Not if I can help it... TURN!
Given the circumstances, it's rather rushed, so watch out for errors. Not much has really happened, actually.
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Turn 25 ------------
i EAT the elves. mainly shorty, but also greeny. they are too lucky
While compliant with RTD, actually eating two (or even 1) human-sized objects is rather difficult, so you'll really succeed only on a 5.
| You run over to pick up your maul, then notice that the elf is still nearby, and quite heavily wounded. You remember the other elf's recent attempt to bite you, and a wicked thought enters your mind. You leave your maul, and jump at the elf, digging into his flesh with your teeth!
| You manage to do some skin and muscle damage, even tearing off some meat, but suddenly regain your sanity and stop. You've seriously worsened the elf's bleeding,
| but he's still breathing.
I persuade the dwarves to tell me about the upper floors and tell me if there's something strange and/or key-like over there.
| For some reason the dwarves avoid being in your vicinity, and you don't manage to try and tell anyone anything.
For my turn, I practice my healing, and tell Elica to work on his swordmanship.
| You tell your companion to practice his art while he's not busy, to which he gives you the "I would but how do you expect me to do it" look. You then try to practice healing, but quickly realise that without a target (the nearby elf, while available, probably shouldn't be healed) you are also unable to do it.
I put my armor set on. BTW you forgot to mentin that my leather leggings are torn.
No I didn't. You bashed the elf with your pants, and they were torn apart.
| You expertly put your set of armor on. Even having no underwear doesn't make you uncomfortable in it.
I'll admire the DNA strands. Closely.
| You begin closely looking at the DNA strands. Unfortunately, they are not color-coded or marked in any other way, so all elements are identical, or barely different, so you don't manage to decipher anything. However, looking closer at the base of the handle, you notice two tiny push buttons on it, right where the DNA strands end. Figuring it would probably do no harm, you push the buttons. The sword goes "click-tch-trr-crrak!", and its larger blade is suddenly ejected (though without extreme force) from the hilt, leaving you with the smaller sword in your hand. The obviously too-wide hilt guard folds forward, turning the sword into a very large sai. The large blade now rests on the floor in front of you.
I concentrate deeply to find a link to the realm of gods and then use it to turn myself into a true god, a god of war and death.
| You attune yourself to the power of the God of Blood, and use it to spiritually ascend into the plane of the gods. In your mind, you are in a pitch black expance, standing on the floor in a circle of a bright white spotlight. Suddenly, you notice around you figures, dozens of figures, all wearing armor of all sorts, even though some of them are animals, and each posessing an aura of power. They approach you, and stand in a wide circle around you. You feel them conversing, judging and evaluating you. Suddenly, you hear a voice in your head. "
Thou hast not been deemed worthy, mortal. Thou shalt never ascend into our realm. Yet thou shall still bring such power and wisdom as was entrusted to you. Go with balance.". You open your eyes, and are still standing where you were, rather disappointed.
Instead of trying to simply pull myself out of the ground, I attempt to mentally make the earth under my feet rise up.
| Focusing your will on the earth beneath you, you
order it to take you up. That very instant, the earth under your feet rumbles, and violently explodes in a powerful geyser of mud and rocks. You are thrown a dozen meters into the air.
| You keep your grip on your halberd, but now you must think on how to safely land!
| Suddenly remembering something out of the Olympics, you stab with your halberd downwards as you approach the ground! You hardened skin wistands the tension, and you are able to break your fall using a very poor imitation of polevaulting. You are still pretty close to the armor shop, and a rather muddy depression is in the ground where you were recently standing.
I dig a tunnel into the keep, using a broken piece of bucket and my... badassness? Badassery? Badassation? Well, something with badass with it.
| No matter how hard you search, you don't find any broken piece of bucket. However, while contemplating your bad luck, you notice the small latch in the wall again. Deciding that it's better than nothing, you open it and crawl into the narrow space. The 'tunnel' seems to head roughly in the keep's direction, but at one point you suddenly see a crossroads, with it being possible to go forward, back, left, or right. You are confuddled, and can't decide where to go. Forward or right would probably lead to the keep, but you are not sure, as the tunnel often went up and down before, and even in spirals and circles.
I work out to increase my strength,
| Having no better piece of equipment, you try to train your strength using the greataxe as a dumbell. As you could already wield it rather well, you don't manage to improve your strength any.
(AI) I travel to the keep to help in the defence.
| Unseen and unheard, you finally manage to make your way safely to the keep. You're standing right outside.
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NPC Actions:
This elf has pale green hair, and wields rather battered shield of wood. Morale down. Both legs viciously mangled(-2 movement).
He tries to crawl away.
| While Boksi is busy launching himself, and Kashyyk is practicing his strength, the elf manages to crawl into the nearby bushes.
This one was wielding a shortsword, and is slightly shorter than the rest. Unconscious.
Very unconscious and doesn't do anything.
Rather dead at the moment.
Dead. Beheaded in a rather messy way.
Dead. His past leg injury is not bothering him anymore.
Elica is a swordself. Recently hired by Frelock. He's armed with a wooden longsword, and dressed in (somewhat pierced) green-grey close-witting clothing with scarce leaf-shaped decoration.
He tries to practice some sword-swings, but cannot do much without a sparring partner. Seeing the other elf start to crawl away, he runs after him, intending to stop him!
| This time he proves to be much more agile. Rushing over to the bushes, he grabs the green-haired elf by his green hair (the elf screams, as heard by Frelock: "Stop! Stop, you traitor!") and drags him back to the vicinity of the shop.
This is a massive, ten meters high beast made of elven bodies. It's mindless now, but still driven by rage and desire for flesh. It is, for all intents and purposes, a giant elven flesh golem. Currently impaled on the wreckage of an apartment building. Blind, face is a bloody mess, a wooden splintery scimitar stuck into the socket. It has a -4 to dodge, -2 movement, but still +1 against all damage, except for the head where its skull is cracked.
| Yet again it tries to stand up, and yet again it fails.
| It hollers with rage, displaying that it's still capable of fighting.
The dwarves suddenly start firing farther off, and stop paying attention to the beast.
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Status after turn:
Boksi: Standing upright, out on the street beside the armor shop.
Wearing a reddish-black jacket of Karl Moebius leather, underwear, and slightly torn jean shorts. Wielding a
masterwork steel halberd. Holding a wooden arrow covered in andrea's blood.
Unharmed. Skin and flesh is of greyish color.
Abilities:
Basic TK Manipulation.
Basic TK Healing.
Big Bully. Special status:
Carbon Flesh Interweave.
Can only speak goblin.
Activated Visual Omnisensor.
andrea: Standing upright out on the street beside the armor shop.
Wearing underwear and
fairly comfortable greyish trousers. Also wearing a
armor set: -Iron splint-mail-, a shirt of leather, Bronze plated greaves,
<<Iron high boots>>. Owns a +Steel maul+, that is currently some distance away from him.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Shrapnel Self.
Basic TK Healing. Additional status:
Blood Debt to God of War and Artifice. korora: Standing upright on the third floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear, and makeshift bra-scarf clothing. Also wearing the
armor set:
<<+Iron breastplate+>>, a soft leather shirt, an Iron helmet, some hard leather greaves and -Aluminum high boots-. Owns an Iron handaxe and a -Black bronze warhammer-, both on the floor for now. Wields
The Ashcraver's second form, the main blade is on the floor nearby.
Legs and arms bruised.
Abilities:
Mighty.
Extremely Agile.
Basic TK Healing (!).
A massive, massive, MASSIVE sword. It is three meters long, 1'3'' (~40cm) wide, and dazzingly bright. Its fine steel has been polished to reflect light like a mirror. Its one edge is curved, jagged at the hilt, the other is straight and so sharp it could probably slice adamantine blocks like salami. Down the center of the sword, which is at least 2'' thick, runs a hollow slit 3'' wide, in which yeat another, smaller and straighter sword is concealed. The entire surface of both swords, except of course the sharp cutting edges, is finely engraved with uncountable images, among which the launching of the Challenger, world war II, a nuclear explosion, a trainwreck, and a rotary excavator. The hilt itself (being at the same time the hilt of the smaller sword) is decorated with gold and emeralds you can only assume you've taken from someone, arranged in beautiful patterns, and the handle is woven with three lines - one is a scaly snake with two small rubies in the eyes, and two seem awfully like DNA strands. You get a feeling you could decipher the human genome if you looked closely enough. The guard of the hilt is exquisitely detailed as well, but right down the senter of it, spanning the breadth of the sword, is a solid rectangular golden plate, with the single word: "ASHCRAVER" deeply embossed onto it. The entire thing is so immeasurably brilliant, you almost don't want to touch it fearing it'll stick to your hand and corrupt you like some magic ring. Overcoming this fear, you pick it up. Despite its size, it is relatively lightweight, relatively, of course, to anything else so large and made of steel.
chaoticag: Standing upright, out on the street near the armor shop.
Wearing the
armor set: +Steel Chestplate+, -Copper chainmail-, Aluminum cap, hard leather leggings and
<<Copper plated boots>>. Wielding a useless chunk of wood that was the handle of his scimitar not long ago.
Concussive damage to internal organs, large bruise on left upper arm. Bruised back.
Abilities:
Basic TK Healing.
Gantolandon: Crouched, at the crossroads of a small dank tunnel from the tavern.
Wearing underwear and a thin silky sweater. Covered in dried vomit. Right foot covered with elven blood and brains. Holding a paperclip and a nice pair of white socks. Wielding an Iron dagger.
Face and most of the body bruised. Hands pierced by numerous splinters. Left wrist sprained. Nasty scratch along the head. Minor bleeding.
Abilities:
Basic TK Healing(!).
Frelock: Standing upright on the street near the armor shop.
Wearing underwear, a
somewhat dirty <<*Giant cave spider silk robe*>>, and +hippo leather sandals+. Wielding a Steel Quarterstaff and a -Small Iron throwing knife- as a backup weapon.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Slightly improved strength.
Meagerly improved agility.
Can be cautious while calm.
Improved TK Healing II(!). Special status:
Activated Selective Translator.
Kashyyk: Standing upright on the street near the armor shop.
Naked. Wielding a -Steel Greataxe- and a makeshift Willow Buckler.
Flesh turned into iron, three arrows sticking out of abdomen, right leg, and left shoulder, but no serious damage is sustained.
Abilities:
Enrage Other. Enrage Self.
Basic TK Healing. Special status:
Activated Selective Translator.
Steel scales. Extra:
Rollerblades in the forearms. Rooster: Standing upright near the keep.
Wearing underwear. "Wears" illusion clothing (white garments, white robe) seen only by him.
Nose broken, bleeding, forehead and chin bruised.
Abilities:
Improved Intelligence.
Basic TK Healing.
Power of Trickery (+). Special status:
Blessing of Peace.
Beyond Invisible.
Beast Within. Extra: Doesn't know who he is, and calls himself Red.
LASD: Standing upright on the third floor of the keep.
Wearing underwear, and a
white/pink/yellow suit and top hat made of underwear. Also wearing the
armor set:
<<+Iron chain Cuirass+>>, -Iron chain gloves-, Iron chain greaves, and Iron low boots. Wielding a
*Aluminum tower shield* Battered head and upper body(back). Bruised left foot. Sprained right wrist.
Abilities:
Power of Peace. Special status:
Peacekeeper.
Jay Kayell: Out on the street, standing near Elfzilla.
Wearing purple stretchy shorts. Useless shreds of underwear on right arm. Wielding a +Iron flanged mace+. The armor is armed with a collection of axes and swords, and its steel fists as well.
Unharmed.
Abilities:
Novice Wrestler.
Basic TK Healing.
Blood of the Blood God.
Blood Rage. Special status: Wearing
Improved Corpse-steel power armor.
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Environment:
Tavern: Two-floor building. The door is blown out, the doorframe is torn out as well. Amid the room is a large barricade of broken furniture, elven corpses and trash. Half of the building's roof is gone, most of it is now smashed into the floor. A large hole is broken into the storage cellar. Another hole is busted through the building's wall. There're some weapons stuck into the first floor's ceiling. The building houses your enter/exit point.
Human/Dwarven Capital: Large city on the outskirts of hell knows where. Holds a modest amount of homes, from hovels to two-floor apartment buildings, a set of shops, a temple, and a keep. Currently being surrounded by a verily horde of elves. The dwarves are mounting a large defence using siege engines atop the keep.
Food store: Square one-floor building with long tables laden with salted and fried meats of all kinds. There's a single wide table at the far end, with a chest on top of it. There's a mighty fine hole broken through the ceiling.
Cloth store: Rolls of cloth and various cloth, silk, and leather articles of clothing are on the many shelves inside this building. There's a single wide table at the far end, with a chest on top of it. The entire building is barely standing, most of its roof is collapsed. There's a pile of elf-paste near the building, and some elven corpses.
Armor store: Everywhere in the shop various pieces of armor are thrown about, shields of different sizes litter the floor, and arrayed under the now-broken shelves and tables are enough various boots to outfit a battalion. At the far end of the building, there is a single wide table. The heavy chest is on the floor, broken, a large supplement of coins from it now covers the floor.
The Keep: Large four-floor building. The first floor is almost devoid of furniture. A lot of civilians are huddled together in groups all over the floor. At least a dozen and a half guards are also there. The second floor is a massive stockpile of wood, metal, and stone. Dwarves constantly lug the materials to the upper floors. The roof of the keep is fortified with ballistae and catapults.
The Temple: Tall and proud, beautiful building of white marble, a solid first floor surrounded by columns is supporting several ring-shaped floors held up by beautiful marble supports. A deep pool of shiny, clear water can be seen inside the building. Well, it probably was like that. The entire thing has recently tried to rise up in mighty wrath as a gigantic statue of a carp, but failed miserably and broke to pieces. Afterwards, the overpowered Rooster single-handedly sent the whole place into oblivion along with the elves, who now cannot be seen, heard, or even smelled by anyone other than themselves.
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Background: [1] Yet again nothing useful.