The tall tales & tragedies of the Chattering Scroll Inn

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine smiled warmly in return to her friend's gesture, "Welcome back, dear Ellundil." She was curious as to where he had been, and she wondered how he could have changed so drastically in such a short amount of time. But that was for later, when they had time to talk of such things. For now, they had work to accomplish.

 

The half-elf turned towards the cave entrance. As her gaze pierced the darkness of its maw, she felt uneasy. It was quiet - too quiet. Something was wrong.

 

She held up a hand to keep her companions still, "Wait just a moment. Let me cast a few spells of protection. Everyone, especially Reona, will need such shields."

 

Rhaine concentrated, trying to think of the most beneficial spells she could cast. The Doomguide needed to reserve most of her energy for offensive capabilities, so she would have to choose wisely.

 

Hmm. Bless, Prayer, Mass Aid....what else? Ah, yes, Mass Vigor would be excellent...possibly Mass Death Ward? Undeath's Eternal Foe might be a good idea as well...

 

Calling forth her energy, she began casting each spell, silently gesticulating to shape the power to her will. A soft green light washed over them, followed by a wave of golden energy punctuated by a bell-like sound. Then, an orange glow pulsated from their bodies, mutating into a shadowy force field that circled their forms twice before dissipating. At last, with a sharp thrust of her fist towards the sky, a blinding white light engulfed them all, the air humming with energy. When the last of her power died down, she explained her castings.

 

"You all are now imbued with divine strength. You should feel slightly lighter of foot and hardier. You all now have the ability to regenerate - so if you are wounded, your injuries will slowly heal themselves until I can patch them up properly. You also have temporary immunity to most diseases and poisons, as well as necrotic damage from undead creatures or their creators. The effects of these spells will last approximately three hours. We should not let our venture take any longer than that...I can't imagine that it will," she pulled her sword from its sheath, keeping the green flame at bay for the time being. Instead, she raised her left hand, and a sphere of white light rested easily in her palm to help light the way.

 

"Shall we go?"

Edited November 21, 2011 by AurianaValoria1

[tokyobiohazard]

Reona smiled and balled her hand into a fist, then punched the air in front of herself with a wink, "Ready as I'll ever be! Let's go!" She readied her sword and scowled at the black entrance to the cave. She hated going underground, but she'd do this to help her friends.

 

You won't get lost if you keep close to the group, Arva said, then added, And don't forget to refrain from going ahead of everyone. You're not the strongest one here.

 

I know. I'll be fine. I have to protect myself these days.

 

No, Arva retorted calmly, You protect them and they protect you. You're a team.

 

She nodded and regained her stance, following the others inside.

[GrueMaster]

Kalin winced a little, still trying to recover from Ellundil's hug. He nodded his head in agreement with Reona and started toward the cave. He formed his mindblades and set them to flame, the swords acting like torches. It always pays to have an extra light. "I'll go first. Let's see how our friends are, shall we?"

 

As the elan entered the cave, he became glad for the heat emanating from the blades. He'd left his shirt and armor back at the inn, and it felt unnaturally cold in the cave. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he uttered quietly. As the party went deeper into the cave, the white scars on the soulknife's chest starting burning slightly. That's odd...usually that only happens when there are... demons nearby? Kalin's eyes opened wide, a cold, sinking feeling settling in his gut. He sent out a telepathic warning to the others. Be on your guards, everyone! Someone's been summoning demons in here...

Edited November 22, 2011 by GrueMaster

[AurianaValoria1]

Kalin winced a little, still trying to recover from Ellundil's hug. He nodded his head in agreement with Reona and started toward the cave. He formed his mindblades and set them to flame, the swords acting like torches. It always pays to have an extra light. "I'll go first. Let's see how our friends are, shall we?"

 

As the elan entered the cave, he became glad for the heat emanating from the blades. He'd left his shirt and armor back at the inn, and it felt unnaturally cold in the cave. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he uttered quietly. As the party went deeper into the cave, the white scars on the soulknife's chest starting burning slightly. That's odd...usually that only happens when there are... demons nearby? Kalin's eyes opened wide, a cold, sinking feeling settling in his gut. He sent out a telepathic warning to the others. Be on your guards, everyone! Someone's been summoning demons in here...

 

Rhaine extinguished her light, gesturing for Kalin to do the same. If there were demons nearby, a stealthier approach would be best. Although, granted, demons could hardly be taken by surprise.

 

I've battled my share of demons, elan. I can handle whatever comes. I can fight fire with fire if I have to - so to speak.

 

Suddenly, her skin began to tingle with an odd coldness. She only got that feeling when powerful undead were close...

 

Rhaine then felt something soft beneath her boot. She looked down, quickly producing her light once more. There, under her foot, lay a dead Black Troll Boy, the emblem of the mercenary party stamped upon his leather breastplate. But he hadn't just been killed. He'd been turned into a zombie and then slain. She took a step back, her mouth in a thin line, "I don't think we have to worry about the bandits anymore. Their contractors have already punished them for their failure."

 

Putting out her light once more, she cast a simple cantrip that she had known since she was a teen: Detect Undead. Her eyes gained a golden glow, her gaze slowly scanning the environs. She could see any negative energies that fueled undead creatures even through the walls of the cave. She saw golden limned forms in the distance, deeper in the caverns, gathered in a circle. Others were scattered throughout rocky corridors.

 

One, two, six, ten, fifteen, twenty two...

 

She retracted her sight and took a deep breath, reporting her findings in a harsh whisper to her companions.

 

"Thirty undead await us....twenty-five zombies - the leftovers of the Black Troll Boys - and five liches."

Edited November 22, 2011 by AurianaValoria1

[Lisnpuppy]

Kismet made a sudden appearance from the darkness appears so stealthly that it seemed she just formed from the darkness. She cast a small ball of fairy fire...just enough to cast an eerie purple glow on everyone's face. Grinning showing her dimpled dark cheeks, Kismet flicked her wrists and two ornate and beautiful daggers appeared in her hands, glowing green even in the purple light to show their poison enchantments.

 

Kismet suddenly put her lips together, pouting prettily.

 

"Only thirty? I thought you guys were going to be fun!" With a mirthful laugh, the Drow extinguished the flame and went through the opening into the pitch dark yelling back to the others, "This is just like home...dark and with things that want to kill me. How lovely!"

[GrueMaster]

Kalin extinguished the flames shrouding his blades at Rhaine's gesture, the light going out, leaving his mindblades to glow eerily in the dark cavern, casting a pale, violet light across his features. Sorry. Not much I can do about that, he apologized mentally. He squinted his eyes and was surprised as Kismet faded into sight from the shadow, faerie fire lighting the Drow's form. "Ah, how nice of you to join us, Kismet," the elan said politely. "Sorry for the lack of enemies, dear elf. Perhaps there shall be more in the future. I-"

 

Kalin cut off in his speech, clutching at his scars as a memory triggered by the dark elf's words and the scars on his chest stopped him in midstep...

 

Kalin's chest was tingling as he fought against a fallen eldritch knight. Blood and bodies lay scattered across the floor of a summoner's room. Someone had been summoning demons lately, and the local clergy had wanted him to investigate. He'd found the rogue wizard preparing to summon a greater demon from the Abyss. The soulknife had managed to defeat the guards, but the blasted spellcaster had been well-trained with a sword. A blast of magic sent him flying against a wall of the room. Before Kalin could recover, the wizard muttered a word of power and opened a gate. The scars on the elan's chest suddenly felt as though a hot brand was being pushed into him, causing him to to cry out in pain as a marilith slithered through the gate...

 

Kalin shook his head as the memory faded. His face had become extremely pale. A horrible realization had just struck him. Oh no... Looking at the priestess with a disturbed, shocked face, he said, almost at a whisper: "Rhaine..I was wrong. There aren't any demons in here...the liches are summoning one...a big one..."

Edited November 22, 2011 by GrueMaster

[iansaltman]

Kalin extinguished the flames shrouding his blades at Rhaine's gesture, the light going out, leaving his mindblades to glow eerily in the dark cavern, casting a pale, violet light across his features. Sorry. Not much I can do about that, he apologized mentally. He squinted his eyes and was surprised as Kismet faded into sight from the shadow, faerie fire lighting the Drow's form. "Ah, how nice of you to join us, Kismet," the elan said politely. "Sorry for the lack of enemies, dear elf. Perhaps there shall be more in the future. I-"

 

Kalin cut off in his speech, clutching at his scars as a memory triggered by the dark elf's words and the scars on his chest stopped him in midstep...

 

Kalin's chest was tingling as he fought against a fallen eldritch knight. Blood and bodies lay scattered across the floor of a summoner's room. Someone had been summoning demons lately, and the local clergy had wanted him to investigate. He'd found the rogue wizard preparing to summon a greater demon from the Abyss. The soulknife had managed to defeat the guards, but the blasted spellcaster had been well-trained with a sword. A blast of magic sent him flying against a wall of the room. Before Kalin could recover, the wizard muttered a word of power and opened a gate. The scars on the elan's chest suddenly felt as though a hot brand was being pushed into him, causing him to to cry out in pain as a marilith slithered through the gate...

 

Kalin shook his head as the memory faded. His face had become extremely pale. A horrible realization had just struck him. Oh no... Looking at the priestess with a disturbed, shocked face, he said, almost at a whisper: "Rhaine..I was wrong. There aren't any demons in here...the liches are summoning one...a big one..."

 

 

Ellundil had become extremely adept in Illusion magic simply because he liked to play harmless jokes on people, but nonetheless his self-conscious made this type of magic extremely easy to him during his time at the College of Winterhold. This allowed him to talk to his party members in full voice, but still shroud it from other living (and supposedly undead) creatures. No, this is not telepathy, simply creating the "illusion" that there is no sound coming from Ellundil's voice to whom of which he does not want to hear.

 

Ellundil continued from behind Kalin, and in all honesty, Ellundil wished he could have been the one in front leading the party, but he wasn't going to complain or make a fuss over it, he just followed along in line. He noticed that they were no longer in a long cave corridor, it had opened up into another room with four paths, however, the one on the left had been blocked with fallen rocks, the one that kept going forward looked as if it had been (or still was) a mine for iron, silver, and gold ore. However, there was one thing in-particular that Ellundil noticed about the right passage, and it was that it was covered in gruesome amounts of blood.

 

Ellundil spoke heartily, "Well now! I wonder which way to go... Ah the hell with it, when it doubt, go right!" he then took this moment to leap ahead of Kalin and go straight in, then, seeing a very ominous light he stepped forward even further, only to find a decent host of enemies. The liches didn't seem to notice his presence, but they knew quite well that he was there, though he couldn't tell if they were aware of the other party members. At this point, the dead (or draughr) started rising out of the ground, out of the walls, ashes rising from urns.

 

Ellundil now prepared his voice in a rising triumph of valor, "FEAR NOT, MY FRIENDS, FOR WE DO NOT FOR THAT OF WHICH THAT IS DEAD! HERESAY AND I DO SAY, THAT I DON'T CARE FOR THESE LICHES, NO, I DO NOT CARE FOR THESE SONS OF BITCHES BEFORE ME, BEFORE US, AND THEY SHALL DIE BY OUR BLADES, OUR MINDS, AND OUR VERY SOULS!"

 

And now he cleared his voice on further, now eliminating his Illusion field of sound, then shouted to the horde of undead before him; "YOL TOOR KREIN!" which then caught the majority of the creatures on a mystical fire. He now charged forward with his sword ready, feeling his will now screeching upwards to the heavens, and he could feel his flesh pounding with gifts of the divines laid upon him by Rhaine. He could also feel his heart thumping against his very soul, for he cared about those whom he fought side-by-side with, and he knew this would not be an easy battle to overcome.

[Lisnpuppy]

A sudden joyous undulation came from the dark as Kismet moved so quickly as to be but a blur, glimpses here and there from the light of Ellundil's magical flame upon the undead. Stabbing the first two with her sharpened wrist-daggers, in the head and turning to the next before the last body dropped. An undead made its way toward Ellundil and Kis pressed the mechanism on her wrist to let dagger's fly toward the abomination. Hitting it square in the chest the creature looked down with its unholy, glowing eyes then fell apart a heap on the floor. Flashing a grin the Drow pulled her scimitars from her back as she finally came to a halt next to Ellundil and the rest of those standing close.

 

"Magnificent! Do that again!" Kismet looked up with glowing green eyes and a too bright smile.

[GrueMaster]

"Idiot!" Kalin muttered, annoyed at the rash elf. There goes the element of surprise! He sighed, and turned to the task at hand. The soulknife centered his mind, the psionic energies in him becoming focused, then unleashed the fire burning in him. A shroud of flames covered him and his blades, so hot that a zombie that had closed spontaneously combusted. Then the elan burst into life.

 

With inhuman speed, Kalin charged forward, an angel of vengeance, and delivered a flurry of slashes, rending and burning two of the walking corpses. In a terrible, unrecognizable voice, deep and resonating, he shouted: "BURN IN HIS LIGHT!"

The burning soulknife lobbed a firebolt, taking down a draughr that had managed to sneak up on Kismet and Ellundil. "Go!" he commanded them, "Stop the summoners! Keep the demon from coming through!"

 

Without another word, Kalin turned toward the approaching mass of the undead, launching bolts of fire and throwing his mindblades, trying to weaken or bring down as many foes as he could. As the undead closed the distance, he cried fiercely: "For Amaunator!" and ran toward the undead, flourishing his flaming mindblades...

Edited November 23, 2011 by GrueMaster

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine, despite the sudden flurry of activity from her companions, was as calm as ever. The zombies and draugr slowly advanced, and she smiled. This was her element.

 

She spoke not a word as she gathered her power, fueled by the presence of the abominations before her. As she watched Kalin dash into the fray, time seemed to slow. Her eyes glowed white, her sword engulfed in green flame as she was lifted from the floor of the cave. When her charged magic reached its peak, she flung her arms outward with a cry, "Kelemvor take you!"

 

Her power was unleashed as a magnified Turning spell, a white-hot wave of magic discharging outwards from her body in a cleansing explosion. She was dropped back on her feet, the lesser zombies instantly torn asunder by searing divine light and the remaining draugr stunned by the shockwave.

 

She readied her weapon to cut down the prone undead and joined Kalin in the fight, the holy flame of her blade reducing them to smoking ash...one by one.