Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Four

[steveflam]

Norzak prepares his Ray of Exhaustion spell and as soon as he has a bead on Van Dieks he will use it.

[ewancummins]

Jon leaps. His clothing rips and tears as his body contorts violently in air, his spine lengthening with sickening little popping noises and reddish brown fur bristling out all over his skin. The change is sudden, but no less horrible for all that. A boy jumps- but a beast lands. A man sized mink now crawls across the stone floor towards Van Diecks, hissing and spitting as it advances.

Stumbling only a little from the magical transition through the portal, Cirdan charges straight out of the room and into the hall. He raises his sword to strike at Gaston.

Van Diecks shifts aim at the last possible second, and fires his pistol into the oncoming knight. A booming report, a flash, and a puff of smoke- and the ball strikes Cirdan square on his breastplate, denting the iron and driving the wind from the knight's lungs.

Cirdan's sword connects almost simultaneously with the point blank shot from Gaston. The blade misses the man's head and skids off his left arm, opening a long gash and shredding his tunic.

[ewancummins]

Norzak prepares his Ray of Exhaustion spell and as soon as he has a bead on Van Dieks he will use it.

Norzak has to shift his aim to avoid striking Cirdan, but is able to fire between the knight's legs and hit Van Diecks with the green finger-ray.

The effect is immediate: Van Diecks drops his empty pistol and lurches backwards, reeling in sudden exhaustion.

Just then, Norzak's shadow leaps at the man's unprotected back!

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio approaches the fray, ready to step onto the front lines if one of his comrades should need to fall back. Holding his spear in one hand and his holy symbol in the other, he chants a prayer intended to protect himself and his allies.

[Le Noir Faineant]

While Van Dieck's blow alone might not have been enough to stop Cirdan,
Jon's perverse transformation does.

Cirdan stops in full attack, raising his shield before him, as a protection from further attacks by Van Diecks.

Confused, the knight assumes a defensive stance, and shuts his vizor...

"By the Gray King and the rift in the heart of the world!
What's going on here?!"

[ewancummins]

The hallway is nearly blocked by the melee, but Alain is able to squeeze past the confused knight and step over 'Jon'. Leaning forward, Alain stretches out an arm to tag Gaston. The man howls in pain when Alain touches him, as sparks crackle and hiss across his body.

Norzak's shadow leaps from Gaston's back when Alain discharges the spell. It might be the light, but there appear to be red droplets outlining where its mouth would be, if it had a mouth.

[ewancummins]

The huge weasel like creature that had been Jon rushes towards the stricken man and latches onto his neck, biting and hissing. Blood oozes out from ruptured vessels and Van Diecks collapses to the floor. The beast sits atop him, ripping and sucking at the neck wound it has just inflicted.

Van Diecks is feebly struggling against Jon, but he's loosing blood very quickly and his efforts grow weaker and weaker with every passing second.

[steveflam]

"Ay we promised tha tinkers 'im alive!" Norzak rushes forward and to get through to tackle Jon so he doesn't kill Van dieks.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan will keep watching the situation before him a moment longer,
and then, with what might a moment of cynicism, decide to wait if Norzak manages to get the dire weasel off the villain alone.

If not, he will rush forward and pummel the shapechanger with the broad side of his sword.

If the dwarf manages, however, to handle Jon alone, Cirdan will step forward and pin Van Dieck down on the ground with his own blade...
But through a spot in the man's body that doesn't kill, just hurt a bit. A lot of "a bit".

[ewancummins]

The beast continues to attack Van Diecks, heedless of Norzak's warning.

Norzak is able to grab the beast by its middle and haul it off Van Diecks. He grapples with the frenzied creature, holding it back from the kill.

Van Diecks has begun a transformation of his own. Fur is sprouting all over his body and his neck and back are lengthening even as his face elongates and takes on a weaselish aspect.

Cirdan steps forward with sword upraised to pin Gaston to the floor, but misses his leg and strikes the stone floor with the sword's point. Sparks fly from the flagstones as the sword snaps in half.


The hallway suddenly becomes quite cold.

Van Diecks opens his eyes and then coughs up blood through a toothy mouth that's no longer human in appearance. He speaks in a throaty gurgle-

''My queen...''


The ghostly form of Wolutha appears behind the party, in the teleport vault, outside the circle.
Alain launches his magic missile at her, and she flinches as the dart impacts her. She shrugs it off, and begins to chant, pointing at Alain.


[Check your PM, Skybolt]


.

[Adam]

Bennedict turns, reacting with panic to the arrival of the ghost. He tries to clear his head, too many shocks and surprises piling up at once, until finally the words to an incantation return to his mind. Whirling, he summons a spiritual weapon, directing it to attack the ethereal enchantress.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio watches the transformed John tear at van Diecks, and the priest can feel the blood leave his own face. He staggers back for a moment and the noise of his pulse drowns out the sound of combat, but not the sound of Jon's newfound claws ripping at van Diecks. In the back of his mind somewhere there is something that shouts <i>Keep him alive! Myklos wants him alive!</i>, but it can barely be heard over the din of his own stark terror.

When he sees Wolutha, it comes as almost relief, something to chase his attention from Jon, but the cold dread returns just as quickly when he remembers her hand slipping between his ribs. But somehow he manages to lift a bloodless, shaking hand towards her, and chant a prayer which barely escapes his clenched throat. And then, he is covered in a silvery light, looking all the paler for it.

[ewancummins]

Beast-Jon slips free of Norzak's grip and rushes straight for the injured Van Diecks- who is now more than halfway into beast form. Jon lunges at Van Diecks' neck, but overshoots and hits the wall instead. He swiftly recovers, darting about on his four feet, hissing and spitting, red tinted eyes blazing with bestial hate.

[ewancummins]

Wolutha speaks, her voice strong and commanding-

''Norzak, do not forget our bargain! ''

[Lord Skybolt]

As Alain seems to look around at nothing in particular he yells to Dorgio and Benn "Help the Witch blinded me !!!!!!"