The Lord of the Forums, Aftermath III>>>Death in the Shadows

[Larry_OHF]

Brendon 70/70

With that, he turned and walked away, more calmly than before, but with the same intent in his heart. There was no getting out of it once he had made up his mind. The party would be well enough without him, and they would surely know to where he had travelled. Let them fight the giants, he thought. He had a personal appointment with this Euryale that he intended to keep.

He went to his tent and gathered his belongings up. He had to hurry before somebody like Syrathic came by to check on him. When he was packed and ready, he circled a long way around the cavern, hiding his trail though he knew elves were better than humans at such as this, but he was a ranger and that is what rangers did.

Upon exiting the caves of the gnomes, he sneaked off in the direction that his heart told him to. He had his bow out and an arrow set. He was on his own, and so he had to turn to his instincts moreso than before. He had to move quietly and not make a mistake, for a lone travelor in these wilds would soon become a meal to something.

...

Hours had passed, and he was feeling the weight of his decision now. What was he doing? Hunting a leader of a bunch of wild animals in it's natural enviroment. It was like a feeling of a fly in a spider web. He knew which he was. Could he actually achieve his desire? He crept on, listening to the screaming quiet of darkness.

OOC>>>I do not expect anyone to follow after him. I also cannot post in which direction he is going because being a ranger, he'd be able to do some trackless stepping that would at least offer a challenge to others, but mostly because I am the maker of the map and I do not want to spoil your fun at finding your own way through! Now, for some fun.

He never heard them coming, and seeing them would have been impossible. He had stopped to rest for a minute to think his way onward at a cross-way, and then he'd been jumped. At first, it was noted in the shadows of the dark seeming to move and swirl, then those eyes had pierced his soul with terror. He shot at them, but the arrow went through the unsubstantial shapeless form of a wolf. Throwing down his bow upon the ground, he drew the balde he'd been given and ran towards the shadow. But before he got there, he was grabbed and bound by three or four Grimlocks. They bound his arms and legs and carried him away. His bow was left in the dust.

He was brought to a huge cavern that was much larger than the home to the gnomes and thrown to the ground. He looked up but didn't discern much. He saw a few statues and some Grimlocks here and there. He supposed that he would be made into a meal for these foul beasts. He tried to stand, or roll over to one of the statues to see if he could use the rock to cut into his bands. He rolled over to one, and began scratching himself against the foot of the stone creation. However, the statue was not balanced well, and it toppled over and landed on the ground. Brendon looked in horror at the image of the face in the stone. It was a likeness of the woman that had travelled with them eariler in the party, but had vanished. Was this that former employee of the Mage? Was this Rhianneth??? The feeling made Brendon sick to his stomach, for fear of this being true. That meant that some sort of beast with the power to turn people into stone inhabited this area. Then he heard laughter.

OOC>>>Do not let this matter persuade the party to go to the giants first, if that is your desire. I am offering an alternative side-quest only, that can take place before or after the giants. You decide. You also do not all have to go to one or the other together. You can branch off, if that is your desire. I wanted to make the game world a bit more vast for you, so you can make decisions based on your own thoughts. Choose well.

[RevRuby]

OOC: i should hope that since ruby had asked wyrd to keep track of brendon's whereabouts it is not too much to assume i may alert the party to his departure.

IC: ruby looks around feeling dread. she allowed herself to be distracted. altho she could not understand the grimlock his hunger was plain as day for her. she brought him what she could. and soothed him with a calm presence.

unfortunately because of her actions she was too late in responding to wyrd's call of where brendon went. now the lion is by her side giving her a look of chastisement at her thoughtlessness.

"i...i..uh," she starts out trying to make sure she at least has most of those assembled's attention. "i've some bad news. our dear friend brendon has left the cave. according to wyrd he did his best to cover his tracks. even wyrd may find it difficult to find brendon."

with the last sentence her calm exterior fades and she slowly lowers herself to the floor. her chance to talk to him was gone. she cannot find his mind. a deep dread steals through her own mind. there is so much danger for many of the group, how could one, alone, come out unscathed!

[Larry_OHF]

Brendon

He laid there, silently and wondering what had just cackled at him. He took another quick glance at the Rhianneth-made-stone that was laying beside him, and wondered if he should close his eyes or what.

A sound of footsteps from two or three Grimlocks neared him. They picked him up and dragged him a short ways. Then they stopped. His head was hanging low. He saw a shadow from something standing in front of him. He wondered if he should look up. He began to do so, slowly, but when he got to the part of the body of the creature in front of him, he dared not look higher. He knew what was in front of him, and he began to feel tears well up in his eyes. "Damn...I never thought it would end this way..." he said aloud. Another chuckle from the thing in front of him made him sick to his stomach.

"I hope you are favored among your friendsss...I expect them to come looking for you! Sss. I would dearly like to meet them!"


Brendon's anger took over. He leaped from his feet, jerking his arms from the hold of the two Grimlocks, and pulled his arms through the bindings, ripping the flesh from his wrists as he did so. Another Grimlock reached out to grab him by the throat, but Brendon blocked this attempt, bent the offending arm to breaking, and sent the beast off to cry in pain. He grabbed at his feet bindings and tore them from his legs, then set out running. Four more Grimlocks jumped in front to bar his way. Brendon just ran on, leaping into them with the hopes to fight his way through. He was beyond hope of survival, but that would not stop him from fighting to the last. He was not going to just lay there. He fought well, and almost had them beat when seven more Grimlocks had been alerted and came running to meet him. They all jumped in, and grabbed what they could of him, holding him tight. There was nothing more he could do. They held him too tight and there were too many of them. He was dragged back to Euryale, who was applauding.

"Well done! You are ssstrong and fight well. No wonder my petsss had a difficult time conquering the gnomesss. I grow weary of you however, ssso it isss time to say goodbye. Gunse! Ihine reiy Gee'gkel."

The command was in the Grimlish tongue. The Grimlocks obeyed by dragging Brendon to a wall where chains were hanging from the wall. They bound him to it. He was there, hanging from this wall when he felt the slash of a whip across his chest. Again and again it came. After a while, which seemed like hours...he heard a voice that appeared to distant too be from this world.

"Open your eyesss, and end your sssuffering!"

He had to. There was no longer any choice to make. This had to be done. He opened them, and welcomed the green glow. And the pain stopped.


Brendon: Roll vs. gaze...Failure...Turned to stone.

[Legolas]

The Possessor - 76/76

"I...." he said, nodding dumbly.

So many memories. This, his old world, was as it turned out, not completely gone yet. Forget the sun. The gladiator felt he had some form of responsibility now he knew. There was something other than himself now, that was worth keeping alive.

He leaned in closer.
"Ana?
When we're done here, we'll both see the sun."

[Larry_OHF]

Anarrima 60/60

She smiled warmly then ran over to hug the big man. Through tears of joy she exclaimed, "Maybe now I can repay the debt owed to you, for my life is now your's to do as you will."


OOC>>>I cannot remember the name of that custom, but it was in the Archwizards Trilogy, where it states that a person whose life is saved by another is bound to the one that saved him/her. Anarrima will always give the Gladiator priority in any situation.

[Morgeruat]

Saithele

"Ahem," the bladesinger interrupted as he returned, "You people do have a pressing mission, and since I have allied myself with you, it has become my mission as well, perhaps we should get moving before anything else comes along and tries to kill us."

With that the elf began gathering up his few possessions and within minutes he was ready to hit the trail.

[ 10-26-2003, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

Dantes emerged from his hovel a day later, fully rested, with his spells restored, walked to middle of the town and awaited his companions to dicuss their next move. Brendon had disappeared and was probably doing something foolish, so he was going to suggest that they go, and try and find him and this "Euryale" character.

OOC: time to get this rolling again, if everyone is ready, larry I will get you an updated spell list within a few days. I have to make one for a different charater as well, but I'll have it in before we are on our way, if thats cool [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 11-03-2003, 02:51 PM: Message edited by: AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe ]

[RevRuby]

ruby nods her readiness. excited to get a move on and search for brendon.

[Cyril Darkcloud]

ooc: Looks I was not the only one for whom life has gotten busy of late [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img]

As the following few posts are likely to be my last posts here for some time, I’ll do my best to make them good ones. My apologies for not having tied up these loose ends sooner.

[ 11-30-2003, 10:23 PM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

For TAOWolf

Deafening without being loud. Deafening not by shear volume of sound. Deafening for they are dead and their strangely flat monotone bears within it the rigid numbness of the grave, a numbness that robs the ear of hearing even as the ears of the dead are unmoved by the ringing touch of sound within them. Before even the woman realizes it, her ears no longer function with their accustomed keenness and it is impossible to tell how near or how far away the sources of the howls may be or even the directions from which and toward which they are moving. Still they continue in grim monotony until even the ability to differentiate between their number is lost to the woman’s ears which are filled with nothing other than the numbing echo of a single dead syllable.

Death takes hold of her ears even as the dead assemble around her and as the sight of the dead reaches for her eyes, those eyes so strangely alive in shifting colors, with the numbing sightless monotony that lurks behind closed and lifeless lids. Banewolves they are called, and such a name does them little justice for not one of them is truly a wolf in the singular or living senses. They are dead, each of them and all of them. And they are plural, each of them and all of them – each one the collective death of an entire pack; each one a motley assemblage of the withered limbs and dusty bones of an entire pack of the dead. Banewolves they are indeed, the bane especially of those like the woman – a druid, a champion of life and a shapeshifter within whom the life of the wolf runs strong. Too late she will realize that these creatures are nothing other than the undoing of all that she is for in them the grave reaches outward to seize this woman whose sight begins to fail even as her hearing has grown dead and soon the numbing touch of the grave will seize her limbs with the monotony of its unyielding stillness even as the stink of the tomb replaces the air within her nostrils .....

..... Soon, however, is nothing other than a possibility until it is transformed into the harsh facticity of now. And while it is a fact that there is little hope for the woman in the face of such opponents, smallness of hope is often mighty in the face of fact. An owl, small and gray, flies unmoved by the numbing blasphemy of the banewolves’ howls and upon reaching the woman opens its talons to drop a cloud-shaped clasp into her hands. It does not pause, but moves in swift and silent flight away from this place. With the arrival of the owl a pause forms in the monotonous howling a pause in which sound might once more find slender purchase within the ear and sight regain mastery over the eye. A pause is nothing other than a brief cessation of that which will continue, but brevity is perhaps the soul of other things than mere wit .....

ooc: TAO I believe the owl needs no introduction. I also believe that you are well acquainted with that particular clasp. You will need it for what lies ahead. These little critters should keep your character pretty busy – that is assuming she makes good on her opportunity to escape and plan a strategy against them ..... Especially as the motivating force behind them is about to be removed ...... Have fun.