It was just another day.

You were just picking up your favorite tapes and going to hang out with some friends for a party.  Everything was just chance that you had been invited to the party, but you ended up there nonetheless.

On arrival, your friends pull a prank, dumping water on you from the floor above.  Just then, there's a call at the house and the host calls down to you to answer it.  Before you can dry yourself off, you put your hand on the phone to pick it up, and feel a surge come out of it into your body, and your sight goes black.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You wake with your eyes still closed.  You feel the movies still under your arm, and some shaving supplies you had put in a sack that you took with you for the night.  Also, you still feel your cell phone in your pocket.

Around you, you can hear a low humming to your right.  Upon opening your eyes, you see that you're in a room full of masked men in white cloaks.  On the front and back of the cloaks is a symbiol of a candle, exagerating the light being released from it.  The light exiting it is mostly blue and yellow.  You find the image quite soothing.

The people don't seem to notice you yet, as they are in a circle to your right and seem to be deeply focused on something.

I frown, disorientated for a few seconds. I take a quick look around me to verify that I don't recognize the local. I remember getting water dumped on me and quickly pat my clothes, to check if they're still wet.

Then it dawns on me, this is still part of the gag. I remember last week, we had Nick completely convinced that soldiers had finally crossed onto American soil, and they were heading towards our town, intent on taking it for the glory of Guatemala.

I turn to the masked men, confident that they're my friends, "Alright guys," I say, "What's the deal this time? Aliens come and take over your brains?"

I wait, anxious to hear what story they come up with this time.

There's one spectator outside of the circle, and he instantly raises his hand and says, "Stop!"  They all turn towards you, and the man outside of the circle runs over to the side of the room, left of you, and picks up a pistol on a desk.

He moves its aim towards you, "How did you get here?  Who sent you?!"  He shouts.  You can't recognize his voice, and they all pull off their masks.  None of them are a familiar face.  Some of the others head over towards the same desk as the first, and you can see three more guns on the top, the already armed man between you and the desk.

I quickly raise my hands over my head. "Whoa," I say, "What's going on here?" I look around at the people around me. "I don't know how I got here," I say, "I've been unconscious since around eight." I look around again, confused. "Who are you people?"

The guys look around at one another nervously.  The main speaker of them glances over at a circle drawn on the ground, where the men were previously gathered around and lowers his gun.  "We're the Free Spirit Association.  A-a-...Are you one of this house's victems?  We're looking for Waggener, to free you."

He signals for the others to lower their weapons, and he puts his on the desk as well, approaching you slowly.  You can tell by his face that he's frightened, with sweat gathering on his cheek.

I frown and look at all the men. "Free Spirit Association? House's victims? Waggener?" I ask, very confused, and then suddenly suddenly I grin, "Almost had me guys. Come on, did Gary put you up to this? You almost had me with the guns."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 14:49, Sun 15 Apr 2007.

"What?"  The leader grabs his gun again and approaches you quicker.

When he reaches you, he shoves you into the wall.  "You're not a spirit.  What, are you here with friends or something?"  Again, the gun is in your face.  "Or did the cops send you?!"

"Whoa, cops? No," I say, "Last thing I remember, I was at a party, answering the phone. My friends had just dropped a bucket of water on me, and I got soaked, so I guess I got shocked, or something." I raise my hands, shrugging, "Next thing I know I wake up here."

"Bah!"  The leader drops his arm, no longer pointing the gun at you.  "This is getting us nowhere."

He looks to the others and says, "Put your masks back on and summon him already.  It shouldn't make any difference that this guest is here," he looks at you and glares, "as long as he stays quiet.  Maybe he can even help us out."

The man points the gun at you.  "For now, you're staying in here with us.  I want you to stay in that corner and be quiet.  You aren't leaving until we're finished here."

He points towards a corner, about a yard away from the only door in the room.  The others get in their circle once more and the leader stops paying attention to you, observing the others as they start humming in unison.

"Fine by me." I mutter under my breath. I move to the corner and watch the humming, annoyed but interested.

They continue humming for a good while, until one of them looks up.  "Lord Waggener, we call out to you.  Appear before us!"

You see a blurry image inside the circle that they drew and are around.  The group continues to hum until the image is completely visible in front of you.  It is an old man without leaning over, keeping himself up with his hands on his knees.  He looks pale, and his eyes are shadowy.

The old man looks left and right, then directly at you.  "Why have you called me here?"

The leader of the group and the rest of the members turn towards you.  It's clear that the elderly man is looking direclty at you, and the others are looking at you, expecting something.

My eyes widen in shock, and I look behind me, making sure he isn't talking to someone else. I look back at the old man.

"Me?" I ask, "I didn't call you, he did." I point to the man who looked up. "I'm not even completely sure what just happened here."

The apirition looks at the man, and then at you.  "How could such a weak man summon a bound soul like me?  You're the only one here who is strong enough to call me alone.  Could it be that you're looking for a deal?!  Please!  Help me!  If you free me from my bonds, I will join with you in servitude for five years or until my debt is repaid in your life."

He shakes his hands, and you see chains on his arms and legs suddenly visible.  They lead off out of the circle and you can't see the ends of them, but on the parts of chain directly on his arms, there are glowing red engravings.  They are four horrible faces, demonic-looking with pointed ears and gaping mouths, with long fangs.

The others are still looking at you in awe.  They don't seem to know what to make of what is going on, but their leader speaks up to you.  "We've been coming here for weeks trying to summon his spirit, but we weren't able to until you arrived."

My mind works quick, taking in the information available to me. Realizing that this situation could turn out to be quite beneficial to me, I nod to the old man. “Alright, old man,” I say, “You’ve got yourself a deal.” I stand up, pointedly ignoring the individuals that had been pointing guns at me a few seconds ago, and walk to the man. When I get there I turn briefly to the individual who is the leader of the masked men and say, “Well, obviously you just didn’t have the presence required to pull this off." I stick my tongue at him and then I proceed to study the chains for a few seconds, taking in what I need to.

Finally I say, “Alright, give me the lowdown on the situation, what got you here, who did, etc. etc.”
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Mon 23 Apr 2007.

The others get out of your way quietly, bowing their heads some to you, as you make your way over to the apirition.  When you get close, you see that the chains don't have any decorations on them but the horrendous faces.

As your eyes look down the chains, you notice another fact.  They aren't made of metal, at least by your sight.  They seem to be made of some kind of stone, and the four chains lead in four different directions out of the circle.

While you're examining the chians, the elderly man replies to you.  "I was a fool in my life, only interested in my wealth and my greed consumed me.  I made a pact with an unholy demon.  He made me wealthy, but I lost my eternal soul.  That devil placed these chains around my spirit and connected them to four seals, which are in the form of statues, on the four corners of this estate.  Please, free my from my bonds!"

I nod slowly, taking in everything that I was told. I shrug, figuring that if I’d gone insane, I might as well play along with it.

“All right,” I address the apparition, “This pact, this contract, was there a physical copy of it? Anyway of getting at it?” I take a second look at the chains and nod. I look back to the group of people, “And who would be up to taking a quick jaunt around the grounds, to take a look at these statues?” I ask them.

The old man looks around, and is suddenly worried.  He looks at you and speaks quickly.  "The contract is inside of these chains.  Release me from them for my service, but watch out for the gargoyles.  They are fierce beasts, and they won't mind devouring your soul!"  The old man all of a sudden vanishes, and everyone in the room starts wispering to one another.

They seem to have forgotten to check the grounds, but the leader approaches you with some photographs.  They are pictures of four identical gargoyles on pedastels.  He says, "We found them interesting and took pictures of them this morning, before we came.  If you're interested in seeing them yourself, I'll gladly come along."  He takes a pistol from the table and holsters it.

I nod at the leader. "Good intel there man," I tell him, "And I'm guessing I'll definitely be needing some backup." I glance over to where the old man disappeared. I say, "I'm guessing when a ghost says that the gargoyles want to devour my soul, he's not speaking metaphorically." I look back at the leader, "Oh yeah, names Daniel, don't believe I ever got yours." I extend my hand out to the leader, in a gesture of goodwill.

He nods and shakes your hand in reply.  "I'm Taylor.  I told you, we've been coming here for a while, so I know my way around this place pretty well.  Although, I haven't been on the second or third floor yet.  We can get to the gargoyles pretty quickly, even at night.  Whenever you're ready, we can head out.  Everyone else will stay here in case Mr. Waggener decides to show up again, though I doubt it."

"Sounds like a plan," I tell Taylor, "I'm ready to go now." I start to walk towards the exit, then turn to Taylor, "Any particular reason why you haven't been on the upper floors?" I ask him.

The two of you head outside after a few turns inside the house.  Taylor leads you to the right alone the wall of the house.  At the end, there's a pedastal with a statue on it of a creature.

The monster has a face like on the chains and two wings, unspread.  It's crouching on a pedastal, which is about three yards high.  The creature is about the same height as a human, while it is crouching.

Taylor puts his arm on your shoulder.  "So, what do we do with this?  Do you think we should break it or what?"

"Breaking sounds good," I tell Taylor, "But wait a sec, gotta test something out first."

I look around the area, searching for something to throw at the statue, a rock, a stick, anything. If there is any such thing available I throw it at the statue.

You're able to find a few sticks and a rock nearby to throw at the gruesome statue.

You proceed to throw them at the statue, starting with the sticks.  After you throw the first stick at the statue, which hits it right on the head, you see movement from it.

The statue stays still, but you think you see movement of something identical to the statue coming out.  Then, you see a semi-transparent image of the gargoyle flying above the statue that it came out of.  It has glowing red eyes and is jerking from iritation.

Taylor pulls his gun out and aims it at the spirit, about to shoot.

OOC: And that would be your first botch, Daniel.  A botch is when a roll is so bad that I have to make other roles, to see how bad things happen.  Your botch happened to be pretty bad.

EDIT: Added the OOC.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:20, Sun 29 Apr 2007.

My eyes go wide and I stumble back. "Oh crap!" I yell, looking about me for anything that I could use as a weapon, or use as cover.

OOC: And following that botch is the first really, really good role for you, ironic as it is.

You look behind you and you see a tree.  It's a large tree, that you can tell is different from the rest in its size.  Also, it has a heart carved into it with words inside:

I will always remember you.
-Balie

You look back towards the gargoyle and hear gunshots.  Taylor has his pistol pointed at it, shooting it.  You can't see any effect from the bullets.

I run to the tree, looking back as I do so. "Taylor," I yell, "Maybe we should take cover!" I run behind the tree, and pause for a second, taking everything in.

The gargoyle comes down on Taylor and hits him hard in the stomache, knocking him into the building.  Then, its sights come towards you, and he swoops just the same twoards you.

Before he reaches you, a strange sensation comes over you.  It feels hopeful, and good-hearted.  You hear a crackling sound on the other side of the tree, and light emitting from where the carved heart is located.  The light is shining directly towards the gargoyle, and the creature shrieks in pain, shielding itself.

Its eyes are closed, and it is clearly stunned.

I quickly look towards Taylor, attempting to assess his consciousness, if he is up and able I shout, "Give me a hand!" If he isn't able to help, I don't.

I run past the gargoyle, seeing that Taylor's bullets didn't do anything to it, I don't attempt to physically attack it. Instead I head towards the statue, seeing if I can find any way to push it off its pedestal.

Taylor appears to be be conscious, but he's moving sluggishly and he isn't responding to your shout.

You easily make it past the gargoyle and go over to the statue.  The pedastel is high, but you're able to climb up relatively easily to push off the statue.  While up there, you push the statue, using your legs against the house as leverage.

After some time and a lot of energy, you manage to push the statue off of its pedestal and onto the ground, where it immediately breaks into pieces.

Instantly, the gargoyle shrieks in the air, and you see it start to crack throughout.  After a full minute of it shrieking, it breaks apart and dissipates into the air.  You hear Taylor moaning where he was knocked into the house.

I jump off the pedestal and go to Taylor. I see what I can do to help him. After a few seconds I grin and say, "Now that was fun, wasn't it?" If he needs I offer him a shoulder to lean on while we move to the next statue, slowing down when we come near it, being cautious as we approach.

When you approach him and assess the damages, he says, "I think my back's broken."  He hands you the gun.  "The remaining statues are on the other corners of the house.  You can't miss them, but I can't come with you.  This is too much to walk with."

I nod, and pat him softly on the shoulder. "Thanks, if I don't make it back," I say, "I hope things get better for you." I turn and walk to the next statue, remaining on my guard, cautious, in case the other gargoyles are awake.

As you're headed for the next statue, you hear roar-like shrieks from your front, and two directions that would be the other corners of the mansion.

Following the edge of the house, you keep in the shadows and when you're about to turn a corner, you see two of the gargoyle spirits in front of the statue at that corner.  They are back to back and looking around.

I look around for something to throw, and if able to find it, I throw it as far away from the statue as I can, attempting to create a distraction.

If I am unable to find anything to throw, I make my way to the statue on the other corner of the one I've already broken.

You manage to find two sticks easily on the ground nearby.

With the first stick, you throw it short, just near the gargoyles, but they don't notice it.  Your second, however, is thrown perfeclty into some brush away from them.

The gargoyle facing the noise turns and says something indeterminable to the other, and they both face the direction of the noise and fly over towards the bushes.

I make a run for the statue, attempting to get up and push it over as fast as I can. Afterwards, if able to, I make a run back to the tree with the carving in it.

When you reach the statue and climb up to it, you hear one of the gargoyles shriek.  The two of them start flying towards you as you knock the statue over.

The one in front, when the statue falls to the ground and slashes, goes through the same thing that the first spirit had done, and dissipates.  The other looks at its former comrade dieing, preoccupied by it.

I quickly double back to the area of the first statue, taking advantage of the gargoyles demise and distraction to put some ground between us. When at the tree I pause for a few moments, assessing the situation.

When you're half-way back to the other point, you notice a gargoyle spirit pirching on the side of the house, looking straight down at you.  You think that you even see it smile, and laugh some.

Its wings start to flap, and you can tell that it's about to lift off.

I look around, looking for anything I might possibly use as cover, and pick up speed as much as I can. I also ready myself, preparing to dodge the gargoyle should he dive bomb me. I say a quick prayer, and try to remember all the good things in life, attempting not to let the situation get the better of me as I continue running to the tree.

The best cover you can find are slightly scattered trees to your left, and a row of bushes on the outskirts of the trees.

The gargoyle attempts a dive-bomb on you as you start to run towards it.  As it approaches, it reaches out wide with its arm and you dive and roll through an opening between its legs.  You hear a crash behind you, and you see the gargoyle tumbling on the ground.  The other, which you had left behind, just now starts to fly in your direction from the corner you just ran from.

Keeping the memory of what happened to the first gargoyle in mind, I duck down a little, and push my body as best I can. I keep continuing on my attempt to make it to the tree with the carving in it, keeping on my guard, do my best to avoid the gargoyles as I can.

You're only a few yards away from the tree when you feel something slash at your back, and you feel your shirt rip in the back, as well as your skin.  You fall to the ground, and your back is in severe pain.  The tree is only a short distance away, and you think you can see a little glowing coming from it, strongest where the words are written.

I grunt in pain, and attempt to rise to my feet. I press on, telling myself that I might be able to rest for a short time when I reach the tree. I push myself as hard as I can and run forward towards the tree.

You can't block the pain, but you move as much as possible towards the tree, pushing through the pain as quickly as possible.  You trip from your back's pain when you're just a few feet from the tree, but then the wound doesn't hurt as much.

Also, you see the gargoyle swooping down at you again, only to have something that looks like lightning come out of the tree at it, and wrapping around it once.  You get the image of a young woman in your mind, and your back doesn't hurt at all anymore.

I pause for a few seconds, looking for the second gargoyle. I try to focus on the image of the young woman in my mind, and quietly say, "Thank you."

The woman's image smiles, and then she disappears.

You don't see the second gargoyle around anywhere, but the trapped gargoyle has managed to put an arm inside the lightning and is pushing outwards with his arm, trying to free himself.

I make a run towards the other corner, the one away from the second statue I pushed over.

After being energized from being so close to the tree again, you run faster than normal towards the next corner.  By the time you reach the next corner and statue, there's no gargoyles in sight, but you hear what sounds like an explosion come from the corner that you just left.

I jump up and push the statue over, as quickly as possible. As soon as that is done, I run to the final statue, on guard for whatever might come my way.

You quickly knock over the statue, and you hear the gargoyle that had been trapped screeching in pain as you run for the final statue.

You finally reach the last statue, and it appears that nothing is around.  Still, you have an uneasy feeling about the situation.

I say a quick prayer, and attempt to focus my mind on the image of the women from the tree. I sprint as quickly as I can to the final statue, attempting to push it over as fast as I possibly can.

You head towards the statue, when you see the final gargoyle come through the walls and land in front of you.

At the moment, it seems like it's panting and out of breath.  Still, it just stands there and watches you, not trying to approach you in any way.

I look at the gargoyle, my heart racing. "Can you understand me?" I ask the gargoyle. While asking this, I begin to move slowly around the gargoyle, towards the statue. If the creature notices me moving, and appears angry but does nothing to stop me, I stop moving. If the creature makes a move to attack me, I run to the statue.

You move around it just slightly when it takes a step towards you.

It never acknowledges your speech, but you see the look in its eye and anticipate an attack.  Just then, you see it jump toward you, and you run to its side, towards the statue, as fast as you can.

When you reach the base of the pedestal, you feel the gargoyle slash your back, and slam you into the pedestal.  You're knocked for a loop, but you're facing up and the gargoyle is watching you carefully.

I grunt and attempt to sit up, hands raised in a peaceful gesture. "Is there anyway we can do this without either of us ending up dead?" I ask the creature, still not sure it can understand me. "I'm just looking for the release of a gentleman bound to this house," I nod to the house, "Breaking the statues seemed to be the only way at the time."

It glares at you and says, "There is no way."

Still glaring, it brings its arm up quickly and even quicker down towards you.  You don't have time to move out of the way and you're empaled on its massive claws.

You see everything around you, and you feel yourself spit up blood.  Then, everything goes black.

OOC: Alas, it's ended too soon.  I'll get a Post Ludum up for you quick.