Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Chapter 4- The Second Invasion)

[Deuce Traveler]

Barok
[sblock]
Barok has full recollection of where he just was and what Nikolos had told him, but it feels as if he has been teleported and the fires and gnolls do not seem like a hallucination. The rogue could probably take out a few of the humanoids, but it is likely that they will bring him down by sheer numbers.
[/sblock]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Nikolos touches the same sphere that Caramip is in contact with and also freezes as if paralyzed.

Nikolos
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You see Caramip next to you, and it seems you have been teleported into a large, but neglected farm field. A small plow and a box filled with seed and various tools rests next to you in a small shed, although the house it is attached to is in a sorry state and looks as if it has been gutted of anything worthwhile. As you take another look around you notice that there are several well-tended and richer fields nearby that have strong plants growing from their soil and valuables on display in the windows. There is no activity in these other farms, so it may be possible to take a closer look around without disturbing anyone.
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[GlassEye]

Silas moves over next to Dartis and waits and fidgets while Barok, Nikolos, and Caramip interact with the spheres.

 

[Nephtys]

[sblock=DT]Barok looks on at the scenario, awed and frightened at first, but soon more thoughtfully. He knew it was nothing but a harmless test, an illusion or a trick of the mind, but it looked so real. Nikolos had only freezed up as his mind was hijacked, why would his own situation be any different? It was a test, and to succeed he need only do the morally right thing. And yet, what was morally right in this situation? If the child existed only as a magically created figment of his own mind it had no value, moral or otherwise, while his own life and his own service to Dorinthia had value to many. Maybe there was an element of risk here, and if there was why would he die to preserve the existance of a piece of an illusion? But would the ancients have deviced their test to allow for anything but stupid and blind self-sacrifice? For the most obvious act of mindless good?
He grins, drawing his dagger. It didn't matter, he wouldn't bend for their will, submit to their values. He was himself, let them judge him for that or not at all.
"Sorry kid." He stops the child, "Grownups first." Handing the boy his dagger he turns and walks trough the portal. Before entering he turns his head and looks back. "Avenge your people, die like a man and maybe some god will take pity on you. My own war lies elsewhere." [/sblock]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Where Barok touches the sphere you can see the white mists and black mists become more pronounced and separated before they begin to jerk and curl underneath the rogue's touch. Suddenly the scout gives a wry smile despite his otherwise paralyzed appearance, then the black clouds of the sphere envelope the white for a moment before the swirl of black, white, and gray colors return to their previous state...

Barok
[sblock]
You take a step into the portal, then hear a scolding voice say, "No, you have chosen wrongly man of the Locusi." With a jerk that makes your heart skip you find yourself once more among your companions.
[/sblock]

Barok seems to return to normal, his eyes blinking rapidly as he begins to move again. The ghost sighs as he stares at the unchanged sphere and gives the rogue a look of frustrated understanding.

 

[Blarkon Dragonslayer]

Nikolos touches the same sphere that Caramip is in contact with and also freezes as if paralyzed.

Nikolos
[sblock]
You see Caramip next to you, and it seems you have been teleported into a large, but neglected farm field. A small plow and a box filled with seed and various tools rests next to you in a small shed, although the house it is attached to is in a sorry state and looks as if it has been gutted of anything worthwhile. As you take another look around you notice that there are several well-tended and richer fields nearby that have strong plants growing from their soil and valuables on display in the windows. There is no activity in these other farms, so it may be possible to take a closer look around without disturbing anyone.
[/sblock]

DM
[sblock]
Nikolos looks around the neglected field, and then looks at Caramip. "I suppose this is a perfect opportunity to enjoy the bucolic and simple life so beloved of philosophers. I should point out, however, that my nation is full of philosophers, and not one of them would know what to do with a plow. Of course, neither do I."
That said, he goes into the house, sorry as it is, and starts doing what he can to put things right.
[/sblock]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Nikolos' shoulders seem to shrug for a moment and the mists move again, the white becoming more substantial than the gray or black.

Nikolos
[sblock]
The inside of the home seems somewhat decrepit, with broken windows or similar panes of glass filthy from months of neglect. The furniture seems intact, but they themselves look covered in dust. The living room is somewhat large and connects into an unused kitchen, while upstairs are two large bedrooms each with unkempt beds and wardrobes of inexpensive clothes tossed inside haphazard drawers. Whoever lived here seemed to enjoy sloth more than work.

OOC: Define 'put things right', please.
[/sblock]

 

[Blarkon Dragonslayer]

Nikolos' shoulders seem to shrug for a moment and the mists move again, the white becoming more substantial than the gray or black.

Nikolos
[sblock]
The inside of the home seems somewhat decrepit, with broken windows or similar panes of glass filthy from months of neglect. The furniture seems intact, but they themselves look covered in dust. The living room is somewhat large and connects into an unused kitchen, while upstairs are two large bedrooms each with unkempt beds and wardrobes of inexpensive clothes tossed inside haphazard drawers. Whoever lived here seemed to enjoy sloth more than work.

OOC: Define 'put things right', please.
[/sblock]

DM
[sblock]
Nikolos raises an eyebrow at the mess, and rolls up his sleeves. "I haven't done this since the proctor of acolytes at the great library decided a certain rich young fool needed to be taught humility." That said, he starts cleaning, quartering the room with his usual precision, turning some of the most inexpensive clothing into makeshift rags as needed, and doing whatever he can do to start sprucing the place up with the resources available. He is very much of a mixed mind about dealing with the Locusi still, but he will not be untrue to himself, and this kind of disorder, even if only illusionary, simply isn't acceptable.
[/sblock]

 

[Nephtys]

Barok jerks back and sneers at the sphere in annoyance, "Bloody moral fanatics! All black and white with no nuances... What more can you expect from a race that died from its own stupidity?" He looks at the ghost, smirks a little as he shares a moment of understanding. "Sorry, mate, I'm just too damn honest for my own good."

 

[Deuce Traveler]

OOC: Barok might be of an ambiguous alignment and sometimes detrimental to the rest of his party, but he is entertaining.

Nikolos and Caramip begin to shake as the mists beneath their hands begin to swirl quickly.

Nikolos and Caramip
[sblock]
As Nikolos and Caramip begin to make things 'right' by taking the time to fix the furniture and household, the floor and walls seem to melt for a moment before disappearing entirely. You are floating in a void, and in front of you appears an almost elf-like being with wings. He speaks with a loud, booming voice although a happy grin reaches his face, "My, you have done well indeed. Remember this, Locusi, that you don't have to take from your neighbors, but with hard work you may share in their prosperity. Of course you didn't build up the whole farm, but the attempt was important, and you only have so much time that we should not waste. Quickly, try your newfound ethics on a different sphere, and bless you. Bless you for proving that even the wicked may repent for their sins and learn." The elf-like, flying man disappears and you find yourselves among your friends once more.
[/sblock]

Nikolos and Caramip suddenly recover control of their bodies, and yet beneath their hands you see that the orb has turned completely white and is now still.