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Varaken
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Post by Varaken »

Ooc: sorry its late. It's been a long and busy week!

Malthang collected himself from his near nauglir experience and rejoined the group, stowing his wargear. He was allowed a brief moment of enjoyment as T'Keela was snuck up on by the Khainite before that damnable wizard decided to interject into the conversation once more. He went to push the sorcerer out of the way and then thought better of actually making physical contact.

"Show me exactly where you were hiding, this may be important." the shade began walking towards where Amalii was hiding, checked his gloves to ensure there were no holes and began to inspect the ground for any unusual fauna. "As for our little friend that has just passed us by, I am of a mind with Helkor, a lone heavily armed warrior with a magical sword heading in the same likely direction as our quarry? Seems mighty suspect to me. Fortunately a heavily armoured, and abnormally large, nauglir is not a particularly difficult quarry to follow. If we are all in agreement we can head out once I am done here."
Only by the blade can weakness be purged.
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Malus99
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Post by Malus99 »

The hunter party stalked stealthily through the undergrowth, or rather, the shade and the Khainite stalked stealthily whilst the warriors clattered around like rabid kitchenware and the mage occasionally mumbled ‘bibble’ under his breath. Fortunately, their prey was easy enough to track that they could keep a suitable distance, with Malthang ranging slightly ahead so that he could keep within sight of their prey. They tramped in a steadily Westerly direction for some time, the terrain alternating between wind-blasted heaths and gloomy forests, the band sticking to the safety of the trees wherever possible, thankfully their current target, and the one he was tracking, all seemed to be of a mind to keep to the lowlands, everyone apparently attempting to hide rather than make themselves a sitting duck on a wide open hill. T’Keela found it quite amusing that despite this both Varranaithe and the rider had failed in this task and were now being watched like a hawk, each by their own respective hunter, though his humour vanished when he considered who might be watching himself even now. The warrior’s attention was diverted by a sudden change in direction, their path had been meandering around the base of several mountains for some time now, but their quarry now turned Northwards, heading directly towards one of the tallest mountains in the range.
“Wonderful,” snarled Helkor, “in that direction lies the altar of ultimate darkness.”
“oooh,” drooled Amalii, his eyes as round as dinner plates, “I wonder why they call it that, what do you reckon it’s like?”
“Well, given the name, its hardly going to be a place for frolics in the daisies with virgins and kittens now is it?” Drawled T’Keela sarcastically.
“I don’t know,” growled Selkoreth, “kittens and daisies maybe not, but some hags that live in these parts not even a Norseman would touch.”
T’Keela shuddered.
“What about the frolicking?” Asked the vauvalka.
“Try it and I’ll send you to Khaine’s pit myself,” warned Selkoreth in a menacing voice the mage appeared completely oblivious to.
“Get in line,” chuckled T’Keela, “I have first dibs on cutting open the mage the next time he does something stupid.”
The towering former guardsman laughed grimly, “Feel free, personally I’d rather let someone else take on the mentally-unstable pyromaniac first, I’m not all that fond of fireballs and sentient slime.”
The discussion was interrupted by Malthang emerging from the undergrowth in that eerily silent manner, silencing Amalii’s impending outburst of joy and relief to see the shade alive and well with a glare so cold it could freeze a medusa.
“Come,” whispered Ravensbane, and then vanished back into the bushes.
The hunters followed.

The party gathered on one edge of a clearing, which sat at the point just before the mountain really got into its stride and started ascending upwards at a bone-chilling rate. At the foot of the slope sat the rider atop his tremendous beast, the nauglir was sniffing at a cave mouth with suspicion, his rider eyeing the narrow opening dubiously. After a moment’s hesitation, the elf dismounted and then led his beast into the cave, still with the sword held outstretched, the obsidian blade pointing straight as an arrow.

“Dragons below,” muttered T’Keela, “that must lead into the underway.”
Malthang nodded gravely, “Even my kind tread lightly in those cavernous depths, I have never hunted there, and we could easily get lost or fall prey to the beasts that haunt the deeps.”
Crossing his arms against his chest, Sirulleathe speared each member of the party with a hard stare.
“Do we carry on then?” Whispered the Khainite in his soft voice, looking to each companion to gauge their mettle.

Right then, What do you do, will you continue into the underway? And if so, how will you proceed? This decision should not be taken lightly, the underway is a hellish place, wild nauglir and humongous spiders will be the least of your worries, let alone the knight and the possessed sorcerer you are tailing. It would be a minor miracle for any of you to come back alive. As an OOC note this is punishment for your screw up earlier. ‘What screw up?’ I hear you ask, and the answer is you should have gone to Karond Kar searching for Varranaithe, not the North, and the hints and directions were there, (particularly in someone’s information pack, they’re not just there for show! And for those of you who weren’t to know, tough luck, life’s not fair, especially since I am an evil Druchii moderator and you live and die at my whim :twisted: ;) ) but seeing how I do have a nice side and I didn’t want the adventure to end in dismal failure cos you went the wrong way, instead you have a small chance to redeem yourself, in the hellish pit known as the underway. Failure is death, and not a pretty one :D . Or you could cut your losses and leave, just so you all know as long as people want to continue after the Varranaithe storyline I have already planned out the next major adventure as well as several side-plots to carry on with. Yes I do plan these things, hard to believe isn’t it?
Varaken I will get round to detailing the ingredient you picked up in a PM which should be with you some time this week but I don’t have time to write it tonight.
Anyone heard anything from Dresden? I’ve sent him a pm since he’s been inactive for so long.
Deadline is this Friday.

Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
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T'keela
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Location: Bris-VEGAS, Australia

Post by T'keela »

OOC: SOrry for lack of posts, been stuck in a dank hole known as a bio box in a theatre for almost a fortnight.

IC:

The eerie walk through the forest was made all the worse by the contrast between the silent, padded footsteps of the more stealthy members of the warband & by the plodding, chinking sounds of the armour clad warriors. [i]By Khaine, these fools could wake the thrice accursed Caledor![/b] The rider seemed to be heading North & so without much in the way of leadership or management & with little else to go on, they simply started following the lone rider, although they managed to make it look semi-purposeful by having him tailed by the shades. T'Keela felt a spark of humour when he thought about how both Varrianthe & the rider being watched as they were, though he couldn't help the appearance of gooseskin or a slight shudder when he considered whom or what may be watching him at this very moment.

The group continued on and before long the smell of cold, wet dank depths began to sting his nostrils, it was subtle yet cloying, not unlike the spiced and poisoned wines of the Temple.

The Khainite posed the ultimate ultimatum of ultimate darkness & the group began deciding what to do, T'Keela was the first to speak. Well, I don't intend to go fighting whatever is down there if I am alone, so unless I have someone to watch my back and stay a sword length or two away from it while they're at it...
T'Keela Darkspine
Group 30
Stats: WS4 S3 T4 D4 I4
Equip: Sword, Light Armour, blackpowder pistol, 4 bullets, 2GP.
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Varaken
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Post by Varaken »

OOC: sorry its late again! Been at a friends 21st in leicester the last few days so didnt have access to a computer.

IC:

Varaken disliked the sight of the underway, autarii rarely ventured in and even more rarely emerged again. Hellish beasts stalked the halls, so deadly that even a hunter as skilled as Malthang would easily become prey unless he kept all his wits about him (and preferably some heavily armoured people ahead and behind to absorb any death inducing attacks from a number of different causes. However, there would undoubtedly be a chance to find some incredibly potent ingredients to aid in their hunt, as well as honing their parties skills. Malthang had a desire to prove himself against the depths of the underway. "Well, we're here now. I'm willing to go on, after all, it sounds like a good way to split on the bounty for our daemonic friend." The shade gave T'Keela a sidelong sneer. "Shall we? I would so hate to die of boredom out here when there are so many more interesting ways to watch T'Keela expire."
Only by the blade can weakness be purged.
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Malus99
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Post by Malus99 »

OOC: I will wait a couple of days to see if TSK posts because I would rather only commit you to the caves of doom with a majority in favour, but if he doesn't appear then you shall be hurled into the caverns of death. Mercilessly. :twisted:
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
The shadow king
Executioner
Posts: 152
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:00 pm
Location: Naggarond, Dancing with Morathi.

Post by The shadow king »

OOC: Guys, I am so sorry, my email notification thing has failed me yet again. But I'm here now. In the future I will be my usual prompt and up to date self.

IC:

Helkor felt a cold knot form in his stomach as their quarry vanished into the cave.

"The Altar of Darkness and the Underway in one day. . ." He paused and tried to think of an obscenity that would sum up his feelings but even the torrent of filth he'd learned from the Drillmasters and his shield-mates couldn't quite cover it.

". . . Damned if we do and damned if we don't. . . Hell with it, let's go explore the Underway."

On the bright side, Helkor thought, all the people who want our heads will have a bloody hard time finding us down there.

He bent and heaved his ruck up a little higher on his back and marched on humming his favorite Blood Bowl team's fight song: "Welcome to the Jungle we've got fun and games." It seemed appropriate considering the place they were about to boldy go where few Druchii had ever been brave or stupid enough to go before.
Role-Playing Group 30
Helkor Makolus, Warrior.
WS 4, S4, T4, D3, I3. Gear: Cloak, Longsword, Light Armour, Shield, 4GC, Bastard Sword
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Malus99
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Post by Malus99 »

The hunters were all of the same mind, their decision unanimous. As one the group started forwards, headed for the dread caverns of the underway. As darkness engulfed the party, each took a moment in the solitude of their thoughts to reflect, the cold reality of life’s fragility was never far from anyone’s thoughts in the lands of Naggaroth, but rarely did it’s crushing weight feel so apparent as in the suffocating confines of the tunnels they now found themselves in. For a time they walked in complete darkness, each elf straining his senses to detect the faintest sound of movement or hint of danger beyond them. But the only sounds to be heard were the muted shuffling of the bounty hunters’ feet and the soft clinking of the warrior’s armour, even Amalii’s suicidal exuberance was muted by the grim atmosphere of the caves.

Though the hunters did not dare a light to see by, they did gain some idea of their surroundings through their other senses. The tunnel felt narrow, enough so to prevent more than two people walking abreast, though for now the ceiling was high enough to allow even the towering Selkoreth to walk without having to duck his head, the stone was cold and clammy, slick to the touch as if it were polished marble and damp with moisture. The path they followed was at a slight but still very noticeable downward slope, leading them deeper into the bowls of the earth. The tunnel meandered about, the trail of a drunken worm, but thankfully there had been no side passages of any note to confuse them should any live long enough to try and make it out alive.

After a considerable period of walking in stoic silence through the chilling tunnels, the oppressive weight above seemed to lessen and the walls to either side broadened out considerably. A pale blue glow emanated from luminescent lichen plastered to towering pillars of stone that disappeared into the vaults overhead to support a ceiling lost to sight, the faint glow of the mould insufficient to highlight the upper reaches of the cavern, which had to be at least thirty feet above them. The width of the space looked to be of a similar size, though that too was difficult to judge, and the faint illumination of the mould did little more than transform pitch blackness into murky gloom, highlighting the shadows rather than banishing them.

Even so, this was still enough for the sharp eyes of Ravensbane to catch flickers of movement scuttling around the far side of the cavern, and all the sharp elven ears couldn’t help but pick out the faint rasp of something scaly scraping against stone, or the muted rattle of some creature’s angry hiss as it sensed another being intruding on its peace. The hunter band froze for a moment, wondering how to react to the creature in the shadows, or perhaps more pressingly, wondering precisely what it was…

So then, you’re in the underway, and here is your first beasty, it could be something exceptionally nasty, or it could be something quite easily frightened. You could conjure light to see it with, maybe that would make it angry, maybe it would scare it off, maybe it would draw more things to you. You could stay still and let it make the next move, maybe it will leave if left unprovoked? How will you proceed. Deadline is next friday.
The RP has been a bit slow-moving just recently so I’m hoping to pick things up a bit and get back to our once-a-week mod-posts, having said that I am now coming up to my first batch of exams though so I will just have to see how things go, I am hoping this bunch of exams will not be too hard. *crosses fingers* ;)


btw, I have been meaning to pass round some attribute points for a little while. T'Keela you gain a point in toughness after surviving the major wounds you sustained in Ghrond, those wounds are more or less healed now thanks to the efforts of your comrades, although you will never be fully free of their bite since they ran so deep. Malthang for your general experience you can assign an attribute point to any stat you wish (let me know which one in your next post please), the only original member of group 30 still running :D
TSK you haven't been going as long as these two so for now there are no upgrades, however, be expecting a boost when (if) you come out of the underway
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
The shadow king
Executioner
Posts: 152
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:00 pm
Location: Naggarond, Dancing with Morathi.

Post by The shadow king »

Helkor silently eased his bastard sword from its sheath and quietly eased his ruck to the ground.

"Here's my thoughts," he spoke so quietly he was almost mouthing the words, "if there's something nasty out there we're going to have fight it anyway. If it's not then we can have meat tonight."

He narrowed his trying to see if there was anything beyond the gloomy blue of the cavern while he shrugged his shield into place. "Can you get a fix on it, Master Hunter?" He said softly to Malthang and his tone was polite almost respectful. Now was not the time to try and be funny and truth be told these tunnels were starting to spook him. They were just so bloody narrow.

OOC: Helkor will try to locate whatever's making that noise and then he will attack, either to take the initiative against something dangerous or spook it out where Malthang can shoot it so they can have something besides trailbread tonight.
Role-Playing Group 30
Helkor Makolus, Warrior.
WS 4, S4, T4, D3, I3. Gear: Cloak, Longsword, Light Armour, Shield, 4GC, Bastard Sword
Varaken
Executioner
Posts: 156
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:48 pm

Post by Varaken »

Malthang froze in the darkness of the cave, his sharp eyes straining to pierce the gloom and discern just what it was moving at the end of the hallway. By the way it moved he could safely assume it wasn't the nauglir they had the brief encounter with earlier. He tracked its movements around the back of the cave as best he could before doing a quick sweep to either side and above him, ensuring it did not have any pack mates, spawn siblings or whatever a collection of these things were. Well now, thought the shade, this hunt is getting interesting indeed. He made an effort to still his breathing and slow his heart rate to allow his senses to pick up the slightest motion, noise or tremor without the thudding in his ears or the sound of his breath disguising the tell tale signs of something trying to kill him.

In response to Helkor he held up his index finger before pointing in the direction that the beast currently lay. He had no idea if the warrior's sense could pick up the motion but the shade would not be able to take his eyes off the back of the cave without risking loosing the creature in the gloom and he was damned if he was going to be ambushed. Having notified the warrior of the whereabouts of the creature the shade began to take silent steps to his right, away from the party, hoping to find a better firing position, his every sense heightened to almost painful levels. After stepping a few paces away so that the party were little more than even vaguer outlines than before in the gloom he knelt gently and unslung his crossbow and began priming the mechanism, thinking a silent prayer of thanks for all the maintenance time he put into oiling the mechanism while they were waiting for the Khainite. Once the weapon was ready he reached down to the floor, gently patting the floor to locate a pebble...

OOC: Malthang will take up a semi flank position and ready his weapon, paying attention to his surroundings. If he manages to find a pebble he is going to throw it in an underarm manner into what looks like a fairly open area of terrain about 25 paces ahead of himself to see how the creature reacts to sudden noise. Otherwise he will prepare to fire and wait to see what his companions do (as well as the creature itself). Also, I'll put the attribute point into Dexterity, seems fitting as Malthang spends most of his time climbing, shooting or hiding!
Only by the blade can weakness be purged.
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T'keela
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Location: Bris-VEGAS, Australia

Post by T'keela »

OOC: Apologies all, just bought my new macbook pro, I had forgotten about the RPG in all the excitement. =]

The faint hiss of something catching the scent of intruders in its territory was the first sign of most likely many of the ill-fated nature of the journey through the underway. They had not even trekked that far into the darkened caves, the light quickly retreating into a confusing half light. Helkor was thinking as brutish as ever, his stomach obviously the most important matter as always, "Helkor, do you ever think about anything side from that bulging stomach of yours?" As if in reply T'Keela's own stomach growled, "Though I do concede your point." Quietly drawing his blade from it's scabbard, he almost began to circle around the cave, until he consider the fact that he was no shade, rather he took up quiet pursuit of the groups shade, Malthang, most likely he would try to find an advantageous position & rain death upon the creature, perhaps it would be prudent to remain close by & ensure he does not get himself to badly mauled by whatever it was the three Druchii were arrayed against.

A though hit T'keela, mostly it was that it could be a cold one & how incredibly screwed they would be if it were. At any rate he chuckled, despite himself. It felt good to be able to laugh without pain, though his skin was tight were the scar tissue had formed.

T'Keela will try & stay relatively close to Malthang, giving him some cover should a range attack provoke a charge from the beast, though doing his best to remain out of harms way if possible.
T'Keela Darkspine
Group 30
Stats: WS4 S3 T4 D4 I4
Equip: Sword, Light Armour, blackpowder pistol, 4 bullets, 2GP.
Skills:
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Malus99
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Post by Malus99 »

Malthang cautiously groped around the darkened floor for something he could hurl, his hand scraped against something smooth and sharp which felt only loosely attached to the ground, he pulled it free with a yank, but to his disgust, found that whatever was entrapped in his grasp was wriggling. The shade felt a sharp pain as something needle-like jabbed into his hand, and with a strangled curse he threw the thing across the cavernous space. It landed with a faint clatter and, somewhere in the darkness, emanated the familiar hiss of the creature, swiftly followed by the wet slithering sound of slimy scales sliding across stone. As the creature glided through a patch of faint luminescence provided by the mould, Malthang let out a crow of triumph and sent a bolt from his crossbow whisking across the chamber. The droning hum of the steel bolt carving through the air was replaced by a meaty crunch and a high-pitched squeal as it struck its target, the sounds of the creature thrashing around in agony was like a cheese grater being dragged across a wet brick wall and its writhing form could be faintly discerned in the shadows. Silently, Helkor rushed forwards, his sword outstretched, he fell upon the creature in a frenzy of sword swings, hacking at it like a butcher. The sounds of the struggle ceased quickly enough, the warrior dragging the mangled corpse of the beast into one of the small patches of light. He held up a colossal snake, its body bloated and lumpy, the colour of off-milk and covered from nose to tail (which looked to be some 20 foot long) in calcareous, sword-shaped scales that jutted out from the body like spines.
“A corrupted ancona,” announced Malthang as he stood from where he had been taking cover beside one of the curious pillars, “A snake mutated by chaos. We’re lucky it was just a small one.”
“A small one?” stuttered Selkoreth, “Look at the size of it.”
“Yes,” said the shade gravely, “A full grown adult can be larger than a dragon and its scales are as hard as diamonds, or so the stories go. And that’s not the worst of it, the raw power of chaos does funny things to these creatures down here, they may be gifted with strange and unpleasant powers.”
“You paint a cheery picture, shade,” growled Helkor, the rush of combat having cured him for the time being of his earlier discomfort in the dark confines of the underway.

Malthang opened his mouth to respond, when he felt the hairs prick up on the nape of his neck, and his ears detected the faintest rustling of movement from behind him, whirling, he fired his crossbow, the bolt ricocheted off something chitinous in a burst of sparks which left spots dancing across the shade’s vision. He raised his sword as a distended maw loomed out of the black, and a flash of quicksilver sliced into the side of the monster’s mouth. The fanged jaws snapped closed with bone-jarring force mere inches from the shade’s face, clamping down on the sword of T’Keela which had interposed itself into the exchange. The former noble’s eyes widened as he began to appreciate the full bulk and power of the thing he had just decided to stab, rather ineffectually, in the face. As it shifted towards him, dozens of misshapen eyes rolled madly in their sockets as they tried to gain a fix on him, glinting a baleful red in the glow of the lichen.
“Oh bugger.”
The warrior was hurled across the room as the sting of a scorpion’s tail the size of an ogre’s head smashed into his breastplate like a pneumatic ram, T’Keela landed in a crumpled heap, groaning fitfully. The beast now returned its full attention to Malthang, who began to bring up his sword until he heard a childish voice giggle:
“Fire in the hole.”
And then the cave whited out in a burst of searing light and roaring flame, there was a high pitched screech of agony and the scuttling of many legs about-facing to make a swift exit.

Silence fell.

Well, almost silence, T’Keela groaned quietly, there was still the faint crackle of something burning and the soft breathing of the elves.
Then Malthang came around, and began to curse. Very vividly, loudly, and in numerous, possibly made-up, languages.
Selkoreth moved to help the shade up as T’Keela stumbled back into view, in the centre of his breastplate was a dent that would put a nauglir’s kick to shame, but, miraculously, the metal had somehow held.
The shade was likewise shaken but relatively unhurt, and still swearing colourfully.
“I think I should be taking notes,” said Helkor, “Some of these are quite inventive, I think you’ve already used that one before though mate.”
Malthang halted in his diatribe to glare coldly at his compatriot.
“We should be moving on,” came Sirulleathe’s ghostly whisper, floating calmly out of one of the numerous shadows in the chamber, it was spoken softly, but nevertheless silenced all the other hunters. All bar Amalii, that is, who was still giggling to himself.
“All this commotion may have frightened off the smaller dwellers in these tunnels, but it will attract some of the larger denizens of the underway too. After all, its not often someone supplies them with a ready-cooked meal,” admonished the Khainite as he materialised behind Malthang and directed a disapproving glance towards Amalii, who paid not the slightest bit of attention.

The glow of the moss highlighted three tunnels leading from the chamber. Greasy, burning pools of fat lead into one, and the gibbering howls of the creature Amalii had set alight could still be heard echoing from its depths. Malthang knelt before the second, examining furrows that had been dug into the stone, the claw marks of a very heavy tread.
“Nauglir tracks,” confirmed the shade, “This is where our noble and his cold one must have gone, few other nauglir live this close to the surface in these tunnels.”
The third was the smallest of the three passages, low enough to cause Selkoreth to stoop and barely wide enough for two elves to stand side by side.
“Hmmm, decisions decisions,” pondered Helkor, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Which way will you go? The monster Amalii just burned went down the first tunnel, cold one tracks lead down the second tunnel and the third is very small and confined, but with no apparent evidence of any beasties within at its entrance.
There was an astounding number of tests passed in that combat, all I and D tests were passed to react to the creatures popping out of the darkness with the exception of Malthang’s D test to fire accurately on the gribbly that crept up behind him, causing his bolt to go astray, and T’Keela managed to ruin my surprise for Varaken :evil: and somehow managed to pass his armour check with a -1 as well.
Deadline is Friday, do you want to continue stumbling around in darkness or get Amalii to provide some light? Also, how will you find your way out again? If any of you survive, that is.
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
The shadow king
Executioner
Posts: 152
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:00 pm
Location: Naggarond, Dancing with Morathi.

Post by The shadow king »

Helkor fought down the feeling that he was standing on the edge of a very, very long drop. "I say we follow the Nauglir."

He paused. "But how the hell are we going to find our way back?"

He glanced at Amallii. ". . . Master Mage. . . I don't suppose you have a solution to this problem?"

OOC: Helkor will try and think of some way to re-trace their steps and then head down the rabbit, er. . . Nauglir hole.
Role-Playing Group 30
Helkor Makolus, Warrior.
WS 4, S4, T4, D3, I3. Gear: Cloak, Longsword, Light Armour, Shield, 4GC, Bastard Sword
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T'keela
Noble
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Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:37 am
Location: Bris-VEGAS, Australia

Post by T'keela »

The force of impact jarred his arm & the feeling of pins and needles rushed up his arm, though the sudden impact of chitinous tail colliding with his breastplate, sent T’Keela across the floor & he reeled in the face of brute force that left a commendable bruise in the centre of his chest & a sizable indentation where the tail spike had tried to impale him. With a start he also noticed the rather thick, syrupy poison that had also splashed across the front of his armour, though he was glad for the darkness that hid the pallour that came over his features at the realization of quickly he could have perished just then.

T’Keela began to appreciate the weight of his steel breastplate & the gentle curve of the dwarf forged steel, Got to hand it to them, those dawi fools sure know how to work the earth. Feeling rather grateful for it, while admitting to himself he wish he had a bit more in the way of armour, especially since he seemed to be the one who, of late anyway, seemed to be taking the most hits for the group, he snapped back to reality while the group discussed what their next course of action was, though the condescending chiding of Sirulleathe seemed apparent to no one, least of all the individual it was aimed at. The former noble looked in the direction of the strange little wizard that had taken to following the group, for there was little other way of putting it, no one seemed that interested in taking him along, for he drew way too much attention to the group with his fiery outbursts. T’Keela was curious to know what had actually brought him with the group & why, he also was curious as to why the magic loathing Sirulleathe seemed to put up with the most annoying presence of the childish vauvalka. ”Sirulleathe is correct, we must keep moving. Standing around deciding which path to take is wasting time & with fiery outbursts, which all Amalii seems to be able to give us, we are causing enough of a commotion,” warned T’Keela, ”we have already managed to let one target away, now if you do not mind, I would like to return to the city with someone’s head on a spear & earn some coin in my pocket.” Giving little room for his companions to decide he slowly began to make his way in the direction of the nauglir tracks, though he kept his ears alert for any sounds of disagreement from the rest of the group.

T’Keela will start making his way towards the group, hoping his bravado pays off & the rest follow suit. However, he leaves slow enough show that if they ignore him & looks like a fool, he can quickly rejoin the relative safety of the group.

OOC: Pretty sure that T’Keela is just to annoying to die.
T'Keela Darkspine
Group 30
Stats: WS4 S3 T4 D4 I4
Equip: Sword, Light Armour, blackpowder pistol, 4 bullets, 2GP.
Skills:
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Malus99
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Post by Malus99 »

T'Keela wrote:OOC: Pretty sure that T’Keela is just to annoying to die.


OOC: Don't worry, you're still in the running, I may just kill you off yet before this whole thing is through
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
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Post by Varaken »

OOC: sorry it's late again, I will get my arse in gear soon!

Malthang took a deep breath and attempted to appear unshaken by his most recent brush with death. He was fairly sure he failed. Luckily between the darkness of the cave and the fact that Amalii was still irritating enough to draw the attention of everything in a 5 mile radius that he was fairly sure no one noticed.

This is impossible, I can hunt in a moonless, overcast night under the thickest canopy but I swear this darkness is actually absorbing any light that might be lingering in this unholy place.

Every instinct shuddered at the thought but at this rate the group would be dead either way, the only difference being that they wouldn't see what it would be that kills them. They needed a light source. Malthang had nothing of alchemical means that would help and there wasn't much in the area that looked flammable that wouldn't kill either himself or the rest of the group. He was loathe to ask Amalii for anything other than a little bit more personal space but it would appear the group had no choice. Either way the shade figured he would exhaust all other options first. He turned towards Sirruleathe.

"I'd agree that following the Nauglir is an option and I'd certainly not wish to follow that thing that nearly turned me into a snack. Only problem is making sure that whatever ends up hunting the noble doesn't end up behind us too. Either me or Sirruleathe should take point, the other should take the rearguard, we are the best to give advanced warning. Khainite," the shade bowed slightly as a sign of respect, "any hope of you having some light source we may utilise to navigate these tunnels? I only ask as I generally like my eyebrows attached to my face which, based on prior experience, is generally a temporary condition when Amalii is involved."

The shade paused, as if battling with something.

"And T'Keela. We're even."
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Post by Malus99 »

Sirulleathe shook his head in response to Malthang’s request,
“I favour the darkness,” he whispered, “conjuring light is not something I am capable of.”
A look of distaste washed across the Khainite’s usually neutral features as the strange little sorcerer came shuffling over,
“Perhaps I can help with that?” He asked in his playful voice, giggling as he snapped his fingers, projecting a wash of sparks that scattered across the floor of the cave. When no-one objected, Amalii cupped his hands and began to blow into them as if he were warming them on a cold night. Slowly, a soft glow began to form within his grasp, it gradually increased in intensity until it formed a pool of incandescence that stretched almost 10 metres around them.

Holding the ball of light in one hand, the vauvalka hummed quietly to himself as he considered the question Helkor had put before him.
“Hmmm. Aha! Yes, that should do.” With an imperious gesture, Amalii puffed out his chest and thrust his arm forwards, setting his feet apart to stand in a grandiose stance.
“Sariour, Sala-Kaladh!” He cried, his voice deep with authority. The hunter band watched with something akin to fascination, perhaps tinged slightly with awe, as the finger on Amalii’s outstretched hand, which was twisted into the anatomically-impossible shape of an ancient rune, began to glow with power. Now this is how magic is supposed to be cast!
Solemnly, Amalii lifted his right foot, and touched the tip of his finger to the sole of his boot.
“YEOUCH!” He screamed as the finger made contact, and ruined the whole effect by starting to hop madly on one leg as he absurdly tried to blow on the foot with his mouth.
“Hot, Hot, HOT!” yelled the mage as he hobbled around, wailing in pain until Selkoreth and Helkor leaped upon him and each clamped a hand across his mouth to silence his cries.
“Quiet!” Hissed T’Keela, ‘I should have known’ written bleakly across his pained expression.
“I don’t suppose you can scream any louder could you Amalii?” Asked Malthang drily, “I’m sure there are a few dead Slaan over in Lustria which you haven’t quite managed to wake up.”
Amalii tried to reply but found his mouth still clamped firmly shut by the warriors.
The shade sighed, “Was there a point to all this or did you just want to alert every godforsaken chaos-mutated abomination in these tunnels to our presence?”
Wriggling free of the warriors’ grasp, who only reluctantly released their hold on the sorcerer’s mouth, Amalii straightened and brushed himself down with one hand – the other still holding the glowball – and then indicated his right foot, which was now pressed firmly to the cave floor. As he lifted his boot from the stone, it revealed a shining golden footprint etched into the rock.
“Brings a whole new meaning to retracing your footsteps, eh?”
“Yes and leaves a perfect trail for anything which wants to creep up on us and eat our sorry carcasses,” remarked Helkor with a frown.
“Ah, see now I’ve already thought of that,” replied Amalii, wagging a finger, “I tied a cantrip into the magic which will cause the print to fade after a few seconds, All you have to do is say ‘Sala-Kaladh’ and they will appear again.”
“Unbelievable,” muttered Malthang.
“What? That I’m skilled enough to write a spell within a spell?”
“No, that you actually claim to ‘think’. Come on, lets get moving, I’d rather be eaten at least a few paces closer to our goal.” The shade turned to join the already-departing T’Keela, heading down the tunnel with the nauglir tracks, Sirulleathe and Malthang taking the lead, Amalii with the towering Selkoreth (the unfortunate loser of a three-way duel of rock-paper-scissors) guarding him, Helkor and T’Keela bringing up the rear.

They wound through seemingly endless tracks of tunnels for close on an hour, the shade and the Khainite occasionally calling a halt at side passages and entrances to make sure they were still following the tracks of the cold one. The noble seemed to have a very definitive destination in mind, the tracks wound through the labyrinth with a confidence not even a seasoned hunter like Malthang would have had. The strange rider apparently knew his way. As they rounded another bend and emerged into another cavern, Sirulleathe’s keen ears pricked up as they caught the faintest sound of a lithe figure ghosting across stone, at the same instant Malthang brought up his crossbow and aimed it into the darkness ahead, his every muscle tensed. The three warriors formed a semicircle at the back of the formation as they caught up, swords drawn, with Amalii standing in the centre, holding his glowball up to illuminate the dank cave they had stepped into.
“Behind us as well,” stated Sirulleathe calmly as he glanced over his shoulder into the tunnel his warrior companions had just emerged from, one of his hands resting lightly on the pommel of his wickedly curved short-sword. Sweat beaded on Malthang’s brow despite the chill underground temperature, he had heard at least three people moving around, and based on the whispery sound of their clothing brushing against pillars and walls, he knew who they were. They would have heard the clanking warriors in their armour from a mile off and had set up an ambush waiting for them, now all that remained was to see if…
On cue, a shadowy figure stepped quietly into the light cast by Amalii’s magic. It advanced unhurriedly, evaluating the band of hunters as it casually approached. As it raised its head the light revealed a handsome, young elvish face, a scrawling tattoo of a wyrm curling across his right cheek. He came to a stop a meter from the group, the cold silence stretching painfully.
“State your business here, uplanders,” commanded the shade at last, “Or embrace the wind of death.”

Right then! A different kind of adversary, you have obviously disturbed a shade hunting party and their leader has stepped forward to talk. The rest of his band lies in wait in the cavern around you and you have no idea of the extent of their numbers, some of them are in the tunnel behind you as well. What will you do? Why has he come forward to talk rather than simply cut you down unawares? Is he a distraction or does he really want to speak with you? Deadline is Friday.

I assumed nobody would object to Amalii creating light for people to see by if there was no other alternative light-source, I gathered that was the gist of what people wanted, if you don’t want any light then write the objection into your next post.
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
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Post by The shadow king »

Helkor grinned. "Wind of Death, eh? I have to say that's a good one. . . Mind if I borrow it?"

He glanced back at the tunnel behind the group and back at the Shade. "We're doing something I think you would understand, we're hunting Master Shade and we have no quarrel with you or the number of friends you probably have in the cavern right now."
Role-Playing Group 30
Helkor Makolus, Warrior.
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T'keela
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Post by T'keela »

T'Keela hissed in annoyance at the sudden brightness, the wizard in his childishness would without a doubt be the death of the group, although he had to admit the warmth of the light was definitely a nice change to the damp, dank tunnels within which they had found themselves.

Before long they had found themselves being stalked, though not one of the group gave any signs of alarm away, their predator was too subtle, to well trained for that... A shade clan had tracked them & from the swirling wyrm on his face, they apparently believed their heritage to be linked to some kind of gimmicky dragon kin. Helkor spoke up first, as usual & of course he sought to aggravate the party of shades. T'Keela gave a sneer of disapproval, "Perhaps if you took a more accommodating tone Helkor, we wouldn't get shot in the face for nor reason all the time." Though perhaps his judgement of the warrior had been in haste, he seemed genuine in explaining their situation to the bloodshade before them. Despite the seemingly civil situation, T'Keela couldn't help but feel a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, all the eyes in the shadows gave him little comfort & he found his hand wondering to the pommel of his sword, ready to draw the razored steel should the situation call for it. For the moment however things seemed to be at least manageable & the noble was content to let the shades & Helkor deal with the situation.

T'Keela will keep an eye on the situation, ready to draw his steel against the Autarri should the need arise.
T'Keela Darkspine
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Post by Malus99 »

“Stealing other people’s words is the mark of a simple mind, uplander,” sneered the shade. His eyes, level and cold as midwinter ice on a pond, bored into Helkor.
“But what should I expect from some mewling thug shat out from the bowels of the city?”
The warrior bristled at the insult, his hand snaking towards his sword, but his voice lost none of its calm and conciliating demeanour.
“There’s no need to be uncivil master shade, you asked a question and I answered it.”
“Half answers and half truths, you are not here to hunt the prey usually found in these caverns, not with such a ragtag band of miscreants; a shade, a sorcerer, an assassin and a handful of bedraggled warriors.” The shade’s words rippled with contempt as he glanced towards T’Keela who’s hand was creeping towards his own sword.
“You won’t need that pig-tickler, we will drop you before you’ve drawn it and taken a pace forwards. You have the suffocating stench of ‘nobility’ about you, the flesh of the so called ‘highborn’ of the cities is said to be a particular delicacy and we’ve been running low on rations, so don’t tempt me.”
A tense silence descended as T’Keela fixed the bloodshade with a chilling stare, the collective occupants holding their breath to see what the next move in the dance would be. The leader of the shade band sighed,
“You still have not fully answered my question. You say you hunt, but what quarry is of such value that would tempt you into the underway? What is it that you seek?”
The shade stood quietly, waiting for their answer, his words echoing softly off the cavern walls, a mocking smile twitching the corners of his mouth.
“I’m waiting.”

What is your reaction? Deadline is Friday as per usual, thought I’d make it short and simple in the run up to Christmas. I may not get round to posting on Sunday so I might as well say it now, Merry Christmas to you all!
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
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Post by Varaken »

Malthang had remained silent through the initial exchange, weighing up the options and trying to find a solution. The shades had them outnumbered as far as he could tell, not to mention covered from all angles. If they were half the marksmen that he was they would all be dead before drawing another breath, let alone a weapon and at this range accuracy was secondary to volume of fire and stopping power, both of which were provided by the repeater crossbows that he and his kin tended to wield. They would not be fighting their way out of this without much pain, bloodshed and likely their deaths, not a prospect that much tempted the exiled shade.

Malthang slowly stepped forward half a step, hands held up, palms forwards to show he held no weapon. Not that it would matter much, I could have it drawn, taught and loaded and would fall before I had a chance to aim it, the shade thought bitterly. Bloodshade, said Malthang, keeping his voice even and level, though in honesty it was a nice change to talk with his own kind for a change, even if they were a hair trigger away from killing him. you are right, my...companion has not been entirely up front with you. We hunt a noble on a nauglir through these passages. As has been aptly proved by the highborn I travel with nobles are an unpleasant lot. We figured a world with one less in it as well as his gold in our pockets it might be worth the risk of entering your domain. We meant no intrusion and in all honesty it makes a change to talk to those of the civilised peoples rather than city dwellers. May we pass? It is clear we offer you no threat and we have nought to be worth killing. What say you Bloodshade? Autarii to autarii.
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Post by T'keela »

T'Keela could not help but chuckle at the caustic words of the bloodshade. "If my stench is suffocating yours must be a weapon," replied the noble acidly, "and I promise you, you would bleed by my sword no matter how many times you shot me." T'Keela smiled manically, knowing that his words were pushing the leader of the shade band closer to killing him, however he would not be cowed by the false bravado of the shade. "Though perhaps for principals sake, we should be civil?" offered T'Keela, stretching his hands above his head & the folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Malthang may be Autarii by I am not, though what he speaks is true," spoke T'Keela, "we have been tracking him from Ghrond, he came after us on the road north & we managed to double back around him, though we were curious as to why a single noble was riding by himself through the dangers of the wilderness & why he was willing to enter the underway alone."

T'Keela shook his hair, "Now master shade, may we pass? Or do we have to put to the test whether or not I can put my sword through your chest before you & your inbred family can put a hundred bolts through my face?"
T'Keela Darkspine
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Equip: Sword, Light Armour, blackpowder pistol, 4 bullets, 2GP.
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Post by Malus99 »

The bloodshade smiled quietly as he listened to T’Keela’s arch reply, before turning his gaze upon Malthang who spoke with a more conciliating tone.
“I will let you pass, cousin, if only because I pity you for having to suffer this one’s company,” chuckled the bloodshade at last.
“We have seen this noble, he has been an irritant for us as he hunts on the same path as we have been taking, if you follow him then you too will be in our way and we have no wish to diverge from our current trail, for the quarry we track lies in the same direction.”
The autarii paused a moment as his companions joined him in the light, a dozen shades in all, including their leader, now stood before the bounty hunters.
“So you see, I have a dilemma. I don’t particularly want to cross swords with you, particularly with such a fearsome and powerful noble amongst your number.” The bloodshade favoured T’Keela with a mocking smile, his last words laced heavily with sarcasm,
“But now if I wish to track down my own prey I will have to go around both your own party and this city-born fool on his dragon-kin, this is many people to circle if we wish to hunt. So what do you think I should do?”

So then, the shade leader has allowed you to pass but says you will be in his way, do you have a solution? Deadline is Friday.

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

Also, I managed to completely forget that on November 29th it was the first year anniversary of Group 30 being started, Huzzah!
Veni, Vidi, Voro!!!

All things perish, this is the law of existence, accept your suffering and your mortality, only by using this truth, can you transcend it.
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Post by T'keela »

T'Keela bristled at the nerve of the bloodshade, although his recent wounds seemed to ache suddenly, as if reminding him of how his tongue had recently gotten him into trouble. Sighing, he looked murderously at the leader of the shade party, carefully absorbing what he said, especially his final comments about the "problem" T'Keela & his fellows presented. "Perhaps, hill clanner, we can reach some agreement about this prey?" suggested T'Keela, a mocking smile on his features. "It is obvious that both my own party & yours want him gone, regardless of reasons, so let us pool resources. Your knowledge of the tunnels would prove invaluable & you get wall of bodies should things go awry, not to mention you get to keep a close eye on us for treachery." And so do we, you slimy bastard. T'keela bowed mockingly to the shade, "Well what say you master shade?"
T'Keela Darkspine
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Stats: WS4 S3 T4 D4 I4
Equip: Sword, Light Armour, blackpowder pistol, 4 bullets, 2GP.
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The shadow king
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Post by The shadow king »

OOC: Sorry I took so long and Happy Anniversary! And I will be keeping up with this RP much more in the future.

IC:


Helkor listened to T'Keela's plan and shrugged, it seemed as good as any.

"If we're going to share and share alike then we'd best get moving, somehow I doubt that Noble was kind enough to just sit in the tunnel on his mount while we talked.
"Anyone got a plan for taking him out once we find him? Nauglirs are so stupid it's a wonder they can remember to wake up in the morning but there's a reason our Heavy Cavalry use 'em and something tell's me the Noble didn't get this far by collecting toenails clippings."
Role-Playing Group 30
Helkor Makolus, Warrior.
WS 4, S4, T4, D3, I3. Gear: Cloak, Longsword, Light Armour, Shield, 4GC, Bastard Sword
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Post by Varaken »

OOC: hey all, really sorry but this time of year is completely crazy for me with travel and family so won't be able to post until the weekend. Sorry for the hold up, I know people want to get on with stuff but the shade will be back in action ASAP!
Only by the blade can weakness be purged.
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