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Gamislore: Here it comes again
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<blockquote data-quote="SnowleopardVK" data-source="post: 5627885" data-attributes="member: 6677945"><p>Episode 3: Breaking apart again</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Slaal, Yaros, and Maka awoke in a cramped room, or what would be a cramped room at any rate if it had not been missing one of its walls.</p><p></p><p>“We’re inside the ship” Maka gasped, seeing the torn back half of the vessel through the opening in the wall.</p><p></p><p>“Shh” Slaal whispered, “We have company.”</p><p></p><p>The other two could see the bars on the door, but they were not sitting at an angle to see what was on the other side. The skeleton of a lizardfolk, armed with a spear stood in the hall for a moment, looking through the bars before it turned and stalked off out of sight, patrolling.</p><p></p><p>“It’s gone” Slaal sighed. “The skeleton again. How did we end up here?”</p><p></p><p>“I think we’ve been captured” Maka said, “This must be some kind of holding room on the ship. Not the best one though considering we could just jump out through the open wall.”</p><p></p><p>“I’d rather not leap into that water without knowing what’s in there” Yaros muttered, “Especially not without our full group.”</p><p></p><p>“Sizemet is missing” Slaal agreed, “Hopefully he has avoided capture and is doing better than the rest of us.”</p><p></p><p>“We’ll have to trust that he’ll be fine on his own” Maka said, “Our first priority is getting out of here.” She got to her feet and quickly examined her body, there were no injuries, and she still had her weapons and armour. The others appeared to be in the same condition.</p><p></p><p>“If going into the water isn’t an option, then how about breaking down the door?” Maka asked.</p><p></p><p>Yaros moved to the bars and tugged one, testing it. “I don’t think the bars themselves will break easily” he commented, “But the wood they’re anchored in might give way. It looks as though it’s been here for quite a while and may have rotted a bit.”</p><p></p><p>Maka stepped up to the door beside him. “Alright, we’ll try that” she agreed. “If the bars break there’s going to be fighting, probably right away, so I’ll go in first.”</p><p></p><p>“You?” Slaal asked “You intend to go in first?”</p><p></p><p>“Trust me” Maka said, “Without Sizemet around I’m the best choice for the front lines. Yaros, you follow me in and Slaal you bring up the rear.</p><p></p><p>Yaros pulled hard on the iron bars of their cell, the wood they were mounted in creaked but they did not give way. Not one to be dissuaded he tried again, still with no success.</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps we should use a different tactic” Slaal muttered.</p><p></p><p>“I’m going to give it one more shot” Yaros grunted, grasping the bars and pulling with all his might. His effort was met with a resounding crack as the doorframe gave way and the bars were torn completely from the rotting wood around them!</p><p></p><p>“Great” Maka whispered, quickly stepping through the now-open door and peering down the hallway. The hall was empty though, dimly lit by covered lamps of pale blue fire mounted on the right wall. “No skeleton” she muttered, “I’m going to take a look ahead. Don’t fall too far behind me.” With that she quickly crept down the dim hall, a few feet past a single closed door on her right and to the far end, peering around a corner to see that the hall itself ended from there, but that a ladder ascended to an upper level.</p><p></p><p>Yaros and Slaal followed, although not as quickly, and Maka glanced back at them. “It goes up from here” she informed the two, “I think we should check the other room first though.”</p><p></p><p>The other two nodded and approached the other door as Maka hurried back to join them. They opened to door and stepped inside to find that the room was dark, only receiving a very small amount of light from the hallway behind them.</p><p></p><p>“Yaros, your sword” Slaal commented.</p><p></p><p>“Right” Yaros said with a nod, holding the glowing blade up to illuminate the room. It was dank and mostly bare, with a few long-ruined hammocks strewn about the floor or still hanging above on frayed ropes, rocking back and forth gently in time with the ship.</p><p></p><p> Suddenly a new source of light began to enter the room as several glowing orbs of white light began to fade into existence, hanging in the air in front of them. The adventurers only had time to note that there were around twenty of these orbs, and that they varied in size from being as small as a tooth to as large as a head. After they had all appeared the orbs immediately began to whirl slowly around the room, picking up speed quickly until they were whizzing past dangerously close to the adventurers’ heads. As the orbs picked up speed, the door they had entered through slammed shut!</p><p></p><p>Maka and Yaros immediately ducked to try and avoid the whirling orbs. “We have to get out of here” Maka shouted.</p><p></p><p>Yaros nodded and attempted to push the closed door open with his shoulder, but failed. Maka attempted to push it as well, but also had no success.</p><p></p><p>“There is no danger” Slaal growled. In an attempt to prove his point he held up a claw, allowing one of the orbs to pass through it with no effect. The others didn’t seem to notice however, and were still doing their best to escape the room in a panic.</p><p></p><p>Slaal sighed and turned to survey the room once more. There was another door at the left that was slightly ajar, and Slaal could see that it only led to what appeared to be a storage closet. Seeing no way of dealing with the panic-inducing lights or his teammates, his moved towards the closet. Inside were mostly old and broken things, torn mould-covered blankets, and an awful smell. Slaal was now certain that this room had once been the sleeping-quarters of this ship’s old crew. He also noticed a small bronze key that glinted faintly in the light of the whizzing orbs. He reached for the key and touched it tentatively to see if it would provoke any reaction from the orbs. It did not, so Slaal picked it up and tucked it into his robes.</p><p></p><p>Yaros and Maka continued throwing their weight against the door in hopes of forcing it open, and this time were met with more success. Whatever malevolent effect had slammed it could not resist Yaros’ strength, and gave way. The automaton stumbled into the hall as the door suddenly swung open, and Maka quickly darted out after him. In the hallway they were met once again with the lizardfolk skeleton, which had apparently returned from its patrol of the upper levels.</p><p></p><p>Slaal turned as he heard the other door crash open, just in time to see Yaros and Maka stumble through it and the door slam shut again. The orbs of light froze at that moment and then, as if realizing they would now do more harm by retreating, flickered out of sight. Without Yaros’ sword or the orbs to provide light, the room descended into pitch-black darkness.</p><p></p><p>Slaal cursed under his breath.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The skeleton stepped forwards, giving no sound or facial expression of hostility but indicating it well enough by ramming its spear straight into Yaros! The automaton grunted in pain and clutched at its stomach-area as the weapon pierced into his internal frame.</p><p></p><p>“Heads up” Maka called, quickly stepping behind Yaros and falling to a crouch. “Hope this works” she muttered, realizing she had never really bothered to practice any acrobatic skills. Still, what she was about to attempt was something rather common among her race, so she hoped she could manage to pull it off. With that last hopeful thought in mind, Maka sprang. She leapt over Yaros’s head, and the skeleton’s too and landed on the other side of her enemy! “That oughta make things a little easier” Maka said with a grin, rising from her landing and turning to face the skeleton. Now she and Yaros were on opposite sides of the monster.</p><p></p><p>“He’s all yours” Maka grinned.</p><p></p><p>Yaros straightened once again to his full height, sword impressively glowing in his hand. “I appreciate the help” he said before thrusting it into the undead enemy. The sword’s point shattered the creature’s ribcage and pierced into its spine, tearing it in two!</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile on the other side of the door Slaal was moving in the now-dark room. He placed his claw on the wall and began feeling his way slowly along until he came to the door Maka and Yaros had exited through. Slaal then made sure he was directly in front of the door before taking a single step back and rushing it with his shoulder. He smashed through with the charge, but didn’t come out in the hallway as he’d expected.</p><p></p><p>To be continued...</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Aw man, that was mean Electric. I'm beginning to think you're splitting the party deliberately (Also, I wasn't even in this one. *sadface*). Great moves from Maka this time though, and an amazing hit from Yaros. Sneak Attack is awesome.</p><p></p><p>So Maka has at last used the homebrew catfolk pounce ability we made. Well I'm not going to bore you with all the really specific details of the pounce rules here, but essentially it allows a catfolk to make an acrobatics check to jump in a straight line. A successful pounce passes over difficult terrain, enemies, and allies as if the catfolk was going through empty space, and the maneuver causes her to avoid AoO during the move, unless it fails, in which case she doesn't move at all and provokes AoO.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SnowleopardVK, post: 5627885, member: 6677945"] Episode 3: Breaking apart again *** Slaal, Yaros, and Maka awoke in a cramped room, or what would be a cramped room at any rate if it had not been missing one of its walls. “We’re inside the ship” Maka gasped, seeing the torn back half of the vessel through the opening in the wall. “Shh” Slaal whispered, “We have company.” The other two could see the bars on the door, but they were not sitting at an angle to see what was on the other side. The skeleton of a lizardfolk, armed with a spear stood in the hall for a moment, looking through the bars before it turned and stalked off out of sight, patrolling. “It’s gone” Slaal sighed. “The skeleton again. How did we end up here?” “I think we’ve been captured” Maka said, “This must be some kind of holding room on the ship. Not the best one though considering we could just jump out through the open wall.” “I’d rather not leap into that water without knowing what’s in there” Yaros muttered, “Especially not without our full group.” “Sizemet is missing” Slaal agreed, “Hopefully he has avoided capture and is doing better than the rest of us.” “We’ll have to trust that he’ll be fine on his own” Maka said, “Our first priority is getting out of here.” She got to her feet and quickly examined her body, there were no injuries, and she still had her weapons and armour. The others appeared to be in the same condition. “If going into the water isn’t an option, then how about breaking down the door?” Maka asked. Yaros moved to the bars and tugged one, testing it. “I don’t think the bars themselves will break easily” he commented, “But the wood they’re anchored in might give way. It looks as though it’s been here for quite a while and may have rotted a bit.” Maka stepped up to the door beside him. “Alright, we’ll try that” she agreed. “If the bars break there’s going to be fighting, probably right away, so I’ll go in first.” “You?” Slaal asked “You intend to go in first?” “Trust me” Maka said, “Without Sizemet around I’m the best choice for the front lines. Yaros, you follow me in and Slaal you bring up the rear. Yaros pulled hard on the iron bars of their cell, the wood they were mounted in creaked but they did not give way. Not one to be dissuaded he tried again, still with no success. “Perhaps we should use a different tactic” Slaal muttered. “I’m going to give it one more shot” Yaros grunted, grasping the bars and pulling with all his might. His effort was met with a resounding crack as the doorframe gave way and the bars were torn completely from the rotting wood around them! “Great” Maka whispered, quickly stepping through the now-open door and peering down the hallway. The hall was empty though, dimly lit by covered lamps of pale blue fire mounted on the right wall. “No skeleton” she muttered, “I’m going to take a look ahead. Don’t fall too far behind me.” With that she quickly crept down the dim hall, a few feet past a single closed door on her right and to the far end, peering around a corner to see that the hall itself ended from there, but that a ladder ascended to an upper level. Yaros and Slaal followed, although not as quickly, and Maka glanced back at them. “It goes up from here” she informed the two, “I think we should check the other room first though.” The other two nodded and approached the other door as Maka hurried back to join them. They opened to door and stepped inside to find that the room was dark, only receiving a very small amount of light from the hallway behind them. “Yaros, your sword” Slaal commented. “Right” Yaros said with a nod, holding the glowing blade up to illuminate the room. It was dank and mostly bare, with a few long-ruined hammocks strewn about the floor or still hanging above on frayed ropes, rocking back and forth gently in time with the ship. Suddenly a new source of light began to enter the room as several glowing orbs of white light began to fade into existence, hanging in the air in front of them. The adventurers only had time to note that there were around twenty of these orbs, and that they varied in size from being as small as a tooth to as large as a head. After they had all appeared the orbs immediately began to whirl slowly around the room, picking up speed quickly until they were whizzing past dangerously close to the adventurers’ heads. As the orbs picked up speed, the door they had entered through slammed shut! Maka and Yaros immediately ducked to try and avoid the whirling orbs. “We have to get out of here” Maka shouted. Yaros nodded and attempted to push the closed door open with his shoulder, but failed. Maka attempted to push it as well, but also had no success. “There is no danger” Slaal growled. In an attempt to prove his point he held up a claw, allowing one of the orbs to pass through it with no effect. The others didn’t seem to notice however, and were still doing their best to escape the room in a panic. Slaal sighed and turned to survey the room once more. There was another door at the left that was slightly ajar, and Slaal could see that it only led to what appeared to be a storage closet. Seeing no way of dealing with the panic-inducing lights or his teammates, his moved towards the closet. Inside were mostly old and broken things, torn mould-covered blankets, and an awful smell. Slaal was now certain that this room had once been the sleeping-quarters of this ship’s old crew. He also noticed a small bronze key that glinted faintly in the light of the whizzing orbs. He reached for the key and touched it tentatively to see if it would provoke any reaction from the orbs. It did not, so Slaal picked it up and tucked it into his robes. Yaros and Maka continued throwing their weight against the door in hopes of forcing it open, and this time were met with more success. Whatever malevolent effect had slammed it could not resist Yaros’ strength, and gave way. The automaton stumbled into the hall as the door suddenly swung open, and Maka quickly darted out after him. In the hallway they were met once again with the lizardfolk skeleton, which had apparently returned from its patrol of the upper levels. Slaal turned as he heard the other door crash open, just in time to see Yaros and Maka stumble through it and the door slam shut again. The orbs of light froze at that moment and then, as if realizing they would now do more harm by retreating, flickered out of sight. Without Yaros’ sword or the orbs to provide light, the room descended into pitch-black darkness. Slaal cursed under his breath. *** The skeleton stepped forwards, giving no sound or facial expression of hostility but indicating it well enough by ramming its spear straight into Yaros! The automaton grunted in pain and clutched at its stomach-area as the weapon pierced into his internal frame. “Heads up” Maka called, quickly stepping behind Yaros and falling to a crouch. “Hope this works” she muttered, realizing she had never really bothered to practice any acrobatic skills. Still, what she was about to attempt was something rather common among her race, so she hoped she could manage to pull it off. With that last hopeful thought in mind, Maka sprang. She leapt over Yaros’s head, and the skeleton’s too and landed on the other side of her enemy! “That oughta make things a little easier” Maka said with a grin, rising from her landing and turning to face the skeleton. Now she and Yaros were on opposite sides of the monster. “He’s all yours” Maka grinned. Yaros straightened once again to his full height, sword impressively glowing in his hand. “I appreciate the help” he said before thrusting it into the undead enemy. The sword’s point shattered the creature’s ribcage and pierced into its spine, tearing it in two! *** Meanwhile on the other side of the door Slaal was moving in the now-dark room. He placed his claw on the wall and began feeling his way slowly along until he came to the door Maka and Yaros had exited through. Slaal then made sure he was directly in front of the door before taking a single step back and rushing it with his shoulder. He smashed through with the charge, but didn’t come out in the hallway as he’d expected. To be continued... *** Aw man, that was mean Electric. I'm beginning to think you're splitting the party deliberately (Also, I wasn't even in this one. *sadface*). Great moves from Maka this time though, and an amazing hit from Yaros. Sneak Attack is awesome. So Maka has at last used the homebrew catfolk pounce ability we made. Well I'm not going to bore you with all the really specific details of the pounce rules here, but essentially it allows a catfolk to make an acrobatics check to jump in a straight line. A successful pounce passes over difficult terrain, enemies, and allies as if the catfolk was going through empty space, and the maneuver causes her to avoid AoO during the move, unless it fails, in which case she doesn't move at all and provokes AoO. [/QUOTE]
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