An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe wasn't to sure about heading into the church after all the first time they had passed it by the doors where sealed shut but their most recent sighting the doors where wide open and she didn't like the implications of that. Her own personal thought was the creature tormenting them now probably made its home there but before she could voice her objection the barrier broke and like a heard of panicked sheep they bolted. During their mad scramble to the church Chloe couldn't help but think they where being herded. After all the creature could move pretty much any where it wanted if her enhanced senses where to be trusted. So why hadn't it caught them. She didn't have much time to think about it before the church door slammed shut.

Chloe bent over a little hands on her knees trying to catch her breath and at the same time resist the urge to puke the new weight on her chest and belly having made her run difficult. Rising to her full height Chloe tried to let Tesyna's comment about their pregnant status slip by her but try as she might little else up until now had held her attention as much as the impending birth. In truth she had almost ended the pregnancy with magic the moment she had her senses about her and realized what was happening, but after watching what happens when the invader's die had stayed her hand. She didn't like the idea of what might happen if like its fully grown kin the dead invader melted inside of her and was almost glad when Charles brought up the idea to split up to secure the church.

"That makes some sense at lest" nodding in the direction of Jenn "But who is going with who?. Tesyna and Charles are our best fighters so both of them should be the head of their own team. So I guess they should pick who they want to support them. Unless someone else has a different idea."Either way Chloe knew should would have to drop her perception buff in favor of a smaller more manageable energy drain and busied herself with figuring out which would be best while waiting for a response.

Spoiler

casting Light level 1 dropping perception buff

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Jenn seemed to gain some confidence from Ashley's plan, nodding and saying; "Freezing the door should be easy enough. I might even be able to work up an enchantment of some kind to make it last a little bit longer."

"You're right, Chloe. You and Nina are both healers, one of you should come with each of us, while Ashley and Jenn finalize the defenses on the door and explore the main room." Charles said, turning toward Chloe. "When we've got the door sealed up, why don't you and Tesnya go through that door." He gestured behind him, to the door that was on the left side of the room when they walked in, "Nina and I will go through the other one while Ashley and Jenn stay here. Any objections?" Tesnya and Nina shook their heads, and Jenn was already busy calling up water and freezing it in place. It would only take a couple of minutes to freeze the door closed, and Tesnya had already dismissed her barrier as the first patches of ice hardened along its surface. Chloe, meanwhile, called up a small magical light, adding to the illumination cast by Ashley's conjured lantern.

Spoiler

Current plan:
Ashley and Jenn stay in the main hall.
Charles and Nina go through the door on the right.
Chloe and Tesnya go through the door on the left.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe made her way to the door Charles had pointed and examined the rusty hinges while Ashley and Jenn sealed the main door. When Jenn signaled that they where done Chloe tried opening her door hoping that this door would be easy to open having been mostly sheltered from the weather.

(If successful proceed in the new room/hall staying alert or monsters and clothing letting Tesnya take the lead. If not successful wait for Tesnya to help with the door either way Chloe will say the following)

Chloe once again took in the eastern girl appreciating the other woman's body even without her foreign attire Tesnya still had an exotic look to her. Chloe's mind wandered to her first encounter with the slime woman and how Tesnya had saved her from them and she had yet to repay her for her kind deed and a part of her thought their time alone would be perfect to show her how grateful she could be. Chloe's face flushed crimson at the thoughts playing through head and quickly turned away from Tesnya bending down to search some rubble before the other girl noticed. "Umm Tesnya" Chloe halfheartedly sifted through some debris still not wanting Tesnya to see her face."I didn't want to tell the others how I felt about retreating to the church. I'm not sure if some of them could handle the thought of it but I need to tell someone. I think the creature outside was herding us in here. For what reason I haven't a clue but the way it moved through the fog it could have caught us any time it wanted." Chloe paused for a breath letting the fresh breath of air ease some of her tension away. "You must think I'm being silly but I have to get this off my chest. I think we just went out of the fry pan and into the fire. I hope that I'm wrong really I do but this place makes me uneasy and I think we made a big mistake coming here."

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Sounds good to me. Just be careful, this place was spooky enough even before the fog."

Ashley turned to the water mage. "If you can manage to slow the melting, it'll save us a lot of work. But don't go overboard, we'll need a way out of here eventually."

With that, Ashley joined her friend in moving and freezing water, adding to the slick wall that was already replacing Tesnya's magical one. She was careful to go slowly enough that her remaining magical reserves wouldn't drain, but even so the ice quickly grew to a respectable barrier. As it grew, the already cool air chilled perceptively, with predictable results. Ashley hoped that the search would turn up some clothes. If they were relatively safe here then a small fire or even just a communal heat spell would take the edge off, but clothes would mean warmth even when they left, and without burning magic.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Ashley and Jenn continued the work on the door, Jenn offering the other mage a nod, while the other four paired off and proceeded toward each of the doors. Charles and Nina vanished, while Chloe and Tesnya stepped through into a room lit only by the former's magical light. Both doors were easy enough to open and thankfully stayed open as the groups headed off into the chapel to explore it. When they were alone together, Jenn let out a sigh and knelt in front of the barrier they were creating, her own reaction to the dropping temperatures no different from Ashley's. "I should be able to work up a quick construct that will keep the local temperature down enough that it won't melt until we want it to. It should only take me a minute, in the meantime, why don't you take a quick look around that main chamber? I'll join you when I'm done."

The water mage looked like a wreck still, but her shaking had stopped somewhat and her voice was steadier than it had been since they'd been captured. If anything, Jenn seemed to be taking solace in being able to do something, even if that something could potentially be sealing them into this place.

~~~~~~~~~​

Tesnya did indeed take the lead, the lithe easterner taking her time and watching their surroundings carefully. She and Chloe moved down a hallway that turned sharply to the right just up ahead, though she paused just after turning around it which was also about when Chloe made her concerns known. The warrior woman didn't seem surprised at all, as she immediately nodded and said; "Of course we were herded here. Why else would that creature have let us get in here, unless it truly wanted us here for some purpose? I have no doubt that we will discover that purpose soon enough."

She sounded quite confident of that, and motioned ahead, where five doors were present, two on each side and one directly ahead. "We have a choice or two to make, it seems. Which one should we try first? Or should we split further in order to explore more quickly?"

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe tried to feel relived that she wasn't the only one to feel like they had been lead to this point but felt conflicted about the whole conversation. Maybe she wasn't concerned about how the others would take it. Maybe it was herself that couldn't handle it after all Tesyna hadn't said a word about their predicament and perhaps the stress of the situation was starting to get her. Either way she had to put those thoughts behind her and stay at the task at hand.

"We shouldn't split up further its dangerous enough as it is. But this is a good sign. Hopefully these are former sleeping chambers or storage rooms. Which means cloths or at lest blankets." Chloe takes a closer look at the nearest door seeing if it has suffered the same fate as the outer one. "I really hope there ares some cloths in here its getting cold and well I don't know about you but I find attractive woman wandering around nude kinda distracting." Chloe turns the simple latch attempting to open the door while looking back at Tesyna and smiles suppressing a giggle trying to lighten the mood. "I bet poor Charlies must be ready to pop an artery. Good thing he's such a gentleman." The door seeming a little resistant finally budged as Chloe put a little more weight into forcing it open and nearly stumbled into the new area.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Sounds good to me." With the door in good hands, Ashley started a slow walk around the main chamber of the abandoned church, on the lookout for any alternative ways in, or anything that looked hidden or out of place. She was careful while so doing to keep in sight of Jenn, and slowly made her way along one wall towards the pair of doors the others had gone through.

What do we need to really be safe? Sealing the door is a good start, but that's not enough. We need at least two other things. A second way out would be good, in case that thing gets through the door despite the ice. And more depth to our defense. Wards or traps, to kill or at least delay anything that gets through the door. With all that we ought to be able to wait this out safely, as long as someone is always awake to stand watch. But none of that is worth anything if something can come up behind us through a door or window we didn't realize was there...

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 100, Status = Pregnant
Jenn: HP = 50, PP = 65, EP = 45, Status = Pregnant
Charles: HP = 76, PP = 71, EP = 57, Status = Fine
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Pregnant

Tesnya smirked somewhat at Chloe's admission that she found all of the nude flesh on display distracting, "I'm sure the cold helps a bit on his end, but I don't know how he has managed to keep himself under control with Ashley standing right next to him. At least according to what I heard before we left the Academy, he had something of a crush on her." Smirking even more and showing not even a hint of shame at the words, Tesnya continued; "I don't blame him either, if I weren't pregnant, freezing and exhausted I wouldn't mind some time with her myself." She frozen momentarily and smiled reassuringly at Chloe, "Not that I'd mind time with you either, of course."

She became serious again as the first door on the left was opened, readying herself in case something should attack them. The door creaked open slowly after Chloe tugged on the handle, which turned with ease despite the rust covering it. For a moment, there was only darkness beyond the opened doorway, but then Chloe's magical light filtered into the room revealing.... Nothing. It was an empty room with the skeleton of a bed in it, no other furniture visible save a small ruined altar next to the bed. "Doesn't look like there's anything useful in this one.... Lets try the next one." Tesnya said after giving the room a cursory examination, and she turned around and, before Chloe could stop her, pulled the door on the right side of the hall open. It turned out to be a closet, and a handful of dusty, moth eaten white robes were present. "Clothes!" The eastern girl quickly grabbed a robe and handed it to Chloe before donning one herself. They were a little big, probably meant for men rather than women, but they were also warm and covered the girl's nudity. Three more robes were present as well.

~~~~~~~~~​

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: Success.

Ashley's slow search through the main chamber bore fruit quickly enough, as she found a small package hidden under the pews barely ten feet in. Jenn was still working and not paying attention to her, and she would have to momentarily lose sight of the girl if she wanted to bend down to pick it up, but there could be something useful inside. The package itself was wrapped in moldy brown paper, but whatever lay within was seemingly intact, and the whole thing was about the same size as Ashley's head, if a good deal more flat.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe blushed slightly at Tesnya's compliment and muttered "Nor I with you"under breath as she turned to examine the room. Her eyes fell on the old alter and broken bed feeling a bit let down that the room was so bare. "Doesn't look like there's anything useful in this one.... Lets try the next one." Chloe nodded in agreement with Tesnya's assessment and gave the room another once over just in case. "Maybe we could use the bed legs as simple weapons?"
"Clothes!" Chloe's heart skipped a beat at the enthusiastic announcement and quickly grabbed the robe offered her. Struggling to get her robe on over her new bust line proved difficult but she final managed to get it on. "Well" pausing a moment to look at the remaining garments "I guess someone is going commando unless we find more in the other rooms" Looking down the hall at the remaining three doors. "Maybe we should send what we got back for now and continue to explore the rest of these rooms. Tesnya your faster a foot than me I'll stay here while you head back to the main room to drop these off." Chloe begins to pile the remaining cloths into Tesnya's arms before she could object. "Don't worry I won't open any doors while your gone and Ill keep a good look out"

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley looked down at the passage. On the one hand if she wasn't going to open unusual packages, then what exactly was the point of looking around? On the other hand, it was moldy, and found in a church located in a ghost town which they had found a skeleton outside of, and which they had been driven into by some malignant entity which now seemed to be leaving them alone. Not likely to be a package of food, ammo, and medicine. Possibly dangerous, or even a trap.

But Ashley was a mage, and had rather more then the usual set of options available to her. Instead of either picking the thing up or leaving it alone, she reached out with her mind to gently lift the package, move it into the aisle, and then remove the packaging. She mentally braced herself for magical or physical traps, or even living things, that might shoot out of the package when it was moved, but there was such a thing as being too paranoid. Manipulating it at a distance would have to suffice.

Spoiler

Manipulate - Force level 1. Hurrah utility skills! Hurrah paranoia!

And with 5 robes but 6 people, who goes without? The only guy, or the leader? >.<

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 100, Status = Pregnant
Jenn: HP = 50, PP = 65, EP = 45, Status = Pregnant
Charles: HP = 76, PP = 71, EP = 57, Status = Fine
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Pregnant

(Ashley gain a set of battlemage's robes.)

The package was slowly draw out into the isle that Ashley was in, and then unwrapped to reveal a section of white cloth. There was no note, or anything to accompany it, but once Ashley lifted it, either with her hands or with magic, it turned out to be a long, flowing white robe. No traps had gone off, and no creatures had darted out to attack her.

The robes themselves seemed to be quite fine, possessing some small amounts of protection over vital areas but not blocking the wearer's movements. "Did you find something, Ashley?" Jenn called, the water mage rising from her kneeling position next to the now iced over door and moving over toward Ashley.

~~~~~~~~~​

"Would you really prefer a club to your magic? I prefer to use my hands, and I'm fairly sure that Charles would feel the same. The security that the feel of a weapon might provide is an illusion, we'd be better off to rely on our own skills than on improvised weaponry." Tesnya said following Chloe's comment about using the legs of furniture as weapons.

"We can argue over who goes naked later, for now lets just be glad to have something to wear, eh?" Tesnya then frowned as Chloe suggested that they should split up, but then quickly nodded. "I'll be quick, don't go anywhere until I get back." The eastern girl quickly turned, carrying the other robes under her arm, and jogged down the corridor, vanishing quickly from sight.

With Tesnya gone, the church seemed to grow quiet around Chloe, until all she could hear was her own breathing. The silence seemed to stretch for an eternity, but then one of the other doors creaked loudly, causing Chloe to jump in fright. The second door on the left side of the hall slowly opened outwards, but the door itself blocked her from seeing what was inside. The only way she would find out, is if she moved to look.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe pondered Tesyna's comments about trusting skill over improvised weapons and sighed heavily. Of course she was right a stick could never match the raw power of her magic but having something solid in your hands to club someone had always been reassuring. But now that she was thinking about it she had never been to apt at any sort of personal combat and what little Grace was able to impart to her had done her next to no good. Maybe if her foes had been bandits or pickpockets not alien lizards and their tentacle ball rapists pets she could have more confidence in her self defense capabilities. She frowned her face showing her thoughts but it soon gave way to simple smile. Perhaps when things calm down a little Tesyna could give her some pointers on how not to be hit. Yeah she thought as her smile widened I wouldn't mind having her teach me a few lessons. Her distracted thoughts broke from the sudden noise and she hopped back involuntarily. Her breath getting quicker from the sudden fright. Trying to remain calm and resisting the urge to shout she stood her ground and did not approach the door. Instead she conjured up a light mine and threw it in between her and the door. Thinking to herself the hallway should be narrow enough if one of the invading lizard things had gotten in it should trigger the mine giving her sometime to run and if it was some poor critter then it shouldn't trigger the magic trap as long as it was wasn't huge. If by chance it was Charlies and Nina then they wouldn't be seriously harmed and they could laugh about it later. A few moments passed and Chloe's nerves began to steady more than likely she mused if I'm correct about the placement of this room among the outer walls it was a simple breeze that pushed the door open from a broken window. But remembering her promise Chloe was content to simple wait for Tesnya to return.

Spoiler

Casting Light level 1 Flash Mine and placing it between Chloe and the self opening door

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Yes." She held up the robe for Jenn to see, deciding that it probably wasn't dangerous. "Just this. You want it? I'm sure the others will find a closet or something before long, but there's no point in both of us being naked until then."

Ashley offered the robe to Jenn, but was ready to put it on herself if her friend objected. It was pretty cold, after all. Once one of them was wearing the robe, she continued her walk around the main room, motioning Jenn to come with her. "How long do you think that wall will last, with your charm?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 100, Status = Pregnant
Jenn: HP = 50, PP = 65, EP = 45, Status = Pregnant
Charles: HP = 76, PP = 71, EP = 57, Status = Fine
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Pregnant

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting (Chloe) : Success.
Chloe has laid a flash mine!

Perception (Chloe) : Success.
Perception (Ashley) : Success.

Jenn stared at the offered robe for a moment before taking it and putting it on. "Thank you," she said simply but earnestly, and followed Ashley around the room once she was safely covered in the robe. "The wall will last until we decide to take it down, until something else melts it or for about a day and a half. It should tell us if something breaks through as well, if we aren't around to hear it," Jenn explained as they toured around the room. They were just about to reach the altar when Tesnya suddenly walked through the door that she had exited only a few moments ago, now garbed in a robe similar to the one now worn by Jenn. She held several more in her arms, and immediately called out; "Jenn! Ashley! We found clothes!"

~~~~~~~~~​

Remaining cautious rather than giving in to her curiosity, Chloe conjured a magical land mine between herself and the door and then waited. For a moment, nothing happened, and the hallway was still. She heard Tesnya's voice calling out down the hall, saying Jenn and Ashley's names in a manner that sounded worried, and then saying something else that was unintelligible over a board that creaked just behind her. An ominous feeling crept up within her, and on instinct Chloe turned around.

The dark figure that had lured them into the church was standing no more than a foot behind her, now sans its cloak of mists and with an axe raised over its head. Without the mist, she finally got a good look at the thing. It looked like a man, if a man could grow to nine feet tall and had enough muscle mass to make her wonder whether her waist was as wide around as one of its arms. It stood like a man, on two legs that were almost as wide around as tree trunks, and its feet were covered in huge leather boots. It had arms and hands like a man, though the skin that was visible past its long sleeved workman's vest was blistered and heavily weathered, like that of a corpse that had been out in the rain for a few days. What it did not have was a face like that of a man, as the flesh on one side looked like it had been eaten off by wild animals, and where there should have been eyes there were only empty sockets surrounded by long dried, crusty blood. The thing's lips, or what was left of them, were thick and blue like those of a corpse, and curled back slightly to reveal yellowing teeth, half of which were missing.

Chloe recognized all of this in about a quarter of a second, for that was all the time she had before the arm holding the axe shot forward faster than her eyes could see. Thankfully, she reacted quickly enough to get out of the way, even if the rusty axe blade clipped her shoulder and opened up a bloody wounded. She fell back onto her bottom, destabilized by the blow, and the axe crunched audibly as it slammed into the floor where she'd been standing no more than a single panicked heartbeat ago. Whether she screamed or not, it made little difference as the ugly creature tore its axe up out of the floor, raising it again as its heavy footsteps echoed through the hall.

The thing was raising its axe again, and Chloe had only one avenue of escape that she didn't know for a fact led to a dead end, that being the door that had just creaked open. She had lain a light mine in front of it as well, which might serve to slow down the eyeless bloated horror that was even then bearing down on her. Of course, she could also attempt to slip by the monster, but that would put her within arms reach of the hideous thing. The door on the right side of the hall, now her left, was also an option, but the other doorway on that side had led to a closet. Finally, she could attempt to get the door at the end of the hallway open, but there was no guarantee that it wasn't locked. Of course, the option to stand and fight was also present, but whether or not it was truly a good idea was u for debate given the sheer size of her opponent. Regardless of her choice, the amount of time left to her was measured in heartbeats, and with how quickly her heart was racing at the moment that was precious little time indeed.

~~~~~~~~~​

However she might have reacted to the sudden appearance of a clothed Tesnya, Ashley heard a loud crunch sound from down the hall that Chloe and Tesnya had gone down. The sound was followed by a series of thuds, and quite possibly a scream from a woman's voice depending on how Chloe reacted. Regardless, the sounds were heavily muffled and just barely audible, as neither Tesnya nor Jenn seemed to recognized them.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

A few quick moments had passed and Chloe was wondering if she was being a bit to paranoid. Hearing the muffled voice of Tesnya was a bit more reassuring reminding her that she was hardly alone here and help was not to far away. Still she wondered what Tesnya sounded worried about and was in the middle of deciding whether or not to meet up with the warrior monk when a chill began to crawl up her spine. Chloe turned around only to meet their forest assailant and unfortunately for Chloe it was face to face.

Recoiling from the creatures visage undoubtedly saved her life as its rusty axe striking impossibly fast only caused a glancing blow. The blow though only minor still brought a terrified scream which was soon mixed with pain. Not wasting any more time Chloe quickly scrambled to her feet racing as fast as she could to the open door she had been staring intently at. Avoiding her own mine was simple enough but doubted it would have any real effect on something without eyes and before slamming the door shut dropped an entangling vines spell before seeing what new mess she had gotten her self into.

Spoiler

casting entangling vines nature level 2 if I have time before slamming the door shut. If not still slam the door shut and hope I just didn't run into a dead end.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Clothes? Oh, good. Thank you." Ashley accepted one of the robes and pulled it on quickly, grateful to finally be covered and a little bit warmer. "Wait, where's Chole? Why did she stay behind?"

Several sounds of muffled impacts reached Ashley's ears, and she turned to face down the hall they had come from. "Wait, what was..." another sound, only slightly louder, "Someone just screamed."

Ashley spun to face down the hallway where the others had gone, and raised her voice. "Charles! Nina! Come quick!" She turned back to her present companions "Come on, if she's in trouble then we shouldn't wait." She started walking towards the source of the scream, not even pausing as she raised one hand and drew an arrow of light on the floor with one hand, pointing down the hallway in her direction of travel. It would be impossible for Charles and Nina to miss, and should direct them to the rest of the group.

Once they were moving, Ashley resisted the urge to run. After all, what she had heard could have been a trap or even just someone falling through the floor or similar. It wouldn't do to rush in and get caught in the same situation.

Spoiler

Cryptic? - level 1 spell. Light/Arcane? Draw an arrow on the floor pointing down the hallway where Chole and Tesnya went to explore, in a place easily visible from the entrance to the hallway where Charles and Nina went.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 100, Status = Pregnant
Jenn: HP = 50, PP = 65, EP = 45, Status = Pregnant
Charles: HP = 76, PP = 71, EP = 57, Status = Fine
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Pregnant

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting (Chloe) : Success.
Attack (Vines) : Hit!
??? has been grappled!

Grapple (Vines vs ???) : ??? Wins!
It has torn free of the vines, and advances!

Damage (Mine) : 3 + 1 + 5 = 9 * 2 = 18 damage.
Resistance: ??? is immune to the Blinded status.

Perception (Ashley) : Success!
Perception (Jenn) : Failure.
Perception (Chloe) : Failure.

As she lifted herself off of the floor and sprinted for the opened doorway, Chloe left a trail of blood dripping from the shallow wound on her shoulder. She managed a glance around the room as she spun to shut the door, the titanic walking corpse thumping slowly several feet behind her, noticing that it was a rotted out bedroom much like the other room on this side of the hall had been. The vines that she summoned wrapped around the monstrous man's limbs, momentarily slowing him down, but after a very brief pause Chloe watched as it simply tore free of the vines and continued toward her. She slammed the door closed and smashed at the rusted lock, trying to secure the door, and she managed to get the squealing metal to give a click just as she saw, heard, and felt her magical landmine go off just outside the door. There was a single hammering blow against the door, causing the wood to crack visibly from the sheer power of the strike against it. Another blow caused a dent to appear in the wood mere inches from Chloe's face.

~~~~~~~~~​

"Chloe decided to wait where she was rather than come with me.... I'm not really sure why, but I figured I would only be gone for a moment," Tesnya replied evenly, but then a look as close to panic as Ashley had seen came over the Amazonian girl's face. Not more than a few seconds later Ashley announced that she'd heard the scream, and Tesnya spun around and started jogging toward the doorway. She slowed as she realized that Ashley had diverted to call for the others and created her glyph, and Jenn quickly fell in behind Ashley as all three moved quickly but cautiously down the hall toward where Tesnya had left Chloe.

When they arrived in the hallway, they found it empty save for a cut in the floor and a trail of blood leading from it to the second door on the right. "Chloe! Where are you?" Tesnya called desperately, the woman just on the edge of fright. Jenn, however, seemed surprisingly calm given the situation. The easterner paled at the sight of blood on the floor, and followed the trail over to the door and attempted to open it without even checking it first. Perhaps thankfully given the present danger, the door didn't budge despite her enthusiastic efforts. The hallway was silent and empty, with no sign of where else Chloe might have gone to save for the blood on the floor.

"Here, let me..." Jenn muttered as Tesnya prepared to kick the door down. The water mage knelt in front of the locked door, uttered a quick spell, and caused the portion of the door that included the lock and handle to freeze over. She then stepped back and cast another cantrip, a minor force bolt that nonetheless shattered the lock completely. Tesnya spared her a thankful nod before tearing the door open to reveal....

A closet. A closet filled with old musty linens, a handful of boxes that had half rotted and were covered in dust, and a small stack of books. The eastern girl spun about and screamed Chloe's name once more, but as she glanced into the closet Ashley spotted a glint of metal behind one of the boxes. Checking quickly to get a better look, she saw an old four cylinder revolver with an extremely long barrel sitting on one of the shelves. There was also an old cartridge sitting next to it, and as she took both she realized that her regular bullets wouldn't fit this gun, and that the bullet she'd found wasn't for any weapon she'd ever seen before.

~~~~~~~~~​

The room suddenly went silent, the pounding against the door ceasing and the area beyond going still as far as Chloe was able to detect. The room that she was in had no windows or other doors, and only another skeletal bed with a tattered, rotting mattress lying on top of it. A closer glance at the mattress revealed to Chloe that some of the stains on it were a bit too vibrant to be mere decay, and the scent of blood came to Chloe's attention a moment later, far too strong and old for it to be from the minor cut on her arm.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe stepped back at each heavy blow to the door praying that it would hold. Each panicked heart beat thundered in her ears in time with the creature's mighty blows. *CRACK! Chloe stepped back. *CRUNCH!* she winced. The door wouldn't stand up to even one more blow and she braced herself waiting for the shower of splinters that would announce the shattering of the door but instead there was silence. Seemingly against all odds the withered door held as the foul abomination apparently lost interest.

With the pounding on the door having ceased the smothering feeling of absolute silence began to pry at Chloe's mind. The others should have come around the hallway but it was to quiet. No sound of combat or chanting of spells no voices. Chloe felt a sob well up in side of her and despite trying to forces it down it broke and she slowly slid down the wall to her knees losing what little emotional control she had. For the moment all she could muster was body shaking sobs. Why was she so stupid and careless. She just sat back against the wall succumbing to her tears while the worst possible thoughts played through her mind. What if it got them? What if she was the only one left? What if she never got out of here? She didn't know how long she sat or how long she cried but when she had finally calmed down enough she shakily got to her feet. Wiping the tears from her face with the good sleeve of her robe and chastised herself. The others could not be dead she would have heard something a scream a gun shot something not this complete silence. With a resolved mind and a little hope Chloe eyed the room anew.

Letting her powers heal the minor wound on her shoulder Chloe began to search the room more thoroughly. Carefully going over every detail with the faint blue light at her side she couldn't help but wonder why the creature didn't follow her in here. After all it did appear out of no where right behind her so this door shouldn't have been an issue. Was there something about this room it didn't like or maybe it wanted her in here to deal with at it leisure she couldn't guess and began to feel the tell tale ache in her chest from an oncoming sob. Trying not to let her emotions get the better of her again she steadied herself and resumed her search seeing if she could find anything useful. Saving the bed for last she slowly approached it the smell and discoloration already giving her a clue to what she would most likely find there. Covering her nose and moth to ward of the strong smell but keeping her eyes open she reached the foot of the bed. This was the last thing to search before she had to head back into the hall and what ever scene had played out there.

Spoiler

Searching as much of the room as possible saving the bed for last before heading to the door if she fails to find anything.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley picked up the strange weapon, and loaded the single cartridge that had been with it, while she continued looking into the closet. "She... clearly went this way. I mean, that blood is still wet and I assume it wasn't here before." Ashley glanced at the Eldritch Lantern, still illuminating the area around her, "And it's not an illusion..."

Ashley pressed a hand firmly against the back of the closet, knocking on it to see if it felt hollow. Then she resorted to magical means of solving her problem, calling up the most powerful guidance spell she knew. In the fog she had gone for simple on the basis that something was blocking her and that might be more difficult to anticipate. But where that hadn't worked, perhaps brute force would. Especially since now she wasn't trying to leave the fog, she was trying to find another person in the same building, perhaps only feet away.

Spoiler

Find - Arcane 3. Looking for Chloe. With Potent Spells and Countermage hopefully helping to deal with any attempts to spoof or prevent such spells.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 30/65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 30/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 60, PP = 50, EP = 80/100, Status = Pregnant
Jenn: HP = 50, PP = 65, EP = 45, Status = Pregnant
Charles: HP = 76, PP = 71, EP = 57, Status = Fine
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Pregnant

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting (Ashley) : Success.
Ashley has found Chloe.

Resistance (Chloe) : Enemy wins.
Chloe has been drained 10 EP.

The revolver was heavier than Ashley was used to, almost unwieldy compared to her own revolver, but there was a sense of power that accompanied the weight as well. Tesnya had spun toward the door at the end of the hall, and was hurrying in that direction while Ashley spoke, only saying; "No, it's wan't there when I left," in response. The back of the closet didn't feel hollow at all, though a section of it did crumble slightly as she pressed her hand against it, revealing a support beam running behind the wall.

Her spell, when cast, encountered no resistance, and immediately pointed Ashley at the door directly behind her, the second door on the left side of the hall. The very second that Ashley announced this, Tesnya spun back toward that door and proceeded to hammer against it with powerful kicks, putting every ounce of strength that her petite but muscular body could muster. The door didn't even shiver, and she let out a growl of frustration as Jenn moved forward, once more placing ice around the door handle before unleashing a burst of force upon it.

~~~~~~~~~​

As Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes on the sleeve of her robe, she managed to take in the details of the room a little better. Unlike the other room, this one had no shrine in the corner, and as such the only object of interest in the room was the ugly, stained bed. She noticed something else as well, something that she was fairly sure hadn't been true when she'd entered the room, though her memory of the event wasn't perfect given the state of panic that she'd been in at the time.

The walls were bleeding.

Slow rivers of crimson ran downwards from the ceiling, each beginning a few feet apart and forming pools on the floor that slowly spread outwards. The metallic scent of it filled her nostrils, slightly fouled with an undertone of decay as it grew stronger and stronger, second by second. She moved to search the bed, as it was the only thing present in the room other than blood and the door she had come in through. As Chloe knelt down, however, her hand accidentally brushed one of the slowly spreading pools of blood, and she reflexively pulled away as it burned her skin like acid. She noted the pools rapidly expanding, and then a moment later felt a drop fall upon her, immediately burning a trail down her back. A glance up showed thin rivers of blood spreading along the ceiling as well, coming directly toward her.

~~~~~~~~~​

The ice on the door handle shattered, but the wood around it had only splintered enough to reveal that beneath it lay a layer of steel. "Oh shit.... What do we do? Chloe's behind there.... Chloe!" Jenn resorted to screaming, but there was no answer from the other side of the door. Tesnya, her voice icy and calm, stood squarely facing the door and said; "Move."

~~~~~~~~~​

Chloe was slowly being pushed back by the ever expanding pools of acidic blood, until the only place she had to go was the very center of the room. Several more droplets fell on her, each burning her slightly, but she also felt a growing sense of weakness as her skin sizzled painfully. Soon, the blood would close in around her, leaving her no place that she might be able to seek refuge from it.

~~~~~~~~~​

Tesnya calmly raised her hand, an orb of golden light forming in it as Jenn stepped out of the way of the door. A second later, the eastern girl unleashed her blast, hammering against the wood and metal and tearing right through both. With a thunderous crash, the force of Tesnya's attack tore a hole in the door about the size of watermelon, and also tore three of the four hinges right out of the wall, leaving it barely hanging from the bottom one.

The inside of the room was revealed by Ashley's lantern, a ghostly redness the slithered along the floors, the magical nature of her light revealing it as an illusion. Chloe was lying on the floor in the middle of the room, her eyes shut as she curled up into the fetal position. Standing over her was the figure they had seen outside, revealed now in full as an eyeless, bloated abomination. A translucent barrier covered it, also revealed by Ashley's magical lantern as an illusion, but the energy that was being dragged out of Chloe and up into its outstretched hand was certainly very real. It turned its eyeless head to look at Ashley, Jenn and Nina, and at the same time Chloe opened her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~​

There was a thunderous boom, and Chloe suddenly opened her eyes to find herself lying on the floor, a wan ghostly light joining her own brighter magic and revealing the blood on the floor and the burns that what had touched her as illusions. Standing over her was the creature, its head turned toward the door which she now realized was almost completely torn from its hinges. Tesnya, Ashley and Jenn were visible just past it.