((Averted!))
Turn Four: In Which The Power Of Heart Is Not Quite Useless And I Write In Annoying Caps
Motioning all others to hold off fighting, Taren tries to negoitate with the ratmen. (2) But either he did not make himself understandable enough, or the ratmen really don't like the concept of cooperating with people that until now have tried to viciously kill them, or the bear is just that scary. Either way, negoitations have failed. Prepare for the worst!
Roll for initiative!
Hel: 4
Elen: 5
Apollo: 4
Taren: 6 (-3)
Rath: 3 (-7)
Remy: 6
XBowrat 2: 6
Sergeant: 4
Remy:Try to free myself, say "screw this", and shoot at the sergeant as normally and unfancily as possible.
(4) Chain revolvers - or gun chucks, if you insist - are really just two shooting weapons chained together. The chain revolver master might be able to make miracles happen in close quarters, but not someone who has had the weapon for maybe one hour. That kind of person probably wants to use it as a regular shooting weapon. Of course, chain revolvers are not optimized for longer ranges, as they are terribly inaccurate then. But, in a room such as this one, long range is not a given.
Remy doesn't waste time thinking all of this. He just unwraps the chain carefully, aims, and then shoots once from each. (4+1)(3+1) However, the shots at best leave unseemly dents in the sergeant's armor.
The remaining crossbowrat (4) views this as a challenge. He himself frantically disengages, then aims at Remy, and pulls the trigger. (5) But, shaken by the recent events, he, too, misses.
Elenor:
If they have not surrendered yet:
Keep the shield raised. Rest the tip of the crossbow against the ground, pull the string, lodge the bolt, raise it once more over the shield. Hold my breath, aim at the sergeant's head and shoot.
(1) Shield: Raised. Crossbow: Assuming reloading position. String: pulled... bolt... hey, where did you put your bolts?
Taren wastes the rest of the turn unsuccessfully rummaging for his bolts.
The sergeant (5), after the short diplomatic interlude, continues his single combat with Taren. He fights well, forcing him on the defensive (4) but Taren still manages to parry all the blows, if barely. He won't be able to keep this up for long?!
Helskaya:Charge towards Ratherio to clear the enemy away from him, then de-transform, and apply all the healing I have directly to his heart.
(5) But here comes Helskaya, also known as OH GOD WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE BEARS to save the day! (1) The sergeant is too engrossed in his combat to notice the polar bear charge, and (1) he is knocked into the crossbowrat, sending them both flying against the wall, where they get into an unholy tangled mess. Neither of them is probably going to stand up any time soon now, until, say, the next necromancer (that is not currently bleeding out) comes along.
Seeing that he is done with that part, Helskaya detransforms, and (6) gets all his healing, heart and spirit focused up in his finger and JAMS it straight into Rath's heart, ignoring the cries of pain. And lo, it works, although there might be less painful, risky or gross methods of achieving this goal. Ratherio is no longer in mortal danger, but Hel, on hindsight, fears that some of the spirits he used for this shining finger healing method might stick around, which could lead to unforeseen consequences.
But whatever. On all counts, the day is saved.
Helskaya: New Spell Discovered:
Shining Finger Spirit Healing!
It works through focusing your energy and then some onto a finger (perhaps other objects?), and then jamming that finger into the part that needs healing. Despite the pain, it works!
Apollo:Toss Borno my healing potion. Then try to shoot the sergeant again, but no stance of baddassery.
(5) Tossing potions directly at people is not really proper usage of potions. But, there are always idiots to try, to the point where there are warnings and do-nots on most common potion flasks specifically about this. Besides, this painkiller (probably) needs to be ingested orally, not through contact. Apollo is not quite sure.
But, well, Hel seems to have the situation under control. Still, what does this thing here do, it has to be found out...
So the mad sciencist applies one of the basics of mad science: There is no such thing as an involuntary guinea pig. Everyone is eligible for experimentation. And, such, Apollo feeds Ratherio some of the experimental potion.
(roll hidden) You're not quite sure what it did. But he has stopped screaming. So... might have worked?
Apollo then shoots the sergeant, just because. But all he achieved was the waste of some gunpowder.
Taren:>Attempt to Heal my wounded allies..
(2) The major wounds have been taken care of. Seeing no real injuries around to blow his magic on, Taren just lets it be.
Ratherio:(1) Uhhhhh... ugh... urgh... uhh... ummnhhh... nhhh...
You slip away, into a world far stranger than anything you have seen so far...
Drifting through the endless sea of chaos...
--
Ratmen party: Five ratmen: Two warriors armed with axe, buckler and leather armor, two crossbowmen with crossbows and cloth armor, and one sergeant with scimitar, shield and scalemail with helmet.
All of them are in different and exciting states of death.
--
The ratmen party being officially wiped, Taren, who so far has felt rather useless, rounds up the loot. The following remains:
Small crossbow x1
Cheap Leather Armor x1
Buckler x2
Rusty Axe x2
Ratman cloth x1
Officer's Scimitar x1
Worn shield x1
Wrecked scalemail x1
Officer's helmet x1
The other characters get their belongings and projectiles together, with the exception of Helskaya, who is busy with Ratherio. After a while, the other medically skilled come to him, worried about the state of affairs.
"What's wrong with him?" Elenor asks.
"...he doesn't feel whole." the shaman replies.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"There is always a light and a dark side. But all I see is a shell with no shadow, no darkness."
"But he seems to have a shadow...? Yes, he does?" Taren seems to have some difficulties following.
"Well, you only see the light, do you... learn to look beyond it. This man has his light and his shadow severed."
"And what's that supposed to mean exactly?" It was hard to get angry with the... man? kid? geezer? who just had essentially wiped the ratman party on his own. You owed him.
"Well, how to explain that... care to hear a story? It explains the matter pretty well..."
"Please, could I get the short version?" Elenor was not really keen on spending too much time on this.
"...bluntly put, the corporeal is light. And beyond it lies the shade. And this kid here," he motions toward the patient, "I don't know why, there is many unknowns here... but, well, his spirit, his mind no longer inhabits this body."
"That's all?"
"There's a whole lot more to that..."
"We don't need to know the details, the overview was enough. Thanks. And... how can we save him?"
"I don't know... but I can try."
"We're staying here until you are done?"
"...no need for that. I'll just need a guard, someone who wakes me when things turn upside down here..." Helskaya's gaze wanders over the group. "Volunteers?"
"The others, they can just continue exploring. I think that there won't be many monsters around anymore... this looks like their main living room." In fact, there is quite a lot of straw, and some food around. One has to wonder how that went unnoticed...
--
Apart from the way you came in, there is a locked door, and two other ways. It is to be assumed that the key is somewhere around in those two ways.
OOC: Railroading? Sure.
But I don't want the entire party to be held up because Rath/Hel have their own little subquests/problems now...
Character sheets.
Helskaya Arkut (lawastooshort)
Status: Satisfied!
Injuries: None.
Equipment: Pair of knives (one large, one small),
northern white bear jawbone on necklace, northern white bearskin.
Inventory: Wet stone, firestone, pot, spoon, three leather pouches varying in size, pestle and mortar, dried meat rations for several plus more days, filled waterskin, flour, Lesser Herbal Medicine, Lesser Blade Poison, 0 cp.
Skills: Herbal Medicine; Shamanic Magic; Knowledge (Legends of the North)
Elenor Warsen (Caellath)
Status: Normal.
Injuries: None.
Equipment:
Masterwork Armor, Longsword, Crossbow,
Dragon Crest ShieldInventory: Medical kit, small supplies bag, 5 cp, Potion of Lesser Healing, Painkiller Potion.
Skills: Swordsmanship, Dodging, Marksmanship, Medical care.
Apollo Anderson
(Spinal_Taper)Status: Normal.
Injuries: Bruise, right shoulder.
Equipment: Reinforced lab coat,
Dagger,
Rudimentary Rifle,
Inventory: Bullets, Gunpowder, various pouches and bags, Experimental Painkiller (?) Potion, 4 cp.
Skills: Alchemy: Chemistry, Alchemy: Potion brewing, Alchemic Magic: Rudimentary Enchantments, Metal Working.
Taren Creyn (Tiruin)
Status: Normal.
Injuries: None.
Equipment: Broadsword, Crossbow, Longbolt ammunition, white cloak, grey tunic, belt, solid holey leather boots.
Inventory: Whet stone, one filled waterskin, Cloth, lots of rations, 3 cp.
Skills: White Magic: Healing, Anatomy, Swordsmanship, Marksmanship
Ratherio Houston (borno)
Status: Spirited away...
Injuries: Scratches on face. Cut on left leg.
Equipment: Purple robes of death!
TM, Wand of death!
TMStaff of death!
TMDagger of death!
TM Ring of death.
Inventory: 0 cp,
Debt notice, Scrolls of: Leaden, Monovolt, Lesser Silence, Flare Arrow.
Skills: Black Magic: Death Magic, Black Magic: Chaos Magic, Agility
Remy Maelle (Remaelle)
Status: Normal.
Injuries: None.
Equipment: A spirit talisman, knife, leather armour, traveling clothes, a backpack, Vintage pair of Chain Revolvers, 14 cp.
Inventory: Bedroll, rope, tinderbox, enough food to last a few days,
Debt notice.
Skills: Shamanistic Magic: Elementalism, Agility, Quick Reflexes, Hand-to-Hand Combat.