Dougal DeKree
First Post
This is a
BUMP
BUMP
Against the Shadows VII - A Faded Glory Story Hour (Re-Updated - 5/17)
- Thread starter Old One
- Start date
We played yesterday. Lot's of character and campaign developement took place as well as a little combat.
Rowan now has a better sense of where he wants to go in life and a new challenge to face. (Heretic, my butt!)
We're also getting ready to take the fight to our enemies again.
Looking forward to the next session which is sadly a month away.
Rowan now has a better sense of where he wants to go in life and a new challenge to face. (Heretic, my butt!)
We're also getting ready to take the fight to our enemies again.
Looking forward to the next session which is sadly a month away.
Updates Coming...
Greetings All!
I finally get a little breather from work this week and am working on the Session 18 installments...now that I am 2 sessions behind
!
I should have 1 to 2 up tomorrow, with more to follow! Yesterday's session was primarily a role-playing, information-gathering one with a bit of combat mixed in.
~ Old One
Greetings All!
I finally get a little breather from work this week and am working on the Session 18 installments...now that I am 2 sessions behind
!I should have 1 to 2 up tomorrow, with more to follow! Yesterday's session was primarily a role-playing, information-gathering one with a bit of combat mixed in.
~ Old One
Dougal DeKree
First Post
Have to
keep this SH on page one, so i BUMP again
Dougal
keep this SH on page one, so i BUMP again
Dougal
Session 18 (Part One)
All Good Deeds Must Be Punished
‘Why do you invade our home and attack us?’
The voice echoed through the party’s collective heads. Rosë had begun a swing aimed at the chest of one of the tentacle creatures, but checked it before it smashed home.
“Hold for a moment,” Quintus whispered to his companions. The others held their actions, warily eyeing the four strange creatures around them and the gong quartet beyond. “You have attacked us at every turn, we are merely defending ourselves!”
‘Truly?’ The voice reverberated with barely concealed contempt. ‘You enter our home unasked, without announcing yourselves and begin to rummage into things you do not own. If someone you did not know, bearing weapons and gear of war came unlooked for and unasked into your tower, would you not defend your home?’
“Well…I…I mean we…,” Quintus stumbled over his words. His conviction and the indignant outrage the sorcerer had felt at being questioned by the creature melted in the face of the logic it presented. Changing tact, Quintus continued, “Well who are you and what are you doing here?”
‘Do I have your promise that you will not attack further while we speak?’
“You do.” Quintus gestured to the others to lower their weapons, although Rowan and Rosë, who had taken the brunt of the draining from earlier attacks were clearly reluctant to do so. Three of the tentacle creatures backed away and retracted their appendages. The spokescreature stood its ground, but its tentacles likewise withdrew.
‘Very well, we are here by command of the Master, doing his bidding.’
Quintus narrowed his eyes, “Who is the Master?”
The creature’s narrow shoulder rose and fell in the semblance of a shrug. ‘The Master is the Master. Long ago, he commanded us to guard this tower and strike the gongs in unison every one and a half turns of the hourglass. As he commanded, so we have done. We have done so, at least, until you came upon us and began to slaughter us!’
Sextus chimed in, “How long have you been doing this? When did the Master set you to this task?”
‘Time, beyond the striking interval, is meaningless here. Many years may have passed…or perhaps only a few. We follow the Master’s commands and that is enough for us. How is it that you came to be here?’
Rowan started to answer, but Quintus elbowed him in the ribs. “What does this ‘Master’ look like?”
‘The Master is the Master. We may know him in one form, you could see him in another. Such description is meaningless.’
Quintus glanced at Lew. “You get any feeling from this creature…good or ill?”
Lew was listening intently, trying to discern a falsehood or ulterior motive in the creature’s words. “None so far, but it is difficult when it is speaking in your head!”
Quintus sighed in exasperation. “What if we told you that the Master wants you to stop striking the gongs…that your duties are at an end?”
The creature was silent for a moment. ‘Such news would be welcome to my brethren and I, but I would have to go before the Master and hear this command for myself. Has the Master indeed commanded that we cease?’
“Yes. We were sent to halt the ringing. Will you stop?”
‘If you agree to take me to the Master, I will command my brethren to stop. If you have lied however, we will be most displeased!’
The sorcerer glanced at Lew again. The Priest of Osirian responded with a helpless shrug. Shrugs and masks of indecision greeted Quintus as he glanced at Rowan, Rosë and Sextus.
“Very well. We will take you to see the Master. But I warn you…any treachery will be severely punished!”
‘I understand,’ the voice intones. ‘I know you have deciphered how to operate our transport column. Please take it to the bottom level and we shall depart forthwith.’
The party moved back cautiously and entered the liquid pillar as a group. At the bottom, Quintus retrieved his light-tipped spear and stepped into the empty lower chamber. The creature joined them a few grains later. Lew tried to push a faint sense of unease from his gut, ‘I suppose Quintus knows what he’s doing.’
The creature moved to the translucent wall and placed a three-fingered hand on the wall. The wall shimmered and on oval opening appeared. The creature stepped through and began walking down the path without looking back. The companions cautiously followed. Rosë, bringing up the rear, glanced behind him and saw the portal wink out of existence five grains after they passed through.
They traveled the two hours to their entry point mostly in silence. Quintus and Sextus quietly compared notes while Rowan and Rosë groused about their drained strength. Lew seemed pensive and lost in thought. They halted next to the coin Rowan had placed to mark the entry spot. “What now?” the ranger asked.
The creature tensed for a moment, then extended its arms, pointing at the ground. Two dull gray lights began pulsing. The creature stepped between the lights and vanished. In short order, the party followed. Rosë once again felt his skin crawl as the threads from the tapestry fabric slid through his flesh.
They clustered before the great wall hanging for a few grains, and then proceeded up the stairs. The Dance Macabre still whirled, but the companions were better prepared this time. Lew hit the dance floor with two quick turnings called from Osirian. Unnoticed by the companions, the creature visibly flinched at the display of the Lightbringer’s power. The skeletal dancers faded away and Quintus led the charge to the right hand edge of the curtain. Using his extended spear, he pulled the velvet barrier aside, allowing the others to pass through.
They moved down the right side of the viewing gallery and halted before the ornate doors to the chamber they had last seen the dwarf. Quintus called a short halt, unslung his crossbow and slapped one of his last Lathan-enchanted bolts into place. The others readied their weapons.
“Remember…no funny business or you die!”
‘I Understand,’ echoed through their minds.
Rowan turned the door ring and gingerly pushed, expecting a blast of energy. The creature stepped through behind him and strode purposefully toward the smaller door directly across the room. Rosë, Quintus and Sextus followed close behind. Rowan and Lew stood hard by the entrance, weapons ready. The small door opened and the dwarf emerged. His eyes locked with Quintus for a brief moment and the sorcerer noted they were clear of the madness that had clouded them in their earlier confrontations.
The dwarf’s eyes flicked to the creature and he howled in outrage. “What treachery is this?”
Quintus cursed and brought up his crossbow as the tentacle creature’s outline wavered and shimmered. A trio of creatures now stood before him and each clutched a crumbling scroll in its waving tentacles. Lew and the others gasped as harsh words, dripping with caustic blackness, hammered through their minds. From the torrent of dark words emerged one that was thrice repeated, ‘Volakir, Volakir, Volakir!’
Quintus buried his crossbow bolt at the base of the skull of the center image. Blue fire and black fire exploded together and a thundering crash echoed up from below. Then, all hell broke loose!
To Be Continued…
Next: Gotterdammerung
~ Old One
All Good Deeds Must Be Punished
‘Why do you invade our home and attack us?’
The voice echoed through the party’s collective heads. Rosë had begun a swing aimed at the chest of one of the tentacle creatures, but checked it before it smashed home.
“Hold for a moment,” Quintus whispered to his companions. The others held their actions, warily eyeing the four strange creatures around them and the gong quartet beyond. “You have attacked us at every turn, we are merely defending ourselves!”
‘Truly?’ The voice reverberated with barely concealed contempt. ‘You enter our home unasked, without announcing yourselves and begin to rummage into things you do not own. If someone you did not know, bearing weapons and gear of war came unlooked for and unasked into your tower, would you not defend your home?’
“Well…I…I mean we…,” Quintus stumbled over his words. His conviction and the indignant outrage the sorcerer had felt at being questioned by the creature melted in the face of the logic it presented. Changing tact, Quintus continued, “Well who are you and what are you doing here?”
‘Do I have your promise that you will not attack further while we speak?’
“You do.” Quintus gestured to the others to lower their weapons, although Rowan and Rosë, who had taken the brunt of the draining from earlier attacks were clearly reluctant to do so. Three of the tentacle creatures backed away and retracted their appendages. The spokescreature stood its ground, but its tentacles likewise withdrew.
‘Very well, we are here by command of the Master, doing his bidding.’
Quintus narrowed his eyes, “Who is the Master?”
The creature’s narrow shoulder rose and fell in the semblance of a shrug. ‘The Master is the Master. Long ago, he commanded us to guard this tower and strike the gongs in unison every one and a half turns of the hourglass. As he commanded, so we have done. We have done so, at least, until you came upon us and began to slaughter us!’
Sextus chimed in, “How long have you been doing this? When did the Master set you to this task?”
‘Time, beyond the striking interval, is meaningless here. Many years may have passed…or perhaps only a few. We follow the Master’s commands and that is enough for us. How is it that you came to be here?’
Rowan started to answer, but Quintus elbowed him in the ribs. “What does this ‘Master’ look like?”
‘The Master is the Master. We may know him in one form, you could see him in another. Such description is meaningless.’
Quintus glanced at Lew. “You get any feeling from this creature…good or ill?”
Lew was listening intently, trying to discern a falsehood or ulterior motive in the creature’s words. “None so far, but it is difficult when it is speaking in your head!”
Quintus sighed in exasperation. “What if we told you that the Master wants you to stop striking the gongs…that your duties are at an end?”
The creature was silent for a moment. ‘Such news would be welcome to my brethren and I, but I would have to go before the Master and hear this command for myself. Has the Master indeed commanded that we cease?’
“Yes. We were sent to halt the ringing. Will you stop?”
‘If you agree to take me to the Master, I will command my brethren to stop. If you have lied however, we will be most displeased!’
The sorcerer glanced at Lew again. The Priest of Osirian responded with a helpless shrug. Shrugs and masks of indecision greeted Quintus as he glanced at Rowan, Rosë and Sextus.
“Very well. We will take you to see the Master. But I warn you…any treachery will be severely punished!”
‘I understand,’ the voice intones. ‘I know you have deciphered how to operate our transport column. Please take it to the bottom level and we shall depart forthwith.’
The party moved back cautiously and entered the liquid pillar as a group. At the bottom, Quintus retrieved his light-tipped spear and stepped into the empty lower chamber. The creature joined them a few grains later. Lew tried to push a faint sense of unease from his gut, ‘I suppose Quintus knows what he’s doing.’
The creature moved to the translucent wall and placed a three-fingered hand on the wall. The wall shimmered and on oval opening appeared. The creature stepped through and began walking down the path without looking back. The companions cautiously followed. Rosë, bringing up the rear, glanced behind him and saw the portal wink out of existence five grains after they passed through.
They traveled the two hours to their entry point mostly in silence. Quintus and Sextus quietly compared notes while Rowan and Rosë groused about their drained strength. Lew seemed pensive and lost in thought. They halted next to the coin Rowan had placed to mark the entry spot. “What now?” the ranger asked.
The creature tensed for a moment, then extended its arms, pointing at the ground. Two dull gray lights began pulsing. The creature stepped between the lights and vanished. In short order, the party followed. Rosë once again felt his skin crawl as the threads from the tapestry fabric slid through his flesh.
They clustered before the great wall hanging for a few grains, and then proceeded up the stairs. The Dance Macabre still whirled, but the companions were better prepared this time. Lew hit the dance floor with two quick turnings called from Osirian. Unnoticed by the companions, the creature visibly flinched at the display of the Lightbringer’s power. The skeletal dancers faded away and Quintus led the charge to the right hand edge of the curtain. Using his extended spear, he pulled the velvet barrier aside, allowing the others to pass through.
They moved down the right side of the viewing gallery and halted before the ornate doors to the chamber they had last seen the dwarf. Quintus called a short halt, unslung his crossbow and slapped one of his last Lathan-enchanted bolts into place. The others readied their weapons.
“Remember…no funny business or you die!”
‘I Understand,’ echoed through their minds.
Rowan turned the door ring and gingerly pushed, expecting a blast of energy. The creature stepped through behind him and strode purposefully toward the smaller door directly across the room. Rosë, Quintus and Sextus followed close behind. Rowan and Lew stood hard by the entrance, weapons ready. The small door opened and the dwarf emerged. His eyes locked with Quintus for a brief moment and the sorcerer noted they were clear of the madness that had clouded them in their earlier confrontations.
The dwarf’s eyes flicked to the creature and he howled in outrage. “What treachery is this?”
Quintus cursed and brought up his crossbow as the tentacle creature’s outline wavered and shimmered. A trio of creatures now stood before him and each clutched a crumbling scroll in its waving tentacles. Lew and the others gasped as harsh words, dripping with caustic blackness, hammered through their minds. From the torrent of dark words emerged one that was thrice repeated, ‘Volakir, Volakir, Volakir!’
Quintus buried his crossbow bolt at the base of the skull of the center image. Blue fire and black fire exploded together and a thundering crash echoed up from below. Then, all hell broke loose!
To Be Continued…
Next: Gotterdammerung
~ Old One
Thanks, QB...
Welcome back!
I reply to this right after I post a new installment
!
~ Old One
Quickbeam said:I've been away from the thread for a bit, and it was such a treat to return with two updates posted and more on the way soon!! I love the liquid column transport system, and I can't wait to see what happens to/with the bellringers.
Welcome back!
I reply to this right after I post a new installment
!~ Old One
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
I can't get out of my mind an old news report from Ireland (simplified here):
"FitzPatrick and Murphy were drinking in a bar. Fitzpatrick threw a punch at Murphy, then Murphy attempted to hit him with a bottle. After this there was bad feeling and a fight broke out"
Nice to read story again.
A year on, are you revisiting plans to fly over to Britain?
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