Ghosts of Gauntcliff: Chapter Five

[ewancummins]

Abbey, The Pit

Dorgio braces for whatever lay beyond the portal. "The darkest road" he says to himself, remembering his vision. He readies his spear, expecting something to rush through to attack him and Petrie. But Dorgio dreads whatever lay beyond the portal even more.

As he braces himself, he calls down a prayer to imbue his star-born spear.

"For the dawn!'


((OOC: Casting magic weapon))

Dorgio rushes through the portal, into the dungeon. Petrie grabs a makeshift torch from the broken heap of flammable materials on the pit floor and hurries along at the priest's back.
The torch casts only a weak light in the gloomy chamber beyond the door, as if the darkness is weakening the flames.

Looking about the black vault, the two men see four walls , a low ceiling, and a half dozen doors that open and close at random intervals. All seems blurred and indistinct here, almost as if the walls and doors are made of shadows and not solid material.

[steveflam]

''We are not Dodds."
The three creatures step back to avoid the crashing lantern.

Jeurgin leaps through the gap and tumbles past the robed beings, flailing with his pole.
He comes to his feet on the far side of the three robed things, in the street outside the tower.

He looks around and getting up, runs as fast as he can to where he left Gruz.

[ewancummins]

THE NIGHTMARE CITY

''We are not Dodds."
The three creatures step back to avoid the crashing lantern.

Jürgen leaps through the gap and tumbles past the robed beings, flailing with his pole.
He comes to his feet on the far side of the three robed things, in the street outside the tower.

He looks around and getting up, runs as fast as he can to where he left Gruz.

The boy and his shadow flee through the black streets of the city as thunder crashes overhead and sheets of chilly rain tear down from the night sky.
He reaches a familiar area, and after a hasty search, finds Gruz and Smezel huddled under a lean-to.


Gruz says ''Nice boy comes back! Yay!"

Smezel points past Gruz and squeals-

'"The Sleepless Ones come too!"

If Jürgen looks back the way the Smezel points, he sees three robed figures at the far end of the long street, getting closer...

[Ken of Ghastria]

THE ABBEY, ABOVE THE PIT

''You must suffer in their place, little prince. My slaves will suck the marrow from your broken bones. But I am hungry now.''

The shadows flow together to form an ogre-like figure, black as pitch and not quite solid, that steps out to loom over Primiero.

''The girl is mine. Step aside. I will enjoy her.''

Primeiro has felt fear before, but not like this. Every nerve in his body turns to ice. Memories dash across his mind. He recalls the terror and pain he felt when the assassin's poisoned blade pierced his skin years ago, on the night he left Borca.

The night that he learned his mother was dead.

The thought of that brave, caring, reckless woman reignites the fire in his soul. He glances down at Everline. My mother would have liked you, Mademoiselle Vaughn.

Standing directly between the shadowy creature and Everline, Primeiro stares grimly at his foe. "I take no orders from servants, eunuch!" He lunges fiercely at the creature!

_______________________________________
Primeiro fails the Fear check (rolled in PM) and is shaken.
Rapier attack (1d20+9=16) - 2 for being shaken = 14.

[ewancummins]

THE ABBEY, PRIMEIRO

Primeiro is surprised as he plunges straight through the shadowy giant, meeting no more resistance than he might if he ran through a mass of cobwebs. While passing through the huge shadow, he can't see clearly. The instant he emerges, he sees Eustace standing before him, swinging a staff at his head! Primeiro jerks away by instinct and the blow misses him.

[Ken of Ghastria]

THE ABBEY

Primeiro curses as he goes right through his opponent and then ducks out of the way of Eustace's attack. Holding his breath, he jumps back through the shadowy creature before it can advance on Everline.

"You coward!" he calls out. "You feed only on young girls and unconscious women?! HA! There's the truth of the matter! You could never satisfy a woman, could you? Rejected by women... rejected by your betters.... If there's any manhood left in you, show it! Feed on me if you dare! Or is my aristocratic blood too strong for you, servant?" He poses defiantly before it.

_____________________________________________
Primeiro does Total Defense again this round, unless something provokes an AoO by trying to go past him to get to Everline. If that happens, then just the +1 bonus to AC from Dodge will apply.

[steveflam]

THE NIGHTMARE CITY

''We are not Dodds."
The three creatures step back to avoid the crashing lantern.

Jürgen leaps through the gap and tumbles past the robed beings, flailing with his pole.
He comes to his feet on the far side of the three robed things, in the street outside the tower.

He looks around and getting up, runs as fast as he can to where he left Gruz.

The boy and his shadow flee through the black streets of the city as thunder crashes overhead and sheets of chilly rain tear down from the night sky.
He reaches a familiar area, and after a hasty search, finds Gruz and Smezel huddled under a lean-to.


Gruz says ''Nice boy comes back! Yay!"

Smezel points past Gruz and squeals-

'"The Sleepless Ones come too!"

If Jürgen looks back the way the Smezel points, he sees three robed figures at the far end of the long street, getting closer...

"It's okay, it's okay. We need to hide now. Get us to a safe place now, Gruz and Smezel. Hurry!"

[Adam]

Panting and holding his cane defensively in front of him, Benn hustles to the sleeping figure, shaking her rudely on the shoulder.

"There is no time to be delicate with this," he mutters, prepared to slap the sleeper if shaking her isn't enough to get her awake.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio curses to himself, wondering if Benn's spectacles would help make this strange passageway any more clear. Right now, the only thing clear to the priest was that he was deep in magics beyond even his comprehending. Was this the tomb of the Dusklord? He feels the hairs raise up on the back of his neck, and a strange ache in his gold-capped tooth, which he tires to put down to nerves.

"Which to take...?" Seeing little difference between then, he heads with caution to the leftmost door.

[ewancummins]

PRIMEIRO
The ogre-like shadow sweeps towards Primeiro, but the young man dodges out of the way at the last possible instant.

The giant shadow turns towards the pit.

''My workshop!"

It leaps towards the open shaft!


DORGIO
Passing through the door with Petrie at his back, the cleric enters a rectangular room a bit smaller than the antechamber. Murky portraits hang on the walls, oiled canvases with features that shift and blur even as Dorgio looks on them. The only door besides the one he used to enter is closed.

THOM
With blood dripping from his fingertips, Thom claws his way to the top of the pit and sprawls over the rim, winded and sweaty.
Looking up, he sees a great black cloud shaped almost like a man, falling upon him!



--------------------------------------------------------



JUERGIN
Juergin finds a hiding place in an alley strewn with faded, moldering wedding dresses. Smezel and Gruz crawl under the mounds of yellowing lace, snuggling into the musty fabric like mice in a haystack.


BENN
The young woman opens her eyes-- silver-gray to match the argent circlet on her brow-- when Benn shakes her.
"Pater?”
She sits up and the blanket over her falls away, revealing her bare breasts, pert and small like apples.

[Ken of Ghastria]

Primeiro gapes as the creature rapidly moves toward the pit -- as though in panic! All that thumping against the door was a ruse, after all! It doesn't want that door opened!

Spotting Thom reaching the surface, he lunges forward and slashes at the shadowy foe before it reaches the man. "Come back, servant! Your better commands it!" he yells, hoping that by blade or by word, he can goad the creature into staying here and away from whatever the others are doing below that has it so worried.

________________________________________________
Rapier attack (1d20+9=20), or possibly 18 if Primeiro is still shaken. I know that the attack is likely ineffectual regardless, but Primeiro doesn't.

[steveflam]

JUERGIN
Juergin finds a hiding place in an alley strewn with faded, moldering wedding dresses. Smezel and Gruz crawl under the mounds of yellowing lace, snuggling into the musty fabric like mice in a haystack.

Juergin does the same as his other two allies.

[Adam]

"There is no time, we have to get out of here," Benn says, helping her up off of the bed. "There is a dangerous creature near by."

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

The Dungeon

Dorgio tries to take a closer look at the portraits to see if anything can be gleaned about where he is or what this place is. At the same time, he also calls down a healing prayer on himself, knowing that he'll need his strength for whatever lies beyond.



((OOC: Cure light wounds on Dorgio))

[ewancummins]

BENN

"There is no time, we have to get out of here," Benn says, helping her up off of the bed. "There is a dangerous creature near by."

The woman stands, and as she rises the whole scene begins to fade--including her body.
She smiles sadly at Benn and says, ''Ave atque vale."
Silver light pours from the silver circlet on her brow. She leans in and kisses Benn full on the mouth, her nude body pressed close against his body. He tastes honey on her lips.

--------------------------------------------------------------



When the silver light fades, Benn finds himself lying on rain-slick cobblestones, surrounded by tall, crooked houses. Thunder rumbles in the night sky, where two moons gleam amid rolling purple clouds
Looped over the fingers of Benn’s right hand, where his fingers had touched the soft flesh of the maiden rests an ornate silver key on a fine chain.

A familiar triple voice calls to him from the dark mouth of a nearby alley-
"Bring us the key.”