Under a Dark Sun(2nd Ed. AD&D)

[Caleb808]

Ulik met Lorath at the portal entrance, blocking him from going any further. "I think it'd be better if we closed the portal and brought it with us. EVON! LET'S GO!" Ulik called for their wandering companion. He'd need him for what he was about to do next.

Ulik bites his lip as he talks, struggling with deciding on his actions. "I should've been honest with you, Lorath. After reading that journal and encountering a symbiote infested creature, I don't trust your judgement now that you're infected. There's probably a very good reason why that door won't open for you."

At this point, Ulik is biting his lip so hard that blood is being drawn. Blood that begins defying gravity and flowing up in to his mouth instead of down his chin.

"You should've destroyed those things the moment they tried to latch on, like I did. But it's not too late. I can heal you."

Suddenly, Ulik shouts, spraying Lorath with his blood, and charges him. He tries to ignore any blows he receives on the way in, concentrating on knocking the smaller man to the ground and tying up his hands so his spellcasting options were limited. Then the healing could begin.

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Lorath tried to step to the side, shouting, "If you remove these you'll kill me, they are a part of me!" and got ready for the ensuing combat.

[PurpleXVI]

Lorath, Ulik, Evon

Lorath had never encountered magic like Ulik's before and was caught completely unprepared as the blood sprayed across him. For a second there was no sensation, then his body began to cramp and convulse from pain so pure that he could not resist it. He was vaguely aware of blood running from his nose through the haze of pain.

(Lorath loses 5 HP, 10 HP remain.
Ulik loses 1 HP, 31 remain)

The elf fell to his knees and tried to regain control of his muscles while the looming other mage advanced on him from the front, and he was vaguely aware of Evon approaching from behind, stopping some distance away from the portal and watching the action.

Ulik did not have any rope for tying up Lorath with, but a quick search of the incapacitated elf's backpack rewarded him with a stout coil. As he moved to tie up Lorath, however, his opponent regained enough self-control to lash out with his tail.

The yellow tip of the tail was covered in spikes which tore into his right forearm, leaving a hole along it's length that began bleeding profusely, and even more worryingly the skin along the wound began to darken and die, as though afflicted by necrosis.

(Ulik loses 8 HP, 23 HP remain.)

By this point, Lorath had begun to overcome the pain and could stand again, he drew his longsword and prepared to attack Ulik, but the other mage was unfazed by his injury and merely dipped his left index finger in the wound as Lorath charged, then pointed at Lorath's sword-arm with it.

The arm instantly became numb, and as the elf watched in horror, the skin began to gray, soon resembling that of some undead creature. It was also completely useless, not even retaining enough strength to to hold on to his sword, which fell to the ground with a clatter.

(Ulik loses 2 HP, 21 HP remain.)

Lorath still had his tail and his magic, however, and prepared to counter-attack with one of them when he realized that the battle had been joined on another front.

Someone was in his mind.

He realized it too late to resist as something reached into his psyche and unchained the animal part of his mind, all of his carnal desires and needs suddenly sprang to the forefront of his thoughts, seeming far more important than Ulik and whoever the second attacker was. He was hungry, thirsty, excited, angry and feeling an unsuppressable urge for an adrenaline rush all at once. While he struggled to control himself, something which from the outside quite resembled him falling to the floor and digging his fingers into the cracks between the stones in an attempt to not give in to his id, he was easy prey for Ulik.

By the time Lorath had re-established any form of clarity, he was hog-tied on the roof of the fortress. Evon was sitting on his haunches some distance away, looking into his eyes, and the elf realized that the quiet man had been behind the psychic assault.

Ulik, meanwhile, had gotten out his dagger and seemed to be studying Lorath's symbiotes, determining where they connected to his body. He didn't spend long doing that once he realized Lorath was coming to his senses again, however, which meant the beginning of the "healing."

Having learned the hard way that Lorath's tail was dangerous, and having found no way of restraining it, Ulik decided that it was the first to go. With a pair of expert cuts, he sliced it free, letting only a small stump remaining attacked to the base of the elf's spine, which soon fell off. The severed tail writhed and twisted like a wounded serpent after it was severed, but it's convulsions became less and less energetic, and soon it laid still.

It had shared it's host's blood vessels, however, and so Lorath suffered as well, losing a lot of blood before coagulation stopped the bleeding.

(3 HP lost, Lorath has 7 HP remaining.)

Next was the cloak, which presented more of a problem. It had bonded in several places, sticking to any of the elf's skin it had been exposed to. Ulik wasted no time, however, and identified the bonding spots swiftly, then began cutting. There were several places along his forearms, they went easily, then there was a large patch along his neck and one at the base of his back. The bonding seemed more superficial, but there had been more of it, so it cost Lorath even more blood, and by the end of it he was pale and weak.

(4 HP lost, Lorath has 3 HP remaining.)

The cloak, too, seemed to wither up and die once separated from Lorath.


Tamora, Bas, Anne, Balth

Anne was halfway into her watch when her hearing picked up something behind her, moving about in the vegetation. It was only the crack of a branch, and woke neither Tamora or Balth from their meditation, or Bas from his sleep.

As she turned to watch, she heard a branch creak heavily in the direction she had been keeping an eye on before. She didn't get a chance to turn around once more, however, before something struck her square in the back with all of it's weight, it felt like a small bear had just jumped unto her spine from a tree and it almost sent her staggering into the campfire.

Her leg was still a tad sore from her fall which had only been a few days ago, and the extra weight made her collapse, landing halfway across Bas who woke with a start, almost reflexively attacking her with his sickle before he realized who she was.

The rogue's fall had also made the thing on her back tumble off, it got to it's feet just as she did and sprinted off into the nearby bushes, but she got a good look at it first, and by the Gods, was it ever ugly.



(OOC: That one was about the size of a halfling, four feet tall.)

As she watched the thing run off into the darkness, whatever train of thought she had was interrupted by the sound of a massive splash from the river. She looked in the direction just in time to get a deluge of cold water to the face, as it rained down on the party and their campfire, almost extinguishing it and waking everyone instantly.

Just a few feet from the shore on their side of the river, a hulking shape sat, half-submerged in the water. To those with infravision, it was a brilliantly-coloured, clearly living thing, and to Anne it was a dark blob, except where a claw or tooth caught the starlight for a second. As the thing lumbered towards the shore, she realized it was a far more massive version of the creature which had attacked her before, though it walked hunched-over, like a gorilla, it would easily have been eight feet if it stood up straight.

As the members of the group prepared weapons, magic and battle tactics, the creature finally reached dry land, calmly shook the water from it's fur and then charged with speed that should not have been possible for something that big. Aside from the sound of it's feet on the grass, it's attack was also completely silent, there was no howl, roar, growl or hiss from the thing.

(OOC: Requesting battle tactics from dplax, Kazilan and Armen. Either that or a colourful description of how your character flees into the night while screaming like a little girl.)

[ 03-19-2007, 11:31 AM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]

[Armen]

Tamora

As the creature emerged from the water Tamora jumped over the fire to land between it and the animal. She seemed calm and utterly in control as she drew and knocked an arrow and said to Anne, “Stay behind me and watch for the other one.” As the attacker began it’s hostile charge she narrowed her eyes and sent a shaft to meet it before dropping her bow to the side, taking up her spear and readying herself to meet the creature’s charge.

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Lorath's eyes widened, and then he took a long blink as if he were coming out of a trance. He looked Ulik right in the eyes and declared, quite loudly, "Thank you for saving me from that! If it had been on there much longer..." he trailed off, as if the implications would be self-evident. However, he was still tied up and so couldn't stand on his own, even if he had the strength.

"For now," he started, "I think it would be good for me to get some rest. Have we rested since the lizardman village? I don't quite remember." He looked toward the staircase going down, and suggested that they catch some rest before heading back through the portal.

[ 03-19-2007, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Man Who Fights Like Woman ]

[dplax]

Anne

The suddenness of the leap of the smaller of the two creatures from the trees had surprised Anne, and then the splash of water had just added to her shock. Thankfully, her body moved faster than her mind. She sprang up from where she had been knocked down and grabbed her spear. She ran past Tamora while shouting to her.

"My spear can be better used against the larger of the two!"

She stopped three paces in front of the ranger and shoved the back of the spear she had gotten from the lizardmen into the soil, pushing grass and a few rocks away. She lowered the tip of the spear to knee-height and braced herself for the arrival of the bigger of the two creatures.

She prepared to lift the tip of the spear just as the creature arrived, to add the force of that movement to the charge of the beast and to aim for what she guessed were vital organs in the chest. She knew she would have to jump away in the split second after impaling the creature, but it was a risk she was willing to take. She tried putting most of her weight on her good foot, not fully trusting the other so soon after breaking it.

OOC: for the rest of the battle Anne shall use her dagger (since I guess the spear shall be probably broken or well stuck in the creature) and will try to avoid much direct combat, moving to take chances, which open up, while keeping an eye on the possible approach of the smaller of the two creatures.

[Kazilan]

Bas held his sickle in his right hand and moved beside Anne. His left hand rose to cast the spell Faerie Fire on the animal as it approached.

After casting the spell, Bas will move away from combat and assess what spells, if any, to cast next. If someone is badly injured, he will use a heal spell on her.

[Caleb808]

"I'm sorry. I know what it is to be a slave and I didn't want those things to make one out of you. I assume you decided to keep them because of benefits you gained, but eventually I believe you would have become a mindless shell of your former self, like the woman I encountered earlier."

Ulik looks down on Lorath, wracked by guilt. He had hoped to subdue him without causing as much injuries as he did. He had to make it right.

"As you have suffered, so shall I." Ulik says to Lorath as he kneels over him and holds his injured arm out. He allows his blood to fall on Lorath for a time then simply wills the flow to stop. Ulik uses his hands to spread the blood over his companion's wounds while chanting the words of a spell. As his hands pass over Lorath's wounds, they disappear as if they were never there, while similar ones open up on Ulik's body instead.

He barely manages to cut Lorath loose before collapsing. In between ragged breaths, he smiles and says to Lorath "Good news....now we can all..go through that door. 'The Other' will have to be...dealt with first. I think with the time spent in his state...he is beyond my 'healing'"

[ 03-20-2007, 07:01 AM: Message edited by: Caleb808 ]

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Lorath stood up and grabbed Ulik's legs. "Evon," he said, "grab his shoulders. He needs to rest in a real bed rather than on the floor." With the help of the psychic he carried Ulik down to a bed and laid him on it. He looked around for any herbs which might be useful for medicinal purposes and applied them if found, and then applied bandages created by tearing up the long-abandoned linens, as they were probably more sanitary than the clothes left behind on the skeletons. Before he left he thanked Ulik for his help, and promised his support in purifying the other person if it were possible.

Back outside of the room, he was talking with Evon. "We should probably get some rest too, it's been a while since we've had more than a wink of sleep. I'll take first watch over the portal to make sure nothing nasty gets in." He went back onto the roof for his period of watch, which he spent rememorizing spells if nothing big and threatening came through. When his four hours were up he went to rouse Evon, and went to sleep in what he had guessed was the king's bedroom, clearing out any skeletons if necessary.

[ 03-20-2007, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: Man Who Fights Like Woman ]

[PurpleXVI]

Lorath, Ulik, Evon

Evon seemed to be in a cooperative mood and followed Lorath's orders without question. With his assistance, the two managed to drag the heavy Ulik down the stairs and into a bed.

The night passed without incident, and all three adventurers slept well, far better than usual, in fact, as their sleep was full of very vivid, enjoyable dreams. Ulik finally bested that accursed Thor, Lorath became a powerful and well-respected statesman, Evon did whatever Evon dreamed of doing and then they woke up. The only unpleasant part of their sleep was the waking up, the dreams were so enjoyable that it was highly tempting to just roll over and go back to sleep again.

Once they woke up, they discovered an interesting factoid about whatever world the fort was located on: It appeared to have no cycle of day and night. The lighting was the same twilight as when they had arrived and there had been no movement whatsoever in the dense cloud cover above, there weren't even any lighter patches among the clouds to indicate the position of a moon or sun.

(Lorath recovers 1 HP, 16 HP remain. Ulik recovers 9 HP, 18 HP remain.)


Tamora, Bas, Anne, Balth

The first to act was Bas, who had woken up ahead of Tamora and Balth since Anne had almost stepped on him when the first creature had leapt unto her back.

Drawing upon the spirits of the forest he mumbled a low prayer of thanks in elven before extending a hand towards the beast. As he finished his prayer, the creature was suddenly surrounded by a vivid, halo of violet fire which outlined it clearly against the darkness.

Moving with terrifying speed for a creature it's size, the thing charged at Anne, ignoring Tamora's arrow which whistled past it's hind legs without making contact. It also turned out to be smarter than the rogue had expected, as it dodged past her braced spear and came straight at her.

Letting go of her spear, Anne managed to dodge the first swipe of claws at her, but as she struggled to get her dagger out, the second attack raked across her abdomen. Thankfully it was relatively shallow wound, but the graze still bled heavily, and every move she made stretched the injury, causing quite a lot of pain.

(Anne loses 6 HP, 23 HP remaining.)

Balth had finally managed to wake up completely to the situation and get his equipment ready, and before the thing could attack Anne again, he charged at it, slashing at it's torso and interposing himself between it and the rogue, giving it a nasty gash which was visible even through the thick fur, but seemed to enrage the thing more than scare it off.

Everyone but the elf saw the creature prepare to leap, but no one managed to shout a warning before the thing was already in the air. It slammed headfirst into his stomach and knocked him on his back, almost sending him flying into Anne, who was only barely fast enough to get out of the way first. Balth kept it's massive teeth away from his face and torso with his shield, but he didn't have enough room to attack it with his sword and it's claws made a mess of his legs, digging several wounds deep enough to show bone, and making it doubtful that he was going to be walking for a while unless he received magical healing.

Balth's explosive swearing as he got hurt, accompanied by yells of, "Get this thing off of me!" assured the others that he had survived the damage he suffered.

Despite being injured, Anne could still move, and she was the one closest to the thing while it was on top of Balth. She easily jammed her dagger into the animal's lower back, but it was like hacking away at an oak table, it's hide was so thick that she was unsure she had even damaged anything important until she withdrew the blade and saw blood welling forth from the injury she had caused.

Luck remained elusive for Tamora, just as she charged in with her spear to get the creature off of Balth, it got off on it's own initiative, having been alerted to other, dangerous prey in the area thanks to Anne's dagger, and the spear met nothing but empty air. It backed off a few paces towards the river, staying out of reach of Tamora, and seemed to survey it's enemies, trying to decide who to attack first.

Bas was about to move in and tend to either Balth or Anne's injuries, but before he could do so, he was alerted to movement behind him by rustling in the trees. Turning his head, the druid saw two smaller versions of the large creature approaching cautiously, each was about four feet tall, but seemed no more pleasant than the big one as they sprinted across the clearing towards the party.

(OOC: Change of situation, new tactics requested.)

[ 03-20-2007, 10:21 AM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]