Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Archon Basileus" data-source="post: 6998478" data-attributes="member: 6855545">EVERYONEThe Gardener musters his will and the branches begin to move and twist, cracking with each new torsion the entity invents for them. Soon enough, a corridor is formed, following the monk’s specifications and yet flowing into natural patterns, perfectly disguised. A wooden stair is quickly put together, facilitating access to the superior store of the tower. Also, the Gardener spreads hidden platforms in elevated areas, allowing the monk to attack from above, as desired.Meanwhile, both Marius and Arvana spread the adherents. The woman shows great skill concealing objects and preparing triggers. She adds a few viscous nets to the improvised roof, just by the immediate entrance of the hall. “When you pass through, duck these… they might help blinding that thing… They’re covered in a concoction of mine…” – she concentrates as she aligns the little traps around. “Hopefully he won’t spot them in time”.Soon enough the arsenal is ready and the companions are in position. As Marius makes his way up the path, Arvana signals a blessing towards him, preparing her bow as she strolls down the path and back to the tower.“I’ll be watching” – he hears the cryptic voice of the Gardener as he steps up, into the darkness.***MARIUSThe secret doors are swung wide open, their noise filling the halls above. Marius sees part of the damage left behind by the creature. Many a statue got destroyed, and whatever came out of the marble images as they shattered is nowhere to be seen. As the monk stretches his body, he manages to see the massive doors by the end of the bridge sprung open. On the other side, darkness dominates the scene, covering lines of deteriorated roofs and hiding away broken columns. Cartagula must have been great at its apex, but now…The monk searches for a while, trying to determine where the beast is. Soon enough, though, he can hear its steps coming from the door, heavy and menacing as before. Slowly, the figure emerges from the dark, its head crowned by three pairs of horns sprouting from black scales… For a second, the memory of the first confrontation freezes the monk in place, the terrible image of the demon-beast shivering in his mind… Darkness is suddenly broken as the eyes of the creature become visible. They shine unnaturally, emanating a purple-blueish, cold form of energy. Slowly, the head reveals itself, as if the beast climbed a set of stairs, ever so slowly – or was it just an impression? The bestial face holds a distant resemblance with those of dragons, but only to a limit… The scales do not reflect the light of the eyes. Instead, they seem to devour it, as if shaped from the darkest shadows… And the mouth... It has lost its scales, and skin, and flesh, appearing only as the naked jawbones of an undead reptilian, blackened blood running through it as the fowl fluids of long dead bodies. The head turns towards the door. It has located Marius! The last thing the monk sees is the bestial mouth opening, a similar glare coming from inside the jaws and the throat, lighting the distance with a sick purple dawn. As the monk runs down, he overhears racing heavy steps followed by the flap of wings. The beast roars up above and dives, reaching the door with inhuman speed. By then Marius already went down several steps, almost reaching the bottom of the tower. Draconian words follow him, cold wrath emanating from them.“Will.. you not …face me??” – the branches in the middle of the stairs shake as the beast tries to remove them, apparently. “Know your end, small one!” – hurried steps advance down as Marius leaps several steps to reach the garden even faster.EVERYONE[You can apply any resources, spells or status-modifying items before all of this begins. Also, you may assume any advantageous positions. That includes Marius, since he managed to evade the beast by a good margin. Please, include any of these in the beginning of your next posts]As the monk leaps out of the passage, a roar can be heard. The beast comes! Heavy steps echo through the stairs and into the garden, and as the sounds come closer an odd purple-blue luminescence fills the path left behind. A flurry of draconian yells can be heard approaching from the passage. Marius advances through the trail, a good distance left between him and his chaser. The shocks intensify, each step shaking the area. The first thing the companions see as the creature descends are three points of odd light jumping from the darkness – a mask of eyes, mouth and shadows. The beast places a careful hand on one side of the path; then, another, on the opposite side. The scales do not shine, even under the strange lights of the garden, even against the beast’s aura. They look like pools of abyssal blackness, contrasting with a set of yellowed-white claws adorning each hand.The creature propels itself ahead, squatting… Arvana’s net misses it! But this is not the worse part… That thing walks on all fours for 5, maybe ten feet, and then it stands once more… So human in its manners, the beast shows itself. It’s bigger than a man, for sure... The horns curl in impossible ways, and the blood keeps running from the fangs, rotten still. The chest is adorned with some sort of dark leather armor… But it seems almost alive against the darkness, as if many faces of many enemies were employed to sew that chest piece together… As the creature opens its black wings once more, horror strikes the companions! The surreal, negative aura of its face intensifies as it reaches underneath it’s massive left wing… And returns with a claymore –  blackened from many fights and covered in strange, ancient inscriptions! No, it is no ordinary, simple-minded beast… It roars once more and advances, ignoring the traps laid as it bashes against the branches, attempting to intimidate the companions even further!“NAME YOURSELVES, COWARDS! TONIGHT YOU WILL PERISH BY THE HANDS OF VRADNA, THE FELL KNIGHT!” - the voice rises furiously in draconian.[There’s something terrifying about this one… It has a dread aura that freezes the hearts of men! Everyone, please roll a Will test against DC 14. After that, please, roll initiative and position yourselves at will on the map! It has begun!][INFO: As the beast advances, all adherents begin to get stuck on it… Specially on its wings. It’s fast, but it can’t advance more than the usual 30 feet per round, because of it’s size. It’s been lured, apparently!][INFO2: please, check the post to see if it all fits your descriptions. If not, I'll edit it. Sorry to ask that, but this one was quite delicate to put together!]@<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6801450" target="_blank">Trogdor1992</a> @<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=24380" target="_blank">Neurotic</a> @<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6801311" target="_blank">KahlessNestor</a> @<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6855130" target="_blank">Jago</a></blockquote>

Verification