RPGWW     > Gaera Main RPs         > From the Ashes (board and/or AIM D&D)
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Author Comment FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1862 (12/14/05 9:27) Reply Re: D'oh. There were several things Stephan was used to thinking in his head. Violent and often gory things to do to people pissing him off. Idly wondering how his sibling and his family were doing. Worrying non-stop about Midoku. ...Thinking of 'interesting' things to do with Midoku once he was done worrying. However, the one he never heard before, was the voice of some random little girl. Especially one talking about their current adversary. "...just to make sure I'm not going daft here, did you just hear someone in your head?" Stephan asks James. NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3190 (1/7/06 13:48) Reply Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Kei stifled a groan, and was about to reach for her sword. However, she quickly changed her mind, and instead moved her hand towards the pouch that was tied around her sash. She softly muttered the code word needed to bypass the alarm she put on it, and began to fish around for a small copper coin. This should make a worthy distraction she thought as she backed up against the wall, and hopefully out of sight of the monster. Looking at the doorway, she aimed carefully, and flicked the copper coin as far as she could into the room. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 882 (1/7/06 18:03) Reply | Edit Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Kei caught a glimpse into the room of green skin covered in various nasty-looking barbs and spikes. The creature turned to look over its shoulder as the coin hit the wall behind it and growled angrily to itself, muttering something Kei didn't understand. Realizing that it hadn't noticed anything important, it began to turn back around almost immediately. As it did so Kei got a much clearer look at precisely what it was they were facing. Official picture of the nice fellow in Dawn's room! (For the record, I'm going to say that uses up a move action, meaning Kei's round isn't quite over yet.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joss shrugged. "Not sure what it's called. Big spiny thing. Really mean. I don't know how much of a problem the others would have with it, but it seemed fair to let them know. Alya's on it." The little girl, for her part, chewed her bottom lip absently as she waited for some sort of response from the others. NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3192 (1/7/06 21:56) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... We have to stop that thing as soon as possible, she thought to herself, as she drew her katana, its edge now een more deadly from the magic of its saya. Hopefully she mused while dashing towards the beast, the others will notice what's happening soon enough. She put such thoughts to rest soon enough, though, and let out a short yell as she slashed at the creature three times. As soon as she lept towards him, though, she lept back and out of immediate range of its deadly claws. Edited by: NebulaQueen at: 1/7/06 21:59 Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 885 (1/9/06 18:43) Reply | Edit Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Kei rushed in as the creature was turning, but she was too fast for it to take a swipe at her. She slid her sword in between the rows of spines on her first attack, drawing another angry growl from her enemy, but the second and third attacks raked along its barbed spikes with a really irritating screeching noise. In fact, it was extremely hard to even get close to the spiny thing. As she moved closer and slashed with her katana, it became clear that not only was this monster unpleasant, it probably wasn't too safe being this close to it. In the course of attacking the creature, Kei's arms were rather painfully scraped and gouged by the spikes covering its green skin. Fortunately, Kei was also fast enough that she managed to stay out of its way long enough to get the hell out of that bedroom. This leaves the creature in the bedroom, Myrnal...somewhere, and Kei back by the doorway where she was before. (Kei takes 11 damage and deals 5. James is next.) Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4344 (1/9/06 20:57) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... "I 'heard' her, but I have a feeling that what I can see is more pertinent," commented James, glancing quickly at Kei and her new opponent. "And sometimes, it can be helpful not to be seen," he added, drawing both of his katar in a fluid motion and crossing them in front of him. He grinned viciously, teeth flashing for the umpteenth time, and flickered briefly before winking out of sight. (Greater invisibility, using my move action to draw a weapon, but not actually going anywhere.) NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3196 (1/9/06 21:37) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... (IGNORE) Edited by: NebulaQueen at: 1/9/06 23:10 Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 889 (1/10/06 19:19) Reply | Edit Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Joss shrugged. "I don't know what it's called. Big spiked mean thing, or at least that's what it was the last time Dawn warned us about it. I don't know how worried the others should be, but Alya's on it." For her part, Alya sat and chewed her lip nervously, waiting for an answer from one of the others. She occasionally looked around to keep an eye on the various scattered grownups in the room. She didn't seem as agitated as she was before, but was clearly still uncomfortable. It was apparent by the way Alya's eyes darted at every noise and by her insistent closeness to the slightly older boy next to her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Stephan is next. And... because they're nice sometimes, how about a combat map?) Edited by: Kai  at: 1/10/06 19:30 FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1867 (1/10/06 20:30) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Cursing under his breath, Stephan runs past Kei, taking the empty spot to her right. He tries to get a quick look at their adversay... then lets loose another curse. Whatever the hell the thing was, it was spikey. Meaning he was just as likely to impale himself if he tried to take a stab at it. With melee out of the question for now, Stephan decides to repeat his earlier tactic with the Yuan-Ti, 3 rays of scorching heat shooting forward from his hand. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 890 (1/11/06 15:05) Reply | Edit Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Eve managed to restrain herself from tapping her foot in irritation. "Well, do I need to go get them or what?" Joss shrugged again. "I don't know. We'll see." She rolled her eyes. "Sure. Fine. Whatever. I do have a question for you guys. If you're not going back, what exactly are you supposed to do now?" Joss took a deep, patient breath and looked up at her with a mix of expectation and irritation on his face. "Look. I don't know. I don't know! We're not going back. We'll figure something out later." "Your plan is amazing." Joss opened his mouth to retort, but Alya laid a hand on his arm. He stopped and looked over at her. She stared at Eve for a moment, who looked a little uncomfortable under such scrutiny. Then the girl closed her eyes for a moment. "Joss, I think they're just worried." Joss scowled a little. "I know that. They're worried I'm going to blow everything up if I'm not constantly surrounded by people. Freaking wonderful." Uh oh. Apparently the boy is starting to pick up on Stephan's language. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Speaking of Stephan... Back at the estate, Stephan could tell that he didn't do anything differently than he did before, but what worked so well on the Yuan-ti didn't seem to have the same success against this enemy. It seemed to endure the spell's fire without much of a problem. This is very nice for the creature itself, considering the former occupants of this building. It probably doesn't help Stephan's cause, though. As Stephan blasted the monster, Kei also noticed something rather annoying. She'd managed to injure it earlier, but it didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. In fact, it didn't seem to be wounded. Somehow the slash from her katana had just... healed only a few seconds after she'd made it. What a pain in the ass. Those present are already well-aware that Myrnal is no longer where she was originally standing since Stephan just took her place. A few moments later there's some indication of just where the girl went. The monster jerked as a yellow-handled knife seemed to materialize behind its shoulder. Electricity ran over the monster's spines, jumping from tip to tip very briefly. It seemed completely unphased by that, but when the knife pulled out of its body and flew backward again, it was followed out by blood that ran down its back. As the dagger yanked itself out of the monster, the creature himself rushed out the door of the bedroom to attack someone it could actually see. This, for the moment, happened to be Kei. Once it was out in the hallway, it provoked an attack of opportunity from Kei herself and from Stephan, should they choose to take such an action. (I'd appreciate a post from Neb and then a post from Dave before the creature actually acts, please and thank you.) Edited by: Kai  at: 1/11/06 15:06 NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3201 (1/11/06 20:03) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... Kei gritted her teeth as the creature charged, and prepared to make another strike with her blade. While it wasn't the most effective option against the beast, there wasn't time to come up with anything else. FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1868 (1/11/06 20:37) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... It definitely seemed to be regenerating somehow. How to stop it, he wasn't entirely sure. It seemed to be fire resistant, or possibly just plain magic resistant. And spiked to all bloody hell. But much like Kei, Stephan knew he had to take every opportunity to hurt this thing if he could. So along with the nekojin, he takes a swing at the beast with his greatsword. While he was not quite the scholar that his partner tended to be, Stephan tried to think if anything he read about reminded him of this thing. He doubted he'd come up with anything, but he had to try at least. If not, he still had a few extra toys handy to try on this thing... Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 894 (1/12/06 17:48) Reply | Edit Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... As the creature rushed at Kei, it came in too fast for her to land a solid hit. However, it was so busy going after the Nekojin it wasn't paying attention to Stephan next to her. It all but ran into the man's sword, its resistance to the physical wound overwhelmed by the blow. The monster swiped at Kei with one barbed claw, raking across the outside of her arm. Her arms were getting cut up pretty badly by this point, and she noticed something else as well. As soon as her enemy's claws hit her skin, she felt the faint whisper of fear in the back of her mind, telling her she was about to die and so was everyone else. She shook it off easily enough, though. After all, she'd been in fights before. This was no different, and the fact that such a thing occurred to her at all was a little weird. Kei and Stephan also ran into the same problem she'd run across earlier in that melee fights with this thing did not tend to go well. Proximity to their opponent caused Stephan and Kei both to become a lot more familiar with the ends of those spikes. Stephan didn't recall anything he'd learned before that would help him with this particular enemy. So far all he knew was that physical attacks were of limited use, and whether or not most magic could affect his enemy, fire magic certainly was not the answer. (Stephan deals an end total of 26 damage to the creature due to a critical hit. Kei takes ten damage from the attack. Both she and Stephan take 11 damage from being in melee with the monster. It's Kei's turn.) NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3207 (1/13/06 16:45) Reply Re: Friday was Pizza Day, thebest day of the week.... As she looked around, Kei realised that she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Staying and trying to slash at this thing would do know good for anybody except for the monster; the only choice she had was to try and get away from the thing. It would be risky, though, but then again, what wasn't these days? However, just because she was leaving it's close company, that didn't mean she couldn't leave a parting gift. She made a quick attack with her katana as she dashed to it's side, and sheathed it as she continued backwards down the hallway. (She's moving to the square at it's left, and then moving further two squares. I'll wait until the AoO is settled before posting Kei's other attacks) Edited by: NebulaQueen at: 1/13/06 16:51 Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1104 (1/18/06 0:45) Reply Pudding is bestest, yes. Damian looked up from his drawing at Joss and sighed. He wasn't really sure how the kid was feeling, and that sort of bothered him a bit. Not that he was an expert on kids but... eh. "For myself, I'm wondering whether we need to go and get the others about now. And as long as you don't scorch me, young Joss, what you do with your life is up to you. Just.... make sure you enjoy it." Having done with his speech, and not sure if he wanted to say more, Damian went back to drawing. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 903 (1/20/06 15:54) Reply | Edit Re: Pudding is bestest, yes. Alya shrugged at Damian's suggestion. "I don't know what they're doing. They aren't answering, but they heard me. I'd know if it bounced back." Eve sighed in exasperation. "Lym, would you please drop them a message and ask what's going on? Maybe they'll answer you." ____________________________________________________ Kei stepped around to the side of the monster and took a swing at it as a friendly parting gesture. The hit itself missed and she took ten damage from the creature's spines. She managed to make her way down the hallway and, thankfully, out of the reach of that damned thing. (Seriously. She keeps rolling ones and I don't know why. I suggest a modest sacrifice to the dice gods. James is next.) Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4369 (1/22/06 2:56) Reply Re: Pudding is bestest, yes. James, having cloaked himself in his invisibility spell, edged toward the creature, blades drawn, prepared to take advantage of his concealment to make several slicing attacks. It seemed as though Myrnal's electrical strike had not phased the creature, giving James reason to decide that the best course of action was simply to strike quickly and without notice. With a swift set of motions, James' katar blades sliced through the air, hoping to score a set of damaging hits. (Three attacks at +16/+16/+11. The first two deal 1d4+7/x3 and the second is 1d4+4/x3, assuming I hit. Any landed attacks also add +4d6 sneak attack damage.) Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 907 (1/22/06 22:53) Reply | Edit Rogues are good, too. James landed two solid hits on the creature, but the ever-present, always-irritating spines covering its body caught on his sleeve and hampered his aim on the third. James could tell from where he was that the creature's wounds were closing somewhat, but not enough to recover entirely from James' attack. The blood was a good indication of this, as was the way the monster recoiled as James slid his katar between its spines. (James deals fifteen damage, then nine damage. He then takes ten for being in melee with a spiny fucking monster. Stephan is next.) FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1874 (1/22/06 22:59) Reply Re: Rogues are good, too. It seemed fire and electricity were out so far, not to mention stabbing the fucker. Rather than waste a more powerful spell for nothing, Stephan lobs a small orb of acid at the creature, checking for its reaction. (lesser acid orb) Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 206 (1/24/06 23:24) Reply subject Lym shrugged. "We're going to have to go sometime anyway. Let's just go." He took Eve's hand and made a hand signal that symbolized teleportation. Somehow. ... ... ... It's a pretty amazing hand signal. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 911 (1/25/06 21:13) Reply | Edit Re: subject Well, Stephan could tell that the creature didn't like acid. It wasn't as sensitive to it as Stephan himself (or another person of the human persuasion) would have been, but a good bit of it ran down the spines, hissing faintly as it burned into the skin beneath. From the corner of the room where Myrnal was presumably stationed, that little yellow-handled dagger embedded itself into the creature's back once again. It recoiled in pain once again, and wasn't looking too pleased with the outcome of this particular match-up. It cursed loudly in its own language and took a five-foot step back and away from James to give itself some room to work. A bizarre three-dimensional structure seemed to materialize in the air around this perpetually-irritating enemy. It wasn't entirely solid, but as it reached its maximum level of clarity, Stephan, Myrnal, and James all realize to some extent what that odd grid is intended to do. Burning through what feels like every cell in their body is a bizarrely sourceless pain. It's not localized like a bodily injury, but damned if the effect isn't similar. Stephan -and also Myrnal, judging by her reaction- find that not only is this spell painful, but it's also really disorienting. Things don't look like they're where they should be and sounds are just faintly wrong for a few seconds. (Stephan deals 8 acid damage to the spiky critter. Stephan and Myrnal take 25 damage and are dazed for one round. James takes 12 damage and is not dazed. Kei is totally unaffected, which is nice since her turn is up.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lym's wondrously expressive signaling was apparently not lost on Eve. She sighed and took the both of them back to the estate. When they got to the grounds, Lym found she'd taken them just inside the gate, and they were more or less where they were when they had initially arrived. The shadows were lengthening as afternoon began to turn into early evening, and Eve took the cigarette out from behind her ear. She lit it and let it hang on the edge of her mouth as she turned to Lym. "The girl said it was in Dawn's bedroom. I... know more or less where that is. Feel like climbing through burned out buildings on our way to some sort of glorious asskicking?" Eve pointed toward the collapsing dormitory. "Because if you are it's in there." NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3238 (1/25/06 22:30) Reply Re: subject After the creature had moved, Kei no longer had a clear shot of it; this was something that needed to be remedied. With her blade replaced with her bow, she took a diagonal step to her right, and then took another step foward. Now diagonal from the monster, she took aim, and let three arrows loose. Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 207 (1/25/06 23:45) Reply buh da da duh duh da! "Actually, that's exactly what I feel like doing." Lym hopped onto his broom side-saddle and levetated several feet in the air, letting his feet dangle carelessly. He would follow her lead. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 916 (1/27/06 14:05) Reply | Edit Re: buh da da duh duh da! Kei let loose three arrows, two of which get caught up in the monster's spines and fall to the floor after a moment or two. Her first attack, however, embedded itself neatly between the creature's shoulderblades. Flaming ammunition is always flashy and often useful, but as others before her have found, fire doesn't seem to have much of an effect on this guy. As her enemy's flesh sealed up in that annoying way it has, Kei was free to note that the arrow is still in its flesh. It apparently hit that one place on everyone's back that's really hard to reach, so good luck to the monster when he tries to get that out. Eve broke into a jog toward the dormitory, not bothering to pull out her broom at this point. The smoke from her ever-present tobacco products left a thin carcinogenic trail behind her. She and Lym arrived at what served as an entry into the dormitory and found himself at the end of the hallway opposite the bookcase. He was still outside the building, as going inside would require that he dismount to clamber over wreckage and other assorted nonsense. From where he is, Lym can see a green-skinned spiky-as-hell monster that is tall enough for the party members involved to reach.... oh, about to the creature's shoulders. He's also in time to see Kei's arrow lodge itself in the monster's back. (Kei dealt damage with her first attack, but the monster is pretty much unbothered by fire and her attack didn't overcome its damage reduction. James is next. Eve and Lym are in the init order now, so I'll tell you when it's Lym's turn.) Edited by: Kai  at: 1/27/06 14:08 Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4380 (1/27/06 17:57) Reply Re: buh da da duh duh da! James smirked at the unfortunate arrow embedded in his foe's back. Of course, no one else could see him do so, but he was entertained enough at the mental image of the demon attempting to reach back and remove the offending projectile that he almost laughed a little. Of course, if he had his way, the arrow would never come out. James doubted that this battle was going to end without one side totally obliterating the other. At least numbers were on his side. Generally lacking in ranged proficiency, James opted instead to hope that one of his favorite tricks was going to hold up in this situation. Slipping toward his opponent, occupying the other space in the doorway, he twirled a katar flashily (and invisibly) and charged it with electricity before attempting to impale the creature with a shocking blade. (+16 to hit, subtract enemy's DEX mod from their AC. Katar strike deals 1d4+7/x3 +4d6 sneak; dagger-delivered shocking grasp will deal 7d6 electrical damage if the dagger hit connects.) Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 921 (1/30/06 23:08) Reply | Edit Re: buh da da duh duh da! James managed to slip his arm around those stupid spines that were causing such problems for everyone to deal a pretty damn solid hit on his enemy. The wound, in keeping with precedent, sealed up a good bit after James withdrew his katar, but this was only one hit of many. The creature was looking a little unsteady on its feet, and clearly couldn't keep up with the amount of damage it was being dealt. Unfortunately, the monster managed to resist the effects of James' spell, which would probably have come damn close to finishing off the prickly bastard. From her position at the door, Eve manifested a power that Lym recognized as being from his beloved school of clairsentience. Yayness. The monster flinched a bit as some of its regeneration was reversed, wounds from a few seconds ago reopening and beginning to bleed once more. Everyone likes to see the enemy bleed, so this can be considered a good thing. (Lym and Eve are not on the map, but may be considered just beyond its leftmost border. James deals five damage after damage reduction because he unfortunately did not break the monster's spell resistance. He also takes 12 damage for being in melee with it. Eve dealt ten damage from the doorway with recall agony, and Lym is next.) Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 208 (1/31/06 0:50) Reply Re: buh da da duh duh da! Lym had a strategy when it came to conflict. It was simple. He spent his reserves as fast as possible in desperate, perhaps excessive attempts to finish off his enemy before his enemy got to him. Why? Because he had a body like a glorified stick bug. He took several steps closer to the monster and unleashed a terrible psychic force on all nearby enemies. Everyone in the area was sure they could here a terrible shriek -- but he had not opened his mouth, and its source was at the least otherworldly. (Lym steps in just above Kei so he's in range for an Ultrablast, spends 15 points to get 15d6 damage, D26 Will Save to half.) Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 925 (2/3/06 14:30) Reply | Edit Sorry I took so long. Had to do a thing. Everyone in the area could hear the horrific sound of Lym's ultrablast, but the creature was not so easy to subdue by magical means, and this counts for psionics as well. Lym is now aware of one reason why the others were taking so long to kill this thing. Unless he wanted to get in close to those spikes, Lym would be facing the same limitations Stephan and James were dealing with right now. The creature, for his part, was not pleased by such close proximity to an opponent he couldn't even see. James managed to lean back as the creature swiped out in front of him with one claw, resulting in James remaining a good several inches away from harm. (Kei is next. Go forth.) NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3290 (2/3/06 14:39) Reply Re: Sorry I took so long. Had to do a thing. What was that sound? she thought, almost ready to take a look aound. However, there wasn't time for that; the monster had already recovered, and went back to swiping at its enemies. Drawing her bow again, she shot at the creature three times; while it wasn't the most effective attack, at the very least it would be a distraction from James. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 929 (2/4/06 18:56) Reply | Edit Re: Sorry I took so long. Had to do a thing. Kei's first and second arrows had an effect similar to the first shot. They managed to slide in past the spines, but the fire didn't seem to bother the monster, nor did they do much besides stick in her enemy's body and stay there. As if the creature wasn't outlandish-looking already, now it had arrow fletchings sticking out between its natural spines. (Kei didn't overcome its DR, and fire doesn't seem to perturb it all that much. James is next.) Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4394 (2/4/06 20:25) Reply Re: Sorry I took so long. Had to do a thing. Damnit, James thought as he observed yet another ineffective attack from Kei. This thing just won't go down! The only solution is to keep hitting it... Taking advantage of his continued invisibility, James lashed out at his foe with his katar in a flurry of strikes. (And again, +16/+16/+11, damage 1d4+7 on the first and last and 1d4+4 on the second. +4d6 sneak damage on any successful hit. Opponent is denied DEX to AC.) Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 930 (2/4/06 23:53) Reply | Edit Re: Sorry I took so long. Had to do a thing. James managed to fit his hand between a row of spikes and not only got through his enemy's skin, but could feel his katar push through the resistance between the monster's ribs and end up pivoting right down into some nice soft innards. His third attack also hit, but wasn't nearly so rewarding. For his part, the monster just could not keep up with the damage he was being dealt. His apparent regenerative ability was doing him a lot of good, but it clearly wasn't going to be enough. He did not look healthy. (James' first attack was a critical hit. Nice. 6 points of damage from that attack. 2 points of damage from his second attack. James does take 12 damage from being in melee with it, however. Stephan is next.) FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1879 (2/6/06 20:46) Reply *Stabs Cable* In his mind, Stephan briefly runs through the options available, while James stabbs the creature and gets a few stabbings back in the process. Option 1: Do nothing and let someone else kill the thing. Considering the creature wants him dead, something Stephan is rather fond of avoiding when possible, this option is not bloody well likely. With that option out, he thinks of: Option 2: Let loose with the powerful boom magic. Making things explode tended to be a good idea, especially if the things are trying to skewer you into pieces when you hit them. But there are too many drawbacks to this, at least in his mind. The thing looked significantly hurt, and as 'fun' as blowing things up with spells could be, he didn't like to waste his limited magic if he could just thwack it dead instead. Which leads him to: Option 3: Stab it until it stops moving. With how injured the creature looked, Stephan is pretty certain a couple attacks will drop it. There is the problem of the sharp spines poking into his squishy self. ...however, having a significant other with fangs, he's used to getting pierced in the flesh now and again anyway. Shifting himself closer to the creature, Stephan lets loose with three strikes of his greatsword, bracing himself for the somewhat familiar pain of being pierced. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 943 (2/10/06 15:50) Reply | Edit Re: *Stabs Cable* Stephan's sword found its way down between his opponent's spines to the slightly softer flesh beneath. Despite the fact that the apparent regenerative abilities of this creature were not quite able to protect it from all injury, they were helping a great deal. It recovered almost totally from Stephan's attacks, though the second attack did manage to leave a mark. (Stephan dealt ten damage, and then eleven. DR means a total of one point of damage. He takes 14 damage from the spiny shit, which is due to the fact that he rolled an 8 on the d8. Kei is next.) NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3349 (2/12/06 16:51) Reply Re: *Stabs Cable* This is useless! she thought to herself, practically growling. Her attacks were doing nothing, and there was no way she could get a good shot in now. Kei dropped her bow and began rushing towards the monster, while drawing a much shorter blade than the one she had been using. If this worked the way she thought it would, the damage from this monster's spikes would be well worth it. Taking careful aim, slashed at it three times with her wakizashi. While this blade was weaker than the other, it had one advantage that would help them all greatly. (The attacks are 16/11/6, and the wakizashi does 1d6 normal damage, and 1 point of CON damage from wounding.) Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 953 (2/17/06 17:19) Reply | Edit Re: *Stabs Cable* Kei made a good choice. A very good one. Ordinarily that wakizashi would have absolutely no chance of dealing enough damage to her enemy to actually kill it. However, the monster's regenerative abilities had no way of protecting it from this magically-guided weapon. Kei slashed three times, braving the menacing spines covering her enemy's skin. Each hit drove down between the spikes and this time they didn't close. After the first hit, the monster fell back against the wall. After the second and third, it was on the floor, covered in blood from wounds it never had a hope of recovering from. It's not only merely dead. It's really most sincerely dead. It now seemed more or less safe to continue checking things out in this building, as the room the creature was guarding was unattended except for two rogues who were still invisible. Dawn's bedroom, as it was identified by the children, was actually not very unusual as bedrooms go. The bed on the left wall was covered in rather ordinary-looking dark blue sheets as well as a nice thick layer of fallen ash and dust. A couple of short story anthologies were poking out from under the bed. Her nightstand had a couple of candle stubs on it, long burned down to hardened lumps of wax. The only other thing on top of the nightstand was a picture frame rather like the one they'd found in the conference room. It was turned down on its face, so it wasn't possible to tell anything else about it. The table had a drawer under the table surface, as well as a set of two cupboard doors underneath the drawer. Eve picked her way over to the others, taking a look around and appearing profoundly uncomfortable. Understandable, considering where they were. Myrnal dispelled her invisibility spell and appeared next to the end table. Maybe the lure of closed doors and containers was too much for a thieving ninja to take, but she reached down and tried the drawer. It was locked, so she turned her attention temporarily to the cupboard doors. She bent to open them and it seems they weren't locked. She reached in and in the blink of an eye she had jumped back like she'd been burned. She didn't say anything, but her expression was pale and slightly strained. In a matter of about half a second she'd taken a few hasty steps away. On the floor where she'd been sitting was a small black statuette. Apparently Myrnal had dropped it, which is odd. Myrnal doesn't just drop things. At any rate, after a long and irritating process of chipping away at their enemy, the party did manage to kill it. People are free to root around wherever they want, or go back to Gunnir, or possibly do some sort of naked mud dance. Options are totally out there. (Kei took 15 points of damage from the monster's natural spines, but she really killed the hell out of it. It was at 8HP, and due to the fact that she hit three times, it took 3 points of CON damage for each of its hit dice. 8HP-36HP=dead as all fuck. Go Kei.) Edited by: Kai  at: 2/17/06 17:21 Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4412 (2/17/06 19:20) Reply Re: *Stabs Cable* James dismissed his invisibility effect as well, suddenly becoming visible in the doorway. He poked the slaughtered demon with the toe of his boot, as though making certain that it was no longer responsive to stimuli. The demon remained motionless. James nodded with approval. Out of the corner of his eye, the half-incubus caught sight of Myrnal dropping...something. She was apparently somewhat startled. Turning his attention to the ninja, he took a few steps in her direction and quirked an eyebrow. "Developing a clumsy streak, Myrnal?" Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 954 (2/17/06 19:58) Reply | Edit Re: *Stabs Cable* Myrnal glanced over at James and crossed her arms. "Yeah. You know me. I'm lucky that I'm coordinated enough to breathe. It's pretty sad." Oh, the sarcasm. At least her mild irritation at James' remark seemed be helping her overcome whatever moment of distress he'd caught her in a moment ago. She was still tense and didn't show any signs of approaching the cause of her worry, but Myrnal irritated is Myrnal one step closer to normal. Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4413 (2/17/06 20:08) Reply Re: *Stabs Cable* "So, are you going to tell me what the hell has you so obviously shaken, or am I going to have to come over there and beat it out of you?" James smirked a little, flicking his wings to punctuate his statement. It was obvious that he was joking, but at the same time, it was apparent that he really wanted to know what the hell was going on. "You always struck me as pretty stable. What's got you bothered?" Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 955 (2/17/06 20:22) Reply | Edit Re: *Stabs Cable* Myrnal leaned back against the wall she was standing next to and blinked in surprise at James' last statement. "I did huh?" She rolled her eyes and jerked one thumb in the direction of the end table. "Go rummage. If you've heard all about how 'stable' I am..." She gave a derisive snort of laughter. "Anyway, there are things I avoid. That is one of them. I think that's fair. I'm really not interested in her little shrine over there. You go play." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4415 (2/17/06 20:23) Reply Re: *Stabs Cable* James blinked. "Shrine?" Curiousity drove him to investigate, and without further words, he strode over to the area currently being investigated by Myrnal. NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3368 (2/18/06 2:37) Reply Is it like the Choark shrine? Kei stared smugly at the corpse, smirking as she put returned her blade. As she went to retrieve her bow, though, she was able to hear the conversation going on between the demon-half and the ninja. Her ears folded back while they were talking; clearly, the nekojin was not pleased. Likewise curious, she began making her way towards the shrine. Whatever is here, she thought to herself, it can't be a good sign if it's made Myrnal this shaken. Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1120 (2/19/06 14:18) Reply Meanwhile, back at the Batcave... A slight frown contended with the varied muscles in Damian's face for dominance as he finished his drawing. IT wasn't his best work, but it was the best he was going to get in such a short time. With a sigh, he put down his drawing. "I wonder what's taking them so long... and whether or not I should've gone with them." Awww, boss. You getting just a tad concerned? Yeah, just a little... If they ran into that monster thing they might need help Yeah, a big strong helpful helper like myself could I'd leave you HERE, of course But all this rumination was getting him nowhere. Damian sighed and shrugged. "They'll be back soon enough, I suppose." FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1893 (2/19/06 14:30) Reply Re: *Stabs Cable* Stephan curses to himself, after seeing Kei's swapping of weapons. He should have attempted the same earlier, but he misjudged how much the bastard was healing itself. It would be something to keep in mind next time, anyway. Right now, another matter occupies his attention. While James and Myrnal 'talk', he takes a look at the dark statue on the floor, wondering if he's seen something like it before. Edited by: FF Fanatic 80  at: 2/19/06 14:30 Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 960 (2/19/06 15:28) Reply | Edit Only if Choark is a lot more sinister than I thought... As Kei and James approached the apparent bedside shrine, they had to step past Stephan inspecting the dropped figurine. It was made of polished black stone, possibly granite. It was certainly heavy for its size, which suggested granite. It depicted a rather goblinoid figure standing with crossed arms and staring straight ahead accusingly. Decorations and details were sparse, except for the careful work done on his face and hands. He was lying on the floor, face up and staring into the air. The detail on his face was actually quite good, and very precise. It's not easy to make the eyes on a stone statue follow the position of an observer, but whoever made this little guy was damn good. Maybe it required magic, but at any rate, no small amount of effort went into his design. Beyond him, both cupboard doors were more or less open, with the door on the right being closer to its original position. It obscured a bit of the shelf behind, but the contents of the shrine were easy enough to make out. There were two shelves within the shrine, and the top shelf had some rather predictable but generally necessary ritual tools. There were two half-spent black candles on the far ends of the shelf. The one on the right still had a good bit of life in it, so should anyone be trying to commune with whatever deity was represented here, the tools were certainly still usable. Between the two candles was an incense burner, apparently made from the same material as the statue. The remains of whatever latest offering had been burnt had a sickly sweet smell, like rose petals and old leaves. The scent of the incense was strong enough that after the door had been open for a few moments, the smell began to drift out into the room. Not a horrible smell, but more useful for ritual purposes than as an air freshener. The bottom shelf of the shrine had a space in the middle where the statue had probably been situated. On the left was a small silver dagger with its blade mostly wrapped in a black handkerchief. There were a few darkish stains left on the cloth, so it was pretty obvious what it was used to clean off of that blade. On the far right was the only thing in this shrine besides the knife that was not black. It was a pewter chalice of some sort, with ornate detailing around the base and cup brim. Closer inspection revealed ornate tongues of flame encircling some humanoid figures on the base, while the cup portion featured a fiery bird with its wings wrapped around the vessel. Eve peeked her head into the bedroom but seemed perfectly content to stand in the doorway of her sister's private chambers. It was probably still awkward for her at this point. She mentioned that she had been here before, but it was likely that the circumstances were very different then. "Lym, would you drop the others a message that we're all right?" she asked. Edited by: Kai  at: 2/19/06 15:30 NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3378 (2/20/06 0:07) Reply The player totally did not forget important facts. Seriously Kei hmphed to herself as she picked up the chalice to take a closer look. "If nothing else," she said, "at least they are constant. Perhaps we should destroy these soon, but I doubt it would do much good now." Edited by: NebulaQueen at: 2/20/06 1:10 FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1894 (2/20/06 9:26) Reply Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio "...well isn't this an ugly little son of a bitch..." Stephan comments at the floor, before looking up at Myrnal. While he has a bit more sympathy for the fellow merc than he does the others, things needed to be taken care of. Even if it included asking questions she'd rather not answer. "So, what the hell is that supposed to be, anyway?" he asks her. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 961 (2/20/06 11:26) Reply | Edit Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio Myrnal couldn't quite suppress a smile at Stephan's assessment of the statue's appearance. His question, while not precisely her favorite topic of conversation, was a fair one. "That? For those of you fortunate enough not to immediately recognize him on sight, that would be the god of hate." She still hadn't said the name yet. The word Nikumu probably didn't pass her lips all that often, as with many people who have made his acquaintance. "One of Elaith's former employees, his piece of shit apprentice, was somewhat associated with that particular deity," she continued. "This doesn't really surprise me, I just don't feel like communing with the forces of darkness today. You guys do whatever, but I'm perfectly content over here. Your average altar to the god of hate is not exactly my favorite thing in the world." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4419 (2/20/06 16:31) Reply Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio "I can see why," noted James, raising an eyebrow. "I see no reason for me to have a conversation with Mr. Nikumu, either. The two of us have no history and I wasn't thinking we needed to start one." "If I were a certain type of person, I'd suggest that we destroy this shrine. It's not like we need it as evidence of what's going on, nor do we need any further clues to the relatively obvious conclusion. Dawn and Nikumu are an item, and she's definitely enlisted his help in exchange for promises of resurrecting Elaith. The plus side is that he hasn't done it yet. Then again, for all we know, he never intends to do so and is just stringing her along to be one of his lovely instruments of destruction on the material plane." James chewed on his lip a bit. "You know, I think I am that sort of person." He raised a hand, beginning to form an orb of reddish light at his fingertips. "Any objections to a little desecration of a 'holy' site?" FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1895 (2/20/06 16:54) Reply Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio "...what I can't figure out is..." Stephan chimes in, ignoring James for the moment, "...why the hell she has a symbol of a Phoenix around down there. Aren't those things usually 'good'? As in, not what this bastard on the floor here represents?" Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 962 (2/20/06 17:10) Reply | Edit Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio Myrnal shrugged at Stephan's inquiry. "Well, Joss mentioned that they use that symbol all over the damn place because, well... they're trying to get someone back. Whole fiery resurrection and violent change. I mean, sure, they're generally good. But from what I got from Joss, they do think it's good in this case. Dawn and the kids feel perfectly justified, whether or not their reasons seem fucked beyond all repair to me or any of you." She tightened her jaw and took another brief glance at the altar. "Speaking of fucked beyond all repair.... James. Blow it up. I'd consider it a personal favor. Call me in twenty years if I'm still alive and remind me you did it. I'll buy you a drink." NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3381 (2/20/06 17:20) Reply Re: The player totally did not forget important facts. Serio "Just let me get out of the way first," Kei replied. She set the chalice down, and was quick to step back from the shrine. Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 209 (2/20/06 23:13) Reply post Lym totally sent Damian a message that everything was cool, as per Eve's request. There was a monster, a little Lym voice in Damian's head said. He was irritating, but he's gone now. Everything's cool. We're just considering the destruction of a shrine to the god of hate. "It's great propaganda," said Lym, laughing bitterly. "Tell the kids it's all about giving a cute little firebird his wings often enough and they'll cooperate. I don't buy that Dawn is stupid enough to genuinely think these things are fine, though. She may have deluded herself, but the only way to be this far off base is to be ruined mentally. And if that's the case, well... Guess that's her lot in life." He picked up the phoenix and looked it in the eye. "The great thing about symbols is that they really are all relative. You can say a phoenix signifies nearly anything. Red is for passion, and fury. It's for love. It's for sex. Orange is for the sun, for sun gods, for power. The wings are for freedom, for sex. It's all for sex. "I don't know. This is all so fucking stupid." He put the phoenix back down. "Blow it all up, as far as I'm concerned." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4420 (2/21/06 17:11) Reply Re: post "Gladly and without hesitation." That said, James let fly the scorching rays from his fingertips, the burst dividing into three individual beams to strike the goblet, the statue, and the incense burner. "That was strangely satisfying," added the half-incubus with a smirk. "I should desecrate religious sites more often." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 965 (2/22/06 1:32) Reply | Edit ka-fucking-boom Anyone who has ever thrown fire magic at wooden furniture should be relatively familiar with the standard result. It burns. The nightstand blew apart into burning pieces, the statue cracked and turned red hot with the heat from James' spell, and the incense burner went the way of its former contents. Myrnal gave a dry litle laugh. "Sometimes desecrating religious sites is a better idea than keeping them around. Nothing but trouble anyway, half the time." Eve peeked her head around the doorframe. "If you guys are done with the rummaging and destruction of evil shit, I think we should be heading back. Anyone who doesn't want to walk back to Gunnir should probably wrap up here. We left Damian and the kids in Archmagus Lee's office. I'm kind of interested to see if they've destroyed anything yet." Eve waited until she had everyone, and took them to the hallway outside Malachi Lee's office. The door wasn't quite closed, but it was drawn nearly shut to accomodate the crowd of people who had previously been in there. She opened the door, eliciting another multicolored sparkle of greeting from the doorknob. Maybe it was proud to be having so much opportunity to show off, but it's probably best not to question the intentions of doors at Gunnir. The damn thing could be reading the user's future and laughing at visions of his or her death. It was just as likely as the "glitter of welcome" theory most visitors settled upon. Eve opened the door, revealing Damian to one side of the children, standing a faithful watch over the former juvenile cult members, still sitting together on the floor. Lee was by now rummaging underneath his desk, the top of his head barely visible behind a pile of empty scroll tubes he'd stuffed with crystal shards for reasons long forgotten. Joss and Alya watched the doorway, waiting silently for the others to enter. Lee's face appeared over his desk as he realized his guests had returned. He smiled and waved before returning to whatever pressing business was calling from the dark and hidden corners of his own office floor. Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4422 (2/22/06 1:35) Reply Re: ka-fucking-boom "Hey," James announced with a casual wave. "We've slain a demon, investigated the ruins of a house that was probably pretty nice once upon a time, and hopefully offended a dark god. How are you?" Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1124 (2/22/06 13:52) Reply Re: ka-fucking-boom Damian packed up his drawings and grinned at the returning party. "Glad to see everyone's back safe. Now. I was just wondering if we're taking bets on how long Dawn has been worshipping the god of Hate, or if we've moved past that." NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3397 (2/22/06 15:46) Reply Re: ka-fucking-boom "Perhaps later," Kei replied with a soft grin. "Assuming you have the money. Everyone is in good health, I assume?" Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 966 (2/22/06 23:54) Reply | Edit Re: ka-fucking-boom Joss and Alya watched the party from their space on the floor. Joss still had one arm around Alya protectively. He scanned their faces carefully, but Alya seemed to settle on Kei for a moment. Her expression relaxed a bit as she studied the Nekojin and she eventually went back to whatever musings were occupying her. Presumably she and Joss both had a lot on their minds. Joss spoke up first. "Hey. ...Good to see you." He glanced over to Stephan, but didn't seem quite willing to make eye contact. It was as if noting Stephan's presence was the extent of Joss' concerns and whatever problems the two of them had could wait. Malachi Lee stood, emerging with a smile that had a certain satisfied finality to it. Maybe he'd found whatever he'd been looking for, or successfully hidden whatever he'd been trying to misplace. "Well, you've been busy for the better part of the day. You planning to work through the night, or are you interested in getting something to eat? Bailey is still on duty. I'm sure he'd love to see you all again. He spoke very highly of one young fellow in particular. I...understand you were....how did he put it....helping him with some research, James?" Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4425 (2/23/06 0:20) Reply Re: ka-fucking-boom "If by 'helping him with research' Archmagus Bailey is referring to his conjuration of a set of bizarrely vicious desserts, then yes, I was helping him with his research. On the plus side, that man is capable of producing some astoundingly good food for those with exotic tastes." James smirked, flicking his wings a little as his hair assumed an even more erect state. "I wouldn't mind spending a little more time with him. Cutlery be damned, the man has his priorities straight." The half-incubus wondered idly how the hell you got started on a career of culinary conjuration for a moment before his mind wandered back to the bizarre horrors of the flan. While he could certainly mention it to his comrades, he was positive that he had witnessed something so bizarre and beyond the realm of normal reality, magical or otherwise, that there was no way to communicate his experience. The entire situation was so mind-blowingly ludicrous that it defied description, and he had the slightest inkling that if he persisted in attempting to recant his story about the killer pudding that he would spontaneously wind up in a mental institution, barred away for the remainder of his life and left to scream unintelligible utterings of madness at whoever passed by. Later in his life, James would need to enlist the services of a freelance dream mage to sort out the permanent damage to his psyche caused by what seemed to be relatively harmless at the time, but for the moment, he was content to decide that he had witnessed something confusing and otherworldly and that it was unnecessary to think beyond the basics. FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1901 (2/23/06 0:53) Reply Re: ka-fucking-boom As the group speaks with the Archmagus, Stephan happens a glance over at Joss, just in time to catch him looking away. It seemed their previous conversation still weighed heavily on the young kid's mind. Still, if he wanted to talk to Stephan about it, he would do so when he felt like it. Right now, the swordmage for hire had slightly more pressing business. Namely, figuring out what the hell Dawn was doing at her estate. "I think we need to talk about what we found over there, and the sooner the better." Stephan mentions to Damien. Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 210 (2/23/06 10:29) Reply post "It seemed pretty straight forward," said Lym. "Well, the main of it anyway. I'm no expert in evil ritual magic, so I can't explain the particulars obviously. Well, not unless somebody really wants me to. There are some things even I don't particularly care to know." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 968 (2/23/06 12:34) Reply | Edit Re: post "We didn't worship him," Joss offered, his voice barely above a mumble. "It was more of a business arrangement. He brought Dawn back and he also interceded with Reshtaha on Archmagus Elaith's behalf." He looked down at the floor to briefly consider his explanation. "I wondered once or twice what he was getting out of it. I know what Dawn wanted, I know what I wanted and what the others wanted. I guess... I don't know. A lot of the others have good reason to be really angry. Dawn said it's the only strength a lot of us have left, and I think maybe she wasn't lying. Maybe that's what's in it for Nikumu. I didn't really think about it before, but if hatred and anger are what he wants..." Joss trailed off, while Alya only nodded and looked off into some point of empty space. She still wasn't really visually inspecting the adults in the room, but she was definitely still paying attention. Eve scratched the back of her head uncomfortably and pulled out a cigarette to store behind her ear. "For fuck's sake." She sighed. "My sister. If it isn't one dark god it's another. This is what I get for wishing as a child that we had more friends." Edited by: Kai  at: 2/23/06 12:36 FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1903 (2/23/06 18:30) Reply Re: post Stephan was just about to ask Joss what had him so angry, when another part of the young man's conversation came to mind. ...he also interceded with Reshtaha on Archmagus Elaith's behalf... Realising how horribly, horribly bad this could be, he decides to get this clarified. "...wait, Nikumu's already talked to Reshtaha about bringing Elaith back?" Stephan asks Joss. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 969 (2/23/06 23:24) Reply | Edit INDIA! IT'S SET IN INDIA! Joss shrugged. "Sure. Pretty sure he did from the start. It's a smaller piece of the plan than you might think. I mean, it's important, but Dawn was never planning to rely on that alone. She has other obligations to meet. She has to--" His sentence broke off abruptly. "I mean, we... Well, just as we are, you know. Expected to prove our dedication, she has to prove herself as well." Joss nodded to himself. "The original plan involved a combination of the Descension rituals and, um..." He pointed directly at Eve with his free hand. "You." Eve blinked. "Yeah thanks that's great." She pulled her cigarette from behind her ear ad the end seemingly lit itself before she could reach for a match. She blinked again in surprise. "Yeah," Joss said. "Sorry about that, by the way." "Whatever," she replied. "You can make it up to me by not erasing me and giving what's left to any hostile deities, deal?" "...um. Yeah. I think I can handle that," Joss answered. Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1125 (2/23/06 23:37) Reply Re: INDIA! IT'S SET IN INDIA! Damian thought about it for a moment and frowned. HARD. "Well HERE'S a real pickle of a situation. We have the God of Death and the God of Hate bartering over the soul of a particularly nasty mortal mage, unfortunately using you and your friends as pawns in the equation, Joss..." Rather talented pawns at that... HEY, does that make us the knights? And who are we playing for? We're the white hats, duh. But white isn't even your color, Boss. Heh. "Wait. I know it isn't important, but... why haven't we heard anything from this Elaith? Not done bargaining, I assume? And what would she need you for, Miss Eve? Or maybe I'm missing the main thrust of this plan somehow..." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4426 (2/23/06 23:39) Reply Re: INDIA! IT'S SET IN INDIA! "It seems like a reasonable request to me. I generally like being safe in the notion that my companions aren't going to vaporize me and offer up the ashes to Nikumu." With a characteristic wing flick, James' expression hardened somewhat. "I had a feeling that if Dawn were worshipping Nikumu it'd be for something like that. Not that Dawn isn't obviously an angry little bitch with more than enough pent up aggression to have good reason to revere a deity dedicated to hatred," he added with a wave of his hand. "If what my father told me is correct, at the end of his life, Elaith was being 'contested' as a potential avatar by both Nikumu and Reshtaha more or less simultaneously. Due to the fact that he was apparently a distant bloodline relative of our friendly neighborhood death god, Reshtaha obviously 'won.' On the plus side, Kazeros lended Myrnal and her allies the power to defeat him then and there." "Myrnal can confirm that if she feels like it, but the precise details don't seem that relevant to me. The present goal is still the same. Stick pointy objects in Dawn until she stops moving for the sake of everyone who lives. We obviously can't stop Nikumu if he somehow manages to pry Elaith's soul out of Reshtaha's tightly clenched fingers, but we can stop Dawn. The ways of gods are completely foreign to me. I'm sure there's some reason that Elaith can't be resurrected without some sort of investment from her, but whatever it is, it's obfuscated by seven layers of divine bullshit." It occurred to James to wonder briefly at that moment if there was in fact a god dedicated to fecal matter. FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1904 (2/24/06 1:02) Reply Re: INDIA! IT'S SET IN INDIA! "...who the fuck knows why the Gods do anything." Stephan suddenly blurts out, "One moment you're putting your life back together, then bam. They decide to amuse themselves by sending your life spiraling to hell." Stephan seems to glare at something briefly, but what is not entirely clear. "But whatever. Now then..." He turns toward Joss again, "What, exactly, do you plan on doing now?" NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3403 (2/24/06 1:08) Reply Re: INDIA! IT'S SET IN INDIA! "So..." Kei said, after a pause, "Dawn's plan involved sacrificing these children, but that is not going to work now. Do you think she will try something new, Joss, or do you think she will use some of the others instead?" Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 970 (2/24/06 14:13) Reply | Edit things and stuff Myrnal once again seemed ill at ease with the discussion of Reshtaha and Nikumu's last little spat, but couldn't quite stifle a smile during Stephan's tirade. She didn't say anything about it, though. This was beginning to become something of a trend with her. Joss shrugged in response to Stephan and Kei's questions. "I don't know. I'll figure something out. It doesn't really matter what I'm doing at this point. I'll settle that problem when it comes around. As for Dawn's plan? Honestly, I'm supposed to be dead, so I'm kind of out of the loop on whatever Dawn wants to do next." His voice started to rise in volume, as apparently the party had found something of a sensitive topic. "She didn't tell me her master plan before she-- whatever. I don't fucking know anything." Alya flinched at his language. "I know what she was going to do to some extent, but now, I don't know. Yeah, it's good that you guys ruined her plan, since apparently it's the worst thing ever. But that also means anything I know about it is probably no longer accurate. I don't know what you think I can do to help you." He stared down at the floor for a moment. "I know the plan has changed. It's changed because of Eva not being an option at this point, it's changed because you guys... I don't know. I do know that Alya and I weren't..." He sighed. "It wasn't our time. You're supposed to have your Decension when you're fourteen. I can offer some damn good guesses as to why, but right now I really don't feel like having some brainstorming session as to why Alya and I were supposed to die today." Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1127 (2/24/06 20:06) Reply Teacher Teacher! Dave stole my answers! ;_; "This still leaves us with a shortage of things to do next". Damian sighed. "I suppose now we need to figure out which way this new plan is going and potentially stop it. BEFORE yon God of Hate gets more involved." Either way, things were starting to powderkeg, and Damian didn't quite like this idea. ".. all we need now is the fucking God of Chaos and we'd be set." he muttered. His shadow, for once, was polite enough to not comment. FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1905 (2/26/06 11:05) Reply Re: things and stuff The swordmage can't help a bit of sympathy for the young psionist. Joss had trusted Dawn, was given a new life and what he thought was a happy home. Only to finally realize it was all a lie. ...maybe not a complete lie, when Stephan thinks about it. It seems obvious that Joss cares about the other kids, and the feeling is likely mutual. If it is close to the degree Stephan cares for his loved ones, it makes sense why Joss looks and sounds so defeated. But it poses another problem. The way things are going, it seems more and more likely they would need to kill some of the children. They don't know the things Joss and his little friend know, and will likely do everything in their power to stop the group. Leaving only one option if the group wants to survive and take down Dawn... ...And if that happens, Stephan feels certain Joss will end up as he did. He will feel alone without his new family, guilty over their deaths, and anger at Dawn, himself, and the group over their involvement. If it is anything like what happened in the swordmage's past, Joss will start taking it out on anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way. Over the years, he will add more and more to the guilt and anger, becoming something horrible. Just like the swordmage was, many years ago. ...But, Stephan knows he can't force Joss to do anything. If he isn't willing to face up to Dawn and help his 'family' on his own, then he will only be another obstacle. Something the group can't afford, with so much at stake. With all that in mind, he turns to the young psionist and his friend. "...if I were you, Joss." Stephan starts telling the psionist, "I would think long and hard about what you're going to do. I already told you how much I have in stake for this, and I can tell you the rest of my comrades here have just as much, if not more, to lose if Dawn succeeds with her plans. So I'm sure you know what we'll have to do, if we go after Dawn, and the rest of your friends are still at her side. So, I'm only going to ask you once. If you really do care about the rest of the kids with her, and want to help them, I think you know what you have to do. But if you're not up to it, or you can't bring yourself to go through with it, that will be on your conscience. It's your choice." Stephan looks to the others in the group for a moment, when he remembers something else, saying one last thing to Joss. "...I will say this, though. You always said you wanted to be legendary someday. I'd say now would be a damn good time to prove that." Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1129 (2/26/06 12:10) Reply Re: things and stuff That last caught Damian's attention, and for a moment his mind and heart are far away in both time and place, revisiting what some would consider his past. He didn't wish they were just images of nightmare...things he could wash away once the next mission came. But still they troubled him. Looking over at Joss, and then back to Stephan, he just had to wonder how much the angry swordsman was or wasn't like him. It probably didn't matter anyway. For his part, he tried to whisper to Stephan what little that came to him. "That... was a good thing you said. Just.... I... Hm. It'd be better if he didn't HAVE to choose." IT was harder to express this than he thought. Too much was behind it. "... but sometimes you aren't given a choice." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 971 (2/26/06 21:14) Reply | Edit Re: things and stuff The boy gritted his teeth and gripped the sides of his head with both hands. This is a posture Stephan has seen before and followed close behind it was the smell of woodsmoke. Lee clapped his hands and the boy looked up abruptly. Lee cautioned him, "You should be careful of that. You're lucky we're in my office." "I-- sorry. Sorry. It's just.... everything is so unreasonable. I can't do anything for anybody. Not without hurting everyone else." He looked at the group in front of him, started to speak, faltered, and then began again. "They're wrong. I know that. Dawn is wrong. The others are wrong. Maybe that means you're right." He sighed. "You want me to fight them. They want me to fight you. You say you want me to "help" them, and so do they. Meaning's a little different, though. The only thing anyone ever asks is for me to blow up someone else." He stood up, and after a moment, the little girl took his hand and stood beside him. "I'll help you if I can, tell you... whatever I can that you think will help you." He paused and pointed directly at Stephan. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to go back with you and kill them with my own hands just because you said I should. If I did everything grownups told me to do I'd have killed you on sight when you found me on the beach. I was supposed to, you know. The others don't trust you. I did and we--" He glanced briefly to the younger child next to him. "...I don't take orders from anyone. Not from Dawn, not from you. But I'll help you." Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1130 (2/26/06 22:11) Reply Re: things and stuff Damian sighed. Apparently Joss was taking things entirely the wrong way. "I'm... fairly sure that none of us expect or even WANT you to go and kill your friends or anything like that. Just... This whole situation is going places that I personally would rather not go." Finding it both hard to express this as well as to remain standing all this time, Damian tried to get to a moderately comfortable space in the office. "It'd be so much easier if you weren't involved, but you are. It'd be convenient to tell you to hole up here till things blow over, but I'm sure you won't do that either." With that, Damian looked over at Stephan, hoping he'd gauged the man about right. FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1906 (2/26/06 22:42) Reply Re: things and stuff Stephan nods to Damian, then turns to Joss. "I know this situation completely fucking sucks, and that nothing any of us say will making it any easier. But don't go into this thinking we just want to storm into Dawn's place, and kill everything that breathes. We may not know them as well as you, but I for one don't like the idea of killing a bunch of kids. We don't want to kill anyone if we can help it, and that's exactly why I asked you to help us. There's no way in hell any of your friends are going to listen to us. But they might listen to both of you. They might not either, but it's the best shot we have. Without the two of you, it's pretty safe to say what will happen." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4429 (2/27/06 17:27) Reply Re: things and stuff James had apparently been thinking about the present conversation without speaking for a good bit now. Having decided on exactly what to say, he stepped forward to pitch in his two gil. "I don't honestly care what you decide to do. If you think it will help to go with us, go. If you would rather stay, then stay here. It makes no difference to me whatsoever. While I agree with what Stephan is saying, I'm not going to overestimate your worth as a diplomatic chip. From what I've seen, it's just as likely that your fellow cultists will attempt to kill you for your heretical suggestions as they will be convinced to turn against their former master. These children aren't just lured by a silver tongue. They're being psionically manipulated, and it would be prudent for Dawn to tighten her hold on whatever followers she has left, because there's no doubt that she's lost at least a few of them." James gritted his teeth and frowned. "I've already said that I'm willing to pay whatever price it takes to defeat Dawn and secure the future. I will kill any man, woman, or child who stands in my way without question. But we've already had that conversation, and it's pointless to have it a second time. The conversation is personal now, because we're discussing what one young man and his little lady friend should do. And I already told you what I thought about that. I honestly don't care. If you pressed me for an opinion, I might eventually be able to give you the one that seems like the best gut reaction." James paused briefly and turned to look at the young pyrokinetic. "Go home, Joss. Children don't make good soldiers. Only cowards make children fight for them, and they only do that because of people who are afraid to kill children to win battles. These are the people who don't think ahead. They don't realize how many more children will die if they lose. Children don't often have the maturity to do what it takes to win wars, and if you're going to be putting yourself in a position where you have to make decisions that are too difficult for you then you should just get the hell out. This isn't your battle. I don't doubt that you can fight. I doubt that you can fight your 'friends.' I'm not going to ask you to do that, and the chance of it happening if you come along to help 'negotiate' is higher than you think." James flicked his wings reflexively as he finished his speech. "We're already past the debate on whether or not it's acceptable to kill children. Now you want to risk a child's life so that we can potentially avoid having to do it?" NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3416 (2/28/06 0:50) Reply Prosti menya, mladshiy brat! Ya tak pred toboy vinovat. While the others talked, Kei glanced over to Alya for a few seconds. Curious, she thought to herself. Maybe I'll have a talk with her...but not right now. Kei then turned her gaze towards Joss, who seemed to be the topic of the moment. It was odd; in a way, she wished she could a bit of her younger self in him. She wished she could see a thirst for vengeance. She wished she could still his desire to prove himself. She wished, above all, to see a will to go out and fight. However, this wasn't because she wanted him to join them in their fight against Dawn. Kei wanted to see all of this, because it meant one thing: It meant she wouldn't have to see the weariness this boy so obviously carried. She sighed. Even if her past experiences weren't entirely applicable, there was one thing that was prudent to remember in regards to the situation; how reckless the young could be. Finally speaking, Kei said, "I agree with James on this. I do not think it would be wise for Joss or Alya to fight with us." She paused for a moment, and said, "They have faced enough already. However...if you do not mind, I think it would be good if you stayed here at Gunnir. We have telepaths with us, yes? Even if you do not fight, it would be good if we could stay in touch with you." Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 211 (2/28/06 16:37) Reply post Lym was bored. He tried not to show it. Honestly he did. He quirked his eyebrows at the appropriate time, creased them, rubbed his forehead, rubbed the back of his neck, as if this was all very difficult and complicated, as if there was a lot of thinking to be done. But there wasn't. It was simple. "It's like rape," he said, finally. "You find a way to carry the kids to term, good for you. That's your sacrifice and we're impressed you made it. But don't worry about it if you can't or don't want to do that. You never did anything wrong. It's the rapist's fault. Kid dies, that's his fault too. "Dawn is a rapist. She put children in a situation where we have to sacrifice ourselves to make things okay for them. Now, self sacrifice would be fine, if you were up for it -- I'm not -- but it goes further than that. It's global sacrifice, apparently. So we don't even get to make that choice. Kids die, it's her fault. We manage to save 'em, good for us. We don't, fine. Not really our fault. "Morally, this is a really simple situation. "As for Joss, here, he can do whatever he wants. Not really any of my business or my concern." FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1907 (3/1/06 9:23) Reply Buttons: *pushed* =[ Anyone happening to glance in Stephan's direction, would see that the swordmage has look of complete and utter shock on his face, staring at Lym. If they are even more observant, they may notice that his left hand is twitching rather noticably, and balled into a fist. If they have a shred of common sense, they will realize that Stephan is about 5 seconds from trying to beat the living hell out of Lym. "...how...fucking... DARE YOU... try to describe what rape is..." he snarls at the psionist. Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1131 (3/1/06 17:51) Reply Hell needs a new handbasket. Ever get the feeling that you should move out of the way? asked the little shadow, seeming to suddenly pool around Damian's legs. I would, but it wouldn't get me any further from YOU. Oh, ha ha. While he had this pleasant bit of conversation, Damian decided that now is a good time to move close to the door. You know, just in case. Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 212 (3/2/06 0:10) Reply post "Yeah, I know, I'm reprehensible. I'm also right. In a disgusting situation forced on us by disgusting people, the right answer isn't going to be beautiful. I'm glad you still know how to pose, though. Keep that outrage going for a little while, if that's what steels you for the necessary. I have killed less than handfull in my time. How many for you? Did the feeling that you were better help somehow?" Lym shrugged. "Honestly, kids, I'm bored. This is asinine. Let's settle on how we're killing her and do it, as I've been saying from day one." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 973 (3/2/06 1:21) Reply | Edit Re: post Eve cleared her throat and took a few drags on her cigarette and then turned to the kids in the room. "Look. You know we'll do what we have to do. I don't feel like killing everybody, but it's not always about what people want to do. You want to help? Good. Helping is nice. You don't have to come and in fact, if Lee will have you, you can just stay here." Malachi Lee nodded. "Of course. If there's anyplace they're safe it's with us. I know Dawn well enough to know that she'd never come after them here. This is Gunnir. I don't care how powerful she is. She wouldn't dare attack here of all places. Provided we can prevent ourselves from killing one another... anyone staying here should be relatively safe. Of course, that's somewhat dependent upon your collective ability not to murder one another in my office. I am opposed to such things, no matter what the provokation or circumstances." Myrnal gave a collosal sigh and removed her hand from her belt. It had somehow migrated there of its own accord, but she pulled it back and crossed her arms. She looked at the floor and over to Stephan. Hard to say exactly what expression or emotion she was settling on, but she was clearly torn between several. Some combination of irritation, concern, and as her eyes flicked briefly to Lym... a sort of grim satisfaction. "Lyminali, I don't think you're morally reprehensible in any way. I think you're a prick. It's different. I also happen to agree that you're right. That makes you an asshole with his head on straight, and I don't care about much else. I can speak from experience that mental domination is not fucking fun. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that in certain cases...death is a fucking mercy." Alya held tight to Joss' hand and he clenched his jaw briefly. "We're fine. We'll stay here. I don't know what we can tell you about Dawn's current compound that'll be useful, but whatever we know, you'll know." He glanced over to Alya, a note of concern in his expression. She was staring at Stephan, seemingly unable to look away. By way of explanation, Joss offered, "It's all right. You don't have to shelter us from the fact that you're going to need to defend yourselves." He glanced over again. Alya spoke up. "It's...." Her voice was tight and she sounded like she was very narrowly suppressing tears. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I'm just... kind of sensitive. It's okay. I understand." Satisfied that she was all right, Joss continued. "Can I ask you guys for a favor? I mean, things have been crazy and I don't think either of us have eaten since yesterday and it's... almost dinnertime. Is there food around here or something? I think people need to fucking chill and we can talk about stuff. I'm sorry that I can't do more for you, but Alya can't go back and I'm not leaving her alone here." The girl looked down. "I am kind of hungry, if that's okay." Edited by: Kai  at: 3/2/06 1:21 Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1132 (3/2/06 1:33) Reply Re: post "Well", Damian drawled out, as he started to strech himself out a bit more, the slight stress leaving his stance. "There IS a common eating room not too far from here. I can show you if you want. Good food there, too." You know, later on I'm gonna try the flan. Eh. Do what you want. Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4435 (3/2/06 1:58) Reply Re: post "The short answer to that," replied James with a whimsical tone, "is yes. Head downstairs and down the hall and you'll find the dining room. Ask for Archmagus Bailey. The guy makes a delicious...well, I would venture to guess that he makes a delicious anything. If it's edible, he can provide it for you, apparently. That man has quite a talent." "After that, I'd recommend you head down the hall to the dormitory wing. At least, I think it's down there. Perhaps Archmagus Lee can provide you two with a place to catch up on much-needed sleep, or if nothing else, rest." NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3420 (3/2/06 2:23) Reply Pyitatsya vernut' nyelzya...Togo, chto vzyala zyemlya. Kei glared at Lym for a moment, but soon her gaze softened to...well, not anything pleasant, but to something more neutral. This is childish, she thought to herself. We're never going to get anything done if we waste time sniping at each other. She then looked over at Ayla, her expression shifting from cold neutrality to sympathy. I should-no. There's nothing you can do to help now. However, in the middle of this, her eyes lit up for a brief moment, as an idea hit her. "I suggest," Kei said, "That we do the same as the children, and get ourselves something to eat. A short break would do us all good; after all, a sharp mind is better than a weary one." Not only that, she thought, it would allow time for some tempers to cool... Edited by: NebulaQueen at: 3/2/06 2:24 FF Fanatic 80  Imposter Brit Posts: 1910 (3/2/06 10:23) Reply Re: Pyitatsya vernut' nyelzya...Togo, chto vzyala zyemlya. Stephan still appears very upset, even more so after Lym's little commentary on killing people. However, he tones down the offensive stance after the warning from Lee. Pissed as he is, he's not stupid enough to try something now. He'd rather not find out what psionic tricks the Archmagus can pull off. Staying with current company is making it more likely he will find out, though, so he makes use of Kei's offer. "...fine. I'll see you all later then... I need to go take a walk." Without another word or look to anyone, Stephan heads out of the office and down one of the halls. Magnus de Silentio You Tazered bear! Bear takes 1 damage. Bear eats you! Posts: 213 (3/2/06 12:29) Reply post Lym tilted his head to the side and waved goodbye to their backs. "Outrage is ugly," he mused, after they had gone. Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 974 (3/2/06 17:19) Reply | Edit Re: post Joss bit his lower lip anxiously as Stephan left, plainly wanting to follow him. However, he kept to his word and stayed with his friend as the others headed toward the possibility of food. He looked behind him to see where Stephan had gone, but sighed and remained with the group. Myrnal trailed along behind the group, while Eve walked by Lym on their way to The Location that Brings Food. After a short while down the hall, Joss did something surprising and let go of Alya's hand. Some sort of nonverbal agreement passed between the two of them, and Alya fell into step beside Kei. She looked up at the Nekojin. "Hi. My name's Alya Fairburn," she said in a low voice. "Do you mind if I walk over here? The others are really loud, and you feel quieter." Joss watched Alya and Kei for a moment, as if to assure himself that Kei wasn't going to pull out a sword and behead the girl. It didn't take long for Joss to decide this was highly unlikely and he continued on with everyone else. Edited by: Kai  at: 3/2/06 17:20 NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3423 (3/3/06 0:16) Reply Kto znayet zakon Byitiya, Pomog byi mne nayti otvet. Kei smiled softly at her, and said, "Hello Ayla, I'm Kei. And of course you can walk over here. In fact, I wanted to ask you something, if you did not mind." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 975 (3/3/06 0:23) Reply | Edit ...Da. Ti giraf? ...Da. Alya nodded. "S'okay. I don't mind. What is it?" NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3424 (3/3/06 0:27) Reply Zhestoko oshibsya ya; Ot smerti lekarstva nyet. Kei slowed her pace, so the two of them would lag behind the others. "I noticed you were looking at me earlier," she said. "I was wondering what you were thinking about." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 976 (3/3/06 0:39) Reply | Edit Re: Zhestoko oshibsya ya; Ot smerti lekarstva nyet. Alya nodded a few times. "I kind of was. I'm sorry if I was staring. I know I shouldn't stare. It's rude. It's...um... Hm." She tilted her head and chewed her lower lip briefly. "See... do you know what empathy is? I mean, not like sympathy because they're different. But feeling what other people feel? It's like that." She reached out and touched Kei on the arm briefly. "It's like.... you're so close to me, how can I not know what you're feeling? It's like that with everyone. Well, most people." She tugged on the ends of her hair where they just began to curl at her shoulder. "The thing is, some people are really loud. Dawn explained it once. The people who feel more quiet to me are more... I think... disciplined was the word." She looked down to the floor as she walked. "I talked to Dawn a lot. She was very quiet." She shrugged and her gaze remained down by her feet. "It's okay for people to be loud. They can't help it. It's just.... hard after a long time, or if there are a lot of them." She looked up at Kei again. "Does that.... does it make sense? I'm sorry I was staring." NebulaQueen VACANT Posts: 3426 (3/3/06 1:00) Reply Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. "Do not worry," Kei replied, "it makes enough sense to me. I would say that Dawn made a very good point...many times, it is very hard for one to keep their tongue, especially when something makes them angry. It takes a good deal of control not to act on it." She continued to walk, looking at the girl gently. "However, you are also right about it being alright for people to be loud. Sometimes, you need to speak out for what is right. Sometimes, you need to feel anger. After all, if one did not feel angry, there would be no progress in the world. There would be no action, and there would be no justice. That is why control is so important to have. One must be able to temper their anger with logic and discipline, so they will be able to do what is best for them and for others." The nekojin paused, and then said, "In many ways, it is like knowing how to pick your battles. One cannot be reckless and force their way through everything; that is the way of foolishness and destruction. One must be wise enough to know when, and how, to take action." She then smiled at Alya, and briefly changed the subject. "As for staring at me...do not worry about it. You did nothing wrong in that." Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1135 (3/3/06 13:06) Reply Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. Looking back, Damian managed to see the little girl Alya finally walking seperate from Joss. A small smile managed to come to him as he saw how well Kei was getting along with her so far. At least that's one less thing to worry about, he thought. "We probably ought to hurry before the dinner rush. Assuming there isn't one already." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 978 (3/5/06 18:30) Reply | Edit Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. As the dinner party turned the corner into the cafeteria, they were treated to a sight that was familiar to some. Archmagus Bailey, still in his cream-colored work clothes, was leaning back in his chair with a book propped up in his lap. He'd apparently finished his previous reading material, as he seemed to have moved on to Kalshanese Enlightenment and the Parfait Revolution. There were several full tables of students, and as a consequence there were a couple dozen sets of oddly-colored, assertively-mismatched tableware. There was even a student or two at the biting table, though they seemed to be eating on it with impunity. The table showed no signs of hostility. There were other tables available to the party with slightly less off-putting reputations, should they choose to take a seat. Bailey set his book back on the table and waved to the adventurers walking in the door. He nodded and threw a brief salute to James. When the Archmagus noticed the children tagging along with the group, he couldn't suppress a grin. It was quickly replaced by an exaggerated frown of concentration as Bailey considered his next move. He gazed imperiously up to the ceiling and rubbed his hands together. After several seconds of this he clapped his hands over the table. When he pulled his hands apart, various candies and tiny pastries fell to the table like something out of an Inustani pinata. He coughed into his fist self-consciously and waved the group closer. "What can I do for you?" Edited by: Kai  at: 3/5/06 18:31 Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1138 (3/6/06 17:27) Reply Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. Suddenly struck with an odd craving, Damian just had to at least try it... "For some reasons I'm in the mood for something odd I had while in Nekonia. It was chocobo meat cooked in a sauce that tasted distinctly of oranges." Archmage144  Hyper-scientific Bishounen Pharmacist Brian Season III! Posts: 4437 (3/6/06 22:53) Reply Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. "You can feed us, for starters!" responded James with a fangy grin. He knew that this man was a genius, and as a result, he knew that he would have no problem with his raucous sense of humor. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to conjure me some Inustani food. I could really go for a couple steak fajitas with the works right now." Kai  Robo-Kai Posts: 980 (3/6/06 23:59) Reply | Edit Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. Bailey nodded. "Both perfectly reasonable requests from perfectly reasonable young men. First, some poultry for you, sir." Bailey tilted his head as if listening to some distant but vitally important sound. He stared out a window with great intensity. He absently conjured a four or five spoons of diverse and offensive color, using them to play a few bars of some raucous song he probably picked up from the students. Bailey stood and tossed the spoons at the table, where they seemed to sink into the wooden surface. They were replaced by one massive serving of specially-prepared chocobo and four plates covered in steak fajitas. The excessive quantity of Inustani food was probably intended to feed everyone, as only some of the fajitas were dressed with "the works" to allows for individual tastes. "You guys let me know if you want anything else on there. Not hard at all," Bailey offered. "And what do you two want?" Joss eyed the candies and pastries but decided on something more sensible. "Is grilled cheese okay? And milk? I can have as much as I want?" Bailey laughed. "Of course you can. It's my job to feed you until you're too ill to go to class. How about you, madam?" He winked at Alya, who dislodged herself from her firm position at Kei's side to tentatively inspect the pastries. "Um..." She glanced up at him briefly, but apparently decided that he was at least as trustworthy as the others and leaned toward him over the table as best she could. "Can I have chicken alfredo, please?" Alya glanced down at the candies and pastries and snatched a small raspberry tart off the table, which elicited a grin from Bailey. She pointed at Bailey's book and whispered, "And, um... can I have one of those?" "A parfait? Ha! Of course!" He held out his hand and as he offered it palm up to the girl, a plate of pasta in white sauce with grilled chicken materialized. She reached up and took it from him with a grateful nod. Bailey snapped his fingers and Joss' grilled cheese sandwich appeared alongside a glass of milk. "There you go. Ice cream after dinner, okay?" Alya nodded several times. "Thank you, sir," she said before hurrying over to the table where the party was camped out to eat. Joss took his food and claimed a seat next to Alya. Nakibe Mmmmm... Chaos Sandwich. ^_^ Posts: 1140 (3/7/06 23:31) Reply Re: Milaya mama! Nyezhnaya! Myi tak lyubili tebya. "Mmmm... smells good." Times like this made Damian glad for the simple chance to stop and enjoy GOOD food while on a mission. So often you had to take what you could scrounge up in between fights. Even Damian's little shadow seemed pleased by the break... and promptly made a break over to Joss' shadow, adding its substance to make various unusual shadows in the floor. After taking a few bites out of the food, Damian looked over at the kids. "How's it taste to you? So far I've found the Archmagus over there to have an excellent grasp of how food SHOULD taste."

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Topic Commands Click to receive email notification of replies
jump to: RPGWWcon Archive (New) Gaera Main RPs (New) Other RPs (New) Character Closet (New) OOC RP Discussion (New) Kotoki's Bar and Inn (New) Discussion Forum (New) Testing (New) Fanart and Miscellaneous (New) Fanfiction and other Writings (New) The Unspoken Forum (New) RP Archive Spam Shrine (New) The Rest™ (New)

the
PLAID
is dead!

Powered By ezboard® Ver. 7.32
Copyright ©1999-2005 ezboard, Inc.