Broken Wheels, a Planescape Adventure

[Lycanthromancer]

This is the story thread for my campaign. You can make a few relevant, minor OoC comments in this thread, but please keep the bulk of it in the OoC.

This is the signup thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6955727#post6955727)

And this is the OoC thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7002901#post7002901)

[Lycanthromancer]

And in great bloodshed shall their birth-throes commence, in a time of great peril and strife, stemming from an upheaval like none the multiverse has ever seen.

Cast about like leaves on the wind, they shall awaken to pitched battle amongst the blackest of hearts. Whether heroes or monsters, fiends or saviors, not even my eyes foresee, yet they may be all that holds against the rising tide and the coming storm.

As the Great Machine of the planes may yet grind on, greased with blood and the tears of both the innocent and the wicked, so it may come to a burning, inglorious finale.

In the end, we are but puppets on strings, enslaved to fate, stepping merrily to the dance of broken wheels, doomed to follow the path we began to tread so long ago, amongst the stars, in the beginning of time.

May the Powers That Be shelter us all, for the fates have little compassion, and far less mercy.

~Doomsayer J'enn Saruth, Prophet
~The Book of The End Times
You awaken to darkness.

Try as you might, you strain to see the smallest detail before you, but for all of your efforts you may as well be blind. All is silent and dark, and your other senses are just as dead. For all you can tell, there is nothing for you here. Even your body seems to be insubstantial, as if made from vapor and dust, and your thoughts come slowly, sluggishly, as though strained through viscous, glutinous mud.

After a moment, your sense of hearing fades in, though you quickly wish it hadn't; it awakens to shrieks of rage and pain, and the soul-searing death screams of horrible creatures too monstrous to contemplate. You hear the grating of metal-on-metal, of claws tearing through flesh, and of concussive explosions of occult magics that reap through living bodies like so many scythes through sheaves of wheat. The sounds are painfully loud, but are muffled, as if they were reaching you from a great distance.

Your form, which felt so insubstantial just moments ago, suddenly feels made of lead, squeezed under a great weight pressing down on you. You struggle, your newly-discovered limbs straining to shift against the load weighing on you, but your efforts are slow. Foot by foot, your battle gains ground, and you push against gravity to reach the surface...though whatever you're digging through certainly isn't earthen dirt or stone.

As the weight lessens and the weak, reddish light of the surface burns into your eyes, the stench of death suddenly slams into your sinuses like a sledgehammer, leaving you feeling delirious and weak. Your stomach churns with bile as you swallow it back, and struggle not to swoon from nausea. The haze of delirium colors your vision as you look out upon the landscape around you, and the bewildering scene has you blinking in confusion.

A blood-red sky presides over a land straight from a nightmare. Acid-green clouds broil and boil above hills and mountains that stretch into the distance. Your eyes adjust to the light, and you note muzzily that you truly have no idea what the land itself looks like, as the dead are piled so thickly that you cannot see it. There are literal mountains of bodies, cadavers of all descriptions. They are monstrous and inhuman corpses to a one, rotting even as you watch.

And on top of them all, armies of creatures, thousands of beasts of like portrayal, battle fiercely to the death, caring nothing for the fallen corpses of allies and enemies that their claws shred to ribbons. Not ten feet from where you are, in fact, an immense, hideous creature of chitinous plates writhing tentacles and membranous wings looks your way, its gaping maw of razor-sharp teeth open to devour you wholesale. Its body coils, ready to spring, when a gore-soaked claw erupts from its chest. It collapses in death, spraying your face with its last gout of ichorous lifeblood. Its killer turns to another victim, ignoring (for the moment) your presence on the field of battle to fend off several more horrors.

Your stomach heaves once more as you realize that you had been buried beneath one of the mounds of corpses, and you push a bloody claw off of yourself unceremoniously; it flops to the ground, lifeless and dead.

Suddenly, an iron grip around your waist lifts you into the air, and your feeble struggles to fend it off are futile. A low, gruff growl vibrates against you from the furry, muscular body hauling you around like a kitten: "Be still, cutter. I's takin' ye outta this mess, and be glad fer it."

The creature carrying you is huge; it's the beast that slaughtered the tentacled horror that likely would have killed you dead. You dangle from its grip as it rampages through the carnage, tearing through the warring creatures as if they were nothing. Your "savior" is so covered in grime and gore that you can barely make out what it looks like. With the violence with which it slaughters its way through the fight, and the blood and ichor flying through the air, there's no question as to why it's unrecognizable; "bloodshed" hardly begins to describe it.

You cover several thousand feet in a matter of a few minutes, finally reaching the first portion of the 'landscape' that you recognize. It's a hillock, a rise cleared of the piles of bodies, though it's not made of earth so far as you can tell. It almost looks as though made from flesh itself; the rivulets of dark red streaming from gashes in the ground looking more like blood than anything else.

The creature carrying you uses one of its razor-sharp claws to gouge a symbol into the ground, an eldritch symbol that looks familiar, if vaguely. It dumps you gracelessly into the middle of the rune. You brace for the impact, but your stomach climbs into your throat as the ground swallows you up; you land sprawled on your back underground, in what appears to be a cave, likewise composed of some flesh-like substance. As you take to your feet, you can feel it twitch unnervingly beneath you. You look up to see a shimmering window, through which you see your benefactor turn and stalk off, back into horror and death.

All around you is a strange collection of creatures of all shapes and sizes. Most are huddled together in small groups, looking frightened. All are naked.

In fact, now that you have time to take your bearings, you realize you are too.

A tiny ball of blue light floats over to you, and speaks in a small, squeaky voice. "Hi! I'm Vitri. I know you don't know what's going on, and the last few minutes have been horrible, but don't worry; you're going to be alright. Nobody here will hurt you. Someone's gonna come here in a bit to tell us what's going on. Why don't you go follow me and get to know some of the others while we wait?"

The fluffy bit of luminescence turns pink for a moment, looking somehow sad, then floats over to a motley bunch of creatures, some of which are strange indeed, illuminating all around. As you open your mouth to introduce yourself and get a feel for what in the hells is going on, you realize that you don’t even know your own name. For that matter, you don’t remember anything up to your rather rude awakening under a pile of rotting corpses.

Please introduce yourselves.

[Sallera]

Nerein

The mephling stares blankly at the others for a minute, the impression of vacancy enhanced by her large black eyes. Try as she might, she can't recall any of their faces, especially obscured by grime as they are. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shudders as she belatedly realizes what she's covered in. It's not much - only an instinctive revulsion, and a sudden overpowering desire to be clean - but it's enough. It feels like a natural response, despite how it might appear from the outside; to her, it barely registers, as a large gem embedded in her left wrist glows faintly under a coat of blood. As she raises her hand above her head, a shimmering blue pattern forms in the air, and a sudden deluge washes away the worst of the gore.

Not quite three feet tall, the mephling presents a slightly disturbing sight as she stands in the middle of a swiftly reddening puddle - although it's barely noticeable compared to what exists outside. A faint pattern of scales is just visible on her pale blue skin, and her completely hairless form is almost abnormally thin. Two finned ridges extend down the back of her shoulderblades, and a tiny pair of stubby horns dot her brow. The gem in her wrist is swirling with symbols, coming to the surface to form sequences, only to melt away again.

Staring around again, she takes a few tentative steps toward the nearest group. We're all so... different. Is this... normal? Hands clasped behind her back, she looks up at them, trying to think of something to say but unsure of what would be appropriate.

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
A Bhuka male, thoroughly average in appearance for his race, notices for the first time that the light had spoken not solely to him, but to a few others. He stands just under five feet, with large, broad hands and feet, with thick fingers and toes, adapted to padding over sands and climbing rough rock. His face has odd dark patches, almost looking something like a human who applies tattoo to make their face look like a skull. His nostrils - vertical slits - complete the appearance. Obviously not skeletal, or even particularly gaunt, but definitely bony and definitely reminiscent of a skull. A shock of red hair sits atop this skull, between two narrow pointed ears.

Turning to the mephling (odd how he knows the form before him to be a mephling, a water mephling, a creature common to the Plane of Elemental Water, which lies adjacent to the... and so much more he knows about the Planes, but he knows not his own name), the Bhuka begins attempts at communication. Though he realizes that a creature of the Water Plane would speak Aquan, he nonetheless doesn't know even if he knows Aquan. So instead he simply tries to speak, and let the words come out:

(in Bhuka) "Talack-eesh aghi tarana?"

As she clearly does not understand these words, he tries to speak again, but differently. He is vaguely aware that there are different ways of speaking that she may know.

(in Draconic) "Keriva salaxinar foretti?"

(in Sphinx) "Sephera te'cominarea thurrenziah?"

(in Common) "Do ya be knowin' the wise o dis place?"

[Khellendross]

Terran

Taking a moment to collect his soundings and adjusting his eyes, he looked over the creatures directly in front of him while wiping his paw over his muzzle trying to hamper the intensely strong smell of death. Standing up and shaking off all the dirt and grime off his body making careful to not get it on anyone else he approached the two who had spoken.

While approaching the two humanoids he took the time to take himself in consideration. Standing no taller than than 3 feet at shoulder and covered in soiled pure white fur taking away any radiance he might have had. He was a wolf!...Who am i? How did I get here? Why is it I know what we are and can understand all but a couple languages so far; yet I know not how I came to this knowledge....


Well met you two. It seems we are a strange bunch indeed. I think it best we speak in a general tongue we can all understand, like common, to avoid any confusion. I'm...

Pausing for a moment he realized again he did not know his name. Clawing what appeared to be ground he came up with an alternative.

I'm Terran.

[Sallera]

Nerein

"I fear I know no more of this place than you do; less, probably. I can't even remember my own name, nor any of you..." Turning toward the wolf as he speaks, she appears vaguely surprised for a moment, then starts as she realizes what he had said. "You... know your name? Does that mean you understand what's going on?"

[Fishy]

Despite the ease that her rescuer caries her across the battlefield, Galatea lands heavily on the fleshy floor, the skin deforming around her granite body. With the sound of stone scraping against stone in her joints, she carefully rises to her feet, towering over most of the other refugees even with the ground sinking under her.

Like the rest of the group, she is naked and dripping with gore- but she either was never sculpted to be anatomically correct, or the relevant parts have been weathered away with age. Her face, however, is fairly well-preserved, delicate and feminine features carved into an expression of serene, beatific calm- the complete and total opposite of what she's feeling right now, of course.

"What... nightmare is this?" Her voice is a low alto, shaky with nerves, and apparently generated without moving her lips.

[Gorgondantess]

The imp on the ground could at first be mistaken for simply a puddle of giblets as he lies there, tiny and unnoticeable. Finally, he stirs, getting up, then looks at his form with shock. He snaps a finger with a wry grin, however, and suddenly he is engulfed with flames- in an instant they are gone, and he is merely covered in ash. With a brisk flourish he brushes it off, and grins again. He stands at just under 2' tall, with a lean male form, dark red skin, with tiny claws on his hands and needle-like, perfectly white teeth in a too-big grin. His hair falls down to his neck in a black shock, and batlike wings twitch from his shoulders.
Finally, he looks down in distaste, seeing what he is walking in, then flies up to perch on the stony woman's head.
"Ahhh, solid ground. And a group of sentients, lost and clueless. This is no nightmare, my dear," he says, stomping his foot on the ground beneath him, "But it seems to, indeed, be some kind of place." He speaks sardonically, then surveys the group beyond (and below) him.
"No, I don't know this place, but I know my name. Archibald Niccolo de Montrose, though you may call me what you will, but don't trifle with me lest I rip out your throat. Now. It's obvious that you people have no idea what to do, and as such I will lead this little group until such time as I decide to leave you. As such, I say we search for possible points of exit, and if such cannot be found, then we can look for weak points in the prison around us. We should try to get out of here as soon as possible- this is a prison, and an alien one. Lurking about should do us no good."

[Khellendross]

Terran

Looking almost face to face with the woman who spoke to him.

I'm sorry but I do not know what is going on. Nor do I know my own name as I suspect none of us do I simply came up with an alternative name in order to promote ease. Something is amiss here!

As for you Imp I would not threaten anyone here. Many here are nervous and on edge and last thing we need is you or someone else getting killed. I suggest we wait to see what happens for a little bit longer while we get to know each other before we do any exploring.

Having finished what he had to say Terran shook his body and in a brief moment almost seemed to grown to a larger form of wolf and then back down to his original size as his fur became completely clean and white.

[Gorgondantess]

The imp shrugs. "I wasn't making a threat, simply a statement of causation. It is you who decided to percieve it as a threat."

[Fishy]

"I do not believe I have a throat," the stone woman remarks, folding her arms over her chest. "I also believe I would rather be a prisoner than a casualty."

[Gorgondantess]

Archie pats her on the head. "Hm. Excellent point my dear, on both subjects. However, just sitting here is wasting all our lives- I prefer to be productive. If we find a way out and see a battlefield, we can always just not go out into it."

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
"Ah, but de little ball o' light says understandin' be on 'is way. Dat bein' de case... perhaps we shouldn' be movin' afta all?"

The Bhuka does not seem to have even heard the Imp's threat at first, but then says, "Dem's as be still in Baator'd be mighty amused at yer mightiness, dey sure would. Ya know yer name; I know dat names can be as dangerous as dey is powerful. If'n that be yer real name, yer a fool to be tellin' to dose ya don't know, 'specially dem as you'd just d'reatened. Oh, ya, you ain't be d'reatenin' anybody, yes, dis I know. A statement, ya be sayin'. An' all I be sayin' is an observation, ya? I observe that ya an imp, an' dat an imp talkin' like ya in de 'ells is a-gonna get 'is 'ead squished.

Dis ain't be right, ya know. I know dis. I ain't got a notion as ta what's been happenin' 'ere, but I know what I know an' what I don't. I don't know dis, and I think I would."

[Gorgondantess]

Archie snaps at the bhuka, "Of course it's not my true name, you fool. I'm smarter than that.
The very reason I want to get out of here is because I know this isn't right. Besides, I don't trust floating balls of light."

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
"Tis fair; I know not de floatin' ball o' light, know not should 'e be trusted. To move or to not move? Is we pro-active, or re-active? I know not. I know dat I do not follow, I do not lead, I simply go, I go with or I go without. Goin' sounds good now-abouts, ya right dere. But might be as we should be goin' and a-comin', may be dat we really would get some 'splanation.

And dere's nothing I want so much as to learn, ya?"

[Sallera]

Nerein

Studying the gem in her wrist, the mephling appears to have nearly forgotten where she is for a moment, but she looks up again as the topic of conversation filters into her mind. "Do you think it would be so simple to avoid notice if we did end up near another battlefield like the one above? This place almost seems to embody senseless slaughter... now that we've ended up in a small refuge from it, I'm a little reluctant to just rush off again when answers could be forthcoming."

She sighs lightly, and wraps her arms around herself again. "Besides, I don't really feel like moving too much quite yet."

[PId6]

Petrydan

Hidden at the edge of light is a tiny ball of fur, so clotted with blood that it's hard to tell whether it's a complete being or a bloody part of another body. It stays curled up in its hiding spot, its eyes shut tightly even as it listens intently at beings that are talking around him, trying to get his bearing without revealing himself to potential enemies. After making sure that the others didn't notice him, he slips one gleaming black eye open, then another, and carefully peers at the shapes around him, watching for possible threats and weaknesses. Instinctively, seeing the bony humanoid slip within his reach, he lashes out with a massive claw, expecting to rend the infiltrator into two...

...only to find his claw barely leaving a scratch on the humanoid's shoulder. Confusion overwhelms him, only to be replaced with terror as a feeling of helplessness settles down. Unsure of what was happening, the ball of fur leaped into the air, spreading his wings, preparing to escape, only to fall out of the sky and flat onto his back. He is betrayed. Knowing that he is now plain to see for his enemies, and that he is somehow powerless without knowing why, he does the only thing he can, and curls into a ball once more.

[Fishy]

"I was going to be killed," Galatea says flatly, an edge of stern annoyance in her voice. "Someone saved me, and brought me here, and left me in this creature's charge." She turns her head slightly, obviously trying to direct her comments to the imp, but not exactly able to make eye-contact while he's sitting on her head. "If that's not reason enough for trust, I don't know what is."

[Gorgondantess]

Archie shoots a condescending look at the ball of gory fur. "How cute," He says ironically.
Then he goes back to his spiel, quite comfortable sitting on Galatea's head, cross legged. "Yes, of course. As I was saying, under normal circumstances exploring would be a good idea, but we can't do so with the battle raging outside. As such, I say we pool our collective knowledge and find out what we know about all this."
He looks down at Galatea, talking to his legs. "My dear, if I were going to kill an ox, you would be the first person I would turn to. However, being... what you are, I do believe you should concede to a more savvy sort- as a devil, I know all about these things. Trust should be given sparingly, or not at all."

[Fishy]

"Ah. So, I should not trust my savior, but I should listen to the advice of my hat. Thank you for enlightening me."

[Gorgondantess]

"Ah. So, I should not trust my savior, but I should listen to the advice of my hat. Thank you for enlightening me."

Archie throws his head back and laughs mightily for such a small creature. "Yes, your hat indeed, and a fine hat it is, full of experience and wisdom. If you had truly taken my advice to heart, you would not trust your savior, nor would you trust your hat. But that is all for naught, because we all know that I am the true paragon of all that is good and honest in this world."

[Sallera]

Nerein

The mephling blinks as the bloody ball of fur launches itself through the air, taking an involuntary step back as it lands in front of her. "What... were my eyes mistaken, or did that thing just attack you?" Cautiously stepping forward again, she bends down to study the creature, hissing softly as she gets no response. "Can't even tell what it is under all that..." Recalling the spell she had invoked instinctively when she arrived, she touches the gem on her wrist, and a single pattern surfaces and stays there. She weaves the pattern more deliberately this time, and a sudden flow of water washes over the creature.

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
Reacting to clearly frightened ball of fur, the Bhuka stoops to look at it, but avoids getting within range of its claws. Trying to speak in a respectful tone, he says "Why, hullo dere, wot might ya be? Ain't seen yer like before, I dink. Do ya have any interest in our position here? Or did I interrupt ya nap?"

Turning to Galatea, "Ah, I dink it may not be best, as a rule, to trust ya 'at - no matter how wise a 'at it may be. Nothin to disparage ye, o paragon, dere. But ya ain't also should be trustin' ya saviors, either. I was 'bout to be killed dead myself, but then was slung over a shoulder and run off with abouts. May as be dat we was saved, but may also be dat we was saved for later. Some dings prefer a fresh meal.

"In any case, I be lookin' ta have a walk-abouts, see what's to be seen. Ain't never been 'ere before, I for one want to see it. If our explanation appears, I shalln't be far, medinks."

[PId6]

Petrydan

Immediately as the water touches him, the furball seems to explode in a burst of lightning. Sparks dance around him in showers, singing the skin of all those nearby. A sizzling cloud of steam from evaporated water spreads to the air and fades. The cave now completely lights up in brilliance from the column of electricity that erupts from the small little critter, blinding all that dare stare. The joy of power fill his body and makes his fur stand up like spikes. His eyes glow with an unearthly light while his ears and tail stick up stretched as tall as they could. From his motions and demeanor, he appears almost twice as large as before, and he stands tall now, watching all those around him with confidence.

Suddenly, the light fades, and the sparks vanish into the air. With a cry of disappointment, his fur falls flat once more even as his tail curls around his body like an animated rope. Wobbling on his feet, he takes a moment to steady himself, and falls onto four legs in weariness. Lying there panting for a moment, he finally looks up, anger in his eyes, and shouts in fury and hatred at the mephit: "Beguiler!"

"Beguiler beguiler beguiler beguiler beguiler BEGUILER!!!"

[Gorgondantess]

Archie chuckles when the little beguiler flips out. "Calm down, fuzzy, or she'll douse you again. Or would you rather I send her to do so", he says, motioning to the powerful (physically, at least) being below him. "That being said, join us, won't you? I was just deciding what we should do with the time we have, rather than sitting here. Now, I've come to some conclusions myself, but I do believe we should save the best for last- first, we shall settle this diplomatically. Before I take my part, what do the proles think?"

[Sallera]

Nerein

Dancing back from the sudden eruption of energy, the mephling crouches down, shielding her eyes with one hand, until the beguiler is finished. Standing up hesitantly, she watches uncomprehendingly as the little creature berates her. "Er... does anyone understand that? Well, aside from the fact that it apparently would rather be drenched in gore than wet?"

She shakes her head softly at the imp's words. "You've an odd sense of your own importance, Archibald of the Hat. But no matter, I suppose. I don't see much for myself to do here, at the moment, aside from refamiliarizing myself with this gemstone and its contents, so I shall defer to your apparent knowledge."

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
"Eh, I've already said I was lookin' ta have a look-around. Yar'll welcome to join me, if ya like. I do intend ta return 'ere 'do, cuz I'm curious what the ball o' light's got ta say."

[Lycanthromancer]

The ball of glowing light, Vitri, (and most of the rest of the inhabitants of the cave) shies back from the agitated display of the beguiler...thing.

"Um...I think tempers are flaring a bit high, here. I know we're all a bit stressed out and worried, but at least we're safe, for the moment. So let's just stay calm, okay?

"So...erm...how did you guys get here? And...um...where is here, anyway? I think that maybe we should ask around and see if anyone knows anything. Shouldn't make any decisions blindly, I think."

[Gorgondantess]

Archibald smiles at the mephit. "Well, if that's all you have to offer, then go right ahead.
As for you, bhuka... We are currently in the Abyss, on the Fields of Flesh. Now, the only reason I can think we might be here under such amnesia is that we might have died, and are petitioners- however, that seems highly unlikely, as none of us are of the form, location or disposition of a typical abyss thrall (though the latter might apply to the electirc rat there). Anyhow... as uncle Asmodeus always used to say, knowledge is power. As such, use this power. We are in the abyss. That means it is very, very dangerous, and highly mutable and unpredictable, even to one of its disposition. We should not travel blindly, especially alone, and we most certainly should not trust one fighting in its fields. Any doing so is either a native Demon, meaning it should be killed on sight or at least avoided like any other plague, a mercenary daemon, which must therefore have some unsavory use for us, or crusading devil, meaning it is highly intelligent, powerful and of motives far beyond the mien of any of you. Whatever it is, we should not wait here for it to come back to us.
As such, it can be deduced that to move at least a bit would definitely be the best choice. With this plane's highly mutable geography, a non native should have difficulty finding us even if it knows where we are- and I should think a demon- thus a native- would kill us on sight. However, going alone is dangerous and foolhardy in these areas, lest we stumble upon something even more dangerous than our so called savior. If we move, we brave souls shall move together. Agreed?"
"You, archon, shall be staying behind," he says, motioning to Vitri. "I don't trust your sort."

[DragoonWraith]

Currently Nameless Planewandering Bhuka
The Bhuka considers the new information. "Hmm... an' 'ere I was, agreein' wit' all you got ta say, til de last bit. As far as trust goes, imp, one could do worse d'an an archon. At any rate, I dun tink tis reasonable to worry about an archon selling us out to a demon, ya? But ya be right, 'ere's not the greatest spot to sit and talk, metinks, and travelin' alone seems an unpleasant proposition, assumin' ya to be right about our whereabouts. And I suspect ya is.

"On dat note, oh ball o' light, ya might consider makin' yer position in things a bit better known, 'ere. Why's ya thinkin' an explanation's likely to be 'eadin' our way? What's the chance o' dis explanation not be lookin' ta eat us?

"Finally, I'd prefer to not be referred to as 'you, bhuka,' and so will therefore name myself 'Aghihoti'. Tis a name I find appropriate for my own inclinations, and I suspect it would have suited me well before our forgetting."

[Lycanthromancer]

Vitri manages to somehow look offended by the imp, which is truly amazing considering the fact that he has no face or body. "Oh don't be racist. I'm not snubbing you for being hellspawn, am I? Times aren't exactly normal, and who knows what kinds of strange things are occurring? I mean, you could be a victim trapped in a horrifically-deformed little body, for all I know, and a nice guy despite. Though, at this point, that's not looking particularly likely...

"As for my position on things? I overheard a few of those creatures that brought you in, and they're planning on 'giving us the scoop.' Well, I think that's what they said; I'm a little rusty on my cant-speak. But I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt. They did rescue y...erm...us...from becoming entrees to a bunch of demons and devils, right?"

A wickedly-horned lizard man squatting nearby jumps to his feet, agitated, motioning agitatedly at the fizzy-looking screen over the entrance to the cave. "Tha's the Blood-War, tha' is. I ain't ungrateful fer bein' tooken away from it, bu' I's with these blokes. It's the bloody Abyss!"

A chorus of "Yeah!"s and other signs of dissent and agreement ripple through the crowd. Many of the creatures begin arguing amongst themselves about how volatile the situation is likely to become.

Vitri bobs up and down a bit, turning a bright yellow. "Hold it! Quiet down a bit! Let's talk things through as a group, and see if we can't figure out what's going on here before we work ourselves into a panic."

A few of the arguments get even more agitated, but things calm down after a few minutes of diplomacy on Vitri's part. "Now, we know we're in the Flesh Fields of the Abyss." He shudders. "Um...what else do we know? Does anyone else remember anything before a few minutes ago?"

A rumble of "No"s echo through the cave.

"Okaaay...err...Does anyone have any other information to share, to shed light on the situation?"

[PId6]

Petrydan

Seeing the others' confused looks, the small creature ponders for a moment, confused, then realizes that the others cannot understand him. Shaking his furry little head, he manages to back away into a corner, watching the larger creatures argue amongst themselves, forgetting that he's still around. Yes, he'll bide his time, staying out of sight and mind. For now, he listens, and learns. He has already learned off of those creatures where he is: the Abyss, a place that feels somewhat... fitting for him. Let him wait, and let them grant him more of the knowledge he needs; when the time is right, he'll strike, and they'll never realize what being crushed their souls. That power he felt, that he unleashed somehow, it will come again, he knows.

[Fishy]

Though she hasn't gone as far as to say anything, the stony woman in the self-described fine hat has been a little bit stiff and silent ever since being referred to as a 'prole'- but she gets over it as the conversation starts to turn agitated.

She turns her head towards the angry lizardman- "Are you a demon? Or you, perhaps?" she adds, at Vitri. "I think it follows that not everyone on this plane is necessarily a monster."

[Lycanthromancer]

"I ain't no demon!" The lizard man looks unnerved. "A' least...I don't think I ain't. Am I? Well, I ain't eatin' y'all up, anyhow. Should be a point er three in my favor."

Vitri looks annoyed. "No. I'm certainly no demon. Although..." He seems a bit less agitated now. "I guess that was...rhetorical."

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"Well said..." Aghihoti hesitates, trying to determine the appropriate appellation for the stony creature, "...ma'am?

"Seein' as we're all at a serious disadvantage to everyting dat ain't us, seems ta me like we's should all stick togeder like. Everyting that remembers, is potentially dangerous. An' dere's a lot more o' dem d'an us... I ain't got no quarrel with heaven nor hell, nor with ya, imp, nor with ya, oh ball o' light.

"So, let's stick togeder, metinks. An' let's figure out what we do know. But let's do it somewhere else - an' if any one of us be sneaky-like, someone can remain 'ere to watch for our 'saviors' - if things look on the up'n'up, we can 'ear what dey gots ta say. Else, can just slink away."

Aghihoti motions in the direction away from the hole where he was dropped into the cave, and begins to talk about the things they do or do not know:

"So's, we's all forgotten before. De imp points out dat petitioners forget deir old lives, but we ain't where petitioners oughta be, since a none of us look is feelin' particularly demonic. Abyss's a bad place for demons, much less anyting else, so'd we'd be lookin' ta leave. Petitioners don't particularly look to do much o' anytin', I believe..." Aghihoti looks to Niccolo for confirmation here.

"An' as ta our saviors, dey claim to be lookin' ta 'give us da scoop'? Speakin' Cant in de Abyss? Don't sound none like Tanar'ri ta this one... Dey ain't de type to think so far ahead as ta speak Cant just ta fool us, neither, metinks. Dat be interesting, definitely, it be.

"Me own savior... did not seem like one ta be speakin' Cant. 'e... well, 'e looked familiar. Not tanar'ri, at all... 'e, and 'is sigil on the cave entrance, as I tink about dese... I am reminded of nothing so much as a particular god, one of de hunt and de beasts. Savage, my memory seems ta be saying - but we all know what dat's worth. Not evil, but not be good, neither. But if dis be de case, if he be a god, what in de cosmos is he be doin' in de Abyss?"

[Fishy]

Galatea nods politely at Aghihoti, and then listens carefully to his plan- though her fixed expression makes it difficult to tell what she thinks of it.

"So you are proposing that we leave this place, hoping that the chaos of the plane will make us impossible to find, and leave one of our number behind, in case this 'god' shows up, proves himself benevolent, and explains everything."

"Then what?"

"If this creature can track us, we gain nothing by leaving, and if it cannot, we have no way to hear what it has to say."

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"I wasn't tinkin' so much about bein' unfindable so much as havin' a bit o' time between us an' unpleasantness, really.

"But ya right, can't trust this place to be so accomodatin'. I don't tink I'da spent too much time in de Abyss before a-forgettin' everytin'."

[Lycanthromancer]

Nearby, a tauric man-thing with the horns and the lower body of a goat looks askew at Aghihoti. "I...don't know if you've realized this, but We. Are. In. The. Abyss. The whole place is unpleasant!"

[Gorgondantess]

Archibald Niccolo de Montrose glares at the ball of light. "Listen you glorified lantern, go bother someone else. Sure, you may have the best intentions, but in the end you'll just end up with people getting hurt. I'm not a cruel being, I'm a pragmatist. And fate favors the pragmatic."
When the lizard man asks his question, he shakes his head. "Doesn't look like it, and a good thing too."
Niccolo interjects into Ag's talk, "No, petitioners look to serve their plane, usually, though at first they're very weak. Not even a threat. And thank you for reinforcing my point, Aghihoti."
After he finishes talking, and the tauric says his part, Archibald finally flies off of the stony woman's head. "Yes, it's unpleasant. But we can survive here, if we play our cards right."
He moves to a point central to the conversation, a focal point, and regards the gathering. "Listen up, you ragged bunch of tinker currs. You'll get no help from our ball of light there, and you'll meet no kind fate if we end up as a disorganized jumble of assorted beings. We'll need some leadership, some organization. Let's make things clear, just for now. I am small and weak. Yes, I admit it. But what I lack in strength, I can make up for in brainpower. I'd wager that just about any one of you could strangle me and stuff me in a sack without even trying... but you shouldn't. Because I'm your ticket out of here. Stick with me, bloods, and I'll make sure you get out of here alive. Now... who will follow the fellow who knows more than anybody here, and who will follow the intangible fool who says we should sit on our thumbs until the giant, immensely powerful being who may or may not kill us comes back and decides our fates?"
He then flies back to Galatea's head, quite comfortable there.

Intimidate roll, on the ball of light:[roll0]
Diplomacy, on the group:[roll1]
Heh. I'll still probably win the intimidate, and it looks like diplomacy is in the bag.:smallamused:

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"Meh, de imp's probably right, on de whole... but I, for one, am curious about our saviors. Am loathe to give up de chance at an explanation. But de imp's probably right, dat's probably fool-'eaded an' naive."

[PId6]

Petrydan

Hearing the imp talk springs a spark at the dip of the furball's tail. He considers zapping him with it, but reconsiders after seeing the effect that the speech was having on the gathered mishmash around him. They're actually falling for it! Giving a slight growl, the beguiler grits his teeth but keeps his electricity to himself, at least for now. There will be plenty of time for that later.

[Fishy]

Currently Nameless Statue Lady

"If we are leaving, then I certainly don't wish to be left behind," comes the cool and carefully neutral voice from somewhere in the statue's head. "But I hope you aren't harboring any illusions about using me as a pack-animal."

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"Well, in dat, at least, I'm sure we be havin' no trouble... does anyone actually got anyting t' carry?"

[Khellendross]

Having watching the eruption of emotions circle around the room Terran approaches the group he has met.

Whatever we decide I agree we should stick together. If at al possible for those such as the dear mephling we should find clothing and maybe even weapons and armor. I am starting to get a grasp of myself as well. I know not what is going on but I know I'm at least human for the most part but I have the ability to take wolf form. I think I'll stay in this form till we do find clothing now that I think about it.

[Sallera]

Nerein

"I believe she may have been referring to her itinerant hat, there. Speaking of whom... where is it, exactly, you propose we go? Are we to simply pick a direction at random?" She raises a hand to Terran as he approaches. "While I thank you for your concern, it seems an unimportant matter. Anything we find in this muck is unlikely to be worth the bother of picking up, let alone using, and we don't seem likely to freeze to death any time soon."

[Lycanthromancer]

The ground convulses with a mighty thump that reverberates around the cave. Another occurs just moments after. The flesh around the cave entrance begins seeping with red liquid, which is, unsurprisingly, quite evocative of oozing blood. Those creatures near the entrance look up and gasp, and begin backing quickly away from the fizzling bluish-white seal as it seems to short out for an instant before reappearing, seeming weaker than it was before.

Everyone make Perception checks in the OoC thread.

[edit]
Aghihoti:You don't quite have a good angle to see out the hole, but you do see some worms wriggle around the edges of the seal, which drop to the ground and wriggle around in the widening, bloody pool.

Make a Knowledge: The Planes check, Aghi.

[Fishy]

"I propose," the statue deadpans, "We move away from there. All in favor?"

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
Aghihoti is already moving in the direction exactly opposite the hole from him.
"I dun care if'n ya be in favor or not, move now! Them be bloodworms comin' through dat hole, an' as bad them's be, in de Abyss bloodworms as oft as not mean de worm dat walks. Ain't no one who wants t' stay fer dat!"

Aghithoti moves in an odd, shuffling hop that doesn't even look much like running, though his speed would indicate otherwise. He glances back occasionally to make sure others are following, but he mostly pays attention to where he's going, not wanting to run into something worse.

[Sallera]

Nerein

"Well, you won't hear me arguing." The mephling pauses only a moment, rapidly considering her options, before dashing off after Aghihoti. "How do they hunt? Will we be safe if we stay out of sight?"

[Gorgondantess]

Niccolo leans down, whispering to the figure below him, "Well, it appears your instincts were quite in the right. I cannot stress you avoid this thing enough, my dear. Now, I do believe I'll make myself... scarce." Rather than actually changing his location, he simply fades into invisibility and makes himself comfortable.

[Fishy]

Instincts or no, the statue leaves something to be desired as a mount. She takes off after the Bhuka as fast as she can- but despite the evident power of her body and the length of her stride, she's noticeably slower than most of the refugees.

Probably something to do with being made of stone.

[PId6]

Petrydan

Quivering with disgust at the thought of hundreds of crawling bloodworms engulfing his body, it doesn't take much to drive the beguiler to his feet. He considers for a moment about sending a blast of electricity to slow it down, but decides not to. After all, if it really is a Worm that Walks, no sense in agitating it; and if not, he's still better off hoping that its attention is focused on the others rather than him. No sense in taking a risk when it's not absolutely necessary yet. There are plenty of others here to do it for him.

Nimbly leaping off the cavern floor, the beguiler gracefully latches onto the cavern wall and starts to climb up. Reaching a nice distance above the others, he carefully makes his way forward towards the escape route, all the while keeping himself as inconspicuous as possible. As much as he hates to admit it, the imp is right; staying out of sight now is probably the better option.

[Lycanthromancer]

The entrance barrier's sizzling (somewhat reminiscent of a bug-zapper) suddenly halts as it fails, and the bloodworms inching in around the edges suddenly pour into the cave in a flood, landing in a formless heap under the hole that quickly mounds into a near-humanoid shape.

It leaps forward lightning-fast, engulfing a young-looking female straggler with lush brown skin and wavy green hair into the wriggling central mass. She shrieks in terror and pain, her outstretched hand the last thing engulfed before the monster moves on, leaving a disincorporated pile of bones and bloody viscera in its wake.

Vitri and several of the others gasp at the sight, and all of the previously-subdued group of creatures are fleeing away from the cave entrance.

Your little group is approximately 50 feet away from the creature, and 70 feet away from the cave's entrance. There are still half a dozen slower creatures between you and the worms, two of which appear to be little more than children (you hadn't noticed that there were younglings earlier; not surprising, what with the sheer variety of creatures, and the darkness of the cave). The oppressive Stygian gloom spreads away from you in all directions, and you cannot see the sides or the rear of the cave, though from the calls in the darkness, some of your partners-in-lethe have found the back wall - and are now searching for some breach to use for escape.

Make a Will save and roll initiative.

[Khellendross]

Terran

Fearing for the children lives and changing into his larger wolf form Terran sprints to the children yelling.

Get on my back so we can get out of here. It's not safe here. Hurry!

Hunching his body lower to the ground and extending a paw forward for them to crawl on with.

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
Seeking to slow down the creature, Aghihoti suddenly recognizes a powerful magic he had not seen before - a subtle magic, the magic of this place itself. Not Abyssal magic, per se, so much as literally magic of lines and curves and shapes and matter. Of connections and portals. Lines and arcs of force entwine around everything - including the worm that walks.

As he sees, he learns, and he pulls - and he is not sure how he pulls, but pull he does - on a convenient strand of power, and looping it about the worms, creates a connection in this space to the void, in an attempt to draw the worm through it.

The result is overwhelming. Aghihoti shudders as thousands of little pinpricks in reality appear among and within the worm that walks; the openings themselves pull on the cords, and the Bhuka is very aware that he cannot control this, only hold it together - if he were to let go, the connection would be severed, but as long as he holds it, the swarm of portals is simply drawn to life, siphoning it through the connections to the void.

This is Summon Swarm (Bats), refluffed. Tried my best to come up with something that would reasonably result in the 'bleeding' effect - in this case, its life is being drained away into the void, causing HP damage, and those connections will result in a slow 'bleed' drain even after the swarm is gone.

It doesn't match up perfectly, but just treat it like the bats and it should work out fine.

[PId6]

Petrydan

Clinging to the sheer rock of the wall, Petrydan shakes in horror at the sight of the bloodworms devouring the creatures down below. Not sure whether to run or to stand still and hide, and despising himself for his own fear, the beguiler tries to do both at the same time and starts edging away unceremoniously, trying to get as far and as high as he could without attracting unwanted attention. He just hopes that the sound of his chattering teeth doesn't carry throughout this cavern.

[Sallera]

Nerein

Although she had been reconsidering after hearing the noise from ahead, the sight of the worms feasting is enough to set the mephling back on her path, and she flies past Aghihoti, mind frantically searching her spells for something that would get her out of this.

[Lycanthromancer]

The two children shy back from the massive wolf before them, looking back at the monstrosity moving in their direction, and visibly make their decision. They clamber up onto Terran and clamp tightly to his fur.

Make your move, Terran.

[Gorgondantess]

Archie clings to Galatea's head, deciding to just stay put and hide in his invisibility.

[Khellendross]

Terran

Rising up and sprinting for life making sure not to lose the kids Terran moves away from the mass of worms.

Everyone get out! Save as many as you can if your able to and lets regroup outside. If all else fails get the kids and I'll delay the demon plague or worms.

Why were we brought to this place. Why can't we remember who we are? Something has gone horribly wrong...something is broken.

[Lycanthromancer]

Terran moves around the writhing mass, positioning himself beneath the cave's entrance. The children cling to his fur, terrified.

The worms slither toward them, solid tendrils of annelids reaching out to engulf. It moves over and around the wolf and the two younglings, and the cave echoes with the childrens' terrified screams that are immediately cut short as they're torn limb-from-limb. The howls of the wolf join them, as the worms grind into his flesh.

[Sallera]

Nerein

"Terran! What are you doing over there? You can't fight it like that, get out of there!" Unable to think clearly through the haze of fear, unable to tell even whether it is rational or irrational, Nerein continues her flight, searching along the wall for some means of exit.

Move from T20 to N21.
...well, I'm frightened, nothing better to do. Perception: [roll0]

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
Aghihoti observes the slaughter impassively, considers his options, decides there is nothing he could do to help, and so instead searches for an exit.

I'll take one move action to move to X23, and probably take another move action once I'm there to move further, but it depends on what I see when I do that move.

[Lycanthromancer]

Before him and to his left, Aghihoti sees a bubbling, boiling pool of what appears to be the ichorous blood seeping from the walls and floor of the cave, although this pool has an acrid, acidic smell to it.

[Lycanthromancer]

A humanoid-sized mass of frizzy fluff (its eyes, nose, and claws can just barely be made out underneath the fur), a skeletal critter (quite...obviously male) with naked, dull grey skin and a ratlike tail, and a small female bipedal rabbit-looking creature with a slight frame and long, flopped ears, all flee at top speed away from the carnage, heading deeper in the cave. They look upset, and frightened, and huddle together as best they can, while getting the hells out of there.

Vitri, looking awfully upset for a featureless ball of light, floats up near the ceiling and toward the heap of worms. "Eat beams of death, fishbait!" And he fires an eye-shattering blast of light at the swarm, slicing through the carnivorous mass to the sounds of fried flesh and the squeal of handfuls of worms. "Get out of there, Terran!"

[Fishy]

The screams of the dying children echoing through her mind (metaphorically, given that her head is fairly solid and has no obvious external ears), Galatea bolts, flinging herself down the cave and away from the carnage with the force of a small and frightened avalanche, bruising the floor with each step.

[PId6]

Petrydan

Perhaps it is a small glimmer of rationality hidden amidst his panic, or perhaps it is just a new, deeper layer of fear on top of his older terror, but regardless of the cause, Petrydan begins to climb down, dropping in distance as fast as he can without breaking his neck, planning as soon as he can to run after where the others have ran. It wouldn't do at all to be caught alone, and his current "plan" was getting him nowhere. Even a panicking furball needs allies.

[Sallera]

Nerein

Continuing her somewhat-unwilling circuit of the cave, Nerein almost manages to turn herself around, but stops halfway instead, carefully scanning the surroundings.

Last round of running, yay.

...well, last round of running under a fear effect, anyway. Move to N29. Perception: [roll0]

[Lycanthromancer]

Terran's canine form instantly doubles in size, and he shakes off some of the worms, his wounds (what can be seen of them within the pile) mending a bit as he does.

With a grunt of intense concentration, Terran disappears in a flash of light and electricity, leaving the mass of worms to collapse in on itself. His body reforms 30 feet away in a similar flash, his fur matted with blood and gore, and flaps of skin hanging from his frame where the muscles beneath are mildly visible. He seemingly shrugs off his injuries, and lopes away from the monster with haste.

The teeming swarm of worms hisses as it engorges itself, enraged that its intended victim is no longer within its grasp. It balloons to twice its previous size, and moves toward the technicolor ball of light, its next intended target.

Vitri moves away a few feet, spins with a glare of different colors, and fires two more beams of light, both of which pass harmlessly through the tumbling, squirming throng. The swarm takes advantage of a hole in Vitri's defenses and swats at him with a wickedly carved slab of what looks like blackened petrified wood. Vitri dodges the swipe.

"Your mama was a tapeworm!" he taunts.

Meanwhile, the rest of the fleeing creatures scurry out of sight.

Everybody make a Perception check!

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
As Aghihoti moves around the cave, searching for a way out, he finds power swelling within him. Raising his hand, a channel opens - a thin slice in the fabric of the plane opens in front of his palm, and extends forwards, out towards the Worm that Walks.

Eldritch Blast

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Lycanthromancer]

Handfuls of worms go flying as Aghihoti's energy tears into its central mass.

Meanwhile, Nerein sees more pools of blood: one to her far right, and one straight ahead. She can see that the slope of the cave gets steeper the farther back she goes.

[Fishy]

Galatea charges through the pool of acidic gore, which bubbles aroung her legs and hisses smoke. Some distant part of her mind registers the damage, drowned out by the screaming need to escape from the horror at the cave mouth. The scaborous wound in the wall triggers a memory of the only thing she can confidently say she's done, the only thing she might be good at- clawing her way to freedom through dead and bloody flesh.

Three of Galatea's fingers are scultped from one piece of stone, permanently forming a graceful, caressing gesture from her hand- which she can nevertheless swing with the force of a piledriver. She slams the heel of her hand against the wounded wall, and sparks fly. Brilliant lines of power flash down the length of her arms, following some unseen tracery, ore, or circuits under her skin.

For her trouble, she gets a burst of acid to the face. And that one hurt.

[Lycanthromancer]

Archibald, sitting atop Galatea's comely pate (and doing his best not to be noticed by the walking mass of worms), says nothing as he's sprayed with acidic ichor, too scared to make any noise at all. The flood of blood begins gushing into the cavern, quickly overflowing its banks, and threatens to fill the entire cave within minutes.

Nerein hears Petrydan muttering squeaky obscenities under his breath as he flies past her, scurrying further into the cave on his small rodent-like legs. He can see that there is a large pool of acidic blood straight ahead, bubbling away as it seeps slowly from the cavern walls.

Terran blocks the crawling mass's path towards the bhuka, growling, "Quick, Vitri, head back into the cave. Light their way! Out!" He concentrates for a moment, beams of fire shooting from his eyes into the towering mass of worms. The swarm shunts to the side, leaving the flames to sear the cave's ceiling.

In response, the worms turn from the glowing ball of light, and approach the wolf. They lash out with a heavy pseudopod, hitting Terran squarely. Terran yelps, and is engulfed in the yawning mass. The whimpering cuts off, and a pool of blood leaks out from under the swarm, drooling its way under Aghihoti's feet.

Aghihoti and Vitri both feel waves of nausea and horror as they watch their newly-made friend's final moment and heroic sacrifice, but with some effort they manage to swallow the feeling.

Vitri morosely hovers for a moment, and with a gentle, "Goodbye, friend Terran," he zooms across the cave, heading deeper in. "Come on, guys! Unless you want to gang up on that thing, let's get outta here!"

[Fishy]

Galatea takes another spurt of acrid blood to where here eyeballs would be if she had any.

"That was... Surprisingly invigorating," she notes, and shakes her head, flicking the worst of it off of her face and turning to face the mass of worms. "Archibald," she announces to her invisible hat as she strides out of the pool of gore and into harm's way, "I believe you're going to want to get off of my head. Now."

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
Aghihoti scrambles away from the monster, turning and firing off another of the strange rifts in the cosmos at the creature as he nears Galatea and Archibald.

[roll0] attack, [roll1] damage

[Sallera]

Nerein

With some effort, Nerein finally turns around and heads back toward the worm. The gem flashes as she raises her arm, and a small, faintly glowing globe of water forms in her hand. Droplets of water spray out in all directions as she closes her hand, and a fine mist coats everything in range. "Flow calmly, friends," she murmurs, and the drops fade, although the feeling of their presence remains.

[Gorgondantess]

Archiblad crawls down near Galatea's ear. "And I believe you are underestimating me, my dear. I would advise you not make that mistake again." If he were not invisible, one would see him hovering before the statue woman, wings flared and teeth bared.

[Lycanthromancer]

The wound caused by the graceful statue's fierce punch continues gushing unabated, continuing to fill the East side of the room with hissing acid. It flows out of its pool and down farther into the cave.

The Little Furball that Couldn't hears the carnage behind him, and runs further into the cave, skirting along the bank of what looks like an underground lake of blood. It fizzes and bubbles, and smells as acrid as the smaller pools seem to be. He spies a passageway to his right, hidden in the shadows cast by Vitri, and he veers in, hiding himself securely in the edge between the wall and the floor. He wills himself to seem naught but a fuzzy brown mole growing from the writhing flesh of the cavern floor, and holds as still as he can, hoping to go unnoticed.

The worms, gorged with blood and flesh after their feast, slither away from the stripped carcass of what was once a vibrant, living beast. Bloody bones clatter to the ground, the skull perched atop them like a macabre party ornament. The swarm rolls toward the stalwart bhuka and the elegant lady, and slams itself into the floor, which bucks and roils with the force of the blow. Both manage to hold their feet, however, though the statue's flailing hand smacks Archibald of the Hat square in the face.

Vitri hears his friends' cries, and spins, floating toward Nerein. "What's happening? Stay near me; I'll try to protect you as best I can."

[Fishy]

"It spat out the bones," Galatea explains to the empty air in front of her. "That means I can stop it. I have to try."

And with that, Galatea throws herself at the monster. Her fist sinks in up to the elbow, then her shoulder, her face- then her entire body is engulfed by the writhing maggots, all of them trying to sink their teeth into her fleshless form. She keeps moving, swinging her arms wildly, pulverizing the mass from the inside, and when she bursts through, her expression of stony serenity hasn't changed an inch.

[Sallera]

Nerein

Hoping that the creature remains distracted, Nerein moves in closer, exhaling a burst of acid at the near edge of the mass.

[Lycanthromancer]

Still shivering with cowardice, the electric rat continues to hide, wedging himself as tightly within the space as he can get.

Meanwhile, the imp growls silently at the incompetence of his so-called allies, and decides to take matters into his own clawed hands. He flaps his wings in a hard thrust, propelling himself toward the ceiling. Calling upon the unholy powers hidden in his frail form, he transmutes his flesh into a chittering, chitinous spider, and latches onto the ceiling. Still invisible, he prepares to ensnare his soon-to-be prey.

Threatened as it is by the beautiful statue, the mass of worms edges away, retracting from its massive stone obelisk, and swings it against Galatea. She calmly slides to the side about half a foot, and it slams into the ground, leaving a pool of ichor that quickly recedes.

Vitri calls out, "Yes! Finally some teamwork! Let's fry this guy!" and he flits forward toward the worms. He lashes out with another fiery blast...which misses terribly. "Oops! I didn't hit anyone, did I?"

The acidic blood continues to overflow, threatening to flow over Aghihoti's feet and melt his flesh. It fills more of the cave, though mostly farther in.

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
Aghihoti moves around behind Vitri, and unleashes another of his strange attacks.

[Sallera]

Nerein

Carefully circling away from the pool of blood, Nerein hovers behind Galatea, waiting for a chance to get close enough to help.

[Lycanthromancer]

Archibald Niccolo de Montrose, currently in the guise of a horrific-looking (though invisible) man-sized spider, scuttles forward, arcing his thorax forward and squirting liquid webbing at the flesh-eating worms, which quickly solidifies into sticky strands. Even though the webbing is transparent, the swarm still attempts to dodge, but he catches it squarely. The webbing fades into view, becoming visible, at last, as does the imp-turned-spider.

Everyone else on the field sees a spider the size of a big wolf (though not as big as Terran was before his death). It clings to the ceiling, dripping venom.

The worms struggle to retain their mobility as they writhe against each other in the mass. Despite this, a tendril lashes out, engulfing Galatea; the mass as a whole rolls over her, grinding into her stone-like flesh, and moving a bit farther. She becomes only intermittently visible as she struggles through the arthropods.

Vitri, again horrified at a friend being devoured, cries out. "Oh no! Galatea, hold on!" And he fires two beams at the broiling mass. One misses its mark horribly, scorching the floor with a self-cauterizing wound. The other hits its mark squarely, but the worms shift, exposing Galatea in waves; she takes the brunt of the damage, the beam leaving scorch-marks on her stony skin. "Oh, I'm sorry! PleaseDon'tDiePleaseDon'tDiePleaseDon'tDie!"

[Sallera]

Nerein

Every instinct tells the mephling to flee as the mass of worms surges closer, but she stays still instead, ducking under a flailing tendril. Vitri's attack, misaimed as it is, still exposes Galatea's position, and the gem in her wrist flashes as she calls out. "I can't get to you! Can you make it out of there?" Soft blue light suffuses the mephling's skin as she holds up her left hand, and she visibly tenses with the effort of remaining where she is as she watches for a chance to release the spell.

[Lycanthromancer]

The bhuka rends the fabric of the plane, taking utmost care not to hit his companion. The force of the concussion blows apart what is left of the writhing mass, its bulk collapsing into a heap of dead worms, revealing Galatea's battered form within them. Those that were blown clear begin crawling in all directions, with most burrowing into the diseased flesh of the ground. The worms burrowing next to the acidic pools begin sizzling and steaming as the acid dissolves them, but some of the ones nearer the entrance seem to remain unharmed.

The force of the blast also flings the carven obelisk into the air; it embeds itself into the ceiling, spraying inert ichor over everyone below.

In any case, the mass of worms is finally defeated.

The danger is not past yet, as the party is confronted by a massive venomous spider, and the cave is still rapidly flooding with bloody acid!

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
(just description of the final attack)
Aghihoti raises his hands, and concentrates deeply, aiming his shot carefully away from Galatea. In this moment, something "clicks", and he sees his shot perfectly - a writhing bundle of worms, clustered such that his blast can slice through a great majority of them. He holds his breath as he feels the rift between planes open before him, and he watches, as time seems to dilate, the beam extends and rips into the worms, shattering the coherency of the swarm and sending worms scurrying.

Aghihoti smiles grimly at his success, and turns to face the Abyssal spider that had joined the fray.

[Gorgondantess]

...And the giant spider succinctly transforms into the domineering devil we all know and love. It regards Vitri, arms crossed. "Of course she's not dead, you irrelevant irradiation, despite your futile attempts' possibly hastening her to that end. Now end your simpering and let's get on with things. Who have we lost?"
He lands near Galatea, examining the damage to his mount.

[Fishy]

The still-technically-nameless statue accepts Nerein's hand and her spell, but is careful not to lean on the mephling as she climbs to her feet. She's lightly dusted in crushed maggots and fried gore, and her joints make distressing scraping sounds as she moves, but she seems to still be in one piece.

Or rather, all of her separate pieces are still touching.

"Too many," she says, darkly, "And we're still counting. We need to get out of here- and don't touch the blood if you can help it."

[Sallera]

Nerein

"The cave seems to head downward further back there... I don't know if it matters." The mephling waves a hand around at the walls. "Makes me feel like we're walking down some creature's throat, though."

She eyes the statue as she moves, looking over cautiously. "I'm sorry, I can't tell... are you alright? I can try that spell again if you like."

[Fishy]

The statue waves Nerein off. "I'm fine. But thank you, dear. And I don't like it either, but that's where the rest of us went- I'm not letting us lose anyone else."

And with that, she sets off as fast as her stony legs can carry her, skirting the edge of the pool of blood as she makes her way deeper into the cave.

[Gorgondantess]

Archie steps (or, more accurately, flies) forwards, and out into the darkness. "As the designated leader of this group and doubtlessly the most resourceful individual here, I'll take point." With that, he fades into invisibility, and flies on ahead.

[Lycanthromancer]

Vitri spins for a second or two, and hovers near the others. "How is it that such a small body can have such a big head?"

He bobs for a second and floats deeper into the cave. "I suggest we hurry; this place is going to be an underground bloodbank before much longer."

[Sallera]

Nerein

"Well, he has to be good for something," mutters Nerein as she sets off after the others, keeping to a position near the rear of the group and frequently glancing back toward the now unsealed room.

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"Agreed, it be de time fer movin'."

What's the status on the cave entrance?

[Fishy]

Galatea

Galatea finds herself staring intently at the space Archibald occupied before turning invisible. She can no longer see or hear him, but if she pushes herself, she can just barely feel something 'solid' in his general direction. "Our fearless leader went that way," she informs the rest of the group, and takes off after him, striding her stony legs as fast as she can.

[Lycanthromancer]

Aghihoti glances back at the cave's entrance, but all he can see is the soft red glow of the hellish sky filtering into the unlit cavern, and the sizzling blue-white barrier is nowhere in evidence. The lonesome pile of bones that was once a vibrant, healthy-looking wolf seem all the more desolate under that crimson luminescence.

The party skirts south along the western wall, where the ground is highest. The quickly-narrowing band of passable ground dips in a few places, where thin rivulets are easily bypassed with a short hop. The flesh beneath your feet tapers downward as you pass deeper into the cave. You notice to your left a large pool of blood that sizzles just like the acid the stone-girl released from the wall; the flood pours into the pool, and the level of the liquid does not rise...perhaps there's a means of drainage somewhere, as there are several places where the wall or ceiling drips heavily into the pool, and yet the cave is not flooded. To your right there are a number of indents into the wall, many of which seem to go on quite a ways out of sight; others end only a few feet in, and yet others turn a bend that you cannot see around. Ahead, the path you follow stretches beyond your darkvision.

There is no sign of any of the other creatures that shared this cave with you not long ago.

What order and configuration is the party in? (http://www.editgrid.com/user/lycanthromancer/MarchingOrder)

[Sallera]

Nerein

Trailing at the back of the group, the mephling watches the path behind them as it slowly floods. "That flow doesn't seem to be stopping. I don't like the idea of leaving all these tunnels behind, but I'd rather not end up trapped in one either. Is there any sign up there of whether the blood's just coming from one side?"

[Lycanthromancer]

The party passes along the wall made of flesh, the ground squirming unnervingly under each of their footfalls. The ridge that projects above the pools of blood continues on for some time, widening here and there before narrowing again. The farther you tread the more brown, bulbous growths you see protruding from the walls, ceiling, and floor, with long brown strands growing out of them.

Perception checks:
Nerein [roll0]
Aghihoti [roll1]
Galatea [roll2]
Archibald [roll3]

Everyone but Galatea:
You hear a faint, rhythmic thumping sound that reverberates through the fleshy surfaces around you.

[DragoonWraith]

What's the frequency of those rumblings? Basically, does it sound more like something walking, or running? Or is that not how it sounds at all?

[Lycanthromancer]

What's the frequency of those rumblings? Basically, does it sound more like something walking, or running? Or is that not how it sounds at all?

It's a slow, steady, deep-seated, tell-tale beating.

[edit] Also, everyone notices that the walls and floor seem to swell and bulge every 10 seconds or so. Not so much that it threatens to knock anyone down, but you do have to be a bit more careful to keep your equilibrium.

[DragoonWraith]

OK, so it's a heart? Interesting...

Generic d20 roll to see if Aghihoti realizes this: [roll0] - apply whatever modifiers are appropriate, I assume it's a Knowledge check of some kind, maybe?

[Lycanthromancer]

OK, so it's a heart? Interesting...

Generic d20 roll to see if Aghihoti realizes this: [roll0] - apply whatever modifiers are appropriate, I assume it's a Knowledge check of some kind, maybe?

He does. The source of the beating is indeterminate, but you do seem to be getting closer as you head in this general direction.

[DragoonWraith]

Aghithoti
"Wait, make wit da quiet. Do ya be hearin' dat? Sounds... like we be walkin' a great ol' heart, an' sounds like dis one be racin' a bit dere... and seems ta be gettin' more excited da fartha' we go. Wheda' dat be good or no, I not be knowin'."

[Lycanthromancer]

DMPC Vitri
The globe of light stops and hovers in midair, apparently listening intently.

"You know, I think he's right. That sounds like a heart, and a huge one if it's beating so loud we can hear it. Sounds like it's coming from ahead. Now the question is, should we head toward it, or try to avoid it?"

He floats closer to one of the walls as it swells in its periodic rhythm. The light he gives off illuminates the near-gangrenous flesh, showing what look to be brownish-black veins pulsating through it, which are difficult to see without a light-source near to, and impossible to see in the dark, even with darkvision.

"I also don't like the looks of this. Is it just me or does the flesh seem to be getting even more sickly as we head in this direction? The blood back there seemed to be almost healthy, if acidic. This just looks disease-ridden. I'd suggest that you guys not touch the walls or floor with bare skin if you can avoid it, but...err..."

Vitri shrugs...kind of. As much as a ball of light without shoulders can, of course.

[Fishy]

Galatea

"... Is that what that is?" Galatea doesn't have first-hand knowledge of heartbeats, but she'll take Vitri and Aghithoti's word for it.

The statue doesn't slow down to inspect the walls, though- she's having enough trouble keeping up as it is. "The Worm came from outside," she notes, "I would guess that anything that's bad for this creature is bad for us."

[Sallera]

Nerein

The nameless mephling shivers as she walks along the ridge, continually glancing back the way they came. "Knew it felt like we were being eaten. Doesn't leave us with much of a choice, though, does it? Outside into the battlefield, or down toward the centre of some strange creature... or, well, some sort of creature-like cave. Hard to tell the difference in a place like this."

Shrugging, she waves a hand in the general direction of the sound's source with a resigned sigh. "Better an unknown fate than certain death, right? And I suspect that we could wander around down here for a long time without some sort of guidance."

[Fishy]

Galatea

The stoic statue dutifully follows her invisible leader further and further into the darkness, but as the distant heartbeat grows stronger and louder, pulsing under her feet, Galatea's stride falters- then gradually slows down to a complete stop.

"Archibald? While I'm certain you have a plan to save us all and are leading us unerringly towards wherever we're going," she says, her voice as pleasant but expressionless as her face, "I don't intend to leave here until we've at least found out what became of the others. And the closer we get to that heart, the more... unsettling this place becomes."

"Vitri?" she beckons the ball of light over, and slowly turns to inspect the various fleshy passageways with his glow. "If I were small, and frightened, and looking for a place to hide... That way," she says, picking the narrowest but healthiest-looking artery, leading away from the noise and motion, and takes the lead.

[Sallera]

Nerein

"Um..." The mephling looks hesitantly between the main path and the statue's rapidly retreating back for a few moments, then turns and follows, easily catching up and staying a few feet behind. "Let's just not take too many turns, alright? We haven't got anything to orient ourselves by yet..."

[Fishy]

Galatea

"You're right," the statue notes- "Although, I wonder..."

Moving a little ways back towards the intersection, the stone woman kneels down, facing the way she plans to go- "Be ready with a healing spell in case this doesn't work-" and she slaps her hand against the fleshy floor, sizzling with power.

[DragoonWraith]

Assuming it works as intended:

Aghihoti
"Ah, dis stone woman is wise 'yond 'er years. Well done!"

[Lycanthromancer]

Vitri bobs over to where the stony creature beckons, shining his pleasing glow over the various side-passages. "I'm glad somebody thought about this. I'd hate to see anybody get lost down here alone, let alone a small and frightened child."

There is a spray of blood as the statue scorches the floor, but the sizzling electrical discharge quickly cauterize the wound. She leaves hand-prints in the sickly, slowly billowing flesh, pointing the way that the party is headed.

The floor bucks where struck, and a low rumble sounds from somewhere above. Everyone standing on the floor is knocked off-balance a bit, but nobody is hurt.

Vitri's glow turns rosy and warm. "Thank you, Miss...uh...something. I know you don't remember much, but is there something we can call you? There's Archibald of course (like anybody could forget), and Terran (may he rest in peace), and Aghihoti there, but I don't think either of you ladies has a name yet.

"I might suggest 'Galatea' for you, dear lady of the earth. It means statuesque in Celestial, which covers you quite well, I think.

"And as for you, pretty lady..." Here he bobs toward the mephling. "...may we call you 'Nerein'? That's song of the sea in Aquan, and it does have a nice ring, yes?"

[Fishy]

Kneeling close to the floor and being made of stone, the elemental isn't physically unsetttled by the tremor. Nevertheless, "I think I ought to be careful about how often I do that..."

"'Galatea'?" says Galatea, as she climbs to her feet. It seems to fit as well as anything else does. "If it makes things more convenient, then I'll answer to it." A pause. "I apologize- I mean to say, it's a lovely name, Vitri, and thank you for it."

"But let's keep going- I think we have a lot of ground to cover."

[Sallera]

Nerein

The mephling tilts her head slightly, as if considering. After a minute, she nods once, then sets off after Galatea. "It'll do. Let's go."

[DragoonWraith]

Aghihoti
"Aye, dat 'tis. We best movin' some ways, metinks." Aghihoti follows the path Galatea has indicated for them.