A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Olvarin looks around in the pouring rain and moonless darkness hoping he will have something he can use when the time comes to battle the Gargoyle.
Bela looks at Shipy Sr. and feels his frustration rise again at his unanswered questions. He lifts his eyes from his friends to the surrounding rooftops, runs a hand through his wet hair and shivers a little.
Jay also feels that he should have some time to figure out and to stop whatever Shipy Sr. is planning.
"Where the hell are we going?" he says with contempt.
"Down there," he says, pointing off into the darkness. "Even an Orc can't miss from here. Unless you want to."
He looks at Bela and Jay after their questions. "Gargoyles are immune to most spells, but it won't hurt to try. The bait's down there," he points again. "Gargoyles are predators, like lions, and they always return to their food. Remember, it took Ebony. She would be the bait. I want the Gargoyle for what it knows," he adds to Jay, tapping the side of his head with one finger.
Water trickles rhythmically down Jack's bony white skeleton; his present form is immune to the effects of the cold. His spooky visage in the faint shadowy light is more frightening than any of the carved pumpkins sitting on the distant window sills of Khazan.
"Every Halloween, my Mom would get a fresh goose, for gooseburgers, and my Dad would whip up his special eggnog out of bourbon and ice cubes." He chuckles. "Let's face it, adventuring and comedy are a dead art form. Now tragedy---ha ha ha---that's funny!" Again, he quotes his favorite verse from Phillipon Shrugg's Outhouse Travesty.
"Here's to us poor schmoes not getting creamed." He waves an imaginary mug. "This is the worst part. The calm before the battle."
"And then the battle is not so bad?"
"Oh, right. I forgot about the battle."
Shipy Sr. turns to his son. "I, uh, I think I know why you're upset, son. You are old enough now to realize that, uh, well, we're outsiders here. Small Hobbit folk among the big non-Hobbit folk. And, you look different to the others, smaller, and they're treating you like a stranger. You should join me."
Shipy rolls his eyes at his fathers comments and mouths silently, "Riiiight."
"Well, I know exactly how you feel. You know when your mother's family first saw me...."
"What about my mother?" He grumbles.
"They despised me. So, that's why we had to get away."
"Not far enough, it seems."
"Well, we came to Khazan where no one would tell us what we thought and felt was wrong."
"Well, I'm telling you! You're wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. You disrespect people, you use people, you do things for your own gain without the thought of consequences to others. It doesn't exactly instill trust. I hope you will come to see how horrible some of the things you do are, Father, and not repeat them."
"Sorry about the mess, son. Thanks for saving me. There is no shame in losing to a clever opponent, son."
"I'll make it a point to someday have Jax kill my clever opponents."
Sticking close together in the hard rain, the group follows Shipy Sr. down the street. The two Fairies are well ahead of the group.
In the toad-drenching rain, the Fairies' invisibility wouldn't fair too well anyway: water would form their outline in the air. But still, Quickly and Lilac are tiny compared to the other beings, and they make perfect scouts. Both of them fly to a rooftop and land under the eve of a chimney. It shelters them momentarily from the rain and they feel a little warmth from the chimney.
"Hey."
"A greeting I shall never understand."
"Well, it's kind of all purpose---lets the other person decide what they want to talk about."
"What if they don't want to talk?"
"Then they say 'hey' back."
"Hey."
"Now, the first person that doesn't want to talk can be trumped, if the other person realizes that they need to. Hey."
Quickly and Lilac watch from a distance as a Gargoyle flies in and lands on the edge of a distant rooftop.
The Gargoyle sits there for a moment, watching the wounded and unconscious Ebony lying on the cobblestone alley below. It is a predator. It smells the blood and the pheromones given off by its wounded prey. It wants to feed, but it is cautious. Soon its hunger outweighs its fear. It glides on open wings down into the narrow alley and lands next to Ebony.
A cold thick wet blanket a few feet away covers Kazad both visibly and in the infra-red (Gargoyles only see heat). He waits for the right moment, then, like a tiger, Kazad springs from beneath the blanket and leaps onto the Gargoyle's back. He tightens his powerful arms around the Gargoyle's neck. At the same time, the group turns into the opening of the alley about fifty feet away as the dark Warrior holds onto the thrashing Gargoyle. Ebony wakes and opens her eyes.
What do you do?
[Two groups become one:
As Cambrea and Taran stand silent, the Elf points to a nearby skull and bones, stacked neatly together and recently stripped of Sirina's flesh, although neither of them know her or of her. Likewise, the backpack Taran picked up (which has a weapon belt with a sheathed sword) seems like it was placed there by someone or something, instead of being dropped by its unlucky bearer or scattered by predators.
From out of the darkness the Mummy King appears.
Taran can't shake the idea that something is up with this place, something he just can't figure out. The worm he carries did as he requested, bringing them to where he wanted to go. The conjuring was easy even if Taran now feels a little drained and his senses numbed. But as the moments tick by, Taran finds himself getting nervous. Call it intuition or just his long years of adventuring; he knows something is not right.
One by the one, the Gargoyles begin landing in the white squares around them. It isn't long before every avenue is cut off, and checkmate is all that is left. The Mummy King holds a large fist-sized diamond in one hand and stops just a few feet short of Taran and Cambrea. Its eyes glow menacingly.
"Hello, Warrior. What's the matter, surprised to see your old Mummy again? This isn't quite the family reunion you imagined? Don't you both feel the life ebbing from you? The creep of cadaverous cold? Achilles, I believe your strength has a weakness. Your stubbornness has served you well in the past, but now it will kill you. Listen to me, Warrior, and you may yet live another day." It raises its voice: "Listen to me! Focus on a single point with your senses, align yourself with that point and block out all other distractions!"
Cambrea whispers, "Shhh! We have bad guys." She looks around. "Terrific, what is it talking about? Is that your Mummy? You have a plan?"
"At the moment, no, nothing. ClusterFrak™!" he grumbles under his breath.
What do you do?
"Gargoyles are predators, like lions, and they always return to their food. Remember, it took Ebony. She would be the bait. I want the Gargoyle for what it knows."
"Not a good enough answer; I don't give a rat's patoot what you want. Gargoyle dies, unless you care to expound."
"Well, I'm telling you! You're wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. You disrespect people, you use people, you do things for your own gain without the thought of consequences to others. It doesn't exactly instill trust. I hope you will come to see how horrible some of the things you do are, Father, and not repeat them."
"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
What do you do?
Jay's just been told it's immune to most spells. True or not, Jay doesn't think a lone Gargoyle is a major threat with all these others here to take care of it. That being the case, he'll heal Ebony if needed.
Sorry guys. RL has gotten in the fix again. Wish I could have reached you and let you know sooner. Maybe I can re-join the game in a month or two... or even three? Well, good campaigning to you all; it looks as if this adventure is pretty successful so far.
Ach, sorry to hear it. Enjoy the real life though, and be sure to let me know what it's like when you return.
It looks as if this adventure is pretty successful so far.
I agree. It's so successful, we ought not even continue. Khara should just presume our overall success, and start handing out the adventure points. ;)
Watching the Gargoyle, I feel a shiver run through my little body (and no, it's not from the wind!). It's a mixure of fear, aticapation, and awe of the creature. My body tingles and I am unaware that I lean slightly forward towards the Gargoyle and the fallen woman.
It glides on open wings down into the narrow alley and lands next to Ebony.
Very quietly, I tell Quickly, "Wait for it.... Wait for it...."
like a tiger, Kazad springs from beneath the blanket and leaps onto the Gargoyle's back.
I release a breath that I did not realize I was holding. "NOW!" I yelp, as I spring into action and fly as fast as my little wings can toward the figures below.
At the same time, the group turns into the opening of the alley about fifty feet away as the dark Warrior holds onto the thrashing Gargoyle.
"Heya guys, let's play with the Gargoyle! Last one to him drinks dirty dishwater!" I shout as I fly past them.
Holding my wand out before me, I swoop past the thrashing Kazad and try to dart in close enough to hit the Gargoyle with my wand. I may be small, but I pack a mighty punch <just ask Hobby, he'll vouch! =P~>
Quickly cannot help directly with the Gargoyle, having previously exhausted his offensive gambits on the fiend. But he readies his bow with an arrow, and sails in behind and to Lilac's side, watching the shadows for any other threats and making sure nobody outflanks us. When surprise is no longer an issue, he cries out, "Up and at 'em, Ebony! Time's-a-wasting!"
"Gargoyles are predators, like lions, and they always return to their food. Remember, it took Ebony. She would be the bait. I want the Gargoyle for what it knows."
"Not a good enough answer; I don't give a rat's patoot what you want. Gargoyle dies, unless you care to expound."
"What he said," Jax thumbs at Jay. In a blur, Jax dashes the fifty yards to place himself between Ebony (standing over her if necessary) and the Kazad/Gargoyle yin-yang. So much for covering Bela! If the madman cannot subdue the creature, Jax will attack it with his EverSharp™ blade.
Ebony, unarmed and dizzily conscious, finds that she lacks the strength to do much of anything. She reasons that she will be the most help to her company by getting out from underfoot. She attempts to roll out of Jax's way, away from his back and the Gargoyle to relative safety.
Quickly flits closer, still looking at the shadows around to spy out any other threats. He sheathes his blade, then redraws his bow and watches for an opportunity to be useful.
Olvarin looks left, then right. Most of his motley crew of companions seem undecided. Knowing nothing but "love," Olvarin charges down the alley, whether to certain doom or Satori, he does not know. The important thing is to lure the Gargoyle's attention away from Ebony.
Bela has learned that when in Khazan, you ask Shipy first. Exactly what immunity to magic the Gargoyle possesses will take more explaining, and there is no time for strategic planning. From their brief encounter in the library, he knows that the creatures are susceptible to force and to high-level personal magic such as the Medusa spell. He hasn't the power to cast his lesser spells at a higher level, and he doubts they would do any good at the moment. This is the time for physical action, he decides.
His quick mind also brings into focus the world he senses around him as he tries to keep track of his friends and foes. Jax, Shipy, Jack, a local Elf, a Human Wizard, two sprites, Shipy Sr., and the Human holding down the Gargoyle. Taran is missing, but he's not the bait---it is clearly the bound Human female.
Jax runs past---he's already figured out that magic is not an option right now. Bela thinks of helping to wrestle the beast down, but Jax his his sword out. Bela charges after, reaching for his two silver bich'was and heading to join with the tired Elf. He will fight if the Gargoyle breaks loose and attacks. If it flies and the Fairies get out of the way, he will cast his fire spell at it. But Jax's sword is far ahead of him---it will probably be over before he gets there.
"Holy crap, whadda badass! That's the difference between me and a guy like Kazad---it's the old lover-fighter dichotomy. Imagine what you see there but add in a hand-full of groupies, a few too many highballs and a cheap motel. That's me, eh? Who's your Gargoyle now, baby! Hehehe...."
Anyway, Jack gets ready to act as back up, i.e., stand behind people who can handle themselves in a fight, ready to draw that special dagger should things get too out of hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bela sees Jack posturing with his hand over his dagger. He never had the heart to tell him about it [namely, Jack's so-called "Dagger of Time" is a fake --ed.]. It's probably best he find out on his own, he figures.
[And so spawns an interlude on what to do (if anything) with Jack's delusion of grandeur! --ed.]
Both Jay's inappropriate use of rat patooty and his not caring whether the Gargoyle lives or dies push Shipy Sr. to reveal a little bit more of exactly why he wants the Gargoyle alive and not dead, and possibly why this Gargoyle came through the portal in the first place.
"Fine. The Gargoyle comes from the temple. Its job is to keep people like us from stealing things from there, and it has knowledge of the entire place, which is invaluable to me and other people. How, you ask? Because it's really one of the guardians. You know, one of the Elves from the temple. How'd you expect us catch it? Harsh language?"
"What, you ran out of places to defile so you brought it here?"
"Uh huh, and I don't see you leaving." He points Jay to Ebony. "Right, go find'em, Lassie."
Jack looks down at his own bones. "Lassie? Aaaiiieeek!"
Ebony grumbles while being healed by Jay. "Imagine me... food for something else!"
Guarded valiantly by Quickly from above, Lilac ignores the wind and the rain and swoops in close to the struggling Gargoyle to deliver what appears to be a small burst of energy from her wand at point blank range. She is exactly on target with her aim since Kazad has a tight grip on the beast. But Lilac herself has even more of an effect on the creature: her anti-magic field, which emanates in a radius a few feet from her body, proves to be the creature's real undoing. The Gargoyle struggles for a moment more, falls to its knees, then slowly transforms into its original state: a slender pale-skinned Elf. Kazad reluctantly releases the Elf but watches him closely.
"How's your neck, Jax?" he says with a grin.
"Aauugghh! It's fine. I don't mind sticking it out for ya."
"Ever my protector. Jax we need rest. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is spongy and bruised."
"It's not you that needs protecting; it's the rest of Khazan I fear for," he quips with a tusky smirk.
Out of the darkness and rain a group of ten city guards appears. None seem very happy with being forced to duty in the rain and on a night like this. All of them are wet and hold a grimaced expression. Shipy Sr. does his best to try to explain the Gargoyle/Elf but the Sergeant doesn't seem interested in hearing his excuses.
"The lunatics always seem to come out on my shift. This is going to take a lot of explaining. We will take the Elf into custody and if any of you wish to explain this further to the city Wizard, come to the guard station on 8th and Grand street." He motions to the other guards. "Let's go."
The silent Elf is led away by the city guards. Whether he is in shock or still reeling from the effects of the transformation, it is not clear. His eyes watch the ground and he never speaks a word. Minutes later, they are gone.
"Is there anything sadder than this? Only drowning puppies. And there'd have to be a lot of them. I needed him."
"The concept is a fascinating one: you actually needing someone. More like you just want to use them."
"Yeah, well, it could just still be a concept. You know, I could just be going plain old bonkers here. But I guess it's about time for that to happen."
"I'm curious about your father," he asks Shipy, still gripping his unused silver bich'wa.
"I'm afraid he's far too complex for you to know in the short time that he'll be here. I suggest you shouldn't try."
Everyone stands together for a few minutes, wondering what will happen next. It seems as if the adventure has come to a grinding halt. Their goals have been accomplished for the most part. Shipy Sr. has been saved, even though a few now might think he shouldn't have been. The Balrog's release has been averted, but Taran is still missing from the group.
Olvarin takes these few moments of inaction to heal Quickly as Jay finishes healing Ebony. Everyone is very tired, except for Bela, who hasn't been with the group the entire time, and Jack, who doesn't require rest.
"The plot makes perfect sense to me now. Wink, wink."
"Jack, you said 'Wink, wink' out loud."
"No I didn't." He raises his middle finger.
What do you do?
Quickly laughs sharply, once. "Nicely done, enchantress!" he says to Lilac. "Never had the knack for the arts myself. Now you," he says, turning to the Elf and covering him with his bow, "sit nice and quiet while we figure out what to do with you."
He glances at the big dark guy. "Heh. Best stay out from between us. I been having bad luck thattaway today. Who are you again?"
Silence.
"So... ah... whaddawedowith 'im?"
"Right. Gotta love the Khazani guard, even if they're lacking a certain fire under their feet since Captain Huros' unfortunate departure...." he smiles at Lilac and Shipy. [This is a reference to Goblins in the Mist, wherein Jax et al. deal with the corrupt Captain Huros of the City Guard.]
"Look dudes, I'd love to stand here and chat in the rain, but my brother's missing." He sheathes his sword and pulls out the coin Martek gave him. "With any luck, we'll be back in no time. But if not, I'll catch up with you at the Blue Frog." Jax tosses the coin to the ground and walks through the portal when it opens.
Bela is humbled at the show of power in the tiny Sprite. For all of his training over the last two years, he is yet unable to perform such a feat.
His heart aches when the Elf is restored, and he wishes dearly to go visit him in the guard tower. At least the meaning of the visions is becoming clearer to him. His research revealed the temple, but it is not clear where the builders went. It seems now that they never left. He is worried about Taran, and about Shipy Sr.'s hints of doom. He must go to the Elf, then, to find more answers---maybe even some clue about Taran.
But then Jax throws down a coin and a portal to another place opens. Bela cringes as he feels the cry of the world from the violent wrenching. There are different ways to link places, he has learned. This portal feels less gentle than the ones he has used. Yet, he will pass through it---there is no time for weeping, or healing, and Jax has already gone through.
He gets ready to step into the portal, then pauses and says, "Are you coming, Shipy?" He will enter after the Hobbit does; he still hopes to recover his linking book from Shipy, and he has a feeling that Shipy never found a safer place for it than his own traveling pack. [In his last adventure in Trollworld, Bela left behind a portal book to his homeland. --ed.]
Shipy scowls at Jax's leaving him behind with the others. "Maybe we should not do this tonight Jax?" he mumbles more to himself, because he knows how stubborn Jax is when it comes to his brother. Shipy seems a tad distracted, but it's nothing that can't be explained by too many magic portals and not enough sleep. He watches Jax closely as he steps into the portal. Nothing seems out of order tonight. "Maybe we should just take a break. You know, just go do something else, maybe get a drink, find a tavern wench, see a man about a bed... crud.... Or go find Taran."
"Are you coming, Shipy?"
Shipy looks at Bela with his big, quizzical, somewhat red Hobbit eyes. "Yeah, I am coming, Bela. I don't wanna miss the last dance. I should tell you Bela, I may be daft at times, but I do know one thing about Khazan that might interest you. There isn't a guard station at 8th and Grand street---only a bunch of vegetable shops."
Shipy winks and nods his head, as if reading Bela's mind. "One more time. Day ain't ovah yet. Then we get you back your book."
Shipy follows Jax and Bela into the portal, hoping on the other side will bring them to some relaxing bar filled with lusty tavern wenches.
"There isn't a guard station at 8th and Grand street---only a bunch of vegetable shops."
"Uff-da!"
"One more time. Day ain't ovah yet. Then we get you back your book."
"My day is just beginning!" he says, then steps through the portal after Shipy.
Both Jay's inappropriate use of rat patooty....
It was indeed an appropriate use of "rat's patoot." In addition, "rat's patootie" is an acceptable alternative spelling. "Patooty" is right out.
"[The Gargoyle's] job is to keep people like us from stealing things...."
"'People like you' would be more appropriate than 'people like us.'"
"[The Gargoyle] has knowledge of the entire place, which is invaluable to me and other people."
"How?" I ask.
"How, you ask? Because it's really one of the guardians. You know, one of the Elves from the temple."
<shrug>
"Fantastic. Remind me again why this is of any concern of ours?"
"How'd you expect us catch it? Harsh language?"
"Nope. Although if it's a hunter and will be drawn back to Ebony and the rest of us anyway, there was no reason to leave her in such a defenseless state."
"What, you ran out of places to defile so you brought it here?"
Jay refuses to claim this quote.
"Uh huh, and I don't see you leaving."
"Why should you? We saw the Mummy destroyed, and this is home. In addition, the biggest threat---you---is here as well. Where should I be?"
He points Jay to Ebony. "Right, go find'em, Lassie."
"You make little sense."
Jack looks down at his own bones. "Lassie? Aaaiiieeek!"
"Dogs are evil."
"Imagine me... food for something else!"
"Most end up as food for worms one day. Consider this a step up."
"Whaddawedowith 'im?"
"I'd suggest asking him why all the temple guardians are now Gargoyles, whether or not it was a voluntary occurrence, and if it wasn't voluntary, if there's anything we can do to assist them. Clearly it's a reversible condition."
"We will take the Elf into custody and if any of you wish to explain this further to the city Wizard, come to the guard station on 8th and Grand street."
"Sergeant, why are you taking him into custody? What crime has been committed. For what reason is he being held?"
"Is there anything sadder than this? Only drowning puppies."
"Now there's a pleasant thought. Dogs are evil."
"The concept is a fascinating one: you actually needing someone. More like you just want to use them."
"There seems to be a lot of that going around."
"I'm afraid [Shipy Sr.]'s far too complex for you to know in the short time that he'll be here."
"A short time? Now that is a pleasant thought!"
"I suggest you shouldn't try."
"It isn't worth it."
Everyone stands together for a few minutes, wondering what will happen next. ... Shipy Sr. has been saved, even though a few now might think he shouldn't have been.
"What? Why're you looking at me?"
It seems as if the adventure has come to a grinding halt.
"Well, this time spent together was perhaps the most wasted period of my life. I'm very pleased to have made such 'valuable' contributions to the success of our task."
"The plot makes perfect sense to me now. Wink, wink."
"Jack, you said 'Wink, wink' out loud."
"No I didn't." He raises his middle finger.
"No Jack, you're number one."
What do you do?
Fester and brood.
Bela is humbled at the show of power in the tiny Sprite. For all of his training over the last two years, he is yet unable to perform such a feat.
Hey, at least you've been getting training. I can't even get a response from people when I ask about teaching spells. ;)
"There isn't a guard station at 8th and Grand street---only a bunch of vegetable shops."
"You might have considered mentioning this."
"Uff-da!"
"Usda' is Polish for 'lip.'"
Jay muses out loud:
"Okay, let me see if I have this straight.
"Jax and Shippy [sic] and Bela are going through the portal after Taran, who hoped his own coin would send him someplace safe.
"Shippy Sr. [sic], who was on his way to release the Balrog (intentionally or unintentionally) is not going through the portal. He has also never stated why he was going to do something that seemingly boneheaded.
"The Gargoyle-turned-Elf has been taken away for no apparent reason by 'guards.'
"The 'guards' told us to go to a vegetable shop for more information.
"Okay. Much as I'd like to go rescue Taran, it seems there's something more important to do at the moment. As I've already said, my primary goal is to prevent the release of the Balrog. Taran is hopefully someplace safe as it is.
"However, the one who prompted this whole trouble is still right here," he glances at the elder Hobbit, "and has claimed he needs the Elf, and the Elf himself has an uncertain status.
"Therefore, I'm following the 'guards' to determine what's going on with the Elf: what his status is, why he and the rest were bloodthirsty monsters, but most importantly, to keep Shippy's [sic] relatives away from him. It might be useful for an invisible flying scout to keep an eye on them as well." (Jay doesn't state whether his use of the word 'them' is in reference to Shippy Sr. [sic] and his companion, or to the Elf and the 'guards.')
Jay heads out following the guards, but stays a slight distance away. He's not hiding, but he won't be drawing attention to himself either.
"I'd suggest asking him why all the temple guardians are now Gargoyles, whether or not it was a voluntary occurrence, and if it wasn't voluntary, if there's anything we can do to assist them. Clearly it's a reversible condition."
Quickly gestures at the Elf with the tip of his arrow. "Yeah! What he said! What gives?" Then whipping out his... pidgin Elvish: "You! Elf thing! Why Gargoyle-look-like? Why smack me? Why smack her? Want that guy hit you second time? Gimme your money! WHUPS!"
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