DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy RRL: Rise of the Rune Lords - Burnt Offerings RRL: The Bone Yard

Aendell

He nods agreement with Selaim, and not just because of her personal experiences. "I agree. As long as this door will hold we should alert, and get support from, the Town Guard. They need to know of this. Besides the issue of potentially getting into trouble, what if we are overcome? Do we really want a flood of Skeletons to descend on the town while they are unaware? It is interesting that they seem to not have been activated until we entered, so I wonder if they even can leave this crypt? Still, best to alter the town and then decide how to deal with them."

Coral

"I shall wait here for the town gaurd to come and make their assessment," Coral declared, making herself comfortable sitting on suitable stonework facing the crypt.

"Selaim?" Coral asked. "Would you be able to bring back my weapons from my room in the inn?"

(Item the first: is someone taking the proferred holy water. The general idea is, when the door is opened, throw both vials as a lead in before engaging directly)

“… and I will retrieve Cat.”

He looks at Selaim

“You know she isn’t as different from you as you perhaps think. And I trust you both.”


And he moves to complete his task.

(I think the issue is that for all of us Throw would be an unskilled roll)

Selaim hadn't planned on running back to the rooms but to stay there, but those thoughts changed when Coral asked her to retrieve the weapons.

"Coral you need me to get your weapons? Fine. I guess Zak and I will take care of this. I'll head to the rooms. Did anyone else need anything at the inn?" She asks.

On the way back to the inn and for Zak to find the guard, Selaim asks "You mean Cat? She's a guard."

((OOC: Throwing is Athletics, which Selaim is very good at and Aendell is skilled))

Zak: “she’s serving as a guard as a penance. It is not her chosen profession. Not everyone, Selaim, gets to live their life the way they would have chosen. Sometimes circumstances put people in places they otherwise would not have been. Right?”

He raises an eyebrow.

Selaim

"They had her be a guard as punishment? That's why she doesn't think like the guards I am used to." she said. As they trotted back into the main market area Selaim heading towards the inn, she thought of her time with the Thieves Guild and Villian. And how right Zak was.

As she peeled off towards the inn, Selaim turned to Zak, "Or sometimes choices made by trusting in bad information lead you down a path not of your choosing either."

As she ran to the rooms doubt crept back in. Doubt fighting to override the experiences and feelings she'd had so far with the group she found herself accompanying.

Quickly putting those thoughts aside she retrieved Coral's weapons and started back to the graveyard and the crypt where her new companions were waiting.

Catalena

Catalena entered the Cathedral Square off of High Street, humming her tavern tune, a very long sword rising above her shoulder which seemed to be a new acquisition. She saw Selaim departing swiftly from Zachergillan's side and she smiled at seeing them both. But it only took a moment to perceive Selaim's urgency and the concerned expressions on both of their faces.

"What has happened?" she asked the gnome as the elf dashed past her down High Street.

Zak:

“Following a hunch from Coral, we tried to see where the goblins had been. A crypt in the boneyard was open, and there are skeletons, the walking kind, inside. We have it closed and blocked at the moment and are getting weapons and help. I’m looking for you to get the guard involved.”

Catalena

Catalena stared for a minute. "Animated skeletons?" she asked. "In Sandpoint? Necromancy in the Cathedral boneyard?"

She thought for a moment. "You know, other than Sheriff Hemlock, none of those fellows handled themselves particularly well against the goblins today. You lot practically saved the town."

"By the way," she added, with a wink, "You've got a twenty percent discount in the shops."

She glanced up at the Cathedral doors. "I don't know that we might just be sending those boys to their deaths. But I suppose I should report it. If it's necromancy and in the boneyard, we should also tell Father Zantus. But if you and Selaim are here, that means it's only Coral and Aendell holding them in? Who knows how long that will last."

She took a quick breath and then said, "This is a hard decision as to what to do first. We should get some guidance."

Catalena reached into her pouch and pulled out her Harrow deck. With practiced hands, she riffled through the deck. She said, "Desna, show us the way," before reverently selecting a card.

Turning it over, she revealed...



"The Rakshasa... interesting. This tells us, Desna warns that someone is controlling the skeletons..." she spoke grimly. Then, brightly she added, "or us, I suppose. Desna speaks in mysteries. But I think we should fetch Father Zantus and then return to the boneyard. He surely knows more about such things including whose crypt it is."

She tucked the cards away again and headed into the Cathedral.

Selaim

Running back through the square on her return trip she noticed Zak and his guard friend heading towards the Cathedral. She calls out to them as she runs past with the weapons.

"Zak! Headed back!" She yells as she runs past them heading towards the cemetery. She slows down and starts trotting towards the crypt where her other friends waited. On arriving she hands Coral the weapons and whispers to Aendell, "Zak and his friend were headed to the cathedral. I think they are going to talk to a religious person."

Coral

"Thank you, Selaim," Coral said in a friendly manner as she took the weapons from Selaim, and adjusted them in her hands into a fighting grip.

"Fetching a religeous person seems like a good plan."

In the Cathedral they find the priest Father Zantus, pretty quickly. He sees them in their agitated state and asks "what is the matter?" After a quick explanation he nods in agreement, "I shall accompany you. We should also get the sheriff."

Catalena

"I suppose I should be the one to find Sheriff Hemlock," Catalena offered. She was both curious and anxious to get to the Boneyard, and so did not sound overly enthusiastic about the task. "I'll try a couple places and then join you." She excused herself from Father Zantus's presence respectfully, and gave Zak's shoulder a squeeze as she departed.

she jogged down west down Tower Street towards the stone fortress at the corner of Main that served as the Sandpoint Garrison, looming above the smaller, wooden buildings. If Hemlock were still on duty, perhaps still overseeing paperwork about the attacks, he would either be in his office there or perhaps across the street at the two-story stone Town Hall, in discussion with Mayor Deverin about the same.

If he weren't on duty, then she'd have a harder time finding him, but it was more than likely he would be soothing his stress with his "secret" paramour Kaye Tesarani, a secret to everyone who didn't live here, as long as Hemlock wasn't in hearing distance. Kaye was a sharp and charming businesswoman whose house of companionship, The Pixie's Kitten, was run cleanly and respectfully for those who plied their trade there. And, being close with the rigidly law-abiding Sheriff didn't hurt to keep less reputable competitors from getting a foothold in Sandpoint.

It was a longer run to get to the Kitten down by the Southern docks and, well, who knew how long it might take to rouse Hemlock to the Boneyard if he were there, Cat snickered to herself, a hundred low puns competing for the top spot in her imagination.

Sheriff Hemlock

He is in his office making notes about what had occurred. It wasn't so much a report as the events of a hectic day so that report could be more clearly written later. He looks up at Cat as she enters. Seeing the look upon her face "what has happened now?" With no preamble.

Coral

She stood facing the door of the crypt, absently swishing her rapier and star-knife through the air.

"Have you fought skeletons before, Aendell?" she asked. "Is there any clever tricks or manoevers that I need to be aware of when fighting them?"

Aendell

"I've been trained to fight them", he glances at her weapons. "With any weapon that is not a bashing or slashing weapon", he nods towards the Rapier which is mostly a piercing weapon, "I would recommend going for the joints. You don't want your blade to get caught up in the rib cage."

Aendell would know that most undead must be completely destroyed to stop them. In the case of skeletons that means bashing them apart till none of the bones are animated anymore. All weapons work, though some better than others as does magic. They aren't particularly savvy opponents, but they seek out life to destroy it.

Aendell

"You'll have to keep hacking at it, even in pieces, but if you can cut its legs out it will at least slow them down." He glances at her again. "You have come quite a ways since I last saw you, Coral. Must be quite a story there? We seem to have nothing but time?"

Catalena

"We're needed in the Boneyard, Sheriff," Catalena explained, leaning against the door frame and catching her breath. "It's under control for now, but we don't know for how long. Somehow some of the dead in a crypt have been reanimated. Father Zantus is there. My visiting friends are the ones who discovered it and alerted us. They're holding the door shut."

She smiled then and wiped the sweat from the back of her neck. "As we go, you can tell me again how fortuitous it is to have me here, working overtime, no less, and on extremely good behavior!"

The Varisian performer then batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated way likely to annoy him.

Hemlock

He let out a low annoyed growl. "The fun just keeps coming. Better than being on the line, but damn." He stood, grabbing his helmet and belt. He had to do a quick adjustment of his armor, and he headed straight out the door. "Let us take care of whatever evil is going on."

[OOC: I am fine with just skipping to the crypt opening etc... You guys let me know how you want to start.]

(I would suggest it’s opened, then the two best throwers douse the skeletons with the holy water, then he moving in occurs.

I would agree with the first part, but not with moving in. Better to have Aendell and somebody else stand in the door way and make it a choke point while the ones behind use magic and missiles. Keep no more than 2 skeletons attacking at any given time.

Selaim can throw one at the closest one then assist in the choke point.

[OOC: Coral will happily stand in the choke point with, effectively, 9 parry, and hit things with fire]

Coral

"Well," Coral replied to Aendell as she swished her blades, "my master, Rubicund, clearly saw something in me when he called in at the orphanage."

"If I were reallly harsh about the orphanage, I would say that the staff sold me into slavery, in that Rubicund had to make a 'donation' and I was handed over into his sole care. I would have to say that in other circumstances that would have been quite a bad situation."

"Yes, to begin with, it did seem like slavery. I had to wash, clean, and cook for him and trudge along beside him as he rode along."

"But, now, looking back, I can seen that he was just instilling in me discipline, concentration and patience, as well as teaching me a host of life skills."

"when he trusted that I would not just run off, he bought me a horse, and whilst I was still expected to cook and clean, it became 'most of the time' rather than 'all the time'."

"And then, when he thought that I had the concentration and patience he started to teach me to meditate and to alter my body."

She looked wistful for a moment.

"But he is gone now. He sold his horse, gave me the proceeds, told me I was capable of looking after myself, wished me all the best, and left me in order to go and do the things he had to do alone."