The Lord of the Forums >>> Return of the Nightmare

[Larry_OHF]

From the Previous Thread:

Tao the druid and Arcades the Golden Dragon have fled to the summit of a mountain, to plan a strategy against the worst enemy they have ever faced.

Anarrima, Ruby, Wyrd and Gnób are on the fifth level of the caverns, where nothing but dead gnomes are to be found. They narrowly escaped death themselves when Euryale and her army attacked.

Saithele is wise to keep hidden at this time, because he is in the most danger that he has ever been in, but he does not actually know this yet. He is found on the sixth level of the caverns.

Zachary and Morgeraut are on the third level of the caverns. Zachary awoke from a nightmare to find Morgeraut still having one! This will be interesting.

Every other playable character has been petrified by Euryale. Rhianneth and the gladiator named the Possessor have already been taken up by Terrakis. Brendon was left behind in the Gorgon's lair, and the other four petrified members are on the sixth level...with an undecided fate at this time.

Terrakis and Euyrale: are at this time everybody's biggest nightmares, with the exception of the banewolves ...who have earned respect on thier own...but who do they work for? The Dead Wind has left the game, after Cyril made an historic appearance and swept it away to do battle on another plane.

The Hunger is still growing, as Cyril reminds us all. It was our origional destination, and still exists as our final battle before we can have the pleasure of looting the Fallen Tower of Shadow.

[ 12-15-2003, 10:24 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Terrors of the night have long been associated with the arrival of endings absolute and final. Fearful shudders running through sleep and carried over into the wakeful hours of day have by their disturbing motion sounded the anticipatory notes of the dissolution of that which is since even before civilized minds were conscious of their dreaming. When light is strong and the activity of day is complacent in its busy productivity, nightmares seem little more than the restless anxiety of childhood – phantoms that need be outgrown – for dreams are pleasant in indifferent security. The light, however, is anything but strong in these latest of days when shadows long hidden now stride boldly about and cast all before them aside. And among these shadows stands one more mighty and compelling than the rest, a shadow deemed little more than a child’s nightmare by those who had forgotten the ancient terror he once brought in his passing. And while the Forums slept in their quite complacency he has changed and grown strong, stronger even than in those distant days when all who stood before him were swept aside and broken. Dark fingers tighten around the haft of a weapon and a stride confident and decisive moves forward from the place of waiting. Terrors of the night are perhaps the things of childhood, but that shall not stop an ancient nightmare from asserting itself. He moves silently into the darkness, his brothers following behind, great Terrakis long believed a myth, a fanciful tale to frighten younglings at bed time, and in his moving nightmares are pulled from the realm of slumber and fancy that they might enslave the weakened light of day.

LOF – Aftermath IV – Return of the Nightmare

Very Late Edit: The previous thread can be found here.

[ 03-12-2004, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Zachary was confused and concerned by the warriors actions. He had hoped to find an ally in these dark caverns, but the warrior apparantly considered Zachary to be as much a threat as the spider. "I guess I can't really blame him" thought Zachary. "There is no way for either of us to be certain is an ally rather than a foe. Well, I'll deal with that in a moment. Right now, it is time to finish this spider off."

Zachary reached down to one of the regular hammers hanging at his waist. He drew back and threw it at the spider's massive body. It hit with a satisfying THUD, and the spider fell. The hammer itself didn't do that much damage, but the Girdle of Giant Strength added more than enough extra force to blast what was left of the spiders life force out of it's body."

As the arachnid rolled over and it's legs curled up, Zachary turned his attention to the warrior.

"Halt Thee, Warrior! Halt, and hear me. I am not your enemy. I am Zachary Thorrson, Norse cleric and Chosen of Odin, the All-Father. I mean you no harm and would welcome you as an ally. I have wandered lost among these forsaken caverns for more time than I can remember and would welcome the opportunity to share my journey from here on out with you, if would have me. I give you my word of honor on the All-Father's Spear that I will not deceive or betray you, so long as you swear the same to me.

What say ye, warrior? Shall we travel as companions...or go our separate ways?"

[Cyril Darkcloud]

DMs Note: Based on a conversation I had with Morgeruat last night I am going to assume that the protective actions he described to me will be successful. As I am working against limited time within which I can post, I am going to put this up and allow him to fill in whatever details he deems necessary for his own roleplaying with the understanding communicated here that actions to simply remain concealed and observe will be successful – leaving the are, of course, is another issue [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img]

Terrakis

Clearly there has been another here, for the slaughter of these humanoids is recent and the lingering stink of a magic cloud still hangs within the air. Perhaps this opponent still remains in the area and perhaps not although it is doubtful Euryale or her warriors are so skilled as to hunt down an opponent so obviously able to attack with force and surprise. They are confused and as they move about in puzzled seeking after a foe who may or may not be present, confusion becomes tension and even produces a trace of fear within its uncertainty. These are things to be exploited.

Heavy thudding sounds and what seem to be muffled groans cut suddenly short drift up from the cavern leading to her lair. Even as attention focuses in that direction, the head of a grimlock champion bounces crazily along the cavern floor from the opposite direction. Fear now is the dominant note within the mounting confusion, and such fear is only heightened as a scream is punctuated by the sound of bones rudely breaking from yet a third direction. Savage as such creatures as these are, they are difficult to coordinate when confused, especially when that one who rules them is accustomed to using surprise and terror as her own weapons. As the grimlock warriors mass their forces back near their mistress, it is apparent that no fewer than 10 have been lost to what stands within the distant shadows.

Euryale hisses orders to her warriors but such will do neither them nor her any good. His eyes fix upon the snarling group of shadow mastiffs which rings her and he steps forward. His step, however, is not one that carries his body forward along the hard stone of the cavern floor, but one which leads from the darkness in which he stands to that within which his prey is hiding. Emerging in the midst of the hounds he kicks them aside and seizes the surprised Euryale by the throat, stopping just short of crushing it as he lifts the hissing creature with an unhurried movement until he might see into her eyes and she might see what is to be found within his own. As he does so other giants emerge from the deep shadows of the cavern, ringing the helpless Euryale and her forces. They meet no resistance however for the hounds have scattered and crouch whimpering at the approach of the giants. Likewise all desire for combat has fled from the frightened limbs of the warriors who seem numb with fear.

Indeed, there is that about all of these giants which radiates command and power, and there such is even moreso the case with their leader. He stares into the blazing eyes of that one who reduces her prey to stone and he holds her gaze with the sheer willfulness within his own. The snakes that form her mane bite madly into his arm, filling it with their venom but he stands unmoved and unbothered by either biting or poison still fixing his gaze on Euryale’s eyes He says nothing these long minutes nor do his fellows. Finally he nods his head slightly and a dozen mighty arms seize their weapons and slay the frightened grimlocks with Terrakis simply staring into Euryale’s eyes and squeezing the breath from her throat as he holds her aloft. When the slaughter is finished, he finally speaks in a voice that rings through these caverns, “None shall contest our claim!” With these words he tosses the serpent-maned creature rudely aside and the Giants of Shadow lay claim to the whimpering hounds and gather the petrified adventurers.

Saithele - The giants are still nearby. One thing that is quite clear is that the aura that Terrakis radiates is at least as strong and intimidating as that of any dragon – possibly moreso. Welcome to your nightmare......

DMs Note - No one should assume that these statues will remain intact. The odds of at least some of them being destroyed are very good. If we haven't heard from you about your character now would be a very good time to speak up......

[Larry_OHF]

The humiliation. The dishonor. The loss of a dream, and the awakening to a nightmare. Euryale was not accustomed to such loss. She had been a feared legend to many, a goddess to some, and her dream to own the underforums were nearly in her grasp. But then the dream had been ripped away from her by one more powerful than she. She had underestimated her opponent, and had lost. Her army of Grimlocks were killed, her Shadowhounds that had come to her at no small price had been stolen, and her prize statues had been confiscated. How could this happen?

She hurt in many places as she lay upon the ground in a crumbled form. Her throat ached and the cold stone lent no comfort to her scrapes and bruises that she had received by being thrown aside as nothing. She had given Terrakis the stare of petrification...and he merely shrugged it off. Her poison had not affected him at all. Her arrows had not pierced his thick skin. She had nothing left of which to defend herself. Why had he not simply killed her? Was he to taunt her and abuse her, torturing her until death slowly crept up? She dared a glance over in his direction as she tried to sit up, hoping that she could find a way to escape this foul beast.

[ 12-15-2003, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[RevRuby]

ruby and wyrd extracted themselves from the deep niche they had found at the last minutes. the few creatures that glanced their way had been subject to some changes in their senses (OOC:power false sensory input.)

finding only gnob and anarima ruby greets her silently. she is terrified of calling back the hordes, and being turned to stone. wyrd stays plastered to her hip, refusing to stop touching her. the close call was almost too much for him.

whispering low, ruby asks ana, "should we follow? i can't guarantee there is enough of brendons or the shadowy elf's scent left to follow, but they have a distinct enough scent i could follow on my own."

[Morgeruat]

Morguerat

The man-spider before him threw a hammer into his spidery appendage, causing it to curl up and wait for him to retrieve it, it then bellowed a strange cry that almost sounded familiar, as though there were real words that he should know, the more he tried to decipher them the more his head hurt, recalling the terrible anguish of before he quickly stopped, and considered what he knew, some hunters imitated the sounds of animals to drwa them out for the kill, perhaps this creature in front of him was doing the same, warily he lowered his sword trying to recall the words to the spell he had cast moments before.

The information was locked away, probably until it was needed again. He spoke a greeting "Bah weep granah weep ninni bong!" if the creature before him tried anythign he would be ready, but the greeting might let it see that the human had no hostile motives in this place.

[ 12-16-2003, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

[Morgeruat]

Saithele

Quickly running through the options in his head Saithele realised he was running out of options, staying put might let him escape, but if the giants were even remotely close to the power level he had felt he couldn't in good conscience let them roam free, the power they held would be put to use against the elven people all too soon, and his hesitation had let them take the statue of the elf ranger, luckily Anarrima was not among the statues, and he prayed she was not among the dead.

Misdirection and stealth were his specialties, with enough power to defend himself from immediate harm, perhaps with her forces scattered the gorgon could be made an ally now, no troops, no hounds and her confidence shattered by the giant, she might seek vengeance for her injured pride, but it would have to be done carefully, if he approached her wrong she might decide to lash out at him, as the slayer of a large number of her troops single handedly he would make a fine trophy for her wall... yes he would have to approach the situation with care.

Fighting the giants would be more problematic, he had fought a hill giant before, and with his speed and spellcraft he had taken it down without serious injury, but if there had been but two, or even a third he would have been in serious trouble, and these monsters seemed much more dangerous than a mere hill giant. His spells were running out and he needed living allies, hell at this point, he thought, I would take undead allies.

And so he waited hiding and observing hoping the giants would quickly move from the area, and hopefully giving him a guide and a powerful ally.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Zachary didn't understand the words spoken by the warrior, but he was relieved to see him lower his sword to a non-threatening position. Zachary also put his weapon away and held up his empty hands to show that he also had no plans to attack or harm the warrior.

As the two stared at each other, Zach tried to find a way to communicate with his tentative new ally in a more productive manner. The language he used wasn't familiar, but sounded somewhat gnomish, or maybe a mix of gnome and dwarvish. The cleric had been good friends with a dwarven fighter and traveled with him on many adventures. Perhaps he would be able to recall some of the language used by his former companion to aid him in speaking with the warrior.

He had noticed the warrior listening to his words as he spoke them. He couldn't tell if the man understood what he was saying or not. It seemed as if he did understand at least some of what was being said, if not all. At any rate, enough of Zachary's message had been deciphered for the warrior to realize he was not a threat.

Zachary closed his eyes in contemplation and ran through the list of spells Odin had granted him upon his "awakening". To his surprise, he found the knowledge of how to magically establish a mental link with the warrior through a Telepathy spell. With this spell, he would be able to establish a direct link with the warrior's mind and the two of them would be able to communicate with one another, despite the language barrier.

Zachary considered his options for a moment. He was worried about casting the spell that would establish the mind link with the warrior, because it might be interpreted as an attack. On the other hand, the cleric has a sense that time was of the essence. He would like to establish a friendship and bond of trust with the warrior before casting such a spell, but he wasn't sure he had the luxury of time needed to accomplish that.

In the end, the Chosen of Odin decided the risk of outweighed the benefits. The warrior was already very wary of him and no doubt still considered him a potential enemy. No, now was not the time to be casting a spell that would affect the warriors mind in any way. They would travel together first, and establish their bond through actions rather than words. Perhaps, later on, Zachary could try the telepathy spell...and perhaps it would help the two adventurers come to know one another better. But for now, they would just have to rely on non-magical methods to learn about each other.

Zachary took a few steps towards the warrior, but still stopped far enough away to remain un-threatening. He pointed to the warrior, then to himself, then held the palm of his left hand up and used the fingers of his right hand to "walk" along the upturned palm. Zach repeated the gesture a few times, hoping the warrior would understand the meaning - "Do you want to travel together?"

[Larry_OHF]

Anarrima 60/60

Ana wiped the tears that tickled her cheek away. She was not used to losing friends, and such a horrible manner! It ranked in terror with the torturous evil of the drow in Anarrima's mind. She smiled to Ruby and nodded.

"I know that we are not ones that practice stealth, and there are so many of the creatures...but it appears from the report of the grimocks that they had found Saithele down there, and if he is still alive, we cannot allow him to fight alone. I feel so horrible for hiding while the others perished...but we would have perished also, and not have been able to have done anybody any good. If we can use our minds and plan...I am sure we can make things right again. Petrification is easy to cure unless the statues crumble. Did not our mage leader carry with him scrolls to cure petrification? I will go to the place where he rested and see if I can locate them, if they are still here."

Anarrima left the others and sneaked about through the carnage of the gnome village, half expecting one of the dead to awake and tackle her. She finally made it to Dantes' hut and she searched through the mess and located 3 scrolls. She took them up, and returned to the others.

"Look here...I have located three scrolls, but nothing more."

She looked at her elven friend, the lion that was her familiar, and Gnób...the Grimlock that had been tamed. Breathing deeply she said,

"I am ready to go, but what should we do with the Grimlock? Do you think he should be let go? Can you..."

Just then it dawned on Anarrima that she could not see Gnób anywhere.

"Where did he go? Has he left?"

OOC>>>See notes in other thread.