Author Topic: Mythic Sagas: Chapter 1 (Read 79888 times)

phaedrusxy · « **Reply #380 on:** December 15, 2014, 12:02:03 PM »

Skulda clenches her hands together and blows into them, and when she opens them a raven flies out and off in the direction Bram pointed. She says "I'll take a look ahead, to see what we're up against."

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ksbsnowowl · « **Reply #381 on:** December 15, 2014, 03:22:27 PM »

The raven flies above the canopy of mixed conifer and increasingly skeletal deciduous trees, cutting a bit east, toward the sea, now visible from above the tree tops. The bird's eyes start to make out a clearing up along the cliffs overlooking the sea. It cuts back to the west, finding the faint trail beneath the canopy, and following it forward. Skulda stumbles a bit as the sweeping view of wheeling and passing trees flies across her normal vision, disrupting her sense of balance.

As the raven approaches the clearing at a high angle, the trees begin to reveal what lays beyond them. The clearing is roughly 300 feet across. Twenty-five feet in from the back tree line is a curved line of standing stones, spaced about 30 feet apart, each about two feet wide, and six feet high. Their faces are squared, and covered in carvings. As the raven draws even closer, the trees give way to a greater view of the clearing's contents; the curved line of standing stones seem to complete the circumference of the clearing, in total describing a circle roughly 250 feet in diameter.

In the center is a henge a full 100 feet in diameter, and the crossing lintels top 30 feet in height. In the midst of the henge is a massive beast; massive in height, his eyes clearing the tops of the lintel stones, and massive in girth, as his porcine face sits atop a blubberous pink gut, and his body is covered in dark brown hair. A ridiculous set of tiny feathered wings flutter as the creature's beady red eyes lock onto the approaching raven. Surprisingly, those tiny wings begin to lift the demon's incredible bulk off the ground... then it jerks its head, as if it hit a rafter, or an invisible ceiling, while its feet are a mere foot or so off the ground.

As the raven nears the edge of the clearing, the full ring of outer menhirs now visible, the fiend licks his lips with a slavering tongue. Then his attention seems distracted by something; he cocks his head to the side as if listening, but still keeping the raven in his peripheral vision.

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phaedrusxy · « **Reply #382 on:** December 15, 2014, 03:49:41 PM »

Skulda gasps and says with a start "By Thor's hammer! Are you sure that thing can't get out of there? Why is it visible? I thought they couldn't normally be seen?"

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ksbsnowowl · « **Reply #383 on:** December 15, 2014, 10:30:06 PM »

Bram chuckles a bit as he says, "He cannot leave. There are some that obscure their presence nearly all the time; this one only does so on rare occasion." After a few more steps, Bram responds with a few questions of his own. "How close did you get the bird to approach? I've always had trouble getting them close enough to do much of anything beyond ensure I could still see him; they avoid the stones when possible. And summoning it from nothing, for so long? Interesting."

Turning her attention back to the raven's eyes, Skulda sees the large fiend split his attention between the bird, now perched on one of the six-foot-tall outer menhirs, and some approaching sound from the north. The wind ruffles the fiend's fur as it blows out toward the sea. The treeless view east from the cliff is quite picturesque, if not for the disgusting demon.

The demon's attention is pulled away from the raven as three trolls step out of the tree line to the northwest. Immediately a bolt of lightning strikes down out of a clear sky, striking the middle one, who lets out a high-pitched yelp, then a string of curses in Giant. Skulda hears the crack of the lightning through the raven's ears and her own. One of the two flanking trolls claws the cursing one across the face, telling her to shut up. The middle one is a her; green-skinned mammaries sway with her hunched gait.

The trolls continue to approach, and the demon walks over to the north side of the henge. One of the males stops not far inside the ring of menhirs; the other male and the female continue forward. Sixty or seventy feet from the henge they both scream out in agony as their flesh is torn asunder and they collapse to the ground. Their wounds knit slowly back together, and before a minute passes, they slowly collect themselves and stand up, staggering under the pain of their still-healing wounds. The raven watches the two of them approach the stone bars of the fiend's prison, and stop ten feet short. The male begins to address the demon, holding up a few small items; scroll cases and rods or wands. From nearly 200 feet distant, it is too difficult to make out what the troll is saying, but it sure seems as though he is offering some sort of trade. The fiend unconsciously pats at a large sack hanging near his right hip, slung over his left shoulder by a rope hanging diagonally across his bulk.

"It's just up there," Bram says, pointing forward along the trail. About 300 feet ahead of you the trees start to thin out. "It's important we stay below the demon's notice; if he notices you near the edge of the clearing, he could melt your mind with a thought. I must utilize misdirection when using the menhirs to travel."

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phaedrusxy · « **Reply #384 on:** December 15, 2014, 10:40:23 PM »

Skulda, with a distant look in her eyes, says "My bird is perched upon one of the outer, smaller, stones. There are three large trolls, one is a female. The wardings knocked them out, but their wounds soon healed and they stood back up and are now bargaining with the fiend.

How are we to draw the trolls out? Or should we wait until their... business... is done, and then ambush them on their way back out? That might be safer, but we have to make sure they do not escape."

ksbsnowowl · « **Reply #385 on:** December 16, 2014, 12:46:39 AM »

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"Since they are already there, it would be best to wait and kill them when they leave. Unfortunately, the demon will likely gain whatever prize the trolls were offering him, but there's not much we can do about that now. If you are able to keep eyes on them, we can circle around and wait for their departure, and strike beyond the reach of the fiend."

Keeping the raven's eyes on the trolls, the bird flew to another menhir a little way around the circle. The trolls apparently done with their negotiations, the male wrapped the offerings in a cloth and tossed the bundle in to the gargantuan fiend, who caught it before it could hit the ground. He set it aside without taking his eyes off the troll whore, who began to advance to enter the henge; just before she reached the outer edge of the upright stones her flesh was torn again by the magical wardings. She screamed and fell forward, and the demon grabbed her arm as it fell between two upright stones. He forcibly dragged her into the confines of his prison, and before she had even regained consciousness he had torn off and discarded her loin-cloth, and was violating her unconscious form. Her limp body was impaled, and dark troll blood dripped onto the rocky ground. When she had finally healed enough to regain consciousness, the screams of agony shattered the relative silence of the forest. A stroke of lightning struck her head and cut off her screams for a few moments. When she awoke again and the screams returned, she was begging to be let go. She was not.

Skulda had heard of the savagery inflicted on those unfortunate human women kidnapped by trolls. She had even saved young Moeid from such a fate. Those horrific tales paled against the brutality of what she saw here. The glee with which the demon inflicted pain, both mental and physical, was... sickening.

The group had plenty of time to circle around toward the north, for the demon took his time, exacting a price of terror and pain in addition to the offerings that had been given. Broken bones. Flayed skin. Bleeding orifices. It didn't take long before he spared a moment's thought to strike Skulda's raven with a bolt of lightning; it was almost a blessing, removing the horrible scene from her eyes. He toyed with the whore, and Bram would lead you forward as her screams resumed, and halt your movement as the screams cut off. Soon you were positioned along the trail the trolls had used, and everyone could just make out the clearing.

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phaedrusxy · « **Reply #386 on:** December 16, 2014, 09:45:45 AM »

Having lived alone among monsters, and dealt with strange powers from the Great Beyond for many years, Skulda manages to hide her disgust fairly well, but it is obvious that the blood has drawn from her face, and she hesitates for a moment before summoning another raven, not wanting to witness any more of the violation, but knowing that she does need to provide information about the movement of the trolls.

As the new raven flies away, she says with as much mirth as she can muster "So who wants an extra pair of arms?"

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skydragonknight · « **Reply #387 on:** December 16, 2014, 11:27:06 AM »

Thorgrim raises an eyebrow. "You can summon weapons? I didn't know you were an arms dealer."

phaedrusxy · « **Reply #388 on:** December 16, 2014, 12:16:36 PM »

Skulda thumps him on the head and says "No, dummy. Literally a pair of arms, with hands and fingers... you know?

It will just be temporary, don't worry, but it could help you swing that poleaxe harder."

skydragonknight · « **Reply #389 on:** December 16, 2014, 12:44:07 PM »

While genuinely confident in his own ability, Thorgrim was not the kind to turn down offered help, even the unusual kind. "I prefer being forewarned to four-armed, but I will give it a try." The barbarian says.

phaedrusxy · « **Reply #390 on:** December 16, 2014, 12:45:58 PM »

Skulda chuckles and says with a grin "I can provide both."

Nanshork · « **Reply #391 on:** December 17, 2014, 03:43:19 PM »

Einar rolls his eyes. He does not appreciate these silly puns.

Risada · « **Reply #392 on:** December 18, 2014, 06:17:07 AM »

Noticing Einar's reaction, Agni approaches and pats his shoulder while showing a wry smile.

"Relax friend. Sometimes we need to laugh in order to lighten the weight we carry in our hearts." After a small pause, Agni asks the group as a whole. "So, what's the plan? Let the demon have his way then kill all trolls?"

skydragonknight · « **Reply #393 on:** December 18, 2014, 06:24:56 AM »

"Are we safe from the demon as long as we stay out of the circle?" Thorgrim asks?

ksbsnowowl · « **Reply #394 on:** January 03, 2015, 09:06:43 PM »

"We should be safe from him at this distance," Bram replies. "... Unless he has acquired a scroll or other item with a vastly greater distance to it. It is best we not antagonize him; he can still summon lesser demons to act as his henchmen for a sizable span of Sköll's pursuit of Sól across the sky."

Skulda's new raven perches in a tree a few dozen feet back from the edge of the clearing. The bare birches and full pine trees created a gap that provided a good view of the clearing. Skulda's eyes, and everyone's ears, are subjected to another twenty minutes of grunting and screaming brutality. When it finally ends, all you hear are the demon's grunts; the screams had ended minutes ago. Finished, Skulda sees the fiend pull the limp form off his erect member, and toss her aside like a filthy rag. The demon steps over to inspect the offerings provided by the male trolls, unfurling the contents of the scroll cases, and studying the pages intently. Luckily for the troll whore, there were several scrolls. After a minute or two, she begins to stir, and feebly begins to crawl away from the demon, clutching her groin with one hand to hold in his seed. When she exits the henge's circle, she again screams and collapses to the earth. The male who had waited inside the first warding walks over to her, grabs an arm, and starts dragging her back to the second male. By the time they reunite with the one who stayed outside, the whore is well enough to stand with a little help from the males. They all turn and walk past the ring of menhirs, toward the mouth of the trail.

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phaedrusxy · « **Reply #395 on:** January 05, 2015, 10:00:18 AM »

Skulda speaks a few words and an extra pair of arms grows out from Thorgrim's torso, and all of his four arms grow large, troll-like claws. A few more words and a small fire springs forth from her empty palm. She then positions herself and her great cat to be hidden by the nearby foliage until the trolls get a bit closer, and before they cross into view, she vanishes.

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Risada · « **Reply #396 on:** January 05, 2015, 12:36:05 PM »

Agni takes a bottle filled with distilled spirits, douses his fingers with it then using those fingers he traces runes over his face, arms and chest while casting a spell meant to increase his vitality for a while. After that he grabs the miniature dedicated to Odin and casts a spell as if praying to the Allfather. Agni also conjures a brilliant shield made of energy to protect him. Finally, he channels some of his arcane energy into his everpresent companion.

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Combat Stats

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Nanshork · « **Reply #397 on:** January 05, 2015, 03:20:23 PM »

Einar moves about twenty-five feet up the path from his companions, remaining in the underbrush so as not to be spotted. He then pulls out his spear, deciding that the extra reach will be best for this fight. Spear in hand, Einar hunkers down so that the trolls will pass on by and he can attack them from behind.

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Map

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skydragonknight · « **Reply #398 on:** January 07, 2015, 02:35:02 AM »

Feeling armed and dangerous, Thorgrim waits, gripping his fang with all his arms. He feels the call of battle lust, but does need heed it until they come closer.

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Combat stats:

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ksbsnowowl · « **Reply #399 on:** January 16, 2015, 11:58:52 AM »

The trolls pick their way along the trail, taking about a minute to get halfway to the location of your ambush; by that point the troll whore was walking fine on her own. As the column of trolls approaches, the lead one casually looks about. A short distance from Einar's lead position, the head troll's inhale abruptly transitions into a sharp sniff. His eyes lock onto Thorgrim's position, and a low growl deep in the troll's throat transitions into a single word. "Grrrrr...humans." The whore and the other male peer over the front one's shoulder, also looking at Thorgrim.

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Author Topic: Mythic Sagas: Chapter 1 (Read 79888 times)