Metropolis - The Weight of the World (and Found Wanting)

[Scotley]

The sleeping horde, covered in blood, bile and partially devoured flesh, began to moan...

Jazick stands mezmerized for a moment and then realizes that whatever the halfling is doing it can't be good. Regaining his composure and once more seeing himself as a protector of his people, Jazick reaches up to take bow in hand. Moving quickly now, he looses first one shaft and then as it the first is still in the air another arrow at the halfling. Beads of sweat form on his forehead has he feels a sense of great urgency.

OOC: [sblock]Rapid shot, two arrows at +6 for 1d8+1. If the halfling is within 30', which seems unlikely then an extra plus on on the attack and damage rolls.[/sblock]

 

[Phoenix]

For a quarter of a century Azot had waited for this moment, the day when he would stand before Sebek to be judged fit or unfit to continue to serve. As the twin crimson orbs drew nearer, Azot managed the strength to take a step closer to the edge of the walkway, his eyes ignoring the huge chunks of blasted corpses that were floating around him.

It had been five years since the last time Azot had forced his vocal cords to produce any noise other than a grunt or an exclamation of pain, but his god had spoken and he would not be silent any longer.

"...Sebek..."

The burning gaze of Azot's deity sloshed through the bodies and filth, it's massive form crawling across the pile of corpses to tower over the dwarf. Jagged scales scraped at the stone of the tunnel walls, leaving deep grooves and tearing at the masonry, the god's form also crushing the bodies beneath its form effortlessly.

"...Azot..."

Blood caked on Sebek's underbelly, something that Azot had assumed initially was the remains of his god's last meal, or victim, which he now saw was neither. A terrible wound had opened up in the god, tearing its flesh open and pulling at its innards, in a mortal it would be a fatal wound, but to Sebek who could tell?

"...the men, dig too deep. The city was not meant to see past its walls..."

Sebek dropped its heavy form in the sewer, spashing filth across the tunnel walls. The god seemed to be struggling, its voice deep, grating, but weak.

"...I ask little past what you give, but the Jackals are circling us all. You must head into the city above, find the men that dig deep, the ones that seek..."

The great beast coughs, his immense form causing the entire tunnel to shudder.

"...seek what lies outside the city..."

 

[GlassEye]

The storm continued outside, spilling foul water into the streets and causing a foul stench to hang in the air. Dozens of homeless people huddled within the doorways and alleyways, trying to avoid the freezing wind that blew through the streets. Thom hissed at a puddle near the doorway, hiding behind Ymris and warbling a strange meow.

Metropolis suffered at the hands of the storm, but for Ymris it seemed like everywhere there was suffering, hatred, and fear. Her journey from Three Stone Green had only taken her into the next suburb, into a place people called The Labyrinth, a maze of alleyways and tiny streets where hundreds of people huddled in the streets, starving and freezing to death.

A flash of lightning overhead was followed by a rumbling of thunder, the dark clouds overhead revealing that the storm would not end soon. Rain poured heavier from the skies, flooding the streets and running into the storm drains nearby. Several rats crawled from the cracks of the streets and rat for cover, one of them catching Thom's eye, and in a moment the both of them were gone, scurring into a tiny hole beneath a old glassblower's shop.

Hesitating, Ymris stands in the doorway and shrugs her cloak tighter around her body in a vain effort to keep the wind from chilling her bones. The Green never seemed so cold, she thinks. But then, our halls were filled with sisterly camaraderie. And blazing hearths. She wrinkles her nose at the stench and stares at a rag-clad man scrunched up against the wall of the alley outside the door and wonders if he is dead until he with deliberate slowness turns his head and stares at her with eyes deadened to feeling by a harsh life in the Labyrinth.

Unnerved somewhat by the stare she shifts her gaze to the rumbling skies and sighs. I'll be soaked to the bone today. She shivers her dislike for the weather in general and this suburb in particular and draws her hood up to cover her head. The Labyrinth. Aptly named, she thinks. But is there a beast that lives in its heart, like in the old child's story? She hopes not. Unaccountably a face she hasn't seen in what? 16 years? comes to mind: her smiling, beautiful, young Ari Kolarn. Not so young, now. If he still lives.

Disquieted by her turn of thought she shivers again. A flash of orange catches her eye and she turns in time to see Thom's tail disappearing down a hole, likely after one of the ubiquitous rats infesting this place. "Good hunting, my friend," she murmurs. Knowing Thom will find her again when he's ready she straightens her spine and closes the door firmly behind her. Striding into the alley she tries to keep to the center as much as possible avoiding clusters of the ragged when she can.

She walks quickly wanting to pass through the Labyrinth to the suburb on the other side. The dark day and the residue from her dark dreams continues to infect her thoughts. How many sisters stepped out into the city and never returned? The image of the coin balanced on its edge comes to mind; the woman stripped of her flesh seeming to look coldly at her. Shivering yet again, Ymris strides on...

 

[Phoenix]

Jazick stands mezmerized for a moment and then realizes that whatever the halfling is doing it can't be good. Regaining his composure and once more seeing himself as a protector of his people, Jazick reaches up to take bow in hand. Moving quickly now, he looses first one shaft and then as it the first is still in the air another arrow at the halfling. Beads of sweat form on his forehead has he feels a sense of great urgency.

OOC: [sblock]Rapid shot, two arrows at +6 for 1d8+1. If the halfling is within 30', which seems unlikely then an extra plus on on the attack and damage rolls.[/sblock]

[sblock]Jazick attack roll (Mr Blue - AC hidden) +21/+21 - Hit/Hit
Jazick damage roll - 5pts/7pts (12?/??)
Intelligence check (DC 5) +18 - Success[/sblock]

The motion is natural for Jazick, the arrows are flying through the air before he can think about aiming. Both arrows narrowly pass the swaying sleepers, striking true as they bury themselves deep in the halfling's body.

No blood spews from the suited man's body, his body barely moves against the impact, but the distraction causes the magic to disjoin, crackling through the air and fading into the storm above. Instead of looking angry or frustrated, the halfling smiles a little, looking down at the arrows and out into the darkness towards where Jazick hid.

The creature, he could've had Jazick before...he let him follow him to the Square...or maybe, he was lead here...

Above him the storm rumbled and darkened a little, churning with an unhealthy reaction to dark magic.

 

[Tonks]

The burning gaze of Azot's deity sloshed through the bodies and filth, it's massive form crawling across the pile of corpses to tower over the dwarf. Jagged scales scraped at the stone of the tunnel walls, leaving deep grooves and tearing at the masonry, the god's form also crushing the bodies beneath its form effortlessly.

"...Azot..."

Blood caked on Sebek's underbelly, something that Azot had assumed initially was the remains of his god's last meal, or victim, which he now saw was neither. A terrible wound had opened up in the god, tearing its flesh open and pulling at its innards, in a mortal it would be a fatal wound, but to Sebek who could tell?

"...the men, dig too deep. The city was not meant to see past its walls..."

Sebek dropped its heavy form in the sewer, spashing filth across the tunnel walls. The god seemed to be struggling, its voice deep, grating, but weak.

"...I ask little past what you give, but the Jackals are circling us all. You must head into the city above, find the men that dig deep, the ones that seek..."

The great beast coughs, his immense form causing the entire tunnel to shudder.

"...seek what lies outside the city..."

Shaking his head in open disbelief at the notion that there was any action that could harm Sebek, Azot's voice was stolen from him again. He had been prepared to be consumed by his god, banished from the faithful and left to wander the sewers lost for all eternity, but he was not expecting to be told to leave the sewers and once again face the wild lands that claimed to be civilized.

As the avatar of Sebek coughed again, sending another tremor through the passageway, Azot felt disbelief fade to sadness and sadness to anger at the Jackels who threatened his god.

"I will go as you command Sebek, but where shall I begin my search? The world above was never truly my home..."

 

[Komodo]

"Hold on!" shouts Corbin to the soldiers. "I'm coming to help you! Don't shoot!" Satisfied that he will not be attacked by the men as long as they held a common enemy, the halfling closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, then focuses on a new form, willing himself to become that which is needed.

In an instant, the small man begins to change shape, his face stretching and elongating into a slightly oversized muzzle of a canine. His knees bend backward and he drops to all fours; his hands and feet have become large paws by the time he hits the ground. A long, bushy tail forces its way out from the end of Corbin's spine, and his clothing and armor are replaced by a thick coat of light gray fur with a barely perceptible tinge of red. Too-bright yellow eyes focus on the group of men, and the druid-turned-dog bolts swiftly across the expanse to reach them.

As he draws near, he reverts to his natural form, standing and jogging the last few steps in humanoid form. He raises a hand and points behind himself with an outstretched thumb. "Keep that thing away while I help your friend," he says, turning to the injured soldier.

[sblock=OOC]
Swift action to change shape into predator form, run action with a speed of 50 ft to reach the men. I have Mobility in predator form if the land shark tries anything funny.
[/sblock]

 

[Phoenix]

She walks quickly wanting to pass through the Labyrinth to the suburb on the other side. The dark day and the residue from her dark dreams continues to infect her thoughts. How many sisters stepped out into the city and never returned? The image of the coin balanced on its edge comes to mind; the woman stripped of her flesh seeming to look coldly at her. Shivering yet again, Ymris strides on...

[sblock]Spot check (DC 10) +18 - Success
Sense Motive (DC 25) +25 - Success[/sblock]

The nooks and crannies of the Labyrinth were dark, soaked and prone to catch the freezing wind that blew through the city. Ymris watched the homeless, the poor, the offcasts, try to survive another day in an uncaring city. They were not the only people out in the storm, but out-numbering those with clothes on their back or a place to sleep at night, the poor were always the first to be noticed, it was their city.

Ymris didn't realize it for a while, but there were eyes in the darkness, the poor were staring at her. Though not unusual for people without to stare enviously at passers-by, Ymris felt eyes on her back, saw people whispering, even a flash of metal amongst some rags.

It was almost as if some of the poor in this district recognized her, knew her, had waited for her...

 

[Phoenix]

As the avatar of Sebek coughed again, sending another tremor through the passageway, Azot felt disbelief fade to sadness and sadness to anger at the Jackels who threatened his god.

"I will go as you command Sebek, but where shall I begin my search? The world above was never truly my home..."

Sebek's sleepy eyes began to close, his massive head resting in the sewers as sleep came quickly for the god. The sewerage around him was stained heavily in blood, but as a god, Sebek would be fine...wouldn't he?

"...the Leaguers..."

 

[Phoenix]

In an instant, the small man begins to change shape, his face stretching and elongating into a slightly oversized muzzle of a canine. His knees bend backward and he drops to all fours; his hands and feet have become large paws by the time he hits the ground. A long, bushy tail forces its way out from the end of Corbin's spine, and his clothing and armor are replaced by a thick coat of light gray fur with a barely perceptible tinge of red. Too-bright yellow eyes focus on the group of men, and the druid-turned-dog bolts swiftly across the expanse to reach them.

As he draws near, he reverts to his natural form, standing and jogging the last few steps in humanoid form. He raises a hand and points behind himself with an outstretched thumb. "Keep that thing away while I help your friend," he says, turning to the injured soldier.

Soldiers with swords drawn looked in disbelief as a leaping german shepard metamorphed in mid-leap into a small halfling which landed graciously next to the screaming man, his hands scrabbling in his pouches for healing aids.

The earth nearby heaved again as the fin tore up cobblestones nearby, passing the group as if to gauge their status, not content with simply a leg for a meal. Crossbow bolts clattered against the cobblestones, useless against the buried monster.

Without looking one of the soldiers yelled, "Who are you? Are you a Leaguer?"

 

[Komodo]

Soldiers with swords drawn looked in disbelief as a leaping german shepard metamorphed in mid-leap into a small halfling which landed graciously next to the screaming man, his hands scrabbling in his pouches for healing aids.

The earth nearby heaved again as the fin tore up cobblestones nearby, passing the group as if to gauge their status, not content with simply a leg for a meal. Crossbow bolts clattered against the cobblestones, useless against the buried monster.

Without looking one of the soldiers yelled, "Who are you? Are you a Leaguer?"

"Me? No. Just a friendly historian," replied Corbin, kneeling down next to the wounded man. "You're going to be fine," he said with a smile. He placed his hands softly on the soldier's thigh, then focused on a spell. The druid's mind reached out to the power around him, and he drew upon its verdant strength to call forth a bit of healing magic to repair the wounds.

[sblock=OOC]
Casting cure light wounds on the injured soldier. If this seems to cover most of the healing, he will again shapeshift into predator form and move to battle the attacking creature.

Also, I kind of see his predator form as more of a fantastic wolf, rather than a greyhound, based more on what he's read than on what he's seen.
[/sblock]