Madhouse (DeMatt)

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

Alisa walked alone down the road to Artmirst, coming from the West. She was disappointed at the lack of company, but she filled the boring hours of mindless marching with fantasies of being rescued by some handsome male adventurer while in the town, concentrating especially on her thanks for him afterward.

She was so caught up on her thoughts that she didn't notice the Fey standing in the middle of the road until she was right on top of it. She starts, letting out a gasp, and the creature, she believed that it was a gruff, spun toward her, sword raised. Gruffs were goatmen, with the head and legs of a goat, and a thick body covered in hair.

Seeing that she was just as startled as he, he cautiously lowered his sword, and said, in a surprisingly high voice; "Who are you, and why do you approach me human?" She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, the body of a wolf on the ground, though she clearly sensed that something had been wrong with it long before it had died.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Alisa gave the gruff a sheepish smile, trying to project a confidence she really didn't feel, even as she was kicking herself mentally. Aw geez, get so distracted by that fantasy that I just about walk into something... I wonder what he's packing under that rug, there? Dammit, don't think about that! At least she hadn't actually run into the guy...

"Er, um, I'm Alisa. I was just following the road here, and was a bit distracted as I came around the bend there. And you are?" Her eyes flick around as she's speaking, a quick glance at the dead wolf, another at the sword in his hand, around at the sides of the road, a slightly longer look at his crotch, before an abrupt jerk up to his face, and a reddening of the cheeks.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

Alisa thinks she sees a bit of red poke out from beneath his fur while she looks, just before her eyes jerk up. She is unable to read his expression, but he seems to take notice of where her eyes were when her head darts up, and he cocks his head, curiously.

He says; "My kind need no names, but you may call me Gab, it was the name I was last given by a mortal when I conversed with her. Why have you come here, Alisa? This is no place for mortals, the dark ones invade our world once more. I would hate to see one so beautiful as you taken by one of them, and twisted into one of their puppets. If you are truly decided on proceeding down this road however, I would be glad to offer you my protection, for a price."

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Alisa blushes a bit more at the compliment.

"Um, well, while studying at the collegium, I'd run low on money, and this seemed like a quick way of earning denarii. Hunt monsters, bring back the parts for the alchemists, maybe find useful stuff..."

She relaxes a bit, but gets a little sober. "I could've gone back to my parents' farm. They'd be glad to see me... but after the capital, it just seemed... so provincial."

Alisa looks down for a moment, then back at Gab. "Erm, anyways, your, um, offer. It does sound better, working with a partner, than alone... what did you have in mind?" Avoiding the word 'price' and with it the impression of strict mercenary motives, as she eyes him again, this time a steady look at his face, trying to judge whether to trust him or not.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

The gruff remains silent as she talks, listening intently. When she finishes, he says; "Many such hunters have come, and many have already been taken through the gate by the dark ones. Even a daemon has been taken, if what one of my brethren says is true. Again, I must warn you away, but if you truly will not depart, I would protect you. My price is merely your company, so that I might watch over you."

It was then that Alisa remembered what one of her female teachers at the collegium had said about the gruffs: that they were good to their word, but also quite lecherous. She had also said that no woman who had ever mated with one had failed to become pregnant, though that part had been said in a whisper.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Alisa certainly had no intentions of becoming pregnant... but it had been a while... and Gab certainly did seem honest... maybe she could figure out how to make one of those anti-fertility charms from back home, and then she could find out what that red thing was really like...

"Well, Gab... that sounds plenty reasonable. You'll watch my back, I'll watch yours, and we'll get way more monsters!"

She holds out a hand for him to shake, giving a firm grasp as they do so.

Stepping over to the corpse, Alisa looks down at it curiously. She asks, "So, um, what's up with the wolf, here?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

Gab shakes Alisa hand after only a moments hesitation, apparently having done the gesture before but not having done it in a while.

To her question, he replies; "It was a creature of the wild, corrupted by the dark energies of the portal. I was forced to kill the poor beast. Once the corruption takes hold, it is the only way. I was about to take the darkheart growing within the beast when you arrived, such things must not be allowed to remain and corrupt the land."

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

"Huh. Well, don't let me stop you... I didn't get the best description of what to look for, when I passed through the previous village..."

Alisa watches curiously as Gab finishes cutting the wolf open, wondering what this 'darkheart' looked like. She also takes a further look at the corpse, trying to see what signs, if any, it had of this 'corruption'.

That task finished, Alisa says, "So... I guess we should move on, then, right? Further down the road?" She waves in the direction of the town. "Or is there some place you need to take that?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

Gab quickly sets to work with his bloody short sword, and soon pulls a small red stone out of the beasts body. He wipes it, and his sword clean of blood before standing back up. The corpse has small, whiplike protrusions coming from various places on its body. He offers the stone to her; "If you have a pouch or pack of some kind, might you hold onto this? It is uncomfortable to the touch to my kind, and I have nothing to carry it in. It must be taken to a Lord or a warlock, or perhaps a power mortal priestess to be destroyed."

Once the business with the darkheart is finished; "The town is my destination as well, we may be off at once." He says.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

"Uh? Oh, sure..." Alisa swings her pack around, digging around in it until she comes up with a pouch only somewhat larger than the stone. Gab lets it drop in, she ties the pouch closed and tosses it back into her pack, and they're ready to go.

Until Alisa realizes she should probably unsling her bow. "Hold on, I probably should've had this ready in the first place..." I am NOT going to blithely walk into another monster. The next one probably won't be friendly. She snaps the string taut, giving it a twang with her finger, and pulls an arrow out of her quiver.

So prepared, Alisa and Gab move on down the road, Alisa with the arrow in one hand and her bow in the other.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 33

Perception Check: Failure

Alisa and Gab travel quietly for a few minutes, both remaining alert. After a while, however, they let their guard down, and begin to chat amiably as they walk. It is only Gabs sudden shout mid sentence that alerts her to the presence of the wolf sneaking up on her from out of the brush. turning, she sees three more of the creatures, all snarling and approaching her and Gab from the forest to the right of the road. none of them are more than ten feet away. All of them, like the wolf from before, have strange lumps and appendages visible from their hide.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

(Schiesse.)

Alisa turns, and seeing the wolf in the brush, manages to keep from yelping and instead lets out a curse - "Damn... there's FOUR of 'em!" Pointing at that wolf, she snaps out "نبت", and the brush around it suddenly animates, branches lashing at the wolf to drag it down even as more substantial vines erupt from underneath it and coil their way up its legs.

(Cast Entangling Plants on the first wolf.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 30/33

Casting: 12 + 10 + 8 + 1 = 31 vs 10 = Success.
Body vs Mind +4: 2 + 20 = 22 vs 19 + 20 + 4 = 42 == Alisa wins.

Alisas vines entrap the wolf in front of her, holding it to the ground. The other creatures rush at her and Gab.

To-hit: 12 + 20 = 32 vs 25 = hit.
To-hit: 12 + 20 = 32 vs 25 = hit.
To-hit: 6 + 20 = 26 vs 28 = miss.
Damage: 6 + 6 = 12 damage on Gab.
Damage: 3 + 6 = 9 damage on Gab.

Two of the beasts bite at Gab, leaving nasty wounds on the gruffs legs. Alisa dodges aside as another of the beasts bites at her. Gab counterattack against one of the creatures who had wounded him.

To-hit: 7 + 32 = 41 vs 23 = hit.
Damage: 4 + 10 = 14 damage.

He slashes along the beasts side with his sword, giving it a nasty gash.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Alisa grins at seeing the first wolf trapped, then squeaks as she hastily dodges another. Quickly, she snaps out the words to the spell, the second wolf's lunge carrying it into a brand-new patch of vegetation that whips around its torso. The drain from her earlier spell is nothing, really; a part of her magic continues to keep the vines mobile, straining to keep the wolf in place.

(Cast Entangling Plants on Alisa's second attacker. Maintain the spell on the first wolf.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 25/33

Casting: 20 + 10 + 8 + 1 = 39 vs 10 = success.
Body vs Mind +4: 13 + 20 = 33 vs 12 + 20 + 4 = 36 == Alisa wins.
Body vs Mind +4: 1 + 20 = 21 vs 7 + 20 + 4 = 31 == Alisa wins.

Another of the beasts is entangled by her vines, and the first is unable to escape from its prison. Gab cautiously swings at the beast nearest him, unwilling to risk further injury.

To-hit: 12 + 32 - 4 = 40 vs 23 = hit. Gains 8 dodge.
Damage: 2 + 10 = 12 damage.

His cut cripples the wolf, putting it out of the fight. The final moving beast rushes for Gab once again, and he turns to try and avoid its claws.

To-hit: 13 + 20 = 33 vs 36 = miss.

The gruff evades it, and now the pair face only one mobile beast and two entangled ones. Alisa, however, can start to feel the drain on her energy, and for some reason she gets slightly horny.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

"Heh, such lovely plants..."

Feeling more confident, now that only one monster is free to attack, Alisa brings her bow up, preparing to take a shot at it when she gets an opening. The drain she feels as the vines shift and twine is minor, but a flash of memory, of using that self-same spell to pleasure herself, brings a flush to her cheeks.

(Attack wolf #3 with the bow. Maintain both spells.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 21/33

To-hit: 15 + 26 = 41 vs 20 = hit.
Damage: 1 + 13 = 14 damage.
Body vs Mind +4: 3 + 20 = 23 vs 14 + 20 + 4 = 38 == Alisa wins.
Body vs Mind +4: 3 + 20 = 23 vs 13 + 20 + 4 = 37 == Alisa wins.

Alisas vines continue to hold the creatures in place, and her arrow hits the only free beast in the flank, causing it to yelp. Gab attacks it ferociously with his bronze short sword, trying to end the threat.

To-hit: 9 + 32 = 41 vs 20 = hit.
Damage: 2 + 10 = 12 damage.

Gabs strike severs the beasts head, and he turns to the other two creatures. "Can your spell hold them my lady?"

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

"Aye... for the moment, at least... um, what should we do with them?"

With the other two wolves dead, Alisa is able to focus her attentions on maintaining the entangling vines. That flash of memory reminds her of something, and with a sly grin she sends some mental commands to the plants. Maybe they would find it more difficult to struggle free if they were distracted by something... say, a vine-tip investigating their rears?

(Maintain the two spells. Try to slip a vine inside each wolf's anus. )

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

Spoiler

Alisas Status: HP = 41, P = 38, EP = 17/33

"They must be killed, sadly. Once this corruption takes hold, their is no way to remove it." Gab says, and advances on the two held wolves, his sword held ready. The two creatures growl as he approaches, and suddenly yelp as the vines start to prod into them from behind. The gruff, believing that they yelp in fear, raises his sword to strike. The two beasts begin to struggle wildly.

Body vs Mind +4: 19 + 20 = 39 vs 4 + 20 + 4 = 28 == Enemy wins.
Body vs Mind +4: 9 + 20 = 29 vs 16 + 20 + 4 = 40 == Alisa wins.

And one of them suddenly breaks free, the vines going limp as it tears itself out. It rushes for the gruff, and Gab responds with a quick stab directed at the creatures eye.

To-hit: 11 + 32 = 43 vs 20 = hit.
Damage: 7 + 10 = 17 damage.

The beast impales itself on Gabs blade, the sword going straight through its eye socket, its momentum only driving the sword deeper. It falls dead, and Gab yanks his sword free. The other wolf struggles weakly, fear and the vine penetrating it weakening it.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: Madhouse (DeMatt)

"Oh... oh, my..."

Alisa says nothing more, merely holding the last wolf in place and making the vine toy with it while she waits for Gab to kill it.

(Maintain the last spell.)