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18:19, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Stan—Morothâ Assault.

Posted by Dungeon MasterFor group 0
Dungeon Master
GM, 687 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Mon 6 Feb 2012
at 05:29
  • msg #252

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Morotha booms a roaring laugh that makes your skin crawl.  As she does, she also tugs on one of the thick chains at the base of the dias.  The hooded figure steps closer to you, and removes her hood: Clementine!  Her normal unearthly beauty is smudged by a vacant stare.  The skin around the base of her neck its flayed and bloody, a collection of spikes and hooks jutting from the wounds.
”Tell him, my daughter!  Break his heart as he had biden you break your eternal station.”
”I do not know this mortal,” she says, her normally vibrant eyes now dull, lifeless orbs staring blankly ahead.  ”You have no claim of me.  I belong to the Pit.”

”No!  Do not listen, m'lord,” Demios cries.  ”She is Collared!  Her voice is that Morotha, curse her name!”
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 535 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Tue 7 Feb 2012
at 17:48
  • msg #253

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan is terrified of the demons and their power over his family, but he tries not to show it. He deflects his frustration and fear into a casual humor.

"Well, you see, it's just not that simple. Clementine left some bard scrolls in my wagon, so... you'll have to let her come back to the material plane to pick them up. Unless, of course, her platinum hits copy of Ballad of the Bad Moon on the Rise just isn't worth that much to you."
Dungeon Master
GM, 688 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Tue 7 Feb 2012
at 18:41
  • msg #254

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Your unorthodox remarks give the demon's pause—enough pause for Demios to lunge forward with his double-blade leading.  He quickly casts an incantation which causes his blade to glow.  He strikes the chain attached to Clementine's collar!  A thunderclap of arcane energies surge, and a high pitched whine assaults your ears.  The chains, themselves, blur and vibrate the split second after his blade hits them; and a moment later they expand and shatter, freeing your wife.
However, the collar remains.
"Time to go, m'lord," Demios says as he shoves Clementine into your arms.  Despite the environ, she feels cold, even through the thick robes.  She continues to stare forward blankly, completely unaware she has been pushed into you.
Still moving with unnatural speed, Demios strikes the rocky ground around him, triggering another spell as a circle of bright white light surrounds him.  "I'll hold them off!  You get her to a doorway—
As he speaks, Morotha shouts and lashes forward, forcing him to turn his attention to defense.  With amazing grace, he parries her attacks, but is without doubt very hard pressed.  Enter the herzrou.

Skill Challenge: Escape the Abyss with Clementine (12/3)
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 536 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Thu 9 Feb 2012
at 22:40
  • msg #255

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan is not one to commit to action without a plan, even if the plan has to be built under pressure. It's hard to find a door without knowing where one is.

using Knowledge (the planes) to locate a doorway.
16:40, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 29 using 1d20+15.

Dungeon Master
GM, 689 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Sat 11 Feb 2012
at 03:59
  • msg #256

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Success

Grabbing hold of Clementine, you take of with all speed.  As you run away from the sounds of battle, you wrack you brain, frantically trying to recall what it was about doorways that Demios had said when you first arrived here.  Now, it seemed like so long ago, but out could have only been a few hours... Half a day at the most.
Verily, you do remember!  He had said that their are doorways to and from the Abyss, to the Material plane, at places where great evil acts occurr, or have occurred.  The trick is two-fold: finding them on the Abyssal side, and figuring out how to open them.
You skid across a rather slippery outcropping, littered with sandy scree, narrowly avoiding a blast of magical energy from somewhere behind.  Your mind racing, you begin making your way back to the small rebel camp Demios brought you to when you first arrived.
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 538 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Tue 14 Feb 2012
at 22:26
  • msg #257

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan casts a simple communications spell so that he might stay in touch with Demios and Clementine.

"Okay, guys, any suggestions?"

Casting message
16:26, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 33 using 1d20+13. Spellcraft.
(Natural 20)

Dungeon Master
GM, 693 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Thu 16 Feb 2012
at 15:00
  • msg #258

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Success

Using your message spell you keep in contact with Demios as you flee, holding onto Clementine all the while.  He acts as a guide to you as you make your way across the Abyssal landscape, keeping you on track while also keeping you away from your pursuers.
You arrive at the camp, which you thought would have been left empty, but to your surprise contains a number of demons loyal to your cause.  The sentries see you coming long before you notice them, you're sure.  And it doesn't take them long to spot the other demons in hot pursuit!  The contingent, brawny, unthinking vessels of destruction all, quickly fall into some strange formation and prepare to scatter your enemies.

”Find a way to remove the collar,” Demios advises via the message spell.
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 541 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Fri 17 Feb 2012
at 01:08
  • msg #259

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

The collar is probably made of cold iron or some other magical substance. Stan's knowledge of arcane materials could help him melt or cut the collar, if it has any kind of weakness.

19:03, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 23 using 1d20+13. Alchemy.
Dungeon Master
GM, 695 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Sun 19 Feb 2012
at 21:52
  • msg #260

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Sorry!  I thought I posted already.

Success

The collar isn't cold iron--that would be cruel.  Instead, it does appear to be some kind of metallic alloy.  The surface of the ring shimmers, making the metal appear transparent.  Although this is the first time you've ever encountered this material, you recognize it as nephilum, a rare and magical metal found in areas where planes overlap.  Structurally similar to iron, it takes very well to magical enhancements.  You are sure you could break it as easily as normal iron.
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 543 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Tue 21 Feb 2012
at 01:23
  • msg #261

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Breaking iron actually seems like a doable task for a warrior demon. Stan uses the divining wand to check the collar for abjurative magics. Ah, of course. It's aura indicates that it's warded against attack.

The exact spell is hard to pin down, but the general aura seems recognizable.

19:20, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 22 using 1d20+15. Arcana.
This should let him identify auras up to 7th level and specific spells up to 2nd level. (I assume the actual enchantment is higher than that).

Dungeon Master
GM, 697 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Wed 22 Feb 2012
at 19:54
  • msg #262

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Failure

You focus through your wand-implement, scrutinizing the aura and watching the explosions of color and dancing patterns as you try to discern what it might be.  Pretty quickly you are sure you recognize the aura pattern as an Enchantment, but something beneath it suggests Abjuration despite the two school's obvious differences.  Perhaps Transmutation, a stronger aura placed over the root enhancement to fool those such as yourself from casual scrutiny.  But that doesn't seem like a kind of trick demons would employ.  Their way is too straightforward for this kind of thing...
As you ponder this, a scream and blast from behind you shatter your concentration.  You feel it is a strong Enchantment that is causing Clementine's sedation; but you are unable as to the specifics of this magical item.

"M'lord!  We need her to open the door!  Can you remove the collar?"
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 545 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Thu 23 Feb 2012
at 04:19
  • msg #263

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

"Try just shattering it with your sword!" The husband is at his wit's end. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
Dungeon Master
GM, 698 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Thu 23 Feb 2012
at 18:54
  • msg #264

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Demios shoves a hezrou back and launches himself in a sideways summersault, landing lightly next to you.  His chest heaves with each breath as he continually fights to catch it, and you can see that he has obtained a handful more wounds than he had before.  He eyes the collar carefully, ignoring the roaring demon setting itself up for another charge.
He shakes his head in frustration just before pushing you out of the way.  He grabs the collar and drags Clementine's body the other way, opening a gap through which the hezrou charges recklessly.  Instinctively, Demios hoists his double-bladed sword like a javelin and throws it into the exposed flank of the demon as it runs by.

"Deal with tubby here," he says to you as you pick yourself up from the dirt.  As he does, he pulls your wife's hair forward, forcing her to extend her face down and exposing the back of her neck.  He makes a series of delicate gestures with his hands, which you recognize as a cantrip novice casters use to conjure orbs of acid.  "I'll need a few seconds to eat through this."
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 546 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Sat 25 Feb 2012
at 19:50
  • msg #265

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan's first thought is to distract the creature and then strike, but it seems cumbersome enough already. He instead readies himself in a defensive posture, knowing that he need not win but only stall.

Full defense
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 549 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Mon 27 Feb 2012
at 03:19
  • msg #266

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

As he prepares for the demonic onslaught, Stan bolsters his own defense with pre-emptive magic. By allowing himself to glimpse scant seconds into the future, he can better avoid any attack or trap that the Hezrou might send his way.

21:18, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 20 using 1d20+13. Spellcraft. to cast resistance
Dungeon Master
GM, 701 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Mon 27 Feb 2012
at 05:21
  • msg #267

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Failure

The massive demon charges, heading directly for you.  You cast a spell upon yourself as you fear for some forthcoming magical or other supernatural assault, but all that hits you is two tons of demon-flesh!  You suffer a terrible collision with the thing after failing to dodge it.  You are thrown to the ground and the air rushes from your lungs.  You lay there for a long moment, the terrible crack that immediately follows not registering with you what-so-ever.
The hazy, crimson-colored sky swirls above you endlessly, an eternal thunderstorm powered by the residual energies left over from the start of the Blood War.  A shadowy figure fills your field of vision, but your muscles refuse to respond...

”Is he dead?”
”No.  I don't believe so.”
”Good.  Pick him up and follow me.  The way through Oubliette should slow them down enough for us to jump to a parallel.  Hurry.”

you feel yourself being lifted up, and you can barely stand with the help of the benefactor to your right.
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 551 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Wed 29 Feb 2012
at 03:26
  • msg #268

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan can do little more than hobble along with the group and hold a conversation. Thankfully, language is something of a specialty for him.

Still conscious of the open line to Demios, he begins to whisper in a language that has just enough Abyssal interspersed to make the demons think they are being clever. Its a code he wants them to break, because everything he says is a bluff.

"They're taking me through to the Parallel," he says in the fiendish pidgin of the lower planes. "Just as we planned. Wait 30 seconds and then activate... the contingency. With any luck they'll still have a hold of me by then."

He looks around at his captors, trying to gauge if they are smart enough to fall for the mix of feigned cypher and reverse psychology.

21:25, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 16 using 1d20+11. Linguistics.
Dungeon Master
GM, 702 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Wed 29 Feb 2012
at 04:47
  • msg #269

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Failure

You aren't sure for how long you're being drug along at such a quick pace.  As you begin to regather your scattered wits, you hatch a cunning plan to throw your would-be captors off.  You begin speaking loudly, and the two figures--you vision hasn't quite returned yet--tell you to be quiet.  The one holding you up seems to drag you on faster as punishment.
Finally, you begin shouting at the top of your lungs!

”Stan!  Stop it,” the now-familiar voice shouts back at you, ”Stan!  Stan, my love, you must stop shouting.”
You focus on the figure, and it slowly comes into focus: Clementine!
”The door is open,” Demios yells from somewhere else behind her.  ”Lets move!”
But before any of you can move, a blast of energy from behind you hits Clementine, freezing her in place!

”Not. So. Fast,” a voice behind you rings.  The voice of Morotha.  ”I won't let you leave, what with what you've seen here and with the Powers still yet unbalanced.  No, no, no, foolish man.  Your flight end here!”

Initiative
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 553 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Wed 29 Feb 2012
at 05:32
  • msg #270

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

At the sound of Morotha's voice Stan's senses return and he snaps to alertness with his characteristic speed.

23:30, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 25 using 1d20+5. Init.
Another natural 20 when it's needed least!
Can you explain the situation (terrain, foes) a bit more? Thanks.

Dungeon Master
GM, 703 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Wed 29 Feb 2012
at 17:21
  • msg #271

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

You spin around to face the towering form of the marilith, Morotha. You are standing on a high cliff, a dry, windswept outcropping of volcanic rock. Behind you Demios works feverishly to keep the magical portal open, which shimmers like crazy.
Clementine is standing just behind you, the victim of Morotha's hold spell. She stands rigidly, her dark cloak clasped tight and still covering much of her body, yet its edges flapping in the wind.

You won the initiative
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 556 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Fri 2 Mar 2012
at 04:24
  • msg #272

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan looks over his shoulder as much as he can without taking his eyes off the towering she-demon. "Demios! Patience isn't always a virtue you know." When you're dealing with a child twice your age it's hard to give advice, but that should about sum it up nicely.

He's pretty sure that there's nothing he can do to fight Morotha head on. Instead, he begins to move his wife as easily as he can, either by dragging or carrying her. He's counting on Morotha not blasting spells or swinging swords close to her daughter. It's risky, but not as risky as charging a demon queen.

Stan moves so that Clementine is between him and Morotha, then he begins to move her towards the portal. His maximum load is 115 pounds, so she's probably a bit over, which means he might need a strength check.
22:23, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 11 using 1d20. Strenght check (if necessary).

Dungeon Master
GM, 704 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Fri 2 Mar 2012
at 05:11
  • msg #273

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

I imagine you could pick her up.  She isn't armored or carrying anything.

You move back and begin moving Clementine toward the portal; but Morotha isn't about to let you slip away that easily.  The demon comes at you fast!  She either doesn't care about the prospect of hurting Clementine, or confident enough in her own abilities that she won't harm her.  Whatever her thoughts are on the subject, she is obviously more concerned with your annihilation.
Her left-side swats her frozen daughter out of your grasp while the right-side readies a mighty (double) swing!

She bull rushes Clementine, knocking her 10-feet away from you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:13, Fri 02 Mar 2012.
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 557 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Sat 3 Mar 2012
at 02:31
  • msg #274

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan drops down and rolls away from the portal and his family. If it's him she wants, she'll have to let them go.

The jagged terrain cuts into him, but the pain is a small price to pay to buy his family time. He hauls himself to his feet and begins to back away from Morotha, forcing her to either ignore the portal or give him her back.

Withdraw
Dungeon Master
GM, 705 posts
Sometimes, I even
amaze myself!
Sat 3 Mar 2012
at 04:52
  • msg #275

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Morotha cackles loudly, barely inconvenienced by your maneuver.  She is fast, but seems to her taking her time chasing you.

She double moves to you
Stan Fetchin
Wizard, 558 posts
Sole survivor;
It's complicated
Sat 3 Mar 2012
at 05:49
  • msg #276

Re: Stan—Morothâ Assault

Stan doesn't know much about fighting, but there's one thing he's sure about: the minute Morotha stops moving about she can bring all 6 deadly arms to bear. He must keep her on the move, if not to save his life then at least to prolong it.

He is low on spells and in any case she probably has wards against mortal magic. Running away has worked so far,  but now he faces a conundrum. If he leaves his family, he will be trapped in the abyss and probably killed. Yet if he returns to them too soon, Morotha will kill them all. He'll have to kite her, then, until Clementine and Demios can escape. One final concern emerges: will the demon queen herself be able to follow them through the portal? That's the last thing he wants.

With no time to think, Stan continues the chase. Morotha's bulk and serpentine configuration probably don't lend themselves well to vertical movement. Unless, of course, she can move like a snake and cling to the wall with a spider climb spell.

Still, he's got no better ideas than what he's about to attempt.

He does some quick archaeo-arithmetic to estimate when the hold spell might release its grip on his wife. Of course, if her will is strong it could break any moment. He had better get back.

His plan is straightforward but unlikely to succeed. If Clementine emerges while he's at it, she might be able to fly him to the portal in time. Otherwise, it's bad luck for Clan Fetchin.

He runs towards the edge of the cliff, angling his jump so that he can catch an outcropping below his family. His pursuer will have a hard time getting at him there.

As he sails through the air, a scene from his past flashes before his eyes.


He's in the village. He's just sent away a tousle-haired blonde and, even though he didn't want her, his body is fired up and he needs some cold air and a long walk. He begins to head towards the old mill, where rural seclusion and the slow, grinding pace of the machinery conspire to calm young ambitions.

As Stan goes up the road a black charger meets him from the direction of the mill. Atop the thick horse is a landlord as cruel and high-bred as his mount. "Out of the way, boy!" Shouts the man. Stan has just barely enough time to jump aside before he's trampled.

Stan walks on. As he nears the mill he hears wailing. He begins to run. Inside, the miller's hand is bleeding and crushed to the wrong angle. His wife is hysterical. His daughter, young and usually lively, stares wide-eyed and silent.

"It's the death of us," wails the wife. "You know he's not as young as he used to be. He got it caught in the wheel and now the landlord's saying there's a fine for lost wages. No help for us or our livelihood, mind you. Just a fine for him and his mill. It's the end of us."


That was Morotha. A cruel mistress, more powerful than the landlord but equally selfish and cruel. Perhaps, long ago, her cruelties were as petty as his.

Stan's body hits the obsidian wall with the force of a maceblow. He catches the wall firmly and even manages to secure a foothold, but now it's his own hands that are bleeding and bruised. He thinks once more of the miller before his own problems steal back undivided attention.

"Son! It's going to be very, very close."

23:44, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 20 using 1d20. Climb check to grab wall.
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