Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Tenth Session, 25 November (part two, the trap, fighting through, escape, a plan)

Spoiler

DM62: The party is soon caught up in the gathering mob, moving along into a small courtyard. The courtyard that the party enters is thronging with cheering goblins, who move about the party vying for a better view. Then the party notes the fixtures lining the walls of the courtyard. There are chains set up in the metal fixtures. One looks to be fitted for a dwarf. One for a gnome. There are four set up for elves/humans, one for chimera, one that looks sized for a dragonkin (with extra fixtures for small wing-appendages), and even a special set for binding a drider. Alexis rises, tossing off her chains and grinning. The crowd draws blades, turning the steel on the party from all directions, as Alexis grins. "You have no chance! Throw down your arms, and we may be somewhat merciful." Another blue-skinned dragonkin stands next to Alexis, quietly observing the group.

Zyanya: Well that was certainly not what she was expecting today. She'd look around them, looking at their near numberless foes and her comapnions. She wasn't eager to fight a losing battle but capture was not what she was hoping for. Regardless, she needed to see how the others reacted.

DM62: At this point the party notices that Irena's illusion seems to have been destroyed somehow. They all appear to be as they are. A hooded troll moves forward, grabbing the kitsune and dragging her back into the crowd, a razor-sharp dagger pressed to her throat. Alexis shakes her head. "No, no. Let her free." Irena growls. "You idiot! I'm working for Malgra!"

Hel: Well this certainly was elaborate. Hel growls, tensing up a bit. Was the note a forgery?!? Was this a double trap? He again glances towards Jenna, a few inches from going for the hammer.

Vel: So, that was it. Well she played the moron very well. She raised an eyebrow as it was sprung, grimacing mentally. How much did that blasted lizard know? She had shown up after the rescue. She couldn't know THAT much. Still, she eyed the crowd for a means to escape. Wouldn't be very helpful... Still, was Irena lying? Never could tell with her...

DM62: The hooded troll responds, in a regretful voice. "I know. I just don't know... why." The razor-sharp blade presses inward and slices across, spilling the kitsune's lifeblood in a spurt across the courtyard. The massive crowd with blades drawn seems to flicker, then vanish. Around the party is a small band of goblins and trolls, the orc executioner, and Alexis and the other dragonkin. Alexis snarls, "Bastards!" Then she flies up, inhaling with a furious look in her eye. The other dragonkin also inhales, snarling.

Vel: So she was a traitor after all. That would make the troll assassin one of her co workers she presumes. Well. Time to leave the clean up to the smart folks.
Hel: Now THIS surprised the dwarf, and he splutters. "Enough of this tomfoolery!" He roars, grabbing his hammer and shield and roaring in anger. The nullmetal shield's on his arm and preparing to rush ahead.

Zyanya: Well, much as she hated to admit it that didn't quite go as she expected but she's still willing to work with the results. "Think we can't handle this, Alexis? We've dealt with bigger threats before and you aren't about to be one of them." Zyanya leaps off her mounts back, spears at the ready. Her own spear would remain on her persons, but she'd instead hurl the secnd more magical spear at Alexis, hoping to bring her down or at least take her out of the fight while the party cleaned up the minor threats.

DM62: Alexis sneers. "You've never dealt with-" an arrow from Nisali cuts her off, lodging in her shoulder. She snarls in pain, then breathes acid at the faun, before the Shiriti's spear penetrates the center of her chest, and she falls to the ground lifeless. The orc executioner moves toward Hel, swinging the massive axe with murderous intent. Malius and Arturus charge at the goblins around the party, the human's axe splitting several of their skulls as Arturus clears many of them back with a force-swing from his mace. Raz'Qui moves after the blue dragonkin, unleashing frost at her as she releases lightning at Raz.

Hel: The dwarf is quicker than the axe, rolling to the side as his newest limb holds the hammer in a heavy grip. With a roar he swings the hammer around to smash at the orc's leg, the intent to bring him low before caving in his skull.

Vel curses mentally and hopes the faun was swift cus she hated dealing with acid burns, moving aside. She liked her but she wasn't about to get hosed in acid for someone else.

Zyanya: Sprinting over to the fallen dragon, the shiriti retrieves her spear before leaping back into combat, using her newly returned weapon against the trolls. The couldn't be that dificult to face by her lonesome. Plus, she lived to fight larger and much dumber opponents. This would be a cake walk.

DM62: The flarestone in the dwarf's gauntlet glows for a moment, matched by a glow in the flarestone of the hammer, and Hel's arm seems to swing harder and faster than it normally would, bursting the orc's leg in half. The massive orc falls, then reaches for his axe, moving to at least end this dwarf that was causing him such trouble. A goblin charges at Vel, only for Thrae to catch it with webbing, binding it up in a tight bundle. Two trolls face off against the Shiriti... and one of them seems rather skilled, stabbing his spear at the Shiriti and getting close enough to nick her, but not to seriously harm. The other's stab is unskilled, missing the swift warrior. Raz'Qui seems to get the upper hand on the blue-dragonkin, who flies off. The hooded troll snarls, "Follow me!" He tosses a vial that shatters, filling the area with a small amount of smoke that grows thicker by the moment. He gestures the party down an alleyway.

Vel waits for Thrae before rushing off down the alleyway after their latest ally of convenience.

Hel wasn't planning on his strike going that hard already, and he slides slightly on the floor before he catches up with the movement. Still, he moves for the killing blow, holding the shield to defend against the axe before swinging the hammer down to finish off the orcish executioner. Upon doing so, he'll follow the troll's advice.

Zyanya: Wel, she wasn't expecting the troll to be as handy as he was with a spear. That was going to leave a mark, but she asn't upset. She needed a few battle scars. However, she had little time to idle and as te smoke filed the area, she'd slip away from her foes, heading down the alleyway with due haste.

DM62: The dwarf's hammer smashes into the orc's head, spreading brain and skull on the cobbled stone ground. One of the trolls moves to stab the Shiriti as she flees, only for Alexis to fly snarling into the two trolls, biting out the neck of the skilled one. She beats at them mercilessly while Zyanya runs, then moves to follow them, scooping up the injured faun. Arturus knocks another band of goblins out of the fight with a powerful force blow, then runs after the group, accompanied by Malius and Jenna.

Hel does his best to try and keep up with his smaller gait, running quickly and holding his weapons ready still.

Thrae pulls the goblin in with her webbing, and drags her along as she follows the hooded troll. She was so confused at the moment, and would probably need a few minutes to put everything together.

DM62: Finally the hooded troll turns, opening the back door to a building and gesturing. "In! Quickly!"

Vel hurries in, looking a bit amused at Jenna's continual picking up new bodies to bring along. She sure went through them fast though.

Zyanya slips into the building almost oblivious to the fact that she was saved by the woman she threw a spear at. It ws quite a perplexing situation and she was't sure how to address it.

Hel: Soon Hel is near the door, acting to hold back attackers before everyone's ran in before following himself.

Thrae slips in as well, though its a significantly harder process given her size.

DM62: The party enters a dimly lit room. The hooded orc gives a pained sigh, pulling back the hood... it's the smuggler, covered with skillfully applied green paint. He shakes his head sadly. "Look to the faun." The undead dragonkin lays Nisali down. Most of her fur and skin have been melted back by the dragon breath, and her breathing is growing strained as she lays on her side. Her eyes seem to have been partly melted, and she gasps weakly. Arturus kneels, cradling her in his arms. "Nisali. My lovely faun." Tears run down the half-elf's cheeks.

Hel: The dwarf grunts a little, shifting his hammer back to a safe position before glancing towards the area around him. He notes Nisali's condition, wincing and lowering his head in respect.

Thrae winced, she hadn't really gotten to know Nisali to well, but it looked like she was most likely either going to die, or be permanently crippled with wounds like that, namely the eyes. Either way Thrae looked away, leaving the half-elf to his grief.

Vel moved over, wincing. That could have been her if she had dived in the way. She was glad she hadn't. Not that she was a stranger to acid burns but never to this extent. She mused a bit as she considered. Maybe there was something that could be done, hm... Goblins must deal with acid burns all the time right? "Maybe goblins know how fix? Goblins have accidents, do chemicals. Vel guess maybe goblins must have fix?"

Zyanya: "There has to be something we can do for her. T...there just has to be..." The shiriti was almost speechless, the sight almost making her faint. This couldn't be real.

DM62: Jenna strokes the chimera's fur softly, her own eyes brimming with tears. "I don't think so. I-" her voice falters. Arturus holds the faun close, even as her breathing grows more shallow, weaker. "Shhh... my lovely Nisali. You are... my faithful friend. And I am... so grateful." Nisali opens her mouth to speak, but words don't come out. She smiles, though, hearing her master's voice, and feeling his hot tears land upon her cheek. Then she breathes her last, a long, quiet sigh. Raz'Qui growls, but looks to his feet. Sir Malius has his hand over his eyes.

Vel looks down a bit sadly. Well. It was going to happen sooner or later. Three in a day though? That wasn't boding well. Least she felt better for not sleeping with her now though.

Hel grimaces sadly, turning his head away, the broken arm of his gauntlet gripping tight as yet another one is lost to this war. It would be the last if he had anything to do with it, he vowed to himself, growling.

Thrae sighed, expecting the faun's end. Like Vel she was more worried about how three of three party members had been offed in a single about 10 minutes. Even if two had been traitors, it made her worry what there attrition rate was going to be like if they kept going.

DM62: The green-painted smuggler shakes his head. "It's... it's my fault. I should have known about Irena's deceit. But I couldn't be certain... and even if I was, there was no way to confirm her guilt for you folks, unless she herself declared the betrayal." He lowers his head.

Zyanya: The shiriti leaned herself against a nearby wall, as if the weight of the world just fell on her shoulders. This was too much for her. 2 betrayals and three dead in less than a day? How could they survive at this rate?

Vel sighs and sits beside Jenna and Thrae quietly.

DM62: There's a rumble of thunder outside, and the party can hear raindrops slamming heavily against the building. Malius shakes his head. "Right. We can't let Nisali's death be in vain. We take a ship. We warn Axetan. We kill the greenskin invaders."

Vel: "Not easy. Orcs know we in town now. They know plan. They be ready. Need be tricky."

Zyanya stood herself up again, a deep sigh escaping her body as she stamped her spear into the ground. "Agreed. We can't just sit around and idle. We'll need to find a way through town and get to the harbor without getting caught."

Hel growls, giving a hammer of his shield. "On my own grave, if I have to cleave that army single-handed I will. It's clear at this rate that Malgra's done much to sabotage any resistance from the beginning. We need to prove we can still fight."

DM62: The smuggler nods. "I've scouted out the ship positions. There are a few we could seize. And I've mixed up enough of this green paint to disguise most of you, at least well enough to get you through town. This is a town of thieves and liars. Hoods don't draw notice, as long as the visible skin is green." He folds his arms, looking at the drider, the chimera, and the two dragonkin. "You four will complicate matters, though. They'll be looking for you."

Thrae: "Yes, I'm not entirely sure how we could disguise my form unfortunately."

Vel: "We can;t. So we must not be seen. Darkness, move through sky, along rooves.," says Vel.

DM62: "Aye... but the less-manned ships are at anchor, not tied to the pier. Can't smuggle you four over there in a rowboat and expect not to bring the entire port down on our heads."

Thrae: "So what, you got a plan or are you just going to leave us behind?" Thrae said, folding her arms under her chest and glaring at the smuggler.

DM62: The smuggler snarks back, "I can't do ALL the planning. I can get those of us in green paint onto a poorly-manned craft. I've even got two goblin pirates willing to help us steer the ship to Axetan. But I'm unsure how to get you four onto the ship." He grumbles something under his breath about players needing to assist in the planning.

Vel: "Them fly, she walk along floor then up anchor thing. I am small so hide in bag."

DM62: Raz'Qui shakes his head. "I cannot fly." The smuggler raises an eyebrow. "Aye, but most of that should work. Except, of course, that they'll fill the late Alexis full of arrows the moment she takes off. We... might want to use her as a distraction. Draw some attention elsewhere."

Hel: "Certainly a plan. Think you can keep her in the air enough to drive everyone towards the desert, Jenna?"

Vel: "Throw her at siege weapons or something. And stuff big dragon in crate and bring with."

Thrae: "Hmm I guess I don't need to breath anymore do I? So walking along the bottom of the harbour would probably work, as long as I don't accidently walk onto the wrong ship, or get attacked by fish or something."

DM62: Jenna smirks. "I think that within moments of her unveiling, she'll be a pincushion. But if we time it well, they'll be scouring that area for us." Raz'Qui pulls his bony wings in close to his body. "Thick robes, and some green paint. As long as I'm in the middle of the group, I doubt I'll stand out TOO much." The smuggler nods approvingly. "Alright, then." He produces a few pouches full of a thick, green paste, then tosses assorted robes onto the floor of the room. "Arms up to the elbows, legs up to the knees. The entire face and neck. Pair up with a partner to ensure that you're convincingly green, and I'll double-check each of you after."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Tenth Session, 25 November (part three, dealing with a prisoner, stealing a ship, underway)

Spoiler

Vel shrugs and leans back, waiting to be bagged.

Hel: The dwarf is still looking grim as he prepares for the infiltration.

DM62: Sir Malius places his pack next to the chimera. "Make yourself comfortable, little furball. I'll be carrying ya." He starts applying the green paint liberally to his visible flesh, as does Arturus. Jenna digs into the paste, rubbing it into her arms, then wrinkling her nose. "What... what is IN this stuff?" The smuggler chuckles. "Don't ask, dear. Don't ask."

Zyanya would waste no time with the paste, using as much as she needed to cover up her body and slipping the robes on exactly as described by the smuggler. More infiltration and sneaking around? Wonderful.

Vel blinks then sighs and climbs inside the pack, curling up inside. "Stay safe, mistress...."

DM62: The paste does have a slightly sharp stink to it. With the party painted and hooded, Sir Malius scoops up the pack, donning it. The smuggler nods. "Right. It's raining. The paint should hold, regardless. Keep your hoods down, though. Our disguises won't last through close inspection." The webbed goblin stirs, growling. She looks about with wide eyes, then opens her mouth, beginning to shriek loudly.

Zyanya: "Oh. We do have that little problem to deal with. Think we can...well shut her up? Don't want her killed just can't have her screaming."

DM62: Arturus scowls, producing a dagger. "The two might have to go together." He places the dagger to the goblin's throat, and she immediately goes silent, looking up at the angry half-elf fearfully.

Thrae: "I thought I had gagged her." Thrae muttered. "Well, we should get any information we need out of her now, as I doubt she'll be able to take the trip with me." Thrae left out the goblins likely fate, seeing as they couldn't just leave her here unless they wanted to be found.

Zyanya just didn't feel right killing someone who was essentially a hostage. It just didn't sit right with her. But ultimately it wasn't her decision, all she could do was make suggestions. "Fine. We get the information, but then we leave here or something along those lines. Less likely she is to cause us trouble the better."

Vel: "Why always leaving survivors? They just talk and let others know about us. Leaving none to speak is always best, unless you want to set a trap.," grumbles Vel inside the bag.

DM62: Sir Malius shrugs. "Right, then. What do we need from this green-skinned bitch?" Jenna smiles. "Technically speaking, IF she cooperates, we could have Vel use her tail to bite the goblin. Powerful paralytic in a chimera's tail-snake. That is, of course, if she cooperates fully."

Hel: Hel's quiet as he finishes getting himself ready, the stoic silence continuing from when they first arrived.

Thrae: "When are the orcs planning to sail?" Thrae said, planting one of her sharp legs beside the goblins head as an added threat. Really they didn't need much from her, and she was perfectly willing to end the prisoner as soon as she got the information.

DM62: "They're... marching from... Grand Forge. Should be here... within two days." The goblin looks at the sharp leg, and there's an acrid smell as she soils herself.

Thrae: "Plenty of time to get a lead then." Thrae said, she couldn't think of much better to do right now, and she didn't feel like giving the orcs a potential lead on them by leaving a paralyzed goblin behind. So instead she lifted her leg and brought it down just a few inches to the side. It wasn't the most clean way to remove someone, but she'd be getting her foot washed off anyways in a few minutes, and she was the one condemning the goblin anyways, so it should be her that did the deed. "Lets go then, before someone comes looking after that scream."

DM62: Arturus nods, then turns to the smuggler. "What about... Nisali's body? I can't just leave her here." The smuggler nods. "This is a safe house. Within a week, an operative will check in here and find the bodies. They'll be cremated separately, then marked, with the urns hidden away safely. We can make other arrangements after the war. Good enough?" Arturus grimaces, but nods. The smuggler moves to open the back door again. "Right, then. We move quickly and quietly. Thrae moves along rooftops. Alexis moves off hooded to a different part of the port, then starts using her acid and claws to sink ships." Jenna nods, and the hooded black dragonkin shuffles outside, followed by the gnome, into the pouring rain.

Vel nods in satisfaction at Thrae's choice before curling up quietly.

Zyanya: This whole day just left a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't like the idea of killing those who couldn't fight back or leaving dead friends behind. But tough decisions had to be made in times like this and she couldn't really argue. She'd work all this stuff out later. For now, she'd keep pace with the others, keeping silent and keeping her hood up.

DM62: The smuggler guides the group through alleyways and side streets, avoiding contact with others for the most part. In the rain, no one questions the hooded greenskins as they move through the port toward the waterline. Finally, the reach a pair of large rowboats, where a male and female goblin are quietly standing watch. The female gives the smuggler a nod. "As requested, Sean Connery. Two rowboats, ready to sail to the 'Long Tusk' and capture her as a prize." Connery grins, handing a small coin pouch to the goblin. The goblin feels it, frowning. Connery speaks, "The rest... when we have our prize and are safely underway."

Hel grunts a little, stretching his fingers as they arrive on the boats. He glances over the goblins, keeping an eye on them as they prepare to board.

Zyanya now sees the true extent the smuggler and his organization have. Seems he was able to get pretty much any race to cooperate with them and help them along the way and she was greatful for that fact.

DM62: The goblins steadily row the boats toward the set of lights from the vessels at anchor. They steer through the middle of the fleet, past several rather large vessels, then beyond, toward a few lone outlying ships. Thrae can track the movements of the rowboats well in the darkness of the water, moving past several sets of anchors toward the ships further out. Meanwhile, there's commotion on the far end of the pier as the black dragonkin attacks one of the ships, managing to set it ablaze. Alarm bells ring out.

Vel lsitens, not enjoying being blind but having to trust the others to get along. They'd managed so far.

Zyanya: WEll, least their contingency plan was working out better than she expected. A good sign to say nothing else. "Pray she lasts a good while over there to buy us enough time. Think I've had plenty of this city and it's residence."

Hel: The dwarf held his hammer ready as they sailed closer to the ship in question, watching all the various ships. "Bah, if only I had more time and was truly made of unyielding stone..." he grumbles in annoyance.

DM62: The goblins explain their plan to the various party members in each of the two rowboats: the watch scheduled to relieve these boats had already been slain and hidden. The party would be the "replacement watch team." Of course, they'd have to kill off the old watch team once they got aboard, because the current disguises wouldn't fool anyone under close scrutiny.

Hel: The dwarf nods as he listens. "Once the old watch is, ahem, relieved, we just sail on out of here then?"

Zyanya: "Seems simple enough. Quickly, quietly no more mess than is necessary."

Vel: "Leave it to Vel. You're all loud."

Thrae walked through the dark water, keeping an eye on the boat above as she tried to avoid hitting any anchors. She wondered just what they were talking about up there.

DM62: The goblins nod, and then a voice calls down from the ship they're approaching. "You're late, maggots!" The female goblin calls up, "Had to deal with the ruckus in town. You ain't heard?" The voice replies, "Ya... we heard. Come on up, then." A rope ladder is thrown down to the rowboats. Sir Malius opens his pack, gesturing for Vel to quietly climb up from another angle of attack.

Vel nods and slips out silently, scaling up the wood quietly to the side, having little trouble scaling wooden structures as she maneuvers, seeking out any alarm bells that may be on the ship.

Hel takes the rope after the goblins, his hammer on his belt for now as he mumbles darkly about the day's events. His axe is ready tonight, he wasn't wanting to leave survivors.

Thrae saw the boat come up to another one, and figuring this was there target, she found its anchor line and started to pull herself up, slowly though, she didn’t' want to potentially screw something up there.

DM62: Vel spots a troll standing watch near an alarm bell, spear in hand. He's got a small bottle in his left hand, taking occasional swigs as he looks about, bored. Two orcs are helping up the rowboats' occupants. The two goblins are onboard, when one of the orcs looks at the dwarf suspiciously. "Wait a minute... you're not... let's see your face, friend." He reaches for his sword. Thrae can see the altercation that's about to start.

Vel swiftly moves up and her tail lashes up quick to bite out the troll's throat, reaching up to yank the spear away the same time, relying more on surprise than strength.

Hel: Oh for the love of... the dwarf thinks, rather surly, and as the hand reaches for him, he reaches a hand out back, as if to shake. "What is the matter, kin?" If he can reach out far enough he'll grab him by the arm and counter with a tech punch to the gut. "I'm not strange."

Thrae: Thrae, still underwater, tried something. She'd let a bit of her magic go out, trying to confound the enemy that was questioning Hel with a brief...adult... daydream. To help the dwarf close the distance and take him out.

DM62: Vel's attack swiftly brings down the drunk troll on watch, and Hel's punch catches the orc offguard, making him stagger back. The female goblin reaches up from behind the other orc, silently slitting his throat. At this point the orc facing Hel looks at him with mounting arousal, pulling the dwarf into a passionate kiss.

Hel: The dwarf blusters, kicking him off and unleashing the full fury of a enraged dwarf as he draws his axe, putting the poor bastard out of his misery. "Git..." he grumbles.

Zyanya wouldn't waste much time once she was on deck, finding a single target and doing her best to dispatch her opponent while the other dealt with theirs.

Vel quietly sits the body down, putting the spear in his hand to make it look like he was sitting down on the job, pouring the booze on his chest so he seemed drunk. With that done she prowled further on, sniffing for new prey.

DM62: A goblin emerges from the cabin, smiling at the watch's arrival only for Zyanya's spear to find her throat. Hel is able to swiftly decapitate the enamored orc, and the other party members fan out, quickly destroying what little resistance there is onboard. On the shore, the noise seems to have died down, and Jenna nods, followed by a growing crew of undead greenskins. "Well. In a sense... we still have something of a... skeleton crew." She smirks, as the two goblins shake their head. The female looks at Hel. "She always joke like this? Or should we blame the DM?"

Hel: "Bit of a mixed bag," the dwarf snarks, cleaning his axe as the crew is given to their control. "Hard to disagree with someone as helpful as her though."

Thrae pulled herself up over the edge of the ship and drips water all over the deck. "Well, good to know I can jump overboard without consequence if needed."

Vel goes over the ship, top to bottom for any survivors to execute before moving back and sitting beside Thrae quietly.

DM62: The two goblins rapidly run along through the ship, then start raising the anchor, getting the ship underway. Besides the two goblins, there are no living greenskins onboard. The smuggler nods. "Right. Best to wash this green shit off." He starts scrubbing at his green paint, washing off his disguise.

Zyanya: "Agreed. This stuff isn't doing my nose any favors. Sooner I get it off the better." The shiriti would sigh as she searched for a way to wash off the paint, using the method the smuggler did if she couldn't find much else.

Hel: The dwarf takes a moment to wash his face down, before tugging his beard out of where he stuffed it down his armor. In a few moments, he's back to looking normal. "Well, gotta admit, this was easier than expected..."

DM62: The female goblin is a little upset at the dwarf's comment. "Easy? You think this was easy? Yeah... we had to find the real replacements' schedule, poison them, build alibis for them, hide the bodies..." she wanders off, muttering.

Hel: "Certainly easier than storming a ship where everyone's expecting you!" he calls back after her, muttering a bit to himself now as he looks along the deck. "Geeze, is everyone around here a mood-swing away from extremes...?"

DM62: The smuggler chuckles. "She's a little high-strung... but a good planner. Just... don't piss her off for real, okay?"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eleventh Session, 3 December (part one, arriving at Axetan, assessing defenses, wild rumours)

Spoiler

DM62: When last we saw our... dubious band of heroes... the adventurers had stolen a small ship from the goblin harbour, Sprocket Port. Now you can see the lights of Axetan, a growing logging community, after a few days of sailing. Sir Malius nods. "Axetan. I hope my sister's kept them preparing for war. I had them drilling with a shield-wall, learning to work as one." The female goblin pirate approaches at this point. "Right. Are they gonna shoot us before we can get there, though? We ARE in a goblin ship."

Vel is hanging over the side of the ship, throwing up.

DM62: Jenna is standing next to Vel, doing the same thing.

Hel is doing his best to keep from getting green-faced himself, quietly ensuring his axe is sharp and sitting as central in the ship as he can. "Perhaps we can hang a flag of surrender up? If there's one that's smart they'd not shoot with that showing."

Zyanya: "Honestly, I'm worried about that too. We're technically in an enemy ship and they're no doubt on high alert. Any way we can signal that we're friendly?"

Thrae is not throwing up, but is currently sitting bored and making sure Vel and Jenna don't fall into the ocean.

DM62: Sir Malius grunts. "Yeah, we can run my cloak up the mast. Has my family's crest on it. They see that, they'll let us approach." He pulls off the cape, handing it to the female goblin who nimbly climbs the mainmast to display the green cloak. Horns are sounding in the town, and a loud voice can be heard barking orders out. Arturus folds his arms. "Humans are magnificent fighters... the more so because their ridiculously clumsy battle preparations tend to make more civilized races underestimate you."

Zyanya: "That's the best part about being human. Most of our foes can never predict us. Just try to get the drop on the Shiriti and come out of it unscathed."

Vel half meows before cutting off to horrible sounds.

Hel: "Last I heard, the Kaliferians mostly got away with it via riding those equine monstrosities..." the dwarf remarks, before going to stand and then thinking better of it. "These Barxillians, I'll have no idea what they're best at, and as is we're gonna have to take what seconds we can to try and limit the enemy landing moreso than inspecting the troops..."

Thrae: "And here I thought humans were supposed to be humble." Thrae said as she ignored the sounds of Vel heaving over the side

DM62: Arturus snorts. "Not sure who told you about human humility." Sir Malius grumbles back at the half-elf, "You know... you're part-human, too, from what I understand." Arturus raises an eyebrow and scowls, but does not respond. At this point there's a cry from the town. "It's Sir Malius' cape! On the mainmast! Is that you, Si-" at this point the single voice is drowned out as a few hundred voices start cheering, while others further away shuffle nervously, unsure of what had transpired. Then they join in the cheering too.

Hel: "Well at least it's not an angry mob," the dwarf quips.

Vel coughs and flops on her side. "Vel hates sick boat..."

Thrae was a bit thrown off by the cheering. Looking back at Sir Malius then back at the cheering crowd. She hadn't expected the half-elf to have this much open goodwill toward him.

Zyanya: "You get used to it. Believe me, the water isn't all that bad when you spend enough time floating on it."

Hel: "Lucky you. You were born of the earth and sea, I was born to keep my feet off of it," the dwarf grumbles at the islander.

Vel: "Vel changes her answer. Boat is fine, she hates water forever."

Zyanya: "Ha. Need to get a few more dwarves wet then. Might do your race good to see the water once in a while. Might save your lives."

Hel: "Before or after we sink to the depths after traipsing in?" Hel can't help but add.

Zyanya: "We'll find a way to work around that. Everything can swim with enough effort."

DM62: A massive human in leather armor walks out, peering out at the ship. He carries a two-handed axe casually in one hand, then turns back to the line of warriors with shield and axe. "Alright, now... people, quiet down and..." he growls, then turns to properly shout at the unruly axe-men. "EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" He turns. "Who approaches our shores? Be ye friend or foe?" Sir Malius grins broadly. "Neither, Luggor. Your commanding officer." The massive human nods to the ship, waiting as the goblins skillfully bring the craft up to the pier.

Hel: Finally as they are securely lashed down, the dwarf stands, somehow managing to still keep his meager rations down at least. "I'd complain about the mode of transport, but I know we're probably going back on this thing," he grumbles, making sure he was one of the first on the pier.

Vel: "Vel would prefer to drown.," hisses Vel, before practically throwing herself onto the dock, nuzzling it and purring at the solid not rocking land.

DM62: Jenna is also looking quite grateful to be off the rocking ship, her body swaying just a little as she disembarks unsteadily. Arturus shakes his head, walking off nonplussed. Luggor surveys the group. "Sir Malius. You've... goblins? In your company?" Sir Malius nods. "Mercenaries. Necessary. But we've little time. Got an army of orcs, trolls, and goblins coming by sea. Maybe ten-thousand. Need to see the defenses."

Thrae didn't get what the rest were complaining about, it was no worse than mildly vibrating webbing. Still, she wondered how the humans were really going to react to her and Vel when they got off the ship, so she waited till last herself. Stepping onto the shore she waited, it wasn't like she knew where anything was around here so she had nowhere to go.

Zyanya: The shiriti had a good chuckle over the few of the crew having trouble with the water. Being from an island has its benefits after all. She'd look to the horizon again for a brief moment before heading to the dock, her gear firmly in hand.

Hel: "Don't worry, they're with us," the dwarf assures, returning his axe to his back after a few strides onto the dock and dry earth, looking much better.

DM62: Luggor scowls as he spots the drider and the chimera. The smuggler nudges Jenna. "Where are... um... your buddies?" Jenna grins. "They're in the hold. Not everyone is comfortable with my followers." The massive human shrugs. "We been trainin,' Sir Malius, like you insisted. Shield and axe, forming a shield wall, with spears at the ready. And we've got those ten hunters, though only one of them is a real archer." Sir Malius nods.

Hel: "We know the enemy are coming by ship... any way we could make the harbor hazardous for them?" the dwarf asks. "Or to limit the landing area they have to work with somehow?

Vel get's up with a sigh and moves shakily over to wait beside Thrae.

DM62: The big fellow sinks his massive axe into a nearby log with an effortless thunk, folding his arms at the dwarf. "And what do you have in mind, Master Dwarf? We DO use this harbor for commerce, you know." Sir Malius shakes his head. "Manners, Luggor. This is Prince Helvoque Magmahammer, of Grand Forge." The huge human nods. " 'pologies, yer Highness."

Vel grumbles a bit, before moving along, brushing by Jenna and nussling into her hand for pets.

Zyanya: "If I may ask, how are you set for spears. A good shield wall isn't complete without spears."

Thrae couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the human's backtrack, before she too moved over to Jenna and Vel. The drider took a glance around before very lightly petting the Chimera out of view of the people around, using her body to block the most obvious lines of sight. It wasn't like anyone in the underground would likely hear about it if she was all the way out here, and she hadn't really had a chance to have any fun with Vel since the incident before the assassins arrived...

DM62: Jenna leans down to stroke the chimera gently, then looks up at the huge human. "And what sort of resources and manpower do we have available? Don't worry, Luggor, I'm not a princess. Just a simple gnome girl." She gives him a slightly flirtatious smile, and he frowns, though he nods to her. "My experiences with gnomes... your folk are never simple. But we've got three-hundred axe-men... and women... with shield and spear and axe. Ten archers. We sent your sister," he nods to Sir Malius, "and her bodyguard off to Underfell for safety. As for resources, well... we're a logging town. Anything you want made of wood, we've got the wood." He nods to the Shiriti. "Spears are easy."

Hel: "Apologies accepted, I'm simply looking for options. We need some sort of fortification, preferably something that could potentially take a ballistae shot and not fall over. My biggest concern is just how many of those transports they'll be able to get ashore at once.

Vel leans into both pettings, mumbling a bit before sighing as she looks up. "Too few. Best do, protect magic, let them kill all, just put all defenses around them. Somewhere ships can't shoot. Otherwise lots orcs against few humans, they just win cus numbers."

Zyanya: "If you need any of your spear-men drilled, I can assist in that. Using them in conjunction with a shield wall isn't my forte, but using it independently can still be a valuable skill in the event the wall separates or there's a gap. "

Vel: "Does Mistress Friend Malius have map of town and surrounding places?"

DM62: Jenna moves close to the dwarf, quietly murmuring to him. The huge human frowns, but then turns to look at the speaking chimera with a raises eyebrow. "Right. We're loggers, not siege engineers. You tell us where to place the wood and how to cut it, and we can do it. And as for the spear use, well... our folk are better with axes. We've just got the spears for the initial conflict." Sir Malius shakes his head. "I don't have a map on me... But Luggor can get us one." At this point a gray-haired man with an eye-patch covering one eye moves forward, bow in hand. He gives the knight a bow. "Sir Malius. Again, I think we should send emissaries to the Huntress for help." Sir Malius scowls thoughtfully at the request.

Vel shrugs a bit at the staring. "Vel has had many mistresses. Some did fighting. Vel remembers she always had maps for sneaking. So maps must be important. So should bring maps!" She settles down again, yawning

Hel: The dwarf nods to Jenna's whisper, replying in the affirmation as he focuses. "If need be, ensuring we got a front bulwark to start. We want to try and funnel the enemy infantry that can get to the shore."

DM62: The party isn't sure, but for some reason they get the impression that there's a glowing exclamation point over the gray-haired archer's head. '3'

Thrae: "The Huntress?" Thrae asked as she listened into the conversation. "Who's that?"

Zyanya: "I take it you've tried to contact this woman before with little success? Is she not interested in the safety of the region?

DM62: Luggor scowls. "We're on the edge of the Nalumantrah Woods. There are... wild folk in the woods. Rumors... and I mean JUST RUMORS," he glares at the old archer, "of a mythical Huntress who leads them, and permits humans to hunt in her lands. Apparently she's part deer or turns into a bear at night and carries off naughty children." He folds his arms. "The story's at least partly true--the bears and wolves out there are a menace." The archer shakes his head. "My father, he met the Huntress! Met her in a moonlit glade! And she was part deer and part beautiful woman, and she had men and women who could turn to beasts... and she gave him permission to hunt her forest, for a fortnight."

Vel raises an eyebrow at the story. A faun huh. Well, another one. Wonder who her owner was.

Hel: The dwarf rubbed his beard a little, glancing at the others to see if that rang any bells. Some of that bore similar words to the various dwarven tales- men that twisted into monsters with the moon, and of course the leader was obviously a faun...

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eleventh Session, 3 December (part two, sending for aid, discussing strategy, into the woods)

Spoiler

DM62: Ser Malius runs fingers through his beard, thoughtfully. "And it'll take nearly two days for a rider to get to Underfell... but send someone anyway. They can send reinforcements by way of the Kraken River." Luggor nods, calling over a pair of teenagers to carry the request for aid.

DM62: Arturus folds his arms. "If there ARE wildfolk and moonbeasts in the Nalumantrah Woods, they might consider negotiating with an elf. I could go, if need be." He indicates the pier. "And soak this pier in oil. When the enemies set foot here, light it ablaze with an arrow."

Zyanya: "We get something with that sort of strength both in martial prowess and magical ability, it could very well turn the tide in the fight ahead. Or at the very least make it easier for us to deal with the threat. If you want some help Arturus, I can tag along with you. Unless the town needs me to train the spearman around town. Not sure how much time we have before the enemy arrives."

Vel yawns a bit. "Vel will protect mistress... But she;s not very good at this stuff. What should Vel do, Mistress?"

DM62: The smuggler shrugs. "Theoretically we have two days, maybe three. Though if they get extremely favorable weather... well, let's just hope they don't get extremely favorable weather."

Thrae: "Well, I do not know how we could handle the wildfolk ourselves. Though at the same time my skills are unlikely to be much help around here until the orcs arrive. If you need help Arturus then we can come too, if not then we will make ourselves useful around here"

Vel: "Mistress could make webby traps for orcs? Vel could... Um... Test them?," offers Vel

DM62: Arturus smiles. "I'll take anyone willing to come with me." He pulls an arrow from his quiver, with bright red feathering. "This is a Phoenix-Scream arrow. When you fire it, there'll be... well... a very loud, visible signal over the town." He hands it to the gray-haired archer. "When the orc navy arrives, you shoot this straight up, and those of us within sight will know to return immediately."

Thrae: "True," Thrae said. "Though once I lay them it will make movement difficult for those doing other work. Meanwhile I think my magic may be able to help smooth over any wild beasts we encounter on the way to finding this huntress." Thrae turned to Sir Malius. "You know this area better then I do, so I'll let you decide if you want my help here setting up web traps or if you'd rather we tag along to help on this search."

DM62: Sir Malius folds his arms. "I think it's a wild goose chase... but laying webbing should be the last thing we do, so just try to come back before two days go by. Otherwise you might just miss the chance to greet our green-skinned guests."

Zyanya: "Then count me in, Arturus. Never know what we could encounter out there and I'd rather not risk losing anyone else. And believe me, I wouldn't miss a fight against the green skins for the world. We lose here, who knows how long till my home comes under their influence and I'm not about to bend my knee to them."

Thrae: "Okay." Thrae said with a nod. It looked like their path was decided then.

DM62: Luggor produces a map, unrolling it on a table near the pier.

DM62: "Shit. Wrong map. Sorry, some of my friends and I were playing a futuristic game earlier. Hold on." He rummages about for a bit.

DM62: "Here we go. This is Braxil. We're in Axetan, down here in the south-western part, at the river delta. To the west, Nalumantrah Woods. To the north, Underfell. To the east, the farmlands of Tillshire, then Sprocket Port and Grut'Rok desert."

Vel looks at it. "...What stops orcs from landing to north and south and coming from all sides?"

DM62: Luggor looks up at the chimera. "To the north is the woods and Underfell, unless they take the Kraken river."

Vel looks at the map. "Vel doesn't know directions good. Vel meant here and here..." she points to the sides beside the town."

Hel: "There is the question of what would happen if they go for an unopposed landing... landing further down the coastline..." the dwarf brings up. "Though something tells me they won't expect a fight and they'll just sail to the assault.

Zyanya: "So what? We up and move the standing forces to their new landing sight?"

DM62: "Well that's the Kraken River delta and then land, to the west and east. And there's nothing to keep them from attempting to cross the river to attack us... though we could always cut the bridges loose. It's not a gentle river."

Hel: "It's a stretch, don't expect them to try going any further then they were, but on the slimmest chance someone tries to land without opposition, or if they realize we're holding a defense, it would be wise," he brings up. "The less ways they can encircle us the better, as if we're closed around, we're doomed.

Vel: "Vel thinks they find a way but it buys time. They might shoot over it too. They have lots ships but not lot's space, so they have to land all over. They surround us, hem us, try make surrender. Warlord wants place, so she only uses big blasts if we fight hard."

DM62: Luggor nods, but Sir Malius shakes his head. "I'm not so sure we should cut those bridges, unless we see forces approaching from that direction. After all, it's our only means of escaping the town on foot, if we need to. Or of being reinforced. And once you cut the bridges, they're not easy to put back up."

Vel: "Vel says compromise, have sentries. IF they approach bridges, cut them cus if they already there we not escape that way anyways. But if we gonna escape should escape now, fight back after. IS not like have much to defend with."

Hel: The dwarf nods. "At the eve of the battle we put sentries on it then. Just as much to keep our escape options flexible as much as to have the orcs stop from limiting them." He hums, rubbing his beard as he scrutinizes the map, mumbling and rolling his finger around for potential ideas.

DM62: Luggor chuckles. "We've got sentries in place right now. Have for the past few months. We figured those little green shits would come rolling this way eventually."

Vel: "Vel wonders why not have gotten more soldiers and walls in those months then."

DM62: Sir Malius shakes his head. "Because the great nobles of Underfell have decided that the fortification of the city is their primary concern. They believe that one knight and three-hundred axe-men is more than enough to spend on a logging town. Even though all of us were already here." He growls a little.

Hel: "If only Northfort wasn't so far away, I would be able to see if they had any soldiers to spare..." the dwarf grumbles, shaking his head. "Or supplies, or something..."

Vel blinks then giggles. "Vel was scared humans were different from dark elves, but is nice to see everyone is same after all." She smiles and shakes her head, "Vel personally thinks humans should burn everything and escape into woods. Orcs have to rebuild everything. They come to cut wood. Sneak up and kill. Run away after. Make orcs chase into woods. Hit traps. They want big army fight. We give them shadows."

DM62: Luggor looks at the chimera. "This is my home, chimera. I'll be damned by the fucking Goddesses before I burn my home down because some green puke says it's theirs. Not to mention those woods aren't the friendliest of place. I watched a great she-bear swat off a friend's head, on the edge of the woods, once."

Hel: "Nothing stopping Malgra's men from just clear-cutting and burning their way to us, either," Hel points out. "Or sending in trolls to root us out."

Vel: "We make fawn friend first. And what matters more to Luggor? Wood building or Luggor life, Luggor family, orc losing stuff. Luggor can rebuild house. Can Luggor rebuild body if orc puts axe in it? Can Luggor and each human kill 33 orcs? That's how many orcs Each human has to kill to win. Thirty three. And only ten of you have bows." She grunts, "you wish to fight orcs like orcs. Well orcs have done it longer than you. Orcs have killed many people. How many humans and orcs have humans here killed?" She looks to Hel, "She does that, that is time she is not fighting. That is things she has to send to fight us where she does not use all her numbers. If she ignores us we stop her resupplying. If she sets whole army there, they not attacking humans. If they send special fighters, then they are not out killing humans and is smaller group for fighting. fight like dark elves. Or die like orcs. Orcs will appreciate your honor though. but you're dead so, you know..."

Zyanya: "I can understand your desire to keep this land as pristine and sacred as possible. My home island and the greens that surround it are precious and I'd fight to the death to defend my island. Humans want to protect something, we'll fight to th last man to keep it safe. Not everyone is so willing to abandon them so quickly. We just have to fight smarter, not stronger. Scorched earth is not the smartest way to fight especially if we win and have to rebuild."

DM62: Luggor grunts. "Well that's why big damned heroes like you came here, right? To help us kill all the orcs?" Sir Malius shakes his head. "They don't care about Axetan's buildings. They want access to the woods, and they want to take Tillshire without having to guess which direction Braxil's response will come from. She wants to outmaneuver Underfell. And she'd doing a pretty good job. Not that she needs to... most of those nobles are probably waking up hungover right now with their consorts. They're second-rate nobles from Kalifer, sent here because Kalifer didn't want to have to deal with them."

Vel: "Vel is here to serve mistress. Mistress wishes the orcs defeated. Vel assumes Mistress wishes this done with less dead humans. If Vel is wrong, Vel will get punished. Mistress friend Malius is correct. Warlord wants woods. She wants woods for giant green and brown mushrooms. Axetan is here to make giant mushrooms into useful stuff. So Malgra takes town to use those. So we take those away from ehr, she has to make new ones. She loses time. Then, she comes to woods. We make her have to spend time protecting woods from that side while she expects fight from other side. Divide attention and weapons, make havoc."

Hel shakes his head. "Nothing against you humans, but shipping a problem away instead of owning up to it sure sounds like something humans would do." He returns to a straight face. "Hate to say it, but some minor groundwork would be required to even defend the place. Getting some walls to funnel attackers would help, specially if you use full trees to do it. A full log won't burn quite as fast as a sliced timber will... The problem is making a wall that big to block off most if not all the coastline takes time..."

Vel: "Eventually humans in city have to get up and do thing. They probably fight like orcs, die badly. So sad. Orcs meanwhile have all the food and all the wood unless we take as much away from them as we can. Make them waste time and effort hunting us. They have no supplies then. Then we kill supplies coming out to them. Eventually, orcs complain, starve, demand fix, act dumb and angry. so she spend more time hunt us to stop. All this gives humans and dwarves and elves and other time to do something useful."

DM62: Sir Malius nods. "Don't even need a full wall, really. Could space them a food apart. Obscures their view, delays their approach, funnels their forces." He frowns. "Vel, I hate your idea... but you may be right. Destroying the town would just be the first step, though. Next would be burning the crops at Tillshire. This would be... an unpopular move, even with our own people. I think this should be our last resort."

Vel shrugs, "They may be mad, but then, they not dead or slaves. So we still win even if not liked. This not chasing sporepuffs, this is how you kill something bigger than you. You poke and prod and steal it's food, you dance away when ti tries to fight and hit it when it wants to sleep and rest. Dark elves live on this. Fight like dark elves and win. Leave fighting like orcs to orcs and people with more and bigger weapons. And if it bad, blame Vel. Vel is a slave, she used to getting hit with rocks."

DM62: "Fair enough. But only as a last resort. I don't want to simply give up on this town." Sir Malius sighs. "It's my home, too. Most of my childhood was spent here, too. Hell, Luggor here taught me how to heft and swing an axe." The huge human grins a little, nodding.

Hel: "Or, if it thinks itself too big to fail, you slowly carve cuts into it until it bleeds to death. Remember that Snurfler we ran into?" Hel points out. "If we are to prevail, we may wind up having to use both elfkin trickery and general stubbornness."

DM62: "Well. We've got two days," the half-elf speaks, looking about the group. "If we're heading into these woods... guess we'd better get heading out there soon." The old archer nods. "You head out there, you be careful. Luggor's right about them bears being dangerous. Bring spears. If you see any bear cubs, stay the hell away from them and their mother."

Vel: "Vel points out that Snurfler fight was luck. It just as easily could have gotten really angry and smacked really hard on you both. Both were possible. Big things can get really mad too. Any case, Vel points out it's not like land goes away. And memories nice. Always have memories. Unless dead, then you have no memories. And can always rebuild new house, make new memories in same place. Maybe update house. Add a nice deck this time, and a mushroom garden. And a catapult, in case slaves get uppity." Vel nods, "Vel doesn't know what a bear actually is but she will stay near mistress."

Hel: "I'll stay here, see what I can dictate about potential defenses. Maybe some of the Magmahammer brilliance may strike at the last minute, I don't know..." the dwarf speaks up.

Vel: "Vel says Mistress Friend Hel should use forge and use dwarf forging to forge better forgery for humans. Cus dwarf... Vel thinks Mistress Friend Hel's name is too close to hers and sounds like slave name. Maybe call him Mistress Friend Magma now."

DM62: The smuggler chuckles. "I'll stick around here and help get the town ready. I'm wasted on wilderness." Jenna speaks up, stroking the chimera's fur. "I'll stay behind, too."

Vel: "Vel goes where mistress goes so she supposes she's going. Course, Vel is useless everywhere but Mistress could get hungry..."

Thrae: "You would indeed be useless staying around here." Thrae said, though she doubted Vel would be ineffective out in the wilderness, her venom could be useful for stopping any combative animals just as much as her magic was.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eleventh Session, 3 December (part three, the woods, the she-bear, the humanity)

Spoiler

DM62: The half-elf looks at the two goblin pirates. "You two... take the ship out to sea. If you see the orcs nearing, you warn the town." The goblins nod, then the half-elf turns, starting off to the west, toward the western river bridge.

Vel nods and follows Thrae once she began moving after Arturus.

Thrae turned and followed the half elf, she rather hoped this wouldn't be a wild goose chase. That would really be an annoyance.

DM62: After a few hours of hiking, the party sees hundreds of massive tree stumps. Beyond the stumps, up a hill, the unharvested forest begins--old trees, with a thick fir canopy, almost blocking the sun. Brown tree needles cover the ground as the group enters the thick Nalumantrah Woods.

Vel shudders with a grimace. "Mushroom forests. Hnnng.... Bad things always happen in these. why only slaves are sent to harvest in them..."

Thrae looked at the towering pines. The trees were much larger than most of the mushrooms she encountered down below. At the very least it didn't look like any of them were about to start spewing poison at a moment’s notice. The wildlife that lived around here might not be as forgiving though, so she kept her hands on her staff, ready just in case.

DM62: The group walks on for some time. They can hear the sound of flowing water ahead... and then the half-elf raises a hand for quiet, looking about. Vel can hear a low growl from behind the party, though the wind is blowing toward the sound, so she can't pick up the scent.

Zyanya: "Hrm. These trees look much older than the ones back near town." The shiriti muttered to herself as the half elf effectively silenced the group.

Thrae stopped at the half-elf's signal, and twisted her upper body, looking for anything in the woods around them.

Vel hisses. "Behind us." She whirls around and glares at it, baring her claws.

DM62: A massive, brown, furry shape emerges from the woods behind the party, still at some distance. A kodiak she-bear, probably weighing about a thousand pounds, stares at them, advancing with a low growl. She moves forward, lumbering at them, then slaps the ground with a paw and a roar.

Vel: "...Is that a bear?" asks Vel, "I think it’s challenging us. Would she know where she can find the fawn we need help from though?"

Thrae turns to the bear, and it looked quite angry, and like it had maybe half again her weight. "It does not look very friendly. Let me try something." Thrae tried to use her magic, a very low dose of it, but she was trying to make the bear less confrontational and nothing else. She was aiming to avoid overpowering her magic like she had with that orc on the boat, mostly cause she was fairy sure this bear could break whoever it picked to go after in such a case's pelvis.

Zyanya: "Thrae...why are you using your magic against that of all things? The last thing we need is something this big chasing after one of us."

Thrae: "Because I'm trying to make it less likely to maul us, if I don't put to much into it it shouldn't get amorous. Much, hopefully...." Thrae went a bit quiet toward the end. "If not we may want to find a tree to run up."

DM62: Thrae can feel her magic... meeting resistance. The bear's eyes seem to widen at the spell, then she slaps the ground in a rage, roaring in fury and bearing her teeth. She begins coming after the party, teeth bared. Arturus shakes his head. "Even if we kill it, it'll already have killed half of us. Run!" He leads the party further north, toward the sound of running water.

Vel sighs, "If required, Vel will take the fall for mistress. Orrrr we flee." she turns and runs after Arturus. She doubted a bear could kill Thrae anyways.

Thrae: Well, that was very unusual. It had magic resistance? Well, either way she could consider that when she was running. Moving after the others as she considered if throwing more magic at it would be at all effective.

Zyanya: "Spirits above. What made you think this was a good idea!" The shiriti yelled as she took off after Arturus. "You need to learn new magic NOW. No more of this shit."

Thrae: "Well how was I supposed to know the bear had magic resistance, literally nothing we've run into yet had magic resistance!"

DM62: The group reaches a small, swiftly-flowing river. Arturus grunts. "Need a way across... I don't trust that current or the rocks under it." He scans about.

Thrae shoots a thread across the river, aiming to stick onto one of the old wood trees on the other side. Before rooting the other end on a tree on this end. "Get across quick, I'd rather not be on the thread when the bear gets here."

DM62: Arturus nods, deftly crossing and scanning the other side for threats. He holds one end of the thread steady. "Hurry! Cross quickly!"

Vel jumps up and scales across, not really having the option to not look down with having two heads like that

Zyanya: "Fine fine. But I still think we could have avoided this." Zyanya snaps again as she crosses to the other end. "Now cut this thing before it gets here!"

DM62: As Zyanya moves to cross the thread, the bear hits the thread with a paw, shaking it in an effort to make the Shiriti woman fall into the river with a roar.

Vel yelps, probably only a bit after Zynaya, getting shaken too. "Gaaaah bad thing!"

Zyanya: "S...son of a bitch!" The Shiriti howled as she did her best to maintain balance. "T...the moment I make landfall, cut this damn thing! I'm not about to be bear chow."

Thrae: "On it," Thrae said, before blasting out another webline and gluing it onto Zynaya's shoulder, in case the line did get cut at least this way they'd have a bit of a safety rope to pull her out of the water.

DM62: The bear swipes at the thread again, breaking it loose, but Zyanya's able to hang onto the thread, and with the extra safety line Thrae's able to pull her to shore. The bear howls in rage, then starts running upstream. Arturus grunts. "I doubt we've delayed her by much--she knows these woods much better than us, and she's got our scent. Come on. Quickly." The half-elf starts moving quickly, guiding the party (including the drenched Shiriti) north again.

Vel manages to throw herself onto the ground, grunting before running after them. "Watch the bear by the faun. Or maybe the faun's master."

Thrae: Following again, Thrae wondered just why this bear was that intent on attacking them. You would think after they had gotten away the bear would have gone for different prey. "You know, the more I think, the more I'm sure that bear is fully intelligent. It would explain how it had magic resistance."

DM62: There's a male voice ahead of the group. "Less thinking, more running! This way!" A grizzled male human, standing a good seven feet tall and dressed in furs, is gesturing them from a small distance up the hill.

Vel raises an eyebrow as they move towards there. "Or maybe he is the bear?"

Zyanya: "Given how easily they were able to repel the magic, either option is a possibility." The Shiriti was quite grumpy now, soaked head to bone as she continued running, glad to at least see a potentially friendly face. Maybe he'd lead them to somewhere safe or at least time enough for the bear to lose interest in them.

DM62: Arturus laughs. "Maybe. But the bear's a she. And he looks like a he. Not a lot of enchantments... but there are a few that work that way, I suppose." He lets the party move first, acting as rearguard for the party with the human leading the way. They near a small clearing, with the creek running nearby and a log cabin on the northern end. The human gestures. "That's our cabin up ahead. You should be safe up here." There's huffing and grunting behind the party--the bear isn't visible yet, but can be heard.

Thrae: "Thank god, now we just have to make it there" Thrae said, not wanting to get caught by the bear, though she was suspicious of this newcomer, he did show up awfully conveniently.

DM62: "Just keep running!" The human gestures impatiently at the cabin, then turns to face the bear, walking toward her with his open hands upraised. The bear roars, advancing towards him.

Vel grunts and runs, though she watches via her tail. She was curious and had a funny feeling.

Thrae kept running, glancing over at Vel and wondering what her chimera would be able to see as they ran. For all they knew they were running into a trap, or that guy was about to wrestle a bear, or get his head pawed off.

DM62: The man stands still as the bear nears him. She paws at the ground, roaring, and the man stands passively. "Shhhh... Hilda. Hilda, my love. It's me. Hilda... it's me, my love." The bear paws at the ground, then makes a low, curious noise, sniffing at the big human. "Shhhh... that's it, dear. That's it, Hilda." There's a shift, and the man rushes forward, catching a blonde human female as she collapses into his arms, leaving no sign of the massive she-bear.

Vel: Yup, she figured. Well, either way, to the cabin they went. And possibly got eaten by TWO bears, but hey least she'd have fun.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 9 December (part one in town: building the battlements, a fun surprise)

Spoiler

DM62: When last we saw Hel, he was staying in the town with Jenna, Sir Malius, and the smuggler to help prepare the town's defenses. The pair of goblins were left on the ship, staying a little ways out from the shoreline to alert the town in the event of invasion. Jenna had managed to procure some long spears for her undead followers, sending the ten zombie troopers under the waters to help keep ships from safely reaching the shore.

Hel: Mostly during that time, Hel had been pulling defensive strategims from the dustier parts of his brain, trying to desperately prepare for anything and everything the orcs could throw at them. Borderline walls that, while focused on the coast, also looped around a short distance? check. short barriers for sentries at the bridges to duck under should arrows fly their way? check. Support points to ensure the walls wouldn't fall over once enough pressure was put on it? double check...

DM62: Sir Malius has been busily inspecting the axe-men at drill, helping to ensure that they could set up a solid shield wall and put their spears to strong initial use, before going to the axe to finish the job. As a gnome (and therefore semi-dwarven kin), Jenna has a small amount of natural talent with construction, and she's been helping to coordinate Hel's projects. Toward the end of the day, she moves to Hel's side, bringing him a full pint of ale. "Here, my lovely prince. You look like you could use a drink."

Hel: While there was little in the way of arguments during the day, it was pretty obvious that Hel was showing great concern even as each timber gave what appeared to be a decent level of security. He takes the ale with a nod, taking a swig with a sigh. "Just as long as it holds... And even then that's a big maybe..." he mumbles, shaking his head.

DM62: Jenna nods. "Well it's only been a day. Tomorrow we can double-check with some standard stress tests, and reinforce any potentially-weak areas. I've also been thinking about setting up a large trench through the middle of the town, covering it with branches like a deadfall. Spears on the bottom."

Hel nods slowly. "It'll help. At least until the orcs figure it out or just fill it with corpses." He sighs, giving a shake of his head. "It'll be a miracle if we survive, even with all this, but... it feels like we're getting closer to 'serviceable' with each moment at least.

DM62: The gnome smiles, and Hel can't help but notice that she's unbuttoned the top few buttons of her blouse, leaving her cleavage particularly exposed. "Stranger things have happened, dear. And you never know, Arturus and the others might find help in those woods. Or they'll die, and I'll have to go bring them back as ghouls or something."

Hel: At that the dwarf chuckles, shaking his head. "Whatever works in the end, eh?" he comments, finally softening a little. "Well let's hope it works out then, at any rate. It'll happen no matter if I give myself a panic attack over it or not."

DM62: Jenna moves forward, pressing herself lightly against the prince. "Or we could abandon the town. We could be miles away by midnight, fucking each other to sleep in an open field. I deal with dead things all the time, but I don't necessarily want to die, myself." She softly plants a kiss on Hel's neck.

Hel sighed, though does lean into the necromancer slightly. "They'll be avenues of retreat, no need to worry there. A part of me wishes not to use them if needbe, however. There's no way that if the orcs aren't stopped here they can be contained...

DM62: She nods, then her fingers brush against the front of Hel's breeches, finding his cock and stroking it through the fabric. "Well, maybe I can help you forget about your worries for a moment, your Highness." She kneels, untying the front of the breeches to gaze at the dwarf's manhood, biting her lips softly.

Hel flushes a bit, and admittedly does start to harden a little. "Being a bit forward tonight, ma'am?" he teases, leaning back a little in his chair. "Usually you wait until I'm fast asleep and you get control of everything." He politely moves his hands behind his head for now, respecting her usual wishes of not getting too close.

DM62: "When have I ever not been forward, my lovely prince?" She rubs her cheek against the hardening cock, teasing it with the soft skin of her smooth, feminine face. She softly kisses the side of the shaft, her fingers caressing the other side. "Mmmmm... shall I coax your cum into my mouth tonight, my prince? Or would you prefer to bend over your gnomish wench and take her from behind?" She looks up at the prince somewhat eagerly.

Hel: There's a bit of a wry smile as Jen acts like this, a slight tremble along his back as she asks for his opinion for once. "Feel free to use your lips and tongue, my lady," he responds with similar respect, still keeping his passive pose.

DM62: There's a hint of a matching smile on Jenna's lips, then she presses forward, her mouth parting just enough to take the tip of Hel's cock into it. She pauses here, giving the front of the cock a lick inside her warm mouth, then slides deeper around it, looking up at Hel as she begins sucking on his shaft.

Hel groans as he shudders against his seat, his legs spreading slightly as she works her mouth against him sow. Flushing and trembling, he gently grips the side of his chair, but still keeps hands-off to keep Jen comfortable.

DM62: Jen presses forward, taking Hel's cock into her throat with a slight gagging noise, until her lips are pressing against the base of his cock. She then pulls back slightly, and starts vigorously deepthroating him, her fingers slipping up to softly massage his testicles.

Hel: There's a hard hiss as Hel grips the chair a little tighter, a bit of creaking wood noises coming from the mecha gauntlet's side as he resists thrusting forward, the gnome doing quite the work to him as she plays, all the while his shaft throbbing harder.

DM62: Jenna pulls back off of the dwarf's cock with a semi-audible pop, pulling his breeches up over the massive erection. "Right, my love. That's enough of that, here. I got you a surprise at the inn around the corner that I want you to see, anyway." She rises with a smirk, sprinting towards the nearby inn.

Hel: The dwarf groans as Jenna pulls away, mumbling something about cock-teasing gnomes as he gets his pants back on, quickly grabbing shield and hammer and following after her. He was wanting to keep his gear on hand in this strange world after all.

DM62: There are audible chuckles from axe-men nearby, who seem to have appreciated the show that the couple put on in public. Then their sergeant catches them slacking off, and there's some yelling and shouting and cursing as the men are corrected. The innkeeper smirks as Jenna bounds up the stairs, leading Hel to a private room.

Hel's starting to get a little unsure what's going on with Jen's little plan now, and carefully moves towards the private room, mostly because equal parts sure this was either another of Jen's crazier plans or was some sort of major elaborate trap that some enemy was putting on. Still, weapons are sheathed as he quietly works his way to the private room.

DM62: Jenna chuckles in the dark room, before lighting a candle. Lying spread out and tied to the bed is a voluptuous, feathery, female creature, her snatch fully exposed and glistening. She's gagged, and she looks down at Hel almost pleadingly. Jenna chuckles. "So... I met a harpy in town that loves to be a submissive little slut, especially being tied down and fucked. Her name is Lori, my love... and she's been waiting for this, left tied up and teased, for the better part of three hours now." The harpy shudders in need as if to confirm the gnomish necromancer's words.

Hel: Admittedly the dwarf is a bit surprised. He moves near the harpy, looking at her with a bit of a unsure gaze, as it was the first time he's met such a creature. "She's a new sight for me, that's for sure," he admits, looking a bit amused at Jenna's resourcefulness for the sake of kink. "Are you saying that we're up to three tonight?" he remarks idly with a bit of a chuckle, looking to Jenna.

DM62: "Well I'm okay with it." She looks down at the harpy, reaching over to pinch a nipple, making the harpy squirm and squeal a little. "And this randy slut is more than okay with it." The gnome grins at Hel in the candlelight. "But it's up to you, my prince."

Hel gives another chuckle under his beard. "That's more than okay for me then, my lady," he teases back with a wry smile. "Where to start, where to start..."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 9 December (part two in town: enjoying a surprise, sabotage)

Spoiler

DM62: Jenna folds her arms. "Well, my love... are you planning to fuck us in armor? Or would you like to get undressed, first?" The harpy mewls, and Jenna lightly slaps her snatch. "Hush, you. That's the point of being gagged."

Hel: The dwarf laughs a little but relents as he begins to quickly disarm and unequip, removing armor and weapons to a relative safe distance from the bed to avoid unplanned injuries. "Very well, very well..." It doesn't take long for the dwarf to return towards the bed, now bare except for his augmented limbs.

DM62: The harpy squirms, and Jenna chuckles, sliding her fingers over the glistening snatch and spreading the bird-like creature for the prince. "I think she's ready, my love. And she prefers her lovers to be... rough." She gives Hel a wink.

Hel gives a bit of a wry smile, but does spend a moment to give Jen a soft kiss on the forehead. "Well, if you insist," he grins, quickly moving to the bed and shifting into position above the harpy. Dick still slick from Jenna's earlier teasings, the dwarf lines himself up, taking a moment to press his thicker-than human manhood against the harpy as if to taunt her a little.

DM62: The harpy squirms a little more, moaning into her gag and needfully trying to press back against the dwarf's cock. Her opening seems a little tighter than Jenna's, even, but probably much more lubricated. Jenna playfully teases at the harpy's ears, making her shudder in lust.

Hel: With the sheer tightness of the harpy, it naturally takes a little more force than usual for the dwarf to hammer forward, finally piercing into the harpy's belly with a grunt, using his still-good hand to hold her hips for support as the mechanized one holds onto the bed. He growls slightly as he works himself in, his broad cock fighting for each inch against the quivering bundle of feathers before him.

DM62: The harpy practically screams into the gag, tears of relief running down the sides of her face as she needfully humps back against Hel as best she can. Jenna grins down at her, giving her ears a light twist, sending Lori into a feathered frenzy against the prince.

Hel's nearly bucked off as the harpy bounces backwards, having to grip the bed a little harder as the lust-starved birdkin works herself against him. Still, just her actions certainly weren't going to do. With renewed determination and his shaft throbbing from the bird's hungry belly, he gets to work with his hips, hammering her into the bed just as much as she was trying to knock him off with the return thrusts.

DM62: "That's it, darling! Fuck her! Fuck this little slut and fill her needful belly with your seed, my prince!" Jenna gives another sharp twist on the harpy's ears, and that's enough to send her into a harsh orgasm, her snatch clenching down on the dwarven cock and milking it. It's so tight it's almost painful for Hel, now.

Hel's stamina was usually a little better than this, but between Jenna's earlier teasings, and this magnificent creature's own skills in the lust department, there's a loud groan from the dwarf prince and he hammers a few more hard, heavy thrusts. The floodgates open and his seed pools forth, the harpy's insides almost holding him captive at the grip they have on him and the prince panting hard though still quite coherent. "Damn..."

DM62: The harpy's launched into a second orgasm immediately after the first as the dwarf's hot seed spurts into her, and she squirms and mewls and shudders, a feathery mess on the probably-ruined sheets. Jenna smirks, softly stroking her ears now, and loosening the gag. Despite being free to talk, the harpy has a somewhat glazed look in her eye, and smiles up dazedly at Jenna and Helvoque.

Hel: The dwarf is panting a little, shaking some of the cobwebs from his head as he works his brain back to full working order. "Hell of a lass you are, gotta compliment that..." the dwarf remarks, rubbing behind his head with a bit of a flush to his features as he recovers, still resting and impaled inside the harpy.

DM62: Jenna chuckles, looking at the harpy. "Awww... I bet she still wants to clean off your cock, Hel." The harpy looks at Hel pleadingly, then his cock, licking her lips. "Y-yes, please, Master... let me clean you..."

Hel: "Well who am I to argue with a face like that?" he teases back, giving a wry smile before gently tugging himself free- with a bit of a wince, damn was she tight- and working his way up to her chest. Soon, he's resting on her torso, cock directed towards her, still half-hard. "Open wide, lass, it's a bit wider I hear than most critter's junk," he teased a little.

DM62: The harpy leans up hungrily, lapping at the presented cock, mewling softly as she gulps down every remaining drop of cum, his and hers. Finally she leans back with a satisfied sigh. "Mmmm... do all dwarf princes fuck like that, Mistress?" Jenna smirks. "To be fair, I've only sampled one, so far." She softly teases a finger through Hel's chest hair.

Hel chuckles and flushes. "Knowing how the clans work, may not find another in a while, who knows." He does take a moment to lean against Jenna slightly, wrapping her into a half hug as wordless thanks as she teases.

DM62: Jenna grins, holding the dwarf prince for now and closing her eyes. "Indeed. You may never know." The trio lay sweaty together in bed, silently enjoying the afterglow, and Hel closes his eyes for a moment, only to awaken at night. There's shouting outside... panic and yelling from the direction of the makeshift battlements. Jenna is awake quickly, getting dressed. "My Prince... trouble."

Hel: The dwarf groans a little, though notes the noise and quickly begins getting battle dressed. "Aw hell, not now... not already..." he mumbles, shaking his head a little as he quickly arms up. "Ensure our guest gets to safety if it is this issue. I'm needed at the commotion..." In a flash, the dwarf's out the door, hammer in hand and fully battle-dressed.

DM62: Jenna grunts. "Fuck that, I'm coming along." She unties the harpy's arms. "Free and arm yourself, Lori. Could be bad." Then she runs out with Hel, having had little to don in the first place. Hel emerges to see half of his battlements ablaze. As he watches, axe-men arrive with buckets of water. One of them empties his bucket onto a flaming section of battlement... only for the flames to spread wider, fiery liquid splashing onto the man, who screams and runs blazing. Luggor arrives, grim-faced, and knocks the burning man down, putting his fires out with dirt. "Buckets of dirt! Use buckets of dirt, you fools!"

Hel: "What in blazes happened?!? Saboteurs?!? An attack?!?" he calls out to Luggor as he moves up to assist, hammer still ready.

DM62: "Just got here... your Highness." Luggor might be callous, but doesn't need to be reminded of the dwarf's station twice. Sir Malius arrives, battle axe in hand. "Not seeing any enemies about. No warning of attack from the goblins on the ship. Looks like someone waited until nightfall... then set about sabotaging our defenses." He glares about. The fires are finally somewhat under control, but about half of the day's work on the battlements will likely need to be scrapped and replaced in the morning.

Hel: "Dammit, half of it's at square one already..." the dwarf curses audibly. "We need to figure out who pulled this off before any of us can get some sleep tonight, you hear me? If they can do this much damage with what we had for watch we need to ensure our perimeter is secure now!"

DM62: Sir Malius nods, even as reports are coming in--no one crossed either bridge at night, though a few townsfolk recalled seeing a pair of hooded figures moving quietly through town. Initially they assumed it was the dwarf prince and gnome, based on their short stature.

Hel: The dwarf frowns. "Either goblins, gnomes, or dwarves. Can't imagine anyone from Northforth attacking us, and I was assured that our goblin mercs were on the level..." he shakes his head and growls. "We need to figure this out... Search the nearby woods, they may try to sneak around the bridges somehow or stick around to attack again."

DM62: Luggor starts. "Goblin mercs? You brought goblins here, your Highness!? Sir Malius!?" The axe knight nods. "Aye. Had to. Needed their help escaping the greenskins in the first place. Send a boat out to that ship, Luggor. Make sure they're still onboard, alive, and at least verbally on our side. If they haven't fled yet, we keep an eye on the. Meanwhile, we search the town. Nobody saw them come or go. They might still be here."

Hel nods. "Do that. If they double crossed us I'll see fit to punish them personally..." he growls. He grabs his hammer and heads to the town. "For now, I'm searching this place from cornerstone to attic!"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 10 December (part one in the woods: Erik and Magnhilda, trolls, the Huntress)

Spoiler

DM62: When last we left our heroes... the party had just encountered a massive she-bear. Thrae's attempt to charm the bear backfired disastrously, sending her into a berserk rage. The party fled, encountering a rather large warrior near a cabin clearing, who managed to calm the she-bear. At that point, the bear shifted into a blonde female human, and the large warrior caught her as she collapsed.
Raz could really only shake his head at the sight of the ursinethrope shifting back. The chase throw the woods and past the river had been a crazy blur. Though he was glad he wasn't going to be something's dinner.

Vel figured as much. Welp. Guess they were house guests of bare bear bear warriors. Well hopefully they didn't linger long but that'd be up to Thrae she supposed.

Thrae: "Well, that atleast explains why she had some magic resistance, but still..." Thrae said as she saw the bear turn into a human. She'd probably have to apologize for that, though how was she supposed to have known. Though at the very least these two might be able to point them toward their target.

DM62: The man removes his fur cloak, wrapping it around the naked woman. He helps her to her feet, slowly and gently, then turns to the party, helping her to walk. "My name is Erik. You'll have to excuse my wife, Magnhilda. She's... not been herself, as late."

Vel: “Vel thinks she's been a bear of late."

Raz: "Yes, seems so." Raz gave the chimera an odd look and shook his head.

Vel looks up at the dragonkin, tilting her head curiously.

Raz shook his head and gave her ears a gentle scritching. "She isn't going to bear out on us again is she?"

Vel tilts her head a bit to avoid getting dragon claws running too close to her skin.

DM62: "It's not being a bear that I'm referring to. It's the rage. But I'll explain it once we're safely inside, and once you've told me what you're doing wandering into the Nalumantrah Woods. You don't look like lumberjacks, and this isn't the cutting area. And please don't make any bear puns. We've heard them all." He leads the group through the clearing and into a spacious but modestly-outfitted cabin. There's a fire going, keeping the inside warm from the chilly forest breeze.

Vel: “Vel does not know what pun is but we looking for huntress cus thousands of orcs coming over big blue wet thing here and need help. Vel thinks everyone should hide in woods but they wanna fight."

Raz's claws are surprisingly gentle as they scratched her ears. Likely plently of practice with soft fleshed people. He followed along and bent down to enter the cabin. "Yes, we are on a mission."

Thrae: "Yes, there is an army of orcs coming, and we were sent into the woods in the hopes of getting more aid for the village." Thrae nodded as she confirmed Vel's words. "They truly need all the help they can get."

DM62: Erik raises an eyebrow at this news. "Huh. I know there are greenskins already in the woods. They help the Huntress in... containing the curse." He shakes his head. "I should explain these things to you, I suppose. You see... there's an infection in these woods. Something... sick, and angry, is spreading."

Vel: “These ones want cut down lots trees and take over whole world so need catapults.," nods Vel, before tilting her head, "Sick angry fungus? And people tell Vel surface so much better than deep dark ground."

Raz: "Not surprising with what the horde of orcs has likely stirred up else where." Raz would find a spot to sit down where he wasn't hitting anything with his large bulk. "Not better, more familiar."

DM62: "Yes, well... I don't know much about it." He helps Magnhilda to sit in a chair near the small fire, then sits down himself. "Please, make yourselves at home. Yes, these woods are under something of a curse. I only found out when I found Magnhilda, laying dead from a bear mauling. I tracked the animal, as best I could." He pauses, gulping in recollection of a frightful memory. "The tracks got muddled, but I found the bear. Killed her. Returned home, only to find that my wife's body was missing. It seems another bear had broken into the cabin. I tracked the animal. Instead, I found Magnhilda." He shakes his head, unable to continue for a moment.

Vel looks, tilting her head curiously. "...So... Angry virus makes people into angry bear things? Hm..." Well if they were so uncontrollable, they could load all the infected in cages then unleash them towards the enemy. A bit risky perhaps, but a few accidental losses were acceptable if most of them could be unleashed on the orcs...

Zyanya: "That would certainly explain our little chase earlier. Not that it was helped by a certain someone’s magics. Either way, I take it the huntress wishes this to contain, but why go to the orcs? She realizes the threat they pose, right? They aren't helping her out of benevolence."

Raz: "Well let us home the curse leaves us be while we go about our business. I certainly do wish to be turned into a bear." He the scratched beneath his chin a moment with a claw, pondering if his innate magical nature would protect him from such a curse.

Vel: “Vel bet's she went to trolls and this happen before big orc army."

DM62: Magnhilda shakes her head. "Not exactly. I have the were curse... and I have the rage curse. These woods have always had weres. Shifters who turn into bears or wolves or even wildcats. They serve the Huntress. But there's another disease, that makes animals feral. Weres are particularly susceptible to it. Strong emotions can trigger it... and we lose most of our self-restraint. Erik has always been able to stop me... but each time it takes me a little further. Some day I fear it will take me permanently. As for the greenskins... well, you'd have to ask the Huntress about her dealings with them. We can take you to her glade."

Raz: "I suppose she could be a valuable ally to our cause." Raz looked curiously to the women to see if they agreed with him.

Thrae: "I had no way to know that she wasn't a bear, or that she'd have magic resistance of all things." Thrae muttered under her breath at Zyanya's comment. "Also thank you for the offer, we'll accept it, and sorry about using my magic on you before."

DM62: Magnhilda shakes her head. "You couldn't have known about the rage curse in my blood. But you tried to bring out lust in a she-bear? You... you do know they're not exactly gentle lovers, yes?" Erik chuckles at this, and even Arturus has to put a finger to his lips.

Zyanya: "It still baffles me that there are so many people willing to trust the army that is hell bent on taking over the world, simply because of some vague prophesy. Seems like ti would be quite counter productive. First the underelves and now the Huntress? Just what are they gaining from all this?"

Raz chuckled and shook his head. He doubted even he would survive a lusty she-bears attentions. "War always brings it out it people. Some gravitate to the winning side. Just how it is."

Vel: “People obey cus orc army have ridiculously massive army. Prophecies dumb.," says Vel, rolling her eyes, "Dark elves have no army. They kill several but lose bad. Smart to obey and wait see who wins.Not sure why change mind really."

DM62: Magnhilda shakes her head. "I don't know of any war... at least, I didn't until you told me. But I know the greenskins have dealings with the Huntress. Come. We will visit her glade. And... if we encounter any raging beasts, best not to charm them, yes?" Erik is looking of better spirits now, and Magnhilda abandons the fur cloak, risking naked with her perfect, pale body on display. She doesn't seem shy at all about her nudity, quickly donning leathers. "Well? Let's get going." She pulls a bow and a quiver full of arrows over her shoulders, then straps a longsword to her hips.

Vel waits for Thrae to move before moving as well

Raz gives a small shrug before standing up and readying to follow to meet this huntress she spoke of.

Zyanya would cast a cursory glance of at Magnhilda as she changed outfits, the amazon quite drawn to the hunter’s primal beauty and bravery. But she'd focus back on the task at hand as they made ready to leave, the shiriti making sure her equipment was secure and her supplies were in order.

Thrae grumbles a bit again, she wasn't planning to fully bring out the bears lust, just make her less angry. Still, she was sure Raz could have handled it. "Fine fine, I'll just sit back and watch if that happens." She pouted a bit, but she was ready to follow where the two lead.

Vel found the human much like most naked entities. Nice to look at but not something for her to touch.

DM62: The journey is long and arduous, mostly uphill. The forests seem to grow thicker and thicker, and it nears sunset when Magnhilda, in the lead, raises a hand and motions the party to stop. She scans ahead... a troll is quietly moving towards the group, javelins on his back, but no weapon in hand. He squints at the group, grunting.

Vel crawls around, prodding ahead carefully in case the foliage was explosive or flesh eating, before sitting, looking at the troll calmly.

Zyanya: "Does he percive us as a threat? He has all those weapons but he simply seems to be...staring at us."

Raz watched the troll warily a long moment, his hand flexing and preparing to reach up for his sword should they need it.

Thrae sat back, still pouting a bit as she held onto her staff. She figured that their guides would know what was going on better then her and her group could.

DM62: Erikur, in the back of the party, groans. "No, I don't think he does." Five more trolls are standing behind the group, and Thrae notes a few more on either side of the group, quietly watching from the brush. The middle troll behind the party is wearing slightly more ornate leather armor, and has six shortswords on his thighs, three strapped to each leg. There are two larger swords on his back. "No. We don' see t'reat from you." He smirks.

Vel: “We wanna see huntress."

Raz frowns as he sees themselves soon surrounded. "Yes, we are here to see her." He figured he might be able to take out one, two if he was lucky, though they would likely squash the rest of his party like bugs with one hit, especially the knight in his cumbersome plates.

DM62: "Now that soo'prise. First one to answer me... smallest one." Completely unafraid, the massive troll with swords moves forward, crouching in front of Vel and looking at her curiously. Quietly assessing her. "Why you wanna see Hun-tress, little cat?"

Vel: “Cus we both got problem. Bunch more orcs coming. They wanna cut down lot's trees for war. That makes things harder on you helping hold sickness away yeah? So bad for us both. Wanna talk to huntress, see what she thinks. And maybe can help out too.," grunts Vel, "Mistress not have time to waste, cus they here in a day or two."

DM62: "Huntress work with Malgroth, work with Malgra. I work with Malgra. But you wanna see Huntress... this her forest. We will take you... to glade." He motions to the other trolls, and they quietly form up in front of and behind the party, taking them along.

Raz still frowned, but gave a shrug, seemed they had very little choice in the matter.

Vel nods and looks ahead, glancing back at Thrae a moment before continuing ahead a bit after the troll.

Zyanya: No surprise the allegences here were all over the place. The Shiriti wouldn't complain however, accepting it as the reality of the situation. "Lead the way."

Thrae narrowed her eyes, the Huntress was working with Malgra? How had the orc already put so much planning into it when even the people that lived right next to the forest believed the huntress to be a myth.

DM62: There's not much more of a hike left, but it's dark when the party arrives at a rather large glade, with an expansive, still pond in the middle. At one end of the pond is an ancient tree, reaching far up into the night sky. The moonlight fills the glade. The trolls stop, and the one with the swords gestures, letting the party enter the glade alone.

Vel trots up ahead, looking about. It was... Creepy. Like the heart of a fungus circle... who knew what nightmares could lurk within... this huntress must be pretty crazy. But if she could be convinced...

Thrae looked at the moonlight filtering into the glade, and it reminded her of the underground a bit. The soft light almost making her feel at home, if it wasn't for the trolls that they had just left behind.

Raz frowns deepens as he steps to the front to take point. His eyes warily scanning the glade. Though he does take note of the large and what might be lurking in its boughs.

Zyanya would follow behind Raz, keeping herself at the ready in the event this could be a problem. Plus, she rather enjoyed the sight and feel of the glade. It was comforting.

DM62: A white-haired faun moves into view from behind the elder tree. She's tall and courtly, with a small leaf crown adorning her wind-swept hair. Silently, she approaches the party, walking towards the group... walking atop the water in the moonlight.

Vel: A magic slave. Huh. The surface elves sure had fancy slaves really. Nisali wasn't chained and had weapons and everything. Truly a strange thig. Or maybe she was a wild slave? It did happen... Well she'd leave Arcturus to perform his duty then. She waited til she came close.

Raz sighed softly, either this faun was was some sort of mage, or a spirit. He wasn't entirely sure which one he would prefer. Regardless he watched her closely, cautiously waiting for her to make the first move.

DM62: Much to Vel's surprise, as the faun approaches, Magnhilda and Erik kneel, bowing their heads. Arturus drops to a knee as well, bowing his own.

Vel really raises an eyebrow now. People bowing to slaves? Well, maybe she had misjudged the situation. Maybe it was Nisali alone who was a slave. Well whatever, she laid down on all fours as well in her approximation of their actions.

Zyanya: Seems the writing was on the wall with the sheer importance of this individual and the shiriti wasn't one to disrespect anyone of authority. She tried with her mother and it got her a rather harsh punishment. Placing her spears on the ground, the amazon would follow suit with Arthus, Magnhilda and Erik. It was the least she could do

Raz would remain standing where he was, though he would give her a respectful bow. He reserved bowing to his own god and to his ancestors.

Thrae saw the others, and figured she should replicate them as well, though instead of bowing she lowered her spider body a bit. Closer to a curtsy then anything else.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 10 December (part two in the woods: meeting with the Huntress, the Blood Woods, an opportunity)

Spoiler

DM62: The faun nears the party, still standing on top of the water. She smiles. "I know of your customs, chimera, but we have no slaves, here. Rise. All of you. I am the Huntress, and... she pauses, her gaze fixed on Arturus as he rises. "You've been near Nisali. Tell me... where is Nisali? There are those among us who... much desire to speak with her." Arturus' face is a mask as he hears the question.

Vel tilts her head in confusion. "Vel is a slave anywhere. But okay." she stood up, then says, "She died to orc spies."

Raz frowned, and decided it best to let the elf explain about Nisali.

DM62: Arturus nods, his voice somewhat strained as he answers. "She... she fell in battle. She died fighting alongside us." The Huntress bows her head, and a small voice speaks from the right of the party. "No." There's a middle-aged faun, her eyes wide, and the party can see a strong resemblance to their former companion. "No, it can't be."

Raz gave the mother of their companion a grim nod. "It is." Frowning as he recalled the battle that had taken her, not much he could have down at the time whilst fighting his own opponent.

Vel looks over. Now there's a face... She could dredge up a bit of sympathy. If Thrae had died, she had no idea what she would do. Then again she wasn't certain if thrae had already died in a sense. She doubted she'd ever be fully certain. But such was the realities of war. There was a good chance both of them would die in the course of this, vampire or not. In some ways she wasn't entirely sure why Thrae continued. She had gotten what she wanted after all... Well... No matter now. What mattered was seeing how this played out now.

Zyanya: It was indeed an incredible loss one the Shiriti was still processing given all the party had lost recently. It seemed like no one was going to escape this war without a few scars. Either physically in Hel's case or emotionally like Arturus.

DM62: The Huntress nods, and the older faun quietly moves off, a younger faun (with a resemblance to Nisali, as well) supporting her and helping her away. "I sent her to learn from the sage, Ashur. To gain the knowledge, to help us heal the infection that haunts our lands. I feared she would run into danger. But tell me... what is your purpose in coming here? Surely not simply to bear us grave tidings."

Vel: “Yup. Malgra is wagin war to conquer whole world, and she comin to axetan to get all the wood for her war. That probably means chopping trees down and stuff. So we need help stoppin it.," says Vel.

Zyanya: "We mostly seek your aid in the coming conflict, but at the same time am curious you would ally yourselfs with a force that could very well become a threat to your way of life."

Vel severely doubted Malgra had any intention of ruining their way of life or to purposefully sabotage the infection. Not unless her father had caused it to begin with. But well if Zyanya untintentionally got the Faun working to their side well, all the better.

DM62: The Huntress frowns. "You assume much. Malgroth was here... it must have been four decades ago. He was looking for allies, as well. I refused him. I showed him how our lands were infected, slowly rotting from the inside. He offered me aid. He left twenty of his people here, to assist in the containment efforts. Every so often, replacements would arrive. I told him... and I told his representatives... that I still would not assist him in his conquest. But he sent the help regardless, saying that my task was equally important." She shakes her head. "Ten years ago, Malgra doubled the number. Forty dedicated hunters and soldiers, working in shifts to help us destroy feral beasts before they could spread the rot further. And still, no demand for help. Why... should I doubt her word, or that of her father? The greenskins have been more helpful, and far kinder, than any of those... woodcutters..." she bites the word, "in Axetan."

Vel: “Malgra could be honest. Or could be she has position people where you help rely on them. And can inform or act if you decide to act against instead. Is easy to support if you stay out. But would she do so if disagreed. But is Huntresses home and call.," says Vel with a shrug, "Malgra after all would not wish infection spreading outside woods and affecting her home. But if is problem, well... Can always replace with own soldiers since they know how to contain too after all these years. Either way she is coming to cut logs herself for war. And that's a lot of logs."

Raz: "She will eventually need wood for her weapons of war. Though she has succeeded thus far, she will need siege engines when it comes time to assault the human and elven nations." Raz frowned as he looked at the faun.

Zyanya: "If I may, you're dealing with two very different entities. One is a settlement of people simply trying to live day to day. If they were as destructive as you think they are, they would have cleared this place out by now. The orcs are an army. With supply demands, need for weapons, food and as my companions brought up, siege engines. How much of the surrounding area would survive when they suddenly have a need to commandeer all the wood? As "payment" for their services?"

Zyanya: "Again, if I may be so bold, they're buttering you up."

DM62: "And Braxil cuts down wood now, as well. Malgra has sent druids, among her trolls. She's given her word that they'll replace the trees as fast as they harvest them. Sustainably. Your humans? They do not show restraint, and they show no respect for my creatures." She shakes her head. "I am sorry. I will not turn on Malgra. If she breaks her word, I will crush her armies... but I do not believe she will."

Vel nods a bit then shrugs. "Okay. So what is this infection anyways? Vel is curious."

Raz's frown deepened, seemed they weren't going to convince her anytime soon.

Thrae grimaced as well, it looked like they weren't going to get help, which meant that this whole thing was a waste of time.

Zyanya: "Then you are blind to the true nature of an army at war. They can take any number of casualties, but they will claim what they view as theirs. Like it or not, war will come to your doorstep and the humans are going out there and fighting to protect it and their homes.

Zyanya: Hundreds of lives are at stake, and you're flippantly allowing them to suffer."

Vel internally winced. Oh boy, she was belaboring the point. Welp this could get messy...

DM62: The Huntress sighs. "I have... had... a peer. The Lord of the Forest. Bound to a larger, but a younger tree. An eternal child... but wiser than the ancient. He rode upon my back for many years. His glade... is further north. But something changed. His tree changed. The leaves turned red, began to bleed. Animals that drank from his glade, they changed. Became feral. We almost lost the battle before we knew what had happened. But my hunters are as resourceful as they are strong. We killed the feral animals... at considerable loss. We discovered that those wounded among us began to change as well. I was able to slow the process... but not stop it. Eventually, they become wild. And contagious." She turns to Magnhilda. "And we have to hunt them, when that happens."

Vel: “...Well, if the tree is the cause then shouldn't that be where the cure happen? Obviously this Lord is at centre of it all."

DM62: "As for the war... the trolls and orcs could say the same about you. The fact that they have not made such accusations in turn... well, frankly that speaks in their favor."

Vel: “Vel think it speaks to them not being here right now, but Vel is more interested in the fact there is a slowly spreading doom."

Zyanya: "The humans are trying to survive. The orcs want to dominate the world over hazy visions and prophecies. We can do better than simply contain this outbreak."

Raz scratched his chin in thought a long moment, he was doing this a lot of late, was much simpler to attack first and think later. "What if we get rid of this plague for you? What then?"

DM62: "Yes. I... I had to shoot the Lord. I put an arrow through his heart, left him nailed to his tree. I hoped that this could cure the infection. But we soon discovered that it was spreading through the soil, as well. We dug pits, we set up barriers... it slowed the spread, but failed to contain it. And a wall of waving thorns rose up around the glade... infecting any that drew close to them."

Zyanya was determined to see this through. Sure she wasn't related to these humans in any way, being quite distant from her kin back home, but that wasn't important. They were people looking to survive and she couldn't help but defend them."

Vel: Oh yay, promises they couldn't necesarilly keep. She was starting to really not enjoy humans and their hey let's proclaim great things before they even had the full information. "Hm. Through the ground? Maybe there is something under the ground. Fungus for fungus, happens sometimes..."

DM62: "You are welcome to attempt to cure the woods, if you like. The trolls and orcs will not harass you--they have proven quite peaceful with any of my allies. But this will not make me turn on those who have helped me for decades, without asking for anything in return."

Vel looks to her mistress. Thrae was already dead. She couldn't be afflicted. And with her magic she could probably clear cut through any thorn or threat. Whatever was going on was in or under the tree. "Vel wouldn't dream otherwise. Vel figures Huntress will make her own decisions either way. But if Rage is gone, would Huntress ignore humans if they used trees to hide from orcs?"

Zyanya: "For now. Mark my words. The dues will come in. Nothing in this world comes for free."

Raz looked to the others a long moment, this task was a very dangerous one and likely some of them might not be coming back. He then looked to see how the huntress would respond to Vel's question.

DM62: The Huntress sighs. "You're asking me to shield people that recklessly cut down our trees. But yes... if you can cure the Blood Woods, I will happily offer sanctuary to the people of Axetan. So long as they can promise not to harm a single tree while they are in my domain."

Thrae narrowed her eyes again. She could just feel that she was going to have to do most of the work this time. For a being that wouldn't even provide them direct help if they needed it. Still, ti was something at least.

Vel shrugs, "IF they do then Vel doesn't care what happens to them anyways. Vel somehow doubts any will survive to make good on the offer. Vel thinks they are too human to survive. But we have nothing to lose from trying, right Mistress?" Oh yeah, Thrae wasn't pleased. Well if she wanted to be the big girl now she'd have to learn to take charge, otherwise Vel was going to keep doing it for her. She had her little rebellion with the vampirism but if she didn't want to follow through then Vel was going to make her learn by example.

Raz looked at the others once more. "Well shall we make an attempt or head on back to Axetan empty handed?"

Vel: “Vel thinks we lose little from an attempt and gain much. Like not a future horrible fungus infesting virus that devours everyone’s eyes."

Raz: "That is disturbingly specific." Raz shook his head a moment.

Vel: “Vel has seen some things."

Raz: "Seems so little one."

Zyanya: The shiriti, quite frustrated, let out an audible huff as she retrieved her spears from the ground. This huntress was far too short sighted for her own good. Had she not thought the orcs would attempt to build up all that good will, simply to collect on it later on? That their benevolence and friendship came at a hidden cost? Hell, the humans barely knew she existed, only living off rumors and hearsay. Yet somehow the orcs knew about her and went out of their way for decades to butter her up and provide her aid int he form of bodies and druids of all things. This couldn't be just random chance. Someone was feeding the orcs information.

DM62: A husky, naked, fat dwarven male emerges from the woods, standing with his hands on his hips. His beard and body hair are wild and unkempt, and he nods. "If yer lookin' tae see tha Blood Woods, I ken ta'e ye thar." He gives the group a big grin, his eyes wandering over Zyanya and Magnhilda lustfully.

Vel looks over and blinks slowly. "...Kay, lead way please."

Raz nods as he steps forward to follow after the dwarf. "Alright, lead the way." He took up position infront of their little band, if any one should get infected, it would be best if it was him. There was much more of him to effect then the others.

DM62: The Huntress shakes her head. "That is Torvald. His manner is foul, and his stench is fouler. A mud-bather. But few know the woods better than he." She pauses, then mutters, "Of course, if you could get him to start wearing a fig leaf or something, I'd be quite grateful." The dwarf laughs, gesturing. "Come on, follow me!"

DM62: He starts off to the north into the woods, his hairy ass guiding the party in the moonlight.

Vel: “...Mistress Friend Raz, you don't go in front. Mistress goes in front.," says Vel firmly, "Mistress is strongest and best and won't get infected. So get back here before Vel has to eat you." She starts following the naked dwarf.

Zyanya: "One would figure a powerful being of nature wouldn't be bothered by someone in their natural form." The shiriti shurgged as she followed their new companion, well aware she was a target of desire even if she didn't plan on it. Guess that was the benefit of being one of the few bipedal females in the party. Or was it curse?

Raz set off after him, his eyes looking out for any sign of danger. "There is no guarantee she wont be immune. Best I stay in the front, I have more mass for it to work through." He took up a position in the front any way.

Thrae was a bit thrown off by the sudden arrival of the dwarf, and was rather confused about the guy in general. Still though, she followed the dwarf. Like Vel said she was probably the least likely to get affected by whatever was likely going to happen. Though she deliberately tried to avoid looking at the dwarfs ass. "No, Vel has a point. I am undead, and well I don't have much training in combat, I have nearly as much mass as you do. Even if my human half is rather lean." She gestured to her large spider half, covered in armour as it was it was likely no thorn would be able to get through it.

Vel mentally cursed. She was purposefully trying to AVOID mentioning Thrae's vampirism amidst al the naturey people in case they decided to take offense to that. Well if it went bad it was Thrae's own fault she guessed.

Raz: "Still, best to let a warrior take the lead. I doubt you will manage to do many spells when a feral bear or large cat jumps at us again."

DM62: "Aye, an' it IS a lov'ly human half," snarks the dwarf as he deftly guides the group through the woods. He stops as he nears a small clearing. "Hrok. You here?" "Aye," comes a grumbling voice from behind a tree. A satyr steps out, spear in his hand. "And you think they can be trusted?" The dwarf pauses, stroking his unkempt beard. "Yup. They don't like Malgra. I think they'll try to help us." The satyr looks at the party appraisingly. "Fair enough. You lot aren't friends of Malgra, I take it?"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 10 December (part three in the woods: a plan, arriving near the Blood Woods)

Spoiler

Raz: "Not really no, especially with her trying to conquer the world. Such plans usually do not inspire friends."

Thrae: Ohh, this could be potentially interesting. Thrae looked at the Satyr and asked. "Indeed. I would take it you two aren't either?"

Vel: “Nope."

DM62: The satyr gives a nod. "Alright, then. The Huntress is wonderful, and we love her like a mother. But she's a woodland spirit, pure of intention. Quick to trust, slow to doubt. Terrible, once her wrath is aroused. Still, we've been suspicious of some of the... activities of those trolls and orcs, of late."

Raz: "Oh? Think they may be the ones behind this rage plague effecting the woods?"

DM62: "I doubt that. The Blood Woods are... a hundred years old. From what I heard tell, Malgroth weren't even born yet, let alone plannin' his big massive crusade." The satyr shakes his head. "But something ain't right. They're hiding something. There's... there's subtle signs of harvesting. Harvesting semi-infested plants. Small branches intentionally broken off, here and there. Trimmings. Nothing substantial, and nothing cut with a blade. Nothing that couldn't be explained by woodland creatures. Still, we're suspicious. And if you could find some kind of proof that they're deceiving us, well... that would pretty much clinch things. I can't speak for the Huntress, but... well, this would be the best way to change her mind."

Thrae: "Hmm, they are probably sending it back to help empower berserkers or the like." Thrae thought as she rested her chin in her hand. "Though I see no reason to not look into this. It would be much easier then attempting to purge the whole corruption by ourselves." She looked at Vel, they did also so happen to have a stealth expert with them at the moment.

Raz gave a small nod at that bit of information. "Certainly worth a look. Guess we should look where no one but Malgra's hunters have ventured. Would be a good place to start our search, is there a place in these Blood Woods where only they go?"

Vel: “Vel thinks Mistress is right as usual. But is not easy to hide out here, Mistress big, Raz big. Zyanya human. Vel, well, Vel wrong colors. Need know where to look... Where Trolls camp?"

Zyanya: "Fucking knew it. Damn greenskins working right under her nose and she was unable to notice. Given what you said about her, it doesn’t surprise me. But at least now we have a serious lead and a reason why they were so interested in this region."

DM62: Arturus nods. "I can help guide the group through the woodlands, but... it'll be difficult, sneaking past them trolls." The Satyr nods, crouching to draw a crude map of the woods in the dirt. "Here's us. Here's their three main posts. 'Reinforcements' arrive at the southwestern camp, here. That'd be the best place to check. Generally they watch towards the north-east, towards the Blood Grove, for the feral creatures. Regular patrols. I'd check their supplies, but... but that sounds rather obvious. And we can't go with you--if the Huntress knew we were doing this, I doubt she'd approve." The dwarf chuckles. "So we lie!" The satyr shakes his head. "An omission. Not a lie."

Thrae looked at the map, and tried to consider how to get past the trolls. They had druids with them apparently so her magic would potentially be countered. That meant that they'd most likely have to rely on Vel sneaking in. "This is where I wished I had some illusion magic as well. Maybe we could...try to pull some feral creatures close to the camp and distract them well Vel sneaks in and checks there supplies?"

Raz: "I can also sneak in with her. I have some training as a scout, plus I am just as apt on four feet then two, so I am not as large when standing up right. Plus a bit of mud can help us both blend in better. AS long as there is darkness with us."

Thrae: "You'd still be rather...large and heavy Raz." Thrae said, rather doubting the dragonman's belief in his own skills on this one. "Anyways, you should probably come with us just because we might end up having to fight a feral or two before we can draw enough to make the potential plan work."

Vel: “Vel points out you on fours is still bigger than Vel on fours. Also Vel doesn't have big wings and tails to crash into trees.," says Vel wryly, "And has eyes in the back of her... Butt. Vel will do her best for mistress. Hopefully troll locks aren't too good cus Vel only has gotten two days to practice..."

Zyanya: "Lands like this are my home. i grew up in a jungle for the majority of my life and learned to traverse and survive it. How much different could a forest be? Sneaking past a few trolls shouldn't be too difficult."

Raz gave a small shrug. "Alright, though any fight we have with any ferals will risk us getting infected. And I am still not convinced you are immune, we are still unsure whether it is a natural occurrence, or a magical one."

DM62: The dwarf chuckles. "We're in the woods, lass. No need for locks out here." The satyr raises an eyebrow. "I am... unfamiliar with these... locks you speak of. But if you wish to lure ferals, blood is the key. They are drawn to freshly-spilled blood."

Vel: “Locks good if you don’t want prying forest dwellers in your secret stolen rage fungus.," shrugs Vel, "But Vel supposes she'll improvise if she gets in trouble. But Vel needs to bring back proof... Just bringing plants proves nothing, Vel could get them anywhere..."

Raz: "Well then blood won’t be too hard to use as a lure. Should be quite easy actually. Guess I can let out a few drops when we near the camp."

Vel: “No. Bad Raz.," growls Vel walking over and swatting his thigh, "Then they follow you!"

DM62: The dwarf grins. "True. But i' ye really wan' proof..." he slams his fist into an open palm, demonstratively. "Never hurts to beat a confession outta 'dem!" He pauses. "Or... it hurts 'dem. But not you. Well... jes' tha knucks. A bit." He shakes his head. "Ne'ermin.'"

Vel: “Vel too little to do so, and confessions are problems under torture. Vel gets confession, brings beaten person in front of huntress, then he lies and says we just hit him and make him tell lies. Then we get in trouble."

Raz: "That is sort of the point. Plus once they see the trolls, they will find more tempting targets then me. Plus I can likely out run any but a horse on all fours. That isn't something to worry about right? Feral horses?"

DM62: Satyr shakes his head. "Not a lot of wild horses in these woods. Wolves, bears, wildcats, deer, elk..." he looks at the dwarf with a smirk. "Pigs." The dwarf bristles, "Boars, lad. Boars."

Vel: “They crazy, and seek blood. They follow you and then you run through and they attack everyone.," grumbles Vel, "And still after you. Bear looked big and fast... Other animals probably fast too. Plus maneuvering..." She looks between the two then looks at the dwarf. "You turn into... Boar thing?"

DM62: The satyr's smirk grows a little. "You mean more than he is already? Yes." The dwarf glares at the satyr.

Vel: “Vel wouldn’t know, she's never been in a... Forest, before. Your fungus is weird." She shrugs, "But if we are beating confessions, Mistress can probably just use magic on not caster to make him say everything."

Raz shook his head at a horde of feral bunnies attacking a troll and shook his head. "Not to worry Vel, I know a trick or too to stop bleeding. I never said it would be a gushing wound. A little pin prick will do just fine. A little fresh scent that can easily be washed off, not to mention a pin prick one bleeds a very short while."

Vel rolls her eyes. "If Raz says so. Vel just is not standing anywhere near Raz when he does so."

Thrae: "It is true, I probably could. The only problem would be if their casters have put protection onto there fellows. It would be a problem if my magic didn't work again, as we'd be figured out near instantly."

DM62: The dwarf frowns. "I'm... I'm not sure if you want to use the ferals as anything but a last resort. If the Huntress finds that you unleashed ferals outside of the containment area... this plan could backfire, lads."

Raz: "I figured you would need time to get into position before we summoned up some hungry critters."

Vel: “Vel is in support of any plan that does not use complete wildcards."

Raz: "Was Thrae's idea. Mine is to simply check out the very heart of the Blood Wood, but her's is likely the less dangerous of the two.

Vel: “Arcturus knows magic too. Arcturus can strip magic defenses?"

DM62: The Satyr raises an eyebrow. "Using the ferals was my idea... and you're right Torvald. Probably a bad idea."

Thrae: "Hmmm." Thrae said, letting it pass about the ferals. "Then we'd need to figure out a different way to distract them, unless we want to send people in without doing anything to make it easier on them."

DM62: "No," replies the wood elf. "I can't strip magic defenses. Primarily just force magic. I can help get us close to the quietly, but beyond that I'm not sure how I can help in this case."

Vel shrugs, "then no confessions. Vel just have to look around for documents... Course, Vel cannot read so she probably will bring ALL the skins... Unless Trolls dumb enough to mark whatever they smuggling with their symbols... but no that not work cus coulda got those anywhere mmf..."

Vel: “so yes, Vel will bring all the things with letters on them."

Raz: "Will still need to distract or draw their attention away from where Vel enters their camp. Otherwise she will find herself in some very hot water. Or we can always try the heart of the infected woods."

Vel: “Vel chose that out of desperation and a desire to gain further glory for mistress. But stopping orcs furthers the primary goal much more. So Vel rather solve this. She jsut may not be best for the job. But she can try?"

DM62: "Yeah... Torvald tried that when he was younger, still wearing clothes." The satyr smirks again at the dwarf, who turns bright red. "Aye. I got about a hundred yards from the wall of vines. Heard voices. Everything red. I... I fled. If you go there, lass... if you manage to reach that wall of dripping red thorns... I doubt you'll come out alive. It's suicide, lass."

Vel: “Vel figures Mistress can handle it. But Vel figures this is the safer route. So Vel will sneak in and do her best. And if she fails, well... Mistress can get a new slave easy now. So, shall we?"

Raz frowned deeply and shook his head. "Still need a way to distracted the guards. I doubt the Huntress will take kindly to us starting an altercation."

Vel: “Best way to do that is the old story of don't get noticed. IT's night time."

DM62: Arturus smirks. "Well, maybe Thrae could start an orgy, instead."

Raz: "That could work. How close would you need to be for it to effect them?"

DM62: The dwarf grins. "I'll lead ye close to their camp. Then I'll wait for ye to return with the proof. Or... well, I'll jes' wait."

Thrae: "I could, but the problem would be if the druids notice and do something about it. Also not sure if they have any females in there group, and my spells can only go so far in breaking down gender preferences."

Vel shrugs and prepares to get moving, "Vel rather not have to maneuver through orgies. It's not like she never had to sneak around guards before...," she grumbles

Raz: "Distracted guards are easier to sneak past. "Well it is certainly worth a shot, much better the luring ferals to the camp."

Thrae: "The idea does have some merit though." Thrae looked at the dwarf and satyr. "You would know better then I what the trolls group composition is. If its all boys then Zyanya and myself might have to be said distraction..."

Vel: “No, better they never know we there."

DM62: The dwarf starts off again in the moonlight, his hairy, sweaty ass glistening the way. "There's a few females and a few males. All depends which ones are in camp."

Raz: "The little one is right, if they get lustful and they only have you two, they may think you are responsable for it."

Zyanya: "Then could be me and one of the men as volunteers." Zyanya says with a cheeky smirk. She wasn't sure how serious this idea was, but it was interesting to see where it went

Vel rolls her eyes. "Vel thinks human should be satisfied with all the other cocks that are pointed her way all the time. She wishes to do thsi swiftly. Vel hopes she can do this quietly..." She lifts the goggles up, not needing them in the darkness., "Vel probably sees better in the dark than them anyways..."

Zyanya: "I forgot you underground folks have a sense of humor about as lively as a dead cat. Would explain a great deal actualy."

Vel: “Zyanya has not seen dark elf humor. I don;t think she;s appreciate the nuance.," smirks Vel.

DM62: It's a few more hours journey to the dwarf's stopping point, and it's midnight when he finally gestures. "About a mile north of here, lads. Just... don't veer to the west at all. Otherwise you risk missing their camp, and stumbling into the Blood Woods." As it is, all of the trees are in autumn colors in this portion of the woods. The dwarf looks positively unwell, and he leans against one of the autumn trees a bit unsteadily.

Zyanya: "I'll believe it when I see it fuzzy."

Raz frowns as he looks at the out of season coloured trees, the sight unnerving somehow. "Well I will stay here and keep an eye out for any unruly patrols or critters."

Vel nods. "Thank you. Vel get going." She looks to Zyanya with a shrug, "Vel is no comedian but if Mistress purchases another slave and Vel the right tools she can demonstrate. She recalls this one human general long ago. The comedians heated the armor over her arms and legs so it fuzed with her legs and stuck little wheels instead of hands and legs and used her as a table. Much laughter.," nods Vel serenely, before dropping to all fours and moves into the darkness, heading north.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twelfth Session, 10 December (part four in the woods: pulling off a theft)

Spoiler

Thrae: "Are you okay?" Thrae asks, seeing the dwarf almost falling over, and ignoring the conversation going on between Zyanya and Vel.

Zyanya: Guh. Zyanya had to remember never to ask them to tell any sort of joke ever. Seemed like their sense of humor was more along the lines of drowning animals for kicks rather than actual comedy. Sadism for the sake of sadism. "Forgive me, sir dwarf, you don't seem well." She spoke just after Thrae, having just been too distracted by the furball.

DM62: Arturus shakes his head. "Under elf humor sounds about as effective as orc singing. Probably as tasteful, too." The dwarf shakes his head. "Don't like being near them Blood Woods, lass. Leave me be. I'll be fine." He pats the drider, looking worse for wear, but gritting his teeth and venturing a very fake-looking smile.

Raz drew his blade and sat down. His other hand digging out a whetstone as he began to sharpen his blade. Though his eyes where on the woods surrounding them while his hands moved deftly and an ease he could likely do in his sleep.

Thrae: "If you say so," Thrae said in response to the dwarf. "Now though, we should get closer so that I can potentially do my spell work, though hopefully it won't be close enough to potentially get spotted."

Raz nods and stands up, though he keeps his blade at the ready even if he put the sharpening stone away. "Alright."

DM62: "Hold on, lad." The dwarf moves forward, scooping up some mud and rubbing it along the sides of the dragonkin's blade. "Here. Moonlight might gleam off a shiny blade. Not a muddy one. Oil it later." Arturus smirks a little at this, sneaking forward along in the woods.

Vel was sitting ahead in the darkness waiting for the others to get moving before she got too far ahead, before moving quietly through the darkness once more.

Raz blade wasn't all that shiny, having been through quite a fair bit of battle in the past, though the mud did help obscure what did remain. He gave the elf a small shrug.

Zyanya: For what it was worth, the shiriti was quite good at blending in with her surroundings. Hunting and skulking in a jungle was no different then a forest. Plenty of things to step on in both places.

Zyanya: She too would move up with the group

DM62: There's a male troll standing watch in the moonlight, scanning the northwest. Nearby is a pair of hammocks, hanging between trees. They're both occupied, with a female orc and a female troll. Everyone in wearing leather armor. The awake troll has a set of javelins strapped to his back, and another in hand.

Vel looks over, before skirting around the other side of their view. They'd be listening for rampaging beasts, not so much them. Least not yet anyways...

Raz crouched low with his blade behind himself. Waiting for Thrae to work her magic.

DM62: There's also a small tree stump with a few supplies, and they've got a bag suspended between a distant pair of trees, by ropes hung through branches and tied to other trees.

Vel raised an eyebrow, looking over at the bag. That might be where they kept the harvests. Course that didn't do her much good, the bag could come from anywhere... There had to be something that tied it to the greenskins. So she sniffed the air quietly, trying to scent for fresh ink instead. They had to be sending this stuff to somewhere to be inventoried...

DM62: There's no ink in the bag that Vel can detact... but there's a scent of ink coming from the sleeping female orc's clothing. Under her, unfortunately.

Vel slips over, grimacing a bit. Under her huh... And in her clothes... Well, killing her quietly was definetly an option but she didn't want to risk the Huntresses ire but murdering one of her guests, even it was for proof. After all, it might not be the thing she's looking for. Hmm... She was in a hammock, so she stayed low and tried to pinpoint exactly where in her clothing this thing was located. This would be delicate work.

Thrae: 'One male to two females, well this might work.' Thrae thought to herself, none of them looked like mages either. And people sleeping usually were easier to influence then others. Slightly raising her staff she decided to try to see if she could get into the female orc and troll's minds. Make them, horny, they'd just think they had a wet dream that wouldn't give them relief. It'd hopefully make them not notice if Vel had to pinch something off them either, and when they woke up, they'd probably jump the male troll and make getting out easy enough.

DM62: Thrae's magic seems to have the intended effect, and the troll and orc shift slightly in their hammocks. Still, the ink scent is on the underside of the orc, between her left hip and the hammock itself. Probably some cloth and/or leather between.

Vel: Mmmf. Slicing the hammock would be too loud. They were shifting now though, so maybe they'd roll over soon? She would wait for the time being. No point in rushing this. Ugh this was so much more tedious when you couldn't just murder everyone.

DM62: The female troll moans aloud for a moment, drawing the attention of the male, who turns to look. His brow furrows for a moment. Then he snorts, turning back to face the Blood Woods again.

Vel freezes at the sudden moaning, biting her lip. Damn. That was way too close. Maybe she'd better hurry after all... Hm. Well her venom was supposedly a paralytic and they were all horny. Thrae must have used the magic after all. Hm. Hopefully it'd confuse the senses long enough for her venom to work? Pain and pleasure she supposed... She tried to lift her snake head up to nip the orc and try to inject her venom, hopefully enough to lock her up and give her time to root for the pouch. It was a huge risk but...

DM62: The orc freezes up, laying rather still, but still breathing for the moment. Vel's pretty sure it would be rather hard to disturb the orc, regardless. Arturus frowns, then picks up a rock, silently tossing it in the direction of the North Woods. There's a small rustling as the rock lands, and the male troll moves to the northwest just a little to investigate.

Vel pauses as the troll suddenly moves, grimacing before hurrying and trying to roll the orc over with her little muscles with a grunt, or at least shift her enough she could steal the bag.

DM62: The ink-scent is coming from something hidden inside her leather armor, possibly in a small concealed compartment.

Vel: Crap... Well she tried to roll her over so she could reach into her armor. She had to move her either way.

DM62: Vel finds a small cloth pouch sewn into the inner part of the back of her leather vest. There looks to be a folded bit of paper inside.

Vel tries to take the weird thing out. With no trees underground, all writing was done on flesh instead. she didn't know from where but probably slaves. Seemed like a likely answer. Either way she took it and tried to sneak back to the others. Bleh. She definetly preferred the killing then taking the stuff. So much easier. As it were she felt like she didn't do too much. Oh well, job was done. Probably. She took it over to Thrae and offered it up to her.

DM62: Vel's able to pull out a small slip of paper, just in time to see the male troll walking back her way, toward the pair of hammocks.

Vel silently cursed and dropped low, before trying to slip up against the tree and creep around it out of direct line of sight, tail keeping low to the ground and peeking quietly around to keep an eye on the situation. Just a snake...

DM62: The troll spots the snake, snorting. Then he moves to look at the sleeping (and clearly aroused) female troll, leaning down to sniff at her. He gives a lewd smile, shaking his head and chuckling, then moves back to his post, watching the woods again.

Vel smirks and waits a moment before sneaking her way for the bushes, keeping the tree between her and the troll, before looping her way around to come back to her mistress to hand her note in. Too close. Good thing he didn't hate snakes.

Thrae grinned a bit as her magic worked perfectly, and started to slip away from the camp a bit. Not so far that Vel wouldn't be able to find them easily, but enough to make sure her large size was not at risk of being spotted. Once the chimera came back though, the girl wouldn't be able to avoid getting petted a bit. It wasn't like they had much of a secret to keep these days with the group.

Vel handed the paper up, leaning into the pettings. Slave getting pets didn't change much, she did her task. With a lot of help, but it was done.

DM62: The note reads: "Grand Forge is taken. Moving to Axetan soon. Be careful... but continue sample harvest at highest possible rate while avoiding discovery. Ensure infiltrators in Axetan to derail defenses. -C.V."

Vel sat silently, waiting to see if she was to be sent back in.

DM62: Arturus frowns. "Well? The note incriminating enough? Or do we need more evidence?"

Zyanya: "Well, we know that the enemy plans on leaking into Axetan's defense and breaking them down. We might need to send word back to them about it and fast. Bu yes, this could be potentially helpful. it along with some of the debris and branches they've been picking up. Anything that could help."

DM62: "Vel, if that bag drops, can you catch it quietly?"

Vel shrugs. "Can try."

DM62: Arturus nods. "Well, I'm a terrible shot, for an elf. But that means I'm probably the best archer here." He smirks, producing his bow. At this point Magnhilda places a hand on his chest. "I don't think so, knife-ear." She pulls her bow and a pair of arrows, waiting for Vel to get into position. Arturus raises an eyebrow, then shrugs, letting her take the shots.

Vel shrugs and sneaks back over beneath the bag and waits quietly, staring up at the bag while her tail watches her surroundings.

DM62: Magnhilda places both arrows on the string at the same time. Arturus mutters, "Show-off." The human huntress chuckles, taking a moment to aim, then letting the arrows fly, sending the light-yet-bulky bag falling into Vel's arms silently.

Vel catches the bag quickly, before trying to carefully make her way back with it, scared of getting infected. She wasn’t native to forests, who knows what it might do to her...

DM62: The troll turns at the sound of the bag landing in Vel's arms, then gives a shout of alarm. The female troll falls out of her hammock, reaching for her weapon, but somewhat slow to rise.

Vel grunts and immediately bolts. Fighting here was suicide, they’d bring the beasts down on top of them all.

Thrae: "Dammit" Thrae mutters to herself at the trolls sense of alarm. She considered hitting him with more magic too but that would make their actions here painfully obvious. So instead she hoped that Vel would be able to lose the troll.

DM62: Vel is able to elude the troll quite handily, and the party is soon reunited, on their way back to the Huntress. But the rest is a tale for another evening.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 14 December (part one in town: looking for saboteurs, found by assassins, dwarven treachery, building new defenses)

Spoiler

DM62: From last session... Hel had awoken from a three-way post-smuttage cuddle session to discover that saboteurs had attacked and destroyed part of the battlements he'd helped the town to erect. Sir Malius, Luggor, and the smuggler agreed with the dwarf prince that finding these saboteurs was the first priority... though there was not much information to go on, besides the fact that the saboteurs were shorter than most humans.

Hel did his best however, seeking his foes through house to house, looking for any sign of the saboteurs, or any strangeness at all. If they were able to destroy the walls that effectively already, they may have left other nastier surprises laying around.

DM62: Jenna accompanies Hel on his search, and they go through several homes before an urgent voice whispers, from a slightly ajar door. "Psst! Your Highness. I think I have some information for you!"

Hel: The dwarf halts near the door, giving a look into it to try and see inside. His shield and hammer are in hand, and he's clearly ready for anything now. "What is it?" he growls, surly from the bad news and his interrupted slumber.

DM62: The door swings open suddenly, revealing a dark room, and Hel is shoved from behind into the room, where he finds himself surrounded by multiple assailants. Jenna is given a sharp blow to the back of the head, and she falls unconscious, being stepped over by a hooded figure, who says urgently, "Kill the imposter!" People are attacking Hel with axes and daggers.

Hel is PISSED. "I do NOT NEED THIS RIGHT NOW!" the dwarf howls, spinning hammer to his hand and swinging right into the first assailant. "By my father Magni if you're connected to this sabotage I will rebuild those fortifications with your own fell hides!!!"

DM62: The assailant goes down, his chest caved in by Hel's hammer swing. Another blade is deflected by his shield, and the sapper who struck Jenna moves in, but the truncheon misses Hel's head, glancing harmlessly off one of his armor plates. A fourth figure joins the melee, and Hel sees a flash of green skin as the small figure attempts to stab him with a pair of daggers.

Hel: At this point, Hel's rage goes into overdrive. Ignoring the massive bludgeon in his hand, he rears his fist back, swinging his shield to knock into the other assailants to knock them away, before his fist crackles in energy, finally using the added gifts Ashur gave him. With a bellowing battlecry in dwarfish his first launches forward, swinging at the obvious goblin, and no doubt the energy spike may brighten the place up a little as well.

DM62: The goblin is quick, raising both daggers in an attempt to stop the blow. Unfortunately for the goblin, she had never encountered a magically-enhanced prosthetic limb before, and there's a cracking sound like thunder as the daggers shatter, along with the goblin's face. She's propelled backwards at very high speed, sending her through one of the corners of the wooden hut. This, of course, is more damage than the hut can take, and with the wood squealing, the shoddily-build and old structure collapses on top of Hel and his assailants. Hel is, however, mostly undamaged and quite conscious, with his body only half-buried in rubble. Village folk are running over with axes to assist, led by Luggor and Sir Malius.

Hel himself is surprised as the house begins to fall atop them, and he is quick to move himself and his shield over the unconscious Jenna, blocking the worse of the rubble from smacking them apart. As the rubble is cleared, he pushes the junk off, growing and holding his hammer tighter as he glares at the remaining assailants, waiting.

DM62: Most of the remainder seem to have been knocked out by the falling debris. There is, however, a rather awake-looking female dwarf pinned under a large wooden beam, looking up at Hel with what looks to be a dawning realization. "Hm. Well." She grunts, unable to free herself. "This is awkward."

Hel grunts a bit, as his nagging suspicions were starting to get confirmed. "You lot got duped, didn't ye?" he grunts, taking a second to assist the dwarven woman out of the rubble. "I hold nothing against ya, this is a bit far from where I'm supposed to be."

DM62: "Possibly. Can you describe the commander of your royal escort to Ritzerite, your Highness?" The dwarven woman is frowning, watching Hel intently.

Hel gives a moment to remember, stuff had been a bit hectic. "One of the Mordin lasses, didn't really know her as well but she always bantered on about current mining operations, and Ramstrife Stonemane primarily. I left Stonemane in charge of the detachment before I left on this little sortie." He gives a bit of a wry grin. "Just following my father's wishes to the letter, Miss."

DM62: "Well that's... unexpected." She shakes her head. "You'll be interested to know that you seem to have commissioned your own assassination." She's got a rueful look about her as she reaches into a pouch, producing a small scroll with two seals: Ironbreaker and Magmahammer.

Hel glowers a bit at the seal. "Ironbreakers..." he growls. "When I went to report to Grand Forge the Orcs had set themselves upon it and had most of it under control. Apparently the Ironbreakers helped somehow, if I heard right." He assists the dwarf up, glancing at the two potential allies he had crushed in various ways, while assisting the rest from the rubble as he spoke. "Are you aware of what those walls you broke apart are in preparation for?"

DM62: The other two dwarves are alive but unconscious, not looking to be much help in a fight in the near future. She nods. "Aye, your Highness. We were sent with a goblin scout on a paired mission. Our first priority was to ensure that Axetan fell to Malgra. Our secondary objective was to kill the impostor of the former Prince, Helvoque Magmahammer. But you're... a castle-trained fighter, and definitely a Magmahammer. Prince Ironbreaker must be employing his own impostor. Do you... do you have any idea what you've supposedly said and done in Grand Forge?"

Hel sighs, shaking his head. "If there's a pretender to the throne of me, instead of my father still, I can only imagine what is happening," he groans. "I pray that the people can find wisdom to still resist to some degree until such time as I can return and do the job properly." He gently lifts up Jenna to assist moving her to medical aid. "Right now, though, my priorities are making sure Malgra doesn't get the resources to continue."

DM62: She nods. "Well... essentially you publicly denounced your own clan, admitting to vast corruption and assisting the elves in their goals of world conquest. Then you handed rulership of Grand Forge over to the Ironbreakers, retiring from public life. Commissioning the assassination of your impostor was your last official act. Ironbreaker is coronated king in a few weeks. They still want to find your father and take his hammer, to present to the new king." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "But I was commissioned to kill your impostor. I suppose I should keep the terms of the contract. If I accompany you, I'm bound to encounter your duplicate eventually, yes?"

Hel chuckles darkly. "Oh, that's one way to put it. I may have lost my family shield when talking with the Under Elves, but I doubt any will argue when I do finally get back if that's how the one still around Grand Forge is acting..." He shook his head slightly at just how things were deteriorating at home. He had as long as it took for his father to be found in order to end this war, it seemed. Great. That was a bit of a time crunch."

DM62: The dwarf female nods, giving a formal-if-pained bow to the prince. "Honored to serve you, my Prince. I am Selas Bronzebeater. I'm a... freelance enforcer. I don't generally operate in noble circles." She pauses, looking at the nearly-decapitated goblin corpse. "I'm just happy I was behind you."

Hel: The dwarf chuckles, shaking his head a little. "Nice to meet a fellow kinsmen at least, no matter the level of duty. You can thank Malgra again for that as well. Honor and rage does little when one's apparently trained in a near-dead fighting style..."

DM62: "Yeah... we fought off the greenskins for four days at Grand Forge. Some of them, though... they were impossibly good with spear-fighting. Mean like an orc, but quick like an elf. I don't think we ever beat any of those ones. It was so bad people started calling them the 'Deathless.'"

Hel: "It's apparently something some of the elves taught orc mercenaries back when they were having some of the wars of succession," the dwarf explained. "The half-elf I was traveling with could probably explain it better but he's trying to see if he can find more allies when Malgra's fleet gets here..." He sighs. "To be honest, walls alone ain't going to win this."

DM62: "Perhaps not. But information might." The dwarf looks out to the ocean. "Only half of the attacking force will be coming by sea. They're supposed to arrive fairly soon... about a thousand troops. But there are also five-hundred troops quietly approaching from the East, who are bringing materials to cross the river. And there are five-hundred who'll be arriving by canoe, from up-river." She shakes her head. "While the navy-born forces distract you at sea, the other thousand hit you from behind and from the side. Then while you turn to defend yourselves, the landing force hits hard."

Hel growls angrily. "Perhaps it is a good thing you attacked... It'll make repositioning some of the defenses easier... Dammit, it's going to be an all-out front. I guess on the bright side those on canoe or crossing the river won't be using siege gear unless they build it from the woods arriving, but guarding three-quarters of town by itself is going to hurt."

DM62: Sir Malius speaks up. "Perhaps there IS something to what that chimera said. They plan to encircle us. Maybe we move to the West of the river, keep a small force in town to deceive them. Then when they move in to surround us, we hit them from the flank. On the other hand, that'd be taking three-hundred against two-thousand, on the offensive. Could be problematic."

Hel nods slowly. "We need to bottleneck them, force them down one front. Perhaps the idea of crossing the river has merit though. We can set up a short ways away from the western banks of the river. We don't have many bows, but those we have should help deterring them doing a second crossing, as those crossing the eastern river will probably use what preparations they have on that. In addition, that'll blunt half the northern assault coming down the river, if they think we're staying in the town. We just have to worry about enemies arriving from sea behind us once they realize what's going on..."

DM62: Sir Malius nods. "We need to get them to commit to attacking us. Find a way to use the geography of the river to block off one front." Jenna is starting to wake up. "What... the fuck... Hel..." she mumbles, cradling the back of her head. "Sorry," replies Selis, helping the gnome to her feet. "We, uh... kinda got deceived."

Hel nods. "Someone taking my name sent a bounty on my head. Assuming we may have them again at this rate." He grumbles. "Perhaps we could figure out a way to divert the river somehow? Make a second flow, helping to break off part of the assault..."

DM62: "Maybe." Sir Malius looks thoughtfully at the eastern river. "Or we grease up this side of the riverbank, keep them from coming over easily. Set up traps and whatnot. Let the flow of the river do some of our work for us."

Hel: "That plan would be the easier of the two, worth a shot," he states. "What sabotage we can do here will help cut them down somewhat before they realize what's up..."

DM62: Luggor grins. "We could drive some posts into the river bank, upstream. Big, thick wood, just under the surface of the water. Crush any canoes heading down to attack us. By time they're aware of the threat, it might be too late."

Hel grins back. "Excellent! First priority tomorrow, it'll sunder much of the northern attack and anyone that survives will be disorganized or tossed in the river!" He smacks his fist in his palm. "Between that, the minor reposition of our forces, and prepping the banks to keep them from crossing again, we just might stand a chance!"

DM62: Sir Malius shakes his head. "They could arrive tomorrow. We need to act tonight. Before they get a chance to surprise us. If our battlements are finished by morning, we'll let most of our forces rest tomorrow to compensate."

Hel sighs but nods. "...You're right. Awaken the men. We're going to have to work quickly, before these flanking crews reach us and catch us by surprise." He holsters his hammers, cracking his remaining knuckles. "Let's get to work."

DM62: Selis raises a hand. "Um... we DO have another asset. One that our late goblin friend was going to employ as a last little "fuck you" to the town."

Hel's attention turned to her. "What asset?" he asked, tilting his head. "And hopefully this wasn't one I just destroyed accidentally. Darn mage didn't tell me it'd destroy a house..."

DM62: She shakes her head. "More... UNDER the house. Not sure how she planned to spread it, but it was an option." She pulls up some planks and curtains, revealing a hidden entrance to an underground area. "A rather... highly flammable oil substance. Several barrels of it. The barricades were actually supposed to be just part of a much larger fire, but one of my compatriots was a bit clumsy."

Hel's eyes widen. And then his grin grows greater. "Oh, this will come in handy for sure," he states. "Originally I was thinking we could cut the bridge and be done with it once we all cross... However... The western bridge, soak it in this and then once we are ready with the rest of the defenses, start spreading this all over the inside ground of here. If we can light the bridge and let the fire carry..." he lets the thought hang a little, looking to the others around him to see if they followed the train of thought.

DM62: Sir Malius frowns. "Perhaps. Or maybe we use the oil to create a fire barrier on the eastern bank of the east river. Light them ablaze before they even cross. We could also burn just the southern end of town, spare some of our structures.

Hel nods slowly. "Works for me, less structural damage if the enemy is repelled." He glances around again, crossing his arms. "We settled then?"

DM62: Luggor nods, then moves to a large bell, ringing it loudly. "Wake up! Up, axe-men of Braxil! Up, to defend our homes from the heathen invader scum!"

Hel nods, moving to the lumber pile and preparing to assist, as he did before.

DM62: The construction is quick, but still takes up the entire evening. It's dawn, and the fields east of the eastern river are flooded with the thick, flammable oil. So, too, the southern half of the town, to be sacrificed as a nasty surprise for the greenskin invaders. As Hel nears completion of the inner battlements, north of the oiled area, the eastern sky is crimson, as the sun is beginning to rise. Jenna is practically asleep on her feet, and Luggor returns from the north with his men, giving the dwarf a weary grin.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 14 December (part two in town: the invasion)

Spoiler

Hel: The dwarf is a bit exhausted himself, but personally tugs the last timber for his part in place, returning the weary grins. "It is done. Your men deserve some rest before the inevitable happens," he explains simply as he nods. "Ensure that there's watches of the few that are well-rested though, so we know when they discover our preparations. I'll gladly assist them as I'm needed."

DM62: Luggor nods. "Those green fucks will never know what hit... them..." his voice drifts off softly, as his gaze is drawn to something from the south. A red arrow, flying upward and then back down in an arc, making a screaming noise as it flies. It appears to have been fired straight up from the ship that the two goblins are on.

Hel's face grows grim. "The fleet's arrived..." he growls. "...Damn."

DM62: Sir Malius shakes his head, grimy with mud from his work. "Right. Luggor, sound the alarm. Then we need to arm ourselves, and brace for the fight of our lives." The tall axeman nods, moving to the bell, ringing it. "Alright men! No rest! Those green bastards are here early! But we're ready!" Axemen begin arriving, each man carrying an axe, a spear, and a shield. A lookout cries, "My lord! Riders from the north! Looks like... a dozen! No... thirteen riders!"

Hel: "Are they Orcs?!?" the dwarf calls out, hissing and gripping his hammer a bit tighter as he readies to fight. "I'll check on them..." he mumbles, moving to where the lookout was.

DM62: "I don't think so." As the riders near, Hel can see that they're on horseback, and one of them carries the banner of Kalifer, with the banner of the Braxilian colony flying under it. Armored humans on horseback, riding fast.

Hel: "Human envoys?" the dwarf mumbles in surprise. He readies his shield and prepares to call to them once they grow close. "Hail, brothers of arms! What is your business?"

DM62: The rider raises his visor, revealing a human with a gray beard. "Twelve knights of Braxil, sent to aid you in defense of Axetan. We were training in the fields when one of your messengers found us. We are prepared to fight, on foot or from saddle." The thirteenth rider is a young human male, tall and well-muscled but probably all of eighteen. Still, he carries an axe, despite his lack of proper armor.

Hel: The dwarf nods, calling to Sir Malius to assist. "You're more than welcome, sir! We got enemies coming to cross the eastern river, and an assault by boats that we have set countermeasures for as well from the north! Beyond that, we're expecting most the assault landing by sea!"

DM62: Sir Malius nods. "Sir Keldor. Your arrival is timely, my old friend. But how many years since you fought a proper battle?" The older knight grunts. "More like decades, you young squirt. So... where do you want us, lad?" Sir Malius raises an eyebrow. "Master Dwarf, your thoughts? We could use them to bolster our ranks, or we could send them to harass one of the other areas. Maybe hold the eastern river."

Hel: The dwarf nods. "My suggestion is to harry the east. Unfortunately there is little we can do to assist if we're tied up, but if they can lessen the brunt of that force, it'll give us more time with the landing at the south and to finish any stragglers from the north."

DM62: Sir Malius is donning his chainmail. "Right. Luggor, have the men form up a shield wall, on our new battlements, north of the oiled dock area. Sir Keldor, you and your knights have the east. The fields beyond the river are soaked in oil, as is the southernmost edge of the town. When they've committed to those attacks, we light them up. We'll... eat them in small bites." The knight nods, signaling his men, and riding to enter the town via the western bridge before taking up positions at the eastern river. The orc ships are now visible... dozens upon dozens of ships. A voice booms from the ships. "Give us the town, Braxil scum! We'll take it regardless! If you want to live, best surrender or flee!"

Hel: At the voice, Hel jumps to the top of the battlement, nullmetal shield ahead of him as he calls forth challenge. "We know full well why you are here, greenskins! And you will not take an inch of Braxil soil unchallenged or bloodied! Bring all you wish, but by the hands of her people, Braxil will stay free!"

DM62: "Slaves to Kalifer or subjects of Malgra! That is your choice! You work for distant masters, and loyalty to them will send you to an early end!" The voice booms back. Sir Malius shakes his head. "If it's an early end you've got in mind, you green shit, best stop talking and keep coming! I'm worried we'll die of old age before the battle begins!"

Hel: "Unless you expect us to break with the sting of your words, you better back that up!" Hel catcalled. "Or are you expecting words to work as good as they did to the dwarves, where a pretender manages to make every clan angrier?!?"

DM62: "Fine! Die for your masters! Fire!" There's the sickening twang and thunk of catapults firing, and large rocks are flung into town, breaking through several houses, though mostly in the southern end of town. A few men are struck, but by and large there are few casualties as yet. The ships continue to move closer to shore.

Hel: The dwarf winces as the catapults render some hits, but he growls angrily, thumping his shield against hammer. "Tell your archers that if they see glowing on the ship, aim for them, they're probably mages," he responds simply, glaring the ships down. He keeps the beat going, a heavy and rhythmic clang as if mimicking a war drum.

DM62: Sir Malius nods, calling over Luggor to bring the message to the archers. The axe-men start banging their shield along with Hel. A few at first, then more, until all three-hundred are pounding out the same rhythm. The young male human from the knights runs over to Malius and Hel. "Riders approaching to the east! Many of them, on the backs of scorpion-men!" Sir Malius sighs. "Right, tell them to hold them back at the bridge for as long as possible without lighting the oil."

Hel nods in agreement. "Make them pay a horrible price for trying to get here, sword-brother!" His focus remains on the docks, ready to strike.

DM62: The boy looks at the dwarf, gulps, and nods, running back to the knights at the eastern riverbank. They dismount, setting spears against the charge of the scorpion-men. Bows twang behind Hel, and several mages from the ships seemed to be silenced. Still, a few ships seem to have magical shields, deflecting incoming missiles.

Hel: The dwarf growls a little. "If only we had time to set up a ballistae or a trebuchet..." he mumbles. He readies his shield, if needbe he'd bodyblow some of the spells with it to protect the wall until the landing begun.

DM62: The ships near the docks... then stop, as Jenna's underwater, undead warriors stop them with spears, poking large chunks into the approaching ships. There's some angry and panicked growls from those ships at the delay and damage, and the booming voice calls out, "ARCHERS!"
Arrows sing through the air at the group, as Luggor calls, "SHIELD WALL!" The axe-men are trained for this, and the shield wall catches many an arrow that would be deadly... but there are still some casualties, arrows slipping through the defenses.

Hel takes a moment to duck back under the wall, letting it take the brunt of the deadly rain and using his shield to deflect a few more of the arrows that had arched high. With a angry grow, he readies himself as the volley ends. Once he heard the enemy charge, it was time to do what he did best.

DM62: "Send in the diplomats!" The orc voice booms out, and there's the sound of catapults again. This time, it's not rocks, but heads that fall upon the shield wall. Some human, some elf... but mostly dwarves, their beards hacked short. "See the terrible price of disobedience! ARCHERS!" Another volley of arrows land. Meanwhile, a robed figure on one of the stopped ships raises his hands to the cloudy sky, and a lightning bolt blasts the water beneath the ships, seeming to destroy Jenna's hidden asset.

Hel uses the oppertunity of the heads to bolster his own advantage, to a degree. "Do you see that men!?! That is the fate of Kalifer and lands beyond if we do not hold firm! It will be the death of the men, woman, and children you know, or a fate far worse than it! Than for Kalifer, Braxil, and for the lands beyond, stand firm! The goddesses will give us this day, but only if we show our devotion through the strength of our steel and the determination of our hearts!"

DM62: There are cries of defiance from the men and women behind the shield wall as the dwarf calls out to rally them. They don't look scared, so much as angry. Then the ships reach the docks, and a line of troll warriors stream onto the land, massive spears held at the ready. They scream in rage and charge, as orcs file off the ship behind them. Sir Malius yells back to the archers, "Wait for my signal to light the blaze!"

Hel leaps to the front, standing at one of the openings and doing his best for his smaller stature to fill the hole. "Come on then! Come and see what the blood of the earth can give you!" His shield hammers again in time as he readies to strike now.

DM62: The trolls charge, shrugging off a volley of arrows from the archers and barging through the oil-soaked area of town, then running into the spears and shields of the defenders. There's a breach in the line near Hel, where a massive troll has knocked back three warriors, impaling a red-haired axe-woman with a growl. Thunder strikes overhead.

Hel doesn't take more than a second to charge towards the massive troll, anger in his eyes and a throaty roar leaving him as he leaps for it, hammer at ready and shield swinging to knock it down. His plan was going to be the same as the rest for this battle- incapacitate or kill. Especially if they are a massive threat.

DM62: The troll shouts as Hel moves in to attack, trying to pull the spear out of his first victim to use on the dwarf... but the impaled villager grabs the spear with a defiant cry, holding the troll's weapon fast, and Hel's hammer shatter's the troll's knee, sending him crumbling. There are more breaks in the lines around Hel, as the troll shock troops batter away at the shield wall.

Hel does his best to brunt some of the assault, using his smaller, more ignorable size to his advantage, tripping and hammering at trolls that got in his way and breaking them apart. All the while he watched the line, expecting them to know when to retreat to the wooden blockades that still stood if they took too many casualties, or for Sir Malius to call them retreat.

DM62: The trolls are mostly dead after a few more minutes of fighting, and the orcs have moved in behind them, readying their own shield wall while the trolls fight. Sir Malius grins. "Luggor! Shield wall, forward to the fire line!" Luggor nods, bellowing, "SHIELD WALL! FIVE PACES! ADVANCE!" The line moves forward to meet the threat. Meanwhile, the scorpion cavalry have met the twelve knights upon the bridge, and seem to be held in place, packed into the one area to wait for the bridge. The boy is running back and forth as fast as he can, dislodging any attempts for the orcs to bridge the river elsewhere.

Hel takes the briefest of moments to nod in approval for the knights at the bridge, before focusing on the shield wall. He locks shields with his fellows, readying to blunt the charge and unleash the first of many nasty surprises that were sure to happen with this battle to the enemy.

DM62: The orcs call out tauntingly to the human shield wall, baring their teeth and tusks with savage war cries. Then there's an order from behind them, and the line parts slightly. A robed figure moves forward, hurling a small ball of flame at the human shield wall.

Hel just grins, readying his shield, and gives them a tempting target as he stalks forward another five, acting as bait but keeping his foot out of the oil-slick zone. It was no force wall of a force magi, but maybe the nullmetal would help twice over against this foe.

DM62: The ball of flame strikes a part of the shield wall, exploding into a massive fire blast, knocking about twenty of the Braxilians out of the combat. The hooded figure grins, seeing the dwarf, and sending another ball of flame forward, near Hel. The orcs are still taunting. Sir Malius yells back to the archers, "Wait for my signal, men!"

Hel moves to block the incoming blast. "Come off it! That the best you can do, witch-spawn!?! My grandfather could burn more with forge coals!" he taunts visibly, hitting the rim of his shield again in the same rhythmic beat.

DM62: Hel moves to block the second ball of flame, which explodes outward from Hel's shield on impact. The initial blast sends several orcs flying... but the flames also ignite the oily earth. The orc taunts turn to screams of pain as their battle line is instantly immolated. Malius turns to the archers. "EASTERN RIVER BANK! FIRE! FIRE!!" The small band of archers turn, flaming arrows drawn back on their bows, sending the arrows soaring to the east... and the scorpion-man cavalry is lit ablaze, half of their number caught in the blaze, screaming. Those that have crossed the river already are swiftly cut down in their surprise, and the boy pulls a chain that sends the one bridge hurtling into the river, cutting off any way for them to cross the river.

Hel chuckles in feral delight as the enemy's weapon is put against them, with him barely avoiding the scalding flames as he moves to meet the wall. "Fall back and regroup! They'll surely try again when the plains are reduced to embers!" he responds to the army, eying the activity of the enemy vessals.

DM62: The shield wall is already reformed, pulling back a few feet. There's a goblin's voice from the ships. "Yo! Dogs! I heard you like fire!" A wind begins steadily blowing north, pushing the flames into the northern part of town, threatening to light the entire town ablaze. The knights remount their horses, riding to reunite with the townsfolk. Malius shakes his head. "We can't stay here! The whole town's going to burn! Pull back to the western bridge!"

Hel curses as the mages seem to pull a fast one on them. Hel keeps towards the back of the fray, ready to help as the warriors press backwards. "To the western bridge! Hurry!"

DM62: The axe-men run back to the bridge, crossing to the other side swiftly, with the knights covering their exit. There are jeers from the ships, and Sir Malius grits his teeth at many of the yelled insults, but fortunately the group is out of archer range at the moment. The occasional catapult shot comes through. Then there's a call from one of the axemen--three hundred greenskin troops are marching from the north on foot, on the western side of the river. Many of them look quite drenched, but all of them look angry enough to kill. Their savage cries of bloodlust are met by cheers from the ships, which have begun moving to the west of the town to disembark the rest of the army.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (prologue, Hel fights to defend Axetan against invasion)

Spoiler

DM62: When last we saw our dwarf princeling, he had helped the town of Axetan put up a spirited defense. But now there were three-hundred angry greenskin warriors advancing from the north, and another five-hundred forming up in the south for their advance. The force from the north is mostly three-hundred, and they've stopped for a moment. One of them barks out and order, and they seemed to have stopped to consume something.

Hel growls, looking at his less than 300, somewhat green soldiers. Admittedly, they had lasted good thus far- they had kept moral and stood great until they unleashed the last of the traps they had used. Unfortunately, the enemies had caused the fire plan to backfire, forcing them across to the west bridge early, and there was few barriers to help defend the troops thus far from range except a few trees... He growls, thinking of what to do with the formations.

DM62: Sir Malius calls out orders, and the axemen move into a pair of shield-walls, facing outward and forming a triangle off of the river. The orcs to the north seem to... grow slightly, their eyes widening, and they give howls of fury as they charge towards the outnumbered townsfolk. To the south, they're advancing more slowly, but they'll be reaching the southern battle line of the town soon.

Hel does not like the way the northern orcs are acting. It's just a hunch, but it looks... wrong. He moves to the northern shield wall, moving ahead of it like before to act as a tasty target- he was sure of his combat capabilities, and leading from the front had helped thus far.

DM62: Hel can see as they get close that their eyes look positively crazed, and all their muscles are rippling as they recklessly charge the line. One of them slams shield-first into Hel's shield, nearly knocking the dwarf down, but Hel manages to retain his footing. Behind Hel, many of the orcs are giving the shield-wall serious difficulties. To the south, the greenskins are advancing more slowly, and arrows start soaring into the Axetan defenders.

Helvoque: "HOLD FAST! WE CAN STILL DO THIS!" the dwarf calls, keeping his voice strong as he swings his hammer forward and goes to incapacitate the first berserker. Fine, if they wanted to augment themselves somehow, it was time to react in kind... He grabs his hammer tightly, and prepares the augmentation, making his now-metal arm increase his blows. From there, his goal was simple- reduce the enemy's numbers before the north fully collapsed.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (part one, presenting the evidence, meeting the great root beast)

Spoiler

DM62: So... when we left our heroes last, you had just carefully eluded the troll guard with evidence of Malgra's deception of the Huntress. The satyr and the naked dwarf are calmly waiting for your return at the meeting place. The hairy dwarf is grinning. "Ah knew ye could do it! Welcome back, lads."

Thrae: "Yes, we got what we needed, now we just need to bring it to the Huntress. Preferably soon, so that we can make it back to the town in good haste." Thrae said to the dwarf, the drider wishing the short shapeshifter would just put some clothes on. The were-bears seemed to be perfectly fine with clothes.

Raz gave a small nod as he sheathed his blade, having left it out in case they had needed to fight the green skins. "Yes, we should hurry back to your mistress."

DM62: The naked dwarf leers at Thrae. "I could probably move faster... if I had a lovely mount with eight legs and perfect breasts."

Raz was very tempted to punt the dwarf so they could get a move on. He didn't like having to spend another moment in these twisted woods then he had to.

Zyanya: "No means of hushing this one I see." The shiriti had a good laugh at the situation, but at least releaved that the situation was working itself out.

Vel grunts, carrying the bag with her teeth as she walks on all fours, making her way back for the grove and paying little mind to their two other companions.

Thrae: "Maybe if you put on some clothes, or shaved, I would consider it." Thrae said imperiously. "Now can we please get a move on."

Zyanya: "That’s almost like asking a sailor to stay off the ocean or a carpenter not to build. Seems to be a foolish notion."

DM62: The satyr folds his arms, looking at the naked dwarf disdainfully. "You need to stop eating strange mushrooms. But let's be off." The trip back is a relatively short one, and within an hour they find themselves at the grove again, moonlight still illuminating the lake and the massive Elder Tree. The Huntress is quietly standing near the lake, stroking a bear cub and feeding it berries by hand, while a massive mother bear looks on lazily.

Raz raises an eye ridge at the odd sight and gives a small shrug. He then let the little furball show the lady of the lake their find.

Thrae glanced at the bear, but other then that didn't put to much attention to the animals. With Vel carrying the bag between her teeth, Thrae took it on herself to speak. "Spirit, if you would grant us an audience. We have found evidence that the greenskins have been using there position so close to the corrupted woods to harvest materials from it for there own ends in the war."

DM62: The spirit turns, then looks at the hairy dwarf, who kneels and gives a solemn nod. "I told you before, my Lady. They've not come to help. They're collecting something from the woods."

DM62: The Huntress looks to Vel. "Very well. Please bring me this evidence. If they... have... deceived me... then they shall pay the penalty."

Vel moves over and deposits the bag in the huntress' hand. "Bleh."

Thrae steps up as well, handing the Huntress the note. "This was the letter one of them had on them. Its orders from Malgra."

DM62: The Huntress reaches into the bag, first, pulling out a small handful of red leaves. She frowns, replacing them in the bag and handing it to the satyr. "Destroy this." Then she takes the letter, reading it. Her frown deepens, and she give it to the satyr as well. "Destroy this as well." She sighs. "We are capturing the trolls and orcs as I speak. They will face justice for their transgressions. But I suppose you will want help defending these... loggers, at Axetan?"

Raz’Qui: "Would be appreciated, yes. Or if not, at least offer them protection if they need to flee here."

DM62: "And once we've saved them, they'll return to cutting down the forest. Especially if their town is damaged in the attack."

Vel: "Work out a compromise. They need ways make homes. You need help protecting forest. Negotiate, work together. Is not like trees never fall or die or whatnot yes? Is just bad if they over do. So teach them."

Zyanya: "A balance can be achieved. Most of the people in the town weren't sure you existed. So if they knew you were around and willing to help, they might take better efforts to protect the land around them. Revitalize it if they can."

Raz smiled and gave Vel's head a gentle rub. "Yes, speak with them and negotiate. I am sure you know of a magic or two that can grow them a home instead of cutting one one down. There is probably a way for you to both to work together, especially against this blight."

DM62: "And I will ensure that you have druids and rangers from the elven lands, to help fight against the Blood Woods," Arturus responds to the woodland spirit. She folds her arms, looking at the group.

DM62: "Alright... I've made my decision. They can negotiate with me, through a manifestation of their crime and carelessness. Now... go. I will gather forces to assist you against Malgra's invasion. Go to the area of tree stumps." She turns to the mother bear, who nods and lumbers to the party. "Any of you that walk slowly... Masha will carry you."

DM62: The middle-aged faun, Sari, emerges from the woods as well, a bow and quiver slung over her. "I'll come with you as well. I still owe those greenskins for the death of my beautiful daughter."

Raz gives her a small bow. "Thanks." He then crouches down and prepares to run along with the faun and the bear. "I can also give someone small a ride if need be as well." Looking at the others curiously.

Vel nods. Well whatever. Long term results were not her problem beyond ensuring victory and that these blood woods never spread out. IF the huntress made the town disappear later then it was no skin off her back. She could sympathize with this other faun though. See if she;d join her daughter before long. It seemed the likeli result for most of them. Well no matter. She prepared to run on all fours with the others, figuring she;s quick enough to handle it. She never had the luxury of getting indolent and unfit after all.

Zyanya: Well, it was progress. Sure it wasn't perfect but it was something and that's what mattered. Axetan might survive at this rate with the help of literally the entire forest. Hopefully the battle hadn't started or if it had, gotten too far ahead of them. Time was a factor and they couldn't wait around for much longer. "I suggest we head back. See what we can do."

Thrae had to hide a bit of a smile at there success. Though she wondered how the humans were going to negotiate themselves out of debt later, it wasn't really her problem. As they moved to leave she obviously wasn't going to be riding with anyone given her size, and ontop of that when she actually wanted she could move quick so it was fine. Unlike Raz and the others though, she wasn't offering anyone a lift. "Let us go then, before we give the orcs any more time to approach the town."

DM62: The Huntress nods, and the group sets off back the way they came. The journey seems shorter this time (and downhill), but it's still nearly dawn when the party reaches the area with the cut-down trees. The tree stumps are there, but they seem to be... vibrating. Shaking. And emerging from the earth.

Raz skidded to a halt as they arrived, frowning as he saw what was happening. "Huh.... I hope it is her doing and not someone's elses." He stood up to watch and wait.

Thrae looks at the stumps with a raised eyebrow. Stumps walking the earth, that seemed terrifying for some reason. "Indeed, though I would hope it could only be the huntress' work. If there were more creatures around here that could control the forest then I would wonder how they would all get along."

Zyanya: "I trust her to keep her word. This has to be her doing." The shiriti was confident of the situation, but also contemplating the battle ahead. "Wonder if I could get some war paint..." She muttered to herself.

DM62: The stumps start pulling themselves out of the ground, roots and all... and the massive roots begin pulling the stumps together, forming a pile. The roots lock around each other, stumps inward, until the massive mess of old roots and tree stumps is a great sphere, roots waving in the dawn. A mouth forms at one of its seams. "You... you are the friends of the Huntress. Yes?" The voice is low... gravelly and almost dead. But it's filled with a resentment, a hatred that is almost palpable.

Vel: Boy that was... Interesting. Might be the humans were going to get just as wiped out. This is why under elves avoided mushroom forests. Everything wanted to kill you.

Raz looks up with a small frown. "Yes." This was one of the few moments he actually wished he had been of a more fiery breed of dragon in case that thing turned on them.

Thrae: Ahh...so this is what she meant by negotiating with the results of their own actions. The tree certainly didn't sound happy about what had happened to them, and she was almost wondering if the creature was going to attack them with the hatred in its voice. She decided that the best response would probably be something simple, to avoid potentially offending the already rather angry stump thing further. "We are."

DM62: "The loggers... they... only use half of a tree. They leave the strongest part... the ROOTS... to linger. To starve. To die, our bleeding stumps exposed to the savage rain and weather." The massive root beast growls in rage. "But... the Huntress has ordered me to destroy the greenskins, first. To offer these... loggers... reasonable terms." The great creature bites the last few three words, even as clumps of old earth and worms fall from the writhing roots.

Raz gave a small nod. He thought it wise not to try and pick a fight with a giant tree sphere thing, especially one made out of hundreds of felled trees.

Vel: If one took anything from this, it was fungus was truly an entity full of spite and hatred and you could only be rid of it by burning everything. Truly these surfacers had truly deluded views.

Thrae was thinking something along the lines of what Vel was. Mostly that apparently plants were truly evil incarnate under there surface. Still said entity of incredible maliciousness was on their side at least, so who was she to say no to its help. She was't entirely sure what to say in response to the stumps comments though, no one in the group was part of the loggers themselves. It wasn't like any of them had cut down the trees. So like Raz, she only nodded, and looked to the faun or Arturus, maybe they would have a better idea how to speak to the root monster.

DM62: Arturus speaks. "Roots of fallen trees... what has befallen you is a grave injustice. But the humans that cut you down did so out of ignorance. I believe they will be willing to negotiate with you, and with the Huntress, especially after they are saved from destruction at the hands of the greenskins. If I am wrong, you surely have the power to wipe them all out and crush their tiny, pathetic huts."

DM62: The root beast seems to pause for a moment. "VERY WELL. WE WILL CRUSH THE GREENSKINS. THEN THE AXE-FOLK MAY NEGOTIATE FOR THEIR LIVES." It looks to the party to lead it.

Raz could only shake his head at that, it wasn't going to end well for the humans at all. With a small shrug he crouched back down and set off for Axeton.

Thrae: 'Ow' Thrae thought at the root creatures sudden shouting. "Yes, let us go and drive the greenskins back across the water." With that she'd look to the others to make sure they were ready, and then headed off.

Vel started moving. Well fungus is hate, made perfect sense. Why one would want to use fungus for anything she'd never understand. But so it goes.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (part two, the Battle of Axetan)

Spoiler

DM62: As the party gets within several miles of the town, they can see smoke rising from that direction, and the sounds of battle are echoing around the area from that direction. They crest a small rise, and can see that the town is ablaze. On the western side of the delta is a band of about two-hundred and fifty axemen, forming a triangle against the river, with three-hundred orcs charging from the north, and what might be a thousand moving forward from the south, firing arrows into the axemen.

Thrae: "It looks like the orcs arrived earlier then expected." Thrae said, almost nonchalantly as she saw the smoke on the horizon and the battle going on. "It seems we need to move quick, though with numbers like this I think its mostly going to come down to if you can handle that group of a thousand spirit of the roots."

Raz frowns as he studies the ensuing chaos a moment, drawing his blade in thought. He then pointed to the group attacking the axe men. "We hit that group first, if we hit them from behind they should fall quickly with this big guy here. Then we can worry about the archers."

Vel: "Vel says let Mistress wipe out that bunch with blastiness as she is worth that bunch of orcs alone."

Thrae: "I don't have that much magic reserve last I checked, but I can thin them out yes." Thrae said as she looked over the orcs, though if they were clumped it would make thinning them out easier.

DM62: Magnhilda speaks up. "Perhaps they'll help us, as well." Moving up behind the party is a massive assemblage of bears and wolves and fauns, with several walking trees interspersed in their ranks.

DM62: Arturus grins. "Looks like we have reinforcements already."

DM62: Meanwhile, an orc's spear clangs against the dwarf's prosthetic foot. The orc looks at Hel in a mixture of confusion and rage, just in time for Hel to cave in his skull with his augmented hammer. But there are more... many more. And now that the arrows have softened up the axemen, the southern group is moving forward to melee as well.

Raz’Qui: "If you can see if they can circle around to smash the second group peppering the axeton force. When this guy shows up their focus will be on in on this side and wont see the attack."

Vel shrugs. "Vel will go with mistress then. She shall serve as mistress requires of her. She thinks attacks should begin if they wish to actually save the day and not just watch it."

Raz’Qui: "Hey big guy, with me. Let's go smash some greenskins." He then takes off at a dash towards the smaller force to help out the untrained force.

Helvoque: With another orc felled, the body sent flailing away with the augmented power behind the blow, the dwarf growls, focused fully on putting down as many of these maddened warriors as he can before they fully tear apart the townsfolk. The line's growing ever smaller, the triangle turning into a smaller and smaller crescent, and he's too focused on the fight to see the growing force on the ridge of the river valley. Just moving one hammer against the flesh of the enemy, over and over.

Thrae was a bit thrown off by all the creatures of the woods behind them, but she wasn't going to say no to that. "Indeed, let us begin." Lifting her staff, Thrae channeled her power into as large as a fireball as she could manage within reason, and fire it into the larger group of orcs. She couldn't really fire into the melee if she didnt' want to accidentally blast the axemen.

Vel simply sits beside Thrae, waiting to see if she had to take an arrow meant for her mistress.

DM62: Arturus nods. "I'll lead the bears and wolves and fauns to attack the larger, southern force." He climbs atop Sari, who nods and takes off toward the south. The blast from Thrae knocks a hole in the southern shield wall of the orcs, and while they're quick to fill the gaps, the axemen exploit it to kill a few more of the orcs in the process. The charging wood elf shouts orders, and the faun archers strafe beside the orc ranks, peppering them with arrows. Magnhilda shifts into a massive she-bear, dwarfing most of the others, and the bears hit the enemy force from the side, initially taking out a few columns with little resistance, before the trained orcs form up a second shield wall to cover their flanks. The root beast is rolling downhill towards the berserkers at great speed, with an ugly cry of hatred. Hel bashes another one down, and feels drops of blood hitting his cheek. Then colder drops. One, and another... and several, as the thunder rumbles overhead and the rains begin to fall upon the soggy battlefield.

Raz gives a might bestial roar as he follows the large root elemental into the beserker's midst. His massive sword swinging ahead of him. He smiled as he waded into the melee, quite content to finally get some battle after the rather dull trip since they left for help.

Thrae: "Hmmm," Thrae looks up at the thunderclouds. Looking at Vel she asked. "Did I just miss the storm rolling in before, or did this just start now?" Still, she could work with this. It would be a lot easier to manipulate the charges in the air to strike then it would be to make it all herself. So focusing her energy once again, she pointed her staff to the skies, trying to direct the energy store there down into the orc's ranks.

Vel shrugs. "Vel thinks it is magic, mistress."

Helvoque: The rain from above makes the dwarf flinch a bit, but the cold shock is a welcome spark of cold awakening. He shakes his head a little, making the tiring cobwebs from him start to fade before he works again, moving to take down another berserker starting to harry a nearby humans.

Zyanya: The root beast and Raz moved against the smaller group, but she felt it would not be enough. With magic and a large assemblage of forest creatures going against the larger force, the Shiriti would turn her efforts to the berserkers. They were more dangerous and could smash through the less trained humans. Plus, her spear would be more effective. She let out an almost primal war cry and practically hurled herself at the force, her spear flowing around her. She would thrust, bludgeon and stab as many as it took to win the day.

DM62: Raz decapitates a pair of surprised orcs, and then another turns, hurling a javelin at him. At this point the massive sphere of roots rolls into Hel's field of vision, grabbing orcs and snapping their backs like twigs. Some of them are simply squeezed in half by the great roots, which grab and kill the berserking orcs with enthusiasm. Thrae's lightning attacks hit the larger orc group, which seems to be having trouble with the initial bear assault and then the wolves swarming in to bite and gnash at them. Then Thrae and Vel notes lightning striking at the charging wolves near them... Thrae is not the only one taking advantage of the weather, it seems. The Shiriti sees an orc charging at her, but his bloodlust leads him to death by impalement upon Zyanya's spear. Another pair growls, moving to attack her with spears as well.

Vel frowns at seeing the lightning strikes and stands up and stares out into the darkness, trying to spot the spellcaster conjuring the lightning against them.

Raz brings his bloodied sword up to block the thrown javelin, though he carries on with his charge and letting the force of the throw spin him about so that his tail blade might slash at the ankles surrounding him.

Hel actually stops, his eyes growing wide as the massive root ball rolls past him, a destructive force of nature all of its own as the rains fall harder. He makes a mental note to check the state of the town's whiskey stores, they have clearly grown bad. Either that or the phobias some dwarves had against innocuous surface things like trees were finally starting to become founded...

Thrae: "If you spot the spellcaster let me know Vel, I'll try to call some down on there head." Thrae said as she decided to do something else. They had an advantage going for them now with all the creatures of the woods behind them, but this mage could potentially turn that against them. So instead of trying to go on the offensive she changed to the defensive. Using her powers to try to dissipate the building up charges and confound the enemy mages attempts. If he was forced to start using magic from his own hands then it would become much easier for Vel to spot them.

Zyanya: Her initial strike quite successful, the tribal woman would not relent even in the face of a pair of charging orcs. Jabbing the spear into the ground, she'd take her personal spear and launch it at one of the orcs before retrieving her second spear and whooping at the orc, wanting to strike fear into her opponent with her primitive, almost savage fighting style.

DM62: Lightning arcs down from the clouds around Thrae, but seems to harmlessly dissipate as Thrae works counter-magicks. Vel spots a black-robed figure, intently watching Vel and Thrae from somewhat behind the southern orc force. Raz manages to block the javelin throw, and his tail burst through three pairs of orc ankle, but the one who flung the javelin sees the attack and jumps to avoid it, bringing his shield up and slamming it into the dragonkin. Hel sees the root causing more mayhem among the orcs, snapping them like twigs. Meanwhile Zyanya's first spear finds its mark, driving in through the orc's mouth and out the back of his throat. The other one seems less than impressed by the war cry of the Shiriti, side-stepping then slamming the shaft of his spear into Zyanya's gut with a growl.

Vel: "Over there, mistress. The robed person."

Helvoque: Finally pulling himself together as the root beast gets to work, Hel grab his hammer again and prepares to crush more heads in. These berserkers had to all fall eventually!

Raz pushes against the shield with his bulk a moment before he grins at the orc, showing his sharp teeth. His wings stretch out and the dart around him and the shield toward the defending orc, aiming to bring his wing blades into use against the poor sod.

Zyanya: Hrm. He was a tough one. Wouldn't scare that easily it seemed. She'd have to be a little more direct with him ad use her natural agility to circle around him. The hit to the stomach was painful, but she'd push herself through the pain and begin to harass her foe, making quick jabs and thrusts to provoke the orc into making a stupid mistake. Once eh did, she'd drive the spear into his stomach. Couldn't stay long on one foe

Thrae follows Vel's direction, and see the enemy mage. Quickly she changes from defense to offense, tossing out a quick bolt of lightning toward the enemy. It wasn't meant to kill them but it would hopefully distract them enough for her to charge up and launch something stronger. "Vel, try to see if you can potentially sneak around. If I can't manage to beat them head on it may be up to you to strike them well I keep them distracted."

Vel: "Mistress they’re on the other side of the enemy lines. Rushing at them is not good for your health mistress!"

Thrae: "I'm not rushing them. I'll stay here and keep throwing magic there way. But if they are busy focusing there magic at me, they aren't targeting you or the rest of our forces."

Hel's hammer finds another mark, then a larger orc plants his foot on the dwarf's shield, giving him a sharp kick and sending him falling onto his backside. The berserker fighting Raz sees the wing blades moving to attack him, and uses his sword to block most of them, but one of them finds its mark, driving into his back. He snarls, releasing the sword and punching Raz hard in the throat. Meanwhile, the orc fighting Zyanya isn't very good at keeping up with her games, and eventually her attack guts him as he charges forward to slay his impertinent foe. Thrae seems to have met her match, as her lightning blast is also dissipated, and some of the rain above the drider has been shaped into an icy spear that flies swiftly at the vampiric drider, impaling her.

Vel: "Mistress!," cries out Vel in shock, rushing over to try and get the ice spears out of her mistress, panicking, "Oh god, no no, not now, you can't...!"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (part three, the turn of the tide)

Spoiler

Helvoque: The dwarf prince grunts and falls over, but does his best to go to get up, using the massive nullmetal shield as a way to keep himself well protected in case the orc tries to get an ace into him.

Raz coughs a moment from the punch before twisting the blade that had found the mark. He attempts to slip around the shield, his own blade at the ready as he tried to return the favour with a vicious bite to the orc's throat.

Thrae goes down from the strike, though it wasn't entirely due to pain, in fact it didn't seem to be very serious for her at all. Instead she realizes it was a chance for her to let the other mage think she got killed. She'd be ready though, ready to dissipate any following strikes from the mage if her ruse didn't work. When she was down she said "Ohh hells below that hurts. Though I don't think it's fatal Vel. If I remember right nothing short of a spear of wood to the heart will take me down now remember? Though don't stop looking panicked yet, I think we might be able to trick that mage and give us an opening."

Zyanya: These orcs just didn't know how to take on a real foe. Or at least a foe trained in her style of combat. They were meant to fight pitched battles against armies of organized soldiers. The shiriti used very different tactics in battle even against each other and the swiftest warrior had he better odds. For now,s he'd focus back on finding foes, keeping up her war cry and almost calling out individual opponents. If she couldn't find any, she'd just hurl herself at another group in a whirling fury

Vel: "Don’t you tell me what to feel young lady, I don’t care how big and dead you get I will tan your fungus infested carapace if you don’t hold still and let me get those things out of you.," hisses Vel angrily and quietly, always whispering, "Now shut up and hold still." She fusses with the icicles, struggling to dislodge them from her mistress, having to brace her legs and use both hands against her daughter to yank them loose, "Honestly, you get a little immortal and you start letting people fire at you in plain sight, have you not learned anything? Get into cover, use the darkness to conceal your position and strike from unexpected angles. You’ve clearly let your time on the surface go to your head."

Thrae gave a little nervous eep at Vel's reaction. The drider letting the chimera fuss over her wounds even as she waited to see if the mage would try a follow-up at her. "R-Right, maybe I have a bit. We haven't really come across anyone that could stand up to my magic before this." Thrae grimaced at the icicles being pulled out of her. "Ugh, I'm going to be starving after this I think, to repair a wound like this."

DM62: The black-robed figure ignores the fallen drider, satisfied, and there's an explosion of fire within the Axetan ranks, sending twenty more of the defenders down, including Hel, who is slightly singed and flung onto his face. Still, the ravaging root beast is quickly diminishing the numbers among the orc berserkers. The orc punches Raz again, hard, but then the dragonkin's teeth find his throat, and he gives a defiant shout until Raz removes the front of his throat. Vel is able to extract the icicles, and the wounds seem to already be healing on their own. Zyanya whips her spear into another group of orcs, killing one before the others turn to face her.

Raz spits the orc flesh out before turning towards his next victim, his blade already swinging out to greet them. His bloodied maw, turned into a large grin, even if he has to pant to regain his breath from the punch.

Hel gives another grunting crash as he falls over, patting some of the flames off his beard as he gets up . He looks around, looking for the situation, growling and rubbing more of the flames.

Vel: "I'm as useless as hell in a fight, you can drain me once we get into cover, we may as well use your momentary to our advantage. His attention’s on the battle. We're lucky there's only one. Now get off the top of the hill where you’re in plain sight of everyone. It’s night time in a storm, it’s the only reason you’re visible in the least. You have a very distinct silhouette. No, we're going to loop around a bit, and you are going to instead make the earth spear up through him instead. Everyone’s eyes are on the sky and fighting. Make them fear their own feet." She grunts, nodding as she tosses the icicles aside, "Now quietly, slow movements, we don’t want to draw attention back to use immediately, then once we have cover, then strike. Clearly for all your rebellion you’re far from ready to be actually independent, hmph."

Thrae: "Eh-heh." Thrae made something that was closest to a nervous chuckle at Vel's last words. "Fine, but we can't be too slow, a few more spells like that and our forces are going to be devastated. And I can wait on feeding till this mage is dealt with. It'll hurt a bit but I can manage." Thrae didn't pull herself upright fully, instead trying to stay low to the ground as she moved out of the mage's field of view. When they got the right chance she'd throw out a spell, trying to target the mage from below with a spear of earth. Hoping it would work like Vel planned.

Zyanya: Good. Another group of potential targets. And it seemed they were quite eager to fight as she was. "By my people's proud name, I will offer your corpses to my lady of war!" She taunted and teased her foe, wanting to strike fear into her enemy as she jabbed and thrusted. She’d take any opening she could.

Vel: "People die all the time. Long as the mage is killed before the fungus ball dies, we win. It's that simple. Wait until he starts concentrating on conjuring flames, then strike."

DM62: Raz's blade severs another orc, slicing through the middle of her head and exposing her brain. Two more orc females tackle the dragonkin, attempting to pin the warrior. Hel feels a boot slam into his back, as an orc brings up a spear to try to end the troublesome dwarf. The black-robed figure sends another ball of fire among the human defenders, and then Thrae manages to conjure up the earth beneath the mage, impaling him. Zyanya impales another orc, then a massive, muscular warrior grabs her spear, and bashes her with a great iron shield.

Helvoque: The dwarf grunts as he finds himself face first in the mud, but this time it makes the pile of beard and anger that much more annoyed. "Right then..." he growls, before he puts his augmented arm onto the earth and charges, then pushing himself against the ground to try and knock the orc off and get him back on his feet.

Vel: "There. Jobs done. Now we wait and conserve your energy for targeting enemy hard points. Anywhere you see the orcs gathering and grouping up, fireballs them, don’t let them form ranks. Ignore the individual combats, focus on the masses. Keep them scattered and they will gradually succumb. We'll lose many humans but that was inevitable anyways. The folly of fighting your enemy on their own terms."

Raz would have grinned, and likely have laughed at being tackled by two women. Though sadly it was not a playful sort at that very moment. After falling to the bloodied ground, he snapped his fangs at one of the pinning women, whilst trying to throw the other off of himself.

Thrae: "Okay." Thrae said, waiting until she saw large unhindered clusters of orcs. Whenever she saw such a cluster she'd throw one of her charged fireballs at the group, hoping to help thin them out. Still, well she was repairing the wounds she couldn't cast willy nilly, so she had to keep her fire rate down somewhat. Still though, with the mage gone it should make it easier for the others.

Zyanya: The hit from the shield was certainly...painful. A metal shield hurt like hell, but she wasn't about to let it stop her. After recovering from the blow, she'd let go of the spear and tackle him with as much force as she could, slamming her elbow into any exposed part of his body he could. Joint, pressure point, neck, head. Whatever wasn't covered by armor.

DM62: Hel's push tosses the orc backwards, sending him sprawling in the mud. The orc grunts, rising to his feet, and he uses his spear deftly, in a manner that Hel finds quite familiar. He sneers at the dwarf. The female orc Raz tries to bite blocks his attack with a steel wristguard, then produces a dagger, attempting to stab the dragonkin. He does manage to throw the other one off of himself. Thrae blasts a hole in the orc attackers with fire. Then another. The massive orc facing Zyanya laughs as she elbows him, wrapping his arms around her to give her a bear-hug... then a rather familiar she-bear swipes her claws through his neck, and the orc makes a gurgling sound. The orc ranks are beginning to fail, as werebeasts and walking trees and the root beast tear into them mercilessly. Still, they fight on bravely.

Raz winces as the steel sinks into his shoulder, at least he had the fortune of it not being his other side with the still healing wound. Still holding the steel in his mouth, he holds it tight and grasps the hand hold the dagger, keeping it in his own hide. While holding her by both arms his tail flicks up and stabs the blade at her back.

Vel: "Hmph. Orcish honor. They'll throw their lives away over surrender. Not that they would get mercy so I suppose it makes sense, but they should be fleeing. Pride makes someone stupid, Thrae. Remember that. Pride made the humans stay and without our going to those they disparage, they would have been slaughtered. Pride makes the orcs stay and die to a man. Pride is a weakness that can be exploited. A pity our true opponent lacks that failure. Malgra is smart enough to abuse it but not fall for it. Yet anyways."

Hel's glare turns icy, and deftly his hammer's back to his side and the waraxe is dragged to his hands instead. he is slow, allowing his focus on the orc spearwielder to be absolute. Malgra proved to him before how dangerous this fighting style was. This time, he would do his best to learn to counter, and hope that not all of Malgra's proteges were as skilled in the fighting style.

Thrae watched the orcs stay and fight, listening to Vel's words. The drider nodded her head to the chimera's points. The orcs could have tried to fight a hole in their lines and make a run for it, instead they seemed content to wait and die. Charging another fire bolt, this one larger then the last ones as the slowly concluding battle meant she didn't need to keep maintaining her energy, she launched it at the largest cluster of remaining orcs. She had to admit she took a bit of delight at watching the greenskins burn.

Zyanya: Damnit. Seems she didn't have as much force in her strike as she thought. Thankfully, before shew as crushed by a bear hug, a familiar looking bear woman would attack the orc and put him down for good. She'd pick herself up in frustration but would give a nod to the she-bear as she retrieved her spear and launched herself again into the orcs. They may be falling slowly, but they weren't done yet. She just had to fight to the last as well.

Vel: "Conserve your energy, Thrae. We've won, there's no need to overdo it. Let them carry the victory now. We may need it if more reserves come up, there’s no way that was ten thousand. Or we were lied to. In any case, now’s a good time to talk alone while everyone’s fighting." She moves around and climbs up Thrae's front to look her in the eyes. "I've not been given the chance to express myself so I'll make this clear. I'm disappointed. First because you disobeyed me but more so that you haven't been following through on it. If you want to take the reins from me then take them but that means you need to stand up and make your voice known, firm, like the matron you claim to be. The vampire matron may be friendly with you now but if you prove yourself weak and unworthy a partner, that may not stay so true. Allegiances come and go and what one time is a friend may change in the right circumstances. That all said though... I still love you, my daughter. So don’t you fucking scare me like that again damn it!" She hugs Thrae against her tightly, or tries to given her bigger stronger daughter, "Be more bloody careful with yourself! I don’t care what the claims are, Never, EVER assume you are immortal, because the minute you think yourself untouchable, you are opening yourself to surprise. So don't okay! I'm not going to be around forever but no mother wants to outlive their child!"

DM62: Raz's blade finds the orc female's backside, slicing into her viciously, and she falls atop him, lifeless. The other orc growls, swinging the sharpened edge of her shield at the warrior's neck. The spear-wielding orc doesn't seem to be berserking, instead making calculated thrusts at the dwarf, trying to catch him offguard. The she-bear doesn't acknowledge or even seem to notice Zyanya's gratitude, charging into the orc ranks to cause more carnage. Zyanya slays another orc, but three more come charging at her... then two of them are cut down from behind. Dead orcs and humans are rising among the berserkers and the other greenskins, attacking the other greenskins from within without pity. Jenna is standing atop a charred rooftop on the other side of the river, a glowing purple stone clutched in her hand as she brings the fallen to aid the defenders of Axetan.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (part four, battle's end, the root of the problem)

Spoiler

Helvoque: the dwarf does his best to keep pace with the attacks, using the head of his axe or its haft to parry blows, but keeping a defensive position all the while. Clearly he is calculating his own movements, using his short stature and sturdy pacing to weather each attempt this time, instead of wasting it with angry attacks.

Zyanya: A little banged up and bruised, the shiriti warrior would continue her assault. Yes it was unfair odds again, but she lived for those. Shame that they had to be taken away from her as the fallen warriors were brought back by Lady Jenna. Seems they'd be using the enemy numbers against them now. Well, least it was fair now. Zyanya wouldn't wast the opportunity though and leaped at her foe, bringing her spear down in an arc

Raz releases the dead woman's hands, leaving the dagger where it was for now, best not to rip it out in case it had hooks or worse. As he extracted his blade, he threw up the outer limb of his wing to block the shield with the blade, though a crack of bone resounded from the impact. Grunting in anger, he threw the corpse of the woman on top of him at the other with the shield as he tried to stand.
Thrae shrunk back into herself a bit in the face of Vel's comments again. Slipping back into the mindset she had before they had started this adventure. Though when Vel hugs her the drider responded in kind. "S-Sorry. I'm still adjusting to everything, and we've been in so many situations that I just have no idea what to do on this weird side of the soil. And I'll try not to scare you again. I got a bit carried away, and your right that that is just asking for someone to exploit it. I'll try not to let my head get to me again."

Vel smiles and kisses Thrae's cheek. "I'm glad you’re trying, my Smidgeon. But I'm afraid you have to learn faster. The fact of the matter is you don't have the luxury to rely on me anymore. It’s an unfortunate failure on me as a parent that I didn’t raise you to be more assertive. I was... Angry and bitter and it colored my treatment of you. As much as we both enjoy your sexual preferences the fact is it's just too big a liability in our culture, and it's a failure on my part to have saddled you with it. You're going to have to unlearn it if you are going to excel. Remember, you can only ever rely on yourself in this world. Slaves, servants, comrades, these come, go, are friends or enemies as the tides of fate decide. Only you are guaranteed to always care about your well-being. Even family is not immune. I love you, but you can’t always be relying on me. I will try to be there for much as I can but we can’t keep this charade going. Or to be exact it has to stop being a charade. You need to become a proper matron and I your proper property." She sighs a bit, smiling a little sadly, "I doubt you like me saying that, we both enjoy it, but your future is potentially infinite and mine is not. You simply will have to begin looking to the long term benefits of yourself."

DM62: The orc facing Hel grunts, then makes a familiar movement. He whirls, bringing the shaft of his spear to bang hard into Hel's shield. Then he whirls back, and Hel knows that he'll be attempting to thrust the spear into him. Zyanya's spear-strike is true, and the orc falls to the ground with a hole in his chest. The corpse that Raz throws comes to life, bringing a dagger up into the other orc's jugular and sending black blood spraying across the white dragonkin. The battle is quickly coming to a close, now.

Raz would grab his blade where it had fallen from the tackle as he stands and turns to the next orc and beginning to mop up their remnants. Though if they yielded, he would let them throw their weapons down and surrender.

Helvoque: This time, the dwarf has the advantage, and he does two moves at once- first, a swift sidestep, and second, a massive hammer down with the axe, going to sever the spear as he gives a feral, bloody grin. Let the orc feel a sting of surprise before he swings it into his gut as a follow up!

Thrae looked down, a sigh escaping her lips as Vel made more and more correct points. Though she hugged the chimera tighter. "You're right, though maybe changing things up in the bedroom might be fun? At the same time don't put yourself down, I thought you did a great job looking after me all these years." Pulling back a bit from the hug, Thrae looked a bit thoughtful. "Though you know, I could probably let you live on as I will as well." The way she said it made it obvious that Thrae didn't think Vel would accept the offer, but she felt she had to make it anyways.

Zyanya: The fight drawing to a close, the shiriti could feel her blood lust boiling down. Oh it was there, but not nearly as strong. All she'd do now is target any healthy stragglers, feeling that the wounded weren't worth the effort

DM62: Raz begins clearing swiftly through the remainder of the orcs. Hel's blow chops the spear cleanly in half, and the orc growls in surprise, but he reacts quickly enough, deftly slipping the bottom half of the broken spear under the axe-head and giving a sharp yank. Hel's axe goes flying, depriving the dwarf of his weapon, and the orc moves to attack with the broken end of the spear. Zyanya, too, is enjoying some mop-up operations, made easier by the growing army of undead and the massive root-beast crushing orcs all around her. Sadly the undead orcs and the living orcs are indistinguishable to the root-beast, which crushes all of them into pulp indiscriminately.

Helvoque: Although the two-handed waraxe is deprived of him, the dwarf barely thinks, dragging the hammer up and out from his side and he charges. He uses a smash of his shield forward to try and dislodge that broken stick, before giving a powerful swing with it to end his foe.

Raz would continue to clean up those unwilling to surrender to them, though he does give the fighting dwarf a glance before letting him finish his own fight.

Vel chuckles a bit, "Oh stop, I know what I did. I’m happy you're happy, but still. Survival doesn;t always mean happiness. Course dead means no emotions at all, heh." She smiles wryly and shakes her head. "No, I can’t. If I’m always around you'll never grow up. One day I'll die, to your hand or another’s or old age. I’m already really old for a slave. If I succeeded in making you reach your goals then that's all a slave can ask for. But you can’t if you’re using me as a crutch." She stretches a bit and smirks wryly, "Kinda funny how things turn out. In any case it’s fine you can get another slave to make up for it. We're a dime a dozen after all and we're here to be used up. You can find another one. A big one, who's better suited to actually doing things you need done heh."

Zyanya: Well, at this point, the tribal woman was feeling herself less necessary and would make preparations to make a small offering to her goddess. She figured it was at least worthwhile to offer her tribute in thanks for this victory and to curry a little favor for the remainder of the war.

Thrae: "You still sell yourself short Vel." Thrae said trying to stay light even with the darker subject material, "I doubt a normal chimera would be able to be as stealthy as you are, and everyone that saw it would think it was much more of a threat then you." Thrae gained a bit of a grin though as she added. "Though I hope you agree with me that I'd like you to stick around as long as possible. Even if you do want to pass on eventually."

The orc is fast, but Hel's fury catches him offguard. The shield-swing splinters his spear-end again, and the hammer sinks into his ribs with the crunch of breaking bones. The orc goes to his knees, blood flowing from his mouth. He coughs, bringing up a hand to wipe away the blood, then looks up at Hel expectantly, with quiet dignity. Raz and Zyanya still encounter the occasional pocket of resistance, but at this point the townsfolk are brandishing spears at the bears, wolves, and root-beast, unsure of whether these were friend or foe. They haven't attacked yet, but the bears and wolves don't look entirely friendly.

Vel: "Not really, big things have been sneaky for years and as the smugglers have shown, can be as duplicitous as any under elf. He's even more skilled than I am given how much I have to learn from him as is.," smiles Vel wryly, "And I'll stay til I die, promise. I am your property to do with as you wish after all. Honestly if you wanted to turn me I couldn’t stop you that’s your right. You don’t need to listen to my wishes. That’s the lot of a slave. So you know, your call."

Raz would stopping up his mopping service to stand between the two uneasy forces. He looked to the Axetonians a moment. "These creatures and people came to help and save you. There is no need to try and fight them. Not that you could fight that." Gesturing up to the massive wood elemental.

Helvoque: It doesn't take more than a hammer blow to finish the fight, smacking him over the head to add him to the body count. The dwarf glowers, moving himself to survey the carnage and survivors.

Zyanya: "Hold! Hold people!" The shiriti, delaying her offering to deal with what resistance she could find (damn persistent green skins), would stop again to try and calm the people from attacking the animals. Seemed Raz was in the same mindset and she'd tag along. "As my winged friend mentioned, these are allies. Sent from the Huntress to aid you in the fight. We were able to convince her to help us, so lay down your arms and we can talk this out."

Thrae looked at the ongoing situation down in the town itself. "That's true, but I'll respect your wishes on this at the very least. Now though, I think the humans and the forest beings are about to start trying to kill each other. I half think we should just stay back here and out of the firing line, but we should probably go down there if we want to get in the history books."

Vel: "I think that ship sailed. Honestly this fights a little meaningless, I’m pretty sure vampire drider is plenty on history. But it’s your call on this one. Both have merits. And you need to make some decisions, so be authoritative. You’re a noble, act like it, mistress. You don’t need to never ask for opinions or hope but when you make a decision you need to back it with conviction."

DM62: There's a tense moment, as Erik has to calm down Magnhilda before she begins tearing into the townsfolk. The orc dies instantly as Hel delivers the coup-de-grace. Meanwhile, the root-demon forms a mouth again. This time, the mouth is full of sharp, wooden teeth. "Greetings... loggers. The Huntress sends us to destroy the orcs. And possibly to destroy you all. But we have been told that your... wretched crimes... your need to kill so many of the trees... that this was a matter... of ignorance." It gives a low growl.

DM62: Luggor moves forward, axe in hand. "What sort of demon-magic is this?" His eyes are narrow.

Thrae: "Well then, let’s get down there. I'm sure that even if they've lowered their spears to each other they aren't done just yet." With that Thrae started to make her way back down toward the root deamon and the rest. If nothing else she wanted to hear what they were discussing, and a bit of her motivation was to get away from the thoughts of death her conversation with Vel was bringing in now.

Raz’Qui: "Just a powerful forest spirit. One who you have seemed to have taken an axe to, many times over. No demons involved, al magic as natural as the ground beneath your feet." He would then find a spot to sit down and tend to his wounds. One clean of blood and gore preferably.

Zyanya: "This is nature standing up and fighting back. The huntress helped to call this creature to help but to also hear you out. Negotiate per se so the two elements can find an accord. She can't have you destroying her home and that of her kin, but you can't stop logging as it's your lively hood. We want to strike a balance."

Zilrax follows Thrae down. It wasn’t a topic she particularly enjoyed but the fact was by slave and chimera standards she was pretty old, and given her... Nature... She probably had a worse lifespan than her larger peers. And even ignoring the realities of age, this was war. The chances of her surviving were slim, she was only a few inches from getting just as impaled as Thrae was. And she wasn’t so immortal. She’d gotten incredibly lucky so far but it couldn’t last.

Hel decided for the start of this to stay quiet- clearly the others were more versed just why a massive root beast was doing here, so she'd not say anything to not risk saying stupid stuff

DM62: Sir Malius moves forward. "Easy, Luggor. If we've been cutting too deep into the forest, then we need to reduce our consumption. Yes?"

DM62: The root-beast gives another sharp grin. "Yes. We will provide the town with a small grove... that will regrow daily. So long as you restrict yourself to those trees in that grove."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Thirteenth Session, 17 December (part five, religious fanaticism, Braxilian problems)

Spoiler

DM62: Luggor nods... then a band of the axemen drag Jenna over. "But we've also a necromancer in our midst, my lord! We cannot suffer a necromancer to live!" The gnome is glaring daggers at her captors, but not resisting... yet.

Vel sees Jenna and walks over and sits down and looks up at the others. "Jenna is Vel friend. Jenna helped save your lives. If you take her life for saving yours, then perhaps Vel has to set nature correct too and make sure she saved no one too." She smiles sweetly, "Think she saved you two so maybe start there."

Hel growled, now moving forward to speak. "If you'd have been paying attention, that necromancer's under my protection, and also assisted with the defense of the town as well by harrying the landing forces!"

Raz sighs and stands tall once more, striking a rather imposing figure covered in blood from his fangs and the dagger in his shoulder. "She is with us. Without her, you would have been in the place the orcs now resides. Release her and she will not hurt you."

DM62: Sir Malius nods. "Release her at once."

DM62: Luggor shakes his head. "No, my lord. She is a necromancer. She's one of THEM. Like the damned... the damned Masters, sire." There are murmurs of agreement from some of the axemen, and a small group is forming up behind Luggor. Others are looking at Luggor suspiciously, not convinced.

Vel stands up now and glares at him. "You decided to stand ground against Mistresses advice and nearly died. Now you seek to harm those who saved you. Whose side are you on, human?" She didn't enjoy playing the black and white card, but it was obvious this was about to become one of those moments. "You seem to have something against the survival of your peers."

Zyanya: "Would you really kill someone who just saved your lives? How quickly are you going to turn your spears and axes on us?"

Raz stands behind the princeling his sword at the ready. "I think it best if you release her. Had she wanted you dead, she would have ended you and had you join her army." Though they were trying to save them, he had no qualms about attacking them either.

Hel's arms cross as well. "It is not I who knows of the wills of magic, but I do know that it can be used by one for ill or greatness. Thus far I have seen nothing that this mage has done that deserves ill repute."

Thrae glared at the human as well. "Indeed you should release her now. She has been a comrade of ours for much of our journey, and if she meant you harm I'm certain she could have done it by now. With the may corpses around. Also who are these Masters you are talking about?"

DM62: "And yet she's wearing the mark of an exile from the dwarven lands." The dwarven thug, Selis, is standing near Luggor, hammer clenched in her hand. "Obviously her own people threw her out for a reason."

DM62: Selis glares at Jenna, who rolls her eyes and responds, "Yes. Because I wouldn't use my abilities to help a conspiracy against the royal family of Grand Forge. Politics are a bitch."

DM62: Luggor shakes his head. "The Prophet does not abide the unliving. The dead are to stay dead. That law... is sacred. Given to us by the One True Goddess." Behind him, a small band of axemen are readying for a fight.

Raz’Qui: "You may want to reconsider your stance." He then gestured up to the stump creature, who was likely looking for an excuse to squash the humans like bugs. "I think this creature here is just waiting to roll on top of you, you did chop it up with your axes."

Vel looks at them then sighs simply. "No wonder you're so eager for everyone-" She wasn't about to let them decide to open this up into a fight by just killing Jenna. Nope. She swiftly lashed out with her tail at the two captors, working to envenom them while yanking Jenna away from the group, hissing, "-to die. Zealots only care about the afterlife not the life they are in or others."

Thrae let some lightning crackle along the top of her staff. "Indeed, you should reconsider. Otherwise it is likely you would have died here today, and if you try anything further." If any of the axemen made a move for Jenna or Vel, she'd let out the charge she was building. She didn't really care for these humans, and Jenna had been one of the more forthright members of there party, and her only source of further explanation about her own species until she returned to the underlands.

Zyanya: "Someone may have neglected to inform you, but there are more than one goddess out there and she carried us to victory today just as much as yours." Of course, there was little she could do to stop Vel from taking action. "Damnit...What's done is done, but you need get through your head that sometimes you need to make friends with people you aren't a fan of to achive victory. Her contribution and that of the forest creatures saved your lives. Unless your that desperate to meet your goddess."

Hel bristles in anger even greater. "...One god-one godde-?!?" he splutters, his beard seeming to bristle, but he manages to level some of his head, even if axe matches hand. "Look, I don't mind if you're head's in a different set of pantheons, but if you really think that is a good excuse to slay someone that helped lessen some of the blows against the place, I'm sorry but no goddess I know condones such brutality to an ally!"

DM62: Luggor shakes his head, as Vel manages to free Jenna. "Thanks, Vel. I'm fine, just... a bit angry." She scowls at the small group with Luggor.

DM62: Luggor stares at the axe-knight. "Sir Malius, I've served Axetan and your family faithfully for my entire life. But the Prophet is right. This is EVIL, my Lord."

DM62: Sir Malius grits his teeth. "Luggor, I appreciate your service. But I think you should leave, now. Along with the rest of this 'prophet's' followers." He brandishes his axe, and Luggor grunts... then he nods to the others, walking north.

Raz would sheath his blade and then resume a seat once more. His hands pulling out bandages and finding some things to split his broken wing limb with. "Best you speak with the root creature."

Vel nods with a frown, glaring after them. Malius should have executed them for disobedience. Delusional indeed. Zealotry was heavily discouraged down below because one couldn't trust the word of anyone. They were worse than the orcs in that way. She sighed and nuzzled Jenna, "Good. Else Vel would beg mistress to allow her to kill them. Right now she must submit to punishment for attacking real people that were not threatening mistress without permission." She moved back over to Thrae and laid down on her tummy in front of her.

Hel growls, looking angry as he retrieves his waraxe. He shakes his head. "Extremist sectors of any belief will lead to naught but chaos. If not today, than somewhere down the line," the dwarf mumbles, moving towards Sir Malius. "I'm sorry for that, sir... I did not expect victory to feel so hollow."

Thrae watches them leave as well, though her eyes were more to make sure the axemen didn’t' try to come back, or throw something there way. She didn't let the static on her staff dissipate for the same reason.

Zyanya: "Fucking hell of a way to ruin a victory." Zyanya was more than a little frustrated now. "Fuck...damn zealots. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth then threatening to cut its head off."

DM62: Jenna grins, moving over to nuzzle Vel. She flips the chimera onto her back to stroke her tummy. "Vel, if Thrae harms you for defending me, I'll move those fangs of hers to her vagina," she whispers in the chimera's ear.

DM62: Sir Malius shakes his head, looking about. Only a hundred of the townsfolk are remaining. "We... we have lost many. But we are still lucky, given the odds against us, that any of us have lived." He looks at the root beast. "We accept your terms, and we offer our apologies for cutting down so many of your trees. We shall cut only from the grove that you provide us for that purpose."

DM62: The root-beast frowns. "Really? You... you don't want to try to argue, or fight me? Are... are you sure? Maybe brandish an axe at me?" The root-beast picks up an axe, offering it around to the townsfolk, who are at least smart enough to throw down their weapons and refuse.

DM62: One of the axe-women shakes her head. "No... no, we're... we're good."

Vel smirks and flicks Jenna's ear with her snake tongue, wriggling as she’s tummy rubbed. "But then Vel would have to bite Jenna to protect mistress! This would be horrible for everyone! It’s either let Vel be punished or convince mistress to sell Vel to Jenna. Otherwise awkwardness for everyone and Vel doesn’t want to do anymore biting today! Surfacers taste like feet."

Zyanya: "Pass this on to the Huntress. The people are more than willing to do their part and take was is offered, knowing what's at stake. They've lost enough today and would not be so blinded by anger to let such a good offer pass them up."

Raz would shake his head at the rather expected reply of the townsfolk. He unsheathed his blade and stuck it in one of the fires still lingering from the mage's magic. He then gestured for the shiriti to come over to him. "I need your help a moment with something. I would do it myself, but I can't see if there is any surprises on the blade."

Helvoque: Admittedly the dwarf chuckles at the rootbeast's effect. "Apologies great one, I think the humans are at least a little smarter when they know they had caused a problem before. Nothing against you lot of course." He sighs, shaking his head a little, but looks to the coasts to see what the ships were up to now.

Thrae sighed, she didn't really want to punish Vel, she had done something good, but she had done it without orders. After the conversation they had had earlier she didn't want to let the chimera down. Well the others were conversing and paying attention to the root beast she leaned down to Jenna and Vel. The charge on her staff dissipating a bit but still crackling with energy. Using one of her legs to move Jenna out of contact with the Chimera, "Please move, Jenna, this'll be quick and she did act without my orders." If she got the gnome out of contact, she'd tap Vel with her staff, and deliver a shock to her that would likely make the chimera jolt. It wasn't anywhere enough to be fatal, or even very painful, but it was enough to look painful for anyone not paying attention.

Vel yelps as she’s shocked, pouting as she rubs her rump. "Ow... Vel deserved that... There, everyone happy! Jenna is free, Mistress have fangs in right place and Vel doesn’t need to be fed from in weird ways!"

DM62: The root-beast sighs. "Fine, fine. You lot can live. And I'll turn into a magic grove." It rolls off to the west, muttering. "Damned townsfolk."

DM62: Jenna yelps as she's moved aside, then folds her arms, growling a little at Thrae. "Honestly, Thrae, you're almost as bad as those idiot zealots. I'll let this slide... if you order Vel to protect me, from now on. Unless you specifically order her otherwise."

DM62: The ships are moving rapidly away, possibly sailing back to Sprocket Town.

Thrae looked at Jenna and sighed, a deadpan look on her face. Talking low enough to not be heard by anyone else she said. "I've been excessively lenient on her by our standards actually. Some would have mutilated her for actions like she did. And I can't assign her to protect you with only direct exception, as she remains my servant." Thrae then grinned a bit. "What I can do though, is have her to defend us both. Though you are going to have to stick near me during fights from now on so she doesn't have to cover to much ground during combat."

Hel grins a little as he sees the ships sailing away. "Good, least they ain't going to stay and toss a few stones to add insult to pride." he sighs, shaking his head a little before returning to Jenna and giving an apologetic look. "Sorry... I should have tried to keep a closer eye on you so that stupidity wouldn't have happened..."

Vel: "Is true. Previous mistresses once descaled Vel’s tail for using the wrong spice. Vel is happy to protect mistress and Jenna though! Jenna make sure no vermin get by! Just can’t do much if anything bigger than Vel comes by! Unless it’s yicky tasty humans with no armor."

Zyanya: "Gods...I need to lie down. That shield really did a number to my head..." The shiriti's injuries finally caught up with her as she placed her spear down and held her head, sitting down on a clean patch of earth.

Raz shrugged a moment before pulling the dagger out of his shoulder and quickly cauterizing the wound. Wincing in pain as he sizzled a long moment. If the blade had any surprises, oh well, not much he can do about it on his own.

Jenna shakes her head. "You were meant to lose track of me, Hel. I hid in the burning town so that nobody would expect it when the dead rose to crush their forces. I suspected things would be tight... so I disappeared until the right moment. Or until it was time to abandon you all and flee." She grins. The smuggler returns from the coast line. "Good news. That goblin pirate is stowed on one of their ships. Hopefully we can get more information from her eventually."

Raz gave the smuggler a small nod. "Good to hear, though I doubt this little set back will go over well with the orc commanders. Still much and more we need to prepare for if we hope to see the end of this war."

Vel stretches a bit, nodding to him. "Vel stole papers and brought back fuzzy peoples. We were losing fuzzy peoples quickly so Vel had to bring more or she’d be next! Or Hel."

Hel sighs, shaking his head, but saves any ire for a short hug of his gnomish ally. "Well, I suppose at any rate, at the very least they are still alive, even if they are ungrateful gits." Hel shakes his head, giving a yawn, realizing he looks pretty disheveled between the late night and the wounds of battle he had taken, glancing or otherwise. "Most of us have been awake for far too long today... I propose we gather our dead and grant them last respects, set the orc corpses to funeral pyre, and rest for now. We have done well, all of us. I doubt Malgra will waste more resources this way again."

Vel: "Maybe. Vel does wish naps though. May she rest after she feeds mistress, mistress?"

Raz’Qui: "Some rest sounds like a good idea." He stands up and stretches before finding a cloth to wipe down his blood covered scales.

Zyanya: "Let’s do what we can tonight. Shouldn't leave the dead out for long, especially if the weather turns foul. Plus, I think everyone's a little banged up, so some rest will do us all some good. We heading back to the ship for that or can we stay in town?"

Thrae: "Indeed, I am starved. You can nap after you help me with that Vel." Thrae said with a nod. "Though I would prefer to wait to do that after we are no longer in public."

Vel: "Vel doesn't think there's any houses to be private. Mistress has to make a web house."

DM62: "Our town's been burned down, mostly." Sir Malius shakes his head in the pouring rain. "Right. Let's take those battlements apart, use what wood we can salvage to build shelters. And we'll burn the dead. Lug--" he pauses, realizing his mistake. "Nevermind. Let's get to work, people."

DM62: Jenna nods. "The dead can help you." The undead townsfolk move to help assemble homes for the townsfolk from salvaged lumber.

Raz looks to the drider curiously a moment. "Will she be alright for you to feed from?"

Hel, silence growing, moved quietly as he took his waraxe and began tugging timbers from fortifications, so that it'd at least cut down the rain.

Vel: "Vel's only poisonous in her other head. Vel is fine as food. She just needs lots of naps after," says Vel, waving a hand dismissively, stretching and yawning, "Besides, Vel is used to being fed from. She was used to feed giant spiders. They sucked out all Vel's insides then healers would put them back. This hurts Vel much less."

Zyanya: "Right right. Sorry I asked." The Shiriti stayed silent, chosing to simply mutter a prayer to her goddess in thanks instead of an offering

Thrae: "Indeed, though if you're offering I'm sure I wouldn't mind taking some from you too." Thrae said to Raz with a grin, her fangs showing off rather prominently. I had to repair a fair bit of damage from that enemy mage so it might be for the best if I spread it around, wouldn't want Vel to be too tired for the next few days.

Raz thought a moment and nodded. "I suppose so. Though I am not sure she would be safe around you if you’re starving." He then petted Vel's head gently. "No offence little one, but it might take three of you to fill her."

Vel: "Hmph, Vel is quality over quantity but she will abide mistress’ decisions..."

DM62: Arturus frowns. "So... what are these 'Masters' to whom Luggor was referring? And the... Prophet?"

DM62: Sir Malius scowls. "There are rumors that Underfell, and Braxil, are controlled by ancient undead gods. Beings of supernatural evil and power. As for the Prophet, well... the word is that the Prophet is spreading a religion in the land. A single Goddess of the Sun, who crusades against all undead. Calls them abominations."

Vel: "Vel figures both are true, though what one calls evil generally means they probably eat a few humans to survive. You know, like most species."

Raz gave a small shrug at that. "Not much we can do about that. Though it is their afterlife and their religion. It is their own folly if they choose a false goddess."

Zyanya: "Feh. A goddess of words and not action. That is all I see and that makes her not worth my time and effort to consider. Her followers may be dumb as mudbricks and potentially dangerous, but I put no stock in her powers unless I see it. I've been carried to victory by my lady but I don't go around telling others they're abominations."

Thrae ran her tongue over her lips. Thinking of how fun it might be to get both Raz and Vel involved in the same session. Still, that could be decided later, for now she listened in on this description of the masters. She wondered if maybe they were just ancient vampires. It would be possible after all. "You would think if the Master's existed they would try there hardest to put a stop to such a religion would they not?"

Hel makes comments over his works, giving a grunt as he tugs the logs along. "Probably something Khrastorian's cooked up. Dwarven legends peg her as a trickster, and she was given the great light that controls the place. Beyond that, I know little. Dwarves focus on the Goddess of the Forge more so, for obvious reasons." He says this matter-of-factly, not meaning to sound demeaning or anything. "Let them believe what they will, but I am busy with cleaning up the battlefield we just dealt with, and hope they don't take this too far and try to attack their kinsmen because of such a slight."

Vel: "Maybe they are. Maybe they not care.," shrugs Vel, her personally not nearly as thrilled by the idea of having to be involved in thrae rutting with some lizard.

DM62: The smuggler smirks. "If these were under elves, they might be behind the Goddess Cult in the first place. But... not everything is a convoluted, sinister plot. Otherwise the DM would be FAR too predictable."

Raz’Qui: "Not unless they themselves were the ones who brought such a religion about and it is their goddess they are getting worshipped. There have been other such schemes in the past. I think they are called cults. Though usually it is a single leader just wanting to make a harem for themselves."

Vel: "Vel says you're silly. Everything is SOMEONES plot. Sinister just depends on who it is directed at."

Zyanya: "Agreed. We have work to do and maybe have some time for other stuff afterwards. Not sure how I'll be feeling after this..."

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Fourteenth Session, 8 January (part one, the aftermath, a death sentence, conferred knighthood)

Spoiler

DM62: Decades later, the people would say that the Battle of Axitan (or Axetan, as it was known then) was the true beginning of the modern Kingdom of Braxil... for it was here that Sir Regulus Malius began to truly earn the loyalty of the Kaliferian colonists. It was also the first time that the colonists had defended themselves against an adversary, without direct involvement from Ritzerite. The people of Braxil now had reason to question how much help they truly needed from their distant homeland.

DM62: Shortly after the battle, Sir Malius is coordinating the efforts of two groups: one to sift through the dead, and the other to try to extinguish the fires raging through the town proper, salvaging what they could of the village's infrastructure. Before turning his attention to the fires, he does a quick survey of the battlefield, bringing along volunteers to look for survivors in need of medical attention.

DM62: Raz'Qui and Thrae focus on fire-fighting efforts, using their elemental magic to good effect, while Jenna and Arturus accompany Sir Malius to assist in trying to help the injured.

Hel during this time would assist with the city's recovery, a mix of moving water and checking structural integrity of the structures that could be salvaged. He wasn't quite as learned with free-standing structures, but he did his best with his knowledge.

Vel stuck with Thrae obviously.

Zyanya was doing her best to help in any task that needed doing, jumping around between firefighting and helping the injured, remembering she had basic first aid training from back home.

DM62: The firefighting efforts continue, made difficult by a northward wind, but between elemental magic and dwarven engineering the party and villagers are able to save about a third of the town. Zyanya spots a human male trapped under a pair of orc bodies. Both of the orcs are dead. The top orc has the splintered end of a broken axe haft shoved through her thick neck. The human looks to be slowly stirring. Strewn around the male and the two dead orcs are many orcs, along with the twelve Braxilian knights, all slain in battle.

Zyanya: Seeing her aid was needed with the man under the two orcs, the shiriti would quickly get to work removing the bodies from the slowly waking man. "You'll be fine, sir. Just have to get these heavy sons of bitches off you." Looking at the scene it was a downright shame the knights were lost in the battle as well. Good men cut down but all in the name of something good. She'd mutter a quick prayer for them as she worked, but was focused on helping the man still alive.

DM62: Sir Malius spots Zyanya's efforts and joins her. "Looks like daughters of bitches to me, lady." Between them, they're able to uncover the human--it's the squire that came to Axetan with the twelve knights. In his hand is the other end of the axe haft, which comes loose from a clearly-fatal wound in the bottom orc warrior. "Sons of the Nether... what happened, boy?”

DM62: The squire looks up at Zyanya and Malius for a moment, looking confused and a little disoriented. He focuses on Zyanya. "Is the battle over, then?"

Zyanya: "Doesn’t change the fact they're bastards, sir. That's all." The amazon woman smiled and was surprised to see the squire from the knights still alive. Lucky fool must have gotten himself trapped mid fight, especially if he sounded this confused. She glanced over the Malius before looking back at the squire. "It is, lad. It is. A hefty price was paid but the people are safe at the very least. And from the looks of it you did good as well."

DM62: "What happened, boy?" Sir Malius leans in, gently prying the other half of the axe haft out of the squire's hands before helping him to his feet.

DM62: The squire looks about him. "We were... we were losing. The knights were going to have me fall back, but... nowhere to fall back to. I grabbed a wood-cutter's axe. The head came off... when I hit that one." He indicates a fallen orc with an axe-head sticking out from his chest. "Then I used the haft to deflect an attack. It broke. But I stabbed my attacker..." he points at the bottom orc. "She tried to choke me, but died, first. Then the other one..." he looks at the top orc, with the splintered wood sticking out of her throat. "She thought I was easy prey. I... I remember stabbing her and seeing red. Then something struck my head." He looks about, numbly. "So we did win, then."

DM62: Meanwhile, Hel and Vel and others are still fixing the town.

Zyanya: "Well, you gave them hell. All of you." She says in regards to the fallen knights. "You'll be ok though. Just a little dazed is all." She looked over to Sir Malius, some concern on her face. "Want me to look after the lad? He seems a little lost right now and I'd rather not see him wander off into the woods or something in his state."

DM62: Sir Malius frowns. "I don't expect you to understand, lady, but we have customs in Kalifer, even in the colonies. A matter of honor." He looks at the boy darkly. "A squire whose knight dies..."

DM62: The boy looks at Malius dazedly, then nods, finishing for him. "Is suppose to die himself, Sir. Yes. I know."

DM62: Sir Malius looks at the boy with a blank expression. "Then why are you alive, boy?"

Zyanya: "Because he had the will to live, damnit!" The shiriti stomped her foot, clearly unhappy with the customs of the mainlanders. "How idiotic is that anyway? He's still alive, perfectly healthy and he fought for his very survival even after his knight died! Where I come from, you don't throw away a perfectly good fighter just because their mentor or senior dies in combat! You find them a new mentor or a new superior so they can keep fighting or learning or what have you. You mainlanders would waste a perfectly good warrior because of some backwards tradition like that. No wonder your people were so desperate for help, you keep killing yourselves off for the orcs."

DM62: Sir Malius shakes his head. "Look at him." The youth is shivering slightly in the cold air, but his jaw is set, his steel-blue eyes looking straight ahead. Sir Malius murmurs to Zyanya, "If I don't take care of this, he'll off himself as his first opportunity, no matter what you do. Whether it's with a fork, or a knife, or a cliff, or walking himself into the damned ocean! It's a stupid law. A stupid, stupid custom made by some fat-headed Kaliferian lord. But this boy's clung to his honor so far... and nothing either of us can say will change that. Trust me with this--there is only one way to truly help the boy." He turns to the youth. "Kneel, boy."

DM62: The youth kneels. "Sir, I clung to life because there were enemies to kill. I accept my fate. My honor demands it." His jaw still clenched, he stares straight ahead.

Zyanya: "S...spirits above...I...never thought about it like that...b...but there has to be something we can do for him! H...he'll be fine." Her haughty words from before were now filled with desperation and sadness, the islander not wanting this to be a reality.

DM62: Sir Malius looks at Zyanya for a moment, then nods. "Boy. What is your name?"

DM62: The youth responds. "My master called me Fiske, sir."

DM62: Sir Malius nods. "Very well. I will grant your request for an honorable death. But you spoke truly. You delayed your death because there were enemies left to be slain." He leans in, kissing Fiske on both cheeks. "You will serve the People of Braxil, by slaying her enemies, until they slay you or there are none to be found. Then, and only then, will I give you the death you seek. Rise, Sir Fiske. Sir Fiske of the Broken Axe." The youth's eyes widen, and he glances at Sir Malius with considerable confusion.

Zyanya: The shiriti's eyes lit up as she heard the little speech given by Malius, the tribal running and giving the senior knight a hug. "I knew you wouldn't do the unthinkable!" She pulled away, a broad smile on her face as she turned back to the boy. She wasn't sure if offering him a hand up was allowed, but she'd stand close and wait for the boy’s confusion to wear off. "Greet the day, sir knight. You have much work to do for your home now."

DM62: Sir Malius gives a small chuckle at the newly-knighted youth's look of shock and confusion, then grins and returns the hug from Zyanya with one arm. As she pulls away, Sir Malius produces his own two-handed axe, presenting it to the stunned youth. "I present you with my axe. It's old. Very old. It was passed to me by my teacher when I became a knight. And my mentor, she told me that it would never break before the wielder did. I think it belongs in your hands, now. I have a village to rebuild. And you're going to accompany Zyanya and her fellows, on a quest that will bring you into close contact with many of Braxil's enemies." The youth rises slowly, his eyes growing even wider as he reaches out to take the offered axe with considerable awe.

Zyanya: "Congratulations and welcome aboard!" The shiriti was being quite affectionate today as she patted the newly knighted youth on the shoulder. She didn't want to say much else as he inspected his new weapon, only speaking up if the young knight did. If he didn't, she'd return to whatever chore she could find.

DM62: Sir Fiske accompanies Zyanya and Sir Malius in their efforts to help other wounded and sort through the battlefield. Towards the evening, Sir Malius sends a few messengers to retrieve the party, requesting their presence at one of the larger make-shift tents erected as temporary shelter for townsfolk.

Vel accompanies Thrae there!

Hel: Eventually Hel reaches the rest, still with a bit of soot on him after having been working inside some of the house to secure them until replacement boards could be gathered.

Zyanya: Set about her work, the tribeswoman would do her part throughout the day until Malius summoned the lot of them to one of the larger tents in the makeshift camp. She figured it must be important if he sent runners to all the others.