The Necromancer's Pact VII: Lake of Tears II

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan stands just a bit dumbstruck at the transformation. It's just not something one can anticipate. "We've put our friend in more danger than we had intentioned to.", he responds to the druid.

He backs up into the group nervously, setting the two potions back into his pack and pulling out another. He passes the new potion to Kiah. "If you really need to be invisible, drink that, but I advise against any unnecesarry foolishness. Thokk can win."

(OOC: Potion of Invisibility, CL 2 if you need it.)

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

Kiah grabs the potion from Elthan.

"I doubt it...and he'll be a werewolf tomorrow if he does."

She quaffs the potion. "Yell at the werewolf. Call him names. Anything. Just make noise...."

Kiah moves toward Thokk as quickly and quietly as she can (move silently +0), running through all the spells she can cast in her head... protection from evil, barkskin, magic weapon... does thokk have a magic weapon?... resistance, prayer...

[kariokie]

Nyssa

"I'll keep you both in contact, then." Nyssa closes her eyes for a few seconds and concentrates intently.

{Nyssa casts Message using Silent Spell and Still Spell. Because she's using metamagic, it will take a full round to cast. She'll establish the spell with Thokk and Kiah.}

[dauphinous]

Delphinia

Delphinia directs her ugly scowl out into the darkness. "Normal wolves probably would have left us alone in the first place. If they were going to attack, they would have just done it while we were getting into the tree. Or they would have tried to shake us down by now. If they weren't going to attack, they should have left by now. But this waiting, it's eerie. It's almost like they're smart."

She watched helplessly while the wolflike creature snatched her father up in its jaws as he tried to scramble away. It began chewing; each movement of its jaw bringing a terrified, agonizing scream from his lips. When it turned to look at her, somehow she knew that those red eyes could tell she was still alive and terrified of it. And it liked that. It liked that a lot.

Delphinia shook her head to clear the memory. Without even putting a conscious thought behind it, she lifted her bow with a pair of arrows to the string and tried to sight one of the creatures in the darkness.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

"What does she mean?"
He points to Kiah but asks Elthan the question.

"How will he become shapechanger next day?"

He eyes Thokk with concern remembering his former death. This resurfaces a similar memory and he glances to Trinark momentariy.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"I don't know about smart, but they're organized." She pauses, "They seem bent on keeping us up here and not attacking, which isn't any fun ... Is anyone else wondering why?

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix for the most part just sits and watches, momentarily awed by Thokk's bold words to the now terrifying Wolf Lord.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"Ach Hajih, get that ale ready for me, I'll be thirsty after rending this beastie apart"

*Thokk stares at the Werewolf and spits into the ground infront of it*

"Hark, unnatural creature. You do not belong amonst them, for thee are of another cursed race. You shall be vanquished"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn watches Thokk step forward to challenge the werewolf. As the werewolf changes form, his eyes widen. He smiles as Kaih drinks the potion of invisibility. Yes. My personal favorite favorite code of honor. She'd better be out of there before she becomes visible though. He then begins shouting insults at the werewolf."You don't know who you're messing with pup. Bring back his ragged pelt Thokk. Callos needs a blanket and even one as tattered as that is better than none."

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Now to hope nothing bad comes out of turning that girl invisible.

After finding a place to stand next to the Lizard, Elthan is patient in his reply. "Unless he is something odder, Thokks opponent is a werewolf, and thus lycanthropic. If wounded by a lycanthrope, there is a high chance victim turns into one himself."

Elthan takes a short breath before continueing a bit more. "I never really believed that, since most stories I've heard involved the victim being killed in the attack, or running away unharmed from the encounter. I suppose I'll be forced to test that thought after this."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

His own thoughts had begun to drift down the same path as the other halflings even as she spoke the words.

"....This isn't right. We need to return to camp immiedetely"

His words where terse and even though the necromancer didn't even want to move his eyes began to dart around the trees and even on the ground below looking for inspiration. Retreating into a hyper dimensional space was no longer a viable option. Not with the way these 'wolves' were acting. But how to get back to camp...Running on the ground was out of the question. But maybe...

"The trees. Start looking for a path through the tree tops back towards where every one else is. Staying here is no longer to our benefit."

((OOC: Going to look for a path of sturdy branches or an opening among the worgs/werewolves.)

[Phasm]

Lissa

It's probably a good thing that Callos suggested something to do, because Lissa had a snowball in hand aimed at the nearest wolf-thing. She begins to nod, then frowns. "Hey, the dogs can't climb. If we just leave them here, they'll freeze." Frustrated, Lissa winds up and throws her snowball straight at a worg's face...


OOC: I couldn't resist! I'm sorry! The snowballs are loosely packed, so they shouldn't do any damage.

[Dr._Bob]

The howling fades away into the night, leaving the darkness thick with anticipation. Deep in the forest, Callos, Delphinia, Tiriel and Lissa consider attempting to make their way through the branches of the trees. The trees are dense here, and their bare branches are entangled enough to allow passage from tree to tree for those nimble enough (or small enough) to keep their balance.

Some of the "wolves" below lick their lips, but they keep their distance. Their howling stops suddenly, and they seem to be waiting for something. Their ears are pricked up, but they seem to be listening to something far away.

Lissa smacks one of the distracted wolves in the face with a snowball. It leaps forward with a snarl, but a quick bark from another wolf halts it in its tracks. It returns to its position, eyes burning red as it glares at Lissa.

[hr]
The forest falls silent.

The werewolf lord lowers his head and locks eyes on the dwarf. Without a word, he starts his charge, picking up speed as he covers the ground between the two of them with frightening speed.

Thokk braces himself behind his tower shield (which is taller than he is), settled into a wide stance, his bastard sword chambered over his shoulder.

The werewolf crashes into the tower shield at full tilt and, despite the dwarf's low center of gravity, Thokk is forced backwards two feet by the force of the impact.

The werewolf slams the shield aside and slashes Thokk with his claws, but not before the dwarf thrusts viciously into the beast's belly. It is not immediately obvious whether the sword penetrates the werewolf's thick hide.

The half-man, half-monster rakes the dwarf with his claws in a frenzy, sending sprays of blood radiating outward. The droplets of blood glitter in the moonlight as they sail through the air. Thokk fights back with equal ferocity, his sword singing as it cuts again and again ...



OOC: After the first round, Thokk and the werewolf are only 10' apart.

In round 2, I assume that Thokk agains holds his action and attacks before the werewolf's charge takes effect. The werewolf hits AC 36 for 14 damage.

In round 3, Thokk can act again before the werewolf's full attack takes effect. The werewolf hits AC 28 and 34 for 14 and 16 damage.

Meanwhile, Kiah becomes invisible and approaches Thokk, while Nyssa links Kiah and Thokk together. Kiah action (whatever is turns out to be) will take effect in round 3.

SD, please submit attacks and damage against AC 17 for round 2 and AC 19 for round 3. Take into account the werewolf's damage reduction of 10.



For the characters trapped in the woods, movement through the trees is possible at one half speed, but each round each character needs to make a DC 15 balance check each round to make any progress. Failure by 5 or more means that you can't move for one subsequent round. Failure by 10 or more results in a fall.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos DeTerran

A nervous grin came to his face when Lissa threw the snowball down to peg one of the wolves but a realization came to him.

"...I don't thnk their allowed to hurt us. I know it sounds crazy but I think its safe to move through the trees. Which way is back to camp?"

Every fiber of his being was screaming out that he shouldn't move. Too dangerous and he would fall down. But this place was even more dangerous to stay. Clinging unto the tree he was sitting on with a death grip, Callos pulled himself up to his feet and mentally cursed his sad sorry footing. The necromancer had some degree of balance but this would be tricky.

((Oh monkey spit... Alright I just made all of the rolls for the next ten rounds to save some time. Here they are.

1d20+3=9, 1d20+3=9, 1d20+3=11, 1d20+3=12, 1d20+3=22, 1d20+3=11, 1d20+3=4, 1d20+3=20, 1d20+3=20, 1d20+3=16 ))

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin rushes up out of the shadows next to Elthan and Fizahn. Blood is splattered across her face and chest, but she does not seem to be wounded. "What's going on? Who--" Katrin cuts herself off abruptly, seeing the werewolf. She shudders, then pulls herself together. "No... Stop this! Stop fighting!" she screams. She stares straight at the werewolf lord, her expression full of emotion.

[kariokie]

Nyssa

Nyssa whispers quietly, her voice reaching Kiah and Thokk. "Thokk, Kiah is invisible and coming to aid you with spells. Please make noise to cover her approach. You may both whisper back a short message now if you need to."

As Katrin emerges from the woods, Nyssa looks towards her in alarm. "Uh oh," she breathes quietly to her brother.

She sends a sense of agitation to Orestes, hoping his sudden shift in mood might alert the others that something is going on.

{Knowledge: Arcana (1d20+11=24) -- can I figure out about the DR?}

{And, to make things easy, just assume Nyssa repeats anything Kiah or Thokk need her to, since all messages go back to her but not to each other. Otherwise I'll be posting "Kiah said..." all day.}

[dauphinous]

Delphinia

Delphinia isn't listening anymore. I'm such an idiot. If I live through this, I have to apologize to Callos. He was right. Staring into those red, red eyes, she lines up the shot, two arrows at once. If only he'd killed it instead of just wounding it. For my clan, for my family, and most of all, for me. "Burn in hell," she snarls quietly as the arrows fly, a red haze fogging her vision.

{to hit: first arrow: 20 + 6 = 26, 7+6 = 13 to confirm, second arrow: 7 + 6 = 13
assuming first one hits and does not confirm, damage is 4 + 1 cold = 5}

[HempRope]

...that was strange.

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

"Katrin! calls Achkby in surprise, his attention temporarily wrested away from the fight.
"Have you seen Tiriel and the others?!"

[OOC]Yeah, Knowledge (Arcana) (1d20+11=29)[/OOC]

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

Kiah makes her way across the clearing as quickly as possible. However it's not quick enough. The monster charges Thokk at frightening speed. The collision sets her teeth on edge and the ferocity of the attack almost stops her in her tracks. Time stops for Kiah as the spray of blood sparkles in the moonlight. All she sees is a small warrior hopelessly pitted against an insane evil...

not gonna happen

As the combatants fall apart after that first awful charge Kiah moves into place 10' behind Thokk. Kiah hesitates, not knowing what spell to use first and thinking she may only get one. Precious seconds are lost as she is torn between magic weapon and protection from evil . Finally, not knowing what kind of magic Nyssa has used to connect them she speaks clearly, but softly enough that the werewolf will have no chance of overhearing.

"Thokk! Hold your sword behind you if you need it magic!"

Kiah waits on a hair trigger with the words of magic weapon on her lips.

(OOC: hold action until late in the 3rd round, speak, ready magic weapon for Thokk holding his sword behind him)

EDIT: What are Thokk's hit points? Is he almost dead and the end of the 3rd round? If Kiah can see this she will burn Clairvoyance for a cure serious wounds (3d8+6)
instead of magic weapon.

[Ludo]

Nolan

Nolan's face is impassive as the fight starts, his discipline and training coming to the fore. A slight twitch in his left eyelid is the only sign that Thokk's bloody injury registers with the monk.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

*Thokk rightens himself, blood seeping from numerous wounds in his body. He retains consciousness through pure will of effort, and starts hacking madly at the werewolf, trying to drive it back as all else fades from his vision*

*In a strangly calm voice Thokk yells back*

"Aye, lads, this is not good."

I don't want to leave again...

Thokks Round 2 Attacks
*Power Attack, -2 to hit +2 damage*
Thokk To Hit (1d20+9=21)
Thokk to Hit (1d20+4=15)

Hit
Thokk Damage (1d10+9=17)

Thokk Round 3 Attacks
Normal
Thokk To Hit (1d20+11=23)
Thokk to Hit (1d20+6=18)

Hit
Thokk Damage (1d10-3=4)

OOC: Ouch. Thats really painful. The first damage roll needs 10 subtracted from it, I took that into consiteration in the second roll. It may be time for others to start comming in, for some reason I dont think this is a fair fight as it is right now...

[Phasm]

Lissa

Lissa watches in horror as Callos slips on the icy branches, and then Delphinia suddenly starts shooting at the not-wolves. "Well, that's just torn it. So much for stealth and subtlety." Despite her sarcastic remarks, the gnome is loading her crossbow as she speaks. Then she closes her eyes, places one hand on the crude silver medallion at her chest, and chants briefly in Celestial. "Baravar, please bless your servant and her allies!"


OOC: Load crossbow and cast bless.

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

It's a damned good thing he's prepared to die.

Lumpy leaves his flail draped across his neck like some grim fashion accessory as he watches Thokk take a good solid thrashing,

"Now, don't get me wrong, he ain't bad in a fight, but he's really going about it all wrong. Defense is swell, and it's got its uses, but fuzzy over there just showed why offense usually wins these sorts'a things. Shields are fer big battles and buying time. In a duel, yer better off devoting yerself ta winning than fending off attacks."

The orc's critique is delivered matter-of-factly and easily, as if he were discussing the quality of his morning coffee and not alife or death affair. Abruptly, his tone changes to one slightly more serious, but tinged with faint frustration,

"Alright, show'a hands, who's got serious moral issue with letting the dwarf die in this misguided honor-duel crap? Might as well getthe voting over with before it's too late."

He leaves his own hand down, naturally.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The lizardkin takes in what Elthan says and frowns as he tries to wrap his mind around it.

a sickness..

When Kiah interferes by turning invisible he actually blurts out,
"Wait. She cannot.."

She would betray the terms of the challenge and most likely be detected and killed. More importantly to the druid's way of thinking, risk the entire pack's safety if the werewolf ordered an attack in retaliation.

He looked around for support and was shocked to be tugged back. He didn't miss the vicious attacks on Thokk and bared his teeth reactively.

Before he could say anything the missing Walks-in-Shadows returns and yells for the fight to cease. He turns to see if Tiriel and the others returned with her.

[kariokie]

Nyssa

"If it helps anyone's decision, Orestes has become very upset. I believe that either the group in the woods attacked, or has been attacked." Nyssa watches the fight carefully, and prepares herself to meddle, as she is so prone to do.

She whispers quietly, sending her message, "Kiah, I think there's a problem with the other group. And Thokk's going to lose."

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

After Thokk takes the first full round of deadly attacks from the monster, Kiah heals Thokk (hopefully) and hears Nyssa'a information. She whispers back

"The other group has not been damaged. Thokk will be dead in a round unless someone does something!"

[Dr._Bob]

Katrin's sudden appearance at the forest's edge surprises your party and the worgs alike.

The werewolf lord freezes, one clawed hand still wrapped around Thokk's throat, the other pinning Thokk's sword arm at the bicep.

All eyes turn to the blood-spattered rogue. Si'rene sprints to her side, "Are you hurt?" Katrin shakes her head no.

Kiah takes this opportunity to creep forward. She reaches an invisible hand out and touches Thokk's forehead, partially healing his wounds. The werewolf lord is only inches away. His nostrils flare, but if he is aware of Kiah's proximity, he does not show it. Instead he keeps his red eyes locked on Katrin.

Slowly, the werewolf lord relaxes his grip on Thokk and steps backwards. "We are done here. Blood for blood."

The werewolf lord turns his back on Thokk and begins to walk back towards the woods, towards Katrin and Si'rene. The worgs concealed in the woods likewise begin to converge on the rogue and the gray elf. Si'rene nocks two arrows and points her longbow at the approaching werewolf.

"Where are the others?" she whispers to Katrin.

[hr]
Callos begins creeping forward along the highest branches toward the next tree. Lissa sighs and starts to follow, but when she looks back, she sees Delphinia glaring at the wolves below with pure hatred in her eyes. Before Lissa can react, Delphinia shoots one of the wolves who yelps and disappears into the darkness.

The other wolves are on their feet, teeth bared.

Before Delphinia can reload, however, Callos slips and falls out of the tree. Tiriel launches herself out of the tree as well, catching the necromancer in midair. There is the sound of a loud flapping of wings, and Tiriel gently lowers herself and Callos to the ground.

"Stand back," she whispers to Callos.

Tiriel raises her sword and suddenly the woods are flooded with a blinding light. Lissa and Delphinia turn their heads and avert their dark-adapted eyes. Peeking through slitted eyelids, they see an amazing sight ...

An angel stands proudly, resplendent in shining armor, a flaming sword held aloft as she spreads a pair of enormous white wings. She shakes her blond hair out of her face, revealing achingly beautiful features and piercing blue eyes.

The encircling wolves cower before her, and one by one they break for cover, running for their lives.

The angel lowers and sheathes her sword, and the daylight fades. She ties back her hair and suddenly she is just Tiriel again.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

Damn it all...!

Those where the only thoughts that could fill the wild-eyed necromancer's head as his slippery footing on the branches gave way when he began to move.

Instinctfully Callos closed his eyes and tried to raise his arms up to cushion fall. This was like some kind of horrible nightmare! The wind rushing past his face. The wolves awaiting him on the ground, slavering as if ready to devour him, but then he didn't slam into the ground. Far from it, the only harm he seemed to take was being jolted when his fall was arrested by.....TIRIEL?! That didn't explain why he heard the sounds of wings either!

But when they where both on the ground and the warrior woman asked him to step back he wasn't going to argue either. The necromancer stepped back until he was pressed against the tree, eyes darting from wolf to wolf, waiting to see which would attack first when the golden light began fill the woods around them.

"GAH! What in the Nine Hells is that light?!"

The light almost burned at him and he threw his arms up in front of his face. Only catching brief glimpses of the angelic being that had saved him. It made his heart ache, an act that had his right hand clutching at his chest while he gritted his teeth. Once the light was gone however there where spots dancing in front of his eyes, compromising his balance even more then it was on the tree.

Instead Callos slumped down at the base of the tree, opal eyes dazed and a little surprised and horrified at the same time. A single thought running through his head.

It was just like her....Looked just like her......what was it?

Already his mind was pouring over all of the religous texts he had read over his lifetime. Trying to find some little tidbit that would allow for his rationale side to explain the angelic being...and why it was no longer there.

((If Callos saw enough of the "angel" would it be possible to make a Knowledge Religon check to identify it/her? +13 on the modifier if you want to roll it yourself or should I?))

[blackfox]

Katrin

"I don't know where the others are... If I even saw them, I don't remember..."

Katrin draws her shortsword. Blood for blood? What does that mean? Did I... I must have! Oh NO! She looks suddenly worried, even afraid, images of her friends, torn to pieces, rising in her mind.

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

Kiah relaxes slightly as the werewolf moves away. She whispers to Nyssa

"I think Katrin killed a worg while in cat form. If the group is going to protect her do it now before that monster closes in. I for one want to hear her side of the story."

Then she moves up and hisses in Thokk's ear:
"Thokk! We need to get back to the group. NOW. I will enchant your sword on the way."