Strikeforce: Morituri Part One "the Mortals" Is Completed

[megamania]

Any chance of Vander coming back (well, again)?

And the insights granted by the elven perspective have been archived for later reference

Vander returning? Well, we did see four seperate versions of Christina's mother at the same time. Anything is possible with hi-level alternate time/reality stories. Just keep reading.

Yes- The Captain's shield is VERY powerful if he ever excepted it for what it truely is. Maybe in time.

Things to wrap up before taking a break from Strikeforce: Morituri

Where is Christina?
Who is the new member?
What has become of the artifacts collected by both sides?
Will the curse placed on Megamania come true and if so -how?

Stay tuned
readers- stay tuned.......

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

Just a quick bump...

 

[megamania]

Looking to update soon. On top of the THREE Story Hours I do here, I have two jobs, family and other sorted things to do. I have not forgotten folks here- I just have bitten off more than I can chew as of late.

 

[megamania]

STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI
SEGMENT 070
“Where is Christina?”

“Where is Christina?!?” Yells Jim.

The Captain and a reclusive Jean say little. They too want to know. She may have the power to revive Vander based on what the elves hinted. But she is lost. Teresa, the Tower’s guardian and Liberian is not here also.

Jean stares at her dried up wrinkled skin on her hands. Undead. She is a disgrace to everything she believed in. She was better off dead before she met Teresa and the others.

The Captain sits down to polish his shield. He thinks about everything he has ever seen Teresa do before. She always had books. But how did she know which book to pick and where it was? This room had possibly over a million books about the worlds and multiverse. As he thought about it, the cosmic swirls on his shield shifted and moved. One star seemed to shine more than the others.

Deciding to pack for a new adventure (hoping Teresa would appear and send them on their way immediately) Jim went to his room then to hers. Within her room were potions, scrolls and a few other goods saved for emergencies. This was an emergency. Either ignoring the magic of it or accepting it finally, he pushed everything he could find into a bag that he knew held more than it would ever appear.

The Captain thought long and hard. The person that kidnapped Christina seemed more intent to test them than to kill them. She (if she was a she) seemed to take exception to Christina. Perhaps because of her being a strong believer in Infiniti. Either way, she did something extra with her. Instead of leaving her somewhere within The World Below, she had her placed somewhere else. But where? The universe was large. The multiverse even larger.

Out of the corner of her yellowing eye, Jean saw a beam of light. Looking at it more she saw it led to a large map of the world they were on. A place outside of time and space. It was referred to as the Collective. The beam showed an island. The island was several hundred miles from where they were. The light came his shield. The Captain’s shield was giving them direction.

Direction- to Christina or something or someone else?

Did it matter? It would be a distraction from …her current state.

“Captain …Captain- open your eyes …I think you should see this.”

 

[megamania]

What has happened to them? Lets find out! Updates coming soon.

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

Life can get a bit irksome with those "responsibility" things. Thanks for the update!

 

[megamania]

STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI
SEGMENT 071
“The Quickest Way There”

With no means to teleport or walk between the dimensions, the three would be rescuers were forced to improvise. Fly spells were the obvious choice. The Captain carried Megamania whom still had no control over his Spellfire abilities. This left Jean free to deal with any problems they may encounter.

Based on the map they were following, they had to follow the river that was nearby to its end as it reached a large bay. The light suggested something of great importance was located on an island within the bay. Beyond this, they had no way of knowing what was happening and what could still yet happen. Teresa was not there to give advice. Christina was not there to give her planar knowledge. Vander was not there for his general support and strength.

This is NOT to say the three were eager and determined however. Each needed something to preoccupy their minds. Jeans had been unable to sleep since becoming undead. She was uncertain if this could even be reversed. She could only hope. The Captain was still shaken by the visions of his past and specifically of his best friend and ally- Buckley. The shield he carried also concerned him. During all of this time he wielded it, he still had no idea what the limits of it were. The elves suggested it was more than a shield. The recent events of a light giving direction on a map made him uncertain. Just what was this shield? Jim Addards, aka Megamania, was confused in a different way. It seemed his feelings for Christina were deeper than he originally thought. He wanted to ignore this but could not. He had not felt this way since Theta and that did not go very well. Not at all.

The three of them flew towards the mountains they had seen on the map. They traveled over a thick forest. Many birds flew and nested within these trees. Occasionally a clearing revealed a lake, river or farm. They continued past it to the mountains.

The winds became stronger and cold here. They stopped to rest and do their business before moving on. Megamania scared up a large and tall hairy creature that he referred to as a big foot reject before shooting it. They left quickly as howls of anger and rage began to issue forth from everywhere.

Jean found the sudden temperature change to not bother her new body. Worse- she barely felt the wind’s push. Her nervous system was dying and there was nothing she could do about it.

Finally they cleared the mountains and found the grasslands they were searching for. Soon the grasslands led to a large water source. It was either a massive lake or a bay. Soon they found the island they were searching for. Soon …soon they hoped to find Christina.

 

[megamania]

STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI
SEGMENT 072
“…And it Gets Worse”

The large hairy humanoids snorted at the tree line. They were impatient to stop. The small man in red with the strange facial scars glared with his one good eye at the leaders. He was no Gruumsh but he gained their respect. They, the five tribe chieftains, watched this weak looking man kill the mighty Green Tongue leader with his bare hands. This was no simple act but the fact that he never looked mad, angry, happy or even sad scared them the most. His face was made of stone. Still, they sensed his intense interest in the people that lived within this tower. A Gem or Jim or something like that. Sounded like a girl’s name to these orcs.

As the moon tore through the clouds, the man silently but impossibly quickly moved across the green yard. He covered 500 feet within a few seconds. Once he sensed no one was watching him, he motioned for the Two Tooth Tribe and the Braken Backers Tribe to advance. The Crimson Trees lifted their bows. They were ready and quite eager for this Jem and her friends (they DID think Jim was a woman) to attack or at least present themselves.

It was the Frenzies that first saw them. They thought it was a shadow creature at first. It was the Talon. Vandel Boc’s personal assassins. Vandel was hoping to catch the heroes home and at ease with his army of 250 orcs to use as distractions as his 12 talons did the real attack.

Vandel and his Talons knew two things the orcs did not. One- the heroes were not here and Two- the tower’s magical defenses were still active. The trained and skillful ninjas avoided any and all traps then held back. Once the first orc was set on fire by stepping onto the stone walkway the others charged. Over 200 orcs died in a few short but savage minutes as the tower’s defenses system was over loaded and shutdown. The remaining orcs broke through the doors into the sleeping quarters. They tore the rooms apart then moved onwards to the main library.

Vandel paused and looked into the rooms. No emotion was seen on his heavily scared face or lone eye. Not until he came into a room he recognized as being used by Jim Addards aka Megamania. When he was contacted by his allies and informed that his arch foe was alive and well he acted quickly. On his world, as he understood it, he had indeed killed the chosen one and beaten the celestial odds. He was one of the few of “him” to do so. Somehow this chaotic and unruly child always defeated him. He was NOT going to allow this one to win in the long run.

His attention was turned when several orcs suddenly turned into stone before him. Someone was home!

Teresa and a large ½ orc woman were standing within a smoking circle where they had just teleported in. Each was surprised by the other. The two women gathered their wits better than the orcs whom began to die rapidly. The talons waited for the cue. Vandel slowly walked up to the entrance to the library. Teresa was holding her own against the savages. This skillful woman dispatched any that got close. Vandel continued to watch. He was invisible which was not fair but he was never one to quibble about fairness.

He called up his psionic energies and concentrated on the woman. Her mind was strange. She was from a world of dragons, magic energies and a large war. Somehow, she broke through the planar barrier to come here from a world called Eberron. No matter.

Now a puppet, she struck down Teresa. Dazed and bleeding… Teresa’s last mortal sight was Vander’s empty head.

Twenty minutes later, after the 6 surviving orcs had their way with both women’s bodies and Vander, they left the burning tower. The Crimson Lich would not approve but he had to return to the war where the next artifact was hidden. Once HE had the items of a god, then they would discuss power and rulership of the multiverse.

That brought a supernatural gleam to his bad eye and a sneer that was barely detectable.

Then …then ALL of the multiverse Jim Addards would die.

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

Wow!

Ummm who was the 1/2 orc woman? I've lost track.

 

[megamania]

Wow!

Ummm who was the 1/2 orc woman? I've lost track.

Thought I had mentioned but may not have (plus it has been awhile). Teresa, the hi cleric of Infiniti is the team organizer. She has (had) a lot of background knowledge the others do not know. She knew of the oncoming disasters coming and was trying to gather backup members for the Strikeforce. She arrived with a new fighter but too late and died along with the spirit of the 1/2 orc dragon marked family member from Eberron.

So....

to recap things a bit....

The Captain
Has a powerful artifact that has been hinted at being EXTREMELY powerful. Until recently, he thought it was just a very well made shield.

Jean aka Stormweilder
She was poisoned/cursed by a nasty creature. From being a person whom embraced life and mercy for the living, she has becoming a special type of undead. Slowly her body and mind are changing into that of a zombie. She hates herself but hopes to find a way to reverse it before its too late.

Jim Addards aka Megamania
He has come to accept magic and how his body uses it but still can not control it (assuming he ever will). He has also come to care deeply for another party member whom may or may not be dead.

Christina of the Mace
A powerful cleric of the goddess Infiniti (goddess of the cosmic balance within the multiverse) whom has recently been kidnapped and misplaced within the multiverse by a high level doppleganger psionic assassin. Her "natural" mother was once a ghost whom has been "killed" by the assassin. Her two other "mothers" remain, a cat and her mace.

Vander Stormbringer
Powerful yet unbalanced psychic warrior and fighter from the world of Athas before it became barren. He lost a battle versus a Mindflayer and had his brain removed. The orcs may be defiling his dead body further.

Various villians-

The Crimson Lich whom appears to the leader of this group of evil guys looking to damage the multiverse by resurrecting the destroyer (oppisite number to Infiniti). Some readers may suspect his special ties to the Strikeforce team.

Vandel Boc is a ruthless cold hearted psionic monk whom battled Megamania. He is here strictly to kill the "boy" again since he troubled him so much.

Jarella is a hired psionic assassin that was hired to retrieve an artifact. Instead of killing the Strikeforce members- she made it into a game which has lead to Vander's death and Jean's undeath. It was hinted that she respects Megamania's methods, madness and charm.

Maestro is a hulking creature of pure brute strength. He fought the team on his home world but was defeated He was sent to kill the heroes within Ravenloft but the powers that be took control of him instead entrapping him on an island.

Basic story-
Good guys all died wrongly in their timeline or reality and are given a second chance if they help the goddess Infiniti. Darqueness, a reality destroyer is trying to regain shape, form and power. Through the Crimson Lich, he is having "evil" forces collect artifacts of great power that belonged to him and/or were created by him.
The heroes found the circulet on Maestro's world. Jarella escaped with the ring on Ravenloft and now has escaped with a staff from another demi-plane referred to as the World Below.
Until recently, the "bad guys" have over looked the heroes but can not anymore. They are becoming more aggressive and proactive. To further this, the heroes are now on a search for their cleric and planes lore master and just had their most powerful aid removed.

...oh and Megamania was cursed in Ravenloft. He honestly believes it will not effect him in any way or function. hee hee...is he ever wrong but you will need to read it to believe it.

Back to the main story.