Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Narf - clever.]

Just then, the damping dust starts impacting the shield. Every time a paticle impacts, there is a brief flare up, and a small grain of sand falls to the ground. Meanwhile, the glow from the shield decreases with each impact.

Jack "Damping dust! I've read about it, but we never got past theory on it; nobody could think of a worthwhile purpose, and the counter was simple enough - wind or excess energy. The spell that makes the wind is subject to the dust, but once the air is in motion it doesn't require a spell to maintain that motion, and the dust gets carried away. Excess power overloads the dust and negates its power. Arthur, are you up to a breeze?"

[ July 22, 2003, 07:33: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur "Hmmm. A breeze. Let's see what I can do..."

Suddenly, the air in front of the group is clogged with dirt and rocks which form a swirling funnel. The vortex sweeps down the tunnel, demolishing what's left of the shield. As the damping dust collides with the funnel, rocks and earth go flying in all directions, including several back at the party. The damping dust is carried along until the funnel impacts the tunnel wall down near the curve, with the resulting tremor dropping more dirt and stones along the tunnel. A brief rain shower helps clear the air of dust, both magical and ordinary.

Arthur "That should clear things up for a bit, although they probably have more of that dust. I hope you didn't want a drink anytime soon, Narp; I used the water in your canteen as a starter for that shower."

From around the corner, a brief greenish glow is seen as the cries of pain from the wounded soldier subside.

[ooc: Arthur does tend to take the direct path, even if it isn't the most practical one. Let's see; that probably leaves some effective damping dust along the floor, which could crop up later as (telekinetically propelled?) mud; someone has a healing spell/amulet/etc.; and we still have at least three healthy opponents. This is just getting good! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

[ July 22, 2003, 07:46: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[didn't think of wind. but there is a problem: your pushing air against air, which would mean that you would have to keep putting power in it. breezes don't Last long if the fan is off. or in other words, i think there's a problem with your Posts. so my powder is still good. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ok, it's my turn. but my brain is fried, so seeya tomorrow. ok,]

Narp "ok, Jack, you create one of those golems and send it after the ones in front of us. there probably going to send ones around behind us. that should at least tell us which of the other tunnels isn't a trap or if there's a hidden tunnel. D, you find us some place to teleport to. Arther, you find out where the telepath and his soldiers are. once Arther finds a likely location for the telepath, that's where we go. John, keep a watch for enemy spells. i'll keep watch."

Narp nocks an arrow and half-draws his bow.

ooc:[yeah, not much. but i couldn't think of anything else to do.]

[ July 23, 2003, 07:17: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack constructs another golem and sends it forwards.

After stepping into the mud, a green glow can be seen where the golem steps. With each step, the golem slows. After a few steps, it crumbles to dust.

Jack "Hmm, it seems the dust in the mud is still active. Let's see, the dust is stuck on the floor, so...."

Jack forms another golem, and sends it off down the tunnel. However, this one flies a short distance above the floor, and makes it through just fine.

Jack "It's fun playing with that golem spell; almost anything can be incorporated into it, with a little work."

[ July 23, 2003, 07:21: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: rrrrrgh_I_did_it_again http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif ]

[ July 23, 2003, 07:59: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur quickly checks for any signs of life.

Arthur "It seems our three friends have a few comrades around. I'd guess that there are parallel tunnels on either side of us, with a connecting tunnel running perpendicular through them." He pauses, then adds something to the spell. "In fact, it resembles a barracks, although only ten or twelve people are here right now. Jack, please verify this, but the three are running to our left, and five more are running alongside us in their general direction. There are two more farther to the left and stationary. I'm getting the delay from there, so I'd guess it's the psi and possibly a bodyguard. I can't tell exactly what, but it doesn't seem human."

[ July 23, 2003, 08:01: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack checks the life detection spell he is maintaining.

Jack "I've got the same readings. Of course, I should; it's the same spell at its core."

Sounds of battle can be heard down the hallway as the golem engages the soldiers at the end of the hall.

John "We could use some invisibility here, D"

D "Sure."

D makes the party invisible, then pulls out a small crystal ball and starts scrying.

[ July 23, 2003, 08:14: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[thanks to Jack for post-extending stuff]

a few minutes, and much tension, later...

D "i have there location."

Jack "i'm teleporting now. please fasten your hands together and put your bodies in an upright position. in the case of an emergency, scream as you go down the swirling vortex. please keep your appendages inside the dimensional effect at all times. thank you and have a safe ZAP."

ZAP!

as the party teleports in, they can see a round room with no one in it. and then a loud roar come from behind them.

ooc:[i was laughing while i was doing this. i'm at the weird part of tired.]

[ August 03, 2003, 02:06: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

At the sound, Jack calmly turns around, and sees what looks like a giant black bug. Its four legs clatter on the ground as it moves its two jagged arms to bring a half-eaten deer carcass up to its clattering mandibles, which make short work of the deer remains. The creature's antenna wave around momentarily, then it roars again. A woman's voice can be heard:

Woman "Oh do be quiet; nobody's here. If someone was, I'd know about it."

At that, the creature stops roaring, as though the voice held power over the creature. The woman steps into view from behind the creature; she is a shapely lass, wearing a fancy blue dress and a silver tiara.

ooc:[Good thing we are invisible to both sight and Psionics, isn't it? I'm thinking a giant black preying mantis, that roars.]

ooc:[Yes, that is a wierd point of tired.]

[ July 23, 2003, 10:01: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: assuming the psi/pet/hallway/entrance are behind us, I am going clockwise around the room.]

Arthur decides he would rather examine the room than the roar. It appears to be a combination armory and storage room. Next to the party are two sets of heavy, oaken, free-standing shelves. One is filled with comestibles and potables, the other with large cloth sacks. A well and a pump are next to the shelves. Further around are rows of racks for swords, spears, helmets, shields, and crossbows; most are empty, although a few weapons remain. A barred door beyond the racks leads to a cell. Completing the circle is a wooden doorway; the door is ajar and appears to lead to someone's private quarters.

Arthur finally turns to look at the beast, backing up to get a little more room as he does so. His foot catches in something as he turns, and he looses his balance, crashing into the nearest shelf. It rocks wildly, sending a massive keg crashing to the floor and soaking the party. Arthur attempts to stand up amidst a rain of vegetables but slips on the floor, now slick with foaming ale. He falls against the second shelf, which creaks loudly as it tips, then stops on the verge of falling. Before anybody can breath a sigh of relief, a shelf breaks, sending the entire unit crashing toward the party. The bags in the middle are carried with the shelf, which falls out from under the two on the top. Arthur rolls out of the way, while the others quickly step back. As the shelf hits the floor, it flips forward over the sacks on the floor. The two sacks from the top shelf are just catching up, and are catapulted directly at the party. Narp manages to catch one with a large knife and the other with his shield, causing them to burst and spewing flour over the entire party.

Damping flour.

Arthur finally manages to stand up, his foot still stuck in the bucket into which he was teleported.

[ooc: YAY! Time for some real fun! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ]

[ July 23, 2003, 22:42: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack hears the commotion, and turns around just in time to see the flour coat him. He looks down at himself, and notices he can see himself.

Jack "Hmm. Well, that's annoying. Ahh well; that's what capacitors are for...."

ooc:[The capacitor was inside his robes; neither the capacitor nor Jack's link to it would have been immediately affected.]

Jack squints, and and the flour on him can be seen to glow a brilliant green as Jack overloads it and the flour degrades into sand. The glow spreads out, forming an tight ovoid around Jack, where it clears considerably, flashing occasionaly as a little of the flour still in the air comes into contact. It quickly becomes clear that Jack is continuously supplying the shield, as it doesn't dim.

Jack "Now for the rest..."

At this point, the giant bug and the woman start to move on Jack, but suddenly find that they have more important worries when Jack casts his next spell; the other party members recognize it as a variation on the spell Jack used to retrieve John's ring. It has the same light bending characteristics, but this one doesn't have a quiet black dot at the center, and doesn't take nearly so long to form. No, this one forms instantly, and has a black sphere the size of a melon at its heart. The sphere forms touching the edge of Jack's shield, and the spell's true effect becomes apparent as everyone feels a strong tug towards the sphere, and everything starts rushing towards it; the swords, spears, helmets, shields, and crossbows from the rack, the comestibles and potables from the shelf, the large cloth sacks, the fragments of shelving, the dust and the very air in the room all rush into Jack's dark sphere. The only one in the room completely unaffected by it is Jack himself, safe in the shield he built.

ooc:[Any other objects weighing less than about 50 lbs that weren't well-secured would have flown into the sphere as well; a good grip (Narp's sword and shield, for example) counts as well-secured.]

After just an instant, the room is cleared, and Jack closes his hole in reality. Air rushes in through the open doorway to fill the void, ripping the doors off their hinges and howling like a banshee for a few seconds. Then Jack calmly turns back and smiles at the bug.

The bug starts to run out the open door, but a look from the woman stops it cold.

Jack "Sorry about that everyone; I couldn't figure out how to get the shielding around you properly because of the flour. Don't worry; we can get everything back; I sent it all to John's workroom."

John "All that damping flour in MY WORKROOM!?"

Jack pounds a fist into his palm.

Jack "I knew I was forgetting something. Sorry about that. I can help you clean it up later if you like."

ooc:[Some of the damping flour would have become ground into the cloth in the room; John, Arthur, and D still have some cleaning up to do before they can cast spells unencumbered by the dust.]

[ July 25, 2003, 18:24: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[she's summoning her bandits. and the bug'll have enough flour on it to interfere with spells, for plot purposes. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ok, don't post when your ready to fall asleep. gonna fix. ]

Reacting quickly, the psi stands still and closes her eyes for a moment. Also reacting quickly, Narp shoots the arrow which he had nocked. unfortunatly, the arrow is flicked aside two feet from her, into the wall, where it shatters. the peices go flying around the room, but nothing dangerous hits anybody anywhere vulnerable.

Her eyes snap open, and she frowns in concentration. Then, she mentally heaves the bug at the group. Narp is clipped on the upper shoulder and doees two full fips and a half-spin before hitting the wall, Jack is hit solidly on the upper chest and does three-quarters of a flip, ending up face down and somehow not very hurt and the bug hits John at an angle and knocks him flying into Arther, whose legs shoot out from under him. The bucket goes flying off his foot, bounces off the opposite wall and then the ceiling and finishes by landing on the bugs eye.

At that point, the bug rears up and looks for a target. a close target.

The psi appears to be concentrating with her eyes open.

ooc:[she's trying to find a way around our shielding. she can tell something is wrong, since her psi senses are telling her we're not where her eyes tell us she is. the bug is to distract us while she does that.]

[ July 24, 2003, 23:11: Message edited by: Narf'scompatshop ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Of course Jack isn't seriously hurt - he hadn't dropped the shield he used to hold off the flour coming his way and insulating himself from the effects of the wormhole while he eliminated the rest of the flour.]

ooc:[She's concentrating on getting around our defenses? Not for long....]

Jack teleports onto his feet, and then starts teleporting rocks from Arthur's mountain into the room, directly over the Psi's head. Large rocks. Lots of them. The woman notices before they hit, however, and starts throwing them telekenetically. Every time she does, Jack teleports the thrown rock back over her head. When Jack has a free moment, he teleports another rock in. After just a few seconds, the two reach equilibrium; it seems Jack can teleport things in just as fast as the woman can divert them with telekenisis. Equilibrium seems to be five large rocks, each of which gets teleported and telekenetically thrown a few times per second. Jack sweats profusely from the concentration, while the Psi perspires heavily for the same reason.

ooc:[Both Jack and the Psi are at their limit on how much they can handle at once. If the Psi tries something, she'll get hit on the head by a rock, and will be out of the fight. If Jack tries something, he'll miss a rock the Psi throws, and someone will get hit (probably Jack, if the Psi knows who is doing all the teleporting...). In the meantime, Narp, Arthur, D, the bug, and John are available for action; can the four remaining party members take on the bug?]

[ July 28, 2003, 18:31: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur grabs a nearby halberd and waves it in the general direction of the bug. Unimpressed, the bug snatches the weapon from his hands and snaps it in two with its mandibles. D and John decline to offer similar resistance and begin backing away, flinging anything they can find at the bug. All three periodically attempt to burn off the damping flour with which they are coated, but their attempts are fruitless. Just as the bug backs them up against a wall, John quickly tosses a side of pork into the air. While the bug is distracted, he dives under it and plunges down the well. Arthur and D look puzzled for a minute, but quickly decide to follow suit as the bug polishes off the meat. As they disappear down the well, a well-timed arrow from Narp smacks into the back of the bug's head. The arrow snaps, and the bug turns angrily around in search of its tormentor. Narp, across the room, appears to be a willing culprit. The bug begins to stalk in his direction.

[ July 27, 2003, 21:06: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Narp shoots it in the left eye. The bug leaves off stalking, rears up on it's hind legs and emits a shriek which momentarily stops everyone as they grab there ears in pain. unfortunatly, there was no rock above the telepath at that moment.

Narp takes the opportunity to shoot another arrow at it's right eye. unfortunatly, it snaps a limb up and blocks the arrow. then it charges at Narp. Narp throws his bow accross the room, drops his pack, waits till the Last second, then rolls under the bug. the case protects the arrows and the bug smacks into the wall. Narp takes a moment to shove the tip of his sword into a natural crack in the bugs armor while rolling. and he keeps on rolling till he reaches the other wall, where he rolls to his feet and turns to face the bug...

[ July 31, 2003, 07:48: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

The momentary break in the action gives Jack an idea, and he switches over to inertial teleports, placing the rocks the psi diverts in places where their intertia will carry them into the psi. It's only a slightly greater strain on Jack's concentration, as he is watching from a distance; the psi, however, is in the middle of it. When she knocks one away from her, it flies at her from behind. They are coming at her from multiple angles, and she now must react to new positions.

After a moment, it becomes clear that she can't handle the extra strain as one of the rocks gets through and hits her head rather hard, knocking her down. The remainder miss, but she doesn't get back up.

Jack teleports the ones that missed and drops them on the psi's head for good measure.

Jack turns and looks at the bug.

Jack "Now, what are we going to do about you?"

[ July 31, 2003, 08:30: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

At that moment, the well spews a veritable waterspout, from which the three missing mages appear. They seem waterlogged but otherwise healthy, and nearly all of the damping flour has been washed off. D promptly makes the party invisible again; Arthur sends a tornado to dance in front of the bug and distract it; and John fires off a couple of large fireballs. The flames glance off the bug's rear plating and strike the remainder of the shelves, quickly igniting them and devouring the remainder of the food. The bug shrieks again in rage.

John "That's a pity; I was looking forward to trying some of that salted beef. My, what a lot of noise from something with such a small head!"

D silences the bug, much to the relief of five pairs of ears.

Arthur "Much better. Maybe now I can think. Let's see..."

He sends a wave of force magic at the bug's legs to knock it down, followed by another wave to flip it. A blanket of force then holds it to the floor; by the strained bulging of its plates, it would seem that tremendous pressure is being applied to the gigantic insect. Everyone is grateful for the silence spell; it is evident from the wild gyrations of its legs and mandibles that it is making a dreadful racket.

Arthur "Should I just finish squishing it, or does someone have any ideas which would make less of a mess?"

A groan comes from what's left of the psi, who seems to be maintaining some level of consciousness despite the severity of her wounds.

[ooc: Given the filter spell and the "borrowing" of John's skills, it's possible that both the psi and the bug have death-activated spells. Also, it would be nice to get some answers from the psi. Doesn't have to be healing/interrogation; could be diary/journal/find-a-flunky-and-interrogate-him.]

[ July 31, 2003, 09:05: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack "You seem to have burned enough of the flour off. We could teleport it somewhere; perhaps a cage, so it could be studied."

Jack "Meanwhile though, I ought to do something about that psi."

Jack walks over to the moaning woman, and baths her in a green light. Sparks flash as the flour is slowly overloaded, and after a moment, the flashes stop. Jack then forms a small green bubble between his hands, and places it into the woman's head.

Jack "There, that should hold your power in check for a time. I never did get to the method for chaining a spell to another unwillingly. That would probably be quite useful here. No matter. That was quite well played. Now then...."

Jack reaches down to start healing the Psi.

ooc:[Feel free to stop him if you think she's better off injured.]

[ July 31, 2003, 10:14: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

A few moments later, bandits burst through the door.

Narp hits one in the chest with an arrow as several throw familair bags through the air.

The psi, although still wounded, does something clever and suddenly backhands Jack accross the room. He slams into a wall.

Arther gets two bags in the chest and Narp gets one on his shield. John manages to duck and the bag hits the force wall holding the bug down. fortunatly, it doesn't burst. unfortunatly, it appears to be dissolving the shield.

ooc:[since your spell is covering her head, she's improved her neural signals. it'll improve her strength and speed, but she can't do it for long. and i decided my character doesn't have to be the only one to hit walls. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ]

[ August 01, 2003, 07:07: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack stands back up, and notices his left arm is dangling loose.

Jack "Hmm, that needs fixing...."

The psi makes a lunge at Jack, but he teleports her back, then levitates her in the middle of the room, keeping everything out of reach.

Jack's right hand glows green, and he runs it over his left arm, which starts responding again.

Jack "That's better."

The bandits throw a few more bags of flour at Jack, but he teleports aside before they can hit.

Jack (to Psi) "Hmm, I was expecting you to wait until I was done healing your wounds before playing again. I suppose it's because your reenforecements arrived."

The bandits let loose a volly of arrows at Jack, but he again teleports aside.

[ August 01, 2003, 19:18: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur quickly throws up a massive force wall in front of the bandits, channelling through his hands to avoid the flour clinging to his wet clothing. The wall is losing power fairly quickly, but should Last for half a minute or so despite the hordes of angry bandits pounding on it.

Arthur "Narp, why don't you rinse the rest of that flour off? It would sure make it easier for Jack to patch you up."

Another force wall knocks Narf off his feet and slides him into the pump, snapping it off at its base and rendering it useless.

Arthur "Umm...oops. Heh heh."

John grabs the bucket from the well and lowers it as quickly as he can. He manages to get a full bucket up and douse Narp with it just as the force wall disintegrates.

Arthur "What? That should have had at least another ten or fifteen seconds left! Ohhhh..."

Three wizards at the back of the group are just finishing up their dispels and beginning on some decidedly hostile-looking fireballs.

[ August 09, 2003, 21:51: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooo:[ok, i tried posting and it came out bad. boring.]

[ August 06, 2003, 08:18: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack kicks the sack of flour off the bug.

Jack teleports aside from yet another arrow, and glances at the now drenched Narp.

Jack "Ah, I see you've gotten the dust cleaned off. We can leave now then."

With that, Jack teleports the party to the animation mage's cave. Narp, Arthur, Jack, D, and John all find themselves standing on the ground, while the black bug and the psi can be seen thrashing about in the air, out of reach of everything.

Jack "There - much easier than binding them to the ground."

Jack "Arthur, there was a massive power drain on your robe; did you take a hit from a flour bag while I wasn't looking?"

Jack (to Narp) "Your shield still had some dust on it, but I thought it would be best to leave the dust there, in case you need to stop a spell anytime soon, so I left it behind during the standard teleport; I'll get it now."

Jack holds his hands a few feet apart, and does that same spacewarp thing again, and Narp's shield clatters to the floor.

In watching the shield fall, Jack notices that his right boot stayed behind as well.

Jack "Ah yes, I forgot I left my boot behind as well. Hmm..."

Jack holds his hands a few feet apart, repeats his spell, catches his boot, and baths it in a green glow. The boot sparks briefly at its toe as the dust overloads. Then Jack puts it back on.

Jack "That should do it. Is anyone injured?"

[ August 08, 2003, 07:44: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[well, it's been a few days. maybe my brain has cleared up. oh yes, the baron...]

Narp "any chance you could integrate the flour into the shield? In the meantime, maybe you should see if you can mind read the psi."

Narp sits down, pulls his toolkit out of his backpack and starts polishing his sword and new bow. he puts the shield down face-up near him.

"Oh, yeah. You should probably see where everybody is."

a few minutes earlier, near the mountain...

The baron shook his head suddenly. what was he doing? He was chasing the group that had...but...none of his actions where characteristic. He looked around in confusion. one thing seemed apparent: "Get some real scouts out!"

All rulers were trained to recognize mental influence. The effectivity depended on the individual and it wasn't perfect, but still...
"Head back! We're going back to the manor! Fast!"

The soldier's we're even more confused and worried about the baron's state of mind. But at least he had decent scouts out now.

The bandits approaching the manor could see it clearly now the rain was gone; it hadn't Lasted long. The leader gave an order and they all made sure that any bright object was either sheathed or covered with mud, that nothing would clank and pLastered their faces. The advance began again.

ooc:[The psi could have been smoothing over small disagreements; it could manifest, long term. it looks like it cleared up. Yaay! humourus song reference intended.]

[ August 09, 2003, 07:21: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: Yep, it's been in progress for a long time. Progress, KS, that is. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

Arthur "Power drain? Was that the sucking sound coming from my robes? Yes, I caught a couple of bags in the chest while you were fixing your arm."

Arthur confers with John for a moment, then turns to face the group.

Arthur "John and I think we should probably get back to the baron, or at least back to the manor. We need to check on the bandits which were headed there. There isn't any pressing reason for us to stay here since the bandits are gone and the bug and psi are incapcitated. We can come back later, or we could bring them along with us, if need be. And John's first responsibility is to the baron, even though this adventuring thing is fun."

John "Yes, and there is the small matter of my workroom to attend to." He rolls his eyes. "Actually, I have another important matter to attend to. Jack, D, Narp, I need you as witnesses. Should Arthur survive the battle with the bandits at the manor, or if there is no battle, the third signet ring shall be his. If I am killed in the battle, I solemnly charge Narp to act as my agent and to surrender the ring to Arthur."

Arthur looks at John in surprise for a moment, then turns to the rest of the group. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find out what's going on out there!" He mumbles something to himself, then recalls the scrying spell they were using earlier.

[ooc: I'll let someone else decide what's happening out there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

[ August 10, 2003, 20:46: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack "Sorry Narp, that stuff is inimical to magic; the best I could do with it is put some glue on it to hold the dust in place, but I don't have any glue with me. Besides, I'd have to keep leaving it behind every time we teleport or burn the dust out. By the way, Arthur, your robes should be clear of the dust now, it was burned out in the teleport."

Jack "However, I could enchant it to dismantle incoming spells and store the energy to power something. It would even eat dispels. However, I'd set it to ignore my spells, so I could pop it around with us. I could even seal it between the wood backing and the steel coating so it would be safe from dust. However, that would take a few hours, and we don't have the time quite yet. Meanwhile, consider what spell you would like me to put in."

Jack "As for the bug and psi, we may as well leave them here. They're harmless as long as I continue to maintain all three spells. If we bring them, someone could dust them, breaking the holding spells."

ooc:[Of course, someone might come along in the cave, break the binding as well, and then gate them over. We didn't confirm that first mage's death, and it is his cave.]

[ August 11, 2003, 05:52: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Narp "well, i was thinking you could manipulate the metal to absorb the dust, but sucking up spells..."

starts muttering to himself about various enchanted shields...

Arther finishes his scrying spell..."There's about a hundred life forms approaching the castle. there's still only thirty there and the baron's turned around. Seems to have broken the psi's control."

ooc:[well, i didn't see that i had much to do. the only things left: mind read psi. can't do. check castle: can't do. teleport to castle: can't do. defend castle: can do. squeek like a mouse: can do. and if he's gonna take a few hours to think...]

[ August 12, 2003, 08:02: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur "Okay, I think we should leave for the manor house. The hundred presumed bandits are about 4 minutes out, while the baron and his men are closer to 20 or even 30. Jack, how about taking us back? Not to the workroom, either; I don't want to deal with the dust anytime soon."

John "The dining hall should be fine, as it's usually deserted around this time of night. We eventually need to head for the courtyard, but I don't want to risk appearing there in the midst of any guards that are left. Most the castle has heard rumors now that three ghosts are visiting the baron." He shakes his head. "The problem with most of these peasant folk is that they're so superstitious. Seeing magic in action does more to increase their superstition rather than lessen it. They just don't understand that magic is an orderly art, not a haphazard jumbling of mystical reagents and mumblings."

Three seconds later, the party is back in the dining hall, which is dark and deserted.

[ August 14, 2003, 04:47: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack retrieves Narp's shield with his spacewarp, while D lights his staff again.

Jack (as he hands Narp his shield) "While I could possibly manipulate the metal, I wouldn't be able to manipulate it where it's needed - touching the dust. If the dust were removed, I altered the metal, and then the dust were reapplied, I couldn't re-seal the metal without ruining the dust. This is one of those applications where it's actually much simpler to use a normal method. However, it should still stop a spell or two as is."

Under the light from D's staff, the dining room comes into view. Everything has been cleaned up and put away, although there is a slight lingering scent of the Last meal: roast duck. The red velvet chairs at the Baron's table have all been neatly tucked in under the tablecloth, which has a detailed scene depicting a silver knight, clad head to toe in shining plate, doing battle with with a large green dragon, wings spread and belching flame. The benches at the rough-hewn servants' table, worn smooth from years of use, have been slid under the table, without ceremony, and fresh straw has been lain on the floor.

Jack "Narp, how do we go about organizing a defense?"

[ August 14, 2003, 07:18: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[i'm assuming the manor has a central turret which is the highest and then a lower wizard's tower and that the walls have lower tower's.]

Narp "mumble mumble. mumble. general mumble high ground mumble. defensive mumble mumble."

"Ok, Jack, John, Arther, D. D, you make all of us invisible, then we go up to the top of the center tower. two of you face the woods on the right, two of you face the woods on the left. If the bandits have any kind of leader, and we can't assume they don't, they'll attack all along the wall, then concentrat some of there forces on the weak points. Their greatest advantage is suprise, so Jack, you send a golem at the bandits. make sure no-one in the manor knows where it comes from, since we don't know their attitude towards us. we don't need it to do much damage, just reveal their presence. Since they'll have flour to, it probably won't anyway. Then, when the bandits are fully engaged, you all start bLasting at their rear ranks so there's no friendly fire. At that point, it won't matter so much when we reveal ourselves. I know the towers are in the way, but work around them. I'll give suggestions as nessasary."

ooc:[feel free to stick strategetic type words in Narp's mouth.]

[ August 14, 2003, 08:24: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack teleports everyone to the roof of the central tower, and then retrieves Narp's shield via spacewarp. The view from the tower would be splendid, if only it was light out. Jack teleports in a bunch of sand for the golem.

Jack "Let's see...."

Jack creates a golem from the sand he teleported in, but this isn't quite a standard golem; its left arm is thin and jagged, with no hand. It looks suspiciously like a saw blade.

Jack "There - that should get them noticed."

Jack (to golem) "Cut tree limbs off of the trees in that forest and drop those tree limbs on the bandit army in that forest from high above. Dodge anything sent your way. Do not enter any clouds of dust."

Hearing its command, the golem starts to fly off to the forest, but Jack intervens and teleports it to just above the tree line. The golem ducks into the trees, and a few moments later, low thuds and faint screams can be heard from that direction.

Jack brings in more sand and starts repeating the procedure....

Jack "That arm can't bend much - I had to reenforce it to make it hard enough to saw wood. But then again, it doesn't need to bend much."

[ August 16, 2003, 06:34: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

The forest did not come up to the castle walls--such a state would allow enemies to approach unnoticed. It did, however, come close enough that Jack's golems could harass the bandits until they were within two and a half bowshots from the castle. Those closest to the leader were staying fairly close together with shields held above their heads; several on the edges were dragging; and a few had thrown down their weapons and were in flight, cursing the "haunted" woods. All told, there were still eighty-five or ninety fighting men, several with slight wounds. Most were armed with swords, although eight or ten sergeants carried halberds.

The bandits had gladly left the cover of the wood and its assault of branches, finding it was still dark enough not to be seen. They had slowly advanced up the hill toward the manor house, stopping about a bowshot away for some brief instructions from their lieutenant, right around the time the party teleported to the central tower.

As the bandits resume their approach, several explosions occur behind them. When they turn around, a force wall sweeps through the group a foot from the ground, knocking dozens off their feet. A few try to run, but are stopped by a gruff word from their commander. They form ranks and head for the wall double-time, silently preparing for the attack.

[ August 17, 2003, 01:45: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[sounds like the alert has been given. maybe half servants/half guards? in any case, i'll call them all guards.]

shouts echo from the walls. A few moments later, globes of magical light flare out around the wall. John mutters "now those, i remember. A minor, but well-done spell." Guards run out of the towers and line the walls as ladders and grappeling hooks hit the wall. Bags of flour fly both ways, but the globes avoid those aimed at them. They don't appear to have any substance, simply floating in air. Guards push ladders and hack at ropes.

Narp "The defenders are holding, but barely. Maybe a noisy distraction would be better next time, Jack. A few minutes more, then bombard."

at the walls, several on both sides pull out low-level magical items.

ooc:[there. something fun for the next person. The globes don't nessasarily have to be all John's idea, to.]

[ August 20, 2003, 06:07: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack teleports his golems back, who are all holding tree branches, having had no quarry in the forest to drop them on for a time.

Jack "Noisier, hmm?"

Jack (to golems) "Cancel previous orders. Return to that forest, drop the branches you are carrying, find a tree at least three feet in diameter at its base, or failing to find such a tree, the largest tree in the forest; cut it down, bring it to a position five feet away from this tower, and await further orders."

The golems, having their orders, start to fly back towards the forest, but Jack again teleports them to just above the tree line.

Jack "There - give them a minute or two to find and fall a good-sized tree. When they get back here, just tell me where you want them to drop it. The crash should be very noisy, and even those who can't hear will feel the thump when it hits the ground. There should be no mistaking it."

Jack "... or did you want me bombarding them some other way?"

Jack "Hey Arthur, how tight of a control do you have on the weather? Could you force the attackers to go through snow drifts or something without swamping the turrets with it? That would slow the attackers down a lot, without hindering the defense much."

[ August 20, 2003, 06:58: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur "Snow? Well, I suppose I could get snow, but limiting it to such a narrow zone would more than likely limit its density as well. I don't think it would be more than an annoyance. Now, rain, that I can do. I don't think it would be easy to climb that hill in a raging thunderstorm..."

Arthur steps away for a moment and concentrates. Low clouds suddenly gather, very low, some just a few feet above the central tower. They converge on a spot over the base of the hill, triggering a deluge so heavy it sounds like a nearby waterfall. The storm remains stationary long enough to create a muddy slough, then begins methodically working toward the manor. The grass quickly becomes slick with mud, and bandits soon are slipping every few steps. A few completely lose their balance and slide down the hill, only to sink in the yard-deep mud there. The storm stops about ten yards from the castle gates and offers yet another gift to the already-weary bandits--hail. The warriors struggle to keep their balance on the slick hill while raising their shields to ward off the fist-sized stones. The few who were already at the wall are torn between continuing the attack on their own or waiting for their comrades.

Arthur "Jack, if you could take this and link it to a good power source, it could Last for a while. If you want to use a capacitor, we can give them a good burst and then try something else. Either way, I'll need a substantial rest if I sustain this for much more than another thirty seconds."

Meanwhile, John comments to Narp, "Well, Narp, I guess that rules out any kind of sortie from the gates. Maybe if we had some good light out there, we could hit them with ranged weapons."

[ August 23, 2003, 03:28: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[ok. post. if i remember correctly, Jack's drained his capacitater. i can't remember how long it takes to charge.]

Jack "The capacitater has been drained. it will be a while before it is charged again."

ooc:[ugh.]

a few bags sail upwards, but few manage to reach the clouds. those that do however, disapate it as Arther reaches the limits of his control.

Arther "Well, that's it."

From the wall, glowing red missiles shoot from the end of a wand held by a guard and seek targets standing below. several of the bandits stagger and a few fall. then a furious but limited echange of magic takes place, with the bandits getting the worse of it as they try to avoid hitting the other bandits on the wall, who are still struggling with the gaurds.

On the hill below, one bandit is moving things on an object. It appears to be made of two dials extending out from a handle, one vertical and one horizontal, moving on two curved peices. The bandit moves one of them to one quarter from the left and the other all the way to the top. The bandit then triggers it, and it shoots out a huge ball of heat, forty feet accross. The heat is not intense though. Repeated applacations while the bandits struggle helps them out of much of the morass. Narp, however, takes the opportunity to shoot the bandit, since the heat produces some light. Another bandit quickly takes it up, and Narp has his next target.

Narp "Yeah. But with only thirty guards and half of them servants, i wouldn't want to try to sally."

ooc:[not that i came up with that sally part immediatly. i've done better than this post.]

[ August 26, 2003, 05:39: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Yep - it's empty; it takes a day or so to fully charge off Jack's normal excess production, but he has been casting quite merrily recently and hasn't been able to charge it as quickly as he normally would. Hmm, Arthur wasn't around when Jack explained what his rings do, was he?]

Jack "Arthur, you're drawing off your internal reserves? Ouch. Umm..." Jack removes one of his rings, and runs his fingers around the inside for a moment "There, I've configured my spare to give you acess for an hour or so; just pretend it's a circle of mages producing power for your spells. It should more than sustain the spells I've seen you casting quite readily. I can make you one later - my standard fee is four pounds of lead, but I'd need that in advance, as my capacitor is currently drained."

ooc:[If you're curious why lead, ask him about it - I've got an explanation ready; it even makes some amount of sense.]

Jack hands the ring to Arthur, then glances at Narp as he nocks another arrow.

Jack "You need more arrows. Let's see ... are any of those the right size?"

Jack looks down at the battlefield, and teleports one of the bandits, an archer, to a point a foot past the edge of the tower, and holds him there with some levitation. Jack then reaches down and pulls the arrows out of the very bewildered bandit's quiver, and hands them to Narp.

Jack "Are these the right size? There are more archers if not."

Before the bandit can gather his wits, Jack cancels the levitation spell, and he falls. Hearing a moan from below, Jack glances down.

Jack "Hmm, not high enough. Ah well, I can try again."

Jack again teleports the archer, over the battlefield this time, well above the level of the tower. The poor guy falls and lands on one of his fellows; neither get back up.

At this point, Jacks golems start flying back, collectively carrying a hundred foot tall maple.

Jack "Ah, the tree's ready. Where should I have them drop it?"

[ August 26, 2003, 07:05: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: Nope, he wasn't there. I don't think he even knows about the rings, except to sense that there some sort of enchantment present.]

Arthur "That sounds useful. I definitely would like to acquire one of these when we're done here. Four pounds of lead, let's see...yes...Yes, I can do that. Is there any particular reason for your fondness for lead?"

D "As for the tree, I recommend dropping it as high up the hill as practical without having the branches hit the wall. Drop it lengthwise across the hill, and it should roll or slide on down and cause some serious damage on the way."

John "Sound good to me. The only improvement I can think of is to set it on fire for the extra damage to morale."

Arthur puts the ring on and is immediately pleased with the results. Experimenting a little, he tries some lightning bolts, knocking two of the bandits off the wall. Meanwhile, the attackers on the hill have wielded their bows and are unleashing a hail of arrows on the castle.

Arthur "It seems I have better control of the weather with this. I assume the extra power is making up for the lack of finesse. Not bad, although it could backfire pretty badly if I push things too hard. Give me a minute, and I think I can sustain a force wall to shield off most of these arrows. Of course, that could block our attacks, but give me a few seconds' warning and I should be able to manage a brief hole if I don't have to deal with too much of that flour." He starts mulling over the requirements of the shield, muttering under his breath and ticking off items on the three fingers of his right hand.

[ August 28, 2003, 06:01: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[post coming. ok, not much for Narp to do...]

Narp "Yeah, the top of the slope is good. You just have to remember to release it low to the ground and with some momentium so it keeps going and doesn't make a hole."

at that moment, one of the item-weilder's among the bandits took aim at the tower with something. Then Narp hits him with an arrow. That gives one of the braver bandits a chance, and he takes up the abandoned sextant-like instrument and releases a ball of fire at the tower.

Narp *retaliating at the bandit* "Could one of you take care of that, please?"

ooc:[so i invented something.]

[ August 30, 2003, 06:37: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack pulls his capacitor out of his robes, taps his index finger to it, and a glowing green band can be seen trailing to the gem as he pulls his hand away. Jack then flicks his finger at the fireball, and the loop connects with the glowing ball of orange flame. Jack releases the green line from his finger, and it snaps back at the fireball. An instant after it impacts, the return path to the capacitor grows thick and bright as the fireball shrinks down to nothing. Once the fireball is gone, the green band is yanked back into the capacitor, and its glow increases slightly.

Jack "Hmm, not much was recoverable from that fireball. Ah well, it's something."

Jack tucks his capacitor back into his robe, and watches the golems head his way, still carrying the tree.

Jack "As for the lead - I suppose it might not have happened here; lead became the medium of exchange after an alchemist discovered a method to get enormous amounts of energy out of it. Unfortunately, the alchemist didn't live to enjoy the fruits of his labor, as he wasn't prepared for the discharge. The city didn't fare too well either."

The golems arrive, Jack directs them, and they head off to drop the tree.

Jack "It took four specialists to figure out what happened - a psychometrist, an alchemist, a minisculist, and an animatronist - but after a month they were able to recover his work. As an alchemist, he couldn't directly manipulate the forces he needed to, so his method was rather roundabout. However, he managed to convert roughly five percent of the mass of the lead to energy - three protons, three electrons, and seven neutrons per atom - leaving the rest of the material undisturbed. The pound of lead he had used released more energy than he was prepared to handle. After the investigation, it was found that the method lent itself surprisingly easily to magic, with the benefit that a mage could capture the energy to power spells. The result is a rather worthless yellow metal, useful for its conductive properties, low melting point, and color, but little else. Unfortunately, only natural lead works. There are a handful of transmutation spells that can produce lead well enough to be used for the conVersion, but they all require an energy input in excess of the amount gained from burning the lead."

At this point, the golems throw the tree down the hill, and the poor bandits that can't get out of the way in time are left lying flat in the mud.

Jack "My fee is just double my costs; it takes a little over a terawatthour to produce one of these gems, which can be obtained from burning two pounds of lead. Normally, I just get that out of my capacitor; unfortunately, it's drained at the moment, so I'd need the lead in advance."

ooc:[A unit conVersion can be gotten here; beyond the conVersion to English units and some rounding, the numbers come off of E=mc^2 and the relative masses of the two elements (to get the element left behind as ash, find lead on a periodic chart, subtract three from the atomic number, and check the matching element.]

[ August 30, 2003, 07:38: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Having finished the spell assembly while listening to Jack, Arthur erects the force shield, which rises fifteen feet above the castle wall and extends a forty-five degree sweep each side of center, giving off an eerie golden glow.

Arthur "That should knock back any arrows, although a ballista could probably get through. A projectile with a small sack of damping flour could, too. Other than that, the buildings are probably safe. I'll have a light drizzle coat the buildings, just in case something flaming gets through." A pattering of raindrops is heard on the nearby structures. "So I can't transmute, then? I can probably get four pounds of lead from a metalsmith without too much trouble." A sudden thought strikes Arthur, and he does some quick calculations in his head, stopping to confer with Narp, John, and D.

John "Jack, you said that burning the lead would leave about four pounds of waste? Do you think the four of us could each take a fourth of it? It might be interesting to study, and I'm sure the guilds and metalsmiths would be glad to take a stab at finding a use for it."

A loud crack comes from behind, followed by four or five in a row. Several large lightning bolts strike the central tower from a group of twenty bandits gathered below, sending sharp stone and debris flying. Three guards, apparently unconscious and lying on the ground, are quickly stabbed by the intruders, who advance toward the tower on the run. A nearby sentinel attempts to halt their assault with a glowing net, which dissolves on contact with the bandits with a familiar series of flashes; the guard is rewarded for his vigilance with a half-dozen bolts through his chain mail. A warning whistle sounds, and a purple flare bursts overhead as four dozen more bandits scramble over the back wall and race to join their companions.

[ooc: This could be a pre-arranged attack, although the scrying spell should have detected them. It could also be the group from the psi's cave, attacking either on standing orders or a captain's/lieutenant's orders. Didn't they have some wizards with them? And how long have we been fighting, since ISTR the baron was around 30 min. away.]

[ September 03, 2003, 05:32: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[seems to me Arther is good at npc control, to. Narp wouldn't try to rip somebody off. Arther's just going to have to lump it.]

Narp "Oh, he means gold. That's pretty valueable here, " shoots "because it's pretty rare. If this get's out that'll " shoots "change. But a fifty-fifty split with the rest " shoots " of us would be fair."

Narp hit's a fouth bandit, then a fifth. And ropes hit the top of the tower and are followed by some assorted spells, including a fireball, two lightning bolts and a green something that cracks through the air, as horsemen enter the other end of the town at a reletivily silent charge.

And in the cavern's under the mountain, five wizard's stand around a pile of magical items, using up their power to create another teleport spell for twenty more bandits.

ooc:[another short post.]

[ September 05, 2003, 06:49: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack teleports the spells onto different paths before they can impact anything; the fireball is diverted to a few of the bandits throwing ropes on the tower, who scream momentarily before becoming silent. One lightning bolt hits another, who screams, falls, and twitches on the ground for a second before lying still. The other lightning bolt hits a bandit coated in chainmail, and grounds out. The green spell impacts the chain covered bandit, and he screams as his armor turns to acid, burning his skin off.

A moment later, the smell of burnt flesh reaches the tower.

Jack "Well, I wouldn't be burning all four pounds at once anyway; I'd burn two to get the energy for the gem, and pocket the rest for later. There's no sense wasting good lead; it's dangerous if you don't have anywhere to put the energy. Normally I shape the ash into a mount for the gem - which reminds me, Arthur, what kind of mount do you prefer: ring, necklace, torc, armlet, bracelet, button, brooch, no mount, or something else? Normally I'd throw the unused ash away, but as you believe it has some value, I suppose I can save it. As far as I'm concerned, it's your purchase, Arthur, so it is up to you to determine the distribution. Four even sized chunks with the remainder for experimentation? Works for me. There isn't any residue on them, however. The spell that triggers the burning is destroyed in the process of the burning. The ash is a perfectly normal metal."

Seeing a head poke over the edge of the tower, Jack starts teleporting bandits away, starting with those climing the tower. Most end up well over the battlefield, but he tosses a few back into the forest.

Jack "Also - I'll need to be directed to a lake, preferably a large one, that people don't fish for a living. It's needed to safely burn the lead."

Due to Jack's having forgotten to renew the self-preservation orders on his golems, they are easy prey for the bandits, get dusted, and crumble to dust.

John "I know of one - only the Baron and his guests are permitted to fish there, and they never catch anything anyway. They won't likely notice."

Jack "Oh, and don't worry too much about backfire; I build a safety mechanism into the gems - they examine the energy channel you provide and determine how much the channel can safely take. They then back off of that figure a bit and limit the energy they will provide to the lesser of that amount and the gems' production capacity. If your spells can backfire without one, yeah, it could make backfire worse. However, one of my gems won't increase the chance of backfire."

[ September 06, 2003, 05:24: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: After a month-long hiatus, I'm finally trying again, and my RPer's broken. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif Here goes...]

The horsemen, about fifty in number, ride in a wedge directly at the knot of bandits, who scatter to avoid being trodden on. Jack assists their escape by teleporting several more back over the battlefield. With the few remaining bandits disposed of, the horsemen vanish.

Arthur "Obviously someone's picked up a new illusion since Last time I was here."

John simply smirks and serves up another fireball to the Last bandit climbing the tower.

A shout is heard from the front wall, and the party spins around. Guards and bandits alike are running from the shield wall, on which a large bag of flour is resting. The shield is swaying and buckling in an alarming manner, and the green glow is swirling angrily. Arthur turns pale.

Arthur "The container for the wall is dissolving, which will release all that force magic! Most of it should be directed out toward the bandits, but enough will come back this way that the baron won't like what he finds."

John "Container? What are you doing messing with force containers?"

Arthur "I saw it used once when a mage wanted to reinforce his force wall. I thought it might help reflect larger projectiles. Of course, I only saw it once, and it wasn't exactly a large-scale operation..."

John smacks his forehead in frustration. Before he can speak again, a large gash rips across the shield.

[ooc: Not that good, but the best this rusty old codger can come up with. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif And Arthur gives a big http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif to Narp for trying to give away his gold. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

[ October 11, 2003, 20:55: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[well, i forgot about this for today and am doing this kinda late at night. um, if it looks stupid, tell me. Jack is the obvious choice to do something.]

A large green hemisphere appears around the explosion, directing the bLast outward. unfortunatly, it also directs a large section of wall outward. a large number of top stones fly off the wall and begin rolling down the hill.

The remaining bandits decide this battle is not going the way they where told it would and that it is time to leave.

Unfortunatly, the furiously chanting wizard's in the cave do not know what has happened and transport the twenty soldier's, the best, brightest and most well-equiped. Right into the castle's great hall, where they immiediatly head upward to deal with the Last reported major resistance.

ooc:[one Last fight.]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack surveys the battlefield.
Most the ground is covered in thick mud, and blood stains the ground a dark red where the dead and dying are strewn. A muddy trunk floats on a thick patch of mud at the bottom of the hill, stained slightly red with the blood of those it crushed. An empty helmet is stuck on the stub of a broken branch. All is quiet, save for a few shouts in the distance of fleeing bandits.

Jack "It looks as though we've won. The place is a mess, but that's expected."

Jack tilts his head to one side for a moment, apparently listening to something nobody can hear.

Jack "John, were you expecting any guests to pop in about now?"

John "No, why?"

Jack "Well, I just caught the faint echo of an inbound teleport. Someone popped into the main hall a few moments ago - quite a few people, judging from the mass in the teleport."

D "About how many people, would you say?"

Jack "Oh, thirty or forty, depending on how much they are carrying."

D "And if they were wearing chain or plate?"

Jack "Then it would be about twenty. But we've won - what good would reinforcements do now?"

[ October 15, 2003, 21:02: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur, who has ruefully been surveying the damage to the baron's residence, quickly checks for signs of life from the great hall.

Arthur "Not sure what you caught, Jack, but that's a negative from my readings. I can't find anything down there." He goes back to his damage assessment. "I know one thing for sure, though--I don't want to be here if the baron returns to this mess. We have some major renovations to do here, not to mention fixing the little problem you dumped in John's workroom." At this, John glares in Jack's direction, while Jack completely misses the act.

Jack "I know what I'm saying. There was a teleport, and there are people in the hall."

Arthur "There can't be. If they were there, I'd know. I'm not getting any return from there or anywhere near there. It's not like there are two dozen armed bandits marching up here to get us. Do you need me to go and check for you?"

Arthur walks over to the door and yanks it open to reveal the first of the bandits, who was reaching for the handle himself. The enemy are well-armed and well-armored, each equipped with full plate armor, solid-looking bucklers, and a mix of halberds and one- and two-handed swords. They appear to be operating under some form of speed and strength enhancement, judging by the ease with which they carry their equipment. Arthur is greatly surprised, but still manages to get off a fireball and spring back before the bandit can react. The fireball hits the armor and disappears. It appears to have been absorbed by the armor. Two similar spells quickly dispatched by John meet a similar fate. The bandits, twenty in all, pour through the doorway into a staggered double line before advancing on the party.

[ooc: I'm envisioning some sort of amulet which absorbs incoming magical energy and redirects it, possibly using it to heal the wearer or to power some other artifact. I'm also assuming the plate armor is of good enough quality to stop anything sort of a very-short-range hit from a crossbow or a gravity-assisted hit by a longbow, similar to the late era French and English plate armor.]

[ October 16, 2003, 03:56: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[tired...oh well.]

Narp "Jack, enhancement spell! Then get us to a room somewhere in the castle!"

Narp charges towards the bandits. With a couple of seconds, his movement becomes a blur as he shield-rushes the middle bandit. The flour on his sheild hisses as Narp slams into him. Unfortunatly, the bandit's strength and speed is unafected. Fortunatly, Narp is stronger and faster. In the background, as he shoves his sword up underneath the bandits helmet, he can hear Jack.

"The spell on the bandits appears to attract and absorb any spells not in enchanted items. If there enhancement is alchemical, it would allow them to make more powerfull amulets than usual, since no discriminatory routines need to be added."

Arther, Narp and John "Just teleport us!"

Narp whirles and blocks a strike from the right with his sword, blocks on the left with his shield and kicks at the one in front of him, knocking the bandit back. And keeps backing up so they don't suround him.

ooc:[Better enhancements, better training. But still outnumbered.]

[ October 17, 2003, 04:44: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack "Right."

Jack blinks, and the party finds itself in an inner courtyard, hidden from view of the tower by an intervening building.

Jack "We need a small army of our own, don't we?"

Jack begins forming golems, their bodies sized and shaped like Narp's, and teleporting swords and shields in from the fallen on the battlefield to equip them with.

Jack "Now, I don't know any swordsmanship, and can't program them with it. However, if you could show them the basics, Narp, they can memorize the motions instantly. Their skills will never be a match for even briefly trained troops - they can only repeat motions and adjust aim; they can't improvise - but their durability, tirelessness, and strength should make up for much of it."

Jack pauses for a moment.

Jack "Let's see... is there anything else I should be doing with these?"

ooc:[Such as cloaking them with an illusions of our appearence, or having D make them invisible, or having Aurthur/John equip them with fireball spells, or ....]

[ October 18, 2003, 00:26: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: You could always just teleport the golems over the bandits and have them "drop in" for a visit *snerk* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

Arthur "Well, it isn't much good to equip them with offensive spells. Perhaps a regeneration effect? We could add some armor to them. Oh, and the enhancement spell couldn't hurt, either."

John "Judging by what Jack said just before teleport, no spell is going to Last long if it isn't actually embedded in an object. Anything we do will probably dispel on first contact with a bandit. I don't know if a golem actually counts as an object, but we could embed the spells in a rock and incorporate that into a golem."

Narp is already busily swinging his sword. Five golems are attempting to imitate him. The lack of originality is amusing, but the strength behind the blows is staggering. Once they pass muster, D casts invisibility and silence on them.

Arthur "The only other thing I can think of would be some communication, but they seem almost too simple for that. I guess quantity will have to make up for quality this time." Not finding anything immediately requiring his services, Arthur sits on a large rock and begins patching up a portion of the wall which he can see from his seat.

John "When you're done, Jack, you could probably send a few illusions of ourselves around to the other side of the tower. Come to think of it, you could just tack the illusions to golems. Give one a real bow, and he may even get lucky and pick off a bandit or two. At least it will divert attention from where we are." John inhales the vanguard of a visiting swarm of gnats, causing him to cough quietly.

[ October 18, 2003, 05:03: Message edited by: Krsqk ]