Realms of Dread Chapter Two

Rafael's and Skybolt's Online Campaign
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ewancummins
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Post by ewancummins »

The Old Shell-

It's nearly sun-up, now, and Alain has still seen no sign of his friends. The young barman has gone off to sleep, and his replacement, a bucktoothed girl with freckles, has taken over the bar. The girl cannot be much older than fourteen. She takes stock of Alain, who is teetering on his barstool with the combined effects of too much drink, too little food, and not enough sleep.

''Mister, you don't look well. Would you like some tea? Some breakfast?''
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by VAN »

Ino, follows Rardi's lead and raises her hands.
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by kintire »

"So be it!"

Shana raises her hands and a swirling golden cloud rises from around her and over the bailiff's head. It bursts, sending a cloud of glittering dust falling down over him and his men.

[Glitterdust on the Bailiff's group at the top of the hill. Everyone within ten foot radius must make a will save of 16 or be blinded for eight rounds]
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Post by ewancummins »

The men on the cliff cry out in surprise and confusion. They break and run. One, a lantern boy, stumbles and falls from the bluff landing on the rocks. He lands on his right leg, twisting his ankle. The boy cries out in pain. He tries to hobble away, but isn't moving quickly at all.

Meanwhile, two of the four men on the beach have bound Blaise and dragged him over to a spot near Ino and Rardi. After Shana blinds most of the men on the cliff, all three prisoners find knives or spearpoints pressed into the tender skin of their necks! The guards are eyeing Shana warily, tense and angry looks on their faces. The expression on their faces are stone hard, especially after they spot the injured boy at the base of the bluffs.

The Bailiff calls to rally his fleeing men, but only one man rejoins him. That man is fumbling to reload a crossbow.

''We must stop that witch or our families could be her next victims!''

With that, The Bailiff hurls his spear at Shana. The weapon strikes Shana- who promptly vanishes.

Ironheart, now in a blind fury, grabs the injured boy by the throat, lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the cliff-face, over and over again! Shana hears wet crunching sounds every time Ironheart slams the boy into the rocks. The boy shrieks in agony as the barbarian beats him.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by ewancummins »

The edge of the sun slips over the horizon, casting a rosey hue across the eastern skies. Now you can all see more clearly.

Ino and Rardi get a good look at the small shadowy figure; the little man-thing is Threan!

Threan darts across the beach towards a jumble of rocks, his footfalls oddly silent. As he moves away from Rardi and the others held under guard, the silence lifts from them and they can speak and hear! The men guarding them are screaming-

''He's killing Arnulf! ''


''Where is the witch?''

''Cut their throats before they kill us with magic!''


''Orders?''



Shana, hiding in the rocks, sees Threan as he comes bounding across the beach, towards the rocks she's using as cover. His eyes are fixed on her hiding spot! The gnome is much faster than he has a right to be, and before she can get away the curtain of silence falls over her. Threan's crooked knife is out, but he refrains from attacking her.

Now it is Shana who is deaf, so she doesn't hear the Bailiff shout orders to the men on the beach-

''Do not harm the prisoners! Hold them. Waller, to me, we'll save Arnulf!''

He is pointing at Ironheart.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by steveflam »

Rardi's eyes narrow at seeing Threan the gnome is responsible for their predicament. The dwarf looks at Inovidil and the mage knows that Rardi won't forget the gnome's actions. "Are ye ok, Ino?"

She turns to the Bailiff. "Scuse me, kin I heal Inovidil? An that gnome o'er there hopping around is tha one who casted silence on us all." She's not worried about herself but knows that most mages, in general have less life essence than others.
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Post by ewancummins »

The man holding a knife to Rardi's throat shouts in her ear-

''No way we're letting you do magic! You're just trying to trick us!''


If the Bailiff heard Rardi from his spot atop the cliff, he doesn't seem to be paying attention to her. Instead, he's doing something with his belt...
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by Lord Skybolt »

Threan sheathes his knife in a flash then, pulls his readied crossbow, but does not point it at Shana . He points it directly at Ironheart as if to say Shana isn't a threat to him, but then gestures at Ironheart with his other hand the universal sign of him being crazy .
"Evil only endures when good people remain silent ."
Tony inspired by Thomas Jefferson .
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Post by ewancummins »

Across the beach, one of the men watching the prisoners [Waller] grabs his spear and heads straight for Ironheart, yelling and screaming. He pulls up short, waving his spear to confuse the big man the way a drover might bluff a bull.

Ironheart drops the limp boy to the sand and whips his head from left to right and back again, all the while growling like a hungry wolf.

Just then, something splashes on Ironheart's head...

The Bailiff stands atop the cliff, urinating on the barbarian.


''Hey, you ugly savage, are you THIRSTY?''

Ironheart lets loose an earth-shaking roar and leaps onto the rocks, scrambling up to get at the Bailiff.

The Bailiff drops to the prone position and scoots backward.

Ironheart quickly reaches the top of the cliff. He steps forward, now half hidden from the view of his mates on the beach. He reaches for his swords. Then the unmistakable twang of bowstrings can be heard, along with a flurry of commands and the din of trampling feet! Ironheart screams loud enough to wake the dead. There's a loud THUD, as of a big body slamming into the ground. This noise is followed by hacking, thunking sounds. A dust cloud briefly obscures the bluff's top.

Ironheart reappears at the edge of the cliff. He is on his knees now, bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. A man with a long hooked pole arm steps forward and smacks him in the head, knocking him off the bluff and onto the beach.

Ironheart lands on the sand and doesn't get back up.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by VAN »

As soon as the silence is off, Inovidil called to Ironheart hoping the barbarian can actually listen to her despite he is in rage.

"Stop it! Drop your weapons and surrender as we do. We are innocent and we can very easy proof it when they get us back to town. No reason to fight!"

Then she replies to Rardi.

"I have been better actually...But don't heal me now, the guards will hit you if you try to cast a spell. Better wait to be back to town."
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by BigBadQDaddy »

The Old Shell-
ewancummins wrote: ''Mister, you don't look well. Would you like some tea? Some breakfast?''
Alain smiles, through his state of drunkenness and replies, "No, I had better go look for them." finishing with a yawn. "Perhaps I could take a couple biscuits with me?"
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Post by Ken of Ghastria »

ewancummins wrote:The man holding a knife to Rardi's throat shouts in her ear-

''No way we're letting you do magic! You're just trying to trick us!''
"Easy now, solider," says Blaise firmly, his adam's apple bobbing uncomfortably against the knife at his throat as he speaks. "She's a healer. Let's all relax until the truth is sorted out...." He looks anxiously in the direction of the boy who was pummeled by Ironheart. He grimly aware that this isn't going to help their current situation.
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Post by kintire »

Shana meets Threans gaze expressionlessly, and moves away from him as swiftly as she can, trying to get out of the silence
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Post by ewancummins »

kintire wrote:Shana meets Threans gaze expressionlessly, and moves away from him as swiftly as she can, trying to get out of the silence
Shana runs, and she feels herself leave the bubble of silence for a second or two. Sound rushes into her ears: the waves breaking on the beach, men shouting, someone sobbing- and then silence blankets her once more. Threan has caught up with her! The little gnome is running faster than Shana, despite being much shorter of leg than she! He bounds and leaps about like some demented rabbit, keeping close enough to her that she's enveloped by his mobile field of silence!
Last edited by ewancummins on Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by kintire »

She turns, extending her hands in a spreadfingered gestures and a swirling mass of colour surrounds the gnome, dancing hypnotically as it flickers in his eyes

[Hypnotic pattern on Threan... which has no verbal component, in case you were wondering!]
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