Turn 21a: A Brief Respite
Caelondian Lower SectorEnidri sprints off towards the source of the sound, making use of his better physical condition to leave the group of guards far behind and leaving Fornax to heal the wounded man.
If the guardswoman happens to follow him, since she is also in a good physical condition:
When there is no one nearby, the smith executes quick sweeps aimed at the woman's legs only to make her fall goofily to the ground, without hurting her. After downing her, he immediately turns to stare at the woman. Coldly.
Enidri bowed his head in thought, in his mind he easily interpreted what the woman said as
"I am pretending your help is not needed, but in fact I really do want you to tag along, simply because I am a weakling." He looked to Fornax, still intent on acting as if he could not see nor hear the woman but acknowledging the others.
"Fornax, please assist Ferric, for he seems in dire need of healing. Follow him and come back to my side as soon as he is in a better shape."He could hear the agreement of the Wisp, seeing it fly from Wilhelm to Ferric, with the latter amazed at the movement
patterns it made around his body as they moved towards the Stockades.
He turned towards both men after a few steps - ignoring Syra - and rested the handle of Fulgor on his right shoulder, stopping the group in their tracks.
"You may be brave and men of honor, but there is no glory in rushing to the fray whilst your bodies still sustain major injuries from battles past. That would only be inviting death, and destruction should be your adversary's destiny, not yours. You should head to a safe place, maybe the barracks itself. I would accept you following me if you just stayed put, but I believe you would not be happy just by watching the battle. I also think I have not introduced myself, even though I know your names. My name is Enidri Verace, and I am an apprentice blacksmith."The smith executes a quick half-bow to the men while walking.
"As for your 'Scryer', you should also take her with you. She is too frail and her presence on the field would only imply constantly trying to defend her from certain death. As for me, I am heading to the 'stockades' to discover the source of the howl as quickly as possible."The expressions on the guardsmen's faces turn from that of stern joy, to curiosity. "Hey, we can handle ourselves. You may be a mercenary, but it isn't arms or armor that-..."
But whatever they had to say were eclipsed by the sounds of metal boots, as Enidri spun quickly about and began his run, passing a corner and leaving his only other companion with those he wished it to be with. He couldn't get lost, the sound was firmly etched into his mind, and it was as tranquil as a grave at this hour. After a
few steps, he suddenly felt the tug of a string from behind, as if it was latched onto his back. As he glanced back, he could see the figure of the scryer right behind him, crystal in hand.
"
You aren't going anywhere, Enidri! You don't know what you're getting in-Aaaagh!"
Enidri smiled as he turned about and drew back his halberd, approaching the downed person. The shaft was long enough to reach back, being held near the blade, and light enough to take a person off balance if they weren't expecting it. Or if they deserved it, for that matter.
Syra lay prone on the ground as she looked upon the man, seeing only his cold stare in return. "
What was that for?!" she cursed, trying to stand up. No reply came from the young smith as he returned back to his goal at hand, offering her nothing else but a turn of the heel.
He was sure that nothing would follow him again, except for Fornax, if he called it back.
Passing another alley, a sight catches the Smith's keen eye. A group of about eight men clad in the livery of the Caelondian Guard were advancing eastwards upon what seemed to be a group of five, huddled together and in front of a rather large warehouse on the road perpendicular to his.
He could sense that whatever caused the noise was nearby. He could actually feel the ominous presence.
But he could also feel something off from those five. They seemed very familiar in a way, but like strangers in turn. Something he couldn't put his finger on. A Dwarf, a tall man and his companion and two other things, indistinct in the lighting.
Were they connected to this occurrence somehow?
Health: 25/25
10/10Inventory:
Silver Crystal,
Consecrated Steel Broadsword,
Steel Heater shield | Grey Cloth Tunic | Medium Helmet
Health: 35/50 (
Stalwart)
Inventory:
Wooden Training Dagger |
Steel Kite shield | Grey Cloth Tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Health: 13/30
0/10 (?)
Inventory:
Iron Dagger |
Copper Chainmail | Grey Cloth Tunic | Rimmed Helmet | Bloody Black Cloak
Healing Wisp 'Fornax' - Attached.
~~
In the Cemetery of BlackmarshTry to focus on what the presence is.
Cog: Enslave Spectre.
Skeletal Warrior: Defend me. Again.
Ghouls: Keep an eye out for any more newcomers.
The skeleton snapped it's neck, causing everyone to jump and return to their state of alertness, staying close to it's owner. Cog was unsure if it was intentionally doing that but turned his gaze at the Spectre's form, moving forward with a grin.
He tapped the thing with his finger, it did not react. His grin turned into one of triumph. "Oho! You're mine now! You. WILL. OBEY!"
Cog feels his own energy drain and pass onto the calcium-encrusted figure in front of him, breaking down the spell weave and freeing the being inside. As the fragments fell to the ground, it wailed once more. A wail that neither affected him or the man near him, as it came across one like a greeting.
From up close, Cog could see the being in all it's splendour. It was hovering almost an inch from the ground, covered in tattered garments of a dark shade that spread over the whole body and supported the creature as if it really was flying. The Spectre was vaguely humanoid in figure, though currently missing it's old garments, any distinguishable features were eclipsed by it's current clothing, other than the tendrils still poking out from it's chest.
It appeared lacking in power, as if part of it's sustenance was dispersed upon it's entombment. However, his pondering is interrupted by the other man as he taps him on the shoulder.
. . .
Tyver concentrates on the presence, now that the battle was over. He could feel an entity far more powerful than anything he has faced viewing the land, it's focus now currently on their position. It has seen them.
Before he could retract his own, the presence calms and makes itself felt in the form of thought. To be sure, he taps the other person to alert him before continuing his action.
What began as distant mumbling in their heads grew into a barely audible whisper, then as if the sound was coming from right next to them, but in a pleading tone.
"Return. Get out. Return.
My followers, heed my call.
Return. Listen. Return."The voice repeats itself incessantly, but the sound is not irritating to the mind, as if shifting to the background as the two listen on, slowly directing it's origins through visualization. It seemed to be coming from outside of the city, in the general direction of the sea.
The direction where the Storm was coming from, as viewed by the distant flashes of lightning.
Health: 100/100 (
Eri's Deal | +1 to Magic Resistance for
4 battle turns.)
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Backstory: Shalla was the daughter of a windmill owner, which meant she was too poor to not work but too affluent to go shovel muck all day. As a compromise, she mostly split her time between helping out with the mill, so as to be useful, and trying to improve her education and refinement, so as to be both useful and refined, which her parents hoped would allow her to squeeze into a political marriage with someone slightly more affluent than herself. She figured a brief stint in the sewers would both allow her to claim a hint of experience as an adventurer, adding a bit of mystique and excitement to her eventual marriage proposal, and give her a break from learning to appear learned, which would lessen her desire to hang herself.
Inventory: Mound of treasure (+3 buying modifier for the next mercantile turn) |
Blue staff of the Ancients |
Thaumaturgical Vambrace | Cloth Clothing |
Tome of MagickaCompanion/s:
Undead Hippo
Health:40/40 (+10 Healing Aura, heals those around it)
Undead Human "Hound"
Health: 40/40 (can use misc. heavy items around area, adding to combat roll, used via
action)
Inventory:
Giant Tombstone Undead Skeleton
Inventory:
Sacrificial knife Health:40/40
3x Necromancer Apprentice'
Health: 50/50 ([Necromancer A 20/20] [Necromancer B 10/10] [Necromancer C 20/20])
Inventory: Basic Robes | Basic Staves
Health: 45/100 (+1 to all dark arts for 3 and above rolls)
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Backstory: Adil was long ago a novice engraver at a small dwarven outpost close by until it was overrun by honey badgers. He was one of the ones that escaped, but had to sustain himself by scavenging the sewers, as it turns out above ground towns don't have much in the way of stone to smooth.
Inventory: Black Robe | Cloth Clothing
Companion/s:
Undead alligator
Health: 35/40 (+1 Combat modifier, mountable)
Mass of Flesh
Health: 15/25 (
Corrosive |
Mentally Sentient |
Bio-luminescent )
Health: 90/110 (+1 to looting and raiding | +1 to rolls involving clouds)
Gender: Female
Race: Elf
Backstory: Ima was captured by a human warlord as a child during the human raid on The Wood of Rainbows, a small and long-forgotten elven outpost in a unicorn-filled forest. She escaped in her fifty-third year of slavery with a group of other elves; they traveled through deep jungles and traitorous marshes into another human kingdom, the one where citizens were treated equally regardless of their race. Once their trek was over, they split up and began their new lives as free citizens... though by no means rich citizens, of course.
Ima was luckier than most of other escapees: she managed to become an apothecary's apprentice. Today, she was tasked with collecting high-quality pigtails - and the best pigtails there were grew on concentrated dung-water deep in the sewers, so Ima decided to go there with the first party of adventurers she saw.
Inventory: Iron Cutlass (+1 combat modifier) | Cloth Clothing |
Smoke PowderCompanion/s:
Demonic Bat
Health 10/10 (Life drain, regenerates and can gain more health via sucking out a creatures
life force)
Undead Swarm of Fish
Health: 40/40 (Landwalker |
Shrouded in Darkness |
Smokescreen)
Undead Barracuda
Health: 30/30 (
Flight)
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Health: 55/100
Backstory: Leon was born to a merchant, and as such travelled a lot when he was younger. When he came of age, he began his own trading career with funding from his father to get started. For the past few years, he has been working in this town/city/village.
Inventory:
Brusher's Pike | Cloth Clothing
Companion/s:
Horde of Rats
Health: 40/40 (Equipped with a Fear spell)
Ast
Health: 70/70 (Sentient |
Inconspicuous)
Inventory:
Steel Battleaxe |
Metal-reinforced leather armourHealth: 70/100
Gender:male
Race: Dwarf
Backstory: Tyver was a rouge working alone. He did some adventuring work around town mostly killing bandits and returning lost items. (or not) He has gained a small amount of notoriety in Blackmarsh and was always interested in gaining power for himself.
Inventory:
Copper Pike | Leather Tunic
Companion/s:
Undead Dog "Fluffy"
Health: 30/40 (+1 combat modifier | Sentient)
Inventory:
Dark Linen CloakUndead Human
Health: 50/60
Inventory:
Aged Vestments ;
Obsidian Visage Health: 95/100
0/30 (Can use Body Magic with a -1 modifier |
Adept Smith)
Gender: Male
Race: Human.
Backstory: A very calm and young weapon and armorsmith of a small family which saw its business get thrown to the dirt due to the constant flow of dwarven-made equipment, the boy decided to cast away his old name and find him a new one after his last living relative, his older brother, withered and died in the nameless' early to mid teens. After a couple of years living of what he could get with odd jobs, he is finally ready to give the finishing touches in his self-made equipment and leave his rotten husk of a house, intent on following the plans he had been nourishing and training for since he heard various travelers tell stories about how the dwarven nobles were extremely unbearable and susceptible to a multitude of Unfortunate Accidents.
Inventory:
Copper Mail ;
Medium Steel Plate and Helm ;
Tempered Steel Halberd "Fulgor" | Cloth Tunic
Companion/s:
Healing Wisp "Fornax"
Health: 25/25 (Sentient | +10 Healing Aura |
Thermal Adaptation)
Health: 80/100 (
Mental Exhaustion)
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Backstory: Zakroff grew up as a pick-pocket, and a thief trying to earn a living where he was forced to live underneath a makeshift hut of sticks, and rotted planks. He seeks power, and wealth, but not for personal gain, instead he wants to get back at the people who aim to gain power just for themselves.
Inventory: Cloth Tunic ;
Twin Shadow Daggers (
Blazing Weapons)
Companion/s:
Venerable Knight "Pallas"
Health: 50/75 (Sentient |
Wreathed in flame |
Distrust)
Inventory:
LongswordHealth: 90/100
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Backstory: Born in Blackmarsh, Cog was orphaned at a young age after his parents were killed by bandits. He was taken in by an old necromancer who taught him about the dark art. He is traveling in search of other necromancers in order to learn more.
Inventory: Cloth Tunic, Traveling Cloak
Companion/s:
Skeletal Warrior
Health: 20/40
0/10 (
Fragile)
Inventory:
Rusty Shortblade |
Bronze hauberkSpectre
Health: 50/50 (
Counterattack |
Ethereal |
Unholy |
Shriek)
Inventory:
-
2x Ghoul
Health: 20/25 ; 15/25
Inventory:
-
Global Bonuses:Blessing of Lightbane; Crand's Folly
Notes:
> Nothing else of note. Other than this. Note.
Adil ; Leon ; Enidri: Outside the Warehouse; Caelondia's lower sector
Ima: Off the coast of Nat's Cove, heading towards Gin
Zakroff ; Shalla: In front of Blackmarsh's Librarium
Cog ; Tyver: Blackmarsh's Graveyard
Oh wait, we have everybody, right?
Yes, we do. And depending on the outcome of my action, things'll get even more awkward. It does not involve spanking, however.
What?
Author
Topic: Kings of Death - A Necromancy RTD: Turn 24: Blood and Honor (Read 39096 times)