Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 262384 times)

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #1275 on:** July 06, 2016, 01:49:23 pm »

Crap. Uh, I need to scare them off.

"What in the world can that be?!" I point into the distance, then run in the opposite direction and shout "SEA," hoping to give the guards a bit of a splash.

Toaster · « **Reply #1276 on:** July 06, 2016, 08:12:58 pm »

"Right. Uh. Over we go?"

Toss it across into a sturdy-looking target. Let's get this crossing going!

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #1277 on:** July 07, 2016, 04:03:10 am »

Quote from: Xantalos on July 06, 2016, 12:26:16 pm

"I certainly have no objection to meeting stoatmen in an advantageous position. What opportunity would this be?"

Thanks for actually being helpful, guard. Now, what was this you said about ~~free souls~~ stoatys?

She hasn't exactly cleared this with the queen yet, but the fact is that she now finds herself with a battle-ready force of 60 or so guardsmen and no doubt a couple dozen volunteers once the mission becomes clear without a particularly intimidating opposing force to stand in their way. And also something of a dearth of supplies, as it often happens in a prolonged siege. Fortunately, she reasons, there's a perfectly good occupied town just a slight distance downriver that likely did produce enough spare supplies to feed a force ten times this size. So unless Mr. Minstep's chaperones return with news of a massive force located in the town, she's thinking a raid may be in order. Lots of loot, no doubt some property damage, probably some relatively light violence, prisoners of war, that kind of thing. Interested?

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on July 06, 2016, 01:11:29 pm

"If you don't need it, then I wouldn't mind having it. Better keep it with us than let this guy keep it."

Do we have any rope here? Gotta tie the man down so he won't go bother his friend outside. Or if I fail to find any, make the stoat promise he won't go anywhere. Pinky promise. Enforced with lies about making him experience the pain of being nailed on ceiling with thousand nails. I'm a minder you know, I can do it.
Then, time to find our man. Or next member of opposing party.

Lee shrugs and tosses you the falchion, then proceeds up the stairs cautiously, making very little sound as she skulks along the steps.

[Handy Restraints: 2]

Unfortunately ropes are not as ubiquitous a thing as you would like around here. Well, at least you can't see any within reach. You guess you'll need to utilize more creative methods. You turn to the beaten guard and crouch down so that you are heard and understood.

[Mystical Intimidation: 1]

You inform him that you are a minder, and command frankly unheard-of powers of suggestion and destruction. Such as the power of alcoholic grapefruit, or self-propelled stories, or climbing trees when nobody is looking, oh yes! These are but a small sampling of your dread powers, rest assured!

The guard continues to be semi-conscious in response. You guess that's good enough, right? You sort of manipulate his stubby little pinky finger and flap his mouth a bit to make him do something not unlike a promise to not run off on you now. It'll do!

Quote from: penguinofhonor on July 06, 2016, 01:49:23 pm

Crap. Uh, I need to scare them off.

"What in the world can that be?!" I point into the distance, then run in the opposite direction and shout "SEA," hoping to give the guards a bit of a splash.

What indeed.

SEA

[Word: 6]

It's not quite the sea, of course, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise, an enormous wave rising up from the river and coming your way at an unnerving pace. The guards don't really look at first, but the roar of rushing water catches their attention soon enough.

[Extraordinary Dodge: 1]

You decide to run in the opposite direction, and soon discover that outrunning a tidal wave is a lot harder than you'd think as a mass of water hits you in the back and carries you increasingly quickly along the grounds, breaking over the moat and propelling you into the wall of the castle at a very high velocity.

A minute passes as you float up to the surface of the moat, battered and bruised, and take a gander at what your use of magic has wrought.

[A Less Than Extraordinary Dodge: 4]

The guards, unlike yourself, appear to have gone for the winning strategy of finding nearby holes to dive into, their ditch-finding instincts superior to your own. As such they seem largely unharmed, if seemingly very wet and quite startled to the point where they don't appear to be feeling quite as unseemly a level of hunger.

[Unearthed Treasures: 3]

What also seems to have happened is that your wave has loosened the pile of debris quite well, and it seems considerably less tall than you remember. You wonder if it's perhaps also waterlogged now, which wouldn't bode well for anything buried at the bottom.

Quote from: Toaster on July 06, 2016, 08:12:58 pm

"Right. Uh. Over we go?"

Toss it across into a sturdy-looking target. Let's get this crossing going!

[Over the River and Far Away: 3]

You swing the hook in a circular motion, building up a bit of momentum as you step up to the river, and then-

[Excellent Positioning: 2]

SEA

-see? You can see just fine, thank you. Wait, what's the river doing, you ask as you see its watery mass suddenly rise toward you. Aha, shouts the guard with you, he knew it was working with the stoats!

[Extraordinary Dodge: 1]

You are about to reply, but you are caught up in the somewhat inconvenient several hundred tons of water that smack right into you and take you off your feet, your grappling hook sailing through as you instinctively throw it at the wave. This does not help you in the least.

The next minute or so of your life is spent trying and failing to somehow get out of this strange variety of inclement weather as you are dashed against every knoll and bit of debris on the way, eventually finding yourself deposited in the depths of the castle's moat, emerging half-drowned about a hundred meters away from your original position and about ten meters away from a similarly distressed Ms. Minett, who looks concernedly toward a group of guards recovering from a fortuitous dodge back at the edge of the camp.

[Less Than Extraordinary Dodge: 5]

You spend about a minute getting your bearings and coughing out the water from your lungs, and by this point the Worm-knight, drenched but not at all harmed otherwise, has arrived, checking to see if you're all right. The other guard elected to keep watch on the river in case it tried anything else, she informs you, and also to secure that surprisingly competent grapple you managed in spite of being caught in a most unnatural tidal wave.

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AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #1278 on:** July 07, 2016, 05:23:45 am »

"Good."

Follow Lee. Find our man.

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #1279 on:** July 07, 2016, 05:50:48 am »

Well... that was about what I expected.

"Hey!" I shout, making my way toward the pile. "Are you still in there? Climb upward!"

I clear some more debris off the top.

Xantalos · « **Reply #1280 on:** July 07, 2016, 11:54:06 am »

"Hmm. I'll have to check on my blacksmith-finding progress before I go, since given how things have gone every time I exited the vicinity for more than two minutes I wouldn't be surprised if if I came back to a pile of rubble. One moment, I'll meet you back here."

Go ask that guy I threw into the tunnel if he found the blacksmith yet.

TopHat · « **Reply #1281 on:** July 07, 2016, 11:57:46 am »

Execute the plan, I guess

Toaster · « **Reply #1282 on:** July 08, 2016, 12:52:21 am »

"Flood insurance." Thomas coughed. "This is why you need flood insurance. You never know when the waters will rise. See, it hasn't even been raining, and yet there was a flood burst. All it has to do is rain upstream and your home is washed away. Or perhaps an ice dam burst. Anyway. Uh, yes. We can discuss flood insurance terms on the way.

Use the grappled rope to cross. Maybe let one of them go first and copy their technique. Save the sales pitch for the walk.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #1283 on:** July 08, 2016, 07:31:26 am »

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on July 07, 2016, 05:23:45 am

"Good."

Follow Lee. Find our man.

You head upstairs, falchion in hand, and find yourself in something that reminds you of an office, though slightly reorganized. There's a painting on one of the walls, for one, featuring an unusual-looking old man. It seems to have been considerably vandalized, the eyes cut out, unflattering smears of charcoal painting suggestive shapes and highly profane words on the canvas.

The rest of the room is hardly better, with a desk nearby strewn with recently used sharp tools of unorthodox shapes, all stained with a great deal of dried blood, and also with a similarly bloodstained selection of feathers of various sizes and origins, and even with some other things you're not at all sure as to the purpose of. Then there's a somewhat modified wine press that appears to be serving as a vice, and a couple of hammers lying on the ground next to it. And there's a small coffee table on one side of the room, seemingly brought in from elsewhere, stacked with a variety of snacks and refreshments, all of them without a doubt less than a couple hours old.

Finally in the middle of the room there is a chair that likely used to be quite comfy before somebody covered it in broken glass. Tied to this chair is a dark-skinned, middle-aged man, his eyes a little delirious as he stops staring at Lee, who has evidently been studying him in turn, to look over at you. You notice that both his feet and one of his hands look... well, less than whole. Crushed, partly diced, salted and then ineptly dressed, it seems that his captors have wanted to drag this out for as long as possible, which they've likely succeeded in.

[Plots Within Plots: 3]

Aha, says he! He knew you'd arrive sooner or later, oh yes.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on July 07, 2016, 05:50:48 am

Well... that was about what I expected.

"Hey!" I shout, making my way toward the pile. "Are you still in there? Climb upward!"

I clear some more debris off the top.

[Brave Rescue: 3]

Well, whoever's down there seems to still be alive, you suspect as the pile shuffles in response to your activity. You start pulling off the remaining bits of debris.

[Inspirational Assistance: 4]

The three guards scratch their heads for a short while before getting over to help out as well, and soon the massive pile of assorted watery goods is completely gone, one last bit of canvas hiding the shape beneath. You do the honors of pulling it off.

At the bottom of the pile, stabbed and partially crushed, is a stoatman soldier, his eyes closed and body curled up in a manner you suspect very few regular humans to even be physically capable of. His relief at the fresh air entering his lungs soon gives way to horror as he slowly looks around and notices three rather obvious guards and what to untrained eyes would look like some kind of human wizard standing over him.

Oh crap, he says. Oh crap. They, uh, didn't win, did they? No, one of the guards replies, grinning at the poor thing, no they did not.

Quote from: Xantalos on July 07, 2016, 11:54:06 am

"Hmm. I'll have to check on my blacksmith-finding progress before I go, since given how things have gone every time I exited the vicinity for more than two minutes I wouldn't be surprised if if I came back to a pile of rubble. One moment, I'll meet you back here."

Go ask that guy I threw into the tunnel if he found the blacksmith yet.

You do that, says the commander of the royal guard, and she'll go check on her wonderful liege in the meantime. So you go your separate ways for now, with your trip ending at the dark hole in the wall, which you proceed to shout down. Anybody down there, you ask.

[Voice In The Darkness: 3]

You think you hear that guy shout something back, or maybe scream. Kind of difficult to tell from this height and distance.

Quote from: TopHat on July 07, 2016, 11:57:46 am

Execute the plan, I guess

You consider what you have been doing for this past half hour or so. Wasn't the most eventful time, you don't think.

[Sealed In: 2]

There was, of course, the problem of the alcove not opening quite as easily from the inside as your companion made it seem. You did spend quite a bit of time kicking, knocking and even thrashing as you tried to get out. Fortunately, you did not have to resort to anything more drastic than that before she was back to let you out. Did take up a bit of time, though, but at least she apologized for the oversight quite profusely. It's not supposed to jam like that, she said. You let it go after a few more moments of lingering distress, and then turned your attention to something more important, namely

REVELATION

[Word: 1]

... which carried unusual problems of its own. Namely, you're pretty sure that the fabric of reality beneath this castle has been destabilized from all this continuous fuckery with the laws of physics. This, you're fairly sure, does not bode at all well for anybody who might want to stay here. Or, for that matter, anybody within ten to twenty miles from here.

Quote from: Toaster on July 08, 2016, 12:52:21 am

"Flood insurance." Thomas coughed. "This is why you need flood insurance. You never know when the waters will rise. See, it hasn't even been raining, and yet there was a flood burst. All it has to do is rain upstream and your home is washed away. Or perhaps an ice dam burst. Anyway. Uh, yes. We can discuss flood insurance terms on the way.

Use the grappled rope to cross. Maybe let one of them go first and copy their technique. Save the sales pitch for the walk.

You head on back to the shore, where your grappled rope hangs over the restless river, the Worm-knight not really listening to your spiel after it becomes clear what you're even talking about. You decide to let the people wearing armor go first. Can't see anything going wrong with that.

[Securely Grappled: 6]

The Worm-knight, noticing the guard look her way in an anticipatory manner, shrugs and gets down to climbing across, making her way with relatively little effort. You decide to do what she does, and also manage to get along quite adequately. That just leaves your paranoid companion, who, you realize, was kind of holding the other end steady by hanging on to the rope. So what's left for him, really, is to improvise.

[Swinging Across: 1]

Which he does by attempting to walk across, at which point the river starts to wash him away immediately. The rope goes taut as he submerges and goes downriver, hanging on to the rope for dear life as the raging stream threatens to carry him into its endless depths.

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AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #1284 on:** July 08, 2016, 10:12:57 am »

"You speak true" says Leif! "The most unlikely things seem to be most inevitable to happen, if you catch my meaning."

I believe Cormick's Condescending Riddle may be fitting here.

"That looks painful. I think I may be able to heal you, but chances are it may kill you with infection or necrosis as well, so I'm not risking it just yet. Well then, Lee my friend, this is our man, our collaborator, the man who can help you with your task. You can take the lead from here on."

Snatch some of those torturing tools, share snacks and refreshments with the party, enjoy some myself too. Lean back and watch Lee working.

Xantalos · « **Reply #1285 on:** July 08, 2016, 02:48:06 pm »

"Say again, you're getting a little unclear! Yes or no?"

Listen for his response. If nothing I can make out, go find someone unimportant and absorb them like the well taught me.

TopHat · « **Reply #1286 on:** July 08, 2016, 04:05:03 pm »

"Ah. Problem. So, erm, do you happen to know what exactly lies underneath this place? Or anyone who might know? Because that knowledge looks like it might be extremely valuable right now."
That is most definitely not a good sign.

Toaster · « **Reply #1287 on:** July 08, 2016, 04:39:53 pm »

"Oh dear. I guess we should reel him in."

Reel him in.

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #1288 on:** July 08, 2016, 10:00:47 pm »

"I can handle this one," I tell the guards. Then I point far away in the camp. "I think I heard some groaning over there after the wave hit. You guys should check that out."

If the guards leave, I turn to the stoat and tell him we need to get across the river. If they stay then I continue playing along.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #1289 on:** July 10, 2016, 08:43:29 am »

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on July 08, 2016, 10:12:57 am

"You speak true" says Leif! "The most unlikely things seem to be most inevitable to happen, if you catch my meaning."

I believe Cormick's Condescending Riddle may be fitting here.

"That looks painful. I think I may be able to heal you, but chances are it may kill you with infection or necrosis as well, so I'm not risking it just yet. Well then, Lee my friend, this is our man, our collaborator, the man who can help you with your task. You can take the lead from here on."

Snatch some of those torturing tools, share snacks and refreshments with the party, enjoy some myself too. Lean back and watch Lee working.

[Realizations of Minding: 4]

Ah, he says as a trivially obvious rebus makes itself known to him, minders! He was unaware there were operatives in the area! His apologies!

Lee, meanwhile, replies that yes, she knows this is the guy. The question is what to do with him. She considers this as you grab some implements of ghastly torture, then proceed to use the same hands to parcel out refreshments to both her and the prisoner. She politely refuses, but the broken man does appear quite happy to have at least some form of nourishment. Wildly incompetent interrogators though these may have been, the sight of food and drink to one as undernourished as he never fails to tempt.

Anyway, both you and the broken man spend a few moments snacking with abandon before Lee mentions that it's likely best to get out of here as soon as possible. You take the guy and figure out a way to carry him. She'll look if anyone's come along in the meantime.

Quote from: Xantalos on July 08, 2016, 02:48:06 pm

"Say again, you're getting a little unclear! Yes or no?"

Listen for his response. If nothing I can make out, go find someone unimportant and absorb them like the well taught me.

[ENUNCIATED ENGLISH: 3]

Well, the response is monosyllabic, you think, and more than a little desperate-sounding. Whether that's a "yes", a "no", an "urk" or "aargh", or even, say, a less-than-useful "help", you can't quite tell.

Quote from: TopHat on July 08, 2016, 04:05:03 pm

"Ah. Problem. So, erm, do you happen to know what exactly lies underneath this place? Or anyone who might know? Because that knowledge looks like it might be extremely valuable right now."
That is most definitely not a good sign.

[Lore of the Ancient King: 6]

She's heard a lot of things. Tunnels. Monsters. Ghosts. Shadows. Wayward minders. Ancient ruins. The secrets of life and death. The luminiferous aether. Really, there could be anything down there. Nobody who's explored particularly far has come back for the most part. Oh! Right. There is one thing she knows is down there for sure - a crapload of traps. She knew a guy who lost an arm to a swinging blade there. Went down again one day and never came back. Wasn't very smart, you see.

Quote from: Toaster on July 08, 2016, 04:39:53 pm

"Oh dear. I guess we should reel him in."

Reel him in.

[Catch of the Day: 6]

The Worm-knight rushes over to assist as you reel in the grappling hook meter by laborious meter until you get to the very end, whereupon the waters of the river yield you a bountiful ball of nibbling fish, wildly squirming worms, quite a few lampreys, a crabby lobster or two and a whole lot of sediment. As it starts to shake off the generous sampling of benthos, you are worried for a moment, but the fist of your guard companion punches its way out of the thing, followed by the rest of him tearing its way out of the mass shortly thereafter. He stands up, a little asphyxiated and unsteady on his feet, his aquatic adventure equal parts strangely educational and utterly terrifying.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on July 08, 2016, 10:00:47 pm

"I can handle this one," I tell the guards. Then I point far away in the camp. "I think I heard some groaning over there after the wave hit. You guys should check that out."

If the guards leave, I turn to the stoat and tell him we need to get across the river. If they stay then I continue playing along.

[Prisoner Priorities: 5]

Oh, sure, one of the guard says. You handle this one. And then they'll take it back to the castle for the requisite questioning. Well, she'll take it back for requisite questioning, she says, she guesses the other guys can go and look for more potential survivors. Which they do after the guard spends a moment assuring them she'll make sure they're credited.

The stoatman, meanwhile, has started to attempt escape already, hoping you won't notice his unassuming shape slinking away. A stern glare from you and the guard makes him freeze up again.

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Author Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 262384 times)

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Knights of the Far Beyond

Toaster

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Harry Baldman

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AoshimaMichio

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penguinofhonor

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Xantalos

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TopHat

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Toaster

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Harry Baldman

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AoshimaMichio

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Xantalos

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TopHat

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Toaster

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penguinofhonor

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Harry Baldman

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