Sisters Strange
Log Info
- Title: Sisters Strange
- GM: Aftershock
- Place: Alexandria
Captain of the guard, Balderdan Viet stands before you looking more than a little irritable in his office. He's standing which is probably not a great sign, his hands on the chair behind his desk looking at you with a frown. "We've had a whole lot of folks going missing of late. Add to that the recent slew of unusual deaths and we are worried that there's a lot more dead than we know about and we can't figure out who or what is doing the disappearances or the murders. I'd like you to question the most recent victims family and see if you can't find something that my men have missed."
People vanishing is usually not a good thing, and Bryn has a bit of experience in suddenly not being somewhere anymore. It's worse with folks dying... though the oruch doesn't have much experience with that. She nods at the captain. "Sure, we can go talk to 'em. Prolly wantin their missin folks found sooner 'n not later."
"Unusual deaths, missing people..." Skyler Skywalker, (former) Pirate and (current) Gentleman Adventurer, is dressed in his usual patched up great coat and crow's hoard assortment of doodads and geegaws. But while he's usual irrepressibly cheerful, something about the guard's words has a certain tension in the lightly scruffed jaw, a detachment in pale grey-green eyes beyond the usual lack of focus and rational thoughts. And his voice is shark, "Has there been any talk from the Temple of Vardama about desecrated graves?" Bryn at least might remember why his voice is so hard:
Flashbacks of a plane of death, Skyler standing over the wreckage of a body lit by a sullen glow. Massive piles of bones. He takes a deep breath and shoves it all down down.
Cor'ethil frowns deeply as he listens to Captain Balderdan speak. The Warden of Gilead has his arms folded across his armored chest, his lips pressed together into a thin line as he looks thoughftul. "I think we can do that," he says. "Do you have any ideas as to where to begin questioning, Captain? I recall seeing something in the Tribune about a serial killer on the loose..."
He looks around at the room at his fellow adventurers. "Any of you have personal experience with the man? Herman Mudgett, I think? I can't rightly recall if it's one 't' or two 't's... Oh, no, what if there's two 'n's in Herman? There's not a lot of standardization in spelling when it comes to human names, I've noticed, but then again, we have that same problem in Sildanyari when people want to name their children something in Mynsandraal--"
Corey catches himself. "Sorry, tangent." He looks over at Skyler's hard voice and looks a little worried... but then he smiles brightly. "It'll be okay. I am here! And I'll make sure we get through this together."
Dirk stands with his thunderbelcher over his shoulder and gripping his belt with his free hand. His beard bristles around the pipe in his mouth, his shaggy white brows furrowed in a dour frown. "Aye, we can surely do some askin' about, I'll warrant. But I have tae ask... why isn't the Guard handlin' this? Folk in Alex aren't exactly keen on adventurers." He looks up at the captain, tipping back the brim of his tricorne. "So long as we're out an' about in the Heartlands, they're willin' tae put up with us. But havin' us janderin' about the city itself? Seems tae be askin' fer a whole mess o' trouble. An' if there -is- a killer on the loose, well... that sort o' trouble tends tae make noise. I expect they'll catch wind of us sniffin' 'round sooner'n later."
Carver is twitchy with suspicion. She joins with Balderdan's suspicions about more deaths to be reported. A bear feasts on sleek salmons until so full that sleep takes them, dozing by the riverbed. To something like Mudgett, the underbelly of Alexandria must seem like a feast. He came from a small village and now burrows deep in a major metropolitan area.
She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't chime in with any of them. Only the tension flicking around the green motes of her eyes give away the apprenhension. At Cor'ethil naming the monster in her thought she looks back up. "I do."
"I never trust anyone or anything that's named Herman." Skyler interjects, "Like... Herman? And you don't rename yourself? Who hurt you? Herman."
Balderdan looks at Bryn. "The latest victim was killed. Seemingly in his sleep. An unusual death for a man in his late twenties." His blue eyes slide over to Skyler and he shakes his head. "No. Nothing from the temple of Vardama about graves being tampered with of late. Though none of the bodies that we've been able to locate have been able to tell us how they passed... Not even the ones that died in terrible, awful ways that we've been able to locate."
He takes Corey's question seriously and thinks about it a long moment. "There's something off about the ones that died in their sleep that I can't put my finger on. The more gruesome murders are obviously the result of a serial killer mentality. But I'd stake gold that these murders are all connected somehow. The disappearances too. I have a feeling about it and... They all started at the same time."
His eyes fall to Dirk. "Why you? My men aren't investigators. They can catch a drunk, or even an ordinary murderer if they're pointed in the right direction but this kind of thing? And I haven't the time to take care of it myself the way I'd like. My recent promotion is keeping me far busier than I'd like."
Bryn eyes Skyler sidelong before clapping him on the shoulder. "Eh, it'll be fine!" Then she's corrected by Balderdan. "Oh. Right. Guess they wantin ta know, either way, eh?" Then she swivels her eye to Corey and then to Carver. "Mud-wha? Were that the one't escaped? Even if not, stuffed inna dark hole's where whoever it is belongs. Not the good kind, neither."
Dirk wrinkles his nose, looking up at Skyler. "Aye, I agree wi' ye, laddie. If his parents named 'im -Herman-, nae wonder he's out slittin' up folk. Och, what a dreadful mess all 'round." He reaches up to take the pipe from his mouth, turning his attention back to the Captain. "Tell us what ye can 'bout the families ye want us tae talk to. We'll take 'er from there." He grumbles quietly into his beard. "If they're still in the city, I -should- be able tae track 'em. Won't be -easy-, but I'll make do."
GAME: Corey rolls Knowledge/Religion: (15)+19: 34 GAME: Skyler rolls knowledge/religion: (7)+1: 8
"I got some bad pipe weed from a gnome named Herman." Skyler says darkly, with a scowl, "I woke up naked covered in cheese sauce in Goblintown."
And no, he doesn't elaborate.
Instead, he shoots Bryn a quick, reassuring grin. And gives Corey one too, along with a reassuring wink before he turns to the captain. "Promotions are such a pain! Once this is over, why don't I show you a bathhouse I frequent after missions." He bats his lashes, "It can be very... relaxing... in the sauna.
"A good question, actually," Corey says in regards to Skyler's inquiry about Herman's name. "This is why I'm glad my mother named me twice. I would have probably picked a horrible name the second time around. Like... Claidius."
A beat, before Corey elaborates, "It literally means 'sword' in Sildanyari." Then he smiles more widely and says, "Congratulations on your promotion..."
Then Corey's brow darkens again as he scowls a little. "Wait a minute. So if the bodies don't know how they died... There's three explanations. One, they died in their sleep. Two, they were caught by surprise. Three... And I don't think anyone here is going to like three... they were murdered so horribly that they can't speak of it. Trauma lingers on spirits, you know."
He straightens up a little. "Which means we should be incredibly, incredibly respectful--"
Corey looks over at Skyler, blinking. "Wait. Cheese sauce? In Goblintown? I didn't know that the goblins had their own cheese varietal. Is it a recent development? I know that most peoples and cultures with access to some sort of dairy-producing non-sentient animal usually develop their own signature style of cheese, but--"
He stops. "We can discuss that later. Stars, I am spending too much time with my twin sister; she loves to go on about things." As though this is entirely her fault.
"Yes." Carver answers Bryn's question. "The same. Carries pacts with fiends. Was retrieved from the dungeon by some manner of magical assistance by four shapeshifters, charmed the guards an' ran off into the night." Tick-tick-tick, things she knows that may be of value. "Mudgett is... he seeks the thrill of a kill, not the act of overcoming difficult foes but the act of bloodspilling. The same way one might be proud of something they created, he takes pride in what he destroyed. You see him? Kill him."
"The most recent man who passed was Kenji Saiuchi. His wife and her sister are in their home in the market district. I've informed them to expect you. He was a transport from Xian, and only came here recently. Not much is known about him really beyond the fact that he was a hunter and sold pelts and meats to various venders in the district. His wife is a baker and he would trade to provide her with materials to run her small bakery."
Balderdan blinks at Skyler, then smiles a little. "I'd appreciate it, assuming I get a day off after this." He chuckles and gives Corey a little side-eye. "You sure like to talk... I mean..." Balderdan has the grace to look embarrassed. "I mean, please don't tell the families that. It might upset them."
Balderdan's eyes fall on Carver. "The official line is that we apprehend Herman alive, but if he attacks you... Kill him." Balderdan shakes his head. "The man is foul."
Carver's green eyes shift to the door. "Sure. Alive." Some lies are just obvious. This ranks up with, 'It ain't mine, officer!'.
"I'm not sure where the cheese sauce came from. I didn't eat it, because I'm violently lactose intolerant and there wasn't any signs of explosive diarrhea." Skyler says consideringly, scratching his jaw, "And to be fair, the goblins don't want much to do with me after I pissed off that one little blue gobber by jumping out of a cake during my Society debutante ball. I think it might have been a hit job." With cheese sauce.
But there's more important things, and he frowns at Carver. "I've encountered that type before. A Kyton Acolyte." He shrugs one shoulder, the tension entering his jawline again, "You don't negotiate with rabid dogs. You put them down, quickly." He rolls his shoulders, "Some filth you can't wash off with a sponge." He cuts his eyes to the captain, "Although I'm always happy to try." He smirks, and then adds, brightly, "So we'll tell the families they died quickly and painlessly. Might not even be a lie! Sudden trauma can kill you so quick your brain doesn't even register pain! There's a spot just here..." And he shifts his head to the side, and places a finger against a spot before poking it and making a noise as his tongue lolls out and his eyes roll up to the back of his head. He then beams. "Painless! Bloody as all get go, but painless."
Dirk bogglers a bit at Skyler. "You -too-?!" he gasps. "Och, I thought that was just -me-! Took me -days- tae get that nasty glop out o' me beard! An' I'd -just washed- it that verra morn! Why I--" He pauses, then snaps his mouth shut. He's oversharing. Instead, he looks over at Corey. "I'm nae sure I'd call it -cheese-," he grunts. "I think it's craft paste that they just slather on sammiches." He turns his attention back to Balderdan, giving his beard a tug as he nods his head. "Right. Alive. Unless he attacks." Pause. "Knowin' -our- luck, he will. Bad luck fer -that- dozy bastard."
GAME: Dirk rolls Knowledge/Local: (17)+3: 20
Corey looks a little bashful, scratching behind his low ponytail of raven-black hair. "I do talk a lot. My husband's quiet, so I end up filling the space he leaves open." But then he smiles and says, "I think it's one of the things he loves about me. I wish he were here; he might have some insight into Kenji."
He looks to the others, nodding. "I think we're ready to go talk to them," he says. "Just have to be kind and gentle. It goes a long way with most people, I've found." Then Corey smiles again, that same winning smile.
The tangents are a bit lively (if not entirely more important) than dead folks, which pulls her attention between Sky Guy and Dirk. "Ye need ta tell me where these revels are..." Maybe she isn't lactose intolerant?
Then she's reminded of the important stuff by Corey. A fresh nod. "Ye. Le's get goin 'n talkin."
"The trick is gun oil." Skyler tells Dirk, walking over and clapping his shoulder, "Oil breaks down oil, and the cheese sauce is oil based. Next time, I'll show you." He smirks, "I usually keep gun oil on me for reasons." And he winks at the captain, before nodding to Bryn, "Let's go!"
It doesn't take long to follow Balderdan Viet's directions to the house of the late Kenji Saiuchi. The sister, Seia answers the door, a petite xian woman with dark rings under her eyes. She introduces herself and immediately returns to the side of her sister. "Airi. Airi... there are people here to see you."
She speaks to a woman who looks utterly identical to her in every way save that she looks perhaps a bit more worn out. The house smells heavenly despite the air of depression that lingers like smoke in the home. Airi looks up, her face stained with tears and she starts to stand up but only makes the motion unable to complete it before she dissolves into tears again and her sister puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Dirk's eyes get wide, then his expression turns to one of quiet sorrow. "Och... poor Kenji-san? Blessed Lady, who would want tae hurt -him-?" he asks mournfully. He shakes his head, stuffing his pipe into his hip satchel as he looks to the others. "I knew Kenji. He had his cart next tae mine in the market. Lovely man. Verra polite. An' his wife makes the -best- cinnamon buns ye ever tasted. I can take point on talkin' tae her." With a last nod to Captain Balderdan, he turns to trundle along with his comrades, headed for the Saiuchi household. He's holstered his thunderbelcher, and doffs his tricorne, tucking it under his arm as he waits for Airi to come to the door. He steps in, reaching out with a meaty paw to clasp her hand. "Airi-san, I'm so sorry fer yer loss," he says gently. He glances at his mates, then back to the grieving widow. "Lassie... ye remember me, don't ye? Dirk Stormgrip? I was sellin' leathers an' furs in the market. Ye gave me that delightful cinnamon bun."
Cor'ethil frowns gently as he enters the house. "I'd like to start by saying that I'm very sorry for your loss," he says, putting the remark about gun oil aside into his labyrinthine brain to remember later. Way later. "We're adventurers. I'm called Cor'ethil Cari'thana, but you can call me Corey for short. I'm a Warden of Gilead."
He sort of gestures to the pendant of Gilead that he wears around his neck. "I was hoping you'd be willing to answer some questions for us? If not, it's okay. I know this is a difficult time for you." He speaks to Airi with a voice that he normally uses for soothing injured dogs, cats, and horses when he heals the animals that get brought into the Temple of Gilead.
GAME: Skyler rolls perception: (15)+14: 29
Carver does not strike one as a comforting figure. Somewhere between the stormcloud warpainting and the bristling pair of quivers, she might be prone to being mistaken as a brute more than an empathatic creature; Dran blood still thunders in her veins. She does not dispute the matter. If one find their tongue does not twist and tie itself to knots at the sight of Airi's face, then they are more fitting for the job than she.
A tickle of suspicion. She moves quietly to a window and peers outside, biting into her bottom lip nervously.
GAME: Skyler rolls will: (7)+5: 12
Bryn steps inside after others, falling quiet after a polite "Hello, 'n sorry about what's goin on." Dirk seems to know them, Corey is a good talker, and ... she briefly eyes Carver peeking out the window. Not that Bryn can blame her, really. Her own mood on things is probably somewhere in the middle between condolence and suspicion. Call it condolencicion.
Skyler doesn't attempt to engage with the grieving family... For all his self-professed lack of intellect, he's got a certain wisdom to him, and an emotional intelligence that belies the lack of a light in the attic. So he leaves the women to the more soothing mix of Dirk and Corey. Instead, he discreetly moves towards the fireplace...
... until he suddenly stops in his tracks, his neck nearly snapping with how quickly he jerks his head from one side to the other, eyes bright. "Pardon me, but... is that honey and pistachio I smell?" He asks, despite himself, "I haven't had a good baklava since I came to Alexandria."
Airi looks up at Dirk's words and she manages the most watery of smiles. "I-I remember. Kenji talked abo-about you." This though makes her dissolve into even more tears. "Can I get you s-something?"
She almost seems hopeful, and when Skyler asks for baklava she looks at her sister who nods and heads into the kitchen. The other woman is only gone a little bit before she returns with a tray of the stuff and offers some to Skyler. "She's been cooking since he died. Can't seem to stop." Seia smiles sadly.
GAME: Skyler rolls sense motive: (15)+14: 29 GAME: Bryn rolls perform/sing: (14)+14: 28 GAME: Corey rolls Knowledge/Religion: (4)+19: 23
"My nanny growing up use to make it for me growing up." Skyler confesses to the woman with the tray, with a lopsided smile that isn't anything like his usual witless, terrifyingly thoughtless grin. He glances over the tray, adding quietly, "Every time I have this stuff, I remember her warm hugs when I'd scrape my knees climbing a tree." He pauses for a moment, and adds quietly, "Sometimes, we find the people we lost in the little things, and realize... we haven't really lost them at all." He dips his head.
And then glances at the others, "We want to help, and make sure what happened to your loved one doesn't happen to anyone else. Will you answer some questions for us? While we all eat your lovely baked goods?"
Dirk nods his head, offering Airi a warm smile. "Aye, that's right. He was a good man, Kenji was. An' we're here tae make sure that whoever took him from ye gets -exactly- what's comin' to 'im." He nods to Skyler (and leans over to snag a few pieces of baklava as well). "I know it's hard tae talk about. But the more we find out, the better chance we have of baggin' this sheep-shagger."
Corey looks contemplative for a moment as Seia goes to retrieve the goods, and it's only when the food is brought over to Skyler that he seems to focus on something. His brows furrow hard. His silver eyes glint a little.
He looks over at the group and subtly signs, "Don't eat the food. Something's not right here." <Handspeech>
"Yes, what Skyler said. We'd appreciate learning anything you have to offer about Kenji." Corey plasters on a smile again, but it's forced. He's not really an actor. Karasu is the liar of the pair.
GAME: Skyler rolls fort+4: (14)+5+4: 23 GAME: Dirk rolls fort+2: (12)+17+2: 31
Carver's brows pinch. She turns, green eyes tense, small motes of boundless energy. Like something beneath the sweet smell bothers her. Some detail off-putting, an expectation subverted. Corey's finger twitching means nothing to her. She does not share this language, but for all that, her hackles go up. She has no interest in the food. Instead, she twists back to face the room, scowling.
Her hand drops to a small vial on her belt, fingers tapping the cork. Thoughtfully.
Dirk had already popped a morsel of the baklava into his mouth, but he pauses in mid-chew as his eyes flick down to Corey's hands. His brows scrunch together like shaggy caterpillars getting ready to throw hands. Sloooowly, he looks back to Airi as he deliberately licks the sticky honey from his fingers, before he swallows. He drops the other morsels he'd snagged back onto the plate. "Airi-san. I need ye tae talk to us. -Honestly-," he says in a low, quiet tone. He does try his very best to not sound like a growling badger, but... well, he just doesn't take kindly to people with the bad sense to try and poison a dwarf. It shows a -regrettable- lack of foresight on their part.
The food smells awful tempting, and the offering is as much so, but Bryn's not so hungry at the moment; not that she blames anyone else who wants to nab some. She doesn't catch Corey's finger-waggling either, or at leats not its significance, but finally speaks up.
"So... was there anybody or anything weird around 'im or 'is place, before it happened?" They need info, so they need to ask stuff.
Seia smiles at Skyler. "I agree with you. Even if Airi can not answer your questions, I would be happy to help you. Perhaps what I know will suffice." She brings the tray around to everyone and smiles again when Dirk takes some. "Would anyone else like anything?" She stands over by her sister, the tray mostly empty.
Airi looks at Corey, drying her tears. "Please... I just want to... to do something. I feel useless."
At last there's a real question from Bryn that Airi answers. "Strange? Like what? I... I would have noticed something strange. Is strange waking up to find your husband dead next to you?" She falls back to tears.
Seia sighs and looks at Corey. "What information about Kenji would help you? He was a hunter. A simple job. He was not extraordinary in any way that we knew of."
GAME: Skyler rolls weapon0: (15)+16: 31
After a few bites, one of Skyler's eyelids begins to twitch. He glances from the baklava to Seia, and his lips thin. "Really?" He asks her, tone exasperated as he shakes his head, "Gods, I tell you a heartfelt story about my childhood?"
He cuts his eyes to Airi at her answer, then abruptly lunges forward with almost supernatural speed... To shove the remains of his pastry into Seia's mouth, "Fucking poison? Really?" It's more exasperated than mad, and he says to the others, "Poison! What a fucking cliche."
Airi jumps to her feet in surprise as her sister gags on the baclava and falls to the ground with her cheeks puffed out and full of poisoned sweets. "What did you do?!?" She yells, seeming totally surprised.
Seia meanwhile shifts and changes, becoming a strange mist-like substance that zips toward her sister and collapses around her. Covering her in a strange white cloud. "HELP!" She screams helplessly as the mist begins to dissipate and leaves only... someone standing there.
Dirk startles as Skyler does what Skyler do. "Och!" is about all he manages to get out before things start happening. As Seia vanishes into mist, he takes a step back, reaching a hand up over his shoulder to grip the stock of his thunderbelcher. But he stops. Goes stock-still. His face turns white as his beard, and he reaches up to rub furiously at his eyes. "S... Sarah...?" he whispers in a haunted tone. "But... this isnae right. You died a hundred years ago!" He snaps out of his shock with a furious snarl. He pulls his thunderbelcher and swings it over his shoulder, catching it mid-swing and racking the slide with a practiced CHK-CHAK as he brings it to his shoulder. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON HERE?!" he thunders, quivering from head to toe with righteous dwarven rage.
"Poison?" Corey asks, very unhappy with the notion of it. Especially when one of the sisters collapses and turns into mist, and...
"Karasu?" Corey squeaks, looking uncertain. "No, you're all the way back at home." He looks at his allies. There's no point trying to be subtle about it now. "I detected evil off of both of them. Not enough to be fiends, but generally more evil than you'd find with normal people. Which means..."
He draws his rapier, similar to Dirk getting ready to discuss business with his thunderbelcher. "Who are you two, and what are you?" Corey demands.
Bryn has seen Sky Guy do some unexpected things, so one would think she'd be less surprised. This is.. new, though, so she is completely caught off guard. "What in Kor's colossal-" She doesn't even get that out when there's mist melting and... "Ma's ma?!" She stares. "Ye can't be 'ere... 'n that sure's soot ain' yer cookin..."
Who... or what!... does Skyler see as he tucks backwards in a roll, heels clicking together as his shiny leather boots seems to shimmer with fiery energy? It's hard to tell, although there is a flash of pain, of yearning and regret on his face as the brainless swashbuckler tumbles backwards.
He surfaces a few paces back, pinning the two.. er.. single woman between himself and the paladin. "I think we found our murderer. You did mention dying in their sleep, and then that thing mentioned it too. Poisons can do that." He frowns, and adds, "You used too much rose water in the honey sauce, bitch! It's cloying."
Carver has her bow in hand quick as they blink.
Which is all the time it takes for the reveal of poison, of the drama of Seia fading away, and taking the mourning widow away with her. Or if they ever existed? Fiends. They warp the mind and bend expectations. Play off mortal sympathies and feed poisonous blooms, to rot from within. Her suspicion began with a house, a Xian house at that, bereft of flowers.
Now it lares bare in her sneering visage, gritting teeth, primal indignation, and righteous fury. A lace of confusion threads its way through.
The widow was gone but she observes someone familiar in her place. Her head tilts, first in surprise, then disbelief. A brief flittering pain like the taste of curdled milk.
"Ware your minds."
"Noa!" The vision of someone loved says, and a third woman enters the room, looking exactly the same as the first two. She comes from what is likely the kitchen and becomes mist immediately, flashing across the distance into the figure standing in the living room. Immediately the vision of that loved individual firms and smiles kindly at those in the room. "I love you... You do not want to hurt me."
The worst thing is that those words have power, and a part of you, really doesn't want to hurt this person who is so dear to you.
GAME: Skyler rolls will+4: (16)+5+4: 25 GAME: Bryn rolls will: (5)+10: 15 GAME: Carver rolls will: (17)+11: 28 GAME: Dirk rolls will+2+4: (16)+12+2+4: 34 GAME: Skyler spends TWO uses of CHARMED LIFE. GAME: Corey casts Archon's Aura. Caster Level: 15 DC: 17 GAME: Corey rolls 1d20+15+4: (1)+15+4: 20 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Corey rolls 1d20+15+4: (7)+15+4: 26 GAME: Corey rolls 1d20+15: (3)+15: 18 GAME: Corey rolls 1d20+15: (9)+15: 24
Corey wheels to face the third woman who has entered the room, seemingly immune to the powerful words of the vision. He looks at the remaining woman in the room. "The evil has increased. It's on par with an outsider. Which means this evil must be banished!"
He intones a prayer, concentrating on it as best as he can considering one of the sisters is in his way. But something about the strain of praying so fervently causes the spell he wants to fizzle out before it can take hold.
GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1: (16)+20+1: 37 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls critmonster+1: aliased to weapon1+4+1: (15)+20+4+1: 40 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1: (4)+20+1: 25 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1: (19)+20+1: 40 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls critmonster+1: aliased to weapon1+4+1: (20)+20+4+1: 45 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1-5: (1)+20+1+-5: 17 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1-5: (6)+20+1+-5: 22 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+damage1+18: aliased to 1d6+10+1d6+10+18: (2)+10+(3)+10+18: 43 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+damage1+18: aliased to 1d6+10+1d6+10+18: (6)+10+(5)+10+18: 49 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+8: aliased to 1d6+10+8: (6)+10+8: 24 GAME: Skyler spends ONE use of CHARMED LIFE.
Whatever it is he sees, Skyler reacts with both speed and precision as Corey begins his paean to the Hunter. He again clicks his heels, feeling a rush of sorcerous power well up from his boots and into his body suffusing him with energy.
Twice his blade slices with brutal, wicked precision, tracing the line of belly upward backhanded, before he flicks his wrist to slice across the creature's face. The follow up to that vicious combo isn't quite as deadly, or precise, but does trace a line across the thing's throat.
He stumbles back slightly, gritting his teeth. "If it bleeds, it can die."
GAME: Skyler rolls will+4+4+2: (16)+5+4+4+2: 31 GAME: Dirk rolls will+4+2: (12)+12+4+2: 30
Sarah turns to Dirk, and though Dirk knows it's not really the person that he remembers it... it looks like Sarah. It smells like Sarah. If he reached out and touched Sarah, he knows it would feel like her. In a perfect world he could live forever with Sarah again... at least until he died.
"Protect me." Sarah says. Pleading. Begging. He has to.
GAME: Carver rolls weapon18+7-6: (12)+23+7+-6: 36 GAME: Carver rolls weapon18+1: (16)+23+1: 40 GAME: Carver rolls weapon18+1: (11)+23+1: 35 GAME: Carver rolls weapon18-4: (15)+23+-4: 34 GAME: Carver rolls weapon18-9: (1)+23+-9: 15 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Carver rolls 4d6+22+2d6+11+2d6+11+2d6+11: (9)+22+(4)+11+(8)+11+(7)+11: 83
Carver bounces on her toes, sparks touching, before sliding to her left. A crack of thunder, or a howling warcry. Both seem to come from the bow as its magic seals sworn vengeance against her foes; the first of the floozies. "That face is a poor shield, fiend! Today is your red harvest!" Her arrows gleam with holy magic even as they impact against unyielding demonic flesh.
Dirk's eyes get large and liquid. "Sarah... love... I -buried- ye," he whispers. He blinks furiously, big wet tears rolling down his rosy dwarven cheeks. His beard quivers. As he sees his friends attacking the apparition that is -clearly- his departed wife, he turns, swinging up his thunderbelcher. "BACK OFF!" he roars in a strangled tone. "That's -my wife-! I'll nae let ye harm her!" He swaps his bead from one party member to the next, shaking from head to toe. -Something- strange is going on here, but... all he knows is that he -must- protect Sarah.
GAME: Bryn spends ONE use of BARDIC PERFORMANCE. GAME: Bryn casts Good Hope. Caster Level: 8 DC: 16
Bryn knows that's not really her Ma's Ma. Well, Ok, she's mostly sure it can't be. But, still... she can't bring herself to pull out her big curve blade on her(?), much less swing it. "It ain't right!" she starts, growing in volume as she continues. "Ye gotta fight!" That's for her friends, not the almost-maybe-probably-not Ma's Ma(s?)
GAME: Corey casts Greater Angelic Aspect. Caster Level: 15 DC: 18 GAME: Corey rolls 1d20+15+4: (7)+15+4: 26 GAME: Dirk rolls will+2+4: (4)+12+2+4: 22 GAME: Bryn rolls will+2+4: (11)+10+2+4: 27 GAME: Dirk rolls will+2+4+2: (4)+12+2+4+2: 24
Corey hears Dirk's distress, and worry and concern flashes across his face. The Warden is a person of care and compassion. He makes a decision not to go immediately for the obvious route of skewering the almost-assuredly-fiendish presence in front of him.
"O Gilead, I call on you to grant me the aid of your most celestial aid!" he says, rapier in hand. As he does, Corey is blessed with great wings, a powerful aura pouring from his form. <Celestial>
He looks to Skyler and smiles benevolently. "Go!" Corey urges. "I believe in you!"
GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+2+1: (17)+20+2+1: 40 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls critmonster+2+1: aliased to weapon1+4+2+1: (9)+20+4+2+1: 36
For a brief moment, Skyler's lip lifts in a snarl as exactly what that creature did interrupts the flow of battle that he's lost himself in with the precise blows he's landed. "You... bitch!" He snarls, and with a quick flick of his blade and a precise step sideways his blade effortlessly catches the dwarf's gun and flicks it up and sideways to disarm him, adding, "If we get out of the other side intact, I promise you a night on the town to drink this away, friend." He tells the dwarf, even as he rolls his shoulders.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+23: (20)+23: 43 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+23: (18)+23: 41 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+23: (15)+23: 38 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+27: (14)+27: 41 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6+1+1d6+1+1d6+1: (5)+1+(1)+1+(5)+1: 14 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+7: (18)+20+7: 45 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls critmonster+7: aliased to weapon1+4+7: (16)+20+4+7: 47 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+7: (3)+20+7: 30 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+damage1+2+2+18: aliased to 1d6+10+1d6+10+2+2+18: (3)+10+(4)+10+2+2+18: 49 GAME: Skyler spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Corey casts Liberating Command. Caster Level: 15 DC: 15 GAME: Skyler rolls will+2: (11)+5+2: 18 GAME: Skyler rolls 1d6: (2): 2 GAME: Skyler rolls escape artist+20+2+2: (10)+7+20+2+2: 41
The person that Skyler loves grabs him by the throat for an instant, pulling him in for a rough kiss that has his life flashing before his eyes, every instant that he's lived and then he slips free coughing and hacking.
GAME: Carver rolls weapon18+1: (16)+23+1: 40 GAME: Carver rolls weapon18+1: (19)+23+1: 43 GAME: Carver rolls 4d6+11+8d6+44: (13)+11+(23)+44: 91
As he sways back, blade slicing through the creature, Skyler bellows, "CONSENT!" His voice has a strangled sort of quiver in it, and he gags as he pushes his way free, his eyes confused and he sways in place, "Gods, I think I'm gunna be sick. I just kissed myself... as a kid."
Whut?
The arrow catches through the woman's eye, just as Skyler slips free of her grasp. The Oathbow's string sizzles with satisfaction. "Give warning, base creature. To your sisters and your masters; you are not well-met and will only be welcomed with steel and fire."
Carver moves to Skyler, taking his sleeve. "Take a seat, please." She will guide him to a chair to catch his breath.
The blow on him was enough to pierce his mithril shirt, leaving a new tear on his coat that'll have to be sewn up again, but fortunately, his elusive swamp witch oruch partner is a dab hand with a needle. Skyler, however, has a queer look in his eye, slightly shell-shocked as he coughs, sitting down as indicated by Carver. "G.. good job, Carver." He tells her dully, before shaking his head.
Fortunately, mind altering experiences only work if you have a working mind and Skyler has never had a buff brain. He closes his eyes, and when he reopens them, asks with worry, "Someone check on Dirk?"
Well, that escalated quickly. In several directions. There's grabbin. There's stabbin. Somewhere between Corey growing righteous wings and Ma Ma tusk-wrasslin Sky Guy, she is convinced it's not really Ma Ma. Then there's arrowination and disintegration and ...
"What in Kor's Adamantine Ass just happened?" She realizes there's no one to ask questions of anymore, neither. "So... time for ale? 'N maybe a hot bath?"
Dirk lets loose a bellow as his gun is kicked out of his grip. "GWAAGH!" He staggers back a couple steps, windmilling his arms. But dwarves are notoriously difficult to knock off their feet. Stomping down a foot, he firms up his stance, and balls up his fists as he rounds on Skyler. "You frippy, prancin', clean-shaven TWIT! I'LL HAVE YE!" he roars. He trundles forward, looking quite ready and willing to lay into the swashbuckler. But the death of the -whatever- the hell it was snaps him out of his haze. He freezes, fist cocked back and ready to swing, and he blinks owlishly. "Wuuh? Whuhappened...?" He looks around at the surroundings. Blink. Blink blink. "Oh, piss up my -arse-, did I get head-jiggered -again-?!"
When the fiendish presence disappears, Cor'ethil breathes a small sigh of relief, but he comes forward first to the swashbuckler. "Are you okay?" he asks gently. "I know from firsthand experience that it's not exactly pleasant to be kissed against your will."
He frowns deeply as he looks over at Dirk. "Don't blame yourself," he says. "That outsider--whatever manner of evil outsider it was--was powerful. I'm protected from some things by divine power, but if I wasn't, I'd have a very hard time with... That."
Then Cor'ethil murmurs a small prayer to Gilead as thanks for seeing them all through this. This is followed up with, "I'm happy to take everyone to the Temple first before we report back, or afterwards. I know that anything that compels the will is hard to deal with. Sometimes having a checkup with a cleric is a peace of mind that's hard to pass up..."
A beat, and then Cor'ethil adds, "Plus, the Temple of Gilead has dogs and cats you can pet."
Carver smiles at Dirk's enuciation, "Head to arse, all twisted about. 's not your fault. Fiends." What can you do? She agrees with Corey there. She seems... calmer. They did not get closer to Mudgett this day, but they removed one of his red hands out in the city. She will count her victories. "We shoul' look around and see what came of this poor family, and report it to the Watch. Anythin' that we don't want for her own notes anyway."