*Excerpt from Fox's weathered and leathered book
As the others dispatch of the Dire Bears I spot a figure off towards the base of the hill. Moving silently I get closer for a better look. A small cross eyed goblin peers out towards the battle. His nostrils flare as his head twitches in my direction. I feel that it is now time to have some fun.
I pull my hood up over my head. Now there is nothing but shadow covering my face. Quickly and quietly I outflank and route in behind the creature. I rise up behind him like a shadow of death.
"You!" I hissed.
He spun around snarling ready to attack. As his small brain processed me to be the assassin and his anger slumped into fear.
"Go ahead and attack," I pointed out towards the howling and yelling.
The creature nodded and took off. In the distance I could hear his footsteps slow to one crunch at a time. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. At that moment the warm wet slop of Goblin spatter rained down upon me. I step forward and notify the party that I am not to be added to the body count.
Notes to self:
1. Disguises can be fun and effective
2. Goblins are equal to a in mental capacity to a 3DUB
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Who is Watching Who?
The group field dressed two of the dire bears, collected the pelts, and drug the other two back to town. Groth and Raddick had sustained serious injuries during the ordeal, both did their best to limp the carcasses back.
Once in town the group rested and stocked up on healing supplies. Fox was smitten with a staff holding 15 charges. He knew that this could assist them in the bloodiest of battles. Groth insisted on turning the dire bear pelts into a cloak. The beast took pride in wearing other beasts.
At the Sheriff's headquarters, Captain Pierce was not suprised to hear of their ordeal out in the farmland.
"We have been dealing with serious issues here in Brownsville. You all have proved yourselves quite the outfit. I believe it is time that give you all a little more insight." Captain Pierce took a more relaxed and trusting tone with the group. "We have been watching you for some time now and would like to make ourselves known."
Arin and Fox jolted up and assumed a defensive stance.
"What are you speaking of?" Fox pointed an accusatory finger.
"Have a seat gentlemen. Or should I say Fox and Arin?" he grinned. "There is a group in Stret known as the Watchers. We have tentacles reaching out in all directions. We are interested in flushing out the darkness."
"What is it you want with us?" interjected Aren.
"You have so far proven yourselves to be fighting on the good side of things. We would like to bring you all into the fold, however there is still more proof to be found. There is also the matter of finding a sponsor." The Captain leaned back in his chair.
The group discussed this new matter among themselves. This appeared to be a route to grander adventures. Fox and Arin saw it as an opportunity to right the wrongs that had befallen them by the mistress of Stret.
Groth squinted and shook his head. He was a little unsure of the Captain's alignment. When they first met he was quite ready to let an innocent man hang. Now he claims to be a keeper of light in the dark parts of Stret, ready to flush out all that is evil and corrupt.
They decide to deliberate further. Captain Pierce reminded them that the offer would still be on the table when they returned with the black assassin.
Once in town the group rested and stocked up on healing supplies. Fox was smitten with a staff holding 15 charges. He knew that this could assist them in the bloodiest of battles. Groth insisted on turning the dire bear pelts into a cloak. The beast took pride in wearing other beasts.
At the Sheriff's headquarters, Captain Pierce was not suprised to hear of their ordeal out in the farmland.
"We have been dealing with serious issues here in Brownsville. You all have proved yourselves quite the outfit. I believe it is time that give you all a little more insight." Captain Pierce took a more relaxed and trusting tone with the group. "We have been watching you for some time now and would like to make ourselves known."
Arin and Fox jolted up and assumed a defensive stance.
"What are you speaking of?" Fox pointed an accusatory finger.
"Have a seat gentlemen. Or should I say Fox and Arin?" he grinned. "There is a group in Stret known as the Watchers. We have tentacles reaching out in all directions. We are interested in flushing out the darkness."
"What is it you want with us?" interjected Aren.
"You have so far proven yourselves to be fighting on the good side of things. We would like to bring you all into the fold, however there is still more proof to be found. There is also the matter of finding a sponsor." The Captain leaned back in his chair.
The group discussed this new matter among themselves. This appeared to be a route to grander adventures. Fox and Arin saw it as an opportunity to right the wrongs that had befallen them by the mistress of Stret.
Groth squinted and shook his head. He was a little unsure of the Captain's alignment. When they first met he was quite ready to let an innocent man hang. Now he claims to be a keeper of light in the dark parts of Stret, ready to flush out all that is evil and corrupt.
They decide to deliberate further. Captain Pierce reminded them that the offer would still be on the table when they returned with the black assassin.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Oh What Long Hair and Teeth You Have
Excerpt:
Arin's Dream Journal/ Diary
Dear Diary,
Today we almost lost... everyone. After we sent the two simpletons on a fool's errand, we marched head on into the tall grasses. Groth, Nera and Raddick held a center column while Fox and I moved stealthily in a spotting position on either side. I quickly lost site of the entire group. The grass rose a foot or two above my head. I could hear movement however I did not know who was moving.
But then I heard something much more. It was large and fast. Jumping silently over the grass I could scout four wolves. They were large and appeared to be dire. They ran fast and quiet. All four greeted Groth with a trip. Once on the ground they gnashed and clawed at his green flesh. The grasses turned red with his blood. There was yelling, screaming and confusion.
The ogre swung his great sword from a prone position dismantling one of the attacking Dire Bears. Moments later, in mid-attack, an arrow nested in the skull of the second bear. The wood and feathers of the arrow indicated that it belonged to Fox. Well placed comrade. I could hear Nera chanting one of her healing spells.
The third bear jumped over Groth's half-dead body to flank Raddick. While in midair Groth raised his steel splitting open the bowels of the dire bear. As blood rained down on the green monster Raddick lurched back, driving his weapon deep into the bear's skull, he delivered the final blow.
I spot the last of the bears. It is moving in for the kill. My arm coils back on reflex. Before I know it, the whip cracks, and a fresh laceration opens up on the bear's hind quarter spraying a pink mist out across the grass. This causes the wolf to falter as it lands. Raddick raises his hands over his head and drives a blade down through the bear's skull; pinning it to the earth below.
We gather and breath deeply. Groth is barely hanging on, Nera is trying to heal, Raddick is gathering his composure, an unknown figure is moving through the grass and Fox's whereabouts are unknown.
Slowly, a goblin creeps through the grass. The Green man leaned forward and splattered the poor creature. I wait and listen, there is still another out and about. As I ready my whip Fox shouted from the beyond. I tell him to search the goblin. He produces a horn similar to the one that Groth recovered from the tree. There was also a piece of fabric with the words moonlight and morning crudely written upon it.
Sincerely,
Arin the Great
P.S. Screw those guys, I did not break the toilet!
Arin's Dream Journal/ Diary
Dear Diary,
Today we almost lost... everyone. After we sent the two simpletons on a fool's errand, we marched head on into the tall grasses. Groth, Nera and Raddick held a center column while Fox and I moved stealthily in a spotting position on either side. I quickly lost site of the entire group. The grass rose a foot or two above my head. I could hear movement however I did not know who was moving.
But then I heard something much more. It was large and fast. Jumping silently over the grass I could scout four wolves. They were large and appeared to be dire. They ran fast and quiet. All four greeted Groth with a trip. Once on the ground they gnashed and clawed at his green flesh. The grasses turned red with his blood. There was yelling, screaming and confusion. The ogre swung his great sword from a prone position dismantling one of the attacking Dire Bears. Moments later, in mid-attack, an arrow nested in the skull of the second bear. The wood and feathers of the arrow indicated that it belonged to Fox. Well placed comrade. I could hear Nera chanting one of her healing spells.
The third bear jumped over Groth's half-dead body to flank Raddick. While in midair Groth raised his steel splitting open the bowels of the dire bear. As blood rained down on the green monster Raddick lurched back, driving his weapon deep into the bear's skull, he delivered the final blow.
I spot the last of the bears. It is moving in for the kill. My arm coils back on reflex. Before I know it, the whip cracks, and a fresh laceration opens up on the bear's hind quarter spraying a pink mist out across the grass. This causes the wolf to falter as it lands. Raddick raises his hands over his head and drives a blade down through the bear's skull; pinning it to the earth below.
We gather and breath deeply. Groth is barely hanging on, Nera is trying to heal, Raddick is gathering his composure, an unknown figure is moving through the grass and Fox's whereabouts are unknown.
Slowly, a goblin creeps through the grass. The Green man leaned forward and splattered the poor creature. I wait and listen, there is still another out and about. As I ready my whip Fox shouted from the beyond. I tell him to search the goblin. He produces a horn similar to the one that Groth recovered from the tree. There was also a piece of fabric with the words moonlight and morning crudely written upon it.
Sincerely,
Arin the Great
P.S. Screw those guys, I did not break the toilet!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Lord Shinkleboo's finger cuffs
A few miles outside of Brownsville an old dusty wagon trail came to an end. They passed a working farmhouse and continued out to a field. The far side of the field was guarded by a wall of tall grass. Easily over five feet tall the wall danced in the wind. Harvest colors reached for the heavens. Two youths played with sticks in the open field.As they approached the two young farmers stopped their game in admiration.
"Are you adventurers?" asked one of the starry eyed boys.
Fox answered, "no I am Nam Shamdylynn, I am a lawyer and these are my associates. We only mean to pass through." The group continued towards the grass.
"Wait, no one is allowed to go that way!" The young farmer shouted with a worried look on his face.
"And why might that be?" Arin turned to greet the farmer. The rest of the group followed suit.
"We were told that it is not safe to let townsfolk head off that way." Said one of the farmers.
"We are supposed to blow that horn o'er on that'n there tree if'n anyone fixes to head off that way," replied the second farmer. Groth lumbered over to the tree and discovered a hole containing a horn. He smiled and placed the horn around his neck.
Arin winked at Fox, "Not to worry boys. This rule does not apply as we are not citizens of Brownsville. We have official business out over that field and I have official business for you." The boys beamed with excitement. He pulled something out of his cloak. "See these manacles?"
The boys nodded.
"I need you to take them to Sheriff Brown in town. You must tell him that they are for Lord Shinkleboo."
They frowned in confusion.
"Don't worry, he will know what you are talking about." Arin stated in his courtroom demeanor.
The boys looked at Arin, then to Fox, and finally at Groth who glared and sneered. They jumped with excitement, grabbed the manacles and ran up the old wagon trail.
The bold adventurers decide to bypass all common sense and walk blindly into the wall of tall grass.
Your ass is grass and I'm a...
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Circle of LIfe
A somber tone engulfed the cold storage room. The party had stopped to visit the body of Blossom. Fox in particular wanted to make sure she was still there. A headless Blossom lay on the cold marble slab. Arin inspected the corpse while Fox removed a finger and placed it in his pocket. Unsure that a necromancer could really be dead; Groth poked at the body.
"Arin, could you read through the apothecary's notes?" Fox asked as he further investigated the body.
"I don't do notes, I don't write notes and I definitely don't read notes!" snapped Arin. His anger caught Fox off guard.
Nera shot a look of concern his way, "I'll go look for the notes."
While searching the Apothecary's quarters, Nera noticed that his belongings were in disarray and that all documents regarding Blossom's autopsy were missing. There was an empty safe in the corner of the room. It had also appeared that someone had broken the toilet. As the group left Groth requested a moment alone with his fallen comrade.
Weary from battle, Pas decided to nurse his wounds, he retired for the evening in the local saloon. His drunken state led him to a quarrel with a local gambler. This quickly led to a small skirmish which in turn granted him an evening in the stockades. Thankfully his inebriation allowed him to sleep through most of the night.
Later on, at the Sheriff's office, Captain Pierce informed Fox on the whereabouts of the assassin. "There is a dilapidated estate on the outskirts of the farmland," he stated. "I am going to assign Lieutenant Raddick Doomslayer to assist you in this matter. He has local knowledge and is a superb fighter."
After a moment of silent deliberation the group welcomed Lt. Raddick into the fold. They would need any help they could get as they hunted down the black assassin.
Beware the Tall Grass...
"Arin, could you read through the apothecary's notes?" Fox asked as he further investigated the body.
"I don't do notes, I don't write notes and I definitely don't read notes!" snapped Arin. His anger caught Fox off guard.
Nera shot a look of concern his way, "I'll go look for the notes."
While searching the Apothecary's quarters, Nera noticed that his belongings were in disarray and that all documents regarding Blossom's autopsy were missing. There was an empty safe in the corner of the room. It had also appeared that someone had broken the toilet. As the group left Groth requested a moment alone with his fallen comrade.
Weary from battle, Pas decided to nurse his wounds, he retired for the evening in the local saloon. His drunken state led him to a quarrel with a local gambler. This quickly led to a small skirmish which in turn granted him an evening in the stockades. Thankfully his inebriation allowed him to sleep through most of the night.
Later on, at the Sheriff's office, Captain Pierce informed Fox on the whereabouts of the assassin. "There is a dilapidated estate on the outskirts of the farmland," he stated. "I am going to assign Lieutenant Raddick Doomslayer to assist you in this matter. He has local knowledge and is a superb fighter."
After a moment of silent deliberation the group welcomed Lt. Raddick into the fold. They would need any help they could get as they hunted down the black assassin.
Beware the Tall Grass...
Pas from the Dead
Special Brownsville Report : The Late Edition
No matter how much her magic cloak had helped the assassin with the lesser party members, this hulk was proving to be a problem. It wasn't that the cloak's magic didn't work on him like the squirrely one they called Aren, it was that his axe was so huge and his swings were so massive that there was nowhere to dodge to and no room for error. It mattered not to this beast that he could not pinpoint her exact location when he was demolishing 5x5 squares of tile with each swing! And what was worse, she couldn't get inside of his 10 foot reach without being subjected to one of his awesome blows. Now Aren, the one who could see through her cloak, was moving to get a flanking position on her, and once that happened she would be minced meat. She had already been staggered by a single glancing blow to her right side from this beast. It was bleeding profusely and needed immediate care. "Where in the blazes is that imbecile Blackguard?" she screamed inwardly. "This beast is more his specialty than mine." At this rate, she'd be pounded into paste long before she was able to retrieve the heads of Fox, Pas and Aren; though from their chatter it had sounded like the Tendriculous might have finished Pas for her. After one last, fierce swing by the half ogre that shattered yet another window pane, the assassin decided to make a tactical retreat. She needed the Blackguard with her if she was going to stand a chance of getting past the War Hulk. She saluted with one of her serpentine daggers, then somersaulted out the broken window and was gone into the darkness.
Nera skidded to a knee next to Fox who was hovering over Pas' lifeless form. Pas' lips had turned blue and his skin was peeling away like great sheets of sunburned skin. His armor still smoked and hissed where it had been soaked in the foul stomach bile of the Tendriculous. She performed a quick check of his vital signs and determined that he was barely clinging to life. Working quickly, Nera grasped the Holy Symbol of Pelor that hung from her neck down between her six feline breasts. The symbol was in the shape of a blazing sun and the points of the sun's rays were somewhat sharp so that when her concentration faltered in battle she need only grasp the symbol harder and let the pain of her God's rays piercing the palm of her hand help her focus her thoughts.
Pas was still but a child, as were Fox, Blossom and Auren. Not one of them were more than sixteen human equivalent years of age. Fox was the oldest of the gang of juveniles that had released her from the captivity of the Uniclops. But even he was only 30 human years old-still but a babe, both emotionally and physically, in elven terms. She had to admit that all of them were prodigies in their own right: Fox was master of stealth, Pas rained bolts onto a target like anyone else pointing a finger, and Auren...well, Auren had SOMETHING very special about him, she just hadn't figured it out yet. He struggled with combat immensely but it wasn't from a lack of skill. There was something else that seemed to make him unable to focus. Someday he would shine, she just knew it.
Her medallion flared and cast brilliant yellow light across the room causing the shadows to darken even further; like a metaphor for the eternal struggle between the two forces. In the weird light, the tentacles of the horrid vine creature seemed to dance and writhe momentarily. "Just a trick of the light" she thought, and pressed her free hand down upon Pas' chest. The holy light washed over Pas like a ripple of water emanating outward from her hand. As the healing light raced across Pas' face his skin began to reweave itself to cover the inflamed flesh; first the tip of his nose, then his cheekbones, and finally hair began sprouting to fill in the ragged gaps on his scalp. Out of Nera's sight and under Pas' armor his entire body was likewise healing. Pas' eyes fluttered, then opened just as the bluish pallor of death left his features and he stared up at Fox and Nera. Fox audibly sighed and Nera grinned widely and stroked a newly reformed strand of hair from Pas' face.
"You were a goner, pal!" Fox exclaimed. "Lucky for you Nera got to you in time to save your ass. Maybe now you'll lay off the breastfeeding jokes, huh?"
Pas grinned toothily and replied with a glance at Nera's chest, "Hey, there's just SO MUCH good material...I can't help it!"
Nera snarled. "That's it, I'm taking the healing back, Fox." Pas turned to Fox with a look of alarm. "Woah, wait...you can't do that Nera! She can't do that, can she Fox?" Fox shrugged in mock sympathy and spread his hands out before him.
"Pelor giveth, and Pelor taketh away" he responded sagely. Pas scrambled backwards on his elbows until he bumped into one of the dead tree's limbs. He looked in horror from face to face until he caught the beginning of a smile on Nera's, then he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. Fox and Nera had a good laugh at Pas' expense and Pas didn't think it was funny at all.
Suddenly, Pas completely overbalanced backwards from his leaning position on the floor and bonked his head painfully.
"Uh Fox, I'm still injured over here. Can we go easy on the 'old pillow snatching prank' until I've had a chance to heal up a little better?"
"That wasn't me" Fox whispered as Nera formed a low, feral growl in her throat. Pas heard a slithering sound behind him, not unlike that of a serpent.
"Fox, Nera...Did I fail to mention that these things regenerate?"
"We'll discuss your timely dissemination of relevant information later Pas. For now, let's get the hell out of here...unless you don't mind being both lunch AND dinner?" Fox offered Pas a hand up.
"No, no...going is good. Good idea. 'Better part of valor' and all that." Pas'head looked like it was on a swivel as he took Fox's offered hand and sprang to a standing position. They all three looked back to where the severed tentacle had slithered back to the prone trunk and was reattaching itself.
"Groth's gonna be pissed!" Nera muttered and Fox nodded his head slowly in agreement while watching the macabre scene.
"Right, ok. Didn't someone say something about going?" Pas whispered nervously. "Like now? Before I'm eaten again?" The three of them backed away from the writhing creature, slowly at first, then quicker, and finally they broke into a sprint.
"Relax Pas" huffed Nera as they ran,"there is NO WAY your ass tasted good enough for that thing to eat you twice!" When the jibe got no response from Pas, Nera glanced over at him. Pas was too busy ogling Nera's multiple bouncing breasts to pay attention.
Groth and Auren heard approaching footfalls and turned to face them. Nera was cuffing a slightly worse-for-the-wear Pas on the back of the head as they came to a stop in front of them.
"Where's the Dark Lady?" Fox inquired breathlessly.
"Out" Groth rumbled stabbing a thumb back over his shoulder.
"Yeah, it appears she didn't want any part of Groth's chopping lessons" Auren chuckled. "Don't think she'll be causing us any trouble for a while. You shoulda seen the way Groth wiped that stupid smirk off her face when he almost parted her hair with his axe!"
"Was she injured at all" Fox asked skeptically, he didn't like the fact that she was on the loose and unaccounted for once again.
"We managed to land a few superficial blows on her but nonetheless," Auren motioned out the broken pane of glass, shaking his head in amazement "she tumbled out of here like a circus acrobot." Groth growled angrily at the description of the assassin and pounded his hand into his fist saying "Stupid swirly cape!"
Auren was incredulous, " What is it with you guys and that beggar rag of a cape she wears?!" From across the chamber, they heard a rasping thud and then saw a hulking shadow loom large against the moonlit skyline. Groth's eyes widened and he looked questioningly to Fox. Fox, however, was looking around frantically.
"Where's Blossom? Nera?" The alarm was evident in his voice. "Oh no!" she began "I was able to find a window in one of the rooms after we both got blocked out of here, but she..." Nera was equally alarmed now and it was infectious.
"Let's go, quickly" Fox shouted, and then he vaulted out of the broken window to the yard below. The others quickly followed suite, all but Groth, who stared off in the direction of the reforming vine creature and growled. Worse than moving targets, Groth hated regenerating creatures. He could not believe that this tree had the audacity to just stand back up after he had properly beaten it to a pulp (Groth didn't catch his own pun. Groth did not DO puns). Hell, he'd almost even broken a sweat while chopping the thing down. This would not do. One did not simply stand back up after it had been properly pounded by Groth Nasty! He would have to rectify this situation after seeing to Blossom's rescue. With one last thunderous roar, he turned and launched out of the arboretum, not even bothering to exit using one of the openings that had already been created.
No matter how much her magic cloak had helped the assassin with the lesser party members, this hulk was proving to be a problem. It wasn't that the cloak's magic didn't work on him like the squirrely one they called Aren, it was that his axe was so huge and his swings were so massive that there was nowhere to dodge to and no room for error. It mattered not to this beast that he could not pinpoint her exact location when he was demolishing 5x5 squares of tile with each swing! And what was worse, she couldn't get inside of his 10 foot reach without being subjected to one of his awesome blows. Now Aren, the one who could see through her cloak, was moving to get a flanking position on her, and once that happened she would be minced meat. She had already been staggered by a single glancing blow to her right side from this beast. It was bleeding profusely and needed immediate care. "Where in the blazes is that imbecile Blackguard?" she screamed inwardly. "This beast is more his specialty than mine." At this rate, she'd be pounded into paste long before she was able to retrieve the heads of Fox, Pas and Aren; though from their chatter it had sounded like the Tendriculous might have finished Pas for her. After one last, fierce swing by the half ogre that shattered yet another window pane, the assassin decided to make a tactical retreat. She needed the Blackguard with her if she was going to stand a chance of getting past the War Hulk. She saluted with one of her serpentine daggers, then somersaulted out the broken window and was gone into the darkness.
Nera skidded to a knee next to Fox who was hovering over Pas' lifeless form. Pas' lips had turned blue and his skin was peeling away like great sheets of sunburned skin. His armor still smoked and hissed where it had been soaked in the foul stomach bile of the Tendriculous. She performed a quick check of his vital signs and determined that he was barely clinging to life. Working quickly, Nera grasped the Holy Symbol of Pelor that hung from her neck down between her six feline breasts. The symbol was in the shape of a blazing sun and the points of the sun's rays were somewhat sharp so that when her concentration faltered in battle she need only grasp the symbol harder and let the pain of her God's rays piercing the palm of her hand help her focus her thoughts.
Pas was still but a child, as were Fox, Blossom and Auren. Not one of them were more than sixteen human equivalent years of age. Fox was the oldest of the gang of juveniles that had released her from the captivity of the Uniclops. But even he was only 30 human years old-still but a babe, both emotionally and physically, in elven terms. She had to admit that all of them were prodigies in their own right: Fox was master of stealth, Pas rained bolts onto a target like anyone else pointing a finger, and Auren...well, Auren had SOMETHING very special about him, she just hadn't figured it out yet. He struggled with combat immensely but it wasn't from a lack of skill. There was something else that seemed to make him unable to focus. Someday he would shine, she just knew it.
Her medallion flared and cast brilliant yellow light across the room causing the shadows to darken even further; like a metaphor for the eternal struggle between the two forces. In the weird light, the tentacles of the horrid vine creature seemed to dance and writhe momentarily. "Just a trick of the light" she thought, and pressed her free hand down upon Pas' chest. The holy light washed over Pas like a ripple of water emanating outward from her hand. As the healing light raced across Pas' face his skin began to reweave itself to cover the inflamed flesh; first the tip of his nose, then his cheekbones, and finally hair began sprouting to fill in the ragged gaps on his scalp. Out of Nera's sight and under Pas' armor his entire body was likewise healing. Pas' eyes fluttered, then opened just as the bluish pallor of death left his features and he stared up at Fox and Nera. Fox audibly sighed and Nera grinned widely and stroked a newly reformed strand of hair from Pas' face.
"You were a goner, pal!" Fox exclaimed. "Lucky for you Nera got to you in time to save your ass. Maybe now you'll lay off the breastfeeding jokes, huh?"
Pas grinned toothily and replied with a glance at Nera's chest, "Hey, there's just SO MUCH good material...I can't help it!"
Nera snarled. "That's it, I'm taking the healing back, Fox." Pas turned to Fox with a look of alarm. "Woah, wait...you can't do that Nera! She can't do that, can she Fox?" Fox shrugged in mock sympathy and spread his hands out before him.
"Pelor giveth, and Pelor taketh away" he responded sagely. Pas scrambled backwards on his elbows until he bumped into one of the dead tree's limbs. He looked in horror from face to face until he caught the beginning of a smile on Nera's, then he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. Fox and Nera had a good laugh at Pas' expense and Pas didn't think it was funny at all.
Suddenly, Pas completely overbalanced backwards from his leaning position on the floor and bonked his head painfully.
"Uh Fox, I'm still injured over here. Can we go easy on the 'old pillow snatching prank' until I've had a chance to heal up a little better?"
"That wasn't me" Fox whispered as Nera formed a low, feral growl in her throat. Pas heard a slithering sound behind him, not unlike that of a serpent.
"Fox, Nera...Did I fail to mention that these things regenerate?"
"We'll discuss your timely dissemination of relevant information later Pas. For now, let's get the hell out of here...unless you don't mind being both lunch AND dinner?" Fox offered Pas a hand up.
"No, no...going is good. Good idea. 'Better part of valor' and all that." Pas'head looked like it was on a swivel as he took Fox's offered hand and sprang to a standing position. They all three looked back to where the severed tentacle had slithered back to the prone trunk and was reattaching itself.
"Groth's gonna be pissed!" Nera muttered and Fox nodded his head slowly in agreement while watching the macabre scene.
"Right, ok. Didn't someone say something about going?" Pas whispered nervously. "Like now? Before I'm eaten again?" The three of them backed away from the writhing creature, slowly at first, then quicker, and finally they broke into a sprint.
"Relax Pas" huffed Nera as they ran,"there is NO WAY your ass tasted good enough for that thing to eat you twice!" When the jibe got no response from Pas, Nera glanced over at him. Pas was too busy ogling Nera's multiple bouncing breasts to pay attention.
Groth and Auren heard approaching footfalls and turned to face them. Nera was cuffing a slightly worse-for-the-wear Pas on the back of the head as they came to a stop in front of them.
"Where's the Dark Lady?" Fox inquired breathlessly.
"Out" Groth rumbled stabbing a thumb back over his shoulder.
"Yeah, it appears she didn't want any part of Groth's chopping lessons" Auren chuckled. "Don't think she'll be causing us any trouble for a while. You shoulda seen the way Groth wiped that stupid smirk off her face when he almost parted her hair with his axe!"
"Was she injured at all" Fox asked skeptically, he didn't like the fact that she was on the loose and unaccounted for once again.
"We managed to land a few superficial blows on her but nonetheless," Auren motioned out the broken pane of glass, shaking his head in amazement "she tumbled out of here like a circus acrobot." Groth growled angrily at the description of the assassin and pounded his hand into his fist saying "Stupid swirly cape!"
Auren was incredulous, " What is it with you guys and that beggar rag of a cape she wears?!" From across the chamber, they heard a rasping thud and then saw a hulking shadow loom large against the moonlit skyline. Groth's eyes widened and he looked questioningly to Fox. Fox, however, was looking around frantically.
"Where's Blossom? Nera?" The alarm was evident in his voice. "Oh no!" she began "I was able to find a window in one of the rooms after we both got blocked out of here, but she..." Nera was equally alarmed now and it was infectious.
"Let's go, quickly" Fox shouted, and then he vaulted out of the broken window to the yard below. The others quickly followed suite, all but Groth, who stared off in the direction of the reforming vine creature and growled. Worse than moving targets, Groth hated regenerating creatures. He could not believe that this tree had the audacity to just stand back up after he had properly beaten it to a pulp (Groth didn't catch his own pun. Groth did not DO puns). Hell, he'd almost even broken a sweat while chopping the thing down. This would not do. One did not simply stand back up after it had been properly pounded by Groth Nasty! He would have to rectify this situation after seeing to Blossom's rescue. With one last thunderous roar, he turned and launched out of the arboretum, not even bothering to exit using one of the openings that had already been created.
Blossom and the Blackguard
Special Brownsville Report : The Late Edition
By the all seeing EYE
Blossom let the Blackguard lead the way back down the long corridor to the mansion entrance. She studied him as he briskly strode ahead of her. He was tall, maybe six feet four inches, and normally very well built. That is, he was well built before she had weakened him by atrophying his muscles with an enfeebling ray. She smiled inwardly at the thought of what she had done recently to a Uniclops that had threatened her with bodily harm in a most uncouth way.
She had reduced the creature so much so that it had shriveled up like a grape in the sun. It had ultimately been unable to support the weight of its trophy belt of humanoid corpses hung upside down like a fleshy kilt. Not only had the belt become too heavy, but also too large to fit properly and it ended up tangling about its feet. And thus, she had taken it's dignity before she took it's life with a final burst of purple-black negative energy to the crotch. Who knew if a creature such as a Uniclops even valued a notion such as dignity? But if it had, she had taken it.
With a wistful sigh, she returned to the present. Eyeing the Blackguard again, she wondered aloud "What things can this Chiam teach me?"
Without stopping the Blackguard replied, "If he so chooses, there is nothing beyond his ability to teach you." With a backward glance at Blossom he chided "What is your desire? Put a name to it child." Blossom didn't truly intend to betray her companions-at least she didn't think she did, but this Chiam intrigued her. Perhaps he could be more of a kindred spirit than her present companions could ever be capable of. After all, she had never met a single individual that had even understood her infatuation with death and all things dead, let alone someone who could cultivate her deepest desires towards that end.
Blossom put voice to her thoughts, "I have need of a bodyguard. Several actually. Bodyguards who need not rest so cannot be caught slumbering or otherwise unaware. Bodyguards who have no need for sustenance so cannot be poisoned while supping. Bodyguards who have no need for air so cannot be drowned or strangled. Fearless bodyguards with a singular motivation-my welfare."
In the same chiding voice that the Blackguard used earlier she asked "Can this Lord Chiam of yours provide me with such?" The Blackguard stopped and turned to face Blossom. Even on a face so distorted with black magic's as his, the derision was evident.
"My Lord's minions are legion" he began, the red pinpoints of his pupils flaring. "Long ago, before his ascension, he may have shown interest in such trivial things. Now he has but to utter a single profane word and he can command uncountable abominations to shake off the dusty slumber of death and rise to his bidding. But why would he have need to resort to such elementary pursuits when he can possess the forbidden fruit?" The Blackguard spun and started back down the corridor again and Blossom had to hurry to keep pace. She had not intended on becoming so intrigued with this man, his master and the possibilities.
"What is this forbidden fruit you speak of?" Without responding, the fallen paladin continued his march towards the exit. "Lord Drusk" she began again. Perhaps he had not heard her. "What is this forbidden fruit of which you..." Before Blossom could complete the question, he was on her. He had pinned her against the wall with his gauntleted forearm forcing her windpipe closed. Her mind reeled as she struggled to concentrate enough to utter the keyword for a defensive spell. However, when she attempted to cast it, all she could manage was a pained croak and the spell fizzled. He loomed large over her now and, despite having been enfeebled earlier, he still far outmatched her strength. He brought his face a mere inch from hers and she could feel the heat and smell the rancid stench of his breath.
"You want to know what the forbidden fruit is? Do you?" His feet were now dangling off the ground. "Then let me tell you. My Lord considers Death, Discord, Pestilence and Suffering to be his brethren. He revels in their work and seeks to further it. These things, that are harmful to one with life, do not affect My Lord anymore. Conversely, he is empowered by them. They provide him a kingdom is which to thrive and recruits to serve him-willingly or not, breathing or not. Naturally, a creature such as this, such as My Lord, would be the foe of Light and all those who love and defend it, would it not?" Here, the Blackguard paused and glared down at Blossom. Her eyes were tearing up from lack of oxygen (and frustration) but she managed to nod pitifully. "Yes...yes it would!" he hissed. "So, what better insult to those who value Light could one impart than to persuade one of their Champions to betray his cause? To betray his beliefs? To betray all those who hold him dear?" He looked truly maniacal at this point and foam formed at the corners of his mouth. He threw his head back and laughed hysterically then leered down at her again. His pupils burned brighter than ever. "What torments and promises of power do you suppose it would require to compel a paladin of Light to become a paladin of the Dark, a fallen paladin, a Forsaken?" And for that same paladin to revel in it, to lust for it, at the expense of all else that was once held sacred? Each of My Lord's disciples has their own forbidden fruit, but for Lord Chiam, it is creatures of the Light. I..." he nodded "...am his forbidden fruit!"
As he finished his tirade, the foam at the corner of his lips sprayed onto Blossom's face but she couldn't look away. With one last painful heave, the Blackguard pushed off of Blossom's throat with his forearm and Blossom fell to the floor gasping for air. This man was psychotic and would have already have killed her but for Chiam's orders to the contrary. Though Chiam had the mastery to further her necromantic ambitions, it seemed it would not come without considerable danger to herself. And there would be groveling as well, she was sure of it. She couldn't bear the groveling. She had no intentions of accompanying this psycho to his master, but perhaps alone...? At any rate, she could not let this man know of her intentions lest he attack her and her companions immediately. And neither could she suffer his touch again. She recovered her composure and glared at the man. "Lord Drusk, be forewarned that the next time you lay your hands on me I will shrivel your balls to the size of peas! And, if necessary after that, I will bend you over a table after totally sapping your strength and then summon one of my skeletons and instruct it to retrieve a knuckle bone that it has misplaced up your arse. Are we clear, Blackguard?" The fallen paladin glared back and spat on the floor then abruptly whirled and strode away. "Soon," Blossom glowered as she watched him retreat "soon I will have this one's head."
By the all seeing EYE
Blossom let the Blackguard lead the way back down the long corridor to the mansion entrance. She studied him as he briskly strode ahead of her. He was tall, maybe six feet four inches, and normally very well built. That is, he was well built before she had weakened him by atrophying his muscles with an enfeebling ray. She smiled inwardly at the thought of what she had done recently to a Uniclops that had threatened her with bodily harm in a most uncouth way.
She had reduced the creature so much so that it had shriveled up like a grape in the sun. It had ultimately been unable to support the weight of its trophy belt of humanoid corpses hung upside down like a fleshy kilt. Not only had the belt become too heavy, but also too large to fit properly and it ended up tangling about its feet. And thus, she had taken it's dignity before she took it's life with a final burst of purple-black negative energy to the crotch. Who knew if a creature such as a Uniclops even valued a notion such as dignity? But if it had, she had taken it.
With a wistful sigh, she returned to the present. Eyeing the Blackguard again, she wondered aloud "What things can this Chiam teach me?"
Without stopping the Blackguard replied, "If he so chooses, there is nothing beyond his ability to teach you." With a backward glance at Blossom he chided "What is your desire? Put a name to it child." Blossom didn't truly intend to betray her companions-at least she didn't think she did, but this Chiam intrigued her. Perhaps he could be more of a kindred spirit than her present companions could ever be capable of. After all, she had never met a single individual that had even understood her infatuation with death and all things dead, let alone someone who could cultivate her deepest desires towards that end.
Blossom put voice to her thoughts, "I have need of a bodyguard. Several actually. Bodyguards who need not rest so cannot be caught slumbering or otherwise unaware. Bodyguards who have no need for sustenance so cannot be poisoned while supping. Bodyguards who have no need for air so cannot be drowned or strangled. Fearless bodyguards with a singular motivation-my welfare."
In the same chiding voice that the Blackguard used earlier she asked "Can this Lord Chiam of yours provide me with such?" The Blackguard stopped and turned to face Blossom. Even on a face so distorted with black magic's as his, the derision was evident.
"My Lord's minions are legion" he began, the red pinpoints of his pupils flaring. "Long ago, before his ascension, he may have shown interest in such trivial things. Now he has but to utter a single profane word and he can command uncountable abominations to shake off the dusty slumber of death and rise to his bidding. But why would he have need to resort to such elementary pursuits when he can possess the forbidden fruit?" The Blackguard spun and started back down the corridor again and Blossom had to hurry to keep pace. She had not intended on becoming so intrigued with this man, his master and the possibilities.
"What is this forbidden fruit you speak of?" Without responding, the fallen paladin continued his march towards the exit. "Lord Drusk" she began again. Perhaps he had not heard her. "What is this forbidden fruit of which you..." Before Blossom could complete the question, he was on her. He had pinned her against the wall with his gauntleted forearm forcing her windpipe closed. Her mind reeled as she struggled to concentrate enough to utter the keyword for a defensive spell. However, when she attempted to cast it, all she could manage was a pained croak and the spell fizzled. He loomed large over her now and, despite having been enfeebled earlier, he still far outmatched her strength. He brought his face a mere inch from hers and she could feel the heat and smell the rancid stench of his breath.
"You want to know what the forbidden fruit is? Do you?" His feet were now dangling off the ground. "Then let me tell you. My Lord considers Death, Discord, Pestilence and Suffering to be his brethren. He revels in their work and seeks to further it. These things, that are harmful to one with life, do not affect My Lord anymore. Conversely, he is empowered by them. They provide him a kingdom is which to thrive and recruits to serve him-willingly or not, breathing or not. Naturally, a creature such as this, such as My Lord, would be the foe of Light and all those who love and defend it, would it not?" Here, the Blackguard paused and glared down at Blossom. Her eyes were tearing up from lack of oxygen (and frustration) but she managed to nod pitifully. "Yes...yes it would!" he hissed. "So, what better insult to those who value Light could one impart than to persuade one of their Champions to betray his cause? To betray his beliefs? To betray all those who hold him dear?" He looked truly maniacal at this point and foam formed at the corners of his mouth. He threw his head back and laughed hysterically then leered down at her again. His pupils burned brighter than ever. "What torments and promises of power do you suppose it would require to compel a paladin of Light to become a paladin of the Dark, a fallen paladin, a Forsaken?" And for that same paladin to revel in it, to lust for it, at the expense of all else that was once held sacred? Each of My Lord's disciples has their own forbidden fruit, but for Lord Chiam, it is creatures of the Light. I..." he nodded "...am his forbidden fruit!"
As he finished his tirade, the foam at the corner of his lips sprayed onto Blossom's face but she couldn't look away. With one last painful heave, the Blackguard pushed off of Blossom's throat with his forearm and Blossom fell to the floor gasping for air. This man was psychotic and would have already have killed her but for Chiam's orders to the contrary. Though Chiam had the mastery to further her necromantic ambitions, it seemed it would not come without considerable danger to herself. And there would be groveling as well, she was sure of it. She couldn't bear the groveling. She had no intentions of accompanying this psycho to his master, but perhaps alone...? At any rate, she could not let this man know of her intentions lest he attack her and her companions immediately. And neither could she suffer his touch again. She recovered her composure and glared at the man. "Lord Drusk, be forewarned that the next time you lay your hands on me I will shrivel your balls to the size of peas! And, if necessary after that, I will bend you over a table after totally sapping your strength and then summon one of my skeletons and instruct it to retrieve a knuckle bone that it has misplaced up your arse. Are we clear, Blackguard?" The fallen paladin glared back and spat on the floor then abruptly whirled and strode away. "Soon," Blossom glowered as she watched him retreat "soon I will have this one's head."
Cloak and Dagger
Special Brownsville Report : The Late Edition
By the all seeing EYE
Nera faced the Dark Lady with a determined scowl. Behind the assassin, Aren switched his whip out in favor of his full blade and flanked with Nera. The assassin had drawn twin serpentine daggers that oozed a foul liquid and was expertly wielding them in a defensive posture. Nera could only see the assassin's mouth under the folds of her cloak, and it was grinning. The cloak itself was obviously magical in nature. It was impossible to get a good fix on the assassin's true position as the cloak seemed to ebb and flow around her as if caught in a perpetual vortex. Although it appeared to be nothing more than a tattered rag, she was sure that it was much more than that. It swaddled the killer in its inky blackness; a blackness like a moonless night. Only a formidable foe would possess such an artifact. She could think of at least one member of her party that would love to own such an item, and the serpentine daggers as well. Nera bared her canines and grinned back at the assassin. Nera aimed to make it so.
From the other side of the assassin, Aren prepared to strike as soon as Nera had completed her appraisal of their foe. "Sure is taking long enough" he thought. He couldn't understand what the hold up was. Sure, they had crossed paths with the assassin before and knew that she was a more than competent adversary, but she was only human... as far as he could tell. For some reason she insisted on wearing a tattered rag that completely covered her figure and hung limply about her. It wasn't at all flattering and had absolutely no defensive value that he could see. So why did she insist on wearing it? Everything about this woman was an enigma. "Maybe it's magic" he considered, but then dismissed the notion. It didn't appear to be doing anything even REMOTELY magical. Come to think of it though, he had never actually seen anything magical that actually worked the way it was supposed to. Even Blossom complained that her magic didn't work right whenever Aren was around, and she hardly ever misfired a spell. The whole thing sounded pretty unreliable to him. "Why even bother when it only works part of the time?" he wondered. Then he remembered that 'even part of the time' was more efficient than he had been with his martial weapons since he had become a full time adventurer. "If only I could find a way to stay focused" he admonished himself.
Nera took an exploratory swipe at the assassin with her bastard sword. Aren grimmaced, it was all wrong. She was aiming WAY off target which was very unusual. Aren gripped his blade in both hands and took a swing. The fullblade arced through the air. Just as the blade was about to strike home, the assassin dodged to the side. When she came up from her tumble she was facing Aren. She glanced down at her upper arm where a line of blood had appeared, then back up at Aren. She cocked her head to one side as she began circling, as if appraising Aren anew. She raised one of her serpentine daggers to her forehead in mock-salute acknowledging Aren's strike, however superficial. Aren blanched. His first successful melee strike EVER and with it, he had completely pissed off the most dangerous woman he'd ever met. The assassin charged forward, blades flashing, and lunged at Aren. Aren felt pressure on his chest as he attempted to evade the attack and failed. All he could think was "I'm done for, her poison blades have pierced me!" He spun off and waited for the sensation of poison burning through his veins to begin, and when it didn't, he hazarded a look down then breathed a sigh of relief. His armor had done its job this time. There was a score across his chest near his left armpit and beneath the score mark the sickly, green poison ran down the front of his chest piece. A few more inches to the left and he would already have been dead.
Once again, Nera attacked the assassin from the flank, but to no avail. Nera seemed to be having a harder time targeting the assassin than Aren did, very unusual indeed! They couldn't keep this up for much longer. Eventually the killer's aim would be true and then either he or Nera would be poisoned and out of comission, if not dead altogether. Aren took another overhead swing at the woman and she gracefully tumbled past him finishing up with a somersault that landed her facing him, with her back to the smashed window. She dropped into an aggressive crouch, grinning again but never speaking a word. Nera moved to Aren's side and for a moment they glanced at each other while catching their breath.
"Blasted cape" breathed Nera angrily "it's cloaking her true position!" The assassin was watching the two of them intently, especially Aren .
"Huh?" was all that Aren could muster in response to Nera's comment. "Surely she can't be referring to that worthless garment again?" he mused.
"Perhaps it was magic that only affected Catfolk, or women, or...." The assassin's gaze was drawn up over their heads and suddenly she dove into a backflip as a huge war axe came crashing down where she had just been standing, followed directly by ten feet and a thousand pounds of Groth Nasty. Impossibly, they hadn't even heard the War Hulk's approach as he had launched himself from the center planter and flew over their heads to come crashing down almost on top of the assassin.
"Am I ever glad he's on our side!" Aren said, grinning at Nera.
Groth released the handle of the war axe that he had planted in the floor of the arboretum and turned to face Aren and Nera.
"Nera, Pas need help" he rumbled tersely. He then turned to address the assassin who was staring up in awe at his bulk and had moved to stand half-in and half-out of the shattered window. He smiled broadly then said, "Lady, you're gonna need help too." With that, he spat on his palms then rubbed his hands together. He gripped the handle of the wedged war axe and with a monstrous roar he wrenched it out of the floor and then hefted it. The grin had disappeared from the assassin's lips now.
"Go see if you can help Fox with Pas," Aren urged Nera. "Groth and I are going to have a few words with our friend here."
"Oh, do be gentle," laughed Nera as she started away, "wouldn't want to damage that magnificent cloak she wears."
"Again with the cloak? I just don't get it!" Aren shouted to her. "Maybe it's a fashion thing?" he thought again. He glanced over at the assassin and her bedraggled cloak. "I just don't get it" he repeated, shaking his head.
The Black Lady sharpened her daggers against each other and seemed to activate some device on the handles that caused the blades to drip poison freely. She was aware that a glancing blow probably would not be enough to drop the behemoth now stading before her and there was no sign of her Blackguard companion to save her this time. Aren almost felt sorry for her...almost.
"Groth, teach this thug a lesson in chopping, will ya'?" he shouted.
"My pleasure" the half-ogre growled, and his great axe flashed in the moonlight.
By the all seeing EYE
Nera faced the Dark Lady with a determined scowl. Behind the assassin, Aren switched his whip out in favor of his full blade and flanked with Nera. The assassin had drawn twin serpentine daggers that oozed a foul liquid and was expertly wielding them in a defensive posture. Nera could only see the assassin's mouth under the folds of her cloak, and it was grinning. The cloak itself was obviously magical in nature. It was impossible to get a good fix on the assassin's true position as the cloak seemed to ebb and flow around her as if caught in a perpetual vortex. Although it appeared to be nothing more than a tattered rag, she was sure that it was much more than that. It swaddled the killer in its inky blackness; a blackness like a moonless night. Only a formidable foe would possess such an artifact. She could think of at least one member of her party that would love to own such an item, and the serpentine daggers as well. Nera bared her canines and grinned back at the assassin. Nera aimed to make it so.
From the other side of the assassin, Aren prepared to strike as soon as Nera had completed her appraisal of their foe. "Sure is taking long enough" he thought. He couldn't understand what the hold up was. Sure, they had crossed paths with the assassin before and knew that she was a more than competent adversary, but she was only human... as far as he could tell. For some reason she insisted on wearing a tattered rag that completely covered her figure and hung limply about her. It wasn't at all flattering and had absolutely no defensive value that he could see. So why did she insist on wearing it? Everything about this woman was an enigma. "Maybe it's magic" he considered, but then dismissed the notion. It didn't appear to be doing anything even REMOTELY magical. Come to think of it though, he had never actually seen anything magical that actually worked the way it was supposed to. Even Blossom complained that her magic didn't work right whenever Aren was around, and she hardly ever misfired a spell. The whole thing sounded pretty unreliable to him. "Why even bother when it only works part of the time?" he wondered. Then he remembered that 'even part of the time' was more efficient than he had been with his martial weapons since he had become a full time adventurer. "If only I could find a way to stay focused" he admonished himself.
Nera took an exploratory swipe at the assassin with her bastard sword. Aren grimmaced, it was all wrong. She was aiming WAY off target which was very unusual. Aren gripped his blade in both hands and took a swing. The fullblade arced through the air. Just as the blade was about to strike home, the assassin dodged to the side. When she came up from her tumble she was facing Aren. She glanced down at her upper arm where a line of blood had appeared, then back up at Aren. She cocked her head to one side as she began circling, as if appraising Aren anew. She raised one of her serpentine daggers to her forehead in mock-salute acknowledging Aren's strike, however superficial. Aren blanched. His first successful melee strike EVER and with it, he had completely pissed off the most dangerous woman he'd ever met. The assassin charged forward, blades flashing, and lunged at Aren. Aren felt pressure on his chest as he attempted to evade the attack and failed. All he could think was "I'm done for, her poison blades have pierced me!" He spun off and waited for the sensation of poison burning through his veins to begin, and when it didn't, he hazarded a look down then breathed a sigh of relief. His armor had done its job this time. There was a score across his chest near his left armpit and beneath the score mark the sickly, green poison ran down the front of his chest piece. A few more inches to the left and he would already have been dead.
Once again, Nera attacked the assassin from the flank, but to no avail. Nera seemed to be having a harder time targeting the assassin than Aren did, very unusual indeed! They couldn't keep this up for much longer. Eventually the killer's aim would be true and then either he or Nera would be poisoned and out of comission, if not dead altogether. Aren took another overhead swing at the woman and she gracefully tumbled past him finishing up with a somersault that landed her facing him, with her back to the smashed window. She dropped into an aggressive crouch, grinning again but never speaking a word. Nera moved to Aren's side and for a moment they glanced at each other while catching their breath.
"Blasted cape" breathed Nera angrily "it's cloaking her true position!" The assassin was watching the two of them intently, especially Aren .
"Huh?" was all that Aren could muster in response to Nera's comment. "Surely she can't be referring to that worthless garment again?" he mused.
"Perhaps it was magic that only affected Catfolk, or women, or...." The assassin's gaze was drawn up over their heads and suddenly she dove into a backflip as a huge war axe came crashing down where she had just been standing, followed directly by ten feet and a thousand pounds of Groth Nasty. Impossibly, they hadn't even heard the War Hulk's approach as he had launched himself from the center planter and flew over their heads to come crashing down almost on top of the assassin.
"Am I ever glad he's on our side!" Aren said, grinning at Nera.
Groth released the handle of the war axe that he had planted in the floor of the arboretum and turned to face Aren and Nera.
"Nera, Pas need help" he rumbled tersely. He then turned to address the assassin who was staring up in awe at his bulk and had moved to stand half-in and half-out of the shattered window. He smiled broadly then said, "Lady, you're gonna need help too." With that, he spat on his palms then rubbed his hands together. He gripped the handle of the wedged war axe and with a monstrous roar he wrenched it out of the floor and then hefted it. The grin had disappeared from the assassin's lips now.
"Go see if you can help Fox with Pas," Aren urged Nera. "Groth and I are going to have a few words with our friend here."
"Oh, do be gentle," laughed Nera as she started away, "wouldn't want to damage that magnificent cloak she wears."
"Again with the cloak? I just don't get it!" Aren shouted to her. "Maybe it's a fashion thing?" he thought again. He glanced over at the assassin and her bedraggled cloak. "I just don't get it" he repeated, shaking his head.
The Black Lady sharpened her daggers against each other and seemed to activate some device on the handles that caused the blades to drip poison freely. She was aware that a glancing blow probably would not be enough to drop the behemoth now stading before her and there was no sign of her Blackguard companion to save her this time. Aren almost felt sorry for her...almost.
"Groth, teach this thug a lesson in chopping, will ya'?" he shouted.
"My pleasure" the half-ogre growled, and his great axe flashed in the moonlight.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Green Thumbs
Special Brownsville Report : Online Edition
By the all seeing EYE
Groth thought he was making good progress chopping the tree down. “Real tree's will not move as much” he thought “ this should not take long!” Groth knew that his new friend Pas was somewhere inside of the behemoth vine creature, but having no practical experience with trees that moved about, he had no idea exactly where inside the creature Pas might be. He continued chopping at the base of the trunk as it hit him with it's branches. “Just make me madder, tree!” he shouted at it in between heavy blows . “Why dontcha eat someone yer own size, ya bully?” Fox rushed up on his right and took a perch on what remained of the center planter and began firing arrows as fast as his bowstring could reset. It didn't seem to be doing much real damage to the overgrown weed in Groth's opinion, but then again, Groth was not a strategy giant. He had two modes of combat: “crush while standing” and “crush while moving”. This was a “crush while standing” situation, he preferred those. The“crush while moving” mode implied enemies running away and that made him angry, and Groth was not typically the “angry giant” sort. He just wanted to crush and be left alone. To crush some more. And when all the crushing that could be done without walking was done, THEN he would walk and crush some more.
“Groth, we gotta knock this thing down quick,” Fox shouted , “Pas can't survive in its gut for long. Take it out!” Groth heeded Fox's words without looking over at him and redoubled his efforts while watching arrows sprout from the tree's face and trunk. The tree tried to lash out and grab Fox but Groth batted the vine away and then chopped it off at the shoulder. “Won't do that again!” he chuckled while going back to work on the trunk. Green sap was now covering the tiles around the base of the monster and Groth's axe had slung the slime all the way up to the ceiling panes in huge blots that stretched and dripped back down onto his head and back. The dripping made him a bit happy. He kept at it like a chore, like he was chopping wood for a fire back at his tribal home. “That's it Groth, I think it's gonna go!” shouted Fox over the ear splitting noise of both Groth's great axe working and the Tendriculous shrieking. With one last tremendous heave, the half-giant's enormous muscles coiled and then sprang the blade in a wide arc that sheared the base of the tree from its legs. The top half of the tree toppled over then crashed down onto the ornate tiles, crushing them into a cloud of dust.
Quickly Groth straddled the trunk and began cutting a vertical notch into it, careful to not score too deeply. It would not do to free Pas from the belly of this beast, only to find him dead of a giant axe wound. When the notch was deep and long enough, Groth leaned over and pushed his fingers from both hands into the gap, palms facing out. With a ferocious roar he corded his muscles and then pulled apart the trunk, ripping out a section large enough to see into the hollow of the tree. Fox stepped aside Groth and peered in.
All he could see was a spitting, steaming, acidic cocktail of bile and purple lifeblood. Then he spotted the fingertips of a human hand barely exposed. Fox motioned and Groth dumped the trunk onto its side spilling the reeking contents onto the floor of the arboretum. Along with the other fluids, Pas' lifeless body fell out and lay there rigid and with eyes wide open. A dagger was clenched in his other white knuckled fist. “By the heavens!” Fox exclaimed. “Nera! We need you here! Hurry” Groth just stood staring at Pas' face, frozen in a pose of excruciating pain, until Fox jolted him out of it. “Groth, Arin needs you over there. He is fighting that Black Assassin that attacked us on the trail. Please go help him.” Groth made a low growl and lumbered away, shaking the ground with each stride. Fox turned his attention back to Pas. “Hurry Nera.” he said in barely a whisper. It looked bad, really bad.
The After-Birth...........
By the all seeing EYE
Groth thought he was making good progress chopping the tree down. “Real tree's will not move as much” he thought “ this should not take long!” Groth knew that his new friend Pas was somewhere inside of the behemoth vine creature, but having no practical experience with trees that moved about, he had no idea exactly where inside the creature Pas might be. He continued chopping at the base of the trunk as it hit him with it's branches. “Just make me madder, tree!” he shouted at it in between heavy blows . “Why dontcha eat someone yer own size, ya bully?” Fox rushed up on his right and took a perch on what remained of the center planter and began firing arrows as fast as his bowstring could reset. It didn't seem to be doing much real damage to the overgrown weed in Groth's opinion, but then again, Groth was not a strategy giant. He had two modes of combat: “crush while standing” and “crush while moving”. This was a “crush while standing” situation, he preferred those. The“crush while moving” mode implied enemies running away and that made him angry, and Groth was not typically the “angry giant” sort. He just wanted to crush and be left alone. To crush some more. And when all the crushing that could be done without walking was done, THEN he would walk and crush some more.
“Groth, we gotta knock this thing down quick,” Fox shouted , “Pas can't survive in its gut for long. Take it out!” Groth heeded Fox's words without looking over at him and redoubled his efforts while watching arrows sprout from the tree's face and trunk. The tree tried to lash out and grab Fox but Groth batted the vine away and then chopped it off at the shoulder. “Won't do that again!” he chuckled while going back to work on the trunk. Green sap was now covering the tiles around the base of the monster and Groth's axe had slung the slime all the way up to the ceiling panes in huge blots that stretched and dripped back down onto his head and back. The dripping made him a bit happy. He kept at it like a chore, like he was chopping wood for a fire back at his tribal home. “That's it Groth, I think it's gonna go!” shouted Fox over the ear splitting noise of both Groth's great axe working and the Tendriculous shrieking. With one last tremendous heave, the half-giant's enormous muscles coiled and then sprang the blade in a wide arc that sheared the base of the tree from its legs. The top half of the tree toppled over then crashed down onto the ornate tiles, crushing them into a cloud of dust.
Quickly Groth straddled the trunk and began cutting a vertical notch into it, careful to not score too deeply. It would not do to free Pas from the belly of this beast, only to find him dead of a giant axe wound. When the notch was deep and long enough, Groth leaned over and pushed his fingers from both hands into the gap, palms facing out. With a ferocious roar he corded his muscles and then pulled apart the trunk, ripping out a section large enough to see into the hollow of the tree. Fox stepped aside Groth and peered in.
All he could see was a spitting, steaming, acidic cocktail of bile and purple lifeblood. Then he spotted the fingertips of a human hand barely exposed. Fox motioned and Groth dumped the trunk onto its side spilling the reeking contents onto the floor of the arboretum. Along with the other fluids, Pas' lifeless body fell out and lay there rigid and with eyes wide open. A dagger was clenched in his other white knuckled fist. “By the heavens!” Fox exclaimed. “Nera! We need you here! Hurry” Groth just stood staring at Pas' face, frozen in a pose of excruciating pain, until Fox jolted him out of it. “Groth, Arin needs you over there. He is fighting that Black Assassin that attacked us on the trail. Please go help him.” Groth made a low growl and lumbered away, shaking the ground with each stride. Fox turned his attention back to Pas. “Hurry Nera.” he said in barely a whisper. It looked bad, really bad.
The After-Birth...........
Friday, May 18, 2012
Stockades are no laughing matter
Groth read somewheres that the traditional stockades were no place to be. During the daytime you are heckled by townsfolk. Women will come by and pelt you with rotten fruit and children will toss stones at you. However at night you will be awoken to the sounds of the unknown. Strangers will greet you from behind and you will never know who they are.
Some commit petty crimes so that they can spend a night in the stocks. This notion does not rest easy with Groth.
Ode to 3 DUB.....
Some commit petty crimes so that they can spend a night in the stocks. This notion does not rest easy with Groth.
Ode to 3 DUB.....
Tenderlicious
Special Brownsville Report : Online Edition
By the all seeing EYE
It is a Plant eat Plant world!
By the all seeing EYE
Pas was
still conscious, but barely. He wasn't even aware of the rescue attempt by Fox
and Arin, there was only the pain of his wounds. He had never been in dire
straits such as this. He was a tough guy, and Urban Ranger for Ehlonna's sake!
Granted, his profession had rarely taken him outside of the city walls of Stret
so there had been little need for an extensive knowledge of plant life. But he had
studied some of what a typical Forest or Plains ranger would need to know. It
was just that he didn't think it would be necessary for him to compile methods
of escaping from the insides of creatures. “Think Pas! How hard can it
be to escape from the belly of a frickin' plant!?” he chided himself. Then an
errant thought distracted him, “do plants even have bellies?” Suddenly there was
a lurching motion and he felt himself sliding. He couldn't see but he had a
good idea where he was going to end up if he didn't act quickly.
He reached down and pulled a dagger from his boot just as a viscous fluid washed over him increasing the speed of his slide and then he had a brief sensation of vertigo before he plopped into a foul smelling vat of bile. He briefly considered trying to activate a light source before he realized there was no time. Where he had been pierced by the creatures maw, this fluid had begun to creep into his wounds causing instant, debilitating agony. It felt as if alcohol were being poured directly into the cuts caused by the razor sharp maw of the beast. In a panic Pas began to lash out with his dagger. There no longer were any thoughts in his conscious mind that strayed from a single purpose-survival. His dagger struck a soft, pulp like surface and plowed a channel through it. “Must get free. Must get... Pain. Pain!” his mind repeated in litany.
He had sunk to his chest in the bile by this point but could not feel any solid surface beneath his boots. His exposed flesh felt as if it were on fire and just behind the rank odor of the bile he thought he could smell the stench of burning leather. Then, as more of the viscous fluid doused him from above, his body went rigid. He was no longer able to order his arm to strike. He was no longer able to stretch his feet for something to stand upon. He could only hear his heart thudding in his chest to the rhythm of his mind screaming “PAIN, BURNING PAIN!” As his head slipped below the surface of the foul bile he had one, last errant thought. “Tendriculous: bile is paralytic and highly acidic. Avoid at all costs!”
Nera leaped to the low wall with practiced ease despite her armor. She unstrapped her sword while peering in through the transparent wall of the arboretum. Inside she could see Fox expertly pull an arrow from the quiver on his back, nock it, and loose it all in the space of a second. As Fox reached for another arrow she followed the flight path of the first arrow until she saw it lodge into the trunk of a flailing tree. She grinned wryly exposing her feline canines. “Figures” she thought, “couldn't just be a goblin or two, could it?” Fox began maneuvering for a better angle which brought him closer to Nera's position but he still hadn't spotted her yet. She scanned to see where the rest of the group was through what she could see of the room through the vegetation growing on the other side of the glass. She caught a glimpse of Groth-Nasty's great axe arcing through the air on the other side of the large planter in the center and just to her left, on her side of the room, she caught sight of Arin. She couldn't tell whether he was fighting wholeheartedly yet but was keenly aware of his issues after he had refused to fight when danger threatened on more than one occasion. She still had not spotted Pas yet, which was not typical. He had some skill at going undetected but more often than not he could not evade her heightened senses. She reared back with her sword and gave a mighty roar as she brought it crashing down on the pane of glass separating her from the room.
He reached down and pulled a dagger from his boot just as a viscous fluid washed over him increasing the speed of his slide and then he had a brief sensation of vertigo before he plopped into a foul smelling vat of bile. He briefly considered trying to activate a light source before he realized there was no time. Where he had been pierced by the creatures maw, this fluid had begun to creep into his wounds causing instant, debilitating agony. It felt as if alcohol were being poured directly into the cuts caused by the razor sharp maw of the beast. In a panic Pas began to lash out with his dagger. There no longer were any thoughts in his conscious mind that strayed from a single purpose-survival. His dagger struck a soft, pulp like surface and plowed a channel through it. “Must get free. Must get... Pain. Pain!” his mind repeated in litany.
He had sunk to his chest in the bile by this point but could not feel any solid surface beneath his boots. His exposed flesh felt as if it were on fire and just behind the rank odor of the bile he thought he could smell the stench of burning leather. Then, as more of the viscous fluid doused him from above, his body went rigid. He was no longer able to order his arm to strike. He was no longer able to stretch his feet for something to stand upon. He could only hear his heart thudding in his chest to the rhythm of his mind screaming “PAIN, BURNING PAIN!” As his head slipped below the surface of the foul bile he had one, last errant thought. “Tendriculous: bile is paralytic and highly acidic. Avoid at all costs!”
Nera leaped to the low wall with practiced ease despite her armor. She unstrapped her sword while peering in through the transparent wall of the arboretum. Inside she could see Fox expertly pull an arrow from the quiver on his back, nock it, and loose it all in the space of a second. As Fox reached for another arrow she followed the flight path of the first arrow until she saw it lodge into the trunk of a flailing tree. She grinned wryly exposing her feline canines. “Figures” she thought, “couldn't just be a goblin or two, could it?” Fox began maneuvering for a better angle which brought him closer to Nera's position but he still hadn't spotted her yet. She scanned to see where the rest of the group was through what she could see of the room through the vegetation growing on the other side of the glass. She caught a glimpse of Groth-Nasty's great axe arcing through the air on the other side of the large planter in the center and just to her left, on her side of the room, she caught sight of Arin. She couldn't tell whether he was fighting wholeheartedly yet but was keenly aware of his issues after he had refused to fight when danger threatened on more than one occasion. She still had not spotted Pas yet, which was not typical. He had some skill at going undetected but more often than not he could not evade her heightened senses. She reared back with her sword and gave a mighty roar as she brought it crashing down on the pane of glass separating her from the room.
A pungent, earthy aroma assaulted her and her
nostrils flared as she stepped through the gap. The sounds of combat suddenly
loomed large in her ears and her feral nature caused her breathing to quicken.
Despite being a healer, Nera relished combat. She could almost feel her
blood coursing through her veins! She hadn't noticed that her noisy entrance
had surprised Fox and caused him to whirl about, ready to loose a shaft into
her. She strode forward several steps intent on joining the fray when Arin
turned to look at her. His eyes grew wide and he struggled to quickly furl his
whip. “What the hell is his problem?” she thought to herself. Suddenly he snapped his whip out over her
head. Puzzled, she dodged to one side with no time to consider anything save
that maybe he didn't recognize her in all the chaos. His whip went taut and he
jumped into a swinging charge that carried him past her, feet extended in front
of him. It looked as though he was trying to vault out of the break that she
had just created. “But why?” she frowned
and then looked back to Fox.
The look on Fox's face stopped her in her tracks. It quickly turned from relief to a look of horror. She turned again to look behind her just in time to see Arin approach the apex of his swing and then miss his mark, crashing into an unbroken pane of glass without enough force to go through. The impact shuddered the glass and knocked the air from Arin's lungs, whereby he promptly slid down the glass with a squeaking sound until he plummeted into a thicket of Briarvine. Nera stifled her laugh at Arin's expense because she had grown attached to the young man in the short time she had known him. She wouldn't even consider hurting his feelings or furthering his lack of confidence in his own abilities. “But sometimes, he does screw up” she thought to herself laughing inwardly. Then she recoiled back as a cloud of roiling blackness catapulted through the opening and landed gracefully next to her. Fox and Arin had noticed her, she never even had an inkling that she was in mortal danger.
The Black Assassin had just made a spectacular entrance and she was what had caused the look of horror on Fox's face. Her presence had inspired Arin to bravely (and stupidly) attempt an acrobatic maneuver for which he had not yet developed the skill. Nera felt like an idiot. For all of her vaunted feline acuity, she had not even realized that she had led the assassin directly to her friends. The assassin stood from a crouch and deftly drew a wicked looking dagger with each hand. Deep in the dark recesses of the assassin's hood Nera saw a flash of fiercely grinning teeth. The assassin twirled the daggers in a hypnotic dance in front of Nera's face. The blades glistened in the torchlight and Nera realized that they were poisoned. “Of course they would be” she whispered, “it would be too easy if they weren't.”
Fox couldn't
believe how quickly the situation was going from bad to dire. They were just
supposed to be investigating a murder but soon they could all be adding their
own corpses to the scene of the crime. “Nera?” Fox called nervously. “We've got this
Fox, help Groth” Nera replied without taking her eyes off of the whirling blades. “Where's Pas?” she
asked as she began to circle her foe. “Tenderlicious ate him” Fox retorted very
matter-of-factly. Arin had regained his composure by then and got back to his
feet in time to take a position flanking the mysterious rogue woman with
Nera. Suddenly Nera stopped. Arin eyed
her from over the maneuvering assassin's shoulder and saw a look of confusion
on her face. Fox started to sprint off to help Groth when Nera spoke again,
“Ah... Fox?” Fox stopped short and turned to look back. “It sounded like you
just said that a plant....ATE....Pas.” She hazarded a look over her shoulder
and shook her head, grinning. “I did,
and it did” said Fox, and he hustled away. “Well,” Nera said, addressing the
assassin, “ after that, sister, we're gonna call you chopped liver!” And then
they both fell onto the killer in earnest.The look on Fox's face stopped her in her tracks. It quickly turned from relief to a look of horror. She turned again to look behind her just in time to see Arin approach the apex of his swing and then miss his mark, crashing into an unbroken pane of glass without enough force to go through. The impact shuddered the glass and knocked the air from Arin's lungs, whereby he promptly slid down the glass with a squeaking sound until he plummeted into a thicket of Briarvine. Nera stifled her laugh at Arin's expense because she had grown attached to the young man in the short time she had known him. She wouldn't even consider hurting his feelings or furthering his lack of confidence in his own abilities. “But sometimes, he does screw up” she thought to herself laughing inwardly. Then she recoiled back as a cloud of roiling blackness catapulted through the opening and landed gracefully next to her. Fox and Arin had noticed her, she never even had an inkling that she was in mortal danger.
The Black Assassin had just made a spectacular entrance and she was what had caused the look of horror on Fox's face. Her presence had inspired Arin to bravely (and stupidly) attempt an acrobatic maneuver for which he had not yet developed the skill. Nera felt like an idiot. For all of her vaunted feline acuity, she had not even realized that she had led the assassin directly to her friends. The assassin stood from a crouch and deftly drew a wicked looking dagger with each hand. Deep in the dark recesses of the assassin's hood Nera saw a flash of fiercely grinning teeth. The assassin twirled the daggers in a hypnotic dance in front of Nera's face. The blades glistened in the torchlight and Nera realized that they were poisoned. “Of course they would be” she whispered, “it would be too easy if they weren't.”
It is a Plant eat Plant world!
A Date with the Darkside
Special Brownsville Report : Online Edition
By the all seeing EYE
The door shuddered as Blossom moved to the far wall; it was being rammed from the outside. She was standing alone in utter darkness. She steeled herself and mentally prepared for the fight ahead. She had been cut off from her friends but the notion of "friends" was, until not so long ago, a foreign concept for her. Having been orphaned at a young age and abused in the care of "philanthropists" she had discovered her latent ability; the ability to remove life. Not "kill" mind you, remove life. It manifested in the form of a sickly purplish-black light that swathed her hands and wherever those hands went, life left. It removed it, displaced it, hell...for all she knew it changed it. To what, she didn't know, but she also didn't really care. It was there when she called upon it and that was all that mattered.
She called upon it now as she chanted the activation phrase for a spell. Instantly a purplish light blazed the shape of a hexagon upon the floor in front of her and from the center of the hexagon a breech appeared hemorrhaging the same otherworldly light. From out of the breech crawled a humanoid skeleton wielding a sword that faced her, nodded it's bony head in deference, and turned toward the threat eyes blazing. Blossom readied the next spell in her mind. Whomever came through that door was in for a rude surprise if they were only expecting a frightened schoolgirl. The door burst open, scattering furniture in its wake.
Framed in the doorway stood the Blackguard. Without needing further command the skeleton reared its sword over it's head and swung at the fallen paladin. The Blackguard parried the skeleton's blow away but could do nothing when Blossom plainly spoke the command word to the spell that she had prepared for this moment, "MORTIS." The familiar purple-blackish light sprung forth in a tight beam no larger than a broom handle and struck the Blackguard full in the chest. The sickly light washed over him like a pail of tossed water and then entered his armor through the myriad of crevices and gaps in the same way that water would.
For a short moment, the purplish-black light emanated from everywhere in his armor and the light played across the grotesque features on is face. He seemed to shrink somewhat in that moment. What muscles were bare on him shriveled a bit and he became somewhat less imposing, more average than he had been. He was still a very real threat, however, and one that could still kill Blossom with but one blow from his wicked great sword. "I must have words with you," he said again, this time without the smile of derision on his face. "That's more like it," thought Blossom, "all it takes is to weaken a man, any man, with my ability and he becomes so much more malleable." For good measure she called yet another skeleton to take its place next to the first as if to put a fine point on the fact that she was not one to be toyed with. "I WILL destroy you if I must, but I have been sent to deliver a message. A message for your ears only." One of the skeletons lurched forward and made a sidelong swing at the Blackguard and this time he just let it clang off of his heavily armored body. He stood waiting for Blossom's reply.
"What is this message?" Blossom said, as always showing no emotion in her voice. "My master wishes to meet with you. He is known as Chiam. Have you heard of him?" he asked. Blossom considered. She did seem to remember something of a man named Chiam but it would not come to her at this time. Most importantly, Blackguards were not to be trusted. She debated whether she could even believe this champion of the dark long enough to meet this man, Chiam. "If I were to accompany you, what of my friends?" she asked. "They must be destroyed of course, they are a threat and of no use to us" he replied with a sneer. "And if I refuse...?" she asked, knowing the answer. "If you refuse my master after you have heard his request, then you will be free to go. But if you refuse now, I will destroy you along with the others" answered the Blackguard in a matter of fact tone. Blossom considered for a moment. Possibilities swirled in her mind. She was very interested in furthering her ability, maybe this "Chiam" could help her, or even give her the training that she needed. But, she had become...friendly... with Fox. And Nera too. She genuinely admired both of them and neither of them had ever shown the least bit of contempt or disdain for Blossom. She could not stand by and watch them be slaughtered. "I will go with you" Blossom finally responded "under one condition." The Blackguard snarled with disdain as he had before. "I offer you an audience with Almighty Chiam and you want to set conditions?! I should destroy you now and tell my master that you rebuffed me completely!" He glowered down at her over the shoulder of the skeletons that had ceased their attacks on Blossom's mental command. "What is your condition?" he spat. Blossom puffed out her as-yet womanly chest and glared back at the Blackguard.
"My condition is thus: you must spare the one called Fox and the one called Nera of the Catfolk. I cannot tolerate to watch a spawn such as you butcher them. They may soon find their maker but it will not be at your hands. Can you accept this?" Blossom watched the Blackguard for any of the tell tale signs that would indicate lying. She had become quite good at detecting lies while living in the sewers and begging in the streets. "I....accept" the Blackguard replied as if biting the words. "Good, then let us be on our way. I assume you have a steed for me? I will NOT be walking all the way to your master". Blossom strode by the dark paladin with the extreme confidence of a scholar. The Blackguard stared after her, then swung his great sword at one of the skeletons still standing there in frustration. It winked out of existence just before his blade struck home and the swing carried his sword through to cleave a dresser in two. When he looked through the doorway that Blossom had just left, she stood there, with her hands on her hips and a slight grin on her lips. "Uh...are we leaving or not?" The Blackguard sighed and wrenched his great sword free and they both turned to leave the manor. On the way out of the room the Blackguard punched the remaining skeleton squarely in the jaw with his armored gauntlet cleanly removing the entire skull from the rest of the body and smashing the jaw into shards. The remainder of the skeleton crumpled to the floor and then crumbled to dust and blew away as if a great wind had blown through the room. He grinned and fell into step behind Blossom.
By the all seeing EYE
The door shuddered as Blossom moved to the far wall; it was being rammed from the outside. She was standing alone in utter darkness. She steeled herself and mentally prepared for the fight ahead. She had been cut off from her friends but the notion of "friends" was, until not so long ago, a foreign concept for her. Having been orphaned at a young age and abused in the care of "philanthropists" she had discovered her latent ability; the ability to remove life. Not "kill" mind you, remove life. It manifested in the form of a sickly purplish-black light that swathed her hands and wherever those hands went, life left. It removed it, displaced it, hell...for all she knew it changed it. To what, she didn't know, but she also didn't really care. It was there when she called upon it and that was all that mattered.
She called upon it now as she chanted the activation phrase for a spell. Instantly a purplish light blazed the shape of a hexagon upon the floor in front of her and from the center of the hexagon a breech appeared hemorrhaging the same otherworldly light. From out of the breech crawled a humanoid skeleton wielding a sword that faced her, nodded it's bony head in deference, and turned toward the threat eyes blazing. Blossom readied the next spell in her mind. Whomever came through that door was in for a rude surprise if they were only expecting a frightened schoolgirl. The door burst open, scattering furniture in its wake.
Framed in the doorway stood the Blackguard. Without needing further command the skeleton reared its sword over it's head and swung at the fallen paladin. The Blackguard parried the skeleton's blow away but could do nothing when Blossom plainly spoke the command word to the spell that she had prepared for this moment, "MORTIS." The familiar purple-blackish light sprung forth in a tight beam no larger than a broom handle and struck the Blackguard full in the chest. The sickly light washed over him like a pail of tossed water and then entered his armor through the myriad of crevices and gaps in the same way that water would.
For a short moment, the purplish-black light emanated from everywhere in his armor and the light played across the grotesque features on is face. He seemed to shrink somewhat in that moment. What muscles were bare on him shriveled a bit and he became somewhat less imposing, more average than he had been. He was still a very real threat, however, and one that could still kill Blossom with but one blow from his wicked great sword. "I must have words with you," he said again, this time without the smile of derision on his face. "That's more like it," thought Blossom, "all it takes is to weaken a man, any man, with my ability and he becomes so much more malleable." For good measure she called yet another skeleton to take its place next to the first as if to put a fine point on the fact that she was not one to be toyed with. "I WILL destroy you if I must, but I have been sent to deliver a message. A message for your ears only." One of the skeletons lurched forward and made a sidelong swing at the Blackguard and this time he just let it clang off of his heavily armored body. He stood waiting for Blossom's reply.
"What is this message?" Blossom said, as always showing no emotion in her voice. "My master wishes to meet with you. He is known as Chiam. Have you heard of him?" he asked. Blossom considered. She did seem to remember something of a man named Chiam but it would not come to her at this time. Most importantly, Blackguards were not to be trusted. She debated whether she could even believe this champion of the dark long enough to meet this man, Chiam. "If I were to accompany you, what of my friends?" she asked. "They must be destroyed of course, they are a threat and of no use to us" he replied with a sneer. "And if I refuse...?" she asked, knowing the answer. "If you refuse my master after you have heard his request, then you will be free to go. But if you refuse now, I will destroy you along with the others" answered the Blackguard in a matter of fact tone. Blossom considered for a moment. Possibilities swirled in her mind. She was very interested in furthering her ability, maybe this "Chiam" could help her, or even give her the training that she needed. But, she had become...friendly... with Fox. And Nera too. She genuinely admired both of them and neither of them had ever shown the least bit of contempt or disdain for Blossom. She could not stand by and watch them be slaughtered. "I will go with you" Blossom finally responded "under one condition." The Blackguard snarled with disdain as he had before. "I offer you an audience with Almighty Chiam and you want to set conditions?! I should destroy you now and tell my master that you rebuffed me completely!" He glowered down at her over the shoulder of the skeletons that had ceased their attacks on Blossom's mental command. "What is your condition?" he spat. Blossom puffed out her as-yet womanly chest and glared back at the Blackguard.
"My condition is thus: you must spare the one called Fox and the one called Nera of the Catfolk. I cannot tolerate to watch a spawn such as you butcher them. They may soon find their maker but it will not be at your hands. Can you accept this?" Blossom watched the Blackguard for any of the tell tale signs that would indicate lying. She had become quite good at detecting lies while living in the sewers and begging in the streets. "I....accept" the Blackguard replied as if biting the words. "Good, then let us be on our way. I assume you have a steed for me? I will NOT be walking all the way to your master". Blossom strode by the dark paladin with the extreme confidence of a scholar. The Blackguard stared after her, then swung his great sword at one of the skeletons still standing there in frustration. It winked out of existence just before his blade struck home and the swing carried his sword through to cleave a dresser in two. When he looked through the doorway that Blossom had just left, she stood there, with her hands on her hips and a slight grin on her lips. "Uh...are we leaving or not?" The Blackguard sighed and wrenched his great sword free and they both turned to leave the manor. On the way out of the room the Blackguard punched the remaining skeleton squarely in the jaw with his armored gauntlet cleanly removing the entire skull from the rest of the body and smashing the jaw into shards. The remainder of the skeleton crumpled to the floor and then crumbled to dust and blew away as if a great wind had blown through the room. He grinned and fell into step behind Blossom.
So Many Choices.........
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Questions, Comments, Criticisms
Is this thing on...
If anyone is out there reading please drop a comment. Are the postings too long, too short or just right? Do I need more pics? How are the color schemes. What is your take on the European austerity measures?
How about we jump into a vote: any snack preferences for Saturday (Goldfish / Doritos)
See you then.
If anyone is out there reading please drop a comment. Are the postings too long, too short or just right? Do I need more pics? How are the color schemes. What is your take on the European austerity measures?
How about we jump into a vote: any snack preferences for Saturday (Goldfish / Doritos)
See you then.
Little Arboretum of Horrors
Special Brownsville Report : Online Edition
By the all seeing EYE
Half of the group gathered themselves as the Tendriculous took control of the situation. "This looks like a small specimen. I suspect it would be able to swallow at least 2 or 3 of us whole," continued Pas as he watched the creature with both alarm and awe. "Though I doubt this small one could swallow someone as large as Groth, but don't take my word on it," he muttered almost to himself. Groth was the closest combatant to the behemoth vine. He looked at the greataxe that he had been cradling in his crossed arms, then at the trunk, then back at his greataxe. He shrugged and went to work. With an awesome sidelong two-handed swing Groth chopped at the base of the Tendriculous. "This not too much diff'rent from work at home". The creature shrieked when the blow fell and splinters sprayed about, followed by a sickly green sap that gushed down from the wound. It lurched forward, almost as if it were about to be felled, and then the base of the tree split into a horrid mockery of humanoid legs. It took another great stride and stepped completely out of the planter and down to the tile floor below, crushing a marble bench in the process. Two-thirds of the way up the creature's trunk a great black maw opened with a horrible rending sound. Just above it two more that burned with an evil green light.
Unquestionably, this thing was sentient. Fox and Arin gave each other a sidelong glance. This was not going to be easy. Fox was concerned for Arin because he was still having confidence issues that precluded him from being able to give his best efforts. Although Arin was exceptionally large for his age, he had been picked on and made an easy target during most of his youth and it didn't help that his father reinforced this self image that Arin had adopted. "No time for second thoughts Arin", Fox hollered over the din of splintering wood.
The creature had now completely uprooted itself now, severing roots and spraying soil in every direction. "We're gonna need you at your best Arin. You CAN do this!" Fox cheered Arin. "Now, let's go do some pruning. This garden is WAY outta control!" They both lifted their weapons and began to maneuver to position when suddenly a whipping vine screeched down the upper surface of the dome and then slammed into Pas with a meaty thud. Pas winced in pain, but before he could yell out the vine wrapped around his torso...and he was gone. The vine had whipped back to it's host so quickly it was as if Pas had simply been teleported away. Fox looked back in the direction of the trunk and to his chagrin spotted where Pas had gone. In the blink of an eye Pas had been yanked from his perch on the edge of the rose planter and deposited into the gaping black maw of the tree creature. The maw snapped shut with a sickening crack, piercing Pas with it's splintery, jagged teeth as it did. Pas moaned.
Fox knew they had to act quickly or Pas would be lost forever. He looked about and saw Arin staring, a horrified look on his face, at the place where the monster's mouth had snapped shut and Pas' leg still dangled limply. "Arin! Your whip, quickly. Can you entangle Pas' leg before this monster swallows him whole?" Without comment Arin jumped into action. He tumbled towards the tree, barely evading the lashing vines that pounded the floor tiles to dust where he had just been standing. At the end of his roll, as if an extension of his own arm, Arin snapped the whip. The whip lashed out towards the maw just as the tree had lashed out at Arin, but Arin's whip found purchase. It looped about Pas' boot like a constrictor snake and then went taut. It suddenly occurred to Arin that a creature of this size and more to the point, this strength, would have no problem swallowing Pas and then using the whip as if slurping pasta to pull him in.
"Groth! Help me, grab the whip and pull.
We've got to save him". Groth was already halfway through another mighty
chop however, and looked very content doing it. Almost cathartic. Fox fired off
an arrow to try to harry the tree, but to no obvious effect. "There's got
to be a better way" Fox said, half to himself. Groth turned to grab onto
Arin's entangled whip but suddenly the whip almost pulled free of Arin's grip.
Without a conscious thought Arin unfurled the end of the whip that had tethered
Pas from going down the vine monsters gullet (training made it muscle memory to
unfurl the whip whenever it was about to be pulled from your hand, and worse
case scenario he would just let go of the whip). Groth looked confused and Arin
looked dejectedly over at Fox; Arin had failed again. Failed to save his friend
from a horrible fate when he needed help the most. "He can't be dead
yet" Fox cried. "Let's fell this driftwood quickly, before it IS too
late!". The three of them set to the task with renewed vigor. They would
get Pas out of this beast's belly or die trying; a very real possibility it
seemed.
By the all seeing EYE
Half of the group gathered themselves as the Tendriculous took control of the situation. "This looks like a small specimen. I suspect it would be able to swallow at least 2 or 3 of us whole," continued Pas as he watched the creature with both alarm and awe. "Though I doubt this small one could swallow someone as large as Groth, but don't take my word on it," he muttered almost to himself. Groth was the closest combatant to the behemoth vine. He looked at the greataxe that he had been cradling in his crossed arms, then at the trunk, then back at his greataxe. He shrugged and went to work. With an awesome sidelong two-handed swing Groth chopped at the base of the Tendriculous. "This not too much diff'rent from work at home". The creature shrieked when the blow fell and splinters sprayed about, followed by a sickly green sap that gushed down from the wound. It lurched forward, almost as if it were about to be felled, and then the base of the tree split into a horrid mockery of humanoid legs. It took another great stride and stepped completely out of the planter and down to the tile floor below, crushing a marble bench in the process. Two-thirds of the way up the creature's trunk a great black maw opened with a horrible rending sound. Just above it two more that burned with an evil green light.
Unquestionably, this thing was sentient. Fox and Arin gave each other a sidelong glance. This was not going to be easy. Fox was concerned for Arin because he was still having confidence issues that precluded him from being able to give his best efforts. Although Arin was exceptionally large for his age, he had been picked on and made an easy target during most of his youth and it didn't help that his father reinforced this self image that Arin had adopted. "No time for second thoughts Arin", Fox hollered over the din of splintering wood.
The creature had now completely uprooted itself now, severing roots and spraying soil in every direction. "We're gonna need you at your best Arin. You CAN do this!" Fox cheered Arin. "Now, let's go do some pruning. This garden is WAY outta control!" They both lifted their weapons and began to maneuver to position when suddenly a whipping vine screeched down the upper surface of the dome and then slammed into Pas with a meaty thud. Pas winced in pain, but before he could yell out the vine wrapped around his torso...and he was gone. The vine had whipped back to it's host so quickly it was as if Pas had simply been teleported away. Fox looked back in the direction of the trunk and to his chagrin spotted where Pas had gone. In the blink of an eye Pas had been yanked from his perch on the edge of the rose planter and deposited into the gaping black maw of the tree creature. The maw snapped shut with a sickening crack, piercing Pas with it's splintery, jagged teeth as it did. Pas moaned.
Fox knew they had to act quickly or Pas would be lost forever. He looked about and saw Arin staring, a horrified look on his face, at the place where the monster's mouth had snapped shut and Pas' leg still dangled limply. "Arin! Your whip, quickly. Can you entangle Pas' leg before this monster swallows him whole?" Without comment Arin jumped into action. He tumbled towards the tree, barely evading the lashing vines that pounded the floor tiles to dust where he had just been standing. At the end of his roll, as if an extension of his own arm, Arin snapped the whip. The whip lashed out towards the maw just as the tree had lashed out at Arin, but Arin's whip found purchase. It looped about Pas' boot like a constrictor snake and then went taut. It suddenly occurred to Arin that a creature of this size and more to the point, this strength, would have no problem swallowing Pas and then using the whip as if slurping pasta to pull him in.
"Groth! Help me, grab the whip and pull.
We've got to save him". Groth was already halfway through another mighty
chop however, and looked very content doing it. Almost cathartic. Fox fired off
an arrow to try to harry the tree, but to no obvious effect. "There's got
to be a better way" Fox said, half to himself. Groth turned to grab onto
Arin's entangled whip but suddenly the whip almost pulled free of Arin's grip.
Without a conscious thought Arin unfurled the end of the whip that had tethered
Pas from going down the vine monsters gullet (training made it muscle memory to
unfurl the whip whenever it was about to be pulled from your hand, and worse
case scenario he would just let go of the whip). Groth looked confused and Arin
looked dejectedly over at Fox; Arin had failed again. Failed to save his friend
from a horrible fate when he needed help the most. "He can't be dead
yet" Fox cried. "Let's fell this driftwood quickly, before it IS too
late!". The three of them set to the task with renewed vigor. They would
get Pas out of this beast's belly or die trying; a very real possibility it
seemed. Monday, May 14, 2012
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
THE STRET WATCHER
Special Brownsville Report
By the all seeing EYE
A group of adventurers had reached the arboretum where Lady Alexandria was killed. The Seneschal Jeeves told the party that he would leave them to their investigation and at that time a great gong sounded from somewhere else in the villa. "I'm being summoned" said Jeeves and before the party could inquire further Jeeves hurried off down the hall.
Jeeves had forgotten to unlock the door for the guests. It was a simple lock, with a quick twist of his wrist, Fox had the double doors swinging wide open. He then tucked a shiny tool back into the depths of his robes.
Beyond the doors was a wondrous sight. The chamber was constructed almost totally of glass in the shape of a hemisphere. Inside the hemisphere were all manner of exotic flora. There was a low planter that surrounded the perimeter of the globe and a large planter in the shape of a cross occupying the center. Pas the Ranger immediately fell to examining the semi-rare rose bush directly to the left of the entrance while the other two rogue types set to checking the room for traps or other dangers. Groth ducked into the room and stood immediately inside the entrance with his huge axe cradled in his crossed arms as if his mere presence would ward his new friends from any unseen dangers. "Let me know when it's safe," Blossom deadpanned into the cavernous space. "I'll keep watch from out here with Blossom," reported Nera in a nervous purr.
The four members moved cautiously around the chamber eyeing everything for potential trouble. Fox's gaze followed Arin's to the top of the dome and to a shattered pane at the top of the hemisphere. He stuck his hand out and felt the chill drizzle falling through the opening. Arin's gaze continued along the ribs of the ceiling's support beams. He had spotted a vine, a rather large....muscular vine, camouflaged along the beams emanating from the center of the large cross shaped planter. He followed the length of the vine until his eyes settled on it's terminus. The vine ended in what appeared to be a distorted copy of a humanoid hand that was palming a huge boulder directly over the entrance to the chamber. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he realized the implications. Never one to exude confidence, especially around Blossom, he called to her. "Uh...Blossom? You might wanna check this out...". "What is it?" Blossom asked. As soon as her mouth opened she had her answer.
The hand-like vine released the boulder, it fell with a crash to the floor blocking the entrance, and effectively split the party into two. "Oh Shit!" mouthed Pas as he turned to survey the situation. A large tree sprouted from the center of the cross shaped planter, it rose high and unfolded in all directions. Pas identified the plant immediately. He reported it to the rest of the group as if reading it from a book. "Tendriculous" he said, for once deadpanning his description as if doing his best impression of Blossom. "Huge to colossal plant with a voracious appetite for flesh, any flesh, and as much as it can get. Always hungry. When found in it's native habitat you will find no other animals, plants or other form of intelligent fauna that will go within 500 feet of where it was last known to be. They will avoid the area for at least 24 hours even after it has moved on. This looks to be a small specimen." As Pas said the words the creature fully unfolded with it's head brushing the ceiling some 20 feet above. It was immediately apparent to everyone that this was a trap. A hungry, living, trap.
On the other side of the boulder Blossom and Nera were frustrated and panicked respectively. "Damn...can't see what's going on Nera. We'll have to find another way around" commented Blossom. She recalled that they had passed many doors in this hallway on their way to the arboretum. "Nera, you take the left and I'll....," Blossom stopped mid-sentence. As she turned to point out the doors to which she was referring, she spotted a hulking, armored shape step into view at the end of the hallway some 90 feet away. "So...you've found me," chuckled the Blackguard said with a smile. "Let us talk young one," he said, and then the smile disappeared from his face. He began to stride down the hallway with a long, confident gait, his armored boots striking the expensive marble flooring with resounding metallic notes. Nera growled fiercely as memories swirled through her feline head; Lady Alexandria had two important visitors to her home: a Count Drusk and a Lady Angelique. The investigation had only just begun and they had not had a chance to interview the two guests but Nera could now easily deduce who they were. She knew the other, a treacherous assassin, was sure to be close by. She scanned the dim hallway between the approaching Blackguard and their own position. There, movement! A shadowy shape flitted between the murky pools of inky darkness trailing a fluttering cloak of tattered oblivion. "Like a wraith" she thought. Blossom did not have the enhanced vision that the Catfolk did so Nera alerted her. "Quick, into the rooms. We are not alone with the Blackguard!" They both flung open separate doors on their side of the hall and darted in. Blossom immediately realized her mistake when she saw that the wall opposite the door was blank. "Too late now", she thought, then turned and locked the door. She surveyed the room for heavy furniture for which she could block the door in preparation of a siege. Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway, Nera was having a bit of luck. She quickly spied a set of drapes, hustled toward them, slamming the door behind her. In her rush she didn't think to lock the door. As she crossed the room, the only thought was getting to the rest of her friends. She yanked the curtains down with a feral snarl, revealing the estate grounds beyond. She looked about and spotted an expensive looking chair which she hurled through the window with a resounding crash and then leaped through the open portal the chair had created. As soon as her feet hit the ground she sprinted back in the direction of the arboretum. "If there's not an opening from this side, then I will create my own" she thought with resolve. Ahead she caught sight of hemisphere and the combat that was raging inside. It didn't look like it was going well for her friends. With a hesitant look back in the direction of the hallway and Blossom, she resolutely sprinted forward and prepared to leap up onto the short stone wall around the base of the arboretum. She had made her decision, hopefully it was the right one.
Lions, Tigers and Plants, Oh My.
Special Brownsville Report
By the all seeing EYE
A group of adventurers had reached the arboretum where Lady Alexandria was killed. The Seneschal Jeeves told the party that he would leave them to their investigation and at that time a great gong sounded from somewhere else in the villa. "I'm being summoned" said Jeeves and before the party could inquire further Jeeves hurried off down the hall.
Jeeves had forgotten to unlock the door for the guests. It was a simple lock, with a quick twist of his wrist, Fox had the double doors swinging wide open. He then tucked a shiny tool back into the depths of his robes.
Beyond the doors was a wondrous sight. The chamber was constructed almost totally of glass in the shape of a hemisphere. Inside the hemisphere were all manner of exotic flora. There was a low planter that surrounded the perimeter of the globe and a large planter in the shape of a cross occupying the center. Pas the Ranger immediately fell to examining the semi-rare rose bush directly to the left of the entrance while the other two rogue types set to checking the room for traps or other dangers. Groth ducked into the room and stood immediately inside the entrance with his huge axe cradled in his crossed arms as if his mere presence would ward his new friends from any unseen dangers. "Let me know when it's safe," Blossom deadpanned into the cavernous space. "I'll keep watch from out here with Blossom," reported Nera in a nervous purr.
The four members moved cautiously around the chamber eyeing everything for potential trouble. Fox's gaze followed Arin's to the top of the dome and to a shattered pane at the top of the hemisphere. He stuck his hand out and felt the chill drizzle falling through the opening. Arin's gaze continued along the ribs of the ceiling's support beams. He had spotted a vine, a rather large....muscular vine, camouflaged along the beams emanating from the center of the large cross shaped planter. He followed the length of the vine until his eyes settled on it's terminus. The vine ended in what appeared to be a distorted copy of a humanoid hand that was palming a huge boulder directly over the entrance to the chamber. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he realized the implications. Never one to exude confidence, especially around Blossom, he called to her. "Uh...Blossom? You might wanna check this out...". "What is it?" Blossom asked. As soon as her mouth opened she had her answer.
The hand-like vine released the boulder, it fell with a crash to the floor blocking the entrance, and effectively split the party into two. "Oh Shit!" mouthed Pas as he turned to survey the situation. A large tree sprouted from the center of the cross shaped planter, it rose high and unfolded in all directions. Pas identified the plant immediately. He reported it to the rest of the group as if reading it from a book. "Tendriculous" he said, for once deadpanning his description as if doing his best impression of Blossom. "Huge to colossal plant with a voracious appetite for flesh, any flesh, and as much as it can get. Always hungry. When found in it's native habitat you will find no other animals, plants or other form of intelligent fauna that will go within 500 feet of where it was last known to be. They will avoid the area for at least 24 hours even after it has moved on. This looks to be a small specimen." As Pas said the words the creature fully unfolded with it's head brushing the ceiling some 20 feet above. It was immediately apparent to everyone that this was a trap. A hungry, living, trap.
On the other side of the boulder Blossom and Nera were frustrated and panicked respectively. "Damn...can't see what's going on Nera. We'll have to find another way around" commented Blossom. She recalled that they had passed many doors in this hallway on their way to the arboretum. "Nera, you take the left and I'll....," Blossom stopped mid-sentence. As she turned to point out the doors to which she was referring, she spotted a hulking, armored shape step into view at the end of the hallway some 90 feet away. "So...you've found me," chuckled the Blackguard said with a smile. "Let us talk young one," he said, and then the smile disappeared from his face. He began to stride down the hallway with a long, confident gait, his armored boots striking the expensive marble flooring with resounding metallic notes. Nera growled fiercely as memories swirled through her feline head; Lady Alexandria had two important visitors to her home: a Count Drusk and a Lady Angelique. The investigation had only just begun and they had not had a chance to interview the two guests but Nera could now easily deduce who they were. She knew the other, a treacherous assassin, was sure to be close by. She scanned the dim hallway between the approaching Blackguard and their own position. There, movement! A shadowy shape flitted between the murky pools of inky darkness trailing a fluttering cloak of tattered oblivion. "Like a wraith" she thought. Blossom did not have the enhanced vision that the Catfolk did so Nera alerted her. "Quick, into the rooms. We are not alone with the Blackguard!" They both flung open separate doors on their side of the hall and darted in. Blossom immediately realized her mistake when she saw that the wall opposite the door was blank. "Too late now", she thought, then turned and locked the door. She surveyed the room for heavy furniture for which she could block the door in preparation of a siege. Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway, Nera was having a bit of luck. She quickly spied a set of drapes, hustled toward them, slamming the door behind her. In her rush she didn't think to lock the door. As she crossed the room, the only thought was getting to the rest of her friends. She yanked the curtains down with a feral snarl, revealing the estate grounds beyond. She looked about and spotted an expensive looking chair which she hurled through the window with a resounding crash and then leaped through the open portal the chair had created. As soon as her feet hit the ground she sprinted back in the direction of the arboretum. "If there's not an opening from this side, then I will create my own" she thought with resolve. Ahead she caught sight of hemisphere and the combat that was raging inside. It didn't look like it was going well for her friends. With a hesitant look back in the direction of the hallway and Blossom, she resolutely sprinted forward and prepared to leap up onto the short stone wall around the base of the arboretum. She had made her decision, hopefully it was the right one.
Lions, Tigers and Plants, Oh My.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Gentlemen Callers
Nera and Blossom lead the way across town to the residence of the deceased. It was a large stately manor. It stood a solid three stories tall and backed up to a thick wood. Through the canopy of trees rose a slight dome. It's reflection indicated glass construction. As they approached the manor from a side path Fox hung back.
He could not shake the feeling that they had been shadowed since the Sheriff's office. He stepped off the path. As the group traveled around to the front of the residence he noticed a figure off in the distance making itself known. The size and gait of the figure was none other than the newly acquainted Captain Pierce. He was no doubt keeping tabs on the investigation. But who exactly would he be reporting to?
Nera knocked on the front door and waited for a response. When no one came she changed her tactics and rapped with the iron knocker ring hanging from an iron vine. Blossom huffed with impatience as they waited. Still no response. Groth stepped forward and tapped Nera on the shoulder. She had about lost her balance before she moved aside. The large green man lifted a massive fist and brought it down on the door three times. The sound behind the door was like thunder in a cave. Eyes grew wide and they held their breath as the echo rang throughout the house followed by the muffled sound of glass breaking.
They jumped back as the door swung open.
"Yes, yes, what is it, what do you want?" A furrowed man wearing a butler's uniform sprang to life in the doorway. He angrily looked left and right eyeing each of them. Pas stepped forward and greeted the man.
"We are here with the Law Offices of Nam Shamdylynn. We are investigating the wrongful death of Lady Alexandria on behalf of our client Mr. Wendell."
The man thought for a moment, weighing the situation. "I am Jeeves the Seneschal, I do not know what assistance I can be to you." He attempted to call Fox and Pas out on their bluff. The team maintained their professionalism and he invited them in.
"Where was the body found?" Fox asked in his best attorney voice.
"Her in the home," replied Jeeves with a smirk.
"We know, that is why we have come to investigate the home," interjected Arin. "Where at in the house!"
Jeeves faked a smile at Arin and turned back to Fox. "She was found in the arboretum. What a dreadful sight it had been." He paused for a moment and looked at Pas, "that pile of filth will get what he deserves when he swings from that gallows."
"May we see where the body was found," asked Pas?
"You may investigate anywhere you need, however I ask that you keep a low profile as there are guests about the residence."
"Who are these guests, visiting the home of a dead woman?" Demanded Fox.
"They are suitors of the highest profile come down from Stret. Count Drusk and Lady Angelique are staying in teh home. They too are in mourning." Jeeves lowered his gaze to the floor.
"I wish to know of these suitors, take me to them." Fox spat with one finger pointing to the sky.
Jeeves gave his crooked smile, "do you wish to see the arboretum or visit with the visitors from Stret?" As Jeeves asked this question, time appeared to stop. Blossom and Nera felt as if this short interaction had consumed hours of time. Arin himself wondered if some sort of enchantment had befallen the room.
Pas again changed the topic of conversation, "What did her key open?"
"I'm not sure what key you are referring to?" Jeeves was clearly feigning naivete.
"The key around her neck, she wore it every where she went, I'm guessing it's been stolen."
"She kept the key a secret, she was the only one who knew what it opened." He replied.
The group pressed Jeeves further and finally he agreed to lead them to the arboretum. They moved through the parlor and to a hallway. It was long and poorly lit. They made their way single file. The hallway was lined with closed doors, some had faint lights glowing from underneath. They continued walking, and walking, and walking, and....
Enter the Arboretum!!!!!
He could not shake the feeling that they had been shadowed since the Sheriff's office. He stepped off the path. As the group traveled around to the front of the residence he noticed a figure off in the distance making itself known. The size and gait of the figure was none other than the newly acquainted Captain Pierce. He was no doubt keeping tabs on the investigation. But who exactly would he be reporting to?
Nera knocked on the front door and waited for a response. When no one came she changed her tactics and rapped with the iron knocker ring hanging from an iron vine. Blossom huffed with impatience as they waited. Still no response. Groth stepped forward and tapped Nera on the shoulder. She had about lost her balance before she moved aside. The large green man lifted a massive fist and brought it down on the door three times. The sound behind the door was like thunder in a cave. Eyes grew wide and they held their breath as the echo rang throughout the house followed by the muffled sound of glass breaking.
They jumped back as the door swung open.
"Yes, yes, what is it, what do you want?" A furrowed man wearing a butler's uniform sprang to life in the doorway. He angrily looked left and right eyeing each of them. Pas stepped forward and greeted the man.
"We are here with the Law Offices of Nam Shamdylynn. We are investigating the wrongful death of Lady Alexandria on behalf of our client Mr. Wendell."
The man thought for a moment, weighing the situation. "I am Jeeves the Seneschal, I do not know what assistance I can be to you." He attempted to call Fox and Pas out on their bluff. The team maintained their professionalism and he invited them in.
"Where was the body found?" Fox asked in his best attorney voice.
"Her in the home," replied Jeeves with a smirk.
"We know, that is why we have come to investigate the home," interjected Arin. "Where at in the house!"
Jeeves faked a smile at Arin and turned back to Fox. "She was found in the arboretum. What a dreadful sight it had been." He paused for a moment and looked at Pas, "that pile of filth will get what he deserves when he swings from that gallows."
"May we see where the body was found," asked Pas?
"You may investigate anywhere you need, however I ask that you keep a low profile as there are guests about the residence."
"Who are these guests, visiting the home of a dead woman?" Demanded Fox.
"They are suitors of the highest profile come down from Stret. Count Drusk and Lady Angelique are staying in teh home. They too are in mourning." Jeeves lowered his gaze to the floor.
"I wish to know of these suitors, take me to them." Fox spat with one finger pointing to the sky.
Jeeves gave his crooked smile, "do you wish to see the arboretum or visit with the visitors from Stret?" As Jeeves asked this question, time appeared to stop. Blossom and Nera felt as if this short interaction had consumed hours of time. Arin himself wondered if some sort of enchantment had befallen the room.
Pas again changed the topic of conversation, "What did her key open?"
"I'm not sure what key you are referring to?" Jeeves was clearly feigning naivete.
"The key around her neck, she wore it every where she went, I'm guessing it's been stolen."
"She kept the key a secret, she was the only one who knew what it opened." He replied.
The group pressed Jeeves further and finally he agreed to lead them to the arboretum. They moved through the parlor and to a hallway. It was long and poorly lit. They made their way single file. The hallway was lined with closed doors, some had faint lights glowing from underneath. They continued walking, and walking, and walking, and....
Enter the Arboretum!!!!!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
The Gang Sees Dead People
She was pale with a clear complexion. Her hair was neatly brushed. A translucent sheet covered her lower half.
"She would make a great start to my army." Blossom was entranced with the idea of an undead minion following her call. "That flesh could slide off with ease."
"Can I help you?' The coroner stepped out of the shadows. He was a short man with glasses thicker than a broadsword. He wore a white tunic dashed with brown smears. He squinted at Arin.
"We are here to examine this body," Pas took the lead.
"As you can see there In't much to examine," the coroner nodded to the table. "No cuts or wounds she has. Not a single drop of blood when they brought her in. Perfect specimen of health she is, xceptin she's dead." He pulled half of a sandwich out of his pocket and bit off a corner.
Pas kept the coroner busy looking at charts and test results while Fox and Blossom took a closer look at the body. There was not a single scratch on the body. No signs of distress. Blossom ran her finger up the corpses arm, across the elbow, over the shoulder, and came to a stop at the neck. There was a faint but distinct red mark circling the neck.
Fox looked at Blossom, "a necklace?" She nodded her head.
Further questioning of the coroner revealed that her swelling had subsided by the time she was brought to his lair. He also revealed that she always wore a chain around her neck. Attached to the chain was a key, however he did not know what the key was for. They agreed that the next stop would be the residence.
The coroner offered the other half of his sandwich to Arin who declined. Groth however graciously accepted the gift as he found pheasant salad to be quite appetizing.
3 Dub
The band of adventurers regrouped outside the Sheriff's office. Pas filled everyone in on the task at hand
"Pssst," a voice hissed from a back alley. The only one who noticed the voice was Fox, who doubled back and peered around the corner. A skinny young man was hunched over in a worn stockade.
"Hey man, help me out." He called.
"Why should we help you?" Replied Fox cautiously.
"You want to know who murdered that woman right, help out your new friend right?" His eyes glowed and a smile spread across his face. By now the rest of the group had circled around the man. "My name is WWW, but people call me 3 Dub. Mostly because there are three W's in my name."
"Do you think that Mr. Wendell is capable of killing?" Asked Fox.
3 Dub looked left then right. "Lie, steal, cheat, maybe even con. But he doesn't have the guts to do all that killing stuff."
"Who killed her?" Fox took another step closer.
"I'm not sure," 3 Dub looked up at the sky to avoid Foxs' gaze.
Groth stepped behind the stockade and put his massive hand on 3 Dub's back. It startled the young man and his eyes went wild.
"I don't know, I don't know, all I know is he didn't do it."
"Who would have done this?" Fox was now becoming annoyed with this nuisance.
As Groth leaned closer, to force his presence on 3 Dub, he noticed something about the security latch on the stockade. It was unlocked and the latch was not secured. Groth eyed Fox and the group. "This one not right."
"Hey wait up, aren't you going to help me? Where are you going?" 3 dub shouted as they walked off across the square.
"Pssst," a voice hissed from a back alley. The only one who noticed the voice was Fox, who doubled back and peered around the corner. A skinny young man was hunched over in a worn stockade.
"Hey man, help me out." He called."Why should we help you?" Replied Fox cautiously.
"You want to know who murdered that woman right, help out your new friend right?" His eyes glowed and a smile spread across his face. By now the rest of the group had circled around the man. "My name is WWW, but people call me 3 Dub. Mostly because there are three W's in my name."
"Do you think that Mr. Wendell is capable of killing?" Asked Fox.
3 Dub looked left then right. "Lie, steal, cheat, maybe even con. But he doesn't have the guts to do all that killing stuff."
"Who killed her?" Fox took another step closer.
"I'm not sure," 3 Dub looked up at the sky to avoid Foxs' gaze.
Groth stepped behind the stockade and put his massive hand on 3 Dub's back. It startled the young man and his eyes went wild.
"I don't know, I don't know, all I know is he didn't do it."
"Who would have done this?" Fox was now becoming annoyed with this nuisance.
As Groth leaned closer, to force his presence on 3 Dub, he noticed something about the security latch on the stockade. It was unlocked and the latch was not secured. Groth eyed Fox and the group. "This one not right."
"Hey wait up, aren't you going to help me? Where are you going?" 3 dub shouted as they walked off across the square.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Sheriff of Silvertown
Nam Shamdylynn and his cohorts greeted the Sheriff with reserve. After an intense battle of wits the Sheriff believed that they were there to represent Mr. Wendell in the event of a fair trial. However first there was the matter of preparing evidence and launching a full scale investigation.
It was apparent during their discussion that the Sheriff had little to no evidence proving that their client had committed any crime. The entire proceeding hinged on the fact that Mr. Wendell had been discovered at the scene of the crime.
"How exactly did my client carry out his hideous murder," Fox made sure to use air quotes on the term murder.
"Well, I'm not sure." The Sheriff scratched his head.
"Was there any blood?" Asked Fox.
"No, there was no blood, a lot of swelling though," nodded the Sheriff.
"In what way?" It was clear that a defense was now forming in Fox's head.
The Sheriff sat for a moment possibly realizing the mistakes he may have made while investigating. He wondered how much more information he should divulge. "She had ballooned up to almost four times her size. Almost like she got bit."
Further inquisition revealed that the victim was found bloated in her home and her body now rested in the basement cold storage on the other side of Brownsville. There was no blood, entry or exit wounds found on the corpse. In return for an exchange of information the Sheriff granted the group unrestricted access to any areas needed to complete a full investigation.
Meanwhile Nera, Blossom and Arin slowly towed their 45,000 copper through the square. They had attempted to store the loot in the Brownsville Community Bank (BCB) with the hopes of retrieving it at a later date. They were told by the teller that the bank only accepted Silver and they would have to go elsewhere. Next they tried the local shops. Hoping to buy goods that could be sold off in the future they were turned away yet again. It appeared that all of Brownsville was on a strictly silver possibility; with one exception of course, the Farm Bureau where they had been saddled with the load.
As they towed their awkward load past the main stockades a voice called out to them. It was Mr. Wendell who informed them of Fox and Pas' noble cause. He pointed them in the direction of the Sheriff's post.
Before heading of to join up, Arin decided that there was no longer any need to tow around the copper.
"He's not going anywhere." Arin said with a smile. They tied the bags of copper up to Mr. Wendell and set off on their way.
It was apparent during their discussion that the Sheriff had little to no evidence proving that their client had committed any crime. The entire proceeding hinged on the fact that Mr. Wendell had been discovered at the scene of the crime.
"How exactly did my client carry out his hideous murder," Fox made sure to use air quotes on the term murder.
"Well, I'm not sure." The Sheriff scratched his head.
"Was there any blood?" Asked Fox.
"No, there was no blood, a lot of swelling though," nodded the Sheriff.
"In what way?" It was clear that a defense was now forming in Fox's head.
The Sheriff sat for a moment possibly realizing the mistakes he may have made while investigating. He wondered how much more information he should divulge. "She had ballooned up to almost four times her size. Almost like she got bit."
Further inquisition revealed that the victim was found bloated in her home and her body now rested in the basement cold storage on the other side of Brownsville. There was no blood, entry or exit wounds found on the corpse. In return for an exchange of information the Sheriff granted the group unrestricted access to any areas needed to complete a full investigation.
Meanwhile Nera, Blossom and Arin slowly towed their 45,000 copper through the square. They had attempted to store the loot in the Brownsville Community Bank (BCB) with the hopes of retrieving it at a later date. They were told by the teller that the bank only accepted Silver and they would have to go elsewhere. Next they tried the local shops. Hoping to buy goods that could be sold off in the future they were turned away yet again. It appeared that all of Brownsville was on a strictly silver possibility; with one exception of course, the Farm Bureau where they had been saddled with the load.As they towed their awkward load past the main stockades a voice called out to them. It was Mr. Wendell who informed them of Fox and Pas' noble cause. He pointed them in the direction of the Sheriff's post.
Before heading of to join up, Arin decided that there was no longer any need to tow around the copper.
"He's not going anywhere." Arin said with a smile. They tied the bags of copper up to Mr. Wendell and set off on their way.
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