Marius keeps his cool, the focus on the battle allows his mind to stay focused. He searches for answers within his mind on why his new friend would such words. Then the answer comes to his mind, maybe his knowledge of the arcane is improving or maybe he simply remembers the vistani's words - charm.
"Just a kid. You're right my friend, but say we all wanted to play together, where could we find him? Think you can use those senses of yours my friend? This way we could play - rock, parchment, knife - it's a great game," Marius says softly.
Ioan pipes up, "That's a GREAT idea, Marius. Which way to go play, Yemam?"
He looks at Marius, and tries to wink surreptitiously. "The boy is so charming. It would be a shame if we didn't play along and the magic got dispelled."
Hassi commetns, "Yemam perhaps you should stay here and protect the young lady, she is scared and needs a guardian to help her out of here." It was all he could come up with without physically harming him.Yemam looks at Marius and says, "Friend, the game sounds great, but I have no idea myself were he is. We should probably just leave."
Looking towards Ioan, "What are you up to? Somehow I don't trust what you are saying."
Looking towards Hassid, "I'm sure the young lady will be fine, but we should just leave. We can escort the lady out...I mean the boy left."
Marius looks at Ioan then Yemam, "oh you know Ioan is not up to anything. He just wants to make sure that you can help us walk out of here safely. If you could find your friend then we could avoid him better and we could all leave. Think your senses are up to the task?"
Then a cold menacing voice speaks up. "Oh, you are not going anywhere. Ever. Tonight is the night I transcend my birth. It seems you have destroyed most of my first guard. So you will serve as the second... the high guard as I begin to conquer this godforsaken place."
Something about the voice is different from the last time you heard it. It's deeper.
"Or, you can die tonight. As will my mother."
----- -----
((I have set up a roll call at the new boards. If you could each make a post there letting me know that you've gotten signed up. Thanks uncabear (Hassid) for being the first. I am in the process of copying this very thread (the Boy in Black) and when that is done, we'll move over to the new board. The last months XPs will be posted over there. So that's another reason to get onto GroovyGamers.com soon.
This, as you can probable tell, is the climax of the Evil Eye storyline.))
Hassid looked to the others and offered a "Neither" look to them. "Lets go look for the lad shall we?" He hefts the blade once more and looks at the bodies of the recently slain.
He stopped for a moment and looked at the wounds. There was a scientific recognition in his eyes as he looked over the slices that dropped these poor fools in one slice. The cuts were still clumsy...perhaps he could clean the shurapoli in such a way. A smile began to touch his face, not of cruelty, or of what the blade will do, but how he will manage such scientific art. He was ready to move on.
Ioan steps so that Marius and Hassid are screening him from Yemam, and mutters "cover me."
He then invokes Dispel Magic and targets Yemam... not his amulet, weapons, nor other gear. Just him.
Marius does his best to cover Ioan as he attempts to get rid of the mind magic on his friend Yemam.
Ioan sputters, "Um...thank you Ioan...I...um...have no idea what just happened. I'm sorry everyone."
Hassid uncovers new secrets of the blade.
From elsewhere in the house, you can hear the voice of the boy echo. "So you successfully evade my trap... this time! You will not always be so lucky! My allies come at my command. They shall rend your flesh if you will not serve me!"
((Sorry this is taking me longer to get the game switched over than I had hoped. My boss has vastly different priorities for how I spend my time than I do and since he pays me, he wins. However, this afternoon looks pretty good for getting the remaining files copied over. I will announce here quite clearly when it is time to move over the groovygamers.com.))
Hassid and Yemam converse, trying to decide what course to pursue.
The boy's voice moves further away, "It's too late. I am already more than you can handle. I know what you are thinking before you think it. And you are doomed. My allies are almost here and they will be your end."
Quote:
"Hey Ioan...you know how you mentioned making someone really strong before? When we meet up with the kid or find his allies...can you make me really strong?"
"As for a course of action; do we find this kid or wait for his friends?"
Quote:
"Let's go after the kid. Yeah, I can make you stronger... but that's about all I can do. I've burned through everything else."
He turns to Hassid
"Lead on. Let's finish this."
Quote:
Hassid nodded & then turned to go back into the house. He suspected the child would be. But before they went on. "We either need to bring the girl with us or lock her in. The child has other forces coming and I would hate to have them fall upon her unprotected."
Quote:
"Ha ... if you know you already know what I am thinking then you know that you have no chance against the likes of Marius," Marius bellows out. "Show yourself you pompous little brat." Marius looks towards his friends and draws an arrow, "let us end this."
Marius looks toward Hassid, "agreed, I think we should just lock her in, time it seems is not our ally in this."
Hassid looks back down the stairs into the basement. Gabrielle is down there although you cannot hear her. She is most likely huddled on the floor of the wine cellar, rocking back and forth in abject terror. Terror most likely of the boy who is her son.
Ioan can tell that both mother and son have... issues with each other. Neither has spoken without referencing each other.
At Matius comment, you hear a boisterous laugh, "Yes, you poor fool. I know that you believe deep down that you can best me. You are wrong. I will be the next Dark Lord of this realm. I will be more than that. I am the Dukkar and I will rule all of Ravenloft" (())BTW, nice post and I would have given you a mark for 'boastful' but you've filled that one up.))
Yemam pushes the door to the dining room open with his bow, and checks the dining room. From this vantage point, Yemam can see no one.
The Dukkar chuckles as they attempt to draw him out with challenges to his honor or courage. "How typical, those with limited intellect always transpose their own weakness onto others. Any good leader knows how to delegate."
At the word delegate, you all hear a new set of sounds... growling.
Hassid moves forward into the dinning room, followed and flanked by Marius and Yemam. Ioan follows just behind. All in all, the group resembles a diamond, with Hassid at the point and Ioan in the rear.
The light outside the house has dimmed considerably... unnaturally, you might say. Once you get past the wall and the head of the dinner room table, you are faced with two closed doors. One leads back into the main entrance. The other leads into what was once a linen storage room and then leads into what would have been a ball room, or large sitting parlor, or something. The growling comes from the front of the house.
Yemam's sensitive ears tell him that there are probably four... maybe as many as six... wolves coming into the front entrance. As the question is put to Hassid, the Dukkar speaks up.
"If you want me. Come and find me. I await you with my friends."
This time, the voice is also clearly coming from the entrance.
The gang prepares. And with a sudden movement, burst into the entranceway and confront the dukkar. They see the bot standing with three snarling wolves on either side of him. He has a wild gleam in his eye. A look of charismatic insanity. His hair is wild and his former buttoned down staid appearance has become transformed. Most importantly, he has aged... two or three years at least. Instead of a boy or twelve, he now appears as a young teen, perhaps fifteen or sixteen.
As soon as you come through the door, you are hit by a powerful wave of energy emanating from the boy. (WILL save, DC 18, +2 thanks to the vistani amulet. Failure means you are under the effects of a Confusion Spell. If you are, include your percentile roll when you make your action.)
(Also, everyone needs to make a Spot check with their next post.)
Yemam follows closely to Hassid and is hit by the boy's wave. The energy messes with Yemam mind and he is not sure what is happening. However, once the fire of combat enters his blood, Yemam is able to act accordingly.
"Locke...thanks for clearing my head a bit."
He holds his bow and waits for Hassid to attack.
"Ahhhhh...I didn't mean it....honestly...I...I...I'll keep my mouth shut!"
Marius burst back through the door running clear away from the boy. Instead, he comes face to face with a figure dressed all in black, a beat up black leather duster, a wide-brimmed black hate. The figure's face is wrapped in black as well, with only a pair of eyes staring back. A moment of shock passes as Marius' brain snaps into recognition. This is the figure they saw that night in the torchlight as the waited to enter the 'dog fights' in the Falkovian quarter.
A split second later, the figure is dashing for the pantry door. ((Marius, depending on your result on the Confusion chart, you can choose to pursue if you want.))
The six wolves moves as if one, launching themselves at the party. The do not move like normal wolves, circling and working together as a pack. This group is focused, like a bolt from a crossbow. It is a bit fearsome to see. However, it means that they are not fighting smart. All six beasts try to get at Hassid, who is front of the others. As a result, they interfere with each other and score no hits. They do provide a impenetrable wall that prevents anyone from getting to the boy.
Hassid walks into the room and is hit by a wave of something from the boy, the charm glows and his resolve strengthens, he looks at the wolves...but his eye is on the growing child. With a single swing of his blade, Hassid drops one of the beasts.
Yemam let's an arrow fly... intending to hit the same animal that Hassid swung at. That's not possible in the mass. But that just means another wolf gets the shaft in its side and drops, howling. The beast whimpers as it tries to pull itself out the press despite the fact that it's front right leg is limp.
Ioan senses the wave of arcane power and shrugs it off. It's bad, and it might affect his friends, but there's nothing he can do about that. He has a couple of orisons left, and a couple of healing spells, but none of that will help now.
Ioan knows a thing or two about arcane spellcasters, and the most important thing is that they tend to break easily. He charges... a step and then runs into the wall of wolves. With a mighty swing of his hammer, he strikes a wolf on the flank... but the animal seems to shrug off the blow.
The dukkar laughs at Marius' flight. "Who is the master here!?! You interlopers will pay! Tonight I ascend to godhood and begin my conquest of the world!"
He seems content to allow his minions to inflict what casualties they will while his arcane magic peels off members of the party.
"Huh...wait...I remember him."
Marius looks back at the fight occuring between the boy and his friends. He mutters to himself, "Seems like using my amazing abilities on those wolves would be unfair... I should make sure this figure isn't going to attack us from behind."
Marius quickly follows the figure into the pantry, keeping his eyes open for opposition... from the shadows or from the man in black.
The figure continues its flight down the stairs into the basement, with Marius hot of its heels.
One wolf is dead. One is so wounded it cannot fight. The other four continue their single minded assault. They have a little more space and fight a little more intelligently. Two wolves tear at Hassid and do some minor damage (one hit and did 2 HP damage). One attacks Ioan and its teeth and claws scape along the armor but fail to draw any blood. The wolf attacking Yemam finds purchase, tearing into his off arm (and doing 7 HP damage).
Hassid moves in one fluid motion and continues to cleave the beasts moving up on the group. He did not take time to contemplate Marius's departure, protecting his companions was his main focus at this time, and as such his blade found its targets with deadly accuracy. With two swings, two more wolves fall to the floor, both bleeding, silent and still.
Yemam shakes his head to clear the lingering confusion in his mind. Seeing the wolves easily drop increases Yemam confidence. He defends himself from the wolf, injuring the animal but not killing it.
Ioan swings, frustrated that the Dukkar is out of reach... taking that frustration out on the wolf in front of him. He hits the beast and the animal is not as cavalier about the blow this time.
The Dukkar still has a smile on his face. His hands move in complex gestures and you can hear him chanting low and soft. He is casting a spell, and holding it for later.
Marius sees the figure run down the stairs, but sudden confusion hits him. He starts to babble about figures of blackness and the shadows, nothing making sense to anyone. The figure disappears into the darkness, not pausing to pay Marius any attention. They obviously have somewhere else to be.
The wolves continue their unnatural assault. One attacks Yemam, another attacks Ioan. Both fail to connect and do any damage.
Hassid, realizing that there were only two wolves left, decided that he did not like the idea of a caster standing around unharrassed. He would have to break the tactics that he had set upon them. But perhaps his next move might draw their attention. Hassid made a standing jump between the two wolves toward the Dakkar and rolled to his feet blade slicing up in a half moon arc. Both wolves snap at his feet, but both fail to stop him. The move brings him right to the Dukkar and his blade causes the boy to howl in pain. (Nice work! He lost the spell with a blow Concentration check.)
Yemam does move to flank the two remaining wolves between himself and Ioan. But even that aid does not let his rapier find its way to the beast's flesh.
The Dukkar snarls in pain and fury at Hassid. The eyes have changed. Where before they were dark and mysterious, now there is fire there. His words seemed to choke out with rage and fury. "YOU... WILL... PAY!" With a snap, he vanished from view. The wolves remain.
Ioan sees Yemam's intent, nods, and moves to ensure that he and Yemam have the beast flanked. His own swing is weak and off-target, however, as he worries about whatever spell the Dukkar may have just prepared.
With a flash, the Dukkar appears on the heels of Marius. The sudden appearance of the boy stops Marius' babbling as pure terror consumes him. Marius flees the only available path, down the stairs, into the basement and down the cellar... towards Gabrielle, the boy's mother, and after the dark figure.
With a laugh, the Dukkar yells back to the other, betraying his position, "I shall finish your friend and then return for you!"
The wolves each turn on Yemam and Ioan. However, the beast are evidently confused by the disappearance of the Dukkar and they almost act as if they are fighting apparitions rather than you as individuals.
Hassid swings his sword one more time through the space where the Dakkar used to be to make sure that he was not just sitting there invisible, then turning on his heel after his blade found nothing Hassid brought his blade to bare on whatever wolf he could reach. The wolf is struck dead in a single blow, leaving but a single animal left.
The rush of combat is too much for Yemam, whose recent miss has cause intense confusion to set in. He mumbles something about a dog.
Ioan shouts over the din of the last of the wolfsmashing, "He's not a STUPID coward... he vanishes any time we hit 'im, an' regroups someplace else. But he'll be running out of magiks soon enough."
The cleric's swing misses the lone remaining wolf.
((Sorry for the delay. Work is getting busy. I'll get the daily post up but it may be later in the day than has been the previous pattern.
Also, upcoming plans. This fight is a lot closer to over than you may think. We'll finish the Evil Eye storyline on DigitalRidge.com and then move to GroovyGamers.com for the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. That gives me a little time to finish copying the story so far.
Future schedule issues (potential). I will be leaving my nice cushy office next Monday to go out into the field and do some hiking with a GPS unit and survey a couple of pipelines. I will have my laptops and should be able to log in during the evenings and post. But I won't be nearly as responsive as I usually am. Just a heads up.))
Marius continues to flee from the boy, who surprisingly is quite scary to Marius. This adrenaline fueled dash keeps Marius within sight of the figure in black who bursts into the wine cellar. Through the fog of supernatural fear, he can hear Gabrielle scream in terror. And for the first time, he hears the high, cold, emotionless voice of the figure.
"Now you die for your sins!"
Hassid finishes his dance over to the remaining Wolf and slices up in an arc reminiscent of the one that he hit the Dukkar with. The wolf flies up into the air and Hassid twists the blade with the ease of a master and brings the heavy blade down in a blinding arc neatly slicing the wolf in half.
Yemam continues to be dumbfounded... speaking about nothing in particular.
The Dukkar hears the scream of his mother. He yells and for the first time, fear has crept into his voice. "No! She is mine!"
Ioan turns and moves back toward the basement.
((Marius and Yemam get another WILL save (DC 16 now) to shake off the effects of the confusion ability. Remember you still get the +2 thanks to the amulets the vistani gave you.))
Marius continues to flee, constantly finding himself mere feet in front of an infuriated Dukkar who teleports about 30' at a jump. Marius slams through the door into the wine cellar to see the figure in black, long silver dagger in hand, standing over Gabrielle.
Gabrielle has fainted.
Hassid lays his hand on Yemam's shoulder, who seems to snap out of the confusion he had suffered from. With Ioan in tow, they head as quickly as they can toward the basement. (You'll get to the beginning of the long hallway at the end of this turn and will see the Dukkar standing in the doorway by the end of this turn.)
The Boy is Black is looking less and less like a boy and more and more like a Man in Black. He is aging supernaturally fast. His voice deepening but still filled with rage.
"I will kill you! And then I will kill her and complete my ascension!"
The strong words of the aging boy fill Marius' mind with combat he stops aims and shoots... In Marius' addled mind, the figure in black is the Dukkar. Easy mistake to make. Of course, the Dukkar stands only a few feet behind Marius. Instead, the figure in black is the target of Marius' arrow. The shaft hits home and the figure yelps with pain, spinning to look up at its assailant. The figure is clothed from head to toe in black. A wide-brimmed hat is pulled tight over the head. Black cloth is wrapped about the lower face, concealing the mouth and noes. The figure has a thin dagger in its right hand. That blade flashes. Blood spurts from Gabrielle's inert form. The Dukkar screams with rage. The figure addresses Marius directly, "You cannot stop justice!"
Hassid charges the Dukkar with all of his focus on the once child, bringing his blade to bear in a vicious arc. The young man takes more damage, the pair of recent strikes from Hassid's blade taking the toll. The Dukkar screams again in pain.
Yemam follows Hassid's footsteps but finds himself unable to attack this round. ((You would need a charge action to get to him and attack and you can't charge with something (or someone) in your way.))
Ioan attempts to bluff the Man in Black. But his words and gestures are lost in the battle.
The Dukkar shoves Marius hard as he moves past him. He makes sure to show his respect for Hassid's blade as he moves. At the bottom of the stairs, he looks at the bleeding form of his mother and the dark figure kneeling over her. He also glances up at the four of you.
"Damn you all! You may have stopped me from achieving everything my father desired. But Invidia is now my realm. You would be wise to leave this land and never return. For if I ever hear of you in this land again, the entire might of this lands armies will be unleashed on your heads! And every vistani will be wiped from this earth." ((Obligatory villain rant. Twisted Evil ))
With another pop, the young man disappears from the wine cellar and appears standing behind Ioan.
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