"Otto! Lia shrieks, her voice shrill with horror instead of fury for a change. "Ott-!" The word is cut off in mid-vocalization, turning into a strangled, gurgling kind of sound as the mage convulsively closes her hands on the catwalk's railing.
'He's not going to answer to anything you say to him, not unless you have a Speak With Dead spell handy, and that doesn't even allow you to contact the actual spirit, just the corporeal memory.
Stupid Lamordian! What's the good of sending the boy on to the happy everafter if that means you get shunted into the netherworld for your troubles? Yes, fatherly love, wonderful, but -'
A choking sound as Lia fights to get words out with her throat constricting around tears.
"Otto ..." Lia whispers. "Stupid Lamordian. Talk to me, why don't you? I could have flown up there, could have given you the power to fly. I could have moved this damn orrery's parts with Telekinesis, I could have - I could have done something. What are we going to do now? I could - I could get his body up from there, but I - I can't fix this. I just can't fix this! I -"
Lia's voice halts, and one of her hands woodenly starts to reach into one of her pockets. "I can't fix this," she mutters again. "But do I know someone who can ...?"
Slowly, reluctantly, Lia pulls her hand back and heaves a sigh. "Goodbye," she whispers to Otto's mangled body. "Such a mess .... May you pass on to a better place, my friend. If I survive, I shall carry word of your courage, compassion, wit and triumph to your wife. You will be missed."
The Eye of Anubis: Book Eleven
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Rock of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 6844
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 pm
"Otto?!" Tomas blinks, as a lot of things happen all at once and before he has much chance to react, Schultheiss is dead. "Otto, buddy, that's not funny. Come on now, you're not going to tell me that a few wires..."
Tomas rests on one knee, his eyes wide as he lightly touches Otto's neck, looking for some sign of a pulse. He looks up, desperately looking from Lia, to Kuzan, to where he thought Professor Devereaux was. Surely, the Professor knows what to do.
And as it turns out, he does. Tomas follows Devereaux's gaze, looking up to see the ghostly wolf up above. "Lia." Tomas says, the beginnings of an idea starting to form, "Could you-fly me up there? I think I can get Otto."
(OOC: Heal check, 14+7: 21. I have 3 HP left with my lay on hands today, and if it'll help I'll give them to Otto while checking to see if he's only mostly dead or not. Edited after a talk with Izzy.)
Tomas rests on one knee, his eyes wide as he lightly touches Otto's neck, looking for some sign of a pulse. He looks up, desperately looking from Lia, to Kuzan, to where he thought Professor Devereaux was. Surely, the Professor knows what to do.
And as it turns out, he does. Tomas follows Devereaux's gaze, looking up to see the ghostly wolf up above. "Lia." Tomas says, the beginnings of an idea starting to form, "Could you-fly me up there? I think I can get Otto."
(OOC: Heal check, 14+7: 21. I have 3 HP left with my lay on hands today, and if it'll help I'll give them to Otto while checking to see if he's only mostly dead or not. Edited after a talk with Izzy.)
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The Whistler
- Evil Genius
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- Location: Southshore
"Er-hem."
This being a cylinder, the acoustics in the room were uncommonly good. Otherwise, you were pretty sure that you couldn't have heard a large, semi-transparent man clearing his throat from several stories up.
"Ah...hello. I appear to still be present...for...some rather limited values of 'present.' Apologies for the...erm...the inconvenience?"
To his credit, Otto did not look especially destitute, panicked, or vengeful--knocking out three of the most problematic ghost behavioral patterns in one go. Apparently, it was true what they said about the peace that comes with death.
He did, however, look mildly confused. So there was that.
"If it is any reassurance, I am not sure that it would have been possible for any of you to have intervened in that procedure." Otto whacked the iron railing twice with his fist; the whole colossal apparatus flickered for half a second, momentarily translucent. "See? It is solid, to me. I am nearly certain that everything here aside from your platform may be manipulated only by the...ah...deceased. Given the purpose of this room, I would imagine that such is by design..."
The gunsmith crossed his arms, looking vaguely irritated. "...Even so, it is likely that I could have handled this more efficiently. In any case, I can come down myself..."
Otto hurdled the ghostly handrail and began to float downward to the party's level, tracing a perfectly straight diagonal through the air. "I...erm. I am disliking to be an imposition, but could one or more of you kindly transport my...that?" He pointed to the body. "Until we are able to...ah...remedy the situation, that is."
This being a cylinder, the acoustics in the room were uncommonly good. Otherwise, you were pretty sure that you couldn't have heard a large, semi-transparent man clearing his throat from several stories up.
"Ah...hello. I appear to still be present...for...some rather limited values of 'present.' Apologies for the...erm...the inconvenience?"
To his credit, Otto did not look especially destitute, panicked, or vengeful--knocking out three of the most problematic ghost behavioral patterns in one go. Apparently, it was true what they said about the peace that comes with death.
He did, however, look mildly confused. So there was that.
"If it is any reassurance, I am not sure that it would have been possible for any of you to have intervened in that procedure." Otto whacked the iron railing twice with his fist; the whole colossal apparatus flickered for half a second, momentarily translucent. "See? It is solid, to me. I am nearly certain that everything here aside from your platform may be manipulated only by the...ah...deceased. Given the purpose of this room, I would imagine that such is by design..."
The gunsmith crossed his arms, looking vaguely irritated. "...Even so, it is likely that I could have handled this more efficiently. In any case, I can come down myself..."
Otto hurdled the ghostly handrail and began to float downward to the party's level, tracing a perfectly straight diagonal through the air. "I...erm. I am disliking to be an imposition, but could one or more of you kindly transport my...that?" He pointed to the body. "Until we are able to...ah...remedy the situation, that is."
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Rock of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 6844
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 pm
"I have a spell of Telekinesis prepared," Lia replies, her voice sounding oddly small as she looks at Otto. "I can lift it ... easily ... but it wouldn't last ... long. Perhaps someone ... someone strong ...? Tomas? Faw. I can't believe I eulogized you already, Otto ... Trust a Lamordian not to ... simply go the usual way ... Hell's bells, how are we going to fix this?"
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NeoTiamat
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 4119
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- Gender: Male
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The Tomb of Menetnashte
August 29th, 761, 11:47 PM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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The Mists rose. All over the massive orrery, from every one of the miniature lands of the Core, the Clusters and Islands and every other place, rose the fog. A thick, grey-white mist, appearing for no reason and from no cause, simply appearing all over the world.
Swirling, reaching, grasping tendrils of fog, spreading over the miniature lands like a cloud over children's toys. They covered the west and the east, the north and the south, from Mordent to Nova Vaasa, from Vorostokov to Sri Raji, every land and every town. Wherever you looked, the land belonged to the Mists.
But then, it always had.
He gestured towards the great statue of Anubis, the size of a cathedral tower in its grandeur and splendor. Already the swirling, hypnotic mists covered its feet, obscuring them from sight. But there was something else that was equally eerie. The great jackal-head of the god... was looking at you. You hadn't seen him move, you hadn't heard anything. Something as massive as that statue should not be able to move soundlessly. It had just changed position, the old god of Har'Akir regarding you with cold, impassive eyes.
"We should probably not attract the... attention of the old gods." Professor Devereux said. "Not while we have the dead... among us."
August 29th, 761, 11:47 PM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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The Mists rose. All over the massive orrery, from every one of the miniature lands of the Core, the Clusters and Islands and every other place, rose the fog. A thick, grey-white mist, appearing for no reason and from no cause, simply appearing all over the world.
Swirling, reaching, grasping tendrils of fog, spreading over the miniature lands like a cloud over children's toys. They covered the west and the east, the north and the south, from Mordent to Nova Vaasa, from Vorostokov to Sri Raji, every land and every town. Wherever you looked, the land belonged to the Mists.
But then, it always had.
"Whatever we do it would be.... wise... to do it soon." Professor Devereux said quietly. The scholar's violet eyes looked at Otto curiously, but otherwise there was no particular worry in Devereux's voice. After all, what was a ghostly Lamordian werewolf/gunsmith between friends? "Before the old gods get... ideas."The Whistler wrote:Otto hurdled the ghostly handrail and began to float downward to the party's level, tracing a perfectly straight diagonal through the air. "I...erm. I am disliking to be an imposition, but could one or more of you kindly transport my...that?" He pointed to the body. "Until we are able to...ah...remedy the situation, that is."
He gestured towards the great statue of Anubis, the size of a cathedral tower in its grandeur and splendor. Already the swirling, hypnotic mists covered its feet, obscuring them from sight. But there was something else that was equally eerie. The great jackal-head of the god... was looking at you. You hadn't seen him move, you hadn't heard anything. Something as massive as that statue should not be able to move soundlessly. It had just changed position, the old god of Har'Akir regarding you with cold, impassive eyes.
"We should probably not attract the... attention of the old gods." Professor Devereux said. "Not while we have the dead... among us."
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
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Rock of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 6844
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 pm
"Grabbing..." Tomas trails off, squatting down and, with an unpleasant look on his face, proceeding to heft all of Otto's, well, Otto up into his arms. His knees knock a little, and he makes a mental note to introduce Otto to the concept of 'salad', but ultimately Eisenwald proves mighty enough for the moment!
"If I drop you." Tomas looks at Otto's ghost, "You do not get to haunt me."
"If I drop you." Tomas looks at Otto's ghost, "You do not get to haunt me."
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yalenusveler
- Evil Genius
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- Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:44 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania...or Baator
"Ordinarily I'd take time to discuss theological underpinnings...but we should make for the door of the living, post haste before unpleasantness occurs."
Andre said, looking at the rising mists and the rather...irked looking statue of Anubis much like one would perhaps look at an authority figure one did NOT want to irk.
"Let me know if you need help, Tomas.." Andre said, as he prepared to move with the group.
Andre said, looking at the rising mists and the rather...irked looking statue of Anubis much like one would perhaps look at an authority figure one did NOT want to irk.
"Let me know if you need help, Tomas.." Andre said, as he prepared to move with the group.
"Sometimes, Mr.Liquor cabinet is my only friend"
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The Whistler
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:38 pm
- Location: Southshore
[Lamordian]: "If we manage to resolve all this somehow, I definitely owe you a pint." Though he hasn't had the opportunity to consider it previously, Otto is pretty sure that "carrying someone's corpse around in hopes that they might be resurrected at some point" ranks somewhere above "helping someone move house" in the universal hierarchy of favors.DocBeard wrote:"If I drop you." Tomas looks at Otto's ghost, "You do not get to haunt me."
"Nor am I thinking that it is a positive idea to be staying here--we run!"
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Rock of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 6844
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 pm
"Run with caution," Lia suggests as she starts to move. "If we fall down into that orrery, I imagine there will be ... trouble. I recommend leaning on the wall where possible, not the railing." Following her own advice, the Mordentishwoman lifts her skirts with one hand and sets off as quickly as she dares.
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NeoTiamat
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 4119
- Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The Tomb of Menetnashte
August 30th, 761, 12:02 AM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Back through the door you went, out of this peculiar clockwork afterlife and into the darkness...
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It was cold once again. Though, Otto noticed, not as cold as it was when he had last been here. Chilly, certainly, and covered with snow, but now falling snow was interspersed with grey ash, which fell upon the Lamordian's skin and stained it a blackish-grey.
...Otto had skin again. The ghostly form was nowhere to be seen, but rather in Tomas's hands the briefly ethereal Lamordian came back to a groggy sense of awakening. He was cold, and his body felt horribly stiff and sluggish, but Otto Schultheiss was alive once more.
The room, however, was different than he had remembered it. It was larger than before, and darker, to the point that you could not see the walls. Rather, the field of snow-and-ash covered sarchophagi ran off into infinity, disappearing into the grey-white distance. There were so many of the stone coffins you could not count them all, but every one of them seemed a little different than the ones that you remembered. They felt newer.
In the distance, you could see dark shapes in the semi-volcanic slurry, shapes that belonged to no mortal creature. Shapes that had the outlines of the old gods of Har'Akir. One seemed to have the head of a cat, with you just barely making out the ears and muzzle. The head of a cheetah, perhaps? Another had the head of a wild donkey, or some creature similar to it, while a third was that of a wolf.
Two of the statues though, were well within sight. Great, ibis-headed Thoth and jackal-headed Anubis stood within a clearing amongst the sarcophagi of the dead, the snow and ash falling to form a heavy mantle on their shoulders. Crafted of grey stone, they were passionless, unemotional being beings.
Between them was a dark and bottomless pit, over which Anubis held the scales of Ma'at, the scales of justice. In his hands, Thoth held the scroll and stylus, reading to take down the fate of those judged. It was a judgement scene, crafted in grey stone and grey ash and grey snow, the same that you had so recently left.
August 30th, 761, 12:02 AM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Back through the door you went, out of this peculiar clockwork afterlife and into the darkness...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was cold once again. Though, Otto noticed, not as cold as it was when he had last been here. Chilly, certainly, and covered with snow, but now falling snow was interspersed with grey ash, which fell upon the Lamordian's skin and stained it a blackish-grey.
...Otto had skin again. The ghostly form was nowhere to be seen, but rather in Tomas's hands the briefly ethereal Lamordian came back to a groggy sense of awakening. He was cold, and his body felt horribly stiff and sluggish, but Otto Schultheiss was alive once more.
The room, however, was different than he had remembered it. It was larger than before, and darker, to the point that you could not see the walls. Rather, the field of snow-and-ash covered sarchophagi ran off into infinity, disappearing into the grey-white distance. There were so many of the stone coffins you could not count them all, but every one of them seemed a little different than the ones that you remembered. They felt newer.
In the distance, you could see dark shapes in the semi-volcanic slurry, shapes that belonged to no mortal creature. Shapes that had the outlines of the old gods of Har'Akir. One seemed to have the head of a cat, with you just barely making out the ears and muzzle. The head of a cheetah, perhaps? Another had the head of a wild donkey, or some creature similar to it, while a third was that of a wolf.
Two of the statues though, were well within sight. Great, ibis-headed Thoth and jackal-headed Anubis stood within a clearing amongst the sarcophagi of the dead, the snow and ash falling to form a heavy mantle on their shoulders. Crafted of grey stone, they were passionless, unemotional being beings.
Between them was a dark and bottomless pit, over which Anubis held the scales of Ma'at, the scales of justice. In his hands, Thoth held the scroll and stylus, reading to take down the fate of those judged. It was a judgement scene, crafted in grey stone and grey ash and grey snow, the same that you had so recently left.
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
"One word about crossing the threshold." Tomas casually warns Otto in that 'oh my clockwork universe we are walking through hell.' tone of voice he has adopted over this trip. "And I am dropping you."
He doesn't mind carrying Otto as long as he needs to regain his balance, however. Why would he? He does, however, not enjoy the idea of being judged by gods he may or may not believe in. "Is there any way besides through the scales?" Tomas asks, frowning a bit. "...and whatever happened to that Osiris guy, anyway? Do Thoth and Anubis work for him, or is it like a partnership deal?"
He doesn't mind carrying Otto as long as he needs to regain his balance, however. Why would he? He does, however, not enjoy the idea of being judged by gods he may or may not believe in. "Is there any way besides through the scales?" Tomas asks, frowning a bit. "...and whatever happened to that Osiris guy, anyway? Do Thoth and Anubis work for him, or is it like a partnership deal?"
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Kaitou Kage
- Evil Genius
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- Location: Here and there
- Contact:
Kuzan just stared in stunned silence as Otto died, became a ghost, then returned to life. To him, it was almost as if he'd seen the Black Mother's entire cycle occur before his very eyes. It took the priest several moments to regain himself after all that happened.
He peered through the snowy tomb and pulled the cloak closer to himself.
Taking 10 on Knowledge Religion for 27 to answer Tomas's questions. Will post more when I receive revelation.
He peered through the snowy tomb and pulled the cloak closer to himself.
Taking 10 on Knowledge Religion for 27 to answer Tomas's questions. Will post more when I receive revelation.
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yalenusveler
- Evil Genius
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- Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:44 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania...or Baator
"First we deal with Thoth and Anubis..then Osiris" Andre said, going into scholar mode. "Assuming we aren't found wanting when our hearts are weighed against the feather of Ma'at." Andre actually shuddered a bit at that "At which point, they'll be thrown to Ammut, who is a hybrid of hippopotamus, crocodile, and dog, and our bodies will be devoured by Babi."
Andre sighed "One has to love a cosmology wherein it is entirely possible to die after you're dead. I wish I could help more, but the copy of the Book of Going Forth by Day that I had access to wasn't exactly the best preserved copy. And even the bit I know of the Negative Confession doesn't help, because every single tomb I've read about has a slightly different version."
Andre sighed "One has to love a cosmology wherein it is entirely possible to die after you're dead. I wish I could help more, but the copy of the Book of Going Forth by Day that I had access to wasn't exactly the best preserved copy. And even the bit I know of the Negative Confession doesn't help, because every single tomb I've read about has a slightly different version."
"Sometimes, Mr.Liquor cabinet is my only friend"