Avatar of Spiffy
  • Last Seen: 18 days ago
  • Joined: 7 yrs ago
  • Posts: 664 (0.25 / day)
  • VMs: 0
  • Username history
    1. Spiffy 7 yrs ago
  • Latest 10 profile visitors:

Status

User has no status, yet

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts

The Beginning of the End



Gwyn's eyes glanced around the room. There had to be something they could do, even against 15 guards and the madman. If only they could even the odds...The idea formed, her hand already starting to glow. She looked back to her companions. "Don't look. Then she threw the glow up into the air and the room exploded with a bright flash of light.

Ashevelen woke up and straight away put her hand on the handle of her sword. Taking in the room, the ridiculous number of guards, and the crazy wizard she chuckled. They were dead. That is until Gywn started doing her magical mumbo-jumbo.

Covering her eyes instinctively, Ashe waited for whatever Gywn was supposed to do. Yet, after a few seconds, nothing happened. Turning towards her, she realized what she wanted to do. Light. Only a tiny fizzle appeared. That was not what she intended.
"Again. Don't look." said Ashe as she touched her dice and threw them on the floor with one hand as the other covered her eyes completely.
They started to glow brightly before dissipating.

Nothing seemed to happen initially and then, suddenly, Gywn's spell got amplified.
It started to grow and grow until it was like a small golden sun. Illuminating the whole room of the cavern.
"Now that's how it's done, Gwyn! Don't doubt luck ever again." shouted Ashevelen as she drew her sword and went straight for the closest enemy.

Due to the conditions of the dark cavern and their eyes not being used to bright light, the demonfolk screamed in unison. Some fell over, others covered their eyes in pain. All they could do was stumble about.

The Ghastly man was protected by some sorcery. He understood their language and had already put up a barrier of sorts even before they had arrived. His minions weren't so lucky.

Fyr closed his eyes as firmly as he could, turning his head away from the luminous blast so it would not affect him. Then, once he felt safe enough to start observing his surroundings again, he barely hesitated a moment long enough to verify that their opponents were indeed blinded before rushing forwards. How could this bastard even dare to touch his family heirlooms?



What did subsequently touch the cavern's wall was the demonfolk's head. Fyr punched him in the face hard enough to not only break a nose but also to make the wall behind his enemy break something on the back of the demonfolk's head. Never before had the sound of wood and metal dropping onto the floor been so satisfying. Finally!

Dalious backed up a few feet as the demonfolk poured into the room. He noticed one of them was wearing his gear, it was unmistakable. Planting a stance side by side with Fyr, the thought of death crept into his mind. This was a glorious way to meet an end.

The pirate smirked, while twirling the spear he held swiftly from side to side. My name is Captain Dal... his words were cut short as Gwynaria made the first move. He heard her words and obeyed, pausing for the action to take place. "....Ahem, my name....." Then Ashevelen yelled for them to, again, close their eyes. As he did so, Dalious could almost feel the blinding light erupt. All the demonfolk guards were temporarily blinded. "...eh, f*ck it!" Dalious thrust his spear toward the guard wearing his equipment.



The spear went straight through the guard's throat and out the other side. Pulling the dead guard back toward him, Dalious quickly took back his satchel and cutlass while dropping the spear and corpse to the floor. The familiar feeling of his personal sword's grip satisfied well. "Oh...oh, yeah."

Cicero covered his face from the blast of light. When he regained his sight Cicero turned his back to the others and toward the hideous sorcerer. Did he call me, the 'fallen knight?' Cicero began to shake in rage. He looked at Gwyn and stated, "I'm going."

Cicero rushed the fiend with his longsword in one hand and magic-resistant shield in the other. But as he did so, a familiar face intervened. Out of some sort of shadow, Rhakkar appeared.

He shouted in a bloody rage and blocked off Cicero's strike with one of his axes. Rhakkar's eyes were bloodred, and dripping with anger. Cicero spoke evenly to the demonfolk rival, "So you are behind this as well, Rhakkar. That is if you're even conscious." Rhakkar, growled in response. Suddenly he swung his other ax toward Cicero's neck. He barely had time to raise his shield and deflect the blow. Cicero grunted in surprise.

The ghastly man grinned wildly. His teeth shimmered in the dark. He called out, "Thank you, Rhakkar. Please dispatch the dishonored knight while I deal with the rest." The sorcerer raised his pale white hand toward, Fyr. Mumbling a spell, Fyr could feel a drain on his body begin. It was subtle at first, but if it continued, it may end with him on the ground.

Just barely after the tides of joy about having his family heirlooms back had started to die down, Fyr could sense something he had not experienced before. It was like a thousand bees stinking and a thousand ticks sucking all at the same time, but he was perfectly aware of the fact that neither of these two creatures was present even remotely. He raised his shield in an instant and turned on his heel to direct it towards where he felt the drain was coming, and when that didn't help, but he could see the ghastly man focusing on him, things became much more clear.

Evil magic!

If someone thought that Fyr couldn't do acrobatics due to his rather exquisite weight class (which would become even more exquisite after a lot of proper food he hoped!), then he was about to prove them wrong. With a loud grunt he lept forward and swung his axe backward so that it could gain more momentum, the round shield still held firmly in a raised position just in case this sorcerer would have anything more melee around as well. Then plan? Very straightforward: Just crash into this ghastly man and have his guts cut out for him. Or wherever else the axe would go as this was not intended to be any sort of precision attack, just one intended to do as much excruciating damage as possible in one go.

Gwyn's hands quickly went to her bow. Not the best situation for archery, but she was not meant to be close quarters.

Her attention immediately was drawn to Rhakkar's attack. If Cicero went toe to toe to him right now...She didn't have much power left. She notched her bow, aimed for Rhakkar's head, then let loose.


Taking advantage of the demonfolk guards still being blinded slightly, Dalious rushed forward and drove his blade deep into the nearest one's chest. He pushed the demonfolk off of his sword with a heavy kick, then spun around gracefully and sliced the next guard's head clean off. The blood shot out of the headless demonfolk like a fountain and showered those within range.

As the others selected their chosen enemies, Ashevelen was heading straight toward a blinded demonkin.



With a quick thrust, she plunged her sword into his throat and muttered a few words in demonkin.

Immediately after she ran towards the next demonkin in hopes of killing more of them before they could stand up.

Gwyn's shot missed Cicero and struck Rhakkar in his neck. He growled in rage, but the strength of his blows began to wane noticeably. Cicero caught his breath as Rhakkar stopped momentarily to regain his strength.

Fyr's strike hit an invisible barrier. The ghastly man grinned maliciously. But then, with pure brute force, Fyr pushed with all his might on his ax. The barrier shattered like a dome of glass. His ax struck the man in the chest. Thumping against something hard. The man grunted in pain, coughing.

"You'll pay for that!" He croaked.

Gwyn smirked. Not too bad if she did say so herself. The movement of a guard getting closer met the corner of her eye. She swung around and fired, hitting right in the chest.

Then Cicero attempted a strike at Rhakkar with his longsword but went wide. The two were at a standstill. Rhakkar clutched his neck with one hand, bleeding. With the other hand, he gripped his ax.

Meanwhile, the Sorcerer raged at Fyr who went in for another strike at him. But rather than attempted to dodge or block the warrior's strike. He simply stood still. The ax cleaved through his body which fell to the ground in a pool of blood. But as he fell, his form shifted into one of the demonfolk.

He appeared 10 meters away and mumbled some sorcerous speech. The ground beneath everyone glowed in lines of red. The ground was marked with a large spell! The blood from the fight had already soaked their surroundings. Suddenly, a huge portal opened in the very middle of the cavern. An enormous, smoky, dark, burning figure emerged from the abyss and called out with a heavy, bass voice that reverberated through the cavern, "I AM FINALLY FREE. ALL MY SERVANTS SHALL BE REWARDED."
The ghastly man was ecstatic, grinning from ear to ear, "Master, I have brought you the elf witch, dishonored knight, and a band of misfits for your pleasure."

The smoky being stared at the group for a long time. Smoke billowing all around. Everyone was frozen in place as if making a move would incinerate them immediately. He called out, "COME!" His smoke wrapped around Cicereo, Rhakkar, and Gwyn in a single motion. It drew them toward his form.

Cicero struggled in vain, but could not escape. Rhakkar shouted and hacked at the smoke with his ax, but it passed through.

Gwyn's eyes widened as she felt herself and Cicero be drawn towards the man, the shadows holding firm. It didn't take too long for her mind though to know what to do. The light was always the natural enemy of shadow after all. "Cicero!" Then she reached into the last reserves of her power and light once more burst forth, dissipating the shadows as they went.

The enemy entity roared in anger. His grip dissipated. Gwyn began to fall to the ground unconscious. However, with his hands-free, Cicero caught his companion with one arm and landed on the ground softly.. "Got you! Stay with me, Gwyn!" He raised his shield toward the being and prayed, "Father, I need your power to shine forth as I heard in the stories of old..please."

The ghastly man shrieked in rage, and Rhakkar growled once more. Suddenly, the shield began to push the entity back into the portal from whence it came with a powerful anti-magic barrier. The being shrieked in rage, "THIS CANNOT BE! THAT RELIC OF OLD WAS DESTROYED!"

As the portal began to close, it reached out one last time. It snatched Cicero and Gwyn with a smokey dark hand and drew them toward himself.

One last time, her eyes raised to her companions. "The Sealed Ones...Seek the artifacts of the Sealed Ones!" With that, she dropped a book from her pack on the ground.

Cicero called out, "Take heart, friends! We'll see you again!" They were then engulfed in the portal as Rhakkar leaped through at the last moment. It closed behind them in a flash.

Everything was extremely quiet for a moment. The ghastly man was without words. He simply stared in disbelief, "No..no...nononononononono!!" He ground his teeth and muttered to the remaining three companions, "I will pour my wrath on you. You will regret this!!!"
A Collaboration



The armor piece Ashe threw on the griffen tile falls through. A loud bang is heard a few seconds later. The two armor pieces that landed on the dragon remain in place. Apparently, safe. Cicero smiled, "Our demonfolk friend here was right Gwyn! We'll have to give her more credit in the future. I think I can figure the rest out." He gazed over the next 5 rows of tiles—6 total. The next row was an imp, a fairy, a nymph, and a pegasus. The third row was a centaur, an incubi, a genie, and a frost giant. The fourth row was a satyr, a harpy, a succubus, and a dryad. The fifth row was an ancestral demonfolk, a leshya/ent, a naga, and a dwarf. The last row was a human king, an elven mage, an angel, and a demon.

Cicero scratched his chin for a moment,"Friends of demonfolk, huh? That's easy." He picked up the armor pieces on the dragon, placed his footing on it firmly, and threw a piece of armor ahead. He did this in succession upon; the imp, incubi, succubus, ancestral demonfolk, and demon tiles. He made quick progress only stopping at the end for there was a wide gap between the last tile and the edge.

Meanwhile, Gwyn followed behind him with steps swift as lightning, keeping track of the demonic tiles to step on. She paused at the last tile for Cicero to clear it.

Cicero glanced back at her, nodded, and leaped with all his strength for the other side.
Cicero was unable to make the jump from a standing position, falling just out of his boot range. He gripped the edge with all his might, hanging on to the unstable ledge. "Uh, Gwyn? I seemed to have slipped..." He tried to maintain his calm, but the drop was quite deep from his precarious position.
Gwyn jumped over the hanging knight and yanked him above the side of the edge in a single motion. It seemed automatic. Cicero breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you." Gwyn only shook her head. "How you survived without me around, I will never know." Cicero smiled and punched her arm playfully, "Neither will I!" Cicero chuckled. Then he dusted himself off. "I'll make this easier for you at least, Ashe. It will also serve as an escape if needed." He took a thick rope from his bag and tied a sturdy knot to a large overhand near the edge. Then he tossed it onto the last tile.

As Ashe followed, A loud noise emanated from the darkness down the enclosure. It reverberated throughout the cave. The sound of maniacal laughter. It reverberated all around them. Then, they began to fade out of vision and hearing until they could no longer hear or see.



@Fetzen@Sol Grim
Dalious was forced to pause upon feeling the massive hand of Fyr. The pirate turned from a fearless pirate about to re-enter the unforgiving cave to find his friends, to a scolded dog with its tail tucked under its legs as the large man made his intentions clear as crystal. The man wanted his axe.

"...Uhh yea...sure. You can have all the axes. I had a boarding axe, all yours my friend! Shite, but I get yours, in particular, must mean something special to you. You have my word...if it's still in there we will find it!"

Instead of leading the way as he originally had started to, the pirate stayed a good few feet behind Fyr.

Fyr then made some rune designs on the walls of the cave to mark their pathway, a smart move. However he didn't make simple markings, instead he made specific designs that caught Dalious' attention as they slowly moved onward in the tunnels.

"Those are interesting markings, my friend, they seem almost personal. Perhaps religious in nature? What do they mean? Are they from your homeland?"

"No, no, and yes." Fyr responded, an amused smile whizzing across his face as he finished the next of the symbols.

He turned around towards the pirate and started explaining: "These are pretty ordinary symbols from my homeland. Nothing religious, but pretty much common writing. Okay... they have gone out of use here and there due to cultural influences or out of sheer necessity in order to communicate with foreign neighbors across the border, but every native at least knows them. They indicate directions such as left or right, up or down. Could have painted arrows, but the demonfolk would have been able to interpret them more easily!"

Or fancy pirates, that was! Of course, Fyr didn't add that to his last sentence. What he also didn't say was that he was not going to use the same symbol for the same direction all the time, but synonyms or alternative descriptions where possible. Everything else would have been too easy in terms of identifying a pattern!

"We want to find our way back out, do we?"

"Surely we do," Dalious responded. This mountain of a man was far more clever than he gave him credit for. Using his people's language signs to direct them on the way out was borderline genius. It reminded Dalious of the thieves' cant and the pirate code.

"Interesting, and clever. We pirates use the pirate's code to communicate with one another when we can't speak freely or for directions to treasure. Thieves use a similar code. I respect all secret codes and dialects and languages, fascinating stuff really. Ah...I do see how your symbols kind of work...yes yes...ok... hmmm... interesting..."

Dalious stood staring at the symbol for a bit longer, in awe. Once he realized Fyr had moved on, he jumped back to reality and ran ahead to catch up to him.

"Yea, so...secret symbols and signs are kind of a specialty of mine. Thieves and pirates have their own special codes and secret signs. I would love to learn about your people, I tend to be good at understanding all of them. Hehe. Well, except for one...women. The codes and signs of women have dazed, confused, and baffled me for years. I just don't get them. Say, how are the women where you're from? Are they confusing and complicated like the rest? Is there a lady back home?? Eh...eh??"

Throughout the duo's conversation, they had made a lot of progress down the other path the demonfolk had motioned earlier. Up ahead they could make out a long group of tiles that formed a kind of walkway with a great fall below. And past that...they saw them! Cicero, Gwyn, and Ashe! Before they could call out, a sudden burst of insane laughter broke out far down the cave. But the sound also reverberated all around them. A deafening insane cackling. Suddenly, the duo began to faze out of their ability to see or hear, until there was nothing.




Everyone's vision and hearing began to slowly return. The first thing they saw and heard came from a very strange, ghastly man holding an unconscious Manzur with a knife.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A barbarian, a demonfolk traitor, a pirate, an elven witch, and of course, the fallen knight." His grin widened as he stared at Cicero. "I would offer you all some refreshments, but we are rather busy at the moment. Lots to prepare for our little show and a very special visitor in sight...Except, you seem to have gotten somewhat in the way of our preparations. You allowed our little sheep to get away, and now we're going to need to compensate..." His eyes then rested on Gwyneria. "However, the blood of an elf, along with the rest of you, may be enough for our purposes..."

Gwyn's eyes narrowed. "Blood..." She glanced around the room, noting every little detail. The runes etched into the very walls, the thrum of magic resonating in her veins. "The whole room's prepared for a blood ritual!"

His chuckle reverberated through the room. "Quite right, my dear. And if you all would just stand still..." Guards circled behind the group, blocking the way out. "We can make this quite quick and painless for you. I do so hate to waste any more time." With that, he slit the butcher of the sand's throat. His blood splattered the cavern floor. "What a mess..." He chuckled, grinning wildly.

Cicero shouted, "MANZUR!!!"




Roll initiative
Cicero Bladewalker


Cicero winced as the two enemies converged upon him. Thankfully, with Gwyn's precise thrust with her rapier and Ashe's knife slit the two guards fell dead. The blood from Ashe's kill splattered on Cicero's face. He cleaned himself off and muttered, "Thanks." He scratched his head in frustration, "Apparently my demonfolk is not as good as I remembered..." He muttered to himself. Then he turned to Ashe on looking for traps, "I'll take a look then."



@Fetzen@Sol Grim
The band made it after several minutes to what appeared to be the exit. Bright yellow light shone through a large entryway. It illuminated the sand to look like glistening gold dust. Some of the men began to weep for joy. Others stood dumbfounded. They had made it, after all this time. Some had been stuck below for years. Now, it was finally over.

However, there was no sign of their equipment. Though, the men did not care. Some yelled out that they were headed home. Most to travel back to the city of Roh. One of the men spoke to Dalious and Fyr, "Are you leading us back to Roh? There is a port there that we could sail anywhere but here."

Fyr and Dalious would find no sign of the others. They had gone another way entirely. Through deductive reasoning, they could determine the way to get to Cicero and the others was to travel eastward. A tunnel curved to the left from their vantage point.

Would they escape or head back below?
Cicero Bladewalker



Cicero listened to Gwyn thoughtfully as she explained the map. "Then that's the way we'll go." He nodded affirmatively. However, Ashe had other ideas. Cicero responded shaking his head, "We're not about to leave a bunch of freedmen to their fates at the hands of sinister and well-armed demonfolk...no offense." He gave Ashe a sidelong glance and continued, "Besides, we don't know Manzur's whereabouts or what has become of him. I pray he isn't already gone." Cicero appeared mournful at the prospect of losing his former comrade. "Come let us take on those that wait behind that door." He motioned to the doorway Gwyn had pointed out earlier.

Before either of the two could respond, Cicero kicked down the doorway sword drawn. He shouted with all the fervor he could muster in his broken demonfolk, "THE CAVE IS COLLAPSING!! EVERYBODY OUT!!"
The two bewildered demonfolk guards stared at Cicero in disbelief, apparently dumb to anything he had just shouted. The trio stood in complete silence for a couple of seconds before Cicero whispered back, "I don't think it worked...



@Fetzen@Sol Grim
On the other side, Fyr and Dalious had begun their great escape. The band of malnourished misfits had the element of surprise. But could the momentum continue if they stopped to interrogate this one? The remaining demonfolk guard was sweating nervously. He did not seem to understand the common tongue, but he understood Dalious' threatening gestures. Putting it together, he motioned to himself and pointed down another opening to the East. Would they follow his directions or move in the apparent direction of the exit, south?

@LeafsongRight now we have a full crew with another on the way. If someone drops out we will keep you in mind if you are still interested.
Cicero Bladewalker



Cicero acknowledged Dalious' hand gestures and made out what he thought was his plan. As for The demonfolk, meanwhile, listened inquisitively to Ashe's response. After some time, it appeared as if she convinced them. They allowed her to pass along with Cicero and Gwyn. However, Fyr and Dalious managed to snake their way back downstairs without being spotted.

Cicero whispered to Gwyn and Ashe once they had passed, "Those two have gone back to gather their comrades. We can continue forward and perhaps make life easier for them when they inevitably break free. Gwyn, what path should we take on the map?"

Below, Fyr made a rousing speech to their comrades as Dalious chimed in encouragingly. The former slaves cheered in unison, "Dey won't keep us down anymore!" one shouted. They had already been armed with shovels, picks, and even the dagger of the former gang leader. A few of them wore primitive leather they had stolen. Two of the slaves donned Fyr and Dalious with leather gambeson they had stripped from their former tormentors. Fyr's was a little small on him so a slave cut into the neck area and arms so that it would fit around his massive torso. Dalious' was still wet from the former wearer's blood. His friends seemed to have gotten carried away in their revenge.

Any weapons or armaments the two decided to equip would be utilized. Any tactics or plans the two agreed upon would be implemented. The prison break was in effect.

@Samara Awesome. We'll get back to you on that.
@SamaraWe've decided to bring you into the party! I would just like your character sheet to be cleaned up and details worked out so that it fits nicely into our cs's. When that is completed we should be able to implement her sooner rather than later.

If you have any questions feel free to ask myself or @Cyrania
@samara I enjoyed reading her cs. I like how you incorporated the backstory of the king's assassination within the plot and the proper setting in which she inhabits. Namely the land of Roh. It shows that you have taken the time to follow up with the story and the background.

We are currently discussing her as a group and whether or not to include her at this time. We will get back to you within a few days. Thanks for your interest and have a great night!
Cicero Bladewalker



The group settled on Ashe's plan. However, Cicero had yet to gather his own disguise. It was then revealed that above them were the two guards who were waiting on the other side from earlier. The two guards spoke out in their demonfolk language, "Back already?" One said suspiciously.

Cicero whispered to the others, "What's the plan?"

They could try to talk them out of the situation, fight or something else.
© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet