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Message: <blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 982883" data-attributes="member: 96">DM's Note: many thanks to Sen-Jyu's player, who bugged meabout 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 ussince 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 theirhomes and businesses. "GIVE US THE STONE," they say, the voices echoingthroughout 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, butcarries 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, raisingher fists to try to drop one.Ahoke runs into one of them, unfortunately, one of the bigger ones, andbounces back about half a foot. She refuses to meet his eyes, and bracesherself to run him down again.Harvester says, "Sen-Jyu! Drop the girl and ring the bell! I'll try andkeep the rock away!"Hands reach out greedily for Ahoke as the dwarf charges them. Then, thecrowd hesitates, and surges forward around the dwarf. Their eyes arefixed 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 fromthe crowd. He shouts at Ahoke, "They want _this_!" But he does try tomake his way towards the tower."Can't. Drop. Girl." Sen-Jyu enunciates to the Harvester, then takes upposition in front of the priest. "Go to the tower. Ring the bell. Key'shidden in the frame, on the left hand side." Sen-Jyu, runninginterception.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. Ifnecessary, he slices at those hands...Sen-Jyu does what he can to clear a path, short of crushing the girl ina body slam.Ahoke knocks one of them out.More citizens begin moving down a side street towards you. Only onestreet remains clear.Harvester points, "That way!"Ahoke yells, "Hit that empty street, and fast!" She breaks into asprint, now that everyone isn't paying attention to her, and moves asfast as she can towards Wyrmcall Plaza.Sen-Jyu follows, glancing down at the little girl as he goes, hopingthat 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 fromthe Plaza!Harvester utters an invective, and glances to the alley to be certain itisn'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, hiseyes as azure as the rest.Harvester spins on a heel, and charges down the alley, to the nextstreet, "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 opportunitypresents itself, will delay the pursuers, the better to allow theHarvester 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. Shesmacks 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 isfree to move towards the tower again.The sound of feet comes towards you - and as it goes, they begin to fallinto 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 bellpull.Harvester's eyes narrow, and he attempts to put on that _little_ bit ofextra speed to cross the intersection before the unruly - or, in thiscase, ruly - mob arrives.Sen-Jyu darts after the Harvester, preparing to plow over anyone whointercepts him.You dart across the intersection, just paces ahead of the dominatedtownsfolk. The next street up should lead you to Wyrmcall plaza...Ahoke grabs onto the rope, and starts pulling, and the gigantic bellbegins to peal, loudly. Vibrations can be felt in everyone's chests asthe noise begins to fill the streets.Harvester turns in the proper direction, though he just knows he's beingherded. And so he readies his scythe, to cause some necessary hurting...Harvester pulls the sack from his belt quickly, and holds it out a bitas 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 possessedtownsfolk. "Please don't die. Please."Ahoke keeps tolling it, enthusiastically.And then, from two thousand throats, there comes one horrible laugh. Thecrowd begins to move forward again."WE WILL HAVE THE STONE."Harvester takes advantage of the crowd's hesitation and charges theplaza towards the tower.Ahoke puts her entire weight into pulling the rope, in case that makesit louder.Harvester becomes the star runningback of the Bellhold Brass Dragonfootball team, and continues twisting and turning, through the plaza.You reach the plaza seconds ahead of the mob at your heels, and see thering of townsfolk surrounding the tower, thirty feet out. Their headsswivel as one to look at you, and they begin to move so that they nolonger encircle the tower...so that they encircle you."YOU WILL NOT PASS," they inform you in a voice a hundred strong. Youmay not have a second chance to break through...Harvester readies his scythe to cut the one directly in front of himdown if necessary, "Sen! Break open that line!!"Ahoke is inside the belltower, literally being pulled up off of theground by several feet every time the bell rings. Still, she keepstrying. "Damn it, this has to work..."Sen-Jyu moves ahead of the Harvester, leaping into the line, both armsspread wide, hoping that the girl on his back isn't damaged in theprocess.Sen-Jyu puts his shoulder into the sternum of a townsfolk, pushing himback and off his feet. Sen-Jyu continues to move, hopefully havingcleared a path for the Harvester.Harvester charges forward, hard on Sen-Jyu's heels now, as thespirit-blood clears a partial path for him, scythe at the ready. Asquesting hands snatch and claw, the heavy blade slices upward, andneatly removes a hand. The priest easily shrugs away another villagerwho leaps at him, and he finds himself free, for now, and charging thetower.Ahoke continues ringing the bell, vigorously. "Work, damn you!" sheshouts, her words barely audible over the pealing of the bell.Harvester rushes towards the door, shouting at Sen, "Hold the line! Holdthe line!"Sen-Jyu, unable to hear the Harvester's words, continues to chargeforward 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'salive! Aliiiive!" he crows, stopping in the doorway and slamming thedoor once the Harvester has entered.Ahoke, deaf to all but the bell's noises, continues ringing it, lookingover her shoulder frantically as the others enter the tower.Harvester continues his way up the winding stairs, now thoroughlydeafened. He meets the locked door halfway up and seeks the key atop thejamb, as Sen-Jyu stated it would be.Harvester finally finds the key and unlocks the door, and grabs up hisscythe once more before bursting through. Onwards and upwards he flies!Sen-Jyu unsheathes his wakizashi, cutting the ropes that bind the girlto his chest. He unslings her and cradles her close, pressing one of herears to his chest and using his free hand to cup the other.Ahoke shoots another desperate look over her shoulder, as her handsstain the rope red with her own blood. She shouts something, probablyalong 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. Hedoes not so much hear it anymore as feel it through his entire body. Thestairs vibrate under his feet as he climbs.Outside, Sen-jyu can feel the citizens of Bellhold beginning to pound onthe door.Harvester climbs the final mile, now beginning to use the scythe to propand propel himself upwards.Sen-Jyu presses his back more firmly into the door, wishing himself abit more built for the task. A couple more arms, perhaps.Harvester staggers from the physical presence of the bell's peals, andhe 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, thecitizens of Bellhold muster, ready to charge the tower and protect theircrystalline master.Ahoke continues ringing the bell, though her eyes widen when thetownsfolk prepare to swarm in. She braces herself.Sen-Jyu backs away from the door, and moves to protect Ahoke, in casethey should strive to stop her. Mind you, with both arms occupied, hedoesn'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 dropsthe sack onto the floor. He qickly slices through the fabric and exposesthe crystalline stone, and rises, scythe swing above his head in asweeping 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 thewooden floor. Already cracks have appeared on its surface from theterrible vibrations. From below, you hear the voices of the townsfolkscreaming in wordless rage.The Harvester's scythe pings from the crystalline surface withoutleaving 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 thestairs, the other half towards Sen-Jyu and Ahoke. Hands reach for thespirit-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 ofthe townspeople upside the braincase, sending her into shiveringunconsciousness.Ahoke looks unhappy at the advance of the townspeople, and then does theonly thing that she can think of: she starts climbing the rope. The bellhas gotten enough momentum that it doesn't slow down in its ringing,yet. She climbs it swiftly and efficiently, leaving the angrytownspeople below her, and approaches the top.Harvester staggers down the stairs, cursing and praying to HWITC forstrength, and then he reaches the mid-door.You can see the townsfolk shouting at you, but their words make nonoise: there is only the constant deep tolling of the bell.Ahoke scrambles the rest of the way to the top, hand over hand, as fastas 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, andthough his ancestors might be displeased to see his daisho used in thisfashion, he's not feeling particularly bloodthirsty for possessedvillager.Sen-Jyu is able to slip away from a grasping hand.Harvester has reached the door, and grabs the key before slamming itshut. The key is inserted and tumblers turned, securing the door toentry. He readies himself now... None shall pass...If any are looking straight up to see just what the dwarf is doing, theywould see her face twist in rage, any semblance of sanity completelygone. She grips the rope from near the top, flips upside down, andplants her feet solidly to the wooden platform beneath the bell, to oneside. She renews her ringing with new ferocity, lips curled back toreveal her canines.From below, the villagers reach the doorway. They begin to slam into thewood again and again....but the crude doorway holds.Three! Three unconscious townspeople! Ahahahahah! Sen-Jyu doesn'tparticularly relish this portion of his job, but sometimes hard love iswhat counts.Ahoke continues ringing for all that she's worth, keeping her feetplanted, hanging upside down.The sound batters at Ahoke even more where she 'stands', slamming intoher as if she was the bell and it, the clapper.Harvester continues to pray, "My Lord, if You can hear me above thisdin, I pray you take Copperdeath's soul.... swiftly.... Grant me thestrength 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 toget the best of her. She starts to slip from her position. It won't belong before it's raining dwarves.The townspeople surge forward towards Sen-Jyu en masse, their handsgrasping for him.On the staircase, the door shatters, flinging back towards Harvester asthe mob ascends: in the forefront, Cobble, his eyes wild and staring.The bloody rope slips through Ahoke's hands as it slides back from herlast pull.And then, the heads of all the townspeople look upwards, and a hideouscry escapes their throats, reverberating with the pealing of the bell.As one, they fall.Harvester takes two steps back as the townspeople fall, and sitsheavily, wearily, his prayer answered, "I thank You, Lord, for hearingthe plea of Your faithful servant..."Ahoke looks over her shoulder, and sees the people fall. With a heavysigh, she stops ringing the blasted bell, and starts to slide down therope, no doubt giving herself rope burn. Her descent is shaky, and slow,as the dwarf clearly is fighting to maintain consciousness. She doesmake it however, and slides into a trembling heap on the ground.Harvester, after a moment, casts a simple spell. "Lord, I pray You grantYour servant the gift of sight, that I might see that which is touchedby mysticism..."Sen-Jyu, arm raised to smiteth another villager, yea verily, haltsmid-smite as they seem to willingly be smote themselves. Stunned, heputs away the sword, checking the girl's breath to see that she yetlives, and looks around to see if the others might still be alive.Ahoke lies on top of the townspeople in exhaustion. She slips intounconsciousness, completely uncaring about how rude it is to pass out ontop of people.The stone is shattered. No, more than that: it is pulverized. A finedust coats the wooden floor, and that is all.Harvester satisfies himself that the crystalline entity is no more - orat least that particular vessel - and slowly makes his way down oncemore. He pauses to check Cobble for signs of life, and another, thenanother - randomly until he reaches the ground.Kneeling, Sen-Jyu also checks some of the other villagers for signs oflife.Ahoke is laying in a bloody heap, looking far worse off than thevillagers when it comes to vital signs.The townspeople live: their pulses beat, their lungs fill with air. Buttheir eyes are vacant and empty when checked.Harvester leaves the people for now, and does a bit of healing on Ahokebefore picking her up - or rather, dragging her towards the tavern.Then, slowly, one stirs - limbs twitching, eyes fluttering open. Normaleyes, not the crystal-blue of the dragon's servants.Harvester pauses and lets Ahoke go as someone stirs. He watches, andwaits.Ahoke sleeps.Some time later..."We cannot express our gratitude enough," says Hob Waterman, taking yourhands. (The Harvester can only assume that is what he said, his hearingbeing what it is at the moment.) "You have stopped the nightmares andrestored peace to our village, as well as rescuing the missing children.I don't think we'll ever understand what happened tonight, but you haveour thanks."Some eyes in the crowd give the lie to his pretty words, though: theparents 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 gladthat we could have helped, though I wish that it had gone better for allinvolved." She looks out into the crowd, seeking out the dead boy'sparents with her gaze. She shakes her head to Harvester, making agesture that shows that she has nothing left. Ahoke rubs at her ears aswell. "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 tostay," Waterman continues. "I'm sure Tokket will agree...once he wakesup."Harvester rises before the crowd now, and begins, "My friends....! Muchtragedy has befallen the town of Bellhold of recent days! But not all islost!" He continues, "Do not give in to despair! Have no fear for thesouls 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 sheintends to. She turns, and walks away from the crowd, to the invitingdoorway 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 theground, 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 intime, brother, if you but have Faith!"There is scattered polite, if perhaps confused, applause.Harvester speaks now, his words ringing as loudly and clearly asWyrmcall, each intonation a perfect pitch of word and tone, "TheDarkness spreads across the world, my friends.... Sh'Kilat grows wearyfrom her burden... My Lord - He Who Is To Come - has bid us create arepository of knowledge.. Seeds for the future, once the long night haspassed..." His arms spread wide, "You have witnessed the darkness,brothers and sisters! You have seen it within your own hearts, and thoseof your neighbors! You have seen the Darkness in the one known asCopperdeath!"Sen-Jyu waits behind, watching the crowd disperse, nodding as they meethis gaze. His backpack reclaimed from the caves, he listens to thesermon/speech placidly."We have!" shouts an encouraging voice from the crowd, and murmurs ofassent begin to flow.Harvester's voice lowers, to draw the people in, "Copperdeath now restswith my Lord, in the Garden.... Others shall come, though, in the comingyears, in the times when our children seek to rebuild the world.... whenthe gods return.... we must plant the Seeds of that world... that ourchildren 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 HeWho Is To Come! prepare the repository within the old caves, that theseed 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 Gardenerand be Reborn!"The masses of villagers swarm the two remaining heros with a roar ofapproval, enveloping them in a press of bodies: hugging, pounding onbacks, general uproar.Meanwhile, in the Bell & Clapper...A dwarf stands in Tokket's usual place behind the bar - a crate enablinghim to see over the top of the wooden surface. He sees Ahoke coming andslides 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 beardof course. Apparently liking what she sees, she sits down at the bar,and takes the tankard, tipping it back and draining its contents. Sheslams the tankard back down on the bar. "I've been wanting to do thatfor a long time now," she says, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "Are youTokket'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, almostsadly, and then leans over the bar, grabbing on to Redstone's tunic, andpulls him towards her, still grinning. "I think that you should find areplacement for Tokket's replacement. Because you're going to be busytonight."Far away, in the mountains known as the Shoulders of Samrahn:A blue-skinned goblin, scarred and battered, makes his painful way up arocky trail. He stops to rest, opening a carefully wrapped cloth packageto gaze once again at its contents: three needle-like crystallineshards. "Do not worry, my master. You will live again. Thrimdrulpromises this."FIN</blockquote>

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