Part 7>>>The Shadow of Love (an LoF adventure)

[Larry_OHF]

For the daedroth haters:

Yevaud focused his magical channeling, hoping that this spell would work correctly...unlike the previous one back when Silt was alive.

The spell was cast, just as the daedroth was lunging at him.

Acid Arrow...success!...hit!

The creature reared back in anguish as his eye burned in its socket from the magical bolt of acid, hit directly where the bladesinger aimed it. The creature rubbed at its eye, shook its head and lunged again at Yevaud, though its clawed swipe was far from hitting its mark.

~Yevaud easily dodged the counter-strike~



End Round for Yevaud.
He takes 4hp damage from the sticky substance that came from the initial attack. 20/45

Anarrima 54/67:

She was a bit shaken still from the shock of the gas that had hit her, and moved out of that area to try to escape it. Still, it seemed to cling to her in the air as though it were sticky gas. She tried once again to focus on casting a spell to put an end to this fight.

Nanashi:

She could not grasp the full meaning as to what was going on. Echo said that she had been tricked, but then there was the Master's voice, but the Master was trying to trick Nanashi into being hit with a silver-tipped rod, but was the Master really Larry Silverfall that had found Shadow Power again?

Nanashi leaped away, her senses trying to figure this puzzle out. Who was she supposed to kill? Was she supposed to leave Larry alone now that he had become a servant of Shadow? Was the Echo telling the truth or had it been tricked? Was the Master really back from his business trip?

She was standing seven stairs back up the stairwell, wondering what she was supposed to do. Larry was ready to cast Shadow Magic, from the power radiating in his hands, and the big one carried a stick of silver. She wondered what her next move was. Afterall, the last time Nanashi got this close to killing Larry, he showed forth Shadow Magic and had been saved. This meant that seeing the power of the Master being put to use again did not bode well...

And where was the invisible stalker that was using the shadows to his advantage? She had distinctly heard the sounds of warning from that one. Had she leaped far enough up the stairwell as to buy herself some space from him?

Very likely, this was an elaborate scheme to capture her. Was her brother Liam in on this? Of course he was! It was a trap and she fell for it! Echo lured her here and then the team was ready for her! She now doubted that it was ever anything but a trap just for her. Who had she bitten? Where was that body? Had it been poisoned? Was she even now dying from the bite?

Nanashi stood as silent and still as she could, yet shivering involuntarily. She had never felt fear like this before.




Larry Silverfall 04/23

Larry watched the events unfolding around him through blurry vision. He was so cold, despite the warmth he felt at his neck. Wet, and burning, actually.

He saw what he had to suppose was an act that Joseph conjured up with his specialized magic...showing an illusion to Nanashi to get her to back off. She had totally forgotten him and was instead focusing on an illusion of himself as a healthy, unhurt...shadow wielder?

What was Joseph putting into the dialog?!!
Could Joseph think him to be this...monster that was before him now in illusionary resemblance?

The room started growing dark and more blurry. It was a horrible sight to see within a tower that sported an already unsettling enviroment. He decided it was time to try and craw a few paces away. He tried, but could hardly move. Instead, he hoped that Morgie would understand the illusion for what it was and that his eyes would be open to seeing the real him laying here on the floor. He did not dare call out for fear of messing with the illusion...that and the fact that he was afraid that speaking would make his blood run out faster...

OOC>>>Larry has lost another 2hp from blood loss.

[ 06-23-2006, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Morgeruat]

Morguerat

Morguerat watched as Nanashi retreated a few steps up. He realized that battles were often decided by those who reacted the fastest, both the cat and the echo were off balance and he took the opportunity to take a knee, seeming to be preparing the silver tipped end of the staff to receive a charge, an action that would likely impale the tigress, bending down he kept his eyes up but tore a strip of cloth from his shirt, and used it to tie off Larry’s wound applying pressure, not enough to cut off circulation but enough to staunch the worst of the bleeding. He’d seen worse wounds, but few men were able to overcome them and often bled out before they could be saved. He’d managed to save more than a few with the abilities granted to him by Helm, providing a cure born of faith and devotion, but he’d learned not to rely on them, they were only good once per day, and more than one man typically fell in a single days worth of battle.

He lowered his eyes to the wound and poured his heart out to Helm to allow him to save the life of this man, whose whole purpose in life was to be able to restore life to the one he had failed so long ago, it was a story Morguerat knew well, spending a life to fulfill a failed duty, and he hoped Helm would show a rare bit of mercy and grant an ability lost so long ago.

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

Yevaud 20/45

Yevaud was grateful his shot had worked, the fatigue coupled with the creature's speed both worked against him in the casting of any spell, and while a bit of adrenaline could counteract the first to an extent, it did not totally banish the languor he had been battling.

Taking the offense while the beast was off balance the bladesinger rolled to the side of the creatures injured eye, if the acid hadn’t totally destroyed the organ, the next few spurts would finish the job. Taking the blind side the warrior sliced with all his might at the creatures hamstring, rationalizing the disabling it would be more effective than trying to kill it outright, when it could no longer properly target them, they could take the time to end it’s life outright.

[ 07-30-2006, 11:56 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Larry_OHF]

For the Castle Team:

Yevaud took a dare in getting in close enough to the creature to slice at its leg. Going to the blind-side where it could not see with the eye that had been blinded, he made his move. However, the daedroth had recovered from the shock of the attack with the acid enough to hear the bladesinger and made a quick move against him. The blade from Yevaud still hit the leg, but the daedroth had turned about and swung again at Yevaud with its dangerous claw which stabbed into his side and held him long enough for the giant maw of the beast to come in and bite the arm on the opposite side.

With its leg giving out from the inability to support itself, the daedroth fell forward and crashed on top of the elf, still gnawing on that arm. Then the after-effects of the acid arrow kicked in, burning the already seared eye socket of the creature bad enough to make it open its maw in an agonizing wail of pain.



OOC>>>Yevaud takes 6 hp from the claw strike and 10 hp from the bite. 04/45

Anarrima: 54/67

She had already lost one spell to the shock of the lightning cloud and now as she was stirred out of meditation to realize the horror of her bladesinger friend being eaten by a daedroth, she lost the second spell that she had been praying for. Not only that, but the lightning cloud that had soiled her clothing reminded her that it was still there by jolting her again at this very moment. (-7hp) She screamed, but it was not for the pain of the jolt...it was for the possibility that she could not save Yevaud...She had to act quickly or she'd lose him. Once again, she turned her attention back to her Goddess, this time praying aloud through tears of fervency.

[Larry_OHF]

Larry Silverfall: 2/23

He could barely see Morgie leaning over him, bandaging the bite as best he could. Then the big guy began saying something, but Larry could no longer hear it. Things were going black and sound was muffled. He felt a little nauseated by this sinking feeling, but there was nothing left to do but close his eyes...and sleep...

OOC>>>Larry has lost another 1 hp and has passed out from the loss of blood. The bandaging that Morgie has set up has slowed bleeding by a good fraction and helped to buy some time.

As for the prayer's helpfulness or lack thereof, it'll be decided in the next post from me. I wanted to see if Joseph had anything at all to add to the situation.

Deep in the woods of this land where the carnivore is master and everything is on the menu, a wolf pup decides to chase down a butterfly. Ignorning where he was running, he jumped up in the air, snapping at the little flying insect of a most peculiar color, all the while going deeper and deeper into the shadowy woods. Of course, the butterfly outflew its attacking playmate and was gone, leaving the poor pup now to realize that he had no idea where his mother was. These woods were dark and quiet. He pined for his mother, but she did not come. He did not know which way to leave and so sat there and cried.

The poor thing never saw the anaconda in the tree above him, but he was not given much of a chance to. With a quick attack, the painful truth came to a close with the snake now feeling pleased with its catch and so returned to its high-in-the-tree sunlit branch to bask in the warmth while it digested the meal of the day. It ignored the playful butterfly that flittered about merrily as though it knew a secret joke.



*******R.I.P.*******
Oct. 2005 - Nov. 2005

[ 06-23-2006, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[TAOWolf]

They stand at the fringe of the woods, looking down into the valley below. She leans upon her staff, and wipes stray strands of hair away from her face with a gloved hand. Smiling down at her wolves, she goes down on one knee, and beckons them to her, running her hands over their soft warm fur.

StarShine whines, and keeps looking back into the woods, her green eyes glowing with worry and sadness. Kaylisa, looking back, narrows her eyes and slams her fist into the ground as she realizes what has happened. Whispering softly into the wind, “Just another reason for me to kill you….”, her heart is too wounded to dwell on the pup’s death too long.

Fifty paces in front of her, another oak grove stands, running beneath it one of the ley lines, one of the few uncorrupted by shadow. This one verra ancient, and the branches reach into the sky over 100 feet above the ground. She stands, dusting off her cloak, and motions the wolves to run ahead of her, to the safety that this grove will offer them.

She follows behind them, slower, but catches up in time. The wolves head for the center of the ring, and she stops at one of the sacred stones, whispering a prayer to her gods for the safekeeping of her wolves within this circle.

She feels a small flash in the back of her mind, and stares intently to the west. Something is affecting the ley-lines in that direction. She also feels the presence of some of the group. It feels like a hundred lifetimes ago since she left on a mission that now seems vague and wonders what has transpired to the others. Looking down, she spies a small lavender plant, and gently plucks two flowers from it and puts them in her mouth.

She walks over to a huge oak centered between two of the stones, and reaches into a pocket of her cloak pulling out a small rune, worn with age and places it on the bark as she whispers two words. The bark shimmers in the daylight, and as it becomes still, you can see another valley, filled with swampland through the opening.

She glances back once at her wolves and smiles sadly. ”I will be back for you. And I will visit upon the ones responsible for all our sorrows a pain that is tenfold for every hurt you have had to endure because of this…. I swear this to you…”

Making sure she has everything she needs, she raises one hand, and pulls off the glove with her teeth, then tucks it into the belt at her waist. Lightning flickers with a blue glow around her fingers as she narrows her eyes. The final rune in place, her power has grown. Placing the hand on the ShadowSword, she steps through the portal,her eyes flashing with silver speckled with taint of shadow and is gone…..

[ 11-21-2005, 10:51 AM: Message edited by: TAOWolf ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Joseph

Hidden from sight, and even from scent and sound and touch, he stands, the lines of his face drawn tight in concentration, his breathing slow and measured and his movements complex and graceful. He is dehydrated beyond the point of sweating from the exertions of casting and concentration and the easy and fluid grace of his movements comes now with a fatigue that would, should he allow it to assert itself, quickly become exhaustion. But the things he has done this day – how many can claim to have done their like or their better? And what he does presently, is this not a thing of beauty?

Art, especially great art, comes with a price. The price is important, it’s what separates the artist from the mere dilletante. The talented are many, the truly gifted less numerous but still plentiful, but those who join their gifts to the will to stretch and discipline and expand them are few indeed. Though none can see this, the veneer of glib commentary and relaxed confidence have fallen away from his bearing. There is no running commentary to be heard here. There is only the focused effort of one who senses a masterpiece in the making if he but pay the price to do so. Despite the strain, there is a genuine excitement about his features. No, this is not about Larry Silverfall and his quest, nor about the large man’s crisis of faith, nor about some shadow wielding despot. And it is most especially not about stopping the beast woman from killing them all. This is greater than that. This is a matter of art in the making and the strength of will to make it.

Had he the luxury of greater reserves of strength and concentration, he would perhaps be touched by the warrior’s lifting of his eyes upward in prayer. As it is, however, he notices it only in passing, as an element that must be accounted for. Such a gesture as that demands privacy. Such a gesture must not be disturbed. As the large man tends to the fallen Larry, the large man as well strikes outward at the lycanthrope – feinting with the silver shod end of the stave. She moves gracefully to avoid the blow, only to have another, a strike from a dimly glowing blade suddenly thrust outward from the encroaching shadows, barely miss her as well. She is allowed no time to think and her senses are overwhelmed with sights and scents and sounds arriving too quickly to processed and understood. Her agility and strength are remarkable and it is a difficult and taxing thing to keep pace with her in a combat such as this where it is the near miss and the glancing blow that must be executed with complete accuracy. To do so and still maintain the whole of the illusion, from the illusory silence of an illusory echo to the semblance of Silverfall – such a thing might well tax him beyond his limits.

But she is frightened and confused, glancing nervously about her even before the phantoms struck out at her so convincingly. He provides another hint of movement, one perceptible only on the edges of her senses, as if another were present. The shadowy assailant falls back, the semblance of the warrior steps back as well into a defensive position, a look of knowing expectation on his face and then nods to the semblance of Larry......

ooc: Stopping here to allow Larry and Morg a chance to post before I pull the trigger on a truly nasty (even by my standards) magical effect.

[ 11-21-2005, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]

[Larry_OHF]

Nanashi xx/xx

She was winded. She had taken a few scrapes but it was nothing. She did not even feel the cuts. They looked worse than they felt. However, this was the most challenging fight she'd ever been involved in. First, it had been the voices, the question as to whether her Master were here, and if Echo was helping or tricking her. There was the invisible assailant with the poisoned blade, the bodyguard of Silverfall with the Silver tipped rod, and the threat of shadow magic being used against her. Larry Silverfall has full control of his shadow magic again or somehow he and the Master have merged back together and they are now trying to get rid of her! She'd not go down without a fight, however. She was good...she knew this. She could win this battle, even if these fighters were magically enhanced in speed...

Dodge, duck, slide to the left, AHA! These foolish humans could not keep up with one such as her very long, even with the help of shadow magic! Even using the shadows, the invisible assailant is too slow for her might! She had not been able to land a blow on either of them yet, but they were human...they were already showing signs of weakening, weren't they?

But just then...another has come. Another to join in the fight...and the two humans are backing off? She transforms herself into her full tiger form, her true form, and prepares for this new arrival. No human nor even elf could stand against her. Even the Master had been human once. But why were they suddenly backing off? Had this been a trap within a trap to set her up? Was the real challenger yet to come? She began to worry who would demand such respect from the others...

Echo xx/xx

Echo had worked hard at containing all the sounds that were bouncing about the room, and suddenly, they were just not there. They had vanished and he was left alone in a quiet room. He sent out another distress signal to Andrion and Nanashi. He also had need to follow the intruders and so his incorpeal essence whisked away down the corridors, searching for the voices.

What he found was astonishing. At the top of the stairs, Nanashi battled for her life against two men, one of them playing about in the Shadows. Larry Silverfall was speaking in the voice of the Master, commanding the scene. The whole thing was amazing to behold, for never had the Echo seen humans keeping up with the speed of that Were-tigress, yet they were keeping pace seemingly tirelessly. Just then, something else was forming behind her, as though it were emerging from the very shadows like one of the Master's beasts. Echo tried to alert Nanashi to this presence by amplifying its oncoming sounds of motion.

He also continued to call for Andrion.

[ 06-23-2006, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

For the Morguerat seeking once again to be “Sir”

The mystics speak of a thing called the Dark Night of the Soul, and by it they mean that time of cold and painful loneliness when the deity to whom one has surrendered his heart withdraws into a distant silence, a distance and a silence that withholds all words of insight and consolation and the comfort of presence. Those whose faith is but faith in consolation and comfort grow frustrated, weak and eventually faithless before such unremitting silence. These are those who flee the dark night for other things, easier and more ready to hand sources of comfort and consolation. And in fleeing the dark night of their souls for the ready daylight of something else they give themselves over to darkness of a much different, much more sinister type. Then there are those who endure the dark night, refusing to leave despite its pain, refusing any consolation save that one which is the greatest, and who beat against the unyielding silence of the dark night with the prayers of their hearts. These are those who come by slow degrees to recognize the trial of the dark night as a trial of fidelity. And in remaining faithful here grow strong in their faithfulness to the point where the darkness and the silence are seen as that place in which their faithfulness stands resolute and expectant before that one whose presence alone brings consolation.

The night has been dark indeed for the warrior, and long has its dark and unremitting silence hung over him. Still he turns his face upward. Still he seeks. Still he refuses the path of the faithless. Still he remains before his silent god. Even here in this place of darkness and death. Even here where the memories of the terrible pains he had to endure calls out to him to turn his back on the deity who did nothing to protect him. Even here his heart is firm.

And so it happens that here where the darkness is great that the night begins to give way to morning. As silent as the night he has endured for so long, as silent as the grief within his heart, so is the silence of that which now comes to pass, for what happens here is between a man and his god. A single word spoken with quiet assurance rises from his heart to his lips, “Yes.” And in the silence of a touch there is a closing of wounds and an easing of pain and a restoration of life. And from these things that take place within him, the warrior reaches outward once more to Larry. And there as well wounds are closed and pain is removed and life is restored.

Larry rests now, asleep in silence. And despite the bedlam that has broken out around him, there is silence within the warrior. But it is not the silence of night.

[ 11-21-2005, 01:05 PM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Just a guy named Joe......

He cannot spare the strength to smile, but he is content. The strain of prolonging the effects has been well worth it, and the arrival of Echo only underscores the effect he has been building toward achieving. Already he has eased his concentration away from the peripheral details of the illusion in favor of heightening the mountings feeling of unease within the she-creature. In her fright she changes form, taking on the bearing of a tigress – a creature of fang and claw. And instinct. Her instincts tell her to fear and be ready, and her instincts shall be rewarded.

The moment is at hand. Indeed, it is rare to have so perfect an opportunity against so formidable an opponent. He can ill afford to expend himself on so dangerous an enchantment as this. But art, especially art that is great has a price.

The ear hears the voice of Larry Silverfall as he shouts an order. But apart from the hearing of the ear another voice speaks in quiet decision, the words are those of glib confidence but the tone is neither glib nor warm. “Let’s dance, baby girl.”

The eye of the onlooker sees the hand of Larry Silverfall move outward and snatch at shadows. But unseen the slender fingers of another hand stretch outward and these fingers seize not shadows but grasp instead the fears and suspicions of the lycanthrope. Physically the arm which reaches is weak, but there is no breaking the grasp of its fingers. The eye sees Larry move and manipulate the shadow as if he were drawing back a curtain. And all the while unseen fingers draw open the curtains of instinct and thought that the deepest fears, those phantoms and nightmares that dwell beneath wakeful confidence, might step forward.

Nanashi grows stiff. Joseph ceases to trouble himself with the details of the seeming he has produced – its elements will continue to move for some minutes yet and then they will dissipate. The artwork, however, still remains incomplete, awaiting those final few brushstrokes. Her ferocity is great, so bestial and intense as to verge on the overwhelming, but he will not abandon so fine an undertaking so close to the point of completion. He seizes her hatred and pulls at it seeking the fears that lurk within it until at last he finds their object. She stiffens.

The onlooker’s eye sees only that Larry Silverfall has parted a curtain of shadow and that the lycanthrope has grown still and her eyes have widened in hatred. And terror.

Nanashi sees, however. She sees that one whom she hates and fears above all others. She sees her brother and sees within his eyes a hatred that burns with more fury than even her own. It has come this, she realizes. All of this was but a trap to leave her vulnerable before the angry hatred of her brother. She does not realize how correct she is.

Her spirit is great and her will to live is strong. She roars an angry challenge and leaps at his throat, hungry for his blood, but his movements, the movements of her own terror and frightened instincts, are much more swift than the movement of her body. The scent of her own blood reaches her nostrils even before she feels the burning pain in her throat.

The ear hears a roar and the eye sees her leap. The ear hears her gasp of pain and the eye sees her movement arrested and watches her collapse onto the floor. There is a rattle in her throat and then she is still. As still as the dead.

To the ear that is careful and attentive in its hearing, another sound might just be heard arising from somewhere beneath the sights and smells and sounds still so active in this place. The sound of knees hitting the floor and of the labored breathing of an artist pushed beyond his own limits and who needs to gather his strength before he might sign his work.

ooc: The spell is Phantasmal Killer. Nanashi is not dead – Joseph did not have enough in the tank to finish her, but she’s out of action for at least a couple days – this is not the kind of thing one just shrugs off. Determining the extent and effects of any emotional trauma is in Larry’s hands.

As a result of his exertions Joseph has lost 1 point of constitution permanently.

[dplax]

Andrion Wilgor 22/22

He flew as fast as his body could take him but still it took him two full minutes more than it took Nanashi. Speeding down the corridors and stairs he had heard Echo's second call, and from the sound of the disembodied voice, could tell that something had gone wrong.

His suspicions were confirmed when he arrived at the top of the staircase. Joseph's spell hit it's target just then. After the ensuing chaos of sound and Nanashi frantically fighting an unsee foe, died down Nanashi was lying on the ground, motionless. Behind her, Larry also lay on the ground, with the man, who Andrion had seen with him in the forest to the north, kneeling next to him. Another figure, most probably a female elf lay in the background.

A battle must have taken place here. If only I had a more powerful body than this one...I could redeem myself in his eyes and kill his seperate self...

Andrion knew that his top priority was to take care of whoever had put Nanashi out of action. The others, he could fly over and evade, but he knew that whoever had vanquished Nanashi would most probably be able to do the same to him, in his current state. Fear of the unknown started to course through Andrion's thoughts, but he quickly mastered it. He had no time to give in to the fear, he needed to act quickly, weighing his options beforehand.

[ 11-21-2005, 05:19 PM: Message edited by: dplax ]