The Lords of Life and Death

[NotScaryBats]

"Excellent. I shall go find Ms Ashley now, and inform her of my findings. Keep a look out for that Siggeir. I don't know where his loyalties truly lie, but tread lightly around him; there is something strange about him." With that, she moves on to find Ms Ashley.

Joan casts an eye to the heavens, attempting to get a feel for how much time has passed, and how long she has to meet the others at the gate. She prays for the toad-man, hoping that he has the fortitude to survive the situation she left him in.

[Wavelab]

Siggeir looks at Les with a grin. "Let me go show you what the good drink looks like. My treat." He said as he grabbed Les on the shoulder and dragged him towards the inn.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Alright Siggeir lead the way I still can't tell all these houses apart."

[Sneaky Weasel]

Malain laughs in the undead's face. "Justice? I am Justice, you pathetic fool. Now disappear." He ducks past it's swiping claws, and stabs at the thing's foul heart. He underestimated it's agility, however, and his attack goes wide. He ducks back, trying to put some distance between him and the vampire before it's next attack.

Spoiler

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Death Mark attack: (1d20+8)[10]
Damage: (1d4)[2] plus (6d6)[21] fire damage.
And 10 is probably a miss, so I'm moving back 20 ft.

[Kazyan]

"That's okay. We can travel. To the mountain, I guess?"

Istid stood up, took out her waterskin from her haversack, and drank for a few seconds before removing it from her lips. She splashed the remaining water onto her aching fin, and felt the point of pain subside into comfort. "I have some other friends you might want to meet, if we're going together to kill the Fàfnir, whatever order makes things best. They traveled with me back to here. Oh, where's..." Istid sighed, then giggled. "I wonder what Les got himself into."

[Wavelab]

Siggeir navigated the streets with Les until they finally found an inn.

"Give me 10 rounds of your most powerful drink." He said to the bartender and placed a purse of coins on the bar.

He took a table with Les and watched as all the drinks arrived. "Let's drink!"

[nyarlathotep]

Spoiler

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Actually due to the new dragonspawn's reach you're flanking bringing it up to 12, and the spawn is flatfooted due to climbing. Meaning that you just barely hit.

Malain's strike lands true, the vampire spawn exploding into a conflagration that none could survive. It soon burns to ash leaving behind only a gold and ruby signet ring of a minor Constance noble. Meanwhile the torso beast is finally finished, it lets out a groan before exploding into fleshy bits.
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back with Istid

Hermit: Yes I will follow you to meet the other ones. Lead me to them. More friends will help, they will help a lot.
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Joan finds Mayor Ashley talking to Father George still back at the dock.

Ashley: Thank you for investigating the ship Lady Joan. I am not sure what you did but Edgar has recovered form his coma. Also Father George has been talking to me about retrieving reinforcements from the north. Would you be willing to accompany him?
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Moe takes Siggeir's coin purse and pulls out 25 gold pieces. He then sets down ten shots of a bluish black spirit. The bottle is labelled Wormwood Spirits.

Moe: Just be warned, might make you a bit loopy for a while. The flowers and leaves they're made from contain a wee bit of extra kick.

[Wavelab]

Siggeir took a deep swig of the wormwood spirits. He could feel it rushing down his undead body. It would have no effect on him though. But Les is a different story...

[Kazyan]

"Nice. I'll see if I can remember where they were going." She reached out to allow the hermit to grab her hand and stand up, and would then lead him out of the tunnel.

"I might get lost. Just so you know." She chuckled and looked out to the city.

[Dr.Orpheus]

Les trills a sip of this higher quality beverage through his teeth leaving coat of foam on his mustache. "WHOA! Thats strong... and has a bit of an oaky aftertaste. Do we really want ten of these?" After a the second mug Les seems to have already succumb to this powerful brew and raises the empty mug as if to drink from it again and misses his mouth hitting himself in the eye (the one with the eye patch fortunately) with the empty mug. "Oops."

[Sneaky Weasel]

Malain smiles as the creature bursts into ash. Say one thing for Malain Sorroweye, say that he's lucky. He had survived once more.
As the adrenaline from the fight fades away, the pain in his wounds redoubles. The poison still deadens his sense and sends fire shooting through his joints with each movement, and his ribs ache from being crushed by the torso beast. He slumps against the battlements of the keep, simply laying still for a while to recover from his ordeal. I should really invest in some healing potions, he thinks.
His elation at winning turns to a sick feeling as he looks at who he has saved. The enemy. The dragonspawn. He had to remind himself that this was only so he could bring them down from within, so he could strike when they least expected it. It still felt like a betrayal, though.
"Hey, you with the wings, he wheezes, his throat dry, "Any way you can help me out? I'm pretty badly wounded, here." Unlikely, but worth a shot.

[NotScaryBats]

"I can aid him in this, yes. Milady, my intention is to make a large circuit of the surrounding territory in the month of daylight that we have left, aiding whatever citizens I can, while pursuing secondary missions like Father George's. I am certain the other members of my troupe have things that they need to accomplish out in the wilds, as well.

"With your leave, I would like to carry out this mission, returning with the setting sun to protect Landsend during the Long Night. I believe this is the best course of action at this time." Joan responds, saluting the mayor. She had respect for this woman -- she reminded her of herself.

[nyarlathotep]

In Moe's Siggeir and Lester "enjoy" several shots of what could be considered a lethal poison in a more civilized and cautious time, but now was merely a form of recreation. The strong alkali impurities in the drink burn in both of their bellies, but fail to do any lasting harm besides possibly to their bedsheets later on in the night. Lester however does feel the hallucinogenic effects, or visions as was claimed by the countrymen who brewed it, of the drink quickly enough.

He felt himself lifted up into the upper reaches of the atmosphere among the whirling clouds. Even so he knew this could not be real as the planets and stars were far too close, and he could see things dancing along the surface of the World's planetary neighbors. The flaming corona of the sun crawls with horrible linnorm like serpents composed of fire and fought by winged humanoids made of darkness, forming sunspots across its surface and plunging its child planets into darkness. Meanwhile the circling above are the four stars of the cardinal points: Dagon of the north, Alexandria of the south, Byzantium of the East, and Iberian of the West. They lash out at the sun's planetary children with luminous tendrils and hordes of tiny sparks.

Shortly after seeing this Lester loses balance and falls to the floor, completely unconscious.
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Meanwhile with Joan

Ashley: Go on your mission and help those in need as you see fit. It would be foolish of me to act as though you would do more good here than out in the world overrun by evil. We will defend here and always be a home for you to return to in your efforts to restore the world. I wish there were more people who could simply go out and expect to survive and make a difference out there.
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Malain's new companion looks at him strangely.

Winged Humanoid: We don't have any magical healing available here, but we do have enough food that a good night's rest with your natural healing should be able to recover most of those wounds. The walkers are dumb, but should be able to show you where the food it, but do not eat any of the humans or allow the walkers to. Those soft ones are immune to our blessings and for some reason that means that Jörmungandr needs them for the New Dawn.

*After a brief pause to consider what he has said he addresses Malain again.

I assume you two were headed north to the Four Wyrms Council, and know of the New Dawn, correct?
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Istid and the Hermit reach Moe's just in time to see Lester fall over and Siggeir's attempts to salvage the situation.

[Sneaky Weasel]

Malain listens intently, his face giving away none of his internal thoughts. His face twitches slightly as the creature tells him not to eat humans, but not noticeably. He is reminded of how hungry he is, however, as he has not eaten in over a day.
"I would be grateful for some food, brother, even if man is not on the menu." He listens as the creature mentions Jormungandr, and the New Dawn. Jormungandr...the name was familiar. Something about a serpent?
"We were heading to the Council, yes. I hardly know anything about the New Dawn, though. Our winged brother told me that it would mean a great victory for us, but I don't know more than that." Perhaps it was not a good idea to show his ignorance, but Malain needed information. He was willing to take risks if necessary. He just hoped he hadn't made a mistake, or it could mean his head.

[Wavelab]

Siggeir looked at the passed out Les. Staring at his neck and the alcohol pulsing through his veins.

Spoiler

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Hey Dr. Orph, you wanna become a vampire

[Dr.Orpheus]

Les sits dumbstruck and speechless as his hallucination unfolds before him. This was different from when Les would eat rare mushrooms in the forest he does not quite get the symbolism, but tries to put this to memory. During which he carries the stupidest expression on his face then slumps over to far in his chair and hits the ground and mutters something like "The stars will be beautiful tonight."

I guess this sleep will be my resting time to renew spells.

@^: I don't mind but Les probably would.

[Wavelab]

Siggeir rented two rooms for them. He dragged Les up to the first one and started drinking his blood.

1d6 Con damage each round until you die. I'll just hide your body somewhere and then after a few days you'll come back.

[NotScaryBats]

Joan salutes Mayor Ashley, "the people are blessed to have a woman like yourself to lead them. Please meet me at the gates in an hour, Father George," she says to the priest.

She then searches out her two squires in the barracks.

"Rex, Ingrid, I need you two to remove the bodies from the metal ship in the harbor -- coordinate with Simin to give them a proper burial, please. I am leaving town for awhile, but I will return. Please take care of these people when I am gone. Be well, my friends." It saddened her that these two had lost so much of themselves, but she was certain that their reward in the next life would be even greater for it.

With her work behind her for now, Joan makes her way to the town gates. It would be a long time before she saw this town again, and she had grown fond of it. She cast a lingering look at the inn, wishing that she had a few more hours to relax and clean her bandages of the travel grime and terror bird blood, but such luxuries were not meant for heroes, she supposed.

She arrived at the gate and began to wait for the others to arrive, doing some minor maintainence on her gear while she waited.

[nyarlathotep]

Father George: Aye milady, but I do believe that you companions who require sleep will desire it before setting out. The druid and shifty-eyed one appeared to be headed out for some liquid confidence for the road ahead. That is unless we have some form of automated transport to move them in while asleep.
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Siggeir begins to sup on his companion's blood but as the feast begins his eyes are filled with the sights of worlds far beyond and his ears the sounds to accompany them.

He now stands in a court-room surrounded by others like himself, those of great power but without any higher purpose or master. Beside him is a man whose face is covered by bandages; he is giving an empowered speech on why Siggeir should be spared, from what he does not say, for his life was one of living to the fullest, one that experienced all that life could offer.

The jury is unmoved by this speech, but why would they be. They were all of the living whom he had ever victimized, be it through trickery and guile or literally sucking the blood form their veins. They seem to be salivating at the chance to see him condemned, ignoring that by such measures all of them would surely be judged guilty as well. After what must have been moments, but felt like days the defense attorney rests his case and the judge makes his pronouncement.

The judge is a mammoth beast, a reptile of titanic size that had not walked the material in well over a millennium. Its four column like legs stand as great oak trees unmoving, while its neck towers nearly to the courtroom's ceiling. The only remotely human feature of the arbitrator of punishment was its face, a mask of human features twisted into black voids of anger where their should be eyes and a mouth. From is empty lips boomed the pronouncement "Guilty".

Siggeir is brought back to reality with a start. His hands normally pristine tools for fine manipulation were twisted into crude claws with the warty scales that cover the talons of a bird of prey. Lester is bleeding out of the gashes in his neck, but they won't be fatal wounds unless significantly more blood is drained.

Spoiler

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Con damage: (1d6)[2]

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Humanoid: Ah there is no shame in ignorance lad. We all started as children alone and afraid of this world that is out to kill us, and only walkers for company. Please we must be familiar call me Smog. The New Dawn will be a great liberation that will allow all of the children of Mother Earth to be transformed in the same way Father Sun's children were transformed when he fell, rather than through blood. We will use these humans who refuse enlightenment, due to their connection to the Star Gods to force Mother Earth to fall as well. We will stand in defiance of their condemnation of our rightful father.

[Wavelab]

Siggeir reflected on what he had just seen. He felt his cold undead heart sink into his chest, filling with dread.

"Is this what I have become..." he asked himself with a quivering voice.

[Dr.Orpheus]

Unless more blood is drained Les eventually will wake to see his robes have been removed to better expose his neck and a pain in his butt from falling after his vision. Les tries to make sense of the situation not thinking clearly with a hankover and a lack of blood and jumps to a conclusion. After finding Sigger's room "Sigger I don't know what happened last night, but for future reference I am bisexual."

[NotScaryBats]

Joan considers Father George's words. "I see. I find myself forgetting that others do not share my vitality. Thank you for reminding me. I should acquire a cart and mule, then."

Joan asks the gate guard to inform any of her companions that happen to check in of her whereabouts -- she then goes to purchase a cart.

Spoiler

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If I get a cart can my 28 str and I pull it effectively, while still being able to deal with problems that arrive (IE will I have to be tied to it or could I pull it like by those two front poles, then if monsters show up drop it and duel with them) or will I need *sigh* a living draft animal that also needs sleep. Lazy mortals.

[Wavelab]

Unless more blood is drained Les eventually will wake to see his robes have been removed to better expose his neck and a pain in his butt from falling after his vision. Les tries to make sense of the situation not thinking clearly with a hankover and a lack of blood and jumps to a conclusion. After finding Sigger's room "Sigger I don't know what happened last night, but for future reference I am bisexual."

Siggeir looked at Les. "If you touch me I will stab you." he said. He paused for a moment.

"The truth is that I tried to drain your blood, for I am a vampire. But during the process I saw a vision and I saw all the people I had wronged. I was punished..." he said, showing Les his claws "...And I wish to reform. Will you help me?"

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Oh... I guess I was way off. As for fixin' your hands I'll give it my best shot." Les prepares spells then uses a Lesser Restoration then I will use two on myself cure the con damage (rolling the con damage cured in OoC tread). "Well I am glad I aint dead, but don't go tryin' this on me again."

[Wavelab]

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you, I just spent most of my life with women. And I thank you my friend, it means a lot to me."

[Kazyan]

Istid, being rather oblivious of anything she wasn't actively concentrating on, almost completely missed Siggeir taking Les to a room. Istid looked in the direction of the noise, then blinked a few times.

"Whose voice was that?" She wondered aloud to herself, and corrected her course of walking to enter Moe's. "I think that one of them, mister--oh, I never got your name at all, and we've been walking for a while" she giggled, and looked at the hermit. "What's your name? I'm Istid."

[Dr.Orpheus]

"I am glad we are friends too Siggeir because I have no idea about the stupid legal bureaucracy stuff involving arresting someone that all them cities have."

[Wavelab]

"I like you, but if you try to arrest me I will have to end your life. This is bad since I'm trying to reform. So please control your justice."

[nyarlathotep]

Joan reaches the only real local vehicle dealership, as there is little demand. The only animals still in the stalls have been selected or breed for long time between meals, to avoid potential exposure to dragon's blood. The only ones available for sail are three humped muskox, creatures from the north who can survive the hard winter nights and go without food or water for up to a month, but during the summer their long coats must be shaved daily (stats are bison with Con 18). Additionally there are four horses for sale, they are of a swift moving Constance breed known as Borderrunners(stats light warhorse with +4 bonus to con checks to continue running).

Store owner Jim: Well we do have hand carts but none that are big enough or a smooth enough ride to pull five people in comfortably, if you want to pile everyone in one it's 15 gold. We've also got a larger one drawn by the oxes for 20 gold and 10 gold per ox to pull it, I recommend two. The horses are 15 gold apiece if you want any of them.
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The hermit seems fidgety and uncomfortable in a crowded bar and uncomfortable in particular upon seeing Lester and Siggeir's departure.

Hermit: I am dreadfully sorry my birth name was Edard but my ordained name is Byzantine, one who is of Byzantium. I wish I have felt empty since the passing of my eastern counter part Iberia, he/she was-

The Byzantine's hooded head then shoots up from his usual hunched posture, and he stares down the hallway to the inn's rooms and rushes down it. He then begins furiously slamming on the door to a room. This begins driving away most of the bar's customers who were sitting in that area.
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In Lester and Siggeir's room the restoration spell appears to do nothing to restore the vampire's hands. Shortly after the spell finishes they hear a loud banging on their door and hear the slurred voice of a man lacking teeth.

Byzantine: I do not let the child gods judge you. We, I can help. We, I offer salvation from the true gods. Do not ally with the dead ones, they are the path of destruction. Please don't fight with them.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"I just don't like bein' taken advantage of ya know. Vampires are probably one of the undead less hated by druids like myself sense they actually possess some bond with animals through there affiliation with bats." Then after hearing the man at the door "Mind your business I don't want you city folk changin' my beliefs with your philosophy and science. I ally with who I want... wait are you takin' to me or siggeir?"