Grant let's Horace go ahead, when he returns and reports his findings, Grant says, "let's put away the guns for a moment. That way we can take out this single guard without being so noisy." He make a little flourish with his rapier, and says, "Ready?"
"Aye, then. Lead the way." Horace slings his beloved rifle across his back and draws out a hand axe.
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
As they move away, Grant whispers to Horace, "flank him with me, I work best with others." Grant moves as stealthily through the shadows as best as possible, following the directions that Horace had given them, towards the single guard. With rapier drawn and shield readied, he quickly closes with the man stabbing with his rapier.
ooc
Once the guard is seen, move up to him and attack him with my rapier. +7 att, 1d6 damage plus 1d6 SA.
Horace nods, grips his axe tighter and moves to flank the thug.
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
The solitary remaining guard might have been more alert than his fellows, but what he was watching alertly was what lie beyond him and over the cliff he looked out at.
Grant and Horace snuck into positions on opposite sides of the man, first Grant on the left than Horace on the right, and then Horace's axe struck, and then Grant's rapier from the other. That, howerver, was not sufficient to kill the man. (ooc: Horace hit on a 19, 2d6 (1d6 skirmish) for 6hp; Grant critical hit on a 20, confirmed crit on a 9, 2d6+1d6 sneak attack for 5 hp)
Initiative
Horace - 22
thug - 20
Grant - 9
Horace took a wild swing at the thug (2 to hit), who promptly drew a long knife and attacked the scout in turn, just as futilely. Grant had none of this, though; a neat stab of his rapier put the man on the ground (another crit, this time for 10 dmg).
And looking over the cliff, you saw below you what must have been Aerdene's device.
Horace scrambles to the edge of the cliff on his belly to get a good long look at the device.
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
Hearing the slight scuffle up ahead, the scholar called quietly, "Is everything fine up there?" He clutched something in his breast pocket in anticipation.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
"See...not so loud this way," Grant whispers, then his gaze follows Horace's. "It is real..." he exlaims. He then silently nods to Horace and motions to the group. He then begins to silently pad back towards the others.
OOC: The waterfall is much too loud for you to hear each other whispering where you are.
(assuming everyone catches up to Horace and Grant and looks out over the cliff)
Looking over the cliff, it's clear the crevase beyond you opens all the way up to the surface, as light filters down from above. In front of you lies what has to be the strangest construction any of you have ever seen, and only Doc has even the slightest idea of how it might work.
A huge, elongated ball-shaped structure -- it looks like some sort of canvas bag writ large -- is suspened over a wooden framework that looks much like the top deck of a ship, with some sort of motorized fan mounted on the deck, and something built for no obvious purpose immediately below the center of the 'bag'. Though the 'ship' must have been made of soarwood, and the engine and fan seemed likely to be mithral. And a hole that looks roughly the size of a canonball exists in the side of the 'hull'.
Doc
Doc thinks that what Aerdene has built is a particularly nice example of a powered hot air balloon (which first started appearing in the real world in the 1850s, though something like what Aerdene built is more like an 1880s thing; real-world aviators didn't have soarwood hulls or mithral engine parts available) by taking advantage of some rare and expensive materials for his construction. It's not something that would be practical for large-scale use due to how it was built, but still a very impressive feat.
Horace
Looking more closely, Horace notices two people huddled to the side of the 'airship'.
Doc looks over into the chasm and... stops. His face blanks for a moment, conflicted looks of awe, hope, anger and, if it was to be said, envy all there to be read. This was a man who had dedicated his life to one goal and, upon seeing it realized in a form by another, questioned if there was else left to do.
Then a smile broke out over his face.
"Still not as good as the original."
Thoughts raced in his head, different means of improvement, changes to the design, arcane advancements that the too mechanically minded group of his brethren would not have thought of. It isn't until a tap on his shoulder does he come out of it.
"It is a beauty. Not very practical, but neither were the designs of our ancestors. Hmm. Must be some damage to the engine or air bladder---the hole shouldn't keep it grounded." He looks over at the others. "Might be enough of us to get it in the air if I can figure the works... but we better hope a few of them survived if we want this to be quick." An eager light burns in his eyes.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
OOC: FYI - from where you are, it's a pretty serious climb -- ~70 feet -- down to the cavern where Aerdene's device is, and the footing's not all that great here due to spray from the waterfall (running or charging would have required a balance check). The alternate path at the last fork in the tunnel was sloping downward.
Horaces backs down from the ledge slowly and quietly, so as not to attract any attention to himself. Once far enough from the noise of the water, he points back down the passage. "Reckon we should backtrack a bit and see if we can find a better way down?"
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
Grant sheathes his rapier and nods at the others, he knows that his voice cannot be heard above the roaring of the waterfall. He pulls out his pistol just in case and follows the rest of the group in their backtracking.
Backtracking slightly, the party takes the left-hand fork in the tunnel down a steeply-sloped path -- going down this path is easier than going up, but maintiang balance while going down isn't easy, and you're forced to move slowly. But it opens ino the large cavern where Aerdene's airship is... and on one side of the entrance is a half-elven man's body in house Lyrander livery, though Doc can tell you it's not Aerdene.
Quote:
This huge cavern marks the base of a massive canyon. A towering waterfall spills down the south face of the chasm, impacting a ledge before plummetting into a churning pool of untold depth. Mounds of broken rocka nd rubble form a labyrinthine mess in the northwest corner. Several ledges -- including the one where you slew the lookout only minutes ago --overlook the chasm from various heights on the canyon walls.
"Soldaris?" A voice calls out from the direction of the airship. Aerdene d'Lyrander, without any doubt, crawled out from the rubble beside his vessel. "I don't suppose you brought a healer, or know some of your mystic tricks along those lines? The Cardinal was hurt pretty badly in the crash, but she's still alive. Hershem, though -- you saw him; that must have been the necromancer's men. And Tek fell to those abominations."
"Soldaris?" A voice calls out from the direction of the airship. Aerdene d'Lyrander, without any doubt, crawled out from the rubble beside his vessel. "I don't suppose you brought a healer, or know some of your mystic tricks along those lines? The Cardinal was hurt pretty badly in the crash, but she's still alive. Hershem, though -- you saw him; that must have been the necromancer's men. And Tek fell to those abominations."
Doc smiled and then indicated the rest of his companions. "I brought a stele or two that might do in a pinch, but for serious healing we'll have to this contraption of yours back to civilization. Good thing I brought my equipment; looks like you could use a learned opinion." The gibe was gentle, but there. As he moved forward, he gestured for the others to follow.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
"I'd be in Maradal by now if someone hadn't hit us with field artillery shot. I saw it when we were going down -- the thing must have dated from the Twenty Years War; the Flame only knows where they found ammunition for it. We could have kept going with just a hole in the hull, but the engine was damaged, and so was the burner. I suppose bound elementals didn't have that problem, but I'd rather my ship not have a mind of its own." Aerdene said, leading you back to a cleared out space in the rubble. "I don't think even the two of us would still be here without the Cardinal's spells -- conjured food tastes awful by the second day you've been living on it, by the way -- but she says she has no healing spells in her prayerbook, and she most definitely has two broken legs. No one ever taught her how to roll with a fall."
OOC: The Twenty Years war was fought about a century ago between the Maradal Principalities and the Republic of South Khorvaire.
"Well, if any of us here have some healing rotes, we might be out of here in less than half an hour, assuming neither abberant nor zombie shows up... Quaen glances at the downed airship, "But we would likely have to leave the fallen behind, and there are too many unliving parasites in this world. Fixing the airship, on the other hand, will be a challenging prospect, out here in the middle of nowhere. Our additional presence will definitely be noted soon, and they may consider us a greater threat that each other. The necromancer in charge, too, may wish to shoot us down again, if they were behind the attack, which seems likely."
Quaen turns to Doc, asking: "How good do you think you are? If we can fix the contraption, it might be the best course if it can be done quickly."
__________________ I hate to interrupt, but I believe we're being followed. The Mimes on the street corner. No, don't look. ~ Mycroft, Broken Diamond
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Grant still stares in awe at a closer look at the machine. "Truly a marvel," he whispers. Upon hearing of the Cardinal's condition, Grant sets his jaw and says, "I can help to ease her pain a little. Give me what you have for now, I will use what I can. If she is not able to walk then, I will use some of your devices."
ooc
Let me know how attractive is the Cardinal when I get there.
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