The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers

[Krsqk]

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 ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

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

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

[Jack Simth]

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 ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

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 ]

[Krsqk]

[ooc: Yep, it's been in progress for a long time. Progress, KS, that is. ]

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. ]

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

[Jack Simth]

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 ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

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 ]

[Krsqk]

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 ]

[Jack Simth]

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 ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

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 ]