(Nexus): A Crack in Time Plot Thread

[Hattish Thing]

This is a plot thread for A Crack in Time, a story I'm Gming. It is a closed thread, and I have already gotten players. I don't want very many so that I can actually finish this plot in good time. :smalltongue:

So, without further ado...

Players: Fishkiller, Aric_Kale. Accepting one more player.

Giant's Cradle-Four Months Ago

Giant's Cradle is a small island outside the Mainland, Sylethia. It's a pretty island, but not one that gets many tourists due to it's main income being mining, and the strange and usually hostile animals that are native here. The island is cold, and there is a great snowy mountain located at the end of the island, Called Giant's Peak. There are only two towns located on the island, Homestead, which is a small town, and Giant's Toe. Giant's Toe is the much larger town, located at the bottom of the mountain. The temperature is a cold forty degrees, but it gets colder the closer you get to the mountain. The miners at Giant's Cradle mine for a purple crystal, harder than diamond and extremely absorbent of magic called Cyrstallis. The technology here is very much rural, and a simple blunderbuss is an artifact to these people.

The miners send the crystals they mine to Giant's Toe, where the crates of crystals are sent to the mainland by the Airship Port located on top of the mountain. They have a very simple life. Mining and farming, and making a decent profit. The mines are owned by a company native to the mainland called Frontier Industries. Their company is a famous one for inventing gunpowder a mere year ago, and for now selling lightbulbs and electricity to people all over. They invented the phone, a way to harness electricity... even laser and futuristic technology, in a span of ten years... How, is anyone's guess. Their company is rich and powerful, and they are the ones that pay the miner's, and make the real money off of the Cyrstallis. It has been this way for many years.

However, things changed.

Ms. Angelina May stands outside of the Main Mine. She looks very upset, but even then very beautiful. Her hair is long and black, and reaches to her waist. She wears a wide brimmed black hat with a purple feather sticking out of it. She's currently wearing a black fur coat, and is gripping herself tightly to preserve heat. Besides her stands her underling and friend, an older looking man with a grey ponytail, and a black business suit. They are both looking into a large cage, and inside is a hulking abomination of a creature.... They glare at it slowly, as it growls and roars. Around them are about twelve Frontier Guards, walking about and guarding the two. A miner is on his knees in front of the cage and speaking to them.

He has long blonde hair, and grey overalls. He frowns and speaks in a panic. M'name's Jeremiah Fray. I am sorry, miss... There was nothing we could do. The mine collapsed on us after it was freed... When it escaped, it was like an earthquake had started... everythin' was shakin' and the walls were fallin'. I'm the only survivor, I was close to the exit... Ms, we need to go back! Some of them might still be alive! He begs and speaks passionately. Ms. May looks down at the man and begins to speak. Her voice is crisp and orderly. Hah. It was just an accident, understand? Survivors... You are the only survivor, no one else is alive. Understand? What happened was, this thing was let loose. You tell no one about what really happened, or else. You say that this creature had walked in and attacked. You will recieve a pay raise for your cooperation, Mr. Fray.

She nods and Mr. Fray gets up and begins his walk to Homestead, to see his wife and son. As soon as he's gone and out of listening distance, Ms. May. speaks out. Alright, good. Executive Walters, I'll need you to pay a phone call to our friend in Serinet Bastion. Have him begin his mission. Also... Now that the Spirit has escaped, we'll need to have the Acolytes of ours attempt to gather it's location. The older man in the suit nods and takes out his cell phone. He moves away for a while, and Ms. May moves up to the beast. She taps a bar on the cage and the thing growls and roars and scratches the cage. She moves back and announces her orders. Alright. Bring it down there, then release it. It'll stay down there and eat away at the corpses of the miners. Handler's, go ahead. She then takes her two bodyguards wielding massive guns, and waves at Executive Walter, who gets off the phone. The four begin walking away from the site....


The Location of the Players

Suddenly, from wherever the players may be in The Nexus, there is a pull as if something has attempted to teleport them... Wherever the players are, they might begin to feel something pulling them to Giant's Cradle, and they will see their bodies begin to fade out before reappearing here.... (I will PM each of you the exact details of how.)

Anyway, supposing that works, you will all appear in a glade, on the side of the island opposite of Giant's Peak Mountain.

The party appears in the sheltered glade, due to The Spirit. “You all suddenly reappear in a glade, where many trees form shelter from the sun. You have never even seen this place, and have no clue how you got here. All you can remember is a bluish-white light begin to shine on you, and felt yourself evaporating and reappearing here. As you suddenly flash into The Sheltered Glade, it becomes evident other people are here as well. You all look around and see each other. You all have looks of confusion and bewilderment. You do not recognize each other. You also see a small creature floating in the air. It’s a small creature that looks like a plump fairy except it has no wings and gives off a faint white aura. It waves in a show that it means no harm. It sits there and floats, it doesn't seem to be able to speak beyond squeaks.

[Aric Kale]

Giant's Something or Other

Poof!

A man appears, blue and white sparks swirling around him as he fades back.into existence...
He also begins to feel very strong.
This man is Aric, Crown Prince of the ruined kingdom of Alleble and the last to wield Murynstil. He is tall, strong and athletic with shoulder length blond hair and a rather stunning goatee.
His armor is simple; chain mail and a humble, yet sturdy, cotton tunic and a pair of pants.
his armament is a bit more complex. It consists of a sheathed dagger, (Wakizashi) a round shield, about two feet around, and a spear. The material of all these weapons is a pearlescent metal called Murynstil. It is much sturdier than steel and had the property to absorb and reflect magic and energy based attacks. The shield has runes carved upon it to deny the first part, causing it to merely deflect. It also has the Crest of House Kale: A purple orchid bordered in white, set on a black background.

tl;dr
Aric's here, check Avatar to see his smexiness.

[Felandria]

Felandria poofs next to Aric.

Having not expected to make such a journey, she is not wearing her normal adventuring gear, but instead jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers.

At least she has her wands with her, along with her pouch of spell materials.

She sees Aric next to her and reduces herself to human sized to introduce herself.

Hello.

Any idea what's going on?

[Hattish Thing]

Okay, the posting order shall be

Aric_Kale

Felandria

Fishkiller (Who Pmed me saying she'd need a week, so we'll have to wait a little while until her exams finish.)

Alright, this is a purely OOC post here, to help us all understand the way I'll run combat for this.

I would like health points, and a list of attacks. ( Ex, Aric: 25 Hp, Fearblaze Dagger, etc, etc, etc.)

It is your character, so you decide how sturdy you are. Just, remember.. If this was a game you'd be at level one, so nothing too strong just yet! Everyone's health increases by ten per level up, and level ups occur when I believe a character has matured and gained valuable wisdom.

:smallsmile:

Also, everyone will be receiving a special PM containing a vision each character will have.

[Felandria]

Alright.

Felandria

HP: 32

Attacks: Magic Missile
Shocking Grasp
Slam

Abilities: Size Alteration

[FishKiller]

Ellyri appears beside the other two, obviously startled and shooken up. She likes to keep her feet on the ground, where they belong. Once her feet are back on land, she looks up. Her eyes dart around the glade, taking in her surroundings, before noticing the blonde prince and the tall red-headed girl to his left.

She pushes her long brown hair back from her face and looks at them with curious eyes. They're obviously very different in appearance, but she can't help but notice they both carry subtle, but no less impressive, weapons on them. She moves her hand away from the arrow pouch strapped to her hip, but maintains her tight grip on the bow in her left hand, her only source of protection(not that it'd help much if the woman decided to use those wands on her, of course).

Before she can ask what's happened, a small light catches her eye and she finds herself looking at a small, fairy-like creature floating a few feet in front of them. She is transfixed by the entity, but seeing as it means no harm, she decides to focus instead on where she is and who the people standing next to her are. Judging by their confused expressions, she assumes they were transported here by similar methods.

I take it you guys are as confused as I am... Any clue what this cute little thing is(referring to the floating creature that is now giving off a pretty white aura)? I'm Ellyri, by the way. You can call me Ellie, if you'd like.

[Hattish Thing]

Felandria poofs next to Aric.

Having not expected to make such a journey, she is not wearing her normal adventuring gear, but instead jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers.

At least she has her wands with her, along with her pouch of spell materials.

She sees Aric next to her and reduces herself to human sized to introduce herself.

Hello.

Any idea what's going on?


Giant's Something or Other

Poof!

A man appears, blue and white sparks swirling around him as he fades back into existence...
He also begins to feel very strong.
This man is Aric, Crown Prince of the ruined kingdom of Alleble and the last to wield Murynstil. He is tall, strong and athletic with shoulder length blond hair and a rather stunning goatee.
His armor is simple; chain mail and a humble, yet sturdy, cotton tunic and a pair of pants.
his armament is a bit more complex. It consists of a sheathed dagger, (Wakizashi) a round shield, about two feet around, and a spear. The material of all these weapons is a pearlescent metal called Murynstil. It is much sturdier than steel and had the property to absorb and reflect magic and energy based attacks. The shield has runes carved upon it to deny the first part, causing it to merely deflect. It also has the Crest of House Kale: A purple orchid bordered in white, set on a black background.

tl;dr
Aric's here, check Avatar to see his smexiness.


Ellyri appears beside the other two, obviously startled and shooken up. She likes to keep her feet on the ground, where they belong. Once her feet are back on land, she looks up. Her eyes dart around the glade, taking in her surroundings, before noticing the blonde prince and the tall red-headed girl to his left.

She pushes her long brown hair back from her face and looks at them with curious eyes. They're obviously very different in appearance, but she can't help but notice they both carry subtle, but no less impressive, weapons on them. She moves her hand away from the arrow pouch strapped to her hip, but maintains her tight grip on the bow in her left hand, her only source of protection(not that it'd help much if the woman decided to use those wands on her, of course).

Before she can ask what's happened, a small light catches her eye and she finds herself looking at a small, fairy-like creature floating a few feet in front of them. She is transfixed by the entity, but seeing as it means no harm, she decides to focus instead on where she is and who the people standing next to her are. Judging by their confused expressions, she assumes they were transported here by similar methods.

I take it you guys are as confused as I am... Any clue what this cute little thing is(referring to the floating creature that is now giving off a pretty white aura)? I'm Ellyri, by the way. You can call me Ellie, if you'd like.

The cute little thing seems to look like a very chubby female fairy, but not fat enough to be off-putting, but fat enough to be extremely cute. It wiggles it's arms as it hovers through the air, apparently unable to talk. The Glade is very pretty, large trees covering the small sanctuary, though the leaves are fading and dying away due to Winter having arrived recently. The grass is pretty tall, and is that light blonde color that only prairie grasses seem to have.

An interested family of prairie dogs watches from atop a rock, and chatter softly, though they seem to be on edge for some reason... There's no snow falling yet, but dark clouds slowly, and lazily move ever closer to cover the sun. They won't be there for a while, so the storm won't be happening too soon.

There is a path leading out of The Sheltered Glade, though the path is dirt and grass and wild potato plants have covered most of it. The party members can look ahead and see past the tall grass there are a few trees that loom over the path, and on a hill even farther ahead, is a small town built. It's a while away, and would take about an hour to walk to, but the day is very pleasant and the temperature is fair. All in all, it's an absolutely beautiful day.

The Spirit hovers and looks at the party, before moving closer and looking over them. It doesn't motion for them to move, but rather to keep talking. It also will point at Aric, motioning for him to say something... IT must have told him something in the vision?

[Aric Kale]

Aric looks up as the Giantess appears and shrinks before his eyes. He's about to reply to her question when Ellyri joins them. He doesn't even bat an eye, obviously an experienced campaigner.

Suddenly, the adorably chubby fairy creature looks him eye to eye. He falls to his knees, gasping for breath, I-I see a sea of sand, with a massive library full of books, A hot desert sand is shining brightly over a dark horizon. There's a library...it's ransacked, windows broken and pillars cracked...and there's an ancient, evil presence hiding somewhere.
Now I hear a voice...
There is an ancient evil, hidden... It is a true heroes duty. But this will come later, but soon you will reach your greatest challenge. Help me, save me, protect me from the woman.

Aric shakes his head and stands to his feet...
Well, that's a first...
Hello friends, I'm Aric and I believe we have a quest.

[Felandria]

Felandria extends a hand to Aric.

Name's Felandria.

Well, it seems the three of us are in this together, whatever this is.

She turns to Ellyri.

And your name?

[FishKiller]

Just call me Ellie. Pleasure to meet both of you.

She nods slightly and pulls her bow sling around to put it away, feeling no threat from Aric or Felandria, but now slightly wary of the mysterious creature. Aric doesn't seem to be hurt at all, though he certainly seemed a bit startled by the images it placed in his head. Which is more than she can say for how she reacted to the vision that appeared to her.

The millions of bright lights that all simutaneously lit up before her would've caused her to jump out of her skin, had she not already been out of her skin, in a sense. She saw a great tower looming over a blindingly bright town, intimidating and powerful. But not as powerful as the woman overlooking it all...

A quest, huh? Ellie's eyes brightened up, excited for the mission to come, and no doubt happy to forget about the eerily mysterious woman and the overwhelming magical lights she'd seen in her vision, at least for the time being. I'm in.

[Hattish Thing]

The Sheltered Glade, Giant's Cradle

The Spirit simply continues it's floating, and the pleasant weather continues to be very soothing. A brisk wind passes through, causing the tall grass to move like a wave. Leaves fall all around them, and butterflies fly through the air.

[Aric Kale]

Aric smiles, his face is warm and friendly as he takes Felandria's hand and lightly kisses it in the most knightly and courtly of manners.
He bows to Ellie, A pleasure indeed.
Now, shall we venture down the path? Though I will regret leaving this place, pleasant as it is...
He waits to see their responses.

[Felandria]

Felandria nods.

Should we...

She falls to her knees and clutches her head, breathing heavily.

The church....

The windows, the doors, all destroyed....

Find Felran, he knows....

Serinet Bastion.

Felandria exhales in relief and gets to her feet.

Either of you know where that is?

[FishKiller]

A library, and now a church? Could this have anything to do with the woman in my vision? Ellie wonders.

Perhaps we should make our way to that town over there? She gestures towards a small town about an hour's walk from where they are currently. It looks nice enough... For now, anyways.

Suddenly, they notice the clouds getting darker in the sky and a cool breeze blows through The Glade, sending shivers down Ellyri's spine. She did not anticipate a voyage of any sort and her little amount of clothing, though modest enough, showed her lack of preparation.

I don't think this weather will be so pleasant for much longer...

[Hattish Thing]

The Sheltered Glade, Giant's Cradle

The Spirit nods at Ellie, apparently agreeing with her. It nods and will attempt to tug slowly at Aric's clothing.

The wind is still nice enough, and the weather is okay.. But it is getting colder, and it will probably be snowing later. The path is a worn dirt one, and Ellie (Due to her hunting skills) might be able to track and see a man had ran up this path earlier today.

[Aric Kale]

Aric agrees and will let Ellyri take the lead, due to her superior tracking skills. He also appear to be greatly amused by the chubfairy.

[Felandria]

Felandria follows close behind, hoping it doesn't get too cold.

[FishKiller]

As Ellyri leads them down the path, she notices that a man's footprints have been left in the dirt, leading in the opposite direction. He appears to have been in a hurry, judging by how far apart his footprints are...

How odd, she thinks. There isn't much to be running to, other than that little glade, though I don't see why someone would be in such a rush to get there...

She turns to Aric and Felandria. They haven't noticed the footprints, but they seem to be a bit nervous, or maybe they're just cold. She decides it'd be best not to worry them. After all, they're just footprints. Maybe this man wanted some peace and quiet and decided to make a little trip to the woods to meditate. That's understandable.

The town is not much farther. We'll find a place to stay there until the storm that is brewing has passed. Once there, we can try to make sense of all this...

[Hattish Thing]

The Path to Homestead (The Town), Giant's Cradle

As the curious and spooked group advances up the path, they might feel a little bit... unnerved. There doesn't seem to be much wildlife out, which is very, very odd for an island like this, full of plants and homes for the animals. A few insects buzz around the new friends ears, and they might get a few mosquito bites, but nothing too bad.

There's a tree up ahead, and after about forty minutes of walking with nothing really happening, they'll come across a large tree, with an old man up it. He's clinging desperately on a thick branch, his travelers clothes ripped up a bit from something, and his farmers straw cap teeters on his head. AH! Stay away from me! Find your own tree! The animals are going crazy! Get away from me! You might attract more of the things! Get away, town’s up ahead, but I couldn't get back…there’s a horde of those things prowling the roads…

He growls and shrieks, pointing at about five nasty little things jumping up and down at the bottom of the tree. They look like wild cats, but have much larger teeth and claws. They're only a bit larger than a housecat, but froth at the mouth as well. They charge at the group! Each has 7 HP.

[Aric Kale]

Aric hums a jolly tone in an attempt to lighten the mood. He doesn't appear to be chilled by the drop in temperatures, but prolonged time spent outdoors could definitely change that.
He does take careful note of the lack of other noises, though Aric appears to have not a care in the world...
He's about to ask Ellyri how her tracking is coming when they come across man in a tree.
Have no worries, good sir, we mean you no trouble. If you come down from that tree we can keep you safe.
Ha! It would appear that Aric gets to put his words to the test.

Aric lunges for the center most beast, thrusting with his spear. It's a fairly basic attack.

[Felandria]

Felandria reaches out and uses Shocking Grasp on the one nearest to her.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri's lack of preparation is displayed, yet again, as she jabs at one of the feral felines with one of her arrows. She makes a mental note to make some weapons when she gets a chance. The arrows would have very little effect, had they not been doused in poison.

You know, if these things weren't foaming at the mouth and weren't, you know, attacking us, they might be kind of cute.

[Hattish Thing]

Path to Homestead, Giant's Cradle

The carnivorous feline attackers lunge and charge for the group, two on Ellyri, two on Flandria, and one on Aric. The animals are first hurt by the group, as follows. The first on Ellyrie gets jabbed in the eye, and begins to feel rather tired... His brain is hurt badly, and the poison is injected right into his bloodstream, it howls angrily before lying down and falling into the grass, mewling in pain.

The wild cat on Aric is effectively harpooned! Poor thing has a bloody spear through it's chest, which pierces it's heart, and it keels over and does in a bloody mess.

Felandria will hit as well, grabbing it and electrifying it, but not quite killing it. This one seems to be the pack leader, and will bite at Felandria's arms.

That leaves three left. The leader biting Felandria, the one one Ellyri, and the one on Aric. The feral kitty on Ellyri will attempt to claw at her leg, attempting to rip through her green stockings. The one on Aric will leap and attempt to maul Aric's face, ow.

[Aric Kale]

Aric laughs as he effectively creates a kitty kabob. He'll then try to shake the cat off of his spear as he raises his shield against his aggressor. Indeed! If they weren't trying to viciously end my life I would keep one in a heartbeat.

[Felandria]

As the cat bites her arm, Felandria glares angrily at it and starts to grow.

She grabs the cat with her bigger hand and squeezes it as she delivers another shocking grasp.

[FishKiller]

Distracted by the sudden growth of Felandria beside her, Ellyri takes a nice claw to her leg. She doesn't even wince. She lunges for the creature and swiftly stabs another one of her arrows into it's neck. As the cat growls and hisses in pain, Ellyri takes out her bow, reaches around the cat's neck and jerks the bowstring clear through it's little neck.

She wipes the string on her pants and looks to see how Felandria and Aric are holding up.

[Hattish Thing]

Path to Homestead, Giant's Cradle

The surviving feral cats are each killed pretty gruesomely.

The kitty on Felandria claws at her arm and yowls angrily, not liking being picked up. He hisses and moves to bite, but then feels her hand collide with him, and the electricity fries the poor thing, catching his fur on fire. It drops from Felandria's hand and onto the ground, flopping there, and a sound of his skull cracking as he hits a rock on the ground can be heard. Dead cat is on fire now, unfortunately, so she might want to put out the flames...

Aric's attacking wild cat jumps right into a metal shield, ow. Needless to say, it's face is bashed in. So, it shouts and meals before falling down to the floor, alive but in great pain, blood dripping out of a huge cut on it's head, it's mewling and hissing angrily, but won't fight.

That nasty gash in Ellyri's ankle is infected. The feral cats carried around plenty of diseases, so the townspeople always stayed away from 'em, and the cats stayed away from the townspeople. Something must have upset the food chain on the island... So, poor Ellyri might need to wash out that wound pretty quick. The cat that clawed her is killed as well. It's head severed...

:smalleek: The old man watches in horror.

(Also, Fishkiller, attempt actions? The GM, (me) tells you if your actions succeed.) :smallsmile:

[Aric Kale]

Aric finishes off the wounded cat with a quick thrust to the head, assuming it can't dodge...
he then looks at the other party members, Is everyone alright? Any injuries?
He then looks up and gives a slight grimace at the farmer's expression of distaste...
It's fine to come down, we'll escort you to the nearest town where you can go whichever way suits you best. Ever the optimist, Aric smiles, At least nobody died, that is indeed something to be grateful for.

[Hattish Thing]

Across the Island, Giant's Top-Three Months Earlier

The aeroport atop Giant's Top Mountain was bustling with activity, men and women move through the small earoport. The aeroport housed about sixty people, and was composed of about fifty chairs, a small store inside to buy food and snacks for the skyship flight, and two lines that end with clerks with baskets of tickets that they stamp to grant a passanger access to the ship docked atop the Aeroport. The ship is called The Brittaine, and is a pretty large skyship top class. This ship carried food to the island, and took passenger's and the precious metals mined from the island off. It was a proud ship, boasting a large sized balloon and skilled crew.

Their Captain was a dwarf by the name of Cascious Mchardy, an old grey haired dwarf who knew the sky and stars like the back of his wrinkled but muscular hand. He wears big black squeaky boots, and a navy and gold uniform of an official Silethean (The Capital City's) Skyship Academy, schools made to train crews and captains of syships. He's currently sitting and trying to doze off in the chair located in his Captain's Cabin, but jumps when he hears a woman scream, and then several other people start screaming as well. He hears an explosion down by the aeroport, and scrambles to get a look out his window. ...By Moradin's bright blue beard.

He sees a man down below outside the aeroport, a very strange man he recognized. That was Old Man Franklin, a hermit that lived on the mountain a little lower down. He lived in a pretty small shack and collected creepy old books. That's all anyone ever knew about him. He came down to town every few months and bought a large amount of food, which he would carry back up the mountain, and he wan't seen for about a few months after that, before repeating his food run. He rarely spoke... which was fine, because he was a grumpy old man. The housewives of the town all said how they'd hear strange sounds coming from the mountainside, like dying animals... and it was common knowledge he was once part of some odd mage cult...

Old Man Franklin was there, his hands glowing with dark red magical energy, a ripped up scarlet cape flying through the air, it was very windy up here. His hair was white, and his face was contorted in a terrible grimace, as if he was working at a job he didn't particularly like, or maybe he just didn't like all the screaming. He wore a big brown and leather fur coat over a thick white shirt. His pants were brown and very warm, and his feet were clad in big brown snowboots as well. His hair blew in the wind, as he sent spells flying.

Captain Cascious tried to get out of his cabin, but found the door magically locked. None of the crew members were on board, they were in the aeroport getting some lunch before they would set off... The doors and windows out of the aerport locked, shut, and were magically reinforced, trapping everyone inside with little food and water. Five people were stranded outside with Franklin, three men and two women. Two of the men charged at Franklin, simply trying to tackle him. As soon as they got close, an odd pattern of dark runes flew out of Franklin's hands, and each hit the men, before being absorbed into them. They shout in terrible pain, before hitting the ground and begin clutching themselves, their internal organs bleeding out, the magic having torn their insides apart. The three surviving people get on the ground and put their hands up. The old man barks at one of the women, while his magic binds the other two's hands and feet. Come here Miss.

She walks timidly, the poor young woman shaking from the cold and from fear. He raises his hand and she is lifted into the air, before the creepy old ma's magic promptly causes her clothes to... Fall off? :smallconfused::smallyuk: Leaving her naked in the air. Next he... squeezes his hand into a fist, and her body contorts, her spine breaking in half, blood erupting everywhere and covering the snow... The old man than let's her body fall to the ground, before he takes out a big glass jar filled with twelve odd desert scarabs, completely out of place here. A gift to Pulveris and his chosen beetles... A young woman's corpse, tribute to you... They will feast on her heart. He moves to the woman's body, and takes out a knife, slashing her stomach wide... before opening the jar and letting the beetles feast...

He then glares over directly where Captain Cascious was staring, and the good captain faints, falling down onto the floorboard.

It's been three months, no one else has died, and Old Man Franklin stands at the top of the mountain, looking down at Giant's Cradle. The townsfolk send a sheriff up to investigate the day before the PC's appeared... He hasn't returned.

Something horrible is going on.

[Felandria]

Aric finishes off the wounded cat with a quick thrust to the head, assuming it can't dodge...
he then looks at the other party members, Is everyone alright? Any injuries?
He then looks up and gives a slight grimace at the farmer's expression of distaste...
It's fine to come down, we'll escort you to the nearest town where you can go whichever way suits you best. Ever the optimist, Aric smiles, At least nobody died, that is indeed something to be grateful for.

Felandria nods.

I'll be fine.

We should probably keep him in the middle, keep him safe.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri nods in agreement, and walks over to the tree.

The adrenaline wearing down, Ellyri begins to feel quite a bit of pain in her ankle where the cat scratched her. She curses herself for being so easily distracted and tries to remember if they'd seen any water nearby where she might wash her wound. She'd hate to get an infection so early in their quest!

Would it be too much to try and find some water first? One of them got my ankle... I can only imagine what kinds of diseases these things might be carrying... There might be some herbs around here to help with healing, though I can't be sure seeing as this land is foreign too me.

[Hattish Thing]

Path to Homestead, Giant's Cradle

The old man will slowly climb down the tree! Before landing on the ground and brushing himself off. He's kind of a surly old guy, but is appreciative of the parties effort to help him. He adjusts his overalls and farmer's straw hat before speaking. Thank you, strangers... I would've been up there for hours... You're very kind. My name's Ergan. Ergan Brown, yours? Oh.. Li'l elfy. If yer hurt I can lead you t' Doctor. He's at Homestead, which is only ten minutes away... How's about one of you carry her?

Does the party walk to Homestead?

[Aric Kale]

Aric nods to Ergan and smiles, he then turns to Ellyri and offers to carry her. Assuming everything is in order, Aric will follow the Farmer.

[Felandria]

Aric nods to Ergan and smiles, he then turns to Ellyri and offers to carry her. Assuming everything is in order, Aric will follow the Farmer.

Felandria turns to Aric.

Actually, sir, if you'll allow me.

You need your hands free for your weapon and shield, and my abilities make me more suited to help her.

She goes to her knees next to Ellyri.

Hop on my back and hold on.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri agrees with Felandria and thanks her as she timidly climbs onto her back. As much as she dislikes her feet being off of solid ground, she's grateful that she won't have to walk on her hurting ankle. What good luck that there's a doctor only a few minutes' walk away!

My name is Ellyri. Nice to meet you, sir. Mr. Brown... What is Homestead like? Ellyri asks, curious and mildly nervous, remembering the vision of that great tower...

[Hattish Thing]

Homestead

It's a very easy walk up to the town of Homestead, only about ten minutes, and it's still very nice out. While Ellyri might not be very comfortable, the other two should be alright. Farmer Egard walks faster than most of his age, and keeps up pretty well. He walks and merely replies to Ellyri's question with a gruff You'll see soon enough, just a small, humble, if scared, town.

Two men stand outside Homestead, both in matching clothing composed of wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the sun, dark brown shirts and coats, sand-colored trousers, and big grey boots. They each carry a blunderbuss. The older looking one speaks. Howdy there. I'm Sheriff Stoker, I'd say you folks were lucky to get into town alive. Welcome to Homestead, I'm afraid you've caught us at a bad time... The animals have been going crazy... Mr. Brown? What are you doing?

Egard grumbles and speaks. I was chased out of m' farm by some wild animals, looked like tiny lions or some such. Why the hell are the animals actin' all aggressive?

The Sheriff replies quickly. Damned if I know. Seems like this island is cursed recently. First the mine closes down due to some freak accident, and now this. The animals we can hold back pretty easily, but there is nothing we can do to stop the Grundlekrunk.

Egard speaks again. Er... These people don't know much about no Grundlekrunk. They're hermit people, they live by The Sheltered Glade, I've never seen 'em anywhere. Tell 'em 'bout that thing.

The younger man now speaks. I'm Officer Daemond Hicks. See, The Grundlekrunk was an old wives tale that farmer's used to blame for missing cattle, but the past few nights something has been coming in from the plains and taking people away in the dark... I've seen the beast, as tall as a house, arms like tree trunks and a shape that flows like midnight shadow...If I've seen it, then it's real, and it has townsfolk all about the island scared. Not just here, but the bigger town called Giant's Toe, at the base of Giant's Top Island are scared as well, they're not letting anyone in 'till it's been killed... Plus, something odd's being going on at the Mountain, we've seen lights at night...

If we could leave this island we could, believe me... Unfortunately, the only way off the island is from the aeroport atop Giant's Top Mountain. You'd need to book passage off of Giant's Toe, down in the valley, but they're spooked by the Grundlekrunk too, and legend says the beast is a shape-shifter, and they are letting no one in past the town walls until they are certain it is safe. You're welcome to stay here, until it's killed... But hey, you look like some folks who know what they're doing, maybe you'd like to head out and try and slay the thing? If you're wanting to head out on some foolish quest, go see Elaine Thomas at the Village Suppliers to get tooled up first. And... oh, you look hurt! Um, come here... He'll move to Ellyri, and attempt to touch her wound. If he is allowed to, she'll find her wound is healed! My father was the town healer, a cleric... He's disappeared for a while... Might be still out there... But anyway, there you go. Good day folks.

Farmer Egard will walk into town and move into the Town Square, leaving the party without a word of thanks. Nice. :smallannoyed: The two guards move aside, and let the party pass.

(I'm going to put locations here, and the party can choose which place to go!)

Town Square

Elaine Thomas' Village Suppliers

End of Town'

The town is small, and there isn't anywhere else to go to, there's just homes and a small inn, which is closed.

[Aric Kale]

Aric raises no fuss at Felandria's reasoning and enjoys the brief walk.
When they arrive at the town he looks around, taking note of everything, especially the words of the Sheriff. Aric smiles when the Sheriff heals Ellyri; please but unsurprised. He's seen many things in his few years...
He'll suggest that they go to the Town Square first, to get a feel for the town.

[Felandria]

After Ellyri grabs hold, Felandria stands up and makes herself bigger until Aric is about knee high to her, allowing her to easily carry Ellyri and keep an eye out for distant threats.

Luckily, the walk is uneventful and she reverts to human size when they get to the sheriff.

She agrees that the Town Square is the best place to start.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri was more comfortable upon the giantess' back than she anticipated, mostly because she had a clear, far view of the land around her. Though she was more than happy to have her feet back on the solid earth when they reached Homestead. The cleric's son healed her quickly and with ease, his healing abilities far exceeding any she'd seen before. She was interested in the tales and supposed sightings of the Grundlekrunk, but agreed that they should first get settled and learn more about the place before going out on a quest to kill this creature.

[Hattish Thing]

Homestead

So, the group walks towards the Town Square, and once they arrive they'll see a few things., They're's a man with a cart full of old wooden figurines, and a group of children surround him, laughing happily and looking at the toys. They're's a fruit stand with a woman selling all kinds of fruits, apples, oranges, even a watermelon.

A group of men and woman look up at an odd man on a crate, smiling and winking at his audience as he speaks. He stands on the crate as if he owns the entire town, in his classic bright yellow Coat of Useless Items, he makes quite an appearance. He strokes his awesome stache as he moves his arms in animated discussion. The foppish forty year old rogue is... Odd. He has a large gold front tooth which gleams out among perfect pearly teeth. He wears white satin gloves, and his shirt and pants are a blue silk. Unfortunately for all, his silk shirt goes down way too far, revealing a flabby, hairy chest. He smells like dapper perfume, as if he bathed in it for some reason.

His belt is yellow as well, with a golden buckle. A fancy purple "R" is carved into the buckle, he's obviously quite vain. His pants lead to purple boots with glittery ends. Wait... Glittery ends?! Yes... The point of his shoes are purple, glittery, and magical. At his belt, hidden in his coat is that nasty looking short sword. His main weapon, is a golden rapier with a beautiful crafted sterling silver handle, tied in full view at his waist.

He speaks in an odd bright tone. And as the beast roared, my companion ran away from the Great Cyrstal Lizard! but I held my ground, I valiantly aimed my rifle, and as it charged me, ferocity and evil in it's eyes, I shot! Straight into it's mouth, killing the beast! I... Hey... Who are you three? More rookies looking to play hero, huh? I appreciate your offer but the Legendary Rick Brutal works...alone. I don't need a bunch of amateurs cramping my style. No offense.... But hey, elfy... You look nice, howsabout we spend some time alone... if you know what I mean, heh. He winks and makes a creepy "grope" movement into the air. :smallyuk:

[Aric Kale]

Homestead ~ Town Center

Aric takes mental snapshots of the Square, he also looks upon Rick Brutal...
His reaction would have been to simply ignore him, but after the dirty minded, old man's "offer"...Oi! We have no desire to work with you, nor do I believe a word you've spoken of your heroic deeds. Also, we are on a quest to slay the Grundlekrunk. At this point he takes three, large steps towards the man, brandishing his spear; the blade glows right in the sunlight, making it difficult to look upon directly...
If I hear such crass comments directed towards either of my comrades again...you'll need the Sheriff to heal you until next winter... This behavior is a 180 compared to the attitude he's shown thus far. If Rick Brutal looks him eye-to-eye he'll see a deep sadness dwelling within, and the intent to kill.

[Felandria]

Felandria gently puts a hand on Aric's shoulder.

Please, Aric, don't get yourself in trouble with the law on his account or mine.

I can take care of the braggart myself.

Felandria looks Brutal directly in the eye, holding his gaze.

Sir, you appear to have mistaken me for so done with no self respect, as someone with no regard for themselves as a person would even briefly consider such an offer, and if you actually believe for one second I would hear your crude proposal and fall into your arms, you are even more deluded than your absurd tales lead me to believe, so why don't you take your crude fictions and your cruder personality and inflict yourself on a group of people who will believe your pathetic tales, as though you could ever find one.

At which point Brutal would find himself looking straight up in the air as she looms twenty feet above him.

((Hopefully that wasn't too much, But that's how she would react to such a lecherous creep))

[FishKiller]

Surprised by both Aric and Felandria's reaction, Ellyri ignores the revolting man(if you can really call him a man)'s comment and tries instead to calm them down. Aside from nearly falling over from the too strong smell of Rick and her eye twitching slightly at his invitation, Ellyri seems unaffected by his presence. She's learned to ignore people who behave in such a manner and thinks that the prince and a now towering Felandria should do the same.

Aric, Felandria, we have no business here. There's no sense in meddling with a man who lacks sense altogether. We have a mission we must attend to.

[Hattish Thing]

Town Square-Rick Brutal

Rick frowns as he looks over at Aric and Felandria. Hey...look, I meant no harm, m'kay? I was merely being kind and offering good company. Very good company, right? He winks at a few female audience members who swoon and nod in awe, and Rick also winks at... one of the men? :smallconfused: Okay. The crowd is glaring at Felandria, Aric, and Ellyri, some even booing. One of the audience members, a young woman speaks. This man saves people! He's rescued and saved countless towns, helped countless people! Perhaps you just don't understand... Boo! Boo! Go away, this man will save us! The crowd shouts "Yeah! Woohoo! Go Rick!"

Rick nods and will then continue his stories about killing The Great Crystal Dragon. The group will be free to go. :smallsmile:

Which only leaves Elaine Thomas.

She actually sees the group by Rick and waves. Should the party come closer, she speaks. Well, howdy strangers! It's always good to see some folks who can handle themselves about here. It's very comforting. 'Fraid with the roads closed...I've not much to offer,
but my prices are fair. Here.

She offers an old pre-war Blunderbuss, which is probably new to the party. A rifle, very rare... New invention, very, very new. I have a few bullets for ya, but not too many. There's about a 40 percent chance of missfiring, but it deals more damage than a bow, and shoots farther distances. 25 gold pieces.


I also have two Quilted Farmer's Armor. These things are made of Bontha Hide and leather, very strong, durable stuff. Farmer's war these to tame Bontha's, a kind of horned bovine native here. The Bontha is famous for goring Farmer's, so the armor is a must-have. Fifteen gold pieces each.

[Aric Kale]

Aric turns away from Rick in disgust. He also shows no real interest in the seller's wares, but still gives an easy smile.
What would he see as he looks around?

[Felandria]

Felandria takes a deep breath, calms herself, and returns to human size.

She occasionally had these lapses in self control, perhaps it was the blood of Zeus that now ran through her veins ever since her true self was awakened.

After regaining her composure, she joins the others at the merchant's table, where she finds nothing she needs.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri walks with the group over to Elaine and admires the modern rifle,, though she refuses to buy the gun. Besides being nearly dirt poor, she's always fought using a bow and doesn't want that to change. She politely declines the kind lady's weapon and armor.

[Hattish Thing]

Homestead-Around

There's hardly anything here. There's a small general store selling pottery, latching wares, farming tools... There's a butcher, and a very nice looking stall can be seen. There's a big sign stuck in front of it with the logo "Frontier Industries" in big bold navy lettering, with the words in chrome underneath it, "Paving the way to the FUTURE!" The logo is a fancy /F and it shows a man smiling underneath the chrome lettering.

A man in a black pin-striped business suit frowns and taps the table quickly. He's older, in his forties, but with a face aged by stress. He has some papers on the desk he's filling out, and he's grimacing and muttering. Damn cold. I shouldn't be stuck doing this grimy, nasty work. It was only six weeks she said, it'll be like a vacation she said, YOU'LL ENJOY IT SHE SAID. Lying hag. Assigning me this damn job. **** it's hot. I hate this. No air conditioning on this stupid island. Not even a bloody electric heater. Ignorant county bumpkins.

Stupid people. It's not even Winter here yet, and it's cold. Been eight weeks and I can't leave this gods forsaken place. I hope the Grindlplug kills them all in their sleep, so I won't have to come here next season. Grendelcrunk... ****. How did that Sheriff say it? Gruh-ndle-krunk. Grundlekrunk. Whatever. He's signing property to the islanders, but notices you all hear him. Er.... Sorry... I'm Mr. Grime's.

[Aric Kale]

Homestead ~ Eavesdropping

Aric listens intently to every word. When the man acknowledges their existence he steps forward in a nonthreatening manner and asks him what Frontier Industries does.

[Felandria]

Felandria joins Aric to find out what he's muttering about.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri messes with the rip in her stocking (caused by the vicious cats on the way into town), as she waits for the man in the suit to notice them. When he finally does and introduces himself as Mr. Grimes, Aric kindly asks about Frontier Industries and Ellyri listens intently.

[Hattish Thing]

Eavesdropping-Homestead

Mr. Grimes frowns and sighs deeply. Sorry about that... Frontier Industries is a... Hm... [/COLOR. He picks up a flyer standing beside it, clears his throat, and reads. [COLOR="SlateGray"]"Frontier Industries is a mega corporation, the result of the combination of Wing Omnicron Weapons Technology, Clarke Towers Funding, and Sabre Electricity Research. This bright new corporation is leading the way to the future, for the advancement of science!"

Giant's Cradle is property of Frontier Industries, it's our land the people mine. I hand out properties and manage the shipping off the island... Of course, just my luck, nothing's allowed to leave due to The Grundlekrunk, and something weird happening at the mountain...

[Aric Kale]

Homestead ~Horrid Puns Ahead

Aric cracks a grin, Forgive me if I say that first bit sounded a bit...scripted. Really Aric? Really?
...
Anyways, It's our goal to kill this "Grundlekrunk" and make the lands safe once more. Rest assured, we are a highly coordinated group of adventures with years of experience working as a group...now if there's anything you can tell us about this island, please do...

[Felandria]

Homestead ~Horrid Puns Ahead

Aric cracks a grin, Forgive me if I say that first bit sounded a bit...scripted. Really Aric? Really?
...
Anyways, It's our goal to kill this "Grundlekrunk" and make the lands safe once more. Rest assured, we are a highly coordinated group of adventures with years of experience working as a group...now if there's anything you can tell us about this island, please do...

Felandria looks puzzled at Aric's statement, but just smiles and nods, knowing better than to interfere with a bluff.

[FishKiller]

The same look of puzzlement that flashed across Felandria's face crosses Ellyri's too, but she quickly forgets about the false statement, curious to hear about the island and maybe learn some more about the animals there, including the Grundlekrunk.

[Hattish Thing]

Homestead-Mr. Grimes

Mr. Grimes blinks three times before taking off his glasses and facepalming at Aric's words. ...You're not the smart one of the group, are ya? He then speaks. You're after the Grundlekrunk, eh? Good, perhaps ye'll help us with our troubles. The island? It's fairly small, mostly miners and farmers... He takes out a cell phone! Another odd device that the PC's won't be familiar with, and types as he speaks. It's usually quite warm around here, but seeing as Winter is almost underway, it's began to snow...

I hate this damn cold. I want to be by my heater, in a blanket... watching television. Maybe with a nice, hot, steaming mug of cocoa. :smallwink: After a big sigh, he continues to speak in his bored tone. The animals are usually quite docile... We have wildcats around here, pygmy panthers. Miniature panthers, and even cheetahs. There's also some... odder creatures around. Before Frontier became the richest company of the world, experiments were performed here by the Wing Omnicron Weapons Manufacturers. There's a bit of radiation left around here... so about every sixth villager has an odd sixth toe or something.

It's harmless now, but a while ago it created a few... odd animal hybrids and such. We mine for gold, silver, and crystals on the island. All the precious metals are then flown off the island. Ships don't ever leave the island, the rocks around Giant's Cradle are brutal, and I don't think anyone's ever made it past six miles offshore... Aaaanyways, Giant's Toe is the bigger town at the foot of Giant's Top Mountain. They're not letting anyone in 'till the Grundlekrunk is dead. So, I'd be headin' there first. Here's a map. He hands the party a map to the abandoned mine about ten miles left of the town, through Hailey's Glen. He finishes his text and sends it, before putting the phone back in his pocket.

[Aric Kale]

Homestead ~ Mr. Grinch

Aric takes the jibe well, not in the least bit offended, chuckling as he listens to the man.
he has seen something similar to a phone before, but he didn't know what it was for exactly.
Most of what he takes away is that the person before them is grouchy and whiny...and they need to visit the Toe...

[Felandria]

Felandria nodded to the man and examined the map.

We should get going, if we're going to get back to where we belong, we can't waste time.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri started to ask what Mr. Grimes was fiddling with, but decided that she'd rather not listen to his grouchy response. Besides, it didn't seem to do any harm and Aric and Felandria didn't seem concerned by the advanced technology.

You're absolutely right. Let's head out. Thank you for your help, sir.

[Hattish Thing]

Homestead-On the Road Again

Mr. Grimes rolls his eyes as they leave, and when they're gone glances over the text. It's me, Seymour. There are some strangers in town... Just kinda appeared out of nowhere. They don't look like hermits... Two women, one man. I didn't see The Escaped Spirit with them. They appear to want passage off the island. he receives a reply from a mysterious number.

Hello again Mr. Grimes. It's Angelina. Thank you for the information, now you ought forget about all of this. Delete these messages as well. Seymour Grimes raises an eyebrow, and deletes the messages, frowning at the group as the leave.

----

So, the party is off! They're leaving the bright, if humble and slightly scared town when the wind picks up a bit. Must be that storm getting closer. Anyway, it's still a beautiful, if brisk, day. The Sun is out, though it's cold, and the sky is a whitish color. The trees are losing leaves, and so brightly colored leaves fly through the air. It's... Kinda comforting. They walk towards Hailey's Glen! Maybe they wonder why no one has noticed The Spirit but them yet?

---

As the Party Leaves

Rick Brutal has stopped talking during the time the party was leaving him to talk to Mr. Grime's. He's creepily watching them but is hiding in the shadows between a house, and wearing shades, (Those shades are badass), and so goes unnoticed. He's watching them walk away now and thinks to himself. Mm.... Just look at that elf chick walk... Wow... She got a nice ass there... Perfect shape. Mhmm... I'd sheath my rapier in that. Hehe. Hey, wait. Stop. I have a job here! he walks back into the shades, his destination unknown.

----

Hailey's Glen

Alright, well. The party advances forth following the map given to them by the surly Mr. Grimes. The map leads them to a glen. For those who don't know, a glen is a narrow valley. The valley is... Uninteresting. How strange. Well, there are a few trees and such... How nice! There's even a stream trickling through the glen. Oh... The group will advance further into the glen until... They notice a deer, brutally devoured, bits everywhere, it's rotting carcass dripping into the water supply. It's missing everything from it's two front legs to it's head. Leaving only the back legs and body.

How disgusting. Well, does the party investigate?

[Aric Kale]

Hailey's ~ gonna need more deer

Indeed, Aric investigates to the point of wiping off a bone with a cloth and observing the bite marks on the bones, to see what kind of animal did this.

[Felandria]

Hailey's ~ gonna need more deer

Indeed, Aric investigates to the point of wiping off a bone with a cloth and observing the bite marks on the bones, to see what kind of animal did this.

Felandria gets a little queasy at the sight of the deer.

What could have done that?

[FishKiller]

Ellyri, used to seeing bloodied animals from her hunting experience, joins Aric in investigating, but seems to be a bit queasy herself. Mr. Brown had said the animals were behaving strangely... but she couldn't imagine what animal would be capable of ripping a deer in two.

It's possible that it was done by a group of animals... like the feral cats that attacked us in the woods... she says uncertainly. Whatever did it, we need to be careful and watch each other's backs... god, this is disguting.

What kind of creature would tear another creature up and not at least eat the poor thing? How odd...

[Hattish Thing]

Hailey's Glen

There doesn't seem to be multiple marks. Just a few bites, probably done by some scavengers. The doe has been ripped in half, as if some large thing had grabbed it in it's hands and tugged hard. There don't appear to be any bite marks of any feline, though maggots and insects are feasting on the poor thing. The doe's lifeless eyes glitter, but seem to offer no answer as to what killed her, or why.

Huh. Well, she just lies there, slowly decomposing. The bites are small, so probably a rat or two got to her.

[Aric Kale]

Aric stands, shaking his head. There are many things capable of doing this, but none that would leave so much meat to waste...unless trying to leave a message...
Any opinions? He stashes the cloth in what appears to be an extra-dimensionary space bag while turning to his companions.

[Felandria]

Aric stands, shaking his head. There are many things capable of doing this, but none that would leave so much meat to waste...unless trying to leave a message...
Any opinions? He stashes the cloth in what appears to be an extra-dimensionary space bag while turning to his companions.

For all we know,mine monster may have just been bored, ripped the deer in two like we would absentmindedly pick the leaves off of a flower.

[Hattish Thing]

(I got a PM today, saying FishKiller was on vacation until next week, so can't post till then. So skipping happens.)

Oh, deer. :smalltongue:

It could have been the Grundlekrunk, it's hard to tell, really. Something big though. Nothing else happens, just dead doe. It's... Probably a little intimidating to know something would do this for recreation, instead of food.

[Aric Kale]

All Hail Deer Lord!

Aric shakes his head in disgust, Well, there's nothing more to get out of this poor creature. I say we try to find the monster that did this...

[Felandria]

Well, we won't do it standing here crying about Bambi.

Let's go.

[FishKiller]

Good idea. We should get moving if we want to find this Grundlekrunk thing, Ellie agrees, slowly moving away from the deer and its foul stench.

[Hattish Thing]

Hailey's Glen - Onwards? Yes, Onwards.

Well, the group strides forward, leaving the dead doe's dark blood seeping into the stream, death and decay over good clean water. The party might find it kinda hard to get the images out of their minds, and they'll probably be wondering what it looks like... Does it have tentacles? Multiple arms? Does it drip poisonous goo? Who knows...

The group will find it easy to walk through the valley. It's rather pleasant, actually. The sky is nice and blue, though cloudy. It's getting colder. No snow yet, but it's definitely building up to be snowing by tonight. It's not too late yet though. The stream runs through the valley, the little fish unaware that the water is slowly being contaminated. Soon the trees and tall grass will fade to a dirt path.

This dirt path leads to the mine, which is ahead in about two more miles. The path is well-beaten, and there appears to be large wheel prints across the path, very large and strong wheels... The prints must have been from a while ago, but haven't quite faded due to little wind here. There's a sign beside the road. It's the very same Frontier billboard that Angelina May and her group stood by.

There's a terrible smell about, and three corpses lie on the ground by the mine. They are clad in grey overalls and brown shirts. They carry heavy picks. They must be miners. Two of them are clawed into pieces, bones scattered everywhere. There's hardly any flesh on their bones, and their ribs are crushed completely, organs and dried blood lying around them. One is missing his entire lower body, bones and all. The third is female though, and she doesn't have any claw wounds. Her stomach has been completely melted, as if someone dropped a bucket of highly corrosive acid all over her...

[Aric Kale]

To the Mine!

Aric is adept at controlling what goes through his head, and horrible images of slaughtered deer are not high on the priority list. Instead, he focuses on the path, and the beauty around him. His current thinking on the Grundlebeast is that it must be trollish, based off the state of the deer and the strength needed to tear it in half.
Kale continues that train of thought right up until they arrive at the mine and he sees the obliterated workers. Acid and claws? Probably not your run of the mill troll.
My friends, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what we're dealing with...
We must carry on if we are to find answers.

[Felandria]

To the Mine!

Aric is adept at controlling what goes through his head, and horrible images of slaughtered deer are not high on the priority list. Instead, he focuses on the path, and the beauty around him. His current thinking on the Grundlebeast is that it must be trollish, based off the state of the deer and the strength needed to tear it in half.
Kale continues that train of thought right up until they arrive at the mine and he sees the obliterated workers. Acid and claws? Probably not your run of the mill troll.
My friends, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what we're dealing with...
We must carry on if we are to find answers.

Felandria sees the bodies and is filled with a mixture of sadness and rage.

We'll see if the Grundlekrunk likes being ripped in half.

Let's head into the mine.

Felandria casts dancing lights as she heads into the mine.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri takes a short look at the corpses lying on the ground; just long enough to see two obliterated corpses and a woman burned through with some sort of chemical...

She pulls out her poison arrows and glances around before nodding and taking a hesitant step aside.

I'd be most comfortable taking up the rear, if that's okay with both of you, Ellyri suggests, preferring to see anything/everything threatening around them that may be in shooting distance for her bow.

[Hattish Thing]

The Grundlekrunk's Lair

The group passes along into the mine, deep down into the depths of forgotten bloody metal. Sunlight disappears as the group descends, giving into darkness... With burned out torches and broken lamps around, it's rather dark. There are a few torches lit though. So, there's some illumination. The deeper the party goes, the more the stench of death and rot is evident. Soon the group will come to a large cave. The deepest spot in the mine. Inside the cave is a large pit, littered with at least fifty dead or half-eaten me and women.

There seems to be no monster inside. What do you do?

[Aric Kale]

Based on how Dancing Lights works, Aric will either be in front of Felandria or behind her. Either way, after he's seen corpses strewn about, he will ask the Giantess if she could cast a fireball into the center of the pit...

[Felandria]

Based on how Dancing Lights works, Aric will either be in front of Felandria or behind her. Either way, after he's seen corpses strewn about, he will ask the Giantess if she could cast a fireball into the center of the pit...

Will do.

And she casts the fireball.

[FishKiller]

Ellie stands back and watches with great curiosity and fear as Felandria conjures up the fire ball.

[Hattish Thing]

Well, the fireball is shot into the pit! And... Nothing seems to happen. The skulls are covered in some kind of spit from the most, which is non-flammable and corrosive. So, nothing happens. Maybe they should get closer?

[Aric Kale]

Interesting, Aric does venture closer, spear held relaxed but ready, his shield up high.

[Felandria]

Interesting, Aric does venture closer, spear held relaxed but ready, his shield up high.

Felandria edges closer to the hole, casting light into the hole.

[FishKiller]

Ellyri nervously inches closer, keeping watch for the beast that did this...

[Hattish Thing]

It appears FishKiller has dropped out of he forum, and so Mee has shown an interest in replacing her.

So, to make this simple... We're just going to say that Ellyri had abandoned the group, too frightened of the possibility of death. Now to the actual post.

With Ellyri gone, Felandria and Aric traveled down into the mine alone. Aric casts light into the large pit, but sees only skulls and bones. Out of the corner of his eye though, he can see what looks like a humanoid figure across the room, having just entered from a side cavern. It sends a massive shadow across the wall, but does nothing.

(Posting order is now

NoodleHat

Aric

Felandria

Mee.

)

[Aric Kale]

Aric does the only thing that comes naturally to him.
He descends into the pit, yelling out a warcry. Eliam's Wrath upon thee creature! As a knight of Alleble I declare thou shall fall for thy wicked deeds! Yes, Aric is indeed speaking with thees and thous. He's definitely pissed right now.

[Felandria]

Felandria follows behind, warily, keeping watch for sudden aggression from the shadowy figure.

[Mee]

Aric does the only thing that comes naturally to him.
He descends into the pit, yelling out a warcry. Eliam's Wrath upon thee creature! As a knight of Alleble I declare thou shall fall for thy wicked deeds! Yes, Aric is indeed speaking with thees and thous. He's definitely pissed right now.

Well, being attacked definitely wasn't on the to-do list for today. But who is Lumia to deny violence when it gets so nicely thrown at her?

With a wordless shout of her own, the aforementioned shadowy figure rushes at Aric, overly large sword held ready to strike as soon as the distance was covered between them.
Though she - for the voice is obviously female - doesn't come around whatever is blocking her from sight just yet. She's runnin' for it, though.

[Hattish Thing]

The Grundlekrunk's Lair

Oh noes, combat between players! Anyway, Lumia and Aric come charging into the pit, rushing at each other with the intentions of doing mean things to each other. This makes a fair amount of noise. Well, there's suddenly a loud thump. Reeeeally loud thump. Then it lands. Lands. It appears the real monster has shown up, having been lurking on the shadowy ceiling of the massive room. It lands on the pit, attempting to land right on top of Aric and Lumia, most likely getting at least one of them underfoot.

And what a monster this thing is. It is at least 15 feet tall, and truly wide as a cottage, with arms the size of tree trunks, and rippling with bulging muscles, who's veins are a sickly green color, showing through the pale blue skin. It is covered in patches of brown fur, and it's whole body is covered in yellow pustules, oozing yellow fluids across it's stinking body. They range from the size of a man's head, to groups of hundreds of small pimples. It's body is humanoid, however it's face is definitely one of a troll, except all it's offices are stitched and burnt together, making it's face look blank and disgusting. However, it's head isn't perched on a neck.

It's head is directly attached to it's chest, and a massive maw the size of a school bus's front is seen. It's teeth are ranging from massive stalactite sized things, to tiny needles and hooks. It's spit is a nasty blue color, and it drips it's corrosive spittle all over the place. It's "hands" are more massive palms with eight long claws sticking out of them, the perfect tool to crush enemies. It appears to be reasonably intelligent, however, for it is clothed in a loincloth and tattered rags, with skulls and bones as jewelry. The Grundlekrunk is certainly not a natural being. It roars and it's first attack is to lunge for Aric or Lumia.

[Aric Kale]

Aric Kale pauses when he hears a woman's voice. He then dives aside on a hunch. Luckily, some ribs broke his fall, not his own ribs...
He'll attempt to get back up before the beast can nab him, poke wildly with his spear.

[Hattish Thing]

((By the way, I made a Quicktopic messaging system to keep OOC comments and socializing out of this thread if we're interested in any. Here's the link, and the site is completely anonymous.)) :smallsmile: Ta da! (http://www.quicktopic.com/50/H/bWgxKhJVLd9)

[Felandria]

The Grundlekrunk's Lair

Oh noes, combat between players! Anyway, Lumia and Aric come charging into the pit, rushing at each other with the intentions of doing mean things to each other. This makes a fair amount of noise. Well, there's suddenly a loud thump. Reeeeally loud thump. Then it lands. Lands. It appears the real monster has shown up, having been lurking on the shadowy ceiling of the massive room. It lands on the pit, attempting to land right on top of Aric and Lumia, most likely getting at least one of them underfoot.

And what a monster this thing is. It is at least 15 feet tall, and truly wide as a cottage, with arms the size of tree trunks, and rippling with bulging muscles, who's veins are a sickly green color, showing through the pale blue skin. It is covered in patches of brown fur, and it's whole body is covered in yellow pustules, oozing yellow fluids across it's stinking body. They range from the size of a man's head, to groups of hundreds of small pimples. It's body is humanoid, however it's face is definitely one of a troll, except all it's offices are stitched and burnt together, making it's face look blank and disgusting. However, it's head isn't perched on a neck.

It's head is directly attached to it's chest, and a massive maw the size of a school bus's front is seen. It's teeth are ranging from massive stalactite sized things, to tiny needles and hooks. It's spit is a nasty blue color, and it drips it's corrosive spittle all over the place. It's "hands" are more massive palms with eight long claws sticking out of them, the perfect tool to crush enemies. It appears to be reasonably intelligent, however, for it is clothed in a loincloth and tattered rags, with skulls and bones as jewelry. The Grundlekrunk is certainly not a natural being. It roars and it's first attack is to lunge for Aric or Lumia.

Felandria, seeing the others in trouble, acts on pure instinct.

She grows as large as the space will allow and charges the monster, hoping to tackle the thing and cast Shocking Grasp.

[Mee]

The Grundlekrunk's Lair

Oh noes, combat between players! Anyway, Lumia and Aric come charging into the pit, rushing at each other with the intentions of doing mean things to each other. This makes a fair amount of noise. Well, there's suddenly a loud thump. Reeeeally loud thump. Then it lands. Lands. It appears the real monster has shown up, having been lurking on the shadowy ceiling of the massive room. It lands on the pit, attempting to land right on top of Aric and Lumia, most likely getting at least one of them underfoot.

And what a monster this thing is. It is at least 15 feet tall, and truly wide as a cottage, with arms the size of tree trunks, and rippling with bulging muscles, who's veins are a sickly green color, showing through the pale blue skin. It is covered in patches of brown fur, and it's whole body is covered in yellow pustules, oozing yellow fluids across it's stinking body. They range from the size of a man's head, to groups of hundreds of small pimples. It's body is humanoid, however it's face is definitely one of a troll, except all it's offices are stitched and burnt together, making it's face look blank and disgusting. However, it's head isn't perched on a neck.

It's head is directly attached to it's chest, and a massive maw the size of a school bus's front is seen. It's teeth are ranging from massive stalactite sized things, to tiny needles and hooks. It's spit is a nasty blue color, and it drips it's corrosive spittle all over the place. It's "hands" are more massive palms with eight long claws sticking out of them, the perfect tool to crush enemies. It appears to be reasonably intelligent, however, for it is clothed in a loincloth and tattered rags, with skulls and bones as jewelry. The Grundlekrunk is certainly not a natural being. It roars and it's first attack is to lunge for Aric or Lumia.

Well, it won't be lunging at Lumia. Mostly because he landed on her, but there are probably a few other reasons.
Primarily, since he did land on her, he landed on her sword, which was aimed upwards, in preparation for clashing with Aric. So the giant monster thingy might just find its foot impaled on a nearly 6 foot long blade.

[Hattish Thing]

Well, it won't be lunging at Lumia. Mostly because he landed on her, but there are probably a few other reasons.
Primarily, since he did land on her, he landed on her sword, which was aimed upwards, in preparation for clashing with Aric. So the giant monster thingy might just find its foot impaled on a nearly 6 foot long blade.


Aric Kale pauses when he hears a woman's voice. He then dives aside on a hunch. Luckily, some ribs broke his fall, not his own ribs...
He'll attempt to get back up before the beast can nab him, poke wildly with his spear.


Felandria, seeing the others in trouble, acts on pure instinct.

She grows as large as the space will allow and charges the monster, hoping to tackle the thing and cast Shocking Grasp.

Well. Let's say Aric managed to dodge it's massive claws. Or rather massive sharp blobs of pus-covered flesh with claws and too many fingers. Nice. He must be a favorite with the ladies. In all seriousness, things are about to get nasty. The wild poke with Aric's spear connects to something! The Grundlekrunk's fist. He pokes one of the large pus-bubbles, which pops. It spews blue acid, which shoots everywhere, possibly melting Aric's spear. Luckily his spear is long, so he avoided the goo.

Oh, Felandria. Contact with the beast just literally popped one of it's acid filled bubbles. Popping all of them at once may just cause the whole thing to explode most likely instantly killing everyone. I'm going to say she spotted Aric getting acid all over him. Maybe she'll rethink her strategy? :smalltongue:

As for the beast. CRRRRRUUUUUNCH. It lands. Things break. Not the beast. However, it does indeed have a massive sword stuck six feet into it's foot. Ouch. Except... It doesn't seem to care. It doesn't seem to feel any pain whatsoever. Maybe it physically can't feel any sensations? No bubbles pop, seeing as Lumia got his foot. She will get showered in green blood though. Nice. She may be hurt, by the way.

Anyway, it's turn. The Grundlekrunk faces it's enemy. It's not moving anywhere now, so that's good. (Trust me. Or this would be much worse.) It does two things. First, ow. Aric hurt it. It attempts to slam him with it's fist, attempting to knock it away. At the same time it begins to... Um... Throw up. All over the place. It's stomach fluid is highly toxic, and it can regurgitate it as a projectile. Blue spit bubbles. Nice. Aaaaand, he's throwing up in Felandria's direction.

[Mee]

As for the beast. CRRRRRUUUUUNCH. It lands. Things break. Not the beast. However, it does indeed have a massive sword stuck six feet into it's foot. Ouch. Except... It doesn't seem to care. It doesn't seem to feel any pain whatsoever. Maybe it physically can't feel any sensations? No bubbles pop, seeing as Lumia got his foot. She will get showered in green blood though. Nice. She may be hurt, by the way.

Anyway, it's turn. The Grundlekrunk faces it's enemy. It's not moving anywhere now, so that's good. (Trust me. Or this would be much worse.) It does two things. First, ow. Aric hurt it. It attempts to slam him with it's fist, attempting to knock it away. At the same time it begins to... Um... Throw up. All over the place. It's stomach fluid is highly toxic, and it can regurgitate it as a projectile. Blue spit bubbles. Nice. Aaaaand, he's throwing up in Felandria's direction.

Naaaah. She only had a probable several ton creature land on her. She's fine.

She is angry, however, and with a foot muffled angry below, she throws all her weight against the sword. She has good footing, what with the tiny hole she's in, and can throw pretty much every muscle she has into this. Her goal is to life the beasty up at least a bit, and hopefully throw it enough off balance that someone can knock it down.
And yes. Yes she is, in fact, strong enough to do that.

[Aric Kale]

Alrighty then, let's get crackin'.
First of all, Aric's spear does not melt, it is Murynstil and therefore much more durable than steel. Secondly, he should be out of range of the creatures fists, giving him room to recover and counterattack. He'll do so by attempting to skewer the Grundlekrunk's head.

[Felandria]

Felandria dodges the vomit.

Alright, plan B.

She concentrates and blasts the monster with a cone of cold, hoping to freeze the acid in the monster's skin.

[Hattish Thing]

Naaaah. She only had a probable several ton creature land on her. She's fine.

She is angry, however, and with a foot muffled angry below, she throws all her weight against the sword. She has good footing, what with the tiny hole she's in, and can throw pretty much every muscle she has into this. Her goal is to life the beasty up at least a bit, and hopefully throw it enough off balance that someone can knock it down.
And yes. Yes she is, in fact, strong enough to do that.


Alrighty then, let's get crackin'.
First of all, Aric's spear does not melt, it is Murynstil and therefore much more durable than steel. Secondly, he should be out of range of the creatures fists, giving him room to recover and counterattack. He'll do so by attempting to skewer the Grundlekrunk's head.

Well, the Mysterious Female Figure begins sticking her sword deep into the things foot. Ow. Painful. So, it's foot is now gushing purple blood all over poor whatshername, and so she might discover it's blood tastes like alcohol for some reason. But, lifting the creature? It weighs more than several tons, and would normally break someone by standing on them, easily. However, her super strength momentarily off-balances the thing. In response, the unfeeling animal raises said foot as high as it can before smashing down, attempting to crush her.

Being off-balance is bad, seeing as it means Aric can hit much easier. The Grundlekrunk's arms are the size of trees, therefore reach isn't a problem if Aric is close enough to skewer it's head. But, I'll just say it missed due to being confused with suddenly sensing resistance. Okay, Aric hits as well, straight into the things neck, and it begins gushing blood. In responce the thing attempts to bite and swallow Aric whole.

As for Felandria....

Acid can only freeze at extreme temperatures. Like, really extreme. But it's magic, so it has an effect. In fact, she hits right about the Grundlekrunk's right arm, freezing his fist. Which means no attack on her this round.

[Aric Kale]

Well, the Mysterious Female Figure begins sticking her sword deep into the things foot. Ow. Painful. So, it's foot is now gushing purple blood all over poor whatshername, and so she might discover it's blood tastes like alcohol for some reason. But, lifting the creature? It weighs more than several tons, and would normally break someone by standing on them, easily. However, her super strength momentarily off-balances the thing. In response, the unfeeling animal raises said foot as high as it can before smashing down, attempting to crush her.

Being off-balance is bad, seeing as it means Aric can hit much easier. The Grundlekrunk's arms are the size of trees, therefore reach isn't a problem if Aric is close enough to skewer it's head. But, I'll just say it missed due to being confused with suddenly sensing resistance. Okay, Aric hits as well, straight into the things neck, and it begins gushing blood. In responce the thing attempts to bite and swallow Aric whole.

As for Felandria....

Acid can only freeze at extreme temperatures. Like, really extreme. But it's magic, so it has an effect. In fact, she hits right about the Grundlekrunk's right arm, freezing his fist. Which means no attack on her this round.

Aha! A hit! Satisfied, Aric runs backwards out of range of the monstrosity and drops his shield.
He then draws his wakizashi. The pearlescent murynstil blade has been tainted into a deep black. He touches the blades of his dagger and spear together, allowing Charrend to take in the fearblaze. Indeed, Aric's dagger, Wyrmfel, has absorbed copious amounts of that wicked flame...
Once the spear has taken in enough fearblaze Aric hurls the spear at the Grundlekrunk's chest.

[Felandria]

Felandria will redirect her aim slightly, focusing the cone of cold on the beast's head, hoping to knock it unconscious.

[Mee]

Well, the Mysterious Female Figure begins sticking her sword deep into the things foot. Ow. Painful. So, it's foot is now gushing purple blood all over poor whatshername, and so she might discover it's blood tastes like alcohol for some reason. But, lifting the creature? It weighs more than several tons, and would normally break someone by standing on them, easily. However, her super strength momentarily off-balances the thing. In response, the unfeeling animal raises said foot as high as it can before smashing down, attempting to crush her.


Mmmm, alcohol blood. Even more motivation to fight harder!

And yeah. Lifting the creature. Adrenaline does fun stuff, and it's not outside the realm of possibility. She is rather magically strong, after all. :smalltongue:

Though she is getting mashed down, and isn't terribly enjoying that, but! What can you do? Besides hang onto the sword for dear life, which is exactly what she does.

[Hattish Thing]

Okay. (Fel, could you be a bit more descriptive? Please? :smallsmile: Thank you!)

Now, the creature is struck down. The blade continues to go up into the Grundlekrunk's massive leg, until the thing is bleeding a lot of blood. Now, it cries out. Not in pain, but it's acknowledging it's blood loss. Then it's mouth freezes over, closing it's maw shut. Then to finish it off, a spear is lodged in it's chest. Then black flames erupt all over the beast, causing many of it's pustules to burst and explode, which might hit the group. Then it begins to fall forward.

[Aric Kale]

Aric laughs! Before sputtering as slime and other grossness gets in his mouth. Eww.
Anyways, he sheathes the dagger and steps backwards to stay out of the Grundlekrunk's fall-range

[Felandria]

Aric laughs! Before sputtering as slime and other grossness gets in his mouth. Eww.
Anyways, he sheathes the dagger and steps backwards to stay out of the Grundlekrunk's fall-range

Fel jumps out of the way of the falling creature.

What the hell WAS that thing?

[Mee]

Well, since her sword is still fairly deeply embedded into the foot and leg of the giant . . . thing. The mysterious lady goes flying up, her sword acting as a pivot of sorts to send her and her sword at least a good, dramatic twenty feet into the air. While in the air, the mysterious lady flaps what appears to be a large pair of wings to get a moment of stability, then comes crashing back down on the giant thing, sword-tip first, aiming for, and hopefully penetrating the thing's neck, juuuust to make sure it's dead.