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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 16, 2024 11:02
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:Toran is a place of innovation and beauty. Buildings taller than any in Sommerlund, save that of the King's Citadel of Holmgard, soar into the sky. The city streets are evenly paved and lined with trees and other greenery so that at times there is the illusion that you walk through a city sprung up amongst a forest. There is even innovation unseen underneath the streets, where you know that miles of networked tunnels carry Toran's waste far beyond the city's walls.
Laumspurr [sic] Lane is a very long thoroughfare which bisects Toran from the ill-famed West Ward to the middle-class East Ward, crossing the heart of the city and driving through the heart of its wealthiest districts. As you walk along it, you can see the stark differences in class, the progression from stacked apartments to single family manor houses. People wearing expensively-made clothes go about their business under the cover of parasols. Even the smell is rich here, the air tinged with the light scent of roses. Every street has a guard walking it, their armor and spears gleaming. They watch suspiciously as you pass them.
Haert Manor seems more castle than home, a fortress set behind rusted iron gates, hemmed in by huge trees with hanging branches like reaching fingers. A tall brick wall that might have once been a bright red but has faded to the color of old blood surrounds the manor. Graffiti covers its surface, much of it symbols of warding against evil. But you also see a strange phrase repeated more than once: The Tall Man walks here.
Rusty iron gates admit you to the manor grounds. Gloom-filled windows stare down at you as you approach like the judgemental gaze of a many-eyed beast. Despite the sense of abandonment this place holds, your knock at the heavy front doors is answered swiftly enough by a bent-backed man in servant's attire who peers up at you under eyebrows thick and bushy as living animals. He is reticent until you show him the letter, then he bends into a deep, bone-popping bow and ushers you inside.
You are led through a long dusty corridor into a grand sitting room, two stories tall with a wide balcony running its length, accessible by a spiraling staircase. The walls are lined with sagging bookshelves, their contents illuminated by the glow of a hearth grand enough for a person to stand in. Sooty footsteps lead to and from the hearth, discoloring the white Baknar-skin rug in front of it. Above the mantle is carved a massive representation of a family tree with each branch supporting the archaic names of past Haert family members. Dates run along the trunk, showing the family as having been established many hundreds of years ago. You notice that Sindra is the only name on the lowest branch. She is the last of the Haerts.
"The mistress will be along shortly to see you," the old man wheezes and then exits the room, closing the doors behind him with a resounding boom. You stand awkwardly, waiting. There is a tomb-like quality to the place that even the cheerfully cracking fire cannot chase away.
The scar under your eye patch begins to itch terribly. At the same moment a deep tremor runs through you, as if a hand of ice has just caressed your neck. You feel weak in the knees and steady yourself against the hearth. However, you have only rested for a single breath when you feel something wet and sticky underneath your hand. When you lift it you see the stone is wet with blood. Shocked, you look to the source of the blood: it is the family tree, bleeding from a branch that has been scratched out, broken. It would have been during the time of Sindra's grandfather. You can hear voices whispering, getting louder the longer you stare at the pumping blood. He went deep underneath Toran, they say, beyond the wheels.
Both of your eyes itch now and you rub at them in irritation. When you look again, the blood marks are gone. You would think you had imagined them if not for the bright red stain on your hand.
A door opens on the balcony and an elderly woman in a blue dress steps through, followed by the old man who met you at the door.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting," the woman says as she descends the staircase, her manservant close at heel. "I am Sindra Haert and I appreciate you coming on short notice."
Sindra is thin and tall, with narrow features and bright silver hair, a color that offsets her green eyes. She wears no jewelry except for a single red ring on her left hand. Having dealt with nobility before, you had expected her to exude snide confidence or perhaps a masquerade of humbleness. However, her smile is warm and honest and when you take her extended hand she clasps it in both of hers.
"How do you find my home?" she asks.
"It is impressive," you answer. "Like the way I picture the great mansions of bygone years."
Sindra's lively laugh seems out of place amongst the manor's dilapidated, withering glory.
"Like a tomb, you mean," she says. "No need to be coy. The Haert family has been collecting dust for generations. It fits: we are a family of historians. There is nothing as important as the past."
"I would agree," you answer.
"Of course you would. That's why you are here, after all."
Your host takes a seat and indicates you should as well, pointing you to a chair so tall and plush it seems liable to swallow you. Her manservant takes up position at her shoulder, ready to meet any need she may proclaim. Sindra leans forward, her chin resting on clasped fingers.
"What do you know of the Haert family?" she asks. Shall we say:
- "That it is very old."
- "That it is cursed."
or
- "That the Tall Man walks here."
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Mar 1, 2024 03:39
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- gegi
- Aug 3, 2004
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Butterfly Girl
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The Tall Man Walks Here - we don't know what it means but her reaction should say something.
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Mar 1, 2024 16:32
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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"That it is cursed."
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Mar 1, 2024 20:38
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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The Tall Man Walks Here - we don't know what it means but her reaction should say something.
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Mar 1, 2024 23:28
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:Sindra is taken aback by your response. "An odd thing to say. The Tall Man is a Toranese bogeyman, how does a traveling mercenary know of this?"
"It was painted on your gate," you admit.
"Ah. That explains it then. The Tall Man was a murderer who killed with a bloody sickle and said to be able to travel through shadows with the use of his gloom cloak. His crimes were so heinous that when he was caught the townsfolk demanded he be put to death by the old ways and they drowned him in the River Tor, where - or so legend says - his spirit remains to this day. To say that the Tall Man walks here is a slur against the Haerts, saying we dabble in the occult, consort with demons and the like."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend."
"Not at all," Sindra says, beaming her pleasant smile. "We do consort with demons. Or at least we did. We gained the knowledge of summoning from the Darklords themselves and our servants donned red robes and demonic masks to spread chaos and death.'
A chill runs through you at the mention of the Darklords, the wholly Evil beings that rule the lands beyond the Duncrag Range less than a hundred miles west of Toran. You are surprised that Sindra is willing to admit her family's affiliation with them, no matter how long ago, for to have worked for the Darklords is an act so vile that it would drat the family in the eyes of anyone who knew.
Sindra sees your reaction and nods. "Our family is long past caring about our reputation. Eight hundred years ago my ancestor, Sindra the Generous, for whom I am named, decided to set things right and forsook the use of our old powers. She bound our demon into a magical vessel. Every two hundred years the bindings need to be strengthened, the ritual performed anew. All of my life I have prepared for it, gathering the proper components. All I lacked was the vessel itself, for it was lost long ago, stolen from us."
"Much of my family's fortune has been spent in pursuit of the Sindarin Vessel. For years I have called upon the services of adventurers, magicians, and thieves to help me," Sindra says. The manservant clears his throat at this but Sindra waves him to silence. "Oh, let us not put on airs, Danton. If an army of Giaks could have helped me in my search, I would have made use of them gladly. Thankfully, it did not come to that. A smuggler by the name of Valeska has been my instrument instead. And in our last communication he told me he had found the vessel."
"If you have what you need," you say, "then why call on me? My knowledge of the occult is limited."
"But I don't have the vessel. That is the problem. I have received reports that the ship Valeska came on, the Enlightenment, arrived in Toran last week. But he hasn't contacted me again. I need to find him. I need the Sindarin Vessel."
"And when I bring it to you then you'll tell me what I want to know."
"Yes. But you must do it quickly. Tonight. Before the light of dawn touches Toran's streets, the vessel must be in my possession or the ritual will fail and a great evil will once again be freed upon the world."
That gives you pause. The sun is already heading for the other side of the hill, as the saying goes.
"I will also pay you," Sindra adds. "Two hundred Crowns upon delivery of the artifact."
"Then you have bought my blade," you reply. You decide not to tell Sindra that you would have done the job for only the information on your past. It is more valuable to you than any gold, more important than stopping a demon.
"You'll know Valeska by his left hand," Sindra says, "which is missing the third and fourth fingers. If you are looking for where to start you could try the docks. Or, he is known to have dealings with the Thieves' Guild. The Boar's Head tavern in the slums is where they gather."
Eager to make use of what little time you have, you rise from the chair. Danton heads to the door to lead you out.
"A lifetime spent preparing for a single day," Sindra says as Danton opens the door. "And yet it all comes down to what will happen in the next few hours."
You follow the old butler and soon find yourself standing back outside the iron gates. A storm has rolled in from the Kaltersee, bringing rain and shadows. Thunder rumbles across the city like a portent sent by the gods just for you.
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Mar 2, 2024 03:17
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- Decoy Badger
- May 16, 2009
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Unless the boat has been quarantined! To the harbour!
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Mar 2, 2024 04:41
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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I want to see what our Thief's Touch power can do so let’s head to the slums.
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Mar 2, 2024 04:54
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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I want to see what our Thief's Touch power can do so let’s head to the slums.
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Mar 2, 2024 22:45
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:Normally, Toran appears to shimmer and sparkle, for the local granite used to construct its buildings contains a good deal of quartz. But the storm has chased all the glamor from the city, instead casting it in gloom. The further south you travel the more the buildings become grimy and sallow, huddling closer together with many darkened alleyways between them. Rain runs in rivulets off the hood of your cloak as you make your way down the winding streets beneath the sodden glow of flickering magical lamps. The Boar's Head squats like a sulking beast at the southernmost end of the slums, promising little warmth and no comfort.
Silence falls over the tavern as you push open the heavy doors and step inside. Eyes from all corners of the establishment regard you suspiciously, taking in your measure. An old woman behind the bar spits a line of brown spew into an open cup with a soft, wet sound and does not bother wiping the phlegm from her chin. A group of aging villains sat together at a table peer at you from behind the cover of fanned out playing cards. Above you, on a balcony running the perimeter of the joint, people lurk in shadowed doorways, unsheathed daggers glinting on their hips. Every movement of every patron contains a threat.
Keeping one hand by your weapon, you raise the other and make several quick signs with your fingers, using the secret hand language to indicate you are part of the greater brotherhood of thieves.
"She's with me, gents."
The owner of the voice is an attractive young woman in adventurer's gear, sitting alone at a table with a beer dark as the storm in one hand. With a smile sly enough to make a fox jealous, she gestures for you to join her. Instantly, everyone goes back to drinking and talking.
"Zanora Thane," the woman introduces herself when you make her way to the table. You see she is not actually alone. A raccoon sits on the chair beside her, occasionally standing to snatch nuts off the table. It sniffs at you as you take a seat.
"I'd heard Erik Dunals was head of the guild out here," you say.
"I'm Erik's right hand woman," Zanora says. "Sometimes his left hand, too. And you're the Huntress. I'd heard you were in the city. Welcome to our little corner of Magnamund." She splashes some of her beer into an empty glass and pushes it towards you. "What brings you here?"
"On the hunt again," you answer, trying the beer. It tastes like warm summer days. The raccoon sniffs at a little puddle of the beer and then goes back to the nuts. "I was hoping the Guild could help me with it."
"Who's the unlucky bastard?"
"A smuggler by the name of Valeska."
"Ah." Here Zanora pauses to take a long swallow of her beer, though you detect the hesitation is not purely one of thirst. At last she lowers her mug and speaks very quietly to you. "You hunt someone else's prey."
"Whose?" you ask.
"We call them the Red Cowls. They aren't like other cutthroats. They smell like death, dress like corpses, and fight like beasts. We first saw them earlier this week, when some of our members encountered them in the sewers. They asked about Valeska. We told them where to stuff it. It didn't go well for us." She takes another swallow, finishes the beer. "My advice? Leave this one alone. The Red Cowls are dangerous."
"More dangerous than the Huntress?" you ask.
Zanora smiles and scratches the raccoon behind the ears. "Maybe not. All right, then. Valeska has dealings with some of the merchants on the Long Market, off Silver Lane. If you want to find him, ask around there. But stay away from the sewers My people are about to become very territorial down there."
Before you leave, Zanora offers you, as a fellow Guild member, a choice of any two of the following items:
- Viper's Bite (+2 damage per round for one combat)
- Skin Crawler (Ignore one round's combat damage)
- Purse of 15 Gold Crowns
- Thieves' Lockpicks (Backpack Item, only useable with Thief's Touch)
- Potion of Laumspur (restores 4 ENDURANCE when used after combat)
You are soaked and your boots squelch wetly with each step by the time you reach Silver Street and the famed Long Market. Here, the road is full of the denizens of Toran as well as travelers from all the far-flung corners of Magnamund. It is a lively crowd, despite the foul weather, and you find yourself listening to conversations erupting around you: two young daughters pleading with their mother to let them buy a sticky bun and complaining when she suggests they could share one; a sailor in high spirits, or perhaps drunk on spirits, singing a shanty at the top of his lungs; two brothers driving a wagon laden with goods and pulled by a mule who are bickering about the proper length of time to churn butter.
The crowd continues to thicken around a stage where there seems to be some kind of performance. You also notice a side street lined with shops. The street is labeled "Clatterclop Lane."
- Which two items do we take?
- Shall we check out the stage or go into Clatterclop Lane?
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Mar 3, 2024 03:13
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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Skin Crawler - One round could do a lot more damage than a lamspur can heal.
Purse of 15 Gold Crowns - We’re going to the merchant part of town next so bring some spending money.
Clatterclop Lane - Maybe we can shop and ask questions at the same time.
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Mar 3, 2024 04:50
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- Decoy Badger
- May 16, 2009
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Skin Crawler - One round could do a lot more damage than a lamspur can heal.
Purse of 15 Gold Crowns - We’re going to the merchant part of town next so bring some spending money.
Clatterclop Lane - Maybe we can shop and ask questions at the same time.
This, although skin crawler's effectiveness depends almost entirely on if you have to declare its use before or after rolling.
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Mar 3, 2024 13:53
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Everyone voted for the Gold Crowns so we'll go with that option for a start.
Clatterclop Lane - Maybe we can shop and ask questions at the same time.
Marked for Death posted:Shouts greet you as you enter Clatterclop Lane, cries so loud they sing like passionate lovers:
"Fish! Fish, fresh this morning! Cockles, muscles, and lobster, too!"
"Garments, every color of the rainbow! Yarn for knitting, and needle and thread for mending! Gifts for the young lady and honored mother alike!"
"Pies! Meat pies, fruit pies! I've got maple mince pies and pork oh-so-savory; thimbleberry, pumpkin, garlic gravy!"
From every direction merchants call out their wares, enticing customers to their open doors. You are so distracted that you fail to notice a large horse-drawn carriage clattering towards you until it is nearly too late. The driver hardly slows and you are forced to pull away and take refuge in an open doorway.
You are still gathering your wits when a polite voice from behind you inquires if you have come to see the animals. You turn to see a small, fat man with tiny spectacles and a piggish face. His hair is meticulously coiffed, even though it sits like a mop atop his broad head. He is a shopkeeper and it is his doorway you have stepped into. You look up to see the name of the store: Marth's Magical Menagerie.
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Mar 4, 2024 03:02
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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Fate brought us here so might as well go in and check it out.
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Mar 4, 2024 03:15
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- Decoy Badger
- May 16, 2009
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Let's go in and get a bite.
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Mar 4, 2024 20:09
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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Well, we're already here, let's go inside.
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Mar 4, 2024 20:18
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:You follow Marth further into his shop, lit by the orange glow of lamplight, and soon the noise of the crowd and the rain is replaced by the cries and screeches of many strange creatures. Cages fill the space, stacked on top of each other or hanging from hooks in the ceiling. All manner of odd beasts fill them. Some crawl on multiple hairy legs, others swivel reptilian heads on long necks. On a large perch sits something that looks like a cross between a miniature dragon and an insect, no bigger than a house cat, with four gossamer wings and a long tail that ends in a vicious stinger.
Marth catches you staring and sighs. "Beautiful, isn't she? Elsala is a special one, as far as I know the only one of her kind in all of Northern Magnamund."
The dragonish thing lifts her head and looks at you with four insectoid eyes then screeches, revealing tiny fangs. You decide you are thankful for the short leather leash which holds her to her perch.
"And this," Marth continues, ushering you over to a large tank filled with water. "This I just got in special last week."
You peer into the glass and see what looks to be a large living heart with fins.
"Miniature Bloodlug, caught off the coasts of Vassagonia," Marth says proudly, taking a glass jar wriggling with live shrimp and dropping several into the water. You watch the Bloodlug propel towards them, sucking them into a grotesque maw, its bright red body pulsing as it moves through the water. The merchant watches the spectacle with obvious glee.
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Mar 5, 2024 03:24
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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“I’m looking for a cat named Valeska. Know where I might find him?”
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Mar 5, 2024 04:22
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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“I’m looking for a cat named Valeska. Know where I might find him?”
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Mar 5, 2024 20:39
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:"I'm actually in the market for information," you say. "I'm looking for someone by the name of Valeska. He's a procurer of certain unusual goods. Do you know of this man?"
Marth is clearly disappointed that you are not interested in his animals. He pulls a black cloth over the tank with the Bloodlug, blocking it from your sight like a performer closing the curtains on his show. "I remember the name of every single one of my customers," he says. "That name is not among them. And if you are not here to make a purchase then I must ask that you move on."
"He lying. He know Valeska-man big time."
Startled, you look to your left where there is a cage no taller than a sword's length, secured with a large iron lock. Inside is what would at first appear to be a mouse except for the fact that it is standing on two legs, wearing a tiny, dirty jerkin and - impossibly - speaking to you. It wraps tiny hands around the bars of the cage and presses its face close, whiskers twitching.
"You be understanding Noodnic, lady-scar? That good. We can be helping each other."
You look behind you but the shopkeep seems unable to hear anything being said. He appears to be engrossed in petting the dragon-like creature attached to the perch. Marth coos to it softly as he pulls a live cockroach from a pocket of his trousers. When he wriggles the insect above the perch the thing snaps it out of his fingers greedily.
"You ask about Valeska, eh?" the creature, which calls itself a Noodnic, goes on. "He big time bad man, catch Nuki and her two friends like rats. But let Nuki out of her cage and we take you to him."
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Mar 8, 2024 02:46
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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Free Nuki!
Use the lockpicks.
nelson fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Mar 8, 2024
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Mar 8, 2024 04:26
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- Decoy Badger
- May 16, 2009
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Free the demon mouse. This whole sequence has been such a railroad.
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Mar 8, 2024 21:22
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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We have lockpicks and we wish to use them.
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Mar 8, 2024 21:39
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:The dragon-like beast on the perch lets out a harsh cry, sending a shiver down your spine.
"Sweetness," Marth says consolingly, "I'm out of roaches, but I've got more in the back. You wait, and papa will get them for you."
You waste little time. As soon as Marth is gone you pull open your set of lockpicks and go to work on the cage's lock, all the while getting tips from the Noodnic:
"Turn that way - no, not that way... lighter touch, lighter touch... you want I should do it?"
"You're not helping," you grumble but a second later the lock pops open. You open the cage and let the Noodnic climb up onto your shoulder before quickly exiting the shop.
"Free! Free!" the Noodnic cries as soon as you are outside, clapping her tiny hands. It is a sign of how commonplace magic has become to the people of Toran that very few of the shoppers give more than a passing glance to you and the little humanoid mouse dancing on your shoulder. You set the Noodnic down on a door stoop and squat to be eye level with her. "How is it that I can understand you?" you ask.
"Nuki don't know," the Noodnic says, scratching behind her whiskers. "But Nuki smell in you something special, eh? Like you was a Noodnic cousin."
Unconsciously you rub at your old scar, remembering the fangs of the Agarashi closing over your face, blinding you. You remember the vision you had in Haert Manor, too. You cannot help but feel somehow these new abilities of yours are connected. Make a note by your Art of Mark of the Agarashi that it is "Improved." "But never you mind that," the Noodnic continues. "You help Nuki, so now Nuki help lady-scar, show you where bad man Valeska hiding."
You try to follow Nuki's directions, the Noodnic giving them from her perch on your shoulder like the captain of a walking ship. Unfortunately, her directions are confusing. From her perspective, Toran is a city of giants, its buildings like mountains, its streets vast plateaus. Also, she was caged and under a black sheet for a good part of her journey across the city.
"Nuki has a wayfinder, lady-scar," Nuki assures you, pointing to her nose and taking a deep wheezing breath. She claims that she can find her way back to Valeska's lair just by smell alone. In this manner you go on a grand tour of the city, being led down curving alleyways, through sopping wet gardens, in the front door of someone's home (and quickly out the back, chased by a half-naked man whose sleep you disturbed), and finally up the slippery side of a building to its roof. From the roof, Nuki points across the city, beyond its western walls, to the wide River Tor.
"There," Nuki says. "Valeska-man has his secret place there." "The river?" you ask. "Nuki sure? I mean... you're sure?"
"Yes, the shore, exactly!" Nuki exclaims. "To the houses on the shore of the fast-water."
Your heart sinks as you take her meaning. Nuki is not pointing to the river but to a collection of tents and rough-tumble shacks beyond it, lit here and there by cook fires. She is pointing to the shanties, a place of even more ill-repute than the slums. It is a place for criminals who are shunned even by their fellow criminals.
Nuki dismounts from your shoulder, sliding down your backpack. "My friends not be with me in bad-man's secret place. They somewhere else in the city." She pauses, whiskers twitching. "You have a different path than Nuki, eh? You look for the big bird diving, eh? That Valeska place. You take careful steps, lady-scar, eh?"
The little creature bows to you then scampers off, soon lost in the night. You wave to her then notice that your backpack feels a little lighter. Pulling it off, you find Nuki has stolen one of your items. If you had any Meals, Nuki would take this first. Otherwise, she has taken the first Potion or Poison you have listed.
Lost one Meal (none remaining).
Your journey takes you beyond the city wall and across the long bridge that spans the River Tor. Here is a different city, one of tents and shacks, so many that you cannot count all of them. Despite the heavy winds, the citizens of the shanties have managed to keep large fires burning here and there; you navigate towards them like a ship towards a lighthouse, though this is a harbor you would prefer not to sail into. Aside from those forced to live there as punishment for their crimes, the shanties are a destination avoided by all but the most desperate or dangerous. You wonder which best describes you.
Plunging into the shanties is like entering another world. Everywhere are signs of sickness. Bodies lay inside flimsy tents and it is not easy to tell which are sleeping and which are corpses. People shamble past you staring blankly ahead or simply rock back and forth in place, staring open mouthed up at the stormy sky. At one point you pass a conglomeration of tents that have caught fire. People in stained clothes huddle around it for warmth and cook dubious hunks of meat over the flames.
A group of dirty children make a game of jumping in and out of mud puddles in your path, their faces ruddy in the firelight. Their game is accompanied by an odd rhyme:
Run and run, you cannot hide,
Close the doors and stay inside.
From the shadows he'll pass all locks,
No-one is safe where the Tall Man walks.
During your journey, you may use your Healer's Kit, if you have one.
The storm obscures stars and moon alike as you travel further into the shanties, keeping close to the river, seeking the building with a big diving bird painted on its side. Your only guide is a hazy orb glowing in the direction of Toran. You know it is the tower of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, glowing with the power of the magic contained there. It shines like a lone warrior standing against the storm, holding out until dawn. Only this dawn will bring horror instead of relief if you fail your hunt.
To your right the River Tor stretches out like a long black chasm. Old rotten docks and boathouses cling to its shores like flotsam. From one of the boathouses comes a strange green glow. Running down to it is a broken stone path.
Whispers drift to you, coming up from the boathouse. It should be impossible to hear over the storm but the susurration of the rain drifts away until only the voices are left. It is a chant which chills your bones, three sentences repeated over and over: Find Valeska. Kill Valeska. Take the vessel.
Your scar once again begins to itch madly.
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Mar 9, 2024 02:45
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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Investigate
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Mar 9, 2024 05:40
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- Guy Fawkes
- Aug 1, 2014
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Lvl 62, +5 meadow defense
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Mar 9, 2024 21:31
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- Tiggum
- Oct 24, 2007
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Your life and your quest end here.
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Marked for Death posted:You creep across the wooden planks of the dock, wincing at every groan and creak. The rain and the chanting masks your approach and soon you are peering through a hole in the wall of the boathouse, looking in at a nightmarish scene.
A dozen hunched figures stand in a line before a boat launching ramp which empties into the River Tor. Instead of clothes they wear rough burlap sacks or amalgamations of dirty rags sewn together in the rough shape of clothes. Where this leaves their arms or legs exposed you see scabrous gray skin. Their faces are completely obscured by red hoods and veils but each one is facing towards the ramp, where a solitary figure stands. He is tall and straight-backed, radiating power and poise. Silver hair tumbles down his back, unkempt and tangled. He does not wear the haphazard garb of his fellows but instead long tattered robes that might have once been blue.
"Tonight we will retrieve the Sindarin Vessel," the man says and though it is but a whisper, everyone falls silent as soon as he begins to speak. "Within mere hours our master will be free. The Brotherhood will fall. The sun will set on Sommerlund and a new dawn will rise, a red dawn. A dawn of blood and fire."
He turns to look back at his followers and you stifle a gasp: his face is that of a demon. It takes you a moment to realize it is a mask, though one so well made that you have trouble convincing yourself it is painted ceramic and not living flesh.
The man holds up a dark cloak in one hand and a sickle in the other. "I call a servant from beyond the grave. Rise, restless spirit. Rend the flesh, for we have brought your bloody sickle. Travel the darkness, for we have brought your cape of secrets. Tonight," the masked man cries, "the Tall Man walks once more."
One of the red-hooded figures suddenly spins around, hissing, and though their face is blocked by the veil you know they are looking directly at your peephole. You quickly pull back and run up the boardwalk before you can be caught. You do not stop running for over a mile, still shaken by what you have witnessed.
Continuing to travel the river's edge you see, looming up out of the darkness, a sagging old warehouse with only half a roof left. Upon one wall is a faded mural of a diving sea hawk, talons extended for the kill. You breathe a sigh of relief for you have found Valeska's hideout.
You step carefully through the dilapidated doorway underneath the giant hawk, your boots crunching on old debris and rotted wood. Rivulets of water run off broken pieces of roofing to fall like miniature waterfalls all around you. The shapes of shattered shelves and crates loom in the dark like trolls in a child's nightmare.
It takes you a long search through the debris before you find a wooden trapdoor embedded in the floor, held fast by a heavy padlock.
You retrieve your lockpicks and insert them into the keyhole. For all its impressive size the lock is not much different from any other on the inside. Within moments it pops open in your hand. You can keep the Heavy Padlock if you wish. It is a Backpack item. Beyond the trapdoor lies a set of old wooden stairs. While you are fairly certain no one heard your quick work on the lock, you draw a weapon just in case before descending.
Descending the stairs takes you to a stone basement lit by greasy lanterns which reek of rancid oil. The room is a maze of shelves, stacked crates and chests, each labeled with its ill- gotten goods: fruits from far off Dessi: wanlo from Mydnight; scrimshaw from Kalte.
Before long you come to a place where the corridors made by the stacks come together in a crossroads. Here there is a large, thick barred cell. As you pass, its occupant raises her tawny head and growls. It is an Elix, a descendant of the vicious Agarashi who once threatened all of Magnamund over a thousand years ago. These apex predators may have fallen from their glory days but they can easily kill even a skilled opponent with their deadly claws and lightning fast reflexes. To have one in a cage here in Toran is unthinkable. If it were to get free and into the slums... you shudder at the thought. A man comes around the edge of a pillar of boxes. He is middle-aged and not unattractive, with streaks of gray powdering the edges of his swept back hair. He is garishly dressed and jotting notes in a red journal which he holds in his left hand, a hand missing the third and fourth fingers.
"Valeska," you begin. "I've been sent by-"
But you never get to finish. Valeska drops his book in surprise and looks up with a horrified expression on his face. "You'll never get it," he says and darts to the cell door, drawing back the bolt keeping it shut. The door swings open and bangs against the stone wall loudly. Valeska fumbles in a coat pocket and draws out a silver whistle, which he blows into as he retreats around a corner.
From within the cage, the Elix opens luminous yellow-green eyes and lets out a hiss like a geyser erupting. Scars line its feline face, the results of years of training at the end of cruel Vassagonian whips.
Trained Elix: ENDURANCE 38
This marks the beginning of combat. All the following sections count as part of this single combat. Choose which Weapon(s) you are wielding, apply any Poisons, and remember you cannot change your Weapon(s) unless told so by the text, nor can you use Potions until combat is ended, except for a Potion of Alether, which you can drink now and whose effects last until combat is over. The Elix is immune to Skin Crawler Poison and resistant to Geffin Poison (it only activates on a 0) but is not immune to Viper's Bite.
- We have some Viper's Bite (+2 damage per round for one combat). Should we use it? You can make this conditional (eg. use it if the Combat Ratio is below 0).
- We have the option to evade. We could do so immediately, or if a particular condition is met.
- Otherwise we can simply fight to the death.
We had space so we did take the padlock. Our current (and maximum) Endurance is 25.
Edit: Fixed as per nelson's post below.
Tiggum fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Mar 10, 2024
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Mar 10, 2024 02:50
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 16, 2024 11:02
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- nelson
- Apr 12, 2009
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College Slice
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Correction:
[*]Viper's Bite Poison: +2 damage per round for one combat.
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Mar 10, 2024 03:22
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Mar 1, 2024 03:20
