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[Harry Baldman]

Spoiler:  Char (click to show/hide)

Name: Michael 'Mike' Schuler
Gender: Male
Archetype: Ghost

Biography: Mike used to be a simple potion trader. He travelled to many places as because of his profession. He enjoyed it too and he made a good living, but not mroe then that. One day, he got ambushed by bandits and died.

((oh, and would you mind sending me a PM when it's my turn?))

Of course. I intend to do that with all waitlisters.

[Greenstarfanatic]

Well, I damn well can't run away effectively, so...

Keep trying to gouge! If I can, grab a stick to help!

[peglegpengeuin]

Enter through door, head directly to Skip. Tell Skip situation and that, unless he can free me, we'll have to dual. Flee into the ground when Skip inevitably decides it easier to just kill me. Try to learn where the other undead went.

((Can zombies infect others? Cause a zombie bear minion would be cool.))

[Harry Baldman]

Faced with horrible danger at the paws of a bear, Jordan realizes that he has but one hope in the fight against Mama Bear - forsaking the rules of honorable dueling and finding a blunt object to crush the bear's skull!

[Jordan's search roll: 5]

He backs up from the bear and suddenly sees something lodged in a nearby tree stump - an axe! He pulls it out effortlessly!

[Jordan vs. BEAR: 5+1 vs. 6+1]

Jordan becomes a one-zombie axe whirlwind of death, quickly closing the distance between himself and the bear! The bear is caught off-guard by his unexpected mode of attack, rising on its hind legs and rolling backwards! It is unharmed aside from getting slightly dizzy!

[BEAR vs. Jordan: 4 vs. 4-1]

Once Jordan stops relentlessly swinging his axe at the air, the bear utilizes this window of opportunity to charge at him! Jordan has no time to dodge the pounce, and they both become tangled up, rolling off into the wilderness! The zombie-bear entanglement comes to a stop when it collides with a large oak tree, separating the two participants! Both of them are dizzy, but apparently unharmed!

Meanwhile, at the much more peaceful inn, James decides that, having no plan to kill Skip and nowhere to rush, he should use the opportunity to get filthy stinking rich from gambling with the drunken degenerate fools all around the inn.

[James gambling roll: 1]

The people around the inn turn out to not be drunken degenerates at all, but savvy gamblers with a keen insight into human (and, by extension, vampire) psychology! Oh no! James soon spirals into a gambling binge, at the end of which he is left with almost nothing, having lost his two copper coins, his prized pitchfork and even the clothes on his back! He still has his vial of blood, though, which was just too creepy to lose. He is left naked and helpless and, being a non-paying patron, gets hurled right out of the inn!

As James meets his horrid fate at the hands of those lousy card sharks. Bruce joins the non-gambling crowd, being a good observational learner. He attempts to get closer to the inner circle of the party people.

[Schmooze-a-go-go: 5]

Bruce, through suave body language, animal magnetism, pretending to be drinking and laconic, though sharp wit, moves throughout the party, gaining the widespread admiration of the guests, and soon finds himself right next to Skip Rogers himself, who currently seems to be attempting to gain his attention by recounting a roaring tale from one of the wilder parties he's been to.

"... so, next morning I woke up, I found myself in bed with a comely dwarf, a beautiful lady and a servus dressed entirely in steel plate armor. Now, this wouldn't be unusual in itself, but they were all talking about how I had rescued them from a giant magical dragon or something. But where it really gets strange is..."

[Dramatic entrance roll: 3]

Skip cannot finish his tale, unfortunately, because his attention is diverted to a spectral armored figure right next to him telekinetically pulling on his shirt sleeve!

[Explanation roll: 5]

"Skip Rogers! I come bearing pertinent information! Listen well, for it may decide your fate!"

"Okay, there's a ghost talking to me. You're all seeing this, right?"

The other people around him, including Bruce, who doesn't want to seem contrarian, confirm that Philip is indeed there. Skip nods, then snaps his fingers. A tiny glow emanates from his body. It dissipates in a second, leaving Skip completely sober. The room goes quiet.

"I have been bound by a necromancer most foul to end your life! I am giving you a choice: assist me with obtaining my freedom from the terrible mage or we shall have to duel to the death!"

"A necromancer, you say? Awful fellow, looks like death, with an ugly nose, has a creepy sister?"

"Yes, that is indeed him!"

"Freaking Bernie, man. I knew we shouldn't have invited him to the party. Guy just can't take a practical joke. I thought making him strip naked and dance at the Mystery Fair would loosen him up, guy's a total stiff, you know. But no, he just swears blood vengeance on you. Must have gotten a great focus somewhere if he can go around raising undead like you."

"Bernie is his name?"

"Yeah, Bernard von Glautzenheiser. We call him Bernie. Total asshole, but we try to live with him. Doesn't seem like he appreciates it one bit, judging from you being here."

"In any case, you were given a choice. Free me, or we shall fight to the death."

"Okay, man. You were straight with me, so I'll be straight with you - I can't free you. That's not how binding spells work, particularly Bernie's. Even if you kill Bernie, you aren't going to go free. You're just going to disperse, probably painfully if I know Bernie like I think I do. The only way to free yourself from his spell is if he releases you himself."

He pauses for a moment, his expression somewhat melancholic.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. So, what are you going to do?"

Spoiler: GM's Note (click to show/hide)

Zombies can't infect other living things with zombie-ism. They are, after all, merely corpses animated through magic. They can, however, become efficient transmitters of disease, just like vampires.

[anailater]

"Quick note, he's telling the truth, I've been sent by him too, are yo sure their is no one that can help us, your know mages don't you couldn't some one mind control him or something?."
Plead!

[TopHat]

Ask Samuel if he has anything i can borrow that might help, (like, say, Loaded dice) and charge back in for a rematch.

[Greenstarfanatic]

>FINISH HIM!

I have my axe, that's what I came for.

[Harry Baldman]

After Skip is done talking, Bruce feebly raises his hand.

"By the way, as long as we're making confessions here, I'd like to add that I'm here for the same reason as the ghost. And, speaking of which, couldn't you mind control Bernie to free us, or at least point us to somebody who could?"

Skip looks a bit surprised. "You're here to kill me too? How many of you are there? Anyway, it's a bit complicated, you see. Mind control is pretty easy, especially on a guy like Bernie. I've done it myself several times, in fact. However, simple mind control won't suffice. Binding is soul magic, and souls are pretty much impossible to control for us ordinary schmucks. To unbind somebody, you need the soul's cooperation, and forcing that is beyond the reach of mere mortals. You'd have to get a demon or something, and the Five Gods only know where you'd find one these days."

Outside the inn, James seeks out the scarecrow-skeleton Samuel, and asks him in Skeleton to lend him something helpful (that is to say, something to help him cheat at gambling) in the politest way possible. Samuel replies that he'd rather die than help the likes of James. My word, how impudent and rude!

Back in the forest...

[Jordan vs. BEAR: 1 vs. 2]

Jordan attempts to bring his axe down on the bear, but the instrument of death slips from his grasp mid-swing and flies off in an arc!

[Flight of the axe: 4]

Fortunately, the axe doesn't fly off very far, lodging itself in a tree right behind Jordan. The bear seems somewhat confused by this turn of events.

[BEAR vs. Jordan: 5 vs. 6-1]

Not one to question an advantage, the bear charges at Jordan once more! However, before it can topple the walking corpse, Jordan answers with a push of his own!

[Jordan strength: 6+1]

Channeling his fury at losing his only piece of worthwhile loot, Jordan pushes very hard indeed! Hard enough to send the bear flying backward into a tree, nearly shattering the trunk!

[Bear's endurance: 5+2]

The bear is merely shaken up by this horrific impact! Indeed, it appears to have become madder in the process! Why won't this bastard die?

[anailater]

"So we would need a demon to free us..., lastly do you have any spells that "fake"death because youre not a prick and i'd rather not kill you."
Demons i must know something about demons.

[Caerwyn]

Uuuugh. Do you have to update at 2AM? Sorry, but I was sleeping then...

Samuel will continue with the plan to kill Skip. But for now, he'll enter the bar, and talk to one of Skip's men. Try and enter a few games of dice with him, bet whatever coins are required. If all goes well, bet the remaining coins, wagered against information on Skip.

[TopHat]

DAMMINIT!
"You're already dead. Idiot."Charge in, accuse the card sharps of cheating. Bar fight!

((sorry. Gotta get that pitchfork back))

[Greenstarfanatic]

"GODDAMMIT DIE!"

Grab the axe and keep swinging!

[Firelordsky]

Look for anyone that's isolated.

[Harry Baldman]

Jordan is starting to get quite peeved at this bear's unusual perseverance! He decides to grab his axe and swing like mad!

"I say, would you be so kind as to GODDAMMIT DIE ALREADY!"

[Jordan vs. BEAR: 4+1 vs. 4]

He swings! He swings again! And again! And again! The bear's nose is slightly grazed by the axe blade, making it recoil in pain! However, the bear flips right back into action!

[BEAR vs. Jordan: 6+1 vs. 5-1]

The bear roars and leaps at Jordan, sinking its teeth into Jordan's belly!

[Bear saving throw vs. awful taste: 5]

It doesn't seem bothered by the taste of what is essentially carrion! It tears a chunk of belly-flesh out of Jordan, surprising the zombie, but not causing any pain to speak of. Being dead sure has its advantages!

Back at the inn, Bruce appears to desire yet more information from Skip.

"So, you say a demon could free us. Could you tell me more about these demons?"

"Demons? Well, there is what I know from books - to make a long story short, they used to inhabit this world, but the Five Gods drove them out. You'd have to find an expert on the subject to find out more."

"Expert on the subject, got it. Anyway, you've been nothing but helpful this entire time, knowing full well that we came here to kill you. I figure you're, well, not a prick, and I don't really want to kill you."

"Thank you, I suppose."

"Perhaps you could fake your death somehow? Then we wouldn't have to kill you."

"Faking my death could work, I guess. Did he ask for any specific proof of my death?"

"Your head."

"I could whip up an illusion of it, I guess. How close it'll be to the real thing is another question. Guess there's no way out but to try it."

[Skip's illusion roll: 2]

He makes an arcane gesture and mumbles a little bit, and an image of his own severed, bloody head appears in his hand! Seeing his own possible death up close is too much for Skip, however, and the illusion quickly dissipates.

"Oh man. Sorry. I don't think I could pull that off again, unfortunately. Took a lot out of me."

Meanwhile, Samuel chooses to leave the dejected James behind and just stroll into the inn. He finds one of the mages in Skip's group and tugs on his robe.

[Mage reaction roll: 6]

"Holy crap, look, Skip, it's another one of those undead guys!"

"Doesn't seem very hostile. What does it want?"

[Non-verbal skeletal communication roll: 6]

Samuel grabs the mage by the collar and drags him slightly away from the rest of the group. He is eyed with suspicion by the rest.

However, that suspicion quickly dissipates when Samuel produces a set of dice from his pocket and holds them out to the mage.

"You want... to play dice?"

The skeleton nods.

"Uh... okay?"

[Samuel gambling roll: 6+2]

Samuel wins the first round! And the second! And the third! And seven more!

"The dice are loaded, aren't they?" the mage finally asks.

Samuel nods contently.

"I don't suppose I could get my money back?"

Samuel holds up his oaken walking stick menacingly.

"Alright then. I'll be... going now?"

The mage proceeds back to the group. Not bad, all in all - Samuel has cheated the mage out of 55 copper coins! No information, though. Just as well - Samuel probably couldn't have articulated a complex concept like that, anyway.

James, on the other hand, decides to take a far less devious approach to dealing with gamblers. He runs into the inn, stark naked and everything, and accuses the three card sharks of cheating!

[Card shark reaction roll: 1]

The three card sharks quietly approach James.

"You say we cheated? Are you sure of what you said?"

"Most assuredly!"

"Do you have proof?"

"Proof?"

"Yes, proof. Something to back up your claim that we actually cheated, rather than used our skill at cards and your lack thereof to honorably part you from your belongings."

[James resistance roll: 3]

"Well, no, not as such, no."

"So, for all you know, your accusations are simply slander of the foulest, most unfounded sort."

"Uh..."

"So it is, then. I'm afraid we have to demand some sort of compensation."

"But you have everything I owned! All I have is this measly bottle of virgin's blood!"

"It will have to do. I hear virgin's blood is in high demand among mages. I'm sure we'll find a buyer."

"But..."

They pry the bottle from your hands.

"Now, gentlemen, it appears that we have had our fun this evening. Shall we depart?"

One of the silent ones makes some complicated hand gestures. All three of them disappear in a puff of smoke along with all of your belongings.

In the meantime, Vincent, still managing to stay completely unnoticed, scans the room for any solitary marks for undoubtedly dark purposes.

[Vincent search roll: 2]

Unfortunately, all the marks seem to have gathered in the center of the room. Vincent takes a disappointed sip from his tankard of beer, then watches it drip on his seat with even greater disappointment.

[Greenstarfanatic]

"I SAY, GIVE ME BACK MY TORSO!"

Go for the belly! And the neck!