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Carnifex's Story Hour (Updated January 20th, "The Union")
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<blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 32518" data-attributes="member: 227"><p><strong>A time of conflict...</strong></p><p></p><p>And now for another update!</p><p></p><p><strong>Burl:</strong></p><p></p><p>Irial informs Burl that the small cult of disease-venerators they're heading off to cleanse have been attacking Pendarme by infecting some of their soldiers with disease - the high-ups want to know why, and they want the cult threat removed. Before they head off, Burl asks for some healing since he still hasn't fully recovered from the attack on the village of Irlain and the priest refused to heal him, and the elf tosses him a healing potion which brings him back up to full strength again.</p><p></p><p>They set off through night-time Iril, entering the Dock Quarter by the waterfront, an area where the poor lived in cramped houses along narrow lanes. They enter a maze of alleyways filled with refuse and garbagem before eventually coming to some steps down to a door into a basement. This apepars to be their destination.</p><p></p><p>There's a diseased old beggarman at the door who watches them suspiciously, and stubbornly denies knowledge when Irial asks him about a priest of the Bringer; Burl is somewhat taken aback when the irritated elf executes the beggar with a crossbow bolt through the head.</p><p></p><p>They prepare to break in, Irial advising Burl to cast any defensive magics he has now, but to save any offensive magic until they find the head priest rather than waste it on cultists. They break into the first room, a small dingy place where four sickly cultists in rags sit around a table; the advantage of surprise means that by the second round all four are dead, butthen the door over the other side opens and two dire rats charge Burl while a yellow-skinne, warty goblin stands in the doorway and attacks Irial. From beyond the sound of chanting can be heard, and Burl assumes they've found the priest.</p><p></p><p>The dire rats bite at Burl, one drawing blood before he kills it and then <em>dazes</em> the other to stun it until he can finish it off. Irial quickly despatches the golbin and then a cleric with a face covered in scar tissue, in filthy rags and clutching a flail, attacks. he too falls quickly.</p><p></p><p>They move into the next room, Burl slightly worried that he migth have contracted something from the rats bite. The chamber beyond is clearly the temple itself, a bare-walled room with slick moisture on floor, walls and ceiling, and fungus and mould growing in the corners. Two doors lead off - from behind one of which can be heard clanking and muttering - and at one end a small altar in a pile of rotting refuse can be seen. Irial uses alchemists fire to burn it and desecrate it, then they move to enter the room that the sounds can be heard emittimg from. Burl wonders to himself how anyone could worship a disease god if it means they live in such vile conditions.</p><p></p><p>Even as Irial reaches out to open the door, it swings open. Behind it is a big man in metal armour, face covered in scars like the other cleric and clutching a vicious flail. One hand glows with energy.</p><p></p><p>The elf falters at this surprise sight, and with a cry of 'Die, infidel!' the cleric reaches out and hits him with a <em>inflict serious wounds</em>, blasting him backwards as rents and lacerations burst across his chest. The priest turns on Burl next, mad-eyed, saying 'You next, despoiler of the temple!'.</p><p></p><p>Burl hits the cleric with a <em>negative energy ray</em> but he doesn't even falter, laughing the magic off and striking Burl with his flail - and then Irial, who had by now recovered a little, hits him from behind with both short swords (that's a lot of damage with the sneak attack, since the cleric was being flanked!). The cleric turns to strike Irial down but is hit <em>again</em> by both blades, and then Burl downs him with a magic missile.</p><p></p><p>They search the priests quarters in the room beyond, Burl wishing he could take back some of the cultist bodies since he reckons he could learn a lot from dissecting them, but he doesn't mention this to Irial. They find a journal and ntoes which they take to give to the high-ups of Pendarme, and a quick <em>detect magic</em> lets Burl see the corrupted innate magic running through the temple, and also the two vials and three scrolls in the clerics room that glow with magic - he grabs them. There's a key on the cleric too, but he wonders at the lack of any church funds until Irial points out to him that the worshippers of the Bringer of Pestilence are hardly wealthy.</p><p></p><p>They leave the cleric's quarters, intending to return to the Pendarme residence, but as they cross the temple chamber the other door they haven't yet explored swings opne and a tall, dark-skinned man in dark robes strides through, casting a <em>web</em> and entangling Irial. Burl fires at him to try and disrupt his next spell but the man keeps his concentration and torches the web, badly burning both the elven rogue and the human necromancer...</p><p></p><p><strong>Melisande, Meg'anna, Sandslipper, Ebri Zol and Sebastion:</strong></p><p></p><p>Melisande and Meg'anna hit the ground to try and avoid being seen by the fleshtearer, but it's to late; the figure glares at them, unnatural red eyes boring into them as they lie there trembling.</p><p></p><p>Instead of the expected storm of death descending upon them, it suddenly darts away agin into the trees. The line of dreadspawn is almost upon them though, so they get up and run as if the hells themselves were behind them.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Sandslipper tries to evade the oncoming dreadspawn by drawing upon Grumands Unseen Path and then trying to move silently and hide so that the dreadspawn would move past her without noticing her.</p><p></p><p><em>'Grumand's Unseen Path' is the name that Sandslipper gievs to her 'Pass without Trace' ability she has from being an earth genasi.</em></p><p></p><p>This fails, as she promptly steps on a twig, attracting the attention of the monsters; she too runs as fast as she can, hoping that due to her tracklessness she will be able to try again soon.</p><p></p><p>Ebri too finds herself in a fix - the cleric has been wandering through the woods and finds herself caught between a battle-line of armoured humans in one direction and a horde of dreadspawn in the other. Thus she, like the other four women, all end up coralled into one place; where the battleis going to take place.</p><p></p><p>It's a large sandy-floored clearing in the bowl at the end of a valley between two rises. A small brook flows out of a cave facing parallel to the oncoming lines of battle, and atop that stands a gnoll druid covered in vine-like tattooes. The four women break into this area from different angles, see each other and the druid, then see the two forces pouring out of the trees on either side - Sebastion being with the other Blood Ravens in the Carthagian forces. The Blood Ravens are more than a little confused by the four PC's in the middle of what is about to become a killing ground, but regardless the two forces charge at each other.</p><p></p><p>The women run for the cave, Meg trying to climb up the rock to reach the gnoll standing on top of the rocky outcrop. It becomes pretty clear that this wont work but the gnoll calls upon a spell which makes vines break through the rock and help the druidess up. The other three are left to shelter in the cave.</p><p></p><p>Battle is joined, the Blood Ravens in the thick of it, and the druid starts blasting the fleshtearer - which has piled into the thick of the fighting - with fire and lightning from on high.</p><p></p><p>In the midst of battle, Seb's horse, already dazed from the ogres slap and now panicked by the blasts of elemental energy, throws him; he rolls out from the melee without harm and finds himself at the cave mouth. Jarrus, one of the other Blood Ravens, tries to break through and rescue him but the horse slips and the dreadspawn pile onto the fallen mercenary.</p><p></p><p>Mere moments later a dead fleshtearer drops out of the sky right in front of Seb, giving him and the other three in the cave a bit of a shock. It had clambered up the rock face to attack the druid but a <em>spike stones</em> spell on the stone followed by an <em>ice storm</em> had finished it off.</p><p></p><p>Deacon Naerban, who had been accompanying the Carthagian force, is enraged by the defeat of his fleshtearer and blasts the druid with a <em>searing light</em> injuring it. It invokes the magic of its vine tattooes and actually changes form into a form amde up entirely of vines, which snake away into the ground, leaving Meg alone atop the rocky outcrop.</p><p></p><p>Seb suggests to the others that if theyw ant to live they'll have to run for it, but the others disagree - Mel is afraid that he'll just lead them back to a Carthagian camp and she'll be arrested for treason - the Deacon wouldn't look kindly on a defecting Manipulator, especially after losing two fleshtearers so recently. The others are leery of the idea too, and they wait.</p><p></p><p>The dreadspawn don't pursue the retreating humans, instead settling down to feed on the corpses of the slain out on the battle-field. They don't seem interested in attacking those in the cave yet, mayeb due to the dead 'tearer by the entrance or maybe just because they haven't eaten all the corpses yet. Meg climbs back down to rejoin the others, overjoyed to find that her friend Mel hadn't been eaten by Dreadspawn, while Seb starts to get emotional and angry, acting patronisingly towards the women - </p><p></p><p>"Well, if you insist on staying, take one of these at least. Hold the thin end, and try to hit with the sharp end... and don't hit me, you've already done enough to try and get me killed. One of you check the back of this cave, see if there's a way through..." </p><p></p><p>Meg is shocked to see a man - she hasn't seen one up close since her surrogate father died, having lived in solitude since then.</p><p></p><p>Mel ignores Seb's condescension and replies soothingly. "I have weapons, thank you. If you would just step back and quiet down, we might try to handle this situation rationally. I'll check the back of the cave, I can see in the dark."</p><p></p><p>"Which part of rational, Miss, is 'let's stay here and make ourselves easy targets for the gibbering horde out there?" he replies, thinking she must have become slightly unhinged at their predicament.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Anotehr update soon, charting the progression of Wyshira and Kale's journey...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Carnifex, post: 32518, member: 227"] [b]A time of conflict...[/b] And now for another update! [b]Burl:[/b] Irial informs Burl that the small cult of disease-venerators they're heading off to cleanse have been attacking Pendarme by infecting some of their soldiers with disease - the high-ups want to know why, and they want the cult threat removed. Before they head off, Burl asks for some healing since he still hasn't fully recovered from the attack on the village of Irlain and the priest refused to heal him, and the elf tosses him a healing potion which brings him back up to full strength again. They set off through night-time Iril, entering the Dock Quarter by the waterfront, an area where the poor lived in cramped houses along narrow lanes. They enter a maze of alleyways filled with refuse and garbagem before eventually coming to some steps down to a door into a basement. This apepars to be their destination. There's a diseased old beggarman at the door who watches them suspiciously, and stubbornly denies knowledge when Irial asks him about a priest of the Bringer; Burl is somewhat taken aback when the irritated elf executes the beggar with a crossbow bolt through the head. They prepare to break in, Irial advising Burl to cast any defensive magics he has now, but to save any offensive magic until they find the head priest rather than waste it on cultists. They break into the first room, a small dingy place where four sickly cultists in rags sit around a table; the advantage of surprise means that by the second round all four are dead, butthen the door over the other side opens and two dire rats charge Burl while a yellow-skinne, warty goblin stands in the doorway and attacks Irial. From beyond the sound of chanting can be heard, and Burl assumes they've found the priest. The dire rats bite at Burl, one drawing blood before he kills it and then [i]dazes[/i] the other to stun it until he can finish it off. Irial quickly despatches the golbin and then a cleric with a face covered in scar tissue, in filthy rags and clutching a flail, attacks. he too falls quickly. They move into the next room, Burl slightly worried that he migth have contracted something from the rats bite. The chamber beyond is clearly the temple itself, a bare-walled room with slick moisture on floor, walls and ceiling, and fungus and mould growing in the corners. Two doors lead off - from behind one of which can be heard clanking and muttering - and at one end a small altar in a pile of rotting refuse can be seen. Irial uses alchemists fire to burn it and desecrate it, then they move to enter the room that the sounds can be heard emittimg from. Burl wonders to himself how anyone could worship a disease god if it means they live in such vile conditions. Even as Irial reaches out to open the door, it swings open. Behind it is a big man in metal armour, face covered in scars like the other cleric and clutching a vicious flail. One hand glows with energy. The elf falters at this surprise sight, and with a cry of 'Die, infidel!' the cleric reaches out and hits him with a [i]inflict serious wounds[/i], blasting him backwards as rents and lacerations burst across his chest. The priest turns on Burl next, mad-eyed, saying 'You next, despoiler of the temple!'. Burl hits the cleric with a [i]negative energy ray[/i] but he doesn't even falter, laughing the magic off and striking Burl with his flail - and then Irial, who had by now recovered a little, hits him from behind with both short swords (that's a lot of damage with the sneak attack, since the cleric was being flanked!). The cleric turns to strike Irial down but is hit [i]again[/i] by both blades, and then Burl downs him with a magic missile. They search the priests quarters in the room beyond, Burl wishing he could take back some of the cultist bodies since he reckons he could learn a lot from dissecting them, but he doesn't mention this to Irial. They find a journal and ntoes which they take to give to the high-ups of Pendarme, and a quick [i]detect magic[/i] lets Burl see the corrupted innate magic running through the temple, and also the two vials and three scrolls in the clerics room that glow with magic - he grabs them. There's a key on the cleric too, but he wonders at the lack of any church funds until Irial points out to him that the worshippers of the Bringer of Pestilence are hardly wealthy. They leave the cleric's quarters, intending to return to the Pendarme residence, but as they cross the temple chamber the other door they haven't yet explored swings opne and a tall, dark-skinned man in dark robes strides through, casting a [i]web[/i] and entangling Irial. Burl fires at him to try and disrupt his next spell but the man keeps his concentration and torches the web, badly burning both the elven rogue and the human necromancer... [b]Melisande, Meg'anna, Sandslipper, Ebri Zol and Sebastion:[/b] Melisande and Meg'anna hit the ground to try and avoid being seen by the fleshtearer, but it's to late; the figure glares at them, unnatural red eyes boring into them as they lie there trembling. Instead of the expected storm of death descending upon them, it suddenly darts away agin into the trees. The line of dreadspawn is almost upon them though, so they get up and run as if the hells themselves were behind them. Meanwhile Sandslipper tries to evade the oncoming dreadspawn by drawing upon Grumands Unseen Path and then trying to move silently and hide so that the dreadspawn would move past her without noticing her. [i]'Grumand's Unseen Path' is the name that Sandslipper gievs to her 'Pass without Trace' ability she has from being an earth genasi.[/i] This fails, as she promptly steps on a twig, attracting the attention of the monsters; she too runs as fast as she can, hoping that due to her tracklessness she will be able to try again soon. Ebri too finds herself in a fix - the cleric has been wandering through the woods and finds herself caught between a battle-line of armoured humans in one direction and a horde of dreadspawn in the other. Thus she, like the other four women, all end up coralled into one place; where the battleis going to take place. It's a large sandy-floored clearing in the bowl at the end of a valley between two rises. A small brook flows out of a cave facing parallel to the oncoming lines of battle, and atop that stands a gnoll druid covered in vine-like tattooes. The four women break into this area from different angles, see each other and the druid, then see the two forces pouring out of the trees on either side - Sebastion being with the other Blood Ravens in the Carthagian forces. The Blood Ravens are more than a little confused by the four PC's in the middle of what is about to become a killing ground, but regardless the two forces charge at each other. The women run for the cave, Meg trying to climb up the rock to reach the gnoll standing on top of the rocky outcrop. It becomes pretty clear that this wont work but the gnoll calls upon a spell which makes vines break through the rock and help the druidess up. The other three are left to shelter in the cave. Battle is joined, the Blood Ravens in the thick of it, and the druid starts blasting the fleshtearer - which has piled into the thick of the fighting - with fire and lightning from on high. In the midst of battle, Seb's horse, already dazed from the ogres slap and now panicked by the blasts of elemental energy, throws him; he rolls out from the melee without harm and finds himself at the cave mouth. Jarrus, one of the other Blood Ravens, tries to break through and rescue him but the horse slips and the dreadspawn pile onto the fallen mercenary. Mere moments later a dead fleshtearer drops out of the sky right in front of Seb, giving him and the other three in the cave a bit of a shock. It had clambered up the rock face to attack the druid but a [i]spike stones[/i] spell on the stone followed by an [i]ice storm[/i] had finished it off. Deacon Naerban, who had been accompanying the Carthagian force, is enraged by the defeat of his fleshtearer and blasts the druid with a [i]searing light[/i] injuring it. It invokes the magic of its vine tattooes and actually changes form into a form amde up entirely of vines, which snake away into the ground, leaving Meg alone atop the rocky outcrop. Seb suggests to the others that if theyw ant to live they'll have to run for it, but the others disagree - Mel is afraid that he'll just lead them back to a Carthagian camp and she'll be arrested for treason - the Deacon wouldn't look kindly on a defecting Manipulator, especially after losing two fleshtearers so recently. The others are leery of the idea too, and they wait. The dreadspawn don't pursue the retreating humans, instead settling down to feed on the corpses of the slain out on the battle-field. They don't seem interested in attacking those in the cave yet, mayeb due to the dead 'tearer by the entrance or maybe just because they haven't eaten all the corpses yet. Meg climbs back down to rejoin the others, overjoyed to find that her friend Mel hadn't been eaten by Dreadspawn, while Seb starts to get emotional and angry, acting patronisingly towards the women - "Well, if you insist on staying, take one of these at least. Hold the thin end, and try to hit with the sharp end... and don't hit me, you've already done enough to try and get me killed. One of you check the back of this cave, see if there's a way through..." Meg is shocked to see a man - she hasn't seen one up close since her surrogate father died, having lived in solitude since then. Mel ignores Seb's condescension and replies soothingly. "I have weapons, thank you. If you would just step back and quiet down, we might try to handle this situation rationally. I'll check the back of the cave, I can see in the dark." "Which part of rational, Miss, is 'let's stay here and make ourselves easy targets for the gibbering horde out there?" he replies, thinking she must have become slightly unhinged at their predicament. Anotehr update soon, charting the progression of Wyshira and Kale's journey... [/QUOTE]
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