Magic Playtest (Temporary RPG Group)

[Masked jackal]

Serraken gasped a little as the guard slammed his blade into the other mages shoulder, not from seeing her comrade be hurt, but at the skill of the guard to turn the stumble into an attack. It was fortunate then, that the other two had dispatched their adversary by now, each of them taking up positions. Serraken wasn't a warrior, but she readied herself to defend with her staff, and hem the guard further in towards them.

Serraken will not directly assist in the fight, but she will defend herself when attacked and use that to hem in the guard.

[Slortor]

Khalia swore, a truly vicious outpouring of curses as the pain lanced through her shoulder.

'May harpies tear this fools soul to shreds, bastard!'

Despite the pain clinging to her mind Khalia maintained enough presence of mind to see what the rest of the group were doing. Grimly gripping her staff firmly she took up her position.

'Theres no way im getting up close to the big brute again - but I'll damn well keep him there for the slaughter!'

Khalia will do as Serraken has, use her quaterstaff defensively to keep the guard where he is. If he charges her she will dodge and try to trip him as he goes past.

[Kinslayer]

OOC - feel free to continue discussing opinions of the magic in the appropriate thread. After this little mission has run its course I'll most likely stop or at least pause the group while we and others can give a decent string of feedback and see if magic has made its' mark on the RPG.

IC -

No sooner had the first guards' corpse hit the ground than the mercenaries moved in for the kill on the second, the already engaged Mages doing their best to pin the guard with his weapon down as Ki'lia and Anast moved to assist. Anast moved in loud and clear, drawing the guards' attention off the Mages, just as Ki'lia advanced quickly but quietly from the other side. His back turned, the guard presented the weak joints of his knees to the warrior, and Ki'lia made sure to capitalise on his mistake. Her blade cut neatly through the chainmail, swung with the precise amount of force needed to rip open the tendons beneath.

Just as the guard finally cleared his heavy blade from the staffs of the Magi and lifted it above his head to attack the Shade before him, he buckled and fell forward with a muffled cry of pain and suprise. Serraken was quick to lash out with her staff, pinning the guards' wrist to the ground and thus effectively disarming him. Khalia moved with just as much speed and tact, smashing the butt of her quarterstaff into the lion mask so that the visor was knocked open. Anast didn't need telling what the Mage had obviously planned, having witnessed his earlier kill. He quickly took aim and fired a single crossbow bolt into the face of the Druchii beneath the mask. With one last stiffled murmur of pain, the second guard went limp.

They had succeeded in getting inside, unannounced and relatively unharmed. They all knew the path ahead could change that for them in an instant.

[Slortor]

Khalia stood for a moment, breathing heavily - her arm was hurting more than she'd care to admit, but it couldnt be helped. Stooping quickly she bent down and detached the amulets from around the guards neck and tossed one to Ki'lia before throwing the other to Anast.

'I doubt these will be much use to Serraken and I, but you two might benefit from a little extra protection from the winds.... Now where next?'

Khalia will get the magic eaters from the guard and give one each to Ki'lia and Anast, then pose her question, while doing as much first aid as she can to her own shoulder. She will also take any small bits of armour that can easily be carried, bracers and grieves for example.

[Drainial]

"Hahaha," a very unprofessional chuckle escaped Ki'lia's lips before she could stifle it, their ad hoc strategy had worked far better than she could have hoped for, the way was open. Catching the magic eater Ki’lia hesitated, it felt strange in her hand, unpleasant, and she doubted her ability to cast anything while wearing it. On the other hand she could always throw it away if she needed to do anything arcane. With that decision made she quickly emptied a small pouch on her belt of its sundries, tucking them away into other pockets, and reattached it with the stone inside. If she needed to use magic she would at least be able to rip it off quickly.

Although they needed to move quickly Ki'lia was not done with the guards, reaching down she tugged of the loin helm and placed it over her own head, it was a little stifling but the workmanship was superb.

Now they just had to decide where to go next, rising the visor she said
"Ideally we need to find the lady Mintor quickly, there is no way to keep all these bodies hidden indefinably and it is all too likely that someone heard that little scuffle. That is not to say that we should just leave them out in the open, we should at least try and put them out of the sight of casual observers, though we do not have much time. After that one direction seems as good as another, but really I think we should try and find a servant, one without a big shiny weapon and decades of military experience, to question for directions. Nobles tend to live on the upper stories of their towers, not much point building a tower otherwise, so I think we should move up."

Ki'lia will take the magic eater and secure it in a place that is easy to reach (I assume that people cannot cast spells while wearing them) then she will take the lion guard's helmet (assuming that it fits) and put it on. She will then suggest that they move the bodies out of sight, if there are no other options then the shadow of the staircase might have to do but preferably an empty room off to one side. She then suggests that they go up the stairs (no preference for left or right) and try to find a domestic servant in order to get directions to where lady Mintor is, or her rooms if they don't have specific knowledge.

[Desmodeus]

Anast grabbed the ‘magic eater’ out of the air and held it in his palm; it felt almost like a coat of oil ran constantly across its surface. Quickly dropping it around his neck, momentarily lowering his hood as he did so, the shade wiped his hands distastefully down his front.

Turning towards Ki’ila, he listened to the newly leonine warrior’s plan, nodding in agreement.
“I’m always one for covering my back, so hiding these two sits well with me: To this end I suggest killing the servant we interrogate. I also agree that Lady Mintor is likely to able to look down on us literally... ” As well as figuratively, he thought, but did not say; no love for nobles has this shade. “Up seems the surest bet.”

Anast is essentially willing to go along with Ki’lia’s plan, augmenting it only by continuing to cover their backs (and perhaps make use of his choke-wire in the process).

[Masked jackal]

"You'll have to find a place to keep the servant while interrogating him without making noise, but I'm sure you could find something." She nodded towards the guards. "Now lets hide these...things before someone stumbles upon us. Quickly, she took position by one of the corpses, they would be heavy with all that armour.
Serraken will assist in secreting the corpses away in whichever hiding place the others feel is best, after that she will keep discreetly to the back while they go upstairs, keeping her eye out for places they could interrogate the servant without interruptions.

[Slortor]

"I can work with that."

Khalia will go along with the plan.

[Kinslayer]

OOC - The whole idea of the magic eaters is that magic can't be used in the surrounding area (think Ring of Hotek), hence why you couldn't use magic against the guards. I don't suggest taking them with you if you want to keep casting...

IC -

The group made quick work of hiding the bodies, draggin each into a space beneath the stairs after Ki'lia had removed the lion faced helmet and placed it comfortably over her own head. It fitted well, so she decided she would take it as a souvenir. As for the magic eating crystals the guards had worn, Serraken passed them each to Ki'lia and Anast but found that their very presence dimmed the Winds of Magic. Even when held by another member of the group, they twisted the winds about themselves, rendering Magic hard to grasp and fickle to keep a hold of. Khalia found it too, trying to conjure up a spell to test the crystals' effects, only to find the power slip through her fingers and dissapear.

Whether or not the Mages would request Anast and Ki'lia leave the crystals behind was yet to be seen, though leaving them by the main door may not be the best idea in case they had to make a quick and magic hastened retreat from the tower. There was no time to stand around and think or chat however, and such thoughts came whilst they headed up the stairways onto the first floor. They had two options, to head left or to head right. Looking down the corridors from a now more revealing angle, they noticed that going left would lead them past three doors and around another corner, and heading right would lead them past four doors, one of which was open, and up to a staircase that led up higher into the tower.

[Masked jackal]

Serraken decided that she would have to tell them before they went up the stairs. "Those magic eaters, they will deprive us of our magic, even with you wearing them. I think we should find a good place to dispose of them as we go along." They might even be able to retrieve them and sell them for a pretty penny. On the other hand there might be a mage... "Unless there's a mage further ahead, it would be best to maximize our advantage with the Winds."

[Drainial]

As she helped the others to sling the bodies of the guards Ki'lia felt the magic eater in her pouch continue to cast its debilitating effects across the room.

"Those magic eaters, they will deprive us of our magic, even with you wearing them. I think we should find a good place to dispose of them as we go along." Serrekan said once they had finished moving the corpses. Ki'lia nodded in agreement. Although she was in no position to tell (she was after all wearing one of the devises) she was not about to gain say the mage when it came to matters of the occult.

"Very well, I have no desire to squander our advantages on the off chance that we will face a mage more powerful than both of you together. When we find a spot that is out of the way I will discard my stone, and I believe that Anast should do the same.

As the group moved up the stairs Ki'lia turned her thoughts to other matters, namely that of direction. The left hand passage had little to recommend it, the right had another staircase which made it more attractive to Ki'lia. The open door could well spell danger, but so to could it mean an opportunity; after all if the door was open then that suggested that there were people inside or around and they needed to find someone.

"Lets head right," she suggested "If we do not have directions then we should keep moving up, and if nothing else that room would be a decent place to dispose of the null stones.

Ki'lia agrees with Serekan that they should ditch the magic eaters at the earliest opportunity, she also thinks that they should go right and investigate the open door and capture anyone who might be in there while also using it as a place to store the stones.

[Desmodeus]

There goes a useful trinket Anast huffed. Had they time he would have suggested testing the range on them, as simply standing back and firing crossbow bolts may keep him out of range, as it was...

“Beware, I do intend on picking it up on the way back...” The shade wrapped the amulet in a scrap of cloth and shoved it into the darkest corner under the stairway.

"So, interrogation then?" He tested the edge of his blade against the ball of his thumb as he turned to the open door.

[Slortor]

'Thank you'

Khalia wasn't paying much attention at this point, all her senses focused outwards hoping to hear the sound of some domestic servant who could be asked, politely, for information....

[Kinslayer]

Anast stowed his magic eater below the stairs, completely out of sight, so Ki'lia followed suit and did the same. It wasn't until they were up on the first floor and heading down the right hand corridor that they felt the nulling effect of the stones leave them. The stones for now forgotten, the four mercenaries stalked silently towards the open door, Anast at their fore. The Shade peered into the room with the open door and then turned back to his comrades. He told them everything he had caught a glimpse of. The room was dominated by a large table, and the walls were lined with bookcases. A library, or something of the sort. Three Druchii lay within, two looking like servants and sitting at the table. The third looked to be an off duty guard, armed but not well armoured, and stood with his back to them at the far end of the room, studying a book on a shelf beyond the table.

It seemed they had possibly found someone to interrogate, though they first had to silence the guard without the servants calling out at their presence.

[Drainial]

Ki'lia smiled grimly as Anast related the good news, it was just what she had been hoping for and although the ease of it made her wary they had to take advantage of the situation.

Lowering her voice so as not to alert the Druchii within the room she said
"We should go in quickly and fill the guard with bolts. It should not be too hard to control the servants, the more pressing concern is that of noise should they decide that screaming is the way to go. To that end Serrekan I am wondering how precise your control of the wind of death is, if they were vomiting on the floor or gasping for breath it would make any clamour far less likely."

Sheathing her sword Ki'lia switched her shield for her crossbow slung across her back in anticipation should the others find her plan satisfactory.

Ki'lia will lay out her plan which is for her and Anast to plug the guard full of bolts while Serrakan makes the servants ill enough that they are unable to raise the alarm but not sick enough that they cannot be questioned. Then she will replace her sword and shield with her repeater.

[Slortor]

"That seems perfectly doable. Unfortunately my own talents do not lie in that direction - but if nothing else I can block the exit."

Khalia agrees with the plan and will act as required, which porbably means blocking the door.

[Desmodeus]

"Actually" whispered Anast, "I'd be more inclined for Serraken to kill the guard with magic while we cover the servants with our crossbows." He turned to the mage, "Not to belittle your abilities Serraken, but there's less room for error with only one target."

Anast suggests a similar plan, but one he thinks is less likely to suffer from bad luck; after all, if the servants do scream, Ki'lia and he can just pull the trigger and silence them.

[Drainial]

Ki'lia shook her head
"Serrakan doesn't need to kill the servants, just make them ill which should be just as easy as killing one person. The point of targeting them in the first place is to keep them quiet in order to question them, a crossbow bolt is not guaranteed to silence them, indeed if either of us landed a less than perfect shot it would only increase the likely hood of an undue fuss. Besides which any shot from a repeater that kept them quiet would have to silence them permanently, which is hardly the object here."
[/u]

[Desmodeus]

The shade nodded, "If you think you can do it Serraken, then lets go."

[Masked jackal]

Serraken watched their exchange, weighing her options and her own skills. "The servants becoming sick might end up drawing others with the noise as well. I agree with Anast, killing one target has less chance for error, and the servants should keep quiet with crossbows trained on them." Besides which, if I take too large a chunk of the servants life, they could die, or otherwise be impossible to interrogate. "Just be threatening, these types should be easily scared."

Serraken agrees with Anasts plan, that is, to kill the guard.

[Drainial]

Ki'lia sighed, she still thought that she was right, but then she allways thought that she was right. In any case they could not spend the night arguing in the hallway.
"Very well, we will do it your way. Lets go.

Ki'lia will bow to the majority and go along with the revised plan.

[Kinslayer]

The plan was decided, and the group prepared themselves in the corridor with a few quick nods to one another to signal that they were ready to act. The guard was still reading with his back to them, standing by a bookshelf across the room. The servants sat at the table in silence, sorting stacks of papers for their masters. The mercenaries sprang into motion, bursting into the room so suddenly that the startled Druchii inside didn't have the time they needed to respond. Serraken threw her arms out in the direction of the guard and poured all her will into drawing the life from his body. At the same time, Khalia came in beside her with her staff pointing at one of the servants, and Ki'lia and Anast trained their crossbows each at a servant too.

The guard turned towards them, his face awash with shock and pain, and reached for a dagger at his belt. His hand never made it to the hilt of the blade. Serrakens' spell ripped his lifeforce from his body, and the mans eyes turned black and hollow almost instantly. He fell unkindly to the floor at the foot of the bookshelf, the two servants looking up at him with shocked expressions. One of the servants seemed to have a little sense about him, and knowing there was a staff and crossbow pointing his way he remained silent and still. The other, regardless of the crossbow aimed at his head, was overcome by fear and panic. The servant leaped to his feet and opened his mouth to cry out, but Ki'lia shot him in the face before he had a chance. His blood and brain matter splattered across the table, soaking a dozen books in gore and causing the other servant to hold his hands up in surrender.

"Don't do it! Don't shoot me!"

[Drainial]

]Bursting into the room Ki'lia was gratified to see that Anast had not been mistaken, training her crossbow on one of the servants she was further gratified as the guard fell to the floor with a soft thump.

Never the less her attention was focused on the servant before her, and there the news was far less good. As the elf opened his mouth she cursed silently and put a bolt straight through his skull; it was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid, now all of their hopes were based upon the single remaining servant.

Still, they had one captive and with any luck one was all they were going to need. Trusting Anast to keep his repeater trained on the servant Ki'lia hefted hers onto her back and drew her long dagger. Walking behind the servant she lowered the knife to rest just beneath his genitals. Brining her face down to his ear Ki'lia whispered softly
"Tell us what we need to know and perhaps you will see another dawn, but be warned, if you scream do not be surprised if you leap a few octaves half way through. Now, where is the lady of this house?"

Ki'lia will trust Anast and the others to cover the servant, she will switch her crossbow to her back and draw her dagger. She will move behind the servant and threaten him with castration if he does not answer to her satisfaction.

[Kinslayer]

OOC - Okay baring in mind this is just a temporary playest group, I may cut it short quite soon and try to experiment with the other magic lores and a few different combinations of characters. You four can of course continue to play if you wish though. After that I will leave it to the rest of Dnet to decide if they want Magic to be in or out.

IC -

The servant quit his begging as Ki'lia threatened him, his face still rigid with fear and his brow lined with beads of sweat. He nodded as Ki'lia asked her question, apparently agreeing to tell them what they needed in the hope of keeping his life. He nodded towards the ceiling, speaking in hurried rasps between deep breaths.
"Up there, on the higher levels. Lady Mintor is resting at this hour, I very much doubt she would want to be disturbed..."
He looked the group up and down, coming to some sort of realisation as he did so, before continuing,
..."Oh, I see. You mean to harm the Lady? There are guards up there. They will have your heads for this intrusion."

[Drainial]

Ki'lia rolled her eyes, 'up there' was a little on the vague side. Still she had been pretty non specific herself.
"Of course not," she said to the quivering wreck of an elf "we just want to give her a little present. Now, get up and show us to where she is likely to be, and remember that your life hangs upon the edge of your tongue, stay silent or die."
That should be clear enough, she thought, transferring her knife to his throat and hauling on his arm to drag him to his feet.

Ki'lia will tell the servant to take them to the lady and will enforce this by putting her knife to his throat and attempting to haul him to his feet to get them going, if he refuses she will cut off something he holds dear, an ear perhaps.