Monstrous Uprising Group Alpha IC

[Averagedog]

-=Monstrous Uprising=-

Act 1: The Storm Before the Darkness

Chapter 1: Unlikely Associates
---

2 Tendays Ago:

The sounds of echoing boots on marble resounded in the Great hall of Castle Legacy, the Nexus point of the Kingdom of Valus in the continent of Primoris, the first inhabited land. The owner of those feet, an older dwarf wearing the white robes of a cleric adorned with the holy symbol of the city, a Sword with a white edge and a black edge facing down with a halo above the grip, walked through several chambers past the great hall and audience chambers into the private residence of the king. The dwarf has gray eyes and craggily mountain like features with long immaculate white hair flowing, combed down his front and his back. The guards made way for him as he finally entered the King's most private chambers. The room in which the king resides was darkened by drapes pulled over all the windows obscuring the luxuries that royalty would bring from the light and bringing them into the darkness. In the center of the room sat a man, a man wearing a glowing and white flaming crown. The man had platinum slightly glowing skin with eyes of flame. He wore a ceremonial breastplate armor with a long flowing cloak that always seemed to float behind him. The King sat in a large oak chair with a table set before him and on which was a crystal ball set in place. The King had one of his mailed hands outstretched over the crystal ball, the visions within traveling straight into his eyes at an incredible pace.

As the dwarf stepped into the dark room, the doors swinging shut behind him the king spoke solemnly. "Linus my old friend, there is a great darkness surrounding the land of the Primoris a darkness that will only grow stronger as the little time that is left passes. It has been a full millenia since the rise of the unspeakables, their very existence purged from all memory many centuries ago. If I do not act now, the Kingdom, nay the world will be consumed into the darkness from whence it came."

The dwarf's eyes widened when he heard the news. The land of Primoris knew relative peace throughout the centuries, the continent long conquered and indigenous populations long subdued, controlled, or simply monitored in preserve like states. There were of course isolated islands and large land masses that encircled Primoris on its northern and southern extremities that remain unconquered as well as the untamable swamps, jungles, and supernatural forests, mountains, and valleys. To his knowledge the unspeakables were once the former gods of evil, the gods that only desired war, destruction, pestilence, and death. They were banished by the newer gods that sought to create a balance between good and evil. But in accordance to the history of the church, the unspeakables rise once every millennia and usually cause a calamity so large that civilization itself is crippled for centuries. The dwarf swallowed hard then spoke in a gruff yet understanding voice, "What is your command my lord?"

The King took his eyes off the crystal ball, the connection to him broken and stared at the dwarf with those cold fiery eyes. "We must prepare for the return of the unspeakables, prepare for the great evil that will rise up to overwhelm the balance. Here my decree Linus, from this day forward, all monsters are to be detained with any and all force necessary to do so."

"All monsters my lord?" The dwarf interrupted, "But what do we consider to be monsters and why are we detaining them lord?"

"Do not interrupt me Linus and do not question my decree. But for now, all the monsters in the lands and outlying islands of Primaris are to be captured and detained with any and all force necessary and be brought to specially designated camps and prisons to be processed. The very survival of the existence of the good folk of this kingdom depends on this action. I have seen the future in the reflection of the blade. I have heard the words from the divine ring. The light of our future grows dim in the growing darkness. We must act now.

"But lord, this doesn't make any sense!" The dwarf said this time taking another step towards the king.

"It doesn't have to," the king said, "I could just as easily add dwarves to the list of monsters if that is what you wish Linus. There are more than enough good folk that are willing to follow anything I say unquestioningly."

Linus stopped moving forward and bowed his head.

"Pardon my outburst Lord."

"You have been pardoned...dwarf."

----

In the Present

Oliver smiles woke up to find himself inside a closed wagon surrounded by other strange individuals around him except something was wrong something strange, or perhaps it wasn't wrong at all. The entire contents of the room was painted gray, as if an artist brushed everything except for himself with a dark gray and murky paint. He tried to move and saw that he was bound uncomfortably a gag pulled over his mouth. His hat was gone. He looked around and saw the most curious thing, the hat, his hat, was floating a few feet in front of him. A voice spoke directly into his mind, a low rumbling, nearly feral voice.

"The king has gone mad and the unspeakable darkness is at the doorstep to this world. Normally I would have sought to seek dominion of it, but for now I work to save it. I sense that you and other interesting creatures like you are destined for something great in this struggle perhaps a role to be played. I've spent a massive amount of resources to freeze time itself if only for a short duration, just to give you a chance. Here are 3 magical pins, with it you may free 3 individuals from their bonds. When you wake up you will find them in your hat. What you and others like you decide to do afterwards is your own to decide"

The hat floated over and landed on Oliver's head firmly, there was a flash, and a brief shadow of a figure wearing arcane robes and two cat like eyes that disappeared as color returned to the world.....

---

The Wagon bounced and rolled along a cobblestone road flanked by forest land. far ahead, perhaps a days travel was the great eastern prison of Gant, known to all far and wide as a magical prison that was near impregnable from the outside and the inside. The lands outside of it have been scorched multiple times over the years and has recently been converted and commissioned into the future site of additions to the great prison. Surrounding the wagon are 6 horsemen, all wearing breastplate armor bearing the Sword and the Halo ever wary of trouble. The individuals inside are waking from a magical sleep that was cast upon them from when they were detained and found themselves surrounded by other strange monstrous creatures around them, bound in varying fashions. Nothing has been revealed of their fate at the prison, but each of them knew, that they did not want to find out what the prison has to offer.

[The Antigamer]

Oliver blinked as his hat finished speaking and plopped on his head.
He tried to reach up a hand to touch it, but something was wrong, something was holding his arms tight. He looks down, and sees he's wrapped in a straightjacket, crossed arms at the front of his chest themselves crossed by chains of cold iron.
How very peculiar, he thinks.
Turning his eyes back up, he examines his surroundings, tilting his head at almost a 90 degree angle, as he noticing others nearby...

[GuesssWho]

A drider is crouched next to him, the roof of the wagon too low for her. Her legs are connected by iron poles to a central ball-and-chain.

"Idiot humans.

"Anyone know how to get out of this mess?"

She strokes the sole possession not taken from her, a crude stone spider on a chain.

[Super_Fluous]

Oliver's voice awakens Bllrrgllrrb from his prior unconsciousness. He extends a tendril and tries to move himself from his uncomfortable position, but finds himself trapped. Feeling around his vicinity, he finds that he is trapped inside of some sort of smooth, artificially made container. He can hear outside just fine, but the walls of his prison limits him from sensing much further.

"Who is that?" The noise he produces is a low, echoing gurgle, "Who speaks? Show yourself? Where are we?"

[Voice of Reason]

Nerishana begins to awaken from an unnatural, dreamless sleep. There is an itch at the base of her neck, and she moves to scratch at it. Yet, try as she might, she just can't reach it. She feels restrained, her full range of movement limited. She opens her eyes, and gets a quick impression of what's going on around her through still-blurry eyes.

She finds herself in some kind of cage, with some of the most bizarre cell-mates: A strange gaudy man in a coat and tophat (with his head turned at an almost unnatural angle, appraising her), some blobby thing in a vat, a cat (akin to one of those weak housecat things, quite unlike Nerishana) with its feet cut off, and, the clear winner: a half-spider thing; yep, she's dreaming all right. The dream-spider grumbles something about humans being idiots as Nerishana goes to lay her head back down on the floor. No point in fighting the dream, best to just ride it out as quickly as possible.

The wagon, with a vindictive air, chose that moment to hit a particularily nasty pothole in the road, bashing Nerishana's head loudly against the floor, and snapping her firmly awake and out of her delusion.

...Damn, what a terrible way to wake up in the morning.

For Nerishana, of course, waking up had its other problems as well: Namely, the spider was still there, and so were the others for that matter. They are starting to talk to one another. The memories of her capture are coming back to Nerishana quickly now, and the annoying itch left behind from the tranquilizing dart still wont go away. She pulls herself up into a sitting position, and tries to scratch at it. Still no luck. She tries to ignore it for now. The blob in the corner has just addressed everyone, ridiculous though it may sound.

I don't know about the rest of this wagon-load of misfits, but I'm Nerishana Neliejir. I can't say I remember much else at the moment though; the incompetent idiots that jumped me must have kept me knocked out. Who're you, and what'd you do to deserve the royal treatment?

[Super_Fluous]

"What?" questions Bllrrgllrrb, talking more to himself then to anyone else, "More meat-things? Meat things captured by meat-things?" Bllrrgllrrb almost laughs at the ridiculousness of it all. The meat-things were having some sort of dispute amongst themselves? Flesh fighting itself? It was practically comical.

Bllrrgllrrb raps a pseudopod against the glass, addressing the others.

"I am Bllrrgllrrb." He rumbles out his name all in one syllable, "I was captured by more of your kind, wielding sharped spears, and some form of new magic." the ooze grows slightly aggravated, "This is not the proper behavior for prey. It is ridiculous and unnatural!" He wiggles more against the glass, "...And uncomfortable."

[GuesssWho]

"I am Aynestra Everhani, cleric of Arachne, of the drider clan Chee Rit.

"And I'm assuming we are all imprisoned for the crime of not being human enough. What races do we have here?"

[The Antigamer]

"Rnng brrgss ogggn, nnnnn," Oliver says through his gag, nodding his head in greeting.

[Voice of Reason]

Well, we've got ourselves a blob, who'll likely as not eat us if he gets half the chance, a half-dead cat, by the look of it, a spider-thing, and

she gestures with a tilt of her head towards Oliver

a wiseguy, by the look of it. They didn't bother gagging the rest of us, so he must have gotten himself special treatment somehow. For myself

Nerishana attempts to reclaim her Gnoll form, but for some reason, she can't. She is focusing exactly as she ought, becoming aware of her body and its many identities, but can't seem to make herself change. The wardens must be suppressing it, somehow...perhaps these damned chains...she gives a little shrug, but her frustration is clearly visible.

I was a Gnoll warrior of good standing, and an "envoy" to the kingdom of Valus, so to speak. But I made the mistake of trying to save a human, and got myself bitten and cursed for eternity for my trouble. I should have known better, really.

My tribe had managed, until recently, to keep the worst of their oppression off of us by accommodating their demands, but apparently, when you're a werecheetah, they talk down on you a lot less and chain you up a lot more.

[GuesssWho]

"Drider, not 'spider thing.'" She rolls her eyes. "Have you really never heard of us before?"

[Voice of Reason]

Can't say that I have, nope. If you've got a plan to get us out of this mess though, I'm all ears madam "drider."

Nerishana squirms uncomfortably.

That, or if you can reach this itch on the back of my neck, you'd be hero of the year in my book. One of the two.

[GuesssWho]

"I'd love to, but . . ." She gestures to her bound legs. "Sorry. And unless someone here has a lock-opening spell the best I can do is bite."

[Voice of Reason]

Well, we're at a bit of an impasse then aren't we? I'd love to let you out, but sadly, I can't do that any more than you can. Not sure if Bllrrgllrrb

The Cube's name comes out necessarily mangled due to physical inadequacies, but it's not a bad attempt.

over there can do anything while he's all bottled up. Can you? Our other feline friend has yet to wake up; from the look of him, he might even be dead, who knows?

She looks to Oliver

You have any ideas, "gaggy?"

[GuesssWho]

"How can he answer with the gag on?

"I think I can reach it, though, just a moment."

She'll just be doing her best to suit actions to words now.

[Super_Fluous]

"As a matter of fact..." Bllrrgllrrb mentally connects with the disembodied hand in his innards and feels it move. His senses expand outside of his container. To demonstrate, he jangles the locks of his cell mates, and then scratches the gnoll's itch, just for the heck of it. "This container is not perfect. Still, the walls somewhat block my senses. You will have to direct my movements."

[The Antigamer]

"Brrrngh hgn gnnm, mmm gemmm nahh mmm. Hgh fgh memmm, rreengg," Oliver volunteers, his eyes twinkling happily.
He turns to regard the sleeping feline beside him, and nudges the creature with a pointed boot.

[GuesssWho]

"I think I can just reach that gag. Do you want it off?"

[The Antigamer]

Oliver shrugs his shoulders, as if to say, 'If you insist.'

[Voice of Reason]

So the spider can reach "gaggy," but not her. Great, wonderful, fabulous, even; she tries not to hold it against Aynestra for her own bad fortune, but Nerishana is getting rather testy at the moment, and it's hard. Her mood takes an unexpected turn for the better though, when Bllrrgllrrb, what a delightful name, Bllrrgllrrb, somehow manages to reach outside of her bottle and takes a moment to scratch at that most annoying itch. The relief is palpable, and Nerishana does not bother suppressing an amiable purr.

Ok, the slime thing can stay.

Able now to turn her full attention to thoughts of the future, Nerishana wonders what kind of life awaits her at the end of this ride. She's not dead yet, so its either imprisonment, slave labor, or a trail; the latter option was clearly laughable. None of these options proving appealing.

She takes stock of the situation. At best, there are five captives in this wagon to offset six obviously experienced horsemen, and it doesn't seem likely that they'll just sit by and wait patiently for them all to free themselves. If she manages to get herself free, can she take six of them alone? Doubtful. Outrun them though? Maybe. Freeing the blob from his bottle shouldn't be too difficult, and he (well, she's going to think of it as a he) may be of use in taking out the guards, or at least serving as a good getaway distraction.

The aforementioned blob can seemingly influence, to a small extent, the world around him. Nerishana takes hard look around at herself, the guards, and the wagon to determine where Bllrrgllrrb might be able to be of most use: keys, small tools, a quick-release pin on the horses, perhaps, anything that might be manipulatable; she doesn't expect to find much, but when you're properly desperate...

ooc:

Spoiler

Show

Just in case we need a backup plan for Oliver's freedom-pins.

Spot check - (1d20+11)[25]

[Kallisti]

Rictus

Throughout the entire conversation the chained and muzzled cat had been watching with one eye, curled up, with an awful, twisted grin. When Oliver nudges him, he uncurls and stretches, hovering slightly above the floor of the wagon, shards of bone that trail from the grotesque ruined stumps of his paws only an inch above the wood. Words begin to write themselves in the condensation on the side of Bllrrgllrrb's vat.

Ungag Oliver? *Grin* I wouldn't; if he talks--and he will if you take the gag off--it'll alert the guards that something is wrong. His voice is...distinctive, to say the least. *Yawn, stretch, imperious feline examination of the room (you know the kind)* 'Well, we'll wail while woe'll wheel,' but I'm afraid I can't, although woe does appear to be wheeling--this is a wagon, yes? So I suppose the first question is how we--oh. Damn. Out of area with enough condensation. I hate when that happens, don't you? Simply loathe it.

(OOC: Rictus' unseen servant actually writes out the stuff in the asterisks and wastes the last of his 'paper' writing about how he's out of paper.)

[GuesssWho]

"Ah. In that case I'll wait until we have a proper plan. Sorry, Oliver." She sighs. "I don't suppose we have anything here to pick locks with?"

[The Antigamer]

Oliver gives a half-lidded blank stare at the cat, then rolls his eyes and starts humming to himself. His arches an eyebrow playfully at Aynestra's request for something to pick a lock with.

[Voice of Reason]

So, you know each other? And you've both been gagged. Coincidence? You may as well ungag "Oliver". It's not like we've got any other plans right now, and that's not likely to change. If he's as annoying as the cat says, we can always put it back in.

[Kallisti]

But can you take the sound of his voice out of the guards' ears and memories? After all, he's supposed to be gagged; if they hear him speak they'll know something's amiss--and on that note I suggest you all speak a little quieter. *Grin* If you can, do tell; I'd love to learn the trick of it.

[GuesssWho]

"Seconding that request, it would be a good thing to learn.

"Now then. I don't suppose our amorphous friend here could simply pull the locks apart with that trick of his?"

[The Antigamer]

Need permission from averagedog for this post.

Spoiler

Show

Oliver's humming continues as he watches the ground outside the window.
Suddenly he leans over, and presses his gag against the wooden wall. The wheels hit a bump, bouncing everyone, and pulling down his gag.

[Super_Fluous]

Bllrrgg grunts, though quietly, "It is a basic magic, so no. I would readily tear this whole place apart with it, if I could. But no, we will need some subtly."

"Now, what is this 'trick' you speak of?

[Averagedog]

Need permission from averagedog for this post.

Oliver's humming continues as he watches the ground outside the window.
Suddenly he leans over, and presses his gag against a small spur like rent in the Iron wall, probably caused by some previous prisoner trying to escape his fate. The wheels hit a rather large pothole on the road, bouncing everyone. The motion ripped off the strap to his gag

[Kallisti]

*Grin* Cat's out of the bag now. Morning, Oliver. How are you feeling?

[The Antigamer]

A wide, toothy grin splits Oliver's face.
"Ah, that's so much better!"
He turns to give a mock-glare to the cat.
"Rictus, you little scamp, that was a very naughty thing to do."
His grin is too wide now, as he turns to survey his companions in misfortune. It seems impossible that his smile manages to be so wide.
"Now, this is one of the most entertaining scenes I've ever seen. It's like the setup for a bad joke. A giant spider, a cheetah-hyena, a container of snot, a footless mangy cat, and a mad jester all walk into a wagon...something something something, I save the day."
He begins rocking his head back and forth, each roll forwards moving his hat further down his face, until he's tilted back, hat covering his face. There's some motion under the hat, then he snaps his head back and up, the hat doing a full turn in midair before it plops down on his head. Two bobby pins now hang from the corner of his smile, held by his lips.
"Rictus, make up for your earlier audacity, and pop one in my lock and one in the arachnid's. She looks like she can handle the other's prisons. Then unstrap my back strappings, if you would."