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Thread: A Song of Death [IC]
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2010-03-08, 01:33 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
Ngeri takes a moment to gather himself before heading off towards the poor souls still screaming in torment. He glances at Cai as he moves by. "Those people do not deserve such a fate. I will heal them, or release them if they are beyond healing."A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-08, 01:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2009
Re: A Song of Death [IC]
"We're going to need that healing ourselves before the night is done, I have no doubt. Ask yourself this--whose lives will do more good, those of we who can fight or those who already lost once? I will help you cremate them, though. Their suffering has at least bought them honest...what pass for honest last rites up here, anyway."
"Once upon a time, a story was never finished..."
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2010-03-08, 03:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
The cleric whirls to face Grimnir, almost a snarl on his face. "You at least can still stand and fight. Those people have almost nothing left, if even that! My faith in the Nightingale grants me the power to heal; that will not diminish any by healing those poor wretches. Do not fear; there will be healing left for you." His tone drips acid towards the end as he turns back and heads once more towards the torture victims.A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-08, 03:20 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2009
Re: A Song of Death [IC]
"And who will guard them? The Nightingale? Your glorious faith? We can't take them with us, only give them a painless death and honorable burial or condemn them to be caught again. The mobs around here don't seem to pay much attention to the protection of faith. Trust me on that one."
"Once upon a time, a story was never finished..."
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2010-03-08, 04:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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- Oklahoma, USA
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
Ngeri gestures at the tower, not bothering to face the man as he speaks to him. "They can hide out until this is over. Or at least regain their strength there before venturing out on their own. Either way, I will not kill them unless the only other option is to leave them like that."A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-08, 04:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2005
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
SpoilerPresumably both Ngeri and Grimnir go to deal with the torturees.
Even without the mob of insane people flaying and chanting wildly to the constant flow of blood, the people strung to poles or lying helplessly on the ground are still an overwhelming sight. They all have innumerable cuts, some have been pierced by blades, spears and arrows while others have had limbs severed, organs removed or their faces and bodies mutilated beyond recognition. Some of them almost can't even be recognised as the humans or lycanthropes they must have once been. By all rights, none of them should be alive, yet they continue to scream in unimaginable agony as they are denied the release of death. It doesn't take an experienced healer to realise that there is nothing one could possibly hope to do for these people, save to release them from the pain. Even if a few could be healed enough to not be in immediate, mortal danger - an unlikely proposition in the first place - they would still be both physically and mentally destroyed for the rest of their lives.
No doubt they would all die almost instantly from their wounds were the dark magics which currently must be keeping them alive somehow broken. Looking around, it takes a little time to notice, but countless runes have been carved in the wooden poles, scribbled on the ground in blood and even carved into the flesh of the victims.
Spoiler2 points of madness for Ngeri and 1 for Grimnir. Dealing with this situation is not exactly pleasant, to put it mildly.
****
Cáï quickly realises that there aren't many ways to get to where she fell from the tower save to pass right by the tortured people. As she moves past, trying her best to not look at the brutal scene or listen to the screams, something catches her eyes.
Something has been written on the large wooden doors leading into the guard tower. The doors are closed, and it seems like the runes were somehow burnt into the wood but not on the outside. Rather it looks like they somehow burned through the wood from the other side. Cáï can make out most of the runes to read "Your cries shall rise to please the Lord" and below that "sing for us". The first one seems familiar, as if she's heard it somewhere else before in a different capacity, but Cáï can't think of where that would be. Between these two messages is drawn what looks like some kind of runic symbol or sigil, but however much Cáï stares at it she can't make any sense of it.
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2010-03-08, 06:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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2010-03-08, 06:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
As the priest and the warlock moved to deal with the poor tortured souls, Ericr spoke to them.
"If it does come to the need to dispatch them, call for me. I can deal with such matters if it is something you'd rather not do. You may be assured my efforts will leave them intact for any rites needed to perform and send them on their way in peace."
It was the largest single statement he'd made. That done, he pulled out the ring and began examining it for any clues."The only thing between us and victory is that Ogre Mage!"
"So...defeat?"
"...shut up."
Avatar by the illustrious and swift Djinn_in_Tonic.
Kurik
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2010-03-09, 10:06 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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- Oklahoma, USA
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
Ngeri will chant the equilivant of Last Rites for the poor victims as he tries to smear the drawn runes, attempting to disrupt them and end their suffering.A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-09, 11:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Eitri
Eitri followed Cai over to the tower when he saw her pause to examine the tower's door. He looked at it himself in curiosity, keeping his eyes averted from the plight of the poor souls Ngeri was tending to. "Maybe I can figure out what this symbol means, lass. Y'could say I ha'e some experience in tha area." Eitri said, moving next to Cai, as he looked the symbol over, to see if he could determine it's meaning.
Spoiler
Arcana Check to decipher-(d20+17)[30]
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2010-03-09, 12:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
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- Wisconsin
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Cai nods absently, still perplexed by the rune. Yet at the same time her instincts scream for her to get arrows and leave this acursed city. She searches her brain one last time.
Spoiler
History seems most likely.
History to rember where she recognized the rune from:
(1d20+6)[19]
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2010-03-09, 03:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
The sigil still eludes Cáï completely. Nor is she able to remember where she heard that one sentence before, though she has a feeling that it could pop into her mind any moment. Sadly, it doesn't.
Eitri, however, recognises the sentence almost immediately even though it may not be his particular area of expertise, but the history is relatively well known. It is a slightly bastardized fragment of a curse spoken by the saint Välisang:tý to a tribe who refused to fight by her side and would rather run and hide. The original words were "your cries shall rise to please their Lord." While the difference is tiny and under normal circumstances could be passed off as a simple misspelling, it is clearly intentional here.
The full passage as it is most often retold in the tales, reads "Know that you shall die for naught, and your cries shall rise to please their Lord. And should you yet live to see the freedom we bring by our sacrifice, as the Goddess is my witness know that you shall be cursed for every life lost after this day, that never again shall your women bear children or your lineages prosper. For you have chosen death and turned your backs on our Lady who gave us life, and so death shall be your curse and only reward." As the tale goes, those of the tribe who chose to hide were massacred by the werewolves, and the few survivors who managed to escape the claws of the werewolves died alone and bitterly from sickness and starvation.
While he has less luck identifying the sigil exactly, he does recognise its basic nature and possible purpose. It is clearly a kind of identifying sigil, almost like a signature. Sigils of this kind and complexity, however, are most often associated with summoning and binding rituals and usually not as simple signatures. They serve as a kind of magical anchor, to which a particular entity is drawn although it usually involves a lot more than simply drawing a sigil and in many cases the sigil is not strictly needed but can still reinforce the magic. Whoever branded this into the wood were likely not doing so to summon anything, but simply to strengthen an existing effect. From the words it sounds like the horrid torture of the people nearby was meant to further feed the magic. The madman leading the torture no doubt saw this on the door and decided to follow its suggestion. As such the sigil no doubt served a secondary purpose of drawing the attention of anyone who knew its meaning. The madman may even have known whoever wrote the sigil, or belonged to the same cult.
***
Ngeri finds that disrupting the runes, at least those drawn in blood on the ground, proves simple enough. At first nothing seems to happen, but then slowly as the runes are broken the screams fall quiet one by one. As the last scream is silenced and the bodies on the poles grow still while the last trace of life leaves their tortured and broken frames, a terrible cold falls over the area. A deep sense of darkness and despair overcomes everyone, and even the already faint light seems to dim slightly. With a collective, ghostly scream the spirits of the people seem to be ripped from their bodies where they fly like a howling torrent towards the black cloud hanging over the central isle. As the last soul disappears from view, sucked up by the growing darkness, the cold fades slowly and the area returns to normal. Only the broken, twisted corpses hanging from the poles remain, some of them twitching slightly.
***
Ericr examines the ring he took from the skeleton in the prison graveyard. It takes him some time to figure out its nature, but after a while he believes he's got it. The ring sharpens your senses and reactions, allowing you to act fast and get out of danger in time - or engage the enemy before they can get a good stab at you. Sadly it didn't save the poor child who must have worn it in life.
SpoilerIt's a Premonition Ring, AV page 157. It gives a constant +2 to Initiative and passive perception. It has a daily power which allows you to not be surprised when you would otherwise be, and since you have reached a milestone already you also move 3 squares and take a minor action.
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2010-03-09, 03:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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- Oklahoma, USA
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
Ngeri weeps as he stares up at the sky, a look of horror on his face. After a few minutes, the look changes to one of anger and determination. Turning from the scene, he begin picking his way through the square, looking for anything useful amongst the debris and the men they killed.A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-09, 03:44 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2009
Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Grimnir examines the runes closely as they are being erased. "These are good work. That's definitely an ill sign..."
Shaking his head, he raises a rod and a beam of light leaps from it, incinerating the first corpse Ngeri had said the rites over.
Spoiler
Dire Radiance, as if it matters.
"Once upon a time, a story was never finished..."
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2010-03-09, 04:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Cai whirls around at the unearthly sound caused by the spirts. Seeing that it's no threat she slowly release her hand off her bow. She shuders at the cold and turns back to Eitri. "Do you recognize it? I feel that I know it yet it evades me."
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2010-03-09, 09:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ericr simply considered the ring, then he pulled his glove off and placed the ring on his left hand before replacing the glove. He squeezed his fist experimentally, then moved to stand with Eitri and Cai.
"Thoughts?" He asked it abruptly, without preamble, as if continuing a conversation."The only thing between us and victory is that Ogre Mage!"
"So...defeat?"
"...shut up."
Avatar by the illustrious and swift Djinn_in_Tonic.
Kurik
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2010-03-09, 11:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ráslim
Ráslim's attention is drawn to the sigil, and he examines it himself before answering Ericr's question, "We leave, get out of here, before the spirits take us with them."Thanks to Elrond for the Vash avatar.
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2010-03-10, 07:03 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2005
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Grimnir begins burning the corpses. Most of them have already begun moaning and twisting, almost as soon as they drew their last breaths. Since they are all bound already they prove completely helpless, however, and soon they are all ablaze.
Meanwhile, once he's finished the last rites, Ngeri begins searching the area for useful things left over. He finds no small amount of mundane weapons and arrows lying around from previous battles. Most of them are of questionable quality or broken, but he manages to collect a handful of arrows with Cáï in mind. He also finds a small shield, well built. It's not his own shield, but it's better than nothing.
One of the mobsters is wearing a once fine mask of white porcelain with gold inlays. It has been desecrated with countless layers of blood and the touch of death, but if it was cleaned and properly blessed it could no doubt be restored to its former splendour.
The madman carries a small pouch containing a rust-red powder and smelling of the deep woods. Ngeri also finds a small leather tube with an ancient scroll in it on his corpse. The scroll is covered in runes, none of which Ngeri can decipher.
Spoiler12 regular arrows and a non-magical light shield.
A white porcelain mask with gold inlays. Currently covered in the blood of innocents.
A small pouch containing a rust-red powder.
An old scroll in a small leather tube, covered in unknown runes.
Both Ericr and Ráslim remember the door as the one the tattooed lycanthrope apparently called Nemet and the werewolf disappeared through. Perhaps he was the one who wrote the message and sigil.
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2010-03-10, 02:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Eitri
Eitri shook his head, "I've nae seen it before, lass. But I know what it was meant t'do. T'was used t'either summon summit t'here or t'keep sometin else here. This 'un looks like t'was used to keep summit here, or strengthen summit else." He looks at Cai apologetically. "Cannae really tell ye more than that."Last edited by Anonomuss; 2010-03-11 at 10:41 AM.
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2010-03-10, 03:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Disappointed, Cai nods her head and says, "Thank you anyway. I'd suggest we leave it alone, unless you think otherwise." With no further answers being apparent Cai returns to her search for arrows and equipment.
Spoiler
Perception: (1d20+13)[30]
Trying to locate her dropped arrows as well as anything else that catches her interest.
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2010-03-11, 07:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2005
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Cáï sneaks around the tower to where she fell. The place looks like a long abandoned battlefield, except there are few corpses. Cáï quickly finds several arrows, some of them she recognises as her own. Some of them she finds sticking out of the few corpses lying around, others are scattered across the ground. Seems like someone found some of her arrows and decided to put them to use. Still, she is able to find almost all of her lost arrows, though a few have been broken or are missing.
As she nears the back of the tower she can see the gate leading from the guard district towards the docks and southern gate. The place is swarming with undead, and some of them seem to be slowly drifting into the guard district. As more and more undead arrive from the countryside outside, no doubt they undead will begin to move further into the city. It won't be long before the guard district is overrun by walking corpses.
The bridge to the north looks entirely deserted as far as Cáï can tell, no doubt because everything nearby has wandered on to the central island where all the fighting is now going on.
SpoilerCáï finds:
7 regular arrows.
5 lightning arrows +1
4 lightning arrows +2
3 firestorm arrows +1
4 firestorm arrows +2
Just to make sure I have the numbers right, by my count you now have 10 Lightning Arrows +1, 7 Lightning +2, 13 Firestorm +1 and 4 Firestorm +2. You also have 16 normal arrows, plus the 12 Ngeri has picked up.
Also still have the 3 unidentified arrows you found in the spider cave, along with the unidentified cloak.
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2010-03-11, 08:50 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2008
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- Oklahoma, USA
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ngeri
Ngeri will use the cloak of a nearby corpse to try and clean the worst of the blood of the mask before gently tucking it into his bag. He'll put the bag of powder in as well. He gathers up the arrows and the scrolls and rejoins the others. "I found a scroll of some sort, but I can't read it. You're all welcome to take a look if you like. Where's Cai? I found some more arrows for her..."A mind without purpose will walk in dark places. - Gideon Ravenor
Avatar by Ninjaman
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2010-03-11, 09:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Recognizing the doorway, Ericr moved to it briefly. Any lead to follow that werewolf and his leashbearer was something he had to follow, even if only for a moment. He would have them.
"The only thing between us and victory is that Ogre Mage!"
"So...defeat?"
"...shut up."
Avatar by the illustrious and swift Djinn_in_Tonic.
Kurik
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2010-03-11, 10:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Eitri
"I mite be able ta have a read o' tha scroll if ye dont mind." Eitri offers moving towards Nephi and keeping his voice low. he gestured over at the tower, "Cai's gone around tha back o' tha tower."
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2010-03-11, 12:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Ericr finds that the door is firmly blocked and wont open for him. Possibly the lycanthrope locked it behind him, but why he would lock himself in the guard tower or whether he's actually still in there is hard to say.
***
Eitri takes a look at the scroll Ngeri picked up from the madman's corpse. It looks very old and fragile, and it clearly outlines a dark ritual named "Lifebind". It appears similar to what must have been used on the poor tortured people to keep them alive, although this one isn't nearly as extensive. The ritual binds an individual's life force to the preserved heart of an undead creature, thereby allowing the individual to continue on even after sustaining the most grievous wounds. The subject doesn't become immortal, but will be substantially more difficult to kill. The heart used must come from a particularly strong undead, someone who was strong willed in life or whose death was particularly emotional, but the scroll is vague on this point almost as if the writer expected everyone who would read it to know what was meant.
The bottom of the scroll has a small note "For your research, which continues to delight. Not for personal use - Nemet"
SpoilerLifebind
Level: 10
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: Instantaneous
Market Price: 1000 gp
Key Skill: Arcana
You bind a single creature's life force to the preserved heart of a powerful undead creature. If reduced to 0 hp or less the subject loses a healing surge but does not regain hp as normal, instead it does not fall unconscious but is instead dazed until its hp have been restored to positive. If the subject's hp reach its negative bloodied value the subject is destroyed. If the subject regains hit points after having been reduced to 0 or less, or if it is raised from the dead, the undead heart crumbles and the ritual must be cast anew.
Beyond the preserved heart it also requires Liquid Silver and Stone Ash as components.
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2010-03-12, 08:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Finding the door barred and not wanting to hold his companions up, Ericr simply pressed a palm to the door for one moment, then headed back to the group.
"Let's go."Last edited by nepphi; 2010-03-12 at 08:39 AM.
"The only thing between us and victory is that Ogre Mage!"
"So...defeat?"
"...shut up."
Avatar by the illustrious and swift Djinn_in_Tonic.
Kurik
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2010-03-14, 01:11 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2005
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Eitri reads over the scroll that Ngeri found "Tha scroll's a ritual, o' dark magic. May 'ave somethin t'do with what happened here. Has a note by tha guy Nemet, too." Eitri rolls the scroll back up and puts it away "Valuable information, but fer now we should get out a' here."
With that he turns with a nod at Ericr and heads off to where Cáï is picking up arrows, presumably followed by the rest of the gang "Somethin's goin' on on tha other side o' tha bridge. Fightin' I reckon. May be strength in numbers, aye? Or walkin' right in a deathtrap with nae way out o' there. Can we get there safely? Any other options at this point?"
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2010-03-14, 01:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
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- Wisconsin
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
Cai places the last arrow in her and turns to meet the rest of the group. "The docks are overrun, we won't be finding escape that way. Hopefully I can lead us, quietly, North and out of the city. There's still fighting in the central island so that should buy us time to escape."
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2010-03-15, 05:45 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: A Song of Death [IC]
"I'm nae exac'ly made fer stealth, as y'heard back there" The dwarf shifts a little "But if y'think y'can lead us out, then lead on, an' tha sooner tha better I say." Feeling that he should contribute something as well, rather than just making noise, he adds "While ye scout or whatever y'need ta do, I mite take a look at tha cloak ye found in tha cave. Mite be worth somethin', ay? If ye or anyone has somethin' else y'need a look at, just pass it along ta me."
Last edited by Deadly; 2010-03-15 at 05:51 AM.
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2010-03-15, 06:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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