ooc: hahahahahaha! that's very true!

IC: Marcus seems to take heart at your words, which pleases you, especially considering you can see the worry for his brother in his eyes. Kirk, however, remains unimpressed. But then, he is a rather unpleasant man. Your inspired attitude may not be enough to save you Miss Hartley, he says drily. But I suppose if it gets your feet moving faster, it will do. Now, he turns to you both, walking out of reach of your hand on his shoulder. I think I can probably bolster somewhere in town for the people to gather in until we can figure this out. Is there a church somewhere? It's easier in a church, he frowns. I believe there is, Marcus nods.
Good. I'll head there now, start preparing it. Spread the word for people to join me there as soon as they can. One of you spread the word, the other start looking for the witch. Go now, or there won't be anyone left to save.

ooc: Ok, you can either gather townsfolk or go witch hunting! I'll need gather info/diplomacy checks etc, all that jazz :D

ooc - Oh look, even if I'm not punching stuff I can destroy myself with this roller LOL

Nodding at Kirk's words, Josephine thought his plan seemed sound,

"Alright, let's do it!"

With that, Josephine headed out towards the people running around, and she shrugged to Marcus,

"I can convince people better than you to share the word, but you'll be able to get them moving towards the church. I'll try and find information: you save some people!" she said, setting off to split up.

ooc: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! You poor thing!

IC: You try as you might to find information on a witch, but sadly, people aren't in the frame of mind to listen to your questions, all of them rushing about in a blind panic. Luckily, from a distance, you can see Marcus is having some luck rounding people towards the church. In the meantime, you're beyond frustrated that your usual tactics aren't working.

After several failed attempts, you look around you. The small town is quieter now, most of the patrons have squished themselves within the church, the shops and houses empty. It's an eerie, unsettling feeling, like being in a ghost town. Literally, in this case. The hair on the back of your neck starts to stand up and goosebumps run down your skin. The air around you grows colder. You know exactly what is happening even before you turn around. Still, you can't help yourself. As you look behind you, your heart drops. Fifteen figures form a half circle behind you, eyes boring into you. All of them ghosts and all of them looking very menacing indeed.

ooc - Bluff attempt 27. Worth a shot, or I'm toast, hahaha. This diceroller is going to kill me, but not THIS roll!

Spinning around, Josephine saw the massive number of ghosts lining up, but she also knew the majority of the townsfolk were hidden away in the church, so she hoped they would be safe with Kirk.

Shrugging, she faced them, as if she'd given up,

"What's the use? Look behind you: we've already set fire to a pile of the things holding you here..." she said as a last-ditch effort, pointing behind the majority of the half circle.

Who knows if bluffing worked on ghosts? It sure worked on demons, and this would give her half a chance to...

...RUN!

ooc: Hahahahahahahahahaha! That's some Scooby Doo tactics right there ;D
Also, I rolled your run stuff and theirs too, and lucky for you, my dice roller rolled in your favor! lol

ic: To your amusement, your bluff actually works on about half of the ghosts, the distraction enough to give you a head start. They give chase, and your heart thunders in your ears. The air around you is icy from their presence, your breath coming out in icy puffs as you race towards the church, hoping Kirk has done his protection spell by now.

They are fast nearing by now, it's only the head start your bluff gave you that has kept you alive. You're nearing the church, about a hundred paces away now. The front door opens and you see Marcus step out, recognize the situation you're in and instantly react.
Duck! He roars at you, and you manage to just as he hurls a ball of white light at the things, knocking them to and fro. By now you're at the door and he grabs you and yanks you inside, slamming the door just as the wraiths slam into an invisible barrier and bounce off again.

Are you alright?! he demands, looking you over for damage. It's all you can do to breathe, it was no short jaunt back, after all. Any luck with the witch? Probably not, he shakes his head. Most of the people you'd question are in here with me, after all. You want to take a minute, and we'll try winkling out some information together? He asks gently.

OOC - :P Perfect! Hey, if it works, with MY luck, I've GOTTA use it! And thank God you rolled, hahaha, or I was doomed again.

Hearing Marcus shout to duck, Josephine's eyes widened, and she threw herself on the floor at his feet, hearing the sound of the ball of white light above her, as she twisted on the floor to see.

Watching the ghosts tossed to the side, her eyes widened even more as she was dragged inside, and she scrambled to her feet, brushing herself off. Panting a bit, she shook her head,

"I'm... not..." she panted, gasping for air, "...hurt." she managed, shaking her head again, "There were... so many!" she said, thoroughly surprised.

Standing up and brushing her long hair out of her face, Josephine nodded at his idea, and responded,

"Yea, give me a moment, and I'll figure out what I can with them." she said, squinting from that strange little pinch in the side of her abdomen from running full force.

After a moment, she turned, and approached the citizens in the church, starting to poke around. At first, to see if anybody needed any help. After about five minutes of offering help and fostering goodwill, she started asking questions about the witch, hoping she'd be a bit more approachable now that she was concerned for their safety, and not just a total stranger.

ooc: lol!

ic: Your tactics seem to work. The fact that the ghosts have made such an obvious appearance has also put people in more of a frame of mind to take such outlandish questions seriously. It's hard to deny that a witch might exist when specters are looming in front of you.

Terrifyingly, the ghosts seem hell bent to get at the townsfolk. The windows of the church are shadowed by the wraiths pressing up against them to look in. Whatever Kirk has done, it's worked. They are unable to penetrate the walls of the building, though they stand there, looking in eerily, surrounding the place.

The people are panicked by this, understandably so, and you find yourself working hard to allay their fears, though even you aren't quite sure how you're going to get out of this mess. Oddly enough, it's not the adults who prove the most useful in answering your questions. Instead, it's the children. Poor, frightened things are quick to tell you all about the witch of the north wood nearby. They tell you all about how she gave one of their friends chicken pox by pointing at him, and how all the dogs bark at her and how she never seems to get cold, even when its snowing out. The adults admit she's a little odd, but they look too bewildered by all of this to be of much use. The supposed witch's name is Elspeth Browning, and she lives in a little house about a mile north of town...

Reporting what she found to the others, Josephine placed her hands on her hips,

"This isn't good. This witch sounds extremely..." she searched for the words, "Not agreeable. We need to get to her, and shut things down, but we're obviously shut down here ourselves." she shrugged, pointing at the walls and windows.

Thinking a moment, she realized she didn't really know what to do. This wasn't going to end well unless she could somehow sneak out, and go to the witch, and convince her to change things. The likelihood of that was slim to none. Josephine wasn't the greatest at hiding or sneaking around, and the circumstances that got this witch to do this in the first place must be extreme, so negotiation wouldn't work. Josephine also wasn't the greatest fighter, so she needed to operate elsewhere... in a different way.

"Alright, if I can create a distraction, we need to get somebody who can fight to the witch." she said, pausing to see if anybody spoke up, "I won't be able to beat a good witch in a solo fight, but I can sure as heck give you a head start running from the ghosts, if you need one." she said, shrugging.

Marcus listens with a frown. I can go, but it would be better if there were two of us.... At this, Kirk draws nearer, obviously listening. I can give you something to help, but if you drop them or lose them you're in for it. He holds out a couple of small velvet pouches. Don't open them either, trust me on that one. It won't get rid of the ghosts completely, but they won't be able to get any closer than 20 feet or so. That should do until you can take care of the witch. Put it on your person, somewhere secure. Anything happens to those pouches and you're in trouble. He wags a warning finger before handing each of you a pouch. Now hurry. I'm not keen to be stuck here with all these crazed people, he makes a face.

Should you take Kirk's advice, you find yourself headed toward the witch's house with a tense Marcus at your side. Many of the ghosts immediately start to follow you upon leaving, and for a moment it seems that the talisman is useless, but then they slam into an invisible barrier, just as with the church. It's no twenty feet distance though, more like 5, which is disconcerting as you walk along and they follow eagerly, pressing against the enchanted barrier.

The house itself, is about fifteen minutes away, and as you enter the woods the darkness surrounds you like an entity of its own. By now you can see the white washed walls of the place and the peaked, shingled roof. It's a darling little place, and in good condition. Smoke puffs out of the chimney, almost invitingly, a sharp contrast to the feel of the woods around it.

Not quite what I expected, Marcus muses, flinching suddenly as one of the ghosts tries to lunge at him, yet again. I won't miss that, he mutters at the thwarted specter with a glare. Alright, how do you want to play this? I'll take the front you take the back? It looks like someone is home, he gestures to the smoke.

ooc: Roll a sense motive and any appropriate sneaky rolls if you would :D

Shaking her head, Josephine didn't like the idea of that,

"No, if we fight this witch: we're dead. She can take us both, and you know it. Don't separate, or she can play us against one another. We walk in, we have a discussion, and we figure out what's going on." She said, shrugging, "If we can't talk her down, we're doomed." she admitted, knowing it was true.

And once Marcus was comfortable with that idea, Josephine took a deep breath, brushed her hair back out of her face, and approached the door, knocking.




Sense motive 12

Hey now! Give me some credit! Marcus looks half joking, half offended, but he agrees with your plan.

The door opens after a few attempts, and you see a middle aged woman, handsome rather than pretty, with long dark hair that is loose about her shoulders. She looks surprised to see you.
Yes? Can I help you? She asks with surprising politeness. As you study her features, you can't tell much other than one unexpected thing. She's been crying recently.

Stepping just inside the door, swallowing at the thought that ghosts were now at her back, and the one person who could cancel her charm was probably in front of her, Josephine smiled softly, and replied,

"You look as upset as I feel." she leveled softly, "Are you alright?"

She wanted to make it about the woman. Despite the obvious issues outside, if Josephine didn't help her feel better, and perhaps get her on her side, she'd be in a world of hurt in this conversation. Plus, the open-ended question allowed her to fill the space with whatever was on her mind.

W-What? she sound startled by the question. Oh. Y-Yes. I'm fine she says shakily. I'm just...a little confused lately, she shakes her head. I...think I live here? It feels...familiar. Wait, do you know me? She looks excited by the idea. Please! I think I live here, but...there's something in my head. She clutches her skull suddenly, as if in pain.

Turning a knowing eye towards Marcus, she spoke softly,

"Might have something on her messing with her head."

Holding a comforting hand out towards the woman, Josephine's gaze was full of concern,

"Do you not remember your most recent actions? We have a bit of a horror story going on outside right now, and we were hoping you could help us fix that..." she said, giving the woman the benefit of the doubt at first.

Marcus watches with a scowl. Then, wordlessly, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small silver vial, flicking it open so quickly you barely see it until you realize he's splashed the woman with it. She recoils, screaming in pain and fury. Holy water.

I'll kill you for that! she snarls, her eyes going black. Marcus swears, and with a gesture, hurls her across the room with his magic. I see what they did. Possessed a witch. Using her powers, I'd imagine. Think you can exorcise her if I keep her busy? He grunts, already rushing in to try to subdue her. It won't be easy.

ooc: Ok, so every hunter knows the exorcism incantation. It's all just a matter of how WELL they know it....here's the rundown of how to do it:


"The player needs a concentration check of DC 15 and it increases one point for every level the enemy is higher than the player. The player must succeed in the concentration check for 8 rounds straight or they must start the attempt over again. Note, anything that breaks their concentration can lead to a break in the exorcism. A struggling demon will automatically give distractions, so any exorcism attempted without a devil’s trap will automatically take a -4 to concentration checks. Note: This spell will have improved versions as the player increases in level.

Addendum: If you know the demon's name then you automatically can subtract 1 round of concentration required and you get a +2 circumstance bonus on concentration checks."

You don't have a devil's trap, so that's not great. But you do know her name, I believe. Also, you have an advanced version of this for being a hunter. So you actually only need to do 5 rounds....Or, you can decline but you'd need to hold her still while Marcus did it. Your choice! MWahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Shaking her head, Josephine rushed forward and grabbed the woman to hold her down, asking quickly,

"Just in case... what happens to her city-wide enchantment if she's killed?" she asked, shrugging as if to say 'don't blame me'.





OOC - Oh lord, lol. I don't think I know the demon's name, but maybe Josephine does :D Its, almost literally, impossible for Josephine to make those rolls. I need to roll a 19/20 EVERY time, which is a probability of .001%, lol. And that's BEST case scenario, level wise :P

I'll hold her down and let Marcus try, knowing that.

Marcus answers quickly, already readying the exorcism. It depends on if she tied off the spell or not. If she did, it will continue regardless, if not, her dying could be a good thing. Now, you need to keep her in this room. Try to hold her still, but if she squirms away, don't let her run out, understand? And for heaven's sake, don't kill her! If she did tie it off, we need her to untie it! Now, hold on Jo... He warns.

ooc: Ok, go ahead and roll a few grapple checks please...

The following are in REVERSE order (thanks to the diceroller). So hopefully the first set of rolls works!



20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 19 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 11 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 14 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 9 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 24 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 15 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 14 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 23 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 17 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 23 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 7 using 1d20+5.

20:07, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 19 using 1d20+5.  grapple start.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

OOC - Oh god, no. None of those worked. I need a 19 5 times in a row.

Sorry Marcus!

ooc: Hahahahaha! Luckily he has some better stats and only needs 4 times in a row. Still...not fun!

ic:

Your grappling attempt works at first but quickly goes haywire. As the exorcism happens, it's quite clear she's possessed, and the demon is...displeased. She wrestles away only to have you wrestle her again only to have her escape again, all while Marcus frantically tries to continue his exorcism with...less than great results. Meanwhile she's doing everything she can to disrupt him. Mostly by hurling furniture at him and slamming him across the room with a gesture. He looks tired, irritated and spent. Finally, after several attempts he says, <DarkGreen>Just shoot her Jo. Try not to kill her but, just shoot the hell out of her./DarkGreen>

ooc: hahahahahahahahaha! The mental image of this is hilarious for some reason!

ok, her AC is 18. Time to go for the messy option ;P

Josephine shrugs, pulls out her shotgun, and fires wildly, missing very clearly all over the place,

"Any other ideas? I can't roll dice well, literally ever, so I don't know why you'd put me in a situation where its up to random chance!" she shouted, frustrated, and leaving it at that.



Welp, did my best, lol. Rolled yet another natural 3.

ooc: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Your bad luck with dice only makes Jo that much more fun!

ic: He looks frustrated, especially as the woman lunges at him and slams him up against a wall, strangling him. Well then try to-ung! Get through to her! he chokes, trying to resist the woman's strangling hands. Get her to fight the demon, give us a chance at least!

ooc: Ok, you can try a diplomacy or whatever roll is best to try to convince her to fight her possession, lol. Good luck you poor thing! ;P

ooc - yea, fun for the ghosts!

Cursing and stepping to the side, Josephine wasn't sure what to do, so she decided to wing it, and try to play defensive, sitting on her back heels to actively protect herself. She didn't know what to do, at this point, so it was the safest option to give her time to think.

ooc - I rolled a "whatever" roll, and of course NOW its an 18. You can do whatever with that roll: shoot, talk, dodge, whatever. I figured she'd be feeling pretty under-trained and underprepared with her nonstop failures, so she would be on the back/defensive foot more than anything. Maybe an active defense roll?

ooc: I noticed the "whatever" roll. Hahahahahaha! Ok, I'm gonna have you use that roll for your diplomacy since, with your stats, you will have a lovely success rate.

You dodge about the room as Marcus continues his tirade of latin. Fortunately, it does seem to be weakening the woman, and you decide to finish the job as well as you can by convincing her to fight for herself. In true Josephine fashion you're able to urge her to fight her possession, eloquently enough that Marcus has a fighting chance of getting through his ceremony. She falls to the floor, shaking with the effort of keeping the demon at bay, until at last, her mouth opens and she screams, the black smoke of the demon surging from her and back to hell.

She looks rough. Very rough, as she collapses in a heap on the floor. It seems the demon was harder with her body than you'd realized. The ghosts still pound to get in, it would seem she must stop them herself. And that she does, with her dying breath. T-The fireplace. M-mantle. Destroy it, she points, collapsing. It is a small box, filled with rather disgusting items. Tiny bones, teeth, and other such unsavories. Marcus tells you to put it in the fireplace and get out of the way, at which point he hurls a fireball at it, catching the hex in flames.

The ghosts instantly vanish and for the first time in hours, you feel like you can take a moment and breathe.

ooc: So you still have to find where the missing villagers are (such as Marcus's brother etc). But you can roll a search/spot for clues. Oh! And don't forget to level up 2 levels. Hopefully that helps you with your cursed dice rolls....lol!!

OOC - Oh lord, I don't think we ever "finished" my sheet, after it'd vanished, so I don't know how to properly level up either (LOL). Are there feats or something that "guarantee rolls of 10 or higher" lol? I literally just quit 4 of my games, because I rolled 7 times in one day (including here - jan 31st) and I rolled EVERY roll below an 8. I just need to find a way to 100% remove rolling from the equation. Any advice? Say screw diplomacy, and take 2 levels of pure combat, hyper focusing on a shotgun? LOL.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Josephine stroked the cheek of the dead woman with a sorrowful look,

"I'd never trust a witch, but nobody deserves to be taken over like that." she thought, harshly thinking about her father's fate with a grimace, "Let's go find your brother, Marcus." she said, focusing on what they COULD affect.

With that, on the way out, she glanced around for useful trinkets, or things that would indicate any clues.


Rolled a 13, either way