Goriel and beyond, part 3

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Sareth
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Sareth »

"A fire," Brad said, stepping back into the room he and Lillith had been assigned. "Out in the town, it's nothing to fear here."

"In the town?" Lillith sat up a bit in the bath the getera had poured for her the moment they'd returned to the room. The woman adjusted with ease, continuing shampooing Lillith's hair without pause in spite of the change of elevation. Lillith reached back and caught one of the woman's hands. "Please, can you bring four candles and put them on the edge of the tub for me? I..." She paused a moment. "I like candles, you see."

Wordlessly, the getera rose and stepped to a cabinet. She quickly found and placed the candles as Lillith had asked. As she lit them, Lillith closed her eyes. She traced a finger around the rounded tub, quietly whispering.

Outside, the already heavy clouds began to drizzle, then quickly began drenching the ground below.

****

"Well, shit." Jamie frowned, dodging the newly formed head as it spat yet another spike. She spun herself about, one hand using the momentum of the head seeking her to loft upwards and onto it's back. She straddled its shoulders directly behind where the necks met the body. "HAH!"

Two of the heads snaked around and pointed at her.

"Oh, not good..." The girl ducked just as the two heads shot spikes. The two projectiles barely missed the crown of her head and spanged off the wall near Tamina.

"For fugsakes!" She shouted. She flopped back onto her back between the beast's shoulderblades, using both legs to kick both heads upwards. The creatures heads shot up to the furthest reach the necks allowed and it bellowed, then lowered them to point right at her from close enough to reach. The jaws opened wide as it prepared to spit yet more spikes.

"AwcrapawcrapAWCRAP!" Jamie shouted as she rolled off the back to drop painfully to the floor.

The creature spit. Straight in between its own shoulder blades.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Nagishima street.

The sign hung supported by a single strut, suspended awkwardly off a wall on the street corner. It looked no different to any other street in the neighbourhood, but it was the only one thus far which had made Eli's amulet (now hanging back around his neck thanks to a quick repair spell and some frantic fumbling with the clasp) glow of it's own violation.

"Number 12, that's what he said..."

The house in question had a rotten looking red door sitting crookedly on it's hinges, framed by broken bricks and nests of spiders. As he saw the macabre entrance, the half-elf became aware of the sound of approaching footfalls. A pair of them, definately not Gabriel.

Eli punched his fist at the door and broke it open with the no-fuss, no flash method of a rock-throwing, earth spell. The stone projectile making a racket which no doubt was heard by the damnable elves who chased him, but time was of the essense. Eli pushed his way inside, his nostrils flaring as the smell of mold assailed him. The amulet was shining as brightly as it ever had at that moment, guiding him with pulses of energy that came with increasing frequency, if the half-elf had ever heard the term 'homing beacon' he would have seized upon it as a description.

Then he saw his escape route, and understood.

Fucilious had told him that Gabriel was making preparations for his departure, but Eli hadn't expected this. The symbol drawn on the wall was bigger and more complex than anything he'd read about or drawn himself from the summoning guidebook his benefactor had given him. He grasped his artifact while he stared and sent another communication.

'I'm at the symbol. Now what?'

'Use the amulet to will it open, it's attuned to the crystal. Hurry!'


He did. A visualisation of a key turning in a lock and the deed was done. Despite his mounting fear of his elven pursuers closing the gap, the half-elf watched in facination as the symbol took on the quality of thick fog, the intricate lines bleeding into each other and obscuring the wall it was drawn on.

'Step in. I'll draw you through.'

Even if the thundering noise of Drusia and her companion finding the entrance to the house hadn't come at that moment, Eli already knew there was no turning back. He wheeled around and fired a final blast of fire magic through the narrow doorway of the living room and ignited the thin stretch of the corridor where his pursuers had run to. He called one last word to Drusia, a woman he'd once trusted, a woman who'd once trained him to defend himself.

"If we ever meet again, one of us won't be walking away elf! Don't interfere in my plans!"

He stepped through.

Drusia gated into the room only a second later. She arrived just in time to see the fog of the symbol before it drifted up the wall like smoke and creeped upwards to caress the ceiling. It disappated with a gust of wind as gentle as a sigh.

Of Eli, there was no sign.

OOC And, with that, the half-elf's on vacation in background noise, but first... :D/OOC

........

Even at that late hour, the blaze from the valahiri inn was drawing a crowd. People milled and stared, pointed and screamed as chains of men with buckets and mages threw water to calm it's ferocity. The rain helped them at least, and slowly but surely the blaze was dying down.

The casualties of the pyrotechnics lay in a line away from the building to give the fire-fighters more room to manouvere, maybe it was best that no-one had had the desire to stare at the victims of the half-elf's violent act and the battle that had followed as one of them jerked upright as rigidly as a slamming door.

The cloth which had covered the corpse's face fell away. The man underneath had a familiar, flat expression etched into his features. He slowly brought a hand to the ragged gash that marked his ruined throat and made a noise somewhere between a rasp and a gurgle.

"Ssshhhiit."

Sometimes, Gabriel reflected, being Fucilious' employee had it's disadvantages. Losing to the elf had been bad enough (although shooting one of the bitches had been a pleasant compensation) but having to scream and thrash, to feign agony and plead for mercy when the only thing he'd wanted to do was clamp his unmutilated hand around that elf's throat and squeeze, was humiliating. It was something he'd pay her back for, if the chance allowed it.

Then again, that course of action would have blown his cover and left him in the blaze without a head, with the peregin's standing by to make absolutely sure he was dead. When you were dealing with a monster, he thought, it was best to take no chances.

There arose a sound from the dismembered man like a million insects walking through the mud. A chittering noise which announced the wounds on the mercenaries body knitting closed. He reached under the cloth and pushed the mess of internal organs back inside the gaping hole the elf-bitch had made.

"Mister! Are you ok?"

Gabriel looked up at the slack-jawed idiot gaping at him, shook his head and pawed around for his missing leg.

"The world is my oyster." He replied. Ahh, there it was.

"Those men thought you were dead!"

Gabriel roughly shoved the limb back into place and waited for the magic that animated him to reconnect it. The fingers were still missing, never mind, the extremities, at least, would grow back on their own.

"I was." He said, not entirely lying with the declaration. Gabriel shuffled backwards until his back touched a wall and began laboriously pushing his way to his feet. He took a pair of lurching, limping steps forward and seized the gaper by his shirt, transfixing him with his dead eyes.

"You. Saw. Nothing." He intoned, and began staggering his way from the scene of the crime.
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Alberich »

Jamie's leap to the monster's back took the mayhem "to the next level" in more than one sense of the word - and the blasts from its own mouths made it suffer. They didn't make the creature any smarter. It kept trying to shoot her, to which she responded by twisting suddenly around a neck-stalk, so that the dumb critter shot itself in the base of the neck (with a different body type, Jamie might picture herself earning a living with moves like this...). Another dodge, another jump, another shot - to tell it all were tedious to tell, but the end of the game was, the creature shot itself to death, and the field was Jamie's.

Udo had managed to avoid being hit even once, but could use a little rest. Tamina's healing magic would doubtless take care of her injuries. There was time to observe the cave. The gate that had fallen behind them was very solid. The other exits, easily found with a little exploring, were covered by rusty gratings, bolted in place - these could be removed with a little effort.

There was a corner of the cave with a hole in the ceiling far above and lots of nasty detritus on the floor (as if these people had built their offal hole above the monster's lair to keep it fed - certainly a lot of the nastiness was smeared around as if the monster had not been too picky about its diet). The climb would be a tough one for Tamina and impossible for the other two (unless she found a rope up there).
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Graybeard »

"One last thing before we turn in," Sister Rose said to Kirassia. She had to admit: this getera thing had its attractions. The girl's gentle massage of her lord and his wife had put both Rose and Argus in a much more tranquil mood than had been the case for several hours now. She'd done her best to preserve that mood, through her own quiet words of praise and appreciation for Kirassia, things that a getera apparently wouldn't automatically expect from a clan chief's wife. However, not only did Rose mean it sincerely, it did seem to be creating a setting more peaceful, more tranquil, than things had been here recently.

Too bad that I may have to upset it.

"You said earlier you were going to talk to -- Irina, I think it was, one of your colleagues, to see if the geteroi grapevine had turned anything up on the man we're looking for. Is there anything to report there? We're getting concerned about him, and if he's left town, we're going to have to suspend our other business here and go find him."

<"And we should be so lucky,>" she thought at Argus.

[OOC: As soon as we can get some summary of the Blaise situation, I suggest we move on, with a new thread, picking up exactly where we've left off -- too many things to re-synchronize for the new thread to start at a particular hour of day.]
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Alberich »

Kirassia repeated what she'd told them before -- the rumor Irina had heard (after being tipped off by Tatiana that Clan Cleiviein was looking for the information) -- that the Gibazov had received a mysterious visitor and had escorted him north to their oh-so-precious-and-well-guarded ruby mine. She did not show any signs of feeling miffed at having to repeat it - but then, she did not show many signs of feeling anything, as a rule.

[OOC: New thread is OK by me! I can start it myself tonight with a post about the Yurkashev receiving the bad news "about last night." My understanding is that Kirassia doesn't know anything about anything that's been done or reported in this room this whole night & so has no comments on it.]
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Tamina, broken rib a-healing, looked doubtfully at the cieling and even more doubtfully at the grates which disappeared into the darkness.

"I'm doubtful." She supplied. "Can't get all up there, and... that's wet... sooo... go up?" She beamed brightfully, hopefully... pleadingly?
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Drusia »

"If we ever meet again, one of us won't be walking away elf! Don't interfere in my plans!"

I arrive in time to see some sort of long distance gate spell rune thing disolving on the wall. There's no sign of Eli, apart from the fire.

"Fuck!" I shout. I punch the wall where the run was. "Fuck!"

"This isn't just an Errant," my companion says behind me, "This is... some sort of conspiracy. A magical organization of some sort, recruiting members. Possibly Errants, but just as likely of human origin. If they are humans - and if Eli is their first Errant member - then they're just as likely in for a surprise. A messy, violent surprise."

I sigh and lean my head against the wall. She's right. She's right. It doesn't make it any better to lose one of my own, but she's right. The Eli problem may be self-correcting. Eli may kill his allies, or he may force them to kill him. Not that I can count on that. Worse, not that I can count on Eli to keep his damn mouth shut about Snamish, not after he called it a cage.

I hit my head gently against the wall. Fuck.

"We'll find them," my companion assures me.

I step away from the wall and shake my head. "No. This is my hunt now. You came here looking for an half-elf nation that doesn't exist. You already took a bullet for me. Your part in this is done."

"Let's talk outside," she says, nodding to the flames working their way towards us. I nod - best to talk outside the burning building. We head out the nearest window. Outside, she turns to look at me.

"You want me to leave you after all we've learned?" she asks. I pause, then nod. I need to do this alone. She frowns. "No. These people turned a half-elf into an Errant as part of recruiting. They have plans. This is bigger than you or I. By all rights I should call in the other Peregin." She puts a slight emphasis on other and I know who she means. Peregins who hate half-elves - who want to kill them all. As I open my mouth to protest, she holds up her hand. "I won't. But I won't let you do this alone either. Still, I understand that sometimes a Peregin needs leeway to work. Here." She hands me a small blue stone. "When you need me, use it. I'll be at your side within the hour."

I take the stone. She's giving me the freedom to investigate this as I see fit, but offering me her aid when the time comes to take them down. That... is what I need. "Thank you, Sar" I tell her, squeezing her hand.

"You're welcome, Dru," she says, giving me a faint smile. "Good luck with your hunt."

"And you," I reply, "And you." Sometime tells me that she is going to be looking into this on her own. Well and good - perhaps she'll find something I won't.

We part ways. I head back to speak with Rose. It's late - I'll have to seek her in her chambers... wherever those are.

-- Drusia

OOC: Are we having this conversation in this thread, or the next?
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: Let's go ahead and do it here. And to that end:]

"Thanks," Sister Rose smiled wearily at Kirassia. "It's been a long day, and I forget things. Now please make yourself comfortable." But on the futon, not in our bed. A gesture made that clear.

She turned to Argus. "Well ... my lord husband, I guess that means we'll be wanting to move on in the morning -- what is it?" Argus was looking over her shoulder, as though something inexplicable had just happened at the edge of his vision. Kirassia was staring wide-eyed too ...

Then she caught the barest whiff of smoke smell, and without looking, she knew what the inexplicable thing was, as pieces tumbled into place. I'd better make this seem as normal as possible, with Kirassia in the room, never mind that normal is one thing it's not...

"Good evening, Drusia. Did everyone survive?"
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

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[OOC: I have to backtrack on one thing - there is another encounter Drusia may be having, after Rose but before the Yurkashev greet the bad news with the dawn - if she so elects then I'll let that happen before describing the Yurkashev "awakening." Or maybe let them run simultaneously. Might be interesting for the rest of you. That can all run in the next thread anyway. Since Jamie, Udo, and Tamina are adventuring later in the morning anyway - and are at least a day's travel away whatever happens - I figure their adventure can proceed apace.]

"I'm doubtful." Tamina supplied. "Can't get all up there, and... that's wet... sooo... go up?" She beamed brightfully, hopefully... pleadingly?"

"That nasty wet place is the only 'up' there is," said Udo. With the Frontier Blaster (or the Doomcurdler...) he might've gotten them through the solid gate behind them, but without it? Not a chance.

"If they're still using this mine, then they aren't coming in this entrance, which means there must be another way up somewhere else. So I'd rather go through a grate and find another exit." He'd been examining one and had one of his knives out. "I can get this open pretty fast. And I can make another light if we need it."

For some reason, to a man with his background, adventuring "in the dungeon" just seemed right somehow. But what would Jamie say?
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Sareth
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 3

Post by Sareth »

"Gofer it," Jamie replied. She grinned as she struck a bit of a pose.

[OOC]Sorry, I got nothing else at the moment.[/OOC]
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