drnuncheon
Explorer
DM's Note: many thanks to Sen-Jyu's player, who bugged me
about this, and finally volunteered to edit the log himself.
Harvester runs.
Ahoke sneers at the figures. "That's what you've been trying to tell us
since the beginning, you pathetic skinless lizard.
Ahoke, too, breaks into a run, for the belltower.
Harvester says, "Drop the kids! They're no danger now!"
The citizens of Bellhold begin to flood into the streets from their
homes and businesses. "GIVE US THE STONE," they say, the voices echoing
throughout the streets.
Ahoke drops Caleb onto the ground, leaps over him, and keeps going.
Sen-Jyu, with a little girl tied to him, does nothing of the sort, but
carries her as fast as his legs can manage.
You round a corner, only to see it blocked by a mob of twenty citizens,
moving up the street towards you.
"SURRENDER YOUR WILL. GIVE US THE STONE."
Ahoke surges forward, preparing to break through their ranks, raising
her fists to try to drop one.
Ahoke runs into one of them, unfortunately, one of the bigger ones, and
bounces back about half a foot. She refuses to meet his eyes, and braces
herself to run him down again.
Harvester says, "Sen-Jyu! Drop the girl and ring the bell! I'll try and
keep the rock away!"
Hands reach out greedily for Ahoke as the dwarf charges them. Then, the
crowd hesitates, and surges forward around the dwarf. Their eyes are
fixed on one thing: The Harvester.
Ahoke growls, and says, "No, Harvester, /you/ go ring the damned bell!
I'll try to pick them off."
Harvester attempts to do some broken-field running, staying away from
the crowd. He shouts at Ahoke, "They want _this_!" But he does try to
make his way towards the tower.
"Can't. Drop. Girl." Sen-Jyu enunciates to the Harvester, then takes up
position in front of the priest. "Go to the tower. Ring the bell. Key's
hidden in the frame, on the left hand side." Sen-Jyu, running
interception.
Harvester nods once. "Clear me a path..." He begins to move.
Ahoke beats at people.
Harvester uses the blunt end of his scythe to knock hands away. If
necessary, he slices at those hands...
Sen-Jyu does what he can to clear a path, short of crushing the girl in
a body slam.
Ahoke knocks one of them out.
More citizens begin moving down a side street towards you. Only one
street remains clear.
Harvester points, "That way!"
Ahoke yells, "Hit that empty street, and fast!" She breaks into a
sprint, now that everyone isn't paying attention to her, and moves as
fast as she can towards Wyrmcall Plaza.
Sen-Jyu follows, glancing down at the little girl as he goes, hoping
that she's still alive despite all this excitement.
Another group of people appears at the end of the street. "THE STONE,"
they demand. There is an alley to escape down...but it leads away from
the Plaza!
Harvester utters an invective, and glances to the alley to be certain it
isn't a dead-end.
Ahoke bursts around the corner, into the plaza.
The bell tower is ringed with a cordon of townspeople one rank deep -
hardly an obstacle for a charging dwarf. Tokket stands before her, his
eyes as azure as the rest.
Harvester spins on a heel, and charges down the alley, to the next
street, "Sen!"
Ahoke bounces off of the half elf, landing on the ground. She growls,
pulling out her club. "Enough of this being nice sh*t," she says.
Sen-Jyu follows down the alley after the Harvester, but if opportunity
presents itself, will delay the pursuers, the better to allow the
Harvester a lead.
The next street out is clear in both directions...for now.
Harvester turns again, and begins running back towards the plaza.
Ahoke leaps to her feet, still growling, and clubs Tokket to the ground.
Two men move in to grab Ahoke's arms, one on either side of her. She
smacks one with the butt end of her club in the gut, knocking him down.
The second one grabs ahold of her, but the dwarf bulls her way past him,
breaking free of his grip. It appears, for this millisecond, that she is
free to move towards the tower again.
The sound of feet comes towards you - and as it goes, they begin to fall
into step, marching in eerie unison down the street. You think you can
*barely* make it across the intersection before they reach it.
Ahoke charges into the open doorway of the tower, heading for the bell
pull.
Harvester's eyes narrow, and he attempts to put on that _little_ bit of
extra speed to cross the intersection before the unruly - or, in this
case, ruly - mob arrives.
Sen-Jyu darts after the Harvester, preparing to plow over anyone who
intercepts him.
You dart across the intersection, just paces ahead of the dominated
townsfolk. The next street up should lead you to Wyrmcall plaza...
Ahoke grabs onto the rope, and starts pulling, and the gigantic bell
begins to peal, loudly. Vibrations can be felt in everyone's chests as
the noise begins to fill the streets.
Harvester turns in the proper direction, though he just knows he's being
herded. And so he readies his scythe, to cause some necessary hurting...
Harvester pulls the sack from his belt quickly, and holds it out a bit
as he rushes through.
On Sen-jyu's back, the girl whimpers.
The mob pauses, as if confused for a moment by the tolling of the bell.
Sen-Jyu whispers soothing words to the girl as he flees the possessed
townsfolk. "Please don't die. Please."
Ahoke keeps tolling it, enthusiastically.
And then, from two thousand throats, there comes one horrible laugh. The
crowd begins to move forward again.
"WE WILL HAVE THE STONE."
Harvester takes advantage of the crowd's hesitation and charges the
plaza towards the tower.
Ahoke puts her entire weight into pulling the rope, in case that makes
it louder.
Harvester becomes the star runningback of the Bellhold Brass Dragon
football team, and continues twisting and turning, through the plaza.
You reach the plaza seconds ahead of the mob at your heels, and see the
ring of townsfolk surrounding the tower, thirty feet out. Their heads
swivel as one to look at you, and they begin to move so that they no
longer encircle the tower...so that they encircle you.
"YOU WILL NOT PASS," they inform you in a voice a hundred strong. You
may not have a second chance to break through...
Harvester readies his scythe to cut the one directly in front of him
down if necessary, "Sen! Break open that line!!"
Ahoke is inside the belltower, literally being pulled up off of the
ground by several feet every time the bell rings. Still, she keeps
trying. "Damn it, this has to work..."
Sen-Jyu moves ahead of the Harvester, leaping into the line, both arms
spread wide, hoping that the girl on his back isn't damaged in the
process.
Sen-Jyu puts his shoulder into the sternum of a townsfolk, pushing him
back and off his feet. Sen-Jyu continues to move, hopefully having
cleared a path for the Harvester.
Harvester charges forward, hard on Sen-Jyu's heels now, as the
spirit-blood clears a partial path for him, scythe at the ready. As
questing hands snatch and claw, the heavy blade slices upward, and
neatly removes a hand. The priest easily shrugs away another villager
who leaps at him, and he finds himself free, for now, and charging the
tower.
Ahoke continues ringing the bell, vigorously. "Work, damn you!" she
shouts, her words barely audible over the pealing of the bell.
Harvester rushes towards the door, shouting at Sen, "Hold the line! Hold
the line!"
Sen-Jyu, unable to hear the Harvester's words, continues to charge
forward toward the bell tower.
On Sen-Jyu's back, the girl whimpers more as the tolling grows louder.
She tries to curl up but her bonds prevent her.
Sen-Jyu, feeling the shifting girl on his back, grins broadly. "She's
alive! Aliiiive!" he crows, stopping in the doorway and slamming the
door once the Harvester has entered.
Ahoke, deaf to all but the bell's noises, continues ringing it, looking
over her shoulder frantically as the others enter the tower.
Harvester continues his way up the winding stairs, now thoroughly
deafened. He meets the locked door halfway up and seeks the key atop the
jamb, as Sen-Jyu stated it would be.
Harvester finally finds the key and unlocks the door, and grabs up his
scythe once more before bursting through. Onwards and upwards he flies!
Sen-Jyu unsheathes his wakizashi, cutting the ropes that bind the girl
to his chest. He unslings her and cradles her close, pressing one of her
ears to his chest and using his free hand to cup the other.
Ahoke shoots another desperate look over her shoulder, as her hands
stain the rope red with her own blood. She shouts something, probably
along the lines of 'Hurry!' but keeps at her task doggedly.
Harvester's mouth moves, "I pray that He Who Is To Come protects me,
that I might see His will done!"
The sound of the bell batters at the Harvester like a sledgehammer. He
does not so much hear it anymore as feel it through his entire body. The
stairs vibrate under his feet as he climbs.
Outside, Sen-jyu can feel the citizens of Bellhold beginning to pound on
the door.
Harvester climbs the final mile, now beginning to use the scythe to prop
and propel himself upwards.
Sen-Jyu presses his back more firmly into the door, wishing himself a
bit more built for the task. A couple more arms, perhaps.
Harvester staggers from the physical presence of the bell's peals, and
he lifts the sack and speaks soundlessly, "Prepare to meet the Gardener,
Copperdeath... May your next life prove more fruitful!"
The door slams open, sending Sen-Jyu staggering forward. Behind it, the
citizens of Bellhold muster, ready to charge the tower and protect their
crystalline master.
Ahoke continues ringing the bell, though her eyes widen when the
townsfolk prepare to swarm in. She braces herself.
Sen-Jyu backs away from the door, and moves to protect Ahoke, in case
they should strive to stop her. Mind you, with both arms occupied, he
doesn't have much in the way of good ideas for how he might stop them.
Harvester goes briefly to one knee once he reaches the apex, and drops
the sack onto the floor. He qickly slices through the fabric and exposes
the crystalline stone, and rises, scythe swing above his head in a
sweeping arc, "May He Who Is To Come welcome you unto the Garden!"
The crystal spills out of the sack, rolling a couple of times on the
wooden floor. Already cracks have appeared on its surface from the
terrible vibrations. From below, you hear the voices of the townsfolk
screaming in wordless rage.
The Harvester's scythe pings from the crystalline surface without
leaving a mark.
Ahoke is starting to look tired, frustrated, and worst of all, hopeless.
Still, she keeps ringing the bell, her eyes listless and dull.
The mob begins to pour into the door - half dividing to climb the
stairs, the other half towards Sen-Jyu and Ahoke. Hands reach for the
spirit-blood, trying to drag him out of the way.
Sen-Jyu kicks at them, hoping to incapacitate at least a couple of them.
He slashes low with his wakizashi, praying not to cut too deeply.
Ahoke tightens her grip on the rope, so that even if she is swarmed,
it'll take them a few moments to pry her dead fingers from the rope.
The flat of his lesser blade whistles through the air, striking one of
the townspeople upside the braincase, sending her into shivering
unconsciousness.
Ahoke looks unhappy at the advance of the townspeople, and then does the
only thing that she can think of: she starts climbing the rope. The bell
has gotten enough momentum that it doesn't slow down in its ringing,
yet. She climbs it swiftly and efficiently, leaving the angry
townspeople below her, and approaches the top.
Harvester staggers down the stairs, cursing and praying to HWITC for
strength, and then he reaches the mid-door.
You can see the townsfolk shouting at you, but their words make no
noise: there is only the constant deep tolling of the bell.
Ahoke scrambles the rest of the way to the top, hand over hand, as fast
as she can go. The bell keeps tolling.
Sen-Jyu spins and thwacks another with the hilt of his wakizashi.
Fortunately, they're still prone to this bump on the head plan, and
though his ancestors might be displeased to see his daisho used in this
fashion, he's not feeling particularly bloodthirsty for possessed
villager.
Sen-Jyu is able to slip away from a grasping hand.
Harvester has reached the door, and grabs the key before slamming it
shut. The key is inserted and tumblers turned, securing the door to
entry. He readies himself now... None shall pass...
If any are looking straight up to see just what the dwarf is doing, they
would see her face twist in rage, any semblance of sanity completely
gone. She grips the rope from near the top, flips upside down, and
plants her feet solidly to the wooden platform beneath the bell, to one
side. She renews her ringing with new ferocity, lips curled back to
reveal her canines.
From below, the villagers reach the doorway. They begin to slam into the
wood again and again.
...but the crude doorway holds.
Three! Three unconscious townspeople! Ahahahahah! Sen-Jyu doesn't
particularly relish this portion of his job, but sometimes hard love is
what counts.
Ahoke continues ringing for all that she's worth, keeping her feet
planted, hanging upside down.
The sound batters at Ahoke even more where she 'stands', slamming into
her as if she was the bell and it, the clapper.
Harvester continues to pray, "My Lord, if You can hear me above this
din, I pray you take Copperdeath's soul.... swiftly.... Grant me the
strength to hold the line, and serve You..."
The door shudders in its frame as the townspeople pound on it.
Ahoke keeps clinging upside down, desperately ringing the damned bell.
It looks like, for all of her determination, that the bell is about to
get the best of her. She starts to slip from her position. It won't be
long before it's raining dwarves.
The townspeople surge forward towards Sen-Jyu en masse, their hands
grasping for him.
On the staircase, the door shatters, flinging back towards Harvester as
the mob ascends: in the forefront, Cobble, his eyes wild and staring.
The bloody rope slips through Ahoke's hands as it slides back from her
last pull.
And then, the heads of all the townspeople look upwards, and a hideous
cry escapes their throats, reverberating with the pealing of the bell.
As one, they fall.
Harvester takes two steps back as the townspeople fall, and sits
heavily, wearily, his prayer answered, "I thank You, Lord, for hearing
the plea of Your faithful servant..."
Ahoke looks over her shoulder, and sees the people fall. With a heavy
sigh, she stops ringing the blasted bell, and starts to slide down the
rope, no doubt giving herself rope burn. Her descent is shaky, and slow,
as the dwarf clearly is fighting to maintain consciousness. She does
make it however, and slides into a trembling heap on the ground.
Harvester, after a moment, casts a simple spell. "Lord, I pray You grant
Your servant the gift of sight, that I might see that which is touched
by mysticism..."
Sen-Jyu, arm raised to smiteth another villager, yea verily, halts
mid-smite as they seem to willingly be smote themselves. Stunned, he
puts away the sword, checking the girl's breath to see that she yet
lives, and looks around to see if the others might still be alive.
Ahoke lies on top of the townspeople in exhaustion. She slips into
unconsciousness, completely uncaring about how rude it is to pass out on
top of people.
The stone is shattered. No, more than that: it is pulverized. A fine
dust coats the wooden floor, and that is all.
Harvester satisfies himself that the crystalline entity is no more - or
at least that particular vessel - and slowly makes his way down once
more. He pauses to check Cobble for signs of life, and another, then
another - randomly until he reaches the ground.
Kneeling, Sen-Jyu also checks some of the other villagers for signs of
life.
Ahoke is laying in a bloody heap, looking far worse off than the
villagers when it comes to vital signs.
The townspeople live: their pulses beat, their lungs fill with air. But
their eyes are vacant and empty when checked.
Harvester leaves the people for now, and does a bit of healing on Ahoke
before picking her up - or rather, dragging her towards the tavern.
Then, slowly, one stirs - limbs twitching, eyes fluttering open. Normal
eyes, not the crystal-blue of the dragon's servants.
Harvester pauses and lets Ahoke go as someone stirs. He watches, and
waits.
Ahoke sleeps.
Some time later...
"We cannot express our gratitude enough," says Hob Waterman, taking your
hands. (The Harvester can only assume that is what he said, his hearing
being what it is at the moment.) "You have stopped the nightmares and
restored peace to our village, as well as rescuing the missing children.
I don't think we'll ever understand what happened tonight, but you have
our thanks."
Some eyes in the crowd give the lie to his pretty words, though: the
parents of a young boy, and a miner missing a hand.
Harvester asks Sen-Jyu and Ahoke for a curative, if they have one left,
so that he might hear and speak without shouting.
Ahoke nods to the mayor, still tired from the entire venture. "I'm glad
that we could have helped, though I wish that it had gone better for all
involved." She looks out into the crowd, seeking out the dead boy's
parents with her gaze. She shakes her head to Harvester, making a
gesture that shows that she has nothing left. Ahoke rubs at her ears as
well. "Everything sounds like it's underwater," she grumbles.
Sen-Jyu stands at the back, silent but smiling, as is his way.
"Please accept the hospitality of the town for as long as you care to
stay," Waterman continues. "I'm sure Tokket will agree...once he wakes
up."
Harvester rises before the crowd now, and begins, "My friends....! Much
tragedy has befallen the town of Bellhold of recent days! But not all is
lost!" He continues, "Do not give in to despair! Have no fear for the
souls of the departed! He Who Is To Come welcomes all into the Garden!
All men come before Him, and all men will be reborn in the next world!"
Ahoke nods to Waterman. "Thank you," she says, more loudly than she
intends to. She turns, and walks away from the crowd, to the inviting
doorway of the tavern. "I hope there's still someone to serve me ale,"
she mutters.
The one-handed miner, bloody bandages wrapping his stump, spits on the
ground, and turns to push his way out of the crowd. The rest hesitate,
expecting a heroic speech, not a sermon.
Harvester points to the one-handed miner, "Your hand can be restored in
time, brother, if you but have Faith!"
There is scattered polite, if perhaps confused, applause.
Harvester speaks now, his words ringing as loudly and clearly as
Wyrmcall, each intonation a perfect pitch of word and tone, "The
Darkness spreads across the world, my friends.... Sh'Kilat grows weary
from her burden... My Lord - He Who Is To Come - has bid us create a
repository of knowledge.. Seeds for the future, once the long night has
passed..." His arms spread wide, "You have witnessed the darkness,
brothers and sisters! You have seen it within your own hearts, and those
of your neighbors! You have seen the Darkness in the one known as
Copperdeath!"
Sen-Jyu waits behind, watching the crowd disperse, nodding as they meet
his gaze. His backpack reclaimed from the caves, he listens to the
sermon/speech placidly.
"We have!" shouts an encouraging voice from the crowd, and murmurs of
assent begin to flow.
Harvester's voice lowers, to draw the people in, "Copperdeath now rests
with my Lord, in the Garden.... Others shall come, though, in the coming
years, in the times when our children seek to rebuild the world.... when
the gods return.... we must plant the Seeds of that world... that our
children will awaken to a new garden, fresh, full of life!"
"Tell us how!"
Harvester fairly glows as he exhorts the crowd, "Open your hearts to He
Who Is To Come! prepare the repository within the old caves, that the
seed might have a vessel to carry it into the next World! Join me,
brothers and sisters, that the world will know the touch of the Gardener
and be Reborn!"
The masses of villagers swarm the two remaining heros with a roar of
approval, enveloping them in a press of bodies: hugging, pounding on
backs, general uproar.
Meanwhile, in the Bell & Clapper...
A dwarf stands in Tokket's usual place behind the bar - a crate enabling
him to see over the top of the wooden surface. He sees Ahoke coming and
slides a tankard across from her. "Er, hello there." He grins. "We, ah,
met at the tower. I'm Durgin Redstone. You, er, fell unconscious on me."
His beard spreads in an enormous grin.
Ahoke eyes Redstone appraisingly, with a matching grin, minus the beard
of course. Apparently liking what she sees, she sits down at the bar,
and takes the tankard, tipping it back and draining its contents. She
slams the tankard back down on the bar. "I've been wanting to do that
for a long time now," she says, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "Are you
Tokket's replacement?"
"Er...yes, I usually help him out when he needs it," the dwarf says,
suddenly uncertain of himself.
Ahoke mmms, and nods. She studies the empty tankard for a moment, almost
sadly, and then leans over the bar, grabbing on to Redstone's tunic, and
pulls him towards her, still grinning. "I think that you should find a
replacement for Tokket's replacement. Because you're going to be busy
tonight."
Far away, in the mountains known as the Shoulders of Samrahn:
A blue-skinned goblin, scarred and battered, makes his painful way up a
rocky trail. He stops to rest, opening a carefully wrapped cloth package
to gaze once again at its contents: three needle-like crystalline
shards. "Do not worry, my master. You will live again. Thrimdrul
promises this."
FIN
about this, and finally volunteered to edit the log himself.
Harvester runs.
Ahoke sneers at the figures. "That's what you've been trying to tell us
since the beginning, you pathetic skinless lizard.
Ahoke, too, breaks into a run, for the belltower.
Harvester says, "Drop the kids! They're no danger now!"
The citizens of Bellhold begin to flood into the streets from their
homes and businesses. "GIVE US THE STONE," they say, the voices echoing
throughout the streets.
Ahoke drops Caleb onto the ground, leaps over him, and keeps going.
Sen-Jyu, with a little girl tied to him, does nothing of the sort, but
carries her as fast as his legs can manage.
You round a corner, only to see it blocked by a mob of twenty citizens,
moving up the street towards you.
"SURRENDER YOUR WILL. GIVE US THE STONE."
Ahoke surges forward, preparing to break through their ranks, raising
her fists to try to drop one.
Ahoke runs into one of them, unfortunately, one of the bigger ones, and
bounces back about half a foot. She refuses to meet his eyes, and braces
herself to run him down again.
Harvester says, "Sen-Jyu! Drop the girl and ring the bell! I'll try and
keep the rock away!"
Hands reach out greedily for Ahoke as the dwarf charges them. Then, the
crowd hesitates, and surges forward around the dwarf. Their eyes are
fixed on one thing: The Harvester.
Ahoke growls, and says, "No, Harvester, /you/ go ring the damned bell!
I'll try to pick them off."
Harvester attempts to do some broken-field running, staying away from
the crowd. He shouts at Ahoke, "They want _this_!" But he does try to
make his way towards the tower.
"Can't. Drop. Girl." Sen-Jyu enunciates to the Harvester, then takes up
position in front of the priest. "Go to the tower. Ring the bell. Key's
hidden in the frame, on the left hand side." Sen-Jyu, running
interception.
Harvester nods once. "Clear me a path..." He begins to move.
Ahoke beats at people.
Harvester uses the blunt end of his scythe to knock hands away. If
necessary, he slices at those hands...
Sen-Jyu does what he can to clear a path, short of crushing the girl in
a body slam.
Ahoke knocks one of them out.
More citizens begin moving down a side street towards you. Only one
street remains clear.
Harvester points, "That way!"
Ahoke yells, "Hit that empty street, and fast!" She breaks into a
sprint, now that everyone isn't paying attention to her, and moves as
fast as she can towards Wyrmcall Plaza.
Sen-Jyu follows, glancing down at the little girl as he goes, hoping
that she's still alive despite all this excitement.
Another group of people appears at the end of the street. "THE STONE,"
they demand. There is an alley to escape down...but it leads away from
the Plaza!
Harvester utters an invective, and glances to the alley to be certain it
isn't a dead-end.
Ahoke bursts around the corner, into the plaza.
The bell tower is ringed with a cordon of townspeople one rank deep -
hardly an obstacle for a charging dwarf. Tokket stands before her, his
eyes as azure as the rest.
Harvester spins on a heel, and charges down the alley, to the next
street, "Sen!"
Ahoke bounces off of the half elf, landing on the ground. She growls,
pulling out her club. "Enough of this being nice sh*t," she says.
Sen-Jyu follows down the alley after the Harvester, but if opportunity
presents itself, will delay the pursuers, the better to allow the
Harvester a lead.
The next street out is clear in both directions...for now.
Harvester turns again, and begins running back towards the plaza.
Ahoke leaps to her feet, still growling, and clubs Tokket to the ground.
Two men move in to grab Ahoke's arms, one on either side of her. She
smacks one with the butt end of her club in the gut, knocking him down.
The second one grabs ahold of her, but the dwarf bulls her way past him,
breaking free of his grip. It appears, for this millisecond, that she is
free to move towards the tower again.
The sound of feet comes towards you - and as it goes, they begin to fall
into step, marching in eerie unison down the street. You think you can
*barely* make it across the intersection before they reach it.
Ahoke charges into the open doorway of the tower, heading for the bell
pull.
Harvester's eyes narrow, and he attempts to put on that _little_ bit of
extra speed to cross the intersection before the unruly - or, in this
case, ruly - mob arrives.
Sen-Jyu darts after the Harvester, preparing to plow over anyone who
intercepts him.
You dart across the intersection, just paces ahead of the dominated
townsfolk. The next street up should lead you to Wyrmcall plaza...
Ahoke grabs onto the rope, and starts pulling, and the gigantic bell
begins to peal, loudly. Vibrations can be felt in everyone's chests as
the noise begins to fill the streets.
Harvester turns in the proper direction, though he just knows he's being
herded. And so he readies his scythe, to cause some necessary hurting...
Harvester pulls the sack from his belt quickly, and holds it out a bit
as he rushes through.
On Sen-jyu's back, the girl whimpers.
The mob pauses, as if confused for a moment by the tolling of the bell.
Sen-Jyu whispers soothing words to the girl as he flees the possessed
townsfolk. "Please don't die. Please."
Ahoke keeps tolling it, enthusiastically.
And then, from two thousand throats, there comes one horrible laugh. The
crowd begins to move forward again.
"WE WILL HAVE THE STONE."
Harvester takes advantage of the crowd's hesitation and charges the
plaza towards the tower.
Ahoke puts her entire weight into pulling the rope, in case that makes
it louder.
Harvester becomes the star runningback of the Bellhold Brass Dragon
football team, and continues twisting and turning, through the plaza.
You reach the plaza seconds ahead of the mob at your heels, and see the
ring of townsfolk surrounding the tower, thirty feet out. Their heads
swivel as one to look at you, and they begin to move so that they no
longer encircle the tower...so that they encircle you.
"YOU WILL NOT PASS," they inform you in a voice a hundred strong. You
may not have a second chance to break through...
Harvester readies his scythe to cut the one directly in front of him
down if necessary, "Sen! Break open that line!!"
Ahoke is inside the belltower, literally being pulled up off of the
ground by several feet every time the bell rings. Still, she keeps
trying. "Damn it, this has to work..."
Sen-Jyu moves ahead of the Harvester, leaping into the line, both arms
spread wide, hoping that the girl on his back isn't damaged in the
process.
Sen-Jyu puts his shoulder into the sternum of a townsfolk, pushing him
back and off his feet. Sen-Jyu continues to move, hopefully having
cleared a path for the Harvester.
Harvester charges forward, hard on Sen-Jyu's heels now, as the
spirit-blood clears a partial path for him, scythe at the ready. As
questing hands snatch and claw, the heavy blade slices upward, and
neatly removes a hand. The priest easily shrugs away another villager
who leaps at him, and he finds himself free, for now, and charging the
tower.
Ahoke continues ringing the bell, vigorously. "Work, damn you!" she
shouts, her words barely audible over the pealing of the bell.
Harvester rushes towards the door, shouting at Sen, "Hold the line! Hold
the line!"
Sen-Jyu, unable to hear the Harvester's words, continues to charge
forward toward the bell tower.
On Sen-Jyu's back, the girl whimpers more as the tolling grows louder.
She tries to curl up but her bonds prevent her.
Sen-Jyu, feeling the shifting girl on his back, grins broadly. "She's
alive! Aliiiive!" he crows, stopping in the doorway and slamming the
door once the Harvester has entered.
Ahoke, deaf to all but the bell's noises, continues ringing it, looking
over her shoulder frantically as the others enter the tower.
Harvester continues his way up the winding stairs, now thoroughly
deafened. He meets the locked door halfway up and seeks the key atop the
jamb, as Sen-Jyu stated it would be.
Harvester finally finds the key and unlocks the door, and grabs up his
scythe once more before bursting through. Onwards and upwards he flies!
Sen-Jyu unsheathes his wakizashi, cutting the ropes that bind the girl
to his chest. He unslings her and cradles her close, pressing one of her
ears to his chest and using his free hand to cup the other.
Ahoke shoots another desperate look over her shoulder, as her hands
stain the rope red with her own blood. She shouts something, probably
along the lines of 'Hurry!' but keeps at her task doggedly.
Harvester's mouth moves, "I pray that He Who Is To Come protects me,
that I might see His will done!"
The sound of the bell batters at the Harvester like a sledgehammer. He
does not so much hear it anymore as feel it through his entire body. The
stairs vibrate under his feet as he climbs.
Outside, Sen-jyu can feel the citizens of Bellhold beginning to pound on
the door.
Harvester climbs the final mile, now beginning to use the scythe to prop
and propel himself upwards.
Sen-Jyu presses his back more firmly into the door, wishing himself a
bit more built for the task. A couple more arms, perhaps.
Harvester staggers from the physical presence of the bell's peals, and
he lifts the sack and speaks soundlessly, "Prepare to meet the Gardener,
Copperdeath... May your next life prove more fruitful!"
The door slams open, sending Sen-Jyu staggering forward. Behind it, the
citizens of Bellhold muster, ready to charge the tower and protect their
crystalline master.
Ahoke continues ringing the bell, though her eyes widen when the
townsfolk prepare to swarm in. She braces herself.
Sen-Jyu backs away from the door, and moves to protect Ahoke, in case
they should strive to stop her. Mind you, with both arms occupied, he
doesn't have much in the way of good ideas for how he might stop them.
Harvester goes briefly to one knee once he reaches the apex, and drops
the sack onto the floor. He qickly slices through the fabric and exposes
the crystalline stone, and rises, scythe swing above his head in a
sweeping arc, "May He Who Is To Come welcome you unto the Garden!"
The crystal spills out of the sack, rolling a couple of times on the
wooden floor. Already cracks have appeared on its surface from the
terrible vibrations. From below, you hear the voices of the townsfolk
screaming in wordless rage.
The Harvester's scythe pings from the crystalline surface without
leaving a mark.
Ahoke is starting to look tired, frustrated, and worst of all, hopeless.
Still, she keeps ringing the bell, her eyes listless and dull.
The mob begins to pour into the door - half dividing to climb the
stairs, the other half towards Sen-Jyu and Ahoke. Hands reach for the
spirit-blood, trying to drag him out of the way.
Sen-Jyu kicks at them, hoping to incapacitate at least a couple of them.
He slashes low with his wakizashi, praying not to cut too deeply.
Ahoke tightens her grip on the rope, so that even if she is swarmed,
it'll take them a few moments to pry her dead fingers from the rope.
The flat of his lesser blade whistles through the air, striking one of
the townspeople upside the braincase, sending her into shivering
unconsciousness.
Ahoke looks unhappy at the advance of the townspeople, and then does the
only thing that she can think of: she starts climbing the rope. The bell
has gotten enough momentum that it doesn't slow down in its ringing,
yet. She climbs it swiftly and efficiently, leaving the angry
townspeople below her, and approaches the top.
Harvester staggers down the stairs, cursing and praying to HWITC for
strength, and then he reaches the mid-door.
You can see the townsfolk shouting at you, but their words make no
noise: there is only the constant deep tolling of the bell.
Ahoke scrambles the rest of the way to the top, hand over hand, as fast
as she can go. The bell keeps tolling.
Sen-Jyu spins and thwacks another with the hilt of his wakizashi.
Fortunately, they're still prone to this bump on the head plan, and
though his ancestors might be displeased to see his daisho used in this
fashion, he's not feeling particularly bloodthirsty for possessed
villager.
Sen-Jyu is able to slip away from a grasping hand.
Harvester has reached the door, and grabs the key before slamming it
shut. The key is inserted and tumblers turned, securing the door to
entry. He readies himself now... None shall pass...
If any are looking straight up to see just what the dwarf is doing, they
would see her face twist in rage, any semblance of sanity completely
gone. She grips the rope from near the top, flips upside down, and
plants her feet solidly to the wooden platform beneath the bell, to one
side. She renews her ringing with new ferocity, lips curled back to
reveal her canines.
From below, the villagers reach the doorway. They begin to slam into the
wood again and again.
...but the crude doorway holds.
Three! Three unconscious townspeople! Ahahahahah! Sen-Jyu doesn't
particularly relish this portion of his job, but sometimes hard love is
what counts.
Ahoke continues ringing for all that she's worth, keeping her feet
planted, hanging upside down.
The sound batters at Ahoke even more where she 'stands', slamming into
her as if she was the bell and it, the clapper.
Harvester continues to pray, "My Lord, if You can hear me above this
din, I pray you take Copperdeath's soul.... swiftly.... Grant me the
strength to hold the line, and serve You..."
The door shudders in its frame as the townspeople pound on it.
Ahoke keeps clinging upside down, desperately ringing the damned bell.
It looks like, for all of her determination, that the bell is about to
get the best of her. She starts to slip from her position. It won't be
long before it's raining dwarves.
The townspeople surge forward towards Sen-Jyu en masse, their hands
grasping for him.
On the staircase, the door shatters, flinging back towards Harvester as
the mob ascends: in the forefront, Cobble, his eyes wild and staring.
The bloody rope slips through Ahoke's hands as it slides back from her
last pull.
And then, the heads of all the townspeople look upwards, and a hideous
cry escapes their throats, reverberating with the pealing of the bell.
As one, they fall.
Harvester takes two steps back as the townspeople fall, and sits
heavily, wearily, his prayer answered, "I thank You, Lord, for hearing
the plea of Your faithful servant..."
Ahoke looks over her shoulder, and sees the people fall. With a heavy
sigh, she stops ringing the blasted bell, and starts to slide down the
rope, no doubt giving herself rope burn. Her descent is shaky, and slow,
as the dwarf clearly is fighting to maintain consciousness. She does
make it however, and slides into a trembling heap on the ground.
Harvester, after a moment, casts a simple spell. "Lord, I pray You grant
Your servant the gift of sight, that I might see that which is touched
by mysticism..."
Sen-Jyu, arm raised to smiteth another villager, yea verily, halts
mid-smite as they seem to willingly be smote themselves. Stunned, he
puts away the sword, checking the girl's breath to see that she yet
lives, and looks around to see if the others might still be alive.
Ahoke lies on top of the townspeople in exhaustion. She slips into
unconsciousness, completely uncaring about how rude it is to pass out on
top of people.
The stone is shattered. No, more than that: it is pulverized. A fine
dust coats the wooden floor, and that is all.
Harvester satisfies himself that the crystalline entity is no more - or
at least that particular vessel - and slowly makes his way down once
more. He pauses to check Cobble for signs of life, and another, then
another - randomly until he reaches the ground.
Kneeling, Sen-Jyu also checks some of the other villagers for signs of
life.
Ahoke is laying in a bloody heap, looking far worse off than the
villagers when it comes to vital signs.
The townspeople live: their pulses beat, their lungs fill with air. But
their eyes are vacant and empty when checked.
Harvester leaves the people for now, and does a bit of healing on Ahoke
before picking her up - or rather, dragging her towards the tavern.
Then, slowly, one stirs - limbs twitching, eyes fluttering open. Normal
eyes, not the crystal-blue of the dragon's servants.
Harvester pauses and lets Ahoke go as someone stirs. He watches, and
waits.
Ahoke sleeps.
Some time later...
"We cannot express our gratitude enough," says Hob Waterman, taking your
hands. (The Harvester can only assume that is what he said, his hearing
being what it is at the moment.) "You have stopped the nightmares and
restored peace to our village, as well as rescuing the missing children.
I don't think we'll ever understand what happened tonight, but you have
our thanks."
Some eyes in the crowd give the lie to his pretty words, though: the
parents of a young boy, and a miner missing a hand.
Harvester asks Sen-Jyu and Ahoke for a curative, if they have one left,
so that he might hear and speak without shouting.
Ahoke nods to the mayor, still tired from the entire venture. "I'm glad
that we could have helped, though I wish that it had gone better for all
involved." She looks out into the crowd, seeking out the dead boy's
parents with her gaze. She shakes her head to Harvester, making a
gesture that shows that she has nothing left. Ahoke rubs at her ears as
well. "Everything sounds like it's underwater," she grumbles.
Sen-Jyu stands at the back, silent but smiling, as is his way.
"Please accept the hospitality of the town for as long as you care to
stay," Waterman continues. "I'm sure Tokket will agree...once he wakes
up."
Harvester rises before the crowd now, and begins, "My friends....! Much
tragedy has befallen the town of Bellhold of recent days! But not all is
lost!" He continues, "Do not give in to despair! Have no fear for the
souls of the departed! He Who Is To Come welcomes all into the Garden!
All men come before Him, and all men will be reborn in the next world!"
Ahoke nods to Waterman. "Thank you," she says, more loudly than she
intends to. She turns, and walks away from the crowd, to the inviting
doorway of the tavern. "I hope there's still someone to serve me ale,"
she mutters.
The one-handed miner, bloody bandages wrapping his stump, spits on the
ground, and turns to push his way out of the crowd. The rest hesitate,
expecting a heroic speech, not a sermon.
Harvester points to the one-handed miner, "Your hand can be restored in
time, brother, if you but have Faith!"
There is scattered polite, if perhaps confused, applause.
Harvester speaks now, his words ringing as loudly and clearly as
Wyrmcall, each intonation a perfect pitch of word and tone, "The
Darkness spreads across the world, my friends.... Sh'Kilat grows weary
from her burden... My Lord - He Who Is To Come - has bid us create a
repository of knowledge.. Seeds for the future, once the long night has
passed..." His arms spread wide, "You have witnessed the darkness,
brothers and sisters! You have seen it within your own hearts, and those
of your neighbors! You have seen the Darkness in the one known as
Copperdeath!"
Sen-Jyu waits behind, watching the crowd disperse, nodding as they meet
his gaze. His backpack reclaimed from the caves, he listens to the
sermon/speech placidly.
"We have!" shouts an encouraging voice from the crowd, and murmurs of
assent begin to flow.
Harvester's voice lowers, to draw the people in, "Copperdeath now rests
with my Lord, in the Garden.... Others shall come, though, in the coming
years, in the times when our children seek to rebuild the world.... when
the gods return.... we must plant the Seeds of that world... that our
children will awaken to a new garden, fresh, full of life!"
"Tell us how!"
Harvester fairly glows as he exhorts the crowd, "Open your hearts to He
Who Is To Come! prepare the repository within the old caves, that the
seed might have a vessel to carry it into the next World! Join me,
brothers and sisters, that the world will know the touch of the Gardener
and be Reborn!"
The masses of villagers swarm the two remaining heros with a roar of
approval, enveloping them in a press of bodies: hugging, pounding on
backs, general uproar.
Meanwhile, in the Bell & Clapper...
A dwarf stands in Tokket's usual place behind the bar - a crate enabling
him to see over the top of the wooden surface. He sees Ahoke coming and
slides a tankard across from her. "Er, hello there." He grins. "We, ah,
met at the tower. I'm Durgin Redstone. You, er, fell unconscious on me."
His beard spreads in an enormous grin.
Ahoke eyes Redstone appraisingly, with a matching grin, minus the beard
of course. Apparently liking what she sees, she sits down at the bar,
and takes the tankard, tipping it back and draining its contents. She
slams the tankard back down on the bar. "I've been wanting to do that
for a long time now," she says, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "Are you
Tokket's replacement?"
"Er...yes, I usually help him out when he needs it," the dwarf says,
suddenly uncertain of himself.
Ahoke mmms, and nods. She studies the empty tankard for a moment, almost
sadly, and then leans over the bar, grabbing on to Redstone's tunic, and
pulls him towards her, still grinning. "I think that you should find a
replacement for Tokket's replacement. Because you're going to be busy
tonight."
Far away, in the mountains known as the Shoulders of Samrahn:
A blue-skinned goblin, scarred and battered, makes his painful way up a
rocky trail. He stops to rest, opening a carefully wrapped cloth package
to gaze once again at its contents: three needle-like crystalline
shards. "Do not worry, my master. You will live again. Thrimdrul
promises this."
FIN
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) are you going to play it as well?
"
