EliteCommander

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

So Ssarak can feel his wards and knows he is there, but cannot see him. Ssarak isn't going to just happen to look right at him and see him, but I have a plan, just have to get up in the air. Time to stampede.

Well, after I do some things I need to do.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

You said they're not fighting tactically, so if Ssarak gets that heads-up that they're coming, he could probably smash one of them in the face as they're charging. However, he knows the psychomancer is there, and he would very much want to find him. How perfect is invisibility?

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

So...the vampire already left? No chance to stop him from leaving the cave?

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Never thought I'd see you arguing tooth and nail to have your character fail.

If all else fails, there's always luck. Many a time has history been forever changed by chance. An assassin going for a sandwich at the same restaurant as his target after his first failure, a notoriously innacurate musket just happens to find its mark. All kinds of things can happen.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Two things.

Firstly: Grey is not swinging the axe at her, he's trying to club her with the handle. That's usually how he opens fights. Stun with a knee to the stomach and a concussive blow to the head, finish with blade at his leisure. If the knee misses, he does NOT strike with the axe, and will instead evade or block with the shield.

Second: Even if he did try a normal swipe, he would miss. He wields his axe with a very high grip, a little more than halfway up the haft. This exchanges reach for power.

Grey couldn't have possibly hit her with that attack.

@Freeshooter92

Gripping the axe closer to the head would not give more power, it would give less. A lower grip allows more power because the center of mass is farther from the hand, which is acting as the fulcrum for the lever. A higher grip grants more control, because gripping closer to the center of mass allows you to manipulate the entire object more easily and quickly. That is why swords are supposed to have a center of mass in or near the hilt. You can test this yourself with something like a hammer.

Edit: Here is a video to illustrate this point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh1QDf_6Dmk

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek dropped down from the doorway once he had reached a nice, even number of pull-ups. He started to stretch out the rather sore muscles in his arms as he greeted Onyx. "Welcome back. My day has been a bit dull, but...encouraging all the same. I feel...good, great even. It seems my recovery has gone a bit faster than I thought, because I am feeling almost as good as normal. I had a nap this morning, but I've spent most of the day exercising; testing myself. It will take some physical conditioning to get back to my peak, but I wouldn't call myself injured any longer. Once my escort has been assigned and I've had the time to properly teach everyone how to behave in Tel Nof, then I will be ready to head for the city."

As Onyx was preparing her meal, Tarentek started untying the objects he had been using as weights and putting them back in their proper places. "What about you? From your tone, I'm going to guess that your ritual went well."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak stood at the entrance of the cave, his eyes unable to see more than a few feet in as he stared into the darkness. Darius was right to be cautious, as they did not know what they would face once inside. It would be much easier to drag them out into the light and into an ambush. There were multiple ways he could think of to force them out of the cave, but they had to be cautious in their approach. They did not yet know if the bandits held captives, but just as Darius suggested. Ssarak's magic might hold the answer to that problem.

"Alaira, could you handle the bodies and keep an eye out for reinforcements? Myself and Darius can handle the cave." Ssarak requested. He kept his tone neutral, but his reason for selecting Alaira was motivated by sympathy. It was obvious that she was not comfortable with the cave, but he knew her well enough to know that she would not admit her fear.

As for his next task, Ssarak needed to concentrate. He rested the haft of his weapon on the ground, gripping it with both hands as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I will see what I can sense. I may be able to listen for their thoughts, for the senses they are experiencing, to learn what lies below." Ssarak reached out with his magic, ignoring Darius' thoughts and avoiding Alaira's to see who else he could find. It quickly became apparent that some of the bandits on the surface were merely playing dead, but they were no threat at the moment, so Ssarak ignored their voices so he could listen for the presence of anyone or anything new.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I am not saying it is guaranteed, but it is possible that Harriet was acting of her own free will. There are ways of testing for such magical interference, and I intend to perform those tests before any kind of punishment is given." Meesei answered. She was glad that they seemed to be receptive to her explanation, but she had to be careful not to go too far. Convincing them that Harriet could have committed the murder would not be greatly useful if she also created a panic that there could be traitors everywhere. Fortunately, the actual likelihood of being able to magically influence a large number of people was quite slim.

"As for who could be under Vile's influence, it is not likely to be widespread. Gaining control of another's mind is neither a quick nor easy process, so fortunately, it is not practical on a wide scale. It can take days, or even weeks to gain control. From my understanding, Harriet is hands-on as a leader and will undertake missions outside of this ruin. If she was away for an extended time at any point, that is a possibility. Alternatively, there are ways of imbuing an object with magic which can influence an individual's mind over time. If someone spends enough time near the object, usually while sleeping, they can be influenced. Again, this is something that is not easy to do over a wide scale. If Vile wished to influence multiple people in this clan, he would need to smuggle in multiple objects, but that would be more easily detectable. An example from history would be Vvardenfell, in Morrowind near the end of the Third Era. Using the magical properties of corprus disease as a vector, the ancient being Dagoth Ur spread his influence across the island. For those that he wanted to influence in a less obvious manner, he created small statuettes imbued with magic that would influence the minds of those near them. However, even with the power of a dead god at his fingertips, Dagoth Ur could not influence all of Vvardenfell. Instead, he had individual agents spread across the island. If Vile wished to be effective, he would not concentrate all of his agents in one place. One traitor has been enough to sow chaos among this family." Meesei explained.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Sounds like Althalus could use some fire, right on the wound. That would take care of the bleeding.

The Depths of Deception

You can go ahead and post now if you like, Balmung, in order to get back into it. We're in a meeting about our next mission.