Slayer:
Ferazel, Avatara, and Slayer found themselves knee deep in snow as soon as they had been blasted into this new world. And no sooner had they landed then they were attacked by an enormous creature covered head to toe in light brown fur. The four legged beast stood about twelve feet tall, with limbs the size of a large man. From the paws protruded several large, razor sharp claws, the size of a person's hand. And it was with one of these limbs that he struck Slayer.
Slayer was tossed twenty feet, where he landed in a snow drift, unconcious, and seriously hurt. Avatara backed hastily over to Slayer's position, where he proceeded to heal Slayer. Ferazel, meanwhile, cast defensive spells on the party while attempting to engage the beast in combat.
As Slayer came to, he thanked Avatara for the assistance. He then made use of the new spell that had been made available to him: Scan. A wall of light swept through the beast. As soon as the wall of light passed the creature, Slayer's, Ferazel's, and Avatara's minds were all filled with an understanding of the creature. As far as physical attacks go, this creature can survive as much damage as fifty humans, and it has strength to match. It is a rather dim-witted creature, and has no inherent magical capabilities. Due to its size, it has a rather poor reaction time to any events, but can unerringly strike any fixed target. Living nearly year-round in a frozen waste, it can survive and even thrive in all but coldest of cold. Naturally, its weakness lies in its extraordinary vulnerability to fire. The party begins to adjust its strategy to this new-found knowledge.
ferazel_09:
Avatara joins Ferazel, and combining their magic powers, they casted sevral Runes of Blocking, and tried their luck on electric elemental spells.
GameFanatic:
The party on the opposite side of the void from Slayer, Ferazel, and avatara woke up to find that fanatic wasnt with them. he had slipped into the void right after Slayer, and because the void was closing, was stuck for a few terrifying seconds within the void. then he had been shot up into icy cold air and landed with s soft thump in the snow...
Avatara:
*Avatara raised his hands, and a bright red ring surrounded the creature. The creature looked at it strangely, for he could pass through it safely, but it would catch up and wrap itself around him again. The party and the creature stared at each other for what seemed like an eterninty, until the ground literally erupted in flame. The shock of seeing a giant blast of fire appear in front of them knocked Slayer and Ferazel backwords onto the snow, just in time as a singed claw flew right where they were standing. The creature emerged from the blaze, on fire and in great pain, and focused on the trio. Suddenly, it was blasted away by a lightning blast that had come from...behind them.
The three turned, and were met with the smiling face of GameFanatic.*
GameFanatic:
"sorry. it was only me. sorry." Fanatic apologizes
Talos:
Meanwhile, on the other side of the void, the explosion had killed a good number of the enemies. In fact, the group was lucky to have survived the blast. They finished off the remaining beasts easily...
ferazel_09:
"Well, anyone hungry?" Ferazel askes, "I have more that enough food for a party twice that of the Undine Stronghold's."
J.Ace21:
"well. looks like this wasn't too much use"
picking up his end of the 'rope' that was supposed to keep them connected to cythera.
"anyways. we should set up camp here. near the void. i have a bad feeling about this whole thing with the void. me and talos will go set up a field of ruins. the rest should get some food and set up camp"
the group get working on there own jobs while J.Ace and Talos sets up variuos ruins such as flame, blocking, warding, pain, and others they created themselves.
Talos:
Thanks to an abundant supply of wood and stone, the camp had a small stockade and ditch. The runes, however, were difficult to set up. It seemed as though offensive spells were universal, while the runes needed a good deal of adjustment to this world. Finally, J.Ace and Talos got the runes working. J.Ace was posted as watchman..
Moonshadow:
... someone prepared food, and Moonshadow got out a small harp and started playing. After some time most of the group fell asleep. That night nothing happened and in the morning the group had to decide what to to next ...
J.Ace21:
"So guys. we got through the night. though i thought that we were going to change shifts _TALOS_. but its ok. i suggest we go to a new location. but not too far from the void. those... things whatever they were know where we are now and i'm not sure how well the runes will help us. any other ideas?"
Moonshadow:
"I'm not sure if I want to stay here at all. On the other hand, every time we went through the void, the world we came to was worse, so if this was only the beginning ... anyway, we first need to know, what was - or is - wrong about the void and second: where is Fanatic?!?
GameFanatic:
Slayer looked at fanatic.
Fanatic was looking at the void. "The void is shifting rapidly. I have calculated that every one hundred worlds I see the Moonshadow. But the Moonshadow's head is nodding quite slowly. the only explanation that I can give is that the time in this world flows differently from the time in their world. I can then assume that in one minute in this world, an hour will have gone by in their world. the void shifts every three seconds. if i time it right, we can jump in and come out and be face-to-face with our companions."
Meanwhile, Moonshadow could have sworn that she saw fanatic's face in the void.
"Everyone get ready...3...2...1...JUMP!!" Fanatic yelled.
they jumped in, and suddenly, they realized Fanatic mis-calculated and they were in a worse predicament than before...
Macintosh Man:
Suddenly, a ball of fire is hurled into the middle of the camp, knocking everyone in down and away from each other.
An unseen voice rang out,"Stay where you are or there is one of those for each one of you."
"Who are you?!" Yelled out J.Ace.
"You'll find out soon enough"
MacMan's face is twisted with horror. "Oh no...
Moonshadow:
Cloaked men then came out of the shadows. They took all weapons the group had, and put bracelets on all the mages. They experienced a moment of great pain and weakness and then felt that they could no longer access their magic powers. Their capturers talked to another for a short time, then everybody was roughly tossed to his (or her) feet and they (capturers and prisoners) left the camp and and marched into the direction of a mountain range far away. Escape seemed impossible. The group was seperated and each member was surrounded by four guards, and they were many more soldiers besides ...
Talos:
The mages, however, were better off than the warriors. Besides from confiscating their weapons, they fractured their wrists through a painful twist. This left the warriors with nothing to rebel with. The bracelets, however, as MoonShadow would discover, were not perfect...
J.Ace21:
we were seperated from each other and put into seperate cells. J.Ace thinks of a way to escape but can't concentrate because of the bracelets...
"ahh ****"
J.Ace curses and seings his hands wildly. he suddenly finds himself surrounded by guards
"looks like this little one needs to be disciplined"
says a fat looking guard with one muscular arm and a shriveled one.
"so should we do with him boss?" this time its a extremely tall guard with a very unpleasoant stench surrounding him.
"hm... take him to the.....
Moonshadow:
.. in her cell, Moonshadow also thought of a way to escape, but was disturbed by the sound of a couple of guards that took J.Ace away ... after a while the prisoners could hear him screaming (*I don't want to think about a way of torturing any character, so make up the details yourself*), which - in addition to the bracelets - kept everybody from thinking of anything. After what seemed like a very long time guards came to all the prisoners and took them to a great hall. There - on a throne made of the bones of a VERY large creature - sat a man. He was tall and musculous, with short black hair and black eyes. He might have been called handsome, had there not benn this cruel - and somehow soulless - look in his eyes. J.Ace was already there, pale and horrified, but strangely without any sign of torture.
"Don't even THINK of it" said the man, as theKestrel tried to free himself from his guards, he raised his hand and a bolt of pain striked theKestrel to the ground. "I see that some of you have to learn discipline before we can use you ..." "Use us for what?" asked Talos. "Well, I'm sure all of you are usable for something -" he grinned evilly "- the mines for all that give up resistance, and for the other, there remains only the ... valley" The guards looked horrified, while the group exchanged surprised glances. What could be so bad about that valley? "And as for you -" the man continued and pointed at Moonshadow "- well, let's just say that female visitors do not exactly come here often ..."
...
ferazel_09:
Using magic, Ferazel, Avatara, Slayer, and Fanatic all watched what was going on at the fortress. "We have to save them!" Fanatic says. "Yes, but spells don't travel through voids." Slayer says, "There has to be a way to use magic to set them free with magic if we can watch them with magic. Ferazel, what does this spell do?" Ferazel replied, "It doesn't go through voids, it sends a mini spell to go to the highest point above where you want to look at, and sends what it sees back to the main spell, a kind of window that were looking at right now." "Hmm. Maybe we can alter the spell to save them." Avatara says.
Moonshadow:
*meanwhile at the fortress*
"Now choose. Give up your resistance and work hard, and you will find out that life here isn't that bad ... or ... try to fight and you will get to know the Reaper more quickly than you can imagine!"
ferazel_09:
Finally, after 3 hours of trying to create a new spell, Avatara and Ferazel created a new spell simalar to the TV spell, except it will fire a beam of intence energy at the target, which may be anywhere. Avatara gave it's tome to Fanatic and Slayer, and they learned it too. When they catch up to the other group, theyll let them have it too. "Ready to fire the spell?" Ferazel asks...
Moonshadow:
*at the fortress again*
... and so the group was seperated again. J.Ace, who's had enough of torturing and didn't want to take any more risks, and MacMan went to the mines, all other men were sent to the valley, and Moonshadow was taken to another cell, comfortable this time, but nonetheless a cell, and went to examining the bracelets again. It seemed that they kept her from using her powers to heal, fight or enchant things, persons, etc. but could not hinder her from taking in power ... maybe if shed take in enough mana, she could overload them? But how to do that - and without getting hurt too badly?
...
Finally she had found a way of taking in mana, now shed only have to wait for the right time to use her knowledge. It would not be wise to try it right now. "Only wait, Ill show you ..." She sat down and waited ...
Lindor:
As the people sent to the valley crested the final ledge, mosy of them wished they had chosen another course. The "valley" was really more of a huge hole blasted straight down into the ground. As the group looked down the fifty feet or so to the bottom, they felt like barfing. It was simply horrible. The sludge that covered most of the floor was gooey and gray. A few mounds of silt rose up from the overwise level ground, but they weren't much better than the sludge, maybe worse, for you could actually see the dead corpses. A sickly sent rose up from the decicrated valley, causing the groups minds to titter and almost stop working altogether. This was the valley of Death.
With a heavy push from the but end of a guard's spear, Lindor fell down into the brackish slime. As his body's momentum was haulted by the liquid-muck, he came to realize one thing: If they didn't get out soon, everyone would either starve, or go insane from this hell. The rest of the party soon followed Lindor down.
Avatara:
**Off in the desert world**
*The group shot the spell at one of the massive birds that had been circling overhead. All it seemed to do however, was scare the thing away, and make it so one member of the group could tell when the void opened again, exactly.
Next, the four trudged to what seemed to be hills nearby. They had no idea, however, of the horrors that awaited them there...*
**Back in the fortress**
*Moonshadow waited silently in her cell, thinking of what they might do to her to pass the time away. She had a bad feeling about what would happen if she stayed behind, especially with the look in the creature's eyes.
Suddenly, she snapped to reality as she noticed her chance had come. She gathered as much magic as possible, and attempted to focus it on the bracelet, but to her dismay, the bracelit wiggled on her arm, absorbed the magic, and seemed to grow larger and tighter, now extending to cover her hands with a hard un-moving, magic-absorbing substance. Bad idea she realized as she attempted to banish the magic being sucked into the thing away. To her dismay, it pulled harder at the magic, and then started praying on her life force. She let out a bloodcurtling scream as she realized what she had accidentially done.
The world around her spun, then all went black...*
**In the mines**
MacMan woke himself up slowly, aching all over from tired and cramped muscles. He blinked in the dusty dim light and tried to take in his surroundings. He appeared to be on a cot of some time, in a wooden room with light leaking in. The only other furniture was another bed against the far wall where J.Ace stirred.
MacMan looked at the ancient door, blinding light pouring in. He was in a cabin, but he couldn't remember how he got there, or what he was doing inside. His thoughts were disturbed as booted footsteps grew louder outside. The door was replaced by bright light, and a black silhoutte stepped into the doorway, stopping before actually entering the room.
The figure's features could not be determined because of the bright light. Even so, MacMan could tell it was a tall, burly, strong character he could not hope to overwhelm. The figure made a gesture with his hands, and the two adventurers followed him to the mines...unaware of the recent troubles within...
**in the valley**
Lindor sat up almost immediately in the sticky goo. It couldn't be! NO!! But, alas, it was. The liquid was slowly digesting them with acids; it was like a living creature, and it made it so they couldn't escape. Already, it was starting to prevent movement from them, by making the liquid become ever so sticky. It was getting harder to peel it off of them, and escape seemed hopeless. Also, for every cell digusted, two more cells of the liquid were made.
A goat-like creature on the other side let out a hideous cry as it tried to break free. Already, the liquid had stuck to the creature so that it could not move anymore. Lindor adverted his eyes as the liquid quickly dissovled the creature. The creature's fur and ski had been pealed away in front, and one could see the inards and organs heaving in a bloody mess inside its chest.
As the group looked away, the screams became more frantic until they were suddenly cut off. In moments, all that was left was an increased amount of sludge. The prisoner to the right of Lindor, the only one between him and the goat thing, started shaking. Appearanly, this creature was dissolving all in a clockwise direction, and after this unlucky fellow, Lindor was next.
The group could do nothing to escape, magic was non-existant in this land, so they hoped someone would be able to rescue them...and soon.
But, unbeknownest to the poor party, they had more time than they thought. It would take the creature six days to finish a victim, then move on. After two hours of infection (when it starts it's work on a victim) it was unstoppable. The two hour limit for Lindor would put it at a time about sixteen minutes before the void in this dimension closed for many centuries...
ferazel_09:
Can we still fire the spell, we could focus the spell just right so that it would balst the monster, but not harm the others.
J.Ace21:
------*---------*--------
MacMan and J.Ace followed the man into a small car. first they were cuffed with a different kind of bracelet from the ones that they had put on them in the fortress. the car sped down tunnels of unknown length. then after what seemed like a millenium the car stopped
"it's a good thing you guys came" said the guard with a wicked tone in his voice
"we had just lost two men down here in the lower sub-levels. you guys will do just fine in filling in for them." with that the guard threw MacMan and J.Ace a bag of glowing bars, apparently magically enchanted, and said
"look for anything that produces light and put them in the bag"
then he turned to enter the car
"oh and. ill be here in a week. stay here. .... hehehe"
with that the car sped away at an incredible speed and macman and J.Ace were left alone to think of a way to escape... or rot in this mine.
Moonshadow:
Black ... everything was black. The woman slowly opened her eyes, but nothing changed. Was she blind? What had happened? Where was she? And ... who was she? She vaguely remembered travelling with a group .. and next fighting Something ... and then? Voices disturbed her thoughts, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. They were clearly arguing about something. She tried to get up, but was pushed back by someone. "You should stay in bed, you know, girl. You would almost have died while fighting the bracelets -" what bracelets? "- had a guard not heard you." Someone put something on her eyes, and then she could see again. The old man - the speaker - she didn't know, but the other ... tall, with black hair and eyes ... she had seen before. One of her companions? No, that could not be. There was something strange about him. She was sure she hadn't travelled with him. "Well, as I said before, shell have to stay here for a while, until she has recovered sufficiently for ..." "Well, old man, youd better hurry ..." the man grinned cruelly. Surely no companion. The old man nodded, looking at her. He was surely afraid of the other man, but there was something else in his eyes ... pity?
"I'm doing my best, but her recovery will take some days ..." "Three days, no longer!" The man turned around and left. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Who is he?" "The Master ... poor girl, you and your friends should never have come here"
"You know them?"
"I ... Ive seen them. the two in the mines may survive for a while, but those in the Valley ... no chance. And don't ask. I'm not going to help you, I did what I can with keeping you here for a few more days. Now you should Sleep!"
She fell asleep.
Rogan:
Moonshadows eyes flit open and she looked around. She was locked up in a small prison cell, unfortunately still having the bracelet tightened to her hands. Suddenly, a voice broke the cilence: "hello? Is anybody there?" Moonshadow rwalised that the sound came from the other side of the wall. She answered: "Hello? Who are you?" "That is not important now. The most important thing is to get out of this ****hole!" Moonshadow examined the wall and discovered a pair of blue eyes looking at her from a crack in the wall. These walls were made of stone, not concrete like the previous cell. "You are human!" she said, "What happened to you?" "I heard about a quest to find our homeland" the voice answered, "and I foolishly went out here alone. I am from Cythera, you see. Anyway, I was captured by these hellish creatures and taken to this cell. If I only could get this damn thing off my hands..." "What is your name, then?" Moonshadow asked.
"I go by the name of Rogan. You`ve heard of me perhaps...the Undine Stronghold...I do not know your name, but I like what i see". "My name is Moonshadow" she answered, "and if you believe..." Rogan interrupted: "I do not believe anything else that we are about to be exeuted and we need to escape. Did you come alone?" "No, I came with several others" Moonshadow replied, "they are in a place called the Valley". Rogan gasped. "If your friends are in the Valley there is little time to lose. We need to get out of here...NOW
ferazel_09:
Suddenly, a high power energy beam comes from the sky. It hits the monster in the valley, but it just slowed it down a little.
*** In the other universe ***
"Well, that didn't work the way I thought it would." Ferazel says, "I thought it would destroy the thing, not just weaken it a little."
Macintosh Man:
As MacMan and J.Ace entered the mine, their nostrils were filled with an acrid stench coming from within.
"What is that smell?" Questioned J.Ace.
"I don't know" Replied MacMan, "and I hope I don't find out"
As they proceeded further into the mine, they found the source of the stench. There were many workers in the mine, some in fairly well condition, some not so well, and the rest dead and rotting; obviously the source of the smell.
"WERE GOING TO DIE!" screamed MacMan, as his years alone in this land had takes its toll on his courage.
"No, we're not" replied J.Ace.
A large, deep voice intervened, obviously from the guard escorting them, "That's what YOU think..."
Moonshadow:
*Hmm, Rogan, I thought she wouldn't get her memory back for some time, but anyway ...*
"That's true, the only thing is, I have no idea, how to do it ... I tried getting rid of those ******* bracelets, and almost got myself killed by the way. That old man seemed to know a way, though ... wait, what's that about the Valley? What do you know about it?"
Rogan quickly explains about the monster. "How nice, they really do seem to like visitors very much." "One more reason to get out of here NOW!" "I'm in for it ... any idea how?"
Rogan:
Rogan glanced at a small window in the metal door separating the cell from the hallway and answered: "Unfortunately not. The only way out of here is the guards keys, and these **** things on my hands...we could forget about killing a guard, I think. And these cells are quite secure. A miracle that I found the crack in the wall. I tried to cut the bracelets on a sharp rock but ended up cutting myself. If we could just get the guard to open the door. I`ve practised martial arts, you see". "Yes" Moonshadow agreed, "the guards are propably carrying some sort of key to the bracelets". Rogan said: "Yes, maybe. Do you know where they took our weapons? When I get my hands on the Excalibur and my ice daggers again...". "No" Moonshadow answered, "I think I lost part of my memory. All I remember is the Valley...and that two or maybe more of my friends escaped or something...I do not remember". Rogan was about to reply, but shut his mouth when he heard footsteps in the hallway...
Avatara:
*The evil man, Drake Thern, smiled to himself as he walked down the hallway. The man imprisoned, he would excecute him no doubt, but the female... He relished in a thought, then decided he would keep her for his future wife. The male could be exceuted during the wedding, so the future couple could have their marrage sealed by drinking a cup of fresh blood. Drake reached Rogan's cell and paused.*
"Guards, take this one to..'the chamber" Drake commanded in a calm voice.
"Yes sir!" *The guards walked over and opened the cage. It was here that Rogan sprung at them, knocking one down and catching the other in the stomach with a punch. Rogan spun to face Drake, when he recieved a crushing blow to his right arm. He dropped to the floor in pain and looked up to see Drake smiling over him.*
"I value your pitiful effort, at least you have courage, but I too am trained in martial arts. Good try though." *With that, Drake personally dragged a pained Rogan, gritting his teeth to avoid breaking out in tears, to the chamber. The guards stood up and locked the cage behind them.*
J.Ace21:
*J.Ace21 and MacMan sat with the others. looking for the ore that their captors wanted. J.Ace noticed that the guards seemed tired and bored.*
"listen MacMan. These guards. they were trained to be fighters. but they haven't had a fight in who knows how long. these poor miners were never strong enough to give them that. now that we don't have those bracelets we might be able to reach some source of magic. maybe these glowing rods. anyway, pass the word that we and the rest of these miners are going to start an open revolt. well easily take over the guards with you and me. then well look for the others. by calculating the speed of the cars that we came in, though i couldn't calculate it very well, and the time it took us to get here i bet that were far enough away from the fortress. so how's that for a plan?"
J.Ace21:
back in the mines. J.Ace and MacMan had put together a little force of resistance fighters. they decided that the only weapons that they had were themselves and the few picks they had with them. after close examination it appears that the guards are each carrying a small staff-like stick as weapons. the more senior miners tell J.Ace that when hit with the glowing end the victim to the hit falls into a deep sleep. he also states that some of the weaker of them had died due to a hit with the staff. also they learned that the staffs seemed to lose their power over time when kept in the mines. especially where there are large deposits of the rock where they locate more miners.
"hm.. hey MacMan. what do you think we should do? I don't seem to be able to draw any power from any source of magic. something is getting in my way. i tried casting a daylight spell but all i got was a small blink, like a match, that lasted for.. what... 3 seconds? how about you?"
"sorry. can't seem to summon any power either. looks like the fight is going to be a physical one" said MacMan cracking his knuckles...
"oh no~~" groaned J.Ace
"with that armor. its going to be hard to overtake those guards" J.Ace burrows his head in his hands thinking.
Suddenly, MacMan looks up, as if he had thought of something. "There has to be a source of magic. look at those sticks the guards are carrying. that shows that there is magic in this world. and it also has to be accessible.... and... yes! that's it. everywhere weve been here there has been something that has been catching my eye. these rods that we are looking for. ive seem them all around in the fortress and even in the cars. though they were shaped and set into different forms theyre definately the same stone. i think they use it as a source of light."
"so?" asked J.Ace. unmoved and not noticing what MacMan was getting at.
"so!? so! this rock, ore, whatever you want to call it is all over the fortress and any civilized place in this freaking dimension. but in the wilderness where we first landed in this dimension its only deep down in the depth of the planet. far away..."
"I still don't get the point"
"the point is. that the reason we can't summon any magic is in these rocks. don't you remember? during our first battle we were able to casts spells. all sorts of lightning spells and you cast oblivion too. you and talos also created some runes, though with some difficulty."
"ok. now i get it. but how is it going to help us?"
"well, the color of the stone is blue right?"
"a very dark blue, but yes. blue."
"and the stones on the guards weapons are pinkish."
"i guess you can say that" J.Ace. still not getting the point.
"well? don't you recognize the pink stone?" MacMan getting a little fustrated that J.Ace wasn't understanding a thing he was saying <IMG SRC="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/smile.gif" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="15">
"well.... they do look a little like the stones that are all over the Magestrium at Pnyx"
"exactly. i think that they resemble a magcial power. and the blue stones resist and block that magical power. that's why the miners said that after time the weapons seemed to lose their glow and power so that the guards needed to replace them every other day."
"so. we strike when the weapons are weakest."
"exactly!"
"ok. then we just need to wait now" J.Ace breathes a sigh of relief and lays back. just to be abrubtly disturbed by a guard.
"TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK!!!!" roared the guard as he started hurding them back to the mines
Macintosh Man:
As the guards called all of the workers back to continue their jobs, J.Ace and MacMan signaled to the rest of the miners that this was the time. MacMan let out a battle cry, and upon that sound, all of the miners swarmed the guards, easily overtaking them due to the fact that they outnumbered the guards about 15 to 1. However, these guards were not easy fodder, having all of their years of training. Many of the miners were killed or wounded in the battle, but they still prevailed. Within half of an hour, all of the guards were subdued. Grabbing several of the staffs, J.Ace and MacMan thanked and bode farewell to the rest of the miners, and then continued onward in the direction from which they came.
Avatara:
**In the fortress**
*Moonshadow shivered again as another one of Rogan's terrifying screams cut through the silence. She could tell he was in a great deal of pain, and hoped he would survive. Another bloodcurtling scream cut through the silence, and Moonshadow covered her ears. She wept, for Rogan and the punishment he was undergoing...
**In the hills**
Slayer led the group across the desert. They had almost made it to the foothills, traveling a distance of less than half a mile but already they were thirsty and tired. The red sun beating down on them didn't help at all.
The had reached the foothills and finally noticed there were mountains beyond. Just looking at the huge towering peaks of rock and the shade that could be found in many places was something that made ferazel drool.
Their dreaming was interrupted as war cries came from behind them. They turned to see a huge tribe of beefy men charging at them waving many weapons. Blue war paint covered their face and limbs.
Slayer and Avatara stepped in front and casted a powerful spell...but to their dismay, the spell didn't work. After trying seven different spells, the adventurers realized magic was not abundant in this world, and were stuck with close combat weapons. Being in front, Slayer and Avatara were the first to engage this raging horde.
Avatara swung his sword, but was thrown off-balance as the sword didn't completely cut his foe in half, but got stuck. He usually had been able to cleanly cut through, but now the sword was lodged in the heaving stomach of his opponent, who was raging and attempting to hit Avatara with his fists. Avatara realized that enchantments weren't working here, and it wasn't long before the group realized these people welcome pain.
The eighty barbarians pressed their advantage...
Moonshadow:
When Moonshadow Finally stopped weeping, the screams had also stopped. It was only then that she realized that someone was watching her. She looked up to see the old man. He looked at her pitifully "I told you it was no dood coming here, didn't I?" "Indeed you did. Now what does that help the others and me?" she snapped. "As for the one taken to the chamber, nothing can help him now: he will be executed during your ... wedding ceremony. It is a long tradition ..." "My what ...? I'm not thinking -" "Now listen girl! It would be better, much better for you, if you gave up your stupid resistance - anyway, as I was about to say you can't wear this. I'm just bringing your wedding gown." He put down a bundle. "A bath has also been prepared. As soon as you are bathed and dressed properly, send for me. Ill explain the ceremony to you." The old man left Moonshadow to stare at the bath tub. Finally, she told herself that refusing to bathe wouldn't change anything about her situation (at least not for the better) ...
J.Ace21:
J.Ace and MacMan hand pick a small group of five miners to aid them in the rest of their escape. They fight through guards with their newly found staffs and now have acquired suitable armor for fighting and were managing quite well surprisingly. probably cause the guards hadn't fought in a long time and were a little rusty. Soon they found themselves outside the entrance to a high-speed elevator that would take them to the surface. Many of the guards had just surrendered or had gone into hiding fearing the group of miners and adventurers. Though J.Ace and MacMan thought that them and the group they had picked were the only ones attempting to escape to reduce casualties. It seems that the rest of the miners that they were tired of life in the mines and were in close pursuit. They also had fought through many guards with minimal casualties.
"Wait." called J.Ace lifting a closed fist.
"What!?" MacMan cried annoyed at being stopped in their excape.
"The elevator might be ambushed."
"So! You want to climb the stairs!? From all we can tell we could be miles under the surface!" MacMan cries out at J.Ace. Annoyed of him being so delusional.
"Ok. then the elevator it is"
They pressed a small button and almost immediately the large door opened. The group of seven fighters filed into the elevator.
"Everyone. Stay alert...."
As soon as MacMan Presses the button to the surface the elevator lurches upward. In a short minute the elevator stops. and the doors start to open......
Rogan:
*in the fortress*
Rogan screamed again. For half an hour the guard had been torturing him. Rogan was lying on a bench with his hands and feet tied up. The bracelet was gone, they took it of him when he was unconscious, but the ropes didn`t make the situation much better. He could still not reach his magic. Rogan looked at the guard and said: "Ask me some questions, **** it! Torturing me is meaningless unless you want to know something" The guard answered: "Well, we like watching people suffer and we can`t kill you until the ceremony". "The ceremony?" Rogan was surprised. The guard laughed. "Our master and the magess that we captured are going to be wed. At the ceremony they will drink your blood...after we have killed you. Ever heard of "the death by a thousand cuts?" The guard walked out of the room as he said: "Dinner time. Another guard will come and keep you with company soon". Rogan looked around for something sharp. If he could just get the ropes off his hands...
Avatara:
*Avatara woke up dizzily. The night was already upon them. He looked around and he could make out through the blur that him and his three companions were tied to vertical wooden poles. Some sort of fire was going on, and it looked like a ceremony was to be performed. From the looks of it, it was a sacrifice to some gods.
Avatara had no clue as to how he got here, or where he was. He looked to Slayer for answers.*
"Glad to see you awake, its been two nights. Before you ask, the barbarians took us captive after you were knocked unconscious. Appearantly, they need us for some sacrifice to their gods."
"Thanks, any ideas as how to escape?"
Moonshadow:
Moonshadow looked at the so-called wedding gown in disgust. "Oh no, I'm not going to wear that stupid thing" she muttered. " Oh yes, you will!" She spun around. The old man was there. "It's only for the ceremony, girl." "I do not want to be married to that monster. And stop calling me girl. Ive got a name, you know. Call me Moonshadow. Anyway, I can well enough live without your stupid ceremony." "No you can't. Not if you want to survive. And now -" he raised his hand "- stop complaining!" She wanted to say something but she couldn't speak and so she just stared at the old man angrily. "First, I think I never introduced myself. My name is Rohezal. I'm here to make sure you know what you have to do at the ceremony. It's going to be tomorrow, in the evening, so listen carefully. This is important! Almost every man in this place will be there, even the miners. There will be a feast in the great hall, and afterwards the ceremony will take place. Don't say anything unless you are asked to, you don't have to understand the words, and the Master will take care that everything goes the right way! At the ceremony's end you will have to drink a cup of blood -" Moonshadow went pale "- of that man you tried to escape with -" she went even paler and stared at Rohezal in disbelief "- to seal yor marriage! And the last thing: don't try to contact your friends or even escape! It won't serve you - or any of your group - well! Drake Thern is not exactly know for showing mercy to those who don't obey his orders!"
Have you understood everything?" She nodded. "Fine. Eat something." he points at the table, and food and drink appeared. "Tomorrow Ill be back! Don't try anything stupid, girl.
Avatara:
*The flames below were barely licking Avatara's heels, but he knew that would change soon. With a glance at Slayer and GameFanatic, he knew it was now or never. Ferazel started making his distraction, and Avatara used this as an opportunity to redirect the flame via blowing, so that it burned through the rope tying him up. Avatara winced as the flame licked his wrists, but soon it was over and Avatara was falling. He quickly jumped out of the flame and rolled across the dirt on the ground. By this time, some of the barbarians realized it was a trick.
Avatara jumped up and grabbed his and Slayer's swords. With a single swipe, Slayer was free, and with another GameFanatic was able to join them. The barbarians turned away from Ferazel, and faced the threat of the three standing with weapons drawn. Avatara dipped his blade in the burning blaze and let it heat up. By the time the barbarians finally started charging forward, the blade was beginning to glow red-hot, and Ferazel had managed to free himself. The three stood off the assault easily, the ancient blade Avatara wielding now actually cutting a cleaner gash due to it's burning intensity.
As the barbarians started forcing Avatara to slowly retreat, they were assaulted from behind by Ferazel, and flanked by Slayer and GameFanatic. With mass confusion dwelling among them, they were easier to fell. The adventurers had finally defeated their capturers, and amazingly without any nasty wounds. Seeing that they only had limited time, Avatara pressed onward, leading the four across the desert, pressing back towards the void.
Traveling all day, and part of the next night at a fast pace, the four were very weary by the time they reached the location. They appearantly had another day to go, and used this to rest and heal wounds while they waited for the void to appear. They would have to face tough opponants the following day.
Talos:
Things in the valley were not going very well. They still were not freed, and they were getting desperate. Already, Lindor had lost one of his legs, and they lacked the energy to make a new one. Talos looked up mournfully, waiting for help... any...
Macintosh Man:
To everyone's relief, as the door opened, there was no ambush, and nobody anywhere in sight. The party proceeded through the caves to the exit, wondering where everyone was and why they were gone. As they exited the mine however, a group of gruards attacked them from behind...
J.Ace21:
The battle was on. But J.Ace and MacMan's small group(consisting of themselves and five miners) were at a disadvantage. The guards obviously had different kinds of weapons. some sort of projectile weapon. the armor the small group of 7 had already been shattered and the staffs looked dark. Without proper weapons or magic they were doomed since they were outnumbered 26:7. It looked like they were going to go back to the mines when from behind they heard a large warcry
"GET THEM!!!!"
suddenly the rest of the miners that had been following were charging at the guards. During the confusion J.Ace and MacMan who were well trained fighters had disarmed two guards and quickly shot down the rest.
"whew~. thanks guys" said J.Ace. relieved to see that the miners had followed them
"now. lets go."
the larger group of 50 or so men were out of the main building now. Looking out on to a barren wastland.
"now what?
Macintosh Man:
As MacMan, J.Ace, and the now much larger than ever party continued on away from the mine, a couple of the miners pointed out that there were none of the guards around at the usual checkpoints. One of them also pointed out that the last time this happened was when Drake, the leader of this land, was having the excecution ceremony of an outsider, someone not from this land. J.Ace exclaimed, "Those are probably our friends! We need to get to them!" He looked for the miner who had told them why the guards were gone for he seemed to know much about the proceedings here. But as he looked around, the miner was nowhere to be seen. "Where is that miner I was talking to?" he asked MacMan.
MacMan looked around, "I don't know." He looks more, "I don't see him anywhere."
Then J.Ace mumbles angrily, "he must have been a spy, one of the guards in disguise. That means there must be some sort of trap..."
ferazel_09:
They waited, and waited, and waited some more, until the void opened. As they jumped in, they noticed a barbarian was chasing them. As they went through the void, the barbarian jumped too...
Avatara:
*...and suddenly transformed into a hideous beast. Shrieking with rage, it swong a massive claw at Avatara, who barely managed to dodge it. It let out another terrifying roar, and the massive scaly paw swung again. The hideous beast put too much wieght into its swing, so when Avatara side-stepped the blow, it stumbled forward. Suddenly it reared up straight and stiff, before falling over, Ferazel standing behind it with his arms raised.
Avatara thanked Ferazel and they were off to the other side of the void. Avatara halted Ferazel and the stars changed. When Avatara dropped his hand, they stepped into a foreign land...*
******
*Moonshadow glanced at the night air from the palace steps. She was dressed in the wedding gown, against her wishes, and now had to wait for two hours. Fifty wary palace guards watched her closely. The moon emerged from behind a cloud and cast it's pale blue light on the torches in front of the giant palace. Thoughts raced through her mind as she struggled to find a way to escape and save Rogan.
Four guards walked up from the trail. For some reason, there was no outer wall around the palace, but Moonshadow knew from being inside that there was no reason for one. The hidden traps and guards strewn through the palace would be enough to stop an invasion.
Moonshadow looked blankly at the white flowers in her hand and looked around again. The chill wind made her shiver in the otherwise warm air. The grass around the marble walkway and steps was a dark green. The torches allowed her to see the neatly trimmed grass running all the way around. It was still dark, but visibilty was not limited at all for the guards.
She glanced down the hill in the direction of the valley. In the distance she thought she could make out the location of the valley, or whatever was there. The grass around the valley was tall and tan-colored. Moonshadow sighed again, and just stood waiting for the two hours to be up...*
******
*Ferazel and Avatara saw the torches lighting up the fortress in the distance. Getting past the guards and fortified wall on the beach was easy, getting into the palace would not be. With a whisper to Ferazel, Avatara sent Ferazel off in the direction of the valley. Time was running out, and fast...*
Rogan:
*in the fortress*
"It is time to go". A guard held Rogan down while another one tied up his hands. Then they started to walk. The first guard first, Rogan in the middle and the second guard behind him. They went through a small hallway and Rogan thought "Two yawning guards...this is my chanse of escape!" Rogan stopped but the first guard didn`t notice and walked further. One second later, Rogan jumped up in the air and broke the second guards neck with a mid-air kick. The first guard turned around and drew his longsword...too late. Rogan kicked him in the stomach, making him drop his sword. Another kick made him fall to the ground and Rogan put his foot on the guards head, stopping him from getting up again. "Where is Moonshadow?" Rogan yelled, "where are my weapons? And when is this wedding thing? Speak, or die!" The guard tried to bite Rogan, but he recieved another kick instead. "Okay" the guard said, "The girl is in the great hall, your weapons are behind the nearest mage locked door, and the wedding ceremony is now". Rogan answered: "and here`s one for torturing me!" Rogan kicked the guard in his face again, and this time he passed out for good. Rogan cut the ropes on his hands on the guards sword as he muttered: "death by a thousand cuts my ***".
Moonshadow:
Moonshadow stood beside the priest and the man who was going to marry her. During the whole night she had not seen her friends, nor had she been able to think of any way to save them or only herself. The bracelets were gone but it didn't matter. Surrounded as she was by guards and that Drake Thern she wasn't able to do anything. So she looked in the direction of the main entrance. The guards had gone to fetch Rogan some minutes ago. She had thought it all over again and again but there was simply nothing she could do ...
She saw some other guards leave the hall. What was happening here? "The prisoner ... he has escaped his guards" a guard informed her. Rogan had escaped? That was the first good news she had heard since her imprisonment. She hoped he would manage to escaoe but the fortress was one big trap.
Her thoughts raced ... maybe she could help him. 'surely, if you manage to stay alive long enough she thought sarcastically. But what could be worse than marrying that man. Nothing, really. She looked around the hall. She had to do something to distract the guards attention ...
Rogan:
"Open the **** door!" Rogan yelled to the guard. He put his sword to the guards throat and repeated: "Open the door!" The guard took a strange rod with a pinkish light and touched the mage locked door with it. The lock turned grey, and the door opened. Rogan cut the guards throat and few seconds later, blood was everywhere on the opposite wall. "Oh yes!" Rogan said to himself, "the weapon storage!" Rogan recognised his sword, the Excalibur, and grabbed it. He found his ice daggers and some other weapons too. All weapons were without their magic but they were sharp and that was enough against these incompetent guards. He also took Moonshadows staff and a few other weapons in case she needed them. Rogan started to walk towards the great hall, where the wedding had begun...
Avatara:
*Rogan saw a huge flash of light, and hit the floor...where he lay unmoving for minutes...*
******
*Ferazel was almost out of breath after running a great distance. He stopped for breath, but Slayer continued, speeding with all haste. Slayer suddenly stopped and jumped back. Ferazel jogged up to see what was wrong.
He almost didn't see the hole until it was too late. The clever rise of the grass covered up the rim. From the giant pit, Ferazel could hear loud moaning and someone crying. A horrible stench wafted up and he felt like regurgitating his lunch. He peered down and almost wished he hadn't.
On the floor, in sticky gray sludge, lay some of his closest friends. Moaning and wailing they sat, Lindor without a leg. Appearantly the gray sludge was a creature, slowly devouring them one by one. Ferazel turned away quickly and looked at Slayer.*
"Any ideas?"
******
*Moonshadow was getting very nervous. The priest has started the wedding some time ago, and had pretty much finished it. She missed what he was saying, preoccupied with something else, but his next phrase jolted her eyes wide.*
"Drake Thern, do you take this bride to be your wife, until death do you part?"
"I do."
*The priest turned, ever so slowly to face her. As she looked at Drake, she could see his lips twisting into an evil smile.*
"Moonshadow, do you take this man to be your husband, until death do you part?"
"I..." *She realized what the point of drinking the purple potion was last night. She was attempting to say no but it kept threatening come out as yes. She felt a strange foreign presence in her mind, forcing her to say the words. Her heart sank as it took complete control over her body. She closed her eyes.*
"I d-"
*The last word was cut off as a bright flash and a loud explosion caused choas and threw the guests on the ground. She looked up and saw Drake staring back, hate blazing in her eyes. She too turned, and witnessed something that renewed hope in her.
The whole back wall all the way to the courtyard had been turned into burning timbers, piled on the ground. In the midst of it, standing calmly in the former entryway, on the charred remains of the red carpet, was Avatara. Hate blazed in his eyes, and a dark red aura seethed from him. He drew his sword, the metallic sound ringing through the silence. Calmly, and slowly, he began the walk to the alter.
At about halfway, Drake snapped out of his trance and grabbed a nearby sword. He turned at charged at Avatara, bellowing a loud war cry. The ground seemed to rise under his feet, and a black circle of soot surrounded him as blue smoke rose from his body. Drake clenched his teeth, having had one of his kindey's just imploded by Avatara. He raised his sword high and charged at Avatara again.
The sword met a glowing blue orb about three feet from Avatara's face. Drake stood paralyzed while seething wizard's fire from the underworld lept up and incinerated all nearby. It left a nasty scar on Drake's right wrist. The red glow from the fire remained, long after the fire had dissipitated.
Drake suddenly could move again, and slashed with all his might at Avatara. Finally, Avatara unsheathed his own sword, and met Drake with a fierce parry. Sparks flew, and one of the wooden benches ignited on fire, burning the seated guests on it alive. Drake swung his sword again, but stopped and spun around, aiming at Avatara's neck. Avatara leaped out of the way and slashed back. Drake reeled back, seething with rage, and sheathed his sword. His left cheek had a nasty slash, one he intended to keep, to remind him of his hate. With a final glance, Drake turned and ran, never to find out what happened to the guards he had called for backup.
Moonshadow let out a breath as she followed a silent Avatara out. As they passed the enterance, a tattered form appeared from the shadows nearby. Rogan stood, his sword dripping with blood. Moonshadow realized the guards fate.
Avatara didn't say a word as he glanced at the purple portal to the void on the beach to their left. Against the purple glow, a black figure could be seen. Drake shouted back a cry of revenge, and dissapeared into the void, vowing to return. Avatara turned to face Moonshadow and Rogan, and finally spoke in a calm voice.*
"We must hurry. Your friends at the valley need help." *The palace continued to burn...*
J.Ace21:
"Hey! I see the valley" shouted MacMan as the large group of around 100 made it's way toward the fortress.
"Look! I think i see Slayer... and ferazel!!"
The group ran the rest of the way to the valley.
"J.Ace! MacMan! We thought wed never find you again. who are all these people?"
"no time to explain. From what i here, this valley is a very nasty place." said J.Ace
"right. now, we just need to find a way to get them outta there..."
ferazel sits down... scratching his head.
"hm... if we just had a strong rope.... thats it!"
"what?" asked MacMan
"remember that rope? the one i made that was SUPPOSED to keep us connected to Cythera?"
"yea. the one that snapped the second we entered the void" said Slayer.
"ok. so i made a mistake. but it will help us here. and i have just enough to reach the bottom..."
everyone smiled as they hurriedly started on the rescue mission....
After a long 10 minutes of trying to gather enough power for a levitation spell the whole group had barely managed to help the group that was trapped inside the valley out. And as soon as they arrived they left with ferazel and slayer leading the way to the fortress and hopefully Avatara, Rogan, and MoonShadow
***meanwhile in the fortress
Rogan bursts into the grand hall only to see the remains of an inferno and Avatara helping MoonShadow to regain her own ability to think.
"oh. i guess i'm a little late.."
"yea. i guess you can say that. wait a second. i think i know some of the weapons youre holding. and that cloak is definately J.Ace's"
"youre probably right. and this staff is yours MoonShadow, here."
"thanks. but I don't think that we should be to happy about Avatara's victory."
"what do you mean?
"well. it was too easy. and Drake didn't even use any magic..."
"maybe. but he's gone for now and wed better regroup and get back to the void"
soon the two groups met. they had spotted eachother just outside of the fortress walls and after a short exchange were back on their way to the void. J.Ace was lovingly looking at his magical daggers and wearing his cape in a most fashionable way <IMG SRC="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/wink.gif" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="15">. MacMan was glad to have his gear back and everything was perfect.
"well J.Ace. You lead us on a journey to the homeland and you guess us in a terrible mess. I think i'm gonna like you." smiled Slayer.
"yes. If you have anymore adventures in store you know where to find us in the Tavern" everyone laughed as they remembered what this whole journey was supposed to be.
"well," started J.Ace "though we didn't reach the homeland we learned an awful lot about the void and many other things. I think that this has been a great experience. and Ive been thinking about something, just for us explorers and warriors..." J.Ace continues his explanation for his idea of a rendeveous. and suddenly. a large earthquake interupts J.Ace talking. the earth splits and shoots up a fountain of lava. All of the miners were killed or badly burned. The group survived with their skills but were shaken. Slowly, out of the lava a large figure rose. MoonShadow, Rogan, and (especially) Avatara gasped when they saw who it was. Drake rose from the lava like some fire god. He was in full battle gear and was wearing a large array of jewlery(probably to allow him to use advanced magic). The land is lit with fire making the night sky as bright as day. And the battle begins....
J.Ace casts Scan.
******Scan**********
*****
****
***
**
*
******Failure********
Not enough mana***** <IMG SRC="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/wink.gif" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="15">(remember that this is a land with little magic...)
Avatara:
*Drake loomed down at the adventurers. With a cry of war, Avatara led the group in a fierce charge towards him. They were almost to him when Ferazel stopped and tried scan, but was only able to gain a small piece of information that made his eyes go wide with terror.*
"Guys! Its not him, its only a fire elemental! Get back now!" Ferazel shouted, but it was too late. The ground shook violently and seemed to bend upward, rocks finally breaking apart leaving wide fissures all over the beach and surrounding areas. Several whirlpools had formed in the distance.
Molten magma bubbled upward through the newly opened gaps, luckily just far enough away that nobody was hurt from it...yet. Steam and smoke rose all around, covering everyone's view to be obscured. Sulphuric acid washed in on the waves, and started reaching higher and higher on the beach, burning everything living with it's touch. The path to the void was now covered with acid.
The adventurers had started to worry, they couldn't see through the smoke, and they knew if they misstepped they could be permenantly killed by either the rising magma or the boiling acid. To make matters worse, a creature of pure fire and capable of strong magic was only strengthened with each of these disabilities.*
Moonshadow:
Moonshadow tried to gather her powers for a spell but the smoke kept getting in her eyes and also made her cough. The others weren't off much better. But being specialized on the opposite element (ice) also made the heat getting on her even worse. She held her staff tightly making the crystal on its top glow with a strange light. The air cooled down a bit and grew clearer for some moments as she tried to see the exact direction of the void but it was no good. She was quickly forced to drop the spell because it attracted the fire creatures attention ...
J.Ace21:
J.Ace, using a crystal that he had stolen from the mine, charges up just enough magic to change the element of his magical dagger to ice and starts throwing(for those who don't know about my dagger which is the only weapon my character usually carries around with him its blade flies out every time i think of throwing it. it is then almost immediately replaced with another magic blade. it can be just plain physical or be elemental. but only one. it can't be both physical and elemental at the same time nor can it be a mix of ice and lightning elemental etc.). The daggers that actually do find their target does little damamge to the fire elemental due to the fact that there wasn't enough magic power enchanted and J.Ace couldn't aim correctly through the smoke.
"This is not working!!!" J.Ace shouted through the smoke at the others who were doing their best to fight or avoid the elemental. Then suddenly J.Ace tripped on something while trying to put some space between him and the elemental.
"****!( <IMG SRC="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/smile.gif" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="15">)" as J.Ace looked at what he tripped on he found that inside were the magic disrupting gems from the mines.
Everyone was in despair. Due to the thick smoke noone could find the void and the lava and acid pull was getting larger by the second. Then suddenly a shower of rocks came crashing down on the lake and elemental. MacMan recognized the glow from the mines and realized what J.Ace had in mind. Immediately the results appeared. The lake stopped growing though it didn't shrink and the elemental seemed too confused to summon any magic. But still that was not enough. The elemental's attack always being of fire burned close to the group threatening them. Suddenly the acid lake started to freeze. Small blue projectiles were flying into it freezing a small portion of it every time...
Rogan:
Rogan hadn`t been saying or doing much at all but, suddenly, he powered up an ice spell. "We have to combine our magical powers if this is going to work!" he shouted. Ferazel approached Rogan and said: "Maybe it is a good idea...shall we try?"
This post has been edited by Selax: 27 April 2007 - 11:05 PM
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