Alerian Chronicles: Illumination (Trying this again)

[Cyrus112]

((Alrighty, getting this up while I have the motivation, heh. No need to respond right away. I'm just getting this up now. Respond when you all are ready.))

Smoke rises from burnt houses and drifts through the air. The sky above is a chaos of a solid mass of black clouds. Signs of battle are everywhere. Dead bodies, mainly of townspeople, litter the streets of this small town. Here and there there are dead orcs, goblins and humans. Some of the humans look very odd and carried very...different weaponry. Their cloaks or robes have a strang insignia on them, one that isn't in the least bit familiar to anyone. The insignia has a tower on it, which is in front of a black lightning bolt. A snake wraps itself around the tower. In the middle of the tower is a six pointed shape, with a dot in the middle of it. Lines from each of the six outer points swirl inward to meet the one point in the middle. The resulting effect makes it appear is if there is a vortex on the tower.

Town criers runs through the streets.

"Town meeting! Town meeting! Everyone meet at the Inn! The mayor wishes to speak with everyone in town! Town meeting!"

[LightBringer]

Walker

Walker listens carefully as the crier makes his way. He ha no problem hearing him from way out here on the outskirts of the town. Keeping a careful look-out, Walker makes his way to a body and inspects it farther. He will take whatever he finds as well as a cloak that is intact, securing it in his pack. After that he will make his way toward the inn, but stays to the shadows as much as possible.

[Rejakor]

Cann of the Mist crested the last hill between him and the small town he had been sent to. A sight of devastation reached his eyes. He had been smelling smoke for miles, but had not realized the devastation that awaited him. He looked around him, taking in the green grass, trees, and occasional small animal.

Although this land carried it's fair share of scars from the sunless age, it was much fairer than the Arcanix homelands he had journeyed from. Was it so bad to want the sun to shine again, he thought? Of course it wasn't. But Solarion soldiers killed as many Arcanix as the nightlovers. With their 'requisitions' of supplies, denouncements of Arcanix as evil tools of the Nocturne, peasant conscripts getting out of control and killing and raping. The Solarion were as much to blame for the war as the Nocturne.

With an angry grunt, he set himself in the saddle, and urged Cloudfoot on. The steady Clop, Clop of the horse's hooves returned, and they headed down the hill towards the destroyed town. Leaning down from the saddle, Cann plucked an insignia from one of the human corpses. Shaking his head at the waste of life, he followed the shouts of the town criers toward the Inn, one of the few buildings left standing in the town.

[Alicorn]

Persis

A young halfling woman maneuvers a white pony around the corpses with obvious distaste. "This isn't very pretty, now, is it, Dorje?" she says conversationally to her mount as she follows the general flow of people towards the Inn. She ties Dorje to a nearby stationary object, gives the pony a pat, and weaves around the knees of taller folk to get into the building and see what's going on - climbing onto a table if this makes it easier to see than her not-quite-three-feet of height can.

[Cyrus112]

((Gonna back track you a wee bit there, Alicorn))

There is a large gathering of people in front of the Inn. Bits of conversation can be heard all around from different people.

"What happened?"

"Who were those people?"

"A group from Nocturne?"

At the entrance to the Inn, there is a bald, overweight man, his equally robust wife who is in tears, an a willowy, elderly man dressed in some fine looking robes. From here, you can see a squat, stone tower that's located behind the inn.

[Rejakor]

Cann

Riding through the burnt town, Cann sees widespread devastation, the kind so common in Arcanix, his homeland. It saddens him that even here, in the supposedly safe realm of Solarion that so many people of the Arcanix have fled to, there is suffering and death.

Coming at last to the Inn, Cann dismounts, stroking Cloudfoot's nose, telling her to wait here, and not to worry, that he'll tell her everything later. Heading through the crowd towards the front, his armour, weapons, and upright stance marking him as a person of power. As he passes, tears dry, and people feel hope.

[chiefwaha]

A young priest rides into town, his mace held up, the head glowing softly. His full plate armor has the symbol of Pelor blazoned across the front, and it also is displayed prominently on his shield and holy symbol. An open faced helm sits on his head, and a handsome face can be seen. His skin is pigmented, letting the world know he hails from Solarion. He quietly moves towards the inn where the town meeting was urgently being called.

[LightBringer]

Walker

Walker remains at the edges of the crowd. His brown and green cloak hood pulled over his head. He stays to the shadows of the buildings, and listen from there.

[Cyrus112]

((I pmed the last two in the group, but haven't heard back from them yet. Hoping to soon))

[Geneticist]

Lupo
Lupo wandered around the outskirts of the town, sniffing at dead bodies and wondering why he felt so much that something special was going on there.

[ninja_penguin]

Rictor Belanus

Rictor circles in among the crowd consolidating around the tavern, looking to find the source of the summons by the mayor.

[Cyrus112]

The elderly man in the fancy robes gently touches the innkeeper on the shoulder. The innkeeper pats his wife on the shoulder and then approaches the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming here. I know you all have questions, but we know about as much as you. We don't know what group was behind this attack, or why, but Bartleby here is looking into the insignia found on the cloaks.

"Our twin daughters were taken as the group retreated from town."

An anguished sob escapes the man's wife at this point.

"We don't know what the plan is for them, whether they are alive or dead, but the remaining people in the group were seen heading north. Bartleby is looking into where they are headed now, as well. We...we are looking for a group of people to bring our daughters back to us. Please. They are the shining jewels of our lives. Bartleby here will meet those who are interested in helping inside in a little bit and fill them in on what is expected. I'm begging you all, please help us."

With that, the innkeepers shoulders slump and he takes his wife and they go into the inn.

[Rejakor]

Cann of the Mist

Stepping forward from the crowd, sky-blue cloak swirling around him, Cann smiles at the elderly couple, his mere presence lifting some of the weight of despair hanging like a pall over them.

"Don't worry, good sir. I will bring your daughters back, and" Cann's eyes swirl for a second, holy fury filling them with fire "bring their captors to justice."

[chiefwaha]

Waha steps forward and says, "I'll help if I can. May I see the cloaks of the attackers?"

[Cyrus112]

The old man speaks up.

"Come inside if you are interested in helping. You can have a look at some of the dead raiders and the clothes they were wearing."

[LightBringer]

Walker

If there is an open window Walker will slide through into the inn. Otherwise he will quietly slide through the crowd and into the inn.

He will take up a position in a corner, his brown and green cloak still pulled over his head.

[Cyrus112]

There is indeed an open window.

[chiefwaha]

Waha enters and starts to examine any evidence.

[LightBringer]

Walker

He will use the window quickly and quietly then. As before he will take up a position in a corner, or away from the others. Then waits for the details.

[Cyrus112]

The insignia was described in my first post, so I'm not going to re-describe it, hehe.

There are an assortment of humans and goblin-kin, and upon closer inspection, some of the humans are vampires. Among all of the dead, there is one very odd looking person. It seems to be a human with deeply tanned skin. He appears to be wearing scaly, black plate armor, but upon closer inspection, it is natural armor, the person's actual skin. He was wielding a very odd looking sword in battle, as well.

"Ah yes, that one," chimes in the older man. "He is some sort of shape shifter. He has a snake tatooed on the back of his neck. I've made a study of all sorts of cultures and civilizations, even some beyond the mountain ranges of Aleria, but I have never seen this type of person before."

[Geneticist]

Lupo is going to hide by the window and observe as best he can. He thinks "Better to not pop up as a wolf when everyone's nerves are so tense already".

[ninja_penguin]

Rictor Belanus

Rictor edges up to the crowd along the corpses, with only minor interest until he spots the corpses of the vampires and the shapeshifter. "How fascinating." he mutters.

[Rejakor]

Cann of the Mist

Cann walks into the Inn, and takes a look at the raiders. Inspecting the dead vampires closely, he attempts to determine if these were the weaker spawn sometimes commanded by clerics of evil, or the stronger 'true vampires'.

[Cyrus112]

Cann, as you get closer to one of the "dead" vampires, its eyes shoot open and he rises, grabbing you by the neck. The other vampires also get up and look around the room, grinning maliciously although not attacking.

((Opposed grapple check for Cann))

[LightBringer]

Walker

As Walker suspected, it was all an act to be brought into the city. Walker draws his longsword, and waits.

[Geneticist]

Lupo shuts his eyes and strains, visualizing himself as more man than human.
(1d20+12)[21]for Control Shape

[Rejakor]

Cann of the Mist

Looking down the length of an arm at the undead that has grasped him, Cann smiles, a kindly smile that encompasses all the compassion in the world. Without changing his expression, his eyes flare with golden light, and the expression on his face, without changing, becomes as terrible as it is beautiful.

Spoiler

Show

Automatic Touch Attack Success.
Lay on Hands for 30 points of positive energy damage.

[Cyrus112]

((Not opposing the grapple, Cann? You are good to go for human shape, Lupo))

[Rejakor]

((No, i'm just looking down at the creature and roasting it in it's own undead juices ala Muffy the Vampire Baker. Rules explainadge in spoiler))

Spoiler

Show

Basically.

If you are in a grapple, you automatically succeed on any touch attacks you need to make. I am using lay on hands (the paladin ability) to channel positive energy via a touch attack to harm undead. Since this undead has kindly provided me with an automatic touch attack success, I see no need to struggle against it. Basically, if it survives the 30 points of damage that go right past any energy resistances or damage reduction, it automatically pins me.
This is from wizards, and is what I am basing this 'goes right past DR' thing from "Deal Non-Weapon Damage: Damage reduction protects the creature from weapons damage and natural attacks, not from spells or energy damage." Link.

Oh, in case you didn't see it, there's another 'spoiler' thing in my last post.

In non-rules-terms, it grabs me, I look at like I do up in my post, and providing the damage kills it, it screams and burns with holy fire and turns into dust. Without me even moving. It literally touches me and dies for it.

[Cyrus112]

((The vampire hisses loudly and whimpers but backs off, looking at his blistering hands. He then slouches, holding his chest.

"You would all do best to leave us to our plans, you cursed meatbags," he says with a pained voice. Then all of the vampires turn into wolves and lope out of the house, heading north at incredible speed.