LOF - Aftermath II - Hidden Hungers

[Lord Starshadow]

ooc: Is there a list of what's on the blanket or do we just make up what we take?

And I've been predicting my character's demise for a while now, so he'll keep going, at least.

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

HP: 76/76

Dantes looked over the gathered gems, determining which ones would be of most value to him. Some gems could be used in spell casting. He had hoards of gems back at his home, but he was far away from there now, and one could never tell when one might need some gems. Dantes took 3 diamonds, a saphire, a ruby, a large pearl, and an emerald.

[ 01-25-2003, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe ]

[TAOWolf]

She tilts her head, determining where the voices are coming from on the other side of the cleft wall, and she places an ungloved hand upon the stone, burning a rune into the face......

removing her hand, her eyes glow as she slams her staff into the rock floor three times, then stands back...............

OOC: Cyril, milord , *LOL* do with me as you will!!

[ 01-25-2003, 12:04 PM: Message edited by: TAOWolf ]

[Larry_OHF]

Anarrima Culurien 60/60

She awoke to screaming, and it was not from any of her fellow prisoners. The guards were scurrying around, speaking quickly in thier foul tongue, obviously very upset about something.
Ever since she had been brought to this dark city called Ust Nomatta, she had dwelt behind bars and her fingers braced together to prevent any spells from being worked. Her mouth was gagged and bruises were dark and sore. Yet, this day carried a promise with it. A chance of escape may be at hand! A drow cast a spell toward her right and she looked to where he was aiming his concentration. A shadowy figure stood in the doorway, but was much too large to fit through the door. That did not matter to the figure. The door was ripped apart, and the roof began to cave in. Dust coverd the area, and Anarrima choked. She ran to the far end of the cell block, and hid with the other prisoners at the back of a huge pillar that had been carved from the stalagmites hanging from the ceiling.
The next thing Anarrima knew, she was falling, and landed softer than she'd anticipated. A corpse had broken her fall. She quickly rolled it off and nearly vomitted. She recognized the body as one of her tormentors..his head crushed by a blunt object. The screams were still echoing around the city of the Underdark, and Anarrima was standing in the middle of it. Her fingers were still bound, and she was still gagged. Seeing a dark figure looming toward her broke her out of whatever trance she was held with as she stood there, and now realized that this was the right time to run. There was terrible laughter rising above the sounds of death, and crumbling, earth-shattering sounds of unknown towers being brought down by a great force. An earthquake shook the ground and she found herself laying flat on her face. Rolling as fast as she could, she wormed her way behind an old cart that lay near the southern cavern wall. A thin metallic band was part of the wreckage where she hid now, and she bagan to try to saw the bands from her fingers. It took a while, since they were strengthened with the black magics of this darkness...but eventually gave way to her persistence.

Anarrima noticed now that the whole place had become silent. It seemed that the battle was over, and the large shadowy figures had dominated. She removed the gag from her mouth and spit the taste away. Peering over the upturned cart, she viewed the destruction that lay before her now. She saw nearly a dozen of the large giants and heard the booming voices of more. Were they Storm Giants? No...storm giants are a different color. These appeared to be made from the darkness itself, like a shadow in the darkness. Their voices were not booming, but more menacing and wretched.

After she had seen enough, Anarrima was ready to try her escape. She had heard her captors speak of a gnomish village nearby that they had been planning on raiding. She had not heard of them since, so she assumed they were never bothered with up till now. If these giants had not passed that way on their way here,,,then that settlement might be her only chance to make it away from this lightless world.

So, her adventure began. To sum it all up, Anarrima ventured long into the dark tunnels, looking for help until she was finally rescued by a couple of gnomes while they were scouting their perimeters. Recognizing her as a surface elf with no ill intent, they took her to thier settlement, fed her and nursed her to health, then allowed her to stay with them until she could figure a way home. Until that time, Anarrima helped around the settlement with whatever she could.

================================================== ==============================

Anarrima Culurien.
Lover of the sun / Golden Maiden. (In the Quenya tongue)

Elven Cleric: Level 12

HP = 60
Strength = 10
Dexterity = 12
Constitution = 11
Intelligence = 14
Wisdom = 18
Charisma = 16

Devoted worship = Ahurani Fairhand (invoked for health, healing, prosperity, and growth)

Proficiencies:
Staff
Club
Short-bow

Possessions:
Leather armor


================================================== ==============================

OOC>>>Per my discussion with the DM concering our lack of good healing powers, Anarrima could be the party's cleric...if we can find that gnomish settlement.

[ 01-27-2003, 09:19 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Lord Starshadow]

Syrathic HP:43/74

Syrathic looked at the jewels that were left. He scanned them all, looking for the ones that had the most value. He knew a little something about jewels, although he was did not currently possess any. Even in the place that he called home, he only had a few baubles stored; they were the ones that had particularly caught his eye, even if they weren't the most valuable he had.

A couple of gems caught his eye. One was a deep red ruby, the other a sparkling sapphire. He loved those colors. The Elf also took two of the diamonds that were left. Those were always nice. And an emerald. Who didn't like those? And he couldn't help but help himself to a nice round pearl. So beautiful it was. Lastly, he decided on a garnet. He didn't know why, it just seemed nice to him. "Well, what are we going to do about Morguerat's share? I'd hate to see such pretty gems just sit here again..."

Then Syrathic looked around at the others. "And what comes next? I really could use a rest to heal up a bit, but if you want to keep going, then that's fine with me too."

[Cyril Darkcloud]

ooc: Man! Do you guys think I'm THAT bloodthirsty? [img]graemlins/beheaded.gif[/img]

Well, OK, so I did kill a silver dragon and destroy her eggs and wipe out an entire drow city, not to mention threaten to feed the forums to the Hunger ..... alright, so I'm a little bloodthirsty [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img]

Seriously, though, one of the characteristics of the last thread was that it became a desperate battle waged successfully against any reasonable hope of success. As you can see, I've set up something of the same dynamic here. The giants can be beaten but it will be difficult and you'll need to be clever to do so -- there's no way the party can match their raw power, but if the last story had any lesson at all it's that a good plan boldly executed can sometimes overcome overwhelming power.

A couple options for the party:

• It seems that the area of the dragon's lair can be secrued and defended as a temporary place to rest and plan -- although if a large number of attackers arrives the party will be backed into a corner.
• It might be possible, although not without danger, to try and backtrack the grimlocks to their lair. Pressing forward means that the grimlocks remain behind you.
• At least one of the passageways ahead is large enough to accomodate giant-sized beings and you could risk its exploration.
• The gnomes will need to get back to their village and the party is welcome either to accompany them or follow along later -- they will leave a simple map with Dantes. Once there, the group will have an opportunity to rest comfortably and resupply itself.

Now, if you'll excuse me, this bloodthirsty ..... I mean, diligent, DM is going check on his monsters

[Larry_OHF]

OOC>>>My vote is to follow the gnomes back home, to ensure their safety as they travel...and our chance to rest in a settlement that is more secure than this cavern with a rotten, stinking, dead body masse. I await others to vote.

I am not the party's leader.

[Cyril Darkcloud]

The Treehouse

Long has the nightmare continued. Long has it dominated him and shaped his thoughts. Twisted his thoughts have become – twisted and unsure and not to be relied upon. Thinking itself has lost its sweetness and taken on an unwholesome taste. But think he must. All men, by their very nature desire to know – so said the long dead Greek *– and this man, though life has fled his body, has ever desired knowing more than even the vigor of living. He must know. He must understand and despite the cost his thoughts will find a focus.

He screams and the screaming of a mouth with no tongue is a horrible sound. But the scream has a purpose for it focuses his mind upon the pain of frustrated logic. Finding a focus the terrible strength of a mind that thought itself to death and in its thinking remained alive finds a place to assert itself. The nightmare was unexpected, but the nightmare will be understood. The little man thinks and in his thinking his mind seizes the nightmare and suddenly a second scream fills the treehouse as Zhydo’rah cries in shock and pain as her victim suddenly usurps the nightmare she had inflicted upon him ......

* Aristotle

[Morgeruat]

Morguerat {85/105}

As the party considers it's options, Morguerat completes his inspection of the Wyrm, it's hide is apparently too badly damaged to salvage even enough hide for a decent sized shield, perhaps a helmet could be fashioned from it eventually, but the harvesting of it would require far more time than he would like to spend in one place, especially a place so laden with the smell of death, the graverot that permeated every fiber of his being, a stench he had smelled more than once in the dead air beneath these forums.

Where the dragon's hide was too damaged for use however, it's claws were still in fine condition, as were a few of it's teeth, so using the axe with the runes engraved upon it, Morguerat began hacking the claws off, taking care to cut well above where they joined to the flesh of the beasts "hands", he then much more carefully began retrieving what teeth he could salvage, placing them, with the bloody claws within a leather bag, which was placed within the deeppocket of his cloak.

"Syrathic, would you be so good as to retrieve the skin from the shadowhound? I would appreciate the favor personally, as well as consider it fair payment for my share of the horde."

[ 02-03-2003, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

[Larry_OHF]

OOC>>>FYI...Brendon will not be caring about any left over jewels or coins that are left behind if someone does not take their share.

He would have the desire to earn any more than his publically displayed seven.

If we have not decided in the next twelve hours from this post where we are going...I want to go ahead and move us along in the direction I wanna go.

If the rest of you decide to move along before then...I will accept whichever way you guys wanna go. Let's just get going somewhere!