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Story Hour
Hard Core Adventurers- KOTS 20.06 The Cathedral of Shadows
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 6086422" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px">KOTS Part 9c: In the Dark.</span></p><p></p><p>“When I get… oooff!” Sigur’s head thumps hard in to the wall- a great hairy clawed foot against his face- pressing down, crushing him in to the stone.</p><p>“Get off… Me.” The dwarf gasps.</p><p></p><p>The pressure subsides.</p><p>“Soooon. Soooon…” A lilting voice hisses and croons from the darkness.</p><p>“Filthy…” But that’s as far as Sigur gets.</p><p></p><p>It’s nearly an hour later when the dwarf comes around.</p><p>“… I don’t know why you do it- that’s all. You continue to make it worse for yourself, and for us, if you’d just shut up- stop antagonising them. Sigur? Sigur, are you listening to me?” Tonka asks.</p><p>Sigur shakes his head, to clear the cobwebs. “No!” He finally states.</p><p>“Clearly you are listening, your reply just another example of your churlish nature. What is it with you Sigur, hmm? Do you crave attention; do you always have to have the last word? Always?” Tonka asks, clearly exasperated with the dwarf.</p><p> </p><p>The silence extends.</p><p></p><p>“I said…” </p><p>“I heard what you said- I was just proving my point.” Sigur snaps back.</p><p>“And your point is?”</p><p>“I don’t have to have the last word- I don’t have to reply to you at all; in fact I’d probably be better off not listening to a word you said, as a rule.” The cranky dwarf goes on.</p><p>“Well, I’ve never been spoken to…” Tonka replies but is cut off.</p><p>“That I doubt. I bet people are telling you all the time to shut up- but you just go on and on and on. But the difference between me and you, dragonborn, is that I’ve actually been, seen and done things- I didn’t get my life experiences from reading books at some goddamn seminary at the arse end of nowhere.” The last line is delivered with malice and at volume.</p><p></p><p>The silence returns- for a good while, maybe thirty minutes.</p><p></p><p>Eventually Tonka, still angry, decides to try again- there’s nothing else to do.</p><p></p><p>“Why do you do it then? Why antagonise the wererats?” Tonka asks, genuinely desperate to know.</p><p>“So that they beat me!” Sigur replies sarcastically, as if the answer is obvious.</p><p>“So that they beat you?” Tonka parrots back, confused.</p><p>“You really don’t get it do you?” Sigur asks exasperated.</p><p>“No.” Tonka confirms.</p><p>“So that they beat me- and not you, or the bloody half-orc. You idiot.” Sigur explains.</p><p></p><p>The silence returns, goes on a while, again it’s Tonka that breaks it.</p><p></p><p>“That’s possibly the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.” Tonka states with emotion.</p><p>“Shut up!” Sigur snaps back.</p><p>“I’d not thought of it that way. Thank you, Sigur. Thank you.” Tonka’s voice wobbles a little.</p><p>“Gah!” Sigur spits.</p><p></p><p>Tonka goes to speak again but his words are drowned out by the sound of grinding stone, the wall ahead slides aside and light floods in to the chamber. </p><p></p><p>It’s a rough cavern, maybe ten feet square, no exit save for the secret door just opened.</p><p></p><p>The chamber is natural stone, shaped a little here and there, but uncomfortable. In the far corner lie the three adventurers, their arms and legs tied tightly, Tonka squints in the light- takes a moment to check out his companions.</p><p></p><p>Gokan lies silent still; the half-orc’s cuts have at last stopped bleeding, although Tonka is certain they are infected. Gokan has only been conscious twice, and then only briefly, in the last- Tonka estimates - 48 hours. The half-orc is hovering at death’s door.</p><p></p><p>Sigur is a mess, perhaps even more of a mess than Gokan; one eye is completely shut, blood covers the dwarf’s face and mats his beard and hair. There are at least a half-dozen of the dwarf’s teeth scattered on the floor around him, his mouth is a ragged bloody mess. Sigur has been stabbed, at least twice, and beaten- Tonka estimates, at least five times- he must have broken ribs, the dwarf wheezes when he breathes.</p><p></p><p>Tonka has been beaten once- he has a black eye. Gokan has not been touched.</p><p></p><p>Standing in the light are four halfling-sized wererats, grinning- several of them produce crude wooden clubs, one of them hefts a rock, the last a dagger. The vermin shuffle forward, grinning and hissing their pleasure.</p><p></p><p>Tonka knows what comes next.</p><p></p><p>Sigur snarls and… gets a dig in the ribs, which takes the dwarf’s breath away.</p><p></p><p>“You’re nothing but nasty mice. You’re cowards, horrible cowards. Yes, that’s it- horrible cheese-eating cowards! If I were free of these bonds…”</p><p></p><p>Tonka’s speech is quickly curtailed, or rather brutally curtailed; the wererats beat the dragonborn warlord severely, and stab him once in the leg for good measure.</p><p></p><p>They leave Sigur and Gokan be.</p><p></p><p>Tonka regains consciousness two hours later, the dragonborn’s moans and groans wake Sigur, even Gokan stirs a little. The light is gone- the door is shut, they’re back in the pitch black- and still with no food, or water.</p><p></p><p>“I feel terrible” Tonka finally mutters.</p><p>“So do I. Most of the time.” Sigur states, and then giggles.</p><p></p><p>The giggle turns to laughter</p><p></p><p>And after a moment’s hesitation Tonka joins in.</p><p></p><p>[sblock=Info]</p><p></p><p>Note, because these guys have been captured they are still level 1- in all the time in captivity they have not been allowed to rest properly. I also made each player make an Endurance check and Constitution check each day, for three days, mainly because it added tension and also helped me to craft the story dependent on their dice rolls and the PCs role-play, of course.</p><p></p><p>Tonka’s checks started well and then went downhill, although never terrible. Sigur’s checks started average and then got better. Gokan on the other hand had a critical failure on his first and second day- and thus remained unconscious. In contrast on the third day his checks were, unadjusted, ‘20’ and a ‘19’. The half-orc got better quickly.</p><p></p><p>All three characters are bloodied still, and have half their maximum healing surges, although they cannot access their surges as of yet- because of sleep deprivation, illness and constant beatings. </p><p></p><p>The rule is they can only access their healing surges again when they’re free, you’ll see.</p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/8045379223/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8045379223_612ce60117_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 6086422, member: 16069"] [CENTER][SIZE="5"]KOTS Part 9c: In the Dark.[/SIZE][/CENTER] “When I get… oooff!” Sigur’s head thumps hard in to the wall- a great hairy clawed foot against his face- pressing down, crushing him in to the stone. “Get off… Me.” The dwarf gasps. The pressure subsides. “Soooon. Soooon…” A lilting voice hisses and croons from the darkness. “Filthy…” But that’s as far as Sigur gets. It’s nearly an hour later when the dwarf comes around. “… I don’t know why you do it- that’s all. You continue to make it worse for yourself, and for us, if you’d just shut up- stop antagonising them. Sigur? Sigur, are you listening to me?” Tonka asks. Sigur shakes his head, to clear the cobwebs. “No!” He finally states. “Clearly you are listening, your reply just another example of your churlish nature. What is it with you Sigur, hmm? Do you crave attention; do you always have to have the last word? Always?” Tonka asks, clearly exasperated with the dwarf. The silence extends. “I said…” “I heard what you said- I was just proving my point.” Sigur snaps back. “And your point is?” “I don’t have to have the last word- I don’t have to reply to you at all; in fact I’d probably be better off not listening to a word you said, as a rule.” The cranky dwarf goes on. “Well, I’ve never been spoken to…” Tonka replies but is cut off. “That I doubt. I bet people are telling you all the time to shut up- but you just go on and on and on. But the difference between me and you, dragonborn, is that I’ve actually been, seen and done things- I didn’t get my life experiences from reading books at some goddamn seminary at the arse end of nowhere.” The last line is delivered with malice and at volume. The silence returns- for a good while, maybe thirty minutes. Eventually Tonka, still angry, decides to try again- there’s nothing else to do. “Why do you do it then? Why antagonise the wererats?” Tonka asks, genuinely desperate to know. “So that they beat me!” Sigur replies sarcastically, as if the answer is obvious. “So that they beat you?” Tonka parrots back, confused. “You really don’t get it do you?” Sigur asks exasperated. “No.” Tonka confirms. “So that they beat me- and not you, or the bloody half-orc. You idiot.” Sigur explains. The silence returns, goes on a while, again it’s Tonka that breaks it. “That’s possibly the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.” Tonka states with emotion. “Shut up!” Sigur snaps back. “I’d not thought of it that way. Thank you, Sigur. Thank you.” Tonka’s voice wobbles a little. “Gah!” Sigur spits. Tonka goes to speak again but his words are drowned out by the sound of grinding stone, the wall ahead slides aside and light floods in to the chamber. It’s a rough cavern, maybe ten feet square, no exit save for the secret door just opened. The chamber is natural stone, shaped a little here and there, but uncomfortable. In the far corner lie the three adventurers, their arms and legs tied tightly, Tonka squints in the light- takes a moment to check out his companions. Gokan lies silent still; the half-orc’s cuts have at last stopped bleeding, although Tonka is certain they are infected. Gokan has only been conscious twice, and then only briefly, in the last- Tonka estimates - 48 hours. The half-orc is hovering at death’s door. Sigur is a mess, perhaps even more of a mess than Gokan; one eye is completely shut, blood covers the dwarf’s face and mats his beard and hair. There are at least a half-dozen of the dwarf’s teeth scattered on the floor around him, his mouth is a ragged bloody mess. Sigur has been stabbed, at least twice, and beaten- Tonka estimates, at least five times- he must have broken ribs, the dwarf wheezes when he breathes. Tonka has been beaten once- he has a black eye. Gokan has not been touched. Standing in the light are four halfling-sized wererats, grinning- several of them produce crude wooden clubs, one of them hefts a rock, the last a dagger. The vermin shuffle forward, grinning and hissing their pleasure. Tonka knows what comes next. Sigur snarls and… gets a dig in the ribs, which takes the dwarf’s breath away. “You’re nothing but nasty mice. You’re cowards, horrible cowards. Yes, that’s it- horrible cheese-eating cowards! If I were free of these bonds…” Tonka’s speech is quickly curtailed, or rather brutally curtailed; the wererats beat the dragonborn warlord severely, and stab him once in the leg for good measure. They leave Sigur and Gokan be. Tonka regains consciousness two hours later, the dragonborn’s moans and groans wake Sigur, even Gokan stirs a little. The light is gone- the door is shut, they’re back in the pitch black- and still with no food, or water. “I feel terrible” Tonka finally mutters. “So do I. Most of the time.” Sigur states, and then giggles. The giggle turns to laughter And after a moment’s hesitation Tonka joins in. [sblock=Info] Note, because these guys have been captured they are still level 1- in all the time in captivity they have not been allowed to rest properly. I also made each player make an Endurance check and Constitution check each day, for three days, mainly because it added tension and also helped me to craft the story dependent on their dice rolls and the PCs role-play, of course. Tonka’s checks started well and then went downhill, although never terrible. Sigur’s checks started average and then got better. Gokan on the other hand had a critical failure on his first and second day- and thus remained unconscious. In contrast on the third day his checks were, unadjusted, ‘20’ and a ‘19’. The half-orc got better quickly. All three characters are bloodied still, and have half their maximum healing surges, although they cannot access their surges as of yet- because of sleep deprivation, illness and constant beatings. The rule is they can only access their healing surges again when they’re free, you’ll see. [/sblock] [CENTER][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/8045379223/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8045379223_612ce60117_o.png[/img][/url][/CENTER] [/QUOTE]
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