Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

Unlike the robed man, this guard's mental resistance was hardly worth mentioning. The tendrils of Clara's power whipped in through his skull and trivially took control of his body. He stopped in place.

The other guard didn't even seem to notice, and in another few seconds was out of sight. The only bright point there was that he seemed too panicked to be shouting, at least so far.

The other prisoners had mostly gone quiet once things really started going down, save for Jane who Clara could now hear cackling with laughter off in her cell. One of the other solitary prisoners stood at the bars of his cell, facing Clara. "You're dead now, witch! Dead! Maybe the inquisitors are a little harsh sometimes, but now I see why! They won't even have to hunt you down, they'll just walk in here and kill you!"

Spoiler

Clara: 41 HP, 38 PP, 42/83 SP; Moderate EP, puppeteer

Guard1: Fine, puppet
Guard2: Fine, fleeing

Robed Guy: Dead

 

[SirOni]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

"Come, quickly let Clara out," The madwoman called out hastily, not wanting to stick around this place for too much longer. Though she needn't have called out to the man to do her bidding, because as she did she mentally tugged at the strings joining the two of them together, guiding his actions and quickly leading him to her cell to release her.

Once free from the cell she made her way to the rest of the prisoners, standing in front of them so she could get a better look at the captives as well as them being able to get a better look at them. "Clara means no ill will towards any of you," The young woman started, looking towards those that hurled abuse at her. "Even towards those that wish harm upon us so called 'witches'. It is not your fault, you have been indoctrinated to believe such foul lies by your own rulers. Those same rulers that have used the threat of Clara's kind and the orcs to keep you in line. Never fear though, as Clara has been ordered to free you from the oppression of your rulers, and welcome you into the flock of Sheogorath along with the orcs. They wish you no ill will as much as Clara."

"However, Clara has little time remaining. These 'inquisitors' as those men said may be on their right now. Clara will admit she did wrong by killing that man, but it was unavoidable. He was a dog of your government, looking to keep the voice of justice down and continue to keep the great people of Lockacre in the dark. On her own Clara believes this mission will be extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible. Which is why Clara must ask, no, beg for the help of those that want justice to prevail, to those that seek freedom from your rulers. Clara will free you all now, but she asks in turn that you cause a little... chaos, to distract the lesser pawns in your governments game. And should you, and anyone else that you meet that wishes to live a life free of oppresion, desire to seek out Sheogorath Clara will gladly tell you the meet up location that she is to send potential members of His great flock." Bouncing gentling on the balls of her feet Clara waited for the replies of the prisoners, adrenaline rushing through her, excited to finally be moving forward with her mission.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

The puppeted guard didn't respond to her request to let her out. In fact, he was still trying his best to run the other way, combined with a sudden desire to draw his sword and end his own life. Fortunately, Clara still had complete control of the man's body, and so a minor mental tug was enough to bring him over to her cell. Unlocking the door from the other side and an unfamiliar body was difficult, but after a few seconds the lock clicked and the cell's door moved easily at the witch's touch.

Most of the prisoners responded to the madwoman's show of power and speech by trying to hide in their cells, clearly aware that the bars offered little protection to a woman with the key. Only two stayed up against the bars. One man seemed to have latched onto the idea of freedom, agreeing enthusiastically to everything she said. He looked half-mad already, and completely desperate.

The other was Jane. "The inquisitors will HUNT YOU DOWN and TEAR YOU APART like MAN-STEALING BITCH YOU ARE! ALL YOUR FAULT!"

 

[SirOni]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

Clara frowned at the lack of attention she got from the captives, most of them fleeing to the very backs of their cells to get as far away from her as was possible. The only ones that seemed to take anything from her speech was some man, who admittedly looked quite enthusiastic about the whole thing, and the other was Jane. Who, to no surprise to Clara whatsoever, still spewed forth hate instead of clinging to any words that the mad devout had said.

"Only one person?" Clara asked, looking downtrodden. "She was sure that more of you would've wanted freedom from your oppressors. But nevermind, one new member to Sheogorath's loving flock is better than none at all."

"Come join Clara, brother," The madwoman mentally tugged at her slave once more, directing him to the cell the man was held in, forcing him to unlock the cell once more. "Clara welcomes you on behalf of her great lord Sheogorath, may you find a home in His loving flock. Come, kneel before Clara." Should the man choose to do as Clara asks she'd take his head into her hands and place a soft kiss on his forehead before instructing him to stand back up. And if he ignores Clara she'd simply turn to Jane.

"And Jane," Clara turned to her one time lover. "Clara is truly sorry for the hurt that she brought to you, and she hopes you can, in time, find it in your heart to forgive her. But you are very welcome to join Clara and her lords newest disciple in their quest should you choose to do so, to perhaps learn from Clara and her lord. Maybe you'll find your forgiveness by our side." Clara smiled softly at Jane, before directing her attention to the prisoners one final time.

"Prisoners, Clara will free you now, regardless of whether to actually wish to join her crusade or not. She will ask one last time if you'd consider joining her, but if you don't she will understand, and may simply just return to your homes and families, or even flee the city. But please keep in mind that Clara isn't without allies. Her friends are waiting for her to return, and you are more than welcome to go ahead of Clara and meet up with them." Clara would then explain where to find her so called friends, the directions she'd give them actually heading the people towards the camp of orcs. Once finished with her directions Clara would have her slave unlock each cell in turn before turning to him.

"You have been a great help to Clara, and she thanks you. However, Clara needs you to help her some more though she does not want to control you as it hinders her abilities considerably. Clara will release you from her control on the condition that you stay by her side, assisting her until such time that she no longer needs you. And do not worry, Clara means you no harm, and will not instruct you to harm your fellow soldiers unless they make to attack her first." Clara releases her grip on the man just enough for him to be able to answer her question.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

The freed prisoner knelt awkwardly, looking more than a little anxious, then sighed with relief when Clara only kissed his head. Jane, on the other hand, continued spouting vitrol as if she hadn't heard the madwoman's offer of forgiveness. By the time the Devout had started to address the other prisoners, half a dozen more had come up to the bars and started pledging to follow Clara. Their numbers tripled while the offers of loyalty vanished when they realized they wouldn't actually have to join her cause in order to be freed.

When the doors were mostly open and Clara hadn't continued to address the prisoners, some started carefully down the hall, towards the exit, armed with crude clubs made from the cells' scant furniture, or nothing at all. They didn't seem in a huge hurry, and a surprising number were still trying to hide in the back of their now-open cells.

And then, of course, there was Clara's former lover. When Jane's cell was open, she tried to charge at the Devout, screaming in a way that might have been worrying to anyone trying not to alert the guards. Several of the women in Jane's cell grabbed her, and lacking any weapon she was safely restrained. After a little more struggle she was thrown into a now-empty cell, one larger woman leaning against the door.

"Fuck you, witch!" The soldier with the keys made his opinion known as soon as she allowed him to speak. He continued to strain futilely against Clara's control.

Meanwhile, the first few prisoners had peaked around the corner at the end of the hallway, quickly followed by perhaps half of the men. Shortly there were sounds of fighting. Most of the women had stayed near Clara, looking at everyone else nervously. One or two men in addition to the first had stayed with her so far.

 

[SirOni]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

Clara frowned at the man as he gave his reply before taking away the control of his mouth. "Clara is disappointed. No matter, she can do without you if she must." She then turned to her remaining followers once the sound of battle had poured through the door to their room.

"Take this guards weapon, armour, and keys," She instructed, and if anyone made to strip the man of his belongings she'd force him to move to aid them, giving them an easier time of disrobing the soldier. "And lock him up, along with her." She gestured to Jane. Once the man was safely locked away Clara would relinquish control of his body, though kept her attention on the man. "Though you will not be joining us you will still be of some use to Clara." She said, before mentally linking herself with the man, looking for whatever knowledge he had on the layout of the building they are currently in, hoping to find the quickest way out.

Once done Clara turned to her followers."Clara will not lie to you all, when we leave this room they will most likely attempt to stop us. They hate us for what we are, for what we can do. They treat us like animals, lock us up in cages and slaughter us. These people are your oppressors, never forget that. They mean to kill us to stop the truth from leaving this building. You do not want to die, right? Then we need to fight back. Clara will do her best to protect you all, but she is but one girl. We all need to work together if we mean to leave here with our lives." If she gained knowledge on the layout of the building Clara would then share it with her group, explaining the quickest way out of the building. "Let's not linger here any longer." With that done Clara edged her way to the door.

Spoiler

Mind Worm; option 2, 8 EP

 

[thetwo]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Resistance check: Clara wins.

The already-dominated guard was trivial to manipulate however Clara liked. Locked in the cell, he told the madwoman that the main exit would take her through the main guard quarters, and likely dozens of armed men. But there was a back way out, leading to the practice yards. This wasn't supposed to be open to the public streets, but some of the guards used it to sneak out for a quick smoke break, climbing a convenient pile of boxes and dropping down on the other side.

There would certainly be a guard on the door to the practice area, but almost certainly no more than one or two actually out in the yard. If there was some emergency going on, there would almost certainly be none.

With that knowledge, and her follows rallied around her, the Devout made her way to the door. Peeking out would show a fight to the right, towards the main entrance. Those who had not decided to follow her were in a melee with the guards. One already lay on the ground, dead or unconscious, and it seemed that the rest were if not outnumbered then certainly out-armed. To the left the hallway ended at an intersection, the left fork of which lead to the practice yard. There were no guards in the way, at least yet.

 

[SirOni]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

As Clara peeked out of the door leading to hers and her groups salvation she weighed up her options. On the one hand she could march out the front door and risk endangering herself and the little group of followers that had stuck with her and depended on her getting them out safely. Whilst those guards seemed preoccupied with the prisoners that had decided to leave on their own once they had been dealt with the officers would no doubt turn their attention to Clara and her group, hindering their progress through the quickest way out. On the other hand they could always move deeper into the building for a time and head towards the back entrance and sneak out quietly, with only minimal risk. There was also the advantage of not alerting everyone on the main streets that she was amongst the prisoners that had broken free. With her options thought through the choice was rather simple, even to someone as deranged as Clara.

Though before she led her followers to salvation Clara frowned at the sight of the freed prisoners fighting a losing battle against the guardsmen. They may have not decided to follow her into Sheogorath's flock, but they were still people in need of being saved from the oppressors.

"Vile servants of the oppressors, Clara will teach you to fear her Lords wrath!" Throwing the door open and running into the corridor Clara shouted towards the guardsmen attacking the escaping prisoners. A wild, delirious grin spread across the madwoman's features as dark energies gathered around her, spreading out like a mist towards the guards, attempting to pull forth their darkest fears, to plague them with their deepest horrors.

"Go, show the oppressors what happens when they push us too far!" Clara commanded the escaped prisoners before signalling for her group to follow her towards the back entrance.

Spoiler

Nightmarish Image: 4EP, 2 upkeep
24 DC = 4x4EP + 8 (potent spirit)

 

[thetwo]

Re: Sheogorath Shibboleth (SirOni) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Resistance check (Nightmarish Image): (2,3,2,5,16,13)+15 v 24 -> 2 pass, 4 fail. None fail by 20 or more.

Attack (guard5): 42+19 = 61 v 45 -> Hit!
Damage (guard5): (3,2,3)+10 = 18 - 12 = 6

Attack (guard6): 42+18 = 61 v 45 -> Hit!
Damage (guard6): (3,4,2)+10 = 19 - 12 = 7

Breastplate takes 9 TP damage, 41/50 TP

The nightmares leapt from Clara's fingers towards the guards, but unfortunately not with quite the same power as the abilities that she had to focus on a single target. Most of the guards were too busy dealing with the other prisoners to even notice Clara. A group of them seemed to spot her, however, and as they raised slings to hurl stones likely intended to knock the prisoners out rather than killing them, the fear finally found a home.

Most of the guards found themselves unable to complete the motion, letting their stones fall to the floor. But two pushed through the nightmarish images to release. And both showed the strength of their training, twin rocks smacking hard enough into Clara's chest that they should have done significant damage. Instead, there were a pair of 'clang's, and the stones bounced off the breastplate which none of the guards had noticed during the madwoman's unusual interrogation and incarceration.

But in the meantime the hesitation on the part of many of the guards had given the prisoners a momentary advantage, and they charged. Clara and her group slipped out towards the back in the confusion, and found that the path was indeed clear all the way to the practice yard. Outside the city seemed to be moving frantically, people fleeing the police station or running to see what all the fuss was about. But the alleyway that the practice yard abutted was empty, and it should be reasonably easy to slip into the crowd.

Spoiler

Clara: 28/41 HP, 38 PP, 38/83 SP; Injured, Moderate EP, Nightmarish Images