gnome, if ye have any words, speak them now. Our patience be as dry tinder"
I heard Lucienne's recitation. And I felt another cold shiver run down my spine. I watched the madness happening around me. It was like watching a nightmare trying to explain itself to a child. Or a lawyer.
What bothered me most was that on some level, deep down, it all made perfect sense.
Then we began to glow. All of us were different colors.
My color was red.
But not the healthy, bright red of a rainbow, whose dark, twisted shadow we were now watching before us. Mine was the red of a fire burning something best left alone. Or of blood.
I hoped no one else noticed.
My fellows comments to the gnome help me to force my gaze from the Hollow Man. Looking at the gnome again, something clicked. Something about,...Rose Coloured Glasses,...
"Lucienne, everyone." I said, my mouth feeling dry as sand. No. It felt like it was filled with sand. "We have to get to the gnome. He doesn't belong on that throne. It's too big. And he's too out of place, even for here."
I risked a glance in the direction of the Hollow Man. Still contained. For now. I forced myself to look away again, to study the floor, the layout. To find a path through the madness. To the throne.
"I'm sure we're in for a fight. I'm just as sure that there has to be another way to beat this. To control it."
"Kegi, can you find a path through this,...this?"
"Everyone, find out what makes sense here. Even Dal'Quor has rules. Find them!"
I arched my back as a sudden pain hit my spine. Right where my Dragonmark hid between my shoulder blades. In an instant it had passed, leaving nothing more than a profound itch. A mere afterthought of pain I never actually had. Looking around it seemed that most of my 'partners' weren't so lucky. In fact it looked as though the only other member unaffected by a sudden pain was the half-orc.
I decided I definitely didn't want him mad at me.
I risked another glance at the Hollow Man. He seemed to be a little more solid. More real. A little closer.
"I have a bad feeling about this,..." I muttered through the kaleidoscope of bright shadows and dark rainbows.
Then I opened a door I hadn't even realized I had closed off in my mind. Akallabeth stepped to one side of my mind, and allowed Lieutenant 'Ben Steelshard' to step forward.
I always knew that I had divided my life into 'before' and 'after' the Mourning. But until that moment I hadn't realized that I had actually thought of myself in terms of two separate people.
'Now I KNOW I'm in deep $#!^@' I thought quite clearly to my former self. The stiff-necked Lieutenant merely stood there in my mind and nodded. Waiting to be given permission to do what he thought was his duty.
'FINE. Maybe a little military tactics can't hurt. But take one step out of line and I'm stuffing you back in your box!' I growled to myself. He nodded again, then he/I took a breath, and then I shouted,
"Soldiers! Stand Respect!" In a passable imitation of my old drill sergeants' voice.
Hoping that would at least help snap Kegi's mind into focus, I continued bellowing. "Lucienne! Romulus! Stay together! If that,...THING gets out of that circle, fire at will! Kegi! Cover Maddock! Maddock, GET.THAT. GNOME. OFF. THE. THRONE!" As I bellowed those last words I realized that my own feet weren't frozen anymore. Were they ever? And I half-led, half followed Maddock on a path that I hoped would lead us to the throne without passing within reach of the shadow-man in the circle.
"Aaaagh!" I grit my teeth against the pain and look in horror at the shimmering purple green tattoo seemingly etching itself in my left forearm. A thin wisp of pallid smoke rises from the new dragonmark. I feel my skin tightening and hardening around the mark, adapting to the magic-infused aberration.
"Soldiers! Stand Respect!""Lucienne! Romulus! Stay together! If that,...THING gets out of that circle, fire at will! Kegi! Cover Maddock! Maddock, GET.THAT. GNOME. OFF. THE. THRONE!"
Fury! I thought the military was behind me! Still, Fireball here probably isn't one to be crossed.
Reacting more by instinct to the shouted command than out of deferrence or respect to Akallabeth, I nock an arrow and, still flinching a bit from the pain, step simultaneously backwards and sideways moving away from hollow man in such a way that I can target the gnome without it getting cover from Maddock if he takes a direct route to it.
Though I almost pass out from the searing, burning pain that suddenly engulfed my body, I remain on my feet. I exert my will and demand light to shine from my staff. Perhaps light will defeat the darkness...
Kegi fixes the gnome in his sights and glances back towards Maddock expectantly. A thin bead of sweat forms on his brow and trickles down past his eye.
"Are ye goin' or not, Gatekeeper?"
Color: a glistening, milky white.
Lucienne drops her morningstar as an aberrant dragonmark appears on her right palm. () She picks it up in her left hand.
Okay, well, a dragonmark means we are part of the dragon prophesy, somehow, that we have roles to play in that. And so, I guess, we've gotten some of what we came for.
Lucienne addresses the Hollow Man, looking him straight in what-would-be-his-eyes. "We are the living, come here to find work. Who be thou, Hollow Man, and what dost thou say to us?"
Lucienne moves off to the left, not trying to flank the thing, but hoping to divide its attention.
Looking a little shocked at the damage apparently caused by my arrow, I turn to the group and say to no one in particular.
"Well, ye wanted 'im off the throne, didn't ye."
What is wrong with me. I didn't mean to loose that shot yet. The little bastard didn't even have a chance to speak his piece - if he had one. And now we're certainly no better off than before ... and this mark on my arm. No shifter has a dragonmark. At least not a legitimate one.
I notice the gnome twitch slightly and his chest rise and fall with his shallow, ragged breath.
"There may be some life left in 'im, though. Be any of ye a healer?"
"There may be some life left in 'im, though. Be any of ye a healer?"
"Aye. I'll be right over." So much for splitting his attention.
Lucienne makes her way over to the wounded. Ten feet before she gets there, she deliberately drops her weapon to the ground.
Colour: Forest Green
The Ground Shakes, and the circle surrounding the hollow man becomes a little simpler, the man inside a little easier to understand. Suddenly a Burning Pain Bursts out of Everyone but the Druid, causing them to clutch a sudden point of their body. The Pain is superfluous (-4 to everything you do) as if someone is dragoning a mark on you with a super hot magical poker in arcane signs.
Maddock's eyes widen at the sight of dragonmarks spontaneously erupting on the skin of his comrades, and the phrase "That's not right" runs through his mind again. Everything in this place seems to evoke that same feeling of wrongness, though, and he's getting mighty tired of that.
"Soldiers! Stand Respect!"
"Lucienne! Romulus! Stay together! If that,...THING gets out of that circle, fire at will! Kegi! Cover Maddock! Maddock, GET.THAT. GNOME. OFF. THE. THRONE!"
Maddock recognizes the Deneith training in this strange man's orders, from the various times he has come in contact with them while working for his own house.
He grits his teeth with initial resistance to the idea of falling in step with human military; this was not the sort of thing he was intending to get involved with when inquiring about this job!
There's a feeling of respect growing for this human, though. When he barked his orders, he managed to plant the first seeds of order in this unreal place. It would be wrong not to help cultivate that.
He gives Akallabeth a quick nod, and starts running toward the gnome, hoping to shove him off the throne. Following Akallabeth's lead seems to be the best idea anyone has for the moment.
The sound of a bowstring releasing and the sight of the arrow planting itself in the gnome's chest change his motivation somewhat from intending to use force on the gnome to possibly attempting to save his life. Their only possible source of answers in this place can't be allowed to die.
"There may be some life left in 'im, though. Be any of ye a healer?"
"Aye, shifter." Maddock grumbles, and starts fumbling in one of the pouches at his belt.
While hurrying past the circle where the 'hollow man' rapidly seems to be gaining strength, and the wards slowly dissolve, Maddock spares a helpless glance. "This gate is unraveling. Be ready to fight whatever crawls out of it! Even if the seal falls, the gate must hold!".
Kegi's Hand Twictches almost of its own accord, and the arrow is loosed, flying and hitting the gnome resoundingly in the heart. The Gnome promptly says " How wonderful a present" and slumps over, his rosy glasses falling off. skittering towards the map.
Well. THAT wasn't what I had in mind.
I shook my head to clear it from the cobwebs I hadn't known were there.In my mind's eye, Akallabeth stepped forward again, rudely shoving 'Ben Steelshard' aside, all the while smiling pleasantly. With only a hint of the usual malice I felt shading his features.
'Back in your box Ben. This calls for a real hero.'
Shaking my head again, I started to ask if anyone could heal a split second AFTER Kegi voiced it. Then my attention was caught by the small, rose-coloured object skittering across the floor.
"The glasses!" I shouted, and left the protection of Maddock's broad back as I threw myself after them. Trying to recapture them before they ,... what? I didn't know. But I felt I they were important somehow. And that I had to catch them.
Everyone watches with horror as Lucienne, who was before going to help the gnome stops. Then turning to the hollow man, she accepts his outstretched hand. the Hollow Man steps out of the circle,
Maddock utters a loud, short, Orcish profanity, and continues toward the gnome, not hearing what the hollow man whispered.
After reaching the gnome, he'll take a goodberry from his belt pouch, squash it between thumb and forefinger, and put it in the gnome's mouth, then rip off a strip of cloth from clothing for a makeshift bandage.