Lobo's Elven Space Invader's Game

[Lobo Lurker]

Miquient says goodbye, rather reluctantly, and joins his shadowy brethren beneath the tree canopy. Within seconds all of them have disappeared into the shadows.

Princess Jessa looks up and Lily's gravity defying figure and says "Keep track of that wand. I think that this Miquient and I will have a nice chat when we have more to bargain with. It might be that we can use his people as a weapon against these invaders."

You make your way through the canopy in silence. After a few minutes you begin to get unnerved... this grove and meadow are too quiet. There are no birds, no insects, no scavengers; no life at all other than the trees, the grass and the flowers.

As you approach the tower you find that you are unable to come any closer... its as if the air itself has formed a wall that will not allow you to pass. If you attempt to press forward, a sickly yellow discharge of energy gently rebuffs whatever force you apply; Lily and Quandrus find that they are unhindered... indeed, they cannot see the energy discharges at all.

As you puzzle at your lack of ability to press forward, the ground door opens and a bent figure draped in a tattered red robe, its head cloaked steps out, leaning heavily on a gnarled piece of bleached wood. Its hands and feet are loosely wrapped in bandages and leather; the skin you can see looks jaundiced and unhealthy. "I am Malhogurst the Twisted" it says, its voice barely above a whisper, almost as if speaking caused it pain. "Speak your names and state your intentions. Why have you come to the granite tower? What did the shadow slaves want with you?"

 

[Drerek]

"My name is Charles and this is Landiss.

 

[stonegod]

Franklin eyes the energy barrier with a look of interest, trying to figure it out. [Spellcraft check] When the figure appears, he becomes a bit animated at the question. "Franklin Payne, adventurer extraordinaire! As for what I am doing, best to ask our dear prince---uh, leader!"

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Franklin determines that the effect is magical ward of sorts.

Your party makes its introductions and Princess Jessa steps forth. "I am Princess Jessa and these are my loyal protectors. We're here to see Lamont."

Malhogurst nervously twists his mangled hands around his stave. "The great wizard you seek died long ago. Any compact you might have had with him does not include the rest of our family, I'm--"

"DON'T BANDY WORDS WITH ME HENCHMAN!" she spits the word out, as if its unclean; Malhogurst visibly cringes. She continuous, imperiously "Tell Lamont that the rightful ruler of the 12 Freeholds stands at his threshold and demands entry."

Malhogurst ducks back inside and stays there for quite a few minutes. As you begin to wonder whether or not you're wasting your time the hairs on your arms and neck stand up. The air feels charged with arcane energy and a cool wind begins go bow inward toward the tower and you can almost heard and unclean chanting and howling in the echoes of your mind. As abruptly as it starts, however, it ends. Malhogurst reappears and beckons you inside.

The inside, of the circular tower is surprisingly large and spacious with high vaulted ceilings. Works of art in sculpture, paintings and carved stone and wood line the walls. Opposite the great entry doors lies a grand staircase, leading up and splitting to the right and the left, eventually disappearing behind heavy curtains. Malhogurst stands behind you, next to the door. Three other people are in the room, a man, a boy and a young woman; all are dark-haired, green-eyed and olive-skinned, bearing a strong familial resemblance to each other.

"Where--" begins Jessa. "Here." says a soft, sibilant papery-dry voice. A dessicated corpse with emerald flame eyes, cloaked in a pale yellow-brown cloak and clutching a slim, silver inlaid darkwood stave topped with a glittering fist-sized amethyst. "You seek Lamont and here he stands before you." The spooky figure slowly moves down the staircase from the left. At the sight of the creature icy tendrils of fear worm their way through your guts as that primal little voice at the back of your brains SCREAMS at you to run away.

Those fearsome emerald flames regard you as a lion regards a worm. "What do you want here, daughters of Gregor? And what are you prepared to sacrifice for what you seek?"

 

[ethandrew]

Anderson stands in the lush entryway, motionless and still. His fight or flight frozen, the only thought running through his head is how grateful he is not the one being addressed, for he knows no words could form out of his mouth right now. This whole day has been one of amazement and horror.

 

[Shayuri]

From the start Lily remains silent, not trusting herself to speak. Magic run amok, from strange servants to undeath itself! Memories of fighting just such things spark in her mind, even as she reminds herself that that was another time, another life. Perhaps even another person. Even so, it's almost as hard for her to hold her tongue as it is for her to hold her place when the lich appears.

She clenches her fists and looks at the human family instead. Relatives of Lamont? Impossible to tell. Were they here by choice, or magical compulsion?

 

[Lobo Lurker]

She clenches her fists and looks at the human family instead. Relatives of Lamont? Impossible to tell. Were they here by choice, or magical compulsion?

The boy, likely around 8 years old, says "You look weird." The young woman, his sister perhaps, shushes him and looks at Lily apologetically.

 

[Shayuri]

Startled, Lily actually can't help but laugh, breaking some of the tension. For a moment she looks almost comically surprised at her own reaction, then nods.

"It's all right," she tells the sister. "I am weird."

For the life of her, she didn't understand why she'd found that funny. Remembering it now didn't make her want to laugh at all. But at the moment, there'd been a surge...kind of like a glimpse of color when all you'd seen before was shades of grey, or an intense smell when you'd had noseplugs in before. Like a memory that came from the body, instead of the mind.

Her hands felt a little cold, so she rubbed them together. A little uncomfortably, she looked down at them. What do you say to a little boy and his sister? Especially when their father...presumably...is this decayed -thing- standing right there? More to the point, why bother saying anything? They were completely irrelevant to the mission. Lily wasn't sure...she just knew she wanted to. She finally risked a look back at the two after a moment. If she didn't have anything else to say, maybe they would.

Make it happen again.

 

[Vertexx69]

Quandrus closes his eyes gently as the atmosphere is charged with energy, a wave of elation seems to flow over his body and the hands of Inharra reach out from inside the floating tower shield and entwine themselves around her protector's upper arm, pulling herself and the shield closer. He basks in the energy for a long moment before even acknowledging the family's prescence, then regains his composure uttering in a barely audible whisper, "The life I could summon with that..."

"Your home is a wonder gentle folk. You are truley blessed to have...found such a place." He turns from them and places his forehead to the stone of the wall and whispers something in an ancient tounge, one of the small white arms releases it's grip from his and reaches out to the magic stone as well.

As the spirit descends the stairs, Inharra hisses involuntarily and retreats beneath Quandrus' cloak pulling it over herself in an ostrich defense. He places a hand on her quivering form to calm her even as his eyes find the source of her fear and widen with wonder.

 

[Jemal]

With a sharp intake of Breath, Keira tries not to stare at the (lich?). She glances at her Elder sister Jenna, who seems frozen, and then steps forward, voice shakey but strong. "We wish to stop these invaders. What help can you give us, and what price would you ask? I would pay anything, be it coin or my own life, to rid our world of them."