Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Order of Initiative in: "Just a Simple Escort"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="tariff" data-source="post: 2850576" data-attributes="member: 18635"><p><strong>BATTLE WITH MALIGNO</strong></p><p>The party make their way to the Theater "Which entrance?..front or back?" asks Feng.</p><p>”I suppose both, if we can coordinate, we don't want them to escape” replies Beltain.</p><p>"Good plan...ill go in the back" nods Feng.</p><p>The young girl Giselle speaks "Where we goin Mr Rizzit?...i dont have a bedtime anymore..i can stay out ALL night!!"</p><p>Rizzit looks at her "lucky you, do you know where that nice puppet master and his boy are, I want to go play with them?"</p><p>"Theyll be in the Theater!" she replies. She stares at the flames of the burning buildings "That big fire is coooooooooool!!!!!" She looks back at the party "Hey...how come you big guys here anyway...? i dunno where my mummy or the rest of the old folks have gone.” Rizzit speaks softly to her "We are trying to find them dear, in case the flames burn them. Could you wait for me in the Inn please, I will be over soon.” He turns to the rest of the party "lets go to the Theatre guys, I want to play with the puppets"</p><p>Giselle skips off in the direction of the inn.</p><p>Feng and Rizzit go to the back entrance of the theater, the rest of the party move to the front entrance.</p><p>Sparhawk turns to his comrades at the front entrance "Let us finish this atrocity once and for all neighbours" he waits a few seconds to let the others get into position at the back of the theatre, then kicks the doors open. Inside, on the stage is Maligno and Guiseppe. Also on the stage is 3 carrionettes and a wooden dragon that is moving about. A huge sign above the stage says "Sir Arduin and the Wyrm". They are apparently performing a play for the children. Maligno is dressed in armor and is fighting the wooden dragon. The 3 carrionettes are dressed as a Damsel, a king, and a court jester.. Everyone turns to look at the party..</p><p>Feng opens the back door and snarls “Time is called - Laskur's Bane is the truest critic that ever closed a play.”</p><p>Feng kisses his blade "Now, for VENGENCE!"</p><p>Maligno makes a run for the stairs that lead down to the audience. Guiseppe runs backstage out of sight.</p><p>Sparhawk draws his sword and runs inside. Feng follows, his huge axe busy in his hands, and his veins already beginning to bulge with rage!</p><p>Coleridge also rushes inside and readies himself before recklessly engaging the carrionettes... he begins to sing a strange lament whose lyrics seems to lift and bolster his nearby allies</p><p>Beltain prepares to enter the theatre but still has a chance to cast an admitting glance at Limara. "Wow, what a stunner" he thinks to himself. For no reason he also thinks of Poacher, gone but not forgotten, that will take some time. He thinks that although Poacher will not be a loss for the party, it does leave a gap that needs to be filled. "Come on Princess" he tells Limara, "My sword aches to chop some wood!"</p><p>Limara mutters a few words and a longsword made of pure force springs into existence" The spiritual weapon strikes at Maligno, hitting the evil puppet, but it seems to do no damage.</p><p>At the back of the theater, Rizzit pulls out a potion and drinks. An invisible but tangible field of force surrounds him.</p><p>At the front of the theater, Beltain moves to stand next to Limara. He raises his hands and blesses his allies.</p><p>The evil puppet Maligno throws a silver needle from the stage at Coleridge, the needle whistles past the bard. Another needle is thrown at Coleridge by one of the carrionettes, it hits the bard, but he manages to shake off the paralyzing effect.</p><p>Sparhawk moves to the stairs descending from the stage, to cut off Maligno’s advance, he strikes at the puppet and hits, however, his sword seems to do no damage. Sparhawk stares in disbelief at the puppet.</p><p>"oh bugger... weapons dont seem to damage it... " says Limara.</p><p>Beltain nods to Limara "Bugger indeed, if Spiritual Weapon doesn't hit it then I don't think that Rizzit's Magic Missile will either, both are pure force. Perhaps we need fire? Cover the little bastard with oil and 'Burn baby burn'? Any ideas Princess?. Also" he goes on "I think that the other little monsters are probably the biggest threat. One prick from their silver needles could lead to paralyzation and another body swap. No way do I want that."</p><p>Beltain watches as the children scatter in terror, heading for the exits. “At least the children are getting out. Soon we will be able to firebomb him without a chance of hurting them."</p><p>Beltain looks directly at Limara “Um", he coughs nervously "About the incident in the inn with the young lady. It wasn't me... I just hope you know it wasn't me doing that..." he finishes rather lamely</p><p>Limara smiles "By the time you've finished scrubbing yourself clean, you're gonna be so red raw..."</p><p>"You are damn right!" Beltain agrees "I feel as if my body is tainted"</p><p>Feng moves through the corridors in the back of the theater. Suddenly he sees an old man running up some wooden stairs, the puppet master!, he hefts his Big axe in his right hand and sprints up the wooden steps after Guiseppe. "Fengs Coming!"</p><p>Rizzit shouts "Feng dont kill the old man he is not the force of evil here, just a lonely man who wanted a son too much"</p><p>Coleridge continues his recitation...</p><p><em>"Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made the grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence"</em></p><p><em>"This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade"</em></p><p><em>"Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes"</em></p><p><em>"Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes upon the strings of this Aeolian lute"</em></p><p><em>"Which better far were mute"</em></p><p>Coleridge retrieves an oil flask from his pack as he speaks, and then throws it at the demonic puppet. I misses and explodes on the floor, igniting. Sparhawk and Coleridge are splashed by the oil, and slightly burnt.</p><p>Limara redirects her spiritual weapon to attack one of the carrionettes. The weapon strikes, damaging the evil wooden puppet. She gets an oil bomb from her backpack.</p><p>Beltain calls to the children to come out of the theatre. Indicating the doorway behind him.</p><p>Rizzit rushes through the corridors at the back of the theater, he runs past the stairs that the puppet master and Feng disappeared up. He continues on, emerging onto the stage. He sees a wooden toy dragon trundling across the stage toward him. The kobold sorcerer utters a few words and two missiles of magical energy dart forth from Rizzit's fingertips, the missiles strike unerringly.</p><p>Beltain casts a Spiritual Weapon spell and targets on the same doll as Limara. The magical weapon hits the puppet, who is now very damaged.</p><p>The wooden dragon, amazingly, breathes a cone of fire at Rizzit. The kobold is only slightly hurt by the flames. Behind him, the wooden walls of the theater catch alight.</p><p>One of the carrionettes throws a silver needle at Beltain, it hits and Beltain slumps to the floor unconscious.</p><p>"oh no.... not again..." sighs Limara.</p><p>Rizzit is also hit by a silver needle, the kobold also succumbs to the needles effects and falls to the floor unconscious.</p><p>Maligno stabs at Sparhawk with a tiny razor.</p><p>Coleridge is once again hit by a silver needle, and once again he resists its effects.</p><p>A few of the children run past Limara..and the unconscious Beltain out into the street.</p><p>Sparhawk grabs hold of Maligno and grapples the puppet to the ground. "Now I have you" Sparhawk says to the puppet with contempt.</p><p>Feng follows after the puppet master, Guiseppe, upstairs. He comes into a room, a small bedroom, there is a door open opposite. He rushes through. He enters a large storeroom area, filled with props and theater gear. Backing away from him, begging for his life, is Guiseppe. "Nooooo....Heeelp...."</p><p>Feng sneers, raises Laskur’s Bane his trusty greataxe, and brings it crashing down on the old man. Guiseppe dies instantly. Feng stamps on the dead man before turning back downstairs. “FENG COMES!….SAVES SOME FOR FENG!”</p><p></p><p>Downstairs, Coleridge continues his poem </p><p></p><p><em>"For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!"</em></p><p><em>"And overspread with phantom light"</em></p><p><em>"With swimming phantom light o'erspread but rimmed and circled by a silver thread"</em></p><p><em>"I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling the coming-on of rain and squally blast"</em></p><p><em>"And oh! that even now the gust were swelling"</em></p><p><em>"And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!"</em></p><p></p><p>Coleridge then retrieves another flask of oil from his pack and launches it at the carionettes further on the stage. It hits one of the carrionettes, but the vial fails to break open.</p><p>Limara’s spiritual weapon once again strikes at the carrionette. This time the carrionette is hacked down.</p><p>Limara bends down and pulls the needle out of Beltain, nothing happens. Her lover is still unconscious.</p><p>Another needle flies from the stage at Coleridge, this one lodges into his arm, yet again Coleridge fights off the effects. Another needle flies past Limara as she attempts to awake Beltain. She looks up and then over to Coleridge "Dont let those pricks bring you down Col.."</p><p>Coleridge turns and winks at Limara before facing down his foes once more.</p><p>Sparhawk continues to grapple with Maligno on the stairs leading down from the stage.</p><p>Feng appears in the doorway at the back of the stage. He sees Rizzit lying unconscious..the wall next to the kobold is on fire. The animated wooden dragon is trundling away from the kobold. Feng goes to his friend. The flames scorch the barbarian.</p><p></p><p>Coleridge moves closer to his target all the time continuing his oration drawing the stanza to a close </p><p></p><p><em>"Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed"</em></p><p><em>"And sent my soul abroad"</em></p><p><em>"Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give"</em></p><p><em>"Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!"</em></p><p></p><p>He moves closer to the stage and pulls out a tanglefoot bag. He takes aim and throws it at one of the carrionettes firing from the stage. The bag flies through the air and impacts on the carrionette. It explodes and goo bursts out, entangling the target and then becoming tough and resilient upon exposure to air.</p><p>"Beautifully done" says Limara from the doorway.</p><p></p><p>Limara redirects her spiritual weapon onto another of the carrionettes. The weapons strike is accurate and hurts the little wooden puppet. She steps into the room, draws her bow and shoots at the carrionette that is covered in the tanglefoot glue. The bolt hits the puppet.</p><p>Coleridge turns and nods in approval at the ladies shooting skills.</p><p>The wooden dragon turns and a jet of fire shoots 20ft from its mouth. Feng is again burned.</p><p></p><p><strong>GHOSTLY FRIENDS</strong></p><p>Just then...the party notice translucent figures...seemingly rising up from the floor in the theater..many of them.</p><p>"Leave here"..the ghostly figures hiss. The figures appear to be spirits. By their look, their ghostly apparel, the party deduce they are the adults of Half-Hap. Or indeed, they were when alive!.</p><p>Coleridge shakes his head and mutters to himself "It's never easy is it"</p><p>"guess not" says Limara</p><p>"How can we leave while this evil being who has wrought so much damage to your town still holds sway" says the bard to the ghostly figures</p><p>"We will stop Maligno leaving....the fire will destroy him" hiss the spirits "Drag your friends to safety...."</p><p>Limara replies "You can guarantee this without our help ?"</p><p>"He cannot harm us…He will pay for what he hs done" the spirits moan..</p><p>Limara ushers a child near her out of the theatre. “Ok if this is to be the towns justice, then so be it" she starts to pull Beltains body back through the door... "c'mon Col.."</p><p>The spirits swarm over Maligno, the rest of the carrionettes and the animated wooden dragon. One of the doors into the theater slams shut. As if by its own accord.</p><p>Limara shouts to "Feng, drag Rizzit out the back door and head around here"</p><p>Coleridge nods and also shouts "Grab Rizzit Feng lets let these nice folk deal with their problem”</p><p>Feng gathers up his unconscious friend and swiftly leaves the theater.</p><p>"He killed us...our children are without their parents....he will BURN!" the spirits scream. One of the spirits moves his hand in a swaying motion...one of the torches from the theaters walls falls to he floor, flames engulfing the bench..</p><p>"Who do you want us to take your children to ? " asks Limara.</p><p>"To safety...." they hiss..</p><p>Sparhawk lets the spirits swarm the puppet and releases his grasp, he takes a step back and formally salutes the spirits then heads to the door.</p><p></p><p>The party exit the Theater...Outside they watch it being consumed by the flames. The children scatter. Some stay to watch the fire, others flee down the side streets. The party are sure you can hear the cries of many, coming from within. Before long the theater collapses in upon itself.</p><p>Rizzit and Beltain awake.</p><p>Feng watches the flames begin to die. He looks around him at the carnage “I don't know about you people, but I don't know what my body has been doing while I "GOT WOOD.” These prissy lawful types will probably not give us any benefit of the doubt - specially since all the evidence is now ash - I reckon it's time for a quick exit.”</p><p>The party notice that the fog seems to have cleared from the ends of the streets..</p><p>Beltain gets his bearings and sighs a big sigh of relief "You are lucky, I, and others, have a pretty shrewd idea about what my body was up to. What I need now is a bath, a LONG bath, to cleanse myself and take away memories of this nightmare"</p><p>Rizzit dusts himself down “We need to round up all the survivors and take them to people that can look after them.”</p><p>"Agreed Rizzit, we must go house to house in search of survivors" Sparhawk heads towards the stable and coach house "First I must check upon Faran" says Sparhawk.</p><p></p><p><strong>AFTERMATH</strong></p><p>The party search the town for survivors. They find a few, Aldo, Deirdre and Walter are all safe. They had been possessed but had been returned to normal once Maligno had perished so it seemed. Unfortunately, none of them had any recollection of what had happened. It becomes apparent that approximately half the adult population had been lost in the chaos. Wheather burnt by the great fire, or killed by Maligno and the carrionettes. Unfortunately, none of the townsfolk remember anything about the carrionettes. </p><p></p><p>The population of Half-Hap gathers in the town square to watch the fire burn out. All the central building are completely destroyed.</p><p></p><p>Beltain addresses the party as "Before we go I would like to give Poacher's body a decent burial. Although he went off his head towards the end, he did help us out, however unwillingly, on a number of occasions. Did anyone find his body?” The party all looks at each other. Apparently not.</p><p></p><p>Coleridge addresses the townsfolk to the square "Come i know this is a difficult time but you must look for your loved ones... many have perished here and there will be orphans who need care and support too"</p><p></p><p>Sparhawk leads the party’s mounts into the square. On seeing Aldo, the warrior approaches him and describes what happened in the constable’s town.</p><p>After hearing his version of events Aldo replies "Mmm..interesting...sounds a little far fetched to me. Its fairly clear to me what happened here. It was that Poacher chap, he killed Mr Sertino, he torched the town...now he has made his escape, or perished in the fire. Simple deduction my man, simple deduction"</p><p>Rizzit looks at Aldo in disbelief "Well done Aldo I can see why you got the sheriffs job now, I believe we may have killed Poacher but until I see his body I will not be sure"</p><p>Sparhawk stands tall "Aldo , I stand before you as a knight and a nobleman....Poacher had many faults but I assure you he did not murder Mr Sertino, nor do I believe he had any escape, my so called companions made sure of that. You will believe what you wish sheriff, the main concern now is finding all survivors and making the town safe, also we must find homes for the orphaned children....I offer my help in any way I can to this end neighbour"</p><p>Limara looks on quietly at all the events around her. She notes the mist has gone and smiles to herself. </p><p></p><p>Once the fire had completely burned out, and all survivors located. The party help search the burned building. The whole central area of town is completely destroyed. In the theater, in one of the large storage rooms. Many bones are found. </p><p></p><p>Aldo addresses the gathered crowd, he cannot hold his emotion... "The children must be looked after" All the adults nod in agreement. "We must rebuild...but we must not forget". He grits his teeth "It is my opinion that the perpetrator of this devastating fire has indeed been killed by his own actions...many bones are inside the theater..it seems many died there. Why he did it...no body knows...but he will surely suffer in the afterlife" Aldo turns to the party "I can safely say that without the actions of these people, our town would have suffered a much larger fire..we thank them for alerting us to the danger, and for assisting with the sertino murder enquiry. We owe them our thanks. He continues "We also owe them our thanks for rescuing people..many more would have perished were it not for their aid..They are forever welcome in Half-Hap"</p><p>The assembled crowd clap solemnly</p><p></p><p>Beltain is avoids looking at Limara, he seems very ill at ease. "Um, Princess, the fogs have lifted and this nightmarish episode is behind us -- I hope..." he pauses, "Despite the honest welcome from these townsfolk I would as soon put some miles between this place and us. But it is 2am and so maybe we should retire and start out early on the morrow? After a talk, and a bath" he adds. Beltain takes Limara's hand in his and looks her straight in the eyes, "Can we put this place behind us?" he asks.</p><p>"Thy plan sounds good Beltain, let us get some rest and make a start first thing on the morrow" says Sparhawk.</p><p>“Huh! Thanks are easier to raise than a reward, I'd say.” Spits Feng. He looks at Aldo "Aldo - I don't suppose you'd like to commit these fine sentiments to paper? - I'd hate to be stopped by the Purple dragons and blamed for this fire at some later date - carrying a testimonial would save you being called as a witness."</p><p>Aldo replies to Feng "Do not worry, i will inform the Purple knights that you aided this town greatly"</p><p>Beltain also turns to Aldo "I believe what you say is true. The criminal that started this fire is dead and paid the price in full for his terrible actions. We are just lucky that the fire he started did not claim more victims, although there may be more to this story, let us close the book on a very sad episode and pray that nothing like this happens again. Half-Hap deserves to resume its life of peace and tranquility so that it can recover and for time to heal its wounds..."</p><p></p><p>The party retires to the Inn. They find it very difficult to sleep, their minds full of puppets, needles, cats, teddy bears, and dogs…a strange surreal nightmare…. When they wake in the morning they cannot leave the town fast enough. They ride out of the town. It is still snowing.</p><p></p><p>Sparhawk draws his cloak around him to ward off the chill "Neighbours put the trouble of the last town behind you....focus on what is ahead, we will in time have the leisure to recount the mysteries and horrors of half hap....for now let us finish this journey" Sparhawk pulls Faran slightly in front of the party and continues in silence.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tariff/Theaterburning.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tariff, post: 2850576, member: 18635"] [B]BATTLE WITH MALIGNO[/B] The party make their way to the Theater "Which entrance?..front or back?" asks Feng. ”I suppose both, if we can coordinate, we don't want them to escape” replies Beltain. "Good plan...ill go in the back" nods Feng. The young girl Giselle speaks "Where we goin Mr Rizzit?...i dont have a bedtime anymore..i can stay out ALL night!!" Rizzit looks at her "lucky you, do you know where that nice puppet master and his boy are, I want to go play with them?" "Theyll be in the Theater!" she replies. She stares at the flames of the burning buildings "That big fire is coooooooooool!!!!!" She looks back at the party "Hey...how come you big guys here anyway...? i dunno where my mummy or the rest of the old folks have gone.” Rizzit speaks softly to her "We are trying to find them dear, in case the flames burn them. Could you wait for me in the Inn please, I will be over soon.” He turns to the rest of the party "lets go to the Theatre guys, I want to play with the puppets" Giselle skips off in the direction of the inn. Feng and Rizzit go to the back entrance of the theater, the rest of the party move to the front entrance. Sparhawk turns to his comrades at the front entrance "Let us finish this atrocity once and for all neighbours" he waits a few seconds to let the others get into position at the back of the theatre, then kicks the doors open. Inside, on the stage is Maligno and Guiseppe. Also on the stage is 3 carrionettes and a wooden dragon that is moving about. A huge sign above the stage says "Sir Arduin and the Wyrm". They are apparently performing a play for the children. Maligno is dressed in armor and is fighting the wooden dragon. The 3 carrionettes are dressed as a Damsel, a king, and a court jester.. Everyone turns to look at the party.. Feng opens the back door and snarls “Time is called - Laskur's Bane is the truest critic that ever closed a play.” Feng kisses his blade "Now, for VENGENCE!" Maligno makes a run for the stairs that lead down to the audience. Guiseppe runs backstage out of sight. Sparhawk draws his sword and runs inside. Feng follows, his huge axe busy in his hands, and his veins already beginning to bulge with rage! Coleridge also rushes inside and readies himself before recklessly engaging the carrionettes... he begins to sing a strange lament whose lyrics seems to lift and bolster his nearby allies Beltain prepares to enter the theatre but still has a chance to cast an admitting glance at Limara. "Wow, what a stunner" he thinks to himself. For no reason he also thinks of Poacher, gone but not forgotten, that will take some time. He thinks that although Poacher will not be a loss for the party, it does leave a gap that needs to be filled. "Come on Princess" he tells Limara, "My sword aches to chop some wood!" Limara mutters a few words and a longsword made of pure force springs into existence" The spiritual weapon strikes at Maligno, hitting the evil puppet, but it seems to do no damage. At the back of the theater, Rizzit pulls out a potion and drinks. An invisible but tangible field of force surrounds him. At the front of the theater, Beltain moves to stand next to Limara. He raises his hands and blesses his allies. The evil puppet Maligno throws a silver needle from the stage at Coleridge, the needle whistles past the bard. Another needle is thrown at Coleridge by one of the carrionettes, it hits the bard, but he manages to shake off the paralyzing effect. Sparhawk moves to the stairs descending from the stage, to cut off Maligno’s advance, he strikes at the puppet and hits, however, his sword seems to do no damage. Sparhawk stares in disbelief at the puppet. "oh bugger... weapons dont seem to damage it... " says Limara. Beltain nods to Limara "Bugger indeed, if Spiritual Weapon doesn't hit it then I don't think that Rizzit's Magic Missile will either, both are pure force. Perhaps we need fire? Cover the little bastard with oil and 'Burn baby burn'? Any ideas Princess?. Also" he goes on "I think that the other little monsters are probably the biggest threat. One prick from their silver needles could lead to paralyzation and another body swap. No way do I want that." Beltain watches as the children scatter in terror, heading for the exits. “At least the children are getting out. Soon we will be able to firebomb him without a chance of hurting them." Beltain looks directly at Limara “Um", he coughs nervously "About the incident in the inn with the young lady. It wasn't me... I just hope you know it wasn't me doing that..." he finishes rather lamely Limara smiles "By the time you've finished scrubbing yourself clean, you're gonna be so red raw..." "You are damn right!" Beltain agrees "I feel as if my body is tainted" Feng moves through the corridors in the back of the theater. Suddenly he sees an old man running up some wooden stairs, the puppet master!, he hefts his Big axe in his right hand and sprints up the wooden steps after Guiseppe. "Fengs Coming!" Rizzit shouts "Feng dont kill the old man he is not the force of evil here, just a lonely man who wanted a son too much" Coleridge continues his recitation... [I]"Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made the grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence" "This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade" "Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes" "Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes upon the strings of this Aeolian lute" "Which better far were mute"[/I] Coleridge retrieves an oil flask from his pack as he speaks, and then throws it at the demonic puppet. I misses and explodes on the floor, igniting. Sparhawk and Coleridge are splashed by the oil, and slightly burnt. Limara redirects her spiritual weapon to attack one of the carrionettes. The weapon strikes, damaging the evil wooden puppet. She gets an oil bomb from her backpack. Beltain calls to the children to come out of the theatre. Indicating the doorway behind him. Rizzit rushes through the corridors at the back of the theater, he runs past the stairs that the puppet master and Feng disappeared up. He continues on, emerging onto the stage. He sees a wooden toy dragon trundling across the stage toward him. The kobold sorcerer utters a few words and two missiles of magical energy dart forth from Rizzit's fingertips, the missiles strike unerringly. Beltain casts a Spiritual Weapon spell and targets on the same doll as Limara. The magical weapon hits the puppet, who is now very damaged. The wooden dragon, amazingly, breathes a cone of fire at Rizzit. The kobold is only slightly hurt by the flames. Behind him, the wooden walls of the theater catch alight. One of the carrionettes throws a silver needle at Beltain, it hits and Beltain slumps to the floor unconscious. "oh no.... not again..." sighs Limara. Rizzit is also hit by a silver needle, the kobold also succumbs to the needles effects and falls to the floor unconscious. Maligno stabs at Sparhawk with a tiny razor. Coleridge is once again hit by a silver needle, and once again he resists its effects. A few of the children run past Limara..and the unconscious Beltain out into the street. Sparhawk grabs hold of Maligno and grapples the puppet to the ground. "Now I have you" Sparhawk says to the puppet with contempt. Feng follows after the puppet master, Guiseppe, upstairs. He comes into a room, a small bedroom, there is a door open opposite. He rushes through. He enters a large storeroom area, filled with props and theater gear. Backing away from him, begging for his life, is Guiseppe. "Nooooo....Heeelp...." Feng sneers, raises Laskur’s Bane his trusty greataxe, and brings it crashing down on the old man. Guiseppe dies instantly. Feng stamps on the dead man before turning back downstairs. “FENG COMES!….SAVES SOME FOR FENG!” Downstairs, Coleridge continues his poem [I]"For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!" "And overspread with phantom light" "With swimming phantom light o'erspread but rimmed and circled by a silver thread" "I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling the coming-on of rain and squally blast" "And oh! that even now the gust were swelling" "And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!"[/I] Coleridge then retrieves another flask of oil from his pack and launches it at the carionettes further on the stage. It hits one of the carrionettes, but the vial fails to break open. Limara’s spiritual weapon once again strikes at the carrionette. This time the carrionette is hacked down. Limara bends down and pulls the needle out of Beltain, nothing happens. Her lover is still unconscious. Another needle flies from the stage at Coleridge, this one lodges into his arm, yet again Coleridge fights off the effects. Another needle flies past Limara as she attempts to awake Beltain. She looks up and then over to Coleridge "Dont let those pricks bring you down Col.." Coleridge turns and winks at Limara before facing down his foes once more. Sparhawk continues to grapple with Maligno on the stairs leading down from the stage. Feng appears in the doorway at the back of the stage. He sees Rizzit lying unconscious..the wall next to the kobold is on fire. The animated wooden dragon is trundling away from the kobold. Feng goes to his friend. The flames scorch the barbarian. Coleridge moves closer to his target all the time continuing his oration drawing the stanza to a close [I]"Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed" "And sent my soul abroad" "Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give" "Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!"[/I] He moves closer to the stage and pulls out a tanglefoot bag. He takes aim and throws it at one of the carrionettes firing from the stage. The bag flies through the air and impacts on the carrionette. It explodes and goo bursts out, entangling the target and then becoming tough and resilient upon exposure to air. "Beautifully done" says Limara from the doorway. Limara redirects her spiritual weapon onto another of the carrionettes. The weapons strike is accurate and hurts the little wooden puppet. She steps into the room, draws her bow and shoots at the carrionette that is covered in the tanglefoot glue. The bolt hits the puppet. Coleridge turns and nods in approval at the ladies shooting skills. The wooden dragon turns and a jet of fire shoots 20ft from its mouth. Feng is again burned. [B]GHOSTLY FRIENDS[/B] Just then...the party notice translucent figures...seemingly rising up from the floor in the theater..many of them. "Leave here"..the ghostly figures hiss. The figures appear to be spirits. By their look, their ghostly apparel, the party deduce they are the adults of Half-Hap. Or indeed, they were when alive!. Coleridge shakes his head and mutters to himself "It's never easy is it" "guess not" says Limara "How can we leave while this evil being who has wrought so much damage to your town still holds sway" says the bard to the ghostly figures "We will stop Maligno leaving....the fire will destroy him" hiss the spirits "Drag your friends to safety...." Limara replies "You can guarantee this without our help ?" "He cannot harm us…He will pay for what he hs done" the spirits moan.. Limara ushers a child near her out of the theatre. “Ok if this is to be the towns justice, then so be it" she starts to pull Beltains body back through the door... "c'mon Col.." The spirits swarm over Maligno, the rest of the carrionettes and the animated wooden dragon. One of the doors into the theater slams shut. As if by its own accord. Limara shouts to "Feng, drag Rizzit out the back door and head around here" Coleridge nods and also shouts "Grab Rizzit Feng lets let these nice folk deal with their problem” Feng gathers up his unconscious friend and swiftly leaves the theater. "He killed us...our children are without their parents....he will BURN!" the spirits scream. One of the spirits moves his hand in a swaying motion...one of the torches from the theaters walls falls to he floor, flames engulfing the bench.. "Who do you want us to take your children to ? " asks Limara. "To safety...." they hiss.. Sparhawk lets the spirits swarm the puppet and releases his grasp, he takes a step back and formally salutes the spirits then heads to the door. The party exit the Theater...Outside they watch it being consumed by the flames. The children scatter. Some stay to watch the fire, others flee down the side streets. The party are sure you can hear the cries of many, coming from within. Before long the theater collapses in upon itself. Rizzit and Beltain awake. Feng watches the flames begin to die. He looks around him at the carnage “I don't know about you people, but I don't know what my body has been doing while I "GOT WOOD.” These prissy lawful types will probably not give us any benefit of the doubt - specially since all the evidence is now ash - I reckon it's time for a quick exit.” The party notice that the fog seems to have cleared from the ends of the streets.. Beltain gets his bearings and sighs a big sigh of relief "You are lucky, I, and others, have a pretty shrewd idea about what my body was up to. What I need now is a bath, a LONG bath, to cleanse myself and take away memories of this nightmare" Rizzit dusts himself down “We need to round up all the survivors and take them to people that can look after them.” "Agreed Rizzit, we must go house to house in search of survivors" Sparhawk heads towards the stable and coach house "First I must check upon Faran" says Sparhawk. [B]AFTERMATH[/B] The party search the town for survivors. They find a few, Aldo, Deirdre and Walter are all safe. They had been possessed but had been returned to normal once Maligno had perished so it seemed. Unfortunately, none of them had any recollection of what had happened. It becomes apparent that approximately half the adult population had been lost in the chaos. Wheather burnt by the great fire, or killed by Maligno and the carrionettes. Unfortunately, none of the townsfolk remember anything about the carrionettes. The population of Half-Hap gathers in the town square to watch the fire burn out. All the central building are completely destroyed. Beltain addresses the party as "Before we go I would like to give Poacher's body a decent burial. Although he went off his head towards the end, he did help us out, however unwillingly, on a number of occasions. Did anyone find his body?” The party all looks at each other. Apparently not. Coleridge addresses the townsfolk to the square "Come i know this is a difficult time but you must look for your loved ones... many have perished here and there will be orphans who need care and support too" Sparhawk leads the party’s mounts into the square. On seeing Aldo, the warrior approaches him and describes what happened in the constable’s town. After hearing his version of events Aldo replies "Mmm..interesting...sounds a little far fetched to me. Its fairly clear to me what happened here. It was that Poacher chap, he killed Mr Sertino, he torched the town...now he has made his escape, or perished in the fire. Simple deduction my man, simple deduction" Rizzit looks at Aldo in disbelief "Well done Aldo I can see why you got the sheriffs job now, I believe we may have killed Poacher but until I see his body I will not be sure" Sparhawk stands tall "Aldo , I stand before you as a knight and a nobleman....Poacher had many faults but I assure you he did not murder Mr Sertino, nor do I believe he had any escape, my so called companions made sure of that. You will believe what you wish sheriff, the main concern now is finding all survivors and making the town safe, also we must find homes for the orphaned children....I offer my help in any way I can to this end neighbour" Limara looks on quietly at all the events around her. She notes the mist has gone and smiles to herself. Once the fire had completely burned out, and all survivors located. The party help search the burned building. The whole central area of town is completely destroyed. In the theater, in one of the large storage rooms. Many bones are found. Aldo addresses the gathered crowd, he cannot hold his emotion... "The children must be looked after" All the adults nod in agreement. "We must rebuild...but we must not forget". He grits his teeth "It is my opinion that the perpetrator of this devastating fire has indeed been killed by his own actions...many bones are inside the theater..it seems many died there. Why he did it...no body knows...but he will surely suffer in the afterlife" Aldo turns to the party "I can safely say that without the actions of these people, our town would have suffered a much larger fire..we thank them for alerting us to the danger, and for assisting with the sertino murder enquiry. We owe them our thanks. He continues "We also owe them our thanks for rescuing people..many more would have perished were it not for their aid..They are forever welcome in Half-Hap" The assembled crowd clap solemnly Beltain is avoids looking at Limara, he seems very ill at ease. "Um, Princess, the fogs have lifted and this nightmarish episode is behind us -- I hope..." he pauses, "Despite the honest welcome from these townsfolk I would as soon put some miles between this place and us. But it is 2am and so maybe we should retire and start out early on the morrow? After a talk, and a bath" he adds. Beltain takes Limara's hand in his and looks her straight in the eyes, "Can we put this place behind us?" he asks. "Thy plan sounds good Beltain, let us get some rest and make a start first thing on the morrow" says Sparhawk. “Huh! Thanks are easier to raise than a reward, I'd say.” Spits Feng. He looks at Aldo "Aldo - I don't suppose you'd like to commit these fine sentiments to paper? - I'd hate to be stopped by the Purple dragons and blamed for this fire at some later date - carrying a testimonial would save you being called as a witness." Aldo replies to Feng "Do not worry, i will inform the Purple knights that you aided this town greatly" Beltain also turns to Aldo "I believe what you say is true. The criminal that started this fire is dead and paid the price in full for his terrible actions. We are just lucky that the fire he started did not claim more victims, although there may be more to this story, let us close the book on a very sad episode and pray that nothing like this happens again. Half-Hap deserves to resume its life of peace and tranquility so that it can recover and for time to heal its wounds..." The party retires to the Inn. They find it very difficult to sleep, their minds full of puppets, needles, cats, teddy bears, and dogs…a strange surreal nightmare…. When they wake in the morning they cannot leave the town fast enough. They ride out of the town. It is still snowing. Sparhawk draws his cloak around him to ward off the chill "Neighbours put the trouble of the last town behind you....focus on what is ahead, we will in time have the leisure to recount the mysteries and horrors of half hap....for now let us finish this journey" Sparhawk pulls Faran slightly in front of the party and continues in silence. [IMG]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tariff/Theaterburning.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Order of Initiative in: "Just a Simple Escort"
Top