Troubled Past PBEM 85 - Daram's Mistake
Fabian Benavente
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
Angie Gignac
The shard pulsed gently, giving enough light for Bryn to see by, which was not exactly a blessing. The python was moving her way, and Bryn had no idea what to do. She had never seen a snake that size, had barely even imagined one. Her lizard body was almost three feet long, nearly as big as her natural form, but this snake was easily 10 times her size. Terrified, she froze, her grey body blending in with the rock tunnel. The giant python, however, not relying on sight as her primary sense, was not fooled. Her huge head bobbed silently, tongue tasting the dark air.
Realizing that she couldn't hide from the python's sense of smell, and hoping to buy some time, Bryn said, "Pleasssse, I mean no harm." The snake kept moving slowly forward, giving no indication that it had heard or understood. Apparently their forms were different enough to prevent communication. Unless, of course, she used the power of Eberron to enhance her ability to communicate, which she couldn't do in this form.
Bryn came to a decision. The call had been made, and the natives would be looking at the hole, waiting for the snake to emerge. If she tried to run, she would be spotted. If she stayed put, she could be eaten. She needed to change back into her natural form.
Concentrating now on her natural shape, Bryn called upon Eberron to change her back. The snake reared back in surprise as Bryn's form began to shimmer and change. Unfortunately, just as the change began, a strange voice sounded in Bryn's mind.
~There now. That should make things somewhat simpler. What do you see, Bryn?~
The druid shrieked, clapping her hands to her mouth as she fell to the floor. The power of Eberron surged momentarily through her body, unrestrained, and Bryn shook helplessly in its grasp. As he seizures ended, she lay panting, terrified by the implications of the voice in her head. Too afraid to think properly, Bryn cried out, "Who are you?"
[tag Lan]
Les Anderson
> The druid shrieked, clapping her hands to her mouth as she fell to the
> floor. The power of Eberron surged momentarily through her body,
> unrestrained, and Bryn shook helplessly in its grasp. As he seizures ended,
> she lay panting, terrified by the implications of the voice in her head. Too
> afraid to think properly, Bryn cried out, "Who are you?"
[Lan - new]
The fear came through to Lan far more clearly than any words could
have. Stupid. He should have linked them when they were closer. Leif
was too far away now for him to reach without alerting the females, he
was sure of it, and Bryn- Bryn was unfamiliar with this form of
communication.
Without warning- his fault, again. Given how much they had discussed
the power of the females' minds he should have predicted this
reaction.
Soothing emotions drifted into Bryn's mind. Calming feelings, like a
balm for her mind, like a cool mist on dry, overheated skin. Lan sent
a mental image of himself rather than any name- a name was just words-
sent the halfling the clear mental picture of himself.
~I am sorry to have startled you, Bryn. It occurred to me too late
that this would be the best solution for communicating while we are
separated.~
The healer got some sense of what she had been about to do, about her
intent, the feeling of her readying her will for some task, that it
was bound up in fear and hope and a complex mixture of those and other
emotions.
~I am sorry to have interrupted you, Bryn. Please, continue what you
were about to do.~
Angie Gignac
[Lan old]
~I am sorry to have interrupted you, Bryn. Please, continue what you
were about to do.~
[Bryn new]
Bryn's relief was so great that she could taste it in her mouth, like a cool drink of water on a hot day. However, she realized that she was not yet free from danger--far from it. Although her shapeshifting had caused the snake to pause momentarily, the creature had recovered from its surprise and was heading her way again. ~Big snake!~ she thought at Lan, ~I found the shard.~ That done, she scrambled to her knees in an attempt to back a little ways down the tunnel. At least, that was the plan. The druid's right leg didn't respond properly, and she was completely unbalanced. Something was wrong.
The halfling had no time to investigate the problem. The snake was nearly ontop of her. She managed to balance herself on her knees, calling to Earth Mother for help as she did so. The power washed through Bryn, and she began to weave her body gracefully back and forth. The snake hesitated, and Bryn looked deep into the reptile's eyes. The horizontal pupils regarded her with suspicion, but she didn't break the gaze. She needed a moment to think, and she prayed this would buy her some time.
[ooc - casting Animal Trance. If it works, add the next bit. If it doesn't, then I only ask that the rest of the party recovers Bryn's bones and gives them a proper burial. :) Fabian?]
The snake seemed entranced, and swayed its body in a mirror image of Bryn's movements. The druid was having a hard time balancing herself in the dark tunnel, but didn't dare take the time to reposition herself. When it was clear that the danger was temporarily averted, she thought to Lan, ~What is happening? I heard scream, then snake started moving. It stopped for now, but I don't know what to do. Should I let it go and try to get shard?~
[tag]
Les Anderson
~What is
> happening? I heard scream, then snake started moving.
I'm confused. I thought the "high pitched scream song ... not unlike
the one intoned by the native priestess" was coming from the shard,
not from outside the cave.
Fabian, could you clarify?
If it is coming from outside the cave does Lan see a source for the scream?
--
Les
Fabian Benavente
Last sentence in the turn...
"The sudden change in the drum rhythm accompanied by the wailing song by one of the
priestess seemed to frame the moment of tension."
The song is from a priestess and lan does see her. She's calling the python for 'dinner'.
L8r,
Fabian Benavente
> then I only ask that the rest of the party recovers Bryn's bones and gives
> them a proper burial. :) Fabian?]
Animal Trance works fine.
Gee, I wonder how long it will take the yuan-ti to figure out something is wrong when
their 'God' doesn't answer the 'dinner' call. :)
L8r,
Les Anderson
> The snake seemed entranced, and swayed its body in a mirror image of Bryn's
> movements. The druid was having a hard time balancing herself in the dark
> tunnel, but didn't dare take the time to reposition herself. When it was
> clear that the danger was temporarily averted, she thought to Lan, ~What is
> happening? I heard scream, then snake started moving. It stopped for now,
> but I don't know what to do. Should I let it go and try to get shard?~
[Lan - new]
The healer watched as the priestess began her wailing cry. That
together with Bryn's news was enough for Lan to piece together the
situation. The snake was being summoned to feast on the prisoners. Oh,
the things he had done in the past few days in the name of necessity.
~Yes, let it go, Bryn. Get the shard, if you think you can carry it
out. They should be distracted by the appearance of their god but be
as careful coming out as you were going in.~
Fabian Benavente
A couple of 'constraints':
- Bryn must continue with her 'dancing' to keep the snake busy; and
- if Bryn 'releases' the snake, the snake will come out through the tunnel that Bryn is
currently in.
Questions?
Last time I checked we had other players, right? :)
L8r,
Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
Gary Burns
Angie Gignac
[Lan - old]
~Yes, let it go, Bryn. Get the shard, if you think you can carry it
out. They should be distracted by the appearance of their god but be
as careful coming out as you were going in.~
[Bryn new]
The druid grimaced silently. Letting the python go was easier said than done. What if it decided to eat her? Even in her natural form, she would be little more than a snack to such a beast. Perhaps if she could speak with it...
Bryn began calling upon Eberron, asking for power to speak with animals, but she was interrupted by an angry hiss. Her concentration had wavered, and the snake had broken out of its trance. Bryn realized it was no good; she could either continue to fascinate the snake, or she could try to speak with it--she couldn't do both.
Great, now what? Bryn was beginning to tire of the dance, and outside the drums were growing louder. The natives were waiting for the snake, and if she delayed much longer, they would suspect a problem. Which would place the ir'Valerians waiting outside in danger. There was only one choice. She had to get behind the snake, and hope that when she stopped her strange dance, it would answer its summons and go outside. The diminutive druid began inching past the python. Something was still wrong with her leg and her balance, and as she stepped over a coil of snake, she nearly fell. However, she managed to keep up her undulating dance as she caught her balance, and the snake continued to watch her.
Holding onto the rocky wall for support, Bryn managed to get behind the snake. The python continued to watch her, only her head moving as she followed the motion of the pale halfling. Bryn stepped over a final coil of body and was clear of the snake. She positioned herself as far from the chamber as possible, hoping the snake wouldn't perceive her as a threat to the clutch. Taking a deep breath, Bryn flattened herself against the wall. The python continued staring at her for another moment, then seemed to give its head a shake, as if waking from a dream. Bryn chewed on her lip, praying the beast would slither away and leave her in peace.
[tag Fabian]
kirs...@yahoo.com
the native warrior unexpectedly turned to where both he and Flask were
conversing. The warrior now with a much more attentive demeanor was
heading straight for the ir'Valerian psion and scout. The heavy
vegetation did much to still hide them but it was only a matter of time
of them being discovered if nothing else was done. The sudden change in
the drum rhythm accompanied by the wailing song by one of the priestess
seemed to frame the moment of tension.
RPG: Mel glanced at Leif, mouthing a question, his hand moving towards
his shoulderback and the weapons stashed within. It seemed certain the
native would either find them or walk into them unless something was
done, and the shifter had suggested he intended to do his thing to get
the fellow to lose interest in them, but would it work? The way Mel saw
it, they'd get little in the way of warning if the native shrugged
off Leif's mental powers and shouted out an alarm. But then again,
the comments about the possible mindlink to detect the death of the
thralls held Mel's hand.
The changeling in human guise felt like cursing, yet didn't dare to
so much as shift his stance.
TAG: Everyone interested...
NRPG: Well... I'm kinda waiting for Tom's post, since I got the
impression he wants to boil the native's brain and make him forget
all about us. Something like that; with psions, who can tell? ;^)
-Jussi / Mel
Gary Burns
Throwing her hands down, the priestess tossed back her head and screamed—beckoning their god to join them. Belkar wasn't sure what was happening, but he could sense that something was wrong. More and more often, the participants were breaking from their rhythmic dancing to look at the pit. The same pit that Bryn had entered.
Glancing around, Belkar looking for the other team. Gods, he thought, but I hate separating. Of course he didn't see them.
Then Lan confirmed the news. Coming backwards without seeming to move, the Kalshatar whispered, "Bryn's in trouble. There is a large snake down there."
Belkar tightened his right fist until the bones ground together, making a weird whispering noise.
Learning towards Ember, Belkar put his left hand on the warforged shoulder. Whispering softly, he said, "Something's wrong. Be prepared to act."
Gesturing to Lan, Belkar said, "If something goes wrong we need to get Bryn out of there. If it was needed, what kind of distraction could you give me and Ember?"
Glancing back to the warforged, Belkar invited his thoughts as well.
King, John
I’ll try to have something out tonight… been berry busy.
From:
Troubl...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Troubl...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Burns
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006
9:24 AM
To: Troubl...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Troubled Past PBEM 85
- Daram's Mistake
Throwing her hands down, the priestess tossed back her head and screamed—beckoning their god to join them. Belkar wasn't sure what was happening, but he could sense that something was wrong. More and more often, the participants were breaking from their rhythmic dancing to look at the pit. The same pit that Bryn had entered.
Gary Burns
Belkar looked to where the non-human was standing before him. "Lan," he said, "how is everything going with Bryn."
-Gary
King, John
[Belkar]
Belkar tightened his right fist until the bones ground together, making a weird whispering noise.
Learning towards Ember, Belkar put his left hand on the warforged shoulder. Whispering softly, he said, "Something's wrong. Be prepared to act."
[Ember]
The warforged responded with a curt nod, never taking its oculars off the natives below. Ember lowered itself to a hunkering lunge position. As it dropped, the living construct lifted its right arm sighting down the flame aperture toward the village, trying to find the spot that would catch the highest number of targets in the blast radius. The campfire where they were all dancing seemed to be optimal. Hit that, and the warforged would have both the blast radius of the fireball plus the exploding embers creating a fiery bomb of destruction. There was a slim chance too that the natives might not track the fireball's source back to Ember, that they might think their campfire burst into fiery vengeance on its own accord, or by the will of their gods. Slim chance for sure, but it got Ember thinking about the possibilities.
[Belkar]
Gesturing to Lan, Belkar said, "If something goes wrong we need to get Bryn out of there. If it was needed, what kind of distraction could you give me and Ember?"
Glancing back to the warforged, Belkar invited his thoughts as well.
[Ember-new]
The captain found Ember packing his body with mud and soil from the moist jungle floor. Even as the warforged worked, it still maintained a diligent watch. "Ember, what are you doing?"
"Camouflage," the warforged rasped quietly. "Metal will reflect in firelight, moonlight. If need be, wish to blend in to dark surroundings or dirt. Natural cover facilitates, enables ability to snipe on village, if necessary."
Belkar nodded his understanding, but then realized the warforged could not see. Nor would it necessarily check for his comprehension. So Belkar was compelled to ask, "Understood, good thinking. Anything I can do to help?"
"No... well, aye, Commander Greygoods. Could use help with center of back. Can reach, can not guarantee sufficient coverage."
Belkar watched as the warforged continued to cover its head and limbs with dirt. Ember did not cake it on heavily - only gently pack it on so that they heavier dirt sloughed off leaving a thin layer of mud and dirt adhered to its metal, stone and wooden body. This would allow the construct to maintain its flexibility and keep the cover at its lightest. Satisfied he could replicate the technique, Belkar grabbed clumps of mud with his flesh hand and began to pack it on Ember's back.
When both had finished, Ember whispered his gratitude. The warforged was unsure that its camouflage would be of any use. Still, it was best to be prepared. Ember resumed its still and silent watch. Now, all they could do was wait and hope things worked out for the best.
[tag?]
Fabian Benavente
I can certainly recap and let you know what happened to Bryn and to Ember/Belkar/Lan.
However, we still have the Mel/Leif story arch to wrap up and Jussi has sort of left for
Tom. Unfortunately, Tom is too busy and won't get to this until Tuesday at the earliest.
I'm of a mind to wait for him unless someone wants to temporarily take over Leif.
Any takers? Or do we wait?
L8r,
kirs...@yahoo.com
REF: Mel glanced at Leif, mouthing a question, his hand moving towards
his shoulderback and the weapons stashed within.
RPG: Leif felt his hackles rise as he watched the native's approach.
It seemed the fates were against them, for if they did something, the
females at the camp might sense their thrall's death or the use of
his powers, but if they did nothing, they would be discovered and the
warning would be given in any case. So it was best to try to do
something to the lone native near at hand. If nothing else, it'd mean
one less enemy to be faced later on.
Leif caught Flask's gave and made a simple gesture, a finger across
the throat. The scout in his native guise blinked once and nodded. With
nary a sound, the man slipped to one side, vanishing from sight almost
at once.
Leif waited only a few moments, for the native to get just a few steps
closer, before he rose to his full height right in front of the man,
gave him a slightly nervous grin that just happened to show of his
sharp teeth, and repeated Flask's words as well as he was able. It
sounded pure gibberish to Leif, but Flask had seemed pretty sure he had
got the hang of it...
"We friends you trust. Go abut your busness and think us of no
more."
The native blinked his eyes owlishly, startled by the strange spirit of
the woods that had appeared before him, while a dark shadow with
gleaming steel in hand rose behind him to trust his blade into the back
of his neck...
NRPG: Mel will circle round, Leif will distract, Mel will sneak to his
back and go for a backstab and Leif will help however he best can.
Since in his last post Tom specified he preferred the native's death
without the use of his psionic powers, I imagine this is how it'd go.
In any case, I expect Mel and Leif will be hightailing it away
afterwards, possibly with half the tribe at their heels ;^) If so,
they'll try to lead them far away from the others.
-Jussi / Mel
Tom Andry
OCC – Jussi – thanks I think your post will work well. Fabian, Leif isn’t going to use the suggestion power, just wants to distract the native long enough for Flask/Mel to kill him. Leif will pull his dagger (lol) and try to finish the job if Flask doesn’t succeed.
[Leif / new]
Leif watched as Flask melted from the jungle. Even though he knew it was coming, he couldn’t help but be surprised. Leif’s smile widened as the knife flashed toward the native’s neck. The native, already confused by Leif’s butchery of his language, looked moreso as the strange bestial man started smiling at him. Flask’s knife dug deep into the man’s neck and Leif sprung into action. He jumped forward, landing directly in front of the startled native. Leif’s own dagger shot forward digging deep into the man’s belly and turning up, severing many internal organ’s. Leif’s hand shot up and covered the man’s mouth (covered Flask’s hand which was covering the man’s mouth) stifling (further muffling) his dying gasps. Not that the natives below could have heard much over the sounds of their own reverie. Still, one couldn’t be too careful.
The man sank to the ground, sandwiched between the shifter and his friend. Leif flashed a smile at Flask and nodded back toward the natives below. They looked upset and confused, but most importantly, they looked toward the caves. And that was good – for them. Realizing that Bryn may be the source of the natives’ consternation, Leif’s smile faded and he motioned for Flask to follow him back towards the rest of the party. They had to get back incase Bryn needed their help.
[ooc – If it goes down as I’ve delineated, it would be great if Leif was covered in blood and gore and Flask was clean from head to toe – the difference between a professional (Flask) and amateur (Leif).
[Later]
Leiflet scurried around their feet excitedly. Lan, Belkar, and Ember seemed oblivious to her presence at first, but her warning could not be ignored, “Leif and Flask… the native… coming…”
Ember’s mud-caked face turned to the diminutive crystal, eye apertures adjusting in and out trying to follow the crystal’s movement, “Leif?”
“The native… he’s discovered them! They’re going to…” Her voice trailed off as Leif and Flask took action. The others stared down at the crystal, waiting for the outcome.
--
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