SAU XV: Pawn of the Dead

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Deroth
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Post by Deroth »

Deroth stood against the wall trying not to laugh, "Im disappointed I missed the punch, Must have been a good one to leave that kind of mark"

Moving back to his spot on top of the sarcophagus he sat back down, "Hopefully we can come up with more evidence to base our suspicions on today and end this thing quickly, I dont know if I want to spend anymore sleepless nights down here".
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Post by Zardock »

Zardock threw his gear down to the ground and slumped beside it preparing for another council and what would most likely bring up another round of 'votes to the death'.

"well then it seems that the Shade clans still have one up on the lone hunters amongst our people... heheheheh."

Scratching his head Zardock added,

"Well I digress shall we get this voting of to a start, though to be honest I'm not sure how we start? Should we just build up an argument for our chosen suspects?"
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Sleekdd
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Post by Sleekdd »

“Well then, this council is in session...again,” Sleek sighs, “And it has opened in quite an ironic fashion as well, thanks to our dear Kinslayer over there.”

“You accuse others of voting randomly? You?” Sleek chuckles, “You voted Zenobius based on you not taking a liking to his idea – but failed to provide another approach instead – and based on an accusation of someone else who clearly hasn't listened very well to what was being said. And you did all that based on the nose.

“What is your case against him anyway? You still haven't told us, have you?”

“You know, I suspect you just don't like the man and therefore want him voted off.”

Sleek washes his left hand through his white hair to clear his face, “Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over this but those witch hunts you're trying to get going will see us all killed. Once people realize a bad vibe on your side is enough to get voted, they will get very, very quiet and that makes it easier for our intruder to hide. Ignorance, silence and malice are good bedfellows in this situation.”

“No, only logic and profiling will see us through this. Oh, and some enthusiasm of the council as a whole – one would think many want to be possessed,” Sleek rambles on, “So, cases are the best way to work; narrow down the suspects and choose from among them. The more people willing to work together, the better our odds.”

“Well then, I have laid out my case last time but seeing the lack of support from the council, most of you think otherwise. I'm cool with that,” Sleek shrugs, “I'm not a detective after all – just some guy trying to connect the dots. But keep in mind that if you say my case isn't good enough, you're also saying you can do better. And what are the results so far?”

“One hopes we won't come to random voting and keeps it at a sarcastic snipe, without actually helping anyone. Yesterday's prime suspect hopes we can vote with 'some more evidence', but then promptly sits down and does nothing. And one – get this – wonders whether we should consider building a case to find and vote suspects.”

“I hope you're hungry for some disillusion because it is on the menu today.”

“Still, until the council provides a better case, I won't shy away from my own responsibilities.”

Vote: Deroth
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Post by Kinslayer »

"Sleek, I think my reasoning is as clear as that of most people here, even if some of you will not understand it. I have no physical leads to follow in my acusations, and nothing has happened, at least this far, to lead me to beleive any one person is the necromancer. So, what does that leave me with, except for random voting? Rather than vote completely at random, I follow my instinct. From that which has been said, I feel suspicious of one or more members. If I am wrong, so be it, but it is better than a good for nothing guess. So, again, as yesterday..."

Vote: LordAnubis

"If someone can come up with a decent argument to persuade me otherwise, I may or may not change my view. If it comes to a point where we are no closer to finding this necromancer than we were yesterday, and the majority vote hangs on my decision, I will change my vote. If not, my vote stands."
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Post by Drainial »

Kalia broke the ice covering a bowl of water and splashed her face, no subsituted for a decent nights sleep and a wash but refreshing all the same.

"Another day to be sure, and due to our inability to agree on a nominee yesterday we face the new one with no more information than we had before. Hopefuly today we can find some concensus. I stand by my thoughts yesterday but before I cast my vote, does anyone have anything new to add? I hope so if we are not to go round in circles till the point of no return is a dot on the horizen behind us."
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Post by Telrunya »

Terlunya sighed --more audibly then he had intended-- while clearing the hair from his face with his right hand.

"We have failed to act, and I firmly believe there is still a hefty toll we will have to pay for this --let's call it what it is-- disgrace. Where we should have shown a stout heart, we showed it cowardice. Where we should have struck fear in the hearts of our enemies, we have showed it compliance. Where we should have been merciless, we have only granted it an opportunity to stab at us, once again. This isn't who we are, this isn't who we ought to be. This ... is dispicable. And we are all to blame."

"But there is still a chance to redeem.

"Kinslayer, I will not ask which nostril you pulled out your reasoning this time. You may or may not change your vote in light of a decent argument? A vote that you yourself freely admit to based on no leads, no evidence, no inkling whatsoever of who is what in this chamber, except for the unfathomable gut instinct that oozes out your nostrils--and you say you may or may not change it, when met with a decent argument. Then what does move His Royal Highness into putting one and one together?

"You burst around the chamber with contempt and insult, haplessly slap your vote onto the first half-assed, doubly-wrong reasoning that faintly follows your twitch, tell people that it is not their place to lay out their suspects and arguments, and now you have the indecency to state that you may or may not change your vote in light of a decent argument?!

"What is wrong with you?"

Telrunya pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to calm himself. He had been seething a moment ago, but he regained his composure. "We are many, and this is our advantage over Daynarii: our numbers. It is the only thing that keeps Daynarii from getting us wrongfully exorcised --or worse-- day after day. And day by day, we are squandering our advantage.

"If we must find our enemy, then we must find whoever tries to steal our advantage. Numbers are powerful to Daynarii as well. Friends, even distant ones, are powerful allies in a council simmering in distrust and built on impressions. And friends, Deroth has been busily collecting.

"Even Deroth's vote on Zardock was clearly more an attempt to help himself than the entire council. He spotted an opportunity to ingratiate himself and jumped on it. He didn't even try to hide it behind a half consistent reasoning. No, as soon as he has got a vote --my vote-- against him, he slaps his own vote on another target, and not the most likely target, but the most easy target."

So gentlemen, ladies, I place my vote on Deroth. At the very best, I am right and we are down one necromancer. At the very worst, I am wrong and we are down one freeloader."

Vote: Deroth
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Zardock
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Post by Zardock »

"Kinslayer, I'd like to say that I was mistaken about Zenobius, I know you were confused and suspicious of my change to the vote of Deroth, but you claim instinct will guide you to the right one, yet I believe that Deroth has acted more suspicious than Zenobius, his sudden grabs at alliances show someone in desperate need of friends in order to shift him into a safe zone where he could prod the decisions of the council to elliminate innocents."

Standing quickly Zardock continued:

"Not to say I don't suspect Zenobius but the fact that he took our suspicion on the chin and kept up his prospect of the random vote and listened to reason without trying to turn the blame onto either of us, shows that he is not in fact the necromancer, as he would have moved to crush those who suspected him.

Recall that several others brought both of our names into the suspects circle, after we showed our distrust of Zenobius and cast our vote, yet I recall that Zenobius did not participate in that blame game, in fact he listened to the others arguments and decided that Deroth was the most likely suspect."

"Following that chain of reasoning I am going to stick to my change in vote, I hope you will reconsider your vote Kinslayer but I agree that instinct is important but so is the instincts of those around you, a pack works together to bring down the prey does it not? Albeit we have all just met and are not really the best example of trust within a group but the opinions of others are still useful when hunting something."

Vote: Deroth
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Post by Kinslayer »

Kinslayer got to his feet, and was about to march across the chamber floor and respond in kind to Telrunya, when Zardock spoke. He heard the man out, for he managed to keep a calm voice, thus not heating the debate any further. Kinslayer held up his hands and turned back to Telrunya,
"You misunderstand me. I meant to say, I shall follow my gut until something better comes along. If you, or someone else, comes up with what they think is a better suggestion, I may or may not change my vote, depending on if I think it is better as well. If not, why would I change my opinion based on what you, or someone else, says? Could it not be that you or they are leading me astray to your own ends?

But, fine. The votes seem to want to take the same course as yesterday. I understand Zardocks arguments better than any laid out before me today, and it seems without my vote there will be no progress for another day, by which time it may be too late. Thus, instinct or not, a better solution may have come up. Go with the masses and hope for the best, as it were."

Unvote: LordAnubis

Vote: Deroth

He turned to Deroth,
"If you are innocent, then I am sorry, but pin the blame first on those who would suspect you at random, rather than to make the decision of progress or no progress."

Finally, he turned back to Telrunya,

"And watch your mouth next time, lest I raise my axe in anger"
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Post by Deroth »

“I can’t say that trying to make people dislike you is such a great way to spend your time when you are trapped in a catacomb with a necromancer on the loose. Maybe this has piled the suspicion on me though but I can’t help but worry about the others amongst us that say very little at all, only enough to say that they are contributing without committing to anything.”

“And Telrunya you say the easy vote, I think there was suspicion enough to cast a vote, I don’t think that I can really be suspicious at myself and vote for me with any claim at sanity, meanwhile Zardock was playing little games changing sides so I think seeing as there was nothing else being said I voted for him. Now I see that changing our minds on matters is just part of this little adventure we have to deal with so right now I’m not sure who to vote for.”

“Seems safe enough to assume that you and Sleek are safe bets while anyone else seems to be a complete fool that can’t be trusted, Kinslayer putting his trust in body parts, Zardock changing his mind everytime anyone says anything and most of the rest make small snide comments that add nothing to very little to the conversation.”

“Or maybe by being vocal and making your opinions heard you hope to put the torch on everyone except yourselves, or is that just more foolishness”

“Guess we will find out when the day ends with someone dead.”
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Post by Belial »

"My my, we are acting fast today... Still..."
Belial paused, and looked at Deroth.
"Still, I believe poor Deroth is our best shot. The twins have presented a good case, and I will support them here. However, should Deroth prove to be innocent, then I think it is time that we amongst us that voted him off."

Vote: Deroth
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Drainial
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Post by Drainial »

Kilia sighed.

"So far no one has presented a case that would hold wet cement, let alone water. My self included. We will never get anywhere at all if nothing gets done and it is clear that my theory has no hope of gaining consensus. So in order to move on (hopefuly in a positive direction) I am afraid I must join with the others and vote for Deroth.

In a way I am sorry for you Deroth, there are others here who I see as just as likely to be our mystery spirit, but something must be done now or we are all doomed. Any action is better than no action."

Vote Deroth
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Post by Lordanubis »

"So, six votes for Deroth?"

Zenobius had sat quietly at the back of the chamber untl that moment.

"Almost a majority, and so quickly? Well well. I must agree with Kilia for the moment though. There has been only one case presented well today - and that is for Deroth. Therefore, I shall vote with the others."

He held up a hand.

"However, there is still enough time to speak, Deroth. Please, convince us of your innocence, and you might live out the day."

Vote Deroth
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Post by Mel'reyna »

Mel'Reyna brought a hand to her mouth as she yawned nonchalantly before jumping in to the discussion, if only out of her own boredom.

"Zenobius, we all know perfectly well that there's nothing that the man could say to convince anyone of anything at this point, don't be a fool, please. Personally, he doesn't really seem...competent enough for me to believe that he's possessed by by such a terribly powerful being. However, it seems obvious that enough people are hellbent on getting rid of him, and that we'll get absolutely nowhere if we continue to split votes between him and others, so for the greater good I'm prepared to lend you my vote. I do hope you appreciate it."

She winked at Sleek quickly as she pronounced the last few words, as if directing them solely to him.

"Vote:Deroth"
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Post by Sleekdd »

“It seems like the council will not be making the same mistake it did last time. This is good news indeed. The council must act as a unified body if we are to achieve anything and I will openly admit to have tried to antagonize some of you into action,” Sleek confesses, “It didn't quite work out but still, the council has found the courage it needs to move and for that, you have my thanks if you will accept them.”

“For the council as a whole to succeed, however, we must all pitch in one way or the other,” Sleek warns, “So, how can we help out the greater whole and therefore save ourselves?”

“Well, the first and most obvious option is to bring forth cases, ideas or opinions based on facts and logic – the so-called profiling,” Sleek explains, “After all, we need some kind of direction in this and we should base ourselves on our intellect to guide our actions.”

“If you can't come up with an argument or a case, don't be disheartened for your presence still matters to all of us. After all, you are a well-meaning member of our little intrepid group and you hold your share of the power in the form of a vote,” Sleek says, “Listen to what is said, value the evidence as it is brought forth and ask questions. Act and encourage others to act for the more said and done, the harder it gets for our targets to hide. And finally: vote. It may seem cold or disrespectful from my side but the vote is our only weapon. Refusing to use it is to hand over any chance of victory.”

“Luckily, the way things are going today, I'm beginning to feel confident we will see this through.”
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Post by Shadow dark »

Khadarel grimaced at the speed with which the events where unfolding. He was feeling under the weather. Though he had ducked under most of the low ceilings and portals, he had still managed to crack his head several times.

'Well, unless the blows to the head that I have taken have affected my basic mathematical skills, we are at eight and an exorcism already. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think everyone has even spoken up yet? Be that as it may, I have personally a slight predicament. Another vote is pointless, and depending on whether or not Deroth is innocent could be used against me in future. If I vote against him, and he is guilty, then I could be accused of trying to preserve an innocent facade after it did not matter where my vote went. If I do not, and he is innocent, I look as though I am hiding amongst the others.'

His short speech over Khadarel smiled and cocked his head, grimacing as the reaction caused the pain in his head to flare up.

'I'm not going to vote, but hopefully you'll understand my reasoning now.'
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Zardock
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Post by Zardock »

"Sleek, you incompetent fool, you criticise me for wanting to build a case against someone and then you yourself go on to talk about profiling and seeing who is the most suspicious amongst us. I had no idea how incompetant you are to believe you can blow off my idea in place of yours which is exactly the same. By 'building a case' I meant evidence or as you called it 'profiling' the fact that you wish to appear like you are helping the most is somewhat disheartening..."

"I cannot believe you could think to dismiss making a case against a suspect, in such a disrespectful tone, only to immediately suggest the same idea yourself. I wouldn't expect a normal druchii to be so reckless with their efforts to appear helpful, and not even a reckless human would dismiss an idea only to put it forward himself. I'm watching you, you slippery worm, for your sake I hope that was a mere slip in reasoning or the definition of 'building a case' must not have penetrated your thick skull but none the less your obvious attempts to run this council have been noticed."
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Post by Tarbo »

Mioralynthia looked up at the large, glass ball that held a widely ranged assortiment of magical charms, religious items, and unrelated 'shinies'. She seemed more concerned about the wellbeing of her apparati than about that of the elf on the rickety ladder.

Tarbo, however, seemed possessed with superlative balancing skills, being careful not to nudge the ball and take it crashing to the ground. While Mioralynthia did trust Tarbo to be careful, she had also been insightful enough not to stand directly underneath. "What's so bad about having all these items on one location, anyway?" he asked while reaching his arm down into the ball, hoping to grab something of worth.

"They do not mix well," the sorceress explained. "For instance, if you mix shadow essence with moon essence, the moon essence is corrupted and entirely useless. That reminds me: be careful not to put the ether against—"

°°°

Anleth dutifully keeps up with the flurry of votes hurled in Deroth's direction. In the meantime, the debate bursts into conflict and disarray. There is a brief but solid brush between Telrunya and Kinslayer. Zardock suddenly snaps at Sleek for allegedly 'hi-jacking' his idea and running the council. And still, some have refused to speak up.

Zap! A sudden flash of light erupts from above you. Your eyes follow the ladder up to the source.

"I'm okay," Tarbo quickly says. "I'm okay."

KRCH-ZAP!

You wince briefly, then aim your attention back to the discussion at hand. A majority vote stands; shouldn't Deroth be carried off to be, ah, exorcised? Or is that 'to suffer exorcism'? Linguistic considerations aside, a decision has been reached.

"Mistress Mioralynthia is still preparing for the ritual," Anleth explains. "We should be able to proceed soon." She eyes the members who have thus far been silent and withdrawn. "And I will see to it that we get a very thorough reading of everyone not lending their full cooperation to this expedition."

________________________

    Players
  1. Kefka
  2. SleekDD
  3. Kinslayer
  4. Demendred
  5. Zardock
  6. Deroth
  7. LordAnubis
  8. Drainial
  9. zzug
  10. Shadow Dark
  11. Telrunya
  12. Belial
  13. Mel'Reyna
With 13 players left, 7 constitute a majority. There are 2 infiltrators in the game.
    Deroth
  1. SleekDD
  2. Telrunya
  3. Zardock
  4. Kinslayer
  5. Belial
  6. Drainial
  7. LordAnubis
  8. Mel'Reyna

A majority vote has been hit. If the majority still stands when the activity deadline passes (Thu, 21h00 GMT), Deroth will be subject to exorcism.
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Post by Sleekdd »

Zardock,Sleek smiles amused, “I believe you missed my point. Yesterday, I pointed out that the best way to proceed – in my opinion – is by building a case. I've tried to build a case, one that was apparently not convincing enough at the time because nothing happened despite my thoroughly unpleasant behaviour. Especially Kinslayer had to suffer my less than ideal qualities but anyway...”

“Today, I must admit I felt frustrated,” Sleek reveals, “I tried hard to get things moving and the gist of the reaction was 'not good enough'. Not that this was so disappointing as such, but the fact that those who said so didn't contribute anything left me with a wry feeling. If you then listen to others who speak up and one of them wonders whether using his brain is a good thing I lost my patience, wouldn't you?”

“So, if you call me incompetent because I lost my patience then yes, I am incompetent. Very much so.”

“I did not criticize you for wanting to build a case. If anything, I would ask you to present it. I will never dismiss anyone building a case based on clues, facts and profiling. But you didn't present a case, you wondered whether using your brain was a good thing – at that time. Later on, you did begin to reason and I applaud you on that. I even happen to agree with you.”

“So, I you feel insulted for what I said, I apologize. If you want to claim 'first dips' on the idea of building a case, it yours, with my best wishes.”
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Post by Zardock »

"I misinterpretted your your words also and acted hastily, it wasn't really the fact that I wanted the idea but rather I thought you were dismissing my suggestion in place of yours. But how about we stick to the task at hand? There is no point in us bickering I'm sure so I'll try to keep my head in the right place from now on, besides it looks like our first exorcism is likely to take place very soon."
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Post by Tarbo »

"Are you alright?"

Tarbo groaned and held his painful head. Mioralynthia was right to ask; after all, it wasn't every day someone taildived off an eight-feet ladder after being electrocuted. While he wasn't feeling peachy at the moment, given the circumstances he was doing rather well. "I'm okay," he repeated to himself more than to Mioralynthia. "I'm okay."

"No disrespect meant, Tarbo," she continued, and collected some of the charms lying around the floored man, "but we're pressed for time. You're sure you'll be alright?"

"Yes, I cleverly devised to break my fall on my spine."

"That... doesn't sound clever."

"I'll freely admit I didn't really think it through, but it seemed like a decent enough idea at the time."

Mioralynthia nodded briefly, then took the last of her missing equipment and headed for the meeting Anleth was signaling her to join.

°°°

Deroth kept his arms crossed across his tall, slim figure. He wasn't really letting the entire debate get to him too much; he had presented his case, but others had made theirs and convinced their peers to weigh their votes in against him. A man in his position, however, had no peers. He wiped some dust off his cloak and chuckled once. Pathetic.

"Deroth, your peers have decided you will be the first to undergo the exorcising ritual," Anleth officially stated the obvious to clear any possibility at misunderstanding. "If you would please follow me. Tempis, Demendred, Senestra, you will be joining us."

When Mioralynthia neared the circle, she eyed the four warily. Exorcising a spirit, and a particularly powerful and ancient one as the one they were hunting, was a dangerous undertaking for everyone involved. "A decision was reached, I see. Captain, if you would stay with us?"

Anleth bowed politely. "If I can be of service."

"You certainly can. Shall we, then?"

°°°

A profound silence had fallen over the chamber while the ritual was being prepared. Warding symbols purposefully adorned the floor and glowed and hummed very faintly, hinting to their intrinsic power. When the time came to contain or assail the necromancer's spirit, all the latent energy would have to be readily available. Last time, he was underprepared. Daynarii would not make the same mistake twice.

The other elves of the expedition stood and watched from a reasonable distance. Everyone wanted to get a look on what was happening, but even the stoutest tourist considered not entering the vague threshold that made up the ritual circle. Demendred, Senestra, and Tempis were eyed anticipatively by their peers; after all, if Deroth was not host to the entity they attempted to draw out and defeat, then perhaps one of the other three unlucky souls was. They bore their imminent fate with less phlegm and more sweat than Deroth did.

Dark and red candles lit warding symbols in several out of way locations, intricately positioned at clearly systematic if irregular intervals. Mioralynthia and Anleth were kneeled across each other, Deroth lying in between them. His stoic, unwavering nature unnerved the spectators. He knew something they didn't.

Anleth kept her eyes on the sorceress less than a yard away from her. While a dutiful and responsible person if any, she felt uncomfortable being on the wrong side of the magical equivalent of a five-foot blast door. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she swallowed once, but stayed put. She was told she would be needed.

Mioralynthia reached one arm out and held Anleth's after she followed suit, then stretched one arm to Deroth's chest, signalling with her eyes her partner to do the same. "Ready, Anleth?" she asked.

Anleth nodded slowly. Ready as she'd ever be.

"I must warn you," she cautioned beforehand, and an aura of magic slowly rose, as if from the depths, to surrounded them. "He will fight."

Immediately, light spouted from her fingertips and lashed into Deroth's chest. The man, though bound to the floor, tensed his muscles, moving full inches with his might. Anleth pressed her hand down on his chest, putting the man's obvious agony aside for the moment. Some things had to be done.

A flash, a dark flash. Anleth blinked once when she felt her consciousness slapped once by an invisible tentacle. As little as she knew of magical rituals, this was not one of its side effects. This was a dark, hollow hunger reaching out to feast. She closed her eyes in an attempt to focus, concentrate, and block off her mind. She would have no time to put her mental resilience fully to the test.

A massive eruption of energy sent a powerful shockwave rippling through the entire chamber, knocking everyone in any sort of vicinity to the floor. An almost formless, looming haze of darkness rose from Deroth's body, the source of the eruption, while the elves effortfully tried to recover from the sudden blast.

°°°

Must escape. Must find. Must hide. Must feed. Body fought, mind crumbled. Needed new body, not fight. Found willing. Has strong body. Has strong mind. Need more. Must feed. Must feed more.

Must fight. Must feed. Must feed more.

...More...

°°°

Anleth opened her eyes again. She could hear the groans and grunts of the others, trying to pull themselves together from the powerful blast. She had every sympathy for their current state, being near the source of it, herself.

"Still you?" Tarbo asked when he hunched near her, looking her over. "Or do we have to do this all over again?"

Anleth raised her head from the floor--or really tried to--but only managed for so much. She reached her hand for the protective amulet she had been given, and held it in front of her eyes. It looked pitiful, but intact. She sighed in relief. "The mistress?"

"She'll need a few moments, just like yourself and a good number of others," Tarbo informed her, then chuckled. "You are one lucky woman."

"Deroth?"

"Yeah..." Tarbo bit his lip and laid a hand in the back of his head. "Deroth... yeah, ah..."

"Ugh," Anleth suddenly said when a horrible scent caught her nose.

"Yes, he sort of looks the way he smells."

"Hey," Zenobius suddenly raised his voice, "we have a wounded here. I think."

°°°

"How do we stand?" Mioralynthia asked, huddled in a blanket in a corner heated by a small fire. Anleth was sitting against a crate not far from her, comparably exhausted.

"It's hard to see the exact extent of the damage." Tarbo kneeled near the fire and looked at the two women. "So far, we have Tempis unconscious and Senestra and Demendred missing."

"Missing?" Anleth asked.

"They're not here, and they didn't, well," Tarbo thumbed over his shoulder. "Pull a Deroth."

Anleth nodded slowly. "So the magical barrier didn't work?"

"It very much worked," Mioralynthia corrected. "You may not see because of the poor lighting, but there are numerous scorch marks on the inside of the circle. An exorcism without such protection could have been disastrous."

"But we found him," Anleth raised hope.

"That, we did," Mioralynthia replied. "Found and lost, perhaps, but severely weakened. He won't be able to flood us with such power again."

"Then we must press the investigation and continue," Anleth urged.

"We all need a rest," Tarbo said. "That blast hit all of us and, while I believe I got off pretty well, most of us could use a few hours to patch up."

"Then we rest first," Mioralynthia suggested, "and continue with fresher minds and bodies able to withstand our enemy."

________________________

    Players
  1. SleekDD
  2. Kinslayer
  3. Zardock
  4. LordAnubis
  5. Drainial
  6. Shadow Dark
  7. Telrunya
  8. Belial
  9. Mel'Reyna
There is currently 1 infiltrator in the game.
    Deroth
  1. SleekDD
  2. Telrunya
  3. Zardock
  4. Kinslayer
  5. Belial
  6. Drainial
  7. LordAnubis
  8. Mel'Reyna
    Deaths
  • 51la5 (Pure Soul) -- Day 1, inactive
  • Khel (Priest) -- Day 1, excused
  • Deroth (Hunter, Haunt) -- Day 2, exorcised
  • Kefka (Adept) -- Day 2, inactivity
  • Demendred (Soulless One) -- Day 2, inactivity
  • zzug (Pilgrim) -- Day 2, inactivity
It is now Night. Day will start anew on Saturday, around 21h00 GMT.

Crippling Cataclysm is in effect! This one-shot ability, unique to the original Haunt--and him alone--ends the current Day phase immediately upon his exorcism, and brings in the new Night. Only the infiltrators are allowed to act: no good abilities may be used this Night (with the sole exception of passive abilities), and no action points are gained.

The Can't touch this! event card has been played. An entry on event cards will be added to the OOC thread shortly.

Congratulations on finding the original possessed! A new infiltrator captain will be chosen from the current team to use the subversion ability.

________________________

1) Elyssa was given the task to secure a base perimeter because...
  1. she was afraid to go too deep into the catacombs;
  2. she wanted to throw a party;
  3. it had the least chances of messing up;
  4. nobody else wanted to do it.
2) Earlier, one of the more silent elves was struck down by lightning. What happened to the other?
  1. He sprang a deadly trap.
  2. He was killed by guards.
  3. He narrowly escaped the catacombs.
  4. He was attacked by undead.
3) Sprites are tiny...
  1. mischievous creatures that live in forests.
  2. magical creatures that ride on magical channels.
  3. loveable creatures that make very popular pets.
  4. pests that feed on ink and paper.
4) How was Redoris founded?
  1. A sorcerer had a tower built there, and his servants settled there.
  2. Slaves broke free from a marching column and, after a long travel, decided to settle far away from other cities.
  3. The Temple of Khaine had commissioned the building of a cathedral temple, and the workers settled there.
  4. Adrianna led a number of colonists to a holy site to settle there.
5) Looking in Elyssa's eyes gave Anleth the distinct impression that...
  1. someone else was driving;
  2. she had blue eyes;
  3. she was a strong-willed individual;
  4. they would get along very, very poorly.


The solutions to the previous trivia questions can be found in the OOC thread.
Last edited by Tarbo on Fri Mar 27, 2009 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kinslayer
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Post by Kinslayer »

OOC - Kinslayer was wrong the first night then, but well done guys!

IC -

Kinslayer was shocked by the exorcism. He had never witnessed anything of the sort, only having a basic understanding of magic and how it worked, and rituals such as the one he had just seen. They had found the necromancer, for something bad he could not fully comprehend had happened as the exorcism took place. He had gripped his axe tight, but there was nothing physical for him to attack, and he found himself feeling defenceless and... perhaps even a little afraid. Sleep did not come easy that night, for his mind was repeating the things he had heard, smelt and seen again and again, as much as he willed himself not to think about it.
"Damn..." was all he muttered, sitting in a dark corner.
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Drainial
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Post by Drainial »

Kalia smiled broadly.
"Exelent, this is exelent news. Well I am for my bed, such as it is. I hope tomorow we can continue to be as succsesful."
Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

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Zardock
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Post by Zardock »

"Well....that...was.....new I guess I've never seen a possessed person go out with such a bang. To be honest I've never met a possessed person but still... That seemed a bit.... excessive?"

"I'm very much glad that I switched my vote away from Zenobius so whats next for tomorrow?"

With that Zardock flings himself to the ground to await the next task.
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Zardock (Group 27)
Class: Trainee of Khaine
WS:4 / S:5 / T:3 / D:4 / I:2
Equipment: Short sword and Dagger, 50g in a pouch.
Skills: Two Weapon Fighting, Uncontrollable Frenzy

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Belial
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Post by Belial »

"Well well... Guess the twins weren't off then."
Belial stood up, and stretched his limbs.
"This leaves us with some different options as to who we should pursue next. I will suggest we all take some time to consider what has been said today, who supported who and on what grounds."
He started making his way off to a corner, but paused, a slight smirk on his lips...
"Oh, and Kinslayer... Let's stick together on the exploration tonight. It would make me so sorry if I were to flatten that nose of yours again..."
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Tarbo
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Post by Tarbo »

Tarbo looked at his copy of the map that was drawn following the initial forays into the deeper bowels of the catacombs. The maps weren't especially detailed or probably correct, much like most of the information they had at their disposal, but they would have to make due. After all, had the expedition known beforehand that it would be exploring these catacombs—or, if anything, if it had actually known it would be conducting an expedition reasonably beforehand—it could have searched archives for maps and blueprints. But now, barely annotated charts would have to suffice. Everything else would have to be improvised. Luckily, improvisation was his strong point. Or perhaps he was simply too lazy to plan ahead much.

In hindsight, it wasn't a stretch to imagine Daynarii having made his own additions to the catacombs, but he had turned them into his private underground citadel, a veritable hidden stronghold where he could conduct whatever experiments he wished.

"Remind me again what we are doing here?" Mel'Reyna asked, unable—and perhaps unwilling—to hide the dislike in her voice. "Aren't we supposed to be picking the next target to have his chest blown out?"

"That sounds like a reasonable pastime," Sleek replied.

"But we're fond of our chests," Telrunya added.

"And yours."

"How could you know?" Mel'Reyna asked with a teasing smile. "You haven't tried it yet."

"Focus, people, focus," Tarbo squeezed from his lips, which held his pencil, while looking at the map.

"We are," Sleek replied.

"On the assignment," Tarbo clarified. "There'll be plenty of time to stare at them once we get back to camp."

A silence settled.

"Not that I would advocate, ah... Let's turn left, here."

°°°

Shackles tastelessly adorned the walls in this chamber that was clearly identified as a dungeon of sorts. Skeletons hung from their bony wrists, now free to escape by sole grace of never having been able to. One lied in a corner, huddled in a feutal position, most likely the result of great pain.

Zenobius looked at the sordid remains, death's grin permanently engraved into their visage and taking away every expression they had at their deaths. He wondered briefly what their purpose would have been, here. Somehow, he doubted Daynarii yearned for the company.

"Makes you think about this place, doesn't it?" Zardock said.

Zenobius nodded thoughtfully. "It does. It makes me wonder what their purpose here was, what Daynarii wanted with them."

"To experiment on them, perhaps?"

"Yes, but what kind of experiments. If he wanted to practice necromancy, he would need dead subjects, not shackled—and thus presumable live—ones."

"Unless they really were dead, and he wanted to prevent them from eating his liver once he reanimated them. I mean, given some of the stories I heard about the undead, that sounds like a reasonable precaution to take."

Zenobius nodded. Good point.

Anleth kneeled near an old leather shoulder bag in the corner of the room. Judging by the dust and stains, this bag had been lying here for decades, centuries, and possibly even longer. She opened it carefully.

Inside were items clearly marked as medical equipment, unidentifiable remains of some perishables and, catching her eyes immediately, what looked like a journal. She took out the journal and flipped its pages. Filled to the rim with quick, effective writing and several pages folded in, this was probably a more valuable tool than any artifact they were likely to find. This information could be digested later; for now, she took the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

°°°

"So... Senestra and Demendred could still be around somewhere," Kinslayer probed Mioralynthia. "And they could be possessed and dangerous."

"Presumably," the sorceress replied, scanning the chamber with her eyes.

"So if we find them, they'll try to kill us and we'll need to kill them."

"Probably."

"So basically, they're already goners, because we can pretty much consider them dead."

"Possibly."

"You're not big on conversation, are you?"

Mioralynthia rolled her eyes to Kinslayer, gazed at him for a while, then proceeded to what could possibly be a marking on the wall.

"That's cold," Belial whispered.

"Freezing cold," Khadarel agreed.

"And yet so hot."

"Meltingly hot."

"Okay, you two?" Kinslayer raised his brow at them. "Kind of freaky." Suddenly, his ear twitched, and he held still. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Sounds like..." He paused, trying to discern what it was. "Rocks falling?"

°°°

"Go, go, go!" Anleth shouted to the three members in her team: Zardock, Zenobius, and Kalia. A large stone fell mere inches from her head and cracked open onto the floor. "Run for the exit!"

"Let's press the funny rock!" Zenobius yelled angrily while running at an amazing speed for an elf his age. "What could possibly go wrong in an necromancer's citadel?"


"Hold your tongue, administrator, and run!" Kalia almost pushed into his back in hopes of getting him to move even faster, but her aid wasn't necessary: Zenobius was all too aware of the pressing situation.

"Aaah!" Zardock screamed, doubling his efforts. "The place is coming apart!"

"Jump!" Anleth shouted.

With an impressive leap, Kalia, Zenobius, and Anleth each threw themselves into the air and then, inevitably, against the dusty floor. Sand and grit washed over them as the larger boulders came crashing down, blowing centuries of dry dirt over them.

"Is everyone alright?" Anleth asked, and quickly went over the grey-toned elves lying next to her. "Where's Zardock?"

"He's fine, I believe," Mioralynthia said, her voice hinting to some surprise. Zardock had her unceremoniously pinned to the wall, his arms clasped around her and his head dug into her bossom. "What happened?"

"We set off what appears to be a trap," Anleth summarised. "But we've recovered everything of importance from the chamber."

Mioralynthia nodded thoughtfully, then cleared her throat. "Zardock?"

"Yes?"

"You can let go now."

"But I feel so safe here."

°°°

Finally, you've all made it back to the camp, or what passes for it. You're content to see your old, not entirely uncomfortable bedrolls, and hunger for a little food. Of true resting, you can only dream, since any time you spend debating goes directly out of your sleeping time.

Mioralynthia sits down on a chest and crosses her legs. She eyes you all briefly, taking a head count, checking whether everyone is really here. She narrows her eyes slightly at Zardock, who holds his painful cheek, a red hand imprinted on it as if by magic.

"Tarbo and the captain are examining what we've retrieved from our youngest foray into the catacombs. In the meantime, I will be monitoring this discussion. We've managed to defeat Daynarii yesterday; let's hope we can continue our efforts.

"When you're ready, ladies, gentlemen."

________________________

    Players
  1. SleekDD
  2. Kinslayer
  3. Zardock
  4. LordAnubis
  5. Drainial
  6. Shadow Dark
  7. Telrunya
  8. Belial
  9. Mel'Reyna

With 9 players, 5 constitute a majority. There is 1 infiltrator in the game.

It is now Day. The activity deadline (first Day phase) is set to pass on Tuesday, around 20h00 GMT. Please note that some of us will be moving to Daylight Saving Time.
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