The Closed Eye, part II (DM: covaithe, Judge: garyh)

[Atriden]

For a second Atreus freezes as he wathces Tander die and Woe's mental break down. A sense of pity for Tander rises inside of his mind; " Another failure " echoes Kalach's voice from within his head " FOCUS! Or it will be your life that will be forfeit! " and as always he pushes his feelings aside... To his surprise he finds Woe shouting at him:

“Run!” Woe shouts. He steps back to Tander’s fallen frame, staring wild-eyed at Atreus.

“RUN!!!”

Staring back at Woe with blank eyes, Atreus simply nods and dashes through the bushes saying " I won't be far off "

[sblock=Actions]
Double run south/west and ends his turn in a bush to hide ( uses fleeting ghost) stealth check: 22 ( I got 22, but the browser closed before I got to link it. It can still be found but the search function at invisible castle is down atm.)
Save: 12
[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]
Well, this is crazy, first Palindrome and now Tander

We could adopt Kenhoods and Nerdytenors new characters in our campaign? If they want to that is?

And once again, I am sorry to keep everyone waiting.
[/sblock]

 

[covaithe]

Round 10

Woe stows his spear, then darts to the south of Tander's frozen body, shield raised protectively above his head. He shouts for Atreus to run, steeling himself for the inevitable bursts of cold.

Atreus bursts from the forest, dashing down the slope as fast as his feet can carry him. He darts around a bush, then continues, with silent footsteps, ducking low to remain out of sight.

Three more bursts of intense cold flare around Woe, surrounding him with icy brilliance. But the warrior's toughness and readiness serve him well, the heat of battle coursing through him and fending off the cold.

[sblock=ooc]Trying it out with the OOC text separate from the IC text, like JNC does. Hoping it will make updates a little quicker.

Woe moves, stows his spear, and does total defense.

Atreus runs SW, then uses Fleeting Ghost. Note you can't use FG as part of a run action; FG is a move action itself, which allows you to move up to your speed and then make a stealth check with no penalty. So Atreus can move a total of 14 squares (8+6) and stealth. He successfully hides.

The three motes flash, in Y11, X7, and W10, respectively. Woe doesn't detect any of them and thus grants CA, but they all miss anyway.

[/sblock]

[sblock=initiative and status]

Tander hp -17/29 surges 6/8, dead
Woe hp 26/40 surges 7/10 <== You're up
Palindrome hp -12/24 dead
Atreus hp 3/29 surges 3/7, bloodied
Arnest dead
Half orc 1 40 damage, bloodied, carrying Arnest's body. 24 squares south of Woe.
Half orc 2 dead
Goldtusk 10 damage, marked by Woe
specter 1 destroyed
specter 2 dead
specter 3 dead
mote 1 14 damage, bloodied, invisible, last seen in Y11
mote 2 12 damage, bloodied, invisible, last seen in X7
mote 3 13 damage, bloodied, invisible, last seen in W10
wraith 1 destroyed
wraith 2 destroyed
wraith 3 destroyed
wraith 4 destroyed
wraith 5 destroyed
wraith 6 destroyed
wraith 7 destroyed
wraith 8 destroyed
wraith 9 destroyed
wraith 10 destroyed
wraith 11 destroyed

Resources used:
Tander: divine glow, beacon of hope, AP, 2xHealing word, turn undead, second wind
Palindrome: grasping shadows, flaming sphere, AP
Atreus: second wind, AP
Woe: Second Wind, AP, inspiring word
[/sblock]

[sblock=map]

[/sblock]

 

[Dunamin]

Spectral images of laughing elves replace the motes in Woe’s mind, and the warrior spits curses their way as they assault him. His perception of reality gradually turns even more muddy, with visions of burning farm houses and hailstorms of arrows appearing all around him.

“I won’t let you take him! Not Corex! Not again!”

Woe sneers at the motes and heaves Tander’s corpse over his shoulder, before turning to follow Atreus at speed.

“Fall back, Byruck! We fall back and regroup!” he shouts at the sneak.

[sblock=Actions]Woe picks up Tander and double runs in Atreus’ direction. Even if they aren’t pursued, Woe continues to flee senselessly until they have put significant distance behind them. Then he signals to Atreus and finds a good place to hide.

It just so happens that I know of this gnome. He's a little rough around the edges, but he is a team player.

Sweet, bring him in!

… Actually, after taking a closer look, I couldn’t help but notice you also did a gnome bard.

Not sure what I think about bringing Tander back. He's fun mechanically, but he's a bit of a bore from an emotional/roleplay standpoint. His antics with his God are kinda fun, but they don't involve other players, so its a little bit masturbatory...

Plus, now that Palindrome is gone, the need for a straight-man is greatly diminished.

I hear there is a strange (non mutiliated) elf girl who can turn into a wolf coming to town...

Well, it’s sort of a shame that just as Tander discovers his god and is given a clear purpose and goal directly from Merkari, he croaks. I completely understand wanting to try new paths, though... Looking forward to see how an elven druid meshes in.
[/sblock]

 

[nerdytenor]

[sblock=OOC]
Well, Tander could come back as an NPC. Perhaps with a major personality shift due to his dying. At any rate feel free to raise or not raise Tander as it fits the story - in truth I haven't decided what I want to do with this character yet, although I'm leaning toward retiring him.
[/sblock]

 

[KenHood]

[sblock=Dunamin]

… Actually, after taking a closer look, I couldn’t help but notice you also did a gnome bard.

Yeah. He's a Johnny Cash gnome. "I made it to 30th level, then some stuff happened, so I'm back to the beginning, but I made it to 30th level again, but then some MORE stuff happened, and now I'm not 30th level anymore.

He's currently binge drinking in the alley behind the Hanged Man Tavern, if y'all want to roust him.[/sblock]

 

[Atriden]

Ignoring the traumatised warrior, Atreus quickly loads up his sling with a bullet and prepares to cover Woe's retreat from the Motes.
[sblock= Actions]
Readies to use Sly Flourish with his sling against any enemy that attacks Woe and then uses fleeting ghost to move west, away from his current position and hide once more. Uses his minor action to try to spot the motes.
( Not sure if I can ready so many things at once, but what the hell, I am giving it a try)
Sly Flourish: Hits AC 19 and does 20 damage with sneak attack. The attack is made with the distance penalty.
Perception Check:26 ( natural 20!)
Hide Check:14
[/sblock]

 

[Atriden]

[sblock=OOC]

To Nerdytenor:
Yeah well it seems kinda sad if Tander doesn't come back, but I understand. It is frustrating to play a goodie two shoes, especially in our group. Well, I think both Atreus and Woe will try to resurrect Tander, but it is totally up to you if he get's resurrected or not.
Could be interesting playing along with a elven druid... mostly because both Woe and Atreus hate elves, especially Woe, hahaha. Well, bring the wolf lady on!

To Kenhood:
Well, in that case, we might swing by the alley behind the Tavern and pick you up
[/sblock]

 

[Dunamin]

[sblock=OOC]

Well, Tander could come back as an NPC. Perhaps with a major personality shift due to his dying. At any rate feel free to raise or not raise Tander as it fits the story - in truth I haven't decided what I want to do with this character yet, although I'm leaning toward retiring him.

In light of that… Well, out-of-character I can’t deny that we could really use the resources needed for Tander’s resurrection, considering how we’re nearly getting wiped out on a regular basis (and which has just been partially accomplished).

However, regardless of whether Tander turns NPC, a resurrection could definitely work well in-character, at least for Woe to counteract his current trauma-induced breakdown.

Yeah. He's a Johnny Cash gnome. "I made it to 30th level, then some stuff happened, so I'm back to the beginning, but I made it to 30th level again, but then some MORE stuff happened, and now I'm not 30th level anymore.

He's currently binge drinking in the alley behind the Hanged Man Tavern, if y'all want to roust him.

Nice. Mine’s more of a Tenacious D’s Jack Black gnome, with a good deal Jimi Hendrix thrown in. I should really get around to playing him up in the tavern again, but my master’s thesis is pretty time-demaning.

I think it goes without saying that you could both just work out some suitable entry with Covaithe, if you guys want something more natural than: "Cheers, fellas! World is coming to an end pretty soon, who's up for looking into it?"
[/sblock]

 

[covaithe]

Round 11

Woe hoists Tander's body and runs down the slope, shouting orders to past comrades.

Atreus slinks westward, remaining hidden, and keeps a dagger ready if any foes attack Woe. His vigilance goes unrewarded this time, though, as nothing attacks Woe.

He continues to be ready as he follows Woe quickly down the hills, back towards Daunton, but still no attack comes. There is no sign of the invisible cold beings; they are either unwilling or unable to follow.

End combat

[sblock=ooc]Okay, you've gotten away, carrying Tander's body but leaving Palindrome's behind. Now what?

Everyone gets an AP, 'cause that fight was worth two normal fights, easy. Not that I expect you'll get in any fights soon, but you never know.
[/sblock]

[sblock=post-combat status]

Tander hp -17/29 surges 6/8, dead
Woe hp 26/40 surges 7/10
Palindrome hp -12/24 dead
Atreus hp 3/29 surges 3/7, bloodied

Resources used:
Tander: beacon of hope, cure light wounds
Palindrome: flaming sphere
Atreus:
Woe: inspiring word
[/sblock]

 

[KenHood]

[sblock=ooc]

I think it goes without saying that you could both just work out some suitable entry with Covaithe, if you guys want something more natural than: "Cheers, fellas! World is coming to an end pretty soon, who's up for looking into it?"

That's all Hacker needs.

Is it okay with you, covaithe?[/sblock]