stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

Forest Trials: Round 8 (Partial)

The warlock's fuming does not help his blind aim which misses horribly. [Miss] But the anger causes something in him to snap, and he feels dizzy a moment. It is then gone, but the Voice continues to harangue and rail against the unseen foes. Only Janis, behind the pillar and Marot, saw the green stone flare briefly.

Ladreth and Tessa dealt with their problems differently. The mercenary's mind continue to reel, shamefully revisiting his past, oblivious to Janis' gestures behind him. The cleric, meanwhile, tried to infuse the lady paladin with strength. Her blind grope just manages to touch Ashlyn's cold steel armor, but it is enough for the enchantment. [Bull's Strength]

Knowing what she has to do, Janis intones the arcane words. Though her training in that arena is not fresh, she manages the correct words and gestures, and flings the bolt a the were-creature at the twisted nymph. [Caster level check succeeds] But the shifter-creature and the fey exhibit fine reflexes, and minimize their exposure to the bolt. Ladreth is also fortunate, and is only clipped by the magic. [7hp after save w/o decomposition]

The bare creature screams shrilly at Janis' magic, her words incomprehensible. Her furious glare slams into Ashlyn once more, and she once again almost reels from the force of it. [Fort save succeeds due to prayer] Her lycanthrope warrior barks at the druid, but continues to press the attack against the paladin. Once one sword strike gets through, but it is enough to slam her against the cave wall through its force. She knows she cannot take much more of this if nothing is done. [Hit; 25hp; Near death]

[A pause to allow Stormwind to update Ashlyn's actions in light of her wounds.]

Forest Trials: Round 8 (Partial)


M: 22 [blinded; prayer 6 rounds]
L: 13 [26/41; 1 Con damage; stunned 3 rounds; prayer 5 rounds]
T: 11 [blinded; prayer 5 rounds]
J: 9 [34/42, mirror image (4 images, 27 rounds); prayer 5 rounds]
V: 8 [decomposition; prayer 5 rounds]
H: 7 [E5: dying; C5: dead; R5, lightly wounded, decomposition, prayer 5 rounds]
A: 5 [6/43; 1 Con damage; prayer 5 rounds; bull's strenght 60 rounds]
b: 3 [prayer 5 rounds]

Map Key: A: Ashlyn, b: The Bear, J: Janis, L: Ladreth, M: Marot, H: Shifter Werewolf, T: Tessa.
Conditions: Green Border: mirror image, Orange Border: Blinded, Pink Border: Prone, Yellow Border: Stunned

A Lost Flame

DEFCON 1 said:

"May I get you something? Water? Some food? I'm afraid your condition is untreatable until the young girl Tessa that you travelled with here returns to town. She was the one who cured my disease... and I pray by the Flame she will be able to cure yours as well."

He stands silently in front of the man to hear what he has to say.

Click to expand...

The Blademark looked at Jarrith with a simmering anger hardly disguised. It was then that Jarrith noted that the warrior's wounds had not been healed. "Get me anything? My brother, alive. That traitor, punished. Me, free." The man shook his chains a moment for emphasis. "But that's not to be, is it, Flamist? Should it be telling that both of the 'Pure Ones' went mad last night? How many have died on this expedition you were to protect? If you want to do something for me now, kill me now instead of it having to be done slowly."

Vincent said:

Get me anything? My brother, alive. That traitor, punished. Me, free. But that's not to be, is it, Flamist? Should it be telling that both of the 'Pure Ones' went mad last night? How many have died on this expedition you were to protect? If you want to do something for me now, kill me now instead of it having to be done slowly."

Click to expand...

Jarrith's jaw hardens when the man calls his Brother a traitor. He takes another step towards the man and looks him dead in the eyes. "I see. My Brother gets bitten by one of those creatures and thus, anything that occured after that brands him a traitor. I know you are hurting for the loss of your own brother... but that's awfully big talk coming from a man who will go through the exact same torture himself tonight." He steps even closer, and then gives the Blademark a venomous sideways grin while he whispers to the man under his breath. "How about I let you free tonight so you can undertake the change too... attack anyone and everyone with no ability to stop it... loved ones and hated rivals both... then tomorrow morning when you turn back you can feel that dark maggot twisting in your soul... just like we're all feeling."

His maniacal grin and wide eyes almost start taunting the man. "Would you like that? Hmm? You want to go mad too? Wake up tomorrow with blood on your hands? Because you're going to. You know that? Oh yes... one twist of a key in that lock of yours and your soul can get shattered just like my Brother and mine were. You want freedom that bad? Just say the word, friend. You can become just like us. See how you like it!"

When his adrenaline finally gives out... Jarrith's eyes unfocus a bit and his breathing gets heavy. For a few moments he gets lost in his own thoughts. After about twnety seconds of silent soul-searching, his body gives way to a full-body shiver. The Stalker then looks up at the man with pain and agony in his eyes, and he shakes his head to clear it of it's dark thoughts. "No... No. No, I would not wish what my Brother and I have gone through on anybody. Your heart might feel pain for your loss of your brother... but my Brother's very soul feels the pain for what he did and what he lost. As does mine. And this is a pain that nobody should ever have to feel. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what you've gone through and what you will go through. But just know that those chains are saving your very soul."

Jarrith turns back to the stairs and slowly begins walking towards them. He mumbles to the Blademark over his shoulder "One night in this prison is a small price to pay for what would otherwise be a lifetime of agony for what you'd do tonight if you were freed. Your soul is still clean. Be thankful... and pray that Tessa will be able to remove the taint within you."

As she is slammed into the wall by the force of the blow, Ashlyn staggers slightly from the combined wounds. Placing her hand upon the fresh wound in her side she focus's and something bright within her surges to the surface. it is there for only a moment before it subsides back within her, but the greatest of her wounds are gone, gone as if they never were. Stepping back into the fray, Ashlyn grins. It is the cold merciless grin of one who faces death once again, an old acquaintance that is so familiar that one might call it a friend ... yet Ashlyn continues to fight that she might fight again some other day.

[Lay on hands on herself for 24 hp healing (standard action)]

Forest Trials: Round 8 (Complete)

Determined, the holy warrior calls upon the Host to grant her a second wind. [Lay on hands] Her wounds tended for now, she renters the fight.

The bear, without other orders, continues to defend Janis.

Forest Trials: Round 9


M: 22 [blinded; prayer 6 rounds]
L: 13 [26/41; 1 Con damage; stunned 3 rounds; prayer 5 rounds]
T: 11 [blinded; prayer 5 rounds]
J: 9 [34/42, mirror image (4 images, 27 rounds); prayer 5 rounds]
V: 8 [decomposition; prayer 5 rounds]
H: 7 [E5: dying; C5: dead; R5, lightly wounded, decomposition, prayer 5 rounds]
A: 5 [30/43; 1 Con damage; prayer 5 rounds; bull's strenght 60 rounds]
b: 3 [prayer 5 rounds]

Map Key: A: Ashlyn, b: The Bear, J: Janis, L: Ladreth, M: Marot, H: Shifter Werewolf, T: Tessa.
Conditions: Green Border: mirror image, Orange Border: Blinded, Pink Border: Prone, Yellow Border: Stunned

A Lost Flame

DEFCON 1 said:

"One night in this prison is a small price to pay for what would otherwise be a lifetime of agony for what you'd do tonight if you were freed. Your soul is still clean. Be thankful... and pray that Tessa will be able to remove the taint within you."

Click to expand...

The Blademark looks cooly at the manic then calm Stalker, apparently unsure of what to make of him. Vincent, like so many others on the Expedition, has been taken far past his breaking point. "If I turn, kill me. I will not be that which killed my brother." He grows silent.

"Kill them, " Janis says with a command to her ursine companion, pointing at the werewolf.

Shaking off concern for her companions with practiced effortlessness, Janis begins to intone a spell to make herself a fierce predator in her own right.

OOC: Casting Bite of the Werewolf, which should give Janis +2 Str, +4 to Dex and Con, +4 natural armor, a 1d6 bite attack, and blind-fighting for 6 rounds.

Ashlyn continues her assault on the shifter, but her fighting is much more defensive now, as she fights to hold her foes at bay. Her laboured breathing interspersed with occasional silent gasps, indicate that she it hurt, yet she will not give in. Something inside of her gives her the tenacity to continue, even in the face of such odds.

[Full combat expertise (+5AC, -5 attack) -> AC 27]
[Full attack vs shifter +6/+1, damage 1d8+6/1d8+6]

Marot the Sightless

Not knowing if his eldritch energy is finding its mark or not, Marot continues to let the eldritch energy flow through him like an open valve.

In the span of a heartbeat, the blindness triggers a flashback to his nights in the dark, cold pit, where he struggled against his bonds -- horribly alone. Goosebumps appear on his exposed skin and a horrified look comes over his face. Marot starts to shiver.


OOC: Eldritch Blast (+8/3d6+2) 50% miss chance due to blindness/concealment.

Unable to see the fight raging before her, Tessa stood still, trying to figure out what was happening. She could hear some clues- and so far, things didn't sound good. But she could tell that Ashlyn still fought. Tessa stood ready, a prayer on her lips, just in case...

OOC: Total defense this round, for what it is worth. Mentally prepping to swap Remove Curse for a Cure Serious if Ashlyn gets hurt too much more.