Sapphire:Sessions:20150912

Branamin's Notes

Scaled the Wall

A 6' ledge seemed easy enough but not quite having the strength to pull myself up, nor desiring to dirty my clothes I delayed the inevitable and gave myself a magical lift to help myself over. Nobody seemed to notice (but I can hear myself say "magic solutions dilutions the evolutions" ... what? why did I say that? I'm hearing things. It doesn't matter, I'm on the walkway.

Once upon the walkway, I realized we had no plan. It appeared the plan was to wait until these undead servants were in range and then attack them. I guess that works, after all they are heroes and they know what they're doing....

A brief and pulse rising greetings left skeletons tumbling down the hill below. I am impressed with their raw tactics and am eager to learn how they coordinate such strategies so well. They appear to prefer the "bash and zerg method" that I've read about.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

Shauna specifically asked me if I could take down a raven. I'm not quite sure why (did I just tell myself it's a familiar or did someone else say it?) , but it could be the familiar of a the wicked necromancer they are tracking. The shot looked easy enough, and I began to focus on drawing mana from around me and focusing it into a single, intensely hot arc of sizzling plasma. My aim was true, like it is most times with sunbolt and a rain of black feathers was my reward.

Confirming my suspicions of this being a familiar, we heard agonizing screams from the tower nearby. The familiars master must have been looking through the bird's eyes. I almost feel sorry for him. He knows we are here now... stealth is no longer an option. I watch as the other more physically capable vault down and blitz the tower.

That Feeling

I clearly heard myself say it, but I didn't remember saying it out loud. Regardless I look at the far building to answer the question "what's that over over?"

For a moment I am not sure where to go or what to do, but then I notice a door open and a small army of undead pouring forth from one of the far buildings.

Barrack and I make our way cautiously towards the stairs while considering if our missile spells can actually hold off this many undead. Why are the others running straight for the tower? Maybe they don't see this army of undead?

It's up to Barrack and I and I think I have an idea...

Rain of Stones

Gaining their attention with a few well aimed sunbolts the mob of undead run towards us, heading for the only way up... a set of stairs. Not seeing any shields and hearing a voice (did it come from the ring or did I think that?) the voice said "sunbolts vs an army? are you going to lose me again?" knowing that sunbolt isn't going to work, I summoned large rocks to fall from the sky at the choke point of the stairs. Originally I had planned to create a dangerous barrier that they must cross and then finish them with sunbolts at our leisure, but the stones worked so well that soon we heard an order coming from their master to break off the attack.

Raising the Roof

On Cue, Barrack blew the roof off of the shack with a well placed fireball aimed into the darkness. The mindless undead followed the new order to chase the rest of our party into the tower, oblivious to the fact that their master was now a burned corpse. Hrm... I though they needed to be controlled. The thought escapes my mind as we run along the walk way trying to intercept and protect the rest of our group from the horde chasing them.

Geronimo

We run to the edge and my bravery of jumping off quickly fades as I see how far a drop it is to the courtyard below. My ring screamed with me, then it laughed. Wait, it's mocking me again! Am I imagining this?

I once again lighten myself slightly to soften the landing in anticipation of the jump. Barrack glides off the roof like he has an invisible ramp. My landing is rough, and I think I twist my ankle, but I'm up and running again to reach the tower before the horde.

Stick Around for a Bit

Barrack distracts the horde with a well placed fireball and they charge us instead of the tower. Giving us enough time to get inside the tower before the horde. Draining energy from the fascinating ring I found, I placed glue strategically in a way that stopped the horde several feet from us. Using this makeshift barrier, Barrack and I pick them off 1 by one out of range of their attacks - but not their stench. How do necromancers deal with the smell? Trying not to show Barrack that I'm about to retch at the smell we take opportunity shots as they get stuck in the glue. I'm really getting the hang of this adventuring stuff. I bet one day people will write stories about me and how I took out hordes of zombies with powerful spells, I bet they'll even say... wait, what just happened?

Friendly Fire

I don't know how it happened, but my sunbolt went off too soon and it hit Barrack. I could hear the sizzle as it arced through him and smell the burned flesh. Do you know what burned Golbin smells like? It's hard to differentiate between that and the stench of the undead horde below. I think I killed him. How will I learn combat fire spells now? I mean, is he ok!?!? Is the ring laughing at me?

Before I can fully apologize Barrack has healed himself and told me to fall back with the others. I'm sure he's not impressed, but I do notice that he's keeping his distance from me now. Some hero I am... That thought is replaced by the appearance of a zombie body sliding down the stairs and the sounds of fighting up from the room above us. I acknowledge Baracks order and we scramble up the stairs into the room with the fighting. What have I gotten myself into?

Golems

As Barrack and I caught up with the others we were relieved to see them easily dispatching, or even ignoring some of the defenders. I started to build a sunbolt immediately while deciding what to do. Anlee and Yassir demolished the zombies easily, being the experienced warriors they are. I was so engrossed in watching them battle I almost didn't recognize the large suits of armor attacking them as golems.

I tried to cast a sunbolt at one of them but the armor reflected it. Yassir shouted to go for their joints and then I understood that this must be their weaknesses. I took aim with another sunbolt and expertly delivered a plasma arc to one of the golems that had charged me. I think I held my breath the whole time as it crumpled to the floor. I am not sure how I hit him, while running, and in his throat too. I never practiced anything like that before and was almost sure I was going to miss - I just imagined it as the only way I could of lived and it happened, as if the plasma knew where to arc.

Barrack delivered a fatal blow as well to one of the golems, also aiming for his neck. It's a good thing Anlee and Yassir were there to protect us - those golems were huge and surely would of caused my robes to be soiled with blood, or worse.

As we ran for the stairs to catch up to Shauna and Chaulker I noticed that these golems were likely made from clay. Aren't those pretty easy to make? I need to learn that spell, well, if I ever decide to have guards anyway. Not today.

Thunderclap vs Illusion Trap

The others seemed to be killing everything along the way and Barrack and I follow.

As we enter the 2nd floor I'm surprised to see another small army waiting for us. Anlee and Yassir engage the zombies right in front of me but my immediate attention is the menacing mage controlling his horde.

Ignoring the fear of what appears to be a death trap, I channel my scream and draw energy from the air power stone I found... as much as I can. A shout, like thunder squeezed into a glass bottle jumps from my hand and lands in the middle of the undead. When it strikes it shatters into a thousand thunderstorms at once obliterating several of the skeletons. I Flinch, expecting the explosion to harm me as well, but luckily I was far enough away this time! My ears are ringing from the boom but through the vaporized skeleton bones I notice that necromancer didn't even twitch. We are all going to die is all I can think until i realize .... he is an illusion!

I shout out that he's an illusion and then hear Barrack scream behind me. He followed us up, but a large golem is recovering from a deadly attack on the Goblin. Yassir doesn't see the huge golem behind him so I scream GOLEM and try to buy him a few seconds so he can properly deal with this creation.

I realized the mistake as the Golem charged me instead - this wasn't the plan! He swings at me and barely misses. I'm sure I've soiled my robes this time! Out of desperation and not being able to do anything else I reached out and commanded the golem to stone. For a moment I just stood there unsure if it worked or not, too shocked to run or prepare a spell, but he was motionless. It Worked!

One of us is not Like the Others

Chaukler picked up barrack and bolted up the stairs. I looked back once more at the illusion and the motionless undead horde and quickly followed the rest. Yassir and Anlee followed dropping their current opponents with ease. As I entered the stairwell I noticed that Chaulker seemed to be running with the zombies and not attacking them. It's as if they don't know he's not one of them.

A shout from Barrack to put him down alerts some of the zombies, especially the one in front and he braces for the mob coming up the stairs. Chaulker sidesteps the one at the top of the stairs with ease, but the mob behind him clumsily topple over each other into a pile of zombies.

I run up and cast glue on them then pivot past them while Yassir and Anlee run past me up the stairs.

Wall of Bones

Another landing finds a few more skeletons which Yassir and Anlee ignore as they race to the top. I pick up one and hold it behind me with levitation as a wall of bones.

Skewer me Once, Shame on You. Skewer me Twice, Shame on Me

Barrack, Yassir and Anlee reach the top floor to be confronted by a rank of zombies. Barrack decides stepping into the zombies around the corner is safer than having another sunbolt in his back and clears an opening for me.

Illusions of Grand failure

I mispronounced maximaro dupliclitoris and my spell didn't turn out quite right. I watched as the others quickly dispatched a swarm of undead and their masters. In the heat of the battle the tower wizard escapes through a sickly green portal and with the exception of Barrack we all charge for the portal. On my way out Barrack lent me fatigue then collapsed from exhaustion.

Swimming in a Mana Pool

I remember sensing immense power all around me as I stepped through the gate. I could taste a different sort of magic, then I blacked out.

Divinely healed

When I woke Anlee was getting up and Shauna was crouched beside me. I could feel divine magic flowing around me and noticed that my ankle was no longer hurt and I was no longer the least bit tired.

Though, I am distinctly aware that mana in the area is weaker than before the gate.

Shauna gave me a green bell that appears to be magical and told me to guard it from the tower wizard as he intended to corrupt it. I magelocked it in my pouch. I'm sure to study this later in more detail.

Metal Chariot on Black Rock Roads

We discovered a new magic called technology by experimenting with a metal chariot on the black rock roads. Chaulker deciphered the the way control the metal chariot and all except Shauna got inside. Chaulker followed Shauna as we anxiously trusted the metal chariot.

Oh yeah? Prove it!

We met 4 travellers with technological weapons who needed a demonstration to believe in magic. After a short meeting amongst themselves and explaining "electronics" that powered the mage they agreed to help us find and fight the tower mage and even offered to provide us with some basic supplies.

In Other Words

Chalker has reached a landing; this stairway ends on the second floor, and his knowledge of architecture indicates that the next set of stairs is to his right. He TKs a spear at a zombie, striking its torso and knocking it back.

Branamin reaches the stairs, takes two steps up, and begins charging a Sunbolt. Ahn-Lee stabs with both knives, almost decapitating a zombie. Shawna steps up, swings her sword and decapitates another zombie. Chalker steps back and decapitates the zombie next to Shawna. Yasser readies his axe and moves up the stairs. All six zombies on the stairs take one step down.

Branamin dissipates his Sunbolt and runs upstairs. Ahn-Lee reaches the landing. Chalker calls out, "Yasser, come forth!" and the dwarf charges up the stairs. Shawna, heading for the next stairway, slices a zombie in half. A zombie tries to swing its sword but flings it downstairs instead.

Shawna acrobatically bounds over the zombies' heads. Chalker locks arms with Yasser (who is holding his axe horizontally in both fists) and they bulldoze through two zombies, knocking them down. Ahn-Lee steps on a zombie's head as he moves up behind Chalker and Yasser, and Branamin runs up behind Ahn-Lee.

On the second floor is a large room supported by pillars, carpeted with red plush. Glass windows overlook the courtyard. Behind a couple of ranks of zombies, standing between a pillar and a table, is a black-robed, hooded figure about six feet tall, arms extended to the sides, a couple of dozen skeletons arrayed in front. Chalker and Yasser charge into the next two zombies hard enough to raise the latter off their feet; the zombie on the right is forced back and impaled on the spear of the zombie behind it.

Shawna springs past some zombies onto the first step. Chalker grabs a spear away from a zombie. Yasser strikes a zombie with his axe. Branamin stops and begins building a swirling ball of air (Concussion spell).

Chalker TKs a spear and hurls it at the hooded figure. Ahn-Lee stabs clear through a zombie's skull. Yasswer deals a zombie a solid blow with his axe. Shawna leaps over two more zombies. Branamin throws a pulsating Concussion wave that obliterates several skeletons. When the hooded figure fails to react, Branamin calls out, "Illusion!" Two zombies charge Branamin, and he blocks them with his Iron Arm. Four zombies turn around to chase Shawna. Yasser growls at a zombie, "You die -- again!"

From somewhere behind the group, Barak screams. Shawna bounces past two more zombies onto the landing next to a zombie. Chalker releases his TK'ed spear and turns; seeing that Barak had been cut by one of the plate-armored golems, he picks up the goblin and continues to the base of the stairs. Ahn-Lee double-stabs a zombie; the zombie tries to hit Ahn-Lee, who parries. Two zombies charge Yasser. Branamin casts Glue.

Ahn-Lee swings at the necks of two zombies, hitting one. Shawna runs past a zombie and halfway up the next flight of stairs. Yasser, being in a target-rich environment, commences a whirlwind attack and heavily damages two zombies. Chalker catches up with the zombies that are chasing Shawna. Branamin, seeing another golem head toward Yasser, jumps at it screaming to draw its attention. A zombie swings at Yasser, who dodges back. Ahn-Lee retreats a step and dodges two zombies. A zombie swings at Branamin, barely missing his left arm.

Shawna speeds past a zombie and four skeletons and is four steps up the next set of stairs. Barak casts a healing spell on himself to stop the bleeding. Yasser continues his whirlwind attack and a zombie falls before him. Branamin casts Earth to Stone on a golem, turning the clay to solid rock. Yasser dodges a zombie attack that clips his mustache. Ahn-Lee parries a zombie's sword.

Branamin reaches the base of the stairs and sees Chalker running among zombies (as though he is one of them). Shawna passes the landing and is headed for the fourth floor, evading skeletons and zombies. Ahn-Lee slams both knives into the top of a zombie's head. Chalker muscles past two zombies. Yasser slices a zombie. A zombie swings at Ahn-Lee but hits another zombie instead.

Ahn-Lee decapitates a zombie. Shawna continues up the stairs toward the fifth floor. Chalker, at the front of a pack of nine zombies, queries "Barak?" Yasser finishes off a zombie. Branamin, noting Chalker and his zombie pack, shouts "Going upstairs!"

Ahn-Lee runs, yelling, "Come on, dwarf?" Yasser comes on. Chalker leads his pack, acrobatically making the turn on the landing. A zombie tries to swing at Chalker, misses, then is bowled over by the zombie pack, most of which then stumble over the fallen zombie and one another. Branamin prepares another Glue spell.

Shawna rounds the landing. At the top of the stairs stand two lines of five zombies. Ahn-Lee reaches the top of the stairs; seeing Branamin gesturing, he asks, "Got this, wizard?" Branamin: "Maybe?" Chalker asks Barak, "Are you okay yet?" as he reaches the fourth floor landing. Branamin casts Glue, then shouts, "I got them!"

Chalker runs over the middle skeleton, cracking its bones and sending it skidding. Shawna turns a flip and lands between the two lines of zombies. In the room are many more skeletons. There are several columns, each with a glowing niche about 6.5 feet above the floor. A wizard (W1) wearing a hood, stands at a lectern; a younger wizard (W2) stands to his left, and a third wizard (W3) stands among the skeletons. A pentagram on the floor is not (yet) active. Yasser runs up the stairs. Branamin reaches a landing.

Shawna leaps into the air shouting "Delsa!" and casts Flash. Ahn-Lee jostles a skeleton aside as he passes a landing. Yasser, saying "Be my friend," swings at a skeleton. Chalker jumps past several zombies. Barak tells him, "Let me go." Branamin turns a corner and sees Yasser faced off with a skeleton.

Yasser swings his axe, breaking the skeleton's spine. Shawna leaps over the second line of zombies and into the pentagram. Branamin catches up with Yasser, then levitates a skeleton and places it between Yasser and potential attackers. W1 raises his right hand, upon which fire flickers; his left hand is held out to his side. Shawna senses powerstones in the four corners of the room, each aspected to Death; there is a "Death ambiance" from the glowing columns, but not that of Dar/Dara; there is "an absurd amount" of magic power tied to Death. W1's eyes widen when Shawna invokes Delsa; he issues a command, "Do it." Chalker lets go of Barak, who levitates himself away, and reaches the fifth floor. W3 is to his left, and the skeletons around him seem to Chalker to be an odd color. W2 gestures blindly. On each of the three wizards Chalker senses a silver knife and a ceremonial gold and mithril knife and no other metal. Ahn-Lee jumps over the undead onto the stairs, saying "Come get me!" Waving swords, the zombies chase Ahn-Lee; one of them swings and Ahn-Lee dodges.

Shawna steps boldly toward W1 and says "Dar curses you." Chalker weaves between zombies, swings himself around a column, and lands near W3. Yasser, ignoring two skeletons, moves on up the stairs. Branamin follows, raising the skeleton up higher. Ahn-Lee jumps backward, slamming his shoulders solidly into the zombies behind him, knocking them backward. Yasser moves aside and Ahn-Lee lands on the next step up from him. "Hey, Yasser," says Ahn-Lee cheerfully. Yasser grumbles, "Stupid elf." W1 throws a fireball at Shawna who dodges; the fireball hits a zombie and sets it on fire. W3, gesturing broadly, charges along with the skeletons. Barak has almost reached the fifth floor.

Ahn-Lee returns to the landing, saying again "Hey, Yasser!" Yasser mutters, "Idiot." Chalker hooks W2's dagger and pushes it into him. Shawna takes another step toward W1 and smiles dangerously. Branamin follows Yasser and Ahn-Lee to the landing. W3 touches a skeleton, utters a word, and the skeleton explodes. Shards of bone strike Chalker but none of them get through his armor. The bone shards damage one of the zombies and destroy a skeleton.

Ahn-Lee attacks a zombie. Yasser moves up beside Ahn-Lee and chops down at the same zombie. Chalker swings at W3, inflicting a mortal wound. A zombie attacks Branamin but misses. A zombie attacks Ahn-Lee, who parries. A zombie injures Yasser. Branamin creates an Illusion of W1 and has it order the zombies to kill each other (but it has no effect). Barak touches a zombie and it flares up like a torch. W2 steps toward W1 and says something in a low voice; W1 immediately runs to a column and vanishes. Shawna glimpses a sickly green jasper statuette of an oddly-dressed zombie carrying a scythe; its aspect is that of "death corrupted." She realizes that W1 entered a gate. Shawna strikes W2, who seems very surprised that W1 ran away.

Shawna turns and runs into the column and vanishes. Ahn-Lee finishes off a zombie. Yasser destroys another zombie. Barak throws a Fireball at W2; he points to W3 and shouts to Chalker, "Finish it!" Chalker strikes W3, who collapses; all the zombies and skeletons stop moving.

Next into the column is Chalker, soon followed by Yasser and Ahn-Lee. Branamin hesitates; Barak turns and says to him, "They need a mage. You'll need this more than me..." The goblin touches his arm, transferring energy.

The gate through which Shawna passes is unlike any other. It is connected to the death icon within the column, which is itself a vast mana pool. She finds herself standing on a surface of flat black stone covered with painted patterns. She staggers slightly but overcomes a wave of nausea. Her initial impression of her surroundings takes in buildings and strange metal shapes. She senses Tholadan some distance away to her left.

Chalker comes through next to a tall metal pole topped with a glass-like globe. He immediately senses death. He extends his metal sense to detect the mithril in Tholadan's dagger, but it is ten miles away.

Ahn-Lee pops through the gate and collapses, his sense of direction spinning. Yasser emerges, gripping his axe; his ring tightens on his finger, and for a moment he is flying through valleys and rifts. Branamin arrives and drops to one knee. Shawna tends to Ahn-Lee and Branamin as they recover from the transition. Someone asks, "Are we dead?" Yasser asks the more urgent question, "Do they have drinks here?"

The position of the sun indicates that it is late afternoon. Chalker, trailed by Ahn-Lee, sets off toward the nearest building which bears a sign: Buy-More -- Best Electronics. He pulls the glass door open. The inside of the building is dark and has the horrible stench of rotting flesh.

As Shawna casts a healing spell on him, Branamin mutters, "It had to be a planar gate." The mana here is low.

Shawna takes out the four talismans that she had confiscated a few days ago. She explains to the others, "Tholadan wanted these objects very much and was willing to pay a very high price for them. I think they may help us against him." Chalker reaches for the green sword, pauses, and takes the brown eagle instead. Yasser gets the red lens, Branamin the blue bell, and Ahn-Lee the sword.

Chalker gets Ahn-Lee and Yasser to help him right one of the strange metal constructs scattered around the flat black rock. Although he has never seen any such thing before, Chalker immediately identifies the construct as a vehicle, climbs inside, and after fiddling with the controls for a few moments, turns a key which causes the thing to belch smoke and emit loud grinding noises. Moving a lever and pressing a floor pedal makes the thing lurch forward.

Emerging from another building marked 7-Eleven, two women and two men armed with blades and what Chalker recognizes as guns approach warily. The strangers stare at them, and a couple of them make snide comments about their silly costumes and fantasy getup. Chalker asks them, "Is there a Zales here?"

The newcomers' names are Rick, Angela, Ned, and Thelma, and this place is Santa Theresa, California. Three years ago a virus infected the entire world, causing a zombie plague. Almost all humankind and animals were wiped out. The four of them belong to a community of about 200 survivors. They are out patrolling for zombies and scavenging whatever food, water, and useful items they can find. Tholadan has passed through here many times; he always heads north and west toward the Pacific Ocean.

Angela seems the most accepting of the group and their origins, and there is an expression of wonder in her eyes as she looks around at a real elf, a real dwarf, two half-elves, and a human prince. Shawna takes her aside and says earnestly, "I think that Tholadan caused the zombie plague, or at least contributed to it. He farms your world for zombies and items of power. We have followed him here to bring an end to him. We must move quickly. Will you come with us and teach us how to get around in this world?" Angela eagerly agrees, then she pulls Rick aside and they engage in an animated conversation.

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