ouch didnt expect that
I'm glad I could give you a Heroic sacrifice-any place else and I would have had to drop a rock on you.
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Turn 15
The young man leads you into the meeting hall-this place can't properly be called a church, though it might have once been, as there are no religious symbols, and the pews and pulpit are no longer here, instead replaced with long tables and chairs. It has a look of disuse-window dressing, as if it often used for visitors. He leads you past this, through a door on the left, and down a small flight of stairs.
He stops to light a candle.
I know Kai strong enough in the sixth sense can travel through total darkness with nary a candlelight to guide them. As my mother often said-I, on the other hand, am quite clumsy, candlelight or no. You see the ghost of a smile come and go, like a shaft of sunlight on a cloudy day.
He leads you down into the cellar. The stench of decay is strong down here-Sheltering Leaves and Silent Fox detect the sickening odor of recently gone bad fruit and vegetables stored in barrels and crates. Your estimates for the number of acolytes that could be living on the grounds were no more or less than 30. Why did all this food go to waste?
Moving on, the Kai pass rows of what could only be weapon and armor stands-now empty. Sheltering Leaves stoops and picks up a heavy, square arrow head stuck on the end of a splintered wooden shaft-a crossbow quarrel.
I'm afraid my brothers and sisters are quite well armed. Here's what you need to see. he says, opening a large double door with his shoulder.
What stands before you is a another stone door-but not one of this age, or even of this world perhaps. Ancient symbols the predate even the oldest lore you have studied limb the circular door-the door itself is made of strange black stone, a stone that seems to be drawing the very warmth of your bones away as you stare into it's surface-which is strangely reflective. Silent Fox notices his reflection is...distorted. At one second, he see's nothing amiss, then another he see's another version of himself-grinning ferally. He shakes his head and the vision is gone...but he must make a real effort to turn himself away from it's surface.
You wouldn't know how many of us get lost in the reflections...they see something deep within them, and they want to see it again, and after awhile they can't do anything but keep looking. Eventually, they become what they see. Do you understand? He sighs, hanging his candle on a nearby hook.
You'll find, through this door, lies the true way to Dusk Runners tomb-all you would find above are false paths, and traps set by my brothers. Two of your Kai brothers showed up not a few days ago, and attempted to enter the crypts from above, and were captured for this very reason.
I figured you knew already-my brothers would have killed me for revealing that not a week ago...now, we have worse problems. About a month ago-the same time the chaos begun engulfing Esteros-an agent of the enemy broke past our deepest defenses. We were unprepared. He took a small black orb from the tomb of Dusk Runner-a Deathstone. The stone itself is evil-far more evil than anything you have ever faced. It is the weapon he used to destroy Vayar. Since then, we have all felt the evil begin to rise from beneath, and my brothers have all gone into the catacombs, to confront it. They took your brother Kai down with them, still alive last I saw them.
They told me to lock the door behind then, and left me here to greet, and to be truthful, kill anyone who showed up who could be not be persuaded to leave. I know they aim to keep everyone out, and to keep something in...
I doubt my brothers will listen to reason. If you seek from them the truth, you may find it, but you may also find death...for, we are all bound by ancient oaths we took to Dusk Runner. Oaths of old magic that tie father to son, blood to blood, through the ages, and may not be violated. Which is why, I must do my best to stop you. We are no longer men, you see-we sacrificed our free will long ago to keep the evil that lies under this place safely contained...we have failed, and now can only seek death where it will find us. Do not despair slaying us, for we are already dead...we are the Grey Cloaks, and we are bound.
At that, the young man grimly draws a Kris from his belt and begins walking slowly toward Sheltering Leaves-the slick sheen of poison glitters from within the folds of steel. He seems resigned to a quick death at the hands of the Kai, a release from the torment of his duty. You are hesitant-it wouldn't take more than a single blow to finish him off in this weakened state...but, he clearly intends to kill you if given the chance.
6/6 HP
Weapon: Kris, +1 damage, +1 agility (unknown poison)
Armor: Grey Cloak +2 to sneaking
Strength: 1
Endurance: 2
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 4
Charisma: 2
Traits
Dying-This units health is halved. Even the slightest damage is more than likely to kill him.
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(Merame Scouting roll: 3, pass)
Merame, quite nicely reports no one else in the building-and no food either. She mentions seeing a library, mostly destroyed-it looked like someone had taken a torch to it-and a small room in the back filled with evil looking purple mushrooms growing in pots, tools for alchemists (bowls and pestles) and glass containers-it all smelled very bad.
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(Encounter Roll, 4-2=2)
(Difficulty 1d3-2=1)
(Detection roll 4+1 VS Acolyte Stealth roll 7+2=9, pass)
(Acolyte Agility surprise attack roll:10-2=8, fail!)
(Agi roll:6, miss!)
(Acolyte Mind Blast attack, 8, fail)
War Wind and Mending moon have seen nothing, yet, except the scampering form of Merame scouting out the house. All is silent. War Wind hears it first-the distinctive click of a crossbow being fired. He rolls to the the left, and hears a heavy thunk as the bolt strikes the ground where he was. Both of the Kai warriors roll into combat positions, scanning their vantage-there seems to be only one of them. The Acolyte-a sad looking brunette woman in her early 40s, half dead from starvation-you see the truth in her eyes. She wants to die as a warrior, and will ask for, and give no quarter. War Wind feels a tearing mental scream begin to rip at his mind! He shrugs off the first wave easily...but like all waves, it only precedes an ocean. She begins to reload her cumbersome crossbow with supernatural speed, assisted by a skill not unlike the Kai's own Mind over Matter-you see a long blade of some sort concealed under her belt, and she's wearing leather armor studded with metal under a long grey cloak that makes her true form indistinct-be on your guard! The acolytes of the long dead Dusk Runner are a fair match for your Kai skills..
16/16 HP
Weapon: (unknown, long blade), Unloaded Crossbow (1 round to reload), +5 damage, needs a full round to reload, cant be used in melee, ignores half armor
Armor: Studded Leather +3 defense, Grey Cloak +2 to sneaking
Strength: 3
Endurance: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 5
Charisma: 4
Traits
Mind Blast<--aimed at War Wind
Mind over Matter
Quick reload (if she wins intiative, the acolyte will fire a bolt automatically, otherwise she will strike with her melee weapon)
Silent Fox (Darvi)
Str: 3 End: 3
Agi: 4 Int: 5
Cha: 6 HP: 13/13
Equipment
Iron shod Battle Staff, wielded, +1 to damage, +1 to defense
Green Kai Cloak, worn, +2 to sneaking
Leather Armor, worn, +2 to defense
Food Rations for 4 days
Karma Cards
5xElemental Spheres
1xEmpty Glass Bottle
Prayer Book, A book of prayers to the Gods Kai and Ishtar. A noble soul who reads certain passages can pacify wayward souls, calm the dead and dying and may be able to repel evil.
Folding Shovel, Can be used for digging, or a weapon in extreme circumstance, +0 to damage
Abilities:Swift as the Wind/Using his ability to manipulate the air, Silent Fox can dodge up to 3 damaging attacks a battle with a successful agility roll. His running speed is dramatically increased.
Omens
1. "Be steadfast...and do not show fear. When it is presented, do not take the low road, for it will be your doom"
Known Elemental Spells
-Hungry Earth: Entombs and crushes an enemy under the ground. Easier on smaller enemies.
-Earth buckshot: Summon a sphere of shrapnel, damaging all enemies in front of you in an arc-useful for piercing armor.
-Air Shield: Used to hamper enemies, increasing defense for whole party-needs a good breeze to work with.
Disciplines:6th Sense, Magicka
Companion
Horse (Sonic)
HP: 20/20
War Wind (Taricus)
Str: 3 End: 3
Agi: 3 Int: 8
Cha: 5 HP: 13
Equipment
Iron Longsword, wielded, +3 to damage
+1 Exquisite Young Ironwood Light Spiked Heater Shield:+2 to defense, -1 damage, wielding in offhand, additional 1 spike damage on successful defense roll
Green Kai Cloak, worn, +2 to sneaking
Leather Armor, worn, +2 to defense =Demon Bane= +2 defense vs Demon enemies (The Term Demon is used to describe anything that comes from the evil realm-things like dragons, Shadows, and the Dark Lords themselves.)
Smithing Tools, allows crafting
Food Rations for 4 days (smoked meat, tasty)
1xLampsur Potion, refill all HP, cannot be used during battle
1x Chunk of White Iron:Weapons or armor smelted from white iron are bane to the undead, doubly so if the rites of Ishtar and Kai are spoken aloud while they are being forged.
Abilities: 1/1, not used todayFire Breathing/Three times a day and once per battle you can breath fire on your foe for 3d3+1 damage. You have to eat a full meal to use this ability, not counting what you must eat to avoid starvation, and cannot eat a sapient being to do so, such as a Giak or a Human.
Disciplines:Kai Armorer, Weapon Training/Longsword
Companion
Horse (Paladin)
HP: 20/20
Mending Moon (Frelock)
Str: 2 End: 3
Agi: 5 Int: 7
Cha: 4 HP: 13/13
Equipment
Longbow, wielded (15 arrows), +5 to damage, cannot be used in melee
Holdout Dagger, +0 to damage
Green Kai Cloak, worn, +2 to sneaking
Leather Armor, worn, +2 to defense
Food Rations for 4 days
1xLampsur Potion, refill all HP, cannot be used during battle
Healing Kit (3 Poultices left, heals 5 hitpoints)
1xMedical Bandage, heals +1 health
Abilities:Misdirection/Once per battle, Mending Moon can use his naturally small goblin size to appear less threatening. This can either be used to make those attacking Mending Moon seek other targets, or can be used to avoid a single attack of opportunity. Does not work if Mending Moon is the only target nearby. The enemy must fail an intelligence check for this to work.
Disciplines:Healing, Mind over Matter
Companion
Horse (Chestnut)
HP: 20/20
Sheltering Leaves (SeriousConcentrate)
Str: 4 End: 4
Agi: 5 Int: 3
Cha: 5 HP: 14/14
Equipment
Reinforced Gauntlets/Boots, +1 damage, +1 agility, mud spattered
Green Kai Cloak, worn, +2 to sneaking, mud spattered
Leather Armor, worn, +2 to defense, mud spattered
Food Rations for 4 days (Came with orange slices, so you can share with Merame)
1xLampsur Potion, refill all HP, cannot be used during battle
Abilities
-1/1, not used today Mystical Flash/Leaf gathers energy into his palm, then lunges forward and hits the target, releasing it as a bright flash in the colors of the rainbow. The release of spiritual energy is very powerful and can blow the enemy away. (Special attack that, if successful, adds Charisma to damage, can be used three times a day, and once a battle. Recharged through meditation.)
Disciplines: Animal Kinship, Weapon Training/Bare Hands
Companion
Monkey (Merame)
HP:10/10
Status: Well Fed, +1 to all rolls
Orders:Be annoying
Horse (Thunder)
HP: 20/20
OOC: