JollyDoc's Shackled City
- Thread starter JollyDoc
- Start date
Joachim
First Post
gfunk said:Sorry, was that last week? Oh. Wait. It's already Monday. How embarrasing for you. . .
- Gfunk
P.S. Who is acting saucy because he just got his PhD and will demand that everyone call him Doctor even though he's a charlatan (sort of).
Congratulations! Now you can begin the HARD part of medical school, no?
JollyDoc
Explorer
gfunk said:P.S. Who is acting saucy because he just got his PhD and will demand that everyone call him Doctor even though he's a charlatan (sort of).
Congrat's G...er...Dr. G...sort of. Now you can see what it feels like to treat everyone like they're beneath you! Welcome to the club!
Joachim
First Post
Please pardon the relative lack of quality. I needed to catch up, and I think that I didn't do a good job proofing.
Anways, without further adieu:
THE BLACK EGG
Jenya paced back and forth in her chambers, trying to decide which course of action to take. Since the great meteor had struck, the church was becoming overrun with refugees from the neighboring hamlets and farmsteads. Many had been grievously injured by the blast and many had lost their homes, but all had their own harrowing tales to tell.
Making matters worse, after the explosion had rocked Cauldron, looting and larceny had spread throughout the city like a wildfire. Most of the church’s Justiciars had been called out of the building to help the local constabulary bring order back to the town. The police action combined with the need to tend to the injured and homeless had left Jenya and the Temple of Tyr spread thin. Too thin to determine what had happened. Biting her lip, Jenya strode out of her room.
As the High Priestess marched down the hallway to the main sanctuary, she struggled with the decision that she knew had to be made. But, the group has just returned from that horrible plane of chaos and evil. How could she send them off again into Tyr knows what? Shaking her head of her doubts, Jenya straightened herself, assumed her familiar authoritarian posture and stepped through the archway into the main hall of the Temple.
Jenya almost lost her nerve when she saw the state of it all. The sanctuary had been transformed into a makeshift hospital where the wounded could be tended. Bodies lay on the pews and the floor, covering every spot imaginable, and the moans of the injured permeated and echoed throughout the chamber. Humorlessly, Jenya realized that it had been quite some time since she had presided over a packed house.
In quiet shock, Jenya watched as two of the young acolytes carried a old woman outside the church. The old woman, obviously dead, had been blinded by the heat resulting from the meteor’s impact, and then had suffocated due to the choking dust and smoke cloud that followed. A young woman watched, tears streaming from her eyes, as her mother was being carried off. Caine stood beside the lass, whispering in her ear that the matron had gone to a better place and that her soul was undoubtedly at peace.
The High Priestess of Tyr almost let her cool exterior fade watching the sadly tender scene. Caine had arrived at the Temple shortly after the event and had stayed awake all night tending the refugees with both his minor healing magics and his soothing words. Jenya could see the fatigue in Caine’s posture, but his demeanor suggested that he was happy to be there to help.
Tugging on Caine’s elbow, Jenya pulled the ascetic away from the distraught young woman. She led Caine to a niche, and quietly told him that he needed to gather his comrades. There was Good work to be done.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bright Axes returned to the Temple of Tyr to listen to Jenya’s request. During the night, they had all been through their own version of Purgatory. Rusty and Tilly had sat up guarding the door to the shop and to Jzadirune to keep the looters out. Caine of course had been tending to grievously injured commoners and Kiko had been asked to join the Justiciars in restoring law. Grimm had been pulled from the tavern by the half-orc guardsman and was pressed into service as a riot-breaker. But none seemed to have been as affected as Wathros.
The druid was ashen-faced. He had watched helplessly from his eyrie as the meteor struck the Lucky Monkey. Wathros had shared his home many nights with the half-drow Shensen and had spent many nights watching the beautiful woman working at the tavern. The elf knew that his love was most likely at the Lucky Monkey at the time that it was struck. He also knew that she had most likely been burned to a cinder.
Jenya spoke, “You all probably know why I have summoned you here. The event last night has caused an immense amount of chaos and suffering. The problem is, we don’t know what the nature of the meteor is, and it needs to be investigated. Also, we are hearing rumors about brigands that are attacking groups of refugees. The bandits are robbing them, and then committing all manners of atrocities. We need you to venture out into the jungle to find out what has happened, and to help those out there that need aid. Can I count on you?”
Rusty looked around. “Somethin’ tells me that we aren’t bein’ given too much of an option here…”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tovak snarled in pain. That little bastard’s sword had cut pretty deep. The stone giant guzzled down a couple of healing draughts and watched as his wounds began to heal. Looking across at his companions, the warrior muttered, “The next time you two decide that you want to push around another one of these refugees, be prepared. That last one shoved his sword so far up my stomach I could taste steel!”
Maerith looked at the stone giant in amusement. The half-elf arcanist had been surprised when the lone wanderer had drawn his rapier and snuck in a few blows. Within a few seconds, the roguish warrior had been slain, but it was still entertaining to listen to Tovak’s complaints.
Locke had heard enough. “No more, fool! Next time, don’t expose your underside so readily, and maybe you won’t get stabbed like that. You heard what our employer said. ‘Find out what these simpletons know about the meteor and see if they have seen the draconics that are sure to be drawn to it.’ We are getting paid well, Tovak, to beat up commoners. So what if one actually knew how to use a sword.” The elf maiden brushed back her long hair, and looked to her half-elven counterpart. “The brute does have a point, though. Next time, we go in prepared.”
Maerith grinned. “No problem…”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bright Axes hastily donned their adventuring gear and made their way out of Cauldron. With no time to acquire horses, the group chose to hustle out to the Ground Zero on foot. The road was littered with the bodies of the dead, dying, and grievously wounded. Many of the living were blinded, and all seemed to be bloodied in some manner.
Around noon, the party encountered the first organized group of approximately twenty men, women, and children. Caine boldly stepped to the front of the party and prepared to hail the refugees, but was interrupted by a bright flash of light and the arrival of two flying females, both with at least some degree of elven stock. Both of the were prepared for battle, based upon the multiple illusory doubles floating around their bodies. Caine realized that these were most likely some of the bandits that Jenya was talking of. Grimm’s eyes grew big as his eyes, attuned to the invisible and ethereal, noted the presence of a third large invisible assailant.
Before Caine could speak, one of the female refugees was pulled off the ground by the invisible giant. Having attacked, the invisibility spell wore off, but not before the giant pulled the woman to his eye level, and began barking questions at her. The refugee simply fainted from shock. The two flying elf maids began casting spells, and streaks of light emerged from their outstretched fingertips, striking Grimm and Rusty.
Grimm smiled through the pain. Regardless whether these cowards had wanted a fight, they just found one. The half-ogre rushed ahead towards the giant and swung his long chain in a short arc. The stone giant yelped as a chuck of flesh was ripped off one of his meaty thighs. The half-ogre positioned himself far enough away from the giant to prevent an effective counter-assault.
Following Grimm’s cue, Tilly, Kiko, and Rusty simultaneously charged the giant, but their blows failed to get through the giant’s thick hide. Wathros began chanting rhythmically, and the familiar column of fire struck both of the flying elves. One appeared to be injured by the flames, but the other appeared to be completely unaffected by the strike, as if the magic washed around her with no effect.
Caine did not like the way this was starting. No parlay, straight to violence. There was no stopping it now, so Caine (as he had done many times before) would ensure that the right side prevailed. He cast a spell, and all of his allies began to move much more quickly than before.
Maerith did not like this at all. Not only were they up against battle-seasoned adventurers, but they were heavily outnumbered. She would need to even that out somewhat. Grabbing her staff, the wizard called out, “Inflamare!” The staff glowed briefly, and a wall of flame erupted from the ground, separating the dwarf, the monk, and the halfling from their comrades. Tovak would finish them without a problem.
The stone giant unceremoniously dumped the woman in his hands onto the ground at his feet and deftly pulled a humongous great axe from his back. Sizing up his three diminutive opponents, he decided that the smallest of them would be the first to die. Repeatedly, the giant swung at the halfling, and connected solidly with the little warrior’s left arm. Tilly’s short sword clanged to the ground.
Tilly grimaced at the wound and nearly passed out from the pain, but through sheer force of will he somersaulted between the giant’s legs and drove his longsword into Tovak’s thick calf muscle. The stone giant screamed in pain. The halfling continued his tumbling until he was outside of the reach of the massive grey-skinned humanoid. Kiko and Rusty continued their assault on the creature, pummeling or hacking at the giant’s legs and lower body.
Locke was growing tired of this. Completing another spell, she sent more magic missiles hurtling toward the wild-looking elf who had tried to flamestrike her. Wathros returned the favor, only this time in the form of a giant storm of ice and hail. The storm consumed both Locke and Maerith. When the magical effect wore off Locke remained in the air, again unharmed by the magic. Maerith lay on the ground, dead, her ribcage shattered by the repeated blows from the hailstorm.
Tovak spun his axe in his hands. Only two opponents now. Chuckling, the stone giant lifted his axe to strike. Before Tovak’s weapon could begin its descent, Grimm’s spiked chain struck. Attacking blindly through the wall of fire, Grimm spun his chain high, knowing that he couldn’t hit his comrades ten feet in the air. Four times the weapon passed through the wall of fire, and four times Grimm was rewarded with the sound and solid feel of a hit.
Caine ran forward to Grimm’s position and completed a spell of flight. “Get over the wall and save the others!” Nodding, the half-ogre took to the air and flew directly over the stone giant’s head.
Tovak saw that the end was inevitable. The two assailants on the ground were continually weakening him, and the half-ogre over his head was beyond his reach. Maerith was dead, and Locke was performing a fighting withdrawal…he was fighting and she was withdrawing. The giant fought bravely to the end, but his opponents were too strong, and eventually Tovak Bloodheart was incapacitated by Rusty’s axe.
With the giant neutralized, the heroes turned their attention to the remaining flying assailant. Grimm peformed a flying charge directly at the elf, and his chain struck true, but did not inflict nearly the damage that the half-ogre had anticipated with such a solid blow.
The fight raged on for another thirty seconds, with the Bright Axes surrounding the elf (who refused to surrender) and beating her senseless while she tried using spells to protect herself and provide some small amount of offense. In the end, Grimm’s chain silenced her spellcasting.
The battle was won.
Anways, without further adieu:
THE BLACK EGG
Jenya paced back and forth in her chambers, trying to decide which course of action to take. Since the great meteor had struck, the church was becoming overrun with refugees from the neighboring hamlets and farmsteads. Many had been grievously injured by the blast and many had lost their homes, but all had their own harrowing tales to tell.
Making matters worse, after the explosion had rocked Cauldron, looting and larceny had spread throughout the city like a wildfire. Most of the church’s Justiciars had been called out of the building to help the local constabulary bring order back to the town. The police action combined with the need to tend to the injured and homeless had left Jenya and the Temple of Tyr spread thin. Too thin to determine what had happened. Biting her lip, Jenya strode out of her room.
As the High Priestess marched down the hallway to the main sanctuary, she struggled with the decision that she knew had to be made. But, the group has just returned from that horrible plane of chaos and evil. How could she send them off again into Tyr knows what? Shaking her head of her doubts, Jenya straightened herself, assumed her familiar authoritarian posture and stepped through the archway into the main hall of the Temple.
Jenya almost lost her nerve when she saw the state of it all. The sanctuary had been transformed into a makeshift hospital where the wounded could be tended. Bodies lay on the pews and the floor, covering every spot imaginable, and the moans of the injured permeated and echoed throughout the chamber. Humorlessly, Jenya realized that it had been quite some time since she had presided over a packed house.
In quiet shock, Jenya watched as two of the young acolytes carried a old woman outside the church. The old woman, obviously dead, had been blinded by the heat resulting from the meteor’s impact, and then had suffocated due to the choking dust and smoke cloud that followed. A young woman watched, tears streaming from her eyes, as her mother was being carried off. Caine stood beside the lass, whispering in her ear that the matron had gone to a better place and that her soul was undoubtedly at peace.
The High Priestess of Tyr almost let her cool exterior fade watching the sadly tender scene. Caine had arrived at the Temple shortly after the event and had stayed awake all night tending the refugees with both his minor healing magics and his soothing words. Jenya could see the fatigue in Caine’s posture, but his demeanor suggested that he was happy to be there to help.
Tugging on Caine’s elbow, Jenya pulled the ascetic away from the distraught young woman. She led Caine to a niche, and quietly told him that he needed to gather his comrades. There was Good work to be done.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bright Axes returned to the Temple of Tyr to listen to Jenya’s request. During the night, they had all been through their own version of Purgatory. Rusty and Tilly had sat up guarding the door to the shop and to Jzadirune to keep the looters out. Caine of course had been tending to grievously injured commoners and Kiko had been asked to join the Justiciars in restoring law. Grimm had been pulled from the tavern by the half-orc guardsman and was pressed into service as a riot-breaker. But none seemed to have been as affected as Wathros.
The druid was ashen-faced. He had watched helplessly from his eyrie as the meteor struck the Lucky Monkey. Wathros had shared his home many nights with the half-drow Shensen and had spent many nights watching the beautiful woman working at the tavern. The elf knew that his love was most likely at the Lucky Monkey at the time that it was struck. He also knew that she had most likely been burned to a cinder.
Jenya spoke, “You all probably know why I have summoned you here. The event last night has caused an immense amount of chaos and suffering. The problem is, we don’t know what the nature of the meteor is, and it needs to be investigated. Also, we are hearing rumors about brigands that are attacking groups of refugees. The bandits are robbing them, and then committing all manners of atrocities. We need you to venture out into the jungle to find out what has happened, and to help those out there that need aid. Can I count on you?”
Rusty looked around. “Somethin’ tells me that we aren’t bein’ given too much of an option here…”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tovak snarled in pain. That little bastard’s sword had cut pretty deep. The stone giant guzzled down a couple of healing draughts and watched as his wounds began to heal. Looking across at his companions, the warrior muttered, “The next time you two decide that you want to push around another one of these refugees, be prepared. That last one shoved his sword so far up my stomach I could taste steel!”
Maerith looked at the stone giant in amusement. The half-elf arcanist had been surprised when the lone wanderer had drawn his rapier and snuck in a few blows. Within a few seconds, the roguish warrior had been slain, but it was still entertaining to listen to Tovak’s complaints.
Locke had heard enough. “No more, fool! Next time, don’t expose your underside so readily, and maybe you won’t get stabbed like that. You heard what our employer said. ‘Find out what these simpletons know about the meteor and see if they have seen the draconics that are sure to be drawn to it.’ We are getting paid well, Tovak, to beat up commoners. So what if one actually knew how to use a sword.” The elf maiden brushed back her long hair, and looked to her half-elven counterpart. “The brute does have a point, though. Next time, we go in prepared.”
Maerith grinned. “No problem…”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bright Axes hastily donned their adventuring gear and made their way out of Cauldron. With no time to acquire horses, the group chose to hustle out to the Ground Zero on foot. The road was littered with the bodies of the dead, dying, and grievously wounded. Many of the living were blinded, and all seemed to be bloodied in some manner.
Around noon, the party encountered the first organized group of approximately twenty men, women, and children. Caine boldly stepped to the front of the party and prepared to hail the refugees, but was interrupted by a bright flash of light and the arrival of two flying females, both with at least some degree of elven stock. Both of the were prepared for battle, based upon the multiple illusory doubles floating around their bodies. Caine realized that these were most likely some of the bandits that Jenya was talking of. Grimm’s eyes grew big as his eyes, attuned to the invisible and ethereal, noted the presence of a third large invisible assailant.
Before Caine could speak, one of the female refugees was pulled off the ground by the invisible giant. Having attacked, the invisibility spell wore off, but not before the giant pulled the woman to his eye level, and began barking questions at her. The refugee simply fainted from shock. The two flying elf maids began casting spells, and streaks of light emerged from their outstretched fingertips, striking Grimm and Rusty.
Grimm smiled through the pain. Regardless whether these cowards had wanted a fight, they just found one. The half-ogre rushed ahead towards the giant and swung his long chain in a short arc. The stone giant yelped as a chuck of flesh was ripped off one of his meaty thighs. The half-ogre positioned himself far enough away from the giant to prevent an effective counter-assault.
Following Grimm’s cue, Tilly, Kiko, and Rusty simultaneously charged the giant, but their blows failed to get through the giant’s thick hide. Wathros began chanting rhythmically, and the familiar column of fire struck both of the flying elves. One appeared to be injured by the flames, but the other appeared to be completely unaffected by the strike, as if the magic washed around her with no effect.
Caine did not like the way this was starting. No parlay, straight to violence. There was no stopping it now, so Caine (as he had done many times before) would ensure that the right side prevailed. He cast a spell, and all of his allies began to move much more quickly than before.
Maerith did not like this at all. Not only were they up against battle-seasoned adventurers, but they were heavily outnumbered. She would need to even that out somewhat. Grabbing her staff, the wizard called out, “Inflamare!” The staff glowed briefly, and a wall of flame erupted from the ground, separating the dwarf, the monk, and the halfling from their comrades. Tovak would finish them without a problem.
The stone giant unceremoniously dumped the woman in his hands onto the ground at his feet and deftly pulled a humongous great axe from his back. Sizing up his three diminutive opponents, he decided that the smallest of them would be the first to die. Repeatedly, the giant swung at the halfling, and connected solidly with the little warrior’s left arm. Tilly’s short sword clanged to the ground.
Tilly grimaced at the wound and nearly passed out from the pain, but through sheer force of will he somersaulted between the giant’s legs and drove his longsword into Tovak’s thick calf muscle. The stone giant screamed in pain. The halfling continued his tumbling until he was outside of the reach of the massive grey-skinned humanoid. Kiko and Rusty continued their assault on the creature, pummeling or hacking at the giant’s legs and lower body.
Locke was growing tired of this. Completing another spell, she sent more magic missiles hurtling toward the wild-looking elf who had tried to flamestrike her. Wathros returned the favor, only this time in the form of a giant storm of ice and hail. The storm consumed both Locke and Maerith. When the magical effect wore off Locke remained in the air, again unharmed by the magic. Maerith lay on the ground, dead, her ribcage shattered by the repeated blows from the hailstorm.
Tovak spun his axe in his hands. Only two opponents now. Chuckling, the stone giant lifted his axe to strike. Before Tovak’s weapon could begin its descent, Grimm’s spiked chain struck. Attacking blindly through the wall of fire, Grimm spun his chain high, knowing that he couldn’t hit his comrades ten feet in the air. Four times the weapon passed through the wall of fire, and four times Grimm was rewarded with the sound and solid feel of a hit.
Caine ran forward to Grimm’s position and completed a spell of flight. “Get over the wall and save the others!” Nodding, the half-ogre took to the air and flew directly over the stone giant’s head.
Tovak saw that the end was inevitable. The two assailants on the ground were continually weakening him, and the half-ogre over his head was beyond his reach. Maerith was dead, and Locke was performing a fighting withdrawal…he was fighting and she was withdrawing. The giant fought bravely to the end, but his opponents were too strong, and eventually Tovak Bloodheart was incapacitated by Rusty’s axe.
With the giant neutralized, the heroes turned their attention to the remaining flying assailant. Grimm peformed a flying charge directly at the elf, and his chain struck true, but did not inflict nearly the damage that the half-ogre had anticipated with such a solid blow.
The fight raged on for another thirty seconds, with the Bright Axes surrounding the elf (who refused to surrender) and beating her senseless while she tried using spells to protect herself and provide some small amount of offense. In the end, Grimm’s chain silenced her spellcasting.
The battle was won.
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
Well done, everyone! Not only a great update, but also a ToC to bring order into the chaos. BTW, giants aren't what they used to be...I asume this one wasn't even templated. Was the elven sorceress so tough or did you just roll badly?
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