nerdytenor's The Missing Warlock

[covaithe]

"Check out his hand," calls Karis. "That ring looks familiar." She jumps down the stairs quickly and pulls from up her sleeve a small piece of leather holding a number of small sharp-looking implements, curved and twisted in bizarre ways. "Someone give me a boost, and I'll have those shackles off."

[sblock=ooc]Thievery +10. I'm assuming the person on the altar is above head height, since Karis was able to see things from above that others weren't.[/sblock]

 

[nerdytenor]

Karis easily removes the shackles, and the man rolls off of the stone and is caught by Moreen. The purple glow disappears from the stone. A few seconds later, he rouses, looks up at Moreen, and struggles free.

He takes three shaky steps backwards, and raises his hand. A small blast of energy issues forth and dissipates before it can reach anyone. He loses his balance and lands on the ground, his eyes darting from one member of the party to the other.

He is on the short side, wearing plain brown clothes. On his left hand is a ring - it is clearly the same as Elloen's. Where his skin is visible, you can see the signs of the blight - inky blotches intermingle with a light tan. Even his hair appears to be affected, showing alternating strands of blond and black. His eyes are light green, and lit with fear.

"Who are you?" His voice croaks, and he attempts to clear it. "Who sent you? How did you find me?" He raises his hand towards you, and attempts to stand again, but falls back to the ground.

 

[The Digger]

"Steady on old man. Another fall like that in your condition would probably kill you." Joshua sounded less than concerned about the state of the man.

"Am I to assume that you are Mardrek the Warlock?"

 

[PennStud77]

For the record

Todarr still here, but not very proficient in observing or magic/religion, so taking a back seat to those in the group better suited for these types of things. Should the man continue to be irate, need additional calming or convincing, Todarr will step forward with a kind word (being diplomatic), as it tends to be his most able contribution.

Otherwise, leaving the way for others.

 

[nerdytenor]

"Old man? I dare say I'm not much older than you, but if you'd like to age in a hurry, I'd be happy to shackle you to that stone for a few days." He spits in the dirt. "It'll suck the life right out of you. Where do you think these poor wretches came from?" He points at the dismembered zombies near the stone. "That was to be my lot. Until you came."

Relaxing a bit, he continues. "I trust, then, that you are not my enemies, and I thank you for freeing me. Yes, I am Mardrick, and if you call me Warlock, I know you must be from Greensfen, since only in that sorry town would I be given such a title. No, friends, I am only a beginner in the magical arts. Tell me, how did you come here? I do not recognize any of you. Did Dardus send you? Have you heard of my wife, Elloen?" He becomes more animated. "Please, I must know what has happened. How long have I been chained to the stone? What..."

He is interrupted by a coughing fit, and spits into the dirt again, a bit of blood showing on the ground.

"First, we must get out of here. I'll explain later, but you must trust me - this barn will not be safe for long. We must leave now" He tries to stand up again and slumps into the ground once more. "Please."

 

[nerdytenor]

[sblock=OOC]
thread bump
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[covaithe]

"Yes, let's get away from here," Karis says. "There might be more of those dead things. One of you big burly types, help him walk. Or drag him. Whatever." She takes a quick look around outside the barn, waving the others to hurry out if the way is clear.

 

[The Digger]

Fully agreeing with the idea of getting out of here, Joshua nonetheless takes a quick look around at the stone and the dead zombies in case some piece of evidence or clue gets missed.

[sblock=OOC]Having problems even finding the door, Joshua puts it down to post battle stress and meekly walks after the others; Roll 1 +7 =8;[/sblock][sblock=OOC]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1703233/[/sblock]

 

[BlueLotus]

"We will get you back to your wife as soon as possible. Don't strain yourself too much friend, you're barely alive," says Moreen. "Can you tell us what happened?" she asks while she inspects him, seeing if she can presently do anything to ease his suffering.

[sblock=ooc]Would this count as a new encounter where I can do another lay on hands? Maybe a heal check to allow him to spend a second wind? If not, or if it doesn't help, Moreen will help him stand and move about with one of his arms held around her neck. I don't think he'd be able to do the same with those hulking dragonborns of ours. Heh.[/sblock]

 

[PennStud77]

Stowing his shield on his back, Todarr will step forward and move as if to lift Mardrick into a fireman's carry, as he looks very week. He will move very slowly towards that end, though, as Mardrick seems to be proud enough to wish to walk as much as possible, so any sign of apprehension, and Todarr will simply use his left arm to prop Mardrick up and aid his walking.

EDIT: Aack, posting at the same exact time, I will defer to Moreen's logic regarding unwieldy dragonborn assistance.