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The Swordlands - updated 28th May; The Hanged Man
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<blockquote data-quote="Mathew_Freeman" data-source="post: 4798364" data-attributes="member: 1846"><p><strong>Lending a Hand (Or Two)</strong></p><p></p><p>Karl’s attention was fixed on the robed and cowled figures descending the ladder to his left. The lit cylinder he was pressed up against had a strange glowing liquid within it, and from that liquid suddenly a single hand slammed up against the glass with an audible “Thunk!” His heart racing, the Gnome stared at the hand (which didn’t seem to be attached to anything else) as it slowly drifted back into the light. Glancing round, he saw that none of the others had noticed.</p><p></p><p>The cowled figures moved to the central platform, moving easily between the four cylinders that lit the area. Carefully unscrewing the top of one of them, they gently dropped something in, almost as though feeding it, before placing the lid back on and moving round. From their hiding places, the companions exchanged looks – what exactly was in these lit jars?</p><p></p><p>One of the cowled figures now moved towards the narrow causeway linking the central platform with the section of stone the companions stood on. Stiffening, he suddenly stared across the room at Karl as he tried to hide behind the pillar, and a keening wail split the air as the figure screamed out a warning. Pulling his hood back and drawing a rapier, he revealed his facial features for the first time. He may have once been a Drow, but now his skin was pulled back tightly over his bone structure, revealing sharpened teeth and pure-red eyes filled with hate and madness. It’s bare skull gleamed in the light. The other three figures did likewise, with two moving back towards the ladder a little and pulling out small hand-crossbows instead, whilst the other joined the screamer at the entrance to the platform.</p><p></p><p>“Guess we’ve blown our chance of surprising them, then,” muttered Karl under his breath. “Arse.”</p><p></p><p>Dashing forwards, drawing his weapon as he went, he dove and somersaulted, leaping into the air. His attack missed, however, as the hairless Drow dodged to one side, but with a vicious backswing Karl cut him deeply across the chest, drawing blood and getting a second scream out of the creature. Now he was closer, he could see that the skin all over the creature was stretched as tight as a drum-head over the bone. Flicking it’s blade high and then attacking from above, the creature fought back against the Gnome, but Karl’s eyes were the faster and he parried, feeling the impact jolt up his arm. Two more impacts follow as the other creatures shot at him with crossbows, the bolts slicing into his arms.</p><p></p><p>Looking up, Aengus could see more figures arriving upstairs, dressed the same and also drawing weapons. Seeking to minimize their ability to see, and hoping to cause some sort of magical explosion, the Warlock targeted one of the lit pillars on the central platform and smashed it with an Eldritch Spear, the green bolt impacting hard and shattering the glass. The liquid spilled across the floor, and from within the glass came tens of hands, squirming on the floor in a seething mass. Almost immediately they began to wriggle and move towards the party.</p><p></p><p>Emerging from her watery hiding place, Sigurd attempted to knock Karl’s opponent out of the way with a Spectral Ram spell, sending a bolt of force shooting across the room. Again, the figure dodged back from it, but as he did so he moved into the path of a bolt of radiant energy from Thunder, the Cleric of Kord having moved up as quickly as he could behind his friend. The radiant bolt had passed through Karl harmlessly, emboldening him as it went, and Karl grinned savagely as he continued to duel with his foe. Chopping smartly at his legs with his shortsword, he ditched the cloaked figure into the water where he swiftly sank from sight.</p><p></p><p>Distantly, a figure could be seen jumping down onto one of the cages, closing in on the melee beneath as Karl ran forwards into the central area. As he approached, the acolytes on the platform shot again, but this time they aimed at the cylinders, smashing another and releasing more of the scuttling hands. These hands crawled hideously over the phone, swarming all around Karl and pinning him in place as he fought to get clear of them. One leapt up on to his torso, clinging there and digging in with it fingers, trying to break through to the skin beneath his clothes.</p><p></p><p>“I have an idea,” shouted Aengus, and reached into a pocket. Drawing forth a crystal prism, he tossed it casually into the air before firing another Eldritch Blast through it. The bolt split into four, striking at the chains above another cage and shattering them. The cage dropped sharply, causing the acolytes to dive clear as it smashed a third pillar. The central area was growing dimmer and harder to see as the cage tilted on the edge and plunged into the water.</p><p></p><p>“We need the light, they don’t!” responded Sigurd, targeting another acolyte with her Icy Grasp spell. A large and frosty hand was conjured next to an acolyte, squeezing and freezing him in place. Simultaneously, Thunder pushed up next to Karl and hammered into the swarm of hands next to him with a powerful strike of his sword. On impact, an echoing blast of noise rolled through the room, setting the chains and cages swinging again and the hands were pushed backwards, dispersing with some flipped on to their backs. With an exultant cry, Thunder moved into the gap and made room for the others to follow him into the central area.</p><p></p><p>With a hideous wrenching sucking sound, like wet tubes being slapped together, an eruption of tentacles pressed down from an unseen source above the fight. Infused with a dark & twisting necrotic energy, they struck both Karl and Sigurd, wrapping briefly around them before disappearing back up into the darkness. Sigurd gasped in pain as the necrotic energy lingered, draining the energy of the combatants and leaving dark, injured trails of pain along their arms and torso.</p><p></p><p>Riding the pain, using it as a spur to carry on, Karl used the power of his cloak to teleport into combat with two more of the acolytes, one of whom had only just broken free of the icy hand that Sigurd had conjured. Striking out in a whirlwind of blows, he sliced into them.</p><p></p><p>“Surprise, mother<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />ers!” he yelled.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: orange">Note: Now, I know that ENWorld has some filters that will kick in on this post, but frankly I felt that la_bete's enthusiastic mode of speech whilst playing Karl (and to be fair, whilst not playing Karl) should be properly represented here. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></span></p><p><span style="color: orange"></span></p><p><span style="color: orange">Next time: The battle continues! Where did those tentacles come from, and when are they coming back?</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mathew_Freeman, post: 4798364, member: 1846"] [b]Lending a Hand (Or Two)[/b] Karl’s attention was fixed on the robed and cowled figures descending the ladder to his left. The lit cylinder he was pressed up against had a strange glowing liquid within it, and from that liquid suddenly a single hand slammed up against the glass with an audible “Thunk!” His heart racing, the Gnome stared at the hand (which didn’t seem to be attached to anything else) as it slowly drifted back into the light. Glancing round, he saw that none of the others had noticed. The cowled figures moved to the central platform, moving easily between the four cylinders that lit the area. Carefully unscrewing the top of one of them, they gently dropped something in, almost as though feeding it, before placing the lid back on and moving round. From their hiding places, the companions exchanged looks – what exactly was in these lit jars? One of the cowled figures now moved towards the narrow causeway linking the central platform with the section of stone the companions stood on. Stiffening, he suddenly stared across the room at Karl as he tried to hide behind the pillar, and a keening wail split the air as the figure screamed out a warning. Pulling his hood back and drawing a rapier, he revealed his facial features for the first time. He may have once been a Drow, but now his skin was pulled back tightly over his bone structure, revealing sharpened teeth and pure-red eyes filled with hate and madness. It’s bare skull gleamed in the light. The other three figures did likewise, with two moving back towards the ladder a little and pulling out small hand-crossbows instead, whilst the other joined the screamer at the entrance to the platform. “Guess we’ve blown our chance of surprising them, then,” muttered Karl under his breath. “Arse.” Dashing forwards, drawing his weapon as he went, he dove and somersaulted, leaping into the air. His attack missed, however, as the hairless Drow dodged to one side, but with a vicious backswing Karl cut him deeply across the chest, drawing blood and getting a second scream out of the creature. Now he was closer, he could see that the skin all over the creature was stretched as tight as a drum-head over the bone. Flicking it’s blade high and then attacking from above, the creature fought back against the Gnome, but Karl’s eyes were the faster and he parried, feeling the impact jolt up his arm. Two more impacts follow as the other creatures shot at him with crossbows, the bolts slicing into his arms. Looking up, Aengus could see more figures arriving upstairs, dressed the same and also drawing weapons. Seeking to minimize their ability to see, and hoping to cause some sort of magical explosion, the Warlock targeted one of the lit pillars on the central platform and smashed it with an Eldritch Spear, the green bolt impacting hard and shattering the glass. The liquid spilled across the floor, and from within the glass came tens of hands, squirming on the floor in a seething mass. Almost immediately they began to wriggle and move towards the party. Emerging from her watery hiding place, Sigurd attempted to knock Karl’s opponent out of the way with a Spectral Ram spell, sending a bolt of force shooting across the room. Again, the figure dodged back from it, but as he did so he moved into the path of a bolt of radiant energy from Thunder, the Cleric of Kord having moved up as quickly as he could behind his friend. The radiant bolt had passed through Karl harmlessly, emboldening him as it went, and Karl grinned savagely as he continued to duel with his foe. Chopping smartly at his legs with his shortsword, he ditched the cloaked figure into the water where he swiftly sank from sight. Distantly, a figure could be seen jumping down onto one of the cages, closing in on the melee beneath as Karl ran forwards into the central area. As he approached, the acolytes on the platform shot again, but this time they aimed at the cylinders, smashing another and releasing more of the scuttling hands. These hands crawled hideously over the phone, swarming all around Karl and pinning him in place as he fought to get clear of them. One leapt up on to his torso, clinging there and digging in with it fingers, trying to break through to the skin beneath his clothes. “I have an idea,” shouted Aengus, and reached into a pocket. Drawing forth a crystal prism, he tossed it casually into the air before firing another Eldritch Blast through it. The bolt split into four, striking at the chains above another cage and shattering them. The cage dropped sharply, causing the acolytes to dive clear as it smashed a third pillar. The central area was growing dimmer and harder to see as the cage tilted on the edge and plunged into the water. “We need the light, they don’t!” responded Sigurd, targeting another acolyte with her Icy Grasp spell. A large and frosty hand was conjured next to an acolyte, squeezing and freezing him in place. Simultaneously, Thunder pushed up next to Karl and hammered into the swarm of hands next to him with a powerful strike of his sword. On impact, an echoing blast of noise rolled through the room, setting the chains and cages swinging again and the hands were pushed backwards, dispersing with some flipped on to their backs. With an exultant cry, Thunder moved into the gap and made room for the others to follow him into the central area. With a hideous wrenching sucking sound, like wet tubes being slapped together, an eruption of tentacles pressed down from an unseen source above the fight. Infused with a dark & twisting necrotic energy, they struck both Karl and Sigurd, wrapping briefly around them before disappearing back up into the darkness. Sigurd gasped in pain as the necrotic energy lingered, draining the energy of the combatants and leaving dark, injured trails of pain along their arms and torso. Riding the pain, using it as a spur to carry on, Karl used the power of his cloak to teleport into combat with two more of the acolytes, one of whom had only just broken free of the icy hand that Sigurd had conjured. Striking out in a whirlwind of blows, he sliced into them. “Surprise, mother:):):):)ers!” he yelled. [color=orange]Note: Now, I know that ENWorld has some filters that will kick in on this post, but frankly I felt that la_bete's enthusiastic mode of speech whilst playing Karl (and to be fair, whilst not playing Karl) should be properly represented here. :) Next time: The battle continues! Where did those tentacles come from, and when are they coming back?[/color] [/QUOTE]
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