Age of Ruin IC: When all your friends are dead

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

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Grapple: (1d20+2)[14] Do damage (next round?): +2 modifier (plz roll for me)
Subdual Damage (to Adam's apple?): (1d3-1)[1]

Quite intent on rendering him unable to further charm her, Lucci squeezes with all her might to give Akim a hoarse Sunday throat.
"Do not ever try to brainwash me songbird!"

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina takes a step back as Lucci begins her assault on the noble, confusion plain on her face.
"wha-?" She takes a moment to watch Lucci closely, but then shakes her head. It didn't look like something was making her attack...And really...
Livina snorts and covers her mouth.
As much as she enjoyed someone besides her getting fed up with Orin, the girl had no idea how to properly strangle someone! It was frankly comical; she'd really have to give her a few pointers later on how to really grip someone. Sheesh.

[Ozzy_G]

Lucci manages to grab Orin's throat, but he struggles out of her grasp.

[Lycar]

"*gasp* Are you mad? Is that your problem?!"

Orin recoiled from the crazy **** woman to get out of her grasp, but now he steps up to her again with a snarl.

Instead of attacking her, however, he says something to her under his breath.

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"[COLOR="#ff8c00"]I promised to keep your secret, as long as it does not interfere with the safety of the party. You just threatened my safety. Want me to spill your little dirty secret Lucidae Misallo? Just go on like that!"

Louder he goes on "Besides, we have other things to worry about now. Like getting out of this fog."

Turning away from Lucidae, Orin continues "Which apparently means we must return to the dwarven tomb and solve the riddles in there. Can't be helped, so we better start now. Do you think you can lead us back Tharok?"

Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucci answers with a snap in elven

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"I honestly do not care at the moment. Simply do not try to affect my mindsphere once again!".

Looking to the others (Livina and Krashnix) with some amount of fear in her eyes she simply states "I can not tolerate anyone attempting to modify my judgment. My magics previously in the occult temple and in the tomb were simply to keep the party from inter-violence but Orin was actively trying to force his will's dominancy."

[Lycar]

Lucci answers with a snap in elven

At which Orin looks rather blankly at Lucidae, seeing that he doesn't actually understand elven...

"I can not tolerate anyone attempting to modify my judgment. My magics previously in the occult temple and in the tomb were simply to keep the party from inter-violence but Orin was actively trying to force his will's dominancy."

Orin blinks.

"It is called reasoning and argumentation! I was merely pointing out that sitting around on our butts, moping, would not get m.. us saved! So i decided to, yes, change your poor judgement to something more proactive! And mind you, if i would actually set my mind on forcing my will upon you... "

Just shaking his head for a moment, Orin finishes in an ominous tone of voice "You knever knew the dark side of the word...".

Lycar

[MattKatt]

"If you wish me to lead us back there, I suppose I could try. We have been wandering in this fog for quite some time now, so with only the ground around us, it would be rather difficult. But if that is where you wish to go"

Tharok kneels to the ground and start to study the immediate landscape

[Lycar]

Orin

"I certainly don't wish to go back there. But unless you happen to know how to get out of this fog, we won't have many alternatives." Orin replies glumly.

Looking around his companions, he adds "Or does anybody else want to offer an alternative course of action? No? Didn't think so."

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina listens idly to the exchange between the arcanists. The bickering is almost a soothing reprieve from the grim business of getting out of the cloud.
When Orin mentions mind-control, however, the pretty Mokai's expression turns flinty. She cracks her knuckles quietly to herself.
Attitude is one thing...but that kind of threat? That's actually...threatening.

[Regwon]

Krashnix

Krashnix remains sat on the groud, ignoring the exchanges between Orin and Lucci, but looking slightly less glum. Still he remains silent, observing his companions.

[MattKatt]

"Hmmm..."

Tharok stares puzzled at both their own tracks and the tracks that they had been following.

"Strange. The tracks from these cultists seem days old. Yet when we first came upon them, they where only a few hours fresh. I am certain we have not been tracking them that long"

[Lycar]

Orin quirks an eyebrow at the barbarian.

"What do you mean, the tracks look older? We just have been marching a few hours."

Orin frowns and ponders "There is no way that... unless... oh Gothul !"

"Quick! We must make haste and return to the tower immediately! Sir Krashnix! Get up and moving! You cast your die before we challenged the golem and the omen was fortitious, wasn't it? So the course is clear, we are meant to solve the mad king's riddles!"

Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"He cast the die for our exchange with the construct."
"Does this mist not arouse your curiosity at all?" she addresses the party.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina snorts, and stamps her foot once on the turf.
"Curious? Curious is for things that aren't trying to kill you, and doing really good at it!"

[Lycar]

Orin

"Oh but it does arouse my curiousity. Mostly about how to get out of it's clutches. And the only way to learn more about this strange phenomenom and to get out of it, is to return to it's source: The mad dwarf king's tomb."

Orin looks at Tharok expectantly. He is the only one who can read tracks after all.

Lycar

[MattKatt]

Tharok nods at Orin and begins to retrace the parties steps back to the tower

[Ozzy_G]

Tharok follows the footsteps back towards the tower. After about five hours, you can see the tower as a slight smudge through the mist. In that time, the cycle of light and dark has gone through another four times.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Strangely mute throughout the trip, Livina cracks her knuckles as the tower comes into view.
"I don't like riddles...I just really really hope I get to punch something. Hard."
The bravado was all stupid hero stuff, but it kept the terror from seeping in. Somehow, coming back to this mysterious tower in the fog was almost worse in its weirdness than the cellar had been. Almost. Not quite. She still had nightmares about that day.

[Lycar]

Orin

When Orin spots the tower, he gets quite excited.

"The tower! I can see it! Straight ahead! Tharok, you lead us back, thank you! Now we have a chance to solve this riddle and free ourselves from this curse. Let us hasten our steps, comrades, the sooner we arrive, the sooner we will be solving our problem."

Orin marches on, speeding up his steps considerably, his hectic movements also mirroring his inner struggle to banish the memories of the last time he made haste to reach a certain goal...

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Orin leads the group towards the tower, looming out of the mist... or, wait a moment... is that...?
As the tower looms out, the group sees that it looks very different. The great doors are gone, replaced by a massive face rearing out of the walls, which are no longer simple iron, but now the colour of blood. The face is that of Rego Vel. It stares manically into space, the tower spire above it replaced by a multitude of jagged, bone-like spikes. As you walk into view, Rego opens his mouth, revealing a black abyss behind the mouth, and screams... in either agony or ecstasy, you're not quite sure.

[Lycar]

Orin

Orin slows to a halt as he realizes what the tower looks like now, his expression of enthusiasm frozen in a rictus of terror.

After a few moments though, he manages to reign in his panicking sense of immediate self-preservation. After all, what prospects of long-term survival do they have if they can't escape the fog?

"Now that's a sight for sore eyes. Very well. Foreward and onward! To our destiny!"

(... i've never been very religious but about now i would consider to trade worship for some divine help... But most importantly, i must keep up their spirits. I can't do this alone dammit...)

"This is actually a good sign. Rego is on our side after all. So if he is in control of... whatever this is, he just wants us to help him. Can you imagine what a great success it would be for a historian to actually become one with history? I almost envy him. Oh well, if we can unearth a trove of knowledge and wisdom from the tomb, this trip will be more then worth it."

He looks over his shoulder at Livina, grinning and adds "And if we can also evacuate some treasure, so much the better, eh?"

"So, no worries. I have the greatest confidence and enthusiasm for our quest. And so should you. Think positive! All is well that ends well and we will see to it."

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So okay, let's say Orin uses a day of his Bardic Music ability to make this little speech actually sound encouraging? You know, Inspire Courage. Just this time to improve our chances of fighting despair instead of cultists, yes?

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina blanches visibly as the new tower comes into view, and she covers her mouth with her hands.
"By the lady, that's awful..."
She gives a whole-body shudder.
"Yeah, um," she says, in response to Orin's wink, "The first rule of treasure is it doesn't do you any good if you can't spend it. Are you sure we have to go in there? I mean sure, I want to help Rego out here, but..." She looks up at his screaming visage
"I don't want that to happen to me..."

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"... this is disgusting. Like something from the land of the dead. Something as this was bound to happen to him!" Lucci seems visibly perturbed, disgusted and shocked even.

[MattKatt]

Tharok stares up at the structure in amazement and slight horror

"Ver con marh foruna...never have I seen..."

He steels himself for a moment

"Your friend must be in great danger if not already dead. Come! We must help him"

He draws his sword and starts striding toward the gaping maw

[Ozzy_G]

As Tharok and Orin get nearer the mouth, they see that inside it is merely a black abyss, nothing at all.
The mouth moves, and a booming voice cries POWER!

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

Lucci waits, watching the two apprehensively.

[Lycar]

Orin

(Oh gods... please make them stop me...)

"Well, what do you know? Seems like Rego found a way to harness the lady of fire's power without bursting at the seams after all. Come on, let's go. This should be very interesting..."

Orin takes a few bold steps foreward, then halts and looks back at the others.

"What are you waiting for? *sigh* I see you doubt the wisdom of entering this admittedly unnerving looking portal. Ah.. but i know just the thing..."

"Sir Krashnix? Would you mind asking for divine guidiance once more? Certainly Lady Isana would give you good advice on the outcome of us entering the tower."

Orin smiles, almost cheerfully. Maybe a bit too cheerful to be entirely healthy.

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina's face tics for a moment as the others seem intent on moving forward, but when the booming voice calls and the mouth moves, she actually screams a little.
Holding her hands near her chin, Livina closes her eyes and murmurs prayers she hasn't said in a long, long time.

[Moechi_Vill]

"Why not make the newcomer prove himself if you are scared?" Lucci asks Orin.
"I suggest waiting for Krashnix's God's advice first." she says to Tharok.

[Ozzy_G]

Krashnix burns more incense, and rolls his dice, muttering a prayer to Isana. Isana, the dream that burns, the voice of madness in the night, heed my cry! If we enter this tower, shall the result be weal or woe?
The two dice roll on the ground, and both come up showing the faces of angry demons.
Krashnix grimaces. That indicates woe...