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Story Hour
The Blade of Phoee (Updated 12/08/08)
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<blockquote data-quote="Funeris" data-source="post: 2503298" data-attributes="member: 22792"><p><strong>Chapter 2: Journey Into Darkness Continued</strong></p><p></p><p>Cassock stopped. The forest had thinned quite a bit, allowing moonlight to spill across the ground. Several hours of trudging through the dense forest had brought them no closer to the man they pursued. </p><p></p><p>“Rest for a moment,” the priest ordered. The halfling looked exhausted. Naturally any who had suffered as much as either of the prisoners would be fatigued. Cassock, however, found himself at his prime in the darkness of night, the time of his Lord.</p><p></p><p>As the would-be heroes quenched their thirsts and snacked, a snapping branch alerted Cassock. He drew his mace and signaled for the others to prepare. As his god-blessed eyes surveyed the darkness, he caught movement behind two bushes. He raised his arm to motion the others around but four creatures charged out of the darkness.</p><p></p><p>The first orc slammed his body into the priest. Cassock held his ground and brought his warmace down upon the thick skull of the beast. In the blur of motion, he watched as another orc rushed past him. His arm flicked out to smash its skull, but his arm was too slow. He heard the twanging retort of bows releasing their ammunition followed by the sounds of fleshy impacts coupled with groans and the hiss of a wild arrow.</p><p></p><p>He raised his mace again as his opponent brought a falchion to bear. The immense blade barely missed and threw off the priest’s own attack. To the right, he saw an orc drop, several quills embedded in its chest and throat. But from behind, the priest heard a shriek. With a quick spin he saw Anastrianna fall to the ground. Her bow dropped lazily to the thick forest floor.</p><p></p><p>In horror, the priest saw the beast rapidly adjust its swing. The blade moved in reverse, cleaving into Gabrielle. The halfling seemed to float upward, lifted by the divine hands of a harsh god. Her body and her blood crumpled and spattered several feet away. Thankfully, Aramil wasn’t within range of the rampaging beast.</p><p></p><p>Without a thought toward his own well-being, the priest raced toward his fallen companions. The falchion of Cassock’s first opponent sliced through his chain mail, opening a deep gash across the spine. Blood spilled down the priest’s back as he threw his full weight into the other orc. The beast stumbled over Anastrianna’s body, sliding to a halt a distance away.</p><p></p><p>Aramil released several more quick shots, pummeling Cassock’s original attacker. The beast bellowed and dropped to the forest floor, death glazing over its eyes. Meanwhile, the priest leaned over Lady Ana, pouring divine energies into her broken body. Her eyes flickered open and Cassock clawed his way toward the halfling.</p><p></p><p>A fourth beast tore out of the underbrush and Aramil turned his attention toward it. The tripped orc was groggily rising. With a quick prayer, Cassock felt and saw Gabrielle’s wounds closing. He stood as the fourth beast slammed its blade into his leg. Cassock watched the arterial spurt leap upward from his own leg. Drowsiness gripped the priest’s mind, but he slammed his mace into the bastard’s face. The solid sound of bone crunching resounded in the priest’s ears.</p><p></p><p>A blade shredded through muscle and sinew, erupting from Cassock’s chest. The priest glanced downward, a river of blood spilled upon the forest floor. In the midst of the sea of crimson that was his torso, a thick wedge of steel hung in the moonlight. Cassock of Cael fell. [1]</p><p></p><p>The half-elf’s arrows slammed into the back of the orc Cassock had smashed seconds before, dropping the beast permanently. Ana and Gabrielle had leapt from the ground. The halfling fired arrow after arrow at the creature. Ana drew her blade and charged in.</p><p></p><p>The beast spun, his back absorbing several of Aramil’s arrows. As Gabrielle’s arrow pierced the thick skin of the beast’s neck, Ana drove her blade into its gut. With a twist, the orc’s entrails plunged to the forest floor. A split second later, the standing corpse plummeted to a rest beside his organs.</p><p></p><p>The group crouched near the body of Cassock.</p><p></p><p>“What the fu*k do we do now?!” Screamed Ana into the heavens. Gabrielle cried. [2]</p><p></p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>[1] – Crit. Very, very nasty crit with a falchion. Cassock’s player (Yeti) just glared at me. First combat of the campaign…and his character was down to negatives within two or three rounds (I know it seems like longer…but <strong>really</strong> it was only two or three rounds). I smiled <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>[2] – You’ll have to remember, all of my players (except Yeti) had minimal to no experience with the d20 system. Ana’s player had been in a brief (and completely screwed up – rules-wise) Star Wars d20 game…but the other two…completely new to the system. And suddenly, their healer was down. First combat. Hehe. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Funeris, post: 2503298, member: 22792"] [b]Chapter 2: Journey Into Darkness Continued[/b] Cassock stopped. The forest had thinned quite a bit, allowing moonlight to spill across the ground. Several hours of trudging through the dense forest had brought them no closer to the man they pursued. “Rest for a moment,” the priest ordered. The halfling looked exhausted. Naturally any who had suffered as much as either of the prisoners would be fatigued. Cassock, however, found himself at his prime in the darkness of night, the time of his Lord. As the would-be heroes quenched their thirsts and snacked, a snapping branch alerted Cassock. He drew his mace and signaled for the others to prepare. As his god-blessed eyes surveyed the darkness, he caught movement behind two bushes. He raised his arm to motion the others around but four creatures charged out of the darkness. The first orc slammed his body into the priest. Cassock held his ground and brought his warmace down upon the thick skull of the beast. In the blur of motion, he watched as another orc rushed past him. His arm flicked out to smash its skull, but his arm was too slow. He heard the twanging retort of bows releasing their ammunition followed by the sounds of fleshy impacts coupled with groans and the hiss of a wild arrow. He raised his mace again as his opponent brought a falchion to bear. The immense blade barely missed and threw off the priest’s own attack. To the right, he saw an orc drop, several quills embedded in its chest and throat. But from behind, the priest heard a shriek. With a quick spin he saw Anastrianna fall to the ground. Her bow dropped lazily to the thick forest floor. In horror, the priest saw the beast rapidly adjust its swing. The blade moved in reverse, cleaving into Gabrielle. The halfling seemed to float upward, lifted by the divine hands of a harsh god. Her body and her blood crumpled and spattered several feet away. Thankfully, Aramil wasn’t within range of the rampaging beast. Without a thought toward his own well-being, the priest raced toward his fallen companions. The falchion of Cassock’s first opponent sliced through his chain mail, opening a deep gash across the spine. Blood spilled down the priest’s back as he threw his full weight into the other orc. The beast stumbled over Anastrianna’s body, sliding to a halt a distance away. Aramil released several more quick shots, pummeling Cassock’s original attacker. The beast bellowed and dropped to the forest floor, death glazing over its eyes. Meanwhile, the priest leaned over Lady Ana, pouring divine energies into her broken body. Her eyes flickered open and Cassock clawed his way toward the halfling. A fourth beast tore out of the underbrush and Aramil turned his attention toward it. The tripped orc was groggily rising. With a quick prayer, Cassock felt and saw Gabrielle’s wounds closing. He stood as the fourth beast slammed its blade into his leg. Cassock watched the arterial spurt leap upward from his own leg. Drowsiness gripped the priest’s mind, but he slammed his mace into the bastard’s face. The solid sound of bone crunching resounded in the priest’s ears. A blade shredded through muscle and sinew, erupting from Cassock’s chest. The priest glanced downward, a river of blood spilled upon the forest floor. In the midst of the sea of crimson that was his torso, a thick wedge of steel hung in the moonlight. Cassock of Cael fell. [1] The half-elf’s arrows slammed into the back of the orc Cassock had smashed seconds before, dropping the beast permanently. Ana and Gabrielle had leapt from the ground. The halfling fired arrow after arrow at the creature. Ana drew her blade and charged in. The beast spun, his back absorbing several of Aramil’s arrows. As Gabrielle’s arrow pierced the thick skin of the beast’s neck, Ana drove her blade into its gut. With a twist, the orc’s entrails plunged to the forest floor. A split second later, the standing corpse plummeted to a rest beside his organs. The group crouched near the body of Cassock. “What the fu*k do we do now?!” Screamed Ana into the heavens. Gabrielle cried. [2] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] – Crit. Very, very nasty crit with a falchion. Cassock’s player (Yeti) just glared at me. First combat of the campaign…and his character was down to negatives within two or three rounds (I know it seems like longer…but [b]really[/b] it was only two or three rounds). I smiled :D [2] – You’ll have to remember, all of my players (except Yeti) had minimal to no experience with the d20 system. Ana’s player had been in a brief (and completely screwed up – rules-wise) Star Wars d20 game…but the other two…completely new to the system. And suddenly, their healer was down. First combat. Hehe. :D [/QUOTE]
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