From TheFreak@bloated.com Tue Mar 10 09:33:08 1998
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 09:32:43 -0500 (EST)
Winter Song. Two.
Kaithah.
The creature turns its head to one side, round black eyes regarding her
with alien interest. There is no malice or love in the eyes, just
calculation. So it is something of a surprise when the long clawed
fingers rake across her in a blinding flash. Amidst the gnawing cold, she
becomes painfully aware of a warm trickle of blood flowing from her face.
Kaithah suffers 2 hp.
An aching spreads through her body. She searches around for something
with which to defend herself, but the room has become white with blowing
snow and ice.
Breath Weapon saving throw.
Kaithah suffers 3 hp from the cold.
Mishara.
Mishara pushes forward into the paralyzing cold.
Breath weapon saving throw.
Mishara suffers 6 hp from the cold.
Rapping one hand against the wall to his right, he feels the wall in a
distant manner. The feeling in his hand is reduced to that of a useless
unfeeling club. He imagines his thin Elve fingers curled in icy sheathes
as he presses forward. Straining against the icy wind and needles he
stumbles right through a what must be a doorway.
Balance save at -2, Roll=1 (dammit)
He regains his balance despite the loss of his legs and feet to find the
floor beneath him. The wind and snow around him swirls and howls.
Another of Kaithah's screams issues from somewhere ahead in the blinding
whiteness.
(Mishara is unaware, except for the scream, where Kaithah is, except that
he is probably in the right room. He doesn't know where in the room she
is, has no bearing as to where the walls are around him, or whether there
is anything in the room other than Kaithah and himself. By the end of
this round, Kaithah is only aware of the claw and the round black eyes
regarding her. Everything else is frigid cold and white-out.)
Alcerra.
Seeing the frost building around the door and feeling the temperature
plummet, Alcerra leaves for warmer areas. Remember the main dining area
across the hall she gathers her things and moves toward the large
fireplaces of that area. Stepping into the corridor she sees the wintery
unnatural gusts from far down the corridor, and the barrier of snow and
ice moving in her direction.
She sees that the corrdior continues away from the billowing snow and
wind, a door leads into the dining area across the hall. The carpet
beneath her feet creaks and cracks with ice as she looks about. Frost and
icicles form on the tapestries and paintings of the hallway. The
candelabras are swept dark by a gelid blast. The hallway has become
uncomfortably cold in the second since opening her chamber door. Dozens
shrill laughters fills the hall.
(Alcerra. Next round the wintery effect will be upon you.)
Adae.
(The goose is normally like that.)
Adae looks South, across the rolling rocky hills toward the City
and harbor. The pig looks as well, through the uneven slats of the sty
fence. "This is not good," says the pig.
Adae agrees and walks toward his hut.
"What will you do," asks the pig.
When the man emerges from the hut he is putting his few things
together. "There is little else to do," he answers. "it is foolish to
fight without the proper weapons."
"Then you'll go to fight?" asks the pig with surprise.
"No, for now, my place is here," Adae answers. "But I know what
is needed. I will do that much. The rest is up to others."
The pig grunts his understanding. The goose honks several times
his opinion and turns away to do goose things. The puppy follows Adae's
heels.
(Adae. You remember from your "training" some knowledge about the way of
faeries. You know they are both kind and malevolent (depending on type
mostly), and that they can only be battled with magic. You also know that
the best way to deal with them is with a "Faeri stone". A stone that
protects the wearer/bearer from the effects of the faerie. These stones
are very rare, but appear naturally (?) in the wild. If you wish to
PBEM, looking for such a stone, I'd be up for that.)
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Tue Mar 10 18:50:25 1998
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 18:50:21 -0500 (EST)
Kaithah and Mishara.
Kaithah raises her flute to her lips. Her numb fingertips play
across the flute holes, though she can no longer feel whether the holes
are completely closed in her playing. Her frosty breath blows across the
mouthpiece in a practiced manner in the hopes that a spell issues forth.
Save vs breath weapon, roll=8 (failure), Damage=16
Health check, roll=11 (success) (somatics possible)
She manages to play the notes correctly.
Mishara, pushing through the blizzard tries to peer into the
blinding snow and wind only to feel the icy sting of needling icicles
against his face and eyes. He reaches toward the scream and finds the
bristly form of a stranger.
He swings his sword blindly forward as the creature turns and
slashes with its long slender claws.
Save vs breath weapon, roll=18 (success), Damage=2
Health check, roll=6 (success) (no penalties to hit)
Surprise=7 (none)
VFast. Claws flash through the snow (13), Damage=2
Fast. Mishara slashes with the notched sword (20)
Save vs Death (19) success
Damage=5,5+1=11
Fast. Claws flash throught the snow (18), Damage=1
Avrg. Creatures leaps forward and bites (11) (miss)
(The second combat round is ended. Kaithah is feeling her body go very
very numb. Movement for her is at one quarter normal. Kaithah can feel
her consciousness slipping beneath the cold, and knows she cannot last
much longer in it. Mishara has a good feeling for where this thing is and
can continue to combat it if he remains in melee. Neither Mishara or
Kaithah have seen each other. Kaithah did hear Mishara yell for her a
moment ago, and is aware that the creature turned away. On another note.
Kaithah, I have no idea what you rolled for your hit points during your final
level, so I rolled a "5". If you want it, you can keep it.)
Alcerra.
Standing in the hallway, Alcerra crosses her fingers and mutters a
long prayer as the white tendrils of the blizzard reach to her from down
the corridor. With her final words a blue gray aura surrounds her body
and the cold's bite lessens.
Spell: Resist Cold (duration=5 minutes)
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Fri Mar 13 11:27:19 1998
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 11:26:20 -0500 (EST)
"I did not summon you. Who are you?" Alcerra asks.
The curiously small man's smile disappears for a moment. His long
eyes fall upon the servant, and then the thawing forms of Mishara and
Kaithah.
"If you did not summon us, who did?" the little man smiles again.
"These two unfortunates," he says motioning, "must not have since..." The
creature's smile grows wider. "This is all a mistake isn't?" The winged
man grabs his belly and collapses backward with a hearty laugh that
tinkles like thousands of tiny bells throughout the dining hall. Instead
of falling to the floor, his wings beat swiftly and he hovers in place for
a moment before allowing his feet to touch the floor again.
"Oh, how wonderful!" the man cries.
The small man laughs himself silly again.
As he laughs Alcerra notices a miniature army of small bluish men
and women fading into view around the winged man. The soldiers look
different than the laughing creature, appearing like plump little humans
with silvery topknots, and holding slender spears. The soldiers are no
more than knee-height, but dozens have appeared. None look pleased as
they file in behind the little laughing man.
(Kaithah and Mishara are still convalescing from their frozen states. It
will take a few rounds before they are able to make coherent responses and
observations.)
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Sat Mar 14 10:29:11 1998
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 10:29:10 -0500 (EST)
Winter Song. Six.
"I do not know who summoned you and I cannot say why
they did," Alcerra states. "I know only that it was suddenly
winter inside this keep and that some creature attacked these
people. How does one summon winter?"
The small man recovers from his laughter and glances
backward at the surrounding topknotted soldiers with their
glittering icy spears and knives. "Unfortunate woman," he
says, "one moment and I will make clear what I can, oh my,
how wonderful."
The small man's wing flutter ice crystals into the
air. The knee-high soldiers split into two groups
behind the little man, moving toward the chamber walls
and around Alcerra and her friends. Although the small
creatures seem capable of great speed, their movements are
sometimes blurred, they walk slowly, deliberately through
the room with their weapons at the ready.
Within seconds all exits will be blocked.
Kaithah lets out a shuddering groan.
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Sat Mar 14 11:42:18 1998
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 11:42:11 -0500 (EST)
Winter Song. Seven.
"I am sorry that I cannot help you, but I do not know
anymore than I have told you, and I must tend to my companions. As you
can see, they were badly hurt by the creature that attacked them."
Alcerra instructs the servant to help her pull the bodies closer
to the fire. At this the soldiers stop and look back to the winged man.
Propping her friends by the fire, Alcerra picks up her trident and
prays aloud in the Dekàlan tongue, invoking a spell of sanctuary around
her. The soldiers mutter about themselves and pull back into the room's
dancing shadows.
Seeing this reaction the servant starts piling more and more wood
into the large fireplace.
"How wonderful," cries the winged man. "A human weaver! We
should have expected!"
The small soldiers, nearly invisible within the room's shadows
grumble and shift uncomfortably at the word "weaver". "Yet you claim to
not have summoned us," continues the winged man. "How strange, how very
strange."
"You know," says the small man stepping closer into the raging
fire's warm glow, "we have more in common than you might guess."
Two footsteps into the glow, water droplets form on his short
forehead, and he stops moving closer. The man sniffs at the air. "A ward,
hateful things, and so inhospitable for invited guests."
"But," he smiles, "you didn't invite us, or so you say. This is
really quite wonderful, Oberyl would be most disgusted by this whole
affair. Most unpleased." The little man laughs, and the sound of tiny
bells peal throughout the chamber.
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Sat Mar 14 12:59:40 1998
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 12:59:39 -0500 (EST)
Winter Song. Eight.
"I am sorry, but we cannot tolerate so well the cold that
surrounds you. My friends nearly died from it, and now they must be kept
warm."
The winged man looks infinitely sad for a second, before the wide
smile splits his face in two again. The creature seems incapable of
maintaining a serious thought.
Alcerra continues, "I don't know these people of which you speak,
this Oberyl. Perhaps my friends can tell us more, but they will not be
able to speak for awhile, I think."
"You haven't heard of Oberyl!" The man laughs and laughs and
laughs. The surrounding soldiery have all but disappeared into the
chamber's shadows, and at the sound of his ringing laughter seem to recoil
into invisibility. "Oh the wonderfulness of it all!" he peals. "And to
think the Elve wished his music to make him immortal!" The little man
laughs harder and harder, pumping his fists up and down and stamping in a
fast tight little circle with glee.
After several minutes of laughing and motion, the creature settles
down with deep heaving gasps. "Oh this funny," he gasps with his hands on
his knees. He glances up at Alcerra. "But of course, you don't
understand," he giggles, barely containing a second large outburst.
"Oberyl was a composer of songs, music, strings of constrained
sound. All very pretty to an Elve's sensibilities I guess." The little man
shrugs and ice crystals sparkle from his translucent wings.
"He created several pieces, that I know of, that invoked spells of
a most annoying nature. I ask you, why create music only to do things. I
mean, music should be enjoyed not put to purpose, don't you agree. Of
course you do. And to think that a song could weave such horrible magics,
to pull people from there to here. It's really too much."
The little man rubs his chin thoughtfully a second. "So, Old
Oberyl's music has lasted this long," he ponders. "And someone in this
gloomy place has the talent to play it. I wouldn't have thought it.
Not in a thousand years. But, your friends, both have the blood don't
they," he adds peering at the thawing bodies. "If I'm not mistaken..."
The trembling servant woman steps forward and yells, "You'll leave
these good people alone you vile spirit if you know what's good for you!
These are guests of the Lord of the City. If you touch one hair on their
heads his sister will have all your wings!"
The little man recoils from the servants outburst. He rubs his
chin a second and smiles widely. "My dear unfortunate woman," he explains,
"we're not here to harm you and your friends, dear no. You really don't
understand this at all I see. This truly is wonderful, oh Oberyl if you
could only see the folly of your efforts." The little man laughs. "No, no,
no, my good woman, we," he makes a grand gesture with outstretched hands,
"are here for your bidding." The little man bows. As he bows the room is
once again filled with dozens of small grim faces, and the air becomes
alive with hovering creatures. A hundred small eyes peer from the chamber
shadows. "We are bound to service by the Winter Song, and only wish to
complete our service so we may escape this ancient bind, and return home.
But first, we must find the one that summoned us, for we are only bound to
follow them."
End
From TheFreak@bloated.com Sat Mar 14 14:16:10 1998
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 14:16:09 -0500 (EST)
Winter Song. Nine.
"I think I know the music of which you speak," Alcerra answers.
Turning to the servant woman she whispers some brief instructions and
hands her her cloak. The woman
Morale check
Base=Average 0-level human 7
Fighting magic-using foes -2
Defending home +3
Outnumbered by 3 or more to 1 -4
Magic-using creature on same side +2
General bravery +2
Target=8, Roll 2d10=4,4=8
retreating around her. Reaching Alcerra, she stuffs the parcel into the
priestess's hands, with the urgency of terror. "The place is filled with
faeries!," she whispers.
"How long will she be this way," the little man asks.
"Could be quite some time," Alcerra answers, wondering when the
Lords' Men will come and investigate.
"Well then," the little man smiles broadly, his mouth filled with
gleaming crooked teeth. "Let us feast! Bring us food and wine! And music,
there must be music!"
The room transforms into motion and laughter. Faeries fly and run
about busily, to and from the vast dining hall. Minutes later horns blare
throughout Kry Shurulm, as soldiers are called to arms. An instant later,
large platters of roasted turkey, pig, and other creatures and delicious
dishes are carried into the room by tides of small hands and smiling eyes.
Several faeries assemble themselves on the center of the long dining table
and produce flutes and instruments and being playing a fast strangely
intoxicating music.
Alcerra, Save vs Spells, roll=17 (success)
Servant, Save vs Spells, roll=5 (miss)
Alcerra remains steadfast throughout, but the servant woman is
soon dancing and eating with the faerie-folk. During the hours to
following many offer Alcerra the wonderfully tempting food, but she
refuses for herself and on behalf or her friends.
Many hours pass, as the endless festivities continue without
slowing.
Alcerra keeps the fire roaring behind her. The place is soon a
wreck of torn-down tapestries, and items collected from throughout the
hall (and probably from beyond). As the players start into a quicker tune
that starts all the faeries to dancing in circles around the floor, and in
the air, Kaithah and Mishara slowly come to.
A day has passed amid the unceasing festivities.
On the room's far side, behind the frollicking people, the servant
woman can be seen laying against the wall, exhausted, or maybe dead.
Alcerra does her best to rouse Kaithah and explain what is transpiring.
Kaithah, Save vs Spells, roll=13 (success)
Mishara, Save vs Spells, roll=3 (miss)
Mishara, Charm Resistance, roll=61 (success)
End
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