Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

[Graybeard]

Finally, there was something Khoo could do something about as he lagged far behind Tamina. He mentally rehearsed the anti-fire training that had been beaten into him before he was allowed to do field work. Yes, it would be applicable here.

First, he cast a Wind Sprite at the growing conflagration. That would cause a momentary flare-up, which would be bad, but it would also displace hot gases from around the source of the blaze. He then immediately shifted to a Vacuum Bubble that encased the source, and snuffed the fire instantly. Of course, the Bubble didn't immediately cool things off below the kindling point, but it would at least buy a little time for the gases to cool and disperse. Now if I could just find some water to drop on the thing... Well, no situation was perfect.

Momentarily tapped out on energy for Shield casting (not that that was the urgent thing to do any more anyway), he pulled out the amulet and put it on; might as well use such defenses as he did have available, while he rallied his strength for more defensive magic.

[Browncoat]

When Angrist provided Udo with a fresh weapon, he'd thought Udo would blast the Matriarch again. For a moment he was stymied, but the new stone pillar gave Angrist an idea.
{Need to line this up just right}
As the Matriarch scuttled forward, Angrist made sure to lead it toward Udo's former position. Despite the constant attacks from the Matriarch, Angrist wasn't striking back. When the creature reached the point he wanted, Angrist dashed in and started hitting the supporting legs. It's balance disrupted, the Matriarch started to topple forward. Belatedly, Angrist realized something.
{Oops, Udo's gonna be crushed}
Angrist triggered his magic again, but this time the effects were less dramatic. This was going to be close.
{Maybe I am a little rusty after all}
Angrist threw Udo clear of the descending mandibles then dove back toward the base of the stone pillar. The Matriarch fell with the stone plunging into the open wound, but force of the impact stopped it short of crushing the monk. Angrist rolled out and jumped up top.
{Let's try something different}
He braced his feet and drove his hand down into the carapace. After a moment of tactile searching with the inner fluids gushing around his hand, Angrist found the stone and pulled...hard. The Matriarch slammed fully to the ground with the carapace cracking around the points where the monk's feet were. There was a slight pause. The stone pillar ripped off the ground and up through the Matriarch's body, rending the wound even wider. Agrist lofted the gore-covered rock; a terrible sight to behold with the entrails dangling from the single hand hefting a rock pillar larger than himself high over his head. Then he flipped the rock and drove the point into the Matriarch's left eye cluster, juices splattering the pavement and the creature shrieking in pain.

[OOC: Been reading some battle/gore heavy books lately so I thought I'd try incorporating a bit of that. I figure it shouldn't take much more to finish this beastie.]

[Alberich]

If he hadn't been out of breath, Udo would've shouted something like "Whooooaaaaahh!!!" when he got thrown like that. This wasn't his first time being thrown around by Sensei, nor the first time his "breakfall" technique had been tested in this way. Again he passed that test, though actually catching his breath would take a while yet. And his bruises would be a sight to behold for a while, or at least until he got some healing.

[OOC: I originally wrote it with Udo firing at the Matriarch but...it didn't feel like Udo, not with Aleron firing at Tamina like that.]

[Jack Rothwell]

The Matriarch went berserk at the wound in it's side and eyes, the chittering noise emitting from it's mouth reached an ear-splitting pitch as it thrashed around, beating ground with tremor after tremor, making it difficult for the monk to keep his footing. With it's one good eye cluster it reared, aimed and thrust downwards at Angrist, it's mandibles and circular, needle-lined mouth aiming to swallow him whole.

.....

Khoo's magic wind killed the flames and bought Tamina the room she needed to avoid a jagged shard of rock skewering her as it punched a cannon hole through the back of the warehouse. She winced, and conducted a swift internal debate as she pulled the Ralkin stone from her pocket...

'It's bad idea...'

'It'll give me the strength I need!'

'It could make me a slave!'

Leli's face; flashing through her mind.

'...spirits protect me.'

With a final curse, Tamina pulled the chain over her head.

.....

A few more minutes of frantic riding and their destination was in sight.

Eli raised a hand to the Priest then pulled swiftly on the reins of his horse as the pair turned a corner and beheld the tower that Aleron had bid his subordinate return to.

"The Tower of Paarsan." Eli shouted over the wind. "You can't deny Aleron's a traditionalist."

The structure was clearly of an older design than much of the rest of the port. It's sturdy, ashen walls and arch windows overlooked Regent street as a grim King at the head of a table of minor nobles; the four, sharp spires were the crown on it's brow. The horses drew to a full stop at the base of the tower. A pair of Black Guard soldiers stood stiffly, flanking the huge oaken double doors that marked the entrance.

The half-elf dismounted swiftly and gave the reins to a boy who came running from the nearby stables. He grinned at Tim as he did the same.

"Can you believe the Council turned such a pretty thing into a museum? Luckily for us, Logan recently acquired the assistance of the curator for this place, some dusty old noble; that's who the keys for these relics usually fall into." He nodded at the Guards with a quiet murmured word and made his way to the front door.

"Now... let's just say it's permanently 'closed for renovation'."

[Alberich]

The horse and magic shielding had managed to keep Tim and Eli out of Drusia's reach -- almost as if Fate wanted the final confrontation to be in this tower. Thanks to their mind link, Jargalan knew where she'd gone. He soon returned, as was typical, with more blood on his hands and not a whiff of regret about it.

Drusia had just barely had time to see that the robed figure entering the tower with Eli wasn't Aleron at all, but a Veracian priest.

[OOC: I leave it to you whether she yet recognizes which priest it is, but I have an idea she'll be getting a full-on view before this adventure is over anyway.]

The two elves had strong magical senses and years of practice and training. Both also had survived a war that was exceptionally effective at weeding out the reckless, and had seen enough of Aleron's organization not to underestimate his resources. They scouted carefully to find all the magical traps and hidden sentries that guarded this tower. Jargalan was glad to see no mana rifles among them -- he hoped that meant the entire supply had gone to the demonstration, which meant that he'd destroyed them all already.

[OOC2: Leaving the next development to you, Drusia. Jargalan wants to dismantle traps and take out sentries by stealth to prepare a good approach for the tower. If Drusia realizes that Aleron is still back there with Tamina, Angrist, Udo, and "Waiter-kun," she may want to go back -- in which case Jargalan will carry out his intentions to prepare an approach but not try entering the tower 'til they return. Whether the best approach is top, side, or front - will depend on the results of all this scouting.]

[OOC3: Udo's stubborn enough to keep fighting but he need to suck a little more air first.]

[Drusia]

Drusia had just barely had time to see that the robed figure entering the tower with Eli wasn't Aleron at all, but a Veracian priest.
The two elves had strong magical senses and years of practice and training. Both also had survived a war that was exceptionally effective at weeding out the reckless, and had seen enough of Aleron's organization not to underestimate his resources. They scouted carefully to find all the magical traps and hidden sentries that guarded this tower.

That priest friend of Eli's? Here? Probably mind-controlled then. Or maybe just very stupid.

<"Jargalan,"> I mind-speak to him, <"Aleron is back at the Warehouse. This one and his human friend aren't going anywhere for the moment - do you want to take out the one that is currently exposed?"> Or risk leaving the others to fail at the task, I leave unstated. I know how Jargalan's mind works - he'll come to the came conclusion.

-- Drusia

OOC: Drusia's plan is twofold:
1) If Jargalan wants to go back, then they go take out Aleron together.
2) If Jargalan wants to get Eli first, then she will focus on doing that as fast as possible an then getting back to the group.
Under no circumstances does Drusia want to leave Jargalan alone. At this point, Jargalan is the greatest threat to her - she is sticking to him like glue.

[Alberich]

<"Jargalan, Aleron is back at the Warehouse. This one and his human friend aren't going anywhere for the moment - do you want to take out the one that is currently exposed?">

He nodded. While in truth he'd've liked to be left alone -- like many rangers he was inclined to solo -- Drusia's logic was inescapable. You couldn't trust these stupid animals to take out the errant alone. And this way they could come back with some totally expendable "staff fodder" and battlefield grease. Also, if the second errant learned his master had been slain, that would give fear and anticipation time to work on his mind, and exploit his natural instability, the gift of any elf depraved enough to mix blood with these animals. They always cracked in the end.

Of course, no part of that was actually Drusia's logic, but no matter. Jargalan couldn't escape it anyway.

The two elves made good speed back together -- yet not before these exciting events took place:

[Jack Rothwell]

"This place has become an ode to the lost centuries. A kind of dumping ground for artefacts from all over, things with no set to be a part of, or simply no other place to go. It's kind of appropriate really, half-elves taking up residence here..." Eli's voice echoed off the high ceiling of the entrance hall the pair had entered into. The half-elf weaved his way around glass cases filled with miscellaneous objects as he spoke. Here; an emperor-sized urn emblazoned with tiny, dancing figures, there, a suit of old armour wearing an inch of dust and grasping a rusty halberd. There were coins of unknown denomination in velvet-lined cases, old rifles with pitted barrels and formal dresses for occasions ages past. What drew the Ralkin's attention was the variety of paintings that lined the walls. They were from several different eras, most of them depicting a scene of war. As he regarded the artwork with an unreadable expression Tim noted the spiral staircase leading to the upper floors, and the bannister at ground level leading to a basement section.

"Did you know that there are some who claim that time is circular? That we're all just players acting the same scenes over and over?" He clasped his hands behind his back, as if he were a professional critic absorbing every brush stroke. "Sure, the fine details may change, but the end result is always the same. Civil wars, foreign wars, errant wars..."

At some point during Eli's dialogue Tim had become aware of a powerful energy somewhere below his feet. The feel of it was unlike anything the Priest had previously encountered, it was well-like, but hard to spot until he was almost upon it. He could detect individual threads arcing from it that shrank to transparency as they trailed upwards and away from it's source. The Priest was brought back to reality by the sound of the half-elf's knuckles rapping against a display case.

"Personally, I think that's a load of horseshit." He said.

OOC Giving Angrist a chance to take one last swing at the matriarch before the dock fight finishes (do your damndest, you crazy ninja), and Tim a chance to add any details about the building/talk to Eli in calmer environment/react to the energy source. Besides, I've got to get the timing right for something... /OOC

[Alberich]

"Did you know that there are some who claim that time is circular? That we're all just players acting the same scenes over and over?" He clasped his hands behind his back, as if he were a professional critic absorbing every brush stroke. "Sure, the fine details may change, but the end result is always the same. Civil wars, foreign wars, errant wars...Personally, I think that's a load of horseshit."

Tim nodded. "In my country, they'd be heretics," he said. "We know Creation had a beginning. How else could we revere the Creator? He liberated us from the elves. Who'd dare to say they're going to enslave us again? No, men can go out of bondage and stay out. And they should. Circular, my eye."

He was puzzled by Eli's nonchalance, the way he'd left Aleron to face the elf and her allies back at the warehouse. Was this the kind of loyalty he inspired? For Tim, if that'd been Father Arpad back there, or Sister Rose, or even Bishop Cyrus, he'd never have left, unless to get reinforcements or better weapons. But perhaps the ambition that devil magic inspired extended even to this: that the Master's every disciple should be glad to see him fall, and step into his place.

Tim hid his puzzlement. If Aleron died out there it would surely be fine by him. (Though he had to wonder what machinery that fiend had set in motion to secure his own promotion - or whether it would bear fruit hereafter...)

* * *

Udo, breathless and wheezing, pulled himself into a painful half-sitting position. Sit-ups had never been his strong suit. But there was a big fight and a lot of fire and a lot of blur, and there was one thing he could see that was definitely the enemy, and big enough to hit. He got his mana rifle more or less horizontal, aimed it at the back half of the Matriarch, and fired.

[Jack Rothwell]

The feeling was beyond description.

As the kobold stepped from cover to face the magic-hurling man she aware of her surroundings with an intensity that put even the humanoid's sharp senses to shame. The augmenting power of the Ralkin amulet coupled with her physically based magic had her body feeling like a rifle with the trigger three-quarters pressed. More than that, her emotions felt wilder, predatory, the expression on the normally sweet kobold's face now resembled that of a big cat watching something small and furry creeping through the undergrowth.

Outside, the Matriarch reeled as the shot from Udo's mana rifle knocked it's head like a boxer's hook and finished the job of exposing the pale flesh under it's carapace. Angrist seized the opportunity and launched himself at the vulnerable spot, ichor flew in arcs as the monk tore into the monster's face.

......

Eli pushed the doors to the basement level open and led the Brother into the dark of the lower floors. The passageway mirrored the descending curve of the stairway, taking the men deeper into the earth as they winded around the thick stone foundation of the tower.

"Not as ornamental as the rest of the place. But it's safe." Eli said, holding a small light in his palm as he led the way. The feeling of magic was growing stronger as the slope continued, along with a low humming noise just on the edge of hearing. The half-elf held out his other palm as if to grasp the energy out of the air, instead he turned the last stretch and pulled open another sturdy door that marked the end of the passageway.

The room beyond had, once upon a time, served as a larder for whatever gentry had owned The Tower of Parsaan before it's degradation to a store-house for forgotten relics (Eli guessed it had been owned by someone called Parsaan, but hadn't bothered to research the matter). What shelves were left were empty, although the musty gleam of old meat hooks could be seen still hanging from the ceiling, illuminated by the bright light beyond it. They stepped inside.

......

The robed figure fired a force bolt at the advancing kobold, who weaved out of the way with reflexes replaced by razor blades. The kobold's tail swished like a playful animal about to pounce. When the sorcerer took his second shot, she did.

This time there was no time left for the spell-caster to react, Tamina's hummingbird spell launched her like a bullet from a gun as the force bolt left the old man's fingers. She streaked across the distance with her claws out, and a split-second later she was at the warehouse wall as the wide-shot missile struck the opposite side. She stared into the glimmering cowl of her enemy. The old man was pinned under her claws, his chest gouged to a red ruin. He made a gasping noise and tried to raise a shaking hand. Outside, the grievously wounded matriarch froze in place as the spell binding it was broken. The colour drained from the enormous creature until it resembled a first sketch of a successful artwork, then crumbled into a shower of thick dust.

"Want to see you die." She snarled, slapping the dying man's arm back down and seizing the hood which covered his face. The cover fell back, and Tamina's expression of blind hatred changed quickly to something else.

.......

"I told you a little lie, Timothy." Eli said, the jovial tones resurfacing as they approached the source of the magic. Now his eyes had grown accustomed to the glare Brother Tim could see a man silhouetted with his back to the new arrivals. His arms were extended in front of him, touching some kind of altar whose exact shape was hidden from view.

"Aleron was watching the demonstration, but..."

The figure held up a hand for silence, and the chamber was filled with a familiar voice.

.......

"You didn't really think it would be that easy to kill me, did you?"

Tamina looked into the eyes of the dying man, saw the glint of the magic, the presence looking out at her, and understood. It was a set-up. The whole thing had been a set-up. She hadn't killed the puppeteer; she'd only cut the strings of his puppet. Blood seeped as a stream from the corner of the imposter's mouth as he spoke his final words, but the grip the Ralkin leader had on him made every word crystal clear.

"He was just an ordinary man picked for a greater purpose, kobold. An instrument to my will. A conduit for my power. I'll have a hundred like him before the month is out, a thousand by the year's end. An unstoppable tide to stamp out you animals, and everyone else you ever loved."

Tamina screamed in rage and tore the man's throat out. She flung his corpse to the ground and proceeded to claw at it in a blind fury. The crystal around her neck shone brightly as the blood flew.


OOC Hoped that didn't seem overlong, I wanted to back and forth a few times for effect of the reveal and focus on the detail on the action, which spun it out longer. Hope it's ok I hijacked Angrist to deliver the final blow to the Matriarch BC, I figured he'd be on that weak spot like a pitbull after Udo opened it up, I'll retcon if not. Anyone see that coming btw? I was trying to drop a subtle hint or two on the way.

Oh, and now might be a good time to get the evil crystal off Tamina's neck. /OOC