Paridon: The Dark Metropolis (Ravenloft)

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru barely notices when his legs stop pumping. He tries to tell everyone about the gnome, about the blood, about the ... but it's hard to remember the words. Any words, really, so while he knows what he's trying to say, all that seems to come out is rubbish, no matter how loudly or forcefully he tries to make his tongue behave and remember the common tongue.

 

[Rhun]

bump

 

[InVinoVeritas]

[sblock=ooc]Grr, thanks. I finish a term of school and before I know it, it's a week later... Sorry.[/sblock]

Tavish calls out, "Oy! Officers! The gnomes are getting away!" Sure enough, the door on the far side of the police coach has flown open, and Alek and his mates have jumped out and run off, while Tavish continues to fight to keep his horses under control. The gnome carriage bolts, however, and takes off down the avenue, without the trio.

Ru feels as if he swims through an ocean of color and music, desperately trying to warn anything somewhat resembling a person of the insane threat behind him. The revelers start to give him a wide berth... Why aren't they listening? Don't they value their lives? What does it take to get them to act on the threat??? The ringing continues to burn in his mind like a haunting memory, dredging up thoughts of past brutalities...

[sblock=Ru]Ru is Confused. Next round, he will attack the nearest creature. [/sblock]

"Justice comes in many forms," grunts Torhan to the gnome, "Now feel its bite!" The paladin swings his greatsword in an overhand strike, channeling the power of good and law into the stroke. He stands over the prostrate gnome, and drives the sword straight down through the criminal's chest, pinning him to the ground. There is a creaking scrape of metal on metal, but the sword does pierce him. A spray of blood spurts from the wound, landing on Torhan--and scalding him. (-3 hp)

In the glow of twilight, it would almost be missed, but light appeared to be inside the gnome--a dull red flickering glow. And heat--extreme heat. He pushes himself up, further impaling himself on Torhan's sword. The gnome's arms and legs reach upward, quickly, to grab a hold of the sword and the paladin's wrist. Torhan watches as in the middle of the gnome's fading frenzy of a face, a mouth appears. It puckers its lips, then reaches forth to savagely attach itself to Torhan's sword hand, rapidly sucking blood from a gash the mouth tears. In pain, Torhan loses control for a second, and the gnome pulls himself back off the sword. (-24 hp) The gnome's head remains a rapidly shaking resounding mess, but he now clearly wears a cruel, blood-stained grin.

Calahan grabs a loose cobblestone and throws it at the gnome. The stone bounces off the gnome, but Calahan manages to snag his mask, and it shatters! The gnome snarls toward Calahan.

Fr. Berman, not wanting to get closer, and more worried about the gnome before him than the runaways, reloads his pistol. "Stop in the name of the law!" he calls out, hoping Alek listens, and fires again at the gnome. The bullet perhaps makes a dent in the gnome as it clangs off him and lodges itself in the side wall.

Darian studies the gnome for a moment as he pulls out the tanglefoot bag. The bag opens, spilling its contents all over the gnome. He notes that he is held in position, but this does not seem to stop his savage nature...

Ru: 16/30
Torhan: 13/40
Calahan: 14/23
Fr. Berman: 26/30
Darian: 14/20

 

[Le Noir Faineant]

"It will be a pleasure to kill you, son of a b..."

Calahan, his face distorted in bloodlust, will jump forward and try to decapitate the gnome with an inversive blow of his Kukri!

[sblock=OOC]Trying to use Calahan's Skirmish ability.

Not sure if inversive is the correct English word for this - I mean: Striking up from downside, like a samurai would when drawing his katana. [/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

Torhan grimaces as blinding pain shoots up his arm from the ragged gash in his hand, nearly staggering to his knees from the blood drain, and quite surprised that the gnome survived the deadly smite of his blade. With great effort, the holy warrior manages to steady himself, drawing to his full height and again swining his heavy blade toward the foe. If he must sacrifice himself to put down this dangerous and evil opponent, then so be it...



1 pt. power attack, +7 attack for 2d6+6 (crit 19-20)

 

[industrygothica]

Darian draws his dagger moves up to the gnomish monstrosity. The volume of his dirge grows louder as he raises his hand and brings it down with pronounced force in the direction of the thing's head.

[sblock=ooc] Try to flank, 2d6 sneak attack. Darian also has evasion, in case it is a factor with the burning blood thing.[/sblock]

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru feels as if he swims through an ocean of color and music, desperately trying to warn anything somewhat resembling a person of the insane threat behind him. The revelers start to give him a wide berth... Why aren't they listening? Don't they value their lives? What does it take to get them to act on the threat??? The ringing continues to burn in his mind like a haunting memory, dredging up thoughts of past brutalities...

[sblock=Ru]Ru is Confused. Next round, he will attack the nearest creature. [/sblock]

"I know!" the monk babbles in a frothy state. "I know what you are! You're after me, all of you, but I won't let you take me!" He looks at the crowd, suddenly aware that it is filled with enemies. He's not sure if they were ever safe, maybe they were never even gnomes. But now they're monsters, and he lashes out to save himself before they can attack him.

[sblock=OOC]Since Ru's attacks are unarmed, I don't suppose I have the option of using a monk's ability to choose between lethal and nonlethal damage to have this attack do nonlethal, do I? [/sblock]

 

[InVinoVeritas]

"I know!" the monk babbles in a frothy state. "I know what you are! You're after me, all of you, but I won't let you take me!" He looks at the crowd, and the masked figures change in his sound-addled mind. Their heads start to shake. He watches as the crowd's masks fall, and their faces turn into mad blurs. They aren't gnomes, they're monsters. The sound--that infernal, ear-splitting sound--fills the town square. The clock tower starts chiming in tune with them, its own face a blot of insanity.

Ru determines where one of them is. He picks it up, and it whines. The sounds become more intense, and Ru stands ready to bash this--this thing against the cobblestones.

Then a voice comes through the crowd... words he can understand. It sings to him...

Hush, little toy, it's time to wind down
After a hard day of marching 'round town.
Loosen your spring and go in your box,
I'll hold your key and keep you under locks.
Hush little toy, the day's soldiering is done
I'll wind you again with the coming of the sun.
You'll march with the pride of any good boy
You'll be the best soldier, my favorite little toy.

* * *​

Torhan, Calahan, and Darian circle around the stuck gnome. His head continues its maddening shake, while his body suddenly goes still. Only Darian's song holds back the tide of insanity in the gnome's wake. With the training of the police force, the three know what to do. Darian and Calahan back up for just an instant as Torhan swings his sword in a mighty arc. He connects cleanly at the gnome's neck, where the blur meets solidity. He ignores the spray (-2 hp) as his sword travels through and across the neck of the gnome, and he can hear and feel as the sword grates against metal, cuts into flesh, pushes against bone... and passes out the other side. Yellowish metallic flecks and boiling blood coat Torhan's greatsword. A clean beheading. The head launches into the air, leaving a blissful silence.

Yet, orchestrating the completion of the maneuver, Darian and Calahan dive at the gnome from opposite sides. And then, the body acts. The two policemen's knives skitter across the metal of the gnome, unable to penetrate. The two arms of the gnome send two fingers each into Darian and Calahan, and they suddenly feel a hollow pain of having their blood sucked out of them through the fingers. Darian falls, overcome from blood loss (-15 hp) while Calahan fights enough to release himself from the gnome (-11 hp).

[sblock=Darian]As the life flows from Darian into the headless gnome, he hears a voice. See what the truth can do for you? Seek it out, Darian. You can gain great power through seeking this. Seek his pain. [/sblock]

* * *​

The voice soothes Ru, and the fire in his mind dies down. The heads stop shaking, and the world returns to the way it is. Part of the party has stopped, and a throng of masked gnomes stare in terror at Ru. In his hands, unhurt but crying badly, is a young gnome boy.

"Put the boy down, Ru. You don't want to hurt him." Alek emerges from the crowd, "pets" in tow. Ru sets the boy down and he goes running to his mother, and they quickly leave together. "You're no better than Lug, are you?" Kitten jumps onto Ru's back while he soaks in the situation. "No, you think you're better. You endanger the innocent, just like Lug, but you insist you aren't like him. Come, let's prove it. Let's go find Lug together. We can start where I last spurned him." Kitten gently rubs her claws against the skin of Ru's collarbone.

* * *​

Torhan gapes as the gnome's hand moves extremely quickly to catch his own falling head. It stares limply in the distance, with a long nose, copper-red hair, and a smart goatee.

"Well, I think we have seen these markings before..."

The image of Hieran displaying the sketch of Edditomas immediately comes to mind.

"An interesting question. When does a body part cease to be a part of a person and become, instead, an object in its own right?"

"YOU DO NOT EXIST! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO EXIST! THE POWER OF EZRA COMPELS YOU!" Fr. Berman lunges forward, brandishing his stained glass butterfly. A combination of fear, revulsion, and rage fills his eyes at the sight of Edditomas' head.

Edditomas simply places his head back on his body, and begins to ring anew. Darian lies silently beside him.

Ru: 16/30
Torhan: 11/40
Calahan: 3/23
Fr. Berman: 26/30
Darian: -1/20

 

[Rhun]

"Father," grunts Torhan, struggling to slay this creature and avoid further wounds, "Some healing would be most appreciated!" Those words spoke, Torhan again strikes at the foul abomination, hoping it finish it off before anymore of his companions are injured.



+8 attack for 2d6+4 (crit 19-20)

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

The voice soothes Ru, and the fire in his mind dies down. The heads stop shaking, and the world returns to the way it is. Part of the party has stopped, and a throng of masked gnomes stare in terror at Ru. In his hands, unhurt but crying badly, is a young gnome boy.

"Put the boy down, Ru. You don't want to hurt him." Alek emerges from the crowd, "pets" in tow. Ru sets the boy down and he goes running to his mother, and they quickly leave together. "You're no better than Lug, are you?" Kitten jumps onto Ru's back while he soaks in the situation. "No, you think you're better. You endanger the innocent, just like Lug, but you insist you aren't like him. Come, let's prove it. Let's go find Lug together. We can start where I last spurned him." Kitten gently rubs her claws against the skin of Ru's collarbone.

Ru feels his face flush with shame as he comes out of his stupor. As Alek's "pet" begins to give him attention and Alek makes his suggestion, however, shame is replaced with indignation.

"If you had a lead on Lug, why play this damnable game? I'm a constable, Alek, and this is a lawful investigation. I'm not about to wander off on my own with suspect individuals." His memory finally seems to click into place, and he looks around to try to get his bearings. "Especially not when my colleagues are facing a more immediate threat. You three will slow me down. Meet us back at the carriage, Alek, or we'll track you down and jail you for obstruction of justice." Knocking kitten away, Ru bolts back toward the carriage and alley he abandoned in his confusion, hoping he isn't too late...