Paridon: The Dark Metropolis (Ravenloft)

Sasha casts a sidelong glance at Torhan. "Pity... it's from Borca, and quite good." She sighs as she puts her glass down.

"Alek's the eldest son of the Combledorn family," Sasha begins. "They run the gnomes' black market. Smuggling, assassinations, you name it. If you need it and can't get it, the Combledorns have it."


Darian raises the key. The smoky air fills with muffled shouts and clanking chains.


"We first met when Alek got me a job as a dancing girl. The place was rough, and there were a lot of humans there... I learned a lot about what humans like... Right. Sorry, officer. Anyway, Alek showed up about a month ago, selling some new pink crystal he called 'Love.' It was, um, more powerful than he expected." Sasha mindlessly rubs her shoulder. "He installed metal bars on stage the very next day."


Calahan slowly walks over to the madman and hits him with the knuckle of his kukri, dry and hard. "Keep quiet, bastard, or I will cut your ears." The madman does not stop his thrashing.


"Love was the big new thing at the club. You take it, fall in love. The next day, you fall out of love. It's a beautiful, terrible thing." Sasha fixes her gaze on Torhan's eyes. The look there is fearful, guilty. "You'll do anything while you're in love. Anything. Like wear a mask he gives you as your new face. I suppose I was lucky, though. I got to keep my hands."


The madman starts shaking his head back and forth, in a desperate attempt to avoid the key. Calahan grabs the beak at the tip and tugs hard, reminding him who's in control.

"Looks like you found what the bird's afraid of, Darian," Ru says.


"He called us his 'pets.' He kept us in line by holding onto all the keys himself. If you wanted to talk, to eat, to drink, almost anything really, you had to do as he said. And never get caught. Because he also gave us this."

Sasha reaches between the scarves of her outfit and pulls out a small silver key. "It's not a key to anything. And if you try to take the mask off with it..."


Calahan holds up the mask. Darian slides the key into the lock and turns the key with a *click.*

The madman screams in abject terror.

"Wait..." Fr. Berman calls, realizing something is wrong.


"...it explodes."


BOOM!
Shards of the bird-mask fly into and through Darian and Calahan. Ru, caught off guard and still smarting from earlier, fails to fall out of the way of the hot debris. Fr. Berman manages to get a cloaked arm up in time to deflect some of the bloody shrapnel, but is still hit. He slowly lowers his arm to see his companions, lying in shock, covered in blood and ceramic, stunned by the event. The madman is far, far less fortunate.


Sasha starts at the sound. "Garl, what was that?"

[sblock=ooc]Ru, Darian, and Calahan take 20 points of damage each. Fr. Berman made his save and takes 10.[/sblock]

Darn, that was a close call...

Spiked with the shrapnels, but roaring like a wild animal, Calahan is the first to react after the explosion...

His eyes glowing of bloodlust, he jumps foreward and lets his Kukri slash down on the remains of the madman, barking like a dog...

Darian lay on the ground, helpless. His eyes widen in shock at the sudden impact, but as the realization of what has happened comes to him, a sick and twisted smile comes to his face.

"Damn," he says. "Wasn't expecting that one. Someone help me out here."

"I don't know what that was, but I should go and check." Torhan stands to leave. at the door he turns back to Sasha. "Remain here for now...it is safe, I assure you. I'll speak with you again shortly. And thank you." The paladin smiles and nods his head at the gnome, and then leaves the chamber to find out what is going on.

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru's breathing is ragged as he wipes blood from his eyes, staring rather dimly at the large piece of mask-beak embedded in his side. Struggling out of his pack, he fumbles for a vial of liquid. The monk sets his face with an obvious determination, and yanks the ceramic beak from his belly even as he gulps down the potion. Rather than opening a gout of blood by removing the shrapnel, Ru's wound actually appears to shrink as he throws both the mask piece and the used potion vial to the side.

"So much for that line of inquiry," he says, forcing himself to his feet.

[sblock=OOC]Used one of his CLW potions.[/sblock]

Father Berman shakes off the bloody shrapnel.

"Calm down, everyone" he says. "At least none of us were killed. Flesh wounds I can heal, so who's the most badly hurt?

We'll have to investigate the mask-maker. That's a better lead than he was likely to give us, anyway."

ooc: He will swap out his two remaining second level spells to case CMW (2d8+4) on Darian and Calahan, and will swap magic weapon and remove fear to cast CLW (1d8+4) on himself, and Ru.

[sblock=ooc]Darian gains 14 hp. Calahan gains 11 hp. Ru gains 14 hp. Fr. Berman gains 11 hp.[/sblock]

Sasha nods and smiles in return as Torhan rushes out into the corridor. A bell alarm rings as other policemen head down into the dungeon, swords drawn.

Downstairs, there is pandemonium. The more insane of the criminals below have begun shouting, "Jailbreak! Jailbreak!" Enforcers are busy making sure that everyone is in their cells, bludgeoning with saps as necessary. Things will soon be under control again.

Torhan makes his way to the interrogation chamber. One of the enforcers, a young man named Fitch, snorts and shakes his head as Torhan passes into the room. Inside, the walls glisten with a fresh spatter, flickering in the torchlight. A pair of enforcers grapple Calahan, restraining his fury of a wounded beast. The madman's corpse hangs limply from the manacles. Darian sits up against the wall, injured and shocked. Ru waves off further assistance as he rises to his feet, only to vomit up a bloody ceramic shard. Fr. Berman seems to have avoided the worst of the blast as he walks toward Torhan. The priest's eyes are filled with urgency, horror, and concern.

Torhan immediately sums up what has happened. "The mask?" he asks, concern in his voice. As he notes the struggling Calahan, he barks at the man. "Calahan! Restrain yourself!"

Calahan is still his frenzy, but stops swinging his weapon agains tthe guards... Yet, his eyes have rolled up, and you can see the white in them, as the ranger growls and barks like a mad dog...

Then he sinks into the arms of the guards, bathed in sweat and breathing heavily...

"Cigar" is all he says. "Quickly, tobacco for me... Please."

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Rhun said:

Torhan immediately sums up what has happened. "The mask?" he asks, concern in his voice. As he notes the struggling Calahan, he barks at the man. "Calahan! Restrain yourself!"

Click to expand...

Ru nods with a grimace. "We found a key for it. Or, at least, that's what we thought it was for..." he glances back at what remains of the man who once wore the mask and shakes his head.