Part III: Cellar Doors

The chaos that erupted as Midnorton’s madman charged into the fray brought excitement to him. This surely will cause enough chaos to allow them a slight edge. But was that the daughter? Our employer said nothing about her being pregnant. Either way, they had to put a stop of this ritual. What if this cult was trying to bring forth some type of demon or devil through a mortal woman.

As Midnorton ran these thoughts through his head, Artimus took charge and waded into the enemies. This allowed him to snap back to the matters at hand and he quickly unleashed arrows, clearing a way for his companions, as he took down three cultists.

Midnorton yelled out with some urgency in his voice, “I don’t like these. We need to stop this ritual before that woman gives birth. We might not like what comes out of her belly.”

=====================

Midnorton will stay in Zone 1, his bow attacks being far more valuable then wading into melee.

Killed 3 cultists.

Garvan stepped into the hallway behind the party. He had been rummaging through the meager items stored about what he took to be the cultists barracks as they made their way out of the room. He was about to whisper to Midnorton when his eyes came up the madman, pushing open the large door. Before he had time to voice his dissaproval, it was too late.

What he saw beyond in the room below them made his heart fall into his trousers. A group - Nay, a horde - Of cultists screamed and shuffled about the room, all begging for the murder of their prize. Beaten in both spirits and physically, the maiden was pretty nonetheless, if one had the imagination to remove her belly. It was the hulking man standing over her that caused Garvans voice to stick in his throat...

His trance of fear ws broken by Artimus' voice, cutting through the noise like a rapier. He shouted at the party to rally behind him and they did. Together they pushed forward to break through the ranks of cultists. Garvan felt as if he were a soldier in the imperial army witht he speed and efficiancy they pushed together. His trident sprung out over Artimu's shoulder in a flurry of blows as arrows soared over their heads..


=======


Garv kills 2 and moves with the group to zone 2

Fellowship - The 3rd of Septem, 4:38 AM


The fellowship crashed into the crowd of cultists like a battering ram, a rampaging circlet of blade that pierced through the ranks of the frenzied men that frantically reached for daggers and shivs hidden in their flowing robes.

The crunch of bone and the shrieks of felled men filled the chamber, the booming screams of the head cultist reverbrating off the walls like the fiery shadows that danced forth from his flaming axe.

From behind the fellowship, Valaren studied the scene. He could discern the harsh voice of the man upon the altar with ease - for it was of a magical nature. This language he had studied, only briefly...for it belonged squarely to the school of conjuration, and not the pleasant kind... but the words he spoke were easily deciphered:

"Beat them into the stone, brothers! Swarm them and cut them down! This is our hour! The Night One challenges us to be worthy of his summoning! Make their bodies but offerings before his great coming!"

The man danced furiously, waving his axe about. Suddenly from his left hand a great stream of fire materialized into a large ball, the frenzied occultist heaving it towards the fellowship with a great shout.

Artimus glanced up in surprise, watching as the ball of flame dematerialized in the air.

[Head Cultist failed to cast Firebomb]

There was no time to consider this slender mercy, for the blade of a cultist swung past his face as the Mariner drew his blade up in riposte...

[C10-12 attacking Artimus, 2 hits]
[C13-16 attacking Garvan, 1 Hit]
[C17-18 attacking Skyler, all Miss]

Skyler spun about in the fray, avoiding the seeking blades of the cultists as Garvan and Artimus felt the knives cut upon their flesh. The sweat and heat of combat culled the wind from their chests as they parried and riposted.

[Garvan hit for 3 Damage]
[Artimus hit for 4, 1 Damage = 5 Damage]

=======================

OK guys,

Opportune mis-cast on the part of the cult leader, but you still suffered a bit of damage from the cultist horde. All of you are in Zone 2, except for Valaren who is still in Zone 1.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE INDICATION MOVEMENT TO NEW ZONES.

EXP: +50 to each

Cheers,

-LK

Concerned about the their leader once it was revealed he was a spell caster, especially a fire use, Midnorton unleashed more arrows over the heads of his companions to take down three more cultists.

“Just one more push and we should be able to charge their leader. We have to take him down quickly…”

Midnorton remained at the entrance, preparing more arrows as he hoped his next target will be the large axe-wielder.

===============

Continues to remain in Zone 1.

Killed 3 more cultists.

A flight of arrows rocketed just over the Mariner’s head pounding into the center of a trio of cultists sending them sprawling to the ground. Artimus did not see the bodies hit the floor, only the peak of the hooded men’s cowls disappear from horizon of the crowd followed by the clatter of daggers as they danced dirge like on the stone.



Formed up with Garvan to his right their formation wedge formation limited their exposed flanks, Artimus wasn’t sure if Skylar had joined their ranks but he hoped for his sake he had.



Artimus grinned as he quipped to graven



“I hate to make a bride wait at the alter mon ami, let’s not stand on ceremony. Your lady is waiting, and she seems to be with child.”



His playful jibe in stark contrast to the deadly situation.



Artimus pressed his position into the unwilling throng of robed man but the cadre of Cimmerian parishioners was too thick to fluently advance. His sword, beating and parrying, blocked and reposted as the cultists’ made inquires after his flesh. Artimus turned each “asker’s” blades away one after the next responding to the unholy rhythm of request. Artimus winced as a particularly nimble interrogative bit into his arm. Then another quiz stuck him, taking advantage of the hole made by the first. Artimus answered back with Brettonian steel, removing doubt with his expert attacks.



Artimus felt the warmth of the wound drip down into glove hand; he cut would slow him, but not much.



The zealot’s lives were forfeit and his foil the collector.

Skyler saw the cultists forming as if a wall in front of them.. Protecting their leader and this woman. A wall of cultists would be difficult to simply bash through them. Especially with the lack of firepower they had in comparison. Skyler looked at the crowd of cultists that all seemed quite unhappy about the group disrupting their ceremony... Skyler considered completely avoiding the crowd altogether... At the current state... it seemed impossible. Perhaps there were a few less in the crowd he could manage to stop the leader's attacks. To get to the other side though... would require quite a bit of his acrobatic tricks he had not used in a while.
As he was about to explain his plan to the team, the archer shot down another three cultists. With less than half the original amount now in the room, he wondered if he could make it through. He analyzed the situation... (wit check), and attempted to determine if he could find a way around or even above the wall of cultists.

A few hits... may incur, but it would be worth it rather than being hit in the face by a magical attack. Who knows what sort of crazy magic this man holds?

From being in back with Garvan and Artimus, he broke ranks and dashed directly towards the crowd without a word.
================================================
Moving from zone 2 to zone 3

DICE ROLLS GOOO
(Wit check to determine if the skill level should be lowered since there are much less cultists now)
(Agility to make it across)
#1 'SKILL CHECK' : 5, 4, 3, 2
5+4+3+2 = 14 D=
for wit
--------------------------------

#2 'SKILL CHECK' : 1, 6, 5, 4
1+6+5+4 = 11
for agi

this is gonna hurt

*** dice rolls did not go ***

The member 'Skyler Terska' has done the following action : Diceroller

#1 'SKILL CHECK' : 5, 4, 3, 2

--------------------------------

#2 'SKILL CHECK' : 1, 6, 5, 4

White pain seared Garvans chest as one of the cultists slashed a blade through his defense. Luckily, the savage attack was not strong enough to pierce the Fishermans organs through his worn leathers. Hot pink blood sprayed out of the gash staining his garments and his adrenaline took over to mask the pain. As the cultist reared back his hand for another attack Garvan saw his opporunity and burried the prongs of his trident in the mans gut.

In his peripheral vision he saw Skyler darting forward through the remaining cultists. To Garvan they looked visibly shaken as their eyes darted to their fallen cohorts. Garvan pushed the man from his trident and he fell, clutching at his robes as a woman might hold her swollen belly, and he charged after Skyler. For a moment his imagination showed Skyler and he, side by side, engulfed by a blazing ball of fire; He quickyl pushed that image from his mind and charged towards the brutish man before him.



===============



Garvan follows Skylar to zone 3 and attacks da big cheese




Aaaaaaaaaaand Misses....

Valaren had heard the message. He didn't need to relay it to the others because to Valaren the message was nothing more than the incoherent ramblings of a delusional man. The people here seemed to believe in something more, perhaps an entity of some sort. As the robed men fell to the attacks of Valaren's companions, it appeared that any higher power was not currently aiding them in their fight.

"Belief can make a man embrace death. Perhaps to them, the earthly life is nothing more than a shell, or state, in which a man's faith is tested. A testing ground for the holy. These cultists would see this fight as their final reckoning. Their fate already sealed, they fight without fear. To death, for the holy power."

Valaren had seen this many times before. Luckily, this would be no test of faith. It was a test of strength, and although Valaren lacked in that department, he already saw chances to contribute to the group. He had seen at least two members of his group being hit, although no real damage had been done thus far.

Valaren slowly walked forward, moving towards his group. He did not want a gap to fall between him and the rest, creating an opportunity to split them up. He stepped over a fallen cultist and noticed a short blade with a sharply-tapered point. This dagger had a smelted iron blade and a bronze handle. There were markings on the handle, but Valaren did not attempt to decypher them just yet. There was no time for that now. He picked up the dagger and gently moved it into a sheath on his belt. It seemed a perfect fit.

Valaren was not one to hold or use a dagger as a weapon. The blade had other purposes during ceremonies or rituals. Also, if it was to be needed, it could always prove useful.

The mage walked towards his group once more. The fight had erupted but it appeared there was a small space behind his group. He would need to focus solely on the wounds of his allies. The mariner seemed to have been damaged the most so far. Also, if the cult leader managed to use his powers to create another ball of fire, he might be in even more trouble. Valaren would have to use his powers to heal him as his first priority.

He went down on one knee, evermore holding his staff in his left hand. Closing his eyes, he spoke with a deep, loud voice. He had spoken these words many times, learning the power behind them over time:

"As suncta perra be! Thy power perra sterk. Ferrum natre per"

His right hand slowly moved over the floor, as if caressing it. Nothing more than a breeze could be felt moving between Valaren and Artimus. Valaren slowly opened his eyes, remaining in the same position. It appeared that his powers had helped, although he could not currently see the wounds on Artimus.



===============================================================
Rolling HEAL on Artimus:

6d6+2
3, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3 + 2 = 18

Heals 7 HP
===============================================================

The member 'Valaren' has done the following action : Diceroller

'SKILL CHECK' : 3, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3

Fellowship - The 3rd of Septem, 4:40 AM


The three remaining cultists stood amongst the slew of their fallen ranks, Artimus standing in the midst as Skyler and Garvan flew by to engage the axe-wielding man.

Suddenly, the maiden upon the altar began to shriek. The cultist snapped his head back to stare at her, idly parrying Garvan's trident as he spun and shouted in a foreign tongue.

"AISIL! AISIL OMAGHARA!

Joy was trembling through the man, when suddenly an explosion rocked the chamber. The woman cried out in excruciating agony as a wave of dark air cascaded across the room, extinguishing the torches that burned upon the wall.

She shrieked again, the shockwave causing the ceiling to loose its timber as stones and sediment rained down upon the fellowship. The statue of the Golden Daemon rocked back and forth above the woman, suspended by the chains bolted into the ceiling.

The cultmaster laughed in glee, swinging his axe around to clear space. With a grunt, he extended his hand and called out in some draconic tongue:

"Erubita, espa!"

With force, a ball of fire erupted from his fingertips, colliding with Skyler and Garvan. The conflagration exploded, flames washing over their flesh as Skyler was flung back off of the platform and landed on the floor with a crash.

Smoke rose from his flesh, the young man gasping for air desperately as he stared at the ceiling, his vision blacked out.

[Garvan hit by Firebomb for 6 damage]
[Skyler hit by Firebomb for 17 damage (AT -5 HIT POINTS!)]
[Cult leader hit by Firembomb for 6 damage]

[...]

Artimus parried the cultists as they closed in on him, their daggers striking at the mariner like biting snakes.

Effortlessly, he repelled their strikes, closing in for the kill...


===================

OK Guys, skyler is -5 hit points. He will continue to lose 1D3 hit points per round until he is at -10, at which point he will die.

EXP: +50 EXP each

-LK

Midnorton flinched from the explosive fire attack and watched as their new companion Skyler went down within the flames. Sweat dripped from his brow, scared the fire attack might target him next. But he still kept his head clear, knowing, that clearing the way for all of his companions to attack the main threat was more important than going after the fire user directly.

With that thought in mind, Midnorton unleashed more arrows and watched as the last three cultists blocking the way to the altar drop with his arrows embedded in them.

Midnorton screamed out, with a slight sense of urgency. “NOW. TAKE HIM DOWN BEFORE HE CAN ATTACK AGAIN!”

================

Remains in Zone 1.

Killed three more cultists.

A searing flame blast directly into Skyler's face. Such agony... had never been felt before. His flesh was ripping directly off as the heat began to melt through his skin and organs. Skyler screamed out in pure agony and despair.

AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
OH THE PAIN!!! THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Quickly his vision was lost. Was this the end? Was this how he was doomed to be finished? The end of his journey came so sudden. The cool-headed youngster was now at the brink of death. Nothing more could come of him... He had but mere moments before he would be completely lost.
Normally you'd expect a man on fire to be running about screaming in agony. But Skyler could do no such thing. The blast had hit him so hard it rendered his entire body limp and useless. The last bits of screaming were all he could speak out before he was gone.
And then... whether he liked or not, he faced death itself.

The scythe had been swung, his string cut. His story was over...

======================================================
Skyler dead D=
new character?

Artimus felt a warm calm of whispered words wash over his body as his severed flesh mended. It was comfortable, like slipping into warm bath. This reprieve was dashed as explosion shook his senses back to the fray.

The blast of super heated air collided with mariner, bringing with it the scent of burnt cloth and seared flesh. Artimus covered his face from the momentary and oppressive heat. The merciless fireball had sundered the young Skyler with a dazzling display of light carnage, sending him limb body tumbling to the ground. Writhing in pain Skyler’s screams covered the audible sizzling of cooked his flesh.



Skyler entered into a battle not with fire or sword but with the moral bonds that tie man to life. Artimus was his ally; he would keep this nefariot at bay.

Artimus stepped with ready blade to meet the harbinger of hellacious heat slashing his salutations. Turning his wrist inside he cut with a wide arc, claiming the space between he and his opponent, This Sheppard of Misguided Nihilists. The way cleared Artimus claimed the space with A forwards footwork action ‘Passe Avant’ a cross forward his rear foot moving n front of forward foot on the body's inside into the ‘en garde’ stance. The Swordsman feinted for a moment before thrusting his blade in a single powerful movement. Artimus aimed to bury his blade to the hilt but he could not find the mark , his attack turned away as the blow glanced off the cult leaders hide

dying roll
each number divide by two round up
4 = 2

-2 hitpoints
at -7 now
could be dead soon

The member 'Skyler Terska' has done the following action : Diceroller

'DAMAGE' : 4

//Ok so I just wrote an awesome post but when i clicked submit is was all like someone else has posted and I didnt realized and lcicked the home button... Sooooo my post is gone. Not writing that again lol//


Garvan attacks. Fire hurts. He is mad. Does 20 DMG.

Valaren jumped up in a fashion that seemed unprecedented for a man of his age. He had seen the impact of the fireball and knew that time would be of the essence. It seemed like he had underestimated the cult leader. He had done some tremendous damage to the one Valaren had learned to be Skyler. The room had been cleared by his allies, so Valaren would have no trouble concentrating on Skyler's wounds.

"These wounds are lethal! I'm not sure if I can save him just by using my powers."

He looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to soothe the wounds. The room had been used by cultists, so there had to be something. ANYTHING.

He decided to attempt to heal Skyler first. This would be an attempt to keep him out of death's cold embrace. After that, he would attempt to use something to relieve the pain.

Valaren dropped his staff, now using his left hand to hover over Skyler's body. He knew that any attempt to touch him would cause an unbearable pain. He used his right hand to move over the cold floor once more. It was an attempt to use the elements to heal the wounds. A cold breeze could once more be felt between him and his subject...


==================================

Roll 1: Knowledge, Valaren uses his knowledge of metals, herbs and medicine to look around the room for anything he could use to soothe the pain.
5d6+2
2+4+3+5+3+2= 19



Roll 2: Heal on Skyler
6d6+2
1+5+2+4+2+2+2 = 18 = 7 HP
==================================

The member 'Valaren' has done the following action : Diceroller

#1 'SKILL CHECK' : 2, 4, 3, 5, 3

--------------------------------

#2 'SKILL CHECK' : 1, 5, 2, 4, 2, 2

Fellowship - The 3rd of Septem, 4:41 AM


Valaren felt the channel of life move through his body, Skyler's chest heaving with energy even as his hair and clothing still singed from the fiery blast.

A chaotic wind had begun to circle the room, bits of sediment kicking up from the ground as the woman on the altar scremed irreverantly, the head cultist waving his fiery axe about as the fellowship closed in upon them.

With a cursory glance, Valaren could see nothing about the room to stifle the pain of the young man. Beneath him, he seemed to have stabilized...but only time would tell if he would survive the deadly blast.

Suddenly an echoing crash was heard, as a segment of the ceiling fell out above the maiden and one of the two chains holding up the massive Golden statue came loose. Precariously the statue crashed down, hanging only ten feet above the woman who now heaved and screamed in agony, paralyzed as waves of black energy pulsed from her bloated stomach.

Amidst the whipping wind the cultist lashed out with his axe, whipping the heavy weapon around with calculated force. Flames licked from the blade as the fellowship moved to defend -

Garvan's trident caught the vicious blow from the axe, turning it aside as it carried on to artimus, hitting a glancing blow on the mariner's leathers.

[Garvan - Missed]
[Artimus - 12+1(fire damage) - 11DR = 2 damage]

==============

EXP: +50

Hey guys sorry it took so long, I had a busy weekend. Anyhow, get your posts up before 4!

SKYLER: You're at exactly 0 hit points. Roll a MIGHT check (TN 10) to stabilize, and you won't lose any HP this round. If you fail your might check, you lose 1D3 HP. You're lucky buddy, I rolled privately for critical effects and you came 2 points away from a seriously damaged leg and some permanent AGI loss.

Cheers,

-LK

With Skyler stabilized, or at least seemed to be stabilized, Midnorton focused on the axe-wielding man and the pregnant woman. He couldn’t be positive, but it seemed like the woman’s unborn child was either being used to summon something or was the thing being summoned.

He was confident Artimus and Garvan could take down the big guy, but if the ritual was to be finished, things could get really dangerous.

Midnorton had decided. With resolve, he aimed an arrow at the woman’s belly.

“Forgive me woman. But your unborn child must be removed from this situation.”

*TWANG*

Midnorton’s arrow flew passed the axe man and *THUNKED* into the woman’s belly…

He hoped this stopped the dark ritual in its tracks instead of making it worse and did not kill the woman.

===================

Unsure about the Dodge and DR of the woman and the unborn child in her belly.
Rolled 9 attack and 16 damage (unmodified).

Valaren was still kneeling down next to Skyler. This was no longer his fight. He would remain alongside Skyler, hoping to see any sort of improvement. Valaren spoke to Skyler, whispering words like a shepherd attempting to keep his sheep away from the wolf.

There was nothing he could do for now, he did not possess the strength to continuously heal his companions. This was Skyler's fight now...

Death... Life... Areas in which one should never transcend… To fall into death and return to life. One could only imagine why…? Why was such a thing possible? Skyler was sure that he had been put to death permanently. But for a moment, his eyes opened again. He saw the face of his companion Valaren, his hand glowing above Skyler with one hand on the ground. He looked around… his eyes blurry and faint. The entire room felt like a battleground, and he belonged with the other dead bodies lying on the floor. Skyler tried to fight to get up, but the burns were too severe. His limbs still paralyzed. He attempted to say a few last words:

”Water…. “
Skyler took one last deep breath.
”Dan…”

But then, the darkness overcame him again. The burns inflicted further damage over his body. The valiant efforts of the mage were not enough. Hope grew dim as Skyler fell closer to into the depths. His life was nearing an end…


===================
Skill check for might (not happening)
Might = 2 (getting hurt again)

Damage check for getting hurt again (since it is happening)
Damage = 6/2 = 3
so i'm back to -3

The member 'Skyler Terska' has done the following action : Diceroller

#1 'SKILL CHECK' : 2

--------------------------------

#2 'DAMAGE' : 6