To New Horizons(2nd ed game, game thread)

[Encard]

Evon glanced at Lorath when he approached, then pointed in reply to the elf's question, aiming his finger at the odd wave he'd seen. "You see that? The odd wave there? That's all I can see. I think there's something under the surface, but I can't see what - it's too far and too distorted."

Shaking his head and speaking quickly, he added, "I'm Evon - when I stepped through the portal, Jonas asked me to find you and bring you the antidote he'd gotten for whatever attacked his friend in that lake. It might be that the same whatever is heading toward that village, in which case we should go there. Now. We may be able to help them, not to mention gain their trust. Are you and your friends with me?" He waited expectantly for an answer - he knew he wasn't the best in a fight, but the lizardmen hadn't been hostile and he wasn't about to stand by while their families were attacked, if in fact that's what was about to happen.

[ 01-20-2007, 03:32 AM: Message edited by: Encard ]

[PurpleXVI]

Bas

While the storm seemed more sudden and forceful than what the druid knew from home, but nothing about it struck him as unnatural, he recognized the same patterns and movements that he knew from Achen, but they were merely speeded up, had more force behind him.

The water tasted like fresh water, not salt water, and though it tasted pure, it also had a strong mineral taste to it.


Everyone

As the group considered their options, the storm intensified. The winds were whipping up the lake, causing waves to form on the formerly placid surface and slosh against the shore. The vanguard of the heavy rain-sheet, a drizzle, was now striking them, and the roar of the wind, combined with the rustling of the trees as it pulled at them, was forcing the group to shout rather than talk.

The two groups of lizardmen hunters had almost reached their village.

[Armen]

As she listened to Evon's answer Tamora looked out over the lake trying to make out something of what he was describing. But she had already decided the course of action she, at least, must follow. So she turned with complete agreement to Evon and raised her voice in answer. “I have to try to help if I can. I can’t speak for everyone but I have to try.” She turned and ran towards the village weaving from side to side as a strong gust caught her or she adjusted to pick the fastest route she could over the ground.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Gan Vahnsen

"Gan." Gan answered Evon after his introduction and shrugged, "Sure why not. Let's go save some lizards." He almost rolled his eyes and his tone was as dry as the desert sand during the height of the hot season. "But if we do, let's no stand around here debating."

Without another word, he continued on to the village.

[Kazilan]

Bas noticed the others moving towards the village and shook his head. Did they have no concept of balance? The druid did not know what was threatening the village, but interfering with the struggle without knowledge would go against all of his beliefs. He would follow the group at a walk in order to keep some distance away, and try to determine the nature of the situation before deciding on a course of action.

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

"Name's Lorath," the elf responded. "If this thing does intend to destroy the village, we should do whatever we can to stop it. And thanks for bringing us the antidote. I've got a feeling we'll need it in the immediate future." He turned toward the village and took a moment to cast Cat's Grace, then set off towards the series of huts. In another minute, he'd pause to cast Strength on himself. When that was done, he would be ready for any possible conflict.

[dplax]

Anne Evasdottir

"Anne," she said simply. The waves of torrential rain had already drenched her clothes. Finally the makeshift group had decided on a course of action. Not waiting for a leader to emerge, she started running on the bank of the lake taking care not to tread in the water. If there was some danger and its source was in the water, she did not want to meet it.

[PurpleXVI]

Everyone

As the group headed for the village, everyone at their own pace, some running ahead, others taking a calm walking speed, something was happening out in the lake.

The V-shaped wave that Evon had seen earlier was now visible even despite the rain and wind whipping up the water. It had grown to a few feet in length and showed no sign of slowing down, if anything, it was speeding up. Any attempts to ascertain what was creating it were pointless, with rain being blown into their eyes and flashes of lightning blinding them, they were hardly even capable of keeping track of where they were going.

At the village, the lizardmen appeared to have arranged themselves into two rows of five each, a front line closer to the water, armed with spears, and a second line, a bit more staggered, taking cover behind some of the huts with javelins. The ones close to the water had braced their spears against the sand, as if prepared for a charge.

Tamora was the first at the scene, the lizardmen glanced sideways at her, but didn't seem about to try to stop her. She was followed by Lorath, Evon and Anne, with Gan and Bas arriving last.

They arrived just ahead of the wave, which seemed to subside about forty yards from the water's edge. For a moment, all was calm, even the rain and wind seemed to hold their fury for a second, almost like a cheap ploy to increase dramatic tension!

The silence held for a second, then another, everything seemed to be holding it's breath, waiting for someone, something to act.

Then it happened.

Without warning the water exploded, and for a moment it seemed as though the lake itself was launching an assault on the lizardmen. What looked like a pseudopod of pure liquid, transparent and coloured only a faint blue, had emerged from below the surface and was reaching towards the beach for prey. Before anyone could react, it was followed by another, another and yet more until six of the terrifying things were surging towards the lizardmen. Each was as wide around as Gan, and managing to reach the shore from forty feet out. None of them seemed to have any features, they were amorphous, contracting and lenghtening without any apparent limitations.

(OOC: Alright, unless you're going to run, hide or just stay out of the fight, PM me your character's tactics.


EDIT: Things people have asked me about outside of the game already, added here in case anyone else wanted to know the same things.

The tentacles are about ten yards from reaching the lizardmen, and the nearest members of the party are about fifty yards from the lizardmen. The village is large enough that you're still close to some of the huts, however. The lizardmen are about five yards from the water's edge.)

[ 01-20-2007, 05:02 PM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Lorath, already steeled for battle, was ready to fight. And he did. (OOC:Already PM'd tactics. That's all I'll for this post.)

[Kazilan]

Bas kept well away from the lizardmen as the water creature or creatures attacked. He could not reconcile that a community had been built and maintained next to such a violent creature's habitat, especially considering that the lizard people knew of its existence through their anticipatory actions. In other words, the lizardmen knew what they had gotten themselves into and Bas felt that interfering with what appeared to be a natural part of this system's balance would be wrong.

The druid took a moment to inspect the nearest hut before turning his full attention to the battle.