Realm of the Dead

[Paladin Latham]

Oathbreaker/'Jacob'

"I second that notion" Oathbreaker takes 2 short swords and a set of studded leather from one of the subdued gaurds. Dropping the jagged metal and stripping out of his cloths with a suprising lack of shame, he addresses his allies as he dresses in the captive's armor "I recommend that we disguise ourselves as gaurds and keep at least some of these men around to maintain the charade" He stops to look intently at everyone "Unless your hunger overrides your sense of caution that is". Internally, he seriously considers sating his hunger on a gaurd until he reminds himself that he likes WOMEN. Its still too soon to share something that intimate with a man. He will however ask questions of his dominated 'friends'. Questions like:
"Whom do you serve? What are those sounds above? Is there a password or hidden latch to reach the outside? Describe your superiors to me. Now!"

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj
In the smoky dark, Noj's eye flares yellow again, and he tries to stand. It works out...oddly. Planting his booted feet on the ground, his knees crackle and he pivots upright, as if falling over away from the floor.
His arms swinging like pendulums, Noj hunches over and stalks towards the captives, watching them with an expression masked by layers of dirty bandage.
Seeing the fear on their faces brought back...recent memories. Sunshine and apples, wheat in the fields, a smiling man handing over a mug of something strong...
Like a sable cancer, the grinning head of the shadow scarecrow sprouts from Noj's shoulder and giggles to itself.
"Those got burned down, didn't they, Noj?" it asks, in Noj's voice
Noj answers,
"Yes. They were."
It laughs again.
"It isn't fair, is it? What did you do, nothing, right?"
"No. Nothing."
"So," the scarecrow asks, as if playing a trump card, "how does that make you feel, John the Miller?"
The bandaged man's head droops to his chest with a crackle of charred flesh and stiff wrappings, and he stands stock still for several long moments...

[Taffimai]

Suzette

Suzette walks up to one of the captured men and waves a hand in front of his face. Assuming it is all Myriel's doing, she addresses her while looking for a response in the man's eyes.

"Impressive. Not what I thought you meant when you said you could be 'quite distracting'. Can you still ask them questions like this? Like, who they're working for, what they're doing here and what's going on? Could you make them escort us out?"

[warbacon]

Hellstar

With the cry of "Vampire!" emerged from the trapdoor, but it was over so quickly he didn't even bother to help. The sight of blood being drawn was ... entrancing.

He walks over to the guard troop, and approaches the poor sod with decent-looking clothes closest to his size. "Jacob has a good point. Some of us could hide as guards, and while the armor will only get in my way, I wouldn't mind some new clothes."

Having most recently spent weeks traveling with a rough-and-tumble expeditionary force into the heart of the undead scourge, Havok had lost that fragile thing which is the fear of exposing yourself to others. It's not that he idly spent his time with them in the buff, but when a man saves your life time and time again, things like nudity lose a few priority levels. Nevertheless, something about being naked around a lady, let alone a pretty lady, kept him from removing his filthy breeches without at least mentioning it first. He asks with a slight movement of his hand indicating the guard before him, "Myriel, you offered to clean us up before ... would you mind if the three of us retired downstairs to exchange some clothes?"

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The man "Jacob" asks his questions opens his mouth as if to speak and suddenly he gasps, hands rising to his throat, falls to his knees then to the floor, thrashes for a few moments then lies still, his heartbeat no longer audible. Blood pours out of his mouth and ears along with smoke. Obviously dead-and messily so-he appears to have been burned from the inside out possibly through some necromantic spell or another. It seems this man-and most probably all of them-are bound against betrayal...

Spoiler

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Just to clear things up-no guard died in the fight, all twelve were dominated. As for the anti-traitor ward, blame Szass Tam (and R.L. Byers who wrote Unclean). The fact that it saves a DM the effort of writing down what every NPC knows and restricts easy access to information is purely coincidental. Honest.

[Lochar]

Virmas

"I wonder how far this binding against their betrayal runs. If we force them to let us leave, or go along with a ruse to get us out, will they die as well?"

He looks to one of them, which seems to least important. "Well, will you die just by showing us the way out?"

[Revlis]

Ethan

The sight of blood made the hunger almost unbearable. Ethan, as a mist, descended to the ground, rematerializing as he did. Ethan approached the remaining guards. He was aware of how easy it is to simply crush their will, almost as easy as crushing their windpipes. Nothing would give him nearly the same satisfaction. But, with pure force of will, he stopped himself.

'Then again, one less would not make a big difference.' Ethan thinks to himself, with a sense of self satisfaction.

"I will be taking one for clothes, weaponry, and such..." Ethan says.

If no one objects, Ethan will take one to one of the cells below.

[Ramos]

Myriel

The sorceress looks at Hellstar with a smile on her face.
Are you sure exchanging some clothes is the only thing in your mind right now?
With a touch she makes the filth on him and his clothes fall off as if water falling off glass then looks back at the soldiers.
Jacob's idea has merit-suprising as that might be for someone of his intelligence. I, however, aren't going to fit in armor tailored for human males and neither will my sister-to say nothing of impeding our magic. Besides, studded leather was never my preference, despite my beliefs.
Looking closer at the captives, she searches for the two most handsome of the remaining eleven and hands one to Alaeth, keeping the other for herself. Glancing back towards Jacob and Hellstar, her smile becomes miscevious.
Ofcourse, those of you that fit in this armor could bind the rest of us that do not. Then we could pretend that Suzette, Alaeth and I-in these half torn rags-are your prisoners. And if that thought hasn't crossed your minds then you're sleeping on the job, boys.

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj
Does it anger you, Jon the Miller, That these men are still alive while you are dead? It does. I know.
The tall ragged man Clenches his fist at his side, his head still bowed. In his head, the scarecrow continues
"...And just think of the others here! They'll drink their blood, and maybe worse...In a way, you'll be doing them a favor by killing them. Or just one of them. That'd make you feel better, wouldn't it, Noj? Killing just one of them? In fact, they were probably the guards you brought you in here in the first place. I can tell!"
To an onlooker, it would seem that the bandage-wrapped man is holding a murmured conversation with himself in the dingy gloom

[warbacon]

Hellstar

Graciously thanking Myriel for her help Hellstar switches into the clothes of a guard, minus the armor. He shakes his heads slightly at Myriel's rather naughty remark. "I prefer binding rituals, not binding women. And what would a group of off-color guards be doing transporting prisoners in the middle of a battle? Any close inspection will reveal us as who we are -- it's better to just get those who are comfortable in armor into it quickly, and simply have them guard us in formation. We also can't risk the casters being tied up since that limits our capabilities."

Reluctantly, he picked up the the black studded leather he removed from the guard and put it on. "I suppose I'll be a guard, now that I'm clean and have his clothes on already. I hope nobody minds if I take the lead." He picks up a short sword and swings it around inexpertly.

Clearing his throat dry with mixed emotions and a strong thirst for blood, he takes on the role of a guard. "Awright, you maggots. Clean yerselves off, git yer armor on and help me escort these undead monsters out of this hellhole. The rest of ya, look tied up. And you," he says turning to the still-breathing guards, "form up! On the double!"

[The_Snark]

Alaeth

Alaeth shakes her head slightly at Myriel's more suggestive comments, but with a little smile that says she is too used to them to be surprised any longer. She clears her throat. "I cannot say I like the idea of being bound, but as things stand right now, it will not hinder me much. I can destroy the bindings with little trouble if it comes to that, and I am more hindered by the lack of my foci and spellbook than I would be by simple ropes." She grimaces again. If she could not reacquire those, this could become truly dangerous.

She examines the dominated men thoughtfully. No use asking them what the ward would keep them from doing—the Thayans certainly would not tell them that. They might not have told them that they were being warded against betrayal at all. And even if they did know, it could be another of the factors that would trigger the spell. No, if they could figure out what the wards did and did not protect against, it would be by other means...

Spoiler

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Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft, whichever is more appropriate, to know what would trigger the wards (revealing information? Attacking a Red Wizard?): (1d20+19)[36]

[Taffimai]

Suzette

As the one guard begins to implode, Suzette jumps back from the one she was staring at. She looks questioningly from Hellstar to Myriel, unsure of what killed the man. Was he put under some curse to keep him from talking, did his mind cave in under the combined pressure from the two vampires, or had Myriel simply killed him to keep Hellstar from playing with 'her' new toy, as Virmas had so aptly put it.

"I think we'd do best to leave them behind. We can't be sure what else might happen if we forced them to help us, other soldiers might notice the missing leader if they knew the man, and if you are going to strip some of them of their weapons and armour that will alert people as well. Not to mention the fact that they might very well have been under orders not to take prisoners. As it stands, I think we'll get out of here faster and easier by ourselves than if we drag them along, especially as most of you can just turn into mist and float against the ceiling."

Not to mention the fact that most of you could probably do without the temptation of having these livelings so close, she thinks, though she refrains from voicing this concern.

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj
With a sickening snap, Noj straightens up, his arms spread wide and his eye flaring yellow like a dying sun. An inhuman roar escapes his lips like a waterfall made of burning paper.
"GRRRAAAAAGH!!!"
He Flexes his fingers, and a tangible aura of hideous fear and dread emanates from his patchy form, whispering of madness and nightmares...

Spoiler

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Accidentally activates Aura of Fear and Fear Gaze, Will DC18

He takes a few shuddering steps forwards the living guards...

[Paladin Latham]

Oathbreaker/'Jacob'

Oathbreaker approaches Suzette and speaks to her very softly (hopefully not overheard by the others) "If we don't have a use for them, they will be slaughtered for no good reason by the others" he motions to the three being taken away by the other Bloodlords ""This feeding thing doesn't sit well with me. You can feel it too can't you, the ease to anger, the ease to hate, the hunger? I didn't used to feel this way, and I don't think you did either. If we don't master this now we will become monsters. Be careful."

He snaps around at Noj's roar, turns back and says "Case in point" and moves to try and reason with Noj "Come on big guy we don't need to kill them in horrible ways, right?" (note: I do not get in his way, I only try to talk him out of it)

[Taffimai]

Suzette

Following Jacob, Suzette adds to his plea:

"Don't do it Noj, this isn't you. You are not a monster unless you choose to act like one."

When he comes close, she reaches out and gently yet firmly lays her hand on his arm.

"Don't you see?" she replies to Jacob out loud, since her words are meant as much for the rest of the group as they are for him, "As long as we stay around these living, breathing creatures, we're continuously going to be tempted to attack them. They will be a distraction and that will give our enemies an advantage over us. I say we leave them now that we are still master enough of ourselves to leave them in one piece."

Spoiler

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In case I'm not awake to post it any more: if Noj doesn't halt, Suzette will attempt to grapple and pin him, choosing the option not to do lethal damage (which does not affect her roles, since she's a monk)

[Ramos]

Myriel

The sorceress nods at Suzette, a frown on her face. Then she grabs her guard-using her domination to have him comply rather than her own strength-presses against him as if to kiss him then bites him in the neck. She drinks and drinks, excitement flowing through her veins, his thoughts filling her mind. When the man begins convulse in pain, Myriel sinks her awareness into him so that she feels his suffering-causing pain always excited her, more than was healthy her sister always warned. When the man collapses in her hands, barely alive, Myriel aloows him to fall to the ground. Rising from him, Myriel's face is shining with exultation. Turning to her allies, she smiles.
Now I am no longer tempted to attack them-or any other living creature. Sate your hunger now-being overwhelmed by the compulsion to attack another while we're trying to sneak past a battalion of guards or bluff our way past a red wizard might be inconvenient. And, as Suzette said, leave them in one piece. They will be a distraction to our enemies then when they try to find what attacked them. Ofcourse, one piece does not mean alive and if they are dead but without struggle, it will confuse anyone that found them even more. Besides, you won't believe how good it feels to drink the blood and life of your enemies.
Turning her wicked smile at the drained guard again, Myriel strokes his cheek with a clawed finger, observing his shallow breathing, an indication he's barely alive. You get the impression the only reason Myriel allowed him to live-despite what she said otherwise-is that he's quite handsome.

[The_Snark]

Alaeth

Alaeth frowns at Myriel, then half-jerks towards her as she realizes what her sister was doing half a secobd too late. She would not physically restrain her sister, and she refused to employ magic against her. Her frown persists, and she glares about at any of the others as if warning them away from trying to interfere, stalking to Myriel's side in a blur of motion. Her glare does not exclude her sister, although Myriel is likely not capable of seeing it in her present state.

When Myriel... finishes, Alaeth says in a tightly controlled voice, "That was ill done, sister." She places a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper fiercely, "You do yourself no favors this way! It is... unhealthy to give in so freely to desires as compelling, as addictive as this. Control is key, Myriel." Her sister's rationale that they should feed now, harmlessly, while they can, had some logic to it, but she knew her sister better than that. She had enjoyed the sensation, given herself to it far too much. "And you do us no good with the others, as well." She very much doubted they would find favor with Myriel's actions, not since two of them were arguing—and not without merit—for sparing the guards any trouble and leaving them here.

Maintaining her hand on Myriel's shoulder, Alaeth transfers a now-even gaze to the others in the room, studying their reactions. She would stand by her sister even if it meant being against all the others, but she did not want to have to.

[warbacon]

Hellstar

Myriel has a good point--something Hellstar had in fact considered when he first noticed the blood urge come into him. Ah that fool! His distress is partly at the enjoyment she got out of it, and mostly because now that she had bled the poor soul dry and created an atmosphere of giving in to necrotic desires in the process, he could not sate his own desires without looking like a fool. Not to mention, he thought as he stared somewhat slack-jawed at the mess, this will not bode well for controlling Noj. Heck, she just dispensed advice about thoughtful descent into vampirism, and then made a show of it. Gah! If only she had restrained herself just a bit! Shown some hesitation!

"Myriel! If we're not taking these men with, on which point I am inclined to agree, then we're not going to make fools of ourselves by losing our humanity in the process. While some of us might be satisfied with mere blood, from the looks of it, others may have more destructive ways of sating their hunger." He shoots a look at Noj and continues his tirade. "So before we go mad and get ourselves kil... destroyed, let's suit up and put them in a cell. They'll probably be safer there. And then we're getting out of here on our own power." He storms off to the trapdoor and icily says "Stop it" at Noj and Suzette (who were apparently about to go at each other) along the way. At the edge of the stairs, he turns around and looks at Myriel expectantly.

[Taffimai]

Suzette

As Noj seems oblivious to her and Jacob's words, Suzette grabs both his arms to keep him from advancing further. It is an odd sight, the frail woman holding back the towering man, and there is no way Suzette could have performed such a feat while alive, a notion she is painfully aware of.

Through their struggle, she doesn't quite catch all that Myriel is saying and only realises what is happening when she sees the blood run down the guard's neck and stain his clothes.

A wave of disgust rolls over her. If she hadn't been holding Noj, she might have staggered back or sunk to her knees, but now she merely loosens her hold, unknowingly, until her hands are just lying limply on his arms. Struck by the futility of trying to hold one man back when there are so many others, she turns her face towards Jacob and says in a choked voice:

"You were right. We have to get out of here. We have to get out of here as fast as we can."

Despite her words, she doesn't move, nailed to the floor by the overwhelming emotions that she feels.

Yes, get out of here, goes through her head, get out then get as far away from you madmen as I possibly can.

[Lochar]

Virmas

"I don't care what you do with them. Kill them now or not. But they'll probably lose their lives anyways, when it is found that they allowed us to escape. Make use of their lives."

Virmas shrugs, and leans against a wall. "Come, come. We don't have all day, night, whatever it is. Eventually their replacements will come, or they'll be required to join the battle we can still hear. or any number of things."

[Paladin Latham]

Oathbreaker/'Jacob'

Oathbreaker swims in a sea of red heat as he watches Miriel drink her captive, what seems as though it was minutes must have been mere moments as he hears the victims heartbeat slow and then, like a dream interrupted, she lets go. She left the hearts blood he realizes, looking at the gaurd on the ground. He can't help but feel an ache because of it what a waste... he starts to think before he physically staggers and catches himself NO! THIS IS NOT ME! I won't stay like THIS! I WILL find a way to CON them and take everything they dream from them for doing this to ME! He can't help but outwardly smile at the irony of his next grim thought I swear it. Outwardly, he recovers himself still wearing a pained and twisted smirk and says "I apologize for that... I... lets get out of here". He moves around the gaurds, ignoring their screams or fighting as Noj attacks them (he's too focused inwardly and grimly realizes theres nothing he can do) and moves into the hallway.

[Taffimai]

Suzette

Mechanically, Suzette follows Jacob out of the room, staying one step behind him and to the left. She refuses to look at anybody else.

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj
Noj strains ineffectually against Suzette's grasp for the stretch of a few moments longer, but her expert holds and superior strength keep him well in hand. Finally, he strains no longer and, like a puppets with its strings cut, lets himself sink to his knees, shortly before Myriel begins her feeding. Quiet now, the yellow inferno in his one eye dies down to a banked glow, and he draws himself upright as the man sinks to the ground, nearly bloodless. With a few long strides, Noj stands at the man's side, watching him as the others file out. Slowly, He crouches down and reaches to the man's side, where the short sword hangs. Noj draws the weapon and peers at the blade, turning it this way and that and watching the flicker of light from his own glowing eye on the blade.
"Who should I say this prayer too?" he asks aloud, but seemingly to no one in particular.
"Chauntea, to whom I lived my life? If anyone claims my soul, it's the lady of the plow and summer. Or should I say it to Loviatar? I've heard that screams are her prayers, and tears her holy water. Ha, ha."
From beneath the bandages covering Noj's face, there comes the sound of muffled laughter.
"I commit my soul to any god that can find it anymore. Peace be to you, guardsman!"
With a snap of the elbow like a scorpion's strike, Noj drives the blade into the neck of the downed and drained guard, watching intently as his lifeblood pours away.
Noj watches for a moment longer, and then his broad lean shoulders begin to heave silently. Hauling himself upright with a crackle of joints and stiff bandage, Noj drops the bloody weapon and stalks out of the door, still holding his book close to himself.

[Lochar]

Virmas

"Now wasn't that fun?" Virmas shakes his head. "We can't have any of them alert others that we're gone. Lock 'em up in here if need be. We can't be found out."

Virmas walks out of the room, noncorporeal and fading into invisibility.

[Revlis]

Ethan:

Ethan climbs up the stairs, clad in the man's armor and clothing. The self-satisfied smile on his face betrays what he has done in the cell below, as do the droplets of blood on his chin. Ethan stares for a moment at those leaving, as well as the man killed by Noj (not having seen the man drained dry by Myriel). Ethan speaks in a much calmer and more easy going manner than he has since waking up in the cell below. "Might be more useful to satisfy your urges if you take a small part of them with you." Ethan emphasizes the meaning with a grin to reveal bloodied teeth.

With a spring in his step, Ethan follows the others into the hallway, but pauses at the doorway, and looks towards Myriel and Alaeth, something about the way they stood there defiantly told him that something has happened in his absence, but he chose not to press the matter. Instead, he gave a small nod to them, and turned back towards the hallway.

One thing was clear, this was not the same restless, insecure Ethan that was found shivering in his cell, but this was the true Ethan; the one that is part monster and part human.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Suddenly, the entire complex is shaken to its foundation, vibrations coursing through the walls, the corpses still sprawled on the ground entering a macabre dance, the very stone beneath your feet cracking and threatening to overthrow you. Fissures appear at the walls and chips of stone fall from the more damaged areas. From above there is the chorus of thousands of metal objects falling on the stone and clay, glass and wooden objects breaking. The din of the explosions from the battle abates for a moment, replaced by the shouting of hundreds.

The Earthquake, while powerful, only lasted for a few heartbeats before subsiding, indicating a non-natural occurence. Still, even those few seconds were enough to damage the entire structure. Clouds of dust impede vision and the sourceless illumination of the hall beyond the iron doors has failed-though the darkness does not block the vision of the children of the night. Standing or falling, you realise that the complex has been struck by an amplified earthquake spell from a mighty elementalist or hierophant-or an entire cabal of red wizards performing a circle magic ritual. The building is still standing-but it was substantially damaged and if the attack came from those besieging it it might be repeated. You jump towards the exit of the underground crypt, surprised and pleased that in the meantime a larger part of your strength has returned.

Spoiler

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Another 2 points of strength have returned. And the earthquake is a reminder you should not linger overlong in a besieged building-such structures have the unfortunate tendency to fall on their occupants' heads.

[Lochar]

Virmas

Virmas is unshaken from the earthquake as he is currently incorporeal, but still looks to the others. "Ladies and gents, I suggest we move quickly. You'd hate to be buried, wouldn't you?"

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj
Noj shuffles along wordlessly through the tunnel, although he occasionally fields a glance at the others in the party...

[Ramos]

Myriel

Well, it seems whoever wants to bring this place down has made our choice for us. These guards here are going to die when they get buried so we'll be saving them a slow, agonising death if we feast on them then kill them and there's no sense leaving them going to waste and remain hungry ourselves. Ofcourse, if some of us wish to be really foolish we could try to take them with us and "rescue" them.
From her tone, Myriel makes quite clear what she thinks of people that wish to be foolish on their own expense. It is also clear that, despite being what most people would call evil and unpredictable, she does care what happens to the group as a whole. Whether it is because she sees safety in numbers or because she's taken a genuine interest in the other members of the group is still unclear.
She moves carefully towards the now open exit, balanced but wary due to her lingering weakness from the previous fight.

[warbacon]

Hellstar

With his plans dashed by the earthquake and others going ahead without seeming to care what it looks like, Hellstar was in a poor state of mind to deal with the earthquake, but it quickly brought him back to his senses. He lost his footing and pedaled backwards into the door, knocked his head (which incidentally seemed to hurt a lot less than it used to), and fell into a guard. The sword fell during the shuffle. Frustrated not only by his lot in life but by the fact that he had suggested such an elaborate and hence fragile plan, he throws off the borrowed armor and marches into and through the hallway with a dead serious look on his face and muttering to himself. "We are clearly getting out of here right now."

He did not, however, sate his hunger. This pleased him as much as it fueled his determination.