A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Fact 1: It has been at least three hours since Taran opened a portal from the temple hall to his equipment. (The GM has said that Taran's DEX and INT have recovered from the drain imposed by his Talo Worm on opening that portal, so it must've been 3 hours.)
Question 1: How long has it been for the other PCs since Taran opened up his initial portal? I would have guessed that it hasn't been 3 hours, since there's been a lot of action and no sitting (or "sleeping") around as with Taran. This being the case....
Question 2: Therefore, exactly how far apart in time right now are the two scenes?
Question 3: If these times aren't in synch, does this mean that Jax's portal opening needs to be squeezed into a prior scene of Taran/Cambrea (now that would be embarrassing), or will the coin compensate somehow mystically to synch the timelines back up?
I can only assume that in his infinite wisdom, the GM will figure something out. I just wanted to point out the time differences, because if I don't, someone else (now who would that be? <g>) will probably point it out later. Ok, now on to the much anticipated next scene in the life of Taran Dracon.
"Shhh! We have bad guys. Terrific, what is it talking about? Is that your Mummy? You have a plan?"
Taran gulps a big Arahk's-Apple gulp and remembers what the Mummy King said to him earlier. Something about it needing Taran for his Warrior's heart. At the time, Taran thought that he, Shipy and Olvarin would be chopped up for their parts so they could be used as morbid spell components for the Mummy's evil purposes. Remembering this makes Taran shiver with fear. Yes, it is fear he is feeling, but he chalks it up to a higher susceptibility to fear due to his dulled senses. Having escaped the Mummy King once, here he is again, minus Shipy and Olvarin, but plus Cambrea and a host of Gargoyles. He gulps again and responds to Cambrea's questions.
"No, that's not my mummy," he mutters, grimacing. "My Mum's much uglier," he thinks with fondness. Then: "Plan? We, argh, don't need a plan. An Orc follows his heart. If that doesn't work, he follows the exit signs."
"Who said that, your 'infamous' Uncle? Father? Mother? Your brother, Jacks? This Hobbit Shippy [sic] who started all this mess?" Cambrea inquires sarcastically, having heard more than enough for one day of Taran's stories about his relatives and Hobbits, their quips and wisdom in the last several hours.
"Ugh, no, I just made that up. Maybe my own Orcling will quote me one day, if I live long enough for him to be born."
"You assume too much," Cambrea says, getting nervous.
Still grimacing, Taran ponders the situation. The Mummy seems to be in just as much trouble as they are, with the Gargoyles ready to pounce. That much, Taran can fathom even with his limited capacity to fathom.
Perhaps the Mummy only reformed itself when Taran and Cambrea arrived so that he could have help to escape the room. Without aid, it'd be torn to pieces again. But Taran doesn't consider this. He only wants to get out himself, too, now that he finds no trace of Jax and the others.
Cambrea steps closer to Taran and eyes the drooling Gargoyles. She whispers, "Anybody home? Hello? Use your worm already and get us out of here!"
Taran's eyes grow wide. Maybe that's what the Mummy is trying to tell him. How the Mummy knows about his Talo Tatoo Worm, he doesn't know and doesn't care. But it is a way out....
"An enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least for the moment." He isn't sure who said that, and he is happy Cambrea doesn't ask him. "I don't see that my friends are still here, so... get ready to jump!"
Having decided what to do, Taran nods to the Mummy King, concentrates on a sigle point with all his senses, aligns himself with that point, and blocks out all other distractions. He envisions that single point to be the belly of the Night Gail, where he stashed his equipment in the adventurers' quarters. That's the place where he last felt that everything was normal, before he discovered the undead hordes in the storage deck and the adventure went to the crapper. He hopes he has enough strength to open one more portal.
I just wanted to point out the time differences, because if I don't, someone else (now who would that be? <g>) will probably point it out later.
Wait no more! :) All Taran does know is that he has arrived back at Shu-Tzen sometime after he (and obviously the others) left. When this is is anyone's guess. How long Taran was in the swamp is irrelevant, as Lerotra'hh's magic could've taken him anywhere in space or time, for all we know.
Nice post, btw.
"Cripes, does this ever end? For all we know, T's probably skived off to some little love shack by now in no particular need of rescue. They don't call 'im 'sniper' for nothin', eh?"
He ain't heavy, he's... right. Jack follows along.
Olvarin leans against a convenient building wall and gasps for breath while guards escort Elvish prisoners off, and magical Orc portals appear.
"I'm too tired.... I won't do Jax any good," the Elf mutters. Sighing heavily, he trots behind the Khazan guards and offers his help as a healer. Olvarin doesn't have the magicks to heal a diseased mind, but he has whatever psychological skills he learned at the temple.
Perhaps he can be of some use, after all?
Note: Jack, Shipy and Bela followed Jax through the portal. Lilac and Ebony (non-posters) went their own way unless they post to say otherwise. Olvarin, Quickly and Jay followed the guards. Shipy Sr. and Kazad went a different direction.
Olvarin follows the city guards and attempts his best to be helpful if needed, but nothing is ever asked of him during the ten minute walk. Jay, with Quickly hovering close by, follows the city guards, but a little more unobtrusively at a distance.
Quickly is a bit frustrated that he is being ignored by most everyone, but he noticed for a few seconds back there, that the Elf [i.e., the former Gargoyle, not Olvarin --ed.] looked at him directly, making eye contact. Quickly thought he saw something very powerful and primal in that look.
Jay neither gets answers from the guards nor from Shipy Sr. Like many other people before, they ignore him. Eventually the guards enter an alley, unlock a door to a stone building and enter. The last guard puts his hand out to stop Olvarin from following them inside.
"Do I look like an idiot? Huh? Are you an idiot? You must be, because we're not really city guards! Now get lost before we send you to the other side real quick. Understand?" The man pushes Olvarin back, slams the door shut and locks it.
If it weren't apparent before, it is clear now that something is going on. Jay and Quickly join Olvarin in the alley where they stand together deciding what to do next. The rain has stopped suddenly but the frequent Khazan fog has begun to brew. Jay, Olvarin and Quickly turn to see Shipy Sr. and Kazad standing at the entrance to the alley, and then approaching them slowly. The door the "guards" entered is on your right.
"Well, there's some familiar faces. Hello... Jay, Olvarin, Quickly." Shipy Sr. greets Quickly even if the Fairy is invisible. "Okay, okay, it's happening again. I'm sensing stuff before it happens! So much for my sanity. I will not be taken to task for having a trusting nature, so let me put it bluntly.
"The Elf is mine and he's goin' home with me, so you don't have to like it. I just want you to know. Lock up the women, and hide the fried chicken! Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay our final respects and to say farewell to our dear friends, Jay, Olvarin, Quickly: three schmucks, mule-headed, reckless, and probably stubborn even before I met them. Alas, there is nothing you can do."
He sighs. "I never asked to be saved by anyone, so I don't owe you guys anything, but now I really need you to move your asses. I'm afraid I must insist."
What do you do?
The Mummy King holds a large fist-sized diamond in one hand. Taran holds a backpack and his crossbow in his hands, and Cambrea holds her sword in hers. For a moment, all three stand close together, nominally on the same side as the hundreds of Gargoyles eye them from a dozen feet away.
Then without warning, a portal opens behind the trio, about five feet away. The other famous Orcish brother steps out, followed by Shipy, Bela, and Jack. Taran feels the drain as the portal opens. In his mind, he imagines a sucking sound.
Shipy pokes Jax with one finger. "Sweet move Grapple-Jax! I think they know we're here." He gulps. "I think we're all gonna die too! They want to eat us 'cause we're candy."
Jack pats Shipy on the head. "Candy? Fine, but don't sugarcoat it for me. One-Adam-Twelve, guys, all the critters'r part of our reality now. Look, Shipy, I know that this trip to Kruegerland was not on your itinerary, but believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel."
What do you do?
Group change:
Quickly is a bit frustrated that he is being ignored by most everyone....
You're darn tootin', but then again, he's pretty ineffectual and doesn't take it too personally.
He noticed for a few seconds back there, that the Elf looked at him directly, making eye contact. Quickly thought he saw something very powerful and primal in that look.
Did I? I did! Pow'rful. Primal. Right you are!
They stand together deciding what to do next.
Quickly presents himself, visible, to the Powerful, Primal Olvarin. "With faltering feet and failing fledges, I pledge blade and bow to service... particularly to someone who has a glimmer of what's going on. Have you a glimmer of what's going on? What do we do next?"
"... three schmucks..."
"Hey!"
"... mule-headed..."
"Guilty. But---"
"... reckless..."
"Guilty again. But---"
"... and probably stubborn even before I met them."
"Right, right, right. But---"
"Alas, there is nothing you can do. I never asked to be saved by anyone, so I don't owe you guys anything."
"Hey!"
"But now I really need you to move your asses. I'm afraid I must insist."
"Miserable little gnarler. Why-I-oughtta.... But Olvarin, is there any reason we gotta take this from Mister big folk over there? You've got a plan to find the others, right?"
Olvarin, who has managed to strip several mental gears over the last couple of days, stares blankly at the stout locked door which was slammed in his face.
"Uhm..." he mutters, stepping back into the middle of the alley. There always seems to be a wagon load of things he doesn't know when he needs to. Mere brigands would not have the knowledge nor the capacity to show up, disguised, and so conveniently after the transformation of the Gargoyle to an Elf. This is either an indication of a Wizard's divination, or a carefully prepared contingency plan designed by some kind of mastermind. "Oh well, I'm probably wrong on all counts!" Olvarin says aloud to himself. "It doesn't matter because I don't think we're in any shape to storm this building anyhow."
Quickly flutters to the street, and is about to pledge his loyalty to Olvarin when the Fairy suddenly realizes that it was the captive Elf (not Olvarin) whose eyes shone with such mysterious potential. A little embarrassed, Quickly blushes. But he consoles himself with the observation that all big folk look alike, at least, mostly.
Jay's powers are largely unknown to Olvarin, but a glance at the grim expression of his fellow Wizard seems to indicate that Jay isn't about to storm the building with blazing magicks all by himself.
"Well..." Olvarin begins, "it seems to me...." But his voice trails off as the trio turns to see the evil Shipy Sr. and his hired murderer strolling down the alley towards them. With a will of their own, Olvarin's teeth grind, and his eyes narrow. Shipy Sr. and his henchman didn't escort them or the fake guards; that the two should suddenly appear so soon after the "guards" reached their destination is terribly suspicious.
In his confusion, Olvarin simply stares at the loathesome old Shipy Sr., the little gremlin-wannabe, as the Halfling inflicts an insulting dismissal of Jay, Quickly, and himself.
Without a word, Olvarin walks out of the alley onto the streets. Then he begins to feel evil. "Quickly! O' noble Fairy! If you think that gnarled old Shipy Sr. is behind this Elven abduction, then by all means, shoot him with your enchanted arrows! If not, then forebear! In either case, I'll go this way, and you go that! Find real and true guards, and lead them to this place! Kidnapping! Impersonating the city watch! Murder! Mischief! Mayhem! Bring them, and let our taxes do the rest of the work."
Saying this, Olvarin sprints down the street in search of the city watch.
Quickly... is about to pledge his loyalty to Olvarin when the Fairy suddenly realizes that it was the captive Elf (not Olvarin) whose eyes shone with such mysterious potential. ... He consoles himself with the observation that all big folk look alike, at least, mostly.
Ha! This had me ROFLMAO! Classic stuff, weird_ollie01!
Quickly, equally impressed by Olvarin's swift decision-making and embarrassed by his own revealed size-ism, flits after Olvarin, but not without spinning once, loosing an arrow at Shipy Sr. and flying on, not even taking the time to see if he hit or not.
Group split:
Well done indeed! I stand corrected, and we all do it IC! Love it.
It is a sight that Jax would never have expected: his confused brother, standing in apparent impasse, surrounded by countless Gargoyles and threatened by the Mummy King reborn. Yet for some reason, he doesn't appear in immediate danger from the Mummy, and just as anomalous is the fact that there's also a she-Elf wearing Taran's clothes. Nusuth. His move is instantly clear.
"King's Castle, T."
The term, taken from a timeless Haroouugh game that Jax tried to teach Taran last summer, names a move that Taran fortunately recognizes, if he never figured out when to play it.
Acting as only Orc brothers can, Jax and Taran switch positions simultaneously, with Jax drawing his EverSharp™ blade to keep the Mummy at bay, and with Taran grabbing the Elf's arm and stumbling toward the portal. When Jax hears Jack and Shipy behind him, he bellows, "Get back in! Now!"
Jax will quite stubbornly try to hold off the Mummy and the Gargoyle horde until his comrades have made it back inside, for he guesses (from Martek's description of the coin) that the portal will close behind him.
Jax's gloves allow him faster travel through the portal than one would expect, so I have imagined Jack's, Shipy's and Bela's emergence to have occurred after some delay. Furthermore, Jax has his back turned to the portal in his effort to keep the Mummy from entering it; while Jack and Shipy announce their presence by their words, Jax is unaware of Bela's presence.
It seems Taran's attempts at opening a portal as encouraged by the Mummy are interrupted by Jax's coin-portal. But Taran doesn't know this....
Taran shakes his head from dizziness and explains quickly to Cambrea. "That's Jax! He must've decided to come rescue me! Orc irony at its best! I'm dizzy! Let's boogie!" Knowing he's in no condition to fight, Taran readily accepts the easy exit and trusts his brother to make it back through the portal behind him. Taran, the drained and dazed Orc, pulls Cambrea with him into the portal. He doesn't ever question where it will lead since his brother has just come through it.
Cambrea trusts---for the moment---Taran's judgement and helps him through, jumping through alongside him. "Hasta la Gargolyla, Mummy!" she calls back.
Shipy Sr. and Kazad stand there with Jay in the alley. Kazad looks up at Quickly with eyes showing his momentarily quelled Warrior instincts. Quickly's arrow misses its intended target as he retreats with Olvarin. Of course Kazad remains as silent and stoic as ever. Shipy Sr. seems somewhat amused by the entire episode, as if they would not be expecting such a tactic from Quickly or not be prepared for it.
"Was it something I said?" The elder Hobbit lets a slight wrinkled grin cross his face. "Why, you ask? Ok, so you didn't. But I'll tell you anyway: greed. What else is there? My point here was just to delay you until they could get away. Of course the Elf is being taken elsewhere." He smirks. "I feel like a rat. You're here whining like a pig while all along the Elf is as lonely as a frog!" Shipy Sr. laughs. "I guess you should have listened to Shipy, huh?"
Shipy Sr. and Kazad turn and walk off into the foggy darkness. "See, emotions were of little use to us in our duties tonight, Kazad. Another lesson learned." They disappear into the night.
Olvarin and Quickly return minutes later with real Khazan guards.
Unless Jay posts that he follows Shipy Sr. and Kazad, it ends here.
What do you do?
Bela, Shipy and Jack have no more than just stepped out into the great room filled with angry Gargoyles when Jax shouts for them to get back inside. The Mummy doesn't give Jax time to draw his EverSharp™ blade, let alone to use it in the close quarters. With magical strength, the Mummy stiffarms Jax and the others out of the way and disappears into the portal before anyone can stop it. Before the Gargoyles can attack, the rest of the adventurers (including Cambrea) follow suit and enter the portal as it closes behind them.
The wild kaleidoscope joyride in the portal ends as the group steps back into the alley one by one (with Jax exiting first regardless of the order they entered). Jax prepares his EverSharp™ blade as his friends exit one by one, but to his amazement, the Mummy never steps out. The portal closes without belching forth the decaying undead.
"I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were all in it. For one beautiful night I knew what it was to be subjugated, yet honored."
Shipy shakes Jack. "Snap out of it!"
"What what? Aaah, never mind." He scoffs. "Pffft!"
What do you do?
A portal pops open and the Mummy steps out. It has indeed worked: portals do have different paths. With the large diamond clutched in its bony hand and its tattered cloak held close about it, the Mummy hurries away, considering its own evil plans.
Quickly leads the way, sword drawn and pointing ahead dramatically. "Kidnapping! Impersonating the city watch! Murder! Mischief! Mayhem! What he said! WHUPS! Where'd everybody go? Jay? Jay?"
At the head of a dozen stalwart Khazani guards, Olvarin makes his way back to the alley where he last saw the imposters. He soon meets up with Quickly and together they swarm down the alley. Quickly looks for the enigmatic Jay, but he is long gone. The Wizard shakes his head, but the momentum of the moment's events bursts forth. The guards throw themselves against the solid oaken door until they break the locks.
Inside is nothing. Absolutely nothing. The imposters with their captive and ugly Shippy Sr. [sic] with his rent-a-thug have all but magically disappeared. No scrap of imposter's costume, nor fly-like Hobbit foot hair remains in the void that is the room.
Olvarin swallows the queasy, sinking feeling that he feels in his gut. Turning to the irate guardsmen, he promises he will make his rounds on the morrow, and heal for free any discomforts or diseases the city watch might be suffering. The Elf gets bawled out anyway. A lot. Helplessly, the Elf endures it, and sighs with relief it is done.
"Well, Quickly. We were too late after all. Don't feel bad. We couldn't have prevailed against so many. Now, tomorrow I must make my rounds. And I desperately need my sleep. If you have need of me, I'll be at the Blue Frog Tavern. And know that you can call me friend for all our days."
Quickly bows. "Mayhap disease borne by rat lies in your path, and the carriers be my prey! For a Very Reasonable Price my blade is yours, matched against any rat the city can offer!"
Sorry for the delay. I spent the last week or so training with the Japanese. Okay, let's see what's been going on....
A portal pops open and the Mummy steps out. It has indeed worked: portals do have different paths. With the large diamond clutched in its bony hand and its tattered cloak held close about it, the Mummy hurries away, considering its own evil plans.
<Shrug> Look at this as a good thing. If left behind, perhaps the Mummy would get shredded by the Gargoyles 15 seconds after reforming, but 15 seconds here and there eventually adds up to hours. And given the lot of stuff in that place, everyone might be better off with him gone from there.
Quickly is a bit frustrated that he is being ignored by most everyone....
You're darn tootin', but then again, he's pretty ineffectual and doesn't take it too personally.
Jay neither gets answers from the guards nor from Shipy Sr. Like many other people before, they ignore him.
You're darn tootin'; it contributes to his ineffectiveness and he does take it personally.
Jay's powers are largely unknown to Olvarin...
Although he's been fishing for spells several times, and has stated numerous times the spell areas he lacks.
...but a glance at the grim expression of his fellow Wizard seems to indicate that Jay isn't about to storm the building with blazing magicks all by himself.
Why start now?
"Oh well, I'm probably wrong on all counts!"
"Wrong on what counts?"
"It doesn't matter because I don't think we're in any shape to storm this building anyhow."
"Except for the Fairy, I don't think we're the storming types."
"Well, there's some familiar faces."
"And here are two unwelcome ones joining us."
"I will not be taken to task for having a trusting nature, so let me put it bluntly.
"Good. Subtlety doesn't befit men of action. Wait, that leaves you out, doesn't it?"
"The Elf is mine and he's goin' home with me, so you don't have to like it."
"The Elf is a living sentient, so he's probably got some legal status that says he's not yours. You don't have to like that either, and I dearly hope you don't."
"I just want you to know."
"Thanks."
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay our final respects and to say farewell to our dear friends, Jay, Olvarin, Quickly: three schmucks, mule-headed, reckless..."
"Hang on, that sounds like the description of your group. Oh, but you're down to only two now, aren't you?"
"...and probably stubborn even before I met them."
"Even before you met us? You mean that you have the effect of making people like that?"
"Alas, there is nothing you can do."
"Perhaps not. We're about to find out."
"I never asked to be saved by anyone, so I don't owe you guys anything, but now I really need you to move your asses."
"I never asked or was interested in saving yours. My task was simply to prevent a Balrog from being unleashed. If you're still set on a path that will cause that to happen, then I'll still attempt to stop you."
"But Olvarin, is there any reason we gotta take this from Mister big folk over there? You've got a plan to find the others, right?"
"We don't need the others. The three of us can handle these schlemiels."
Without a word, Olvarin walks out of the alley onto the streets.
"Okay, well there're still two of us to the two of you."
Quickly... flits after Olvarin....
Having lost all his backup, Jay steps aside and points towards the locked door into which all the would-be guards went. "Be my guest. Open it."
Quickly's arrow misses its intended target....
<sigh> Jay shakes his head and mutters, "Has that guy ever hit his target with one of those things?"
"Was it something I said?"
"Actually, I believe it was your body odor."
The elder Hobbit lets a slight wrinkled grin cross his face.
"I wasn't joking. Phew!"
"Greed. What else is there? My point here was just to delay you until they could get away. Of course the Elf is being taken elsewhere."
Dryly, Jay interjects, "How clever of you, except for the clumsy way you handled it. Everyone is suspicious, and will doubtlessly be checking into this---not just the three of us. I have no doubt your flunky could slay me, but I have less confidence in your ability to hold off two Orcs, skilled Wizards, and your son when they eventually do catch up to you, and I have great confidence in their ability to do so, one way or another. If you were half as clever as you like to imagine you are, you wouldn't have been so bluntly obvious about the whole affair, and could have smuggled away the Elf without revealing your involvement, or even raising suspicions that he was being abducted."
"I feel like a rat."
"That would be a step up."
"You're here whining like a pig while all along the Elf is as lonely as a frog!"
Jay says flatly, "Ha ha. That's a new one to me. Perhaps I am. Still, it's better than the self-congratulations you're giving yourself. It's like that of a two year old who is very proud of defecating in his pants, because he's managed to make it himself. I'll take whining over that any day."
"I guess you should have listened to Shipy, huh?"
"Listen to what? He said nothing. You, on the other hand, have babbled and burbled your involvement when it would have been better to let us wonder what was going on behind locked doors, as they got further and further away."
If Jay can keep the pair in sight through the fog without getting in range of weapons, he'll do so.
Question 1: Cat's Eyes: do you go with a strict interpretation---only darkness---or will this help in the fog as well?
Question 2: Oh There It Is: do you consider being concealed by fog as concealed things, and susceptible to the spell?
I'm not sure exactly what his current STR is right now; I didn't get specifics from the times he's healed folks. In addition, Jay still has the STR potion Olvarin handed him earlier.
As it is, I'm thinking of either a Slush Yuck (if the road is solid enough) to slow them down long enough for the guards to arrive, or following via Fly Me, Little Feets, or with one of the above spells.
If none of this is possible, Jay will pull out the silver Lerotra'hh favor coin he got from Jax. Addressing it, he will say, "I don't know how you work, but if there's something you can do right now, do it."
If following is not an option, and the coin is unresponsive, Jay will wait here for the others to arrive, and let them know what transpired.
"Well, Quickly. We were too late after all. Don't feel bad. We couldn't have prevailed against so many. ... If you have need of me, I'll be at the Blue Frog Tavern. And know that you can call me friend for all our days."
"Mayhap disease borne by rat lies in your path, and the carriers be my prey! For a Very Reasonable Price my blade is yours, matched against any rat the city can offer!"
Aren't you two jumping the crossbow just a little bit too early? Khara's post was just this morning, and he indicated a possibility of more to come if we attempt it. Even if we cannot follow directly, are we so sure the room has no trace of clues of where they might head? Shippy Sr. [sic] has already shown himself to be a bit sloppy; there might be some lead, or something the unresponsive Elf with mysterious potential in his eyes could do.
In other words, it ain't over 'til the adventure points are handed out, or you're rolling up a new PC. Sometimes not even then. ;)
WHUPS! Quickly catches himself up. Isn't the ratcatching racket what he wants most out of? He just gets so carried away....
Jay, you are absolutely right! I was discouraged by the events stacked against us, and gave up too soon!
Go To:
PBPArchives
| Rahnian
| prev
| next
This page updated: Mon Jan 09 14:22:30 2006
All text Copyright ©1999-2006 PBPArchives.
