Sunday, June 10, 2007

Chapter 9 (con): A past revieled

"Not getting any better is it?"

Calenon moved over to Aurelious and pointed his staff at him. He slowly moved the end of the staff in a circle leaving a trail of light in the air. As the light completed the circle the face of a bear appeared.. “Calabrogh.” Calenon said softly and moved the end of the staff through the circle at the end of the staff and touched it upon Aurelious’s shoulder. As he did so Aurelious visibly straightened and became seemingly more … healthy.

"Looks like we'll be here a…."

The horrendous, overpowering smell was the only warning he had before teeth, which paused only a moment at the field surrounding his body, sank into his neck. (11hp dmg) Calenon could feel the poison spread and overwhelm his senses and he sank to the floor in a heap.

Howling with anger and pain from the burning acid, the horror sitting on the sarcophagus had jumped off and charged at Calenon. Both Thomas and Lorem were close enough now to smell the stench surrounding the creature, but they we prepared and kept their wits about them. Aurelious who sat on the floor smelled the creature again, and it sent his mind whirling. But he felt stronger, and his mind settled on what his father had said that fateful day he had given Aurelious Alexander. Aurelious was on his feet in a flash, he still felt sick, but He was a wolf bane… And there was foulness to purge. He drew Alexander and glew with a holy light.

Mean while across the room, Lyn striked again, but the second brother is ready and quickly steped to the side. He lunged to take out the wounded dog, but stumbled and instead lands face first on the ground. His head hitting stone with a sickening crack. Just a few feet away Richard was stirring, he shuttered and pulled, finally propping himself up upon the side of a sarcophagus. His eyes were met with a strange sight, two golden dogs were attacking some horrible monstrosity. Then his mind came back to him. He struggled to his feet as the last of the paralysis was removed by the natural processes of his body. He pulled his dagger and prepared to join the fray.

“Munglamu!” Thomas exclaimed in the Entmarkian tongue, cursing at the creature. “I had such witty banter prepared!” Unstrapping the rust colored bag from his side that he had picked up from one of the many Entmarkian spell weaver merchants back in Hedon, Thomas continued speaking. "I suppose I should let a friend come out to play as well." Pulling out a small fuzzy spherical object he tossed it towards the ghast hit by Calenon's spell. Upon impact it suddenly grew and shifted into a timber wolf, common on the Entmarkian hills. Ordering it to attack, Thomas again switched from his lute to his weapons expecting the worst.

The wolf had none of the pomp and circumstance as the dog brothers, for he was an ordinary wolf that lived in the bag. He had lived there, obeying whatever command was given to him by the master of the bag, since he had been caught in the hills on a hunting foray. He didn’t really know why he should obey, just that he should, which, for a wolf, was good enough. The wolf then attacked leaping as if upon bunny, or dear. But this was not a bunny. He got a whiff of the smell of that horrible thing and squealed in alarm and pain, missing his chance.

"go for the jugular" Lorem cried from across the room.

Torden needed no further prodding and seized his chance. He leapt upon his downed foe and ripped at his jugular, tearing it completely away from his body. He held his head high in triumph, holding up the bit of torn flesh as a dark sludge oozed from the wound he caused. But to his dismay and horror the creature ignored the attack rolling over to knock Torden off his back. Torden was stunned, things were supposed to die when you rip out their jugulars… It was about this time when he realized that the taste in his mouth was beyond the realms of horror and quickly spat the foul stuff out.

"Enough!"

Lorem rose his voice above the din of battle. He dropped the weapon in his hand and drew his holy symbol from around neck. It was shaped like that of a sealed gate with a hammer in front sealing the doors.

"your time in this place has long since ended. You have been defeated either by steel or disease or old age before, but now you think you can cheat and have new life!" Then Lorem issued his decree: "You have cheated at the most holy of holy games and now you must be punished"

Channeling the power that welled within him into the holly symbol, the light on the end of Calenon’s staff flickered as a graveyard mist flowed out from under Lorem’s feet. It swirled and twisted until it found it’s way too the two brothers. They looked and saw the gates of hell forming behind Lorem as they had been called there before, but they had not gone. They could not go, for their life had been torn from them by the same horrible creatures that they had become.

Munda and Kung had been hiking in the mountains of the windswept wall. Brothers, they did everything together. They even had their eyes on the same woman; a young girl named Kita. “I tell you she wants me. Did you not see the way she looked at me?” Munda proclaimed.

“No, I didn‘t, and she was probably drunk, because she kissed me last night in the stables!”

“She what?! You lie!”

“Face it brother, you just can’t stand up to your magnificent older brother.”

“Like hell I can’t!” And with that Munda punched Kung in the face. Kung hit back and it wasn’t long before the two were wrestling on the ground, unable to see or hear the things that were crawling up out of the holes around them. Finally Kung won the upper hand and pinned Munda to the ground.

“see,” Kung said, panting, “told ya, you couldn’t beat me.” Exhausted, Munda looked up at his brother, his mind filled with anger and frustration. Then he saw his brothers heart get ripped from his chest.

Munda screamed and tried to pull away, but he was surrounded by horrible black skeletal hands. He felt claws pierce his side and a cold poison run through his veins. His brother was pulled from atop of him and disappeared from his view. He couldn’t move he realized as he struggled to run, he had been paralyzed. Suddenly something hit his face. He looked down and saw his brothers hand sitting on his chest. He tried to scream. To run. Anything! But all he could hear were the sounds of horrible munching and chewing as his brother was devoured.

He felt his head being propped up. He could see for the first time the empty shell of his brother as one of the creatures sucked his eye ball from his scull with a sickening pop. His eyes were full of tears, that he couldn’t blink away. Then the horrors, bent down … and opened him up. He felt it as they ate him, tearing at his insides, to better scrape out his meat. Finally he had passed out from the pain. He felt light as he floated in the darkness. In the distance he could see the gates of the underworld, where he wished to go. But something held him back. The creatures finally exacted their last monstrosity. His soul struggled for after life but he was pulled back; warped into the ghast he is now. Now he exists only to feed on the flesh of others, and he had been eating for a long time. Funny, he still followed his brother.

But this dwarf had reminded him of what he once was. Grief stricken and awed he shrunk away from this messenger of death. Both of the creatures shrunk away from Lorem as he finished his words. Both seem to have lost their will, unsure of what to do next.

6 comments:

NWIFSER said...

Initiative: 6

"Radiance."

If it's still next to Calenon when I take my action, I take a five foot step over, draw a second bastard sword, and attack it with both.

To Hit with Alexander: 20
Damage: 14

To Hit with Bastard Sword: 17
Damage: 6

If I cannot do this, I will charge/move to attack, with only Alexander: 24 to hit, 26 if I could charge. 12 damage.

NWIFSER said...

I understand what it was Lorem did... But I have my own convictions about undead. I'll not suffer their unlife ANYMORE.

Eric said...

Not gonna attack, but also not going to move to stop Aurelious. If full-fledged fighting starts up again and one of them starts threatening me, I'll ready an attack action

Attack: 15, Damage: 7

If Aurelious defeats them or if they don't fight back, I'm probably asking why they stopped, unless Richard knows what Lorem did somehow.

Also, how much HP have I lost due to sickness at this point?

JC said...

Init: 16
Wolf atk: non nat 20
dmg: 6
If he still gets the free trip attempt: 9

Dane, I don't know how far Calenon had to move to reach Aurelious before he was attacked so if it's within 5 ft, I will 5 ft step and attack w/ both weapons, otherwise I move and attack with the short sword. (defensive fighting either way)

My atks (if 2) 11,17 (if just 1) 19.
AC now = 24

Damage: (if the short sword hits) = 6

-------
"Figure's I'd pull something out with a strong sense of smell," Thomas thought to himself, "Poor thing, but I'd best see to Calenon first."

Holding his breath, Thomas moves to challenge the creature who dropped the elf. Hoping to avoid the same fate he concentrates more on avoiding a blow than connecting with one as he swings.

Unknown said...

Init: 16

I believe I'm paralyzed. If not, I take a 5 foot step back and shoot the bastard with my longbow. Attack: 20 (Non natural) Damage 5

Unknown said...

Init: 6

Dogs:
init: 2, 7

att: 14, 18
dmg: 2, 2

Lorem readies his sling and a rock... "finish them" spoken to both the dogs and the party.