was in the description from our gm; but is remniscent of wizard of oz heh
Kirrish carefully picks shattered pieces of the bar from the creases of his exoskeleton, while Faindrac bounds from beneath the archway, flush with the sensation of being alive.
The bartended rises from behind the counter, a bit unsteady as he gapes at the devastation in disbelief, “Not happening. This is not happening.”
Malaki steps through what used to be the entrance to the tavern but is now little more than a gaping hole, seeking the source of the popping, which resumes, stops, and then continues again as he walks.
Turning, he can see a dark silhouette etched into the wall of the bar, weathered permanent in mere moments. Something in the depression twinkles in the much-welcome daylight.
The crackling sound draws his attention away from the sparkle for the moment, and looking up MalaKi can see an enormous breech in the once mighty city walls. Several templars are investigating the damaged barrier. As you watch, the wards on one side of the fissure flare to life, sending a bolt of raw elemental power sparking across the fissure where it connects to the sorcerous wards of the neighboring wall. After an extended pause, the process repeats.
Timing the period between the jolts, an ambitious templar nudges his immediate superior into the cleft for a “closer look” at the exact moment the ward unites. In an instant, the lead templar vaporizes in a puff of greasy, orange smoke, leaving behind nothing but a slowly rotating golden symbol of office. The ambitious subordinate snatches up the amulet, then directs nearby townsfolk to begin repairs to the fortification with whatever rubble is at hand. They obey…with great care.
Watching all this come to pass in a bit of a daze, a hand upon Malaki’s shoulder shakes him back to reality. Turning to see who it is, he beholds a skeletal hand attached to a smallish, bleached skeleton with a thick pelvis. The undead’s jawbone clacks and chatters for a brief moment, and then the monstrosity begins to claw at MalaKi with abandon.
From the neighboring alleys appear similar skeletons, all smoothly polished and stark white. Two, then a handful, then a dozen, then more; all closing fast upon the living occupants of Iz Z’tal.
Diving behind the bar for a second time, you hear the owner exclaim, “Does anyone wish to purchase a newly renovated tavern for a one-time low price?”
Aso switches tacks in an instant, grabbing hold of the bewildered Shenker. The two men blunder into Radik, and they huddle together, inching slowly down the street with their faces towards each other in a ring, straining to keep from blowing away or falling down in the hurricane force winds.
Kha-Chik augments her vision with a stray thought command. Eyes sparkling silver, her gaze pierces the storm somewhat, revealing an overturned, curtained litter not far from where the group struggles. Three desperate men inside the palanquin hold a half-dozen slaves against the storm as shielding, the back half of the retainers flensed clean by the whirlwind.
Farther down the street, a semicircle of templars utilizes the same approach on a grander scale. Huddling behind a ring of half-giants with full body riot shields, the priests of the Sorcerer King begin working some great magic in concert. The remaining party members perceive only dark shapes moving within the whirling sand.
"Run-run, fire priest. Fight deadf not possible, dead numerous, feel no pain." Skarsnikt grabs MalaKi in one set of arms and set off down the street, looking for a room low enough to jump up on. "Run, clutch, run!"
how far is the Tavern and how many rounds would it take to get there? Would having my toon cast barkskin upon herself help? it would increase her natural ac by 2....
Our choices are thus, my comrades:
1) make for the tavern, though it is some distance
2) shatter or trick open a door of a home and seek shelter there, perhaps uninvited
3) make shelter from this rubble and fight a loosing ongoing battle
what say you, choose quickly!
I say shatter or trick door now!
2)
was in the description from our gm; but is remniscent of wizard of oz heh
MalaKi starts to step back in surprise as the skeleton begins to claw at him. His mind races as he thinks something about the skeleton strikes him as familiar. Could this be the remains of the female dwarf who was sandblasted to bone before his very eyes? How could she still be “alive”? His moment of reflection is shattered as he is lifted off his feet by powerful insect arms. MalaKi shouts, “Skarsnikt wait!” to no avail. He makes a last ditch desperate attempt to grab the twinkling item from the dark depression.
Aso; do you think you and I can burst that door open?
<points accross the street into the murk>
Radik spits out a mouthful of sand, deciding that it's best to return to the relative safety of the tavern.
Through his fetid elf-shirt shemagh Aso replies: "Phughh wwwww wgghh."
He starts moving with kachik to the door.
No; everyone follow me to the door; now; get close; follow me; CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!
cast barkskin and magic talon to give my claws +1; we'll tear this door apart if we have too...
CHIRP! AZO; GET READY TO RAGE
CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! (regular intervals)
spot 16+9 plus using elven sight: 25
survival 12 (sheesh)20; not the heroic roll I would have liked hehe
will 14 +3 17
int roll to remember the door? 11 ack
geography to remember the layout 9 +3 11 hehe this might be a goose chase
concentration; 12 +4 = 16
____________
prayer; oh spirits forgive the short humonoid if he has offended you; give us a window in this storm; guide our way for we are not weak and would not perish in this or any other test. There are deeds to do and wrongs to right; this land to heal; give us but a window and a chance and we shall prevail!
_____________
CHIRP!..........CHIRP!...........CHIRP!
OH; the anxiety; will we make it; will we be the next victims of the flesh-eating storm; :)
btw ASO your not a man hehe
On my initiative, I would like to grab a piece of fallen tavern to use like a makeshift club (or a big fallen beam, wielded in four arms like a greatclub) and start hacking into the undead. I'll roll if you think that's possible in one round, otherwise this bug is content.
"Query: This...usual, city dweller cities? This one not see how wastes any greater danger..."
"Ah. And the madness continues unabated. Good. For a moment I was concerned that perchance our luck had changed. The ensuing boredom would have been maddening." He raises his hands as the undead begin closing in.
"Run-run, fire priest. Fight deadf not possible, dead numerous, feel no pain." Skarsnikt grabs MalaKi in one set of arms and set off down the street, looking for a room low enough to jump up on. "Run, clutch, run!"
how far is the Tavern and how many rounds would it take to get there? Would having my toon cast barkskin upon herself help? it would increase her natural ac by 2....
dexterity check: (1d20+2=15)
The source of the soulful harmony is immediately apparent: near the rear of the room is a modified spinner’s wheel. A Halfling chained to the device pumps feverishly at a foot pedal, causing a dozen gold-rimmed glass bowls of consecutively increasing size to rotate on a long wooden rod driven through their centers. A legless Dwarf works his kank honey covered fingers over the bowl rims with satisfaction, drawing haunting notes from an aether only his milky gaze can perceive.
I'll roll if you think that's possible in one round, otherwise this bug is content.
Zuko runs immediately.
Some music for Zuko's running.
Aso follows Kha-Chik.
The source of the soulful harmony is immediately apparent: near the rear of the room is a modified spinner’s wheel. A Halfling chained to the device pumps feverishly at a foot pedal, causing a dozen gold-rimmed glass bowls of consecutively increasing size to rotate on a long wooden rod driven through their centers. A legless Dwarf works his kank honey covered fingers over the bowl rims with satisfaction, drawing haunting notes from an aether only his milky gaze can perceive.
Faindriac looks at 'Snikt running down the street, followed closely by Zuko. Then back to Malaki, and Kirrish picking up a beam.
His Psicrystal flashes frantically.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" He replies, irritated.
With a tired sigh, he calls out to Malaki and Kirrish. "Come along you two. Better part of valor and all that." He cries, moving to follow Zuko.
'We might have taken them together, but if the fire priest decides it's time to stretch his legs, who am I to argue?!'
'Less talking, more running!'
Aso breaks wind into the blasting howl. That warm feeling fills his leathers for just a moment.
ok; was my roll of 16 for concentration good enough?
anyway; we make for the nearest building and smash in the door and enter to get out of the storm; hopefully we wont bust off the door as we will need it to keep out the storm; dicey choice; but survival sometimes calls for extreme measures.
CHIRP! CHIRP! FOLLOW! CHIRP!
MalaKi does a frantic magpie impression, groping for the shiny object in desperation as Skarsnikt scoops the large man into his four arms. Unwilling to relinquish its prize, the skeleton scores five thin channels into MalaKi’s leg with gleaming white finger bones . As MalaKi clutches what turns out to be a thin metal tube covered with runic writing, the Kreen commences a panicked dash towards the oblivious templars.
The dwarf skeleton turns and lays a hand upon the tavern windowsill, hefting itself upward into the tavern and the life pulsing inside. Kirrish snatches up a nearby chair leg and shoves the frantic patrons aside. Unflappable, he strides to the front of the bar and clouts the skeleton out of the frame. Illyen takes this as a good time to vacate the premises, nodding to Faindrac before leaping out the window after Skarsnikt.
"No time like the present!"
Kha-Chik beseeches the spirits for a clear path, but, ever the pragmatist, also includes a appeal for better defense against the scouring soil. Her feathers condense and harden, turning from fair to russet as she racks her brain, attempting to remember the path to the administration building next door. Directing Aso and the others to follow her and trusting in nature to guide them beyond this unnatural storm, Kha-Chik forges ahead.
Shaking his head and spitting dirt, Radik decides he’s had enough sand in his crevices for one lifetime and sprints back to the perceived shelter of the hotel, to the scornful laughter of the zombie attendant.
“You’ve checked out. Pay up for another day or get lost!,” She says, rattling the coin box just below Radik’s nose.
A terrified patron shakes the bartender upright, yelling, “Is there a back way out of this place?”
Cash drawer in one hand, stout sjambok in the other, he comments dryly “Yeah, it’s in the back,” before shucking free and ducking back down beneath the bar.
Zuko perks up at this, then sprints towards the kitchen.
FOUL DEAD B!%+$!!! *Holdrus knocks the box from her dead hand and tosses the deceased b%##* out into the sandstorm.*
1d20 6=25, 1d20 7=14
Schenker ducks as he walks in the door, and Holdrus' pitch goes flying over his head.
"Hrrrmmm....nice throw, gladeradiator."
Yeah, I kinda followed along, I guess. Holdrus is about at the end of his rope with the undead situation in town also....
'Is it too much to ask that we stick together?' Faindriac asks Cair as he watches Illyen leap nimbly through the window after Skarsnikt.
(sigh) 'Nevermind.' He answers his own question as he sees Zuko head for the kitchen.
"Kirrish! Stay with Scarsnikt, don't let him eat the elf! Yet. I'll stay with the priest. Meet us back at the Inn-Between!"
"Zuko, wait up! Don't get separated!" The tall human shouts as he follows the fire priest towards the kitchen. "Why are you running anyway?" He asks as he catches up to Zuko. "I thought you could command them yourself, or at least cause them to flee?"
;)
Kirrish grabs a chair, if handy, to fend off the undead outside and bounds, cricketlike, after Skarsnikt.
"Request: Not let house-owner hold cash; we not drink drinks, we get cash again."
Shaking his head and spitting dirt, Radik decides he’s had enough sand in his crevices for one lifetime and sprints back to the perceived shelter of the hotel, to the scornful laughter of the zombie attendant.
“You’ve checked out. Pay up for another day or get lost!,” She says, rattling the coin box just below Radik’s nose.
Radik sneers at the undead attendant. In one swift motion, Radik grabs the zombie's upper and lower jaws, then pulls back, splitting the creature's skull away from its neck and lower jaw. This move was one of his signatures on the gladiator circuit, going by the popular moniker of the "reverse curb-stomp".
Still holding the skull, Radik tosses the corpse over his shoulder. Catching it, Holdrus breaks it in half and chucks it into the maelstrom.
As a final insult, Radik drop-kicks the coin box into the sandstorm.
He searches for something he can use for a weapon. Finding nothing, Radik simply wraps his hands with an unused coil of rope and goes zombie-hunting.
"The Lady hath blessed me with iron skin. None shall pierce it.
The Lady hath blessed me with an iron grasp. All shall fall beneath me.
The Lady hath blessed me with a far hand. None shall pass me and live."
"Shenanigans!" heh heh...
"Shenanigans!" heh heh...
"What's a pistol. And it's Athas, so what's a pistil, for that matter.
Hrrmmmm....."
"Zuko, wait up! Don't get separated!" The tall human shouts as he follows the fire priest towards the kitchen. "Why are you running anyway?" He asks as he catches up to Zuko. "I thought you could command them yourself, or at least cause them to flee?"
"Would you want to be here when the templars arrive? Let's go."
Holdrus is about at the end of his rope with the undead situation in town also....
;)