(5E) D&D/Moorcock Multiverse Inspiration PBP

[CharlotteOz]

"Al O? Is that you?" The old woman looked up from her puddle, pushing her soaked hat brim and hair back, pulling herself back out of the mud.

She completely ignored the brute as he laughed again, casually sticking out a foot and tripping her again. Some people laughed and the guy turned and walked away, elbowing some other men as he got back into line.

This time she stumbled straight into Alan, getting mud all over his doublet and shirt, although she barely noticed that either as her eyes wandered over Alan's facial features. She put her muddy hands on his elbows, more smearing, putting her weight on him.

"It... It is you... Look...I shouldn't have come.. We were trying to wait. They told me DON'T GO! But, it's all happening too fast... If we don't DO SOMETHING all is lost. It might already be too late! Oh dear me-oh-my!"

The woman's eyes got big and she started to cry, right there on the spot, holding Alan in the mud.

"It's... Alan, actually..." Alan paused as mud caked his outfit, the words do you know how long it took me to make this and how much it cost rising in his throat before he caught himself and reminded himself that it was just a suit and it could be cleaned.

He led her away from the line, shouting over his shoulder, "I'm just going to make sure she's okay." Upon jeers, he grimaced, and led her inside the house he stayed - the damage to it aside, at least it provided some shelter assuming you stayed away from the hole the tree crashed through.

Upon entry, he pulled off his jacket and let it start to dry on a hook; he'd always felt uncomfortable shirtless, so a jacket was all it was. He led her to a chair, and spoke.

"I don't know who you are, so I have to ask: how do you know my name, and why did you come looking for me?"

 

[JharyOConnah]

Selythin was almost to the ground now, although he kept his eyes on the flying, growling beast above him. It was fast, but if the prince were faster he'd be able to clip it out of the air as it came swooping by.

It came straight at him again, teeth bared, long orangutan-type arms slashing ahead.

(Take your ready action then we'll handle the creature's attack, assuming you don't kill it.)

* * *

Eovin looked and DID spot Laynard, picking himself out of the mud very slowly. He was so distracted by the muck and storm and haze he didn't see the two shadowy figures creeping up in the trees behind him.

The pixie was too far to get there quickly and watched as the two strange, animalistic figures suddenly grabbed the caravan leader, pulling him into the woods, out of view.

Eovin heard Laynard's son, Jim, cry out. Maybe in pain or surprise, or both. She couldn't see or hear any trace of the third wagon at all.

(Gimme a perception check if you go investigate. The horses ARE taking your verbal guidance still.)

* * *

Josiah Jones sat very still, trying to control his annoyance. Maybe there WAS something strange going on here. It was worth it to at least hear the odd, little one out.

Kaylee went and sat cross-legged on the raggedy bed in the corner of the shack.

After another moment of weird staring, the girl continued:

"My brothers and sisters... They've been busy. New alliances have been brokered. A new order is arising...here and all over the multiverse. I'm afraid that I...no...WE, gatekeeper...are on the way out. A new game is being played. The rules are changing again."

The girl breathed in and out slowly.

"But...with your help...I may yet be able to find a way out of my predicament. I know it is not like me to directly intervene or request assistance, but desperate times call for desperate measures. This...shell I inhabit...is temporary, borrowed from an innocent without sin. My power will soon fade. That way I remain hidden from those who would hunt me..."

Kaylee kept staring. Everything she said seemed like the truth. Josiah let the information sink in.

"So, please, gatekeeper. I need you to transport me...out of this realm, across the great battlefield, to safety. I have allies, but they are many universes away. I'm afraid the time for this world is near an end. There are bigger things at stake than this old piece of dirt..."

A million thoughts crossed Jones's mind.

* * *

 

[JharyOConnah]

Alan led the soaked, soiled, crying woman back to his humble domicile.

She sat in his chair, still weeping, but trying to bring herself under control. She sniffled loudly and, for a second, Alan thought he saw a completely DIFFERENT woman, with sharp features and much, much younger, sitting in the chair before him.

Al Oak blinked and saw the OLD woman again. He thought he might be going mad.

She kept sobbing for a few more moments, but eventually looked back at Alan with her odd stare.

"I know...I shouldn't have come! They told me you'd come back on your own...in your own time...not to rush you...let you come to terms...but..."

She blew her nose loudly in a random piece of fabric that Alan had lying on the table, started to really cry again.

"The...the...the...queen is dead! Things are going badly...I...WE...were terribly worried about you, Aloe...I couldn't just LEAVE you here to die, princess!"

She kept wiping at her nose with the pretty, patterned fabric.

* * *

 

[JharyOConnah]

The hunch-backed old man kept plodding through the rainy field, even as Ralph Crenshaw hesitated between greeting him and running back to assist Orland with the livestock.

As he got closer, Sir Ralph noticed the old guy had a longsword, or some other largish weapon, not-very-well-hidden under his wet cloak, in addition to the over-stuffed pack.

He really didn't seem threatening, almost teetering over in the strong wind, but he was approaching quickly, which set Ralph on edge.

* * *

 

[jmucchiello]

Eovin says to the horses, "Hurry a bit. Something is wrong." She aims the horses in the direction of the son's shouts.

Perception: 1D20+3 = [14]+3 = 17

 

[Steve Gorak]

Selythin was almost to the ground now, although he kept his eyes on the flying, growling beast above him. It was fast, but if the prince were faster he'd be able to clip it out of the air as it came swooping by.

It came straight at him again, teeth bared, long orangutan-type arms slashing ahead.

(Take your ready action then we'll handle the creature's attack, assuming you don't kill it.)

Selythin was getting closer to the ground, and rejoiced that the fight was going as per his expectations although it was far from over. For a second, he reflected that for some reason he didn’t fully comprehend, he felt hatred for abyssal creature. Perhaps a remnant from his demons self...

He waited as the creature swooped past him, and at just the right moment, at lease as far as he could tell, he swung.

OOC: attack 14 (note rolled 10 but made a mistake, bonus should have been +4, not +2 damage: 8 move: 30 ft closer to the ground

 

[CharlotteOz]

Alan led the soaked, soiled, crying woman back to his humble domicile.

She sat in his chair, still weeping, but trying to bring herself under control. She sniffled loudly and, for a second, Alan thought he saw a completely DIFFERENT woman, with sharp features and much, much younger, sitting in the chair before him.

Al Oak blinked and saw the OLD woman again. He thought he might be going mad.

She kept sobbing for a few more moments, but eventually looked back at Alan with her odd stare.

"I know...I shouldn't have come! They told me you'd come back on your own...in your own time...not to rush you...let you come to terms...but..."

She blew her nose loudly in a random piece of fabric that Alan had lying on the table, started to really cry again.

"The...the...the...queen is dead! Things are going badly...I...WE...were terribly worried about you, Aloe...I couldn't just LEAVE you here to die, princess!"

She kept wiping at her nose with the pretty, patterned fabric.

* * *

Alan blinked a few times at the momentary flicker - did she look different? Instinctively, he took a step back.

Once she was back to the way he'd seen her outside, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "'Princess.' Okay. So, that word must mean something different where you're from, because around here it means 'woman of high born birth who does not yet rule a kingdom but commands social privileges.' I'm not a - I'm not a woman. And I'm definitely not of any noble birth. I'm a nobody. I was dumped on the steps of the local tailors' guild because whoever my parents are, they didn't want me and - "

He blinked, suddenly fighting back tears of his own. He sat down in a chair, opposite her, and took a deep breath, and then paused.

"They wrote 'Al O' on the side of the - " He shook his head.

"How did you know that? Do you know my parents? What Queen? And why did you say that I was to be left here to die, or to figure things out, or - is the town in danger?"

 

[JharyOConnah]

The horses kept up the sass as they turned at the request of Eovin, stumbling immediately as they looked for the road and level ground.

"Can't see a damn thing, little lady!" "Hey! Where we goin'? There's no path here atall!" They kept grumbling, swaying back and forth, their hooves not quite finding an even footing.

Perhaps Eovin flitted up into the air for a second, or climbed to some higher boxes to get a better look around. To the...right...she spied Laynard's son, Jim, crawling backwards through a giant puddle. An eerie humanoid creature, who also exhibited the signs of being a large bat, a panther-person, and an ape, stalked towards the frightened man, out of the dense forest beyond.

She was pretty sure she saw the road to the left, leading back the way they came. But, as soon as she turned again, she lost her bearings. There was a gust of wind and Jim screamed again.

It was VERY high-pitched.

The creature was right above him.

* * *

The winged beast took a deep gash from Selythin's blade.

It slashed, almost at the same second, connecting under the tainted elven prince's armor. (Five slashing damage.)

This time the horrible thing stayed on top of the prince, barely letting Selythin retain his ground.

(Your turn again. The beast is wounded, but staying in melee.)

* * *

"My-my-my name is p-p-page. I knew your mother...I mean I worked for the queen...I brought you here... You were supposed to find us... Make your own choices... It's what WE do... But..."

The old woman started to cry again and she started to appear, again, differently to Alan's eyes.

For a moment she was a pitiful, beautiful, sad young woman. And then suddenly back to the old hag. What was happening?

Alan couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The whole situation brought up all kinds of emotions.

Alan couldn't help but think of that one fateful day, deep in the woods. The fey. The forest. It was an odd memory.

"We have to leave! Why won't THEY listen? You have to trust me. Please!"

She wasn't explaining herself very well.

The fabric from the table was ruined. And it had already been cut to be sewn into a new piece of clothing too.

Alan couldn't help but be annoyed at the random destruction of his artful garments.

* * *

 

[jmucchiello]

"That way," Eovin commands the horses to run toward the three creatures. "That way, now, or all the humans die and you will die too."

When she gets close enough (10 ft), she fires a poison spray at the bat-like creature. (CON DC 14 or Poison Spray: 1D12 = [4] = 4 hp of poison damage)

OOC: If the horses need motivation: Persuasion: 1D20+6 = [20]+6 = 26 (With that roll I hope they also attack the panther or ape creature, with advantage for surprise and charging. )

 

[Steve Gorak]

The winged beast took a deep gash from Selythin's blade.

It slashed, almost at the same second, connecting under the tainted elven prince's armor. (Five slashing damage.)

This time the horrible thing stayed on top of the prince, barely letting Selythin retain his ground.

(Your turn again. The beast is wounded, but staying in melee.)

Undeterred by his wound, Selythin strikes again. He stays close to the beast, not wanting to give it any advantage in the fight

OOC: attack 16, damage 10