The World of Skara Brae

Seeing a man he saw as an uncle stabbed by a lunatic, James rushed at the man with his glaive.

Aaron was more focused on Michael than the man who attacked him and immediately grabbed him and tried to focus his magic on healing the Archmage.

Sam heard the sudden commotion and turned her head only to see the good Archmage falling due to a stab by some strange man. Still carrying the helmet Sam rushed over to the Archmage's side... James was dealing with the attacker but she needed to be closer if she was to be of some help.

"Oh shit!" Edvin said. The man had gone crazy and stabbed Michael. He sprinted over to the stabber, and launched into a simple grapple, intending to disarm him.

Aaron could tell that the knife had punctured one of Micheal's lungs, and he was loosing a lot of blood. The knife must have severed an artery. Aaron's healing powers would be able to deal with this, but it would be a bit of a strain, for this was a critical wound.

James was able to get to the crazy man quickly, attacking him with his glaive and forcing the man to step away from Micheal. The man drooped the knife and didn't give Jame's much resistance.

As the crazy man and Micheal were separated, Micheal dropped his staff and collapsed into Aaron's arms, blood coming up out of the corner of his mouth.

"Cure Critical Wounds" A hooded figure said, her pace quick, towards the wounded mage. The spell was cast. The wound was touched, without a second thought.

"So, the heroic party is still stupid enough to get stabbed by vagrants. Heh." The figure said, an odd accent in her common. Her figure was lithe, and obscured by a cloak and hood. "Excuse me for a second. I have to see a certain someone." She said, advancing towards drek with a decided pace.

"Oh shit. She said still. Still implies continuous action, therefore reoccurrence, and therefore we know her! And is a divine spellcaster. We've only met one other divine spellcaster." Edvin said. Gears turned. "It's her. Hey! Drow! Fuckin' stop!"

Drek spotted the hooded figure and immediately recognized her, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He said: "Mal? But.... you died. You're dead. This must be some kind of trick."

edited 6th Jan '12 2:42:02 PM by TheSarge

Mal'wae did not bother to turn her head, adressing the ghost in a rather dismissive taunt. "Don't you have a stabber to take care of, wisp boy? Not to mention what happened last time you threatened me..." Her hand raised up to Drek's forehead, which in his stupor seemed rather sluggish. The gloved had curled up.

A dry sound was made when Mal's middle finger flicked the elf's forehead.

"Does this seem a trick to you? I'm real." She paused. "You've got powerful acquaintances, o prince. Acquaintances that can bring the dead back to life."

She paused as she tried to elaborate further. It seemed a bit hard to spit it out. "Matriarch Ken'rahel has brought me back from the deepest pits to aid you in your quest. I thus am therefore..." She hesitated a bit. "...yours to command."

Michael seemed to have fully healed now...he just needs some rest.

Seeing Mal, Aaron was quick to hug the drow. "Oh I'm so glad your alive again! It was horrible seeing you die it really was!"

Drek said: "Well, you seem real enough... but then so did that giant Ogre we thought we were fighting, and that turned out to be a psionic illusion. But as I said, you seem real enough... so I'll accept for the moment that you're actually alive again, Mal. Who is this Matriarch Ken'rahel you mentioned, and why did she resurrect you? And why did she decide to place you in my service?"

Meanwhile, the rest of the party had arrived, and the commotion was drawing a crowd of curious onlookers... who were murmuring amongst themselves. What had happened here today was sure to be the talk of the town for quite some time. It's not ever day than the Arch-Mage gets stabbed in broad daylight in the markey square, just yards away from his own Mage-Tower. As for the Arch-Mage, Micheal was mostly alright again thanks to Aaron's magical healing; The internal bleeding had stopped and the punctured lung had mended, but he was still looking a bit pale. Micheal sat up, coughed, spat out the blood in his mouth, and said: "Ugh... well, that was unpleasant. Getting stabbed in the lung is definitely not on my list of experiences I should like to repeat. Good thing I was with you, Aaron, or this could have been the end of me. You have my thanks. But who has my staff?" Micheal looked around the ground for his magic staff. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of his stabbing, it had gotten trampled by the crowd and was now laying in two pieces. Micheal picked up the two pieces and said: "Oh drat! Now I have to commission a new one from the Talismonger's guildmaster. And how long is that going to cost me, I wonder? Ah well, at least the crystal didn't get smashed."

Eruantian said: "I take it the crystal is hard to replace?"

Micheal replied: "Oh yeah... you could say that. This type of crystal only forms in one place, and there's a limited supply of them. The location is a closely guarded secret... it took me years just to learn if they really existed or not, and several more years tracking down the source. But, finding this kind of crystal isn't the biggest problem; It's finding one that would be right for me. You see, they're like snowflakes: No two are entirely alike. The odds of me finding another one that's as compatible to me as this one has turned out to be... well... odds are I'd never find another one. So, if this crystal had shattered, It would have been a major personal setback for me. Re-mounting this one in a new staff will be relatively simple.... I'll give it to the guild-master of the Talismonger's guild and he'll have it remounted and ready for me in about a week. In the meantime I'm without a functioning mana-focus. I suppose I'll just have to do magic the old fashioned way.... entirely by hand. Ah well, I suppose I needed the practice anyways."

Eruantian said: "And that means spell-casting is going to be more difficult for you?"

Micheal replied: "Well, yes and no. Without my mana-focus, it will take me more time to cast all of my spells, but only the most powerful ones will be more difficult for me to cast. I should be able to carry on well enough, I'll just be a bit slower with my spells. Oh, and I'll need to get someone to carry a few books for me.... the crystal was also acting as a link to my library for me, so I could look up spells in my library without having to be in my library. I suppose I should give that job to Orandious. The boy has been itching to get out and do some adventuring, looks like he's going to get his wish. Let's see... I'll need The Ordus Caganatuts, the Septus Thamatora & Septus Magorum, the Tomea Stella Et Plaea... and the concise field manual I wrote last year. Hrm... yes, that should do. I'd like the whole library with me, but you can only carry so much on campaign without taking a whole army of servants with you, and I intend to travel as light as possible this time." Eruantian said: "How large are these books?" Micheal said: "Large enough. Don't worry, I keep my library prepared for just such a contingency as this. Those five tomes are concise, comprehensive, abridged tomes that I keep in my library precisely because they are suitable for use in the field. They contain the kinds of spells one would need on an adventure such as we are about to undertake." Eruantian said: "No, I meant how heavy are they? Orandious isn't exactly built like an ox, you know. If these things are as lareg as I suspect they are, I very much doubt if he can carry all five of those things around all day." Micheal said: "Oh... perhaps you're right. But I need someone who knows how to read, so he knows which book is which. And I can't carry them all, I need my hands free so I can cast the spells." Eruantian said: "Are the book covers different colors?" Micheal said: "Actualy, no, they're all different. One is bound in black leather, another one is brown leather, another one is bound red dragon-hide, another is bound in green Anhiag-skin, and the manual I wrote is bound in yellow cloth." Eruantian said: "Well then, since the books are not all the same color you can have anyone carry them, can't you? Just ask for the appropriate-colored book, and there you are. You wouldn't even have to have one person carry all the books." Micheal thought for a moment and said: "I suppose that could work... but I'll still need Orandious so he can open the book to the right page. But, first to the canvas merchant. I owe Aaron here a favor or two. Come, let us away."

Micheal seemed oblivious to the fact that a hooded Drow has just shown up, proclaiming herself to be devoted to to Drek's service, but perhaps he was still a bit shaken from having been stabbed. Never the less, he strode off into the market place, the crowd parting before him out of respect and awe.

Meanwhile, the crazy man that James had subdued was apparently having a full-blown mental breakdown, right there in the market square. He was shaking uncontrollably, curling up into a ball, and babbling incoherently. Oh, and he seemed to have... um.. soiled himself. Ewwwww....

edited 9th Jan '12 5:23:33 AM by TheSarge

"...urk..." Mal's voice staggered as if she had been shot by an electric current. "Let me go at once, you rude personal space invader." She said to the person hugging her. "Surely it's not that much of a deal, isn't it?"

Her speech seemed to reaffirm herself. "Why, haven't I mentioned it earlier, Drek? My mother IS Matriarch Ken'rahel. Leader of the Drow retreat, and , as I've found out recently, someone who's not keen on Lolth's side."

One of the townsfolk pointed hysterically at Mal and said: "You hear that? It's a Drow! Get her!" Although most of the people in the crowd didn't seem to believe that Mal was really a Drow, for they were not moved to action, some obviously did. These were angry men, about 34 in all, and then began to hurl insults and curses at Mal while forming up into a loose mob. One, a Half-Orc wearing lumberjack's garb, was holding an axe. The others were human peasants armed with pitchforks and other assorted agricultural tools. One of these peasants bend down to pick up a loose brick from the floor of the market square.

Drek, sensing that this could easily turn into a lynching if he didn't do something fast, held up his hands and said: "No need to concern yourselves, good people. This Drow is a friend and ally. A rebel fighting for independence from their tyrannical queen. She's on our side." Undeterred by Drek's call for reason, the peasant with the brick threw the brick at Mal, yelling "Death to The Drow!" The brick missed by several yards, through. Instead of striking Mal, the brick sailed through the open window of a fishmonger's shop, located at the far side of the market. The crowd immediately laughed at the comically bad throw.

Drek unsheathed his sword and said "Hold! Put down your arms at once! I am Drek, Baron of Glenarbor, Commander of the King's Rangers. I tell you, this woman is not your enemy. If you persist in hostile action towards you, you will regret it. Move along, now. Nothing to see here."

The peasant who had thrown the brick was apparently regretting his decision, for he turned pale, panicked, and ran away. The others in the bunch, though, advanced, walking forward in an rough line, brandishing their agricultural tools and shouting epithets and insults at Mal. Then the Half-Orc lumberjack few into a rage, with his axe raised over his head and a war-cry bellowing from his lungs: "See death by my axe, Drowess!"

[[GM's Dust-Up Notes: The Half-Orc is a well-built & sturdy sort of fellow, but he's a forester and not a warrior. He's used to felling trees, not people. The peasants are even less well prepared for a fight, but they're not thinking straight and you will not be able to reason with them. All they have for weapons are pitchforks, scythes, hoes, and rakes. Of these, only the scythes have metal business-ends. The rest are made entirely of wood & rope. None of the men in the mob are wearing any armor; The only have poor-quality cloth clothing and straw hats.... they don't even have any shoes on! The Half-Orc is a little better clothed, with leather boots, a sturdy-looking kilt, heavy leather belt, brass buckles, a flannel shirt, and a wool hat. Still, none of that really counts as armor.

The town-watch is nowhere to be seen, and the mage-tower guards are too far away to be of much help at this point. The rest of the townsfolk are variously running away, standing around gawking, or crying out for the town-watch to come. The vendors in the square are mainly annoyed that something is distracting potential customers from their various wares.

And.... FIGHT!!!]]

edited 12th Jan '12 1:32:58 PM by TheSarge

Edvin took a step forward and slammed the Half Orc in the jaw with a punch without so much as a preamble. "Okay, kilt and off balance..." he mumbled, grabbing the Half Orc's kilt and yanking upwards. "Mal! You have any mass debuffs or anything to deal with these people?"

Mal rolled her eyes, cursing herself for getting lost in the moment. Removing her hood and squinting at the angry crowd, she scratched her head.

"Let's see... how not to end this on a slaughter." She said as she drew her sword. She calmly pointed it upwards, to the skies as she chanted. "Well, since I've got their full attention...let's try a small trick."

"Enthrall." She finished the enchantment in common, as the divine magic struck the battlefield, with the intent of making all those who stared in the drowess calm down and be docile.

((OOC: Technically this isn't reasoning with them, it's mindfucking them)).

edited 12th Jan '12 3:48:00 PM by AtomicNut

Mal's spell worked... a little too well. Suddenly, everybody in the market square had a blank stare on their faces. Well, except for the the Half-Orc with the axe, but that was only because Edvin had punched his lights out.

[[GM's spell effect notes: Spell not valid for for Drek's party, nor for Micheal who still seems to be oblivious to what was happening around him. If urge to worship Mal continues past ten minutes, seek a cleric immediately. Some cult-like behavior may occur. May contain nuts. For external use only.]]

Meanwhile, Sam had noticed that the crazy-powerfull needs-to-be-destroyed-becasue-it-makes-people-go-crazy magic helment she was carrying was talking to her. It was saying she Mal would look good stuffed with candy, becasue then Sam could make a candy-filled doll out of Mal. And then she'd have a candy-filled doll, won't that be fun? Although this seemed horrifyingly disquieting to Sam, it also somehow seemed perfectly reasonable to Sam, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. If only she had some candy... still, she didn't quite trust the helmet... perhaps if she put it on she would know it better, and then she could trust it... yes, that seemed like a good idea.... just put the helmet on..... but then she remembered what the wizard had said. He'd said... er... what had he said, again? Something about not... er... not putting the helmet on? Was that it? Sam's head was spinning... she felt strange, like that one time she'd eating hallucinogenic mushrooms by mistake.

[[GM's OOC Note: Mal's mind-affecting spellcasting has unintentionally powered up the magical artifact Sam is carrying, and it's trying to cloud Sam's mind enough to trick her into putting the thing on her head. However, Sam is a strong-willed person, and she's able to resist it's influence for the moment. However, this artifact is, as I've explained before, extremely powerful... it's roughly on par with Eruantian's ring. Oh, and nobody else is aware of what's happening to Sam, although the more observant characters among us might notice that Sam seems to be a bit dizzy and flushed.]]

edited 12th Jan '12 7:42:36 PM by TheSarge

Samantha's hold on the helmet tightened a bit just as her hold on her surroundings got weaker. She was a simple girl who knew nothing of battles of will or ancient artifacts of old. She felt weak, unsure of herself and most of all confused. However that very weakness, that queasy feeling brought her back upon a distant time in her life.

A memory she had half forgotten among so many others. Of great warm arms carrying her in that time little body through a snowy forestland. A shaggy brown beard, a rugged scarred face, a stern look in his eyes...

Father

The man that carried her back home the day she ate something without consulting with him first. He was not a kind man. Neither was he particularly affective. But she was his... and so he took care of her. He was not a good father by any reckoning. He himself would be the first to say so. A retired and gruff soldier who only wished to live in seclusion. Insignificant to the rest of the world.

And yet...

That man was all that Sam knew growing up... and she did love him with all her heart. He just taught her how to hunt and survive out of boredom... he wasn't someone to dispense any sort of wisdom, ethics or most of the thing you would need to fight back against what was gripping at Sam's mind in this moment. However she did learn to listen to what other people said. To what people that mattered to her told her. To trust in them...

And they had told her...

They had told her...

Not to put it on The young huntress thought, gritting her teeth together and she held the helmet a bit more steadily in her hands. She refused to think more about the situation. That's what they had told her... and by sheer stubbornness she would not.

edited 22nd Jan '12 12:22:33 PM by daltar

<OOC: I wasn't sure whether I should or shouldn't post and I finally decided I should>

Aaron wasn't happy with the spell Mal used but he did have a spell that fills people with confidence...it might be hypocritical to say something.

Than...Samantha seemed to be looking a bit wierd. "Sam, are you okay?"

Kalan got awoken by the large commotion outside and curious about what was the cause he tore off the piece of linen cloth that had acted as a cover sheet when he was asleep and stepped out from his alley. His hand clenched around the hilt of one of the knives he had strapped under his shirt, to those unattentive it simply looked like he scratched his back.

"W-What's going on?" the boy asked noone in particular as he killed a yawn and blinked

James turned to the oncomer. Fortunately he didn't realize the blank stares on everyone else's blank stares.

Trying to avoid trouble, James said in a professional manner "Oh, there was a bit of a commotion but it's over now."

"I see."

The young boy yawned again before asking "And who might you be?" He let got of the knife behind his back, straightening his shirt as he did so so it covered his weapon

Sam did not answer to James' words and merely continued to hold the helmet with both hands, her eyes open but her gaze looked only slightly empty.

Drek seemed slightly stunned, but then he caught sight of Mal and then bowed down and said: "All praise and glory to Mal." The rest of the people in the market did the same with the exception of Mal, Sam, James, Edvin, Micheal, Eruantian, Kalan, and Aaron.

[GM's note: Kalan is unaffected by Mal's unintentionally altered spell because he was sleeping at the time the spell was cast. Eurantian's ring is protecting him from the spell. Micheal has innate magical defences that always protect him from being affected by mind-affecting spells, although he is also a bit stunned from his recent injury and isn't quite aware of what's happening around him. Edvin is undead, and because this spell only affects living creatures, Edvin is entirely unaffected. Mal isn't affected because she's at the centre of the storm, as it were. Sam's grip on the helmet is, ironically enough, protecting her from the mind-control spell. Aaron's healing ability is automatically protecting his mind, though it is draining his reserve of Mana. James' werewolf ancestry makes him highly resistant (though not fully immune) to mind control, and he has thus far been able to resist it's effects. Because Mal did not intend to make everyone bow down and worship her, she doesn't know why they're doing so. If she does figure it out, though, she could simply terminate the spell.]

The boy pointed at the newly formed cult and asked "And whats wrong with them may I ask?"

While there was quite a scene going on, James found it a bit wierd that Kalan was unaffected but first he needs to come up with an excuse. "Well they've all been affected by a spell...but I'm sure the man in the blue robes will turn them back to normal."

edited 31st Jan '12 7:42:11 AM by JustaUsername

"I see... Too bad, it looked like it could have had fun consequences if it were allowed to be." Kalan said and looked back into the alley as if he contemplated going back to sleep again before he rueturned to James "You still haven't told me who you are."