Paths of Legend: Paths of Madness (IC)

[RelentlessImp]

Steise looks around, shuddering at the weak voice echoing up toward them. The handsome male grabs hold of the bars of his cage and starts yelling as loud as he possibly can, jerking on the bars to try to rattle them.

"HEY! HELP! WE GOT SOMEONE DYING IN HERE! YOU GOTTA COME GET HIM! GUARDS! HELP!" Unoriginal attempt, yes, but he had to try something. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, after all - messing with people's minds was his specialty. All he needed was a guard.

 

[Myth and Legend]

[sblock]
Guys I am quite sick and I'm going home to get better. This will mean no internet however - I guess I will be back next Monday. Dace can be NPCed by Monkey - he is a pretty straight forward melee fighter that will use grappling t disable the guards. [/sblock]

 

[Jemal]

A chuckle, light at first but slowly growing to fill the halls came from the cell that held the paragon. It seemed to override the moaning, the blathering, even the shouting, until finally the young mand with long red hair came forward out of the shadows of his cell. Despite how long he'd been here, he looked as healthy as the day he came in.
Something in his blood, kept him that way, regardless of how often the guards beat him or how little food they gave him, he seemed to always have energy.

"Maybe I've joined the gnome and the dwarf on the side of insanity, but I'm starting to agree. We have to get out of here. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't feel like waiting to hear how many bloody times the bell tolls for me."

The warlock sighs and looks over at Steise "And quit the shouting, They're not going to let him out just because you shouted loudly enough. If they had any intention of letting the poor bastard out of there they would've done so allready. Besides, he isn't dieing... Didn't you hear the gnome? He's allready dead, just doesn't know it yet."

 

[Voda Vosa]

"Keep shouting..." the duergar says in a whisper "Let him shout. We need an ape to manipulate."

 

[Jemal]

"OH, well why didn't you say so!" With a grin and a crack of his fingers, Evan began chanting, directing a bolt of energy at the door. "Lets see if that gets their attention."

 

[Rathan]

Get him close and I'll kife his key!.... said the little halfling... yet what his brain apparently forgot to register was that his arms only stuck out at best a foot outside the cell door.... his reach as a small being was less than impressive....

 

[Shayuri]

Shard watches the proceedings with confusion. She feels she's supposed to help, but isn't sure what to do. Maybe if the guards came she could help overpower them somehow?

She prepares to call on that ancient thing inside her, should the guard appear to prove diffucult.

 

[Vox Fini]

Varon

It seems unlikely this ploy will work. It is so commonly used as to be quite cliche at this point, and the Red Wizards might be evil, but they were hardly incompetent.

Nonetheless, when the only possible alternative is torture and death, anything is better than inaction. He still has some magic left in reserve, and wonders if the unusual talents of those forced together in the cell will be able to offer some new twist on this old prisoner's trick.

 

[Myth and Legend]

"*snort* WEAKLINGS! GUARD COME, DACE RIP ARMS OFF! GET GUARD TO DACE!" The Minotaur was raging and the useless banter of the apparently self-centered tiny folk made his mood no better. Some used magic, others boasted with skills.

Dace didn't know about all that. But he knew that if he couldn't open the gate on his own, he would grab any other opportunity that would arise. He was not skilled enough to pickpocket a guard, but he could make him give Dace the key, if the fool came close enough to the monster's cell.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Dace struggles mightily to bend the bars of his cell and again is frustrated by failure, the magic enhancing the bars making the attempt futile.

The gnome answers Varon, pointing at the closed trapdoor in the floor leading to the oubliette, "The shadow below...he's already dead, but that doesn't stop his anguish, no, no, no. He just doesn't know he's dead and with dead comes greater power, yes, yes, yes. Greater power, greater destiny, yes."

The time for action is soon it seems, as the guards are alerted to the use of something supernatural from Xoan's and Evan's cells. The crackling charge of their stun sticks set a tingle in the air as they approach.

The guards, five in total, descend the stairs into the "death row" cell block. The lead guard shouts at the prisoners, "Quiet it down or there'll be beatings for all of you!" They approach, the lead guard producing the engraved, magical key that undoes the magic securing the bars.

The lead guard orders the others to be ready with their stun sticks as they approach Evan's cell, "Just can't leave well enough alone, can you?" He looks over at Xoan, "You're next."

He unlocks Evan's cell...

The guards and the prisoners are interrupted by a horrific screech echoing through the hall with the jarring quality of fingernails on a chalkboard.

"The creature," one of the guards whispers fearfully.

"Call Jadenarch," says another.

The third mumbles, "There'll be hell to pay."

The guard leader snaps, "Better that than risk an escape, especially by that...thing."

The first guard hastily heads back upstairs to fetch the wizard.

The screeching noise has distracted the guards. One is near enough to Dace to grab.

Meanwhile, the creature, Ma’haretek, behind the windowless stone door of the maximum security cell at the end of the hall, has heard the mad ravings of the gnome...for days...inside his mind...an endless chanting that threatens to drive him mad. He knows the chanting will stop once the oubliette is opened...but his own cell cannot be opened without the key...

OOC: Roll initiative!

5 Guards' Initiative (1d20+1=13)

OOC: The fifth guard will take five rounds to fetch and bring back Jadenarch, who will enter the combat on round 6 if the prisoners have not managed to overcome the other guards and escape by then.