Either in response to Kaede's non-aggressive action, or some other catalyst, the rats begin to flash their brains, purple and green dots lighting up here and there, blinking on and off with enough brilliance to leave behind spots in the onlookers eyes. Rats slowly pour from the main body, the pile of flashing brains, and over the feet of the Twilight Embers as they spread out through the tunnel. The path before the Embers thins considerably and becomes clearly passable. Even the big one moves to the side, out of the way of the Twilight Embers, lumbering its large form carefully amongst its diminutive compatriots.
Rum watches the rats as their as their brains flash and the scurry about out of the way.
”Another message, fellow Embers. And my fragment a little sinister. They say ‘we chose to end you’”.
He holds his hand out to Lady Kaede indicating to wait a moment.
”I would like to complete the message before we pass. What were the other fragments?”.
”I believe the original message might have been, ‘Twilight Embers we mean you no harm. You must know that you should turn back now’. Why warn us and then threaten us, there must be more to it”, he adds whilst slowly moving forward behind Lady Kaede unless she stops.
Ro wiggles to speak again, and waits for one of the members to remove his gag, "I heard 'you were chose for this end'. Mayhaps with a colony of mind-controlled rats, the message gets convoluted as it passes through many minds. It also may not be them that are threatening us. They could be warning us of the threat that lies within the castle ahead."
"Only one way to find out the answer to that conundrum, no? Time is of the essence, as those Guardians above have been alerted to our presence and surely there are people, my people, hiding in the castle above. Trembling, scared, and in need of assistance." Kaede adds, while slowly proceeding forward.
Greko nods his head and thinks about his last message.....Is it truly the end for him in this castle? Have the fates destined him to die here saving the realm from Ganon and the Darkness? Will the rest of the Embers survive? He gruffly mutters to himself "Over my dead body will the rest of them perish" Greko huffs and walks through the path made by the rats, lighting the way with his glowing flower
A being of metal, Oten is hardly concerned by the possibility of the rats changing their minds and swarming him. He wades through the rats, being careful not to step on any tails.
The rats begin to disappear into the darkness as their brains stop glowing. The sound continues around them, as though the rats are still following, watching, but not menacing, all through what remains of the east leading tunnel and then south, until the exit to Castle Town comes into view...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As the tunnel exit to Castle Town appears, Kaede halts her forward progress a good distance away and cautiously peers towards the exit, letting her senses take in the scene, trying to detect any sound or motion past the exit.
Perception: 18
Are the rats still following us? Is the exit wide open, or barred or a shut door?
As Lady Kaede stops, Rum motions to the others to stay back and takes over the lead, slowing his gait and creeping closer to get a better look. Very wary of potential hostile activity or traps, his senses are on high alert as he melds into the shadows of the tunnel.
He quickly checks to see if his fellow scout, Lelith, is moving alongside him, although he knows if she is creeping too he might not know she is there.
He has never been into the city before, not even through the main gate, so he has no idea where a secret tunnel would exit. He just hoped it remained a secret, otherwise it was surely being watched.
Rum creeps up the sloping tunnel, ending at what appears to be a trap door, although without hinges so possibly just a lid. The dust is thick, as though it has seen little to no use in recent times.
He sees no lock, and hears no sounds coming from beyond.
He carefully and quietly lifts the lid ever so slightly to take a look beyond.
Lifting the lid reveals a few things. The first is the smell; the smell of bodies nearby. The smell of rat urine to match the inside of the tunnels, though somehow inexplicably stronger. The smell of fire, of smoke, of things burning. There are noises, too, though soft and in the distance; the moan of zombies. Somewhere far, far away there is the echo of a Redead screaming. The air is cool. Much cooler than it should have been for that time of year. The Embers that look through the open door see the inside of a dark house. Food rotting on the tables. Something lays nearby that looks like a small body.
It becomes obvious that, save for the few rats, the house is empty. They don't hear anything around the house either except for the sound of wood crackling in a fire. Things seem to be safe.
Ro nods in agreement of Kaede after she recommends the band move forward. He makes sure to avoid stepping on the rats as he walks past them and gives a solitary nod to the larger rat; the elf-dwarf was pleased that no unnecessary blood was shed. As the band makes their way to the tunnel's exit, Ro shimmies a bit trying to gather the attention of his allies and let them know that he feels in control of himself once more. If the band is to enter the castle and face it's opposers, Ro could not risk being bound and gagged anymore.
Rum wrinkles his nose as the smells waft in from the room beyond the tunnel and his ears prick up at the distant sounds of zombies and redead, but relaxes a touch as the immediate vicinity appears clear and safe.
He motions for the others to follow and steps into the room, turning briefly to see how the secret tunnel entrance would appear from the other side, before heading carefully to the small body.
Knowing that the dead have a tendency to rise, he takes his quarterstaff and tries to turn it over from a short distance away to see what it is and whether it is dormant.
Greko unties Ro and ungags him. "How are you feeling young Ro? Ready to resume our storming of the castle" Greko says jokingly with a hint of worry in his voice "Shall we check our surroundings, oh dear, a youngling dead"Greko watches Rum roll, what Greko believes to be a child over, and sadness washes over Greko. He blooms a few wild flowers from his staff and lays it upon the dead in the room
As Rum rolls the body over, a small elf can be seen, dead from all appearance.
He watches as Greko lays the flowers down.
"Be wary fellow Embers, this will not be the last body we come across, and they may not all be this lifeless", he says gloomily.
"We should make haste though, but where to? Is the Temple of Time our main priority, or finding the Lord of Darkness and Ganondorf?", he adds as he looks to find a window out to the street, so he can get a view of what is going on. He stays in the shadows, making sure he cannot be seen himself.
Kaede rushes up to the lifeless body of the child, kneels down before it, and starts to mumble a silent prayer. In a valiant but abortive attempt to squelch the tears from flowing, she bravely proceeds to complete her silent prayer of sorrow for this child who apparently sacrificed their life.
When finished, she stands back up, but this time instead of tears flowing down her cheeks, you see her visage is one of anger. And revenge.
"These...innocent citizens didn't ask for this. Didn't deserve this. Whomever this 'Lord of Darkness' or 'Ganondorf' is...is going to...pay."
(that final word 'pay' was literally spit out with bile colored spittle from her mouth)
My mission has turned from one of rescue, to one of revenge...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
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Either in response to Kaede's non-aggressive action, or some other catalyst, the rats begin to flash their brains, purple and green dots lighting up here and there, blinking on and off with enough brilliance to leave behind spots in the onlookers eyes. Rats slowly pour from the main body, the pile of flashing brains, and over the feet of the Twilight Embers as they spread out through the tunnel. The path before the Embers thins considerably and becomes clearly passable. Even the big one moves to the side, out of the way of the Twilight Embers, lumbering its large form carefully amongst its diminutive compatriots.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
”So peculiar…They move out of the way and send me a message that this is the end…I think they’re leaving trying to save themselves“
“Strange indeed.” Kaede mumbles. “Shall we continue, for our future beckons.”
Kaede will take a few steps, tentatively, forward. Just far enough to see the reaction of the rats.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Rum watches the rats as their as their brains flash and the scurry about out of the way.
”Another message, fellow Embers. And my fragment a little sinister. They say ‘we chose to end you’”.
He holds his hand out to Lady Kaede indicating to wait a moment.
”I would like to complete the message before we pass. What were the other fragments?”.
”I believe the original message might have been, ‘Twilight Embers we mean you no harm. You must know that you should turn back now’. Why warn us and then threaten us, there must be more to it”, he adds whilst slowly moving forward behind Lady Kaede unless she stops.
Ro wiggles to speak again, and waits for one of the members to remove his gag, "I heard 'you were chose for this end'. Mayhaps with a colony of mind-controlled rats, the message gets convoluted as it passes through many minds. It also may not be them that are threatening us. They could be warning us of the threat that lies within the castle ahead."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
"Only one way to find out the answer to that conundrum, no? Time is of the essence, as those Guardians above have been alerted to our presence and surely there are people, my people, hiding in the castle above. Trembling, scared, and in need of assistance." Kaede adds, while slowly proceeding forward.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Greko nods his head and thinks about his last message.....Is it truly the end for him in this castle? Have the fates destined him to die here saving the realm from Ganon and the Darkness? Will the rest of the Embers survive? He gruffly mutters to himself "Over my dead body will the rest of them perish" Greko huffs and walks through the path made by the rats, lighting the way with his glowing flower
A being of metal, Oten is hardly concerned by the possibility of the rats changing their minds and swarming him. He wades through the rats, being careful not to step on any tails.
“Very well, fellow Embers. Onwards it is”, says Rum.
He carries on moving forwards alongside Lady Kaede, holding two fingers to his eyes before pointing them at the giant rat as he passes.
Once passed, he remains vigilant, looking and listening for traps and other threats.
Perception: 15+8=23
The rats begin to disappear into the darkness as their brains stop glowing. The sound continues around them, as though the rats are still following, watching, but not menacing, all through what remains of the east leading tunnel and then south, until the exit to Castle Town comes into view...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
As the tunnel exit to Castle Town appears, Kaede halts her forward progress a good distance away and cautiously peers towards the exit, letting her senses take in the scene, trying to detect any sound or motion past the exit.
Perception: 18
Are the rats still following us? Is the exit wide open, or barred or a shut door?
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
As Lady Kaede stops, Rum motions to the others to stay back and takes over the lead, slowing his gait and creeping closer to get a better look. Very wary of potential hostile activity or traps, his senses are on high alert as he melds into the shadows of the tunnel.
He quickly checks to see if his fellow scout, Lelith, is moving alongside him, although he knows if she is creeping too he might not know she is there.
He has never been into the city before, not even through the main gate, so he has no idea where a secret tunnel would exit. He just hoped it remained a secret, otherwise it was surely being watched.
Stealth: 16+8=24
Perception: 8+8=16 (Passive: 18)
Rum creeps up the sloping tunnel, ending at what appears to be a trap door, although without hinges so possibly just a lid. The dust is thick, as though it has seen little to no use in recent times.
He sees no lock, and hears no sounds coming from beyond.
He carefully and quietly lifts the lid ever so slightly to take a look beyond.
Greko readies himself to bonk whatever evil doer Rum sees
Lifting the lid reveals a few things. The first is the smell; the smell of bodies nearby. The smell of rat urine to match the inside of the tunnels, though somehow inexplicably stronger. The smell of fire, of smoke, of things burning. There are noises, too, though soft and in the distance; the moan of zombies. Somewhere far, far away there is the echo of a Redead screaming. The air is cool. Much cooler than it should have been for that time of year. The Embers that look through the open door see the inside of a dark house. Food rotting on the tables. Something lays nearby that looks like a small body.
It becomes obvious that, save for the few rats, the house is empty. They don't hear anything around the house either except for the sound of wood crackling in a fire. Things seem to be safe.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ro nods in agreement of Kaede after she recommends the band move forward. He makes sure to avoid stepping on the rats as he walks past them and gives a solitary nod to the larger rat; the elf-dwarf was pleased that no unnecessary blood was shed. As the band makes their way to the tunnel's exit, Ro shimmies a bit trying to gather the attention of his allies and let them know that he feels in control of himself once more. If the band is to enter the castle and face it's opposers, Ro could not risk being bound and gagged anymore.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum wrinkles his nose as the smells waft in from the room beyond the tunnel and his ears prick up at the distant sounds of zombies and redead, but relaxes a touch as the immediate vicinity appears clear and safe.
He motions for the others to follow and steps into the room, turning briefly to see how the secret tunnel entrance would appear from the other side, before heading carefully to the small body.
Knowing that the dead have a tendency to rise, he takes his quarterstaff and tries to turn it over from a short distance away to see what it is and whether it is dormant.
Investigation: 11+0=11
Greko unties Ro and ungags him. "How are you feeling young Ro? Ready to resume our storming of the castle" Greko says jokingly with a hint of worry in his voice "Shall we check our surroundings, oh dear, a youngling dead" Greko watches Rum roll, what Greko believes to be a child over, and sadness washes over Greko. He blooms a few wild flowers from his staff and lays it upon the dead in the room
As Rum rolls the body over, a small elf can be seen, dead from all appearance.
He watches as Greko lays the flowers down.
"Be wary fellow Embers, this will not be the last body we come across, and they may not all be this lifeless", he says gloomily.
"We should make haste though, but where to? Is the Temple of Time our main priority, or finding the Lord of Darkness and Ganondorf?", he adds as he looks to find a window out to the street, so he can get a view of what is going on. He stays in the shadows, making sure he cannot be seen himself.
Kaede rushes up to the lifeless body of the child, kneels down before it, and starts to mumble a silent prayer. In a valiant but abortive attempt to squelch the tears from flowing, she bravely proceeds to complete her silent prayer of sorrow for this child who apparently sacrificed their life.
When finished, she stands back up, but this time instead of tears flowing down her cheeks, you see her visage is one of anger. And revenge.
"These...innocent citizens didn't ask for this. Didn't deserve this. Whomever this 'Lord of Darkness' or 'Ganondorf' is...is going to...pay."
(that final word 'pay' was literally spit out with bile colored spittle from her mouth)
My mission has turned from one of rescue, to one of revenge...
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?