A Light in the Darkness [closed]

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin curses as she hears the troll's tremendous attack from below. She reloads again and shoots at the troll, knowing it will just heal itself later, but having no other options at the moment.

(OOC: Attack Roll (1d20+8=20)
Damage Roll (1d8+2=10))

[Spaz]

Yix


Yix abandons his tail as he sees and feels blood splatter on him. He looks around wildly before finding and slamming his head behind the Troll's knee, hoping to knock it down.


(I don't exactly know what I would add to that, but I rolled an 8)

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"Try to help the ones downstairs, I'll try to hold this one off!" Tiriel tells her friends before closing the gap between her and the troll.

As Tiriel attacks the troll she has a sudden revalation: a charge with a shield could easily punch the troll out of the window as it tries to wiggle through.

But Tiriel doesn't have a shield.
She has a sword; a long sharp object used to stab or slice. She decides to use stabing for now, followed by a bit of burning.

Tiriel uses Power Attack to subtract 4 from her attack modifier, which adds a +8 to damge since she is weilding her sword in both hands.
attack/dmg./fire (1d20+4=13, 1d8+15=19, 1d6=3)

but as she nears the troll her concentration slips and her sword digs a gouge out of the window frame.

ooc: off by 1!!!! ahh there goes 22 damage down the drain...

[Dark_Stalion]

[Oh, i miscounted.]

Karzak

Karzak staggers from the rending claws. Bloodied and matting fur congealing, he gives into his ferile instincts and stikes out at the troll. [1d20+10=15 this is without flanking bonus. Don't know if it still applies. If it does then it's 17. 1d8+5=6]

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Cleric of Eilistraee

Trinark works his way around to the Gnoll, making sure to stay away from the Troll as much as possible. He casts a small healing spell on the Gnoll warrior.

[OOC: Cast Cure Light Wounds, 5 + 3 = 8 points healed.]

Sorry folks, I'm out of 2nd level spells.

[Dr._Bob]

The troll upstairs looks like some kind of grotesque pincushion with all of the arrows and crossbow bolts sticking out of it. Si'rene and Katrin fall back, firing as they do so, but their missiles hardly seem to faze the misshaped giant beast.

With a cry, Tiriel charges the troll, her flaming sword roaring as it arcs through the air. Surprisingly nimble for a creature so large, the troll twists away from her sword and rakes its claws across her chest. Her breastplate buckles with a kapang! but the armor holds.

[hr]
Down below, Karzak ignores his wounds as he plunges his trident yet again into the troll's body. Trinark claps his hands on the gnoll's back and, as he prays to Eilistraee, the flow of blood spilling onto the floor is staunched somewhat.

Unfortunately, now that the troll has its claws on Karzak, it apparently has no intentions of letting go. The giant monster picks up the gnoll and shakes him like a rag doll.

Yix's jaws snap at the troll's heels in an attempt to distract it, but to no avail. Karzak's spine snaps with an audible crack!

Howling, the lizardman brings down his flame blade on the troll's neck, decapitating it. The giant beast collapses instantly, like a puppet from the guignol whose strings have been cut.

The druid, drow and pseudodragon rush to the aid of the gnoll, whose body lies twisted on the floor, his back folded at an impossible angle ...

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Unaware of the turmoil and drama downstairs, Tiriel audiably hurls herself at the remaining troll:

::Tiriel uses Power Attack to subtract 3 from her attack roll and add 6 to damage (if it hits)::

attack: (1d20+5=21)
dmg./fire: (1d8+13=21, 1d6=3)
total = 24

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin takes aim on the troll carefully to avoid hitting Tiriel, and looses the bolt. The bolt streaks towards the troll's eye, but is deflected slightly, burying itself in the troll's skin.

(OOC: Attack Roll (1d20+4=23) I forgot the penalty for firing into melee.
Crit (1d20+4=10)
Damage (1d8+2=10))

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Cleric of Eilistraee

Rushing to his side, Trinark examines his Gnoll companion quickly. Even he is forced to admit there isn't much hope.

"Such a terrible waste" he mutters, mostly to himself.

Suddenly realizing they could still be in danger, he looks to his friends, "We should burn the bodies quickly, before they have a chance to rise again."

Trinark will start dragging the bodies outside so they can be burned.

[Spaz]

Yix


Yix stands over the gnoll's body silently lamenting.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The 'snap' ssathiya heard rang as a death knell for the dog-man who lay there broken. He paused; about to stoop over and check the fallen warrior when a crash above him alerted him that fierce combat still raged abocve him.

Roaring out,
"RAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

he lunges upwards sword forward, warm air from the blade buffeting him as he ran into it.

Cloudhair was a better healer than him. If there was any hope left for the dogman, it only lay in his hands.

The last sight he catches as he races up is his dark friedn kneeling next to the hairy form, anguish on his face.

OOC: This post precedes Yoric's and I didn't know what to post when i read Kaz's death either. I hope DS is picking up the paladin he talked about. I've enjoyed RPing with him.

[Dr._Bob]

Tiriel plunges her sword deep into the raging troll. The monster roars in pain. Its face is close enough to hers for her to smell his foul, humid breath. It grabs her arm with one massive hand and reaches out with his other hand to rip off her head ...

Thwip! Twang! Si'rene and Katrin shoot the troll from nearly point blank range. Both missiles burrow deep into the troll's neck. The troll's eyes roll up into his skull and it topples backwards with a loud THUMP!

The druid pops his head up through the trapdoor, flame blade ready. Assessing the situation quickly, he hisses "Burn it!" Then the druid scrambles back down to the first floor.

[hr]
Karzak is beyond even Trinark's power to save. The gnoll's eyes stare glassily up at the ceiling until Yix gently reaches forward and closes his eyelids.

Trinark stands and begins the gruesome task of dragging the trolls' body parts outside to be burned. Some of the dismembered parts quiver as their muscles continue to contract. Sinews and tendons seem to be visibly trying to reknit themselves even while more oil is retrieved to create a giant bonfire.

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix stands there awestruck as he brings his hand back down at his side. He stands there with moisture bremming in his eyes, until he finally raises his and lets out a mournful cry. He wipes his eyes, and slowly begins to help with the burning of the troll's bodies.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
hacks the troll's body into easily managable pieces before tossing them down to the ground outside. Hearing a mornful sound, she heads downstairs.

When she see's gnoll's body she quickly rushes to join the others in mourning the loss of their friend.
"It should have been me..." she wispers to herself, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
While visiably upset, she squares her sholders goes outside. She suddenly remembers about her horse (and all the others), she will go find them before joining Trinark in the grusome task of buring the remains of the trolls.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Coming down the stairs, Katrin sees Karzak's body and starts, stopping in her tracks. She looks at the ground silently, and jumps down to the cellar to help pass up oil casks. She never says a word, and her expression is grim.
________________________________________________

Seeing the body in the cellar again, Katrin calls up to whoever is above her, "...We should... We should take down the... the bodies in the attic and bury them properly, once we've taken care of the trolls." After the trolls are permanently disposed of, she walks over to the body in the cellar, and, grasping her by the shoulder, shakes her. She had a sneaking suspicion that the girl wasn't really dead--the trolls probably couldn't open the cellar door in the first place.

[Dr._Bob]

Thick black smoke rises into the cold, clear winter night. Looking up into the sky, you can see the moon waxing bright. It will be full within a few days.

The trolls burn with an oily thick stench. You watch their body parts carefully until they turn to ash. Si'rene and Tiriel cut down the cadavers from the rafters, but the ground is too hard to dig into to bury them. Instead, their bodies are added to the funeral pyre and Trinark offers a prayer to Eilistraee on their behalf.

[hr]
Down below in the cellar, Katrin kneels next to the body of the girl. Perhaps she is still alive?

Katrin places a hand on her shoulder. Her skin is waxy and cold. Rolling the body over, Katrin sees that it is too late. The long gash across the girl's belly appears to have been the cause of death. She must have managed to somehow make it to the cellar, only to bleed to death alone and in darkness.

A small purse is clenched in between the girl's hands. It looks as though she had been clutching it to her breast as she died.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid & Trinark, cleric of Eilistraee

Seeing that the warrior had her kill well-in-hand, the druid had not interfered as this would have taken the rightful honour of the kill away from her.

Rushing back down, the dismayed expression on the dark face of his packmate told him all he needed to know.

The dogman was dead. He was gone. His savage spirit in the hunting grounds of HIS ancestors perhaps. A place of honour for a life well lived. Defending a pack. HIS pack.

The lizardkin stood shockstill. His eyes shut tight, his clawed hands clenching as a paroxysm seemed to pass thru him. Frowning with concern, Trinark arose to move toward him but the reptilian moved swiftly. Out of the door, into the open.

Free of the stink of troll ichor and blood, free of the feeling of senseless death and the surrounding walls a like a cage closing around him. The chill in the night cut into him but he welcomed the icy numbness to the stifling heat behind him.

His legs move faster until he finds himself running. Off into the darkness to be alone. No voices, no sounds just a pall of deathly silence only broken by his thoughts. Trinark stretched an arm out, intending to call out after him but stopped. The sound dying in his throat. He drops his arm to his side and heaves a deep sigh.

No, my friend. Some demons are best exorcised alone

Memories of his own persecution resurface. He looks to the pale moon. Its light carresses his face. Adding a fair hue to his delicate features. Lightening the lines of worry that are etched on a youthful, ageless face. Drawing a deep breath, seemingly taking strength from the air touched by that light, he utters softly, "Bring him back safely to us". He looks directly at the moon and smiles wanly and watches the silhouette of the lizardman disappear before turning over his shoulder, to Katrin who had just come down the stairs.

His brows knit as he prepares to tell the others the sad news.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lizardman ran and ran. The biting cold could not dissipate the heat that burned within him. He gasped breathless from the exertion and choking from the pain that seemed to tighten in his chest and rise like bitter vomit but yet would not. He coughed wishing that he could expel out the confused mass of thoughts that tore at him. Its seeming source in his throat.

He had heard how his own packmates had died. The witch possessed by the foul spirit of the wizard sethra. The magical copy of the wizard who travelled with that pack long before he had even joined them, sacrificing himself. How unnerving just looking at him had been. The unnatural energies that maintained him surely imbalancing the pure balance that enveloped everywhere simply by its sustained presence.

Yet the wizard or his copy, Ssathiya could never tell the two apart, aside by knowing which was the one who constantly talked to him, who along with the witch had improved his common and along with Fizahn, his knowledge on the pinkskins had not been a force of evil but a loyal companion. No less than the animals borne of the balance and that accompanied druids like himself. It had approached him, fearless and patient of his own fear and distrust of it.

They were dead. He had not dealt with this before, always shirking it to a later time because he knew deep down inside what he felt.

It was his fault.

A Druid of the people. A watcher of the tribe.

Who kept the tribe safe if not the druids?

Who tended to the wounded in the hunts if not the druids?

Shamans may be healers and knowledgeable in the rituals pleasing to Semuanya but any hunter or warrior saw in his druid the wary eye that kept them safe in the place that Semuanya had given them in this world.

They were MY packmates. Where was I?

I stood unmoving in fear as the Thunder-voice(Thokk) died fighting the spider-abominations. His death no less than one of the people.

They died to keep my tribe safe.

A tribe they have no place in. For a race that sees them as little more than beast

When their spirits were sent forth into the afterlife, where was I?

If i had died among my people, they would have eaten my flesh. My spirit with semuanya, my flesh a part of my people. Always. Now I wander away from my people. A visionquest of semuanya. No hunt. No kill. where will my spirit go? Will the pinkskins burn me as they do their kind? will i become a lost spirit?

He falls onto his knees, head lifted and gasping for air. In frustration, he tears the ground with his claws, ignoring the pain as rock cuts into the webbing between his fingers.

Why do I feel this? Lizardkin do not feel like the warmbloods do. My people were right. To wander among the pinkskins is to lose the very thing that makes one lizardkin.

The image of the dead gnoll comes back to him. He shut his eyes as the shame and guilt wash over him. The dogman had died and here he was afraid for his own mortality. Kneeling like a weak coward in the cold, coming to terms with how lost he had been feeling for some time now instead of grieving or honouring the fallen.

The crux of the matter comes back to him. How was he to honour a creature, he had considered little better than a beast, one whose kind he had consumed before?
Eat his flesh, make him part of him forever? Would the gnoll even want that? To be part of a tribe of lizardmen where the only one who would regard him kin was the druid. To burn him like wood? To bury him? letting worms feast on his flesh.

The lizardman shudders from the anathema of the thought.

Clenching his jaw muscles, he stood up. Seeing where he was for the first time at the river's edge, he moves until he is right beside the water.
He calls out into the wind so that it would carry the words beyond,
"Spirit-of-the-wolf, to honour you, i will never eat the flesh of your kin, or allow them to be hunted."
Kneeling at the edge of the water, he marks strange patterns until he is satisfied and sings a chant with arms raised to the stars.

It is a song taught to the people that is used when they are far from home and unable to find their way. So that spirits of the balance and Semuanya may hear them and guide them home. He sings it for the gnoll and the wizard and the witch. For the brave warrior torn by the walking dead. And the thunder-voiced warrior who had shown him that the pinkskins were no mere beasts. And for others who had died needlessly in the path of death and decay, Sethra had wrought.

At the end of his song, he hangs his head.

And he does something unthinkable for one of his savage race.

He weeps.


(Edited)

[Dr._Bob]

The lizardman runs off into the darkness, leaving the rest of you standing still, mouths agape.

Tiriel retrieves the mounts. They whinny and shy away from the stench of burning troll.

Trinark says a few words over the Karzak's body. The wind rises as he speaks, the cold breeze ruffling the gnoll's fur. Before your eyes, a startling transformation takes place as the gnoll's body shudders and blurs.

Everyone steps back, weapons drawn, unsure of what is happening. Si'rene snaps at Trinark, "What kind of magic is this, drow?" Trinark just shrugs as if to say, "This is not my doing ..."

After a few moments, there is no trace left of the gnoll. In his place, a naked human male lies curled in fetal position on the cold rocky ground ...

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin kneels next to the girl in the cellar. Looking at the pouch in her hands, she tries to decide whether to open it, or to let it be. Eventually, her curiosity gets the better of her. Letting the pouch rest in the girl's hands, she opens it and peers inside.
S'irene's comment draws her attention, though, and she comes up out of the cellar to see what's going on. Seeing everyone with their weapons drawn, she says, "What's going on? What--" and cuts off short as she sees the human body where Karzak was. "Who is that?"

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix is afraid at first, hiding behind the ankles of Katrin. After a few moments of staring in awe at the body he moves closer and begins to sniff it.

[Dark_Stalion]

Naked Man?

The body appers to be that of a human male in it's late twenties, well muscled and quite comely in it's features. Peacefull in it's camatose state, it's breathing is barely perceptable. Gradually this deepens, however, untill, as the miniture draconic creature approaches to sniff, it's eyes snap open startling it back into cover and the entire body arches as though in pain. A cry escapes his lips, primal in it's intensity, and yet more human than any sound the gnoll before him made.

Soon the convultions decrese enough for the man to gather some sence of his surroundings. As his gaspings subside he takes in every one of the assembled members of the group one by one, seeming to recognise each one before moving on to the next, face full of wonder. Lastly in notes it's own nakedness and moves, not quickly, but not without purpose, to improve his modesty. At the same instant his face seems to loose any positivity, and only a bleak emptyness can be seen in his eyes. In a strong baritone voice he addresses no one in particular.

"So I'm alive. I never thought..."

He trails away into thought and his eyes wander with his thoughts, leaving those standing there not sure if he were truly among them.

[Dr._Bob]

Before the transformation ...

Katrin carefully teases open the pouch. Her torch reveals a neatly bundled package of letters. Katrin gently pulls out the letters, which have been tied with rough twine. The parchment is of fine quality, folded into fourths. There are about a dozen letters. Katrin slips them into a pocket for future examination ...

[hr]
After the transformation ...

Si'rene frowns as she looks at the naked man suspiciously. Without a word, she offers him her cloak.

Her bow still held ready with an arrow nocked, the elf archer scans the riverbank for additional threats. Turning to Tiriel she says, "We should get the horses and ... Karzak ... inside. We can leave the horses on the first floor and secure ourselves up above."

When she sees Katrin, she asks whether the girl is alive or dead. Hearing that the girl is dead, she suggests getting the lizardman to retrieve the body to add to the funeral pyre.

Si'rene's short white hair glistens in the moonlight. Her bare arms are goosepimpled, but she does not shiver or otherwise show any signs of discomfort in the frosty night air.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
dumbfounded by shock Tiriel agrees to Si'rene's idea without fuss or question. She helps move the horses into the bottom floor before mentioning that she's going to go look for the still missing Lizardman.

She walks off into the night and quickly dissapears from sight.

[Spaz]

Yix

As the man awakens Yix again runs behind the closest pair of ankles. He slowly leaves his favorite hiding spot, only to stare at the man while telpathically asking his name. He then points to himself and sends the word "Yix."

[runehawk]

Lizardman Druid

The lizardman snaps his neck as he hears the crunch of a footfall.

"There you are" a feminine voice rings out. Flameblade steps into the range of Ssathiya's darkvision.

She walks up to the large rock he is leaning against.
His hide armor and cold weather outfit are loosened and some flaps are open.
His chest and face are exposed to the cold.
She notes that he has obviously tried to roughly unfasten them.

She stands with arms akimbo, her hip in level with his head. The lizardman tilts his head and looks up at her.

"Boh-t... Boat"
He makes a hand sign of something moving on water.
His movements slow, sluggish.

"Make one...to-morr-ow"

He points behind him to the river barely visible in the dark until the moon shifts from behind come clouds.
"for ....."

He frowns with the effort of thought as his breaths continues to form mist.

Tiriel nods in assent to this as she wraps the reptilian with his hide and thick cloak and hood as best as she could. Deciding that attempting to lift and support him would be a futile effort, she opts to warm him first.

Gathering the sparse twigs that were dry enough to satisfy her, she piled them in front of them. She pondered digging through the lizardman's pack for some flint and tinder as she had left hers behind to move more speedily.
As she taps her chin with her right hand, her left hand on her hip hits her belted sword.

A moment of silence passes as she looks at it.

Silently berating her, she draws her sword.

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(Edit: sorry DR, changed details from yr IM but you can intro them back in the next round unless kuja rps.

kuja feel free to change anything relating to your character. and thank you for the opportunity.)

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin stands just inside the doorway, watching the now-cloaked man. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" she says. "And do you know how you got here? It's not often you see a dead body transform and come to life."

[Dark_Stalion]

Now-cloaked Man

It takes a moment for the man to notice the cloak being offered to him. Once he has, his actions becoe automatic again, mechanical, like something some dwarven wizard has created at his forge, eyes blank and staring. Still, dispite the fact that Yix is not even in his line of sight he turns to him in the eyes at the mental sound.

"I know."

His voice is like gravel, his voice cold and biting as mountain air.

At the mention of the gnoll's name, however, emotion does reach his eyes as he flinches mintely.

"I am not Karzak. I am..." he pauses momentarialy, colecting his thoughts, "I am... E... Ev... an... Evandur."

The detachment returns and he rises, following the others inside. At Katrin's question he just shakes his head. He doesn't seem very willing to talk.

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix growls at the man, it is a non-threatening growl, more questioning how this strange man already knew his name. He doesn't put much thought into it, as he yawns deeply and begins taking off his armor.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel sighs as she draws her long sword. She gently touches it's flaming blade to the kindling. Such a mundane and low use...
Once she has made sure that the fire will keep, she sits down across from the lizardman. She sits awhile, gathering her thoughts and staring into the flames before she talks.
"Something happened to the Gnoll's body right after you left. she pauses, "somehow his body became that of a living man. I don't know if he is the same person, but until we know who and what he is, we should all stay together."

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark - Drow Cleric of Eilistraee

After completing a short benediction for their fallen ally, even he had to admit his surprise at the transformation. He had witnessed magic before, but nothing similar to this. Perhaps Eilistraee was watching over him and his group of friends.

He gazed up at the waxing moon, its quiet serenity bolstered his spirits. For a few moments he just let the gentle moonlight clense his spirit.

Sounds of his friends moving the horses inside brought him back. Sighing, he moved to help finish the cleanup and moved toward what he hoped would be a quiet night.