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13:29, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing.

Posted by AuthorFor group 0
Cebakaala
New Player, 158 posts
Mon 29 Oct 2018
at 11:36
  • msg #971

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Not wanting to interrupt Phelan and Soinr, Ceba returned to the group and politely informed those not involved in the telecommunication of his discovery up ahead.
Phelan Drixos
player, 788 posts
Tue 30 Oct 2018
at 10:56
  • msg #972

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

"Your m-oh right. Pactcaster." He definitely looked chagrined. "My apologies, Willa." As the radio burst out again, he immediately changed his focus.
Author
GM, 1647 posts
The Storyteller.
Fri 2 Nov 2018
at 20:29
  • msg #973

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing



   Amare furrowed his brow and looked towards the exits of the arena.  "I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I think they know where we are now." Amare said as just a moment before he suddenly fell down to his knees.  "Oh no, not now!" he cried his skin becoming even more pale than usual.  Amare's body briefly shuddered and he remained on the ground unable to stand.  A groan of pain escaping him.
Drex
player, 774 posts
Avenger
Sat 3 Nov 2018
at 08:12
  • msg #974

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Drex's attention immediately sits to Amare. What's happening now. He knew it was a trap, this parley was to good to be true. Axe at the ready Drex scans the area with all of his senses.

Or is something else a foot, something he was supposed to have remembered but forgot...

Perception: 16
Ooc: @Author memory check to see if Drex recalls anything important regarding their/Amare's current situation.

Author
GM, 1648 posts
The Storyteller.
Mon 5 Nov 2018
at 07:30
  • msg #975

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    Nothing leaped to mind Drex's mind about what was going on with Amare but he looked like a man fighting against death itself.
  "I've run out of time, the infection is trying to force me to open the Way." his pale skin was turning translucent, glowing white underneath.  Wind stirred around him  "Jubei, I don't have time to explain things you must tear off my left hand and impale me with my staff.  Ask Phelan if you have to.  Take-" Amare screamed as a small ring of light flashed into existence above his head.
Iron Jubei
player, 768 posts
Paladin 22AC 15 otherDefs
37 HP 14 Surges
Mon 5 Nov 2018
at 09:46
  • msg #976

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing


Jubei was perhaps a little surprised by the sudden events and the request that was being made. Yet, after that initial second had passed, he had drawn his sword to remove Amare's left hand. But through whatever conspiracy of circumstances, Jubei's weapon failed to connect with his wrist... or his arm in general and instead the swing went wide. Much to the kaetyma's bewilderment.

Attack Roll to remove hand: 10 using 1d20+9 (Natural 1, wooh).

Phelan Drixos
player, 789 posts
Mon 5 Nov 2018
at 09:59
  • msg #977

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

"No time. Jubei, grab his staff and stab the prongs into his chest. Now!" As he quickly made his way over to Amare, a hand moved like lightning, snatching one of Ceba's short swords from its sheath. "Give me that." The phrase is snarled. Arcane energy spiralled around the blade as it swung.

One slice.

Snickersnack.

The left hand is parted from Amare's body, falling to the ground. "I'm sorry Amare. I guess there is little purpose in cauterisation at this stage."
Author
GM, 1649 posts
The Storyteller.
Tue 6 Nov 2018
at 11:33
  • msg #978

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

  Amare let out a scream of pain at loosing his hand but he seemed unable to move at all in his current condition.  Even his head barely moved a despite the grimace etched there.  Amare spoke but it was barely a whisper.  "My journal-it, it..." he swallowed in a dry throat.  "It will guide you..." the circle behind his head shone and swelled.
Willa
player, 1013 posts
Star Pact Warlock
HP:43/43 Surges:9/9 AC:17
Tue 6 Nov 2018
at 14:21
  • msg #979

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Willa screamed in pained, confused panic then sprinted forward, barrelling into Phelan.  "NOOOO!"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:22, Tue 06 Nov 2018.
Iron Jubei
player, 769 posts
Paladin 22AC 15 otherDefs
37 HP 14 Surges
Tue 6 Nov 2018
at 15:52
  • msg #980

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing


Well this was getting all kinds of terrible but still Jubei did what had to be done. And so he took the staff and pointed its pronged end at Amare's chest. A moment of hesitation... a brief glance to Willa... and then he plunged the weapon right into the torso. Maybe even where the heart was. The kaetyma wasn't actually looking as he did so.
Author
GM, 1650 posts
The Storyteller.
Wed 7 Nov 2018
at 14:55
  • msg #981

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    The tips of the bident pierce the fabric of Amare's cloths and while Jubei felt it stop, there was no sound of flesh being struck.  Only a shuffling sound could be heard as the helical strands of the bidents staff spun themselves loose and curled towards Amare's arms.  Wrapping themselves around Amare's arms, they also spun down towards the rest of his body wrapping his chest, stomach, waist, legs.  In a moment Amare was completely covered by the skin of the what had been the staff. His arms were drawn forward and joined to spike that emerged from the center of where Jubei had pushed the bident into Amare's chest.

  When the shuffling stopped there was left behind only a statuesque figure of a man holding onto a lance struck through his chest.  Only a single point of the former bident emerged from the back of the figure.
Iron Jubei
player, 770 posts
Paladin 22AC 15 otherDefs
37 HP 14 Surges
Thu 8 Nov 2018
at 17:57
  • msg #982

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing


And so, with the deed done, the Kaetyma stepped a bit back. Awkwardly perhaps, the rear not quite as willing to move as the front just yet. Looked like he was about to sit down there for a second or two. "What just happened?", he asked.
Willa
player, 1014 posts
Star Pact Warlock
HP:43/43 Surges:9/9 AC:17
Thu 8 Nov 2018
at 20:18
  • msg #983

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Willa jumps off of Phelan, leaving him with splatterings of gloop and runs over to the spear.  Jumping up to grab a hold, she tries in vain to wrestle it free, tears pouring down her face.
Phelan Drixos
player, 790 posts
Thu 8 Nov 2018
at 20:36
  • msg #984

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

"We just saved Amare." Phelan said bluntly, looking at the hand. "Also ourselves and potentially the general vicinity. Potentially the world, he wasn't especially specific of the consequences had we not done that." He held the sword loosely, evidently not properly trained in its use, though he hadn't let that stop him earlier.

"He's not dead, not really. I can tell you that much. He had specifically requested that we do this if things came to this point."
Drex
player, 775 posts
Avenger
Fri 9 Nov 2018
at 09:45
  • msg #985

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

"This point?" Drex is still processing what just happened.
Author
GM, 1651 posts
The Storyteller.
Sun 11 Nov 2018
at 08:03
  • msg #986

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    As intent on Amare's severed hand as he was, Phelan noticed the barest twitch of the fingers.  And as expected from Amare, the limb didn't bleed.
Willa
player, 1015 posts
Star Pact Warlock
HP:43/43 Surges:9/9 AC:17
Sun 11 Nov 2018
at 23:45
  • msg #987

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Willa drops to the floor exhausted.  She turns to look at Phelan questioningly, then back at the now petrified Amare.  "Is still alive?  Alive but stone?"  There's a long pause before she breaks down again, "Why?"
Cebakaala
New Player, 159 posts
Mon 12 Nov 2018
at 17:48
  • msg #988

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Ceba shrugged. He'd like to say that he'd seen worse, but he wasn't sure he had.
Author
GM, 1652 posts
The Storyteller.
Wed 14 Nov 2018
at 13:04
  • msg #989

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    The severed hand twitched then curled into a ball.  The skin turning a scintillating red and transparent as the entire limb melted into a red globule no larger than a fist.  The sand stirred about the globule as it was soon shinning a brilliant, white light.

  The light rose from the floor and began stretching out, taking form. It was the  shape of a lithe, armoured man, just over seven feet tall with his arms outstretched.

  Moments after the shape stopped changing the light sparked and faded.  Leaving behind an impossibly thin, scrawny-looking creature covered in armour as black as jet.  Light played across the skin of the armour like it was a sea shell.  A hundred rainbows glimmering around and across it.

  You then realized you had seen this shape before, only a few times.  It matched that of the luminous being Amare would conjure into battle from time to time.

  Two dark, red suns erupted balefully from the sunken pits of the helm and frantically surveyed the surroundings.  The entity lowered its outstretched arms and gazed down at its hands.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 13:04, Wed 14 Nov 2018.
Drex
player, 776 posts
Avenger
Sat 17 Nov 2018
at 08:03
  • msg #990

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Drex just stands there, confused and curious. Not sure if they should stay or go. Is this thing Amare or something els.

Drex waits to sees how this plays out.
Cebakaala
New Player, 160 posts
Mon 19 Nov 2018
at 05:43
  • msg #991

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Ceba's fur bristled. Now at the ready, he spoke, a short utterance to convey his unease.
"Are you friend or foe?"
Author
GM, 1653 posts
The Storyteller.
Mon 19 Nov 2018
at 17:51
  • msg #992

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    The dark figure looked up at the statue of Amare and began to make its way over to it.  Amare's hand hadn't rolled far when it had been severed so the thing that had emerged from it only had to take a few strides to be beside the statue.

  The dark being seemed to be looking the statue over for a moment.
Cebakaala
New Player, 161 posts
Tue 20 Nov 2018
at 07:48
  • msg #993

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

Ceba watched intently, hands on his weapons. While he didn't know the wizard-creature very well, he did appreciate the added firepower in a fight. In the back of his mind, he hoped Amare wasn't dead yet.
Author
GM, 1654 posts
The Storyteller.
Wed 21 Nov 2018
at 11:42
  • msg #994

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

  Kneeling, the dark figure fiddled with the only item of Amare had left outside his cocoon.  The strap of the satchel which was almost always slung over Amare's shoulder.

  It struggled with the strap a few times before finally managing to pull it loose and the satchel slid down to be caught by the tall being.  Who turned and held out the satchel toward Phelan.
Author
GM, 1656 posts
The Storyteller.
Sun 25 Nov 2018
at 17:29
  • msg #995

Re: The Haunting of the Rose - Chapter 5, Therefore I am Nothing

    Cautiously Phelan takes the satchel from the kneeling figure and Phelan does his best to shoulder the satchel that's almost a third his size.  Though he finds it is not as heavy as he thought it would be.  Taking a look inside he finds a healing potion, and two books.  The thicker and larger of the two books was of course Amare's Ritual Book and the other was his journal.  There was also a smaller pouch containing paper-wrapped chalk, a small box of charcoal sticks, a fountain pen and a bottle of ink.

  Taking out Amare's journal, Phelan opened the book to a fluttering of pages.  The book was turning itself as he held it.  Where exactly it was in the book Phelan wasn't exactly sure but it seemed like the middle or just past it.

  Most of the two pages before him was covered in script reminiscent of Giant but far more intricate.  Much like Giant the script alternated between up and down lines with the a peculiar flow line indicating the directions of reading.  Oddly, Phelan realized the script was arranged in such a way as to be read in multiple directions and from what little he could decipher it seemed all of it would make different kinds of sense depending on which way you choose to read it.  Even outside the indicated directions of the obvious flow-line.

  A piece written in common caught Phelan's eye, and he suspected this was the segment Amare had intended him to read.

  Phelan; I hope you never have to read these words.  For this outcome was unlikely but not an impossibility.  I have- scribbled in between and above the next word is (or you have) been forced to use the Instrument of Transformation on myself to arrest the opening of the Way.  The illness I suffer from has been trying to wrest control of my vessel from me since the moment I arrived.  I have outlined to you before the consequences of an uncontrolled opening of that kind of trans-dimensional aperture.  It is my belief that whoever or whatever is responsible for this illness desires access to the Transcend for reasons I can only guess at.
  In my suspended state I will only be dimly aware of my surroundings, a state akin to a deep, dreamless sleep.  Safeguards are in place to insure that only myself and one other can remove the Instrument and restore me to my previous state.  Though that will only happen if the conditions are met rid me of the infection I carry.  To remove the Instrument at any other time risks disaster and worse.

  Once Phelan had read the last passage in common, the pages turned back to an earlier part of the book.  These pages showed more of the same Giant-esque writing but featured some curious drawings on the page.  Sketches and portraits Phelan did not readily recognize.  A sphere of many concentric shells, cut away to reveal the interiors.  One in particular was encircled and a subscript in common had been added to it.  Formless Sea, Precursor of the Flesh.

  The section in common here read:
  It will be a lot to take in so I will keep it simple for now.  You must find your way onto the moon.  I know that seems a nigh impossible task, but I have seen the signs all across this weyr.  The dragons, and your people had some way to reach the moon from here.  Hidden far beneath the surface of the moon is a place that was engineered by myself and others aeons ago.  Therein lies a sea of gold which can heal me.
  This is a lot to ask, I know and I will do everything in my power to make it up to you once I am restored.


  Phelan had to take a moment to absorb what he had just read before he continued.

  I will not leave you alone in this endeavor.  Before I enter my arrested state, I will siphon off a part of my vessel and pour into it Volon's consciousness.  He is the sole surviving Colossus of the seventeen who once watched over this world.  I have been repairing his fragmented psyche since I've taken residence in what is technically his body.  To continue those efforts to repair his mind and be of what assistance I can, given the state I will be in, I will place a fragment of my own consciousness into his.  Volon is a strange creature to your ken.  Think of him as a golem of sorts.  He may be reluctant to speak but he will certainly understand you.  Though he will probably act on his own volition.  Unlike myself he is not immortal.  Please look after him and be patient with him.  He's been a statue for ages, trapped in his own body and watching the world pass around him.  I fear he's not what you would call sane exactly.  He will probably carry me if no one else volunteers.

  For now I'll end this missive by pointing you in a useful direction and providing a warning.  The umbreans here know something about the Formless Sea the text you and Willa translated from the umbrean warren suggests as much.  Press them about it if you can.  Finally, I will release a psychic scream in my final moments before I am put to sleep the intent of this scream is to alert my potential allies.  The Giants, expect one of them to arrive with haste within a few days to seek me out.


  With that, the book closed itself.
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