Maverick is once again cast into the Dark Waters, the sky above as dreary as ever. Norry leans on the railing, staring into the distance as the oars silently push the vessel along the still, waveless waters.
After a few silent hours, the empty horizon is broken by a large island with a vast mountain dominating its center. From a distance, you can see that the mountain is topped by a humanoid statue with its hand stretched upward. Its palm is glowing, facing the sky and bathing the island in a gray light. The statue must be nearly a thousand feet tall to be seen so clearly.
Wes gathers the party as Mavericks slowly draws closer. He distributes the items that have been gathered in the Islands of Insanity thus far. "Norry, or Denorian, or...well, both of them seem to believe that these are the key to solving this enigma. Here are the two staffs you found. I've attempted to repair the crystal but there is much of it missing...whatever its purpose, we'll have to hope that it will work in its incomplete state," he says before asking, "Who is taking them?"
Seeing Killian's hesitation, Norry explains, "The creators of these staff...the shrine that they created can repel the Elder Evil but I know not which form that takes or how it must be done. I am confident, though, based on Denorian's memories, that one does not need to wield the magic for it to be used. I suppose we should consider who is best suited to get them to the shrine, and quickly, in case the tainted Denorian has beaten us there."
OOC: Added a staff of the magi to Killian's inventory. There is one more staff and the broken crystal staff remaining.
OOC: Added a Staff of the Magi to Hox's inventory. Added the crystal staff to Gruun's inventory.
There is a shimmer in the air, and from the sky a star rushes past, to crash upon the shore. It is but the first of many more. Like missiles, they impact into the mountain and the island itself, crumbling off large hunks of the stone that rumble down onto the surrounding land like the impending doom that lies ahead.
The stars fall from above you, drawing your attention to an undulant mass of fluid and tentacles much larger than even the massive mountain. Hovering in the dark sky, the air around this large body consistently shimmers. Fragments streak through the atmosphere like dozens of shooting stars, raining over the island. The sudden lightning strikes illuminating the mountain's peak reveal a swarm of shambling and horribly mutated creatures, strange aboleths, and untold nameless horrors below. The water in front of the shore churns as Maverick grows closer.
Aradurk WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 12 Gruun WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 18 Hox WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 12 Killian WIS Save: 21
Madness: 52923213
The immense being in the sky continues to form as Maverick closes in on the shoreline. As the party moves to the deck, preparing to depart the vessel, lightning arcs across the sky. For a brief moment, you catch a full glimpse of Shothotugg, the creature above the clouds as horrifying as its underside, and larger than anything you thought possible. The mere sight of this Elder Evil seems incomprehensible, retreating back into the recesses of your minds as Maverick reaches the shore.
A path a few hundred feet ahead of you carves its way up the mountainside, leading toward the statue poised at the top. Along the path you see dozens of mutated humanoid forms shambling down toward the shore.
For Aradurk and Hox:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has left you frightened. For the next 8 minutes, you are unwilling to move up the mountain at all.
For Gruun:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has left your mind reeling in an attempt to recover itself. For the next 6 minutes, you experience vivid hallucinations that give you disadvantage on all ability checks.
OOC: You can flavor the form that these hallucinations take however you please.
For Killian:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has a similar effect on your mind as the nameless horror that you fought in the ancient ruins. For the next 4 minutes, you are incapacitated, spending the duration screaming, laughing, or weeping.
OOC: You can flavor this effect however you think it best fits Killian.
Aradurk looks up the mountainside and totally loses it. "Nope - no way. Stay down here with me guys. This happened once before and I lost my entire company that day. No way are we going up there. Get cover guys!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A) Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter -Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5) Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Killian falls to her knees, staring up at the behemoth, tears streaming from her eyes. These are wracking sobs, heaving with her almost panicky breathing. As the minutes wear on, she crumples to the ground, pounding it with her fists. She comes up with a knife in her hand, and begins to hack at her long hair, heedless of cutting herself, her horror and fear slowly, over the minutes, being replaced with anger that deepens into a fathomless fury.
OOC > Assuming we get through this before the enemy is upon us. If they get to us before that, she'll be in the fetal position stage! :)
For the first time you see Gruun shrink into himself, huddling down and breathing in quick, shallow, bursts. He's trying to push outward at nothing but continues to draw himself inward, crouching on the deck until suddenly diving forward and heaving a great breath before jumping upwards. His eyes continuously dart to the corners of his vision as he tries to look everywhere at once, spinning around suddenly to flick his arm as if to knock something off.
Hox drops down onto his belly and covers his head with his claws, "Not beast, not monster...it is fear." Paralyzed with fear of this unknown being and its material form overwhelming Hox's feeble mind.
Killian is the first to come to her senses, with Norry futilely trying to pin her knife arm to her side. The young man is bleeding from a number of small wounds he has taken from her in the process.
"--are coming. They're coming!" he is shouting, trying to draw her attention to the approaching figures. Now within a few hundred feet, their shocking visages are clear. The nearest figures are a nearly exact replica of the party: Killian, Gruun, Hox, and Aradurk shambling toward themselves. Not far behind them are two more sets of these creatures.
Bleeding from her superficial wounds, hair shaggy and matted, Killian shakes the young man off. Her fury radiates from her as she takes in her companions, she pulls her shield tight, and vaults off the boat, preparing to meet the first wave of creatures.
OOC > I'd like to consider taking another action, but I see from my character sheet that we have not had a rest opportunity, is that correct? "After a few silent hours, the empty horizon is broken by a large island..." suggests we could have at least a short rest to expend hit dice and recover some few abilities? edit: also, how many rounds do we have before they reach the shore and the boat? Roughly.
OOC: Is everyone else ready to depart? This is endgame territory, so I'm hesitant to rush everyone forward until I've heard from everyone.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Ready!
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Hox is Ready!
Ready to roll!
Ready!
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Maverick is once again cast into the Dark Waters, the sky above as dreary as ever. Norry leans on the railing, staring into the distance as the oars silently push the vessel along the still, waveless waters.
After a few silent hours, the empty horizon is broken by a large island with a vast mountain dominating its center. From a distance, you can see that the mountain is topped by a humanoid statue with its hand stretched upward. Its palm is glowing, facing the sky and bathing the island in a gray light. The statue must be nearly a thousand feet tall to be seen so clearly.
Wes gathers the party as Mavericks slowly draws closer. He distributes the items that have been gathered in the Islands of Insanity thus far. "Norry, or Denorian, or...well, both of them seem to believe that these are the key to solving this enigma. Here are the two staffs you found. I've attempted to repair the crystal but there is much of it missing...whatever its purpose, we'll have to hope that it will work in its incomplete state," he says before asking, "Who is taking them?"
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Killian looks around at the assembled fighters and rogues. "I suppose I should take one of the staves?"
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Seeing Killian's hesitation, Norry explains, "The creators of these staff...the shrine that they created can repel the Elder Evil but I know not which form that takes or how it must be done. I am confident, though, based on Denorian's memories, that one does not need to wield the magic for it to be used. I suppose we should consider who is best suited to get them to the shrine, and quickly, in case the tainted Denorian has beaten us there."
OOC: Added a staff of the magi to Killian's inventory. There is one more staff and the broken crystal staff remaining.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"If we need speed, then Hox is the only choice," Killian says.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Hox take stick?" Hox points to himself then holds out his hand, "Hox is fast, on wing and claws."
"I can take the broken staff, I am quicker than my looks and few things will be able to slow me down for long."
OOC: Added a Staff of the Magi to Hox's inventory. Added the crystal staff to Gruun's inventory.
There is a shimmer in the air, and from the sky a star rushes past, to crash upon the shore. It is but the first of many more. Like missiles, they impact into the mountain and the island itself, crumbling off large hunks of the stone that rumble down onto the surrounding land like the impending doom that lies ahead.
The stars fall from above you, drawing your attention to an undulant mass of fluid and tentacles much larger than even the massive mountain. Hovering in the dark sky, the air around this large body consistently shimmers. Fragments streak through the atmosphere like dozens of shooting stars, raining over the island. The sudden lightning strikes illuminating the mountain's peak reveal a swarm of shambling and horribly mutated creatures, strange aboleths, and untold nameless horrors below. The water in front of the shore churns as Maverick grows closer.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
“Whatever happens, one of us must get through,” Killian says, eyes on the mountain.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Aradurk WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 12
Gruun WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 18
Hox WIS Save (+Aura of Protection): 12
Killian WIS Save: 21
Madness: 52 92 32 13
The immense being in the sky continues to form as Maverick closes in on the shoreline. As the party moves to the deck, preparing to depart the vessel, lightning arcs across the sky. For a brief moment, you catch a full glimpse of Shothotugg, the creature above the clouds as horrifying as its underside, and larger than anything you thought possible. The mere sight of this Elder Evil seems incomprehensible, retreating back into the recesses of your minds as Maverick reaches the shore.
A path a few hundred feet ahead of you carves its way up the mountainside, leading toward the statue poised at the top. Along the path you see dozens of mutated humanoid forms shambling down toward the shore.
For Aradurk and Hox:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has left you frightened. For the next 8 minutes, you are unwilling to move up the mountain at all.
For Gruun:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has left your mind reeling in an attempt to recover itself. For the next 6 minutes, you experience vivid hallucinations that give you disadvantage on all ability checks.
OOC: You can flavor the form that these hallucinations take however you please.
For Killian:
The sight of Shothotugg's full form has a similar effect on your mind as the nameless horror that you fought in the ancient ruins. For the next 4 minutes, you are incapacitated, spending the duration screaming, laughing, or weeping.
OOC: You can flavor this effect however you think it best fits Killian.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Aradurk looks up the mountainside and totally loses it. "Nope - no way. Stay down here with me guys. This happened once before and I lost my entire company that day. No way are we going up there. Get cover guys!"
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Killian falls to her knees, staring up at the behemoth, tears streaming from her eyes. These are wracking sobs, heaving with her almost panicky breathing. As the minutes wear on, she crumples to the ground, pounding it with her fists. She comes up with a knife in her hand, and begins to hack at her long hair, heedless of cutting herself, her horror and fear slowly, over the minutes, being replaced with anger that deepens into a fathomless fury.
OOC > Assuming we get through this before the enemy is upon us. If they get to us before that, she'll be in the fetal position stage! :)
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
For the first time you see Gruun shrink into himself, huddling down and breathing in quick, shallow, bursts. He's trying to push outward at nothing but continues to draw himself inward, crouching on the deck until suddenly diving forward and heaving a great breath before jumping upwards. His eyes continuously dart to the corners of his vision as he tries to look everywhere at once, spinning around suddenly to flick his arm as if to knock something off.
Hox drops down onto his belly and covers his head with his claws, "Not beast, not monster...it is fear." Paralyzed with fear of this unknown being and its material form overwhelming Hox's feeble mind.
Killian is the first to come to her senses, with Norry futilely trying to pin her knife arm to her side. The young man is bleeding from a number of small wounds he has taken from her in the process.
"--are coming. They're coming!" he is shouting, trying to draw her attention to the approaching figures. Now within a few hundred feet, their shocking visages are clear. The nearest figures are a nearly exact replica of the party: Killian, Gruun, Hox, and Aradurk shambling toward themselves. Not far behind them are two more sets of these creatures.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Bleeding from her superficial wounds, hair shaggy and matted, Killian shakes the young man off. Her fury radiates from her as she takes in her companions, she pulls her shield tight, and vaults off the boat, preparing to meet the first wave of creatures.
OOC > I'd like to consider taking another action, but I see from my character sheet that we have not had a rest opportunity, is that correct? "After a few silent hours, the empty horizon is broken by a large island..." suggests we could have at least a short rest to expend hit dice and recover some few abilities? edit: also, how many rounds do we have before they reach the shore and the boat? Roughly.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.