A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
"I hope you know what the Frell™ you are doing, Jack!"
"You remember we are talking about Jack right?" asks Domina, looking at Desuma and talking to her as if Jack wasn't even standing beside her. Then all the creatures surround them.
The mounted lizardmen look at each other and then at you as if to say "What the hell. Kill them now or kill them later, it doesn't really matter."
If this time event is changed successfully, anyone who died during this temporal event will not really be dead, even though it appears so now. If you do fail to change the event and return to your own time, then you will certainly be dead, at least those who died, that is. A smaller scale area map has been added to the links. This has been a brief, yet important announcement!
Croikey. I guess Taran does nothing. For the record, though, Taran's volley was to come after Bela sounded the call with: "Attack!", therefore, Bela's dispell magic spell would already have been cast, and therefore, his shots shouldn't have been stopped short. But hey, it's not a fun adventure if I don't either a) die or b) impale myself! YipeeFrak™!
Unless "Fuin gurth, hothdolthaur" or "Guliath tel" means "Dis-Spell," I don't think you (Taran) would have known what Bela was casting, much less what a Dis-Spell does, or exactly when it would take effect, since the protective field was invisible. It makes for a tough call either way. Oh Frak™, here comes the Archivist and he's really pissed now!
Pissed? Far from it! I only get pissed when I see how far behind I am in archiving the other clubs! Oh, and then there is that bagh nakh fiasco.... Ah, fewmets! My work is never done!
"FRAK™!" No sooner does the abomination's twin heads smack to the forest floor than does Jax rush to his brother's side. It is not a pretty sight.... After all, when's the last time you saw an Orc Warrior huddled over, cradling his brother's lifeless body, bawling loudly and shedding buckets? Nope, definitely NOT a Kodak moment. Oh, and right, Taran isn't looking too great either. In fact, he is dead.
Jax turns toward Bela, with a pleading look, then notices a lifeless clump of Shipy nearby. Jax's expression morphs to desperation. He whips his neck around to Martek and glares at him accusatorily. The Swamp Rat abandoned them in battle! "He better have a good explanation," Jax thinks.
(Be smart---don't post your phone number!) Er, anyway, here's what I was thinking.
I was thinking that Taran had waited to fire his volley until after Bela had shouted "Attack." See it's like this: Martek says something along the lines of "NOW Jax" and Jax smacks his face, Taran's volley drops. Then Bela starts shouting elfish and then he screams "Attack." I'd assumed Taran had fired his shots again on Bela's urging. And therefore, his shots would have come after Bela's spell, whether or not he knew the spell had been spelled. It sort of makes sense to me, the order I had in mind for the round, but the Almighty GM (may he outlive Taran, er, never mind, perhaps longer) had a different ordering of the events.
The point is: my post for Taran was based on the fact that Bela had already done his action. But I guess it makes sense that since Taran was Speedy Gonzales Dracon he got his shots off actually before Bela shouted attack. Or did he? I guess that's the mess the Archivist (may his character live long enough to avenge his brother's character's death) will have to clean up. [Hehehe, no, this was too classic to edit out! It stays! --ed.]
I was thinking of your interpretation, not the GM's, but either is valid. Missiles and magic come before weapons, and a TTYF is faster than missiles, and certainly faster than Taran's loading. So, the TTYF should have happened even if the missiles hit after the barrier went down, and really should have hit Taran before he could finish loading up. I think the GM's interpretation was fair (though unhappy), and it did allow for TaranDracon's most excellent post.
By the way, it occurred to me that I set Taran up for certain demise. After all, I had him thinking about his adventures in the past. Wasn't that really his life flashing before his eyes? :)
Home is a very long way away, for Bela.
"Martek, you fiend!" Bela shouts. He rises and points a finger at Martek. His long arm stretches out, pointing at Martek. With middle and ring fingers curled in, thumb and little finger spead out, his eyes fix on the point in Martek's forehead that his finger targets. The wind blows Bela's hair back. It ruffles his cloak. Light shimmers about him. His eyes glow. Sparks run up and down his extended arm. The wind stops. Everything seems to stop.
Bela speaks. "I have done as I said. The abomination is dead. If I kill you, that will make two. That creature was ready for our coming. It was prepared for our undoing. Is Ralathor safe, now? Can you be sure now he will not start another war? Can you stop the hunting of Lizardman hides? Tell Jax while I attend to Shipy." Bela drops his arm, the dramatic effects fade, and he turns to the Hobbit. As he kneels over the body, Bela calls out to Martek, "Remember that the dagger will fail without the dragon helm. When I am finished, we will go 'home,' but this time, I will take us."
Bela was about to cast a TTYF at Martek. Had he not held back, Martek would look like Taran, or worse.
Even though no one in the party told him about the hunting of Lizardmen for hides, it would have been common knowledge to anyone in the swamps. I think Ralathor was telling the truth on that one.
The dramatic effect is one of those elf/immortality things, from the Silmarillion.
Bela will examine the hobbit and try to revive him.
"I will take us" should be clear enough---Bela wants to use the dagger, himself. I hope Grutoss told him how to use it.
Bela will want to bury the dead. He can do so quickly with the Slush-Yuck spell.
"Play it cool, Demons. I've got this wrapped up," whispers Jack.
"Now, gentle Lizard folk, that ridest there upon your less fortunate under-brothers, perhaps you might recognize me, Jack de Crampon, Esq., PhD, M.D. and master Thespian of your self-same town, Khazan. My words would not have been such harsh ones were it not for the dire straits in which my companions and I find ourselves.... Duress, gentlemen, can befoul the manners of even the Goddess herself, blessed be her moribund name for all eternity." He stops for a moment just long enough to flash a toothy grin at D&D, unreasonably pleased with himself.
"Ahem."
"As happenstance would have it happen we, the Lower East Khazan Tumbling and Dramatical Society for the Criminally Restitute, were along this way seeking the wonders of nature and the silence it affords that we might commune, in relative solitude upon the nature of our art, namely the theater. Then, in the midst of the 3rd scene of the second act of Shrugg's Miseria Sphinctorus, we were beset by a beast most foul, from the bowels of the Miseria Sphictorus itself, claiming that we, humble philosophers, were plotters and traitors of some kind, and set about to murder the lot of us. Only I and my Demon apprentices (grins again) managed to escape its clutches, though our companions, it seems, have fared worse. Listen carefully, sirs, that you might discern their screams of agony now...." <makes appropriate saving role to throw his voice ventriloquist style, mimicking Hobbit screams>.
"But fortune shines brightly on us today, as we have by sheer chance encountered our fellow country men in the wilderness, and such country men as yourselves! Make haste sirs, for the day cannot yet be lost! Attend! Attend! to the fallen and the dying and thereby take your place among the constellations as legendary!"
With flourish of the cape, Jack draws his rapier, winks at D&D and runs off in the direction of the path and his companions, hoping that this all works out. He thinks about the Dagger, and the ensuing confusion and hopes his pickpocketing is up to snuff....
Please make the appropriate Charisma roles!
The little lizard stripling turns and races down a path deeper into the forest and safety, as Martek approaches Bela, stopping just short of his finger.
"The child is safe and yes we are successful. Last time we were here, you killed me, and Jax died instead of Taran. Every time you kill me, my rope kills you, and then we do it all over again. Do you really want to do everything all over again, Bela? Don't worry about the bodies, they will reappear unharmed when we return to our time. Give me the Earth Dragon Helm and let us go home and end this once and for all. I will then take both of these magic relics back into the swamp where they belong: well hidden, forgotten, and unused." Martek stands emotionless waiting for an answer. Martek's rope changes form into that of a steel cable, moving like a snake in his hand.
Domina casts Bat Wings on herself and flies away.
Desuma grabs Domina as she flies away.
Jack runs away.
The mounted lizardmen sit silently on their mounts as the characters run/fly away.
"Damn Ralph, we sure scared the shit out of them, didn't we?"
"Yeah Bob, we sure did. I love doing that to tourists! Ha, ha, ha!"
The other lizardmen break out into laughter after Jack and the D&D ladies are gone. Jack, Domina, and Desuma head back to the others as fast as they can.
His armor stained with his brother's splattered brains where he cradles Taran's lifeless body, Jax is in no condition to sift through the many paradoxes and lies that surround him. Jack's implication of imminent danger incites him to roiling irritation at the group's indecision. "HEY! Can we take a breather from the infighting and get the frak™ outta here? Give that frakkin'™ hat and toothpick to somebody who can use 'em so we can get our butts back in our own time, where we're all still alive! We can sort this out later!!"
"It is not the destination that matters, but how you make the journey," Bela responds to Martek. He then curls back his extended forefinger and flicks Martek on the forehead with it, leaving a bright red mark. He drops his arm, the dramatic effects fade, and he turns to the Hobbit.
Bela is grieved by what he sees. The fire bolt had burned through Shipy's clothing and armor, destroyed his pack, and scorched him completely. Bela would not want to have to face the lizard wizard again. He reaches down and picks up a blackened vial that had fallen from Shipy's pack. The cork is burned, but the contents remain. He pours it over shipys face which is fairly intact---he had covered it at the last moment. The potion starts to heal the skin, sinking in deep, and then stops. There is nothing left to revive.
Bela then stands and removes a small, thick, pen-like object from his pack. It is his wizard's pen. He looks about and finds a suitable stone to use for a marker and sets himself to write on it. Then he pauses, looks up, and stands, gazing about, hands extended. He mutters something in Elven (he casts Oh-There-It-Is, for STR cost 1, leaving him with 10 STR). The packs of those around glow purple, but nothing else happens.
Bela writes something on the rock and then places it face down on the ground. He then puts away the pen, walks to Martek, and begins to hand him the helm.
"Just a Goddamn minute!"
Jack bounds into the clearing just barely noticing the bodies of his fallen companions before coming on like a hurricane, cape a-flappin', sword a flashin' and blue bloody murder writen all over his chalky visage.
"Nobody's gonna do no #$%*!in' dagger givin' around here unless it's to me! Bela, you will now proceed to hand that helmet there to me. You will then proceed to get the hell out of the way while I disembowel this <wags a finger at Martek> theiving turd-ball and retrieve my dagger. We will all then proceed to shake hands, go our separate ways, and sit back in quiet satisfaction at the fact that Jack de Crampon, One True Heir to the literary throne of Shrugg, and all around stud is LORD HIGH MASTER OF TIME AND SPACE!!! And make it snappy, we may have some company comin'."
What do you do?
"For one thing Jack, the Dagger of Time originally belonged to me. It is and was always mine. Carrying it doesn't make you its owner. As for the Earth Dragon Helm, it belongs to the Death Goddess. I'm sure some time-tripping dimensional creature will come for it sooner or later, but we do need to use the helm and the dagger to return to our time." Martek draws the Dagger of Time, but puts his thumb over the image of the dragon on the blade, thus keeping it from activating. "Take it to the next level, Jack, or get out of my face! Your invidious words bore me!"
Bela hesitates, feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He reaches for a dagger with his free hand (still holding the helm). It's Martek's turn.
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