Monday, July 12, 2010

 For the first moments of the fight it is all Yola and Xer can do to hold the line against the four vicious little goblin ghouls on the slippery ledge.  Xer launches careful, precises strikes.  While while she does not connect with her attackers, her well aimed attacks keeps them at bay.  Yola, less cautious buries her blade in the skull of the first goblin that lunges at her.  As she pulls her blade free however, a second one scampers over his still twitching companion and bites Yola savagely on the leg.  She grits her teeth in anger and brings the second end of her twin bladed sword stabbing down between its shoulders, pinning it to the stone. 

The goblin trying to find an opening in Xer's guard is distracted by the quick deaths beside it and provides Xer with the the split second opening she needs.  Her leg sweeps across the goblin's knees and the creature tumbles off the ledge with a shriek, disappearing in the surf below.  The final goblin snarls at the two women, weighing its undead hunger against its sudden fear.  Fear wins out, and the creature turns and disappears into one of the cracks in the caver wall that it had emerged from.

______________________

"Sasha, Malvick! Quickly! Hold Aldern down, he's changing, the real evil that possesses him is rising up within him!" Li Kao shouts.

Sasha jumps forward, trying to stab Aldern in the foot, at once trying to pin him down and free up her hands to grab him, while Malvick drops his bow and lunged at him at the same time.

"EEK!"  Screams Aldern.  The ghoul scrambles backwards, avoiding Sasha's stab and bringing his razor up as the two leap onto him.

Li Kao loses sight of their adversary for an instant in the tangle of limbs and dim light.  Behind him, almost mad with worry, Ariva whines and barks, so the priest steps aside expecting her to charge to her master's aid, but the animal cringes, unable to enter the stench filled room.  Then there is a spray of bright blood and Malvick cries out, cut again by Aldern's wicked razor.  Li Kao concentrates and a wave of healing energy washes over his friends, easing some of their wounds.

The ghoul's agility seems super-human as Aldern slips away from both Sasha and Malvick.  He somersaults across the room and rises to his feet slowly, a wide grin on his face.  When he speaks, it is with none of the cowardice from moments before.   Even his high born Magnimar accent is gone, replaced by lunacy.  "I wonder how your deaths will affect your friends, " He says with a bow, "What things might you have done that will go unfinished?  What will those broken promises spawn?  How will your murders shape the world?"

He reaches down and pulls a leather mask from his belt and slides it over his face, giving him the visage of a scaled skull.  Instantly Aldern, now fully the Skinsaw Man, seems to desaturate, the colours of his clothing getting paler, his outline growing indistinct.  Worse, the mask's features seem to slither about and rearrange themselves.  Suddenly the Skinsaw Man wears Sasha's face!  With an all too familiar female laugh, he shouts, "Now, let me carve my revenge on the inside of your organs!"



The Skinsaw Man darts forward in a blur of motion, his razor flashing straight for Sasha's throat.  Sasha, herself quick and agile, and fueled by her own hatred, jumps aside, retrieving her rapier as she does so.  Malvick too is in motion, grabbing his bow and moving deeper into the cavern, stringing and firing an arrow as he moves, but he has trouble getting a sight on The Skinsaw Man's blurred form and his shot skitters wide.
Li Kao continues to flood the room with waves of positive energy, but this time focuses on banishing the undead instead of healing the living.  Steam or smoke can be seen rising of the Ghoul's clothes as the energy wave washes over him, but he is not distracted from his duel with Sasha.



Malvick was slashed during the failed grapple attempt for 5 HP but Li Kao healed Sasha and Mal for 4HP.  Yola and Xer dispatched the goblins in under 15 seconds.  Yola took a 5 HP bite for her troubles.

10 comments:

James said...

Li Kao curses under his breath something about "worse luck...celestial gambler...one sided coin..." and then falls to his knees in deep concentration, fingering his prayer beads and reciting his mantras.

(casts shield of faith on Sasha - the target of Skinsaws aggressions - and then continues bathing Skinsaw Man in benevolent energies.)

Sasha said...

OOC: I'm going to kick his @$$.

Sasha recoils in disgust seeing him put on the mask. It's twisted features in mockery of her make her blood run cold.

Tightening her grip on whip she uncoils it and gives it a sharp snap. "Mal, I have a feeling he's not as agile as you, me and father's whip put together. If you have any bright ideas to go with your pretty face I would really love to hear them as I'm running out."

Sasha, sees Li Kao praying reverently. "While you're down their could you put a request in for some angels or some kind of large fire-breathing dragon?"

She cracks a smile and wishes she was joking. Looking at the ghoul and Mal Sasha bites her lower lip.

She always had this strange feeling every time the Merchant her mother married beat her. She was having the same feeling tie her stomach into knots for the first time in years. Only now those knots felt as they were being tied snakes.

Anonymous said...

Alright Xer, let's get back and help the others with that scum Aldern - Yola goes back to the others, and hopefully in time to help with the fight.


Mich

James said...

OoC: I'd rethink entering the room Mich. There's barely room to swing a cat as it is. We can either try and draw him out where there's more fighting room or perhaps tag team if Mal or Sasha get badly wounded.

Xerlena said...

Since the threat from behind is done I am racing into the room on the attack. "Let's see what is keeping the others Yola!"

Malvick said...

Time to switch to some stronger arrows in the quiver. If the group retreats out of the room he will cover their exit. If they remain he will do his best with arrows but may have to switch to melee if the room is so limiting.

Anonymous said...

OOC: James that's what I was thinking as well since the space is quite small. I figure Xer and I would move up and try to wind our way into the room or wait for an opening.

Thanks, mich

Xerlena said...

Posted before, but I guess it deleted it.

I should be a bit decent in close quarters combat. That being said until my charicter sees the area she cannot make that judgement.

When she does check out the room she will cut into the fight allowing Sasha and the rest to start pulling back then she will attempt to draw this guy out of the room.

Sasha said...

Sasha will make any attempt she can to stab Alderan in the head.

James said...

Chaos.