Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6794659" data-attributes="member: 9546">Way Of The WickedDramatis PersonaeKelvin Dannister: human male evokerTardaesha Dannister: human female anti-paladinKatarina Dannister: aasimar female rogueDakota Dannister: human female inquisitor of AsmodeusDorian "Dapper" Dannister: human male priest of AsmodeusLemmy Killmister: dwarf male geo-kineticistRoger Renfield: half-orc male anti-paladinACT ONE: Prison Break!18 Desnus, 4716In the kingdom of Talingarde, many crimes may send an individual to Branderscar Prison, but the sentence has but one meaning: you are wicked and irredeemable. Each of the prisoners received the same greeting when they arrived. They were held down by rough hands and branded upon the arm with a runic F. The mark signified 'forsaken,' and the painful scar was indelible proof that each of them had betrayed the great and eternal love of Iomedae and her chosen mortal vassals.Condemned, they faced, at best, a life of shackles and servitude in the nearby salt mines. Others might await the 'gentle' ministrations of the inquisitors so that co-conspirators may be revealed and confessions extracted. Perhaps, some of them would be spared this ordeal. Perhaps instead they had come to Branderscar to face the final judgement. In three days, the executioner would arrive and the axe would fall, or the pyre would be lit. Through fire or steel, their crimes would be answered.The prisoners had all been chained together in the same communal cell, dressed in nothing but filthy, tattered rags. Manhandled and mistreated, any finery they once possessed was either ruined or long lost. No special treatment had been given to any of them, male or female, commoner or noble. All of the forsaken were bound and imprisoned together. Their feet were secured by iron cuffs tethered by one long chain. Their arms secured to the wall above by manacles. A guard was posted right outside the cell day and night. Little thought was given to long-term accommodations. At Branderscar, justice came swift and sure..._____________________________________________________________________"Idiots!" Kelvin sneered. "I'm related to a bunch of idiots!""Now, now, dear brother," Tardaesha purred, "don't be that way. Dakota and I were just protesting your unjust and wrongful arrest.""By fornicating on the altar in the high temple of Iomedae!!??" Kelvin snapped, incredulous."What better way to make our point?" Dakota giggled.The twins never ceased to amaze and infuriate Kelvin."And you!" Kelvin speared Katarina with his gaze. "What in the Hells were you thinking!?"Katarina shrugged in her shackles. "I actually thought I might talk them out of it before they got caught," she said, "but I was too late. The priest had already seen them.""So you thought slitting his throat was the answer!!??" Kelvin spat."No witnesses," Katarina shrugged again."Except for the fact of a corpse laying in the middle of the sanctuary!" Kelvin shrieked."Dory was supposed to take care of that," Kat smiled."I did take care of it," Dorian said morosely."By burning down the temple!!" Kelvin was apoplectic. "You couldn't think of anything more subtle!?""Not at the time," Dorian replied. "I thought you said this was the crew that was gonna bust you out," Lemmy interrupted. "Who's the runt?" Dorian asked, frowning at the dwarf."A friend," Kelvin said. "He was arrested for treason...a respectable crime. I thought he might be of use when the rest of you came to get me out of this place. It seems my confidence was misplaced.""Oh, you're always such an uptight sour puss," Tardaesha smirked at her older brother. "Don't blame us because your 'human cargo' business finally got busted."At that moment, a group of six guards, heavily armed and ready for trouble, came into the cell led by a fat, well-dressed sergeant of the watch. All of the prisoners recognized Sergeant Tomas Blackerly, for it was he who had held the brand that marked each of them. He had laughed as their skin burned. At that moment, however, he seemed a little dazed. Dakota, who, as an inquisitor, had some familiarity with magic, recognized that look: that of someone under the effect of an enchantment.Blackerly pointed towards Dorian and said gruffly, "You there! That's the scum! Get'im unshackled. If any of you makes trouble, they'll earn a thrashing! Today's your lucky day, scum. You've got a visitor. How you ever warranted such a fine lady is beyond me. Seems she wants to say good-bye. Now step lively. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting."Dorian was released from his bindings and marched out of the cell. He looked back over his shoulder at his siblings and shrugged. He certainly wasn't expecting any visitors.____________________________________________________________Dorian was escorted roughly to a meeting room down the hall from the cell block and shoved into a chair. There, waiting for him, was a hauntingly beautiful woman in an elegant black dress and soft silken veil. She looked as if she might be headed to a funeral. Her hair was so platinum as to almost be white, and her eyes were a vibrant, almost unearthly green. She had clearly been weeping."Oh dearest," proclaimed the woman. "I'm so relieved you're alive!"She quickly turned to Tomas."Could we please have a moment alone, good sir? For pity's sake?"Tomas went blank for a bit and then quickly agreed."Of course, my lady," he replied. "For you, 'tis no problem."No sooner had Blackerly and the guards left, than the woman's demeanor immediately changed. She dropped all pretense of grief or concern, instantly all business."Have you forgotten me, dearest?" she asked with a smirk. "Call me Tiadora. We possess a mutual friend who would like to meet you and your fellow cell-mates. Unfortunately, our friend is unwilling to visit you in your present rather shabby accommodations, so it seems you must escape. Don't be so dour. Just because it's never been done before is no reason you can't be the first. If you manage that, cross the moors on the outskirts of town. On the old Moor Road you'll see a manor house with a single lantern burning in the second story. There our mutual friend waits. That is all I know. He did want me to give you this."She took off her silken veil and wiped away a few fake tears with it before handing it to Dorian."Something to remember me by, dearest."Even though Dorian did not have a divine focus for his prayers, he could still summon up a little magic, and subtly did so, focusing on the veil. It had a magical aura about it. Transmutation if he wasn't mistaken. He accepted it without a word.Her message delivered, she rose and the guards returned. Immediately, her demeanor once more changed and she was again a perfect picture of grief."No!" she wailed. "I can't bear to leave you!"She gave Dorian a kiss on the cheek. It was ice-cold and felt somehow alien and inhuman. Tomas shook his head."I'm afraid it's time, miss."She looked deep into Tomas' eyes and said, "Thank you for letting me say good-bye. There's no need to search my dearest. You are such a good friend for letting me see my dearest one more time.""Such a good friend," Tomas repeated, his voice almost mechanical. Then the watch sergeant seemed to snap out of it and bowed politely."A pleasure, madam."She left, unveiled. Her eyes met Dorian's one last time, and she briefly gave him a wicked smile.'Three days,' her voice echoed in his head. 'Don't disappoint me, dearest.'The visitation concluded, Dorian was taken back to his cell by a cadre of guards and shackled once more. ______________________________________________________________"So?" Kelvin asked Dorian once the guards had left the cell block. The young priest looked askance at the dwarf shackled at the end of the line before answering. When he did, he spoke in a strange, sibilant, hissing language."I'm going to use our 'family' tongue in the presence of strangers," he said."Are you sure the dwarf doesn't understand Shadowspeak?" Tardaesha asked. "He looks like a sneaky little bastard.""He doesn't," Kelvin replied. "But just the same, Dory, keep your voice down.""If you're going to refer to me by anything other than my given name," Dorian snapped, "then call me Dapper, not 'Dory.'" Kelvin rolled his eyes. "Just get on with it.""We apparently have an unknown benefactor," Dorian continued. "There was a woman who called herself Tiadora waiting for me. She said that her employer wants to meet us three days from now.""That's going to be a little difficult in our current dilemma," Katarina said sarcastically. "And me without my lockpicks.""I thought the same at first," Dorian smiled, "but she left us with a small gift."He carefully worked his manacled hands until he'd pulled the veil free from where he'd been clutching it. It was made of fine silk, but upon closer inspection, several small patches of various shapes could be seen upon it. Two were shaped like daggers, one a lantern, another a coil of rope, one a sack, a set of lockpicks, a window, a flask, a stack of coins, and what was unmistakably the holy symbol of Asmodeus."Take it," Dorian said as he carefully passed it over to Katarina, who was bound next to him.His sister did so."Now," Dorian instructed, "slowly peel off that patch that looks like your tools."Katarina looked dubious, but she did what he said. No sooner had the patch come free than it transformed in her hand to an actual set of lockpicks. Kat looked at them, incredulous."Are these...real?" she asked."What do your hands and eyes tell you?" Dorian asked. Kat passed the veil back to her brother, then her fingers went to work deftly with the picks. Within a matter of moments, she had both of her manacles loose. She grinned at her siblings as she freed her feet as well. "Looks like we're in business, boys and girls!"_______________________________________________________________________Kat had all of the others, even Lemmy (against her better judgement, though Kelvin insisted), freed in no time. Then they set about examining the other patches on the veil. The twins, Tardaesha and Dakota each took one of the daggers, while Dorian took the symbol of Asmodeus, which transformed into a silver amulet that he placed around his neck. Kelvin peeled off the sack which, when he looked inside, he was delighted to find contained, not only fresh clothing for all of them, but also spell components. The other patches they left in place for the time being."Now what?" Dakota asked. "We get to kill everyone, right?? Especially that fat whoreson Blackerly?""Perhaps," Kelvin said, pensively, "but we need to have a plan. We are only sparsely armed, and we are easily outnumbered five-to-one by armored guards, not to mention the warden. Personally, I would first like to find out just who, or what, they are keeping in there."He pointed down to the far end of the cell block where, unlike the other cells, which were all open-barred affairs, there was a single, stone-walled cell with a heavy iron door. Since their incarceration, the prisoners had only ever seen the guards peer in the cell through a slit in the door, and pass food through via a slot near the floor. "Let's find out," Katarina said. She fairly skipped down the hall to the iron door and peered inside."Whoa!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. "What?" Kelvin asked. "What do you see?""Come take a look for yourself," Kat beckoned. Kelvin moved up next to her and looked through the slot. What he saw took him aback. The individual chained to the wall within was easily over eight-feet tall, and heavily muscled. His brow was sloped, and his jaw undershot, with two small tusks protruding past his lower lip."An ogre," Kelvin said, almost to himself. "This could prove very useful indeed.""Open the door," Kelvin told his sister after a moment's consideration. "I have an idea."Kat had no trouble with the door lock, and when the door opened, the ogre glanced up wearily. "More little'uns," he sighed."Yes," Kelvin said, smiling pleasantly as he stepped inside, "but not the same as those who've been tormenting you. You see, we too have been victims of the cruelty of your jailers, and we would like to offer you an opportunity to take revenge upon them. Would you like that?""Grumblejack hurt," the ogre rumbled. "Grumblejack sick." He clutched at his belly.Kelvin glanced back at Dorian, who'd joined them. The priest walked over to the ogre and looked closely at him."He has several non-life-threatening injuries," the priest said, "and it could be that he's been poisoned. I can't do anything about that, but I may have something for his wounds."Dorian pulled out the veil again, and pulled off the patch that looked like a flask. When it transformed in his hand, he pulled the stopper and sniffed at it."As I thought," he nodded. "A healing elixir. Drink this." He offered it to the ogre.Grumblejack complied. Immediately, several of his cuts began to close, and bruises faded. His eyes grew wise in amazement."Magic!" he exclaimed. "Little'uns knows magic!""Yes," Kelvin agreed. "We are very powerful, and we will use our magic to help you kill the guards. Will you help us?"Grumblejack nodded, and Kat set about releasing his bonds. He stretched mightily, and then stepped carefully out of his cell, peering around cautiously. His eyes came to rest on Tardaesha."Hiya handsome," she winked. "You pretty," Grumblejack grinned."You're not blind," the anti-paladin smiled coyly at him. "Tell you what. You head through that door down there and smash whomever you find on the other side, and I will be all yours."Grumblejack actually began to drool. "Promise?""Cross my heart," Tardaesha said, making the motion across her ample bosom. "We'll be right behind you."___________________________________________________________________No sooner had Grumblejack set off down the hall at a trot, than Tardaesha turned and signaled to her twin. Dakota nodded back and blew her a kiss, then darted into the ogre's cell."Now," she whispered to Dorian in Shadowspeak. "The window!"Dorian held the veil and pulled off the window-shaped patch, which he quickly pressed against the wall. Instantly, the fabric transformed into a transparent pane of glass looking out on the courtyard below that surrounded the prison's main hall. Dakota then removed the rope patch from the veil, and when it turned into a coil of hemp, she secured one end of it to the shackles on the wall before throwing open the window and tossing the rest outside."Let's go!" she called to the others.At the other end of the cell block, Grumblejack, images of Tardaesha dancing through his head, threw open the heavy door, startling the two guards who stood on the other side. " 'Ere now!" one of them shouted. "What're you doin' outta your cell?"In answer, Grumblejack swung one mighty fist and drove the man into a wall. In a panic, the second guard raised a horn to his lips and sounded the alarm."Faster!" Katarina hissed, hurrying her siblings and the dwarf into the ogre's cell. Once the last of them was in, she closed the door and jammed the lock. Kelvin stood by the window and looked down at the ground twenty-feet below. "Wait," he cautioned. His eyelids fluttered as he began mumbling an arcane recitation. From the grass below, a thick mist began to rise, until it billowed up almost to the height of the window.Now!" Kelvin commanded.One-by-one, the others gripped the rope and slid down into the fog. Back in the guard room, the two jailers cautiously circled Grumblejack, taking turns darting in and then springing away. The ogre swung haymakers at them, but more often than not they managed to dodge aside or the blows deflected harmlessly off of their chain shirts. Grumblejack had no such protection, and the cuts and slashes from the swords of the guardsmen began to take their toll. He stepped towards one of his attackers, but stumbled, light-headed at the last moment. The guard lunged forward and drove the point of his sword straight through the ogre's throat. With a gurgle and a sigh, Grumblejack collapsed to the floor._____________________________________________________________________Katarina was the last one out. She heard the shouts of the guards approaching the cell. She quickly untied the rope and tossed the loose end through the window. She then took one step back, and leaped forward, sailing out into open air. She somersaulted in mid-fall, landed lightly on her feet in a crouch, and allowed her momentum to carry her forward into a tuck and roll. "Not bad, darlin'," Lemmy nodded, a leer on his rugged face. "Yer pretty....flexible."In a flash, the end of one of Kat's picks was in her hand and at the dwarf's throat."Don't mistake me for my sisters, you little pervert," she hissed. "Keep your hands and your eyes to yourself if you value them."She flicked her pick back into her belt and darted off into the mist."Saucy!" Lemmy grinned. "Just how I like'em!"The prisoners had emerged on one side of the castle. Some thirty feet away were the battlements and the door to one of the guard towers. As quickly and quietly as possible, they ran, crouched low to the ground, and made for the tower. Unfortunately, the last dozen feet or so of their route took them beyond Kelvin's obscuring mist. Katrina had just reached the tower door, and was relieved to find it unlocked, when a beam of lantern light stabbed down from the wall above. "Halt!" a voice called down to where Kelvin stood pinned by the light. "Keep moving!" Katarina shouted at her brother. Kelvin didn't hesitate. He ran in a serpentine pattern, anticipating arrows flying at him, until he reached the shelter of the tower. The others were already inside, and Kat slammed the door behind him. The interior of the tower was hollow and empty, with only a spiral staircase leading up to a rickety landing. Kat led the way up the stairs. At the landing, two doors stood, leading out to the battlements on either side. The stairs continued up to the roof, but Katarina chose the door opposite to the battlements where they'd seen the guards. They emerged atop the wall, where a strong wind howled and whipped at their thin garments. "The rope!" Kat shouted. "Bring it! We're going over the wall!"Dorian ran to her side, the rope coiled around one arm. He was in the process of handing it to his sister when he happened to glance over the far side of the battlements, and stopped short. Some sixty-feet below were masses of jagged rocks, lashed by the pounding surf of the ocean that surrounded the small peninsula upon which Branderscar prison sat. Somewhere in the distance, but getting closer, an alarm horn sounded."What now, genius?" Dorian asked.</blockquote>

Verification